STARLESS

"I think we should start by going over our abilities," Vael suggested, stretching his legs beside the campfire. "If we want to work well as a team, we need to understand what the other can do. Wouldn't you agree?"

Kiera nodded. "Sure. You go first."

"Alright." Vael stood up and tapped the hilt of his rapier. "As you can see, this is my main weapon. My most versatile ability is Blink. It's short-range teleportation—maybe ten meters max. That's how I escaped my cell, by the way."

He raised two fingers. "Second, Aura-Sword. I coat my rapier in mana, making it way deadlier. And third, I've got a Pocket Dimension—same concept as a spatial ring, just… built-in."

Kiera tilted her head thoughtfully. "Useful. My turn?"

He nodded.

"For my mind affinity," she began, "I can read the thoughts of people weaker than me—or if they willingly lower their defenses. I also have low-level telekinesis. Nothing crazy—thirty kilos is my cap."

She shifted slightly, her voice lowering. "For my shadow affinity, I can meld into darkness. It makes me harder to sense, and I can move silently if I stay in cover."

"Figures," Vael said with a grin. "Your whole vibe kind of screams 'deadly in the dark.'"

Her lips twitched—maybe the closest thing to a smile he'd seen from her yet.

"I usually use a short sword," she added.

"Perfect." Vael opened Veltren's ring and pulled out a sleek, high-quality short sword, handing it to her. "This one should do the trick."

She examined it in silence for a moment, clearly impressed. Then her brow furrowed. "Wait… why are you using a spatial ring at all? Don't you already have your own dimension?"

Vael's expression darkened.

"Oh, this?" he said, raising his hand and letting the ring catch the firelight. "It's not mine. Kiera stared at the short sword in her hand, turning it slowly, as if weighing something heavier than just the metal.

Vael leaned back on a nearby rock, smirking. "Veltren had good taste, I'll give him that. Guy was garbage, but his armory? Not bad."

As soon as the name left his lips, Kiera froze. Not dramatically — no sharp gasp or stumble — just… stillness. Her hand gripped the hilt a little tighter.

She looked away. "Yeah," she muttered. "Not bad."

Vael's smile faded. He caught the shift, but didn't press.

"You okay?" he asked, keeping his tone light.

"Fine," she said too quickly. Then she added, more calmly, "Just… a lot of memories I'd rather not dig up."

He didn't push. He knew the feeling.

"Well, if they ever need digging," he said, "we'll burn the whole graveyard down together."

That got a faint smile out of her, barely there — but real.

Vael stood and stretched. "Alright, sword's yours. Keep it close. Especially with the kind of creatures I probably pissed off escaping that place."

Kiera nodded. "I will."

But even as she sheathed the blade, her fingers lingered on the hilt — like it might slip away if she didn't hold tight enough.

For the following month, they tried to cover as much ground as possible together. They headed south.

On the way, they encountered multiple beasts of all shapes and sizes: packs of red wolves, each one the size of a horse, bears with six limbs that controlled ice, and more.

Gradually, they both got used to fighting with the other. Their coordination was nearly perfect, the kind that screamed they had years of experience fighting in tandem.

Kiera's body seemed to transform before Vael's eyes. As she recovered from her time in captivity and began eating properly again, her posture straightened, her eyes regained a spark of vitality, and the once-malnourished girl began to resemble a proper warrior.

In fact, she even broke through the second stage.

They grew closer over time—close enough to share stories of their past at night, during quiet moments by the fire.

Vael had told her about his life in the village, how he used to play with his younger brother and teach his little sister basic sword swings with a wooden stick, how his mother always had a warm meal ready, and how it all came crashing down on a single day.

Kiera shared how she came from a family of low-ranked rebels, people who tried to fight the system in their own quiet way. They were wiped out during a coordinated raid by the Kingdom's army. She fled, terrified, and hid in the forest for weeks. Eventually, though, she was caught and brought to the lab at just ten years old.

Apparently, the scientists put her through unspeakable experiments and torture in an attempt to understand how someone could possess two affinities. She had been used, tested, drained—and still, somehow, she had survived.

One night, as they ate in silence, Vael took off his shirt to change into another one.

Kiera, who had just finished cleaning her blade, caught a glimpse of a nasty, jagged burn along the side of his chest.

She froze.

"Where did you get that burn?" she asked, her voice low.

Vael blinked and looked down, as if he'd forgotten it was even there.

"From a particularly large noble who governed that lovely laboratory, of course. Veltren." The name left his mouth like poison, and the air around them seemed to grow colder.

Kiera's fingers tightened around her bowl. "Oh…"

He looked at her. "What is it? Do you have some kind of history with the walking pile of fat?"

For a moment, she said nothing. Then, quietly: "He… he's the one who killed my entire family. Or rather, his army did. They burned my village. I saw it happen. My dad died shielding me. My mom tried to buy time so I could run." Her voice wavered, then steadied. "I ran. Got caught later anyway."

The fire crackled between them.

"I'm sorry," Vael said, genuinely.

Kiera gave a faint shrug. "I stopped expecting apologies years ago."

A silence settled, heavy and reflective. Vael looked at the scar again, then at the flames.

"You know… I didn't just get that scar by accident. I went back."

Kiera frowned. "What do you mean?"

He looked up, locking eyes with her.

"I killed him. Veltren. Took my time with it, too."

Her expression shifted. Shock. Then disbelief. Then something else—something deeper. "You… what?"

"I made sure he suffered. Five hours.." His voice dropped, hard and cold.

She stared at him for a long moment. "But… how? You were in the lab too. How did you escape? How did you get strong enough?"

Vael exhaled. "Because I had already lived it all before."

Kiera blinked, confused. "What?"

He looked at her again, and this time his voice softened. "I'm a regressor."

"…What?"

"I used something called a regression stone," he explained. "I absorbed it during my first escape from the lab. I wasn't sure what it was at the time — I just knew it was important. My memories are hazy, but when I died… I think that's when it activated. Next thing I knew, I woke up three days before the attack on my family."

Kiera opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"I didn't even know I had it," he went on. "Or how it worked. But I woke up, remembered everything, and I realized I had a second chance. Not to be a hero or anything… just to try and stop what happened. To save them."

He looked at the scar on his chest again. "Didn't fully work. I saved my siblings… but my mom still died."

Kiera's voice, when it finally came, was barely more than a whisper. "Why are you telling me this?"

Vael didn't hesitate. "Because I trust you. And because you deserve to know. We both lost everything because of the same man. We both crawled out of hell."

He gave a weak smile. "And now, we're walking out together."

Kiera said nothing for a long time. But eventually, she looked at him, and the smallest nod passed between them.

Something unspoken solidified in the air between them.

Not pity. Not even empathy.

Understanding.

And with that, they returned to their quiet meal, the flames still burning strong.

Tomorrow, they would begin training in earnest. But tonight… tonight was about the past. And the weight of two people who survived it.