Chapter 2: Kindred Souls on a Cruel Horizon
The burning sun remained exactly where Caelan had left it: high above the desert, glaring down with all the warmth and compassion of an executioner who had been promised an early lunch. Heat rolled across the endless dunes in shimmering waves, bending the horizon until distant objects seemed to stretch, shrink and occasionally wobble in ways that would have been far more interesting had Caelan not already spent half the day surrounded by sand. He and Sparky had decided against chasing the strange vessel they had spotted earlier. There seemed little point in racing through several miles of desert when the enormous ship was already travelling toward them, and so the two had settled atop one of the dunes to wait. Caelan sat comfortably with one knee raised, circulating a thin stream of ki through his body to keep himself cool, while Sparky had buried most of his lower body beneath the sand and was complaining that this somehow made things worse. Ahead of them, the enormous vessel steadily grew larger, its metallic hull gleaming beneath the sunlight as it sailed across the dunes. Caelan had heard of stranger ships. Records within the Heavenly Flame Sect spoke of vessels capable of crossing oceans, flying through the heavens and even surviving journeys between worlds. Some conquered universes possessed technologies and formations quite different from those of his own. He had simply never had the opportunity to see such a vessel personally, and he had to admit that watching an enormous silver ship plough through sand as though crossing an ocean was considerably more interesting than another murderous cactus.
Aboard that same vessel, the atmosphere was rather less relaxed.
The ship offered shade, water and protection from the worst of the desert, but the children gathered near the forward deck had learned long ago that comfort was rarely a good reason to stop being cautious. None of them belonged to this world. They had been thrown into it with little warning, partnered with strange creatures, forced into battles they had never imagined and taught—rather brutally—that something appearing harmless did not necessarily make it safe. Their clothing, voices and mannerisms marked them unmistakably as children from another world, yet there was a weariness in several of their expressions which did not belong on children quite so young.
At the front of the group stood Misaki Fujimoto, a girl wearing a blue cap whose sharp eyes rarely remained still for long. Trust had not come easily to her even before arriving here, and recent events had done very little to improve matters. She watched the blond boy sitting casually on the dune beside the small Voltkin and slowly raised the device hanging from a strap at her side.
It was called a Resonance Linker.
Every child aboard carried one.
Nobody completely understood where the devices had originally come from, but their purpose had become clear enough. A Linker could identify Aetherkin, estimate their developmental stage, analyze unusual abilities and—most importantly—strengthen the connection between a human and their bonded Aetherkin partner. Under the proper conditions, that bond could even help a partner evolve.
The small screen flickered.
A soft crystalline hum sounded.
Lines of light raced across it.
Misaki frowned.
"What is that?"
The others looked over.
The Linker finished its scan.
Designation: CAELAN ARDYN
Classification: Humanoid Aetherkin
Stage: Rookie
Origin Pattern: Unknown
Resonance Density: Abnormally High
Assessment: Generally Non-Hostile
Warning: Extreme latent potential detected. Avoid unnecessary antagonism.
Misaki stared at the screen.
Then at Caelan.
Then back at the screen.
"A Rookie?"
The boy looked completely human.
There were no claws, horns, scales, tails or animal features. Nothing about him resembled any Aetherkin they had encountered before. He simply looked like a thirteen-year-old boy with blond hair, golden eyes and blue-and-white clothing, sitting on top of a dune as though waiting for a carriage.
And yet the Linker insisted otherwise.
"That's an Aetherkin?" she murmured.
The warning remained on the screen.
AVOID UNNECESSARY ANTAGONISM.
Misaki's brows drew together.
There was something unsettling about how ordinary he looked.
Something even more unsettling about the fact that her Linker apparently thought provoking him was a particularly poor idea.
Behind her, Haruto Akiyama sat alone near the edge of the deck, staring across the desert. Ordinarily Haruto was the first to throw himself enthusiastically into anything remotely resembling an adventure, but some of that brightness had disappeared since the Gravefang incident. He had pushed his partner too hard, convinced himself that determination alone could force the evolution they needed, and watched in horror when that evolution twisted into something monstrous.
