It has been several months since my awakening. I had taken the name Lushika Yukio and swore to protect the villagers of Yukigakure. During this time, I never left The Peaks. I was often helping with logging and hunting, but I considered myself most useful when it came time to defend the village. It was true, every new moon, the Night attacked. And every dark night since my awakening, I was there to fend them off. Eventually, my days became extremely simplistic and repetitive. I’d spend my time helping around the village where I could, as there was always work to be done. Then I’d spend my nights mostly indoors with Athena, or out speaking with the locals. Towards the end of the week, however, Athena and I would go to the old barracks to practice. We trained in our weapon proficiency and attempted to discover and control more of my power.

While I felt like practicing in normal combat only truly helped Athena learn, it was practicing my powers where I felt like I began to grow. Soon, I was able to make some weapons made of ice, but that was about as far as I was able to go. However, I could only truly do this when I was actively in combat. Otherwise, I struggled to do so. I couldn’t manifest whatever I wanted, and I had trouble bending snow to my will. All thanks to the help of Athena. During all of this time, I was still housed with her. I deeply appreciated it.

We were practicing my snow manipulation as the next new moon night was upon us. We figured that if I were to learn how to better control the snow, it would give me more of an advantage in combat.

“Focus harder, Lush!” Athena motivated.

I was trying to raise a wall of snow, eventually giving up to breathe, placing my hands on my knees,“It just won’t budge,” I gasped.

Athena rubbed my back, “You alright? I really don’t think you should be holding your breath as you try this. It’s taking a lot out of you.”

I nodded, “I’m fine, but you’re right. The whole point is to focus, but holding my breath is making that difficult. I’m more focused on my breathing than my concentration.”

“Well, I’m glad you know that. What do you do when you create your weapons?”

“I’m honestly not sure. It just comes naturally, without thinking.”

“Can you muster up a sword right now?” She asked. I attempted to create a sword, but with little success. I was able to create the handle, but no blade.

I looked at Athena and sighed, “This is how it always is. In combat, it’s never an issue, but when I’m out of combat I can't create anything.”

“Maybe it’s because you’re relaxed? What if we were spared? You’d be in combat then, would you be able to?”

I shrugged, “Not a clue.”

Athena walked in front of me and flashed a blade toward me, “Well c’mon then. Let’s test it,” She took a swing at me. I took a step back to evade and tried to manifest a blade. Nothing came out. Athena continued to swing at me, “If you don’t defend yourself I’ll hit you! Try explaining that to the elder!” She warned, swinging wildly. I was able to dodge her every attack, but throughout it all, I could not create a blade to fight back. Eventually, Athena tired herself out.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized.

“For?” She asked, exhausted.

“Not meeting your expectations.”

She shook her head, taking in a final deep breath, “Lush, you don’t need to apologize. You just need more time. One way or another, we’ll figure out how you work,” She smiled at me.

I couldn’t help but smile back, “Thank you. Your efforts are truly appreciated by me.” She laughed at me. “What’s so funny?” I asked, still grinning at her.

“‘Your efforts are truly appreciated by me,’” She mocked. “Lush, we’ve known each other for a while now, there’s no need to be so formal!”

“Well, what else do I say?”

“A simple thank you would’ve been fine. Loosen up! Around me at least!”

I nodded, “I’ll try to.”

Athena got closer to my face, “Speaking of which, I don’t see you smile often. You should try it more. You’re pretty when you smile,” Her words turned my cheeks red. “Oh! And you’re blushing too! An even rarer sight! Let me memorize this view forever!”

I covered my face with my scarf, “You aren’t funny.”

She laughed, patting my back, “Sure I’m not. Come on, let’s get out of here now. I think that’s enough for today. The sun is setting, so it’s best to prepare now.” Athena began to walk back toward the main village. Before leaving, I grabbed a sword from the barracks and sheathed it to my side, just in case.

We were welcomed back by the elder, “Ah, back from training? How’d it go?” He asked.

Athena let out a soft sigh, “Still working on his powers. Though his weapon prowess is still just as unremarkable.”

The old man scoffed, “Is this true, Yukio?”

I nodded, “As of right now, I can only really activate my powers in combat. Outside of it, I’m struggling to control anything.”

The old man smiled, “Well, as long as you can use it in combat, I’m sure you’d be fine. It’s only a matter of time until you become a master,” He reassured as always.

“Of course, I’ll continue to work on it.”

“Good. Now, almost everyone has taken shelter in safe homes already. We are counting on you once again, Yukio,” I nodded at the elder as he waddled towards his home.

I turned to Athena, “Stay safe tonight, will you?”

She hugged me tightly, “Of course. Please, live for another night.”

Surprised, I hugged her back, “I’ll be fine. I promise.” Athena let go of me and smiled as she ran away to hide with the elder. So far, the night was the same as any other. Everyone took their places, while I stood in the open, waiting for the safety of the sun to leave me.

Soon enough, I was left alone in the dark. The night played out like any other. The laughing of the trees, the feeble attempts of lone challengers, the horde rush as they realized they still couldn't win. During the night, I once again was able to create my very own blade, rather than having to rely on one made of metal. Though several hours passed, they showed no signs of stopping their assault. This was unusual, but I had the energy and strength to fight until sunrise if I had to.

Suddenly, there was a bone-chilling scream of a family. I glanced over where the scream came from, though I couldn’t examine for long. With the Night still attacking me, I couldn’t divert my attention. Sure enough, I saw the family. It was a husband and wife, with two of their kids. I recognized them. They were running towards me. Behind them, the Night pursued.

“Lushika!” The man yelled as he ran. “Please, protect my family!” Worried, and admittedly scared, I found it within myself to freeze the Night Hunters in front of me solid, then causing them to shatter. With that cleared, I ran towards the family as fast as I possibly could. I watched as the man was shoving his wife and kids in front of him to keep them safe, putting himself at risk. A Hunter took a leap, scratching his legs and causing him to fall.

I manifested a spear and chucked it at the Hunter that had toppled him, piercing the Hunter and pinning him dead in the snow. The man tried to stand, but with his Achilles tendon cut, it was impossible for him to do so.

Another Hunter jumped on his back and began to claw at him. I hastily manifested another spear, this one much more crude due to me rushing it. I launched it and got the Hunter off, but another two had already climbed on him. They piled faster than I could get rid of them from a distance. They swarmed him. They stomped his body and clawed at his back. He screamed in pain. I finally reached his wife and kids, getting them behind me. I took a defensive stance and got ready for them to come for us next, but they took their time with the man. I saw one dig it into his body, tearing out his heart from his back, ending the man’s screams. It squeezed his heart like some fruit and drank his blood. I shielded the family from the view.

Its body pulsated as it grew bigger than the rest, reaching the size of our cabins. Its eyes turned a bloodshot red. It looked toward me and roared. The kids behind me began to cry, the now widow clutching onto my back in fear. The bigger Night Hunter walked towards me as the others cheered it on in excitement. Then out of the darkness of the night, more began to appear, roughly around the same size. Their light walk became a slow jog, then a full sprint. They were fast, and I had little time to react. I created a shield in desperation, one bigger than myself to defend everyone. They slammed themselves onto my shield, cracking my ice with their strength.

Fear. Fear had struck me witnessing my ice crack. Throughout all my battles with the Night, they had never managed to brute force their way through my ice. But these monsters were able to. Miraculously, they couldn’t fully break my shield, at least not yet. They were still able to overwhelm me with their numbers, eventually coming to my sides. One grabbed the widow's arm and tried to pull her away.

“Mama, don’t go!” One of the kids begged, grabbing onto his mother's other arm. My heart began to pound as it felt like time slowed, my body temperature dropping. I examined my surroundings. There were two evolved Night Hunters in the open, one to my left and right, the one on the left trying to snatch the widow. There were a lot more that I had no visual of wailing against my shield.

I threw my ice sword at the one tugging on the woman, impaling its eye. It fell over dead. The mother, being tugged by her kid, had toppled and fell on her child. I planted my shield in front of us and created a dome of ice to protect us. Soon, we were surrounded as they tried to break a hole in my dome, their silhouettes towering over us. The smaller ones laughed and cheered as they watched the mutated Night Hunters try to break into the waning safety of my ice. I created a spear in my hands, anticipating them to break through, and handed the mother the steel blade that I was carrying. As expected, the ice began to crack. I readied myself for the worst, while the woman embraced her kids.

Finally, for the first time, my ice was broken. I tightened my grip on my spear, as silence settled in. The only noise to fill the void were the deep thumping of the evolved Hunter’s footsteps. One of the Night Hunters cautiously peaked its head through but was greeted by my spear. It pulled back in pain, screaming. I did a botchy repair on my dome and watched for any other breaches. Eerily, the sound of gargling was heard as a spitter arrived. It shot its acid at my dome, melting the ice away. Though its acid was of orange color, rather than its usual green. I located the spitter through the hole it created and launched my spear at it, impaling it. I manifested another spear, this one worse than the last, and did my best to maintain the ice dome from collapsing.

Then the sun began to rise. The Night Hunters quickly retreated into the forest, leaving us alone. Out of breath, I dropped my dome and my spear melted. I fell to my knees and looked up at the sky, glad the night was finally over.

“Lush!” Athena yelled, running out of the elders home. She ran over to me and tackled me while I was on my knees, causing me to fall on my back, “I’m so glad you’re okay! I heard everything, what happened?!”

