“The Director will see you now.”

The matte steel doors slid open with barely a hiss, and Heechul squared his shoulders before stepping in. Behind him, Yerin kept pace silently, her face impassive as she held on to the package she had gone out for. 

Things had escalated far more quickly than she had imagined. One moment she had been playing tag with rival squads out to intercept her and her prize, then suddenly the pressure fell off without warning as a good number of the units surrounding her were drawn away by some other activity, allowing her to slip away with barely any fuss. She hadn’t questioned her good fortune at the time, but within an hour of returning to base and reporting to Heechul, the news started trickling in about the massive casualties in that area.

If it hadn’t been obvious that there was no way she could have done that on her own, Yerin didn’t doubt that the official complaints would have flooded in from the other factions about overreach. Some casualties were expected in internal crossfire, but never on that scale. They were supposed to be discreet about these things, since it wasn’t exactly officially sanctioned. 

Still, there was already grumbling in certain sectors about how she had made it out, while most of the squads sent to intercept her came back in body bags. The few that didn’t die on the spot were in critical care now, though there was an information lockdown on their exact condition. Heechul, she knew, did not like that at all. A lack of information left them blind in their potential responses to the affair, and both of them knew that Yerin could yet be implicated simply by being out and active in that zone when the incident had gone down. 

The part of HQ they had entered was ostensibly part of the research labs, but few people actually stepped in who weren’t actively involved with the experiments one way or another. The clearance for research staff were on a separate level, and Operations, which they were part of, had little idea about what went on behind those doors. 

Not that Yerin actually wanted to go back to Research, mind you. She had spent enough time in there when she was younger, being poked and prodded at by a bunch of whitecoated scientists, and had no desire to repeat the experience. 

As someone magically active to some degree, the atmosphere within the labs made her distinctly uncomfortable, a queasy feeling roiling at the back of as if something nasty had just crawled in there and died. She was mildly glad that she didn’t have magical sight the way Yuju and Eunha did. From experience, the astral planes were usually quite badly contaminated whenever she had that sensation. And contamination was usually quite ugly to look at, if not downright hazardous. Mundanes didn’t have that problem, but magically sensitive people were definitely vulnerable to it, ironically. The powers that the Awakened possessed also opened them up to dangers that only targeted them. There was always a price for everything.

The corridors were empty, but it was late in the evening and anyone who hadn’t already gone home was obviously a workaholic putting in extra hours and hardly someone to wander the passageways. Yerin and Heechul followed their lab-coated guide in silence, careful not to let even their eyes wander as they were led to a larger room further in. The walls had eyes, so to speak. It was best to pretend not to see anything they were not cleared to see.

The scent of disinfectant hit their noses before even the stark whiteness of the walls, and Heechul blinked instinctively to acclimatize his eyes, though Yerin managed to remain stoic. Her expression didn’t so much as twitch even as row upon row of bodies were laid out in repose on long tables, most of them still in the uniform they died in, while a few had already been stripped for examination. It didn’t take much to guess where these corpses had come from, given the whispers from earlier. 

Even so, Yerin had not expected to see so many. There had to be at least a dozen or more, their faces drained of all color as they lay still and peaceful in death, as if merely in slumber. They were oddly bloodless, even the ones who had yet to be stripped for autopsy, and their veins stood out starkly against the unnatural ash grey of their skin. Something akin to frost shattered upon contact, and was brushed off the eyelashes of one corpse as silent attendants flocked around the bodies like vultures, taking samples as necessary. It was somehow grotesque, but Yerin understood why it was necessary. To her trained eye, there were no visible wounds on their bodies. If anything, it looked as if they had frozen to death.

Which, of course, made little to no sense. It was winter, yes, but these people had been dressed for the weather, and in any case it wasn’t so cold as to instantly freeze an entire squad to death within minutes. The investigation was necessary, though Yerin felt her blood run cold as she recalled similar incidents in the past few months. Isolated, yes, but pattern recognition was part of data analysis, and she refused to believe in coincidences. 

“Fascinating, isn’t it? What magic can do.” 

