After a brief struggle, Ezra finally managed to undo the last knot—sending Asli crashing to the floor with a solid thud.
"Ouch. That hurt, you know," Asli groaned, rubbing the back of his head as his thick black curls flared in every direction.
Ezra winced.
"Sorry."
The two stared at each other in awkward silence, neither quite sure what to say next.
"Uhh… thanks, I guess," Asli said, finally breaking the tension.
"No problem."
Another pause.
Asli pushed himself up, brushing dust from his clothes before stretching. He was taller than Ezra, though leaner—his frame wiry, collarbones faintly visible beneath his shirt.
"Well… I guess I'll get going now," he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.
Then he just stood there for a few extra seconds, shifting slightly—like he wasn't entirely sure if he should leave.
Eventually, he turned and made his way toward the door.
Ezra hesitated, watching him go.
'Wait… now that I think about it, it'd be nice to have some company'
"Hey, wait!"
Asli stopped mid-step.
"Do you… wanna team up?"
He turned around a bit too fast—like he'd been hoping for that exact question.
"Sure."
A small, genuine smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
The two walked in silence.
It had been a couple of hours since they'd left the shack. Every so often, distant cries of pain or the clash of abilities echoed through the trees—but nothing came close. No ambushes. No encounters. Just heat, bugs, and the heavy quiet that pressed in thicker with every step.
Ezra was tired, thirsty, and starving. His legs ached from crouching every few meters to scout ahead, eyes scanning for potential ambushes. He kept checking his watch, obsessively flicking through the rankings.
He'd moved up to 378.
Out of 379.
Still second to last.
Ezra frowned, lips twitching with frustration.
'Who even was this person below me?'
They were the only thing keeping him from being dead last—and for that, he was… oddly grateful.
'Hah… just stay there a bit longer, please.'
Probably someone weak. Some poor soul who'd slipped through the cracks and had just gotten lucky staying hidden.
Still, his Aether capacity had recovered a bit. It was sitting around 300 now—not great, but better than nothing. A slow regen, but it was something.
It had been almost two hours since he'd teamed up with Asli, and the guy hadn't said more than a dozen words since.
Quiet. Polite, technically. But annoyingly reserved.
Ezra sighed, dragging his feet through the underbrush. The heat was getting to him. The sun beat down mercilessly, the air felt thick with humidity, and the mosquitoes were treating him like a buffet.
His stomach growled again, twisting painfully.
'I swear, if I don't get food soon, I'm gonna start hallucinating and punch a squirrel thinking it's a Rift beast.'
He glanced at Asli, who walked a few steps behind—hood up, posture relaxed, completely unbothered by the heat, the sun, or the relentless swarm of mosquitoes.
Ezra narrowed his eyes.
"Hey… do you like banana milk?"
The question came out of nowhere, catching Ezra completely off guard.
He blinked.
'Seriously?'
'I'm dying of hunger, running on fumes, and this guy—who's said maybe three words to me in the last two hours—decides this is the moment to ask about banana milk?'
Ezra shot him an irritated look.
"No."
Flat. Annoyed. Unapologetic.
He was beginning to regret teaming up with him.
Asli, unbothered, simply shrugged.
"Well… I like it."
He answered his own question like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Ezra stared at him in dead silence.
'Thanks, Asli. Very helpful. If you're not going to give me food or water, maybe stop talking to me about flavored dairy products.'
And yet—what surprised him was that Asli actually looked… genuine. Like he really did like banana milk and just felt the need to share that fact for no reason at all.
Ezra sighed, defeated.
"Cool. Good for you."