The first sun had just risen, and Karan was certain no one was tracking him. He no longer had the strength to form wings, so he had to continue on foot. He was now very close to the home of Erdun the Sage. Though he wished to take full responsibility and keep Erdun far from danger, he knew his efforts had been in vain.
When he saw the guards surrounding the house, for a brief moment he almost regretted his decision. Doing nothing had never been an option for him. Erdun the Sage had always admired that about him. But look what had come of it now. The people who suffered because of his actions were always those who shared his ideals. It had always been their choice — but he had wanted Erdun to remain outside of it all. Now, the danger had spread too far to contain. He had to get into the house and get him out.
He circled the building once, identifying the side with the fewest guards. He would need to take them down without making a sound. And he had to wait for the exact moment when the airborne sentinels wouldn't see the bodies fall. He couldn't risk drawing attention. Given his injuries, there was no way he could take on all the guards.
First, he approached the closest one from behind, clamped a hand over the guard's mouth, and formed a short spirit blade, driving it into the guard's back.
He dragged the body behind a bush. Two more remained.
One of them pointed to the spot the third had been guarding. "Did he tell you where he was going?"
"No," the other replied — but neither of them looked suspicious.
He crept closer once more. One of them was facing him. The other had his back turned.
He struck quickly — a spirit blade through the throat of the one who wasn't looking. The other saw it just in time to open his mouth to shout, but Karan formed a soul dagger and hurled it at his face. It buried itself in his mouth before a sound escaped.
Both fell at once.
There was no time to hide the bodies properly. He could cast a short invisibility spell, but he knew he needed to save his last reserve of strength to get Erdun out. Instead, he cut several branches and covered the bodies, hoping the airborne watchers wouldn't notice.
He slipped in through a window.
Only one guard remained inside. Karan took him down with ease.
Erdun the Sage lay motionless on the floor.
Karan lifted his body. Some of the bruises and cuts weren't fresh. He must have been tortured for days.
"Sage! Sage!" he whispered.
The old man slowly opened his eyes — then widened them in alarm.
"Karan! What are you doing here? Go! Get out!"
"I'm not leaving without you," Karan said firmly.
"Are you mad? CoughCough Do you know how many of them are outside? They'll kill you the moment they see you. Please, Karan. Leave now!"
But Karan acted as if he hadn't heard a word. He hoisted Erdun to his feet. They climbed back out through the window. The sage tried to resist, but he was far too weak. Spells had been cast on him — the kind that drain one's spirit. Normally, Erdun would have brushed off such magic easily, but this time, before he could even gather his strength, it had overwhelmed him.
The moment they stepped outside, one of the airborne guards spotted them and screamed, alerting the others.
Karan immediately formed wings, took Erdun into his arms, and soared into the sky. He didn't want to waste his remaining strength on an invisibility spell — and perhaps he wouldn't need to. After all, he knew the forest they were flying into like the back of his hand. He had grown up there. Every hollow tree, every cave, every slope was familiar.
It didn't take long to lose their pursuers.
He was pained to have lost Erdun's home, but grateful the sage was still alive.
For shelter, he chose the most hidden cave deep in the forest — one that would be nearly impossible to find, and even if found, he knew the only safe exit route.
Erdun drifted in and out of consciousness for days. Treating his wounds hadn't been easy. Karan used every healing spell he knew, but some of the wounds still wouldn't close. He had never been good at healing. He could learn most things easily, but healing had always been beyond him. He had mastered every defensive and offensive spell, but understanding the ways of restoration had always been as strange to him as cooking would be to a wild-toothed boar.
Several days later, Erdun finally came to — and immediately scolded him.
"What were you thinking?! Haven't I taught you to act with reason at least once in your life?!"
Karan said nothing.
The sage sighed and tried to calm himself. Then he asked, "Do you have the key piece?"
Karan reached into the folds of his robe and pulled out a palm-sized, glowing fragment — shaped like part of a labyrinth.
"I have to be the one to open the gate first, Sage. And if I can't… then I have to stop Unal from doing it. This can't go on."
The sage's eyes welled with tears. He knew this was a suicide mission. But if there was one thing he had learned while raising Karan, it was this: once he set his mind to something, there was no stopping him.
He had warned him countless times when he was young — about the sharp-beaked chicks he wasn't supposed to feed. Their mothers always left them, and if they couldn't survive on their own, they died. But Karan hadn't cared. The idea of a mother abandoning her young never made sense to him, so he stopped listening to the rest of Erdun's words.
Only weeks later, when the birds had died, did Karan finally accept he had made a mistake.
"Open a gate to the realm you call Earth," Karan said.
"We don't even know what kind of place it is, Karan. It could be dangerous. I don't want you to go. One day, we'll find a way to defeat Unal," replied Erdun the Sage.
"Don't you see? There are only a handful of Serenans left. We have no strength. There's nothing I can do with what we have. Even if I'm going to die, I won't die without doing everything I possibly can. And if I live… I won't live by running."
Erdun the Sage let out a deep breath. "Let's talk about this later."
He knew Unal had already sent guards to Earth and was searching for the other half of the key. If he had found it, he would have opened the gate by now. The fact that Karan had stolen the remaining half had likely only fueled Unal's fury — and they were sure he'd become even more ruthless in his hunt for the remaining Serenans.
They stayed in the cave for a few more days. Once, a group of guards found the entrance, but lost their way while searching the winding tunnels. After that, Karan and Erdun no longer felt it was safe to remain. They decided to make their way to the final Serenan hideout.
Flying would make them too easy to spot, so they moved carefully on foot, hidden beneath the trees. If their route led anyone to the hideout, Karan knew he would never forgive himself. So they moved slowly, deliberately.
The Serenans' last refuge lay deep within the endless eastern forest. To outsiders, the entire forest looked the same — even those who had lived there for years could lose their way. Flying over that uninhabited region was forbidden. A figure in the sky over such a place would raise suspicion. After two days of silent travel, they finally arrived.
Mungan the Sage greeted them with a warm smile.
"Welcome. Come, come — you must be exhausted," he said, beckoning them into his hut.
Others who saw Karan arrive came in and greeted him. Soon, the hut was packed — there was barely room to sit.
"I'll get right to it, Karan," Mungan the Sage said. "Did you get it?"
"Yes," Karan replied.
Laughter and cheers broke out in the hut. It was the first time Karan had smiled in days. He never did things for recognition, but lifting the cloud of despair that had hung over the Serenans — even for a moment — made him glad.
They stayed up late, talking, drinking, laughing. When everyone finally dispersed, Karan went to the sages before heading to the hut he'd been given.
Mungan the Sage asked, "What do you plan to do now?"
"I'm going to the realm they call Earth. I'll find the other half of the key," Karan answered.
Erdun the Sage interrupted. "And how do you plan to get back, huh?"
"I'll worry about that after I find the key," said Karan.
"That's not how this works! If we're going to do this, we need to do it right. Maybe I can teach you how to open a portal."
"It took you years to learn that yourself," said Karan. "We don't have that kind of time."
"Then you'd better learn fast," Erdun said.