Author's Note:

So here it is as promised a few days earlier :) And there are many things you've been waiting for.

Important Notice: I joined the crew to make a Christmas Event and want to write a short story while having to read two ~250 pages books for school and many homework so my next update might not be on time. I'll try my best to be there but I want to try myself at everything :P That of course leaves me with no free time and something is bound to not go according to plan so I hope you won't be too angry with me if it's the update of this story

****

Monthu... Vera... L... The World... Maybe even Par should be added to that list... There was no guarantee he'll be coming back with the luck Ace was having at the moment. What did he ever do to deserve that, anyway? It felt like everyone had decided to test his patience at the same time and with every new try it was wearing more thin. 'Will I lose it wholly? Become mad from simplest words?' Ace asked himself and a bitter laugh broke flute's melody in the middle.

"Dammit. Why does calmness bring all these thoughts about one's place in the world and how he doesn't belong anywhere? How does it always end up in me never having a person to trust but many to rely on in case of trouble? Shut up! And go to hell!" Ace screamed into the sky and smiled.

He pocketed his flute and climbed into a tree. When he found a strong branch, he looked around for a good one to jump on. He picked a random childish song and by its melody started to jump from one branch to another. Sometimes his legs or hands slipped but by the help of wines and wind, he'd always get back on without injuring himself.

Happy laughter echoed around a forest as a lone kid played by himself. There was no one to tell him that it was dangerous and he reeled in the simple joy of being able to fly, the adrenaline of almost making the jump. It was a world of his own where no one was allowed in. A chance to show that he needed no one but himself. He could be his own best friend, after all it is important to talk to smart people sometimes too.

***

"Can I go back today?"

"No, Trist. You heard parents, you can't return to the game until you agree to never talk with Ace ever again" Aiden said, looking at his brother’s head pressed against his chest.

He was sitting on the couch in the dining room with his brother snuggled up to him. And having the same conversation every day since parents had banned Trist from playing Regal Dream. Because of it the kid had nothing to do besides bugging his brother about the unfairness of it all.

"But why so, brother? Ace never did anything wrong..." Tristain said in a whiny voice.

"You should explain that to your father and mother. Maybe they'll change their minds if you annoy them enough?"

"But they don't listen to me! And now they return only after I'm asleep!"

"Well, you know I have no power here. You'll have to change their opinions yourself."

"But if you said, you'd accompany me..."

"I did but you heard them. Ace is too quirky for them to stomach. They're too afraid for you."

"But you like him too, don't you?" Trist asked, circling his hands around his brother’s neck and hugging him closer.

Aiden looked at him with a perplexed expression, carefully thinking about his answer. He didn't really have a set opinion about the kid. He changed his behaviour way too often for anyone to be able to understand him. "I'm not sure whether he's really who he pretends to be but I don't feel any hatred towards him. Maybe he has his reasons for acting the way he does. Although this prevents me from trusting him completely. He's just too shifty for my liking" he finally said the truth.

Trist laughed. "You just don't want to admit you like a kid that doesn't follow your every word. You're afraid I might decide to follow his footsteps!"

Aiden laughed too. "Don't you even think about it!" he said, starting to tickle his brother.

Trist tried to escape his hands but could do nothing but roll around in laughter. "St-tto-pp iiit-t-t! I-I-I p-p-ppr-ro-m-m-mmis-se! Lle-e-a-vv-ve mm-m-me! A-a-a-lone!" he said in short gasps, unable to talk right.

"But I think you need some more encouragement to stay on the right path, wouldn't you say so?" Aiden asked, not letting his brother get away from him and continuing to tickle him.

"N-N-NO!" Trist screamed through bursts of laughter, trying to stop his brothers hands from finding his most vulnerable spots.

"Are you sure?" Aiden asked, keeping his brother down but letting him take a breath.

"Yes, yes! I'll be the best kid ever! I promise!" Trist said quickly, nodding. But then his shoulders slumped down and without any energy he relaxed on the couch under his brother. "Do you think I'll ever see him again?"

His brother sighted tiredly and released him. "Who knows? Your parents won't be able to stay away from you for too long so it depends whether he'll wait for you until then or not."

"He made a promise!"

