"It was around that time when I began collaborating with the shopkeeper. Our agreement entailed him providing me with the names and locations of all individuals involved in this matter, in exchange for which I would refrain from tampering with the prana core, allowing the citadel or the responsible party to retrieve it. Although initially, he claimed to have the goal of regulating my approach, he had not yet given me any instructions on how to handle my targets. That aspect has always been left to my discretion, as long as I honored our agreement and left the prana untouched. Thus, our partnership functioned, more or less, as intended," the Rustler explained to the Dae Odoe girl. "And that for now, almost four years."

"Four years… that’s five years in total if we count the days in which you were acting on your own," Men’mah mumbled.

With a nod, the Rustler confirmed, "During those five years, I, with the assistance of the shopkeeper, managed to locate them all. Like rats, they hid themselves as best they could, with some completely altering their lives to evade me, or at least attempting to. However, in the end, what was the point of that, I wonder. They were all found in the end," the Rustler chuckled derisively.

The Dae Odoe girl listened intently, her eyes, he could tell behind her golden visor, widening with each revelation.

"Five years," she whispered, her voice filled with a mixture of admiration and disbelief. "Here I thought I was stubborn... I have been humbled."

While listening to her words, the Rustler couldn't help but sneer derisively at himself. Despite the passing of five years, from his perspective, it didn't feel like much time had gone by. For him, the majority of those five years were spent in slumber rather than active pursuit. Thus, that day in the middle of nowhere felt like something that just happened very recently, even though he was fully aware it had been five years ago. He acknowledged that, although not at his pace, the world was moving on.

"Say, from the moment I heard how much of… you know… you are and your violent reputation, I have always been wondering, why did you spared Feh’Zoro?"

"Who?"

The Rustler who that name could belong to.

"Feh’Zoro. Tsk, what am I saying, of course you don’t know his name. He’s one of the reasons I left my homeland to come over here. She’s the Dae Odoe you spared, remember him?"

"Ah, her." The golden-scaled face of the frightened Odoe woman whom he met in the Rozanov castle appeared in his mind. "So she made her way back to the Southern continent somehow?"

To be honest, she was one of the few whose existence the Rustler had forgotten, but upon her mention, he’d got a lingering feeling that she was still somehow in the central continent, messing around and acting as devious as he had imagined her to be.

"She did and from the way I understood how she was here on this side of the world, it’s obvious that she turned to a new leaf. Well, I suppose that’s understood, our homeland isn’t called the land of rebirth for nothing," she smiled proudly.

"Land of rebirth?"

"Yes, you didn’t know? I guess Ninjara never told you."

At the mention of that name, the Rustler turned to the girl standing beside him, who, with a smile, simply shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Told me what?"

"The land of Odoe is known as the land of rebirth, as 'Odoe' symbolizes 'Rebirth'," she explained.

"I see. I didn’t know that."

"Well, now you do. Well back to Feh’zoro, the motherland did wonders to her, so why did you spare her?"

As he reminisced about that day, the Rustler attempted to recall what had precisely compelled him to spare her life, despite her being nearly as culpable as the head of the Rosanov family due to her role as their exclusive supplier of odo-scales. She had been the catalyst, igniting the obsession within the Rasulov family to acquire their own Dae Odoe, which they eventually found in Ninjara. This acquisition was what would enable them to compete with the Rosanov family in the market.

Truly absurd.

All of it started because both families, along with some wealthy mages and Rajs, discovered the performance-enhancing benefits of snorting powdered odo-scales. They went as far as claiming that it provided prana-boosting advantages.

This was truly absurd.

"I don’t know," the Rustler replied. "When I heard about her existence and learned her role in all of it, in the moment I remember thinking, ‘I will find her and make her pay,’ but when I found her, eventually, I felt like I wasn’t truly in the mood, so I let her go. Perhaps I did that because I felt like our path was going to meet again somehow on the continent as she wouldn’t learn, but I guess I was wrong."

"Well, perhaps you were right. But you did well by that decision. If it hadn't been for her assistance, I'm certain I would have never mustered enough courage to leave our homeland for this journey, and most certainly wouldn't have been able to find you," she expressed, acknowledging the woman's pivotal role in their meeting.

I fail to see how that's a good thing for me, the Rustler thought but chose to not voice that thought out.

"I see."

"But say, I must also ask, I've also heard about her involvement here in the central region. I'm curious to know, does what they do with Odo's scales truly make them stronger as they claim?"

"I don't know. Maybe, but I've battled against numerous mages and Rajs, and I have yet to feel the difference they claim," he responded honestly.

"Is that so?" she replied, arching an eyebrow and sporting a skeptical expression on her face.

He couldn’t help but notice her reaction. "What?"

She remained silent as if hesitating to tell what had to say, but she eventually did. "I know I'm probably just imagining things, but has it ever occurred to you that Odo powdered, or whatever it may be, might actually have those empowering effects on mages, and that it's manifesting in no one else but yourself?"

The Rustler's brows furrowed as he, for some moments, contemplated her words.