An urbane voice cut in from the side, drawing the gazes of everyone in the room, even the lab assistants busy at their stations. The ones lower down the totem pole immediately redirected their attention back to work, while Heechul and Yerin kept their eyes respectfully bowed in deference to the commanding figure of Director Han, who ruled the Research department with an iron fist. 

He was the person they had come to see, and his favor would go a long way in regaining access, for both Heechul and Yerin. He might not be the absolute authority in the underground operations of Tristar, but decades of leading the company’s more groundbreaking discoveries in magical research had given him influence in every area that mattered. As one of the early founders of the program, Yerin’s very existence as she was right now was literally because of him. 

Yerin didn’t know if she should thank him or curse at him for it. If not for Tristar scooping her up from the slums when she was just a child, she would likely have grown up a third rate thug, a drug addict, or worse. If, of course, she survived to grow up at all. The slums were not kind to children, though enough of them always survived to perpetuate the underclass from which new mercenaries and shadowrunners emerged to replace those lost in the conflicts of the ones in power. Inequality was baked into the system, and short of overthrowing their oppressors, those born outside had little to no chance of breaking past the chains of their circumstances.

The Director strode confidently to the middle of the room, pausing by a recently stripped corpse to eye it critically, even as an assistant quietly made space for him. He was an average-sized man, with a wiry frame and energetic aura that didn’t quite match with the greying hair atop his head. His face was unwrinkled, like that of a man decades younger, though the beard he sported gave him a distinguished look. Dark, penetrating eyes completed his intimidating presence, and a keen intelligence lurked within those depths. Something about him made Yerin nervous, and she retreated further into herself, letting her conditioning take over, the better to hide with. She might be an experienced spy, but she still felt awfully young before this man. Best to just stay low and beyond his notice for now.

“We have a rogue mage out there, clearly. Only magic can do something like this.” There was a strange glitter in his eyes as he checked some of the notes the assistants had gathered, and an odd excitement that seemed out of place given the loss of so many company assets. 

“Getting bolder, our rogue is. The strike teams never came back from Sector Thirteen, did they?” 

The secretary that had led them in earlier cleared his throat and nodded. 

“Since the loss of an extraction team two weeks ago, we have been sweeping the area for clues. Strike Teams Gamma and Zeta were working on an overlapping lead and joined forces for a raid.” He paused. “We found the bodies yesterday. Same condition as the extraction team before.”

“No one attacks Tristar agents in broad daylight without consequences.” The director murmured, gesturing at a nearby assistant to run a handheld scanner over the corpse he stood over. “Low particle activity. Interesting. What are the odds of there being more than one rogue?”

It was not a question, and everyone in the room knew it. Yerin swallowed, a terrible premonition striking her. What are the odds indeed? There were only so many powerful mages active in and around the area, and she knew all of them at least by reputation, not to mention two of the strongest ones personally. This was clearly not Eunha’s work, what with the lack of burn marks, but could Yuju have done it?

Yerin couldn’t be certain, but a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach spoke to her own anxiety regarding the issue. Two weeks ago was almost exactly around the time she had come back to Tristar. When they had hurt her seriously, for the first time. Yuju would have felt that. Oh god, what had she done to her puppy? She should never have…

A firm, calming wave of assurance surged through their Bond, and Yerin repressed her internal panic, holding on to that thread like a lifeline in a storm. It was difficult for Yuju to reach that far, but her puppy had always been with her in spirit, quite literally. They had never been apart where it mattered, though Yerin missed the solidity of Yuju’s embrace. Their connection was the only thing keeping her sane through all the attempts to break her, though Yerin feigned capitulation after the appropriate amount of struggle she thought they would have expected her to have. Acting was the first lesson a spy had to learn, and she was the best in her batch.

But the pain she felt was real. The damage she received was also real. Her fears were all real, and Yuju would have felt every moment of it. It was almost cruel to share all that, and for the first time, Yerin regretted her decision. She should never have burdened Yuju with that knowledge.

But I would have gone mad. Yuju’s voice was an almost ethereal whisper through the depths of her soul. I would endure all the pain in the world, just to feel you close to me.