"Let's hope then that he knows how to keep it" Aiden said, taking his brother's hand and getting him up, then he lead him to the kitchen. "What would you like for dinner?"

"Pancakes!"

"Do you ever want anything else?" Aiden asked with a laugh, receiving a wide grin from his little brother.

***

Ace heard voices. They were talking about the disappearance of animals and whether the danger had passed. It was annoying how everyone had heard of or seen his escapades. But he was too tired to actually do anything to them for that. From all the jumping his stamina was at the low end and he wanted to reach some city or town before going to rest.

So he passed around an old man and two kids, standing at the entrance of a small house and went forward. 'Maybe if they live here, there's a bigger settling somewhere around? I really need a shower and to get rid of these blood-soaked clothes. Even a blind man could tell I'm a killer from the stink of it.'

As he went ahead the trees started thinning out and he saw a great wall blocking his path. It was made from large stones put one onto the other. Ace looked at it with amazement as stones were around his height and somehow made into a ten meter or so wall and smoothed so well that there wasn't a single foothold to climb onto it. 'Who could have done it?' he wondered for some time, touching the wall carefully.

"Aah! What happened to you?" some female screamed right in Ace's ear, trying to grab his arm. Instinctively he dodged before noticing a teenage girl looking at him with tearful eyes.

"Huh?"

"You must be hurt! There's so much blood on you! Kione hear my prayer, Healing Hand!" she said in a rush, casting a healing spell on him. "Can you survive ten minutes? There's a real healer there! Please, tell me yes!"

"I-I... I'm fin..." 'Wait? What if she can help me get inside? I'll never be allowed in by myself looking like this.' "I think so but can we hurry?"

"Yes, yes! This way! You can rest on my shoulder!" she said, deciding to half carry him. Ace just followed her lead, hoping her place was inside the wall.

The girl was around fifteen, had curly red hair and wore a simple grey dress. She was probably a healer's apprentice and was out to collect some herbs. That was a disconcerting thought as most healer's tended to live outside the cities where they could grow many herbs and better focus on their work.

His fear showed up to be realistic. For fifteen minutes they walked by the wall and another five to reach a small house resembling the one he'd seen somewhere in the forest. 'Dammit'

"We're here. Grandma! I have a patient! Come here quickly!" she said loudly, carrying him inside and laying on a low table covered with a white sheet. "Wait here a moment, I'll find grandma and she'll heal you in seconds!" the girl said before leaving.

Ace raised his head and looked around. There were two old wooden doors leaving for other rooms. This one was absolutely empty besides a few similar patient tables and five stools. 'Should I stay here for a few days?'

"Grandma, hurry! He's bleeding all over the place!" He heard the girl from away but her and someone else's, probably grandma's, steps were coming closer.

Without much consideration, he got out his dagger and stabbed himself next to the heart. 'Yeeeeoouch!' he screamed inside his head while making many other small wounds that resembled those made by sharp branches. He took a pained look at his work and opened the wounds on his legs with [Burst]. Burnt places touched by fire didn't feel too good even with lowered pain perception but at least it allowed his act to become genuine. He really hurt like hell. And his health points were dropping quite quickly. 'I really hope she's a true healer and not a charlatan. I don't want my first death to be suicide...'

Through hazy eyes he saw an elderly woman enter the room with a doubtful expression but after seeing fresh blood seeping off his wound, jump to action.

She said some prayer to lessen his pain and heal but his conscience for some reason was growing darker by each second, the world more muddled, even words lost their meanings. 'Dammit, I think I went a little overboard' he thought before blacking out.

"Where did you find him, Lena?" the elderly woman asked while bandaging a kid. His wounds were very grave and the whole body tattered, there wasn't a clean spot anywhere. 'What happened to you, boy? It couldn't have been an animal attack.'

"I saw him looking at the wall with amazement. He was touching it carefully as if it was going to break from it! But then I took notice of his clothes and they were all bloody! And he was barefooted with open red burn wounds on them! How can he even walk like that?" the girl asked, bringing another bandage from the storeroom. They were using up a fourth roll on him.

"Will power. It blocked all of the pain so he could move forward."

"Isn't that a trait of heroes, grandma? Does that mean he's the one to save us all?"

