The nightly rain covered the silence in the cafeteria. Two hours had passed since the body was found. Everyone had been called to the hall. The room was tense as one of the figures stood before the crowd of hundreds.
"ALL OF YOU HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE DEATH OF A ROOKIE. IT SEEMS SOME OF YOU HAVE BEEN DISOBEYING THE RULES. THE RULE OF A CEASEFIRE ON THIS SHIP WITHOUT FURTHER NOTICE."
Some adventurers glared at me. Of course they did. I had killed a non-combatant. Dominio responded by giving those adventurers venomous glares of his own.
"Judgmental bastards," he murmured.
"DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF A PSYCHOPATH ON THIS SHIP, I SHALL MAKE ONE RULE."
He paused. The silence was suffocating.
"IF YOU CAN FIND THE PSYCHOPATH, YOU SHALL BE REWARDED. MURDER IS PERMITTED, THOUGH IT MUST BE IN SELF-DEFENSE."
What? Murder was allowed now?
That meant... these people might kill us. We were vulnerable. Rela couldn't fight an entire ship. Crap. We were in serious danger.
I looked at Dominio. Sweat beaded on his forehead. His face was more serious than I'd ever seen it. He knew too—this was bad. Really, really bad. After we killed the priest and his bodyguard—a non-combatant—we were prime suspects. Of course everyone would see us as the psychopaths.
"NOW THEN, EVERYONE, HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. AND BE SAFE."
Black flames burst from the floor, consuming the figure and the body. Then silence.
My senses went crazy. I could hear everything—the drops of water from the rain, the creaking floorboards, the coughs, even the breathing of the rookies around me.
I walked away, climbing the steps. Eyes locked forward. I knew they would glare. I knew they would resent me. And I knew he was satisfied.
The creaking. The raindrops. I heard them all like screams. I had never felt so vulnerable. Never felt so weak. It was almost like I was back at square one.
I stopped at my door. My hand touched the doorknob.
Then my vision went black.
The same black area. The same black pool.
The jaguar stood ahead of me. Its purple flames were stronger now. More radiant. It approached, its massive body casting a shadow over the dark water.
It stopped directly in front of me. Its height was intimidating—almost the size of a two-story house. I looked up at its face. For a moment, it softened.
Then its expression shifted. Aggressive.
It roared.
The sound was so powerful I could see the soundwave ripple through the air. It was the loudest thing I had ever heard. I tried to cover my ears, but I couldn't move. Why couldn't I move? The roar grew louder and louder, pushing me back across the black pool.
Then it stopped.
My ears rang. I tried to move, but the jaguar's paw slammed into my body, sending me flying across the pool. I crashed hard against the dark water.
Why is it attacking me? The creature that had always helped me—that had helped me grow—was now attacking me. Was it because I had failed? Because I kept making bad decisions? Why?
I pushed myself up. "Did I give up? Because I'm scared?"
The jaguar charged toward me.
Is it attacking because I gave up? After everything? After the Black Forest? After Draka's training? Now I give up because I lost something that helped me survive?
The jaguar stopped inches from my face. It lowered its massive head to meet my eyes.
I understood.
"You're angry because I gave up."
Its face was still angry. Its teeth were bared. The flames along its body grew brighter.
"Or is it because I act before thinking?" I continued. "Without considering the consequences? Without thinking about the mistakes or issues with my decisions?"
The flames flickered.
"I act without thinking. I become a slave to my emotions. And when I face the consequences, I complain or give up. As if I was in the right."
The jaguar's anger stopped abruptly. Its head tilted slightly.
That's it. That's the reason.
What if that priest had a family? What if he was a father? A brother? An uncle? A good friend? Even if he believed in Solorus, he was still important to someone. Now I had probably made a widow. Maybe even an orphan.
I looked down at my calloused hands.
These hands had killed. The cannibals when I first arrived. The gorekins. The locusts. Callius and his dead guild. Now the priest... and his bodyguard.
I had become a killer.
Dominio was right. Even if I acted honorable, at the end of the day, I was still a killer.
I looked up at the jaguar. "I understand now. You gave me this power to help me survive in this world. Now you're holding me accountable for corrupting it."
I bowed my head.
"I'm sorry. Truly. Truly sorry."
The jaguar raised its massive paw. For a moment, I tensed.
Then it placed the paw gently on my head. Its face softened. A deep, rumbling purr echoed from its chest.
"Thank you," I whispered. "For holding me accountable. For helping me."
The jaguar began to shrink, its body dissolving into purple flames. Smaller and smaller it became, until only one small flame remained.
That flame drifted toward my chest.
It entered me.
The fire spread through my system. I felt lighter—as if all the heaviness had been lifted. As if I had shed a weight I hadn't even known I was carrying.
Thank you, jaguar.
The black world distorted and shifted. I blinked.
I was back on the ship. My hand was still on the doorknob. Time hadn't moved.
Footsteps echoed behind me.
I turned. Aurelia walked toward me, her steps urgent, her expression serious.
"Zain..."
"Yeah. What is it?"
She met my eyes. "I need you to come with me."