A soft and moist thing glided vigorously onto my neck and face which pushed me off from the cliff of slumber and into the pit of consciousness. The entirety of my face and neck was covered with drool and the heavy panting of the werewolf above me fanned the dampness of his own saliva which was applied generously yet uncontrollably on me.

Once the buoyant licks died down I was able to open my eyes and perceive the high-spirited werewolf smiling down at me with his sharp teeth presented and with his tongue rolled out to the side in a dotty manner.

"Ohayou Gozaimasu (Good morning) Fenris," I greeted the wolf monotonously. "Is it really time to wake up?" I asked as I rubbed my eyes.

There weren't any windows in the Boonies so I could not tell whether it was finally time to rouse but I feel very much rested.

Fenris took my arm into his mouth being careful not to bite down too hard and pulled me into a sitting position. He released my arm before leaping off of the bed and then once again bit as gentle and as mindful as possible before hauling me out of the room.

A few of the residents of the hideout just got out of their respectful rooms and once they have seen Fenris and me, they instantly presented a sprightly smile and an exuberant greeting that took me by surprise.

I thought that the world outside of the Kingdom of Cludea was living in misery everyday yet they have proven me wrong with their ebullient attitudes despite knowing and experiencing the harshness of both the living and the dead.

Fenris led me upstairs where most of the residents of the Boonies were and I stopped to look for the table where my aniki was.

"Ah Lord Lucian, it is such a pleasant morning to witness such pulchritude," Garrison spoke from behind us.

"Heyooo!" Lettice greeted in an eccentric way.

I just noticed that almost everyone in the hideout wore dark-shaded clothing except for Lucius, Laeroth and Ikesha.

"I am looking for aniki," I told him.

He hadn't joined us in bed last night but then again, there would be no space for him considering how huge Fenris was.

Garrison was wearing a black wide-brimmed hat today with a tight fitting corset over a white garment with the puffy sleeves falling off his white and smooth shoulders. His long legs covered in tight black leather pants moved in long strides towards me and he took my hand with a smile.

"But of course, this way please," he assisted.

Garrison took me to the hallway where Lucius and the others headed last night and Lettice tagged along and began to ask questions about my life back in the Kingdom. There was really nothing to share at all that she would find appealing.

"So Lord Lucian, I have heard that you are engaged!" She giggled.

With that statement Fenris suddenly released a questioning groan before looking up to me with wide eyes as if he could not believe what he had just heard.

"Lettice please do not ask such personal and trivial questions! And to refurbish your cognizance about the matter­— he was engaged. Lord Lucius will not allow Lord Lucian to be tainted by the Higher Order's vindictive and rapacious intentions," Garrison scolded.

Fenris gave nods of approval to his statement and was very pleased about it.

Lettice released a huff and waved Garrison's words off.

"Oh please Garrison, I was merely asking. Besides Lucius can't do anything if true love is on line! He can't just decide everything for Lord Lucian because after all he is a young man with a libido to take care of!"

Fenris howled in disapprobation and I stayed silent throughout their bickering. I wasn't able to answer any of Lettice's invasive questions for Garrison would scold her every time.

They seem to have a loving relationship and I would rather not get between them right now.

Once we reached the double-doors at the end of the hallway, Garrison opened them and stepped aside to let me in.

Three heads snapped to our direction and I found them sitting around the round marble table with stern expressions. Lucius' forbidding expression changed into a warm and mirthful one as he welcomed us.

"Kaliméra (Good morning) little brother, how was your sleep? We did not bother waking you up for supper because you and Fenris were sleeping so soundly," he stated.

I walked towards aniki and he automatically welcomed me in his arms. It was not my intention to be embraced but Lucius would assume my intentions by responding with habitual actions.

"I am quite upset that you replaced me with Fenris! Oh dear me my little brother has really grown up!" Lucius cried out dramatically which caused Laeroth and Ikesha to drop their own steely faces to chuckle in amusement.

"Have you eaten yet Lord Lucian?" Ikesha questioned.

"I have not. I was looking for my aniki."

"Such pureness flows ever so smoothly through his fine blood," Garrison sighed dreamily.

"Naïve is more like it Garrison," Lucius chuckled.

"I am certain that the wolf is famished as well. Don't worry; the other lads have hunted down one whole bison just for you," Laeroth spoke out warmly.

