Fan Fiction ❯ Wilted Light ❯ Part 1 - Sokyuu [Redemption] ( Chapter 3 )

When an angry spirit

Is revived from demise

To seek out redemption upon her executioner,

The slayer can only conceal themselves from the danger.

For the angry spirit has returned

To redeem her angry soul

With the sins of murder carried in her hands....

Part Three

Sokyuu

1: Trilogy

Ravine's eyes closed, and she heaved a sigh of respite, though it was an unhappy sigh. She looked back to the old man, and Mohan stared, aghast at her skills and her crime, though when their eyes met, he saw the truth about Ravine, he had been the only one to have seen that truth.

They spoke of nothing for the first half hour of the drive, they sat in silence. Ravine didn't know what Mohan was going to do with the body on his property, probably take it in and say that he thought that it was a deer or something, and that the man had no reason to be on his property in the first place. However, he had to do so because of her. It was her fault.

When they had been at least a couple miles away from Melrose, Mohan glanced away from the road to look at her. "Y' moved pretty fast, lass," he said. "Even for a youth, I've never seen any lass nor lad move as quick as y' did."

Ravine's hands clenched into fists. "Yeah," she said in a trembling voice.

"For such a pretty face, someone like you, lass...you shouldn't know how to move like that. Not at y' age. Y' shouldn't even know how to kill and manage t' keep such a straight face."

"I feel...nothing," she said.

"Is that so?"

Ravine nodded.

Mohan fell silent, then spoke again after a moment. "Just give it some time, the guilt always sweeps over you after you stop and think. No one can kill and be stoic about it forever, y'know? After all, y' only human."

Human.... Ravine head bowed, strands of hair covering her face so that only filaments of her eyes were shown through the shimmering sunlight, shown through her pale skin and all. Neither of them spoke, Ravine was too busy contemplating herself, yet she had no idea what was going on in Mohan's mind, though she couldn't be sure if it had been anything good. Ravine decided it was best to leave it be.

She was dropped off on the outskirts of Melrose, where Mohan gave Ravine his bids, and then was off, where she turned and setted off onto the streets of the Scottish market town. She shifted her eyes, searching for anybody who looked familiar.

Vincent was easy to spot, since not everybody had blue hair. He was off in the distance next to a garden, where him and Eyrie sat with some bags in their hands, talking and eating all the while as they sat down on a bench, when Ravine approached. Vince had looked up at her and smiled, which wasn't much of a surprise to Ravine for some reason.

"Knew you wouldn't die easy," he told her.

"Heh, nice to see you were concerned."

Eyrie shrugged. "Not so much that we didn't care, we just knew you could take care of yourself well enough. Besides, I wouldn't believe that you'd die off that fall from the train," she smirked. "They found a body in the back of it, though."

Ravine nodded. "Grayson."

"What?"

"Grayson killed that guard."

"You mean you knew the killer?" Vincent said, intrigued. "Wow, was he all brutal and stuff? I heard that the guard was done up so badly, they wouldn't even allow us to see his body. Which was too bad, because I wanted to actually see something interesting happen for a change."

"And me nearly getting killed, again mind you, has no effect on you whatsoever?"

He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, well...."

"I hope nothing happened between you two while I was gone," Ravine said, shifting her eyes between the two. "And you had the money to buy a room when you got here."

"Oh yes," Eyrie said, wrapping her arm around a grinning Vincent, "we made hot, steamy love last night."

"I didn't need to know that," Ravine said, disgusted. "No wait, yes I did. Excuse me, while I leave right now to find a trash can and puke," she said, starting to walk off, when Vincent jumped up and grabbed her by the back of her shirt, pulling her towards him.

He laughed, though Ravine's emotion of utter disgust didn't cease, even when he wrapped his arms around the sides of her torso and allowed her not to walk any further. It wasn't bad at first, just annoying, and then his grip on her grew more forceful and violent.

Ravine yelped, trying to wrench herself free of Vincent's grasp, but didn't feel the need to yell.

Pressing his mouth to her ear, he whispered in a hiss, "Now, where have you been all this time, huh? And what the hell were you doing jumping out of a train?"

"I didn't jump out," Ravine told him, and gasped from the lack of air. "I was thrown out."

"By who?"

"Grayson," she retorted.

"Ahh, yes, your little friend," Vincent said, disbelieving.

