During the entire trip, Igneous didn't stop talking to the system that lay within his Treasure. The boy was very excited. The possibilities as a Marked one were enormous. He never felt as powerful as he did in those moments.
"Tell me system," asked Igneous, walking down the path free of black mist, surrounded by gray trees, "how powerful can I get?"
Igneous knew very well how RPG video games worked. So he guessed that the more powerful the defeated enemy was, the more Rakna points Igneous would receive.
"System," the boy continued, "are Rakna points gained proportionally to the power of the enemy defeated?"
'Interesting...' thought the boy. 'So IT IS like RPG video games. This is awesome!'
Alya, on the other hand, was very quiet (more than usual). In fact, she seemed to be annoyed by the constant conversation between Igneous and his Treasure system.
The boy was curious. Why was she so hostile to the idea of talking to the system? "Hey, Alya, why do you hate the system?" He dared to ask.
"You wouldn't understand," the girl replied. "You are not from this place."
Apparently, it was a touchy subject.
The wind whispered Igneous's name.
The boy froze. What had that been? At first, he thought it was his Treasure.
"System?" he asked. "Did you just talk to me?"
'How strange… so… was it my imagination?'
He looked around as if hoping to find something or someone. But he found only loneliness and dark mist. He shrugged and continued on his way.
"What the hell?" The boy jumped a little and went on alert. "Did you hear that, Alya?"
"What thing?" The girl stopped and turned around to look at Igneous.
"I heard a voice..."
"A voice?"
"Yes…"
"Over there!" Igneous yelled, "Don't you hear it?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, but hearing voices is never good," Alya reached for the hilt of her sword, ready to draw it.
That voice was familiar to Igneous. Where had he heard it before?
The boy watched the black mist, attentive, waiting for something to happen.
"It tells me about the mist..."
"The mist tells you about the mist itself?"
Then, Igneous remembered THAT voice. He had heard it before. Of course! That was the voice that called him to the other world. The voice that invited him to follow Eider.
"Eider?" Igneous shuddered. "What do you mean?"
Unanswered.
"HEY! Tell me!" The boy screamed loudly.
"Could you please calm down?" Alya claimed, looking around worriedly, "our enemies might hear you."
"Please talk to me!" Igneous begged the air, "Tell me where Eider is! Do you know where he is? HEY, ANSWER ME!"
Unanswered.
"You're scaring me," said Alya. "Please stop yelling."
"Damn it," Igneous growled, clenching his fists. "Am I going crazy?" He fell to his knees and pounded the ground with his fists. "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!"
Alya approached the boy, looking worried.
"Hey… calm down," she almost placed her hand on Igneous' shoulder.
"Am I going crazy?" The boy stood up. Then he looked at the black mist with a frown. "What the heck are you?" He spoke to the mist.
"Oh, this great," Alya made a facepalm. "Now you speak to the mist."
"Alya... what is the mist?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "No one really knows. In the cities, they say it's a curse from demons. But… recently you discovered by your own eyes and ears, that the demons have a different theory; that we humans are to blame."
"And what do you think?"
She bit her lip. "I… I'm not sure what I believe anymore," she lowered her head. "The only thing that is known for sure is that the mist comes from the abyss."
"From the abyss?"
Alya nodded. "It is an underground world, little explored, hostile, and full of mysteries."
"And why is nobody exploring it right now?"
"Because it is very, very, dangerous," the girl answered. "The levels closer to the surface are not so dangerous, but… the further you descend, it becomes difficult to breathe, you have dizziness, hallucinations, and the monsters are much more powerful. Almost invincible. That is why no one has reached the depths, where the origin of the mist is presumed to be."
"I see... then... you have to be very powerful to go down the abyss."
"That is correct."
Igneous nodded slowly.
'If I become powerful enough, maybe I can go down to the bottom of the abyss,' thought the boy. Although he had never been in the abyss. Although he had not the remotest idea of what dangers lurked down there.
The black mist shuddered as if he were a sentient being that had realized Igneous' plans.
The boy raised his eyebrows.
"Did you see that?"
"Now what?" Alya asked in a frustrated tone, "Do you see things now?"
Igneous frowned and waited to see if the mist writhed again. However, nothing happened. The boy snorted loudly and scratched his forehead. "Nah, forget it."
The two kids continued on their way down the mist-free path.
As they neared Kraimer Harbor, a structure of what appeared to be rock loomed above the gray trees. Igneous opened his eyes and his jaw dropped.
"What's that?" The boy pointed to the structure.
It seemed to be… an arm? A giant arm made of rock, coming out of the ground, as if trying to reach the sky. As if it were the buried statue of a titan.
"That is the corpse of an eon," Alya answered.
"WHAT! An eon? Igneous jumped a little and his eyes lit up. "Like the eons that gave us our powers?"
"An older one," Alya explained, "millennia ago, the eons had a war. Many of them died and their bodies were scattered all over the planet."
"They are everywhere?"
"Yes. It is as if the ground is made of bodies of eons."
"That is incredible!"
The fire lion that gave Igneous powers was a huge being. Bigger than any other living thing the boy had ever seen, but not half as big as that eon whose arm was sticking out of the ground.
'The ancient eons must have been larger than colossus,' thought Igneous and felt goosebumps rise on his skin.
Alya and the boy continued on their way, for hours, until the sun went down and darkness covered the forest. Both kids decided to camp in an area free of black mist.
Igneous lit a fire, thanks to his fire powers. He quickly discovered that he could shoot flames without transforming. Those attacks were weaker but didn't require as much stamina as when he transformed with the armor.
