The moonlight illuminated the forest. Around, crickets were filling the night silence, along with the occasional hoot from the owls. It was a calm night, but not for two men standing in a clearing.

"Hey…"

"Mph, What is it, kid?"

"I'm not a kid, old geezer," he sighed in annoyance as he rubbed his temple. "You didn't ask for the exact details for this job, right?" The person who asked was a tall, sturdy, and athletic young man. He had dark black hair in several unevenly-cut bangs with red at the tips. He had deep red eyes.

He wore a black jacket, navy blue tactical pants, a black tactical belt with pouches, and two gun holsters on his back.

"What are you talking about? Of course, I did it!"

"Let me guess Siegfried. You were paying close attention to our informant, who turns out to be a beautiful woman with a big bust." He chided. His companion was also tall, had a muscular build and a long white-grayish hair in a ponytail. He had calm blue eyes and a shallow beard. He wore a dark blue coat, a black shirt accompanied with a gray chest guard under it; tactical brown pants and leather gun holsters under his coat.

"How did you know that?!" Siegfried exclaimed as the ground trembled.

"Oh, it's easy." He said as he drew a handle from his waist. He pressed a button and black tendrils started to appear and move from the handle. It took the form of a big black lance with a spiked pommel. The base and edge were golden. The lance was called Gungnir.

"It's because of your damn libido that we end up in these shitty situations!" He screamed and jumped back to avoid being crushed to the ground by a big arm. His companion did the same and drew a pair of revolvers. They were white accompanied with orange borders. These were ancient and powerful weapons called, Judgment of Shamash.

"Come on Adam! If you had seen our client you will understand" He screamed as he shot incendiary bullets to their enemies.

"I did see her Siegfried. But that doesn't mean that you should ignore important details for our work!" He stabbed his spear into the ground to its half and pressed a button on the handle.

"Jump back!"

Siegfried obeyed. He did that while he kept shooting his revolvers on the Chariot. The Chariot sensed a little tremor under it, but it was too late. It turned its head down when the other half of Gungnir shot from the floor and pierced its body. The Chariot vanished. Gungnir upper half-submerged and went back to its original place. Adam took out Gungnir from the floor.

Siegfried turned to Adam. "See? It wasn't that hard." Adam was about to protest when Siegfried shouted.

"Behind you!" Adam kicked off the ground and barely escaped the red beam that could have burnt him. It hit a pair of trees in its way, sending them to oblivion.

Adam kneeled as he landed some meters away. Pushing aside the trees, another two Chariots emerged from the woods and made their way to the clearing where the two men were. The Chariots raised their legs as a challenge to the two warriors.

"So, this is what she meant with big problems." Siegfried scratched his cheek while laughing nervously.

One of the Chariots prepared to assault while the other started to charge its laser beam.

"Screw it! Siegfried, take care of the brawler. Laser eye is mine." Adam commanded. He didn't wait for Siegfried's response. He launched against his objective. The beast was about to finish charging its destructive beam as Adam stopped ten meters from it.

"Wait for it." The Chariot's eye turned red. Without hesitation, Adam stabbed his spear in the ground as the Chariot fired. From an outsider perspective, this would have appeared suicidal. But it wasn't the case. "Now!" Adam twisted the handle of the spear and in an instant, it deployed a black barrier. The barrier took the full impact of the attack without a scrape.

Surprised, the Chariot took a pair of steps back. Adam twisted again the handle and the wall collapsed back to its lance form.

"I'm tired as shit and I just want to eat dinner and go to sleep. So, let's finish this, shall we?" Adam collapsed Gungnir and stored it in his tactical belt. Using a few seconds to concentrate, crimson tendrils started to form around his arms and legs. They started to take form and the final result was a pair of powerful and threatening claws. His skin became paler, so pale that he looked almost like a ghost. Red veins appeared on his face and his sclera turned black. He looked akin to evil spirit walking through the forest.

