We exchanged glances.
Scarlett gave a barely perceptible nod.
"Shall we do it?"
"Let's go."
We descended the stone steps of the arena and headed toward the girl with purple hair. She had just finished talking to the caretaker and was about to leave.
I noticed that even now, she looked strange to me. My gaze seemed to cling to her cloak, her glasses, her gun… but my brain didn't seem to want to keep the girl herself in the center of attention.
We stopped a few steps away.
"Hey, Rilay?" I said uncertainly.
She turned around.
For a few seconds, she just looked at us through the dark lenses of her glasses.
"Yeah?"
Scarlett got straight to the point:
"Good fight."
The girl shrugged.
"Just another one."
She slung the gun over her shoulder so easily, as if it weighed nothing.
"That archer was slow."
I grunted.
"We saw."
I paused.
"Listen… we're putting together a team."
She tilted her head slightly.
"So?"
"And you're a good fit for us."
She was silent for a few seconds.
Then she slowly raised her hand and snapped her fingers.
The gun scattered into sparks of light and vanished.
The green cloak of the Essence dissolved right after it.
She took off her glasses last.
And only then did I see her eyes for the first time.
Bright green.
Very lively.
She looked intently at me first.
Then at Scarlett.
"I prefer," she said calmly, "to know people who call me by my name."
We froze for a second.
Scarlett was the first to catch on.
"Scarlett."
She nodded in my direction.
"This is Oscar."
I waved my hand.
"Nice to meet you."
The purple-haired girl looked at us for a few seconds.
Then she smiled.
"Rilay."
She held out her hand.
I shook it.
Her grip was unexpectedly firm.
"So you're new."
"We passed calibration today," I said.
"I see."
She looked us over from head to toe.
"You're not bad."
"Thanks?" I said, not sure how to react.
"It's a compliment."
She put her glasses back on her nose; this time they were ordinary glasses with clear lenses.
"I rarely do that."
Scarlett folded her arms.
"Have you been here long?"
"A year."
She held up one finger.
"Almost."
"I arrived last year."
I raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"And you're already so confident?"
She snorted.
"I've always been confident."
Then she looked at us intently again.
"But the team…"
She tapped her chin thoughtfully with her finger.
"Hmm."
"I usually work alone."
"Why?" I asked.
She shrugged.
"People are slow."
"And noisy."
Scarlett smiled quietly.
"You're pretty noisy too."
Rilay broke into a wide smile.
"That's cool."
I couldn't help myself:
"Cool?"
"Of course."
She suddenly leaned in a little closer.
"Do you even realize how cool all this is?"
Scarlett and I exchanged glances.
"What exactly?" I asked cautiously.
She spread her arms wide.
"Monsters."
"Magic."
"Fights."
"Powers."
Her eyes were literally glowing.
"It's just like a comic book."
I blinked.
"Comics?"
"Yeah."
She sat up straight.
"I've been reading them since I was a kid."
"Superheroes, antiheroes, epic battles…"
She pointed at the arena again.
"And now we're literally living in this."
Scarlett chuckled softly.
"Most people here call it survival."
Rilay shrugged.
"I guess you could say that."
Then she looked at us.
"But if you're stuck in another world…"
She smiled slyly.
"You might as well do it in style."
I couldn't help but smile.
"Sounds like your motto."
"Absolutely."
She suddenly clapped her hands.
"By the way."
"I'm hungry."
She pointed her thumb toward the street.
"Let's go eat."
I blinked.
"What?"
"Food."
She looked at us as if it were obvious.
"People usually talk and get to know each other over food."
Scarlett looked at me.
"She's right..."
Rilay had already started walking.
"I know a great spot at the market."
She glanced back over her shoulder.
"And if you're going to try to talk me into joining your team…"
She smirked.
"You'd better do it on a full stomach."
I whispered to Scarlett:
"She's pretty eccentric."
Scarlett nodded.
"Yeah…"
We caught up with her just as she was leaving the training area.
Now that her Essence was gone, she looked completely different.
No gun, no green cloak.
She wore a simple white shirt with a slightly worn leather jacket draped over it, the kind many in the Citadel wore. Plain pants, comfortable boots-the attire of an ordinary fortress resident.
Only her purple hair and glasses still set her apart from the crowd.
Rilay walked with confidence, as if she knew the way perfectly. She kept her hands in her jacket pockets, occasionally bouncing as she walked.
"Okay," she said, without turning around. "Just a heads-up."
"About what?" I asked.
"I eat a ton."
Scarlett smirked.
"Is that a threat?"
"It's a fact."
She finally turned around, continuing to walk backward.
"My Essence devours mana like a bottomless pit."
"And mana is energy."
"And energy is food."
She raised a finger, as if she'd just proven a complex theory.
"Therefore…"
"I need a lot of food."
I looked at her skeptically.
"It doesn't work that way."
"I know," Rilay replied with a chuckle.
