A taxi was speeding through the empty roads of Runa. Warm rays of light brightened the streets, and the birds were already chirping cheerfully.

Inside the taxi, the mood was as cheerful as the birds outside: Victor was soothing a barely breathing puppy in his lap and hoping for the best.

‘’Come on girl, just a little longer. Don’t give up on me.’’

From the backseat, Victor took an urgent look at the driver through the rear-view mirror and urged him to go faster.

‘’Bro. If you go faster that is an extra 10 remis for you.’’

The taxi driver's mouth could be seen from the rear mirror of the car curling up and with a slight nod of his head he replied with great energy.

‘’Sure thing man. Money makes even the devil work faster, buckle up.’’

Feeling the kinetic energy pulling himself towards the seat, Victor felt relieved as the car sped up.

Turning his head to look at the streets and lamp posts flash by, he felt somehow relieved and conflicted at the same time.

He’s driving like a madman, but maybe he knows what he’s doing…

Holding the puppy carefully, they arrived shortly in front of a veterinarian’s office and Victor hastily pulled out his wallet.

Grabbing a 50 Remi bill, he felt grateful to the law breaking taxi driver who did not even stop at red lights.

‘’Keep the change, thanks again bro.’’

Without paying any more attention to the driver, he jogged carefully to the entrance and opened the door.

‘’I NEED SOME HELP HERE! I have a badly injured puppy that needs help.’’

Yelling at the entrance he could not bother to search for the office, but directly yelled for help.

The modestly decorated clinic was currently empty, and very soon after Victor's cry for help was answered by someone who seemed like an intern.

The intern yawned and lightly rubbed his eyes with a free hand, and carefully balanced a full cup of coffee on the other.

Seeing this, Victor felt a wave of anger washing over him and walked directly in front of him.

‘’Where is the doctor? This little girl needs medical attention now.’’

Finally the intern stopped his sleep deprived behavior and fixed his gaze upon the dog.

‘’Mmhm… The doctor is in the 2nd operating room. Although I think it would be better to just put the dog out of her misery. From what I can see it has suffered enough.’’

Hearing the answer from the rude intern, Victor could not keep his calm anymore and just stormed off towards the door labeled operation room across the hallway.

Fucking asshole. I thought that your job was to help the animals, not treat them as lost causes.

Opening the operation room, Victor was dumbfounded when he found the doctor napping on the operation table.

Walking next to her, he could not bother with etiquette and just poked her cheek and called out ‘’Doctor’’ in a loud voice.

What kind of shitty vet I have come to… Should have guessed from the intern that this place is not reliable.

The sight of the doctor in charge was not evoking the feeling of trust in Victor.

She was 24 or maybe 27 at the maximum in his eyes, and Victor was sure he was smelling old alcohol oozing off her.

Old booze, great. This ain’t just my day…

After the poking and calling out did not work, Victor could not be picky about his methods and shook her awake forcefully.

The blonde doctor finally managed to open her eyes with some difficulty and what greeted her was a sight of an unknown man shaking her.

‘’KYAAA’’

After screaming her lungs out, she hurriedly took a brief look around her before composing herself.

Looking at the doctor in an obvious hangover, Victor facepalmed himself with his free hand while holding the puppy safely in his embrace.

‘’Morning sunshine, time to get to work. Help the puppy please.’’

The doctor felt embarrassed that someone saw her sleeping and drooling on the operation table, but professionally glossed over it when she saw the puppy.

‘’Sorry about that. Put the puppy on the table and I’ll see what I can do. You can wait outside on the waiting room and I will inform you when I know the situation better.’’

Nodding his head and heading towards the waiting room, Victor had complicated thoughts running through his mind.

Maybe I shouldn’t go on morning walks anymore… This shit has cost me so much money already that I should say goodbye to the restaurant on 3rd street… Aih, good deeds are so taxing.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Sitting down on a bench, he saw the intern smirking at him.

‘’Whatcha looking at? Do you see something funny?’’

‘’I have seen puppies in better condition that have been put out. Just don’t have too much hope… If you really want to save her, holy water from the church is an option.’’

‘’Holy water? Do you really believe in such things?’’ Seeing the intern prattle on about religious stuff, Victor as a former man of science couldn’t help but snort.

‘’It's a real and proven thing. Holy water from church has healing properties, it just costs a lot.’’

The intern shook his head at Victor and focused his attention back to the coffee, the waiting room fell silent. After 45 minutes of silence, the door to the operation room opened up.

Rising from his chair, Victor rushed to see what the situation was.

‘’Sorry, but there is only so much I can do. She will live but some damage is already done and can’t be fixed.’’

After hearing the situation from the doctor, Victor felt that it was already good enough that the puppy lived.

‘’Thank you doctor, perhaps I underestimated you when I saw your…Resting habits. Sorry for the rude awakening.’’

Seeing that Victor was fine with the result, the doctor let out a small smile of embarrassment and nervous chuckle.

