It was a bloody mess.

Genis lied collapsed on the ground, three gaping wounds in his torso. His blood poured onto the carpet, staining the white to a dark crimson. An odd fog hung about the room.

This was how Lloyd found him.

"Genis! Oh my god, what's wrong!" He ran over to his friend's side.

Genis tried to lift his head but could only shake slightly. "Lloyd, I-I-I'm hurt p-p-pretty bad," he whispered weakly.

"Genis, what are you saying!"

"I th-th-think I'm dying, L-l-lyod."

"Genis, what are you talking about?"

Kratos walked in. "Lloyd… why are you- my god, Genis," Kratos said as he knelt beside the boy and started to inspect the trinity of holes. "This isn't good…"

"Kratos, I don't understand!" Lloyd announced.

Kratos' brow furrowed in thought. "All of the evidence is in place and it would appear to be the conclusion…" Kratos said to no one, "but I had hoped that it would not be the case".

"Kratos, what's going on?" Lloyd inquired.

"I can't be certain, but I have an idea about this," Kratos answered while both standing up and pointing to the silver haired lad still lying on the ground. "Get him to his sister. She may be able to help him recover, or at least starve off death. And tell no one outside the inn about what's occurring here: we need no more targets for death".
Lloyd walked over to his wounded friend. "All right, I'll listen to you for now, but I want a full explanation about this stuff later," he stated while picking up his small comrade. The half-elf was shaking now, most likely from blood loss. His lids were half open and he muttered a quiet phrase before he passed out.

"D-d-don't eat m-m-me…"

"He getting delusional," Lloyd commented sadly. "Maybe it's from getting stabbed." He glanced over at Kratos for confirmation, but the purple warrior just stared at him like he was worried about the future. Lloyd thought it was because Genis was in such a bad state and his outcome didn't look promising, but it seemed like more tugged at his thoughts. He hurriedly rushed out of the room, using the sorcerer's ring to open the door in front of him. "Wish I had a quick jump," he muttered.

Kratos watched the young swordsman leave. His hopes were confronted with a gnawing doubt; Lloyd may not be ready for the challenge that had opened in front of him. No one may be.

Kratos slowly turned around, suddenly aware of the silence around him. His eyes glanced over the room cautiously, and despite his years of training and experience in almost every battle known to man and gods felt his brow grow sweaty with fear.

"Where are you…" he asked the darkness. A drafty inn at night was definitely not the ideal place for this situation. Of course, no place would be.

The crimson red moon a hung in the cloudless sky, a fine blood-filled plate to witness the ensuing night.