After putting everything away, the two quickly retraced their path. Along the way, Shade could see that Sister Belen's face was tense, an expression he had never seen on Sister Devlin's face.
Shade did not know whether they really were being watched, but on their way back, they clearly saw a black church-like building standing amid the thin mist ahead. The building was surrounded by an iron fence, with towering spires on either side and a slightly lower central section beneath a triangular roof.
The iron fence stood open before them, as though welcoming them inside. But neither Shade nor the nun had any intention of approaching it, so they made a wide detour and only continued back along the guidance of the light after confirming that the church was no longer visible.
This delayed them for quite some time. They had traveled far enough that Shade found another gravestone matching the requirements along the way. Unfortunately, they no longer had an iron shovel, so they could only note its direction before quickly leaving.
The black church did not appear again, but as they neared the clearing where the cottage stood, large flocks of black crows flew overhead from the dreadful depths of darkness, leaving behind terrifying cawing cries of "Caw, caw, caw~" across the silent wasteland.
Shade was also gradually beginning to understand the panic that came from being watched by a powerful existence. That feeling eased slightly only when an inexplicable patch of black fog appeared ahead, blocking their way.
Something seemed to be hiding within the fog. Shade gestured for the nun to go around it with him, but a voice came from inside the mist:
"You have already been marked."
It was a hoarse male voice, speaking the Common Language of this era:
"I know there