"One." A voice called out over an intercom, and a young girl looked ahead with empty eyes, she raised her right hand, and a pistol with red engravings was in her hand, she fired a single bullet and those engravings glowed a multitude of colors.

"Two." the voice called again. And another shot rang forward, the sound reverberated through the room. The gun packed quite the punch as well, and blood seemed to start dripping out of the girl's right ear, she said nothing though, she didn't even flinch. She wasn't done yet.

"Three." Another shot rang out and her vision was blurred but even so, her aim was dead on, hitting the target at the back of the room.

There was silence for a moment. The girl dared not move an inch, she was ready for what came next.

"Four."

Once more she fired, and once more the sound pierced her ears.

And once more she hit her target.

". . . The test is over."

As soon as those words were spoken the girl dropped her gun and fell to her knees, all of the pain that resounded through her head poured forth all at once.

And she crumbled into a crying mess.

"You pass Striga." The voice declared, uncaring for the tears pouring down the face of this child.

***

This young girl woke up on a simple bed, the mattress was hard and uncomfortable, but it served its purpose.

Slowly she blinked and grasped her aching head, and with a strained effort, she sat up.

"You really are something else, you know that?" A voice echoed throughout the room she sat in, it was white, just like every other room in this place, she glanced to her left and her eyes fell upon the man who spoke, his eyes were shut, and they'd never open again his right hand was on a metal pole that had been installed in this room some time ago, as the man's legs hardly worked anymore, but he held a smile on his face, "Seven others have already died from those tests you know, the physical toll of channeling mana that isn't of your element is a rare thing indeed." he stated.

The girl said nothing in response, instead she stood up and walked to the man's side sitting before him. He had a calming voice and the girl often enjoyed listening to him.

This man had been here long before she had, the age difference between them had to be at least four years, but they got along well enough.

The girl then spoke up, "...That only leaves five of us left doesn't it?"

The man paused, raising his head, and he spoke, "They'll likely be proceeding to the final phase of the experiments within the week."

The girl frowned and lifted her legs bringing them close to her face, resting her chin on her knees, "Guess my time will be up soon then."

"A shame that." The man muttered, "I am not lying when I say you could offer so much to this world Striga."

"I know." she responded with a soft smile, "But what else can I do?"

The facility they stood in was sanctioned by almost every major government in the skies, they didn't have a choice in the matter.

The man lowered his head, "I'm sure you've heard of the combat trials that shall be happening tomorrow, I hear that a member of House Demask of Jubilee shall be spectating, it's a faint hope but that House is the only one that has any ability to pull someone out of this place..."

Striga looked at the man, "You're asking me to leave you behind?" she confirmed and the man chuckled.

"My time is close at hand anyway, I wouldn't want you to sit next to a corpse for the rest of your time." He stated with such ease.

Striga frowned for a moment before standing up once more she walked over to her bed, "I'll do my best... but you better try and find a way out of here as well got it! If I hear you kicked the bucket in here I'll never forgive you!" she shouted at the man though she didn't need to.

The man however seemed to find it comforting once more he ran his hand along that metal pipe, "I shall do my utmost not to disappoint you."

Silence overfell the room for a moment as Striga lay on her bed, "Hey old man. You got any stories?"

The man hummed for a moment before smirking, "Little Red Riding Hood. She was a young and joyful girl, off to go and see her granny with a basket of bread. How thoughtful she was, she skipped through the dark forest without a care in the world. And then... the wolf arrived, "Oh little red! Off to see that sweet grandmother of yours, but that basket must be awfully heavy. Perhaps you'd wish for me to hold it for you?" the wolf so boldly declared his yellow eyes shining with hunger. Ah but Red Riding Hood remembers the wisdom of her peers, for you should never trust strangers, she ignored the hungry gaze of the wolf and continued her journey.

Soon enough the wolf left, and the girl arrived at her Grandmother's house. Only to find her corpse sprawled out and in every inch of the darkness the yellow gaze of the wolf's eyes stared at Little Red Riding Hood." The man finished his story.

Striga turned around on her bed with a glare, "...I meant a story to help me sleep, not one that'll keep me up for the rest of the day." she hissed.

The man chuckled in response, "That one was a classic where I'm from. Used to hear it almost every night in the camp."

The old man was rather secretive about his past, but what Striga was able to gather from the bits of pieces she's heard is that his childhood wasn't a very nice one.

A point in their lives the duo has been able to bond over.

Still, she found herself laying on her back staring at the ceiling, "...If I get out of here. What will you do?"

The man paused looking at the ground, "Hm. A good question." he smiled warmly, "perhaps I shall simply wait for the next person to enter my cell, and tell them stories."

Striga snorted before looking over to the man, "If it's of the same caliber as your Red Riding Hood story, I think most people will pass."

The man laughed wholly at that, "Perhaps so! So instead, I'd tell them stories of the girl who entered this place and escaped. After all, what else could I do after hearing about such a legendary event." the man declared looking in Striga's general direction with those constantly closed eyes.

Striga stared back before closing her own eyes, "You put too much faith in me old man, I can barely handle challenging some fire magic from a gun, what hope do I have against a battle of mages?"

There was silence after that, and the man looked at the pipe on the wall using it to help himself stand up. Oh so slowly, "I've told you this before, I'm sure of it. But even so, I shall repeat it, no battle is ever decided by skill alone. Luck plays an important factor as well. And you Striga are the luckiest girl I know."

