The creature moving through the scrub raised its head and Adrian saw it.
It was a Drakul with three horns. A Feeder. The same rank as the Drakul that had tried to kill him in the underground chamber.
His hand dropped to his blade.
Lilith kept walking at the same steady pace, her gaze fixed straight ahead. She didn't even glance east, not even once.
Adrian tracked its movement at the edge of his senses, watching it adjust to his rhythm. It was trying to find the gap in his awareness that would let it close the distance without being seen.
He changed his pace deliberately. Slower then faster. A sudden burst that made his calves burn.
The creature adjusted, clearly trying to keep up.
'It is smarter than the one I met in the ruins' Adrian thought.
He finally stopped and turned to face the scrub directly.
The Feeder froze.
He waited as It repositioned itself, circling wide, trying to find his blind spot. He turned to face it again. Three times he did this, and each time the creature hesitated.
It was avoiding a frontal confrontation.
Not wanting to drag this any longer, Adrian drew his blade and walked toward it.
The Feeder broke out from the shrub at an angle, its three horns gleaming under the light of the sun. The middle horn was longer than the others, curved like a scimitar.
Adrian cut the angle off, herding it east toward the rock outcroppings that dotted the landscape. His legs and lungs burned but making use of the careful movements he'd seen Jarvis do, he was keeping up with the creature.
He kept moving, kept herding it, until it had nowhere left to go.
Filled with rage and frustration, the Feeder roared and lunged for a frontal attack.
Adrian saw the left horn come up and ducked under it, driving his blade into the base of the creature's neck where the horns met the skull. He put everything he had into it, felt the blade sink deep, and stepped back before the creature could thrash.
The Feeder shook and dissolved into ash.
[Feeder defeated — EXP: 60]
[Daily Quest — Combat: Complete]
[EXP gained: 15 bonus]
[Total EXP: 120 / 500]
He dismissed the notifications and bent forward, hands braced on his knees as he dragged in air. His arms trembled, the strain catching up to him all at once.
He'd done it. But it had been closer than he wanted to admit.
Lilith stood exactly where she'd been the whole time.
"You herded it," she said.
He straightened slowly, forcing his breathing to even out. "It worked."
"It was inefficient."
"It worked," he said again, and this time there was a thread of defiance in his voice.
He turned to look at her, and for a moment, something he couldn't recognize flickered in her expression.
The wind shifted, carrying the faint scent of ash from the Scar.
"Watch the left horn next time," she said. "They lead with it. You saw it coming, but you almost hesitated."
He opened his mouth to argue, then closed it. She was right. He had hesitated. Half a second, maybe less, but in a fight like that, half a second was the difference between winning and getting gutted.
She turned and started walking.
He sheathed his blade and followed.
---
They walked through the afternoon, the landscape shifting gradually from the gray desolation of the Scar to something softer. Grass grew thicker here. Trees appeared on the horizon, first in clusters, then in lines that traced the course of streams and rivers.
By the time the sun began its descent toward the horizon, the Scar was just a dark line behind them, a distant memory of grey and dust.
They stopped at a low rise overlooking a narrow valley. Below them, a stream cut through the grass, silver in the fading light.
"We'll rest here," Adrian said. "Rivergate is half a day's walk. We'll reach it by noon tomorrow."
Lilith said nothing, but she sat on a flat stone near the edge of the rise, her eyes fixed on the horizon.
Adrian sat a few feet away, pulling bread and dried meat from his pack. He offered her some. She looked at it for a moment, then shook her head.
He ate in silence, watching the light fade from the sky. The first stars were appearing, faint pinpricks of light in the deepening blue. He'd forgotten after three weeks in the Scar, that the sky could look like this.
He pulled up the system interface again, checking his progress.
[Host: Adrian Greystone]
[Rank: Unregistered]
[EXP: 120 / 500]
[Bonds: 0 of 9 active]
[Daily Quests: 2 of 3 complete]
[Physical Conditioning — Incomplete]
He grimaced. He'd forgotten about the exercises.
He stood, brushing crumbs from his coat.
"What are you doing?" Lilith asked.
"System quest," he said. "I have to finish it."
He found a flat stretch of ground and started moving. Push-ups first, then squats, then a series of lunges that made his thighs scream after the day's walking. It was basic, the kind of training any patrol worker did to stay in shape, but his body was tired and every movement felt like wading through water.
Lilith watched him in silence, her expression unreadable.
He finished the last set and collapsed onto the grass, chest heaving.
[Daily Quest — Physical Conditioning: Complete]
[Reward: 5 EXP]
[Total EXP: 125 / 500]
He lay there for a long moment, staring up at the stars, and laughed quietly to himself.
"What?" Lilith asked.
"Nothing," he said. "Just... the system wants me to fight monsters and do push-ups. It's absurd."