The memory had not left him.
Misaki turned.
"Haruto."
He looked up.
"We've got someone out there."
Haruto followed her gaze.
"A new Aetherkin?"
"Apparently."
"Friendly?"
Misaki glanced at the Linker.
"It says generally."
Haruto smiled faintly.
"Good enough for me."
He stood and brushed his shorts off. "We're not leaving someone in this desert if we can help it."
Nobody argued.
They had all been stranded before.
They knew exactly what it felt like to look across an unfamiliar world and wonder whether anybody was coming.
The great ship slowed.
Its engines changed pitch, the deep hum passing through the metallic deck beneath their feet. Massive anchoring mechanisms descended into the sand with heavy impacts, and a long gangplank unfolded from the side of the hull with a mechanical hiss.
Caelan stood.
"Looks like that's our invitation."
Sparky looked nervously at the enormous vessel.
"How do you know?"
"They lowered the ramp."
"They might want to capture us."
Caelan considered that.
"Then we'll find out."
"That isn't reassuring."
Caelan grinned and started forward.
Sparky hurried after him.
He did not need to leap dramatically onto the gangplank. The ship had been kind enough to provide stairs, and Caelan saw no reason to insult them. A few moments later he emerged onto the deck with Sparky beside him and found himself facing a group of children who were staring at him with varying degrees of curiosity.
Caelan raised a hand.
"Yo."
Nobody answered immediately.
"Caelan Ardyn," he continued cheerfully. "Thanks for stopping. I'd rather not spend the rest of the day looking at sand."
Several expressions relaxed.
Haruto stepped forward first.
"Haruto Akiyama."
Caelan extended a fist.
Haruto stared at it for half a second, understood, and bumped his own against it.
"We don't own the ship," Haruto admitted. "We're passengers too. None of us are actually from this world."
Caelan's attention sharpened slightly.
That was interesting.
Not shocking.
Other universes were hardly a secret where he came from. His own universe stood above many weaker ones, and powerful forces had crossed between realities for ages. The Heavenly Flame Sect possessed records gathered from conquered worlds, allied worlds and universes whose laws differed dramatically from their own.
But these children clearly didn't come from his universe.
That made them useful.
"Which universe?"
Haruto blinked.
"You know about other universes?"
"Of course."
Several of them exchanged glances.
Caelan noticed.
Apparently that wasn't the usual answer.
Haruto scratched the back of his head. "We don't exactly know how to describe ours compared to yours."
"Fair enough."
Caelan glanced around the vessel.
"Then I guess we're all lost together."
"Pretty much."
"Good."
Misaki raised an eyebrow.
"Good?"
"Better than being the only lost person."
That earned a few laughs.
Even Renji Kuroda, who had been standing farther back with his arms folded and a naturally suspicious expression, allowed the smallest trace of amusement to cross his face.
Introductions followed.
Misaki Fujimoto.
Renji Kuroda.
Shun Nakamura, a boy with glasses who appeared constitutionally incapable of being more than five seconds away from examining either his Resonance Linker or some other piece of equipment.
Airi Tachibana, who immediately told Sparky that his fur was adorable.
And Yuto Akiyama, Haruto's younger brother, who seemed far less suspicious of Caelan than anyone else aboard.
Caelan memorized the names easily enough.
Haruto excused himself not long afterward.
He walked toward the bow and leaned against the railing alone, folding his arms as the vessel began moving again. Wind passed through his hair. From a distance he looked calm.
His expression was not.
I thought I understood him.
The Gravefang incident replayed behind his eyes.
I pushed him.
I did that.
I turned him into that thing.
Caelan noticed.
His grin faded slightly.
He knew that expression.
People wore it differently, but the meaning rarely changed.
Someone carrying something they didn't want anybody else helping them carry.
Caelan watched Haruto for another moment.
He said nothing.
Not yet.
But something in the boy's posture felt familiar.
I've seen that before.
The enormous vessel continued across the desert, its silver hull parting dunes in rolling waves of sand. With the immediate uncertainty surrounding Caelan beginning to fade, curiosity replaced caution among several members of the group, and it was not long before Caelan found himself surrounded by Misaki, Shun, Yuto and Airi.
