A splash resounded beneath my hefty stride.

I was unable to discern the liquid seeping through the cheap fabric of my shoes, nor did I mind the breeze cooling down my heated body. My sole attention remained on the burden hanging in my arms. I squinted, discontented by the smooth tissue brushing up against my wrist, but I dealt it with. Now wasn't the time to complain.

And whatever it was about Mara, she could never disgust me.

I dared to take a peek at her dazed gaze, permanently frozen in dismay. Tensing my jaw, the medicine shattered my teeth, a baffling bitterness spreading through my mouth, the surface of my tongue, and down my throat. I would've felt the same way even if it weren't for the clarinadryl, of that I'm convinced.

I caught them out of the corner of my eye as I was about to walk through the doorframe to her flat; scarlet sprinkles smeared over the long corridor's worn wall.

Who even cares about such things?

I went through the hallway at the entrance and into the living room, bending my back slightly as I carefully lowered her onto the sofa as delicately as possible. Unable to take it in anymore, I slowly ran my fingers over her eyelids, closing them. My sight darted down past the fresh stains and to her pale arm, slipping off her resting place and floating above the parquet. I knelt and grasped her hand in mine. It was so thin.

Someone like her should've never become a mercenary in the first place.

Trying to put her arms over her chest before leaving, only now did I become aware of her bare innards. Should I use a shirt from the wardrobe to cover her, or maybe a towel...? Neither. I reached in front of the door leading to her dormitory. My fingers halted above the handle. Fighting against the ethereal barrier, I pushed through and hurled it wide open.

The curtains were drawn together, preventing the warmth of the sunlight and its beams from ever piercing through. An utter mess, a place where everything was in the wrong place. Not wishing the invade her privacy further than I already had, I pulled the sheet off the bed, all kinds of animal plushies dropping on the floor in the process.

"Never took you for a softie, Mara..." I said as I grabbed the one at my feet with my other hand.

Placing it right on the edge of the bed, as I withdrew my hand, the bloody handprint I left on the plushie became apparent. I took a step back and collided my lower back with the desk. Clicking my tongue, I put more weight into my foot and smashed it, venting a portion of my accumulated stress. Notebooks and papers were scattered all over the damned thing, alongside medicine-related manuals laying right at the upper corner. I was about to skim through all of them, then shook my head. She'd be furious if I were to do that, I smiled wryly to myself.

Perhaps in another life, Mara will become what she was unable to become in this one.

I tracked the fresh crimson footsteps I left on the carpet back into the living room, wrapping the sheet around her up to her collarbone. I saw no reason to cover her face as well. Staring at her relaxed features, a shadow engulfed me. I raced outside of the apartment, the flapping of feathers resounding louder and louder. A gryphon entered with an anxious fit of chirps. It was Melody, holding a phone in her talons, her distress too obvious to shake off.

There was no password preventing me from opening it. Someone must have gotten rid of it beforehand. Since Melody was the one who brought it, assuming it belonged to Lucas wasn't a far-fetched theory. I went through everything; gallery, contacts, and finally, notes. My eyes flickered over the atrocious message left under my name countless times.

"If you lie about this Lucas, I'll bash your skull myself," I snarled, contempt filling my eyes as I shoved the device in my pocket.

I borrowed Mara's keys, delaying my departure by a few seconds, and gave her one last look through the crack in the door as I locked it. The rabbit-like charm, which dangled from left to right, inquired as to whether I was its new owner.

I didn't answer.

Unsheathing the dagger, the cerulean runes on the blade faintly shimmered. Soon, it'd be of no value. An artifact can only dispose of so many goblins, huh? I sighed, at least it didn't abandon me during a crisis like the other one had.

"Lead the way," I said, entrusting the relic to Melody.

The weary gryphon chirped affirmatively and flew past me toward the staircase. I came to a halt downstairs amid corpses, twinkles of various objects stealing my attention. One of them was Mara's mark of trade. I reached for its handle and straightened the saber in my grasp. It was filthy, with blood pouring down the edge and onto my wrist. Still, I was grateful to be able to use her weapon—even if just for a little time.

I did not doubt she would give me her blessing.