"…pant…pant…pant…pant…"

Under the cloudy night sky, a white haired boy is running inside a tight alleyway in Daedalus. He is Lug, who has been missing for a good portion of the day. There are a lot of boxes that are stack on top of each other making the already tight alleyway even tighter.

I got carried away. Lug thinks to himself as he runs across the alley. I really need to put some restraint. "…pant…pant…pant…"

He ran forward for a miles before turning left. He kept running until he met a T-junction. He looks both ways. I can get home sooner if I take the right path, but… He glances left. There were some lights coming from that side of the road that caught his attention. Sigh… guess it is okay once in a while. Lug turns his body to the left and start running again.

The light was getting brighter and brighter as he approaches the source. Not long after that he finally saw where it was coming from.

Row of tall houses that were beaming with light. Each house was smaller than the one you usually saw on the main street. It took three of these houses to make the ordinary house. The plus side of these houses is that they're usually consists of multiple stories, usually six stories tall.

This place, again…

"HEY, IT'S MY TURN!" The sound of a child's tantrum snaps Lug out of his mind. Lug then focused his vision down. He saw a bunch of children playing in the middle of the alleyway while their parents were looking from their house. "WATCH ME!"

Lug freeze as he watched the boy jumped over a rope and followed by the others. Something has captured his attention. Something that he nor his friends have, a childhood. No, this is the consequence of our choice, I shouldn't… Lug mind started to wander around for a solid minute before someone called his name.

"Lug, Come here!"

"…..?" Lug turns his head towards the source of sound and saw a couple of people who was sitting in front of a house. They are clearly the parents of the children that were playing. "Mr. Kin."

"Hm, is that really how you act around your uncle?"

"Uncle?" Lug asked with a disgusted look on his face.

"That really hurt you know!"

"Good." Lug didn't even hold his mouth and hurt Kin even more. He then moves his face to the woman right next to Kin. "So…how is everything?"

The woman smile and chuckled by how awkward Lug are right now. "You are as awkward as you're usual huh? Glad to know that aspect of you haven't changed at all."

"Stop it. Just answer my question."

The woman chuckled even more. "Just like usual, how is your life as an adventurer?"

"Chaotic is the only word I can use." Lug answer exhaustingly. "With everyone, my day is always ruined."

Kin and the woman laugh after Lug finish his answer. "It's nice to hear that you guys never change one bit. It makes me proud as your uncle."

"Please stop claiming to be my uncle. It's gross, you know."

"Come on man."

"You shouldn't push so hard, honey? They aren't little kid anymore." The woman pats Kin's back. "Of course they will feel weird if you keep calling yourself their uncle."

"But-but-but, they always call me their uncle when they were little."

"When we were little, please emphasize with the word were." Lug couldn't contain his disgust any longer.

*CRACK *CRACK *CRACK

Thunder noises decorated their surrounding and for a split second, it illuminated the entire alley. Everyone fixes their eyes onto the sky as if the thunder was a calling for their parting.

"I guess I should leave." Lug said to the couple.

"Before you go, please take this." The woman gets up and slowly walks towards Lug. She handed him a little bag of-what could only be assumed as-cookies. "Please share it with the other."

"…Okay." Lug takes the little bag and straps it to his pants.

"Please go straight home." Kin said to Lug like a father talking to his son. "Don't take a detour to Lady Ishtar's territory."

"Please don't compare me with your younger self." Lug said with a little scoff.

"Hey now! Don't open my dark past like that! I am different now, I have a wife and children." Kin tried to protect his honor, but his answer only solidify his creepy images inside Lug mind.

"Yeah…sure right…" Lug slowly back away. "Well, bye I guess."

Kin's wife chuckled at Lug attempt to say goodbye. She waves her hand to Lug as he walks away from their house. "I am glad that they didn't change."

"Yeah for now, they'll surely change down the line." Kin rested his body to his chair. "Let's hope it's a good one."

"I'm sure they will." His wife fixed her face and look at Kin. "Don't you think so, as someone who 'raises' them?"

"Huh, I guess so."

