"Hello?"

'What?'

"Can you hear me?"

"Who, where are… what is this?"

"I'm sorry, you lost most of your memories and your likely being flooded with sensations you don't understand. But I don't have time, you to listen carefully. The world is failing, the fragile balance is threatening to break at any day now. You must fix it."

"Fix it? How? What? What is going on? I can't even remember my name, what am I supposed to do to help the-argh!"

"You're body's reawakening. I don't have much more time. Listen, you are special, you can preserve the balance. You have a gift, one that few could hope to comprehend. Please, you must save the Successors, free them of their burden and do what we couldn't. I know you can do, but I wish you luck, Heredis."

"Wait, wish luck with what!? Where are you going!? Where am I!? Who am I!? Wait!"

With a shocked gasp, Heredis' eyes snapped open. He winced in pain immediately, forcing him to blink the pain away. After the third blink, a figure slowly leaned into sight. Once his vision would return, he'd realize that the figure was the face of a young woman, her hair white as snow and enchanting yellow eyes.

"You're awake." She saidmonotonously, noting his eye movements slow down to become more focused.

"Where…" His voice came out huskily, his throat feeling both dry and scratched. A feeling of fatigue spread through his entire body, his arms and legs refusing to move initially. The mysterious girl then helped him sit up, noticing his weakness while she measured his face.

Aside from his short silver hair and light blue eyes, his face was covered in black veins. The veins were a foreboding warning, one she was aware of and had to take care of quickly.

Once he was sitting up, Heredis stared in shock and horror as he took in the surroundings around him. He was in the center of a destroyed city, every building around them either collapsed or near destruction. It was a sight of desolation, as far as he could see there was devastation.

"It's okay…" The woman said, getting his attention. "I don't know what happened either. But please, we need to get you moving. You're starved from blood, there should be a bloodspring nearby."

"A… what?"

"I will try to explain, but please get up first." The woman said, getting up and helping the man up. With them both standing, the man noticed the full appearance of the woman, her white clothes ripped and torn across that barely hid her voluptuous figure. Of her entire outfit, the only part that seemed intact was the hood on her head and the straps of fabric that went down, the cloth in perfect condition.

Looking down at himself, he saw that his own clothes was in a damaged condition. His entire torso was covered in a military jacket with armor going up his right arm. There was a torn shall going down his right arm, adding on to the giant rip across his torso and the hole that was over the left of his chest.

'I was injured?'

"Please, follow me." The woman said, getting his attention again as he noticed she was several steps ahead of him. His body was weak and felt an extreme thirst, but he managed to push against it walk towards her, the woman walking slowly next to him as he limped to follow. "We may go slow, I understand that you're weak right now."

Heredis limped as he walked, the thirst growing stronger with each step he took. He had nearly stumbled down multiple times, the woman catching him each time to prevent his collapse. They had only gone a fair thirty meters, but the man's body felt as if it was ready to break apart. But once they traveled into a more open area, the woman approached a strange root.

The root was massive, protruding out from the ground and spreading a small radius around it. The root was pure white, a drastic contrast to the ruined city that it was growing in the middle of.

The woman looked to the root, puzzlement on her face as she saw there was nothing on the root. "It appears… that everyone is thirsty." She commented, looking back to the man. "Please, come close."

Heredis was uncertain of what was going on, but in his current condition he didn't even have the strength to speak anymore. So he would listen, stepping towards her and stopping just a foot away from the root's growth. Getting close to the root caused something to spur in him, his thirst drastically growing as he bent down in exertion.

"It's okay." The woman promised, watching as he'd pant hungrily, his eyes glowing bright red while his teeth began to slowly sharpen. "It'll only be for a few seconds." She added, gently taking his arm and holding it over one of the root's growth. Opening her mouth, the woman revealed her own set of sharpened teeth, followed by her biting into the man's wrist and drawing blood.

Wincing at the bite, the man realized the pain was nearly nonexistent. And his blood began to drip from the mark and fall to the roots. Only three drops had stained the white substance, but the reaction alone caused it to produce a bright light. The man's eyes closed as the light scattered into particles, and as if it was the proper time of blooming, several fruits began to grow and develop.

Seeing the fruits, the woman would release his arm, Heredis stepping two paces back as he felt his thirst nearing the limit he could handle. When he'd manage to look up, he'd see the woman hold one of the small fruits to him, offering it for him.

"Drink this, it will quench your thirst." She said.

