Hand in hand, we move through crowds of people going in all directions. Some stare at us until they notice the marks on our wrist and look away.
“I wonder how many people are here,” I voice aloud.
“Thousands if not more,” Moe replies. “And given how this system operates, I’d wager a guess that the moment an individual is terminated, another one enters the realm.”
“I think you’re right. With the way it operates, itneedsfresh fighters constantly.”
“Do you think the entrance at Horan Forest is the only one?” She asks, and I shake my head.
“No. There must be more hidden portals to account for this number of people.”
Moe nods, her eyes landing now and then on my injured arm.
“Are you in any pain? Do you think we might need some medicine?” She eventually asks.
“No. My healing is already much faster than before. At this rate, by tomorrow the wound should be completely closed.”
“That’s much faster than before,” she murmurs, her brows raised in an unspoken question.Did it work? Did you consume the soul.
She’s right to be worried about secrecy since we don’t know who might be listening in. “I am still a beginner. I only got two…blowsin,” I enunciate clearly. “With time I should get better.”
She smiles. “At least you got those two.”
“Yes, but I’m still a bit worried.”
“How so?” She frowns.
“Isn’t it…too easy? This place is clearly designed to limit growth.”
She bites her lip as she thinks. “There’s one way of finding out.”
I raise a brow at her, already looking forward to what her beautiful brain will come up with.
“Remember ourorientation. That wraith said your level is unassigned. For some reason it couldn’t read you. On the other hand, all of the other names on the obelisk had a level attached to them.” She smiles. “We just need to follow a few names and see if their level changes over a period of time.”
“My smart partner,” I murmur and pull her toward me, laying a kiss on the crown of her head.
She doesn’t object. In fact, she nestles closer to me. Mentally, I consider thisanotherwin. Perhaps soon she will realize how well suited we are. Especially now that her mortality is not such an issue anymore. She can live for thousands of years, with me of course.
I keep giving her small hints, and hopefully she will catch on soon enough. I don’t want to come on too forcefully, especiallysince in Aimaxion she’s considered my property. There is too much of a power dynamic discrepancy for me to feel comfortable to come onto her too strongly. What if she feels as though sheneedsto please me so I don’t harm her?
No! Just thinking about that makes me sick.
I’ll keep dropping hints here and there, but until she comes to me of her own volition, I’ll just have to be satisfied with her friendship.
As we keep walking, we make small talk but we try to avoid any sensitive information in case someone eavesdrops.
The farther we move from the obelisk, the more the ruins appear occupied. Even the grander structures seem to have owners.
High level individuals’ lodgings, I wonder?
The stone underfoot is smoother in places, worn down by repeated steps. Openings in the rock form rough passageways and shallow corridors carved.
A myriad of different sounds congregate around the buildings.
A murmur here. The scrape of something being dragged there. The faint clink of metal against stone.
It’s a low, constant hum of activity, completely different than the area where our room is.
