Avice sat in her cell twiddling her thumbs. She swayed her head back and forth, silently singing to herself a tired melody. She was lost in her own world, as she had usually done whenever life was getting too rough. The voices of her fellow inmates were getting rowdier and livelier, but she ignored them.

Quietly moving, she breathed in and out. Her body softened up, and she started to relax.

Then, like electricity, the image of a young man grinning at her flashed in her head.

She stopped moving.

She looked down at her hands and threw them under her legs. 

“I can’t just keep sitting here, I’m going to go insane,” she grumbled to herself. 

This is so stupid.

Her goal of reaching home didn’t even matter at this point. Just getting out of this damn cell was her top priority. But she knew that if something did happen, and she and all the other prisoners were released, she’d practically be dead in seconds.

I made the right call, though. Just a little assistance will help.

Avice figured that as soon as she spoke with Dall quietly, the bandits would know what they would be talking about.

Their entire plan would be exposed. The man who first brought it up did state that it didn’t matter if the supposed ‘plan’ leaked, but she couldn't help but worry. The way the other prisoners looked at her clued her in.

And despite the leak, they remained confident.

Where that confidence came from, she had no clue. But she needed to remain diligent until the next morning, where she’d at least have some closure that she’d be okay.

Her worries were somewhat diminished, though, as four guards stood at the entrance of the Jail’s stairs. Three of them stood at attention, their eyes gazing over the prisoners like hawks. She recognized one of them, but she couldn’t put her finger on who it was.

The other guard leaned back against the wall, his spear resting at his side. He was a little older than Avice, and he had short brown hair. 

He tapped his boot against the wall. “But for real,” he said, putting a hand on his hip. “The hell’s happening today?” 

“Hold onto your weapon, Jaime,” the woman next to him said. She seemed to be about the same age as Avice - eighteen. She had shoulder-length red hair. 

“Yeah, for what?” Jaime replied. “I swear to god, he may be the General’s son and all, but Dall shouldn’t be allowed to order me around like that.”

“He’s worried that something will happen tonight, so at least stand up straight, will you?” the woman continued. "And don't address him so rudely. It's disrespectful."

“What, got the hots for him, Sylvie? Don’t like me dissing him?”

She glared at him. “I do not. He’s higher ranked, so he can order us however he pleases,” she replied coldly.

“I don’t care. I want a break after all that crazy shit,” he groaned. “Have you ever seen that many monsters before? Have you ever heard of a group of bandits attacking during the day? With a bunch of magical weapons, too?”

Sylvie paused. “Can’t say I have.”

“How about you John. Have you?” Jaime asked, with John’s response being the shake of a head. “’Freaking… This shit’s never happened before. An occasional crook here and there but stuff like that?” Jaime said. “Hell, did you hear from the other guys about how they saw flashes of white in the forest earlier? Another Despairity? Give me a damn break.”

He sighed.

He lifted his head and his eyes met with Avice's. After a few seconds, he narrowed his eyes.

“Y’know,” he said, nudging his head over to her. “Maybe it’s her fault.”

The words rang in her ears. 

Her fault. Your fault. You useless piece of trash, you’ll never live at this rate.

She grit her teeth. 

“Now that’s far-fetched. What makes you say that?” Sylvie asked.

“It ain’t that far. Think about it. As soon as Mister Garnell gets hit this morning by this chick that’s come out of nowhere, the bandits came, and then the monsters,” he said. “Not to mention the very fact that a Despairity appeared outside of a Dark Spot and here in our town the night before.” Jaime took his spear and started walking towards Avice’s cell. She backed away, and he thrust his weapon forward. It reached all the way through and he pierced her clothes. “It’s all your fault, isn’t it?”

She grabbed it and tried pulling it out, but his hold was strong.

“If what you’re saying is true, then it could also be Sir Dall’s fault as well,” Sylvie said. 

“Oh shut it,” Jaime said as he took his weapon back. “Just lemme vent.”

One of the soldiers laughed at him, followed by the others.