The old woman laughed. "No, sweetie. It is a trait of people who want to live and would do anything for it. They can walk on coals and needles if that's what it takes to escape certain death. Because they don't freeze when facing it, they often become heroes, those who save the day. In reality, all there is to it is self-preservation."

"Why are you always so pessimistic, grandma?"

"That's not pessimism, dear. It is realism strengthened by a good dose of life experience. I didn't say that heroes don't exist. I just meant that half of them do what they do for themselves and shouldn't be revered" the old woman said, looking for a wound in the kid's head. There was none but she couldn't tell what colour was the kid’s hair. 'Did he accidentally brush over it with his bloody hand? But why are they so full of it?' "Can you get me some more clean water? Most of his wounds are cleaned and bandaged so I might as well wash his hair too."

"Okay. But why shouldn't they be revered? Other people wouldn't have been able to do what they did or didn't think about it so they're saviours no matter how you look at it. Why should we look for reasons behind it?"

"Because next time they might sell us if it is required for them to survive. And being a hero is about saving others, not oneself."

After a few hours Ace woke up, he smelled something delicious. "Mhmm..." he murmured still half-asleep and tried to get up. Horrible pain passed through his legs and he winced. 'What kind of healer is she if it still hurts this much? Maybe it was a mistake to...'

"You're awake! How do you feel?" the girl asked, running up to him. "You can't move yet! Just lie there and rest!" She pushed him back and he winced again. 'Worst. Healer. Ever.'

"What is your name?" he asked, deciding he should keep to the act for a bit longer.

"Lena. What about you? Do you have one?"

Ace forcefully kept his eyes from rolling up. "I'm called Ace. Could I ask where am I?"

"It's..."

"You're safe. That's all that should matter to you" the elderly woman said coming in.

Ace laughed this time. "Safe? There's not such a thing as being safe."

"No one's going to hurt you and you'll be reborn if someone comes to kill you so I see no problem" the woman said, coming to look at his bandages. Ace's eyes became mere slits as he watched her movements. "I know you've been sent by the gods. No one else could have lost that much blood, been hurt repeatedly and still be able not only to stay alive but even continue moving" she said, removing a blood soaked bandage from his chest and wrapping another one. "But it is surprising. I've never seen any of you so intent on not dying. When you lose your healers, you just die with an annoyed look on your face. It is simply an inconvenience to you."

"Do you know many of us?"

"I've met enough. So what keeps you moving? Why do you push so hard ignoring all the pain?"

The Lena girl stood at the side holding a knife. It was meant for cutting bandages but Ace made sure that the old woman never concealed her behind her back.

Looking at the girl in a detached voice he answered. "I've never died before and don't feel like trying it out. You don't know when the goddess might decide that you're no longer of use and leave you for dead. I don't like taking chances with such things."

The woman looked at him with different eyes. "You value life, don' t you boy?"

Ace burst out laughing. Pain arrows pierced all of his body but he couldn't stop. It was just too funny; him valuing life. She couldn't have missed it more.

Tearing sound stopped him as he felt his chest wound opening and blood gushing out of it. 'Oh god... Don't tell me her healing magic couldn't even fully close up such a wound... I'll have to stay here forever if that's how good she is. I clearly overdid myself with the wounds...'

"Stay still! Or you're going to open everything up! Lena bring more bandages and the red leafs! Hurry!"

"Why can't you just heal me?" Ace asked, pushing pain away and trying to concentrate on something else.

"It is not safe. God's favou is important but humans should ask for it only at the most desperate times. Gods have their own problems too so we shouldn't annoy them with never-ending pleadings to help us" she said putting some herbs he'd never seen before on his wound and then tightly bandaging it. "Lena get some tincture. He needs to sleep."

"What? No!" Ace said quickly but the girl was back with a small bottle and the woman forced him to drink three spoons of a very foul liquid. 'Now I can understand why everyone complained about having to drink medicine. It's horrible. I'd better offend gods by asking for their help than drink this again and h...'

His eyes became heavy and closed up and no matter how much he struggled to move his body it relaxed and he lost control of it. He was alone in the absolute darkness without any sense of occupying a body.

"How long will he sleep, grandma?"

"For a day at least. From then on it'll depend on his own wish. Some wake up the same moment while others tend to take a few more days."

