-Chapter Nine-

Sombre - Part Two

At some point, I stopped pulling my punches.

At some point, I stopped caring.

I couldn’t care.

I simply couldn’t physically care anymore. I couldn’t muster the energy to care anymore.

There was a time when I was still a bright-eyed, naive young man.

There was a time I knew dignity, I knew honour. A time I possessed morality. A time I lived by a sacred code I never wished to violate.

Be it taking an innocent life, failing to save an innocent life, or committing a needless sacrifice. Any bit of suffering I could have prevented for others, I took it all on my shoulders.

It mattered at first. However, when you only live for revenge, killing is the only thing you do.

What does killing do? What does revenge do? What does it all achieve?...

Nothing.

Nothing I do can bring them back.

Nothing I did could bring back the things I cared about, so I stopped caring about anything.

Morality? Dignity? Honour?

One day, I suddenly felt like I wish I was never such a fool. I always feared going ‘too far’, doing ‘too much’.

Looking back now, it never mattered at all.

If revenge was pointless, yet revenge was all I lived for, then my life was pointless.

And if my life was pointless then, to me, all life is pointless.

And I realised eventually, this so-called ‘too much’ was actually nothing at all.

There was nothing at all. Anywhere, anyone, anything.

Nothing but me.

I thought I had only had one enemy. Then one day, I realised, everyone was my enemy.

I fought the entire world.

—-----------------------

Aelius felt a dozen pricks on the surface of his skin across his body and let out a soft wince.

The pain penetrated him to the bone, as Violet had just finished inserting needles into his back, arms and legs.

The muddy scent of herbs stained the air as she worked away.

“You're quite impressive,” she remarked as she continued pouring various substances over him.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked in wonder, keeping his head down.

“This poison has been corroding your Mana for many years, probably ever since you were an early child. Yet, despite all that, you somehow still managed to attain the Seventh ring. All through physical enlightenment alone. To reach such a profound mastery of the sword without the aid of Mana, it’s remarkable,” she explained.

“You could tell?” Aelius asked.

“Of course, I’m a doctor. Ascertaining the state of my patients is the very first step.”

The young man turned his eyes out of the cave to where a heavy snow storm raged outside.

“Why would a doctor like yourself have been chased all the way out here? What were you escaping from?”

“It’s better if you don’t know,” she simply responded and Aelius fell silent for a moment.

“I can help you though. You don’t have to worry about my safety being endangered. Especially if you solve the problem with my Mana, I’ll be more than able enough to fend off anybody aiming to harm you,” he tried to assure her but she only sighed.

“I appreciate the sentiment very much, I really do. But forget about it. It’s not because you’re only Seventh tier and they are higher tier. They have eyes and ears everywhere. Their connections run wide and far. Their power is inescapable except for in a place like this where nothing exists at all. Once they set their sights on someone, that life is as good as forfeited.”

Aelius bit his lip.

“I always took you to be quite cheerful, it’s quite surprising to hear pessimism come from your mouth,” he answered.

“It’s not pessimism. It’s simply fact, young Aelius. But come on, let’s not talk about such gloomy topics. Let’s find a more pleasant subject to talk about.”

Quickly, her usual demeanour returned and she began to hum to herself as she scattered dozens of ground herbs over him again.

A day passed by in the blink of an eye and before Aelius knew it, the sun was setting again.

Violet gave a deep breath as she leaned back, pulling away from him and exhaling. “You may move again, I’ve finished removing the needles now.”

“Alright,” Aelius responded as he tried to sit up and felt pain shoot through his entire body. “Argh, shit,” he cursed as he reached up to his shoulder.

“You’ll need to rest for a few weeks with this before we can continue. Come on,” Violet stepped up and approached him, and like any caring doctor, reached out to take hold of his arms and help guide him to the nearby bedding.

“No meat tonight then?” Aelius asked as he let out another wince.

“No, definitely not. Why? Did you want some? I guess I could try to take your blade and catch something,” she chuckled and he joined her.

“No, no. I’ll survive, I was just wondering about you,” he answered.

“Oh, I’ll definitely survive as well. This is nothing on six months straight without any.”

She gently lay Aelius down before gazing at him.

“Just spend tonight resting up. Maybe if we’re lucky, you’ll be able to get back up again tomorrow. Is there anything you don’t prefer when it comes to a vegan meal?” she asked as she sat herself down at the campfire.

