The outskirts of Rath were all quiet that night. The moon withheld its light from the residents of the area, and the crickets refrained from entertaining the wilds with their usual chorus. It was this exact silence that awoke Lila from her rage. Once she regained herself, she sheathed her knife back and looked at the body on the ground. She cautiously poked it with the tip of her toes, half fearful that he would get up again and half fearful he wouldn't.

Was he dead? No, he shouldn't be... She only kicked him a few times, a bit too much perhaps, but that can't be enough to kill him. Lila cautiously got closer, braving the stench of the back alleys of the town she just left, and knelt to check if he was alive. He still drew breath, she could clearly see his small chest moving up and down. However, what she didn't know was whether he was playing dead or not.

"So, do you think he's okay?" Lila said, keeping her eyes on the boy.

"I don't see that happening, girl. Quite the roughing you gave him." Crystal replied. It was surprised by Lila's attitude towards the situation. Normally, she would be lamenting or crying by now yet she did neither of those. Though her eyes had an inkling of regret in them.

"Oh, come now, it wasn't that bad," Lila said.

"Don't forget about the stab wound and the flurry of kicks you dished out,"

"That was self-defense!" She said as she turned her face at Crystal. She picked it up and brought it closer to the wound on her leg. "Look at the huge gash on my leg. See? Self-defense."

"Stop being such a pansy—"

Crystal was cut short by a stifled groan coming from the kid, drawing both of their attention to him at the same time.

"Can you hear me, kid?" Lila asked, shaking the kid in the process.

The kid stood silent and unresponsive.

"His breathing is too normal. He is definitely awake." Crystal said.

Hearing this, Lila continued, "I know you're awake. Drop the act."

Still no answer.

"Are you going to stop the act, or do you want me to kick you more?"

However, even though she may have threatened him, she was having mixed feelings about the fact that the kid was... well, a kid. But she needed to do something to make him drop the act.

Then, an idea popped into Lila's mind,

"Okay, that's it! You better get ready, kid."

All of a sudden, she began to tickle the kid on the ground. He was a kid; he should be ticklish after all! There was still no response from him, though this did not deter Lila. On the contrary, it encouraged her to tickle him even harder. As she was focused on tickling the kid, it took her a couple of minutes to realize the kid had already opened his eyes. Much to her chagrin, they were looking at her with pity.

"Please stop," The kid groaned.

"Why? Did I do something wrong?"

Seeing that she was serious, the kid slapped his own forehead in shame,

"How in the blazes did I have trouble with you..."

He was genuinely disappointed in his failure. He never failed before, not even once. But this time he did... And to this girl out of all the people. Broken ribs and a stab wound were one thing, but watching her try to tickle him for real was a lot more painful. But at least she stopped. Come to think of it, she didn't even talk at the moment; she just kept looking at her hip. Was this mission a punishment from the Henmother to knock him down a few pegs? Yes, that was the most likely option. She always favored that snotty little brat over him. While he was cursing his defeat at the hands of this girl, a completely unrelated conversation was taking place right in front of him without his knowledge.

"Speaking of blazes, maybe threatening him with fire would be more effective?" Crystal's voice echoed in Lila's mind.

Lila snapped her head at Crystal,

"What? No! He's just a kid. Why would you even suggest that?!"

For Lila, their mental conversations were as normal as breathing at this point. But she completely forgot about the mental part this time, making her voice her heated words out loud.

"Lady, who are you talking to—"

"You stay out of this!" Lila roared, immediately turning back after, "And you! How can you even suggest that?"

"—Great, she's crazy too," the boy lamented while she continued her seemingly one-sided conversation.

"You know he's not going to say anything, right? Stop treating him like a kid," Crystal pointed out to Lila.

"But he is a kid! He's not even half my age!" She added, closing her arms around herself while at it. "And even if he wasn't one, we aren't burning people."

"He's not a normal kid, Lila."

"What are you expecting him to say? He is just a beggar! Look at what he's wearing; he probably wanted to rob me for valuables, and that's it!"

"Try to remember what he was using a couple of minutes ago. The knife he swung at you is high-quality. Its tip didn't even bend when he missed your head."

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Crystal continued, "If he was a simple beggar, he would've sold it long ago."

Now that it mentioned it, Lila remembered about the knife. Crystal was right, that knife did sound exceptionally sharp each time it whizzed near her ears. She got up from the boy's side and searched for the knife she had kicked away. It didn't take long for her to find it, since its blade could be seen even without moonlight. She took out her own knife from its sheath and held them side by side for comparison. She didn't know a lot about metal, but even she could see the difference in quality with a single glance.

After her appraisal, Lila put her knife back and walked over to the boy. Kneeling down, she waved the boy's knife in front of him.

"So, care to explain why you have such a good weapon?"

No answer once again.

"We are just wasting time, Lila. There could be others with him. Let's just try my way."

"Your way?" Lila worriedly inquired.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt him,"

Upon Lila's approval, Crystal faintly glowed. The only other sign of something happening was a small mark that appeared on the boy's forehead. But for the boy, it was like someone was trying to break a door deep inside his mind. As Crystal suspected, this boy was not just another beggar. A loud voice started screaming in the boy's head, asking the same questions over and over again.