Ace heard soft sounds of something moving over paper. Is it a pen? Wait, they use quills here. Did that mean the girl was using him as a test subject and noting the symptoms and how to treat them?

"How do you know how much to give?"

"Three small spoons for kids and four for adults. It dulls their conscience which allows for quicker recovery because more often than not some psychological problem is preventing human body from fully concentrating on healing."

"Didn't you say that this boy was a survivalist, grandma?" Lena asked in a surprised voice.

Ace listened to it quite annoyed. They thought he was asleep but instead only his body did. He himself could do nothing but listen, unable to shut it out or order them to stop.

"That was before I knew him." Ace hissed in his mind. He hated those who pretended to understand him while not being able to see in him at all. "Did you hear how he laughed when I said that he valued life? It was mockery directed at me, at himself and at the whole world. There was no humour there."

"Are you sure, grandma? I heard nothing of the like..."

"You'll learn to notice it. People who have seen too much absurdity in their lives, most often war veterans, have that look in their eyes that says they don't believe in any greater meaning. Some are good at hiding their expressions so you can't always be sure about them but none can remove the bitterness from their laughter. It becomes a part of them."

"But he's just a kid!" the girl said unconvinced, her voice rising slightly.

"Gods only bring adults because they can help us out. But this Ace guy is still a young boy. He can't be a normal kid if he was brought here."

"I didn't even think about it this!" Lena said loudly in a shocked tone.

"I'm sure we'll hear a lot about him even if he leaves us."

There were sounds of shuffling feet and soon enough Ace was left alone in his darkness. It was an interesting feeling hearing everything but being unable to see and feeling like being nothing and everything at the same time. There were no boundaries for his conscience but there were nothing to signify he was alive either. 'Does god feel this way? Only he's probably able to see...'

At first it was annoying being with himself in absolute blackness but as time passed by and nothing changed he got used to it. And even started to enjoy his time. He would play out all kinds of memories and be surprised for even having half of them. Looking through all of them he searched for something, he knew not what but as he had nothing better to do he could pretend that he'll know once he'll see it.

Time passed and more quickly than he could think a day had gone past. There were no differences besides a soft light starting to shine in the middle of nowhere in his darkness. He thought about going to investigate it but then abandoned that idea. He was fine the way he was and he wanted to find that something. It was bugging him horribly as if he was supposed to know what it was but couldn't remember, yet knew that he had forgotten.

It was a complicated matter.

On a fifth day he was shaken from his thoughts as a semi familiar voice reached his ears. It was a female questioning the old woman. "I need information about a kid with a fox mask and dark hair. Have you seen him around here?"

"Fox mask? No. Travellers rarely come around here. You should better look in the city."

"Who I'm looking for won't be found in a city. If he had reached it, you should start praying for all the souls living there. Half of them won't be there to see tomorrow" the girl said with distaste. "Let me look inside. I need to make sure you're not hiding him."

"No. This is my house and you have no right. I'm an acknowledged healer by the lord. If you try anything, you'll have to answer to him!" grandma stated in a cold voice as her granddaughter came to stand behind her.

"Like I care! Get out of my way now or you'll be sorry!"

"Leave this place immediately!"

"Dream on!" the female said and there were sounds of struggling but they didn't last long. Someone hitting hard against a wall, breath leaving lungs, loud scream and boots coming closer to him. That was all.

He didn't want to wake up. He still had to find that something. But there was no choice. It was either waking up and trying to wriggle his way out or just dying. Perry won't hesitate to kill him even if he wore no mask. From her actions revenge was still the only thing on her mind and she'd rather kill a hundred innocent people than let Silver Wing possibly escape. People like her were troublesome.

"So you were hiding him after all! I knew you were too defensive!" she shouted gleefully. There was no answer, only crying continuing from somewhere in the room. "Your road ends here, murderer!"

Ace yawned widely and opened his eyes. Right over his head stood Perry with a rope in her hands, probably thinking about tying him up. "Who are you?" he asked sitting up and looking at her innocently. He wished he could act all cool and kill her but she had seen his face and that wasn't good news. If she ever fully believed that he was Silver Wing and allowed this information to be leaked, his infamy and favour would merge and he didn't want that at all. He had to dispel all of her doubts.

