"Give my regards to Ray, would you?"
Waking up to the smell of burnt wood, the voice in Gray's head settled , like it had weight, trying to make him remember the conversation he had with the corrupted being.
'Well I guess it wasn't a dream', Gray thought as he looked at his surroundings. Looking up, Gray could see a wooding ceiling with cracked beams. And then something suddenly shined faintly at the corner of his eyes, a fire place with burning wood in it.
"A cabin, what am I doing here ?" ,his voice came out strained as he tried to get up. The moment his shoulders lifted from the bed , something inside his chest tightened.
A sharp pain cut through his chest as he tried to move.
"–gh...".
His body stopped halfway as he tried to get up again, feeling the pain once more. Then suddenly he noticed his chest bandaged and seeping through the bandages was blood which made an outline of a huge claw mark.
Not just one but three claw marks.
Staring at the claw a faint smile appeared on his lips as he got up from the bed slowly trying not to cause more pain.
Standing on his feet, Gray moved quietly through the room examining everything in the cabin.
Then suddenly he heard a sound outside.
Soft.
Careful footsteps on dirt.Gray turned his head slightly.
The door to the cabin was half open.
Light spilled through the gap. And then–he saw a silhouette. A girl stood there, frozen mid step with a shocked expression.
Marie.
She held a small bowl of water in both hands.
For a second, neither of them moved an inch.
Just stared.
Like neither was fully convinced the other was real.
Then Marie's eyes sharpened as she came into realization. "...Gray?", Marie said...her brother's name coming out carefully from her lips. Then something in his chest tightened.
Not the pain he received from the wound , something older, that made him feel sorry.
"Marie I–"
He didn't get the rest out.
Warmth filled his body,then he soon realized.
Dropping the bowl of water as it shattered on the ground, Marie had already moved. Her arms wrapped tightly around him, pulling him into a sudden, full embrace that cut through whatever tension he was trying to hold together.
Gray froze completely.
His words stopped.
His body did not move.
For a moment, he just stood there, caught between speech and silence, as if his mind had been interrupted mid-function.
"…Marie," he said quietly, but it wasn't a complaint.
It was just awareness.
Her face pressed into his chest, shaking slightly.
At first, she said nothing.
Only her breathing filled the silence.
Fast.
Unsteady.
Then—
Her grip tightened.
"…Don't…"
Her voice cracked.
"…don't do that again…"
Gray didn't move.
" …Marie—"
She shook her head against him, cutting him off without words.
And then it came.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
Just broken.
"Please…"
A pause.
Her fingers tightened on his clothes.
"…don't leave me alone again…"
Then Gray's expression changed.
Not slowly,instantly.
The tension in his body dropped—not relaxation, but realization. Like something in him had just been struck harder than any fight.
"…I'm."
A quiet sound escaped him.
His hand lifted, hesitated for a moment, then slowly rested on her back.
"…I'm sorry."
His voice came out lower than before, sincere than before.
"I didn't mean to scare you like that."
His grip tightened slightly—not forceful, just steady.
"I won't do it again", he said as his grip tightened even more.
"You promise?", Marie said with her teary eyes staring at her brother's.
Chuckling, Gray patted her on the head with a smile on his face.
"Yeah I promise"
Then from behind a familiar voice broke the moment they were having.
"Wow, this is really awkward"
At the entrance of the cabin Zil stood there, bare-chested, an axe loosely resting in on his shoulder . A huge scar stretched across his left hand—the same wound he got from slicing through the spikes earlier.
He looked between them with a half-smirk.
"I leave you guys alone for like five minutes and suddenly it's a whole tragic romance scene?"
He tilted his head.
"…Should I start crying too or is that optional?"
Gray slowly turned his head toward him.
His expression went flat.
"…Zil."
Zil raised both hands immediately.
"Relax, relax—I'm supporting the emotional development! Very healthy bonding! 10/10, would recommend!"
Marie, still holding Gray, didn't move.
But her ears turned slightly red.
