Deirdee was growing weak from pain and blood loss. She had no idea why her assailants were toying with her. After tearing away her wings they just sat on her, content to keep her where she was. Were they waiting for something?

Her question was answered a few agonising minutes later when she heard heavy footsteps approaching her. She looked up and saw a massive hulking muscular figure knuckle-walking towards her. As a Sanguine, Deirdee was used to seeing deathly thin creatures, so seeing something that must have been several hundred kilos of pure muscle was almost incomprehensible. How could anything have such proportions? The monster was pale blue, with a baby blue-shaded stomach. Its thick arms and legs were ending with wicked-sharp-looking claws. The worst part was its head, however. The creature seemed to have two clusters of way too many eyes and an X-shaped mouth. It roared upon seeing her, its mouth flaps unfolding and revealing hundreds of teeth on the inner side of them. The previously hidden second pair of jaws then almost unhinged themselves and widened to the point they could fit a human head inside them. It could have been an illusion but Deirdee thought its gullet was lined with yet more teeth.

The pressure on her back disappeared and the hulking beast reached for her and lifted her by the back of her neck.

‘N-No…’ Deirdee whimpered, as her face moved directly in front of the creature’s wide-open jaws.

She could see something slithering inside of its oesophagus.

‘No…’ she cried again, tears streaming down her face. ‘Not like this…’

Then, the creatures behind her growled in displeasure and anger. She thought they were indicating they wanted in on the meal, but then two Blood Lances pierced the brute’s head, one embedding itself in one of its eye clusters and the other going straight down its gullet and exiting at the back of its neck.

The now-dead monster’s grip let loose and Deirdee crashed to the floor, the pain of this distracting her from the two flashes of lights that lit the room, followed by sizzles and crashing sounds.

‘Caei!’ a female voice shouted. ‘Take care of her wounds!’

Caei? That can’t be right. Why would Caeileera be here?

Two figures ran past her and she heard sounds of struggle coming from the direction they went. Unholy groans of pain precipitated multiple sounds of things hitting the ground.

Then… someone touched her back and blissful pain relief came. Soon, the agony disappeared and she felt strong again. Yet… something was missing.

‘Sorry,’ Caeileera said with genuine sadness in her voice. ‘For some reason, your wings aren’t growing back. The wounds just sealed themselves.’

No. No!

‘Well… all done,’ the woman continued. ‘Let me help you get up.’

Once she was back on her feet Deirdee looked around the scene of carnage. The still-twitching corpse of the massive brute lay just in front of her, blood and other unspeakable liquids leaking out of its wounds. Behind her, there were corpses of two much smaller winged creatures. One of them had a still smoking hole running through the middle of its chest, while the other had one in its throat. Deirdee felt immense sorrow and despair when she noticed her now forever-lost wings by them. Deirdee wanted to try reattaching them to her back, but then Caeileera guided her gaze away from them.

‘No,’ she said gently. ‘Don’t dwell on this.’

‘That’s the last of them, I think,’ a female voice from down the corridor. She looked there and saw the slimeling and the demonborn girl standing there surrounded by corpses of the winged creatures. Their swords were dripping in blood and viscera.

‘Yeah,’ the slimeling agreed. ‘Caei? How is she?’

‘She… will recover,’ Caeileera answered, the pause in her reply sounding really ominous.

Deirdee’s gaze fell to her discarded knife. Caeileera must have noticed that because she gripped her shoulder tightly and indicated something to the slimeling, who ran over to the knife and picked it up.

‘Sorry, can’t let you have that,’ she apologised. ‘At least not for now.’

For now?

‘What do you mean? I don’t understand. Caeileera must have told you I am bound to kill you. Why did you save me?’

Why do this if I will die by your hand anyway?

More tears flowed down her face.

Why give me this hope only to tear it away?

‘I… don’t understand,’ Deirdee repeated and fell to her knees.

The slime walked over in front of her, the still dripping bastard sword in her hand.

‘You needed saving,’ the slime simply responded. ‘None of us would have felt right if we let you get eaten by these chucklefucks. As for that blood bond of yours…’

The slime put the sword by her neck.

‘Let’s have a talk about it,’ she finished.

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‘What’s there to talk about?’ Deirdee asked. ‘You killed my… You killed Zvirvil…’

‘ I did,’ the slimeling answered matter-of-factly, ‘ For what it’s worth, I was just defending myself. And… well.. You guys started this. Believe me, I feel for you… I also have my loved ones and would want revenge on anyone who killed them. And so probably did the loved ones of everyone you killed. But that never stopped you, now did it? ’

Deirdee wanted to protest, to say that it was different… but was it? Sure… among the Sanguine such close bonds were rare, but that one time they were unleashed on Dwynveia…

She’s right. As much as I hate her for it… She’s right.

Deirdee always told herself she was just following orders. That she was just a weapon. It made it easier for her.

‘We can’t turn back time,’ the slimeling continued. ‘But we can do is stop this particular cycle of violence. Because what? You’ll kill me, but then Aki and Caei will kill you. Or we will just kill you because I doubt either of my friends will idly stand by while you attack me. So… the result for you is ultimately the same no matter what you do. Or we can figure out another way. Together.

