The Crimson and Indigo Chase.
The moon was a jagged shard of bone hanging over the slums of Narier. In the narrow, suffocating alleys, the air didn't just feel cold—it felt sharp, like a blade pressing against the skin. June and Blop moved like shadows, their boots slapping against the damp, filth-crusted cobblestones.
Cling. Clang.
The sound of metal vibrating against a hilt echoed from the darkness behind them. It wasn't the sound of a clumsy soldier; it was the rhythm of a predator. June turned her head, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. Through the swirling mist, she saw him: Lijom. He wasn't running; he was gliding, his body low to the ground, closing the distance with terrifying, unnatural speed.
"He's gained on us!" June hissed, her voice cracking with a fear she hadn't felt in years.
She didn't stop. With the grace of a forest predator, she kicked off a rotted wooden crate and vaulted onto a low stone wall. In mid-air, she drew her bow. Swish. Swish. Swish.
Three arrows hissed through the dark, aimed at Lijom's vitals.
Lijom didn't even break his stride. He tilted his head an inch to the left, twisted his torso, and let the third arrow graze his cloak. He was mocking her.
(Inner thoughts of June: "How... how is he doing that? Those were kill-shots. He's moving like he already knows where the arrows are going to land. If we don't hit the tunnels now, we're dead.")
Suddenly, the air screamed. Lijom drew a short, heavy blade and, in one fluid motion, hurled it. The steel spun through the air, a silver blur that caught the moonlight. Before Blop could react, the blade buried itself deep into his back, the tip bursting through his chest in a spray of glowing indigo fluid.
(Inner thoughts of Blop: "A hole... there is a hole in me. June's face... why is it turning white? Why does her scent smell like copper and fear? This man... he is not like the others.")
The impact sent Blop staggering. His blue blood splattered against the wall, glowing like radioactive paint in the dark. Lijom was upon them in a heartbeat. He gripped the back of Blop's robe with a hand like a vice and swung him. Blop's body hit the stone wall with a sickening THUD that rattled his very core.
"Get away from him!" June screamed. She scooped up a handful of the stagnant, grey sewer water from a nearby puddle and flung it directly into Lijom's eyes.
Lijom growled, clutching his face as the acidic filth burned his vision.
"Blop, RUN!"
They launched themselves down a side alley toward the iron grate of the "Old Veins" tunnels. Blop's vision flickered. He saw June's expression—she looked at him not as a monster, but as something precious she was about to lose. Something snapped inside him. His "Flight Mode" took over, but it was fueled by a protective rage. He grabbed June, tucking her under his arm, and his legs became blurs of motion. In three seconds, they were inside the tunnel, the darkness swallowing them whole.
"Turn left!" June yelled.
Lijom stumbled into the alley moments later, rubbing his reddened eyes. He looked at the tunnels, then at the ground. It was a massacre of color. Thick, viscous blue blood was everywhere—on the walls, the floor, the crates.
(Lijom's inner thoughts: "Did they do this on purpose? A dozen trails... a labyrinth of glowing rot. They think they've confused me. Fine. Go. Hide in the mud like the rats you are.")
He pulled a glass vial from his belt and knelt. He carefully scooped the glowing indigo liquid into the bottle. It hummed with a faint, magical energy.
(Lijom's inner thoughts: "Run all you want, little elf. This blood is worth more than your life. I have your soul in a bottle now. I'll find you by the scent of your own essence.")
The Forest of Broken Faith
Hours later, the damp heat of the tunnels gave way to the crisp, pine-scented air of the outer woods. They had reached the merchant trails, far beyond the city's reach. June collapsed against a gnarled oak tree, her lungs burning. Blop stood over her, his chest wound already sealing itself with thick, scarred tissue.
(Inner thoughts of Blop: "She is safe. The 'Void Man' is gone. But why is her heartbeat still so fast? Why is the 'Sunlight' in her eyes fading?")
June signaled for him to sit. He obeyed, lowering his massive frame beside her. The forest was silent, save for the distant hoot of an owl.
"Blop," she started, her voice a hollow whisper. "I wasn't always a scavenger. I was a commander once. I had a post, a home, a name that meant something." She looked at her scarred palms. "When the giants came... the mountain riders... we sent messengers to the Arorien Kingdom. We begged. We were their allies."
