Ragnar dismembers the gray creature. Some manage to slip past, and between Mukasa and me, we deal with them. Activating the red Marks now feels more natural to me. Mukasa's fighting style resides in using her robotic arm, her other arms despite not being robotic manage to keep up. 

As I see her I feel a connection with her. Somehow I feel the turmoil that resides in her mind. Confusion, anger, resentment, sadness.

We finish off the last of the grays.

"Yeah! That was fun!" exclaims Ragnar, sitting on the bodies as if it were a throne.

"This is very strange. It almost seems like they were waiting for us."

"Is this not normal?" I ask Isabela.

"No, it's the first time. Normally, the grays spread individually through the tunnels or occasionally gather in small groups. It's the first time so many have grouped."

We navigate the tunnels using our marks and the firefly lamp as our light sources. Eventually, we reach a gour surrounded by red fireflies.

As we pass, one of those creatures emerges from one of the pools and manages to send me flying. Ragnar and Mukasa start fighting the gray. However, despite being two against one, it manages to hold its ground.

As I try to stand, I hear the growls from before. More gray creatures emerge from the tunnels. They approach Lilu and Isabela. Lilu screams in terror, but despite this, she moves agilely and manages to deal with the grays approaching her with her blades.

I hurry and run to cover Isabela. The grays keep coming, making it hard for me to see the situation. Ragnar is sent flying against the rock, and Mukasa is caught between the man and the wall.

"Go!," Isabela's voice startles me as she throws a glass bottle toward the grays. When it breaks, the liquid makes the grays scream and fall to the ground. "I can protect myself for a while."

I nod and rush to help Mukasa and Ragnar. As I arrive, Mukasa is about to take a hit from the gray, but I manage to strike it and push it away.

"If we want to finish him, we must coordinate," I tell Mukasa. "I'll create an opening."

Mukasa furrows her brow, and as if she didn't hear me, she launches herself at the man, exchanging blows again.

Once again I understand her and know intrusively that, it will be challenging to convince her to coordinate. But then, what options do we have? We need something that at least changes the rhythm of the battle.

I ended up recalling my fight with Mukasa. I remember the moment when I gained the power of the red mark. It was similar to when my arms glowed red when I fought the Krystallo Knights, but this was different, it was not my power. Until now I just unconsciously knew, but now I realize that somehow I have managed to copy Mukasa Herencia by seeing her memories.  What caused that to happen? How can I reproduce it again? 

I search my memories and I recall me holding Mukasa's wrist, just before her memories swarmed me.

"I won't know until I try," I say, preparing to run. "Emru!" I shout with all my might as I run toward him.

Mukasa turns toward me with wide eyes and stops her attacks. This helps me find an opening. I extend my arm and manage to hit the creature and then grab the man's mark.

A shock of electricity runs through my body. The images run through my mind. I can see him; his name is Etanor. People celebrate his first great feat by achieving a peace alliance with the Adamantia clan. This feat led him to become the leader of the Fangs. Everyone thought he would marry and have children with the Tree's priestess in the fire era.

More images assail me, but everything becomes blurry and the images become more distant. This time, I experience the memories as if I only see them from afar until they fade away. The last thing I manage to see is the image of a woman with dark hair and green eyes whose appearance resembles that of Jasmine.

When I regain consciousness, I find myself on the ground. Etanor seems to shake off the daze soon enough to stop Mukasa's attack and strike her.

The gray directs his dagger without me being able to react. But then Isabela stands in front of me and takes the blow. The mask on her face shatters. I recognize her face as that of the previous priestess of the tree, Laliba's mother. Who Etanor was supposed to marry, but didn't.

Etanor stops. It seems as if his body resisted attacking after seeing Isabela's face. He roars and enters the tunnels, taking the other betrayed with him.

"Y-you must stop him," says Isabela.

With her words, I understand that Etanor and the grays are running towards the clan. We need to stop them.

"Why did you get in my way? How you know that name!" Mukasa pushes me.

"I had to do it, otherwise, he would have killed you."

Mukasa tries to attack me, but then one of Ragnar's bone swords blocks her path.

"The mission is to recover Altair safe and sound," Ragnar sharpens his eyes.

"I know," Mukasa sharply pushes away Ragnar's sword and turns her back on us.

"What do we do now, chief?"

I carry Isabela in my arms. 

"For now, let's go back and regroup with the priestess Laliba. This isn't over, if we don't do anything we might end up trapped here."

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