The wandering philosopher stopped in his tracks as his year-long search ended in the blink of an eye. There she was, alone in a distant cave on the side of a mountain, the falling sun painting the scenery bright orange. His hand trembled as he pressed it to his chest becoming acutely conscious of his hastened heartbeat. If he wasn't careful, his anxiety would be reflected and his death would be imminent.

With precaution as the priority, he made his way into the cave she sat in step by step. The young woman with black hair turned her head and opened her eyes. Her eyes which were dark yellow. It really was her. Liv from the North-Eastern village of Zyra, inheritor of the King's Eyes. The philosopher didn't flinch, standing calmly with his hands tucked into his black and white robes.

Liv watched him closely, her eyes narrowing as she tilted her head. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice calm and quiet but laced with hostility. "A monk?"

"My name is Inu. I am but a mere wanderer," Inu said with a light bow and offered a calming smile. She didn't take it.

She looked at him, seeming genuinely taken aback. "And you approached me?" Liv frowned as her eyes took on a look of tired indifference. She sighed with a slow shake of her head. "You know what, if you go now and vow not to tell anyone that you saw me, you'll see tomorrow."

The philosopher stayed quiet glancing out of the cave at the surrounding nature and the gentle sunfall while listening to the chirping of night birds.

Liv clicked her tongue and connected her hands, probably expecting an extreme reaction. When none came, she asked, "Are you in shock?"

"Quite unperturbed, actually," Inu replied, looking around the cave. "Can I sit here?"

Liv slowly lowered her hands and leaned her back against the wall, tilting her chin up so that she seemed to be looking down on him. "What are you doing here? You seem awfully calm to be face-to-face with me, so I assume you were looking for me. The question is, are you an idiot or a suicide?"

Inu took a pause, letting Liv stew in her antagonism before taking the conversation elsewhere. "I imagine you've killed quite a lot of people in this past year, so you may not be up for it..." Inu said, sitting down opposite the youth and rubbing his square jaw. "But I just want to talk."

"Sorry," Liv said, stretching the word soullessly. "As you deduced, I'm not much of a talker, and I don't have many scruples either. So if you won't leave then you ought to tell me why shouldn't I kill you?"

"That's..." Inu cleared his throat. Her humor was draining. It was best not to play around so much. But not too serious either. Inu was walking a thin rope and the cynical girl was holding a metaphorical knife. "I have an offer for you."

"An... offer?"

"That's right," Inu said, nodding his head of short gray hair. "My full name, you see, is Inu Aomon."

Liv's eyes grew slightly wider. "I may have heard that somewhere. Are you infamous as well? Is that why you're here?" she asked, tapping the beauty spot on her right cheek with a finger.

"Fortunately not, but my name has gotten far, I suppose." Inu breathed deeply preparing himself for the leap of faith. "Aomon is the name that was given to me by the King of Stratum."

Liv's eyes turned sharp. Seeing them like that, it was easy to understand why they were so feared. "You're with the government? The government that's trying to kill me," she began to seethe.

"Liv, just let—" Inu raised a hand, prompting a hurried response from Liv.

Liv glared at him, her eyes emitting a soft glow. "Put your fucking hands on the ground," she snarled, the voice distorting reality.

At first, Inu felt a compulsion to obey but resisted out of instinct. As a result, his head swam and bile rose in his throat. When he noticed what was happening, he turned to vomit on the ground. When he had spit out the taste of acid he almost put a hand up in apology, but decided to obey her even though her even though the hypnosis had failed.

Liv crossed her arms in displeasure.

"I'm guessing hypnosis isn't your forte," Inu tried to lighten the atmosphere. "I'm guessing you don't use it often. Is it because using it makes you feel like him?" Liv just stared at him with twitching eyes as a response. "What about your spatial and matter manipulation? You're probably profi—" Inu interrupted himself as the situation only grew tenser. He sighed, keeping his hands down. "I am not here to harm you, I promise. I truly wish for a simple conversation about your life." In his eyes the 19-year-old girl was but a child, a smidge more than half his age.

"There are no simple conversations concerning my life," she said.

"I suppose it is so to an extent. But my offer still stands."

"Well, what is it?" Liv asked, losing her patience.

"A future. One that perhaps does not fit your image."

"You work for the government. Why would I ever trust you?"

"I work with them, not for them. I needed their help to track you down. Now, I'd like for you to hear my proposal." Inu said and mirrored Liv's sitting position before picking up a rock. "You're running from the Shadow of Quinheart, right? Do you aim to face him?"

"You could say that," Liv replied before snapping her fingers. Suddenly, the rock in Inu's hand was in Liv's. She glanced at Inu before concentrating on the rock, squeezing it in her first until it exploded into bits. "When the time is right."

