Explosion and a loud ringing awoken Victor in the middle of the night. He stood in his pajamas, alert and anxious.

Boom!

Another explosion caused the wall to crack and floor to shake. The ringing finally stops. That’s the alarm spell.

Teacher?

He’s worried of teacher Timaeus.

Another explosion sent the wooden door breaking, also causing Vi to felt the impact of the shockwave as he was pushed back hitting the wall, hurting his back.

‘Ack-’

Vi stood up and focus his mind. He chanted barrier spell and protection enhancement to himself.

He took a step forward.

He decides to add more enhancement to himself. ‘Reflex, Strength, Vision, Lighten’. He took his bracelet that are enchanted with space magic – taking out few talismans.

He gulped. As he smells dust and smoke in the air. He went out to see the surrounding. With his vision enchanted, he can see through the smoke.

Teacher!

Vi gasped, seeing the bloody body of his teacher on the ground surrounded by rubbles. He felt his heart racing, fear runs through his blood.

-Step-

He hears a step and took a look at the right-

A figure in dark cloak with holes and tears was steadily walking towards teacher’s body. Vi saw the dagger in his hand. The figure with a face mask simply swipes the debris from his cloak away with his other hand, as if he’s barely affected.

Vi can felt the figure cast a glance at him. It felt like he was being stalked by a monster.

Vi felt his legs trembles.

He took a step back shakily. While the figure took more steps towards teacher’s body.

The dark figure crouched and snatched the necklace worn by his teacher, carefully sizing it, before he returns his deathly look at him again.

Vi shakily turned his back and destroy the window glass with Force Ro Dah spell. As he climbing out-

A fireball was sent to hit him on the back directly!

He was blasted out of the window into the ground outside.

But Vi is fine as he simply stood up after rolling around. The barrier and protections he had had cushioned him making him felt close to nothing. Gathering his courage, he run as fast as he could into the dark forest, hoping to hide under the cover of trees.

He casted Silent Steps, Veil, Mana Sensitivity on himself, hoping to reduce sounds his steps made, masking his mana signature and increasing his sense towards mana. But he can feel it the 'danger' behind him closing in.

With his heightened Mana Sensitivity, he can feel a large mana concentrated in a sudden – the figure is shooting another spell!

Vi quickly do a 90-degree turn. The spell was shot and missed a meter away from him, a wind blade cut the whole tree down.

Vi used one of the talismans he had – a smoke bomb to cover his path.

But the figure is still closing him to him.

He took a bet and just run straight without thinking, trying to focus all his mind and let his body run involuntarily because he needs to focus this time for a harder spell.

He somehow manage to successfully chant the spell ‘Mana Mist’. The mist forms around Vi, and disperse in different direction trying to confuse the hunter which may be detecting him through his mana signature somehow.

It works!

Vi can feel the 'danger' went farther to the left, and went to the right, as if confused.

Vi keep running for another 5 minutes. He might have lost him, he thought. He can’t feel anything nearby anymore. Maybe its safe now. He stopped to take a breather.

His sense tingled as he felt a mana signature on his right – its not big – but it’s a sudden increase.

He look to his right and the figure was dashing few meters away from him with a dagger in his hand!

The figure was fast and decisively direct the blade to his head.

Shield!

Clang!

A 30cm2 polygonal shield directly forms in front of Vi’s hand – blocking the blade and cause the assailant arm to be forced back and lost the grip on his dagger.

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Wasting no time, - Water bullet! Highly pressurized spherical blob of water shoots at high speed.

The assailant quickly reacts by jumping backward as a spherical barrier – cracked – sending him flying meters away.

Vi wanted to cast Wind blade – but the figure was gone.

Where did he go?

His scalp tingles as he felt mana signature from above.

He looks up but was suddenly held from behind as he got kicked in the joint of his knees and a hand grip his face, plunging his head into the ground. The barrier around Vi’s body cracked.

The figure decisively lock Vi’s hands and he sat on him. Raising a dagger on his hand – to finish his job.

Trembling, tears fell from Vi’s violet eyes. The dagger come to slit his throat – but the barrier is still intact only causing more crack.

The figure raised his dagger again, and this time, he plunged it sideways to Vi’s neck. The barrier still manage to stop it and still holding the blade from reaching Vi’s skin.

He keeps pushing the dagger in, and it moves slightly as it manage to scratch Vi’s neck causing him to bleed. He adds more force to the dagger to plunge it deeper – in the few seconds of this happening, Vi opened his eyes and see the grey eyes with killing look in his eyes, the dagger is still slowly descending.

The grey eyes.

A familiar name comes to his name.

A familiar face.

Someone he used to think as a member of a family and his closest friend.

And out of desperation, he muttered-

Ray-

The dagger stops its descend. The figure sat still on Vi, his eyes locking onto the violet irises.

‘Ray…’. Vi muttered the name again with tears still dropping to the side of his face.

Vi’s not sure why he called out to that person’s name. He knew he was dead. But… those eyes… it’s so familiar.

After few seconds of silence. The figure spoke.

‘Vi…?’.

Vi was shocked at the response of the man.

Seeing the figure frozen in place, Vi hesitantly draw his hand closer to his face.

