Draconic Högeol

Aether continued walking, waving off Zahra's sudden appearance as unimportant.

The girl had dropped from the ceiling, startling pedestrians nearby. A few muttered complaints, but most hurried along, unnerved by her abrupt descent.

She stared at him, her chest heaving as sweat gleamed on her forehead. Gathering her courage, she inhaled deeply and managed, "Hey."

Aether turned slightly, releasing Mirakos's hand. "Yeah?" he said, his tone slow and indifferent.

Zahra flinched under his gaze, her hands twitching nervously as she tried to string her words together. "Are you… from the Stem?" she asked, her voice faltering. The question barely made sense even to her.

Mirakos tilted his head, visibly puzzled. "Isn't that obvious?" he asked, frowning.

"I-I…" Zahra stammered, her mind a whirlwind. Why did Ondor leave me? Not that I planned to go with him anyway, she thought, her inner turmoil reflected in her distracted expression.

She blinked, snapping out of her spiraling thoughts, only to realize Aether and Mirakos were now a street away.

"Hey—wait!" she shouted, breaking into a sprint to catch up.

Minutes passed with Zahra awkwardly trailing behind them, trying to make conversation. They passed the church, right in front of its steps.

"I'm Zahra!" she blurted out, finally gathering enough nerve to introduce herself.

Aether stopped abruptly, turning to face her at the church steps. His expression was unreadable, but there was an edge of annoyance in his voice. "What do you want?"

"She's wearing a hospital gown. Is she sick?" Mirakos asked, tugging on Aether's cape.

"Must be," Aether replied dryly, his tone matching the skeptical glance he threw Zahra's way. "Didn't you see something about this on the hologram? Some news report about a girl escaping Rolls-Worth."

"No," Mirakos replied, staring at her.

Zahra blinked, baffled by their antics. Mirakos noticed her confusion and softened his expression.

"Are you okay?" he asked, this time sounding genuinely concerned.

Zahra nodded hesitantly, but her eyes began to glow faintly yellow, catching both Aether and Mirakos off guard. They instinctively stepped back.

Aether's expression hardened as realization dawned. "You are the girl from Rolls-Worth." His voice quickened, irritation creeping in. "If you're here asking for help, let me save you the trouble: no. If you're lost, I only know the way to the Stem. So, what do you want?"

"You seemed kind," Zahra said softly, her lips curving into a gentle smile. Her gaze dropped to her tattered gown.

She hesitated, her glowing eyes studying Aether intently—his body language, the slight shift in his expression, the way his inner light seemed to flicker between faint hope and dark cynicism.

"Could you… guide me?" she asked finally, the words catching Aether completely off guard. "To the Stem," she added firmly.

"I'm already in the middle of a job," Aether replied, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "Maybe later."

Mirakos watched Zahra closely. He saw the fear she tried to mask, the determination beneath the hospital gown, and the strange power in her eyes.

He remembered the isolation, the feeling of being hunted himself before Aether found him and helped guide him.

A spark of kinship ignited. He nudged Aether, his voice low but insistent. "Aether... she's alone. Like I was."

Aether shot him a sharp look. "That's different. You weren't broadcasting escapee news reels."

Mirakos persisted, his gaze fixed on Zahra. "She has something. Power. We need that." He turned fully to Aether, his expression earnest.

"The AC... Apotheosis Covenant. Kar said it was about gathering strength, right? Potential?"

Aether gritted his teeth. Kar never said anything like that! And he certainly didn't say 'recruit every stray with glowing eyes!' He glanced between Mirakos's determined face and Zahra's hopeful, wary one.

"Yeah… Apotheosis Covenant," he said reluctantly, playing along for Mirakos's sake but deeply skeptical. "Didn't Kar say only five people…?"

"Me, you, Anna, and Elara…" Mirakos counted quickly. "That's four! See? There's space!" His voice held a forced cheerfulness, trying to sell the idea.

She needs us.

"I'd like to join," Zahra said suddenly, her voice cutting through their confusion.