"It will never be right, Liv. You will never be ready. Quinheart—or that thing he made himself into—is designed for the sole purpose of eliminating those who bear the King's Eyes."

Liv tilted her chin down, keeping her eyes on Inu. "So you're here to offer me something besides death?" she asked, throwing the bits of rock in her hand onto the ground.

"Yes," Inu said and put his hands on his lap, letting his body relax. "If you give up your eyes, there is a safe place where you could live."

Liv widened her eyes, one more than the other. Then she looked at him with pent-up rage before giving a few sharp exhales. Inu's heartbeat got loud. Then Liv burst into laughter. At first, it was just a girlish laugh of genuine amusement, but gradually it turned into something else entirely. A vexed laughter that seemed almost manic. She couldn't stop, holding her stomach with her eyes squinted closed. Inu looked at the ground and swallowed dryly. When the laughter calmed, he raised his head to find Liv giving him a deathly stare, her upper eyelids making half-circles of her irises.

Inu choked on his next words as he realized all his hopes were so far out of his reach.

"The nation of Stratum is founded on the idea that power corrupts," Liv started speaking as she put her loose forearm on her knee and cocked her head. "Do you want to hear a story, Inu Aomon?" Inu did not respond. He did not move. He sat, his body stiff as iron. "You see, once upon a time there were legendary eyes—these eyes—that passed down through the ages," she said in a mockingly dramatic voice, pointing at her eyes. "Those who possessed them were called heroes and champions. But then... one called himself king. He was a very bad man who did very bad things, so a mighty sorcerer transfigured himself into something powerful enough to defeat him. When he did the formerly terrorized people rejoiced. The monarchy was dissolved and this nation of ours flourished as the most prosperous in the whole wide world." Liv put her hands to her cheeks in a dramatic gesture to build tension for the next part.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

She was intelligent. Inu had figured as much. Otherwise she wouldn't have survived for so long. What he hadn't expected from her was knowledge of history and less so a mockery of it.

Inu frowned as Liv continued her story with the erratic mannerisms of an insane person. "But when the King's Eyes were inherited once more, the problem came back. What if the child becomes the next tyrant, the people of Stratum wondered. It was a frightening matter." She smiled softly and slowed down. "Fortunately, there was never a need to worry. For the sorcerer, Quinheart was immortal and he bravely hunted that child until he caught him and ate him." Liv leaned in. "Do you know what happened then?" She threw her arms up in the air. "The people rejoiced! Though the sorcerer was nothing but a mindless monster that sought out the imprint of the eyes and destroyed everything in its way, it was a hero." Liv touched her chest. "Ah, what a touching story. Oh, and Stratum returned to being a monarchy at some point, forgetting why they had gotten rid of the system in the first place. Isn't that nice?"

Inu parted his lips but was lost for words. He felt trying to convince her further would only backfire.

Liv tapped her cheek her lips drawing a line. "Hmm, where were we? Ah, you were trying to convince me that I should gouge my eyes out. All so I could get a modicum of the peace that normal people do. You know, I would ask my parents for their opinion on the matter, but they're kind of dead. Murdered by that fucking abomination." She put a hand to her forehead and raised the hand in sarcastic realization. There was no emotion in her voice any longer, though. "Ah, right. Quinheart is actually a righteous man. He just eats children and annihilates towns out of necessity once in a while. And the citizens of Stratum don't know any better. So I should just let it go. Give up my eyesight and become a helpless husk for you to save. Thank you, truly." She ended it and just stared at Inu soundlessly.

Inu looked down before gathering himself and raising his head. "You know that you'll be forced to run for your entire life if you don't."

Liv snorted lightly with amusement. "The Shadow of Quinheart only senses me when I use the Empt. My other abilities he can only recognize if he's already nearby. I'm not running. I'm moving."

"But as long as you have the King's Eyes, you will never have a place to call home. You will never be able to live without looking over your shoulder. You will never be rid of enemies."

"At least I will be able to see those who oppose me burn."

"But is that a life worth living?"

"Is any possible life of mine?"

Inu sighed. "Look, my offer... I know it doesn't sound ideal. But let me tell you something about me," Inu said and straightened his posture, dusting off his robes. "When I was born, my father walked out and never came back. I wondered if it was because I wasn't good enough to make him proud. That made me cultivate strength. Later, my mother abandoned me as well. I wondered if I was too mature for her to see me as a child who needed caring. I went through ups and downs, taking turns blaming my father, my mother, and myself for how life had treated me. But eventually, those experiences made me reach at a young age something that many never do. All that suffering gave me the possibility to reconcile my nature. However, when I was a young adult," he said and gestured to Liv, "about your age, I was stabbed and beaten half to death." He leaned back and shook his head lightly. "For ages, I couldn't figure out why. Why me? Why was I forced to bear such suffering when others got to enjoy the beauty of the world and all the love in it? My life has been a series of events that would have been more than enough to lead one to ruin. But I saw another way the story could end, and I sacrificed for it. That is why, after being unfairly made to face my end, I didn't cower or give up. I became comfortable with the idea of death, allowing me to truly live."