“Wow, a lover of meat making a vegan meal. That’s how you know this world is messed up,” Aelius chuckled. “No, there’s nothing I dislike, for the most part, I guess,” he shrugged.

“Okay.”

A short hour passed and Violet had conjured two wooden bowls of horrific-looking swamp green soup.

She tucked her torn dress behind her as she knelt down beside Aelius before pulling her long strands of hair out the way, and began to lift the wooden spoon to his mouth.

“Uhh, I can do this much myself, Violet,” he told her.

“Hush,” she shushed him and gently forced the spoon through his lips.

“Mmm… k….” Aelius’ muffled mumbling came through as he swallowed.

Before the overpowering scent of the herbs had overwhelmed his nostrils, he had gotten a whiff of the natural fragrance of Violet’s hair and a small frown formed across his brow.

A pleasant scent, though soon replaced by the bowl of vegetables he was being fed.

How does she not smell with that tattered six-month old dress?

It was evident she hadn’t washed it, with nothing else to wear at all, he wondered at a loss when another spoon of murky green was shoved into his mouth.

In that moment, Aelius saw an odd gleam in Violet’s eyes he had not before.

Her face was pulled into a beam and her eyes were narrowed lovingly. She exuded an aura of affection and care and with each spoon she fed him, Aelius felt as though great joy was coursing through her.

It must have been the innate trait of a doctor to experience an untainted, pure love when treating their patient.

After the meal was finished and Violet pulled away, Aelius watched her from behind as she began to clean the bowl.

He found himself thinking he must show great respect for doctors from now on, for they are incredible people.

A moment went by and Violet began to eat her own bowl, leaning up against the rock opposite to Aelius as he quietly laid there.

“You said the poison had been around since I was an early child?” he asked after a moment, breaking the silence.

“Hmm?” Violet wiped the green soup away from her mouth after a brief swallow. “Yes. I would’ve estimated perhaps the age of four or five. Do you know anyone who could have taken the chance to poison you around then? You probably don’t have much recollection of such an age.”

Aelius gave a heavy frown as he looked up at the rock ceiling before he shut his eyes, concentrating.

Not much came to mind, but a few snippets of images and memories.

The occasional image of his father and mother, but another peculiar memory.

Something vague, he felt as he tried to probe the recollection.

Something about meeting a girl the same age as him.

Brilliant golden eyes that pierced into his soul and shining, short light blue hair. A shy girl. His father’s voice, the gallant Kael Kanaria, distant and echoing.

“This girl is… you two will be spending a lot of time together… try to get along…”

Right, Aelius recalled. I was five years old when dad introduced Aria and I to each other. He turned back on his side and looked out the cave. My once fiancé… I wonder where she is now. Not that it matters… he shut his eyes and recalled the moments two years ago where Alea died in his arms before his very eyes.

I have a mission. I’ll never forget.

“You said we’ll continue after two weeks, right?” Aelius asked, breaking the silence yet again.

“That’s right. That’s the bare minimum amount of time you need for your constitution to rebalance so we can do the next dose.”

“Is this the only two week break? Or will we have to repeat this over the next six months?” Aelius asked again.

“This is the trend. One session. Two weeks. One session, two weeks. It might end up shorter, it might end up longer, it depends on how your body takes it,” Violet explained.

“What if we leave it for over two weeks, like if we happen to get separated like you said?” Aelius asked.

“Over the course of a month, your body will slowly deteriorate as the untreated poison backlashes stronger than ever, stimulated by the treatment and no longer being kept under pressure by the continued treatment. In the first week, you’ll start vomiting blood and losing strength. In the second, your body will begin eating itself. In the third, you will be unable to move. In the fourth, you will fall into a coma and eventually cease breathing. Until the fourth week, every second you spend will be accompanied by unimaginable pain,” she explained as she rose to her feet and began to leave the cave.

“I’m off to take a bath,” she said over her shoulder.

“Oh ok…” Aelius blinked at the morbid description she just gave. “Wait! Hold on, it’s snowing right now!” he shouted.

“No peeking!” Violet yelled back and she was gone, leaving him alone in the cave and Aelius sighed.

“I can’t even if I wanted to, I can’t move. And it’s freezing cold…”

—-----------------------

For the following two weeks, Violet continued to religiously work away at dozens of varieties of herbs she had on hand.

Whenever Aelius was not watching her or hunting their dinner, he would spend the time trying to practise channelling his Mana through his body.

Finally, one day, his curiosity got the better of him and he questioned Violet.