The fire gave them warmth. They both ate the last slices of bread they brought from old Zenda's village.
"Did you really hear the mist speak?" Alya asked, eating a slice of bread.
"Yes," Igneous confirmed. "It was weird. At first, I thought there was someone behind the mist, but I quickly realized that it was the mist itself that was speaking."
"How strange… I had never heard of such a thing. Perhaps…"
"Yes?"
"Maybe it's something that only happens to the Marked ones."
"Alya... I know you might say 'I wouldn't understand, but... why do you hate demons? why do you hate the Marked ones?"
The girl took a deep breath and replied: "For centuries demons have been the enemies of human cities. For some reason, they are immune to the black mist. And… because of that, people think that they are to blame. People say they are the ones who brought this calamity. There can't be human cities where there's also black mist, so... we humans have been forced to retreat into shelters, while almost the entire planet belongs to the demons."
Igneous listened attentively and nodded slowly.
"I heard stories," Alya continued, "about how demons were cruel creatures that killed humans for pleasure. That they ate the children and things like that. And that only when the last demon was killed, the black mist would end and the planet would once again belong to humans. I trained hard to become a swordswoman who would fight against demons and help mankind to be victorious. That was my dream. Finish off those evil beings."
"I understand… but… that's not what I saw. I didn't see evil beings."
"I didn't see that either," the girl shook her head. "All my life I believed something that turned out to be… a lie. What I saw… were kind beings, who helped us, who gave us food and a roof to sleep under. Why did they tell us those stories? I don't know… I don't know what to think anymore."
The campfire crackled.
"And what about the marked ones? What are we exactly? the boy asked. "Do we really have to destroy human cities?"
Alya shrugged. "The Marked ones are beings who fulfill missions for the eons. Those beings, those false gods, have always sought to destroy humanity. I don't know why some people are chosen and others are not. Nobody really knows. Although they are always human."
"Now I understand a bit. But… I don't want to destroy anything."
"Neither do I."
"Will liberating the shrines really lead to the destruction of the cities?"
"That is what the wise men say. The shrines must not be liberated, because that will be the end of everything. Although… I'm not sure of anything anymore. What if that is also a lie?"
"Well, it's decided. We will reach the Kamsara shrine and find a solution. Surely destroying cities is just a misunderstanding."
Alya nodded slowly.
Igneous ate a slice of bread. "And how did you become a Marked one?"
"That was when I decided to take my father's sword. A winged dragon appeared in front of me. Gigantic. He told me that I had to go to the city of Kamsara and liberate the shrine. And you?"
"It was when I was transported to this world. In my case, it was a giant lion, red and with a mane of flames."
"Are you really from another world?" the girl asked.
"Yes. A very different one than this," Igneous up at the sky.
"What is it like?"
"Full of machines, garbage, buildings, and many wars."
"Sounds like the cities of this world. Even the wars part."
"I would love to see those cities," the boy stated. "Where are you from?"
"From the city of Yish. To the East."
"How is Yish?" The boy asked, curiously.
"It's beautiful," Alya replied. "Full of canals, fountains, and a huge port where ships arrive from the north."
"Sounds pretty."
"It is."
Were he and she having a civil conversation? 'This is good,' thought the boy. Ever since he saw that face of hers for the first time, so similar to Breeze's, he always wanted to know more about her.
"And do you have a family?" Igneous dared to ask. At first, he thought the girl wouldn't answer such a personal question, but she hesitated and she did.
"Yes," she nodded, "I have a father in Yish. My mother died."
"Oh, hell, I'm sorry," the boy lamented. "I shouldn't have asked."
"No, worry not."
Igneous liked that the girl was opening up to him. It was the first time they had conversed as two people who could become friends.
"And what about your family?" Now it was Alya's turn to ask.
"My father and mother died," the boy answered. "When the enemy bombed the city where we lived. They were crushed by debris. Only my brother and I survived."
Alya looked uncomfortable and regretful. "Oh, now I am sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
"Oh come on, don't apologize. It's not your fault. And well… my only family are my friends. We form a gang; The Jaguars. We are among the most feared in the city."
The girl bit her lip, hesitated for a few seconds, and then asked: "And... who is this Breeze person?"
Igneous' heart jumped. "She… she was the best of all of us. A kind, loving, intelligent soul. Everything I never was."
"She…she died?"
Igneous closed his eyes and nodded slowly.
"So sorry. It sounds like you loved her very much. It seems that your world is a dangerous place."
"And cruel," added the boy. "A dangerous and cruel place."
"And… do I look like her?"
"Like two drops of water," Igneous replied.
"And what about your brother?" Alya asked. "He came into this world with you?"
The boy shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not so sure. He is possibly somewhere in this world. I don't even know if he's alive."
"That is why you want to fulfill the mission of the eon," the girl pointed out. "You think the eon will bring your brother back."
"I hope so... Do you think it's silly?"
Alya shrugged and stared at the campfire. "I don't know anything anymore."
The two kids went to sleep. The next day they resumed their walk towards the port of Kraimer. It was several hours in the sun. Until the port was seen on the horizon: a collection of wooden houses built on the sea and connected by docks.
Surrounding the houses and alongside the docks were at least a dozen sailboats.
"Uh-oh," Alya said, frowning.
"It's wrong?"
Alya pointed to the horizon, where the ocean met the sky and a thick blanket of black mist. Igneous focused his gaze and saw a row of massive, gray metal ships, neatly lined up. The bows were pointing toward the port. As if they were ready to sail against the wooden houses.
"What are those ships?" Igneous asked, scratching his head.
Alya swallowed hard. "It's the Legion fleet."