"That is unnecessary. Fenris is on a spinach diet," I deadpanned.

Lucius snorted and gave gentle pats on my cheek. "This kid is making a werewolf go vegetarian."

"Ha! Once you go meat you can never go neat!" Lettice spat.

"Okay before you say anything else that would embarrass everyone in this room I'm putting my foot down," Ikesha sighed. "Are you two ready to head off to New Berkton City?"

"I'm ready to hammer out that deal!" Lettice cheered.

"Has sleep detained your memory of our mission Lettice?" Garrison questioned with a smile.

"No hammering of deals Lettice. You will go to New Berkton and gather information about the fairy killings. The Right Handlers seem to be busying themselves with atrocities for their own benefit," Lucius reminded.

"Then we must depart now," Garrison declared.

"Take care," Ikesha bid.

"Oh we will! Garrison lets hook up with those Right Handlers I bet you that they're good with their right hands!"

"Oh why yes, I'm sure you'll enjoy getting orifices in your orifices," he replied jokingly.

Once Garrison and Lettice left the room, the rest of us followed suit and headed to the Great Dining Hall which was still bustling with activities. Fenris' food was placed down to the floor and we began to eat our breakfast.

Eating with everyone like this was very... Different. It did not bother me at all and I can breathe better. It was nice to watch everyone enjoy each other's company.

"Where is Aramastus?" I queried. Lucius kept on piling food to my plate and ensured that Fenris had enough fill.

"He has a...unique way of feasting," Lucius tried to explain. "You'll find out soon enough and I just hope that you're not going to become his victim. If he even tries to lay a single finger on you I swear by Tom-Ak-Ta's name that he'll be chewing his own digits," Lucius grumbled.

"Aramastus is a great warrior. He is even better than your brother here," Laeroth teased causing a jab on Lucius' pride.

"Take that back Laeroth! Are you trying to smear the great respect Lucian has for his big brother?!"

"I have none of that," I deadpanned.

Lucius can be really delusional most of the times.

"My little brother hates me!" he wailed.

After breakfast was consumed, Lucius, Fenris, and I walked back to our room. I still had lots of queries concerning...everything and every time I hear a foreign terminology in a topic that I had no idea about, the world around me grew larger and I cannot help but to find ways in order to keep up with its growth.

"What is a wicket? Why is one of the Higher Order in here? What is a Right Handler and will they perish if they turn left? Aniki —"

"Lucian please one at a time!" Lucius laughed.

As we sat on the lectus and with Fenris lying comfortably on the floor, Lucius started his explanation.

"You do know about the war don't you?" he asked me.

"I...They didn't allow me to read anything about it..." I replied.

They said that it was unnecessary for I would never be going out in the open world. All I had to know was what they needed me to know.

Lucius pursed his lips in obvious melancholia before smiling and squeezing my knee. "Alright, I shall try to summarize it."

The war sparked between the Vampires and the Hanumans. Princess Sorina was assassinated in her room and the Royal Family blamed it on her Hanuman lover named Sakrias.

At the first round of the war, the vampires were evidently losing against the hanumans especially when the hanumans had the aid of the werewolves. This was when the Right Handlers came in and took sides. They helped the vampires fight against the hanumans thus the cycle of being in the brink of losing and forming alliances began.

The Ancients sided with the Vampires together with the Shadow Dwellers, Shamans, and Dijinn. The Hanumans on the other hand had the entire shape-shifters and all kinds of beasts on their side.

It was a long battle that created a river of blood.

The Ancients was a powerful race but like any other beings they cannot push themselves past the limit of their mana or the charge which was needed in orchestrating the elements. Once the mana was drained, they must rest in order to refill the gauge of the mana used however, the Right Handlers were not pleased with the withdrawal of the Ancients from the war.

The day of departure from the warzone was the day when King Genshi's husband was assassinated and his death was blamed on a Hanuman. Naturally, the King felt the need for vengeance and instead of pulling back the troops; King Genshi pushed past the limit and forced the Knights to continue the battle not knowing the grim consequences of doing so.

While the Knights battled they gradually turned into Catastrophes. They attacked both friend and foe and with that destructive power the opposing parties united against the Ancients causing King Genshi to snap out of his rage and use the power of the Higher Order to save the remaining troops.

