Everything stood still in his eyes, which were still active.

  Alhen saw a dark fog; he saw dark phantoms of the creatures that lunged at him; their mandibles snapping where his body would have been if he hadn’t rolled away.

  Alhen ran towards the exit, sprinting as fast as he could.

  The only thought in his mind had to do with how to survive this situation.

  He didn’t look behind him; he didn’t dare to, getting tunnel vision on his destination.

  The weight of the artifacts and the axe on his back slowed him down, making him curse as he felt three hundred pounds overweight.

  The exit flickered in his eyes. Only a few more steps, and he would be on his way to the surface.

  He could feel the wihts coming closer, despite his lack of hearing, he was sure that they were right behind him.

  Alhen felt one dangerously close to him, making him run a tad faster, but this proved to be a mistake.

  “Aghh!” Alhen tripped with his foot, causing a wiht to bite his leg and drag him further away from the exit.

  Bearing the pain with gritted teeth, he grabbed the revolver from his hip and fired at the wiht, hitting its eye and injuring it severely, making it cry out in pain.

  The grip loosened on his leg as he kicked at it to push it away.

  The kick had done what it had to, but looking down, his heart dropped. It took less than a second to understand his situation; he was seeing his death.

  Looking at his leg, the skin had come off, and he could only see muscle, flesh, and split bone, which poked out into the world.

  Alhen breathed heavily and widened his eyes at the sight.

  Despite the extreme pain and his racing train of thought, he couldn’t afford to lose himself in the feeling now, so he stood with difficulty as the wiht thrashed on the floor and the others moved near his location.

  “Arghh!!” He screamed; adrenaline coursed high through his veins, but even still, excruciating pain rang out with every step.

  Alhen ordered his leg to move, but it failed him, and he dropped to the floor.

  “Please! Move!” Alhen shouted in a panic, his plea filled with dread.

  Without Alhen noticing, the green light glow on the sword on his back dimmed, and his leg was enveloped in it.

  ‘What?’ Alhen thought, baffled.

  His broken tibia snapped back into place, his muscles healed, and skin covered his leg, all happening in the span of less than three seconds.

  Thanking the heavens, he barely avoided decapitation by some huge pair of mandibles by rolling to the side before rushing to the exit, this time, determined not to trip.

  He was swarmed in seconds, with the time he had spent lying on the floor, the wihts had all caught up and were right on his tail.

  The more he ran, the darker the phantoms became, and the deadlier they looked.

  Multiple scratches and cuts made way into his body; the exit kept getting nearer.

  He felt something warm trickling down his eye, but ignored the feeling, only focusing on running away.

  When his foot touched the dirt path leading to the exit, he smiled, but it quickly faded.

  ‘Crap!’ He cursed in his mind; the wihts kept chasing after him.

  He didn’t know what he was thinking. His brain had only thought about reaching the path to the exit, not planning further ahead from that.

  Running a little further, the world gradually became completely dark.

  He could see nothing for a few seconds, up seemed down, and down seemed up, left and right were inverted to his senses.

  Something rose from his throat and exited his mouth, landing on his hand. The crimson color contrasted with the darkness around him.

  He had just spat out blood.

  ‘This is bad! What was the time limit for my blessing again?’ He asked himself, but got no answer in return.

  No longer aware of his actions, he instinctively dodged.

  The walls became visible again, but the color had faded, leaving him seeing only in black and white.

  “Ughh!” A sharp pain rang from his torso. Without even looking to check, he could feel that it was torn and bleeding heavily.

  Crimson blood landed on the floor, and a light shone right ahead. He ran towards it, and eventually… he was out.

  Looking up, he saw a red moon up in the sky, lighting his surroundings.

  A creature of unknown shape stood in the center of the moon, and he could feel its gaze on him.

  The wihts behind him sent their mandibles at his neck, and being distracted, it was only a matter of time before he was ripped apart, but that time never came.

