The silence between us wasn’t exactly comfortable, but I wasn’t going to be the first to break it. I followed Aric through the dense forest, trying to keep my nerves from fraying any further. Every snap of a twig or rustle of leaves had me on edge, half-expecting some kind of monster to leap out and finish the job Aric had started.

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. His back was straight, his movements confident. The sword on his hip swayed slightly as he walked, reminding me that he could still very easily decide I was a threat and finish what he started.

“So,” I said, mostly to fill the silence, “how far is this capital place?”

“Not far,” Aric replied without looking back. “We’ll reach the outskirts by nightfall, if we keep a steady pace.”

“Right,” I muttered. I had no idea what time it was here—the sun wasn’t exactly following Earth’s schedule. “And, uh, what’s waiting for me at the capital? You said your dad... the king, right? He’s going to help me figure this out?”

“He’ll want to assess the situation,” Aric said, his tone clipped. “The fallen are dangerous.”

“Right. Dangerous.” I wasn’t about to press for details, not with the way he kept glancing at his sword like he was still half-expecting me to turn into some kind of monster. I kicked at a loose rock on the trail, trying to distract myself. “So, are you always this chatty, or is it just me?”

Aric finally glanced back at me, frowning like he wasn’t sure if I was joking or being serious. “I speak when necessary.”

“Ah. Got it.” I fell back a step, biting back a grin. He really wasn’t trying to be rude—just... blunt.

After a few more minutes of walking, I couldn’t stand the silence any longer. “So what exactly is Elarion?” I asked. “This whole place—what’s the deal with it? Why are people like me falling into it?”

Aric paused, scanning the trees like he was making sure nothing was lurking nearby before he answered. “This world has always been unstable. Long ago, the rifts began to appear. Holes in the fabric of reality. People, creatures... things from other worlds started to fall through. All of them gained great power upon entering this realm..”

“Sounds... charming,” I said. “And what about you? You’re native to this place, right? Why aren’t you all walking around with superpowers?”

“The native people of Elarion don’t have access to much magic when they are born,” Aric explained. “We train in specific schools—those gifted with the ability, at least, to improve our skills. But fallen like you... you arrive with access to it all. The magic of this world bends to your will. That’s why you’re dangerous.”

“So I’ve heard,” I muttered. “Still not feeling particularly dangerous, though.”

“You summoned a defensive barrier with no training,” Aric pointed out. “That’s more than most Elarions can do without years of practice.”

I stopped walking, blinking. “Wait... so I’m just... what, automatically good at magic now?”

Aric turned to face me, his expression stern. “It doesn’t make you good. It makes you capable. How you use that capability will determine what happens next.”

“Gee, thanks for the pep talk,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Aric didn’t respond, already turning back to the path. I followed, trying to wrap my head around what he’d just said. If I had access to all magic in this world, what else could I do? And more importantly... how the hell was I supposed to control it?

As we walked, I started to notice things. The forest felt... different. More alive than any forest I’d ever been in back home. Every gust of wind seemed to carry whispers, the trees shifting like they were watching us pass. The air itself buzzed with an energy I couldn’t quite put into words. It made my skin tingle.

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After a while, Aric stopped, holding up a hand. “Wait.”

“What is it?” I asked, squinting into the trees ahead.

“Something’s coming,” he said quietly, his hand resting on his sword hilt again.

Great. I tensed, scanning the area for whatever had caught his attention, but all I saw were more trees and shadows.

“Get behind me,” Aric ordered.

I opened my mouth to argue, but before I could say anything, there was a sudden crash from the bushes to our left. Something big was moving through the underbrush, fast.

Aric stepped forward, his sword already drawn. “Stay back.”

I gritted my teeth. Sure, I didn’t want to get eaten by whatever was coming, but I wasn’t exactly eager to hide behind him either. Still, I wasn’t about to charge in unarmed, so I took a step back as instructed, my heart pounding.

A low growl echoed through the trees, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps. Then, out of the shadows, a creature lunged into the clearing.

It looked like a wolf, but at least twice the size of any wolf I’d ever seen, with jet-black fur and glowing red eyes. Its teeth bared in a snarl, and thick ropes of saliva dripped from its jaws.

“What the hell is that?!” I shouted, my pulse spiking.

“A shadow beast,” Aric muttered, not taking his eyes off the creature. “Stay behind me.”

The wolf-thing growled again, crouching low as if preparing to pounce. Aric tightened his grip on his sword, his muscles coiled and ready for action.

But before the creature could strike, I felt a strange warmth building in my chest. It was like an itch, a pressure just beneath my skin that was begging to be released. Instinctively, I raised my hand, and to my shock, a bolt of fire shot from my palm, streaking through the air toward the creature.

The fireball exploded on impact, sending the wolf-thing skidding backward with a howl of pain.

I stared at my hand, wide-eyed. “Did I just...?”

Aric’s head whipped around, his expression somewhere between surprise and frustration. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t know! It just... happened!” I stammered, still staring at my hand like it had betrayed me.

Aric turned back to the wolf-creature, which was already recovering from the hit. It snarled, its glowing red eyes locking onto me.

“Stay back,” Aric snapped again, stepping in front of me as the creature charged.

But I wasn’t staying back. Something in me had clicked—some part of my brain that had accepted this was real. I could feel the magic humming in my veins, begging to be let loose.

Before I knew what I was doing, I raised my other hand, and this time, a gust of wind shot out, slamming into the wolf and knocking it off balance. It stumbled, trying to regain its footing, but Aric was already moving.

In one smooth motion, he closed the distance, his sword flashing as he brought it down in a clean, deadly arc. The wolf-thing collapsed, its body hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

For a moment, everything was still.

Aric straightened, wiping the blade clean on the creature’s fur before sheathing it. He didn’t say anything as he turned to face me, but the look in his eyes was... intense.

“I told you to stay behind me,” he said, his voice tight.

“Yeah, but—” I started, but he cut me off.

“You’re reckless,” he snapped. “You don’t even know how to control that power, and you’re already throwing fire and wind around like it’s a game.”

I blinked, taken aback by his sudden anger. “I didn’t mean to—”

“This isn’t something to take lightly,” he continued, stepping closer. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with, and you could’ve gotten us both killed.”

I frowned. “I was trying to help.”

“You were trying to show off,” Aric shot back, his tone sharp. “There’s a difference.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but then I caught the flicker of frustration in his eyes. He was mad—sure—but there was something else there. Something deeper.

I sighed. “Alright, fine. Next time, I’ll stay behind you.”

Aric studied me for a moment, then nodded stiffly. “Good.”

With that, he turned and started walking again, leaving me standing there, still buzzing from the adrenaline. I glanced down at my hands, the memory of the fireball and wind blast still fresh in my mind.

Maybe I didn’t know what I was dealing with, but one thing was clear: this magic thing was going to take some getting used to.

With a sigh, I jogged to catch up with Aric.