The man wanted to evaluate what was going on, but the thirst he felt was too great and he took the fruit from her. Biting into it, he'd feel his thirst slowly go away as the liquid flowed through his teeth into his body. He held the fruit up and craned his neck back, gulping down as much of the fruit's contents as he craved to quell his thirst. As he drank, the veins across his face receded, his appearance returning to normal thanks to the fluids.

Once he was finished, he dropped the fruit and sigh in relief, panting for air as he hadn't taken a single breath as he was too desperate to drink. His panting remained for several seconds, his slowing breath showing his recovery as he looked back down to the woman in white.

"Who… are you?" He questioned.

"My name is Io. I have traveled a great distance to find you."

"Why?"

"I… do not remember." Io admitted. "My memories are foggy, I recall the need to find you. But I cannot remember the reason as to why."

"Where… where are… where are we?"

"I am unsure as to the name, but I am aware this is the sight of where a battle many years ago took place." She explained, looking to Heredis as she saw him stagger slightly. "Are you alright? The Blood Bead will have satisfied your thirst, but you appear to still be weak."

"I'll… be fine. I just need a few seconds to… rest and I'll…" He attempted to speak, but as he did his head became more dazed, his eyes unfocused as he passed out from exhaustion. Io caught him as he fell forward, helping lie him down with his head resting on her lap.

"Rest well." She said, giving a small smile as she would rest her back against the root. She remained watchful, her own exhaustion present as she allowed the man to sleep in peace.

"Hey, look at this." After what was an hour, two men walked into view, both armed with long barreled rifles with jagged bayonets. They had on a set of gas masks, covering the entirety of their faces.

"A fresh bloodspring, and new workers." The second man said, the two sharing covered smirks before approaching the two. Io remained unaware of their presence until one aimed his rifle at the woman, the sound of the metal clanking getting her attention.

"Get up." He ordered, the woman tilting her head in confusion as she stared directly into the barrel.

"Ngh… my head." Heredis groaned, his eyes opening to see Io's head leaned forward slightly. He saw the woman was fast asleep, her exhaustion catching up to her while he was asleep himself. She had a gas mask on her face, the top left half damaged but managing to do its job. Looking past her though, he'd see a concrete ceiling, causing his eyes to widen in shock. "Where the hell!?"

"Hey, keep it down." A man said, sitting across from Io with his back against a destroyed pillar. "Your friend there just fell asleep, she's been watching over you since you got here."

"Since we got here?" Heredis responded, carefully sitting up without disturbing Io's rest. Looking around, he'd see that he was in a concrete room, chunks of the walls missing at one end to reveal the skyline, obscured by a dark red mist. "I'm going to hate asking so many questions, but where is here?"

"A small territory close to the Red Mist." The man answered. "We're here because a group of Revenants need bodies to look for Blood Beads."

"Okay, Revenants is something I understand." Heredis noted, the concepts behind Revenants. He couldn't tell why, but he knew they were some kind of immortal beings that could survive most forms of mortal wounds. The finer details were lost on him, but he remembered that much.

"Is there any way out?"

"Why, you intend on fighting off seven armed Revenants with nothing but your gifts and Blood Veil?"

"…"

"Oh wow, you definitely lost a lot of memories at your latest revival." The man sighed, shifting his mask as he did. "I'll guess you at least know gifts, they're just powers we Revenants have from being injected with the BOR Parasites."

"Okay, and a Blood Veil?"

"Your combat jacket." The man answered, pointing to Heredis' damaged coat. "That's your Blood Veil. An Ogre-type I would think. There're four Blood Veil types, yours is the most basic but most versatile. You can summon a claw around the armor on your right arm, it'll pack a hell of a punch and drain some blood for you to enhance your ichor as well."

"A claw?" He muttered, looking to his arm. Staring at the limb and imagining the process, he'd watch as the metal shifted and transformed, a black mass twisting around him until it burst free. Heredis would flinch in surprise as he saw a massive claw replace his arm, the fingers made from razor sharp blades and twisted metal across the rest of his arm.

"There, you seem to have the hang of it." The man stated. "It's easy to pull up and get rid of. Just imagine it going away and you're good." Following his advice, Heredis would close his eyes and concentrate, feeling his arm lighten until he saw the claw disappear into a black mist that went back into his Blood Veil.

"That's… something."

"Wait until you see some of the other types." The man chuckled. "Hey, where's your mask? I don't think I saw you with one when they dropped you in here."

"Mask?"

