They hurried down the stairs and out into the courtyard, just as a group of riders thundered into view. They were dressed in dark armor, with menacing weapons strapped to their belts.

Rafe drew his sword, ready to kill. But the riders didn't seem interested in attacking them. Instead, they rode straight for the fortress gate and disappeared inside.

Rafe and Twilight exchanged a wary glance. Who the hell?

"Let's follow" Twilight said.

Rafe nodded, his grip tightening on his sword. They made their way through the empty streets, following the sound of the riders' horses.

As they rounded a corner, they saw the riders gathered in the courtyard, speaking with a tall, imposing figure. He wore a long, dark cloak and carried a staff adorned with glowing crystals.

Rafe and Twilight hesitated for a moment, unsure if they should reveal themselves. But the tall figure turned and looked straight at them, his eyes gleaming with an otherworldly light.

"Who are you?" he called out.

Rafe and Twilight stepped forward, their weapons at the ready. "We're travelers," Rafe said. "We were just passing through."

The tall figure studied them for a moment, his eyes narrowing. "You look like you can handle yourselves," he said. "Perhaps we can be of use to one another."

Rafe and Twilight exchanged a skeptical glance. But they had nothing to lose at this point. They nodded, willing to hear him out.

The tall figure smiled, revealing sharp teeth. "Excellent," he said. "I am Erebos, and I am in need of brave souls like yourselves."

'Yeah, right. You mean you need some bait'

Rafe spat.

Still, he was incredibly skeptical. Just who are these bastards? They didn't look too dangerous, yet they were well-equipped. Plus, they seemed to have managed to get a few horse-like creatures. Of course, they weren't actual horses. Instead, they had a single eye and two horns.

"What exactly are you wanting to do like?"

"We're hunting a traitor. He should be around here somewhere. He might look innocent, but he slaughtered a few of our group" Erebos seemed infuriated.

Someone was hiding in the fortress? And they wanted us to kill that someone? How odd.

'Whatever. It's not like hunting humans is too different to hunting monsters...ethic aside'

"Why did he attack your group?"

Twilight seemed to share his suspicion.

Something appeared in Rafe's hand, no one seemed to notice.

"Why what is one good question. We'd like to ask him ourselves. All we did was give him a little food...he seemed hungry"

Erebos acted hurt and confused.

Rafe looked at the item in his hand with confusion.

So some guy attacked this group over being fed? I highly doubt it. Not even Flower Boy would do something that blood-thirsty. Either this guy is lying, or this kid he's after is one insane bastard.

"We'll look for him. Could you wait here?"

Erebos glared at Twilight with a clenched fist.

It seemed he didn't want to wait. However, suddenly, the anger left his face, replaced with a friendly expression.

"That's fine" he smiled.

Inside, they searched the perimeter for the so-called killer. At first, they didn't find a single thing. Not a single sign of life.

The fortress was huge, finding one person was a hefty task. Luckily, it was quite open in the centre, so a large chunk of the task was relieved. Yet, finding someone in this labyrinth would not be easy.

Rafe scanned every detail of the place, moving from watch tower to watch tower.

Nothing.

After a while, he started to wonder if they were making the whole thing up, and whether this mysterious killer even existed.

However, a moment later, a voice called out to him with a whisper.

"Are you with them?"

Suddenly, the volume of the voice increased, and distain masked his words.

"I am not. However, they have asked me to find you. Why did you kill their men?"

Rafe had turned around to look at the source of the voice. It was a young man around his age, a bloody sword in his hand.

'He can't exactly say he didn't do it now, can he?'

"They...they eat people"

The young man seemed serious. His grey eyes were sharp and stared straight into Rafe's. He had short, mucky black hair with blood splashed in.

Rafe looked at something, intrigued. Again, he seemed confused.

"They eat people?"

Rafe was at a lost for words. Cannibals? He'd rarely seen any humans in the past three years, nevermind any that ate other humans.

His face grew dark.

"Yes. They even fed me their friend. Or tried to at least. They aren't human"

The young man was visibly disturbed recalling the moment. He grimaced.

'Ah...this might be a problem. Well...time for second opinion'

"Twilight"

She heard his voice from one of the watch towers.

"Yeah, Rafe?"