With a snarl, Adam jumped against the Chariot. He drew first blood when his claws pierced the upper half and first layers of its body.

"Come on! Is this all you have?" smirked Adam as he continued to cut off more of the Chariot's skin. It groaned in pain and tried to shake off Adam.

"Damn it." Cursed Siegfried seeing Adam. "Well, at least he will have a good night sleep." He rubbed his neck as he fired another round in the fallen Chariot few meters from him.

"Claw its insides out!" There was a pressure in his head pushing slowly aside his rational mind as he continued hurting the Chariot. "More. More. More!" The pressure in his head threatened to overtake his mind. "Yes! More. Give me more. Let me-! Aghh!" Adam screamed as a stab of pain crossed his head. It was all the Chariot needed to shake him off.

Adam fell to the ground with a thud. "Adam!" Siegfried shouted and run towards him. Adam kneeled, his claws dissolved away, and started to massage his head, trying to soothe his head pain. Taking advantage of the moment, the Chariot stepped back and started to run away through the woods. The Chariots weren't particularly fast, but this one was running. It was a bizarre sight.

"Don't dare bastard!" Adam fumed seeing the Honkai beast running away. He jumped up and started to run, following his prey. "Adam, wait!" His companion yelled. Adam ignored him. It didn't take him too much to reach the Chariot. "First, I need to take its legs." While he was running, he raised his arm and the black tendrils came back to form a new weapon. He reached the Chariot and jerked his arm. The Chariot fell and rolled on the ground various meters until it stopped. The beast groaned in pain at seeing its left front limb severed.

"End of the line." Adam walked until he was in front of it. His upper right arm took the form of a long and sharp crimson blade. The Chariot tried to stand up. Adam didn't let it. He kicked off the floor and landed at its head side. He turned to his side and made a clean decapitation. But he wasn't over. He jumped over it and fell to the ground, bringing down the sword arm and cutting in half the Chariot's core. Its body disappeared after seconds.

Adam was kneeling, trying to catch its breath.

"Imagine yourself in a frozen forest. Imagine yourself in a frozen forest…" Adam was muttering. As he did that, his face went back to its healthy color and the red veins and black sclera disappeared. The pressure in his head went back to the deep part of his head.

"You know," Adam turned his head and found Siegfried with his arms crossed over his chest and a deadpan face. "It's kind of hypocrite when you call me irresponsible, seeing you killing a Chariot with your own hands."

He got closer to Adam and offered him a hand. Adam took the hand and got up.

"Are you okay, Adam?"

Adam sighed. "Yes. I-I am just tired, Siegfried. That's all." Adam responded in a meek tone. He felt embarrassed, not for receiving help, but for losing his mind.

"Come on. There is a long way to reach the town and I am starving." Adam agreed with him nodding with his head. Siegfried gave a warm smile and put his arm on Adam's shoulders.

"By the way, no matter what you say, you are drinking with me tonight, brat."

"One of us needs to be sober, so we are not robbed, again, old man." Adam tried to say another argument before Siegfried interrupted him. "Don't be like that. In a few days, you are going to the Far East and I am going to continue my investigation alone." Siegfried covered his temple with his free hand in a dramatic way. "Who will keep me company in this long and solitary journey?!"

"You just have to make it awkward, don't you?"

The two started to walk under the moonlight towards the town.


"CHEERS!" Various clangs resonated inside the bar at midnight.

Glassily Forest, yeah, what an original name, was a small town located at the North of Norway. During the last weeks, the town suffered big problems with the constant stalking from the Chariots and a swarm of Angels when the town tried to resupply rations for the incoming winter. There was only one road to get out of the town and it was guarded by the Honkai beasts. Fortunately, Siegfried and Adam were passing by to resupply their rations in the town. At the learning of the Honkai problem, the two volunteered to solve it in exchange for their free resupply and drinks on the local bar once solved the problem. The mayor at first was skeptical, but thanks to one employed from the municipal hall that knew Siegfried from his younger years, the two got the deal.