"I'm your worst nightmare, murderer!" she said. "Your time is up! Nein come here!"

"Why do you call me that?" he asked pouting. "I've never done anything wrong!"

"Is that why you're bandaged? You're a killer hunted by everyone!"

Ace looked at her with his eyes turning into mere slits and crossed his arms. "I think you've mistaken me for someone I'm not! So stop it! Can't you see I'm just a kid?"

"I can see very well and I know that I'm right. Silver Wing has been seen around here. People say that he has dark hair, crimson coloured eyes, wears pristinely clean fox mask and ragged bloody clothes..." Perry said unsheathing her sword in a second but to her surprise Ace didn't move an inch.

"Just like I said, you've got the wrong person. My hair is light, eyes clearly not red" he said wondering what colour they were at the moment. He could guess but it would be like digging your own hole.

"I think witnesses had romanticized it a bit. There's no way anyone could be as bloody as they said or look so much like a perfect villain. In real life such things just aren't as smooth."

"You said he was a kid. Villains are grown-ups!"

"Fine, a perfect horror story madman! No one expects a little kid to be behind people's deaths. Happy now?" Perry asked, glaring at him.

"Yes, guild mate!" Ace said with a bright smile, eyes shining. "You love films just as I do! Could we talk about them sometimes?"

"No way! I wouldn... Guild mate? What do you mean?" she asked, voice rising.

Ace showed her a tongue and brought the wing necklace forward, it had fallen on his back while he was asleep so Perry could only see a thread it was hanged on, previously. It was a dangerous idea to show it as his was more shiny and well-crafted but at the same time it was one of the easiest ways to fool her in believing he was innocent. That took priority at the moment.

"Are you serious..? When did you join? I don't remember ever seeing you in the guild house!" Perry said, desperately grabbing for straws.

Ace smiled seeing his victory already. "I joined on the first days. I've been there longer than you and know Romeo personally!"

"No way! Friend List! Romeo! Is it truth that there's a kid in our guild?" she asked thin air. She seemed to hear an answer and turned her attention to the kid. "He's around twelve years old, blonde, yellow eyed, thin and pale looking. I'm not surprised he's covered in bandages, a stronger wind could break him in half!"

"Hey! Stop that!" Ace shouted out, his face reddening. "I'm not sickly!"

"His name? I don't know. Kid what's your name?"

Ace glared at her. "Tell me yours first!"

"Don't be difficult! Just say your name or I'll tie you up for interfering with crime investigation!"

"I’ll call social services! It would be child abuse!" Ace spit out, throwing daggers from his eyes. There was no questioning whether he would really do it.

Perry took an involuntarily step back. "You wouldn't..." she said, uncertainly.

"Try me."

Surprise showed up on the girl's face. 'What could Romeo be saying to her? I hope he knows that secrets should be kept hidden. I'm in no mood to be confronted as a boss behind the scenes. On that note I should have a word with Romeo myself. I create the guild to know about all attempts to be caught and not for the fun of it. Such situation shouldn't have even happened.'

"Ace? That's his name? Isn't that a bit too much for a little kid? ... You think so? ... Violent? No? ... Ah, I see. Kids... ... You sure it's a good idea? Maybe I should take him along? ... Group? ... No, all alone. Probably was abandoned or they died out. He's hurt badly. ... Okay, I will. We have to stick together. Thanks for confirming it. ... Bye."

'For some reason I feel like Romeo is going to get a very very long lesson from me on how to keep out of my way.'

"Okay, kid. I know you're one of us so grab your things and let's go. There's still a long way to go to the crime scene" Perry said, turning to her assistant who was standing still since she called on him ages ago. 'Is he really human?' "Nein prepare everyone to go. We're leaving in two minutes."

"I don't..."

"Yes, milady" Nein said with a half bow and left.

Ace looked at him as if he was mad. Perry a lady? Those two words were polar opposites! The girl was a narcissistic spellsword and had no good qualities at all!

"Hurry up kid. You have one minute and a half. If you're not ready by then, I'll drag you out the way you are now."

