Despite the warning about the intensity of Runa's powers, Kyros hadn't the slightest idea of how much pain he'd endure during the process. The moment the Huntress activated her augmentation ability, energy surged through his body at an alarming rate. He had no control over himself.

Without warning, Kyros' precognition powers activated. Dozens of visions raced through his mind without any restrictions. They moved too fast for him to process the information correctly. He couldn't differentiate what events would happen when.

While the velocious visions careened through his head, unimaginable pain coursed through his entire body. The poor man placed his hands on his head to keep it connected to his shoulders. No matter how much he screamed or wished for the agony to stop, Runa paid it no mind.

She didn't care for the torment her powers brought upon the Soterian's body. Finding Sarra was far more important than the man's physical condition. Over time, however, his unbearable screaming tried her patience.

"That's enough," Runa removed her hand from Kyros' body. The Soterian collapsed immediately and took heavy breaths, sweating bullets as he tried to regain his composure. "You see anything?"

"Yes, a lot, for that matter," Kyros struggled to answer. He immediately used his Praus to help soothe his head trauma. "I usually only see one vision at a time. But, I saw too many this time. Too many of them played at once. I couldn't keep track of them all."

"Who cares about that?! I wanna know about Sarra! Did you see anything about Sarra?!" Runa demanded.

"I don't know. Maybe, I couldn't see properly," Kyros answered. He brought his hand to his head and sighed.

"Goddess damn it!" Runa shot up to her feet and angrily paced around the campsite. Nothing went according to plan. Kyros, the First Exousia, the first one chosen by the Goddess herself, proved to be a useless asset. If he couldn't help her find her partner, then what was the point in having brought him along? "We need to try again! Focus this time!"

"Give me a minute to rest," Kyros pleaded. "I wasn't prepared for any of that."

"You're pathetic! You're a Captain in your military, and a headache is enough to keep you down?"

"Give me some time to rest, and we can try again," Kyros suggested. He understood Runa's desire to find Sarra as soon as possible, but her overeagerness wouldn't help anyone. "Overexhausting ourselves won't benefit anyone."

Runa grinded her teeth and turned her back to Kyros. It was sound logic, but it didn't mean that Runa was okay with it. If it were up to her, they would've been out on the road despite the darkness. She would cut through thousands of Varvara if it meant finding and saving Sarra.

"We have to find her," Runa said.

"That's the plan," Kyros assured her.

"If I lose another one..." Runa gripped her wrist as a desperate attempt to suppress her anxiety.

"How did you and Sarra meet?" Kyros suddenly asked.

"What?" Runa turned and faced the man.

While the question was sudden, Kyros decided to use the topic as a self-motivator. Having Runa wallow away in her anxiety and self-pity would only draw unwanted attention toward them. Plus, perhaps it would bring back happy memories for her.

"I was never told about how you two met," Kyros resumed. "I'd like to know if you wouldn't mind."

Runa heaved a sigh and answered, "Sarra and I met a little over a year ago. I was on my way back to the Guild when I encountered a pack of Varvara's attacking two people. A man and a little girl."

"Sarra, I presume?" Kyros asked.

With a nod of her head, Runa resumed with the story, "The man was wounded, but he continued to protect Sarra. By the time I arrived to help defeat the Varvara, it was far too late to save him. Before he died, he made two requests. The first was for me to look after Sarra."

"And the second?" Kyros inquired once Runa paused.

"The second was for me to take his life before he could turn," Runa gripped her wrist again. It wasn't a pleasant memory for her. The woman remembered how difficult Sarra made it for her to complete the requests. The little girl desperately cried and pleaded for Runa to spare her friend's life, but nothing could've prevented the man's death.

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One way or another, Sarra's friend would've died. Either by Runa's blade or the Varvara metamorphosis.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked such an insensitive question," Kyros apologized for his ignorance. In his little mission to help brighten the mood, he only made it worse.

"It's fine, you would've found out one way or another," Runa dismissed the Soterian's apology. "Sarra hated me once I brought her back to Anemone. She hardly ever spoke to me, let alone look in my direction for the first few months. But over time, she warmed up to me and joined Wild Hunt to become my partner. I've taken care of her ever since."

Kyros smiled at the mention of their partnership. "And you've done a good job at that,"

"Have I? Sarra's wandering out there alone in the wilderness because I hit her," Runa reminded.

"Yeah, you're rough around the edges. But I can tell that you try your best to keep Sarra safe. You've gone to extreme lengths to ensure her safety over your own. You're an excellent person for that,"

Runa grimaced at Kyros' words. He couldn't have been any further from the truth. At that moment, she decided to shine some light on the Soterian's naivety.

