OOC: M'kay. And another chapter. I was kinda kidding about the predicting thing, but 'sallright. Uh...Either the same people are reading my story over and over again, or people are reading and not reviewing, because I have waaay too many hits for 6 reviews. Anyway, flames are welcomed, as long as they're constructive criticism.

Nessmk: By foreshadowing, I mean that though it's a happy ending, with everyone being together again (or almost everyone, anyway...I feel like making Spar stay dead because I never liked him, but that wouldn't be very fair...), but you'll know that a villain still lurks out there, and is planning something. The tragic ending would have Ryu and Katt paired up, but they might not live that long...And the happy ending? All the villains are dead and gone, and everyone is happy. FYI, the soul part will probably happen. That's where Thuren comes in. Erm...In the second chapter, it should be Thuren instead of Nureth. Hmm. I And now, I shall say no more about that.

ValentineObsession: Glad to see that someone else is reading this story...Thanks for the positive comment...

"What was that?" Bleu asked shakily, as they appeared at the gates of Township.

Ryu chose to pause before answering. "I don't know. But it was definitely evil in origin. I've never seen my Dragon's Tear go so dark purple at a distance...Not even Deathevn..."

Neither could think of anything worse than Deathevn, so they walked in an awkward silence to the pub, both wondering what the creature could have been.

I've never seen anything like that happen before, thought Ryu. My Dragon's Tear has never shown anything as that evil before...That was definitely not any average monster. It had to have been a demon. But what sort of demon could be worse than its own creator. At a distance, Deathevn's color on the Dragon's Tear was a light violet, but that odd entity had a dark violet from an even farther distance. It's the closest I've seen the Dragon's Tear get to black. Than another thought came to him. That better not be one of the demons that knows how to bind Death...If it is, I don't think he and I will get along very well...At least I can try talking with Kilujy. I've heard of him. He's a demon stuck in the shape and form of an old man. He wouldn't be taking any mountain trips. But the other two...Thurlecroix. I've not heard that name before. Perhaps a smaller demon that just managed to get ahold of some information. And Thuren. He I know of. He was said to be the right hand man of - Ryu's thoughts were interrupted as he walked into a tree and fell backwards, stars spinning around his head. He saw Bleu looking at him questioningly, muttered, "I'm fine," and got back up, letting his thoughts wander again. Thuren. Said to be the most powerful demon there was. Some claimed his power surpassed Deathevn. But he had never shown any interest in taking over the world. He had gone and done other things that were less suspicious...

Meanwhile, Bleu was having her own thoughts about the situation. Who was that man? She thought. Really, though, he couldn't have been a mere man to have gotten a dark purple like that on the Dragon's Tear...He was obviously a demon. But what sort of demon? What sort of demon could score so low on the friendliness scale of the Dragon's Tear from a distance? Was Ryu keeping something a secret? Bleu heard a thunk behind her and turned to see Ryu on the ground, looking dazed. He had walked into a tree. Bleu almost smiled, but knew better, and looked at Ryu questioningly.

He simply stated, "I'm fine," and got up. Their walk continued in silence until they reached the pub, where Lyon was waiting.

"Did you get it?" asked Lyon, looking rather excited.

Bleu nudged Ryu. He held out the bag they had put the fruit in. Lyon took a look in, and said, "Excellent! Many thanks to you, Destined Child. We could have gone up there ourselves, but...Erm...We would have had much more trouble than the Destined Child, who can fight off monsters with ease! The Worens shall always show gratitude towards you."

Ryu scowed, but Lyon didn't seem to notice, for he turned back to his group and started telling them the news. "He just didn't want to risk his own skin," hissed Ryu under his breath.

Bleu shrugged. "Some people are like that, Ryu. But you did do these Worens a big favor. You should be proud of that. ...Katt would have liked you doing her race a favor."

Ryu didn't say anything to that. Instead, he said quietly, pointing his hand to the large, roomy house where Niro lived but kept apartments for them, "We should sleep. We leave tomorrow morning. Be ready."

Ryu slept horribly. He was constantly disturbed by a nightmare. He was in an endless, swirling vortex, and Katt's body was only a few steps in front of him...But no matter how much he ran, he couldn't reach it. No matter how much his heart ached, nothing happened. It was as if he was simply running in place. After a while, Katt's body disappeared, and it was replaced by a tall, sinister man, who was wearing a long robe that covered his whole body. The hood was over his head, so that was not visible either, as he bent his head. "So...You are Ryu, the Destined Child. You're not so tough now, are you?" asked the figure.