Irked, Ravine grabbed him by the wrist and dug her fingernails into them. Vincent shouted and withdrew his hand, tending to it as he looked up at Ravine and glared. "We've trusted you all the way here," he said in a hiss, "so why not giving us some answers. Whose Grayson and why did he throw you off?"

By now Ravine was livid. Her hand gripped over her aching throat as she mimicked the similar glare right back to Vince. She was angry because he didn't believe her, she was angry because he held these things against her for it, she was angered because of the way he spoke to her in a distasteful way that made her feel disparaged. What Ravine wanted to do right now.... No...she couldn't let her anger get the better of her this time.

"I never asked for your trust," Ravine said, clenching her hands into fists. "I never asked for you to follow me and I never wanted you to come in the first place, either of you. Both of you just stood in the way, and for that, I don't think there is a reason for me to be honest with you."

The look in his eyes was a mixture between anger and hurt, as he stood up and backed away. "So, you didn't want us to come along, did you?"

Ravine didn't say anything, just turned around and began to walk away again. When she spoke, it was a vacant tone, callous towards Vincent's pain from the previous words spoken. "I'm going to the Hinomi now. Eyrie, can you at least show me where it is at?"

After all this time, it was surprising that Ravine even remembered that Eyrie was there, sitting down on the bench watching the scene. The apprehensive look she'd gotten when she glanced between the two was confirmation that she was afraid of how the current situation was going to turn out. Eyrie stood up, concerned for the two of them. "Like I said before, it's west of here. But...Ravine, you can't do it alone! You'll die!"

"So what?" Ravine murmured, still keeping her back towards the other two. "So what if I die? What's it to you? Neither of you know me truly, you believe that I am going in just because I am being selfish," she then remained silent, no sound between them except for the murmurs of those around them of the passing people. "Fact that the matter is...I am selfish...about this whole thing. I am nothing but a selfish, careless pawn of the Nyne who keeps tossing me back and forth at the Gingitsune, and no matter what, no matter how hard and how much I try to pull away...it keeps jerking me back, and I cannot be free of the strings that bind me here. So if I die, the cycle will repeat itself again, but it doesn't matter to me anymore. I don't know why, but it doesn't."

"Why are you in such a rush to run off to your death then?" Eyrie demanded. "You might as well try and not be selfish for once, maybe it might help just a little-"

"Your wrong about that," Ravine snapped. "Tell me, Eyrie, have you ever killed anyone before? Vincent?"

Neither of them spoke.

"Well I have, and as a matter in fact, I feel nothing. I've killed quite a few people that would make a normal human being weep and crumple in guilt," Ravine explained, gravely. "But why don't I feel guilt? I don't know. This is a feeling that bares within the empty crevices of my heart, which I don't think will ever be filled with any other kind of emotion."

what are you running from

"I wasn't running from anything," Ravine added, looking up at the skies. "Truth is, most people would think dying is a painful process. But its not."

Eyrie stood up, her hands compressed together. "What's it like? ...to die?"

"'Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome,'" Ravine replied, almost smiling at the heavens. "A man named Isaac Asimov said that, and he was right. When you die, it isn't painful, its more like...a release. All of your pain, everything that you have to worry about.... Suddenly, the reality of leaving things that you cared about behind are lost, and you'd be left with the sensation that you never have to feel pain again. However...death is a darkness satiated of ignorance. When you think you see things, hear things, it is just the demons of those in your head which haunts you."

"Well, that doesn't sound like a pleasant afterlife," Vincent said bitterly.

She nearly felt like laughing, if she had the strength to do so. She turned around with a weakened smile, shifting her gaze between Vincent and Eyrie. "Look, I'm sorry for being like that, and I know it wasn't pleasant, but try and understand that there are some things that you have to do alone."

Contemplating, Eyrie pierced her lips through her thoughts, then looked back up to Ravine said spoke of an idea she'd had in mind. "The man, Nishan-Zared Aleron...he's the one your looking for. He runs the highest assassin union, the Shikaku. If it is anyone you need to get in contact with for information, it's him. He's somewhere on the higher levels, though, and I've only heard about him."

Vincent eyed her suspiciously. "Seems like you know a lot."

"That's sort of why I'm a target," she replied dryly.

"Thanks," Ravine said, then began to walk away when she felt Vincent's hand enclosed over her shoulder. She sighed heavily. "What now?"

"D'you really think you are going to be let off that easily?"

