CHAPTER 19: BANTER WITH THE GROUP
After a while, John and the group began moving toward their temporary camping spot.
It lay deeper within the ruin zone, far enough that they no longer had to worry about the zone shrinking on them, yet not so deep that they risked stumbling into monsters far beyond their ability to handle. A calculated choice.
The marsh had been left behind, but the fog refused to let them go.
It clung stubbornly to their backs, pressing in from every direction, heavy and suffocating. The storm only made it worse. Rain poured down relentlessly, as if the sky itself had decided to drown the world. Thunder roared so loud it rattled their bones, and lightning split the sky again and again, purple and blinding.
This wasn't just a storm.
It felt like the world was expressing its fury.
Eventually, through the veil of rain and mist, they found shelter: a two-story building, its stone frame still standing despite the ravages of time. Once, it must have been beautiful. Now it was scarred and broken, surrounded by half-collapsed structures jutting out of the ground like the remains of a dead forest.
They rushed inside the least damaged section, desperate to escape the storm's fury.
The moment they crossed the threshold, everyone sagged, tension loosening just enough to remind them how tired they truly were.
Amara shook herself violently, like a drenched dog, spraying water everywhere.
"Hey!" someone snapped as droplets flew.
Malric ignored it. He lingered near a cracked window, spear resting loosely at his side, gaze fixed on the storm beyond. Lightning illuminated his face for a brief moment, calm and unreadable. Elowen stepped closer, standing beside him. She followed his gaze, though there was little to see beyond fog and rain. He glanced at her once, then turned back to the storm without a word.
Thalia sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed.
At a glance, she might have looked asleep, but the rhythmic tapping of her fingers against her knee, the faint twitch of her eyelids, betrayed the restless calculations racing through her mind.
Nyara… was simply being Nyara.
She drifted lazily through the room, eyes unfocused, hands weaving strange, nonsensical gestures that seemed to follow a logic only she understood. Thomas watched her for a long moment, curiosity flickering across his face as if she were some rare specimen. Eventually, he shook his head and turned away. Whatever went on inside her mind remained a mystery best left unsolved.
John stood near one of the interior walls, rainwater dripping from his face. Liora stood beside him, just far enough that neither felt crowded. They shared a quiet moment, small smiles softening their expressions, a rare pocket of calm amid the chaos.
Kaelen and Sera were still awake, though only barely. The others from their group had already passed out, bodies slumped wherever they'd found space. Even Kaelen and Sera struggled to keep their eyes open, trading bits of tired conversation that drifted in and out of coherence.
The twins were too quiet.
Orion and Lucian sat together in silence, hands clenched, expressions dark. There was a tension coiled tight beneath their skin, like something waiting to snap. They looked like they might tear into anyone foolish enough to provoke them.
As everyone settled into their own corners of the ruined building, Nico changed into drama mode and suddenly collapsed onto the floor with exaggerated flair, arms spread wide.
"I can't take this anymore."
Amara groaned without looking at him. "Can we not do this? Please? I'm trying to rest."
Nico rolled his eyes dramatically. "What are you yapping about? I wasn't talking to you."
Orion's voice cut in sharp, edged with irritation. "Doesn't matter. No one wants to hear your whining right now."
"Okay, listen here, shit hea—"
Nico didn't get to finish.
"Don't," Lucian snapped. "Don't you dare start. Just shut up."
"You shut up!" Nico shot back, eyes blazing.
And just like that, the room erupted.
A war of words ensued between them. Neither side showed any sign of backing down, insults escalating with every exchange.
John quietly watched it unfold, but his mind had already drifted elsewhere.
'It's easy to forget they're just kids,' he thought. 'With how mature they act…'
His thoughts snagged on Sylas.
What had he gone through to think like that? To kill without hesitation? The Covenant was bad, but this felt like something else entirely, like he was shaped by something deeper, something colder.
'It's not just him,' John realized. 'None of them act their age.'
Even Nico—loud, annoying, reckless—had adapted faster than he should have.
'Maybe even me. I might not be thirteen but…I did just die and transmigrate to this hell,' John admitted grimly. 'I adapted too quickly. That shouldn't be normal.'
Nearby, Liora was also lost in thoughts of her own, far darker.
She remembered the sneers. The whispered slurs. The way people looked at her as if she weren't a person, but a mistake. Discrimination had followed her for as long as she could remember, but it hadn't stopped there.