I was shaken, “They’re changing. They were stronger than ever before. We have to speak to the elder, he must have a solution,” I got up to find the elder, but I stopped myself when I heard the crying of the kids.

“Lushika, thank you,” The woman was dispirited.

I turned and kneeled, “No, I’m sorry. Had I been quicker, your husband would still be here.”

She shook her head, crying, “It’s okay. The kids are safe. It's what he would’ve cared about,” I stood silent. There were no words to fix what I couldn’t save.

I sighed, “Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”

“Ask anything that may be of help.”

“Alright. Firstly, are you alright? Are you hurt?”

The woman gave me a depressed look, “Physically, no.”

I couldn’t look her in the eyes, “I’m sorry,” She had no reply. I took a deep breath, “Secondly, how did they get into your home? What happened?”

“They just arrived and started banging on the door. We heard screaming not far from us, but we didn’t dare to look out. Until it reached us.”

“Screaming? There was more screaming?” I was confused.

Athena tugged my shoulder, “Lush, look…” She was pointing northwest, past the elder's home. Stepping to the side to get a better view, my stomach turned inside out. There was so much blood. The safe houses containing several families had been breached. The doors were busted off their hinges, some just outright shattered. There was blood-stained all over the walls outside, and deep in the snow. And the corpses… Mutilated, broken. Their hearts drained.

Staring at my failure, at the bodies, I couldn’t begin to imagine what had run through their minds. Did they think about their loved ones? The pain? Me? I was fighting back tears after witnessing the carnage. My head began to pound, and somewhere deep inside me, I heard a crack.

The old man walked out of his home and approached us, “Yukio… What happened?” He asked, looking at the horror. I couldn’t form any words, I was too lost within my own mind. “Yukio… Did they get past you?” The elder finally looked away from the view and looked at me, “You’ve even entered your awakened state, yet they still managed to overwhelm you?”

“I’m… I’m so sorry.” I finally conjured. My voice was weak, overwhelmed with guilt.

“Please, don’t be sorry.” The woman spoke softly, “It wasn’t your fault.”

The elder patted my back, “You are lost, Yukio. Focus. This isn’t your fault, I am sure there is an explanation.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off the deaths I allowed to happen, “But it is. I wasn’t there to protect them.”

Athena walked over, grabbing my arm, “Lush… Don’t speak like that. You did what you could.” The rest of the villagers finally began to emerge from safe homes, witnessing the carnage. Most were speechless as they looked on.

“No, there’s definitely something more I could have done.”

“Lush… Don’t let guilt consume you.”

“You don’t understand, Athena. I was out here all night. I fought all night! And yet… And yet I couldn’t even hear their screams,” My voice was shaken. The woman stood up and walked in front of me, forcing me to look at her.

She had tears running down her face, “Lushika, it’s okay. You protected the rest of the village. You can’t be in two places at once. I’m thankful that you saved me and my kids.”

“Yukio, let us speak,” The old man uttered. “Please, follow me.” He began to walk to his home, but I couldn’t follow him. I was still fixated on the carnage. Athena had to lead me by my hand, getting me out of the crowd that began to form.

“Thank you, Lushika.” The woman said a final time as she watched us walk away. Athena led me by the hand as we walked to the elder's home. It was large, seeing as it had to house a lot of people. While it lacked depth, it made up for in length. There were two fireplaces, one on the each of the far sides of the building. The floor was littered with deer pelt, with three tables spread across the building. There were hammocks and beds adjacent to the left and right walls. We walked inside, the man taking a seat and gesturing us to sit across from him.

“Yukio,” He spoke.

“Yes?”I replied.

“What did you see out there?”

I looked down at my hands, they were still covered in blood, “Too much.”

“I’m sorry, Yukio. Though, clearly, something was different tonight. I need to know the specifics.”

I froze for a moment while I recalled the memory, “I watched as the horde took the woman's husband. One reached into his back and ripped out his heart, drinking the blood from it. It changed the Night Hunter after that. It grew in size and strength. It managed to crack my ice. And as I was protecting the woman and her kids, a spitter appeared. Its spit was orange, rather than green. Those two were the only notable differences with the Night.”

The old man looked worried, “The last time I heard of something similar was in our stories with Yuki. Though I didn’t believe them, as I never saw it.”

“What stories?” Athena asked. “I’ve never heard anything like it.”

“The Elite Night Hunters.”

“Elite Night Hunters?” I asked.

“Yes. Supposedly, they only make an appearance when the Hunters are facing challenge or high casualties. For Yuki, they were a regular appearance, but when Yuki stopped appearing, so did the elites. They were able to hunt without them, with Yuki gone. So they never showed up again.”

“But now that Lush is here?” Athena began.

“They are facing high casualties, and I’m confident they see Yukio as a threat. So they are reintroducing the Elites to our village.”

“The fight was going as normal,” I began. “I couldn’t tell there were any elites until they transformed.”

“The elites look identical to the normal Night Hunters. They only show their true colors after feasting. Some get bigger and stronger, others have their powers enhanced. Like those spitters you mentioned.” I stood quietly as I had a flashback to the number of elites that appeared. I didn’t want to know how many perished.

“So what do we do?” Athena asked for me.

“We either continue to rely on Yukio for protection, or we hunt them.”

“I will hunt them down,” I replied, eagerly.

The old man stared at me, “Are you sure, Yukio? It’s no small task.”

“I’ll kill every last one of them. I will rid them from this world. It is something that I must do.” The old man stood up and began to rummage through old books and papers.

“In that case, it’s best you head towards the City of Lights then. They’ve had problems with the Night before. They may know more to help you.”

“And I’ll go with you!” Athena exclaimed, jumping out of her seat.

“No, you won’t,” I said while standing. “It’s too dangerous.”

“Too dangerous?!” She was offended, “My ass it’s too dangerous, I’m going with you!”

“Enough, you two,” The elder spoke. He walked over to me, handing me a map. “Take this, Yukio. It’ll guide you to the City of Lights.” I thanked the elder and left his home, Athena close behind me.

She yanked my arm, “Lush, I am going with you!”

I pulled out of her grip, “No, you are not.”

“Why?! I’m not letting you go alone, even if it is dangerous! I can handle myself, you know this!”

“I’m not going to let anyone else from this village die under my care. I can’t risk losing you.”

“You’re not gonna lose me, let me help!” She began to raise her voice.

“No. That’s final.” I began to walk away.

She yelled in frustration, “Lush, don’t walk away from me!” I ignored her. I made my way to the northwestern part of the village, where the villagers were burying the dead. I offered my help and spent the day with the villagers, cleaning my biggest mistake. I recognized all of the bodies. Come the night, I went back to Athena’s home to begin packing. She was asleep by the time I arrived. I packed a bow and arrows, along with some food and water for myself. I decided to rely on my powers for other weaponry.

At the crack of dawn, I got up to leave Yukigakure. Despite it being so early, a lot of the villagers were awake to see me off. They wished me the best and hoped I would finally bring an end to their suffering. I left, wishing I could apologize to Athena for the previous day. Though it was too late now.

Several hours passed. I just followed the trail in the snow, taking occasional glances at the map. Though the pair of second footsteps following mine were painfully obvious. I sighed as I turned around, Athena was attempting to hide behind a tree.

“Athena,” I called. “I hope you know your purple hair stands out when you hide behind a dark tree and white snow.”

She came out of hiding, “A-ah. Is that so?” She was nervous.

“Go home.”

“What?”

“Go home.”

“I heard you the first time- I’m not going home!”

“It’s dangerous.”

“Which is exactly why you need me here! I can help you! Please, don’t push me away like this!”

“Athena. Don’t make me lead you home.”

“No, you’re not going to lead me anywhere that isn’t the City of Lights! We are in this together!”

“We shouldn’t be.”

“Why shouldn’t we be?!”

“Athena, please. Don’t make this harder than it must be,” I rested the palm of my hand on my head.

“It wouldn’t be hard at all if you just let me go with you!”

“Yes, it would be!” I snapped. She was taken aback. “You don’t know how hard it is to tell you to go home!”

“Lush…”

“I’m doing this to protect you! I failed you all once already! So many people died under my watch! They were relying on me to protect them! And I wasn’t there for them! I couldn’t even hear their screams!”

She began to walk toward me, “Lush, it’s okay…”

“No, it isn’t!” It began to snow. “How can you tell me things are okay when their corpses and blood are on my hands?! Everyone that I buried yesterday, I knew! Do you know how that feels?! How it feels to have so many people to rely on you, only to have them die beneath you?!”

“Lush, it’s okay because you did what you could! Had you not been there, no one would have made it!” She continued to close the distance between us. It snowed heavier as the wind began to pick up. I didn’t have what it took to keep Athena safe in the open world. I couldn’t manifest any of my abilities unless I was in combat, I was nowhere near ready. If I couldn’t keep the hidden safe, how could I ever keep someone fighting alongside me safe?

“You want to follow me and risk your life, for what?! What will happen if I lose you out there too?! I care about you more than anything, I cannot begin to imagine what it will be like to watch you die like I did that man!” The surrounding trees began to be shrouded in frost, the snow became sharp, as ice began to rain down with the snow. “I can’t lose you, Athena! I’m a failure as a protector! So please, just turn around, walk home, and live to old age! Go home!” Eventually, I wasn’t able to see in front of me anymore, the snowfall becoming too thick. A blizzard had set in at full force.

