"You can tell me what to say, you can tell me where to go, but I doubt that I would care, and my heart would never know. If I make another move, there'd be no more turning back, because everything would change and all will fade to black."

Admittedly, he didn't know what to expect. Or if he should've expected anything at all. What he felt now was… disappointment? He figured death would be a bit scarier than this. Or was it even death at all? He liked to think he knew what was going on, but he was never in the loop nearly as much as he thought he was. Writing one's self out of existence and the minds of the world seemed a bit different from the conventional dirt-nap. At least he could say he cheated death… kinda. That's cool. Not exactly helpful, but cool. Then again, would anything be helpful? Was what he's feeling right now even be feelings at all? Or just some vague sensation of memories he had or could have had at some point. Will have?

How many times have these things crossed what he assumed was his mind? He could imagine something like this would be utterly maddening to anyone else. But he was different. Mainly in due to the fact that he wasn't 'anyone' or even a person anymore to begin with.

Assuming he was still someone, his own being, a still drop of water in an ocean, where would he be? The Boundary? He figured it'd be a bit darker than this. Or brighter. Or anything really. He never really grasped the concept of 'abstract', but as of right now, he was getting a pretty good idea.

And then there's the 'right now' aspect. Had anything changed since he may or may not have done something really stupid? Does time still march on for everyone else? He once heard that time was irrelevant from some big-wig in a text book. Or was it relative? Either way he knew he misheard it and thought it was 'time is an elephant' for a good part of his life until he realized how dumb that sounded.

Maybe he's just drifting through all the file cabinets that his, or any mind for that matter, could hold. Following a train of that will find a way to experience and cover everything until there is nothing left to conceive, in every way possible and in every combination thinkable in an infinite loop of nothing and everything all at once, until the lights on in the world are flipped off and the doors close behind him.

It's not like he could be mad. Or happy for that matter. No hurt. Maybe not even emptiness could exist here. He no longer had the capacity. Right?

He let out a breath as the thought crossed. He could at least let that feeling relax him, assuming that was still a possibility. Until he did a double take at what he just did.

He didn't take the time to wonder if what he was taking was actually air, or something his body could just do here, more so just let it sink in that he could at all. He could move. He could 'breath'. He had form again. Even without looking down the feeling of adrenaline and a rising heart beat could signal off he could do something he couldn't in the past however-long ago in the whatever-unit-of-time existed. But oh boy was he glad he did.

Red shoes with steel tipped toes. Gunpowder black baggy pants. A black hakama top underneath a deep and rich red trench coat with the belts just the way he liked them. Hands covered in black gloves and red seals, and a right arm he could feel belts wrapped around underneath. And most comforting, a heavy weight that rested on a lower back he didn't have a moment ago. Not even having to reach for or turn to see it, it was unmistakable.

Ragna the Bloodedge was whole once more.

And with him, the skepticism of any veteran worth their salt. He wrote himself out from the analogues of history and the minds of man, so if something brought him back, something that looked at the Central Fiction and demanded more, he figured it could only mean one thing. A fight. Maybe if he was anyone else he could be more comforted by this development, but the Grim Reaper knew his relationship with reality better than that. For as long as there's two people left alive and he's one of them, someone is gonna want someone dead. So much for having cheated death.

For once he could actually take in the surroundings and not ponder something utterly existential that he really had neither the capacity or patience for comprehending. A pure white void, with a brightness that illuminated everything despite having no source, and thus no shadow. And with the shift in weight into a fighting stance, he heard his shoes click on a floor that wasn't there. It wasn't his first time in an endless white void, but that didn't make it any more comforting, especially given the context. Or rather lack thereof.

He felt his face scrunch up out of instinct, and naturally reached for the handle of Bloodscythe, waiting to draw it, unsure of what could be out there. Didn't stop him from making the first move though.

"To whoever the Hell got the bright idea of messing with me, I'd quit the weird zany-cosmic shit and show yourself." He bellowed. No echo or anything. A small touch, but a weird sensation nonetheless.

A few 'seconds' passed, and he got nothing.

"Tch…"

He spun around, making sure he wasn't missing anything important. Even if he saw a crumb too small for a mouse, it'd be important.

"Not even gonna respond? If you went out of your way to bring me back you've gotta have something for me. If you don't, just put me back where you found me, I don't got time for this crap." He thought about what he said. Actually he had all the time. And only time for that matter. He was just saying that off of instinct. Right?

Spinning back around arbitrarily, he actually got something. Far off in the distance, or at least what looked to be far away, a speck of black that refused to get lost in the infinity of white. He couldn't even really tell what it was, but it was all he had to go off of. It could be a statue of a cartoon mascot or a damn serial killer for all he cared, it was something.

Ragna took off running in its direction. It was hard to gauge just how far it was, or even if it was getting any closer, but as he kept running he could see it shift. Or at least he thought he did. It was more comforting to think it was an actual, honest to God living being and not some sick message some madman was trying to torment him with. If it was another person, he didn't know if he was supposed to feel overjoyed or flat out terrified. He just hoped it was as alive as he was now.

