I watched as the snow fell around her, enveloping her in the purest white. An angel on the mountain. As I watched, there was a faint heartbeat in the distance, the shuffling of debris, a steady clinking of metal, and a gasp for air.

He was still alive. She was still in danger. But to top it all off, now he knew I was just a spirit, he knew what my weakness was.

Kyrie did not know what was coming, and continued to move forward. I returned to the pile of ruin, and saw the Red Assassin on his hands and knees, away from the collapsed mine. There were several bruises on his arms that I could see, and they were yellowing and healing fast.

A stream of blood ran down his face and off his chin, he wiped at it, only smearing it more. "He…was dead." He mumbled to himself, "But, he deflected a bullet. He was pushing me back!" He shook his head. "He's a…ghost." The Red Assassin groaned faintly and rested in the mud, the blood, and the snow.

I took this moment to look into his soul.

THE FIRST MEMORY ON DISPLAY:

A blood-stained room

A woman, maimed,lying face down on the floor

The stink of hatred and revenge

The consolation of survival

The terror of loneliness

From then on it only got worse, yet it got better. As I watched his victories, his losses, his torment, his pleasure, his love, his hatred, his relief, and his rage, I understood him, I felt for him. If I could, I would have cried for him. I left him alone to rest and checked on Kyrie. She was running through the snow, stopping every now and then to observe the beauty of the world. Taking in a deep breath, she slowed her pace and walked, she paused when she saw what was in the distance:

Fortuna Castle.

THECASTLE

Once a famous tourist site

Then the murders began

Commonly known as the missing people

Their blood runs through the pipes of this landmark

This, Kyrie was aware of, and because of it, she was terrified to move on any farther. She stood, staring at the castle, and took a step back, as she did so, the cliff she was standing on, began to collapse, she slid down and rolled against the frozen dirt and rocks. She stood up with difficulty, and looked up from where she fell, she wouldn't be able to climb back up.

Looking up at the cliff and trying to figure out just how she was going to get up, she realized she wasn't alone. The once innocent fall of snow became a violent storm. Wind blew fiercely, the frozen air nipping at her violently, scratching her face and neck. Turning around, she saw that this was no sudden change of the weather, it was the presence of three demons.

FROSTS

Elite warriors of the demon emperor himself.

Six foot tall reptiles, their skin blue, their eyes red

Their claws are made of ice, often shot out as projectiles

They live by snow, and travel by frozen gusts

The leader Frost crouched, staring at Kyrie. It was going to pounce. They were hungry. Kyrie was petrified. The leader lunged forward, its claws ready for the kill, Kyrie screamed, even though she knew no one was going to hear her.

Or did someone hear her?

I jumped in front and swiped at the demon. It jumped back, unable to see me or smell me, the other two Frosts ran up to their leader, and together, the three of them began to circle Kyrie.

Frosts were smart, organized demons, unlike scarecrows, they didn't aimlessly attack, they planned and followed through. This made them all that more terrifying. As they circled Kyrie, I became aware of my situation, if all three of them attacked, I would only be able to protect her from one.

The first one struck, I blocked that one, another lunged at Kyrie, she drew back, the claws only scratched her. Two swipes on her chest, deep, but not deadly. They still hurt her like hell, another one attacked, I blocked that one for the split-second I was always given, and went back to Kyrie, who was running, clutching her breasts as the warm blood flowed through her dress. Tears fell, but she did not wail, she would do so later, when it was safe.

Though she and I were both afraid that it would never happen.

One of the three Frosts shot out its three claws at Kyrie, three more claws regenerated, one of them missed, the other two grazed her stomach and her thigh. As the sharp, flying ice hit her leg, she stumbled and fell. The leader Frost used the frozen air around it to appear before Kyrie. It prepared for the final blow, Kyrie slowly lost consciousness, I tried to attack it, but one of the other Frosts appeared in front of me and held me back.

AT THAT MOMENT

He was there, he stabbed the leader Frost with his sword and swung it away.

Kyrie's scream awoke the Red Assassin

The other two Frosts were baffled, but immediately regained order and attacked the Red Assassin. Their logic being less mouths to feed, and a larger, more nourishing prey to feed on. They were distracted from Kyrie completely. I was at her side in less than a second. She wasn't dead, her breathing, however, was faint. She was loosing far too much blood.

"Oh, God…save her…" I begged, fearing that I'd soon see her spirit…as my terror rose, I saw her transparent soul remove itself from her body, she looked at me in shock. She wanted to say my name, wanted to cry, wanted to hold me, but she couldn't find herself capable of the actions.

Kyrie was dead.

I buried my face in my hands, then heard the air being sucked into the lungs. As I allowed myself to look again, Kyrie's soul was gone, a green fluid was splashed on her body, some of it absorbing into her wounds. She was gradually healing.

DEMON FLUID

It's a green color

It runs through demons veins

It's what heals them from their wounds

It can work on humans as well

The Red Assassin had sliced a Frost in half towards her, in order to save her, something I couldn't do, I was grateful, but I refused to show it. Not like there was anything I could do.

Kyrie's heart began to beat again, blood flowed through her veins. She was alive again. No thanks to me. That truth tore me apart, ripped me limb from limb, healed me up, and killed me again.

As I hovered over her body, his shadow approached. I wanted to hate him, but I couldn't. His footsteps crunched as they got closer, his boot stood right through my head, I could feel his scowl, and even taste his reluctant sympathy.

THINGS I HATE

I hated being dead

I hated wandering Fortuna

I hated knowing everything

I hated how I couldn't save her

But most of all, I hated that he saved her while I stood, helpless

I struggled with the words, knowing he would only mock me, it was in his nature to do so. He was stuck up, loved being right, and loved it when people surrendered to him. If there was another thing about him I hated, it was how determined he was to always have his way.

I stared at Kyrie's unconscious body, then at him. He wore a smug grin on his face as he sheathed his sword upon his back. "Poor girl…" He said, "She'll catch cold if she stays out here in this blizzard." I stiffened, but did nothing as he lifted her over her shoulder, giving me a smirk as he carried her off.

I stayed in the snow and watched as they both went out of sight.

I couldn't stop him. He was right. Kyrie would have died if she stayed in the snow. I couldn't stop him if he was acting in the sake of her safety.

"If you dare hurt her…" I growled, he didn't hear me. He was too far away.

Back at the port, Credo was still standing up, Gloria was sitting, sleeping with her head resting on her knees. I was amazed, but somehow I knew Credo was gritty enough to fall asleep while standing. I would have laughed, but I wanted to sigh.

A loud wave hit the port, slowly waking Credo up, as he recognized his surroundings, he rubbed his face and pulled out his pocket watch. He was upset by the time…one in the morning, and still no sign of his little sister. He sighed, and poked Gloria in the ribs, waking her with a start. She turned and looked at him, frowning. Credo closed his eyes and shook his head, Gloria stood, a sympathetic and sad stare aimed at her superior as she wrapped her arms around him apologetically. Credo shook her off, and headed for the boat to take them back to Headquarters, she followed him, but not before taking one last look at the port. She stared at the ground as she got into the boat, a few memories of Kyrie crossed her mind…and she silently shed her tears along with Credo.

I watched as they left, I waved. No one waved back.