Poor dear Eros... He had been beaten half to death, broken out of a hospital, trespassed into a sealed-off house, stumbled upon a forbidden book—books were outlawed, after all—and then had his soul, or whatever it was, dragged inside. A twisted diary had granted him some questionable abilities, only to throw him into a nightmare world crawling with creatures straight out of a fever dream…
Was he really alone in all this madness? What else was he supposed to expect? The thought gnawed at him, leaving a pit in his stomach.
But then… something even more unsettling.
Someone was standing right in front of him.
A man, older than him by at least ten years, leaned casually on a walking stick. His hair was a wild brown mess tied back with a strip of cloth, and his grin stretched wide, like he'd just found a long-lost friend in the middle of nowhere. His clothes were patched but clean. A faded scarf hung around his neck, the color of old brick, and small tools clinked at his belt.
"Hey buddy," the stranger said, voice easy, light. He said it like Eros hadn't just woken from a night of nightmares, like this wasn't a wasteland full of monsters.
Eros jolted upright, hand flying to the bone axe at his side. He gripped it hard enough that his knuckles went white. His eyes darted over the man: no claws, no twisted flesh, no milky monster eyes. Still, looks could lie.
The man raised both hands in mock surrender, grin widening. "Easy, easy. I'm Halix. Not here to eat you. At least, not unless you're planning to attack first."
Eros narrowed his eyes. He didn't loosen his grip on the axe.
Halix laughed. "That face. Gods, you look like death warmed over. Been rolling in the ash too long? I've seen corpses with more style. Don't tell me you actually live out here."
Eros almost answered, but the thought of blurting out the truth—I'm not from here. I'm from the Real World—stabbed into his mind. His throat clenched, a burning pain spiking through his skull. The familiar voice echoed in his head.
"Readers must not break character."
The words died in his throat. He coughed, jaw locking shut.
At least now he knew. If he tried to talk about the real world, the diary itself gagged him. Another chain. Another cage. Maybe it wasn't useless—at least he could tell who belonged to this nightmare and who didn't.
Halix tilted his head. "Cat got your tongue? Or maybe shy. Don't worry, I'll do the talking. I'm good at that."
«Yeah, because that's what I need. A cheerful stranger in hell. Perfect.»
Halix crouched and dug into a pouch at his belt. "Here. You look like you need this."
He held out a handful of red berries, their skins shiny under the strange sun.
Eros eyed them like they were daggers.
Halix sighed loudly, as if offended. "Suspicious little brat. Fine. Look." He tossed one into his mouth and chewed, pulling faces like he was savoring the richest meal ever made. "See? Still alive."
He stuck his tongue out dramatically. "Poisoned? Nope. Delicious? Eh, six out of ten. Seven if you're starving."
Eros's stomach twisted painfully. His last meal had been the charred flesh of that eagle, and just the memory made his throat tighten. The stench of sulfur and blood still haunted his tongue. The berries smelled faintly sweet, almost floral, a cruel contrast to the rot around them.
Slowly, he reached out and plucked one. He hesitated a moment longer, glaring at Halix, then popped it into his mouth.
It burst on his tongue—sweet, bitter, almost sharp. Warmth spread through his chest, into his limbs. He glanced down at the gash on his arm. The skin sealed, knitting smooth in seconds.
He stared. The pain that had been a constant hum in his nerves unwound, like someone had loosened a knot tied inside his bones.
«No way… this actually works.»
Halix smirked. "Told you. Miracle berries. Best medicine this side of a god's temple. Grow only here, where no sane man dares to go."
Eros chewed another cautiously. The taste wasn't pleasant, but the relief was undeniable. Hunger eased, pain dulled, his head cleared. By the third, a slow steadiness took hold. The ash didn't feel as heavy in his lungs.
For a fleeting moment, he almost felt human again. And that scared him.
"Careful," Halix added, wagging a finger. "They fix the body, not the brain. I know a lot of men who needed the second one more."
Eros gave him a flat look. "I'm not laughing."
"Give it time," Halix said. "You will. I'm charming."
«Sure. In the way a stray dog is charming while it eyes your food.»
***
They sat by the fire's remains, the silence broken only by Halix's voice. He spoke casually, like someone telling bedtime stories.
"This place? Used to be titan lands. Gods burned it after they won the war. Couldn't just let the memory stand, no, had to scorch it so deep even the soil forgot."
He gestured at the horizon, a wasteland of ash and broken ruins. "That's the gods for you. Always so dramatic. Couldn't just win, had to erase everything. As if fire makes people forget."
Eros said nothing, but his thoughts swirled. Gods. Titans. War. This place wasn't random: it was a scar. A punishment that kept on punishing.
"Looking for someone?" Halix asked suddenly, eyeing him with too much interest.
Eros tensed. "A girl. Lost."
Halix scratched his jaw. "Can't help you there. Haven't seen anyone wandering but you. Brave girl if she's out here, though. Or stupid."
Eros's lips tightened. He looked away, heart sinking.
Halix let the silence sit. Then he shrugged. "People go missing all the time. Some come back different. Some don't come back. That's the kind of world it is."
"Different how?" Eros asked before he could stop himself.
"Like they've been chewed," Halix said simply. "Spit back out with pieces missing. Names. Faces. Mercy." He studied Eros. "You got the look."
"What look?"
"The look of someone who still cares." Halix smiled without humor. "It's a good way to die young."
«And not caring is a good way to become a monster.»