He drew a little closer, and he could feel his legs move just a tad slower. Maybe it was just out of a gut feeling, but rushing someone who could be scared of even being here at all was not something he wanted. Even just the slightest spook could set something he didn't want off. Even if this was just a dream he was somehow able to conjure for him, he couldn't live with himself if he went and fucked it up, or would probably kill whoever woke him up.

As Ragna got a bit closer he could at least now get a good view of the figure up ahead. It was a person. It was a little difficult to get a solid silhouette of them, they seemed to be moving around and turning, probably confused, but the shift in weight, the growing height as he got nearer, it was certainly a human. Or a beastkin-demihuman whatever, it didn't make a difference. He wasn't alone. But how they got here put any comfort the thought offered to bed.

He could make something else out now too. Whoever this was, they were standing by something. It was hard to see, blending in with the void much better than anything else so far, but it was still present. The form looked a little familiar, just barely extruding from the ground, no larger than a single stair step in height, but the person seemed to be walking up to it and looking down at it.

It's possible that nothing would happen. Maybe it was just some important piece of architecture that was tied to some reality-warping magic mambo jumbo that's significant in some way and just doesn't do anything. Or maybe it was absolutely integral and whatever this person did could change things permanently and unpredictably. Not a risk he wanted to take.

"Hey! Hold up!" He called out to them.

They had a more definite shape now, and it was apparent he was looking at their back, that was for the most part covered. And as such it was hard to tell if they actually heard him. If they did, they didn't want him to know it. Not good.

"If ya got the half a mind you need to hear me, for Christ's sake turn around damn it!" He yelled out again.

He wondered if he came off a little too hard. It's just the way he talked, but to anyone that didn't know that already it'd sound like every other sentence is a threat of some kind. Not exactly the message he was trying to send out. He felt a bead of sweat form on his face.

He could now get a pretty decent look at them, or at least as good as a look running after someone with their back turned as one could get. Their hair was long and messy, going down all the way to their lower thighs, where it was tied into a ponytail at the very end by some bandages. He couldn't make much else out but they seemed to be wearing silver clad armor around their shins and on their feet. A fighter perhaps. They were leaning over whatever that structure was, probably looking down into something.

"Could you at least listen to me and hold on for a damn minute?!"

He was getting close now, and he was beginning to feel something strange. It was coming from the Azure. It felt familiar, but it usually didn't mean anything good when it started acting up. He got a little bit closer and the feeling got a little more… potent. Like he could feel it pulsating and just about ready to burst through his restrictors. He could handle it, or at least he thought he could, but it wasn't a good sign either way.

Even worse, this poor schmuck up ahead looked to not be feeling so hot either. There was some sort of dark energy radiating from them. It looked like Seithr, but assuming things like that typically made things worse in the long run.

Regardless, he was close now. There's no way they couldn't hear him or shrug him off any more. Just a handful of seconds and they'll practically be in arm's reach.

"Quit messing around and just listen to-agh!"

A sharp pain suddenly shot all the way through the Azure, even extending through some of his back. He stumbled down onto his knees, and if he were any weaker he wouldn't have caught himself the way he did. Looking at his right arm he saw that it had forcefully taken the liberty of transforming into a giant claw on its own. It was a sight he was used to, but it's never just done this on its own. At least not his right arm exclusively. It stung upon transformation, but the feeling left quickly, and he wasn't about to slow down when he was this close.

Looking up as he started getting his footing back, he saw something he really wasn't expecting. Contrary to all the weird shit he's seen these past few years, there are some things that can still shock and get the drop on him, even if it's just for an instant. This person he was chasing as though his life depended on it, had stumbled forward, wincing at the sudden shock of something hurting them, and he could finally get a good look at their front.

It was a girl. A young woman rather, but what really grabbed his attention was her left arm. It had exploded out into a deep black claw with jagged red tips and glowing red hot palm. She opened her eyes to reveal pale shades of amber gold, with a scowl directed his way, though he couldn't tell if it was out of pain or spite. But it didn't last long as she fell backwards and through the seemingly non existent floor.

"No!" Ragna blared.

He quickly ran up to where she was standing and looked down. The structure underneath clicked in his head as he remembered what it was. It was the linings of a Cauldron. Sized down for certain, but after nearly falling into them a couple of times, he got a pretty good idea of what they looked like.

It was about the size of a large pool, and if he were unfamiliar with them he'd assumed that's what they were, since they were filled to the brim with the clearest water he's ever seen. A more welcoming sight than a pit of swirling orange clouds and sizzling heat of smelting Seithr, it seemed more like a well than a cauldron. Hell it was so clear it looked more like a mirror than water, but there were still ripples in it from when that lady fell into it. And even worse, there was no sight of her in it. Not a good sign.

"Damn it…" He bit down.