They’re all laughing…

His words stuck with her.

Is… is it my fault?

Everything he said seemed like the truth. She hadn’t seen any of it herself, but the constant rumbling from above clued her in on what was happening. Right from when Dall first spoke with her up until now, they never stopped. 

And, if the Despairity was the same thing as the White Wolf, then she knew that that was her fault. But everything else? It couldn’t all be a coincidence, could it? Especially with how that inmate spoke to her. He knew he was getting out that night. The night Avice herself was thrown in Jail.

Her heart raced, and her body began to shiver.

Is it? Am I responsible for these people being in danger?

But at the same time, what had she done to result in these things happening? The White Wolf may have come to the town, but Avice was just defending herself. How could she be responsible for bandits or monsters assaulting the town?

However, the fact that she was here meant that she had something to do with it. She was about to lose her mind thinking over this when there was a knock on the stairs.

“Hey there,” Dall said as he walked down the stairs into the chamber. The four soldiers saluted, bumping the tops and bottoms of their fists together. 

“Lord Great-” Before John could finish his sentence, Dall put a palm over his mouth. 

He smiled gently, but the pressure swirling around him was telling them to shut up. “Oh, Saul, surprised to see you here,” Dall said. Then Avice remembered. That’s that Garnell guy’s kid. “Guess Garnell wanted every soldier working, huh?” he said. Saul smiled wryly, his eyes on the ground.

“Dad was reluctant, though.”

“Glad to see that you’re safe,” Dall said. He walked out into the middle of the room and turned to his fellow soldiers. “I’m glad you’re all safe.” They saluted him once more. He waved his hand and said, “You guys know I’m not a fan of the stiff stuff.” 

“I will give respect to where it is due, Sir,” Sylvie said.

“I appreciate it, but it’s okay,” Dall replied. “Anyways, about what you guys were talking about.” The four of them raised their heads. “If we’re speaking about same day occurrences, then surely Oliver Eldred could be a suspect, no?”

The soldiers looked awkwardly between them. “T-The thing is, Sir, we’d rather not speak ill about the Eldreds,” John said.

Dall nodded. “Understood,” he said. “Let's not limit our possibilities, got it?”

“Yes sir,” the four saluted.

He smiled and turned his attention to Avice. He briskly walked up to her cell and said, “Hello.” 

She pursed her lips. “Well, this is the third time today you’ve spoken with me. Do you do this with everyone you put in prison?” she said with a grin.

“Just here for a little chat,” he said, sitting down on the dirt. She followed suit and plopped herself on the ground. “I wanted to go over what you told me earlier.”

“Wait, I have a question first,” she said putting up a finger. “About the White Wolf thing. Is that a Despairity?” she asked. 

“It is,” he said. “That's what I wanted to speak with you about.”

Somewhere deep down in her heart she knew the answer. But that little inkling didn't stop her from getting the full brunt of guilt. She faltered, her breath cutting short.

Holy shit… 

Her head swirled around, and her fingers were getting numb. “Hey, Ava, are you okay?”

She blinked. “Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” she said. She breathed in and out, her breath shaking. Avice looked into his eyes, and all she could see in them were worry.

This guy…

Someone worrying about her? Ridiculous. She nearly smiled because of him.

But her thoughts kept interrupting her. 

I put people in danger. 

That was the one thing that played over and over in her head. 

Everything connected to her.

Because of her, the bandits came.

Because of her, the monsters came.

I’m just like those bastards… 

She tried steadying her breathing, but it was growing more unstable.

“I’m-” A dark flash of light shone quickly when she opened her mouth.

She glanced down. Her jaw and neck were glowing purple. Dall sat there with wide eyes. 

Suddenly, her head was filled with hundreds and thousands of tiny, childlike voices.

Her mind buzzed and buzzed, a migraine gradually taking over her. She clawed at her disheveled hair. Her head stung at the voices screaming in her ears.

What the hell’s going on?!