"Come here"

Soon, the stunning youth appeared, a rapier in her hand, ready to kill.

"Is this the killer?"

Her face turned grim.

"Hear him out first. He has...quite the story I'd argue"

Twilight seemed confused. The youth explained it again, causing Twilight's face to only get darker. Now, they had to decide who to believe.

Rafe had already made up his mind. It was all on Twilight.

"Rafe?"

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He turned his face to the side. It seemed his blood-thirst had shown. He didn't like the feeling he got from the riders to begin with. Now, he had an excuse to kill them.

Everything about the youth told him that what he was saying was the truth. Rafe had chosen to believe him. Now, Twilight had to decide.

"So...are we killing the riders?"

Rafe turned his head back.

"Looks like it, doesn't it?"

"What if he's lying?"

Rafe's expression didn't change.

"Then I'll pay the price in hell"

Looking at Twilight, she seemed to be trying to hide her feelings. It made sense, she was stuck in a situation where it was one word against another.

As for Rafe, he wore a dark expression. Sick people deserved to die.

Progressing to the gate, however, his dark expression warped into a friendly face. Creepily friendly.

With that, the three of them made their way back to where the riders were waiting. When they say the youth behind the two strangers, a sadistic smile appeared on their faces. Their next meal appeared.

"Ah, thank you, travellers. We'll take it from he-"

Slash.

Suddenly, Erebos's head flew up, separated from his body. Rafe's Dao had now become painted in more blood.

Blood seemed to fly out in streams from both the neck and the flying head.

Erebos would wear that smile forever now...until he rotted.

In that same moment, Twilight's rapier pierced another rider's heart.

Overwhelmed by the pain, the cannibal couldn't seem to move. He simply ragdolled to the ground in agony. Wiggling around on the ground, hand on his pierced heart.

Only one remained.

"W-What the hell are yo-"

Slash.

Another head rolled on the bloody field. Another corpse entered Rafe's mind...forever. He never forgot a kill. Never.

"Should we head back inside?" Twilight asked.

Rafe nodded.

Meanwhile, the youth stood there perplexed. It was all over so quickly. The cannibal riders were dispatched in an instant.

He was suddenly petrified. All it took was a few words and they killed three men. Of course, he was telling the truth...but what if he hadn't? What if he was just a psychopathic killer? Then they'd just killed three innocent men and protected some psycho.

The youth stood shocked for a few more moments. Then he turned his body around, taking one last look at the corpses on the ground, and headed back into the fortress.

"Who are you two?"

"Rafe"

"Twilight"

They said simultaneously.

Looking at the two killers, the youth was still shocked. Although he'd killed himself, he'd never done it that easily, and been left uncaring after.

"I'm Jed...nice to meet you?"

Rafe nodded.

"Nice to meet you, too. You any good with that sword or is it decoration?"

Jed looked down at his bloody long sword.

'Decoration?'

"Erm...I used to take lessons back in the real world? I was never that good, though. What about y...nevermind"

Jed sighed. Pointless question; he knew the answer. Rafe was a monster.

"Ah...how long have you been here?"

Jed looked down.

"Must've been a year now. I bloomed late, I was 15"

"Oh, so you haven't been here too long. We're 17"

Jed looked up again, surprised. A year wasn't long? A year? It'd felt like an eternity to him. Surviving for that long was a lot of luck and struggling. Yet that was not long?

"Did you know each other in the real world? Lucky"

Rafe expressed his surprise as well.

"We met the other day. There's a castle a few kilometres south of here. We met in the library...she's...a bit of a geek"

Jed chuckled.

Still, he was surprised. They seemed more like long time friends rather than new companions.

'At least they're on my side now...I hope'

After the initial anxiety and unease, Jed started to feel more comfortable around Rafe and Twilight. He had been apprehensive at first, as his first human encounter in a year had been with cannibals.

However, Twilight and Rafe were quite friendly, and this made him feel more at ease.

Plus, they all had a shared goal in mind that seemed to bring them closer together; to get out this hell.

They had been at the fortress for almost two weeks now, and they were taking a much-needed break. The riders' mounts had been cooked, and they were enjoying the meat while basking in the safety and warmth of the fortress.

