The two Blades. Usually, such a force would be enough to slaughter half of the Hollow Patch, but now they were hunting just one young man, poor Tainted, and... it was unknown whether they would succeed in fulfilling their master's order.
Aurora threw back the shadow hound with a great grimace on her face.
"You...!" she hissed, staring at Valkyra. "You're always in my way! Was it so hard to get here five minutes late? I'd be done by then!"
Without further ado, Valkyra pulled her blades from her belt.
It was obvious that although they served the same deity, they were enemies rather than allies.
"You decided to steal my assignment from me. Don't you have other things to do? I'm not as helpless as you to fail a mission, right?" Valkyra raised an eyebrow arrogantly.
Aurora gasped, Valkyra knew her weak spots.
Who knew how long their argument could have gone on if a painful scream hadn't come from the side.
"AAAAAGGHHHH!!!"
They simultaneously turned around as their eyes went wide in panic.
Kain wasted no time, he rushed to the edge and seized the opportunity. Virgia explained to him what he needed to do.
A ray of light came out of the Grief of the Forgotten, pulling the Red Swirl from Kain's chest. Without resistance, the mark disappeared into the bud, making the flower tremble.
Scarlet pulses ran along the roots of the Broken Skull peak as the flower disappeared into the ground, leaving behind a few petals.
Crackle.
Kain collapsed to one knee, holding his chest.
A few seconds and the heavy breath of agony was replaced by a happy smile.
'I can feel it...' Kain internally muttered. 'Sure, my blood is still cursed, but at least I got rid of the target from my back!'
Turning around, Kain flinched.
Two pairs of eyes stared at him saying - 'Your fate is set.'
Aurora gritted her teeth. "This is all because of you! Fuck! Do you have any idea how much trouble we're going to get in because he got rid of the mark?"
"Pffft!" Valkyra snorted. "If he ended up here, it means he tricked you as well!"
"No! He's just lucky as fuck!" Aurora exclaimed.
"Anyway, you have part of the blame on you, too, for him getting this far."
Kain blinked several times, stumped.
The two cold-blooded assassins were arguing in front of him, oblivious to their purpose.
They were too convinced that Kain had reached a dead end.
'I have to take advantage of this. Even if I'm at the slope, there must be something here!'
Suddenly, a shadow fell over Valkyra and Aurora, growing larger upon approaching.
"Agh...?" Kain gasped, his heart sinking.
In a deafening rumble, the silhouette crashed down on Valkrya and Aurora, plunging their faces into the ground, a cloud of dust rising up.
Their eyes, filled with anger, swept upward, immediately brimming with fear.
A man in a long red coat and crimson hair let go of their heads and stared at Kain. A long chain was wrapped around his right arm, condensing runes to it.
'Fuck...'
Kain saw that Valkyra and Aurora didn't just know this man, they were terrified of him.
It was Garoth, the Befallen Blade.
"Valkyra, Aurora..." he wheezed. "You failed to capture the Highest Sacrifice and even let this young man unmarked.
"I am disappointed in you."
Lowering their heads, they bit their lip.
"I apologize," Valkyra muttered. "That will not happen again. We will end the mission now."
Aurora's teeth chattered in horror.
"No," Garoth shook his head. "I'll finish the job. You stand aside and watch. We'll have a very serious talk afterward..."
Step.
Garoth strode forward, cracking the ground beneath him. With each step he took, Kain found it harder to breathe.
The world grew darker, and only Garoth's silhouette retained the colors attracting the tattered shadows.
'I... I shouldn't be standing here! I have to find a way to escape! I've done this many times!'
Kain rushed towards the slope but stopped abruptly.
Below, behind a layer of mist, was nothing but a raging river and sharp peaks emerging from the surface.
"You can jump if you want to," Garoth's voice broke out as his chain came undone. "I'll catch you, you can be sure of that."
Then, he stopped a few meters away, holding out his hand.
"Kain Linch... That's your name, isn't it?"
Kain nodded. "Yes, how do you know that?"
"I know a lot of things, but it doesn't matter right now."
Garoth opened his palm.
"Somehow, you control the course of events. Maybe you're just lucky, maybe it's a coincidence or the incompetence of the Valkyra and Aurora. Either way, every ability has limits. You have nowhere to run, and that is why I suggest you come with me willingly."
"Hah," Kain grinned mockingly. "Those two offered me the same thing!"
No emotion on Garoth's face.
"In that case, I'll have to break your legs. I'll make it quick, but it'll still hurt."
Step.
"You have ten seconds," his gaze grew darker. "Then, my patience will come to an end, Tainted."
Under Kain's weight, the slope crumbled, disappearing into the abyss. His brain was working at its limit, trying to find a way out, another way to use the curse for good.
But...
'There's no way out of here!' Kain's eyes ran from side to side, catching on every root, rock, or trembling leaf.
"No..." Kain stammered, fear filling his eyes.
Garoth stepped forward.
"Five seconds."
Suddenly, a bright pain erupted in Kain's head.
"Argh!"
Everything blurred, becoming an indistinct mass, bright stars appeared in the midst - runes filling his mind with a mechanical voice.
[Tainted... One of your Traits has reached the final point.]
[Changes to the Lost Lamb have begun.]
[Lamb... You have nowhere else to run... It's time to become something more formidable, a fearsome creature to take fate into your own hands when danger cannot be avoided.]
Then, something in Kain changed.
The color of his eyes switched from green to deep blood, and his face lost all worry, leaving only an unwavering determination.
Crackle.
He pulled a dagger from his belt, placing the tip against his neck.
Garoth sighed. "This is foolish. I'll stop you faster than you can kill yourself."
"Then let's find out because there's something else you're going to have to do," Kain replied coldly.
Before Garoth could respond, Kain jumped back, falling straight into the abyss.
In a mighty leap, Garoth tore forward as well as Valkyra and Aurora.
"You're not getting away!" Garoth exclaimed, throwing his chain at him.
It was already too late, Kain plunged the dagger into his neck. The first stream of blood froze the blade, the fragments of the shattered weapon disappearing in the frosty vapor.
Then, a circle of Kain's own blood engulfed him, transporting him to an unknown destination.
In an instant, the chain swept to where he had just been but only reached the air.
...
Thump.
As his first enemy, Kain was thrown out of the bloody puddle, finding himself at his destination.
Ahead, he saw the mystical object of the Sacrificial Plateau - a stone throne.
Now, Kain looked at the throne differently, seeing something he couldn't before.