Katie led Vernisha to a wide river that flow to Sundawn.

  To get to it, they had to get through some steep hills and climb massive boulders.

  The sound of the water currents was music to Vernisha’s ears—something she could listen to for hours on end.

  She peered down at the transparent river. To get a better look, she inched forward.

  That was a mistake.

  It suddenly felt like she was standing on a wet piece of glass. Her entire body just slid forward on the moss-covered boulder.

  How could she forget? Moss was the enemy of friction.

  Katie grabbed Vernisha’s hand and jerked her back.

  "Thanks—"

  Katie spun, and Vernisha’s heart skipped a beat.

  Then she hoisted Vernisha up and threw her into the middle of the river.

  That little shit!

  With a loud splash and explosion of water, Vernisha hit the surface and went under.

  The water's coldness reminded her of her life at Vaera, something you only get accustomed to when it's your only option.

  She held her breath and quickly swam up.

  As soon as she broke the surface, she coughed out the ice-cold water and screamed, "Are you trying to kill me?!"

  "Relax. It’s deep," Katie said, then slid off the rock and tumbled down while screaming.

  She fell for a couple of seconds before her back collided with a pointy rock.

  Oh shit...

  Katie groaned, then slid off the rock and fell face-forward onto another rock.

  Vernisha was about to swim to her, but Katie quickly pushed herself off the small rocks and pebbles.

  She checked her teeth aggressively. Her dirty fingers wrestled in her mouth, pulling and pushing every single tooth.

  Once she confirmed they were all in perfect condition, she heaved a sigh of relief.

  God genes.

  Vernisha said, "Try falling headfirst next time."

  "I'll consider it," Katie said before picking up pebbles. "Ever played shoot and dodge?"

  "A couple of times."

  Katie grinned as she continued picking up flat pebbles.

  When Katie had gathered enough flat stones, Vernisha hit her with a 10% powered [Water Pulse] in the chest.

  Katie tumbled back before shouting, "You're cheating!"

  "I didn’t agree to dodging, dumbass!" Vernisha responded.

  Katie aimed a stone at Vernisha, but before it left her hands, she got hit with an ultra-weak [Weak Pulse].

  Every time she tried to get up, Vernisha made Aquaren hit her with a blast of water.

  Eventually, Katie gave up and lay on the ground in defeat. "I'm going to curse your future."

  Vernisha laughed bitterly. "Oh yeah?"

  A new voice cut in. "What game is that?"

  Standing at the top of the boulders was Ferzan, who seemed to be in a better mood than before. But he still wasn't his usual self.

  Vernisha responded, "Join and see."

  Aquaren rushed at Katie and grabbed her leg. She was pulled into the water and disappeared in moments.

  The next moment, her head tore through the surface, and she spat out water. "Very funny."

  "Incredibly funny," Vernisha responded.

  Katie swiped water in Vernisha’s direction. Her hand moved almost unbelievably fast. A huge wave rushed at Vernisha.

  Vernisha called for Aquaren, but Katie grabbed its tail, shouting, "No!"

  It only resulted in Katie being pulled along by it.

  Ferzan smiled faintly. He stretched his arms, then took a deep squatting position. He readied his legs for a massive jump—

  —and slipped on the moss.

  He stumbled down the boulder, flailing and screaming.

  Three Hours Before

  It had been a day—almost a full day—since Rael had hidden in the shadows of the fools' home.

  He leaned against the wall patiently, waiting for Lo'jul. But his patience had recently run dry. The fact that he could still do this was testing his limit.

  His shell was cracking, and his restraint was trying to tear its way through the fissures.

  But only a fool—only a weak man—would allow his emotions to rule him.

  And so, Rael was prepared to wait as long as necessary. For sooner or later, Lo'jul would return to his home. To his wife.

  But that woman had been nothing short of annoying—talking to herself endlessly.

  If it wasn’t for Rael forcing himself to learn Guikil, he wouldn’t have been able to understand a damn thing coming out of her wretched mouth.

  It was as if she lacked an inner monologue and thus needed to verbalize everything she thought.

  She was complaining about the sound recorders in Terrafall and hitting it repeatedly, trying to restart it.

  Of course, Rael was more impressed that she wasn’t aware of how it worked. Probably unaware that the Burnnight Flowers in that Vron metal box—a metal that enhances sound—required sunlight every day to stay alive.

  And required different temperatures to function as a proper sound recorder.

  Like how certain trees bend to get light, Burnnight Flowers would be trained to react differently to stimuli—stimuli differentiated by temperatures of water that either harmed the plant or allowed it to grow.

