Far above the ground, three figures flew almost silently. Only the occasional flap of wings interrupted the swishing wind around them.

Silver led them with Shadow and Eclipse, who carried Amy, a few flaps behind. With the urgency of the mission, they skipped the ground transport. With a bit of luck, they could overcome most of the distance and then use the train to get through the snowy terrain.

It often snowed so getting frostbites or a blizzard separating them was the last they needed. Eclipse glanced at Amy, who had fallen asleep in his arms a few minutes ago. The demon boy replayed their task in his mind, hoping to distract himself from the lurking sleep.

'There were several witnesses seeing strange creatures roaming in the woods during storms. Locals also found a lot of large footprints, and claw marks no animal could leave behind. But they lost contact with two villages, and when they investigated, they found them completely deserted.'

The demon shivered, and it had nothing with the dropping temperature. Just like the last time, Finitevus had to use them for his sick experiments. A glance toward Shadow soothed his nervousness.

Knowing he was with them put his mind at rest. Shadow would provide a much-needed powerhouse for their team. Not that Silver was weak, but he couldn't deal with close-combat oriented enemies once they approached. And the Black Arms had completely different biology, exposing their weaknesses was more of a lottery.

'But I can help, right?' the small demon questioned his abilities. 'I can now see it, right? Those weaknesses?'

It happened once, so it could happen again, right? He shook his head, noticing Shadow was watching him.

The priest sent his way a nod, and Eclipse replied with a weak smile. He averted his gaze forward, seeing Silver's wavering quills. He doubted the agent stopped suspecting him even after he helped him with the Psy Bomb.

He needed something more meaningful to earn his trust. 'If only I could push Ashyss away!' He strengthened his grip over Amy. Holding her spread a serenity in his body. He could relax and be free of his worries. 'Maybe I could tell her... about him.'

He abused his lower lip, realizing that would endanger her even more. Perhaps it could kill her. 'Maybe... I could be near her and write to my brother.'

His wings twitched as a sharp pain pierced them. He lost altitude as the wind pushed against him.

"Are you okay?" Shadow called, diving to assist him.

"Y-Yeah!" Eclipse checked on Amy, who remained sleeping despite the small fall. "I-I guess my wings jerked a bit."

The demon flapped, speeding up to catch up to Silver, who didn't wait for them. Eclipse shook his head, feeling Ashyss' claws touching his cheeks.

He wasn't sleeping! The Eternal Eater knew well what Eclipse was doing and thinking, striking when he needed the most. The inner pull drained his already depleted energy. Eclipse's body refused to cooperate.

"You aren't okay!" Shadow caught him. Eclipse's wings folded under his chest as Shadow pulled him closer. "Silver!"

The psychic hedgehog turned around with a scowl.

"I'm fine... really!" Eclipse tried to wriggle out, but Ashyss restrained his movements.

"Please, take Amy. I'll carry Eclipse." Shadow expected Silver would refuse, given his frowning face.

"Fine." He lifted Amy, without moving a single hair on her, and continued.

'That was fast,' Shadow thought, realizing Eclipse went all limp in his arms, and his wings retracted on its own. His nose wrinkled as he caught a strange smell. 'What was this?' The priest inhaled, but the scent vanished. 'Was it my imagination?'

He flapped his wings, catching up to Silver. The psychic had to surpass a twitch in his hand, to not shoot at Shadow. He had raced with several demons, yet none was faster than him. The psychic always caught up to them in a matter of a few minutes.

'True! I haven't raced with Shadow yet. I always used him as a punching bag.' Silver made a mental note to correct it once they return. He needed to be sure he could get an upper hand if Shadow would turn savage.

Much later, they reached the train station. Silver grumbled he had to carry Amy, who still slept. How could she sleep through all of this? It wasn't like he juggled with her, but still. It tempted him to try her limits.

What could she take? Would she cry? Would she beg for mercy? Would she give up after threatening her little pet?

'No, she would kill me,' his mind answered the last question it scared him. But it was frightening. Making Amy furious frightened him, and he didn't see her like that yet.

He shook his head, proceeding to buy the needed tickets. It would be nice if they could have personal vehicles, but that could strain their finances and put on a bad image. They were a mere church on the outside. No commoner had an idea of their actual business.

Silver used the hour in the train to catch some rest too, with Shadow sleeping only on one eye, keeping a watch. Before they arrived, they were all awake, ready to investigate. Eclipse shivered outside, finding his current clothes lacking in cold protection.

Amy proceeded in buying him a warm vest. He would need to rip through it to spread his wings since they didn't have one with a back-hole. Small towns like these had only the most needed stuff in every shop. Only this once, he accepted shoes and gloves as well.