"Another film quote..." Ace said grumbling and looked at his backpack which only contained his dirty aristocratic clothes. 'Gaah... Why didn't I make anyone wash them for me? Now I have nothing to wear...' Cursing himself he continued to search for something. Nothing good showed up so he was forced to choose between dirty clothes or to make something out of pieces of cloth. Without too much thought, he picked the largest sand coloured cloth.

He threw his blanket away and stood up on his legs. They were a bit shaky after sleeping almost a week but held so he started to wrap himself in a cloth. Perry watched with amusement as he unsuccessfully tried to make something out of it. It either didn't hold or made him look like a pumpkin. She even burst out laughing when he fell after getting his legs wrapped up too tightly!

"This is impossible!" he said annoyed and made a dress like thing out of it. Better than walking around half nude. But not by much.

"Hahaha! Let me have a go" Perry said still chuckling. She unwrapped the knot holding his cape and draped it on him from where she made some adjustments quickly creating a toga for him. "I think this is a bit better, don't you think?"

"How?" Ace asked looking at her like a hero.

Perry laughed. "In school's play we performed Neron's burning of Roma so we had to learn how to dress up. We spent so much time on it that I'm never going to forget it!"

"Really? That's amazing! We've only did The Tinder Box! And The Ugly Duckling! I wish we had done any of the Greek legends or some Roman!" Ace said, almost jumping in joy.

"You sure are lively for someone who had just woken up."

"I'm an early bird" Ace said with a bright smile and jogged outside. A dark lump lying against a wall with a girl whimpering beside it didn't receive a single glance. There was just nothing he could do.

Outside he saw a large group of players gathered around the Nein guy. Here he could take a better look at him. The man was around twenty, had jet black hair, small eyes, crooked nose and an evil beard, well, the one that all evil guys from old films just had to have. He was wearing a dark brown wizard's robe on which a silver necklace shone in the sun's light.

Now that he paid attention to it, every player had his in the open. They were wearing them proudly as if that made them better than the rest of humanity. 'Shouldn't they hide it as it said they were killed mercilessly and robbed blind? Why would anyone ever think otherwise?'

"Let's go!" Perry said coming out and marching off first. She didn't even look back to see if anyone was following. She knew they would.

Ace ran after her and when they found and road asked her. "Where are we going?"

"I suppose you know about a monster called Silver Wing?"

Ace nodded.

"Well, then, we've formed a group to catch him. He needs to be stopped no matter what for what he's done and is still going to do. He can't be allowed to run freely any more. That's why we're going to investigate the last place he's been sighted in. There was a massacre there but it's been a few weeks since then so don't be afraid. Nothing is going to happen to you" Perry said taking his hand. Ace let her do that.

"But how are you going to catch him if it's been two weeks since he left that place?" he asked raising his questioning eyes towards her. Small shiver passed through her and Ace smiled. It said so much.

"We need time to travel around and can't just appear on the crime scenes! It is unfortunate but there is still a good chance we might find some useful information there. If we only knew his movement pattern, we could easily stop him!"

'So defensive. It felt as if I had attacked her instead of implying genuine curiosity. I never expected her to be afraid. She’s the first to actively start hunting Silver Wing while not being afraid to use any method available. And yet deep down she didn't want to face him. That's what shaking at the mentioned name meant, right? Egh.. Why is human psychology so confusing?'

"Ah! Now I understand! You've come here from Lasran city! I can't believe you were so fast! You never trusted Silver Wing to have disappeared, have you?" he asked.

Perry smiled and nodded. "I know him better than that. There's no way he'll ever stop on his own, trust me."

"You know him? Have you been friends? Did he betray you? Or did you leave him for another? Is he your brother? Or your chi..." Ace asked saying all the random scenarios he could come up with on a short notice.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Stop your imagination! There was nothing like that!" She took a deep breath. "I'm just one of the few that had seen him coming and confronted him."

"Does that mean you talked with him? Or had an epic fight you've barely lost?"

"I wish. Like a coward he attacked me from behind, scratching my skin with a poisoned dagger. I tried to fight but our skills were on equal footing while time was on his side. So I died... and he was victorious through the use of cheap tricks.

'Deserve to die? You're very kind.'

"He's evil" Ace said, drawing a conclusion and looking around.

Forests went along both sides of the road with large old trees growing right beside where they were walking. Branches were hanging down on the path, leaving only a narrow stretch where sun could shine. Hollow sounds could be heard as wind passed through them.

