Corrin rubbed his arm as his breath fogged up in the crisp nighttime air. It had stopped shaking after a few minutes, but it still ached.

Damn it. He clicked his tongue. He’d calmed down in the time since Tor had left, but the idea that the knight had decided to test him still pissed him off. He hadn’t realized the blow wouldn’t hit Kei until after he’d blocked it, and even though he’d poured everything he could into his mantle, his arm had still gone numb from the force of the blow—and Tor wasn’t even serious.

How’d I not realize? Was I really so focused on myself?

She’d never left the damned inn, only he hadn’t realized it until after he’d pushed things too far. He’d noticed she was being quiet, he’d known something was off, but he hadn’t bothered to actually think about what. Instead he’d tried to drag her into a conversation that she was clearly uncomfortable having. If he’d asked in the first place—would she have even told him?

No. She didn’t trust me enough. If she did, she would’ve told me in the first place. Could I have done more?

Wyn had probably given it more thought, right? Had he known?

Corrin sighed. Stop moping.

The door opened up, casting a line of light out onto the darkened streets.

“Damn it’s cold out.”

Corrin grimaced. What was he doing here? “I’m not in the mood Ayden,” he muttered.

“Yeah… neither am I.”

Corrin felt the spearman settle on the wall next to him, but he didn’t turn to look.

“Then what are you doing here?”

Ayden didn’t respond right away. Corrin heard him shifting a bit before he responded.

“Well for one, I think you’re maybe the only person more pissed than me, and they’re trying to continue the damn party in there. You’re not the only one that needs to cool off.”

“And two?”

“It occurs to me that we may have gotten off on the wrong foot.”

Corrin frowned, letting him continue.

“I think that’s probably my fault. I was—jealous. Tor was paying you all this attention, which pissed me off. I didn’t want to admit you’re better than I was at your age, and definitely better than I was only a few months into channeling. I think he was doing that intentionally, but I let myself get riled up. But then I saw you fighting during the hunt, and I had to admit it, you’re strong. Then it turns out Tor is a real bastard… it just made me want to reevaluate. I wouldn’t say I like you, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re on my team.”

Corrin blinked, letting the words sink in. He let out a soft chuckle. “I can’t win tonight can I?”

“What do you mean?”

“Ah, nevermind.” Corrin finally looked over. Ayden was holding two cups filled with milk.

Ayden noticed his gaze and held one out. After a moment, Corrin took it. Ayden offered him a silent toast, Corrin obliged and took a sip.

His eyes widened.

“It’s hot!”

“What do you think?” Ayden grinned.

“That’s not bad!” Corrin took another sip. Usually the drink was no more than warm, but the extra heat felt great as it blossomed in his chest, accentuating the salty-sweet flavor. “Warm’s one thing, but I wouldn’t have thought to have made it hot.”

“It’s a trick of the trade.”

“And what trade is that?”

“I used to be a molluk farmer.”

Corrin paused, glass raised to his lips. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

They laughed.

“Hey…” Corrin ventured. “I’ve been wondering. What is a molluk?”

Ayden’s lips twitched. “You don’t want to know.”

“I really do.”

“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” The spearman gave him one last chance to back out, but Corrin just waited. “So basically, they’re these giant slug-things right? And the milk? It comes from these two sacs near their, uh… hindquarters.”

“Ew!” Corrin laughed. “You’re kidding. Giant slugs?”

Ayden grinned, pointing at the cup. “I’ll take that back if you don’t want it.”

“Pfft, I’ve eaten worse. And good is good.” He took a swig, banishing the image from his head. A true chef couldn’t be frightened by food!

“Good is good. Can’t argue with that.” Ayden took a sip of his own, then looked into the cup, sloshing the milk around quietly. “So, you and Wyn really want to be spirit knights huh? You’re traveling all the way to Taravast?”

“That’s the plan. It’s been the plan. For a long, long time. You uh… you want to go east too right?”

Ayden smiled sadly. “Well, east I suppose yes. But Ord is more my speed.”

“The Tower of Heaven?”

He nodded. "They call it The City of Adventurers. They have their own ranking scale—it’s on a whole different level from almost any other dungeon. Hundreds of floors. Can you imagine?”

