The rushing river was a soothing sound, as was the gentle breeze rustling the leaves on the treetops and blades of grass. The air carried the scent of flora and fauna alike, clean of the pollution from the cities, from society. There were quiet whispers in the air, but only whispers, barely audible.

Kai knelt on the soft earth, her head tilted down as she held her hands folded together, as if she were praying, though there were no gods she would dare place her faith in.

Behind her was a small handful of Acolytes, the elite soldiers from around the globe who made up her personal entourage. The branch leaders had assured her that they were the very best of the organization in terms of combat and strategy, which would be good enough for her so long as they were being true.

They fanned out in the clearing and in the trees around her, keeping a good distance from Kai while ensuring they were close enough to defend her if something went wrong, and far enough to patrol and keep an eye out for threats. Kom sat closer to her but also at a distance, perched atop an upturned tree, watching her in silence.

The days were blurring together, so much going on, so quickly. She wasn't happy—doubted she ever could be again—but she was satisfied enough with the progress of everything, and the Acolytes, her mission, was progressing quickly if she might add.

With each passing day, she felt a contradiction of both being emptier while at the same time angrier. It was a strange feeling, a new one at that. Even in the past, she had only ever felt empty, not angry. It was only after meeting Maleko that she had begun to feel things, that the emptiness began to fill up with emotions.

But now that he was one, all those emotions had drained away inside of her, leaving only an icy rage.

She was calm, but angry. An eye of the hurricane, as Kom thoughtfully put it. She hadn't been particularly amused by it, but it was fairly accurate all things considered.

It didn't matter. The days went by one after another and she was getting closer to destroying Death and his army, of avenging Maleko. Then, what she did after that, she didn't know. It didn't matter. She'll just let the days and centuries continue to fade around her, maybe.

But even with how fast things may go, how quickly the days went by, there was no way that she would let today slip by. Nothing could make Kai miss today.

"Continue to watch over me from above. Let my hands be steady in the coming battle, my heart stand firm," Kai whispered under her breath as she stayed knelt on the ground. "Stay by my side and give me strength just as you had while alive, and please, Maleko, forgive me for what I will do."

She stayed there a few moments longer, letting her prayer linger in the air before she reached up and took the worn and tattered teddy bear into her hands, giving it a kiss on its head she moved to leave it rested along the rest of the gifts.

Today marked the day that she and Maleko met, the day that they had first crossed paths. "It was right here," Kai said out loud, maybe to no one in particular, maybe to those around her. She looked up at the trees creating a canopy above them, and then down at the dirt covered earth. "This is where we met, I had stumbled into his territory, right into his home."

She began walking, aware of the dozens of eyes following her motions as she gave the tour. This had been Maleko's first home, it deserved to be recognized as such. She wore a soft, tired and sorrowful smile as she came across a massive and old tree that stood the tallest among those in the clearing. It's trunk had been clawed up quite a bit, but the marks were low to the ground to show that the one clawing it hadn't been tall, she let her hand run along the gouges. There was a shallow pit dug beneath its large roots, the remnants of dried moss peeking out from inside. "This had been his nest, he'd drag in fresh moss every few days as a bed, or to cover the roots to shield him from the rain."

He'd been perched atop the massive root when she entered, crouched low and growling, ready to chase her off, to defend his home. A small, scrawny boy, underfed, clear signs of malnutrition. His white hair was long, greasy, looked almost brown from how dirty it was and could have been used to house small animals with how much of a mess it was. No clothes to speak of, covered in dirt, blood, and injuries, old and fresh.

The boy hadn't spoken a word of English, of any language. He couldn't understand Kai when she spoke to him, not that Kai had much to say at the time other than a 'you disgust me, leave' sort of thing. She hadn't been fond of him when they met, but he had grown on her. Maybe it was how willful he had been. Facing an unknown threat, facing what could have been instant death, but unwilling to back down.

