At the bottom of the stairs, Fuxiao found himself in a dimly lit prison. The familiar smell of blood hit his senses, twisting his stomach into a pit of venomous dread. It didn’t come as a surprise that Topan had been lashed and punished as a war prisoner, but the crimson pool soaking the stone floor and walls lurched his insides.

Fuxiao rattled the iron bars.

“Topan! Can you hear me?!”

In that close distance, he picked up the weak rise and fall of the chest covered in hideous wounds. A sluggish breath escaped cracked lips.

The echoing silence of the dungeon reminded him once again of the unmoving body rotting underneath the tree.

Cold fury surged. White threads unfurled around him and slashed the iron bars like bamboo. Fuxiao stepped into the dark shadows and reached a hand to his saviour.

Though unconscious, Topan leaned into the touch.

Once, this man stood in front of him and fought off monsters. Strength that rivalled the sun. Courage that shone through his slumber, awakening the survival instincts ingrained deep inside him. And now, that very same man had been broken into a deplorable state.

How dare.

His white threads floated gently and pierced Topan.

How dare that Cendrawasih do this to Topan.

Blood slowly flowed out of him and into Topan, turning the pure white threads into a deep shade of crimson.

How dare he lay his hands on what’s mine.

Fuxiao wrapped his arms around Topan as his Blood breathed life back into the beast. Warmth returned to the cold body and when Topan blinked his eyes open, Fuxiao leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his forehead.

“I won’t let you die.”

For a moment, confusion dazed his mind as Topan stared at Fuxiao. Disbelief widened his eyes.

“Fuxiao…? How– why are you here?”

“Don’t you remember our promise? I need you. As long as I give you my blood, you must stay by my side.”

In the darkness clouded by years of war, scarred in battles, for the first time, a glimmer of hope broke through. A small ray of light that reached out to him. A hand that held him and dragged him out of the mud of despair and death.

“You…” Topan breathed out, “Are you an angel? My saviour?”

An expression unbefitting of a monster drew Topan’s brows together. Softened eyes. Slight upturned of the lips. Longing. Adoration. Desire.

Emotions that were all too unfamiliar to Fuxiao.

“Let’s get out of here. It’s chaos outside, and it’s the best chance to escape.”

Despite the blood transfusion, Topan’s body was still weakened by the physical torture he endured. Fuxiao propped him onto his thin shoulders and guided them up the stairs.

“Is it really okay for me to stay by your side?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Even if I’m a monster who only knows how to kill?”

“That’s even better. We have to kill to survive.”

“Even if being with me makes you a target of Cahayaranga?”

“I have nothing to lose.” Fuxiao said, “You’re the only one I have.”

The abrupt straightforward answers stirred Topan’s heart. If only he wasn’t injured and weakened, he would have wrapped his arms around Fuxiao and held him close, never letting go.

When they left the dungeon, the barracks were empty with the soldiers rushing to the frontline to fend off the sudden hudoq attacks. It gave Fuxiao and Topan a once in a lifetime chance to leave the grounds and into the moonlight.

Just outside the boundary gates, waves of energy burst through the air. Swirling blue, roaring golden, and scattering silver.

“That’s–” Topan directed his attention to the gates. “The hudoqs are here.”

On passing earlier, Fuxiao learned that this was a bizarre situation. Hudoqs had never attacked the gates directly, having only roamed the vast open deserts. So a sudden onslaught caught everyone off-guard.

It was a similar scene to the day Lekasi Kingdom fell. When the hudoqs suddenly attacked, no one could fight back. Topan was a knight who swore to protect the king. His sword was drenched in blood, his mind haggard by the loss of his comrades. But the monsters kept on attacking, so to fight and protect his land, his Bloodrush took over and he became a monster.

Trapped in that nightmare for ten long years, he was alone. Fighting, surviving.

In a darkness that consumed the last shred of his humanity and memories of the time he was alive.

But now, he wasn’t walking alone.

He gripped Fuxiao’s hand a little tighter.

And Fuxiao returned the gesture.

“We’ll hide in the town until all of this settles. Once the soldiers return and find the dead guards, they’re sure to put bounties on our heads. By then, we’ll leave this place.”

But before they could leave the training grounds, an arrow zipped through the air and speared the floor separating them from the exit. The impact made a crater in the stone floor. Feathers of light floated. Above, shrouded in the night sky, an archer crouched on the rooftop, a darkened expression framed by the brown feathers around her face, eyes glowing a bright emerald.

