Warmth.
It had been so long since he had felt natural warmth like this.
It was also the first thing Gray noticed. Not the pain. Not the bandages clinging to his chest. Not even the throbbing of his muscles. But warmth. Gentle. Almost foreign.
His eyes fluttered open. The ceiling above was wooden, aged, and cracked with time. He shifted slightly and a sharp jolt ran down his spine. His breath caught, and he exhaled shakily.
He was alive.
But more importantly.
"Where-where the hell am I?" His voice was raspy.
He glanced down at his body.
A bandage was wrapped tightly around his torso and his arms were stiff. He looked to his side and saw his katana leaning against the nearby wall, chipped and worn, its handle dark with dried blood.
Gray attempted to move. The pain was there, yes, but manageable. He brought his hand toward his chest and felt the beat of his heart, slow and steady.
Curious, he reached inward. Tentatively, he tried to channel Vyre.
Immediately, a burning sensation surged through his core.
His body seized and he clenched his jaw, holding back a scream. He stopped instantly.
Then, several system messages blinked into his vision.
[Warning: Vyre Core Unstable]
[Overchannel Detected. Core Filtering In Progress]
[Vyre Veins Damaged. Estimated Recovery Time: 2 Days]
He groaned. Every part of his body ached. Both spiritual body and physical.
'No wonder'
All of the fighting clearly had reached up to him. He was paying the consequences.
'Not channeling Vyre for a day or two may be troublesome however...'
Gray pushed himself up. His legs wobbled but held. He grabbed his katana, sheathed it, and limped toward the door.
When he opened it, sunlight poured in. The warmth made sense now. He was in one of the homes from the abandoned village.
Just ahead, around a wooden table, sat Lira, Renn, and Orrin. On the table was a big pot of soup. Steam rised and disappeared, from it.
What caught Gray's attention was that they weren't alone.
Three unfamiliar people sat across from them.
A boy, tall and lean with short white hair and cold gray eyes. A girl with dark curls and a shawl draped over her shoulders. Her eyes darted around nervously. And finally, a taller person. Around twice the height of Gray. He was burly and had long dark brown hair. His eyes seemed nearly hollow. As if they had lost their meaning. He simply sat there quietly.
Lira noticed him first. "You should be resting," she said, standing quickly.
Renn turned. "Gray! Don't move too much. You burned your core nearly dry. And your Vyre veins... we thought...well, just sit."
Gray raised a brow. "Burned my core?"
The words were something he had read or heard before. But he couldn't put his finger on it exactly.
Renn nodded and motioned for him to sit. "You absorbed Vyre forcefully. Your body couldn't filter it fast enough. Your core was forced to channel unpure Vyre. That alone is dangerous. But then you over-channeled, forcefully channeling Vyre, damaging your Vyre veins. You're lucky you can stand at all."
Gray sat down with a quiet groan. "How long was I out?"
"Around a day, more or less." Orrin answered simply.
Gray's eyes shifted to the newcomers. It was clear he was uncomfortable. After all this was the first group of people he had seen which were alive.
"Who are they?"
Lira took a breath. "Survivors. From another group."
The tall white-haired boy spoke first. "Name's Calem. We were part of Squad Seven."
The girl beside him spoke next.
"Names Mira."
The last boy remained silent.
Calem coughed and mumbled quietly.
"He's... just call him Dorn."
Gray studied them for a bit before frowning.
"Where are they others?"
From his memory. There had tl be seven people per group. There was only three in front of him.
The girl on the opposite side shuddered, her voice small, "Something hunted us. It was tall. Covered in fur. We never saw its face. But it... stalked us. Like it enjoyed it."
Gray slightly leaned forward. "Fur? Did it speak?"
Calem grunted. "Didn't speak. But it left marks. Huge claw marks. We were forced into that Narrow Path. Lost the others there."
Gray clenched his fists. The description, it reminded him of something.
"We could've ended up like them," he muttered. "If we'd taken that path first."
Renn said nothing.
Orrin stared at Calem's torn coat. "You're lucky to be alive."
Calem's expression didn't change. "Luck had nothing to do with it."
The tension lingered.
Gray spoke up again.
"How are the others?"
Silence reigned until Lira spoke again.
"Adel's not doing well. Poison from the arrow... it's spreading."
Gray stiffened. "Is she... stable?"
"Barely. Renn gave her a vial of something from our medical supplies, but it's not enough."
Gray lowered his head.
"And Korr?"
"Resting. His ribs are bruised and one of his legs is cracked."
Gray breathed deeply.
'Makes sense, he got beat badly.'
He looked at Lira. "What happened to you? Back then... when you stood up with flames surrounding you. That wasn't normal."
Calem and the others pretended not to hear, but they were listening.
Lira shifted uncomfortably.
"It's nothing. Forget it."
Gray studied her carefully. "It's not nothing. I know that look. Whatever that was... it wasn't normal. I know that much."
Her jaw tightened. But she didn't answer.
Eventually, she sighed. "Let it be. I'm still here, aren't I?"
'A skill perhaps...' Gray dropped the subject for now.
He didn't speak further and grabbed a spoon nearby, digging into the soup.
It was rich in taste. It was also spicy. Burning his mouth and tongue.
'Spice is rather rare in Ironhold. It's treated like gold.'
He hadn't tasted anything this good in a long time. He chewed quickly like a rabbit. Then he grabbed a glass of water nearby and drank it all in one sip.
The others also ate, just less.
After the meal, Calem spoke up again.
"We arrived hwre around three days ago. Since then we have been exploring to find something. Something to help us get out of here. Our best bet is the market district. If you don't mind... can we go explore it a little?"
Lira nodded without hesitation.
"Then let's go. It might have something of use. Like medicine."
Calem let out a weak smile.
"Follow me then, I'll lead you there."
Orrin decided to stay behind with Renn, and Gray decided to follow. Despite Renn and Lira's dismissive responses.
They left the others behind and made their way outside. Snow still covered the streets, but the sky had cleared slightly. Faint sunlight broke through, revealing the scale of the village.
The wind grew quieter as they passed beyond the remnants of a large stone archway. Cracked and leaning, the arch still bore faded engravings that suggested it once welcomed travelers and merchants. The narrow path widened, revealing a sprawling plaza paved with slate tiles, many of which had been cracked or overtaken by frost. Beyond that, the central market district unfolded.
Gray paused for a moment, his breath catching in his throat. The entire place felt suspended in time.
Stalls stood silent, their wooden beams warped by age and weather. Torn fabrics fluttered from toppled stands, some still bearing the faint colors of merchant guilds long forgotten. Frost-coated signs hung above crooked doors, naming inns, apothecaries, and smithies. In the distance, the skeleton of a collapsed tower loomed like a broken finger pointing skyward. Smoke no longer curled from chimneys. Footprints no longer filled the snow.
Yet something lingered.
There were too many details untouched by nature. Tables remained set inside glassless windows. A child's toy rested against a frozen fountain. An empty coin pouch lay beneath a bench, stiff with frost. And though there were no visible people, a strange tension wove through the air like a thread pulled taut.
Lira took a step beside Gray, her eyes flickering to the rooftops and narrow alleyways. Calem stood behind them, silent, scanning every shadow as if they might speak.
"This is it," Calem muttered.
The heart of the village.
The place where things may have ended or begun.
They stepped forward in unison, their boots crunching against the frostbitten ground. Whatever answers lay ahead, they would find them here.
The market district waited. Empty. Cold. Watching.