Striga kept her eyes closed and a frown fell over her face, "How so?"

The man turned his gaze to the iron bars that littered their cell, "When last I counted, there were about 256 cells in this place, and each only had one person in them. I'm sure the number of cells has only increased, but the other factor has not. You and I Striga, we are the only ones who were put together. I have you. And you have me."

Striga said nothing to that, her breathing however seemed to slow, and sleep overtook her body.

The man didn't move instead he simply began to whistle a soothing tune, others may have worried about waking their own companions up in a situation like this.

But not this man.

He had nothing to lose.

***

Striga fell to one knee stabbing her blade into the ground, blood and guts covered her face and clothing.

And her breathing was all but ragged now, the sword was covered in cracks.

Of course, it was after all.

Striga looked up ahead of her, and there were about sixty corpses.

They had all ganged up on her, but she won.

Barely she won.

Her right ear twitched as she heard the click of metal sliding away, she once again quickly got to her feet standing at the ready, she arched a brow at the sight.

Ahead was a young boy wearing a black suit, he had azure hair that was a little overgrown covering his left eye, and white gloves on his hand.

The boy walked forward, unarmed. He stopped just a few feet in front of Striga looking her up and down, "Beautiful." he decided on the word near instantly.

Instantly throwing Striga off her guard, she reflexively took a step back and the man smiled at that, putting his right hand over his heart, "Forgive me, I simply couldn't help myself with the compliment... I believe introductions are an order, I am Delish Demask. The current reigning lord of house Demask."

Striga's eyes widened at those words, "But... you're just a kid." she muttered.

Delish chuckled at that, "Well yes. That is true, yet children like us have often been given the task of painting a way for the future. As such I take my role in stride. Ah but I digress." the man held out his right hand, keeping it outstretched for Striga, "I would make you an offer, come with me. And become part of house Demask, as my betrothed."

Silence overfell the room for a moment, "W-What?"

"Someone of your skills and beauty shouldn't be locked away in a place like this, I would ensure that you live only the best life, no amount of effort will be spared to ensure that fact is made true. I would ask you to become my bride-to-be." Delish explained further.

Striga blinked looking down at that hand, she so desperately desired freedom so she took it without a second thought.

***

Striga's eyes widened as those grand twin doors opened, she was already in awe of the city that Delish lived in, but this.

This house was something else altogether, butlers and maids bowed as the duo walked in.

Delish looked over his shoulder smiling at Striga with that eternally present smile of his, "Welcome to one of the many High Houses of Jubilee, it is with great gratitude that I welcome you wholeheartedly to your new home." Delish declared bowing at Striga, she fidgeted clearly uncomfortable by the idea.

Delish however stood back to his full height continuing to walk forward without skipping a beat, there were two sets of staircases, one to the right and one to the left, in the center of those stairs was another door that was already open it seemed to lead to a large dining room.

The seats were mostly empty but there were two sets of plates and a large bounty of food on that table.

Delish walked to the far end of the table and took a seat, he motioned for one of the many maids, one with blue hair walked over to him and leaned over, he whispered something into that maid's ear, and she bowed in response and walked past Striga without a word, Striga then looked back to Delish who held out his hand gesturing to the seat straight ahead of him, Striga said nothing at first awkwardly sitting down.

Delish then took a bite from his food, a stake with potatoes on the side, "Overwhelming isn't it?" he questioned.

Striga looked at her own plate, a butler walked over and placed a thick cut of stake in front of her, she looked at it and muttered, "Yeah... It's... a lot.."

Delish nodded in response, "You've taken it quite well so far all things considered." He then looked up, locking his eyes onto Striga's own gaze, "such things will become common around here, the world is full of strange and overwhelming things, I apologize for that."

Striga blinked at that, "Why are you apologizing?"

Delish set his knife and fork down, and instead folded his hands over each other, "I barged into your life and asked you to become my bride without so much as a thought for your own concerns. What's more, I brought you to a strange and unfamiliar city as soon as you were removed from your place..." he sighed, "so for that, I apologize."

It was true.

All of this even now was so SO much. But...

"I don't hate it." Striga spoke with a smile, "It's exciting, so much to see... so many colors, my world up to this moment has been nothing but white halls, white floors, and the occasional stain of red." so she stood up, "You saved me from that life, and for that... I'll gladly repay the favor."

Delish looked up, seeming shocked by Striga's words but he quickly regained his composure and held out his hand, "Your food will get cold if you keep waiting."

Striga blushed and picked up her silverware, she fumbled for a moment trying to remember the proper way to even use such things, she was so used to eating with her hands, but she recalled the old man explaining how to use them, so after a moment, she got a piece of the steak into her mouth.

Her eyes widened at the taste.

It was... warm, and juicy so different from the tasteless meals that she had eaten up to this moment.

Tears overflowed from her sockets. She couldn't help it, she was happy.

She was so. So. Happy.

***

"And this is your new room." A maid stated Striga looked at the room, there was a window on the far north wall that let in the beams of light, and on the right wall was a bed already made for her, and a desk beside it.

On the left side of the room was a small hallway that held a wardrobe in it, at the end of that hallway was a bathroom for Striga's own personal use.