Kirana dropped from the rooftop, her piercing glare never left Fuxiao. “I never wanted a surveillance mission but I’m glad I was assigned to it. I was sceptical when Yuda showed interest in you, even thought I had to protect you from him, but you’re not a Dormant. You used your Bloodline to save Baja. And you killed the guards without hesitation.”

The air around her exploded in a flurry of feathers. Energy rushed from Kirana. Emerald eyes glaring at Fuxiao.

“Who are you?”

The Eagle Bloodline broke free of its restraints, taking over Kirana’s body. Light feathers gathered and boosted her up into the air as she shot arrows freely at the two criminals.

Although weakened, Topan grabbed Fuxiao by the waist and dodged the arrows. They hid behind a stone pillar to assess the situation. The exit was only a distance away but running from the archer proved to be an enormous challenge.

“I’m worn out but we’re still at an advantage in numbers.” Topan breathed.

“I’ll immobilise her.” Fuxiao said with a cold expression. The gemstones down his cheeks shimmered in the moonlight as he focused to aim the threads at the archer.

White threads shot towards Kirana’s legs but she evaded the attack and jumped to the next roof.

“Trying to stop my movement?!” Kirana drew her bowstring, the energy gathering behind her arrow. “Let’s see which is faster, my arrow or your strings.”

Topan hauled Fuxiao away when the arrow blasted the pillar they were hiding behind. “Shit! Does she have explosives in her arrows?!”

“Follow me!” Fuxiao led them around the corner and into the shadows.

“You think you can hide?!” Kirana made haste with her airborne feathers. “I can smell your blood from miles away!”

But what she belatedly realised was that Fuxiao had chosen a narrow hallway to hide in and when she rounded the corner, the white threads were poised to stab. A combat medic with gemstones as his Bloodline markings, enormous amount of energy, and a ridiculous control over the mysterious strings.

The Brown Eagle was the apex predator in the skies and though this unknown Bloodline in front of her didn’t smell like prey, the pressure that Fuxiao exerted ruffled her.

The threads shot at Kirana and simply by raw instincts, her feathers burst out and shoved her back, away from the threads, putting distance between them.

What is this feeling?

Kirana regained her composure.

That’s not something a medic is capable of. Such killing intent. 

“Kirana!!” A loud voice shrilled through the air. “What’s the fun?!”

From the rooftop, Yuda jumped into a pile of training dummies to break his fall. Ignoring his healing leg, he joined the foray with a maniacal grin across his face. “It’s you! I knew it! You’re something exciting!”

“Yuda, get back!” Kirana quickly put herself between Fuxiao and her partner. “You’re in no shape–”

“You know I won’t listen to ya!” Yuda laughed and jumped forward. Dark furs formed around his face and his irises bulged into abnormal sizes. The Pygmy Tarsier Bloodline screeched to life. “I knew you were something else! What’s your Bloodline?!” He jumped from walls to walls at such an incredible speed that Fuxiao couldn’t follow.

Pressure. Fear. Instincts.

Fuxiao stopped breathing and focused solely on his senses, his vision turning into a kaleidoscope reflecting Yuda’s movements.

From behind.

White energy shot out from his back, straight at Yuda’s face but before they hit, Yuda twisted his body to evade.

He rolled to a stop a few metres away. The maniacal grin never left his face. “Did you see that Kirana?! He can control the energy so precisely! I’ve never seen something like this before! Not even from the Royal Army! Not even Lord Senjahari!” Yuda reached into his back pocket and pulled out  several dynamite sticks. “This is so arousing! Show me more!”

“Yuda! Stop it! Not here!” Kirana rushed towards Yuda but she was too late.

Yuda jumped up, lighting all the dynamites with a flick of his fingers. And with a hysterical laugh, he threw the dynamites into the air. Sparks sizzled. The smell of gunpowder.

Topan grabbed Fuxiao to run. His Bloodline could only turn him into a monstrous beast with animalistic powers and speed. Unlike Kirana and Yuda, he couldn’t manipulate any elements, so against an explosion, all he could do was run. Yet, he couldn’t even go into Bloodrush with how grave his wounds were.

But Fuxiao didn’t choose to run. If they run now, Kirana and Yuda would easily catch up to them. He needed to stop their tracks. No matter what. The markings travelled to the rest of his face. His focus amplified. Thousands of white strings shot out and intertwined with one another.

A dynamite sparkled.

And exploded.

Followed by a second dynamite.

A third.

A series of loud explosions pierced the night sky, momentarily lighting the training grounds in a fiery red colour.