Eve nodded as she hit her head with her gun.

“So, you’re the dark vessel that Jade told me about, Feodora?”

I nodded then turned back to the knight.

“And where is this crime scene, Jade?”

The knight put her hands on her hips. She pushed out her chest, and with force, Jade gave us her orders.

“It’s in the ancient ruins east of here. Eve, I want you to take Feodora to the north exit and make your way around the east gate. Do I make myself clear?”

 

 

“Hohoho, avoiding a certain someone, are we?”

Eve’s bright blue eyes began to shine brighter. Something was different about her for sure.

“I just don’t want to deal with that right now. So, make sure she doesn’t get spotted near the east exit of the city. Take her out the north, venture to the east, got it?”

Eve saluted playfully.

“Yes, ma’am.”

I wasn’t sure why she was so adamant that I didn’t step out the east gates. Concerned, I was about to ask when the white bunny jumped towards Jade first.

“Ah, if we find anything, how can we reach you?”

Vivian placed her hands on her hips and pushed her chest out. She smiled brightly, but Jade wasn’t taking any of it as she glared at her.

“I think we should exchange phone numbers, Jade!”

“Eve has my contact information. I don’t need yours, Vivian.”

“B-But don’t you think it would be easier if I had it too?”

The short girl rubbed her feet into the ground, but Jade wasn’t budging as she concluded. They were talking about something I couldn’t understand. Confused, I raised my hand.

“Contact information? Ah… what’s a phone?”

Everyone stared at me like I grew three heads. Eve busted into laughter as she walked about, kicking and breaking things in excitement. Vivian looked at me a tad pitifully. Jade raised her hand to stop them.

"Listen, everyone; the technology was only recovered in 1120. It’s only been public use since 1125.”

Eve held her stomach.

“Yeah, 2 years ago! Where the heck have you been, living under a rock?”

“Eh? No! I’ve been living in a forest most of my life.”

Jade cut in.

“Eve, Vivian, she’s a hermit. It’s expected that she wouldn’t know much about modern technology.”

I was getting frustrated as I crossed my arms and puffed my cheeks. Maxwell didn't like when I pouted, but I think I earned the right at this moment.

“I’m not a hermit.”

Vivian sped around me as she clapped her hands.

"The inventions, or reinventions of phones were founded by the company known as Atom. They are small devices that make use of wind spectrum. We use them to relay information to one another on the fly."

 

 

She took out one of these small rectangle devices. It was bright pink and had a small trinket that looked like a cap on the side. Vivian channeled wind spectrum into her body, and the screen lit up. She pushed a few buttons.

“Eh?”

Eve bit her lip and pulled out a device similar. She smiled bitterly and answered it.

“Hello, Eve!”

“… Hello, Vivian.”

Vivian pushed the device up to my ear, forcing me to listen to Eve’s creepy cackle. It was strange as the light air made from the wind spectrum trickled along my cheek.

“This is… strange.”

I didn’t like it, and my anxiety was starting to kick in. I inched away as the white bunny put it back in her pocket.

"Oh, you and I can go phone shopping later! I'll pick you out the coolest one, Feodora! Can we, can we?"

I scratched my nose and looked towards Jade. All she did was shrug her shoulders.

“Ah… sure, I guess.”

I turned to Jade instead, awaiting orders.

“Now, I repeat, Eve is the leader. I’m going to be investigating a lead referring to the Baron Group. I’ll meet up with you all later.”

She turned around and raced off without giving us a chance to say anything else. That beautiful black hair of hers danced in the wind as she turned the corner. She was busy as always.

“Baron Group?”

I questioned as Eve began walking away to the north.

“Oh, it’s a religious group that’s prominent here in Radiant City.”

Vivian jumped up to explain to me, but just as she did, she turned away and began walking with her hands behind her back. I… couldn’t think of her as anything but sweet. I wondered how old she was, being slightly shorter than me.

“Jade’s lead told her that they might be involved in these disappearances. It’s a pretty big group, and we suspect that at least 18-25% of the city’s population is in some way connected to them.”

“Those aren’t numbers to scoff at.”

I added.

It was strange that Eve didn't remember that encounter we had. She clearly questioned me, abused me, and knocked me out afterward. But here she was, acting like that didn't happen. But instead of bringing it back up, I let it go for the time being.

As we made our way out the north gates, we had a brief chat with the knights guarding the station. Afterward, we walked about the grass before Eve turned back to us.

 

 

 

"Alright, as Jade mentioned, I'm the leader here. Don't go off without my permission. There are beasts out here in the wild, so let's be careful as we proceed to the ancient ruins."

The journey there wasn’t too long. We followed a dirt road for around an hour until we made it into a place that looked like an old city. Crumbling structures with grass and moss corroding the exteriors were all around us. The landscape was littered with rocks and broken-down concrete, making it uncomfortable to walk on. It felt like this area was about to crumble to dust, and only by the grace of God was it still holding on. There had to be hundreds of small openings and places to explore to the point that someone could get lost if they don’t know where to go.

"Alright! Time to put on my adventure bow!"

The white bunny cried as she pulled out a crimson bow that mirrored the ribbon around her neck.

"Adventure bow?"

