Gabriel woke up to the smell of overcooked fish, a little burnt maybe, but still fish.

He stood up in a panic.

"Mom! The salmon is burning!" He shouted, sitting up; then his head swayed like crazy, and he had to catch himself from diving headfirst on the rock.

A taken aback Olive choked for a bout of laughter.

"Waf kin' ov wake up-" Gulp. "-phrase is that!?" She asked, eyes tearing.

"What happened?" Gabriel looked around for the lizard, finding her looking at him, sitting by the small brazier, gulping down pieces of meat, her tongue whipped at him.

Good, she's fine.

His left arm shot up. And it was indeed there, not a sign of the damage, not even a scar, it was only slightly pale.

"Did I really lose my hand? Or was it a dream?" He asked the girl.

"Oh, you did indeed. I just recovered it and reattached it. My healing is not at the level in which I could have regrown it, not without spending too much Mana for my own good anyway," she answered, raising up and heading toward him with some fish.

"But it works perfectly, how did you-"

She waved her hands about, and together they answered: "Magic."

Olive crouched in front of him, handing him a piece of meat. It smelled like fish, but it did indeed look a little too much like a cut of beef.

"Taste it; you hunt it down yourself. It doesn't taste bad at all," she said with a smile.

"Is this the bastard?" He took it from her, maybe a little bit more aggressively than intended, then bit down on it with hangry eyes locked into hers.

"Sherves you righ'!" He said munching.

"You know…" The girl started, plopping on her ass, where she was crouched. "If I didn't know you were a Herald, I'd ask you how the hell you survived that, but I guess I already answered my question."

He didn't know what to say to her. Instead, his eyes wandered over her head and around the place in which they were staying.

They were in a cave, it was relatively humid in there, and the heat was just a faint reminder of their location.

The only source of light came from the fire, and at his right, where he judged was the entrance of the cave, the water hit the shore, without letting a single ray of light inside.

How did she even light the fire? The humidity in here is almost suffocating, and is it night already? How much was I out for?

Gabriel shrugged. Instead, Liz moved about. She had finished eating and was now trying to play with Brill.

"Thank you for saving me," He said to the girl, seriously this time.

"Yeah, it's becoming a habit of mine, isn't it?" She answered with a smirk.

Gabriel smiled in response, then he got up and moved just a bit farther, to rest his shoulder on the wall of the cave. He knew some notifications were waiting for him.

You have killed (1) Level 19 - Trout of the Burning Pond

You have gained:

Level + 78%

Class Level + 52%

Spirit Level + 52%

Burst Attack Tier 2 + 52%

Congratulations, Gabriel Walker.

Your natural Affinity has increased by 1 through training.

You can still increase your Affinity freely by 14.

Congratulations, Gabriel Walker.

You have reached Level 4.

You have 1 unspent Body Attribute point.

Congratulations, Gabriel Walker.

Burst Attack reaches Tier 3.

New effect: Increase your Power and Alacrity by up to 100% for 1 Energy point. Permanently increases Recovery by 30%.

"Woah! That thing was level 19? I'm lucky I'm alive, am I?" He asked.

"You have no idea. No, really... Your Life points probably hit zero the moment it dragged you down with it, maybe. You should not have had even the chance to hit it once," Olive said, which, while he read through the searing letters in the air, had gone to retrieve another piece of fish, one for him to eat and another for her.

"Nice… thought, I'm wondering now… having been unkillable by your rules is good, and all, but I'm frail as shit. I mean, a fish has bitten through my wrist. A fish!" he admitted, taking the fish she offered him and waving it around.

"Well, first things first. Don't walk that road. It's the fastest road to death there is. Then, getting a little bit of meat on those bones wouldn't be a bad idea. You can technically choose whichever Skill you want for your Resilience; it would suit your crazy fight style," she admitted.

"Hey… which road are you talking about? I'm not suicidal."

"Neither are you immortal. There are ways to kill you without having to zero your Life points. Decay magic can literally tear you down at a molecular level, just to mention one."

"Decay magic… right…" he sighed.

Fucking magic… I hope I can get my hands on some.

"Alright then, it's decided. Hey, Liz. We're going the tough guy's way after all."

Gabriel placed his point into Resilience, bringing the total to 4.

"Do you want to turn her into a crocodile?" Asked Olive out of the blue; she was licking the tips of her fingers.

