Their footsteps were as light as the wind but Leedo resents it so much that he could easily recognize them.

He turned to face Xion who's beside him. He raised his palm and slowly closed it into a fist. 'Stay silent,' it signifies. The younger understood his sign and nodded.

While hiding behind an old establishment in a long abandoned village, he eyed the man entering a house. Leedo did not move for a few more minutes, waiting for any other person to come. When there was none, he looked at the old bakery beside the house where the man is.

 Seoho, who's hiding at that bakery with Yves behind him, nodded. Leedo faced Xion again and showed another hand sign, telling the younger to stay. After that, he stealthily ran towards the house. 

Seoho and Yves followed him. Seoho then went to the back of the house while he and Yves went to an open window. He peeked through the window and with the help of the moonlight, he just saw the thrashed living room. Broken furniture are scattered. Shattered pieces of glass are on the floor. The only sign of life in the place was the faint smell of smoke which he assumed to be coming from the pieces of burnt wood at the corner.

Leedo went in first. Yves followed him. As soon as she landed, some inky darkness crept towards the two of them. Leedo already has his knives made out of quartz in his hands. Yves took out hers as the inky darkness began transforming into the shapes of three men wearing clothes similar to normal humans. 

"Hello there, visitors. We've been waiting for you," the one in the middle said in a raspy voice.

Nightlings have almost the same form as humans, making them hard to recognize. The only difference is that they have slightly darker veins. There is also the heavy and uncomfortable feeling of black magic surrounding them. 

"We’ve been waiting for you as well," Leedo replied as he threw his knife straight to the one on the left.

Caught by surprise, the Nightling took a direct hit at his chest. He turned into some black smoke that immediately disappeared. Unfortunately, quartz crystals don’t kill Nightlings. Quartz just paralyze their magic for a while, sending them back to their source. 

The other Nightlings growled and turned back into shadows. In just a matter of seconds, a Nightling reappeared behind Leedo. He anticipated it that much that he was able to duck and avoid its attack. He grab its leg and pulled it down.

The Nightling fell down and hit its back on the floor. Without wasting any time, Leedo grappled it down with his legs on either side of its stomach. He placed his knife near its chest while holding its shoulder down with his other hand. He snickered when it tried to turn back into a shadow and failed.

"I'm sorry my friend." He gestured to Seoho who just entered through the backdoor, walking slowly towards them. "Someone just finished disabling your magic."

A shrieking sound in the background was suddenly cut off. Soon, Yves joined them. She squatted down and stared at the struggling Nightling. "Where is the Royal Scribe?"

The Nightling ignored her and just continued wriggling out of Leedo's hold. Leedo made a slight cut on its neck, making it shriek in pain. Smoke came out of the cut as it slowly heal. "Answer her."

The Nightling growled but did not say anything.

Getting impatient, Leedo struck it near its chest and let his knife stay. It screamed in pain as it continuously writhe. "It will stay here, then."

Nightlings have black magic running in their veins. That magic make them almost invincible. Their body easily heal any type of wound. However, though quartz crystal can’t kill them, the paralysis of their magic brings unbearable pain. Wounds made by that crystal heal slower than usual wounds and driving that crystal into their heart send them back to their magic source.

"There’s no one else! It’s just us four guards!" The Nightling immediately shouted as it desperately clawed its way out of Leedo's hold. 

Leedo pushed the knife deeper, making the Nightling thrash wilder. "Don't fool us."

"The Royal Scribe escaped!" It exclaimed. 

Leedo, Seoho and Yves looked at each other. Leedo took out his knife and drove it straight into the Nightling's heart. He stood up and picked up his other knife before placing both in their sheaths.

"She's still on the run. That’s a good sign," Seoho started. "We have no idea where she is so we'll just wait for Xion to dream about her again."

Yves went to the remnants of some makeshift fireplace in the corner. "It's impressive that she managed to escape the dark magician's hidden kingdom but it would be hard for her to hide out here. She's been locked up in that kingdom for so long."

Out of the corner of his eye, Leedo saw some shadow move. He stared at the window as he unsheathed his knife. His throat dried when he realized something. "Didn't the Nightling say they were four?" 

He ran to the door before waiting for an answer. As soon as he slammed the door open, he heard a shrieking sound. 

"Xion!" He shouted while running towards where he left him, ready to fight.

Xion was still standing there, holding a bow. A quartz arrow was on the ground meters away from him. Leedo grabbed both of the younger's arms and look for anything unusual. "Are you hurt?"

Xion rolled his eyes and removed the older's hands. "I'm fine, big brother. I saw a Nightling trying to escape so I shot it with an arrow. And I hit it straight to the heart.”

Seoho and Yves who followed him immediately slowed down when they saw that nothing happened. 

Yves laughed. "Xion's expression looks like he's so fed up of your protectiveness, Leedo."

"I am," Xion whined.

Leedo ignored them and continued checking the younger until he was satisfied. So many people already told him that he was being overprotective but he couldn't help it. Especially after he almost lost him due to his own carelessness. 

Xion... he's someone he treasures so much. Even though that young guy was from Crescent Kingdom, Leedo cared for him deeply.

