Meera and Silas stood huffing over the corpse of the Alpha. He was not breathing, but they were not taking a chance with this thing. One hit from him, and they would be done for. Silas did look like he took a hit. The wound on his forehead bled down the side of his face.

On the contrary, Meera had come out practically unscathed, with some scrapes and minor cuts, thanks to the tree. Her biggest inconvenience would be the splinters in her hands. Meera was so focused on the dead gorilla that she jumped when she got the notification.

*ding!*

[Your party has defeated Alpha Nightcrawler Ape – Level 97. For killing an enemy 80 levels higher than your own and delivering the killing blow, you have gained bonus experience.]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Image Stealer has reached Level 20. You have been awarded 3 stat points.]

[Congratulations. Image Stealer has reached Level 21. You have been awarded 3 stat points.]

.

.

[Congratulations. Image Stealer has reached Level 27. You have been awarded 3 stat points.]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Chakram of Echoes effect activated. Upon reaching Level 20 in your main class, you have earned a third Chakram.]

A third chakram appeared on her wrist. She smiled. It looks like I will have a nice set if I keep getting them every ten levels.

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Mirror Affinity has reached Level 13. All of your mirror-based attacks will get a 15% boost]

[Congratulations. Mirror Affinity has reached Level 14. All of your mirror-based attacks will get a 16% boost]

.

.

[Congratulations. Mirror Affinity has reached Level 18. All of your mirror-based attacks will get a 20% boost]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Monkey Fist has reached Level 6]

[Congratulations. Monkey Fist has reached Level 7]

.

.

[Congratulations. Monkey Fist has reached Level 12]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Primal Power has reached Level 2]

[Congratulations. Primal Power has reached Level 3]

.

.

[Congratulations. Primal Power has reached Level 10]

"No!" Silas cried.

Meera shut off her notifications and ran toward him. He was on his knees by his brother. Even before she got to them, she knew something was very wrong. Her feet faltered when she saw Cossus' mangled form. His bone was sticking out of his arm. This was from when the Ape had twisted it, but that was not all. His neck looked like someone had elongated it. There was blood everywhere. She couldn't see the wound it had come from—one of his legs twisted in the wrong direction. Instead of going straight down, it was wrapped around the tree.

"Cossus…" Silas wept. "Please no… Don't leave me…"

The sight of Cossus brought tears to Meera's eyes.

"Brother, wake up, please…" Tears mixed with the blood and grime on Silas' face and dripped from his chin.

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Meera wanted to give him a hug. She could hardly look at Cossus without cringing. It was like someone had used the man to bash a nail, which wasn't far from the truth.

Silas' whimpered and rested his head on his brother's chest as he wept. "N-No… Don't go, please…"

Cossus coughed. "Quit your whimpering. I'm still alive…for now."

Silas looked up and smiled. "H-How?"

"I don't break as easy as you."

Silas gave his body a quick lookover. "You might want to rethink that statement."

Cossus coughed and spat out blood, which was not a good sign. "Did-Did you get that bastard?"

Silas moved aside so he could see.

"So, not so useless after all."

Silas ignored that comment, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small metal vial. "Here, take this."

"Keep it for yourself and the girl. I'm—" he broke down into a coughing fit, which ended with bloody hacking. "I'm-I'm...done for."

"Don't say that!" Silas moved to put the health potion to his lips, but Cossus shut them.

He looked at his brother with cloudy eyes and shook his head. "Don't waste it...on a dead man."

"Cossus…" Silas wept. "Don't leave me, please…not after it took me so long to find you."

"It's okay, brother. Mum is calling me home, and I must go. I'm sure you'll find your way to us again. I'll tell her about you…and the adventures we had. But take your time… don't rush…live a little…for me too…"

Then Cossus' head fell as he breathed his last.

"Cossus, no!" Silas screamed and sobbed like a babe, hugging the lifeless body of his brother. "Please don't leave me alone again…" He wept for some time, and Meera could not help but weep with him.

----------------------------------------

Meera placed some wood around Cossus' pyre. Silas had spent the better part of the day cleaning his brother's body and making him look as he resembled in life, but there was no fixing that broken neck.

Silas' tears had dried, but the ache in his heart would not be so easily swept away. She knew. She also had a brother, and if she weren't so busy fighting these monkeys, she would have been sick with worry for him.

There wasn't much difference between Silas and her. They both had lost their parents, and the only family they had left was their brothers, but poor Silas had lost that too.

