Serum

Their residence, Ava's house, was completely empty. It was a bit alarming, but not in the sense of a life threatening crisis. Ava wasn't in trouble. 

But Dirk really wanted to see her. There were very few important people in his life, and she was one of them. So he went to find her after getting the address for the house. As for Cecilia, she went to go find Alec who probably knew her whereabouts. 

It wasn't long before Dirk arrived. Since his father said it was barren, he decided to walk right into the front door. That's when he saw it. 

No furniture, no decorations, no rugs, and no signs of life. There was nothing but outlines of dust on the floor. So Dirk searched the house. 

And he found nothing. It was an entirely abandoned house. Right when he was feeling panicked though, Cecilia arrived. 

"I have bad news."

She approached him who sat on a staircase. 

"It seems... they left. Ava had come back from a dive only a few days ago. And yesterday, the family suddenly vanished. Alec's father told me they had suddenly decided to pull out of the empire. They even brought along their business."

"...Why?"

"The war. The entire empire has been worried about the tensions between us and the Dark Kingdom. It's gotten really bad recently. After all, our troops are practically lined up to fight. And, the last time a war broke out... it didn't end well for anyone."

"..."

Dirk was silent. He understood how devastating a war could be. But it wasn't like Ava was in the military. As far as he knew, her father was just a business man. But it seemed like there was more to the situation if he left at the signs of battle. 

"So where are they?"

"There's only one place they can be. They're taking a route to go east, which means they want to pass underneath the dwarven empire. Since they're hybrids, they're likely heading to the Unity empire."

"How fast?"

"If it's a full scale migration, then even though the wagons might be fast, the logistics ensures it won't be. They've been traveling for 14 hours. Come with me."

Cecilia suddenly waved after giving him the details. Dirk looked at her before standing and following. 

They headed toward a certain corner of the capital. Here, there was a military installation. Cecilia walked right in, and nobody stopped her. 

"You've never actually learned how to ride a horse, have you?"

"I have some idea."

"I'm sure you could learn on the fly either way."

As she said that, the two walked into a stable. Inside were long rows of horses of all sizes and colors. Some looked almost like unicorns while others swirled with large amounts of mana.

Cecilia stopped at one of them. It was an all black horse whose glossy hair emitted a black fog. Dirk could feel the dark element from it. 

"I've been using this horse recently. He moves faster than you think, so you'll need to stress yourself to use his full speed. That also means he'll get you to where you need to go quickly. He can also hide well, and you don't need to worry about losing him. He'll follow you. Anyway, take it."

"Now?"

"The longer you wait, the farther she gets."

Cecilia smiled at him. Dirk scratched his head before looking at the horse. 

At that moment, Spyte also appeared. She looked into the horse's eyes from Dirk's shoulder. The horse seemed a little distressed at Spyte's appearance, but bowed its head. Spyte walked onto it from the nose until it sat on its back. 

[Good horse.]

She seemed smug, to which Dirk smirked. He then jumped onto the saddle.

"Don't be gone too long, or I'll worry."

"I won't. Go."

*Neigh!*

The horse let out an energetic sound at Dirk's command. Like that, he walked out of the stable and toward an exit not far from the military installation. 

Cecilia watched as he and the horse rode off into the distance as if flying. A trail of black fog was left behind. 

............

"Damn you're fast!"

Dirk shouted a bit excitedly. The horse flew down a rough road at the top speed of some cars. Dirk's mana vision was stressed as he kept up with the changes in the surroundings. Luckily, the horse also knew how to steer itself and not blindly run into a tree. 

[148 miles per hour.]

Best part was, the horse didn't stop. Dirk had ridden this thing for 3 hours already, and it never even slowed down. It didn't even look tired. Dirk was getting tired faster, in fact. 

And he was happy about that. Because a bit before the fourth hour, when the sun was high in the sky, Dirk saw it. 

A massive caravan taking up nearly the entire road. Each of the wagons was 5 meters tall and up to 20 meters long. Guards sat on top of and within each wagon, and there were some riding horses all around it. It was a full escort force, a necessity with the quantity and quality of the cargo that was being moved. 

Dirk slowed down upon seeing the caravan. Both he and the horse activated their stealth abilities, and they remained hidden. Then, Dirk steered the horse into the forest beside the moving caravan. 

