Part 1

- ROBERT WULF’S POV -

“The deal was simple!-” Shouted the raven-haired boy in front of me as he shook off his brother’s grasp on his wrist “- They helped us escape the wave and we were to take care of it once it came knocking on their doors. Didn’t we do just that?!”

I still had my forehead glued to my table, thinking that the moment I raised it would be the moment I’d lose all chances of success. The thought didn’t even cross my mind. The two brothers were now standing up in front of each other. The sound of chairs moving was proof enough. The older seemed to abide by my cause, not because he was weakwilled but rather because he agreed with my goal. The younger, though, was firmly against helping me and my group. But who would blame him? It was clear as day that he was the thinking head of that brotherly duo hence the weight of choosing which battles to join and which to run from must’ve been pressing on his conscience quite heavily.

[What kind of lives would those two live if this cursed earthquake didn’t come?] I found myself thinking as I slightly raised one eye to peek at their heated conversation.

“... but don’t you want to save them, Raphael? They are from Migur just like us, and just like us, some of them have lost their families and have been searching for them. You can’t abandon them like this!”

“I can and I fucking will!... Do you even realize what he’s asking?-” Asked Raphael while pointing his index towards me “- He’s asking us to basically fend off all the undead they come across while taking the east route. And then what? Do you think he’ll just say “ Thank you for your help, goodbye”? No! Losing powerful fighters like me and you would just spell the death of most of his group so he’ll find another way to ask us to stay and, as dumb as you are, you’ll probably accept! Wake up Lucas! We have our own goals! Do you not want to find our family!?”

“Of course I want! But that doesn’t mean I’m willing to sacrifice all those people just for a chance to find our family!”

“Then…-” I meekly said after mustering the right words to butt in their conversation “- I may have a solution for that”

Their eyes instantly turned towards me. The dichotomy was absurd. One’s eyes were full of glimmering hope while the other’s held nothing but repressed anger and hate. I attempted to gesture them to sit, in hopes of regaining the reins of that hopeless negotiation, but instead got left gesturing like a fool when the two brothers turned a blind eye to my actions. Feeling the shame burning on my cheeks I coughed twice and began speaking.

“Sir Lucas wants to help us escape while Sir Raphael wants to stay behind and look for their family. I may have the solution to achieve both of those. Hear me out… The scouts reported that the tunnels are fairly safe and that the undead don’t wander too deep in them. So, while having your protection in the tunnels would be the best option, I think we can manage to fend for ourselves once we are able to reach said tunnels. That said, the problem is reaching them. What I had in mind was for you two to distract the undead long enough to let us traverse the dome route without fights. This way both of you ca-”

My words got cut in half by a contemptuous hiss coming from Raphael’s mouth. His blue eyes gleaming in coldness were stale as if stuck in timeless ice. I felt the fur around my neck slightly cocking me with each moment those cold, blue eyes were set on mine.

“So it’s bait, huh?” Hissed the boy.

“Bait?” Asked his brother confused.

“No wait, isn’t it a bit too harsh saying it’s bait? I mean, I’m not really asking you to-”

“Enough-” Once again rudely interrupted me Raphael “- If that’s all you had to say then I’m leaving”

“...Your family” I said out of desperation once I saw Raphael grabbing the iron handle of the door on the other side of the room.

“Huh?” Replied the boy turning around as rapidly as humanly possible with a glint of uncertainty finally showing in his tone. Upon hearing that slight change in his voice I foolishly took it as a sign of him ceeding. It was with biased arrogance that I pronounced my following words.

“There is something I haven't told you about your family”

The mood of the room shifted. Sudden silence befell the four walls and a sense of danger permeated my body, running through my skin. I tried to look around in search of the possible source of danger but instead found out that my body didn’t answer my commands. It was then that I was met with the realization of my foolishness.

In front of my desk stood Raphael. A grimace of anger was creasing his lips, barely shown between the shadows looming over the room. Most of the candles had been blown out and small serpents of whitish smoke rose to meet the ceiling. That very smoke seemed to avoid Raphael’s presence, some much that the usual straight towers turned into scythes and half-moons. I felt my eyes limping and neck bowing under great pressure as I watched his fingers rapidly sink into the wood without much resistance.

