The morning air was crisp, cooler than expected.
Ren stretched with a groan, arms over his head, hoodie bunched around his waist. The sky above was still the same unreal canvas—floating islands drifting lazily, sunbeams piercing through clouds in unnatural shafts of light. Dragons soared in the distance, their cries echoing faintly across the horizon.
"Welp," he muttered, scratching his messy hair, "still not Japan."
Seris sat a few paces away, already awake.
She knelt in the grass, one hand placed over the soil, her eyes closed. Magic circles flickered faintly beneath her palm, pulsing like quiet breath.
But her brow was furrowed.
"…Anything?" Ren asked.
"No," she replied, not opening her eyes. "Nothing stable. The mana here is thin—warped. Either we're too far from a leyline, or something is interfering."
"So… you're telling me even with all your world-shattering power, we still don't know where we are?"
She sighed and opened her eyes, crimson irises dull with frustration. "Correct."
Ren sat down beside her. "Great. Love that. Very confidence-building."
She gave him a sideways glance. "If you have a better idea, mortal, I'm all ears."
He rubbed his chin, pretending to think deeply. "Alright. Step one—find a village. Step two—ask someone where we are. Step three—profit."
Seris stared blankly at him. "…That's your plan?"
"Unless you want to keep camping until we get eaten by sky lizards, yeah, that's my plan."
She didn't argue.
Instead, she stood and dusted off her dress. The hem was damp with morning dew, and the wind caught her hair as she looked out across the open plains.
"There's forest to the east," she said. "And mountains to the west. If this world's geography hasn't been altered by the gods in the last millennium, then… there should be a trade route somewhere south."
Ren stood too, adjusting his hoodie. "Cool. South it is. Let's hope the locals still speak… you know, whatever we're speaking."
Seris looked at him sharply. "You're speaking the divine tongue. The Library granted you that when you entered."
"…Neat. Does that come with subtitles?"
"No."
"Damn."
He started walking. Seris followed, a few steps behind.
They didn't speak for a while.
But the silence was different now.
Not awkward. Not heavy.Just… the kind of quiet that came after firelight and broken dreams.
After nightmares and names whispered in the dark.
They had a direction now. A purpose.
And a world that definitely wasn't ready for either of them.
The grasslands gave way to patches of rocky soil and low brush. The sun hung high now, but didn't offer much warmth. The sky remained surreal—clouds drifting beneath floating islands that cast strange, shifting shadows on the land.
They had been walking for what felt like hours.
Ren tugged his hoodie's sleeves down as he kicked a loose stone along the pathless plain. "You know," he said casually, "we should probably talk about the whole 'Witch of Greed' thing."
Seris glanced at him with one brow raised.
"Just saying," he continued, "maybe we don't introduce you like that. Y'know, just to be safe."
She narrowed her eyes. "You want me to lie about who I am?"
"No no, just… omit the world-ending title when we meet new people. 'Seri-chan the Traveling Philosopher' sounds way less likely to get us stabbed."
She didn't answer.
Ren grinned and jabbed a thumb toward himself. "Besides, it's kinda cool, right? I mean… enemy of the world, number one. Not bad for a guy who couldn't even pass college entrance exams."
Seris stopped walking for a second, staring at him.
Then kept going without a word.
Ren laughed under his breath. "Tough crowd."
As the land dipped slightly, a narrow dirt road came into view—old, cracked, half-overgrown with moss and weeds.
Ren stepped onto it with mock triumph. "Behold! Civilization's leftovers! We're officially off the 'lost forever' map!"
Seris didn't reply.
Instead, she stepped forward, raised one hand, and began to draw symbols into the air.
Ren watched as the familiar golden magic rings started to form—but just as they began to pulse, they flickered… and then faded.
The spell collapsed.
Seris's hand trembled, only slightly. She stared at her palm, frowning.
"…That's the second time," Ren said. "What's wrong?"
She lowered her arm.
"…Something's blocking it," she said quietly. "I can't connect to the leyline."
Ren blinked. "Wait. Is that bad? That sounds bad."
"It is bad," she replied. "Either we're in a naturally null zone—which shouldn't exist—or something is actively suppressing my magic."
He frowned, glancing at the old road ahead.
"So… not just wandering around lost anymore, huh?"
"No," Seris murmured. "Now we're being watched. Or worse—contained."
The breeze picked up again.
Only this time… it felt colder.
Ren squinted ahead as the old dirt road curved along a ridge, shadowed by a massive, twisted tree growing out of the hillside. Its branches reached high, half-dead, half-alive—its bark carved with deep grooves like something had once clawed at it from the inside out.
And just beneath it—
He froze.
A small figure stood there.
A girl.
No older than ten, maybe eleven. She wore a long, white-and-red mantle, the hem dragging against the dirt. Her wizard hat was so large it drooped at one side, hiding half her face in shadow.
She didn't move.
She didn't blink.
She just stood there, perfectly still, staring directly at them.
"Uh… Seri-chan?" Ren said quietly.
Seris turned. "What?"
Ren raised a hand. "I think we've got company."
And then, like the last idiot alive, he waved.
"Hey, uh—hello there, tiny cultist girl!"
Seris's hand shot out and yanked him back. "Idiot! Don't—!"
But when he turned back—
The girl was gone.
Just empty road.The tree.The shadow.Nothing else.
Ren blinked. "What the—!?"
He spun toward Seris, eyes wide. "Swear on my stupid soul, she was right there! Red and white cloak, giant hat, creepy little doll look—c'mon, you had to see that?!"
Seris stared at the tree.
"I didn't see anyone."
"She was right. there." Ren jabbed a finger at the spot. "I don't hallucinate that vivid unless I haven't slept for four days and chug instant curry at 2AM, and I only did one of those last night!"
Seris narrowed her eyes. "…Describe her again."
He did.
She said nothing for a long moment.
Then turned toward the tree.
"Even if it was a spirit or illusion… someone wanted us to see it."
"You think it was a trap?"
"Maybe. Or maybe a lure."
She stepped onto the path and gestured ahead.
"Either way, we should go that direction. If there's anything nearby—a settlement, a shrine, even a ruin—it might explain the interference."
Ren hesitated, rubbing his arms. "…So you're telling me we're following the creepy ghost child. Great. Love that."
She didn't look back. "You wanted to find a village, didn't you?"
He sighed, jogging to catch up. "Right. Yep. Totally normal day. Follow the ghost. Meet the cult. Maybe get stabbed by a goat-man."
The dirt road stretched ahead, winding through the shadow of the ancient tree.
Above them, clouds shifted across the sun, casting long shadows on the road below.
And somewhere in the distance, the wind carried a faint sound.
A whisper.
Or maybe a laugh.