They left the inn just after sunrise, with mist still curling along the edges of the road and dew clinging to the yellowing grass. Kai offered a polite nod to the innkeeper, and Kleo waved with both hands. The innkeeper gave them a squinting look but wished them safe travels all the sa.
The road north was quiet at first. A few caravans passed in the early hours, wagons drawn by sturdy, broad-backed horses, their drivers wrapped in wool cloaks to keep out the wind. One group offered to sell them so dried tobacco and a bottle of sothing that slled like paint thinner. Kai declined.
Later that day, a patrol of city soldiers on horseback ca clattering up the road. Their tabards bore the gold-sun emblem of Forne’s outer territories, likely stationed in the fringe settlents between the provinces to protect against barbarian raids or bandits. Their leader, a square-jawed woman with a halberd strapped across her back, raised a hand.
"Halt."
Kai and Kleo slowed to a stop, saying nothing. The soldiers dismounted, and one began rifling through their bags without asking. Kai resisted the urge to cast sothing sharp and awful.
The leader peered at Kleo with suspicion. "You two out here alone?"
"Yes," Kai said calmly.
"Where are you headed?"
"Hollowcrag Ravine."
That made one of the soldiers raise an eyebrow. "Hollowcrag? Dangerous place. Ravagers, sotis worse. You affiliated with the League?"
Kai nodded, producing his League amulet with the Ash sigil carved into it. The soldiers glanced it over, then gave a reluctant grunt of acceptance.
"Ash, huh? I’m sure you know what you’re doing, but be careful. Bandits have been ambushing small groups along this road the last two weeks," the woman said. "Stay alert. If you see smoke where there shouldn’t be, don’t go near it. If you hear screaming, don’t be a hero. Report it to the next outpost. Two more dead adventurers won’t help anyone."
"We’ll keep our heads down," Kai replied.
After another few seconds of silent tension, the patrol mounted up and rode on, leaving a trail of kicked-up dust in their wake.
Kleo exhaled once they were out of earshot. "I hate that. Them thinking we need their help."
"Get used to it," Kai muttered. "The less powerful you look, the more they treat you like less."
They continued until midday and then rested beneath a weathered oak by the roadside. Kleo dug through her pack and fished out a strip of jerky, chewing thoughtfully before glancing at Kai, who sat cross-legged, eyes half-lidded.
"Why don’t you eat?" she asked, holding another strip toward him.
"I don’t necessarily need to," he replied without opening his eyes. "But the nutrients do seem to boost brain and body function slightly. Not vital. Just helpful."
"Then eat," Kleo said with mock sternness, and before he could object, she shoved the piece into his mouth.
The reaction was imdiate.
Kai gagged and wrenched forward, coughing violently as he spat it back into his hand. The at had blackened instantly in his mouth, turning to rot. His necromantic aura had devoured it the mont it touched his tongue.
"K-Kleo..." he choked. "I have to add a barrier first. My magic... It decays anything organic I touch for too long. Ever notice how I don’t touch your bare skin?"
She blinked, then blushed. "M-my bare skin? I hadn’t noticed..."
"Not like that," he muttered, rubbing his forehead.
The air between them hung awkwardly for a mont until Kai reached into his pouch and drew a faint rune in the air. His fingertip shimred, forming a pale translucent barrier over the next piece of jerky. He took a tentative bite.
The at held its form this ti, the barrier just weak enough to let the flavor seep through. Lightly glazed. A little smoky. It reminded him, vaguely, of barbecue at from Earth. Cheap takeout on a night when nothing else in the fridge was edible.
He chewed slowly.
Kleo sat cross-legged beside him, biting into another strip. "You get all weird when you rember stuff from your old life."
Kai didn’t answer imdiately. His eyes were on the road, where a lone rider galloped past, heading toward the Citadel. Dust trailed behind the horse like a ghost.
"I think we need transport," he said finally. "If we’re going to keep traveling like this. A horse, cart, wagon, or maybe even a car."
"Car?" Kleo asked, confused.
Kai smiled faintly. "Think of it like a tal carriage with four wheels. No animals. Moves on its own. It’s more comfortable than a rickety carriage, and it doesn’t leave a ss behind it."
"That sounds amazing. Where can we get one?"
"We can’t. Not here. I told you before, this isn’t my first life. There were plenty of cars in my last world. I never owned one, but they were everywhere."
Kleo tilted her head. "Do you think... we could make one?"
Kai glanced at her, surprised. "Maybe. I played a chanic simulator for a while. Sank a thousand hours into it. It was pretty realistic, but building one here would take ti. Materials. Engineering. Fuel. Weeks, at least. And I’d rather master teleportation magic first."
"Teleportation?"
"Yeah. I never told you, but my necromancy master, Orlin, he used to almost vanish mid-step? That’s the goal. A blink, a whisper, and we’re on the other side of the continent. I never saw him travel far with it, even when he took with him, but I’m sure the possibilities are endless."
Kleo stood, brushing dust off her knees. " Teleportation... You really want to do everything, don’t you?"
Kai stood as well. "Better than doing nothing."
’I can’t be soone who does nothing again.’
---
They reached the outer edge of Hollowcrag Ravine just before dusk the next day.
It was less a ravine and more a scar carved into the world itself, dark, narrow, and far deeper than it looked from above.
The air grew colder as they approached, and a strange pressure began to build in Kai’s chest.
He stopped walking.
"What is it?" Kleo asked, lowering her hood.
Kai didn’t speak for a mont. His fingers twitched at his side. Mana spun through his senses like snowflakes caught in a storm.
Magic. Thick. Old. Saturated. It wasn’t just around the ravine, it was engraved in the ravine. The very stones beneath their feet throbbed with ancient sorcery, as if so ancient, slumbering thing lay beneath the surface.
"Kai?" Kleo stepped closer.
"There’s sothing down there," he murmured. "Not just monsters. Not just mana. It’s... different."
He couldn’t explain the sensation fully. It wasn’t divine, and it wasn’t necromantic. It didn’t feel like barrier magic or sigilcraft or even elental forces.
It felt old.
He swallowed hard, his eyes narrowing.
"We need to be careful," he said at last. "This isn’t just a stroll in the park."
’Should I tell her? That it feels even more dangerous than the Devourer? No. I don’t need to frighten her.’
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