“Vengeance ought to be spoken through gritted teeth, spittle flying, the cords of one's soul so entangled in it that you can't let it go, even if you try. If you feel it--if you really feel it--then you speak it like it's a still-beating heart clenched in your fist and there's blood running down your arm, dripping off your elbow, and you can't let go.” - Laini Taylor (Strange the Dreamer)

* * * *

Whatever it is that Aegis is expecting when Letha and Raul have taken them to the very heartland of underground society aka the Abyss, this is not it.

Like how Letha and Raul have explained on the way, the Abyss is basically an entire town or even society on its own and is mainly located underground—utilising underground passageways that were used as emergency passages for the Eldario of old hundreds of years ago.

At some point, those passageways were abandoned as the country moved with the times, and the underground utilised those passageways instead, turning it into the Abyss that is known today.

Security is strict, and while there is more than one entrance to the Abyss, it is guarded twenty-four hours around the clock. Even in underground society, only a certain percentage of them knew the exact location of the Abyss, not including the informants, and they were all sworn to secrecy.

No member of the underground would ever tattle on the location, no matter what. It is one of the Abyss’ most absolute laws, and would likely see the culprit become a pariah, if not hunted down by the entire underground.

“So, this is the Abyss,” Lucie murmured, looking around her, and wishing that she had about a dozen pairs of eyes to take in everything at once. When Raul had mentioned that the Abyss is an entire functioning town on its own, she had thought along the lines of a few vendors, and that’s it.

They might be located underground, but there are houses and establishments for the long-term residents that couldn’t remain in the surface world for whatever reason—whether it be because they got a bounty on their head or were hiding from certain individuals for some reason. The vendors too aren’t just weapon vendors. Vendors are peddling all kinds of products that one could find on the surface world in any town.

Seeing the interested looks of half of Aegis, Letha only managed a smile. “We’ll have time to look around after the duel,” she remarked. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to go looking at weapons right now. Especially not with the duel right around the corner.”

There were nods from the others. Even Lucie who is arguably the most inexperienced of all of Aegis could feel the tense atmosphere amongst Abyss from the moment when they were allowed entry by the guard at the entrance that they had taken.

Even still, the guard had taken great pains in checking and double checking their identities, and even had some sort of scanning device that Raul had muttered was created by one of the Enforcers a couple of years ago that would allow them to determine if an individual had undergone facial restructure surgery or not.

All in all, it had taken nearly an hour before the guard had allowed them to enter the Abyss. Like Letha had mentioned beforehand when they were on their way here, the security is through the roof. All of Abyss is on guard, especially with what had happened.

Heck, Hayder likely is going to put Abyss under a complete lockdown after this duel and do a full house cleansing.

“Hmm?” A young man turning around a corner, with a girl of similar age next to him paused in his steps when he spotted Aegis, an eyebrow raised. “I know you guys.”

It took Neil several moments before he remembered this guy as the one who suddenly came for a visit sometime back. The one that Raul said used to run with Sera’s old crew.

“Leroy, who are they?” The girl next to him asked, looking at them with a distrustful eye. Her fingers twitched towards her side where a visible gun holster was on her hip.

“Sera’s current crew,” Leroy murmured to the girl in a voice low enough that only Aegis, and the pair before them, could hear him. “Aegis.” He flickered his eyes towards Raul. “I recognised Raul from the last time I popped by for a visit. Now I see you even had Letha added to your group.” His eyes flickered towards Letha as he spoke.

Letha sighed. “Hello, Leroy. Alisa,” she murmured.

“Been a while.” Raul greeted with a nod of his head.

“It might be late, but you have our condolences for what had happened to Klein and Whirlwind,” Leroy told Letha. “I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but the Premier asked me to take charge of Zalfari.”

Letha only nodded mutely. She had heard rumours that there was a new guardian in charge of Zalfari who had been fixing things up, but she didn’t know that it was Leroy. Though come to think of it, there aren’t many people whom the Premier could likely trust to put in charge of Zalfari.

“Thanks.”

