It’s the fifth night of the week.

I’ve waited patiently for this day.

Now it’s here.

Time to confront the terror of the town.

I’ve waited in bed, excitement coursing through me for hours now. Is it excitement? Maybe I’m just nervous. It’s hard to distinguish between the two sometimes. I’ll go with excitement.

Catching this killer means earning the modicum amount of freedom I had before. Once I get that back, all I have to do is go through with my wedding, then Gai and I are free to do whatever we want. We’ll have to air out those specifics later, but that conclusion is close to definite at this point barring some unforeseen circumstances. I’ve worked hard to get to where I am, even if it is a pitiful position. I don’t plan on losing now, Astria’s hypotheticals be damned. Maybe that’s the answer she was looking for at the time. Who knows?

This will be business as usual. Gai won’t be with me, but I’m to a point of competency where I’m at least confident in my abilities to put up a fight. It’s not like the killer is exuding signs of combative greatness. He’s taking innocent, weak women. I relish the opportunity to knock him down a peg.

Looking over to my right, I stare at Gai. He snores softly. He faces me, his mouth open. He doesn’t wear a shirt, only a simple pair of shorts. One of our two pillows is tucked in his arms. He holds it to his head like a stuffed animal. I’d strategically placed the pillow so that he’d grab it instead of me during his sleep. Seems that worked out well.

I wave a hand in front of his face.

Nothing.

Gai’s been in that same position, making those same noises, for a few minutes now. I can officially say he’s fast asleep with not a worry in the world.

It helps that I put him at ease by pretending to be pitiful and allowing him to pet me again. This time I was able to fake sleeping without actually doing so. After some time, Gai stopped and went to sleep himself.

Now is my opportunity to flee.

Quietly, I slide out of bed. Reaching under it, there lies a box containing my usual clothes for patrolling the night.

Mounted on the wall on their mounts are my two swords. I grab them and bundle them with my attire. I strip off my bedclothes, toss them to the floor, then dress quietly while watching Gai the entire time. He doesn’t stir, thankfully.

“Ready?” I ask myself. I check my gear. Clothes secure. Swords ready. “I’m good.”

I move over to the window of my room, place my back on it, and look at Gai. “He’s going to bitch at me when I get back,” I acknowledge. “Sorry.”

A guard still watches over my window. He snores from the balcony, so it’s not an issue.

With that, I fall out my window much like a diver from a boat.

The sky soars around me.

I catch the balcony with a dark tendril protruding from my hand. It seizes my momentum like a rope and swings me from harm towards the gate. At the high point of the motion, I release the tendril. My velocity shoots me well past the wall into the forest.

For a moment, I’m suspended in the air like I’m flying.

I take in the world around me as time seems to slow for a bit. The trees covering the forests. The torches lightly illuminating the castle walls. Soldiers dotting the interior and exterior at well-lit, common points of access.

Then I begin to fall again as gravity resumes its oppressive hold on me. Wind soars past my ears as the dark ground grows ever closer.

Time to try something I am relatively sure will work.

My light cloak comes on as I fall.

I brace for the ground.

Impact.

I feel some resistance, but my body holds up perfectly. I roll with the motion, unable to keep myself upright, but that’s the worst that happens to me.

“I figured. If it can stop a sword, it can stop a minor fall. I do not want to try that from someplace really high, though. I’m not that dumb,” I mutter to myself as I begin jogging in the direction of Water’s Bastion.

*

Sticking to the woods, I was able to arrive at Water’s Bastion in record time. It helps that Gai and I already had a discrete path going before our vigilante nights were cut short.

In the middle of town, from the building I now stand upon, the area’s brighter than usual. Torches and lamps are being used more frequently in places they normally wouldn’t reside. I can see troops move about like tiny dots in the distance. They’re weaving more heavily into the middle ring outside the central district. It’s not to say there are no guards out in the outer ring, but it shows that Remi, Captain Van Gallan, and Master Talbert all believe focusing on the central district will prevent the next crime.