Ravine peered over her shoulder. "Have you not been listening to a word I've been saying?" she said, too drained right now to care. "If it is as dangerous as Eyrie says, that means that you both can die just as easy as I can. Only...guess who doesn't come back?"

"Hey," Vincent shrugged, "I guess I don't have much to look forward to then, huh?" he grinned.

"Your an idiot, you know that?" her eyes narrowed. "You really are...."

Within a legacy follows trials of events.

To complete these trials one must undergo a trilogy.

From one sin to another.

From hate by hate, you will continue to walk down this road.

You will hate yourself as much as others hate you.

This is your legacy.

This is your trilogy....

2: Redemption

"So I am guessing that this is the Hinomi tower?" Ravine wondered, standing before the ruins within the town of Melrose, both Vincent and Eyrie standing at either side of her.

Eyrie couldn't help but smile. "Not even, Ravine. Those are the abbey ruins of Melrose," her aqua eyes glimmered in the sunlight. "C'mon, it's just a little further west, we should be there by the evening if we walk, but it's too dangerous and off road for us to take a care."

Scratching the back of her head, her and Vincent followed Eyrie off onto the outskirts of the town, entering the vast countryside of Scotland. By the time they had traveled far off into the middle of nowhere, Eyrie leading them off the road and heading into the planes even more, she discovered that by the time Eyrie claimed that they had reached their destination, there really wasn't anything there at all. Both her and Vincent exchanged looks, and then turned to Eyrie as though she were mad.

"Uh, I'd hate to beak this to you, but...." Vincent said, looking up into nothingness. "...yeah."

Laughing, Eyrie gave them a bright look as she pointed upwards, "Don't worry. Its protected by magick. Since they didn't want any witches or wizard goody-goodies to enter their premises, they decided to place a spell over it so that only one with a tattoo or the knowledge of the right spell to get led in. Either that, or we might as well just wait here and see if a Gingitsune comes by and just generously allows us inside for some tea and crackers," she added acrimoniously.

"So in other words we're stuck," said Vincent. "Unless if you know the spell...?"

"Not entirely," she looked over at Ravine.

Ravine backed away from the two, her eyes shifting between them. "...what?"

She smiled, and Eyrie turned to her. "You may be the only key that would allow us to get inside."

"Come on, now," Ravine snapped. "You can't be serious!"

"Very serious."

"I don't know," Vincent sucked the air in between his teeth. "That smile doesn't make her look serious, and since when has Eyrie ever seemed serious to you, hmm? For all we know she could be a seceret double agent waiting for us to go inside and when we do, boom. We're both dead and she goes off on the gravy train to London."

Eyrie shrugged and smiled in mock-interest. "Really now? Gee, Vinny, how'd you discover my masterminded plan?"

"I can read your mind," he retorted, winking to her.

"You two make me sick," Ravine said in disgust.

"Aww, come on now, Ravine," Vincent wrapped his arm around her, while Ravine tried to push herself as far away from him as possible. "Don't you think you are just being a tad bit harsh there? I mean, after all, you had your chance and everything."

"Sorry, I don't take used trash," Ravine retorted, pushing him away, and Eyrie whistled, impressed.

Vincent opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it, shaking his head as though he were doing so through shame. "My pride has been violated...." He pretended to wipe a tear off his face, and sniffed. After a while, he stood up straight and pointed into the supposed direction that Eyrie had led them. "Alright you two, time to get serious; How to get in, how to get in...? Is there a doorbell somewhere around here just floating by?" He looked around.

With a sigh, Eyrie stepped forth, taking Ravine's shoulder and forced her to follow. She then placed her before herself and made Ravine stand out in the middle of nowhere. "Serious, huh? Well, in any case, I want you to focus on unlocking the spell that holds the barrier to here together."

"Focus? That's it?"

In the background, Vincent cursed harshly and quickly dug his hands into the pockets of his robes, caressing the interior as though he were looking for something. "Oi," he hissed. "Dammit...I knew I forgot something. Must have left my wand back home...."

Minutes passed, and as Eyrie tried to explain to Ravine what to do, had all turned out to be a waste of time. She didn't understand a word of what she was saying, except for the concentrating part and focusing, yet she didn't know what she was supposed to be focusing on. This grew tiring if yet frustrating just the same, and at the moment she just wanted Eyrie to shut up.

Yet when she had, that left both her and Vincent staring at her, expecting Ravine to be concentrating on opening the barriers to the Hinomi. However, the only one who probably didn't understand what Eyrie was getting at was Vincent, since he didn't witness any of the things that Ravine was capable of.