He knelt down next to the rim of the cauldron and peered in. He was still a little hesitant to jump into one, even in his supposed death. What he saw wasn't something he was really expecting. The girl had appeared again, but she wasn't swimming, or even drowning. She was completely dry, looking back at him, hunched down just like he was, mirroring his every move to a tee. When he was taken aback, he could see her jerk her head too, and when he scowled, so did she. He moved his left hand up to feel his face, just as she did her right, and even the slight hesitation to do so was visible.

It felt like he was looking in the mirror. But unlike a mirror, he could feel that there was someone breathing and living on the other side of it all. Staring into eyes of gold felt wrong when he expected to see a pair of green and red. Remembering her claw from a moment ago, he glanced down at his own. Slowly he brought it over the edge of the Cauldron, and she looked to have the same idea. He watched as it almost identically hovered over her own. He didn't like this.

But it seems as though one of them got sick of this little trance they fell into. The girl on the other side's face quickly found itself into a scowl, and before he realized it, she had broken the cycle of mimicry and thrust her claw through the water. A part of Ragna told him by instinct that it was just a mirror and nothing would happen, but the water exploded as she reached through it, wrapping her hand around his whole skull.

He silently swore to himself for letting his guard down. That and letting this girl overpower him. He felt himself violently getting pulled through to the other side of the Cauldron. As his body got pulled through to the other side, he could feel his body and clothes spontaneously go from soaking wet to as dry as ever as soon as he felt himself pulled through. He could suddenly feel the change in gravity as more of him got pulled through, but he had no time to take it in as something even worse happened.

It all faded to black.

But the darkness could not last. It never does. And for once in Ragna's life, he was happy to have his body felt like shit. It proved that he was still alive and of this earth. He let that feeling sink in for a little bit, but he knew he had to get up, and break that veil of black he had gotten rather comfortable with.

The sensation of light hitting his eyes was often a mixed bag, and although his body had taken to it as a negative, the stark change of pace was infinitely more welcomed than the endless abyss of mothing. Visions of cyan blue skies and puffy white clouds carefully graced his vision from behind the canopy of lush green tree leaves. For once he could almost feel himself fall for that sappy stuff about nature. He was never one for sightseeing, but right now, it felt great.

But what made him feel even better was the ability to get off his ass and do something for a change. He picked himself up, punching off the grass ridden ground of the earth, feeling the damp sensation through his gloves and onto the Azure. The smell felt a lot richer now that he could get a good sense of his surroundings.

A forest. One that walked the lines of coniferous and swampy, but beautiful nonetheless. There wasn't a whole lot of wildlife around, though he could hear the faint chirping of some birds in the trees and crickets in the grass. It looked to be just around noon, maybe a little earlier. Plenty of time to figure out where the Hell he is and why.

Next he had to check what he was packing. Looking back down at himself, he wore all the same clothes he was familiar with, and on his back he felt Bloodscythe sitting comfortably in his belt. Then there was the most important piece.

Tensing his right arm he could still feel the Azure comfortably move to his command. Drawing Bloodscythe, he let the weight of the blade move with his single arm. It didn't feel any weaker, but he couldn't stop shaking this weird sensation. It felt different, but in a way that was hard to describe. It could sense something, something that he normally couldn't, at least not without help. But it wasn't something around him, or rather not all around him. It was as though all Seithr had been entirely removed from the land around him. Even if the place was scrubbed thoroughly by NOL, there had to be at least some of the stuff around.

Instead, the Seithr felt replaced by something else. Something similar, but certainly not the same. It felt weaker, less potent, and not even half as encompassing. Yet it felt more alive in some ways. Like it could take autonomy on its own, without the aid of Ars Magus or a Grimoir.

But that's not important. At least not at this very moment. Ragna shut that feeling out, just for the moment, and concentrated on solely the Azure. It still felt like it always had. Rich with Seithr in of itself, and tied to the Boundary. He calmed down and let his other senses take the wheel again. It felt good to know he wasn't running on a limited supply, but it didn't exactly solve much. Without excess Seithr, he'd have to rely solely on the Azure for his more powerful moves. Not something he's proud of, but not a game changer all things considered, as long as he doesn't over tax it. But then there's the bigger problem.

He had no idea why there wasn't any around him. Even if there were just trace amounts that wouldn't amount to anything, there'd still be something there. It's not like the Black Beast never existed, right? For all the Phenomena Interventions and time traveling Cauldron nonsense he's been through, he still had no idea how this stuff worked. And he was beginning to see all the weird paradoxes caused by one writing themselves out of existence. If he was ever able to just scratch his head and pretend like none of that mattered and could just not think about it, he couldn't anymore. Or at least not rely on someone else to figure it out for him.

"Damn it all…" He whispered to himself.

He figured that there wasn't much point in trying to figure this all out right now. Not here at least.

Checking his surroundings again he tried to see if he could find some kind of path to somewhere. Didn't matter much where, but a night in woods he's never been in didn't sound like fun. He thought he could see a clearing not too far ahead, though knowing his luck he'd just end up wading through bushes or having to climb through trees the entire time. He holstered Bloodscythe back on his waist and started making his way there.

