Gyunne, the one he’d been searching for all day was now in front him just a few feet away. She looked sickly. Her skin was noticeably paler than its normal colour and her eyes were sunken.

“Yes, that’s me, I’m Gyunne. Is that you……Juruno?” said Gyunne. Her voice was cracked and raspy.

“You remember me?” said Juruno in astonishment.

“It was short time but we were friends for a while.” replied Gyunne. “Better times.” she says with a sigh.

Juruno met Gyunne during a cross clan exercise a very long time ago. He’d come across her more than a few times but he wouldn’t describe them as friends*. From what he could remember though, she was a lot more lively and given her appearance she didn’t seem fine at all. Something was wrong.

“What’s wrong, Gyunne? You don’t look ok.” said Juruno.

“I’m…. dying.” Replied Gyunne.

“Dying? Of what, what happened?” asked Juruno.

“I went into a danger zone a few months ago, it had a curse effect and I’ve been dying slowly ever since. I’ve gone everywhere, nobody could help me. So I came here, to live the rest of my days peacefully. I haven’t told anyone. I- I just couldn’t, it’ll break their hearts.” Gyunne explained.

She sounded weaker with each passing second. Juruno moved closer to Gyunne just in case she needed support.

“I can barely see now.” said Gyunne weakly. She began wheezing violently and coughed up bright red blood onto the floor.

“Lucky isn’t it? To have someone here in these last moments. I wrote a will.” Said Gyunne, strenuously raising her hand to point at an envelope on the bed. “I know I could just use a gauntlet but I wanted it in my handwriting.”

Juruno’s face was a devoid of expression as he watched the dying Gyunne, offering no words of comfort either.

Gyunne coughs up even more blood and she clutches her chest tightly.

“I shouldn’t have left the cl-“ Gyunne says interrupted mid-way by a cough. “I’m… sorry.” she mutters and falls off the chair, too weak to hold herself up. Juruno quickly caught her before she hit the ground. He then gently dropped her on floor and crouched next to her body.

Gyunne’s breathing was getting even worse. Her eyes were closed now and her chest heaved up and down with difficulty.

“Jur…no…” she murmured before going silent. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of very soft breathing. She looked peaceful.

Right next to her was Juruno, watching her condition with a blank expression. He stared at her for a good minute before finally speaking, “You might be good at masking your presence but my senses are sharp enough to tell.” But Gyunne doesn’t respond at all and remains as is.

“Drop the act, Gyunne.” said Juruno in a more serious tone.

Gyunne’s face remained still spite of Juruno’s claims but she could feel his intense look on her and slowly, her facade began breaking down. The corners of her mouth wrinkled and she burst into laughter.

Seeing that she’d given up the act, Juruno stood up and walked away from where she lay. Gyunne continued laughing for a good while, rolling on the floor, guffawing loudly.

“You know, you’d be a lot more fun if you played along.” said Gyunne wiping tears from her eyes. She’d stopped laughing uncontrollably and mellowed to light chuckles.

“Maybe another time, I’m here for a serious issue.” Said Juruno.

“Fun is a serious issue.”

“What are you doing out here?” Juruno asked finally.

“Just seeing places. Living my life, having fun.” Replied Gyunne.

“Your idea of living your life is pranking people.”

“It’s a great life.” replied Gyunne, sounding pleased with herself.

Gyunne was a jokster by nature. Juruno hadn’t thought something was wrong due to her a or the fact that she’d claimed she was dying but because of her attitude. She was the kind of person who wouldn’t stop fooling around up till her very last breath.

“I’m guessing you’re the reason for all the strange happenings in this town. The so called ‘witch’.” said Juruno.

“Let me just get it out that I didn’t start this. I did a little light show, some not so mischievous things , people got curious and somehow thought there was a witch here. I just ran with it.” replied Gyunne.

“You’re interfering with non voyager lives.” warned Juruno.

“I didn’t harm anyone. Just scared em little. So what are you here for, Juruno?” asked Gyunne, sitting upright now.

“An offer for a position.” Replied Juruno.

“I’m listening.”

.

.

.

“You want me to join your team.” echoed Gyunne. She’d gotten off the floor and now sat in the chair next to the bed, legs stretched out and her right arm hanging over the back rest. Her gaze was directed at the floor as she processed everything Juruno had just told her.

“Sure, I’ll take your offer.” said Gyunne, raising her head to give her answer.

“Just like that?” asked Juruno, sitting across from Gyunne on the bed.

