After having travelled for around an hour or two, a wall, similar to the one they had seen at the entrance to Riftdale appeared before them, indicating that they were almost at the edge of the city.

Aura didn’t stop even for a second, and rode out through the tall black steel walls which gave the impression that if the walls could talk, then they’d have a lot to say. They looked very old, seemingly on purpose since the government definitely had the ability to get them fixed and appear brand new. They probably just wanted to keep these scars as a reminder of how far they have come as a race.

And to be honest, just two hundred kilometres ahead of this wall, in four hundred years, yea, not much to brag about if you ask Ragnar.

As they went past the wall, what appeared on the other side of It might as well be a different world.

The Nexarion Terry.

In the Realm where human technology is supposedly completely redundant at all levels, watching a tram go past just hit different. Just that would have still been fine. But people buzzing through the streets on hoverboards, massive billboards with glowing advertisements, even buildings with a stream of visible essence flowing through them forming enchanting patterns. It all just looked… magical.

The flowing streams of essence that were visible with naked eyes seemed a common design choice. They were present in almost all the structures as well as the moving parts of this Terry, even the hoverboards.

Aura was also amazed by the surroundings. Despite having theoretical knowledge about almost most topics regarding the Realm, seeing them in person was still an enlightening experience. Although, she wasn’t really in the mood of indulging in this experience.

She slowed her mount, not to change over to a hoverboard or anything, but to look for a place to eat. Although the hoverboards and the tram were a pretty popular choice for the people here, there was still more than enough space for people using shifted creatures.

Aura would have loved nothing more than to just rush straight out of HCR. She felt suffocated in this place, but she didn’t have that option, since the cause of her suffocation was right there, travelling along just below the surface. So, she was going to make the most of this situation.

Instead of going to a restaurant or one of the street vendors, Aura first looked for an empty alley. After finding one, she entered it without hesitation and spoke up. “Let’s eat here first.”

She was still careful to word whatever she said to him in a way that won’t trigger him. In fact, she was even more careful now that… she would rather not think about it.

Ragnar emerged from the ground like a ghost and nodded without a word. He looked completely normal like he hadn’t just buried another Sylvancrest a hundred feet below earth a few minutes ago.

They stopped near a street vendor on the side of the road. He was single-handedly blocking a quarter of the road with the crowd surrounding the shop. It had a sign board that said, ‘Velvet-in-buns’, just a fancy way of saying burgers, if you ask Ragnar.

Aura went and brought two of those ‘burgers’ in a tray alongside some drinks, she was quite fast considering the crowd gathered around the stall.

Following that, they took one of the tables that were set up on the side of the road. Of course, the table they took wasn’t empty beforehand, but many people seemed eager to offer their own seats to the pair. Were they also trying to gain Ragnar’s favour? Well, Ragnar wasn’t going to count it as that so it was just wasted effort.

Those people might have also sensed that Ragnar didn’t accept their favours since they were sending unkind gazes his way once he took his seat opposite Aura. That had to be the reason for their rude expressions, right? Well, they were all forced to mind their own businesses as soon as Ragnar’s eyes met theirs, so it’s all fine.

This time, since Aura wanted to be out of here as quick as possible, it made sense just eating at a street vendor. At least that’s what Ragnar thought at first.

But his thoughts were forcibly changed after he took a bite.

Although Ragnar didn’t approve of the naming sense of the vendor, the taste simply blew him off. Wait, why was this even better than what he ate yesterday, at the Sanctuary? He turned to Aura with a questioning look, although he wasn’t sure what exactly he wanted answers for… why were her mother’s hotel’s dishes not the best food in existence or something?

Aura, on the other hand, seemed to be completely lost in her own world, not noticing his weird expression. She was thoroughly enjoying her own burger as if she had been waiting her whole life for this. Although she was keeping a stiff exterior, it wasn’t hard for Ragnar to realise that she was specifically looking for this shop in this region, even having asked a few people about its location.