"Tell us your name—"

"Tell us your mission—"

"Who sent you—"

At first, he was caught off guard and almost answered. Then the mental muscles born from training took over, the training that had been carved deep in his mind since the day he became aware of himself. A mind that was drowning in the murky waters of a deep swamp. No thoughts, no images, just darkness and the deep void. There was nothing else in there. With that, the deep swamp slowly drowned the voices, and the small mark on the boy's forehead shattered. A human being broke Crystal's spell...

"You...You are a mage." The boy panted, exhausted from the mental strain.

Although Crystal was still dumbfounded by how this boy managed to break the spell, he unintentionally followed it up with an incredibly convenient misunderstanding. Crystal prodded Lila to play along.

"Yes, I am a mage!" Lila blurted out, her tone boastful and proud.

Rather than scaring him, it made him look resigned instead.

"I knew it. They sent me here to die."

"They? Who are they?" Lila asked.

As soon as "they" were mentioned, the boy was terrified beyond measure. Fear gripped his eyes, banishing the bravery they had in them mere moments ago. Now he truly looked like a helpless little boy.

"I can't tell you... No matter what you do to me. What they can do is scarier than what you can do."

This was concerning. There was a group out there that sent a child to attack her. And he was mortified by them. Was it because of what they could do, or was it because of what they've already done? Lila decided to choose a different approach.

"Hmmm, how about telling me your name and telling me why you're after me then? How does that sound?" Lila said, almost with a motherly tone.

The kid was quiet for a little while, most likely weighing his options.

"It's Nure. The name's Nure..."

"Nice to meet you, Nure. My name is Lila," she introduced herself back.

Seeing that he was still silent about her second question, she continued, "I spared your life. I could have killed you or tortured you to get what I wanted, but I didn't. You have nothing to fear when you're with me, Nure. You can trust me."

Her bright brown eyes emanated care and concern. How naive, he thought. Yet he was still shaken by her motherly approach. His Henmother showed nothing but disdain for him; the only physical touch he knew was the occasional beating he received when he spoke out of turn. Everyone else pushed him around or cursed at him when he stained their sight with his presence. Was this girl different from others? While he was looking deep into the girl's eyes, a flicker of hope ignited in his heart. This small bit of hope was enough to crack him. Befitting a little child his age, his eyes started tearing up. He could hear his Henmother calling him pathetic since he broke down on the first chance. If she heard that he cried, his punishment would be doubled.

Amidst his mental struggle, Lila slowly wrapped her arms around the boy, and all of Nure's worries washed away in an instant. They may have accounted for every torture they could think of for his training, but they did not prepare him for this. It was like poison, a poison he didn't have immunity for. How could he resist that? Her gentle caress felt as soothing as a warm blanket on a snowy night and he craved for more. Much more...

Crystal's voice echoed in Lila's mind, "I'm impressed. Who would have thought you'd be this great at manipulation?" It added, "Still, the fire option would have been faster if you ask me."

"That's why I'm not asking you. Just let me have this," Lila thought, her eyes closed.

"Focus on what we need and get it out of him before you adopt him. I already have my hands full with you, I don't want another one."

Heeding Crystal's words, Lila slowly pushed the boy away, her hands on his shoulders. Looking at him dead in the eyes,

"Nure, I know you're scared but I am scared too. I need to know who sent you. Even if you don't tell me their names, at least tell me what happened."

Nure fumbled, "My... my Henmother sent me here. To retrieve that c-crystal by any means necessary. They also know you."

"How? How do they know about me?"

Once Lila asked this, Nure pulled his gaze away from her.

"I told them... They sent me here two weeks ago. I kept sending them..." Before he could say anything, he realized his mistake. She didn't love him at all, she just wanted information out of him, "Nothing. You're not getting anything else."

"I'm not like them Nure, I only hate certain people, like the ones who sent you. I'd never make a kid do my dirty work. But rest assured, I won't hurt you. We are both victims of those heartless bastards."

Nure regained his cold, emotionless voice, "I'm not a victim, mage. Consider your next words carefully."

With the kid regaining his resolve, Crystal decided to step in.

"We aren't getting anything else out of him, girl. Let's just put him out of his misery and keep moving."

"No, we aren't killing him. What's done is done, killing won't fix anything," Lila thought.

"Then allow me to put him asleep. You know he will inform the others as soon as we leave."

Lila turned her head to her hip and gave a decisive nod. With this, Crystal faintly glowed and a purple hue covered Nure's eyes, causing him to slowly fall asleep. With him out of it, Lila took the empty scabbard off his body and hung it on her hip next to her own. Having done that, she carried the sleeping boy over to the bushes next to the road and tucked his hooded robe over his small body.

Under the moonless night, the duo continued their journey towards the town of Cimia.

Around the same time, a pigeon flew over the capital city of Kortelo. It quietly swooped down into a run-down building and gracefully perched on a window. Inside the room, there were only two people present, talking to each other with a single dimly lit candle illuminating their faces. Noticing the pigeon, the woman stood up from her chair and took out the small parchment that was tied to the pigeon's leg. It didn't take long for her to read the message out loud.

"So, did we break an Egg? What do you think?" The man asked, with his hand on his chin.

"You can't make an omelet without breaking a few ones. Besides, we have more at the Coop."

The man stood quiet for a bit, thinking about the current situation.

"So, they're going to Cimia... Send more Eggs. Don't forget to add a couple of Chicks along with their Henmother,"

"Consider it done, Rooster."