“She's starting to slip.” Styx declared while resting his chin on his palm.

Shaffra inched her way towards the edge of the rooftop, careful not to step out of the shadows. They both watched as the veteran grabbed both of Luna's shoulders and quietly spoke to her. Luna nodded and quickly left the park with a hand on her head. “What do you think we should do next?” Shaffra inquired.

“What indeed?” Styx pondered and closed his eyes. “She has the same terms I gave her father.”

“You don't mean-”

“I do. Like I told him way back when, this world is shit. There's shit people, shit places, shit attitudes, and shit situations. Of that shit, however, I have a lot of shit that I care about. If someone threatens my shit, well, then I guess I'll lose my shit, won't I?” He slowly climbed onto his feet and in an even, bored tone, he stated, “If she goes berserk, we'll lose everything. I let Cain go last time, I won't make the same mistake with her.”

“But-”

“You saw what Cain did, and he was able to control it to an extent. Just look at how lost she is even with a seal and it's not even fully awakened yet. When it does, Luna won't be Luna anymore. Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to wake up and smell the Beast Bane.”

Shaffra bit her lower lip and held a fist in front of her chest, looking down at Styx's feet. “How long?”

Styx grunted as he watched Luna disappear from sight. “At least twelve hours, at most forty-eight.”

“That soon?”

He turned his gaze to the veteran who by that point had dragged the bodies of the corrupt officers together and started stomping down onto their mouths with his heel. “She's fighting Cain's memories after all, and now she's on the front lines of her own personal war. They won't let her off easy. Even if she wasn't the one to kill these nobodies, she would have been blamed for it. Even if they hadn't been killed, she would have been framed for something else. Either way, they're going to bring the fight to her and they're terribly impatient.” Styx pivoted on his heel and began to march away with his hands in his pockets.

“Where are you going?”

“To prepare. Whether we wait or not, we'll have to deal with the Ríastrad. It wouldn't be wise to be under-equipped.” As he walked away, Shaffra stayed put. Styx sighed and halted. Then, without facing her, he whispered, “Cain hated vampires almost as much as he hated humans, right? Once she loses it, she'll share that same hatred. You know what that means for our clan, don't you?”

“She's your niece-”

“When it comes down to it, will you choose a lost puppy or the entirety of your family?” Shaffra didn't answer. “That's what I thought. Now, let's go get ready.”

* * *

“It's been one hell of a day.” Luna grumbled to herself as she made her way through the city. “I knew things were going to start getting hectic real quick, but I didn't think they'd be looking for me on the same day.” She stopped in place and looked over her shoulder. She clicked her tongue and mumbled, “Still though, which one of us was it that actually enjoyed that? Me,” She placed a finger on her eye patch, “or you? Both of us perhaps?” She then shook the thought away and kept walking.

“Nothing beats the thrill of a hunt right? Especially when your prey comes to you.” A woman called out from behind Luna and she whipped around.

The moment she did, her foot fell on uneven ground instead of smooth pavement, causing her to slip slightly. She scanned her surroundings, noting that the buildings were nowhere to be seen and that she was now standing on a field of rocks. Around her was a dense cluster of dead or dying trees under a blood moon. She stepped forward in an attempt to investigate her new location further but paused when she heard the sound of metal dragging across stone. Her feet were bare, allowing her to completely feel the slimy rocks that seemed to be coated in an oily substance. Around both of her ankles were the same iron shackles as before though this time a black, ethereal chain was attached to them. It ran out roughly a foot from its anchor and faded away as though it was gradually becoming invisible down its length. She reached towards it with one hand only to notice that her wrist donned the same ornament. The grey wool dress that was all to familiar with her was singed and torn, showing patches of her skin underneath. “You trying to tell me something?” She muttered under her breath.

Luna shivered and wrapped her arms around herself as a strong gust of wind ran through the openings in her clothing. In the breeze, a small piece of plastic was thrown into her hip and stuck there until she grabbed it. When the wind died down, she held it out in front of her with one hand, rubbing her chilled, bare arm with the other. “This is... that worn-out identification card from the last time I was in the Ríastrad?” She commented aloud and scanned the ground again. Scattered amidst the tree roots was a combination of handguns: some revolvers, some semi-automatics. She went around to them one by one and kicked them into a pile. “Six in total and they're all so rusted, they're unusable.” She raised one eyebrow and scratched her chin. “Six?” Her thoughts were immediately interrupted as another bout of wind sent a chill down her spine and she wrapped her arms around herself once more.

“That was quite the spectacle.” A man stated with a slow clap.