"A filtration device, we use it to travel through areas with miasma in the air." He explained, gesturing to a set of crates behind him. "Might want to grab one, we're waiting for the moment they send us out."

Nodding, Heredis stood up, his body feeling rejuvenated after he drank from the fruit and rested. Walking to the crates, he scavenged around the masks, finding that a large amount of the masks either had a large crack in the plating or in the filters. Eventually he found a simple mask that would cover the lower portion of his face, the center almost appearing to have a set of teeth with two small red cylinder filters on the sides.

"So how do these go on?"

"Just pop them on to the frame on your face and it'll lock on its own. Don't worry about fitting, the frame will do that work for you."

"Frame?" Reaching to his face, Heredis finally noticed that a strange metal was present on the sides of his jawline. Figuring it was the frame, he placed the mask against it before feeling a click go off. The mask then shifted and pressed itself more against his face, covering it enough that it held on tight.

Breathing in, he realized the air he was breathing felt significantly heavier than it was filtered. He put together it was the miasma that the man mentioned before, now knowing he was breathing in probably more then he should have. Which he assumed currently was why he had that overbearing thirst when he first woke up.

Now having his air filtered, Heredis took the opportunity to look around, seeing a small batch of Revenants all keeping to themselves. Some were curled against the wall, one visibly sucking on one of the fruit's Heredis had earlier, trying to get whatever scrap of fluid he can from the empty vessel. Others were mumbling to themselves, scratching at their faces or necks as they stared endlessly into the Red Mist.

"Out here, people are nearing the verge of frenzy already." The man spoke, getting Heredis' attention again. "Everyone here has no where to go, we were easy pickings for the organized Revenants here. You and your friend had bad luck ending up here."

"Well, it happens." Heredis stated, flinching as a loud clank was heard, followed by a ladder collapsing down.

"Alright everyone, get up here!" One of the Revenants above called down, one armed with a bayonet jumping down.

"You're all heading out, both old and fresh scavengers get up!" The Revenant ordered, motioning up the ladder with his rifle. "And make it quick!" He barked, getting a few of the Revenants to jump as they climbed the ladder. "Miasma's getting thick, so you won't want to be holed up for too long now."

"Io, Io wake up." Heredis said, kneeling down next to the woman as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry Io, but you need to wake up now."

"Hey, what's the hold up!?" The Revenant shouted, stepping towards the two as he did. "Get off your asses and get moving!"

"Io's just sleeping, I'm trying to wake her up." Heredis responded. "Just give us a minute."

"Oh, think you're in charge here hot shot?" The Revenant questioned, and before Heredis realized it he was struck in the side of his head by the butt of the rifle. "When I say move, you move!"

Heredis was knocked over from the blow, his mask causing sparks to go off when he landed on the concrete. Although he managed to shake off his disorientation, turning to face the Revenant with a cold glare.

"Get up bitch, time to work for the hospitality you're getting." He stated, kicking at Io's leg to wake her up. The woman groaned from the hit, but her eyes were still closed, getting an angered growl from him. "I said wake up!"

"Back off!" The Revenant's head would snap to the side, a rock falling to the ground after it struck his cheek. He then turned to Heredis, the man grinning as he tossed a rock in his hand. "What's the matter, big tough Revenant feel a small rock?"

"Look's like we have a real smartass. I'll teach you to keep that mouth of yours shut!" The Revenant shouted, lunging at Heredis and striking him with the barrel of his rifle. Heredis was knocked down again, unable to defend himself without a weapon as the Revenant stood over him, holding his weapon by the barrel as he slammed the butt of it on Heredis' back.

"What's the matter? Your only skill throwing rocks or something?" He chuckled, repeatedly slamming his stock on Heredis' back. When the downed Revenant stopped moving, he'd throw in a swift kick to his side, satisfied at his work. "There, that should keep you a bit more tight lipped. Now get moving."

"Why? We just started?" Heredis chuckled, coughing out a bit of blood as he looked to his captor. "Getting tired already?"

"Why you little!" The Revenant raised his weapon up to strike down again, but before he could a hand grabbed his wrist from behind. Looking behind him, the man stared in surprise as it was Io, the woman having gotten up and stopped him. "The hell?"

The woman did nothing after she stopped him, simply release her hold and go down to help Heredis up. "I am sorry, you got hurt for my sake." She said gently.

"Nah, I kind of had that coming." He chuckled in response, appreciating Io's help as they reached the ladder. The two began to climb up, the guard looking in confusion as they left without looking back, still shocked at how effortlessly Io caught his attack.

