<Vesper's POV>

"You look kinda like your power went to your head, you know?" I comment at some point when we are jogging through the forest. Well, to ordinary humans that pace would be more like a murderous sprint, but I'm capable of much more. We're going to where Syrya, and her group called the Guild by everyone but without actual name, have their base.

The main reason we decided to follow her, apart from anything related to the jobs, although, honestly, she got me interested, is that against the common belief a Mythical is usually more trustworthy than a normal human. That's because Mythicals can obtain what they want with their power, and if they don't use it to obtain something, it mostly means that it's important for them to do it this way, or that it's not important at all.

I just don't see a dragon who could splatter us with her pinky finger going through the effort of explaining everything to us if she could simply take us forcefully. So one scenario is that she doesn't know about our powers, and other is that she knows and doesn't care. Former is rather good, latter is as close to ideal as it could be.

And well, another thing is that if she really wanted to take us, we wouldn't be able to refuse, unlike with Harvin.

"Maybe." The dragon shrugs in response, seemingly unconcerned over what many people would consider an accusation or insult. "I love this power, and I noticed I'm behaving a bit differently than before. But that applies to most people. Did you know that four out of five Touched don't feel reluctance towards killing humans? And most who do are Champions or first type."

"You still could have left him alive though." Ava says quietly.

"Yea, I could. But it's like... if I did, they wouldn't get the message. They would just continue doing what they do without thinking. I actually don't hope it will change much, but we do what we can, right?" Syrya smiles. "I've been thinking a lot since I became a Mythical, and I honestly can't find anything I could do with my power that would only help people. There are choices I need to make, and if I'm going to be something, I'm going to be selfish and wilful, because I've always been. I'm not going to devote my power to humanity. My actions, sure, if that's convenient, but not my power. If someone thinks they'll use me or anyone near me, I'll kill them."

"...I see." Ava nods her head. "That's a strong resolve."

The woman shrugs in response. "Sovereign told me it's unusual for a Draco to even have those thoughts. He needed to control himself not to destroy a city on a whim when he was younger, supposedly. It's just like almost every single vampire will find drinking blood ecstatic, or at least really pleasurable. It's nature."

"So what you mean is that whatever we feel in relation to our powers is natural?" I ask.

That's something that's been bothering me for a while. I didn't really pay attention earlier, because I had other things to think about, but at some point my thoughts shifted so much that I can consider killing humans in one sentence with going on an evening stroll. When I killed those three people on the cliff, it didn't even register as something that could be bad in my mind. I killed them, and that's it.

I have killed in the past, unlike most people including Ava. Not many, because it was two people who attacked me first, but I was still kinda... sobered after killing them. It really stuck to me. Now I'm not saying I would rather have trouble sleeping after killing a human, but the fact that I already don't remember the guys' faces is a bit... I wouldn't say concerning, but definitely something to think about.

And then is the thing if I would have done it in other circumstances. And the answer is a definite yes. The blood of the one I managed to drink was delightful, and I'm not going to blame it on my powers that I'd happily kill someone for that. I guess it's also related to my pretty damn selfish personality...

"Well, yes, that's why it's really hard for recently Touched to control their instincts and urges. They don't register in their minds as something they shouldn't do, even if their logical mind is telling them that." Syrya explains. "There were even cases when people took their own lives because they couldn't handle the feelings coming from their Touched parts. I think I heard that one person from Venus killed himself yesterday because he kept smelling negative emotions around him and couldn't handle the delight of amplifying and drinking them. Oh, yes, I heard it in White Crow, actually."

"What is White Crow even?" I ask curiously. "Because I only ever heard of them before today, and people say both that they are the good guys and that it's only their facade."

The dragon makes a conflicted expression at that and stays silent for a long while. When she finally speaks, it is in distaste. "If you ask me, their ideals are amazing, but the way they go about them is absolutely disgusting." I raise my eyebrows at the word. That's not something I would use with my surface knowledge. "Do you know what they do if a Vespertilio... damn it's similar to your name." She squints at me.

