Sophia clutched Seraphix against her chest, her fingers digging slightly into his fur as she descended into the unfamiliar environment. The air that hit her was a thick, stagnant stench of rot and unwashed bodies that made her nose twitch. Here, the buildings leaned precariously, their wooden frames blackened by neglect, while a couple of drunken men slumped against a damp stone wall, their eyes glazed and unseeing.
Although it stood in stark contrast to her usual surroundings, Sophia knew this place all too well: the Slum of Zlatogorye.
She pulled her hood lower, ensuring her face was entirely hidden beneath the heavy fabric of her winter clothes and the mask she wore. Beside her, Cal walked with a rigid, protective gait. He stayed close, close enough that their cloaked shoulders occasionally brushed, yet there was a palpable wall of tension between them.
Ahead of them, Shira led the way, her vibrant presence clashing sharply with the decay of the slums. Her dark brown hair caught what little light filtered through the narrow alleys, and her sun-kissed skin seemed to glow against the grime of the surrounding buildings. She moved with a fluid, self-assured grace, a slight smile playing on her lips as if the squalor around them was merely a backdrop for her own amusement. She maintained an obvious distance, though it wasn't by her choice; Cal was purposefully lagging behind, keeping a wide berth between them.
As she walked, Sophia's mind drifted back to the cafe, recalling how she had been awakened by Shira's sudden intrusion at their table. While Shira had been welcoming, her energy was 'pushy' as she began to talk about beast taming.
To Sophia, however, this felt like a rare opportunity. She had finally found someone willing to discuss such an 'infamous' topic with her. But then, Shira had leaned in closer, her voice dropping as she suggested a visit to her home, promising to show Sophia much more 'practical' knowledge regarding the art.
Out of nowhere, Cal, who had been a silent, brooding presence, interjected. His voice had turned sharp, fueled by a sudden 'hatred' as he lashed out at Shira with vulgar insults Sophia hadn't known he was capable of uttering.
Sophia had been stunned. She had never seen Cal so openly hostile. Yet, driven by her own desperation to learn and for other matters, she had pressed on, trying to bridge the gap.
But Cal hadn't backed down either, his opposition remaining absolute. In a final, desperate move, Sophia had turned to Seraphix. She whispered to him, convincing him of the necessity, before having Seraphix exert his influence over Cal. With Seraphix showing a flicker of interest, Cal had finally acquiesced, though his face had remained a visible reluctance.
Now, as they navigated the narrow, muddy alleys toward Shira's residence, Sophia stole a glance at Cal. He didn't look back. His jaw was set tight, his focus entirely fixed on the path ahead as if he were marching into a battle he had already lost.
"Cal…" Sophia tried to call out softly.
Cal didn't offer an answer. He didn't even tilt his head to acknowledge she had spoken.
'Is he… does he hate me?' The thought clung to her like the damp cold of the slums, making her stomach knot with unease.
Slowly, a cascade of recent memories resurfaced, playing out like a reel of her own failures. She thought of how she had practically 'blackmailed' him into helping with the summoning ritual; how she'd ignored his warnings about the risks of the disguise amulet; and even today, how she'd used Seraphix's influence to 'force' him into this visit.
'Have I been too selfish?'
The realization made her chest tighten. She had been so consumed by her own goals that she hadn't paid any attention to how Cal actually felt.
Still looking at his profile, Sophia's shoulders slumped. "Cal, I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice trembling with genuine regret.
***
Shira walked with an open confidence that bordered on exhilaration, her sandals clicking sharply against the uneven cobblestones of the Slum of Zlatogorye. She tucked a stray lock of dark brown hair behind her ear, her deep brown eyes dancing with amusement even amidst the surrounding gloom. She had managed to invite Sophia to her home, finally gaining an opportunity to learn more about the 'absurdities' surrounding the girl's nine-stroke beast.
It was unfortunate that Cal was included, but Shira let it go with a casual shrug of her shoulders. The potential gain was well worth the intrusion.
Earlier, Shira had encountered Sophia by accident at the administrative office while handling her own passport renewal. Her own beast, usually a tether of calm, had begun making unnatural, agitated movements. Curious, Shira had sought the cause, her gaze tracing the disturbance to a familiar black cat nestled inside a backpack carried by a random commoner girl. She had followed at a discreet distance, confirming her suspicions before finally piecing the circumstances together.
Shira glanced slightly behind her, her eyes tracking Sophia and Cal. Both were walking with their disguises active.
'To think they are walking around with such disguise amulets.'
Despite possessing the 'gift' to discern such illusions, Shira found she couldn't truly pierce the disguise Sophia and Cal were wearing. She had only realized the girl was Sophia by recognizing the nine-stroke beast; as for Cal, she had only confirmed her identity through that vitriolic outburst in the cafe. For Shira, it was a 'near-perfect' disguise. In her memory, there was only one person who possessed the 'connection' capable of crafting such advanced amulets.
'Naphael, what are you planning to do with both of them...'
Shira's eyes then drifted to the black cat resting in Sophia's arms. She watched the way its tail flicked with indifference.
'It seems that he didn't care about me at all, huh.'
Back in the cafe, Shira had tried to speak to the beast, only to be met with a cold, utter silence. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, the creature seemed to hold 'favor' toward Cal, allowing her to casually converse with it. The most absurd part of the exchange, however, had been the language Cal spoke.
'Does the beast teach her that language?'
Although Shira did not know the tongue, she could sense the 'unusual' weight behind it. The moment Cal had uttered those foreign syllables, the surrounding environment—specifically the 'real realm'—had begun to stir. It was as if the language itself generated a primal fear in the very fabric of the realm.
