Hurried footsteps darted through the hallways, and a woman with a long ponytail pushed open the infirmary door.

  “Ms. Xena, we need you downstairs, right now!” She said,

  “What’s the matter?” Xena said.

  “The girl—the one with the missing arm! Some of the knights are trying to pick a fight with her! Please, break it up before she gets hurt again!” The woman said.

  “Oh my goodness.” Xena’s breath hitched as she raced out the door.

  Downstairs, Yuko sat at the large table in the dining hall. She picked up her cup of tea, taking a sip. A handful of knights were surrounding her, sending Yuko sharp looks of disapproval.

  “What’s the matter with you people? Never seen a woman before?” Yuko looked back, putting a foot up on the table.

  A man sitting nearby scoffed, stroking his beard. One knight stepped up, his hand resting on his sword.

  “We’ve heard everything about you from Xena. When I took the oath, I was sure that people like you would always get what they deserve. But no, not here for some reason. You get to walk free unpunished, and because of what? Because you’ve got some special curse. Fucking ridiculous.” The knight brushed his dark hair aside, flashing a stare of poison at Yuko.

  “I see the way your hand’s twitching around that blade. Come on. Do it.” Yuko grins, her fingers loosening around the cup.

  The knight drew his sword, his blade swiftly rising. Yuko launched the steaming, hot tea all over the knight’s face. The knight screamed, staggering back. The others closed in on Yuko, drawing their blades as well. She slipped out of her chair, launching it off its legs, sending it flying toward the surrounding knights. The chair smashed into them, and they went tumbling down like pillars, their armor smashing up against the ground with metallic thuds.

  “It wasn’t only about what I did, was it? You all were looking down on me,” she said.

  The knight who’d been splashed with tea stared at her. He was grinding his teeth together as his eyebrows furrowed. Xena rushed into the dining hall. Her face was clenched, and her eyes darted around the room, seeing knights getting up from the ground with pained groans. A sweet scent from freshly-baked bread wafted through the dining hall.

  “See? I didn’t kill anyone. That clunky armor of theirs probably hurt them more than I would’ve.” Yuko said.

  Xena’s face loosened, and she felt her chest uncoil, her breathing becoming even.

  “Oh, that was concerning. I thought you’d gone berserk.” Xena said.

  “Please, I’ve spent all my life fighting this curse. I’m not throwing away this chance to be rid of it for these idiots.” Yuko said.

  Veyric entered the dining hall shortly after, then looked around.

  “This is better than seeing blood everywhere.” He said.

  A woman rushed over to clean up the spilled tea, her eyes fluttering toward Yuko from the corner of her eye. Yuko’s dark red gaze flicked toward the woman. The woman felt her hand tremble, and her skin prickling as if it wanted to turn itself inside out.

  Footsteps wandered into the dining hall, armor rustling, and cloth scraping together.

  “Hey, I’m looking for Xena. I’d heard that she’d be here in the morning.” Rai said.

  All the knights in the room geared their heads toward his voice, then their faces scowled.

  “You’ve come at the right time. What’s the matter?” Xena walked to him.

  With a faint grin, Yuko walked over to Rai as well. Their gazes met. His brows furrowed, his head tilted, then his eyes widened.

  “What is going on here?” He took a few steps back.

  “Please, I’ve had enough drama for one morning,” Xena sighed.

  “Where have you been? How the hell’s—no, why are you here of all places? We all thought you’d run away from Augus. What happened to you?” Rai said.

  “Ok, it seems like you two have history. Great, perfect, beautiful, astounding, even, but my time in Augus is becoming limited, and I’d rather not waste it. Please, tell me what you came here for.” Xena gestured at him.

  “Right, that’s on me, sorry.” Rai scratched the back of his head, then took a deep breath.

  “There are white runes written on the kingdom walls in the districts. Even Echthron hasn’t seen them before, which already isn’t good.” Rai said.

  “Knew I wasn’t wrong. He’s getting bold,” Yuko said.

  “The institute is trying to decipher it, but so far, they’re not getting anywhere. Everything’s too complex. They’re all a jumbled clutter of letters,” Rai said.

  “Come, let’s talk on the way there,” Xena and Rai left the dining hall.

  It was now quiet, servants shuffling through the dining hall, placing tray after tray of freshly baked bread. Knights began to glance at Yuko while she left the dining hall, their features relaxing. Veyric followed her out into the main halls. He could’ve sworn that he heard her footsteps and looked around.

  “What’s your problem? I’m starting to think you’re doing this on purpose,” Yuko’s voice called, but Veyric couldn’t see her anywhere.

  “His name is Rai, right? He looked stunned to see you. How do you know him?” Veyric asked.

  Yuko came out from behind one of the pillars.

  “He’s my brother. Well, half-brother. Honestly, I’m more surprised that Hag let him off clan grounds.” Yuko looked at Veyric.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Why’s that?” He asks.

