◉◉◉◉◉
"Are there any other human towns nearby?"
Kael's crimson eyes fixed on Earl.
"Of course there are."
The boy shifted uneasily on the couch under that steady gaze. "There's Autumnshore Village, Summerset Town, and… Ignis City, the biggest one." He counted them off on his fingers.
Kael nodded, relief loosening his shoulders. Towns meant structure; structure meant options. His plans could still unfold.
"And where will you go?" Kael asked. "Staying here isn't an option."
Earl's smile faltered. He lowered his head, pale hair hiding his expression.
"I'll go to Ignis City," he said softly. "It's the safest… and the League helps people like me there."
Silence settled between them heavy, respectful.
At last, Kael stood, laid a hand on the boy's narrow shoulder, and said, "Then let's give them a place to rest first."
Earl nodded, eyes reddening. "Yeah."
---
The sky had turned to lead.
Rain whispered down in silver threads, sewing the gray horizon to the earth.
The air smelled of mud and wet stone; the blood-stained wind of Whiteleaf Town had finally been washed clean.
Earl held a black umbrella, unmoving before the freshly heaped mound of earth.
Raindrops rolled from the fabric like glass beads and broke against his shoes.
Kael stood beside him without cover, rain coursing over his dark frame.
For a Fighting-type like him, the chill was nothing if anything, the water cooled the heat in his muscles.
He watched the boy, saying nothing.
Once, long ago, he'd stood the same way before a grave, beneath a sky like this one.
The human heart, he thought, is small but stubborn.
It breaks, and breaks again, yet still it beats.
The idea stirred something in him an echo of fear.
He had crossed too many worlds already. Would there come a time when he'd stop feeling altogether?
When strength and calculation replaced every trace of humanity he still carried?
The thought chilled him more than the rain ever could.
Maybe… he needed to remember who he'd been.
To keep his heart somewhere near his fists.
Power first, yes but not only power.
He exhaled, clarity settling over him like the cooling storm.
"Time to move," he said.
Earl wiped his eyes and nodded.
---
The rain drummed on roofs and earth alike, a soft percussion of parting.
They stood for a moment longer in the open street, two still silhouettes against the downpour.
Kael glanced sideways. The boy hadn't started walking.
"You do know where Ignis City is… right?"
A gulp.
Earl's cheeks colored. "Of—of course I do!"
Kael arched an eyebrow.
"Really! I've been there before," Earl insisted, then mumbled, "Once… when I was little. With Mr. Cork, from the Guild."
Kael sighed. "Great. Lead the way, navigator."
---
Far to the north, tires hissed over soaked dirt.
A convoy of three heavy cargo trucks rumbled along the ruined trade road, flanked front and rear by armored jeeps. Mud fanned from their wheels in thick brown sheets.
Each vehicle bore the same insignia on its hood a pair of dark-green wings framing a blue-and-white coin-shaped emblem.
It was the mark of the Ignis Trade Consortium, the largest merchant alliance of the city Earl had just named.
Inside the lead truck's cab, a man called Koro gripped the steering wheel, eyes dull from sleeplessness.
At barely thirty-five, the gray streaks at his temples looked ten years too early.
Life in the wastelands aged everyone fast.
The truck jolted through another rut, and Koro winced as the seat slammed his spine.
He stared ahead at the endless ribbon of road, the same color as the sky dull, metallic, lifeless.
Then, a sound broke through the engine's monotone.
Chime… chime…
A small bell hanging from the mirror swayed with each bump, ringing bright and clean.
Koro's lips curved faintly.
The bell was cheap steel, polished smooth by rain and time.
His daughter had hung it there herself, a charm for luck and safe return.
He reached up and steadied it with a finger.
"Still working, huh?" he murmured.
Outside, the wind howled.
Inside, the little bell sang on light, defiant, and impossibly alive.
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access Patreon normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!