The paved road of the Kingdom ended abruptly, as if the world had simply run out of civilization.
Beyond the last milestone marker, the ground turned grey. It wasn't rock; it was ash. Compressed, frozen ash that stretched endlessly into a fog of perpetual twilight.
Kaelen pulled the reins, bringing the iron-plated carriage to a halt. The two undead Night-Mares snorted, pawing at the ash. Even they—creatures of the dungeon—seemed hesitant to step forward.
"Welcome to the Dead Zone," Kaelen said, jumping down from the driver's seat.
He adjusted his coat. The air here was thin and tasted of sulfur. There was no wind, yet the ash swirled around his boots in unnatural patterns.
Seraphina stepped out of the carriage. She wrapped her cloak tight, shivering.
"It's quiet," she whispered. "Too quiet. Where are the birds? The insects?"
"Nothing lives here that breathes oxygen," Vex added, hopping down from the roof. She looked uncomfortable, her Drow ears twitching. "And my mana... it feels sluggish. Like swimming in syrup."
Kaelen opened his Status Screen.
[System Alert.]
[Zone Discovered: The Ashen Wastelands (Sector 1).]
[Environmental Debuff Applied: Mana Stagnation.]
[Effect: Mana Regeneration reduced by 90%. Spells cost 50% more to cast.]
"You feel sluggish because the atmosphere is actively suppressing you," Kaelen explained. "This is why the Church doesn't chase heretics out here. A Paladin without mana is just a man in a tin can."
He walked to the edge of the ash. He pulled out the Mithril Sword.
"From this point on, we are not students. We are prey. Every beast, plant, and rock out here has evolved to kill. If you sleep, you post a guard. If you eat, you check for poison."
He looked at Seraphina.
"Solar Tyrant," Kaelen addressed her by her class. "Your fire is our only defense against the Chill Wraiths that come out at night. You are no longer artillery; you are life support. Conserve your mana."
He looked at Vex.
"Assassin. Your stealth is compromised here. The Ash carries vibration differently. You need to relearn how to walk."
Vex scowled but nodded, testing the ground with her heel. Crunch. It was loud.
"And me?" Kaelen looked into the grey fog.
[Sin Eater: Active.]
[The Abyss welcomes you home.]
Unlike them, Kaelen didn't feel suppressed. He felt... heavy. Powerful. The passive mana in the air wasn't Order; it was Chaos.
"I am the predator," Kaelen finished.
"Let's move. We need to reach the first Waypoint before nightfall."
They climbed back into the carriage. Kaelen snapped the reins. The Night-Mares whinnied and stepped onto the ash.
The wheels crunched loudly. They drove for hours into the grey void. The landscape was monotonous—dunes of ash, skeletons of petrified trees, and rocks that looked suspiciously like giant skulls.
Suddenly, Vex tapped on the roof.
"Boss. Movement. 9 o'clock."
Kaelen looked out the reinforced window. Through the swirling fog, he saw silhouettes. They were humanoid, but wrong. Their limbs were too long, dragging on the ground. They moved in a jerky, twitching rhythm.
[System Analysis.]
[Target: Ash-Stalkers (Rank F+).]
[Type: Mutated Humanoid.]
[Description: Former travelers corrupted by the Wasteland. They hunt in packs.]
"Scavengers," Kaelen muttered. "They hear the carriage."
There were ten of them. Then twenty. Then fifty. They emerged from the fog like ghosts, running on all fours, closing the distance with terrifying speed.
"They're swarming!" Seraphina shouted, peering out the other window. "Kaelen, there are hundreds!"
"They want to test the new meat," Kaelen said calmly. "Vex, take the wheel. Keep us steady at 30 mph. Do not stop for anything."
"You got it!" Vex slid into the driver's seat.
Kaelen kicked the rear door of the carriage open. The wind roared in.
"Seraphina, you're on cleanup. I'll break the wave."
Kaelen stood on the rear platform of the moving carriage. The Ash-Stalkers were gaining, their pale, eyeless faces screeching with hunger.
One of them lunged, leaping ten feet in the air to land on the carriage roof.
Slash.
Kaelen didn't even look up. He swung his sword in a vertical arc. The creature was bisected in mid-air, its black blood spraying onto the ash.
[XP +50.]
"Weak," Kaelen grunted.
Three more leaped.
Kaelen moved with the Null-Breaker efficiency. He didn't waste energy on flashy moves. A thrust to the throat. A kick to the knee. A severing of the spine.
Bodies piled up behind the carriage, tumbling in the dust.
But for every one he killed, three more took its place. They were clambering over each other, a tide of grey flesh.
"They're trying to jam the wheels!" Vex shouted from the front. "I'm losing speed!"
Kaelen saw an Ash-Stalker jamming its bone-arm into the spokes of the left wheel. The carriage shuddered.
"Seraphina! Now!" Kaelen barked.
Seraphina stepped onto the platform beside him. She held her staff tight.
"I can't use a big spell!" she panicked. "The debuff!"
"Don't use a big spell!" Kaelen grabbed her shoulder. "Use a smart spell! Flashbang!"
Seraphina understood. She didn't try to burn them. She raised her staff high.
"SOLAR FLARE (Low Output)!"
A blinding pulse of white light exploded from the staff. It wasn't hot, but it was bright.
The Ash-Stalkers, creatures of the eternal grey twilight, had no eyelids.
SCREEEEE!
The swarm recoiled instantly, clutching their faces. They tumbled over each other, blinded and confused.
"Vex! Punch it!"
The carriage surged forward, breaking free of the slowing mass. They left the screeching horde behind in the dust.
Kaelen slammed the door shut and locked it.
He sat down, breathing steadily. Seraphina slumped against the wall, checking her mana pool.
"I used 20% of my mana for a simple flash," she groaned. "This place is hell."
"We survived the greeting committee," Kaelen said, wiping black blood from his blade.
He looked at the map The Key was projecting onto the table. A glowing purple line pointed north-east.
"We have 300 miles to go," Kaelen said. "And the Ash-Stalkers are the bottom of the food chain."
Suddenly, the carriage shook again. Not from a monster. From the ground.
Thump... Thump...
It was a rhythmic vibration. Heavy. Massive.
Kaelen looked out the window.
In the distance, towering over the fog, a leg the size of a castle tower stepped down. Then another.
It was a creature so large its head was lost in the clouds. It walked slowly, ignoring the tiny carriage, but its footsteps caused earthquakes.
[System Warning.]
[Entity Detected: The Wandering Titan (Rank S).]
[Status: Passive.]
[Advice: Do not attract its attention.]
Kaelen stared at the Titan. In the Academy, a Rank C Executioner was a boss. Here, a Rank S Titan was just scenery.
"Welcome to Volume 2," Kaelen whispered, a mix of fear and excitement tightening his chest.
He closed the blind.
"Lights out. Absolute silence. If that thing looks down, we're dust."