Aquafinn's hand slipped from Devin's chest.
Not because the meditation was over.
Not because she was satisfied.
But because something outside had shifted—too subtly for regular people's ears, but clear as a scream to her trained senses.
Movement. Not human. It felt almost insect-like.
Inchoids.
She stood in one silent, fluid movement, her expression hardening. Her hands gripped the hilts of her twin swords.
She glanced once toward Devin, seated cross-legged on the cave floor, eyes closed in deep concentration. Still enjoying the feeling.
She couldn't let them near him in this state.
Without a word, she turned and exited the cave.
Outside, the air was brisk and shadowed by the towering cliffs around the ruins. Mist clung to the broken stone structures, swirling at ankle level. A wide plain stretched beyond, scattered with rocks and the remains of past battles.
And they were already here.
Five Borderwalkers, skittering like armored beasts across the terrain—mostly humanoid except their limbs were twisted. Their eyes pulsed with dim orange light, scanning for sound, movement, scent.
Aquafinn stepped into view. They saw her, then they charged. She saw them coming, but she didn't move. Her eyes were closed, and just as they were three feet from her, she moved.
Like a flicker. A blur. One heartbeat, then the first Inchoid's head spun from its body, cleanly severed before the creature even registered the pain.
The others faltered for a breath's length, then they charged at her once again.
Her swords flared—silver-blue, coiling around her blades like serpents made of will and spirit. The next two attackers came at once. She spun, dancing between them, slicing tendons, joints, throats, or whatever their species' version was. Her steps barely disturbed the ground, yet her strikes landed precisely.
Three down in less than five seconds.
The last one shivered and then tried to flee, running into the mist. Aquafinn exhaled slowly. The aura on her blade condensed to a razor-thin edge.
She slashed the air horizontally—miles away from her target. The energy detached, streaking across the field like a sharp light. It hit the Borderwalker from behind. The Inchoid stumbled—then split diagonally and collapsed in silence.
She waited. Nothing moved.
Inside the cave…
Devin sat cross-legged, surrounded by stillness. But inside his head—it was chaos. He didn't feel when Aquafinn removed her hand from his chest; he almost couldn't feel anything.
The pale liquid of his inner realm swirled beneath his focus. He'd tried pushing the dark flecks out, like cleaning oil off water. They wouldn't budge.
But then he noticed—those flecks were part of the liquid.
He narrowed his focus.
So I can't remove the bad… but I can move the whole thing?
He shifted the entire substance upward—toward his head, trying to see how far he could move it across the silhouette shape in his mind.
And the world clicked.
His thoughts fired faster. His brain felt lighter, as if old weights had vanished. He could see connections between ideas faster than he could keep up.
Whoa. I think the liquid enhanced my brain power. Wait, what else can the liquid enhance?
He aimed the flow toward his ears next as his eyes were closed. He felt a soothing heat in his ears as if the heat were melting the wax in his ears away. No.
It felt like unlocking a second level of sound.
The whisper of dust falling. The beat of his own heart. The gurgle of water in the stone a meter beneath him.
And—outside—the brutal, slick rhythm of swords slicing through air and then, flesh.
Someone's breath—probably Aquafinn's, due to the pitch. Her balance shifting. Her clothes moving as she moved.
Devin felt he could hear everything, but he couldn't filter it, so it ended up sounding like noise. It was too much for him. Too vivid. Too sharp.
He pulled the liquid back, gasping. "Holy sh—"
Aquafinn returned moments later, her steps quiet despite the blood on her blades.
"You're still alive. Good."
Devin looked up, blinking. "So are you."
She didn't answer.
"I moved it," he said. "My pulse. To my head and then my ears. It was like… I could hear everything."
She nodded. "The liquid in your inner realm is your Pulse's base state. Everyone starts with a raw form. When refined, it can amplify your body—your senses, reflexes, even your bones. But overdo it, and it burns you out. You'll feel everything until it breaks you."
"Yikes."
She stood, wiping her swords clean with a cloth.
"The Inchoids?" Devin raised a question, and she simply nodded with the slightest head movement. "What are they? You called them Borderwalkers before, but you also said Inchoids."
"Borderwalkers are exactly just Traversers. It's a title, but unlike the Traversers, they don't move with good intent. They deal in slavery, trafficking, and all that shady stuff," she explained while sheathing her swords.
"So are all Borderwalkers Inchoids?"
"No. Inchoids are just people. It's a race or a species, if you might. They are the main species of one of the Twelve Worlds."
"Wait, hold up. Back up. Twelve worlds?" Devin's jaw almost dropped.
"Twelve worlds. All connected to this mysterious realm," Aquafinn said as if it was a well-known fact.
"How am I just hearing about this?" Devin asked with a stunned expression. "I even thought you were from this place."
"No. I'm from Hermonn. I'm assuming you're from Earth, right?"
"Yeah. What? How do you know?"
"You're not the first inhabitant of Earth I've come across. I met a guy a few years back and he... he was something. I learned from him that Earth has a peaceful society where violence is frowned upon... weak mindset," Aquafinn said.
"Damn. So your world isn't peaceful?"
"It is, but not your world's level of peaceful. We live in a world built on discipline, martial tradition, and power. Weak people don't last long in my world," Aquafinn said in an almost sad tone.
"Wait. Don't tell me you come from a Murim world?" Devin smiled, recalling a world similar to her description.
"Murim. The capital of my world, Hermonn. Yes, I do. How do you know the capital of my world?" she asked.
"I read about it in books." Devin streamlined the actual truth. Yes, he read about it in books, but not actual history books or educational books. Webnovels, light novels, and the like.
"I guess a Traverser who has been to our world wrote about it in your books." She nodded slowly.
"Yeah. So you do a lot of face-slapping, eh?" Devin asked, but Aquafinn stood up as she was tired of talking to him like this. He was inexperienced in everything the realm had to offer. In other words, he was hopeless.
"Where are you going?" Devin stood up, brushing dust from his pants as if it would make the dirty pants any cleaner.
"Idiot. Don't you want to go home?" Aquafinn asked with her head tilted.
"It's possible? How?" Devin muttered.
"The Convergence Pillar," she said.
"That sounds important."
"It is. One of the few known anchors that let us leap between the Twelve Worlds. As a Traverser, you won't need it, but you barely know how to stay alive."
He froze. "You mean… there's a way home?"
Aquafinn didn't look back. "If you're lucky."
She started walking.
Devin followed.