To her surprise, Ravine's fatigue and frustration paid off. The sun settled over the horizon, and a beam of moonlight shot out of the sky, shining over a single fragment that stuck out in the middle of the earth, glimmering into the atmosphere so brightly it blinded the three. Ravine winced, shielding her eyes with her hand, but she didn't see the other's reactions for they were hidden within the light.

Soon the light ceased, and the others were there, turning with a bemused expression on their faces when Ravine noticed a new figure standing high, a sharp edge pointing into the heavens. It was extremely detailed with patterns that ran in circular motions, curving, waving, and looked fairly similar to a monument, only instead of being white, it was silvery like the moon's ray. She didn't know whether to find it horrifying due to the disturbing designs displayed on its exterior, or to say how picturesque it was.

Vince gazed at Ravine in utter disclosure, his mouth hung ajar. "We should do stuff like this more often, it's cool as hell!"

"...right," Ravine said and swayed. Her head felt light, making the world spin and blur, in focus, out of focus.... It just wouldn't stay still, and while Vincent was exclaiming that she should repeat the same spell, Ravine just didn't have the energy to do so, plus she need to save her strength, because they have quite a walk to accomplish.

Before she could hold herself up straight, Ravine started to tumble sideways. Vincent turned around and noticed that she looked ill, and ran over to her, catching her just barely before she hit the ground, coughing. Vincent pulled her back to her feet and helped her to stand, rubbing her back like she were an infant in care. Though she loathed this feeling much, she was grateful that she was standing up right now instead of head first into the ground.

He leaned in close to her and muttered, "Are you alright?"

Coughing a few times more uncontrollably, Ravine nodded bluntly. "Yeah...I'll be fine...."

But she wasn't "fine." She'd done something that she shouldn't have done, and that was using her extra gifts given to her as being a witch, the one thing that defined her as being different from others who possessed the power of magick. Vincent was probably wondering how she could have used such advanced magick, and Ravine asked herself that a lot, and then it was brought back to the Nyne. The ones who basically controlled her.

"A marionette on strings held by them," Ravine whispered.

"What's that?"

"Nothing," she quickly replied, standing up by herself, Vincent letting her go with apprehension.

Vince took a look around the building, walking up towards it and started circling it. Yet he had seen no windows, no doors, there was no sign of any possible entrance. "So, we head in? Is there a door or something somewhere on this thing?"

Nodding, Ravine stepped up towards it, and pressed a hand over the building, closing her eyes. "There is a way," she said quietly, as the world around her was enveloped in glow a peculiar, visions ran passed her eyes so fast she couldn't tell what they were, but she knew that they were red. Everything had been so red over a bizarre, milky color of white.

By the time she reopened her eyes, her hand burned, but there was an outlined shape that covered a small portion of the wall, and upon her touch, it vanished. Ravine's head lightened, yet this time she managed to maintain her balance. Vincent took her by her shoulder and aided her on the inside, Eyrie standing behind them, taking a look around.

There were three hallways which split into their own separate direction. One headed forward to a set of stairs, two on either side that led off into the corner. The hallways were so empty, and painted with a blinding pallid hue. White benches and seats were placed occasionally on the sidelines, the marble floors paved the ground, making the scene less picturesque. But the three walked forth towards the stairs, Ravine taking the lead, for when their first assault came, she would be the first one to strike.

"I can lead you to as far as the hundred fiftieth floor on this building," said Eyrie from the back. "But everything I assure is up to you, Ravine. I know that you know what you are going to do, and try to be careful."

"Anything I should do?" Vincent wondered.

"Be quiet," Ravine snapped, as they reached the stairs, seeing two hallways split into two. She took a look left and right. "Nada," she muttered. "Wonder what's keeping the army from coming," she speculated to herself.

"Security is fairly tight around the top," Eyrie told her. "Its best that you keep an eye out on all levels though. Though it may appear that we are safe, it won't be like this the entire way."

And with that, she had been right. There was a black figure, standing out in the middle of all the white, who took his place in the middle of the hallway that stood in their path. Ravine's eyes narrowed upon the sight of the Gingitsune.

The Gingitsune was ready for her, just the same, for he held a thin sword in his hand, sharp and shimmering against the light that reflected off on the walls. He wore all black, a cloth that covered his head so that only his eyes were visible, and that had been the only shred of skin that she could see, for everything else was covered up by darkness.

