Author's Preface
Yuna dreamt a very familiar dream. One that she was all too used to seeing.
In a wonderfully bright flower field full of purple lillies, a man sat on a wheelchair at the center. His golden locks flowing in the wind as his war torn face still carried the warmth of a father.
Just then, a little girl with a dark-blue almost black hair ran up and embraced the man, almost knocking his wheelchair over.
"Father, I dissected a Thronback Hare today! I did it perfectly! Just like a real surleon!"
The man pat the girl with his scarred hands. Staring deep into her pitch black eyes unable to keep a smile from crawling onto his face.
"It's surgeon Yuna. Not Surleon. I'm sure you will."
Yuna stared at the dream from an outsider's perspective. Staring at the man she called her father and the kindness he once held.
Then with a blink her eyes fluttered open to the dark ocean in the sky. It's waves gently oscillating as little drops of water would fall every now and then.
Yuna sat up looking around. Not a soul was around her in the corridor.
Clenching her teeth she covered her face with both hands.
"You overslept you dolt..."
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Naren stumbled around the open plaza, his head flicking in every which direction. Just as night began to fall an onslaught of those Fae funneled into their Corridor, pushing and passing by the six of them without a care in the world.
Naren's body acted on it's own, covering Yuna's own from the stampeding crowd so she wouldn't get hurt.
As a result, he lost sight of everyone else swept away. Including Vera.
"Shrimpy! Psst psst come out?!"
Naren couldn't help but think about what Vera had said while shouting. Completely cutting him off and deciding to go with Dian. Well, Naren didn't care. He could care less.
To him, only one thing mattered. That was for the little shrimp to turn him into a shaman.
Whatever the hell she did after that meant nothing to him.
"Shrimpy! Don't think you can run from our deal damn it!"
Suddenly Naren's eyes widened and his face paled as his ears twitch. Somewhere in the distant mess of alleyways a sudden howl that he couldn't mistake.
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Cairo stumbled through the flood of Fae, getting pushed through the alleyways until he was finally able to step out onto an empty terrace.
Breathing heavily he had finally noticed something latching onto his arm. A little scruffy looking boy with big eyes.
"Ain't you smart?"
Cairo shook the kid off, looking around as he held onto his wound.
Even if Yuna's medical procedure was perfect, his abdomen had opened and closed too many times in such a short time. He was in no condition to move around like he'd been doing. Not for at least a couple days.
Nico tugged at his pants.
"Uhm sir. We should hide. The monster—"
Nico stopped mid sentence watching Cairo's face contort into a sinister smile, falling back.
"Yeah. That damn wolf..."
Cairo's grey eye flicked to Nico's arm under his sleeves. The pale stick-like appendage now almost fully see through.
"The hell's up with your arm."
Nico immediately pulled his sleeves down, trying to hide it. Staring at the ground, he stayed silent.
"Yo lil dude, I'm talkin to you!"
Nico flinched back a little at Cairo's aggression before finally speaking.
"It's-it's a disease."
A sudden howl cut through the dead silence of night.
Cairo's face shifted as he instinctively turned to it's direction like an animal. But Nico held him down.
"No please listen to me. Don't go yet. Not until my sister gets back."
Cairo pulled his leg free from Nico.
"What's ya sister gon do?"
"S-she's going to set us free from dreameater. She promised me she'd find a cure for my disease. And that princess lady said she knew where my sister was...As long as she gets here. Then she'll set us free!...So just wait here with me."
"An why do I gotta stay with you?"
"Because you always helped me...That's what it feels like."
Suddenly the terrace they stood on began to shake. Cracks forming on the floor as Cairo grabbed Nico, leaping to a neighboring building.
CRACK
An arm of exposed muscles the size of tree trunks shot out of the cracks. Patches of dull grey hair filling in occasionally, trying to mask the horrid look. Ultimately failing to do so.
Cairo dropped Nico atop the rooftop before unsheathing his broken katana. Flames licking his arm as he eyed the beast that emerged from the toppling building.
Yellow eyes peering through scattered dust.
"Don't go sir!"
Cairo pulled a little glass jar out of his pouch, biting off the cap and drenching his body in the viscous liquid inside. His body igniting.
"Hell nah!"
Cairo lunged at the beast, evading it's swings. Slashing it in effortless speed and evasive maneuvers as he constantly nicked at it with his burning blade.
The beast swatted at the one-eyed man, it's three open jaws growling with each spark that shot at it.
Like a firework lit on the ground, the dust in the air spontaneously combusted as the burning man dug his blade into the beast's chest. Where it's heart should've been.
Just as he did, the Werewolf grabbed a hold of him. It's rough hairy hands clasping around Cairo's body. Squeezing tightly as the wolf repeatedly slammed the burning man on the stone floor. His flames slowly snuffing out.
Just then, Cairo opened his mouth, revealing a silver wire clenched between his teeth.
With a click, the steel wire, lit flame. A strand of embers following through Cairo to engulf the entire monstrous abomination.
The wolf began flailing around, slamming it's body trying to stop the pain.
Cairo thrown to Nico's feet in the process.
"Are you okay?!"
Staggering to his feet, the one-eyed man had not once lost the grin stuck onto his face. As if he simply couldn't get rid of it.
Watching the flames dance in front of him brought a sense of ease along with sorrow as he held onto his broken blade.
But inside the embers, the beast didn't die. Instead it grew. It's skin and muscles stretching, ripping, reconnecting. The wolf tore itself apart and put itself back together. The flames slowly burning weaker and weaker in the process.
Cairo clicked his tongue watching.
He knew better than to think a fight against a Werewolf would be easy.
Taking a step forward, he fell to his knees. Blood seeping through his black tunic. It seemed his wound really couldn't take it.
Nico ran to Cairo's side, helping him up.
Cairo held his trembling broken blade, his angered words directed at it:
"If you wanna throw it down then do it! Useless metal!"
Just then, in a staggering speed that wasn't present before, the wolf's arm had rammed into Cairo and Nico like a speeding freight train.
The two flew through the air, at least a hundred meters before skidding through the stone pavement of the plaza. Finally stopping once Cairo hit the strange statue.
He opened his arms, cradling Nico the entire time, but it was pointless. The meek little boy had died on contact.
Cairo wasn't able to fully take Nico's words before, but now he could.
What a stupid kid. Everything began to make sense to him now.
He'd noticed the "Fae" Nico spoke of felt unusually light. After all, it took that many of them to just move him, and even then he only moved out of panic for his injury not because of their force per say.
But that was because they weren't Fae at all.
Cairo used all his strength to light the tip of his finger, a light flame smoldering on it as he began etching onto the base of the statue.
No, Fae would feel hefty, or solid at least.
They were all remnants of humans who's minds had been eaten by the Dreameater. They're bodies losing feeling and turning transparent.
That was every human's fate in here.
Cairo's head fell back, limp, as his grey eyes stared at the dark ocean in the sky.
It's rhythmic waves setting a sense of peace.
Slowly his eyes closed, into an elapsed darkness.
"...Smile...Cairo..."