Lefie slowly came to, eyes opening and taking in the translucent, omnipresent fog as her mind registered the warm body she was huddled against.

Foggy memories emerged as she stretched and yawned, taking large mouthfuls of fog like it was as sweet and delectable as regular air, so immersed in this environment it was already natural.

“Hey,” The instantly recognisable voice of Riza drew Lefie’s mind to lucidity.

“S-sorry,” The teenager quickly replied, yawning again as her body struggled to ratchet back into gear. She was never particularly good at waking up.

“It’s fine. Nothing happened, apart from a few wandering demons that Spidey took care of. And, guess what? I levelled up!” Riza whispered in a soft voice, pleasant to wake up to, but with an infectious joy.

“So, what’s that? Level 16, now?”

“17, actually.” Lefie’s eyes widened, impressed as she was. Only a handful of her tribe had reached such a level.

“That’s amazing. What skill are you going to get?” Lefie bounced from her spot by Riza’s side, kneeling in front of her.

Although Riza’s head followed her, it lacked the alacrity typical of one gifted with sight.

“Er… None. I’m going to-I’m going to save them. I can still get stronger just by levelling up.”

Lefie pouted but didn’t say anything. They’d been over this before, and she should’ve expected this answer, but that was no fun!

She sighed as she settled back down onto her haunches.

“What’s next, then?” She asked. “Back into the room of death?”

“Urgh, yeah,” Riza replied in a tone like she was lacking confidence. She sat up a little further. “But I have to test some things first. Stay here; I won’t be gone for long.”

With that, Riza stood up abruptly, stretching out her arms and legs as their joints cracked and popped.

She called out to a Spidey a little ways away, prompting the little fellow to scurry along towards them, skidding to a halt like an eager dog.

With no pretense, Riza’s foot slammed down onto the demon, crushing its body with a soft crunch.

The teenager couldn’t help but feel a little bit of sympathy for the poor thing. That sentiment, however, was quickly doused as Riza reached down and picked it up, effervescent waves of green light snaking from her hand and into each and every poor, orifice, and opening the light could find.

They dug into it’s body like a worm burrowing in dirt, it’s legs snapping back into place, body thickening up and becoming plump as it got back onto it’s feet, if spiders even had feet.

And, in an instant, the light vanished, as transient as ever.

Together, the pair of them—Spidey and Riza—entered the one-way room and inwardly, Lefie prayed to the Old One that her friend would come out alive.

Like walking into the mouth of a beast, she thought.

The lack of a companion, or anything at all, was disconcerting. Left to wallow in worry, Lefie raised her hand as a spark jumped from her fingertip, disappearing into the air with the lightest of poof’s.

It wasn’t an immediate, natural thing to know just how much essence you wanted to put into a skill; such a thing required patience and practise. You didn’t want to overcook a skill but neither did you want to undercook it.

And so, a minute passed, agonisingly slowly.

A loud kerchunk echoed throughout the narrow, claustrophobic tunnel.

Immediately, Lefie gasped and turned her head, scrambling to her feet as the heavy, metal door swung open, revealing the form of Riza, with a spider on her shoulder.

“That-that-that was quick!” Lefie rushed out, mind tripping over itself with questions.

“It-it wasn’t… much,” Riza huffed out between breaths, breathing heavily.

With apparent exhaustion, she quickly plopped herself on the ground without care, leaning against the wall, eyes already closed as they often were.

“Sorry. I just… it’s a lot of maths,” She sighed.

Lefie settled herself down on her knees—but quickly shifted to her butt given the hard floor—in front of her friend, and facing away from the door.

Spidey didn’t move, standing stalwart like a loyal knight.

For some reason she couldn’t explain, an urge overtook Lefie. She reached out towards the zombie demon and picked it up, without any complaint from Spidey.

She placed it gently on her lap and traced her hand over it.

Riza had created so many of them by now that whatever bad feelings she used to get had vanished.

Additionally, this one was slightly bigger. It’s legs were surprisingly thick, body segments unnaturally bulky, and even weighed a fair bit more than when it was a corpse.

She traced her hand over it’s smooth skin, feeling how it contoured it’s ligaments, became slightly bumpy around it’s mandibles.