"Figured you'd come around here sooner or later," the Gingitsune told her. "So I bet you are here trying to bring us all down, are you not?"

Ravine glared.

"Still angered by your death? Or is it the demise of your family that got a hold of you? Oh wait, how about your guardian? Remember, Ravine, we are not the only killers around here," he spoke with complete and utter confidence, a confidence that Ravine was determined to bring down no matter what.

"Shut up!" Ravine growled.

"Ravine, I think we should run on this one," Vincent warned. "These guys aren't something that you can just push over...."

He'd been too late. Ravine began charging just as the Gingitsune had begun to do the same, both running towards each other at top speed, unmoving from each other's sight, as he pulled out his sword to use it to strike down upon her, Ravine lifted her hand, and a wave of energy shot out, disarming him of his only weapon. But unfortunately for her, this was a highly trained assassin, unlike the other ones that she'd managed to bring down before. Disarmed or not, he could still fight.

He leapt through the air, in a position that seemed as though he were floating, and as Ravine ran passed him, the tip of his foot dug into her spine. Ravine gasped and fell forward, landing on her hands and knees.

Calling the sword back into his grasp, the Gingitsune held up his blade, ready to strike down upon Ravine, when he suddenly stopped in mid action, his face filled with the similar shock that he'd be facing death, just like the others that Ravine had faced before. Only it hadn't been Ravine who'd taken his life, for she was on the ground the entire time.

It had been Vincent.

Standing with a knife in his hand, Vincent watched as the Gingitsune fell onto his knees, his face shown that of a blank line on paper, then returned when he looked at Ravine. "Are you alright?" he asked, though it had been hard to tell whether if he was angry or truly concerned, judging by his tone.

Ravine rubbed a hand over her aching jaw, standing up, sending Vincent a nod of her condition, for it had not even been a flesh wound that she'd acquired, just a minor sore in her back now. She looked over to see how Eyrie was doing, she'd been standing off in the distance, dumbfounded upon Ravine's quickened movements.

"Where'd you learn to move like that, anyway?" Eyrie asked her.

"My...father taught me," Ravine said distastefully. "He was my sensei for Jujitsu."

"Hm, makes sense. I wish my father taught me self defense, then maybe I could have...." her voice trailed, and she then pointed into the direction behind her. "Anyway, out destination should be this way. I know there is a staircase if we keep making a couple turns to the right with every hallway."

Ravine took up the sword that the Gingitsune had in his grasp, the blade that was ready to take her life. She looked over at Vincent and handed it to him. "Here, you'll be needing this. Its best to go by with a weapon then without one."

He took it, then looked up at her, shocked. "But...what about you?"

Forcing a small smile, she countered, "I am my weapon."

They'd done so, and upon every floor, they ran into more Gingitsunes. With every attack made, Ravine took forth, Vincent not so far behind. She was surprised to see how little killing people had effect on him, but then again, the pain of guilt doesn't rush in while one is committing the crime, but later when one laments their loss. He will regret it later, or maybe not, either way, he was doing this because he chose to help Ravine, and there wasn't a thing that she could do to stop him.

Hours passed, Vincent tried his best to defend Eyrie, for she'd known not how to fight nor carried a weapon, the swords that the Gingitsune had were too heavy for her anyway. By the time they'd reached the hundred floor, they'd taken a break and collapsed over the benches.

"I swear, I see more red in this place then I do white," Vincent panted, sweat rolling out of his blue hair and over his eyes. "Isn't there some sort of faster way to get up these levels than just running?"

"Well, there is an elevator," Eyrie told him, then added quickly before scorned. "But if we take those, we'll be tracked easier. Its best to take the elevator on our way down, that way, it won't matter if they see us, they'll all be dead then hopefully. When we get to the hundred twentieth level, there should be the security control room. If we take them out, then we don't have to worry about being seen. That way, we can take the elevator on the way up."

"Sounds like a plan," Vincent said, looking at his bloodied sword with revulsion.

Ravine's eyes shifted over to the blade's direction, she then looked up at him. "Might want to get a different one along the way. The edges are probably dull now."

He sighed. She'd been right, since slicing the blade through the attackers had begun to be more difficult to accomplish. He dropped the blade and picked up another rather thin one, light and easy to carry. Vince stopped for a moment to look at the blood that stained his hands, looking down at the Gingitsune in disgust and then back to his hands.

