The alley narrowed so sharply that I almost missed it. One second I was sprinting after the Traitor, boots slamming against broken pavement, lungs burning. The next second the walls closed in, brick and rusted metal hemming us into a corridor barely wide enough for two men to run side by side.
He was faster than he looked.
I kept my speed up anyway. If I slowed, even for a breath, I knew I would lose him. The system message still hovered faintly in the back of my mind, that cold reminder of my objective for this Divine Expedition.
'Eliminate the Traitors.'
Simple words. Not so simple work.
The Traitor glanced over his shoulder at me. His eyes were wild, whites showing too much, lips peeled back in a grin that was more snarl than smile.
He laughed.
"You're persistent for someone who looks homeless!" he shouted back.
I didn't answer. Not like I had the breath for it anyway. I just pushed harder.
The alley bent once, twice, then ended abruptly in a tall concrete wall. No windows. No doors. Just blank, cold obstruction.
The Traitor skidded to a stop. So did I, though I nearly stumbled and fell. For a split second, we stood there facing each other, both breathing hard.
His grin widened.
"You probably think you've cornered me, yeah?"
I stepped forward anyway. My hand tightened around my dagger. It felt heavier now, like it understood what I was about to ask of it.
"I don't care about cornering you," I said, forcing steadiness into my voice. "I just need to kill you."
He tilted his head, slowly equipping a dagger.
"I'm not exactly good at combat you know,' he said while studying me like I was something amusing. "But our llittle run seems to have exhausted you more than I anticipated."
Without any further words, he lunged.
I moved on instinct. Steel rang against steel. The impact jarred up my arm and into my shoulder. This one is different. The first two I had killed ran for their lives. This Traitor however, deliberately ran to exhaust and lure me into a dead-end.
We traded two, three quick blows. He fought dirty, aiming low, then high, then feinting and trying to ram his shoulder into my chest. I staggered back a step but didn't fall.
He laughed again.
"Didn't know the Emperor uses such clumsy Rookies now."
Before I could respond, something shifted in the air above us.
A shadow passed overhead.
There was a sharp, clean sound. Not loud. Not dramatic. Just a precise whisper of steel cutting through flesh.
The Traitor's expression froze.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then his head slid from his shoulders.
His body remained standing for a fraction of a second, as if confused. Then it collapsed forward, hitting the ground with a dull thud.
Blood spread across the cracked pavement.
I stared.
A figure landed lightly between us and the dead end wall. She straightened slowly, sword still extended to the side. The blade was clean. No, not clean. It had been clean. The blood slid off it unnaturally fast, as if the steel rejected it.
She flicked her wrist once and the blade was clear.
I took an involuntary step back.
She couldn't have been older than me. Maybe the same age. Long blonde hair, tied back loosely, a few strands falling over her shoulders. Blue eyes. Not the soft kind. Sharp. Focused. Calm.
She looked at the corpse for a moment, then at me.
"You were about to lose." she said casually.
My mouth opened, then closed. I forced it to work.
"I had him."
She raised an eyebrow. "You were one mistake away from dying."
I didn't argue. Because deep down, I knew she was right.
She sheathed her sword in a single smooth motion. The movement was so natural it felt practiced, repeated hundreds of times.
Then she looked me up and down.
"What level are you?" she asked.
The question hit me harder than the fight had.
"How do you know I'm Awakened?" I shot back.
Her gaze dropped briefly to my clothes. The torn fabric. The faint symbol near the collar that had appeared the moment the Expedition began.
"Those clothes," she said. "I had the same ones on my first Divine Expedition."
The way she said first made my chest tighten.
"You've done this before?"
She nodded once. "This is my second."
'Second.?'
That meant she survived her first.
My mind raced.
'The other Traitors that had died...'
'The Traitor's I haven't even found— she was the one who had killed them.'
"You killed the others," I said quietly.
She didn't deny it.
"They were in my way."
"In your way?"
"For my objective."
'Of course.'
Second Divine Expedition. New goal. Probably something similar to mine.
She studied me again.
"You didn't answer my question."
I hesitated. For some reason, admitting it felt embarrassing.
