"Endel, maybe we should finally go fight? We've been sitting in this basement for a week already, we need to get stronger," Third grumbled out of boredom.
Of course, he understood what Endel was trying to achieve, but sitting and observing was boring, even if it was safe.
"Then go yourself. I don't want to die again," Endel flatly rejected the suggestion.
Right now, his mind was elsewhere.
He understood perfectly well that time was running, and each day could become their last, but recklessly throwing themselves into battle was not an option either.
They needed to carefully prepare for the first fight.
Endel shifted his gaze toward Leina and Carlos, who had been training intensively with each other all week.
First, he focused on Carlos.
The man was fully encased in brown-silver armor that covered his whole body, leaving only his eyes visible.
Carlos desperately tried to close the distance to Leina in order to land a strike and win the spar, but each time he met an insurmountable obstacle.
Either he was knocked back or missed entirely.
Leina, using her control over the wind, moved almost untraceably. Even with Carlos's raw strength, endurance, and reliable protection, he couldn't catch her — but neither did he lose.
Endel's gaze shifted to Leina.
She suddenly appeared at the other end of the basement, a faint smirk on her lips as she directed a compressed stream of air at Carlos.
The speed of the strike was nearly that of a bullet, and the pain was real, though his armor dampened the destructive impact.
Leina looked almost like an ordinary girl, standing across from Carlos, who resembled some hulking monster of earth, yet the air itself bent to her will, constantly shifting around her.
Over the course of their training, Carlos had nearly won several times, but Leina proved too cunning.
Just when victory seemed within his grasp, she would push her abilities to the maximum: boosting her speed with wind, increasing her agility, and striking again with precise, painful blows.
Even at close range, her attacks hurt. And in the end, their battles always ended in stalemates.
Their current spar had again reached a deadlock.
They simply stood, staring at each other with intensity, every movement loaded with hidden threat.
Both pairs of eyes burned with resolve, preparing for a so-called "final" strike — though neither really believed it would be final.
With a sudden roar, Carlos lunged forward like a beast.
Leina, without breaking her focus, gathered the wind as tightly as she could and unleashed a powerful blast right at him.
The impact struck with such force that Carlos was hurled backward, slamming into the wall and blasting a hole in it.
Leina, on the other hand, fell to her knees, barely holding onto her breath and strength.
"They remodeled your basement again," Third remarked casually, watching yet another wall collapse.
The basement already had several new holes and passageways, and it didn't surprise him in the least.
Endel no longer reacted to Third's usual comments.
At first, he had been irritated when his friends kept breaking his house apart, and once he even tried to stop them — nearly triggering his fourth regression…
"Well, at least you would've gotten a few hours of rest," Third had scolded back then, like a nagging little teacher.
In truth, he had been terrified that Endel might actually die for good.
Luckily, Leina had deflected the blow in time, and Endel had only been knocked out for a short while.
Since then, he no longer tried to interfere in their sparring. For now, he was too weak compared to them.
He had no supernatural powers like Leina or Carlos.
Only the Dark Arcana, which pulled him back from death each time… and the constant buzzing presence of Third in his head, like an annoying mosquito.
"Pathetic sight," Third sneered again, pleased with his own words.
"I didn't think I had such a venomous tongue," Endel murmured quietly, listening to himself.
He began to doubt: did Third really hold his memories? And if so, why was his manner and behavior so different?
"No idea," Third replied lazily with a yawn.
"Our memory is shared only up until the moment you created me.
After that, our recollections split, though our thoughts often run in parallel.
In essence, I'm you from the past — but in the future, I won't be? That part I don't know."
"Maybe," Endel answered, pondering his words.
"So, are we finally moving toward the goal?" Third asked, sounding more animated.
"What do you think?" Endel shot back with a counter-question.
"Yes! But first we hunt some monsters!" Third grinned with a childlike glee, a mix of fiery rage and thrill in his voice.
Endel ignored him and approached his friends.
Carlos had already returned to his place, and Leina looked calm again.
