---
But another part of him remembered his father's eyes in the merchant house. The promise. The one thing Sekhmet had chased for years.
Return at twenty.
Learn the truth about your mother.
If he broke that promise, what then. Would the rings be cursed? Would his father know? Would it matter?
He was not sure. But he knew one thing.
He hated the idea of losing the only thread leading to his mother because he took the easy road.
Sekhmet clenched his fist, feeling the rings bite into his skin.
"Not yet," he muttered quietly, voice hard.
Then he added, as if speaking to the rings like they were stubborn animals, "Do not think I will thank you later."
He began walking again.
Tap… Tap… Tap…
The bat in his coat pocket stirred. It had been asleep for a long time, or at least it felt like a long time. Sekhmet felt a small warm movement against his chest, then a tiny sound.
"Batbatbat."
Sekhmet stopped, glanced down, then reached into his pocket carefully. He pulled the hatchling out into the sunlight. The bat blinked rapidly, its large red eyes reflecting the sky. It looked bewildered for half a second, then it opened its mouth.
"Batbatbatbat."
Sekhmet stared at it. The bat stared back. It looked like it had just woken from a nap, discovered it was outdoors, and immediately decided to complain about it.
Sekhmet's lips twitched.
"You are awake," he said quietly. "Congratulations. You are still small. Still loud. Still named after the noise you make."
"Batbatbat," the bat replied, as if offended.
Sekhmet sighed, then shifted his grip so the tiny creature sat on his palm. Its wings trembled slightly. It looked hungry again already, which was impressive given that it had just eaten an entire room's worth of orcs. Sekhmet suspected that was the problem with summons. They did not understand the economy.
He activated Blood Eye on the bat, partly to reassure himself and partly because he was starting to enjoy the convenience.
"Blood Eye."
[Unnamed Blood Bat-
Stage: Hatchling
Battle Power: 240
Status: Hungry
Progress: Slight growth detected.
Note: Feed higher-quality blood to accelerate evolution.]
Sekhmet narrowed his eyes.
"Two hundred forty.
It had grown."
Not much, but it had. The bat looked exactly the same size. Which meant either the system was lying, or the bat's potential was hidden inside its tiny body like a secret weapon.
Sekhmet held it closer.
"You grew," he said.
The bat blinked and offered its full opinion.
"Batbatbatbat."
Sekhmet snorted softly.
"That is not an explanation," he said. "That is a protest."
The bat flapped once, clumsy and adorable. The wing membrane glistened dark red in the sunlight, and the creature almost tipped off Sekhmet's palm.
Sekhmet steadied it with his thumb.
"Careful," he murmured. "If you fall and die, I will have to summon another one and listen to an entirely new set of complaints."
The bat responded enthusiastically.
"Batbatbatbat."
Sekhmet sighed again. He tucked it back into his pocket and continued walking.
He needed water. He needed shelter. He needed a direction. The sun might be up, but it would sink eventually, and night in the lower domain was a different type of cruelty. Predators that slept during the day woke with appetite and confidence.
He walked along a ridge, moving upward rather than down into the valley, because valleys collected danger like cups collected rain. He looked for signs of life that were not predatory. Birds. Insects. Anything that suggested water might be nearby.
He found none.
Instead, he found bones.
Thin, cracked bones scattered among rocks. Some were old. Some were newer. Most had bite marks. The lower domain did not waste meat.
Sekhmet kept moving, the rings heavy on his fingers, his blood sword dissolving as he conserved energy. He did not want to drain himself before the first real fight.
Minutes stretched, and the landscape shifted gradually into rougher ground. The rock here turned darker, and small fissures ran through the earth like scars. Heat rose from the cracks, carrying the faint smell of sulfur. Sekhmet tasted it on the back of his tongue.
He paused near one fissure and looked down.
It was deep. Dark. Warm air rose like breath.
A faint sound came from within.
Scritch… Scritch…
Sekhmet's eyes narrowed. He stepped back.
That was something moving beneath the ground.
He did not like things that moved beneath the ground.
The last time he had gone underground for treasure, he ended up being force-fed blood god essence by an orc half-god.
He had learned a lesson.
He did not need a second one.
He turned away and walked faster, putting distance between himself and the fissure.
Then the system chimed again, not with a gift this time, but with a quiet advisory tone that made his skin prickle.
Ding!
[System Advisory-
Host hydration level: critical.
Projected performance reduction: increasing. Recommendation: locate a source within 01:00:00.]
Sekhmet's jaw tightened.
He did not need the system to tell him his mouth was dry. He did not need the system to tell him his throat felt like sandpaper. But he could not deny that seeing the words made the urgency sharper.
He forced himself to think. He had been wandering because he could not find the exit, but he had found the exit now. That meant he had a direction: outward. Still, outward in purgatory could mean walking into a dead end of cliffs.
He needed landmarks.
He climbed onto a higher outcrop, using the rock for leverage. The rings made his arms heavier, but he managed, gritting his teeth. When he reached the top, he scanned the horizon.
The view widened.
To the north, jagged peaks rose like teeth.
To the east, a strip of dark forest spread like spilled ink.
To the west, a broken plateau stretched under the sun, and in the distance he saw something faint.
A line of smoke.
Thin and grey, rising from beyond a ridge.