Some hours after, the pair depart, the mayor had sent someone to check the two have dealt with the problem. The pair didn't bother or got mad from the mayor's distrust, they just wanted to get to the town to be done for the night. They saved a four long hour way back to the town by feet thanks to the car lift. As soon as they arrived, the mayor took them to the local bar, where many people congratulated them. The two, well, specifically Siegfried demanded their reward. Adam made sure to remind Siegfried to not be a dick and to stick to just beer. His threat was to not cook for him for the next two weeks. Knowing his terrible culinary skill, Siegfried agreed in a heartbeat.

Speaking of them, Adam sat in a table in the corner as he saw Siegfried among other bulky men in a drinking contest. He shook his head and took another sip from his seventh beer jar. On occasions like this, Adam was thankful that he possessed a very resistant metabolism. Setting aside his finished dinner, Adam continued to see in silence how his companion and mentor from the last year and a half, made a fool of himself.

"Sorry, is this place taken?"

Adam turned to his side. The person in question was a cute brown haired girl. She was wearing a red tight blouse that accented her bust and waist, and slim blue pants that made her legs look longer. This view wasn't new for Adam or Siegfried. Usually, the pair will receive a different kind of rewards from the people they have helped. Taking away their stress and tiredness from the long journey were included. If he was the same young man that started his journey along Siegfried one and a half year ago, he would have acted flustered and made a fool of himself in front of a girl. But this wasn't the case.

"No. You can take a sit if you want." The girl smiled and sat along with Adam. Neither said anything for five minutes. Adam enjoyed the background music accompanied by the people conversations and occasional laughs. It was comfortable, well, at least for him.

"So tell me handsome, where you come from?" The girl smiled as she asked him.

"From Cape Town, South Africa."

"Really? That's a wonderful city. I couldn't imagine it with living in this little town." She beamed.

Adam tried to not roll his eyes at the 'interested' display. To be honest, he found tiring and bothersome when girls like this one approached him. Don't get him wrong, he found the opposite sex attractive like the straight man that he is, but he knew that this kind of women-only got close to him and Siegfried to boast to the other girls the following morning.

"So, that man is your father?" She inquired. Adam, who was sipping the last of his beer, spluttered. Quickly, he took a napkin and cleaned the beer stains from his clothes and table.

"He? My father?!" The idea was crazy. "He is not. He is my mentor, that's all." In one of his conversations, Siegfried told him that there was a time he was married and even had a daughter. Adam didn't believe him until he showed him a photo of him, his beautiful wife and cute daughter. Even at this moment, Adam can't comprehend what his wife saw in him.

"Oh? So, did your family-" It was a dick move, but Adam just wanted to sleep after a long night of hunting and killing Honkai beasts, along with the fact that he wasn't the social type.

"They are dead. They perished during the catastrophe of Russia." He raised from his chair and ignored the calls from the girl. He broke open through the crowd of people in the bar, searching for his tipsy mentor. He found him, resting his back against the wall, drinking like a fish. "Hey, old man" Siegfried put down his jar and turned to see Adam.

"Mmmhh? What's up kid?" Adam winced at the bad breath of the old man. "I am going to bed. Contact me if you lost your pants or wake up in a tub filled with ice."

"Oh? And here I thought that you will finally get ride off your V-Card." He gave him a lecherous smirk. Adam rolled his eyes.

"You saw?"

"Yeah. To be sincere, it was a little rude to leave the girl like that" Siegfried's smirk disappeared from his face.

"Perhaps, but you know that they only want to show off the following morning." Adam protested.

"True, but there are ways to turn down a girl. Take me for example, just minutes ago, some hot, and I mean really hot women came to me to congratulate me" Siegfried boasted.

"Really?" Adam pretended surprise.

"Yes. And tonight could have been a hot, steamy, sweating-" "To the point! I don't want to hear your sexual fantasies."

