Koyote put her hand on her knee and breathed in. Her eyes were glued to the ceiling, almost refusing to let go. They scanned the unlit lamp hanging off some rope in the middle, which swung with the wind flying through.

"The breeze reminds me of something," Koyote muttered before a glance met Olala's unsure, frowning gaze.

"Hm?"

"Mount Yosei was one of the many things Dakarai told me about that day. It was on par with everything that Galliath was comprised of. Yet, beaming with opportunities for something new to be awoken. Soon gone was his attitude and we set out when my mind was clear. He seemed the most humane, then. As if, being the same person he was before that coyote carried us into the grotto and changed our lives."

Olala's eyes gleamed a little.

"There we were, riding our yunduls, while he told me everything he learnt about this strange island, with a witch's word extending over the horizon in the Mora Canyons. We stopped by the Nya village, saw ourselves what we swore was a harpy, picked you up with a few words and settled onto that boat. You remember the rest of the story."

"That's right," Olala added. "You settled into the temple because you managed to defeat the said harpy which followed us."

"It almost ruled over the city, but when I managed to catch it by its legs and throw it around the few bent, cherry-red rooftops of Omer Narrows, its parting gift turned into the same roses, dropping over the temple the people in the main streets ran away from. It was quite the big one, wasn't it? Size-wise, you could compare it to that chimera, but people knew it couldn't be killed. I guess, when an unknown threat arrives, an unknown prize is given."

Olala nodded.

"The same could've been said about Dakarai. The unknown, as in, I could never find a coherent reason why things seemed so calm. I couldn't have realised that my bravery and bravado found roots in the fact that I was deeply terrified of the things I subconsciously knew happened. Everything else, in comparison, became nothing but that unknown threat. The Morians? I wasn't scared of the task at hand. I was willing to do what someone else didn't have the power to accomplish."

"So... to my understanding, you were motivated by desperately not trying to repeat history," Olala added.

"Distancing myself was the word until the first glimpse of Swannes and Wakon permeated my view. Then, it all started slowly coming back. I knew who they were, but I couldn't recall why they were here and what purpose they were meant to fulfil. I didn't have anyone to blame either until I saw that same, particular smile again. As if, scheming against me, this entire time."

She raised her head, meeting Olala's eyes.

"Maybe the key to recalling those events was getting rid of the man who caused them. By erasing Dakarai, I destroyed the possibility of ever forgetting what happened."

The Haran turned, breathing in.

"It's better that way." Koyote moved back. "I guess you won't be able to run away from fate for all eternity. If something like this ever occurs again, I'll know when and how to strike." she fixed her cast. "Like a wind passing through a graveyard, but Galliath doesn't have one. It circles older stories and passes on new ones."

Olala looked down, scratching her forehead. Her fingers tapped against the wooden floorboards, and Koyote waited for the next words. "I shouldn't be angry. Everything you told me already spoke of a horrible person, opposing the way I remembered him."

"Love makes you blind," Koyote muttered. "I was a victim of that. Not a partner's love, but the same way a father or a mother would devote their lives to their child. Continuing to pour in those same emotions, even if it's hard to acknowledge. I thought, through all the trouble, I could've called Dakarai my father. He never loved me back, though."

Olala's eyes widened, as she moved back a little, with Koyote glancing at the ground as if the hardest pill to swallow found itself stuck in her throat.

"It happened on the night I visited my parents' graves. Dakarai was nowhere to be found, and I raised my voice, with it echoing right back to me in the middle of the night. I turned to Equinoxe, still fast asleep in his cradle, and then I stood up, wandering around the building in search of an answer. When I stumbled, my heart almost stopped. Equinoxe sighed, turning to the side, but my eyes were glued to a book, open in the middle. I crouched. It was the same thing he picked up near the graves. The same red cover and its rather small frame. The papers were almost shredded in half, and all of its texts were written in this crimson font, Old Manjuno, and seemingly reversed, from the few letters I decoded."

Koyote breathed in.

"Then, I spotted a trail of footsteps, leading outside. With a heavy gulp and a second of hesitation, I followed through to the door. I didn't meet Dakarai. Instead, there were these figures, circling the library. They stood still, hands held together, and praying, with these white sheets covering their faces. I raised my voice, questioning their appearance. I tried to do anything, even shake them out from this hypnosis-like state."

Olala's eyes drifted up.

"Without a moment's notice, they all stopped. Their heads turned towards me before they all scoured elsewhere. I tried chasing one, but only found myself near the graves, with none of them in sight. When I turned, I swore I saw more. I yelled, asking about Dakarai, about them, trying to find reason in madness that I didn't understand. I moved back into the remnants of the village, and then it came after all the figures disappeared into the shadows once more. A deathly chant, a choir of some sort, singing a strange lullaby that I didn't understand."

"Nuhg ayi llup uhz kann."

"My head grew heavy, and my heartbeat only became faster. I sought, without an answer. Footsteps came, and their animal skulls shone in without a word. Each held a candle, eight of them to be precise, and when its fire diminished in front of my paralyzed eyes, they all struck. I was left bloodied, hacked and frozen on the ground. They whispered something I couldn't understand, and then burnt the sides of my arms, leaving these..."

Koyote rolled her sleeve up.

"...rather nasty scars."

Olala ground her teeth, looking back into Koyote's distant eyes.

