The land changed quietly.
Not all at once nor dramatically. Just enough that I noticed before I understood why.
The ground stopped shifting underfoot. Roots no longer grabbed at our boots. The air felt lighter, thinner in a way that didn't press on the chest. Even the constant tension I'd learned to live with eased, just a little.
"We're close," Iris said.
No one celebrated.
In Aetherfall, relief was something you handled carefully.
The expanse began to open up, trees spacing farther apart, stone paths appearing beneath layers of dirt and moss. Old markers emerged along the route, worn smooth by time and passage. Some bore symbols I recognized from my reading. Trade routes. Neutral ground. Early settlement signs.
Ahead of us, figures appeared.
Other initate survivors.
Groups like ours, though rarely intact. Some limped. Some leaned on each other. Some walked in silence with eyes too sharp for people our age. I saw bandages stained through, weapons chipped, clothes torn and mended poorly.
A few groups were smaller than they should have been.
Some were alone.
We exchanged looks as we passed, quick assessments, unspoken acknowledgments. No hostility. No warmth either. Just the shared understanding that we had made it this far.
That alone meant something.
Then I saw it.
The town we are going to settle in.
It wasn't large. Not walled like a fortress, not sprawling like a city. A cluster of buildings nestled between a gentle rise and a shallow river, constructed from stone and wood that looked both familiar and subtly wrong. Roofs curved in ways that suggested adaptation to weather I hadn't experienced yet. Lanterns hung along the main path, already lit despite the daylight.
It looked… safe.
As safe as Aetherfall allowed.
Smoke curled from chimneys. I heard voices. Laughter, even.
My chest tightened.
We crossed an invisible boundary and something shifted again. The pressure vanished completely. The land released us.
At the entrance stood a figure waiting.
Human look, mostly.
Their posture was upright, relaxed, wearing simple layered clothing marked with a crest I recognized from orientation briefings. Fur-lined ears twitched atop their head, long and expressive, matching the faint tail that swayed behind them.
Beastkin. One of Aetherfall native.
Their smile was genuine.
"Welcome," they said, voice warm and practiced. "You're right on time for this year's crossing."
They glanced over us, eyes lingering briefly on bandages, on bloodstains that hadn't fully washed out, on faces drawn too tight.
"You did well," they added. "Please, come in. You're safe here."
Safe.
The word landed heavier than it should have.
People from other groups slowed, some stopping outright as if unsure whether to trust the invitation. Others stepped forward immediately, shoulders sagging the moment they crossed the threshold.
I followed Madison's group inside.
The town was alive.
Not bustling. Not loud. Just… lived in. Small shops lined the main path. A communal square sat near the center with benches, a well, and a notice board already crowded with postings. Children ran past us, laughing, tails flicking, ears bouncing. Some look perfectly human.
They didn't look afraid.
That alone felt unreal.
The beastkin guide continued speaking, explaining where we could rest, where supplies could be purchased, where initiates would be evaluated over the next few days. Their tone was calm, reassuring, as if this happened every year.
Because it did.
This place existed for us.
For people who survived the crossing.
I looked around at my group.
Everyone was tired. Wounded. Quiet.
Alive.
Madison walked beside us, expression unchanged, gaze drifting over the town with mild interest. The others unconsciously kept close, forming a loose perimeter without meaning to.
As we were guided deeper into the settlement, I felt something I hadn't felt since entering Aetherfall.
A pause.
Not an ending.
Not a victory either.
Just a moment where the world wasn't actively trying to kill me.
And for now, that was enough.
~~~
We were ushered into the largest building in the town, a wide hall that sat at the center like a quiet anchor.
From the outside it looked old, almost austere. Thick stone walls. Tall arched windows. Heavy wooden doors reinforced with metal bands worn smooth by time. Inside, the age was still there, but it had been… adapted.
