Owin breaks into a sprint toward the injured Kenku writhing on the floor. The guards take action, stepping in between him and the Kenku, others emerge from the crowd to surround Owin on all sides. One yells at him as they all draw their silver blades, “Stand down magician!”

“Please. I dont want to fight you. His back is broken, he needs to be healed!”

“Stand down!” The same soldier repeats, slowly closing in. Owin closes his eyes for a second in frustration.

“Sorry then..” He spreads his arms out around him, blasting force in every direction. Some of the soldiers react by guarding with their blades but they all get hit and are flung back, all the same, the force even reaches the growing crowd and knocks down some random civilians. Before he gets the chance to even look at the Kenku, the lacer springs from the dust cloud with beaming eyes, leaping into the air aimed straight at Owin.

“Enhancement, Strength”

Owin glows in a shining brilliant yellow. The lancer's spear crashes down, Owin just barely moving out of the way, it hits the ground, slamming into it with such force as to shatter the street, making pieces of pavement fly in every direction. Owin swings at the lancer, hitting him straight in the chest, the blow making him recoil and spit blood. “Hngk!..” He gasps, dropping his spear, but retaliates immediately, quickly stepping foreward and kicking the knight in the shin. “Aghk!” The knight groans but doesn't relent and tries to punch the lancer in the face, only for him to catch his fist and grip it tightly, with his other arm, slamming it into the back of Owins gripped arm, making it bend inward and break in another loud crack. “NAGH!!”

He doesn't get a chance to look up before the lancer knees him in the chest, making the knight exhale loudly and double over, kneeling down in front of the lancer. Owins glow fades as his strength enhancement time limit runs its course. Without hesitation, Nialuc raises both his arms up and slams the knight in the back of the head with enough force to kill any lesser man. The knight's body crashes into the ground, cracking it and spilling blood.

The guards around start to pick themselves up, some already up and begin to pick up the immobilized Kenku, cuffing him as he groans in pain. Nialuc senses the knight's strength. The unorganized orchestra begins to quiet down, becoming calmer and less chaotic. With his mana diminishing and strength slowly vanishing, the lancer turns away and starts to walk toward the guards.

You keep underestimating me…

Owin lifts his uninjured arm to the back of his hand and heals himself instantly, completely recovering everything but his arm. He stands up, his broken arm swinging without control like a pendulum. The lancer turns in surprise as Owin points his arm at him. Owins eyes water and he has thick bags under his eyes, dark blue smoke puffs out of his mouth when he breathes. There's only one way he can land a hit now, and he doesn't like it but there's nothing else he can do.

“Dodge this and the civilians behind you get it!” Owin yells.

Nialuc runs at Owin directly, who hits him with another forceful blast, pushing him back and sending him to the ground. His broken arm fails painfully in the wind as his bursts of force cause the wind to pick up. He taps his arm, healing it, then raises both at Nialuc just as he gets to his feet again, slamming him with double the force, making him fly above the ground several meters into the air, breaking through a second story wall along the street.

The sound of metal clanking is heard behind owin. “Enhancement speed”

He mumbles under his breath, glowing yellow and instinctively jumping out of the way as two guards behind him swing their swords at him. He waves his hand casually, knocking them both down with force blasts. The sound of crackling lightning bolts emanates from his left and right. He tightens his hand with blue aura, summoning his blue bubble as two streaks of white lightning crash into the shield from both sides. Owin pants and heaves, his legs shaking from exhaustion as he pushes his stamina to its extent. He put his shield down and zips his arm around wildly, force-blasting every guard in sight, including the two holding down the Kenku. Satisfied, using the last of his speed enhancement, he dashes toward the Kenku, flipping him over and healing his back in an instant. Owins body shudders, the flames around him almost burning out as he casts the healing spell. His head begins to spin and his vision blurrs. He keeps pushing. “ENOUGH!” Nialuc screams from the roof of the building he was smashed into. Owin looks around for a route of escape but the crowds of people block every path, he and the Kenku, who slowly gets up in confusion, are stuck between a cobblestone wall and waves of spectators. “Property damage it is then…”

Nialuc leaps into the air jumping all the way from the building two blocks down straight at them. Owin places his hand on the stone wall, blasting it open and whispering “Enhancement Strength”, with the powerful glow he grabs the Kenku and throws him through the opening, yelling “RUN!”