“They’re Blade survivors?” Kailey finally found her voice, and Letha nodded in response. “I see…”

Survivors of Eldario’s most powerful street gang. Much like Sera, the pair before them doesn’t seem much, but Aegis knew by now that appearances can be deceiving.

“You’re here for Sera, right?” Alisa who had been staying silent throughout everything, finally spoke. “Do you guys have some time right now? We would like a word with you.”

* * * *

Leroy and Alisa led Aegis towards an establishment that seemed to be some kind of bar. However, because it was still daytime, there wasn’t anyone present. Aegis silently took seats on the surrounding chairs or even couches, only watching as Leroy locked the doors to the establishment and turned on the light switches before joining Alisa on one of the seats at the bar counter.

“I always wanted to meet you guys; do you know that?” Alisa was the first one to speak, even as Leroy tossed her a can of some kind of beverage that he removed from a fridge behind the bar counter. “Myself, Leroy, and even Zest. Especially when we heard that you’re Sera’s new crew, and also Aegis—the group that had been fucking up the plans of the hunters and even the ESA for the last two years.” She had an amused smirk tugging at the ends of her lips.

“Sera wasn’t that forthcoming about her past,” Tatius admitted at last after several long moments of silence, exchanging looks with his friends. “But everyone in the underground, and even some of the common folk knew about Blade. Wasn’t hard to figure out the story and what had happened in Zephys.”

There were nods from all around.

Along with Whirlwind and Dragonfly, Blade is one of the three main pillars of the entire underground. And out of the three, Blade had quite the infamous reputation. Not just the ESA and the hunters, but even the entire underground had healthy respect and fear for that infamous street gang.

It’s to the point that until today, nearly two years since Blade’s demise—not a single street gang had wanted to take over Blade’s original territory. The low and mid-tier gangs that were in Zephys even when Blade was at the peak of their power are the ones keeping things stable there at the moment, but not a single one of them is in any hurry to take Zephys as their own.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“That and the first time we met Sera in Zephys, not long after Blade’s demise…” Kailey exchanged looks with her twin before turning her attention back to Alisa and Leroy. “The expression in her eyes reminds me of cracked glass. She just seemed so…exhausted and worn out back then. It’s like she doesn’t care if she lives or dies.”

Raul nodded in agreement. “I think if it hadn’t been for Kailey and Neil, I honestly do think that Sera would have given up entirely,” he added grimly. “I ran with a street gang all my life, Alisa.” He curled his fingers together with each other. “I understand the feelings and the loyalty one would have to their crew. I felt like my world had ended when my gang turned on me and sold me to the hunters just to save their skins. If not for Sera and Aegis, I think I would have given up as well.”

“She’s got the fire back in her eyes.” Leroy pointed out, seeing the ashen faces of the people surrounding him. “I’m unsure when it’s truly begun, but at some point, Sera isn’t just living for you guys anymore. She’s got that fire back. That spark. The desire and hunger to win.”

“She saved our lives,” Claudia remarked grimly, staring at the nails on her fingers like seeing something fascinating there. “Almost all of us here owed our lives to Sera. And as long as you’re a Gifted or you run in the underground circles—heck, even if you’re a common citizen or a Normal, no way you wouldn’t know about Blade.” She added. “Even we heard the rumours exactly what happened to Blade, and that the survivors—however many there are, all scattered to the four winds. No one needs to say anything.” She looked at Alisa and Leroy. “We know that something terrible happened that resulted in their demise, and why Sera had to go on the run from hunters.”

“We might only be replacements for the crew—the friends and family that she had lost, but so be it.” Ness got to his feet, causing the chair that he was sitting in to topple to the floor. “We follow Sera for a reason. Whatever that she is planning or wants to do, we’re in with her. Right until the end.”

Leroy was shaking his head by the time Ness had spoken. That sense of loyalty that Aegis had towards Sera, despite the number of secrets that she had been keeping from them…

It’s like Blade all over again.

There is a reason why the majority of the gang was wiped out that night.

“You lot don’t know Sera as well as you think you do if you think you’re just mere replacements for us.” Leroy pointed out bluntly. “Sera didn’t save you because she’s replacing us. She did that because it’s the right thing to do.”

