Chapter 1: New Friends?
Chapter 1: New Friends?
ACT I: A New World
High above the ocean, a man with blackish-red hair named Donal stood clad in dark purple.
He perched upon one of the grassy floating islands that drifted high above the waves.
His emerald gaze drifted downward, fixing on a speck of shadow marring the pristine white sand far below. That was where Zorn lay.
"The Scorpion's Heart has finally passed through the threshold as prophesied," Donal murmured with a grin. His purple cloak snapped violently in the high-altitude winds. "Along with that, I can feel the Lunar Relic's energy nearby. Strange. Isn't that supposed to be in the palace? We should check it out as we meet up with the new guy. This should be an exciting adventure!" he chuckles.
Beside him stood Khor. He wore flowing white robes, his blonde hair catching the sunlight and contrasting sharply with his pale complexion.
He gazed down at the beach with a scowl.
He grumbled as he walked away.
Donal grabbed Khor's wrist with a wide grin and jumped off the edge of the floating island. His laughter echoed into the open air. His cloak fluttered after him.
“HAHAHA!”
Khor followed after him, flying by his side.
***
The cry of gulls cut through the fog in Zorn’s head. Then came the sound of waves, gently crashing against the shore.
The air was warm and breezy, but his body felt like a lead weight pressing into the warm sand.
He tried to open his eyes.
A jagged shard of the sun's rays seared his retinas.
“AGH!”
He gripped his eyes.
Too much! Too much light!
Coming from the Sixth Realm of Eternal Night, this "beautiful" day felt like a torture chamber.
He groaned, his voice a dry rasp. "My head..."
He pushed himself up onto his feet. He staggered around into the shade, gripping his eyes.
“Aah!”
He slumped back down to his knees. His palms hit the sand, and it felt like pressing into hot coals. He expected to feel the ocean's soak, but his clothes were mysteriously dry.
The magic that had snatched him from the sky was gone.
He glanced up, squinting against the blinding radiance.
“Damn! I can barely adjust to this!”
He held his breath for a moment.
The sky was an incredible shade of blue, a color he had never truly seen before. It was vibrant and alive, dotted with clouds that partially obscured the floating islands in the distance.
"What is this place?" he whispered, his eyes darting around in a frantic search.
“This isn't the Eternal Night.”
He looked behind him.
A thick, green forest stood nearby, the dense leaves blocking out the worst of the light.
"No black leaves?"
In front of him, the sea stretched toward the horizon, sparkling like a massive mirror of blue and silver.
In the far distance, he could see mountains. They were colossal, their rocky peaks capped with a stubborn, unmoving fog.
In his home world, the darkness was permanent. He’d had no idea what sunlight felt like, or how overwhelming it could be.
He took a careful, slow step toward the water. The sand gave way under his feet with a soft, satisfying collapse.
Each step felt like sinking deeper into this strange, foreign world.
A small seagull cried out overhead, its wings beating against the wind. Its shadow flickered across the sand.
He bent down and let his fingers submerge in the waves. The water was cool and refreshing.
"At least the water feels the same as home."
But the serenity unnerved him. He didn't trust it.
How far had he fallen? Where was he?
Zorn rubbed the back of his neck as he retreated from the water's edge. The heat of the sun lingered on his skin. He wasn't used to the warmth. It was aggravating.
"Where in the world am I? What is this place? This is starting to piss me off!"
He looked up at the sky from where he fell.
Islands drifted lazily in the distance.
The door was long gone.
Rumble.
Zorn froze, his eyes wide.
He held a hand over his belly and winced.
"...I'm hungry."
The glyph on his left wrist flared a dull red.
A phantom ache demanded fuel.
The woods beckoned.
He rushed deeper into the moss-covered trees, his head spinning from the sun's glare.
He gripped his head, dizzy.
"It's too bright here."
Leaves crunched beneath his boots.
Sunlight fell through the canopy in shafts of gold.
Insects buzzed nearby, hidden from view.
This feels like hell!