‘’It’s fine. I just never expected to get clients so early so I was…Staying up a bit too late. You can pay the bill to our intern here and you can take her home. Just take care of her and let her rest. She has many years ahead of her.’’

Hearing the good news and how she went on about the extraordinary resilience of the puppy, Victor obediently went to pay his bill and waved the hungover doctor goodbye.

The doctor retreated back to the operation room with a wave of her hand and yawned: Presumably to continue the ‘’resting’’.

The total sum of this visit cost Victor a total of 258 remis which he had earned with his hard work.

Welp… If I help, then I have to help her all the way. Welcome to the family… Hmm what should I name her…

With these thoughts in his head he left the building, only to hear the intern yell something behind him.

‘’Remember! Holy water really works!’’

Shaking his head at the religious crook, he left for home with a new member of a family.

----------------------------------------

In the Duma guild’s office, a well dressed man with a scar on his right eye was throwing darts.

Rhythmically a sound of a dart seeping into the target echoed every 5 seconds in a spacious and luxuriously decorated office.

After throwing a full set he finally sat on his black leather covered chair, lit a cigar and puffed a cloud of smoke out.

‘’Still not talking? How long do we have to play these games for you to reveal the location of the Spider.’’

Receiving only silence as an answer, Isaac stood up in a slow manner and leisurely walked towards the ‘’Dartboard’’.

Chained into the wall was a 35 ish old naked and bloodied man. With closed eyes he silently trembled as he felt keenly the darts that pierced parts of his body.

Isaac pulled the darts one by one and placed them inside a neat box by the man. Closing in, he lifted the chin of the prisoner.

‘’Just tell me where he is, you do share some friendship with the dude. It ain't worth it to suffer for someone who would not do the same for you.’’

The prisoner opened his sapphire eyes and rebellious defiance was reflected on his eyes.

Spitting in Isaac’s face, a bright smile formed in the prisoner's face.

‘’Yer momma should be rewarded with a prize for re-animating her turds into you. Fuck off and just be done with it.’’

Calmly Isaac took a handkerchief and wiped the spit off.

‘’I know that you don’t fear me, but is the shallow friendship from years ago so important to you? I promise that you can still survive should you tell me everything I wish to…’’

Hearing rushed footsteps coming from outside the office, Isaac interrupted his persuasion and keenly waited for the person coming.

As guildmaster of the Duma guild, he enjoyed his time alone or without interruptions: All of his subordinates knew from experience that interrupting him without a proper reason would result in death.

The door slid slightly open, and a fearful head poked in from the crack of the door.

‘’Master… High priest Maximus is in line 1. He does not sound happy.’’

Hearing that the issue lies with the church, Isaacs playful grin quickly fades into a solemn look befitting a guildmaster.

‘’Marcus, leave.’’

‘’As you will, Master.’’

The door closed without a sound, and Isaac was left wondering what Maximus wished to talk about.

It should be something important… We agreed to keep contact to a minimum to keep things properly under wraps…

Glancing at the man hanging from the wall, Isaac postponed the questioning, sat on his leather chair and answered the phone.

‘’It's me. Do you need anything?’’

Silence reigned from the other side of the phone for a brief moment, before an insane yell was resounding throughout the office.

‘’SOME DIPSHITS FOUND THE SITE IN THE SLUMS. We had a deal Isaac!’’

‘’What?! Why is this the first I heard about it?’’

‘’I don’t know asshole, but what I know from my insider is: The special division has clues about my involvement in ‘’Project Genesis’’. How are you intending to make this right?’’

Hearing the absolutely furious high priest cursing like a sailor, Isaac felt cold sweat forming on his back and his pupils shook wildly.

If I had to offend someone, it would not be that madman… I have to make the evidence disappear…But how?

Collecting his thoughts, Isaac took a deep breath and spoke with a confident tone.

‘’I will use any means necessary to make this right. Please be patient and let me do this for you.’’

The other end of the line was silent for a moment, which had Isaac worried: Should his usefulness run out, he would likely end up as a test subject himself.

Trying to keep his breathing steady, he hoped that his cooperation from before the incident earned him the trust to make this right.

Finally Maximus replied from the other side of the phone.

‘’Fine. I will send ‘Two’ to help you. No mistakes or your name will be ‘Three’.’’

Hearing the line cutting off after the chilling voice of Maximus oozing from the phone, Isaac was sweating buckets and pale from the face.

The man hanging on the wall curiously watched Isaac and opened his mouth with a smirk plastered on his face .

‘’Hahah serves you right asswipe. Should I call you ‘Three’ from now on?’’

‘’You heard that?’’

Raising his eyebrows, Isaac moved faster than normal eyes could see and pierced the prisoner's heart with his fist.

‘’Can’t risk you blabbering about this, even to my subordinates. Your usefulness has ended as of this moment, friend of the Spider.’’