The fire crackled between us, sending flickering shadows across the ruined walls of the tomb. Scarlett leaned forward, resting her forearms against her knees, her crimson eyes glowing in the dim light. The weight of everything we'd been through pressed heavily on us both.
She took a slow breath. "There's something you need to understand before we go any further."
I shifted slightly, feeling the soreness still lingering in my body from the fight with Ren. My ribs ached, my muscles burned, but none of that mattered right now. Scarlett wasn't the type to waste words.
I gestured for her to continue.
She leaned back, exhaling slowly. "The world you knew before you woke up here? It's gone. Whatever you think you understand about the way things work—it's time to forget it. Because this?" She motioned around us, to the wasteland stretching beyond the tomb's ruins. "This isn't the same world you once lived in."
Her voice was steady, but there was an edge to it. Something bitter. Something hardened by years of experience.
I waited, letting her speak at her own pace.
"There are only four continents left," she began. "Chaldora, Arcturus, Dracos, and NuTerra. Each one is different… but they all have one thing in common—" she paused, her expression darkening. "They belong to the Dracus."
My jaw tightened at the mention of them. I had seen what they were capable of. They weren't just beasts—they were calculated monsters, intelligent, ruthless, and completely in control.
Scarlett continued, her tone sharp, her words measured.
"Chaldora is their empire's heart. It's where their rule is strongest. No one questions their laws, no one defies them. Humans there? They don't live. They survive. They do what they're told, or they disappear."
Her fingers curled into fists. "Arcturus used to be a place of refuge—until The Bleeding Frost. Now? It's nothing but a frozen graveyard. No one knows what caused it, but the cold isn't normal. It moves. It hunts."
I frowned at that. Something unnatural, even beyond the Dracus? That wasn't comforting.
"Dracos." She said the name like it left a foul taste in her mouth. "The birthplace of those things. The ones we fight now? They're nothing compared to what's still buried there. No one who's gone to Dracos has ever come back."
I filed that information away. If the Dracus we fought were considered weak compared to what was out there… I didn't even want to think about what resided in their homeland.
Scarlett finally looked me dead in the eyes. "And then there's NuTerra."
She gestured around us. "This wasteland, this ruined world? This is NuTerra. The last place where resistance still exists. But even here, the Dracus are winning."
She let that sit for a moment before continuing. "The Underground is our only hope. It's the last true city, buried beneath the ruins of the old world. The Dracus know about it, but they can't find it. Not yet."
Her gaze was unwavering. "That's where I'm headed."
I nodded slowly. "And how far is it?"
Scarlett exhaled. "Far. Lower continent. Even if we don't run into trouble, it'll take weeks, maybe longer."
I absorbed everything she had told me, my mind calculating the journey ahead. I wasn't stupid—I knew I wasn't ready for something like that. I could barely hold my own against Ren. If I went with Scarlett, I'd just be a liability.
And I knew she was thinking the same thing.
"So," I said finally, "I guess this is where we part ways."
She didn't react right away. Then, after a moment, she gave a slow nod. "It's safer for both of us if we travel separately."
She was right. Together, we were easier to track. The Dracus wanted her just as much as they wanted me. If they caught one of us, they'd use us to bait the other.
I smirked slightly. "Try not to die before we meet again."
Scarlett scoffed, shaking her head. "I should be saying that to you."
We stood there for a moment, the weight of unspoken words hanging between us. There was no need for anything more. We both understood.
She turned first, pulling her hood over her head and stepping into the darkness. I watched her disappear, her silhouette swallowed by the ruined landscape.
I was alone now.
But I wasn't afraid of that.
I turned in the opposite direction, heading toward the wastelands. I didn't have a destination. I just needed to move. To get stronger. To prepare.
But something didn't feel right.
A chill ran down my spine, an instinct deeper than thought.
I wasn't alone.
I kept walking, my pace steady, my breathing controlled. But every step I took, I felt it—the presence of something watching me.
The feeling lingered, crawling against my skin like an unseen predator studying its prey.
I stopped.
Nothing.
The wastelands were vast, the horizon stretching endlessly before me. No movement. No sound. Just the whisper of the wind against the ruined earth.
And yet—I could feel them.
They weren't close. Not yet. But they were there.
A recon team.
The Dracus were tracking me.
I exhaled slowly, forcing my muscles to relax, my expression neutral.
If they were just watching, that meant they weren't ready to strike yet. They were gathering information. Figuring out where I was headed.
Which meant I had a choice.
I could run.
Or I could make sure they never left this wasteland alive.
I let a smirk tug at the corner of my lips.
Let them watch.
They had no idea what was coming for them.
The wind howled across the barren wasteland, whipping dust into the air like ghostly remnants of a forgotten civilization. I stood motionless, letting the sensation of being watched settle deep into my bones.
