[Past]

The Saurion ran after Virulent back to their town. Breathless, bloodied, and exhausted. She finally caught up to him, heaving with the effort. The sky was dark now, settling into an eerie night. They both paused to catch their breath at the edge of the town, overlooking it upon the hill lining the forest.

Virulent sneered in her direction, fury practically making his scales stand on end, "They just let you go?!"

She sniffed, breathless, hands on her knees, "I don't think they enjoy killing. They just want to protect their people, from what I see..." Her eyes lingered on the forest floor with some unpronounced, deadly realisation. Blood dripped from the corners of her nostrils, and she watch the droplet darkly gleam as it fell.

"Look at me!" Virulent commanded, his voice deep and guttural, full of hate. "They are dangerous! They tried to kill me! They hate our magic, and want to kill us for it!"

"I'm not sure," she said, sighing and standing up to glare at the scaled man, "They think they're protecting the planet. They're trying to save their family. Really, isn't that the same thing you're doing? Trying to save your child? Trying to bring them back? Maybe you could strike a different deal with Nautis. Maybe there should be less of a cost for that—"

His fangs gleamed through his snarl, and in a flash, he raised a powerful hand and swiped it over her face, claws tearing into flesh like ragged scissors to papers. She cried out in agony, bringing her hands to her face as they filled with leaking scarlet. The welts rose on her face, lined with fresh, sticky blood.

"You don't even know what Nautis wants!" She shouted, the scarlet droplets flying as she moved in fury, "Once you bring your child back from the dead, what life will he have to come back to?! If the earth is gone, with Mother Nature dead, what living will there be? Nautis just wants control. He won't keep his promise, the same way you never keep yours!"

The truth drove him mad. With a lashing tail, like a cat on a hunt, Virulent leapt upon her in an enraged roar, claws flashing and eyes narrowed, blood flying and screams echoing. He pushed her to the forest floor, and she slipped, tumbling down the shallow ravine, knocking into small trees along the way. When she fell to the bottom beside an oak house, her body was still under the moonlight. Soon, it would be cold.

"There's something you don't know," he sneered down the slope, blood trickling from his shimmering cheeks. "There's something none of you know yet."

• • •

The blessed group walked, trudging on through the forest. The black sky was lightening once more now. Adolpha's eyes were heavy, and her legs even heavier, like stones or boulders she had to drag with her. Her boots gave blisters on her heels and ankles, her clothes worn, tattered, dirty and pinching, sticking to her sticky skin and her chainmail pinching in all the worst places, leaving small red marks dotted on her skin, obscured by dirt and tattered leather clothing. Her friends didn't fair any better. Quince drug her feet in the dirt and leaves as they walk, heaving and sighing painfully with every large step over withered underbrush; Ajax was no better, his tail leaving a line in the battered dirt behind them, face drooping with exhaustion. They could all feel the exhaustion stretch between them like a wire, now hung low and heavy, dragging behind them like chains and darkening their vision.

"I don't think we will make it to Jasper without mules," Adolpha finally said, voice just as desperate and tired as she was, every word slow and almost slurred.

"We need to stop and rest," Quince agreed heavily. The group slowly drudged to a stop, and then with the same thought between them, collapsed. Adolpha leaned back against a tree, her back aching and sore, and Quince laid in the fallen leaves beside her, itching under her clothes. Ajax sat across from them, too exhausted to even look up at them, his eyes shadowed. Their failure weighed all of them down like the earth on their shoulders, but it was Adolpha who wondered if it all meant something, if Virulent was supposed to get away all along.

But at this point, she didn't care. She didn't care if there was a shred of good left in him, a pint of normalcy that feared yet to surface. She wanted him dead, and for once, she wasn't afraid to admit that. The anger was unsubsiding, like a stone in her throat she couldn't quite get down. Always there, always lingering, always presenting as a horrible, heavy mist in the air or a lingering ache in her bones. The hatred, the anger, the frustration. All of this was Virulent's doing, all of the death, the grief, the exhaustion. It was all him. This whole damned war, which she now led onto the battlefield with her loved ones, was all his fault.

