The group sprinted past smoldering ash pits, wisps of white smoke rising like trapped souls unable to ascend, mingling with the acrid stench of molten metal and synthetic polymers from the Asvaria wreckage. The thin, pungent haze stung Raizen's eyes, but he didn't pause to wipe the tears—each second's delay brought death closer. Noxvaria's bone-chilling cold seeped through his tattered tech-suit, icy gusts slicing his skin like invisible blades, but he gritted his teeth, his sharp gaze scanning the surroundings for any sign of the Shadowfangs—Kaelric's warned-of foes, humans turned savage, more perilous than the bloodthirsty Twistfangs.
Selena guarded the rear, a steadfast sentinel. Her gleaming steel sword was raised across her chest, ready for any threat. Her dual-toned eyes—icy blue and fiery red—never left the forest behind, where shadows seemed to writhe unnaturally, as if the dead land itself stirred to hunt uninvited intruders. Her steps were slow but deliberate, each measured like a seasoned warrior accustomed to life-or-death chases in the dark. Her white hair fluttered in the frigid wind, the scar on her neck stark under the gray sky's dim glow.
"Move faster!" she growled, eyes fixed on the forest without glancing at the group. "The smoke won't blind them long—Shadowfangs will come once they smell blood, and they're not as dumb as Twistfangs. They'll circle around, cut off our retreat if we don't reach the outpost before dawn." Her cold voice carried a rare urgency, as if she'd seen comrades fall for mere seconds' delay in her tormented past.
Raizen tightened his grip on the wooden spear, his gaze flicking to Kael and Seiryu ahead. His closest friends from the Eternal Seed project looked like wraiths in the hazy smoke—Kael, hands trembling as he clutched the warped metal slab, his pale blue eyes dimmed by exhaustion and unyielding regret; Seiryu, her face icy but her deep black eyes betraying worry with each glance at Raizen, her small scalpel glinting faintly, a silent vow she'd never let him fall alone.
Memories of the grueling yet hopeful days in the training camp flooded back—late nights under the lab's dim lights, Kael raving about inventions to change the world, Seiryu silently bandaging Raizen's wounds after brutal drills, and Valen Kabe lurking in a shadowed corner, his cold eyes watching them like pawns on his power-hungry chessboard. "We are the future," Valen had said, his steady voice laced with an unsettling obsession, "but every future has its price, Raizen." Now, that price lay bare—a cursed land where blood and ash were hope's only remnants, and the future was a luxury too distant to contemplate.
"Kael," Raizen called, his low, sharp voice cutting through the group's panting as they scrambled up a rocky slope littered with jagged stones, "that wreckage—are you sure it's still usable? If Valen meant to destroy everything, I don't want us hauling something useless and dangerous." He quickened his pace to catch Kael, his shredded tech boots crunching the thick ash, the cold sting and throbbing pain from his ankle wound a relentless reminder to keep moving.
Kael glanced back, a flash of pain in his pale blue eyes at the mention of his failure, quickly masked by a forced smile—the one he'd used to soothe Raizen in Saigon 2050's darkest days. "I'm… not entirely sure, Raizen," he admitted, his voice hoarse from ash and fatigue, his hand gripping the scalding metal slab until his knuckles blanched. "But this red light—it's still flickering faintly, meaning there's some power left. I've seen Valen test things like this before, locking the lab at night, barring everyone. He called it the 'temporal core'—something that could warp space, or at least store critical data from the explosion. With time and the right tools, I might activate it, or at least figure out why we're in this damned place." He paused, drawing a deep breath, the acrid stench of metal and plastic hitting him hard. "I… I don't want to fail again—not you, not Seiryu."
Seiryu scoffed coldly, stepping closer to Raizen, her dark eyes raking Kael with reproach before settling on Raizen, her icy voice softening with a rare, sincere worry only he could discern. "Don't trust him too much, Raizen," she whispered, just for him, her grip tight on the scalpel, poised for any threat from the shadows. "Kael's brilliant with lifeless machines, but he was blind to let Valen go too far. I warned him Asvaria wasn't stable—I checked the data myself, saw the dangerous energy fluctuations in its core—but Valen ignored me, and Kael wasn't strong enough to stop him. Now we're stuck here, and I won't lose you to another foolish mistake." She edged closer for a fleeting moment, her small shoulder brushing his, a fragile warmth piercing their tattered clothes—a quiet reminder he wasn't alone, however brief, in Noxvaria's relentless cold.