The trees towered over him like pillars to the gods. Soft green patches of moss shone in the dappled light.
"This place," he breathed, "it doesn't feel real. Did I truly escape the Sixth Realm?"
Maybe this wasn't real. Maybe he was still back home, napping in a tree while Lira read books below him, leaning against the trunk like she always did.
But that wasn't the case.
This was reality.
A sour thought crossed his mind.
Lira... if she were here, she'd laugh. She'd find it all fascinating and tell me to calm down.
He shook his head to dispel the memory.
Snap!
A twig broke.
Zorn froze.
The sound came from deeper in the woods.
Something was moving. His heart raced as he braced himself.
He swiveled his head, peering into the green gloom.
Nothing.
"Who's there?" he called out.
No answer. Only silence. But he felt it.
Eyes were watching him.
Snap!
He spun around with a growl.
"I KNOW HOW TO FIGHT–"
He stopped mid-sentence.
A plump, brown beast stared back at him. Its fur shimmered with a metallic, oil-slick sheen.
"...A beaver?"
The beaver stared back with black, pebble-like eyes.
It continued to chew lazily on a twig.
For a few long seconds, the two stared at each other in an awkward silence.
Zorn pointed a trembling finger at the creature.
"MEEAAT!"
He bolted.
The beaver dropped its twig, mouth agape, and vanished into the undergrowth.
Zorn grunted with a snarl.
He moved after the beaver with predatory efficiency.
Branches slapped his arms.
He vaulted over roots and dead leaves.
When he finally lunged, his Scorpio Glyph hissed. The dark voice in his head spoke again.
"...Hungry."
Zorn's eyes widened with shock.
What was that?!
A spark of dark smoke trailed from his fingers as he pinned the creature to the dirt.
The beaver yelped as he wrestled it down.
Suddenly, its life force began to drain.
The creature's essence trailed into the glowing red glyph, and Zorn felt his energy return.
"Did... I just... drain a life force?"
He looked down at the beaver's limp body.
"I was never able to do that before..." he looked at his hands.
The craving to eat its flesh had vanished.
The animal's life force had already satiated his hunger.
A hint of guilt pricked at him.
Sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to waste you.
He walked to a nearby tree and began to bury the beaver beneath the moss.
He clapped the dirt from his hands when he was finished.
"There."
BOOM!!!
The ground shuddered.
A distant boom vibrated through the trees, shaking the very leaves from the branches.
Birds exploded into the sky in a panicked, squawking cloud.
Zorn’s eyes widened.
He looked back toward the sound.
"...Now what was THAT?!"
***
(Five Minutes Ago)
Snow-white hair whipped behind her as she sprinted through the dense thicket, her hand clamped tight over the pocket of her dress.
Behind her, the pursuer gained ground. A towering, mechanical nightmare of black iron and jagged purple plating.
"Leave me alone!" she screamed.
The monster didn't stall. It raised a heavy, gauntleted hand, conjuring a roiling orb of violet energy before hurling it forward.
Suddenly, a brilliant light pierced through the fabric of her dress.
The mysterious object in her dress's pocket pulsed with power, catching the magic head-on and refracting the blast.
BOOM!!!
The world dissolved into a deafening roar.
The shockwave sent her body tumbling through the brush like a ragdoll.
"AAAAAAHHH!!!"
She felt the air leave her lungs just before she hit the water.
SPLASH!
A heavy splash echoed across the shore.
The girl scrambled to sit up, hacking saltwater from her throat.
When she finally looked up, her heart stopped.
The monster was already there, looming over her.
It let out a low, metallic growl.
With a mechanical whine, it raised its fist and plunged it toward her.
ACT II: Sudden Clash
Zorn burst from the tree line, his worn-out soles pounding against the shifting sand.
His lungs burned with every ragged breath, but he refused to slow down.
The roar of the crashing waves grew deafening, carried by the salt-heavy sea breeze.
He stumbled down the final slope and hit the shore, sand kicking up in white plumes beneath his boots.
Panting, he scanned the horizon.
Left.