She remembered the day she was captured.
Cold hands and chains.
Being reduced to a commodity to be sold.
From there, the Obsidian Covenant had claimed her, binding her to trials meant to test not just strength, but the will to keep living. Each step forward had carved scars into her soul, scars no kindness could fully erase.
And yet…
Here she was.
Surrounded by this strange, mismatched group. Loud. Flawed. Sometimes unbearably childish.
But still the only ones she could call friends… no, family.
Against all odds, they had become her refuge.
Her gaze drifted to John.
Quiet. Thoughtful. Always carrying more weight than he let on.
When she thought of him, she felt something warm—fragile, but real. Trust.
She remembered their first meeting. How everyone else had looked at her with suspicion or fear. Everyone except him.
Maybe it was because he'd lost his memories.
Or maybe that was just who he was.
Someone trying, desperately, to keep everything from falling apart.
"Hey, Liora."
She blinked, pulled back into the present. "Uh… yes?"
John smiled awkwardly. "I've called you like four times already. Everything alright?"
"Sorry," she said softly. "I was just… thinking."
He raised an eyebrow. "Must've been important to occupy your mind like that."
She smiled faintly. "Yeah. It was."
"Well," he said, grin still there, "I'd really love to hear about it."
"Maybe another time," she replied.
"If you say so." He turned toward the argument. "Now let's stop those idiots before they kill each other."
The shouting had only grown louder when John stepped in.
"Okay," he said firmly. "That's enough."
The twins froze.
Nico did not.
"That's right! You should be scared! I was about to whoop both yo—"
Thwack.
Nico yelped as John smacked him on the head.
"Ouch! What was that for?! And why only me?!"
"Because you weren't listening," John said flatly, arms crossed.
"They started it!"
"So what, you gonna cry about it?" the twins said in perfect unison.
"See?!" Nico pointed at them furiously.
John ignored him and turned to the twins. "What's going on with you two? You've been off ever since the rain started."
Orion frowned. "I don't know. I'm just… so irritated."
"Same here," Lucian admitted.
Elowen stepped forward. "Maybe it's the substance. Making their beast side more aggressive."
"I feel fine," Amara said.
"That's true," John nodded. "If it were just that, Amara would be affected too."
"Or," Nico added smugly, "maybe she's just always irritated anyway."
Amara glared. "What did you say!?"
"I was right," Nico muttered.
John sighed. "Quit messing around. This is serious."
"I know," Nico said defensively. "Just pointing out some ideas."
Thalia's voice cut through the noise.
"It's most likely the rain."
Everyone turned.
Orion and Lucian stiffened.
John's expression sharpened. "You mean—"
"No," Thalia said calmly. "Not just the substance. The rain itself."
"What does that even mean?" Nico asked.
Thalia opened her eyes at last. "What tribe are you two from?"
"Abyss Panther, why?" Lucian answered warily.
"There's your answer."
Nico scratched his head. "This doesn't tell us anything. I don't like this side of you, you know. You were cuter when you were muttering 'we're all dead' and acting all weird. Ha… what memories those were."
Just as John was about to press Thalia for more answers, Thomas stepped in.
"Panthers are felines. Most felines dislike water. Your tribe included."
"So… they just hate rain?" Nico said slowly.
Orion muttered, "But this hasn't happened before. Nor do we particularly hate water."
Lucian also shared the same sentiment.
"Not exactly," Thomas continued. "This rain also contains the berserk substance, which is partially to blame. Combined with your heritage, it's agitating the primal side of you."
John exhaled in relief. "So it's nothing too serious?"
"Yes," Thomas said. "Mostly."
Silence followed.
Orion gave a low whistle. "Wow. I thought Thalia was the one with too much brain juice, but you're not far behind."
Lucian grinned. "Another genius in our midst."
Thomas, composed until now, started turning red. "I m… mean, I'm not that smart."
Nico leaned back and grinned. "Just accept the compliment, brother."
And then his grin widened.
"But wow, coming back to you two— you're both just moody cat boys with period cramps."
The twins rose together.
"He's done it now."
They bolted after Nico as he fled, laughing.
"There's no helping those buffoons," John muttered.
Then he turned his head only to witness it.
Thrum.
An arrow tore through the air.
It struck Malric's shoulder with brutal force.
And then chaos.