Raizen met her gaze, his icy eyes softening for an instant, but he quickly regained his steely resolve. "I don't fully blame Kael," he said, his voice low but firm. "Valen Kabe was the true mastermind—he always knew how to manipulate us, from our first days in the Eternal Seed camp. But if we're to survive and find a way back, I need you both to work together—Kael's genius with tech, your calm and medical skill. Now's not the time to argue or point fingers—save your strength; we're not out of danger."
He turned forward, where Kaelric led through a narrow, rugged path strewn with stones. The rocky ground crunched underfoot, sparse, withered shrubs flanking the trail like silent specters witnessing their desperate flight through the deadland.
After nearly two hours of relentless running, dodging countless obstacles and perils, the group emerged from the oppressive dead forest onto a narrower trail cutting through a vast, open expanse. The ash was thinner here, but the cold still pierced to the bone. The air carried the dry scent of parched earth and a faint metallic rust from afar—perhaps traces of old battles between Shadowfangs and doomed tribes they'd eradicated.
The Twistfangs' roars were now faint echoes, muffled by the black smoke and distance, but the heavy, menacing footfalls of the Shadowfangs lingered somewhere in the dark, an unresolved threat stalking the shadows.
Kaelric halted, gasping as if his lungs might give out, clutching his bleeding shoulder, his weathered face contorted in pain but his eyes glinting with a stubborn grit honed by adversity. "This is the path to the Aerith's last outpost," he rasped, his voice clearer despite the strain. "Just a few hours' walk if we're lucky enough to avoid the Shadowfangs—but they prowl open areas like this, waiting for exhausted travelers like us."
Selena stepped forward, her sword lowered slightly but poised for battle, her dual-toned eyes scanning the stretching trail with utmost vigilance. "I don't like this place one bit," she said, her cold voice tinged with rare, unmasked tension. "Too exposed—no cover if the Shadowfangs attack. They love hunting in places like this, where prey can't escape far. But if the Aerith outpost is as close as you say, I'll go with you—I want to see if it still stands or if it's ash like my village was."
Raizen stood tall, driving his spear into the ashen ground, his icy gaze tracing the trail into the distant darkness, where low, hazy mountains loomed under the gray sky like slumbering giants. He turned to the group, his voice low but resonant, a vow etched into the mournful silence: "Noxvaria is a living hell—I won't deny that. But I swear, we'll make it bow to us, no matter how many enemies or trials we face. Kaelric, lead on—we won't stop until we reach the outpost. Selena, stay at the rear, keep your eyes sharp. Kael, Seiryu, stay in the middle—I need you alive at all costs to face Valen Kabe, Asvaria, and every mystery and danger ahead."
He paused, a deep sorrow flickering in his eyes as he recalled his mother's final words: "Survive, Raizen—for me, and for yourself." He whispered inwardly, a sacred promise: Mother, I will live—and I'll find a way back. But if this is a fate I can't change, I'll make it mine.
Kael nodded firmly, the metal slab's faint red glow flickering in the dim light, his pale blue eyes now burning with resolve over regret. "I'll make it work, Raizen," he said, his voice hoarse but steadier. "I won't let Valen Kabe win—not ever again."
Seiryu tightened her grip on the scalpel, her dark eyes cold but unwavering, stepping closer to Raizen in a silent vow she'd never abandon him, no matter the peril.
Selena smirked defiantly, raising her sword once more. "I was born to survive this cursed place—just don't slow me down."
Kaelric and the two Aerith stepped forward, their desperate eyes now glinting with faint hope as they looked to Raizen, as if he were the last flame, the only light in the endless dark engulfing their fate.
The group moved along the narrow trail, their figures fading into Noxvaria's thin fog. Their steady, heavy footsteps echoed in the deathly silence, a defiant challenge to the harsh land that had tried to crush them from the start.
Far off, a low, powerful roar rumbled—the Shadowfangs had caught the scent of blood, and the true, brutal fight for survival had only just begun.