Ian nodded, sliding his dagger free from the dirt and following Eli off the arena floor, leaving behind blood, silence, and victory.
From the gallery, Velrosa watched them leave.
Her silver hair caught the light.
And a smirk touched her lips.
She turned her gaze toward the corpse of Vern and whispered to herself:
"Seems we might've found a monster just like us, brother."
———
> [Would you like to bind soul?]
The words hovered in the darkness, faintly growing and dimming like a heartbeat suspended in the air before Ian.
Ian stood still in the narrow alleyway, shadowed by the towering walls of stone around him.
The dim flame torched would occasionally flicker weakly overhead in ways that would cast distorted and eerie silhouettes on the cobbled path. The clamor of the arena was now distant, but still echoed like fading thunder—cheers, screams, the roar of men hungry for blood—but here, all was still.
Silent. Cold.