Chapter 30: The Worst Travelers in Gaia
The first two days of travel were surprisingly peaceful.
No demons.
No cultists.
No conspiracies.
Just a road stretching across the wilderness.
Kai almost began to believe the journey would be easy.
Then he remembered Andre existed.
That belief died quickly.
"You know," Andre said while riding his horse, "if we sold Akshay's letter, we'd probably make decent money."
Kai stared at him.
"You want to sell the king's letter?"
"I'm exploring options."
"Those are bad options."
Andre shrugged.
"Still options."
The road wound through hills and forests.
Occasionally they passed merchants, refugees, and travelers heading toward Yggdrasil.
Most looked nervous.
Many spoke of monster attacks.
A few spoke of entire villages disappearing.
Nobody seemed to know why.
That night they camped beside a stream.
Andre somehow burned dinner.
The meal consisted of dried meat.
How he managed to burn dried meat remained a mystery.
Kai didn't ask.
Some mysteries were safer unsolved.
The third day brought disaster.
Not the demon kind.
The Andre kind.
The two had stopped near a patch of trees.
Nature called.
So both men left their horses tied nearby and walked into separate bushes.
A few minutes later—
"KAI!"
Kai immediately knew something was wrong.
"What?"
"Where's my horse?"
Kai walked back toward the road.
Then stopped.
"...Where's mine?"
The horses were gone.
Both of them.
Along with part of their supplies.
The two stood silently.
Staring at the empty space.
Andre pointed at Kai.
"This is your fault."
"My fault?"
"You distracted me."
"How?"
"I don't know yet, but I'll figure it out."
Kai rubbed his forehead.
"They got stolen."
Andre looked around.
"By thieves."
"Obviously."
The realization slowly settled in.
They were stranded.
Several minutes passed.
Then Andre sighed.
"Well."
"Well what?"
"We walk."
And so they walked.
For days.
The road became longer.
The supplies became lighter.
Their patience became thinner.
At one point Andre tried hitching a ride with a merchant caravan.
The merchant recognized him as a wanted thief from years ago.
That conversation ended badly.
Eventually, mountains gave way to open plains.
The road widened.
The number of travelers increased.
More refugees appeared.
Entire families.
Wagons filled with belongings.
Children.
Livestock.
Anything they could carry.
Something was happening.
Kai noticed it immediately.
"Why are so many people leaving?"
A passing traveler answered.
"Demon attacks."
Another nodded.
"They're getting worse."
The unease returned.
The closer they got to Asphyxia, the larger the refugee camps became.
And then—
They finally saw it.
Asphyxia.
Kai stopped walking.
The city was enormous.
Walls surrounded it like a giant fortress.
Towering structures rose from within.
Bright lights glowed even during daylight.
Metal bridges connected buildings.
Smoke rose from factories.
Colorful signs covered entire districts.
It looked nothing like Yggdrasil.
It almost didn't look like it belonged in the same world.
Andre stared.
"What the hell?"
Kai could only nod.
The city looked modern.
Yet not completely.
Ancient walls stood beside advanced machinery.
Magic lamps hung beside electrical lights.
Fantasy and technology blended together in ways that made no sense.
For several moments, they simply stared.
Then they approached the main gate.
And immediately encountered another problem.
The gates were closed.
Thousands of refugees waited outside.
Tents stretched across the fields.
Campfires burned everywhere.
Arguments erupted constantly.
The atmosphere was tense.
Kai approached one of the guards.
"We need to enter."
The guard laughed.
"So does everyone else."
Kai removed Akshay's letter.
"We have official business."
The guard barely glanced at it.
Then rolled his eyes.
"Oh look."
He pointed dramatically.
"Another letter."
Several nearby guards laughed.
"We've had dozens this week."
The guard waved dismissively.
"Royal letters."
"Noble letters."
"Emergency letters."
"Love letters."
Kai blinked.
"...Love letters?"
"One guy got desperate."
The guard pointed toward the refugee camp.
"Point is, everyone's got a letter."
He crossed his arms.
"The gates stay closed until the Queen says otherwise."
"We're delivering a message from King Akshay."
The guard yawned.
"Good for you."
Andre stepped forward.
Very bad sign.
Kai immediately grabbed his shoulder.
"No."
"He insulted the king."
"Andre."
"He insulted the letter."
"Andre."
"He insulted me."
"That's the least important one."
The thief grumbled but backed down.
The guards laughed as they left.
Neither Kai nor Andre found it funny.
As evening approached, they joined the refugee camp.
Hundreds of fires illuminated the growing darkness.
Stories spread between travelers.
Rumors.
Warnings.
Speculation.
Nobody seemed to know what was happening.
Only that things were getting worse.
Kai sat beside a campfire.
The sealed letter remained safely tucked inside his bag.
"Think they'll let us in tomorrow?"
Andre snorted.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because our luck sucks."
Kai hated how reasonable that sounded.
Night deepened.
The camp gradually quieted.
People settled into uneasy sleep.
Then a scream shattered the darkness.
Everyone immediately looked up.
A second scream followed.
Then a third.
Something moved above the camp.
Dozens of shadows.
Wings.
Red eyes.
Kai's stomach dropped.
Imps.
Hundreds of them.
The refugee camp erupted into chaos.
People ran in every direction.
Children cried.
Guards shouted orders.
Magic flashed through the darkness.
The attack had begun.
And somewhere within the confusion—
Kai would soon become separated from Andre.