"Yo Vin, what brings you here," Zane said.

He heard laughter from behind and a person, close to twice his size, with large wings, came walking out of the forest. In the dark, his feathered wings appeared just as black as his long hair bound into a single, long braid. His two red eyes seemed to glow in the dark and the moonlight partially reflected on the pale skin of his bare chest with a long scar going from his right shoulder down to his left hip.

"You know exactly what. I missed the day and now I'm here, a bit late but at least I came. Can't say the same for the other two," Vindictus said proudly.

The two guards looked at him with fear in their eyes as they watched the conversation between the Reaper, the one who's known to many as the best mercenary in Ion and Vindictus the one called the thirteenth god.

"I mean I never expected either of them to come, both are very busy women . . . or well one is still a child but you know what I mean," Zane said.

"Guess you're right. Anyway, I sadly don't have a present for you this time but at least we can talk again . . . been a few weeks, maybe even a month since the last time," Vindictus said. "And I noticed you've got some companions."

"Temporarily, the guards of the sister of a . . . a friend I'd say," Zane said.

"You got more friends? You mean that girl Erebus wanted to kill?" Vindictus asked.

Zane nodded. "Has he always been that petty? I mean after he took away my power he gave one to some guy that's hunting me," Zane said.

"Yes, yes he's always been that petty. I mean the only reason I still have my power is because he once lost a bet and we made a contract," Vindictus said.

As the two were talking the guards were retreating more and more until they hit the fence where they sank to the ground.

"Ah that reminds me, would you mind looking at that girl and telling me how much Aura she can use without dying?" Zane asked.

Vindictus closed his eyes and Zane felt a slightly overwhelming feeling for a few seconds.

"The one with white tails or the one with orange ones?" Vindictus asked.

"White. But wait you can see that through Arua?" Zane asked.

"Oh, you can basically see everything from physical appearance to mental status in ones life force," Vindictus explained. "She doesn't have much, what exactly would she need it for?"

"To use a Rune, I don't know if it helps but she should carry it in her satchel," Zane said.

"Ah that one . . . she should be able to use it perhaps twice a day, but if she trains her Aura she might have some potential," Vindictus said.

"Any clue what it does?" Zane asked.

"Nope, I can only determine its potency not the effect, for that, I'd have to physically see it . . . and even then, I don't know too much about runes," Vindictus said. "Where did you two even get those things?"

"In a tower," Zane answered.

"Ah, one of those things . . . I tried one of them once, got bored and left," Vindictus said.

"How do you leave one without finishing it?" Zane asked.

"You break the wall," Vindictus said bluntly.

Zane and Vindictus began laughing at the same time. The two guards looked at them with a confused look.

"S-Sir Reaper, s-shouldn't we l-look for . . . f-for a place to set up c-camp?" one of the guards asked with a shaky voice.

Zane nodded while looking back at them over his shoulder.

"Are you going to stay? You could meet Mira, and that other stupid noble," Zane said.

One of the guards cleared his throat loudly.

"Y-You might be th-the R-Reaper, but I w-won't . . . w-won't allow you to insult our employer," he said, trying to sound as confident as possible.

Zane glared back at the man who quickly sank back to the ground.

"So, wait. Were you watching us back there?" Zane asked.

Vindictus nodded.

"And you didn't think about helping us?" Zane asked.

"You have to get used to fighting without your power, and you seemed like you had everything under control," Vindictus said.

"I had to use a damn healing potion for that, do you even know how expensive those are?" Zane asked.

Vindictus shook his head.

"You know what, let me help you with that," he said, extending his hand towards Zane. "Give me your vials and I can make you healing potions."

"You can do that?" Zane asked sceptically as he took four empty vials out of his satchel and handed them to ´Vindictus.

"Of course I can, who do you take me for?" Vindictus asked jokingly.

He took the vials out of Zane's hand and held them up between his fingers. For a short moment, Vindictus closed his eyes and Zane could again feel a slightly overwhelming feeling as purplish liquid appeared inside the vials. Once Vindictus was done he handed them back to Zane.

"That should do the trick," Vindictus said.

"Thanks," Zane said.

"Anyway, how about I sta-" he began. But he suddenly stopped and the look on his face changed from relaxed to serious. That stupid old man," he whispered. "Listen, I sadly don't have any more time, Scuti has called for me, no clue what the old man wants but he's family, so I'll have to go," Vindictus said.

"Family?" Zane asked.

"You could say something along the lines of my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather . . . or something like that," Vindictus explained.

"S-Sure," Zane said. "Well then, it might have been just a short visit but I still thank you."

Zane walked up to Vindictus and shook his hand.

"Well then, we'll see each other again some time, Z," Vindictus said as he extended his massive wings, feathers falling off and flying through the air.

With a strong flap of his wings, Vindictus was already in the air, he whirled up a lot of dust and leaves as he left. Zane watched as his friend disappeared in the dark of the night sky. He then looked to the two guards who were still on the ground next to the horses. Both of them had followed Vinidictus leaving with their eyes, and when they saw that he was gone they stood up. They stared at Zane with a weird look on their faces, as if they had just faced death itself.

"N-Now t-that . . . that is o-over, we should really l-look for a place to rest," one of the guards said.

Zane nodded as he walked over to the guards and helped them up. One of them cleared his throat again.

"I suggest we follow the road for a bit and then set up camp, I don't think any of us would like to stay . . . here," he said while looking at the village main path that was still covered in blood and dead bodies.

Zane and the other guard nodded in agreement, they all climbed up on their horses and one of the guards took the lead. They followed him for a short while until they reached a small area near the lake that was surrounded by trees, within it was a burned-out campfire.

