Fel slowly wandered the gloomy corridor, her feet making a soft thump thump on the rickety wooden floor as she walked through the narrow passageway. The air was damp and suffocating and stuck to her skin uncomfortably. Her hands felt cold and numb, and she kept them close to her body.

She didn’t know what this place was or why she was here, but she felt an instinctive pull towards the end of the hallway.

After what seemed like hours, she finally got to the end of the hallway. There, a massive door stood shut, guarding whatever secrets may be behind. Gulping nervously, she tried to push the door open, ignoring the blisters and scraping the coarse wood left on her fingers.

Despite its massive frame, the door readily swung open, revealing…

Nothing.

Just as she stepped through the doorway, she saw something dart towards her in the corner of her eye. She tried to block it, but it was too close. The thing was already right on her and…

…

“Wake up, sleepyhead!”

Fel jerked awake and let out a squeal, flailing about furiously.

“G-get away from me!” she screamed.

“Calm down, Fel. It’s just me.”

“E-Evan?” She called out, her voice trembling in fear.

“Yeah, are you alright? You look pale.” Evan placed his hand against her forehead.

‘A bit of a fever,’ He noted.

“Y-yes, I’m alright.” Fel replied.

Evan narrowed his eyes. The way her legs quivered and the way her hands clenched the lower half of her dress said otherwise.

‘Oh.’ Evan clenched his fists. ’She still has nightmares about it.’ The ever familiar feeling of coldness seeped rapidly into his heart.

Evan sighed and shook his head. ‘No, calm down Evan. Can’t risk getting heart failure from people already dead.’ He closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly, feeling his heartbeat slow down.

Fel watched him wordlessly before she noticed a stinging pain on her cheek.

“Why does my cheek hurt?”

“You wouldn’t wake up no matter how many times I called you so I decided to pinch your cheek.” Evan answered, getting off Fel’s bed and leaning beside the window to their room.

Fel never moved out of Evan’s room after the sleepover. Evan had no objections to it, so they ended up sharing his room.

Children started developing around the age of eight or nine and were considered adults at the age of fifteen. Evan figured that by the time Fel reached that age, the mercenary guild would have already flourished and the family would have already earned enough money to send Fel to Claereth, located in the Onician Dynasty.

Nothing could go wrong.

Maybe.

Fel tenderly touched the wound on her cheek, which was starting to turn red from the pain.

“It hurts.” She muttered.

“Sorry.”

“Hmph, meanie.” Fel pouted with a snort. She turned around, sulking in anger. “Anyway, why is it so cold?”

“See for yourself, It’s snowing outside.”

Fel’s eyes widened and she tried to get up, but found that her limbs were tied up in her bedsheets. She grinned sheepishly at Evan.

“A little help?”

Evan’s lips pulled upward into a smile. He walked over to her bed, seemingly innocent, before suddenly dropping down and scooping Fel up bridal style.

Or rather, he tried to.

Evan had started getting more exercise over the past few months and was now just shy of matching other children his age. With the help of his mana enhanced physique.

He thought he would be strong enough to pick Fel up in his arms as a prank, but sadly he didn’t even come close. Fel barely budged from her spot and Evan was left kneeling by her bed awkwardly.

“What are you doing?” Fel asked, puzzled.

“I-I- nothing.”

Fel snorted, “Pfft, that was pathetic.”

“I’d like to see you do better.” Evan retorted.

“Sure.”

The next thing Evan knew, Fel had swept him off of his feet and was carrying him effortlessly towards the frost laced window.

“Wh-what- y-you-” Evan stuttered, blushing wildly.

Fel laughed at his reaction. “Who’s the tomato now, huh?”

“PUT ME DOWN!!” Evan roared, half-embarrassed, half-angry, as he covered his face in shame.

He flailed around wildly trying to get down from Fel’s arms, but they were like an iron fortress, trapping him in. Fel only roared in laughter at his futile attempts.

‘Kill me. Kill me right now.’ Evan thought.

“Can you please let me down? I’ll do anything you want.”

Fel immediately stopped laughing.

‘Oh crap.’

“Anything, you say?” Fel said with a mischievous smile.

Evan gulped nervously. He knew he would be making a deal with a devil here, but what choice did he have?

Evan nodded. “Anything.”

“Then…” Fel leaned close into Evan’s face and whispered something into his ear.

Evan’s jaw dropped in horror.

“You wouldn’t…”

“You said anything. Otherwise I’ll carry you all the way to the carriage for Zyra.”

“Like you’re strong enough for that.” Evan said with a scoff.

“Wanna bet?”

…

The rest of the family was already awake when Fel and Evan arrived downstairs for a simple breakfast of toast and some eggs. Leon had not cooked up anything special since they would be leaving the house today. They could not leave anything that would spoil during the two months they would be gone.

