I sheathed Yamato and jumped down from the Noctis Dragon's neck. I heard the sound of him regenerating behind me. I feared no attack from him. Noctis was afraid of me, now that I knew his weakness, and the idea of appeasing me without disobeying his orders was the best option he had at the moment. With a rumble, the immense beast got to his feet, once again in one piece.

"What is it that you want?" He no longer addressed me as "human", since I was obviously not. "How could I possibly serve you without disobeying my master?"

My plan wasn't fully formed, but I at least knew what to tell him.

"I need you to come with me," I answered, "Leave the island, and the Seed will never be out of your sight."

The dragon growled deeply as it thought about it. Truly it had no choice. Either it came with me alive, and fulfilled its duties by protecting the Seed…Or I would kill it and take the Seed anyway.

"Very well." He said at last. "But what of my minions?"

"I'll find some use for them." I replied, "But I do have one problem."

"Yes?"

I was a little upset at myself for sounding like such an idiot, but I couldn't help myself.

"You're rather big, and you might attract attention."

A loud rumble filled the room. Noctis was laughing.

"You know my name and how to kill me, but you don't know any of my abilities?"

In my mind's eye, I saw myself cutting of his head on the spot. But I controlled myself.

"Allow me to demonstrate" He offered. To my surprise, he started to melt. Tooth and claw, wing and limb, his entire body seemed to melt into a pool of shadow. The shadow crept along the floor towards me, and seemed to meld with my own shadow. In a moment, I could no longer tell that my own shadow was any different. But I could feel his presence, as if we were somehow connected.

"I am here," Noctis said, his voice was loud and clear.

"Where?" I asked, "In my shadow?"

"Yes," He answered, "And your mind, no one can hear me but you."

Really? I asked myself, That is quite an advantage. I could find some use for that as well.

"Indeed you could," Noctis responded to my thoughts.

"You can hear my thoughts, too, I assume."

"Yes, but I will not delve any deeper, for I am as vulnerable in this form as you are. If something went wrong, we'd both die."

"Then I will be careful as well." I said, "How will the others come?"

"The same way," He explained, "They will not harm you either."

"Good," I replied, "But if I sense any deception or danger to myself, I will kill you."

"As you wish." was all he said in reply.

I turned towards the black altar, and took the next step in my journey towards ultimate power. Nothing stopped me this time, and I could easily reached out and take the Seed of Death in my hand. The black seed was the size of an almond, and of similar shape. But it was black as death, and somewhat deformed.

I picked it up, and instantly felt a heavy weight on my body.

"What??" I asked in surprise.

"The Seed is Death," Noctis told me, "And like Death, it's a light thing to look at, but weighs your very soul down when it is close to you."

"How poetic." I said dryly. The Seed didn't weigh me down too much, but it was more than any mortal could have sustained. I reached into my inside jacket pocket and pulled out a pouch. I placed the Seed in the pouch then replaced it in my pocket.

"Let's get going."

We departed from the cavern, and made our way outside. As we walked through the halls and tunnels, dozens of those shadow-demons came to us. They melted to the ground in the same way that Noctis did, and merged with my shadow.

More and more joined with us, until we finally made it to the beach. I hadn't seen Gerard at all, so I could only guess that he had ran out of the ruins entirely, back to the safety of his boat. It wasn't long before we made it to the beach, where Gerard was waiting. I was surprised to see that he hadn't rowed out to his anchored ship, but was instead waiting by the dinghy, deep in thought. As soon as he saw me, he stood up and ran towards me.

"You're alive!" he exclaimed, "Damn, I was worried that I'd have to leave you here!"

"It's good that you didn't," I said, "I got what I came for." I walked to the dinghy and kicked it into the water.

"Good." He replied, "Let's get the hell out of here." He jumped in the boat, picked up the oars, and rowed us out to his boat.

Once we got on board, he went to cabin and got us turned around. Just as before, he squeezed through the reef, and brought us to the open sea.

"So…" he started, "What happened? What attacked us?"

