The moment some of the fog dissipated, the chaos quickly came into view; the momentary silences, which then mingled with cries and moans of the citizens of Lastrel, turned the city into a sad and mournful place. What was the largest and most prosperous town in Mizuna, its streets were filled with corpses, and its buildings had been destroyed or burned.

The city's emblem, The Mermaid that welcomed people to the sea, had been split in two. All that remained of the statue was its tail and an outstretched arm with which it still received people.

Tyloh had a large army of assassins and crazed people that he let loose around the city; a vast majority lost their lives in the streets once the guard reclaimed the place, and others would die eventually. Moreover, Almond's disasters in his last move against Ronan had further wrecked the structures, and some buildings had begun to catch fire because of his lightning.

Fynn watched as Ronan lay almost fulminated by the lightning that had struck him in that moment of confusion. A trail of smoke was billowing from his mentor, and violent spasms that the man was suffering.

The boy tried to get up to help his mentor while shouting his name in the process. Urian reacted to the boy's movement and soon gave him a stomp that threw him back to the foot of the water fountain in honor of Lithal. The boy hugged his stomach by the stomp, coughing desperately for air.

Then, the bounty hunter sheathed his sword and walked over to where the badly wounded trickster was.

"You look terrible, Ronan," jokingly exclaimed Urian, who grabbed him by his long blond hair.

Ronan let out a gasp from the tug on his hair, but it brought him back to consciousness after that attack. The man crawled on the ground as he remembered what had happened and then felt the marked warrior throw him against the fountain's feet. His look was blurry, and the sounds they heard came with an intense beeping. He slowly focused his eyes on what was in front of him, and the first thing he saw was the dark-skinned boy trying to protect himself in front of him. The boy held him by his scorched leather armor and repeatedly shook him.

"Fynn...?" exclaimed Ronan in confusion; however, he soon realized what was going on. "N-No, you were supposed to..."

Ronan's words were heavy as he felt even his vocal cords burning.

Fynn held his mentor as the crying returned, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!"

The boy repeatedly apologized for what he had said to him hours ago, a pang of guilt gnawing at him as he saw Ronan looking like that.

The scarred man looked at Fynn and smiled weakly, "I know you didn't mean it. Y-You're a good boy, Fynn..."

During Fynn's crying and pleas for forgiveness, Urian's sword was heard being unsheathed. Fynn watched as the man got his sword back in hand.

"W-Wait!" exclaimed Ronan, pained and in a raspy voice.

"You know what will happen, Ronan of Vilna," the man sentenced.

Ronan then tried to position himself over the boy as if trying to protect him. But, still dazed and confused, the marked man still tried to save the boy.

"The boy, don't hurt him," Ronan exclaimed, dazed and almost stammering. "The boy doesn't deserve to die like this. Cut off my head; I'm worth much more. The order will turn you a martyr and..."

"Who said anything about becoming a martyr?" exclaimed Urian with a choked laugh. Then he rested the edge of his sword on the floor's stone.

Ronan pleaded again and again, "Please, the kid is special, much more than you know..."

Urian looked at the marked man before him, someone who represented ideals and a structure he didn't desire. Then, he also turned his look to the boy, who, in his pain and desperation, quickly went from reckless to fearful, sticking to his master from behind. The teenager's hazel eyes watched him pleadingly.

The marked warrior proceeded to bring a hand to the back of his helmet and thus loosened the straps of it so that he could remove it. In that manner, the man peered out his tanned, weathered face and took a deep look through his black eyes.

"If you had done things differently, we wouldn't all be in this predicament," Urian remarked, shaking his head to brush his jet hair sweaty from the place's humidity out of his face.

The man watched the boy more and inwardly cursed himself that he hadn't fled in time. At that moment, time had run out.

"I must practice my aim," Almond was heard to say.

Through one of the alleys, Almond was coming to that inner square along with Torkell. Urian turned to see him; Almond looked very bad as he had a wholly burned arm, and the delicate cloths of his vest and shirt were now scorched and blackened. The pressure of wild and unprepared magic, only using his willpower and body as materials, had wreaked devastation on the mage.

The warrior quickly turned his look to his counterpart in tattered armor and horned helmet as he carried, dragging on one side, and shouldering on the other, two teenagers.

Torkell dropped the bodies, and soon Urian asked, "And them?"

Almond approached him quietly, his mind a bit gone because of the magical outburst, but soon and leisurely, he answered Urian, "They weren't the only marked children here."

Urian looked at the children. Both had been brutally murdered; one had a hole in his head, and the other had taken at least half a dozen arrows.

"Three marked children, and Ronan of Vilna, the Cardinal will be pleased..."

"N-No!" exclaimed Ronan, covering Fynn. The boy was paralyzed with fear, and Ronan thought only of protecting him. "Listen to me, the boy is special! To all of us!"

