First, there was darkness, then there was light. I was staring up at a white ceiling with a lamp hanging overhead. I struggled to turn my head and saw a curtain drawn next to me. I couldn't sit up and it only took more effort to move, so I attempted to talk.

"Hhhh-ey..." The word barely passed my lips in but a whisper.

Soon, there were a series of quick movements behind the curtain before it swished to one side and a woman in white with a red patch in the shape of a medical beaker on her chest kneeled next to me

"Hello, my name is Dr. Flaherty. Do you remember me?" She had a dire look on her face.

Unable to nod, I spoke again. "Yy... Yes."

"Good. Do you remember your name?" She was now holding my hand. I couldn't see it, but I felt it.

"S-c-arlet..."

She nodded. "Ok Scarlet, how old are you?"

"Twen...ty..." It was becoming more difficult to form words. My mind was still in a tizzy.

"Do you remember what happened to you?"

I didn't answer. I refused to believe what happened was reality.

"Ok, do you feel this?" She squeezed my hand.

"Yes..."

"Ok, can you feel this?" She reached over and squeezed my other hand.

"Yes."

"How about this?" She went on checking if I could feel all of my limbs, which thankfully, I could. "Can you move anything?"

"My n-neck."

"Anything else?"

"No...t yet."

"How about the light? Does it hurt your eyes or do you feel any discomfort?"

"No."

She pulled a small, blue cylindrical object from her pocket. "I'm going to shine a light in your eyes, alright? If you feel any discomfort, let me know."

"Ok."

She held the object firmly and snapped her fingers. As soon as she did, a white beam of light escaped one end, leaving the rest of the cylinder to glow a dull blue.

She slowly shone the light in my eyes "Try to follow the light as best you can." She began moving it back and forth.

I had no problem following it, and when she finished, she put down the light before picking up a clipboard from a nearby table and scribbling something down.

"Scarlet..." The doctor sounded nervous. "I have good news and bad news... A lot of bad news. Witch, would you like to hear first?"

"Bad."

She hesitated a moment then said, "I'm not sure exactly how to tell you this but, both your aunt and uncle are dead and your cousin is missing. There's also a dent consistent with a blunt strike to your head. You're lucky to survive."

She took a deep breath as if a weight lifted from her shoulders. "The good news is: the wound in your head is healing rapidly on its own and there seem to be no other problems aside from temporary paralysis and your speaking problems are likely related to that. You should be able to move and speak properly in a few days' time."

"Horns..." I said, trying my hardest to move any muscle I could.

"Your horns are fine, just a little more dull than they were, but fine nonetheless."

I stayed quiet about my experiences, and over the next couple of days, my strength returned. The dent in my head fully recovered aside for a red mark permanently scarring my scalp where the wound was. I also still had both swords. Apparently, I was holding onto them the whole time I was unconscious and wouldn't let them go.

Recovery was the last thing on my mind. Every step I took was with a swing of a blade as I began training like never before. The doctor would warn that I was straining myself, but it was all I could do if I hoped to achieve anything. I had to find Millie and put an end to whoever took her. The only problem was I didn't know where to start.

As soon as I could walk properly, I'd find myself wandering around town and slowly making my way towards a farm on the outskirts.

Home.

Every time, I'd get closer before turning back. I couldn't face the thought of what happened without bursting into tears.

Silently.

One day, on the way back from one of my excursions, I saw a man dressed in a blue and white uniform. He looked military, and he was looking directly at me.

"Excuse me, are you Ms. Scarlet Dreamer?" His eyes wandered up to my horns. "I'm Murcury. I was sent by the King of Settentrione to ensure your safety."

"I don't need protection," I said as quickly as I walked past him.

"Once you recover, you're going to go looking for your cousin. Am I correct?" he began following me. "That's a dangerous venture. You may be of a hero's bloodline but there was more than one hero."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I stopped walking.

"I mean, even though your grandfather was said to have saved the mortal realm, he was far from the only person to wield great power for the greater good."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I assume you know your grandfather didn't die of old age. He was a martyr, giving up his life to save others. You are his granddaughter so it makes sense that you would try to do the same." For some reason, his words stung.

"You're not even saying anything, you're just talking."

"Who do you think was left behind to declare him a hero? It sure as hell wasn't a demon."

"So, you think I'm just going to go get myself killed?"

"Alone, yes. But not if I come along. It is my job after all."

"Even if that was the case, why would a foreign king send someone to protect me?"

