Riche stood ankle-deep in sand, facing the Rajhu once more, the Engine looming behind him.
Steel flashed. He drove his blade into the rider's stomach and wrenched it free.
Blood poured out. Not a spill. A flood.
Deep crimson gushed onto the sand, spreading, soaking, swallowing. The ground darkened, then softened, then gave way.
The desert was no longer sand. It was a lake of blood.
Riche tried to step back, but his feet sank.
The blood climbed his legs, his waist, his chest. He struggled, arms churning, breath tearing from his lungs as the red swallowed him whole.
His vision drowned last, eyes sinking beneath the thick, suffocating surface.
Then the world lurched.
Gravity twisted.
He burst upward, gasping, coughing, dragged back into the air. Sand coated his body, filled his mouth, scraped his skin raw.
His lungs burned, clogged as if he had nearly drowned in blood itself.
The Rajhu knelt before him.
The wound still bled, slow and endless. The rider raised a trembling hand and tore away the mask.
Riche froze.
His mother's eyes stared back at him.
"No—" Riche rushed forward, gripping her shoulders, hands slick as he pressed against the wound, desperate, frantic. "Stay with me. Please—"
Steel struck.
Pain exploded through his stomach.
Riche staggered, spun, and slashed blindly.
He crashed into his attacker, driving them both into the sand. Hands shaking, breath broken, he tore the second mask away.
He couldn't breathe.
Mihel's brown eyes met his, glassy and overflowing with tears. Black hair hung limp, soaked dark.
"No… no…" Riche whispered, smearing blood from his friend's face with trembling fingers.
Then the world ruptured.
Blinding light flooded everything. The sand, the bodies, the blood were stripped away, erased, replaced by white brilliance stretching endlessly in every direction.
The light closed in.
It pulled at him, burned through him, consumed him.
Where there was light, there was always darkness.
'And he was the darkness.'
-----------------------------------------------------------
"Hah… hah… h-huh…"
Riche jolted awake, chest heaving.
Air tore in and out of his lungs as though he had been dragged back from somewhere far too deep.
The nightmare clung to him, its horror carved into his heart, though its details were already blurring, dissolving into fog.
Across the compartment, Mihel sat on his bed, arms wrapped around his knees, watching him in silence.
When Riche's breathing steadied, Mihel slid down from the bed and crossed the narrow space between them.
Riche lifted his trembling hand, palm open and weak.
Mihel knocked on it firmly, grounding him, and spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.
"Are you alright? I was watching you. You looked like you were seeing something bad." A pause. "You can tell me, you know."
Riche turned away, jaw tightening.
'How could I tell him? That I saw him dying… by my hands.'
'Better to lie.'
He cleared his throat. "Just a normal nightmare," he muttered. "Weird monsters. Bodies everywhere. Guess yesterday got to me."
Mihel raised an eyebrow, but he didn't press further.
They sat side by side, sharing a heavy silence. Midia slept peacefully nearby, soft snores escaping her, with Halise resting on the bunk above. Vinelyn was not in the compartment.
Riche reached up and pulled the curtain aside. Sunlight flooded in, warm and bright, washing over his face. For a moment, it felt grounding.
Then his brow furrowed.
"We've been travelling all night," he said slowly. "How haven't we reached yet? Wasn't the trip supposed to be only five hours?"
Mihel nodded. "Everyone's wondering the same. Either we've slowed down a lot… or they lied to us from the start." He glanced toward the door.
"Ah. There's Vinelyn with hot food. Get up, Riche. Go wash. You don't want it getting cold."
Riche nodded, greeting Vinelyn as he passed, then disappeared into the washroom.
Mihel leaned back against the wall, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
'Why won't he tell me what he saw?'
Vinelyn, wrapped in a thick fur coat, set the tray of food down on the central table and moved to wake Midia and Halise. He shook them lightly.
"Up already. Morning's here. Come on."
Mihel lifted one of the wooden containers and pried it open. Inside lay strips of cooked meat and a handful of fruits.
After a day of staring at nothing but sand and scarcity, even this modest meal looked like a feast.
He began eating just as Riche emerged from the washroom, looking far better than before.
His blond hair was still damp, clinging to his forehead.
Riche took a container and sat beside Mihel, eating in silence.
Halise climbed down from her bunk, flashed them a tired smile, then shuffled into the washroom.
Midia sat up on her bed, watching the two of them eat.
"I suppose we'll reach today, at least,"
Vinelyn said between bites. "Something's been off about this Engine from the start, but… we're all still here."
Mihel nodded. "It already feels like Fate meant for us to meet. It's only been a day, yet we've been through more than most do in months." He raised his container slightly. "To that."
As he spoke, Mihel caught Riche's eyes. They were distant. Somewhere else entirely. Whatever weighed on him still hadn't loosened its grip.
Midia spoke up from her corner. "Halise and I talked. We decided that we trust you now. Haha..." She hesitated, then continued.
"We were a bit reluctant at first. Unlike Vinelyn, we didn't reveal our Destinies. But after yesterday…"
She met Mihel's gaze.
"After both of you came for me, it felt wrong to keep hiding."
Halise returned and settled on the floor with a container in hand. "I feel the same."
Mihel and Riche waited.
Midia took a breath.
"I'm a Scholar Destined, but was always a follower of the Magicians Order of Wisdom. And Halise is—"
"I'm a Magician Destined too," Halise cut in. "Same as Vinelyn. But deception and tricks never suited me. I wasn't good at them."
She shrugged. "So I kept my bow."
Something eased in Riche's chest. The quiet trust in their voices soothed a grief he had been carrying inside, one that was clawing at him.
Vinelyn turned to Mihel. "And you? Still keeping your Destiny hidden? You said it yourself. We're a team now."
Mihel stiffened, colour draining slightly from his face. "I… I'm sorry. I'm not ready to tell anyone yet."
Midia looked disappointed, but Vinelyn only laughed. "Let him have his mystery. We'll find out eventually."
They finished eating at an unhurried pace, Midia lingering over the last bites.
After an announcement crackled through the speakers, informing them they would be arriving shortly, everyone began packing.
Midia glanced at the emergency rations still sealed in silver. "Should we put these back?"
Mihel thought for a moment. "Everyone take a little. Just in case. The staff will restock them. So don't worry about taking them."
They did as he said, each slipping a portion into their packs, the air buzzing with nervous anticipation.
A new chapter waited just beyond.
Suddenly, Halise gasped at the window.
"It's… beautiful. And huge…"
They crowded forward.
There it stood.
The Exousia Branch of Avra.
And with it, a turning point.