She couldn’t even hear herself think at that point. Then the voices became louder and louder, and then one word stood out to her. 

“DANGER!”

“Dall watch out!” she yelled.

The ground beneath trembled violently, opening up cracks in the dirt. The dangling light above flew back and forth, and the ceiling crumbled, cracked, and fell in chunks of stone. The wide-open and blackened night sky stretched out above them now. 

Dall moved around, avoiding rubble and making sure he didn’t fall over. He fell forward and threw his hands onto the bars. “WATCH OUT!” the voices in her head screamed at her. 

She jumped to the right as a huge rock came flying towards her. Dall was right in front when it slammed into his back. 

The boulder split her cage wide open. 

Her ears rang from the tremors, and her vision blurred. 

Dall was on the ground in front of her, face down, blood pooling around him. She panicked and ran for him. “Hey! Are you okay?!” She gently shook his body. No matter what she did he didn’t respond. “Dammit, he’s out cold.” The blood slowly trickling down his back worried her, so she ripped apart some of her rags and shoved them against any open wound she could find.

I know it’s dirty, but I gotta slow the bleeding.

“Well, well, we’re free, now!” The inmates jeered as they left their broken cells.

Those soldiers! Where are they?!

She searched the room. Then she noticed the pairs of boots beneath a huge rock. The stench of blood tainted her nose. Her stomach churned and vomit rose to her throat.

The inmates grinned and slowly approached her, cracking their knuckles. 

“You ratted us out, girlie,” the one who originally offered the deal to her said. He was “But like I said. It doesn’t matter. Why don’t you come on out with us?”

She was surrounded, and her chances of winning against these men were little to none. As her mantra stated: go with the flow, and do whatever it takes to survive.

But she wasn't the only one here in danger.

Dall was behind her, and if she left him, he’d probably end up dead.

And knowing that was a possibility, she wouldn’t let it happen. 

“Over my dead body,” she growled.

He shrugged. “Deal,” he picked up a spear lying near the crushed soldiers and pointed it at her. The inmate jabbed at her with it, and she deftly dodged it. He continued to attack her alone, the other prisoners just standing and watching. With a snarl, he yelled, “Grab her! Let’s take her with us. The Bosses’ll give us a raise.”

“You’re not touching me,” she said. The prisoners surrounded her. She held her arms up and clenched her fists.

“But we can touch him, right? Get 'em!” 

She stood in front of Dall and kept her arms in front of her. She turned and turned, trying to keep her eyes on every single person in the room.

But two of the prisoners in her blind spot holding spears thrust their weapons down towards Dall’s body. 

“No!” she yelled. 

Every bone and muscle in her body felt like they were crushed. Every ounce of energy in her body left her as she screamed, and just like before, a wave of pulsating light came out of her. The inmates were all thrown backward, crashing against the walls and rubble surrounding them.

She keeled over, putting a hand on her knee. Avice coughed up blood and wiped the sweat from her brow. 

“T-That was much… much worse than before,” she groaned. It felt like everything in her body was creaking and slowly falling apart. But she had to get out of there. She and him.

She picked him up from the back and pulled him across the room. Gah! Heavy! She held onto him for dear life as she dragged him towards the stairs. It was then that she noticed that someone was looking at her. 

Looking up, that kid from before was standing in front of his opened cell. “They’re all knocked out,” he muttered. Then his eyes widened. “Joe!” He sprinted past them and dashed up the stairs. As he left, the ground shook once more.

“Now I don’t know if that way’s safe or not,” she groaned. But it didn’t matter. They at least needed to be above ground.

After dragging him up the stairs and finally coming out into the open, she couldn’t believe her eyes. 

It looked like Hell. 

The townspeople were running and fleeing in terror as huge, terrifying beasts feasted upon their bodies. There were nearly a dozen of the White Wolves - Despairities - that she’d encountered before, and this time, people rode on top of them holding onto their silver chains. 

Their pure white coats were sleeker and cleaner than the ones she saw before, and their blue eyes were much more menacing and fearless. Fires roared all around them, the black plumes of smoke rising into the air covering the shine of the moon and the stars. 