“Okay,” Riza said suddenly, leaning forward and holding out her hand. “Give me back my eyes.”

Spidey retrieved, Riza hunched over the metal ground and took out her dagger.

“Okay, okay, okay. Without [Meditate] active, I regenerate about 0.3 essence per second

“Inside the room, hypoxia causes me to take about 50 damage every minute. That’s a bit under 1 health per second. Rounding up, healing myself 1 health per second costs a bit over 0.05 essence. To be safe, that leaves me with 0.2 essence per second for anything else.” Riza scratched strange symbols into the metal before her.

Lefie didn’t understand what they meant but she was starting to recognise some. Whenever Riza was thinking about skills, she often drew them out.

“I’m going to want two spiders—one for sight and one to keep an eye on you,” Riza looked at Lefie. “However, they’d only be about a quarter of a level each, even with [Remnant Memories]. So, about 5 health each.

“The alternative to that is alternating between [Meditate] and [Heal], but that’s a lot more risky and when not meditating, my brain probably won’t be in a lucid enough state to keep myself alive.”

“So, Lefie,'' Riza pointed. “I’m going to give you a spider and you have to keep him alive. I’m going to be checking in every now and then and so, if anything happens, he needs to be alive so I can see you. He’s very weak. Understand?” Riza’s face was serious, her tone reminding Lefie of her parents when she was little.

The teenager nodded firmly, not wanting to mess up.

“Good.”

With that, Riza put away her dagger and trudged up and out of the tunnel, quickly returning with the mostly-intact corpse of a spider demon.

She grabbed the one on her shoulder with her other hand, told it to die, and then fed it’s body with a far weaker green light than before. Riza repeated the action with the other spider and gave it Lefie.

“Keep it safe, remember?” She nodded. It didn’t stop feeling strange nodding to someone with their eyes closed no matter how much she did it.

Riza’s face softened somewhat as she placed her spider back onto her shoulder.

Standing in front of the door, she took a deep breath in and stepped past the threshold and into the room of death, the door closing shut behind her and leaving Lefie all alone.

Well, mostly alone. She still had Spidey.

This trip wasn’t a quick little jaunt like the last one. The seconds, and then minutes ticked by in silence.

At first, Lefie stared down the tunnel, alert for any motion, any sign of demons, but that quickly grew boring.

She collapsed onto her back, staring up at the ceiling as she played with Spidey on her chest.

Why is it forbidden? Riza saved me. I’m stronger than ever before because of her. Heck, I might become even stronger if we find another humanoid demon.

And it’s just the two of us. No full party of five. Just me and Riza. And I suppose you, Spidey.

She lifted the demon in the air like a puppy. The way it’s legs flailed uselessly was kind of cute.

She can cure essence poisoning. We’ve been living in miasma for days. That should be impossible.

She can kill greater demons easily. I bet she could kill multiple greater demons simultaneously.

It just doesn’t make sense. Heck, I even have a forbidden skill and it hasn’t been a problem. I don’t feel… evil, do I?

Lefie chuckled over the ridiculousness of the thought.

Evil? Riza’s the kindest Skaldian I’ve met and she’s drowning in forbidden skills.

I just don’t get it. Is it the power? But Riza could replace entire armies fighting demons. How is that bad? She’d save so many people!

Lefie sighed as she placed Spidey back down on her, lost in her thoughts.

She didn’t know how long had passed when, suddenly, a blaringly loud noise penetrated the silence.

It spun up quickly, increasing in volume, and sounded like she was sucking in large mouthfuls of air, only louder and more metallic. It was resonant and all around her. As she strained her ears, she believed she could hear the whipping of air, not unlike when they were in the one-way room to the room of death.

Shortly after, Heavy ‘pop’s started up, spaced apart before quickly speeding up, so frequent it was like one continuous noise.

And then, the strangest thing happened. The green lights lining the tunnel felt brighter, somehow. More green.

Like the lighting of a match, the tunnel exploded in brightness. Lefie forced herself to look away from the ceiling as a blinding white light suddenly enveloped the tunnel in its glow.

The residual image burned onto her retina stung a little as she opened her eyes back up.

And then it hit her; the miasma.

Swiping her hand through the air, grabbing at seemingly nothing, and even taking large, purposeful breaths, they all proved something to her.