  If trained well, cold water would make it lower the volume of its repeats, since it would be pleading for the harm to stop. And the opposite was easy to guess.

  At that moment, she was in the kitchen, pacing up and down, muttering to herself in her native language.

  "What a damn scam. The Repeating Waters in Emermyne are so much better..."

  Eventually, she began reading a newspaper while sitting on the white granite countertop, which had a nearly empty glass plate on it.

  The scent of baked fish was still strong on it.

  As she read the newspaper, she drank wine straight from the dark, translucent glass bottle and complained, "It’s so weak..."

  As she drank, some of the green liquid—smelling like kidney failure—fell on her upper chest.

  The woman wore nothing but undergarments. Rael had first assumed it was to surprise Lo'jul on his return.

  He never got that with Tersva.

  Probably because they were both Vanquishers.

  Rael glanced at her wear and reaffirmed his thoughts. The green baggy panties were clipped to the side. And the black bra wasn’t in a better state.

  All the cotton sticking out from the small cuts made him wonder how long she had owned such a thing.

  They could afford a pyramid communicator, which not only cost a ridiculous amount of money—about 976 silver pints.

  Their rent probably cost about 15 silver pints (150 bronze) every two weeks. Quite expensive. The average person in Sundawn made about 10 silver pints a fortnight.

  But to use it to merely make and receive communications cost a fortune. Every 15 seconds of communication cost 20 silvers.

  Fortunately, the Vanquisher Agency handled such expenses due to them being necessary for work. For her? Rael assumed she and Lo'jul took a loan together.

  Yes. Now that he thought about it, adventurer families saved up for that—especially when the adventurers went on long missions.

  "I want chocolate ice cream," she suddenly muttered, looking up at the white wooden ceiling.

  Was this lady annoying because she was suicidal or just foolish?

  Rael also wondered if she lacked a job, since she loitered around the house all day. But seeing how little she sat down, he doubted that.

  "Adventurer armor reform... Yikes." She shook her head in disgust. "Who's the dumbass that came up with that idea?"

  She flipped through the newspaper pages. Then muttered, "Oh. How the hell’s that making the headline and not the railway project?"

  Rael sighed silently.

  Then the lady got bored with reading the newspaper.

  She yawned and stretched her arms in exhaustion. Instead of resting, she put energy into her hair.

  The braided hair styled into a ball began untangling itself, becoming curly strands.

  For the next two hours, they plaited themselves, becoming box braids that rested over her shoulder and curled at the tips.

  A smile graced her face as she stared at her reflection in the cabinet’s glass face. Why she chose that instead of a mirror without cups and plates behind it, Rael didn’t know.

  "Damn. I'm still hot."

  Where is your damn husband?

  Then suddenly, the pyramid communicator resting above the cabinet began vibrating. She reached up, tiptoeing.

  When she grabbed it and was about to touch the answer surface, the vibration suddenly stopped, leaving her confused.

  Then it began again—but ended even quicker.

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  Then again.

  The third time was the last.

  And strangely, she had no reaction.

  She stood like a statue, unable to act. No—she didn’t know how to act. It was as if she was struck with sudden fear, like the veil was lifted and the paranormal came alive around her.

  What’s this?

  Then came a knock on the front door, and a woman’s voice.

  "Nob'ol? Am I saying your name right? I think so. Come, let’s get something to drink."

  The lady suddenly clenched the communicator. In that moment, the cost of the device escaped her mind.

  She tried to act normal—brave—but Rael could see the trembling of her fingers and her pupils begging to roam around the room. "Who are you?"

  "Jer-kal-thuli-mal. I worked with your husband a couple of times. Anyway... are you coming?"

  The lady’s reaction was delayed. Did she not believe the other woman?

  Then she said stiffly, "Coming!"

  She rushed to the cushion opposite another and grabbed a red sleeveless dress and a long white coat that reached her knees. "Just putting on some stuff."

  This was more than a bit suspicious.

  Did she find out about me? Impossible.

  Nonetheless, Rael acted.

  He sat up—and then paused.

  What? Hold her hostage so Lo'jul would have no choice but to come?

  And how would that work? This was Sundawn, not some lawless pack. Knights responded to both Vlandos and regular crimes if the Law Enforcers needed backup.

  He didn’t need a Knight crawling up his ass. He didn’t need to purposely get fired—then jailed.

  I can salvage this.

  Yes. He was overthinking.

  It was impossible for this to be related to him.

  So Rael sat back down and hid in plain sight.

  The door cracked open, and a heavy person stepped inside. "We can go to Termal Grand Conquest. Their alcohol is pretty good."