Silver rolled his eyes, as the weather didn't bother him a bit. Shadow showed no reaction as well, suggesting older demons had developed a way to keep their body temperature steady. Silver noted this observation some time ago, considering it for R&D departure to explore.

Once Eclipse breathed in relief that the cold stopped biting him, they headed into the forest, following the only path to their destination. No new snow had fallen for a few days, so the path wasn't hidden by a thick layer of a white blanket.

Silver walked first with Eclipse, Amy, and Shadow behind him. Both demons searched the air for potential clues, but they found nothing so far.

Finally, with nothing interesting happening, they reached the deserted village. Eclipse took a deep breath, taking in several smells and scents.

"So?" Silver asked.

"It's like in the report. This place was abandoned about two weeks ago." He pointed toward the footprints. "The only fresher smells are from forest animals."

Shadow nodded. "Yeah, I agree. We can safely say no person entered or left this place after that incident."

Given the layer of snow, it seemed it snowed at least once since villagers cleaned their square and roofs after each storm.

"Alright, let's spread up. Amy, you check the houses from this side, I'll take the other. Shadow, Eclipse, you two search for any unusual smells."

"Roger!" they said in unison.

Venturing to fulfill their orders, Silver headed to his first stop. The door remained open, and a dune of snow laid by the entrance. The wind blew inside with no obstacle in its way. His boots left prints on the wooden floor. Inside the kettle, he found frozen liquid, and the burned logs were covered by a thin veil of ice.

'It seems they disappeared during lunch or dinner.'

Looking around, he found nothing out of usual, so he headed outside. There he saw Eclipse, burying his nose in the snow, sneezing.

"Hey, Eclipse!" he called the demon, levitating closer.

The smaller creature shrunk. "Yes?"

"Use your eyes to scan the area."

Eclipse blinked before he understood he had meant his new ability. The demon opened his mouth to come up with an excuse not to use it.

"We don't have time! Look if you can see some suspicious trail."

"Okay." The demon nodded, noticing Amy watched them with wary eyes. That calmed his beating heart a bit.

He closed his eyes, remembering the feeling. The flow of demonic energy in his body shifted, running through his eyes too. He peeked from behind his eyelids, seeing the familiar hazy lines across the snow.

Turning his head, his eyes widen. If it was for the clear air or the sparkling snow, the sky flickered. Tiny bits of spiritual energy floated in the air like fireflies.

"Wow! So pretty," he whispered.

Silver let out a huff instead of clearing his throat. He didn't know how fragile Eclipse's concentration could be, and he didn't want to risk it.

The small demon directed his eyes from the sky toward Silver, and a shiver no winter coat could stop slid down his spine. Silver's aura wavered, pulsated, and rushed through his entire body as he turned into a glowing figure. Usually, Eclipse saw people with several thin paths inside their bodies with a big, pulsating nod connecting them.

However, something dark was growing in the light Silver emitted, and it gave Eclipse sinister vibes. He glanced away, seeing the same darkness inside Shadow who also stopped, observing them.

The small demon took a deep breath, noticing Silver lifted the rest of the team.

"What do you have in mind?" Amy asked, floating closer.

"I want to see if Eclipse's new ability could be useful here."

"What ability?" Shadow asked. "Does it have anything to do with his changed eyes?"

Amy nodded and explained.

"I see, but from puberty?" Shadow caught his chin. "I don't have such skill."

"Hmm." Silver pondered about it. "Perhaps it has something to do with a different body type? Eclipse has a more lean frame suitable for stealth, while you are sturdy like a tower, so you can take more hits."

Amy's cheeks burned. Not from the chilly wind, but from his words. Perhaps he started to see Eclipse in a different light.

"Sounds possible."

They returned to watch Eclipse, who covered quite an area, leaving a trail.

'What is this?' the small demon thought. 'This strange aura in the air...' He sucked his lips, gnawing on them from inside. All houses had it around, but only one seemed to have a thicker layer around itself.

He headed that way, this time sure he could find anything. Silver immediately descended, keeping a short distance from him. At the first glance, the house was the same as others; deserted and covered by ice and snow.

However, there was a body lying next to the dead fireplace. Silver's ears twitched. They would discover this normally in any case. He took a deep breath, pushing his snarky remarks back.

'He is trying. It's a new ability. He has to get used to it.' He clenched his fists, moving them behind his back. He had a long way with his Psy Bomb as well.

Eclipse turned at them, covering his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Amy pushed forward, shoving Silver aside.

"You are too bright!" He rubbed his eyes, pushing the stream of energy from his eyes until they settled into their normal form.

Silver let everybody down.

"What do you mean by bright?" Shadow inquired.

