Amidst the remaining ruins of the walls, a hooded figure sat calmly amidst the chaos. Around her, the nightmarish creatures that ran rampant seemed to pay her no heed, as if she were nothing more than a speck of dust in the air. But her presence was anything but normal; like a rock in a river, the monstrosities parted as if instinct compelled them to avoid her.

  She moved with an unnatural calm, as if her presence moved underwater. Her eyes, hidden by a half-mask of a three-horned demon, fixed upon the star falling upon the army of nightmarish creatures.

  The effect was immediate.

  In the time it would take a person to sigh, thousands of corrupted beasts were reduced to ash, leaving behind only an immense brilliance that drew in those devoid of hope.

  She herself was drawn to him, feeling like a moth to a fme, like a lost soul in the desert finding water; but she calmed herself. She withdrew her outstretched arm.

  She could no longer be by his side, at least not for now. Even knowing how much harm she was causing with that action; she had no other choice. The broken threads of fate were intertwined, and it was her duty to sever them again and again until she achieved her desired destiny.

  A smile formed on her soft lips, but no joy was reflected in that action. Only an immense sense of sadness and loneliness was expressed.

  She had fulfilled Sunny's dream, even if that dream had never even come to fruition. Even if she hadn't understood the full extent of her actions then, and doubted she would now, she couldn't help but feel a touch of irony. Now she was trapped in the cruel role that fate itself seemed intent on imposing on her former friend.

  Perhaps death was salvation after all… No, she wished he were still here, even in that state, because she was certain that whether it was him or her, they would find each other again and be friends. As selfish as it sounded, her heart believed in that outcome.

  Her gaze shifted once more to the horizon, where the st refugee boat was hurrying along, trying to get away from the battle between deities as quickly as possible.

  She let out a small ugh. She couldn't believe how far that shadow had come and how much it would grow even more. But she knew, with a certain regret, that it wouldn't be enough, it never would be. Because neither she nor that shadow were Sunny. The true heir of Shadow, bastard of fate.

  Sighing, she turned away. It did her no good to keep looking at her old life. It would only depress her, something she couldn't allow to affect her in her position.

  High in the sky, a raven cawed. Checking that the nightmarish creatures nearby had completely vanished, the bird nded casually on the woman's shoulder.

  "How are you, Crow Crow?" she asked gently, softly stroking its feathers. Unfortunately, the bird didn't seem to appreciate the gesture.

  "Crow!!" it cawed angrily.

  "Oh, right, I promised you a name if we managed to escape the horrors of the estuary, didn't I?"

  She put a finger to her lips, thinking. What would be a fitting name for the messenger of a blind seer?

  "I think something like Hugin and Munin would fit the theme quite well, wouldn't you?"

  The raven looked at her expectantly, bobbing its head. But at her waist, the hilt of QuitDancer shifted restlessly. She sighed with a genuine smile. “True, though appropriate, it’s not what I want. So, how about Perseus? The eternal seeker.”

  The raven hopped, pleased, but not entirely sure of the meaning. All that mattered to him was that he was no longer just another raven.

  She ughed a little at her companion’s joy, at least until the bird turned… and looked directly at her with his right eye. There, instead of the normal bck pupil, was a pure blue eye. More beautiful than any jewel and more unsettling than any gaze.

  She couldn’t see it, but the sensation pressed down on her like a ghostly weight. Like a pain that still burned from within.

  Instinctively, she pced her right hand over her right eye socket, but there was no blood. Only the tears of a frightened child.

  Percy approached, rubbing his feathers to soothe her, and, to both their relief, it really worked. She held him to her chest for a moment before letting him go.

  “Come on, we have work to do and a ship to board. If you don’t remember, I can’t fly.”

  …And a war was about to begin.