Chapter 8: A Leaf Below the Wings

Ashfall and the others climbed the last stretch of the cliff. Without stopping to rest, they moved westward—on their left, the jungle-like forest stretched on, and to their right, the destroyed settlement faded behind them.

Since fleeing the Crater Settlement, their armor had once again taken on a raincoat-like form, seamlessly adapting its color to match the environment.

Ashfall glanced at his watch—the minute hand was slowly approaching the 50 mark, while the second hand still pointed eastward, at the 60.

A few minutes later

"How far is the exit point from here?" B-Day scratched his head in confusion as the three of them picked up the pace.

"We'll know when we get there, dummy," Lira answered flatly.

B-Day stared at her. "Our relationship must be improving if you're at least answering me—BUT would it kill you to do it politely?"

"For dumb questions, you get dumb answers," she muttered.

Annoyed, he sped up, passed Lira, and caught up to Ashfall at the front.

"Sir, we've been moving for almost ten minutes now… shouldn't the exit point have appeared by now?"

Ashfall stopped and looked around—on their left, the jungle continued, while to their right, a vast crater-filled field stretched into the distance.

Ahead and behind, there was nothing but endless horizon and hilly greenlands bathed in the blinding light of the setting sun.

"It should have…" Ashfall muttered, recalling his last mission—one that had followed a similar direction… and ended with the deaths of his comrades.

He eyed the watch nervously—only four minutes remained.

"Let's move north and see if the second hand changes," Ashfall said, and the three headed toward the crater field, keeping their eyes on the watch.

At first, nothing changed. But as they moved farther north, the second hand suddenly turned to 43—pointing west again.

"What the—" All three stared at their watches in confusion. They'd been going in the right direction all along, yet the exit point never appeared.

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"What now?" B-Day looked for answers, first toward the eastern sunrise, then the western sunset.

"We follow the watch—keep heading west."

"But we're running out of time! Only two minutes left!" B-Day protested.

"Then we run—toward the sunset."

From that moment on, they sprinted as fast as they could—the minute hand approaching 59.

"The exit point's still not in sight!" B-Day shouted in panic.

"Let's just trust our commander," Lira said, doing her best to match Ashfall's pace.

Tick.

Everyone stopped. The watch vibrated—an alarming pulse. Ashfall looked down, his hands trembling.

The 60 minutes were up.

Panic swept over him as he scanned the horizon. The exit point was still nowhere to be found.

"We have to act fast," he thought. "Our concealment's gone—meaning the demigods can sense our presence now."

"We'll keep going west—as far as it takes. That exit point has to be somewhere," he said after a moment of thought. It was their only option.

They moved forward with tense silence—every rustle, every sound might mean discovery.

The sun in front of them had disappeared, leaving only the dim, red glow of the second sun warming their backs.

No one spoke—out of fear that even words might draw attention.

B-Day wanted to ask something, but held it in. The others hadn't said a word since the alarm went off either.

Still, no exit point.

Eventually, the red grasslands shifted into a rocky terrain.

"I need a break," B-Day whispered, finally breaking the heavy silence.

Ashfall, haunted by the possibility of reliving past failure, was reluctant.

"We have to keep going—if they detect us, we're dead," he said bluntly, enough to extinguish any thought of rest in B-Day's mind.

"Sir, with all due respect—I understand your concern. But we should rest for just a moment before continuing," said Lira, sitting down calmly. She didn't look tired at all.

B-Day gave her a grateful glance and crouched down, exhausted.

"Five minutes max. After that, we move—slow if we must. As long as we move," Ashfall said as he scanned the area intently while the others rested.

"Don't take it personally," Lira whispered to B-Day. "I saw the look in his eyes earlier—when he saw that bird, and again when the watch vibrated."

"What do you think happened to him?" B-Day asked quietly, eyes watching the drifting red leaves overhead.

"I don't know for sure… but his face said enough. He's seen things. Terrible things."

She looked over to Ashfall, who seemed lost in thought.

B-Day straightened up, watching a single red leaf drift toward Ashfall. It landed beside him on the rock—silent, alone, exiled from the rest.

"I'm ready, sir. We can keep going now," B-Day said with a sigh, getting to his feet.

Ashfall stayed alert—his eyes sharp, hand still wrapped around the grip of his pistol.

"Then let's go," he said, moving forward once again.

The minute hand had now completed three full rotations—meaning they had been there two hours longer than they were supposed to be.

Still, Ashfall stayed sharp—never lowering his guard.

Lira and B-Day, on the other hand, had grown more relaxed—not from foolishness, but from lack of experience.

They carefully crossed a bubbling creek that fed into a large lake and found themselves back on grassy terrain.

Ahead lay a colossal crater—similar to the one they'd seen near the settlement earlier, but even larger.

They made a wide detour around it. It wasn't just wider than the other—it was much deeper.

As if two demigods had once fought here… long, long ago.

"Look over there!" B-Day shouted, pointing ahead at a tall cliff that towered before them—beyond it, the vast, crimson ocean stretched out endlessly.

Ashfall stared at the cliff—and collapsed to his knees.

"Sir, are you alright?" both Lira and B-Day asked at once.

He stared at the watch in despair.

The second hand still pointed across the massive ocean.

"It's hopeless… How are we supposed to get across that?! Damn it!" Ashfall slammed his fist into the dirt.

"We'll find a way, sir," Lira said, trying to reassure him.

"It can't end like last time... I've lost too much on this journey already—I don't want to lose any more," Ashfall thought as he gazed out at the red ocean, its surface glowing with the light of the sun behind them.

Lira backed off and subtly shook her head at B-Day, signaling him to let Ashfall have a moment to himself.

Ashfall remained silent—watching a storm approaching from the distance.