She rested her eyes for just a moment, and almost immediately the peaceful darkness of sleep overtook her, the morning sun's light warming her grimy skin like a soft blanket as she leaned against the tree's tough surface.

It was several hours later, deep into the night, when she awoke again. She didn't dream, but she still awoke with a start, heart pounding and ears listening. A call echoed out in the black forest, everything shrouded in dark haze. Only the very edges of leaves and branches were illuminated by dim blue light from overhead. A cool breeze tussled her hair, sending a shiver down her spine. Winter was well on its way.

"Adolpha!" A voice called out again, echoing eerily from somewhere deeper into the woods. She abruptly stood, her vision darkening for only a moment, and then focusing again. She was dizzy, feeling too light on her feet, but forced herself to be alert. Her blue eyes scanned the darkness, and she let her mind, her brimming power guide her to the person behind the male voice.

Somewhere, a little ways away, she saw his outline clear as day behind the bare trunks of several tall trees. Her vision guided her once again, and she was thankful for it. It was none other than Yakob himself, and upon recognising him under her heavy, blurry eyes, she froze in a steep panic. Her heart leapt to her throat, choking her from speaking or even breathing, with only the sound of the blood roaring in her ears.

"Adolpha!" He called out again. His voice was heavy, lingering with something new and desperate. Now, Ajax and Quince stirred from where they slept, begrudgingly rubbing their eyes and then shivering from the chilly night air.

"Who is that shouting?" Ajax asked through a yawn, frustrated and tired.

Quince stared with narrowed eyes, but she couldn't see what Adolpha could see in the dark. Instead, she focused on Adolpha's posture; stiff and straight, trembling and afraid. And immediately, Quince knew who it was.

"Yakob," she breathed, gentle and curious, but serious too. She didn't quite understand the gravity of the situation, only that it held Adolpha at her feet. Adolpha watched with wide eyes as he continued towards them, as if he could smell her fear and follow her trail. Maybe he could. Every step he took shook the ground with the crunch of the leaves, every movement closer pressed Adolpha's sore feet harder into the ground.

It didn't take long for him to spot her. She felt as though she was going to collapse. She should have ran away before he could have seen her, but her legs were weights, refusing to move even an inch. She was stuck, unable to swallow or take in any air, and the heat that rose from her forehead was radiating.

"Adolpha!" He said at last, quieter than his previous shouts but feigned with excitement. Something sinister behind those eyes. Then again, at this point in time, there was something sinister behind Adolpha's eyes too. Something angry, something full of rage. For only a moment, she was just like him. Her gaze was dark, but his was bright. Every word he spoke cut like a dagger through the tense, still air, as if he could draw blood with only a breath. "I'm so glad I found you. I've been looking everywhere for you. You just... took off, you left me behind. You left all of River's Bed behind!"

Immediately, Quince jumped to her feet, defending the speechless Adolpha, "We had to. We had no choice. We have to make sure that River's Bed and Jasper wins this war."

"And Adam's Peak!" Ajax chirped in, but his feign at cheerfulness didn't break the ice. Something cold settled between the four, something unwavering.

Finally, Adolpha spoke, calm and collected, "How is May?"

"Sorry?"

"You came from River's Bed, right? How is my daughter doing?"

He smiled, a tricky, sideways smile, too wide for his face, "She's doing good. I didn't ask, but Ware was taking good care of her while we were gone."

"Good," Adolpha said, and for a moment she breathed. Her daughter was safe at home. That is what mattered. Then, she hardened again, gaze darkening with a glimmer, "But, I told you not to follow me."

"But I was worried sick," he said, trying to sound concerned. "You can't be out here by yourself—"

"I'm not by myself," Adolpha hissed, the anger bubbling within her, threatening to boil over.

"You can't be out here without me," he pleaded, but his eyes were dark. "I'll protect you. I'll keep you safe."

