As Zelgadis walked, his mind dwelled on the devastation left behind. He had only found the handle of an axe, the remaining hint of a father and daughter living next to beasts trying to kill them at every turn. Had those beasts been Mazoku? Perhaps. Or had they only been magical constructs, invulnerable to normal strikes? Perhaps. He wouldn't know now. All he could do was bury that handle, remembering how scared, how protective that father had been. All he could do was hope the spirit of his daughter would stay by her father's side, even if she would never forgive Zelgadis himself for killing her father.

At least, in death, the two of them would not have to worry about those beasts coming for them.

Unlike Zelgadis. He had thought he had turned into a monster by his great-grandfather, Rezo… only to learn very recently that he had always been a monster. How long had he been feeding off the emotions of others?

Why had Rezo taken him in after his parents died? Zelgadis felt the question hit him, more chilling than a bucket of cold water. Had the Shard sealed inside his eyes called to the blood inside Zelgadis's veins? He knew he had been irresistibly drawn to Rezo the instant he had seen him. When he had seen Zelgadis, had Rezo felt the same way? Drawn to him, blood to blood? The darkness hiding in his eyes knowing Zelgadis would aid him, in his rebirth, no matter what?

Zelgadis gripped his tunic above his heart, almost feeling betrayed by the thought. Had Rezo ever felt anything for his own family? Any sort of familial love? Or had he seen them has tools to be used then discarded?

To that end, how often had he only seen Lina and the others as mere tools? How often had he been his great-grandfather?

It was starting to snow again.

And how Lina hated travelling in the snow. Thankfully, Raywing meant she wasn't trudging through steadily rising snow, but it also meant she wasn't getting any warmer.

It also meant Gourry was clinging to her legs, letting out the occasional whimper of fear. "Oh, come on," Lina chided. "You think you'd be used to this by now."

"I don't think I'll ever get used to something like this," Gourry said mournfully, screwing his eyes tightly shut as he grasped her legs tighter. "Humans were meant to be on the ground, Lina!"

"Well, this is the fastest way to get to the Blood of the Ruby Eye, so suck it up," she told him, her tone dismissive but she kept an eye on him. She wanted to reach down and comfort him, but they didn't have time for that. They had to get to this newly awaken Shard before it regained too much power and destroyed the world. She had to focus on the beacon ahead. Maybe after they took care of this.

L-sama. Would this ever be done? Was this their life now? What would be next, killing the Lord of Nightmares Herself? Lina closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. No, she couldn't think like that. Eventually, things would quiet down. She'd go home, and hold her head high as she looked her sister in the eyes. The idea of being able to look Luna Inverse in the eyes after what happened made her shiver, but even Luna would have to admit that killing several Mazoku, which included Shabranigdo (twice! And she was going to defeat him for the third time now!), was impressive and… well it had to excuse the stuff Lina did as a kid, right? One day, she'd go home, introduce Gourry to her family, and… she'd probably not stay home. Not at first. But she'd have a home to go back to when she got tired. And when the wanderlust finally shook itself out of her feet, she settle down with Gourry at Zephilia.

Eventually, life would work itself out that she wouldn't have to be Lina Inverse, Bandit Killer, the sorceress that saved the world more times than the world knew, and she could just be… Lina. Eventually.

Eventually.

Zelgadis turned slightly. The snow obscured his sight, but… what was he feeling? It almost felt like… his eyes widened. Was Lina nearby, casting the Giga Slave? He cursed, spinning completely around and running towards the feeling. It probably wasn't the sane decision, but if Lina felt the need to cast the Giga Slave, something wasn't right.

And he wouldn't deny a dark part of him wanted to seek the sorceress out… for a reason possibly deadly to her.

Lina swore under her breath as the feeling of Shabranigdo came closer, rushing to meet them. She started to land, letting Gourry come to his feet and pull his sword so they both would be ready. If it wanted to meet them halfway, they needed to be ready for it.

But a monster never arrived. Instead, a man came to a stop in front of them, the cream coloured clothes and inhuman skin and hair declaring him a familiar, friendly chimera. Zelgadis's chest rose and fell rapidly as his glittering ruby eyes widened-

Wait.

Lina wasn't casting the Giga Slave. She was just… landing, ending a Raywing. As Zelgadis watched, both Lina and Gourry relaxed as they saw him panting for air, not from the air but the panic that Lina could have been fighting something that required the Giga Slave, the panic she could have destroyed the world- and then Lina tensing.

As usual, Gourry looked between the two of them, his eyes wide and guileless, before settling on Zelgadis. "Why are your eyes different, Zel?" he finally asked, innocent.

"Because he made a pact," Lina growled. "For your cure?"

Zelgadis winced. There wasn't a cure. There would never be a cure for what ran through his veins since birth. "A cure never existed, Lina. It's not going to exist, and I would never make a pact to make it exist."

"Then why do I feel like Shabranigdo is standing right in front of me if you didn't make a pact?"

Zelgadis met her golden eyes, his heart seizing at that sight. "Why are your eyes as gold as the Lord of Nightmares?"

Her breath visibly stopped.

Her eyes weren't- He couldn't be insinuating that he- that she-

"Um, Lina- what are you two talking about?"

"He's saying we've both used so much magic of a certain type that it's bleeding into us and changing us. That doesn't make sense…" Lina shook her head. "Zel, you avoided Black magic as much as possible."

Zelgadis looked away.

A chill ran down Lina's spine.

He hadn't been casting Black magic. He was Black magic now. Slowly, he reached out, silently calling for Xellos, knowing his voice wouldn't allow him to say what he was now. He couldn't say it to Lina. His voice would fail him before he told the woman he helped kill his family, helped kept his family from destroying the world, helped save the world.

