The ground was treacherous, full of steep inclines and sudden dips, making their flight anything but smooth. Elion kept scanning their surroundings with his ability, his Soul Integrity draining with every passing second. He was desperate—frantic—to find another infected creature.
He spotted a pack of beasts lying in ambush up ahead. Signaling Eshrod, they veered off the path to avoid them. None carried the same parasite, so they weren't useful. His head throbbed from the sensory overload, his mind struggling to process all the incoming information.
Why am I so desperate to save her?
His thought tasted bitter.
Sure, she saved me from that faceless Class III, but she also nearly killed me during training.
Even so, he couldn't imagine giving up on her.
He felt her cold body slumped against his back. Her muscles twitched occasionally, subtly, as if she was fighting something only she could see.
Goddammit! this wasn't the plan. I was supposed to use people—gain what I needed and discard them once they stopped being useful.
But here he was.
He had stopped using his ability, the pain too much to bear. That lapse allowed something to sneak up on them—a beast cloaked in thick, matted fur. It galloped on all fours, features hidden beneath the dirty grey hair, some of it crusted with old blood.
The creature lunged and struck Elion hard in the side, sending him and Farha flying into the mud.
He groaned and forced himself to his feet, ribs searing in pain. He grabbed Farha again and rushed toward Eshrod, who was already locked in combat.
"We need to run! We don't have time for this!" he shouted.
"You think I don't know that already?!" Eshrod snapped back, ducking a massive punch.
She raised her reinforced arm just in time to block as a strike came for her head, the impact cracking the air like a whip. Her arm held, though pain flickered in her eyes. Snarling, she drove a powerful kick into the creature's gut, sending it tumbling. Then she turned and ran.
They sprinted as fast as possible for a couple of minutes, making Elion's legs burn with exhaustion. Further ahead, streaks of crimson light bled through the foliage, echoing like the flickering of a flame in the darkness.
They were approaching the first rib of the colossal skeleton they'd seen earlier—the one rising like ruined spires over the trees.
"What do we do?" Eshrod barked, branches snapping behind them.
Elion clenched his jaw and reactivated his ability, bracing for the pain.
He caught only a glimpse—but it was enough.
A figure of shifting chromatic light moved through the trees ahead. One hand burned with a crimson flame. Her threads were different—darker than humans, but not sinister.
At this point, they didn't have much choice other than to meet it, since it had already noticed them, and they were still being chased by creatures.
"We go forward!" Elion shouted.
They burst into the clearing where the crimson light was coming from.
There stood a young woman, elegant and strange. She wore black leather armor—crude, yet well crafted. In one outstretched hand, a crimson flame burned, casting a bloody glow across the glade.
From afar, she might've passed for human. But up close, her differences were stark. Long lavender hair, her skin was the color of ash, similar to that of the white-haired figure depicted in the ruined temple. She had two sleek black horns curving through her purple mane. Her tired, deep-purple eyes widened in surprise at the sight of them.
"Drazhen!?" she exclaimed in a tongue neither Elion nor Eshrod understood.
The Gremlin raised both hands, trying to show they meant no harm.
"Uh… yes? We come in peace?"
The woman tilted her head, confused. Then she shouted something else:
"Velgor!"
She waved her free hand, gesturing wildly for them to move aside.
Elion and Eshrod hesitated—then understood.
They dove out of the way just as the hulking beast crashed into the clearing, low guttural roars escaping its unseen maw.
The woman raised her flame-bearing arm. Crimson fire flared along its length, then erupted in a torrent that engulfed the creature. Its fur ignited instantly in unrelenting immolating flames.
The beast screamed, thrashing, trying to flee, but the woman herded it with bursts of flame—driving it where she wanted.
After a tense chase, she leapt onto the burning monster, a dagger flashing in her hand. She plunged it into the scorched hide. The creature collapsed, finally dead.
Panting, she turned back to them, wiping sweat from her brow.
***
"Alright, come with me, the least I can do is invite such esteemed guest home!"
They frowned, seemingly trying to understand her.
Right, Light-Walkers…
They tried to speak in broken sentences.
"Ugh, shut up—I can't understand a word you're saying either.
She raised both hands in the air, and tried to gesture them to follow, trying to look as convincing as possible. It probably wasn't considering their faces.
The man who was carrying his unconscious companion gestured urgently to her neck.
Kellta approached, squinting before realizing what it was.
"Shit! if you want your friend to survive, come with me—we don't have much time!" she said, grabbing the arm of the woman with black hands.
***
"Zarak! Ifen torakh vel drazhmar, kel'tu ven—zhorak men varuun!" the suspicious figure shouted, grabbing Eshrod's arm and pulling her into the forest.
Elion hesitated for a second, but the urgency in the stranger's voice convinced him. She wasn't hostile, and she seemed to recognize the infection.
It's our best shot…
They vanished into the trees, following her.
After about ten minutes of fast-paced walking, they arrived at a log cabin. The structure was crudely built, the brown wood scorched in places. It was hardly a masterpiece of craftsmanship.
Inside, the air was thick with old dust and mystery. Shelves overflowed with stacks of books and strange artifacts. A pot rested over burnt logs. Elion spotted runes, he recognized them as the same from the ruins or the book he found in the temple.
The place smelled like herbs and sap, many glass pots were filled with unknown ingredients, almost like a witch's hut would be depicted in fiction.
This would have been an exciting discovery if not for the fact Farha was currently dying, slumped on his back.
The woman flipped erratically through a dusty tome, gesturing for Elion to lay his dying friend on a small bed in the back corner.
He did as told, studying Farha's sickly figure. Her hands were twitching and her eyes unblinking.
"Trakul sen," the woman muttered, clearly a command.
Elion just stared at her.
She sighed and slapped her own forehead.
"Va'reth…"
She made a gesture, trying to demonstrate—but it was no use.
Giving up, she approached Farha, scooped her to the side and gently turned her over, revealing the base of her neck, where the parasite still pulsed faintly. Then she pricked her own finger, drawing a rune in blood.
The symbol was similar to the ones from the boat—and Elion's forearm.
It flared with golden light.
Farha's tense body started to relax, the twitching of her fingers stopped and she finally closed her glassy eyes.
"Kareth dun varak, veth sen zhal'dor…" the woman said.
"What do you think she's saying?" Eshrod asked.
"How should I know that?"
"Well, you are the history nerd. Be nice if your little hobby was as useful as your cooking," she said with a hint of amusement.
"Please refrain from further vocal interaction with me, you stupid Gremlin," Elion replied flatly, like an offended robot.
The woman sighed again at their confusion. She raised a finger, signaling them to wait.
She flipped through another book, more slowly now that the urgency had passed. Finally, she found a page and gestured for Elion to approach.
He took a tentative step forward—nervous.
She pressed her finger to his throat, the sticky warmth of her blood against his skin made him recoil.
***
Come on, don't be shy. I'm not going to eat you. I'm not like my mom.
Kellta leaned in to draw the rune—but the pale-haired young man stepped back with a startled jerk.
Hey! Don't move. It's just blood. You've seen worse.
She gestured again, clearly annoyed.
Elion squinted at her, then relented. She drew the symbol on his throat. When it lit up, she grinned.
He felt something crawl up his tongue—a tingle, like pins and needles, behind his teeth, numbing his mouth.
"There. Now the words in your mouths won't sound so stupid."
***
"There. Now the words in your mouths won't sound so stupid."
He shifted in surprise, the words still sounded strange, but now he understood them.
She did the same to Eshrod—after some convincing from Elion.
The woman gave a sharp smile.
"My name is Kellta. But for you, Light-Walkers—Kel will do."