By The Blood

After a couple more seconds, he said, "I see something over there." He pointed in the direction of the building, enshrounded in mist. "There's a purple curtain draping from the sky, there."

Vin glanced at him, then to where he was pointing. She squinted, before widened her gaze. "I can't see it very clearly?" She eyed him. "Let's go then."

Not even making a plan? Karl found the lady quite reckless. Nevertheless, he reached for his pouch, feeling the remaining claws, serum, voicestone, and Fredrick's fingers, which he still preferred not to have to use, but would not hesitate when tbe situation arose.

In truth, he had pondered summoning the Man and using him to kill Vin, but he decided against it due to the trend that was happening to him.

He hoped for some kind of reward from following her. So far, he had gained the glasses. Though he still wasn't sure if they were his to keep, as long as she did not ask for them, Karl was willing to "hold on" to them.

Vin walked to the lip of the building, the mist swirling past her, slightly blurring her—but Karl, with his enhanced vision, had no problem seeing her.

"Let's go," she said before jumping off the building.

Karl watched her leap from building to building like some kind of hopper. He finally sighed, crouched, and jumped, following right behind her.

They cut through the mist, Karl felt the dampness perk at his cheeks. This was freeing somehow—simply jumping from building to building; not being under anyone's control. He loved it.

Soon, the target building rose from the backdrop. Karl landed on a slightly arched wooden roof, feeling the wood creak under his weight.

Still not light-footed enough.

Soon, Vin landed beside him—her steps barely making a sound. Maybe she wasn't actually jumping, but softly flying. Karl found that a possible explanation.

"This is the place?" Vin asked.

Karl removed his eyes from her, locking them on the anomaly before him.

The building faced the desolate road, mist swirling around it. It had a slightly arched tiled roof, with windows bolted with wood. It stood tall like a two-story building—white, at least before, but now streaked with lines of red that stained the walls and the front road.

There was a gate-like door on the front porch, and overall, the building looked more like a hall than a residence. He saw all this through a small crack in the purple-black veil that draped over the building from above.

"Yes," he answered Vin, then he took off the glasses. Immediately, the building vanished before his eyes. No, not vanished, but changed. It had turned into a small, unassuming hut, old and stained with soot and dust. For a moment, Karl felt like looking away, as if he had made a mistake and missed the building.

Is this how the veil works? he realized. It changes the form of the hidden into something that easily distracts the observer, making them forget or not pay any attention to it? He felt his analogy was spot on.

"Alright." Vin curled up a smile, gripped her rapier with her free hand, and jumped down, parting through the mist.

Karl watched her descend, her speed gradually slowing as she neared the ground. So she was using some ability to be light-footed. Karl felt reassured.

Then, he followed suit, jumping down through the rushing mist. With a dull thud, he landed on the ground, not stirring any dust since it had all been dampened by the mist.

He wore the glasses again.

The building loomed before them. A few carts, covered in tarps, were parked along the road. Vin walked nonchalantly towards the strange building. Did she really not have a plan?

Just then, a sound faded into Karl's ears; a male voice—groaning in pain. He listened more intently and could make out its direction: the very house before them.

Does the veil not block sound? Or is my mana potent enough to help with this? He glanced at Vin. She did not seem to notice the sound. Well, it could just be because of his enhanced senses, which evidently, Vin lacked.

She approached the building, drawing very close to the purple dark veil. Karl followed behind, wondering how she would get in. Surely, the veil didn't just serve as camouflage but also as defense. He made guesses.

"A veil also acts as protection for those inside," Vin said in hushed tones. Her hands rose, pressing close to the veil. It seemed like she could touch it—could he also?

"To break through a veil, one either needs to use brute power infused with mana or a mystical power," Vin said, her fingers clenching into the veil—causing it to wrinkle like gripped fabric.

Karl felt Vin was acting somewhat like Anette—they both were teaching him one thing or another. Perhaps it was because he looked like a child.

Her fingers pressed deeper into the veil, causing it to drag like cloth. Not fully understanding what she was doing, Karl reached into his clothes, taking out a few claws and leaving some inside. He brought out the syringe—since he still didn't know its use, he was willing to use it on whoever the enemy was—at least the sudden evolution from a possibly incompatible component might cause excessive pain, thus incapacitating them.

He did not bring out the gun; there was no use for it without bullets. As for the strange coin, he still didn’t know what use it had, so he simply left it stashed in his pouch.

Just then, the veil crumpled like a piece of paper, pinching violently at the spot where Vin was gripping.

It shattered! Like glass shards, the veil fell down as tiny purple-black fragments, fading away into the mist and silence. Without warning, Vin shot in, a surge of wind blowing past her, slamming against the door—blowing it wide open.

The inside was a massive hall, slightly stained with dust, with a chandelier hanging above, burning with eternal lamps. In the center of the hall was a bed, and on it lay a man groaning. His legs were parted, blood staining his nether region. The blood also stained the white sheets, and his stomach was bulging, as if pregnant.