  Then the door closed, and the house was empt—

  From the reflection on the cabinet’s glass face, Rael saw a pink-skinned woman silently observing the room as she tiptoed.

  Her feet were light, and she scanned the living room that led to the kitchen smoothly.

  In the middle of the wall that separated the kitchen from the other parts of the house was the doorway.

  And on the wall to the right—

  —was him.

  She neared, so Rael lightly backstepped and made his way to their long antique cabinet storing murals and drawings of Lo'jul, the woman, and the child.

  Another showed what appeared to be a Vlandos Punchio holding a baby in her hand—probably for the last time, judging by how sick she appeared.

  He hid behind it.

  The Julioes woman made her way through the doorway, her hands splayed.

  Then those hands grazed the walls, losing their height and becoming wide and flat.

  What is she trying to do?

  Rael thought about what he’d been taught about Julioes biology.

  Boneless. Near-complete control over their bodies.

  Able to—

  He looked at her fingers again, seeing a trace of saliva being left behind.

  —able to move any part of their tissue to any other part of their bodies.

  And he had been there long.

  My sweat.

  Her right foot moved up and was about to land on the white tiled floor—tiled in the shapes of love hearts—when it abruptly paused.

  Her eyebrows creased, and her fingers dragged back.

  In that moment, Rael’s heart almost started beating faster.

  Almost.

  Near his foot, behind the cabinet, was the home of lizardspiders, their webs thick.

  Stuck in those webs were a couple of pencils.

  Rael helped himself to one and threw it at the ceiling—exactly where another lizardspider web hung.

  When it hit, her head shot up—

  —then just as quickly, she realized it was a diversion and snapped her gaze downward.

  However, no one came rushing at her, so she quickly moved toward the source.

  By the time she reached the back of the cabinet, Rael was already on the opposite side, sliding into position along its width.

  He could kill her.

  But that would only confirm they had something to fear in their room.

  He could also use his [Personal Space] to utilize weapons to help him—but he needed to work on his skills anyway.

  She kneeled down, hesitating to drag her tongue-tipped fingers through the lizardspiders’ infestation.

  And so, Rael quietly made his way to her saliva marks and wiped them, all while keeping his eyes on her.

  Then he dragged his fingers against his pants and pressed his finger to a different section of the wall before smearing it onto the parts she was tasting.

  Then she stood up, and Rael quickly evaded her by stepping into the kitchen.

  He grabbed the alcohol the woman had been drinking and unplugged it, all while holding his breath.

  Her footsteps were drawing closer.

  His hand found itself around the Burnnight Flower—green stem, star-shaped head.

  Rael licked his hand to check how hot the saliva was. Not hot enough.

  The Julioes stepped into the kitchen. "Fucking reeks... How do they drink this poison?"

  However, she didn’t approach the counter, repulsed by the smell of death.

  But that didn’t make her go away.

  Rael lightly adjusted his throat, preparing his vocal cords.

  He began whispering certain sounds to the Burnnight Flower, all while compressing its stem so it wouldn’t instantly repeat.

  The damn metal—he had forgotten it on the counter.

  She noticed that and was making her way toward it.

  Hot. It needed something hot to repeat what it heard with its fullest capabilities. That was so it would be rewarded with even more hot water.

  Rael unzipped his pants and took a deep breath. He held himself in his hands and forced a stream of urine into the plant.

  When he was a child, he hated the cold. And to fight it, he would deliberately pee on his legs. The warmth was the only thing that mattered to him.

  This flower could relate.

  Suddenly, loud sounds of moaning played from it—the petals vibrated, repeating his good-enough mimicry of the couple’s voices.

  Actually, it was terrible, but there was no talking. Only sounds.

  "Ah... Ah Ahhh."

  "Mmm... Mmm... Mmm!"

  And it worked.

  The woman was no longer moving toward the counter. She quickly retreated, grumbling in disgust.

  Within the next minute, she left. "It’s clear."

  Of course, a Burnnight Flower was only a plant. It was believable for it to act on its own, despite being conditioned otherwise.

  Rael sat there.

  Then he began chuckling to himself. He wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t funny, but he just couldn’t stop.

  For some reason… it was entertaining.

  It would have been so much easier to kill her. He was good at that—really good. But he needed to diversify his skills.

  That aside… something wrong was going on.

  Rael got up and made his way to the window. He spotted the woman and two other Vlandos men walking up the elevated street.

  Nob'ol was nowhere in sight.

  How did they suspect someone was in the house?

  He didn’t get it.

  Rael shook his head and reviewed everything he had done so far.

  He hadn’t slipped up.

  There was no way they could have known. He was overthinking it.