The caravan itself was moving surprisingly fast. They were going the speed of cars, around 60 miles an hour despite the rough road. It looked like they had suspension and special wheels though, enabling them to move so fast. 

If Dirk used his full strength and some magic, he might be able to move with the caravan. But the horse was a much more suitable option, a powerful animal that could go the speed of a sports car for hours on end. 

Unfortunately, because of the guards everywhere and how fast they were moving, Dirk wasn't able to find a way onto any one of the wagons. He didn't even know which one Ava was in, or if she was alone. 

So he waited. Dirk tailed them for several more hours. When the sun began to set, the carriages slowed down. Dirk watched as they stopped and set up camp. 

He also stopped, watching them nearby. Some guards remained as sentries, but he could deal with that. He kept his eye out. 

But Ava never showed. Dirk didn't get hasty though. He waited some more, and when the large group began making dinner outside, Dirk heard what he wanted. 

"Ava, we've made dinner."

"Not interested."

"...Alright."

Ava's father closed the door of a carriage after being grumbled at. Dirk felt his heart beat a little harder when he heard that voice. 

He walked around to that carriage. Looking at the wall, he saw a large window. It was closed, but Dirk didn't worry about that. 

Seeing as there weren't any sentries around and nobody within the window's line of sight, Dirk reached up. Using a bit of elemental sonar, Dirk found the lock of the window and used earth magic to move it. It clicked, and he quickly opened the window and slipped in. 

"Who-!"

"Shh!!"

Dirk immediately rushed at the young woman he saw, placing his hand over her mouth. She struggled, but when the two looked at each other, both froze. 

Dirk slowly removed his hand as Ava's eyes went wide. Although he couldn't see, he could make out Ava's figure from the earth and fire mana. She was taller, though a head shorter than him. This height was compensated for a bit by her antlers that had grown upward a bit and backward. It was forming into something like a crown, and she looked a bit majestic with it. Thankfully, it wasn't obnoxiously tall like her father's, only rising an inch or so above her head.

Then, he could see her soft face. Her shapely curves. The long brown hair. And because his sense of smell was heightened due to the blindness, he could smell the natural aroma she emitted. It felt familiar despite so long having passed.

'I've never wanted my sight back more than now.'

Dirk cursed inwardly, stressing his dark mana vision to make out vague images of her. Still, even with the obscurity, his mother was correct. She was a very fine young woman. 

"...Dirk?"

Ava was also looking at him. Dirk had a cloth over his eyes, so she couldn't see the cursed cracks. But she could see his toned body underneath his casual clothes, along with the mature, sharp face. He looked so different yet familiar. Most of all, she couldn't mistake that aura. And the smell...

"Hi, Ava. You've... changed."

"Y-yea... Dirk... what are you doing here?"

"I should be asking that. I just got back, and you're trying to run away? I'm a little hurt."

"You..."

Ava was surprised at his tease, and she smiled when he did. 

"You're such an ass! You were the one who was gone! I had to dungeon dive with Alec. Do you know how much slack I had to pull while you were gone?"

"Are you telling me you couldn't complete jobs alone? I thought you had the skills."

"Ugh, shut up. When you were gone I... I wanted to get stronger. I was worried that when you came back, I wouldn't be able to beat you. I wanted to get stronger than that woman who took you. I thought maybe I could go and hunt you down then..."

Ava spoke through the tears that dripped down her cheeks, constantly wiping them away. Dirk went and hugged her, stroking her back in comfort.

"It's good to see you too, Ava."

"Hey, I'll have you know that I haven't cried in two months! You tell your mother that so she can stop calling me a crybaby!"

"You're crying right now."

"It was still a new record! Ugh... I'm fine now."

The two separated as Ava straightened her hair out. She then looked at him with a side eye before sitting on a nearby couch. 

"So you want to tell me what your family is migrating for?"

Dirk sat down beside her. At first the two were separate, but after he smiled and waved, Ava laid against his chest. 

"...My father wants to escape the upcoming war."

"So I've surmised. But that doesn't seem like enough. There hasn't actually been an official declaration. So what's really going on?"

"..."

Ava was silent, struggling with something internally. She clenched his shirt a bit. 

