Later that evening…

The sky had darkened and the temperature had plummeted. A thick fog had begun to creep across the grounds, swallowing the base of the trees and turning the forest into a wall of gray.

Small beads of rain kept falling to the ground, and the heavy atmosphere felt increasingly grim.

It was also really cold on this particular night, and the biting wind seemed to carry the scent of old iron and death.

Caw!

Arlo, the pied raven, hovered high above a particular shelter in the barracks area. At some point, it dived and perched on the edge of the roof of the shelter, ruffling its feathers and shrieking, "Bastard! Bastard!"

Above the same shelter, two more black ravens also kept watch. One was perched on the weird-looking tree. The other just kept flying around in a circle.

To most people, they probably just seemed like ordinary birds. There were a lot of crows, ravens, and other scavengers that usually hovered around the grove, after all.

A few dozen seconds passed, and two boys finally emerged from the shelter. One was Damon, the other was Vincent.

Vincent spoke to Damon for a short while, then tapped him on the shoulder before turning and walking back into the shelter.

Meanwhile, Damon turned and began walking towards the tents area.

After he had gone a fair distance, Arlo shrieked again. "Bastard! Bastard!"

It flapped its wings and took flight, and almost immediately, the other ravens followed suit. All three had their gazes locked on Damon as they trailed him from above.

Damon stopped at the merchant's area, picking up a few things that he tossed into the haversack he wore. Once he finished, he turned and continued on toward the ashen campground.

He didn't stop there, and continued deep into the forest of red and white leaves. After a short while, he finally came to a halt. He glanced around to make sure he was alone, then began to pee against a tree, humming a low tune under his breath as he did.

While he was still at it, he suddenly heard a voice behind him:

"Bastard! Bastard!"

Damon quickly spun around, zipping his pants while yelling, "Who's there?" His eyes darted around. "Who the fuck…"

His voice trailed off when his eyes landed on a raven perched on the ground.

"Huh?"

Arlo tilted his head, and after a few seconds, shrieked again. "Bastard!"

But at the same moment Arlo spoke, another voice from some meters away also spoke: "Bastard…"

Damon, whose heart was now racing, turned to see me leaning against the shadow of a nearby tree.

"Who are you?" He demanded, narrowing his eyes to make out my frame that had been shrouded in darkness. His voice lacked its usual bite, replaced by a tremor of genuine confusion.

After a few tense seconds, I finally stepped out into the light cast by the pale moonlight. As I moved, the edges of my vision smeared slightly and the world tilted just enough to make me feel unanchored. I wiped my mouth and tossed the empty bottle of alcohol in my hand to the ground. "Hey there, Damon. Did you miss me?"

"Ha!" Damon scoffed. "So it's this son of a bitch."

He palmed his face and muttered something else under his breath, and his lips curled into a sneer.

I couldn't hear exactly what he was saying because my mind was elsewhere, drifting in a hazy fog, until he eventually asked, "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" I looked up at the vast, starless night sky with my hollow, lifeless eyes. My hair and clothes were drenched and clung heavily to my skin. I could feel the cold rainwater running down my spine, but it felt distant, as if it were happening to someone else's body.

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, momentarily revealing the cold, vacant expression etched across my face. It was at that moment that I finally replied, "I'm here to commit a necessary evil."

Damon frowned and scoffed. "Get a load of this guy. Are you drunk?"

Well, to be honest, I wasn't sure if I was drunk. Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. Although, a part of me wished I was.

…Still looking at the empty sky, I sighed. Then, I reached out my hand and called in a somber voice.

"Come to me, Aika Soryu."

She responded, and a hand emerged directly from the tattoo on my arm. Her fingers brushed against my palm before locking firmly into mine. In the next second, the hand dissolved into a thick, swirling coil of smoke that solidified into a black katana.

I looked down and raised the blade, pointing it directly at Damon. Then I muttered, my voice barely audible over the rain, "Call him. Call your bond."

"What is this?!" Damon stammered, his bravado momentarily flickering. "What game are you playing at?"

"You were right. We are not in Lumieria anymore. There are no rules out here. You wanted us to settle our score, right? Fine… Let's do it. Let's settle it now." I then yelled, the sound echoing through the trees, "Call your bond!"

Damon was visibly shaken for a brief moment, but then he immediately regained his composure, his eyes narrowing as a dark realization set in.

He exhaled. "Fine. Come, Cerberus."

A loud bark echoed through the rain, and then Damon's tattoo liquefied. It turned into a stream of fine, heavy sand that flowed off his hand, instantly solidifying as it formed a giant, double-bladed axe in his grip.

Damon began. "Since you have gone this far, let me say this. I will not hold back, you arrogant prick."

He was still speaking when I suddenly lunged forward, the black blade cutting through the heavy rain. The only thing on my mind right now was the cold, sharp weight of my resolve and the silence I wanted to bring to his voice.

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