Striga was slightly surprised by all of this, "This... is it all mine?"

The maid nodded, closing the door behind her as Striga walked inside, "If you will turn your attention to the wardrobe I have something to show you."

In the wardrobe was a set of red dresses with white corsets, "These shall be the outfits you wear for public meetings you will be required to attend these meetings with master Delish, however, you may also select a casual outfit of your own choosing, as such I would like to ask you opinion on the matter." The maid explained.

Striga paused at that, she hadn't often had the choice to pick her own clothes, but... "U-Um a red and white jacket would be best for me... some shorts as well, I don't care about the rest..."

The maid smiled, "As you wish my lady, I will do my best to pick an outfit that suits you."

With that, the maid turned around and walked out the door.

A dream.

This all felt like such a dream.

A happy dream that felt like it would go on forever.

...

She didn't want to wake up.

Chapter 1: Red Riding Hood.

Skylar found herself sitting in one of the many beds in this orphanage, night had long since fallen and she had spent a few days here now, she'd have to leave soon.

But she had unfinished business, so she took in a breath and got out of her bed, sneaking as quietly as she could.

She opened the door and looked back to the sleeping children for a moment, her gaze faltered but she smiled as she closed the door behind her.

Children, kids just like her.

The future of this world.

A future that she wouldn't live long enough to see, the thought made her sad, but she pressed on regardless walking down those stairs.

There a woman was waiting for her near the door, "You requested to see the cellar?" the woman muttered, "I intend to have it removed completely soon, so it's good that you've come now."

Another set of Executioners went in and made sure it was safe sometime before Skylar had arrived, likely in one the days after Leon perished.

Still, Skylar wanted to see the place for herself, if only for closure.

The woman then frowned, "Miss Shadewalker... Are you certain you're ok?" she asked suddenly as Skylar walked to the door leading to this woman's office.

Skylar paused her smile faltering for a moment but she turned around and kept that ever-existent grin, "Course I am."

Without waiting for a response she entered the door ahead, and walked behind the desk.

She looked to the trap door and frowned, she had meant to do this on the night she arrived.

...This is the third time she's looked at this trap door.

Two times now she saw it. And two times she ran away.

Pathetic.

Even now she reached out with trembling hands.

She grits her teeth and in one swift movement pulls the trapdoor open.

Memories overflowed in her mind, particularly of Nero eating that child's heart.

She paused for a moment, she wanted to vomit.

But

She moved forward, she couldn't run. Not this time, she had to get her answers.

So with heavy steps, she descended down those stairs, as she did she reached into her pocket and pulled out a simple pocket watch.

So long now she received this, a gift.

A gift from a demon.

She had considered throwing it out, but something in her heart wouldn't let her.

That same feeling wouldn't let her open it, it just... didn't feel right somehow.

She stopped suddenly at the bottom of those stairs, the hooks that once littered this place had been all but removed.

But the stone walls as well as the general dampness was enough to send a chill through Skylar's spine, but...

She continued to walk, and she began to hum a cheery tune. It would be an ominous sight to anyone watching from the sidelines, but to her, it was a necessary thing to calm her nerves.

Skylar paused suddenly as she felt something.

A draft?

It was faint, but she was certain she could feel... something.

She approached the back area of the cellar and looked at the wall ahead of her, she reached out and ran her hands along the bricks.

That was... until one gave in pushing back into the wall.

Skylar stared forward as the wall began to push apart revealing a secret room in the back, she winced pinching her nose as she saw a few corpses behind, well there was evidence that nobody found this place...

Skylar walked into the room, she'd tell the Executioners of this place later, but she had to get whatever information she could first.

The room itself had hooks littered from the ceiling, and to the right was a desk with a notebook on it, there wasn't anything else.

Skylar walked over to the notebook and removed her fingers from her nose. The awful smell immediately assaulted her senses, but she endured it. The first thing she noticed upon opening that book was that the pages were ripped out.

Like A LOT of pages.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance, but she looked to the one page that remained. The entry was written a bit ago, the day she came to this place for the first time, she paused for a moment remembering the fire.

She then looked at the entry in question, It was... hard to describe, first off there was a picture on it were swirls of red, fire perhaps?

But within the flames there was another thing, two girls clashing swords, their faces were featureless, one spread the flames further, while the other held the flames back with pure white light.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"...What am I supposed to make of all this?" Skylar frowned, folding her arms, her eyes then glancing at the set of text that lay at the bottom of the picture, it was in a language that she didn't recognize.

"Dragontounge."

A voice rumbled through her head, causing her to blink, "Thought you died off already Alma." Skylar commented, running her fingers along the text. The paper had an odd texture to it.

"Death comes easy to the body, the soul of a dragon can live on through any connected to the hive mind."

Skylar paused at that, "So what. You intend to take my body over?" she questioned with a raised brow.

". . . No. We have grown fond of you, As such, we are here to offer our assistance."

Skylar of course was still skeptical, but she didn't have much other recourse, "Then translate this text for me."

There was silence for a moment, but soon Alma spoke once more, "Virtue slips through hands clenching a wicked fruit, passion festers, black'ning sinless souls to root, sickles grate on heaven's gate their fields ignored, seeking sinners deathlessly they reap discord, As two become one."

Skylar frowned, "Well, that's just a bunch of gibberish."

