When they stepped out of the cave, Midas sat on a rock to look at the map. After everything he went through to get it, the least he could do was check where the hell they were. And while he struggled to pull the map out of his clothes, Briar watched the little birds in the trees and the blue sky stretching above them. Nature was great, sure—but Briar could only think about eating the birds singing their morning song.
Suddenly, Midas let out a heavy sigh.
Briar turned to look at him.
"The map is stained with blood…" he said. He had laid it over the rock, holding it down with a smaller stone so the wind wouldn't take it, but it was mostly covered with dried blood from yesterday. Still, a few parts were visible.
"Really? Let me see!" Briar said, kneeling beside him. When she looked at the map, she leaned in to smell it. "Your blood smells nice."
Midas looked at her uncomfortably. "Saying that just makes me feel worse. So many lives were lost, and in the end, nothing turned out right. We escaped, but… at what cost?"
Human dilemmas were far too complex for Briar. For her, killing was just another cycle that was part of life. There was no reason to feel ashamed for killing a few people. However, after spending time with Midas over the past day, she had begun to find his behavior… interesting. Maybe being locked up for years had messed with her head, making her curious about something so mundane.
"Don't get sad all of a sudden. Killing isn't a bad thing. I'll never understand why humans feel so ashamed to admit they've killed something or someone. You kill to eat, you kill to get a home, you kill to live. It's not that hard to understand."
In that sense, Briar wasn't wrong.
Still, Midas didn't want to keep talking about it. He stood up, cracking his hands inside the inhibitor, and looked around.
"That has nothing to do with this. Now let me figure out where we are on the map."
Even though most of it was stained, parts of northern Runeterra were still visible. If the snow-covered peaks in the distance were part of the Freljord, then that meant there was only one direction to go.
Briar, however, raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, we escaped and all, but… where are we supposed to go?"
Midas frowned. "We?" He found it strange that she included herself, but having her around wasn't a problem anymore. He still felt guilty for leaving her behind earlier with those soldiers, so he answered naturally, accepting her presence. "We're going to Zaun, obviously," he said quickly, still scanning the surroundings.
"Zaun…? I have no idea where that is. Is it close to Noxus?"
"Sort of, but not really." Midas crouched down and pointed at the map with both hands. The southern portion was stained, but a few areas still showed key locations. "Noxus is here, right in the upper center. The Immortal Bastion—the place we escaped from—is relatively close to a port that could take us to Piltover. The problem is that, according to this map, Noxus has expanded a lot in recent years, and that port—which used to be a free city—is now part of Noxus."
Basilich, the port city, had been taken over years ago. Darius himself had crushed the city, turning it into part of the Empire. Midas could imagine how it happened, but he didn't really care.
"Walking all the way to Piltover would be stupid. The route is too dangerous, and without transportation it's even worse. The parts of the map that got stained don't matter much—those regions all have their own problems. I'm sure most of them are hostile toward Noxus. And us, wearing Noxian clothes? They'd probably cut our heads off on sight."
"Wow, slow down, brainiac. You sound like you know way too much."
Midas smiled faintly. "I know a few things because my older sister used to force me to study. She always said, 'If you can't become strong, then become smart. If you study and get smart enough, you'll become an important man in Piltover and get us both out of this dump.' And then she'd go beat up drunk guys in bars to steal their money."
"Hahaha. Your sister sounds like a really cool girl."
"I guess she is. Unlike me…"
"Why? What do you mean?"
Midas shook his head. "Nothing important. Time to move. If you want to follow me, that's your choice. You got me out of that cell, so the least I can do is take you with me… even if you're an uncontrollable killer."
"I got you out because that's what friends do."
Briar genuinely considered Midas her friend, even if the concept itself was extremely hard for her to understand. For Midas, though, it was more complicated. Setting aside the escape, he had seen how terrifying she could be. She had killed so many people as if they were nothing.
When it came to morality, Midas was a complete mess.
In the end, all he could do was laugh bitterly. "Heh… yeah, friends…"
There were still too many things he didn't understand.
He tucked the map into the tear in his shirt—the hole left by Darius's axe—and began walking in the opposite direction of the snowy mountains. Briar followed him with an excited smile.
"I've never gone on a journey with a friend before. This is going to be fun."
"Same here," Midas replied, dripping with sarcasm. He walked barefoot, watching the trees and making sure they didn't stray off course.
Suddenly, Briar stopped.
"Wait, I hear something. It's like a roar."
"A roar?"
Well, considering her heightened senses, it made sense she could hear things from far away—and a roar wasn't a good sign.
"Yeah. I think I know where it's coming from." She stepped closer to Midas and leaned toward him, listening carefully. "It's coming from your stomach. Are you hungry?"
…
…
"Yeah. I'm hungry…" He had expected something more dangerous. Well, with Briar, surprises never stopped. For someone who had almost died, that wasn't much of a problem anymore. "I thought you heard some wild beast."
"A man's hunger is a wild beast," she nodded, approving her own words.
And honestly… she wasn't wrong.
"Yeah… I haven't eaten since yesterday. Even when I was locked up, the soldiers used to bring me food."