It almost slipped his mind as to how he got here in the first place. He wasn't that concerned about where he landed. Coming back from nothingness into the world, it'd make sense for him to land up somewhere arbitrarily on the planet. Being the Central Fiction had its perks of being just good enough to not wake up at the bottom of the ocean. This he could live with.

The bigger issue at hand would be why this is all happening in the first place. He's squared up with Amaterasu before, and this doesn't seem like something it'd pull just off a whim like that. Could it be some other God that exists even above the Master Unit? As a kid Ragna let just about everything Celica told him go in one ear and out the other, but he never outright dismissed the possibility of a higher power. Right now, that seems like the only possibility. Of course…

"Hey Rachel! If you're looking down on me, I could use some pointers right about now!" He called out in no particular direction.

It took a bit for him to refrain from calling her 'Rabbit', but he figured she'd take note of her full name better coming from him and actually give him an answer. Especially if she didn't remember him. That, and figured she deserved better after what he pulled. She wouldn't admit it, but he could tell it was actually hard on her when he left.

"..."

Nothing.

"Guess that makes sense..." Ragna sighed, stepping over a root and onto a dirt path, arbitrarily choosing to head west instead of east.

Then there was that other thing.

That girl. If some sort of higher power is real, and had somehow manifested her in that void, she had to be someone important. And she certainly felt real enough, and not just in the sense that he could still feel the pressure she clamped down onto his skull kind of way. She wasn't just a figment of his imagination, or anyone's for that matter. She was her own living being, with a mind, body, and soul. Eyes don't peer back at you like her's did if she was some kind of machine or clone or idea or whatever the Hell his bad luck could throw at him.

The weird mirror thing aside, she herself already seemed like too much of a story. Someone with a lot of shit under her belt, and Ragna could tell. For all the bizarre things he's seen, no one just has an arm like the Azure. It's something that you gotta get by clawing away tooth and nail for, or have the horrid luck of being cursed with it. That Naoto kid was proof enough. Even if Ragna could get past that, she was young. Around his age, maybe even a little younger. She didn't seem to be put off by her arm either, more so that she was surprised Ragna had one himself. It's possible she could've fought for it, but given his own experience, it's not likely. If she even had to go through half of what he did, then there's something crucial he's missing here. As in, no longer the Central Fiction type crucial.

"Tch…" He scratched his head.

He didn't get why he kept having to wrap his head around stuff he knew he wouldn't understand anyways. But he still did it, and he still hates himself for it.

He shoved the thoughts out of his mind. He can keep pondering about all this stuff and get answers later. The more important thing is what's right in front of him. He's gotta find somewhere secure, city, village, doesn't really matter, as long as he can rest up and figure out where he is. He's gotta be here for a purpose, and where he is has gotta play a role in that somehow. So as of now, that's all his to-do list says.

"It also wouldn't hurt to have a warm meal after all this. Shit, what's the last thing I ate?" He started talking to himself, but made sure to stop at the hint of danger he was picking up.

It was different from what he was used to, that same energy that seemed to replace Seithr, but still just as hostile. It was coming from his side just past the tree line, and he could hear a very vague growling noise.

Ragna wasn't all that worried, but he couldn't pretend like he's invincible, especially around this strange feeling. He wrapped his hand around Bloodscythe and prepared to open with two clean slashes if anything jumped out at him.

Low and behold it did just that, though he can't say he was entirely expecting what it was.

He didn't waste any time cutting it down with a flawless execution of Carnage Scissors, leaving that thing in three cleaved chunks.

"A… werewolf?" He asked himself.

Still, not the weirdest thing, not even relative to the past hour, but it's not exactly anything he could've seen coming. He let Bloodscythe rest on his shoulder for the moment as he examined it. He supposed he could chalk it down to Seithr radiation hitting the wildlife here, or maybe some poor demihuman, but how it got to look like a werewolf of all things is a bit beyond his expertise. That, and there still wasn't a lick of Seithr on it.

Another one burst through from behind a tree, going for his back, to which Ragna sliced it with an upward slash while using his shoulder as a fulcrum. The werewolf was sent flying over and in front of him with a nasty gash on it's chest. It struggled to get back up as Ragna watched it, and it dishearteningly decided to throw itself back onto the Grim Reaper. Before it could make contact, Ragna grabbed onto its face with the Azure, transforming into its large claw form, and crushing the beast's skull as he drained it of its life.

Lazily, Ragna tossed the corpse onto the ground and looked back into the forest. He tried feeling around for any more of that strange energy, thankfully finding none. At least not any nearby.

"Alright, so I guess the wildlife stepped up their game since I left… huh?" Ragna noticed something from the edges of his sight. The werewolf corpse, the second one actually, was swirling full of a purplish black and red energy, before it was reduced to a much smaller form. One of a human.

"Agh! Shit!" Ragna quickly knelt down next to the corpse.