"I'm still Level One."
She didn't react the way I expected. No mocking smile. No visible disappointment.
She just nodded.
"That makes sense."
Something about that stung more than if she had laughed.
"And you?" I asked. "What level are you?"
"Four."
The number sat heavy in the air.
Level Four.
That was three entire thresholds above me. Three waves of stat increases, skill unlocks, whatever else came with leveling that I hadn't even experienced yet.
"You leveled up that much in one Expedition?" I asked.
"Yes."
"How?"
She looked at the body on the ground, then back at me.
"By completing it."
She stepped closer, stopping just a few feet away. Up close, I noticed small details. A faint scar near her jaw. Another across the back of her hand. Signs that she hadn't walked through her first Expedition untouched.
"You chase well," she said. "But you fight like you're still afraid of killing."
I stiffened. "I've killed."
"I know." She glanced at the corpse again. "But you still think about it."
She was right. Of course she was.
'I mean, I just awakened three days ago. I'm still just a teenager. Wouldn't it be strange if I was fine with murdering these people—?'
"You don't?" I asked.
She held my gaze for a long moment.
"I did." she said. "The first time."
Something in her eyes shifted. Not softer. Just distant.
"I froze," she continued. "On my first Expedition. I hesitated when I shouldn't have. Someone else paid for it."
The words were calm. Like she had repeated them enough times that they no longer hurt.
"So you stopped hesitating." I said.
"Yes."
Silence stretched between us.
I became acutely aware of how small the alley felt. Of the body cooling at our feet. Of the fact that if she wanted to, she could probably cut me down before I even lifted my sword.
"You're not going to kill me though, are you?" I asked before I could stop myself.
One corner of her mouth twitched slightly.
"If you were a Traitor, you'd already be dead."
"That's not what I meant."
"I know."
She looked at me for a few seconds, assessing.
"You're not my target." she said finally. "At least not right now."
That did not make me feel any better.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Ronin."
She nodded. "I'm Elara."
Elara.
'It fit her somehow. Clean. Sharp.'
"You shouldn't be chasing Traitors alone at Level One." she said.
"What choice do I have? I don't really have a team."
"Find one."
"Is that advice or an order?"
"Advice."
She stepped past me toward the mouth of the alley, then paused.
"Why did you run after him?" she asked without turning around.
"He was a Traitor."
"That's not what I'm asking."
I frowned. "It's my objective."
"And if it wasn't?"
I didn't answer immediately. I hadn't thought about that. The system gave me a goal and I followed it. That was how you survived.
"There is no other reason." I said finally. "I don't really care what the objective is. I just want to go home."
She was quiet.
"I know how you feel." she said.
"Do you?"
"I felt the same once."
She looked over her shoulder at me. The blue of her eyes caught the dim light.
"Don't get Reckless though. It gets you killed."
"You didn't seem very cautious just now either." I shot back. "You jumped in without saying a word."
"I knew I could end it in one strike."
There was no arrogance in her tone. Just fact.
I hated how reasonable that sounded.
I stared at her.
She met my gaze steadily.
"You're really calm about all this," I muttered.
"You get used to it."
"I don't want to get used to it."
Her expression softened just a fraction.
"You will."
That certainty unsettled me more than the fight had.
"Are we… competing?" I asked.
"For what?"
"If our objectives are similar."
"They probably are."
My stomach tightened.
She stopped and turned to face me fully.
"If Your Objectiven is to hunt down the Traitors, then you don't have to worry."
"Alright." I replied.
"But," she added, "until then, you're more useful alive."
I let out a short breath that might have been a laugh.
"Wow. I feel valued."
"You should. Many awakeneds don't survive their first Devine Expedition."
I shook my head. "You're not exactly comforting."
"I'm not trying to be."
"Stick with me for now," she said.
That surprised me. "Why?"
"We're both stronger together."
"I think you'd be just fine on your own."
"I would. But you'd have it harder."
I considered refusing. Pride flared up briefly. I didn't want to be someone's tag-along. Especially not someone three levels above me.
But I also wasn't stupid.
"Fine," I said. "For now."