Author's Preface
Dian lifted his head up, squinting through his shades to identify the look on Naren's face.
It wasn't a look of fear or sadness like he would have thought. Not even one that could be called antsy. Instead it was a look of satisfaction and relief.
"No no, I'm good...completely uncontaminated, thank you very much."
Naren sighed in Dian's response, his posture visibly hunching over in disappointment.
If Dian ended up being the Werewolf they were dealing with, then case closed. They could just do him in while he was a harmless human and be done with it.
Though...
Naren tilted his head, as his golden eyes continued inspecting the man. There were no bite marks or obvious signs of being attacked by a wolf, yet he looks like he'd gotten into some kind of fight.
If he wasn't the one fighting the Werewolf, it'd be easy to label him as the Werewolf itself.
Watching the curly haired boy silently interrogate him, Dian spoke up:
"My boy...I'm a lot of things, but a wolf?...Nothing as hideous as that!"
Sure Naren could take his word for it. But just how much was his word worth. Afterall, he didn't have a spite like Yuna. And even still Naren was cautious around her.
Dian continued:
"Believe me...darling...I'm sorry, I'm blanking...Your name is?"
Naren sighed.
"Naren."
It was fine. He'd just have the princess figure it out. He was just the soldier or whatever anyways.
"So about Ashwin. Who's that?"
Dian straightend the tied scarf around his neck, before grimacing from the sharp pain in his arm.
"Dear where do I start? He's a monster. Hideous thing. One of the Bluebirds...Those crazy bitches. If only..."
Dian caught himself. Stopping mid thought then turning to Naren.
"...Long story short he's not a shaman you want to mess with."
"A shaman?"
Naren titled his head before he continued:
"Why would a shaman be at the city of witches? I thought only aspirants would go."
Dian chuckled a little, his laugh turning into a short coughing fit before he regained his composure.
"Honey. It hasn't been called that for ages. Not to the thousands of citizens of Atlas...Now it's called something else. The eternal city."
Naren's ears perked as Dian went on.
The home that Vera once wanted to return to was no more. It wasn't a great city called Atlas. Nor was it a city of witches. Instead, it was an empire ruled by a sole king named Ashwin, a shaman claiming to be cast down from the heavens.
Dian explained:
"The name, well. It stemmed from a very strange side-effect of the city. There is no passage of time."
That meant that no matter what, the inhabitants wouldn't grow older. They remained constantly the same age no matter how much time truly passed.
That also meant one more thing. An aspirant had no time limit to become a shaman.
However, it wasn't until the last point that Naren's tired expression truly faded as his eyes widened:
"...As for the witches there...Ashwin just killed the last one."
Naren spoke without thinking:
"And what do you plan on doing with Vera?"
Dian went silent for a moment.
"That's Ashwin's decision, Naren."
Unconsciously Naren reached his arm out for Dian's collar, his eyes dilated like a cat's pupil. However, before he could grab him a Fae bumped right into him from behind, walking by, barely acknowledging him.
"Damn Faes."
Naren straightened out, realizing what he was going to do.
Why was he going to grab Dian's collar?
Sure they were going to kidnap Vera, but what was she to him other than a means to an end. As long as she could turn him into a shaman, that's all that mattered to him.
Dian's voice startled Naren:
"If I can help it. I don't want to hurt such a cute little girl."
Naren glanced at Dian. He was hoping the guy was the Werewolf even more now. Someone who didn't want to do something, but continuing to do so anyways. What a piece of trash using his lack of control as an excuse for his lack of action.
As his thoughts ran wild, his ears began picking up the chatter of Fae. The strange language resounded through his ears.
Naren grabbed them tight in annoyance.
The Werewolf and Dreameater were bad enough. What was even the point of these Fae walking around spitting in his ears.
Wait.
Where did he even hear the term Fae.
Naren suddenly remembered a crucial detail.
A detail connecting him to coming to Lastlight in the first place.
The strange human boy looking for his sister. The one with huge eyes and a strangely animalistic sense of smell.
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In the damp dungeon that sat right under the town plaza, two figures' footsteps echoed in the silent groans of its prisoners. Their voices somehow less and less human-like. Emptier.
Yuna walked in front, her hood covering her face as she had done while out in the city. And close behind her, a little Vera followed. A blue dim lantern of lightning bugs in her hand that she dared not face towards any of the uninhabited cells.
Vera was lost in thought.
She wondered just how she would be able to slither away from Naren. Right now, she was held close by Yuna's gaze. Not that she didn't want to help them.
She wanted to do anything she could to make it easier for Naren. That much she felt she owed him.
After all, She never truly wanted to go back to Atlas.
Now, after forcing herself, she felt a little foolish. As if, she was wrong to do something without truly thinking it through. Vera couldn't help but just want to disappear now. It had been long enough hadn't it?
She tried being normal for as long as she could, and where did that get her?
Nowhere except misfortune. She had done nothing but hurt those around her.
Vera was knocked out of her thoughts when the two had finally made it to a cell at the end.
Yuna motioned the lantern towards the cell, illuminating a little scruffy boy. His big eyes shifting from the sudden light.
"Yuna! You came!"
The boy wiped his face, obvious signs of tears along his eyes.
"I don't lie, I told you."
Yuna joked as she opened the cell door, letting the boy walk out, tilting his head as he looked at Vera.
His first reaction was a flush face, before he shook his head and turned his attention to Yuna. Stumbling over his words a little as he wiped his face to make sure Vera couldn't tell he was crying.
"Th-that means you'll save my sister right?"
Yuna simply looked at him for a second, before grimacing while rubbing her temple.
"No. I told you I'll help find your sister. Saving her isn't my problem."
Nico opened his mouth to complain, but caught sight of Vera in the corner of his eyes. Her amber eyes staring directly at him.
So instead, Nico barked out:
"O-Of course. I'll save her myself...I can't let anything happen to her."
Vera continued staring at the strange boy. Though there was something specific she was staring at: His hands.
Through his long sleeves...They seemed almost transparent.