Lola sat on the edge of an old building, her feet hanging over the street far below. She wasn't looking at the city lights. She was just staring at the small, dark orb in her hand.

It had been dark for over an hour.

Her own hand started to shake, just a little. She closed her eyes, but that just made things worse. All she could see was her sister's face, Leila, with that cocky, annoying grin she always wore.

'Stupid,' she thought, her throat feeling tight. 'You were so damn stupid.'

She remembered their last fight like it was happening right now.

---

"Don't worry so much, sis," Leila had said, checking the strap on her sword. "It's just one weak princess. Me and Rura can handle her."

Lola had stood by the door of their small base, her arms crossed tight. "I'm telling you, that boy with her is trouble. He's not normal."

Leila had just laughed, a sound that always got under Lola's skin. "You're just mad he made you run. I'll get him for you too," she'd said with a wink.

"Just… be careful," Lola had told her, her voice tight.

But Leila had already been walking down the hall, her back to her. "Always am," she'd called back.

---

'Liar,' Lola thought now, staring at the dead screen in her hand.

The orb was a tracker. It was supposed to glow with a light that matched the mana inside Leila's chest. It was a promise they had made when they were just kids, a way to always know the other was still alive.

But now, the orb was dark.

That could only mean one thing. Leila was dead.

Maybe it was a monster. This new world was full of them. But she knew where Leila was going. She was going for the princess, and the princess was with him. With that boy, Nox.

The thought made her stomach feel sick. Could he have done it?

He was strong, she knew that. She remembered how fast he was, how hard he could hit. He had some weird, dark power she didn't understand. But strong enough to kill Leila? And Rura? It didn't make any sense.

And yet… she couldn't shake the feeling. She remembered the look in his eyes right before she ran. Those dead eyes. He had wanted to kill her. She had felt it.

She pushed herself to her feet. Tears had made clean tracks down her dirty face, but her eyes were clear now. They were cold.

This wasn't about the job from Gorok anymore. This wasn't about the money.

This was about her sister.

She had to know what happened. And if Nox was the one who had hurt Leila...

Lola looked out over the city.

'I'm going to end you.'

---

Nox moved, the Blade a silver line. The spider, a huge thing with too many eyes and hairy legs, lunged at him. He ducked under a leg that could have crushed him and swung his sword, cutting deep into its side.

Black stuff that wasn't blood sprayed out. The spider let out a high-pitched sound that hurt his ears.

Serian watched from a safe distance, her back against a tree. She kept her hand on her own sword, ready to move, but she knew getting involved would just get in his way.

'He's getting better,' she thought, her eyes following his every move. He wasn't just a brawler anymore, not like when he fought the wolves with his bare hands. He was using his sword now, his feet moving in patterns that were messy but smart. He was learning, fast.

'But where did this thing come from?'

Nox dodged another attack, his boots sliding on the dead leaves. He was using the forest now, weaving between the trees, making the spider's size a weakness. He was a different person from the boy she had met. He was focused and deadly. The cold look in his eyes wasn't just anger anymore, it was… confidence.

She was so focused on him, on the deadly dance between him and the monster, that she didn't notice the shadow that fell over her. She didn't hear the soft skittering sound from the thick branches of the tree she was leaning against.

A single drop of something wet and sticky landed on her cheek.

Her blood ran cold.

Her head snapped up.

Another spider, just as big as the one Nox was fighting, was hanging right above her, its fangs, as long as her hand, dripping with venom. It was already coming down.

She didn't have time to think, her body just reacted. She threw herself sideways, a desperate, rolling dive that tore at the splint on her ankle.

She landed hard, her injured leg taking the brunt of the impact. A loud crack echoed in her own ears, followed by a pain so bad it made her vision go white for a second. She cried out, a sound of pure agony.

The spider landed where she had been a moment ago, its legs hitting the ground with a heavy impact.

Nox heard her scream.

He spun around, his own fight forgotten for a second. He saw her on the ground, clutching her leg. He saw the second spider turning towards her.

"Shit," he snarled. He didn't have time to run over there.

He looked at the spider in front of him, then back at Serian's.

'I can't go an save her with this thing around.' He tried to end it fast but the spider was proving to be more annoying than he liked. He kept taking glances at Serian, seeing her about to die really made his heart ache.

She was on the ground, her face white with pain. She tried to push herself back, away from the spider that was now looming over her. Her hands scrabbled at the dead leaves, her broken ankle making it impossible to stand.

'Useless,' she thought, the word a bitter taste in her mouth. 'I'm just a weight. A burden.'

He was fighting for his life, and all she could do was scream and wait to be rescued. Or die. She saw him fighting his own spider, saw the desperation on his face. He was trying to get to her, but he couldn't.

'He's going to die because of me,' she thought, despair washing over her.

The spider raised a thick leg, ready to bring it down on her.

Then she remembered. The feeling of incredible power that had filled her, given to her by that voice in her head. Auraelia.

'That power,' she thought, her mind racing. 'Why haven't I tried to use it? Did I think it was a one-time thing? Was I scared of it?'

She was. The memory of what she had done to those two girls, the coldness she had felt, it scared her. It wasn't a power of her kind and that terrified her.

But being scared was a luxury she didn't have right now. She couldn't just lie here.

She closed her eyes, ignoring the spider, ignoring the pain in her leg. She focused all of her will, all of her desperation, on a single, silent plea.

'Auraelia… if you can hear me… help me.'

For a second, there was nothing but the sound of the spider's heavy leg cutting through the air.

Then, a brilliant, golden light exploded from her body.