"Finally… we're out!"
Hudra and Darramb breathed deeply, letting the salty ocean air fill their lungs.
The breeze carried a freshness that made them feel alive again.
The sun was sinking slowly into the sea, while the reflection of the rising moon shimmered faintly across the waves. Night was beginning to fall.
"I don't even know how long we were trapped in that dark realm," Camearra said, glancing at the bracelet on her wrist. "Our food supplies are completely gone. I didn't expect something like that to happen, so I didn't pack much to begin with."
"I'm out too," Hudra said, checking his spatial ring.
"Same here," Darramb added. As if to prove it, his stomach growled loudly.
"…How about we roast one of the Zoigers?" Yuzhou said jokingly, patting the back of the beast beneath him.
Along the way, he had taken the time to explain to Camearra and the others the names of various monsters.
So when he mentioned eating a Zoiger, all three instinctively looked down at their mounts.
The two Zoigers trembled and let out low, pleading cries, as if begging for mercy.
Yuzhou couldn't help but laugh.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Don't take it seriously."
He patted their backs soothingly, then ordered them to look for a nearby island to rest.
Once they landed on a small island surrounded by calm waters, Yuzhou decided it was time to have a real meal.
From his bracelet, he summoned some cooking tools and seasonings, then walked toward the shore.
He threw a black energy sphere into the sea—
Boom!
A moment later, several large fish floated to the surface.
He cleaned the fish by the water, brought them back, lit a fire, and began to prepare a rich, savoury meal.
Camearra, Hudra, and Darramb sat quietly near another campfire, waiting patiently.
But before long, Camearra got curious and walked over to Yuzhou.
"Tiga, are you good at cooking?" she asked, crouching beside him, resting her slender hands against her cheeks as she watched him work.
"I'd say I'm alright," Yuzhou replied modestly.
"Then your old friend must've been lucky," Camearra smiled softly. "Could she cook?"
"…She could."
Yuzhou froze for a moment as he recalled the "dark cuisine" Camearra had once made for him back in R'lyeh.
Even though she'd never cooked before, she had still done her best to make something for him.
Remembering that filled his heart with a quiet warmth.
"That's nice. I've never cooked anything myself," Camearra said, eyes reflecting the flickering fire. "At home, someone always brought the meals. I've never even been in a kitchen."
"That doesn't sound so bad," Yuzhou replied as he stirred the food in the pot. "Having someone to cook for you is a good life."
"But I'd rather make a meal myself someday," Camearra said wistfully, gazing up at the darkening sky. "I wonder who'll be the first to taste it."
Yuzhou smiled silently.
A bit of regret welled in his heart—back then, he never did get to taste the meal she made for him.
"I'd love to try the lady's cooking!" Hudra shouted suddenly from the other fire.
"Me too!" Darramb added eagerly.
Camearra chuckled. "Then I'll make something for you two next time!"
She paused, sniffing the air. "That smells amazing."
"Dinner's ready," Yuzhou said, serving three bowls of steaming soup. "Fresh sea fish stew!"
Hudra and Darramb took their first sips and immediately lit up.
"So good!"
"Delicious!"
"This is the best fish soup I've ever had!"
"Better than anything at the Hunter's Tavern!"
Yuzhou just smiled while Camearra enjoyed hers quietly, savouring every bite.
"If only I could eat like this every day…" she said softly, patting her full stomach and letting out a tiny hiccup, her cheeks flushed red.
"It's just too good."
"If you like it that much," Yuzhou said warmly, "I'll cook for you every day."
"Really?"
"Of course."
That night, they each slept in small tents that Yuzhou took from his bracelet—one for each person.
He had brought plenty of survival gear for situations like this.
Though Yuzhou would've liked to share a tent with Camearra, he stopped himself.
This Camearra wasn't the one who had shared his life in the future; he couldn't do something so disrespectful, nor would she allow it.
The sea breeze rustled the flames of the campfire as Yuzhou stepped out of his tent and sat on the sand, staring up at the starry sky.
So, this was the path he had chosen—
the path to becoming the strongest Dark Warrior of the Ultra-Ancient Era.
He knew roughly what lay ahead, yet how he would fit into that history… was still uncertain.
Footsteps approached from behind.
He didn't need to turn to know who it was.
Camearra sat down beside him, gazing up at the stars as well.
"Still awake, stargazing so late?" she said gently.
"Yeah," Yuzhou nodded. "Couldn't sleep. What about you?"
"I just wanted to feel the sea breeze."
Camearra swung her pale legs lightly and pointed toward the sky.
"Don't you think that cluster of stars looks especially bright tonight?"
Yuzhou followed her gaze.
"You're right. Those are the stars of Orion."
"Orion? You know that constellation?"
"I should," Yuzhou smiled faintly. "That's where I come from."
"Eh?" Camearra blinked in surprise, turning to him. "You're… an alien?"
"Yes and no," Yuzhou said with a chuckle. "I'm still human… just not from this time."
The rest of his thought—I'm from the Earth of the future—he kept to himself.
The stars of Orion shone brighter than any others in the night sky.
According to what Yuzhou had once read, the Giants of Light had come from Orion.
That meant… maybe that light truly existed there.
"Could it be," Yuzhou murmured, eyes fixed on the glittering stars,
"that the light from Orion has already begun choosing humans with hearts of light—to merge with them?"
When the darkness rises again and Earth faces its greatest crisis…
perhaps it will be those flickering stars—the light of Orion—that will stand with humankind against the coming shadow.