The sky was grey. The wind howled through the leaves and tree trunks.

Ominous, decrepit ruins of what once was a mansion stood tall overlooking a creek. A dirtied noble was surrounded by smoke. It dragged him unremorsefully through the path: his legs were splayed to the ground, bluntly hitting any objects he may come across as he was dragged by fogged entities, smoke behaving like dry ice constantly dripping through their bodies. They were nothing more than ethereal, skeletal forms; they seemed to float, unhampered by gravity.

The great doors of the mansion were forcefully thrown open by these figures, dragging the noble along the broken indoor pavement and into a wide room, situated by parallel pillars that were either chipped or crumbled in half. Surprisingly, most of the mansion's roofing was still intact. The ethereal figures threw him a few meters forward.

"Ngh!" He yelped as he stopped in the middle of the room. His head was pointed to the ground when he heard an annoyed, yet ominous voice.

"Did the shades treat you well? They know how to do their job, unlike you, nobleman Pierre." A feminine voice echoed. It seemed to carry a foreign accent, unheard from most of this region.

Pierre slowly lifted his head.

"Milady… We got too ahead of ourselves. But I'll—" He yelped as an ornate knife passed by him and chipped the old pavement, but not before leaving a cut on his cheek.

"My subordinate fought the Vassal United, along with your goons. But why is it that you're here, and the only one left? Why is it that she did not come back?" She said, sharply and rhetorically. At every word, her voice became more irritated, and knowing this was because of his cowardice and failure, Pierre sensed chills down his spine.

"Milady, I'll see to it that I will take her away from them! —" Pierre blurted out, now kneeling and trying to stand, his chilling fear kept him from feeling the blood dripping from his cheek down to the collar of his beige suit.

The lady sat cross-legged on a chair, holding a knife in her right hand and resting her head on the other. Her aura alone was the reason Pierre lost his cocky attitude to fear. She wore a rather sophisticated attire, as she was called a 'lady,' but most of her appearance, especially her face, was shrouded in darkness.

"We expected them to turn eyes to us. You had a 'mighty' plan to trap them in there, and I was too stupid to agree, entrusting to you my subordinate. What we got was not the Vassals I requested…" She sighed. "But them irrecoverable, lost to the hands of Vassal United, and my subordinate captured by them. All in a day."

She was angry, but her voice was soothing. It was almost enchanting, and it made her all the eerier for Pierre, who was thinking of what to reply that will not incite her lashing voice more. He already failed miserably. All it needed was one more mistake and the lady will, to put it in her words, 'make him pay with his soul.'

He looked around. The room was filled with fog, and swimming within were the entities she called shades. They were idle, not responding, and only awaiting orders. Those that dragged him to here were ordered by her from such a long distance, as Pierre was still calling for her when he was deliberately dragged into the air and out to this decrepit mansion.

"I have to note, however. I felt a surge of tones during your botched operation. And it was… how can I put it?" She pondered.

"Strange? Stimulating? As if I felt a coalescence of tones sparked me. Ah, It was like a singularity…" She was distracted, musing about this certain 'surge.' "I don't know why, but I want it. I'm attracted to it. I want to feel it again. That power, I perchance, must be a tenfold of the souls I wanted from you, noble."

Pierre sensed an opportunity came in.

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"Milady. I have a proposition." Pierre, mustering himself, stood up.

Interrupted on her train of thought, she frowned at him. "Ugh. Speak."

"That 'power' you seek must be in one of the Vassal United. I, too, felt it's flame. From a boy named Mido--"

"Flame… Flame! There it is!" Her voice became more excited. "It is that flame that I felt." The lady stood up, and slowly approached Pierre, who just stood there, frozen in place. Her long dark hair flowed with the fog, and when the shadows left her pale veined face, ominous snake-like eyes, faintly glowing purple, stared at Pierre, piercing right through his soul.

"Noble. Do you know why I want every Vassal's soul?" She inched closer to Pierre's face; her lips slowly quivered against him.

