Auros watched as Kydan knelt there, distraught and looking to be in denial at what Lendras had told him in his dying moments.

The poor lad… He’s been through so much already with his home being destroyed. But now finding out that it was because of one of his own… Did that old bastard really want to get back at him so badly?

Judging by Kydan’s reaction, it seemed obvious that this “Taryn” was someone close to him. Auros knew that this knowledge would haunt Kydan, who had seemed very fond of everyone in Hayvren, from the way he spoke about it and how shaken he seemed when he tried to talk about what had happened there.

Auros didn’t know how to proceed- Did he go over to try and console Kydan and get him up, or did he leave him there a moment to let it out? He tried to put himself in Kydan's position, but how could he? He couldn't even remember his home, or any of the people he loved, so what good was it trying to empathise?

The Ancient seemed to make that same decision quicker than Auros himself could. While V stood a few feet from Kydan watching the flames that had burned Lendras to death slowly fade away, the Ancient walked slowly towards Kydan.

She kneeled next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Be strong, Kydan,” she told him, “Take pride in the fact that you will never be so desperate to hurt someone as he was in his final moments.”

“Y-Yes…” Kydan said half-heartedly, then removed his hands from his face and looked the Ancient in the eyes, “T-Thank you. I’m just glad he couldn’t seize control of you- I can’t imagine what it would have been like for you, having to be used as a tool by a man like that.”

“There are those here among us who know that firsthand,” The Ancient made a telling glance at #215, “And you, my boy… You were able to free that poor girl from his control. You came here to conquer a Dungeon, but more than that, you saved a life. I can tell that you’re kind hearted, despite the things you’ve been through.”

Kydan gave a small nod, “I-I’m just… Glad she won’t have to suffer anymore…”

The Ancient stood up, and turned to V.

“Yes, O Ancient One?” V’s contemplative expression as he watched his target’s remains smoulder changed to his usual cocky smile, “What can I do for you?”

“Leave this place,” she said, “I know you have the capability to do so.”

“Oh do you now?” V smirked, “And how did you figure that one out?”

“By that magic you wield, obviously,” a crimson flame rose in her palm, “There’ll be trouble if you don’t leave here now- I’ll dispose of you myself. Leave this place now and we can leave things at that- You killed Lendras, which doesn’t necessarily make you my enemy, and I suspect these people feel the same.”

Listening to this, Auros couldn’t help but doubt that. From just the energy he radiates, I’m pretty sure most people here consider him an enemy…

“Hey, kid! Get up,” V made no response to the Ancient, and had turned his attention to Kydan, “I’ve got something to say to you.”

Kydan stood, a hostile expression on his face, “What is it? What could you possibly have to say to me?”

“Ooh, someone’s feeling moody,” V laughed, “I just wanted to tell you one thing; Consider it a gift from one person who hated that old pile of ashes to another,” he gave a small gesture towards Lendras’ corpse.

“What is it?” Kydan said again, his expression softening slightly, “No matter what gifts you impart on me, I’ll still never trust you.”

“Which is fine,” V continued, “But my gift to you… Is knowledge. Knowledge about a little something Lendras had hidden in the basement floor of his humble abode, Fort Rosharien. Namely, this little something… Is a map, and marked on said map… Is the Dungeon containing another Spirit Vessel.”

“Why would you tell me this freely?” Kydan looked suspicious, “Why wouldn’t you take it for yourself?”

“Because I hate these places,” V looked around the place with a face of mock disgust on his face, “I prefer to be out in the real world, causing mayhem wherever I go. Oh, and kid? One more thing.”

“And what might that be?” Kydan asked, gripping his knife instinctively as V closed the distance between them, moving close to him and putting his face to Kydan’s ear.

He spoke quietly so that only Kydan could hear, “I’ve… Taken an interest in you. You seem to have won over that fiery-looking gal over there, which means you’ll be a Spirit Vessel user in no time… You’ll grow stronger, which will make it even more satisfying when I kill you.”

Kydan’s stomach dropped at those final words. This man, who he’d never met until today, who had killed an Overlord with a snap of his fingers, now wanted to kill him?

