Glenn held his breath, his right hand clenched tightly on his sword’s hilt. The old driver scrubbed his beard, before turning back to his passenger.

“Ay, I need to respond to nature’s call, heh. Don’t move from the cart,” mumbled the old man before slowly stepping down. He safely stashed away the blue magical stone in his pocket and left with measured steps for the nearest tree.

Glenn sighed in relief, relaxing as he leaned back in the cart.

‘Paranoid much?’ Diamanes inquired mockingly. Glenn could only gulp and nod slowly.

‘Yes, paranoid very much. But can you blame me?’

Diamanes didn’t find anything to say this time. Glenn’s previous experiences, even though they were few, were rich in weirdness, and horror, and probably left him with a slight mental trauma. Being hunted as prey wasn’t the most entertaining situation, at least not to Glenn. Meeting an eldritch parasite was even less fun.

‘Hey!’

Glenn looked up at the starry sky and the twin moons hanging high in it. The night was dark, and the sun wouldn’t rise for at least a few more hours. In the relative comfort of the cart, Glenn slowly but surely lost grip on reality, sinking into a well-deserved rest.

“Shit!” Glenn startled awake, his heart racing as he reached for his sword. He couldn’t allow himself to fall asleep now. What if the old man was bringing him somewhere weird? Or try to steal—maybe even kill him?

He frantically rubbed the tiredness off his eyes, blinking a few times at the night’s strange hue. Why was it so…so red? A shiver went down Glenn’s back as he slowly looked up at the sky, finding the blood moon of nightmares hanging there, with its smaller white sister hiding behind it, barely visible.

“What the—where am I?” Glenn blurted out in disbelief. The green plains and nearby forest were gone, alongside the sight of the city. It had been replaced by a long, infinite stretch of black sand, a gentle gust of wind raising small black clouds here and there. He could only hear the whistle of the wind rustling against the grains of sand, his heartbeat louder than anything in the desert.

Glenn shivered in the cold, the wind proving to be freezing. He wrapped his hands around his chest, trying to warm himself up. Something suddenly moved above him, something in the sky.

He glanced at the crimson moon, his eyes widening in terror as the Moon Rift opened once again; The last time it did, he almost died, and then was forced to live with some shitty parasitic evil entity in his hand! Glenn stood on the cart, squinting to discover the Fallen Pieces trajectories. Maybe he could run away in the right direction if he concentrated hard enough. Using his hand as a visor, Glenn clenched his teeth tightly as the largest item suddenly changed direction to head directly for him. He glanced around the desert, but there was no cover to hide beside the cart. He jumped down and hurriedly threw himself under it, his heart beating like a thousand drums. He’d rather use the little protection the cart gave him instead of running away aimlessly in the desert. As long as that Fallen Piece did not fall directly on the cart, it should be fine. At least that was what Glenn was repeating to himself, beads of sweat pearling down his forehead;

Glenn looked at the Rift from the safety of his hiding place, his back sinking in the cold, black saw. He saw the previously discovered Fallen Piece continue its route, heading straight for his position. Glenn clenched his teeth, his nose creased and his eyes wide opened.

“It’s going to change direction…It is…” Glenn bit down on his lip, before cursing and hurriedly extricated himself from under the cart.

This was no time to be twiddling his thumbs; he needed to run away NOW!

Glenn ran away with all his strength, not even sparing a single glance behind. The noise of the incoming Fallen Piece was like a mortar shot, hissing in the sky with increasing force. The sound of it falling was quite weird, almost like a voice, but Glenn couldn’t spare a moment for that!

Shit, shit, shit!

Even though the sound kept on coming closer, Glenn kept on running, giving it his all. He glanced back with the slight hope of succeeding at running away from whatever that tracking Fallen Piece was but was instead met with his worst nightmare.

“HIGH FIVE!”

“AHHHH!!!” Glenn screamed as he brusquely sat up, rolling left and right in the cart. He looked around in a panic, his chest rising sharply with each breath he drew. It took a few seconds for him to realize that this was just a nightmare. An eerily realistic nightmare, but a nightmare nonetheless. He grabbed the edge of the cart to calm himself while trying to avoid the old driver’s questioning gaze.

Glenn tightened the bandages around his left arm and rubbed his eyes.

‘I can’t believe that was a dream…’ He shook his head and heaved a heavy sigh. The old man had long resumed his route while he was sleeping, driving them closer to King’s Rise. Glenn straightened himself up, staring at the massive Frozen Gate. It wasn’t going to take long to arrive at their destination.

After recovering his senses, Glenn glanced down at his left, bandaged hands inquisitively.

‘Was that you?’ He asked with a bit of annoyance. If Diamanes could mess up with his sleep, that meant this forced coexistence was going to be even worse than he initially thought.

