God has not appeared in my dreams for a long time now. I wonder if He has forsaken me… It is hard to say. This war started because of my devotion, and my lack of belief will end it…

Two carriages sped through the forest, following the man-made road toward Lustra. One followed after the other, with each having two large birds covered in scales and feathers pulling them. Within the one behind were Lutha and the burly man. The former watched the landscape speed past them through the window while the latter read from a thick book.

Inside the one leading were Yasa, Kai, and Onyx. The boy had taken off his mask, thankful that he didn't have to wear it everywhere, but cautious of the woman sitting opposite him. To think that one of the few people who know my face wants to kill me… He sighed at the misfortune and tried not to be too bothered by the awkward atmosphere.

Onyx slept soundly next to Kai, with his head resting on the boy's lap and his tail hanging on the edge. He slept peacefully, unaware of the peril Kai had lived through the other day. Remembering that he looked at Yasa with both guilt and worry. The woman was clearly stronger than he was, and they currently shared a small space. Sure, she didn't kill him when she was given the opportunity, but that didn't mean she wouldn't change her mind.

She noticed his glance but didn't say anything. Instead, she leaned on her seat and looked outside, enjoying the view and silence. Kai did the same, though to say he was tired of seeing hills and trees would be an understatement. Leaning on the couch chair, he found it to be very soft and comfortable, and there was barely any noise from the rattling wheels. He couldn't thank Léandro enough for such accommodation.

"We'll see each other soon, I hope?" Kai asked Léandro just before departing, but the boy shook his head.

"We're going to go to the forest. We've been delayed by Lilith's sudden illness, but thanks to you, she's cured. We'll look after her for a few more days, then depart.

"The forest?" Kai asked, wanting to make sure of which forest Léandro talked about. "You don't mean that forest, do you?"

The young prince sighed. "I must go there. I'm not sure what I told you, but knowing me, I told you enough for you to understand."

Kai nodded and extended his hand. "We may see each other there, then." He said with a smile, as he had planned to go there to gather the missing pieces of his soul.

"I hope we'll both be in one piece in that case." Léandro took his hand as they exchanged a firm handshake. Kai tightened his hand around a metallic object that Léandro gave him in the process and quickly stored it within his ring.

He took it out in the carriage and took a good look at it. It held the icon of a lion dressed in royal clothing. Kai found it weird as he had never heard of any such animals existing in this world, but he figured out that it must be important.

"What's your relationship with the prince?" Yasa broke the silence after taking a quick glance at the medallion.

"We're just friends." Kai hid it away within his ring. "We met some time ago, maybe a year or two. He saved my life, I did him a favor a few days ago."

"Must be one hell of a friendship for him to give you the Royal Sigil."

"Royal Sigil?"

Yasa sighed and rolled her eyes. "How could you have it and not know what it does?"

"Well… he didn't tell me?"

"He shouldn't have to. The Royal Sigil is a well-known symbol within the kingdom. It has a lot of advantages, but most notably allows you free access to the palace grounds. Anyone who holds it has enough authority to rival a duke as well."

Hearing that, Kai's eyes shone. "Does that make me a duke then?"

"No," Yasa said immediately. "It just means you have their standing, but not their wealth or army, and surely not any sort of counsel right."

Kai wasn't too bummed about it, he didn't care much for politics anyway. However, that did mean that if he showed the medallion to anyone, they would need to respect it and him by correlation. That gave Kai some sort of safety to fall back on if something were to happen, but he really wished nothing did.

"That's fine as well," Kai said, patting Onyx and remaining silent afterward. Yasa didn't seem to be done with her questions, though, as she threw another one in Kai's way.

"What's with the Obborik?"

"Onyx?" Kai asked with a stupid smile. "He's my companion, my friend, my brother. He's even-" However, he stopped himself from talking, realizing that he might have said too much.

Yasa frowned. "You think I would do anything to him? You take me for such a cruel and evil woman?"

Yes… Kai wanted to say but didn't dare to, instead, he shook his head. "I just want to err on the side of caution." She seemed to take offense at that, however, as she turned away and refused to look in his direction.

"I have better leverage against you than a mutt." She said under her breath, barely enough for Kai to know that she muttered something, but not what. Onyx's ears twitched, though, and he let out a sleeping growl upon registering the insult.