Other pure white monsters mowed down buildings and townspeople. There were White Bears even larger than the Wolves, clawing away and tearing people apart. There were fierce Boars with bright blue tusks trampling everything beneath them… 

The screams of people filled her ears, and the crackling of the fires and collapsing of buildings boomed around her. She could only smell blood and smoke, and the air tasted like ash. 

She wanted to give up right there. There was no way she was making out of this alive. 

But she trusted herself. And only herself. I have to do this.

She dragged him around, hiding behind rubble whenever one of the white creatures was about to discover her. She was sure that these things would have an amazing sense of smell, but they just kept moving past her. 

Every time she thought they would get caught she would freeze, her entire body shivering and shaking. And every time, they would make it out alive. 

She trudged on, checking on Dall that he was still alive, and making sure that wherever she was going they would survive. Tears started to swell, and her heart was in her stomach. Not a single moment passed by where she wasn't afraid, but she steeled her heart. 

I swore I'd never cry.

“We’re not dying today,” she said.

---

What felt like an eternity passed, and she couldn’t believe that they hadn’t been eaten alive yet.

Avice knew that, surprisingly, they were getting farther and farther away from the chaos. The buildings around her now were already burnt down and crumbled to ashes. And although there were no bodies, the stench of the blood lingered in the air. 

Then, when they were a little in the clear, she heard a scream. She hurriedly dragged Dall along and ran down an alleyway. A young girl backed away from a White Bear, a wall right behind her. She was on the ground, frantically trying to get back up, but the Bear’s terrifying and powerful roar forced her back onto the floor in fear. 

It crawled towards her, its claws prepared to slice the girl’s body in half.

“Please no!” the girl pleaded.

Avice’s heart sunk. Dammit! I was supposed to never help strangers! The Bear came closer and was directly in front of the girl. It raised its paws to tear her apart. 

Avice dropped Dall and ran in front of it. 

I can do this! 

“Stop!” she yelled loudly, running towards the Bear at full speed.

If I do this, maybe that girl won’t be pushed back so hard. 

The Bear tried pushing back against the vibrations swirling around Avice, but as it continued to do so, it’s fur and skin tore apart. It continued to roar and swipe at her, but its efforts fell short. Within seconds, its torso was sliced in half. Blood spurted from the two severed halves, covering the alley in a deep, dark red.  

Breathing a sigh of relief and taking in the pain for a few moments, Avice trudged back over to Dall and the girl. “Hah… Hah…” Avice smiled. “Go ahead and tell me I’m useless,” she mocked. “Who else can do that back on Earth?” she joked. 

The young girl was a little bruised from Avice’s attack, but she was fine for the most part. “T-Thank you, miss,” she said.

She had waist-length blond hair and long ears. “What’s your name?” Avice asked, her voice hoarse.

“Melody,” she said. 

“Are you okay?” Avice asked.

“I-I’m fine, but what about you? Why aren’t you asking the Spirits to heal you?”

“Spirits…?” Avice asked. “Wait.” Her eyes went wide. “Heal. Can you use that Spirit stuff to heal this guy?” Avice asked.

“This is… Mister Dall!” Melody said with a panicked voice. She threw her small hands onto his face and screamed, “Spirits of Gaea answer my prayers. Heal!” 

A small blue glow swirled around her fingers and flowed into Dall’s skin. Little by little, Dall’s wounds began to fade. Avice nearly collapsed with relief, but Melody suddenly screamed in agony. 

“H-Hey are you okay?!” Avice yelled out. 

But Melody ignored her and kept her hands in place. A mark on her left arm was glowing brightly, and as Melody continued to heal, the mark glowed brighter. 

When Dall was fully healed, Melody collapsed on top of him, her body spasming and shaking uncontrollably. Avice’s arms shivered. Melody looked like she just died, but her body slowly settled down, and she was fast asleep. 

Now there were two unconscious people in front of her.