"I'm a descendant of Ramlethal. One of the heroes that fought alongside your grandfather, Demitree: the mortal hero."

Something about his demeanor only pissed me off more as he talked. "A living meteor killed my aunt and uncle while my cousin was kidnapped by a floating voice pretending to be a cat!" I screamed at him. "It doesn't matter who you're a descendant of, this is my family!"

"Who do you think took care of that creature? It most certainly wasn't you, and there's no way in hell the villagers could do it."

A shiver went down my spine. I turned and ran towards the farm. I had to see it for myself. If the creature was still there, I'd know he was lying, but if it was gone, I'd have to look for tracks or traces of it to be sure. Unsure of too many things, I ran.

As I came closer to my destination, I spotted a boulder still sitting by the road. I ran faster. The world seemed to slow down as I came closer. There was no fire anymore, and it actually seemed to get colder as I approached. That's when I realized the creature was encased in ice.

"That's my handy-work. Are you convinced now?" Murcury stood nearby with a smug look on his face.

"No." I clenched my fists. "It's not."

"Oh, come on, if that won't convince you, what will?" He shook his head.

I retrieved both swords seated on my belt. "Fight me."

"Wooden swords... No, you're serious." He reached for the scimitar at his side and unsheathed it. "I don't want to hurt you, but if this is what will convince you, then so be it."

I rushed toward him with both swords at the ready. As I came within range, he struck first, swiping away the purple sword and forcing my arm to extend. I retaliated by guiding the red one toward his neck, where he ducked and rammed his shin into my side.

Nearly falling, I caught myself and stood ready again. Brandishing the red sword with a flourish, I stepped closer. He didn't react, so I straightened my arm and slashed at his chest. He blocked with the side of his blade and I struck at the other side with the purple sword.

The wooden blade made contact as he raised his arm to block it. When it did, he parried the purple one away from him, took a step forward, and tapped my forehead with the butt of his scimitar. There wasn't much of an impact and at first, I thought he wasn't serious until a second passed.

A familiar pain spread over the top of my head. It was no different from when I was in the forest. I fell to the ground and began writhing. I was powerless to do anything about the pain as I screamed and writhed on the ground.

"Those swords you wield; Reaver and Baroness. Do you know their power?" I could barely hear him over my own agony. "Baroness, the left-handed blade can be summoned to its current wielder at any time, as well as boosting their natural defenses. Reaver, the right-handed blade causes phantom pain. You're experiencing that right now. Whatever injury it causes can be felt again with the slightest of impact."

He walked around me to the creature covered in ice and waited for me to settle down. Once the pain stopped, I lay exhausted on the ground.

"I hate you," I said, trembling as I stood and put up my swords.

"That's fine as long as you don't go off getting yourself killed."

I scoffed. "How much do you know about these swords, anyway?"

"I know that the red mark on your head is the mark of Reaver, and that those cursed swords are why you have those horns. Since your uncle died, your cousin had to have grown horns as well."

"Do you also happen to know who kidnapped my cousin?"

"Muriel the betrayer." He began examining the creature within the ice. "He was once considered a hero in his own right until he killed my father." He tapped the ice and the entire mass turned to dust.

"So, you're on a revenge trip?"

"And you're not?"

"Don't pull that 'we're not so different' crap. You're just lucky I have this mark on my head." I rubbed the space between my horns.

"Whatever the case, I'll be staying in the inn on the north side of town. Feel free to drop by whenever. When you're ready to leave, let me know." He began walking back to town.

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"Sure, whatever..." I followed far behind him.

As soon as I reached the doctor's house where I was staying, I packed a bag with what few belongings I still had and made for the adventurers' guild in the center of town with a few inquiries about 'Muriel the betrayer'. I didn't get any straight answers about his current location, but I learned he had a bounty that originated from Starboard; a country of islands to the west.

With this new information, I headed west, prepared to leave town. As I neared the gate, a familiar figure appeared next to it. Murcury was waiting for me with a bag slung over his shoulder.

"Ready to go?" He smiled.

I walked past him and continued on my way. He followed.

Following the road, we soon found ourselves in the forest. The sun was barely peeking through the treetops, but visibility was unhindered.

"Why are you following me?" I asked, turning around.

"We're heading to Starboard, right?" Murcury nodded. "You can act like you don't need me but as long as that mark is on your head, it won't take much to kill you."