Luna turned to find Abaddon approaching her, dressed in ebony plate armour with his arms and head exposed. His left eye was coated in a scarlet blaze, preventing her from seeing his Ríastrad underneath it. “Well, thank you.” She spat sourly. “If this place was preparing for the winter, you could've at least gotten me something warmer to wear.”

“I think you're overestimating my control over this world. Soon enough you'll be in full control anyway and I'll be nothing more than a spectator.”

“Is that right?”

“It is.” As he spoke, a red hand grabbed his waist and Lilith poked her head out from behind him.

“Ah, that reminds me,” Luna started and looked to the girl, “A woman called out to me just a moment ago. Was that you?” She didn't answer. Rather, she canted her head and shot Luna a blank expression. “I'll take that as a no.”

Abaddon watched her in silence for a moment, making no comments until he saw Luna looking at the chain on her wrist again. “It's almost time for you to fulfill your end of the deal.” He declared.

“Deal?” Luna echoed. “What deal?”

“Luna!” She felt someone grab both of her shoulders and they started to shake her violently. She blinked multiple times and like she was just waking up from a nap, stared groggily at a panicked Stella. “What are you doing spacing out out here?” She inquired.

“Out... here?” Luna slowly looked around, confirming that she was back in the city. “Those trips are getting increasingly sporadic.” She mumbled.

“Are you all-” Ryan stepped out from behind Stella and began to ask about her condition but paused and turned pale when he got a good look at her. “Is that blood?”

“Huh?” Luna started inspecting herself and rubbed the crimson stains on her skin and in the borrowed hoodie with the tip of her finger. “I didn't mean to get it dirty...”

“Never mind that. Are you hurt?”

She shook her head. “It's not my blood.”

Ryan's eyes widened and every muscle in his body tensed up. “It's not?”

“What happened out here?” Stella interrupted.

“I... I became... I found...” Luna paused again and rubbed the back of her neck. She closed her eyes briefly and when she reopened them, she made a poker face. “I disposed of a few monsters. Nothing more.”

“What did you do with them afterward?”

“A friend said he's taking care of them.”

“A friend?”

Luna shook her head. “I don't think I should be out here any longer. It's been a long day anyway and I'd like to go rest some more if that isn't a problem.”

Stella watched her, expressionless for some time before smiling weakly. “Very well. Today has been rough, I'm sure. Let's get going.” She put one hand in between Luna's shoulder blades and started rubbing her back as they made their way back home.

After about ten steps, they stopped and Luna checked over her shoulder to see that Ryan hadn't budged and was still staring at the spot where she had been standing before. “Are you coming?” She asked.

Ryan didn't respond. His eyes stayed glued to the ground and his fingers twitched outward like something was preventing him from creating a fist. It's not like she kills anyone who looks at her the wrong way. The words echoed in his ears.

Not yet.

He raised his head and gripped the belt loops on his pants tightly. “Sorry. I think I'll be going now. I haven't been home to check on my dad yet.”

Luna nodded. “I'll be fine. Don't worry.”

He hesitated. “Yeah.”

Stella squinted at his back as he left. She turned away and whispered to Luna, “Let's go home.”

* * *

“I've made a lot of progress but there's still a bit more work to be done. If you stop by again tomorrow, I should be able to finish then.” Aileen told Te as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. “I'm sorry that I can't immediately do more.”

The fox demi-human sat up on the fabric couch and placed a hand on her throat. With a smile she explained, “It isn't of any concern. I already feel a lot better than I did.

The butcher wrapped her in his arms and with a tear in his eye, he exclaimed, “Colour is starting to return to your face. It's been so long...”

“Brother?” Grian called out, gathering everyone's attention.

They all turned to face Ian who was leaning against the kitchen wall, his eyes fixated on an untouched plate of food on the table. “She never even come down to eat, huh?”

“It's her first night at the third stage,” Stella spoke up. “It'll take her some time to adapt and learn to live with it.”

The butcher released his wife and leaned forward. “We should probably head out then. Having more people around might make things more difficult for her, not better.”

“Having people around her that she trust would certainly help, although she will have difficulty facing others. In the previous stage, she could at least dictate when and who's pain she tapped into. Now it could happen at random and have unpredictable effects on how she reacts to certain situations. She'll need people in her corner now more than ever, but yes, having too many people around at once could suffocate her.”

“In that case, we'll take our leave. We'll be back again tomorrow anyway for that check-up. Hopefully, by then she's got herself a little more under control.”

Grian's shoulders sank slightly. “I wanted to play with sister some...”