The miasma was going away.

She shot straight up and looked around. The world was brighter, clearer, and she could see farther than before, and it wasn’t just her boon that allowed her that.

Immediately, as the surprise settled down, a need to inform Riza abounded within her, compelling her to run to the metal door and begin to bang on it.

Lefie didn’t know what the miasma leaving meant. What had happened.

Riza needs to see this. She’ll know something, right?

Lefie banged and banged, Spidey watching her from a little away, until suddenly, the wheel began to turn.

Darting back, the door swung open to reveal a worried-looking Riza and another Spidey.

“What’s happened? Are you okay?” Riza asked, planting her hand on Lefie’s shoulder as a flash of green flowed into the teenager. The burgeoning headache and weird spot in her vision vanished.

“The-the fog. It’s… gone?”

“It’s…?” Riza didn’t finish her sentence, letting go of Lefie and turning her head. She slowly opened her eyes, the emergence of shocked joy on her face a delight to see.

“It’s… But how?” Her head whipped around to the room of death, quickly returning.

“Lights too…” Riza noted above them.

“Yeah. It just suddenly got all noisy and then the fog disappeared,” Lefie explained.

“Must’ve been running on emergency power. Lights leading to the engine room. The pumps got turned on and started pumping out the fog and pumping back in the oxygen, nitrogen, and what not. Why weren’t the pumps online like the emergency lights were? How were we breathing with them offline anyway?”

Riza’s face suddenly shifted but no words left her mouth. The look was familiar to Lefie by now.

“Come on. Let’s see how much fog has gone.”

“It’s still here.” Lefie sank to her knees, the fog covering her up to her neck as they reached the entrance to the bunker.

Riza watched a little bit away as the teenager attempted to scoop up the fog and, when that didn’t work, resorted to merely waving her arm through the fog, creating ripples outwards. Although, those ripples didn’t last very long. It was like watching a dog prance about in snow.

Riza, meanwhile, was intrigued by the fog.

The pumps were whirring away overhead, and even in the walls, Riza suspected, but not all the fog had disappeared.

She hopped up the stairwell leading to the massive door and the fog was still there, hanging around in the tunnel like delinquents on a late night out in the city. Unlike the wall of fog, the fog was sloped rather than vertical—a gentle gradient from filling to the tunnel to being entirely replaced with air by the threshold of the bunker.

Back inside the metallic metropolis, the fog came up to around hip height in the entrance hall.

It was clearly denser than air but one thing kept niggling at Riza’s mind; the wall of fog. Just why was it a wall? It didn’t make sense.

The tunnel just outside, collapsed as it may be, made a little more sense, but a vertical wall?

Is the fog just very adhesive? Is it a low viscosity fluid? But by the way Lefie’s playing in it, it seems more like a jelly.

It’s very flammable as well. Fuck; I wish I could exanime this stuff in a lab.

As Riza stood there, at the top of the stairs and gazing at the bunker before her, her gaze gradually drifted upwards, tracing the machined lines and highly industrialised work of the wall, until her eyes gap to a stop on a large, glass window overlooking the entrance.

There are pumps. There are generators. There’s even lights. Surely there’s plumbing, heating, as well? Kitchen, cafeterias, dormitories. Even showers! Perhaps door control as well? She turned to stare at the hulking walls of steel, slightly doubtful she’d be able to get them moving. Maybe not.

There would’ve also been roles here. Cooks, engineers, perhaps botanists if there’s hydroponics. There must also be security. A leader. A position of authority.

And what better place for that office to be than overlooking the entrance to the bunker they run.

It’s a theoretical treasure trove of information.

All I need is a map.

Riza was positively vibrating with energy. She shot down the stairs, drawing up an impressive shockwave of fog upon landing, and picked Lefie up to her feet.

Her mind was buzzing with thoughts, her heart beating fast in mere anticipation.

“Grab a spider. I want to see something.”

The kitchen looked different devoid of fog. Although the pair hadn’t yet entered the room, the sight from the doorway alone gave colour to everything the primitive spider vision saw. The tables were cracked, busted, and stained. Chairs were strewn all over the ground, some missing legs, some busted in other ways.

It looked very similar to some abandoned houses Riza had explored; like everything was frozen in time. Plates and cutlery were still on the table, the food long decomposed.

