The ambiance of the world is dark.

There is fog. A light taint of the wind. It is cloudy, and the darkness makes it fresh and terrible with its chill.

But Dare is fast approaching.

The darkness is pulling away like the warmth from a dying body.

There is stillness.

There is silence.

There is nothing.

And then...

The still ess breaks.

A certain point, in a certain place, within Malady's Garden...

The tress are sparce here and the world seems just a bit less dark.

Nero slowly opened his eyes with a groan.

He looked around.

Standing around in a circle around empty patch, trees with gnarled branches hunched behind them, everyone seemed to being good shape.

Nero glanced around and immediately felt the tension in the air. There was a heavy scent of blood.

Although that would have been cause for concern at any time, in this case, it filled him with joy.

'We made it!'

They had escaped form the "maze".

After following Eli's instructions, he had been able to lead them out successfully. The key to the maze had been a short chant that had appeared in his mind alongside a few other things.

The chant was...

Nero frowned, 'I... I can't remember.'

His expression changed a few more times. Then it turned blank,

'What was I thinking about again?'

He shook his head and turned to face Lucy who seemed to be in a fairly good mood.

With morning coming, it was best they get moving back to the right path. But before that, they had to address the immediate issues

Nero looked around.

The entire forest was in shambles. The trees were largely devoid of leaves, with most of them suffering from varying levels of damage and bruising to their bark and flesh.

It was like a violent storm had ripped through the forest overnight.

He sighed then turned to look at Obed's plain-looking face.

"Obed, what do we do now?"

Obed frowned then turned to face him,

"What the hell do I look like to you, kid? I'm not your mother."

Lucy snorted,

"Just take it, you prick. Since that ugly bastard Fallow is dead, and that other ugly bastard Garrick has most likely tucked his tail and his dick between his legs, we'll have to rely on you for now."

Obed grimaced. It was clear he wasn't pleased with the idea.

Eventually, he sighed.

Then he turned to Obed,

"For now, we need to leave this place. Then we'll need to get some food and water. The best thing to do is to retese our steps and get back to the abandoned campsite."

Aisha spoke up with hurried breaths,

"This... What about those Night Hornets."

Obed's expression turned serious,

"The older versions of them only came out at night. I'm no so sure about this time..."

He was silent for a moment. Then he turned to Nero.

His expression was very serious as he spoke,

"Seems like you weren't being a lying brat earlier. I was wrong about you."

Nero raised a brow. Then the light of realization washed over him.

He shrugged then grimaced,

"That's good and all, but what you think about me doesn't really matter anymore. I'm worried the Church won't take it seriously."

Obed frowned, "You might not be a lying brat, but you've certainly become a rude one."

Then he sighed,

"It doesn't matter if they believe you or not. I'll do what I can and make reports. But at the end of the day, we all are just small players. There's next to nothing we can do."

Nero frowned. However he had nothing to say about that. Because it was the truth. He really was a small player who's voice was rather inconsequential in the grander scheme of things.

He was just a wandering town guard.

Well, with the town of Gor destroyed, there wasn't really much left to guard so...

Still, it irked him to no end...

Seeing his expression, Obed shook his head,

"You really are stubborn, aren't you?"

He scratched his head then turned to Aisha who seemed rather out of it,

"You... Don't you think you can get him an audience with your master?"

Aisha's gaze focused as she frowned.

She was silent for a moment. Then she shook her head,

"It will be rather difficult. Ever since the incident, I haven't been able to meet with my master."

She turned to Nero,

"It will be considerably more difficult since he doesn't like visitors."

Nero hummed but said nothing.

Lucy shrugged,

"Let's get going then."

Obed tilted his head slightly and his eyes narrowed,

"That won't be very difficult too. I can see the campste from here "

Nero raised a brow and turned to face forward.

Sure enough, in the far distance, he could slightly make it out.

"Ah. I see it."

Obed raised a brow and turned to face him with surprise written on his face,

"You can see it?"

Nero trembled and shook his head,

"No, only a little."

Lucy jumped right in,

"In that case, what are we waiting for?! Onwards!"

Obed glared at her then sighed and turned around,

"Geor, you take point. The rest of us will back you up."

Geor hefted his sturdy iron wall and tapped the surface twice.

Obed nodded, "Then, let's get going."

Geor walked to the forefront of the group alongside Obed who would act as the pathfinder.

Nero turned to Aisha.

Sensing something wrong, he moved to her side and whispered into her ears,

"Let's go."

Aisha's face turned slightly red. Then she shivered,

"It really is cold."

Nero frowned, "Is it?"

Aisha huffed, a puff of cloudy air spilling from her lips.

Nero on the other hands, realized he could barely feel the chill.

'Another effect of the transformation?'

Even in his more normal human form, he truly wasn't human anymore.

His pupils dilated and gained a golden glow as he glanced into the distance once again.

Morning had come.

He recalled that fateful day.

'That day had been really cold, hadn't it?' he threw the question as some illusory nothing, half expecting an answer.

When nothing came back, he huffed and began moving with Lucy to his left and Aisha to his right.

***

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