The Amethyst Raven circled once above them before banking sharply toward the distant rocky hills.
Its crystalline wings caught the afternoon sunlight as it turned, scattering faint violet flashes across the golden desert. From the ground, the summoned creature looked almost like a living gemstone soaring through the sky.
Ayame watched it carefully.
Although the familiar was physically separated from them, the connection between tamer and summoned creature remained intact. Through that bond, she could perceive what the Amethyst Raven was seeing and sense the changes in its movements.
That connection was the only reason they had been able to maintain the kidnappers' trail for this long.
Unfortunately, the trail was rapidly becoming more difficult to follow.
The desert wind had begun to pick up.
Fine grains of sand swept across the ground, filling footprints and erasing the evidence of movement one layer at a time. The vegetation scattered around the rocky portions of the desert had also begun settling back into place after being disturbed by the passing group.
Whoever had taken Ramos had clearly understood how to travel without leaving an obvious trail.
They had not simply run.
They had moved quickly while deliberately concealing their route.
Ryota stood beneath the palm tree for another moment, staring toward the distant hills.
Then his eyes moved toward the Amethyst Raven.
Finally, he looked at Ayame.
"We need to move."
Ayame lowered her gaze from the sky.
"We're waiting for Kiraya."
Ryota's expression tightened.
"We're losing time."
There was no anger in his voice.
Only urgency.
"Every minute we spend standing here gives them more distance."
Fayzan glanced toward the horizon.
Ryota was right.
The longer they waited, the harder the trail would become to follow.
Fayzan nodded.
"He has a point."
Ayame hesitated.
"But Kiraya is heading here."
She looked toward Ryota.
"Shouldn't we wait for her?"
Ryota immediately shook his head.
"No."
Ayame blinked.
Before she could respond, Fayzan stepped forward.
"We'll tell her to catch up."
He opened his communication window.
"We'll keep sending her our location. If she catches up, great."
His eyes shifted toward the mountains.
"But if she doesn't..."
He paused.
"...we keep moving."
Ayame remained silent for a moment.
The decision was not an easy one.
Kiraya was coming to help them, and having another powerful player with them would undoubtedly make the search safer.
But Ramos didn't have the luxury of waiting.
Every minute mattered.
Finally, Ayame nodded.
"All right."
She opened her own chat box.
Her fingers moved quickly across the translucent interface.
A message appeared.
Ayame: Kiraya, we're moving toward Ramos's trail.
She immediately sent another.
Ayame: Don't wait for us. Catch up when you can.
Then she attached their current coordinates.
Ayame: I'll keep sending our location.
Ayame closed the chat window.
"Done."
Ryota nodded.
"Good."
He turned toward the Amethyst Raven.
The crystal hawk was already moving again.
It flew lower than before, following the faint disturbances in the desert that remained from the kidnappers' passage.
Ryota didn't waste another second.
"Let's go."
He stepped away from the palm tree.
Fayzan followed immediately.
Ayame moved after them, keeping the connection with her familiar active.
The three players began crossing the desert.
Their pace was considerably faster than before.
There was no room for casual conversation now.
Nobody stopped to admire the scenery.
Nobody complained about the heat.
Their attention remained fixed on the trail ahead.
Ramos.
That was all that mattered.
They had to find him before the desert erased the evidence completely.
As they traveled farther from the Sandy Oasis, the landscape gradually began to change.
The endless stretches of soft sand became less frequent.
Small rocks began appearing beneath their feet.
Then larger ones.
The flat terrain slowly gave way to uneven ground covered with stone formations that protruded from the earth like the remains of an ancient battlefield.
In the distance, the mountains continued growing larger.
What had initially appeared to be little more than a rocky ridge now towered above the horizon.
Ayame's Amethyst Raven flew ahead of them.
Every so often, it would circle in the sky before suddenly changing direction.
Whenever that happened, Ayame adjusted their route.
Ryota kept watching the familiar.
"How far?"
Ayame focused on the connection.
Her eyes briefly lost focus as she concentrated on what the Raven was seeing.
"I'm not sure."
She paused.
"But the trail is still there."
Fayzan looked toward the mountains.
"Then they're heading upward."
Ryota nodded.
It made sense.
The desert offered very little cover.
Anyone traveling across the open sand could potentially be spotted from a considerable distance.
The mountains were different.
They were filled with places where a group could disappear.
Caves.
Cliffs.
Narrow passages.
Rocky valleys.
Abandoned structures.
There were countless locations where someone could hide.