“T-to think…you had this…great pressure!-” I mustered with the severe lack of lucidity and breathable air in my lungs “- Are you…really just a fourth-tier?”

[Clearly he’s not…and not only him. Sir Lucas doesn’t seem to even notice the aura surrounding his brother. What’s wrong with this duo?!]

“My family-” Siad Raphael. Only his blue eyes shone behind the veil of shadows. The tone of his words was calm and collected yet expecting, just like a judge’s. And he probably was doing just that, waiting for my reply to lay judgment upon me. I shuddered “- What have you not told us?”

“I didn’t tell you…’cause I wasn’t sure if it was true *huff*. I can’t say for certain but…they might already be out of this hell…with the group who went up in the tunnels” It was with extreme fatigue that those words were delivered. Both physical and mental. But I was rewarded greatly.

The pressing aura suddenly disappeared and the ominous feeling of dangers crawling on my skin dissipated as the raven-haired boy sat down on his chair. He looked at me, probably waiting for something else, before closing in on himself with both hands joint in front of his mouth in a very thinking-like pose. He stood like that for a minute. An interminable minute. Neither me nor his brother dared to interrupt. Though it surely was for different reasons. When he finally opened his mouth, the judging tone had disappeared and the previous authoritarian one had taken its place. Though hints of doubt and unrest could be perceived by a keen listener. Luckily I had always been one.

“Is there any proof in words?” He asked, finally raising his eyes.

“No, unfortunately,-” I replied “- Whether your family is with the group that went down, up or it never came in this city, I have no way of knowing for certain…Sorry if I’m bearer of bad news”

“I see…Still, this brings us nowhere. Whether we help you and your group or not, our situation wouldn’t change, except for the fact that our lives would be in danger”

“Unfortunately I know. That’s why I’m willing to make an oath” I solemnly replied.

“An oath?” He asked perplexed.

“I am no great knight, I’m just a silver-rank adventurer. I know an oath coming from me has not that great of a value, but nonetheless, I am a man of my word. I didn’t choose the work of an adventurer for excitement, gold or fame like many others, no, I chose it so that I could protect. As a boy, I saw my father getting torn apart by an orc who wandered inside the village. I swore to myself that I would protect the place where I lived. My life was spent that way, protecting Migur West from thieves, bandits and whatever accursed creature appeared in the woods… But look at how I failed now, barely able to protect this little group. I saw my friends getting swallowed by that hole, never to be seen again. I saw fellow citizens getting killed by the undead down here, their limbs scattered from one side to the other of those damned ruins…I saw what those undead do to those of us who still hold breath… I just want to see those last ones, those who I was able to protect, out in the open without the constant fear of brutal death. Without the fear of being killed by their dead son or husband. Once it’s done, I’ll lose my purpose. Then, I’ll be ready to find another…I’m ready to dedicate my life to searching from land to land and sea to sea for your lost family. I’ll do nothing but search for them and, was I able to find them, protect them until the two of you come out of this hell. This is my oath” My heart was beating with aggression befitting of a battlefield. An oath was no simple matter, it was a lifelong contract between two individuals. Sometimes even more than lifelong, according to some stories of ghosts. Fear and excitement both mixed inside my blood and grew in strength, fueled by the adrenaline my own words incited.

“Don’t you have family too?” Asked Lucas with a worried expression in his eyes while Raphael simply stared at me with attentive curiosity.

“My wife died three years ago-” I replied “- the illness took her, her soul be at peace. What I have left is a son but he’s old enough to fend for himself. He lives in Argon and I’m sure a letter explaining everything will be enough”

“I’m not belittling your choice-” Said Raphael signaling his brother to stop before he could ask another question about that matter “- but, are you sure about this? You cannot back down once it’s signed”

“Yes, I…I am aware”

“...Very well then-” Said the raven-haired boy with eyes filled with respect and intense curiosity as he showed his opened palm to me “-Do what you must”

I sighed in relief as it seemed that my words did not meet the wind. Lucas was still looking unconvinced as I reached for my waist and the dagger sheathed there. With a swift movement, I unsheathed it. The simple dagger’s blade first ran through my palm, then Raphael’s, letting small droplets of crimson liquid fall over the table.