"Huh. Lucky. They never gave me anything. I was starving, which is why I took the chance to eat when we escaped."
"You can survive without eating, right? I can't. I'm still human… I think." For a moment, Midas glanced at the scar on his chest.
"Just because I can survive without eating doesn't mean I don't suffer from hunger. You know, my hunger is like a bomb. When it explodes, everything gets really fun and chaotic."
"Yeah, I saw that earlier. It was horrible."
…
…
They kept walking like that for several hours.
Midas was starving.
So was Briar.
At some point, Briar decided to go hunt for food. Midas didn't object. He knew she could handle herself—but he couldn't. Physically, he was weak, even if his magic was incredibly dangerous. A mage who couldn't defend himself was easy prey.
So Midas sat near some trees under the sunlight. It was probably around noon, judging by the sun's position.
Sitting there in silence, he remembered the "gift" the gods had given him in that cave.
'I shouldn't think about it, but…'
The vivid image of two pale hills was burned into his mind. The memory of Briar sitting on top of him, her chest exposed, had somehow become one of the best memories he had.
Well… most of his memories were depressing garbage. Something good had to happen eventually.
'I really shouldn't think about that. It makes me feel like crap.'
Of course, Midas might be a killer, but he wasn't a pervert. Even if it was an accident, Briar's innocence in that moment made him feel guilty.
"Damn it… I don't even know what to think anymore. She's bad, but…"
Briar wasn't evil—not really. She was more like a somewhat intelligent animal. For her, killing was normal. She fed on corpses. You wouldn't blame a lion for eating a gazelle—it was just the cycle of life.
The same applied to Briar.
It was hard to tell what was right and what was wrong.
"But…"
Her adorable smile, her indifferent words, her energetic attitude…
It was impossible for Midas to hate her.
And somehow, she reminded him of his older sister.
Thinking that, Midas leaned back against the rock and looked at the clouds. The place was quiet—too quiet. He didn't know when a monster might attack. He had no way to defend himself, and yet he had let Briar wander off.
Maybe, deep down, he just wanted to be punished for his sins.
"…They were soft…"
Well, of course—Midas was a virgin.
But those thoughts were keeping him from sinking back into depression. He had been locked away for years, cut off from his only family, burdened by the lives he had taken.
Right now, his only light was the memory of a girl's chest… and the hope that he might see his sister again someday.
"…Friend, huh… It's been a long time since I thought about that."
Midas had never had friends in Zaun. All he had was his older sister.
But over the past years, Briar had kept insisting they were friends—and now, Midas was starting to believe it.
It didn't feel that strange anymore.
"Maybe I should give her a chance."
He closed his eyes, hoping to rest his mind—but suddenly, he heard someone shout.
"Get out of the way!"
For a moment, he thought it was just one of the voices that sometimes whispered to him, a remnant of his fractured sanity.
But—
"Midas! Get out of the way!"
That was Briar's voice, shouting from a distance—sounding strangely distorted.
Midas opened his eyes and looked forward.
And froze.
Briar was riding a massive boar charging straight toward him.
She was biting its neck—that's why her voice sounded so strange.
"Wha—AAAH!" Midas jumped up from the rock and tried to run—but the boar was faster.
The beast slammed into him and sent him flying.
Briar watched in slow motion as Midas was launched through the air before crashing violently into a tree. Her mouth opened in shock, but then she frowned at the boar.
"You stupid pig! You're not supposed to do that!"
She opened the pillory, releasing her hunger.
Briar slashed the boar's flesh over and over with her blood blades, spraying herself with blood. It was fast and precise—once she felt the boar die, the hemolith floated back to her shoulders and closed the restraint again.
It wasn't much, but Briar knew when to stop.
…Mostly.
"Hehe. Here you go, Midas. Lunch is served," she said, sitting proudly atop the boar.
But Midas didn't respond.
"Midas?"
Of course—after getting rammed by a beast, Midas was lying on the ground, his head stuck in a bush. He didn't seem unconscious, though—he was struggling to get out, but with his hands restrained, it was impossible.
"Wait, I'll help you!"
Briar hopped down and walked over. Grabbing his shirt with her teeth, she yanked him free in one swift motion.
Midas sat up.
He looked at the ground, then up at her.
"Ow…"
As if getting hit by an axe in the chest hadn't been enough, now he'd been run over by a boar.
"Are you okay?"
Midas sighed. "Yeah… I'm fine…" Even so, the impact had been strong. He wasn't sure if anything was broken, though it didn't seem like it. Just a sharp pain in his back that was slowly fading.
"Great, because I brought food."
"Food? That's food?"
All Midas saw was a mutilated boar bleeding out on the ground.
Briar nodded happily. "Yep. Let me get you some meat."
She walked over, tore off a chunk of red flesh with her mouth, and returned to him.
"Open your mouth."
"What? I'm not a bird."
"I said eat."
Her tone was serious—in a strangely amusing way. She spoke with the bloody meat still in her mouth, saliva dripping from her lips.
"Hurry up. I want to eat too."
A woman feeding a man like that…
Midas had a difficult decision to make.
He couldn't use his hands.
So… what was he supposed to do?
That dilemma stood before him.