(Kisaya POV)
I watched him, and I still couldn't believe it. Even without spiritual energy… he was that strong. The sound of the air splitting as he swung. The way the ground broke beneath his feet when he tried to run. It was like watching a Chosen who had already deepened their pact twice.
Which meant… back when he lost control… was that just his physical strength.
Terrifying.
And impressive.
Once he learns to channel his energy, how fast will he become? How strong?
I remembered my own training. How long did it take me before I could run with it without stumbling? Every attempt drained me, left me gasping. Every step forward was slow, painful, earned.
What happened to him in those five years? The reports only started appearing a few weeks ago, so what about all the time before that? Everything happened so fast that I never even asked what he went through after leaving Uruk.
Does he remember anything?
Was Namur and Azel's report true? On the road, I'll make sure to ask him.
Looking closer, I noticed it. Taller. A little more mature. But it doesn't feel like five years have passed for him. Not in his body. Not in his face.
I let out a quiet sigh.
Then his voice, low and even: "I think that's enough for now. Not perfect… but enough."
I looked at him. Golden eyes. Black hair. That determined gaze. Still almost the same as always. Maybe just… a little colder.
I stood. "Shall we head for Sippar?"
He nodded. "Let's not waste another moment."
"Don't you want to eat something before we leave?" I asked.
He hesitated, just for a heartbeat, then shook his head. "We'll eat later."
…Is he okay?
What am I saying?
Of course he's not okay.
I placed a hand over my chest, fingers tightening, then reached for my spear.
"Let's go. We'll reach Sippar in two days, maybe less, if we rest in shifts."
I slung my spear across my back and pulled the sack over one shoulder as I turned northwest.
"Start running" I told him. "I'll keep your pace."
Ereshgal gave a short nod. Then he pushed off the ground, too hard. The earth cracked under his first step, leaving a shallow crater behind. His body surged forward, fast enough that anyone else would've lost him.
I followed, channeling my energy into my legs. Warmth spread through them, light and steady, and I kept close on his heels. He was faster than I expected. If I hadn't deepened my pact, I probably wouldn't have been able to keep up.
At this rate… we might reach Sippar in just one day.
(Ereshgal POV)
I couldn't believe how fast we were moving. The world thinned at the edges, distance folding like paper beneath our feet. I glanced at Kisaya. Violet spiritual energy covered her legs in thin layers, steady with every step.
Hours passed, but I felt no fatigue, my body refused to tire. We had pushed far, every step carrying us closer to Sippar.
What did grow was the feeling in my throat. Worse with each mile. Thirst? Hunger? Something between the two? I couldn't explain it. I tried to hold it back, but it kept pressing deeper, harder to ignore.
I told myself it was normal—food, fuel, the body asking for the same as always. I hadn't eaten a single thing since waking. It had to be that. It had to.
At that moment, Kisaya slowed. Her breathing turned shallow.
"Can we rest a bit?" she asked, sweat gathering at her brow.
I nodded. "How much time do you need to recover?"
She drew a bracelet and lifted it slightly, the faint glow pulsing as it caught the light.
"Not long. This Divine Artifact helps me recharge."
I blinked. "You have one of those?"
Kisaya arched a brow, almost offended. "Of course, what did you expect?"
A laugh slipped out of me, short and dry. "Fair point. You're right." I hesitated, then added "Do you happen to have anything to eat? I'm… feeling a bit hungry."
She gave me a quick glance, half a smile tugging at her lips, as if relieved the question was so ordinary.
"Of course, I packed some food just in case." She reached into her sack, and pulled out a block of cheese, wrapped simply in cloth.
I laughed, more a sound than a mirth. "Cheese?"
She shrugged, proud and practical. "Perks of being chosen. And a captain."
I jabbed at her with a grin to provoke her. She swatted my arm in answer, like old times.
I bit down.
The texture hit me first—dense, dead.
Not the kind of dead you get from stale bread or dried meat, but something deeper, wrong at the root. It was as if my mouth had been filled with dust disguised as food.