Tears began to carve clean paths through the grime on her face. "They stayed behind their walls. They watched us burn because it was 'politically inconvenient' to help. I tried to save my sisters... my parents... but I failed. I watched the giants crush everything I loved while the world looked away."
She wiped a stray tear, her jaw tightening. "The Silver Hawks found me when I was a ghost. I had no strength left to fight. But then... there was you. You're a monster by birth, Blop, but you're the only 'person' who has been kind to me in years."
Blop felt a heavy, cold pressure in his gut. It wasn't hunger. It wasn't pain. It was a slow, dragging weight. He reached out, offering a drop of his healing blood, but she pushed his hand away gently.
"I've made up my mind," she said, standing up. The softness was gone, replaced by the steel of a soldier. "I'm going back. I have to find them. If any of my family is alive, I have to find them. But I can't take you."
The word "alone" hit Blop like Lijom's sword. His heart felt like it was being ground into glass.
"I... c-come... you... to..." he struggled, the words tearing at his throat.
"No," June said firmly, her tone returning to the cold, professional rasp of a survivor. "If we stay together, Lijom will kill us both. He wants you, and he'll use me to get to you. You need to go to the Robelt Kingdom. Here."
She pressed a crumpled map and eleven gold coins into his hand. "It's all I have. Robelt is a kingdom of adventurers. They don't ask questions about where you came from as long as you can swing a sword. Live there. Be free."
She turned away, her silhouette beginning to dissolve into the morning fog. "Don't look for me, Blop. If we're meant to meet again... fate will find a way."
Blop watched her disappear. The fog swallowed her boots, then her cloak, then her golden hair. He stood in the silence, the gold coins heavy in his hand.
(Inner thoughts of Blop: "The weight in my gut... it is worse than the sword. It is 'Alone.' But I have a map. I have a path. I will go to Robelt. I will become an adventurer. And when I am strong enough that no 'Man' can stop me... I will find her.")
The Price of Blood
Back in the Arorien Capital, General Idom sat in his shadowed office, staring at a portrait of a young boy. A knock at the door broke his trance.
"Come in," he growled.
Lijom and Nyadar entered. The atmosphere was thick with tension.
"The report?" Idom asked, his eyes like flint. "Do you have them?"
"We lost them in the Old Veins, sir," Lijom said. Idom's hand twitched toward his sword, but Lijom held up the vial of indigo blood. "But I brought back the essence of the creature."
Idom froze. He took the bottle, his eyes widening as he watched the blue fluid swirl.
"Where did this come from?"
"I drew it from the beast myself," Lijom lied smoothly. "A parting gift."
"Good," Idom whispered. "You failed the capture, but this... this is progress." He tossed a bag of 2,000 gold coins onto the desk. "Your payment. Leave."
"Sir," Lijom smirked, his eyes greedy. "For blood of this quality? Surely the price is—"
Idom's hand blurred. The Black Obsidian blade was at Lijom's throat before he could blink. The air in the room turned freezing. "Take the gold and leave while you still have a head to carry it."
Lijom didn't argue. He grabbed the coins and backed out of the room, Nyadar following close behind. Once they were safe in the corridor, Lijom let out a shaky breath.
"You're a fool," Nyadar hissed. "Why taunt a man who can kill us with a thought?"
"Because that blood is worth fifty thousand gold, you meathead!" Lijom spat. "It's a high-tier reagent. Healing, enchanting, soul-binding—that monster is a walking gold mine. I only gave it to Idom so he wouldn't execution us for losing the task."
"So what now?" Nyadar asked.
"I'm heading to Robelt," Nyadar continued. "I've got a contract to guard the borders for a year. Five hundred gold a month. It's boring, but it's safe."
Lijom looked toward the horizon, his eyes narrowing. "Robelt, eh? It seems everyone is heading to the Kingdom of Adventurers. Go guard your borders, Nyadar. I'm going to find my gold mine. And this time, I won't stop until I've squeezed every drop of blue from his body."
They parted ways at the guild gates—one moving toward a quiet life of duty, the other toward a bloody obsession.