Airi leaned forward first.
"So..."
Caelan looked at her.
"So?"
"Do you actually feel human?"
Caelan blinked.
"What?"
Airi pointed at him.
"Human. Do you feel human?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
Misaki and Shun exchanged looks.
Caelan noticed.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"I am human."
He said it so naturally that nobody immediately answered.
Shun stopped typing.
Misaki slowly reached for her Resonance Linker.
"Caelan..."
"What?"
"This scanned you when you boarded."
She turned the screen around.
Caelan looked.
CAELAN ARDYN
ROOKIE STAGE
HUMANOID AETHERKIN
ORIGIN PATTERN: UNKNOWN
ANOMALOUS RESONANCE SIGNATURE DETECTED
Caelan stared at it.
Then at Misaki.
Then back at it.
"...Huh."
He raised one hand and examined it.
Five fingers.
Normal skin.
The same hand he remembered having that morning.
He opened and closed it.
Nothing happened.
Yuto watched cautiously.
"Are you okay?"
Caelan rubbed the back of his head.
"I think so."
He looked down at himself again.
"I still feel human."
Shun adjusted his glasses.
"The Linkers have been remarkably accurate when identifying Aetherkin."
"Maybe yours is broken."
"It's not."
"That's unfortunate."
Caelan looked toward Sparky.
Sparky shrugged.
"Don't ask me."
"Very helpful."
A brief silence followed.
For the others, it was an uncomfortable silence.
They were watching someone apparently discover that the species he believed himself to belong to might not actually be his species at all.
Caelan, meanwhile, was thinking.
Then his expression suddenly brightened.
"If I'm an Aetherkin, that means I evolve, right?"
Airi blinked.
"Yes?"
Caelan's grin widened.
"Azure Knight evolves into... Azure Emperor!"
He threw one hand dramatically into the air.
Yuto burst out laughing.
Airi joined him almost immediately.
Misaki covered her mouth.
Even Shun's expression twitched.
"That's not necessarily how evolution works," he said.
"It should."
Shun started typing.
Caelan leaned over.
"What are you writing?"
"Possible self-directed evolutionary expectation."
"Delete that."
"No."
Caelan pointed accusingly at him.
"You're already becoming troublesome."
Misaki shook her head, smiling despite herself.
Well.
At least he wasn't having an existential crisis.
Caelan shrugged.
"Human, Aetherkin, whatever. I'm still Caelan. I've got my memories, my cultivation still works, and nothing important seems to have fallen off."
Airi laughed.
Shun, however, looked increasingly interested.
"Cultivation?"
Caelan glanced at him.
"Yes."
"We'll come back to that."
"That sounded threatening."
Shun ignored him.
"Did you encounter any trouble before we found you?"
Caelan waved dismissively.
"Nothing serious. Some trees. A couple oversized lizards. Strange cactus thing."
Sparky's ears shot upright.
"Don't listen to him!"
Everyone turned.
Caelan sighed.
"Sparky."
"The trees were Champion-stage Barkmaws!"
Silence.
Yuto stared.
"Champion?"
Sparky nodded enthusiastically.
"About twenty!"
Airi slowly turned toward Caelan.
The Resonance Linker still displayed:
ROOKIE STAGE
She pointed between Caelan and the device.
"But... you're a Rookie."
Caelan shrugged.
"So?"
Nobody answered.
Sparky continued, delighted to finally have an audience.
"He made a hurricane!"
Caelan gave him a look.
"They were weak."
"It ripped all of them apart!"
"Again. Weak."
"And they couldn't even attack him!"
That drew Shun's attention immediately.
"What?"
Caelan looked at Sparky.
"You talk too much."
Sparky ignored him.
"They kept trying to attack me, but every time they tried attacking Caelan they just... couldn't."
Shun's fingers started flying across his device.
Caelan groaned.
"Oh, stop doing that."
"Doing what?"
"Writing down everything I do."
"This is extremely unusual."
"That's what people always say."
They were all staring now.
Caelan shifted uncomfortably.