Ryota's hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.
"Let's keep going."
Neither of the others argued.
They continued toward the mountains.
The farther they traveled, the more difficult the terrain became.
Eventually, the sand disappeared completely.
Their boots struck solid stone instead.
The sound of footsteps changed as well.
The soft crunch of sand was replaced by the scrape of boots against rough rock.
Fayzan moved slightly ahead, examining the terrain and checking for anything suspicious.
Ryota remained close behind him.
Ayame stayed between them and the Amethyst Raven continued guiding them from above.
The sun slowly began descending toward the western horizon.
Its bright yellow light gradually shifted into orange, painting the mountain peaks in warm colors.
Long shadows stretched across the rocky slopes.
The temperature also began to fall.
The intense heat of the desert was finally fading.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been a welcome change.
Not today.
Nobody suggested stopping.
They couldn't afford to.
Eventually, they reached the base of the mountain.
A narrow trail climbed along the rocky slope.
It was barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side.
A steep wall of stone rose along one side.
On the other was a sharp drop that descended toward the valley below.
Ryota approached the edge carefully and looked down.
The desert seemed surprisingly far away.
From this height, the Sandy Oasis had become little more than a distant patch of green surrounded by endless gold.
Ryota looked back toward the narrow trail.
"We're going up there?"
Ayame nodded.
"The Raven says the trail continues."
Fayzan examined the path.
It was rough and uneven, but there were signs that people had traveled through it recently.
Small stones had been displaced.
Several patches of dirt had been disturbed.
And in a few places, faint footprints were visible.
Fayzan drew his sword.
"Then we follow it."
Ryota nodded.
They began climbing.
The path became steeper after only a few meters.
Their footing became increasingly unstable as loose stones rolled beneath their boots.
Ryota occasionally had to place a hand against the mountain wall to steady himself.
Fayzan moved ahead carefully, testing each section of the path before continuing.
Ayame remained behind them, keeping the connection with the Amethyst Raven active.
Every few minutes, she stopped.
Her eyes would close.
Her breathing would become slow.
Then she would wait for information from her familiar.
"The trail turns left ahead."
Ryota immediately adjusted his direction.
A little farther up, Ayame spoke again.
"There's another path after that."
She looked toward the slope.
"Stay close. The trail becomes difficult to distinguish here."
Ryota nodded.
"Got it."
They continued.
Several small caves appeared along the mountain wall.
The first was empty.
The second contained nothing except scattered bones.
The third showed signs that a monster had once made its home there. Deep claw marks covered one section of the rock, and a faint rotten smell lingered in the darkness.
But none of them contained Ramos.
They moved on.
Higher.
And higher.
The air gradually became cooler as they climbed.
The desert below slowly disappeared behind the mountain ridge.
Ryota occasionally glanced backward.
Their original route was already difficult to see.
The Sandy Oasis had vanished from sight entirely.
Even the desert road they had followed earlier was now hidden behind the mountain.
Ryota turned forward again.
His expression hardened.
"Ramos..."
Fayzan heard him.
"We'll find him."
Ryota nodded.
"I know."
There was no uncertainty in his voice.
Only determination.
After another long climb, the trail narrowed even further.
The three were forced to move in single file.
Fayzan went first.
Ryota followed directly behind him.
Ayame brought up the rear.
The mountain wall pressed against one side of their bodies while the other opened toward the enormous valley below.
One wrong step could send someone tumbling down the slope.
A powerful gust of wind suddenly swept across the mountain.
Ayame instinctively reached for the rock wall.
"Whoa..."
Ryota immediately turned around.
"You okay?"
Ayame steadied herself before nodding.
"Yeah."
She took a moment to regain her balance.
Then she looked toward the sky.
The Amethyst Raven continued flying ahead.
Its crystalline body had become increasingly difficult to see against the bright sky.
Ayame's expression suddenly changed.
She stopped walking.
"Wait."
Ryota immediately turned toward her.
"What?"
Ayame didn't answer.
Her attention was completely focused on her familiar.
The Amethyst Raven had stopped moving forward.
It hovered above a section of the mountain farther ahead.
Its wings remained spread as it slowly circled the same area.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Ayame's eyes narrowed.
"It found something."
Ryota's expression sharpened.
"What?"
Ayame continued concentrating.
"I'm not sure yet."
She closed her eyes.
The connection between her and the familiar strengthened.
For a few seconds, she remained completely still.
Then her expression changed.
"There are tracks."
