A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Smiling casually, Erik shrugged. "Well, for one, I wanted to give you another chance to join me ahead of everyone else. Inevitably, you'll end up either killed by the hunters or subjugated by me. Why not get a jump on the lesser of two evils? Assuming you'd subscribe to the idea that serving me is any kind of evil at all, of course."

Zahra scoffed. After getting control of her anxiety, she surged with a rebellious streak, unwilling to seem weak in front of him. "There's no inevitability in this world! We make our fate, and we'll beat back the hunters! We don't need you!"

Erik's lips curled into a small smile. "True inevitability does not exist, I'll admit that. A being far more powerful than any of us could appear at any time and blow our planet up from orbit without even coming down to the ground. If that happens, I guess you won't serve me, and you won't die. At least, not by the hunter's hands…"

He cocked a mocking eyebrow. "But how about we focus on the things we can actually influence?"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Nasir scoffed coldly in full disbelief, his arms crossed in front of his chest. The scenario Erik described was far too fantastical to him, even with Earth's awakening.

Yet, for a moment, Erik's expression faltered into something wry. Along with only a handful of others, he was all too aware of what powers existed outside of the Earth, and that some of them would be all too interested in… visiting their little blue marble, if they knew its location.

The trio noticed his momentary faltering and two of them looked at him strangely, now wondering if he truly believed the crap that came out of his mouth.

Zohran, however, didn't react as such. Rather, he appeared focused on something else.

After that moment, Erik recovered quickly and fell back into relaxed confidence. "I suppose it would be easier to believe I'm talking nonsense, so I don't blame you for that. Either way, the point stands. You should know that—"

Clang

"—the benefits to those who join me early would be better than those who do it later. I'd even be willing to forgive your repeated and pointless attempts at killing me."

Despite the harsh sound, Erik continued talking, unperturbed and unflinching in his relaxed stance and expression.

Behind him, a grinning Astrid's swords clashed with a shadowy version of Zohran, appearing like a less tangible version of Emily's darkness clone. The shadowy clone had jumped off a nearby statue and tried to plunge its sabres into Erik's back, but Astrid's reflexes were far too good for that.

Erik noticed the attack as well, of course, but his trust in Astrid was implicit.

"Now! While the woman is distracted!" Zohran roared, and immediately charged Erik. "Illusion him, Zahra!"

Erik sighed and watched him approach with a small smirk. Still, he didn't move a muscle. Behind him, some more fighting noises echoed, along with some orange flashes.

Just as the real Zohran was about to reach his seemingly unprotected form, the werejackal's yellow eyes widened, and Astrid suddenly charged out from behind Erik's back to crash into him.

Zohran skidded back several paces and cursed. "You defeated my clone so quickly!"

Astrid's face was split into a wide, excited grin. Her subtle but powerful muscles rippled as she rolled her shoulders and entered into a relaxed, but battle-ready stance in front of Erik, both swords by her side. "I hope you're not as weak as whatever that was. Please, at least give me half a challenge."

Astrid had been aching for a good fight for a while now. She'd been denied not long ago, and now she wanted to let loose!

Zohran's eyebrows twitched at her insult, but fighting spirit surged within him. His animal-like eyes became wilder as he panted slightly from his jackal maw.

Still, he didn't charge again, and rather looked at what his companions were doing… only to be severely disappointed by the result.

Nasir's initial fear of Astrid's affinity had surged once more as soon as she used it to destroy the shadow clone. He shook himself free almost immediately, but it was enough to freeze him during Zohra's initial assault.

As for Zahra… she simply fidgeted and didn't move a muscle. She remembered what it felt like to have her power cut off when Erik demonstrated the power of the sigil, and she really didn't want to feel that again. She didn't like letting her ally down, but it's not like there was anything she could do…

As soon as Zohran looked their way, Nasir recovered and quickly swivelled to point his spear at Erik, knowing Astrid's affinity would not do him any favours. He appeared ready to join Zohran now, but they both noticed Zahra still didn't move.

Nasir immediately scowled. "Dammit! Are you still claiming nothing happened, Zahra?! Weren't you saying something about making your own fate?!"

Zohran also appeared sombre, though his eyes didn't leave Astrid's slowly approaching form. "What's going on, Zahra?" he growled, crouching into a combat stance. "Do our years of alliance mean nothing? Are you going to let us die?!"

Zahra gulped and tried to find her previous defiance again, but instead looked at Erik with uncertain hope. Erik could see she realised the truth: they didn't stand a chance against him. They might beat him with all three of them, but now she couldn't help, and there was Astrid as well. "He— He won't kill us… He still needs us to hold the line… Right?"

Erik, completely unbothered by all of this, simply nodded with a smile. "That's right. I've no interested in killing any of you, and I don't really begrudge you your attempts at my life, either…"

A dangerous smirk appeared, and he cocked his head. "But… you should know that I do keep a tally, and if you don't join me willingly in the future, I will come to collect when the time comes that I don't need you anymore."

Nasir, being the more cold and calculating of the trio, immediately relaxed a little. Zohran, however, was a little more hot-blooded. Erik easily recognised the itch for a good fight that he himself felt on many occasions.

Of course, Astrid didn't seem keen on peace, either.

Erik looked at them and chuckled. "How about you two have a little duel later, huh? I'd like to finish up here first, though."

As soon as Erik mentioned a duel, both excitement and cunning flashed through Zohran's eyes. "A duel usually comes with a bet, don't you think…?"

Erik grinned and nodded. "Sure, we can say that." He glanced at Astrid's back, who'd stopped halfway towards Zohran. "What do you think, Astrid?"

The vampire chuckled dangerously, swinging her swords. "You're the boss, my love. You know I'm itching for a fight, though."

"That's settled then," Erik nodded. "So, let's settle our business first."

Astrid and Zohran both eased out of their combat stance, while Nasir glared between Erik and Zahra. "Before anything else, I want to know what's going on between you two!"