A few minutes later, we emerged into the market district. Even in the evening, it was bustling here: stalls, counters, the smell of roasted vegetables, herbs, and bread.
Rilay confidently turned between two rows.
"Here."
She stopped at a small street kitchen. A simple wooden sign hung above it.
An elderly man stood behind the counter, frying something in a huge flat pan.
"Three servings!" Rilay called out from a distance.
The man looked up.
"You again?"
"Yep."
"Do you have tokens?"
She grinned.
"Of course."
Then she turned to us.
"You guys have tokens, right?"
I sighed.
"A few dozen."
"Great."
She nodded contentedly.
We sat down at a rough wooden table nearby.
A couple of minutes later, plates were set in front of us: stewed vegetables, flatbreads, and pieces of roasted meat.
Rilay grabbed one of the flatbreads before we could say a word.
"Mmm."
She chewed and closed her eyes contentedly.
"Now that's the life."
Scarlett calmly began to eat.
I decided to get back to the topic.
"So."
Rilay looked at me over the edge of her plate.
"Hm?"
"The team."
"Oh."
She took a bite of meat.
"Do you really want to take me?"
"Yes."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Even though I'm a little… strange?"
Scarlett shrugged.
"We've been traveling for six months through winter wastelands, forests, monsters, and crazy creatures."
"It's hard to surprise us."
Rilay smiled.
"Good answer."
She poked her fork in my direction.
"And you…"
"Oscar, right?"
I nodded.
"You're the guy with the ash."
"Yeah, that's me."
"That was really cool."
She made a sweeping gesture with her hands.
"When you vanished in a cloud of ash."
"Just like a ninja from old comic books."
"Only darker."
I smiled.
"Thanks…"
She shifted her gaze to Scarlett.
"And you…"
She paused for a second.
"You're like a character from high fantasy."
"Armor."
"Gravity."
"Ice."
She nodded to herself.
"Yeah."
"The team looks stylish."
Scarlett rolled her eyes.
"Do you judge everything by style?"
"Almost everything."
She went back to eating.
We were silent for a few seconds.
Then I asked:
"Why is your essence… like that?"
She looked up.
"What do you mean?"
"Modern?"
She looked at me.
Then she grinned.
"Because it's cool."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the best answer."
She rested her elbows on the table.
"When I woke up, the Essence just appeared on its own."
"And it was exactly like this."
"I think…"
She tapped her temple lightly with her finger.
"It's connected to what was in my head."
"And I've always had heroes, weapons, and epic scenes in there."
Scarlett said:
"And that's why you have an energy gun?"
"Yeah. But actually, it shoots pure mana."
"And lightning."
She spread her arms.
"Because lightning makes everything faster and more spectacular."
I nodded thoughtfully.
"Makes sense."
She suddenly looked at us more seriously.
"But a team isn't just about being 'cool.'"
"A team is about survival."
"People die by the dozen in Spire."
Her voice was still light, but there was a hint of experience in it.
"So here's the question."
She looked straight at me.
"Why are you going to Spire?"
I answered honestly:
"We're looking for a way to get back to Earth."
Rilay froze with the fork in her hand.
Then she slowly lowered it.
"Oh,"
She exhaled quietly.
"I see."
"So?"
She was silent for a few seconds.
Then she suddenly smiled.
"That sounds like a great plot."
Scarlett raised an eyebrow.
"A plot?"
"Of course."
She pointed at us.
"Three Awakened."
"There will be four of us," Scarlett interrupted her.
"Four Awakened," Rilay continued as if nothing had happened.
"Wandering through Spire."
"Looking for a way out of this other world."
She leaned back in her chair.
"If this were a comic book…"
She tapped the table with her finger.
"I'd definitely read it."
I chuckled.
"What do you mean?"
She picked up her water mug.
"I mean…"
She looked at us over her glasses.
"I think I'll join your team."
Scarlett nodded calmly.
"Okay."
I smiled.
"Great."
Riley took a sip.
"But there's one condition."
"What is it?"
She smiled broadly.
"If we climb high enough…"
"And it really becomes a legendary adventure…"
She raised her finger.
"I get to choose our team victory pose."
I laughed, not believing what I'd heard.
"What?"
Scarlett sighed.
"I think I'm going to regret this."
Riley beamed.
"You don't get it."
She leaned forward.
"Team poses are important."
When the plates were empty and the conversation began to die down, Rilay leaned back in her chair and let out a satisfied sigh.
"Now that's more like it."
She idly twirled a fork between her fingers.
"So… the team."
Scarlett nodded.
"The team."
I added,
"Do we start tomorrow?"
Rilay shrugged.
"Why not."
She stood up from the table and stretched, cracking her shoulders.
"Where do we meet?"
"At the training ground," said Scarlett.
"In the morning."
Rilay smiled.
"Good spot."
She put her glasses back on.
"If you suddenly change your mind about the team pose, I'll say right now-I'm out."
