CHAPTER 192: THE MASTER AND THE STUDENT

The tenth day of their journey brought change.

What had once been soft hills and wildflower-lined paths turned into jagged ridges, shadowed by gnarled trees that seemed to lean a little too close. The air grew damp, and a thin fog slithered between branches like living mist. Wildlife grew scarce.

No birds.

No rustling in the brush.

No distant howls.

Kai guided the horses slowly around the outskirts of Orrinsby, the place he once called home.

Vepice remained inside the carriage, watching the shifting landscape through the window with quiet unease.

Kai’s thoughts weren’t on his hometown, anyway. They were behind him, in the infirmary of the coliseum.

Of the Arena of Kings.

Rael. Naia. Kleo. Willam. Even Firra... They had all waited for something more.

A word.

A farewell.

Anything.

But he couldn’t give them that. He left before he could.

"They’re better off far away from the divine entities, my necromancy, and everything I bring with me."

He tightened his grip on the reins.

’I’d like to let one of the undead drive, but... I promised Demeris. And if I could reanimate some horses. Or even use my wyverns...’

He swatted the thoughts away. He’d ignored her warnings before, and suffered the consequences.

They passed shrines older than the cities they left behind, choked in vines and moss. One was so worn its god’s face had eroded away entirely.

Still, Kai inclined his head when they passed it.

That night, they made camp beneath the shattered remnants of a colossal statue. Vepice had said she didn’t want to sleep in the cramped space, and wanted to see the stars that night.

Kai inspected the statue.

"A knight. Maybe a protector of a forgotten age?" Kai asked the world as if it would give him answers.

Its head lay cracked and half-buried in the moss nearby. The rest of the body had long since given itself to rot and ruin.

Kai stayed awake long after Vepice slept, crouched at the base of the statue with a soft, flickering light and an open journal.

The inscription on the stone plinth was written in an old dialect of the Forebearer’s tongue. What he could read troubled him.

"Do not honour what could not protect. Remember instead what still stands."

[Forebearer’s Language Comprehension: 64%]

"I’m not sure I got the translation completely right. But, I must say, the region’s magic is thick. I didn’t notice it before," he murmured under his breath.

From the bedroll beside the fire, Vepice stirred. "You think it’s what is affecting the environment?"

"No," he said. "I think something else is."

He didn’t elaborate.

He didn’t need to.

They both felt the energy.

---

By the twelfth day, the Durnstall Mountains loomed on the horizon like broken teeth. It was only a small series of mountains, but Kai, on occasion, had seen them capped with snow as a child from certain places in Orrinsby.

The trees grew taller but less lively, their trunks warped and their leaves gray-veined.

They passed a town, a collection of worn stone homes nestled in a hollow, but Kai didn’t stop.

Nobody recognized him. Nobody cared.

But the moment they turned from the main path toward the old trail to Mirth, something shifted.

It pressed on Kai’s mind like cold fingers wrapped around his skull.

He knew what it was.

The barrier.

The energy of it was growing stronger.

That night, they camped under crooked trees tangled with moss. Vepice prepared dinner, but Kai didn’t touch his plate.

She noticed.

"You’ve barely spoken all day."

He didn’t meet her eyes. "We’re getting close."

’Not to mention, the place my parents died is so close to us. I should just burn it all to the ground...’

"To your master?" she asked, though she already knew.

"It’s... everything. The barrier. The memories. The weak person I was when I left him there."

"You’re not that person anymore."

"Don’t be so sure."

She knelt beside him, quiet, and took his hand. Hers was warm, soft against his callused palm.

"You’re not that person anymore."

Kai didn’t answer.

He wasn’t so sure.

---

The next morning came with no birdsong, no colour to the sky. Just the low silver light of dawn and the whisper of wind through dying trees.

The path dipped, then parted.

Then they saw it.

The barrier.

A ghostly mist that covered the entire city of Mirth, protected the inside from being seen by the outside. Only a rare few were able to enter, and the story of an abandoned city that nobody could find was born.

A dome that sealed away time itself. From a distance, it almost looked peaceful.

It wasn’t.

Kai leapt down from the carriage and stood still as the wind tugged at his cloak. His sigils, carefully woven into his sleeves and collar, trembled faintly in protest.

"Huh... I made these to protect myself from Grim... But they’re also reacting to the barrier?"

Vepice joined him. "Is it really waiting for you?"

"I guess it is," he said. "I was the last living person to pass through. The last presence to trigger it. A divine being, or all of them, crafted this barrier to trap a soul for eternity. It was meant for Orlin, but after he died, it doesn’t care whose anymore. It just remembers me."

Her voice was quiet. "Are we going in today?"

"No. Tomorrow."