"The distant shine of the Nosfer mountains seemed to fade, and I awoke to an even stranger site. The fire from their candles turned into massive torches, creating a path towards something resembling an altar in the middle. I saw the same oppressors, gathering around each post, with their claws seemingly transforming into something I didn't understand. The Swannes too, came from the back, surrounding the group with their hands in a prayer. Then, when I tried to stand back up, with an angered yell, a black mist shrouded my eyes."

Koyote stopped, recollecting her thoughts.

"I remembered this indescribable pain. It picked me right up from the ground, bent my legs, twisted some of my bones, ripped straight into my skin and almost fed off my blood. If it wasn't for everything else, I was sure that I'd die, right then. It might've been a curse, and when I finally moved a muscle, all the sounds and sights that earlier faded out of view gruesomely came back. I tried to search for the source, but what I found was the sound of something being burnt. I turned to the library, engulfed in those fiery pits of a thick red. I gasped, trying to understand. I ran forward, despite how much it hurt. One leg was broken, some of my fingers wouldn't move, and I wasn't sure if my jaw found itself closed. Either way, I screamed as loud as I could."

Olala's eyes shrunk.

"Equinoxe was still inside and... what fool was I to leave my child there for simple curiosity? Even in the name of selfishness, it was the labour of my love. Then, Dakarai appeared. I stared at him, and only cold eyes met mine. A beam flashed on his face, whilst he carried the same cross that stood above my parents' graves."

Koyote clenched her fist.

"I pleaded for help. I reached my hand out, grabbing him by the legs and begging for his aid. Nothing came to fruition, though. The man stopped in the middle of the road. The Wakon disappeared, turning into the same thin, veiny dark smoke. The chants continued, and the Swannes raised their hands, pointing towards the middle."

"Nuhg ayi llup uhz kann."

"There he was, then. Dakarai carried a cradle towards the cross on the other side of the altar. I screamed. I begged for a deity's mercy, but nothing came of it. The mist kept striking, forcing me to lose litres upon litres of blood, all while succumbing to this strange ritual. Then, when he raised the child's body into the air, his red eyes met my glance, and everything froze."

Koyote let go.

"I woke up to nothing, spare for the cross in the middle, followed by distant echoes of a child's cries. The night was still heavy, and everything that burnt to a crisp left the village charred. The bodies reflected that too, and when I managed to stand up, I tried my best not to break down at the horrible sight. I swore I still heard the chants, even though it was just me. Me and the cross."

Olala covered her face.

"I waddled on one leg towards it, since it was the last thing I remembered. I cried, searching in desperation. I wailed, trying to comprehend. I dug with my bare hands at the small patch of ground beside the altar. When blood dried, and my eyes unblurred, I saw the most horrifying thing one could imagine. Equinoxe, right there. His eyes were still open, but his body was cold. I believe I had every right to stand up and kill someone responsible for this. To slaughter Dakarai in the most gruesome way, to exact revenge upon the enemies which appeared. Even strike at what was already dead. Yet, everything came to a halt when the sun started rising above the distant horizon. When a sunray shone onto Equinoxe's skin, that's when it came."

Koyote gulped, looking to the side with a heavy breath.

"The wretched, empty scream that almost made me lose my voice. I wailed for hours, I shouted so loud that I was sure that someone would come and slaughter me for this disobedience. Pain was one thing that I couldn't describe how I felt, and when my body collapsed from exhaustion, I spotted him. Your dearest Bancho, standing above the ruins with a half-mended expression. He didn't reach his hand out. He didn't help me or try to explain what just happened."

Koyote cleared her raspy throat.

"My glance met him, in the middle of this sea, and then he left as if riding the wave towards another destination. I fainted afterwards, and when I woke up to the scorching heat, I couldn't recall for my life what had occurred. Everything was gone except for the cross, and I stood up, wondering why it was in a place it didn't belong."

Olala covered her eyes.

"I ripped it out from the ground, and everything else that happened afterwards, you already know of. His ritual was a success, from what I can imagine. Of course, he only longed for more afterwards, but he managed to fool me into thinking that my entire life didn't turn into this one fiasco. He tricked me, to say the least. To make sure I wouldn't get in the way if he ever tried again. That I'd be too afraid, for an unknown reason."

Koyote cracked her knuckles against the floorboard.

"But I continued. Despite scars that wouldn't heal, and fate almost crashing this invisible ceiling over my head. Dakarai smiled afterwards, and I had to beam too. I wanted to learn from mistakes I didn't remember making."

Olala shook her head, brushing off a few tears from her face. "I'm so sorry."

"I should be the one saying sorry."

"No, Koyote." she ground her teeth. "I could never have imagined s-something as heartless as this. I'm so, so sorry," she uttered, heavily breathing out.

Koyote stood up, fixing her hat and moving the curtains. The sunlight from the distance formed into a few Demonears following a river right into Omer Narrows.

"I'm sure that if I put my hands on the Holy Grail I'd manage to fix everything in life. For now, the only thing I have is you, the Morians, and this weapon by my side. The very same cross, which, even though I dubbed it a Guardian Demon, could never channel the same things. Weapons like these, though, are a sign of one's strengths. To keep going, even though you fear life itself."

She pointed it forwards, as its end met the sun.

"A human can't kill demons, but as sure as hell, it can do what no one did back then. It gives me enough time to think through and never step on the wrong path again. To make sure I don't lose what I have now."

When the sun blinded her, she grinned, with teeth shining through her bandages.