Hilde appeared as if she had taken another psychic blow and reeled back. "You mean… I've already died?"

"That is correct. When your church found you, injured and barely alive, you had died once already. Yet, rather than passing on, your soul was fractured and remained on this plane with your physical body." Alfred's tone was analytical and assured even as he shared the fantastical hypothesis. As a researcher of the arcane and occult, there was little that could rattle the elderly alchemist. "The fact that you are still alive is most likely due to your reaper's ability. However, perishing again may result in any memories you accumulated in this life being lost as well," he warned. He noted the crestfallen look on Hilde's face and simply shook his head. "It should not come as a surprise. One's physical body and memories were never meant to be eternal," the alchemist grunted. 

Her mind raced with the implications of his words. "I just want to understand… why I'm still here." Hilde stared at Alfred frantically for answers. Swallowing harshly, the cleric asked, "Will I even be able to pass on if I die again?"

"So long as the remainder of your soul stays intact, you should be able to pass on naturally," Alfred offered. "However… if your reaper is truly an extension of your soul, it may be acting on your true will. Perhaps you did not wish to die back then—and your reaper obeyed." The alchemist brought his attention back to his research notes dismissively. "I recommend living your life to the fullest so that you will not be bound by such regrets again." 

Hilde was still processing the mountain of information that the alchemist had given her, but she gradually calmed herself with Alfred's last few assurances. She allowed the words to sink in and lowered her head graciously. "... Thank you, Sir Alfred. Your insight has been invaluable." The cleric eventually raised her eyes again with a soft smile. 

"Yeah, you've been a big help, old man. We can handle the rest of the research from here," Vynx agreed. He was equally astonished by the alchemist's analysis of Hilde's power, but he decided that it was better not to dwell on the topic. Vynx made a mental note to discuss things with Hilde once they were back at their room. "Ready to head back up, everyone? We've still got a whole library to scour upstairs." 

"Yes, let's go. It's far too musty and depressing down here," Laven urged. Vynx was only grateful that the succubus had said it through their mental link and not aloud. 

The others nodded in agreement and offered their polite farewells to the old alchemist. As the group left the office, there was an uneasy silence until they returned to the ground floor and began up the steps to the Alchemy Commission's library. 

Vynx cleared his throat to interrupt the sullenness in the air. "Sorry if the old man was rather blunt. I know his answers were probably not what you all wanted to hear…" He cast a concerned look at Sophia, who still appeared to be deep in contemplation. 

The vampiress hardly noticed any of the scholars and apprentices staring in surprise as the group entered the grand athenaeum. She only glanced up at Vynx's voice and managed a weak smile. "He didn't say anything that I wasn't prepared to hear. Besides, there is much that these alchemists still don't know about vampires."

"That's right, we'll pry the cure from the Vampire King if we have to." They had no choice but to stay positive. "But for now, I've got my predecessor's journal to read through, and Laven wants to dig into as many magical spellbooks as she can while we're here. Everyone else, feel free to browse and check out anything you want from the library." The hunter opened his arms with a flourish as the group gazed up at the towering bookshelves lining the library's walls, each spanning several stories high. "I'll be over there if you need me," Vynx stated. He pointed at the set of couches surrounding a crackling fireplace at the far end of the library.

The room formed a massive octagonal shape, topped with a glittering glass ceiling detailed with the designs of hundreds of constellations. Spiral staircases led to the upper mezzanines, where even more bookshelves awaited. At various corners of the library were the taxidermy displays of ferocious beasts, along with glass cases containing the skulls and jarred organs of a variety of creatures. The group split off to wander the archives, leaving Vynx to delve into the leather-bound tome tucked under his arm. 

It was always strange to read the journal entries left behind by the original Hunter. Vynx could almost hear the stream of words in his own voice, recounting days and adventures that seemed both familiar and foreign. It gave him the same déjà vu that he felt whenever he experienced a peculiar dream showing him memories that weren't his own. After all, Vynx was neither a biological descendant nor a reincarnation—merely an artificial recreation made from a dead man's remains. As Vynx flipped through the pages, he had to wonder if death was truly where one's soul and memories separated—and for him, a homunculus without a soul, what awaited him after.

The clinking of armour pulled him out of his thoughts as Soleil seated herself next to him. She had a small stack of monster compendiums in her hands, which she set neatly atop the low wooden table in front of them. 

"Doing some research on you-know-what?" Vynx asked. 

"... You can just say werewolves, you know," Soleil snorted. "But yeah, them, and a few others." 

"Sorry, I wasn't sure if you still wanted me to be all hush-hush about it."

"As long as the Holy Order doesn't catch wind about it, I should be fine." The paladin shrugged and cracked open the first book from the stack. An imposing werewolf was mounted atop a stone pedestal not too far from where they were sitting, frozen in mid-fury. Soleil avoided staring at it for too long, instead pulling her attention back to the book in her hands. "My first time coming to the Commission's library was also to learn more about them," Soleil admitted. 

Vynx followed her gaze to the taxidermy display and coughed awkwardly. "Did you find anything useful?"

"Nothing about a cure, in case you were curious," Soleil said, unmoved. "But I happened upon a few sections about people who could control their transformations and shapeshift at will. It might just be folklore, but I'd like to believe that it's possible."

"Hey, that sounds pretty awesome, to be honest." Vynx peered over her shoulder to admire the ink illustrations in Soleil's book. As a hunter, he had studied how to kill most monsters extensively. It was only after meeting Sophia and Soleil that he started gaining an interest in coexisting with them and a newfound appreciation for their kind. "Is that your goal then, Soleil? To learn how to live with your curse?"