“How is it that just these random herbs you have can cure my poison? I’ve gone to renowned doctors with the craziest ingredients on hand and they still couldn’t do anything,” he asked with wonder from over her shoulder at her work bench, causing her to jolt in fright from her concentration being broken.

With a narrowed glare, she looked over her shoulder back at him before she gave a sigh and turned back.

“My knowledge of herbs is unparalleled by those old fogies you would have met. Yes, it would’ve been easier for me to treat you with access to proper ingredients, but I have the know-how and skills to circumvent such an obstacle. The special thing with herbs is, for one property which you cannot get, you can make it up by combining it with another herb. Two different herbs on their own may not come even close to doing what it is we need, but as I combine high quantities of dozens of different kinds, the medicine I concoct produces the quality we need to get rid of your poison. Just the right amount of Yang energy to counteract that disgusting poison in you,” she explained.

“Wow…” Aelius answered in awe.

“Heh,” she turned her nose upwards. “Of course, only I am the one to be able to put together such a complex mixture at the perfect dosage. A little bit over or a little below and you’d be dropping dead.”

“Ah… right… very encouraging…” Aelius looked at her doubtfully.

“What? You think I’d mess it up?” she asked him with subtle offence in her tone.

“No, no, my dear doctor. I have utmost faith in your abilities,” he quickly responded and narrowly avoided death.

“Hmph.” Her anger appeased, she turned back to the herbs. “Tomorrow, I’ll have to join you in going out in the winter-lands. My assorted stockpile is rapidly diminishing.”

“Okay, no problem.”

The next morning when Aelius woke up, a heavy snowstorm was falling outside.

But Violet refused to put off the herb-gathering. She said they had to go and get some more, no matter what.

“That’s just how dire the situation is with the herbs I have on-hand right now,” she staunchly told him before, barefooted as always, strode forward into the storm from the entrance of the cave.

Aelius watched her with disdain on his face for a moment before he sighed and followed.

As soon as he walked out, sheer cold hit him front on, forcing him to reach up and cover his eyes from the piercing wind and snow.

Violet however, charged forward with no regard for the chaotic environment, leading him deep into the trees.

Despite the harsh conditions, Aelius still kept up tightly with her surprisingly fast speed.

For someone who saved lives instead of taking them, she seemed to be quite capable, Aelius thought to himself.

“Achoo!” he suddenly sneezed loudly, and the birds up the trees beside him flew off in a flurry of panic.

Violet came to a dead stop and looked over her shoulder at him.

“Oh dear… I forgot that you can’t defend yourself against the cold…” He wiped his nose and raised a brow at her.

“How are you fine in this?” he asked before she reached out her hand.

“Take it,” she assured him after he stared at her palm for a moment.

“Okay…” he unsurely slipped his hand into hers, and she weaved her fingers through his.

Immediately, Aelius felt warmth begin to spread through his body. He blinked in surprise.

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“So this is how you’re fine…”

Could it be an innate constitution?

“Once we reach a certain point of the treatment, you’ll gain the power to use your Mana to resist weather like this,” she smiled at him.

“You’re not using Mana though…”

“So? I said you’d be able to use Mana, I never said anything about myself,” she answered with a frown.

“Right, of course…”

They spent hours and hours until the sun began to gradually disappear over the horizon, hand-in-hand at all times except for when they came across plants that had somehow survived the harsh coldness.

Violet would skillfully slice the leaves and deposit them in her waist-side pouch before moving to the next, and they repeated this until the day passed them by and they returned to the cave.

As they entered, Violet withdrew her conjoined hand from Aelius’ and quickly sat herself down at her workbench, fishing out the dozens of herbs they had harvested.

“Will you be okay hunting, by the way? In such cold weather?” she questioned without moving her eyes from her task.

“Well, I can handle the cold if it’s just for a little while,” Aelius shrugged as he seated himself beside the extinguished campfire and began to work away on getting it lit.

Violet spent the next few hours grinding the herbs together before testing drops of them on herself, and then categorising them up in little groups.

“With this, we’re ready for the next session,” she nodded.

—-----------------------

By the end of the third session, the sixth week, Aelius could feel his Mana now.

It was akin to the feeling of regaining movement in a limb that had been static for as long as one could remember.

“It’s really working,” he exclaimed as he sat atop a small stone.

“Of course it is. Did you not believe me this whole time?” Violet asked with a narrowed gaze at him.

“I did believe, but it’s another thing altogether to actually experience this firsthand,” he answered, twitching his fingers. “So we’ll be taking another two week rest, right?” the brown-haired warrior asked.

