"Jin you are not going with her, are you?" Vendrick said.

“If not for me and Alaeria you would've probably been in much more trouble than you realize.” said Jin.

"Jin is right, if not for his help I wouldn't be able to locate the gemstone. This could have went very badly without his presence, and I assume he'll want to see the culprit eye to eye." said Alaeria.

“Especially after I've seen what they're capable of. We need to figure out who's behind this.”

Vendrick sighed, “I can't have you fighting my battles brother, but I can’t hold you hostage here either. The High Elders were clear, I'm supposed to stay here and harvest the Elemental. They say my ascension to Guardian is near.”

As much as Vendrick hated the idea, he had no choice but to let his younger brother go and see the situation to its conclusion with Alaeria. Disobeying a direct command from the Nine Keepers was not an option.

"The Elemental Gods be with you two."

Alaeria straightened her back and raised from the table. "Vendrick there is one last thing I must ask of you before we part."

"Go ahead."

"If for any reason I don't come back, don't go after me."

Her quivering voice took Vendrick by surprise. And to that, he had no answer.

"Promise me."

After several seconds that seemed as minutes, he raised his voice, "I promise."

Before Alaeria could thank him, however, Vendrick added "I promise that if Jin doesn't return from this, and for some unknown reason I hear that you—Alaeria Fenathus—for some unknown reason, survived the ordeal without a fight. Then in the name of Fulgur I promise to bring you to the sword."

Alaeria sighed, "Is that a threat?

"It's a promise."

The tension in the room had gotten so high Jin decided to intervene. Approaching the two of them, he fist bumped Vendrick and pulled Alaeria by the arm.

"We have to get moving. Our target has unrelenting stamina, there's no time to waste." Jin said.

The door closed before Vendrick could get a better read on Alaeria's expressions. He did not believe in coincidences; tonight a murder attempt had been made. And for some reason, he was in the center of it.

Maybe the poison he had in his system had overflowed to his brain, disturbing his thoughts?

Maybe he was overthinking.

Or maybe that entire situation was good. In the long-term, for they would bring challenges to overcome; It was not long ago. Vendrick still remembered his trajectory as an elemental warrior had also had a period in which he had to prove to others and himself what he was capable of. This would be his brother's moment beyond his shadow. To ascend the Nine Steps one would have to find his own purpose. Given the amount of elemental artists who never managed to climb further; it was not enough to gain the blessing of a deity. The least they needed to make the most of their potential was to believe in themselves. And in that, his reliability could only hinder Jin's personal path of ascendance.

***

What if I don't return?

Before they left, Jin had in mind to say goodbye to Eliza an hour before leaving with Alaeria. He had every intention of going back, but he couldn't help but think about the risk he was taking; this time, she would not be there. Of all his companions so far, Eliza had been the one who had stirred up Jin the most in ways he didn't quite know how to describe. And so, he felt obliged to at least have a clear conscience from one last conversation. Only the two of them at last, not for her sake, but for his.

Thanks to the elemental gods, Eliza had recovered quite well; according to the healers the estimate was that she would be more than able to join recent contracts in two more days. Jin told her about the step they were about to take and Eliza insisted that he should be wise and take Viktoria and Tristan with him. However Jin ignored her, for he could be stupid and make mistakes, but at least he wouldn't drag his first companions to death. If that were to ultimately happen, he would never forgive himself.

Because in a way, it had already happened once.

In Ferris Village, he had seen it. The despair before imminent death. The smell. But the worst of it was what came afterwards. The overwhelming guilt that consumed him from inside. A Self-deprecating consciousness or the loss of empathy the remaining paths moving forward. And the later had more and more seemed to be the one most people were embracing. A cyclic pattern where certain loss and pain push the elemental artists forward. And with each step, lesser and lesser they looked like themselves.

"Shouldn't we bring someone else with us?" asked Jin, "Maybe let some of the High Elders know we are going out."

Jin's question brought the pair to a halt. Alaeria turned around and straightened her posture. Her soft touch had suddenly brought goosebumps all over Jin. Leaning close to his ear, she tilted slightly to voice a whisper.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Are you scared?"

Jin uncomfortably backed off toward the wall behind him. Steady and firm he held his truthful answer between his teeth.

"You know that I can feel your heartbeat right?"

Jin raised his brows and shook his head, "I am excited, that's all."

Alaeria smirked, "The lesser people that know about what happened here today, the better."

"The walls have ears, or so it is said." said Jin, he had heard something like that before.

"There are only two values regarded highly in Sanctum."

"Friendship?" Jin suggested.

Alaeria giggled, "That's not even in the top five."

"If you truly consider some of them friends, then why bring them in trouble?"

Alaeria certainly had a point. Tristan wasn't even an elemental warrior, he hadn't been able to channel elemental power around the environment like Eliza, for example. And Viktoria had recently gone to Ferris with him, but Jin didn't necessarily consider her a close friend. Furthermore, this undertaking wasn't technically a real contract either. It had not been made official through the High Elders, there were no rewards or deadlines to abide by. In reality, Jin didn't see it that way either, the moment they had planned his brother's murder, then the problem had become his too.

**

Kneeling before a cauldron of blood, a sinister figure was taking shape, beautiful yet deadly. From among the viscera of a sheep, the outline of a noblewoman wearing a black dress appeared. That dark gaze looked at him with contempt, even before hearing the situation he came to present her with. That was the way of Lady Umbra.