Once she finished, she stepped back as Silas placed three coins—one on each eye and one on Cossus' forehead. She frowned slightly at the custom, as there used to be a similar custom in some cultures back home.

Silas kissed his brother's forehead and whispered. "May Virelia take you to the light. May Lorendor show you the path. May Mirithia walk you home."

With that benediction, he stepped back, picked up a torch, and lit his brother's pyre, which, thanks to the oil they had doused the wood with, caught on fire immediately.

Meera watched silently as the flames did their work. A single tear dribbled out of her eye and slithered down her cheek. She didn't know him very well. But she wished she had. Despite the man's foul mouth, she didn't believe he was a bad man. After all, he had shown her how to use the Eagle Eye skill.

Meera gasped lightly and went to stand beside Silas. "I have his eyes."

He frowned without looking at her.

"I took the Eagle Eye skill from him," she clarified. "In a way, I have his eyes. It's a skill that has helped me greatly, and I will cherish it forever."

Then once again, the dam behind Silas' eyes broke as a final send-off for his brother.

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Meera cut off the tail of the Nightcrawler monkey and threw it in her bag. Thanks to the system, she knew how many she had killed, so she didn't need to sort them out. She could keep her share and give the rest to Silas. She was worried about the Alpha. How will we prove we killed that thing? He doesn't even have a tail.

But she still had two dozen monkeys to get through before she got to him. By then, she hoped Silas finished collecting his brother's ashes. She spared a glimpse at him, and there he was in what, up until yesterday, was his brother's pyre. He was putting them in an earthen pot. She didn't know where he produced that from. She hadn't seen one in camp till now. She set that thought aside as another question to be asked later when Silas felt himself again.

The afternoon wore off, and as Mirithia grew brighter, the sun's light waned. Evening was upon them, and soon night would be too, and Meera worried what it would bring. The monkeys had launched an all-out campaign upon them for killing a chimp, which might have been a Beta at best. Now that they had killed their Alpha, what would they do now?

She plucked the last tail. If she thought her clothes were bad before, they were utterly ruined now. It had been a week since she was here, and, in that time, she had not taken a single bath—she reeked.

She turned and found Silas sitting by the fire with the pot of his brother's ashes in his hands. He sighed and placed the pot in his bag. She figured now would be a good time to approach him.

"Hey, Silas," she called. "How are you feeling?"

"Like someone killed my brother, and I could do nothing to save him, even though I promised him that I would keep him safe."

Meera didn't know what to say to that. It was what had happened. In his position, she would have been guilt-ridden as well. "I'm sorry. I'll leave you to your grief," she said awkwardly.

"I'm sorry," Silas said. "It's just going to take some time to get through this."

"I can understand. We all process death differently."

"That's just it. I was taught how to process death—taught how to remove myself from the killing and see the person dying as just another animal for slaughter. But this was my brother. How do I…"

Meera patted his shoulder. "I was like that too when my mother died. Do you know what got me through it?"

He looked at her.

"Painting. I used to create all these paintings from memory of my time with my mother. I'm not a very good painter, but I still powered on. They're still in a room in my house, where I go when I'm missing her."

"I'm not a very good painter, and I don't have many memories on account of me being sold off to the Scythes," he said with downcast eyes. "All I know…all I remember is from the past six months when I escaped. It was he who tracked me down. He found out I was an interrogator with the guild. The absolute madman posted a contract in disguise to have himself interrogated and requested me by name. No one batted an eye. I was very good at my job…something I'm not proud of."

"When they brought him to me. I didn't know him. How could I? He was a stranger to me. Then he told me who he was. I thought he was lying to me at first, that this was a test setup by the guild. I even interrogated him to be sure, and sure enough, he was telling the truth. Then we formulated a plan for my escape, and we've been on the run ever since."

"Hence all the brotherly rivalry." Meera smiled. "Something you didn't get to do growing up."

Silas smiled. "Yes. That's why. Now, I'm all alone again." His smile wilted, and pain shone behind his eyes. "I don't know what I'll do without him. All my life, I've lived alone, ever since the guild took me. I finally found someone I could trust, and he, too, was taken from me. Some days, I think, the gods take special care in making me miserable."

"I'm right there with you," she said. "Just when I was getting over my father's death, my brother ended up getting transported to another world and is apparently the savior of not one but three worlds."

Silas chuckled softly. "My brother might be gone, but yours is still alive. Let's get you to yours. So, you can help him fulfill the prophecy."

Meera inadvertently clenched her fists. I am taking him and running back home the moment I get my eyes on him. Prophecy be damned.