The bright light of the sky pierced through Kael's eyelids as he woke. For the first time in what felt like forever, he had slept deeply and without fear. He sat up and saw Mako exactly where he had been the night before, still hunched over his book, writing with the same quiet focus. Kael had half-expected the other boy to be gone by morning, already continuing his journey.
"You're finally up?" Mako said without looking up, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"Still writing, huh?" Kael muttered.
"Your eyes have already given you away," Mako replied smoothly.
This motherfucker… Kael cursed inwardly, rubbing the sleep from his face.
"Were you up all night?" he asked.
"Of course not. I'm human just like you, Kael," Mako answered with an easy grin. "Also… it seems the tempest will in this area has weakened by a small fragment."
Kael frowned. "How does that have anything to do with my situation?"
Mako finally closed his book and looked at him. "Because of the time distortion, you couldn't leave. But if there's even a crack in the foundation, there's a chance the whole structure can slowly collapse. That's what's happening to your limiter right now."
Kael shot to his feet and tried to walk forward, but the invisible wall still held him back. He pushed harder, frustration rising.
Mako burst into laughter. "Silly. It won't break right this second, but it will eventually."
If I ever get out of here, I'm definitely killing this guy, Kael thought, irritated by the carefree sound of Mako's laughter.
They fell into the same routine as before — eating, talking, slowly getting to know each other. It was a strange alliance, born from necessity, but it felt oddly natural.
Mako was from the Veldric Reaches far in the south of Eryndor. He had awakened his tempest attribute at fifteen, three years ago. His biological father, a textile trader, had died of a lung illness when Mako was eleven. Two years later his mother remarried a man Mako only described as "functional." At fifteen he left home — not in some dramatic escape, but simply because he had reached the legal age to do so. He hadn't been back since.
Days passed.
Kael kept testing the limiter that trapped him in the loop, pushing against it every day. After some time, he finally felt progress — he managed to move half an inch further than before. Mako had been right.
I'll be able to leave this hellhole soon, Kael told himself.
Mako had grown quieter over the past few days. He spent most of his time writing in his book or reading passages aloud to himself in a distant part of the ruins. Kael never asked what he was writing, and Mako never offered to explain. The mystery itched at the back of Kael's mind, but he chose to stay optimistic.
He looked up at the unchanging blue sky.
"Hahaha… you fuckass sky. Looks like you're not getting my corpse after all," he laughed. The sky, as always, remained indifferent.
Two more days passed.
The constant, irritating hum and pulses from the tattoo on Kael's shoulder suddenly stopped — as if someone had simply switched them off. Kael tried moving like he did every morning…
…and this time, he could.
It felt like a massive weight had been lifted off his entire body. The loop was gone. He could walk freely. Mako noticed immediately but didn't ask the obvious question. He simply smiled, congratulated him, and wrote something in his book.
"Took ya long enough," Mako said, standing up from where he'd been sitting.
"So… what now?" he asked.
Kael hesitated. He had never truly believed he would escape this place alive. He hadn't let himself think about what came after.
"My late Aunt once said the city of Vrinhelm was beautiful," he answered quietly.
"Vrinhelm?" Mako raised an eyebrow. "That city is basically run by House Vreyne — the High Concord's arm. You sure that's the best idea? The place is crawling with Ashen Host. It's dangerous, and you don't even have a tempest attribute or any real combat skills."
"It's the only place I know," Kael said firmly. "And it's the only place I'm going."
Mako sighed. "Suit yourself. As for me, I'm more interested in places with strong tempest will activity, and Vrinhelm isn't one of them. Maybe I'll swing by once I'm done with my own business. Since we're both heading north anyway, we should move quickly. We don't want to linger here any longer than we have to."
They gathered their things in silence. Kael's backpack felt strangely light now — he only had the dagger and a few pieces of jewelry left. Mako shouldered his own pack and kicked dirt over the remains of their fire. Together they started walking north, passing more crumbled ruins.
When Kael glanced back one last time to say goodbye to the place that had nearly broken him…
…it was gone.
The small camp they had made had completely vanished, as if it had never existed. Only the sky remained as witness.
It seems only the sky can bear witness, Kael thought as they kept walking.
After several hours they came across something completely different from the rest of the Nimbra Ruins — a massive, unnatural depression in the landscape. Crumbled onyx structures sat inside it, arranged in a strange circular pattern. In the very center rose a tall, imposing onyx pillar that caught the sunlight and cast a long, watchful shadow across the crater.
It looked like something enormous had fallen from the sky and smashed into the earth, creating this strange formation.
"Are we really going to cross that?" Kael asked, hesitation clear in his voice. Every instinct screamed that the place was dangerous.
Mako pulled out a small spyglass and studied the depression. "It's the shortest route. Monsters don't usually stay in the Nimbra Ruins for long. Going around would waste too much time."
Kael didn't like it, but he also didn't want to risk another loop. He followed Mako down into the crater.
Inside, the air felt wrong. Cold gusts of wind howled between the massive structures. Pale, tattered cloth draped over nearly every broken pillar they passed, fluttering like ghostly flags.
Kael kept his dagger in hand, every muscle tense.
"What did Nullveil show you?" he asked quietly.
"It's quiet," Mako replied.
Kael didn't push further. He stared up at the enormous onyx structures surrounding them. They were easily a hundred times larger than anything he had seen in the outer ruins. Intricate designs and glowing white runes covered their surfaces, humming faintly with power.
What kind of monster could have built this? Kael wondered. Not even the tallest giant could move stones this size.
They pressed deeper until they reached the heart of the depression. The massive central pillar loomed over them like a silent guardian, its base spreading outward like thick roots that disappeared into the earth. Nearby sat a half-sunken altar encircled by the same root-like structures. It pulsed with tempest will, drawing energy from the air itself.
"Fascinating…" Kael whispered, caught between awe and unease. He wondered what kind of people had built this place and what purpose it had once served.
"What in Eryndor happened here?" Mako muttered.
"Scary… but beautiful," Kael said.
They kept moving and eventually reached the far side of the crater.
Clunk—!
Kael's foot struck something hard beneath the soil. The ground here wasn't as dry and cracked as the rest of the ruins. He knelt down, brushed away dirt, and pulled out a long, old, heavily rusted pole blade.
"Ughh… what an awful thing," Mako said, wrinkling his nose.
"Maybe I can sell it later," Kael said, examining the weapon.
"Yeah, it might fetch you a few."
Kael strapped the pole blade to his backpack and they continued on.
After what felt like hours, they finally reached the edge of the Nimbra Ruins. The distorted sky and the normal sky met in a sharp, unnatural line.
They had made it out.
They stepped into the Hurton Forest that bordered the ruins.
"Finally!" Mako shouted, throwing his arms up. "I'm never doing that again."
Kael didn't shout. He just stood there, breathing in air that finally felt real.
I'm free… I actually escaped my purgatory.
Mako turned to him. "Well, Kael… looks like this is where we go our separate ways."
"I guess so."
They bumped fists — firm, simple, no words needed. Then they turned and walked in opposite directions without exchanging any further information.
Kael looked up.
Three moons hung in the night sky above Eryndor.
Freedom, he thought. I'm free.