"No," Aether replied instantly, his tone flat. "First of all, I don't know who you are. Second, you're running from Rolls-Worth—that's a big no for me. I don't need future troubles."

"Trouble?" Zahra snapped, her voice rising. "I pull my own weight. I'm not here to drag you down!"

"I—" Aether began.

"I don't care what you've been through," Zahra interrupted, her anger flaring. "But you sound like a child, whining about the same problems over and over."

With that, she turned and sprinted past them. Both Aether and Mirakos followed her movement, their expressions shifting as the exact creatures chasing her earlier emerged in pursuit.

"'No problems'," Aether echoed flatly, pulling Mirakos into motion. "Famous last words."

"I heard that!" Zahra yelled.

"I wanted you to!" Aether shot back as they ran toward the Skyway Hub.

"They're invisible to everyone else," Aether noted, glancing at the crowded streets.

"Only their targets can see them," Zahra replied, dodging pedestrians with practiced ease. "It's some twisted form of torture."

Aether stopped abruptly, pivoting to face one of the creatures. With a sharp motion, he grabbed it by the head and slammed its face into the ground with brutal force, the impact sending a shockwave through the cobblestones.

"You called me a baby who constantly nags about the same problems," Aether said, his voice steady but cold. "But from the few minutes I've talked to you—and from the countless videos I've seen of you—you seem like someone who's spent their whole life running away from theirs."

Before Zahra could respond, Mirakos leapt into action. With precise timing, he used the momentum of his jump to drive both feet into the chest of the second creature, sending it sprawling. He landed smoothly, twisting his body into a relaxed stance as he turned back toward them.

"We should join the AC," Mirakos began, his voice growing grim as he looked up at Aether.

"It's kind of like training, right? I want to fight Altan one-on-one, take him down, and carry his head at my waist like a trophy." His words were flat; the dreadful aura pulsing from him didn't help.

Zahra stopped in her tracks, her breath catching as realization washed over her. Ondor was right. Altan was right. These two—Aether and Mirakos—weren't just her best chance for survival; they were the ones anyone in this city would turn to.

Their personalities, their goals, their abilities—they complemented hers in ways she hadn't even realized until now.

"I'll be able to kill him too," Zahra said, a smile creeping across her face as she stepped toward them.

"Aether… Mirakos…" Zahra's voice was soft and deliberate, her lips curling into a smile. "Can I borrow some money?"

"No," Aether replied flatly, not even sparing her a glance.

Undeterred, Zahra tilted her head. "Alright then… how about a room?"

The two ignored her, continuing their stride toward the rising steam. Her persistence had long since become a routine part of their day—a background noise they barely noticed anymore.

"She really grows on you—fast," Mirakos mused, a faint smirk playing on his lips.

Aether huffed in response, though his pace didn't falter.

Zahra turned back. "They might have already reached the city..."

"Who?" Mirakos asked suddenly, his eyes fixing on her.

"Do you know Altan?" Zahra muttered, walking closer to Mirakos. But Aether stiffened at the mention, his prosthetic shimmering.

"Are you in any way related to Altan?" Aether asked suddenly.

"No, not in any direct way... but I can help you. You want to kill Altan, no? My story-skill is the one you need. I'm the help you need. I'm the sight you desire," Zahra finished, her eyes glowing with a faint yellow.

Aether closed the distance, the whisper of his short cape the only sound as he leaned in. His lips hovered dangerously close to Zahra's ear, his warm breath ghosting over her skin.

A sharp, knowing grin flashed across his face before he schooled his features into something softer, though his eyes remained playful.

"Let's see just how... useful my sight can be," he murmured, his voice a low thrum meant only for her.

He stepped back, leaving a sudden, electric space between them.

Zahra, interpreting his sentence as permission to follow them, moved to follow—only to stumble slightly, her footing lost not to the ground, but to the dizzying rush his closeness ignited.

Heat flooded her cheeks, a vivid blush betraying how thoroughly his nearness had unraveled her composure.