Yerin breathed out slowly, careful not to let her emotions surface in hostile territory. How was Yuju even reaching this far, through shielded walls? She was given no time to consider it, however, when the conversation swung in their direction.

“I see you’ve brought your prodigal home, Heechul. A wily one you have there. Always one step ahead.” His gaze was piercing, as if seeing right through everything Yerin had hidden in the depths of her soul. She kept her back straight, staring into the middle distance as she was trained. She would not let him rattle her, not after coming this far. 

“She is useful.” Heechul agreed noncommittally with a tiny shrug. He gestures at Yerin, who brings the package forward for him, holding it up for inspection.

“I have something you might find interesting, Director Han. Something our prodigal here brought back, at great personal risk. A show of loyalty, if you may.”

The package unwrapped easily to reveal a clear case, etched with symbols that kept the contents sealed and fresh as the day it was harvested. Iridescent scales, still splattered with blood. A stub of warped horn. A severed talon. A vial of blood, secured to one side. A macabre collection, but there was no mistaking the way the Director’s eyes lit up at the sight.

“You ran with the dragonslayers, did you not? So this must be…” 

“What’s left of the dragon of Mireu.” Yerin answered coolly. Out of habit, she had harvested samples from the imugi’s corpse before evacuating with the rest. Storing it had been tricky, but Yerin was no amateur at this. They used to have to hunt any number of Awakened specimens out in the wild, and this was just part of the routine. Blood, bone and flesh. If they could bring in live specimens, all the better. But sometimes the cost was too great, and the labs would just have to deal with a corpse instead. They complained, of course, but it was Black Ops who was out there bleeding to bring in their test subjects. The scientists would just have to make do with whatever was available.

“We did send a team down to survey the area, but alas…” Director Han in a breath, stepping closer to peer at the still fresh samples, kept intact by the magical seals. “Impressive. I did not think dragon scales were penetrable by ordinary arms.” The silent we tried it was evident in his tone, and Yerin suppressed a smirk. Evidently, Bogeun kept his own secrets. Allies, not friends indeed.

“The Spartans armed us.” Yerin said simply, and the truth was all she needed in this case. The details were deliberately left out, to her advantage. They managed to keep the weapons they had been given, and Yerin had known better than to bring a vibro-blade back into Tristar custody when Heechul had sprung his trap that day. Granted, leaving it behind so dramatically was probably a bit excessive, but SinB would survive the stab, and this way she could leave key tech out of Tristar hands while also simultaneously displaying her obedience to the organization in preparation for her defection. She had counted on Tristar not knowing about the true capabilities of Spartan military tech, and from the director’s reactions, clearly her bet had been right. 

There was a deliberate calculation in the older man’s eyes, something Yerin didn’t fail to miss. The Spartans had collaborated with Tristar on multiple occasions, as she had experienced before, but trust was rare when power was at stake. Yerin didn’t know how and why those two factions had gotten involved with each other in the first place, but having them at odds with each other was better than them working together. If she were to succeed in her plans, the less stable Tristar was, the better.

She was made to operate in chaos. The messier the situation, the more openings she would have to retrieve what she needed. What Yuju needed, actually. There was no guarantee she would find anything, but what did she have to lose at this point? It was a risk, but one she was willing to take. She would hedge it all on a wild gamble, and let the dice fall where it would.

The Director was speaking with Heechul now, and she was left to one side, just another faceless goon to be ordered around. Exactly as she intended. She needed time. Needed access. Needed data, anything that could help diagnose what was wrong with Yuju. If she could have done it without getting caught, she would have, but since she was here anyway, she would devour them from the inside out. They had made her, and she would return to them their lessons a thousandfold. 

It was the least she could do. That, and revenge was a dish best served cold.

Wait for me, puppy. I’ve got you.

Sowon had been watching as the local CorpSec squads transferred the frigid corpses of the latest massacre into their vans, her heart sinking in her chest. While the victims did not appear to be civilians, the fact that there were victims at all said a great deal. 