Kai chuckled, gave him a few gentle pats, and played with his ears. The love and care in his eyes couldn't go unnoticed by Yasa, who rolled her eyes and refused to look at them, even from the corner of her eye. The boy noticed her but didn't say anything. It's the first time we're actually sitting and talking ever since we left Brevit. He thought, remembering the small town where he had left almost everyone he had come to know behind.

Nothing could be done about it, though, he'd rather be alone and protecting those he loved and cared about than putting them in danger. He could only hope the Inquisitors weren't too brutal with Karfi and Natasha. He was sure Barhm had already fled, and Rodney probably feigned innocence. He could have been the one that sold him out as well. Kai could only guess as to why the inquisitors showed up so fast and without warning.

"Do you know anything about them?" Kai lifted his head and asked Yasa.

"About whom?"

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"The inquisitors that showed up in Belvit."

Yasa shook her head. "Not much. I think it was pure coincidence, or someone found out about you. From what I heard from Rodney, you didn't do that good of a job hiding yourself."

Kai took some insult to her statement, but had to admit that it was true. Especially right before he had been forced to leave. Could it have been after I tried to get some wine? That's possible, but why did they respond so slowly?

"Besides that, I know nothing," Yasa added and looked out the window. "And I didn't know how you managed to escape. I might have an idea now…"

Kai scratched the back of his head but didn't say anything else. Taking a mental note to be more careful in the future, he caressed Onyx's fur and stood in silence. He didn't want to risk offending Yasa any further and didn't feel like talking either. Lost in his own head, he thought about what his next steps would be. To go from Lustra to Nivero, meet Julie on the way, and see if Orphelia is in town.

The thing he was most excited about, though, was finding the piece of his soul. He didn't know what was missing, if anything of importance was, but knew for sure that something was. Especially after absorbing Ivan's memories, he felt… less.

…

The sun quickly disappeared, and the moon took its place. Kai didn't close an eye, though. He watched the stars shimmer out from his window and wondered if there was a universe out there somewhere. Another one besides the one he lived one, another one where perhaps things were different.

He knew that, back on Earth, he could see another galaxy whenever the light pollution decreased. A mass of floating stars spiraling around a center point, a mass so big it could be observed from millions of light years away. Here, though, despite the nonexistence of light pollution, there was nothing except stars. He wasn't sure how to feel about it.

Opposite him, Yasa slept soundly. She knew he wasn't a threat, and even if he tried taking her life, she would awaken before he had the chance. Kai wouldn't do that, he believed their enmity didn't cross that bridge yet. Even if it did, he wasn't sure he could take a life.

That's one thing that bothered him most: killing. Here, killing is a day-to-day thing that happens out of necessity or desperation. For him, though, killing… murdering someone, that's what brought him here. He didn't remember why or who killed him, but he knew that he had been murdered.

He recalled the pain and torment, he recalled the suffering and desperation. He held on to those feelings, to what made him human.

The carriage stopped for a few hours on its way, allowing the Glusters - the weird creatures that pulled the carriage - to rest and feed. Kai read the burnt book he had found in his father's library, the journal of sorts that he understood less than ten percent of. The words were written in a language he didn't recognize but felt that he should know. Sadly, though, the phrases were difficult, the pages torn and dirty, and the writing old and messy.

…

The sun rose once again, welcoming a new morning. Dew settled on the grass and leaves, and the Glusters cooed as they trailed on the road. They enjoyed the fresh sun after so many hours of darkness, but their steps faltered as they approached the edge of a forest.

Kai yawned, fatigued, his head bobbing up and down. He truly didn't get a wink of sleep last night, and he couldn't do so even if he wanted to. His caution toward Yasa didn't allow him to.

Onyx, on the other hand, yawned as he woke up and lazily licked his snout. He looked around, half confused and half hungry, but more hungry than confused. He knew better than to beg for food right now, though Kai felt his desire to eat, so he pulled out a piece of meat jerky from his ring. Then another, and another. As a growing cub, Onyx needed a lot of food to be healthy.

The Obborik wagged his tail as he chewed on the meat, making sure not to lose a single crumb. A soft smile creases Kai's lips as he pats the Obborik's fur.

A sudden stop made him halt as well, though. A window behind Kai revealed some sunlight as the driver pushed aside a curtain. "The road has stopped." He explained, his voice deep but jittery. "We can't go any further by carriage."