“Correct,” Violet responded as she laid down and closed her eyes, giving a deep breath.

“Then… I have a favour,” Aelius hesitantly began. “There’s a town a few days' travel south of here. I want to visit, and I’ll make sure to come back before two weeks are up. I’ll make up for all the meat you miss out on to you, I promise,” he pitched to her.

“Hmm… I suppose the bush-life is too much for you after all?” she sighed and turned away. “Do as you like. But don’t you even think about not making it back within two weeks. Like I said, you’d end up facing the worst pain in your life,” she waved her hand dismissively.

“Don’t worry, I’ll see my end of the agreement to end without fail,” he assured her. “Well, I’ll go first thing in the morning tomorrow.”

“Sure, whatever.”

—-----------------------

As Aelius walked down the streets of the Northern-most town, a small humble settlement named Kula, he gave a deep sigh.

The two weeks were almost up, and though he had done as much digging as he could, he barely heard any news of any potential Devil attacks.

Well, hopefully the next time he comes down, he’ll gain more than this trip did.

He recalled the change in Violet’s tone when he asked her if he could leave.

No doubt, she was upset because he was violating his side of the agreement that he’d provide her meat to eat every few nights.

Or maybe she felt disappointed she’s being left all alone again?

“Hah…” he sighed again, wandering down the side-walk. “Hopefully she’ll be happy with this,” he looked down to his hands at the bags he was carrying, full to the brim with delicacies of meat.

On his shoulder hung a backpack as well, hastily stuffed into it a beautiful dress.

He picked the colour carefully. Hopefully, Violet likes it, he smiled to himself, picturing how she would look in it.

He had no doubt it would be beautiful.

—-----------------------

Thankfully, the three-day journey back to the ice mountains was uneventful, and the weather was clear skies all the way.

Aelius made sure every moment he was not being followed, until he finally arrived at the cave and came to a brief stop in front of it, smiling to himself.

It was only just under two-weeks away, but he cannot deny he missed this place.

Even if it's just a little bit.

“Ohh, Violet~” Aelius called into the cave as he stepped forward and entered. “I’m back.” As he neared the deepest chamber, he heard the usual sound of scraping and grinding, and gave a breath of relief to see Violet’s figure seated at her rock, working away.

“Violet?” he asked, and she slowly put her tools down before turning to face him with a wide smile.

“Hehe, welcome back, Ael.” He returned the same, warm smile back to her.

“I’m sorry, I hope you weren’t too lonely the last dozen days,” he apologetically told her as he dropped the bags on the ground and then unslung his backpack.

“Hmph. Maybe just a little bit,” she crossed her arms and pouted.

“Haha…” Aelius wryly chuckled.

“Did you have fun while out? Visit the brothel, perhaps?” she asked with a click of her tongue.

“Now now, don’t be upset,” Aelius tried to appease her. “Look what I brought.”

He fished out of the bag a large roll of luncheon and her eyes lit up.

“Oh… you didn’t have to!” she told him as she snatched it out of his hands before he could even react.

He looked at her with momentary disdain.

No, I’m pretty sure I had to, he thought to himself before he began to laugh.

Their interaction made him recall a fond memory of when his mother would get upset at his father.

The valiant Knight would be reduced to nothing but a frail man in front of his wife, begging her to not get angry.

A man who had taken lives, rendered to nothing more than a servant.

“And guess what?” Aelius smugly asked her.

“Hmm? What?” she asked through her biting down on the roll. Aelius clicked his fingers and a small portal opened up beside him, which he reached in and fetched none other than… a pot from.

“We can make stew now!”

Violet’s eyes lit up again.

“Wow! You’re already able to use dimensional storage magic? You truly do have exceptional talent for Magic!” she exclaimed.

“That’s the part you’re happy about?” Aelius wondered with a raised brow

.

“I never said stew was a food I desperately wanted to have…” she giggled. “It was just the only thing easy to make out here.” She softly sprung to her feet and stepped forward, taking the pot from him before spinning around and carrying it to the sidewall.

“Thank you though, Aelius. For thinking ahead.”

Though she was turned away, he could hear a sincere smile on her face through her voice.

“There’s one last thing,” Aelius continued as he picked up his bag and held it out to her.

She turned back to him, blinking in wonder for a moment at him before she looked down and took the bag.

“You bought me a backpack? Thank you, Aelius!”