There was an eeriness to it all; like the inhabitants just suddenly vanished. But when it’s an emergency, plates are the least of your worries.

Kneeling down, Riza placed the palm of her hand onto the back of the spider she was carrying, injecting life into it as it’s limbs snapped and thickened, it’s body bulging with energy as it was brought back alive.

[Animate Critter] (10/10)+ -Learned

Raise a corpse smaller than yourself into a level 8 zombie

Casting Time: 5 sec

Cost: 3 es/sec

It was the strongest she could maintain indefinitely, leaving her a measly 0.2 essence per second.

The remainder of her essence was spent on the spider Lefie was holding, notably smaller and weaker than the other but now happily situated on Riza’s shoulder as the little soldier marched into the cafeteria, ready to carry out it’s orders for it’s queen.

The spider skittered in quickly, weaving around tables and chairs and up over the counter, landing softly in the kitchen itself.

Although, without fog, the sight of the spider barely extended beyond it’s physical form. Whereas, when the room was filled with fog, Riza was able to see one wall from the other but now, anything further than half a metre was obscured to her vision.

Still, it’s better than nothing. Why has it changed since when I first got the skill?

There, once again, Riza saw the shape of the eye demon, stationary and creepy but still not the extreme reaction Lefie had.

The brave spider ran right up to it and began chomping away with abandon, its mandibles sinking into the flesh shallowly.

The mass of flesh jiggled and wobbled in response but was unable to fight back.

“It doesn’t fight back,” Riza wisphered to Lefie. “Think you can take it on?”

The teenager nodded resolutely.

Once in the kitchen, Riza called back her pet and vaulted the counter, finally coming eye-to-eye with the creature.

Almost immediately, her legs felt weak and her hand darted out to the counter for support.

Sweat droplets formed on her forehead as the robes felt heavy and constricting. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears.

The tiny pinpricks of pupils stared back at her, emotionless.

The world felt quiet, the humming of fans and pumps a mere background element.

Taking a deep breath in, Riza coaxed Lefie up and over the counter, holding her shoulders supportively as they both stared at the unusual demon.

“You okay?”

Lefie nodded before squeaking out a high-pitched ‘yes’.

Slowly, she raised her and wiggled her fingers, a weak spark jumping between them harmlessly.

Her hand drew to a point, index finger outstretched, as she took in a deep, deep breath. She eased the air out, her whole body still, and stared straight at the creature.

A deafening crackle erupted in the small room, lightning arcing to the demon in sharp, quick bursts as a faint, yellow glow snaked from fingertip to fingertip on Lefie’s hand.

The bolts impacted strongly, the flesh jiggling between each one, like a boxer punching a bag of meat.

The eyes remained stationary, never breaking contact even as it’s body became increasingly pummeled, the crackling increasing with intensity and even small, weak bolts arcing out towards the walls or the ceiling, instantly grounding themselves.

The glow enveloping Lefie’s hand grew stronger, the yellow more vibrant, even under the strong, white lights overhead.

Each subsequent blast sent ripples down Lefie’s arm, stronger and stronger as the power increased.

The smooth, white skin on the demon began to char, beaten into a crispy black as the flesh began to burn.

All over, pockets of flesh bubbled and then burst grotesquely, eyes opened even wider before popping out of their holes, dangling from the sockets as the pressure increased.

A disgusting sight but Riza couldn’t take her eyes off the thing until, finally, with one last, overpowered bolt of energy, her body snapped backwards, back bouncing off the wall as momentary mental whiplash coursed through her.

Lefie dropped to the grounds, violently shaking her arm like it was on fire.

Immediately, Riza pumped a maximised [Heal] into her as she crouched down as well.

“It’s dead. You’re fine. Everything’s fine,” She said, heart beating at a million miles per house.

“It’s… argh!” Lefie groaned. “Sorry. It just… hurts. After a while.”

Riza patted her back as she looked at the walls and the ceiling, seeing faint outlines of rogue arcs of electricity from the latter attacks. She wiped her brow of sweat, feeling awfully warm.

“Need more healing?” She offered.

“No. It’s like… running when you’ve just woken up. Or when you punch a tree in anger.”

