Kaine walked at the back as usual, weapons clenched tightly as a thick mist surrounded them. Barely able to see a few feet ahead of themselves as they traversed the jungle, they decided it was best to walk by the river’s edge giving them less blind spots to be wary of.

Each of them was quiet, unusually so as they followed Jedd and Farvo who took the lead.

Silence filled the group, and it disturbed Kaine, filling him with a cold dreadful feeling…A feeling which doubled in intensity as suddenly the nearby foliage shook.

Butch acted first, turning to face the shadow as it leapt out of the bushes, pulling the worg into the mist and out of sight. All but a yelp of pain was heard, before silence took over once more.

Neither of them said a word, spooked by the occurrence as suddenly another rattling of leaves caught their attention.

Kaine turned to the bushes, stepping aside just in time to evade a blur of darkness rushing past. Too quick to make out through the mist.

He looked ahead, his party had begun gathering into a circle to watch all sides, he was the only one still left out of the formation.

Stepping forth, Kaine tried to join them…But he froze in his steps then, watching as a large shadow rose from their centre.

Humanoid and entirely made of darkness, just like the being who introduced them to their prison, yet different.

Its eyes were long and narrow, bright crimson as it glanced about. Its body shook, as if having no actual form. The creature’s shape shuddered and blurred with each movement it made. As it raised its long blade-like claws, hovering over the entire party without their notice.

Kaine watched as its previous expressionless face suddenly gained a wicked crimson smile.

“No-” He tried to warn them, he tried to step forth and attack the monster.

But suddenly he felt his entire body being restricted, he felt his throat being slowly crushed too…

Glancing down at himself, Kaine watched as Nova’s now all too long body engulfed him, flowing about him while clenching tighter with every passing second.

He watched as the serpent’s head rose to meet his gaze, her blood red eyes suddenly rushing to the deepest black.

“You could be ssso ssstrong, ssso powerful…yet you weaken yourssself, you allow thessse weaklingsss to hold you back.” The serpent said, “Allow me to free you of thisss burden~” It hissed in excitement, as Kaine struggled to even speak, trying his hardest to escape her grasp as he watched the looming shadow suddenly slash its claws down.

Blood splattered upon both him and Nova, as with a single swipe the entire scene changed, his party now laying clawed to death before him. Blooding running with the rushing waters of the river nearby.

Kaine’s eyes widened, as Nova slowly uncoiled from around his body, allowing him to fall to his knees.

His gaze then drooping to the rushing river beneath him, to then see a dark green dagger laying embedded in the ground before him, water rushing through it.

“Take it,” The serpent said, “Grasssp your dessstiny, Dal’Fae.”

Kaine reached out, enchanted by the weapon’s gleam, yet noticing he still had a weapon in each of his hands.

He dropped the chain-sickles, watching them splash into the water before continuing to reach out to the dagger.

“Ta-” The serpent spoke again, before suddenly its voice changed, and so did the scene around him.

Kaine’s sight blurred before refocusing as the dimly lit inside of a small warehouse, glancing down at himself Kaine now no longer saw the Dark Elf but instead his seventeen-year-old real self from three years ago.

Sitting in a wheelchair, barely able to move himself as his entire body lay bandaged up yet still bleeding.

Glancing around, a platoon of more men stood all around him, armed to the teeth with advanced weaponry and gadgets. Their faces hidden by masks and helmets.

“Take it.” Said a rough male voice from his left, as a thickly muscled hand appeared into his vision, holding an ornate looking handgun before Kaine. “This is your future, son. Whether you like it or not, the world is a bloody place. If you wish to survive, kill, if you wish to protect, kill.” Kaine’s father spoke to him, but the young boy could not look the man in the eye.

Instead, Kaine’s eyes were solely focused on the three tied up men before him, and the weapon held out in his father’s hand. When suddenly, the hand forced the gun into Kaine’s one working right hand, forcing his frail self to take aim at one of the men.

“Put your finger on the trigger.” The voice ordered him, and Kaine did so.

“Now, pull.” It said, but Kaine faltered.

“Why?” The voice then asked, forcing Kaine to then look to the side where two bloody corpses lay hidden underneath black plastic sheets. “That is what they did to your mother, to your sister. They did because you couldn’t pull the fucking trigger. Well here’s your chance son, your last chance. Prove you are indeed my son, prove you can hold the weight of the family name. Pull the fucking trigge-” His father said, their voice growling with anger.

But Kaine stopped listening midway, as his own anger rose with every word spoken.

Kaine pulled the trigger, the shock of shooting the gun filling his entire arm with pain, yet he ignored it. As Kaine then turned the weapon and took aim again, pulling the trigger once more before again he turned his arm and took aim upon the last of the bound men.

He looked the man in the eyes, wide and shaken as they stared back at him. Not just pleading, not just angered or afraid.

No, the man’s eyes were utterly desperate, maddened by dread as they glared straight into Kaine’s.

Relief, Kaine felt relief filling him, as he realised even killers felt fear.

As he pulled the trigger once more.

Watching as the bullet burst a hole through the man’s forehead, blood then splattering out onto Kaine’s face.