"It is likely a prophecy created by one of the dragonkin's ancestors..."

"A god created this note though, not one of your Dragon's." Skylar muttered in response.

"I am a god as well Skylar, you are already aware of our abilities to shift our forms to whatever we desire, or did you forget about that after our clash?" Alma hissed.

Skylar paused before closing the book.

"Not like we can confirm it now anyways, Nero fell into the cloud sea. We can't get him back no matter how much we may want to," she exclaimed with a sigh, and then winced at the memory of what she did to Nero, "come to think of it, even if we did get him back he'd be livid."

She then turned around and walked out of the secret area walking to the staircase and exiting the basement, she paused at the top when she saw the door open, she then dropped her guard when she saw who it was, "Still sneaking around are we?" she questioned with a smirk as Kit closed the door behind him.

He glanced to the side clearly nervous before he spoke up, "You're leaving soon aren't you?" he muttered.

Skylar paused looking to the nearby window, "Can't stay here forever can I? Not when I have so much work to be done." she looked sad for a moment but quickly shook the look from her face.

Kit fidgeted in place for a moment before speaking up, "Are you... going to fight more of the Gods?"

Skylar frowned at the question, "It's a possibility, they're strong and I'm one of the only people who can take them on alone... and with Tetra gone." She looked at her right hand, staring at her open palm before turning it into a fist.

Kit then looked to the ground, "I... Don't want you to die." Kit decided on his words at last.

For a moment Skylar frowned before putting on a toothy smirk she walked over to Kit and patted him on the shoulder, "You don't need to worry about that if I see any god I'll kill em before they have the chance to beat me!"

She made this declaration as if it was a simple task, it was anything but a simple task.

But if it was to reassure those around her, then she'd lie to make them happy.

And Kit took her word as fact, nodding in Skylar's direction, Skylar then smirked, lowering her hand, "Come on, let's head back to bed then."

They were kids.

But they were also so far apart.

***

The morning had come sooner than she had expected and Skylar found herself surrounded by children who didn't want to see her leave.

It was a nice feeling.

To be wanted, but she also knew that she couldn't stay, she already had so much left unfinished.

Kit, in particular, seemed worried about what would happen to Skylar, his worries were quickly dispelled when Skylar flashed him a reassuring smile, and soon she walked up to the door and reached a hand out.

"Well then... I'm off!" she shouted, and everyone waved her goodbye as she opened the door.

She walked out of that building closing the door behind her and started walking to the airship dock, a brow arched as she saw the airship ahead.

It was made of metal, which was far different from what she was used to.

Covered in green runes, likely to better detect the wind currents around it.

Outside of it though Icon stood looking over a clipboard, she wore a white shirt with a casual purple jacket, jeans adorned her legs it was a rare sight to see her out of her armor.

Skylar walked up to her and said, "You should send someone to visit the cellar, and find something real nasty down there... but even so. Didn't think you'd be the one to escort me to Jubilee." Skylar commented with an arched brow.

Icon in response lowered that clipboard, not before jotting another note down, "Had to get this airship on loan under my name, no way in hell am I going to let anyone else drive it." Icon stated looking over her shoulder as she locked eyes with Skylar.

The tension in the air was thick, after all these two had become something like rivals.

But regardless of both of their inherent bloodlust toward the other, Icon reached into her pocket and grabbed what seemed to be a card holding it out to Skylar.

Skylar blinked, taking it in her hand, "And this is?"

"Read it." Icon responded with a frown.

So she did.

"Valery Juniper.

Age: 13.

Sex: Female.

Primary Magic: Wind.

Executioner status: Retired "

Skylar looked up from the card, "This is... an ID?"

"YOUR ID." Icon corrected, "that's the only condition I have for you on this trip, currently we're still working on rebuilding The Kingdom. Our defensives are negligible at best, simply having you around has driven off most threats though."

Skylar paused before nodding in understanding, "Gotcha... So I'll be trying to keep the fact that I even left The Kingdom a secret." it seemed like a fair trade to her.

Icon smirked, "Indeed, that said I'm aware that the plan isn't perfect, so if someone does figure out who you are... Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

With that, she turned to the airship in question and the door was still open, "Let's get moving shall we?" Icon said without missing a beat.

Skylar paused, turning around one more time to look at the orphanage before following behind Icon.

The interior of the airship wasn't anything too impressive though Skylar noticed a lot of chains on the walls, "What are..."

"There to keep cargo in place, airships that go to Jubilee and back don't normally carry passengers." Icon explained as she walked over to a nearby wheel, and started to steer there was a window on the very front of the ship though it was slightly tinted black, "Normally we use the wind runes on the outside to determine when to stop and when to go once we reach the city proper... though I suppose a warning from you would serve the same purpose."

Skylar shrugged, Icon wasn't wrong if a storm ever got too dangerous to navigate Wind Mages would feel a tingling sensation on the back of their neck, that was one of the first things she was taught about her magic.

The walls of this place began to move and the airship started to take off, mechanical whirring could be heard beneath the floor, "Come to think of it, you never did tell me what you think you'll find in that city..." Icon muttered.

Skylar paused looking at the window with a slight smirk, "I learned a lot just traveling about, but a lot of the answers I'm looking for... I get the feeling I'll find them there." that wasn't entirely true, the church had given her this lead some time back... but they were hardly trusted nowadays.

