"Vital... Crest?"
Velren muttered under his breath, flicking his gaze to the lingering projection of the system interface before him. The words glowed faintly, searing into his mind.
"You brat!" the mercenary's voice cut through the air, snapping Velren back to the present.
'Shit!'
His heart lurched. He quickly dismissed the Codex, vanishing its translucent window with a faint shimmer. With no time to process the words flashing before him, Velren did the only thing he could—run. Tightening his grip around the unconscious girl, he bolted through the trees.
'Focus, Velren... focus!'
He flowed his Ka into his legs, coursing the energy through his veins in a warm rush. His footfalls grew lighter, and his strides became longer. It wasn't much—but even the smallest edge mattered. He could feel it: the subtle push forward, the way his muscles responded more fluidly. Faster, just a bit faster.
Behind him, the branches snapped, and the leaves rustled under a heavy chase.
"Stop there, you fucking brat!" the mercenary's enraged voice echoed through the trees.
'Fuck no!'
Velren didn't dare to glance back. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to move!
Then—whump!—a boulder, hurled with brutal force, crashed into the ground beside him, spraying dirt and debris.
His eyes widened.
'That was close!'
But there was no time to dwell. He kept on running, his heart was pounding, and the forest could be seen blurring past him.
***
Run.
Run.
Just run.
That was the only thought hammering inside his head. His eyes darted between the path ahead and the faint notches carved into tree trunks—markers that he had placed earlier to find his way back. He clung to them like lifelines, guiding him forward.
How long had he been running? Minutes? Hours? It felt like an eternity. His legs ached, and his muscles were screaming with every step. His grip on the girl tightened, careful not to jostle her too much. His mind was a storm of panic and determination, but even that resolve was beginning to waver under exhaustion.
And yet… something felt off.
For the first time since the chase began, Velren dared to glance over his shoulder.
Nothing.
No one.
No footsteps pounding after him. No curses or shouts echoing through the trees. The mercenary was nowhere to be seen.
His heart skipped a beat. Relief? No… unease.
When the hell did he lose him?
There was no way it could've been that easy. Right? Still, his burning legs were begging for a rest. Panting heavily, he slowed his pace until he reached a large tree—the same one he had marked earlier. Safe… for now.
Velren gently lowered the girl onto the ground, careful not to wake her, and leaned against the trunk with a weary sigh. His body sagged, and his fatigue was starting to washed over him like a crashing wave. His heart still raced, but at least he wasn't running anymore.
Then he noticed it.
The strange aura surrounding the girl—it had been thick and unsettling before—but now... it was fading. Dissipating slowly. Was it the distance? Does escaping the mercenaries broken the effect? Could the factor of range mess with certain types of Ka-based spells? 'Get far enough away, and maybe they'll lose their hold.' Something like that?
Velren leaned closer to her, studying her face. Her breathing was steady, and her cheeks were faintly flushed. She looked peaceful—nothing like someone who had been the center of a kidnapping plot.
But there was something else he needed to check.
"Codex," he whispered.
The familiar interface flickered into view, glowing softly before his eyes. His usual information appeared, but now, there was something new. A fresh line of text pulsed beneath the standard data:
[V1tal Cr3st: A World Not Mine]
"A... World not...Mine?"
He lingered his gaze on the words hovering before him.
'Is this... it? My very own... Vital Crest?'
The very thing he'd yearned for—the Vital Crest he'd struggled to awaken for years—had finally manifested. Yet, instead of the joy he thought he'd feel... there was only a swirling mix of confusion and irony.
And it only took him the little thing that was called a 'near-death experience' for his Vital Crest to manifest.
A hollow chuckle escaped his lips.
"Haha... of course... that's what it took..."
He muttered under his breath, shaking his head. The timing was ridiculous—laughably cruel—but part of him wasn't entirely surprised. His life seemed to have a penchant for throwing curveballs at him.
Compelled by something he couldn't explain, Velren hesitantly reached toward the holographic display. His fingertips grazed the text—
—and something responded.
"Whoa!"
A jolt shot through his hand. The Codex flickered, glitching out of sync with the world around him. Shapes were distorting; letters twisting into unreadable glyphs before snapping back into place, as if reality itself struggled to process what he was.
Then came the description—fragmented, incomplete, wrong in ways that made his head ache to comprehend:
[A World Not Mine]
A man1festat10n born 0f d1ssonance. An an0maly b0th teth3red and unt3thered. Space rec0gn1zes yet rej3cts its bear3r. Exist3nce bends, fractures—respond1ng to what sh0uld not be.
Velren's eyes widened
'What... does that even mean?'
The words repeated in his mind: Space recognizes yet rejects its bearer. It was like the world itself knew something about the fact that he doesn't belong here—and reacted accordingly.
This was more than just a Vital Crest... this... was another reminder of the anomaly that was him.