“How could they not see that they’re missing something?” I assess openly though no one is present to hear my ramblings. “When something is amiss, and you’ve done all you can, do the thing you haven’t thought of yet.” I pause. “Now that I say that out loud, that’s kind of difficult. Maybe I’m oversimplifying things. Did I only figure out where and what the killer was doing because I had fresh eyes on the issue when everyone else didn’t?” The edges of my lips curl down into a frown. “Kind of like how it’s hard to edit your own writings, but someone new can always spot the mistakes you missed.”

Not that any of those revelations are going to stop me at this point.

Looking around, I observe my immediate surroundings. Nobody is really out at this time of night. I don’t find that surprising. What is it? Two in the morning? Around that time, yes. This would be the range in which the killer will send bodies up the canal, especially if he wants them to be found in the early morning.

I clap my hands together as if in prayer. “Let’s get started then. South it is.”

My shape distorts into the night.

*

“Hey, you bumped me, asshole!” a voice chatters beneath me.

I look down, casting my gaze at a developing situation.

“No, I didn’t, cur,” spits a confrontational second voice.

Ah, conflict. How sweet it is.

My patrol has lasted for around an hour now, give or take. I’ve caught idle conversations, seen people stumbling home drunk, and even glanced at a couple getting very physical through their open window, but nothing beyond the norm. Like, for example, a psycho cutting off a woman’s head. I’d have noticed that by now, I feel.

There’s been nothing in the southern part of the city so far. I’ve been in the marsh, the outer ring, the edge of the middle ring. Nothing. Nothing at all. Nada. Zilch. A bunch of bullshit nothing.

I’ve got three or four hours until sunrise. A little less now.

My luck in life is absolute shit.

This current occurrence has been the most exciting thing to alert me thus far.

“Yes—” The first man jabs a finger into the second, closing the distance between them. “—you did. Apologize, or I’ll gut you.”

The second man recoils backward a step.

Well, this is going way too far for a misstep on the street.

Using my dark gifts, I allow a tendril to snake down the side of the building. It crawls along the structure to the ground unnoticed until it ties itself around the first man’s leg.

I yank it back quickly as it pulls the unsuspecting man into the darkness behind him.

“Aiyaaaaaaaaa!” he screams before disappearing into the black. I sling him into a pile of trash, obscuring his movements. He thrashes about, screaming the whole time, trying to get free.

The second man flees immediately upon seeing that, terror in his eyes.

I resist the urge to laugh.

My abilities have improved substantially since my first time as a vigilante. Instead of mere practice, I’ve been able to test my gifts out on tangible targets that fought back with the intent to wound, kill, or assault me.

And sadly, the “assault” intention has been a frequent, reoccurring threat. I cannot count how many iterations of “Kill the man and rape the woman” I’ve heard since starting my journey of violent self-expression. Dozens. It’s predictable at this point. I kind of want to blame the slutty outfit that Gai got me, but it’s sadly more realistic to think that if a man is willing to kill another human being, what’s the harm in committing rape at that point?

Frankly, it annoys me that everyone we’ve fought goes hard against Gai right at the get-go and I have to fuck up at least one or two people before they take me seriously. The sexism is terrible, but what should I expect from human scum?

Tangent aside, it has all honed both my light and dark gifts into finely tuned weapons. Master Talbert has further refined my techniques in our lessons. I’m probably one of the strongest people in the region now.

As I’ve accepted at this point, my dark gifts are my favorite. I tend to lean on them. If I had to give up one of my Dyad abilities, it’d be my light gifts, hands down.

My dark gifts are now too necessary for my combat style. My tendrils make me nimble. I can use them to crawl on things, swing to something, move three-dimensionally, pull stuff to me, and carry heavy items without using my arms. I’ve also started branching out into different forms like claws and hands to make myself agiler. It takes effort, but the versatility is just too amazing.

The only thing I have going for me with my light gifts is the cloak. Yes, it’s incredible. I can block swords with it on, though that’s a new discovery. It makes me faster, stronger, and more agile overall. I’m not saying it isn’t practical, but it’s the only helpful ability within my light gifts.

In the grand scheme of things, Dyads are the rarest given that I’m the only one. They might be rarer than Voiced, but I’d rather be a Voiced, as would most people, so that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the “best.” Next would be an Admix, though they aren’t that rare to me since I know three of them. I think the odds of becoming one is one-in-one-hundred, maybe higher? Can’t remember. Healers are technically Admix, but they’re the most common form of it. Some argue they’re an Admix ability while others do not. The ability is a one-in-fifty I believe? Maybe lower.