I didn't feel like answering. I wanted to think about my plan, and perfect it in my mind. I told Noctis to stay out of my thoughts for now, too. But I knew Gerard wouldn't let me stay silent.

"Demons." Was all I said.

"Demons?" He asked, incredulously. "You're shitting me!"

"No." I said quietly, "I am not."

"Hell, I would have preferred ghosts!" he laughed, "Well, whatever they were, you sure kicked their asses!" He took a swig of beer, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"You know," he continued, "You saved my life more than once. I owe you a night with a pretty lass now!"

I blushed again, the memory of my last encounter was fresh in my mind, and more frightening that the shadow demons that now shared my very presence.

Noctis laughed in my head.

Shut up! I yelled in my mind.

"No, thank you."

"Well, I thank you anyway." Gerard said to me. "This'll make some good stories to keep people away from the island, and my business!"

Gerard was excited, and unafraid. But he was obviously relieved that we had left the island. It didn't take long for us to reach the port where we had originally departed from. Gerard jumped out of the boat and tied it to the docks. I followed him, and pulled out the money that I owed him.

"Here you go." I handed him the stack of cash, "As we agreed."

He took the money hesitantly.

"Well, you saved my life." He said, "I should be repaying you" He put the money in his pocket. "But since you were the reason I was out there in the first place, I'll take it!"

He laughed loudly and offered his hand.

"Goodbye, friend." I said, "I hope you find what you're looking for."

We shook hands and went our separate ways.

Encounters with men like him were rare. I had often pondered how I had met so many honorable men in my life. Humans, but honorable nonetheless. It was ironic that my ambitions would likely lead to his death. As honorable as he was, I couldn't give up my goal. But I still feared that I was straying…

No…even the most innocent life is worth nothing to me. I only let him live because he was useful.

The thought calmed me. It was all part of the plan, and I was not straying from it.

I had one more errand before I went back to the warehouse. On the edge of town, there was a hospital, derelict and practically in ruins. It was the perfect place to begin my work.

A huge iron gate greeted me when I arrived. I jumped over easily, and made my way into the building. The walls were covered in graffiti, and the windows were boarded up. The front door was missing, possibly torn off its hinges by some vandal.

The outside did not interest me, but the inside did. I made my way through the maze of hallways, searching for a suitable place. It was a while before I found what I needed.

I must have been an old auditorium, or perhaps a gym inside the hospital. The ceiling was high, and the ground was made of concrete. It was quite suitable for my purpose.

"Noctis" I said aloud.

"Yes" He answered me.

"I need you to stay here," I told him, "and guard the Tree."

"The Tree?" He asked me, incredulously. He laughed, understanding. "As you wish."

I gasped as I felt as if my breath had been stolen from my very body. A tenebrous mass tore itself from my shadow, and made its way along the floor. Noctis emerged before me, his towering form taking up a good portion of the room. I caught my breath, having never before experienced such an odd feeling.

"Do whatever you have to for it to grow. I'll need some of your minions to stay with me."

"Of course, I'll be able to speak with you through them" He said to me, and continued "The Seed lives on death and despair. I'll find something to feed it."

"Good." I was pleased that it didn't feed on something more difficult to find.

"I'll also need your demons to do one more thing…"

* * * * *

I began my journey back to the warehouse, walking in the cold night until the sun peeked over the horizon. The warmth was lost on me, as my thoughts came to Dante. He was in this city, and I was about to confront him.

But first…I need a favor

Back at the warehouse, I made my way to the telephone in my room. Next to the phone was a notepad with a phone number on it. I dialed it, and waited for the answer.

Ring

Ring

"Hello?" a voice answered.

"Hello, Cecil." I said.

"Gilver?" Cecil asked in surprise. "Is that you?"

"Yes," I responded, "Any news?"

He either coughed, or chuckled. I couldn't tell which.

"Yeah…I heard about a bloodbath in our friends' garage…" His voice was grim, yet I could detect a hint of amusement. "Good work."

"I need that favor now."