"This is a popular camping spot, we'll rest here for a few hours and then continue, we should reach the other side of the lake by the day after tomorrow," the guard that had been leading them said.

The three got off of their horses and set up three tents, one for each of them. All of them went inside theirs immediately, tired from the battle against the goblins. Zane decided to sleep instead of meditating, not wanting to fall asleep in the middle of a battle again like what happened in the goblin cave. He quickly fell asleep and was woken by one of the guards the next morning.

"S-Sir Reaper it is time to continue our journey," a guard said.

Zane opened his eyes and slowly crawled out of his tent. The two guards had already packed up their tents and were waiting for him. Zane helped them pack up his tent and then they continued on. On his horse, Zane ate a few pieces of dried meat as he followed the two guards. He could hear them whisper to each other and he could now see that the look on their face was still that of shock, surprise but there was also a bit of terror mixed in.

Guess people aren't used to meeting him.

As the three rode along the path, Zane stared onto the lake where he observed the villagers in the distance as they fished in the frozen lake and travelled over the ice in their boat-like vehicles. He watched as the sun travelled across the sky until it was right above them, indicating that it was noon. After a while longer they reached another village at the edge of the frozen lake. Zane looked up at the sun that was beginning to disappear behind the mountains.

"We should stay here until tomorrow," one of the guards suggested.

Both Zane and the other guard nodded in agreement. They got off their horses and left them at the village stable. The stable boy showed them the way to the inn where they ordered food and got rooms. During their meal, it was fairly silent and the guards still had the same look on their faces they had at the beginning of the day. Once they finished eating each of them went to their rooms.

Zane undressed, sat down on his bed and began meditating. He let Aura course throughout his body, the feeling had intensified, he felt more and more Aura within himself.

The next morning he was pulled out of his meditation by one of the guards.

"Sir Reaper, it is time," the guard said.

Zane dressed himself and went downstairs to eat. After they ate they left the inn, got their horses and continued. He noticed the guards whispering again but didn't pay it any mind, instead, he watched the villagers on the lake again. By the time the sun was right above them they were already on the other side of the lake and once the sun hit the tops of the mountains they could already see the carriage waiting for them on the side of the path, the large tent already set up. As they got closer they could hear voices coming from inside the tent.

"I already told you that I don't know what it does or how to use it!" Mira said loudly.

"Just let me have it for a moment!" Merana responded just as loudly.

What the . . .

Zane jumped off of his horse and entered the tent.

"Ah, Zane, perfect can you please keep her off me?" Mira said, lying beneath her sister trying to protect the armring with the rune on it.

"Oh come on just let me have a look," Merana said.

"No, I already told you that it might be dangerous," Mira said.

"Oh, how could it be dangerous?" Merana asked jokingly.

"You could die," Zane said coldly as he looked down at the two women fighting over the black armring with the weird Rune on it.

"W-What?" Merana asked as soon as she had jumped off her sister.

"By the way, Vin visited, you should be able to use it about twice a day according to him," Zane said, ignoring Merana.

"Oh, good, good, but what does it do? And how do I use it?" Mira asked.

"Hold on, did you just say that Vindictus, the thirteenth god visited?" Merana asked, not believing her own ears.

Zane nodded and Merana immediately stormed out of the tent. He could hear her talking to the guards that had been with him.

"Did you actually see him?" Merana asked.

"Y-Yes, it was him. T-The t-thirteenth," one of the guards said.

"Why did he visit you?" Mira asked.

I'm not dealing with that.

"Unimportant," Zane said.

"Oh, come on," she said.

"Anyway, let's take a look at what it can do," Zane said, ignoring Mira.

"Fine."

Zane and Mira left the tent. Merana was still talking to her guards, asking them questions about what happened, the goblins and such, but mostly about Vindictus. The two walked a bit further away where Mira put on the arm ring.

"So what should I do?" she asked.

How do I explain this? . . . How did Vin explain it? Right . . . although I don't know whether or not that will help.

"First you need to channel your Aura into it. To do that just imagine it flowing through your body first . . . like waters flows in a river," Zane said.

"Like water in a river . . ." Mira repeated.

She closed her eyes and Zane could see her lips tightening as she concentrated. The Rune on the armring began to glow slightly for a few seconds.

"I . . . I did something," she said.

Zane nodded with a smile on his face.

"And I felt . . . something strange, as if my whole body was tingling," Mira said.

"Good, now try to let that tingling feeling flow through your body the way you want it to flow through your body. And then you simply move it into the armring," Zane said.

Mira nodded and closed her eyes again. After a few minutes, the Rune on her armring began glowing again and a few moments later he heard the sound of wind coming from the armring as the grass in front of her began bending. Shortly after it was as if a wind cannon had been fired. Little pebbles were hurled through the air along with leaves.

If something had been there it would have probably followed after those . . . pretty interesting.

"W-What happened?" Mira asked with a confused look on her face.

"It can blow things away, pretty simple but seems quite powerful," Zane said.

Mira smiled.

"I did it," she said.

Zane smiled back at her and nodded.

"You did it."

"So that is what it can do?" Merana asked.

"Apparently," Mira said.

"Must be worth a fortune," Merana said.

"I won't sell it, it's a memento from my short time as a mercenary," Mira responded.

"Yeah, yeah," Merana said. "Let's go to sleep, we'll be in Kalwa by tomorrow."

Zane, Mira and Merana went into the tent where Mira and Merana lay down on their blankets and began sleeping while Zane began meditating again, letting Aura course through his body.