The statistics in this world are likely inaccurate, just estimations and guesses based on what people have “seen.”

After that, everyone is a Typical. Light users are the rarest, then dark users. From there, it’s a toss-up. At the castle, I think there are mostly water users, but that doesn’t represent the larger population of Divine Treat eaters. And if everyone in the world could have one, I’m sure the perspectives on gift development would change drastically, but that’s a hunch on my part.

The only other light user I ever met was Christopher. My biggest regret is that I didn’t make him train me a bit or offer me tips while he was here. The only tidbits I got from him were on our date. He’d mentioned something about it being a sign of a “powerful leader” since it created such a significant gap between those with and without the ability. I’m already fully aware of that. That’s why it scares me. Christopher did mention he could flow it into objects but never had the time to show me how. To this day, I’m annoyed by that.

As for the destructive beam bullshit, I can easily create, I’ve gotten to the point where I can open locked doors with that. And by opening them, I mean obliterating them. That’s an upgrade! Now I can do so without hurting anyone inside. If I’d tried before, my light gifts would blow a hole through the door and the walls behind it.

Since I’m not a killer, and I don’t plan to be one, my light gifts are useless in battle beyond granting me a light cloak and clearing debris. Dark gifts offer more control.

“Domestic disturbance solved,” I rattle off as I check on the first man still struggling to get out of the trash. “Nothing of note here beyond that,” I complain. A dark tendril shoots out and pulls me to another building. “Time to complete another lap, I suppose.”

Another half an hour goes by.

Nothing.

I’ve been zipping around from rooftop to rooftop looking for some sign that I’m right about the killer operating in the southern part of the city. A body floating in the canal. Someone lugging a corpse just outside the city. Anything.

Still nothing.

“What the hell?” I stop on the roof of a building roughly intersecting between Water’s Bastion’s middle and outer rings. “Did I get this wrong?” I sit down. My feet hang over the edge of the three-story building. “I’ll admit my search area was extremely vague. Without any definitive point, the southern part of the city was all I had to run on. It could be outside or inside as long as there’s low visibility and access to a canal. Did I miss something? There are no bodies in the areas where I thought they might appear. I’ve only seen a few suspicious people moving about but none of them were lugging corpses or killing.”

Did I make the wrong assumptions?

It would make sense if I did now that the excitement and frustration are gone. I’ve had an annoyingly long amount of time to reflect on my…brashness.

Remi and her team haven’t found anything yet. Maybe they had good reason to only search the central part of the city but didn’t note it. It could have been an oral decision derived from a meeting I wasn’t privy to. It seems plausible, especially if they expected the killer to be a part of the castle’s workers.

Dammit, if I start considering that, then there could be a lot of information I’m missing out on. Then coming out tonight was entirely pointless.

Gaaah! I hope that’s not true!

I thrash my feet childishly against the building.

“Honey! Did you hear that?” hums a feminine voice below me.

“Probably nothing. Go back to sleep,” replies a tired, masculine tone rather curtly.

“Go check.”

“Check where?”

“The roof!”

“The roof?! What did you hear on the roof?”

I connect two tendrils to opposing buildings and slingshot myself into the open sky. My body twirls in mid-air as my hands fan out. Twisting and twirling, I become one with the sky and an opponent of gravity.

After a moment of soaring about and scanning the area, my feet lightly land on the street. I walk normally on the ground for a moment. My eyes glaze over as I delve into my thoughts.

“Maybe I need a more grounded view for a bit,” I decide. “There are several alleys and tight corners in this part of town. I may be missing something. The air also obstructs my hearing, so walking shouldn’t hurt,” I mutter to myself to break up the quiet. “A measured approach doesn’t hurt. Even if I find the body after the fact floating somewhere, I’ll be able to pinpoint the location. Then again, the killer could be killing in the city, so—”

Gah! Why do I keep second-guessing myself?!