She shook her head to clear it of that thought and continued to move through the old camp. There was another shallow grave a scattering of rocks filling it and Kai let out a small chuckle. Her boy had been so smart, even back then. "This was his firepit. He knew that fires would keep him safe, and he'd light one every night, it helped ward off bigger threats, kept him warm."

He even cooked his food on the fire occasionally. Not often enough if the number of parasites he had in his body by the time she got him to a doctor was anything to go by. Most parasites couldn't survive long inside of him, but there were a lot who were just too persistent to die in that internal fire of his.

There was a flat rock, probably eroded by a river that once passed through this clearing ages ago, right in direct line of the sunlight coming through the cracks in the tree lines above. "He'd curl up here every day, just sunbathing. Taking in the warmth of the day, resting."

There were so many things she could say about the camp. She could point out his favorite climbing trees, where he skinned the animals he'd catch and bring back to camp, She could point out where he made her bleed when they did have an altercation, where she patched him up after he got clawed up after a fight with some monkeys, where he'd left the corpses of the monkeys after he burned them alive.

She could point out the exact spot they had been standing when she realized that being around him made her feel something.

There were so many memories here, more for Maleko than for her, but these were where she had her first moments with him. Where she first realized she was alive and was happy. It was important to her. The one place where Death could not take from her, ruin for her.

So naturally, this was the only place appropriate to place his grave.

They didn't have a body, so it was an empty grave, but it was a grave nonetheless. It had taken a few days to prepare, Kai couldn't return home and so they had to send agents to get things from the wreckage of her home. Maleko's old toys. Photos of them. Some had been taken from the debris, some had been taken from the police station. Her agents proved their worth by gathering everything without rousing suspicion, it even earned them some verbal praise from Kai. They ate it up like attention-starved dogs.

The shrine itself was simple. There was no cross, but she had been able to get someone to carve a simple tombstone for her.

Here lived Maleko Palakiko.

Short, brief, simple. He wouldn't have wanted something long and complicated, something with too many words, or a lot of big words. No, it had to be short and to the point, it had to be simple, Maleko wouldn't have wanted anything else.

She stared at the words, traced them with the pads of her fingers and it made it feel real.

Closing her eyes, Kai looked down at the base of the grave marker. There were old toys and photos against it. Maleko's favorite teddy bear, with its ear all torn up. His Superman action figure—oh god how he loved Superman, he would have grown up to be a hero like him if the chance hadn't been stolen from him—his bunny hoodie, and numerous photos that were taken of Maleko after he had moved in with her.

It was real, he really was gone, wasn't he?

Kai closed her eyes again and took a deep breath. She couldn't let the Acolytes see her in grief, couldn't let them see her as anything but strong and in control. So she would save her anguish for when she was somewhere more private.

This was the most she was going to be able to do for him, at least for now. Once she avenged him, she could do more. Maybe erect a monument on the destroyed academy grounds? Probably not, would be too flashy for his tastes. Still, she wanted to do something for Maleko when this was all said and done, something to show the world, the whole world, that he had existed, that there had been something great, something pure, and that Death destroyed it.

That was something she could figure out once Death was dead. Once she figured out if Death could even be killed, too. That was still a question that was up in the air, after all. Could a god be killed? Probably, just not easily.

And if she couldn't kill him, she'd settle for just slaughtering all his students. Maybe then he'd feel a fraction of the pain he caused her when Maleko was killed.

Taking another longing look at the grave, Kai turned and started walking away. The Acolytes shuffled to make way for her, to make sure they were out of her way, and she nodded her head towards Kom to gesture for him to follow her. He dutifully got off his log and came to her side.

There were a few nodded heads from the Acolytes as they passed, whispers of 'My Lady' and that sort of bullshit, and she didn't even need to watch them to know they were following.

"Kai," Kom began, probably just to fill the air with silence as they walked through the thick jungle.

"Any updates?"