Siegfried didn't mind the interruption, "As I was saying, it could have been a hot night, but I explained to them that my biggest virtue doesn't allow me."

"You have virtues?" Adam asked surprised.

"Idiot" "Yes. I am loyal to my wife to a fault. And there is nothing that could make me shatter that loyalty!" Siegfried declared with an emotional voice and raising his drink. Some drunk men raised their drinks as well and yelled 'Cheers'.

"Even if that means to only pay attention to a woman's body when she is telling you important details like there could be more enemies that could kill us?" Adam sassed with some irritation.

"And that's why pretty women want to spend the night with me instead of a cynical and moody brat." Siegfried went back to drink his tar.

"You know what. Maybe I won't help you this time if you wake up with a missing kidney." Adam turned around and left through the bar's door, ignoring the cheers and laughs behind him. He walked for fifteen minutes before he arrived at their hotel. He greeted the receptionist and went to his room that was on the third floor through the elevator.

He unlocked the door, enter, and locked it once it was closed. He knew that even drunk, Siegfried will knock the door until he opened it. Adam went to quickly check that none of their luggage was robbed. After once incident in New York, Adam started to guard their luggage, despite Siegfried's protests. Once done and finding that nothing was missing, Adam went to the bath of their room.

He just wanted to just get to sleep, but he sweated a lot during the day and wanted to have comfortable night rest. He took off his clothes and entered the shower room. While he was getting for the hot water, the mirror in the bathroom showed his body. His body was covered in many faded scars. The most notables were the ones that ran across his torso and the middle of his extremities, front and backward. On his back was a black tattoo. It portrayed a big eye with many, so many black tendrils coming from it that almost covered his entire back.

After a quick shower, Adam left the bathroom and got dressed. He wore a blue shirt and pair of shorts. He laid in the bed. It didn't take much for his mind to wander in the world of dreams.


Peace. It felt like he was floating in an immense ocean of pure calmness and bliss.

Strangely, all he saw was pure white.

Oddly enough, he didn't fear it. He welcomed it

Bliss and calmness.

It's what he felt for a long time.

He knew he wasn't like this originally. He remembered coming here…from somewhere. There was trouble, and they, HE needed to come here because…

Because…what was he thinking?

Oh, yes, pure bliss and calmness.

He could feel a warm hand rubbing his head.

The sweetness from a cake with a little too much chocolate.

Laughing at something stupid although he didn't remember about what.

The warm contact of skin rubbing against him as her arms-

It *** ### *** $$$, #or#.

Suddenly his the everlasting dream was shattered like fragile crystal.

He wasn't floating anymore. He was falling headfirst at great speed. Instinctively he moved his arms in front of him before he touched the ground. More strange, it didn't hurt as he imagined and he didn't feel any of his bones got broken. He just felt vertigo for a moment until his senses calmed after the sudden change of environment.

Slowly he got up and-He was here [again]-where was here?

He didn't know when a dry branch appeared.

He turned his head behind, to only see an eternal dark void. He twisted his head quickly, the void scared the shit out of him. Maybe, if he followed the branch, he will find an exit. And he did that. He started walking, following the branch without turning his head, he preferred seeing this old branch than eternal darkness. He kept walking, even when the branch became two and so on. The vines were everywhere. Hanging from the ceiling, the walls and at some point, even the floor was made of these… things.

But, he continued walking, he must have kept walking until he could find an exit. He must. He didn't know how much time he continued. Perhaps minutes, hours, days, months, years! If he was the case, maybe he-

He reached somewhere.

The branches were everywhere, and the color for this ones was pure and livid red.

He wanted to puke.

In the middle of everything, there was a pile of something.

"I must not get close to that thing", his body didn't obey and he walked closer to it.

Until something moved and an indescribable sound boomed around him. It hurt his ears, and somehow, he knew that it wasn't just a spontaneous sound.

It was a voice.

"Wa#E #p W##M!

He screamed with all the power his lungs offered.