With nothing better to do and failure on my mind, I spend time in the streets strolling along the darkened cobblestone paths close to any of the channels woven within Water’s Bastion.

Again, to no avail.

“You’re a failure, Scarlet. A failure,” I begrudge my actions. “What did you do wrong?”

Out of my peripherals, I watch as a hand reaches out to touch my ass. “Hey baby, where are you—”

Immediately, I turn around and kick at the noise.

My foot connects. I briefly catch two drunken men behind me.

The side of my foot links with the first man’s upper chest. He surges left at the force, as I had my light cloak on. His body’s momentum collides with the second man, and they’re both sent flying a good distance away.

“This outfit’s too sexy.” I look at my rear in the tight, slitted dress that seemingly flaunts my ass. “It’s not even that nice, so what’s the point?” I say as I ridicule my butt. “I need something baggier. Less showy. Thanks, Gai.”

Desperation and anxiety fill me as the night moves along. I keep switching from the streets to the rooftop and back to the streets to keep my perspective refreshed and varied.

Nothing.

I zip around the south again just outside the city through dark areas and around shadowed, solemn patches of land where not a flicker of light emits.

Nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

Unsatisfied and dejected, I return to walking the streets.

“Yeah, I messed up,” I realize, kneeling and hugging my legs. “Ah, crap. What a waste.”

Should I call it? There’s nothing to show for my efforts. It’ll be dawn soon. I’ve gone everywhere south I can think of where there’s a canal, where a canal might connect, or a body could be dumped.

Shit, not having a “time” other than night has led to some real bullshit. I know it’s probably, maybe South. That’s assuming I have all the right evidence. And I know it’s night. That’s about it.

Why the hell did I even come out here with basically a bunch of nothing?! Moron!

Dammit, I have to be wrong. There’s no other way to put it. I’d better just accept it.

Son of a bitch…

What a damned waste.

I am better than this! Am I so desperate to prove myself that I’m willing to be such an inefficient dumbass?! Fuck! I could have waited, spent more time looking for info, or even gotten better information out of my friends with some sly questions. But no! After one day of research, I thought knew better than an entire investigation team of professionals, and all because I assumed I knew more since I’m from a highly advanced world! Ha! Idiot!

Gaaaah! Annoying…

Calm down, Scarlet. Caaaaalm! It’ll be okay! Reassess. Refocus. Revitalize!

Knowing my faults now is good. I still have a chance to salvage things. Any potential ramifications from sneaking out can still be salvaged. If I head back right now, I can return to my bed with no one the wiser. I didn’t stop any serious crimes, so rumors of the vigilante won’t go around. The few I did stop were handled in more discrete, chaotic ways that’ll sprout rumors of Synborn rather than a cute, violent girl.

Yes! I haven’t failed! This is just another chance to re-evaluate and move forward once I know more! To think through what I must and can do next! It will be easy! Hell, I can start tomorrow!

“Still doesn’t mean this night wasn’t a total waste of time,” I mutter.

A pained groan leaves me.

Hanging my head, I decide to move back to Castle Grey. My depressed feet carry me as I walk through the city. I’m too stunted to swing around at the moment.

Squelsh…squish…squash…

The noise alerts me.

It sounds like…a bunch of mouths?

No.

Wet noodles? Moist meat being kneaded by hand?

My gaze peters about briefly until it finds the source of the sound.

Oh…

My jaw clenches as my brain struggles to comprehend what my eyes are seeing.

A man stabs downward at a body in a repetitive motion. His eyes are wide. Bloodshot. Disgusting.

Ah.

That’s the man who attacked that woman during my first outing with Gai.

The first person I saved.

My feet soften until I’m right behind the man and his crime. He does not notice me, not even when I peer over his shoulder. He continues to stab down as blood stains his shirt, the only article of clothing covering his body.

Ah.

It is that same woman.

Stolen novel; please report.

Ah.

He killed her.

Ah.

He used her.

Ah.

That’s…

I fall to my knees beside the man as he continues to stab into the dead woman’s naked body. The strikes purposefully avoid her face while her torso is shredded into meat.

I feel eyes on me as I gaze in horror.

My neck slowly keens to my right.

