Jake woke to a steady, unfamiliar weight pressing against his left shoulder.
For a disoriented second, his body tensed, instincts flaring, until he turned his head and saw the source. Luna was fast asleep beside him, her head resting comfortably against his shoulder, her breathing slow and even. One of her arms had slipped loosely across her lap, fingers curled, sword belt forgotten entirely. In sleep, the sharp edge she carried while awake softened. She looked younger like this, more human, less like the relentless fighter she had become.
Across from them, Lucas and Lucy were both awake.
Lucas leaned back against the wagon wall, arms crossed, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. Lucy sat beside him, polishing her revolver with methodical care, though her eyes flicked up just long enough to catch Jake's glance. Amusement gleamed there, paired with something knowing.
Jake chose to ignore both of them.
He shifted his gaze toward the narrow opening at the back of the wagon where the canvas flap had been tied aside. Warm sunlight spilled through, dust motes drifting lazily in its glow. The light was golden and calm, nothing like the tense darkness of the previous night. Judging by the angle of the sun and the steady slowing of the wagon, they were close. Very close.
Turning back, Jake hesitated for a moment before gently raising his hand and giving Luna a couple of careful pats on the head.
"Luna," he said quietly, keeping his voice low. "We're almost there."
She stirred, brow furrowing slightly, then let out a soft yawn as she lifted her head. Her eyes blinked open slowly, unfocused, and she stretched her arms overhead without thinking. Only after a moment did awareness return to her face.
"Oh," she mumbled. "Morning already?"
"Pretty much," Jake replied.
From across the wagon, Lucas leaned closer to Lucy and whispered, "Should we tell her?"
Lucy chuckled under her breath and waved him off dismissively. "Let her keep her peace."
Jake exhaled quietly through his nose.
He was not oblivious. Not entirely.
Luna's feelings were not hard to see if one bothered to look. They were the same age, stranded together in a hostile world, training side by side, bleeding and surviving together. They had arrived at the same time, learned together, struggled together. In a place that took everything from you without asking, shared familiarity became something precious very quickly.
It felt almost inevitable.
But inevitability did not make it simple.
The wagon lurched slightly and slowed to a stop.
"We're here!" one of the soldiers called from the front.
The captain was the first to move, standing and stepping out with the same relaxed confidence he always carried. The rest followed shortly after.
Jake hopped down from the wagon and looked up.
A massive stone wall loomed before them, dark and imposing, reinforced with iron bands. At its center stood a spiked gate tall enough to dwarf siege engines. Soldiers manned the ramparts above, and the moment they recognized their captain, movement erupted along the wall. Chains rattled, gears turned, and the gate slowly rose with a deep, echoing groan.
The captain gestured forward. "Inside."
As they entered, Jake's attention was immediately drawn to the activity within.
A uniformed soldier was herding a group of confused, mismatched people across a courtyard. Jeans. Hoodies. Graphic t shirts. Sneakers. Clothing from Earth, unmistakable and out of place. Some looked angry. Others frightened. A few were openly panicking.
New arrivals.
Jake's stomach tightened.
More beyonders.
That realization settled uncomfortably in his chest.
If the captain was gathering beyonders on this scale, then the cultists' desperation made sense. Whatever balance they believed in, they clearly did not want a concentration of power like this forming. And worse, the scale of this operation suggested something else entirely.
This was not sanctioned.
If the Empire disapproved, they could erase this entire place. Every single one of them.
The thought lingered as the captain's voice snapped him back to the present.
"Gather everyone," the captain ordered. "It's time for the introduction ceremony."
The two soldiers who had driven the wagon motioned for Jake and the others to follow.
As they walked, Jake took in the surroundings. Blackstone buildings lined the interior of the fortress, each marked by hanging wooden signs. An anvil. A book. A hearth. Storage houses. Training halls. The largest structure by far bore the emblem of two crossed swords, its doors reinforced with thick iron bands.
This was not a barracks.
It was a fortified town.
Eventually, the road ended at a wide grassy clearing. At its center stood a simple raised wooden platform. People gathered in loose clusters, murmuring quietly. Some wore tunics and cotton clothing like the locals. Others stood out sharply in modern Earth attire.
Jake counted quickly.
Roughly two hundred.
Two hundred beyonders.
The captain stepped onto the platform and removed his helmet.
A collective hush fell over the crowd.
His face was striking, pale and refined, framed by long black hair tied into a neat bun. His posture was confident, effortless. If Jake had not known better, he would have assumed this man belonged at the center of power.
Unfairly handsome, too.
The captain spoke, his voice carrying easily.
"I will not insult your intelligence," he said. "Everyone here is a beyonder. If you somehow missed that fact, consider this your confirmation."
A ripple of uneasy murmurs passed through the crowd.
"I have gathered you because power is needed. I intend to nurture that power, sharpen it, and forge you into the strongest battalion this Empire has ever seen. We will then move beyond this island and begin an expedition unlike any before it."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
"If you doubt my authority," he continued, "then doubt the word of Marquis Farweathen Stellan, nephew of the Emperor."
Shock rippled through Jake.
He glanced at Luna, Lucas, and Lucy. All three shared the same stunned expression.
Imperial bloodline.
Even if indirect, that name carried terrifying weight.
The Marquis sighed, almost casually. "That said, I will be honest. This operation is not fully authorized. Do not expect luxuries. Most of my funding went into building this fortress."
Then, without warning, he switched languages.
English.
"For those of you who didn't understand what I said earlier, remain here. For those who did, follow the soldiers to your assigned living quarters."
Jake stiffened.
So did many others.
That single decision revealed far more than the speech itself. Either the Marquis had taken the time to learn English, or every beyonder in this region came from the same place.
The latter felt far more likely.
As Jake followed the others, a thought lingered at the back of his mind.
Just how big was that forest he never crossed?
Whatever awaited him next, one thing was clear.
This was the beginning of something irreversible.