Depthless Hunger

Kai was accustomed to fate punishing him thoroughly every time he made a mistake, so he was still a bit stunned that everything had been resolved so quickly. Once Inafay vouched for him, none of the others attacked, and after he explained what had happened they even seemed to understand.

"The princes are always trying to call us in for their vendettas," one of them explained. "They can't manipulate the Frontier elite, but we haven't joined them yet, so we're fair game. You're not the first innocent person we've been sent after."

"Not innocent." An older member, likely in her thirties, spoke up. "What are you doing, dominating the Hundred Zephyr Rings like that?"

"I honestly didn't expect it to be so easy when I signed up," Kai said. "I've been on Rosemount for over a year and I went overboard."

"Yeah, you look strong." Inafay folded her arms as she looked him over, then nodded. "Even hiding it, I can tell how much you've changed."

Up to that point, he'd just been glad to see Inafay again after so long, but now he quickly checked her soul.

Name: Inafay Corinin

Total Power: 233

Windcutter Class: 82 (92)

Physique Level: E-2 (86)

Soul Level: 6 (36)

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She had over 200 Power now, largely from how much she had advanced her Windcutter Class and her Physique, and it seemed that she'd awakened an elemental ability.

And yet he found himself a little disappointed, as if some part of him had hoped that Inafay would have blown away his expectations. He immediately realized that was unfair of him. She had grown far beyond the point he would have reached if he had stayed in Monskon City, never met Zae Zin Nim or traveled to other continents. But she was also limited by the energy available on Deadwaste, so even someone with her potential and drive wouldn't reach Rosemount levels of power.

"So what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Kai said. "And I think I have more reason. You weren't the one exiled."

"Oh, so much has happened. Monskon City went through some serious upheavals. There was practically a civil war in southern Goralia and a bunch of us were there. The Frontier elites officially scouted me, so I'm trying to train up to that level. That's why I'm in the Elemental Nations, if you didn't already notice the new ability. Oh, and I got engaged."

"Engaged? Who?"

"You, uh, headbutted him earlier."

Kai winced and looked back to the Windborn he'd knocked down, wondering if he was about to start a new vendetta of sorts. "Sorry about that."

"Not all your fault." The thin man just wiped a bit of blood from under his nose and shrugged. "When I saw you start to move, I decided to intercept. It wouldn't take somebody like you long to kill someone. No hard feelings."

"None taken. I've struck first a few times myself."

"Great!" Inafay hopped between them, tugging Kai so they were standing face to face. "Oro, this is Kai Clanless. Kai, this is Orotaisin of Mistral. I didn't ever really expect the two of you to meet, but I always figured you'd get along."

Orotaisin nodded slowly. "Your reputation precedes you. Not all good, but who's ever accomplished anything important without a mixed reputation?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"I guess that might be true." Kai extended his hand and Orotaisin shook with a surprisingly loose grip, with no trace of the lightning-charged punching from earlier. "So, uh, how did you two meet?"

"Forget that!" Inafay grabbed both their wrists as if to pull them away. "Kai, were you really involved with the revolution in Krysal? Information from there is so contradictory, I wasn't sure what to think. I want all the details."

"I can tell you once we have time, but first, do we need to worry about the Gales clan?"

"Forget they exist. As much as I'd like to march in and declare you did nothing wrong, there's no point being confrontational. We'll say we took care of things, you'll never have a reason to come back here, and you can stop wasting your time with all these petty conflicts."

"We need to talk about some other things." Kai glanced back to the others briefly. He trusted Inafay, but he wasn't sure about the others or her fiance. "I have two allies coming in to the Elemental Nations and we're all trying to keep a low profile."

"You're doing a fantastic job of it."

"I'm not the one anyone cares about. But really, can you help us coordinate?"

"Give me enough information and I'd be happy to!"

As they walked, Orotaisin ambled along beside them. He seemed a bit passive, almost sleepy, and Kai wondered just how the two of them worked together. Obviously they had similar abilities, but Kai didn't think that relationships based on magical powers generally worked out. Then again, he suspected the Windborn man's placid surface covered more dangerous waters... unless it was offensive to use a water metaphor for a Windborn.

"So what about everyone else from Monskon City?" Kai asked. "I don't suppose they're here?"

"Actually, you could go meet the Tonjin brothers!" Inafay perked up as if the idea had just occurred to her. "They're currently training at the Frontier. You're going to miss Juray, though. She had to head south to take care of some serious alchemy issues with Razz, so she's an entire continent away. Unless you're planning to stay a long time?"

Even though he was meeting old friends, Kai was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of loss. Their lives had all continued in his absence and he could never be a part of what had passed. It was possible that his small effect on the Tonjin brother's lives was just a memory to them, given that they'd somehow made it to the Frontier.

He wouldn't have wanted to trade his experiences. Not the revolution in Krysal, not Zae Zin Nim, not Omilaena. Yet choosing all of that meant that other experiences had fallen by the wayside. Even if he became immortal, he couldn't live every possible life.

"That's a very serious expression," Inafay said. "You're not going to get all weepy on me, are you?"

"Just missing everyone." Kai shook it off and took a deep breath. "What about Tusquo? Have you heard from him lately?"

"Goralia has been working more with Irun, and I got over there once for training, but we haven't seen him as much. It sounds like Irun has been struggling lately. Just an extension of their problems before, which he implied you already knew about. Apparently it's getting worse now and they don't know how long it can continue."

"I was afraid of that. And all the problems in the Elemental Nations? Are they as bad as they sound?"

"I don't know about bad, but they're definitely complicated." Inafay's smile faded as she stared up at him. "It's all so much more complex than it used to be. My training... that's fun, it's straightforward, I like it. But actually trying to defend the Frontier nations, to keep them together before the next incursion... I feel like I'm too young for all this."

"I know what you mean." Kai grinned down at her to try to lighten the mood. "I'm afraid I've mostly gotten better at killing things, though. I hope you have a use for that?"

"Oh, we definitely should."

While they walked, Orotaisin had slipped further behind as if in his own world. Even though the Windborn in this group seemed to be basically good sorts, Kai was glad to be with just Inafay again. Terrible as he was with women, he could feel comfortable with her: she was a direct person and they'd discussed it directly. Hell, maybe he should ask her how to avoid screwing things up with Zae Zin Nim.

But for now, he was glad to slip on the old friendship like familiar clothing. He wondered, if he had gone back to Monskon City, how easily he'd fall back into old mental patterns. Despite how much he thought he'd changed, there was probably more of his old self under the surface than he wanted to admit.

"I didn't get to see you fight for long," Inafay said quietly, "but it feels like you solved your problem? Because even if I vouch for you, if you show up looking like a monster, it will cause problems."

"I think it's settled." Kai pulled back his veil to let her see. "I have cultivation from Cloudspire that covers the soul aspect, and there's a power called the Savage Heart on Rosemount that covers physical changes. So that's one problem we shouldn't have anymore."

"Be careful or I'll have to fight you again." Inafay grinned briefly, but then shook her head. "I'm impressed, Kai. Everybody has been buttering me up about my progress, but you blew way past me."

"It isn't all me," Kai told her. "The other continents really do have an unfair advantage. But we've brought some of that back to share with the Frontier elites, so I hope it will help. And... to be honest, we were hoping to get their help in exchange. There are some things that only they might understand."

"I'm still in training, so I can't promise the world, but I'll do everything I can."

"Thanks, Inafay."

She reached up and squeezed his shoulder. "Still hard to believe you're really back. But... am I right in thinking that it's not for long?"

"For a while," Kai said. "Not forever."

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