-Year 7335, Road to Dennis Decatry Port — Déllarus Forest-
The carriage creaks over the dirt road. Outside, twilight paints the sky grey-purple. The cold has crept through the windows and now settles into my bones.
I take the paper — the Gods' Screen — and look at it for the tenth time. The symbols are there, black on dark background, but I don't understand them. The letters dance before my eyes like insects at night. Nothing.
"Still looking at that?" Ana asks, her voice lazy. She is reclined on the bench beside me, eyes half-closed. "I told you the drug lasts five minutes. It's been hours."
"I don't know. Maybe it comes back."
"It doesn't come back." She smiles. It's a tired smile, almost kind. "Dessus-rarir isn't wine. You don't drink it twice for the same effect. You need to wait a month."
"A month?"
"A month. Or get stronger. The system reveals itself when your body reaches certain thresholds. As long as you're weak..." She shrugs. "You're blind."
I put the paper back in my armour's pocket. Frustration tightens in my chest. Blind. That's what I am. A child playing hide and seek in a world I don't understand.
"Don't worry, Ethan," says Sara from the front bench. She had been sleeping earlier, but now her eyes are open, fixed on the passing landscape. "Father says all chosen ones go through this. In the beginning, no one understands anything."
"Your father is a pervert," Ana says without opening her eyes. "But this time he's right."
Ariny, sitting beside Sara, continues to look out the window. She hasn't said a word since we left the county. Her platinum-blue hair sways with the carriage's movement. She seems to be somewhere else. Maybe she is.
The carriage slows. I hear Gustavo's gruff voice speaking to the horses. Then, a stop.
"We'll rest," he announces, opening the small door. "The horses need water. And you, young ladies, need to stretch your legs."
We get out. The air outside is biting. I breathe deeply and the cold enters my lungs like blades.
We are in a clearing. Tall trees, mostly pines, with long, thin leaves. The tips glow — a faint bluish glow, like small candles. Mana, Ana tells me. The leaves accumulate mana at the tips. If you eat them, you recover energy.
"Is that true?" I ask.
"Want to try?"
Ana plucks a leaf from a low branch. She looks at it, then at me. She brings it to her mouth and chews.
"Tastes like mint. You won't die."
I pluck a leaf for myself. I put it in my mouth. The taste is strange — fresh, yes, but with a metallic aftertaste. I swallow. A tingling runs through my tongue, down my throat, spreads across my chest. I feel a slight recovery of energy. Nothing dramatic. Just less tired.
"See?" Ana smiles. "Now eat a hundred more and maybe you'll run faster."
"A hundred?"
"I'm joking. Leaves don't work miracles."
Sara also got out. She is staring at the edge of the clearing, where the forest darkens. Her eyes are wide.
"There's something there," she says, her voice low.
Ana turns. I do too.
At the edge of the light, between the trunks, there is a dark shape. Small. Perhaps the size of a dog. It moves slowly, hesitantly.
"What is that?" I ask.
"Ygresso," Ana replies, and there's a new gleam in her eyes. "A juvenile, by the looks of it."
The animal approaches. Dark blue scales, red eyes. Its wings are still small — probably can't fly yet. But its mouth... its mouth has teeth. And from the gaps between the scales, a whitish gas escapes, slow.
"Poison gas," Sara whispers, stepping back. "And red ice. The big ones spit red ice."
"This one isn't big," Ana says. "This one is yours, Ethan."
"What?"
"It's yours, chosen one. Show what you're capable of."
She steps back. Sara does too. Ariny, who had stayed in the carriage, appears at the door but doesn't get out. She just watches.
The Ygresso takes another step. Its red eyes fix on me.
"I have no experience with monsters," I say, my voice higher than I intended.
"Now you will."
My hand goes to the sword. The black blade with red veins. Andy said it belonged to a dead friend. I feel the weight of the hilt. It's good. Solid.
The Ygresso attacks.
It's fast. Much faster than I expected. It jumps toward me, mouth open, teeth bared. I dodge at the last second — my body moves by instinct, not thought. The creature passes by me, grazes my arm. Its scales cut my skin.
It burns. A liquid burning, like fire under the skin. The poison.
"Kill it before it spits," Ana shouts. "Red ice from a juvenile won't kill, but it will blind you."
The Ygresso turns. Its wings open — small, useless for flying, but useful for intimidation. The white gas comes from its mouth in small clouds.
I advance. This time I don't wait. I shout — an ugly, clumsy sound — and I strike. I miss. The blade passes by the creature's body, scrapes the ground. The Ygresso retreats, hesitates.
*It's not brave*, I think. *It's afraid.*
I take advantage of its hesitation. I advance again. This time the strike is more controlled. The sword hits its head. The Ygresso's skull cracks. Its body falls, twitches once, lies still.
Silence returns.
"That wasn't pretty," Ana says behind me. "But it worked."
I look at my hand. My arm burns. There's a superficial cut, but the skin around it is swollen, reddish. Poison.
"You'll be fine," Sara says, approaching. "It's weak. A juvenile."
