“I hate it..” Zu mumbled, rubbing his exposed head.

He followed Kaybol through the streets, they both wore dark brown robes, upon colorless clothes. Zu couldn’t keep his beanie on, and that irritated him.
Kaybol leaned backwards to give Zu a playful glare. He looked weird, with the disguise. The black hair made him a bit less childish, and his contract markings were hidden.

“It was your request to join me,” Kaybol grinned. “you can’t complain.”

He was right, of course. When Zu heard Kaybol was going to visit a Vastoari town in Paiviaz, he insisted to join. He wanted to rake more seriously try to find where he came from, and meeting more Vastoaris would be a good start.

Humans, not Vastoaris. He reminded to himself. The human population were pretty hostile to the Nyxians overall, but they had a reason to fear. Nyxians - or “demons” as the humans called them - were powerful. Scary powerful.

Should I be worried that I'm thinking as if I'm not human too? Zu wondered, before shaking his head. That’s not the place for existential dread. He’s here to find if this world has people arriving from his magicless one. He just needed a way to convince Kaybol to help him.

He felt a tug on his sleeve, as Kaybol tried to get his attention.

“we’re here.” He said, gesturing in the direction of a local tavern carrying the sign of “The scaly maiden”.

“The founder liked poetry.” Kaybol explained to the confused Zu, before continuing with a warning. “don’t speak unless I tell you to. We don’t want any more attention than needed.”

They entered the inn, directly going to the bartender. Zu tried to stay close to the door, as far as he could from the drunken men. Kaybol went straight to the bartender.

“One glass of mead.” He said in a completely calm tone.

The bartender narrowed his eyes.

“Ain't ya lil’ too young for these, boy?”

Zu watched closely. He wondered for a while how Kaybol and Hilliya are going around gathering info, when they look like children.

Kaybol put his hand on the table, showing a golden coin, surrounded by a ring of onyx.

The bartender looked surprised.

“a Horror Hunter.” He whispered. “so you're age..”

“A curse.” He said flatly, playing the role of an adult trapped in a child body perfectly. “Y’know them fiends, think we humans are toys to their twisted whims.”

The bitterness in his voice almost confused Zu for a moment.

“And the other?” the bartender gestured toward Zu, who immediately looked away.

Kaybol shrugged. “Apprentice. All lads are cowards these days. Gotta teach ‘em somehow.”

The bartender smiled, seemingly empathizing with the statement. He poured a glass and handed it to Kaybol.

Kaybol took his cup and turned around, listening to the conversations taking place. But the bartender wasn’t done with him just yet.

“What can an elite crusader like you looking for in our… erm… humble tavern?”

“Why, can’t a man just relax these days?” Kaybol grinned. “Have a drink once in a while?”

The bartender glared at him, but turned away. He clearly expected more.

More of what? Zu wondered, more information? For gossip to brag about?

He then turned to look at the folk drinking and eating. He was starting to wonder if accompanied Kaybol for nothing, when the boy stood up and joined a group of drunk people. Zu wanted to follow and listen in, but another conversation caught his attention.

“The rumors say the striped-armored hero ain't from here.” One man said between bites of his food.

“Whaduyamean ain't from HIC!  here?” asked his drunken companion.

“ain't form here is from elsewhere, my friend. One from another world.” He explained with an ugly smile.

Zu felt stunned.

There’s another. He thought to himself. I gotta find out more.

He carefully tried to get closer, to listen in.

#

“So that guy, I'm telling ya, that’s a witch alright.”

The man, dressed in light armor, said.

“Lifting walls in the air with a wave of a hand, that’s ain't normal for a human.” Another man besides him added.

Kaybol listened carefully to the pair. He wanted to correct them that witches aren’t typically men, but decided against it.

“It could just be a wizard of a royal court.” He suggested instead. The court should still be around, in some form. After all, he helped founding it.

Beadora did most of the work on this one though. Kaybol thought to himself, before returning his focus on the men before him. There was no point in dwelling over nostalgia now.

The man in the armor shook his head. “No, he’s ain't human. I'm sure of it.”

“And why is that?” Kaybol asked dubiously.

“His eye.” Said the other. “They were too piercing. I never knew anyone with such strange pink eyes. Wel… aside from demons and..” he lowered his voice before continuing, “..modified human.”

“Them demons really like humiliating us humans, ain't they?” the armored one spoke in a low voice as well. “I heard they sometimes buy human children like slaves.”

Kaybol hated the direction the conversation was heading. That was, because partially it had truth in it.

“I heard they sometimes turn ‘em into animals just to breaks them.” The other added.

“I heard they put in in arenas to fight lions without weapons.”

“I heard they made a factory of humans for their amusement.”

“These factories are long gone.” Kaybol interrupted.

The two stared at him.

“And how do you know?” asked the armored man.

Because I was the reason Auraiiya-Sama destroyed them. He thought to himself, and it was Vastoari-owned. They made it to appease the “monsters”.  

“Because I’ve seen the ruins myself.”

He did not lie, and he knew they could feel it.

It was hard, but Kaybol bottled the growing anger within him. There were mostly no Feeden existing anymore, and the ones that still alive were living happy lives. Even if that’s as Vastoari pets. Nyxians has laws to protect Feeden and other artificial species.