"Damn miasma's getting thick." The leader of the Revenants grunted, kicking a strange growth of blue roots as he did. "Even the Mistle's gone dry. And the damn Provisional Government is coming around for their levy soon."

"Sir, we brought them all." A Revenant spoke up, the leader turning to see all the scavengers they kept.

"Good, we're going to need all of them." The leader nodded, smirking under his mask as he stepped towards the group. "Well, you all look rested. That's good, you're going to need all your strength for today."

"B-But the Mistle's dried up, if we go looking we'll-gh!" A Revenant attempted to object, but was struck in the back by one of the guards, falling to his knees. Heredis stepped forward, but was stopped as another Revenant held his arm in front of him.

"Not now, you'll only get yourself ashed." He warned, his voice sympathetic as he watched the scene continue.

"Well, that's always a risk." The leader said, looking down to the knocked over Revenant as he reached behind his back, pulling out one of the fruits Heredis drank from earlier. "As you know, our stash of Blood Beads is getting low, and Silva's Cerberus troops will be coming around soon to collect our levy. We don't have nearly enough to pay, so you'll all need to go and get us some more so we can remain in business."

'So that's what they are. Blood Beads.'

"But with the miasma, we could-"

"Possibly, but I'm sure you'll all do fine." The leader chuckled. "Just don't let the Lost kill ya and you have nothing to worry about. Now head out, if you all can bring back at least three Blood Beads you're cleared to stay and not be left in the miasma."

"Move!" The guards began to shove the captive Revenants, having to push extra on Heredis before he stepped back in pace with Io and the Revenant next to him. As the three of them followed to where they were being led, Io was stopped as the leader grabbed hold of her shoulder.

"Now hold on, you're staying here." He said, getting Heredis to turn.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" He argued, two Revenants crossing their weapons and holding him back. "Get your hands off her!"

"You don't need to worry, she's just to stay by my side, to be sure you come back." The leader smirked under his mask, Heredis' eyes narrowing in anger. "Fresh recruits always attempt to grab Beads and bail. She's just insurance you don't get any funny ideas. And come back with some Blood Beads, and everything's well. And if you don't, well she may have a few ways to keep a spot in our merry band."

"You son of a-!"

"Get moving!" The guards barked, punching Heredis and causing him to stumble several steps back. The Revenant placed a hand on his back, keeping him balanced as he recovered and glared at the guards.

"It will be okay." Io spoke up, getting Heredis' attention as she looked to him. "I know you'll be back, so don't trouble yourself over me."

"Io…" He muttered, giving one last glare to the head Revenant before grunting, turning around along with his fellow prisoner. The two guards assigned to them led them to where their search would be, pairs of two being sent in one at a time. When it was their turn, the two were kicked down, crashing onto the rock ground next to a dried Mistle.

"Sorry I stopped you, but I don't think you would've lasted long without a weapon." The Revenant said, him and Heredis groaning as they pushed themselves to stand up.

"Eh, I probably would've just gotten decked in the face. Although I think I might've gotten a good swing in before that." Heredis said, enjoying the idea of punching the leader of their captors before turning to his fellow Revenant. "Thanks for catching me though, beats falling on my ass."

"No problem, we're both stuck here so we might as well try and work together." He responded, holding his hand out to Heredis. "My name's Oliver Collins, guess we're searching partners."

"Yeah, I guess." Heredis responded, shaking Oliver's hand. "My name is… I think it's Heredis?"

"Memories gone?" Oliver guessed. "Eh, it's okay. I've forgotten a lot of mine as well. One of the downsides of dying is losing sight of who you were. Good thing we're gonna make it through this no problem."

"You're an enthusiastic fellow."

"Gotta be with how things are here." Oliver stated, chuckling as he reached behind his back and grabbed his massive hammer. "So, shall we get to hunting?"

"In a second." Heredis muttered, looking to the Mistle. "This thing, the guy called it a Mistle right?"

"Yeah, we normally use them to replenish out regenerative powers by resting by them."

"Should we do that before going?"

"Can't, it's dried out." Oliver informed. "The miasma's too thick, if we had some special kind of drops from Operation Queenslayer we could revive it. But only the Provisional Government have any, and they use is rarely because of the limited supply. We should focus on finding a bloodspring, staying down here for too long could be a problem."

"Wait, I think I have an idea." Heredis said, stepping to the Mistle. Recalling to earlier, he remembered that Io had managed to cause the bloodspring to blossom several Blood beads by spilling some of his blood on it. Working on the hunch, Heredis bit his wrist harshly, drawing blood and letting it drip onto the Mistle.

