A few minutes later, the boy sat on the roof, looking out over the city again. In front of his eyes floated a holographic display projected from the arm guard on his lower arm.

On it were three life signs monitors, and he noticed that the last one had just flat-lined.

A small smile appeared on his face. “It’s nice when a plan comes together…”

He turned off the display and returned his gaze to the city. He liked sitting on roofs, especially at night. It was peaceful.

The sky was not exactly empty, with many drones and the occasional hovercopter, but they didn’t fly over the slums much, so it was still relatively quiet.

A few minutes later, Luna arrived on the roof, her clothes stained with blood. The sheath with her two new swords was already comfortably strapped to her lower back.

Seemingly having lost much of her caution toward him, she simply dropped herself onto the edge next to him and asked, “Were you there yesterday? Were you the one that freed me?”

To her frustration, however, he ignored her question and made an observation instead. “You seem unbothered by the fact that you just killed three people,” he mused softly without taking his eyes off the city.

There was no judgment in his voice; he simply wanted to establish who was in charge by not letting her decide the conversation’s flow.

“It’s not the first time,” she shrugged, suppressing her annoyance, before grinning a little. “But it did feel the most satisfying. Now… please… answer my question.”

“I was there,” the boy nodded.

Finally, with an answer, Luna sighed in relief. "And I suppose you waited this long to come forward because you wanted to test me? See if I was worth your time? Make me desperate enough to agree to anything?”

Her tone carried no blame and sounded more like facts than questions. She may only be 14 years old, but she knew how the world worked.

“Something like that,” the boy smiled softly, unbothered by her accusations.

“So, what about my mother?” she now asked, her voice gaining a slightly more dangerous edge. This was the real question she wanted to ask—the one that would probably influence her loyalty in the future. “Did you leave her behind because it would make me an easier target?”

The boy leaned back on his arms and looked up into the sky. “You’re a smart girl. I like that…” He let a silence fall, giving Luna the impression he had indeed left her mother behind on purpose.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

She was just about to growl something when the boy turned his head and looked at her seriously. “But I didn’t leave your mother on purpose. I lost my own mother when I was young, and I loved her. I'm no saint, but I would never use that against someone.”

Intense amber eyes and wild, beastly green ones locked for a few moments until Luna broke off the staring contest and nodded. “Fine… so why leave her?”

The boy turned his gaze back up to the sky and shrugged. “Simple. I arrived too late. I stumbled upon the exchange between those Walton thugs and the Opal Circle Syndicate by accident, but your mother was already in their hands and guarded by several Core Formation stage Mystics and equivalent Cybers.”

Eyeing the moon, he continued casually, “I’m just at the Core Awakening stage. I was lucky enough to be able to free you without getting caught while those idiot brothers were still haggling over your price. No one even noticed you were gone until five minutes later.”

With explanations done, silence fell between the two children—both of whom had been forced to grow up faster than most.

In the end, Luna broke the silence. “So… what now?”

“Now…” the boy sighed as his eyes followed a drone in the distance, “Now I want you to swear a blood oath to finalize your commitment to our deal.”

Luna seemed surprised and a little disappointed. “I’m surprised you know of those…”

“I did my research,” he smiled while trying to see through the light pollution to find a star in the sky. “You seem disappointed. Were you planning to betray me already?”

“Not unless you broke your word about my mother…” she responded with a slight pout. It made her look cute despite the few blood smears on her face. “Then you also know those oaths don’t actually make us do anything, right?”

“Sure, but I also know you take them seriously enough that they might as well force you,” the boy shrugged casually. “Or is it different for you? You weren’t born wherever your kind originally came from, after all.”

“It’s not… My mother made sure I grew up like a beastling,” she mumbled with a lost look in her eyes. Then she sighed. “What’s your name?”

“Kane Mercer.”

Luna nodded, her sharp incisors piercing her right index finger. She drew intricate symbols on her left arm, muttering ancient words in a language unfamiliar to him.

A strange hum filled the air and a heavy feeling of savage, instinctual honour flooded the area.

For a moment, Kane thought he saw a strange, chimera-like spirit floating behind Luna, but the next moment it was gone. He raised an eyebrow and committed the event to memory, 'Probably just my imagination, though,' he thought, sceptically.

When Luna finally mentioned his name, a strange light flashed and the bloody symbols became tattoos covering her entire left forearm. “There…" she sighed. "From now until the day I die, you will be my Master.”

Despite the blood covering her ragged clothes and the binding oath she had just sworn, a strange sense of relief flooded through the beastling girl. Her situation wasn’t great just yet, but at least she wasn’t alone anymore.

Kane smiled victoriously. “Good… Let’s get along in the future, shall we? There’s a lot to do if we want to rule this city one day…”

"Rule the city, huh?" Luna chuckled, wondering what she'd gotten herself into. "Lofty goals."

Her new master chuckled slightly. Now that the oath was sworn, he became a little more relaxed. "And why not? Power and influence are the only way to ensure no one will put us in dire straits ever again."

"Us?" Luna asked, her eyebrow raised in curiosity. "What dire straits have you been in?" So far, this boy had seemed entirely in control of himself and his situation, unlike her.

"Ha!" Kane laughed shortly, derisively. "Let me tell you about my father…"