Upon further inspection, there was nothing to indicate that the site had been anything more than a one-time stop for a single or group of survivors. There were no traces of anything even semi permanent, such as bedding or the like. That probably meant that there wasn't a settlement in the immediate vicinity. And even if there had been at some point then at least not anymore.

Vowing to check his levels more often, Eik took out his wooden plaque.

[Acquired Living Manifestation — Lv. 31]

Sweet. That little toxic snake hand grenade trick had pushed him to the next level. Inventiveness for the win!

Eik's rucksack of holding was stuffed absolutely full of supplies so they didn't have to hold back on account of running out of energy. Their high-ranked legs carried them through the city at amazing speed as they leapt from rooftop to rooftop.

Copenhagen had had pretty strict laws regarding the height of new buildings. The skyline of the city sported numerous spires, from church belfries to castle towers, and the administration had been loath to taint that with high rises and skyscrapers. There were some, of course, but generally that notion had been adhered to when new buildings had been constructed.

Now, years after the maintenance of buildings and roads, public access, and general infrastructure had ceased to be a priority, nature had stepped in and reclaimed the city in earnest. Given how some truly massive trees had taken root where not a plant had grown just a decade earlier, there was little doubt that the significant change in the overall heartiness and adaptivenessas well as the rate of growth of the flora of Earth had played a part in just how different the city now looked.

In some places he could barely even tell that it was the city he was so familiar with. Many of the land marks and notable sights had been completely smothered by the wild growth of the vegetation. Fountains on the public squares, large metal statues of historical figures, and even the tallest of steeples had not been capable of withstanding the merciless encroachment of nature.

No matter where they went in the city, they could find nothing that pointed to the existence of a current settlement. At various locations, some tucked away in corners hidden from prying eyes and others out in the open, were the remnants of attempts at something that could have been camps.

The remains of shoddy barricades built in front of gated inner courtyards with surrounding four story apartment buildings acting as additional protection showed that people had at least tried to make a stand in the city.

All were abandoned now, however.

"Why didn't we bring along someone with tracking abilities again?" Eik asked with a sigh.

"I did actually ask Lisa, the B-ranked scout, but she's kind of going crazy right now trying to show her worth after Travis died. She's been obsessed with him for years. I couldn't get her to agree. None of the C-rankers would leave their families and friends behind either, and anyone ranked lower than that couldn't do better than me. Honestly, there just isn't much faith in this little venture of ours. Most people don't believe we'll be able to find anyone."

"My thoughts are starting to go down a similar route," he grumbled.

"Come one, Eik, we just started."

"Yeah, but… was this a dumb idea?"

She tilted her head from side to side. "I mean, probably."

"Right?"

"But," she said and lifted a finger. "that doesn't change the fact the we sometimes need to take a chance on something dumb if it feels like we're running out of options. I know I've seen you embody that notion plenty throughout your life and succeed."

"Wow," he deadpanned. "Why do you hurt me so?"

She chuckled. "No, but in all seriousness, after the tragedy Forest just went through, we are in dire need of reinforcements and I'd really prefer if it was humans who we can at least vaguely identify with culturally. Not to mention people we are biologically capable of having children with," she noted. Involuntarily, Eik's thoughts briefly drifted to Ihasu from the Ougi clan, one of Mikla's colleagues whom he had met and totally not become infatuated with. Hopefully, she and her family had made it through the cult crisis safely. He probably wouldn't see her again anytime soon.

Olivia continued. "This dumb idea might just be what turns it around. And if not, then the attempt was worth the possibility. What about a tracker from the Nidafjeld Alliance?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"I considered talking to Mikla about it but I just don't trust the alliance enough to take a high-ranked agent of theirs into regions even we don't know anymore. Least of all a tracking specialist."

"And Andihar Dayarunar?"

"I already asked him as well."

"Well, we'll take care of this together, Eik."

They continued their search and eventually made it to Eik's childhood home. It was a property in the northern part of the city that his father had bought many years ago when the housing prices had been lower. Eik reckoned he could afford to buy in this neighborhood in the current market. High supply and low demand and all that jazz. Although it might be challenging to find a seller. Or find anybody at all for that matter…

It looked exactly as it had ten years ago when he had left. Well, the front garden could do with some work if he had to be honest, but he wouldn't hold that against his parents when he found them. Memories flooded into his head as it was all brought back to the forefront.

