"Wha—what is this?" he muttered, staring down at his hands. His fingers trembled slightly, his pulse quickening for no discernible reason. A creeping unease coiled in his gut, pressing against his ribs like an unseen force. "Why do I feel like... someone's watching me all of a sudden?"
A voice echoed in his mind, sharp and irritated. *What are you going on about, ape?*
Ercale's tone carried equal parts annoyance and confusion, as though he were already exasperated before the conversation had even begun.
*It just feels like something bad's going to happen again somehow,* Xain responded, his thoughts coming out in a slow, wary hum.
Ercale let out a long, tired sigh. *Ape, nothing bad has happened in the past month. Stop being paranoid.* His voice was flat, his words delivered with the practiced boredom of someone who had endured this exact exchange too many times already.
Xain swallowed, nodding to himself. "Yeah... yeah, you're right. I'm just being paranoid," he mumbled, shaking his head as if to physically rid himself of the feeling. Pushing himself up from the bed, he stretched his arms before stepping toward the window of his inn room.
The warm afternoon sunlight filtered through the glass, casting long shadows across the wooden floor. He unlatched the window and pushed it open, letting the breeze sweep in. Leaning forward, he peered outside. The city was alive with its usual rhythm—humans and demi-humans alike moving through the stone-paved streets, going about their day. Merchants called out from their stalls, advertising fresh produce, exotic trinkets, and steaming plates of street food. Steamwagons rumbled down the roads, their brass and steel exteriors gleaming under the sun, weaving between the occasional horse-drawn carriage.
Craning his neck, Xain let his gaze drift beyond the bustling streets toward the heart of the city, where it stood—a towering monument of grandeur. Its pristine stone walls rose high, their surfaces smooth and adorned with elegant engravings depicting legendary battles and great warriors of the past century. Towering columns lined its outer ring, each one carved with intricate patterns and crowned with flowing banners that rippled in the wind. Its arched entryways, flanked by statues of past champions, stood wide and welcoming, exuding an air of importance. The structure dominated the skyline, its vast, elliptical shape gleaming under the sunlight, a testament to the city's pride and status.
*Will never get used to seeing that,* Ercale muttered, his voice carrying a note of reluctant admiration. *Back when I was still walking around freely, there was barely even a town here, let alone that.*
Xain chuckled lightly. *We've been here nearly two weeks. You have to have gotten a little used to it by now.*
*It's just kind of jarring, is all.* Ercale's tone was contemplative now, a rare shift from his usual dismissiveness. *Really shows me how much can change in such a short time.*
Xain was about to point out that 500 years wasn't exactly a short time, but then he caught himself. Ercale was over 100,000 years old. To him, five centuries probably felt like nothing more than the blink of an eye.
Xain exhaled, shaking his head. "Man, after you told me your age, I see you in a completely different way now."
*That way being?* Ercale's voice carried a dry tone, though Xain could practically feel him arching a brow in mild curiosity.
"I don't know… just—you're really old," Xain said, struggling to put it into words.
Ercale let out a sharp scoff. *Thank you for your enlightening analysis, ape. Truly, you've opened my eyes.*
Xain groaned, his shoulders slumping. "Come on, Erkie, I'm not a poet or a bard."
*Of course not,* Ercale shot back without hesitation. *Poets and bards are respected and actually contribute something to society—unlike you.*
Xain clutched his chest dramatically. *What did I do? Why are you being so mean to me today?*
He could feel Ercale rolling his eyes. *There are very few times when I'm not mean to you, ape. Now be quiet—I'm shutting down for a while.*
*Roger,* Xain thought in reply, already used to Ercale's way of phrasing things. The Demon Lord had taken it upon himself to drill Xain on figures of speech from his own world, and by now, Xain had gotten used to his odd turns of phrase.
Just as the presence in his mind went silent, a knock sounded at his door, followed by Zee's voice. "Xain, if you're not resting, Larkin wants to talk about something."
"Coming," Xain called back. He turned, shutting the window and casting one last glance outside before stepping away.
*Yeah… nothing bad's going to happen,* he told himself before heading out of the room.
Meanwhile
Two figures, a woman and a man, stood at the crest of a hill, gazing down at the sprawling city in the distance.
"Finally," the woman muttered, brushing a loose strand of blonde hair from her face. Her amber eyes gleamed with something sharp—anticipation, perhaps.
A smirk curled at her lips. "I found you."
"You mean we found you," the man beside her interjected, trudging a few paces behind. His tone was flat, bordering on exasperated. "I'm here too, in case you somehow forgot."
Amara narrowed her eyes, barely sparing him a glance. "Yes, yes, you're here as well," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
Crow reflexively flinched, though she hadn't actually done anything. It was instinct at this point—he'd been on the receiving end of her flames far too many times to trust even the smallest of gestures.
Amara, either unaware or simply uninterested in his reaction, continued forward, her smirk deepening.
"And this time… you won't get away."
With that, the two of them descended the hill, making their way toward the city of Arcadicia.