A single horse galloped alongside the dirt path, heading westward for the town of Malus--a settlement situated on the west coast of Venetus. The riders of said horse, Kyros Aleister and Runa das Meer, pushed the unfortunate animal to its absolute limits. Desperate times called for drastic measures, after all. Their partner, Sarra Zosime, ran off by herself into the Gardens of Eden, unprotected and unsupervised.

The farther they traveled without spotting a sign of the missing little girl, the more the dread spread throughout their bodies. Kyros and Runa both felt as if they had a hand in Sarra's disappearance. The pain and anguish that swelled inside them helped fuel their desire to find Sarra.

They had to find her.

The only solace they found in Sarra's sudden disappearance was that the sun provided light and kept the most dangerous creatures in Salome away. If Kyros and Runa couldn't pick up the girl's trail before nightfall, they feared for the worst. The creatures of Varvara appeared at night, and Sarra couldn't harm the monsters without her Praus.

"Can't you make this horse go faster?!" Runa angrily exclaimed. The Huntress kept her eye on the sun. To her, it fell at an alarming rate.

"It's going as fast as it can," Kyros assured her, having long sensed the urgency in the woman's voice. The duo continued to travel further down the path until the sun unfortunately vanished. The moon soon hung above the sky, providing minimal light, but nothing comforting for the team.

Kyros heaved a sigh and stopped the horse. He and Runa dismounted from the animal, albeit reluctantly.

"Why are we stopping?!" Runa demanded an answer.

"The horse is tired, and it's dangerous to travel at night, especially on foot," Kyros grabbed the reins and led the horse to the nearest tree, tying it up on one of the branches. "We should set up camp for the night. We can continue our search first thing in the morning."

"You want to make sure we're nice and safe while Sarra could be out there in mortal danger?! How stupid are you?!" Runa yelled. She didn't give him time to answer. Instead, the woman approached the horse, more than prepared to leave the Soterian behind in her search for Sarra. She didn't have time to sit around doing nothing while her partner was left out alone in the wilderness.

Several morbid thoughts raced through her mind with each second that passed. Sarra could find herself in the clutches of bandits, wild animals, the Varvara--the list went on and on. Runa couldn't sit still. She had to leave and find her.

But Kyros stood in the way. The man blocked the Huntresses' path and said, "Taking a tired animal into the wilderness at night is a foolish decision, even for you."

"Move," demanded Runa. The woman reached behind her back and grasped the shaft of her weapon. If she had to use force to get through Kyros, then that's what she'd do.

"You'll get yourself killed going out there alone, Runa. You're no good to Sarra dead." Kyros stated. "We'll set up camp, get some rest, and continue with our search first thing in the morning."

Runa gritted her teeth and lowered her arm to her side. A fight against Kyros wouldn't help the situation. It pained her to admit whenever the Soterian was right, so she didn't. She kept her mouth shut and reluctantly assisted the man in setting up camp.

All she could do was pray that Sarra could survive out in the wilderness for a few more hours.

Runa sat in front of the campfire, staring as the embers danced above the flames.

"I'm glad to see that you've calmed down," Kyros said.

"How're you so calm? Sarra's out there somewhere. She's possibly lost, cold, or worse..." Runa brought her hands to her head to contain the grotesque thoughts that nearly poured out.

"You shouldn't think like that," Kyros set his hand on the woman's shoulder, only to have it brushed off instantly. "Sarra's a smart girl. She can handle herself."

Runa narrowed her eye at the mention of Sarra's intelligence. "What kind of smart girl ventures out into the wilderness alone?"

"I didn't say she was the smartest girl in the world," Kyros rolled his eyes. "Look, Sarra made a rash decision in the heat of the moment."

"A decision that could get her killed!" Runa clenched her hands into fists and jumped to her feet. "When I get my hands on that girl, I'm gonna--" "I think putting your hands on her is the source of all this," Kyros sternly mentioned. He brought his hand up to the side of his head as he continued, "When Sarra came back to town, she was bleeding from the side of her head. She told me that you hit her."

For perhaps the first time since their encounter, Runa averted her gaze from the Soterian. Striking Sarra was possibly one of the greatest moments of shame she ever experienced. It was a moment of weakness that allowed her emotions to override her better judgment — all those years of learning how to control her feelings, wasted in that single moment.

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"...I did..." Runa sadly admitted. There was no hiding it. If Sarra ran away because of her, then she'd own up to her mistake.

"How could you, Runa? I thought you and Sarra were close!" Kyros stood to his feet and scowled at the dejected Huntress. He refused to show any mercy toward the woman. "I know Sarra held some resentment about how you treated her, but there can't be a valid excuse to hit her!"

"I know, I know..." Runa lowered her gaze to the floor and grabbed her wrist to help steady her trembling. She felt enough guilt after hitting the little girl. She didn't need Kyros adding onto the pile. "There's no excuse for my actions. If we find Sarra, I'll apologize to her. And if she wishes to leave the guild and me behind, then I'll respect her decision."

