Kale was on his feet again, mostly recovered from the fight in the arena. His muscles still ached and his body was covered in bruises, but the worst of the pain had faded. He stretched, groaning slightly, as he adjusted his freshly cleaned tunic.

  Liliana hovered nearby. "Look at you, up and walking again. I was starting to think you were going to whine about being hurt forever."

  Kale shot her a look, rolling his shoulders to shake off the soreness. "You mean like you whined when I carried you around all day? I think I’ve earned a little sympathy."

  Liliana laughed. "Sympathy isn’t really my thing. Survival is. Which, by the way, you’re surprisingly bad at."

  Kale spread his arms wide, gesturing to himself. “What do you mean? I’m a master of survival! How many people would’ve survived what I’ve been through in just a couple of days?”

  Liliana scoffed. "Yes, thanks to me. You’re welcome by the way."

  “I’m starting to regret not leaving you at that altar.”

  “You’d be dead if you had.”

  “And right now, that’s sounding more and more appealing.”

  Before Liliana could respond, the door swung open, and Varrick entered the room. His usual sly smile was absent, replaced by a more serious expression. Arms crossed over his chest, he didn’t waste time with pleasantries.

  "We’ve got a problem, Xeroth’s followers know you’re here. It’s only a matter of time before they storm the estate. You can’t stay.”

  “So where do we go from here?" Kale asked.

  Varrick stepped aside, motioning to the figure behind him. A short young woman with muscular legs and striking turquoise hair tied into two ponytails stepped forward, a mischievous grin on her cute face. She couldn’t have been more than twenty years old and she carried a massive warhammer across her back like it weighed nothing. Her golden eyes sparkled with a mixture of amusement and excitement as she sized Kale up.

  "This is Rika," Varrick said. "She’s a titanbreaker, and she’ll be your guide, and bodyguard, from here on out. She’ll take you to someone who might be able to help with your... situation."

  Kale blinked, looking her up and down. "What’s a titanbreaker?"

  Rika grinned, stepping forward and giving Kale a playful punch on the shoulder. "I’m your muscle, pretty boy. Heard you were in need of some real strength." She glanced at Liliana and let out a chuckle. "Looks like you could definitely use a hand—or two."

  Liliana scowled, “How could this child possibly protect us from anything?”

  “Don’t worry, floating head, I’ll keep you both in one piece. Babysitting’s not my usual gig, but Varrick’s paying me enough to make an exception. If he’d told me you were this cute,” she winked at Kale, “I might’ve done it for free.”

  “And we’re just supposed to trust her?” Liliana said.

  Rika grinned again, unfazed by Liliana’s skepticism. "You’re not scared of a child are you, floating head?"

  Varrick ignored the banter. "She’ll take you to someone who might be able to help with your predicament. You’ll need her. Oh, and one more thing—"

  He snapped his fingers, and a couple of his men rolled in two large barrels.

  "These need to go to the same place. A little favor for me." His grin widened as he added, "And before you ask, no, you’re not allowed to look inside. Let’s just say curiosity doesn’t end well for those who indulge it."

  Kale glanced at the barrels, curiosity tickling the back of his mind, but he nodded slowly. "Right. No peeking."

  He exchanged a wary glance with Liliana, then Varrick added, "Oh, and one more thing, don’t forget who helped you. Put in a good word for me with Aeloria, will you?"

  "Always something up your sleeve, isn’t there?" Liliana said.

  Varrick smiled, giving a small bow before turning to leave them with Rika. "Safe travels."

  ***

  They were soon packed and ready, a sturdy horse-drawn wagon waiting for them. The barrels were securely fastened in the back, while Rika and Kale took the bench seat up front. The horses snorted, their breath visible in the crisp morning air as Rika took the reins.

  “Get comfortable, pretty boy,” Rika said with a grin, nudging Kale as the wagon began to rumble forward. “We’ve got a long road ahead.”

  Kale looked back, his eyes lingering on the barrels for a moment before shaking his head.

