TRIO TRESPASSERS

Two days. Two nights.

That's how long Ishu slept. No dreams. Just heavy silence and deep rest.

When he woke up, the room was dim and quiet. He blinked, sat up slowly, and noticed Debu sitting beside him on a wooden chair. The guy was out cold, head tilted back, blanket half-slipped, and a thin line of drool hanging from his lip.

Ishu smiled, got up quietly, and grabbed his blanket. He gently placed it over Debu's shoulders and wiped his chin with a soft "You drool like a waterfall, man."

Then he stepped outside.

The village he remembered--damaged and tired-- was completely changed now. The broken homes were replaced with strong new ones, there were new farms and trees. A new stone path ran through the heart of the village.

It felt unreal. Ishu just stood there, staring at it all as the sun began to rise behind the hills.

"What… happened here? How long did i slept a whole year?" he whispered.

From down the road, Krishna appeared. He had a few books in hand, talking to a small kid walking next to him. But the moment Krishna spotted Ishu, everything changed.

He handed the books to the kid and bolted toward Ishu like a missile.

"YOOOOOOOOOO!" Krishna shouted. Then tackled him with a hug so strong, they both fell to the ground laughing.

"You're awake!" Krishna said, grinning.

Ishu groaned, smiling. "What kind of welcome is this?!"

Just then, Debu stumbled out, blanket still around his shoulders. "I knew I heard something stupid." He waddled over and—without asking—body-slammed them both, sandwiching the hug. "You couldn't wake up like a normal person?"

Ishu grunted under their combined weight. "Is this how we greet people now?"

Krishna grinned. "If you nap for two days, yeah."

They lay there for a second, catching their breath under the morning sky.

Ishu glanced at the village again. "Okay, seriously. What happened here?"

Krishna stood up, dusting off his sleeves.

"Long story. Let's talk over breakfast," he said, smiling. "And this time---DON'T PASS OUT WHILE EATING."

*******************************************

The dining table was full---and not just with food. Villagers passed by with smiles and greetings, thanking Krishna and Debu as they ate. A few clapped them on the back, praising the help they'd given with farming and rebuilding. Krishna responded with a grin and suggested they switch to Linked Mind for the conversation.

As the meal arrived, Ishu's eyes lit up. No dry bread this time—there was real soup, fresh salad, juicy meat, even a bowl of fruit tucked in the corner. His stomach growled like it had waited a year.

He didn't waste time.

Within seconds, he was shoveling food down like a starving beast, asking questions through mind link between bites. Debu laughed and raised an eyebrow.

"Food contest?" he asked, grinning in Ishu's head.

Ishu didn't even blink. "You're on."

While they chewed and raced each other fork-for-fork, Krishna's voice echoed calmly through their minds.

"After you passed out, I asked the villagers for help. They stepped up—even though most of them were barely surviving themselves."

He took a bite of salad, then continued.

"So me and Debu decided to return the favor. We helped wherever we could—and asked them everything about this world. Turns out most of these folks were banished from different regions. They all came here and built this village near the Death Ruins—yeah, the place everyone avoids. The soil's barely useful and they had no clean water, but it's safe from people."

He glanced at Debu. "And this guy? He went full builder mode. Houses, farms… even created a clean water source with magic  that'll last them decades."

Ishu slowed his chewing.

"You took care of me all that time?" he asked softly.

Debu shrugged. "Every day and night. Someone had to keep your floppy body breathing."

Krishna chuckled. "While he worked, I studied. They had books on ruins, alchemy, magic—all kinds of boring stuff. But I kept digging and made something useful."

He reached into his satchel and pulled out a notebook.

"This is for you two dummies. It explains everything I've learned so far about how magic works here. Leave the complicated alchemy stuff to me."

Ishu blinked, surprised. "You made a book?"

"Yup," Krishna said proudly. "There's more to the story, but I'll spare you the boring lecture."

Just then, Debu dropped his spoon and threw his hands in the air.

"HEY! Did Ishu just finish first?!"

Ishu leaned back, rubbing his belly and smiling like a champion.

"Victory never tasted so good."

**************************************************

As Krishna and Debu guided Ishu through the village paths, pointing out new farms and freshly built homes, something clicked in Ishu's memory.

"Is there a butcher here?" he asked suddenly, voice sharpened with purpose.

Debu blinked, then nodded. "Yeah. Skilled one too. He made the feast we had earlier."

"Tell him to pack up," Ishu said. "We're heading for the Death Ruins."

There was no questioning him.

Krishna and Debu exchanged a glance—no doubts, no hesitation. They knew Ishu well enough to trust his instincts. Whatever it was, it mattered.

Debu headed toward the kitchen, while Krishna quietly began packing supplies. He added food rations, herbs, and water, but most importantly, tucked the magic book into a leather pouch. He didn't know what lay ahead, but he knew one thing: coming back might take weeks.

An hour passed.

Ishu stood at the edge of the village, gear strapped, eyes set. He hugged both of them tight, lingering for just a second longer than usual.

"I'll come back for sure," he said firmly.

"You have to," Krishna replied, hand resting briefly on Ishu's shoulder.

Debu gave a smirk. "Make sure you don't fly straight into a mountain."

With the butcher nervously clutching his satchel beside him, Ishu raised a hand—and the wind answered. The air whipped around their feet, lifting them off the ground with a violent gust.

A wild scream from the butcher echoed across the valley.

Then they were gone. They flew with a tremendous speeeeeeeeeeed.

As the wind faded and the village calmed, Krishna turned to Debu with quiet determination in his eyes.

"We have to get stronger," he said. "If we stay the same, we'll be deadweight when Ishu returns."

Debu gave a slow nod, no words needed. He understood completely.

Krishna headed straight to his study room. Magic symbols, ancient scrolls, and his handmade book—his world now existed in ink and focus.

Meanwhile, Debu sought something different.

He climbed to the rooftop of a quiet hut, the sun dipping low in the sky. With Krishna's book in hand, he read through the magic and rituals, mind drifting between pages and possibilities. When he closed the final chapter, he looked down----and spotted something below.

A little girl sat in the dirt, giggling softly as she played with a rough hay doll. It had twig arms, a button for one eye, and a crooked smile stitched by a loving hand. Debu glided down gently, landing nearby.

"Do you want her to be alive?" he asked, crouching down.

The girl blinked up at him, wide-eyed and whispering, "Can you do that?"

Debu smiled, his tone soft. "Not really. But maybe, just a little."

He placed his fingers near the doll, closed his eyes, and chanted quietly in his mind. After a moment, he leaned closer and whispered:

"You are alive."

The hay doll twitched. Then it blinked, raised a hand, and began to move in curious little jerks. The girl gasped and held it close, laughing with delight.

"She can move," Debu said. "But that's it. No feelings. No thoughts. She'll stop in a few days."

The girl nodded seriously, hugging the doll tighter.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Debu simply nodded back, then rose into the air once again, returning to the hut's rooftop. From there, he watched the village breathe and glow in the evening light—his mind spinning slowly, still searching for what truly called to him.

**********************************************

Blood still dripped from his gloves.

Behind him, the hills were littered with carnage—ogre corpses stacked like failed defenses, torn open and half of the body missing. One twitched. Another rolled, jaw gone, eyes wide.

His face was buried in shadows, hood drawn low, yet the energy oozing from him was unmistakable.

His cloak swayed gently as he leaned forward.

A single smile cracked across his lips beneath the shadow. Slow. Wide. Horrifically amused.

He whispered through the wind:

"Found you." while staring at a system window showing a red dot in a map where Debu was located."

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