Soft light floated overhead in steady orbs, humming faintly. Lines of glowing script ran along the walls like veins, pulsing gently. At intervals, crystal spheres rested on metal stands, each one flickering with images and text. Communication tools, I realized. Not wires. Not screens. Something else entirely.
Magic, but refined. Civilized.
Long benches filled the hall, already occupied by other groups who had arrived before us. Some leaned forward in exhaustion. Others sat stiffly, eyes darting around. A few were already drinking from small glass vials handed out by Aetherfall attendants.
One was pressed into my hand.
The liquid inside shimmered faintly, pale blue, cool to the touch.
"Healing vial," the attendant said. "Drink it all. It won't fix everything, but it will help."
I didn't hesitate.
The liquid burned going down, not painfully, but sharply, like cold water poured into tired muscles. Warmth spread through my chest, then outward. The ache in my legs dulled. The pounding behind my eyes eased.
Around me, others exhaled in relief as the vials did their work.
Groups clustered together, instinctively staying close to the people they had crossed with. No one mingled. No one joked. Bonds forged under threat didn't loosen easily.
Madison's group settled together near one side of the hall. She stood rather than sat, hands loosely folded, gaze drifting upward toward the floating lights. The Eight remained close, though less tightly now, like a habit beginning to relax.
An Aetherfall official stepped onto the raised platform at the front.
They were human, mostly, though faint markings traced their skin in patterns that shifted slowly when they moved. Their voice carried easily through the hall without strain.
"Welcome to your first residence," they said. "You have crossed the expanse and arrived intact. That alone qualifies you to be here."
A pause, allowing the weight of that to settle.
"This hall exists for one purpose," they continued. "Transition."
Behind them, one of the crystal spheres brightened, projecting shifting symbols and diagrams.
"You will not remain in your current groups," the official said calmly. "The crossing is over. You can now do thing as you please without considering anyone, you're free to roam our world on your own."
Murmurs rippled through the hall.
I felt my chest tighten.
"You will soon meet Aetherfall residents trained to analyze your performance, not just your visible stats," the official went on. "Your decisions. Your reactions. Your adaptability. These matter more than raw numbers."
They looked around the room.
"Say your goodbyes if you need to. Once you leave this hall, you will begin operating independently, unless of course you still want to work with each other, no rules against that."
Silence followed.
"Your stats will not remain as they are," the official added. "They will be adjusted. Reformed. Reinterpreted."
Stat improvement had always been one of the reasons I came here. In our world, growth was shallow and slow. Yearly updates barely moved numbers like mine, and with luck this bad, most paths were closed before they even opened. Staying there would have meant stagnation. A lifetime trapped at the same limits, no matter how much effort I put in.
Aetherfall was different.
Here, stats could change in meaningful ways. Not easily. Not quickly. But genuinely.
I knew how hard it was. I had read enough reports to understand that growth here was not handed out. Even high-rank Crossers, people who survived long enough to be respected, took years to add a mere ten points to a single stat. Progress came from accumulation, not repetition. From surviving encounters, solving problems, making decisions under pressure. What people called growth was really the slow build of insight, risk paid for in blood and loss.
Nothing was farmed. Nothing was given.
Every gain had a cost.
That understanding didn't discourage me. It grounded me.
If I stayed in my old world, I would never move forward. Here, even painfully slow progress was still progress. Even failure left marks the System remembered.
I tightened my fingers around the empty vial.
This place wasn't kind.
But it was honest.
And for someone like me, that was enough reason to be here.
"The expanse changes people," they said. "The System recognizes this. Growth will reflect what you endured and how you responded. Some will gain potential they never had. Others will lose what they relied on."
A few people swallowed hard.
"You will then be guided toward functions that suit you," the official said. "You may accept one. You may refuse. But understand that choosing opens pathways. Skills. Traits. Development. Refusal limits you."
I glanced at my group.