Yuju was clearly growing less cautious with her exploits. It had been two days since they had last seen the rogue shaman, and Sowon had gotten into another argument with Eunha the night before regarding Yuju’s condition. Eunha had been insistent that Yuju was reachable, that she could be persuaded to come back peacefully, but Sowon had not been outwardly convinced. The rash of deaths by the docks lent weight to her argument that Yuju had gone feral, and it was only a matter of time before she grew less selective with her victims. 

They were not speaking to each other right now, and SinB seemed rather stressed about that. Sowon understood her struggle, and sent the girl off to keep Eunha company. The bond between the two childhood friends was strong, and Sowon understood that Eunha needed support at this time. SinB was the best choice to try and bring her around, and it also left Sowon free to plan for eventualities in the meantime. 

“Do we really have to do this?” 

Umji looked a little pale, but the hacker seemed to find calm in assembling components, since it kept her hands busy. Sowon ruffled her hair affectionately, before turning to check her own equipment with a critical eye as she answered.

“Yuju isn’t entirely herself right now. We don’t know how much time we have before things get worse.” The ex-soldier grimaced. “Tristar is already on the move. They don’t take kindly to unsanctioned violence on their territory.”

“And the dead were Tristar agents.” Umji supplied, sighing. She had done a little digging after Sowon came back with the news about the dock attacks. There had been surprisingly little coverage, but Umji had expected that. Tristar would be interested in covering up any signs of potential weakness to prevent any of their rivals from joining in on the fun. 

“We can’t let them get to Yuju first.” Sowon said decisively, sitting down in front of the virtual map Umji had prepared for them. Eunha was out, and SinB with her, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t track them. Eunha might have fried the watch that Umji had given her, but SinB still had hers on, and that was just one of the many ways Umji could keep an eye on the pair of them. 

“I tapped the zone cameras and hooked up the locator Eunha made. It’s weak, but more efficient than wandering around trying to triangulate on Yuju-unnie’s location.” Umji had a great deal of experience trying to make magic work with technology, and while most of her bigger experiments tended to fizzle into smoke, smaller efforts were usually doable with a little ingenuity. 

Technomancy was not so far away from spatial magic in a sense, and Umji had learned a great deal watching Eunha fix a spell into a physical object. Reverse engineering it had been the first step, and despite the grimness of the situation, Umji was rather proud of what she had achieved. If only she didn’t have to apply it to such purposes.

“Do you think Eunha-unnie can really talk her down though?” Umji asked a little hopefully, and Sowon fell silent, watching the flashing dot that indicated SinB’s location on the map move steadily closer to the suggested zone Umji’s tracking net had indicated. 

“If that could happen, it would be for the best.” Sowon sighed. “But if it doesn’t work, we need to be prepared.”

Umji pursed her lips, letting out a tiny breath as she collected her gear as well. The weight of what she carried was more than just physical, and the young hacker honestly hoped there could be a peaceful way out of this. Despite Yuju’s faults, the woman had managed to keep herself from attacking civilians so far. It was a small comfort, but antagonizing a megacorp when she was but one person was ill advised to begin with. Sowon had good reason to be concerned, and if extreme steps needed to be taken, they were ready to take it.

“Stay safe, and keep in touch.” Sowon reminded, embracing her young charge after helping the girl set up at her new vantage point. They would give Eunha a chance to talk to Yuju first, at least. Umji knew that Sowon never wanted to hurt anyone in the team, but if Yuju would not listen to reason, more extreme measures would have to be taken. 

Umji already had to discreetly harry Tristar’s efforts in locating the rogue that was preying on their forces, but she knew she couldn’t do it forever. Eventually, Tristar would find Yuju, and they couldn’t risk letting her fall into their hands. Goodness only knew what would be in store for Yuju, who was in fact a bonafide blood mage, and would be prime research material for any faction already invested in magical research, as Tristar was.

Better we take steps, before someone else does. Umji repeated what Sowon said earlier to herself, just to calm her own nerves. She wasn’t ready for this at all, but if all went well, the only thing she had to do was observe tonight. She hoped that was all she had to do, that Eunha would be successful, and then they could all go to ground together. 

