I looked up to see Maya holding her bow and aiming towards a large tree in the forest. I quickly called to her, “are we being attacked?”

Her guffaw was nearly answered enough, “Are you serious? Of course not, I was just practicing.”

I spent the next few minutes scolding her for not respecting the danger of the moment. She apologized and said the right things, but for some reason, I did not believe her. Other than the scare, the night passed without incident. I slept soundly, waking up quickly when Maya gently shook me for my shift. I was reminded of my time in the Navy as I took over my watch. But this watch was much more interesting than anything I stood in the Navy, this time I was able to keep myself busy by manipulating my emotional intelligence projection. I also took mental reps of battle plans, thinking about how I would use my abilities more effectively in future fights. My telekinesis was something I’d been neglecting. That had to change, I needed to find ways to incorporate it more into my combat strategy.

So far I had been successful in using it to adjust enemy attacks slightly. But I wondered if I could do more. It was hard to adjust my opponents weapons while they were swinging, their force and torque were such that anything more than a slight adjustment was too much for me at my current strength and mana levels. If I practiced it more, it would surely get stronger in the real world. But not in VERTEX. Maya had been clear that any growth within VERTEX for me would be experience and muscle memory related. Apparently, it was decided that having soldiers and leaders getting stronger in VR and then coming out of it accustomed to more powers and greater strength was more trouble than it was worth. Many died when their abilities were not what they were accustomed to.

When dawn came, Maya woke up easily, looking refreshed and ready to go. We shared a quick breakfast of rations. The meal was simple but enough to keep us going. Then, we packed up camp and continued on our journey. With Maya taking point and heading off in the direction she was told by the innkeeper.

The next two days were much the same, uneventful but tense. My projection seemed to be doing its job, keeping us clear of any potential threats. Maya’s disappointment grew with each passing hour of peaceful travel. I could see it in the way she searched the path ahead and around us, she was always ready for a fight that never came. I felt for her. I even agreed with her to an extent. I, too, was bored, but I was not itching for a fight. I was getting more and more worried for Elyria by the hour. I knew that it was just VR and that she would physically be fine in her pod, but I couldn’t shake the thought that trauma could still find you in VERTEX, even if it was just in your mind.

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It wasn’t until the scenery began to change that things took a turn. The dense forest gradually started to change to a more open landscape. The trees thinned out, replaced by rolling hills and rocky outcrops. The path ahead became rougher, the air colder and tinged with the scent of something unfamiliar. We were getting closer to Ebonfall, and with it came a sense of foreboding that settled heavily in the pit of my stomach.

The forest eventually gave way completely to the bleak, open landscape, the dense trees thinning out until only the occasional twisted, leafless trunk remained. The air was colder here, biting at my exposed skin as I urged my horse forward. Maya rode beside me, her expression pensive as the ground beneath us turned rocky and uneven. The path wound up a desolate hill, the terrain growing more treacherous with every step.

We crested the hill, and that’s when we saw it—Ebonfall.

The city sprawled out before us like a corpse left to rot in the elements. What must have once been proud stone walls were now cracked and crumbling, entire sections reduced to piles of rubble. The buildings that remained standing were in various states of disrepair, their roofs caved in and windows shattered. But what struck me most was the overgrowth—a thick, black vine that snaked through the ruins, wrapping itself around everything in sight. It wasn’t natural. It pulsed faintly, as if it had a heartbeat of its own, making the city feel less like a ruin and more like a living entity.

The streets below were uneven, the cobblestones dark and slick with a coating of moss that looked like it hadn’t been disturbed in years. Dead, twisted trees grew out of the foundations of what had once been grand structures, their gnarled branches clawing at the sky as if in agony. A heavy mist clung to the ground, swirling around the bases of the buildings and the trunks of the trees, muffling sound and reducing visibility. The air was thick with the scent of rot and decay, a stench that clung to the back of my throat, making me want to gag.

“Looks like we’re not the first to come here,” Maya said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper as if she was afraid to disturb the silence that hung over the city.

I nodded, my eyes narrowing as I scanned the ruins. Despite the overwhelming sense of abandonment, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Shadows moved in the corners of my vision, dark shapes slithering away as soon as I tried to focus on them. The city felt alive in a way that was both hostile and alien, as if the very environment itself was aware of our presence and was waiting for the right moment to strike.

“This place gives me the creeps,” I muttered, more to myself than to Maya. Each step forward tightened the grip of unease in my gut, the foreboding atmosphere pressing down on me like a physical weight. This place was a ruin. Every instinct I had was screaming at me to turn back, to leave this place behind before it was too late.

But Elyria was here. Somewhere. And I wasn’t leaving without her.

“Let’s get moving,” I said, nudging my horse forward. Maya followed, her bow at the ready as we descended into the city’s outskirts. The mist swallowed us whole as we entered Ebonfall, the silence broken only by the soft clatter of hooves on cobblestone and the distant, echoing sound of something moving just out of sight.