He checked for a pulse, though he already knew the answer."

"Damn…"

That wasn't normal. Not by any metrics. The only thing that could come to mind would be that it was part of one of Relius' twisted experiments, but he has more tact than to just let subjects out into the wild like this. This had to be natural when it was everything but.

Ragna really didn't like the idea of killing people. Yeah he talked about that kinda stuff a lot, all the collateral he's done has probably racked enough damage to warrant that ninety billion bounty, and wildlife is another story, but when it came down to just outright slashing people, he actually really tried to avoid his namesake. Hitting someone with the same stuff that made his life Hell wasn't his style.

"I'm sorry it had to turn out this way…" He said the corpse, a tinge of disappointment in himself laced his voice.

He then looked over at the other cadaver, which had met an even more gruesome fate. Strangely enough, this one seemed to stay a werewolf, or whatever Ragna figured they were called. His eyes narrowed.

"Something's not right…" he grumbled.

He kept having things thrown at him he couldn't keep up with. Was this one also a person? Was it made that way? Why did it attack him? Why is any of this happening? He felt his grip around Bloodscythe tighten. He let himself feel frustrated. After a couple seconds passed he figured that was enough of that. Just like everything else in the past hour, standing around and letting himself get mad wasn't going to solve anything.

"Just get somewhere safe, don't get into trouble, and-"

"You! Hold it right there!"

"Oh fuck me…"

Someone further down the path had spotted him. And from the authority in his voice, they sounded like an officer of some kind. And he'd spotted him. Spotted him standing over a body. A dead body. An officer had spotted him standing over a dead body. This is definitely how he wanted to spend his once in an eternity resurrection.

"Hold it right there you cur! In the name of the Abbey, you are under arrest. I suggest you step away from your victims and surrender fiend!" Another officer called out in the same tone, closer this time.

Ragna turned around with his hands in the air, letting Bloodscythe rest back on his belt. He got a better look at the pair of officers running up on him. Good news, they weren't NOL, so he still has a chance of getting out of here without making things uglier than they have to be. Bad news, they were legitimate knights in shining armor. And not in the same way Hakumen was. They were wearing some fifteenth century based fantasy armor, with steel plates and executioner swords at their sides. They even looked european in design. He's never been to the UK, assuming this is where he is at atll, but Ragna imagined that they'd have been a little more developed than the dark ages.

"Calm down, I can explain." He called out as they drew closer, his face clearly not pleased to be in this position. "Also 'cur'? 'Fiend'? I get you guys are knights and all, but you can dial it back on the gaelic."

"We care not if you find our rhetoric to be but a shibboleth, we crave only that you see justice for the murder of this poor man!" One of them called back out, drawing his sword.

"Well if you'd just cool your jets, you might just learn that I was attacked by them." Ragna said, nudging his head to reference the two dead bodies. He also silently tried to figure out what a 'shobbleth' was.

"Them?" the other knight spoke, slightly calmer.

"Yes, them. These two wolf things came up and attacked me as I was minding my own business. I cut them both down and this one turned into, or, maybe back into a human? Look I don't really know what's happening here, but you guys have gotta keep better watch on your backyard if you're gonna let shit like this happen." Ragna barked at them.

"That's impossible, no daemon can revert back into a human. Lord Artorious deems it so." One knight spoke under his breath.

"Mayhaps, but this man does not show any signs of deceit, foul play, or resistance. It is entirely possible that he simply mistook his fellow man for a daemon about to turn. And if what he says is true, he is to see the Administration of the crowned prince. Wouldn't you say?" The other spoke to his partner.

"You're… you're right. You sir! State your name and business. Speak it, so that you may be tried in the light of the Abbey." Ragna was addressed again.

Ragna didn't like the idea of these people getting him on a leash, and so soon after he got back too. But they only seem to be doing their job, and complying with them and this 'Abbey' is without a doubt the most peaceful way this can play out. He can get physical whenever he wants, but if he can make this work, he'll find a way. Now all he has to do is pray that they don't recognize him as the most wanted criminal on the planet. Easy.

"The name's Ragna. And I'm a nomad from the east, I'm just trying to make it over to the next town." He spoke back, slowly approaching and lowering his arms.

"We'd like a full name sir. The Abbey does not play games in conduct of law." One of them stated. Ragna figured him not being referred to as a 'cur' was a sign of them not viewing him as a hostile anymore. And giving them the last name 'Bloodedge' might ruin that. At least they haven't recognized him this far.

"It's just Ragna. Nomads don't care much for names." It wasn't entirely a lie. Or at least he didn't think it was. It seemed to pass as the Knight gave a sigh in response.

"Very well Ragna. Come with us for questioning. You can rest easy knowing that your treacherous journey to refuge is all but secure now." The knight said, he and his partner turned around to head back the way they came. Ragna didn't like the attitude of these guys offering him an 'escort', but it beat the alternative by a country mile.

