We are One.

"I want to join the Aegir Pirates."

Stupefied, Skadi gazed at Cetas' black eyes.

Then, after a second, her lips curled up into a smile.

"You won't have any regrets."

Skadi waved her hand in the air.

Then, Cetas felt a warm breeze engulf him, covering his entire body with its graceful presence.

"Welcome, Cetas," Skadi stood up as her tone became more gentle, "Welcome to the Aegir Pirate Crew."

Cetas lips turned into an unconscious grin. Then, he nodded towards Skadi, showing his respect and gratitude.

Skadi spoke once more:

"Now, you better get some sleep. We leave at dawn."

"Okay, but before that," Cetas' face gradually turned from gratitude to curiosity, "I have something to tell you.."

Skadi raised her eyebrows, signaling Cetas to go on.

"When you were gone, something peculiar happened to me. It was at the time where Reid and I were supposed to warn Galkan and the others."

" A sun-like symbol with 7 tentacles emanating out of it emerged. I.. was placed under a sleep-induced attack. In there, I was put in a blackscape where nothing existed at all, I didn't know if I existed either!"

"Still, upon eternity passing, I came across as a vague individual with a red cloak and a black eyepatch on his right eye. His pores bled out crimson, and an eerie presence lurked in his shadows. I couldn't quite explain it."

"He spoke to me, saying things like all control of my body will cease to exist, and it was the greatest honor to have my body serve as a puppet.."

"As he was about to leave, he mentioned a peculiar word:"

Cetas went silent for a second.

"Bloodrenders."

Skadi let out a worried look, turning around at the campfire and focusing on its ashen blaze.

In her mind, Falkone's burning figure emerged.

A feeling of Dread rose up in her heart.

Why was she so uneasy? She burned Falkone didn't she? She saw his pathetic head be swiftly cut. She knew he burned to ashes to the point where even blood evaporated.

But.. why was she so agitated?

She made a query to Cetas, "What was his demeanour like? Aloof or idiotic?"

Cetas thought for a second, "I think it was something akin to materialistic as he only viewed me as a mere puppet?"

A thought rose up in Skadi's mind.

Is it really Falkone?

Looking back, the Falkone that she encountered is someone that killed all of his crew members to gain power and manipulated his appearance to look similar to them. 

Furthermore, he utilized the entire town of Seyil as a leverage to perform his ritual and ascend into a Sage.

But, did those bodies ever feel like puppets?

Sure, they acted the same but in the essence of it, they were truly not mere puppets.

They felt more like clones if anything!

Additionally, the tower of flesh is not something that Skadi can consider as an amalgamation of 'puppets'.

She clicked her tongue and shifted her head towards Seyil.

Then, she gazed back at Cetas, who had a slight hint of worry painted on his face.

She placed her delicate hand on his smooth face and reassured him:

"I'll be back. If you hear something, feel something, see something, or even a slight bit of disturbance, you wake Galkan up, alright?"

Cetas nodded.

"Good"

Then, Skadi waved her arm and casted a protective veil of wind around the camp. 

Before she could leave, Cetas grabbed her hand and spoke:

"Be careful.."

Skadi smiled at his unusual gesture, "I will."

She flew into the air and gathered the winds around her, propelling herself towards the direction of the blood-sunken town.

*

In the skies, Skadi's mind began to race.

She thought about the enemies that Reid and Galkan faced against. Based on their stories, the two seemed unhuman-like, possessing no speech but only actions that belonged to a seasoned fighter.

She recalled about the mysterious shooter near the docks - one who shot at Reid.

The shooter looked to be belonging to Heliosian Guards, and an experienced Zealot at that!

The sense of uneasiness grew within Skadi's heart. She placed her hand on her left chest and clasped at it.

Within minutes, she arrived above Seyil's skies and gazed upon the tranquil town below.

She activated her Gale Eyes and scanned for any signs of the Church of Helios.

Upon determining that there was none, she descended downwards to the town square.

Skadi casted a wind veil on her body so that her clothing doesn't get dampened by the blood on the ground.

She traversed the town square, feeling an eerie presence gaze over her.

Then, she looked around to see if there were any individuals in the area. Being that it is night after all, it would be quite common to see no one.

However, in the town of Seyil, drunkards are a general occurrence. They wandered the streets and slept on the pavement.

But in this current occasion, Skadi wrote that off due to the disaster that occurred with Falkone.

She thought that the drunkards were at home right now, sleeping.

She walked along the pavement of the town square and headed towards one of the streets. Utilizing her winds, she swept through a few meters ahead of her, serving as a 6th sense to scout onwards.

Arriving at the nearest house, Skadi stood in front of its wooden door and sent winds down the door frame to determine if there were any humans inside.