Taking Lefie’s word for it, Riza left the girl and carefully walked over to the fresh corpse.

Half-melted and still burbling in sections, she tentatively placed her palm on it before ripping it away, instantly healing whatever damage the scorching heat did to her.

Sections of its skin were intact but others, notably where the strikes landed, were burnt to a crisp.

The insides were even worse, all cooked and mushy and, disturbingly, made Riza think of mushy peas.

Yuck. I am not eating that.

She pushed it gently with her foot. No response.

Navigating her skills menu, she looked at the one that prompted thought.

[Raise Dead] (1/10)

Raise a corpse into an undead version of itself beginning at level 2

Casting Time: 5 min

Cost: 1 es/sec/level

Requirements: [Reanimate] (5/10)

How would it work? Can I still see through my summons? What would that mean with you, friend? Can I see whatever network you’re connected to? Can I order you to use your psychic skills against other demons?

“Ew. That does not look fun,” Lefie suddenly piped up, startling Riza from her thoughts.

“Er, I suppose. How are you? Did your level cap increase?”

Joy immediately sparked to life on the teenager’s face.

“Yes! Yes, yes, yes! I can now go to level 21!” Her face suddenly shifted to a thoughtful look. “That’s not as high as you, is it?”

“No. The humanoid demon is 23 while the eye demon is 21. Greater demons are 15, flying demons are 8, and regular beast demons are 7. I doubt the spiders are higher than 5.”

Is there a pattern there?

“Do you know if demons have level caps?”

“No. We made sure to stay away from demons,” Lefie said.

Then how do they grow? How do they level up? How do they increase their level caps?

My zombies can get to level 36 but they don’t get skills or boons when they level; just stat points. Why are their levels different to my levels?

They level the more essence I give them but I also have given Lefie essence, a lot of essence, and that hasn’t caused her to level up.

“I don’t imagine we're taking this one with us this time?” Lefie interjected.

“No. I think it’s in too bad a state, although…” Something to test later.

Riza collected her spiders, killing them in the process, and the pair left the kitchen.

No more than five minutes after they’d left, a tumultuous rumbling reverberated through the bunker, bouncing furniture, jangling metal, and forcing the pair to balance against the wall lest they fall over.

It continued for minutes on end, at one point increasing in power and volume so much they had to cover their ears, the sound waves amplified by the narrow tunnel.

Finally, the earthquake drew to a close, both of them none the worse for wear.

“Shit. That couldn’t have been a coincidence,” Riza said aloud.

“Did killing the demon do that?”

“Fuck if I know but it felt closer. Closer than any of the previous ones. Why would it be here if the idiots in the Dominion had done something?”

Lefie scrunched up her face but didn’t say anything.

“I don’t like it. I don’t think we should kill any more eye demons in the future.”

“That I can agree with.”

Curiosity won over Riza and they didn’t travel far from the cafeteria. From the kitchen.

The body was still there, but half-eaten away like a tub of acid had been poured on it. The mix of decay, burns, melted flesh was disgusting but fascinating.

Returns to the fog after death. That explains the disappearing corpses in the entrance hall then.

Ten minutes and nothing has come for it. No dead man’s switch, warning upon death? Perhaps other demons are too far away?

Doesn’t line up with the idea that the earthquake was because of it’s death, though.

“Water!” Lefie suddenly exclaimed looking towards Riza and then back to the counter. She was stood in front of a sink, marvelling at the way water just seemed to appear from the faucet.

“How does it work?” She asked, swiping her hand through the stream, impressed by the constant flow.

She grabbed the edge of the sink, leaning in closer and even trying to look up into the faucet itself, an attempt that ended with her sputtering and whipping her face away.

“Definitely water,” She said, wiping her face and then using her skills to just levitate it away.

Lefie turned the tap a few more times, experimenting with the floor and temperature as Riza walked by.

“Is it magical?” Lefie asked, looking to Riza.

“I doubt it. Looks like an ordinary faucet to me. Connected to some pipes and the tab opens a valve or something,” Riza said, quickly realising she didn’t know how faucets actually worked.

“It’s like a miniature water fall. You know, we never had them where I lived but I heard that the Empire had stones that created water. Kinda like [Conjure Water]. Only, now that I’m here, I haven’t seen any.”