Running away was a perfectly reasonable option when you were outnumbered and outgunned, and Umji had no qualms about doing so. The only code of honour that mattered was that they stay alive, and keep collateral damage to a minimum. What else were they to do? They weren’t here to save the world. It was difficult enough trying to stay alive and safe.

At the end of the day, Umji wanted to believe in Yuju. Wanted to trust the quiet, kind girl who always put others before herself. Even when Yuju had lost control, she still managed to avoid hurting any of them. There was still good in her, as Eunha had argued, and Umji was inclined to agree with her.

And she knew Sowon did too, but Sowon was also prepared for the worst. The leader had to be, because optimism alone didn’t solve problems. Sowon saw the big picture, knew the risks, and prepared accordingly. There were hard decisions to be made in the worst case scenario, and Sowon would do whatever it took to protect the rest of them. 

If there was a perfect choice, they wouldn’t be in this dilemma. Sometimes, necessary sacrifices had to be made. Sowon understood this, and reluctantly, Umji did as well. Eunha was simply too emotionally caught up to disentangle herself from the situation, for all that her heart was in the right place. 

Sighing again, Umji went back to work, keeping a live update on the map for both herself and Sowon. It was going to be a long night, and she only hoped that no one would be hurt by the time it was all over.

“You don’t have to follow me around.”

Eunha snapped a little nastily at SinB, and instantly regretted it right after. She had stormed out after her argument with Sowon regarding Yuju, and though it had taken her a little while, SinB had eventually come out after her, and she did appreciate her best friend taking her side. Even if said best friend had also been a snitch by calling Sowon last time and spooking Yuju off as a result. Eunha wanted to be upset with her for that, but she found that she couldn’t.

SinB meant well, Eunha knew. They always had each other’s backs ever since they were kids, and that didn’t change even after growing up and developing new attachments outside of their friendship. SinB was caught in a difficult place between her and Sowon, and Eunha understood that, even as she stuck to her own principles.

Yuju could still be reached, if the brief interactions with her other sides were any indication. Eunha couldn’t, and wouldn’t give up on her. Granted, she didn’t understand what motivated the spirit possessing Yuju, but its actions seemed to indicate a possessive interest in the shaman, almost to the point of obsession. That would have to be dealt with, once the ‘regular’ Yuju could be called upon to regain control. 

If Yuju was too tired to fight on her own, Eunha would lend her her own strength. Now that she knew of the enemy, there was at least something to target, rather than blindly scrabbling around trying to figure out why Yuju was so drained all the time. There were still a thousand questions about how the spirit had anchored itself into Yuju without Eunha noticing before, but at least now she knew it existed. Something could be done, somehow. She just had to figure it out.

If, of course, Yuju could be found in time. The massacre near the docks was the last magical footprint the girl had left, and the traces that led from there were quite deliberately erased to prevent anyone from tracking her conventionally. If not for the locator spell anchored to Yuju’s blood, Eunha wouldn’t even have any idea which way to go, but it was still a weak thing. 

“Someone’s gotta watch your back.” SinB insisted stubbornly, shoving her hands into her pockets. The gunslinger had a point, but Eunha wasn’t having any of it.

“You’re not going to shoot her, SinB. And she likely won’t let you either.” Because she’s a lot stronger than you are, and you know it. Eunha didn’t have to elaborate, but SinB knew what she meant. A showdown between Awakened mages wasn’t very kind to anyone else in the vicinity, much less when one of them was a blood mage. Short of catching Yuju off guard, there was very little SinB could do to her, and Yuju knew the feel of her presence too well to be taken unawares like that. 

Unfortunately, SinB wasn’t anything like Yerin, who could naturally mask her aura and be difficult to detect. Her gifts were more in the physical realm, enabling her to move faster than the human eye could track, take more physical punishment, and be more resilient to minor confusion hexes and the like. It wasn’t something she consciously chose, just how her innate talent had been shaped over the years due to the needs of the time. It had served her well all this time, but in a direct confrontation with a spellslinger, SinB either had to shoot first before the mage could react, or simply wear them out by not getting hit by any of their spells until they were exhausted. 