Wyra noticed Fel looked particularly cheerful while Evan looked lifeless—more lifeless than usual, if that was even possible—as he nibbled his bread in silence.

“What’s wrong with him?” she asked.

“Nothing. You’ll see.” Fel said with a sly grin.

Wyra shrugged her shoulders and continued eating.

The children quickly finished their breakfast and began discussing excitedly about where they were going to go.

Well, everyone except for Evan, who sulked by the front door of the house.

‘I know I got what I deserved, but still…’ Evan sighed. ‘Oh well, I guess I’ll have to break my promise with my old teacher back on Earth.’

Absentmindedly, Evan willed a mark on his palm to appear. He had gotten the mark back when he had first imprinted the Nightmare Lantern on his birthday and discovered that he could hide it at will.

‘I wonder if I should tell the family about this,’ he thought. ‘I don’t think I should. Not unless I’m absolutely sure it won’t harm them in any way.’

Evan dispelled the mark with a clench of his fist.

‘I’ll protect them, unlike my family on Earth…’

…

“Did anyone forget anything?” Cara asked after slamming the last of their chests shut for the porters to pick up.

“Nope.” They all replied in unison.

“Are you sure? Because we’re not coming back if you suddenly remember you forgot something.”

“We’re sure! Let’s go already! I can’t wait to see Grandpa Maren again!” Zed cried out.

“Alright then, let’s go.”

…

Hundreds of merchant caravans and carriages roll into the cities across the Allium Route every day, carrying cargo from all over the continent.

No one knew exactly how the culture of hitching a ride on merchant caravans started, but the trend had never ended. People from cities like Wistre would pay a fee to a special merchant in a caravan called a Driver who would take them to a city along the Allium Route, like buses back on Earth. The merchants themselves did not complain. After all, they could make some money and hire better mercenaries to guard their wares.

The Galiens left after breakfast. Leon had been out since daybreak to catch the earliest merchants just as they entered the city gates and negotiated a fair price for the five of them and their luggage.

They agreed to meet back at the city gates after the caravan had finished their delivery.

Before they went on the carriage, Leon turned around and faced the children. “Okay everyone, before we go, it’s time to establish some rules. No pranks, no horsing around, and absolutely no games in the carriage.”

“WHAT?!” The children cried in outrage. “But that’s boring! Why can’t we?!”

“We don’t want to disturb the other passengers.” Leon said firmly.

‘Wait, we’re going to be sharing the carriage with others?!’ Evan thought, panicking. ‘But I’m only wearing my gloves!’

Wyra opened her mouth to object. “But-”

“No buts. If we disturb the others, we might be asked to leave the carriage and be left alone outside the city. We don’t want that, do we?”

The children sulked but begrudgingly agreed. Being left alone outside the city, beyond the protection of the walls, was scary.

“Don’t worry. If you behave all the way to the capital, we’ll buy some presents at the Frost Market.”

The children’s eyes lit up and the mood instantly brightened up.

As the family made their way to the outer rim, Evan couldn’t help but be taken away by the sights inside the city. Stalls and workshops popped up, replacing snow-capped houses. Wooden walls and jetties made way for stone and clay. The streets bustled with many people, merchants, residents, and foreigners alike.

Evan squirmed uncomfortably in the carriage. He was bundled up head to toe in thick clothing, not just to keep himself warm. He suffered from mysophobia, and dreaded contact with anyone or anything that he considered ‘dirty’.

The sky was covered in ash-grey clouds that seemed to stretch towards the horizon as snow fell, blanketing the cobbled roads in white.

After an hour of walking, the Galiens reached the city gates, standing imposingly at twenty metres tall, protecting the city from any potential threats from monsters.

The caravan had already returned from delivering their cargo, and the driver sat waiting for them.

“The Galiens, I presume?” he asked.

“Yes. Are we late?” Leon replied.

The driver shook his head. “No, you’re not. Besides your family, we’re waiting for one more passenger.”

‘Solid grey core with black streaks. He’s as powerful as Mage Erso was.’ Evan thought to himself. He had learned his breathing technique ever since he was born, so it was like second nature to him now.

Right as he spoke, the Galiens heard a voice behind them.

“Sorry, I’m late!”

Bright auburn hair bounced up and down cheerfully on slender shoulders. Its owner ran towards the carriage at frightening speed, carrying several trunks in her arms.

Evan gasped. ‘S-silver core!’ He momentarily forgot the fact that he had to spend a week in an enclosed space with the stranger.

When he did, however, his nose wrinkled and he blurted out, “Do you bathe regularly, miss?”

“Evan!” Leon shouted angrily. He turned towards the woman. “I am sorry for my son’s behaviour, Knight Commander.”

“I-It’s alright.”

‘Wait, that’s the-’

‘Ah, shit.’