I wasn't imagining it.
There was something out there.
I turned my gaze toward the ruined landscape stretching endlessly before me. Shadows danced along the cracked remains of structures that had long since collapsed under the weight of time. The air was dry, laced with the faint scent of scorched earth and decay.
I adjusted my grip on Voidscar, the weight of the dagger a steady presence in my hand. If they were watching, I wanted them to know I wasn't afraid.
I let my posture relax, appearing unaware, unconcerned—bait.
Then, I moved.
Not away. Not in retreat.
I walked toward them.
I kept my movements casual, measured, as if I were simply continuing on my journey, but every instinct inside me was coiled tight, my senses sharp.
Step by step, I listened.
The wind wasn't the only sound out here.
There was something else. Subtle shifts in the air. Distant breathing. The slight crunch of sand displaced by careful movements.
They were good. Trained. Professional.
But not good enough.
The Dracus were not mindless beasts. The ones I had fought before—the grunts, the hunters, the executioners—were fodder compared to what was watching me now. These were different. A recon unit.
They weren't here to kill me. Not yet.
They were here to observe. To track my movements. To report back to something—or someone.
Which meant they weren't expecting me to turn the hunt on them.
A slow smirk crept onto my lips. Good.
I veered slightly off course, angling toward a collection of half-buried ruins in the distance. My pace remained steady, unhurried, but my mind was already working through the possibilities.
How many?
What weapons?
How close were they willing to get?
As I reached the ruins, I knelt slightly, brushing my fingers against the broken stone. To anyone watching, it would look like I was simply catching my breath, maybe inspecting the remnants of whatever city had once stood here.
But in reality?
I was listening.
A slight shift of weight. A subtle breath, barely contained.
North. Close. Too close.
They had followed me in. They thought I hadn't noticed.
I let out a slow exhale, then rose to my feet. My next steps were careful, deliberate, leading me deeper into the ruins. The walls offered cover, blind spots. The terrain was uneven, full of dips and trenches.
Perfect.
I kept moving, ensuring that my shadow flickered unpredictably through the remnants of the structures. Then, I stopped—just for a second—long enough to let them close the distance.
Another breath. Another step.
And then—
I moved.
A burst of speed. A sharp pivot. Voidscar was in my grasp before my mind even processed the action. I turned sharply, driving my dagger forward toward the presence at my back.
Steel met steel.
A sharp clang echoed through the ruins as my blade met resistance—a curved, serrated weapon that had been meant for my throat.
I locked eyes with my pursuer.
Dracus.
But not one of the grunts I had fought before.
This one was faster. Leaner. Its armor was lightweight, built for stealth, not brute force. The dark, metallic plates that lined its body reflected no light, blending into the shadows.
A scout.
The Dracus let out a guttural snarl, pushing back against me, forcing space between us. It didn't attack immediately. It was studying me, reassessing now that I had turned the tables.
"You're not just some lost Runner, are you?" its voice rasped, filled with curiosity rather than outright hostility.
I rolled my shoulders, gripping Voidscar tighter. "Nope."
The Dracus tilted its head slightly. "Interesting."
I lunged.
It dodged, pivoting with unnatural agility, its tail whipping out toward me like a coiled whip. I ducked, feeling the rush of air as it barely missed my head.
The moment my feet hit the ground again, I pushed forward, pressing the attack. Voidscar lashed out in a tight arc, aiming for the exposed gap beneath its ribs. The Dracus twisted at the last second, avoiding a fatal strike but not fast enough to dodge completely.
The blade grazed its side, a thin line of blackened blood spilling onto the stone.
A low, amused growl rumbled from its throat. "You're fast."
I exhaled sharply. "You haven't seen anything yet."
The Dracus moved again, faster this time. It wasn't attacking recklessly. It was testing me, feeling out my weaknesses. A trained killer.
Which meant—
It wasn't alone.
I heard it before I saw it.
The whisper of movement behind me.
I dropped low just as another strike came from above—another Dracus, identical in build, its blade slicing through the air where my neck had been seconds ago.
Two of them.
A unit. Tracking me. Hunting me.
No.
Studying me.
I pushed back, putting distance between us, but they didn't advance immediately. They stood there, watching, calculating.
The first one smirked. "You're not an ordinary human."
The second one circled slightly. "And you're not registered."
I clenched my jaw. They knew.
They knew I didn't have an Interlogue.
I let out a slow breath, my mind racing. If they reported back, if they confirmed what I was…
No.
I couldn't let that happen.
I tightened my grip on Voidscar.
They weren't leaving here alive.
The first one's smirk widened, revealing sharp, jagged teeth. "Well then… this just got interesting."
The second one cracked its neck, its voice a low, taunting growl.
"Let's see what makes you so special."
They lunged.
And the real fight began.