Ember hopped over a rotting trunk, sniffed the ground once more and without a word, continued forging ahead. It was still daylight, exactly like it had been nearly an hour and half ago when he’d gone to sleep and as he gazed ahead, Ethan could already make out the gray mountain wall with its many caves, then he turned his attention back to his surroundings.

  His horns were summoned, and both Prime wand and his [Claws] were out, ready to send spells at anything that moved which so far had only been moss monitors. But any minute now, they were going to find the trio, and he was going to slam that chapter of his life shut. Then really turn his attention toward the future.

  A branch cracked under his scaled feet, and he felt his breath pick up. To the side, a slow hiss reached his ears and with a quick gesture, he shot a [Crystal Dart] at the surprised moss monitor, leaving it to screech in pain and anger while both of him and Ember picked up the pace.

  He didn’t want to get into a drawn out fight. Not when they were this close to their target.

  Ethan closed his right hand into a tight fist. The thought of putting that part of his life to rest was… It was as if he’d just learned that there had been a weight on his back his whole life, and that he’d soon be able to free himself from it. A chain wrapped around his shoulders, that he’d been dragging around for years, having gotten used to it to the point that he didn’t even think of it anymore but now, he learned that he could get rid of it.

  What would Luther say?

  The thought came unbidden, and something twisted in his stomach. Not because of guilt or shame. No, Luther was a pragmatic man. As empathic and genuine as he could be, Luther would break his own code and would do anything that needed to be done so the likes of Edwin wouldn’t ruin other people’s lives. Which the latter had was already guilty of and clearly, had no intention of stopping. No, the ache gnawing at his stomach was one from worry. For Luther.

  Is he okay?

  In his heart, Ethan knew the man was self-reliant and careful, but whatever this new reality was, it had monsters. Both of the fantastical and the human kind, and while he knew Luther knew his own limits and wouldn’t put himself in danger if he couldn’t handle it, he also knew the man’s morals conflicted with the latter. After all, if Luther had seen what Edwin had been up to, using other people as fodder on the off-chance they would weaken a lord, Ethan was sure the old man would have done something. He didn’t know what, but Luther would not have walked away and acted as if he’d seen nothing. That wasn’t the type of man he was.

  He's a crafty bastard. He’ll be fine, Ethan told himself, and came to a stop when Ember paused to sniff the tracks once more.

  Thoughts of his biological parents tried to come out from the back of his mind, but he shoved them back and instead, he focused on what was happening around him. The two continued and soon enough, they crested over a small hill. The trail was bringing them closer and closer to the caves, and it was just as Ethan thought.

  They were going to probably fight in the caves.

  The shadow woman might have an advantage there. And so would Edwin with his threads. So far, Ethan had seen two types: one that drained mana, and one that was incredibly hard to break. He suspected there might be more but even if there weren’t…

  This would be a great opportunity to master that odd state. I’ve gotten really close earlier. Right before I almost ended up as fishing chum.

  Ethan was pretty confident he could recreate it. If things were serious enough, and that wasn’t him being lazy or anything. He’d tried accessing it after getting up from his nap, but there had been something missing. It felt like it was a lot easier to channel that mindset when there was real danger. When there were real obstacles trying to hinder his progress.

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  Suddenly Ember came to a stop and tilted her head up. “[We’re here… and it looks like they’ve started doing our work for us.]”

  Following her gaze, Ethan quickly found the suspended, inanimate body of the suit-wearing man that had shot him with those painful projectiles. He hung limply mid-air, ten-or-so feet off the ground and thin green threads were digging into his neck, arm and some of his legs. Where the threads connected with his skin, black veins had spread out.

  Add poison to the list then. Did he use that already? I could see it not getting through the scales and the sapping effect…

  Ethan pursed his lips in distaste and looked at the handful of cave entrances nearby. “Yeah. I can’t say I’m surprised.”

  He looked back up at the dead man, then all around at the surprisingly clear rocky, flat space ahead. He knew there would be traps and more threads, and this was a clear message from Edwin. Then again, was this a distraction, while Edwin prepared an assault from another direction? Or maybe he’d be wasting his time, looking for the man, while his target was somewhere else, killing monitors and leveling.

  Ethan clicked his tongue and forced himself to exhale. He hated mind games. Thankfully, he wasn’t alone.

  “[Can you sense anything? Do you have a way to confirm if they’re still here?]”

  The Ignisra took a tentative step forward and sniffed at the air, ears tilted back, and without looking at him, she spoke in his mind. “[I’ll try. And I do sense things in the air. More threads.]” Ember was quiet for a second, then she sat back on her haunches and licked her paw, ears flicking while her eyes still scanned the air ahead of him. “[You still haven’t explained to me what was happening, by the way.]”

  “[We’re in a rift.]”

  “[Not that,]” she said, instantly annoyed, and Ethan couldn’t help his smile. She looked up at him, and flicked her ears once more. “[Haha. Funny. But what’s happening? You’re tracking this group as if they pissed on your sibling’s graves.]”

  Ethan rolled his shoulders as eyed their surroundings while Ember gestured at him to follow. She blasted some fire here and there, then walked in a zig-zag fashion that Ethan didn’t mind following. The strategic action here would be to burn all the threads in case they had to scramble away in case one of the lords showed up, but then again, there still might be a chance of them getting the drop on the others. But one thing was sure, Ethan wasn’t worried about stepping into a kill-zone or a special terrain prepared by Edwin. In fact, he wished it was the case. So he could steamroll through it before he buried the spider along with his schemes.

  “Old history. He almost killed me a long time ago. Gave me a hard time when I wasn’t in a good place in my life. He… tried to exploit the fact that I had no one watching out for me. For his own end. And when I threatened his little schemes, the threats started. To keep it short, he’s someone that won’t be missed. Much worse than those pricks who’d gotten the drop on Liz and her team early on.”

  “[I understand. I think. What if we can’t find them here, though? I’m… sensing a few tracks here and there, and this cave might be larger than we expect.]”

  They came to a stop in front of one of the entrances and just like the cave outside of the rift, these caves were lit as well but this time, it wasn’t through glowing mushrooms. Instead, there were clumps of glowing crystal. Blues and purples and even some violets.

  Ethan silently peered into the cave, and he heard rustling, but he didn’t move. There were steps. He shared a look with Ember, and took a deep breath as he waited. The scuffling got closer, and then… a gem-scaled monitor head peeked around the corner. It saw him, and it hissed.

  [Cave Monitor (I) - Level 57]

  Ethan sighed, and glanced down at Ember. “Did you smell something in there?”

  “[Yes.]”

  He blinked at her, then looked back at the approaching monster. “Alright, then. I’ll take care of this. Keep an eye out for ambushes.”

  “[Fine. Don’t take too long.]”

  “Sure thing, ma’m,” he said, cracking his fingers. He took one more breath, closed his eyes, then stared at the approaching monster.

  It’s in my way, he said in his own mind. Then he took a step forward, and the world turned quiet around him.

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