Chapter 12: Leaving the Wings Behind

Ashfall enjoyed the gentle breeze, which thankfully didn't carry the stench of the giant fish carcass behind them.

"Sir, you can rest now—I'll take over," Lira said, suddenly standing behind him. He hadn't noticed her approach, lost in thought while drawing shapes in the sand with a bone.

"Looks a bit like a star with wings," she remarked, sitting down beside him.

"Oh. I was just absentmindedly sketching with this bone—it doesn't mean anything," Ashfall replied, slightly embarrassed. He stood up, thanked her, and lay down next to B-Day beneath the surprisingly soft fin.

Although he hadn't felt tired before, he drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep almost immediately.

A few hours later

One of the suns hung high in the sky, radiating warmth—but that wasn't what woke him. A sharp, pulsing pain spread across the left side of his face, and the internal injury in his abdomen had worsened. Still, he said nothing—he didn't want to burden the others.

Then a smell hit him—smoky and oddly appetizing. It helped distract him from the pain.

He wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Sleep well, sir?" B-Day asked with a yawn.

"Yeah. You too, I see—based on how long you slept," Ashfall smiled and walked over to the fire, where fish was roasting on skewers.

"I hope you got some good rest," Lira said, handing him a bone with a fully grilled fish chunk skewered on it.

B-Day followed, visibly hungry and waiting to be served as well—but Lira didn't offer him anything.

He pointed at his stomach, then at his mouth, but she ignored him.

Annoyed, he reached for a piece of fish himself.

Lira blocked him with her knife. "No work, no food. Go get and cook your own."

"What do you mean, no work?! I helped us survive and set up camp!" he protested.

"You definitely didn't. You just sleep," she replied, avoiding eye contact.

"Sir, come on, back me up!" B-Day pleaded, eyes darting between Ashfall and the food.

"I'm staying out of it," Ashfall said with a smirk. "Good luck."

Grumbling, B-Day gave up and tore off a piece of fish by hand—his knife was long gone.

"Unlike you, he actually kept watch," Lira muttered, just loud enough for him to hear.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

With exaggerated cheer, B-Day held his fish over the fire.

"Surprising the fire still burns after all night," Ashfall noted as he took a sip of monster blood from an empty pistol magazine.

"The fish scales work as both ignition and fuel," Lira explained, getting up after finishing her meal.

Ashfall quickly ate and filled two empty magazines with more of the monster's blood. The others did the same.

They decided to move on—though this place provided everything they needed, staying too long would be dangerous. The demigods were still out there.

Ashfall used the fish fin to smother the fire, then they left—off into the unknown again, as always.

They followed the black-sand beach past dozens of monster carcasses. Eventually, they reached a point where they could climb the slope without gear.

"Are these things still recording?" B-Day asked, tapping the armor cams. "Why hasn't anyone come for us?"

"I think they are," Ashfall replied. "But if they could help us… they would've by now."

"You mean something happened back on Aethra Prime?" B-Day asked, offering a hand as Ashfall climbed up. He didn't help Lira—still salty about the food.

"As crazy as it sounds—yeah. Something's off. Our extraction point never appeared."

Once they stood on solid grassland, they switched their gear to red-camouflaged raincoats.

"We're down to sharpened bone spears and Lira's last knife. We need to stay sharp," Ashfall said grimly.

While the others slept, Lira had crafted three spears. The storm had ruined most of their gear; their guns and knives were long gone or got useless thanks to the sand and all.

They walked westward, following Ashfall.

He checked his watch for the first time since the cliff—the glass was cracked but still functional.

He stopped.

"…?" Lira and B-Day paused beside him.

"The red hour hand and the second hand... both point west now."

They looked at their own watches. Same result.

"Didn't the demigods wipe each other out?" B-Day asked.

"No. I saw the Greed twins take control of the Majestic Bird just before I washed ashore," Ashfall replied darkly.

"Higher demigods don't just die," Lira added, lowering her arm.

They decided to press on. The risk of being spotted had increased—but stopping wasn't an option.

The grasslands gave way to a vast canyon.

"If we want to reach the exit point, we'll need to cross this," B-Day said. The bottom wasn't even visible.

"Not just wide—it's insanely deep."

They followed the cliff edge north, hoping to find a crossing.

"Is it getting colder?" B-Day asked as they entered a misty zone. The fog was thick and red, like signal smoke. But it condensed into drinkable dew—helpful, since they were out of water.

After hours of walking, they finally saw it—the canyon's end. From up close, it looked as though a colossal sword had cleaved it.

"Finally..." B-Day sank to his knees. Loose stones tumbled into the abyss.

Lira scanned their surroundings. Something was wrong.

"We've wasted too much time. Maybe we should've—"

CRACK.

The ground gave way.

The cliff collapsed beneath them, and they fell.

Lira and Ashfall instinctively activated climbing gear—B-Day panicked and couldn't focus.

Then—whip-crack!

Three grappling hooks lashed through the air and wrapped around them. Their fall slowed—then stopped.

They were pulled upward.

Still alive.

They landed on the opposite canyon edge. Before them: a forest eerily similar to the one they had entered at the beginning of all this.

Before they could react, five figures surrounded them—coated in rain gear, weapons drawn.

"Are you TAs?" one of them asked.

Ashfall didn't hesitate. He switched his armor to raincoat mode.

"Yes. We're Timer Agents."

The strangers relaxed. One of them stepped forward, pulling down his hood and scarf.

A scar ran between his eyebrows—shaped like a feather.

"I'm Cale. These four are Marek, Dahn, Varin, and Fenn."

Ashfall nodded. "I'm Ashfall. This is Lira—and that's B-Day." He offered a handshake.

But Cale didn't take it.

He stared straight at Lira.

"It's rare to see a female Timer Agent. Especially one named Lira…"

The tension thickened.

It felt more like they were enemies rather than comrades...