-No. That’s not it.

  It was his voice.

  Huh. I guess it was easier than I thought. Maybe really it was because he was unconscious? An awake person would probably instinctively try and defend themselves.

  But, as I was about to say something to wake his ass up, I heard another voice.

  -What else is there to do? It’s not like we have anything here.

  Who was that?

  Was he communicating with someone?

  But that voice… sounded weird.

  It wasn’t exactly his, but it wasn’t that much different either.

  It sounded like someone pushed his own voice through a tube and then distorted it on top of that.

  -Mor is here.

  -So what?

  -Maybe he can help.

  -How? He’s not good at portals.

  -It’s not really portal magic.

  -Maybe. But it’s connected. And it was his idea.

  My idea? What did I do?

  -Not really an idea, more like inspiration.

  -Same thing.

  -Do you really want to go with him?

  -I never said I did. It’s not like he has to go along, there’s plenty of targets.

  -And how do you know?

  -I just assume! I mean, this is still only a theory!

  -True. Well, your body, your choice.

  -Our. But there’s no need to be hasty. Maybe we’ll find something here. It’s not like we have to escape right now.

  -Sure. If we find something.

  -Yeah, I am not very optimistic either.

  -Do whatever you please. As long as it’s not boring.

  It seemed like they finished their discussion.

  I hesitated.

  I only got inside his head to try and wake him up, but now speaking up didn’t seem like a good idea. He’d instantly realize I was eavesdropping.

  But, I didn’t need to. He started waking up on his own accord. I guess he just finished whatever he was doing and was getting back to it.

  I quickly pulled out my mind before he realized and went back to shaking him.

  -I said, wake up! Elvu!

  Another streak of water hit his face the moment he opened his eyes.

  -AFH! PFEH! The fuck?!

  -Finally! The hell was wrong with you, you lost consciousness?

  -I just… felt tired… - he replied, feigning a yawn.

  -Aha. Well, you sleep like a rock.

  -Like a wet rock, apparently.

  He shook himself off.

  -You didn’t have to pour a whole lake on me.

  -It worked.

  -Pfeh.

  -What, you scared you’ll get a cold? Come on.

  -No. But what’s going on, why are we in a hurry?

  -Hurry? Not really. I just wanted to tell you that I found something.

  I noticed a glint of interest in his eyes, but it disappeared almost immediately.

  -What, another ruined wall.

  -Ha. If only you knew. It’s a city. Ruined - I immediately said, seeing as he was about to ask. - But still. A large one.

  -You know which one?

  -And how would I know that? Those are ruins!

  -I… Right.

  -If you want, you can take a look, but this time I recommend we go there ourselves.

  -Oh. Really?

  -Yes, really. You teleporting us or want me to try my hand at making a portal?

  -No thanks, just give me a moment.

  He took a breath and stood up.

  I was observing him closely, trying to see if he’s still talking inside his head with… I don’t know, someone. But, it was hard to discern. I was not going to try again and peek into his mind to check, though. He’d know for sure.

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  But, did it really matter?

  For once, the voice didn’t seem that malicious to me.

  Honestly, if anything, it sounded more like he was arguing with himself, as weird as that sounded.

  Well, it’s not like I had a place to complain about that one. I literally was talking to myself on multiple occasions. And not only myself.

  In any case, as long as he wasn’t going to convince him to… I don’t know, try and murder me, I was fine.

  Not like it would be easy in the first place.

  -I hope this time it’s going to be different - he muttered, opening the hole in reality.

  -I can’t speak of what we find there, but there’s definitely more to look through.

  -That’s good.

  He was a lot calmer, so I guess that’s good. Let’s hope it’s going to last.

  The portal he created this time was in a tree again, so I assumed it should be a smooth one.

  -Right behind you.

  I nodded and stepped through.

  Smooth teleport?

  Well, it wasn’t.

  I immediately felt a change in gravity when I stepped through and tried catching back my balance, trying to grasp anything in the nearby vicinity.

  The issue was, there wasn’t anything nearby.

  -FUUCK!

  We were freefalling.

  While I was preoccupied with Mike and his antics, I forgot that I left my “scout” flying quite far above the ruined city. And of course, that was our anchor point.

  I wasn’t too concerned at first moment: it wasn’t the first time I’ve fallen from the sky. Or we for that matter.

  But I realized that the last time our fall was slowed down by the canopy. Meaning, this one was going to be a lot harder, because below us was a very obvious piece of ruined building. Modern building. That means, those ruins included sharp metal pieces of rebar sticking out of random places.

  I quickly focused on the scout to see if I could take control of it and maybe help him down without breaking his neck, but it was nowhere to be seen.

