On the other side of the wall was a big open cavern. Slowly being revealed as more and more of the snow dissipated. It seemed like something one of those worms would carve out, that is if they were several times as thick. A silent thought caught in Naren's mind. Could they get bigger?
That thought however, was just as quietly shaken off as his golden eyes reflected something glimmering below.
Fire.
A segment of those worms was ripped off and engulfed in embers. The crackling of it now echoing through the deep cavern. Sitting in front of the the worm, stuffing his face in a barbaric manner was a man who was probably in his early twenties. His hair was cut short, messy, and choppy, done with something jagged, a color as white as the snow. A series of bandages covered his right eye. Loose dark fabric covered him, something like a shinobi, but now torn and frayed as several edges. A cloth scabbard sat right next to him, with the blade of a katana peering slightly through.
Naren's sleepy eyes glimmered as he recognized the man. The same one from the tavern at Thera. The same man that pulled one over on him. A sly smile quietly crept onto his face as Naren readjusted his scarf.
"Buddy!"
Vera watched in horror as Naren jumped down from their snow platform into the deep cavern, towards the homeless looking man. She thought he looked familiar, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. That feeling of someone she was told about, but never truly met.
The man looked up from his meal, watching Naren jump down. An unsettling grin etching itself onto his face.
As soon as Naren landed, the man lunged at him with a kunai, aimed directly at his throat. Naren stepped back avoid the slash, putting his hands up in protest.
"Woah woah woah. We're friends pal."
The man lowered his kunai slightly, studying Naren's face. A feat that Naren knew way to well followed by the same look of unfamiliarity.
"I don't know ya."
"Come on pal, don't tell me you forgot."
The smile slowly faded from the man's face as he began to study Naren more closely. Evidently reaching into the deepest parts of his brain, which bluntly looked like it took all his effort.
"Nah, nothing."
"Wow, that really hurts me you know. We were so close before."
"What really?!"
The man sat down next to the worm carcass, still burning. He raised his arms as if showing it off.
"I'm sorry dawg. Here help yourself to some. I can't believe I could forget."
Naren's eyebrow raised slightly. Of course, there was nothing to forget. They weren't close, they barely even had an interaction together. Though, as he looked to the meat that was cooking, he couldn't help but forget those woes. How long had it been since he ate? Way too long to remember.
Naren sat down right next to the suspicious man. The man pulled out a chunk of the burning meat with his bare hand, blowing on it until the flames extinguished and handed it to Naren. When he received it, it was still way too hot. Juggling the meat in his hand Naren tried not to drop it.
Once it finally settled, Naren ripped through the tough exterior, greedily devouring the chunk. Immediately however, he spat it out. It tasted disgusting. Way to bitter for his liking.
The man laughed as he witnessed Naren's sour face.
"Don't fuck with it?"
Then he pointed towards Vera who was peering down at them from the snow platform above.
"How bout her? She wanna try some?"
Naren turned his attention to Vera, who was by now almost drooling. She shook her head in contradiction to her hunger. That man was just way too suspicious. But at the same time she was just so hungry. Maybe one piece. Just that much shouldn't hurt.
Vera climbed down, being very careful as she did. Sitting down right next to Naren, she studied the man with more effort now. He was just so familiar.
"How can you eat this stuff. It's so gross."
"When you're hungry, you're hungry. Nothing really matters then."
Naren passed a portion of his cooled chunk to Vera and took another bite out of his. Scrunching his face as he chewed. Swallowing was the worst part. He barely chewed, trying to get rid of the awful taste as fast as possible. As a result the meat wasn't properly broken down before he swallowed. Forcing it down, Naren let out a groan of disdain.
"I'm not that hungry then."
Naren turned his gaze towards the man. Completely forgetting his previous plan of deceiving him. He wasn't such a bad guy after all. Maybe Naren just jumped to conclusions.
"You're great guy. What's your name?"
"Cairo. What about you?"
"Naren. And this is Vera."
Cairo stood up suddenly, keeping his eyes on the burning corpse in front of him.