“Oh my God…” she gasped. She threw her hands to her head and fell to the ground. “What do I do? What do I do?!” 

The fear in her heart triggered her memories. ‘Look at you shivering like that. Do you think you can keep running from me, Avice?’ His disgusting voice whispered in her ears. ‘You’re not getting away again. I’m not going to be stopped this time.’ 

Another memory flashed.

‘No one’s coming to save you. No one will ever want to.’

These feelings were the same as before. The feeling that everything was over and that her life was coming to an end.

Then she heard another voice. 

‘Avice, get out of here! Get to the King! We can’t let any more of the Elementals fall like Ifrit!’

The crashing of buildings, the stink of smoke, and the taste of ash. It all felt familiar to her. A sharp pain stung her head. What was that?! It was a memory she’d never seen before. Faces flashed in her head that she didn’t know. And yet they seemed familiar. 

“The hell’s going on?!” she yelled.

“People? Hey! You!” someone yelled behind her. The person threw his hands on her and she flipped out. She flailed her body like a fish and moved her arms frantically. 

“Get off! Don’t touch me!” She screamed. She began to hyperventilate, and everything was getting blurry. “I don’t deserve this! I don’t!”

Her body stopped as the man who spoke to her threw his arms onto her shoulders. He came into focus and she was greeted with a young man. “You,” he said. “You’re the one that Dall went to talk to.”

“Dall…”

The man glanced at Dall and pursed his lips. At his side was a blood-stained sword. Now that she noticed it, blood was splattered on his face as well. “You need to get out of this town as quickly as possible,” he said. “Take Dall and the girl with you. Everyone else here… everyone here is done for,” he said, gritting his teeth.

She snapped back to her senses. “W-Wait what do you mean? What the hell’s going on?” 

“The Bandits. They appeared out of nowhere. Came riding in on Despairities. Trampled everything within minutes…” he paused, his face pale. “Everyone… everyone’s dead,” he said, his voice quivering. “Everyone I’ve seen…” he put a hand on his sword. He shook his head. “Anyways, you’re the first people I’ve seen alive, so you need to get out of here,” he said. She began to speak when he said, “Dall’s life is much more important than anyone’s here. Do what I say and get out.”

She gulped. She didn’t like the idea of someone’s life having more importance than another’s, but the way this man was glaring at her told another story. “Understood,” she said.

“Good. If you head straight in that direction for a couple of days you’ll end up in Pasia. Good luck, and when he wakes up, tell him that I did everything I could,” he said.

“What’s your-”

“I’m Joseph. Please tell him that,” he said as he dashed away, sword unsheathed. 

Avice’s heart continued to pound in her ears. Okay. Get out of the city and keep going. She threw Melody in front of Dall, and she hooked her arms around the both of them and pulled. “I-I got this. No one’s going to die if I can help it,” she told herself. Her knees were wobbly, and they were constantly buckling under. 

Tears were swirling around her eyes and she started getting light-headed. 

“I can do this.” Her heart was in her throat.

She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t take them out of the town. Even if she was to ditch both Melody and Dall, she couldn’t make it out. They’d be dead in seconds.

However, as these things ran through her head, she finally came upon the town’s walls. A gate was right there before her.

She smiled widely. There weren’t any Despairities around, and this part of the town seemed relatively quiet. She was about to leap for joy when a terrifying chill ran down her spine.

The voices in her head came back and were all telling her that even more danger was coming.

Riding into town on a black horse was a tall, older man with a long pipe in his mouth and a straw hat over his head. He leaned back on his horse confidently with his arms crossed. “Alright, get those damn things to cut it out,” he said. Dozens of more people on horses rode in behind him. “First we find Bantor. Then the girl. If the kid’s dead before we find her, the mission’s off, got it?”

Avice was forced to drag her companions backward - back to the center of the town.

The people on horses fanned out, almost blocking her exit on purpose.

“Gosh, the gall of those bastards. Think you can toy with my underlings? I’ll show you.”