Dread ran through him, and Vincent's tan face had gone pale, as he pressed his back against the wall and reflected all that he'd done. Ravine pressed a hand over his shoulder. "How do you do it?" he asked her.

"I don't know. But I wish I did...." she told him. "I wish I did feel regret."

"We don't have time to feel regret right now," Eyrie told them, gazing down the hallway, taking off her glasses and rubbed the blood and smears off of them. "Because if we want to get this over with, we have to be less human as possible. At least we're keeping this clean."

Clean she said. This wasn't clean, it was murder, and murder was never clean. Ravine didn't know how she felt nothing after taking lives, she didn't know why she felt bad just for ruining the lives of those around her....

YOU RUINED ME

But all she knew was that the Nyne, those who carry her strings. Mohan had told her that she was only human, but truth be told, Ravine wasn't so sure. And for some reason, she disagreed. No human could possibly commit such sins as she had, and manage to feel nothing. Ravine felt nothing, she was nothing. She felt a vacant feeling for those who she'd ruined, the lives she'd stolen, and the faces that would forever mourn over their loss, taking Ravine by the arms and pulling her into a forever culpability.

"I can't do this...." Vincent muttered.

"Told you that you shouldn't have come," Ravine retorted. "Knew someone like you couldn't handle it."

"Well, its not like you aren't human either," he told her. "It isn't like you won't feel the same way later on, because time will pass, and I can ensure you that when the time comes, you, too, will feel regret. You just aren't feeling it right now."

Ravine took those words into consideration, knowing well that she was only human, just one who didn't feel the emotions of a human being right away. But Ravine was a human being, and for that, one day, just like all others do, she will die.

Thus, they continued, down the path that determined who would live and who would die. Throughout the way, Ravine felt a sense of foreboding that meant someone was following her, watching her, the only thing that held them back was the taste of sensing her apprehension. For first it may be Eyrie, since she was the weakest of the group, and then it would be Vincent. And finally when Ravine's watched those around her die, Ravine will meet her end as well, just like all other human beings who takes lives in order to take their pain away.

Grayson was right, it was selfish.... Her reason for killing was wrong.

So she did a selfish act, and she continued to do so. Ravine leapt through the air, she twisted the necks of the opposing Gingitsune, she snapped their throats, their death came swiftly. However, they were just pawns as well.

"They're like me," she told herself after she'd finished her acts, one more floor to go until they've reached their next destination. "Like me, they're just dolls being strung up on strings, dancing for the amusement of their controllers. Why do they fight? So that they can gain back what was lost to them, it isn't their fault...."

Vincent pushed her forward, urging her to walk on. The more she killed, the worse she felt. Eyrie watched in horror the sight of the two people whom she'd barely known, the two that she had almost called friends, those committing mass murder, and all she could do was stand on the sidelines...and watch.

Holding back the inclination to cry, to scream in horror and vomit in disgust upon the sight of the fallen. She'd not taken a life just yet, but her body was covered with the blood of the dead, just like the others. Her blonde hair tainted with red specks, her magenta shirt stained to an even redder hue, making her look like she a walking corpse. After a while, she'd decided that she would just take off her glasses, since she might as well, it wasn't like she could see clearly anyway.

The gleam in Ravine's eyes were frightening to them both, for as she killed, her eyes were set in a lazy position, they burned like flames were blazing within her pupils. She didn't fight anymore with neither remorse nor guilt, but with pure, undying anger and hate that would forever burn within the embers that revealed itself so much within her eyes.

Ultimately, once they were one floor away from the hundred twentieth, Ravine had lost it. She had picked up a sword from one of the other deceased Gingitsune, and slaughtered the final one. He showed fear, he died at that moment feeling nothing but fear, as Ravine knocked him down, slashing, stabbing, pounding. She screamed in abhorrence, her eyes widen with delirium, for the hate which burned so vibrantly in her heart had grown into a utter firestorm of odium.

Vincent had ran forward, taking her on either sides and held her arms back, forcing her away from the Gingitsune and down onto her knees. Ravine cried out in anger, trying to wrench herself free of his grasp, and that was when the sounds of a laughter filled the hallway, and Ravine felt herself crumble like a broken doll, Vince released her, and Eyrie was taken aback when she saw who'd arrived.

"Aleron...?" she whispered within a hiss that revealed resentment as well as shock.