They had wondered for a bit before finally finding it.

Aura finally noticed him staring at her and without him needing to clarify, she said while chewing. “The Velvet-in-buns here are among the top ten street foods in the world.” Saying as much, she paused, looking hesitant before eventually making up her mind. She looked at him and asked in a somewhat guilty tone.

“I am getting another one. You want one?” She knew this wasn’t the place, time, or person to be enjoying these with, but she didn’t know how long it will be before she gets the chance to indulge again.

Ragnar didn’t give it much thought though, and said, “Sure.” Having street food first thing in the morning wasn’t such a good idea for normal people but they were of course not normal people.

Suddenly Ragnar felt the unkind gazes intensifying in intensity. Not just that, he had noticed that the gazes of most men here were focused on their table. By now, even Ragnar was forced to acknowledge that they might not be looking for his favour anymore. Instead, they had turned to staring at Aura. Ragnar didn’t mind that of course, but now they were once again giving him unkind looks for some reason.

Without turning around, he simply released a hint of his killing intent. A chilling breeze brushed past everyone seated in his vicinity.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

At that moment, many people in the seats suddenly started coughing, while a few spilled their drinks. There were even a few who wet their pants, running away in embarrassment. Ragnar hadn’t cared to only target the guilty ones; he wasn’t one to discriminate.

Aura walked back to an odd scene with many seats having been emptied, few people coughing their lungs out, and others staring at Ragnar with horrified gazes, while he sat there with the same look she had left him with.

Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, she took her seat while handing him his burger. They ate without any distractions as Ragnar delved into the intricacies of these flavours.

These burgers were a bit too delicious. It felt like they were made with a very precise mix of flavours and spices, and that mix must have been studied and perfected over several years, maybe by several generations of a family. For some reason, Ragnar had a random thought as he indulged in the flavours that someone must have had a lot of free time on their hands to have come up with something so intricately tasty.

Having finished his meal, Ragnar looked up only to find Aura giving a longing look to the last bite in her hand. But noticing that he was done, she quickly ate it alongside gulping down her drink, and prepared to leave.

Ragnar couldn’t tell why she wouldn’t just eat until she’s satisfied, not like she will become fat or something since it’s pretty hard for walkers to be out of shape, but he couldn’t be bothered to question her ways.

Aura took to her ride while Ragnar tried to find a moment to enter the ground without being noticed. However, as he did, he himself noticed something with his echolocation.

Instead of directly entering the ground, he decided to move around a bit, eventually reaching the empty alley he had appeared in, and as he did, his face cracked into a grin, a devious one.

He didn’t think there would be a second one. It was his second day in HCR, and he was already being followed by two stalkers. He missed this one the first time around since he was only relying on his vision through the earth. Now that he was surveying with his echolocation, it was far too easy for him to notice the anomaly.

He could tell since someone was following his movements a bit too intensely. And their position at the rooftop of a nearby building told Ragnar everything he needed to know about their motives.

Albeit, he won’t be able to act directly, since even if he could close the distance, disposing of them would create some disturbance unless he turned to his shifted form. He didn’t think there would be enough space in the structure of the building to house his body, thus removing the possibility of dealing with him the way he dealt with the last one.

Ragnar took a deep breath, and let it out. He will have to leave this for later. It would be too much of a hassle to take care of him right now, he will just do it later. The points weren’t going anywhere. He had just had his breakfast as well; he would like to rest inside earth for a bit before sending another soul on its way.

Taking a turn to break the line of sight of his stalker number 2, Ragnar entered the ground once more and followed behind Aura. They would probably not stop again before they were out of HCR. Ragnar didn’t mind it, since there won’t be any roofs there for the stalker to hide on.

***

‘That bastard…’

Cursed Tanya just as she had changed her vantage spot to maintain a line of sight on her target. He wasn’t fucking there.

That roach, still playing so hard to get. She would have liked to take care of him as quick as possible, but he refused to give her a chance. Now she might have to wait until they were out of HCR to get a chance.