"What are you…" Oliver started, but the words would die in his throat as he saw the Mistle begin to glow, a shinning blue light coming from the stem as the leaves spread out, small blue particles being released from it. "No way…"

"I'm guessing it's no longer dried?" Heredis asked, standing up as he flicked his hand, letting the blood drip as he did. "This should make things easier on us right?"

"Yes, yes, YES! This is amazing!" Oliver said, ecstatic under his mask as he looked to Heredis. "You managed to revive it! That's incredible! How did you do that!?"

"I'm… not sure honestly." Heredis answered. "Back when I first woke up, Io used my blood on one of those bloodsprings. When the roots absorbed it, a few of those Blood Beads began to grow after a few blue particles shot out. I was dazed, but I was certain my blood had something to do with it. So I took a shot in the dark on it."

"You can revive Mistles AND revitalize bloodsprings!?" Oliver laughed, cheering to himself as he did. "Heredis, do you know what this means!? We don't have to find a Blood Bead on a new bloodspring! We just have to find any one and if you blood works we'll have plenty to turn in! This cuts the search to a fraction of what it would be!"

"We'll be able to get back to Io quicker." Heredis realized, Oliver pointing to him in confirmation.

"Exactly! We won't have to keep your friend waiting, and we can help everyone looking! We could save a lot of lives like this!"

"Then what are we waiting for? We have some Blood Beads to find."

"Hell yeah!" Oliver cheered. "Although… maybe let me take the lead."

"Eh?"

"You don't have a weapon, might make things a little difficult on yourself." The Revenant pointed out, getting Heredis to realize he was in an underground system with supposed mutations without a means to defend himself.

"Well, I do have my Blood Veil." Heredis commented, summoning his claw. "I could always use this."

"Yeah, but it also takes a lot of strength to keep your claw up for an extended time. It's best to use it sparingly."

"Ugh, fine. Let's just find a corpse and see if it has something I can use."

"Nothing down here is a corpse, but finding a weapon shouldn't be a problem." Oliver noted, the two taking a second to let the Mistle recover their strength before heading off. The territory was of an old structure, but by the level of destruction the were more likely to enter a cave then find a way out.

As they walked, Heredis occasionally saw stains of blood across the walls and floor, blackened with mutant fungi growing around it in a horrid fashion. He also winced, seeing mangled skeletons, bones broken apart or completely severed apart, the worst with a crushed skull and snapped spine.

"Lost don't have a habit of showing mercy, so don't show any to them either." Oliver stated, stepping over a larger mass of fungus that obscured their path. "They're Revenants like us, or were anyways. So they're a lot stronger than a human. But they're mostly mindless and work on bloodlust, so they're predictable."

"Noted." Heredis responded, gagging at the feeling of the fungus as he climbed over it. "Anything else?"

"They produce the miasma in the air, the more there are the quicker you could frenzy if your mask gets knocked off." He warned, looking ahead and stopping suddenly.

"Something wrong?" He asked before following Oliver's line of vision, his eyes widening to see a mutated creature slumped against the wall. It was grotesque and volatile, its skin stretched with bone structures growing out of it. The skin was pigmented, a ghastly color compared to whatever it used to be, and its face was the most disfigured, apparently fused with the mask the Revenant was wearing.

"That's what the average Lost looks like." Oliver informed, walking up to it carefully, investigating it before sighing in relief. "Looks like we're clear, it appears to be in assimilation."

"Assimilation?"

"It's the final step of going from Revenant to Lost. They go into a sort of hibernation, remaining dormant until the BOR Parasite is completely mutated inside it." Oliver briefed, kicking its foot in demonstration. "After you completely lose yourself, the BOR Parasite goes crazy, expanding from your heart to infect your entire body. Unlike us, a stab to the heart won't kill them for good. It'll only turn them to ash until they fully heal. So never go to the same place expecting them to be gone for good."

"Truly immortal and we can die by getting our hearts destroyed, good two in one lesson." Heredis nodded, rubbing his chest subconsciously.

"Ah, sorry. I forgot you don't remember a lot of what makes us Revenants tick." Oliver chuckled awkwardly. "Well you shouldn't need to worry too much. Lost can barely strike precise so a stab wound to the heart is unlikely. Most likely thing to kill you like that would be another Revenant."