There was a shuffle as they walked, trees rustling as the Acolytes followed them. "The entire organization is now aware and declaring loyalty to you, they've taken steps of their own initiative to neutralize problematic figures as well—in ways that won't lead back to the Acolytes as a whole. They've been disguising these hits as normal incidents; robberies, hit-and-runs, accidents."

"Good, they can think on their own I see," Kai rolled her eyes a little as she thought of her cult. "They know how to be discreet, if anything." They had spent years, generations of periods staying hidden from the public eye, of maintaining the appearance of being a thing of the past destroyed and gone. They knew how to mask their activities, how to keep Death off their trail.

They had their uses. What they lacked in the superpower like capabilities of meisters and weapons, they made up for in their dedication. Absolute loyalty, the unquestioned devotion. They would rather die than surrender, than fail. Rather die than fail Kai, and were willing to use any tactic, any sacrifice, to do as they were told.

Her enemies lacked that loyalty, that blind obedience. They would doubt and ignore orders if they don't agree with it, they'll run off and do their own thing if it pleases them.

They were used to hunting monsters and witches, and now they would have to dirty their hands to kill fellow humans. Kai wanted to see the look on their faces when they made their first kills. The look of absolute despair.

"We got a raven this morning, as well," Kom continued as they walked, and Kai tilted her head towards him. Raven? No one used ravens for messages, not in the age of technology. Which meant it was important, unique. Witches, most likely.

"Mabaa?"

Kom nodded, not that there was much doubt to who could have sent it. "The other witches aren't sure what to make of this yet. They won't stand with us, but they won't stand against us, either. Better than I could have hoped, to be honest," he gave a lazy shrug.

Kai hadn't expected them to ally themselves with her, but the threat that they may aid Death had been prevalent. "I'll take it. So long as they don't get in the way, I'm content with them standing on the sidelines."

"And as long as we don't pose a threat to the "safety and stability of the witch community" they'll be happy to stay out of it," Kom threw in air quotes with his fingers as he said that and rolled his eyes. "They're watching us, of course. Looking for the one moment we slip up so they can formally declare us as enemies. I don't like it. They've always been a bit craven, looking out only for themselves, ready to throw others under the bus."

"You'd have done the same in their place."

He grumbled but didn't deny nor confirm it, instead he just kicked a rock aside, watching as some small rodent darted out between the bushes.

"How is the drug working?" Kai asked, moving the conversation along as she stepped over a mess of vines and roots, recalling how she had almost tripped over it the first time she walked that path. She didn't look at Kom as they walked, instead watching the familiar scenery.

Kom hummed, having a bit more trouble maneuvering through the undergrowth. "I sent prototypes of the drug to twenty test groups across the world, so far nineteen of them have given me feedback for its effectivity," he answered, ducking under a low branch. "The drug works, it successfully interferes with the both the soul wavelength of an individual as well as the weapons ability to transform. There are some issues of efficiency in using it, but that can be ironed out later."

That was good, that was exactly what they needed this drug to do. It'd weaken the enemy forces considerably. But there was one bit that did concern her, quite a bit in fact. "And what of the group that hasn't reported in yet?" she asked carefully, watching Kom from the corner of her eye.

He was nervous, anxious when she brought up that group, and began scratching at the back of his neck. "About that. The group that hasn't reported in was manned by Arthur Kirkman and Boris Grackle."

"And?"

Kom swallowed and then, after steeling his nerves, looked at her, "They were stationed at Death City. We don't know the full details, but it appears that their mission was compromised and they were killed."

Death City, huh? That place was just cursed. "Great, just great," Kai hissed as they walked, shaking her head. "Any idea how much the all benevolent Death knows?" she asked him. If he knew too much, their advantage of surprise might be ruined. A lot of their plan was relying on DWMA being in the dark for as long as possible.

"No idea. So far it doesn't seem that they know much of what's going on, about the Acolytes. But I'm sure they'll begin piecing it together."