The lancer lands on top of Owin right after, slamming into the ground, kicking up dust again as the impact forms a mini crater under them. Nialuc stands on top of the knight who is flat on the ground with his back twisted, chest rammed through with the lancer's spear, bleeding onto the ruined pavement. Owin can barely make out the image above him among the dust and blurry vision. The lancer stares down at him with disgust and fury, a dark aura fueled with hate. But he looks away, trying to see where the Kenku got off to. He begins to remove his spear from the knight's chest, his flames almost extinguished, the sound of his aura nothing but a light chirping, his yellow glow dissipating. But Owin grips the spear with both hands, keeping it lodged in his chest, refusing to give it up. “Y-you’re.. Not d-done with me… yet..”

The lancer lifts his spear, raising Owins body with it, skewered like common meat.

“When the hell will you understand?! I can kill you whenever I want. I can kill you right now.”

“But you… won’t… will you hero?”

“Im not a hero. And you’re becoming a liability, impeding my work, threatening civilians, destroying buildings, assaulting guards!”

“Kill me then… If im such a criminal.. I deserve the same treatment”

Owin smiled resiliently, each word being coughed out with his last breaths. He leaks blood from his chest and mouth. It turns dark blue, his blood mixing with his raging mana as he pushes it to its limits, literally spilling it out of his body to keep his strength enhancement going, the only reason he was able to withstand the attack and is able to keep breathing now.

Nialuc observes the dying knight, his frowning glare locked with the knight's resentful smile, eyes twitching to stay open, puffing smoke. Nialuc grabs him by the neck, pulling his spear from the knight's chest and tightens his grip, choking him out. “Watch me”

Owins eyes shut, his throat feeling like it's about to be twisted off, ripped open. Nialuc swears he starts to hear air escaping through the open wound in his chest. The knight's smile persists, fueling the lancer's anger, until his flames die out and his glow vanishes, his body and skin suddenly becomes much squishier and his smile drops, limbs going limp. Nialuc loosens his grip, dropping the body of the knight on the ground. His gaze lingers around the battlefield, he notices one of the soldiers who has managed to get themselves up and points at them “Iona right? You’re a healer?”

The female guard straightens her stance, saluting the lancer and nods.

“Well, get to it!” He yells pointing at Owins body “Do whatever you can, he won’t be waking up anytime soon. I’m going on the hunt for the Kenku”

She nods again, quickly running up and kneeling down next to the body, putting her hands on his chest, her palms glowing red.

The girl's cheeks turn stale from her dried-out tears. She hasn’t moved an inch in what feels like multiple hours. There was a window in this room, it's been swallowed in the void, but she remembers the sun was only just setting when she found it. Desperate, she reasons that the morning sun will save her from the infinite darkness. There’s always been a light to come and bring her out of the depths. Never has it taken this long.

The ringing becomes louder. Her head aches and throbs at the growing sounds only she can hear. It's cold. Getting colder. Closing her eyes leaves her in less darkness than looking into the void. She clings to herself desperately but fears the moment that she will stop feeling the creaking ground beneath her or the busted wooden wall behind her. If they disappear, it means she’s been taken alive, forever. The dripping sounds of water start to turn into a trickle and slowly she starts to think if it's even water at all. It starts to sound denser, and thicker, and her mind jumps to the worst possible conclusion she can think of, blood.

Images flash in her head. It's not the first time and won’t be the last. Not again… Not again… I dont want to see this anymore… I dont want to see it…

Flashes of scenes she’s never experienced come to life in her eyes, even as she tries to keep them shut. She can’t recognize the people in them or the places, but whenever they suffer, whenever they scream, cry, or even feel the slightest bit of fear or discomfort, she feels it too. She tries to speak to herself in her head, keeping her words, her voice to herself. Don’t start again, don’t show me anything… I tried to stay silent, I tried to talk constantly, I tried to stay away and I tried to never wake up but it doesn't matter! It's my voice… why do I start talking… I don’t know any of this I don’t I- I- Agh.. K-kate… no… K-stop! Stop! I dont want to tell any stories I do-ahf Kate…

Kate clutched the note tightly as she descended the brittle stairs down the darkening corridor.