Fayzan stepped closer.
"Fresh?"
Ayame nodded.
"Very."
Ryota's heartbeat immediately quickened.
They had been following a fading trail for hours.
If the tracks were still fresh this high in the mountains, it meant they weren't far behind the kidnappers.
"Then we're close."
Ayame nodded.
"But..."
She opened her eyes.
"The trail goes farther up."
Ryota didn't hesitate.
"Then we go up."
Fayzan smiled faintly.
"That's the spirit."
They continued climbing.
The path grew increasingly remote.
There were no signs of other players.
No NPC travelers.
Not even the usual sounds of monsters wandering through the wilderness.
Only the wind moving between the mountains.
Only their footsteps against the stone.
And above them, the occasional crystalline chime produced by the Amethyst Raven's wings.
Ryota couldn't shake the feeling that they were entering territory where almost nobody traveled.
That realization made the situation more concerning.
The kidnappers hadn't simply wandered into the mountains.
They had chosen this place.
They had known where to go.
They had deliberately brought Ramos somewhere secluded.
Somewhere difficult to reach.
Somewhere where they could hide from anyone who might attempt to follow.
And that meant there was a good chance they had prepared for pursuit.
Ryota's grip tightened around his sword.
But he didn't slow down.
Ramos was somewhere ahead.
Every step brought them closer.
Several more minutes passed.
The sun was now dangerously close to the horizon.
The final rays of sunlight spilled across the mountain peaks, turning the surrounding landscape golden.
The shadows stretching across the rocky slopes grew longer.
Night was approaching.
Ryota knew that darkness would make their search considerably more difficult.
They needed to find Ramos before then.
The Amethyst Raven suddenly descended.
Ayame noticed immediately.
The crystal bird flew lower and lower until it landed gracefully on a large rock several meters ahead.
Ayame stopped.
The familiar turned its head.
It looked toward her.
Then toward a narrow opening between two enormous cliffs.
Ayame's eyes widened.
"There."
Ryota followed her gaze.
At first, he saw nothing unusual.
Only rock.
Darkness.
A narrow passage disappearing between the cliffs.
Then he noticed the ground.
A faint trail crossed the stone.
Footprints.
Fresh ones.
Several sets.
Ryota stepped closer.
He crouched and examined them.
There were enough tracks to confirm that a group had passed through recently.
But one set immediately stood out.
Smaller.
Uneven.
The footprints didn't follow the natural rhythm of someone walking.
Instead, they dragged across the ground.
Ryota's expression hardened.
Someone had been struggling.
Someone had been pulled along.
Ramos.
Ryota slowly stood.
"We found the trail."
Fayzan's hand moved toward his sword.
He drew it with a quiet metallic sound.
"Then let's find him."
Ayame nodded.
She recalled the Amethyst Raven, allowing the crystalline familiar to dissolve into a faint violet light that returned to her.
The three players moved toward the narrow passage together.
Ryota took the lead.
Fayzan walked beside him.
Ayame remained close behind.
The moment they entered the passage, the surrounding light disappeared.
The towering cliffs blocked the remaining sunlight, leaving only a narrow strip of orange visible behind them.
Their footsteps echoed against the stone.
The temperature dropped sharply.
Ryota could feel the atmosphere changing.
This wasn't simply another section of the mountain.
It felt like a boundary.
Behind them was the open desert.
Ahead was somewhere hidden.
Somewhere deliberately chosen.
Somewhere their enemies believed they could disappear.
Ryota tightened his grip around his sword.
He took another step.
Then another.
The mountain seemed to close around them as the passage grew narrower.
Behind them, the desert slowly disappeared from sight.
Ahead, the darkness deepened.
Fayzan lowered his voice.
"Stay alert."
Ryota nodded.
"I will."
Ayame tightened her grip on her staff.
The three continued deeper into the mountain.
None of them spoke again.
There was no need.
They had finally found the trail.
And now there was only one thing left to do.
Find Ramos.
The passage swallowed them completely.
The last trace of sunlight vanished behind the towering rocks.
Darkness surrounded them.
Somewhere within that darkness, the people who had taken Ramos were waiting.
Ryota could feel his heartbeat pounding against his chest.
His exhaustion was still there.
His injuries had not magically disappeared.
But the fear and uncertainty that had plagued him since the ambush were gone.
They had a trail.
They had a direction.
And they were finally close.
Ryota tightened his grip around his sword until his knuckles turned pale.
This time, he wouldn't let them get away.
Not again.