"The road has stopped?!" Yasa repeated and looked out the window. "Well, I'll be damned."

Kai did the same out of curiosity, perturbing the sleeping Obborik's rest. His eyes widened upon seeing the road, or the lack of it. They got out to inspect the area better, unable to believe that vegetation could grow in such large quantities on a frequently used road.

"What happened here?" Yasa asked the carriage driver, A middle-aged beastman with fox ears and a mouse nose with whiskers.

"Road's blocked hasn't been used in too long. And look at my clusters, they don't want to take a step further. Something's going on in that forest, my nose tells me that much."

"What do we do then?" Yasa asked, turning to Lutha and the burly man.

"We walk." The latter stated, his eyes shining as he stared into the darkness of the forest.

"Jinchevs…" Lutha wanted to protest, addressing the man, but Yasa nodded her head before he could continue.

"Alright then." She said and gave the middle-aged man a look. "Thank you for driving us this far."

He nodded and took out a pipe from his pocket. After letting it up and taking a puff, he closed his eyes and leaned on his driver's chair. "I'll be waiting here until sundown to give you a ride back if you decide to return."

"Thank you," Yasa said, then waved toward her group. Kai whistled softly, and Onyx lazily walked out of the carriage, blinking as the sun's shafts hit his yet-to-be-awake face.

He shook his body, causing the fur and fat to wobble like waves, and wagged his tail as he followed Kai and the rest into the forest. After leaving, the middle-aged man and his glusters heaved a sigh of relief and their bodies relaxed. "Weird beast that thing is… Though not as fierce as whatever lurks in that forest." He murmured and picked up a sun hat from the side and adjusted it on his head before beginning to snore.

…

The group's crisp footsteps morphed into a muffled dampness as they set foot into the forest. There were still traces of the old road, with flattened dust and grass. Vegetation covered most of it now, though, feeding on rainwater and the scattered rays of sun that slithered through the thick canopies. It wasn't dark inside the forest, but not as bright. Shadows covered some corners more than most, and it was those corners that sent chills down Kai's spine.

He instinctively pulled out his sword. From his experience, most predators would choose those spots to lie down and wait for prey. The others did the same, and Yasa's eyes glowed with a soft light as she scanned the area.

The group walked with as much apprehension as they could. Onyx sniffed the air and scouted ahead, then transmitted whatever information he could to Kai. That gave him some peace of mind, but not enough for him to feel safe. An Obborik's nose was strong and vision excellent, but Onyx's magic senses weren't developed enough. Whilst he could smell some spells, he couldn't detect any high-level magic.

It's alright, Onyx, you'll get there, we just need to train you.

Onyx didn't reply, but Kai sensed the joy the Obborik did, and that was enough for him to know that his companion was excited about the prospect.

Besides their conversation, though, a deathly silence surrounded the group. Yasa and her group were trained adventurers, so they knew better than to be noisy and arrogant when walking through an unknown place. Kai followed their lead and didn't even dare yawn. His heart began to race, though its rhythm echoed in his mind.

Something's wrong… very wrong… He thought, looking all around him with as much caution as possible. However, he couldn't find out where his feeling of apprehension came from, besides the forest's natural sense of uneasiness.

Keeping the sound they made to a minimum, Kai and the others paced through the forest.

The sudden sound of a snapping twig made them turn their heads. A few short figures walked out from within the rustling bushes, creepy, inhuman smiles plastered on their faces.

Kai's heart sank, the grip on his sword fastening, and he adopted a fighting stance faster than he could think. "Gobelins." He voiced his thoughts out loud so his companions could hear. Out of the four, he was the only one that's fought such creatures, and only he knew what sort of trick they could pull.

The expression on the three's faces immediately changed, and they prepared their weapons. Jinchevs, the burly man, grabbed the large sword strapped to his back and effortlessly held it with one hand. Lutha put on a ring on each finger, and Yasa took out her black silver sword and aimed it straight at the creatures.

Kai quickly analyzed their number. There are too many… Six green ones, six purple ones, and five red ones… However, before he could even finish counting and inspecting their weapons, he looked behind them and saw another dozen or so of them approaching. We've been surrounded, shit!

In a matter of moments, the two dozen gobelins charged at them, yelling and shrieking with sadistic laughs. "Don't kill the green ones!" Kai yelled with a panic-filled voice. "Do not kill them, no matter what!"

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