Verd froze, as if caught in a trap. Rushing forward would mean certain death, being torn to shreds by the strike of an unknown force. His hand, gripping the blade, trembled slightly. Fate, it seemed, had taken pity on him, granting him a saving chance. The door swung open just as he was about to charge into battle.
On the threshold stood Kael.
Seeing that the young man was alive, Kael exhaled in relief.
— Glad you're alive.
A small smirk appeared on Verd's face.
— Don't tell me you thought I'd die that easily?
Kael didn't reply. He simply nodded, inviting Verdian to follow him. Together, they left the room.
***
The tension faded, replaced by overwhelming relief. Verdian considered Kael a power, perhaps even the strongest within the mountain. Beside such a man, he could fear no monster attacks.
— Listen, — Verdian began, — How about you tell me where you've been? You couldn't have just sat still while the monsters attacked.
Verd had asked a crucial question.
— And what are those creatures?
He hoped the answer would show him at least a sliver of this world and reveal Kael's true motives.
If it turned out he had simply stayed in his room, leaving people to die, that would only confirm Verd's suspicions about him. Then running away, at the first opportunity, would be the only right decision.
But Verdian was wrong. Everything was far more complicated.
Even before Verdian awoke and began his new path, Kael and several others had gone outside. Kael's words about a ruined world were only half true, seasoned with a drop of lies.
The outside world was not entirely destroyed. Several civilizations still existed out here. And occasionally, Kael would leave the shelter to help the lost and offer them refuge in this safe place.
Kael, of course, decided to hide the truth. On the fly, he concocted a story about an attack by a horde of monsters he'd had to fight.
As for the second question, Kael hesitated. Verd had already seen the monsters with his own eyes, but was he ready for the truth that had been hidden from him for years?
Yet even Kael could not foresee that this day would be the last he could keep his secrets.
— Go down this path, — he pointed to a dimly lit tunnel. — At its end, you'll find two warriors. There will be a room with the other survivors. Nothing will threaten you there.
Verd raised an eyebrow. Realizing he still knew nothing, he understood – Kael just wanted to push him away.
— Why won't you tell me anything? — his voice rose involuntarily. His dissatisfaction had reached its limit; years of deception had taken their toll.
— Go to the room, — Kael replied calmly and, turning around, prepared to leave.
— I'm not going anywhere until you tell me everything!
Verd was sure of one thing: Kael needed him for something, which was why he had always tried to build a rapport with him. Relying on that, he finally decided to learn something.
But just then, clicking sounds came from afar, and two mantises appeared ahead. That changed nothing. In an instant, a blue flash struck toward them, and their bodies were torn apart.
After that, Kael glanced back with a slightly malicious look.
— I said. Go to the room.
Verd tensed, realizing the situation was taking a serious turn. As far as he could remember, this was the first time he'd seen Kael angry. At the same time, he knew that if he kept pushing, best case he'd learn only part of the truth, worst case he'd ruin his relationship with Kael forever.
— I'll go after you tell me everything! — Verd dug in his heels. Kael understood, seeing the fierce fire in the young man's eyes.
He was about to answer – whether to finally reveal the whole truth, admit he'd been lying his whole life and keeping him in this place for a kind of "help," or to ask him again to go to the room – but the situation allowed neither. From afar, from the very spot where the fire from the flash still smoldered, heavy footsteps sounded, as if a giant statue had finally taken its first step.
From the ash and flames, a silhouette began to take shape. At first, it was unclear whether it was human or monster. But as it drew closer, everything became obvious. A tall, broad-shouldered figure clad in golden armor. In its hands rested a golden spear, from which weak lightning emanated.
Verd instinctively felt danger. Thousands of goosebumps ran across his body. With difficulty, he glanced at Kael and saw that he felt the same fear.
The corners of his lips trembled, but he still managed to force out:
— What the hell are you doing here?
The figure was silent. Bending down, it extended its spear. As if summoned, three electric spheres appeared beside it. In quick succession, streams of lightning emerged from them, charging the spear.
With effort, Kael noticed that the enemy's spiritual energy reserves were almost exhausted. Several possibilities ran through his mind as to where it could have spent them, but he couldn't think of anything suitable for the current moment.
Deciding to ask directly, he didn't get the chance. The figure was instantly beside him. At the last moment, Kael managed to raise a barrier before his face.