"What?"

"You trying to evolve her into a crocodile? You know, big reptiles with tough scales and such?"

"No… they evolve too? I just thought she'd get bigger and heavier, better." He answered, surprised by the news.

"Yeah, she surely will, but she evolves based on her Skills, so… if you want to hear a piece of advice…" she said, without finishing.

"Yes, I do." Gabriel, leaned forward.

"Then just make her an all-rounder for now, at least until you have better knowledge about… well, the world," she said.

He nodded, caressing his chin, on which a beard had started growing; it had been four days or even more since he last shaved.

"What do you think, Liz? Do you wanna try that?" He asked the lizard.

She came rushing at him, nodding as if possessed. Her tongue whipping in front of her, tail wagging.

She likes the idea… Mmh, do lizards wag their tail? Or is she doing it because that's what I thought lizards would act like? She's cute.

Gabriel nodded, "You've grown again, by the way. I guess it's Affinity doing its job."

"So, where are we now?" Asked the man, getting up and dusting his bottom.

He looked for his bag, it was there, by the fire, his shirt too. Thankfully he had lost nothing; even his three throwing knives were still in his possession, one still in his pocket, the two he had used resting by the bag.

Hope the pistol is still functioning.

"We came here from underwater. I found this cave while diving to save your ass. The tunnel ahead goes up after a while, so we should not be too far apart from the ground."

"So why don't we start moving? It's kind of uncomfortable here, knowing that there are monsters in those dark waters."

"Well, there surely are up ahead too, but I guess we need to reach a safe place somehow. I was thinking of going for the Deep, but I have no idea how to reach it from here; we're practically on the other side of Alter."

"Alter. This is not the first time I heard it… Oh, my God! It's the name of the world, isn't it?" Exclaimed Gabriel.

"Not quite, but that's how we, humans, call it," she answered with a shake of the head.

"Alright…" Then Gabriel clapped his hands. "It's decided, then we head up!"

"Who decided it? I'm the captain here; even though my opinion is the same as yours this time, it's better if I call the shots. Because for now, you know nothing, John Snow."

Gabriel gaped.

Is she the perfect woman?

***

"I just want simple answers. Darte," said the darkness-cloaked figure.

"Why do I come here, at the center of the city, to a spectacle of dead orcs, dwarves, and guards, my guards, and the name uttered is yours?" Lorad's eyes were raging, or at least they would be for Darte if he could see them, among that pitch-black fumes released by his father's body.

"I found him, father. The Herald is here. I confirmed it," Darte answered, trying to not make his voice waver.

"You found him… and you thought that killing innocent people to get a hold of him was the way to catch him," those were not answers; they were statements.

"Darte, you are a genius, but you are my greatest failure… with these fuck up of yours, you have thirteen more innocents deaths on your hands, and I'm not even counting those you kill for your selfish delusions of grandeur!" If Lorad's tone could be colder than that, Darte would be freezing to death.

"But father, they were necessary sacrifices, the Herald can't be risked to enemy's-"

"Shut it!" Boomed Lorad.

Waves of darkness washed over his twelve years old son, bringing him to his knees, as the power of it wrenched the roots of Yggdrasil free from the garden of their estate.

"You warred in the city's center, against one of the most famous establishments of the Cradle, using our very own black ops, for nothing! You made a fool of yourselves! And displayed as an enemy, both in front of your people and of those who will have caught wind of what transpired in the city!"

Lorad turned around, darkness acting as a tight mantle for him.

"You were supposed to be my heir! The genius of our house! I talked about you with pride! And now? In the last couple of years, you lost the respect even of the Seer of Carnage! HA!"

Once again, waves of darkness barreled at him, pushing him into the ground with a strength that could bring down a building. It caved the ground, ruptured it, "How? What did I do wrong? Was it the lack of a mother that turned you into a monster? Was it the freedom I've given you on Earth? What was it? Answer me?"

"Enough, Lorad."

A cleansing wave of water pushed the darkness away, making Lorad's mantle see-through for a second.

"It's was your influence, wasn't it?" Said Lorad to the Elder. Glowing dark light around him and darkening his irises; it turned everything around them one shade darker; he walked toward them.

"Mine? I merely tried to correct his misaligned trust in other people. But, you are in part right, losing his mother… that is a wound from which he will never heal…" said the Elder.