The man stares at me, unblinking. His face is blank, absent of remorse, guilt, fear, or recognition. He doesn’t even turn his blade to me. It keeps stabbing downward robotically.

“Stop it,” I say to him in a weak voice.

This man isn’t even the killer I was looking for.

I…I failed that woman…

She was someone I’d already saved, whose fate I’d thought I’d altered. I prevented this from happening before!

But…here it did…happen…

“Heh.” I laugh weakly. “Useless.”

The man keeps stabbing.

“Stop it. I’m trying to think. Let me think.”

He persists while staring at the side of my head.

My light cloak covers my body. I lash out a fist.

It connects under the man’s jaw.

The force flings him back into the wall behind him. I hear bricks crumble on impact.

“I said to stop,” I whisper.

I look over the girl. The blade is still in her. I pull it out and fling it to the side, staring at the poor girl’s face. Horror etches her vacant features.

Anger billows within me.

The shock has subsided.

Reality sets in.

“This is my fault. I get it now.” I stand and turn to the injured monster moaning on the ground. “If I’d let Gai kill you, none of this would have happened. No. I’m needlessly shifting the blame. If I’d done it, she’d still be alive.”

I close the distance between the man and me then pull his body off the ground by his hair. He groans through a broken jaw as he eyes me blankly. He still hasn’t registered what is happening.

“How are you not in a cell wasting away? Did you get free? Were you released? Did you escape the guards last time, go into hiding, and wait for this moment? Huh?” My face inches closer and closer with each question. “Huh? Huh? Huuuuh?” My expression hardens, emotionless. Dark. “Not that it matters, does it? You still did what you did.”

The man doesn’t respond. If he weren’t breathing, nor his eyes moving, I might think he’s dead.

He’d be better off that way.

My free hand latches around the man’s throat. My hand glows brightly.

“All I have to do is let this energy go,” I tell myself. “No more neck. I’ll be holding his head in my hand as I watch the life drain from his eyes.”

The power picks up between my fingers.

I clench my teeth.

“Do it,” I order myself.

My breath catches.

The tips of my fingers tremble.

Bile builds in my throat.

I scrunch my face, dropping the man flat on the ground. His nose cracks against the cobblestone.

My energy recedes.

“Shit,” I curse myself. “I can’t. Dammit!”

Gai would be able to kill this piece of shit. If he’d done so prior, the girl would still be alive. If the guards had done their jobs, this man would still be in prison. I don’t even know if it’s their fault. Something else may have happened. There are so many ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ I could rattle through, but that doesn’t change the conclusion.

Because this man lived, the woman died.

Was it some sort of horrid destiny she was always meant to meet?

No, no, no, no, no…

Because this man lived, the woman died.

That’s all it is.

Simple. Brutal. Painful.

A failure.

I stare at the man as he wriggles on the ground like a hurt toddler. He weeps into his bloody shirt while his naked body struggles around in pooling blood and gore seeping from the nearby corpse.

It’s a sickening sight.

I grimace.

“I don’t have to kill you,” I tell him and myself. My light cloak powers up again. I grab his hand and place my knee against his elbow. “There are better ways to prevent others from suffering while you still live.”

Snap!

The man howls in pain like an animal.

I do the same to his other arm.

Snap!

His left leg at the kneecap.

Snap!

The right.

Snap!

I systematically dislocate both his arms and legs afterward as I revel in his suffering.

The man cries on the ground. His limbs flop like fish as his body moves back and forth.

“Why are you crying? It isn’t over yet. You can do that when it’s over. Relax.” My voice doesn’t even feel like my own as I speak.

I place my foot on the man’s right shoulder where the arm sockets into the bone.

Crunch!

I step down, shattering the bones into splinters.

Crunch!

The other shoulder.

Crunch!

The right-side hip.

Crunch!

The left.

Foam rolls out the corners of the man’s mouth. Piss pools on the ground around him. His eyes roll into his head making him seem ghostly with his now pale, sweaty skin and bloody clothing. He doesn’t move. He doesn’t speak. Even still, his chest moves up and down rhythmically but pained.

I stare blankly at the scene.

My face feels cold…

Voices sound around me. They started during the first scream. Now they’re in full force. The sound of moving metal declares guards are coming my way.

