After a day and a half of killing humans twisted into beasts by the curse, Rei yawned deeply, fatigue dragging his shoulders down. He hadn't had a moment of rest since this began—every hour filled with bloodshed and relentless fighting. His movements were slower now, dulled by exhaustion. Zay stood nearby, his expression unreadable, but Rei suspected he was just as worn out, even if he didn't show it.
Naomi, by contrast, looked untouched by the struggle. Her breath remained steady, her posture upright. She hadn't yawned once or even blinked with fatigue. Rei wiped his gloved hand across his brow and looked down at the sweat clinging to his skin, glistening despite the snow that continued to fall in thick, quiet sheets. The air was cold enough to make each exhale visible, yet still, sweat managed to break through.
Rei turned his gaze toward Zay just in time to see him yank his blade free from the final creature. This one was a distorted blend of a small fox and a human, limbs thin and angled wrong, fur matted with ice and dirt, its mouth still twitching slightly in death.
"I have a slight feeling that used to be a child," Rei muttered quietly, almost to himself.
Zay glanced over his shoulder, gave a half-hearted shrug, then infused his leg with violet aura and slammed his boot down on the creature's head. The skull shattered beneath the force, splitting apart with a sickening crunch, half fur-covered and half bare human flesh as his violet aura faded.
"Maybe. Doesn't really matter though. It was us or it. A cursed human turned beast is still a killer."
Rei rolled his shoulders with a sigh, his joints stiff. "You're not wrong. If we didn't kill it, we'd be the ones lying in the snow right now. Still... maybe that's how the curse spreads. Through blood. Maybe that's why that guy wanted us to kill all of them, to eradicate the source of the curse?"
"That... makes sense," Zay replied, turning to look at him. "But I've never heard of a curse passed through blood."
Rei didn't respond right away. Instead, he knelt beside the corpse and unsheathed his katana. He dipped the tip into the black blood that pooled beneath the body. Thick and oily, the blood clung to the blade as he lifted it, dripping slowly onto the snow where it hissed faintly on contact.
"Whatever this curse is, it's altering the blood. The last one bled orange. Before that, yellow. This one is black, and I remember one that had green. Always those three and sometimes four colors. Maybe we're dealing with more than one curse here."
As he examined the body, his hand brushed a soft spot on its side. Suddenly, one of the legs twitched violently. Rei jerked back slightly, watching the limb fall still again.
"It still moves, even after death," he said, voice low.
Zay narrowed his eyes at the body. "Maybe just postmortem movement. Like nerves firing one last time?"
"That's my best guess too," Rei replied. He flicked the black ichor from his sword and sheathed it with a metallic scrape as he stood up.
Naomi, who had been silently watching, stepped closer and looked down at the twisted corpse. Her voice was quiet, thoughtful. "This reminds me of a book my mother used to read to me."
Zay and Rei turned to her at the same time, curiosity sparked. "How so?" they asked in unison.
Naomi stared at them both for a long moment, her eyes distant, before finally speaking.
"It was a story called The Five Heroes Against the Dark Lord. It followed five people—three of them from small villages scattered across the lands. One was born to a miner and followed in his father's footsteps. Another had a rare gift—he could summon creatures no one else could. The five of them banded together to defeat the Dark Lord threatening their world. In one of the chapters, they encountered creatures... strange ones, twisted like this. Not the same, but similar in a way."
Zay studied her quietly, noticing how she blinked every few seconds but didn't pause once. Then, unexpectedly, he smiled—just faintly.
"That sounds like a decent read," he said aloud, though his thoughts drifted elsewhere. 'That's the longest she's spoken without stopping or struggling to find words. Maybe she's finally opening up. That's good.'
Rei nodded, arms crossed. "It does sound decent. Did they win in the end?"
Naomi gave a small nod, then turned away with a spin of her heel. Her black hair caught the sunlight briefly before settling again against her black cloak.
Zay sheathed Evershade quickly, then pulled the folded map from beneath his cloak. Snowflakes dotted the parchment as he unfolded it.
"Let's get going," he said. "If I've kept track of time correctly, the man from the caravan should be here in a few hours and If I'm right about our location, this should be the village."
He moved his index finger over where they should be and moved his thumb toward the green circle.
"It's further north. Follow me, stay close, and remember to keep your senses up... the best you can."
Rei looked around for a moment before giving a simple nod.
Naomi responded with a quick nod of her own.
