"Ten thousand draigos? Are you bloody kidding me?" I exclaimed, staring at Vanis in disbelief.

She raised an eyebrow, her expression cool and unyielding. "Knowledge comes at a certain price, Mordred."

"Also, consider this as recompense for killing one of my men," she added with a smirk, the hint of amusement not reaching her eyes.

"Just say you have a certain love for money," I grumbled as we walked the snow-laden road down the mountain.

She cupped her ear with her hand and tilted her head slightly. "I'm sorry. Did you say something?"

"Nothing," I quickly looked away, suddenly fascinated by an interesting-looking rock.

Vanis's lips curled into a knowing smile. "How about this? Ask me one more thing. That should justify the price."

"Or you could give me a discount," I suggested, half-hopeful.

"Just ask a bloody question," she replied, her smile turning cold.

Hm. If that's the case, there's something I really want to know. I hope Vanis won't punch me in the face.

"Okay," I nodded, taking a steadying breath. "Why?"

She looked puzzled. "Pardon?"

"Why did you kill the previous Saint?" I asked carefully, taking a step back in case I needed to escape quickly.

But Vanis didn't look upset at all. Instead, a melancholic expression crossed her face, softening her features.

"I figured you would be curious," she sighed, walking past me before turning to face me again.

To my surprise, her gaze was empty, devoid of the usual fire.

"Was there something else to the Saint, like a terrible secret you found out and couldn't handle?" I asked, treading carefully with my question.

Vanis chuckled, a hollow sound that echoed in the cold air. "Sorry to disappoint you, Mordred. But he was a true Saint, unsullied by any evil this world could throw at him."

"Then why? Why kill him?" I pressed, my curiosity burning.

She looked at me, her empty gaze piercing through me, making me shiver despite the cold.

"I killed him because he broke a promise," she said, her voice void of emotion, a hollow echo of her usual self.

"A promise?"

Vanis had a faraway look in her heterochromatic eyes. "We were the best of friends. He chose me as his closest Paladin when he became the Saint."

"We made a promise," her eyes lit up suddenly. "Together, we would find our goddess."

"The Lux Incarnus," I noted.

She nodded. "It's been too long since our Incarnus last spoke to us."

"So we promised to look for her together when he became the Saint."

The light in her eyes sparkled as she spoke. "He was really dedicated at first. He reignited the search, encouraged the rest of the Order, and even joined the search parties whenever possible."

I watched the light slowly fade away as she continued. "But the search turned out to be fruitless, even after years."

"Many in the Order began to doubt, and many more gave up. The searchers thinned down, and in the end, it was just the two of us."

I winced. "That must've been hard."

Vanis shrugged. "I didn't care if they left. As long as we didn't give up, the search for our Incarnus would continue."

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She gave a bitter smile. "Now that I think about it, I must've been quite deluded to think that would be the case."

I looked at her. "Let me guess. He gave up as well."

"Of course he did," she affirmed, clenching her fist. "In the end, it was just me. He said I was on a wild goose chase, looking for a goddess who may be lost forever."

"It was a hard betrayal from the one I trusted most in this world." She opened her palm, and blood pooled in it.

Suddenly, the blood ignited, creating flames of crimson and black. The flames entranced me as I gazed at them in awe.

"Bloodfire," Vanis explained as if reading my mind. "Combine highly intricate Haema control with enough ardor, and you can create flames hotter than those of Ignis. As long as there is blood as fuel, the flames burn."

The crimson and black flames flickered away as they consumed the blood in her palm.

"I killed him with these flames, and he didn't retaliate at all. He just said he was sorry and hoped I would find our Incarnus before my flames consumed him."

She narrowed her eyes. "Killing the Saint is punishable by death, but that idiot knew I would kill him. So he made sure that I would be sentenced to the Shield."

I raised my eyebrows. "What the heck? Being a Deathwalker is worse than a death sentence."

Vanis nodded. "He knew that, but he also knew I would survive," she scoffed. "He probably wanted me to continue the search for the Incarnus during my time in the Shield. It was his way of apologizing for breaking our promise."

"So that's why you created an information network, to get any news regarding the Lux Incarnus," I guessed.

"And much good it has done me," she said drily. "I get all types of information except news of our Incarnus."

"And now I wonder if I even want to continue the search," she sighed.

I tilted my head. "Looks like somebody is losing their faith."

She cracked a rare smile. "Do you know the Crazy Scorched Day?"

"Ah. I know that," I recounted. "Some lunatic from the Hearth Sanctum summoned the Ignis Incarnus into Blood Valley some twenty years ago."

The Hearth Sanctum, they are the faction that reveres the Ignis Incarnus. They are the third-largest Incarnus faction, right after the Fulgur Clan of the Fulgur Incarnus and the Order of Lux.

If you remove the blood-soaked snow covering the battlefield, you will see that the entire land is scorched black, and there are imprints of high heels melted into the rock in the middle of the battlefield where the Incarnus descended.

"Indeed," Vanis nodded. "When I learned about it, I realized something. The other Incarni respond in their own ways to the voices of those who follow and believe in them."

"But our goddess never whispered back an answer to the countless voices that called out to her over the centuries."

Her eyes drifted to the stars slowly blinking into existence as the day ended and night crept in.

"Now I think he was right. The Incarnus of Lux is perhaps lost forever," she said, her voice devoid of hope.

I followed her gaze and looked at the stars. We stood there on the road, gazing at the night sky unfolding like a beautiful tapestry.

"You know, the Incarnus of Lux is not dead," I offered. "If an Incarnus is killed—"

"Those with the Lux strand will know it, and a new Incarnus will be born to take her place," Vanis cut me off, looking at me. "I know. I would know of her death as well."

I stared at her in confusion. "How? You don't have the Lux strand."

She gave a cold smirk and held out her hand. A bright light suddenly blinded me, and the next thing I saw was a sword made of pure light in her hand.

My eyes widened in realization and shock. "You're a Lux user. A dual-strand Linker."

Vanis nodded and closed her hand, dissipating the sword of light into glowing particles.

"I never use Lux. It brings out a lot of bad memories," she replied with a casual shrug.

I gulped and stared at her. Even with just using her Haema strand, Vanis Hectus is one of the strongest Deathwalkers in the Shield and a bloody Reaper. If she uses Lux as well...

A shudder passed through my body.

What a monster.

"And I was wondering how you became a Paladin while possessing Haema," I voiced a thought that had lingered in my mind ever since I heard of Vanis Hectus.

She gave a small smile. "I prefer using Haema over Lux. Only a few people, even among the Paladins, knew of my dual strands."

"Vanis Hectus, you're a bloody protagonist," I declared.

Vanis tilted her head with an amused expression. "Maybe in another book, who knows?"

"Can you teach me to make Bloodfire?" I asked in a hopeful tone.

She shrugged. "Sure. But I charge a high price."

I winced. "Can I get a discount? I'm a fellow captain. Also, I'm the High Prince."

"Nope. Full price. Take it or leave it."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. You money-loving fanatic."

With a smirk, she turned around and made her way down the road. "We should get back. You have a battle tomorrow, don't you?"

I let out a groan. "Don't remind me."

"You have one month left, Mordred," Vanis turned around, her crimson and purple eyes glinting in the night.

"Anything can happen. Be careful."