"We were thrown to the waters, and miraculously landed on this green, green land. We tasted life and knew this new world has everything we need to obliterate those who wronged us. Across that vast ocean." She looked to the tall, regal window as thunder lit it up.

"I wish I could've found another way to fight. But you know? The void is ravenous. It eats the tones, without remorse. That is the only way we can muster our strength. To siphon our fellow Vassals' abilities. I mantled the void, so I am forced to get stronger using the only way it can."

"Milady. Are you yearning for something?"

She rested her eyes.

"I'm not a dead Vassal, but because of the void, I am aware I am cold. My shades embody it. Anomalies of malevolence, loved by no one. But that flame, noble. That flame that somehow struck me. I felt it's all-too-familiar heat, a sense buried within my heart. I traced immense power from it. And I saw potential. To thaw this cold inside me. I want to embrace it as my own, noble. As much as I can't deny it, it felt of my lost home."

The lady's face reached closer and closer to Pierre. He shivered as the purple glow from her eyes slightly glimmered from the blood on his cheek. He felt as if one touch can pull out his soul from him.

"Tell me. What is your proposition, then? Before I change my mind and churn away your soul?" She snickered.

Pierre shuddered as the lady's aura slowly grasped him. "That… that group is still unto me. I know it. I will take their attention, and with everything in my ability, lure them back to Reiss. If this works, we will capture that 'flame' you are talking about."

"Hmph. "We?" She raised an eyebrow, making Pierre trace his words.

"I may need one last support, considering that I owe you the Vassals that I failed to deliver…" He reluctantly said, chuckling nervously. The lady gazed at him and chuckled.

"Ahh~ I know you can't fight, Pierre, but your ability is useful for large-scale manipulation. I have to say, you are good to pair along if I wanted to make an army."

"Then I'll gladly join by your side, milady." He put his right hand on his chest, gesturing as the lady turned her back on him.

"Since you did not deliver the Vassals, it can't be helped. You have a new job. Bring the flame to me, wherever it resides."

"If you did not catch it, it's in a boy named 'Mido.'"

"Mido? Huh…" The lady pondered, whispering beneath her breath.

"If we will proceed, milady, I will need a few days to muster troops, within and out of the city."

"Are you sure? I'm certain you are planning to make that city a battleground, but are you committed to that fault?" She questioned.

"I'm going to die at your hand, anyway. The least I could do is to redeem myself. I have nothing to lose. Besides, our deal was to get me out of Reiss, right?"

The lady built up to a hysterical laugh, unnerving Pierre.

"You amuse me, Pierre. Of course, of course! I'll see to it you'll be out of that hopeless city. It's in our deal…"

Clinging to this hope, Pierre reclaimed his flamboyant attitude. "Good! I will not let you down, milady!" He was suddenly thrown a chest full of coins.

"Use it to find your troops. And if you succeed, there's more coin for you… I will be watching, noble." Pierre's eyes glistened as he touched the coins. Using his ability, Coin of Greed, Pierre etched it through simple touch. Any non-vassal that will touch this coin will be under his influence, activated at his discretion.

"Grantor, infuse these silvers with thine words. Let those who touch them hear, and obey: When Pierre's enemies are seen, kill them relentlessly."

Coin of Greed.

The coins glowed faintly red, and slowly absorbed into itself. Pierre stood up, set the chest aside, and looked at his lady.

"Thank you. This time, I will not fail."

"Sheesh. Get on with it. And… consider finding a place to relocate your troops. Not that I know about any."

"Right, milady." Pierre took one last glance before turning his attention to the coin-filled chest.

"...pff. Typical." The lady chuckled.

She enveloped herself in the fog as the shades came back to her. She walked into the grand doors, preparing to leave the interior. As the doors swung open, her purple eyes met the windy, cloudy skies, threatening to burst down a torrent of rain at any moment. The creek and the line of trees in front of the lone mansion shuddered from the wind. Pierre was left inside, who immediately called at his associates.

"As for Woodcarver… hmm? Eh, she'll eventually escape."