Naomi watched the crimson flame scour into the raven, burning it slowly, reducing its feathers to sparkling embers. It didn’t burn like normal fire. It was calm and graceful yet abundant and full of spiritual energy.

She wasn’t sure how it happened.

The flame had caught on to her as well but it didn’t burn her.

In fact, it felt rather rejuvenating.

What exactly is this? She wondered, poking the bird with her sword.

The bird’s leg twitched.

Her eyes sharpened.

A geyser of fire sprang out of its mouth and it shuddered a few times but then no more.

The translucent flame started to subside on its own and the colorful fumes fizzled away, leaving behind a mound of unruly feathers.

Naomi stepped on its throat and slammed her sword through the creature’s skull twice to finish it off.

She ran it through third time for good measure and the blade sank deep enough to where she was satisfied.

Stepping back, she glanced around and saw that everything was still catching fire.

I should have brought my serrated blade.

She thought, wondering how she’d get this massive bird’s head off.

It was at that moment she heard the approaching footsteps of Sift Drazko, Igaza Reims, Ryx Elsius, Blackout and…

“Uzai!!” She shouted. “What are you doing here??!”

“Young lady, you better not talk to your old man like that!” He snapped back. “You’re in big trouble!”

“Shut up!!” The girl retorted. “Why don’t you just stay out of my business?!”

“You’d better watch it! Don’t make me give ya a spankin’!”

“Go ahead and try!” The girl challenged.

Uzai frowned, placing his hands on his hips like an angry school teacher.

“Naomi, get over here right now!”

He pointed to a spot on the ground in front of him as if doing that would make her obey. She just glared at him.

Sift and the others shifted uncomfortably. Of all the crazy things that happened today, they certainly didn’t anticipate this.

Blackout still seemed visibly distressed and Sift wasn’t sure why. The old man was clearly just this girl’s worried grandpa. He was probably harmless.

The four sort of drifted off into the background to talk amongst themselves, while the girl named Naomi and the man called Uzai went back and forth with each other.

“So what the hell is going on?” Igaza muttered.

“Typical family drama.”

“I gotta be honest,” Ryx said, glancing up for two seconds. “She’s kind of hot.”

“Ryx, do you want me to smack you?” Sift asked rhetorically.

“I’m just saying—“

“Do you want to get smacked?” Sift repeated.

“No.”

“Then shut up.”

Blackout chuckled slightly at the remarks.

“Alright, so here’s the deal…” Sift continued, voice lower than a whisper. “Igaza takes the old man out and me, Ryx and Blackout will take the girl down. She’s possibly a tougher opponent given what we just saw. Grandpa probably lost his marbles by now. He won’t see what’s coming. Be natural about it.”

With those instructions, the huddle broke and Igaza twirled, drawing a numinous gilded pistol from his cloak and aimed it at the back of the old man’s head.

A chill ran up his spine as he realized that the old man and the girl had both disappeared.

The gang was perpetually bewildered but of course Naomi already knew what was coming when Uzai came on the scene.

His talent with teleportation was a cause for grief because he always seemed to use it when it inconvenienced everyone else.

People speculated he was able to cross the threshold using some special ring he wore and when asked about it, he would consider the concept altogether ridiculous even though the proof was in the porridge.

One fully known truth was that Uzai was a habitual prevaricating fool and it was one of the reasons Naomi hated him so.

“Shut up!! Just shut up!!” She shouted.

The two were engaged in a heated argument along the pathway on the island.

“I spent all morning tracking that stupid bird!! Take me back now!!

“Nope!” Uzai refused, picking his nose. “I already gave you this morning's instructions and you chose not to listen!”

“No you didn’t!!!” Naomi hissed.

“Yes, I did. I told you to pop them scallops and clean your room. I checked! Besides, you don’t need to go all the way out there to hunt birds. We got plenty of them here on the island!”

“Well, thanks to you, I lost one bird worth thousands of dollars to those imbeciles!! Congratulations, idiot!!”

Naomi clapped in his face to further mock him, then kicked him in the shin and stormed off in fury.

“OUCH!!” He yelped, bending over to massage his leg. His spine buckled in protest to his sudden movements and sent him croaking and hobbling down the trail like a cripple.

Meanwhile, Hanzo was on the beachfront when he heard them bickering in the distance.

A few moments later he saw Naomi power walking the trail with her fists balled, looking a little dirtier than usual.

Where the heck were those morons?

He wondered.

Then it occurred to him that he didn’t care so long as it had nothing to do with him.

Practicing his water weaving skills was much more valuable.

He’d been at it all morning until his muscles wore out.

He hadn’t imagined summoning water would take so much out of him but the process seemed about as rewarding as ordinary exercise.

