***

Victoria

As the last puppeteered corpse fell I sat down to take a breather. I saw Kasper collapse next to Lilith, who was already laying on the ground because of her temporary paralysis.

"So... what do you think that was? Living string?" Kasper asked sarcastically, heaving for air.

"Living string? Don't be ridiculous." Lilith responded.

"it's obviously their body hair that gained sentience." Lilith joked, gaining a laugh from all of us.

"Anyway, how long do you think you need to rest before you can stand again?" I asked Lilith.

"Don't know, maybe an hour, maybe thirty minutes. Not sure, the curse took a lot out of me this time." she explained.

"Well then, let's get out of this room and then we can set up a temporary camp." I recommended.

"Sounds good, just give me a moment and I can... help you out, Lilith." Kasper spoke, continuing to be out of breath.

As we rested I noticed how Arameth hadnt joined us, I was going to bring it up but I saw something in the puddles of blood around us. Something was moving behind me.

The figure raised its weapon, and at the same time, I grabbed the hilt of my sword and activated my blade's burst ability and let the thunderous magic in my sword fuel my body. Within the second that the sword struck down, I flashed out of the way.

As I looked back, expecting to find another corpse being puppeteered I instead saw the face of my friend and squad mate.

"Arameth..." I mumbled.

As I looked my friend in the eye, I could see the panic they held, quickly realizing something was wrong.

"Look out!" I screamed to warn the others.

They noticed just in time as Arameth swung his sword at them, his body seemingly struggling to move like if he wasnt in control.

The string! I realized.

"We need fire. The strings got to him too! Try to burn them without hurting Arameth!" I commanded.

I quickly drew my sword and clad it in blue lightning as I once again activated its burst effect.

I dashed towards him, aiming at the strings above his arms, just like I did with the others. This time, however, I felt my sword instantly stop as it collided with the string. It felt like I had struck against metal.

Did they reinforce the string? I asked myself.

I quickly pulled back as not to accidently burn Arameth with my lighting.

Even though the strings seemed stronger this time, I decided continuing to hit the strings, hoping to possibly wear them down. But with each hit, it only felt like they grew stronger.

Arameth's body moved towards me in an unnatural fashion, I parried his attack and immediately went into a counter. however, since I didnt want to actually hurt him I tried to aim for the strings, but his arm moved up causing my sword to cut into him. The cut wasn't deep since his skin is more durable then a normal human, but it still drew blood.

I could see the pain in his eyes as he muffled a scream of pain under his sealed mouth.

"Shit. I-I'm sorry." I panicked.

In my panic Kasper pushed me out of the way as Arameth had just raised his sword again.

Kasper got up quickly and started to block each swing from Arameth.

Even though Kasper was able to push Arameth back a few steps, he wasnt able to land any hits to the strings holding him. For with each attack Kasper did, Arameth countered. They where at a stalemate until Kasper's fatigued body betrayed him and let Arameth get a hit in.

The little giant threw a punch at Kaspers gut seemingly at full force. I could hear the sounds of something breaking, and I only hoped that it was his armor and not his bones.

Kasper keeled over and dropped his weapons as the air left his lungs. Giving Arameth another chance to strike. I could see how he strained against the strings not to kill his friend. So Instead of using the sword, Arameth kicked Kasper away causing him to be pushed into the darkness.

Arameth then looked towards the paralyzed Lilith and started to walk towards her.

As Arameth's arm raised itself to strike at the unguarded Lilith, he suddenly stopped. Or it was more that something was fighting against the strings, for as the strings commanded his arms to strike at the witch I saw how they teared his skin and drew blood as Arameth resisted the strings influence.

However, something felt off, his eyes darted towards me with a hint of desperation, he looked from me and then up to his sword, now held stationery in the air. Realizing he was trying to tell me something, I looked to where his sword was pointing and there in the darkness I saw something move.

A hint of what looked like a creature weaving string.

I gave him a knowing smile as I let out an order.

"Kasper! Get up and help Lilith!"

Kaspers tiered body twitched at my command.

"Or are you going to lose another match against him?" I asked.

"No ma'am!" Kasper roared as he pushed himself up from the ground.

"Then get up and fight! That's an order!" I roared back.

"Yes ma'am!" Kasper screamed as he rushed towards Arameth, picking up a rock and using it to hinder the attack.