"...He wants to escape the wartime law that may be imposed if a war does break out. The Empire can't have businesses, the backbone of its economy, doing as they please during a war. There will be more restrictions and investigations into suspicious activity."

"Okay? Does that mean..."

"My father runs an illegal slave trading business within the empire."

"..."

Ava directly spoke, causing Dirk to shut his mouth. She curled up a bit, moving closer to him as if scared. 

"A lot of the wagons in this caravan are filled with these slaves. And he can't abandon the business, so he's moving to where it isn't illegal."

"...Where is that?"

"The hybrid empire Unity, a place dominated by hybrid races of all kinds. It's supposed to be some kind of prosperous utopia for the strong. My father has family there, so he'll be welcomed. Him and his merchandise."

Ava growled a bit. Dirk suddenly remembered a map in his mind. 

The Dark Kingdom directly to the west. The Horizon Empire above it to the northwest. The Dwarven Haven directly north to the right of the Horizon Empire. 

And then there was Unity, occupying the east of the continent next to the dwarves. They were basically on the opposite side of the world from the Horizon Empire, separated by the Dwarven Haven. 

And this was the problem. If she were there, then Dirk wouldn't see her again for a long time. 

"...Why?"

Dirk asked after some silence, causing Ava to bite her lip. 

"I know your father wants to leave, but why do you have to go?"

"...He said there's an opportunity there. Hybrids have special inherent abilities and have something called Bloodlines. These Bloodlines can be awakened when one hits a certain level of power. He wants me to do so when I reach that level of power..."

"Is that it? You can get as strong as you want even without some bloodline. So why? You could stay with us. You have friends here. So why?"

"I... They're my family!"

Ava sat up suddenly, startling Dirk. 

"It's my mom and dad! My dad's a heinous bastard in the Empire, but he's just a businessman in Unity. I don't like what he does, but at least he doesn't have to hide so much there. And my mom had been there for me all my life! I can't... I've never been without them. I can't just leave. Both of them want me with them, and... Unity is supposed to be my home anyway. We're out of place in the Horizon Empire, even though it still has a lot of hybrids... I just can't-"

"I understand."

Dirk interrupted, grabbing her hand. 

If he understood anything, it was the love for one's parents. Dirk wouldn't be able to separate from his parents in such a situation. 

So he wouldn't ask her to. 

"...It's alright. You deserve to be with your parents. They'll be there to support you, and as you said, you can awaken your bloodline at Unity. It's not a bad thing, to go there."

"...I'm sorry."

Ava whispered as she touched her forehead to his. Her heart ached. 

"Just as you came back..."

"That doesn't matter. I'm just glad I got to see you one more time."

He stroked her cheek, brushing her hair behind her ear.

As if she were possessed, Ava suddenly pushed forward. She used a shocking amount of strength as she pulled their bodies together, planting her lips on his. 

She only got a few moments. 

Outside the wagon, fire crackled. Along with the explosion of an ember, Dirk seemed to see that whip coming down upon him.

*Crack!*

"Agh!"

Dirk's body violently flinched, startling Ava as she pulled away.

"Sorry! Did I hurt you?

"...No. I'm fine."

Dirk shook his head a bit as he felt his back turn moist. Using elemental sonar, he saw the small bonfire that was set up outside. 

Ava turned a bit meek, thinking it was her fault. 

"Sorry... I know you don't like that but..."

"No. It's... fine."

He interrupted her. He remembered the last time this happened, feeling even worse than before. 

He tried to give an explanation. 

"I just... can't say we're old enough, to be doing that stuff. We have to be adults..."

"Are you asking me to wait for you?"

She looked into his eyes, surprising him a bit. 

"You've gotten more direct... but yes, I guess you could say that."

"Mm. Alright. Either way, I don't think we'd have a choice..."

Her voice drifted with a bit of sorrow. 

Then, she shook her head. She turned her attention to the strip of cloth over his eyes, seeking another topic of discussion. She reached for it. 

"What is this, anyway? Are you doing some kind of training?"

"Um..."

Dirk was a bit hesitant, but didn't back away as Ava lifted the cloth. She felt her heart drop when she saw the cursed cracks sealing his eyes. 

"What..."