They walked for the rest of the day which was around five hours until a small house came into their view. It was the same that Ace had passed going towards the city where an old man with his kids lived. After Perry's overly sweet introduction, the man knew better than to disagree letting her stay.

That way Ace and Perry received a bed while everyone else a space on the ground to sleep on. The group was happy with the arrangements as they had slept in the wild for most of their journey. None even said a word about the newcomer getting a whole bed although that probably had to do with a fact that he looked like a kid. Sometimes it was actually useful even if he didn't want to admit it.

"Time to get up, sleeping beauty" Perry said, waking him up early the next morning.

"Leave me alone" Ace grumbled, turning to the other side.

"You asked for it!" Perry said with a smile in her voice. All of Ace's instincts screamed at him to get away but his sleepy brain wasn't fast enough to react.

Freezing cold water washed over his face and chest.

"Aahhh! Why did you do that?" he screamed, jumping out of the wet bed.

"That's what happens to those who can't get up when told. Now grab something to eat from the table and be ready to leave in five minutes. I allowed you to sleep as long as it was possible."

"Right…" Ace grumbled. "Now because of you I'll catch a cold."

"You'll survive."

He shook his head throwing droplets of water on those too close around, Perry squeaked as cold water hit her unguarded hand. Ace showed her his tongue and jogged to grab a sandwich. He ate three before Perry threw him out saying they had to start moving.

Wind blew outside and Ace started to shiver. 'I'm really going to catch a cold if I don't do something. I need to get warm somehow.' That reminded him of the time in the river and a skill he had.

"Excessive Heat" he murmured and felt soft warmth enveloping him. Living in a world with magic was amazing.

"You're shining, kid. Tone it down" Perry said.

"It's either I stay a light bulb or freeze and I don't like the second choice" Ace said, shrugging. Maybe later on he could control the intensity of light and heat released but not now. And nowhere in a near future.

"What is that skill anyway?"

"It warms me up, nothing more."

"You sure it's really magic?"

"Well... I've learnt it from a spell book..."

"Maybe, maybe then..."

They continued their journey talking about magic and what Ace could do. He revealed having all kinds of useless spells like [Flare] and [Flame Step]. Perry also said a few spells of her that she used most often. It was simple fire ball and water shot but now he knew which elements she used. That knowledge could become useful if he ever planned to go one versus one with her.

By the evening they reached their destination. Ace knew it before Perry even said anything. He clearly remembered his adventures and a few close calls around here. A middle aged man stood, looking at them. His face was kind of familiar even if Ace knew he had never befriended him. He tended to remember those people as he had to find their weakest spots and misuse them.

"Hello, Brendon! I'm really grateful you agreed to help us out!" Perry said with a smile, coming to stand before him. Ace was at her right side receiving many glares from the otherwise always calm and collected Nein.

"It is a pleasure to meet you and I need to get my own hands on the guy for the things he stole so I'm only glad to help" the guy said. He was wearing a ragged traveller’s outfit worth a few coppers at best; large muscles showed through it. But the man had no weapons so Ace couldn't really tell who he was. Besides the fact that he was a victim of Silver Wing, of course. That was obvious. "Although it seems like you've already found him."

Ace sighted. "Let me guess, you mean me?" he asked with a pout.

"I was surprised to see that the most feared killer was only a child."

"Why do you think it is him? All the reports said that his eyes were crimson and there was madness in them. On top of that his hair was dark" Perry asked and Ace had to hold his eyes from moving to accuse her. She hadn't believed him in the slightest from the very beginning and had only played along to get him here without a fight.

It was genius of her. And his hatred towards her resurfaced. He could live with anything but being played for a fool. No one was allowed to try to control him and judge his actions unworthy. Such people were the worst of the worst.

"His hair was only dirtied from blood. I could have never guessed they would be so light and even curly."

"Why are you so sure it's still him?"

"I've looked straight at his eyes when he killed me and there was no madness there. People only associate it with red colour. What was hiding inside was great suffering and pain, an all consuming emptiness. And I can see it hiding behind years of practised lies in your eyes too my young friend.”

Ace raised his head to meet the man's eyes straight on and laughed.