Aden pulled the trigger, his eyes glinting with fury and resolve as a comparable fire burst out of the barrel of his gun. The gun shrieked, its bullet instantly whizzing across the dark walls and into Leven’s chest. This time, no mist had replaced his body. Aden shot again, and once more, and once more, and one more. Five bullets, in total, all digging into Leven’s upper body. Aden wanted to shoot again, to completely empty the magazine, but decided it was enough. Leven watched in shock as he felt himself lose control of his body and fall to the floor, his view now slightly obscured by the blood momentari

The night before…Lyle sat with an entertained smile across his face while he listened to the woman sing to the restaurant. Occasionally, he’d join in with her singing by humming the tune or outright singing the words. Around his table, three more sat with him with their own time-passing activities while they waited for their order to come. One leaned back against his tall chair while scrolling through his phone, the other two talked with each other about how their college exams went. Lyle, however, just sat back and listened to the music. He eyed the girl singer quite engagedly, nodding to the music while he continued to smile. Occasionally, the girl would look back to Lyle and shoot a quick smile as well. Soft orange lights decorated the place, with the completion of human laughter and conversation. He had known the girl for years. She was his childhood friend. Almost everyone inside that restaurant… was his childhood friend, or childhood role m

It had been a few more days since Alice and Aden were back from the forest and village. They were back in the town of Urrutia, and Lyle had since arrived, too. A few hours ago, Alice, Aden, and Lyle spoke in private inside one of the houses just across the street from Zoey’s café. She waited, and—with rewarded patience—watched in relief when they finally came out. Virtually everyone in town knew about the negotiation. They were all just waiting for Alice’s decision. Seeing as Aden himself was in the room, Zoey had expected he at least had a say in the decision-making. The Ledanai’i, the clan who had started the war, now offered them peace in exchange for Aden’s death… by fire. No one knew what to think of it.The three walked out of the house in a calm stride, with Lyle naturally looking nonchalant even if he was serious that time. Zoey rushed to the three, eager to be the first one to hear the news. “Well?” she ex

Replacing the ambient noise of the humming engine was the crackling of the large fire ahead. It was concentrated, far from harming the trees surrounding it. It was encircled by the forest, but it was just a little far enough so the leaves wouldn’t catch fire. It wasn’t a bonfire, no. Aden and Alice walked closer. The crackling was now matched with intense heat. It was a deep depression on the ground, almost like an freshly-dug mass grave. Only, the grave it was housing was that of the embers of the fire.Aden stepped closer to the fire, examining the concentrated flames bursting from within the ground. Alice had not followed him. Instead, she stood far behind Aden in the cover of the trees.A few more seconds, and then Aden heard more than just crackling in the fire. Left and right, from within the shrubbery… movement. Aden looked to the sound. He sighed, as the figures came to light. “We were never here for the jar,” Aden scoffed. His ey

‘The Wanderer’s Pier’ was the what they called it. It was a small hidden docks detached so far from civilization that Alice and her men needed several local guides from the remote villages. When they arrived, a handful of Ledanai’i’s men were already waiting in the area. They sat on wooden boxes and crates, and some were inside the small hut stationed beside the pier. Beyond the pier, though, it was all just fog. It was a gassy curtain thickly obscuring whatever awaited across the water.One of Ledanai’i’s men—the one in charge—stood up from the rubble of crates and eyed Alice scrutinizingly. He frowned and raised an eyebrow at her, lifting his head upwards as if to match Alice’s postural aura, but Alice was naturally taller and more intimidating. “You must be Alice Buenaventura,” he said.“The fact that you’re asking that means the man I need to be talking to isn’t here,” A