Right.
Nothing.
The ocean shimmered with an indifferent brilliance.
The beach stretched out in an empty expanse of jagged rocks, sun-bleached boulders, and the rhythmic shifting of the tide.
He crouched, hands pressing into his knees as he panted.
“Maybe that loud noise was my imagination.”
"AAAAAAH!"
A girl's scream. It was distant and muffled by the rolling waves.
Zorn spun around, eyes frantically searching the coast.
That sounded blood-curdling!
The splashing sound gave away her position.
He scrambled up a massive boulder, his fingernails scraping against the rough, sun-baked surface.
His tattered boots slipped on a patch of dried salt, nearly sending him tumbling, but he clawed his way to the crest.
Then, he saw it.
A young woman sat in the surf.
Her long white hair was tangled with seawater and foam, her arms thrashing wildly as a monstrous man in iron ruthlessly shoved her beneath the waves.
"Someone! Please help...!"
Her plea was cut short as he forced her head under again.
Her legs kicked desperately, sending white spray flying into the air.
Zorn's blood burned hot.
Is he trying to drown her?!
The monster was fiercely tall!
Dark armor encased him from head to toe, with jagged spikes jutting from his pauldrons like the teeth of a beast.
A spiked helmet concealed his face, leaving only the faint, ominous glow of crimson eyes visible through the dark, narrow slit.
Zorn felt pathetic beside him: a thin figure in a red jacket, completely dwarfed by the monster's towering height.
His hands quivered, but his feet moved before his fear could stop them.
He leaped from the boulder and sprinted across the wet sand.
The dark voice in his head echoed again.
"Run! Faster!"
The girl's muffled screams shattered the last of his hesitation.
"Get off her!" Zorn bellowed.
The iron-clad monster turned with an irritated sigh.
“Of course someone is in my way,” he said, lifting one hand toward the sky.
Darkness swirled, coalescing into a sphere of black and violet energy.
The orb pulsed once.
B-DM!
Then exploded into a violent gale.
WOOOOSHH!!!!
The wind howled across the beach.
Sand whipped into Zorn's face, stinging his skin like needles.
“Agh!”
Zorn threw his arms over his eyes, teeth gritted as he forced himself into the heart of the storm.
The monster's tattered black-and-purple cape flared behind him like the wings of a predatory beast.
Fine purple dust clung to Zorn's hair.
His boots sank deep into the sand with every grueling step.
Damn, this wind is strong!
The armored man brought a heavy foot down; the sand itself split deep beneath the weight.
CLINK!
"You have no idea what you are interfering with, boy," the monster rumbled. His voice was demonic, dark, and heavy.
Something in Zorn's mind shifted.
“Move.”
The same dark voice that sounded like Zorn growled inside his head.
“Let me.”
He felt his consciousness slip back as it finally took over, turning his eyes from gold to a brilliant red.
Zorn lowered his arms; any trace of fear he initially had vanished.
Red eyes locked onto the monster as he stood against the gale.
A sharp pulse shot through his arm.
B-DM!
He lifted his left arm to the sky, and the glyph on his wrist flared to life.
The wind faltered for a fraction of a second. The iron monster noticed the interruption in his magic.
Severing my connection? So he's forcing a physical battle, then.
He watched Zorn's power carefully, clenching his gauntleted fist.
He spotted the Scorpio Glyph on Zorn's raised wrist.
Most likely, a new Martian star has incarnated.
He growls with annoyance.
Angry little things they are.
Searing hot energy poured into Zorn's palm.
The sand beneath his feet began to tremble, making the sea recede unnaturally fast.
The monster quickly eyed the water.
This brat! I have to stop this quickly. He is out of control!
The girl sat paralyzed in the shallows, trembling as the wind whipped wet strands of hair across her face.
Curled on her knees, she watched the impossible battle unfold with wide eyes.
"Incredible..." she breathed; saltwater trickled from her bangs.
She noticed the water was vanishing.
Sshhaa...
It hissed as it receded into the horizon, leaving behind shallow pools that mirrored the blue sky.
