Iron Wasteland

Chapter 3

The duo continued on through the tunnels, a slight silence between them. Providence was using some of her power to light their way, but the effort seemed pointless with Irons standing in front, just on the edge of the light. As they walked she stared down the man from behind, still unsure what to make of him. His jovial tone in their conversation, even when supposedly breaking the horrible truth that the world had–gods forbid–ended, made her suspicious. She wasn't exactly worried about her safety, though, even if her fire abilities had seemingly weakened. She was a goddess, a simple mortal wouldn't be able to even scratch her.

Still, the man confused her. If this was still the time she knew, and he was just pulling some sort of sick prank, this man had really gone in on the body modification. The whites of his eyes were completely gone, replaced with a solid black that seemed to suck up the light around it. His yellow irises shined unnaturally whenever he faced her, in a way that implied he wasn't using colored contacts. His pupil also appeared to be dyed yellow, almost as if the pupil and iris had fused. His teeth were almost unnaturally pointy, a mouth full of canines that fit together perfectly when he smiled. No gaps, like if he had filed them down.

The silence was starting to get to her. She cleared her throat, getting his attention.

"So...say I believe you, and the world truly has ended. How are you here?"

Irons nodded. "That is an excellent question!"

He fell silent.

"We don't know!" He finished cheerfully. "A lot of our early history is lost. From what I can remember from my history classes, It's agreed we're in the 'After Lost Era', which comes after the similarly titled 'Lost Era'."

"And who is 'we' in this situation?"

His smile faded for just a second, but quickly came back in full force. "Well, there's a few different nations running around now. I'm-was, part of the U.S.C, or the 'United Sheriff Coalition'. There's also the Albraan Empire, and finally the Katarin Monarchy. Those are the three big ones. Those names are the agreed-upon titles."

"...I have several questions, the first one being; are you certain you're sane?"

"Sanest man I know!"

"That is not comforting..."

More traveling in silence. The deeper they went into the tunnel, the more Providence became concerned. Wouldn't they have found an exit by now? It was hard to tell if there was any raising or lowering elevation, it just felt like they were going relatively straight and flat. Not like they could've wandered off the trail, there were no branches paths. Just endless, winding stone hallways. She decided to speak up again.

"Irons...are you sure we're going in the right direction?"

He nodded. "Yep! I had a fire that I used to judge if there was any wind. It blew left, so I went right! That's how I found my way to you, after all!"

Indeed, Providence could feel a slight breeze billowing the flames of her head back, causing it to flicker. However, that phrasing...

"You had a fire?"

Instead of answering, Irons snapped his fingers and a small ball of flame no bigger than a lighter appeared over his head.

"Magic, baby! Makes the world go round."

She stared agape. "Magic. You, a mortal. Wielding god-like powers, with the calmness of a midday stroll."

"...judging by that, people couldn't do this back then."