The door opened with a bang, and in came a young, frail child—his black hair unkempt as he scanned the attic with pitch-black eyes.
The moment his gaze landed on the trio, he darted for the butcher knife neatly wrapped at his waist with a piece of cloth.
Throwing the supplies in his left hand onto the floor, he quickly pulled it out and held the knife in front of him, his grip shaky as he eyed the strangers.
"W—who are you?" the kid stuttered.
The three looked back, half-prepared to take on another one of the beasts—but their muscles eased a little as they saw the terrified little boy—except for Elvia, who was still hiding behind Poet's back.
Pace was the quickest to react, holding up his hands as he tiptoed toward the boy, closing the distance ever so slowly so as not to alarm him.
While inching closer, he spoke in a low tone. "Hey kid—"
The moment the words left Pace's mouth, a blue flash sprang past him, followed by the sound of metal clinking against the wooden floor.
Looking over, he saw Poet holding the kid by his hand and neck as he quickly kicked the knife over to Pace before finally releasing the child.
'All that in an instant? The domain of truth—the power to conjure whatever you wish into reality. It indeed is deserving of its title as one of the six true domains.' A sly chuckle escaped Pace's mouth, his mind made up. 'Whoever this man really is—I definitely need him in my crew.'
The kid fell to the ground, quickly backing up into a corner like a frightened kitten. He looked into the eyes of his captors before quickly looking back down.
"Answer me! Who are you people?" he said, his voice firmer than before.
Pace turned back to face the kid. Crouching on his feet, he smiled and said in a gentle voice, "Hi there, kiddo—"
"Don't worry, kid, we won't hurt ya," Elvia spoke, going back to her crude self, as she stretched her back and slowly pulled her hair behind her ear.
'What's with these two cutting me off every time I try to speak?' Pace thought as he continued to smile.
"Why are you all in my house?" the kid asked, looking a little more comfortable than before.
'Your House? This place?' Pace thought, looking through the room with a new perspective. 'Ahh, so that's why it was so clean. Kid sure knows how to take care of himself, hehe I'd probably turn it into a dump.'
"Wait—wasn't this town abandoned?" Pace asked in a confused tone.
The kid's face turned gloomy as he looked to the side. "It wasn't abandoned."
Pace looked at the boy with more questions than answers. "But then—"
"Everyone turned into shadows," the kid shouted, squinting his eyes shut.
"Just to confirm, kid—by shadows, do you mean the eclipse wraiths?" Elvia asked in a stern tone.
The child looked at Elvia with eyes darker than a moonless sky before nodding ever so slightly.
'Wait a minute—now that I think of it, Elvia seemed to know what was up. Ugh—I forgot to ask her in all the confusion.' Pace thought, scratching his head. 'And he said turned to, so you're telling me that these eclipse wraiths—shadows—used to be humans?'
Elvia didn't bother looking back before she started to explain. "Eclipse wraiths are essentially a curse that can infect a whole damn town. Nasty kind, too. Once someone turns, that town's pretty much screwed. These things lose all senses—driven by just raw thirst for power. Stronger than a human by a good margin, tough as nails. But that's not what makes 'em terrifying.
What really messes you up is how they evolve. Every fight, they get smarter—well, not smart-smart, but they pick up all the best parts of whoever they're fighting. Then they kill 'em, and boom—the dead guy is now a new wraith.
To make matters worse, they're more or less immortal. Only way to kill one is dragging it into pure, absolute darkness. Think of them like living shadows. And how the hell do you kill a shadow?"
"By removing the thing that gives birth to it," Poet said, walking back to his original spot by the window.
"Easier said than done. It's not like we can snap the moon out of existence. And as for leading them into a dark room—it's even harder. After all, why would a predator walk to its death?" Pace said, lost in a world of thoughts.
"And that's why I told that bastard of a captain that we can't stay here—but of course, who would listen to the dumb, superstitious Elvia?" she muttered under her breath.
"Wait—what do you mean kill? You can't kill them! Not until I find a way to turn them back—They are my friends! My family! I WON'T LET YOU KILL ANY OF THEM!" the kid suddenly shouted frantically.
"And how do you plan on stopping us?" Poet chuckled, leaning back against the window.
'Ugh—ruthless. The kid just lost everything, man.' Pace groaned, looking back into the amber eyes of the Poet.
He raised his eyebrows in an unconcerned manner, his voice almost echoing in Pace's ears, saying that the kid is an image—and image feelings don't matter.
Elvia took the young boy's hands into hers, looking straight into his void-like eyes. "There is no real way to bring them back."
'Ruthless number two? Are you guys trying to kill him with emotional trauma or something?'
"Trust me—killing them would be mercy. And make our lives a hell of a lot easier," she continued.
'Oi—your inner thoughts are leaking out, miss two-face. Heck, these two make it seem like killing those shadows is all too easy.'
"NO! No… You are lying! You are all liars!" the kid shouted as tears escaped from his eyes, glistening under the moonlight as he scrambled out of the room.
Elvia looked back toward Pace and Poet with an exhausted look on her face. "So what're we going to do about him?"