Rubbing the pendant between my fingers, I stared at the clear sky while Vergo secured our belongings to the horse.

  I’d told him what really happened the day before. The historian was shocked, but in the end, he praised me. The locals, though? They never got the full story. Once the waves calmed, they found the mad mage’s lifeless body on the shore. Someone suggested he’d died defending the city, and everyone just… bought it.

  However they felt about him, the truth was, he had saved them—by destroying the meteor that once caused the tides. That he later fabricated new disasters? Different story. Now that he was dead, the city was safe.

  Just as I thought, all his tales about an ancient Lapreuse buried deep underwater turned out to be bullshit. But that didn’t change the fact that half the city was still flooded. Not an entire empire, like he claimed, but enough. So I couldn’t help but recall his words. No Gods, no Titans, no Heroes… For a whole century, the city slowly drowned, and not one of them lifted a finger.

  So what the hell did they do, then? Echoes only helped for coin, Titans if you licked their boots, and Gods…? All I knew was people worshiped the Sun. Beyond that? Nothing.

  “You ready?” Vergo ruffled my hair.

  “Yeah,” I muttered, tossing one last glance at the calm waves.

  “Waaait!” A girl’s shout cut through the air.

  Gasping for breath, the lost girl came sprinting toward us, a black cat clutched in her arms. When she caught up, she dropped the cat, braced her hands on her knees, and wheezed like a broken bellows.

  The furball trotted over and rubbed against my leg. I crouched, scratching under its chin, and it purred, eyes sliding shut.

  “You’re leaving already?” She blew a strand of hair from her face.

  “Told you we were just passing through.”

  The day before, I’d mentioned we were heading north across the continent. From there, I’d sail to Freeland—where, according to Vergo, I might find more leads. Long ago, the whole of Freeland was under the control of the so-called Northern Lord, who became a pseudo-Titan after meeting the Titan of Desires.

  Vergo himself would return to his homeland. But that was a problem for later. First, we had to visit a place he’d been weirdly secretive about. Said my jaw would hit the ground when I saw it.

  “I remember… I just thought you’d stay a few more days.”

  “Sorry, but Mr. Penny-Pincher here’s running low on funds,” I jerked a thumb over my shoulder. “A couple extra nights at an inn would bankrupt him.”

  “Hah… Got it. I’d offer you my place, but, uh—my house got swallowed by the sea yesterday. Ha-ha-ha-ha.” Her laugh was all nerves.

  “Damn. That sucks,” I straightened up.

  “Granny Lynnette took me and my mom in, so it’s fine.”

  That name rang a bell. Oh, right. It was in the quest description.

  “You mean the cat’s owner?” I glanced at the purring furball.

  “Yep. She offered me a job. Gonna help her milk cows and sell stuff at the market for a while.”

  Wait, that Granny Lynnette? The one who scammed me dry? Small world… Never pegged the old hag for a do-gooder.

  “Thought you hated cows after the whole boyfriend thing,” I smirked.

  “Really? Salt in the wound?” She puffed her cheeks. “But… yeah, you were right. If I’m mad at anyone, it’s that bastard Laurent. Thanks for knocking some sense into me. Once I save up, I’m out of here—straight to the capital. No more waiting around for someone to whisk me away.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  I didn’t even do much. Just said the obvious. But I guess when you’re drowning in doubt, a stranger’s voice carries more weight than your own.

  “Good luck. Just be careful. My boss says the roads ahead are dangerous.”

  “I’m not your boss!” Vergo cut in.

  “So maybe save up for an Echo escort too,” I finished.

  Her lips pressed into a thin line. Then, fighting back tears, she hugged me.

  “Thank you. I won’t forget you,” she said.

  “I’ve got a long road ahead, but… I’ll try not to forget you either. Only problem is…” I awkwardly returned the hug. “We never even swapped names.”

  “Are you serious right now?” Vergo groaned.

  The girl laughed and let go.

  “I’m Sammy.”

  “I’m Q. But you can call me… uh…” I blanked. No cool nickname came to mind. Just pathetic silence.

  Sammy grinned and fished out her identifier from under her shirt.

  “Wanna make it official?”

  I had no clue what she meant, so I shot Vergo a look.

  “Touching pendants forms a bond. You can even send messages, but you’d need a special workshop for that. Both to send and decode them,” he explained.

  “And why haven’t we done this yet?” I glared at Vergo.

  “I did it when you got your identifier. You just didn’t notice.”

  “And you didn’t explain how it works? What am I paying you for, you pea-brained tour guide?!” I fake-fumed.

  “Ha?! Paying? I’m bleeding money thanks to you!” Vergo’s face flushed red.

  “There.” While we bickered, Sammy tapped her pendant against mine. “Now I can sleep easy.”

  “Wish I could say the same. Sleep’s a luxury I don’t get.”

  We hugged one last time.

  Then Vergo and I moved on.

  And just like that, our time in the drowned city ended.

  Still no closer to finding the Titan of Desires.

  The horse plodded along as I spun the last apple in my hand.

  “You’re weirdly quiet today,” Vergo noted.

  “Just thinking,” I rested my head on his shoulder.

  He immediately shrugged me off.

  “Sad no one knows you saved the city? I get it. You did stop the tides.”

  “Nah, couldn’t care less. Have you still not figured out I follow the Path of the Ninja? The less attention, the better. Besides, ‘heroics’ don’t count when there’s no risk. To me, a real hero’s someone who stakes something valuable.”

  “Dunno ‘bout that. I’d still be miffed in your place.”

  “Too petty, Vergo. Knowing you and Sammy remember is enough.”

  “There you go again, insulting me! Forget it! Just tell me what’s actually on your mind.”

  “Love.”

  “Ohhh… So you’ve got a thing for Sammy? She is cute. Maybe you should’ve stayed. Or asked her to come with us?”

  “How old are you? Why’s your brain so damn shallow?”

  “Oh, excuse me, O Great Philosopher,” Vergo mocked.

  “In Lapreuse, I ran into two problems. Both tied to love, one way or another. It’s so powerful it breaks people. And me? I’ve… never felt it. Doubt I ever will.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, maybe a fleeting spark someday, but… lifelong love? Impossible. Emotions are just biochemistry, and everything in my body resets.”

  “The hell kinda words are those? Are you a scholar now?”

  Ignoring him, I went on. “And that’s not all. Imagine my little buddy mid-sex. He’d absolutely bail at the worst moment. And that’s not even getting into kids.” I bit a chunk of skin off my finger and showed Vergo the bleeding wound.

  “Agh! Blood!”

  “See? Everything reverts.” I meant my regeneration. “Now imagine kids with that curse. They’d just… unexist themselves. So here’s the deal. I’ll never truly love. Never have a family. Never experience one of life’s greatest joys—the one people die for.”

  “Oh… Maybe the Titan of Desires could fix that?”

  “Maybe. Or maybe not. Either way, I’m after something else, so no point dwelling.” I took a bite of the apple.

  Soon, we reached a fork. One path was well-trodden; the other, a narrow trail under a dozen arches. A sign stood beside it, but I didn’t catch the words.

  “Are we going this way?” I glanced back at the main road.

  “I need you to see this place.”

  “Color me intrigued.”

  “This is the altar of one of the Titans. It is here that one can step onto the Path"

  I nearly choked on my apple.

  Now that was a surprise.