"Are you suggesting that I’m on drugs?"

"Well, in a way, I suppose I am," she bluntly admitted, a touch of sympathy seeping into his voice. "After all, wouldn't the possibility of being on "drug" be more appealing than the one of being a blood-thirsty psychopath who knows nothing else but killing when awake?"

Men'mah's words lingered in the air, carrying a mixture of introspection and a yearning for understanding. They struck a chord within him, igniting a glimmer of hope deep within his soul. To any rational individual, her logic did hold some merit, offering a potential explanation for certain aspects of his being. Of course, it didn't account for everything, but it shed light on certain facets of his identity. One undeniable truth remained evident amidst it all: he was indeed a rarity, a peculiar anomaly of nature.

As a mage, he was an aberration. As an Odo wielder, he was an anomaly. As both he was, without a doubt, quite the specimen. So conjecturing that this freakish nature of his could explain some of his choices was a quite reasonable thought.

Yet, as he shifted his gaze and caught a glimpse of the Dae Odoe girl standing beside him—a presence visible only to his eyes—he realized something.

"That reasoning may hold some ground, but it does not align with my own understanding. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that every action I have taken, I have done so of my own volition and with complete sobriety," the Rustler declared with unwavering conviction. "Perhaps I just wanna attack other people and I want to kill other people and I wanna create conflict and I would like to watch the world burn," he even added with a straight face.

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A tense silence settled in the air, thick with uncertainty and confusion.

"Was that an attempt at a joke?" the Dae Odoe girl asked, her voice betraying a hint of concern.

"It was," the Rustler confessed..

"Well, it was a very poor one, even by joking standards. But you're right," she admitted, her voice carrying a mix of confusion and self-reflection. "I don't even know why I said that. What am I really doing? Did I just try to justify your actions? I suppose I did, didn't I? This place has truly messed with my mind," she said, massaging her forehead in an attempt to alleviate the building tension. With a heavy sigh, she turned her gaze towards the southern horizon, as if seeking solace in the distance.

"I guess I should take this as a warning, a message. A call for me to go home," she continued, her voice tinged with a sense of realization.

"You're heading back," the Rustler said, surprised by her decision. He had intended to discuss the topic himself, but she beat him to it.

"I guess I will soon be. After all, it's been what? Two years since I last returned home. Two years since I came here in search of the infamous and dangerous Odoe-wielding mage. I suppose that mission is now accomplished. It's about time I pack my things and consider it done," she concluded, her tone filled with a mixture of resolution and nostalgia.

"I see. Truth is," the Rustler confessed, "I allowed this conversation with you, to answer your questions and then inquire about your future departure plans, so frankly this really came across as a surprise."

"Is that so? Were you perhaps expecting something else from me?" Men'ma inquired, her curiosity evident.

"Perhaps."

"Like?" she probed further.

"I don't know; since the moment I met you, I had a feeling that there would eventually come a time when you would oppose and fight against me."

"What made you think that?" she asked, genuinely intrigued.

"I don't know, maybe it was the fact that our first interaction involved you attacking me in a dark alley. And then, the following day, you continued to pester me relentlessly, antagonizing me at every opportunity," he explained, recalling their initial interaction.

"Hahaha," she laughed derisively. "I suppose that's a fair assessment."

"But most importantly," the Rustler added, his voice taking on a solemn tone, "there was also this." He reached for his forehead, and as he did, a rustling sound filled the air. Golden protrusions emerged, gradually shaping into magnificent golden antlers, glimmering in the sunlight, casting a warm glow upon his face.

As the golden antlers took form on the Rustler's forehead, Men'ma's expression remained as halfly undecipherable because of her golden visor, but, as if mesmerized, she closed the distance between them.

She reached her hand out, but refrained herself from touching them. "As I thought those antlers are beautiful," she said, "were hers—Ninjara’s crown also antlers like this."

The Rustler didn’t immediately answer, instead he looked to the side, then described the sight before him saying, "No, hers weren't. She had horns," he explained, his voice tinged with a mix of reminiscence. "They initially started as small protrusions, no larger than a finger's phalanx, on both sides of her forehead. But as time went on, they rapidly grew into large horns that she could hardly conceal."

Men'ma's voice softened, empathy shining through in her well-hidden gaze. "I can only imagine the struggles she went through with those, considering her condition." With a gentle motion, she reached up to touch her own crown, composed of delicate golden flowers. "I've never felt the need to hide mine, so I can't truly comprehend what she endured. Couldn’t she just withdraw it like you do?"

"No. That, she couldn’t. That’s something only I do."

"I've noticed that," she said before remarking, "I've never heard and seen someone able to manipulate their crown as you do, as it were regular odo before. I guess now I have."

"Congratulations, I suppose."