  “Bang!” A gunshot rang out, blood painted his jacket, but he didn’t care, looking mesmerized at the moon.

  It was completely silent for Alhen, with the only thing existing at that moment being the crimson moon.

  Just as he was losing himself, he was snapped out of his thoughts, his heart shook, and his body trembled.

  He felt a sinister presence just beside him. Looking to his right, a big shadow towered over his body; it gazed at him with a predatory gaze; it was going to kill him.

  ‘I’m dead,’ Alhen thought.

  Despite his strong will to move, his body simply didn’t listen, and he had to watch frozen as it reached its claws at him.

  Looking at the shadow closer, he could see the distinct shape of what seemed to be a wolf, no… a werewolf.

  Before the arm could reach him, his eyes involuntarily closed, and he passed out.

  Time passed by in the blink of an eye for him, one second, he was about to die, and the next second, he found himself on a comfortable bed.

  His surroundings seemed familiar; the candles and the organized beds made him realize that he was in the church’s infirmary.

  Alhen tried to move his body, but it didn’t budge; thankfully, he was at least no longer in pain, but the world spun around him.

  Looking at his arm, its skin hugged his bones tightly. That’s when he noticed the hunger and his fast-beating heart.

  He waited for someone as he wasn’t able to move or do anything apart from counting the seconds, and after a few hours of waiting and endless boredom, he heard footsteps coming from the hallways just outside the room.

  The sound kept traveling down the hall until they stopped right where the door was.

  “Creak!” The door opened, and he heard some footsteps approaching his bed.

  Alaran came in, and Alhen shivered, his body shaking at his presence.

  It took a second and a few deep breaths to calm down, and when he did, Alaran was right beside him.

  “Kid, are you not happy to see me?” His mentor asked, looking down at his recovering mentee.

  “I can’t move,” Alhen responded while looking at his body.

  “If you could, I would be surprised. You have been out for five cycles and have received serious damage to your psyche. Did I not warn you about using your Lord’s blessing for long? They all have serious effects that will ultimately end in your death,” Alaran said.

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  Alhen frowned, “You didn’t tell me any of that,” he said.

  Even if it hadn’t helped him at all, it would be nice to have that information regardless.

  Remembering the world going dark, he wondered whether he could lose his vision if he overused his blessing.

  “My apologies, if you want to know more about the side effects of using your Lord’s blessing, talk with Father Vincent; I am unaware of Lord Oros’ powers,” Alaran said.

  Alhen nodded. “I will talk with him. I can’t believe that he didn’t explain something this important; I almost died…” There was a brief silence before Alhen spoke.

  “I have a question: What are the Lords? Father Vincent hasn’t talked much about them.”

  “Considering all your lack of information about known topics, it does not surprise me to hear that you do not know about the Lords,” Alaran commented before looking at him intently.

  “They are ancient beings that are sealed in another plane of existence called the Korghus, also known as the ‘Lord’s Plane.’ We humans have discovered a way to communicate with them and receive their blessings, but something of relevance to them has to be given in exchange for their power. Every continent has its own Lord’s plane and Lords. Does that answer your question?”

  “Yeah, thanks for the information… Alaran, I have something to ask you.” His mentor raised his eyebrow and waited for him to elaborate.

  “Before I passed out, were you the one who saved me? I mean, that creature that I saw… was it you?” Alhen gulped as he laid out his question.

  A couple of seconds passed, and Alaran gazed at him, his mask hiding his emotions.

  “Yes, I was the one who saved you; I would have never allowed you to die,” he answered calmly.

  Hearing his words, something snapped inside of him, “You are lying!” Alhen raised his tone of voice, breathing heavily.

  “You let me swim in that water with a big creature that thankfully didn’t eat me. Some cultists almost got to me, and they would have killed me on the spot. You said that it was relatively safe down there, but a horde of wihts almost took my life! And the worst part is that you were not there! So don’t lie to me when you say that you would never let me die.”

  Alhen took a deep breath and calmed down his racing heart.