Icon looked over her shoulder for a moment, "A feeling? That's what you're basing it off?"

Skylar folded her arms, "It's served me well so far hasn't it?"

Icon hummed in thought turning back to the window, "Perhaps it has, but if you rely on a feeling that can fade at any moment, you'll end up on the end of someone else's sword."

Skylar took those words to heart, not uttering another word as she looked ahead to the skies that were so vast.

***

Skylar walked onto the dock of this island, there was a small booth ahead there was a large line behind her as well, it seemed she wasn't the only one paying a visit, soon enough Skylar reached that booth and there was a man, "Identification?" Skylar reached into her pocket and pulled out her ID handing it to the man, he looked it over before leaning down and pulling out a red bracelet, "Everything seems to be in order, please wear this at all times during your visit." He stated.

Skylar nodded putting the bracelet on her right hand, the man then gestured to the right signaling Skylar to enter the city proper so she started to walk in that direction but not before she glanced at the port arching a brow, sure enough, storms were already brewing, "I thought they were kidding about that sort of thing... no wonder the airships here are specially crafted." she then glanced at the airship that brought her here, even now there was a sight of engineers inspecting every single aspect of that ship.

Made sense, if those things were the only thing that could survive the storms, then they'd have to be in top condition at all times.

She then turned her attention to the large city ahead of her, it was laid into several separate parts the city seemed to be crafted into the walls of stone, it spiraled downward like a funnel, and the number of buildings got smaller the further down you went, there were several staircases littered throughout the stonewalled city, carts that loomed on cables went down and up taking their passengers to their destination of choice. So that was how people got around this city then?

Skylar then let out a sigh, it'd certainly be easier to take one of those carts to reach the bottom, but they'd undoubtedly charge a fee, and she was on a tight budget.

So she began to walk down the closest set of stairs, it was mid-day, so it wasn't particularly crowded, perks of everyone else having a job.

Of course that also made it so Skylar felt somewhat out of place on this walk...

"Thirteen." She uttered the number with a frown. She stopped for a moment glancing at the skies, it had already been a year since that fateful day, and she was already on a strict timer, but time was flying so fast.

She looked to her right shoulder glancing at the jeweled hilt of the sword on her back.

Memories flashed through her head of that fateful day and she took in a shaky breath.

Before closing her eyes and blocking the memory from her mind, she then continued to walk without showing the pain in her expression.

"Just keep moving, same as that day. Keep moving and help who I can," she muttered to herself.

She'd kill for a fight right now, it wasn't great for her health sure, but a good fight always got her blood pumping, when she was focused on a fight she could let all other thoughts leave her.

She paused as she looked off the wooden floor to her right. There were a bunch of other platform's around the walls of this place, but there was one in particular that caught Skylar's eyes, one that was right in the middle of the city.

There was a girl with silver hair, wearing a red jacket with white stripes on it. She was just laying on a bench, her eyes closed a bucket to her left filled with coins and a sign was on it.

Skylar found herself curious, so continued along the path drawn to that girl.

Soon enough she found herself in front of that bucket, it read, 'Toss a coin in, and beat me in a fight! If you can win you get everything inside.'

Skylar arched a brow at that, she then glanced at the girl on the bench, "This what you do for fun?"

The girl opened her eyes and looked at Skylar with curious purple eyes, "Eh, it's more like a day job." she responded to Skylar's question casually, "Haven't lost yet, and I don't plan to start anytime soon."

Skylar looked at the bucket and reached into her own pocket and removed something from it, a gold coin. The girl looked at that coin with an arched brow, "You're new around her aren't cha?" the girl questioned before leaping up from her position on that bench.

Skylar began to lift her hand to toss the coin into the bucket only for her eyes to widen slightly as the girl wrapped a hand around Skylar's wrist, "What's your name?"

"...Valery," Skylar spoke the fake name she was given as she looked at the girl, the girl arched her brow.

"Well now... not a bad name, mine's Striga." She lowered her hand onto Skylar's own sliding it along with her elegant fingers removing the gold coin from Skylar's hand, she then held it up to the skies, "See thing is, the people I fight never use gold. I'm rather aware of how good I am... so silver is my limit. I feel bad for taking anything more than that." she stated before lowering her hand and tossing the coin back to Skylar, Skylar caught it with ease and responded by tossing it into the bucket anyways, "I'm just paying you what I'm worth. It's sure to cover any medical costs that could come from this clash."

Striga smirked, arching a brow, "Oh? You must be pretty strong if you think you can take me."

Skylar put a hand on her hip, "Something like that." Skylar stated with a glint in her eyes.

A crowd began to form around the edges of the city, "What's going on!" A child questioned.

"Is Striga really going to fight the newcomer?" An older man questioned.

"She paid with gold! Does that mean she'd be really good?!" A young man let his own question fill the area.

Striga smiled looking up to the crowd, "Someone seems to have high expectations put on them... Alrighty then, the only rule is no weapons. That fine with you?"

Skylar responded by attaching the sword she had on her back and she threw it over to the side, she then began to jump up and down slightly, before raising her fists, Striga paused, noticing her Skylar moved almost in a rhythm.

Striga then smirked lightly, "...More than a new fighter then?"

Skylar landed and a light smile appeared on her face, "You'll soon see."