Her eyes widened with a gasp.
Oh crap! Not good!
She tried to scramble backward, her hands scraping against the wet stone.
Her drenched white dress clung to her skin, and her hair felt like heavy ropes dragging at her shoulders.
"I have to get out of here!"
She looked back to see if the monster was distracted enough to run away.
Her chest tightened when she got a glimpse of Zorn's glyph glowing red.
“What is that?!”
She shook the thought away.
"No. Survival first! He's distracted!"
Taking advantage of the chaos, she sprinted.
She clutched the pocket of her dress as if she was trying not to drop something.
Her bare feet dragged through the wet sand as she fled toward the safety of the forest over the rocks.
Zorn lunged, his fist trailing arcs of red and black lightning.
“AAAAH!”
The monster caught the strike in his open palm.
CLANG!
The impact rang out like a hammer on an anvil.
Wind exploded outward, carving a crater in the beach beneath them.
CRUMP!
But the monster didn't budge an inch.
"You are unsteady. Impulsive! You make your host look bad," he rumbled, his grip tightening on Zorn's fist like a vice. "You cannot win like this!"
Before Zorn could blink, he was yanked forward.
A massive fist drove into his stomach.
RAM!
Air tore from his lungs.
GASP!
His brilliant red eyes faded back to gold, his glyph's embers dying back to obsidian.
The world tilted on its axis. Zorn’s knees hit the sand, and he collapsed, wheezing for air.
“AGH!”
The monster released him with a flick of his wrist.
"Your star's power is too strong and is out of control! How it was allowed to incarnate is beyond me!" the monster yelled.
He stepped forward, pointing a gauntleted finger.
"You nearly summoned a tsunami with that outburst!"
Zorn coughed, clutching his midsection. The monster’s stare was cold and unyielding.
Zorn's mind was racing.
All he remembered was facing the monster's gale, then the next thing he was on the ground in pain.
What… happened?! Why can't I remember anything?!
"If I hadn't stopped you, your recklessness would have drowned millions... all for one treacherous girl,” the monster rumbled.
Treacherous?
Zorn coughed and glared up at the monster.
"Why were you trying to drown her?! Are you insane?!”
"Using magic against what she holds would risk catastrophe. Drowning her was my safest option.”
He pointed down at Zorn's crumpled form.
“And you have some audacity to call me insane after what you pulled just now. You were feral!”
He turned away, searching for any trace of the girl.
The waves calmed. The spot where she had been struggling was now empty.
The monster tilted his head, a low growl rumbling deep in his chest.
"She escaped..." His spiked gauntlet clenched into a fist.
He pointed once more at Zorn.
"You foolish boy. You may be a child of the Mars Mage... but you lack his intellect. His intuition. May whatever falls upon you next wake you to your mistakes."
The words struck deeper than the punch to his gut.
The monster's body began to break apart into black and purple dust.
It swirled like ash in the breeze before vanishing into the spray of the sea.
Zorn lay there, his breath shallow, sand sticking to his sweat-soaked skin.
His eyes dropped to his wrist. The glyph glowed faintly, a dark light pulsing once before falling dormant. His hand wouldn't stop trembling.
His mind was full of questions.
What does she hold?
Who was that monster?
And what did he mean by "Child of the Mars Mage"?
The waves rolled back in gently.
Zorn clenched his fist, gripping the sand until the grains slipped through his fingers, thinking about what that monster called the girl.
Treacherous…
His eyes drifted toward the forest over the rocks where she had fled.
“…What did I just save? And why can't I remember most of it?”
ACT III: A Web of Secrets
Zorn leaned against the massive boulder he had leaped from earlier and exhaled a slow, shaky breath.
His eyes drifted shut. The wind brushed through his messy black hair like a gentle hand.
He opened them again and eyed the glyph on his wrist.
Why am I struggling to remember what happened between me and that monster? Memory gaps were never a thing until this thing appeared.
He eyed the glyph on his left wrist.