"What?" Ryu said, distracted. He could hear the voice so clearly...Almost as if it were-

"Real, Ryu. I am real. Too bad for you, your girlfriend's soul tried to contact you. I was barely able to stop her from talking to you, but now I've got her subdued. She'll be in for a punishment later..."

Ryu felt a rush of anger towards the man, and tried to draw his sword. But it wasn't there. He tried to punch at the man, but all his punches were stopped by an invisible barrier. "How are you-" Ryu started.

"Doing this? When a soul tries to contact someone, the dream induced by that is forever, until you're woken up by another living thing. If you starve, you won't wake up. It'll take another living being to wake you up. Not that I think that I can get rid of you this way...But I'll have you know that you're helpless here, in this realm."

"Who-" Ryu tried to say, but was interrupted again.

"Am I?" finished the man, an unseen sneer playing across his lips. "Why, I am your Woren friend's keeper! But I think that Thurlecroix will tell you all about me before long..."

"How...Why am I still sleeping? Katt's soul isn't here!" demanded Ryu.

"No need to yell. I can hear you perfectly well," said the man in an even tone. "As for your question...She's still around. She's just invisible. If you weren't restricted to where you are now, you could feel around and find her."

Ryu tested the demon's claim. It was true, for he could not move his feet at all, but, oddly, had a perfect balance. "You..." But his sentence went unsaid as something pulled at him, tugging him away from his dream.

The demon's voice echoed in his head as the scene faded. "We will meet again, Destined Child, and sooner than you think..."

Than Ryu was awaked, staring into the face of a sleepy-looking Niro. "Next time you have a nightmare," said Niro, pointing at Ryu as if he had done something wrong, "Stay in your bed. Don't get up and stomp around, waking a poor ol' innocent man like me up!"

After Niro left the room, Ryu thought about his dream as he garbed himself. If what the demon said was true...Than Katt was going to be in trouble for trying to contact him. He had to hurry. He ran down the stairs at a fast pace, grabbed the Roast on the table for him, and started taking large, frantic bites out of it. "You'll want to eat slower, Ryu," said Niro, who was holding a second Roast over a fire. "Don't want an upset stomach, eh?" Bleu emerged from her room, yawning slightly, as Ryu finished devouring his Roast.

"Mornin', Ryu. Same to you, Niro," she said sleepily, picking up her own breakfast. Her drowsiness diminished when she saw the look on Ryu's face, and she also finished her breakfast quickly, ignoring Niro's protests about the two of them eating too fast and about their stomachs and intestines going bad.

Once finished, Bleu followed Ryu out of the house. This time, there wasn't anything to hold him back. He had his pack slung over his shoulder, as well as his sword, and he was quite ready to leave. As soon as they were outside the town, Bleu raised her staff to Warp them to Coursair. However, she felt an odd tingling as she did so. "Ryu, be carefu-Aaah!" her sentence was cut off as both were jerked upwards roughly. The two reappeared not far from Coursair.

"What was that?" asked Ryu in a tone that was forced calm.

"I...Don't know..." answered Bleu. "Some sort of interference...Look, Coursair isn't that far away now. Let's walk."

Ryu sighed, "Well...I suppose walking won't be hard..."

Minutes later, Ryu removed his sword from the tough hide of a Biruburu. "I've changed my mind. We should not have walked. Ah, well. At least we're almost there..." Then, Ryu stopped, feeling something. There was another presence close to them...He jumped, tackling Bleu and knocking her over.

"Ryu...What-?" Bleu was hushed by Ryu, who was looking at a man who had just appeared a few feet away from them. Ryu stood, brushing himself off a bit, and looked intently at the man. He didn't look bad...But looks could always be decieving. Better test him with the Dragon's Tear, thought Ryu. He focused his attention on the man – and felt something vibrating against his leg. He pulled out the Dragon's Tear. It was shaking, and the color was what it should never be: Black.

"You should put that away before it breaks," commented the man.

That voice, thought Ryu. Where have I heard it before? "Who are you?" he said aloud.

The man smiled. "Why, Destined Child...I am Thuren, Hunter of Souls."