But it wasn't enough. Under the intense pressure and lightning strikes, the barrier cracked almost instantly. Dodging just in time, Kael braced himself on one hand and slid toward Verd.
— Will you listen to me now? — his voice was tense.
Realizing the gravity of the situation and fearing for his life, Verdian finally gave up trying to learn anything.
Leaving him behind, Kael stood alone against the looming danger.
Death. It was the only thing he felt in that moment. Any attack could end his life in an instant.
Both, fully aware of their circumstances, held back their power to avoid destroying the entire mountain. Yet even so, the walls cracked and crumbled. The aftermath of their techniques and strikes sent vibrations across the mountain slopes. The monsters that had recently arrived, sensing such a concentration of aura, quickly scattered – their survival instincts overriding their hunger.
The entire battle lasted only a few moments. Kael lay on a rock amidst a pile of rubble, blood slowly trickling down his face.
He could have confidently continued the fight. But the terrain worked against him. His goal was to protect the mountain's inhabitants, and if he went all out, he would destroy the mountain, burying everyone alive. Moreover, as a magic-path user, he was at a disadvantage against an enemy who was apparently a warrior-path user.
In short, he could have put up a good fight, but the outcome would have remained unchanged. Defeat, predetermined by fate.
Blood gushed from his mouth. Smiling one last time, he said:
"It's... you, isn't it?"
The figure was silent. A second later, just as Kael was about to close his eyes, the helmet on its head dissipated, revealing a face.
— Ha... you bastard... so that's your... divine... technique...
Unable to speak further, Kael's head fell to the side. His eyes lost focus. He was dead.
The helmet instantly reappeared on its head. Lifting Kael's cold body, the figure tossed it into a spatial ring portal that opened beside it. A spatial ring was a rare and useful artifact, allowing one to store items in another dimension.
Glancing toward where Verd had fled, the figure immediately set off after him.
***
As Kael had predicted, following the path, Verd found a room with about fifty people. Some were wounded, missing arms or chunks of flesh. Verd was one of the few lucky enough to be unharmed. Due to the earth tremors, people had split into groups, settling in the four corners where it was safest in case the ceiling collapsed.
The young man's mind flashed back to the terrifying aura he had felt recently.
'Can Kael really handle that?'
He twirled the monster's core in his hands, examining it from all sides.
'Not that I'm worried about him. It's just... who's going to tell me about the outside world then?'
At that moment, the door crashed off its hinges, kicked in. Verd, already trembling with anticipation, expected to see Kael, but before him stood the figure in golden armor, covered in blood. His heart sank. Already resigned to death, Verd relaxed his shoulders and stared at the floor. But to his surprise, the figure wasn't aggressive toward him or the other people there.
It extended a hand, as if wanting to help the young man up. Verd stood, bewildered by its actions. Just minutes ago, this warrior had been hostile when near Kael. Indeed, it had never had any interest in killing Verd. Its target was Kael, and Verd had simply been unlucky enough to be nearby at that moment.
'I don't understand...'
Verd froze, torn between taking the outstretched hand and the fear of uncertainty. The consequences could be unpredictable.
And then, as if by magic, a seal flared on Verd's forehead, and his body began to dissipate. That same mark left by Kael with yesterday's touch. Honestly, Kael had foreseen the worst and, lacking time, hastily placed a protective sign for instant teleportation.
But there was one catch. Kael hadn't had time to finish the settings. So Verd could be thrown anywhere, to the most unimaginable corners.
Falling face-first into the ground, he frantically began to feel himself over. The teleportation had been sudden, and its effects truly terrifying. Confirming that all body parts were intact, he sighed in relief and looked around.
Before him stretched an ordinary, unremarkable forest. Majestic trees, cascading vines, sunlight piercing through the dense foliage. Taking a few steps forward, about thirty meters from his arrival point, he emerged into an open clearing. And only upon seeing the landscape before him did he realize the full depth of his situation.
If there were a difficulty scale for worlds where one could be thrown, with survival odds listed, an ordinary forest would occupy the lowest rung. The sea or a desert would receive a medium rating, given their natural hardships.
With his luck, Verd was sure he'd be thrown into some waterless desert. But reality was far harsher.
He stood on all fours, mouth agape, nearly in tears. Before him lay the Outside World he had so longed to learn about. But... but with his luck, he had ended up on a tiny floating island, barely twenty meters in diameter.
'Why did I end up here?!'