The carriage wheels crunched steadily against the gravel road, but inside, the silence was heavy enough to suffocate. Dust motes danced in the slanted afternoon light, yet no one spoke. The encounter with Inquisitor Severin had left a thick layer of unasked questions hanging in the cramped space. Everyone had something on their mind, but the weight of the moment kept them locked in their own thoughts.
Teresa sat by the window, her usual relaxed posture replaced by a quiet vigilance. She kept glancing at Clei from the corner of her eye, her lips pressed into a thin line, but she said nothing. Across from her, Roderick leaned back against the wooden bench, his massive arms crossed, eyes closed as if meditating. His earthy aura was completely retracted, but his presence still filled the carriage. Verdehile kept her gaze fixed on her lap, fingers nervously tracing the hem of her sleeve, still visibly shaken by the raw, unyielding pressure of the Inquisitor's confrontation.
And then there was Elycia.
She sat beside Clei, her back rigid, her emerald eyes fixed on the floorboards. Every time she looked at him, his words from the lounge echoed in her head. We don't really know each other. But that was a lie, and they both knew it.
Her mind drifted back to almost eleven years ago, to a day she had tried desperately to bury. She truly regretted bringing him and the other children to the forest. Getting caught by bandits… it was all her fault.
If not for her, perhaps that thing in his left hand… wouldn't have awakened. It wouldn't have cast a terrifying shadow that would haunt her and all the other children for the rest of their lives.
He saved them, yes. But the darkness unleashed that day didn't just fade away. It clung to him, twisting the way the village looked at him, until the boy who protected them became something they were too terrified to approach. A fearsome, loathsome monster dreaded by everyone.
The carriage rattled over a rough patch, jolting everyone back to the present.
Toshi finally couldn't take it anymore. He shifted forward, breaking the thick silence. "What the hell was that back there? I know the Inquisition is strict, but that felt like he was looking for cultists." He glanced pointedly at Clei's masked face and gloved hands. "Like he thought one of us was hiding something..."
Clei didn't look up. His voice was quiet, measured. "I don't know."
"Toshi." Teresa's voice cut through the air, sharp and authoritative. She didn't raise her voice, but the stern warning in her gaze was unmistakable.
Toshi swallowed his next question, shrinking back into his seat.
Roderick opened one eye, his gruff voice rumbling through the carriage. "You don't need to lose sleep over it. The Obsidian Order is naturally suspicious. Their entire existence is built on preventing the return of the Umbral Blight at any cost. If a shadow looks even slightly wrong to them, they'll tear it apart to be sure. You're fine. Rest up. Tomorrow, we will reach Anatolia."
Clei kept his head bowed, his fingers tightening slightly around his knees. He knew Elycia had already pieced it together. He could feel her eyes on him, heavy with memories and unspoken apologies. But he wasn't ready to face her. Not yet.
—
The tension of the previous day slowly dissolved as the sun rose on their final day of travel. The gloomy silence was replaced by a growing, restless excitement. Outside, the jagged, blackened rock formations of the canyon gave way to rolling, ashen hills. The air grew noticeably warmer, carrying the faint, sulfurous scent of the Anatolia caldera.
Verdehile, her usual stoicism melting away, leaned forward, her eyes bright. "We're close now. When we get there, I'll show you around. I know all the best spots near the academy."
Toshi grinned, puffing his chest out again. "Yeah! With me around, there's almost no place we can't go. Ignis Academy is huge, but the city's even bigger. Just stick with me, you'll see everything."
Clei offered a faint nod. The heavy encounter with the Inquisitor and Elycia's loaded glances had already been pushed to the back of his mind. Survival meant focusing on the present. This was his first time traveling so far from the Great Forest. He had no idea what awaited him, but he remembered the letter Silas had left him before he suddenly vanished.
Go to Lydia in the north, or to Anatolia in the southwest. Step into the world. The Great Forest has been our home, but a fire that never meets the wind will never know how brightly it can burn.
If his father told him to go here, there had to be a reason behind it.