  "Don’t even think about it," Liliana warned.

  "I wasn’t going to—"

  "Sure you weren’t."

  ***

  The wagon rattled along the dirt road, the city of Harrow's Reach fading behind them as open countryside sprawled ahead. The horses trotted steadily, the cart bouncing over small rocks and bumps. Kale adjusted himself on the bench beside Rika, his body still aching from the fight.

  "So, how’d you end up working for Varrick?" Kale asked, casting a sideways glance at Rika.

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  Rika smiled, her hands steady on the reins. "He hired me to be the muscle, obviously. And besides," she tilted her head, her hair bouncing, "I'm from the area we're heading to. Makes me the perfect guide."

  "And where exactly is that?" Kale asked.

  "Bjarnholl." Rika said.

  "Of course you're an earthborn." Liliana said.

  Rika snorted, flashing a grin. "The golden eyes and turquoise hair didn’t give it away?"

  Kale wanted to ask what an earthborn was but he did not feel like getting yelled at again.

  "Aren’t you a little short for an earthborn?" Liliana asked.

  Rika barked a laugh. "That’s rich, coming from a floating head. You don’t even come up to my knee."

  Liliana scowled. "I’ve taken down enemies five times your size, little girl."

  Rika grinned wider. "Size doesn’t matter when you’ve got skill. But don’t worry, I’ll protect you."

  Kale chuckled, enjoying the exchange between the two women, but kept his mouth shut, not wanting to draw either of their fire.

  “So,” Rika said, her golden eyes gleaming with curiosity as she glanced at Kale. “What’s your deal, pretty boy? You don’t exactly scream ‘blade-wielding god warrior.’ How’d you end up in all this?”

  Kale sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Honestly? It wasn’t by choice.” He looked out at the road, his mind drifting back to his old life. “I’m just a guy from a small village. I had a simple life. Good parents, quiet days. I’d spend most of my time fishing or helping out around town. It wasn’t much, but it was peaceful.”

  Kale chuckled bitterly. “One minute, I’m minding my own business. Next thing I know, I’m in some dungeon, fighting monsters and trying not to get killed. Now I’m a bladeweaver, apparently.”

  Rika whistled. “A bladeweaver, huh? Shiiiiiit. So, what’s it like?”

  “Terrifying.”

  Rika grinned. “I like you already.”

  Liliana rolled her eyes. “Great, now there’s two of them.”

  Kale sighed, leaning back as the carriage rocked along the road, wondering how long it would take before someone would try to kill him again.

  “So,” Kale started, “how do you handle this life? Being a mercenary, facing danger all the time? Doesn’t it ever get to you? Aren’t you afraid of dying?”

  Rika let the reins rest in her lap for a moment, her eyes on the horizon. “When it’s my time to return to the earth so be it. From the earth we are pulled, to the earth we return. After a while, we come back—same soul, different body. But until then I’ll make the world shake.”

  “So you just… get reborn?” Kale asked.

  Rika’s gaze didn’t waver. “You don’t come back the same. No memories, no levels. You start from scratch, but the strength you built, the endurance you gained, that stays. Whatever life you had before? Gone. You come back as someone new.”

  Kale sat in silence for a moment, absorbing that. “So you’re not afraid because… it’s not really the end for you?”

  “I still die, Kale. Everything I’ve done—gone, wiped clean. But that’s the way it is. Clinging to life doesn’t stop death. All I can do is make every moment count, leave my mark before I’m pulled back to start again.”

  Kale couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. His life had been simple, peaceful, even. Aeloria’s dagger had changed everything, dragging him into a world of constant danger and suffocating responsibility. To live like Rika, unburdened by the fear of finality, seemed like freedom. But was it?

  He turned to Liliana, whose expression had grown more guarded, a subtle tension creeping into her features.

  “What about you?” Rika asked. “You’re not exactly the poster child for sunshine and rainbows. Nobility, right? Born with a silver spoon in your mouth, but still… angry. What’s your story?”