Rowan listened quietly, arms crossed. Iris stared at the projected diagrams, expression thoughtful. Mireya's hands were clasped tightly in front of her. Owen exhaled slowly, shoulders finally lowering. Felix leaned back against a pillar, eyes closed.
Madison remained unchanged.
The official's voice softened slightly.
"This town exists to ease your entry, not protect you forever. Aetherfall is vast. Dangerous. Unforgiving. But it also rewards those who understand themselves."
They stepped back.
"You have tonight and tomorrow morning. Rest. Eat. Speak if you must. When the bells sound, you will be called one by one."
The crystal lights dimmed slightly, signaling the end of the briefing.
People began to move. Some stood immediately, turning toward their teammates. Others stayed seated, staring at the floor, as if bracing themselves for separation.
"Before you leave this hall," the officer said, raising a hand as people began to stand, "there is something many of you misunderstand."
The murmurs quieted.
"The System you know," they continued, voice steady, "is not the System you will work with here."
Someone near the front frowned. "Isn't it the same one? It shows our stats."
The officer shook their head. "What exists in your world is a surface framework. A regulatory layer designed for stability, fairness, and control. It limits growth because your world requires limits."
They gestured toward the floating crystals along the walls.
"Aetherfall does not."
A few people shifted uneasily.
"When you accept an Aetherfall function," the officer went on, "the System reorganizes. Not upgrades. Reorganizes. Your existing structure is broken down and reassembled into something compatible with this world."
I felt my spine straighten.
"Stats are recalculated," they said. "Growth rules change. What once took years may take less. What once came easily may become impossible. Your world's System tracks potential. Aetherfall's System responds to action."
"What if we don't choose a job?" someone asked.
"Then the reformation does not complete," the officer replied. "You remain partially bound to your original framework. You can survive. You can explore. But you will never fully adapt."
Another pause.
"The moment you accept a function," they said, "your old System stops being primary. It does not disappear, but it becomes secondary. Supportive. Historical."
Their gaze swept the hall.
"This is why the choice matters. Once made, you cannot go back to how things were."
Silence followed.
I swallowed.
Two Systems.
One designed to keep people safe.
The other designed to see what they became when safety was removed.
And somewhere between them, I would be rebuilt.
~~~
We stepped out of the hall one by one.
At the threshold, an attendant pressed a small leather pouch into each of our hands. It jingled softly when I closed my fingers around it.
"Just a little beginner support from us," they said. "Spend it wisely. Or don't. It's yours."
Inside are gold. Real gold. Heavier than I expected.
The surviving joiner didn't linger. He nodded once to the group, muttered a quick thanks that sounded more like relief than gratitude, and walked off without looking back. No drama. No speeches. Just distance put between him and the people he had crossed the expanse with.
I understood that feeling too well.
I hesitated, then followed Madison's group as they moved into the town. No one told me to stay. No one told me to leave either. So I walked a few steps behind, unsure of my place, listening to the sounds of a settlement that didn't feel like a trap.
They weren't in a hurry.
We passed narrow streets paved with stone worn smooth by years of use. Shops stood open, their owners unbothered by the arrival of exhausted Initiates. The air smelled of baked bread, oil, and clean water. Actual clean water.
I took it all in.
The people here were a mix.
Beastkin with ears, tails, horns, or fur moved easily among those who looked fully human. No one stared. No one treated the differences as unusual. I spotted Crossers from my world too, easily identifiable by their posture and the way they carried themselves.
They weren't Initiates anymore.
Veterans. That was the word most reports used.
Their armor didn't match anything from home. Layered plates, flexible joints, materials that looked half-organic. Weapons rested at their sides with the ease of familiarity. They walked like people who had learned how not to die.
And they were noticed.
Other beings moved through the town as well. Not from my world. Not from Aetherfall either. I recognized some shapes from old documents. Long-lived folk. Deepborn. Sky-touched. Travelers from realms that intersected here the way rivers met.
Crossers was too narrow a word for all of them.
