Arden stepped down from the carriage and surveyed the area as Bellum started walking towards Nux, who was chatting amicably with a few of the workers. The sun hung low in the sky, dipping beneath the canopy of trees, bathing the sky in an orange hue. Numerous torches were lit around the campsite, magically sourced so that the forest wouldn't catch on fire.

  In front of each parked carriage, numerous people gathered, with the most being in front of the last one. There, roughly ten tables had been set in a line, each with numerous different kinds of food, alongside towers of plates.

  ‘A buffet again…’

  Arden's eyes were as big as the plates sitting next to the food. Back in the real world as an outcast slum rat, Arden’s meals consisted of whatever he could force down his throat in the form of rations. A buffet, to Arden anyway, was akin to a feast of the gods.

  On Earth, he was a malnourished scavenger. Here, he was part of a noble's staff. So he might as well enjoy it while he can, especially considering he had several more days of travel with Nux ahead of him. Before Arden went and began his sumptuous feast, he surveyed the area for a little while longer. He needed to know more.

  He watched as the majority of the people had gotten food from the buffet and migrated to their own groups. Arden noticed that the people mostly stayed within their own cliques. The chefs stayed together, as did the smattering of servants. The guards were welcomed anywhere but preferred to stick to themselves, with a few exceptions who enjoyed the company of those around them.

  After deciding which group to join, Arden moved to the buffet, which despite everyone's best efforts, still had a lot of food. He grabbed a plate and was drawn to a table with a tantalizing aroma. He had to stop himself from drooling all over himself. When he arrived at the scent’s source, he could hardly contain himself.

  Numerous types of meat were on display. Beef, pork, chicken, venison, fish, everything. Arden could see the seasoning on all of it and greedily filled his plate with an assortment of meat. He told himself that it was for the protein and to build body mass, but on the inside, he knew that he just wanted to eat good food.

  Mindful that his safety had been cut off, Arden recognized that he needed to create his own safety net. He had been under the impression that the real trial would begin from a third party's assault on the Godstone. That wasn't the case anymore. Arden now knew that the real adversary would be the prince.

  ‘Witnesses. I need people to see what the prince is doing to me. If I do that, maybe they'll realize that he's not the hero they need.’

  It wasn't a great plan, but it was the only one he could think of in such a short time frame. It didn't really have an end goal, but it would help Arden stay alive.

  Priority one.

  ‘I don't know what will happen if the people refuse to rally behind Nux. I don't need them to find a new hero. I don't care. I just need to survive the StarFall. With or without them.’

  Going off of Earth’s history, he could more or less assume the broad strokes for the StarFall. Stars disappearing, the arrival of stargates and Celestials, and the awakening of Starborn. And the Blight, pure and infectious. The world wouldn’t end, just drastically change. Arden was sure of that. If he could survive Nux, then he’d be fine.

  After filling his plate, Arden made his way to where a cluster of four servants ate. Two of them were standing, while the other two were sitting on a mat on the ground. All of them had smiles on their faces and matching uniforms. As Arden approached, one of the servants on the ground greeted him.

  “Hey, Guy,” the servant said in greeting.

  The servant looked to be a few years older than Arden, and was someone Arden had met briefly a few days ago when everyone was preparing for the expedition. The servant, Hecas, had short light brown hair and a perpetual smile on his face.

  The other servant on the ground was a rather feminine man with tan skin and black hair pulled back. He looked like he was Arden’s age, although Arden admitted that it wouldn’t surprise him if the tan man was actually in his late twenties. Some people just didn’t age.

  The third man was standing tall with dull gray hair, like it was made of metal. Even though the gray hair wasn’t the same gray hair that showed off one’s advanced age, it was clear to Arden that he was the oldest of the group.

  The last man was another black haired man. He was smiling like the rest of them, but he wasn’t saying much. Arden could sympathize.

  Arden returned the greeting with a nod and began to eagerly devour his food with Bellum's words still ringing in head. He didn't know what Bellum meant by a rough night, so Arden just assumed he would feel sick. Keeping that in mind, Arden tried to scarf down his food as quickly as he could. If he was going to be sick and not want to eat anything, he'd have to eat now.

  “His name is Guy?” the gray haired asked in between bites of his sausage.

  Hecas shrugged.

  “Who knows? He doesn’t talk so there’s no way to confirm or deny it. Besides, Guy works as both a name and a…” Hecas trailed off, and Arden could see the cogs in his mind begin to turn. “What’s the word? Title? Term of endearment? One of those words you say when you greet someone, like saying ‘man.’”

  “He can always write his name.”

  “Tench, the only paper around here is used by the supplies group. And good luck getting a single page from them. They run the place pretty dictatorially back home. I doubt that they’d be willing to give away some supplies when we have a finite amount.”

  “A fair point,” Tench replied. “Although, for having such a limited supply, they sure are willing to splurge on meals.”

  “That’s not surprising,” said the tanned servant. He pointed the spoon he was using to eat soup at the back of Nux who was talking with one of the guards. “He’s the crown prince. Even in the wild, all nobles are taken care of. Hell, it wouldn’t surprise me if a random wolf showed up to help carry him to the Starlight Grove.”

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  “Are there any wolves between here and the Grove?” Hecas asked.

  “A few.” The quiet one answered. “This time of year, most of the indigenous ones will be further south, but there might be a few stragglers left behind.”

  “Wolves migrate?”

  “Not usually. But their prey does. We’d be pretty lucky to see one wolf. I’d be even luckier if it got close enough to tame it without either of us getting killed.”

  “We’ve talked about this, Vili,” the tanned one said with exasperation. “It's illegal to make an animal your familiar without a license.”