"Thanks, but if you don't mind me asking, where we headed? I lost my map a ways back and have been walking this way ever since." He tried to play dumb.

"Well you're in for quite the surprise good fellow. We are to arrive in Loegres, the Jewel of the Midgand Empire, and the most glorious sanctuary in all of the land! In our carriage up ahead, we should be back within the hour." One of them professed. Ragna guessed these guys were really passionate about their jobs.

"Sounds comfy…"

There was a sharp inhale as she forced herself awake, eyes shooting open and both arms primed for battle as best she could in the bed she was resting in. Her eyes were frantic, or at least more than usual, darting around the room for a would be aggressor.

"V-Velvet?"

The therion swiftly drew her arm blade and swung it in the direction of the speaker. The voice was innocent, so much so she couldn't believe it came from a real person, Malakim or not. That didn't stop her from shutting it down though. Just barely, she kept the tip of the blade's length from drawing blood, letting it rest comfortably between the chin and throat of the speaker. She wanted them to know they'd better think twice if they wanted to try anything with her.

"What do-!" Velvet started, her voice lacking all traces of mercy, but she quickly stopped herself as soon as she realized what she was doing.

She looked at Laphicet's tearing face as he watched her draw the blade on him, threatening him like a wild animal. It didn't take much imagination to guess what he was doing, and Velvet quickly withdrew her blade in shame at what she had almost done. An innocent boy had the gall to make sure she wasn't losing sleep, and she attacked him for it without a second thought.

"Laphicet! No. N-n-no I'm sorry. I didn't mean to- I-I" She struggled to say as she jumped out of bed and knelt down next to the Malakim. She held out her hands to try and show she wasn't trying anything, but wasn't doing a good job at finishing her sentences.

"I-it's okay Velvet. You were… you were having a nightmare, right?" He asked, calmer than she thought he'd be. Heavens above she was glad he wasn't scared out of his mind. "I saw you tossing and turning, and your arm, it flared up in your sleep. A-and when you woke up you looked really out of it. I just wanted to make sure you were…"

"I'm fine Laphicet… I'm fine. And I'm sorry for scaring you like that. I… I'm sorry." She looked down at the floor.

"It's okay. It must've been one scary dream if it got to you like that!" The young boy exclaimed.

"A-and what's that supposed to mean?" Velvet said, doing her best to regain her composure. She let herself act like that for a moment, and just a moment. It was her own sin, and she had to deal with it. But she wasn't going to let any of that get in the way of her quest, and if she kept it up, she figured Laphicet would get the wrong idea.

"W-well it's just that, you're so brave and… if you were scared, you must've-"

"Don't be stupid."

"H-huh?"

"If you thought I was 'scared' then you don't know the first thing about me." She said coldly, standing up from her place on the floor.

"Velvet…" Laphicet said under his breath.

The therion didn't pay him any attention though, instead opting to walk back up on deck of the Van Eltia. She had some questions for Eizen. Whatever she just went through, she wanted answers to, and Eizen certainly knows more than anyone else here.

She only got to the top of the steps, her head barely poking out into the mid afternoon sun, when she was hit by something nerve wracking.

"Scary dream huh?" She heard come from behind. If she didn't just get done apologizing for making this mistake, she probably would've drawn her blad on him in that moment.

Instead she turned around, letting her signature scowl find its place back on her face as she looked at her crewmate. Rokuro had a grin on his face. One that managed to walk a fine line between smug and playful. He was leaning against the railing of the ship, casually tossing one of his short swords in the air and catching it by its tip.

"What's it to you?" She bit back.

"Hey, I didn't mean a thing by it." Rokuro innocently raised his hands in response, his smile persisting. "But it sounds like you gave the kid a scare, and I know how much you… don't not care about him. If you need someone to talk to about this stuff, we're here for ya." He said as genuinely as ever.

"Who's this 'we' you're referring to?" She dropped before walking away, heading up to the steering deck.

Rokuro let his smile drop as he sighed in response.

"What's it gonna take for that girl to open up?" He said to himself, shaking his head. The sound of footsteps from the bottom of the cabin got his attention, and he remembered Velvet wasn't alone down there. Laphicet came back up from getting Velvet, and Rokuro had to hand it to the little guy, he thought he'd be a bit more rattled if his ears didn't lie to him. The little soldier wasn't letting anything get to him. "You good kid?" He asked him, his smile coming back. And it must be contagious, since Laphicet somehow found the strength to muster one himself.

"Huh, oh, Yeah! I'm good. I'm just… a little worried about Velvet is all…" He looked the way she went to head up to Eizen.

"Psst. Hey, promise not to tell her this, but I can let you in on something." Rokuro playfully whispered over to the young Malakim.

"Huh? W-what is it?" Laphicet asked reluctantly. His expression just slightly more nervous.

"For all her mean words and strong bravado, let me tell you this. Velvet gets scared just like the rest of us. Shocking, I know. I didn't think ' ' knew the meaning of the word when I first met her. But I promise you, she's just putting that up to try and look good for you. For all of us even." He said crouching down next to Laphicet.