That didn’t apply in a potential confrontation with Yuju, who could literally kill on sight. Just because she hadn’t actively done it to them before didn’t mean she never would. Eunha could at least defend herself, but SinB had no such luxury. In short, she was basically a liability if Yuju did turn out to be hostile, but she was too stubborn to admit that even to herself.

“I can’t let you go alone, Eunha. Not after seeing her like that.” SinB sighed, pulling up to walk shoulder to shoulder with her best friend. “I said I’d always have your back. I meant it back then, and I mean it now.” 

The sincerity shone through in her voice, and Eunha let out a breath, knowing it was impossible to change SinB’s mind. It was rather heartwarming to know that SinB would never abandon her, even when the girl felt that she was making the wrong decision. Her gaze fell onto SinB’s wrist, where the watch Umji had given all of them still resided. She had shorted hers out in a fit of pique to make a point during her argument with Sowon, and refused to regret it.

SinB followed her gaze, and bit her lip, wavering for a second before coming to a decision. The gunslinger made to remove the watch, but Eunha, to her own surprise, stopped her.

“You don’t have to do that, SinB. I know Sowon’s watching out for us. She means well, even if I don’t agree with her about Yuju.” Eunha shook her head. 

“Better she knows where to find us when necessary.” In case things go spectacularly wrong and someone needs to collect our bodies, the snarky voice in her head added, and Eunha pushed it aside, along with her own fears. She could do this. She had to do this. Yuju needed her, and she’d be damned before giving up the girl to the spirit currently in control of her body. 

“What are you going to do when you find her anyway?” 

They resumed their walk, Eunha following where the pull was strongest. The fire mage shook her head.

“Talk to her. Figure it out on the way. The spirit wants something, and if we can come to an agreement, maybe it’ll leave Yuju alone.” It was a big maybe, but Eunha was willing to take the risk. The fire mage glanced over at SinB, who was giving her a skeptical look.

“What?”

“That seems awfully dangerous. What if it just wants to kill things? Are you going to let it do what it wants? What if what it wants is more than what we can give? What then?” 

All of SinB’s questions were valid, and Eunha knew it. Her head was throbbing, and she was working on very little sleep, but time was of the essence. The bunny’s face set in determination.

“I’ll wake Yuju by force if I have to. Between the two of us, we can tackle one spirit.” The mage reached into her pocket and dangled a familiar looking wood carving, one that SinB also had, attached like a lucky charm to her belt. The gunslinger patted at her side on instinct, and the dog figurine was still where she left it. Eunha grinned tiredly.

“I got this off Umji. I broke mine during the fight with the imugi.” Yuju had made them all protective charms that could double as communicators during that fight, and SinB had all but forgotten about them. She would have taken it off, but after seeing how it deflected a spell bolt from her once, she had left it on for good luck ever since. If memory served, Yuju could theoretically reach them all within the city through those carvings, and breaking them sent a direct alert to the shaman, who could then use it to track their location. 

“I tried tracking her using this before, but she could block the signal, so we had to switch to blood to anchor the spell.” Eunha shrugged, tucking it back into her pocket. She remembered all too clearly how shattering the figurine had affected Yuju during the fight with the imugi, and this time, she would be ready to capitalize on the opening. Yuju was still in there, and she would do whatever it took to reach her. 

“Huh.” SinB was quietly impressed. Eunha was clearly more prepared than she had given her credit for. Maybe this would turn out better than expected. One could hope.

“If…” Eunha began, taking a deep breath. “And only if… If I can’t get through to her, I don’t know if I can put her down. I don’t think I can, SinB. I can’t do it myself.” Her eyes were pained, and SinB reached out, taking her mittened hand in her own.

“I’ll do it for you, if it comes to that. You just have to distract her long enough for me to do it.” SinB promised solemnly, and Eunha returned her grip, lowering her head. 

“Thank you. I hope it doesn’t happen.” She whispered half to herself. “I don’t know what I’ll do.”