Every small step echoes throughout its entirety.

Her heart pounded as her mind raced, thinking about and preparing for what was about to happen. She couldn't help but feel guilty, yet deep down she knew it was the right thing to do.

At that moment she found herself at the bottom before a small stone door.

The girl begins to narrate a story she’s never heard. But she’s done it a thousand times. She loses the will to speak her own works, she loses the will to think her own words, she loses the will to think her own thoughts. Images form in front of her clutched eyes reflecting what she narrates.

Pressing her hand against it and reading the incantation on the small note provided to her, the door started to glow as it began opening by itself, screeching against the ground with dust and small pieces of rock flying off of it in all directions.

Before it even finished Kate saw Aron sitting on the other side against a wall, his hands cuffed in a gauntlet which was chained to the ground.

"Aron!" she shouted, squeezing past the door, sprinting towards him.

Looking up, Aron saw the young girl, her long red hair swaying from side to side.

His grim face started to grow a smile. He rose to his feet and moved towards her only being stopped by the length of the chain holding him back.

She raced towards him and finally gripped him and embraced him passionately with tearful eyes. Taking a moment to breathe whilst holding him she could tell he’d been stuck here for weeks. He emitted a disgusting smell and she could feel how rough his skin had become.

Putting a hand on his head she ruffled his unkempt black hair.

“How did you get here?” He whispered to her.

She let him go and took a step back, observing the room which she had completely ignored.

It was an underground church. To their left was the common speaking platform and altar, almost like a stage.

Turning to the right she almost let out a yelp as she realized the seats were filled with corpses and dried-up skeletons.

“Kate… How did you get here?” Aron asked again, looking at her, his face turned serious.

“I-...Aron I'm sorry but I had to save-” Suddenly out of thin air a sharp slicing could be heard and the penetration of flesh and the spilling of blood.

“ARGH FUCK!” Aron screamed as he collapsed to the floor with his left leg standing up straight, cleanly severed from his body.

Kate looked on, horrified, shivering uncontrollably too stunned to speak, clasping her hands over her mouth.

“Let’s not get too comfortable shall we” Spoke a lean old man who emerged from a backdoor atop the speaking platform, dressed in robes of a bishop though ones that had been stained black.

“Kate..what have you done?” Aron said weakly, looking up at her from the floor.

“She has traded your life for a trinket, for which I am forever grateful my dear Kate” The old priest stated.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Aron…I-Im sorry..” She cried as tears started to roll down her cheeks.

“Don’t be, Heretic scum such as he were doomed from the start, if anything, you’ve just ended his pitiful suffering” The man said sternly.

Aron tried lifting himself off the ground defiantly, “..motherfucker..” he mumbled under his breath, to which the priest’s face hardened. “That is no way to speak to a prophet you dog!” he growled as he motioned his hand, waving it in the air, after which another violent slashing sound was heard and Arons second leg was cut off.

“NNGH” he grunted, gritting his teeth as blood spewed violently.

“Jesus Christ Stop!” Kate screamed tearfully.

The priest turned his attention to her.

"He’s much too resilient to die”

He reached into his robes, pulling out a silver medallion hanging off of a golden sash.

“As promised” He tossed the medallion towards her.

Instead of catching it, it simply fell to the floor in front of her, its clangs spreading through the hollow room.

She stood silently staring into the distance with the occasional weeping in between.

“Kate..It’s okay, go, you’ve already sold my life away, there’s no hope for me. Take it and go”

She turned to him, staring at him with her eyes full of regret.

“GO, LEAVE!”

Slowly backing away, she picked up the medallion clutching it tightly with both of her hands, keeping it close to her chest.