Within 2 seconds, her eyes furrowed.

"Damnation.."

She slowly twisted the door latch and surprisingly, it opened without struggle.

Coming across a dark room, Skadi continued to send her winds ahead to scout.

She closed the door with the winds and went through the entire house.

The living room looked particularly normal and so did the kitchen. 

There were 2 rooms with closed doors next to the living room which Skadi determined to be the bathroom and bedroom.

She decided to go to the bedroom first.

Twisting the door latch, Skadi slowly walked inside.

With her steps careful and calculated - producing no sound at all - she entered the bedroom.

Then, upon getting inside, she noticed nothing of any peculiarity at all.

No one rested on the bed and the ornaments around her looked properly placed.

She exited the bedroom carefully and went for the bathroom this time. 

Opening the latch, Skadi glanced inside.

Her eyes widened.

A man with no clothes, pale skin, and full of body hair, stood in the middle of the room. His figure looked at the opposite side of Skadi, his arms looking unenergetic, and his head tilted a slight bit upwards.

Skadi became even more vigilant.

She walked towards the man and circled around him. Then, upon reaching his front side, the uneasiness in her heart grew wider.

His eyes.. were lifeless! His body seemed cold and pale. And his entire being looked as if it were sucked out of his Soul.

Skadi remembered the tale of the Bloodrenders, she gathered the air around her and formed a sharp needle made out of winds.

Then, she placed the needle on the man's arm, puncturing his hairy skin.

However, as if she had poked the empty air, nothing came out of the man's skin.

"No blood."

Her fear grew to confirm her sense of uneasiness.

As Skadi went out of the house, she gazed upon the tranquil streets. She targeted another house in sight - this time it looked to be made out of wood that had been carved out by termites.

Upon raising her legs and slowly pacing forth, Skadi felt an uncomfortable sensation in her joints.

Each step felt slower as her body seemed to be bound in a cobweb!

She tilted her head, looking around the area to see if the perpetrator was around.

As she had already known of this occurrence due to Cetas' words, Skadi was prepared to face it.

She emanated her Zeal and summoned the winds around her. Then, she casted blades of winds that surrounded her, potentially slicing any illusory elements that aimed to attack her!

However, her movements still felt stiff!

Seconds felt like eternity as her mind gradually slowed down!

She activated her Zeal and her mind instantly raced, slowing the world around her.

My body can be stopped but not my mind! Anything but my mind! Argh, c...urses!

Skadi's eyes widened. Even in her quick thinking state, her process of thought began to slow down!

Her opponent is clearly higher ranking than her!

A Sage, perhaps? Or a Paragon!? 

Imprecise..

A voice whispered in my mind.

A figure, emerging from within the sunken streets.

Bearing the crest of bloodrenders, it arose.

You!

In front of Skadi, a golden-haired woman surfaced.

She had rosy lips, fair skin, sea-like blue eyes, and a blank face.

It bears a striking resemblance to Skadi. If one were to look at it from an outside perspective, the two would've seemed like twins.

Alas, Skadi was face to face with her counterpart. Then it spoke in her mind:

The final piece of the puzzle.

Skadi's counterpart raised her arms, and caressed Skadi's smooth cheeks.

Then, it moved its fingers to her eyes, nose, and eventually made its delicate fingers to her rosy lips.

Using her thumb, she brushed Skadi's lips and felt its soft surface.

Then, it moved to her neck slowly, admiring the beauty of her skin as it went through.

Finally, after arriving at her left chest, the counterpart reached in the place of Skadi's heart.

She felt it beating..

Rapidly..

Then moderately..

Then slowly..

After it slowed down, the counterpart whispered in Skadi's mind.

Beautiful..

Then, her arms turned illusory, phasing through Skadi's left chest and making its way towards her heart.

The counterpart embraced Skadi's heart with her fingers and admired its energetic splendor.

Skadi couldn't help but feel tremendous pain at her chest, she gritted her teeth as her eyes slowly glared at her counterpart!

She cursed in her mind:

D..am..n.. yo..u!

Yet her provocations didn't stir the counterpart's heart. 

She focused on the beauty of Skadi's heart and the purity of her blood.

I'm you.. and you are me.. We.. are what we will be..

Skadi grew uncomfortable at the whispers in her mind.

We are but one cell in this world. 

So grow and be absorbed..

For we are one, us Bloodrenders, us tiny cells.

Skadi felt her mind turning blank, her gaze becoming blurry, and her body failing completely.

She began to feel drowsy.

Soon, her eyes drooped and became heavy.

With its closure, Skadi heard her name being whispered albeit so gently.

Sk..aaa...diii..