“And nobody’s ever reached the top?”

“Never.” For a moment, Ayden’s eyes seemed to catch the light of the stars above. “They say that whoever reaches the top will have any one wish granted.”

“Seriously?” Corrin’s own eyes widened. “That—that can’t be true right?”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“I have no idea,” Ayden laughed. “What would you wish for?”

“A thousand more wishes!”

Ayden gawked. “You can’t do that!”

“Why not?”

“Well—It’s just against the rules!”

“Says who?”

“You get one wish, that’s the whole thing!”

“Stupid rule then,” Corrin complained. “Who’d be satisfied with only one wish?”

“I think most people would be happy with one!”

“Really? You think so?” Corrin scratched his chin. He just couldn’t see it. In truth, he had no idea what he'd wish for even if he had a thousand wishes. Maybe a really good sandwich? “Fine, then I’d wish for the power to grant wishes! Er… wait no, that sounds like it might be a pain.”

“You suck at this.” Ayden laughed. Corrin joined in.

Corrin took another sip of his milk. It was running low. “So. Are you thinking you’ll head east then? Did you work that out with Emryn?”

Ayden blinked, then groaned, his face flushing red. “Shit I forgot you heard that! Please forget you ever heard that argument.”

Corrin patted his shoulder, giving him a serious look. “Dude Emryn came to me for advice about it, I’m in too deep now.”

Ayden buried his face in his hands. “Could you stab me? Just take my spear and really twist it in there. Please?”

Corrin chuckled, averting his eyes from the wounded soldier.

Eventually, Ayden’s groaning grew quiet, and he let out a soft sigh. “I’m not heading east.”

“What?” Corrin looked over, genuinely surprised. “Why not?”

“Well, I might check out Titan’s Pass at some point—I’ve never actually been. Or maybe I’ll head west instead, go see the ocean you know? But I realized it earlier today during the battle.”

“Realized it? What did you realize?”

“It was after that bird dropped me,” he rubbed at his bandaged shoulder. “It must’ve only been a few seconds, but I felt like I was falling forever. And I was so sure I was dead, that was that. But you know? I didn’t think about Ord at all. I didn’t think, damn I’m never going to become a sun ranker. No… all I could think was, I never got to tell her how I feel. And it hit me. I could go to Ord, I could be happy there. But then I’d be resting at one of the base camps, or harvesting a monster, or even just laying in bed at night, and the moment I stopped to think, I’d wonder—what’s Emryn doing right now? And I think I’d regret that.”

Ayden looked down at his hand clenching it into a fist. “This is the happiness I’m choosing. Even if you reach the top, you only get one wish. It’s best not to waste it right?”

Corrin grinned. A real shit-eating grin—he was good at those.

Ayden saw it and smiled right back. “Yeah yeah, laugh it up.”

After downing the rest of his milk, Corrin stretched. “Well, if you’re going to stay, then I’ll give you some advice.”

“Oh will you now?”

“I’m pretty sure there’s a dungeon below The Shattered Stone Forest.”

Ayden’s eyes widened. “How could you even—are you sure?”

“Mostly,” Corrin shrugged. “Really it’s Wyn’s guess, not mine. So blame him if it’s wrong. I can’t tell you how he knows, but I think it’s a pretty good bet. And besides, you’ll need something to keep you entertained if you’re staying right? I know how it is.”

Ayden opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. He blinked twice. Then he started to laugh. It carried through the quiet street, the only sound in the night.

“You’re pretty funny, you know that?”

Corrin winked. “Aren’t I?”

The spearman stepped off the wall, finishing his own drink, he rolled his neck with a smile. “I believe I still owe you a duel. Or have you forgotten? Weren’t you supposed to test yourself against me?”

“Well, I’m certainly not opposed to kicking your ass, but without the skiff, where are we supposed to fight?”

“There’s a training yard at the garrison,” Ayden shrugged. “We should be able to use it.”

“That works for me. Tomorrow then?”

“Morning?”

“Afternoon,” Corrin smirked. “I’m sleeping in tonight.”

Ayden sighed. “Fair enough, but don’t expect me to go easy on you.”

“Oh I hope you don’t. And by the way, make sure your whole team is there. I want an audience.”