“It is with this sacred pact of blood-” I said as I grabbed Raphael’s hand “- that I, Robert Wulf, with my name on the line and honor and life as collateral, swear to dedicate the remaining years of my life to the pursuit and protection of this two brother’s lost family. I swear to do so until one of the two deems it unnecessary and dissolves the oath. May the Gods watch over me and gauge the weight of my words, for I swear no false, be my life taken if I do. This is my oath”

With a satisfied look, Raphael let go of my hand, giving it a vigorous shake right after I finished. The oath was complete and my fate was sealed. That thought seemed to be more than enough to calm down the previously furious boy.

Now, sitting comfortably in his chair, with an expression that oozed nothing more than focus, with his brother painfully oblivious of the gravity of what just happened, the raven-haired boy said:

“Now, Sir Wulf, let’s start planning!”

Part 2

“So-” Said Goblin straight after entering my room without feeling the need to knock first “- are they in or will we have to bury our men?”

“*Sigh* What do you think we spent those last four hours on? Talking about clothes, makeup and gossip? No, Goblin, both of them are in… and we’ve already got a solid plan”

“Good, good. At least we don’t have to see others of us die…but-” Said the bald man with a tone rapidly changing from cheerful to serious and dark “- what was the price?”

“An oath” I replied showing the fresh cut on my palm.

“Quite heavy, don’t you think?”

“I was the one to propose it, so I’m fine with it…Plus, thinking of the life it saved, it doesn’t seem so heavy”

“You do you Boss!-” Replied the short man with a shrug of his shoulders as to signify his distance from the matter “- When do we start?”

“Organizing? Now. The real action? We decided to give ourselves three days. Both for them to prepare accordingly and for us to pack our things and set up rules for the masses”

“*Huff* Seems like we got some damned busy three days ahead of us. Think I should get a good share of sleep now before things get hectic?”

“Yeah, I’ll deal with things myself for now. You got yourself the night. I’ll have you run around tomorrow!”

“Can’t wait!-” Replied Goblin with a sarcastic tone as he approached the door “-...Just one question though. I overheard a bit of your conversations. You are much older than the two brothers so why do you call them “sir”?”

“Does age really matter in situations like this? Being wise comes naturally with age. Even the dumbest donkey gets wise as it grows old…Strength is different. Either you have it or you don’t and those who have it have the power to tower over everyone else. Those two brothers right now have the power to choose if we live or we die, yet they don’t seem blinded by it. I’m gladly giving my respect to them”

“I see…strange man you are, Robert” Said Goblin as he closed the door behind him, leaving me alone in my office, looking at my slit palm and sealed fate.

- NAMISATTO’S POV -

The mansion was in uproar, had been for hours now. People with busy expressions painted o their faces were running from room to room carrying all sorts of papers and messages. The reason for that was said to be an “en masse” relocation to a nearby building yet those of us who knew how to use a weapon were asked to train so that our bodies could be at peak condition in three days. It was just a relocation, it was an exodus.

I was together with the people who were running around the mansion but for a different reason. Instead of carrying a message, I was looking for someone, namely Raphael. It had been since our group joined with the survivors in the mansion that I had not seen the two brothers. Lauter and Ros went with them to fight the undead horde while I hid inside with the other non-fighters. I could not nothing but look through the window and gaze in awe as the two of them showed capabilities beyond my wildest imagination. Especially that magic Raphael summoned: Updraft. I spent hours engraving lines of rhymes of that battle in my notebook and because of that, I missed my chance to speak with them.

When the uproar started I was sure something big was about to happen and I couldn’t help but worry. My first thought was to the two brothers. Ever since we came together with the survivors, they seemed to have become the very center of the group, the eye of the storm. It’s the instinct of the weak, like moths to a candle, to be attracted by those who exude strength. And so I looked for them. High and low across the mansion. Sometimes stopping those busy-looking people to ask for directions. It took hours until I could finally come across faces I could recognize.

It happened in a big room on the second floor where the injured were kept previously and now used as some sort of training grounds. There, amidst the sweat, the shouts and the curses of shirtless men, I found Ros and Lauter sparring by themselves with roughly made wooden swords. My first instinct was to run towards them but I forcefully stopped myself midway. I thought it rude to interrupt their training. Hence I waited in a corner of the room, far from everyone’s business and drops of sweat. I was able to complete two whole pages of rhymes before the two men’s fight would come to an end.