“Clean them up.” Then said the voice once more, the armed men around them rushing to pull the bodies away.

As suddenly a large frame stepped to stand before Kaine, wearing a dark grey suit splattered slightly with blood, Damion Fillips crouched down to stare his son in the eye.

The similarity in their features was uncanny, Kaine almost looked like a younger version of the man.

The mere thought though, disgusted Kaine.

“Well done, Kaine.” His father said, as the man’s one open eye met his, the other laying closed and scarred. “And welcome back to the family.” Damion said…As suddenly rage boiled out Kaine’s patience.

He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t say a word as even his neck and throat lay burning with pain.

There was only one thing Kaine could do to answer his father, only one thing that would tell the man exactly how he felt of that thought…

Suddenly, Kaine raised the gun to his father’s head, both of their eyes widening as seemingly time briefly slowed down all around them.

Kaine pulled the trigger, feeling the shudder rush through his arm followed by intense pain from his shoulder.

He stared into his father’s eye, which filled with disappointment as the man now clenched Kaine’s hand, aiming the gun away. Blood dripped from his ear, the bullet having scraped by it just barely.

“You’ll understand, one day you’ll understand.” His father told him as he pulled the gun out of Kaine’s hand, standing up and away from his now crippled child. “You’ll understand or…” Damion said as he walked to the side, suddenly kicking one of the corpses over and revealing it.

Kaine’s eyes widened as he now stared into his dead sister’s pale face, a gurgling scream of anger rushing out of him as he tried to stand up.

“You’ll understand, or this will be your future as well.”

-

-

Kaine woke with a start, choked with anger as he took a deep shaken breath. Glancing around he saw the jungle, and his in-game self, sitting on a thick tree branch where he had fallen asleep. Around him lay four more figures, the rest of the party laying asleep on different branches of nearby trees, tied up to the branch just like himself so they wouldn’t roll over and fall.

“You alright?” Roy asked from down below, standing watch with Butch and Nova while the rest slept.

Kaine glanced down at him, the moon’s light which shone through the tree tops too dim to show just how pale his own face was in that moment. “Yeah, just…a bad dream.” Kaine said, feeling his hands still trembling with both terror and shock as cold sweat covered his body, sticking his clothing to his skin.

“Ah, well you should try to sleep some more, Rey’s next for watch tonight not you.” Roy said, standing up from where he hid between two outgrowing roots and stretching his sore legs and arms.

Seeing the movement, Butch’s attentive eyes moved over Roy before going back to glancing about frantically. Nova though ignored them both as she hung off a smaller branch over Kaine, watching from up high while hiding within a bunch of vines.

“Yeah…” Kaine sighed as he laid back into the tree’s bark, closing his eyes briefly, yet as things stood he knew he was too uncomfortable to fall back asleep now. “Ah, actually I can’t.” He then said, untying himself and gathering his gear, Kaine used the nearby vines to climb down.

“You want watch?” Roy then asked as he sat back down.

“Maybe in a bit, I’ll be at the river.” Kaine said as he moved off, feeling as Nova suddenly landed over his shoulder, he then stopped. “Stay here.” He told the demon, a feeling of dread filling him the moment he felt it close.

“Very well.” Nova hissed disapprovingly.

“Don’t go too far now…” Jedd said sleepily from above, having been woken by their voices.

“I won’t.” Kaine said as Nova flew back up to her branch, “Just gonna freshen up and howl at the moon.” He joked, continuing to walk off from their temporary camp.

“Mmmhhmmm…Jelly filled donuts…” Hearing Rey speak in her sleep as he moved away.

Reaching the jungle’s edge and in tandem the river a few minutes of walking later, having set up camp not too far from it.

Kaine hid behind a tree, staying silent and unseen as he scouted out the area, seeing no movement nor sensing any through the darkness he then stepped out into the river proper.

Taking his tattered shirt off, Kaine crouched down and drenched it in water before starting to wipe the sweat off his body. Staring at the moon’s reflection which lay in the flowing river as he did, a strangely magical sight you didn’t see every day.

Dumping his now sweat-drenched shirt into the water once more, Kaine paused as he thought of the dream.

Dread and anger filling him, as he glanced at the weapons now laying by his side.

How?...Is it in my head? Is it reading our memories and setting up events according to them? Is that even fucking possible?

He pondered as he wrung his shirt from the water, his gaze then rising to the sky itself. An unknown galaxy, its stars shining through the immense darkness above.

“You know, at some point in time, I just might have wished for all this.” Kaine mused with a nostalgic grimace, his gaze then falling from the sky and at the river ahead, focusing on a couple trees. “Looks like some of you have finally caught up, sure took your damn time.” He said, as two figures then stepped out of the shadows.

“Actually, we’ve been moving around here for a while,” said a male voice as a beastman came forth. “Would’ve been ahead if this chick wasn’t still so slow.”

{The Silent} Dark Hour [Level 9]

“Hmph, and you’re still an asshole.” Followed by a female voice as a beastwoman stepped to stand next to Dark, short dark-blue hair and silver eyes with dark-blue wolf-like ears and a long fluffy tail.