Aleron was a thin and lanky man, wearing a full out white suit. If it hadn't been for the blood that painted itself over the walls, then Ravine would have suspected that he was just a floating head, but his hands were visible. Even his hair had been white, though he appeared to be nothing but a middle aged man. She growled at the mere sight of the beam on his face, her fists clenched. She got up, ready to pick up the sword when Vincent snatched her by the wrist, shaking his head slowly in order to tell her not to strike just yet.

"I see your style is a bit lacking, Ravine," said Aleron. "Much less than when you killed your guardian."

"That wasn't me," she hissed, one eye squinted in pain, her hand draped over her shoulder as she stood up onto her feet, shivering. "That was them...they made me kill her because they didn't want any family affairs to get involved, am I right?"

The man shrugged. "How would I know? We have no affiliations whatsoever with the Nyne. For all these centuries our main goal was set to take them out."

"You...wanted to kill them? Is that why you were after me?"

Aleron sighed, running a hand through his white hair and sighed. "Well, I am sure you believe that you can take out the Gingitsune just by attacking our small portion, and with that, Ravine, your a fool. In case if you didn't know, there was several sets of Hinomi towers scattered throughout the world, and the amounts of Gingitsune within those towers are far more greater than the numbers you've faced while in here."

Her clenched fist, the one that hung limply at her side, trembled. "You mean to tell me that there's more of you...?"

"Only just," he said, shrugging with a smudged grin, briefly closing his eyes. "As you can also see, is that I am not afraid to die, neither is any of the other men here, just the rats that we've sent after you beforehand. You see, these Gingitsune were abducted, yet trained to do specific things beforehand, thus making them rather valuable. That man, Mister Hunter Wolfgang, he didn't want to help us out, and consequently he will pay the ultimate price."

Hunter Wolfgang...an assassin that was sent to come after her with the aid of Gaia Jade. However, their mission to kill Ravine had failed when Hunter had realized the evils of the assassination when he killed Ravine. She didn't know what was going on in his head when he had killed her, but she knew how remorseful he felt, and how much the pain burned in his chest, because Ravine had felt it as well.

"Your...going to take what little he has left?!"

"All he had was a family, very small in numbers, mind you. But," he laughed, "it is highly amusing to see the pain and anger and hate within their eyes."

"That's sick," Vincent growled in utter disgust, wrinkling his nose. "That's...."

"...is the life of an assassin," Aleron added nonchalantly. "Oh yes, and Ravine, here is a little story that I think you may find rather amusing as much as I do. Just take a moment before you decide to take heed in you intuition and kill me right here."

Ravine shifted her weight uneasily, glancing over at Eyrie and Vincent, then back to Aleron. "Go ahead, what is it."

Please, he smiled and commenced. "A couple years ago I happened to have stumbled upon a rather, how shall I say this, dear friend of yours. Sadly enough, he had a message for you. He wanted me to let you know how much you've ruined him, and that he sends his never dying passion of hatred to you, for you are what has taken all that he cared about most. Rather tasteful and pleasurable story, since at the time you had been under the influence of the Nyne at the time. Hmmm, yes, this is very interesting...."

"Grayson...." she found herself whispering the name under her breath like a violent curse word.

You ruined me!

"Interesting?" Ravine barked at Aleron angrily. "How is this interesting?"

"Because, that man who you seem to call Grayson...happens to be standing right over you."

"Ravine, look out!" the voice belonged to Vincent, but it had been cut off through the next flash of events that happened so quickly they seemed illusory....

How could she had been so foolish not to see it...? Ravine didn't even have the chance to look up, when there was a sudden flash of light that blinded the trio. Vincent and Eyrie were shot backwards, and the next thing Ravine knew, was that there was a blade pressed against her throat.

Her body had gone stiff, as Grayson stood close behind her, one arm held tightly against her shoulder, digging his fingers into her flesh strongly, and a katana pressed firmly against her neck, cutting upward towards her jaw. Ravine's head was forced upward, so that she could be staring into the face of Grayson. Ravine let out choking sounds as he pushed her away from Vincent and Eyrie, further towards Aleron.

"What a predicament, Ravine," he said to her brightly, tightening his hold over the blade so that he cut deeper into her flesh. His eyes shifted so that he could only see the movement of the other two from the corner of his gaze. "And you two better stay put, or she'll die right here and now."

Right here and now. Those words meant so much to her, on behalf of the fact that they inclined that she was going to die, just not right now, and not on this spot.