I feel something. Strange. When the Ygresso died, something entered me. I don't know how to describe it. Like a stream of cold water, but inside my chest. An energy. Very little. But it's there.
"Do you feel it?" Ana asks, with a strange smile.
"I feel... something."
"Essence. Monsters have it. When you kill them, part of it passes to you. That's how chosen ones get stronger. Not just training. Absorption."
I look at the Ygresso's body. Its scales no longer shine.
"So I have to kill monsters to get stronger?"
"One way. The fastest. You could also train for years. Or pray that your god gives you power for free." Ana laughs. "But I doubt Macano is generous. He's a monkey, not Santa Claus."
---
We return to the carriage. Gustavo had already watered the horses. We leave.
My arm still burns. Ana takes a plant leaf from a bag — different from the trees. It's wide, rough, dark green almost black.
"Chew this. It removes the poison."
"Where did you get it?"
"It's everywhere. You just need to know what to look for."
I chew. The taste is bitter. The burning subsides.
"Ygressos are rare here," Sara says, sitting back beside me. "They usually stay in the Torrus-endras. If they're appearing near the roads..."
"It's the blue-mind-destroyer," Ana finishes. "The animals are going mad. Not just the wolves. All of them."
"And what is that?" I ask. "The blue-mind-destroyer?"
"A disease. Or a curse. Or both." Ana looks out the window. "The second sun has been strange. For months. Animals live on mana and divine energy. When the sun becomes... different, and a demon lord uses his power, the animals go mad. They become aggressive. Kill for no reason."
"Demon lord?"
"You don't know anything, do you?" Ana sighs. "Demon lords are creatures from the deepest layer of reality. Hell, the people call it. There are eight. Four in the first strand, four in the second. The weakest of them is stronger than any human."
"And there's one causing this?"
"Maybe. Or maybe not. Rumours say yes. The king asked for soldiers from all houses. My father gave three thousand. The others gave more. There will be war."
Silence falls over the carriage.
"Where is the academy?" I ask, to change the subject.
"On peninsula Derylini," Ariny replies, suddenly. Her voice is soft, almost a whisper. "The port is called Dennis Decatry. In honour of the ancestor who killed Lord Tryni."
"Who killed what?"
"A demon lord from the first strand. The worst of them, they say. It was centuries ago." Ariny looks back out the window. "My great-great-grandfather, or something."
"Your family is lucky," I say.
"Lucky?" Ana laughs. "God Decatry is the god of luck, Ethan. The firstborn of the family is always his chosen one. My father is lucky. I am not. I am the daughter of an Arth-ssól. My luck is different."
I don't ask what she means. Something in her tone tells me I don't want to know.
---
The carriage continues down the road. The sun has disappeared. Outside, the darkness grows.
Gustavo lights the side lanterns. The light dances on the trees, creating shadows that seem to move on their own.
"Two more hours to the inn," he announces. "We'll stop once more for the horses."
"I don't want to get out," Sara says. "It's cold."
"No one is getting out," Ana says. "Just a quick stop."
The carriage slows. I hear the sound of hooves on the ground, the heavy breathing of the horses. Gustavo gets out, checks the harnesses.
I look out the window. Moonlight faintly illuminates the fields. Tall flowers, with wide petals. Fortéria flowers, I remember? No. No one taught me. I know because Ana told me, a while ago.
"The grains of that flower cure diseases," I say, pointing.
"They cure," Ana confirms. "But whoever eats them loses strength. Many lose. If they eat too much, they die."
"A cure with a price."
"All cures have a price, Ethan. The difference is whether the price is written or not."
The carriage moves on.
---
The Delluzio Inn appears in the middle of the night.
It's a dark stone building, with a slate roof. It stands isolated, on the edge of a small fishing village. There are few lights. The silence is almost total.
Gustavo parks the carriage at the door.
We get out. The cold outside is more intense than before. The wind brings the smell of salt — the sea is not far. Dennis Decatry Port is tomorrow. This is the penultimate stop.
The inn door opens.
A man comes out. He's fat, bald, with yellow teeth. His hands are greasy. A stained apron.
"Welcome, nobles," he says, his voice thick. "I have rooms prepared. And hot food, if you want."
"We want," Ana says. "And baths."
"Of course, of course. Ierály!"
A girl appears behind the man. Dark brown hair, green eyes. She wears simple servant's clothes — dark skirt, white blouse, clean apron. She helps carry the luggage. She doesn't speak. She just smiles.
The smile is polite. Empty.
"This is my daughter, Ierály," says the innkeeper. "If you need anything, just call."
Ierály makes a small curtsy. Her green eyes fix on me. A second. Perhaps two. Then she looks away.
I feel a shiver. I don't know why.
Ana looks at the girl with a strange expression. As if she recognises her. But she says nothing. She just enters, followed by Sara and Ariny.
I stand at the door for a moment, looking out into the darkness.
"Are you coming in, sir?" Ierály asks. Her voice is soft. Pleasant. Normal.
"Yes," I answer. "I'm coming."
I enter. The door closes behind me. The wind howls outside.
*I didn't know it then, but death had just welcomed us.*