Being a creature that doesn't know how to measure his words, as a lowly Disciple he paled in comparison. Firmly determined Ulfrik decided not to waste any time. He cut straight to the subject that was of interest to the Lady.

“I have returned, however, I must confess at once: the yellow-eyed Sentinel survived the attack. The Dark Crystal was destroyed and the illusion was lifted before the crowd could be persuaded.”

A great silence hung in the air. Tension could be felt as much as the heat from her gaze, and sweat trickled down his forehead. The brown cloak was damp with nervousness so that he felt he would have his life taken from him right then and there for failing his crucial task. Even a blind man could sense the tremor in his posture.

The woman in the dress turned toward him, her black eyes looked down at him adorned by the same disdain ever since they were working together, "Did he accept the terms we proposed for the duel?" Lady Lucretia Umbra asked, sharply.

“Yes he did, however, he still managed to win somehow. Five Disciples from Umboltos were fairly beaten, amongst them was a prospect in Gorlagarth Style . The duel was quite close to the bitter end.”

"That is truly concerning, for a Sentinel to take so long in their duel to the point the Dark Crystal was found...A full-strength Sentinel raised in Sanctum that struggles with the smallest of worms. How times have changed."

Or alternativelyhe'd found out in time about the Dark Crystal and purposefully made it close.

Ulfrik wouldn't dare sharing that assumption without reading her mood first. On top of that Ulfrik also held hope that she wouldn’t care about the Dark Crystal. Losing them was always costly, but it became considerably more so when the great city of Alanoth was no more; the secret of its making lost with the Great Transgression centuries ago.

According to legend, it required the willing sacrifice of a Saint and the greatest dwarves craftsmen of old; Their vital energy could then be stored inside the core of a Crystal and unleash an elemental technique far more powerful than they could ever manage at the Step they were in. Kantoff’s Clan greatest legacy, passed down between generations for nine hundred years; destroyed by a shameless young human within a few minutes. Then suddenly outnumbered in an instant, all he could do was flee.

"Maybe he was holding back on purpose?" Shrugged Ulfrik, his eyes motionless, gazing at the ground.”

“A foolish proposition. To take a fight lightly would be the same as diving into the ocean with an anchor on your legs and expecting to swim faster.”

Ulfrik Kantoff hesitated half a heartbeat, long enough for Lady Lucretia to say softly, “A long time ago, when I was merely a month-old Sentinel, I often killed my peers while I was sparring. There was this one time they all forced me to have my hands tied behind my back.”

"Did you let them?" The minotaur inquired politely.

“You know how I am, Ulfrik...I have always been a good girl, I obliged to their demands of course. After all, my heels were more than enough to behead the twelve of them...some nice fellows, that bunch.” She indulged, pleasantly daydreaming while looking at the bright blue skies above them.

"Mistress Lucretia, if you allow me..." "Go ahead, speak freely."

“Your actions seem a little exaggerated at times. How can you bring yourself to do so much harm to others, even your companions?”

“Those were filthy insects, inferior humans that needed to be cleansed from Ravnos. With that lack of potential and talent, they would certainly have been bottlenecked at Sentinel for their whole lives. Besides, they undoubtedly were happy to learn in the afterlife that they served their purpose.Our last quarrel allowed me to advance to Guardian soon after.”

She said with calm and calculated coolness, "You should leave no trace behind."

"I did not leave anything behind, I assure you my Lady. We won't get tracked." He nervously affirmed.

"What about the hired Disciples, did you silence them?"

He had barely managed to escape Sanctum, had been lucky to have arrived alive to warn Lucretia. But he knew Lady Umbra would not accept lame excuses.

“They were paid half before, and half after. They assured me they would keep quiet, Sanctum is not their home.”

“Since when has gold kept men in silence? They are emotional creatures that have no moral compass, worse than animals. If you weren’t keen to murder those children that is acceptable. If you broke their limbs and ripped their tongues out that is."

Before Lady Umbra could fidget her ring imbued in power, Ulfrik quickly cried out an adequate response, “T-that's what I did! I ripped their tongues off, they will groan for the rest of their lives!”

He took his chance. His heart danced frantically in such a way it felt like it was about to explode. He had heard that when he was about to die we'd see a whitish tunnel and listen to those he longed for. However, all Ulfrik felt was a huge emptiness in his heart. The last great horn would perish on its knees, after centuries of proud and strong ancestors. A legacy would eventually come to an end with his death.

All for nothing.

However, Lady Umbra's palm came down like a hammer; not to kill him, but to stroke the fur at his taurine head like a loyal pet.

“Good boy...elemental warriors are no different than peasants. Just keep that in mind. They are both easily replaced like servants, except the latter by their kings and the former by their sages.”

He breathed as much as he supressed his increasing rage within; choosing to play along ever since they joined forces in The Sacred Empire of Asteko’s capital city, Rosengard. Although Ulfrik disagreed with his partner, he preferred to keep his head down to keep it attached to his shoulders. The behavior, he hoped, would be the difference between him and her last five partners. Yet considering Lady Lucretia and his latest failure, he would be lucky if he made it through the next morning.

“For the Scorched One this won't be nearly enough. Make haste to Marhar, we shall establish a way of contact there. ”She ordered while entering her golden carriage, nonchalantly motioning her hand towards the front; for Ulfrik to take his position, as last time. He would have objected if he still had any pride left, yet— beneath his sleeky fur—ten thousand cuts had slowly drained it all away.