A gust of ash filled wind swept past them, dragging the last faint shimmer of Sereon's presence away.
Dark wiped the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, eyes narrowed, jaw tight. The volcanic plateau rumbled beneath his boots. Kaelith turned away from the empty space where Sereon had vanished, her flames tightening around her like a warning coil.
Then something shifted.
Not power.
Not aura.
Not pressure.
Just... light footsteps.
Both of them turned at the same time.
A girl stood a short distance away, completely out of place in the burning wasteland. She wore a simple skirt, a short sleeved shirt, and sturdy sneakers that were dusted with ash. A backpack strap hung off one shoulder, loose and crooked from running. Her hair was tied up into a messy knot, strands falling over her face, softening her expression.
She looked normal.
Entirely normal.
And somehow, standing on molten stone like it was nothing.
Her eyes widened when she saw Dark's injuries. She hurried forward, concern flooding her expression as she reached him.
Girl: Are you alright? You look... really hurt.
Her voice was gentle, worried, almost scolding in a soft way. She hovered her hands near his jaw and chest, unsure whether she should touch the wounds.
Girl: Your face is bleeding everywhere. And your ribs look terrible. Did something hit you?
Dark stared at her in pure confusion, blood trickling down his chin.
Dark: Why are you talking like I tripped and scraped my knee.
Girl: Because you're bleeding.
Dark: That happens.
Girl: It shouldn't.
Kaelith stepped forward, flames curling around her arms like irritated serpents.
Kaelith: Who are you. How did you get here.
The girl blinked, startled by Kaelith's tone.
Girl: Oh— sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt anything. I saw a lot of smoke, and I thought someone might be hurt, so I came to check.
Kaelith stared at her, visibly thrown off by how sincere she sounded.
Kaelith: This is not a place people wander into.
Girl: I know. But I still worried.
Dark exhaled heavily.
Dark: You walked into a burning wasteland because you were worried.
Girl: Yes.
Dark pointed at her shoes.
Dark: With those.
She looked down at them.
Girl: They're sturdy.
Dark stared at Kaelith.
Dark: She's serious.
Kaelith rubbed her temples.
Kaelith: Leave. This world will kill anyone unprepared.
Girl: Oh. I see. I didn't mean to be a problem.
She stepped back a little, her posture small but still warm. Her eyes kept flicking back to Dark's injuries, worry tightening her expression.
Girl: I'm glad you're standing, at least. You look like you took a very bad hit.
Dark: That is an understatement.
Girl: Then take care of yourself, please.
Dark: I'm trying.
She let out a tiny breath, relieved by that answer, even if she didn't understand the situation at all.
She gave him a small, gentle wave.
Girl: I hope you get better soon.
Dark paused, unsure why that simple sentence felt so foreign in this place.
Dark: ...Sure.
She turned and walked across the ash covered stone with light steps, her sneakers tapping softly against the ground. She didn't sink. She didn't burn. She didn't falter.
She just walked like this world wasn't dangerous to her at all.
Kaelith watched her leave.
Kaelith: She does not belong here.
Dark: I noticed.
Kaelith: And yet she walked through fire with no fear.
Dark's eyes tracked the girl until the heat shimmer swallowed her silhouette.
Dark: Something is wrong with her.
Kaelith: Everything is wrong with her.
Dark kept staring at the place she disappeared.
Dark: No. She feels harmless. Completely harmless.
Kaelith's flames dimmed slightly as she frowned.
Kaelith: That is what makes her dangerous.
Dark exhaled slowly, still watching the rippling horizon where the girl had disappeared. The volcanic wind carried her fading footsteps for a moment, then swallowed them completely. Only the rumble of shifting magma remained.
Dark: She talked to me like I looked... normal.
Kaelith crossed her arms, flames pulsing in irritation.
Kaelith: You are drenched in blood, standing in a world forged for killing, and she was worried you might be bruised. That is not normal.
Dark wiped the last smear of blood from his jaw.
Dark: She didn't flinch. Not once.
Kaelith: She shouldn't have been able to stand here. Forget flinching. A human should have died the moment her foot touched this ground.
Dark turned, brow furrowed.
Dark: You saying she wasn't human.