"We'll see about that." I put my fingers to my lips and whistled a soft note. Less than a second later, a pack of dogs jumped from the underbrush, followed closely by a brown bear. "It's playtime!" I gave a sharp whistle, and the dogs began circling Murcury with wagging tails and playful barks while the bear laid itself down between him and me.

I turned and ran into the thicket. It would be too easy to follow me on the road, but I knew these forests like the back of my hand. I made sure to take a route that led to a ravine. It wasn't much size-wise, but it's easy to miss the drop when coming from the forest.

Running at a full sprint, I spotted a line of stones across the ground, a sign that I was close to the ravine. Once I crossed the line of stones, I jumped. At least, I tried. My right foot was anchored to the ground. A chill ran up my leg and I looked down to see ice around my foot.

"Nice trick." Murcury wasn't too far away between the trees.

"Leave me alone." I took out the red sword and slammed it against the ice, but failed to break it.

"You don't seem to understand your situation." He was suddenly much closer than before, less than a step away. "I was sent to keep you alive, not safe." He sternly gripped my chin in his hand. "I could do anything I want to you and as long as you're still alive, I'm doing my job."

"Go to hell." I slapped his hand away and headbutt him as best as I could. My horns are far stronger than bone and make the perfect battering ram. The only problem was: The impact also triggered 'phantom pain'.

He staggered backward, and I almost fell to the ground but stayed standing on account of one of my feet being stuck to the ground.

The look in his eye suddenly changed. He was no longer condescendingly laid back, but I couldn't tell if he was angry, either. He reeled back and planted his fist on my jaw. The force of the impact threw me backward, and I slammed into the ground hard. Despite this, my foot stayed firmly planted in place.

Now my face was sore, my head hurt, and I was pretty sure my ankle broke. He crouched over me and put his hands on my shoulders; pinning me down.

"You don't understand, I'm not playing games here." He slapped my forehead with the back of his hand, and the pain doubled. "I meant everything I've said to you 'till now." I attempted to lift my arm that still held the red sword, and he pinned my wrist with his knee. "And I'll prove it."

It took 'till sun-down for us to return to town, mostly because of my reluctance to tell Murcury how to get back through the forest. He held me over both of his shoulders with my swords secured to his side.

"Oh my gods, what happened?" Dr. Flaherty sported a deathly shocked face as I was brought into her office.

"She had an accident in the woods," said Murcury, "She doesn't realize how vulnerable she is right now." He sat me down gently on the examination table.

"You look like you had a great fall," said the doctor, examining my injuries.

"I fell into the ravine," I said, embarrassed by the shame I've endured.

"Oh, poor thing. You look like you were in a fight." She looked over at Murcury. "Thank you for bringing her here. You can go now. I need to do a thorough examination and company will only make this awkward."

"Sure." He left out the door and it closed behind him.

After confirming his absence, Dr. Flaherty looked me up and down and then said, "What did he do to you?"

"What do you mean?" I tried my best to avoid eye contact, but I couldn't avoid her gaze for long.

"Your face is swollen but not dirty. You didn't hit it falling. That isn't what an ankle looks like when you twist it falling or landing on it." She looked me up and down again. "And don't get me started on your clothes..." Gently, she took my hand in both of hers. "What did he do to you?"

I could only squeeze her hand and weep silently.

She understood instantly and got to work on fixing me up. It turned out my ankle was only severely sprained and not broken, but the redness on my head had gotten worse. When I told her about what the mark was, she went to Murcury and retrieved the purple sword from him. She crafted some sort of clear concoction and poured it onto the sword before gliding it across my scalp. In a few hours, the red had all but disappeared.

"How did you know what to do?" I asked.

"I'm one of only three doctors in this village and those swords have been around too long for me not to have dealt with this before," She answered, "But what I want to know is, how did you get hit so hard, to begin with?"

"It happened when my uncle died... Did my mother have a familiar?"

"Yeah. It was a sort of a cat-like thing with fur that looked like fire. It was the cutest little thing I ever did see."

"Yeah, well... I guess I inherited it and then I tried to kill it but... You know... Then I ended up here."

"Now, what made you try to do that?"

"I couldn't tell you even if I knew..." She saw the lie on my face but didn't question it.

"Whatever the case, if it ever happens again, use this." She handed me a handful of small, individually packaged cubes. "They dissolve in water or you can just wet the sword and rub it on the blade, then touch it to the affected surface and it should clear right up."

"Thank you," I said, attempting to stand.

