The figures on the horizon did not disappear.
That alone was enough to make Haruto suspicious.
Everything else in this desert seemed to vanish eventually.
Ruins.
Tracks.
Shadows.
Even certainty.
Yet the distant shapes remained.
Steadily moving across the Sea of Glass.
Not wandering.
Traveling.
Haruto stood atop a dune, watching them.
Beside him, Belial narrowed its eyes.
"I DON'T LIKE THIS."
"You don't like anything."
"I LIKE SOME THINGS."
Haruto glanced down.
Belial thought for a moment.
Then frowned.
"...actually, that's harder to answer than I expected."
The shapes became clearer as they approached.
Large animals.
Pack beasts.
People.
Actual people.
Haruto stared.
The realization felt strange.
After so much silence, the sight of a group felt almost unnatural.
The settlement had proven people existed.
This proved people were alive.
A small but important difference.
The caravan moved in a long line.
Several guards walked near the front.
Others remained near the rear.
Nobody looked relaxed.
Which made sense.
A place like this probably punished relaxed people.
Haruto adjusted Arthur's cloak.
The fabric shifted around his shoulders.
Warm.
Heavy.
Present.
A reminder that he wasn't entirely alone.
Belial noticed.
"You nervous?"
Haruto considered the question.
"...a little."
"GOOD."
"...good?"
"YOU SHOULD BE."
Haruto rolled his eyes.
The caravan eventually noticed them.
One guard pointed.
Another turned.
Several heads followed.
Conversation stopped.
The entire line slowed.
Not fear.
Assessment.
People measuring a potential problem.
Haruto couldn't blame them.
A lone traveler standing in the middle of nowhere was suspicious.
A lone traveler standing beside a talking black goat was significantly more suspicious.
The caravan came to a halt.
Nobody approached.
Nobody waved.
The distance remained.
A deliberate gap.
Smart.
One figure finally stepped forward.
Not a guard.
A woman.
Light desert clothing.
Practical boots.
A curved knife hanging at her waist.
The confidence in her walk suggested she wasn't afraid of much.
She stopped several meters away.
Far enough to react if things went badly.
Close enough to talk.
Neither side spoke immediately.
The wind filled the silence.
Then the woman tilted her head.
Her gaze moved from Haruto—
to Belial—
and back again.
"...that's unusual."
Belial looked offended.
"I HAVE FEELINGS."
The woman blinked.
Then stared at the goat.
Haruto immediately regretted everything.
Several guards reached for their weapons.
Belial sighed.
"THIS HAPPENS MORE OFTEN THAN YOU'D THINK."
The woman remained silent for several seconds.
Then—
unexpectedly—
she laughed.
Not loudly.
Just once.
A short breath of amusement.
The guards looked confused.
Belial looked confused.
Haruto looked confused.
The woman shook her head.
"I wasn't expecting that."
"Most people don't."
"I can see why."
Her attention returned to Haruto.
The amusement faded.
Not hostility.
Curiosity.
"Who are you?"
A simple question.
A difficult answer.
Haruto opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
Who was he?
A husband.
A traveler.
A dead man.
A forgotten man.
A survivor.
None of those answers would help.
Eventually—
he settled for the easiest one.
"Haruto."
The woman nodded.
Not satisfied.
But accepting.
"And the goat?"
Belial immediately stepped forward.
"THE GREAT BELIAL."
The woman looked at Haruto.
"...does he always introduce himself like that?"
"Unfortunately."
"I heard that."
The woman smiled slightly.
Then crossed her arms.
"My name is Lyra."
For some reason, hearing a normal name felt strange.
Not Arthur.
Not Belial.
Not some forgotten inscription in a ruin.
Just...
Lyra.
A person.
A living person.
The first one he had met in this world.
The realization lingered.
Then Lyra glanced toward the endless desert behind him.
Her expression shifted.
Just slightly.
"Where did you come from?"
Haruto followed her gaze.
The Sea of Glass stretched endlessly north.
Dunes.
Heat.
Distance.
Silence.
Everything he had crossed.
He thought about the ruins.
The well.
Arthur's cloak.
The hidden message.
Continue.
Then looked back.
"...far away."
Lyra studied him.
Long enough to notice he wasn't really answering.
But instead of pressing further, she nodded.
"Fair."
The answer surprised him.
Most people would have pushed.
She didn't.
Interesting.
One of the caravan guards called out.
Apparently they had been stopped long enough.
Lyra glanced back toward them.
Then returned her attention to Haruto.
For a moment, she seemed to be considering something.
Measuring him.
Judging him.
Trying to decide if he was dangerous, stupid, or both.
Eventually—
she pointed south.
Far beyond the horizon.
"There's a city that way."
Haruto blinked.
"A city?"
"Ardent."
The word landed heavily.
A city.
Not ruins.
Not memories.
Not clues left by dead people.
A city.
Living people.
Living stories.
A future.
Lyra adjusted the scarf around her neck.
Then started walking back toward the caravan.
"Try not to die before you get there."
Haruto frowned.
"...that's it?"
She looked over her shoulder.
"What were you expecting?"
He honestly wasn't sure.
The woman smiled faintly.
Then rejoined the caravan.
Moments later, the long line began moving again.
Leaving.
Continuing south.
Haruto stood in the sand, watching them go.
Beside him, Belial stared too.
"...well?"
Haruto looked down.
"What?"
"Aren't we following them?"
The caravan slowly grew more distant.
The city waited somewhere beyond them.
The first real destination he had found.
Haruto watched the travelers disappear into the shimmering horizon.
Then adjusted Arthur's cloak.
And started walking.
"Yeah."
Belial sighed dramatically.
"THERE IT IS."
"What?"
"The PART WHERE WE MAKE TERRIBLE DECISIONS."
Haruto smiled despite himself.
Then followed the road south.
Toward civilization.
Toward answers.
And toward a future he wasn't entirely sure he was allowed to have.