Once again, I felt that emotion. Fear. I was lost in a storm I had created, I was disoriented and alone. I couldn’t hear Athena anymore, much less see her. The howling and whipping of the wind slowly transformed into whispers. Whispers of my failure. The voice sounded so familiar, yet so distant. So close to me, yet so much further than I can possibly imagine.

Athena finally managed to close the gap without me noticing, grabbing my hands, “It’s okay, Lush. You won’t lose me.” The blizzard calmed. Her hands were warm and her voice was reassuring. She wiped away a few tears from my eyes, I didn’t even realize I began crying. “Everything will be okay. Please, let me be here for you.” I didn’t reply, I just embraced her. And the winds finally settled.

After a long embrace, we walked side by side. She held my hand to reassure me that she wasn’t going anywhere. We didn’t speak, we just appreciated each other's company for a while. Though as time passed, admittedly uneased, I tried to make conversation.

“Athena?”

“Yes?” She looked up at me, her eyes fixated on me.

“You’ve told me about your brother and father. What about your mother?”

Athena smiled as she recalled her mother, “She was a very, very sweet woman. She was extraordinarily soft and kind.”

“Is that where you get it from?”

She laughed, “I am nowhere near on the levels of her, but yes, I try to be. While she wasn’t some great hero of the village like my brother and father, she was my personal hero.”

“I take it you were very close to her?”

She nodded in excitement, “Yeah! With how needed Lushika and my father were around the village, I honestly didn’t spend too much personal time with them. Just did a lot of admiring from afar,” She chuckled to herself. “But my mother was always there. She cooked for me, clothed me, sang me lullabies- she had an amazing voice!”

I smiled with Athena’s enthusiasm, “She sounds like she was a phenomenal woman.”

“You bet she was!” Athena’s smile slightly faded, “But obviously she isn’t around anymore. I lost her while I was still really young. Thankfully, it wasn’t anything… Gruesome. She caught an illness.”

Noticing the tone shift, I panicked, “Athena, I’m so sorry-”

“Oh, don’t be!” She interrupted. She was still smiling, “She got sick a lot. It was only a matter of time, so I guess you can say I was prepared for her passing? During the moment, of course, I wasn’t. You can’t prep for a loss like that. But her death wasn’t unexpected, and I managed to heal.”

My smile returned, relieved, “I’m glad you handled it so well.”

“It still hurts, obviously. But not in a way that’ll stop me, you know? I just… I miss her, from time to time. I ask myself what she would do in a lot of situations. And I often wonder how different things would have been if she had been healthier. How she would have taken the loss of…” She paused.

“Yeah. I understand. You don’t have to elaborate further.”

“Thank you, Lush,” She squeezed my hand tightly for the rest of our walk.

The sun began to set, so we decided to make camp for the night, though I didn’t have anything to make a camp with.

Athena sighed as she pulled out firestarters and cloth to sit on, even the material to make a tent, “You should be glad I followed you. What did you even bring?”

“A bow and arrows, and just food and water. I honestly didn’t think I’d need anything else,” I looked away, slightly ashamed by my incompetence.

Athena was dumbfounded, “You genuinely would have died out here from exposure if I didn’t tag along. You’re welcome.” I laughed and thanked her for following me. After setting up camp, we used her fire starters on some kindle I foraged and lit a fire.

Eventually, she fell asleep after eating and so did I. Come the next morning, we packed everything we had and went back on the path. It wasn’t long until the snow started to thin, the grass showing itself.

Athena smiled, “It’s been a while since I’ve seen grass like this.”

“You’ve been out of the snow before?” I asked.

She nodded in excitement, “When I was really little. I used to go with my brother to some nearby villages for trade. Some of the other villagers would go as far to the City of Lights to trade as well, though we never went with them.”

I smiled and touched the grass, “It’s similar to the grass exposed by the spring.”

“Correct! I think they are the same species! Oh, and I wonder what you’ll like more! The Peaks or the Verdant Valley!”

“Verdant Valley?”

“Yeah! Not much further from here, it’s green as far as the eye can see. Just grass with the occasional tree! It’s stunning, really!”

“I don’t think anything can replace my love for the snow.”

“True, but once you see the grass, maybe it’ll be a close second?”

“Maybe,” We continued walking, the snow being left behind us. In its place was the grass Athena spoke about, our road turning to dirt. As we drew closer to the City of Lights, people began to crowd the roads. Most of them on horseback. Athena was always by my side, to not get lost. We arrived as the sun was setting.

The city was surrounded by giant walls made of wood, constructed to keep the residents inside safe. Guards with bows walked on top of the walls, while guards with lances stood at the entrance, monitoring who entered and left. We walked through the gates of the city, leading us inside. The dirt path turned to cobblestone, and it was crowded, but amazing to witness. There were buildings everywhere you turned. The homes were made of wood, but the markets, smiths, and public buildings were made of stone, so they were easy to distinguish from the houses. Their markets sold anything you could need. They had clothing, food, entertainment, and even souvenirs. We were on the southernmost point of the city, one of the two main entry and exit points.

Athena ran in front of me, “It’s beautiful! Isn’t it, Lush?!”

I nodded, “It’s truly remarkable.”

She grabbed my hand, “But crowded! Let’s go somewhere where I can hear myself think!” She led me deeper into the city. We ran in between the homes, where people had racks to dry their clothes above us. We were running uphill, to the center of the city. It took a bit of running, but once we arrived at the center, there was a stone fountain. Athena finally let go and walked towards it, admiring it.

I walked up behind her, “Refreshing, isn’t it?”

She turned to face me, sweating, “Very! It’s hot here, or at least compared to what I’m used to.”

“I’d bet, considering we’re from a village in The Peaks.”

She examined my body, “How are you not sweating with what you’re wearing anyway?”

I simply shrugged, “I haven’t noticed a temperature increase at all.”

Athena pulled her shirt from her neck, “Yeah, well considering everything I’m wearing is insulated for the cold, I’m dying here. Do you think they sell clothes?”

I gestured towards a market that had clothing in its windows, “If I had to guess, it’d be there if they did.” She grabbed my hand and we wandered inside. There was a kind old lady by the entrance to greet us. Athena’s eyes lit up with excitement as she examed the clothing.

“You’re a lucky man,” The old lady told me.

“Lucky?” I questioned.

“She’s yours, is she not?”

“In what sense?”

“The romantic kind! You’re both very attractive and were holding hands when you walked in here. Did I assume wrong?”

I looked at Athena as she was looking through the clothing, “You did.”

“Well, do you at least like her?”

“She’s kind.”

The old lady smacked her lips, “She’s young, bright, and full of energy. Don’t let her go, if you do, you’ll be calling yourself stupid for the rest of your life.”

“Don’t intend on it.”

“Lush!” Athena came back to me, showing off the clothing she was holding, “Look at this! It’s the same color as my hair, I think it looks great! What do you think?” I grabbed the short sleeved v-neck and felt it with my hands. It was a soft, smooth silk dyed a deep purple, with some leather patches across the arms and chest.

“The leather would come in handy for extra protection.”

Athena looked at the shirt, “Well, I guess so. Though that’s not really what I had intended. It’s so soft, is it not?”

I nodded, “Softer than anything we have back home,” I paused for a moment. “And the color does match your hair.”

“So you like it too!”

“I do.”

“Great! Let’s get it, then!” I gave her back the shirt, and she walked toward the old lady. They discussed some things that I couldn’t exactly hear, with Athena giving the old lady a brown bag and some deer skin. She was then guided to the back of the store, where she came out with it on, including a new pair of pants that were black and dropped to her ankles.

“So, what do you think?”

I nodded, “It suits you very well.”

“Glad you think so! It’s so much cooler than what I was wearing before.”

“It’s made of a thinner material, and isn’t packed with as much animal fur for insulation, so that’s to be expected.”

She grabbed my hand and led me outside, “Ah, now this feels a lot better. What do you want to do now?”

“I want to find a place to stay, so we can rest and find out more about the Night tomorrow.”

She looked at me disappointed, “That’s probably one of the worst things you could have said to me.”

“I’m sorry?”

“We’re in the City of Lights! This city doesn’t sleep at night! Plus, the next moon won’t disappear for another month! The moon is currently in its waxing phase! C’mon, let’s just enjoy ourselves for a little while! Don’t be boring!” I didn’t reply and looked at our surroundings, the fountain catching my attention. I walked towards it.

“Lush?” Athena was confused. I touched the fountain and let the water run through my fingers.

“Is it warm?” I asked her.

She walked beside me and put her hands in the water, “It’s very warm, actually.” She took her hand out of the water and dried it off. “Seriously, though, let’s go do something.”

“Put your hand back in.”

“What, why?”

“Just trust me.”

She annoyingly sighed and did as I asked. She was surprised and pulled her hand out quickly, “Whoa, what did you do?! Why is it so cold?!”

I smiled and froze the fountain water, Athena looking in amazement. The ice was glistening off the setting sun.

“It’s so pretty!”

“Not done yet,” I said through my grin. I looked at the floor and, with a wave of my hand, covered it in a thin layer of ice. Athena, caught by surprise, began to slip. I slid over to her and held her up.

She laughed, “You know what you’re doing, don’t you?”