Stones that [Conjure Water]? Riza had to double check.

Runes

0th Tier

[Magical Focus] (1/10)

Connect a 0th tier active essence skill with a magical object. It acts as if the skill is level 1

Cost: 1 es

[Rune of Brevity] (1/10)

Inscribe a [rune] onto a [Magical Focus]. multiply the casting time by 0.98 when the [Magical Focus] is used

Cost: 1 es

[Rune of Power] (1/10)

Inscribe a [rune] onto a [Magical Focus]. Multiply the intensity by 1.02 when the [Magical Focus] is used

Cost: 1 es

[Rune of Time] (1/10)

Inscribe a [rune] onto a [Magical Focus]. Multiply the duration by 1.02 when the [Magical Focus] is used

Cost: 1 es

“Stones? Could they be a [Magical Focus] that stores [Conjure Water]?”

“I don’t think so. A [Magical Focus] only works if you have the skill, I think. We didn’t have anyone that practised runes so I’m not too sure.”

“Could the stones be a different magical item? Do magical items even exist outside of focuses?”

“What? Yeah, obviously. Your dagger’s enchanted.” Lefie gestured towards where Riza’s weapon was sheathed.

“It is?”

“How often do you sharpen it?”

“Never?” Riza supplied the answer, realising that it was a bit unusual. Her spears broke quickly, after all.

“Bit odd for how often you use it, don’t you think? You also never clean it!”

Riza took out the weapon and brought it up close to her eye.

True to Lefie’s claim, the edge was immaculate and intact, with not a nick, cut, dent, or deformation in sight.

“I thought it was just the metal? Like stainless steel.” Although, I don’t know what metal produces a black blade.

“No metal can be that strong without an enchantment. It probably has a durability enchantment on it. That works with keeping it clean. Kyra enchanted weapons all the time.”

Riza found herself looking at the weapon in a new light.

If you’re magical, you’re definitely not from my world.

I still don’t know what happened to me. How I got here. Was I seriously just dumped in the forest? This… thing makes me feel like I fought back. I certainly had the injury to show it.

Let’s have a look at the enchantments, then.

Enchantment

0th Tier

[Discerning Eye] (1/10)

Able to discern information on enchantments and materials

2m range

Cost: 1 es/min

[Inscribe Enchantment] (1/10)

Apply enchantments during the forging process

Cost: 1 es/min

[Basic Refinement Enchantment ](1/10)

Improve an attribute of an item by 2%

Cost: 5 es

Nothing here seems to make magic water rocks. Perhaps it’s just a higher tier.

“Do you have much experience with enchantments?” Riza asked, walking away and scouring through cupboards.

“Not really. We only used wood or iron so we made do with basic enchantments like sharpness and durability.”

“What are the more advanced ones?” Riza asked, spotting two relatively intact mugs on a shelf.

“The Chief had a weapon, a spear, that got passed down by each Chief. I heard it can draw lightning down from the sky but I never saw him do that.

“Oh! There’s also the legend of Enval, who I don’t suppose you’ve heard of?” Lefie asked, the tinge of excitement in her voice amusing.

“Go on. Tell me this tale of wondrous legend,” Riza replied deadpanned, brushing past Lefie as she washed the two mugs in the sink.

The teenager enthusiastically hopped up on the counter as she prepared to regale Riza.

“Okay. So, long ago, before the Empire even existed, there was a famed warrior called Enval who fought with a dagger and a sword. The dagger was a legendary weapon with tens of enchantments.

“He slew a great many creatures in his day but grew tired of it and eventually, he carved out a home for himself in a mountainside. He expanded the home day by day but even that started to grow boring so, one day, he visited a nearby town and paid some kids to spread a few rumours.

“People began to show up at his home, armed with weapons and armour, demanding for goods otherwise they’d wreck the place. Everyone always demanded his dagger, said to be forged by the king himself.

“Well, Enval never responded and so the people barged into his home and ransacked the place, taking whatever they could find.

“Eventually, they always found where Enval kept his dagger and because of their greediness, one of them always took it but when they did, they vanished!”

By this point, Riza was leaning back against the counter, watching Lefie animatedly tell this story. It was…refreshing, seeing a teenager being a teenager. Bittersweet.