Karl felt a chill from seeing such a scene. A man was giving birth in front of him?

Beside the bed, a woman sat holding the man’s hand, as if supporting his labor. She wore a simple black gown with faint traces of blood stains and dust. She had very dark red hair, and for a moment, Karl equated her to Galf, Tyro, or Anderson, but she was different. Unlike the others, who had a strangely baneful look, she seemed more pure—motherly even.

Karl recoiled, feeling disgusted.

Vin, who was a few steps behind him, poised her rapier and dashed towards the bed. The woman beside the man simply glanced at her and said in a low tone.

"None shall harm the Son of the Goddess."

Without warning, the ground split open, and in an instant, the entire hall grew hazy, fading into a different place.

In a vast desolate plain, with rough rocks and plains, stood a large tree, its bark brown with hints of black. The leaves were expansive—glowing blood red with a few drops of flesh and blood raining down from them. He smelled the deep scent of blood and heard the faint voice of a child crying in the distance.

Suddenly, a deep, maddening rage overtook him, the scent of gunpowder growing and permeating his nostrils.

What? He felt a deep fear gradually surface from the back of his mind, but then the rage faded. Instead, around him was a layer of swirling white mist that smelled strangely like gunpowder.

He glanced at Vin, seeing the woman crouched down, her body quivering. She seemed to be in pain, but Karl couldn’t focus on her. He felt a certain weakness gnawing at him.

It was then he saw something from the side of the large tree—a huge blood-red finger gripped the side as if something was trying to step out from there.

Quickly, he took out the glasses, and the hand vanished, but the overall scene remained the same. Surely, this was a situation that far outclassed him. What was he even supposed to do? Wouldn’t the best choice be to simply disappear?

He glanced at Vin, seeing the lady still struggling to stand up. No way was he going to wait for whatever was happening to her to happen to him. As for why it wasn’t happening to him, he simply attributed it to the strange mist swirling around him. It was the same mist that saved him when he fought with... Karl dismissed the thought.

Before Karl could speak, strange trails of white light began swirling around him. They smelled like sulfur.

Bang!

The light expanded, turning into illusory like white birds with no eyes. They seemed like something hand-drawn, yet they radiated a strange heat as they flew around him—circling.

There was a strange connection between him and the flames, as if he could will control over them. And so he did. And so they followed.

I can control this? A certain understanding emerged deep within him—as if another piece of himself had surfaced, but at the same time, that piece felt temporary, as if it would fade away after some time. I can't leave now. He didn’t know why, but he felt compelled to familiarize himself with these white flames—this strange power.

Just then, he spotted the woman standing beside the gigantic tree.

"Who are you, and why do you want to kill the Son of the Goddess? Why harm divinity?"

Karl remained silent, still marveling at the strange new power that was slowly filling him up. They were destructive, yet they were his... or maybe not?

The woman frowned. "Have you gone mad?" She slowly touched the bark of the great tree. "I see, you have lost your mind after witnessing the greatness of the Goddess. But be proud, you saw the first stages of her kingdom."

The white birds circling Karl continued their motion, but they were gradually getting brighter.

The woman smiled, walking a few steps forward, but suddenly stopped when she noticed a smile on the boy's face.

Then, he said, "I'm sorry... But can you be a test subject for a while?"

The woman froze, and just then, hundreds of white birds appeared around Karl, all shooting at whistling speeds towards the woman.

Startled, she waved her hand; a few vines from the tree shot up, circling her like a dome. The birds collided with the vines, igniting them with white flames. They scorched the surface, causing the vines to burn red and drop down, burned to ash. The woman inside stood wide-eyed.

Just then, the boy was engulfed in white flames, covering every part of his body. The flames divided into three, forming three identical human-like infernos. They dashed towards her at tremendous speeds.

Which one is he? The woman panicked for a moment. She opened her mouth, releasing a cry that filled the space, but the flames refused to dull. Instead, the trio moved dangerously close to her. She stepped back just in time as one of the flame men drew a white sword, slashing it close to her neck.

Another appeared by her side, drawing a sword of white, aiming at her side. It would cleave her in two if it connected. Sensing the danger, she clasped her hands, and a torrent of vines rushed out from the ground, piercing through the flame men, extinguishing them.

Wait! Weren’t there three? A faint heat touched her left cheek—she turned to see a white flame bird. It flapped its wings, exploding with a bang, causing her head to snap back, blood spilling from her cheeks.

She couldn’t see it, but she could feel it—parts of her face had been blown off.

She suddenly felt a deep fear—she looked up to see a white fiery being climbing the tree, moving dangerously close to the top branches. No! That’s where the Child of the Goddess is being birthed!

Her legs disconnected from the hard ground, floating high with haste. She flew towards the boy, but suddenly it stopped, turned to her, and jumped into the air.

What? She realized something. He tricked me! He was never going after the Child, and likely doesn’t even know it’s there. He simply wanted my mind occupied with something else.