"I'll keep myself safe," Adolpha snapped back, the anger continued to rise like fire.

"Wait, wait a minute," Yakob lifted his hands with innocence, "I came out all this way just to keep you safe, and this is how you treat me? Are you not grateful? You should be thanking me." At one point in time, his sweet voice might have worked on Adolpha. But not now. Now, she saw right through him, like he was just broken glass.

"Thanking you?" Adolpha asked, calm but incredulous. "Are you serious? I asked you to do one thing for me, to stay away, and you couldn't even do that! I can take care of myself!"

His cheery, sweet demeanour suddenly faded, like a spell was cast over him, "You can't take care of yourself!" He said it with cold, angry certainty. But it was just another lie, and Adolpha knew it now, more than ever.

"Why?" Adolpha asked, calm and brimming with anger.

"Because I'm the man here," he snapped, "And what I say, goes!" He was fed up, and his true colours emerged with Adolpha's dissonance. His long hair seemed frazzled, his eyebrows pressed close together in a scowl. "I'm supposed to be the one taking care of you!"

"I can take care of myself!" Adolpha snapped, and her anger surged like a bolt of lightning. In an instant, her body was on fire and morphed into her beast, a red wolf suddenly leaping with outstretched paws onto the prey in front of them. Yakob fell backwards with a surprised gasp, Adolpha's red pelt atop of them, glistening fangs bared only inches from his face. He could feel her steady, fiery breath across his face in a wave, her breathing pronounced and heavy. Every hair on her pelt stood on end, giving a sharp, raised ridge down her spine in fury. "And you are no man," she snarled, teeth snapping a hair away from his nose. Now, he quivered, as her eyes lingered on his jawline, his exposed neck, ripe for her jaws. But she controlled herself, abstaining. Instead, with a furious huff, she stepped off of him, kicking dirt onto his torso with her back legs and a swish of her fluffy tail.

He was dismissed, discarded like dirt. With a high tail and a tall head, she snapped to her party, "Let's go!"

"Yes, ma'am," Ajax said, and he and Quince both eagerly complied. They followed her, impressed in gazes as they stared at Yakob's fallen self, and walked into the woods. They were back on their way to Jasper, ready to finish the task at hand. They walked in a stunned silence for quite some time. The moon rose higher, and then began to fade as the sun overtook it with orange morning light.

"So, what's the plan now?" Quince asked, breaking the ice.

"We make our way to Jasper," Adolpha said confidently, "Just as before."

"And then," Ajax finished for her, "We take down Virulent."

"No," Adolpha said, pausing to turn and look at the two. "We stop this war at the source. We need to take down Nautis."

"Nautis?" Quince asked, surprised. "We're not strong enough for that."

"He's the one possessing Virulent and his people," Adolpha said. "He's our target. He always has been."

"No," Ajax shook his head, "How could we even possibly defeat him? He's like the devil."

"We take down Virulent, and Nautis will come to us," Adolpha said. "I'm ready to rid this world of its evil. Nautis wants to take over everything, kill everything, and he will just find another puppet when Virulent is gone."

Quince considered her words, "We need more power, more energy."

"I hate to be the one to say it," Ajax said, "But we need to hurry up with this. Won't all of our power fade when Mother Nature dies?"

"Mother Nature is dead," Adolpha said, "Our power comes from us."

"No," Ajax said, "It comes from you. You're the source now. We're all stronger together."

"We need your sister, Adolpha," Quince said suddenly. "She's the fourth blessed one. We can't do this without her, whether we like to admit it or not."

"I can get through to her," Adolpha said, "If only I could find her."

Ajax piped up, a little too eager, "Well, I bravely volunteer to find her." Adolpha and Quince cast each other a knowing glance, and then nodded.

"So it's settled," Adolpha said. "Ajax, you'll find Danica. Quince and I will return to Jasper and update the Mayor on all that's happened so far, and our plan." Her gaze was focused, serious. "We're going to end this war."