Alisa nodded in agreement. “You see, it might sound cruel, but honestly, Sera doesn’t give a shit whether her actions affect anyone or not as long as she believes she’s doing the right thing,” she pointed out. “You’re not replacements.”

“Then why wouldn’t she trust us?” Lucie asked timidly. “She kept everything from us. Like this entire duel fiasco for instance. We would have helped if she’d just asked.”

Silence fell for several moments as Leroy and Alisa traded looks. A glance here. The lifting of a shoulder. Tapping of fingers.

An entire conversation carried on with just a few looks.

It made Aegis envious for several moments—imagining knowing someone so well that you could carry on an entire conversation without saying anything at all. Even Kailey and Neil, for all that they’re twins, are unable to do that.

“It’s not a matter of trust,” Leroy said at last. “It’s just…” He struggled to find the words, “complicated.”

Laura let out a low, long groan. “I’m starting to hate that word,” she grumbled.

“You should talk to Sera,” Alisa suggested. “All of you. Tell her how you feel. Sera… Even during our Blade days, she has a bad habit of bottling everything up and handling everything herself. Zest is the only one she even talks to, even back then. We don’t know the specifics, but I know even before Sera came to Zephys, something bad happened to her.”

Considering how young Sera was when Alisa and Leroy first met her in the streets of Zephys, the implications are almost too horrifying to imagine. Even the streets and the underground circles of Eldario aren’t exactly safe for a young Gifted.

“Zest is likely the only one who knew the full story,” Leroy grunted. To this day, he still doesn’t understand why it’s Zest that had Sera’s full confidence. Sure, he trusts the guy to have his back and would die for him, like how Zest almost literally gave his life for all of them. Even still, what makes Zest so special to Sera?

“Even I heard rumours of Sera before I met her,” Laura said grimly, exchanging looks with Letha and Raul who nodded. “The Death Reaper. She ruled Eldario’s underground scene for a reason.”

“Even Yusa had a healthy respect for her, and he is no pushover.” Raul pointed out. Two seats down, Letha nodded in agreement. “The underground all heard the rumours when Blade was…set upon by hunters.” He said tactfully, eyeing the thunderous expressions on the two Blade survivors in front of them. “But the real story? No one knew. And none of us had the guts to ask Sera.”

Besides that, Sera always expertly changed the subject whenever the topic came up.

Alisa sighed, cradling her head in her hands for several moments. “Like I said, it’s not our story to tell,” she said at last. “We shouldn’t be the ones telling you guys this if Sera had yet to fill you in. It’s Sera’s decision if she wants to tell you. You’re her current crew now. Not us. Besides, do you seriously think that you can come out of everything that Sera has gone through, the attack on Blade notwithstanding, and be okay?” She challenged. “No. She’s fucked up in the head. All of us are.”

There was a soft snort from Tatius’ direction, and every single head swivelled towards the redhead. “We’re all fucked up in the head,” he said wryly, seeing the eyes on him. “Everyone in the underground is fucked up in some way. And we all know that.”

Leroy and Alisa exchanged looks, a silent message passing between their eyes before the pair stood up as one. “The duel isn’t for another three hours,” Leroy said at last. “We’ll save some seats for you in the stands. In the meantime, why don’t you lot go and find Sera?” He had an amused smile tugging at the ends of his lips. “Let there be no secrets between you.”

* * * *

Sera’s reflection stared back at her from the steel of her twin daggers, even as she polished the steel for the umpteenth time to keep herself busy.

In just a little over an hour, she’s going to have that duel with Ebis Ivanor, and only one of them will walk out of that arena alive.

Rumours of her survival have just been that for the last two or so years. Just mere rumours. After today, it will be mere confirmation that she’s indeed still alive. There’ll be no more hiding.

The Goddess only knew what the underground’s reactions were going to be once they found out that Blade’s demise was really by hunters, and not the ESA as they’ve mistakenly assumed for the last two years.

Whirlwind is one thing. Should the underground know that the hunters have been targeting the pillars of the underground network, they’re going to be rightfully furious and will want vengeance.

Blood is going to run in the streets of Eldario.

There was a soft knock on the door just then, and Sera looked up with a start from the bench where she was seated.