The crowd then went silent as Striga took the first step forward, "Begin." she declared and then instantly closed the distance with Skylar, and in that same movement threw her right fist forward, the speed was enough to shatter through the raindrops that were still falling.

Striga's eyes widened slightly when Skylar raised her arms into an X shape taking the brunt of the blow effortlessly, Skylar then lowered her body and flipped upward, her heel slamming into Striga's chin causing Striga to take a few step backward grasping her chin as Skylar landed back onto her feet with that ever confident smile.

The crowd let out a gasp as they realized what happened, Striga stood there dumbfounded for a moment, she then smiled and hucked a blood filled loogie onto the ground, her eyes shined with excitement, "You hit me." she stated matter of factly and her eyes practically shined with vigor, "I haven't been hit in a duel in two years..."

Skylar's eyes glowed red with power, "There's more to come unless you want to give up now?"

Striga smiled at that challenge, "Hm, dunno..." She put a finger to her chin and looked to the crowd, "What do you all think!?"

In an instant, the crowd roared, shouting for the battle to continue, and Striga was happy to oblige, turning her attention back to Skylar, "Guess I could spare some time to school a kid."

Striga leaned forward lazily, her right arm falling to her side and moving back and forth, before a manic smile adorned her face she blasted forward shards of wood flew into the air as she closed the distance, right fist pulled back.

Skylar responded by ducking to the left, her speed matching Striga's.

As soon as Striga missed, she spun around using that momentum from that single movement to throw another nasty right hook.

This one hit Skylar right in the cheek sending her to the ground near instantly, Skylar winced but slowly got to her feet, she could feel blood welling up in her mouth, and she narrowed her eyes at Striga, the wind blew gently and Skylar took in a long breath.

Closing her eyes as she did so, anybody without experience with mages would think she was about to surrender, Striga however leaped backward raising her fists cautiously, "Hey hey... You can't be serious right?" She questioned a bead of sweat appeared on the side of her face and her smile turned nervous as Skylar opened her eyes. An emerald glow appeared on them, she raised a single finger and flexed it, urging her opponent to come forward.

A simple taunt, but effective enough.

Striga looked to Skylar warily, "I've heard masters of wind magicks have the ability to alter the space around them, albeit slightly... Is that what I'm sensing? Did you do something to the wind blowing around you?" Striga questioned, Skylar said nothing to that lowering her hand and with a swift movement thrust her fist forward, a blast of wind shot forward, Striga's eyes widened and she threw her arms up defensively as the blow hit her head on, bruises appeared on her arms.

Slowly she lowered her arms and locked eyes with Skylar for a moment before chuckling to herself, "Ha! You're a real treat, you know that! It's not every day I meet someone who can match blows with me... Tell ya what kid, win or lose I'll treat you to a meal!" she declared, throwing her arms to the side, before a purple glow escaped from her eyes, "Oh... but I'm going to win."

Skylar in response reached up and removed her scarf from her neck wrapping the cloth around her right fist, "Let's end this." she declared as that emerald glow hit its peak.

The crowd began to cheer as the two mages stood on this platform sparks flying as magic poured from their body, the two warriors then shot forward throwing their fists forward at full strength not bothering with defense, the end of this fight would be decided through speed.

But it was Striga's fist that landed true with enough force to slam into Skylar's face sending her spiraling to the ground Striga smirked, putting a hand on her hip as she looked down at Skylar, "So then? Do you yield?" Striga questioned.

Skylar paused for a moment before sighing, "I yield."

Striga smiled at that, holding out her right hand, Skylar let out a sigh reaching up and taking it, with surprising strength Striga pulled Skylar up and smirked. The crowd cheered for a moment but slowly began to disperse when they realized the fight was over.

Striga removed her hand from Skylar and asked, "Where'd you learn to fight like that anyway?"

Skylar blinked and realized she may have fought a little too well she glanced to the side slightly embarrassed, "Oh... I'm self-taught for the most part." She stated putting a hand on the back of her head.

Striga's eyes widened a little at that, "Really? Heh, you're just full of surprises aren't you?" she walked over to Skylar's still-sheathed blade and picked it up from the ground, holding it out for Skylar to grab.

In response Skylar looked at the blade before reaching out and grabbing it, "Surprises seem to follow me wherever I go lately." she frowned, reattaching the sheath to her back.

Striga nodded in understanding, "Heh, well either way come along with me. I believe I promised you a meal."

She walked down the staircase heading further down into the city, Skylar followed slowly behind her, "So have you lived here long?" Skylar asked with an arched brow, she hadn't gotten a good look at Striga up to this point, but she seemed older than Skylar, or at least that's how she acted, you wouldn't be able to guess it by her height.

She glanced over her shoulder, "Meh, not long... Just about seven years. Lived somewhere else for a bit. Oh, and before you ask, I'm 22. I don't look it don't I?" Striga stated sticking her tongue out before turning back around and walking forward.

Skylar thought about asking another question that was until Striga stopped right in front of a new building, "This is the place." she stated and Skylar looked up, it was a small building lit up with a neon sign that read, "The Little Bunny." There was a small rabbit sign that was lit up white right at the end of the sign.

When Skylar looked back down Striga had walked to the door and opened it, the bell gave a little ding as she did so, "Come on in." She then entered the building without hesitation.