“Not so dull now, am I?” She smiled and pushed me off of her. I lost my balance and fell over, causing her to laugh at my tumble. I stood up, and she began to skate away, doing laps around the frozen fountain. I laughed as I followed her around. I rose a thin wall of snow in front of her, which she bumped into, allowing me to catch her.

“Hey, no fair!” She said through her laughter.

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“Sorry, but you’re too good at skating for me to catch up!”

“Probably because I grew up in ice and snow. Not your brightest idea to challenge me in anything cold-related.” As we shared a laugh, I crushed a snowball onto her head. “Hey! I don’t have magical ice wizard powers to just create snowballs, you really are a cheater!” I backed up and threw another snowball at her, laughing.

“Alright, alright. Fair point.” I made two snow piles for us to pull from. “Happy no-” I was cut off as I found my mouth full of snow.

“Oh yeah, very happy!” She laughed as she threw another. Time flew by as the sun slowly disappeared from the sky, though we didn’t notice. Eventually, some voices came from the distance.

“Oi, knock off our fountains!” A guard yelled at us. They weren’t too fond of me freezing the fountain, and just creating the ice and snow wherever I pleased.

“No!” I yelled in retaliation, throwing a snowball at one of the guards. It hit their chest.

Athena giggled, “Yeah, what he said!” She threw another, this time hitting the guard's head. “Oh boy, get ready to run!” Athena said, grabbing my hand, still giggling. We bolted off randomly, with the guards close on our tail, blowing their whistles. As we ran, I made the ground behind us covered in a thin sheet of ice to cause the guards to slip. It worked, though some adjusted quickly and kept up their pursuit.

“Stop running, you juveniles!” A guard yelled.

“When you catch us!” Athena yelled back.

We were running through an alleyway, with a lot of twists and turns. Athena grabbed my hand tighter, so as to not lose me through the mess. I made some more fluffy snowballs and gave them to Athena.

“Here, use these!” She looked back and smiled, grabbing the snowballs and chucking them back as we ran.

“Oi!” The guard yelled, “Don’t be throwing those at us! Who do you think you are?! You young love bir-” I cut him off mid-sentence, tossing a snowball back, pelting him in his face. “Alright, that’s it! Faster, lads!”

I created a staircase of snow for us to climb onto the rooftops, destroying it after we made it up. The guards were still close on the ground with their whistles. I ran faster to get ahead of Athena as we were quickly approaching the city walls. I erected a giant pillar of snow that lifted us into the air, jumping for the wall. Athena, unprepared, had a rough landing. She landed directly on me and brought us both down.

“Ow, ow, ow. Maybe tell me before doing something like that again?” She complained.

I was laughing, “Right, right, if there’s a next time, I will.” She looked up at me from my chest and stood silent for a moment. I got lost in her dark purple eyes, I didn’t know what to say, my laughter disappearing. She ruined the moment as she couldn’t hold back her laugh any longer.

“What’s so funny?” I chuckled.

“This situation! I mean, we’re on top of the walls of the City of Lights, running from the guards because we froze their city fountain and knocked them around with snowballs!”

I laughed, “I guess the situation is kind of ridiculous.”

“Mhm,” She mumbled as she rolled off my chest. She sat up, tugging my shirt to get my attention.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Sit up, and admire this view!” I sat myself up and looked down at the city. The city was bright and glowing, bustling with life. There was laughter, singing, dancing, and so much more, all contained in the walls of the city. All the while, more people flooded inside the gates, some coming in, others leaving. It was a city that was always alive and active, regardless of the time of day. Trades were being made, friendships were being established, and love was being made. Though, the thing that stood out the most were the city lights. There were candles everywhere, burning in every building, of every room. In the northern part of the city, they had blue flames, leaving the entire north glowing a soothing blue. Even the sky was illuminated, with sky lanterns that people had made. It was truly a sight to behold.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, grabbing onto Athena’s hand.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before. I had always heard stories of the City of Lights, and heard that it was such a sight to see at night, but to actually see it… It’s amazing.” She looked down and lifted my hand and rested her other hand on top. “Lush?”

“Yeah?”

“Your hand. It’s warm. It’s never warm, it’s always the coldest part of your body. Are you alright?”

I smiled, “I can assure you I am. I’m just happy right now.”

She smiled back, “I am too.”

“What has you smiling?”

“You,” She replied, bashfully. “You’ve come into my life and just lit everything up. I kinda thought I was at a dead end, stuck in Yukigakure doing the same thing every day with the same people. But then you turned up. With you, I feel like there’s always something new. And of course, I feel safe around you,” The wind blew, and her hair danced with it. I was stunned by her beauty.

“I’m glad I make you feel all those things, Athena. The feeling is very much mutual. Might be odd to say, but I feel safe around you too.”

She rested her head on my shoulder, “Do you think that’s why you were able to do what you did back there?”

“Do what?”

“You seemed very much in control of your powers. Was it because you felt safe? Calm? Happy?”

I shook my head, “In all honesty, I doubt it. I always feel those things around you. So it makes no sense for it to randomly work now, but not back home. It just sort of happened naturally today.”

“Another mystery to be solved for another day,” Athena yawned. “For now, let’s just admire this memory.”

“Whatever you’d like, Athena. We have a lot of time.” She smiled, and we watched the city glow together, before falling asleep on the walls. The morning soon came as we were awoken by several guards, with a short blonde-haired man staring down at us.

“Excuse me?” He questioned.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, “Who are you, exactly?”

He looked at his guards, then back at me, “Quite bold to arrive in my city, assault my guards, and then act like you do not know who I am,” The man’s voice was soft.

“So, are you going to answer who you are?”

“No, I believe you must answer who you are first,” The man scoffed. “After all, this is my city. I heard you were creating snow and ice at your will, yes?”

“Who is it?” Athena asked, half asleep.

“Trying to figure that out,” I told her. “Yes, it’s true, I did those things.”

The man looked down at me with interest, “Is that so? What’s your name, snow manipulator?”

“Yukio. Lushika Yukio.”

The man’s eyes widened, “Yukio? You’re not… No, no, is it true?” He began to talk to himself.

Athena yawned and looked around us, widening awake as she saw we were surrounded by guards, “Lush, what’s going on?”

“I’m unsure myself. Though, by the looks of the lost man over there, I don’t think we are in any trouble.”

The man recollected himself, “Alright. Yukio, right?”

“Correct.”

“Yukio… And the woman there?”

“Athena, Athena Samui.” She answered.

“Athena Samui… Alright. Guards, escort us back to my northern home. As for you two, please follow me. We have much to discuss.”

“Are you not going to tell us who you are?” I questioned, rising to my feet.

“All in due time, my friend, all in due time. For now, be patient.” The man began to walk ahead, the guards rushing Athena and me to stand up and follow. As we did, they wouldn’t let us fall too far behind. They surrounded us and hid us from public view.

“What’s going on?” Athena whispered to me as we walked.

I shrugged, “Not sure. Though, if I had to guess, that guy is important around here. He mentioned it being his city.”

“Do you think he knows about the Night?”

“Likely so. If he owns the place, he likely controls the army in some way. Which means he’s always up to date on the local threats in the area.”

Athena smiled, “Smart. So what do we do?”

“Just play along for now. Let’s see where this leads us.” Athena simply nodded, and we continued to walk to the northern part of the city. As we transitioned into the northern district, the warm lighting turned cold. Blue was the primary color for the northern district, there were also more parks, trees, and luxury services. It seemed like this district was for the wealthy, but also a place to relax and reset yourself. We were making our way as far north as we could, near the second entrance to the city. In the distance, I was able to see a giant building made of stone, akin to a castle.

Soon, we arrived at a set of big wooden doors guarded by men in special blue armor. Upon seeing the man who spoke to us on the walls, they opened the doors, letting us inside. The interior was massive, with an unnecessarily high ceiling. The halls were decorated with massive windows that started on the floor and met the ceiling. They were draped in a dark blue cloth. Chandlers stretched from the ceiling in order to properly illuminate the place. Ahead of us was a giant rug that shared the same color as the drapes on the windows, though it had a gold patterned design on top of it as well. There were many more doors, leading to plenty more rooms, though we had to walk deep into the hall to reach the room where we were being led.

The room was small and void of color, crowded in darkness due to the absence of windows. There was a table in the center, broken and ragged, though there was a map of the city and surrounding terrain. Only two guards followed us into the room before the steel door closed behind us. Had any more entered, it would have been very crowded. The man lit a small candle and placed it on the corner of the map and sat down on the only chair in the room. He fixed his posture and closed his hands, looking up at us.

“So, you were asking who I was, correct?”

“I’d like to know who you are, yes. You just led us to some dark, sketchy room and have yet to tell us who you are.”

“Cold, too,” Athena added as she shivered.

“Well, despite me leading you here, you still followed. Did you not? What if this was some ploy? What if I wanted to hurt you?”

“Don’t you for a second think I am afraid of you,” I said, putting my hands on the table.

“Not like you gave us much of a choice, with your guards and all,” Athena commented.

“Right, of course. I nearly forgot all of my manners, let me apologize. I am not trying to intimidate you, nor am I trying to cause any harm. Though for you to follow us without any questions on the way here, well, I do find it a bit odd,” He remarked.

“We followed you when we were forced by your guards. We didn’t choose to follow you.”

