Reaper sighed and looked around. He wasn't smiling. He looked tired. Like really tired. His shoulders were a little slouched, and he kept wiping his forehead like it was hotter than it really was.
He pointed to a tall tree nearby. Its branches moved slightly in the wind, but it stood strong.
"Break that," Reaper said.
Ash blinked. "Huh?"
"The tree," Reaper said again, still sounding tired. "We'll use it."
Ash looked at him. "Why the hell do I gotta do it? You've got arms. And powers. What am I, your errand boy?"
Reaper was silent, completely ignoring every word Ash just said. Ash threw his hands up and walked toward the tree, muttering curses under his breath.
He got close to the tree, squinting at its thick trunk.
That's when it happened.
A sharp whoosh cut through the air, fast and loud. The sound of something slicing, clean and quick. The tree's whole body tilted and fell, hitting the ground with a loud crash. Dust exploded everywhere.
Ash coughed, waving a hand in front of his face. He shouted, turning around. "Ken! A little warning would've been nice!"
Ken just stood there, holding one of his blood blades. He didn't say a word. Just let the blade melt back into his skin.
Ash grumbled something under his breath and turned back to the fallen tree.
The dust was still in the air, making everything hazy.
Then Reaper raised both hands, palms open, like he was holding up an invisible wall. The tree lifted. Not all shaky or wobbly. It floated smoothly and slowly, like it was light as paper.
Ash took a step back, watching in silence.
The giant tree hovered above the ravine, then gently lowered itself across the gap, landing on both sides. The ends dug into the dirt, settling like a bridge made just for them.
Reaper dropped his arms and exhaled.
Ash looked at the tree, then at Reaper.
"Telekinesis, huh?" he muttered.
Reaper shrugged. "It helps."
Ash didn't say anything after that. He just stood there, arms crossed, watching Ken and Reaper carefully walk across the tree bridge.
The wood creaked a little under their steps, but it didn't break. It was strong enough. Probably. Still, the whole thing looked like a setup for one of those stupid death scenes in horror movies. One wrong step and boom, straight into the pit of death.
Ash looked at them. Then at the tree. Then at the ravine. He could've just walked across like them. But nah. That felt too boring. So he bounced a little on his heels. Just up and down.
Once. Twice.
Then he sprinted.
He ran straight toward the edge and leaped up, lifting off the ground with full confidence. He reached out with his mind, calling for the electricity like he always did.
But…
Nothing.
Nothing happened.
His body stayed in the air for a split second. And then he dropped.
"What the—?"
It didn't make sense. He always got the spark going. It was like muscle memory at this point. Like blinking. But now? Nothing. It was like he lost all control over it.
The wind screamed past his ears as he fell. But then, He stopped, mid-air.
He hovered a few feet above the sharp rocks below. His arms flailed a little, trying to grab something that wasn't there.
Then he started floating up.
Ash tilted his head back and saw Reaper standing at the edge, hand out, face focused.
Telekinesis.
Ash smirked in mid-air. "Thanks," he said in the most annoying, arrogant voice he could do.
Reaper grunted, still pulling him up. "That makes us even now."
Ash rolled his eyes. "Alright."
Reaper didn't say anything. Just dropped his hand once Ash was close enough, letting him land on solid ground.
Ash dusted himself off. His hair was all over the place. His heart still beat fast, but he played it cool. He always did.
"Wait a second," he said. "Why didn't we just do this from the beginning? You could've floated us all across."
Reaper laughed a little. "I can't use it on myself, dumbass."
"Oh."
Ash blinked.
"Right. Makes sense."
They kept walking. No monsters. No sounds. Just wind and silence and footsteps on dry dirt. Ash looked at Reaper as they walked. He kept thinking about that telekinesis thing. It looked cool. Kinda flashy. But… was that it?
Like yeah, sure, lifting trees and people was impressive. But how strong could he really be?
Could he pick up a truck? A building? Could he stop a meteor?
Ash didn't know. And Reaper wasn't the type to show off.
Still, something about it felt... underwhelming. He expected more.
Maybe he was just hungry. Actually yeah, he was really hungry. His stomach growled.
He ignored it.
Ash kept stealing glances at Reaper. Then at Ken. Then back at Reaper. He wondered how long they'd all stay alive out here. And if food was gonna magically appear like everything else weird in his life.