“You’ll regret that.”

“Nah. I’ll be just fine.”

The two warriors met each other’s eyes, and Corrin felt it. They were headed in different directions. He doubted he’d ever meet Ayden again, nor would he seek him out. But that was fine—for a moment, their paths crossed, the intersection of their lives.

Ayden jerked a thumb towards the door. “I’m headed back in. You coming?”

Corrin listened to the sounds of the party drifting out through the door. Raucous laughter, the clinking of mugs, and the pleasant buzz of dozens of overlapping conversations. The streets of Estin were quiet, save for the occasional gust of wind rustling grass clippings along the cobblestone path.

Corrin took a deep breath of the cool air, then he smiled. “What? You think I’d stay out here? I’d never be so lame.”

What was the point of a journey if you couldn't slow down and have some fun along the way?

***

The training yard was empty the next day. That made sense, who would want to train or fight the day after the Colossus hunt?

“You people are crazy, you know that?” Kei said as they walked up. Her tone was dry, but a faint smile danced on her lips nonetheless.

Corrin winked at her, glad she seemed to be doing better after the last night. “C'mon Kei, I need you and Wyn to cheer me on. There's four of them!”

She glanced past him at Wyn, who Corrin had also insisted show up. The expression on her face made it clear she was looking for support, but she wouldn’t find it there.

Wyn was looking forward to it as well.

Of course, the real reason he'd insisted they come was just that he wanted to show off, but Wyn was the only one who'd know that for sure.

Corrin took off his outer robes as he surveyed the arena. The training yard of Estin’s garrison was actually quite nice. It was circular, almost a hundred feet across, and ringed by a covered wooden walkway that let watchers view from any side. The floor of the training yard seemed to be stone, but it had been covered by a layer of loose sand, probably to mitigate injuries. Training dummies, pockmarked with weapon strikes, stood in one corner, while a row of targets at the far end bore countless arrow scars. Peppered throughout were several obstacles like trees, large stones, and even a few wooden posts, all meant to simulate a more lifelike environment.

Just as Corrin was about to step onto the sand to warm up, he heard a voice from behind.

“Country boy can't even read the sign huh?”

He turned to see Ayden and the sentinels walking up. The spearman was pointing towards a small sign hanging by the entrance.

No boots on the sand.

“Oh come on! That sign is tiny!” Corrin protested. “You didn’t see it either, right Wyn?”

Wyn was already bent over, untying his boots.

“Damn it.”

The moment Corrin’s bare foot touched the sand, he yelped, instinctively curling his toes. “Gah! That’s freezing!” He pranced in place, trying to shake off the worst of the chill, but it still pricked at him like a thousand tiny needles.

Wyn followed suit, hissing as he wriggled his toes in the sand. He waved Kei over. “Come check this out.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Ah yes, because it looks so fun!” She glanced at the entrance a bit nervously, but then shook her head and turned back to them. “I think I’ll pass just this once.”

“Suit yourself,” Corrin pranced around the ring, adjusting to the cold. After his feet settled, he started to go through his warmups, and Ayden did the same, the rest of the sentinels watching from outside the center.

That won’t do.

The jig was up. It was time to come clean. Corrin turned to the rest of Ayden’s party.

“You know, I’ve been thinking this whole time. I don’t think one of you is going to be enough. I mean Ayden’s good, but beating me? Come on.”

They raised their eyebrows, and for good reason. The only one of them he’d beaten during his time in town was Emryn. He’d yet to defeat Reiss, and he hadn’t sparred with Ayden since the first day.

But Corrin was a man of commitment, and he’d decided on this challenge almost two weeks prior. Even if it was only to himself, there was no backing out now.

“What, are you suggesting you want to fight two of us at once?” Reiss chuckled. “That’s awfully arrogant.”

“Well I’m sure you wouldn’t mind putting me in my place then huh old man? But no. I was thinking… bigger.”

Corrin took a slow step forward, his bare foot pressing into the sand, leaving an imprint that the wind would soon erase. Then, he spread his arms out wide, meeting each of their eyes in turn. He shot them a cocky grin.

“I’ll take on all four of you at the same time. And I’ll win.”