He couldn't say it to the woman he wanted to kill because he helped her save the world.

A gloved hand took his as Xellos formed in the physical world, summoned by his will. "You called, Blood of the Ruby Eye?"

He could tell Lina felt so betrayed it manifested as illness. It hit him hard, feeding the Shabranigdo blood inside him, making him stronger. He kept his eyes averted, waiting.

The pieces fit together faster than Lina wanted them. Blood, family. Ruby Eye, Shabranigdo. Shabranigdo, Rezo. Rezo's family, Zelgadis. Blood of the Ruby Eye, Zelgadis. Xellos's new Master was Zelgadis. But how that worked- Zelgadis's eyes were now red. Ruby red. Was Zelgadis a Shard? Was he awakening as a Shard? He was keeping ahold of himself well if that was the case. She could tell by the way he stood and the way he didn't look at her that he felt shame about it. At least, she thought he had shame about it. Had he always lied to her? Was he actively lying now?

"Huh? Xellos, what do you mean?"

Lina twitched a few times, grabbed Gourry's hair, and yanked him down to yell in his ear. "The guy we're after is Zelgadis! And he's probably a Shard of Shabranigdo!"

"Ow! Lina!" Gourry pried himself free. "That doesn't make sense. Why would he help kill Rezo if he was a Shard?"

"Because he isn't!" Xellos said merrily. "He only has the blood of Rezo, tainted by Shabranigdo. It makes for interesting times, such as stealing a Priest to be his own eyes and ears, learning how to feed on darker emotions and death, and even destroying a father and daughter he had led to think he would help!"

At his words, Zelgadis looked ill.

It only told Lina his words were true, and bile rose in her throat. Why would Zelgadis…?

Xellos's smile stretched as he felt horror from all three of the humans. Almost. Lina was almost to her breaking point, ready to cast a spell at Zelgadis. He could feel the blood of Shabranigdo inside Zelgadis already lashing inside its cage, wanting to kill the woman that killed a Shard. Xellos could focus on Gourry, taking him out of the fight easily. Though, he could tell he wouldn't be allowed to kill the blond. Zelgadis wouldn't let him.

Oh well.

"It was quite impressive! Perhaps in time, I would love to see what Zelgadis-sama could do consciously."

Lina's golden eyes rounded in horror.

"You mean that was done unconsciously?!"

Zelgadis would only lose himself more and more. And if already manipulated a father and daughter into thinking he'd help before killing them, maximizing their betrayal and fear before their deaths… she narrowed her eyes. He might not be a Shard, but he would be as dangerous as one. Chaos magic came to her fingers, and she raised her hand. "I'm sorry, Zel," she whispered.

His eyes went wide, and for a brief moment, resignation filled his face before his head tilted downward and a dark smile crossed his lips.

A red and black ball formed in his hand.

Her Fien Shot went wide as he launched what could only be a mini Dragon Slave at her, forcing her to dodge at the last second. She grit her teeth, watching Xellos engage Gourry as she slid to a stop in the snow. This wouldn't be good. She would get cold. Zelgadis wouldn't.

Time to fix her Fien Shot, now.

Faster cast time… of course. She raised her hand again, adjusting the size of the spell. Smaller, but the fire rate was more rapid. "Fien Barrage!"

Zelgadis dodged, avoiding the snow bank on the side of the road. The miniature Dragon Slave came back to his hand, and he tossed it at her. With a snap of his fingers, the ball broke apart into six smaller balls, and Lina felt horror freeze her limbs. She couldn't dodge that! Recklessly, she cast Fien Barrage at them, hoping that would stop them.

Well, it caused them to detonate before they hit her.

Lina flew backwards, landing in a snowdrift. She found herself half buried, the snow falling in on her as she tried to catch her breath. Finally, she sat up, just in time for Zelgadis to reach down, his eyes glittering with inhuman glee as he hauled her up. She coughed, the motion painful as a large amount of blood came out of her mouth. Damn it. She couldn't do this alone. Even against Zelgadis, she would need…

"Aren't we friends?" she asked weakly, trying to smile.

Agony blossomed through her stomach. Slowly, Lina looked down.

Zelgadis's hand was buried in abdomen.

As her eyes slid closed, Lina raised her hand, pressing it against his shoulder. It felt like Someone was taking her hand, taking her magic, and threading it-

Zelgadis howled, and Lina fell, fell, fell…

Suddenly, something picked her up, and she swore she heard Pokota's voice, Sylphiel's scream, and warmth, warmth, warmth…

Xellos returned to Zelgadis's side, frowning. He had felt his Master's will as Lina fell, and it disgusted him. Save the sorceress. Thankfully, Sylphiel was still in Taforashia, and it made it easier to bring Lina to one that would save her life without any problems.

And now… Xellos felt his own power waning as he stared down at Zelgadis. Chaos power ran in threads through his soul, pulling him apart in the way Xellos had wanted to do at one point. He hadn't thought Lina could be so precise, but… he had a feeling it wasn't Lina who threaded Chaos magic as such, but the Golden Lord who guided her hand.

His Master would be torn apart by Chaos magic, and all he could do would to be to watch and fade with him.

Slowly, he bent down, stroking Zelgadis's stone cheek. "I've done as you asked," he told him sweetly. "You will never harm another again."

Zelgadis laughed weakly, the noise quickly fading. Xellos watched as his own hand started to fade from view as Zelgadis's body shut down. "Will Lina and Gourry be okay?"

"They're in Taforashia."

"Good. Good-"

Xellos could hear Zelgadis's heart stop, and his breath ease out.

And the Chaos magic depart from his body as his heart beat again, milky white eyes opening to the scene before him.