They barely made it back to the hut before exhaustion claimed them.
Raul collapsed onto one bed without even taking his boots off. Victor followed suit, sprawling across the other like a corpse that had finally decided it was done with the world. Arin lingered a moment longer, setting his pack down carefully before sitting on the edge of his bed.
The silence didn't last.
Victor cracked one eye open. "So," he said lazily, "what's up with you and the girl?"
Arin didn't look up. "There is no 'you and the girl.'"
Raul rolled onto his side, propping his head up with one arm. "That's what they all say."
Arin sighed. "It's not like that. I'm interested in her talent. That's all."
Victor smirked. "Ah, yes. The most dangerous sentence a man can say."
Raul snapped his fingers. "Wait—hold on. Our glorious Master Lord here can see talents, right?" He leaned forward slightly. "So?"
Arin hesitated.
That was enough.
Victor sat up. "Oh no. You're doing the thing where you pretend it's nothing."
Raul's eyes lit up. "Spit it out."
Arin finally looked at them. "She has higher potential than anyone I've seen so far."
The room went quiet.
Raul blinked. "Higher than me?"
"Yes."
Victor frowned. "You can't be serious."
Arin just stared at him.
Both of them stared.
"…You're serious," Raul said.
"I am."
Victor whistled softly. "So what, you're thinking of recruiting her or something?"
"I am," Arin said calmly. "If she agrees, of course."
Raul frowned. "If she's that strong, then why hasn't she left the village already?"
"I don't know," Arin admitted. "But she's suppressing her talent. I don't think she used her talent even once."
Raul's expression darkened. "Yeah… something about her felt wrong. Like she was holding her breath all the time."
Victor leaned back. "Great. Another emotionally unstable prodigy."
Arin ignored him. "She might be the key to crossing the Scorched Pass."
Silence settled again.
Victor yawned. "We'll deal with it tomorrow. I'm thought."
Raul nodded. "Same."
Arin lay back, staring at the ceiling.
"Sleep," he said quietly.
The next morning arrived buried in sand.
Not the dramatic, world-ending kind, just an endless, grinding wall of yellow that swallowed the horizon whole. The sun was nothing more than a pale blur behind it, and the wind hissed through the village like it was whispering secrets to itself.
Rasir stopped by personally.
"A sandstorm," he said, squinting at the sky. "Not a deadly one, but don't be stupid. Visibility drops fast, and the dunes shift. People who wander during storms tend to… stop wandering."
Raul nodded immediately. Victor nodded a beat later, once he realized Rasir was done talking.
"Understood, sir," Raul said.
Victor added, "We enjoy being alive."
Satisfied, Rasir left.
Raul stretched and cracked his neck. "Welp. Looks like a rest day."
Victor glanced outside, then back at the beds. "A mandatory rest day."
They both turned.
Arin was already tightening his cloak.
"I'll be back soon," he said.
Victor stared at him. "…You heard the part where people disappear, right?"
"I'll be careful."
Raul frowned. "Careful where?"
Arin paused. Just long enough.
Victor's eyes narrowed. Then widened. "Oh. Oh no."
Raul blinked. "Wait—"
"You're going there, aren't you?" Victor said.
Arin sighed. "I'm just going to talk with her."
"Uh-huh." Victor leaned against the wall. "Try not to die, loverboy."
Arin stopped at the doorway and glanced back over his shoulder.
"You're calling me that?"
Victor shrugged, smirking. "Pattern recognition."
Arin exhaled slowly. "Says the guy got annihilated by their crush."
Victor stiffened.
Raul blinked, then his face split into a grin.
"Oh. The herbalist."
"Do not," Victor warned.
Arin continued, tone perfectly calm.
"You brought her flowers. Asked her out for a drink."
Raul snorted. "Oh gods, I forgot the flowers."
Victor covered his face. "I was trying to be romantic."
"And she said," Arin added, not missing a beat,
"She'd rather drink poison."
Raul lost it, laughter echoing through the hut.
"That was so good," Raul wheezed.
Victor pointed at Arin. "You're walking into a sandstorm alone now."
Arin turned back to the door, smirking.
"Try not to fall for anyone who sells antidotes while I'm gone."
Raul laughed harder as Arin stepped outside.
Silence.
"…Why are you like this?" Victor muttered.
Raul burst out laughing as Arin stepped outside, the door sliding shut behind him, while Victor was still processing emotional damage.
Outside, the wind swallowed Arin whole as he headed toward the edge of the village.
The sandstorm wasn't violent yet, just heavy, persistent. Like the world was breathing dust.
Arin reached the eastern edge of the village and knocked.
The door opened almost immediately.
"Oh," Mina said softly. "Hello, Arin."
Her expression was the same as always, calm, distant, but there was no surprise in her eyes. Almost as if she'd been expecting him.
"May I come in?" Arin asked. "The storm's picking up."
"Of course."
Inside, the hut felt unchanged. Quiet. Still. Mina sat on the edge of her bed. Arin lowered himself to the floor across from her.
She spoke first.
"This is about yesterday, isn't it?" she asked. "You saw something."
Arin nodded. "I did."
Her fingers tightened slightly against the fabric of her clothes. "I don't hurt people. I know what they say. But I've never—"
"I know," Arin said gently. "I can see your Core Talent."
The air shifted.
Mina's composure cracked just a little. "Then you know what I am."
"I know what you can be," Arin corrected.
She looked at him sharply.
"You're not cursed," he continued. "You know, your mother's death was not your fault."
Her voice trembled despite her effort to control it. "No one believes that."
"I do."
Silence stretched between them.
"I want you to grow stronger," Arin said. "Safely. Without fear. If you become my subordinate, my talent, Lord, will help stabilize and amplify your Talent."
"Why are you telling me this?" Mina asked quietly.
"Because I want us to trust each other," Arin said. "Our goal is to leave this village eventually. Cross the Scorched Pass. Keep adventuring."
Mina's eyes widened, just a little. A faint glow stirred within them.
"You… want to go through the Scorched Pass?" she asked. "That's dangerous."
Arin nodded once. "Yeah."
Then, after a brief pause, he added, confidence creeping into his voice,
"Danger is kind of our middle name."
Sorry, Raul, he thought. Borrowing this one.
She hesitated. "If I leave… what about my father?"
Arin had no answer for that.
The storm howled outside.
"…I'll think about it," Mina said at last.
Arin smiled. "That's all I ask."
For the first time, she smiled back.
"Be careful on your way back, Arin," she said.
"I will."
As Arin stepped back into the sand, the storm seemed a little less suffocating than before.