She didn't respond, but when he looked over, she was watching him with something that might have been the ghost of a smile.
He sat up slowly, reaching for the last of the bread. "By tomorrow we'll reach Rivergate. I have to meet with Sebastian Marre. My father's friend."
"You're nervous," Lilith said.
He considered denying it, then shook his head. "I don't know what he'll expect. What he'll see when he looks at me."
She was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "He'll see Lucian's son."
Adrian let out a breath, something loosening in his chest. "Yeah. Maybe that's enough."
They sat in silence as the stars came out, one by one, until the sky was full of them.
---
Morning came too soon.
Adrian woke with the first light, stiff and cold, his coat pulled tight against the chill. Lilith was already standing at the edge of the rise, watching the sun climb over the valley below.
He sat up and pulled up the system interface.
[Daily Quest — Morning Cultivation: Incomplete]
[Daily Quest — Physical Conditioning: Incomplete]
[Daily Quest — Combat: Incomplete]
He had to do this every day now. Every day, no matter how tired he was, no matter what else demanded his attention.
"It's a little annoying," he mumbled.
He found a spot away from the trail and closed his eyes, reaching for the warmth inside him. It came easier this time, the circulation became smoother and more natural.
[Daily Quest — Morning Cultivation: Complete]
[Reward: 10 EXP, Soul Energy Control proficiency +1]
[Soul Energy Control Proficiency: 2/7 days]
[Total EXP: 135 / 500]
He opened his eyes and found Lilith watching him again.
"You've gotten the hang of it," she said.
"Yeah," he said, standing. "It's quite easier now."
He finished the physical conditioning quickly, his body complaining but obeying.
[Daily Quest — Physical Conditioning: Complete]
[Reward: 5 EXP]
[Total EXP: 140 / 500]
He packed the rest of his supplies as they started down the slope toward the stream, following the water north. The sound of it running beside them was a constant companion, the grass growing thicker and greener with every mile. By mid-morning, Adrian could see buildings on the horizon.
Rivergate.
It was a grand merchant city. A collection of stone buildings clustered around a bridge that spanned the river, surrounded by fields and pastures that stretched to the treeline. After weeks in the Scar, it looked like a palace.
He tied a strip of cloth around his forehead and kept his head lowered as he walked, avoiding eye contact so no one would recognize him.
They reached the outskirts just as the sun climbed to its highest point. The dirt road gave way to cobblestone, and the buildings began to crowd together, closing in as the city thickened around them. People filled the streets, merchants calling out to customers, workers moving with purpose, children weaving between adults who barely noticed them.
Adrian slowed as they stepped into the main street, his eyes lifting to scan the signs hanging above doorways. He knew Copper Row was somewhere in the older part of the city, near the bridge, but he had never been there before as an adult.
Lilith walked beside him, quiet and composed. People glanced at her as they passed, some curious, some wary, but she didn't react. She moved through the crowd as if none of it concerned her.
He found Copper Row on the second pass.
It was narrower than he expected, a quiet street running alongside the river. The houses there were old, their stone walls worn by time. The kind of buildings that had stood long before Adrian was born.
He didn't need to search for long.
He'd once visited Sebastian with his parents when he was still a little kid and the number had stuck with him all these years without him realizing it.
Seventeen.
It sat halfway down the street, a solid stone building with a brass knocker shaped like a griffin's head.
Adrian stopped in front of the door.
He reached up and untied the cloth from his head, letting it fall into his hand. For a moment, he just stood there, his hand hovering near the knocker.
'What if he doesn't remember?'
'What if he does… and doesn't care?'
He let out a quiet breath and shook his head.
''Only one way to find out.''
He knocked.
The sound echoed through the stillness of the street, louder than he expected. For a moment, nothing happened. Then he heard movement inside, footsteps and the low murmur of a voice he couldn't quite make out.
The door opened.
Sebastian Marre stood in the doorway.
He was older now. His hair had gone grey, and his shoulders weren't as broad as Adrian remembered, but his eyes were the same, sharp and warm in a way that hadn't faded with time.
Sebastian looked at Adrian. Then at Lilith. Then back at Adrian again.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then recognition clicked.
A smile spread across Sebastian's face, the same one Adrian remembered from years ago.
"Lucian's boy?" he said.
Adrian tried to answer, but the words caught somewhere in his throat. He nodded instead.
Sebastian's gaze shifted briefly to Lilith, curiosity flickering in his eyes. "A friend of yours?"
Adrian nodded again, still finding it difficult to speak.
Sebastian stepped aside, pulling the door open wider.
"Come in," he said. "Both of you. We've got a lot to talk about."
Adrian stepped inside, Lilith following just behind him.
As the door closed, something settled quietly in his chest.
It felt, in a way he hadn't expected… like coming home.