War.

  If one were to ask Asher what he knew about a true war, the answer would be simple: Kill or be killed.

  That's what he had seen in Kalista.

  It was a war against creatures of beyond. To kill, to survive, and then to kill more.

  In this world, the term "war" itself sounded wrong.

  Asher knew the true definition of war; everyone knew, of course, it was when conflicts of interest happened between countries or people, which led to conflicts where armies were gathered to kill each other and greedily take what one wanted.

  However, in the past thousands of years, no war has ever happened.

  There was no trace or any stories of kingdoms fighting each other. Asher was sure of that; he was not only reading the books Morgana gave him but also slowly amassing his own knowledge in the process from people and the stories they told.

  So, the only way to describe a word like ‘war’ was through the battles humanity waged against creature of beyonds.

  Asher in the end couldn’t help but frown; with genuine confusion, he stared at Enzo sitting ahead and asked with a perplexed voice.

  “What type of war are we speaking of here? Sorry but I don’t think I understand.”

  Enzo sighed and leaned forward, his gaze turning sharp as he spoke without hesitation.

  “It’s just as I said. This place is in war, with monsters being the soldiers. It took time, a lot of time, I mean but we finally reached this conclusion. In this city, we fear there exist two domains, led by two kings. Both are deadly, as they seem to command a large number of armies with vicious creatures and battle-hungry beings.”

  Asher's heart sank as he heard him speak; he closed his eyes and looked at the ceiling as if hoping for it to fall over him and crush him completely.

  Truly, his luck was the worst.

  “And… we are not involved in it, right?”

  He couldn’t help but ask cautiously; inside, he prayed with all his heart. ‘Please no, anything but that.’

  They obviously didn’t have any motives or reasons to be involved in such a dreadful war. Asher's exasperated voice was proof that he truly didn’t wish to be part of this in any way or form.

  Enzo let out a small laugh; his smile was real, as real as it could be, as he shook his head.

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  “No, of course not! Why will we even be a part of it? Stars above, I will shudder at the thought of it. We are not crazy like you.”

  “I see.” Asher sighed in relief but then raised his head with a strong huff and spoke in an annoyed voice.

  “Crazy?! Who are you calling crazy?”

  Sadly, his words were again ignored. Enzo didn't even glance his way and turned to look outside the door.

  “Anyways, the only thing we can determine is that both domains are at different places in the lost city. One is in the south and the other is at the center.”

  South and the center…

  From Enzo's observation, the monsters that had been appearing near were nothing but scouts or beings that came from outside like them. The kings never left their palace so how they looked or what kind of powers they wielded was unknown to even Enzo.

  “But I am sure they are at least Avengers in rank. The chances of it being a calamity should be less.”

  “Hmm, I can agree to that.” Asher nodded and continued speaking. “All the calamities I have seen or met have been catastrophic without a doubt, like a force of nature. But they all shared the common trait of being alone, as if they don't like minions. I guess at their power level, having minions to command would be more tedious than doing the work themselves.”

  The Calamities, be it in stories or in reality, have always held cunningness and madness in them. A madness different from what other creatures of beyond seem to experience.

  Asher couldn't tell if what he believed was true or not; after all, he had met only two calamities to this date, maybe four if he were to count the shadow and the dark clouds on the way to the west.

  In any case, all of them were different from one another. The Hollows were dread incarnate, the Plague, Sion, was like a sea of unknown tides, the Shadow warrior was a lofty helper who guided him here, and the dark clouds were like nature's wrath. Each is more terrifying than the others in different ways.

  Asher felt his stomach turn upside down as he thought about it for a while… He really doesn't want any more calamities involved in his life. But he knew it could be nothing more than wishful thinking.

  Therefore Asher was thinking, running his mind as much as he could without letting go of his hold on the threads of his mind.

  It was not as grim as he thought it would be. They could simply stay low, gather intel and work their way to find a way out of this place. Of course none of what he thought was easy to do and he had no leads on where to start.

  The silence that ensued after he was done speaking stretched for what felt like hours, but in reality, it must've been mere seconds before Enzo suddenly clicked his tongue and pushed himself up from the chair.

  "There's another problem," he muttered, walking toward the window where the dim glow of the city's unnatural lights filtered through the grime-streaked glass. "The domains don't just stay put. They expand. Slowly, but they do. And when they clash—" His fingers tapped against the sill, a restless rhythm. "That's when things get messy."

  Asher's grip tightened on his chair. The implications settled like lead in his gut. If the territories were moving, then nowhere was truly safe. Even hiding would only delay the inevitable.

  "To be honest, the only thing we can do is stay as far away from them as possible. We have neither the strength nor the forces to fight for long. Currently we are on the outskirts of the city but the southern domain is expanding most wildly."

  Asher swallowed dryly.

  "I agree; let's stay as far as possible from them for now. If their domain clashes near, the best option for us will be to change our hiding spots."

  Enzo nodded, rubbing his temple as though fighting off a headache. "About that, I wanted to ask you something. From what you have told me, I have a picture of what's happening beyond the walls. But I truly want to know, do you think leaving this city is a better option?"

  Asher hesitated. Outside these crumbling walls lay the numbers of avengers, the dark cloud, and whatever else lurked in the wastelands.

  "It’s not better," he admitted finally. "Just different kinds of death."

  "At last here we know how many enemies we have. But outside? It's just slaughter." Asher sighed with a heavy heart as he continued to speak. "I am not going to betitle your efforts... But Enzo, you and everyone here had it far easier than me."

  "I see, then we will stay here for as long as we can. But if we have no choice left... let's abandon this place and go somewhere else."

  Enzo said before leaving the room.

  Asher looked at his back as he left until he heard no footsteps anymore.

  While what he said was true, he wanted to stay in this city for a different reason. He had already been outside; he hadn't gone soft in one night so that he couldn't leave the comfort this place provided.

  He looked down, staring at his shadow, where the spirit of shadow currently was sleeping.

  It would probably wake up if Asher called.

  The spirit had said it was his fate to come here... and the shadow was pointing here as well. He couldn't leave such a place, where he could find some answers.

  I am selfish as well... But this time I promise to not involve any of you—to not risk any of your lives. Asher pressed his hands together as he leaned forward as he thought.

  I will send you all back to your homes. No matter what price I need to pay.