Before they could ask him more, Kaybol noticed Zu approaching one of the other tables. He seemed interested in their conversation. Too interested.

That’s bad.

Kaybol stood up, startling the two men in the table. He quickly tried to approach Zu, but accidently bumped into another man. He quickly walked around without a word, when the shouting began. the man tried to punch him, and nearly succeeded. Luckily, Kaybol was small and quick. A good combination for a fight.

Dammit, I'm getting rusty. He thought to himself, then suppressed a chuckle. He forgot for a moment he shouldn’t swear outside of acting.

The man was pushed back from a kick to the stomach Kaybol provided, crashing into the table Kaybol was in just moments before.

Kaybol glared at the 3.

Then all hells broke loose in the bar.

Knocking people out left and right, Kaybol tried to reach Zu, who was trying to stay away from all the violence.

In the halfway to the other side, he dove under another man that tried to hit him with a chair. The dive only met with an uppercut to the nose by a muscular Vastoari wearing a bloody, sleeveless shirt.

Kaybol stumbled back, holding his nose in surprise. He didn’t mind the pain. It was usual by this point. He slowly raised his hand to see it colored red. His vision was darkening. His body began to shake as his mind forced him to relive the day he learned bleeding assures death.

#

21 was 3 years old when it happened. The Feeden laughed with his friends, his blue eyes glittering with joy. As 35 always said, we’ll be sold and eaten anyway, we should at least enjoy until then~

They were a quartet. Two boys, two girls. 21 from the azure section, 35 from the violet, 14 of the maroon, and 58 of the green. All of the same year. All got years to be bought. After all, they were just Feeden, designed to be food for the monsters.

It happened one day. Such a mundane day, such a mundane way to be injured. 14 only fell down some stairs as they talked. She only got a bit of scratches. But she bled, and that was enough. Enough to draw a hell hound. Feeden were promised to be in a perfect condition. An injured Feeden will become a scarred Feeden, as 35 explained grimly later. And no one wants a scarred Feeden, even if it’s just for food.

So 14 became scrapes for the hell hound, and 21 watched. That’s how he knew. Knew that if he bleeds - he’s doomed to die.

The nightmares never left him. Nightmares of blood and torn flesh. Nightmares of death of 14, of himself, over and over.

That was when 58 decided to escape their fate, and 21 joined him.

58 joined his nightmares much later. Even after discovering he was an Achlys jewel, even after hiding his Feeden origin behind titles of leadership - 21 never stopped fearing from his own blood. He knew his blood meant death. And death he had, over and over. Reincarnations of an Achlys jewel, doomed to live pain amplified by all the pain before. Such pain should drive any normal soul insane, corrupt it thoroughly. But 21 was the youngest of the Achlys jewels, he won’t be broken so easily. That was his curse.

Even after finally taken in by a Kiadra that searched after him for a thousand years and given a new name, Kaybol always recalled that oh so simple lesson; My blood spells my death.

#

Zu was sticking to the wall as much as he could. He had no battle experience, and knew he had no chance in a fight against any of these people – let alone in this chaotic mayhem. Then he saw Kaybol getting punched in the face, and falling to the floor. He saw his brother shaking. The man that hit Kaybol lifted him by the ponytail. Zu couldn’t stand on the side and watch. He rushed forward, something else taking over him.

People jumped out of the way, too taken by surprise of the boy that started kicking anyone in sight, smashing chairs on heads.

One man tried to grab him, but screamed when Zu's fingers dug into a pressure point in his arm and let the boy go.

Zu launched onto another man, using the two pressure points under his skull. Combined by the weight and the momentum, it made the man fall to the floorunl. Zu didn’t even bother do see if he was still alive.

By the time Zu reached the sleeveless man, Kaybol was bunched twice in the gut. Zu’s fist connected with the man’s face just as he was about to smash Kaybol’s head to the floor.

More annoyed than hurt, the man turned to Zu. He left Kaybol to drop to the floor as he cracked his knuckles.

“you boys think ya tough?” he said with an evil grin, as he raised his hand with a clenched fist.

Kaybol tried to stand up, when a sudden a blue glow drew the attention of everyone in the room. A man held a gemstone up. He looked as unextraordinary as they come, but his eyes glowed in a purple glow.

“that’s him!” one of the men Kaybol talked with earlier pointed in rage, “that’s the witch man!”

Zu didn’t know what that was about, but he took the opportunity to help Kaybol up while everybody was focused on the man.

The “witch man”’s voice hummed something Zu couldn’t hear, but his gem glowed with a pulse of each word as he advanced through the wrecked tavern.
as the man got closer, Zu could hear a bit of his chant:

“Let escape be my route/ chance of chase be ruled out.

“Bring us to safety outside of harm’s reach/”

Zu couldn’t hear the end of the spell, as the multiple adventurers in the pub tried to attack. shouting as they charged, the man threw a powder in the air, and it started exploding in a series of loud “BANG!”s. Simultaneously, the gem hanging from the man’s hand grew brighter with light that enveloped both Zu and Kaybol.