DEPT BY BLOOD

The room beneath SONA library hummed faintly — no wind, no warmth, and definitely no books. Maple stood with her arms folded, her red ribbon tied tight around her wrist like a reminder she couldn't afford to forget.

Across from her, Black's Lieutenant 3 Arson reviewed floating sigil-marked documents. His mask gleamed under the pale overhead light. Not a single paper rustled. Even the air obeyed him.

"Your placement into SONA has been finalized," he said without looking up. "Delta-tier. Low enough to avoid attention. High enough to move freely."

Maple said nothing.

"You understand your role?"

She nodded once. "Infiltrate. Locate the elixir. Deliver it."

"And if you don't?"

Her eyes didn't flinch. "My mother dies."

The lieutenant finally looked up. "Good. Clarity makes killers."

He walked toward her slowly, boots echoing with each step.

"We've embedded two other operatives. They won't know your face. Your code was altered months ago. To SONA, you're just another troubled recruit with a quiet record and a clean past."

"And after I complete the mission?"

He paused at arm's length. "That depends on your value."

Maple's hands curled into fists at her sides. "You took her because of something she stole. You've had her for ten years. That should be enough."

"Enough for what?" the lieutenant asked coldly. "Enough punishment? Enough fear? Your mother disrupted a Ring operation and fled. She should've been erased. But Black… saw potential in her daughter."

She stepped forward, chest tightening. "Why didn't you kill her?"

The lieutenant's stare pierced through the mask. "Aurura was reckless. But she had loyalty. Misplaced, but rare. That earned her mercy."

Maple's voice dropped. "Black doesn't give mercy."

"No. But sometimes he leaves pieces behind."

"Find it ", he said before turning to leave.

The door hissed shut behind him.

Maple stared at her reflection in the dark glass. Her eyes didn't blink. They couldn't afford to.

She looked down at the ribbon on her wrist, the only piece of her mother she could carry around . She gripped it tightly.

"Two years," she whispered.

"I won't fail."

For a moment the room faded ...and ten years ago ... it all began like it was yesterday.

---

It wasn't going to be an ordinary day. She could feel it.

Thunder cracked over the hillside — not a soft glow, not a steady hum. It spiraled violently, lashing the ground with fire. The wind screamed.

"I can help you!" a voice shouted from the storm.

Aurura turned, eyes wide.

"I've studied the Twelve Rings. I can cast a seal — or… I think I can."

"How?" she asked, breathless.

"Just trust me."

His voice softened, like a whisper barely clinging to air.

"Do it," she said quickly. Then, firmer:

"Do it."

She hesitated… then added, tears burning her lashes:

"And please — take care of her." Take care of Maple".

"I will," he promised, taking her hand gently in his.

She turned and ran — brunette hair flaring behind her, cloak whipping in the wind.

" Why did you give me such a hard task, sister…?

---

Aurura sprinted through the forest, her breathing sharp and shallow. Flames licked the treetops. Pitchforks and torches burned in the darkness.

She was surrounded. But she couldn't stop.

Somewhere beyond the trees was Welton Bridge — her escape, her freedom. And her daughter's future.

Find her!!

The hunters were close now. Shouts, boots pounding through mud, torches crackling. She pushed harder, smashing through branches, ignoring the pain. Her Yellow Code — wind-based — made her fast. Faster than any normal person.

But not faster than Slayers.

They feared what had been born. They feared the power in the child's veins — a power they didn't understand. And fear always turned into fire.

Just one more time. Let me hold her one more time…

She broke into a clearing — and froze.

Encircled.

Dozens of yellow-eyed Slayers snarled around her, blades drawn. Leading them was Declan — one of Black's finest. His presence reeked of blood and certainty.

"There she is! Stop her!"

Aurura spun, veering left, but pain tore through her arm.

A dart. Then another.

Her legs gave out. She dropped to her knees, blood dripping into the dirt. Her cloak torn. Breathing shallow.

She felt the wind. But it couldn't carry her anymore.

But the pains felt didn't surpass her fear.

She saw the Slayers scuttling to the side and she knew he had come . She lowered her gaze not wanting to see his face. She could tell he was standing inches away from her but she didn't want to look. She knew her eyes would betray her, fear written all over her pupils.

Then like the essence of a captivating rhythm, she heard it .His voice came out as more of a whisper but it's pull was strong enough to draw her eyes to his gaze , the gaze she so desperately wanted to avoid.

Her mind was still caught within his words.

"Aurura."

Her name cut through the silence like a command and a prayer.

Against her will, her eyes rose — meeting his.

A man draped in shadows. Cloak black as ink. His eyes didn't shine — they absorbed light.

"What do we do with her, sire?" Declan asked, voice hushed.

He didn't answer right away.

He just stared at her — unreadable.

Then his voice broke the moment:

"Take her."

Aurura collapsed fully, body limp, pain blooming behind her eyes.

As darkness took her, she burned his face into her memory — the man known by one name only.

Black.