“Enter.”

It only took a few moments before the door swung open. And then, one by one, the members of Aegis stepped in. It took everything in Sera to compose herself and not reveal anything on her face.

By the fact that they’re here, they likely already knew the truth or even half of it.

“You guys are here.” It was a statement, not a question.

Tatius nodded in response to Sera’s words. “We’re here,” he echoed.

“Then you likely know what is going to happen in another hour,” Sera responded, looking from face to face, sheathing her daggers. That mere movement drew the eyes of everyone present.

“Alexis told us about it.” Letha was the first one to speak after several moments of long silence. She sucked in a breath, pinching at the bridge of her nose which Aegis knew as a sign of Letha trying to calm herself. “I never met you in person until the day Whirlwind was attacked, Sera. But I heard about you from Klein over the years. And even the stories that went around Eldario. So, I believe I got a good gauge of your character by now. What I want to know, Sera, is why do you insist on doing everything by yourself?”

Letha’s voice grew louder with each word until she was practically shouting at the end.

“She’s right.” Neil nodded in agreement. “We would have helped. You know that. Even if you think some of us might not be able to go toe-to-toe with hunters—if it’s them, I’m also relatively sure that Laura and even Raul at least would be more than capable of handling them. Even Letha. And even if they can’t, you could have at least told us what’s going on.”

Sera sucked in a breath. It was similar to the words that Leroy and Alisa had said to her once before. And even Zest. “I just—”

“You saved all of us, Sera, and we are thankful.” Raul interrupted, narrowing his eyes. Until the rest of Aegis, he had met Sera and the rest of Blade before their demise, and was actually on friendly terms with her, given how both Blade and Dragonfly were allies when Yusa was still alive. “You helped us pick the pieces of our life together and rebuild, and we are grateful. But the reverse works too. We are here to help. You can’t just…shoulder everything by yourself! You can’t do everything by yourself!” Everyone jumped when Raul slammed his fist against the nearest wall.

Sera was silent for several moments, seeing something interesting on the opposite wall before she turned her gaze back to Aegis. “…Even if it’s hunters? Even if it means it might potentially get you hurt or worse?” she asked at last. There was something in her voice that told Aegis that their answers would depend on whether Sera would let them in, or if she’d retreat further into the hole that she’d dug for herself.

The ones who knew her the best—Tatius, Laura, Letha and even Raul, were entirely used to this back-and-forth game with her by now.

“Even then.” Surprisingly, Lucie was the one to speak. The girl looked nervous, standing next to Raul, but she also had a look of determination on her face. “I realise that I’m the newest to Aegis, and I don’t know the full workings, and neither do I know you as well as the rest of them. But…” Lucie looked around, and the encouraging looks of the others gave her the courage to continue. “I believe that I also speak for everyone here that we want to know what’s going on. We want to be kept in the loop. If something is worrying you or concerning you, we want to know. We want to help. We can help. We want to be there for you, Sera. As friends. As a family.”

Sera felt a lump form in her throat, but she forced herself to not allow any of her emotions to show. To show weakness is a death sentence, especially in the dog-eat-dog world of Eldario’s underground.

Until Blade, no one has said something like that to her. No one had ever wanted her as family. Karl tried his best. But he still had his duties, and only checked in on her every few months as a child, teaching her what she needed to stay alive. As she grew older, those visits have lessened to once a year.

She has no idea if Karl even knew that she was still alive or not.

“You won’t regret it?” Sera asked quietly. “You can still walk away. I won’t begrudge you for doing that.”

Tatius stepped forward. “I told you before when you first started Aegis,” he began, “through hell and fire, we would be in with you. Until the end.” He swore, tapping one fist against his chest.

Sera let out a long sigh, nodding. “Okay. Okay,” she murmured. “I promise to you now. After this battle—this duel, I’ll tell you guys everything. What happened at Zephys. Blade’s history. What happened between us and the hunters. Everything. I’ll tell you everything. No more secrets.”

Before anyone could say anything to that response, there was a knock on the door just then.

“Sera, it’s time.” The voice is muffled. “We need you in the arena.”