Rising Roads

They faded in—and stepped into shadowed warmth.

Torchlight flickered against stone walls. Weapons lined the chamber like sleeping guardians, scrolls half-unrolled on a wide table. A mirror cracked down the center reflected the moonlight—and there she stood.

Unomi.

Half-naked.

Looking very much sexy from being.

She wore only her warrior's steel skirt, her chest bare, her skin streaked with sweat and dust from battle and duty. Her back was turned, hair unbraided, hanging like a black river.

Kalamari lost in her skin's beauty.

Tozi noticed him lost.

She turned sharply, her golden eyes ablaze.

Kalamari immediately averted his gaze. Tozi did too—but not before stealing a second glance.

"What in the Nine Flames are you doing here?" she snapped, stepping back and instinctively reaching for her Soul Sword.

Kalamari kept his eyes down. "We didn't mean to intrude," he said calmly. "We came to say something… but we need to move. Now."

She grabs a robe.

Covering her breast quickly.

Unomi's hand tightened on the hilt. "You broke out. You brought chaos to the palace. You expect me to run like a traitor?"

Tozi muttered, "You're welcome, by the way."

Unomi glanced at him, her jaw tight—but she paused. There was fire in her, yes, but also something else. A conflict. A memory.

Kalamari stepped forward, careful, honest.

"We're not running. We're rebuilding. We can't do it inside a cage—not even a golden one."

He met her eyes now. "Unomi. There's something bigger than Thruans. Bigger than us. And you felt it too when we touched. You know what I am saying."

A long silence stretched between them.

Then, she let go of the sword.

"I'm not doing this for you," she said, turning to gather her gear. "I'm doing it for what we were. For Arcades."

She strapped her chest armor over her shoulders, threw on her cloak, and grabbed her coin pouch.

They didn't speak again until they were fully packed:

Food. Water. Weapons. Horses from the stable beneath the Quarters.

Just before they left through the secret gate near the northern wall, Lord Zidion appeared, cloaked in silver, alone in the mist.

They stopped, expecting resistance.

He said nothing.

Only looked at them—at Unomi in particular—with an expression that held both pride and sorrow. Then he nodded.

Kalamari placed a hand to his chest in thanks.

Zidion raised a hand… and turned away.

No alarms were called.

Void and Nylok disappeared into dust, returning to their masters.

They rode out beneath the dying stars.

---

The Vile Path

They followed the road north toward the outer circle of the Viles Kingdom—a twisted land of crimson trees and thorn-wrapped ruins, where fog never lifted and silence walked beside you. The wind here felt old, like it remembered war.

"Woo!!!" Unomi screamed with joy.

"I've never broken out of a kingdom before. I feel very much alive right now!" she said, her voice brimming with glee.

Kalamari and Tozi exchanged a glance, surprised by how happy she was over such a small escape. Compared to theirs, it was nothing.

She turned to them, expecting shared laughter—but saw only their confused stares as they slowly rode their horses, shaking their heads.

She kept smiling, trying to pull them in with her joy.

But they remained silent.

She dropped the smile.

"You boys are no fun," she said, a little embarrassed.

Tozi smirked. "Aren't you supposed to be the general?"

"Someone the entire kingdom of Thruans respects so much. You're surprisingly childish."

Her eyebrows dropped in mock disgrace.

Kalamari couldn't hold it anymore—he burst out laughing. Tozi watched in awe; it was the first time he'd seen Kalamari laugh so much.

He joined him, chuckling.

"I'm really sorry about that," Kalamari said, still laughing. "But seeing you so excited by this escape just turned me on. I got carried away."

"Don't mind my friend here," Kalamari added. "He's a very annoying fellow."

Unomi gave a faint smile.

Tozi raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so now I'm your friend? Not your brother?"

Kalamari didn't respond. The silence that followed wasn't cold—just thoughtful.

Tozi took the moment to formally introduce himself.

"So, General Unomi—I'm Tozi. The first Arcadian Kalamari here found. I'm B-rank. And you're welcome to ask me anything."

Unomi blinked. "So… we're on a find-the-other-Arcadians route?"

Tozi nodded. "Yes. And from my calculations, there should be five of us."

"So we're three…" Unomi mused. "That means after heading to Viles, we'll move on to King's Kingdom. And you're certain we'll be complete?"

Tozi looked at Kalamari. "I'm not certain. He is. And somehow… I feel he's not wrong."

Unomi looked at them both and smiled—truly smiled this time.

Kalamari's eyes remained serious—focused.

Something about the way the mist curled over the road ahead filled him with quiet determination.

---

At dusk, they found an abandoned watchtower near a riverbend and made camp.

Tozi cooked with the little dried meat they had. Kalamari sharpened his blade. Unomi sat in silence, watching the fire with a distant look in her golden eyes.

They had been quiet for a while when Kalamari finally spoke.

"We're getting closer," he murmured.

"To what?" Unomi asked.

"To others like us," he said. "To the truth."

Unomi stared at him for a moment, then shifted her gaze to the fire.

For some reason she started feeling safe around him.

"So tell me, Unomi—who was your master in Thruans? How did you become a general?"

She smiled faintly.

"Well… when I got to Thruans as a young E-rank, every Master was surprised. I was only eight—an E-rank at that age. They all wanted to train me."

"But Lord Zidion… he saw that I didn't just need a master. I needed a mother. Someone to care for me. And to train me strong enough to become a general in Arcade."

Her voice dropped lower.

"But Arcade had already fallen before I could even leave E-rank. So, I trained to become a general in Thruans."

"At the same time, I kept my Arcadian title secret. So Veth wouldn't come searching for me."

Kalamari nodded, his tone gentle.

"I figured I was the only Arcadian who survived the war. My coward ass ran into the woods, jumped off a cliff… and slept for twelve years."

Unomi laughed softly. "Twelve years?"

"Master Togiru found me. I was lying on stone, frozen in magic. He stopped everything--everything pulling me up."

Tozi shrugged, poking at the fire. "I thought he was a outcast at first. Then we communicated."

They all laughed while feasting—one of those rare, warm laughs that reminded them they were a family.

That night, they slept in shifts.

And by sunrise, they were already on the road again, hooves whispering through dew-covered grass, the wind guiding them forward into a world waiting to be rebuilt.

---