Men'ma nodded, her expression turning serious. "To address what you just mentioned about me potentially ceasing to fight you, what would be the point? It's true that odo naturally belongs to the Odoe, and it shouldn't be in the hands of an arbian, especially not a mage, and certainly not someone like you. However, it's now in your possession. I don't know how that came to be, and I'm sure you know but refuse to tell me, as it likely involves the reason why you became known as the Ethereal Breeze in the first place. But the fact remains that it is in your hands, and there doesn't seem to be a way to forcibly remove odo from your body, is there?" Her question held both a statement and an assertion.

"I sure hope there isn’t."

"Well, you have all the reasons to feel that way. But still, I believe I understand how you felt about me earlier when I mentioned heading back to the Odoe continent. Considering how I've been pestering you, me leaving certainly would seem like an easy way to let you off the hook, wouldn't it?"

"Why do you voice it like it was something I shouldn’t rejoice about?"

"Perhaps because it isn’t. You see, when I heard your version of the story and how you went after all these people, I’ve been wondering, now that you’ve found them all, what will happen next."

"There still one that—"

"Sure I didn’t forget about it, you still have one last person you didn’t come after, but still my question remains ‘what happen next?’"

In truth "what’s next" was a question that the Rustler had very recently often asked himself.

It had been four years since those days when he would ponder that question without any clear answer. The day he ambushed Del'hia's carriage in the bustling street marked a pivotal moment, as it provided him with the first answer to that question: "to find them all." And that fateful night in the Devi's house, he discovered a second answer, solidifying his resolve: "to eradicate their existence from the face of the earth."

For years, those had been his raison d'être, the very purpose that would rouse him from his slumber whenever he heard her voice calling out to him. It was an existence that one could argue was far from healthy, but for the Rustler, it sufficed.

But now that he's come to the end of it, he’s come to ask himself once again, "what’s next?" and just like on those lonely and aimless days, he didn’t have an answer to it.

"Since it seems that, just as I suspected, you don't have an answer to my question, allow me to provide one offer," Men’mah reached her out to him. "Come with me."

"Uh, where to?" He asked, already guessing her answer, but seeking confirmation nonetheless.

And just as he’d predicted her words, were exactly, "Where else but the Southern continent, to the homeland of the Odoe race."

Those words sounded familiar.

A strange silence settled between them, as if the weight of their words hung in the air. The rustling sound of a passing gust broke the stillness.

"What do you think of my offer?" She asked, with a big grin.

"What do I think of it? Do you realize I was relieved to hear you planning to return to where you come from."

A glimmer of mischief danced behind Men'ma's golden visor as she replied, "I do, and I also hope you realize that I'm trying to help here. It's not me who doesn't know what he has to do with his life next. Sometimes, we need a little nudge, a new path to explore, to find our true purpose."

"How will going there help me find purpose?"

"I don’t know, how am I supposed to know that," she blatantly replied. "But it’s my home, the birthplace of the Odoe, the land where all those who've been blessed by Odo belong, the land of rebirth. Who knows perhaps you’ll meet rebirth there, perhaps not but at least it still would be better than whatever you plan on doing here?"

She continued, her words carrying a gentle weight, "I don't mean to belittle what you have here, but on this continent, what you have most is enemies. Yes, there are people you can consider allies, but deep down, I believe you feel the fragility of those connections, as if the slightest gust could shatter them. Look at the sisters, especially the youngest one whom you met four years ago and who clearly seems to be the fondest of you. In those four years, no doubt she has changed, and I know for a fact that you can count on one hand the times you've truly interacted with her. Each time you see her, she’d grown into someone else, while you remain the same unchanging person they first met. Now, it might still work… somehow but let’s face it, at the pace things are going, you’re going to outlive not only her but the little Lei’lah too."

The Rustler's gaze shifted, his mind consumed by a blend of contemplation and realization. Men'ma's words resonated deeply within him, unfurling the reality of his stagnant existence and the repercussions it had on those in his vicinity.

Even if he harbored an inclination to resist her, he couldn't deny that her words held nothing but the truth, a truth that transcended their brief acquaintance of a few weeks. She seemed to grasp what he himself had long understood in the depths of his being.

He let out a sigh, acknowledging the truth in her words.

Once she reached out her hand to him, "So, let me reiterate my offer," she said, her voice infused with sincerity. "Come with me, to the land of the Odoe."

The Rustler's gaze met hers, and in that fleeting moment, he caught a glimpse of the same unwavering desire he had once witnessed in Ninjara's eyes.

"So," She said, staring at the hand that Men'ma extended toward him, "what’re you gonna do?"

I still don’t know. What would you want me to do?

She remained silent, and he understood why.

Why am I even asking that, I wonder. I already have my answer.

Men'ma lowered her hand, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I understand that you may need some time to think about it," she began, but before she could finish her sentence, the Rustler interjected with a confident tone, "I already have an answer."

Surprised by his swift response, Men'ma's eyebrows arched in curiosity. "Oh? And what would that answer be?" she inquired, her gaze behind the visor fixed on his face, eager to hear his decision.

The Rustler's gaze held a newfound determination as he met what he could feel was hers. "My answer is yes," he stated firmly. "I will go with you to the land of Odoe."