A bubbly, high-pitched voice shattered his deep thought from above his head.
"Hey there~!"
Zorn's eyes widened with a startled gasp.
He jerked his head back, quickly hiding his wrist.
The girl he rescued perched atop the rock.
She was leaning over the edge, peering down at him with an amused grin.
"Thank you for saving me! Your powers were so incredibly cool!" He blinked.
Powers? I unleashed powers?!
Her hair was long and as white as a summer cloud, contrasting against eyes the color of deep amethyst.
Her skin was so fair it seemed to catch the sunlight, giving her a faint, ethereal glow.
"Oh... uh, you’re welcome," he managed to respond, sounding more sheepish than he intended.
He couldn't help but notice a decorative brooch pinned to her chest. It was gold and red, intricate and heavy.
It looked... official. It didn't quite match her airy aesthetic.
With a playful hop, she jumped off the boulder and landed softly in the sand.
She wore a white sundress embroidered with a blue floral print at the hem.
She was smiling, but he noticed something odd.
She wasn't wearing any shoes, and her knees were scraped up.
"I really can't thank you enough. You saved my life... um..." She trailed off, waiting.
"Zorn," he said.
He pushed himself to his feet, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.
Sabrina liked Zorn's energy.
She felt like she could tell him anything, even though she didn't know him.
"Ah! That’s a cool name! It sounds dark! I’m Sabrina," she said, puffing out her chest with a twinge of arrogance.
Zorn froze.
Was that supposed to be a compliment?
"That’s... a good thing... right?" he asked, a hint of anxiety creeping into his voice.
"Totally! One thing that isn't, though... well..."
Her eyes flicked over him in a quick, brutal scan.
She looked at the red headband half-hidden by his bangs, then down at his open red jacket and black shirt, accessorized with a gold, scorpion-beaded necklace.
"Uhm." Zorn’s eyes followed her gaze, feeling self-conscious.
Finally, her eyes landed on his shoes falling apart at the edges of the sole. The leather peeled, and the laces frayed.
She sucked her teeth with a tiny tsk sound.
"It’s this outfit. It's doing too much for ugly shoes, don't you think?"
He glanced down, suddenly hyper-aware of every thread.
Shame about his shoes washed over him.
"This is comfortable," he muttered, his fingers nervously twisting the hem of his shirt.
I don't want to tell her I'm poor.
Sabrina snorted with a haughty grin.
"Comfortable doesn’t mean fashionable, Mr. Hero."
Zorn's face twisted with frustration.
Saved her life just to be judged! This girl is annoying!
"I didn't think fashion was a priority when someone was trying to drown you," he grumbled.
She laughed again.
It was a light, airy sound that felt like a tease.
"Fair point! How can you have a gold chain, but old shoes? Doesn't make sense."
Zorn was already growing tired of this.
"It's an heirloom," he said through clenched teeth.
He shook his head.
"Forget this! Why was that monster trying to kill you?!"
She blinked, caught off guard by his bluntness.
She tucked a stray strand of white hair behind her ear and let out a small sigh.
"Because I’m a Red Convert."
A Red Convert?
Zorn frowned.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It’s our title once we’re accepted into the Eternal Flame Court," she explained, her voice swelling with sudden pride. "People like us are called Red Saints once we officially have our conversion ceremony. We’re the ones who restore order and peace throughout Varnaiya while the war rages on."
Zorn's eyes widened at the word war.
He remembered Lira shouting at him before she disappeared.
[“Help me end this war!”]
Sabrina's tone darkened, snapping him out of the flashback as her fingers drifted to the brooch on her dress.
"But... not everyone agrees with our path. Some people follow corrupted star-beings known as Star Curses and mages who break the As Above, So Below Law. Their way of fighting back is to kill Red Converts like me before we can finish our ceremonies. They want to end the Red Saint legacy before it can even begin."
Zorn’s eyes widened. The scale of it was starting to hit him.
"That’s... that’s horrible."
"Yeah," she sighed quietly.
He was still trying to process the names.
"Varnaiya?"