Endel's voice was quiet but warm as he spoke:
— In a few hours, we set out. Time to move toward the goal.
Carlos nodded first.
His gaze burned with battle-lust — he clenched his gauntleted fist so tightly that the earth itself creaked.
There was an impatient energy about him: he was eager for combat, as if he had been waiting only for this.
A strange reaction for a pacifist.
Leina, however, reacted differently: her smile wavered ever so slightly, and her eyes betrayed both worry and anticipation.
She drew in a deep breath, as if calming a racing heartbeat. Though her face remained composed, her fingers twitched, betraying her nerves — and her excitement.
Also a strange reaction.
They both nodded, but in different ways: Carlos with firm resolve, ready to charge ahead; Leina more slowly, reserved, as if weighing the burden of the road ahead.
"They want to prove themselves," Third noted, catching their subtle changes.
That was the only conclusion he could reach.
During all the time his friends had trained, Endel had not sat idly either.
Cautiously, though with growing confidence, he had gone up to the surface to study the area.
He didn't go far — only a few kilometers — but the risk had worried his friends at first.
They relented only after they saw his determination and his skills.
Why did he do it? The answer was simple: if he died, it wasn't the end.
But for his friends, death would be final.
So let him take the risks for now.
He didn't know if this world would remain once he left it, but he hoped it would. And watching how quickly his friends mastered their powers, he felt a faint pride and inner warmth.
Because he realized they would survive — if given enough time.
"Good boy," Third muttered softly with a smile, approving of Endel's choices.
Time passed.
The team of three moved silently through the ruined city streets under the cover of night.
Their goal was clear — the southern part of the city. During their time in the basement, they had kept collecting information, watching the news broadcasts and studying maps of the city, which turned out to be invaluable.
The south was of particular interest.
Just a few days ago, a so-called safe zone had appeared there — a place monsters could not enter.
The government immediately set up camp there and announced: everyone should try to reach it, to unite and survive.
But they would not send soldiers to search for people outside the safe zone. Their only task now was to protect those within.
"They act fast when their own lives aren't in danger," Third muttered in disgust at the government.
Though he could understand their reasoning, he didn't like it. In truth, they had abandoned everyone else.
— Endel, we should take a short break. We've been moving at a light jog for almost an hour, — Leina said tiredly.
Though she could unleash devastating wind attacks, her stamina left much to be desired.
— Weakling, — Carlos replied smugly, not even breaking a sweat.
Leina shot him a murderous glare, and he immediately shut his mouth, erasing the smug look.
"You know, they're changing really fast… Especially Carlos — our gentle giant, who once wouldn't hurt a fly. And now he's acting like a battle-crazed provocateur," Third mused.
"Leina too has changed. She looks at everything now as a target to smash with her wind…"
"I think it's for the best," he concluded.
Endel ignored his commentary.
— We'll reach the first spot to rest soon. But there, we'll meet our first enemies, — Endel warned.
His friends tensed but kept calm.
They trusted him; after all, he always returned with crucial intel: where to pass unseen, where monsters prowled, and where it was safe to pause.
That was what surprised them most.
Endel now acted like a trained scout. When they asked how, he just shrugged and said he was doing what his father once taught him.
Of course, he feared venturing out, not knowing what could happen.
Fear was always there, but thanks to the Dark Arcana, which refused to let him die, he felt it far less than ordinary people.
He still didn't want to die, but he was realistic — especially after dying twice already.
Finally, they reached their first checkpoint, a place that would serve as their forward base and training ground for the next few days.
It was a seven-story gym, relatively intact compared to other buildings.
Each floor was divided into different sections. They chose the fifth floor, since on the seventh Endel had previously discovered a portal, which spat out a monster every hour.
When he had told them about it, they were shocked.
Both at the portal itself, endlessly spewing creatures, and at the fact that he could've died exploring it.
But his next words, how he planned to use that portal, had left them speechless.
His plan only deepened their suspicion: Endel was a real lunatic.
"You're a psycho, my boy!" Third laughed, amused at his friends' changing expressions.
Though he understood perfectly the root of Endel's madness.