“No!” Aelius groaned. “Inside it.”

“Oh…” A moment’s silence rang out between them before they both broke into laughter, and she finally unzipped the bag to inspect its interior.

“This is…” her eyes widened as she pulled out the high quality dress from inside, coloured green, beige and pink, made of silk and expensive fabric.

“You… thank you, Aelius,” she mumbled quietly under her dress, her face gushing red.

“I’ll turn around, so try it on,” Aelius assured her with a smile.

A moment passed before her voice rang out.

“You can turn back around now.”

He did as told to find her wearing the eastern-styled clothing with a wide smile.

“How’s it look?”

“Amazing,” Aelius smiled. “I knew it would look good on you the moment I saw it.”

He looked at the other dress on the ground.

“I’ll take that dress to go get repaired the next time I head out,” he suggested and she turned to it.

Aelius noticed an odd gaze come over her.

Briefly, she was dead quiet until she finally found her words.

“It was my mother’s dress. The only thing I had left after everything else around me was taken away.”

Aelius frowned. What did she go through before wounding up here?

He found himself wanting to know, but dared not pry.

“I see. Then I’ll definitely have it repaired,” he assured her firmly.

She gave him a wide beam.

“Thank you, Aelius.”

—-----------------------

In the blink of an eye, another four months had passed.

In each other’s presence, the two had grown incredibly close to one another.

With no other life around them, they shared every moment together.

Aelius would realise how incredible Violet was, the more time he spent watching her.

It had become a commonplace habit now for him to receive his treatment, and then leave for two weeks.

Whenever he was absent, Violet found herself to be beside herself with worry.

She would frequently pace the cave, looking out, wondering if he was running into any trouble or not.

Though she could acknowledge this dependency she had developed on his presence, she couldn’t bring herself to stop.

At least, her concern for him would not leave her.

And one day, the worst she feared happened.

It had hit the fourteenth day since his last treatment, and he was nowhere to be seen.

Violet sat at the front of the cave with worry the first day.

She did the same again the second, and the third, and the fourth.

By the fifth, she was overwhelmed with concern, almost brought to tears every moment, thinking about what sort of fate had befallen him.

One morning she awoke, she looked at the dozen dresses he had brought her from his visits to the local town and sniffled, before throwing on a random one and running out the cave into the snow-barren lands.

For four days, she repeatedly searched the mountains for him with no avail.

On the fifth day of her search, the tenth day since Aelius was supposed to return, she finally found a patch of red and a body in the snow.

It was him.

With her feeble muscles, Violet dragged him as fast as she could across the terrain back to the cave.

She found herself thinking of the first day they met all those months ago.

In addition to the wounds from the absent treatment, he had also suffered a grave injury across his chest.

If he survives this, it’s going to leave a gruesome scar…

—-----------------------

The last thing Aelius remembered before he passed out in the snow, was how bad he had messed up.

After catching wind of a Devil, he went to pursue it straight away.

The fight lasted longer than he could afford, and left him far far away from the ice ranges where Violet was waiting for him.

With sheer will, he dragged himself through the country-side back to the Northern Mountains, even with the horrifically intense pain lashing out at him from not getting Violet’s treatment in time.

He made it as far as he could before both his mind and body lost all strength.

As he fell into the snow, thinking this was the end for him, he found himself overwhelmed with mixed feelings of both relief and regret.

Even though I’ve been wanting to die since long ago, I’m so sorry, Violet… I’m sorry you’ll be all alone again…

His mind was leaving him.

Or maybe his soul.

Accompanied by the deep peace was the conflicting burning desire to live on.

Why? Why do I miss you so much right now? Why do I want to see you so badly right now? Even though I’m finally being released from this cursed fate? he thought as the world faded away.

Only one image remained in his mind… trapped in cold cave where no life roamed, seated on a large solitary stone with the lonesome sniffling and crying of a beautiful but vulnerable girl, long mesmerising violet hair by her shoulders, weak yet so strong, left all alone, deserted even by the man who stayed by her side the most.

As his consciousness faded, Aelius felt one final tear drop from his eyes, before even the cold abandoned him along with the light, leaving him in an absolute darkness of nothingness.

—-----------------------

In a daze, he could not tell how much time had passed trapped in that darkness, when clarity gradually returned to his mind, along with the sensation of warmth and his vision.

The sound of loud cackling of fire echoed about the walls around him.

The sensation of feeling slowly returned to the tips of his fingers, then up his arms and to his chest until he suddenly gasped for a deep breath and sprung up with his back straight.