Aron’s eyes slowly started to glow as a pink aura encased him. Tension grew in the air and slowly he lifted himself from the ground onto his knees.

Just as a strong gust started to pick up the priest pointed a finger at him.

“We will be having none of that”

A bolt of black lightning emitted from his fingertip. In a single second Arons aura and eyes faded as the bolts spread throughout his body at light speed.

“AGGRHHH” he screamed as his body flexed and bent in wild directions, his muscles violently pulsating.

With fear claiming her body and the black lights reflecting in her eyes, Kate turned and ran.

She rushed up the stairs, almost collapsing after every second step, trying to escape the echoed screams of her partner.

The girl's eyes jet open as the images fade and she becomes self conscious once again, will returning to her body. Staring into the void. Her eyes are red, water streams down her face as though she’d been crying for several minutes. Trickles of blood leak from her bare feet onto the old wooden floor. Her limbs twitch, unresponsive, nerves tingling through her whole body. The pain was terrible, usually, it doesn't linger or follow her back into consciousness, but it hurts. The scenes are projecting themselves onto her more than ever. She keeps her eyes trained and awake out of fear of seeing more of the scenes. But just staring into the abyss makes her shiver and weep. A feeling of complete hollowness dawns on her the more she stares. Looking down doesn't help as the sight of her own blood is even worse. It hurts more to look at it and even if she could ignore the pain, her blood was black, just like the void. She doesn’t even try to think about the scenes or anything else. Thinking might bring them back. Her heart beats ever louder, only terrifying her more. She wishes she could just vanish, be silent, be see-through, not to catch the attention of whatever that thing is that breathes in the darkness.

Nialuc stands firmly as Ester slaps him fiercely across the face. The older, but still pretty, woman barking at him like a rabid dog. Her cat ears perked up straight out of anger.

“HOW DARE YOU LEAVE WITHOUT SAYIN NOTHIN?!”

Her long gray hair shimmers in the evening sunlight, even in her older age she has an unmatched fire in her heart. Half-blooded felines will be like that. Other than her ears, she's got fur stuffed between her hair and a long cat tail, sporting white whiskers on her face.

Nialuc is standing outside in front of the farmhouse where the Vemots live, having just knocked on their door. Ester opens her mouth to shout again, but stops herself and tackles him into a loving embrace instead. “I'm glad you’re alright”

“Me too Ester. Sorry for not saying anything. I regretted it almost immediately.”

“Don’t you dare make that mistake again, you understand?” She says, still holding him tightly.

“I sadly won’t get the chance to” Ester rears back and looks into his eyes, first confused, but then with worry when the realization dawns on her. “Come in.. Tabris will be home soon, he’s picking up the kids today”

“Thanks”

“You better promise me, we’re getting a beer together one last time before that scum comes ‘ere”

“Hiterito is just-”

“Doin his job… yea yea that's what you say. I dont care”

“Well, I just wanted to… say goodbye. So I don’t know if I have time to get a-”

Ester chucks a closed bottle of beer at the lancer, who barely catches it, not expecting it. Ester chuckles at his fumble. “Yer off your game. No wonder he beats you every time”

“That's..! Fair I guess… I a little tense”

“If ya don’t got the time, we’ll share one here.” She says, holding a bottle herself.

The two sit down at the living room table. It's a nice big farmhouse. Two stories, a large basement, fully furnished with a big kitchen and anything you’d ever need for entertainment. The furniture is carved by hand, bought from the city, and made with wood from a nearby forest. By all standards, exceptional living conditions for farmers in the region. Emba is rich and cares for its people. He has made sure to cooperate with that and help the Vemots any way he could, many pieces of the furniture and the children's toys being hand-made by him.

“You’re a real piece of dick ya know?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Kids were askin me where you went. Had to make up an excuse, not knowin if you’d come back”

“I know. Im sorry. I wasn’t really thinking right”

“Yea. I'll cut ya some slack. It ain’t easy bein you”

“... Ester. Do you think I’m a good person?”