Skylar frowned for a moment before walking up to the door and opening it.

She blinked as she entered the place, the floors were made out of dark wood, there was a counter to her right, and behind it were shelves filled with so many bottles of alcohol, the lights in here were dim and there were a total of five chairs next to the counter.

"This is... a bar...?" Skylar questioned.

"MY bar." Striga commented from behind the counter, as she turned on the stove cracking some eggs and throwing them onto a pan letting them sizzle, "my pride in joy as a matter of fact, I work to ensure I can serve all customers AND guests."

Skylar walked over to a chair and sat down, "So you're a highly skilled warrior... who also just so happens to be a bartender?"

Striga chuckled, walking out from behind the counter and sitting on the stool next to Skylar's, "It serves as a great way to get information, after all, most people tend to loosen their lips when taken by the poison of one's own choice." Striga declared as she spun in her chair like a child enjoying herself.

Striga paused before smirking lightly, "You want something to drink?" she asked, getting up from the stool and walking behind the counter, plucking one of the many bottles of wine.

Skylar arched her brow, "I'm not old enough." she responded simply.

Striga winked in response playfully sticking out her tongue., "I won't tell a soul, besides I saw you eyeing the bottles. You wanna try the adult drinks dontcha Valery?"

Skylar glanced to the side, somewhat guilty, but she didn't say no.

So Striga began to pour that bottle into two glasses, she then hummed looking at the contents, "It's your first real drink, so I picked it out with that in mind, but before I give it to you... A question." she traced her finger around the rim of one of those glasses, setting the bottle down onto the table, "Your magic, what is it?" it was an odd magic considering that the two of them had just battled.

Skylar looked at the glasses, before glancing at Striga, "Wind. Wind magic primarily."

"Primarily?" Striga arched a brow, Skylar looked away saying more than she already intended.

There was a moment of silence as Striga stared at Skylar before smirking lightly, "Ah, whatever, I suppose it doesn't matter. Are you aware of the old wive's tale passed around her about wind mages?" she then passed a glass over to Skylar before immediately drowning in the contents of her own glass, she let out a satisfied "ahh." Before setting her glass down, Skylar paused before responding, "Can't say I am."

"Some old men and women think that wind magic came from the heavens above, supposedly wind mages are the ones who are supposed to guide humanity to The Promised Land Of Eden..." Striga explained with a smirk.

"Eden?" Skylar arched a brow at that, "can't say I've ever heard of that.”

"Wouldn't expect you to have heard of it, it's not commonly discussed nowadays. But there are still people who believe that this Eden exists." Striga smirked slyly.

Skylar nodded in understanding before leaning forward, "What about you? What's your magic?" Striga paused before looking into her glass and smirking,

"...My magic is called Soulmates." she explained suddenly, she then raised a finger and a single red string came forth from her fingernail, "All it takes is for someone to get connected to me with this string, and then we share everything. Thoughts, feelings, mana, even wounds."

Skylar blinked before taking a small sip from her glass, she blinked looking down at that glass, the wine tasted sweet.

Was that a normal taste? Striga smiled leaning forward and resting her cheek in her palm, the string retracted then, "Some people say that our magic is an extension of our souls, what are your thoughts on that Valery?"

Skylar paused looking into Striga's eyes, they seemed genuine. But there was something else, sadness?

No it wasn't sadness, it wasn't something deeper than that.

So Skylar looked at her glass with a frown, "I dunno. It's not like... I can just look inside myself and find an answer."

Striga nodded at that, "I suppose not, a different line of questioning then, what is your dream?" Striga smiled as Skylar looked up.

"My dream?" Skylar chuckled, "I'm living it right now, I'm able to travel wherever I want and see sights I've only dreamed of seeing." she then paused and looked back down to her glass, a frown adorned her face as she pondered the steps she took on the way, "though... It cost a lot more than I thought it would." she then took another swig from her drink before looking to Striga once more, "What about you?"

Striga smiled warmly, "I want to see the sea." Such a simple request, hard to think she considered that her dream.

Skylar smiled warmly and with an innocent tone proceeded to speak, "That's all? ...If that's all you want I could take you, I know one of the islands has a large ocean... Haven't seen it myself. But I'm sure I can arrange someone to take us there sometime."

Striga's smile faded, "That's nice and all bu-"

"Come on." Skylar stood up and held out her right hand for a handshake, a smirk on her face, her eyes shining with unrelenting determination, "At some point, I'll take you, I promise." Skylar declared not leaving room for argument.

Striga paused looking at Skylar's hand before smiling warmly, "Thank you." she reached out and took that hand. After all, how could she refuse a girl who looked at her like that?

They stood there for a moment hands locked together, that was until a smell entered the air, Skylar arched a brow, "Is something burning?"

Striga's eyes widened and she quickly spun around and ran over to the eggs, charred to a crisp now she let out an exasperated sigh and lifted the pan removing it from the burner, "Look at me, getting all talkative and I ended up burning our meal."

Skylar was about to speak up to encourage Striga until the door of the store opened up, the little bell rang and Skylar found her own words getting caught in her throat.