“So my recommendation is to grow even stronger than I am, although… That’ll probably be almost impossible for a mere human. Still, it’s worth a shot, right?”

The way he said “mere human” as if he wasn’t made Kydan shudder. But a strange part of Kydan, somewhere very deep within, felt the same anticipation as he normally did when he was exploring a Dungeon- V’s words had lit a fire somewhere in the depths of Kydan’s heart. Not quite courage, but not fear either.

It was all Kydan could do to simply retain his composure and nod. V backed off, and the shaken teenager kept his back to the mystery man as he addressed the rest of the eclectic group that were gathered there.

“Thanks for all the laughs, kid,” V clapped #215 on the shoulder, “And… Try not to squander your life, okay? You’re a smart kid, and strong too. Yeesh, even I wouldn’t wanna be on your bad side!”

#215 merely nodded. “…You know you can talk freely now that he’s dead, right?”

“I have nothing to say to you,” the former slave's voice was cold and harsh, “I hope we never cross paths again…”

V chuckled light-heartedly, but #215 wondered, hoped, that her words had gotten to him in some way, “Have it your way, kid. Anyway, ‘til next time.”

“Hai! My dear old friend Hai. We bonded a lot here, you and me- In a way, I’m kind of sad it’s over!”

Hai, who #215 earlier thought had somewhat warmed to V, now recoiled slightly from him after watching him murder Lendras and seeing what he was capable of. There was still kindness in the man’s eyes for the mysterious magic user, though.

“May you find peace, whichever path you walk next,” Hai bowed to the man, “And may Eishin’s will guide you to good fortune.”

“A Zhion blessing?” V guessed, and the eastern man nodded.

“Eishin, the Ancient long commanded by the rulers of the Zhion Empire, came to be known as a symbol of good fortune and strength in battle. I gave you his blessing in hopes that you one day come to use that magic of yours for good rather than ill.”

“Good, bad… I’m not sure either of those are really for me,” V pondered, arms outstretched, moving up and down as if weighing up the two options, “But I do appreciate it. And Hai… Maybe you ought to go home one of these days. To your real home, I mean. Hell, if I had a home to go back to, I’d… Well, never mind. Take care, all right?”

Hai nodded, and V finally turned to Auros.

“Gotta say, man… I’m pretty disappointed. After all we’ve been through?”

“V, it’s not my fault that I can’t remember this apparent past we had together-”

“Apparent?!” #215 couldn’t believe what she heard- There was at least a hint of real emotion in V’s voice as he spoke to Auros, “We were best friends, man, we practically shared our whole lives together! I thought we’d never be reunited! This sucks…”

Auros did something surprising then. He moved closer to V and put a hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll meet again, I’m sure,” he spoke solemnly, “It’s a small world, after all. Until then, I’ll try and find myself, and by the next time we meet… I’ll hopefully remember who you are, and who I am.”

V’s expression wasn’t a callous scowl, nor was it a mocking grin. For the first time since #215 had first seen the man, his expression looked completely human. There was pain and some longing in his eyes for a brief second as he looked at Auros.

“Sounds good… Until next time, then.”

With that, V snapped his fingers, and what could only be described as a door of darkness appeared in front of him. With one final look at each of them, his eyes lingering on Auros for longer than they did anyone else, he turned and became engulfed in the darkness.

The door disappeared, and the four remaining people stood there for a moment, absorbing the mysterious V’s words to each of them.

Kydan and Auros’ eyes met, and Kydan noticed the look of relief on his friend’s face. The presence of V had probably taken a great toll on his mind, but now the bard’s eyes glowed with the same kind light Kydan had come to know.

“We’ve had quite a day, lad,” Auros smiled, “If it’s even been a day.”

“Who knows?” Kydan laughed, “We could come out of this place, and a week or even a month could have passed!”

“Speaking of which,” Auros looked from person to person in the group, his eyes resting firmly on the Ancient.

“My eyes are up here,” She said firmly but with an amused glint in her eyes.