{The Brute} Sinclair [Level 9]

Kaine turned to them as he put his shirt back on, looking somewhat surprised, “Thought you were running solo still, Dark.”

“Heh, she followed me, as usual.” Dark scoffed back with a pompous smirk.

“More like he couldn’t say no to my charm, as usual!” Sinclair corrected with a giggle, elbowing Dark in turn. “Long time no see, Jor.” She then said, smiling awkwardly in his direction as Kaine stared at them emptily.

“Just the two of you?” Kaine asked, yet seemingly uninterested.

“Ahh, Dhorn, Beatrice, Howard, Kendo and Sting are here too, but we left them behind with the rest.” Sinclair said with a shrug, “They’ve all got their own little groups now…” She mused, her tone seemingly both saddened and annoyed. “How about you? Off alone?”

Kaine gestured to the jungle behind him, “I’m in a party, we’re full.” He said simply.

“You heard him, they’re full.” Dark said, turning to walk away.

But Sinclair stopped him, grabbing the beastman by the tail and sending a shiver throughout Dark. “Yeap, doesn’t mean we can’t hang around you anti-social prick.” She scolded him, her expression halfway between a smile and a grimace.

Dark pulled his tail away from her, looking annoyed as he glanced between them. “Well friend? While we’re at it, you might as well just come on with us. Better off than whatever newbies you’re carrying around.” He said with a sigh, looking at Kaine.

“I’m fine as I am,” Kaine said, “It wouldn’t work out anyway.”

Dark chuckled coldly, “Yeah, we’re all bloody incompatible…without her.”

A stinging pain then filled Kaine, as each of their gazes fell cold.

“Found your way back to those I see?” Dark then mused, seeing the weapons by Kaine’s waist.

Kaine then glance over the both of them, seeing the single-edged curved sword Dark wielded by his side, a katana. And the long pole-blade Sinclair had strapped to her back, a naginata.

“You as well?” Kaine said with further surprise.

“It’s fucking with us, isn’t it?” Dark asked as he glanced at the night’s sky, chuckling uncomfortably whilst he grasped his weapon’s long grip.

“I don’t know, there’s a lot I don’t know…” Kaine admitted, fingering the two wooden handles by his side. He sighed, then glancing back at the sky. “How far back are the rest?”

“Oh, uhm. Couple days, probably going to make their way around that gathering of monsters at the waterfall.” Sinclair responded, “The mood’s…pretty bad with them.”

“I figured,” Kaine smiled coldly.

“They’re not like us, most of those poor sods won’t make it far-” Dark mused, cut off as Sinclair elbowed him again.

“Nothing like you for sure,” She grumbled, “But yeah, you sure you don’t want us around?” Sinclair then asked, returning to Kaine. “Even if for a bit, like the old days?”

“It would be nothing like the old days.” Kaine said, still staring up at the stars. “It’ll never be.”

“I guess…” Sinclair said with a disappointed smile, “Well it was a nice surprise seeing you after four y-”

Suddenly movement from the foliage behind Kaine caught each of their attention as a party of adventurers stepped out, led by Jedd the rest walked out into the river’s side.

“Is everything alright? Who’re these two Jor?” Roy asked as each of them stared at the two cloaked Weres.

“I sensed a presence,” Nova said as she peaked out of a tree’s foliage, “I alerted everyone as instructed, master.”

I’m…I’m killing that snake.

Kaine groaned silently as he glanced between the two groups.

“Ahah, old friends and players just like you all.” Sinclair said with a friendly smile, “I’m Sin, and this douchebag is Dark. We were wondering if we could hang around for a bit?” She asked, her smile looming into a wicked smirk.

As both Dark and Kaine shuddered, knowing full well that Sinclair wasn’t about to lose the easy opportunity.

The crows glanced at Jedd, and Sin’s eyes shone with understanding, “We can handle ourselves, just looking for some company while we look for this Elven city I’m guessing you’ve all heard about?” now motioning her words directly at the party leader. “I understand that your party is full, we can stay in our own, we’ve pretty much drained this place of potential experience already anyway.”

Jedd crossed her arms as she considered the request, glancing at their levels which were nothing to scoff at. “Any friends of a member of my guild are welcome to hang around.” She answered, at which point both Dark and Sin turned to look at Kaine.

“Member of your guild huh?...” Sin mused as she eyed Kaine who glanced away from them, she grinned widely at the thought. “Well we’re gonna set up camp on this side of the river, wait the night out and rest up a bit, shall we meet back here at dawn?”

“Alright, sounds good to us.” Jedd said after glancing about her party, watching then as Kaine walked off, moving back towards their own camp without speaking another word.

Dark watched him leave, eyes narrowed with curiosity.

And so did Sin, although looking less conspicuous than her partner. “Good night then,” She told the crows, smiling friendlily once more before the both of them also turned away.

“A guild…” Dark mused quietly as they walked off.

“Hm, now I really have to hang around, if anything to see what kind of people can hook in leader to join their guild.” Sin chuckled in amusement, “This is gonna fun.”