SinB looked off into the distance, where a waning crescent was dimly visible through murky clouds, lending a weak glow to the rising night. 

“Me too.”

Yuju felt as if she were in a daze, sitting on the railing of a broken stone bridge, trying in vain to see her own reflection in the solid black of the river beneath her. 

She hadn’t been asleep when she had... taken this time. No excuses, no illusions. She could not hide from what she had done, what she had consciously chosen to do, to drain the lives of a dozen others for the simple crime of being in Yerin’s way. Watched, almost coldly, as the candlelights of their inner flame had flickered and gone out, snuffed by her will. 

It was all so easy, and they had no defense against her. Didn’t even understand why they suddenly grew cold and tired, their life energy siphoned out as they fell over into the final sleep, never to wake again. She simply walked into their midst, and they dropped around her like flies, feeding her with the tiny embers of their once bright existence. 

That stolen energy warmed her even now. A wave of disgust rolled through her, and Yuju gagged as she bent over, the wan moonlight emerging briefly from its hiding spot behind heavy clouds to illuminate her pale reflection in the black glass of the languid riverwaters. If there were tears, she could not see them for lack of colour and clarity. 

A ghost looked back at her, haunted and silent. Yuju almost couldn’t recognize the gaunt wraith she saw in the dark waters, but she knew what she had become. Was becoming. The madness wasn’t so very far away, and perhaps, what frightened her the most was the calm acceptance of it all. She had taken the first step, and everything after seemed... easier somehow. There was a crystal clarity in her thoughts, with any lingering doubts walled away behind a blank indifference. 

Keep Yerin safe. Hunt Tristar. 

Hurt them, as you have been hurt.

Where did that come from? Yuju rested her head in her hands, hunched over from where she sat. That thought sparked something raw in her soul, resonating with a primal savagery that burned like a deep flame within her. Something in her surged, and she tasted blood and ashes on the tip of her tongue, like a phantom memory.

“Yuju?”

A familiar voice. Eunha. A friend. Safe. Not a threat. 

Yuju raised her head slowly, turning slightly to where Eunha had ascended up one end of the bridge, from the side linking to the city proper. She was closer to the side near the park, a way for her to feel close to nature in this city of steel and concrete. SinB was out of sight, but Yuju could still sense her lurking in the shadows behind Eunha, watching them both. 

Their gazes met, and Yuju could almost taste the relief emanating off Eunha, though she couldn’t quite understand why. I’m a monster. Eunha stepped closer, so she wouldn’t have to raise her voice to make herself heard. 

“You’re... you.”

Well, yes, she was. Yuju allowed herself a bitter smile. That was the disturbing part. She was herself, and she had chosen her path. She had killed; that responsibility was hers and hers alone. For all that she convinced herself that they deserved it, deep down, she knew that no one deserved to die that way, their lives stolen to feed her. How far down that slippery slope could she fall before it was too late?

“Yes.” Her voice sounded raspy with disuse. She turned her face away, staring back out at the river. Eunha drew closer, emboldened.

“You’re safe. Why don’t you come home?”

Home. The word sounded like a vague mockery. Home was where the heart is, and Yuju’s heart had gone out along with Yerin’s departure. She could still sense her girl, more clearly now that she was powered on the energies of stolen lives, and assured herself with the knowledge that Yerin was currently safe, if not entirely settled. She wanted to fly to the assassin’s side, but knew that it would expose Yerin before she was ready. Call me when you’re done, her soul voice reached out over the distance. I’m waiting for you. I’ll wait for you forever.

“Can’t.” Yuju hung her head, feet tapping against the cold stone of the bridge. Tristar would be looking for her now, after what she had done. She knew that much. She couldn’t bring down the wrath of a megacorp on her friends, but if her enemies chose to hunt her, they would pay the price for their impertinence. Kill, feed. She would get stronger with every death. She could make them bleed. She wanted to, so very badly. It’s getting worse, isn’t it?

“Why not? We can work things out together. You don’t have to be alone.” 