They had now arrived at the fifth floor.
— Hm… The fifth floor is locker rooms and showers? Oh, that's actually convenient, — Carlos murmured as they entered.
Now he walked ahead, activating his Arcana, serving as the group's tank.
"More like a living shield," Third commented. Endel frowned, wondering if that was truly how Third thought. After all, he was just Endel's past self…
"Yes and no," Third answered himself with a smile.
— Forget it, — Endel muttered, slightly thrown off.
— Did you say something? — Leina asked softly. Endel shook his head, though she frowned but stayed quiet.
Suddenly—
— Guys, — Carlos called quietly, — looks like rest is canceled. We've got wounded guests.
Endel and Leina rushed over.
When they reached him, they saw it: cleanly severed monster limbs, sliced both vertically and horizontally; whole corpses split apart; and several more writhing in agony.
These were the monsters Endel had told them about, but for some reason they were all here at once, not scattered as usual.
He scowled at the sight.
Especially since in all his observations, these monsters had never once gone up to the fifth floor. That was why he had chosen it as a hideout.
"A massacre…" Third muttered, equally unsettled.
These monsters resembled rabbits, though they stood upright on two powerful legs like bodybuilders.
Otherwise, they looked nearly identical to ordinary rabbits.
Even when emerging from the portal, they usually scattered, never waiting for their kin, unlike other monsters.
That had been very convenient for Endel.
Which was why he had chosen them as the tool for the group's first training fight.
Alone, they weren't much of a threat — just fast. But in numbers… terrifying. He had seen it before.
Still, he had gambled on them, as they were the weakest monsters he had found.
The three quietly hid behind a door, watching the corridor.
Some of the monsters were still writhing, living out their final moments.
— What do we do? Our whole plan is falling apart before it even starts, — Leina asked, looking at Endel.
She understood that something far more dangerous than rabbits was here, and that was trouble. But since she wasn't the leader, she asked him.
They had already agreed back at the house that Endel would lead. He nodded in response, thinking.
He pondered the situation for a couple of minutes, then decided: if these "rabbits" had been shredded so easily, something stronger and far deadlier was here. Or something worse.
— We're leaving. We don't know what's changed, but this place just got ten times more dangerous, — he said firmly.
The group nodded.
"Shame, I wanted a fight," Third muttered with disappointment, realizing today wasn't their day.
But just as he said that, the silence shattered with a sharp whistle, as if the air itself screamed in pain.
The next second, the door — along with part of the wall — exploded into pieces, as if an invisible blade had sliced through it.
Debris, sparks, and dust erupted everywhere, showering the floor.
Its appearance was so sudden that none of them even had time to breathe.
From the swirling cloud of dust and rubble burst a familiar creature, wielding its deadly scythe at the ready.
Its blade still vibrated as if it had just sliced through the air, and in the same instant, it darted toward the throat of the nearest target.
Thankfully, the strike landed on Carlos, who was armored.
He groaned in pain from the sudden impact, but his armor held. His neck survived.
Carlos, still on his knees from the blow, quickly lifted his gaze — and saw it.
Instead of a head, a writhing cluster of tentacles hissed and shifted, like a living organ.
Instead of arms, long scythe-like limbs, bone or metal, swung with predatory grace, slashing everything around.
Its body was covered in dark, rough, scale-like hide, as if charred by fire.
Carlos would never forget these creatures — they were the first he had seen on TV.
And how easily they had sliced through people, like hot knives through butter.
— Fuck… — was all he managed to say, realizing how bad things were.
Endel and Leina's expressions darkened.
Especially Endel, who had no idea where this thing had come from — or if Third had just jinxed them.
"Sorry…" Third whispered, shaken and guilty. He was horrified too.
— Formation! — Endel roared.
Carlos didn't need to be told twice. He sprang up, raising his defenses, while Leina activated her Arcana, retreating to the limited space behind and launching compressed blasts of air at the monster.
Endel himself opened fire with his laser rifle, aiming at the swift creature as it launched its deadly attacks at Carlos.