  “We are half a day away from civilization even with the fastest magicarriages available. Aside from the group we’re traveling with, there are no people even remotely near us. Everything is legal here, Merik.”

  Arden swallowed some of his food and looked up at Merik. When their eyes met, Arden gave a slight nod of affirmation. That mentality was pretty much the only law of slums. Illegal acts were only illegal when you were caught. Unless someone in power hates you. Then even something you didn’t do, like a murder, is blamed on you.

  ‘What am I going to do with Miasma when I get back?’

  “Guy gets it,” Vili said, then went back to his kebab.

  “Well yeah,” Merik said. “From where he is, he's untouchable. The favorite of the prince, who, if old man Aldren is to be believed, is the man who will save the world.”

  Arden froze for a moment, then continued eating. As he ate he glanced around the group to see if they noticed his reaction. Thankfully, no one paid him any mind, as they were too absorbed in their conversation and their food.

  ‘Thank God they aren't trained for fighting. Vera would have picked up on that.’

  Arden suddenly felt very alone and isolated. He felt guilty again for thinking about Vera like that. Nevertheless, the conversation continued, and the topic was now Nux, no matter how much it turned Arden’s stomach. Merik began.

  “He's a great guy, the prince. He's not arrogant, like the majority of nobles around. He's aware of the family's humble beginnings, so he doesn't disparage between classes. He treats you the same whether you're a commoner or a noble.”

  “The entire Valtorin family is the same way, and it always has been,” Tench said. “It’s because of that that so many lower class people love them. Arrogance is a symptom of the nobility, but thankfully the Valtorin family is asymptomatic.”

  “I can see that,” Hecas added. “Ever worked in the fields under Princess Rin? The work is hard, but she doesn't hesitate to help out. She even makes drinks for everyone on her break. She is the definition of noblesse oblige.”

  Tench looked down at Hecas with amusement before dismissively shaking his head with a smile.

  “Never gonna happen.”

  Before Hecas could form a rebuttal, Tench continued.

  “We all like the princess, but what about the prince? He’s strong for sure, and he takes care of the people as well. Remember when Maeve was just starting out as a maid and accidentally spilled a drink on him?”

  “I remember,” Merik said. “He told her not to worry about it. That learning from a mistake matters more than the mistake itself. She’s one of the highest ranking maids now, right?”

  Tench nodded.

  “He’s done that to a lot of people. He focuses on their potential, not their current self and strives to improve their abilities where he can. And even though he’s kind, he’s still willing to punish those who deserve it. Bandits and criminals. Demons especially. Normally leaders are split between good leaders and kind leaders. Prince Nux is both.”

  “Is he really flawless?” Vili asked quietly. “No one is perfect, there has to be something about him. What does he do to blow off steam?”

  “I’ve heard he’s a bit of a womanizer. He’s hooked up with a few women throughout his travels, but beyond that there’s nothing. And it's not like it was illegal. Lots of nobles do the same thing.”

  Arden was listening and hating it. He refused to believe what they were saying. This was worse than simply being arrogant of their master’s true nature. Nux had their approval despite them knowing some of his flaws. His vision began to shake with rage and every breath felt labored.

  “Are you alright, Guy?” Hecas asked. “You’re not looking so good.”

  Arden looked at him with confused eyes. He felt incredibly cold, but the sweat soaking his outfit told him that his body was hot. He put his hand to his forehead and forced himself not to make any noises.

  Everything hurt.

  Arden looked at the worried faces of those he was eating with and realized that at some point he had laid down flat on his back. His vision was blurry, but he could see their mouths moving but no sound was coming out.

  ‘Potion fatigue?’

  Suddenly, a fifth person arrived and began talking to Merik. The man knelt down next to Arden and spoke to someone Arden couldn’t see.

  Vera had told both him and Sya that rage clouded their judgment, and that they should keep a clear mind at all times. They were told that mentality was the key to winning a fight. Arden wasn’t sure if Vera was correct, because when Nux Valtorin knelt next to him, Arden could see and hear him perfectly, despite the fury that was at risk of being released.

  “Focus on my voice. Deep breaths, in and out. I’m not going to let you die here.”

  Arden felt himself get lifted off the ground and realized he was being carried bridal style away from the group and towards the carriage. Arden was suddenly intimately aware of the teeth in his mouth. When he looked up at Nux’s face, there was a single thought running through his head.

  ‘I'm right at his throat. I can tear it out right now, and be done with this.’

  Even though he had just eaten a large meal of meat, Arden wanted desert, and the prince’s throat was calling out to him. To end it right now.

  Arden forced down his desire for later. He could hurt the prince later when he was healthy and had a chance to escape. Nux looked back and yelled towards someone.

  “Send the healer to my carriage right now! I’ll do what I can until he arrives!”

  If the thought of immediately being executed didn’t kill Arden’s appetite for flesh, the fake kindness from the prince was enough to finish the job.

  The world kept spinning around Arden, with everything including Nux blur together. Arden's only sense that didn't completely fail was his sense of hearing. Somewhere outside the fog of his ailing mind, Arden could hear a conversation between two people, with only one voice that he could recognize.

  Nux.

  “Do you know what's wrong with him, doc?”

  There was a brief pause before a voice that sounded willowy and distant answered.

  “It looks to me like an extreme case of potion fatigue.”

  “It can't be that,” Nux denied. “There are no potions missing from the carriage, and this is the only place he could have gotten them today.”

  The voices faded away, and time became illusory for Arden. He did not know for how long he drifted along the temporal tides. He could comprehend nothing, feel nothing. For a brief moment, or possibly an eternity, he felt that he was nothing.

  The world passed Arden by, and he tried his best to catch up to it. When his mind felt he had finally made progress, reality came crashing down, bearing its full soul-crushing weight.

  Lucidity returned, and he was awake.