Location: Ka'rath'Mar – Broken Wastes Region, Trail to the Old Man's Temple
Time: [Aetherium Core: Functional / Portal Stability: Questionable / Wanted Poster: Still Circulating]
REN (walking alone, muttering):
"Could've opened a portal right to the temple.
But nooo… had to land face-first into a fruit stand graveyard."
The trail was a cracked dirt path lined with strange glowing rocks, whispering birds, and at least three cacti that looked like they wanted to kill him.
In the distance: rusted arcologies and drift-bent towers leaning like drunk robots.
Suddenly—
A small kiosk, made of bones and duct tape, rose from the sand with a sign:
🛑 "Checkpoint: Declare Your Face or Die." 🛑
A floating eye-bot rolled out, squinting aggressively.
EYE-BOT:
"Name."
REN:
"Uh. Not Ren."
EYE-BOT (scanning):
"WANTED: REN ISHIDA.
CHARGES: ILLEGAL SUMMONS, UNAUTHORIZED GLYPH USAGE, GOAT-LEVEL PROPERTY DAMAGE."
REN (deadpan):
"That last one wasn't even my goat."
EYE-BOT (intensifying beep):
"PREPARE TO BE BLASTED."
Ren blinked—
Then uppercutted the thing into orbit with his boot.
REN:
"No time for robo-snitches."
Hours passed.
Ren passed by a mobile fried-hydra cart that tried to upsell him "crispy tentacle bits with extra core-batter."
He also got chased by three feral memory hounds, who only stopped when he yelled "I HAVE COMMITMENT ISSUES!"
(They respected that.)
Then—
A weirdly majestic creature approached him.
A glowing four-legged thing with three horns, huge luminous eyes, and a tag that said:
"Hi, I'm Gorb. You dropped your wanted poster."
REN (accepting the poster):
"You… talk?"
GORB (casual):
"Nope. I'm just psychic and extremely judgmental."
Gorb headbutted him in the hip, then trotted away, whistling.
Ren stood in silence for a moment.
REN:
"I miss Gravity yelling at me."
Eventually, Ren found an old stone marker buried under the ash.
On it: a sigil that matched the Old Man's room key from the 11th planet.
He followed the trail — which twisted down into a canyon that hadn't seen light in decades.
As he climbed the ridge above it, a soft, eerie chant echoed through the wind.
Then a metal sign creaked above him, hung by wire:
➡️ Temple of the Unnamed.
Absolutely No Solicitors.
Ren grinned.
REN:
"Finally.
Time to knock on the door of the man who's been puppeting my life since chapter freakin' one."
Behind him?
A shadow moved.
Something tall.
Watching.
But for now, Ren was focused.
His journey through the wastelands of Ka'rath'Mar was almost over.
The real confrontation was about to begin.