"Well I guess that makes sense… it's just that I'm having a hard time imagining what that could be though."

"Me too. I guess I haven't known her that much longer than you, but trust me when I tell you she's got something she's afraid of. Everyone does."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone."

"Even you Rokuro?"

"You sure bet. Now don't go around telling people that. Velvet isn't the only one trying to keep up the good looks." Rokuro said, playfully flexing his muscles. He got the response he was looking for when Laphicet gave a little giggle.

"What do you think she's afraid of Rokuro?" He asked curiously?

"Me? Well, if I had to take a stab, I guess it'd have to be something from before she became all 'tough as nails'. You don't get the way she does without a hitch if you get what I'm saying."

"I think so." Rokuro looked at the kid's puzzled face. He didn't seem to be 'getting' it. Rokuro sighed, figuring it was probably better he didn't until he was a little older.

"But if I actually had to guess what that is, I'm outta ideas. If I'm being honest, I haven't met many people scarier than Velvet. Though that's not saying a whole lot when you've been alone in prison most of your adult life and are only twenty two, but the statement still stands."

"Well then, If there is no one else left to fear, then it is only natural that she fears herself ofcourse!" A new voice joined in. Rokuro and Laphicet turned to see Magilou playfully spinning around a rope while dancing along the railing.

"The Hell are you on about now?" Rokuro asked. From the angle she was standing, he was contemplating having to cover Laphicet's eyes from seeing something he didn't need to.

"I'm simply saying that if there's no one scarier left, then Velvet's gotta be scared of herself. It's just the next natural step." Magilou shrugged and gave the same smug smirk she had, pretending like she knew what was going on any better than the rest of them.

"Uh huh, and are you ever gonna be scared of your-self?" Rokuro said, not buying what she was saying.

"Me? Oh heavens no. There's nothing about this beautiful sack of meat that'll get me shivering. Or at least not in that way." She gave Laphicet a wink. Rokuro definitely decided he was gonna have to keep her away from that kid. "Velvet though, tsk-tsk-tsk, that girl should be worried about what stares back at her in the mirror."

"Eizen." Velvet called out bluntly. The first-mate of the Van Eltia took his eyes off the sea ahead and looked at the raven haired woman.

"What?" He matched her bluntness.

"This Reaper's curse of yours, how severe can it get?" She asked him.

"Depends. Why do you ask?" He said, returning his gaze to the calm waters.

"I had a nightmare. And not a normal one. One so perfectly fleshed out your mind couldn't make up on its own if it tried. If your Reaper's curse is to blame, we're gonna have a problem." She brought a hand up to her hip.

"Hard to say for sure. It's entirely possible that it could all come back to me, but it's hard to attribute bad luck to bad dreams. If these start becoming more frequent, mayhaps, but as for what your mind conjures up what you say, that's beyond even my understanding." He gave her a shrug.

"That's not exactly a comforting answer."

"Doesn't mean it's not true. Maybe if you could tell me what your dream was about we could get an idea as to what's so bad about it, and maybe work backwards from there." He offered.

"..."

"Or you could just talk about it to get it off your chest." He suggested.

"Are you a pirate or a shrink?" Velvet's eyes narrowed at him.

"I'm concerned. If any of my crewmates are in need of anything at all, the responsibility falls upon me to see to it that it is resolved until it is no longer a problem. And as long as you are a resident of the Van Eltia, you are a crewmate. Understand?"

"...forget it. I'll figure this out on my own." She huffed as she returned back to the main deck. Eizen just closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling, and exhaling, before he opened them back up and looked out at the shore ahead.

"Eyes up everyone! Shore fast approaching! Welcome to Loegres!"

Ragna walked up to the cauldron, not entirely sure what to expect. The soft orange-yellow glow it produced a few hundred feet down gave off the impression that it was already operating at full capacity. That complicated things.

"So the smelting is already completed." He thought out loud.

From up above, a piece of the Cauldron's coolant system fell down. It was about the size of a coffin, and for a second he thought he was gonna have to go after it as it fell into the depths of molten Seithr. But when he saw what it was making way for, he was beginning to think diving in was the better alternative. A girl with an all too familiar face, dressed in a light blue bodysuit with a white cloak, blue linings, ornate red tags chained on the sides, and a Seithr restrictor worn as an eyepatch.

"Tch..."

She fell from the facility and onto the edge of the Cauldron with all the grace and wiles of an angel, but Ragna knew better.

"Loading… loading… loading… loading… all systems online, Murakumo activating." Ragna knew the cold water followed as he saw the robot open its only remaining eye. "Ragna! Come here to kill me again, Silly?" He hated that voice.

"Killing's for people. You get broken."

"Oh Ragna, I love it when you talk dirty. Come here, let's play." She stretched out her hand as if to whisk him away when a giant sword suddenly fell behind her, going into a levitating position just before it made contact with the ground. In a quick whirl of wind, the girl had somehow donned white and blue armor that gave her an almost skeletal look, with a visor and single glowing red eye in the center. She let out a disturbingly innocent giggle as she got ready to charge at him, over half a dozen swords flying behind her.