"Where do you think you're going?" She looked at me, frankly. "Your ankle didn't even start to heal."

"I'm leaving town."

"No, you're not." She reached under the table, pulled out a pair of crutches, and handed them to me. "You're staying here for a couple of days, at least until you heal up properly."

I looked at the door. "I should get going as soon as possible... I don't want to be around that guy any longer than I have to..."

"I was going to suggest that you stay away from him, but it seems like you've got no choice in the matter." She sighed.

"I want to leave without him."

"I can take care of that." She smirked. "Just let me know if anything happens between now and when your ankle heals up. When those bandages come off, I got you covered."

For the next couple of days, I tried my best to distance myself from Murcury, but no matter what I did, he always seemed to be somewhere nearby. Never too close, but in a crowd or a restaurant or down a dark space between buildings. I considered paranoia, but not knowing what he could actually do, I wasn't sure.

When the doctor finally removed the bandages, I was ready to run for the hills as quickly as I could until she reminded me she had a plan. Handing me an orange potion in a vial, she told me to drink it. It was both bright and translucent at the same time.

It tasted like blood mixed with chalk and it made me shiver. The shiver soon became shaking and then more like vibration. It stopped after a few seconds and standing next to me appeared a nude copy of myself. Shocked, I nearly fell over taking a step back, but Dr. Flaherty reassured me that this was what we wanted, then reached into a cabinet to pull out a red and blue-dyed top and matching pants with a belt that looked like crossed swords. She handed them to me, telling me to put them on, and I did. My clothes went on the copy of me that appeared.

Now she handed me another potion vial. It was the same as the orange one, but green and it tasted sweet but not like honey. This time, I got a sinking feeling and when it stopped; I noticed I couldn't see my hands. I was invisible. My new clothes were also gone.

"Now that that's taken care of, we can start," said the doctor.

"Yeah," I said, nodding invisibly.

She snapped her fingers and a blue spark raced around the clone, which blinked twice and began moving. She handed it a wooden sword that looked exactly like the purple sword I still had. It went to the door immediately, and I followed it. Murcury was standing in the waiting room alone, and as soon as it saw him, it rushed forward with the fake sword. He dodged it and landed a solid punch where my gut would be. It stopped moving, and he lifted it onto his shoulder.

He sighed. "Maybe there's no point in punishing you at this point..." He left outside with it.

I followed soon after and sneaked off to the western edge of town. This time, nobody was waiting for me there and I continued on my way.

By the time I came to the edge of the forest, I noticed I could see myself again. I figured it didn't matter if I was visible as I continued down the road until a strange feeling overtook me. My spine tingled, and my knees buckled for a second. Something dangerous was coming from behind, and fast.

Panicked, I leaped into the foliage and somehow managed to land on a tree branch. The height of my jump surprised me until I noticed my new pants were glowing slightly. With that in mind, I took to hopping between trees at increasing speeds.

The feeling lessened for a moment but then became stronger until I heard a voice not too far behind me.

"Leaving without me?" Murcury was catching up.

"Yes. Whether you like it or not." I reached my left hand out and the red sword appeared in my hand in a red glow. Seeing it appear gave me confidence.

Turning around mid-air, I threw the red blade at Murcury and he parried it away with his scimitar. I reached again, and the sword appeared again, but this time it was different.

It was no longer made of wood. The handle was still the same, wrapped in red leather curved for left-handed use, but the blade was now metal with a red hue to it. This was no longer just a red sword, this was Baroness.

I landed on a tree branch and pulled my other sword to learn that Reaver had changed as well.

Murcury was hovering on what looked like a cloud of snow approaching me. "We're already this far out, let's go," he said nonchalantly.

"After what you did?" I said, "Die." I threw Baroness, and he flicked it in another direction again.

"You're dead-set on being defiant, huh?" He opened his palm and what looked like a blue glass shard appeared and flew at me.

I struck at it and my blade became covered in frost. I summoned Baroness again and slid the blades against each other, breaking the ice.

"I'm ready this time." I took a stance. "I'll make you bleed. Of that, I promise."

He fell through the cloud he was standing on and landed on a tree branch. "In that case, when you lose, you won't be able to walk when I'm finished with you. Are you fine with that?" His arrogance rang loud and clear.

I launched myself at him and struck overhead with both blades. He blocked sideways, but my momentum continued to carry my feet into his chest and I kicked him off of the branch he was on.