Ian put a hand on her head. “Tomorrow squirt. She needs some time to figure things out.”

“Okay...”

They all gave one final farewell and left in an orderly fashion. Stella stood frozen in front of the closed-door until she heard the vehicle pull away. She then asked, “So what will you do?” and turned to face Liz who sat in the love seat with her head buried in her arms on the coffee table.

She slowly got up onto her feet and looked up to Stella with bloodshot eyes. “When she wakes up, can you tell her to meet me behind our old elementary school? It should be devoid of people.”

Stella hesitated. “You don't seem to be keen on the idea.”

“I don't have a choice. I would rather do this at a time that isn't so crucial, but-”

“But you don't have time to think it over.”

The room fell into a long, awkward silence. “I'm sorry.” Liz stated as tears started to well in her eyes.

“Me too.” Stella responded and stepped away from the exit. As Liz brushed past her, Stella whispered, “Perhaps it's selfish of me to say so, but at least she got to taste a bit of what it's like to have a friend.”

Liz rubbed both of her eyes with the back of her sleeve. “Saying that just makes this even harder.” She then jogged out the front door, barely closing it behind her.

“Stella?” Aileen called out softly from the living room to her wife.

Stella started to tremble and her voice quaked. “Should I be upset that this day has finally come or happy that Luna was able to stave off the curse for so long?”

“Happy.” Luna interrupted them. They both snapped around to find her sitting on the stairs, pulling her knees into her chest. She lifted her head slightly and said, “Happy I think would be the better answer.” She quickly eyed the cold dinner on the table and turned away from it. She got onto her feet and mumbled, “I won't keep her waiting.”

* * *

“This place...” Luna grumbled to herself as she passed through the tree line. She could only just see the brick walls of the elementary school through the brush. An unassuming dirt patch sat surrounded by fresh green grass, yet Luna saw a red aura emanating from the spot nonetheless.

“I forgot that this place doesn't only harbour good memories for you.” Liz commented from her spot sitting on a boulder nearby.

“This is where they killed Chip.” Luna stated dryly.

“Sorry.” Liz apologized. “I chose to come here because this is where I think we truly started to become friends all those years ago. Aside from its obvious lack of life not only during this current chain of events but also due to the time of day.”

“Hm. This is where we usually took care of chip.”

“It's also where you first showed me your ears and tail.”

“You were the first person I opened up too.”

“You put up a fight in doing so though. Everyone else typically became my friend as soon as I spoke to them. You on the other hand took multiple tries.”

“You were very persistent.”

“I craved what I didn't have, what can I say?” Liz laughed. They both fell silent and in the dark of the night, Luna heard the sound of water dripping. When Liz spoke again, her voice cracked. “You know about our destiny, don't you? Why did it have to be you?”

“Life's a bitch.” Luna shrugged and avoided eye contact. “This is just one of its cruel jokes.”

“Right?” Liz sniffled and continued, “I want to believe there's another way, but...”

“I don't want to fight if I can avoid it.” Luna explained. “Ryan and I have agreed to coexist, maybe you and I could do the same.”

“We can't.”

“We have done-”

“We can't!” Liz shrieked and looked up at Luna, her tears glistening in the moonlight. “Accepting that would mean that there was no reason for me to have been sold off like a farm animal. Why was I abandoned? Why was I sold off to a psycho? Why did I have to endure all that hellish training, testing, and experimenting? What purpose did it all serve?”

Luna kept her eyes on the ground and quietly stated, “We can work together.” She raised her voice and stepped forward, “We can take the fight to Raymond.”

Liz's eyes widened for a short spell and she smiled meekly. “For someone who's supposed to be nothing but a bundle of hatred, you can be nice at times. Ryan would never do or allow anything that might put the other children in danger though. He won't act out against Raymond. As for me, I'm tired.”

“Tired?”

She nodded. “I'm tired of this. Just life. There's so much that I wanted to do, so much left to be done, but they won't let me go until I fulfill my duties. I either kill my best friend or be killed so that Aonair can be given to the next candidate. I'm tired of looking in the mirror and remembering that I have no control over my own life anymore. Tired of remembering that I wasn't important enough to my own god damn parents. I'm just... tired.” She looked Luna in the eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks and she smiled widely. “I know this is selfish of me to say. Please, as my best friend, just give this tired, dumb as a box of nails life of mine some reason to exist, small as it may be.”

Luna clenched a fist and cracked her knuckles, lost in thought. With a shadow cast under her eye, she relaxed her hands and nodded. “Very well.”