Everything seems to blur as I race away from the scene.

*

My legs dangle over the top of a windmill. Its blades slowly rotate before my face. I stare out at a stream jutting across an open field just outside the city. It is a natural one that flows into Water’s Bastion.

This is one of my favorite places in the city to just…look around. The trees in the distance are accented by the curvature of Hopeful Lake. The city is to the right, but it doesn’t appear as intrusive. The land is just that, land. It’s untapped by others. Buildings are starting to encroach. It’ll develop one day with new farms or houses, but for now, it’s a field with a peaceful river cutting through it leading into the forest. Wildlife still congregates here. It’s a slice of nature allowed to simply exist where it one day will not.

Dawn will be here soon.

“Everything was going so well before. I was helping people, wasn’t I? Why can’t I catch a fucking break with anything I do?” My emotions are throttled well past annoyance or anger. All I feel is exhausted. Defeated. Numb.

What’s done is done.

What’s another nightmare in the grand scheme of things?

Not only did I not find the serial killer, I learned that my non-lethal form of protectionism has failed at least one person. And if it’s failed one person, it’s probably failed many more than that.

A lot of cops expressed this same feeling to me back when I was on Earth. I was a public defender, so I was close with members of the NYPD. All of them had horror stories about someone they’d caught repeatedly finally killing someone because the justice system kept letting them out when they were clearly dangerous.

Then what? Should lethal force be exercised more liberally? Should a cop, should a guard, should anyone, should I, be able to take a life if a crime is bad enough? If their crimes are frequent? Even if it could save someone’s life in the future, not immediately?

My first thought is yes.

What would that make me then? Should I be the judge, jury, and executioner? Would that make things better for people, or does it put too much power in my hands? Or does that make me a villain justifying death for my own values?

Killing is bad. Society thinks so. I think so. It’s such an obvious rule children know it. But what if someone killed someone I loved? A friend? A lover? Is killing okay then? What if the killer did something brutal like prey on women? Desecrated their corpses? Is it justice for me to kill them or does that destroy the very essence of justice by circumventing society’s ability to seek retribution on the individual?

“Or am I overthinking things?” I mutter.

I think I made the best decision I could under the circumstances.

That man will never be able to move again.

Not just walk.

Not just write.

Move.

That part of his life is past him.

He isn’t dead.

Even if the guards release him, even if he’s sent back into the world, he’ll be crippled. Unless our healer is called for him. I doubt that will happen, but there’s always the possibility, sadly. It’s exceedingly low, but it exists.

Dammit.

I’ve learned nothing.

“Maybe I should have killed him…” My voice trails off. I stare forward blankly in thought. “Is it heroic to kill? Is saving a life worth ending another? Does that make me the hero or another villain?” I shake my head. “If it were an easy answer, humans wouldn’t have been debating the topic even in my time.”

I linger on the roof for a while longer before shaking off my emotions. My body is cold even on this warm night and feels weak. It’s time to go home. I still have time before people awake. There’s no point destroying the rest of my freedom over this failure of a night.

No. It wasn’t a complete failure. I learned a valuable lesson.

I stand, my eyes casting a look over the field one more time.

My nose crinkles.

“The hell is that?”

An odd shape floats in the water. It drifts along the edge of the river as it nears the entrance to a channel within Water’s Bastion.

My eye twitches.

I leap off the windmill, my light cloak activated, and sprint across the ground as soon as I land on my feet.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!

I cannot be this unlucky!

I’ve been here this whole time! I would have seen something.

I could be wrong. I could be wrong. Hopefully, I’m wrong, or I’ll never forgive myself.

My feet slide in the dirt as I halt at the edge of the embankment. I look out at the object now only mere feet ahead of me.

I can feel my face freeze.

“…ah…”

A body floats atop a handmade raft. The body, that of a woman, is lined with fresh cuts. Blood still oozes from many of them. The body’s head sits in the middle of its own chest. The eyes were plucked out, and the hands were pinned over the ears. No sight. No sound. Sheltered from the world. And, notably, her hair is an unnatural shade of red.

“Who could do this to another person?” I whisper in horror as I hold back bile.

Person.