He didn't even notice when Olivia quietly wandered off to look through some of the neighboring houses. For a while he was lost in his mind, standing there on the sidewalk and just staring up at the front door that he had walked through so many times. Almost every day of his life. The portal through which all of his adventures had started.

Even the one he was on here, thrown into the horror show that was the Unified Mass, fighting his way up the ladder of power, and now looking for family and friends, had originally begun when he stepped through that door to take the train to the airport. And what an adventure it had been. He could only hope it would end well.

Eik had long since lost his own copy of the key to the house so when he was met with a locked front door he simply applied a bit of strength to crack the wood and force his way inside.

The interior was undisturbed. From the entry hall he went into the living room and threw himself into the sofa. A ten year old layer of dust was sent into the air as he hit the old cushions.

Without thinking overly much about it, his aura came up to prevent the small particles from entering his nose and mouth. Speaking of which, he had to look into strengthening his aura as well the next time he had a quiet moment to himself.

It felt like the ever-growing pile of tasks related to his power growth never shrunk. New facets of the endeavor just kept appearing incessantly. With everything that had been going on recently there simply hadn't been much time to focus on that type of training. Hopefully he could take some time on this journey to focus at least a little on that as well.

Not expecting anything, he pushed the button on the remote to turn on the TV. Nothing happened. Again, he became lost in the memories as images of his mother, father, and brother whisked through the house like ghosts.

What happy days it had been. Dad inviting him on a fishing trip and Eik refusing. Mom and dad cooking together in the kitchen. Mom taking him for the softest and most delicious ice cream on a hot summer day. His brother coming home to tell him about all the awesome things he and his friends did that Eik just couldn't wait to be old enough to take part in.

Damn. He wiped his eyes and stood back up.

Opening the fridge he barely found more than a few bottles of expired condiments, and some very expired something that he couldn't even recognize at this point. All of the other stuff that he would expect to find in there was nowhere to be seen.

Inhaling sharply, he slammed the fridge shut and flew through the living room and up the stairs to the second floor. He hesitated for only a moment before pushing open the door to his parents' bedroom. The bed was neatly made, only the thick layer of dust on the bed cover alluding to the decade-long abandonment of the house.

The closets placed against the opposite wall, on the other hand, had been thrown open and clothing lay scattered haphazardly across the floor in heaps. Their rucksacks were gone along with several sets of clothes. They had left in a hurry no matter how you twisted and turned it.

"They were alive," he whispered under his breath. "They were alive long enough to run away."

Doing his damnedest to avoid thinking about how perilous such an escape would have been for his parents, he took the fastest route outside and jumped through the window.

"Olivia!" he hissed, looking around for her as he dropped down to street below. "Olivia, where are you? I found something! My parents packed clothes and food before they left! They were alive for long enough to get that far! Olivia!" he called, voice getting louder with each word.

He whirled around at the sound of the door swinging open. Olivia came out. "Relax, I'm right here. Don't worry."

"I found something!" he repeated. "My parents! They packed a bunch of stuff and left! Olivia, they might still be alive!"

She flashed him a smile. "I know. Because I found something as well. Come and take a look."

"Really? I checked the downstairs already, though. What is it?" he asked as he ran back through the garden. Vines had completely reclaimed his house as well as all other buildings in the neighborhood. If civilization ever got to a point where people moved back into their houses, landscape gardeners could charge anything they wanted for their services.

"You just overlooked it. It isn't necessarily a place you check. Rasmus and Caroline didn't know what was going on at the time and probably didn't want it to be visible from the street."

As soon as he stepped inside, Olivia took him by the shoulders and spun him around to face the indoor side of the front door. "I had actually been studying Danish to be able to talk to Torbjørn and the rest of you in your native language, but I only got far enough to understand some of what they wrote."

Eik felt tears trickle down his cheeks as he looked at the message left behind. It was written on the painted wood with big, black letters. Even as they had been running for their lives, probably frightened beyond belief, they had still taken the time to leave a message for their sons who were far away. That didn't come as a surprise. The boys had always come first in all matters. Oh, if only they still lived.

He read the message aloud for Olivia.

Torbjørn and Eik,

We're leaving with some of the others. It's too dangerous to stay here any longer. Nobody knows what's going on, but the city is swarming with those things.

We're heading southeast, toward the bridge to Sweden. We don't know what happens after that.

Please be safe.

We love you both so much.

—Mom and Dad

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