The sky above the ridge burned amber with the last traces of dusk. Clouds rolled low, churning like bruises across the heavens. Kaiden's squad moved with caution through the jagged, snow-bitten pass, where dead trees leaned like skeletal sentries. Scattered brass bolts and shattered glass littered the half-buried trails — remnants of some long-forgotten device or weapon. Steam hissed from cracks in the rocky earth, rising in lazy spirals as the last warmth of day bled into cold.
Kaiden lagged a few steps behind. His left leg had begun to seize again—just minor tugs at first, but now stiff and unresponsive. Every movement came with a mechanical whine, accompanied by a slight grinding sound from deep within the knee joint. His expression remained rigid, but tension shadowed his brow.
"You're limping," Sylen said without turning, adjusting the straps on her shoulder-mounted mana repeater.
"I'm adapting," Kaiden replied, trying to mask the growing instability in his gait.
They emerged into a wider clearing — an old supply drop zone half-swallowed by snow and collapsed scaffoldings. Kaiden spotted a frozen arc-wheel buried beneath a collapsed tent frame. As he passed it, his malfunctioning leg clipped the jagged edge of a gear. The jolt sent sparks flying.
Kaiden stumbled. The servo in his thigh shrieked in protest and locked up completely.
"Damn it," he hissed.
Kess dropped his rifle with a grunt. "Alright, that's it. We're stopping. Rav, Sylen—get the tarp down. We'll patch him here."
Kaiden gritted his teeth, jaw flexing as the cold bit through his collar. He didn't protest this time.
They dragged him toward a half-collapsed structure. Rav sparked a makeshift heater core to life while Sylen spread out a reinforced tarp beside a rusted drum barrel. Kaiden lay back against the stone wall, snow dusting his half-cloak.
Kess knelt down, flipping open the panel on Kaiden's left thigh. "Inner pressure regulator's cracked," he said. "Coolant line's fried too."
"Try the mana loop buffer from my kit," Sylen offered. "It won't hold long, but it'll keep the surge down."
"We don't have a proper anchor point for it," Kess muttered. "He'll burn his own energy just standing."
"Then do it anyway," Kaiden snapped. "I need that leg."
They worked quickly but clumsily. Wires were stripped, soldered on open stone. The stench of burnt ghostglass filled the air as Kess forced a misfit conduit into place. Mana bled from the limb in thin, bright streams. Sparks flew. One cable seared through its wrap and burst. Sylen yanked Kaiden's shoulder back just in time to avoid a backblast.
"Hold him—!"
Kaiden screamed through his teeth. Steam hissed from the vents along his hip as pressure overloaded.
Then, silence. The limb dropped limply. Twitching, unstable, but functional.
"That'll last maybe ten minutes in a real fight," Kess muttered.
Kaiden sat up slowly, wiping frost from his cheek. His chest still heaved from the pain, but he nodded. "Then let's not fight."
They barely had time to regroup when the air around them shifted.
Snow began to fall sideways. Wind reversed direction, howling like it had torn open another world. Vision vanished into white. They turned their backs to the storm, weapons drawn, eyes scanning shadows that weren't there.
And then—
Silence.
When the storm lifted, they were no longer in the ridge.
Instead, they stood on cracked marble flooring surrounded by enormous, broken columns. Trees grew through the walls of this place, twisting into the sky. A massive runic seal glowed faintly under their boots.
Kaiden wobbled on one knee, vision swimming. His internal HUD sputtered. The others stood around him in various states of disarray—Rav was hunched over, coughing into his arm. Sylen blinked slowly, still holding her weapon but clearly disoriented. Kess stumbled forward and dropped to one knee beside Kaiden.
"Where... where are we?" Sylen whispered.
Kaiden tried to respond, but his throat felt tight. Everything was spinning.
"I—I think we got jumped," Kess said, scanning the towering stone structures with unease. "That wasn't a teleport spell... it felt like being unraveled."
"We need cover," Rav grunted, eyes darting. "Anyone sees us like this, we're screwed."
Sylen pulled up her cloak and motioned toward a column. "Move. Out of sight. Now."
They scrambled behind one of the fallen pillars, their breaths still heavy and uneven. Kaiden's leg twitched violently again, sending another burst of pain through his side.
And then he felt it — the same pull. The same hum of pressure in the air.
A robed figure emerged from thin air.
The same one.
Masked. Calm. Watching.
The figure's voice echoed across the ruined chamber.
"Still patched together like old scrap. And yet they follow you. Curious."
Kaiden tried to rise, but his repaired leg sputtered, buckled. His elbow sparked when he raised his arm. He grunted and dropped.
Kess raised his rifle, eyes still hazy. "Who are you?"
The figure tilted its head and turned toward Kaiden.
"You're not ready. But you'll follow the path anyway. That's what broken things do."
A pulse of light surged outward from the mage's body.
And then he was gone.
The world folded again.
A loud crack like splintering glass—and then:
Mud.
Kaiden landed first, face-down, coughing as he pushed himself up. The others collapsed nearby, groaning, limbs slack.
Birds cried overhead. Trees rustled in the warm breeze. Far in the distance: a bell tower's chime.
"What the—what just happened?" Sylen rasped.
"I don't know," Kess said, wiping his brow, eyes darting. "But we're not in demon territory anymore."
Rav crouched low, inspecting the trees and moss. "These roots... this foliage. We're south of the border."
Kaiden clenched his fist, ignoring the sparks from his wrist.
They were in human lands.
And utterly exposed.