"Dan!"
The morning had barely begun when Tashi's voice broke the silence.
"Yes, Tashi? Need something?"
"I have something important to take care of. Could you handle the food hunting for the village again today?"
"Yeah, sure."
Tashi hesitated. His voice dropped, weighed down by exhaustion.
"Sorry, I know you already have a lot on your shoulders. But after everything that happened — after losing Daichi... there aren't many young men like you left. And now even Kaida and Amara are gone..."
Dan looked away. "Yeah," he muttered, voice tight and brittle.
Without another word, he turned and made for the forest.
Shit. How did this happen? Daichi was killed, Kaida and Amara disappeared and I didn't get a penny!
He kicked at the stones scattered across the path, his jaw clenched.
Tashi... Maybe he knows something about where they ran off to. I can't let this whole thing be for nothing.
Poof.
A sudden gust of wind. The world twisted.
Dan blinked — the forest was gone. In its place stretched an endless desert, waves of heat rising from the dunes.
What the hell...?
Sweat trickled down his spine — from the heat, or the fear, he couldn't tell.
"I'm not hallucinating, right...?" he muttered.
"Unfortunately not."
A familiar voice. Footsteps crunching behind him.
Dan turned — and there she stood.
"Kaida."
His heart skipped. He tried to muster a casual smile — but one look into her eyes crushed it instantly.
She already knew, everything.
Flames ignited around Kaida's hands, blue light searing under the desert sun.
Dan's legs gave out, he collapsed to his knees.
"Wait—"
"Don't say a word!" Kaida snapped. "Every second I look at you, I feel a hatred I didn't even know I was capable of."
Dan stared at the ground, paralyzed.
"I only want one thing from you. Tell me who you told, why, every detail. Straight to the point. After that, I'll disappear — and you'll walk home in one piece."
Dan raised his head, desperate.
"I—I only told one person!" he blurted. "Someone in the government! I do odd jobs for him sometimes! He promised me money — a lot of money! I was tired of life in Eldrida, I just wanted a new start, I swear—"
"Name."
He froze.
"W-what?"
"His name," she repeated, her burning hands crackling louder.
Dan hesitated — torn between two monsters — but the fear standing before him was stronger. The name tore from his throat like a confession at the gallows.
"****"
Kaida turned her back to him.
Dan let out a trembling breath of relief —
"I'm sorry, I can't."
He barely registered the words.
Fwoosh.
Kaida's burning hand pierced straight through his heart. Death was instant, no pain, no struggle.
"I'm sorry, Daichi," she whispered. "I just couldn't let him live... even if it makes me a murderer."
She withdrew her blood-soaked hand, watching Dan's body crumple to the sand.
A faint hiss rose from the body as the desert heat clashed with the dying flames, and the air filled with the bitter stench of charred flesh. The sand around him darkened, curling into scorched patches beneath the weight of death.
Her face remained blank. No satisfaction. No guilt. She had simply done it, and that was it.
Since that day, no one knew what happened to Dan.
Rumors filled the village — some said he ran away in fear after the attack, others whispered he might have had a hand in it, but in the end it remained nothing more than rumors and gossip.
***
"Viper, are you sure you're not coming with us?"
Viper lowered his head, smiling faintly. "Someone's gotta protect the village, if we all leave, who's left to do so?"
Tafari chuckled as he strode toward the gate.
"You? Protect the village? Don't make me laugh, you're weak as it is so I wouldn't say your presence will help too much anyway."
Tch.
Viper crossed his arms, scowling.
"Watch yourself, Rey," he muttered. "When you get back, I might just be stronger than you."
Rey snorted.
"A nobody like you? Not a chance."
With that, Rey followed Tafari toward the gate, where Blaze was already waiting.
Today, the Nullborn — rogue warriors born from a village buried in snow — were setting out on another long-term mission.
As usual, none of them knew the full details except Blaze, but they would always follow him without hesitation.
"Are you going too?"
Viper's voice broke Kaida's thoughts.
"Why's that your business?" she snapped.
What's their problem? Why are they all so damn annoying—
Viper shrugged. "You joined six months ago, spent most of your time locked up in the training rooms. I wouldn't have guessed that you'd actually follow Blaze wherever he went, it seemed to me that you were mostly using us for a place to train."
Kaida gave him a cold, disinterested look.
Ah... at least she shares one thing in common with the others — I can't stand her either.
"Whatever. Goodbye."
Without another word, Viper turned and disappeared back into the village.
Kaida tightened the straps on her gear. Ever since she left Eldrida, she had trained relentlessly, day after day.
She told Blaze she had lost her husband and daughter in the attack — that she had nothing left.
Blaze allowed her to join. He always saw something in her — a raw, terrifying potential — and believed she could master forbidden magics no one else dared touch.
At first, Kaida had planned to stay behind in Crimson Peak, to focus solely on her training. But Blaze had other plans, and Kaida knew better than to refuse him.
As long as I grow stronger... It doesn't matter where I am.
Besides, it was better this way, she could watch the Nullborn from up close — and make sure none of them ever learned about Amara.
That was two years ago.
Now, in the present, Kaida stood facing Kai.
Kai had heard her story — at least up until the day she left Eldrida. Tashi had told him everything he knew about Amara, Daichi, and the attack on the village. Of course, he didn't know details that Tashi himself didn't know.
"I see... so Tashi told you everything."
For a moment, something twisted inside her — Kaida felt uncomfortable with the words "Tashi told" but it passed.
In the end, she was grateful, grateful that he had kept her daughter safe all this time.
"You said you wanted my help," Kai said. His voice was low, uncertain. "But how? How could you become part of the same people who are after Amara now? What happened to you after you left the village?"
Kaida exhaled, heavy with memories.
"We don't have much time, so I'll tell you as much as I can.. about what happened to me in the last two years and who is after my daughter."
Two years ago