Chapter 53 — Empty Grounds
The morning air over Lumeris City was thin and sharp, humming faintly with the residue of spiritual energy. Beneath the rising light of Venarae's molten sky, the trio stood at the city's eastern gate, silent for once. The last few weeks at the academy had been relentless—healing, testing, enduring—but now, they were finally back in the wild.
A familiar scent of wilderness drifted in the wind—metallic, sweet, and faintly toxic. It was the smell of the Red Zones.
Shin adjusted the strap of his pack and exhaled. "So… back to square one, huh?"
Vaibhav cracked his neck. "If square one comes with beasts to crush, I'm fine with it."
Alicia pulled her hood tighter against the wind, eyes scanning the horizon. "Don't get your hopes up. The outskirts are quiet this season. Most beasts migrate deeper during the heat cycles."
"Quiet?" Shin frowned. "Last time, this place was screaming."
"Then maybe," Vaibhav said with a grin, "we'll make it scream again."
They moved.
The trio followed a broken trail cutting through the reddish terrain—sand and cracked stone glowing under the faint shimmer of Venarae's amber sky. Occasional remnants of old battles scarred the land: charred carcasses, shattered horns, and pools of congealed essence.
Hours passed. The only sounds were their boots scraping rock and the distant hiss of wind.
Shin kicked a loose pebble, muttering, "We're hunting ghosts."
Alicia's lips curved faintly. "Patience, God of Chaos."
Vaibhav's aura flickered for an instant, sensing something—like a breath caught beneath the surface of still water. His crimson eyes narrowed.
"Found one," he said quietly.
Without another word, he leapt forward.
The ground split open as a maw of jagged teeth burst upward—an Ordinary-class Ravage Crawler, its body like a centipede carved from obsidian. Venom dripped from its mandibles, hissing where it touched the ground.
Vaibhav's movements were simple, almost lazy. He met the creature's lunge with a single, explosive punch that shattered half its skull. The beast spasmed, shrieked, and went still.
The faint hum of life essence pulsed through the air—Vaibhav felt it seep into his veins like liquid fire.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [+3 Ordinary Power Points Gained]
A faint glow rippled across his palm, fading just as quickly. He didn't need to focus—the absorption was instinctual now, as natural as breathing.
Behind him, Shin crouched beside the corpse, using his blade to tear open the beast's chest. His movements were efficient—he'd done this hundreds of times. A faint shard, glowing dim blue, pulsed inside the cavity.
He plucked it free, wiped it with his sleeve, and let it dissolve into his hand. Energy surged faintly through him, visible only as a shimmer in his eyes.
> [+4 Ordinary Power Points Gained]
Alicia moved to the second beast before it could fully surface—a smaller crawler that had emerged near a cluster of rocks. She raised her palm, a flicker of radiant light building between her fingers, and released it in a single, controlled burst.
The creature's body detonated into fragments of crystal and flesh.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: Crimson Crawler]
Alicia stepped forward, calm and deliberate, and reached into what remained. Another shard. This one pulsed weakly red. She absorbed it silently.
> [+3 Ordinary Power Points Gained]
Vaibhav had already finished the third—his fist buried deep into its torso. The energy drained from it like a candle snuffed out.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: Crimson Crawler]
> [+4 Ordinary Power Points Gained]
The wind carried away the stench of blood and scorched earth. For a moment, the world went still again.
Alicia dusted off her gloves. "Three beasts. Hardly enough to even call it a warm-up."
"Guess Venarae forgot how to roar," Shin muttered, sheathing his blade.
Vaibhav kicked one of the carcasses aside, eyes narrowing as the green pulse in his chest flickered faintly—an instinctive reaction to the faint life force lingering in the air. It was weak. Unsatisfying.
"Too quiet," he said after a moment.
Alicia knelt by the remains, her expression thoughtful. "These beasts were starving. Look at the cores—fractured essence patterns, unstable flow. They've been feeding on scraps."
"Meaning what?" Shin asked.
"Meaning something stronger's already cleaned this place out," she replied softly.
The three of them exchanged glances. The wind shifted again, carrying a faint metallic taste.
Vaibhav exhaled slowly. "So we're late to the party."
"Then we find where the main course went," Shin said with a smirk.
"Or," Alicia corrected, "we find what ate the main course."
Silence again.
Above them, the red haze of Venarae's sun shimmered through drifting clouds of ash. The land stretched endlessly — an empty, cracked expanse that hummed faintly with buried power.
Vaibhav brushed dirt from his hands, looking eastward. Beyond the dunes, faint crimson peaks rose — the Crimson Range, a territory infamous even among hunters. The ground there was said to bleed when pierced, and the beasts' hides glowed faintly under moonlight.
Alicia followed his gaze, her voice calm, steady, certain.
"East," she said.
"Crimson Range," Alicia continued, turning toward the horizon. "If there's life left in this wasteland, that's where it'll be."
The trio stood for a moment in silence — the wind tugging at their cloaks, the faint heat of Venarae's sun painting their shadows long across the dust.
Then Vaibhav smiled faintly. "Then let's move. Before the ghosts come back."
Shin adjusted his gloves, rolling his shoulders with a lazy grin. "Finally. Thought this place had forgotten what a fight looks like."
Alicia's calm expression softened just slightly. "Let's just hope you remember what surviving looks like."
"Please," Shin said with mock offense. "I'm practically immortal now."
Vaibhav snorted. "You said that last time — right before falling face-first into a mud pit."
"That was tactical camouflage."
"Sure," Vaibhav said, smirking, "keep telling yourself that."
Alicia shook her head faintly as she started walking, her cloak fluttering behind her. The laughter faded under the sound of crunching gravel and distant wind.
As the trio disappeared into the east, the red horizon shimmered — faint shadows moving between the dunes, unseen, watching.