Halix stretched and yawned like they were sitting in an inn instead of hell. "Anyway, you don't plan on living here, do you? You'd last a week, maybe two, before something eats you. Or worse."
Eros's grip on his axe tightened again.
Halix grinned wider. "Relax. I've got a camp. Out past the Wasteland. Safer. Food, water, a roof. What do you say?"
Eros narrowed his eyes. «Yeah. Random smiling guy, showing up out of nowhere, offering safety. Totally trustworthy.»
Halix wagged a finger like a scolding parent. "You're thinking suspicious thoughts. I can see it all over your face. Stubborn boy."
Eros snorted. He didn't lower the axe.
But the truth clawed at him. He was tired. Alone. And the berries had worked. Maybe Halix was dangerous, maybe not. But walking away alone was suicide.
At last, he muttered, "Fine."
Halix clapped his hands. "Knew you'd come around. Trust me, this is the best choice you've made since not dying."
Eros rolled his eyes. «If you try to sell me out, I'll carve that grin off your face.»
"See?" Halix said brightly. "Already bonding."
"Don't get attached," Eros said.
"Oh, I never do," Halix replied too easily.
***
They walked together across the Wasteland. At least, that was what Halix had called it: The Ashen Wasteland, as he explained when Eros asked where they were exactly. According to him, the Ashen Wasteland bordered an inhabited region, not too far from where they were now.
Halix chatted like a tour guide, pointing out ruins and cracks in the ground, claiming one stone column looked like his uncle's nose, another like a chicken leg. He whistled tunelessly, hands behind his head, utterly at ease. The man treated the wasteland like a road he'd taken a hundred times and was bored with.
Eros trudged a step behind, silent. His thoughts sharpened with every step. Trusting someone here was madness. Still, hearing another voice—even a foolish one—was almost a relief. It padded the silence that usually let fear crawl up his spine.
"Eat," Halix said, tossing him another berry mid-walk. "You still look half-dead. Don't worry, I won't charge you yet."
Eros caught it, eyed him flatly, and shoved it into his mouth. "If this kills me, I'll haunt you."
Halix laughed. "You've got jokes. We're getting somewhere."
"Don't count on it," Eros muttered.
Halix blinked, then burst out laughing again. "Ah, he can speak normally! Progress! Next thing you know, you'll be smiling. I'll take bets."
Eros shook his head. «Why do I feel like I've picked up a stray dog?»
They skirted a field of blackened stumps. Old chains hung from a shattered boulder, fused to the stone as if melted there by lightning. Eros slowed. The sight pulled at something deep and sour inside him. He touched his neck without thinking, feeling the faint ridge of the scar there.
Halix noticed. "Those chains were real once," he said, voice lower. "Not symbols. The gods love a show."
"Who did they chain?" Eros asked.
"Who do you think?" Halix shrugged. "Anyone who thought fire belonged to more than a few." He tossed a pebble at the boulder. "They call this justice. Looks like fear to me."
Eros didn't answer. He was thinking of a name he barely understood and a role the book had forced on him. Prometheus. Fire. Punishment. The pieces were there, and he hated how they fit.
They crossed a shallow ravine where ash had blown away to reveal black glass. It cracked underfoot in delicate patterns. Far off, a spire of stone leaned at a wrong angle, casting a thin shadow like a spear.
"Ever worked a real job?" Halix asked suddenly.
Eros shot him a look. "I'm seventeen."
"So? Here the people start at twelve years old. Are you a noble, maybe?" Halix grinned. "I did. Once. For a week. Didn't stick. Turns out I'm allergic to orders. So now I am freelance trader"
Eros snorted despite himself. "Shocking."
"See? That's a smile trying to happen," Halix said, delighted. "I knew you had one."
"It's a grimace."
"Close enough."
The land stretched on, ash crunching under their boots. The silence between Halix's chatter grew heavier. The sky brightened, then dimmed again as drifting clouds of soot passed under the pale sun.
Eros's gaze lingered on Halix when he thought the man wasn't looking. His clothes were patched but sturdy. His boots weren't falling apart. He had water, food, medicine. He didn't look desperate, not like someone barely surviving. He looked prepared.
«Where did you come from, really? Nobody just wanders here for berries.»
As if reading his mind, Halix said, "You're still thinking I'm going to stab you in your sleep, aren't you?"
Eros said nothing.
Halix grinned. "Good. That paranoia will keep you alive. Just don't point that axe at me while I'm snoring, yeah?"
"What do you trade?" Eros asked.
Halix's smile flickered. "Odds and ends."
"People?"
Halix's eyes cut to him, then away. "If I did, would you still be walking with me?"
Eros tightened his grip on the axe. "Try me."
Halix's grin returned, but thinner. "Relax. I only trade things people don't need."
«Everyone needs something,» Eros thought. «Some people need a lesson.»
The sun dimmed as they pushed through blackened shrubs. Shadows grew longer, stretching like claws. The smell of the Wasteland shifted, less sulfur and more animal, a low musk under the ash.
"See? Nothing to worry about," Halix said cheerfully, brushing aside the last of the branches. "Told you I know the safe paths."
Eros stepped through behind him, axe ready.
Yellow eyes glimmered in the darkness ahead.
A massive wolf, its body twisted and half-rotten, stood waiting. Black saliva dripped from its jaws, fur falling off in clumps. Its growl rumbled low, vibrating the ground. The sound rolled through Eros's ribs.
Halix's grin faltered. "Oh, oh… that's new."
Eros sighed, lifting his axe. «Of course. With my luck, nothing ever just goes right.»