"Now thirty-eight years later after the war everyone is still sitting on eggshells. The scent of open flesh is getting close baby brother and the only way to stop it is to ensure everyone that there will still be food for their future children," Lucius explained and brought out the Golden Wicket. "This Wicket will give us access to the core of the world. If we can obtain the twenty-one Tokens of Blessing the Wicket will grant us a pass and a chance to provide a future of foreseeable good. We can spread the Ancient's power throughout the world and reach places we have never been to."

That seemed promising.

"Where did you find out about that?" I asked him. Was it even a reliable source?

Lucius' mouth went ajar for a few seconds and his eyebrows scrunched up.

"Actually... A giant nut suddenly dropped on my head out of nowhere knocking me into semi-consciousness and this man started talking to me and He..." Lucius stopped abruptly before reaching to his chest and hitting it with his fist. "I felt Him Lucian...Tom-Ak-Ta."

"Who?" I queried.

So a man threw a nut at his head and he believed the voice that spoke to him in his state of bewilderment from a possible head injury.

People was depending on my aniki and he was being...

"Estupido..." I sighed.

"I am serious Lucian!"

"Seriously stupid. Baka," I deadpanned.

"Why would the Royal Family keep this in their possession if it was not valuable?" he pointed out.

"To hit you with it in case a giant nut was thrown at you and caused a severe fracture to your intelligence," I deadpanned.

I have a bit of faith on Lucius' goals but the way he discovered the last hope of this world was hard to steady in one's mind.

Laeroth passed by our room and asked a bit of Lucius' time. Aniki left the Wicket beside me and came to Laeroth's request.

Fenris sat up and I picked up the Wicket before leveling it to the werewolf's gaze. He started to inspect the object, sniffing it, before taking it into his mouth and gnawing it. He lied down on his stomach and bit on to the Wicket and rolled it on the floor with his nose.

"Hello friends," a calm voice sprouted from the door causing Fenris to jolt from his place and growl at Aramastus who now took a seat beside me. "I have this coin that I found from the grave of an important figure. It is a Token of Blesssing. Perhaps we can give the Wicket its first tip," he suggested as he showed us the golden coin with a number II on it.

II...

I have frequently seen that number on his chin. Was Aramastus referring to my late Master?

The Wicket was snatched from Fenris and Aramastus pushed the coin inside the slit. The sound of reeling wheels was heard and the three rectangles bearing the numbers rolled in different directions before they came into an abrupt stop. Instead of presenting the next number, the rectangles merely sported blank spaces.

The three of us waited for something else to happen but it was met with an uneventful silence.

"It must be broken," Aramastus spoke as he stood up.

"Remember I was not here. You do not know me... I am invinsible, " he whispered before disappearing into thin air.

The Wicket dropped on top of Fenris' head and the werewolf shook his head in an attempt to gain control of his rolling eyes. I took the sphere from the floor and inspected it. I attempted to agitate it in order for the coin to miraculously slip out however it was impossible.

I will just have to let aniki stress out for Aramastus' mistake.

Fenris and I wandered about in the fourth and third floor. We were not allowed to visit the second floor yet for it contained recovering individuals from both the scouting, rescuing, and purifying missions as well as people who just fled from the Kingdom.

We had also helped some of the residents wash clothes and linens and deliver them in their respected rooms after drying them out under the sun.

"Fenris I will just go to the bathroom. Mademoiselle Penelo said that you can ask for snacks in the Kitchen," I urged him.

Fenris looked unsure whether to leave me and get snacks or to accompany me back to the room but I assured him that nothing bad will happen to me.

"We can eat the snacks in our room so hurry back," I encouraged him.

Fenris nodded dutifully and sprinted upstairs. I went my own way and headed towards our room. When I was finally done with my business in the bathroom, I exited and shut the door before lying down on the lectus while I waited for Fenris and the snacks.

I closed my eyes and let the mattress absorb the slight exhaustion from my body.

With the stillness of rhythm of my calm heart then came the storm that brought it into a pounding massacre.

Hands enclosed tightly around my neck and a weight was placed firmly on my waist. My eyes snapped open to the view of red and the scent of blood lingered in the air.

"You monster!"

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A/N: My apologies for the late update. Been sick and busy haha.