• • •

Yakob waited until their footsteps grew distant. They were far away from him now. He slowly stood from the dirt, combing his fingers through his long, tangled hair with frustration and exasperation. He stood slowly, brushing off his leathers and glaring at the footprints and emptiness Adolpha had left behind. Nothing but the cool breeze made a sound, rolling through his hair like a bedsheet caught in the wind. His face settled into a scowl that felt comfortable, wrinkles at the edge of his sneered, wide mouth and between his brows in rolls like dark dough.

He spoke beneath his breath, his voice spitting like venom, "How could you do this to me, Adolpha?" He took a step towards the direction she had walked, his beady eyes gleaming in the luminous black of the night. There was something hidden behind them, something that now boiled up from within him like a geyser on display. With every striking, well-pronounced word, his voice raised, "How dare you do this to me? I have given you everything." Booming, then, the rage spilling like blood, "You are nothing without me!" His voice echoed like a crack through the woods, menacing and dripping with enraged hate. His pulse was fast and hot, his skin slick with it. Every breath was exasperated, as if he struggled just to get the air to go down.

Then, with a knowing grin, the whites of his teeth a bit too bright in the unsettling dark, "I'm a good hunter. I'm a good tracker, too. Maybe you should have considered that before disobeying me." Yakob shouted, guttural, "Isn't that right?! You should have thought about that!" He scoffed then, the emotions swirling with fire, like his body couldn't decide if he was amused or enraged or betrayed. "I'll show you that. I'll show you that I'm valuable, that you're nothing without me! That you can't do anything without me!"

The shouts echoed throughout the forest, cutting into the silence like a knife. He inhaled and exhaled shakily, heavily, like it all weighed him down. Yakob almost expected it to push him six feet under, but his strong legs resisted, holding him up a little taller than before, as if he was almost proud of the chaos and fear he always brought with him. But something else cut through the silence, too. A small crack of a branch, a few tender rustling leaves, sounding nearly as loud as his own shouts and screams had.

The man quickly flipped around, unblinking eyes scanning the lingering shadows around him. He was like a trapped animal, ready to chew off his own leg to escape or break his own fangs trying to tear apart the wire. The rustling again, from a different direction, and he saw a flicker of shaded movement; a black, swaying line like a snake at the base of a tree. Flickering eyes gleamed back at him, just as devilish and grinning as his own usually were.

"Who are you?" Yakob hissed threateningly, but he could feel that tingle of excitement rising in his limbs, buzzing his body. If he had to fight, then so be it. He would at least enjoy every second of pummelling this guy to a pulp. But the creature swayed like a reptile, stepping into the dim moonlight exposing hard leathers and glistening, green-like scales. His eyes were black and beady, narrowed into hard and conniving slips. Something churned beneath them, but Yakob didn't care enough to figure out what it was. A claw shone under the blue moonlight as Virulent raised a wicked, sharp hand. His voice was low, a deep, throaty whisper, laced with mace and endearing.

"Sharp eyes you have there," he said with a grin, showing off his fangs. Yakob couldn't decide if it was intentional or not, but he took a step back just in case it was a threat. "But I can make them sharper." Like the reptile he was, he seemed to slither towards Yakob, his steps slow and smooth, his tail swaying. Within seconds, the creature had closed the lingering gap between them, staring intensely. Something sharp was in his gaze, but Yakob didn't know enough to place it. He did, however, notice the bandages on his body, dried, black blood soaked into his leathers.

Yakob only scoffed, somewhat amused, and somewhat afraid, "You're the reason why we're all in this mess to begin with. You're the reason why Adolpha abandoned me. Her mission is to take your life."

