The Long Train Ride

Rei exhaled slowly, settling into the train seat as it rumbled to life.

Somehow, he felt like he was stepping onto the edge of something enormous.

The engine let out a long, low hiss, and with a jolt, the train began to move, pulling away from the platform, from the trees and cottages of the only home Rei had ever known.

Kajala sat across from him, legs folded under him on the bench like a fox curled in his den. His red scarf trailed off the seat like a ribbon, and he stared out the window, nose nearly touching the glass.

"We're really doing it," Kajala whispered, eyes wide. "You're going to Valebright. You're going to be a knight."

Rei didn't answer.

Outside, the landscape rolled past in soft blurs of green and gold. Hills dipped low like breathing lungs, forests blinked between the trees, and the sky hung dim with blue-gray clouds. There was something uncanny about it all — too still, too quiet.

Rei watched the countryside pass in silence.

He should have felt excitement. Nerves. Curiosity.

But instead, there was a weight in his chest — one that pressed down with each mile they traveled.

"You always get this quiet?" Kajala asked, glancing at him sideways.

"Always," Rei said.

Kajala studied him for a moment, then shrugged. "Guess I'll just talk for both of us."

And he did.

Stories spilled from him like water from a cracked pot — tales of academy antics, training duels, pranks pulled on instructors, weird food from the mess hall. He even mimicked a few teachers' voices, wildly inaccurate but enthusiastic.

Rei barely listened. His eyes were on the corridor at the far end of the car.

Something was wrong.

It started as a flicker. A passenger that shouldn't be there. A man in a tattered black cloak, standing still as stone at the very end of the hallway.

He wasn't moving. Wasn't swaying with the train.

Wasn't blinking.

Rei blinked — and the man was gone.

"Rei?" Kajala's voice brought him back. "You okay? You look like you saw a ghost."

"Nothing. Just… tired."

Kajala leaned forward, studying him. "You're not the type that sees things, are you? Like, weird things?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Dunno," Kajala said with a grin. "You just got that look. Like you're standing somewhere you've been before, but you don't remember when."

Rei's eyes flicked back to the hallway.

Empty.

The door between cars creaked.

He turned sharply — no one.

The wind howled outside as the train cut through a mountain pass, and mist began to roll in past the edges of the glass, fogging up the windows.

Then the lights dimmed.

Not flickered. Dimmed. Purposefully. Slowly.

Kajala looked around. "Okay, that's not supposed to happen."

Rei's hand moved instinctively to the hilt of his wooden training sword.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway — not from the front of the car, but from behind. Slow. Heavy. Metallic.

"You hear that?" Kajala asked.

Rei nodded. Both stood.

They moved toward the sound. Kajala, despite his usual springy steps, moved with the grace of a trained scout. Rei matched his pace, every sense focused, every instinct from his old life screaming.

They reached the door to the next car.

The metal handle was cold. Too cold.

Rei opened it — and the wind hit them like a scream.

Snow.

Snow?

But they hadn't passed into the northlands yet.

The next car was empty. Desolate. The glass windows frosted over, and frost crawled along the ceiling and walls like living veins.

A single set of footprints led down the aisle — boots, heavy, one step at a time.

Rei followed.

Each step forward, his breath grew colder. Kajala's ears twitched uneasily.

"This isn't normal," he muttered. "Even if there was a storm, trains have heating wards."

They reached the end of the car.

The footprints stopped at the far door.

Then continued.

Up the walls.

Rei froze.

Kajala swore under his breath. "Okay, nope, I don't like this. This is cursed. This is dungeon-level cursed."

The door slammed shut behind them.

The lights went out.

For a moment, there was only darkness.

And then — a whisper.

Low. Ragged. Rotten.

"You... don't belong."

Rei turned. The hallway was empty.

But the voice was still there.

"No soul. No light. No gift."

Kajala grabbed his arm. "We need to leave. Now."

They turned and pushed through the far door, back into the normal train.

Warmth hit them like a wave.

The lights were fine.

Passengers chatted quietly. Someone was playing a stringed instrument. A girl laughed.

Rei stood still.

That car…

Was it real?

Kajala didn't speak. Not right away. He just grabbed Rei's hand and led him back to their seats.

Only when they sat down again did Kajala whisper, "You're not normal, are you?"

Rei looked at him. Kajala's playful grin was gone. He looked serious for once. Pale.

"I don't know what I am," Rei said.

Kajala stared out the window again.

Neither of them spoke for a long time.

Outside, the landscape changed.

From rolling hills to narrow cliffs. The train crossed a bridge of black steel suspended over a chasm.

Far below, nothing but fog and the faint glimmer of something moving.

The train's whistle blew — low, long, and mournful.

Rei's hand curled into a fist.

Something was following them.

He could feel it in the air. In the shadows. In his bones.

Something was watching.

Waiting.

And somehow… he knew.

When it killed him — and it would

That's when the real journey would begin.