She turned to him, eyes steady. "Do you think we’ll come back out?"

Kai hesitated.

"I’m stronger than I used to be," he said at last. "And I have you with me."

She didn’t respond with words. Instead, she slipped her fingers into his, and they stood that way until the chill of dusk urged them to shelter.

That night, they slept off the path, wrapped in their cloaks on the bench-like cushioned seating inside the carriage, surrounded by the wild grass that reclaimed this forgotten world.

Kai had convinced her to be inside again, because of the arcane beasts that might be attracted to the barrier.

When morning came, they moved slowly, packing, prepping, steeling themselves.

Kai tested the barrier with a cautious hand.

It rippled, and let him through.

Vepice followed.

On the other side, everything was... a little different.

Trees were overgrown, their limbs split and spiraled like twisted rope. Moss blanketed every stone.

Mirth.

A dead city.

Once a city of the dead.

"This is where you spent those years?" Vepice asked.

"Yes," Kai said, gazing up at the skyless dome above. "It was nice. Quiet. Lonely sometimes, but safe."

Then his eyes widened. "Wait... years."

He sprinted back through the barrier to the carriage and began pulling the horses inside.

"What are you doing?" Vepice asked.

"The time here moves faster. If I leave them out there, even a day in here would mean days or weeks out there. They’ll die of thirst. Or worse."

When Kai tied the horses up inside the barirer, they walked side by side through the forgotten city.

The broken streets were much the same. Kai’s footsteps were silent as he moved through debris he once swept clean. He recognized some of the ruined buildings, but everything had changed.

Crumbling stone towers leaned like drunken giants. Roads had cracked and fallen into dust. Trees grew wild through the bones of buildings. Roofs caved inward. Market stalls were now skeletons of splintered wood.

Only the mansion remained.

Kai pointed it out from a distance and they headed straight to it.

Its windows shimmered with faint magical energy. Its outer walls gleamed with the polish of mana-stone runes still pulsing with life. And around it, barely visible but undeniable, shimmered the dome of the barrier.

Inside, it was exactly as he left it. Clean. Maintained. Protected by wards and self-renewing magics. Furniture sat untouched. Curtains swayed gently from an unfelt breeze.

"His magic... It’s still preserving everything. What an incredible guy..."

They explored the rooms. Vepice touched books, laughed at strange little keepsakes, and listened to Kai’s stories.

He walked through the rooms with reverence, like revisiting a grave.

He pointed out a scar in the floor. "That’s from the time I exploded a corpse trying to animate it too early."

Vepice smirked. "Sounds like you."

He gestured toward the kitchen. "He used to cook there. He had this awful habit of making soup with pickled plums in it. Said it helped him think. No idea where he even got all of those plums from, honestly."

They laughed. Softly.

But then she asked what needed to be asked.

"We’re here to set him free, right?"

Kai’s shoulders stiffened.

"Yes," he whispered. "I was just... delaying."

She took his hand again. "Then let’s stop delaying."

Kai led her to the basement door, and it creaked open.

It hadn’t aged a day.

Kai turned back. "Can you..."

"I’ll wait," Vepice said. "Come back soon, yeah?"

He nodded.

Then he descended.

The air turned cold immediately.

And at the far end of the basement, glowing with pallid necrotic light, stood Orlin.

Or what remained of him.

Undead. Motionless. Radiating suppressed fury.

Kai stepped into view.

Orlin’s eyes snapped open. They glowed blue.

Spells rained from his fingertips.

Ice, fire, bone, shadow.

Kai didn’t fight. He sat down, legs outstretched, and let the spells slam against the protective field still layered around the room.

"Using your own magic to reinforce the barrier... Brilliant, really. I’m sorry it trapped you. I didn’t know then. I didn’t know what I could do. And I wast. Strong. So much has happened."

Orlin didn’t stop the barrage. It was like speaking to a storm.

"I kissed a girl for the first time. I don’t even know how my necromantic powers didn’t affect her when I did it, or maybe they did, and she was strong enough to resist long enough. But I kissed her. I made friends, and enemies. I’ve killed so many people. And... I’m back here now. For you."

The spells stopped.

Kai rose.

He walked slowly to the barrier’s edge.

Orlin stared.

"M... Master?" Orlin groaned.

Kai blinked. "No. No, I’m not your master. I’m your student. Kai. Do you remember?"

"Master... not... here?" the creature rasped.

"Why do you think I’m him?"

"Smell... like master..."

Kai exhaled. "That’s... probably just the necromancy. Dammit. This was a waste of-"

But then Orlin leaned forward.

"Master... forgive me... too strong... I... broke..."

And Kai’s heart broke with him.

"I’ll set you free now." Kai said, a sad smile on his face.