“Uhuh, sounds like fun. There might never be an opportunity to do something like this again.” replied Gyunne.

Juruno eyed her warily. She’d accepted his offer all too easily and he couldn’t help but think that there was a catch to it.

“You can trust me.” said Gyunne to which Juruno raises an eyebrow. She kept the most innocent face you’d ever see in response.

No point in second guessing his choices, he’d known what Gyunne was like before deciding to recruit her. He’d have to go through with it. Juruno reaches into his pocket and takes out the contract maker

“Sign on this contract maker by letting your drive energy flow into it.” said Juruno handing Gyunne the red orb.

She receives it with her left hand then holds it up to her face between her thumb and index finger.

“A direct order from Quilofer, this isn’t something to take lightly.” said Juruno.

Gyunne nods her slowly to the warnings her eyes still on the orb. She encloses the contract maker in her palm and begins injecting energy into it. A minute later she hands the now blue orb back to Juruno.

He takes it and looks at it for a moment before pocketing the orb. That was it, he’d gotten his third member now.

“I’ll reach out to you in a few days.” said Juruno already getting up to leave.

“Happy to work with you, Juruno, but I’ll* see you in a few months.” Replied Gyunne.

“What do you mean by-“

“Bye!” she said and bolted out of the hotel, breaking through the suite’s walls before Juruno could complete his question.

Juruno stood unmoving, thinking on what had just happened.

He’d wasted his time finding Gyunne and succeeded in getting her on board only for her to leave, saying she’d return in a few months. He’d gotten a team member but one that wasn’t currently available. He should’ve known that Gyunne would do something unexpected but Juruno wouldn’t be finding a replacement, he didn’t have the time and there weren’t many options currently. They’d have to make do till whenever Gyunne returned or he could find another.

One more to go.

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.

For several months now Centros’ stygian division had been a lot more busy than usual. This naturally meant a lot more work for Wei Thorell, who was second in line rank wise.

Attacks on several special locations put Centros on high alert and Stygian division members were constantly being deployed. Back to back missions and constant investigations were a norm for Wei in these times.

In all their probing, they were yet to find any leads on who exactly the enemy was or apprehend any of them for interrogation, always a step too late scene. The enemy was good at escaping.

Currently, Wei was leading a team of Stygian members in chasing down a group of suspects. They’d been in hot pursuit of these figures for a while and had pursued them all the way to a house in the middle of a forest.

Their targets had rushed into the house causing the stygian members to halt their pursuit. They refrained from going in after them and surrounded the building instead as the enemy would likely have laid a trap for them.

“Spread out and flank the building, maintain a distance of twenty meters” Wei instructed his men. There were five of them besides himself now circling the house.

“On my signal attack the building simultaneously.” Said Wei.

Wei gives the signal and they all blast the house with mal energy at the same time, completely obliterating it till no bit of it remained.

“Cease.” said Wei and they all stop.

“There’s no one here.” said one of the men. There were no bodies were the house once was and no one had escaped from it either.

“Fall back!” screamed Wei and they all jumped back several tens of meters, widening their circle. If they could find anyone and no escaped the area then the enemy’s concealment abilities was beyond their senses.

He gave the order to fall back in case the enemy was still in the area. He and his men stayed vigilant, pushing their senses to the maximum, wary of potential enemies.

They maintain their positions for several minutes but there was nothing, none of them could detect hidden enemies neither were they attacked. It was as if the enemy had completely vanished.

Did they escape? That was the obvious conclusion but it was scary to imagine that the enemy had slipped right by them and none of them were able to tell. And they didn’t bother attacking too despite having the advantage. Did the enemy really slip past them?

Wei breaks form and heads to where the house once was and his men follow suit.

“Search the area.” Wei commanded and each person took a spot to start from.

They don’t find anything of note and report back to him.

“Have you contacted the other team, what’s their status?” Wei asked one his men.

“We…..haven’t been able to reach them, sir.” He replied.

“You can’t reach them? What’s the issue, are our communications not working?” asked Wei.

“Our communications are fine, it’s not from this end. No one else can reach them either.”

“Contact the gold clad in that area.” said Wei before walking away.

Not much later, the subordinate reported back to Wei who was now standing next to a tree, twirling one his bangs.

“They say the team went in and non of them returned ever since.” He said. “They’re gone.”

“Gone.....” echoed Wei. “Crow isn’t going to be happy to hear we lost men.”