Hot.
Dry.
Endless.
The ruined crater stretched behind him.
Nothing looked different.
If not for the headache lingering in his skull...
He would've believed everything had been a dream.
"..."
His hand instinctively reached toward the air.
Without thinking.
He closed his eyes.
That strange feeling returned.
Tiny streams.
Almost invisible.
Flowing everywhere.
Mana.
He couldn't see it.
Yet somehow...
He knew it was there.
Like feeling the direction of the wind without opening your eyes.
"...Weird."
He laughed quietly.
"I never noticed this before."
He lowered his hand.
Maybe...
He had changed.
Or perhaps...
He had always possessed this ability.
He simply never knew how to recognize it.
---
His footsteps eventually carried him back toward the ruined streets where the Outlaws had been scavenging.
Voices echoed nearby.
"There!"
"I told you he wandered this way!"
"Kai!"
Munnu emerged from behind a collapsed wall.
The outlaw leader folded his arms.
"There you are."
Kai scratched the back of his head.
"Sorry..."
"I got distracted."
"You vanished for almost half a day."
Munnu sighed.
"I was beginning to think the ghosts finally got you."
Persia adjusted the large radio strapped to his back.
"I would've said we should leave him."
"You did."
"I know."
Kai couldn't help smiling.
Somehow...