The same feeling came back again.

That shudder as if he was being watched or listened to even when he made no sudden movements. Even when he held his breath or when he was sure the shadows cloaked him in its embrace, hidden from the eye.

But it wasn't fear that crawled into his heart or raced in his veins that shuddered him. His soul core, mind, heart, or whatever one may call it, a seed inside of him defensively whispered to him that he was sensed.

That the person in the streets, lurking like a hunter, knew he was near.

Exact location?

Hope wasn't too sure about that.

But Hope's instincts haven't been wrong so far.

However, if he was out of sight, then his Flaw of making him all but a distant memory would drive them away. Right?

Step...Step...

'Ah dammit...'

Unless they reach to him in first...which, unfortunately, was happening as they headed close in his direction.

He could hear the grass brushing their legs or the rocks crushing underneath their steps.

And as if receiving some confirmation, their course started to change with more certain movements.

Moving directly towards him.

'How the hell...'

What the hell kind of Aspect did they have?

Should he try running now? Run blind through the dark room of who knows what else the building was harboring? Roped vines faintly outlined inside, but what if there was a hole in the ground, a monster lurking in a corner, or a spew of knocked shelves or tables all around? Hope would rather not trip over any of those. The graze wound on his side felt hot, warning him not to dare such an act.

The safest bet then...

...was to be caught.

Step...Ste-

At that moment, with the same thought, the steps stopped. His hunter had arrived.

A glinting blade poked out at the corner of Hope's eye where the opened door frame was. It seemed the clouds had parted enough to hum night's light upon the city, to reflect off of the blade like hushed silver. Quite a rare thing since the sky always hid itself.

And speaking of hiding...

As the dim light shined upon the sword, the edge aiming at his neck, the Awakened walked into the room with...

...a mask?

Hope blinked at the sight.

The appearance threw him off, almost having him disregard the tense situation he was in.

The Awakened wore a white plastic mask with slits for eyes, a hood covering their head where no sneak locks stuck out, and instead of wearing any Memory on themselves, they wore a tight-fitting black bodysuit with an advanced technological gauntlet on both forearms.

Hope had seen Awakened and Masters wear those bodysuits before; convenient and practical to fit under any enchanted armor. The gauntlet though was questionable.

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But since it was fitting, Hope could see that it was a guy. Almost half a head taller than he was.

"..."

"..."

Hope had his hands raised as the Awakened continued pointing the sword at his neck, standing in the night's light while Hope in the shadows.

And they stood...awkwardly in silence for a little while. As if testing each other on who would act first.

'Is he not going to say anything...?'

Hope couldn't help but frown. He didn't think he would have to 'break the ice' as one would say, in a situation like this of all things.

"Well, you caught me..." Hope said flatly.

"..."

"..."

'The fucking hell...'

The Awakened stood there like a machine, finding his target but silently stood as if waiting for a command.

'Tsk...So far it doesn't look like he's going to kill me.'

After a few seconds, the Awakened gestured Hope outside with his head, beckoning him to follow. Hope's frown deepened before he slowly stepped out of the building with his hands still raised, the blade never leaving its level.

The cold air hugged around them, and the ruined buildings stood tall watching with windowless eyes as the two figures moved into the middle of the street in a small clearing separated from the abandoned motors and fallen concrete, the only sound being distant monster cries in the city and the murmurs of the wind.

Hope stopped in his tracks.

Neither of them broke contact, as they waited for...for what?

Did he silently call for backup without Hope realizing it? And how long until they come?

With the inability to sleep, Hope would have almost all the time in the world to travel for his journey, although night-time was dangerous and should not be taken lightly. But he would rather be on his way to his teammates now than wasting his time here-

Sshhhhzz-

Suddenly, a static sounded. Like the noise of switching channels on a radio, it scratched with a voice fading in and out in between pauses. But where was that noise coming from?

As if to answer that thought, the Awakened awkwardly looked down at his gauntlet and quickly tapped on a button. Then, a voice came out:

"Prince? Where the hell did you go?! We have a serious crisis over here!"

Hope blinked.

'Prince...? As in a prince...? Or he's named Prince...?' Hope tilted his head. 'How...odd...'

Was there someone else who had more of a ridiculous name than he did?

The Awakened quickly tapped onto his gauntlet as if it were a keyboard, the buttons clicking lightly with each press as he sent whatever message back to his comrade.

"Well hurry the hell back! Some damn monster or...or something- I don't know. Apparently ran through the building. A fucking dead body was found that's what!"

'Ah...'

Hope looked nonchalantly away as if he had no part in it. However, at the same time, the Awakened peeked up, observing his reaction.

But Hope recognized the voice—of course, he did. It was the same voice he passed by down the stairs. One of Leda's cohort members: the rudely frank one.

However, Hope thought it was slightly disappointing that he couldn't hide the body. Not that he was too sure how to in that dark enclosed space.

'Well...it's not like they can track it to me anyways.'

Did that mean he could be a little careless in the future then?

"..."

'Tsk. Nevermind that. It's not like I plan to do it more anyways.'

The Awakened seemed to pause, his gaze lingering on Hope before he quickly responded. And whatever he typed, Hope's stomach dropped from what the receiver responded next:

"Ok ok sheesh hold up. I'll come to you."

'What...?'

Hope's eyebrow twitched.

'Coming coming here? Seriously?'

With that thought, Hope had taken a step back.

But the Awakened immediately stepped forward in response with his sword threateningly aimed again as if sensing Hope's hidden intention to run away.

"..."

Hope gritted his teeth in annoyance.

This was more of a stubborn Awakened than he thought. From chasing him from the metal gate to even sensing where he was despite being out of sight.

And another one was coming here?

'Nope. No. Not dealing with another one.'

Hope didn't want to be in some complex situation of explaining, pretending, or obliging to their damn whims or whatever extortion they plan to do with him. Obviously, his situation did not look good at the moment, especially since this Awakened had kept a sharp focus on him ever since Hope climbed over the metal gate.

Only one thought crossed Hope's mind.

Escape.

'Dammit. To hell with being careful.'

The wound on his side had stung from the cold, but other than that, it wasn't any grievous or threatening injury. Hope could run or climb if he needed to, although it wasn't going to be a comfortable experience.

One Awakened was enough to convince him to take no risks. But two? That just made him want to flee even more.

Could he fight an Awakened? Was that even possible?

Hope sighed as he slightly stretched his left hand out.

Maybe it wasn't possible. But Hope's main objective was back to square one: Survive.

Win or lose-

'Time to get the hell out of here.'

"...!"

As if reading each other's thoughts, Hope summoned his shield as he leaped off to the side—the dance of sparks circling bright in the night as if the stars had come down themselves and fused into a metal plate—and the Awakened reared back his sword and lunged after him.