When the dark magician robbed people of magic and released darkness into the world, a lot of communities and kingdom disappeared but some survived. Some of the royalties and some of the people who retained their magic formed a fortress for themselves. They created this so-called Crescent Kingdom that has the best defense against the darkness. On the other hand, those who lost their magic and those who were not of noble status were left out of that fortress.

Leedo's father and mother used to be in a hidden community that survived the rule of black magic. For years, that community remained safe despite not belonging to the Crescent Kingdom. When his mother was pregnant of him, Nightlings found out about their community and attacked them. Hence, he grew up running to survive.

One night, a band of Nightlings found them. Leedo survived but his parents did not. Fortunately, not long after that, a group of people found him and took him to Highlands, a mountaintop kingdom that was established by a few royals and magicians. 

Apparently, there were magicians who had a bigger vision. Instead of joining the Crescent Kingdom to keep themselves safe, they chose to save as many people as they could. Highlands then became a fortress open to those left out by the nobles. 

Since then, Leedo decided to be part of the team that goes out and rescue people. He trained and studied with the passion to save people and not just rescue them.

In one rescue mission, he met Xion. Leedo was looking out for the sleeping team when he saw him. The boy, seemingly a bit younger than him, was walking alone in the forest. Leedo carefully went down the tree he was perched up on and approached the boy.

The boy was surprised but he did not look afraid. Leedo could remember how the young Xion stared at him wide-eyed for a few seconds before smiling at him.

"Finally, not a shadow mister," the young Xion said.

Leedo leaned down a bit to match the boy's height. "What's your name?"

"Xion," the boy immediately replied.

He got a better look of the boy named Xion and saw wounds, bruises and scratches all over him. There were even dried blood on his arms. He immediately remembered himself a few years back. He was probably the same age as this boy.

"How long are you alone out here?" 

The boy shrugged. "I don't know."

"Where did you come from?" 

Xion turned around and pointed somewhere. "There."

Leedo looked at where he was pointing at and saw a small view of the familiar shiny glass-like border of the Crescent Kingdom. That made Leedo a bit hesitant to bring Xion to Highlands. Even if he wanted to, the boy might be hated there. Though people in Highlands are really kind, they are sensitive about anything related to the Crescent Kingdom. That narrowed down his choice into bringing the boy back to his kingdom. 

"That's not where I belong though," Xion suddenly said.

"Why?"

Xion crossed his dirty arms over his chest and looked up to him with seriousness that doesn’t seem to fit his young age. "Before my father died, he told me that I will save the world. I cannot do that within the kingdom's small walls."

Even though Leedo found it absurd for a young child to go out of the safest place in the world for that vague vision, everything about the child tugged at his heart. He left his fortress, walked in the darkness alone, and believed that his little hands could save the world. 

Since then, Leedo became an older brother to Xion. He taught him. He played with him. And he swore his life to protect him. 

"Big brother."

Leedo woke up from his sleep. Their team have been traveling around the land for a week, looking for the royal scribe who communicated to Xion through dreams. And after last night's encounter, sleep overtook his body.

He blinked away the sleep and saw the sun shining beautifully on the snow. The Nightlings could actually walk under the sun but that's less likely. Those creatures are uncomfortable with light. 

"What is it, Xion?" He looked around and saw Yves sleeping while leaning on the tree beside him, using her black coat as a blanket. Her short hair was covering her face. On his other side, Xion was standing and staring at somewhere. Seoho was nowhere to be found. That guy must be on some tree, looking out for any danger.

"I feel something weird," Xion stated.

Leedo immediately stood up. "What's wrong? Are you hurting somewhere?"

The younger shook his head. "I sense magic but... it's weird."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

Xion grabbed his arm and tugged him towards the woods. While following the younger, he carefully observed the surroundings. He heard some footsteps but it wasn't as light as Nightlings. The sounds were loud and heavy.

They took a few more steps within the forest before they saw a girl walking. She was wearing a pink dress that's already ruined and full of dirt. In her hands was a small rucksack. 

As they drew nearer, he saw how she looks. Her long hair was full of leaves and soil. Her feet were dirty and bare. She has wounds and scratches in almost every visible part of her body. 

"Her magic," Xion gasped and faced him. "Her magic feels the same as mine."

Xion can wield magic. Unlike the common magicians, his magic was more powerful. He could not only wield elements or move objects. He could command magic to move according to his will. But his magic required sacrifice. His magic required blood.

"She has blood magic," Xion whispered.

The two of them slowly and carefully approached the girl.

"Excuse me..." Leedo called gently.

He cringed when he saw how his deep voice scared the girl, making her back up the tree. She glanced at his hand and her eyes looked more frightened than before. Leedo realized that he was holding his knife so he quickly placed it at its sheath.

"No... Uh," he looked at Xion, asking for help.

The girl was fearfully glancing between him and Xion. She was clutching her bag tightly and her legs were shaking. He saw people looking scared but it's his first time seeing that expression in broad daylight. Usually, people are scared of Nightlings, not of humans.

"I'm human," Xion stepped forward a bit and showed his arms. "See? Not a Nightling."

"A... A Nightling?" She asked in her tiny and shaky voice.

Xion gently smiled at her. "Yes. We're not the shadow people. So, you are safe."

"I-I'm safe...?" 

The two of them nodded slowly. The girl suspiciously looked at them but she lowered her guard down a little bit. After a while, she fell to the ground and cried so hard, as if she had been keeping those tears for a long time.