Virulent almost purred, "I am well aware of that. But I have plans even she cannot interfere with. See, I will protect this planet. I want to do good, and she simply cannot see it... I made a mistake many years ago, one I will never make again. But believe me as I say that I regret it deeply, and that I had no choice." He sighed almost wistfully, glancing at the ground for better effect. He feigned sadness and guilt so easily, so perfectly. He waited for a moment of silence before continuing with a deep exhale, although his voice never wavered, "Adolpha will never understand how powerful she would be, how much good she could do, if only she joined me. But you?" He stepped even closer, and Yakob felt pressed, but could not seem to get his legs to pull him back. He could smell Virulent's fishy breath, but somehow, his curiousity kept him pulled in tight. The Saurion's flared nose nearly touched his, those black eyes looking straight through him. "You understand true power. You understand the good we could accomplish together. But only... if you are willing." He lingered on his words, every syllable pronounced with well-rehearsed precision. They hung in the air like a fishing line, waiting for Yakob to take the bait. Being the fish he was, he greedily gulped it down with a smirk, like he was desperate for it. And he was. His whole life, he'd awaited a moment of recognition, a moment of true power and change and fear. He wanted to be everything that Virulent was, whether he ever admitted it or not.

"I do understand. I understand my power. I understand Adolpha isn't as strong as she thinks she is." He said it confidently, chest beaming with pride at Virulent's recognition of his supposed prowess.

"You and Adolpha were fighting long before she set her sights on me," Virulent continued, "Weren't you?"

"...Yes."

"She doesn't believe you can protect her. But you can prove her wrong." His voice lingered in Yakob's ear as a malicious whisper. Yakob eyed him curiously.

"I will prove her wrong," he said.

"And you will save her life. Following this... false prophecy will kill her, and you know it." He said the words with spit and fire, almost disgusted just to taste them on his tongue.

"I will save her," Yakob affirmed.

"I can guarantee it," Virulent said, finally stepping back from him. The shadows casted their long glares upon him, darkening his hard gaze even further. "Come with me..."

"What can you offer?"

"Power. More than you could ever dream of. More than Adolpha will be able to resist."

Yakob glanced at the forest floor. The dirt, the leaves, the chill in the air. Then, with a wide, uneasy smile, he looked up at Virulent under heavy eyes, "And what do I have to do in exchange?"

"Nothing," Virulent said, grinning as he reeled in the fishing rod. "I just want to help solve this entire mess." Like on command, Yakob was the one who stepped closer to him, deeper into the shadow of the night. The moon's fresh light barely touched him now.

"Then help me."

"I'll offer you a taste of what I can offer," Virulent hissed, "And you will find her, show her. You will see just how much this changes the tides for the better." Virulent took another step, obscured in the shade. Yakob followed easily. The creature held out a clawed hand, palm side up, and Yakob stared for a moment before putting his out beside it.

The Saurion gently took Yakob's wrist, lifting it slightly. Yakob only watched, brimming with excitement and energy, as Virulent placed his other hand on top of the wrist. His claws dug into Yakob's skin, who winced but did not complain. He was determined to earn his power, and thus earn Adolpha's love, once and for all. A dribble of warm blood rolled down his wrist and to his elbow, pooling at the bottom of the joint.

Virulent stole Yakob's stare with intensity, and something began to flow through him. Something dark, something not too different from a flooded river, erupting into him and seeming to tear apart his flesh from the inside. But on the outside, the only thing that changed was his gaze. His eyes darkened, pupils widening in strong ecstasy, and the whites of his eyes melted to black. Now, he was just like Virulent, sharing a single ounce of the magic that Virulent harnessed from his God, which he shared with all that he knew would do his dirty work for him.

And Yakob had an especially important job to do. Yakob exhaled strongly, a smile across his face in bliss and pride as he allowed the new strength to flow through his every limb.

"Go," Virulent spoke lowly and with a grin. "Find her. Show her. Save her."

"Thank you," Yakob breathed. Then, he turned. His senses seemed heightened, and he knew that he would find Adolpha with surprising ease— exactly what Virulent hoped for. As the man slowly walked off, into the direction that Adolpha had gone, Virulent let out a chuckle and a pleased flick of his tail. Hook, line, and sinker.