I questioned as she tied it on her ponytail... it bounced making her look all the cuter.

"It gives me superpowers, Feodora!"

She pushed her foot into the dirt and blushed slightly. I wasn't sure if she believed that... but the idea that she did showed how innocent she might be. All Eve did was shrug as she took the lead.

“These buildings…”

I mumbled.

“Oh, do you know something about this, Feodora?”

Vivian eagerly awaited me to continue.

“I read about the ancient civilizations around this part of the world. They used to be cities from Europe.”

I pointed to the structures that looked more like puzzle pieces slanted to the side rather than buildings.

"These buildings are tall and have lots of glass windows. If you look at all the holes in the structures…”

Eve and Vivian listened as I lectured for a bit. Feeling uneasy, I stopped and turned to the side. Suddenly, I could hear what sounded like birds roaming about the area.

“Stay sharp.”

Eve warned as she took out her gun. Her eyes darted around before they fixated on the sky above.

“Above us!”

 

 

Vivian yelled as she pointed to the sky. Two large blue bird-like beasts speared down at us. I removed my katana from its sheath and brought my spectrum into it. The pair of birds became larger as they spread their wings aiming right at Eve.

"Ha!"

As they focused on her, I swung my blade in a horizontal arc, and the shockwave blasted their way. Both of them split off in separate directions, avoiding my blast.

“I’m going!”

Vivian yelled as her hands began to glow. Suddenly, a large spear materialized in her hand. It had a black base, and the spear was a sharp silver. Holy spectrum gathered around her body as Vivian leaped up like a bunny towards the top of a ruined structure.

“Vivian!”

Eve scorned as she landed around 50ft above us and got in a battle stance, awaiting the beast to strike at her.

 

 

“Tsk, I didn’t tell her to leave formation!”

Eve shouted in frustration as she pointed her gun out.

“Feodora, Vivian is putting out too much spectrum; they’re going to be attracted to her. She’s going to get herself hurt!”

“Right. I’ll head over there for support. Can you fire from down here and provide me cover?”

Eve turned around, kicked a rock, and turned back to me.

“Yeah. I’ll provide support from down here. Just don’t let that idiot get hurt, else Jade will have my head.”

Vivian was already in combat with both the beasts as I ran towards them. When they swooped down to strike at her, Vivian would dodge flawlessly; however, her return was too slow. I ran into the shadow of the structure she was on. My body melted into the darkness as I decided on where I'll appear from.

“Sit still, will you?!”

The beast turned its body and arrowed towards Vivian; she prepared for the strike when the second one aimed at her unguarded back.

“No, you don’t!”

I shouted, appearing from Vivian’s shadow.

“Ha!”

I cut, slicing the beast. However, it didn’t go down as it curved away back into the sky. Wounded, it was slower, for sure. Beside Vivian, I pushed my back on hers.

 

 

“You broke formation, and that can get you killed.”

I reprimanded. Maxwell taught me when fighting with people you aren’t familiar with, create a formation. His words were always meant to keep me alive, so I rigorously followed them.

“Oh, sorry! I wasn’t thinking. I just…”

"Focus on the beast; they're not dead and won't stop until we are or they are."

From below, a bright blue ray shot the wounded beast that I struck moments ago. It cried out as it turned to white dust.

“Haha! Gotcha!”

 

 

Eve yelled in victory as she paced about from below. The last beast swayed from her shot and aimed right at Vivian.

“Okay, I have this!”

She said as she pushed off my back and ran towards the beast.

"It's too fast to counter. That means you'll have to take it head-on. Be decisive, and hit them where it hurts, Vivian!"

I instructed. In response, she put her foot forward and awaited the strike from the bird. It homed in on her, planning to spear her with its beak. I put my hand on my blade for good measure, but Vivian’s hand started to shine.

With a thrust, she shot a bright beam out of her spear. The light covered the beast as it screamed and vanished into the bright day.

“Justice has been done!”

After wiping her forehead, the shorty turned back to me.

“Thanks for saving me there, Feodora. I owe you another one.”

As I put my katana away, I turned back to her only to be met with those star-like eyes and the smile that took me off guard.

“Oh… no problem. There are rules to fighting… and you’ll get better at them as you grow...”

She chuckled.

“Grow? How young do you think I am?”

The short girl kicked a pebble off the roof.

"I'm 17 and turning 18 in a few days! You can't be much older than me, right, Feodora?"

“Ah, really?”

“You’re older than me, for sure… but I’m sure we’re around the same age, right?”

 

 

“Hey, you two, let’s hurry up! The scene of the crime is down here!”

Eve waved at us with that creepy smile of hers. Her eyes shined bright blue as she waved that gun from side to side.

“Yeah, let’s go, Feodora!”

Vivian jumped down wildly. I watched as she landed next to Eve with a bang. She stood up and stretched her joints as if that fall was nothing. I was more cautious as I found a pathway down back to them. When I reached ground level, Eve smirked at me.

“You have some interesting moves. I guess it comes with being a dark vessel and all. You vanished into the shadows and appeared up there with Vivian.”

 

“It’s called shadow walking; my mentor taught me a lot.”

Feeling a tad insecure by the sudden attention, I looked to the side. Taking the hint, I suppose, Eve began walking too.