"Would you stop?"
Several heads turned away immediately.
"Sorry," Yuto said.
Airi nodded.
Misaki looked mildly embarrassed.
Caelan rubbed the back of his neck.
"Just because I'm impressive doesn't mean you need to stare."
Renji, who had wandered close enough to overhear, snorted.
Caelan looked at him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"It sounded like something."
Renji walked away.
Caelan narrowed his eyes.
He was beginning to like him.
After several more minutes of questioning, Caelan noticed a small pool built into the upper deck. It was not particularly large, clearly intended more for washing or recreation than serious swimming, but after several hours of sand the sight of clear water immediately appealed to him.
"I'm swimming."
Misaki blinked.
"What?"
Caelan was already removing his outer shirt.
"You have water."
"You can just use that?"
"Nobody told me I couldn't."
He stripped down to black shorts and stepped toward the pool.
Airi stared.
"You're really just going in?"
"Yes."
"But weren't you complaining about the heat?"
"I can cool myself with ki."
Misaki frowned.
"Then why swim?"
Caelan looked at her as though the answer were obvious.
"Because swimming is fun."
Then he jumped.
Water exploded upward.
Sparky's eyes lit up.
"Wheeee!"
He leapt after him.
A second splash soaked part of the deck.
Misaki stepped backward just in time.
Airi didn't.
She looked down at her wet sleeve.
"Sparky!"
The Voltkin surfaced, spluttering happily.
"Sorry!"
He clearly was not.
Caelan floated on his back.
"Much better."
"You said you weren't hot."
"I wasn't."
Misaki folded her arms.
Caelan looked at her.
"Water is still better than sand."
That argument, annoyingly, was difficult to defeat.
As Caelan swam, Misaki found herself watching him more carefully.
Without the loose outer layers of his clothing, certain things became more obvious.
He was lean rather than bulky, but there was nothing soft about him. Every movement showed the balanced conditioning of someone trained from childhood. More noticeable were the scars. Some were faint. Others were older and more distinct.
Too many for an ordinary thirteen-year-old.
Whatever Caelan claimed to be, he had fought before.
And not simply in training.
Misaki crouched near the edge.
"So what did you do before coming here?"
Caelan wiped water from his eyes.
"Hm?"
"Back home."
"Oh."
He rested his arms on the pool's edge.
"I'm a cultivator."
Misaki stared.
"A what?"
"A cultivator."
That did not help.
Caelan noticed.
"A warrior, more or less."
That helped considerably less.
"What kind of warrior?"
Caelan thought about it.
"I train. Take sect assignments. Hunt spiritual beasts sometimes. Gather herbs. Escort people. Deal with bandits. Guard places. Fight other cultivators when necessary."
He said all of this with the same casual tone somebody might have used to describe helping in a family shop.
Misaki's expression changed.
Deal with bandits?
Fight other cultivators?
Her gaze moved back toward the scars.
Caelan continued obliviously.
"Depends on the assignment."
"Do you... kill people?"
Caelan looked at her as though the question itself were strange.
"If the assignment requires it."
Misaki became very still.
Caelan noticed the change but did not understand it.
"What?"
"Nothing."
She stood.
Her curiosity had cooled considerably.
Caelan Ardyn was powerful enough to casually destroy Champion-stage creatures despite being classified as a Rookie.
Some strange force prevented weaker beings from attacking him.
And apparently he came from a society where thirteen-year-olds casually accepted missions involving lethal combat.
Misaki stepped away from the pool.
She needed to speak to Haruto.
Caelan watched her leave.
Then looked at Sparky.
"Did I say something?"
Sparky paddled in a small circle.
"I don't know."
"Useful."
Sparky splashed him.
Caelan splashed back.
The matter was temporarily forgotten.
After swimming, Caelan discovered the ship possessed food.
This immediately became the most important discovery of the day.
He ate enough to make Airi stop talking halfway through a sentence and simply watch.
Two bowls disappeared.
Then a third.
Then bread.
Then meat.
Then something Caelan couldn't identify but decided was good enough to eat twice.
Sparky contributed enthusiastically.