“Fair enough. Now, then, I am Lord Ackerly. My grandfather was appointed by the king himself to govern this once small village and nurse it to what it has become today. My father took the title after my grandfather, so naturally, I have succeeded my father as well. I’ve pulled you here due to reports from my chief guard’s claims. He says you had the power to manipulate the snow. I asked once, and I’ll ask again. Is this true?”

I was slightly annoyed with the repetition, “I’ve answered once, and I’ll answer again. It is true.”

“Uneased, are we? Now, then, may you show me?” Ackerly leaned forward in his chair, watching with intent.

“Give me a reason to entertain you first.”

Ackerly sighed and paused for a moment, “To be frank, if you are truly the snow manipulator, we need your help. Recently, the Night has been more aggressive than usual. Typically, our walls are enough to keep them out of the city. On moonless nights, we would close our gates so no one can leave or enter. Then we’d have extra guards posted up on the walls with bows, to deter any of the Night from getting too close to the walls. Usually, this works with no issues. They would never even approach the walls, instead opting to stalk from a distance. Though recently, they’ve gotten more… Aggressive. They’ve been actively assaulting us, trying to burn down our walls with their acid and attacking the guards. The ones with the tendrils, anyway. The others would try to climb. We’ve been facing heavy casualties. Lots of good men and women are dying, and we have no answer on how to stop it. So again, we need your help.”

Keeping my hands on the table, I froze the area in which my hands laid, “Is this enough proof for you?”

Ackerly’s eyes widened, “It’s true… You are the snow manipulator!”

“Yukio,” I corrected. “Stop calling me that.”

“Right, sorry, my manners.” He cleared his throat, “Yukio. May I ask you another question?”

“Might as well.”

“Are you related to Yuki, by any chance?”

“Not directly, if that is what you are asking.”

“Descendant, cousin, direct child, nothing of the sort?”

“I am not. Or at least, I don’t believe I am.”

“Don’t believe?”

“I awoke at the top of the tallest mountain in The Peaks. I do not have any memory prior to waking up. I’ve been told I resemble him, though I cannot say anything more.”

“Fascinating…”

“Upon waking up, I made my way down the mountains, where I found the village Yukigakure. They took me in, Athena specifically, and helped me. In return, I’ve been protecting them from the Night.”

“I see. So you have experience with the Night?”

“I do.”

“I see, I see! You are very similar to Yuki! Well, the stories we have of him, anyway! And now you’re going to help us, just like he did all those years ago! Fascinating, truly!”

“Wait a minute,” Athena began. “Yuki helped you? I thought you said your grandfather was the one who first helped raise the City of Lights. Yuki, at the time of your grandfather, should have still been nothing more than stories. He was alive centuries ago!”

“Right, my mistake. He didn’t help us directly, nor did he help with the buildings of this great city. Rather, he protected this place when it was a small village. By the time my grandfather arrived, he was long gone, yes you are correct. However, his stories were still being told.”

“Yuki helped this place when it was a mere village? But he was protecting Yukigakure, how is that possible?”

“Well, I wish I had an answer for you darling, truly I do. Though, the stories just tell of a man named Yuki who arrived one day. From the southwest, coming from The Peaks.”

Athena stood silent, “Did… Did Yuki abandon us to help this place when it was a village instead?”

“Darling, if the stories are correct, they depicted a merciful, brave, and caring man. I doubt he abandoned your village. There is an explanation, I am sure of it.”

“Do you have any paintings of what Yuki may have looked like? Maybe it was a different man entirely, but Yuki’s name was simply used!”

“Sorry, but as far as I’m aware, we do not. The most we have are descriptions from stories. And I can assure you, they tell of a man that looks an awful like Yukio here.”

Athena looked up at me and sighed, “I’ll have to ask around more than. I need to find out what I can.” Her eyes wandered to the ground.

Ackerly nodded, “When you have the time, I recommend you speak to the natives of this city. They’ve been here the longest, after all. I’m sure they’ll have some to tell you.”

“Thank you,” Athena answered, slightly disappointed.

Ackerly put his attention back on me, “Now, Yukio, where were we?”

“You were on about how I was going to help you.”

“Ah, yes, that’s right! You said you have experience with the Night, correct?”

“I’ve fought them several times by now, yes.”

“Great! You see, my men are very well-trained and disciplined. The problem is that they are trained to fight against other men. Weaponry such as swords, spears, bows, arrows, and such. They aren’t trained on how to fight flesh-eating acid and flying tendril creatures. That’s where you come in.”

“You want me to train your men?”

“Train them on how to counter and fight the Night, that is correct! It was only a few days ago that we had a moonless night, so you have plenty of time to teach them before the next assault!”

“Alright. I can do this for you. In return, I request that you tell me everything you know on the Night. I’m on a quest to extinguish them from this world.”

“Of course! We’ll tell you everything we know!”

“Thank you. Now then, guide me to your barracks. I’ll begin training right away.”

“Not so fast,” One of the guards said. “You bloke just got here and made this deal. My men aren’t ready yet. You can go off with your girlfriend here and do whatever it is you need to do while I properly round up my men and inform them of what’s going on here.”

“And you are?” I asked.

“Ethan. Ethan Ludwig, the chief of this army. The same person you threw those bloody snowballs at.” I glanced at Ackerly for him to say something.

“He’s not wrong. Give him time to gather and inform his men. When will they be ready, Ludwig?”

“Just a few hours, give or take. Won’t be long.”

“Right then. Yukio, Athena, please enjoy those few hours to yourselves. Ludwig here will come round you up when all is ready.”

“Thank you,” I replied. And with that, we finally walked out of the small room and walked down the hall of the palace, making our way outside.

“You’ll be fine without me, right?” Athena asked as we walked around the northern district.

“Fine without you? What do you mean?” I was confused.

“I mean, training them and such. Will you be fine without me?”

“I don’t need your help in training them, but I would like you to be there. These are important skills that’ll keep you alive against the Night.”

She pondered for a moment, “You’re right. I wanted to spend time finding and talking to the natives about Yuki, but I guess my life takes priority.”

I laughed, “Shocker how that works, isn’t it?”

She smiled, “A great surprise for sure.”

“Just stick for the lectures, and some of the physical training. All of the conditioning you can skip.”

Athena’s eyes lit up, “Thanks, coach.”

I pat her head, “Use the extra time to find the closure you and Yukigakure deserve. I know what Yuki means to you all.”

Athena smiled, latching onto my arm, “Thank you for understanding.”

I let out a soft smile, “Of course,” We walked around for the time that we had, exploring the northern district. We visited one of their many parks. It was bright green with grass and trees, a big contrast to the mostly blue palette of the north. There was a massive pond near the center, with ducks, fish, and even frogs. We simply sat on a bench near the pond and talked the hours away.

Eventually, those hours passed and Ludwig came to collect us, “Yukio, Athena?”

I had nearly fallen asleep on Athena’s shoulders, “Hm?”

“My men are ready and gathered at the barracks. You lot ready?”

I sat up properly and yawned, “Yes. Just lead us there, we’ll follow.”

“Right then, just this way.” With Athena close by my side, we followed Ludwig to the barracks, which were still in the northern district. In fact, it wasn’t too far from Ackerly’s palace. Upon arriving, I was greeted by many men standing in line, awaiting orders.

Ludwig stepped to the side, “Right well, these are my men. The ones you’ll be working with anyway. The others are going to keep on with their civic duties. The men here are for guarding against any intruders outside our walls, including the bloody Night. Have them as you will, I leave them under your control. That being said, I will also be partaking in your training,” He lined up with his men. “Ready whenever you are.”

I nodded, “Before anything, I need to assess the equipment you are using.”

“I can assure you, our blades are sharp if that is what you’re asking.”

I looked at one of the men in formation, “You there. Your sword. Give it here.” I instructed. Without any questions or delay, he pulled out his sword from its sheath and handed it to me. I inspected its edge, it was sharp and reflecting light off it. I sliced at a training dummy made of straw and hay, its slash was deep.

“Not bad,” I said.

“Told you, weapons are sharp,” Ludwig replied. I manifested a blade of ice into my hands and sliced at a dummy made of wood, slicing it cleanly in two. I was more impressed that I could manifest a blade with little struggle more than anything.

“Not bad,” I began, “But not good enough.” I gave the blade back to the guard I had borrowed it from. “The Night’s skin is much thicker than you realize. Your weapons aren’t sharp enough to pierce its skin. With that said, let me inspect your arrows next.” I looked at one of their archers, who noticed my gaze and handed over his quiver. I pulled out an arrow and inspected the tip. It was razor sharp, sharper than the sword. “Now this, this will do. The edges of your swords should all be as sharp, if not sharper than the tip of this arrow.”

“Right. Well, we will have that sorted out then. I’ll inform our blacksmiths to make weapons designed to cut down the Night. Until then, let us practice with what we have.” Ludwig spoke.

I nodded in agreement, “Now then, let us get on with some actual lecturing and practicing.” I gave back the quiver of arrows to the archer. I began to pace back and forth in front of all the guards. Admittedly, I was on a bit of a power trip. “The Night. Have any of you here fought them directly? Gotten up close to fight them? I’m not asking if you’ve seen them and shot an arrow at them. I’m asking have any of you sparred with the Night?” There was silence.

“Can’t say we have. The bloody tendrils are unpredictable and overwhelming, so when they do get close, we don’t really have a chance to fight them.” Ludwig answered.

“Are you all at least aware of the types of Night?”

