Spread out on the sand, Finn's mind was in complete disarray. His thoughts drifted between the uncertainty of his sister's escape, the likelihood of his father's transformation into a Fallen, and his own survival, which now bordered on a miracle.
Never in history had anyone managed to escape an Eternal Dome once it had fully formed. If someone wanted to get out, it had to be in the few moments before the ship completed its creation. But if there was anything he had learned from his father, it was that the impossible had never stopped anyone from trying.
Letting out a cold sigh, Finn slowly pushed himself up, wincing as his left arm—barely responding to his will—hung uselessly while he struggled to stand.
He cast a glance at the rising tide, swallowed in darkness, and at the edge of the Dome, which didn't seem to be anywhere within visible distance.
He turned away and started walking along the shoreline, heading toward the forest in the distance. As he left, a gentle hand rested softly on his shoulder.
"Where are you going?" the girl asked, her face tense.
"Trying to survive," Finn replied evenly, as naturally as possible.
"And you think you'll survive out there by yourself?" she asked, confusion tightening her expression. She understood why he'd avoid the city overrun with monsters, but she couldn't understand why he would head into the forest alone. Between the beasts and the sheer paranoia, it made no sense.
"No one has ever survived a Dome in a group either, though," Finn shot back with a faint smirk.
For a moment, she simply froze, staring at him with wide, bewildered eyes. Then she turned her gaze toward the last of their "musketeers," standing a few meters away, silently observing them.
"Did I end up with a bunch of lunatics…?" she muttered.
"You're going to listen to me," she said sharply, her eyes piercing. "We're going to stick together the best we can, and I swear we're getting out of here somehow."
Both of her companions frowned at her authoritarian tone.
"Just out of curiosity," Finn asked, eyes narrowing with interest, "what's your name?"
She hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Rose Evergrim."
"Evergrim… Evergrim… I see," Finn repeated as something clicked in his mind.
"Finn. Nice to meet you," he said before turning toward their final companion.
"Ulrich," the man replied simply, continuing to observe their little scene.
"So, Rose. What do you know about this place? What makes you so sure that you're going to make it?"
At first, she was surprised by the sudden shift in Finn's demeanor—he seemed to be speaking entirely differently from his initial nonchalance—but she chose to answer honestly.
"The basics, I guess. That we won't get reinforcements, and that escaping is theoretically impossible," she said, listing off whatever came to mind. "But if you help me get out of here, I promise that once we're out, my fa—"
"This time you listen, princess," Finn cut her off. "If that's all you know, then you know nothing. The problem with rich, influential people is that they always think they're above everyone else. Meanwhile, you were hiding the whole time during our fight, waiting for us to finish it before crawling out of your little hole."
He paused, glancing around them. Rose instinctively did the same.
"You see all this? What do you think your family could possibly do against this ruin? There's no status in hell. So if you want us to 'stick together,' stop thinking you're superior. We're all equal. Only fools are beneath me."
When he finished, he was surprised to see the girl oddly calm, taking his words much better than expected.
"I'm sorry," she said, lowering her head slightly. "I didn't mean to act superior… I'm just used to people asking me for favors in return. It seems I made a mistake."
With her looks, clothes, and way of speaking, she had seemed like the kind of girl with an ego big enough to rival her superiority complex—a walking pit of complication.
"Don't worry. Nothing personal. But I think we should stop the tearful apologies and get the hell out of here," Ulrich remarked, eyes fixed on the distance near the crashed plane.
They followed his gaze—and their eyes widened. Small waves were forming rapidly, rushing toward them at alarming speed. The creature from earlier was swimming back toward them.
Without another word, they bolted, sprinting along the shore toward the forest, lungs burning after the earlier run from the harbor.
"So—what else should we know?" Rose asked between gasps.
"You covered most of it, but your explanation assumes our situation is completely hopeless."
"It isn't?" Rose raised an eyebrow. Of all the things she believed for certain, that one felt obvious. The Dome's limits probably extended a kilometer or two beyond the sea, and even if they reached it, it was impenetrable.
"Not completely. There is a way out. It's just… tricky," Finn said, eyes fixed on the greenery slowly drawing near. "We just have to get on the ship."
Ulrich and Rose slowed down slightly, wondering which ship he meant—the one that had left the port, or one they were supposed to build? But they quickly dismissed the idea. Even building one wouldn't help.
Then they both looked up simultaneously.
The other ship.
The one that had finished forming moments ago.
Hovering freely in the sky, a hundred meters above.
Before she could reply, they entered the forest, disappearing into the greenery just as their pursuer reached the shore.
"We can't try getting rid of that thing?" Ulrich suggested as they collapsed on the ground, trying to catch their breath.
"That's impossible," Finn replied after a few seconds. "Don't get cocky just because we survived earlier by throwing it into the sea."
"Why do you say that?" Rose asked, standing up to dust herself off. "From what I saw, you two were close to killing it. With me on top of that, it should be… possible."
"You want to learn more about this place, right?" Finn said, checking his injured left arm. "Inside the Dome, the Fallen are effectively immortal."