⟢───── Ashes × Aether ─────⟣
Kit exhaled through his nose and stepped forward anyway.
No confidence, he was just done waiting.
The sound of his boots caught Ohana’s attention first. Her head turned. Then Dylan’s. Dash noticed last, mid-spin, landing crooked when he realized who it was.
“Oh,” Dash said, already grinning. “Look who’s back.”
Kit stopped a few feet short of the group. Close enough to be acknowledged.
Dylan leaned sideways, peering at him. “Damn. I thought you’d vanished into the Wilds forever.”
“And miss the chance for get back?” Kit shot back.
TJ gave a short nod.
Dylan stepped forward half a pace, folding his arms again. “You still not over that Crownfall match,” he said. “We ran you guys into the stone.”
“Months ago,” Kit said.
“Four,” Dylan replied instantly. “Maybe five. Still counts.”
Dash laughed. “You were on one that whole game. Thought you were gonna burn the stadium down.”
Kit shrugged. “Count on it this time.”
Geni hadn’t said anything yet.
She stood just to Ohana’s side, eyes on Kit, not smiling, not guarded either. Just… watching.
It took Kit a second to realize she was waiting for him.
“So,” she said. “You went into the Wilds.”
The square didn’t quiet, but something in the group did. Even Dash stopped bouncing.
Kit blinked. “Yeah.”
“What was it like?”
The question landed in the best way.
A real ask.
Kit felt his chest tighten before he could stop it.
“It was…” He paused, searching. “Bigger than any of stories ever made it feel.”
They waited. No one rushed him.
“There was a place,” he said, eyes unfocusing slightly. “Early on. Before things got heavy. Crystal basins carved into the stone. Perfectly smooth. Like the ground had been poured there by hand ages ago.”
Dash leaned in. “Crystal like rocks?”
“No,” Kit said. “Like glass. But deep. You could see yourself in it.”
He swallowed.
“The reflections didn’t move with you. They were ahead. A few seconds. Every step you hadn’t taken yet was already there.”
“We saw that on the brksdcast!” TJ bursted out. “Thought it wasn’t real, like a feedback glitch.”
“It was real,” Kit said quietly.
He remembered it too clearly. The way his reflection had lifted its foot before he did. The way his body had gone cold when he watched the Royal Gaurd walk into The Bloom.
“I noticed before the others,” he went on. “Everyone was still excited. Counting steps. Marking distance. Buck was joking about slipping and breaking his neck.”
A beat.
No one laughed.
“I remember standing there,” Kit said, “and feeling small. Not scared. Just… irrelevant. Like the place didn’t care if I was there or not. Like it would keep going either way.”
His rubbed the back of his neck once, then loosened.
“But it was beautiful,” he added. “There was still excitement then. We thought we were doing good, for the whole world y’know.”
Dash let out a slow breath. “That’s insane.”
Ohana nodded once. “You came back.”
“Yeah,” Kit said. “Eventually.”
Geni was still watching him.
Not the story. Him.
The way his shoulders squared when he spoke. The way his voice settled. Like something inside him aligned only when he talked about the Wilds.
“I didn’t know it was like that,” she said.
Kit looked at her. Really looked.
“I don’t think anyone but my Uncle and–.” Kit hesitated like his spirit was elsewhere for just a beat. “You’re the first person to ask me about it.”
She met his eyes without flinching. “I wanted to.”
For a second, the square narrowed. Sound dulled. The city pulled back.
Then Dylan clapped his hands once. “Alright,” he said. “Since we’re already talking about bad ideas.”
Dash’s grin came back. “Festival week.”
Kit’s stomach dropped.
“Oh,” Dash continued, casual. “We’re thinking about heading out past the perimeter while everyone’s distracted. Depth six, maybe.”
Kit’s eyes went blank.
“There’s an old-world sigil out there,” Dylan added. “Probably junk.”
“Not out there, down..” Kit said, sharper than he meant to.
Dash shrugged. “Shallow Wilds.”
Kit saw it instantly. The confidence. The numbers. The way they were treating depths like a number instead of a threshold.
He forced himself to breathe.
“Just… be careful,” he said.
Dylan studied him for a moment, then smiled. “Well now we have a guide!”
Kit clocked that immediately.
He didn’t bring himself to say anything else.
The group shifted, conversation already moving on. Routes. Timing. Who knew who.
Geni lingered a second longer.
“Thanks for telling us,” she said.
Kit managed a nod.
She rejoined the group. They moved off together, laughter threading back in like nothing had changed.
Kit stayed where he was.
Sol pressed around him again. Drums. Heat. Voices.
The future didn’t wait.
⟢───── Ashes × Aether ─────⟣