"FUCK!" Adam screamed as he raised from his slumber on his seat. He was trying to catch his breath. Some of the people in the other seats turned to see him.

"It was a nightmare, Adam." Adam turned to his right and saw that Siegfried was also awake.

"Siegfried?"

"Yup! Who else would have been?" The old man responded with a confused tone.

"Is everything alright?" One of the stewardesses came to the pair.

"Yes. Everything is alright. He was just having a nightmare." Siegfried explained.

"Right. I-I am sorry. I-I will just go to the bathroom to wash my face." Adam got up and left his seat. He ignored the scowls and incredulous stares from the other passengers. Once he reached the bathroom, he locked the door and opened the pommel to wash his face.

"What the hell was that," Adam thought gravely as he washed his face with cold water.

Adam wasn't unused to nightmares. Sometimes they showed him destruction or dangerous situations. The details slipped his memory once he woke up, but he was sure that these were some of his lost memories after his wake up from the cryogenization.

"But this is the first time I saw something like this." Once done, he twirled the pommel and dried his face with paper.

He opened the door of the small cabin. He saw that the awakened people after his stunt went back to sleep. He sighed in relief. He didn't want to deal with compliments right now. Silently walking, he returned to his seat. Siegfried was still awake. He was reading something from a motorcycle magazine. In his lap were two bottles of water. He took his seat as Siegfried put down his magazine.

"Feeling better?" He asked.

"Yeah. I-it was just another nightmare. But…"

"But what?"

"W-well, it was pretty different from the usual ones?"

Siegfried looked intrigued.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Adam looked insecure about this. "Should I tell him?" He thought with doubt. He pondered it for a few seconds before he decided to tell him.

Adam told Siegfried from the start to end about his nightmare. After he was done, Siegfried offered him one of the water bottles. He drank while Siegfried commented. "By what you told me, your dream sounds messed up." Adam nodded at this.

Sometimes there would be sceneries where he was fighting against hordes of zombies or Honkai Beasts. He will fight them alone or accompanied with a group. He didn't remember their faces, but some of them felt important to him. And this wasn't like this in the beginning. A few weeks after he left the secret facility, Adam started to suffer his nightmares. More than one occasion, he woke up screaming, scaring the hell out of Siegfried. After six months, Siegfried suggested that maybe, it was better if he didn't remember, given the screams and the rare tears after awakening.

"To be honest, I'm pretty tired of them."

"Well, once you meet Teri, you could ask her for some psychological help-" He was interrupted by the glare Adam threw him.

Siegfried raised his hands in surrender, "It's just a suggestion. Geez, you don't have to kill me with your eyes."

"You know that I don't' like to speak to them. I feel strange talking about this stuff to a stranger." Adam justified, and it was a weak explanation.

Siegfried sighed in exasperation. This was going to be the last day with him and he rather not wanted to antagonize him. It would be a large time before they see each other again.

The rest of the flight, Adam, not wanting to go back to sleep, turn on his music player in his cellphone while Siegfried went back to sleep for a few hours. The nine-hour flight passed quickly. After got off from the airplane, they picked up their respective luggage. They stayed standing near the exit doors. None of them knew what to exactly say.

"So…"

"So…"

It was awkward.

"What I am supposed to say? 'Hey kid, good luck?'"

"This is pretty awkward."

They didn't know what to say. A simple goodbye seemed too cold and impersonal and they weren't the emotional type.

"Hey dad, are you sure that you will be alright?" The two uncomfortable men turned their heads to a young man speaking with another older man that shared similar features.

"Do you doubt your healthy and wise father, son?

"I do after how you almost burned the house with the coffee maker." The son remarked.

The old man put an arm on his son's shoulder, "My boy, I am an old widower. Your mother wanted me to see and explore the world. After all, it was a dream the two of us shared, but due to circumstances, we hold it up until now."

The man did a bittersweet smile, "Because of me, eh?"

