Nightfall Sprint

The sun blazed overhead, and yellow sand filled the sky.

The motorcycle bounced along as a dry gale hurled grit against their goggles with a steady rattle.

"Bruce, you're pretty good on that bike."

"Of course I am. I'm a Transcendent of the Machinery and Bone Fated Path. Machines are practically extensions of my body."

Xilian sat on the back of the motorcycle, enjoying a rare rest. A big white dog sat in front of him, both paws on the handlebars, somehow keeping them racing across the rough Wilderness.

With a dog's limbs, Bruce couldn't twist the throttle, much less steer.

But Bruce was no ordinary dog. He was a Transcendent dog.

Spirit Artisans of the Machinery and Bone Fated Path could extract matter from their surroundings and even transform it. Bruce naturally possessed the same ability.

"Bruce, my teacher once told me that powerful Spirit Artisans can turn a stretch of sand and stone into metal, then smelt and recast it in moments, creating a formidable Dominion Armor out of thin air for battle."

"How do they do it?" Xilian asked. "I don't mean the part where they transform matter into metal. I mean how they forge that metal into precise components and fit them together perfectly."

Xilian patted the motorcycle. "Like this. How did you modify it from scratch?"

Over the past few days with Bruce, Xilian had gradually come to trust the Transcendent dog. He had also suddenly realized how terrifying the dog's potential was.

If Bruce could refine metal and build a Source Energy Engine, then he should, in theory, have been able to create a motorcycle from scratch and ride out of the Wilderness himself, rather than work with Xilian.

"What do you think?" Bruce asked.

"I think you memorized the entire blueprint," Xilian replied. "When you need it, you just refine the metal and assemble the parts."

"Congratulations. You got it right."

"Huh?"

Xilian sat up straight. "You really memorized the whole blueprint?"

"What else?"

"That's one feature of the Machinery and Bone Fated Path," Bruce explained. "As we advance in rank, we can commit more and increasingly complex blueprints to memory."

"For example, some Spirit Artisans memorize blueprints for all kinds of guns and ammunition. When necessary, they transform nearby matter, refine it, forge it, assemble it, and take it into battle."

Bruce turned his head and shook it. "As you can see, I'm missing quite a bit of brain tissue. My personal memories aren't the only things affected. Many of the blueprints stored there are incomplete too."

"I searched my mind for ages. Only the blueprints for the Source Energy Engine and a few firearms are still intact."

Bruce tapped the motorcycle's body. "Otherwise, I could have turned this into an Armored Vehicle and spared us the wind and sun."

Xilian nodded emphatically. "I couldn't agree more."

After days of travel, Xilian's clothes were dusty and torn. His once-fair face had tanned dark, and his dry skin had cracked in places.

Bruce had gone from a big white dog to a big gray one, his fur full of grit and dust.

The midday sun sank slowly westward. After riding for so long, Bruce felt tired too, so he and Xilian switched places.

He huddled behind Xilian and raised his voice over the wind.

"Xilian, how much farther is Her City?"

"I don't know," Xilian answered. "This is my first time traveling this far."

"What about the map?"

"It isn't accurate. It only gives us a rough guide."

Xilian glanced at the sky. "Once it gets dark and the Torchlight Lighthouse in Her City lights up, we can work out our route and estimate the distance again."

Over the past few days, the distant point of light marking Her City had grown brighter and clearer. Yet every time Xilian thought they were about to reach it, it seemed impossibly far away again, like a mirage.

"It'll be dark soon. We'd better find somewhere to spend the night first." Bruce judged the time.

"Mm." Xilian searched the Wilderness for ruined walls that might shelter them from the wind. Then a glimmering ribbon caught his eye.

As they drew closer, Xilian saw that it was a rushing river, flowing through the barren Wilderness.

"Stop! Stop!"

Once Xilian had parked the motorcycle, Bruce plunged excitedly into the river. He soaked his dry, filthy fur and drank deeply from the cool water.

"Woo-hoo!"

As Bruce barked with delight, Xilian crouched and scooped up water to scrub his face.

Feeling the cool moisture, Xilian suddenly realized this was the first river he had seen since coming to this world.