"That doesn't make it better." Heredis commented, his eyes drifting until he spotted another Lost, this one laying on the ground with what appeared to be a sword impaled in it's chest. "Hey, would that work?"

"That sword? It should, although it's probably a little dull." Oliver admitted. "Looks like a really old blade, I think that's the mutated version of the old Queenslayer Blades."

"I've been hearing Queenslayer a lot, what is that some kind of brand?" Heredis asked, grabbing the hilt of the sword. He pulled at the sword a few times, finding it stuck between the Lost's mutated ribcage. Along with the taut flesh, it would take three good pulls to remove it from the body, blackish red blood spraying out from it. "Gross."

"Well, it kind of is." Oliver hesitated to say. "I don't know the full story, but apparently about a decade ago some powerful Lost had emerged dubbed "The Queen". A lot of Revenants were made to fight it, and the Queenslayer stuff was the mass-produced equipment to fight."

"Wait, so my jacket…"

"Maybe you lost a lot of your memories because the Queen got you good." Oliver guessed. "I hear sometimes a death can be so painful it could equal a hundred deaths. That would certainly do a number on anyone's head, as well as keep them down for years."

"Yeah…" Heredis thought, looking at the tainted blade as he watched the blood slowly spill down. "You're probably right…"

"Hey, don't get too down. So you lost your memories, you're still you." Oliver encouraged, placing a supporting hand on Heredis' shoulder. "You just got to start making new memories, from new choices."

"We'll see." Heredis muttered, the two beginning their walk again. "But first I have to focus on getting back to Io. I can figure out what comes next when I get there."

"She means a lot to you, doesn't she?"

"I don't know. I woke up to her and she helped me get a Blood Bead and allowed me to recover my physical strength. Then she saved me from one of the guards by stopping him. Maybe she is important, but I don't know. I guess…"

"She's your only certainty, and you want to return the favor." Oliver spoke, more stated than questioned. "I can get that, I used to have someone like that. It was a long time ago, and I forgot most of the memories. But I know they were important to me."

"Thank you Oliver."

"Eh, no problem." The Revenant smirked, bumping Heredis' shoulder with his elbow. "And besides, it certainly doesn't hurt that your special link is easy on the eyes."

"Don't get any funny ideas."

"Hehe, I'm not. Just making an observation is all."

"Right, I'm watching you buster."

"Good, you can see me kick Lost butt then."

"How you holding up over there?" Oliver called out, rolling under the swing of an active Loss before raising his hammer up to block a downward swing from a second Lost.

"Oh you know!" Heredis shouted, holding his sword up and blocking several attacks from a single Lost. "I'm trying to go through the steps!"

"Just look at it and realize there's nothing more to it than dealing the blow!" Oliver directed, pushing the Lost back and swinging his hammer, striking its side and staggering it back. He'd then turn and block the next attack from the Lost behind him. He'd then shove the weapon to the side, his hammer glowing red with energy as he reared the weapon back heavily.

Stomping down, he'd swing with all his strength, the impact blasting the Lost off the nearby ledge and before it turned to ash. Following through with the swing, Oliver spun on his feet and raise the hammer up, slamming down on the Lost approaching him in the head. The monster collapsed immediately, its head caved in before it slowly burned away to ash.

"Easier said than done!" Heredis shouted, rolling past the Lost as his guard dropped, the Revenant panting as he felt exhausted from blocking so many attacks. Seeing the Lost stumble, he'd grip his sword and swing at it, landing a solid slash across its back. The Lost remained standing however, turning and slashing out at him.

Seeing the blade approach, Heredis attempted to block, managing to redirect the attack but losing his weapon as it was knocked out of his grasp. The Lost took a second to correct its posture, standing up and rearing its arm back for another swing. Not having an option, Heredis quickly configured his claw and catch the blade as it struck his shoulder.

He winced at the attack, but gritted his teeth and placed his hand against the Lost's chest over where the heart would be. Focusing his power, he'd see a white light form over his palm before a small projectile of ichor shot through the Lost. It's heart was destroyed, but the monster remained standing, albeit stumbling back from the damage. And in using the opening, Heredis would throw his claw forward, impaling the Lost through its entire torso.

As the Lost turned to ash, the Revenant felt a sudden flood of power, his breath returning to him instantly as the blood from the claw dripped. With his nerves calmed, his arm returned to normal, and he went to pick up his sword.

"See? Not too hard when you get the hang of it." Oliver encouraged, patting his shoulder as he walked to him.

