Du Wei and Vivian raced into the forest. Blazing Sun was awake, casting terrified looks in every direction and growling in agitation.

Vivian ran forward and wrapped her arms around one of its claws. As she murmured an incantation, faint threads of light gathered around her hands. Little by little, the dragon calmed.

Its growls dwindled to low whimpers. At last, it lowered its head and slipped back into sleep.

The spell left Vivian swaying on her feet. Du Wei hurried over and caught her by the arm. "What happened?"

"I-I do not know. Bl-Blazing Sun seemed f-frightened. Just now..."

"But you've calmed him now?" When she nodded, Du Wei's voice turned grave. "You heard the earthquake and that roar. It came from the north side of the island. Something may be here, something we haven't discovered yet. Some kind of beast, perhaps."

Vivian's face tightened. She might be naive, but she was not stupid.

A beast?

What beast could produce a roar like that? What beast could terrify a dragon with its voice alone?

"I am going to investigate," Du Wei said suddenly.

"Huh? W-will it be dangerous?"

"Dangerous..." He shook his head. "I don't know. But this is clearly no ordinary island. No animals. No birds. What does that tell us? My guess is that some terrible creature claimed this place as its territory and drove out every other living thing.

"Whatever the truth, we're stranded here for the foreseeable future. I need to know what we're dealing with before it finds us. We heard the roar; now we scout. If we encounter the creature later, at least we'll have some warning and perhaps a plan."

Vivian nodded vigorously. "I-I will go with you!"

Du Wei's expression hardened. "No. Listen, silly girl. Stay here and watch that enormous pet of yours. What if the roar comes again and wakes him? If he stirs, calm him down. Besides, taking someone as clumsy as you would only cause trouble. You don't even have shoes. Can you cross the entire island barefoot?"

Vivian had no answer. After a moment, she looked at him pitifully and lowered her head. "All right."

Du Wei set out with his long wooden pole. Rather than cut through the forest, he followed the beach north along the tree line. The route was longer, but likely safer.

The fog remained thick, and Du Wei was convinced some terrifying beast inhabited the island—if "beast" was even the right word. Entering the forest now would be asking for trouble.

Near the northern tip, he noticed several short trees along the forest edge laden with unusual fruit.

They were large and perfectly round. Delighted, Du Wei plucked two—only to have his hopes dashed.

Despite their healthy green skins, they were hollow, much like dried gourds from his previous world.

After a moment's thought, he picked several and lashed them to the vine around his body.

If a dangerous beast appeared, he could flee into the sea. The hollow gourds would serve as a crude life preserver and keep him afloat.

At last he reached the island's northern shore—and stopped dead.

The northern tip was forested like the rest of the island, yet the ground lay buried beneath frost.

Ice covered the beach and a small swath of woodland, as though a blizzard had swept through this patch alone. But no such storm could occur in this climate.

More telling still, the frost ended at a clearly defined boundary. Beyond it, everything was normal.

An idea immediately occurred to Du Wei.

He peered into the distance, but the cursed fog swallowed everything. After searching the beach and nearby woods, he knelt and dug through the frost until he reached the soil beneath.

It was still warm and damp. The frost must have formed in an instant—through magic, perhaps.

Du Wei hurried into the shallows until the waves lapped at his calves, then strained to see through the fog.

Something large floated in the distance, little more than a blurred outline in the mist.

"Could it be a ship?"

Hope leaped in Du Wei's chest. He shouted and waved both arms.

No one answered. The object only drifted farther away.

The longer he watched, the clearer its conical shape became. Not a ship.

Whatever it was, he had to see it for himself.

They had nothing and desperately needed everything. He could not afford to ignore even the slimmest opportunity.

Du Wei cinched the gourds tight, plunged into the sea, and began flailing toward it.

He had never learned to swim in his previous life. For all his effort, his frantic paddling resembled a drowning dog's.

Fortunately, the sea was calm. In rougher water, a man might fight his way forward six feet only for the next wave to drive him back ten.

With the gourds keeping him afloat, Du Wei spent every scrap of strength clawing his way toward the object. At last, he drew close.

The sight left him gaping until a wave slapped seawater into his mouth.

"D-damn it! You have to be kidding me!"

A small iceberg floated before him.

Not a ship. Not anything useful at all.

More importantly, someone lay upon it.

White openwork armor. A long white cape. Silver-white hair like snow.

Vivian waited anxiously until evening. Her stomach had begun to growl again, and several of the roots Du Wei gathered that morning remained tucked inside her robe. She took them out, rubbed her belly, then sighed and put them away untouched.

He... he probably has not eaten either.

"Chirp!"

The Dread Phantasm cried from the cage at her waist. Its name, Chirpy, suited its voice perfectly.

Vivian patted the cage gently. "Chirpy, d-do not cry. I know you are hungry too. B-but we cannot eat these. We have to w-wait for him."

At last, when Vivian could bear the waiting no longer, Du Wei appeared.

He staggered forward one torturous step at a time, bent nearly double beneath the weight of someone on his back.

Vivian's eyes went round. She rubbed them hard and looked again. Du Wei really had brought someone back.

She gave a small cry and ran to meet him. Before she reached him, Du Wei toppled sideways, spilling his passenger onto the ground.

"Water! Give me water... Good heavens, that nearly killed me." Du Wei managed a bitter smile between gasps. "This one is much heavier than you. My God... I'm finished. I can't move..."

Vivian hurried over with a bootful of water, but Du Wei pointed instead to the gourds tied around him. She lifted one, surprised by its weight. Water sloshed inside.

"I found these growing on trees. They hold water, so I filled them at the pool on my way back. You can wear your boots again."

Vivian's heart warmed. Her tender feet had suffered terribly all day.

"And take a look at the person I brought back." Du Wei laughed weakly. "Whether she lives is up to you."

He drank deeply from the gourd she handed him, then collapsed flat on his back.

Only then did Vivian examine the person beside them.

Her eyesight was not to blame. The moment Du Wei appeared, everything else had vanished from her mind. All her attention had fixed on him.

His passenger could hardly have been more distinctive—white armor, white cape, white hair—yet Vivian had not spared her a glance.

Now she looked, and her eyes widened as one hand flew to her mouth.

The young mage crept closer and struggled to roll the unconscious woman onto her back. There could be no mistake.

"S-sister?!"