Ragna blocked the first onslaught of attacks, and when she got close he took the opportunity to knock her away to the far side of the Cauldron. He didn't rest long though. What followed next was a faster exchange than he's ever had with anyone else before, darting around the Cauldron like a bullet that couldn't stop moving, with that girl on the offensive the entire time.

She let out another bout of giggles, getting all too much fun out of this. Ragna tried to charge at her with enough force to send her flying with a single swing, but he quickly found himself stuck as she blocked the blow with one half of her sword arsenal, with the other half rose above her head and was about to be dropped on him.

"Son of a-" Ragna tried to get out, trying to get his Blazblue to hurry up and get going to turn the tides in his favor. "Gha-!" But before he could release his restrictions, he felt a sharp pain run through his gut in a searing pain he hadn't felt since that night. That girl had let a sword run through her body and impale them both. She was clearly handling it better than he was though. "You're insane…" He squeezed out, to which she just giggled, and gave him a hug.

"Oh Ragna, now we'll be together. Always!"

She leaned to the side and let herself drop with Ragna in her arms, but the Reaper wasn't going to let himself go down like that. Not when his fight just started.

Ragna Quickly shot his arm back out and onto the ledge they were falling from. He felt his momentum slow, and as painful as it was, he was literally clinging for life, so he couldn't let up now. When his body came to a stop, he practically let out a prayer of thanks that very moment. And it was painful, but as that girl in the white cloak kept falling, the sword that he had used to impale him came falling with her, leaving a gaping hole where his stomach should be. He just hoped that his healing factor would kick in soon. That and that he still had enough strength to pull himself up.

He struggled to get his other hand onto the ledge, but he wasn't about to let himself die after dodging the bullet of falling in with that girl. He got a good grip and both hands, and now all he had to do was pull himself up and he'd be-

"Boo! Ahahahaha!" From above him Hazama was leaning over the ledge and looking down on him, cackling more wildly than the sly-snake typically does. Ragna damn near lost his grip at that, and with the rising fear in his chest, he still might. "The look on your face when you saw her! Who would've thought? The big-bad Grim Reaper, scared of his own reflection..." Hazama got up from his knees and looked down at the stunned Ragna. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Hmph." Hazama scoffed with a sly grin, before bringing his foot up and slamming it on the Reaper's face.

Ragna sighed as he opened his eyes. Another bad dream. It's beginning to feel like the only time he gets unconditionally good shut-eye is when he's forced into a coma, and his heart temporarily stops beating. Neither of which he'd classify as 'refreshing'.

"We almost there yet?" Ragna asked casually. He stretched his back for having been sleeping in an upright position. He was in the back of a wagon that these two knights had been using to transport goods when they ran into him. As of now, both of them were sitting in the front, with one holding the reins to the two horses pulling the cart along.

"Fret not, for the walls of Loegres lie before us as we speak." One of them spoke up.

Ragna turned his head to the front and met the sight of a large stone wall standing tall, and peeking over the tops were the roofs of the kingdom that lay within. Even with walls of rock and clay being primitive by today's standards, he was still impressed with how clean the thing looked. And he sure thought it looked sturdy enough, and the buildings inside were equally impressive if they were able to reach such a height.

But as he let the sight sink in a little more, he couldn't shake this feeling that something wasn't right. More so than before. Even with his own senses picking up something wrong, there was something more that he was missing. This wasn't normal, even for the most tradition heavy of cultures.

"Just what the Hell am I up against here?"

A/N: Okay, so I'm feeling really good about this story right around now, but I want to presence this by saying that may not stay the case. And what I mean by that, is that I'm pretty passionate about this story right now, but this could change in the future. I know that's a risk that every writer has when starting up a new project like this, but unlike in the past I actually don't have that much of a say in how my work ethic is conducted.

I'm a school student still, (I'm not comfortable with revealing more than that), and with the way things are structured out with my school, I really don't have the time to write stories like this save for some weekends depending on how my folks are feeling. However, I do have a lot of downtime over break every couple of months or so, which is when I got this bulk of chapters done. I have this chapter and three others already busted out, and I'll try and be releasing them periodically. If I time things right, and release all these around three weeks in between one another, I should be able to get all number of chapters released and a whole bunch of others done in the back log, creating something of a consistent upload schedule, even if the actual production time is really out of whack.

I know I shouldn't stress over these things, but these are more so limitations on myself that I want to get better at, regardless of the stress I may or may not have of a fan-base watching over me. This would also be the best way of doing things in the vent that I lose passion for this story. Even if I don't want to keep writing, I'd at least want to put out what I DO have to you guys and not just have it sit on my computer, especially when I'm pretty proud of it. And with all that being said, if I manage to gain daddy EpicLinkSpam's blessing, this will all have been worth it regardless.