Gray sighed.
"…You're unbelievable."
Zil grinned wider.
"Yeah, but at least I didn't get hugged into existential regret."
Annoyed Gray stared at him threateningly.
"Zilders!"
Sensing danger Zilders backed away quickly.
"Okay okay! I'll keep my mouth shut. But just so you know, it's good to see that you're alright", Zil said smiling faintly.
Staring at Zil Gray stepped forward and lightly bumped his fist against Zil's.
Zil immediately returned it with a firm fist bump, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Still alive," Zil said. "That's improvement."
Gray exhaled through his nose.
" …Barely."
Zil shrugged.
"Barely still counts."
Gray's expression softened slightly, then shifted.
"…What happened while I was out?"
Zil opened his mouth—
But the air in the room subtly changed, revealing a cold unatural aura.
Like someone had entered a space and didn't need permission to exist in it.
A hooded figure was already leaning casually against the doorway frame,with a crimson mist surrounding him.
His arms crossed with a relaxed posture as sharp red eyes gleamed through the hood.
He looked like someone who had walked through wars and decided none of them were worth being loud about.
But unlike before, his expression wasn't distant.
It was… attentive.
Like he was checking if they were actually okay.
"…You three are loud when you think you're quiet," the hooded figure said calmly.
Zil pointed at him without looking surprised.
"There he is. The professional mood killer".
Blood didn't even look at him.
Just exhaled lightly through his nose—almost a smirk.
Staring at the figure Gray stepped forward slightly.
"Who are you?"
Blood didn't move from the doorway.
Didn't step forward.
He just answered.
"…Blood."
A pause.
Then, a little more clearly:
"I'm the one who kept you from bleeding out in that canyon."
Gray's gaze sharpened slightly.
" …Didn't see you there."
"You wouldn't have",Blood replied calmly. "
"You were too busy dying."
Zil let out a short laugh.
"Accurate" .
Marie shifted slightly but stayed close to Gray.
Blood's eyes flicked briefly to her, then back to Gray.
Still calm.
Still measured.
"…You pushed your body past its limit," he continued.
Blood shrugged lightly.
"And I pulled you out before it got worse."
Like it wasn't a big deal.
Like it was just something that needed to be done.
Zil tilted his head.
"Man says that like he didn't drag your unconscious body across half the canyon while we were panicking."
Blood didn't look at him.
" You were slowing me down."
Zil grinned.
"Emotionally, yes."
Gray looked between them briefly,then back at Blood.
"…Why?"
Blood met his gaze.
For a moment, there was something more there.
Not distance.
Not coldness.
Just quiet honesty.
Then he exhaled lightly.
"…Because I made a deal."
The room stilled slightly.
Marie's gaze shifted to Blood and nodded once.
Blood shifted his body slightly from their veiw.
"I saved you," he said simply. In return—"
His eyes moved between the three of them.
"…I train you."
Silence.
Zil blinked.
" …Wait, that's the deal?"
Blood glanced at him.
" You don't like it, you can leave."
Zil immediately raised his hands.
"No, no—this is great. I'm just surprised it's not something worse."
Blood almost smirked.
Almost.
Gray's gaze didn't leave him.
"…Train us how?"
Blood stepped fully into the room now.
His presence steady.
Controlled.
"Enough so you don't end up like that again," he said.
Then added, more directly:
" You're strong. All three of you."
A brief pause.
" …But you don't know how to use it."
That landed.
Zil didn't joke this time.
Marie stayed quiet.
Gray exhaled slowly.
"…And if we refuse?"
Blood tilted his head slightly.
" You won't young blood,"he said calmly with his voice certain.
Then, after a second:
"Ten minutes," he added. "After that, we start."
Zil looked at Gray.
Then at Marie.
Then back at Blood.
"…Well," he muttered, "this just turned into training sessions."
Blood turned and walked out without another word.
And this time—
no one laughed immediately.
Because they all understood one thing now.This wasn't a suggestion.
It was the beginning of something much harder .