  I could feel it, but…

  Ah. Right. It got consumed in the process of teleporting. The thing I felt was the remaining core that was left.

  Probably should grab that when I come down…

  But that’s not important. I should help Mike…

  CRASH!

  I crashed right in the middle of the ruined building I was worried about.

  Mike was still falling, seeing as he stepped into the portal second.

  So I still had an occasion to do something.

  -Wisfe!

  I slammed my hands into the concrete, and from the ground next to me, a growth sprouted.

  I intended to create a tree to slow his fall and then use it as a cushion, but I couldn’t get it to grow fast enough.

  If not that, then…

  -Wind!

  For a second there, my brain forgot how to compose a spell, making me spit out… Well, I wanted to say garbage, but it worked. It was a long shot from a competent spell. Or a decent one even.

  I intended to create a vortex of wind under him to at least slow his fall, but I might have been a bit too eager.

  The updraft I created straight up stopped him mid-fall and even raised him up half a meter or so.

  Both of us looked at each other stupefied, but quickly shook off from the stun and while I attempted to dial down the mana I was using, he cast his own spell.

  I couldn’t hear him, but I guess his idea was similar to mine, because a tree that I ditched started growing again. While it did not gain any leaves, it did gain height to the point where he could simply just grab onto a branch and I disabled my spell.

  -That was something.

  -Yeah, my bad, I forgot about the part where we were still up in the air - I said, gathering myself from the ground and dusting off the rubble I’ve fallen on.

  I looked at the wall I’ve destroyed, and, unsurprisingly, I did manage to land right on a bunch of rebar.

  Didn’t do a thing to me, instead got warped under my weight. Thanks, Origin Crystal.

  -Sure, whatever. What was that spell though!?

  Of course. He was more interested in magic than his life. Nothing new.

  -Nothing, I didn’t even try and actually construct it.

  While I informed him what exactly transpired, his brow only furled and he did not say anything.

  -I wanna say that’s the Crystal at fault, but I don’t know any more. It’s not the first time - I said, scratching my brow. - Not like I am complaining.

  -Hm.

  -Well, to be honest, I am more concerned about something else.

  -Hm?

  -Look.

  I pointed to the tree that two of us created moments ago.

  Sure, it was hasty. Sure, it was scuffed. But that shouldn’t matter much.

  -Say, you just wanted to use green magic to slow your fall, right?

  -Pretty much.

  -And your spell wasn’t weird or anything.

  -I did not use just plain language, no.

  -Why is this thing so weird, then? When I used the spell, I had a hard time growing it and the leaves never even appeared.

  -Funny, now you mention it… I felt similar. I mean, I didn’t really pay attention to the leaves, but I did have to pour more mana to grow it..

  The tree was still standing there, bare and thin. It looked weak and it honestly looked almost dead.

  If anything, it was a miracle that it managed to support his weight.

  I approached it and briefly touched the bark, trying not to drain it, and just touch was enough for some bark to peel away and turn to dust.

  -Damn.

  -Strange. What if…

  He kneeled next to me and placed his hands on the ground.

  -Wisfe.

  He used the same spell as I did before, but a much smaller version.

  Was he trying to check if the result was the same?

  Well, the plant that sprouted from the ground was just as miserable as was my attempt at a tree. Dry and naked. Honestly, I barely would call it a bush.

  He grabbed the branches he created and they just crumbled in his fingers without even using any force.

  -That is unsettling.

  -Something is wrong - he commented. - I can feel it. This place.

  -You can feel it?

  I tried to focus, but for the life of me I didn’t feel a thing. Maybe a little bit less mana in the environment, but in a spot where there’s no plants it is relatively normal.

  -What do you mean, you can feel it? - I asked.

  -I am… uncertain. It’s… like this place makes me sick.

  -Makes you sick?

  -You don’t sense this…?

  -No - I shook my head. - Not at all.

  -Ha. I guess one thing I am better than you.

  -Hah. Sure.

  It was strange, considering that the Crystal was what was enhancing my senses. He had a lot less of it, and yet he could feel more?

  Didn’t make much sense to me, but it’s not like he was making that up.

  Maybe… Was it the other presence that was helping him? The other voice?

  -Okay then. Maybe that’s the reason why this place is deserted then.

  -Maybe. But, to be honest, those are ruins. There could be a plethora of reasons to bail out.

  -I don’t know…

  -Well, we’ll never learn the reason if we won’t start looking. Come on.

  He nodded, leaving the plants alone. Or rather just a singular plant, his wilted and crumbled to dust completely already, leaving a pile of reddish-brown ash on the ground next to him.