The rock got crushed in Kasper's hand, but it stopped some of its motion. Dampening it enough that it wouldn't cleave Kasper's hand in tow as he grabbed a hold of Arameth's blade.

Using his other hand to grab a hold of Arameth. Kasper's roar of desperation echoed through the room as he tried to push back against Arameths giant strength.

Whislt Kasper focused on Arameth, I kept my eyes on the thing on the ceiling.

"I believe it's time I stopped holding back." I muttered to myself.

I hardened my grip on my sword and kept my eyes on the target. I got down into a low stance, springing my legs so they are ready to shoot me up into the air.

I took a deep breath before activating my sword burst ability.

"Enigma."

I felt how the blue lightning rushing from my sword traveled up my arm and shot out from my shoulder like a static wing. As the lightning hummed around me, I felt the horrific yet familiar feeling of the six-eyed demon as the rune appeared behind me.

"Hear me, voices of the sky and sea. I am terror. I am might. I am the storms that rend the heavens bare. All shall be forgotten, all shall be untold in the depths of the eternal storm. For I call upon it. The enigma!" I chant.

The blue lightning around my sword grows wild and hungers to be used. In my mind, the sword provided me with a path that would ensure the kill of my target. I then take a breath as my body moves on instinct and jumps.

I flash past Arameth and Kasper, up towards the thing in the ceiling. The whole room is now lit up by my blue lightning, exposing the creatures above.

They are what looks like humanoid spiders. Huminoid in the way that their hairy limps grow out into what almost looks like human arms, their body is almost built like that of a centipede, except its legs are more gangly and crooked. From it's disturbingly human hands it weaves a web that travels down towards Arameth's puppeteered body.

I flash past it, at the same time cleaving it in half. The lightning emitting from my sword decimating any remains of the creature. As my attack lands, the hole room lights up in an array of blue, revealing four more of these creatures.

I maneuver myself so that I jump off one of the last remaining parts of the spider, flinging me towards the rest. Just like the first, my sword cleaves the spiders in two, just a second after killing the first one.

After the last one is dead, I feel my body grow tiered and limp as a result of using my swords burst ability.

My vision fades, and I fall unconscious before I even hit the ground.

I had that dream again. The same one I always have when I use Enigma.

Where I stand by a river in a calming forest, the only noise to be heard is the chirping of the birds. It would be a nice dream if it wasn't for the watchful eyes that had replaced the sun. Six eyes that covered the sky, all watching me. Juding me.

The eyes where familiar. I mean, why wouldn't they be?

They where the eyes I was promised to bare.

I would have expected that they would hold an angry look, or maybe one of pride, but all that I saw in them was anguish. Like if they where sad for me, pitying me.

Then the eyes closed, taking the light with them, and all that was left was a whisper.

"...emit fo tuo reverof ,wolf eht esreveR .enim ni eciojer ,eman yht rettU .llaf llahs sdog eht enolA .raw rof eraperp ,ecaep evigroF .lwoh stnaig eht raeF .teiuq eht hcraeS"

I woke up next to Arameth. He sat holding watch, whilst the others rested. I wasn't sure if they where sleeping though. I struggled to get myself up into a more comfortable position.

"Well, good morning." he spoke, his voice soft as not to wake Kapser, who I now saw was out cold.

"You slept well, thunder hawk?" I heard Lilith tease, as she sat upright next to a wall seemingly regained some motor functions.

"Where are we?" I asked, feeling how my mouth was dusty and dry.

"Outside the dark room, a small indent in one of the tunnels that we decided to rest in. Arameth dragged the three of us here, after Kasper fainted just some meters outside of the darkroom." Lilith explained as I took a sip of my water skin.

I gave Arameth a concerned look.

"Oh don't worry, I used to carry wood with my father when I was younger, I even dragged a grizzly half through the great Berkton forest so im used with carrying heavy things." he explained.

However, I could see him instantly get flustered.

"I- I mean... not that any of you are heavy..." he spat out in a worry.

The half giants panic caused me to laugh, and I gave him a weekend punch to the shoulder.

"Anyhow, what was that?" Lilith asked me.

"You know, that swarm of lightning and that chant?" she continued.

"It's nothing special. Since my sword is a burst sword, it has the usual burst effect and abilities." I told her.

"But I thought that thing you used against me during our first battle was your burst ability?" Arameth asked.

"I mean, yeah, but Enigma is a bit special. It kind of has two abilities, or maybe it would be more right to say one and a half?" I tried to explain.