"You are talking about yourself! Forging him out of your sadness, that is what you are doing to him! From now on, I forbid you to have anything to do with him!" Shouted Lorad to the Elder.

"Enough!" Screamed, Darte. "You can't prohibit me from seeing him! He's my grandfather, the only thing… the only thing left of her!"

"You get no saying in t-" Started Lorad before being interrupted.

"I hate you!" Darte screamed, then he disappeared with a massive gust of wind.

"Darte!" They both shouted.

"I hope you're happy now! You made him run away again!" The Elder said.

"I? It's your inability to accept your daughter's death that has made him into that heartless monstr-" Lorad stopped mid-sentence.

A wide-eyed Gaia appeared. Her wolf form shifted as it separated from Crystal.

"I came too late! The Seer was right. What has he done with the Herald?" She asked, dropping down from the roof of the manor.

Their castle was situated at the Cradle's highest point, on a platform made of entwined branches. They formed a gigantic bowl, which stood much, much higher than every other building could reach.

"Gaia… I took this thing too lightly, you were right, and I'm sorry about not having listened to you," said Lorad.

"Dad, where is he?" Her eyes were unwavering.

The Elder intermeddled. "Gaia, what has the Seer told you? You look more distraught than you have any right to be, especially after having talked with the Seer."

"The Herald, he is in danger. You have no idea how much! It's going to be catastrophic, and we're already much too late!" She said, desperation emanating in waves from her voice.

"Gaia, what is going on?" Asked Lorad, now more serious than ever.

Lorad considered the Seer to be a bitch beyond any natural standards, but the bitch was never wrong with her prophecies.

If she said a meteorite would fall on a needle in a haystack, then that would indeed happen, no matter where you hid the needle, the haystack, or both.

"Dad, if the Priests of Lore get a hold of the Herald… the balance of power will be lost, forever. They will stop at nothing to find him… and after today's display, they will have started suspecting something, even if we lucked out for some remote chance, and the families of those that lost their lives today keep their mouths shut. It's just a question of time until his presence will become too heavy to be unnoticeable."

She lowered her head and remained in a considered silence after that.

Lorad sighed. "Then, we must prepare for war."

"Elder-" He started.

"I know. It's not my first, nor will it be my last cold war, young man. We start with logistics. The Herald's family must be put under close surveillance. If we lose them, we lose the Herald."

Quickly after that, Lorad left. Heading for his house, his hidden house. Not the one on Earth, or the one he shared with his family, the only place left to him that he could call home.

It was hidden at the edges of The Den's territory, on Yggdrasil's solitary root where the soothing presence of the Tree still reached.

The house was just a tree-house made with Yggdrasil's lumber. It was standard, nothing big or extravagant, just comfortable enough for his needs.

Reining in his overflowing shadows, Lorad entered through the front door. Removed his battle armor and placed it on a chair nearby. Then he undressed, checking his figure in the mirror of his bathroom. He looked a lot like his son, very white complexion, handsome features on a smooth face, eyes as dark as his hair, almost unnaturally black actually, big hands and wide shoulders but on a rather stocky body. If he looked imposing, it was just the effect of his Spirit Fusion, turning him into a sixteen feet half-bear, half-human creature.

Lorad sighed. He had a few more white hair than the previous week. They had started appearing ever since Clairing, his legendary wife, had sacrificed for the good of Yggdrasil eight years prior.

The man went to his bed, there was already someone in there. Long black hair opened like a fan on the pillow. They were beautiful. Just as the woman under those blankets, he thought.

The only reason he had managed to not fall into a crippling depression after his wife's death.

He entered his bed, and he had barely rested his head on the pillow when the woman got a hold of him. She pulled him in a big hug. Well, he was the hugged one, held tight like he was the most important thing in her world. She placed a leg on top of him and gently whispered in his ear.

"He ran away, didn't he?"

Lorad laughed. "It almost seems like you know him better than I do."

"I helped raise them," she said white a smile.

Lorad turned toward her, "Then what should I do, Jiao? He's becoming a monster… just like… exactly like To-"

"Don't say it," she interrupted him, "Unlike him, Darte has a family; maybe he has yet to figure it out. But when he does, he will understand what's really important."

"He too had a family," Lorad retorted, gripping her hands tight in his, "I was his family, or at least, so I thought."

