The clatter of hooves grew louder until a voice called out.
"Hey! You're alive, boy?"
Uzi groaned, forcing himself upright. His shoulder throbbed as he squinted up at the rider.
"Who... who are you?" he rasped.
The man dismounted with surprising ease for his age. "Name's Guntic. Doctor, by trade. Found you lying by the road back there. Patched up that shoulder before it got worse. Figured I'd take you with me."
Uzi pressed a hand to the bandage, still grimacing. "Why would you bother?"
"Because leaving you there meant you'd die," Guntic said simply. "And I don't let people die if I can help it."
Uzi hesitated, then asked, "Why are we leaving this place?"
The doctor's expression tightened. "Because this kingdom isn't safe anymore. The Imperial Nation has fallen. Half of it's already destroyed."
Uzi's breath caught. "Destroyed? How... how could that happen so fast?"
"They move like wildfire," Guntic said grimly. "And once they set their sights, there's no putting it out."
Uzi, confused, asked a question, "who?"
Guntic looked a little sadder, muttering something Uzi thought he heard as "I don't know."
Uzi clenched his good fist, anger rising in his chest. "...So what now? Where are you taking me?"
"To Mandalo. Small town, across the border in the Cascade Kingdom. My home. Safer than here, at least for now."
Uzi's voice dropped. "And the people here? The ones who didn't escape?"
Guntic paused, meeting his eyes. "...Not many will be left."
Uzi fell silent, his chest tight. He wanted to argue, to shout, but the weight of his body and the pain in his shoulder dragged the fight out of him.
By nightfall, they stopped at a quiet inlet by the ocean. The waves whispered against the shore, filling the silence neither of them wanted to break.
Sleep dragged Uzi into a world split by a blood-red sky. Rathra loomed impossibly tall, his shadow blanketing everything in sight. His grin stretched too wide, glowing eyes burning holes into the air.
The weight of the world pressed down like a storm, crushing the ground and rattling through bone. Every breath felt stolen, every heartbeat on the edge of tearing apart. Rathra leaned closer, his presence wrapping around like chains, whispering words that couldn't be understood yet carved deep into the mind.
Behind him, the others twisted into something wrong. Meriam's form wavered, her eyes empty pools. Beat's laughter doubled on itself, two voices echoing in warped rhythm. Solus's rings spun faster and faster, shredding holes through the sky. Raidren's weapon gleamed in his grip, its weight dragging everything around it down.
The striped tear on Uzi's arm seared hotter, spreading in waves of black and white fire, racing up the body, devouring sense and thought. The sound of it grew louder than any scream. Rathra only grew larger, his hand stretching across the heavens, ready to crush everything into silence.
A broken cry escaped, but the sound shattered apart before reaching the air.
Uzi snapped awake, drenched in sweat, lungs heaving like the nightmare still clung to him. The campfire crackled quietly, its glow soft against the dark. Guntic sat nearby, calmly tending a skewer of meat, though his gaze lingered on Uzi as if he understood what kind of dream had just passed.
Uzi rose stiffly, the soreness in his shoulder lingering with every movement. He walked over to the fire where Guntic sat, the flames casting long shadows against the wagon. Slowly lowering himself down, Uzi settled across from him.
Guntic poked at the pan over the fire before glancing up.
"So, Guntic," Uzi said, voice calm, "you got family waiting in Mandalo?"
Guntic shook his head before Uzi could take another breath.
"No. Left kin behind long ago. The town's still good, though, stone streets, bright colors, open markets by the sea. Some say it looks like it belongs in the south, across the waters."
Uzi shifted uncomfortably. "Sounds... peaceful."
"It is," Guntic replied. His eyes narrowed slightly. "And what about you? Where are you headed?"
Silence stretched. Uzi's mind raced, yet the words wouldn't come. He couldn't tell Guntic who he really was or what had been done to him. At the same time, lying felt heavier than the wound in his shoulder. His lips pressed shut, and he only muttered, "I don't know yet."
Guntic studied him for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Fair enough. Rest while you can. Tomorrow's ride will be long."
He stood, brushing off his hands, and moved toward the wagon.
"Don't stay up too late, lad. Fire's good company, but it won't answer you back."
Uzi sat quietly, staring into the flames as they crackled. His thoughts churned in the silence, once they were defeated, once everything was undone, the world would return to what it was meant to be. He clung to that hope, even as doubt gnawed at the edges.