The wind was cold. His face still stung a little from the punch earlier. He glanced at the masked guy sitting next to him, who was acting like nothing even happened.
"Thanks," the guy finally muttered, voice low.
Ash snorted. "Yeah, sure. Anytime."
There was a pause. The guy didn't move much. Just sat there, almost too still. Then he spoke again. "…Why did you try to remove my mask?"
Ash rolled his eyes. "I thought you were dead. I figured maybe you were one of those ugly-ass monsters in disguise."
"…Huh."
There was a pause. Then the guy stood up and cracked his neck like he'd just finished a nap, not nearly died.
"People call me Reaper."
Ash blinked. "Reap- what?"
Reaper looked down at him. "That's my name."
Ash stood up too and stretched. "Cool name. You in a metal band or something?"
Reaper ignored the jab. "I'm a vigilante."
"I don't work with heroes. I don't take orders. I hunt criminals. The kind that the system can't touch."
Ash tilted his head. "You know how insane that sounds, right?"
Reaper stared at him. "Do I look like I give a shit?"
Fair enough.
"Never seen you before," the masked man said. "You a hero?"
Ash let out a tired chuckle. "I'm Ash. Just a guy who somehow hasn't died yet."
Reaper didn't respond. Just looked back out toward the horizon. "Never heard of you."
"Yeah, well, same. You're not exactly famous either, dude."
"I don't care about being known."
Ash mumbled, "Of course you don't. That's Rule One of every mysterious hot-brooding-ass vigilante."
Reaper ignored that too. "I tracked a man here. Some sick bastard. Got word he'd fled into this zone. I followed. But he slipped away. Then… the monsters came."
Ash nodded. "Yeah, those things are everywhere. Big ones. Small ones. Things that breathe fire. Things that scream. Things that just… look wrong."
Reaper crossed his arms again. "They attacked in the night. I dealt with them. Then I climbed up here to figure out where I was. Guess I passed out."
Reaper finally looked at Ash again. "And you? What's your story?"
Ash scratched the back of his head. "Got separated from my team. Been wandering around with my friend Ken. We almost died like… seven times in the last three days? I stopped counting."
Reaper nodded like that was perfectly reasonable information to share.
Ash sighed. "Anyway, you seem like a walking red flag, but you can fight. So… wanna tag along?"
Reaper didn't reply at first. He crossed his arms. Like he was thinking it through.
Then finally, he said, "Although I don't work with heroes… I'll make an exception this time."
The two of them looked at the land below. It stretched far—way too far. No end in sight. Just broken forests, twisted rocks, and fog that seemed alive.
But way off in the distance… far, far away… something else was visible.
Ash pointed. "Those mountains. Way out there. Eastern Tracts, maybe?"
Reaper nodded. "Safer than here."
Ash stretched his back with a tired groan. "Alright. Then let's move. I'm tired of climbing things."
The mountain felt taller when they came down.
Ash kept slipping on the rocks but tried not to show it. Reaper walked like he didn't feel pain. Or maybe he was just really good at pretending.
They didn't talk much on the way. Not because they were mad or anything. They just didn't have anything worth saying.
The air got warmer as they moved lower, and Ash could smell something strange. Something cooked.
He sniffed again. Meat.
He looked ahead.
There was a small fire glowing under a big old tree. A few broken branches, some rocks around it like a cheap campsite.
Ken was sitting by the fire, legs crossed, a stick in his hand. On the end of the stick, a chunk of red meat sizzled. There was blood on the ground. And what looked like a dead… lizard-dog-thing? Its jaw was broken and one eye still twitched.
Ash smiled a little. "You really cooked?"
Ken didn't look up. "I was hungry."
Then he did look up — and saw Reaper.
His face changed. He stood up fast, like something had kicked in his head. He stepped in front of the fire, hiding it, and his hand moved in front, ready to unleash torrents of blood.
Ash held up both hands. "Ken relax, he is not a threat."
Ken didn't answer. His eyes stayed on Reaper, cold and sharp like knives. Reaper didn't move either. Just stared right back at him.
Ash stepped in the middle. "He's stuck here too. Like us. He helped. Kinda."
Ken raised an eyebrow. "Helped?"
Ash nodded. "More or less. Didn't kill me. That's help, right?"
Reaper finally spoke. "I don't work with people. But I'm making an exception."
Ken didn't reply. He slowly sat back down near the fire and turned the meat again. He didn't say anything else.
Ash sat beside him. He stretched his legs out and groaned. "God, my thighs are gonna fall off."
Ken side-eyed him. "From climbing?"
Ash nodded. "That mountain was tall as fuck. And full of rocks that wanted to eat me."
Ken almost smiled. Just a tiny bit.
Reaper stayed standing for a while, arms crossed. Then he sat on a rock near the fire, but didn't say anything. He looked around. Scanned the trees. Every now and then his hand moved near his belt like he was expecting something to jump out.
Ash took a deep breath. "Alright. So… meat?"
Ken tore off a piece and handed it to Ash without a word. It was hot, juicy, and a little weird-tasting.
Ash chewed anyway. "Not bad."
Reaper didn't eat. He just kept watching. But his eyes slowed down. Like he was starting to relax. Just a little. The fire popped softly. The wind made the branches creak. Somewhere far off, something screamed. But none of them flinched.
Ken poked the fire with the stick. "So. What's the plan now?"
Ash shrugged. "We saw the Eastern Mountains. From up there. That way looks less cursed."
Reaper nodded once.
Ken sighed. "Let's rest for a bit. Then we move."