"We'll have to be careful; we'll need to move fast, too." It wasn't as though Kai actually felt bad that they had lost two agents, it was just annoying that they had lost them. Arthur and Boris had been the only agents within Death City and had been acting as our main source of intel in that area in regard to what the academy was doing. It hadn't been a perfect system by no means, Death and his minions were good at keeping quiet, but it had allowed them to know some things that went on thanks to talkative students.

It also meant that Death was going to be more alert now. They were already on the hunt for Kai, and with the deaths of two Acolytes, it wouldn't be long before they pieced together what was going on, figured out that she had her own army. Kai would need to be more careful, more cautious. One more wrong step and things could become a disaster, she wasn't going to allow for that.

"One battle," Kai decided as they reached the bend of a rushing river, staring out at the water and feeling it call to her. "We just need one battle that's a devastating defeat for them. We need to crush their main forces and morale in a single hit, and then finish them off while they're disorganized and confused. Hit Death when the city is at its weakest and unguarded. Our aim is going to be a swift and unquestioned victory."

Kai walked forward and the river parted around her. On the other side, that dirt and grass, was where she and Maleko had finally connected. She could see it perfectly, remember every little detail.

Dirty, scrawny, cautious, the nameless boy was couched close to the ground. Heat radiated off him like a candle, a low growl in his breath.

A hand had been held out and he took it. Warmth overcoming the cold of her own flesh and bones. For the first time, Kai had felt something deep within her, an emotion she hadn't been able to name at the time, but a warm one, one that she wanted to keep and never let go.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

The river closed in around her, submerging her from waist down in rushing water. Kai turned her head to look at Kom, still standing on the shore, amidst the bushes and grass. He was watching her, a look in his eyes that she could not name, a distance that was new.

"I'm sorry?" Kai asked.

He hesitated, then spoke again, "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked again, "Going up against the DWMA, against Death. I don't like either of them, but, the odds aren't good. Even with the poison I made, even with your magic. It's going to be suicide, and if it's not, if you win, it's going to be pure chaos. If the witches decide to ally with the DWMA, it doesn't matter how big an organization the Acolytes are, doesn't matter how fast we can have them all gathered in one spot; we'll lose."

"Are you suddenly afraid, Kom?" Kai stared at him, her eyes not narrowed, her expression not angry, but it was accusatory all the same. Are you turning your back on me? was the unspoken question. "Afraid you might lose? I didn't think you only took chances if there were no risks."

The lizard sorcerer stared at her in silence, a mute pleading in his eyes, but he didn't budge, not a step towards her, not a step back. "If we make ourselves an enemy of the whole world, we die."

"And if we win?" Kai challenged and felt the water around her rise in spires, "Are you underestimating the strength of my magic? If we choose the right battlefield, it doesn't matter how many people oppose us. I trust in my magic; I trust in my strength and capabilities. I trust we'll win."

"And if we win, we might still lose," Kom replied softly. He took a deep breath, looked up at the sky before exhaling. Kai watched as her friend, the one person who had been at her side for hundreds of years, began to walk towards her, wading through the water. It was hard, it was slow, he pushed through the rushing rapids with no aid from Kai, feet sinking into the mud and sludge, but he pushed on.

He reached her, soaked, freezing, and standing before her with a mask on his face. "I'll stand by you, Kai," he reached for her, resting his hand on her cheek. "I've always stood by you. I may not agree, I may not believe in any of this, but I'll stay with you until the end, if you'll have me."

That was good enough for her. She needed him there, someone she could trust. He was vital, important, the only one who could produce the poisons, the only person who could lead as her proxy.

She stepped away from him, letting his hand slip off her face and watching it fall back to his side. The water parted once more, leaving a path for them to the other side of the river.

"We'll need someplace where we'll have the advantage," she said as she walked towards the shore. Someplace that would give them an edge over the enemy in this coming war. Someplace with water in excess. She knew just the place. "Tell the Acolytes to ready for travel, to prepare for cold weather."