  And so, he went back into the room, sat, and waited.

  Hours passed. The daylight dimmed, and the house gradually grew darker.

  Shadows became longer. Wider.

  Students walking on the sidewalk talked loudly.

  "That comic is trash!"

  "What chapter are you on?"

  "It’s trash, my guy. Trash. Like your girlfriend’s face."

  "What fucking chapter are you on?!"

  Eventually, the voices dwindled into nothing.

  Instead, they were replaced by adults returning home after work.

  "I’m gonna be a dad, dude."

  "Oh? Damn. Who's the mama?"

  "The question should be, how many of them are gonna be mamas. I’m going to go broke! Working like a damn horse."

  Then all the light disappeared.

  Soon after, carriages adorned with spiraling flame emblems began slowly driving by.

  At the carriage’s back, men and women threw glass orbs containing fire into the air. The floating orbs immediately illuminated the streets, making it seem like it was only six hours past midday.

  Lo'jul...

  "Here? You sure?" an older woman’s voice.

  "No one's watching... besides, you would like that," another woman, about the same age.

  "We’re too old for this... I feel like a dumb kid again."

  Rael’s fingers began tapping against his knee.

  Lo'jul...

  Another hour.

  "So, he challenges me to a drinking bet, right? And. And... And! I'm just like, this kid must be losing his mind?"

  "Whappen, whappen?"

  "I lost that bet. Lost five silvers on that. Fuck, I cried that night."

  Laughter.

  Another hour.

  "So like, when I was 10, my father used to molest me, you know? Mama did nothing about it, acted like I was making up shit. It’s whatever. I don’t even care anymore. But like, whenever I tell someone that, they get so rigid and uncomfortable. And I’m like... well damn, you asked me why I ‘waste money’ on therapy."

  And again, and again—

  "Not even gonna lie... I want to spend like a week in Lumion, the elves’ division. For the culture... Do they still mutilate outsiders if they catch you fucking an elf?"

  "Yes, girl. Elves aren't hot enough to get in trouble for. Punchios with their little green skin? Hello! Take me!"

  Rael swung the front door open and did his best to steady himself.

  Calm.

  Remain calm.

  Just remain—

  "This is a song for all the single ladies! I know how it is. I know, I know... It’s hard out there. But let me say..."

  The cracks were growing deeper.

  And the pedestrians walking on the sidewalk—gazing at him before continuing their conversations, seeming aloof to what was going on—only annoyed him.

  A dangerous little demon endangered their lives, yet here these little ants went, talking like normal, trying to have fun.

  I ought to find her myself! And, and… No.

  Lo'jul first.

  Lo'jul first. Lo'jul first…

  He had to find more information about her. That strange lady at the village—she wanted him to abandon his patience for a twisted reason.

  Rael had no idea what relationship she had with the child, but it only proved he had to learn more about the child.

  His pyramid communicator buzzed.

  Rael took it out of his pocket and saw Tersva was the one contacting him.

  He answered and placed it to his ear. "Where the hell are you?"

  "Work. Looking for clues," Rael responded.

  "Yeah? For the whole damn day? Not even just a day? Try to come home in an hour. I want to finish Falls of Fallen by tonight."

  They had bought a sound recording of that novel, narrated by the same author, Apala Meltin.

  I took a deep breath and said, "Yeah, babe. I’ll be there."

  As those words left his mouth, Rael’s hands clenched in anger.

  A damn novel? Really? There were more important things at hand.

  My future was at hand. My future!

  Then her voice became excited and humorous, like she couldn’t wait to hear his reaction. "And I bought a strap-on! Start sleeping with an eye open, 'cause I’m going to start fucking you in the as—"

  Rael ended the call and stared at the communicator. Everyone was in such a joyous mood, weren’t they?

  He took a deep breath, trying his best to calm his anger.

  He had to remind himself of what he had to gain. The recognition, the respect—everything he deserved.

  He couldn’t make a mistake... he just had to adapt. So he closed the door and left, and walked on the sidewalk.

  People split, and he walked in the middle of the endless wave. Perhaps the lot were heading to that concert. Maybe he was a popular singer.

  When he knocked into some of them, they did nothing but grunt and tighten their grip on their Blu-fire lamps. One with a red glass filter nearly dropped his, but Rael caught it and tossed it for him.

  He walked the curve, hearing the screeches of two carriages racing against each other on the three-lane street.

  Judging by the panting of the green lizards, they clearly weren’t having fun.

  Rael’s pyramid communicator vibrated again. He didn’t bother looking at the contact info. He simply answered.

  "Rael."

  His walking came to an abrupt stop. "Yes?"

