✦ Ikiryo ✦
The person who stepped in was tall—lean, broad-shouldered, and wearing a loose shirt that clung slightly to his chest like he'd just come back from some patrol. His hair was almost gold, the kind of blond that looked like sunlight caught in honey. Sharp jaw, soft eyes. He looked… oddly familiar.
"Who are you?" I snapped.
"Ikiryo," Yumi hissed, elbowing me in the ribs. "Can you not be rude for five seconds?"
She shot the guy with a wide, sparkly smile. "Ohh yes, Varric, we're doing perfectly fine!" she said in a sing-song tone, cheeks puffed like a chipmunk. Bread crumbs still clung to her sleeve.
"No, we're not, Yumi. I'm still in pain here."
"Yeah, well… I guess we're half-alive, haha."
Varric chuckled. It annoyed me. A lot.
What kind of name was Varric anyway?
"You two know each other?" I asked.
"Nope, well kinda," Yumi replied cheerfully. "He's the one who helped carry you out here after we fell into the hole. You were, um… really heavy."
"Oh, thanks." I said
"Varric," she said, motioning toward him, "meet Mr. Sunshine over here—Ikiryo."
"I can introduce myself, thanks."
Awkward silence.
"I just came to see how you guys were doing," he said casually, stepping closer.
I ignored the niceties. "We're not staying here. We're leaving—now."
"Well in the state you're in, even if you leave now I don't think you will be able to go far," he replied calmly, with a smirk on the side of his mouth.
Damn, I wanted to smack the shit out of him.
"Besides that… I don't think it's an option for you guys right now."he said
And just like that, the anger boiled up in me again. No one tells me what to do.
My jaw clenched.
Before I could spit something back, he tossed a folded black T-shirt toward me.
"Here. Cover those marks. Yumi, if you need anything, feel free to come to my tent."
I caught the shirt he tossed me. But his tone landed in my chest.
Yumi smiled awkwardly. "Oh! Thanks—"
"We're fine," I cut in. "Before you go in your little dirty tent , answer this..why can't we leave now?"
Varric's eyes flicked to me. That smirk again
"Well… if you're eager to face that monster again, go ahead. He usually circles back every three hours. Good luck."
"We beat him once. We'll do it again."
He smirked. "Talk about an attitude."
"Repeat what you just said" i stepped closer , almost as if i'm waiting for him to say another word to really beat the crap out of him
"I think you heard me."
"Okayyy!" Yumi interrupted, raising her hands in the air like a ref at a match. "I am starving, and this testosterone nonsense is giving me a headache. Let's eat, rest, and then figure out what to do next, okay?"
Her eyes met mine. Sharp. Stop it. You're embarrassing me, they said.
I exhaled through my nose and looked away.
That's when I noticed Varric staring—right at my left arm. The one with the black markings. He'd been watching them since the moment he walked in.
I stepped away slightly. Why did that make me uncomfortable?
My head still throbbed.
Varric spoke again. "When you're ready, come outside. You'll meet the others."
"The others?" I asked.
He nodded. "Yeah. Everyone."
Then he disappeared through the flap.
It was still hard to get dressed with one arm sore, so Yumi helped slide the black shirt over my torso. It smelled like firewood and iron. Probably his.
"Let's go," I muttered, and we stepped out together.
The camp wasn't what I expected.
It looked like the sun had never touched this place. No sky, no stars—just a black canopy above, like we were underground… or somewhere else entirely.
A few steps ahead, something soft caught my eye.
Children.
A small group of them, maybe four or five, sat quietly in the dust, dressed in simple white tunics that looked like they hadn't been washed in years. Their hands were buried in the dirt, tracing invisible patterns, weaving twigs, or gently cradling wilted plants as if trying to bring them back to life.
There was no laughter. No running. No shouting.
Just silence.
Their small faces were calm—too calm
Nearby, a woman sat on a worn tree stump, watching them with hollow eyes. Her posture was tired, but her gaze never left the children. She didn't speak, didn't move—just watched. Not with fear or love, but with a kind of quiet resignation. Like she was counting every breath they took, afraid each one might be the last.
One of the kids looked up. Just for a second.
Her eyes met mine.
Empty.
And then she looked away.
Something clenched in my chest. But i decide to ignore it
Still walking ahead–what felt like it was a mile away , a massive fire blazed, tall as a tree, wild and alive. Smoke that looked like shadows danced on every surface. The heat of the fire pulsed like a heartbeat.
I'd never seen fire that tall before. Or that quiet.
We walked toward the fireplace in silence.
I could feel it already—this place had a history, and we were walking straight into it.