"It was one of the reasons, but we have told you that we don't regret rising you." The old man explained.

"D-Dad!"

The two proceeded to hug. Some viewers felt moved at the sight. As for the two warriors.

"So, do you want a hug?" Siegfried raised his arms.

"Do it and I will yell that you have a bomb with you," Adam said with a deadpanned face. They were silent for a moment before they started to laugh. Some passersby looked at the odd pair. After good seconds of laughing, the two stopped, trying to catch their breaths.

"Are you going be alright without me around?" Siegfried asked cleaning a tear from his eye.

"I should ask you, given your habit to drink and wake up in the trashcan," Adam smirked.

Before he could process it, Siegfried hugged him. He knew that Adam didn't like prolonged physical contact, but he guessed that he may forgive him this time. Slowly, Adam raised his arms and returned the gest.

"Take care of yourself, Adam. The mission may be important, but you can't complete it if you are dead." Siegfried said as he finished the hug.

Adam barely contained the blush in his cheeks, "Likewise. Try to not drink too much."

Siegfried patted him on the shoulder and walked away, crossing the exit doors and disappearing among the sea of people in the airport.

Adam dragged his luggage, crossed the exit doors and took a taxi. He got inside after putting his stuff in the trunk.

"Traveling alone, boy?" He asked, trying to initiate a conversation.

"Yes. From now on, yes." Adam muttered the last part.

As the taxi left the base, Siegfried, using a newspaper as cover, saw the car took off.

"Good luck kid. You are going to need it."


"So, this is the last stop before going to meet this 'Theresa Baby Doll?'. What a weird name." Adam raised an eyebrow at Siegfried's contact name.

"Well, at least is better than that weird guy. I think he was called, Feratu, Couche Feratu?"

Adam walked towards a cheap hotel in the district. He could have afforded for a better place, but his experience with Siegfried taught him to better be safe with money. "Especially when we were robbed," Adam remembered bitterly.

Once he registered in the reception and entered his room, he locked the door and throw himself in the bedroom. He was tired of exploring the city during the day. It was still earlier for his usual sleep hours, but he rather reached Siegfried contact in a good mood.

"I'm tired," Adam got out his headphones and music player from his pocket jacket. He put them on and played a list with soft music.

Before he was taken by Morpheus embrace, Adam thought:

"I hope that tomorrow is a good day…"

He will curse that he just jinxed himself the next day.


PROTOCOL 'DREAM OF THE GIANT' AND 'CLOSED HEART' RUNNING.

SUBJECT, HERMES, IS IN COURSE.

SUBJECT, WANDERER KNIGHT, CONTINUES HIS OBJECTIVE.

ACTIONS OF SUBJECTS ACT ACCORDING TO PARAMETERS.

POSSIBLE DEVIATIONS THAT COULD AFFECT THE PLAN: 00.9%

SUBJECTS: MARIE AND HELENA SHOW STABLE VITAL SIGNS, DESPITE THE HARSH CONDITIONS OF THE RAVEN'S NEST. REQUESTING TRANSFER FOR BETTER CONDITIONS AND RISK OF POSSIBLE BREACHES OR ATTACKS.

NOBLE KING AND FIRST MAGE SHOW ADVANCE IN THEIR WORK.

HANGED KING CONTINUES WITH INVESTIGATION REGARDING THE CREATION OF ANIMUS

SITE-07 HAS GONE SILENT. ASSUMING THE OVERSEER ENTERED IN SLUMBER TO KEEP RUNNING IN THE SITE IN FUTURE CASE OF NEED.

NONE OF THE FURTIVE SATELLITES HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED SINCE THE LAST REPORT THREE WEEKS AGO.

THE UNIT WILL ENTER IN SLUMBER TO KEEP RUNNING POSSIBLE FUNCTIONS.

'MALEDICTUS FRUCTUS VENTRIS TUI ET OPERE HUMANO SALVOS'

PAIMON UNIT OUT