She chuckled softly.
"Yes. That’s the name of this world. Varn for short." She crossed her arms and tilted her head, a curious glint appearing in her purple eyes.
"You say it like you aren't even from here."
Zorn’s gaze dropped to the dirt.
He hesitated.
Telling the truth felt like stepping onto thin ice.
Would she even believe a word of it?
"What exactly is this 'As Above, So Below' Law anyway? And why is there even a war?" he asked, desperate to steer the conversation away from his own origin.
She turned and began walking along the sand, waving for him to follow.
"Man, you really don't know anything, do you? Are you sure you're from around here? Even a five-year-old knows the Law." She narrowed her eyes with sudden suspicion.
Zorn stiffened. He laughed it off nervously, waving his hands in front of him.
"I'm just messing with you! Haha... ha..."
He glanced at her quickly from the side.
Sabrina chuckled, the suspicion vanishing as quickly as it appeared.
"Oh, I see. Not used to seeing a girl who's so well-informed, are you? Come on. Let's find our way out of here."
Zorn rolled his eyes at her statement and followed.
What kind of guy does she think I am?!
Sabrina led him down a narrow path he hadn't noticed before.
As they left the beach, the terrain shifted.
Rocks towered higher than the trees, and strange bushes sprouted from every crevice.
The sand gave way to a dirt trail lined with lush, vibrant grass. In the distance, the rhythmic roar of the ocean still echoed.
"This feels like something out of a fairy tale," Zorn remarked, eyeing the surreal scenery.
"A fairy tale?" She laughed. "Okay, seriously. Where are you from? You are definitely a foreigner."
He glanced at her. A crazy, reckless impulse took hold of his mind.
Maybe I should tell her.
"I fell from the sky," he said quietly. "I opened a door in a ring of glowing mushrooms, and there was an inverted world on the other side. The door slammed shut behind me, and I just... fell."
Sabrina stopped.
Her wide, stunned eyes locked onto his.
The silence stretched between them, growing heavier by the second.
Zorn felt his heart sink.
I said too much.
He forced a jagged chuckle, trying to play it off as a joke.
"Haha! You actually believed that for a second, didn't you?"
She started to laugh, and the tension finally snapped.
"You could be a storyteller! That sounded absolutely ridiculous! I was worried for a second that I was talking to a star person! Haha!"
Star person?
The words lodged in his head like lead. He glanced down at his wrist, staring at the glyph etched into his skin.
Child of Mars Mage.
What the hell was he?
Maybe... she wasn't the safest person to trust after all.
"So, where are you really from then? You seem to joke about it whenever I ask. Is it something you don't want to share?"
Telling the truth felt too much like lying now.
He was stuck. He shrugged, shoving his hands deep into his pockets and kicking a stray rock as they walked.
"In a way, yeah. It's complicated."
She hummed a soft, sympathetic sigh.
"I see. I’ll respect your secrets."
She smiled.
"For now."
The knot in his stomach only tightened.
—CRACK!
The sound of snapping branches echoed from the trees.
Zorn froze instantly, his body readying into a defensive stance.
Sabrina stopped, glancing back at him with a puzzled look.
"It’s okay. It isn't that monster from before," she said, turning back toward the path.
A sharp rustle from overhead made Zorn's blood run cold. He felt eyes on him again.
Please be another beaver or something.
He looked up.
A boy named Khor, with sharp eyes, perched on a branch above them. His short golden hair caught the final, dying rays of the sun.
He looked younger and smaller than Zorn, but the way he sat, balanced and motionless, made him seem much more dangerous.
Two stubborn cowlicks jutted from the sides of his head like small horns.
He wore a pristine white outfit with faint blue accents, topped with a hooded scarf that draped behind him like a cape.
Metal straps wrapped around both his biceps, matching the belt around his waist.
A headband, identical in shape to Zorn’s but a solid, cool blue, was wrapped across his forehead.
Zorn wondered if it was hiding a scar... or if it was just a symbol.