A person did this to a person.

Find that person, Scarlet.

Where is that person?

Those thoughts bludgeon my head as I return to reality. I look around rapidly at the field.

The body just entered the water. The killer needed to float it from here to get it into the channel connecting to the city. This happened recently. He’d probably need to watch it to ensure it goes where it needs to go.

“He’s nearby.”

But where?

Hm?

My eyes catch sight of someone as a tingling sensation rises in my back.

A figure seemingly shrouded in darkness stares at me. He’s further along the edge of the river, more on the meadow side. He is dressed in all dark clothing. A full black coat hugs his frame and distorts the size of his body. A single sword scabbard sits at his hip.

Upon his face is a mask. A hood is drawn up to hide his head that, while black, stands in contrast to the mask. It’s a sickly white object with two large holes where the eyes are and a mouth carved upward like a smile. Black paint smears around the edges of the eyes and mouth.

My heartbeat quickens in my chest. My breathing staggers as mild panic sets in.

I can feel it from here, the aura of death exuding from his body. He’s not just a killer. He’s a fighter. I can see it in his stance. He can use a sword. No doubt about it. He’d have to be a guard or someone of that caliber.

This is not going to be as easy as I thought it would.

Shit, okay, okay, okay. Caaaaalm down. Calm down, Scarlet.

There’s an unnerving amount of tension swirling within my body.

My fingers pry back my hood so I can take in air. It was suffocating me. My identity doesn’t matter right now. It’s not like he’ll let me get away, nor I him for that matter.

“Who are you?!” I shout.

I grasp at my two swords. They relax me as I pull them free, letting the ting of their steel ring in the air.

The killer cocks his head to the side as if interested in my motion. “No one you’d know. But I know you. Very well.”

His dark, murky voice rings out, but the mask muffles it too well for me to notice any distinguishing tones or tics. Even the pitch is off. He could be young or old. He’s definitely male, but that is all I can tell, and clearly by design.

I bite my lip.

The killer pulls out his sword.

We’re still many, many feet apart. I must have passed him as I was running here and didn’t notice. He saw me. He watched me the whole time. He could have struck at me when my back was turned, but he didn’t.

That means he thinks he can take me in a fight.

The tension in my body strengthens further.

Who will make the first move?

Should I?

Will he?

Can I fight like this? Restricted? He’ll kill me, but I won’t kill him. I can’t. Remi was right; this unwarranted compassion is a liability. I might hesitate. I might change the way I fight. I might—

The killer begins walking towards me. Slowly. Methodically. His sword points off to the side as it glides beside him like a hand riding over a field of wheat.

Sweat dampens my brow. The only thing I can hear is the blood in my ear drumming along with my heartbeat, clouding both my vision and my judgment.

Oh.

I’m afraid.

Terrified.

How could I not be?

If he beats me, what will he do to me?

I know the answer.

Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit!

If there were ever a person I should kill…

I close my eyes. Taking a breath, I force a sense of calm throughout my body. Rustling wind moves the grass about us as the man moves ever closer to me. His bloodlust is sickening. It sticks to my skin like splattered gore.

Do it.

Fight.

Here you go, Scarlet.

Have at it, Felix.

Whoever you are, do something.

Here’s your chance.

The personification of evil stands before you.

Vanquish it.

Make a difference for once.

Fight. It’s what you like to do. There’s no better feeling.

Save yourself.

Save those who have yet to die.

Or will you let another person be killed?

My eyes narrow.

The killer senses the change in me. His blade sets in a defensive stance.

My light cloak blankets my body. I jab my feet into the earth, readying my stance. The ground cracks under me. I can feel the air tingle with light energy.

Go.

The gap between us is closed in seconds.

My blades aim toward the man’s throat.

His sword won’t make it in time to block.

It’s trying.

It won’t make it.

The tip of my blade will enter the base of his throat, ending his life.

He’ll die.

He’ll die!

He’ll…die…

Surging to the right, I falter at the last second. My form slips as I roll away, leaving the killer undamaged. I’m able to get to my feet, but my breath is ragged. I eye the man. Curiously, he watches me back. His body slackens as if he’s disappointed.

