"What was that?" Julius asked in shock.
"Nothing, just a little display of destruction." She smirked.
Tired after his fight, despite the healing done, Julius decided to rest.
Meanwhile on the edges of Linia, far away from Ruloy, a hideout and it's inhabitants were recieving a guest.
The hideout was barely a structure—more a collapsed ruin of a hut hidden deep in the blackened woods. A single candle flickered on the rotting table, its weak flame struggling against the suffocating darkness that oozed from the figure standing before them.
Maria, Izko, Lisk and Xero all stood affirmatively, awaiting the visitor.
In the middle of the room, smog emerged, and from it, came a revenant.
"Of course he's here... So gross." Maria muttered, looking ahead. "Now the place smells like burnt corpses."
"You're almost 200 Maria." The revenant coughed. "Let's not act like children."
"28 In Red-Demon years you freak-."
The Revenant—a knight-like creature clad in charred armor—stood motionless, its piercing violet eyes gleaming from beneath a rusted helm. Black smoke curled from its body, spilling into the air like a deathly fog, filling the hut with a rancid stench of decay and scorched metal.
Xero folded his arms and tousled his long twisting black hair, his face unreadable beneath his hood. "We still need answers to our questions." His voice was low, calm—but the tension in it was unmistakable. "Why were we ordered to hunt down the boy? What did your masters want?"
The Revenant exhaled slowly, the sound more of a hollow rasp than a breath. "You ask questions where none are needed. The Progenitor has spoken. His word is supreme. You do not need to understand the plan—only to obey."
Izko's scaled fingers twitched, the angered lizard hybrid baring his teeth. "Tch. Easy for you to say," he growled. "We're the ones chasing a ghost while you stand here giving us nonsensical instructions." His tail flicked against the wooden floor, cracking the rotting planks. "How can we find him if we have no way to track him?"
Lisk, the dual wielder of light and dark, leaned against the table, one hand resting on the hilt of his twin swords. His eyes narrowed, flickering between the Revenant and his companions. "We're not asking to defy the Progenitor. We just want to know why the boy is so important. We work for your people because they offer us great things, we just need more knowledge."
The Revenant tilted its head, the movement unnervingly smooth. "You wish for knowledge, but knowledge is a burden few can bear. Julius is merely a piece of a greater design. The Progenitor has plans beyond your comprehension. Beyond this world, even."
A cold silence followed. None of them spoke—not at first.
Then Maria, let out a soft sigh, her crimson eyes flickering in the dim light. "Fine. Keep your secrets." Her voice was laced with something between exhaustion and amusement. "You guys are just going to have to stay on the other side until we find the boy I supose."
The Revenant's violet eyes burned brighter, a small shift in the air as the black smoke grew thicker, creeping toward them like hungry shadows. "The Progenitor has promised great rewards. Power. Salvation. Revenge. Each of you desires something, and he can grant it… once you bring results."
Izko let out a dry chuckle, sharp teeth glinting. "So no payment until the job's done? Nice bit of motivation for us."
Xero remained quiet, his thoughts locked behind a cold expression.
The progenitor... He thought. Such power from his name alone... Maria leaned back, tracing a symbol in the air lazily with a clawed finger. Lisk exhaled through his nose, shaking his head.
Izko clicked his claws against the wood, his tail coiling. "Is there anything special about the boy? Something that would make him hard for us to capture?"
The Revenant did not move. "You cannot be told more about the boy. Just capture him. That is your problem."
Another silence. This time, the air felt heavier. Each of them had something to gain from this hunt—but some had more to lose if they failed the Revenants.
Xero glanced at his companions. "We should leave now, the longer we wait the further he could potentially be from us."
The Revenant stood, its dark presence unfaltering. "Then go. The Progenitor has high hopes for you Xero, especially after you were given his seed of envy..."
"I know." Xero muttered.
"One last thing." The revenant's eyes lit up, as if new information had just magically appeared in it's mind. "We have information the boy will be attending Ruloy under the name of Julius Ferd. Make use of that what you will."
And with that, the shadows consumed the figure entirely, leaving nothing but the foul stench of decay behind.
"Of course he has to leave all mysterious." Maria scoffed. "What a loser."
"Does he want us to break into a prestigious magic school? That's a death sentence." Lisk complained.
The hideout was eerily quiet except for the sound of clashing steel outside and the bubbling of an alchemical brew in the next room. Lisk, ever the perfectionist, was outside honing his twin blades—one wreathed in light, the other in darkness—his movements precise and methodical.
Inside, Maria stood over a cauldron, adding drops of thick crimson liquid into the swirling green mixture of her latest youth potion. The air smelled of herbs, blood, and something far more unnatural.
At the center of the room, Izko and Xero faced each other, standing a mere ten paces apart. Neither moved. Neither spoke. The dim candlelight flickered against the stone walls, casting long shadows between them.
"I assume you're ready?" Xero's voice was level, ready to excercise himself a little.
Izko cracked his neck. "Yeah. I figure we should get some practice, we'll want to test how strong that envy factor made you..." He unsheathed his curved sword in one smooth motion, its jagged edge reflecting the dim light.
