They didn't land.
They crashed.
The eastern tracts bore no resemblance to the maps or the legends. These weren't mountains in the way people imagined them. They weren't tall, proud triangles kissing the clouds. No. These were slabs. Massive square blocks stacked one over the other like an angry god had been playing with bricks and then walked away.
Ken ripped off his helmet. He stumbled a few steps forward, leaned over a cliff edge, and vomited violently.
"Never again," He muttered, wiping his mouth with the back of his glove. "I swear to God. Never again."
Ash stepped out behind him, one foot landing heavier than the other. He didn't feel right either. His head was spinning, his stomach tied in a slow, lazy knot. Everything looked too still.
Ken turned and gave him a look. He was pale, still catching his breath, but smirking through it. "Although, I gotta say... this was weaker than the last time we did this. Bro, are you like... developing backwards?"
Ash didn't answer. He just gave a small shrug, forcing a faint grin that didn't reach his eyes.
But something about that hit harder than it should've.
Because Ken wasn't wrong.
Ever since Ash woke up in that hospital bed, with wires stuck in his arms and a dull headache sitting behind his eyes like a ticking bomb, something had been... off. He couldn't explain it. Couldn't name it. But it was there. Lingering.
He'd tried to remember what happened that night. The night everything went to hell. But every time he tried, all he got was this pressure in his head, like someone pushing their thumb into the back of his skull. Hard.
Blank.
Just static and pain.
No images. No sounds. Just a gap. And that gap scared him more than anything else.
But what scared him even more was the feeling that came after.
It sat somewhere deep inside him, not in his heart, not in his gut—but somewhere else. Somewhere, he didn't have words for. As if something had been taken from him. Not just a memory, not just a moment. But a piece of him. Something that made him who he was.
And now it was just... gone. A spark. That was the word that came to him. He used to have a spark.
But now... it felt like something inside him was being eaten away. Slowly. Not by fire. Not by pain. But by... nothingness. He didn't even know what that meant. But just thinking about it made his nose bleed.
Ash blinked. The dizziness hit him like a wave. His knees buckled, and before he could react, he was on the ground.
"Ash!" Ken rushed over, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Hey, hey, talk to me."
Ash raised a hand weakly, brushing him off. "It's nothing," he said, even though it very much wasn't.
Ken stared at him, worried. But Ash forced himself to stand. His legs trembled, and the blood from his nose had smeared across his cheek, but he didn't care.
"We should go," he muttered. "We need to find the blacksmith."
Ken hesitated but nodded. "Yeah. Let's not die here."
**
They had been walking for a while. The square-shaped mountains surrounded them like a giant maze. Everything looked the same—huge grey blocks, no trees, no sky movement, no life.
Ash looked tired. His steps had slowed down, and he hadn't said much for a good half-hour. Ken, on the other hand, was still moving ahead, pointing out random things like he knew what he was doing.
"There," Ken said, climbing up on one of the blocks. "I think it's this way."
Ash squinted up at him. "You think?"
Ken grinned. "No, no. I'm sure. Definitely. The blacksmith's place is just over that ridge... probably."
Ash groaned. "You've said that five times already."
Ken slid back down and kept walking. "Yeah, but this time I really mean it."
Ash shook his head but followed anyway. "Why would a blacksmith even live here?"
Ken laughed. "Exactly why no one would think to look here. Genius, right?"
Ash didn't laugh. He just kept walking. Then something in the sky caught his eye. A flicker of light, moving fast.
"Wait," he said, pointing. "You see that?"
Ken looked up. "What the hell...?"
It was a person—flying. Or rather, riding some weird neon bike. It looked like a Tron bike from an old movie, buzzing with blue light.
Ash raised his hand and waved. "Hey! Down here!"
The rider spotted them and turned, swooping down in a smooth curve. The bike hovered just above the ground, and the guy riding it looked like he belonged in some kind of space bandit gang. Leather coat, messy hair, tired eyes.
"What are you two doing here?" the guy asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ash stepped forward. "We're looking for the blacksmith."
The guy blinked, then laughed. "The blacksmith? Seriously? You came all the way out here for that?"
Ash frowned. "Why? What do you mean?"
"There is no blacksmith," the guy said. "It's just a rumor, man. People pass it around when they get desperate."
Ash's heart sank. But before he could say anything, the guy squinted at his face, like something clicked in his brain.
"Hold up…" he said, leaning closer. "You look familiar… Wait. Aren't you the traitor's brother?"
Ash's whole body tensed.
Ken was between them before Ash could react, shoving the rider back with a hand to his chest. "Alright, fun's over. Thanks for the info, asshole."
The rider held up his hands, backing toward his bike. "Hey, no offense. Just recognizing faces." He swung his leg over the seat, the engine sputtering to life. "But seriously—no blacksmith. Just a story to lure suckers out here."
The guy stared at them for a second longer, then smirked, pulled the throttle, and zoomed off into the sky. The silence came back, but it felt heavier now.
Ash turned to Ken, eyes burning.
"You knew this was fake, didn't you?"
Ken looked caught. "I didn't know for sure."
Ash stepped closer. "You dragged me all the way out here. Through this dead place. For a rumor?"
Ken tried to play it off. "I mean, technically, yeah. But in my defense, I thought maybe we'd find something cool even if the blacksmith wasn't real."
Ash just stared at him.
Ken scratched his neck awkwardly. "Okay, maybe not my best plan. But we've followed worse leads. Like that guy who swore he saw a fire-breathing llama in the old ruins. Remember that?"
Ash didn't laugh. He was breathing hard now, fists clenched.
"You don't get it," he said. "I didn't come here for fun."
Ken's face turned serious. "Ash…"
Ash stepped back and sat down on a nearby block. His hands were shaking slightly. "It's like… like something's missing. Ever since I woke up in that hospital, it's like something inside me's been eaten. And I don't know what it is."
Ken sat beside him. "Maybe it's just trauma. You went through a lot."
Ash didn't answer right away. He looked out across the endless stone blocks, his eyes dull.
"Sometimes, I feel like I'm being hollowed out," he whispered. "Bit by bit. Like there's something inside me… eating everything that made me human. And when it's done, I don't think I'll be me anymore."
Ken looked at him, quiet for a moment. "You're still you, Ash."
Ash didn't move. "Then why do I feel like a stranger in my own body?"
Ken reached into his coat and pulled out a protein bar, handing it to him.
Ash blinked. "Seriously?"
Ken nodded. "Yeah. You're having an emotional breakdown. You need snacks."
Ash looked at the bar, then back at Ken, and finally let out a dry laugh. "You're a dumbass."
Ken smiled. "And you're dramatic."