As the train continued its slow journey across the countryside, the tension that had briefly gripped Rei began to fade. The landscape outside softened into a comforting routine of familiar hills, winding rivers, and the occasional farmhouse in the distance. The earlier unease melted away with each mile they passed, the hum of the train providing a steady rhythm that seemed to ease the edge of his nerves.

Kajala was, as always, a contrast to Rei's quiet demeanor. He leaned against the window with a soft smile, watching the passing scenery with wide-eyed wonder, his red scarf trailing lightly behind him. For the moment, he wasn't teasing Rei, but his usual energy was still contagious. Every now and then, Kajala would point out something that caught his attention — a flock of birds flying in an intricate pattern, the playful bounce of a rabbit in the field.

"Look at that!" Kajala whispered excitedly, "I swear, animals around here are so weird. You think they have magic, or they're just... cool?"

Rei glanced out the window, half-interested. A herd of wild horses ran along the riverbank, their long manes flowing behind them like waves. They were beautiful — but Rei wasn't sure if they had anything to do with magic.

"I don't know," Rei replied quietly. "Maybe it's just them being them."

Kajala's eyes lit up, as if Rei had said something profound. "Yeah! Maybe that's it! You know, the world's weird, but it's still cool."

The conversation drifted, and slowly, the sounds of the train car began to take over. The rhythmic clanking of the tracks. The occasional hum of a conversation from a couple of seats away. The soft rustle of newspapers. The low hiss of steam from the engine.

For the first time since stepping onto the train, Rei felt the warmth of normalcy wrap around him. The constant hum of the train, the gentle rocking, and the occasional soft whistle as the conductor passed by. There was something comforting about it, something ordinary. Not a battle, not a mission, just two people traveling somewhere.

Kajala leaned back and stretched out, his feet propped up on the opposite seat. "You ever think about what you're gonna do when we get to the academy?" he asked lazily.

Rei paused, looking at Kajala. "No, not really. Just… go, I guess."

"Right! You're gonna go, and I'm gonna have a blast teaching you everything I know," Kajala grinned, obviously relishing the thought of being in the academy for longer.

"Yeah, sure," Rei mumbled, trying to picture the academy — the training, the magic, the knights.

Kajala tilted his head. "You're not excited, huh?"

"No." Rei's answer was blunt. The idea of stepping into that world was... strange. His hands still ached from training with the wooden sword, but it didn't compare to the kind of power that magic seemed to offer. His lack of magic wasn't something he could easily ignore, and he knew it would set him apart, in a way that might make him even more of an outsider than he already felt.

"Don't worry," Kajala said, his voice softer now. "Everyone feels that way. Especially when you don't know anyone. You'll be fine."

Rei nodded quietly, unsure if that was true or just a hopeful statement. There was a part of him that wanted to believe Kajala, but the weight of being different in a world built on magic felt heavier with each passing second.

"Besides, you have me," Kajala continued, his tone light, "and who wouldn't want me around? I'm fun."

Rei couldn't help but smirk at that. "Right. You're a real treat."

Kajala's grin only widened. "I know."

The rest of the ride passed with a surprising calm. The train's wheels clattered steadily beneath them, and the hours stretched out like a quiet river. The tension that had filled the air earlier was gone, replaced by the comfortable monotony of a journey that would soon come to an end. Outside, the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting long shadows across the land.

As the train rolled into the night, the sky above them darkened, and the stars twinkled faintly in the distance. The warm glow of the train's lanterns illuminated their faces, and for a moment, Rei felt a strange sense of peace. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

Kajala yawned and stretched again. "It's a long ride, huh? Feels like we're getting farther and farther away from home."

Rei didn't respond immediately. Instead, he just watched the sky outside. There was something surreal about it all, something he couldn't quite place. The feeling that this was just the beginning of something big, something he wasn't ready for.

Kajala, seemingly unbothered by the distance they were traveling, continued chatting. He talked about the academy, about the new students, about how many pranks he planned to pull once they got there. His voice was a steady rhythm, and Rei found it strangely soothing. It was easy to let his mind wander, to forget the weight of everything he carried with him.

In the quiet, between their words, Rei caught himself drifting into thoughts of his past life. His military service, his countless missions — the rush of combat, the sound of explosions. He felt the familiar ache in his chest — the longing for purpose, for clarity. And yet, here, in this strange new world, he felt something different. Something elusive.

He looked at Kajala, who had now pulled out a small book and was scribbling something in it with intense concentration.

"Hey, Kajala…" Rei started, his voice quiet.

Kajala looked up, his ears twitching. "Yeah?"

Rei hesitated, unsure of how to word it. "Do you ever feel like... we don't belong?"

Kajala's eyes softened, but he only shrugged. "I don't know about you, but I belong wherever I want to."

Rei chuckled quietly, but it didn't reach his eyes.

The night stretched on, and with each passing hour, Rei felt more and more like an outsider in this world of magic and possibility. Yet, in some odd way, that was what kept him going.

Kajala's voice broke through the silence again. "It's not about where we belong, Rei. It's about where we're going."

And with that, Rei could only watch the horizon as the train took them further into the unknown.