It was quiet for a long time. Then Liv posed a question with simply one word, "So?" Her hands were trembling dangerously. Inu's words had made her furious instead of hopeful. It was a risk he had decided to take.

But even as he felt his life hanging from a thread, he continued. "My point is that life does unfair things to you, and it will never stop. You have to learn to adapt and take away the valuable lessons your experiences have to offer."

Liv opened her eyes wider as if shocked by the stupidity she heard. "And what about the ones who just die?" she asked under her breath. "What do those people have to gain from the experience?" Inu opened her mouth, but Liv didn't let him answer. "When I was born and my eyes were seen, the people of Zyra voted on my fate. Seeing as my eyes hadn't activated like they were supposed to, I was spared. 18 years later, they activated. The ones who voted for me to live are all dead now because of me. What's their lesson? Are they learning it now as flowers grown from their remains?"

"Liv, please—"

She scoffed. "You know, I just hate fortunate people like you who act like there is fairness in the unfairness of the world. It's nauseating how you believe that and preach it like you're enlightened. All the while you're just one experience from breaking yourself."

"You'll keep pursuing revenge then?"

In response, Liv stared at him with iron-clad determination.

Inu shook his head, seeing how regretfully the conversation had gone. "I understand that you're angry, but the Shadow—"

Liv's eye twitched and her voice exploded sending echoes throughout the cave. "You think I'm angry at that mindless beast because it wants to destroy everything related to me? No, I'm angry at this nation where people think of me as a monster just for being born." Liv put her hands forward and made that infamous vertical rectangle before responding, "I think it's time for people to see the real monster."

"Wait. Don't! The Hex—" Inu yelled as he jumped up to his feet and rushed forward.

Too late. His body stopped. Liv had completed it.

Suddenly, there was a quick vacuum sound as every single sensation in the area drowned out. Then her dark yellow eye snapped unnaturally into a vertical position and darkness spread.

Inu was left alone to exist in that space. It was called the Empt. The domain of the King's Eyes worked by merging the material world and the Realm.

'She's going to bring the Shadow in front of the people to wreak havoc,' Inu processed Liv's words slowly. Then he remembered her movement patterns. 'She's going for the capital!"

It didn't seem to last long, but when he was suddenly in the real world again, the sun had risen and Liv was gone. The sun blinded him even as he stood in the cover of the... The cave was no more.

He looked around only to notice the entire mountain had been obliterated, leaving only a flat surface.

Inu's only hope was that the Shadow had left already. His neck seemed to creak as he turned to see. Carefully, he made no sound.

It was useless.

His mind went empty and his eyes shook as they landed on that thing. Far away, there stood a monstrous creature shrouded in an inherent darkness that was swirled around by something akin to black mist. It turned its head from side to side, fortunately facing away from Inu who was frozen in place. Then, with a focus on slow movements, Inu began to turn back.

The creature disappeared.

When he looked back, it was there. The Shadow of Quinheart was there. It stood right in front of him, waiting. Inu felt his body grow numb. He couldn't breathe. His jaw began to shake as shivers ran down his spine to his trembling fingers and toes. It felt like being suffocated. Not by fear of death as much as sheer reverence of something so god-like in nature.

It had many names: Killer of Tyrants, Ender of Red, Eater of Eyes. But it was just one thing. The Shadow of Quinheart. The monster a grieving, vengeful man turned himself into as his last resort.

The Shadow had no eyes, and its face and body shifted freely thanks to its non-physical structure. It neared its featureless face at Inu as he calmed his breath. Then it opened its human-like mouth and made a screeching noise that made Inu's ears bleed. Nevertheless, Inu stayed still.

Then he reached out a hand, whispering the name it likely hadn't been called in ages, "Quinheart."

In response, the creature shook its head like an animal before rushing into Inu. For a second, Inu thought he had died. But his Intra had activated and his body moved by itself, avoiding the attack. After a brief moment, the Shadow seemed to hit something in the distance and exploded with a thundering sound that shook Inu's eardrums.

Inu trembled at the shockwave, imagining what it would have done with his body. He looked back with still eyes at the terrible sight of destroyed nature and clouds of dust. In the midst of it, the Shadow went into a frenzy before giving off a primal roar and disappearing from sight.

Such destruction among the masses to what end? Revenge? To prove a point? Inu could not let it happen. He would prevent the disasters of the past from repeating and guard the lives of the people at any cost. To him. To her. To anyone.