"I was cursed. It only blinds me, so I'm not being constantly hurt by it."

"You're blind? Those bastards... blinded you?"

Ava shivered a bit in rage. Blinding someone effectively disabled them. A blind man couldn't fight and couldn't live out a normal life. Vision was absolutely one of the most important tools to every being in the world. And losing it meant so much more than just not seeing anything.

Ava couldn't believe that Dirk was actually blind. 

"It's... not as bad as you think. I was able to learn how to see through mana. Although it's not as nice as vision and I can't sense much beyond a certain range, it was able to keep me alive. I can see a lot of details, like the shape of your little nose and the strands of your hair. Although there's no color to anything... it's good enough."

"Good enough? Don't... don't say that."

She clenched his shirt. She remembered that woman who took Dirk and felt blinding hatred. 

"Hey."

Dirk stroked her cheek, raising her head. 

"Don't worry. Those people are going to pay. I'm going to bring them to their knees, and they'll hand over their lives. And when I'm strong enough, I'll be able to see properly again. Even before that time comes, I'll have created my own magic to let me see. The next time I see you... it'll be more than just an image."

She nodded through half gritted teeth, barely able to accept what happened. 

He smiled the next moment.

"And hey, I'm not any weaker. I'm actually quite a bit stronger. I think I can still beat you."

These words seemed to perk Ava's competitive spirit. Washing away her hatred, she lifted her head with a smirk. 

"Beat me? I'm almost Tier 5, thank you very much. I'm also in the middle of Rank 4. What about you?"

"Still at the low end of Tier 3. And I just got to Rank 4. So it would be an even match then."

"Ugh, that's some arrogance. If you weren't so hot I'd say it doesn't suit you. Still, looks won't work on me, pretty boy."

Ava pushed closer with a snarky grin, causing Dirk to chuckle. 

"Huhu, well, I do have a trump card. I'm not sure you could handle it."

"What is it? Another layer of abs?"

"Even better. It's a cat."

"Huh?"

Ava jerked back a bit as a tail suddenly brushed past her face. There was a cat beside them, and she looked at its large golden eyes. 

"...Cat?"

"You know what a Stigma is? This is mine."

"Oh... It's cute."

[The people who died while looking at me would think otherwise.]

"And it talks?"

Ava was surprised as she heard a voice. Spyte laid down next to them, getting comfortable. 

[Don't mind me. Cat's spend their entire lives sleeping, right? I guess I'll start now.]

Spyte lowered her head as she said that, curling into a small ball. Ava gasped a bit at the cuteness. 

After that, Dirk and Ava spent a bit more time together. Since everyone was eating, and Ava had shown herself to be in a bad mood, nobody disturbed the wagon for a while. This gave them some much appreciated space. 

And for that short amount of time, they talked and cuddled their hearts out. They ignored what they knew would come. They focused on the moment. 

And then, there was a knock.

"Ava, sweetie? Are you sure you don't want a bite? Dinner will be over soon."

It was Ava's mother. The two who had been laying on each other quickly got up. Ava bit her lip.

"...I'll be out in a minute."

"Alright. We have a plate for you."

With that, the mother walked away. Ava's head hung as she felt her chest tighten. 

"...We're going to see each other again."

Dirk eventually spoke. It was a vow and a promise. 

Ava nodded, lifting her head and clearing away bad thoughts. 

"Yes, we will. I'm gonna get stronger. You're not gonna catch up to me."

"We'll see. And... maybe I should be the one to visit in the future. I haven't seen any other empires besides Horizon. I'd like to travel."

"How long? I mean, until you think about it..."

She got excited before stifling it in expectation. 

Dirk rubbed his chin with a cheeky grin. 

"I think I'll give it a while. If I don't give you enough time to advance, I'll be too powerful for you to handle."

"Ugh, you're such a jerk..."

She snarled a bit before leaning forward. Dirk responded, and the two enjoyed one long moment in each other's arms. 

They separated when there was another knock on the door.

Leaving a peck on her forehead, the most he was willing to do, Dirk turned and climbed back through the window. He hung a bit on its ledge, the two looking at each other through it. 

"See you."

He smiled before dropping, disappearing from view. Ava shook her head as she sniffled a bit. 

"That's so not funny..."