“We are, sir.” One of the men answered.

“Then go ahead and tell me about them.”

“Well, we have them separated into two different groups. One we call special types, the other normal types. The special types include tendril users, acid spitters, and ones that possess great speed and or strength. The normal types include just your everyday run-of-the-mill Night, nothing sticks out about them and they make the bulk of the force.”

“Great job. What about the elites?”

“Elites, sir?”

“Elites.”

There was hesitation, “Sorry sir, I’m not familiar with the elites.”

“Neither was I until a few days ago. The elites look identical to what you call, normal types. Completely indistinguishable from the main force. However, their true colors come out when they…” Scenes of the village, the corpses flashed in my mind.

“Lush?” Athena grabbed onto my arm.

I cleared my throat, “Feast on our blood. Their bodies morph, and some grow large, larger than us. Some have their powers enhanced. As in stronger acid or stronger tendrils.” Athena let go of my arm, backing away and listening to my lecture. “What does this mean? It means to never, ever underestimate the Night. Even if they are just the ‘normal types.’ Let them take advantage of you, consume your blood, and you’ll put everyone else in danger with your death.” Some of the men became nervous.

“How do we stop them after they transform?” The guard asked.

I looked at him, “You kill it.”

The guard looked down, a bit frightened, “Right. Noted.”

“Now that we are all aware of what the Night is capable of, let’s do some actual training, shall we?” And so we began. Days began to pass and we practiced everything I could teach them. I lectured on how to properly swing a sword for deeper, cleaner cuts. How to fight defensively, the goal of preserving their life as to not put others in danger with unleashing an elite. We also went over the strategies and tactics I often used for crowd control and target priority.

All the while, Athena stayed for the lessons, and physical training, but left when we began conditioning. She went to go look for natives in the City of Lights to find out more about Yuki. She hardly had any time for rest, often exhausting herself. We had been given a room in Ackerly’s palace to stay in, but Athena usually came home as I would get up to start my day. We hardly had any time to properly talk.

Early in our training, I had met a guard who insisted on using two daggers instead of a sword or spear. I had to pull him to the side to speak to him.

“Yes sir?” He remained formal.

“I’m curious, why the daggers? What advantage do they give you over a sword or spear?” I asked.

“You see sir, they’re light. Lighter than the sword, and allow for more aggression than a spear. They allow for quick movement and more impulse fighting, rather than depending on a single strategy.”

“So they’re flexible in the flow of combat?”

“Yes sir. They also work well for very aggressive maneuvers, being such small weapons. With all due respect sir, I recommend you give them a try.” I wasn’t thrilled to attempt it, but it had certainly caught my interest. I grabbed two daggers and wailed on the training dummies we had. With the small and light weight of the axes, I was able to move my body much more freely. It allowed for quick dodges, light footwork, and plenty of quick slashes.

“Maybe you’re onto something,” I told the guard, looking at the dummy that I had practiced on.

“Remarkable work, sir! Your natural speed and strength take it to a new level! Typically, a drawback is that cuts are shallow and weak, but you seem to negate that!” He was enthusiastic while staring at the dummy, it had just fallen apart.

“Perhaps. Back to training.” I instructed.

Quicker than I had hoped, days turned into weeks. I had taught all that I could about the combat, so we moved on to strategies. How we would defend the walls, the positions everyone would take, and so on. Athena was present for most of these. She had to be. Though she often looked upset or angry when drilling these tactics. She was tired, and I didn’t blame her. She wanted to put more effort into finding out about Yuki, rather than what we were doing. Though, for my sake, she decided to practice with us. On the days off, when the soldiers would rest, Athena would go out into the city once again. She never rested.

Soon, it was the day of the moonless night. Nearly a month had passed since we arrived in the City of Lights. It was finally time to put all of our work and practice into action and fight. The day was busy, people were flooding the gates, trying to get in or leave before the gates would close for the night. The guards were taking their positions, walking on top of the walls and handing out strict orders to the men operating the gates. The sun began to set, forcing the gates closed. Anyone near the gates was rushed inside, and the city fell quiet.

Normally, during the evening, people would begin lighting their candles. Some still did, but many were too scared to do so. They opted to stay in the dark, in hopes the Night wouldn’t find them if they were to break inside the walls and into their homes.

“Yukio! The archers have taken their formation, and so have their guards!” Ludwig announced.

“Great. They have the new weapons, correct?”

“Aye, they do, sharp as ever. They can pierce anything.”

“Good. Make sure everyone is well rested. Anyone who looks tired must be removed immediately. Them being on the battlefield is a danger to everyone. If they were to get caught by an elite, it could be the end.”

“Right, I’ll run through inspections then,” He started to make his way back to his men before turning around, “Oh, and your lass wanted to speak with you. She’s somewhere along the walls. You best go find her. Seemed important.” I nodded and thanked him, and frantically looked for Athena. We didn’t have much time left.

She was sitting on the edge, “Athena? You needed me?”

“Lush… These past few days of running around and trying to find out more about Yuki… I discovered a lot. Something groundbreaking.” She said, staring into the setting sun.

I sat next to her, “What did you find?”

“Yuki… Yuki had a much, much bigger adventure and purpose than any of us initially thought.”

“What do you mean?”

She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, “You see, Yuki… Well, he might-”

“Yukio! Come quickly, the sun is almost out, we need you here!” Ludwig yelled from the group for me.

I sighed, “I’m sorry. But please, after everything is said and done, come to speak to me afterward. Let’s just save this city first.” Athena was disappointed, but understood. We hurried over to where the guards were.

“It’s now or never, mate,” Ludwig claimed, handing me a spare sword. I sheathed it, though I had no intentions of using it. I watched the sun disappear from the sky and darkness swallow the lands ahead of us. I could see all the way to The Peaks, thanks to the elevation of the walls. All was silent, the archers had their arrows pulled and ready to be released at a moment's notice. The tension in the atmosphere was tight, no one dared to make a sound or move a muscle.

Then, on the horizon, the Night appeared. Hundreds, if not thousands, of them. It was a full-on siege on the City of Lights. We could hardly see them since there was no light. Though their amber eyes glowed, and their laughter was loud enough to hear from up top the walls.

“Ready your aim!” I instructed. “Aim high, let your arrows fall onto them! Don’t release until I give the go!” The archers all adjusted their aim high, getting ready to launch their arrows. I watched as they grew closer, waiting for the perfect time. They had to be uncomfortably close for a majority of the arrows to hit. I watched as they approached the walls, toppling over one another, careless and crude. When I estimated they were close enough, I gave the order.

“Fire!” I shouted. And with that, hundreds of arrows were unleashed into the night sky. They all rose together, eventually being pulled back down to the ground and piercing the Night. Their screams were loud, and plenty of them collapsed dead. While effective, it was nowhere near enough to stop the horde. “Fire when ready!” I instructed. Now, there was a constant flow of arrows going into the sky, thinning the horde.

As they grew ever closer, a tendril Hunter revealed itself. It latched onto the top of the walls, launching itself upwards, higher than the walls. Some of the men looked on in horror, the others drew their swords. It was hyper-aggressive, attempting to ignore the infantry and threatening our archers. I created a spear, launching it at the tendril Hunter before it could do anything to the men.

Then, finally covering the ground and scaling the wall, the run-of-the-mill hunters began to arrive. However, our spearmen and swordsmen were ready, pursuing the Night and defending the archers. I was impressed with how smoothly it was going.

Though more and more began to appear in numbers. Our archers grew less and less effective as for everyone that was killed by an arrow, two would emerge to replace it. And our melee troops, while effective at defending the archers, began to grow tired, becoming sloppy. They just kept coming and began to overwhelm everyone with their sheer numbers.

“Archers, refocus your arrows onto the Night Hunters that are already on top of the wall!” I said as I manifested a blade made of ice. I needed them to help relieve the exhaustion our troops were facing.

I rushed into the mess of a battle that had broken out to relieve some of the guards. Athena was close behind me, drawing her bow and supporting me where she could. Together, we cut down a good chunk of the Night. The top of the walls was stained black, their blood dripping down into the city. With the guards fighting with me, and Athena supporting me, it felt like I was dancing with the Night. The flow of battle was smooth, and we had yet to face any casualties. Arrows flew, swords sliced, and spears pierced.

Suddenly, a tendril Hunter landed on the ground, slamming its fists into the ground, causing tremors and knocking me off balance. Its force was strong enough to launch the guards closer to the Hunter, a man even losing his footing and falling down the wall. But before anyone could hit it, the Hunter leaped and took off with its tendrils. It laughed and mocked as it dodged the arrows. It was Athena who landed the perfect shot, causing it to fall. Though, more of the tendril Hunters had began to arrive, leaving me to rely on Athena for anti-air while I dealt with the others. Just as I began to feel hopeful, there was a scream, quickly followed by a yell.

“Abraham!” A guard yelled. I looked over at the commotion, a guard had fallen to the Night and gotten overwhelmed. His heart was already torn out. “You bastards! I won’t let you get away with this!” His friend yelled as he began his charge. He ran into the horde with his sword and began to slash wildly. Though, he had run out of range from his comrades, isolating himself. They quickly overwhelmed him, slashing at his achilles, causing him to fall over. He screamed in pain as they grabbed onto his head and pulled him by his hair. They bashed his face into the ground until he stopped responding. They then plunged their claws into his back, ripping his heart out as well. They drank his blood, and the elites emerged. The sounds of their bones cracking and morphing to support their new size echoed across the walls.