I sighed.
"We get it."
She turned and walked down the street without looking back.
But after a couple of steps, she waved over her shoulder.
"See you tomorrow, team."
And she disappeared into the evening crowd of the shopping district.
Scarlett and I sat in silence for a couple more seconds.
Then she said:
"She's strange."
"Very."
"But strong."
I nodded.
"And funny."
Scarlett stood up.
"Let's go."
"It's already late."
The walk back to the Awakened district took a little while. The Citadel at night was quieter than during the day, but it still had a life of its own: shops were closing here and there, guards were changing shifts at their posts, and the rare streetlights cast a soft yellow glow over the stone streets.
Scarlett and I walked side by side, occasionally exchanging a few words.
"There's just one problem left," she said at last.
"What is it?"
"Orpheus."
I stopped for a second.
"Right."
We exchanged glances.
"We don't know where to look for him," she continued. "Not at his house, nor anywhere he usually goes."
I scratched the back of my head.
"Yeah… that's a problem."
We walked a couple more blocks.
And suddenly, an idea popped into my head.
"Although…"
Scarlett looked at me.
"What?"
I smiled.
"I might know a way."
"What is it?"
"My essence's core ability."
She narrowed her eyes.
"That intuition of yours?"
"No. It's the passive part of my essence."
"The main ability is that if I set a goal… I can try to find a person. Or basically anything, if I have enough mana."
Scarlett thought for a moment.
"Do you think it'll work?"
"I don't know."
I shrugged.
"But we can check tomorrow."
She smiled.
"Okay."
"We have to meet at the training ground anyway."
We had just reached the dormitory for the Awakened-a long stone building with narrow windows and an inner courtyard. Most of the newbies lived here.
When we went up to the second floor and entered our room, I suddenly stopped at the table.
"By the way…"
Scarlett was already about to take off her jacket.
"What?"
I was silent for a few seconds.
"I forgot to tell you something."
She immediately became wary.
"That sounds suspicious."
"A little." I parried casually.
I took a step toward the table.
"Remember when I told you about the abandoned temple?"
"Of course."
"Well, I found something there."
I raised my hand and concentrated.
For a second, the space around me rippled slightly-like a faint ripple on water.
And in the next second, a rolled-up scroll of a map appeared on the table.
Scarlett blinked.
"This is…"
I unrolled it.
A huge map of Spire lay before us.
With countless regions.
Mountains.
Forests.
Fault lines.
And a multitude of strange markings made by someone's hand.
Scarlett slowly stepped closer.
"Oscar…"
She ran her finger along the border of one of the regions.
"This is…"
"A complete map," I said.
"At least, much more complete than anything we have in the Citadel."
She looked up at me.
"Where did you get this?"
"I found it along with… a diary."
"Whose?"
"The 'Great and Irreplaceable' one."
Scarlett frowned.
"The Great and Irreplaceable?"
"Yes."
"I don't know who he is."
I looked at the map again.
"But the entries in the diary… they're clearly very old."
"And by the looks of it, he traveled through the Spire."
Scarlett nodded toward the table.
"And the diary?"
I grimaced.
"That's the problem."
"I can't get it."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"It's… in the soul's arsenal."
"But it doesn't respond to the summons."
"I tried."
"Several times."
I spread my hands.
"Nothing."
"It's as if it's there… but I can't pull it out."
Scarlett thought for a moment.
"Maybe it's tied to some kind of condition."
"Possibly."
I ran my finger along the map.
"But there's one thing I remember from it."
She leaned in closer.
"What?"
I pointed to one of the distant landmarks.
"Here."
On the map was a large green area.
The green expanses of Eliar.
And next to it-a small mark.
"There was an entry in the diary."
I said slowly:
"… 'If you want to find answers… first go to the Hall of Wind Trials.' …"
Scarlett repeated quietly:
"The Wind Testing Chamber…"
She looked at the map.
"Is it over there?"
"Yes."
I nodded.
"At least, that's where it's marked."
She whistled.
"That's a long way from the Citadel."
"And almost the entire way is through wild territory that humans haven't yet subdued."
I sighed.
"Exactly."
We stared at the map in silence for a few seconds.
Then Scarlett said:
"So…"
"If we want to go there…"
I finished her sentence:
"Right now, it's suicide."
She nodded.
"Absolutely."
I folded the map back up.
"But at least it's a direction."
Scarlett looked at me.
"Yes."
She headed toward the bed.
"So it's simple."
"We're getting stronger."
I smiled.
"Sounds logical."
She was already lying down when she said:
"Tomorrow."
"The meeting with Rilay."
"And the search for Orpheus."
I blew out the lamp.
"And the start of our careers as explorers."
In the darkness, Scarlett said quietly:
"And then…"
"When we're ready…"
I looked at the table where the rolled-up map lay.
The green expanses of Eliar.
And a small mark.
The Hall of Wind Trials.
"Then we'll go there."