Noticing for a short moment he was back in the cave, Aelius’ attention was immediately snatched away by a pain over his chest.

He winced as he looked down to see a make-shift bandage made of flax leaves covering the brutal slash he had taken from the Devils’ claws, before he turned his eyes back to his surroundings.

“Violet?” he asked before he found her asleep beside the fire opposite to him.

At the sound of his voice, her eyes drowsily opened and she slowly sat up and her gaze settled on him.

Just like the first time they met, a silence hung in the air for a long moment before she broke it.

Her eyes narrowed, beginning to waver and her lip trembled until she flung her arm forward and slapped him across his cheek.

“You idiotic fool!” she cursed him. “You’re deplorable!”

For a moment, he was shocked, but not surprised. He quickly regained his thoughts and dipped his head.

“I’m sorry,” Aelius answered apologetically.

“Don’t say you’re sorry!” she lunged forward onto him, throwing herself onto his chest and hammering away with her fists. “Why even bother!?”

“Ow, it hurts, Violet,” Aelius winced as he took her blows.

“Shut up! Do you know how close you were to being taken? Do you know how I felt, waiting in this cave day after day for you?” her strength faded and her voice broke, a tear forming at the corner of her eye.

Aelius gazed at her shaking figure briefly before he spoke.

“I know how close I was. I’ve never felt death so close before,” Aelius softly answered and reached out to caress her cheek. “So thank you for saving me.”

At his touch, she finally broke into tears, resting her head up against him.

“You’re so unfair.” At her words, he had but naught to say for the longest time, only holding her preciously in his arms.

“You know,” he finally began to speak and she quietened down, settling her attention on him. “As I was bleeding out in the snow, and I couldn’t even feel the cold while my mind was quickly disappearing… I felt the deepest regret. The deepest regret for if I was to die there, I’ll never do the things I wanted. I’ll never say the things I wanted.”

He pursed his lips.

For a moment, only the crackling of the campfire filled the silence in the air.

Violent clung tightly to his torso, resting her head against his chest, waiting for him to continue.

Until he finally spoke.

“I love you, Violet. I love you, so I’m sorry. I won’t ever leave your side again,” he hugged her tightly.

In his embrace, she was silent for the longest time as well, until she finally answered.

“You’re so unfair, telling me that at a time like this,” the words softly uttered under her breath with a sniffle.

“I promise. I won’t do anything stupid like that again.”

“You better not,” she pouted in his arms.

In this manner, the night subtly passed the couple by, and a new day soon dawned upon them.

—-----------------------

For the first time in his life, Aelius was genuinely happy.

For the first time, he had found some solace in this living hell.

For the first time, he felt maybe life had some blessings.

For the first time, he had someone to welcome him when he returned home, and share the night with him.

The first time all the one-sided emotions in his heart were being understood, acknowledged, and returned.

For the first time, he felt fulfillment.

Excitedly, the twenty-one year old tread through the snow with his blade by his hip, a deer slung over his shoulder.

It had been six months since his poison was cured.

Twelve months since he began to live here in the mountains.

He hasn’t forgotten his revenge.

He vowed even his soul after all, that he’d kill all the Devils.

But just for a bit, maybe just for a bit, it’s okay for him to live his own life, right?

He cheerfully hummed to himself as he approached the cave entrance, looking forward to the usual sight of Violet working away at herbs to greet him.

But as soon as he set foot in the cave, he felt something amiss.

Something was wrong.

A feeling he knew all too well suddenly overcame him.

No… there’s no way… he struggled to calm his breath, his chest beginning to rapidly rise and fall.

Unsheathing his blade, Aelius ran full speed into the cave.

Please no…

“Violet!” he called out, but no response came.

The stench of blood filled the air.

Oh Goddess, not again!

He prepared himself for the worst, but upon reaching the end of the cave, found it was completely empty, save for a few bloodstains on the walls.

“No…” The whole place had been overturned.

It was clearly an attack. Aelius’ memories flashed back to the group of people Violet had described who were pursuing her.

“Raghhh!”a scream of rage echoed through the rocks.

Spinning around and dashing out the cave at terrifying speed, Aelius cast a heightened vision spell.

Now, he could see traces of blood leading back toward the South.

Like a crazed beast, he began his hunt.

All the power he had gained in his life was now being summoned and channelling through him as he shot through the forest.

Not again! Never again! If she’s hurt, I’ll eradicate your entire family!