Zay began following the map, starting from where he believed they were. He walked north—specifically toward the green circle the man with the caravan had marked as the meeting spot.
After about an hour of walking, Naomi's ears twitched as she caught the distant sound of a horse's neigh.
"I heard the horse. It's in front of us."
Zay nodded and pressed onward. Rei stayed behind Naomi, placing both arms behind his head and yawning. His jaw locked briefly before relaxing again.
'Damn... I'm still not sure why that happens, but it always hits when I'm tired.'
Rei pushed the thought aside, along with several others that tried to crawl in.
The group continued moving forward, and five more minutes slipped by. The moon had climbed to its highest point in the sky, resting directly overhead. Midnight had arrived—marking the end of their second day.
Ahead of them stood the caravan, and beside it, the same man dressed in black. He stood casually, as if he had been expecting them.
"Well, since you're here, that means you succeeded. Good work. As promised, I'll drop the three of you off in Vex."
He nodded toward them, then cracked his neck softly before climbing onto the caravan. With one hand, he gripped the reins tightly.
Naomi, Zay, and Rei traded confused glances at the mention of Vex. None of them had heard of the place, but they knew they didn't have better options. Walking for several weeks, likely through snow wasn't something any of them wanted to consider.
Without another word, they approached the back of the caravan and climbed in. Zay lifted the tailgate, then closed it behind them.
A loud metallic sound echoed as it locked into place. Outside, the coachman whipped the reins, and the four horses burst into motion. Snow crunched beneath their hooves, and the caravan's wheels spun steadily—specially crafted for snowy terrain.
Inside, Zay glanced at Naomi and Rei. His stomach let out a low growl.
Rei looked over and chuckled.
"Guess I'm not the only hungry one."
Naomi stared at Zay for a moment, then gave a slow nod. Zay swallowed hard. He already knew what that meant.
Rei stood up from his seat, stepped to the cleared floor where the barrels once were, and lowered himself down. Turning onto his side to face away from them both, he closed his eyes and began to breathe evenly as sleep took hold.
The sound of cloth shifting broke the silence, drawing Zay's attention away from Rei.
He looked up to see Naomi standing in front of him, gazing down at him with a still, unreadable expression.
"What is it?" he asked quietly.
Naomi said nothing for several seconds before slowly unclenching her fists.
"Blood."
That was all she said before parting her lips, revealing two sharp fangs.
Without asking permission or waiting for a single word, Naomi reached for the collar of Zay's tunic with her right hand, pulled it aside, then leaned down and sank her fangs into his neck.
Dark pink aura bloomed around the point of contact. Her lips sealed tightly over his skin as the first drop of blood touched her tongue. She swallowed immediately, her hunger only growing with each taste.
Zay winced as her fangs pierced his neck. He shut his right eye briefly before opening it again and letting out a slow, heavy sigh.
"You're not the only one who's hungry. You could've waited."
Naomi heard him, but she ignored his words. She sucked harder, her pace quickening.
'If I had to wait... any longer.'
That thought crossed her mind, but she stopped herself before thinking more. Another three drops slid onto her tongue, followed by a steady stream that warmed her throat. She swirled the taste in her mouth for a brief second before swallowing, her eyes closing in satisfaction.
The caravan suddenly lurched from a bump in the snowy path. Her lips shifted slightly, and she gripped his shoulder with one hand to steady herself. Outside, the sound of wheels rolling over snow-crusted stone echoed faintly, mixed with the rhythmic crunching of hooves against ice.
Zay felt the vibrations in the wooden floor and leaned his back tighter against the wall, bracing for another shake. Naomi's fangs tugged slightly from the motion, sending a dull ache through his neck, but he remained still.
Several minutes passed. Naomi slowly opened her eyes, then pulled away. Her fangs vanished just as silently as they had appeared.
She licked her lips, blinked slowly, then turned and returned to the seat across from Zay without a word. She sat down satisfied with a smile on her face.
Zay watched her for several seconds before lifting his hand to his neck.
[Unholy Regeneration]
He stared at the fading message in the air, then felt the twin puncture wounds sealing shut.
'The activation of this passive... it's happened every time she's drunk my blood. I still don't know why it keeps triggering on its own, but whatever.'
He pulled his tunic back into place, rested one hand in his lap over the other hand, and leaned back against the caravan wall.
Drawing in a deep breath, he held it for a moment before letting it out slowly.
His eyes closed, and the dim interior of the caravan faded to black as his body finally began to relax.