In their faces, a mixture of pain with a hint of satisfaction and pleasure could be seen. An emotion peculiar to those who fight. One I could never understand nor appreciate. Taking advantage of the break they were about to make, I sprung forth and jumped into their conversation. The pleasant surprise in their eyes was a boon to my poor mood.

I didn’t directly ask about the topic of my interest, I didn’t want to sound rude to two of the only four people I knew. Instead, we talked about much more different topics. Their training was one of the topics, the location of each other’s sleeping quarters and finally the battle that took place earlier that day. Hearing them speak about Raphael’s magic so closely gave me goosebumps but I pushed away the frenetic need to write down lines to concentrate more on the topic at hand.

“Taking about Raphael-” I asked, hoping that my expecting tone wouldn’t sound as offending as I pictured in my mind “- do you perhaps know where the two of them are right now? I haven’t seen them since we came into the mansion”

“Well…After the battle, I saw ‘em going top floor with the boos of this place. That guy with the mantlepiece made of fur. I heard he’d done it himself with the beasts he killed in the tunnels. Badass ain’t he?” Said Ros while jokingly pushing his elbow on my side.

“If you are looking for them, you should try going to the roof. I heard some of the guys training that there’s one of the “strong kids” training with the sword on the roof. I’m guessing that’s Lucas” Continued Lauted while kicking Ros on the calf after noticing my displeased expression in receiving Ros’ elbow repeatedly.

Excited by the new piece of information, I jumped on my feet like an energetic kid and, all giddy-like, I tapped both of the fighter’s shoulders in an awkward-kind-of hug.

“Thanks guys, I’ll see you later!”

With a new goal set in mind, I began dodging the neverending traffic of busy people running around the hallways. being already on the highest floor I simply need to climb one set of stairs to find myself breathing fresh air. The stuffy air of the mansion seemed like a distant memory as soon as whiffs of relatively cold air gished into my lungs. I took some time off my objective to enjoy that sensation of cleanness, like shedding my skin.

A sudden strong wave of air, unusual for that place sealed below the earth, snapped me out of that pleasurable moment and ruffled my already messy hair. A little upset by it, I looked to my left, from where the wave came, and finally had a good look at the roof of the mansion.

Most of the roof was covered by broken tiles and had the shape of an upsidedown V but a small part of it, big enough to be the size of mansion’s dining hall, was completely flat. Square tiles, a couple shades lighter than the usual grey and black color that represented those ruins, half a meter for half a meter formed the flooring while a railing made of rusted metal and fixed with wood prevented people from falling. In front of me, on the right side of the roof, women and younglings were busy either catching some air and doing their business or watching the people on the left side train. There, five or so strong-looking males with wide backs and thick arms were trying their hardest, with sweat and all, to copy a young man’s movements.

His brownish air seemed to flow together with each of his movements as if his whole body moved together with the sword, not just his arms. Every swing caused the air around him to shift, creating currents that forced the dust, peacefully sitting on the tiles, to fly in circles over their heads. The young man’s movements were nothing like a dance’s. There was no melody to be found in them. Yet each of them had unparalleled fluidity, something I or my eyes were never graced with. The sheer focus and intent behind each strike make me wish to never cross that sword’s path.

“I’m lucky to be on his side” I found myself thinking out loud.

The next moment, the same man I was looking at, seemed to meet my awestruck gaze. It took him nothing but a second to recognize me and dash at an inhuman speed towards me, stopping just centimeters away from my face.

“Hey Namisatto-” Said Lucas with a cheerful expression covered in just enough pearls of sweat to be counted on a hand “- Where have you been this whole time?”

“Oh you know-” I shrugged my shoulders with a slight smile beginning to crack on my lips, influenced by the man’s cheerfulness “- I’ve been here, hiding and writing my poems. Not like I could do much anyway. I can neither deal with injuries, cook or fight sooo, yeah, I figured I’d be some kind of dead weight and just hid in a corner”

“No shame in recognizing your shortcoming!-” Said Lucas as he patted heavily my shoulder. I could feel his whole strength pushing down on me even as he was holding back, such was the poor state of my body “- That’s what my master always said to Raphael when he whined about the training HAHAHA!”

