The laughter of children could be heard. The endearing delicacies of youth who had no fear of the future echoed outside the forest line.

“Hurry up, Rena! You’re too slow!” Ymir, called out from his lead.

Slowing down even more to catch her breath, she retorted. “I’m trying! Don’t assume that I can run fast just ‘cause I’m a wolf!”

Ymir had stopped in wait as Rena finally caught up to him. The cool morning breeze swept across the field outside the village, cooling the sweat that trickled down their sun-kissed skin. Upon her arrival, the two of them turned to a steady walking pace and resumed conversation.

Rena spoke up, “So, what do you want to be when you grow up?” Her eyes never left Ymir’s face as she waited for his response.

He placed a hand on his chin, taking a moment to think about what he would want to do. “Maybe...” he thought a little harder. “A champion of justice!”

Rena’s green eyes lit up at the prospect of Ymir achieving this dream.

His chest sticking out with an air of confidence, he looked at her and explained, “That way I can protect you, Rena!”

She couldn’t contain her excitement at those words, and tears began to pool in the corners of her eyes nevertheless. With a small fang poking out at the edge of her lip, she shot an innocent smile toward Ymir, turning him visibly red, and said, “I’ll be counting on you.”

I’ll be counting on you.

Those words echoed throughout his conscience. They reverberated inside his head until he felt sick.

The sun that was just so bright in the sky had seemed to have all but died out, giving way to the darkness that was now cast over the landscape.

No longer were they words; they began to change into something else completely, warping into the sound of a grotesque laughter.

Ymir remembered. The young Rena who stood there just a moment prior was gone, as if she were only the cold shadow of what could have been. All that remained now was her lifeless body lying limp beside him. He could hear that final breath of hers as she struggled to speak his name one last time. He could taste that drop of her blood on his tongue. He could feel the same power that overcame him before blacking out; the power that gave way to the heinous acts he had unwittingly carried out.

He remembered everything, but was unable to shed even a single tear.

The laughter only grew louder.

Gradually amplifying to the point that his ears began to ring, Ymir fell to his knees. Slumped over while shielding himself from the noise, the palms of his hands became wet. He could feel the blood streaming out of his ear canals and down the sides of his face.

The sound was no longer even a laughter; it could only be described as auditory torture.

He raised his head and the noise came to an abrupt halt; the silence was deafening.

The whole world began to distort, caving in on itself and expanding once more -- twisting like the currents of a maelstrom at sea.

In Rena’s stead, cloaked in a dense black fog, were four horsemen. Their dark voices rang in unison as though a choir sang a requiem for the dead, “A champion of justice?” The ground shook with their wicked hysterics. “Surely you jest, Ymir. Since you have borne that mark, you are naught but the harbinger of anguish and death.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words could be formed.

One of the four slowly began to approach Ymir. The fog began to fade around him as his appearance came into sight atop a white horse, “We already dwell inside you. The emotions you had once felt have begun to fade, growing numb and insignificant at our grasp.”

He gazed upward at the horseman in awe. Ymir was frozen in place, staring at a reflection of himself.

“You are rotten to the core...”

Ymir’s eyes opened, a cold sweat trickling down his pale skin from the nightmare he had just woken from. He began to jolt upright, but collapsed in pain from the injuries he had sustained days prior. He was disoriented, but not afraid.

What the hell was that?

Practically naked in only his undergarments, his body was cleaned and bandaged, but confused on who tended to him. He took the clothes that were laid out beside him and began to dress himself; they were tattered and frayed, but folded neatly.

With heavy, labored breaths, Ymir took in the sights around him; the sky was dark, but not as if it were night; it seemed to perpetually be in a state of dusk, casting darkness over the thinly layered canopy of the forest surrounding them. The only source of real light in the area came from a small fire that the other two must have constructed while he slept.

With a small rustling coming from the bushes opposite of him, “Ira~, He’s awake!”

“So it seems. Thank you, Lilith.”

Surrounded by unfamiliar faces in an unfamiliar place, Ymir was visibly confused and various thoughts were crossing his mind at an immeasurable pace. He subtly, yet meticulously studied the two girls who now leaned over him.

Now standing atop the ground on which he slept, he nonchalantly tried to scour the dimly lit area for anything he could possibly use to defend himself. Grabbing at a jagged rock behind him, he mustered the courage to address these peculiar strangers, “Who are you?”

“Excuse our rudeness.” Lilith lowered her head ceremoniously and pulled the skirt of her dress in an elegant curtsy. “It seems we have not yet introduced ourselves. I am Lilith, Matriarch of the Lilim -- a proud race of vampiric succubi. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

She was a small-framed girl of about 150cm. She was both delicate and elegant in appearance, but unrefined in personality. Her facial features were soft and attractive, complemented by fine, silver-pink hair that glistened in the moonlight. To add to her enchanting charms, she boasted eyes of a deep crimson tint, bearing an irrefutable resemblance to Ymir’s eyes of the same color.

His gaze shifted to the other, whose oval visage was adorned with silky, black hair. The bangs of which, harmonizing with the blue pigmentation of her irises, hung over her left eyebrow and sloped downward to her right cheek.