  The one responsible for all the Vanquisher teams investigating the man-eating incident. The Sergeant. The first-line supervisor.

  "You’re assigned to a new mission. To squad 12. Related to HOV. You’ll get more details when you return to HQ." His voice was rough and almost alien.

  Rael simply listened, unable to believe what he was hearing. All of a sudden, and for what reason?

  It wasn’t like there had been any movement in this investigation.

  The Sergeant said after a while, "The Knights Agency put in a complaint on you. Trying to manipulate them into getting classified information." There was a pause, like he couldn’t believe what he was saying. "Have you lost your damn mind, boy? This is how you repay me? Your friends? Everyone that put their damn necks out to make you keep this job? Don’t even bother telling me some bullshit. We have procedures to get information. We have divisions for that. We have trained people for that. Damn it with you."

  Despite his voice being somewhat difficult to understand because of the device, everything was clear as day to Rael’s heart.

  The connection ended, and he stood on a busy sidewalk, catching odd looks from everyone.

  So that was how they knew. But why? How? Could it be that woman? The brown-haired lady? Was she doing this to force his decision?

  This was... still salvageable. He just needed to clear his thoughts. Needed to think of a plan.

  He would report to HQ later. Yes... later. They had to understand why he was doing this.

  But they didn’t know why!

  Later. They would find out later. If anyone else were given this opportunity, wouldn’t they do the same as him?

  Yes. Yes, they would.

  People came to this city to get better jobs. Better ways of living. To climb up the economic ladder.

  Many gave up on being farmers, animal rearers, and came to cities for better pay.

  Vlandos flood to them because it was their only way to get a job, to have better treatment. To be part of a community.

  Everyone wanted a better life. Everyone!

  Rael took a deep breath and walked. He kept walking for a long time, eventually passing near beggars and the homeless.

  He was most likely the last person to walk past them and their cardboard sleeping mats.

  Seeing the street patrollers walking toward them made that clear.

  Perhaps the next time someone would see them would be when they had pickaxes in their hands, laboring their lives away.

  If he went to jail... that would be his future. Once again, Rael took a deep breath.

  And with his occupation, the only reason he wasn’t going to jail was that the Vanquisher Agency was most likely low on recruits. After all, Vlandos weren’t as common as city dwellers thought.

  He found a nearby café and sat near the door. He wasn’t the biggest fan of stools without cushions, but he didn’t care today.

  Below his chin was a tea so black it resembled the night. Made... made of...

  His chest felt extremely tight, and he took a deep breath. Relax... just relax.

  Made out of Blackthorn tree roots.

  His fingers wrapped themselves around the handle, and he lifted the white glass teacup to his mouth.

  The white steam and spicy flavor did their best to redden his eyes, and he took a sip of the hot tea, somewhat disliking the spicy sensation.

  Despite the shaking of the cup, none of the contents spilled out.

  The burning liquid that wet his throat and carried its heat down to his stomach always soothed him.

  However... it didn’t seem to work today. His hands still trembled.

  Multiple male and female servers moved up and down in green overalls, the same color as the outside of the shop. Rael wondered how many of them disliked the ugly grinning goat logo that sat in the middle of the outfit.

  A server came and offered him a replacement. As she did so, he noticed a part of her hair wasn’t wrapped properly and thought of the scolding she was going to get from management.

  Before he went to restaurants and so on, he always thought Terrafallen women who publicly covered their hair did it to signal they were gay.

  Rael smiled, remembering when his ex started wearing a hair scarf after they broke up.

  And he... he had stopped wearing his hair scarf to be petty. It was so damn silly.

  He was one petty dumbass. And it didn’t even work how he intended. People just thought he was a delinquent, a wannabe thugster.

  Rael dry coughed into his hands and felt the urge to take another deep breath.

  What was his plan? What was your plan, Rael?

  He... didn’t know what to do. He didn’t have the time. He was careful. Safe. Smart. He took his time. He was a perfect Vanquisher.

  Then he heard heavy footsteps on the dark wood. Everyone sitting on stools turned toward the sound.

  And even the servers froze—not out of fear, but like a celebrity had walked in.

  Rael turned to see the individual and had to look up. As he did so, his eyes found gold and red armor—not made for pure functionality, but to gather the attention of others.

  To say, HI. Look. It’s me.

  They sent a Knight after him... Fucking hell. Did the higher-ups force HQ to change their decision?

  He couldn’t believe it. Hahha... It was a horrible joke—

  A heavy and metallic cold hand landed on his shoulder, and a face he had seen once came into view. "Are you still struggling to find a girl by the name of... Vernisha Holinestone?"