Eunha’s voice was a honeyed trap, coaxing Yuju to relax, to lay down the weight of her burdens. The shaman closed her eyes, hands gripping the rough stone around her. Did she deserve the company of those who would trust her, even as she was? She did not. 

Even now, she could clearly see the burning flame of Eunha’s soul beside her, a tightly banked fire that roared with the energy of a nuclear reactor. Strong, pulsing, and tempting. She might be in control now, having fed earlier, but would she always be in control? She couldn’t risk it. 

“Go away, Eunha. It’s not safe to be around me.”

There was a deep sadness in her voice, and it broke Eunha’s heart to hear it. Yuju stiffened as warm arms wrapped around her from behind, the smaller mage leaning into her back. 

“You’re a better person than you believe, Yuju. I trust you.”

If Yuju had any tears left, she would have wept. It was amazing how deeply a simple hug could move a person. Yuju had not known how much she craved physical contact, or the unreserved acceptance of her peers. But they don’t know it was you. Would she still hold you the same way if she did? Would you?

Yuju was shaking almost unconsciously, and Eunha tightened her embrace, trying to transmit her love and concern through the close contact. This was her Yuju, and no matter how much the girl changed, even in a different lifetime, she would recognize her and come to love her again. 

That certainty struck the fire mage like a hammer over her head, shaking even her down to the core. She wasn’t sure where it came from, but something deep within her agreed with this assessment. There was an unspoken familiarity in this, something she couldn’t quite put into words, but Eunha didn’t question it. It was enough that they were here, together in this moment. Nothing else mattered, and she wouldn’t let Yuju push her away this time. 

Yuju felt weak and heartsick. She missed Yerin terribly in this moment, but Eunha was here right now, comforting her, and it was all she could do not to cave and indulge in the warmth of her acceptance. It wasn’t fair to Eunha, but the shaman felt her resolve weakening. For all that she wanted to keep them safe away from her, Yuju didn’t actually want to be alone. She was a dog without her pack, and she was never meant to run alone like this. Even in her self imposed exile, she had sought the company of beasts, who could not judge her. 

If that made her selfish, so be it. She was tired, and Eunha was warm. Just for a little while, she promised herself. Just for now.  

Somewhere along the way Eunha coaxed her off the railing, the pair of them wrapped in an intimate embrace in the middle of the bridge, Eunha whispering comfort into Yuju’s ear as the younger buried her face into her hair, snuffling like a puppy seeking a familiar scent.

SinB watched them from afar, a complicated tangle of emotions in her heart. On one hand, she was relieved that Yuju seemed open to persuasion, but at the same time, she wasn’t sure how to feel about this whole situation. The gunslinger hoped her best friend knew what she was getting into. Because if Yuju broke her heart again, SinB was going to kill her, blood mage or no. 

Suddenly, the taller figure of Yuju snapped up straight, eyes blazing in the dark. SinB tensed, one hand reaching for her guns as she went on alert, wondering what had happened. Even from this distance, she could see the distinct, ominous glow of Yuju’s eyes. 

, I won’t be able to get to Eunha in time! SinB gritted her teeth, calculating distances and trying to figure out how best to pull Eunha out of danger. 

Eunha was speaking to Yuju, trying to calm the shaman down from the looks of it. SinB skulked closer, and caught snippets of their conversation.

“...stop them, no more. Won’t let it happen.” Yuju was repeating madly to herself, retreating from Eunha as she shook her head from side to side, the outlines of her hidden tattoos starting to glow from under her skin. Eunha reached out to her, speaking in low tones urgently, but Yuju seemed visibly distressed, slapping her hands away. 

“I can’t save anyone can’t save myself…” Yuju whispered, red creeping into her eyes as she hugged herself, shaking back and forth. “Run, run away before…”

Her eyes widened, and the shaman’s head snapped in an angle towards a faraway distance, as if locking onto something directly. SinB took that chance and moved, blurring in and pulling Eunha away. Eunha struggled against her, preventing them from going further, and was about to run back towards Yuju when something exploded into the base of the shaman’s throat, blossoming like a beautiful red flower on pale skin.

“No!”