Delvers, I thought. Or maybe Walkers?
Hunters still felt wrong to be used.
In this place, everyone who survived beyond their home realm was simply a Wayfarer.
The residents of the town moved comfortably among them all. Shopkeepers wore layered clothing that resembled old medieval styles, but everything was clean, well-fitted, practical. Linen underlayers. Proper boots. Cloaks that actually kept weather out. It was a world that had adapted without clinging to filth and misery.
Madison walked ahead, unhurried, gaze drifting from storefront to street corner as if she were sightseeing. The Eight spread naturally around her, not tight, not loose, just present.
I followed, uncertain what I was supposed to do next.
Find an inn or hotel if there's any. Rest. Prepare.
Or wait to be told where I belonged.
The gold pouch felt warm in my hand.
For the first time since entering Aetherfall, the path forward wasn't immediately trying to kill me.
That, somehow, made it harder to decide where to step next.
~~~
We found an inn near the center of town.
It rose three floors high, stone and timber balanced cleanly, wide windows open to let light and air pass through. It didn't feel ancient or decayed. It felt maintained. Lived in. The kind of place that expected guests to return.
The restaurant below was open and spacious, tables arranged with enough distance that no one felt crowded. Warm light drifted from hanging orbs, and the smell of cooked food settled deep into my stomach before I realized how empty it was.
Everyone chose their own seats without discussion.
I took a table near the side, instinctively away from the center. My gold pouch sat heavy in my pocket. I hadn't decided what to do with it yet.
Then someone pulled out the chair across from me.
Madison sat down.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
"This is goodbye," she said calmly, as if commenting on the weather. "For now."
I nodded, unsure how to respond.
"We'll see each other again," she continued. "Aetherfall is smaller than it looks when paths overlap." Her gaze met mine. "Don't act like a stranger when that happens. Not with me. Not with them."
"I won't," I said. "And thank you." I meant it.
She reached across the table and took my hand or rather my wrist.
I stiffened slightly, surprised more than uncomfortable. Her fingers were soft, warm. Steady.
Without ceremony, she plucked a single strand of her long hair, dark and impossibly smooth, and tied it loosely around my wrist. It rested there like a thin bracelet.
I stared at it, bemused. "Wh-what is this?"
She tilted her head, as though what she did was normal. "Nothing you need to worry about."
"That doesn't help," I said, more disconcerted than ever.
Her lips curved faintly. "It's not supposed to."
Before I could press further, plates arrived. Bowls filled with steaming food set carefully on the table. The smell hit me all at once, rich and unfamiliar.
I hadn't realized how hungry I was until my hands were already moving.
I ate quickly at first, then slower, savoring each bite. The food was good. Better than good. Whatever it was, it filled something deeper than my stomach.
Madison ate quietly beside me, unhurried, expression neutral.
Somewhere between bites, I forgot about the hair tied around my wrist. Even until we all separated for the night rest.
That night, I slept alone in a small but clean room upstairs. A real bed. Fresh linens. A door that locked.
I slept hard.
When I woke the next morning, light was already streaming through the window.
Too much light.
I sat up, heart skipping, and checked the time. Late.
Downstairs, the inn was quieter. A few guest here and there but not enough to be called bustling.
I asked the attendant if he knew where the people I'm with the other day and got a polite nod. "They check out early. Says they want to be done with Assessment as soon."
Of course they do.
I stood there for a moment, letting it settle. So it really was goodbye, I still hope to see them around.
I turned back toward the stairs, then stopped. Something tugged at my attention as if finally remembering.
My wrist.
The strand of hair was gone.
In its place, just beneath the skin, a thin black line traced upward from my wrist, coiling slowly along my forearm like a vein that didn't belong there. It didn't hurt. It didn't pulse.
It just existed.
My breath caught.
"What the hell is this?" I muttered.
The line didn't move.
But for the first time since waking up, I felt like I wasn't entirely alone anymore.