Kaelith looked down at the stone beneath their feet. The heat warped the air, but the spot where the girl had stood earlier was different. The molten stone had cooled into smooth, black glass. A perfect footprint rested in the center of it.
Kaelith knelt, running her fingers lightly across the glass.
Kaelith: Her presence warped the heat itself.
Dark stepped closer.
Dark: Sereon was looking that way before he left.
Kaelith's jaw tightened.
Kaelith: Then she is connected to him.
Dark: Obviously. But how.
Kaelith stood, brushing ash off her palms.
Kaelith: I don't know. Not yet. But Sereon noticing someone should concern you. That man sees everything with a purpose. Even accidents around him are intentional.
Dark's expression hardened.
Dark: He said "right on time."
Kaelith: Yes. He did.
Dark clicked his tongue.
Dark: So she's part of something.
Kaelith: Everything is part of something when he is involved.
Dark looked away from Kaelith, back toward the horizon.
Dark: She didn't feel malicious.
Kaelith: People like him do not need malice. They need pieces that fit.
Dark: She's one of his pieces.
Kaelith: Most likely.
For a moment, silence hung between them. The volcanic wind picked up, blowing ash across Dark's shoulders. He didn't move.
Dark: She talked like she understood everything, but didn't want to say anything.
Kaelith: That is the worst kind of intelligence. The kind that hides itself.
Dark: You think she knows who he really is.
Kaelith shook her head.
Kaelith: I think she knows only what he chooses her to know. Which is much more dangerous.
Dark's jaw flexed.
Dark: She looked... happy.
Kaelith: Happiness means nothing. Even monsters smile.
Dark: She wasn't a monster.
Kaelith gave him a sharp look.
Kaelith: Everyone looks harmless until they choose not to be.
Dark stared at the cooling glass footprint again, brows narrowing.
Dark: Why did she help me.
Kaelith: Why do you think.
Dark: I don't know.
Kaelith: Exactly. And that is why I don't trust people like her.
Dark ran a hand through his hair, the adrenaline finally dying down.
Dark: Sereon left because of her.
Kaelith: Or because she arrived.
Dark: Same difference.
Kaelith: Not to him.
Dark looked back toward the ridge where she had stood, squinting as if trying to replay the way her silhouette moved.
Dark: She wasn't scared. She wasn't confused. She wasn't shocked we exist.
Kaelith: Meaning she has seen more than you think.
Dark: And she still smiled.
Kaelith: Yes.
Dark: The hell is she.
Kaelith lowered her flames.
Kaelith: A problem for another time.
Dark's shoulders tensed.
Dark: No. This is the kind of thing that grows if we ignore it.
Kaelith: You cannot chase her. You cannot track her. You cannot predict her. Not when she is tied to him.
Dark looked away, frustrated.
Dark: So what then.
Kaelith smirked faintly, though not from amusement.
Kaelith: You get stronger.
Dark: That again.
Kaelith: Always.
Dark stared at the black glass footprint one last time.
Dark: I don't like people appearing out of nowhere and acting like they know me.
Kaelith: Then get used to it. You are the Emperor. Everyone wants you for something.
Dark: Sereon wants something.
Kaelith: And she... might be the key.
Dark: To what.
Kaelith: Whatever he's planning.
Dark's eyes narrowed.
Dark: And we don't even know her name.
Kaelith: Good. Names give people weight. Right now she is only a shadow.
Dark scoffed.
Dark: She didn't feel like a shadow.
Kaelith looked toward the horizon again, eyes unreadable.
Kaelith: No. She felt like a spark.
Dark: That supposed to mean something.
Kaelith: It will.
For a moment they stood quietly, the volcanoes pulsing with slow, molten breaths. The world was violent around them, yet that one girl had moved through it like it was nothing but warm air.
Dark: She'll come back.
Kaelith: Yes.
Dark: And when she does.
Kaelith: We will be ready.
Dark cracked his neck, shadows tightening around his shoulders.
Dark: So. Continue.
Kaelith grinned, flames roaring back to life.
Kaelith: Gladly.
She stepped forward, fist igniting.
Kaelith: Lesson four.
Dark sighed.
Dark: Here we go again.
Kaelith: Survive me.
Dark: WAIT WHAT??? YOU HAVE NOT SAID THAT TILL N—-
To be continued.
End Of Chapter 3