They moved through the barren wastelands of Ashvale at a steady pace. Along the way, they passed several corpses—bones scattered, weapons driven into the ground like gravestones of a forgotten war.
After a while, Eros groaned, "I'm tired. Can't we take a break?"
Varik glanced at him and gave a faint nod. "Okay."
They found a tree—not as large as the one they'd last rested under, but its roots were enough to sit on. Jae spoke in a tired, raspy voice.
"Is there still water? I'm thirsty."
Without a word, Varik removed a worn waterskin strapped to his belt and tossed it to Jae.
"Take it. There's water in it."
Jae caught the waterskin and drank greedily. Each of them had their own waterskin or bottle—except for Jae and Riven. After a moment, Riven raised his hand, signaling silently that he wanted some too.
Jae didn't respond at first, just kept drinking. But eventually, he passed the waterskin to Riven. There wasn't much left. Riven glanced at Varik.
"There's not much left."
Varik blinked a few times, then said,
"Oh… then you can have the rest."
He paused and shifted his gaze to Jae.
"Next time, consider the fact that others will be drinking too. You nearly emptied it."
Jae scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"I didn't know you hadn't had any yet. I thought when you tossed it to me, you'd already drunk some. But… now that I think about it, you just pulled it off your belt."
Varik didn't reply. Riven drank the remaining water just as greedily. It wasn't nearly enough to quench his thirst, but it would do for now.
About an hour later, Nira spoke.
"I think we should go. If possible, I don't want to spend another night here."
They all began packing up their gear. Riven had nothing to pack—just his thoughts. His eyes fell on a body hanging from the tree nearby.
That man... he hanged himself.
He muttered quietly,
"Did all the soldiers kill themselves?"
He noticed something again—the same eye symbol etched onto the chestplate. It wasn't the first time. Every knight they had seen hanging bore that same symbol.
So… they weren't fighting humans.
That ruled out civil war. If every corpse had the same insignia, they had likely died fighting something else—something monstrous.
"It must've been a battle… humans against those foul creatures," Riven whispered to himself. It made sense.
But still, something gnawed at his mind: the crater, the field of swords... how did they all get here? If a decisive battle was fought in this very field, how did the city fall?
The questions lingered like the ash in the air.
They started walking again, Varik at the lead. The crimson-haired girl known as Ava slowly stepped beside Nira.
"Miss Nira... how did the world become like this?"
Jae turned his head, hands laced behind his neck.
"Yeah. How did the world become this... shitty?"
Riven was curious, too. It didn't seem like the world was always this way. He had once heard it was a beautiful place, but from what he saw now, that was clearly a lie. This world was a wretched place—filled with twisted people who'd use others like tools just to reach their goals.
Nira looked at Ava and gave a soft nod.
"No... the world wasn't always like this. But after the Great Collapse, everything fell to ruin."
She paused, then continued in a calm, emotionless tone.
"I don't know much about the Collapse… only that a lot of people died. And back then, masks didn't exist."
Riven was stunned—not entirely shocked, but the confirmation still hit hard.
So... there really was an apocalypse.
But what shook him most was the fact that humans didn't have masks back then.
"Then how did they survive?" he asked in a subdued tone.
Masks are what give humans power. Without them, humans were weak. But... there are exceptions. Varik and a few other high-tier mask users are strong even without them. Still, it was the mask that made them strong in the first place so how did they survive.
She shook her head.
"Who knows…"
After that, no one said a word. They walked in silence, likely to conserve energy. Four hours passed before they stopped again.
This time, there was no tree. In fact, there was nothing—just a massive rock, taller than a man, solid enough to sit on. The sun didn't bother them; the sky remained hidden behind constant gray clouds.
Riven noticed something strange. The ash wall in the far distance... it looked like it was getting closer—or perhaps they were approaching it. And beyond it, something white and massive loomed. He couldn't make it out, but it was there
Eros leaned forward, arms resting on the boulder.
"Hey Varik... when are we going to reach the City of Silence?"
Varik didn't look at him. His gaze remained fixed ahead, locked on the rising ash.
"Soon."
Eros sighed.
"Soon, huh? By the way, Varik, how did you know where we are?"
Varik pointed into the distance.
"The ash."
Eros blinked. "Huh? What do you mean?"
Varik's eyes remained locked on the rising ash in the distance.
"The closer we get to the ash, the closer we are to the exit."
"But isn't whatever's causing the ash dangerous?" Eros asked.
"No, it isn't," Varik replied.