‘But I can’t go home without avenging Zvirvil…’

‘Why, though?’

Deirdee wanted to respond that her honour demanded it. That Zvirvil’s memory demanded it. But did they? It was like the slimeling said. Zvirvil wasn’t murdered. He died in combat. And the slime had just saved her life. So, could she repay her kindness by killing her? It would also be dishonourable.

I will dishonour myself if I kill the slime. And I will dishonour myself if I don’t kill the slime. Then… there is only one option left…

‘Please kill me…’

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Aki looked at the scene before realising that she was seeing a major turning point in their lives. No matter what Lilyth chose there would be no going back.

‘Please… just kill me!’ the assassin's words once again echoed in the chamber. ‘It’s the only way I won’t dishonour myself!’

That gave Lilyth a pause, but then she shook her head and lowered her sword.

‘No,’ she replied firmly, emphasising the point. ‘Why would I do that? Like I just said, I want to achieve an outcome which doesn’t result in your death. And… we did risk our lives to save you. Even if we didn’t, I will not murder you over some stupid tradition.’

‘But why? I have to… I will dishonour Zvir…’

‘Oh, shut up with the honour, bullshit. Think, woman! Would Zvirvil want you to die stupidly, or would he prefer you lived?’

‘But I cannot live without honouring his memory…’

Lilyth, annoyed, cut her off.

‘You can do so by living. Honour his memory by there being someone to actually remember him. Because I assume, based on what I’ve heard about your abhorrent realm from Caeileera, no one else will care about his or your passing?’

The assassin visibly sunk.

‘Lilyth’s right, you know,’ Caeileera whispered to her. ‘Usually, if you are really close to someone you will remember them in private, but public memorials are in bad taste. Essentially, you are viewed as being sentimental for someone who couldn’t cut it. It’s just easier for you to forget.’

Aki shuddered. Lilyth must have sensed she was on the right track because she continued.

‘Don’t die for your brother. Live for him. Use this second chance at life we gave you to forge your path. Don’t go down a route that was decided for both him and you before you were even born. Zvirvil was never given a choice on who to become and died without ever considering another option…’

The assassin whimpered something.

‘What?’ Lilyth asked.

‘That’s not true…’ Deirdee cried out. ‘When… we previously were on Dwynveia… he saw how colourful the markets were and said… that if could he would never leave them. Just watch the hagglers, enjoy the colours and people just bustling around… I think he would have loved to become a travelling merchant.’

That took Lilyth aback. Aki noticed that Caei also looked surprised and filled with sorrow.

Are many Sanguine like this? Just wanting to live normal lives?

Maybe Caeileera wasn’t some outlier then, but just someone brave enough to finally say “enough”.

‘And…’ Lilyth began softly, ‘What do YOU want to do?’

‘I don’t know…’ the Sanguine whimpered. ‘But I want to live… But how can I ever return home like this? They will never accept me back…’

Lilyth sighed. She leaned over the assassin and ripped the mask off her face, revealing a cute-looking girl with green eyes, dimples and freckles, and threw it at the wall, shattering it. The assassin made a move to stop her, but all the fight was gone from her.

Her girlfriend then dropped the Sanguine’s knife in front of her.

‘Live or die, that’s fully up to you now. Before you choose, however, ask yourself this - Is it worth dying for a place forcing you to be someone you may not want to be? Can you really call it your home?’

With that, Lilyth walked back to Caeileera and Aki.

They turned away to leave, but the assassin interrupted them.

‘Wait… may I ask you for your name?’

‘I am Lilyth, this is Aki. Caei, you know.’

‘My name is Deirdee,’ the Sanguine responded and took a deep breath. ‘I know, I have no right to ask this… but can you help me discover who I am?’

Lilyth looked at Aki and Caeileera. After a brief consideration, Caei nodded her assent. Aki wasn’t sure about it. She looked at the miserable form of Deirdee and her tear-filled eyes…

‘We’ll have to be careful with her,’ she said quietly.

‘I wouldn’t have it any other way,’ Lilyth whispered back and turned towards the hopefully-former assassin. ‘Very well. Note, that if you cross us this will end poorly for you.’

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The conversation Lilyth had with Deirdee left Caeileera shaken to her core. She thought herself one of the few Sanguine wanting “out”. What if most of them were like this? Just going through the motions they were never given any choice on to begin with? Were the masks just a way for the Blood to control them? Oh… Akh’ret… What kind of a monster had created them?

Suddenly, a quote from Lilyth played in her mind.

“A god forbidding you from associating with someone is not a deity worth following, I find. “

‘And now you really understand what she meant, my child…’ the warm voice of the god of Life responded.

Akh’ret?

There was no response. None was needed.

Led by an impulse, Caei approached Deirdee and embraced her.

‘I am sorry for your loss, sister,’ she said, causing fresh tears to flow from the assassin’s eyes. ‘But… welcome to your new life. I hope that, eventually, you will find a new family in us.’