The latter minutes of his practice was him hurling and splashing against the waves in the chance he might be able to reverse the current and hurl it into the air or something like that.

He thought it would be nice to make a raging tidal wave and throw it on the island.

Until then, he would have to keep practicing.

What bugged him now was this ‘assignment’ Odyssey mentioned earlier. He had no idea what the giant wanted him to do and whether it was lawful or not.

Oh well… As long as it’s worth something.

He grumbled to himself, arms crossed over his knees as he sat in the sand next to his sword.

It seemed the longer he had it, the more he became preoccupied with its amazing structure.

Few swords he ever owned prior were as badass as this. There were a lot of great blades out there too but this one was definitely unique.

The weight of it was well balanced despite being a larger sword and it had a tremendous spiritual essence that he could only comprehend on a basic level.

It had to be a soul weapon. What kind, he couldn’t determine. At least not yet.

Until then, it was definitely a slayer weapon.

Hanzo’s musings were interrupted by an unusual lump forming in the water. He watched it for some time.

He assumed it was some sort of strange sea creature but he didn’t feel like checking to see what it was so he continued to sit.

The lump grew larger by the minute.

Then it grew enough to reveal a pair of glowing eyes that belonged to no one other than Skeeter.

The water phantom slowly surfaced until half of his body was exposed.

Hanzo did not move. He simply stared at the bizarre anomaly.

Skeeter flexed his shoulders, leaving Hanzo mildly bemused by his authentic musculature.

After a long stressful minute, he started to reach for his sword at a slow and careful pace.

His muscle fibers burned at just the slightest movement.

Skeeter stood still as a statue.

Go ahead, you freak of nature. Hanzo glared.

Without warning, the phantom slammed into him at unforgiving speeds and sent him slithering through the woods.

He crashed straight into a heavy thicket, mauled by gnarled branches and plastered in grainy sand that made its way down his pants.

Fury consumed his spiritual essence.

Skeeter was buffeted backward by steely winds before he could punish the boy and next thing he knew, he was sliced clean in half by a gust of emerald. Then came another and another and another until he was completely vaporized.

Fortunately, his assault would exhaust.

The second he began to waver, Skeeter appeared behind him and walloped him in the back of the head.

Hanzo hurtled back into the open and fell flat on his face. He tried to stand but Skeeter grabbed both of his ankles and throttled him into the sand over and over until his fingers slipped and his victim flew from his grasp.

Skeeter spun around too late.

Hanzo careened over the treetops and disappeared.

“Whoops.” Skeeter blinked.

Naomi stepped out of the shower swathed in white towels, chewing on the tip of a mishwak and deliberating on some thoughts.

She went to her bedroom down the hall and spent the next few minutes tidying herself and doing her hair back into a taut braid.

The eruptions outside seemed to grow more distinct.

Then, they began to cease.

She zipped her vest up and fastened her leather harness around her waist and equipped it with a few weapons and other instruments spread on the desk in front of her.

The talisman caught her eyes.

It wasn’t blue anymore. It was red.

She picked it up and held it at eye level.

What on earth?

Upon closer examination, she saw faint trails swirling around inside of the crystalline exterior and immediately knew what had happened.

The talisman consumed the red spirit cloud.

She flipped the thing on her thumb like a coin and considered a few alternative ideas.

She could sell it. She really didn’t know what it was or why she even felt some kind of affinity to it.

It was probably better to get rid of it.

Yet, she felt the need to ask Uzai but it would only be worth it if he gave some useful insight, instead of his usual baloneying around.

She stuck the apparatus in a small purse on her belt and went to the front room and snatched the old newspaper off the sofa to read it again.

Reports say witnesses have seen a mysterious cloud of energy appear over the city’s popular vista overnight. Locals say there were flashes in the sky that were indicative of some kind of aerial conflict but no one could accurately identify who or what was involved.

Consequently, a peculiar supercell cloud appeared in the sky leaving alchemists baffled. Furthermore, it’s been evidenced that prolonged exposure to this strange anomaly may cause extreme hallucinations, spiritual atrophy, transcendent effects and even death. Experts conclude that it is highly radioactive and should not be engaged with until further notice. In the meantime, Mayor Kipzer Grishman has declared the vista closed to public access until “these fools figure out what’s going on.”

Naomi drifted away from the passage and passed over the segment about Hanzo Blackstar.

She figured there was a high probability she’d be talked about next and wasn’t very thrilled about it.

Those four guards were quite likely to spill the beans to whoever hired them. She could’ve killed them had Uzai not interfered.

She flung the paper aside and crossed her fingers, stretching her arms over her head.

The background noise started up again.

There was a subconscious feathering in the back of her mind but she was tempted to ignore it. Then she heard a massive thud hit the roof.