“Did he really whine?” I asked surprised, unable to picture the strong-looking Raphael whining like a spoiled kid.

“He sure did!-” Continued Lucas while cleaning the sweat off his face with his own shirt “- You wouldn’t believe me if I tell you how many times he tried to talk his way out of sword training to study magic. Our master was soo happy when we finally left the dojo!”

“Naahh, you are lying to me” I replied, fully believing that Lucas was joking around as usual.

“No, no. I’m not joking around this time. He seriously is lazy for whatever doesn’t interest him…which is actually everything except magic and maybe physical training”

“Really?” I asked with my jaw dropping for the surprise.

“I’m not lying, I swear!-” Said Lucas as he raised one hand over his shoulder and tapped his heart with the other “- Trust me, he doesn’t care for anything else except his magic and his books. Let me tell you, that guy even has a fiance. And a hot one at that… Not even once did he make a move on her or looked at her lustfully! There were times when I thought he was… well he liked the stick. If you catch my drift”

“What? Seriously?!-” I almost shouted in surprise “-I mean, I don’t judge. It’s a free world. Ton of strange people doing strange things. But I never imagined your brother would swing that way…not with a handsome face like that. Could it be a complex with his scar?”

“No, no, no!-” Replied Lucas, emphasizing his words with gestures of his head “- He is NOT from that side, I just thought he was. He actually likes girls, or so he says, but he just didn’t have much time to dedicate to them”

“Sounds like one big excuse to me!” I replied scratching my chin with a smirk on my lips, knowing my remarks would upset that older brother.

“Ugghh! be damned me and my large mouth! I should remember not to tell any secrets to anyone, especially bards!” There was fury in his voice but the joking kind. I was sure he would not hit me if I were to stop the conversation there and apologize. Of course, it would’ve been another story if I was to continue to press on that matter. Lucas had always been, even in the tunnels, very protective of his younger brother.

“Calm down-” I said, pushing my hands in front of me signaling my surrender “- I am just joking. No need to get worked up like that. Anyway, since we are on topic, do you know where he is?”

“Oh, so you are not interested in training with me? You know, they say I’m a good coach!” Said the brown-haired boy pointing toward the five sweaty men behind him.

“No thanks-” I vigorously replied “- I think I’ll pass!”

“Your loss!-” Chirped Lucas almost singing “- If you are that interested to find my brother though, I suggest you go talk to Goblin near Robert’s office. He’s looking for someone to help Raph in his meditation”

“Meditation?” I asked curiously.

“Yeah. Ever heard of a mage meditating?-” He asked. Seeing my shaking head as a reply he continued: “- I’m not much of a mage myself but I did study at the academy for five years so I know my stuff. Usually, a mage would meditate in order to replenish his mana circuit faster than how it normally does but Raph’s a bit different. Don’t ask me the specifics but he said it’s like looking inside of himself. The thing is: he sometimes goes overboard with it and forgets about the world outside. One time he didn’t eat for five whole days!”

“I never heard of anything like that!-” I exclaimed, making a mental note of it to further inform myself on that matter “- So, my job would be to feed him as he meditates?”

“Dunno-” Shrugged the guy “- Ask Goblin. Raph told him the specifics…Now, if you don’t want to train I’ll go back to my swings…Oh, you should start preparing yourself. We’ll all leave in three days!”

Without adding anything or specifying more, Lucas simply ran back to his position, picked up his sword and began to swing it anew. As if nothing happened and our conversation never existed. Shocked by the news giving validity to my suspects and intrigued by the prospect of the work this “Goblin” sir had in store for me, I walked down the stare in a daze, making a mental picture of where Robert’s office was and the best way to reach it.

Part 3

The door of dark wood, eaten away by ruthless time, stood before me. Various signs saying “keep out” were hung on its frame and nearby walls, proof of the trust the man named Robert Wulf had in Raphael. I hesitated on crossing that door, remembering the tasks given to me by Goblin just minutes ago.