*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap

The rain pours hard on Lug as if they were specifically after him. His whole body was drenched in water after only one minute of rain. He looks like he had been swimming rather than running from the rain.

I better look for a place to stay while it's raining.

Lug ran past house after house running while looking for a place to stay dry. He finally found a ledge which provides him with temporary shelter.

"…pant…pant…pant…pant…pant…" In this moment of tranquility, Lug started to fix his breath. He looks toward the little bag beside his pants hoping it wasn't drenched with water only to find the cookies inside of it completely soggy from the rain water.

Damn…how am I going to explain this?

He sighs in defeat and unties the bag from his pants. He lays the bag on the ground in front of him. He thought to himself to buy a new one from a store somewhere. But, someone would immediately know that he was lying. He would at least need a handmade one to trick them, the rest is up to his ability to buy Zhul's mouth.

Who could make one…? Syr? She definitely can, but I don't know if I want to owe her something.

He pondered for a couple of moments before he decide that it was a bad idea that he would rather just admit.

"Sigh…I just have to prepare my ears."

While he was pondering, a little rat sneaks up on him and snatched the little bag from him. It ran into the dark alley leaving a trail of brown water coming from the soggy cookies.

Take it, I don't need it anyway.

Lug took a deep breath while he hears the rat happily munching on the soggy cookies. The rat noises immediately turn into a terrified one before it's completely went silence as if the owner of the voice vanishes into the night.

Lug's sense of danger immediately kicks in. He pulls out his throwing knife. His eyes never leave the place where he saw the rat for the last time.

After a minute of tension, another rat walks out. Lug threw his throwing knife and impaled the rat. The impaled rat doesn't waste a single moments, its body swelled up and explode. Creating a big shockwave that knocks Lug away.

Lug immediately get up and pulled out another throwing knife. He wiped the side of his face that was stained by dirt. His mind race trying to rationalize the situation, he had seen an exploding rat that was powerful enough to push him away. His mind immediately came up with an answer. This shit ain't right.

A second past and the ground start to shake. Lug immediately book it and ran as fast as he can. He looks back and see this massive body of just pure black fur coming at him, it was a swarm of rat and it's keep getting bigger the longer he run. His feet stomped the murky puddle and each time he step forward, a bunch of rat emerges from underneath the dirt, boxes or whatever that was near him, joining the already growing swarm.

Lug keeps running until he finds himself running inside a bigger alleyway with wooden bridges all over the place connecting buildings. Lug ran until he saw another swarm of rats coming from the other horizon. He slows down while looking at his surrounding.

Only one way out.

Lug starts speeding up and coming closer to the wall. When he reached the perfect spot and speed, Lug propelled himself onto the wall and keeps running. He jumps into one of the bridge and composed himself. He looks down and sees the rats started piling up, trying to catch him.

Still not far enough, those bastards better be free. My problem is going to be theirs too.

Lug climbs another bridge and keeps on climbing until he reaches the roof. He then proceeds to run from roof to roof. Thankfully the roof in Daedalus streets was close enough so that he doesn't need to jump.

Back at the base, the remaining people, Han, Briar and Aol, were calmly eating dinner when it's began to rain outside. Briar had just come home after working for the Goibniu Familia, bringing home a bunch of valises and materials with him.

"You know, it is kind rare having a peaceful meal." Han said as he savors the tranquility of the moment. "Not having meal thrown at each other, drinks exploding and other kinds of dangerous shit."

"You're raising a flag there, buddy. Combine it with the rain outside, it's a guarantee." Briar answers while he munches his meal peacefully. "Aol, please prepare yerself. We may need to run for our life anytime soon."

"Really Briar? You're going to be like this now?"

"Don't worry, I got my bow and everything ready if something comes in with a gun." Aol said as he glance to his side where his bow and quiver was resting.

"You guys are fucking asshole."

"And you're going to bring the end of this-"

*THUD

Before Aol could even finish his sentence, Lug immediately barge in while being completely drenched by the rain and out of breath. He immediately slam the door shut and said to the others,

"Problems are coming. Get ready now!" His voice immediately followed by a loud banging on the door.