Whatever it was tumbled down and fell off.

She blasted the door open holding a rifle and aimed it at Hanzo who barely recovered from being tossed around by Skeeter.

The kid was sopping wet as usual, hair a tangled mess and pants full of splits and tears despite the material they were made of.

He turned his head in time to catch the gunfire with his sword and it knocked him back, making it near impossible to stay on his feet. It was a miracle he didn’t get shot at all.

Naomi emptied the clip and hurled the rifle at him.

He blocked the trajectory and she sprang at him with her sword.

Skeeter materialized as the melee progressed into a wild blade banging contest producing enough sparks to imitate a spark gun.

Uzai followed behind him munching on beef jerky.

“Wow, look at em’ go!” He cried. It was like watching a match at the arenas.

He observed the battle with interest in assessing their skills.

They both were quite gifted in the art of fury. That was certain.

Hanzo’s strength and power was nothing to laugh at, although he seemed to hold back at times.

Naomi was overwhelming. Her unpredictable swordplay and agility kept Hanzo on the defensive, forcing him to parry and counter in ways he never knew he could.

Years of special training gave her an edge on the boy who was clearly more accustomed to fighting more brutish opponents.

The old man started taking polaroids of the fight to store in his portfolio of defining moments when he noticed something strange. There was an unfamiliar breeze of spirit energy emanating from the girl.

A reddish aura floated off her body in a flame like fashion, increasing at the rate of her speed.

Uzai now recognized what he saw.

Hanzo was bewildered by her sudden buff and found himself blocking scores of thrusts and lacerations. He couldn’t stop all of them.

Naomi tagged his legs, arms and chest with concentrated fury, becoming somewhat ignited by absurd levels of adrenaline.

The sound of clashing metal reached a rapid crescendo, and Naomi subsequently broke through his defense and slashed his chest open twice. The blade whipped around in a crescent motion, carved another wound across his face.

She jumped forward, struck his head with a massive football kick, spun and slammed another foot into his chest.

He went bouldering into a tree where he fell into despondency, covered in blood, arms splayed to the side with his head down.

Naomi snatched his tangled mane with a tight fist and plunged her sword into his chest.

There was a sickening crack followed by a thud as it cut through bone and sank into the tree behind him.

The audience of two looked on, not in shock but rather uncanny indifference.

“Did ya’ kill him?” Uzai asked.

Naomi looked at the old man and back at her victim.

The sword struck somewhere near his heart.

“Yes.” She replied, breathing a bit heavily. “Now get him off of my island!!”

Uzai and Skeeter approached the bloody crime scene. The old man put his camera away, pulled out a pen and pad and began scribbling away.

Naomi stepped away from the miserable heap that was Hanzo. She looked down at herself to see that the crimson flame began to subside.

The energy she felt coursing through her veins was unreal.

She couldn’t even recall when or how she took Hanzo out.

I must have blacked out when I used this weird power.

“He’ll live.” Uzai said, checking his pulse.

“What??” Naomi snapped. He turned to her with a smile.

“Hanny boy will be okay. I just need ya’ to help nurse him back to good health. After all, you’re a pretty good medic.”

“I have to nurse him back to health??” She cried.

“Of course!” Uzai chirped. “He’s your responsibility after all.”

“My responsibility?! Are you stupid?? Tell Skeeter to fix him! He’s the one that threw this piece of trash on my house!”

Uzai shook his head. “Skeeter can’t heal things. I thought ya’ knew that already.”

“Well, tell him to figure it out because I’m not doing it!”

“If ya’ do it I’ll pay you a fair price.”

“Liar.” Naomi said.

Uzai pulled out an embossed gold coin from his sack and flashed it in front of her. She tried to snatch it out of his fingers but he was quicker than she thought.

“I’ll give you five pieces to heal him and I’ll pay ya’ more to keep him alive.”

“Are you crazy?!” She shouted. “You want me to be his bodyguard??”

“I wish I could get paid to be someone’s bodyguard.” Skeeter mused.

“Shut up, Skeeter!” She said.

“By the way…” Uzai continued with a subject change. “What was that reddish aura all about? It looked pretty fancy.”

A flash of emerald illuminated their faces. They turned to the source and found Hanzo’s sword pumping with spirit pressure.

His eyes opened, all green. The earth trembled and the silt scattered away from him as he began to rise.

Skeeter slammed him back down with an enlarged fist, extinguishing his self resurrection.

Uzai watched the gushing water cascade into a large pool surrounding a drenched and comatose Hanzo.

His sword’s gemstone was still flickering but no longer seemed to be a threat.

“Ahem!” Uzai cleared his throat. “So you were saying..?”