He had once patiently explained rivers to Ava. He had told her that there were lakes too, and seas even larger than those...

But she would never see them.

After soaking for a while, Bruce climbed out dripping wet. He shook himself, spraying water everywhere.

Then he rolled onto his back on the ground. However much Bruce insisted he was human, he had clearly begun to grow accustomed to this body.

"I feel alive again... What are you looking at?"

Bruce noticed that Xilian had been staring toward the river's end, as though searching for something.

"Confluence City Hel got its name because several rivers meet there, creating a rare patch of green in the Wilderness."

Xilian looked back at Bruce. "Which means that if we follow this river, we're bound to find Her City."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sun slipped beneath the horizon. Its lingering light had yet to fade, leaving the sky a tranquil blue.

The brief interval between day and night was the perfect time to set up camp.

Xilian was just about to build a fire when a pure white glow slowly rose from the far end of the river.

Man and dog turned toward it at once. Afraid he was seeing things, Xilian picked up his binoculars.

Beneath the white glow, he could just make out an unbroken line of buildings.

Xilian and Bruce exchanged a look. Without a word, they made the same decision.

"Quick, Xilian! Quick!"

Bruce leaped onto the motorcycle. "I don't want to spend another night in the Wilderness!"

"You think I do?"

Xilian swung onto the motorcycle. The Source Energy Engine roared to full power in an instant, sending them surging forward.

The sky darkened. Grey Fog billowed behind the motorcycle like a sinister pursuer that refused to let go.

Xilian focused completely on the road, determined to avoid any mishap. Bruce stood up, planted his front paws on Xilian's shoulders, and let out a joyous cry.

The distant glow grew clearer. Even without the binoculars, Xilian could see the outline of the city.

"It's dark!" Bruce shouted. "Watch ahead!"

"I see them!"

Night fell, and the Demons poured out in force.

They sprinted after Xilian. Some cut in front of him, howling with bloodlust.

"Hold on tight, Bruce!"

Xilian rammed straight into them without slowing. Metal struck flesh again and again, and the motorcycle jolted as Demons were smashed apart.

The motorcycle ran over the bodies. Blood spattered Xilian's goggles, turning his view crimson.

"This won't work. There are more and more of them!"

Xilian thought he had broken through the encirclement, but beyond the swath of Demons he had mowed down waited another horde, endless as weeds.

"Looks like we'll have to stop for the night after all."

Xilian drew the Boiling Sword.

Just then, several beams of snow-white light tore through the Grey Fog. Engines thundered, easily drowning out the Demons' shrieks.

Xilian turned. A bright flame had sprung to life: a simple Beacon Array. Pure white Soul Marrow Flame burned fiercely, driving back the surrounding Grey Fog and illuminating what lay within it.

A boxy armored vehicle burst through the Grey Fog like a moving fortress. Its heavy armor smashed Demons to pieces, while its treads crushed the fallen bodies, spraying blood between the wheels like a juicer.

"A Fogbreaker. Though it looks like an older model."

Bruce recognized the armored vehicle at a glance. "Get closer. Follow it!"

Xilian was already doing exactly that.

The armored vehicle cut a clear path through the horde like an icebreaker. The motorcycle raced along the trail of mangled bodies and filthy blood through the night.

The two vehicles sped across the Wilderness, one behind the other, until the glow grew brilliant and the ground was bathed in light.

The city stood before them.

Xilian looked up excitedly, about to take in the whole city, when the Fogbreaker ahead came to a stop.

Its doors opened, and several figures climbed out quickly. Men and women alike, some carried swords, others guns.

"Don't talk. Act like a dog."

Sensing trouble, Xilian gave Bruce the order.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

Bruce readily set aside his human dignity.

Xilian parked the motorcycle. By then, the others had approached. They wore matching gray uniforms, with three intersecting rivers emblazoned on the shield badges at their chests.

"I'm Darin Morrison, with the City Guard Bureau."

The man in front stepped forward, his gaze wary. Metal knuckle guards covered both his hands.

"Please cooperate with our work."

The others stood behind him, making no effort to conceal the restless Source Energy within them. They were all Transcendents.

Xilian understood the warning and obediently sheathed the Boiling Sword.

Confluence City Hel was now within his reach.