Naomi sprinted through the dense forest, feeling the connection had suddenly been lost between her soul and her shadow. Her eyes clenched shut as she braced her upper body and fell into the dirt and grass.
'W-what happened?' she prolonged the question within her mind for several seconds, gripping the grass on the forest's floor in her palm. She slowly stood, placing one hand onto a tree as a wolf-like creature made from shadows appeared beside her.
She blinked slowly, observing the surrounding area of the dense forest. Naomi didn't see anything besides the grass, the trees, and the faint glimmers of moonlight which illuminated through small holes in the leaves above her.
She grunted in pain, collapsed onto the ground, and leaned against the tree. Shadow tendrils erupted from the darkness around her, forming a fortified barrier around herself, the wolf, and a few nearby trees.
'At least... it doesn't take aura for tendrils during the night.' She raised her left hand to her mouth, coughed, and looked down. Blood stained her palm. She stared at it for a few seconds before wiping her hand gently across her lips, removing blood.
...
As morning crept across the beasts' territory, rays of light beamed through the dense forest canopy, slowly disintegrating the barrier of shadow tendrils. Naomi opened her eyes—the pain in her chest was gone.
She glanced downward, her gaze settling on the head of the wolf-like creature resting on her lap. With a gentle touch, she ran her fingers through its shadowy fur before rising to her feet. The creature looked up, then instinctively sank back into the shadows.
Turning her attention to the fading barrier, she snapped her fingers, unwilling to waste aura on the tendrils. If they made further contact with the sun, she would begin losing aura through them.
Dark pink aura flared around her body as she took off sprinting. She ran north, heading toward the spot the coachman had promised to be at by morning.
After thirty minutes of running, she arrived. It was an open stretch of land just outside the beasts' territory, resting at the foot of Nomination Mountain. Her eyes lingered on the towering peak, which rose far beyond the clouds. Not long after, the sound of hooves echoed in the distance. She looked up and saw three horses approaching.
In the center rode the coachman. He wore a black trench coat and a small black fedora, with matching gloves and trousers.
One horse followed on each side, trailing behind the lead. As the three horses came to a stop, the man looked down at Naomi.
"Did you find the chalice?" he asked, his tone stern.
A tendril draped in darkness extended from the canopy above. The chalice dropped into her hands, and the tendril melted back into the shadows of the leaves. The coachman glanced down at the item in her grasp and gave a nod of approval.
"Were there any complications?" he asked, stepping down from his horse. He walked another mount over to her and placed its reins into her hand.
Naomi didn't answer right away, hesitant to mention who she had encountered the night before. After a moment, she sighed.
"There was some kind of archer firing arrows at the building where the chalice was... it wasn't like anything I've heard of."
The man's brow lifted slightly, a flicker of interest crossing his features. "Wasn't like anything? How so?"
"The arrows... they could change direction mid-flight. Flames spread from them, and the force behind each shot—every one that came near me—nearly knocked me off my feet. Whoever it was, they were strong and using the cover of night as an advantage."
He closed his eyes in thought, one hand rising to scratch his chin before he gave a small shake of his head.
"I've never heard of archers like that in this area. If they were there, it's safe to assume they were after the chalice. Were you followed?"
"I'm not sure. I couldn't sense their aura at all."
The coachman's gaze drifted to the tree line. He narrowed his eyes and scanned the canopy, but sensed nothing. "Let's go."
Naomi nodded, climbed into the saddle, and both of them whipped the reins. The horses charged ahead, with the third one keeping pace beside her.
...
After three hours of riding horseback, Naomi and the coachman finally arrived at the entrance of Grave's Valley. The coachman's aura erupted around him the moment he laid eyes on the scorched land. The gates were melted, parts of the earth had fused into itself, and not a single headstone was in sight.
"What the hell happened in only a day?" the coachman muttered, unnerved yet intrigued by the phenomenon before him.
Naomi dismounted her horse and opened her eyes—she had kept them shut for the past few minutes. Upon seeing the scene, her eyes widened. "What... happened?"
"Hell if I know," the coachman replied. "But there's only one way to find out. Let's go."
They stepped into the graveyard nestled within the valley. Beasts watched them from the cliffs above, their eyes locked on the two figures below. Yet they did not move. They only stared, stunned, confused, as if what they had seen defied even their primal understanding of power. It was a sight too strange, even for creatures of the Sequence.
Several minutes passed as they explored the ruins. Their boots dragged through melted mud that clung like wet sand. The graveyard lay wide open and utterly empty. They crossed a low hill, and Naomi froze. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked down at the ground.
Even the coachman's face stiffened with disbelief. He had worked with Red Dawn for over a decade. He had seen horror. He had seen chaos. But never did he think it would happen to a member of the Demons of Red.
Naomi rushed forward and dropped to her knees. There, in the ashen soil, lay a detached arm. Her eyes followed it until she found the rest of the body, Rei.
Without hesitation, she pressed her index and middle fingers against his neck, checking for a pulse.
The coachman approached slowly and crouched beside Rei. He took off the glove from his right hand, revealing skin marked with scars and old burns. He placed his palm gently on Rei's chest and closed his eyes for a long moment.
An entire minute passed, and he didn't feel any heartbeat at all. "His skin is cold, and I feel no heartbeat ei-" Just as he was about to finish his sentence and let go, his eyes widened upon feeling a very weak and faint pulse of a heartbeat.
"There's a heartbeat. He needs medical!"
Wasting no time, the coachman took off his trench coat, revealing a loose black tunic, and laid the coat over Rei's body to cover him. He lifted Rei into his arms and rushed back to the horses as quickly as he could, unsure how much time he had left if he didn't reach medical help soon.
He grabbed a rope from the saddle of the third horse and wrapped it around Rei's body to ensure he wouldn't fall during the ride.
Naomi ran back, holding something in her hands, and handed it to the coachman. His brow lifted slightly as he blew on it, revealing the title: Book of the Dead. He couldn't believe Rei had sacrificed his life to obtain it.
He slipped the book into a small compartment on the saddle of his horse and zipped it closed. He mounted his horse, and Naomi jumped back onto the saddle of hers. Together, they rushed off, heading toward the Order of Restraint.
"Once we arrive at the Order, I'll ask for someone who can heal. There's a chance he can cheat death, and we can't afford to miss it."
'If a Demons of Red member dies under my watch... I don't want to think of the shit I'll be put through.'
He whipped the reins again, increasing the horse's speed as Naomi followed behind. The third horse ran alongside her, keeping pace with the coachman.