Raine and Nikolay found a recognisable mule sniffing around the building.

“Rascal?!”

At the sound of her name, the mule’s ears perked up. She whinnied in acknowledgement, joyfully galloping towards Nikorai.

Upon realising that Raine was currently in control of the vessel, Rascal mischievously nipped at the hem of their shirt. When Raine jumped back in panic, she chased after him with her probing nose.

“Ack! Rascal, stop!” Raine yelped, feebly attempting to push her away.

Rascal momentarily obliged, if only to stare at him with a mirthful twinkle in her eye.

Raine noticed that Rascal still had their original bags that were tied to her saddle, along with a new, smaller bag. He scrutinised the unfamiliar addition to Rascal’s luggage, but it appeared normal enough from the outside.

Walking closer, Raine warily unzipped the mysterious bag.

Placed atop the contents was a piece of white paper, somehow perfectly unharmed from Rascal’s journey to the Order of Truth. Magic, maybe? Wait. If it was possible to put magic in things, then was it possible to have a magic-fuelled trap?

Do you think this is a trick?

Rascal wouldn’t let any distrustful people near her. They’d receive a kick in the face at best. Besides, you’ve already touched the bag. If there was any malicious magic, it would have activated by now.

Well, that was the most consolation he would get from Nikolay. Raine picked up the slip of paper and peered at the small writing on it.

“Enjoy...?” Raine read aloud, confused.

The single word was neatly printed on the paper, leaving ninety percent of the note blank.

Thankfully, nothing immediately bad happened to them when they touched the strange message, but it seemed to leave more questions unanswered. It clearly wasn’t Lysandra, since she hadn’t said anything about Rascal being here.

Regardless, I’m glad that we have Rascal here. We need to get away from here as fast as possible.

Raine peered below the note and saw layers of clothing beneath. Nestled among the fabric were other necessities, like toiletries and food that would have expired during their multi-week stay with the Order of Truth.

And on top of sending Rascal back to us, they’ve even included a little care package.

Check the bag for any possible tracking devices. I’m not risking us getting caught for a second time.

On it-

Actually, let me do it. I need peace of mind right now.

...Right.

Raine gave way for Nikolay to establish a connection with the vessel. Their switch-overs were becoming more fluid, he noticed. Before, they had an awkward split second where neither of them occupied the vessel’s physical controls. He supposed it was also practice and getting used to each other’s presence. When their consciousnesses had first made contact with each other, it completely removed any barriers between them. Not that it gave them enough time to peer into each other’s deepest secrets, but the deeply unsettling feeling ensured that they avoided each other. Now, the sensation had dulled significantly — most likely thanks to Nikolay’s habit of putting up a force-field around his thoughts — and they were able to easily slip past each other without hesitating.

Seems clear, Nikolay said after a thorough inspection of the bag’s contents. But we’ll have to double check when we have the time later.

Should we change? I... uh, you know, the blood on our clothes, Raine stammered, eager to avoid mentioning the topic.

If it makes you sleep better at night, Nikolay replied, pulling out a set of clothes at random.

They quickly replaced their blood-soaked clothes and threw them on the doorstep of a nearby entrance. Littering suddenly felt like a trivial matter, given that the Order of Truth had just been massacred. Sure, they could have gone to a nearby stream and washed off the blood, but Nikolay was highly doubtful of their ability to completely remove the stains without detergent.

Nikolay scrutinised the contents one last time before closing the bag. The food could have been tampered with, but I don’t think we have much choice.

As they walked over to the saddle, Rascal sensed the change in their demeanour almost instantly. She whinnied in glee and gently nudged their side.

Nikolay chuckled softly and gave Rascal a hearty pat on the neck. “Hey, girl. Miss me?”

Rascal exhaled through her nose in approval of the neck pats.

“Sorry, we didn’t plan on getting kidnapped,” Nikolay replied, the ends of his lips tugging upwards.

Raine was taken aback. Nikolay, smiling? Did he hit his head?

“We should get going though,” Nikolay said to Rascal as he mounted her saddle. “I hope you’re not too tired from running here.”

Nikolay being considerate of others? Raine pouted internally. Of course Rascal received this treatment, and not him. If only Nikolay talked to him like that...

Hey, it’s your turn. Stop slacking.

Nevermind, fuck that guy.

Raine didn’t give two shits about Nikolay, actually. He’d rather Rascal receive all of Nikolay’s attention, if it meant that he’d go a day without nagging.

Nonetheless, he said, Okay.

Raine spurred Rascal forwards, towards the peak of the mountain.