The two elites, now fully transformed, let out a screeching laugh as the others cheered. The fighting slowed, as the guards looked on, horrified. They began to attack, grabbing the guards and throwing them off the walls, where they fell to their deaths. Those unlucky enough to be flung on the wrong side were feasted upon by the Night below us. Watching all of this breakdown, I froze. Fear, fear had struck me again as I relived the memory of my failures, and watched it happen once again. The screams of the man as they tore his heart out, alive, while his wife and kids watched.

My breathing became erratic, my head began to pound. I had to focus. Enraged, I tossed my sword into one of the elite's back. It flinched and pulled it out of its body, looking directly at me. I formed two daggers in either hand and charged at the elite, taking the fight to it.

It tried to swing at me in defense of my pursuit, but I was too quick for it. I dodged, and while its arm was extending, I slashed at it. The elite reared back in pain, holding its bleeding arm. It became enraged and got careless with its fighting. It threw out more punches,, but could never land a hit on me. Every time it whiffed a punch, I would punish it for being so careless. As its blood began to pour from its wounds, and its gasps for air became louder, it grew weaker. I got behind it, cutting around its waist as I did. I lodged my dagger into its bareback, it reared in pain and let out a cry. I used my dagger like a climbing stone to get onto the elite's shoulders, manifesting another dagger into my hand, to replace the one lodged in its back. It began to panic and tried swatting me off its shoulders, to no avail. I let out a barrage of swings with my daggers, making deep cuts along the back of its neck, and cutting into its spine. Finally, using both of my daggers like one blade, I came crashing down on its weakened neck, cutting right through. I rode its headless corpse as it fell over on its chest, the Night looking on and laughing. I cleaned myself of the elite's blood on my weapons and face, getting myself ready for the second elite.

The second elite faced me and began to slowly walk in my direction. Something was off with the way it approached. I decided to not play its game and charged it myself. I kept my body low, looking to hit the elite’s ankles and the back of its knees. I got close enough and slid behind the elite, slashing its achilles, something I learned from them. It couldn’t stand any longer and fell over. I walked on top of the elite and went to decapitate it as well, but I got hit from my right side, sending me flying. I landed and regathered myself, watching as the elite quickly healed its wounds and stood back up. To its side, were several more elites. And behind them, were the corpses of the guards. They had been slaughtered. Ludwig and a few guards survived, but only because they were behind me. The Night laughed and mocked us as the elites marched forward. They didn’t dare to separate from one another, instead opting to fight together.

I started to lose myself. Looking past the elites, at the bodies of everyone I once again failed to protect. Just like last time, I didn’t even realize it was happening. None of their cries or screams were heard. Watching the Night disrespect their bodies, tramping and stomping on them. I felt my anger freeze my blood as all I could recall was the man I couldn’t save back home. And just like what happened then, I felt my body temperature drop and my power flow through me.

“Athena, Ludwig, and the rest of the survivors! Don’t fucking do anything! I’ll handle the rest of them!” I shouted in frustration.

I erected walls of snow to separate the elites and attempt to fight them one-on-one. I ran to the now isolated elite and made my opening move, appearing to go for his legs once again, but actually intending for higher, for its hips. It tried to grab me as I ran by it, but missed, allowing me to strike deep on target. As I went for a follow-up, a Night Hunter grabbed me through the snow wall and tried to strangle me. I forced a pillar of ice from the ground, impaling the Night Hunter through my snow wall, causing it to let go of me and go limp. I fell to my knees and tried to catch my breath. I looked up, the elites had broken through my walls and all gathered. They stared down at me as I struggled to breathe.

One let out a sinister laugh and kicked me, knocking the little wind I had out of my lungs. Soon, they all joined in. All taking turns, they passed me around with their kicks with each of my feeble attempts to stand. Without being able to catch my breath, I couldn’t focus on anything else. I couldn’t defend myself, I couldn’t even stand for myself. I was overwhelmed. One of the elite's spitters turned toward one of the brutes and spat on his hands, covering them in orange acid. There was a sizzle and small grunt of pain, but then it let out a war cry. It pulled its fist back and tried to swing at me. Time slowed as I knew what was going to happen, I tried to manifest anything to defend myself. A wall, a shield, or to find the strength to swing my daggers, it didn’t matter. I couldn’t. All I could think about was Athena and catching my breath to fight for her.

Abruptly, a woman came in and cut off the Night’s hand mid-swing with a bright blade, so bright it hurt to look at. She grabbed me and pulled me out of harm's way, putting me down behind her to recover, while she took a defensive stance. She was taller than me, with noble eyes that were a bright white, her blonde braided hair reaching down to her thighs. She was dressed in tight-fitting black clothing made of leather. It wasn't modest, with skin revealed on her inner and outer thighs, and her cleavage was prominent.

“Can you fight?” She asked in a stern voice.

I took a deep breath as I finally had some air and stood up, cleaning the blood off my lips, “Of course, I can.” I said as I dropped my daggers in favor of a sword. Together, we fought the elites. We ran side by side, charging and singling out an elite. I raised a wall again, one made of ice instead of snow. The woman threw a one-way flash, blinding the elites. We slashed through its body, cutting it in half. There was silence as the top part of its body fell and hit the ground with a moralizing thud, the others looking on. The elites roared at us as if mourning their fallen brother. Two of them charged us. I defended the woman as I ran towards the one charging her, aiming high and stabbing my blade through its chest, manifesting a second sword into my free hand, ramming it into the elite's eye socket. The woman defended me too, shooting sharp rays of light at the opposite elite with great precision, hitting all of its weak spots. It fell over dead, all of it occurring in rapid succession. We synergized well together.

“Quick fighter, are we?” She asked.

“Have to be, to keep up with them,” I answered.

“Well, it isn’t over just yet. Let’s have some fun and dance, shall we?”

I smirked, “Let’s do so.”

The woman’s smile grew devilish as she grabbed me by my hips and dipped me, “Oh, the fun I’ll have with you.” She stood me up and let go of me, “I’ll handle the ones on the right, you can take the ones on the left, correct?”

I was uncomfortable, but didn’t have time to think about what just happened, “Correct.”

She let out a soft laugh and went on to take care of her side of things. I didn’t question anything and went to take care of the left side. With my awakened state, I fought with my powers in combination with my blade. All of my cuts were swift and clean, and at any point, if more than one tried to combat me, the woman would intervene to make things even. It seemed as if she had a close eye on me.

The fighting didn’t last long, and the elites were all dead. The rest of the horde didn’t dare approach us, instead, they ran. The long assault on the City of Lights was finally over. The ground was mixed with the black blood of the Night Hunters and the bright red of the guards. Looking down at the ground, comparing the bodies I made to the woman, there was a clear difference. I had clean cuts, her cuts were jagged and rude. She was a lot more violent with her fighting, all the corpses missing some kind of limb or just completely unrecognizable from what they once were. Looking at her, she was drenched in blood. Much more than I was, despite fighting for longer.

Athena ran towards me, hugging me. I embraced her and looking back at the woman, she was gone.

She had tears, “Lush, stop scaring me so much! I thought you were dead!”

“I’m sorry. They caught me in a weak moment. I couldn’t stop thinking about home and-”

She tightened her grip on my shoulders, “Stop thinking about that Night! I know it’s easier said than done, but please! You know it wasn’t your fault!”

I smiled gently at her, “Thank you.”

Ludwig was struggling to walk through the bodies, “Well then, that was an eventful night, wouldn’t ya say? Lots of… Death… And such, but I’m glad you’re still with us, Yukio.”

“I’m glad you’re safe, Ludwig.”

“Oh yeah, I’m quite alright. Some of our men are injured, with a good portion just straight up dead. But hey, at least we aren’t all dead. But uh, who was that lass you were fighting with?”

“The woman?”

“Ya, the one with the long blonde hair, massive cleavage? Had crazy written all over her?”

“I don’t know. She just appeared and disappeared.” I glanced down the walls, “Though, I’m going to go search for her. Athena, can you go to Ackerly’s palace with Ludwig? Give him a breakdown of what occurred tonight.”

Athena let go of me, “Yeah, I can do that. Just when you come back, can we talk? Please? And be careful!”

“Of course.”

She pouted, “So I’ll see you soon then?”

“You will. We’ll talk about everything you need to talk about.”

“Good! I’ll get going now, stay safe, Lush.” Athena left and went to gather with Ludwig and the remaining guards, they made their way to Ackerly’s palace. I created a slide of snow, leading down the wall and into a nearby forest. The forest was thin, with not many trees inside it.

“Was wondering when you’d come to look for me.” The woman said, leaning against a tree, sharpening a dagger. She had already cleaned the blood off her. There was a small ball of floating light, illuminating everything.

“I just wanted to thank you for your help back there.”

She glanced up at me, “You’re welcome.”

“How long were you watching for?” I asked.

“The entire fight. Why?”

“While I’m thankful you saved me, why didn’t you intervene sooner? You could’ve saved more lives.”

She snarked, “Why would I want to do that?”

I was dazed at her question, “Why wouldn’t you? Those are people with lives and families, people who are forever gone from this world!”

“Calm down pretty boy,” She teased, “If you let yourself get too worked up, I’ll have to take care of you.” Her voice was deep and seductive.