"I wouldn't mind your blood, if that's what you're asking about." I tell her flatly without batting an eye. "Only directly from the source though, and I don't guarantee lack of side effects."

"...Okay." Syrya nods with a twitch of her eye and I grin widely when Ava sighs lightly.

"Don't read into her too much." My girlfriend says. "I've lived with her for three years and I still don't understand where she pulls those things out of."

"...Alright." The woman nods and stays silent for a while. "Anyway, I got derailed. Do you know what they do to vampires if they refuse to drink blood from the donations?"

"No idea? Force them to drink it?" Ava asks.

"Sometimes. Mostly they lock them up until they drink, because they can't let a hungry vampire out for their own safety." Syrya draws out the last few words, clearly showing her disdain towards that... excuse, because I can't call it a proper reason with clear conscience. "And they always drink, because there is no fucking vampire who will leave any blood untouched if they go into frenzy. The problem is that according to a vampire I know drinking blood ten minutes after it's been collected already makes it taste like sweetened stale water, which is not tasty at best."

"That's... insane." Ava says quietly with scrunched up face.

"The best way to satiate a vampire is to give them a willing partner." I say and the dragon looks at me and blinks in surprise. "What? The vampire has sustenance, and the partner doesn't mind their blood sucked out. It would be a good solution no matter how you look at it, no?"

Syrya pulls her lips and stays silent for a while with a thoughtful expression. "...It depends on the kind of vampire, honestly. I think it might be impossible in some cases. Where did you even get that idea?"

I glance at Ava and notice that she is trying hard not to smile. "From myself." I tell the woman. "I'm obviously not a vampire, but my powers are, uh, similar in some aspects."

"Alright, I won't be prying." Syrya nods her head. "That idea with a partner isn't bad, but I'd need to ask to be sure. Going back to White Crows, another thing I learned is that they give various suppressors to every single Touched they can't help. Sometimes also with mind controlling or numbing effects, like that woman." She waves her hand behind her. "She most likely had a suppressor that prevented her Touch from flaring up and something that made her mind muddy and prone to be influenced by commands."

"Chaos." I let out a curse. Damn, that's sick. "I saw there was something wrong with her, but I thought it was because of her Touch."

"It might have been for all I know, but I doubt it. The man who explained it to me said that, quote, sometimes their negative tendencies need to be restrained with special suppressors."

Ridiculous. This only confirms my view on the matter though.

"Is that a portal?" Ava asks suddenly a few seconds later and I look forward curiously.

The first thing I manage to spot between the massive trees of the forest is a large sort of... metal frame. It's hard to say exactly what it is, because it consists of multiple complicated rings rotating on top of each other. Vertically, I mean, as I can see through them from where we are.

"Someone must be coming through in a moment. Let's wait." Syrya says, slowly reducing her pace till we come to a stop around ten meters away from the thing. "And yes, that's a portal. One of our rifters has a very specific power that allows to create them, and any other rifter with enough power can activate them. It's basically an artificial rift."

"...Why aren't they in use? I mean..." I blurt out and trail off.

"I get that all time." The woman says with a wry smile. "They are very expensive, she can't maintain more than three, and they are much more demanding on the rifter than utilizing normal rifts. Basically they are worse in every way, except that they stay in place unlike normal rifts, which is very important if you want to be reliably transported somewhere."

I mull her words in my mind for a moment. "To your base, right? It's inaccessible using normal means? Deep underground or something?"

"...Wow." Syrya mutters in impressed voice, turning to me, and I grin and raise my eyebrows. "I don't think I ever had anyone get that faster than you. But yes, that's more or less it. Location stays with me of course."

"Wouldn't expect anything else." I reply. It's not like that matters to me, but I think it was built in a hidden location to be actually unknown.

"Why's the portal out in the open though?" Ava asks in confusion. "Someone should have discovered it long ago, right?"