*BANG *BANG *BANG

Briar didn't ask much, he went straight to the door and help Lug hold the door. Aol roll and grab his bow and quiver while Han ran upstairs, grabbing some of Zhul's inventions and basic necessities. He grabbed some exploding stone, bunch of ropes and a dagger.

"We're ready." Han jump down from the stairs and ran to the living room. He grabs one of the stone and readied himself to throw it at the door. "Whenever you're."

"No, we would need something bigger." Lug said hastily before almost being thrown off balance by the banging door behind him.

*BANG *BANG *BANG *BANG

"Wat is that?" Briar planted his feet on the ground and tried his best to keep the door shut. "Tis door ain't gonna hold much longer."

"Rooftop, ASAP." Han drag Aol with him while Lug and Briar hold the door a little bit longer. Both Han and Aol went upstairs to their bedroom. Both of them climbed to the top bed. "Prepare your head."

Downstairs, both Lug's and Briar's started to lose their footings by the constant banging on the door. "Yer ready?"

"Anytime you are."

"Good…3…2…1…GO!" Lug and Briar didn't wait a single seconds, they run to the kitchen and climb the stairs. They climbed even faster when they heard the door break and whatever they was containing pour to the living room, completely filling the room.

They went to the bedroom and saw a hole in the roof with rope dangling down. Before they can even climb the bunk bed, they heard the things climbing up the stairs at alarming rate.

"No time." Briar lifts Lug up and throws him through the roof, creating another hole in the process. He then climbs the bed and pull himself up before discarding the rope. "Everybody safe?"

"All of us make it out alive." Han replied. He wiped his forehead that was drenched by the rain. "What was that?"

"No time to explain." Lug said while massaging his neck. "We need to move."

"To where?" Aol asked the important question. Even if they can run, sooner or later, whatever that was trying to catch them will eventually do what it was created for. They can't run forever cause they're still a living being with limited stamina and they can't simply asked for help, especially in the middle of the rainy night.

All of them remain silent to Aol's question. Before any of them could answer, the rats started to fill up their bedroom and only a couple of centimeters away before reaching the roof. Lug, who knew what the rats are capable of, couldn't hide his concern when he saw the rats getting closer by the seconds.

"West…let's head west." Briar said calmly. "While we at it, I want some explanation." Briar turns his head at Lug, waiting for a confirmation.

"…Yes." Lug nod his head, affirming what Briar wants. "We need to move now."

"Lug, duck." Aol said as he aims his bow at Lug. Lug instinctively brought his head down. He heard Aol's arrow went past him, hitting something before it went far beyond their reach. He glance back and see that the arrow have carried a rat on it. The rat was carried far before it ultimately explodes.

"…That's your answer." Lug said weakly. "Can we go now?"

"Yeah." Han said before he jumps off the roof and start running towards the west. The others soon followed him, but not before they make sure that there was no roof that they can jump onto rather than walk on the ground. The rats burst from their base and continue the pursuit.

"Guys, can you cover me for a bit?" Aol asked as he closes the distance between him and the others. He showed them the bracelet on his wrist. "I want to inform Zhul."

"Get in the middle of-" Han was about to suggest something before a wave of rats emerged like a tsunami from the road in front of them. "Go right!" Han and the others dash to the little alleyway. "Can you do it now?"

"I am-" Again, before Aol can answer Han's question. Another waves of rats burst from the wall beside them.

Han instinctively grabbed some exploding stone and throw them at the rats. The exploding stone combined with the exploding rats causes a chain reaction, resulting in a big explosion that blows everyone away.

"GUH!" Aol let out a small noise after he was slammed to a wall. He landed on the wet dirt after, staining his clothes and body. I have to call him now. Even though his body was full in pain and his head still rings like a bell, he try to bring his wrist up to his mouth.

When he looks at the crystal on his bracelet, he saw his reflection and a bunch of rats sitting on the rooftop above him. Fuck…. Aol turn his body around and look at the rats. He brought his bow in front of him, pull an arrow, put it on his bow, pull the string and aim it up. He aims it not at the rats but at the sky as if he was challenging the rats. The rats squeak in unison and jump down at Aol.

"Die…"