‘Was what me? I didn’t peep a word and even let you sleep. I’m not responsible for your already poor mental health, alright?’ Diamanes replied with a bored and annoyed voice.

Still suspicious, Glenn glanced at the driver.

“Do you know this part of town, sir?”

The old driver nodded without turning back, “Absolutely. I’ve been workin’ in the Sewers for ages now. Got myself a few friends in the Fifth Circle, heh. Can’t help it with the type of services I provide.”

Glenn frowned. The Sewers? The Fifth Circle? What did it all mean? Diamanes was strangely silent, probably thanks to the bandages muffling him, leaving Glenn alone with his thoughts. Time passed relatively quickly and the cart finally arrived in front of the Frozen Gate. A cold wind blew on Glenn’s face, the two statues and the massive doors releasing an otherworldly chill.

Glenn straightened his coat to cover his chin as he held his breath. The structure was already impressive from afar, but when standing right beneath it…

It was overwhelming. A structure that couldn’t possibly have been built by humans, something that went beyond humanity’s limits…

The old driver stopped the cart and turned back with his hand held out. Glenn fished out a copper from his dimensional pouch, already enjoying the magical item’s usefulness, and gave it to the old man, as promised. The driver looked at the copper for a short while, before gesturing at Glenn to leave his cart, mumbling something unintelligible.

The latter quickly obliged, glancing at the cart already leaving. Something was making him feel like it wasn't the last time he would see this mysteriously powerful old man. Glenn stretched, jumping up and down to get the blood going through his sore legs. He had no idea how much time he spent in that cart exactly, but from what his body was telling him with the sores, it had been quite a while.

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‘A little less than six hours,’ Diamanes replied to Glenn’s thoughts, before snickering, ‘You were out deep. I hope it was a nice dream if you know what I mean.’

The devil’s voice echoing in his ears, Glenn glanced around to figure out the next step of this precarious journey. King’s Rise entrance was guarded by a dozen knights who inspected any passers-by, asking for something each time. Identity papers maybe? That seemed a little too modern for this world though.

The area surrounding the Gate was quite clean, and quite a few people were hanging around. This seemed like a transition zone from outside to inside King’s Rise, with many individuals in the same situation as him, travelers with fleeing eyes and tensed hands gripping the hilts of their weapons. The majority traveled on foot, but some were leading horses or carts behind them. Some of the carts were pulled by horses or donkeys, but most moved by themselves, probably thanks to the same kind of magic the old driver used. Glenn did notice one luxurious carriage, its windows obscured and its occupants hidden from sight, hinting at the presence of nobles within.

Glenn was impressed by the diversity of people hanging around. Old and young, men and women, mercenaries or peasants…With each passing second, King’s Rise appeared more and more as the place to be, reassuring him of his choice.

There weren’t many structures outside of the gate. An inn called the Iced Beer with an old stable leaning on it. People were mostly entering it and not leaving, probably to spend the night. In front of the inn was a flat building, with a long line of people waiting in front of it. A large sign hanging above the door read the “Magic Identification Bureau”. This probably was the mandatory step he was going to need to take before heading inside King’s Rise.

“Once I’m in the city, I’ll just look for a library and finally start to understand where the hell I ended up,” Glenn muttered. Besides the Bureau was an old, run-down church that would have appeared abandoned if it wasn’t for the robed figures often entering it. Glenn felt a shiver crawl down his back as he looked at the decrepit building. The front door was old, of rotten wood that had changed to a washed-out, dark red color. Carved in the center with a knife was a circle wrapped in thorny vines, and with a cross in its center. Just looking at it made Glenn uncomfortable, as if something was creeping up his neck. He shook his head and averted his gaze, realizing he wasn’t the only one finding the church out of place. Most people avoided it like the plague, some spitting in its direction with mixed disgust and fear.

One thing was certain; this place was creepy.

‘So let’s avoid it. And avoid its people. I know appearances can be misleading, but that’s a little too many red flags for me,’ Glenn jeered as he turned away. Alongside the guard post, there were only these three buildings, the church, the inn, and the Identification Bureau. No shops, blacksmiths, or whatever he expected to find in a medieval town.

‘But you’re not really IN the town, are you?’ Diamanes mocked Glenn with a sneer, who shrugged in reply. At least there was an inn. If he trusted the lingering scent of blood and filth hanging around himself, he more than needed the bath and the rest. He’ll enter King’s Rise after that. He went and pushed open the two saloon doors, stopping for a second when the strong scent of something similar to marijuana, alongside the more recognizable alcohol and tobacco reached his nose.

People of all ages and kinds were drinking and smoking, partying, or crying around circular tables. Glenn drew a short breath and went for the counter, pulling one of the free chairs to sit on it. The bartender noticed him and approached him while cleaning a glass.