"Well yes, if it was in the open all the time." She replies with a smile. "I was told it's anchored to another layer of space, whatever that means because I personally have no idea, and it stays there most of the time. It's impossible to find using ordinary means."

"Alright." Ava nods. "Aren't you sharing information a little... too loosely though?"

"You think so?" Syrya looks at her thoughtfully. "...Maybe a bit. But I don't see a point in hiding it. It's not like you can really endanger me, unless you have some ridiculous powers that would allow you to defeat a Mythical." She chuckles. "I understand you want a place to stay, at least temporarily?"

"Among other things, yes." My girlfriend nods again.

"Yeah, so you should probably hide here for now." The dragon frowns lightly. "We have a few other places, one in Great Talsi, one in Raphlesia, and a few smaller, but this is the only actually hidden one."

"I see."

We wait for a while in silence till the portal starts spinning quickly and the inside of it seems to... warp in that weird way you would expect space to bend around a black hole. But much weirder, because irregular, till it suddenly seems to snap in place, revealing a black space I can only assume to be a rift.

"The rift is stabilized, they should be coming through in a few minutes." Syrya informs us.

"Mhm. By the way, I wanted to ask earlier, what's your opinion on GCM?" I turn to the woman and raise my eyebrows. "Because we already established what we think on White Crows."

"Hm." She stays silent for a while with a thoughtful expression, then shrugs lightly. "Dunno, honestly. If they're up to some shit, then I don't know about that. I prefer to be neutral most of the time, but White Crows are one of the exceptions. GCM, well... they could be doing a better job, I guess, but it's not like they're doing it badly, if you get what I mean."

"Yeah, more or less." I nod. "We're really new to all that, honestly, and with our powers I don't think it's safe for us to be anywhere near either of them."

"Hm. Do you want to tell me what your powers, uh, like, their idea?" Syrya asks hesitantly. "I might be able to help you more if I know what I'm dealing with."

"I don't think we need any more help. Your help earlier and place to hide and is aleady a lot." I tell her with a thankful smile. "But I guess there's no harm saying that we both have rather unusual powers related to vitality. Those we discovered, at least."

"Hm, Vulpes, yeah. Your looks also aren't ordinary." She nods, eyeing us up quickly. "...Ah, so you're afraid that someone of questionable moral principles might use you against your will? Is that right?" The dragon asks with raised eyebrows, without a hint of malice or mockery.

"More or less." Ava replies before I can. "But it's also the issue of my parents, and the fact that we aren't exactly innocent. Plus we prefer to be free."

"Hm. If you're worried about freedom in our base, all I need from you is a contract that will prevent you from revealing this location, plus a few more things I'll describe later cause I don't remember them exactly. Apart from that you're completely free to stay there, or to leave. Just get a free rifter to get you out, because those portals don't work on their own."

"Alright. Sounds good." I smile and glance at my girlfriend, who nods barely noticeably.

"You're not innocent, by the way?" Syrya asks curiously. "You two look perfectly innocent to me. Especially you." She waves her hand at me and I grin, unable to stop myself.

And Ava snorts in amusement, making the dragon look at her with raised eyebrows and twitching smile. "What?" She asks.

"Nothing." My girlfriend waves her hand. "It's just that my little furball is much more volatile than you would think." She grins.

"I'm not volative!" I protest. "I'm just honest!"

"Yea, you are." Ava nods with a smirk dancing on her lips. "Painfully honest." She muses in quieter voice.

"Hmph."

Can't deny the truth tho. I am honest, be it when talking casually with friends or when someone is a cunt and I explain him why it's a bad idea. Some people are immune to words though. Hm, a certain fatty dude comes to mind. The one currently splattered on the ground. Well, it wasn't me who was doing the explaining, but the point stands, because I would probably do the same to him given the chance.

"Alright, it's been a pleasant talk, but it seems we'll be going." Syrya says, tearing me out of my thoughts, and I look up to see a few people walking out of the rift. "I'll show you the place, and you decide what to do after that. Alright?"

"Sounds good." I reply, and we walk up to the group.

