Kazuki limped along the forest path like a wounded deer that owed someone money.
Beside him, Kaelith moved with the quiet efficiency of someone who had definitely killed before, possibly for fun, and had opinions about proper footwear. She hadn't said much since the fight—just the occasional "keep up" or "don't touch that." Which, to be fair, was reasonable advice considering he'd already tried to pick up a mushroom that screamed.
[Status: Lightly Mauled][Bleeding: Minor – 14 mins remaining][Condition: Filthy and Embarrassing]
Kazuki glanced at the floating status window and sighed. "Is there a laundry system in this hellscape? Or at least a wet wipe?"
Kaelith didn't respond. She was busy scanning the trees like she expected a dragon to fall out of one at any moment.
Which, honestly, seemed plausible at this point.
Eventually, they reached a small clearing with a ruined stone structure—a crumbling watchtower that looked like it had lost a fight with gravity and petty budget cuts.
Kaelith dropped her pack. "We camp here. No fire. Too many things at night that like the smell of cooked meat."
Kazuki raised an eyebrow. "So we're going to eat it raw?"
"No," she said. "You are going to eat the rations I give you and not cry about the texture."
She tossed him a hard biscuit that may have once been bread and a strip of dried meat that looked suspiciously like it used to be part of a goblin.
"...This is a hate crime," Kazuki said.
"Eat."
As they sat in awkward silence, Kazuki finally worked up the courage to ask, "So... who are you, really? I mean, other than my new emergency contact."
Kaelith didn't look up. "I was a ranger for a border clan. East Vale. Monsters raided it six months ago. No survivors."
Kazuki winced. "Oh."
"Yeah. 'Oh.'"
A beat passed.
Then she looked at him, eyes sharp. "And you? You don't smell like this world."
"Excuse me?"
"You move wrong. Talk wrong. Act like you've never had to kill to eat. You're... new."
Kazuki hesitated. He could lie. Say he was from some obscure village or remote island. But the exhaustion, the blood loss, the taste of goblin jerky—it all crushed his defenses.
"I died," he said. "In my world. Next thing I knew, I was here. Some system said I was on the 'Infernal Path.'"
Kaelith narrowed her eyes. "Reincarnated?"
"Yeah."
She didn't speak for a moment.
Then: "That explains the ladle."
Kazuki smiled despite himself.
"I'm guessing this 'Infernal Path' isn't exactly a spa package?"
"No," Kaelith said, leaning back against the ruined stone. "It's a curse. Or a test. Or a joke the gods are playing on you."
He nodded. "Awesome. That tracks."
Above them, the blood-red sky darkened. Shadows stretched long. Strange noises echoed in the distance—things howling, shrieking, laughing. None of them friendly.
Kazuki tightened his grip on the ladle and whispered, "Night's going to suck, isn't it?"
Kaelith didn't respond.
She was already asleep, one hand on her crossbow.
Kazuki lay down, staring at the sky.
"Well. At least the stars are—wait. Nope. The stars have teeth."