The brunette woman paused before replying, "My goal is still to hunt down the bastard who bit me. After that… I'll help you defeat the Vampire King." She turned the page in her book and scanned the passages. "I never expected to settle down and live a quiet life. Of course I loathe this curse, but I may as well try and harness these powers to my advantage." 

Vynx chuckled in amusement. He could tell that Soleil was still a soldier at heart; much like him, she was ready to use any tool in her arsenal to get the mission done. "Having both the blessings of the Sun Goddess and the raw powers of a werewolf sounds pretty handy. I'm just surprised that the Goddess is so…"

"Lenient?" Soleil asked. "I'm surprised too. I'm far from the most faithful person in the Holy Order, yet she's still chosen to aid me." 

"You've got that sense of justice in you, even if you're only doing it for revenge," Vynx pointed out. "Maybe the gods don't care as much for pure intentions as the Church wants us to believe. So long as you're fighting for the greater good, the Goddess is probably happy to lend a hand."

"Perhaps so," Soleil mumbled. She analyzed the lounging hunter beside her and asked, "Is that why you're fighting? For the greater good?"

Vynx ran his finger up and down along the spine of his book. "You could say that. It was the reason the original Hunter fought the forces of darkness… But me? I'm just here to finish what he started." There was a faraway look in his golden eyes that reflected the light of the crackling fire. "While there are a thousand ways to do good in the world, I've only ever had one purpose given to me. I understand the weight of this mission, but to be honest… I only want to make Alfred and Loretta proud." Vynx thought of the sigil on his back and the other homunculi before him—of the sacrifices they had all endured to make Vynx who he was today. Only one path had ever existed for the hunter.

Soleil pulled her eyes away and stared at the flames blazing within the fireplace. "I'm shocked that you didn't end up resenting them. No offence, but Alfred hardly seems like the most… doting father figure."

Vynx belted out a laugh that caused several heads to turn and glare at him in annoyance. "Oh, I sure rebelled and resented everything when I was younger. But I guess that anger melted away as I grew older and watched them pour everything into their work." He sat back to admire the dappled lights filtering through the ornate glass ceiling. "Alfred and Loretta might not have been the warmest parents, but they gave me everything they could. These experiments took more from them than I could ever imagine… and for a long time, all we really had was each other." Vynx fell quiet for a short period. At last, he wrapped his arm over Soleil's shoulders to pull her in for a hug. "Now, I've got you, Sophia, Hilde, and even Laven. I'm grateful that my sigil has kept me alive long enough to meet all of you."

The paladin blinked as Vynx squeezed her against his side. It could not have been comfortable for him to lean against a set of plate armour, but the hunter hardly seemed to mind. "I suppose that's one way to look at it," Soleil murmured. "I've kept everyone in the Holy Order at arm's length because of this curse. So… it's been a long time since I've had companions that I could trust," she chuckled dryly and rested her head against the hunter's shoulder. "If not for you and Sophia being an odd pair yourselves, I probably never would have opened up about the whole… werewolf thing."

"Now, isn't this cute? Cuddling by the fire without me?" Laven's voice intruded upon the sentimental musings in Vynx's mind as the succubus manifested herself in his lap. "Oh, am I interrupting something?" She leered over at the werewolf.

Immediately, Soleil jolted away and straightened up. "No, it was nothing. We were just talking about the next hunt," she coughed. "I actually got a new lead on the guy I'm tracking."

"Oh? Are you chasing some old flame?" Laven barely seemed interested and let out a yawn, all while using Vynx as a backrest. 

"Hell no. He was my former squad captain," Soleil growled. "My target is probably avoiding the big city so that no one from the army recognizes him. Deserters are punished harshly; I'm sure he knows that." She forced her attention back to the book in her hands to ignore the demoness's snide expression. "But after asking around, a fur trader claimed to have seen someone matching his description in a northern village by the Cobalt Mountains. They also mentioned that the town had been dealing with wolf attacks fairly often."

"That sounds like a pretty promising lead. Even if it's not your guy, we better take a look and handle their little problem," Vynx agreed. He tried not to mind the succubus lounging saucily in his lap and gave Soleil's shoulder a reassuring pat. "I guess we ought to grab some warmer clothing too before we leave the city…" The hunter was starting to regret not asking for money when he had the chance. With another long sigh, he resigned himself to the reality that the rest of their funds would be spent on restocking their supplies. 

As convenient as life in the capital was, Vynx was also itching to get back on the road. Perhaps that was another trait he inherited from his predecessor: a thirst for adventure beyond the city walls that he had grown up in. He knew he would miss the comforts of the Rose Garden and the usefulness of the Alchemy Commission once they were travelling again. Yet Vynx had never been one to stay dormant for long, and there was no shortage of able-bodied mercenaries and soldiers in the city to keep it safe. Once Sophia and Hilde returned with their chosen books, Vynx cleared his throat and declared, "Alright, we'll be heading north next. Try not to take too many books for the trip unless you're willing to carry them yourselves." 

"You may as well ask us not to bring any entertainment at all," Laven pouted. 

"Hey, I bought a whole bag of 'entertaining' goods for you. One that I sure as hell know you aren't going to help haul around," Vynx shot back at the succubus.

"You should just leave them in the city and save yourself the effort," Soleil scoffed.

Both Vynx and Laven weighed their options and how cumbersome it would be to take their sack of goodies on the road with them. At last, Vynx conceded, "You're right. I'll leave them here so we can travel lightly."

"None of you are any fun…" The succubus grumbled and slumped back against the hunter. 

"You can make your own fun in the dreamscape, Laven." Vynx ruffled her hair with a dry chuckle. "Now, I hope you're all ready to hit the road again."