It's a diverse one, consisting of five distinctly Touched people, though not a particaularly strong one. It's a bit funny, actually, that I've met a Mythical and seen her orb of vitality, which by the way is absolutely fascinating in the way that it somehow feels to be something more than normal orbs, plus is absolutely massive.

So massive, in fact, that I'm having trouble measuring it properly. It's over three times the diameter of mine, so good few tens of times larger in volume, which is... pretty damn impressive.

Those people here, on the other hand, already feel completely unimpressive to me with three at fifth level and two at upper fourth. It might be a lot by some standards, since it more or less corresponds to mid class 2, but, well... those little things are all more than a hundred times smaller than Syrya. It's funny in a way.

Anyway, the group consists of one Avis cloaked in gray feathers, two completely hidden under their capes, one with scaled, disfigured arms visible and other with strange, hunched posture, and two I can't recognize as anything apart from Monstrum. One is almost completely white and has rough skin, and another would look like any other human if not for strange growths over their body I would like to call horns and spikes, but can't with clear conscience because of their strange branching and joining shapes.

"Hey, you've got the energy to keep the rift up?" Syrya asks the group, or more particularly whoever is the rifter among them.

"Huh?" They all turn around in surprise and alarm, but only the one with the hunched posture speaks anything and they quickly drop their guards when they see Syrya. "Ah, manager Syrya. Yes, I can, for around five minutes. Though I won't take the responsibility if you don't follow the path."

"Alright, then please do." She responds. "Close it after two minutes, we'll be quick. Take it for the payment." She flicks a coin in his direction.

"I-" He begins hesitantly, seeing the gold in his hand, but Syrya instantly cuts him off.

"Don't bother. I won't be in anyone's debt, and I'm troubling you here. Just keep it open for two minutes after we go in, 'kay?"

"Ah, alright." He nods after a moment.

"Come on, girls." The dragon waves to us and steps forward. "Follow behind me. You don't want to stray off. And you all, good luck with whatever you're doing." She enters the black circle and disappears from view.

I and Ava follow her wordlessly after giving a nod to the rifter, and a moment later we're in a dark space deceptively similar to what I saw with Violet. It's just that back then it was disctint, and here it all seems to be behind two black filters. Another thing I notice is a sort of... transparent tunnel leading somewhere to the front.

I try to move, but all I manage is to flail around and get a sense of floating in the air, where I can move, but whatever I am doing has such small effects I can barely see them. Though... I could...

"Grab my hands." Syrya says and tears me out of my thoughts and whatever I was about to do, standing in front of us with massive, wide open azure wings behind her. "We're going to fly through this thing."

"Alright." We say in almost perfect synergy, then Ava grabs Syrya's wrist and I wrap my arms around Ava's waist.

"What?" I ask when both blink at me.

"...Okay. That's alright as well." The dragon says with a wry smile and turns around, then beats her wings and we shot forward amidst deep blue embers blowing from her wings, with a powerful pull that would be too much for me to hold on if not for the Touch.

No more than a minute later we arrive at a point when that transparent tunnel ends, and Syrya plunges into another black circle without hesitation. She disappears behind it, and a moment later I and Ava follow her into it. The next thing I see is a large, well lit stone room I arrive in with a slap of air to my body and ground under my feet that stops my feet while my upper body carries on. I instinctively turn my body and land on all fours smoothly, and shot forward to catch Ava at the same time as Syrya.

The latter tactfully pulls back and allows Ava to land in my arms with a puff of air escaping her mouth.

"Ow." She lets out eloquently, gasping for air for a moment. "That was a surprise."

"Mhm, sorry about that." Syrya says apologetically from the side, looking down on us collecting ourselves. "I should have warned you for your first time. I'm already used to it so it slipped my mind."

"Alright, that's no problem." I help my girlfriend stand up properly and we look around the small room with a set or rings identical to that in the forest rotating in the middle.

"Well, welcome to our base." The dragon says. "I'll show you the gist of things, and then you decide where to go from there."