By the time Caelan finally leaned back from the table, he looked immensely satisfied.
"That was good."
Yuto looked at the empty trays.
"Where did you put it?"
Caelan pointed at his stomach.
Yuto stared.
"That doesn't explain anything."
"It explains everything."
With nothing immediately requiring his attention, Caelan found a shaded section of deck beneath one of the great sails and lay down with both arms behind his head.
"Nap time."
Within minutes, his eyes were closed.
He was completely unaware that Misaki was currently walking toward Haruto with considerably less relaxed thoughts.
The ship moved steadily onward, engines humming beneath the deck while sunlight gleamed across endless dunes. Haruto stood near the railing, still watching the desert when Misaki approached.
He did not immediately turn.
"What's wrong?"
Misaki hesitated.
"I don't know."
Haruto finally looked at her.
"That usually means something's wrong."
"It's Caelan."
Haruto's expression became more attentive.
"What about him?"
Misaki folded her arms.
"Something feels off."
"Because the Linker says he's an Aetherkin?"
"Not just that."
She glanced back toward the shaded portion of deck where Caelan was sleeping.
"He told me what he did before coming here."
Haruto waited.
"He said he's a cultivator."
Haruto stared blankly.
"I don't know what that means."
"Neither did I. He said it's basically some kind of warrior."
"Okay."
"He takes assignments."
Haruto's expression shifted.
"What kind?"
"Hunting dangerous creatures. Fighting other cultivators. Dealing with bandits." Misaki lowered her voice. "I asked if he'd killed people."
Haruto looked at her.
"He said yes?"
"He said, 'If the assignment requires it,' like I asked whether he'd ever washed dishes."
Haruto exhaled slowly.
That was slightly different.
Misaki continued.
"And he's strong. Really strong. Those Barkmaws were Champion stage and he apparently killed twenty without much trouble."
"We knew the Linker warned us."
"That's exactly my point."
Haruto leaned back against the railing.
For several seconds he said nothing.
Then:
"Has he threatened anyone?"
"No."
"Done anything hostile?"
"No."
"Was Sparky scared of him?"
Misaki considered that.
Sparky currently appeared to think Caelan was the greatest thing ever created.
"No."
Haruto nodded.
"Then we stay cautious."
Misaki frowned.
"That's it?"
"What else do you want us to do?"
"I don't know."
Haruto rubbed the back of his neck.
"Misaki, we've met a lot of strange people and Aetherkin since coming here. Some were dangerous. Some looked dangerous and weren't. Some looked harmless and nearly killed us."
The Gravefang incident hovered unspoken between them.
"We shouldn't ignore what you noticed," he continued. "But we shouldn't decide he's an enemy because his world works differently from ours."
Misaki's shoulders relaxed slightly.
"I still don't trust him."
"You don't have to."
Haruto smiled faintly.
"Just don't start a fight with the person whose Linker description literally says 'avoid antagonizing.'"
Misaki almost smiled.
"Fair."
"I'll talk to the others."
She nodded.
"Thanks."
By the time they gathered near the center of the deck, the opinions were predictably divided.
Renji crossed his arms.
"So what's the problem?"
Misaki explained.
Shun stopped working on his Linker.
"He admitted to lethal combat?"
"Casually."
Renji's expression hardened.
"That's worth remembering."
Shun adjusted his glasses.
"His civilization may simply normalize combat at a younger age."
Everyone looked at him.
"What?"
Airi frowned.
"That doesn't make it less creepy."
"I'm not saying it does."
Yuto leaned against the railing.
"But he's nice."
Renji looked at him.
"So?"
"So maybe he's actually nice."
"Very scientific."
Yuto stuck his tongue out.
Airi joined him.
"He played with Sparky. Sparky likes him."
Renji sighed.
"Being good with one small electric animal is not a complete moral evaluation."
Airi looked offended on Sparky's behalf.
Shun glanced down at his Resonance Linker.
"The greater concern is his power. He's classified as Rookie stage, yet everything we're seeing contradicts the normal strength expectations of that stage."
"Stages aren't exact power measurements," Haruto said.
"No, but this difference is enormous."