"I don't care, Ronan," Almond exclaimed with his gaze vaguely unfocused. Then, finally, the wizard's eyes turned back on the trickster, and he ordered the warriors, "Cut off their heads."

Torkell dropped the children and soon grabbed his heavy ax from his back.

"I'll do it," exclaimed Urian abruptly, who, still with the edge of his sword resting on the ground, firmly gripped its handle with one hand, ready to seal the fate with a single slash.

"Fynn, run! Run!" exclaimed Ronan again and again, his body was heavy, and he was babbling with increasing insistence.

Fynn looked at the sword's blade; it was so polished he could almost see himself. The boy recovered the memory of when he was looking at himself in the small watercourse in the woods. Perhaps this was how it was supposed to end. At that moment, the boy embraced his mentor, who still pleadingly and feebly told him that he should leave.

A short silence flooded the moment, and the next thing heard was the cutting of the air by the edge of Urian's sword.

The warrior in ostentatious armor raised his sword and quickly spun in place so that with a cut as swift as the wind and as strong as the tides, he sliced Almond's neck.

Almond even had time to react as his body remained upright for a few moments, and his unfocused look was now steady as if he had tried at that last moment to understand what had happened. A sharp spurt of blood gushed from Almond's neck before the body fell to its knees on the ground, and the head then rolled across the cobblestone.

Urian made his decision, perhaps the fairest, maybe the most foolish, but he had no time to think. Sooner had he severed Almond's head than Torkell rushed at him with a monstrous charge.

The marked warrior dropped his helmet and dodged that colossal monster, who knew he had to get rid of the bounty hunter because of that betrayal.

"What the fuck did you do!" the giant warrior shouted gutturally and violently once he stopped.

Torkell then charged once more with his ax in the air, and Urian was locked in a fight where all he could do was try to dodge.

Regaining his guard and composure to bring his sword swinging would be difficult; despite the considerable size of that monster, he moved fast, and the slashes from his great ax came down on him like a guillotine. The ax would embed itself in the cobblestone of the ground only to tear off chunks of stone before lunging at Urian again.

Soon Urian recovered his battle trance, but he could only use it to deflect Torkell's cuts since his sword at that moment only served to re-direct the attacks.

Amid the fight, Fynn appeared behind Torkell, and without thinking, he buried his ax in the inner side of the knee of the warrior with a horned helmet. Torkell, furious and with his attention totally focused on Urian, didn't notice that the boy, although wounded, could still fight.

The cut made Torkell scream in pain, but it wasn't enough to bring him down, for even though he was outnumbered, he swung his ax to try to slice Fynn in two. However, the boy quickly threw himself to the ground.

Unarmed and shocked, Fynn could only dodge the attacks as Urian attempted to take the warrior down. However, Urian's heavy clashes were blocked by an emboldened and furious Torkell.

Staggering and limping, the horned warrior was still a worthy opponent, but not soon would another attack fall on the monster.

An arrow whistled through the air, and as Torkell had his unfocused gaze on one of the alleys, the projectile struck one of his helmet slits.

Fynn turned her eye and saw Yue in the alley with a piercing look and determined to settle her business with that marked warrior.

The impact destroyed Torkell's eye, and at that moment, a guttural cry of pain came from the monster. Cripple and half-blind, his grip on him waned, and it was there that Urian saw his chance to get rid of the warrior.

The bounty hunter was able to kick Torkell in the chest, and so with him on the ground, he stabbed the monster's neck accurately. Torkell gasped, and a lot of blood gushed out of the holes in the helmet mesh of the monster, who was choking on his own blood.

When Torkell reacted, he grabbed hard for Urian's leg. However, with a quick slash, the ostentatious warrior slit his throat. In that way, the horned monster's grip became weaker until, finally, his arms were loose.

Urian gasped heavily, still not fully comprehending what he had done.

"I made my choice," the warrior exclaimed.

Quickly, Fynn and Yue ran to their master, who was still badly wounded, trying to get up.

Ronan noticed Yue's frayed cloak and small pale hands on his right and the dark long-fingered hands of Fynn on his left, which helped him up.

"Kids," Ronan exclaimed exhaustedly, "You're supposed to... the boat..."

"It's going to be all right," exclaimed Fynn, leaning his master's weight on his shoulder.

Then, Yue turned her look to Urian, "What about him?"

Urian removed Torkell's helmet, which would make a fine trophy for him. Then, uncovering the warrior's face, the bounty hunter could see the creature's scaly green skin, which possessed two yellowish serpentine eyes and a vaguely humanoid head.

"Hell, I knew there was something weird about you," Urian exclaimed to the remains of that Aj'Snaga, a snakefolk.

The ostentatious warrior turned to the remaining group of marked ones and walked towards them with Torkell's helmet in one hand and his sword in the other.

The three stared at him, but he promptly put away his sword.

