Karan didn't know what to do with the woman who collapsed onto him. He could smell the stench of alcohol mixed with vomit coming from her. Some of the vomit had splattered onto Karan's clothes and boots as well. He picked the woman up; she was light. He glanced around, but nothing looked familiar. Even the woman in his arms—Karan assumed she was a woman, as her body resembled that of an Ashuk female—looked different from the women of his own realm.He laid the woman down on something he assumed was a seat. In this realm, it appeared to be nighttime. A small furry creature with pointy ears and large eyes approached him. Upon seeing the strange being, Karan asked, "Can you speak?"
When the creature responded with a "meow," he thought to himself, Even if it can speak, we probably don't share the same language. But he had understood what the woman who had just fainted had said. The idea that there were beings in this realm who could understand him brought some relief.
The creature sniffed the vomit on his boots, recoiled in disgust, and moved away.
Karan now wanted to set out and search for the key, but since it was night, finding someone who was still awake would be difficult. Besides, he didn't know this realm—predatory creatures might come and hunt her down.
He noticed the sounds coming from his left, and when he turned his head, he saw three men approaching him. They were shouting and laughing as they talked. When they saw Karan, one of them said with a loud laugh, "I like your style, man!"
"Looks like your girlfriend had a bit too much to drink."
Karan addressed them calmly, "Warm nights to you, fellows. Do you know where I can find Elara Vardal?"
The men burst into laughter.
"What kind of question is that—asking about someone to people you don't even know?"
"Whatever kind of drug you're on, I want some of that too!"
"My question was only whether you know where Elara Vardal is," Karan said, his voice turning cold.
"She looks good, so how did she end up with a nutcase like you? Or is she one of your kind too?"
Karan didn't know what "nutcase" meant, but he was sure it wasn't a good thing. His gaze sharpened, and the three men, realizing there might be trouble, didn't push it further. It wasn't worth ruining their fun.
If there hadn't been three of them, they might not have laughed so boldly—Karan's build alone could have intimidated them. Karan didn't know this realm, but he knew all too well the kind of power people felt when they had numbers on their side.
After the men left, he realized it was a good decision not to leave the woman behind. He hadn't seen any predators, but those men alone were enough of a threat.
His stomach started to rumble. That was another problem. In Narval, he was familiar with everything in nature that was edible—but here, anything he found could be poisonous. Even if he found water, hunting might be dangerous. He would need to ask what was safe to eat.
He had traveled across nearly all of Narval and lived in unfamiliar regions before, and he had always been someone who adapted quickly. However, being in such an unknown place was a completely different experience.He checked out the buildings around him. Lights shone from some windows, but if he went inside, people might get scared and attack him. He didn't even know how the creatures here fought yet. He decided not to worry. After all, he couldn't do anything until morning. He turned his head and started looking at the woman. She had long, wavy dark hair, a small, upturned nose, and long eyelashes. She can't be more than two hundred years old, he thought.
He tried to open a gate from this realm back to Narval. Nothing happened.
He tried to form a soul dagger—still nothing.
Even when he attempted a few basic spells he knew, none of them worked. Another problem had revealed itself: in this world, he couldn't use his soul power.
He buried his head in his hands and sat down again.
For as long as he could remember, he had always been able to call upon his soul power. In Narval, every race was capable of using soul energy from a very young age, and Karan had never known a life without it. He had always been an Ashuk who learned faster than his peers. According to the sage Erdun, he could summon his pacifier from across the room when he was still a baby.
Though he had often been praised for his natural talent, Karan had never underestimated the value of effort and perseverance.
Losing his power now was worse than losing a limb. If he lost an arm or a leg, he could still summon a soul limb to replace it. But now, he was utterly powerless, stripped of the very essence that defined him. Maybe it was just a side effect of passing through the gate, he thought. But deep down, he knew—something was missing in this realm.
He reminded himself once more, "You decided not to worry and to wait for morning."