The prospective journey ahead of them provided an interlude between their constant struggle for survival. With almost all the Order of Truth members incapacitated, it was reasonable to assume that the organisation wouldn’t be disrupting them anytime soon.

Specifically, though, it gave Nikolay no excuse to dodge Raine’s questions. At last, he would get answers. Unless the gods suddenly decided to strike them down, Raine wasn’t stopping for anything.

Alright, you’ve avoided my questions for long enough. What’s the deal with you and Guthasar? And do you actually have magic? How do you know so much about it?

One at a time, Nikolay sighed. Let me explain.

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Guthasar was a distant acquaintance from my original life. There’s not much else to share. I don’t know much about his motives, or why he’s suddenly obsessed with me. I was expecting him to exact revenge for my multiple attempts on his life, but it concerns me even more that he didn’t do so.

To answer your second question: no, I don’t have magic. I used to, which is why I know its inner workings. In fact, I was able to utilise magic in all of my lives, barring this one. I suspect it has something to do with our current body-sharing predicament.

Oh.

Nikolay snorted in amusement. "Oh"?

I wasn’t expecting the answer to be so simple. You were being so secretive about it.

It wasn’t important at the time. And to be honest, it still isn’t.

Raine huffed. Would’ve been nice to tell me, anyway.

I wasn’t refuting your concern, Nikolay said flatly.

There was no way that Rascal hadn’t sensed the tension in the air, but she graciously chose to ignore it. They continued galloping away from the Order of Truth’s building in strained silence.

Raine had momentarily forgotten their argument while they were busy attempting to not die, but it came rushing back. Now was the best time to address anything.

He took a deep breath to steel himself. Nikolay, we need to talk about what happened back there.

Here we go, Nikolay sighed.

I can understand the part where you didn’t care about senselessly killing somebody. Kind of, Raine frowned. But before that, when we first woke up. There was no reason to goad the cell guard into attacking us. And now we’re worse off for doing it. I just need assurance that you won’t do that again, I guess.

Exceedingly bold of you to assume I would even agree to that.

See, this is what I mean. You’re so... Raine gesticulated wildly. You.

So what? You want me to get down on my hands and knees the next time Guthasar comes knocking again? Nikolay asked sharply, the venomous undertone not going unnoticed by Raine.

Raine hadn’t meant to initiate a conversation with the intent of turning it into an argument, but it was going downhill fast.

Raine drew his mouth into a tight line. I didn’t mean it like that.

Pray tell, what did you mean?

I get that you’re mad about your vessel being used for the prophecy, but that doesn’t mean that you can recklessly use it for the sake of your own pride. I’m here too.

Are you kidding me? My previous life was cut short, and now I’m forced to risk my final life over something that doesn’t even concern me. I think this is fair grounds to be annoyed about.

Well, this is my one and only life, so you’re pretty lucky to begin with, Raine grated out, still attempting to sound diplomatic.

If I recall correctly, your ‘one and only life’ would’ve been over several weeks ago; if you hadn’t stolen my vessel from me, Nikolay said tersely.

Raine tightened his grip on Rascal’s reins in agitation. I didn’t forcefully take your vessel. It was the gods who did that, not me. Stop finding shit to blame others for.

That was the tipping point for Nikolay. The rubber band-like tension violently snapped in two.

Do you think that I blame people intentionally? Nikolay shouted, anger seeping into every corner of their brain. It’s hard to think otherwise, when I wake up in this shithole of a mess and remember that my body doesn’t even belong to me!

And you think I don’t feel the same way? I’ve been shoved into this role just like you have!

But what have YOU contributed to this? Other than besmirch everything with your meaningless protests of ‘morals’?

The prophecy didn’t even ask for your help — you’re only here because of this vessel! If you weren’t here, things would be a lot smoother!

Oh. Oh no. It had just floated to the top of his thoughts in the midst of his anger. He didn’t mean to say it aloud.

Predictably, Nikolay shut down in response.

A string of expletives floated across Raine’s mind as he realised the gravity of his outburst. It was a shame that Nikolay didn’t hear them, courtesy of his self-constructed barricade.

If this was a game, he just chose the worst possible dialogue option. If this was a war, he just accidentally launched a world-ending ICBM. Good thing it wasn’t, though, and Raine had simply just hurt the feelings of somebody he didn’t even care about in the first place.

Yeah, great. Just peachy. In fact, he had already forgotten about Nikolay. Nikolay who?

Raine was pretty sure that he was going insane.

A drop of water hit Nikorai’s cheek. Looking up, the grey blanket of clouds had covered the darkening sky. The prospect of riding through a storm only served to further sour Raine’s mood.

