The air was suffocating…
Not hot like fire, but heavy, as if pressing on the chest.
The sky here was dark gray, from which black particles like ash fell,
and the ground was cracked, pulsing with a faint heat, as if it were a living creature breathing slowly.
No screams…
only the sound of chains being dragged,
and the breaths of slaves who had learned silence.
Riley walked beside Askaron in heavy silence,
carrying the rock on his back, every step stealing a part of his breath.
He glanced at Askaron from time to time—
an exhausted face… eyes accustomed to pain.
He hesitated a little, then broke the silence.
Riley: "Is the road long to Alfino?"
Askaron turned to him slowly,
his voice hoarse, devoid of any hope.
Askaron: "Yes… very long."
Then he resumed walking,
as if that answer alone was enough to kill any other question.
After a short while, silence returned to choke the road.
Riley… couldn't bear it.
Riley: "By the way… what's your name?"
Askaron glanced sideways at him, then answered in a tired voice:
Askaron: "My name is Askaron.
And what about you?"
Riley: "I… am called Riley."
Askaron studied him for a moment, then stared at his ears.
Long… pointed.
Riley (hesitantly): "You… don't look human."
He looked at his ears again: "You're an elf."
Askaron fell silent for a few seconds,
then replied with calm coldness:
Askaron: "Yes… I'm an elf."
Askaron sighed, then added a question.
Askaron: "Alright… how did you meet your death?"
Riley's expression changed,
his gaze lowered, and his voice grew heavy with sorrow.
Riley: "I left the castle when I was nine years old…
and I died after a long time away from it."
Askaron stopped suddenly.
Askaron: "A castle?
Were you from a noble family?"
Riley raised his head,
anger mixing with sadness in his eyes.
Riley: "Yes…
my family is Askeronom."
Askaron stopped abruptly.
His steps froze, and he turned to Riley with a sharpness he hadn't shown before.
Askaron: "What is your father's name?"
Riley hesitated for a moment,
then answered in a low voice, as if digging through an old memory.
Riley: "Armand… I think."
Silence fell.
A silence heavier than the chains on their backs.
Askaron turned and continued walking slowly,
ignoring the identity of the person beside him.
Askaron: "Alright… but where did you go when you left your homeland?"
Riley stayed silent for a long time.
Memories poured over him…
years of suffering, pain, sadness, and misery.
He finally raised his gaze, his voice broken.
Riley: "Sixty-six years…
I was trapped in a forest called Alexeron."
Askaron looked at Riley's sorrow,
hesitated for a moment…
but decided to continue his questions, wanting to know more.
Askaron: "I'm not from the same continent you lived on…
but how exactly did you die?
What happened?"
Riley lowered his head slowly,
as if the words were too heavy to be spoken.
Riley: "I died at the age of seventy-five…
inside a cave.
I was starving…
until death."
Askaron didn't reply.
He just kept walking,
but his steps became slower… heavier.
Riley's tears fell onto the ground.
Askaron looked at him, feeling pity for the first time in a very long while.
He approached slowly and extended his hand, hugging him cautiously.
Askaron (in a low, gentle voice):
"I'm sorry… for asking you.
I shouldn't have spoken at all…"
Riley turned his head away,
wiped his tears with the back of his hand,
then smiled faintly, trying to compose himself.
Riley:
"No… it's alright."
Time passed,
and the two of them were still carrying the heavy rocks on their backs.
Sweat soaked their foreheads,
their legs ached with every step,
but there was no place to rest… and no escape from the road.
Askaron looked at the exhausted, sorrowful Riley,
then decided to break the silence with something different… something intriguing.
Askaron:
"Riley!"
Riley turned to him, puzzled:
"What?"
Askaron smiled a faint smile, rare for him:
"Do you know anything about our world?"
Confusion appeared on Riley's face:
"Our world? What do you mean?"
Askaron sighed, then began speaking more seriously:
"Listen carefully… you know nothing yet.
Our world is called the Great Land, where various races exist…
monsters…
and rulers…"
Riley interrupted him, surprised and anxious:
"Rulers?!"
Askaron continued in a calm, steady voice:
"Our world has a strict class hierarchy…
there are the common folk, and those who rule them… the four noble families.
Your family… Askeronom, is one of them."
Riley listened carefully,
realizing how cursed he was…
how his luck had abandoned him from the very beginning.
Askaron continued calmly:
"Above the nobles… there are the rulers of the races.
The most famous and powerful races are the elves, dragons, humans, and demons."
He looked at Riley for a moment, as if to be sure the picture was clear in his mind.
Askaron sighed briefly, then said quietly:
"That's almost all I know…
but some legends say that the Elemental Rulers once existed in the land,
but after a great incident, they died.
Even so… they still grant their blessings to living beings to this day."
Askaron smiled, pride clear in his expression:
"Like me… I'm an ice user.
What about you, Riley? What's your element?"
Riley looked at his hands, confused:
"Me?… No… I don't know what my element is."
Askaron extended his hand and gently took Riley's:
"Don't worry… I'll teach you how to control your element when we reach our destination."
Riley smiled, joy filling his heart:
"Yes!"
Time passed,
and Riley felt a strange happiness at having met someone like Askaron—
someone strong… wise… someone he could trust.
Suddenly, Askaron stopped walking.
Riley shuddered, startled:
"What's wrong?"
Askaron quickly put his hand over Riley's mouth:
"Shhh… stay quiet."
Beneath the ground, something began to move.
A massive volcanic slime emerged—black, surrounded by lava, with glowing red eyes, extremely dangerous.
Riley retreated quickly, his heart pounding like a hammer,
and as the slime approached him, panic seized him…
Askaron raised his hand and cast a magic spell:
a gigantic ice sphere shot forward at incredible speed,
colliding with the slime and freezing it instantly.
Both of them relaxed for a moment, breathing slowly,
but soon the ice began to melt,
and the slime started moving again…
more ferocious than before.
Askaron grew serious,
extended his hands forward,
and suddenly a shimmering ice sword formed before him, pulsing with terrifying energy.
In a lightning-fast motion, he lunged at the slime,
splitting it into two equal halves,
the slime turning into scattered fragments.
Riley stepped back in fear and amazement, his eyes unable to believe what they had seen.
He was fast and powerful despite the heavy rock on his back,
and that was the first time Riley had seen true magical power…
Inside, Riley wondered in astonishment:
"How can someone like this become a slave?"
The sword suddenly shattered and vanished.
Askaron sighed slowly,
cold air escaping his mouth, as if the magic itself were fading with it.
He looked at Riley, his eyes fixed on him:
"Are you hurt?"
Riley swallowed his breath,
and though the hellish world around them had not calmed,
for the first time… he felt that someone was protecting him.