"What I used against you Arameth was kind of just half of it. What I used now is the full thing. It allows me to know exactly where to hit to defeat my opponent. However, if they are able to solve the question the rune asks, or if I drain myself of energy like I just did, then the ability stops and needs to recharge for a while." I explained.

"And since the sword is made from the six eyes bone, I needed to seal some of its power. The chant therefor allows me to lift that seal a bit." I told them.

I could see how Arameth had a hint of amazement his eyes as I explained how Enigma worked.

"But it's not just me who had to pull out their ace today." I said.

"Flame sword huh? Finaly starting to use form for more than reshaping your sword." I teased Arameth.

"Yeah, it took some time to get Johan to try and teach me how I could use From to its fullest, but he wouldn't budge. But when I started to pester him to teach me the incantation he performed during the storm, he saw it better to grant the less advanced of my wishes." Arameth explained, making me let out a short laugh.

"Oh and thanks by the way." I heard him say.

"Thanks for freeing me of those spider human freaks."

"Don't mention it." I told him, a smile forming on my lips.

"So what are those things? Spider human hybrids?" Kasper startled us, not aware that he had woken up.

I gave Kasper a look of confused worry.

"Who In all of the realm would want to get with a spider Kasper?" Lilith said.

"I don't know it could be possible." Kasper tried to defend himself.

"Maybe it's just a defensive evolution to look really human-like." Lilith retorted.

"Then why aren't there any records of spiders like these? They are obviously some mistake made from humans and spiders combined." Kasper argued.

Whilst the two seemed to argue, my eyes returned back to my giant friend. Remembering that only some hours before, he was shaking with panic at just the sight of someone with the Uranos emblem, and now he sat here as calm as always.

It worried me slightly.

"Hey, are you okay?" I decided to ask him.

"Y-yeah." he answered seemingly a bit confused.

"You looked really messed up earlier. I know you where attacked when you where younger, so I understand... but I guess I never thought it effected you this much." I said.

"You usually seem happy and calm, so it was a bit of a shock to see you like that." I told him.

He sighed.

"Same here, I guess. I mean, I haven't seen much of them since then, so I guess when it all came back to me like that, I lost it a little." he told me, seeming almost like if he had done something wrong.

"Hey, there is nothing wrong with what happened. It's not your fault they did that to you." I told him.

I saw that he wanted to retort in some way, but he held back.

"H-hey... I know I'm asking for a lot by doing this, and it's totally okay if you don't want to talk about it. But, what happened that day? You never really told us exactly what happened." I asked, almost instantly regretting it.

He sat quiet for a second and I realized that both Kasper and LIlith had stopped their arguments and where now listening in to us. Both seemingly also being curious. I saw him clenching his sword, almost as if that was supposed to be of comfort for him.

Arameth then, without saying a word, took of his caramel brown coat he had gotten from Johan and lifted up the back of his shirt. There slithering up his back was a horrendous burn scar covering almost most of his back.

I let out a gasp as I saw it. 

"During the attack that day..." he started.

"There was a man, he was bald and he had what looked like golden chains circling his tanned head, connected to spikes that look like they where hammered into his skull. He was the one who was in charge of the attack that day." Arameth told us.

"It was a day like another, I was walking to my friend Sebastian, and suddenly I met him. He used some magic to burn the building behind me, and burned my back in the process. All while, his horrid green eyes pierced through me."

"That was the first time I ever saw someone enjoy hurting another person. He looked at me like if I was some sort of animal he would gut and hang on his wall like some trophy."

Arameth lifted curled up his right pant leg and his left arm sleeve to show hints of faded scars.

"They where not deep, so with the speaker's help, they healed fast, but each time that man cut and stabbed my flesh, it burnt almost as bad as the fire had my back." he told us.

"Who was he? This man." I heard Kasper ask.

Arameth fell silent yet again. Like if even mentioning this man's name stung.

"Victor. Victor Von Valenta." he told us.

The utter of his name sparked a deep fear inside me.

"V-valenta? Like the Valenta family." I asked worried if it was who I thought it was.

Arameth stared at me confused, but he gave me a nod of affirmation.

"By Seaphiels blade." I heard Kasper mutter.

"What?" Arameth asked.

"Arameth... The Valenta family are the ones who, single handedly brought the dragons to near extinction." I said.