I waited for the taste, for the faintest trace of what I remembered… It never came. My tongue pushed against it, searching, but the only thing I found was absence. An emptiness so stark it made my jaw tighten.
Still, I forced it down.
The moment it touched my throat, everything collapsed.
My chest seized, my throat spasmed tight around it. My whole body screamed at once. Even though I didn't breathe, a cough ripped out of me, brutal and harsh, scraping my throat raw.
I gagged. My hands flew to my neck, nails digging against skin without thought. My body bucked forward, trying to wrench it out, as if it knew before my mind could catch up that this thing didn't belong inside me.
Kisaya rushed to my side, clearly unsure how to help. Her hand struck against my back, firm, almost desperate, as if force alone could steady me. Another convulsion wracked through me. I retched, hard enough that my ribs ached, and the cheese finally came up, wet and bitter, spat into the dirt at my feet.
I stayed bent over. My throat burned. Every swallow felt like shards catching, raw and wrong.
When the last of it was out, I felt the change immediately. The tightness in my chest eased.
The aftertaste lingered, sour, clinging to my tongue, to the back of my mouth. My stomach turned at it, a warning carved deep into my nerves. My body had rejected it completely, as if it had been poison.
I couldn't even eat. The simplest human act, stripped from me.
Kisaya's eyes went wide with worry.
She didn't speak at first, just stared at the mess, then at me, her throat tight as if she'd swallowed her own fear.
When she finally spoke, her voice was unsteady, grasping for something—anything—that might explain it.
"Maybe… maybe it was just the cheese" she said, almost like a last hope.
I closed my eyes and whispered "No. It's not the food."
Why did my body react like that? Why reject it so violently?
If I can't eat food anymore… then what am I supposed to live on?
What am I becoming?
My hand found my throat. The hunger didn't fade, it only grew, gnawing deeper with every moment.
"How do I make this go away?" I asked. The words slipped out small, stripped bare, and terrified.
Kisaya knelt and took my hand in both of hers. The moment her fingers touched mine, they trembled, but she didn't let go.
"I don't know" she said softly. "But we'll find out. When we reach Sippar, we'll search the temples, the tablets… something there must hold a clue."
I wanted to believe her. Some small part of me still holding to faith, reaching for that thin string.
Her grip tightened suddenly. I looked at her and caught her eyes—worried, tense. She spoke, her voice soft.
"Try to sit down, Eresh. Rest for a moment."
I did as she asked, lowering myself to the ground. Only when the strain left my expression did she continue.
"Give me a little time to recover my spiritual energy, then we'll get going again" she said.
I nodded.
Kisaya settled on a nearby rock, looking up at a sky painted with the same strange, impossible colors I had seen at dawn.
By the time the sun leaned toward noon, she rose to her feet, dusted off her hands, and glanced at me.
"I've recovered enough" she said. "Let's keep moving."
Soon, we were back on the road.
Hours stretched. The hunger didn't fade—it grew, pressing harder, sharper, settling into me like a rhythm I couldn't silence.
Each step made it worse. For a moment, something slipped, I saw a trace of spiritual energy flare out of me on its own.
My eyes widened.
What was that?
By late afternoon we stopped again. Sippar was still a day's travel away, but Kisaya said we needed to rest.
"I'll take a short sleep" Her voice sounded tired, something she almost never let slip. I didn't argue.
I wasn't tired, no drowsiness pulled at me at all. Only the tightness in my throat. And with it, my spiritual energy was slipping more often, wild and restless. The more that feeling grew, the less control I had. It leaked out on its own, answering to that hunger instead of me.
Night fell. Another fire crackled between us, smaller than the one before. Kisaya lay down near the flames, her spear close at hand, the sack at her side. Before closing her eyes, she looked at me once more, worry still plain on her face after what had happened.
"Wake me if anything happens" she said.
I gave a small nod.
Her breathing soon slowed, even and steady, while I remained upright, my gaze drifting to her face. And then… to her neck.
A single vein traced itself beneath her skin, clearly visible in the firelight. I could even see it swell slightly with each beat of her heart. My throat clenched. I swallowed hard, as if the sight itself was food.
Fear snapped me back.
What was I thinking?