  “Just imagine this. How often do you think people find diamonds without any cavities?” She said.

  “Probably not often? I don’t know much about that,” Veyric shrugs.

  “Well, that’s why. One day, he said the world sometimes turns all gray. And he muttered those words to the worst person he possibly could’ve. Before I knew it, everything we did together, he’d be doing it with that hag instead.” She clenched her fist.

  “... I see,” Veyric said.

  “But it looks like it didn’t work out, because for some reason he’s here and not there.” Her fist loosened as a grin crept on her lips.

  “Do you think he’s happy to see you?” Veyric said.

  “Doubt it. The curse made everyone fear me. It’s what that bastard wanted,” She said.

  “And who’re you referring to?” He said.

  Yuko’s gaze held his for a moment.

  “Why should I tell you?” Her head tilts.

  “It’s not mandatory that you tell me. I’ve asked you things, and you answered without a problem. If you told me to go away, I’d go away. But you wanted a reason to talk about these things, didn’t you?” He said.

  Yuko’s head shifted back into place.

  “You think you’re good at reading me? Well, just for that, fuck off.” She shoved him while passing.

  Veyric sighed, rubbing his shoulder.

  “You didn’t have to push me, you know.” His voice echoed across the main hall.

  Veyric turned, watching Yuko disappear into the halls, her footsteps fading off in the distance.

  Leviara, Western District

  The sides of the buildings hugging the street were coated in greenery. Viridescent vines crawled into the cracks of the dusty, old bricks and rifting walkway. Moss clung to the walls, its damp, earthy smell drifting throughout the alley, while grass escaped through the cracks of the ground. On the wall at the end of the street was a white rune, the letters scrambled together in a cluttered mix. It gave off a faint scent of burning iron, crackling with energy ever so often.

  “Oh, my fucking star… What the hell is this?” A red-haired girl was sitting on the ground near the rune.

  “I know you’re new around here, but the locals would tear you apart if they heard that,” Rai said.

  “Let her be a fool if she wants to be a fool.” Reyla was looking closely at the white cluster of runes.

  “This one was placed recently. Is he going out of his way to put these up, or is it some accident?” Rai said.

  “The location is deliberate and ignored. No one would accidentally wander back here,” Xena said.

  “If you said this one was placed recently, It’s possible he’s still in Leviara. Now knowing that this type of rune disables incantations, he could be on the prowl. What do you all think our best option is?” Reyla asked.

  “I dunno, call him a coward until he comes out?” The red-haired girl said.

  “You are an absolute fucking moron.” Reyla sighed, passing her hand over her face.

  “To be fair, she’s not a scholar, Reyla,” Rai scoffed.

  “Seriously, I can’t read or write. What’re you expectin’ from me?” She said.

  “Carmine. It is taking all of my cognitive strength not to wrap my hands around your throat and strangle you.” Reyla’s gaze was sharp like daggers.

  “Relax, if you keep making it so easy to piss you off, I might keep doin’ it.” She shot back a toothy grin.

  “Okay, may we… Focus on the task at hand, please?” Xena sighed, briefly rubbing her temples.

  Rai stepped forward, looking at the runes on the wall.

  “I’ll say, there’s definitely something off about this one. I can’t tell if that’s even mana flowing through the letters.” He said.

  “Yep, we’re just going to have to take your word for it. You and Yvette are the only ones of us who can actually see it, but she’s not here. But it doesn’t make sense, how some of us can see it, and some of us can’t.” Carmine said.

  “Coincidence, maybe?” Rai said.

  “Coincidence? I beg to differ. He might be trying to divert our forces across different districts,” Reyla said.

  “Why would he do that?” Carmine asked.

  “Unfortunately, I don’t think we have an answer for that just yet. But that’s the problem. Trying to put yourself in the shoes of someone as far gone as that tends to be difficult, especially when you have a specific set of beliefs. Let’s keep a close eye on the districts in case. We don’t want anything slipping under our noses,” Xena said.

  Carmine stood.

  “Those pale things, what are they? I looked at the reports the institute had given us, but I still don’t understand what they are,” She said.

  “They’re… Some kind of transformation. I don’t know what’s at play and how he does it, but it seems that anything he touches, he can will it to turn into one of those things. That’s how Yuko lost her arm. She didn’t want to turn into one of those pale monsters, so she cut off her arm before it spread. Keep that in mind if you ever encounter him.” Xena said.

  Rai crossed his arms, brows arching up.

  “Never thought her, of all people, would be caught in a situation like that,” He said.

  “Who’s that?” Carmine asked.

  “... I’ll tell you later,” Rai uncrossed his arms.

  “Yes, let’s head to the next location. I believe Professor Kai’La is there too. Hopefully, she’ll have some information to share with us.” Xena said, turning on her heel.