Crow was the best couturier you could ever find in North Eldria. His name was quite peculiar, considering he was anything but a crow. His talents were above and beyond. No matter how complicated a design could be, he could tailor it with ease. As for his clients, he wouldn't take anyone unless they were worth the work. He understood clothes better than anyone and treated his talents like a sacred art. For the longest time, it was only just him in the top tailoring market, but as the years went by and rivals emerged, there were others who tried to imitate his style and were successful enough to be famed within the empire's cities. Yet, all these imitators were nothing but fakes who couldn't grasp the true nature of Crow's designs, and those who believed them were only the ignorant masses. He soon became nothing but an urban legend known to few, and anyone who donned clothes tailored by him were put in high regard by others. That being said, he didn't hate the fact that he was unknown. Recognition and fame, they were just trifle matters that were too low for him to even care about. He preferred being something close to a myth. Some who knew about his existence would wonder about his loneliness. But he wasn't lonely, both figuratively and literally, since he had his legacy by his side, his only daughter.

Given the fact that Crow chose his clients, not the opposite, Nilo and Leslie wondered how Eeira could get an appointment with them. The way she even described him was quite grand, as if he was completely out of their league. What they didn't know was that Eeira and Crow knew each other personally. He was a close friend of her mother's and he knew her since she was a child. To Eeira, Crow was more of a family to her than the mayor ever was.

The shop lied at the edge of the town, secluded from the night's noise. Nilo half-expected it to be a manor, like everything he was surprised from in this town, but that didn't seem to be the case with Crow. His shop was quite small, even smaller than most shops around town, it almost resembled the hut Nilo found in the Outlands.

The trio set foot into the shop without knocking. The interiors were nothing special, a counter here, and a few clothes stacked together there. It looked pretty much like an average tailor shop. A few minutes passed and yet there was no one in sight. Eeira cleared her throat, trying to grab the attention of whoever was inside the shop at the moment. All of a sudden, the tiles near the counter morphed together and opened up a hole to the underground. What followed was silence, it left Nilo and Leslie in confusion. A few seconds later, a young woman, with ginger-colored hair, and seemed around the age of Eeira's, climbed out of the hole. She brushed the dust off her attire, before straightening her posture to greet the trio.

'Wait—' The young woman narrowed her eyes, 'Eeira?!'

She smiled and so did Eeira. They both squealed in joy before rushing in to hug each other. Nilo and Leslie stood in the back, oblivious to what was happening before them. Eeira and the young woman started talking with each other, like two long-time friends catching up.

'Dad!' The young woman called out, 'Eeira's here! He'll be here in a minute. Who are those? New friends?' She looked at Nilo and Leslie.

'Oh, that's At— I mean, Nilo— Uh, no, shit, Aten… um…,' Eeira looked at Nilo with apologetic eyes. She didn't know if it was okay to mention Nilo's name out loud or not, there had to be a reason for why he preferred the unit number.

'Nilo's fine,' he chuckled.

'Right… sorry about that!' Eeira then pointed at Leslie, 'And that's uh… Leslie! Leslie… We are in a sort of a—'

'Alright alright! I get it,' The young woman interrupted, 'Something's wrong, but wait till Dad gets here to tell us.'

'Yeah… oh!' She looked at Nilo and Leslie, 'This is Luna! Uncle Crow's daughter! She and I have been close friends for the longest time.'

— Uncle Crow, huh. Nilo thought to himself.

What were the odds they were able to find someone this close to Eeira to help them on their mission? It all felt convenient. Everything was going smoothly and it only aroused Nilo's suspicion of something being wrong. The weapon, the rarest stone of all time, that could defeat the stitchreaper was somehow in his possession before. It was stolen but now he had been presented with a solution. An odd solution at that. Not only did he meet his long-time friend, whom he hadn't seen in years, and who also suggested the plan, but Lejin had an event that coincided with the plan. It all fit too perfectly. It made Nilo wonder if there was ever such a thing as fate.

'If it isn't my favorite child,' a man climbed out of the hole in the ground. Just like Luna, his hair was of a ginger color. He was quite taller than Nilo and had a well-built physique, a rare sight for a tailor.

'Very funny, Dad!' Luna made a comment.

Crow opened his arms wide, gesturing for a hug. Eeira went in for the hug. It was honestly surprising to Nilo that she was able to withstand the man's hug, he looked like he could crush her in a flash.

'How you doing, kiddo?' Crow leaned to reach down to Eeira's height.

'Oh great…,' she sneered, 'The mayor just put me on a suicidal mission, nothing special. Everything is going completely fine!'

'The mayor what?!' Both Crow and Luna exclaimed in unison.

Eeira took her time to explain the situation. Nursing Nilo back to health, the elastinum, Lejin and his men, the mayor, the mansion, the stitchreaper, all of it. It was like she was narrating a grand tale to them. As much as Crow was angered at what happened to Eeira, as much as he was interested in hearing more — the same reactions came from Luna as well. It truly felt like a bizarre tale.

'Then what are we waiting for then?' Crow stood up, 'Luna, take her downstairs… and treat our guests for something afterward.'

'Wait… wait, what are you guys going to do to her?' Nilo expressed his concern.

'What else?' Crow spoke with an elegant tone, 'We will turn her into a— Well, in this case, we are trying to make her look like a femme fatale— A queen of the night. Fitting, correct? Just you wait… the fragile young woman before you now will be long gone.'

'Fragile?! Really, Uncle Crow…,' Eeira was bothered.

'I'm sorry, dear, but it's the truth!'

'Ha!! I'm not the only one, then.' Nilo tried to suppress his laughter.

'Now now, we mustn't joke around anymore. Time is of the essence after all.'

Crow, the wonder man, his daughter, Luna, and Eeira all took off to the special dressing room downstairs, leaving Nilo and Leslie to ponder into the abyss.

Both men looked at each other, questioning what they had just witnessed, not knowing whether they should laugh or be genuinely concerned. They were wishing for this bizarre adventure to be over already, but they knew… they knew the worst was yet to come.