“Sometimes, they’d reappear after only a few minutes but other times, it’d take days or even hours. Some never returned at all!”

“And this dagger had an enchantment on it?” Riza asked, cutting to the most pertinent part of the story.

“Obviously!” Lefie stressed. “It made people disappear!”

“An item that makes people vanish when used. Sounds like it should’ve been a ring.”

“Huh?”

“Where’d you hear this story from, anyway?” Riza asked, stepping away from the counter she had placed the mugs on and went back to searching.

“My parents, along with a bunch of others.”

“If they know it, that means the Empire can’t be very old, then.”

Riza spotted what she was looking for. The cupboards were mostly empty but the hurried evacuation meant even basic food and drink was left behind—most of it lost to rot and mold, however.

Riza pulled out a metal canister and looked inside, smiling at what she found.

“Well, er…” Lefie struggled for a reply. “The Empire’s always existed.”

“But you just said there was a time before the Empire,” Riza replied, walking over to the pair of mugs, canister in hand. “So, one of those statements is wrong. Which is it?”

“The story?” Lefie asked, confused both at the question and at Riza cutting off a bit of her robes with her knife. She opened the canister, pulled out a packet of something, and sliced it open with her knife.

Pulling out a few leaves, she added it to the pile of fabric.

“Try using your lightning skill to burn this.”

“Okay?” Lefie replied uncertainly, hopping off the counter and taking a careful step backwards as she pointed at the pile.

It took about three goes—each strike blowing the ingredients away and causing Riza to collect them again—but a spark was lit and a soft ember wormed it’s way upwards.

“Fire?”

“You’ve seen lightning storms, haven’t you?” Riza asked, filling the canister with water and then holding it over the fire, barely in the air. She could feel the heat grow, the flames licking her hand as they engulfed the dried leaves and fabric.

“Well, yeah, but if [Lightning Bolt] can start fires, why isn’t it a fire skill?” Lefie articulated her problem.

“Why is there a separate ice and water branch? Ice is just frozen water. The separations are arbitrary.

“Importantly, [Lightning Bolt] can set things on fire. It might be able to deal fire damage, but it didn’t make the cafeteria go boom when we fought the humanoid so the majority of the damage isn’t fire. It’s probably force or even electricity or something else.”

“Electricity?” Lefie asked, shuffling closer to the beginning-to-burble water.

“It’s what turns the lights, fan, pump, and water on. It’s how this place works.” Probably. Unless there’s some strange magic at play, it feels pretty familiar. At least, as familiar as it can be.

Lefie was clearly struggling to understand but Riza felt like she had said enough for now.

It didn’t take long for the heat to get too much to handle. The metal canister was a conductor, boiling the water but also starting to boil Riza’s hand as well.

She used [Heal] to keep the pain and damage at bay and gave a sigh of relief as she poured the boiling water into both mugs, drenching the packets of leaves already in there. Most were dry and crumbling but it was hopefully something.

The brief lack of [Meditate] felt nostalgic. Her emotions, no longer clamped down, felt comforting, if but for a moment. Her mind drew memories of late nights, sipping tea, luxuriating in nostalgia.

Might as well let loose for a bit.

Riza picked up the mug and took a tentative sip.

“Urgh. It tastes like moldy hot water,” But she continued to drink it.

After so long on nothing but the essential sustenance of [Heal], any liquid fell like mana from the heavens.

Lefie picked up her mug as well and took a drink from that, having a similar reaction to the taste.

The pair retreated to the cafeteria to find a table to sit on.

The tea leaves are in bad shape but the fact that they exist is something. No decay, decomposition, or being eaten by bugs. The fog kept them in a bit of stasis, it seems.

That might be why the plumbing and electrical system seems to be online as well, even after so many years of disuse and a presumable lack of fuel.

Or it’s all just a bunch of coincidences.

She took another sip, appreciating the real wetness to it.

“It’s horrible,” Lefie scrunched her face with as much disgust as she could muster. She took another sip as well.

Riza chuckled softly, a thought crossing her mind.

“When we arrived here, when the tunnel collapsed, I definitely didn’t think I’d be drinking tea in a modern cafeteria of all places!"

“At lot’s changed,” Lefie replied. “Do you think, Artiv’s…?”

