Ashgrave. Once a bustling trade hub filled with adventurers, now reduced to little more than rotting timber and rusted iron.
Aster walked its broken streets with quiet footsteps, his boots stirring faint echoes from the cracked stones beneath. Dark alleys forked between leaning buildings like jagged wounds through a corpse.
This was no starting town anymore. Not even the rats seemed willing to stay.
[System Stabilization: 11%] [ERROR: Character Data Fragmented] [Main Quest Active: Survive]
The flickering windows of abandoned homes blurred at the edges of his vision. Sometimes they rippled, almost like water disturbed by a stone. His head hurt if he stared too long.
But no one else reacted. To them, it was just another miserable town in another miserable corner of their miserable world.
Except for one.
He felt it before he saw her—the prickling awareness of eyes on his back. Trained steps behind him. Soft, almost delicate, but deliberate.
Aster ducked under a crumbling stone archway, sliding into a narrow alley lined with old crates and rainwater barrels, then stopped. Waited.
The steps didn't stop.
"You're not very good at hiding," a voice said lightly.
He turned slowly.
Silver hair, loose cloak, worn leathers. Sharp violet eyes beneath arched brows that spoke of someone used to danger, used to choosing her fights carefully. A bow slung over her shoulder. A dagger strapped to her thigh.
Serra.
In the game, she had been forgettable. Here, standing framed in the dying light of Ashgrave, she looked... very real.
And curious.
Not hostile. Not friendly.
Curious.
"You've been following me," Aster said, voice hoarse from disuse.
She nodded once. "I saw you back at the ruins."
"Didn't know I left such an impression."
Serra stepped closer. "Most people scream or run when things fall apart. You... didn't." Her gaze sharpened slightly. "That interests me."
[New Sub-Quest Available: Stranger with Questions] [Suggested Action: Evade, Engage, or Ignore]
Aster fought the urge to curse at the notifications crowding his vision.
"Congratulations," he muttered. "You found a coward on the run. No mystery here."
Serra smiled faintly. "Is that what you are?"
He didn't answer.
Behind them, the muted sounds of Ashgrave carried on. Footsteps in distant alleys. The occasional bark of a merchant trying to sell wares nobody wanted to buy. Somewhere, a dog whimpered.
The city itself was exhausted.
"What do you want from me?" he asked finally.
"Answers." Serra crossed her arms. "I don't trust anyone who walks like they don't belong."
"That makes two of us."
It would have been easier if she were hostile. If she wanted to rob him or stab him, at least that was a problem Aster understood. But this? Curious strangers were worse. They asked questions.
Dangerous ones.
"I don't have time for this," he said.
Serra watched him carefully. "Time for what?"
Aster hesitated. He didn't know what he had time for. Surviving? Escaping this broken excuse for a world? Finding out why he was stuck here and not someone better?
None of those answers seemed good enough.
"I just need to keep moving."
For a moment, she said nothing. Then she stepped aside, clearing the alley in a small, graceful movement.
"Then go," she said simply.
It surprised him. He thought she might press more, follow him, demand an explanation. But Serra just watched him with that same thoughtful look, like a hunter studying unusual prey.
He took a step past her, out into the street again, uncertain.
That's when he saw it.
A sheet of parchment nailed crookedly to the charred wooden post of an old tavern sign.
WANTED: ASTER VELRAN
Charge: Betrayal of Heroes
Reward: 10 Gold Marks
His breath caught.
Someone wanted him dead. And not just someone—someone with gold to throw around. That kind of reward would bring cutthroats, bounty hunters, and mercenaries crawling out of every filthy street in Ashgrave.
[Main Quest Updated: Survive the Hunt] [Bonus Objective: Avoid Looking Like a Complete Fool]
"What did you do?" Serra asked softly, stepping to his side to read the notice.
"Wish I knew," Aster muttered.
"That's a lot of gold for a stranger." She gave him a sideways glance. "You're either unlucky... or important. Which is it?"
He didn't answer. He couldn't. What was he supposed to say? Oh yeah, I'm from another world where this used to be a crappy old video game, and now everything's broken, and I think reality itself might be melting?
Yeah. That'd go over well.
"I don't care what you did," Serra said finally, breaking the silence. "But I do care about things that draw attention. And that poster? That's going to bring attention."
He knew she was right.
More footsteps echoed from down the street now. Not hurried, not searching yet, but casual. Confident. Like people who knew they would find their target eventually.
"They'll search the whole district by dusk," Serra murmured. "You staying here is death. Moving alone? Almost worse."
She looked at him again, those violet eyes sharp but not cruel. "You need help. And I... need a reason to leave this city before it eats me too."
[Party Invitation Received: Serra Ilyenne] [Warning: Unknown Loyalty. Affection Level: 0%]
Aster stared at the message, then at her.
"Why help me?"
"Because something about you doesn't make sense." Serra gave a slow, deliberate smile. "And I'm very curious about things that don't make sense."
Not exactly loyalty. But curiosity was better than greed. Maybe.
He exhaled slowly. "Fine. We move together. For now."
"Good." Serra turned, cloak fluttering lightly behind her. "Let's go before someone starts earning that bounty."
They melted into the shadows of Ashgrave, two strangers linked by danger, distrust, and too many unanswered questions.
Somewhere behind them, the torches of bounty hunters flickered faintly to life as night began creeping over the ruined rooftops.
[Main Quest Active: Survive] [Bonus Objective: Figure Out Why Everyone Wants You Dead]