“I should have cut off his legs instead,” I realize. That fact seems to calm me. “Our healer can put limbs back on.” I point my sword at the man as I finalize my resolve. “All I need to do is cripple you.”

The man flips his blade about in his hand when I finish. “Stupid.”

“No, no, no! Not stupid! It’s the harder, correct choice. People need to see your face. You need to feel shame, torture, then a drawn-out execution in front of the whole town!” I cast out my arms maniacally. “Why should I sully my hands with your pathetic life? I’d rather cripple you. Make you a breathing, meaty stump I can lug back to the castle with pride. How does that sound?” I smile, cocking my head to the side. “Then Talbert, Van Gallan, and my father can set up a beautiful stage upon which they’ll take your head. The people need it to feel safe again.”

“Is that your excuse?”

“…yes.”

“Pathetic. Such a child.”

We charge each other.

Our metals connect, sounding within the air. Though my hit is more potent, the man is skilled. Rather than fully taking my blows, he opts to deflect me away.

We break apart, staring at each other with our sabers raised.

The man seems to sigh. “One week. Come back here then. Look within yourself. If you cannot take matters into your own hands, then you’ll always be weak. Surpass your limitations. Be more than the next corpse I seek to decorate with violence.”

“What?!”

As I speak, my guard lowers slightly.

In this one singular moment, barely a fraction of a second, the man closes the distance. An overhead cut bears down on my head. I’m just in time to stop it, but I’m unable to deflect. My blades remain in the air in an ‘X.’ This motion frees up my stomach.

A foot surges into my gut.

The air is forced out of me.

I choke.

The power of the attack is substantial. My legs rise off the ground. I’m sent backward not inches but feet. My current velocity backward is faster than I can run normally. I’m sent reeling, skidding as my body repeatedly crashes into the ground until—

“Come alone or you’ll lose me forever!” shouts the man. “I’ll know! I always know.”

Splash!

I submerge in the river.

Because I was in the middle of trying to breathe, I swallow a mouthful of water. Panicking, my hands claw at my throat.

Air!

Need air!

I rush to the surface.

My head bursts above the water.

Water evacuates from my mouth as I vomit, pressing my body against the riverbank. The force is painful, but I can breathe between the unwanted motions.

The killer.

Where is he, Scarlet?

That thought pops into my head at once.

Hastily, I look up to where he should be.

There’s no one.

I look around.

Empty.

I’m alone.

“How?” I cough.

That strength. That speed. I’ve never fought anyone like him before.

That’s the difference. He was willing to kill me. That’s what it feels like to be on the receiving end of someone willing to take a human life. He isn’t like the people I’ve fought before. This is different. I was aware of death yet never feared it. Now, fighting him, I realize how close to death I was.

It’s horrifying.

Still, I’m isolated now. Alone. There’s no one around.

“Go away, fear. It’s okay. I’m by myself,” I speak with a hoarse voice.

But the fear stays.

I lean against the riverbank until I’m calm.

“One week,” I mutter. “What the hell does he want with me? Why didn’t he just kill me now when he had the chance?”

The sun barely begins to rise in the sky. Looking toward Water’s Bastion, I can no longer see the body floating in the canal. It must be further in the city by now. When the sun rises, it’ll be in the central area again. Remi and her people will know another girl is dead.

“Shit.” I slap my forehead against the bank. “I was an idiot to do all this alone.”

I already knew that. This merely confirms the fact.

Dejected, I climb out of the river. My clothes drip as I stand on the riverbank. Pain surges within my stomach from the kick.

My eyes peer about the field again in the hopes that I might spot the killer briefly.

Nothing.

I’m not so lucky.

This whole night has been a masterclass in failure.

“I…I should head home.”

What else can I do?

I go to sheath my swords.

Huh?

They’re not in my hands.

Did I already sheathe them?

Nope. They’re not at my waist.

Ah! I must have let go of them when I got kicked.

No, they were in my hands.

Oh.

Slowly, painfully, regretfully, I turn back until I’m eyeing the river.

I dropped them in the water.

“Heh…heh.” I begin laughing. “Hahaha!” I shake my head. My laughter quickly turns to anger. “Idiot!”

I dive into the river headfirst.