“Hm?” She looks at him with a turnt expression. “Well obviously to me ya’re. But you’ve got large biases”

“I’ve met a man recently. He saved me from Hiterito”

Esters cat ears perk up. “What a valiant man. He must be pretty strong then too”

“He is. But he annoys the crap out of me”

“Hmh.”

“Kani also showed up. Tried to fight me”

“Oh uh, the bird guy?”

“Kenku”

“Bird guy”

“...So, I tried to finish him off quickly”

“Mhm”

“But this guy, he’s a knight by the way, he kept stopping me”

“Does he know this birdy?”

“Not at all! He has no idea about anything!”

“And he kept tryna stop you?”

“Yes!”

“Sounds dense”

“He is!... ngh…”

“And?”

“Well… we got into a fight. Kani got away and I almost killed the knight”

“Jeez. Think ya went a little overboard? Then again, Kani got away? Hell! That knight must be a real piece of work to hold you back!”

“Am I in the wrong Ester?”

“For almost killin' him? Of course you dolt”

“No I know that. But I mean.. Generally”

“Well. Kani has a death sentence declared on em right? So legally you aint doin' wrong by the law. But then again, is it right for him to have that sentence? Y’know me and Tabris opposed the vote.”

“I do. So, im in the wrong?”

“You’re tryna do your job. If Tyr told you to kill him, then you gotta listen. But personally, I dont agree with Tyr.”

“You disagree with a god?”

“What’s this god ever done for me?”

“Kani killed at least 8 innocent people”

“By behest of his father. He’s already dead. Since then as far as im aware, kani has only tried to kill you”

“It doesn't make him innocent”

“Hell nah. Kani is rotten. But he ain't rotten to the core like his dad was.”

“But you see… This knight would’ve even kept his dad alive”

“Well that's just retarded.”

“AHA!”

“Doesn’t mean he’s wrong to save Kani.”

“Mnhg…”

“You’re a good guy I think. You’re definitely good in our eyes. But you could deal with being less of a prick sometimes.”

“Tabris says so… constantly”

Ester reaches out to hold Nialucs hand. “We love you. That’ll never change. And when you’re gone, we’ll be okay. We’ll never forget you”

Nialuc looks at her, eyes filled with sorrow and a little regret.

“Thank you Ester. But.. I… I’ll miss you.”

“If it's any constellation, If you dont take too long dead, you’ll get to see lil Mitah and Alexi grow old. Be there for them when me and Tabris are gone.”

Nialuc chokes up a little. “I dont know if I'll be back so soon.”

“Well. Then as long as Mitah impresses that girl he likes at school, you’ll have my grandkids to care for.”

Nialuc tears up. “I will”

“Good. Vemot, be it Tabris, Mitah, or other. We will be here, always waiting for you.”

“I’ll always come back”

Ester smiles. Then gets up and walks to the kitchen. “I'll start makin dinner. Then after you say hello and goodbye to the kids and Tabris. You’re goin back to the city”

“Huh… why? Need me to pick something up…?”

“You didn't kill the knight boy did ya?”

“Pretty sure he’s still kicking. I checked back in when I lost Kani. He wasn’t dead but I dont think he’ll be waking up anytime soon…”

“Man.. you did a number on em then. Well, all the better for your apology”

“What?”

“When you say goodbye to us, yer going straight to him and waiting till he wakes up”

“What?! Why?!”

“He saved your life. He gave me the chance to see you again cause you were too dullminded to come here yourself. If you’re not going to apologize on your behalf, you will on mine, and on my thanks to him.”

“We probably have only a couple days, maybe hours, left together and I'm supposed to go spend them on him?!”

“You owe him. Whether you think so or not. Besides, me and Tabris already thought you wouldn’t be coming back.”

“I owe him?!”

Ester turns around with a powerful stare. “Am I jokin hun?”

“... no….”

“So?”

“...I’ll do it…”

“Good. Think of it as your first step to being less of a prick. Sacrificing your things for others. Oh and, I'm making your favorite, so enjoy your possibly last meal with us to its fullest, alright?”

“Without a second thought”

Ester turns back around, humming happily to herself, swishing her tail back and forth.