  Now that he had finished his rant, a silence stretched for what seemed to be years, making him uncomfortable.

  ‘What is wrong with me? I’m not usually like this; all these life-and-death situations are making me lose my temper. I have to calm down,’ Alhen thought.

  “Despite it looking like I was not there, I was always by your side. I understand that you are angry, but I have held my promise; you are alive, and that is what matters. This will provide a valuable experience for your next hunts. If you rely on me to protect you every time, you will eventually die when I am not there,” Alaran responded.

  His words were barely processed by Alhen, who took a second to understand the full meaning of his mentor’s words.

  “Are you telling me that you were with me all along? Like, watching all my movements from a close distance?” he asked.

  Alaran nodded, and a chill ran down his spine. He was being observed without him realizing it.

  If his mentor had this level of skill to follow a person unnoticed, he didn’t doubt that other people were even better than him.

  ‘I will have to be more careful out there,’ Alhen mentally noted.

  Well, you responded to one of my questions, but let me ask you this: what are you? My last thing I remember was a shadow creeping its claws towards me, it looked like a werewolf, was that you?”

  “Kid, do you think I am going to reveal that information willingly? Remember to never give away information about your skills or your affiliation with a Lord to anyone; doing so is like telling an enemy your weakness for them to exploit and kill you when you least expect it.”

  “I will take that advice to heart,” Alhen responded with sincerity.

  ‘He’s right; why should he tell me anything about him? He barely knows me, and this world seems dangerous enough; who knows if someone might be listening to our conversation right now without us realizing it?’ He frowned at the thought of this happening, but it didn’t get to him for long.

  One more thing, the cultists that followed me had what I believe to be yellow signs. What does that mean?”

  Alaran breathed heavily before explaining. Alhen could tell that he was starting to get tired from answering all his questions.

  “Anyone who wants to make it out alive alone in the kingdom exterior will have to get a Luna Signum. As I have told you before, absorbing the energy of fallen wihts will improve the quality of the sign. When you reach the next quality, your sign will change color. Right now, you are just starting, so it is white; the highest grade is red.”

  “I understand, so what are the grades?” Alaran looked at him without saying anything, the crow mask unsettling him. “Last question, I swear!” Alhen quickly explained.

  Alaran sighed once more before telling him.

  “There are three tiers for each rank. Right now, you are tier one of white color. The way to know that you have tiered up your sign is if it becomes brighter. If you notice, your glow is quite weak; that is because you do not have a lot of benedictio lunae. The tiers that come right after white, in order, are yellow, orange, blue, purple, black, and lastly, red.”

  “Thank you,” Alhen said sincerely.

  “Hmph! If you want to thank me, then get better already; we still have many things to do. I am taking you to eat something and then recharge your sign, it has already been exhausted.”

  Alaran retreated from the room for a few seconds before coming in again, carrying a wheelchair.

  His mentor helped him without the usual manhandling, which surprised Alhen.

  He rolled him to the dining room, and in the way, he saw his old group staring at him while they followed the nuns.

  The eyes of those kids were indifferent, colder, harsher; it was evident that they had changed in the time of his absence.

  He could understand, they were being tortured and treated like garbage in comparison to him.

  He stopped looking, focusing on where Alaran was taking him. They entered the dining hall before being immediately surprised by a man.

  “What does he want to eat?” The man asked Alaran.

  He had no visible expression, just some wide eyes and a tilt to his head.

  His dirt-covered hair almost touched the ground, and the wrinkles of his face made him appear old, despite him looking like a thirty-year-old.

  “It does not matter, he is not picky, just make something that he can eat in his condition,” Alaran responded before the man nodded. He ran out the door faster than Alhen could blink, leaving him stunned in his seat.

  “This is the first time that I've seen the cook. I didn’t know he was this peculiar,” Alhen commented.

  Alaran ignored him and placed him at the end of the long table, where he remembered the meal before everything happened.

