Lowering his head, Asher glanced at the blue grass surrounding his squatting, naked figure. He raised an eyebrow but wasn’t too surprised—Lord Winter had already informed him that he wouldn’t have clothes here.
When he met his ancestors, it was usually in a sealed territory created by the spirit he met. But this was different. For the first time, he was in the spirit world… like a man who had died.
At first, Asher felt everything strange—the unique-looking sky, the unnatural colour of the leaves. Yet, the most eye-catching difference was not what he saw but what he felt.
He was definitely in the spirit world.
‘Why would I Am allow people to cross worlds without a price to pay? Isn’t the gulf between both worlds as large as I thought?’
His white brows furrowed, and faint creases slowly formed on his forehead. Ignoring his nakedness, he stroked his chin and then began to aimlessly walk toward an unknown destination.
‘I might have no idea why a God would make it possible for worlds to be breached, but I need to get out of this forest before I encounter a beast.’
With this thought in mind, he took large strides, marking trees as he walked past them. Time stretched, and after what seemed like hours, Asher heard the neigh of a horse causing his eyes to brighten. Quickening his pace, he finally stumbled upon a path.
It was wide enough for a cart or carriage and the lack of grass on the path assured Asher that people frequently travelled through it.
Crouching behind a shrub, he watched a cart approach. A man sat at the front of the cart, holding the reins to the two jet-black horses pulling the cart. Inside the cart, two others sat. One stared at the sky, while the other held a sheathed sword and stared at it as if he was searching for something on the body of the blade. Read exclusive adventures at empire
All of them, though clothed in commoner’s tunic, pants and boots, all three carried fine steel swords and after scrutinizing them, Asher figured out all three of them had a well-built physique.
Surprisingly, they all shared strikingly similar features—brown hair, beards, and sharp eyes.
“Would this sword be able to cut that sea beast?” the one staring at the sword, Mahil, asked.
“Of course,” the reinsman, Merari, replied with a confident laugh. “It’s made by the best blacksmith you can find in these parts.”
“Had it not been for David and Alex, we would have died last time,” Mushi, the man staring at the sky, sighed. “I say we abandon hunting that beast and leave the shores of the Red Sea.”
Merari and Mahil glanced at him. Just as Mahil was about to speak, he saw a tall man with snow-white hair walking out of the forest.
His two brothers saw Asher too, and their brows furrowed in unison.
From their expression, Asher could tell they found something about him strange. Still, he wasn’t bothered about that.
“You mentioned the Red Sea. I want to know where it is.”
Merari raised an eyebrow, then picked a brown cloak from the cart and tossed it to Asher. Asher caught it and draped it over his shoulders, waiting for a response.
“I really don’t want to know how you died,” Merari said, his tone cautious, “but it must be a strange death since you appeared in the forest instead of the town.”
Asher frowned slightly but said nothing.
“Ah, the Red Sea is that way. That’s where we are headed,” Merari added, pointing toward the south. ‘Is he a member of an ancient noble household?’
Merari thought while gazing at Asher’s distinct facial features—his snow-white hair, matching white eyebrows and golden eyes that seemed as if they had golden flames burning within.
“You look like a prince. Were you killed by a woman or an assassin?” Mushi leaned against the cart and glanced at Asher with a slight curl on the corner of his lips.
The moment Asher glanced at him, his cocky expression vanished and his hand instinctively drifted toward the hilt of his sword.
Mahil also remained wary, but Merari, the eldest of the brothers, kept a calm visage.
Averting his eyes from Mushi, Asher nodded at Merari. “Thank you.”
Without another word, he turned and began walking south.
Just as Asher had taken about a dozen steps, the cart rolled up beside him. Merari, riding the cart, turned his head. “Hop on.”
Asher glanced at the cart for a while before boarding it. The air between him, Mahil and Mushi grew tense but when the brothers saw Asher simply lower his head and said nothing, they relaxed slightly—though they kept their distance.
_____
Time trickled by, but the sky remained unchanged. Asher, deeply immersed in his thoughts, was drawn back to the present when his eardrums caught the sound of seawater crashing against the shores.
Lifting his head, he saw that they had just left the forest path and entered a vast plain. Beyond it stretched a reddish-pink sea, shimmering all the way to the horizon.
Asher blinked, startled. He couldn’t believe that the sea which was made to seem so devilish was actually this beautiful.
Right then, the cart made a turn and a house came into his view, tucked near the edge of the forest, surrounded by large rocks.
Just by the side of the two-storey building were two men swinging their swords against each other. Although it didn’t seem like much, Asher could see the formless ripples spreading outward each time they clashed.
But for some reason, he couldn’t gauge their rank. It was like the energy they were using was different from the forces he had encountered in Boundless.
“We’re here,” Merari said in a light tone.
Asher’s sharp ears picked up a faint noise from the sea, prompting him to turn his gaze toward the shores.
Just then, a massive figure burst from the water—a shar-like beastman flying over 300 meters before crashing heavily onto the sand.
The impact erupted a cloud of sand in all directions. Asher’s eyes narrowed. ‘There’s no such thing as a beastman with traits of a sea beast. Is he a human with a talent that alters his physical appearance?’
While pondering, he watched the man slowly revert back to his human form as he walked closer to them. The man was lean, about 5.8 feet tall.
He didn’t have any striking features, but Asher’s instincts warned him of this man’s talent. ‘He must be one of those whose talents compensate for their lack of combat ability.’
“That’s David,” Merari said with a faint smile. “Don’t be afraid of him but don’t bleed around him.”
Asher glanced at Merari, sensing the weight beneath his words.
“Why?”
Asher asked softly.
Mahil and Mushi exchanged a glance before Mushi spoke. “Just listen—or you’ll become another prey.”
After saying that, he leaped down the cart, his brother following behind.