He touches the mask and take them off.

‘Ray…!’. Its really Ray. Vi was shocked.

The figure stood up and move away, visibly shaking. He walked backward until he was stopped by a tree.

His hand shaking, dropping the dagger to the ground. He hyperventilated. As he placed his hand on the tree to support himself.

Vi stood up on the ground. Feeling confused, scared, doubt.

‘Ray?’. Vi took a step closer.

‘Stay away…’, he muttered.

Vi took another step, still looking at Ray who’s trying to hide his face.

‘Stay away...’, he muttered again.

Vi ignored it and keep walking.

Ray took another dagger from his back and point it at Vi.

‘Don’t come any closer!’.

Vi is convinced. Its really Ray. Despite his fear and shaking legs, he moves on forward to see the person he was closest with back then.

‘You are not Vi!’, Ray loudly says it, while still covering his face.

Vi walked closer until the dagger is within an arm’s reach. He clasped the hand holding the dagger, gently lowering it down.

‘Ray…’. Ray was still turning his face sideways.

Vi took his courage to lunge at him and give embrace him, wrapping his hands around him.

Ray was shaken.

‘Let go!’, he tried to pried Vi away. But vi is unmoving.

‘Let go, let go, let go!’. He tightens the hug further.

‘Let go…”, Ray resistance drops.

“Ray… it’s me, Vi”. Ray finally turned to face him. His eyes are filled with fear and confusion.

Ray looked into the violet eyes and the white hair. Vi… It’s really Vi.

‘Vi...’, he muttered.

Vi took a step back to see Ray properly. Ray moved his eyes and notice blood trickling from Vi’s neck. He almost killed him – he could have killed him.

Ray was hit a chest pain and nausea, causing him to crouch down and puked out.

Vi was startled.

I almost killed him. I killed them. I killed her. Flashbacks flashes in his mind when he had plunged the blade into her little sister’s heart. He stood all alone, with corpses of others lay dead on the ground.

Ray puked again and coughed multiple times.

Vi watched from a distant. Confused.

Ray took minutes to gather his calm and stood up again. He walks closer to Vi.

Vi unconsciously took a step back. Ray raised his hand close to Vi’s face. Vi closed his eyes, afraid.

After a moment, he opened his eyes. He sees Ray taking out a bandage from his space bag and wrapping his neck.

Vi stood silently. Ray moved back from him, standing still, glancing at Vi times to time. After a minute of silent, suddenly he walked a distance and took out a tent, set a fireplace, set a cooking pot, and sat down near the fire.

Vi was standing there, completely blank. What should he say, what should he do? What is he doing?

Ray went on to cook a stew… stirring the ladle.

Vi walked closer, and sat a meter away from Ray. Feeling the warmth of the fire. He glanced at Ray, still stirring the pot, seemingly mindless.

Vi broke the ice by asking him.

“Ray, where were you all these years? I thought… I thought everyone…”.

Ray glanced at Vi for a moment, before continuing stirring the pot in silence.

“Why are you… like this?”.

Ray had his grip tighter on the ladle as he keeps stirring.

“What about the others”.

Ray gritted his teeth. His grip almost broke the ladle he holds. A deep hatred, anger, sorrow, despair that he thought long gone resurfaced again.

He glared at Vi with eyes filled with hatred.

‘Can you shut the fuck up?! You had been living so care free all by yourself! Don’t act like you fucking care’,

Vi was startled. He was speechless. He doesn’t know anything. He thought everyone had died in a fire then. That’s why he asked.

And his life wasn’t all that great and happy, considering his first adopted parents are executed and he had to live in the slums for a while.

Vi thinks about how Ray currently is. When he looked at the once cheerful brotherly doting brother Ray was turning so cold, ruthless, even… held a dagger to his neck - he can guess he had things very difficult. He wants to know, he wants to understands, he wants to help him.

‘I am sorry Ray….’ Vi can only apologies.

Ray removed his glare away, and poured the stew he made for into a bowl.

He handed it to Vi.

Vi gawked at the stew, and then to him, still a bit afraid to interact.

‘What are you just looking? Are you stupid? Take it.’

Vi ate silently. Taking a spoonful before blowing and gulping it.

He touched his bandaged neck. It still felt a bit of sting. The blade already shed a drop of blood. Ray almost killed him.

He felt scared remembering how close he was to death. How cold dead grey eyes.

If it not for him remembering the familiar yet unfamiliar grey eyes, and muttered Ray’s name, Vi might had been killed him the very next second.

... His teacher Timaeus… Ray killed him…

Vi felt his heart hurts.

Ray had shut off his heart, and thought nothing but to complete his missions for his survivability for years. But even then, he had thought about killing himself one day, because it felt meaningless to live.

Ray’s mind and emotions was stunted the moment he became the cream of the crop – as he killed most of his siblings from the orphanage as they grow up, leaving only him, and two others to be trained to be killing machine.

Even the other 2 had already died from failing their missions.

There’s only Ray left… And Vi.

…

Ray took a stew for himself and ate it without much noise.

‘It’s good.’, Vi said, while glancing at Ray to see his response to analyze his psyche.

He really doesn’t understand… what is he doing right now. What is Ray doing?