  Liliana’s red eyes flicked toward Rika. “You think I had it easy because I was born into wealth?”

  “Didn’t you?” Rika asked, her tone almost challenging. “You seem like the type who had everything handed to you. I bet you even studied at that big scary tower. Probably head of the class, too.”

  Liliana’s gaze hardened. “I earned my power. Val Halloram’s Ascendancy doesn’t care who you are or how much your family has. It’s the most brutal place to study magic, especially blood magic. If you don’t learn fast, you won’t last long.”

  "Sounds dramatic. What, they fail a test and get sent home crying?" Rika said.

  "Val Halloram’s Ascendancy isn’t a place for the weak, little girl. It’s a spire of stone and iron, built high into the jagged cliffs, overlooking nothing but the endless black sea below. It’s always cold, always dark. The wind howls through the cracks in the stone, like it’s trying to tear the very life out of you. From the moment you step inside, you’re alone."

  She paused, her gaze distant, like she was back there again. “The entrance hall is lined with names. Thousands, etched into the stone—students who didn’t survive the first trials. Their names remain, but only as failures. You survive, or your name becomes just another mark on the wall, an eternal reminder of your incompetence.”

  Rika raised an eyebrow but said nothing, her grin replaced by something more thoughtful.

  "In my first week, they had us face horrors pulled from Runom’s Departure. Creatures trapped between life and death, twisted by the journey. There were no instructions, no guidance. Just you and the thing they pulled through the veil. The only rule was simple: kill it before it kills you."

  Kale frowned, imagining the scene. "No help? At all?"

  Liliana’s smile was thin and humorless. "Help? There’s no help at Val Halloram. The instructors watch from above, perched in balconies like vultures, waiting to see who falls. And when someone does, when someone screams for mercy or crumbles under the weight of the magic they can’t control, their bodies aren’t buried. They’re used. Necromancers raise them for the next class to practice on. If you fail, you become a tool for others to hone their skills."

  "That’s fucked up." Rika said.

  "Second chances are for the weak," Liliana said. "Magic isn’t some gentle force you control with willpower and words. It’s alive. It fights back. If you can’t bend it to your will, it’ll consume you.

  The tower is always cold. Not just from the wind off the cliffs, but from the magic. Blood magic especially. It clings to the walls, leaving a damp chill that seeps into your bones. Every step feels like you’re walking on the edge of death. The air tastes metallic. Students lie down at night wondering if they’ll wake up. Some don’t.”

  Liliana paused, her expression hardening. "Most of the students didn’t survive the first year. Only a handful made it to the second. By then, it wasn’t about learning anymore. It was about climbing over the bodies of your classmates to reach the top."

  Kale’s stomach churned. “That’s… horrible.”

  Liliana’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “Horrible, yes. But effective. The weak are culled. Those of us who survived… we became something else. Power isn’t given. It’s taken, with blood.”

  Kale remained silent, letting her words sink in. He hadn’t known this side of Liliana, the part of her forged in that brutal, unforgiving place. His own upbringing felt like a different world entirely—two loving parents, a quiet village, nothing more than simple, peaceful days. What she described was a nightmare.

  Rika, still listening intently, finally spoke. "How’d you make it through all that?"

  "I didn’t just survive it. I thrived. I earned my power through blood and sacrifice. I became one of the strongest. That’s why I’m here now. Not because of who my parents were, not because anything was handed to me. But because I tore power from the hands of those who were too weak to wield it."

  The wagon rattled on in silence for a moment, the mood having shifted. Kale stole a glance at Liliana, realizing for the first time just how far she had come, and just how ruthless she had to be to survive. A pang of pity struck him. She hadn’t known love or care like he had. Everything she had, everything she was, she’d fought for, tooth and nail. He couldn’t help but feel a strange admiration for both women. Liliana, who had endured so much and emerged powerful but scarred, and Rika, who faced life with a reckless confidence he found both impressive and a little unnerving. He realized that, despite everything, he was learning something from them—strength came in different forms.