As soon as he was off his feet, he flipped and kicked off the next tree back at me. I dropped and avoided a wave of cold that followed him as he whizzed by.

When I landed, I noticed the frost on Reaver returned and was now traveling up my arm. "I need fire," I said, smashing the small ice crystals that began forming with the hilt of Baroness.

My mind flashed back to the cat that was supposed to be my familiar "The cat... Cat!" I called out in hopes that it would appear.

The air around my legs suddenly fell in temperature and I jumped before that space was suddenly replaced with a block of ice. Murcury landed on top of it and stood ready.

I couldn't approach him so eagerly again. It would be too easy to get frozen while I was already shivering from the cold.

"I'm sorry I hit you, now come out... Please," I whispered.

In the back of my mind, there was a sound similar to some type of purring and then something that sounded kind of like a meow, but not quite.

Murcury and I were staring each other down for longer than I was comfortable with. I took a deep breath, readying to leap and strike, but nearly choked on the cold air as it rushed in. That was when I realized this was a trap. By now, most of the area was cooled to chilling temperatures, and I just hadn't noticed yet. Whenever I'd make my move, everything would freeze with me inside it.

The sounds in the back of my mind grew clearer. It was almost as if I could see it. As if it was there, but not. As if it was more of a concept than an entity. That's when I understood. It wasn't meowing; it was telling me its name.

I took a deep breath and said, "Meo."

The light of a fire shone from between my horns and cast a devilish shadow on my surroundings as a red and yellow fluff ball hopped off of my head and began prancing around happily. Its warmth melted the frost building up on my arm and cleared the cold surrounding me.

"Meo!" It jumped and curled into a ball before falling to my feet. When it did, it disappeared only to be replaced with fire that traveled up my body, coating me in heat and concentrating around my swords as the flames began leaping off of them. "Thank you for apologizing, meo," said the cat-like voice in my head. "Now I can help you, meo."

I ran and jumped forward, fueled by warmth and determination. Murcury jumped backward as some form of mist suddenly approached from all sides. Fading into it, he disappeared from sight.

I landed on the block of ice, and it melted in seconds. Now on the ground, I was ready for anything. I could hear footsteps circling behind me, but an ominous smell came from my right.

I turned and threw Baroness in that direction, followed by the sound of blades clashing. The flames still leaping from the blade illuminated Murcury, crouched, poised, and ready to strike.

As soon as I saw him, he dashed at me but before he was within range; he vanished in a flurry of snow. When he did, the smell disappeared as well but returned less than a second later. The smell came from above and I summoned Baroness back to my hand and held it upwards.

Immediately, my opponent appeared from another flurry of snow, and his blade collided with mine. This seemed to surprise him as he didn't react when Reaver connected with his shoulder, striking him out of the air and wounding him.

The smell of fresh blood filled the air and the sound of metal on bone made me grit my teeth as the feeling of blade through flesh made me recoil. Despite this, I followed through and he fell to his knee.

The surprise never left his face as I kicked him in the chest, knocking him onto his back. As he landed, I hopped atop him and placed both of my knees on his forearms, effectively pinning him to the ground.

"That hurt?" I yanked the blade out of his shoulder and punched the wound. His face contorted, and he moaned in agony between clenched teeth as blood began gushing out of the wound. "It should." I traced the tips of both swords across his throat. "This won't be fast."

"You're going to torture me before killing me? That's cold." After he spoke, I heard what sounded like scratching on glass coming from multiple directions. They were minute, but they were there.

My response was to stab his other shoulder with Reaver, and the sound stopped. It was likely a spell. "Not after what you did to me."

I took my time exacting vengeance and when I was done; he was unconscious in a shallow puddle of his own blood at my feet. I leaned in one last time to deal with the fatal blow when the cat-like voice returned.

"No need for that, meo," the voice advised.

"Why not?" I asked.

The flames surrounding me re-convened atop my head, and the cat-like creature burst forth to prance on the ground. "He's marked across his entire body, meo. You've done things to him that even I would object to, meo. And since you cut him with both swords so many times, now he's cursed, meo."

"What kind of curse?"

"I don't know. That depends on him, but even if he recovers from it, he's going to live with this for the rest of his life. Isn't that better revenge than killing him, meo?"

I looked at the bloodied mess of a man and back at the cat. "Yes, yes, it is."

Meo nodded before bursting into flame and disappearing. I took a moment to compose myself before heading onward and continuing through the woods toward my destination. Starboard, the country of islands.