Naren's gaze followed him, wondering what he was up to. The entire weight of the situation had all but disappeared with the meal they shared. Then a slight noise entered Naren's ears. Something crackling, more pronounce than the corpse. Something new was burning. Then Naren finally realized what had happened.
"I don't remember a Naren or a Vera."
An unsettling grin once more etched itself onto Cairo's face. The grin of a maniac, someone who enjoyed what he did.
"But I'd think they'd remember me. Don't you buddy."
By the time Naren noticed it, Cairo's foot had already made contact with Naren's face, pushing him back. As he fell back, he flicked his arms back to flip himself back into an upright position. He sold his plan by asking for Cairo's name.
At the same time, Vera stepped back, one hand pointing at Naren, the other quivering around her dagger.
"Sir, I wasn't trying to tr-trick you."
Cairo and Naren both looked at the girl. Cairo nodded while Naren looked stunned, his face long.
"Don't worry dawg, I see it."
Though his words carried no meaning. The grin on his face spoke more. It didn't matter whether Naren truly wanted to trick him or not. Cairo was just looking for any excuse to fight him.
"I really thought we were buddies. But now we gotta throw it down."
"Come on pal. I just forgot your name cuz it's been so long."
A swift slash at Naren's throat followed by a pronounced heat. Naren stepped back, sweeping his feet which Cairo jumped over. Naren threw a jab at the airborne body, only to have a kunai flying at his own. He was forced to dodge, pulling back his own jab. They both set their footing, gazing at each other.
"Here I was thinking you weren't such a bad guy."
Naren was breathing heavily. They both were. Even though they were a fair bit away from the pressure on the surface, the air wasn't much better. It was hard to breath, his movements were sluggish, and his muscles didn't want to cooperate.
"Here I was thinking we were buddies."
Vera stepped back away from the two, when her foot landed on a scabbard laying on the ground. Her eyes fixed on it.
'Make yourself useful.'
Cairo drew a second kunai from his pouch. His grin only getting more pronounced. He really did enjoy this.
There was no warning. Just a blur of motion as Cairo closed the distance, kunai flashing in both hands. The first strike came high — aimed at Naren's throat. The second came low, angled toward his ribs. Naren slipped left, the edge of a blade passing inches from his neck. His right arm came up, forearm parrying and redirecting the low strike outward. The Kunai narrowly missing skin.
Cairo didn't stop. He pivoted, spinning on his heel, and the kunai in his left hand reversed grip mid-motion, slashing back toward Naren's face.
Naren dropped his weight, dropping under it as he stepped in close. Too close for someone fighting with weapons. A sharp jab fired upwards aimed right for Cairo's ribs.
It connected, just barely. Cairo twisted his body letting the hit slide of his side instead of landing clean. Without flinching, his knee came up, driving into Naren's stomach.
Naren caught it with both hands, shaking the force sideways as he shoved Cairo back.
He landed light, his stance already reset. Taking a second of respite. Quick deep breaths.
Then the air between them shimmered.
Cairo's skin began to glow faintly, steam rising from his arms. The temperature spiked. Even a few feet away, Naren could feel the difference — the air itself was getting hotter, drier, and even harder to breath than it was before.
Cairo ignited. The oils on his body engulfed in flames licking across his forearms, up to his shoulders, flickering but controlled. The kunai followed suit, glowing orange in his grip as small embers danced off it.
Naren's sleepy eyes narrowed as he yawned. What a time to be tired.
"What a neat party trick."
Vera was by now shielding herself from the flames as a realization snapped into her mind. That's why he was so familiar. A feeling of dread passed through her entire body as her chest tightened.
This was the same man that Iris was quivering about. One eye, short hair, and flames. The crazy murderer thrown out by his own family. Musashi's one flaw.
However, Vera's face didn't show fear this time. She was done being afraid all the time. She had to make herself useful. She had to be strong.
Vera grabbed the scabbard and unraveled it. It felt strange in her hand, something in it was drawing her in. Like the weapon was speaking to her. Though it didn't matter by the time the blade revealed itself. Her face dropped at the sight.
The blade was completely chipped off half way through.