As the carriage rolled further, the landscape began to transform. Verdehile pointed out the window, her voice animated. "See those hills? That's the Amber Ridge. In autumn, the maple forests turn a brilliant, fiery orange. The Academy actually sources most of its alchemical reagents from the eastern slopes."
Toshi chimed in, pointing toward a distant, jagged silhouette. "And over there, past the caldera rim, is Mount Ignis. It's dormant now, but the heat leylines underneath it power the entire city's forges. The noble houses are built right into the slope, overlooking everything."
"The four noble houses..." Elycia began, her curiosity sparking. As she spoke, her mind drifted briefly to her mother. She had died in childbirth, leaving Elycia with no memories of her. All she knew was that her mother had been a noblewoman, though her father had always refused to disclose which house she belonged to. Perhaps I have relatives here? she wondered, a quiet hope stirring in her chest.
"Exactly," Verdehile nodded. "Flamewright, Cinderfall, Ashford, and House Aurelian—the Duke's own lineage. They practically run the city's trade and military contracts. And at the very top…" She gestured upward, toward a massive, fortified estate that seemed to pierce the clouds. "Duke Ignacius Aurelian. He's a Peak B-Rank Fire Aura Knight. An absolute titan on the battlefield. There are even rumors he's on the verge of breaking through to A-rank." She glanced at Clei, a playful smirk touching her lips. "Since you're a fire mage, if you show him some real talent during the Winter Tournament, he might just take you under his wing."
"Don't forget the Cathedral," Toshi chimed in, eager to add his own knowledge. "Lumina might be the Holy City, but Bishop Florentine is basically a living legend here. I heard his strength is just a step below the Three Seraphim! And the crazy part is, for a man of his stature, he's incredibly approachable. He walks the lower wards, blesses the shops... the whole city loves him."
Toshi's enthusiastic smile suddenly faltered. He glanced at Clei's face and gloves, the memory of Inquisitor Severin's cold, terrifying gaze from yesterday crashing back into his mind. He snapped his mouth shut, the praise dying in his throat.
The others didn't seem to notice the shift. Verdehile, her expression bright and animated, completely different from the cold, stoic impression she'd given Clei and Elycia in their first meetings, pressed on with obvious excitement. "And Ignis Academy," she finished, a note of reverence in her voice. "It's not just a school. It's a fortress. Half the students who graduate end up as officers in the Royal Army, high-ranking adventurers, or elite commanders in the city guard."
Clei listened, absorbing every detail. Then, the carriage crested a final hill, and the view opened up completely.
A gasp escaped Elycia's lips. Clei sat up, his eyes widening.
Lying in the vast volcanic caldera was Anatolia. It was a sprawling, breathing metropolis of red-brick architecture, towering smokestacks, and winding stone avenues. But what truly stole his attention was the outer wall. It rose hundreds of feet into the air, constructed from black basalt and reinforced iron, impossibly thick and impenetrable.
For some reason, Clei felt an unexpected sense of belonging. The ambient flame mana around the city was incredibly thick, saturating the very air. He could feel his Mana Chamber instinctively drinking it in, the dense fire energy making his blood hum with vitality. In a place like this, he felt like he could fight for endless hours without tiring.
The main gates stood wide open, flanked by ranks of soldiers in polished steel armor. Clei could easily spot the hierarchy at a glance: E-rank privates standing at rigid attention to direct foot traffic, D-rank officers inspecting carriages and humans alike, and perched atop the gatehouse itself, two C-rank commanders stood like immovable statues, their sharp eyes missing nothing.
An endless river of carriages, merchant caravans, and pedestrians flowed in and out, the hum of commerce and conversation carrying on the warm, sulfur-tinged wind. High above the central gatehouse, a massive banner snapped in the breeze: a golden flame encircled by iron rings, the sigil of the Duke of Anatolia.
Clei leaned forward, his amber eyes reflecting the sprawling cityscape. His heart pounded with a mix of excitement and anticipation. This wasn't a quiet village. It wasn't a hidden forest clearing. It was a world of its own.
Elycia sat beside him, her earlier sorrow momentarily eclipsed by awe.
This was a major city. She couldn't wait to experience a whole new world.