"I didn't wanna take care of Sarra at first. I planned to drop her off at the Guild and have them deal with her."

"What made you change your mind?"

Runa stared at the palm of her hands. The Exousia Brand, on her hand, brought a frown to her face. "I found out she was an Exousia. When I discovered her powers, I couldn't leave her alone. She has the power to sense the presence of other Exousia. How could I not benefit from having someone like that with me?"

The Huntress' tone grew dangerously cold. Afterward, a quiet, hollow laugh leaked from her mouth.

"Runa?" Kyros cautiously called out to her, having sensed that the woman was going down a dark path.

"From the start, that was my goal--to keep Sarra around until we made it down to the final eight. Since she'd always know where the Exousia were, avoiding them wouldn't be a problem. Now that she's gone, I'm vulnerable." Runa's body trembled uncontrollably. She clasped her hands together to keep herself steady. "How have I even managed to make it this far without her? I'm pathetic. I've grown reliant on her power. I never cared for her at all. It was her power I wanted to protect."

"Runa! Stop that!" Kyros demanded. "Of course, you care about Sarra! You're talking nonsense!"

"Am I? How could you know? If she didn't have her power, do you think I'd keep such a useless girl around?"

"Probably not, but that doesn't mean you don't care for Sarra. You make sure she eats three meals a day, that she properly exercises, that she's well-educated with subjects of the world," Kyros continued to list off several tasks that Runa assisted her partner in their free time. Runa may have fooled herself with her negative attitude, but she couldn't fool Kyros. All those weren't the actions of someone that didn't care for a person.

"What does any of that matter?"

"It matters because you're fooling yourself," Kyros stated. "I'm not saying you didn't plan to use Sarra in the beginning. But over time, you grew to care for her, and truly wish to keep her safe so that she survives this God selection with you."

"I don't know..." Runa shook her head.

"But you need to work on your stubbornness. Sarra left because she doesn't feel validated being around you. All she wants is for you to accept and treat her like an equal."

"How can I do that when she can't even use her Praus? Those were the conditions we set. I'll begin to accept her once she does that." Runa stated.

"It's a challenging task to accomplish alone, Runa. She wants you to help her, and you refuse to do so," Kyros pointed out.

"Then what am I supposed to do?!" Runa shouted in a surprisingly brittle voice. The woman brought her hand up to her chest and stepped away from Kyros. "Before Sarra, I had another team. Nine other girls. I saw them as my daughters. Unlike Sarra, I wasn't as overprotective of them. I trained them now and then, but I mainly left them alone."

Kyros sat there in silence, watching the tough exterior of Runa crumble and break away. Tears streamed down the face of the seasoned Huntress.

"Because of my arrogance and negligence as a caretaker...they died. All nine of my daughters, my sweet little girls, are dead. I can't go through this pain again." Runa choked up. The painful memories flooded her brain. She thought she shed all her tears earlier in the day. But she proved that she was far from done. "I don't want to lose Sarra. But, I don't know what's the right path to take with her."

"You should try talking to her," Kyros calmly suggested. It was a rare moment to see Runa act so vulnerable. "When we find her, you two should sit down and talk. Come to a consensus, that way you two can grow together. Your current method isn't working."

Runa sniffled and wiped away her tears. She couldn't believe she cried in front of the Soterian, let alone mention her past to him. Her former self would've laughed in her face, ridiculing her for showing such weakness and vulnerability.

Nothing about the day went right for her.

It pained Runa to accept advice from Kyros, let alone listen to him in the first place. His words carried some weight. Her current method didn't work at all. She hoped that by her refusal to train Sarra, the little girl would become determined to get stronger a bit on her own.

Thanks to Runa's stubbornness and denial, Sarra abandoned her and the guild. If they never found the little girl, Runa wouldn't know what to do with herself. If she were responsible for the deaths of ten children, she'd probably fall into madness.

"If we find her--"

"When we find her," Kyros corrected.

Runa smiled and corrected herself, "When we find Sarra, I'll sit down and have a talk with her."

"Good." Kyros got up and put his hand on the woman's shoulder. Since she didn't slap it away immediately, he saw it as a step in the right direction. "It's late. Go ahead and get some sleep. I'll keep watch."

"...Thank you..." Runa hesitantly said before she went off to sleep while Kyros stood guard. They had a big day ahead of them, and they needed all the rest they could get before they found Sarra.