“What can I serve you?” He asked with a friendly, yet slightly amused look on his face. Glenn glanced at the rows of bottles behind the bartender.

“Do you have something strong? Enough to forget one death.”

The bartender smirked and turned toward his collection of bottles, “...Hmm, something strong enough to erase death itself…Ah!” He grabbed an alcohol bottle with a deep red color and a shot glass. He poured down the shot and placed it in front of Glenn, before putting his hand out.

“We only accept upfront payments here. No credits,” He pointed at a sign hanging on the counter, reading exactly that, “No credit”. Glenn sneered and fished a few copper coins in his pocket.

“How much?”

“Two coppers.”

Glenn pushed the coins on the table and picked the shot glass up, looking at it for a few seconds before downing it.

The first of many mistakes. Always drink moderately.

He couldn’t feel anything different for the first few seconds, but once this period of grace passed, the fire came. Lava, pure boiling magma that ignited his insides like a dragon’s breath, a napalm cocktail. Glenn could feel the drink going down his bowels like a searing coal with its consciousness, and a coal that only wished for one thing: burning.

Glenn coughed and drew a deep breath, before putting the shot back on the counter.

“Wow, this—cough—this is strong,” He bellowed to the bartender’s laughter. He picked the bottle up and read the tag glued onto it. “Fiery Spirit - Fire Mana - Southern variety”. Glenn thought back to his partying days, trying to find something equivalent. It had the same strength as a rhum and a similar taste to tequila. Quite the fiery drink indeed.

“Phew…” Glenn shook his head and looked at the bartender, who nodded approvingly with a wide grin.

“You’re an impressive kid aren’t ya!” He laughed widely, before turning toward one of the other customers, “Hey, James, the kid here downed a shot of Fiery Spirit like a champ! Can you believe that?”

A mercenary who was playing cards turned suddenly, his eyebrows creased.

“Of course not, I can't believe it! Hey, stop trying to fool me, Winston! I know you want my money, but that’s too much!”

Glenn smiled at the exchange, the tension in his shoulders softening slightly.

‘Is it party time? Haha, excellent!’ Diamanes celebrated, oddly excited. Glenn ignored the entity and instead turned to the bartender.

“Why the surprise? It’s only a shot—who would be knocked out by that?”

The bartender paused for a moment, before conspicuously turning his eyes to another side of the counter, where a mercenary was sleeping.

“That’s Dale,” he whispered, “And he asked the same thing as you. Only, the result is a little different, hahaha!”

Glenn laughed with the bartender, the horror of the previous days fading away like a mirage. He looked at his glass shot, wondering whether he should get another, but decided against it.

“Do you have any rooms left over, bartender?” he inquired. The bartender grimaced and shook his head while sweeping the counter with a rug.

“We’re completely complete. There are a lot of people trying to get into King’s Rise these days, and the Cold Beer is way too small to accommodate them all. Even our stable is full!”

Glenn winced, before sighing.

“At least you’re enjoying the profits,” Glenn joked with a smile. The bartender chuckled picked Glenn’s shot glass up and began cleaning it.

“At least I’m enjoying the profits,” He admitted. Glenn turned and leaned back on the counter, wondering what he should do next. There wouldn’t be another room free until the next day probably, and there was no point waiting in the Magic Identification Bureau’s queue. Perhaps he could spend some of his time here while waiting for the queue to be smaller?

Glenn thanked the bartender and headed for the table of the previous mercenary, James, who was playing cards with a few other customers.

“Mind if I join the game?” Glenn asked as he pulled in a chair. James made a wry smile and drank some ale from a wooden tankard.

“Only if you ain’t betting!”

The other players cackled as they gestured at the copper coins on the table, around a dozen each. Glenn moistened his lips and fished for a dozen copper in his dimensional pouch, throwing them in.

“That enough?”

James laughed and patted Glenn on the shoulder, before distributing the cards. It was a standard set of fifty-two cards, only the Jack, Queen, and King were replaced by a Wyvern, a Phoenix, and a Dragon. It looked like they were playing this world’s version of Texas Hold’em.

“I’m telling you in advance, kid, but we ain’t pulling punches here!” James warned with a chuckle. Another mercenary laughed and slapped James on the shoulder.

“You ain’t pulling shit! Did you already forget you lost five games in a row?”

James grimaced and looked at his cards, “;..You’ll see, I’ll get it all back Roland. I’ll get it all back…”

Glenn laughed at his cards, a pair of Dragons, “Don’t worry old man, I’ll try not to ruin you too much.”

James’ face darkened while the other players exploded in laughter. Roland raised his hand and yelled at the bartender, “Another pint for our friend!”

Glenn grinned widely, happy to finally have one normal moment after all these horrors.

The last thing he remembered was winning the round and Diamanes' laugh echoing in his mind mockingly. After that…

Blackout.