Khor’s gaze was piercing. It cut straight through Zorn before flicking toward Sabrina, lingering heavily on her gold brooch.
Despite his celestial appearance, the boy radiated a cold, hard scrutiny.
Sabrina stiffened. Her eyes narrowed into slits.
"Uh... don't mind him," she muttered.
Zorn narrowed his own eyes.
Who is this guy? He looks familiar.
Something about this newcomer felt off. Unlike Sabrina, this boy was cold and calculating.
Khor stood upright on the branch.
With a faint, shimmering hum of light, a scythe made of solid radiance materialized in his hands.
SHWING!
He tapped the glowing blade against the bark, glaring down at Sabrina.
Thud.
Zorn flinched, his pulse spiking.
"Convert."
Khor’s voice was rough and low.
Sabrina stopped, glaring up at the tree.
Damn this brat! What does he want?!
Zorn felt overwhelmed, but he forced his voice to remain steady.
"Sabrina, what is going on? Why is he targeting you?"
His eyes darted between the glowing scythe and the girl beside him.
Sabrina noticed the tension coiling in his muscles.
"Zorn," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Up there in that tree is a demon. You can tell by his eyes. Look at how they are black slits. You need to be very careful."
Zorn squinted upward, his brows furrowing in confusion.
"A demon? But... he’s wearing such heavenly colors!"
Unless… he is different from me? Another type of demon? Waiiiit, does Sabrina not trust demons?
His eyes slowly drifted toward her.
Khor’s eyes flashed with offense. He looked at Sabrina with disdain.
"You spit the word 'demon' out like it's an insult," Khor said, pointing the bladed end of his light-scythe directly at her chest.
"All while you stand there flaunting that gods-forsaken brooch with blind pride. I'm not the real monster here."
Zorn’s eyes followed the glowing point of the weapon.
Khor’s intense gaze shifted over to him.
A cold chill traveled down Zorn’s spine.
"Why are you sauntering around with a Red Convert?" Khor asked, his stare unyielding.
Zorn answered quickly, feeling the weight of the scythe’s glow.
"She needed help! There was a psycho back there on the beach! She was being attacked. We are just walking through to get out of here now."
He saw Khor’s grip tighten on the staff.
"New and stupid. Where do you think these woods lead?"
Zorn hesitated. He couldn't take his eyes off that hand on the weapon.
"I... I don't know."
Khor’s gaze weighed on him like a mountain of stone.
"What if I told you this path only leads to death?"
Zorn went still.
Sabrina bristled, her jaw tightening as offense crossed her face.
"Are you threatening us?"
Khor didn't flinch; he stared Sabrina down specifically.
A breeze whispered through the leaves, carrying the thick, suffocating silence.
Rustle.
Then, a new sound. Crunching footsteps. The sound of heavy bushes being pushed aside.
Sabrina and Zorn turned in unison.
Emerging from the foliage was Donal. He was shorter, clad in a deep purple cloak with a rose-gold-trimmed mantle.
His spiky black-and-red hair caught the light, and his emerald eyes blinked at them in surprise.
A single gold arrow earring dangled from his left ear.
In his hands, he carried a basket overflowing with fresh berries.
"Hey, Plush," Donal said, glancing up at Khor in the tree. "I found some berries for us to share... oh. Wow. Is this a big meeting or something?"
He shifted the basket, and a single berry tumbled out, rolling across the dirt before coming to a stop.
When Donal’s eyes met Zorn’s, something flickered in them.
A spark of recognition.
Zorn’s heart skipped a beat. His eyes fell to Donal’s purple cloak.
There, fastening the silky fabric, was a gold pin: a black septagram with white, intersecting knots in the center.
Zorn gasped silently.
Now I know! He and that blonde demon, they look like the two figures I saw when I fell from the sky!
Donal’s eyes shifted to Sabrina with a smile.
“Hmm…”
The Lunar Relic's energy is coming from that girl.
He spotted her brooch.
Not surprised.
All four of them stood frozen, caught in a circle of suspicion and unspoken history.