The meeting with him went fine if not for my usual curiosity leading me to ask for the reason for the name “Goblin”. Something he apparently found displeasing. The short, burly, bald man had a very rough personality yet showed an unprecedented control over his emotions that filled me with curiosity as to what was the story behind that man. I refrained from asking out of respect. Once he heard of my reason for approaching him, he handed me a sheet of paper with hasty words written on it. Said “That’s your job. Not one thing more not one less” and handed me a bed roll together with a hard pillow.

As I later understood, the job required me to assist with Raphael’s needs as best as I could. All of them meticulously written on that sheet of paper. I read it once, twice and a third time just to make sure I didn’t miss anything before entering the room. I took the rusty bronze key out of my pocket and played with it anxiously before shooing away my shyness and stucking it in its socket. With two flicks of my wrist, the dark door opened.

To my surprise, I found myself standing in between two doors. One that I had just crossed and one completely painted in an old, crumbly red. That was the first point of the list given to me by Goblin: “Do not cross the second door unless extremely necessary”. I looked at the door with childish curiosity, studying every corner of that forbidden gate. On it’s lower side, a chunk of it had been ripped off and reattacked with strips of leather and metal so that it would function like a smaller door, almost like a cat’s. Reading the second point on my list I learned that it was made so that I could push food into Raphael’s room without disturbing him.

[What are you, a stuck-up rich boy?] I found myself thinking as I skimmed through the list once more.

I sighed as I laid down my bedroll and fixed my pillow in a corner of that middle room thinking how hard others’ jobs must’ve been and how lucky I was. Suppressing my growing curiosity for whatever Raphael was doing in complete silence in the other room, I lit three candles hanging on the walls, took out my notebook and patiently waited for dinner time.

The days passed by as minutes flowed into hours and hours into days. All I had to do was run downstairs to grab a trail of food, cut it and pass it through the small door three times a day. I had to refill the water pitcher a little more often but it never was “hard” work. No, I took it with leisure instead, spending my days doing poetry and talking with anyone who would be willing to. It was pleasurable. Though strange things happened while I was keeping “guard” in Raphael’s room.

The first day, at night, when the entire mansion fell into silence, sudden gusts of sporadic strong wind began slamming doors and windows alike. Interestingly enough, the wind never came from the outside, instead, it solely focused in between the mansion’s walls. Of course, the room adjacent to Raphael was the most subject to said wind and most of my papers were violently scattered around the room at frequent intervals. After communicating this with Goblin, a set of people was tasked with the important job of walking around the mansion to close, and fix if needed, all doors and windows.

On the second day, around lunch, I noticed myself sweating more than I had ever done previously. When looking for the answer I found out that, in all the rooms close to Raphael’s, the temperature had risen considerably, tough mine specifically. The same day, many hours later, panic exploded throughout the mansion. Unable to leave my room, I asked a passerby running towards the roof the reason for that commotion.

“A huge cluster of black clouds appeared over the mansion” Said the middle-aged man with a fearful yet curious expression on his face.

In response to that, I pried open the one window I had in my room and stuck half of my body out of it. The view that greeted me was a cluster of black clouds, like a very thin layer spread across the ceiling of the cave. It had somewhat an unnatural air around it, as if it was summoned using magic. My first thought ran to the man closed in the room beside mine but I soon discarded that thought. To my mistake that is, since, a couple of minutes later, Lucas came running through the door with a dreadful expression plastered on his face.

“Oi, you idiot!-” He shouted as he banged both his fists on the red door causing some of the paint to crumble “- Do you want to bury us all?! What the fuck are you doing in there?!”

A hoarse voice answered words I could not understand but that Lucas was able to. Those words seemed to calm down the fuming swordsman just enough for his fists to stop banging on the consumed wood. With a sigh and a snort of a defeated lover, he pointed his finger to an imaginary opponent in front of the door and said:

“You better be telling the truth ‘else I’ll smack you with my sword! Got it!?” Shouted the furious man before storming out of the room.