I took a step back, my guard now up, “Answer my question, why didn’t you bother to save the rest?” She put her dagger away and walked closer to me, closing the gap completely and pushing me against a tree. She was taller by several inches.

“Why would you, of all people, care about them?” She teased.

“What do you mean by that?” I felt my body temperature lower slightly again.

She ran her fingers through my hair, frizzing it a bit, “Awe, you still don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?”

She laughed and ran her finger along my face, lifting my chin, “What you truly are!” I stood silent as I pondered on her question. “Your silence speaks it all, Yukio.”

“What are you?”

“The same as you, darling. The same species.”

“Same species?”

She continued to caress my face, “Of course! Don’t tell me you actually thought you were the same as those lowlifes!”

I shoved her off of me, “They are not lowlifes!”

She laughed, “Aw, did I hurt your feelings?” She pouted, “If I were you, I’d want to get those emotions in check. I’m sure you’ve noticed the signs by now, for when you let yourself… Lose control.” She licked her fingers.

“I’ll ask again, what are you?”

“Wrong question, Yukio.”

“What?”

“Correct your question,” She said sternly. “We are the same. Correct yourself.”

I stood silent before sighing to answer, “What are we?”

“Good boy. We, my dear Yukio, are spirits!”

“Spirits?”

“Yes, spirits! We’re powerful beings, capable of manipulating, controlling, and creating the elements we were granted at our awakening! I guess you can say our manipulation of the environment is our birthright,” She began to bridge the gap between us again. “Your birthright, my sweet boy, is to manipulate the cold to your will. Make it bend and beg at your mercy. Mine was the light!”

“So you’re a… Light Spirit?” I asked.

“Spot on. And you, you’re an Ice Spirit. That is your true nature. But at the end of the day, we are all spirits. So much stronger, beautiful, and smarter than those humans in every way.”

“So answer my original question, why didn’t you intervene sooner!”

She sighed, “Still on that, are we? They’re humans, let it go! They fuck like rabbits, they’ll replenish what they lost in a few days!”

“This isn’t about numbers! It’s about individuals! Independent lives!” I began to get frustrated.

She slammed me against a tree, pinning me, tighter than last time, “Let it go, will you?! They aren’t important! They’re weak and nothing but fodder! You should be happy that they died! But since you’re so ignorant of what you truly are, you don’t understand why you should be happy! You associate and believe you are one of them! You aren’t, Yukio! Don’t let them brainwash you!”

My body temperature dropped further, “Let go of me.”

She snickered, “Oh, my poor, poor Yukio. You were awakened recently, weren’t you? With no spirits to guide you? You don’t even know how to fully control your powers yet, do you?” I didn’t answer. “You have great potential. But without guidance and those lowlifes, they are diminishing what you can be.”

I created a blade and attempted to swing, but she batted it away with a beam of light. She grabbed my face and forced a kiss on me. My attempts to shove her off and free myself were pointless.

“Now, now,” She said, ending the kiss. “Let’s not try anything rash here. You aren’t the one in control.”

I was disgusted, and couldn’t think of many words, “Put me down.”

“I’ll accompany you on your journeys from now on. I’ll guide you and bring out your true potential. And don’t be afraid, my sweet boy, I’ll be here to protect you from anything that gets too serious. Okay? You can trust me. When I saw you in danger there… I felt something burn inside of me.” She was condescending.

“Just put me down,” I truly had no more words.

“Hikari’s the name. Soon, I’ll be the only thing you can think of,” She laughed and put me down gently.

I collected myself and didn’t bother speaking to her any longer. I made my way back to the City of Lights, Hikari close behind. The gates were finally opened again, allowing people to leave and enter. Though it was still late into the night, with the Hunters being here not too long ago, not many people were flooding the gates. In fact, it was quite empty. The only reason they were really open was for cleaning up, as evident when we walked inside. People had gathered near the wall and had already begun cleaning. The blood was still dripping from the top of the wall. We made our way to Ackerly’s palace.

Upon arriving, Ackerly, Ludwig, and Athena were gathered in the hall. Athena was pacing back and forth, biting her nails. When she saw me, she ran to hug me, but when she glanced at Hikari, she quickly stopped herself from the hug.

“Lush, you’re alright! You were gone for longer than we thought you were going to be! Seriously, knock it off!” She took a deep breath, “Is this the woman who fought alongside you?” She asked, looking up to meet Hikari’s eyes.

I nodded, “Athena, this is Hikari. She’s… One of my kind. Hikari, this is Athena. She’s the woman who took me in when I first awoke.”

Hikari looked down at Athena and judged her, but smiled, “Athena, is it? Thank you for taking care of my sweet Yukio upon his awakening. I truly appreciate it. You can rest now, I’ll take care of him from here on.” Her smile quickly faded.

Athena was shocked, “Um, of course, I guess it was my pleasure. But I can’t rest. Lush still needs me, and I still need him. We have a lot to do-”

Hikari cut her off, “Listen, I’m not going to repeat myself. I despise that it was your kind that found Yukio after his awakening, and not myself. You’re brainwashing him and making him believe he’s something that he isn’t. You’re actively hurting him and stunting his progress. You even gave him a first and last name! It’s tradition for us to bear a singular name. Two are for the weak.”

Athena became furious, “Sorry? Who do you think you are? I took him in where he had nowhere to go! I was there when he first awoke his powers! Where the hell were you during that?! I was there when he received the name Yukio! And I’m the one who gave him his second name too!”

“You gave him something that we aren’t meant to have. Back the hell off or I’ll-”

“Enough already!” I intervened. “Hikari, I appreciate you coming along to teach me more, but do not speak to Athena like this! She’s been with me since the start and will not be going anywhere!”

Hikari rolled her eyes, “Purely for the reason of not wanting you to lose yourself, I’ll back off.” She walked in front of us, introducing herself to Ludwig and Ackerly.

“What’s her deal?” Athena asked me.

I sighed, “I don’t know. I’m just… Very frustrated right now. She’ll be tagging along for the foreseeable future, as my mentor of sorts. She says we are the same and revealed my true nature to me. I’m hoping I can learn more from her…”

“Your true nature?” Athena looked up at me and noticed my messy hair. She reach up to fix it for me, “My, you’re a mess, and still awakened. Your hair and eyes haven’t reverted yet. What happened back there?”

“I rather not say.”

Athena finished fixing my hair, “There we go. Now, what’s this about your true nature?”

“Well… Long story short, I’m a spirit. I don’t understand fully yet. But I’ll update you as I learn more. For now, can we just… Continue on our day?”

Athena looked a little upset, “Yeah. We can. You can open up about everything when you’re ready. I’ll tell you everything I learned later too. And for the record, it was obvious you weren't human,” A light smile formed.

I weakly returned the smile, “Thank you. Now let’s get this conversation with Ludwig and Ackerly over with,” We made our way to join the other three, who were talking.

Ackerly met my eyes, “Ah, there you two are. Your friend here is… Um, interesting.” Hikari didn’t answer, but simply glanced at Ackerly. She then walked to my side and remained silent. Ackerly clapped his hands, “Right, may we head into the planning room now? There’s some stuff I need to discuss.” We followed him to the darkroom in the back. Ludwig took the same spot he did last time, and Hikari took the spot that the previous guard took last time, by the door.

Ackerly sat down and pointed at the map, “Let’s begin. This map is a map of the City of Lights and its surrounding terrain. As you can see, very far east of here is a forest we marked. I sent my scouts a long time ago to check out the contents of the forest, as it isn’t well documented. I was hoping to find valuables and begin a mine for supplies, if there was a cave. They came back and reported it was actually home to the Creatures of the Night. And a lot of them.”

“So you want us to go destroy it or something?” I asked.

“Well, yes. I believe that’s where they are coming from and attacking our city every moonless night. And due to the high casualties of today… Well, we can’t handle another night like that. So yes, I need you to go out and destroy it, lest the history of this city end. However, I believe it also has the answers you may seek about the Night.”

“Why do you believe that?”

“Well, that’s where they are coming from. My scouts reported them not just leaving that forest, but also entering it. It’s a home to them. It means whatever it is they can be hiding, will be hidden in there. Possibly even the way they reproduce.”

“Are you asking me to kill children?”

“Well, the children of demons, yes.”

I laughed, “Well, after what they took from us, I have no problem with that.”

“Concerning, but great,” Ackerly replied. “Ludwig, hand them the spare map, please. That map will guide you to the forest, it’s been marked already for your travels.” I obtained the map from Ludwig and handed it to Athena for safekeeping. “I must warn though, it’ll be two weeks before you arrive there. I suggest you leave now.”

“Agreed. The last thing we’d want is the Night to attack while I’m away. Hikari, Athena, it’s best we get going right now.”

“I’m ready when you are,” Athena replied.

Hikari hugged me from behind, “Just say the word, Yukio.” Athena was visually disturbed. I gently peeled off Hikari from me and held the door open for everyone as they exited.

“Before you go, Yukio,” Ackerly began. “Expect the Night to fight differently inside the forest. They are fighting for their home, after all. Fight safe and smart, and make it back to us in one piece.”

“Of course. I still have to make it home, after all.” I said while looking at Athena. She smiled brightly at me. Ludwig and Ackerly followed us to the northern gates and waved goodbye as we set off on the next part of our journey, the sun finally beginning to rise.

“Good luck you three!” They said in unison.