Misaki nodded.
"And he's too relaxed."
Renji looked toward the sleeping Caelan.
"I noticed."
Yuto shrugged.
"Maybe he's just not scared."
"That's what worries me," Misaki replied.
Haruto listened to them without interruption.
Finally he raised a hand.
"We watch him."
Everyone went quiet.
"We don't confront him. We don't treat him like an enemy. We don't start asking insulting questions."
His eyes moved briefly toward Renji.
Renji raised an eyebrow.
"Why did you look at me?"
"No reason."
"You absolutely had a reason."
Haruto ignored him.
"If Caelan is hiding something dangerous, we'll eventually see it. Until then, he's another person stranded here like us."
Misaki nodded reluctantly.
"Fine."
Shun immediately resumed entering information into his Linker.
"I'll keep monitoring his resonance."
"Don't let him catch you," Airi warned.
Shun looked puzzled.
"He already knows."
Across the deck, Caelan opened one eye.
He had been awake for several minutes.
Cultivation did unfortunate things to the idea of private conversations.
Even without deliberately listening, his senses were considerably better than those of ordinary humans.
He closed his eye again.
Later, as the sun began its slow descent, Caelan stood alone near the railing. The ship moved beneath him with a steady vibration, leaving a broad trail through the desert behind it. Wind flowed across the deck, moving through his hair and clothes.
He should have been enjoying himself.
Instead, something uncomfortable sat in his chest.
He could feel it.
The glances.
Misaki's hesitation.
The way Renji watched him.
The quiet conversations that stopped when he approached.
It was familiar.
Too familiar.
Back home, people knew his name before they knew him.
Caelan Ardyn.
Son of the former Sect Head.
The Azure Knight.
The child carrying the Sovereign of Destiny inside his soul.
Some people admired him.
Many feared him.
Others watched him carefully, wondering whether the boy standing before them was truly Caelan Ardyn or merely the beginning of something much worse.
Whispers had followed him before.
Looks had followed him before.
People stepping slightly farther away than necessary had followed him before.
He had thought he was accustomed to it.
Apparently that did not mean he enjoyed it.
Caelan tightened his hands around the railing.
"Dammit."
He had been excited.
That was the irritating part.
After hours surrounded by creatures, desert and unfamiliar terrain, seeing actual humans had felt good. They came from another universe, yes, but they were people. They laughed. They argued. They ate normal food. They complained about one another.
Familiar things.
He had allowed himself to relax.
Maybe too quickly.
He had spoken about cultivation as though they understood it. Why wouldn't he? Where Caelan came from, sect assignments were ordinary. Cultivators fought. Dangerous spiritual beasts were hunted. Bandits killed people. Rival cultivators killed people.
That was simply reality.
Here, apparently, saying so made thirteen-year-olds look at him as though he had announced that murder was a hobby.
Caelan sighed.
Maybe that part really had been his fault.
Sparky's enthusiastic explanation of what had happened in the desert certainly hadn't helped.
Twenty Champion stages! Hurricane! They couldn't attack him!
Wonderful.
Exactly the sort of introduction guaranteed to make frightened strangers comfortable.
Caelan stared across the dunes.
Still, he couldn't bring himself to regret joining them.
It had only been half a day since he awakened in this universe, yet the isolation had begun getting irritating remarkably quickly. Sparky helped. The little Voltkin was ridiculous, nervous and apparently capable of talking continuously whenever he became excited, but at least Caelan wasn't alone anymore.
And now there were other humans.
People from yet another universe.
People who were just as lost as he was.
Even if some of them distrusted him.
Caelan ran a hand through his hair.
"Maybe I was too eager."
Behind him, laughter rose from somewhere near the center of the deck.
Sparky's voice joined it.
Caelan glanced back.
Then, despite himself, smiled faintly.
He had survived people being afraid of him before.
He could survive it again.
The ship continued across the golden desert, carrying a collection of children and creatures who had been thrown together by circumstances none of them yet understood.
Above them, the last light of the day began painting the sky red.
And somewhere within the strange laws of this world, the legend called Caelan Ardyn had only just begun to change.