No great changes happened after that interaction between the two brothers but the survivors still looked in fear at the black layer covering our heads. People jumped at every shadow in the corner as the unrest grew together with the growing commotion. It wasn’t until afternoon of the third day that the commotion and unrest reached their peak. With the speech delivered by Robert Wulf explaining the upcoming exodus and the chance to safely travel to the surface, the people's hopes and fears surfaced like a rotten corpse in the ocean. Some brawled, some shouted curses at Robert while others silently packed what little they had and waited in a corner of a room. Mine was the task to snap Raphael out of his meditation.

Robert Wulf himself came to spectate the “event” right after delivering his speech. I had the key ever since the first day, it was the same rusty key that opened the dark door. With great hesitation, I twisted the key into the keyhole and gave it two turns. With a creaking sound, the door opened, revealing the mad hidden inside.

Raphael sat shirtless, with one leg over the other and the back against the wall. There were no windows in the room, no candles either. The only adornment was a thick, cream-colored blanket where Raphael sat. The room itself smelt like a tomb with stale air and sweat soaking the walls. I could feel my consciousness quiver as soon as I stepped into that room. I thought it was because of the strong smell but I soon understood my mistake.

In the center of the room stood Raphael. His black hair danced around with tunes unknown to someone deaf to the melodies of mana like myself. His eyelids slightly left ajar, just enough for me to see the light-blue of his cold eyes, the cornerstone detail of his beautiful appearance. Simply describing him as handsome didn’t cut it. The sharpness of the outlines of his face together with the softness of the small details were only heightened by the fierceness of the cut of his eyes and the roughness of the scar over his closed eye. The trained body only served as a remained that, even though the person in front of me was a boy, he was not to be trifled with. It wasn’t simply physical training that brings forth that kind of muscly, but not overly so, body. No, it was a battle-trained body. A body trained for battle and ready for it, with every fiber of the countless muscles ready to jump on instinct. How envious I felt of that body, only less than the enviousness I felt for his brother’s body.

On that toned body, one peculiarity caught my eyes. A tattoo pulsing with painful red, as bright as the flame of a campfire, was circling Raphael’s entire body. From the abdomen to the chest, then the shoulder, neck and finally his left arm. The tattoo, like a hungry snake, spiraled around his prey, rhythmically pulsing with power together with Raphael’s breathing. I could make out scales and claws together with bones and fangs. It was no snake but a serpent, a descendant of the dragons and dweller of deep oceans. Majestic.

I felt engrossed by that rhythmic pulsing as I entered a sort of trance and found myself walking slow steps towards my shirtless friend. It was then that I noticed how my consciousness was fading, not because of the strong smell but because of the constant pressure exuding from the meditating mage. Gusts of wind formed a barrier around the mage and pushed me back as the door behind me began smalling dangerously and the pressure kept ferociously ravaging my will to stand. The need to bow kept steadily growing inside my head the more I approached Raphael.

“R-Raphael!-” I stuttered, focusing my all into those few words “-T-three d-d-days have p-passed! You h-have t-to stop m-m-meditating! …We n-need you i-in the n-next battle!”

I finished my phrase almost shouting as I tried to overcome the wind exuding from the man.

Suddenly, as I pronounced the word “battle”, Raphael’s eyes opened wide, finally showing the two blue gems shining like stars in the night sky. Columns of bluish energy, so thick with mana that even someone as blind as me in its nature was able to perceive, rose from each side of the mage. meanwhile, the sound of thunder crashing and ruins crumbling fueled the shouts and curses of the other survivors.

Assuming a more relaxed pose with a knee bend over his chest and one arm resting upon it, Raphael finally spoke with a guttural voice befitting of a vicious beast.

“Soo, Robert, is it already time for me to battle?” An evil smirk disappeared as rapidly as it appeared on his face, returning it to the emotionless stoic statue he always showed.

“Yes, the three days have passed and night is just a few hours away. If we want to get on with the plan we’ve got to do it now” Replied Robert Wulf in a calm and composed way yet keeping himself standing by leaning on the frame of the unhinged door.

Raphael stood up and cracked his neck. Simply crossing his eyes forced me to lower my head, instinctively. Without a word he walked out of the room, followed by Robert. Thunders still falling down sporadically on the ruins around the mansion. As my eyes dashed from Raphael’s muscular back with the tattoo now turned black and my window facing outwards, I could only muster a thought, before my consciousness would finally let go of its grasp on my brain.

“...What a fearsome monster…”