"Oh, dear… you were, I didn't mean that. Of course, you were. Tom just didn't believe in love anymore. You've done whatever you could. Now it's time to let go. If we catch this Herald," she said, probably not believing in her own words, "we might show him the real way. Show him that power comes second."

"I hope we can, Jiao. I hope we can."

***

"Ouch!" Said Mirai, bringing her finger to her mouth, sucking the blood flowing from it.

"That's never happened before." She said. "I must be really tired…"

Abandoning her knife on the counter, she left the kitchen to sprawl on one of the longest divans they head. It was one of the family table seats with ten seats; the TV was right in front of it, by the wall. However, silence reigned supreme in the restaurant. It was closed for everybody but Raina, but she was not there at that moment. Mirai had needed to be alone for a bit, the despairing nights had receded, and she was now waiting for something to happen, anything really. She would simply walk by like a zombie, waiting for something that she wasn't sure would even happen.

She checked on her finger, almost happy she had felt physical pain, something which could at least averted her from thinking about her boundless emptiness.

However, as she checked the finger, she noticed that her blood had already stopped.

"It almost felt good." She said to herself, watching intently at the cut on her right index finger.

Mirai got up, heading to the kitchen once again. Her eyes looking for the knife.

There it was, lying on the counter, atop a beautiful and perfectly kept maple chopping board.

The kitchen knife was so sharp that blood hadn't even stained it; it had flown instead on the chopping board.

She eyed the knife now, almost drawn to it.

Perfect stainless steel, it was one of those high-end knives, which after weeks of use, needed just one good sharpening to return as perfectly sharp as the moment it had been bought.

She caressed the handle with care, almost as if it was something precious for her, then raised it up to gauge at its shiny edge.

"I wonder-" she said when she felt a door close.

"Mirai? I'm coming in," said Raina. "I bring ice cream!" She stated.

"Thank you, Ray." She let herself be found sitting by the closest table she could reach.

Raina was a good girl, and she was already faring really well while showing the least humanly possible sadness, though she knew that she cared about Gabriel. If it hadn't been for her son's reluctance to abandon himself to really love someone, they could have been together. Mirai thought they had a crush on each other since she started working with them, but neither had made any step forward to initiate any sort of relationship, which went over their self-imposed purely working relationship. He, in fear of love itself; she in duty to her work position.

They changed the seat, going, once again for Mirai, to the biggest table and its comfy sofa. Raina turned on the TV, and they started eating ice cream in silence, a silence only broken by the low chattering of the anchorwoman.

"I've heard something from Tony today," started Raina. She was looking inside the ice cream container as she spoke. Carefully not meeting Mirai's eyes.

"What?" She answered.

"Something weird, a bit vague even, coming from a friend of a friend, someone from the police… so nothing too sure," she started.

Mirai's eyes became focused, and the tone of voice grew higher. "The Police?" She asked

"Wait! It's not about Gabriel. It was about that house, those people from the estate."

"Oh… well, what was it?" Asked a deflated Mirai.

"It seems, it's not the first thing something weird has happened there… I don't know if it's true or not, but it seems that a kid from a school nearby, one of those elite schools nearby; anyway, a kid disappeared a couple of years ago…" she continued, her eyes intent on gazing at the ice cream's very fundamental substance as if waiting for it to turn into something else, something dangerous even. "And anyway... the police investigation led there for some reason; however, once again, it was a total bust. The investigation led to nothing, and the case was closed soon after, with the body of the kid reappearing dozens of miles from the school's location. The culprit was never found." She finished, yielding the room once again to the low murmur of an anchorwoman.

The tension of true silence could be felt in the room. It was perceived as pressure on the ears slowly growing in magnitude until out of the blue, a glass exploded by the kitchen counter.

The two women jumped on the spot, both getting up and going to see what had happened.

Remaining of the glass was only the memory; the rest was crystal pieces, so small to almost escape the eye.

They looked at each other; Raina probably wondering what had happened and how, Mirai though, had more pressing matters in her mind.

"Could you let Tony know I need to see him?"

Something had finally cemented in Mirai's mind, the doubts that the elderly man had lifted, dropping down as steel weights once again; now it was different though; she wasn't the only one suspecting. There were other people, even Raina, she thought… Why tell her about it if not because she felt that something was wrong in that little exchange.

I will find you, Gabe, dead or alive. Michael, be my witness!