"You won't get off that easy, Ronan," Urian exclaimed.

The blond man sighed, "No, I'm sure you won't..."

"Y-You'll get past us first..." exclaimed Fynn, relentless with his words.

Urian turned his eyes to the mess he had made there and the remnants of assassins there.

"The Order of the White Flame offered us riches and to become martyrs," Urian pointed out, walking this time to where his helmet had fallen.

"I thought... you said... you didn't want to be a martyr," Ronan pointed out, gripped by exhaustion.

"That's right," replied Urian. "I can still be offered riches. So you, Ronan of Vilna, how much can you offer me?"

"Are you planning on me buying my head from you?" asked Ronan, who soon cracked a smile.

"I don't think you can escape with those wounds on your body, and I could wipe these kids out in the blink of an eye if they try to escape."

"No, I will," Ronan quickly insisted. "I'll pay you well for my head."

"W-We must take you somewhere," exclaimed Fynn, "Your wounds..."

"I'll take him," exclaimed Urian.

"Do you think we'll trust you?" spat Yue, glaring menacingly at the man.

"No, but I don't think you have any other options either," argued the swaggering warrior.

Ronan tried to stand up straight and nodded to the warrior. Then, he motioned for him to come closer to lean against him.

"D-Do you plan to go with the one who tried to kill you?" asked Yue incredulously.

"I've done... worse things..." replied Ronan as he staggered towards Urian as he still felt much of his body numb. "You guys should set sail, the ship..."

Fynn looked at his master in concern, "But..."

Ronan raised his hand, denying any retort along the way, "No buts, you must leave here. It's for your own good..."

The pair of marked children watched the trickster, and slowly, the duo approached him until they both embraced his mentor. Even when that hug was painful for Ronan, it was a warm gesture, a product of what they forged during that month. The two teens hugged their master tightly and silently reached over his chest. Ronan then embraced the pair of children, and Urian must have held him by his scorched armor.

"We will meet again, kids," Ronan exclaimed, stroking the heads of both scarred children.

"W-What I said earlier..." insisted Fynn again, choking back tears.

"You don't have to say anything. I understand..." Ronan rested the boy's head on his shoulder to let him cry in peace.

Yue was the first to try to pull away from Ronan, and when she did, she turned away quickly so he wouldn't see her crying.

"Take care of yourself like you've been doing so far," Ronan exclaimed with a weak smile.

Yue nodded silently and wiped her tears once more with the dirty sleeves of her shirt. Then, Ronan pets her head one last time.

"Do you promise we'll see each other again?" asked Yue, with a lump in her throat.

Ronan sighed smilingly, "Just as I told you in Sunhold: if anything ever happens to you, I'll cross the entire continent to go to wherever you kids are..."

Finally, the trickster let the two marked children depart for the docks. The marked man was taken to the opposite side, to the city's district where the local cathedral was erected in the name of Lithal, being carried by Urian.

The streets were desolate, and corpses and small fires populated the place. The journey between Ronan and Urian looked like it would be a silent one.

"If my traveler's bag wasn't damaged, I could pay you well," Ronan exclaimed.

Urian replied quickly, "I hope so, or now that the children are gone, I won't hesitate to turn you in if you don't pay me."

The blond, scorched-armored man chuckled at that remark.

"You must be very foolish or greedy to seek riches from the Order instead of privilege or me," Ronan said.

"You wouldn't understand," replied Urian.

"Oh, of course not," Ronan continued with a smile. "I'm glad some independents have codes and don't kill whoever randomly. Thanks for not killing the kid..."

After a few silent steps through the streets of Lastrel, Urian asked his question, "What did you mean by the boy being special?"

Ronan remained silent until he finally revealed an open secret to Urian.

The pair of marked children descended through the streets of Lastrel in a hurry. Streets below, they broke through the remains, navigated through seas of corpses, and evaded what was left of the local guard in a hurry.

Numerous ships were sunk or were too severely damaged to leave the harbors, while others had departed before the attack began.

The shout of Pollard, the sturdy marked wizard, was heard on deck, "The girl is back, and with her friend!"

Quickly the board was set, and both boys climbed aboard.

"Prepare the sails!" the captain was heard to shout, eager to escape from that city.

On deck, the sailors soon set to work, the sails lowered, and with the winds, the ship's timber creaked once more, and the boat slowly drifted away from the dock.

"You kept your word," exclaimed Yue, observing the tall, colorfully dressed boy.

"And you yours," Ranier replied before extending his hand to the dark-skinned boy, "You must be Fynn."

Fynn shook his hand in confusion, but soon her friend told her that she had passed them in town a while before.

The boy remained speechless, for all that had happened in that city had been something that had finally left him speechless.

As all the sailors led the ship away from Lastrel, Fynn and Yue, along with the others marked, watched the destroyed city in silence.

Now they had only the longest road ahead of them, to Adhaz.