Striga tossed the eggs into a nearby trashcan and turned on the sink throwing the pan into it, 

"Welcome sorry we had a little bit of an issue here but what can I get for you toda-" Striga paused when she saw who came in through the door, "Ah..." It was a man wearing a black suit and white gloves, he was also wearing sunglasses, slowly he reached up and grabbed those sunglasses, "Striga, you're needed at the council, a meeting is about to take place." he removed his glasses revealing that his eyes were black. It was almost like staring into the void.

Striga frowned bitterly, "I have a guest," she gestured to Skylar without batting an eye before continuing, "the counsel can wait until after I conclude business here."

"Not with this they can't. They are discussing what to do about Midas." Striga's eyes narrowed at that, but they softened when she remembered Skylar was here.

"...Fine. Give me two minutes, I'll be out in a second." She stated simply.

The man put those glasses back on and turned around leaving the building as soon as he did, Skylar released a breath. She didn't even realize she was holding it in, her eyes were wide and she put a hand to her heart.

Striga looked over to Skylar with a look of pity, "Mmm. First time encountering a High Executioner is it?"

Skylar looked up, "High Executioner...?"

"They stand above other Executioners, they're the kind of mages that take their magic to the extreme... Becoming something otherworldly in exchange." Striga frowned looking to the door, "We have three here in Jubilee. Any mage worth their salt could sense one, though I suppose the alcohol may have made that sensation worse in your case... drinks have the effect to heighten magic sensing in general." Striga explained, she then paused, "Look I'm sorry, I'm going to have to head out for a bit so I'm not going to be able to make good on our deal today... how about you come over tomorrow and we'll talk then."

Skylar nodded slowly and got up from her stool, Striga walked out from behind the counter and opened the door Skylar followed just shortly, the man before was waiting against a nearby wall.

As soon as Skylar saw him the air once again grew stiff, it felt like if he wanted to the man could break Skylar in two at any moment.

That was terrifying.

Striga walked up to the man, she then paused looking up thoughtfully, "Oh... That's right." She slowly turned around her black boots sliding along the wooden platform as she held out her arms, a small smile on her face as her eyes glowed purple, "Welcome to the grand city of Jubilee!"

Skylar paused at those words, turning her head to the rest of the city, and she couldn't help but feel some excitement at those words.

A new adventure was about to begin after all.

Skybound Volume 2: The Witch Of Jubilee.

Red.

That was the first thing her eyes took in as they started opening, then there was the sight of silver, her eyes widened as she looked around, bodies floated in the red sea around her, bodies that looked identical to one another, they floated there lifelessly, her mouth opened in shock without even thinking, it was then when the red liquid flowed into her mouth.

She knew exactly what she was tasting.

That irony taste was something she was all too familiar with, even now as it poured into her lungs uncontested, filling her stomach, she knew full well what the taste of blood was.

And now she was drowning in it, survival instincts threatened to kick in, and she found herself desperately swimming to the top.

Make it.

She had to make it, just to take in a breath.

Her vision blurred, and her limbs threatened to fall limp, but the surface was so close, she swam past the corpse that shared her physic, and at last... she breached the surface.

She took in a breath, basking in the glory of sweet fresh air, in and out over and over, sucking in every single bit of oxygen she could. It was then that she heard a voice, his voice. "Well well, and here I thought we'd never get you out of there Pride." Wrath spoke as he was sitting on a metal chair. The room was dark, save for that one light that shined down on the pool of blood in this room.

Memories flooded into her mind, and she swam over to the edge of the pool. Her breathing was still heavy, but soon enough she forced a question out of her mouth, "How many?" she growled, "How many times did you kill me?" Wrath paused at that, "...Once every day you climbed out of that pool... And it's been about a year since you first died on that battlefield... so I suppose it's been 365 times now. Give or take a few." he spoke so casually, he then narrowed his gaze, "Though if I had it my way, I would have preferred you'd stay dead. But it matters little anymore."

He stands up and walks over to the poolside, a towel was in his hand he tossed it over to Pride with a scowl, "You've got a chance at redemption, best not waste it."

Pride caught the towel and glanced to the ground, "...Understood."

Wrath narrowed his gaze, "In case it wasn't clear, I am still absolutely FUMING... but Origin has deemed you necessary to our cause, so I shall trust his judgment." With that Wrath turned around and left Pride to her own woes. Pride looked at the towel before looking at the pool of blood surrounding her, there in the pool... those were her corpses, she knew this to be true.

There were only 8 Eternals.

Each with their own special gifts, Pride's was the ability to return to the realm of the living after death.

...Shame she always lost her clothes when it happened. She winced somewhat as a hand reached the top, one of the many corpses sure, but it was still unnerving.

She looked at the door of her room, maybe she should decorate? Or at least put it in another light?

Meh. Not like she'd ever have the time.

Slowly she pulled herself out of the pool of blood, each drop fell from her skin along each and every curve of her body, and she ran the towel through her hair first. Then along her legs, slowly bringing it upwards, careful around the most sensitive parts, and once she was satisfied she tossed the towel to the side and snapped her fingers, an outfit appeared on her, the one she wore when she fought Skylar.

...Skylar.

Skylar Shadewalker... Pride frowned just remembering the name, she so desperately wanted a rematch, but as long as Wrath was around it was clear that wasn't going to happen on her terms.

...But what if he wasn't around?"

Pride certainly couldn't kill him, but perhaps there was another way.

Perhaps… She smirked wickedly as an idea began to form in her head.

This was going to be fun.