Riza shook her head solemnly.

“Cave ins are deadly even with high tech equipment. He’s on his own out there. Or was.”

Riza leaned back a bit, letting out a deep sigh.

Silence. The atmosphere was heavy, the tea still hot.

“I wonder about my decision. To enter the fog. Forcing you with me. We had [Heal]. We had time. We’d probably be back in the rest of the Dominion by now.

“But yet, we’re here. Stuck underground, in a bunker nobody’s ever seen before, fighting demons after demons every day with barely any peace or quiet.”

Riza took a deep drink and closed her eyes, trying to calm her mind.

“It’s… it’s hard. Thinking about it. Artiv’s dead. We could’ve saved him. Skerry’s dead. I could’ve saved him if I was as strong as I am now. You nearly died because of me. You will die without me.” Riza opened her eyes, the moisture blurring her vision, her breath raspy and erratic.

“I’m sorry for dragging you here. For putting you through all this.”

Riza chugged down the rest of the tea, relishing the burning of her throat. Her health ticked down a few points but she didn’t care.

“I’m so, so sorry, Lefie.” A warm droplet rolled down her cheek. Her chest ached. Breathing hurt. Her throat felt dry.

Lefie was speechless, her expression unreadable. She didn’t touch her tea. Riza didn’t speak for the next few seconds but her demeanour spoke for her.

“I woke up in a forest. The dagger was stuck in me. I was in pain, I was bleeding. A boar attacked me and I had to rip the dagger out to survive. I would’ve died if I didn’t take [Leech].

“I stayed in that forest for, fuck, I don’t know how long anymore. I killed squirrels. Boars. I made weapons. I cooked meat. I found places to rest at night. I was surviving.

“But I was so… alone. It’s… hard. Being alone.

“I’m not from here, Lefie. Not from this Empire. Fuck, not even from this world. I’m from a place with no magic. No soldiers. No Empire. I didn’t have to fight to survive; I was a university student. I was learning stuff. Half the day, I’d be in classes, listening to the professor. The other half, I’d be back home, eating ice cream in bed as I listened to the world around me.” Riza chuckled half-heartedly, the tears continued to trickle down her face. “The walls were very thin.”

She struggled to take a few breaths for a second, trying to keep her emotions under control.

“I didn’t really have any friends. No one from school. No one in university. I was only doing the course because my parents wanted me to do that. I didn’t enjoy it. They didn’t care.

“I have a sister. Ashley. She's… well, she’s amazing. She was everything my parents wanted and then some. I was the disappointing sequel.” Her tone ran the gamut of pride to disappointment.

“She was always there for me, always trying to help me along. Gave me the support I so desperately wanted. She’d constantly tell me to meet people, to try to socialise, to improve myself, to be happy with myself. A bunch of shit like that. She meant well but, it’s not that easy.

“Ashley did help, occasionally. I remember a few times, crying in my room after school, waiting for her to come home. She always did, providing the love and affection I so desperately wanted in those moments. She always made me feel better.”

A sputtering. A few coughs. It felt like her heart was trying to rip itself out of her chest.

“I hurt her. I repaid all the help and love and support by throwing it all away, practically spitting in her face. I had a few choice words for her when I woke up.” A large sigh, her tone laced with regret.

“That was the tipping point. Nothing was working. Ashley knew it but my parents didn’t. I don’t know how but she convinced them to let me take a year off. To get my bearings on reality. Learn who I was.

“So I left. I cut contact. Went off the grid. I travelled up north a bit, away from the climate-controlled cities and into the wild wastes of ruined, abandoned buildings, overtaken by vegetation.

“There’s a few towns out there. Not under the thumb of the government. It’s hot and arid, with even the fewest layers feeling constricting, but freeing as well.

“I met a girl. Cynthia. She helped me. A lot. Took me hunting. Gave me a gun—one of the old fashioned ones that aren’t registered to your biometrics. Taught me how to survive out there.

“The government had cultivated the forests. Not a natural one in sight—we were too close to the cities—but there were still animals.

“Cynthia helped me. And I repaid her the same way I repaid Ashley.” Riza spat the last words with contempt, hanging her head.

“And now I’m here,” She gestured weakly with her arms.

“Sorry. Lefie.”