Liz put a hand on her own chest as she was encompassed by a soft but warm red light. “Thank you.” She whispered and adopted an offensive stance.

“Supposedly it would take all six of the other sins to fight me. Shouldn't you call for back up?”

“Don't sell me short. I am the sin of pride after all.” Liz shot back, quickly getting her voice back under control.

Luna dipped her head, said, “My bad.” Then took a stance of her own.

“You're not going to activate the Ríastrad?”

She shook her head. “I can't control it.”

“Is that right? I'm a bit disappointed that you won't fight me with your full strength, so I'll just make you!” Before the words left her mouth, Liz lunged forward in a blur of motion, stopping just in front of Luna and threw a hook punch towards her stomach. She blocked it without much difficulty but the impact still threw her backward. She skidded to a stop by digging her feet into the dirt and managed to stay on her feet without breaking her stance. “You wouldn't know what the other sins abilities are, would you?” Liz asked her and lunged forward again, this time with rapid-fire jabs to the face.

Luna deflected each one in turn while answering, “I could probably find out if I searched my dad's memories but I don't know off the top of my head, no.”

Liz transition to a leg sweep by digging her hands into the ground and kicking at Luna's ankles. When she jumped over it, Liz used her centripetal force to swing her lower body upward in an attempt to kick Luna upside the head. Luna caught her by the ankles and swung her around, throwing her into a nearby tree but Liz used her momentum to hit the ground in a handstand and propelled herself back onto her feet. “Apparently pride is the most similar to wrath in that it's basically nothing more than a raw boost to strength and prowess. I don't have any special gimmicks, like the others, but this strength also comes without any major repercussions. It tires me out a bit quicker than if I fought using entirely my own strength, but I don't really have to worry about long term damage to my body and mind like you do.”

“Isn't telling me how your powers work a bit counterproductive?”

“Don't make any mistakes. I may be fighting you with everything I've got, but I never said I'm fighting to win. I just want a fight that I can be proud of. If throwing all my cards face-up on the table does that for me, then I'll spill all my secrets. I don't expect you to do the same, but I don't want you to hold back either.”

“It seems you're already aware of what I can do as wrath anyway.”

“More or less. I'm certain, however, that you wouldn't be able to live with the Ríastrad if it supplied you with all your strength.”

“That's about the gist of it.” Luna grinned as her right iris started to rotate. “Just so you know, my uncle seems to believe I'm invincible at night since I can regenerate mana so quickly under the influence of the moon.”

“Mana? This isn't a video game.”

“No kidding.” Luna responded and dashed towards Liz who attempted to counter-attack. At the moment of impact, Luna vanished and Liz felt something ram into her hip. She winced and looked down to see Luna driving her elbow into Liz's side. Luna then grabbed Liz's arm, clamped it in her elbow, and threw her over her shoulder. Liz crashed into the earth, knocking the wind out of her. She grabbed Luna's arm with her free hand and quickly did a reverse crunch, kicking at Luna's head who blocked it and backed away.

Liz laughed to herself while she laid on the ground and rolled over onto her stomach without a care in the world. “How'd you do that just now?”

“Moulding magic, I'm told it's called. I'm not sure its limitations, but I can rewrite reality or create illusions using it.”

“So which one was that?” Liz asked as she climbed back onto her feet.

“A bit of both. I'm still learning, so I gave myself a little bit more time to activate the alteration by having you attack an illusion that was about a tenth of a second ahead of me. I used that extra window to change my position to be below your strike instead of right in its path.”

“I didn't know you were capable of something like that!” Liz exclaimed with a spark in her eyes. She then placed a finger on her chin and looked up into the sky slightly. “But wait, wouldn't it have just been easier to duck in that case?”

Luna rubbed the back of her head. “As I said, I'm still learning. That was just a trial run to see if I could pull it off. I'll create more impressive counters with it as I grow, I'm sure.”

“Eh? I wish I could stick around to see them.”

“It's not too late to hang up our gloves.”

“Maybe so, but I'm having too much fun. You're probably the only person in the world I can let loose on without having to pull my punches. Being able to operate by my own rules, even if only for a short duration, is still something I'd like to milk further.” Both of them got into their positions again. “Let's keep going!” Liz yelled with a war cry and charged Luna again. She tackled her, wrapping both of her arms around Luna's waist knocking both of them to the ground. They landed in a pile, Liz on top. She straddled Luna and readied herself to deliver a barrage of punches from above. She recoiled when several glowing lines appeared on Luna's right arm and jumped off of her when she started exhaling, her breath a lime green flame. Liz fell backward onto her ass and excitedly held both of her fists in front of her chest. “You can breathe fire too?”