“Ah, yes, sorry. Um, what I was going to say was… How do we get out of this place?”

“Leave that to me,” she smiled at each member of the group, “I hope no one objects to this, or there’ll be another fight which’ll ruin my beautiful treasure room even more, but… I’ve chosen a human from amongst you four to bond with me and become the wielder of my Spirit Vessel. I think you all know who that is.”

All eyes moved to Kydan as if to give him unanimous support.

“M-Me? Are you sure, Miss… Ancient?”

“Of course,” she giggled, “You’re the perfect candidate. You’re kind, you can handle yourself in a fight, and you’re all about family… We’re a perfect match if you ask me!”

Auros fought the urge to laugh at how red the lad’s face had went. The Ancient had noticed, too, and giggled even more.

“You’re pretty handsome, too… Still a little young, but a bond’s for life, and I can only see you ageing like wine!”

This time, Auros couldn’t help but allow a chuckle to escape him.

“Um…” Kydan shuffled nervously, giving Auros a scathing look for his mocking, then turned back to the smiling Ancient, “So… How do we actually, y’know… Bond?”

“It’s easy,” she said, “I just have to return to my Spirit Vessel for a moment, and then, you invoke the following, ‘I hereby claim this Ancient’s power as my own, and enter into a binding covenant until the day I die. Accept this bond of souls…’ and then say my name!”

“Um, alright,” Kydan murmured, “But… What is your name?”

Auros thought the lad might faint as the Ancient edged closer to him, and put a hand to his forehead. She smiled warmly at him and his nervous expression changed to one of resolve.

“You already know it, Kydan,” she spoke softly, “You just need to think on it a moment.”

Then she disappeared in a flash of blinding light, back into her Spirit Vessel, the amulet on the pedestal in the far corner of the room.

Kydan looked to Auros. The bard’s grin turned swiftly to a serious expression, “I think you know what to do next, lad... And no better man to do it.”

“He's right... You can do it,” the quiet, violet-eyed girl unexpectedly chimed in, giving a thankful smile to Kydan.

“Th-Thanks,” Kydan said, and then he nodded at Auros, “Yes… I know what to do.”

Kydan began walking slowly towards the pedestal where the Spirit Vessel awaited him.

To Auros’ surprise, the swordsman whom V had called Hai leaned over to speak to him.

“This boy,” Hai nodded in Kydan’s direction, “He’s unlike most people I’ve met in this life, especially the people who typically pursue Dungeons and Spirit Vessels,”

“Yes,” Auros agreed, “Everything the lad does is for unselfish reasons- He makes out as though he only wants to restore his home, but… Judging by the way he risked himself in the heat of the moment and saved this young lady,” he glanced pointedly at the dark-haired girl who was once Lendras’ slave, “I think his true goal is unknown to even himself as of yet. I do, however, see him doing great things in the future- A stark change from the terrible things most men who conquer Dungeons end up doing… What he would have done.”

The two men looked at the corpse of Overlord Lendras Rosharien.

V murdered him with no qualms whatsoever… In fact he seemed to relish it… Was I really best friends with such a man?

“The people of this country have a great weight off of their shoulders, now that he’s gone,” Hai said sombrely, “In the end, despite presenting himself as an untameable beast, tearing down everything in his path… That man was just a floundering, pathetic…”

“Look!” Auros interrupted, and Hai’s attention along with #215’s was averted to Kydan, who now held the amulet in his hand.

He began to fasten it to his neck with fumbling, clumsy hands, and Auros was once more reminded that his companion was still just a teenage boy at the end of it all- A teenage boy whose life was about to change forever.

In a shaky voice, Kydan began to speak, “I… I hereby claim this Ancient’s power as my own, and enter into a binding covenant until the day I die…”

Auros swelled with pride- The unlikely young man from the carriage ride to Mahernas had come so far- This was it…

“Accept this bond of souls… Sakhtras!”

Auros gave a slight start of realisation, recognising the name, but had no time for any further reaction before the entire room was filled with a harsh white light, swallowing up the four of them who still remained…