Kyros blinked in surprise, having not expected Runa's acceptance. If anything, he presumed the Huntress would put up more of a fight. She must've truly regretted her decision.

"It's going to take more than an apology, Runa," Kyros informed her. "The hit was the trigger, but it was more than that. Sarra felt unwanted and unworthy being around you and other members of Wild Hunt because you never treated her as an equal. She wanted a partnership, but you treated her like a child."

"Because she IS a child!" Runa exclaimed. "She's a weak little girl that always needs someone around to protect her! No matter how much she likes to think she can take care of herself, the harsh reality of it all is that she'll die out here unless I'm around to protect her!"

"You keep treating her like a little girl, then that's how she'll die out here," Kyros forewarned Runa. The Huntress raised her head and stared into the cold, harsh eyes of the Soterian. She'd never seen him make such a face before. "You claimed that you would help train Sarra if she unlocked her Praus, but that's not the right way to go about it. You should've helped her immediately, Runa. If you had, you wouldn't be so worried about her right now."

Runa couldn't refute the man's words, knowing that he was correct. How different would things have been if she wasn't so stubborn about not helping Sarra? Perhaps they'd be a better functioning team if the little girl had her Praus unlocked.

"If Sarra encounters a Varvara, she won't be able to do a damn thing to stop it from attacking her. She's been your partner for over a year, and you've done nothing to help her. It's because of your stubbornness that we find ourselves in this situation," Kyros continued to lay it on thick to Runa. He wouldn't mince his words. Not for her.

Runa had to learn the hard way about the consequences of her actions. Unfortunately, the woman knew all too well about the effects of her actions.

"Enough! Enough! I get it!" Runa shook her head in a desperate attempt to shake away the guilt. "Cutting me down like this won't help us find her! We need to do something!"

"We can't go anywhere."

"We don't have to go anywhere," Runa assured him. She approached Kyros and grabbed his wrist. "Use your powers and look into the future. Try and see if we find Sarra alive, at least."

"I don't know how to activate my powers," Kyros reluctantly admitted. He looked down at his hands and sighed. Throughout their travels, he tried to learn how to activate his precognition abilities at will, but he came up with nothing each time.

Runa scowled and released the man, stepping back with pure disdain. Useless. He was worthless to her.

"Are you seriously the First Exousia?" The Huntress complained, not understanding the thought process of the Goddess, Shura. "How could Shura handpick you first out of everyone else in Salome?"

"I didn't ask for these powers, Runa! I didn't want to participate in this God selection! Hell, I didn't even believe in Gods seven years ago!" Kyros raised his voice. "These powers make us something more than human. That’s all I want to be—human. If I regularly use my abilities, I fear I’ll lose my humanity."

"What? Do you think I asked for these powers too? For your information, I would've been fine not havin' these powers," Runa looked down to the Exousia Brand on the palm of her hand. A cursed mark with a tragic destiny regardless if she won the God selection or not. "I despise this curse that Shura has placed upon me, but I'm not stupid enough not to use it to my advantage. If I don't learn how to use my powers properly, then I'll die. Plus, I don't want to suffer from the rebound."

"Rebound?" Kyros suddenly asked. That was a term that he'd never heard before from the Huntress.

"Oh, come on, you don't know about the rebound effect?" Runa brought her hand up to her forehead to fight off the incoming headache. Traveling with the Soterian proved far more challenging than anticipated. "It's a strange phenomenon that occurs whenever an Exousia goes extended periods without using their powers. An intense pain surges through the body and forces the person's powers to activate."

A painful memory immediate flashed before Kyros' eyes. He thought back to the moment he first encountered Runa at Soteria. It happened, as Runa explained. Pain surged through his body and forced his powers to activate without his permission.

"That...that was the rebound effect?" Kyros asked.

"Yes, I noticed the signs immediately," Runa answered. "You were fortunate; the effect wasn't that severe. Next time, however, you might not be so lucky."

Kyros frowned and stared at his hands. "I can't ignore this any longer. I need to learn how to use my powers."

"It's not that hard. Here, I'll help you." Runa stepped forward and set her hands on Kyros' cheeks. "Close your eyes and focus on using your powers. I'll use mine to amplify yours."

"What?"

"My powers involve amplifying things," Runa revealed. "Now close your eyes."

Kyros closed his eyes and sighed. He didn't know what to expect from Runa's little experiment. But if it helped them to hunt down Sarra, then he'd try anything.

"I need you to focus. You probably haven't noticed it, but there's another source of energy inside your body besides your Praus. Since we're Exousia, we're the only ones that have this energy," Runa explained. "You need to reach out and harness that energy to use your powers. The more you gather, the stronger the effects of your precognition."

Kyros nodded his head and focused on finding the alternative source of energy in his body. It took a moment, but he felt it slumbering within him. When he began to harness that energy, Runa activated her powers to amplify Kyros' precognition.

Kyros' eyes snapped open as he yelled in excruciating pain. Dozens of visions flashed before his very eyes. Runa ignored his cries and pressed on, as finding her partner was far more important than the life of the Soterian in her hands.