Xero rolled his shoulders and let out a breath. His hand gripped the hilt of his dark blade, his heart pulsed faintly in his chest. "I don't understand what made me take it. My mind has been a mess ever since, all I can think about is what I do not have. I have become prone to being jealous to everything. But I have felt the power increase..."
Izko gave a slow smirk. "Fair enough."
Then they moved.
Xero was the first to strike, slipping forward like a shadow. His sword gleamed, slicing through the air as he aimed for Izko's ribs. But Izko pivoted smoothly, stepping back. The two threw their swords out once more. The clang of steel echoed as their weapons met, sparks flashing in the dimly lit space.
The two danced across the floor, neither one fully committing to an attack, but neither backing down either. Their blades scraped, clashed, and slid against each other, as if having a conversation of their own.
Xero was faster, Izko was more resistant. They could go for a while without exhausting the other completely.
"Julius was a nightmare to track," Xero said between strikes, his tone steady. He feinted left before twisting his blade right, forcing Izko to step back. "We followed his trail for weeks. The only thing they told us was that he was somewhere on the other side, and then that he had escaped."
Izko let out a sharp exhale, ducking under an incoming strike. His reptilian eyes glinted in the low light. "Yeah, but tracking him was the easy part. Vielli almost ended us."
Xero's expression twitched at the name. His grip on his sword tightened.
Vielli. The name alone brought a mountain of frustration. A woman who fought like a beast. So young, yet able to beat all of four of them at once, granted they were weakened by the old man. Even when they had surrounded her, even when they had prepared—she had been untouchable.
Xero's sword moved faster. His strikes gained an unnatural edge, his speed increasing as the purple envy energy surrounding his blade increased. Izko's eyes narrowed as he blocked each hit, the force behind Xero's attacks growing sharper.
"You're thinking about it, aren't you?" Izko muttered, parrying another strike. "You're thinking about her. About the Headmaster. About how we weren't even close to their level."
Xero's breath hitched.
The envy factor burned inside him.
Faster.
Stronger.
His sword glowed a brighter violet, the power surging through his veins. His movements blurred.
Izko barely blocked the next strike. The force sent a shockwave up his arm. His reptilian reflexes saved him, but only just.
"Damn," he muttered. "There it is."
Xero's Envy boiled inside him. His body felt lighter, sharper. The moment he thought of Vielli, of the Headmaster—of the gap between their power and his—it triggered the seed within him.
"The seed of envy..." Izko muttered in awe.
"I hate it," Xero said, voice lower, more guttural. He lunged again, his sword carving through the air like a phantom.
Izko met him blade for blade, but he could feel the shift. Xero's strength, his speed—it was unnatural now. The envy was fueling him.
Maria, who had been quietly stirring her potion, glanced up. Her crimson eyes flickered as she observed the shift in Xero's aura.
Lisk, still outside, paused mid-swing. He could sense it too.
Xero slashed and split the structure into two, a wave of envy energy ripping everything apart. The hideout had collapsed, Maria's cauldron was covered in debris. Lisk looked through the ruins in confusion.
From within the runes, Izko gritted his teeth as he locked blades with Xero, their weapons still grinding against each other. "You need to control that," he muttered. "Otherwise, next time we face Vielli, you'll kill all of us and maybe even yourself."
Xero exhaled, his glowing eyes flickering. The power was intoxicating. He could feel himself pushing past his limits. But… Izko was right. It wasn't enough. Not yet.
"Sorry... I didn't mean to do that. I was trying to hold back..."
With a final sharp breath, Xero stepped back. The glow in his eyes dimmed. The sword stopped radiating envy energy.
Izko rolled his shoulders, exhaling through his nose. "Not bad," he muttered. "But you need to control your mind. Don't let it get to you."
Xero twirled the sword in his hands before sheathing it. His heart still pounded. The thought of Vielli and the Headmaster—their overwhelming power—still itched at the back of his mind. But for now, he forced it away.
Maria came down in annoyance, covered in dust, the youth potion turning a deep violet. "So, are you two finished having your little sword dance, I'm glad you destroyed the entire hideout for no reason."
Izko snorted, flexing his fingers. "We're done now."
"We should leave soon anyways." Xero smirked. "It was good timing if anything."
Outside, Lisk continued training, swinging his twin blades over and over, perfecting each movement. The light and dark energy crackled in the air as he moved.
Xero sat down, his pulse slowly returning to normal. Izko did the same, rolling his shoulders.
"The ghoul and that Headmaster," Xero muttered. "They were on a completely different level. Like the level of those revenants who've been ordering us around..."
Izko nodded, his reptilian eyes darkening. "Yeah."
A pause.
Then Xero smirked. "So we just have to get stronger. Thankfully they gave me the seed of envy, so I should be grateful to those revenants..."
The mood remained tense, but the determination was there. They would track Julius. They would deal with the mission, the Headmaster, and whoever else dared stand in their way.
"I'll make sure of it." Xero muttered.