However, as comforting as the fortress was, it was also scary. It was too easy to get used to the safety and security that it provided, and they knew they couldn't stay there forever. They had to set off again soon, but for now, they decided to enjoy the moment and throw a sort of celebration.

On their final day in the fortress, they danced crazily, as though they had lost their sanity. For possibly the first time in years, they were letting loose and enjoying themselves. It was comforting to be surrounded by other humans with the same goal of escaping their current predicament.

After the dancing calmed down, and the dark night had lost it's youth, Jed spoke.

"Do you think we'll find anything north?"

Rafe sulked.

"Tonight is a celebration. Keep to the sad chitchat for another time, downer. But I will answer you with...I don't really know. Maybe we will; maybe we won't. But is it not worth a try?"

Jed smiled.

"I suppose it is"

Rafe looked at Twilight, who'd remained silent until now.

"What are you looking at, Rafe? Like you said, it's a celebration. Let's celebrate. This is the last care-free night that we'll have for a while"

Twilight stared at the moon that appeared full on this night. She continued:

"We're a full-fledged party now. A party? Haha...sounds weird doesn't it. That's what they called them in games anyways"

Jed's eyes widened.

"You've played games?"

"Why wouldn't I have?"

Jed thought for a moment.

"I don't really know. You just didn't seem the type. Too serious"

Twilight sighed.

"Too serious? I'm just trying to survive...to make it back"

They all looked down, deep in thought.

They were a long way from home. Each passing day they seemed to stray further and further away from the real world. Look at Rafe and Twilight. This world had pretty much raised them since they were 14.

They'd grown up here. They'd transformed from scared kids to strong almost adults. Of course, the environment had forced them to mature quite quickly. One wrong step and they could die.

Yet the past couple weeks had been a release. They felt...alive again. They were living for the sake of living instead of simply avoiding death.

"When's your birthday by the way, Twilight?"

She squinted in confusion.

"14th of May, why?"

Rafe laughed.

"I'm older haha. 10th of March. Such a shame, youngling"

"Get over yourself. You're seventeen not twelve"

Rafe laughed.

"What about you, Jed?"

"19th of January. I'm 16 though so almost a year between us"

Rafe nodded.

"I was similar to you when I first came in. My master made me who I am now"

Twilight's ears perked up. She was interested.

"A master?"

Rafe nodded.

"She'd been here for around four years when I met her. She was 18"

"What happened to her?"

Rafe looked down at the ground, remembering.

"She died. A Fallen appeared where we'd been camping. She protected me and I ran away. When I returned, only half of her body was left, the other was been shovelled into the Fallen's mouth. I was too scared to do anything and so I ran further away. Bunch of stuff happened and here we are now"

Jed and Twilight pondered for a moment, imagining the violent scene. It must have been tough.

"Don't worry about it anyways. Past is the past. But think of that before you go dying on me, alright?"

After that, they called it a night. With three members now, they would afford more sleep. Instead of four hour shifts, it was three. They each got six hours of sleep in the end, which was an insane amount for a stranded.

Jed had come from the West, but there was nothing there, no settlements, no rifts to get home. It seemed hopeless.

So, they decided to head North, in hopes of meeting other humans and perhaps finding a rift out of this nightmare. With high resolve, they left the fortress, ready to enter the next chapter of their story. It was time to head further North.

Now, they had no map to follow. The journey ahead was uncertain and possibly fatal. However, they were ready. They were excited.

Would they make it home? Would they die trying? It was one or the other and they were okay with that. They'd rather die in an attempt to escape than live in this hell for the rest of their pitiful lives.

"Well, then. Guess this is it. More pain ahead"

Rafe sighed. Still, he was determined to leave this hell no matter what. No matter the suffering.

If he had to kill one of his group to leave this place, so be it. He was sure they would do the same.

However, he wasn't planning to and didn't desire such a thing. Strength in numbers as they say. And no one in their crew was weak.

Even Jed, despite how he looked. They didn't know his ability, but Rafe had sparred him and Jed had a bit of bite to him, even if he lost.

Looking at the rotting carcasses of the riders and their mounts, they sighed. Perhaps they should have just attempted to tame the mounts instead of cooking them.

Too late now.

And with that, they set off North.