'First the Grand Knight, then the Grand Magus, now, even the Nine-stroke beast. It seems like you are a magnet for powerful beings. I guess that's to be expected for Grigori's child.'
Shira then shifted her gaze to Cal, who was walking like a protective shadow beside Sophia. She caught the sharp, icy look directed at her.
'Look at that glare; it seems like she is ready to kill me at any moment.' Shira chuckled inwardly, her cheekbones rounding with her smirk. 'I guess she still holds a grudge from back then.'
Shira continued leading the way, her pace brisk and light. After a few minutes of navigating the filth, they reached a rundown house near the edge of the Slum. The structure was a skeletal remains of a home, its wooden frame warped and grayed with age, the roof a patchwork of rotting shingles and mismatched scrap.
Approaching the dilapidated door, Shira reached out. She didn't grab the handle; instead, she used her fingertips to tap the wood in a specific, rhythmic pattern. Suddenly, a dimly lit glow bled from her touch, spreading outward in a web of light. A root-like symbol emerged across the door's surface, pulsing with a faint heartbeat.
With a flourish of her hand, Shira pushed the door open. As the wood swung back, it revealed a world that defied the laws of the slum outside. Instead of a cramped room, they were met with a vista of lush trees and vibrant greenery. A shimmering lake sat at the heart of the expanse, reflecting a massive stone mountain where a waterfall cascaded down in a silver thread. The air was alive with movement; rabbit-like creatures hopped through the grass, deer grazed peacefully by the water, and dozens of unique species roamed the sanctuary undisturbed.
Shira stepped inside and turned back to her two visitors, her face lit with an excited, triumphant smile. She spread her arms wide in a grand gesture of welcome.
"Welcome to my home."
***
Standing beside Sophia, Cal narrowed his eyes, his focus sharpening as he inspected the dimly lit pattern pulsing across the ruined door. He wasn't merely looking; he was peering using the Eyes of Decipher, one of the bloodline abilities he got during his 'awakening'. His vision shifted, stripping away the pulsing pattern to 'simplify' its complex, 'manatonics' mechanism. In an instant, the lines of the spell began to unravel, revealing the 'how' of its construction.
'It's a spell with a 'real realm' attribute... a Gate. A remarkably complex one at that.'
Cal knew the realms of the world better than most. Much like the unconscious realm, multiple realms existed, 'stacked' upon one another to forge what the masses perceived as 'reality'. Each realm governs a specific domain of reality; a spell tied to the 'real realm' could distort space and matter. This 'Gate' was no different; it's a distortion of distance, capable of shortening hundreds of kilometers into a single step.
As Sophia began to instinctively follow Shira toward the threshold, Cal's hand shot out, his fingers locking firmly around her wrist to pull her back.
"Cal?" Sophia startled, her voice small.
"I'll go first," Cal stated, his tone taut with a tense edge. He didn't look at her; his gaze remained fixed on Shira like a predator tracking a threat.
"O-okay," Sophia murmured, her shoulders hunching nervously.
Cal stepped forward, his stride heavy. As he passed through the frame, he purposely shouldered into Shira. Shira didn't snap; she only let out a low, mocking chuckle that grated against his nerves.
Once inside, Cal's boots met soft grass instead of rotting floorboards. He immediately pivoted, his eyes darting across the horizon. The interior was a 'stark contrast' to the decay they had left behind. Glancing back, he noted the transition: the door now belonged to a simple, sturdy wooden house that looked well-maintained and 'comfy', a far cry from the skeletal ruin visible from the other side.
As he scanned the surrounding animals, Cal focused his Eyes of Discernment. He wasn't looking at their fur or horns; he was inspecting their 'souls'.
'They're all beasts.'
To any other observer, they might look like regular wildlife, but Cal could see the distinct attribute in a beast's soul, which was different from that of a common animal. His gaze then flickered back to the black cat cradled in Sophia's arms.
'Even now, his soul appears as a regular cat. I guess that's just how good he is at concealing himself.'
Satisfied that the immediate area wasn't an ambush, Cal gave a sharp jerk of his head, gesturing for Sophia to enter. She stepped through the shimmering threshold with hesitant steps, but the moment her foot touched the soil, the atmosphere shifted violently.
The bustling life of the sanctuary vanished. The deer stopped grazing mid-chew, the birds went still on their branches, and the small, hopping creatures froze in place. A heavy, suffocating silence descended, leaving only the distant, rhythmic roar of the waterfall to fill the void.
Cal looked around, his jaw tightening.
'A hierarchy of beasts.'
He knew the instinctual laws of their kind; every beast recognized the 'stroke' of another through a primal, inexplicable sense.
'So they can recognize Seraphix as a beast even though my Eyes of Discernment cannot.'
Shira, the last to enter, pulled the door shut behind her. She reached out, her fingers dancing in a specific pattern against the wood until the glowing lines retracted and vanished into a single point. With the spell reset, she opened the door again, showing a different interior, a room furnished with simple, wooden pieces.
"I'll be back. He'll guide you to the garden," Shira said casually, disappearing further into the house.
Cal spun around at a sudden shift in the air, his hand dropping toward his hidden weapon. A bear-like creature, standing double his size, had manifested behind him as if woven from the shadows.
'I couldn't keep up...'
The realization was crashing him. Although he had sensed the approach a fraction of a second before, his body hadn't been fast enough to react. It was a cold reminder of the 'level' Shira operated on.
Cal looked at his trembling hand and clenched it into a tight, white-knuckled fist.
'One day...'
Cal had a long-term 'goal', a task he intended to finish before he died. One part of that goal was clear: 'Shira... I'll make sure you die a horrible death.'