Raine groaned. He thought that they would’ve found a temporary refuge before the storm hit, but clearly, fate had other things in store for them.

Apart from a few sparse trees, there was no shelter for them to hide under. Left with no other option, they continued pushing forward in the hope of a decently large tree to shield them from the rain. The bag of clothes, disappointingly, did not include a raincoat — a shame that their mysterious benefactor hadn’t thought of the weather. Despite Kosira currently being in the middle of spring, it had become freezing cold from the storm. Nikorai involuntarily shivered, feeling the frigid wind bite into their damp skin. It didn’t help that their fresh clothes were now completely soaked through.

So much for the new clothes we just put on.

Raine felt a little silly speaking to himself in his head, knowing that Nikolay could hear him from within his mental fortress. But the silence unnerved him too much; the all-too-prominent tension in the air was unbearable. The temporary relief was enough, even if silence enveloped them once again after Raine finished speaking.

Since they were riding atop Rascal at such a high speed, the unforgiving rain pelted their face like shrapnel. If their face wasn’t already hurting from the fresh bruises, the rain would have certainly finished the job. Their day just seemed to get worse and worse — and Raine had thought that awakening in a jail cell was difficult to beat.

A rapidly growing brown speck in the distance caught their eye. Nudging Rascal in its direction, Raine squinted to get a better view through the thick sheets of rain. It looked like a house, accompanied by a barn and some fencing. Strange — Raine wasn’t expecting to see any signs of civilisation here, considering the lack of... anything on this mountain. Apart from the obnoxiously prominent building owned by the Order of Truth, that was.

The origins of the house didn’t concern Raine, since it looked abandoned. He imagined that having a cult-like group settle in next door would be off-putting. Besides, Nikorai wasn’t getting any warmer. He had to take what he could get, haunted and abandoned house or not.

Rascal trotted towards the sheltered stables of her own accord — sometimes Raine seriously questioned if all mules in Kosira had uncanny intelligence. Nikorai hopped out of the saddle, loosely tying Rascal’s lead to a nearby post. The lead was merely a formality; if Rascal wanted to leave them, she would find a way.

Walking into the house was like entering heaven. The incessant sound of the roaring rain finally dimmed to a dull thrum. It was a completely different world inside the comfort of the brick walls.

Moonlight shone through the window, a faint glow hindered by the rain-clouds in the sky. Other than this, the usual darkness that came with the night shrouded the rest of the house.

It’s nice to finally get out of the rain. Although, I feel a little bad for creating puddles in this perfectly dry house.

Maybe if you weren’t wearing those boots inside, you wouldn’t be leaving wet footprints across the entire floor, Nikolay scoffed.

Raine rolled his eyes and trod his way back to the doorway, leaving more puddles as he went. He wasn’t about to argue with Nikolay again. Their ride through the storm had cooled them down — both figuratively and literally — but a small spark could easily reignite their anger.

I’m not used to taking shoes off inside the house.

I can tell, Nikolay said dryly.

Determined not to let Nikolay dampen his spirits, Raine walked over to the nearby fireplace and searched in the drawers for a way to light it. Sure enough, Raine found a box of matches and some old shredded newspaper intended as tinder. It didn’t take Raine long to start up the fire — he’d started fires in worse conditions while they were travelling on the road.

Given that the air in the house was still, the fire easily roared to life as it consumed the tinder and kindling. Sitting comfortably beside the warm fire, Raine felt the exhaustion practically roll off his body. If it wasn’t so cold, he would have gladly taken off his drenched clothes. Once he felt like Nikorai was no longer within the realm of hypothermia, Raine got up and inspected the rest of the living room.

Now that the fire was illuminating the house’s interior, it looked far less foreboding. Tall wooden shelves housed an assortment of items — from figurines, to teapots, to an unused calligraphy set, every possible odd thing was displayed on these shelves. The couches around the fireplace weren’t much different, being stitched together from various fabrics.

Raine walked up to a shelf at random, running a finger along the smooth wooden surface.

It was odd. There wasn’t any dust on the shelf. If this house was abandoned, then why wasn’t there dust anywhere? Come to think of it, the matchbox looked new, like it had just recently been bought.

But the door had been unlocked, though. Only abandoned houses would be unlocked, right? Otherwise, the owners would have already locked their door by now.

Unless somebody had left the door open on purpose.

Nikorai’s face paled when both men came to the same conclusion.

There’s somebody here.

At that moment, a bloodcurdling scream pierced the silence of the house.