When she had taken up this mission, she thought that it would be just another hit on a talent before it blooms, but the more she found out about the target, the more intrigued she became. An Arcane who had defeated Vale of the Nexarions in head-to-head combat, just with his ability, she couldn’t help but be excited about killing him.

However, all this excitement came crashing down when she saw his face outside the Sanctuary. It was actually roach, their roach. The roach they had all believed to be dead around a month ago. Although, they weren’t very close in general, he was still one of them.

She couldn’t help but laugh when she first found out about his identity, that name truly sat right with him, he still refused to fucking die. He didn’t really talk with anyone, but would sometimes try to challenge the top dogs into battle, even going for walkers from time to time, only to get his ass handed to him. But after that Tristan died, he stopped doing that as well, only completing his missions and keeping to himself otherwise.

Although, that roach had now become strong enough to be considered one of the strongest Arcanes of all time.

Despite having remembered all that, it didn’t sway her from her mission in the slightest. Although he used to be one of them, he had decided to not return of his own violation, forcing her to come all the way here to bring him back. She will be sure to teach him a lesson.

At least she could now confirm that he had a way to travel without being seen, since he had appeared here even though there was no sign of him the whole way here.

However, she had inquired around and found out before taking the mission that his ability had to do with bursts of waves that he used for speed and strength. Wait… It couldn’t be.

‘It hasn’t even been a month since he became a walker, and along with all this stupid strength, he supposedly has a tainted perk as well? You’ve got to be kidding me…’

“Heh”, She chuckled, sealing the fate of this boy they all used to call roach, aptly named since he refused to die even after taking all the impossible missions. They were impossible for a human, of course, any walker could have easily taken care of them.

She had received orders to simply bring him back, with no mention of whether dead or alive.

So, in light of the fact that they had gone through the same torture and even gone on a few missions together, she was planning on convincing him to calmly return with her. Things didn’t need to deteriorate to bloodshed. She had no hard feelings for him anyways.

However, now that there was a chance that he might be in possession of a tainted perk, and one that wasn’t registered on the Tainted list, there is no world where he gets out of this with his life intact.

She wasn’t sure if her Master was already aware of his perk or not. But since he hadn’t mentioned it directly even once, she still had a chance.

Now she won’t mind leaving HCR for this one.

***

Ragnar and Aura simply continued forward, unaware of the intentions of their stalker number 2.

Well, Aura wasn’t even aware of the first stalker who was already dead, whereas Ragnar wouldn’t care even if he did know about it. Their fate was similarly sealed by Ragnar as soon as they reached a suitable location.

It remained to be seen whose seal was stronger.

They travelled without any further stops as planned through the Nexarion Terry.

Aura had finally started to shed off some of the negative thoughts she had been having since this morning, observing all the new sceneries with curiosity resurfacing in her eyes. The Velvet-in-buns might have had a role in that.

Of course, they still came back knocking every few minutes causing her eyes to dim, but the stimuli from the exciting features of the Terry were proving to be powerful enough to overcome her negativity.

Ragnar was also quite interested in the visual appeal of the Terry. Everything seemed connected, and mechanical, and at the same time magical. But he wouldn’t really want to stay in such a place. Since it all seemed too crowdy, both literally and figuratively. It was all a bit too much.

After travelling for several hours, another set of tall walls appeared on the horizon, much taller than the last ones and also in a much better condition.

These had to be perfect since they were responsible for guarding humans against the horrors of the Realm, as well as being the first and last line of physical defence during the Centennial Surge.

There was a queue before the gate comprising of people who wished to go drifting. Aura went and joined the queue, not expecting any special treatment in another family’s Terry, while Ragnar made sure that his stalker number 2 was still on his case before leaving the walls ahead of Aura.

Aura also came out soon enough, even though she didn’t ask for it, once the guards noticed her outfit paired with her hair colour, they hurried to send her ahead of the crowd.

They were once again outside of HCR.