  Bad memories started invading him, but he shook them off and focused on calming down. He wanted to ask his mentor more questions, but he knew that he no longer wanted to entertain him.

  It didn’t take long for the cook to show up.

  He slammed the door open and brought back yet another soup, to be precise, the same soup he had eaten in that dining room.

  The cook placed it in front of him and left. The disgusting stench of the food almost made him throw up, and he couldn’t believe that Alaran stood unfazed by his side.

  “Does this look edible to you?” Alhen asked his mentor, but he remained silent.

  “Right, I forgot, no more questions.”

  Alhen took his spoon and hesitated for a brief second before eating his food slowly, resisting the urge to throw up.

  He could feel his body rejecting the density, making him squirm, and he held his hand against his mouth.

  Ultimately, he left his bowl halfway eaten before being carried to bask in the moonlight.

  When entering the room where he first got branded, recognition passed through his eyes. His body remembered the encounter, shuddering at the thought.

  Thankfully, everything seemed to be in order, and the glass was restored.

  A ray of light penetrated the crystal above, and Alaran left him there to receive the moon’s blessing.

  Standing up to leave, Alhen stopped him, “Wait!” he exclaimed.

  Alaran turned around, giving him a raised eyebrow.

  “Please stay. Last time I was here, I was attacked, and if that were to happen again, I would definitely die.” It certainly was embarrassing for him to not want to be alone, but this time, he would truly be screwed if another wiht decided to show itself.

  Alaran looked at the kid, his eyes studying him deeply.

  With a sigh, he walked over to the door and sat down, watching as he absorbed the moonlight. Alhen sat bare-chested, his jacket thrown on the side.

  It took a few minutes before the sign lit up again; this time, the glow seemed to be somewhat brighter, and Alaran noticed, but decided to keep his mouth shut.

  With the passing of ten more minutes, Alhen stood up, having regained his vitality.

  “I feel stronger than I have ever felt in my whole life,” he commented.

  “That’s good, now let us go and see the old man.”

  Alhen nodded and walked through the hallways with his mentor until they reached Father Vincent’s office.

  Knocking on the door, they were allowed to enter, and the father burst into a smile.

  “Alhen! How good it is to see you alive, my son. Come here, we have much to talk about.” Father Vincent waved over at him to sit in the chair, and Alaran went to leave the room.

  “Where do you think you are going?” The Father asked, having his eyes narrowed on Alaran.

  “Come here, no need to be shy, I want you to be present in this conversation.” His mentor frowned, but still obeyed and stayed.

  “First things first, how are you doing, my son? When I first received the news that you had been gravely injured, I worried sick for you. To think that your mentor could not keep you safe, he is useless, isn't he? We should get rid of him.” Father Vincent said the last part in a whisper, but Alaran narrowed his eyes on him, clearly having heard.

  “Please don’t,” Alhen stopped him.

  He was getting tired of this man pretending to care for him and making his life more difficult than it had to be.

  “I don’t hold a grudge against my mentor. He taught me many things, and despite his teaching methods, I have grown stronger because of them. Please don’t make trouble for him.”

  Father Vincent continued looking at Alaran with cold eyes, a dangerous silence spreading through the room.

  Alhen fiddled with his fingers, feeling suffocated from all the tension.

  Father Vincent looked at Alaran for a few more seconds before the pressure disappeared, having calmed down at the request of Alhen.

  “If something like this happens again, be sure to be prepared; you will not go unpunished,” Father Vincent threatened.

  “Both of you are dismissed. I am busy right now. We will talk later.” With a wave of his hand, Alhen and his mentor left the room.

  He noticed Alaran was clenching his fists with strength and looked at him with worry.

  ‘He probably contained himself not to lash out right there in the office and cause more trouble. If I had his strength… No, I have to get stronger,’ Alhen stopped his train of thought.

  He walked absentmindedly behind his mentor when he heard him talk.

  “Alhen, get your thuls and get dressed, we are going to ‘The Crying Halberd.’ It is time for you to become an official hunter.”

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