Luna sat up and covered her mouth as bouts of smoke still bellowed out. “You could as well with the right practice and gear, I'm pretty sure. My uncle told me that the fundamentals are pretty different for humans, but I don't think it's outside the realms of possibility.”

Liz then flinched and started waving a nervous hand towards her friend. “No, no. The idea is cool but I can barely handle spicy foods. I would think breathing fire would be considerably hotter. The closest I'll ever come to that is blowing outward when I eat hot food before its cooled down.”

“I don't really feel the heat when I do it, personally.”

“You're not human.”

“I suppose that's true.”

Liz flopped onto the ground, her arms out like she was a starfish. “I'm starting to see why all six of us are expected to fight you together. You can warp reality, breathe fire, and have unparalleled prowess.”

“Unparalleled might be a bit of a generous statement.”

“Are you kidding? I'm giving it all I've got here and you're keeping up without even using your curse. Who could possibly go toe to toe with that by their lonesome?”

“I could name a few.” Luna stated and looked away shyly.

“Just being able to name them isn't proof in the slightest.” Liz yelled as she jumped onto her feet again, Luna following. Liz closed the distance between them and Luna dug her front foot into the dirt slightly. As Liz jabbed, Luna pushed her attack outward, leaving her torso open. She then crowned Liz's head and drove her knee into Liz's stomach which lifted her feet off the ground. Luna quickly released her and prepared for a counter-attack, but Liz backed away with a hand over her mouth. She fell onto her knees, coughing repeatedly and then gagged. A red liquid sprayed out from in between her fingers and onto the ground.

Luna gasped and grabbed Liz by both shoulders. “Sorry!” She hurriedly cried. “I didn't mean to hit you quite that hard. I thought the Aonair would absorb more of the impact.”

Between coughs, Liz chuckled. “Why are you apologizing? This is supposed to be a fight to the death.”

“You're not exactly acting like we're trying to kill each other either. I told you, it's not too late to hang up our gloves. There's still the option of working together to prevent Raymond from ever tearing apart anyone's families ever again. We might even be able to give demi-humans their freedom back to boot. Now come on, I'm sure Aileen could fix you up rather easily if I tell her in detail what happened out here.”

Liz smiled and grabbed Luna's sleeve. “The fact that you're still suggesting that just tells me how little you actually know about your power as wrath.” She then hugged Luna tightly. “It's impossible for us to coexist as separate entities, however...”

“What are you doing? We need to take you to Aileen right now!”

Liz shook her head while burying it into Luna's shoulder. “I know you'll do what's best, Luna.” Liz then quickly grabbed Luna's eye patch while simultaneously drawing a hunting knife from a scabbard under her shirt. She threw the patch off to the side and stabbed the blade into Luna's stomach. Luna herself felt a sudden surge in power as her left eye pulsed and her temperature rapidly rose. Her body was engulfed in a scarlet blaze and as though someone else was controlling her actions, she grabbed Liz by the mouth and pushed her head down into the ground. Despite being rammed into the dirt with colossal strength, Liz continued to smile. She mouthed to Luna who raised a flaming fist above her head, “I'll miss you, best friend.”

Smash!

Luna readied another blow, but as her attack descended, the scarlet flames turned lime green and her fist crashed harmlessly into the soil. Several teardrops mixed in with the blood splatter and Luna slowly backed away. She held her blood-stained hands up in front of her, shaking. On the ground below her rested the hilt of Liz's knife, the blade melted down and sizzling as molten metal on the grime. “That wasn't me...” Luna whispered to herself, her voice strained. “I didn't want to do that!”

Something whimpered nearby and she hesitantly scanned the area. At the patch devoid of grass where Luna had seen the aura emanate before, a red spectre of a puppy with yellow eyes watched her. “Chip...?” She called to it and took a step forward. The dog whimpered again and backed away, his eyes fading to the same shade of red as the rest of his body. It ran away from her, fading into nothing after so long. Luna dropped onto her knees and covered her left eye with her hand, first in silence and then with a painful laugh. “You think so too, huh?” She asked into the night. As her agonizing laughs turned into howling wails, the collection of blood in the area began to give off an ominous glow and lit ablaze. The embers danced around Luna as a crimson smoke bellowed from Liz's body. Luna fell silent and her left eye began to burn brightly.

Luna looked over her shoulder, her fangs bare as she growled, “There.” She climbed onto her feet and the edges of her clothing, as well as her shoes, began to burn away. With an unwavering determination, she marched with only one word on her mind. Kill.