"It takes a good bit, but I think I'm starting to figure it out." Heredis claimed, looking to his sword hand as he did. "I just need to get a better sword than this. It's too light, it feels wrong."

"I'm sure we'll figure something out." Oliver said, the two continuing with their search. "Just take things at your own pace. And don't get too picky with weapons for now, it might be awhile before you can get something that better suits your style."

"Easy for you to say, you're a natural with that hammer." The silver haired man claimed. "You took on three Lost at once, one with a bayonet shooting at you. You hit hard and can take a hit, that's a winning combo."

"I've also had more time to get a grasp of this. A few more fights and you'll get it. Just remember, don't let these fights go on. You get tired, the Lost don't. You recover fast but one with a good balance doesn't have to. You should be killing the average Lost within three to four hits."

"I'll keep that in mind." Heredis chuckled, the two pausing as they walked out of the structural passage to a cavern, the lake below glowing white faintly near the bottom. "I get the idea that water isn't good for a dip?"

"Best to just leave it be." Oliver said, the two shivering as they saw some of the lights blink before moving, getting the Revenants back on track and following the pathway of the cavern. "Think we're getting close to a bloodspring?"

"I can't say for certain. Maybe if I knew the likely locations they grew I could better guess, but this all is just rock, fungus and dormant Lost." Heredis admitted.

"Eh, don't worry about it. I'm sure we can't be that much further off from one." Oliver stated. "I mean, we're already lucky with all the tricks you can do, just finding one will be score us enough Blood Beads to last us for a while." Heredis chuckled, finding Oliver's enthusiasm infectious, as he couldn't help but keep his spirits high, even with the current situation they were in.

The pair walked through the cavern for a few minutes before turning a corner, stopping as they heard pained breathing across the opening. Looking ahead, they both saw a Revenant crouched on the ground, his breathes deep and agonizing as he held his left arm over his chest, his right resting in front of them and out of sight.

"One of ours?" Heredis questioned, finding the Revenant's Blood Veil familiar.

"Hey, you're right!" Oliver realized, running ahead. "He could be badly hurt!"

"Oliver wait!" Heredis called out, pausing in concern as the Revenant moved to check on the downed man.

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked the Revenant, attempting to look around his shoulder to see if there was any damage. "It's alright, we're from the same group as you. We can help you, but we need to know if you were hurt."

The Revenant only continued to gasp in pain, his breathing increasing as his body began to shake, followed by his neck snapping to the side with a sickening crunch. He then moved his right arm as he turned to face Oliver, but the closer Revenant and Heredis staring in shock as the man's claw was already present. However his eyes were glowing bright red, a sickening growl erupting from his throat as he lunged at Oliver.

The Revenant shook the shock from his head, attempting to jump back to avoid being impaled. Although he did, his mask was chipped at it's only filter, the impact knocking Oliver across the floor and against the wall behind him.

"Oliver!" Heredis shouted in concern, his feet finding the strength to move as he rushed at the recently turned Revenant. The Lost was ignorant of Heredis, jumping again at Oliver in order to drain his blood, the thirst having become too unbearable to ignore anymore.

But just before it would reach him, Heredis swung his sword with both hands, getting between them and slashing across the Lost's entire torso. The blood erupted like a geyser, the pressure of the Lost transformation taking place causing the Revenant to quickly lose its life force and collapse onto the ground, its body turning to ashes shortly after.

"Hehe, told ya you could get a mean swing in." Oliver said with a bittersweet chuckle, coughing as he placed a hand onto his mask.

"Oliver, it's okay. I'm right here." Heredis said, kneeling down next to the downed Revenant. Taking a look, he saw the mask's filtration unit was leaking bad, the miasma clearly going through freely. "Damn, okay I think I have an idea. We have to be getting close to a bloodspring by now. I'm thinking if we swap my mask back and forth, we can avoid taking in too much miasma. Then when we get some Blood Beads and that should calm the blood thirst the miasma cause-"

"No, it's okay." Oliver said, holding a hand out to Heredis as he did. "We don't have the time to consider that, and the risk is too great to do that. And besides, blood thirst caused by miasma can't be quenched like the natural process. It would only be wasting Beads, Beads you need to get back to your friend."

"Oliver, you're not saying…"

"I'm just gonna... I want to get a little bit of rest." Oliver said. "It's been a good few days since I got any real sleep and I think about now would feel good."