She cocked her head to the side, pulling up on the neatly braided ponytail that laid over her shoulder, and shot him a look of ponderment. “Well, I suppose I should also present myself. I am Ira, a Conjurer of Chains and a former Shadow Wardress. I am looking forward to making your acquaintance.” She ended her self-introduction with a slight bow.

Ira, standing about half of a head taller than Lilith, wore a white linen tunic that draped over her left shoulder, leaving the other exposed. From the waist down, she donned a distinct pair of black trousers; whereas the left side fell into the folds of her brown, leather riding boot, the hem of the right pant leg ended at her mid-thigh. The form-fitting clothes only supplemented her slender, athletic build. Her only questionable traits were her habitual straightforward manner of speech and a constant look that was blurring the lines of being either overly quizzical or judgmental.

Taking into account who they were, he followed up his previous question, “Why am I here with you? You should have just left me to die back in Umb--” He bit his tongue in frustration as he remembered what had transpired.

Ira and Lilith exchanged glances, wondering if Ymir had complete awareness of what had happened.

“We couldn’t very well have done that. Umbrium has become a ghost town; there was no one left aside from us three.” remarked Ira, “And as for why you are here: Lilith and I are the Proxies of our respective factions from within the Realm of Nocterra. We were sent to escort you back with us.”

The expression on his face was blank.

Repeating herself to break the silence, “We were sent to esco--”

“Why...” Still reliving the incident in Umbria, he clenched his fists, tremoring from the injustice of it all.

Lilith interjected, “Oh that? You see... there’s a bit of a situation going on in the Shadow Realm right now.” She twiddled her fingers, thinking how best to explain. “It is as Ira stated, we are the Proxies of our factions, but... well... not all of the factions agree with our ideals. Not even the factions of which some of us belong support our cause.” She shifted her eyes toward Ira for an instant, “So, we chose the Proxies for those sort of factions based on the individual’s sentiments toward our alliance.”

Wearing a look on his face that was indiscernible between whether it was irritation or curiosity, he snapped back with, “And what the hell does that have to do with me?!”

“There, there... Everything’s going to be alright.” Lilith gave him a smile that was both tender and alluring. “If you were normal it wouldn’t have had anything to do with you, but that provocative branding you wear oh-so handsomely...” She pranced over and slithered her dainty fingers from his chest down his arm, following the lines of his marking. “Tee~hee. That makes it have everything to do with you.”

Ymir watched cautiously as Lilith caressed his skin. “I don’t even know what this mark means...”

“Well, we don’t even know the full details of it, but there are some in our alliance that are quite knowledgeable on the subject. All we know for sure is that there are a handful of others in this world who bear similar markings, and they all have immense and terrible power.”

Ira added, “Most of which belong to the Empire -- the Avatars.”

The campfire at their feet sputtered. Small embers were shot upward into the air, emitting a dim light that danced across their skin in the darkness before dying on their way back to the earth.

Ymir remained impartial, but calculating, “Hypothetically, if I were to accompany you, what would you do with me?”

Lilith covered her mouth and let loose a troublesome giggle, her eyelids narrowing.

Ira announced, “For ages, the seven clans of Nocterra have been vying for power; however, with the sudden boom of military power within the various surrounding nations, and particularly Solatellus, the best course of action would be to unite the Shadow Realm under a single banner. We require your strength to subdue, and change the hearts of those who would oppose a unified Nocterra.”

Finishing Ira’s thought, Lilith commented, “And, naturally, the only one fit to rule the Shadow Realm of Nocterra...” She stroked her finger up Ymir’s neck and stopped at his chin, “Is you. After all, there can be no infighting if the one atop the throne belongs to no faction; it would be an unbiased reign.” She took a step back and leaned forward, crossing her hands behind her lower back. “Oh! By the way, you can put that rock down. We’re not here to harm you.”

Becoming cognizant of the fact that if they wanted him dead, they would have done so already, Ymir dropped the stone from his hands. He was now a grail that had been filled to the brim, spilling over with new things to contemplate.

I only wished to be a champion of justice -- to protect Rena. I had my raison d’etre, but lacked the power to fulfill it in the end. I was a fool who knew nothing of this world we live in -- this crooked world that revolves around the nauseating ambitions of those who sit in their ivory towers. And still, I am only beginning to understand. Would I be able to change it?

Concluding that he could trust them, even if only a little, “I shall return the favor of your assisting me.” Tempted by the sweet taste of revenge, the words slipped off of his tongue, “My name is Ymir. I will go with you.”

To have all of this power, but no purpose would make me an even bigger fool. I suppose I should search for a reason to live once more, learn what I have become, and exact my retribution for all of those who would hide behind a facade of false benevolence.

“I cannot promise that I will live up to your expectations, nor can I promise that I will even stay by your side for this journey; nevertheless, neither do I have a reason to live, nor a place to call home any longer.” He glanced at Lilith and Ira before finishing, “If I can find either of those two things down this path, then I’ll be looking forward to working with the both of you.”

Lilith grabbed his hand, “Don’t worry! We’ll take care of you.”

Ira nodded, seconding the notion.

He looked around once more at the dark forest surrounding him. “By the way,” Ymir added. “Where exactly are we?”

“We are currently on the outskirts of my homeland,” Ira stated. “Nocterra.”