In the early morning, Welnar and Kali stand just outside town, with bags of camping supplies packed. Kali’s parents give her one final goodbye hug… “Stay safe please.” Her mom says. “And do try to visit.” Her dad follows.

  “I’ll make sure to do both, don’t worry.” Kali says reassuringly. Her parents let go with bittersweet smiles, waving as Kali and Welnar set off back on the road, heading south. According to Monarch, assuming it has stood the test of time there should be a port city down south that can take them to the Eastern Continent. Welnar is certainly grateful to have that information, as without it he’d be utterly clueless on where to go. The two walk along the path, waving and smiling at the occasional passerby as they chat. In particular, Welnar shares a bit more about his past and how he acquired his halo.

  “Sheesh… I guess you’re pretty lucky to be alive right now, huh?” Kali says.

  “Yeah. If those Sorcerer’s decided to just kill me normally, well that’d be that… But those bastards and their cruelty ended up working in my favour.” He responds, scratching the back of his head.

  “What would you do if you ever found them again?” Kali asks, curious. Welnar has to think. “Uh… Beat them up, probably. Teach them a lesson about picking on Normals.” He says. Kali slowly nods…

  “Would you kill them?” She pushes further. “I’m… I’m not sure. I don’t think I would. It wouldn’t be necessary, and if I just thrashed them around they’d probably learn.” Welnar responds.

  “I guess you’re right…” Kali says, looking down. “Would you?” Welnar asks in return.

  “If I was in your situation? Fuck yeah. They tried to kill me, so it’s only fair.” She says, anger beginning to show in her tone. Welnar can’t blame her for that kind of thinking… But honestly, he’d rather not kill if he could help it. At least with these hearts, they’ve all been utterly reprehensible. But what would he do if, perhaps… The next Hearts weren’t so objectively evil? Would he be able to continue his goal then..?

  {“Don’t stress about it Welnar. There’s no guarantee we’ll face that kind of problem.”} Monarch assures.

  {“There’s no guarantee we won’t.”} He argues.

  {“Well… We’ll cover that problem as it happens! No point worrying about it now though.”}

  Welnar grumbles slightly about Monarch’s relaxed take on the matter, but doesn’t argue further. Instead, he opts to bring his hand around Kali’s, the two walking in relative silence for a while, only broken by the occasional small talk. Eventually night would fall, and the two would set up camp for the night. Kali gives a questioning look as Welnar is setting up his tent.

  “What, still too embarrassed to sleep in mine?” She chuckles. Welnar’s cheeks turn bright red, surprised. “I-I- Well- I wasn’t thinking!” He stammers out, Kali laughing even more.

  “It’s fine dude. Just teasing.” She winks, before letting off her relentless assault and allowing Welnar to continue setting up his tent… Soon, they would turn in for the night and get some sleep. One day would turn to two, two to three, and three to four… It is only on the fourth day in the afternoon that Welnar and Kali find what they’ve been looking for as they stand atop a small hill. Ahead of them sits a town bordering the sea.

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  Geshtrak, the biggest port city in the Western Continent. Kali’s jaw drops, and Welnar’s quickly follows.

  “Holy shit… It’s beautiful.” Kali says. Their vantage point lets them see the sea beyond the city as it glimmers from the sun’s rays. The city itself is quite fancy looking too… Are those some marble buildings Welnar sees?

  {“It’s a port city, so naturally it’s bustling with trade. Even in my time, Geshtrak was the kind of place the wealthy would settle down in… I doubt it’s any different.”} Monarch says.

  “Well, let’s get moving.” Welnar says, continuing the trek forwards. Kali quickly follows, and by the afternoon the two bounty hunters have arrived.

  “So, we’re looking for boats?” Kali asks as they walk through the streets.

  “Yep. There should be travel boats for going to and from the other continents, so we just gotta catch a ride on one to the Eastern continent.” Welnar explains. As he walks, he can’t help but keep his eyes peeled amidst the bustling streets for any thugs that might be out and about… He and Kali could look like some prime targets with their travel supplies. He just hopes that his two scarlet weapons will ward any off. Luckily, they have no mishaps when they arrive at the docks and Welnar decides to walk up to whoever looks like they know what they’re doing. “Excuse me, do you know where the boat to the Eastern Continent is?”

  “Eastern boat? That ain’t arriving for the next while. Comes in the evening and goes through the night.” The person says, Welnar nodding. Looks like they have some more time to spend…

  “In that case let’s eat! Probably some real good food here.” Kali says, practically dragging Welnar from the docks… Soon enough, the two are sitting down in some fancy tavern place. At least, Welnar thinks it’s a tavern…

  A finely dressed man walks up to them, giving them each a menu. Welnar looks the paper up and down… Lots of things he’s never even heard of. “What would you two like today?” The man asks.

  {“The steak. I think you’ll like the steak.”} Monarch tells Welnar mentally. “Hmm… I think I’ll have the steak.” Welnar says, trying to act as sophisticated as he can. Kali gives him a questioning look, before deciding to go with it. “Same thing for me!” She says. Welnar has at least heard of steak, but he hasn’t ever gotten to try it…

  The man nods, holding out his hand. The two give the menus back and he disappears into the kitchen. Welnar looks around… Lot’s of people who look a whole lot richer than him and Kali. Probably a few Sorcerer’s in the bunch…

  Welnar squints as he looks at one particular pair chatting as they eat. Kali’s earlier question echoes in his mind as he starts to recognize them, eyes going wide. The two Sorcerers who had tried to kill Welnar one fateful night… “What would you do if you found them again?” Kali’s question echoes again, louder. Welnar’s hands ball into fists, clenching tightly. A cold sweat forms on his face.

  A hand gently touches his own. He looks at Kali. “Hey, you okay?” Kali asks, worry in her eyes. Welnar takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself… “Y-yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry.” He says. But he can’t help but glance over at the two Sorcerers every little bit, even once his steak has arrived and he’s started chowing down. What would he do… He’d said he’d rough them up just for the sake of it, but now that he’s suddenly actually in this situation…

  …He really does want to punch them.

  Welnar finishes eating, wiping his face with a napkin. Kali finished a bit before him, and the waiter arrives just in time. Welnar pays for the meal and walks out of the tavern… He leans against the outside wall. “There’s some uh… Business I need to handle. Meet me back here in an hour.” He tells Kali. She nods slowly, unsure if she should actually leave him be… But she decides to trust him, leaving him on his own. A couple minutes later, the two Sorcerers leave. Welnar trails them.

  Once they decide to cut into an alleyway, Welnar quickens his pace to catch up with them… “Hey!” He yells.

  The two Sorcerers whip around to face him with looks of confusion. “Remember me?” Welnar says as he walks closer. He stops once he sees them start to recognize him.

  “...You…” One of them says in amazement.

  “How the hell?” The other says.

  “Welnar Bismorg. Someone who you tried to make an example out of, because I didn’t pay some bullshit protection tax or whatever…” Welnar says to jog their memory… His rage building.

  The first Sorcerer gives a nervous chuckle. Welnar recognizes him as the one who threw him into the river, with that telekinesis ability. “I-I see you’ve… Picked up some toys.” He says.

  The other one, who never revealed his magic to Welnar, nods. “Yeah! G-good job man!”

  Welnar is not pleased. His rage practically boils over and suddenly…

  …He charges at them.