"No, I can't just leave you. Here I bet I can handle the miasma if I take shallow breathes, take this for a bit while I-" Heredis reached for his mask and attempt to take it off, only to be stopped by Oliver as he grabbed his wrist

"No, get back to your friend. I know those kind of eyes she has, she needs you to look after her." Oliver argued, the smile evident in his voice as he looked up to Heredis. "You can't risk frenzying, not when you have someone to go back to. I'll just stay here. It's better this way."

"Oliver, you know what's going to happen."

"I know, but that's just nature taking its course. I made a stupid move, and now I'm paying for it. You were smart enough to wait, to hold off and measure the situation. But more importantly, your gifts are too important to lose. Reviving Mistles and getting Blood Beads to grow, that's something that can't be wasted. I'm just a guy who swings a big hammer, I think we both know who needs to keep his sanity in check."

"…" Heredis would look down in confliction, keeping a grasp on his mask as he thought it over. He was right, in terms of importance Heredis' abilities with Mistles and Blood Beads alone dwarfed the importance Oliver had. But Revenant was a good man with a strong arm, it wasn't a fair fate to let one mistake take his life. To damn him to insanity of being a Lost. But there were few options, and he had no idea what to do."

"…Do you want me to end it?" Heredis eventually asked, releasing his mask and bringing his hand down, Oliver letting go of his wrist in response.

"Nah, despite the forward assaults I do I'm actually afraid of dying." Oliver chuckled bitterly. "I got a bunch of medicinal supplies in my pouch. Take it, but leave the two syringes in the side with me." Oliver would say, reaching to his waist and pulling the pouch off him and handing it to Heredis. "There's two cloth bags in the main pocket. You can store the Blood Beads in them and get them to the surface."

"Thank you Oliver." Heredis said, lowering his head as he pulled out the two syringes, seeing a white fluid in them. "What do these do?"

"They'll knock me out cold. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll be too tired by the time I start transforming. If not, I'll at least be much weaker than without them. So if we run into each other again, you'll have a much better chance."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more."

"You did more for me than anyone else." Oliver said, giving Heredis a thumbs up as the Revenant stood up. "More than you would ever know. Now go, get to Io. And find a way to get yourselves out of this mess."

"I will, I won't let your sacrifice be in vain."

"Good luck." Oliver said, watching as Heredis wrapped the pouch around his waist and started to walk off. The Revenant was clearly struggling with the decision, evident as he tightened both his fists as he walked away. But his convictions remained solid, and he couldn't let Oliver's wishes for him to survive be for nothing.

As he stepped out of the opening they were in, he'd enter a narrow passage with a single Lost in it, turning when it heard his footsteps. Taking a deep breathe, Heredis readjusted his hand's grasp on his sword, loosening it a bit before getting into a stance that felt the most natural to him. Hearing the Lost grumble with its distorted voice, he aimed his sword at the monster, his eyes narrowing in determination as he readied himself.

"You'll pick it up as you go." He said to himself, the Lost pointing to him as it held its weapon to its side. Planting his feet, Heredis rushed towards the Lost, the monster returning the gesture as it ran forward and raised its blade up.

As Heredis and the Lost's blades clashed, a thought flooded Heredis' mind. Io wasn't with him, Oliver wasn't with him. He was now alone, having to fight against the Lost in the cave to get to the bloodsprings. He had to get to the bloodspring, he NEEDED to get to it. Failing to do so would spit on Oliver helping him in his early hours. And failing to get to Io would forsake both his and the woman's taken risks to get him here at this moment.

"I'm getting those Blood Beads!" He shouted, overpowering the Lost and knocking its sword arm to the side, slashing twice across the Lost's chest before slamming his foot down, gripping his sword with both hands before swinging up, slicing through the Lost's neck and decapitating it. "I'll get them no matter what!"

(A/N): Surprise! This was one of the stories I was thinking on writing, and I will admit it was hard to stop myself from at least writing the first chapter. I was a fan of when Code Vein came out and the DLC brought me back with a passion. It brought back my enjoyment for the game and with a new set of challenges and reasons to play again it got my head thinking. Back when it came out I wanted to write a story, but I felt it would be too early and I didn't have a solid plan on what I wanted to do.

But now, the idea has come to me. I know what I have planned and I'm more than excited to get on it with the desire to demonstrate the world Code Vein gave us. There's plenty I have planned and I'm going to enjoy plucking at the story and throwing in the moments of interest I have in it. And I certain will have plenty to explore and work with in this wolrd of immortal Revenants and unholy deities.

But as it all goes, this is just the beginning. I hope you enjoyed this introduction and I'll see you in the next chapter. Peace!