"Ravine, we can't-"

"Do as he says, Vince," Ravine said, imitating the same action Grayson had done so that she could get a glimpse of them. "Find a way out right now. Just forget about me and get the hell out."

"But-"

"DO IT NOW!" she screamed over Grayson's chuckling, who cut her off cut then with a aggressive jerk. Ravine head was held low underneath the blade, as tears streamed down her eyes in compunction. "Please, both of you...get out of here.... No one else has to die. Not right here, anyway."

Eyrie tried to say something, then was interrupted by Vincent's hold, who took her by the shoulder and helped her to her feet, the two stood there and watched Ravine depart, unsure if they'd ever see her again, and if they do, they wavered on the thought whether if that would mean that if they'd ever see her alive in this case.

For in their eyes, Ravine was already dead.

3: Unreal

Ravine was escorted by Grayson and Aleron to the top level, the assassin which held the blade to her throat so securely to let her know that he wouldn't hesitate to kill her any second, and Ravine silence to let him know that she wasn't afraid to die, and that she wasn't oblivious to his malevolence.

"I suppose you already know that most of the men that you killed, Ravine, had families," said Aleron along the way, trying his best to make Ravine tremble with guilt. "Families, wives, children. Man of them would have gone home should you have just given up your life. But no, you wouldn't allow yourself to die because you believed that you must have gone ahead. To walk on through life. Why is that?"

Silence.

By the time they'd made it to the top level, a vast room where the walls were pallid and untouched by the sins Ravine had not yet committed. There was a large, round desk that stood before a window that overlooked the country lands of Scotland, and that was where she was placed before as Aleron sat in his desk and with smile on his face.

"You should have died long ago, yet you wouldn't. Even when you were carried in Sheika's womb, your fate was to be miscarried, however...you managed to survive even that," he reached under his desk and took out a pare of dagger, twirling on majestically in his hands, revealing his skill with them. "Do you have any idea what this is, Ravine?"

"They're daggers," she said spitefully.

Aleron smiled and grinned wide. "But not just daggers, Ravine. They are a part of the nine blades, the swords that belonged to the Nyne," he looked at them, and then back to her, still twirling them even as he hadn't focused his gaze completely on his actions with them. "The only way a person can completely hold a weapon of the Nyne would mean that they were a Nyne once themselves. These are the Duo Daggers, Ravine, and with that, I am pretty sure you know the rest."

Ravine was unable to respond for Grayson picked her back up and had her held up in a strangle hold, as she attempted to struggle powerlessly in his grasp. "You-"

"I am your father's killer," he said with a smile. "I killed Scarchet Arthios, I was a member of the Nyne who was the only one who was looked down upon for abusing their power, I am the man that they called Kalasan Umbregar and say the name with distasteful shame. I put the spell on Sheika, your mother, to miscarry you, and attempted to shift you between realms and time. However, Scarchet Arthios had foreseen my conspire and intercepted, and with the interception, it had taken his life away, but there was still the loop hole that took you away from your mother."

"Twisted, ain't it?" Grayson hissed. "I liked the story so much, I decided that I should help him out, just so that I could be rid of you, and not have to have your face haunt me every night while I attempt to put myself into a restless sleep. You haunted my dreams, the night that you destroyed my life, the day that you had taken the lives of many others...."

"So cry a river," Ravine growled, "I atone for my sins of what I have done, and I atone for what I have done to everyone that I have killed and caused pain to. What I don't atone for is what you have done, Kalasan Umbregar. So why did you change your name?"

He sighed and nodded with a sly grin. "Ah yes, Nishan-Zared Aleron seems like the most...unlikely of names, doesn't it?" Continuing to twirl the daggers in his hands, he stood up and walked towards Ravine. "It was so that I could elude the Nyne. It was so that one day I could cause the Nyne as well as Scarchet Arthios and his whore to suffer," he leaned forward, his nose nearly touching Ravine's. "You chose to make the suffering die in vain."

"That's a really sad story," she hissed.

"Who ever said that it was a story?" Kalasan Umbregar droned. "It is the reality that you were blinded from, and the realization that you evaded for so long. But that is what I am here for, to make you realize."

"Realize what?"

"That today...you are going to die."

With a final signal, he nodded to Grayson, and the next thing she knew, screaming pain surged through Ravine's neck, as blood spilled from her throat, red liquids covering an iridescent blade.