"The living beings have the biggest concentration of inner energy in their bodies. A normal person is like a small lamp, but somebody like you..." Eclipse glanced at everybody. "... you are like sun pushed into my face."

"So, have you found anything here?" Silver interrupted before Shadow could ask for more details.

"I think so." Eclipse played with his fingers. "Around the entire village is a strange aura. It doesn't feel natural, and this house has the thickest layer."

"Is this a child?" Amy asked an obvious question once she set her eyes onto the body. She hurried to it, her face twisting.

There was nothing she or anybody could do. The child had died days ago in their sleep.

"Mr. Shadow, do you smell anything here?" Eclipse asked, inhaling.

"Let me try." The black hedgehog widened his nostrils, taking in as much air as he could. His eyes shot open, and he sniffed like a dog.

Amy and Silver stepped aside, the fur on their neck standing. It frustrated the psychic those two had abilities he couldn't obtain or learn. He took a deep inhale without detecting the smell that alerted Shadow.

'They don't have my psychic powers,' he ensured himself of his uniqueness, puffing up his chest a bit.

As both demons sniffed, they rammed their foreheads once they bent over the frozen teacup. Rubbing the sore spot, a spark jumped between them.

"There is a weird smell around the cup." Shadow pointed at it, and Silver lifted it with his power. Rotating it brought no sign of where that smell was from. The cup itself was old and cracks run from one place.

The psychic looked inside, finding the frozen tea with a few leaves at the bottom. "It seems this child had a fever based on the tea and a cloth over their forehead."

Amy resumed checking the body, trying not to look at their serene face. It disturbed her to see it so peaceful among the abandoned place.

"The same smell is coming from this kettle too!" Eclipse pointed at it with his tail.

"That means!" Shadow darted outside, almost diving into the well that stood in the middle of the square.

He dug his claws into the freezing stone, sliding down. His breath turned into a thick mist, almost blinding him. The rest of the group followed him, watching inside, blocking the little light Shadow had.

"Yes! I'm positive!" he shouted after taking a deep breath. "The smell is coming from here!"

"Alright! Eclipse!" Silver turned toward the demon, lifting Shadow. "Look into the well."

Eclipse nodded, excitement spreading through his body. He closed his eyes, activating his spiritual trails seeing ability. 'I think I should give it a name.' Gazing into the well, he saw the aura surrounding that house originated from here as its concentration transformed it into a visible veil.

"Yes, there is something in the water and it stinks." Eclipse reversed his sight back to normal. Blinding himself for once was enough.

Silver connected his fingertips into a pyramid, thinking. But there wasn't much to ponder about. It was all clear.

"Interesting. I guess it went this way–Finitevus somehow poisoned the village's only source of water. The substance has no detectable odor or taste, so they drink it and use it for cooking."

The agent turned around, heading back to the house.

"Here we have a sole survivor, of a sort." He was aware of how ironic his words were, but this child gave them a vital clue. "We can assume they had fallen ill before taking any poisoned water."

"You know..." Shadow interrupted him. Silver beckoned him to continue, and so he did, "I suspect Finitevus used that poison to gain control over their bodies or minds."

"Wait? What?" Amy exclaimed. "I studied some seals, and I've never heard of one that could be spread through water."

"We are dealing with Finitevus. He is twisted and rotten as nothing else in this world." Silver's tone remained calm. "I hate to admit it, but if something was impossible, he would find a way to turn it into a reality."

They gave him a nod. Shadow only heard about this man, but he got goosebumps from reading the reports.

"Amy, it's quite possible the substance in the water isn't a seal but something that can react to a seal. I keep a track of what R&D is developing, and they have developed a few remotely activated seals Gold learned to use."

Shadow gave him a vigorous nod, remembering his experience with them as they were designed to trap him during their second encounter.

"Finitevus could push it to a new level, but let's not dwell on this. That's for R&D to solve." He took from his bag small tubes. "I'll collect samples from the well. Amy, you erect a barrier around this place. I don't want any animal sniffing here."

"Roger!" She took out the needed supplies, scribbling the first pattern around the body.

"Shadow, you and Eclipse, shall scout the nearby area. Return in ten minutes. If you find anything, don't go on your own. Stay clear of any assault on Black Arms. Watch them instead, but keep a safe distance."

Both demons nodded, surprised how Silver took the position of a leader professionally. Soaring high, they circled the area before heading different ways.

The psychic took the needed samples, observing the water in the sunlight, but he didn't spot any difference. In his mind, he didn't doubt all the deserted villages suffered the same fate.

After ten minutes, the demons returned, reporting their findings. Shadow caught the smell of the villagers, but it was very faint. Eclipse saw the aura on the same trail, so there was no doubt which way the villagers went.

Silver let Amy pray for the child's soul before they headed further into the forest.