Amongst the darkness of her eyelids, a rugged floor pulled against her clothing as her body was dragged and then heaved by her armpits into a seat. Indistinct chatter surrounded her as she dipped in and out of awareness. The crackle of dried blood spread across her back, drawing her to the pain at the back of her head.

  Her eyes shot open when she felt the icy chill of water douse her with a hefty impact to her face. Shivering and wet, with pain beating against her head she noticed she was in a small room with four other people. She tried to raise her hands, but they were jolted back down by the handcuffs attached to her seat. Her body felt weak again, she'd lost so much damn blood she could hardly see straight.

  Three knocks on the door created a silence amongst the four guys who were chatting. It opened, and three of them stepped out of the room before a bald guy with the same shoddy tattoos stepped in, closing the door behind him. The other one in the room stepped by a table beside the door and placed an apron over his head.

  A hand crashed into Kita's chair, grabbing her attention to the bald man leaning toward her face.

  "You killed four of my members," His cigarette-worn voice wheezed out. "Eighteen rotations. Wasted,"

  He removed his grip on the chair and stood back up, eclipsing the light in the room, "You're going to tell me how Chevo knew about the job,"

  "I don't know who that is," She mumbled under her breath, struggling to find the energy to say it louder.

  "What was that?"

  "I don't know who that is,"

  The man reached into his pocket and removed a cigarette and lighter. With no rush, he slowly lit it, taking a deep inhale of the first puff.

  "Whatever it is that he's been teaching you assassins is becoming a real problem for me. What were you doing in the tent?"

  "What tent?" She barely coughed out, genuinely confused and struggling to piece together what was going on.

  He fell silent again, taking two then three puffs of his smoke before exhaling and leaning over to her face. Her vision's clear enough for her to notice the cavernous scar stretched from his left ear to the tip of his nose. He gestured to the other man in the room to approach with some sort of wrench-like tool in his hand.

  "Lying will not work for you here,"

  The man in the apron stood beside the bald guy that Kita assumed was the boss. He kept asking about some guy named Chevo- they seem certain that Kita is one of his assassins or some bullshit. She still felt weak, dizzy and in pain, but she could gather her thoughts again. She was aware of the situation at hand. A few moments ago she tried to cast the consume spell she'd used in the tent but her body was too fragile to pull any spells off right now. Even if she could get out of this room, she didn't have enough souls to take on the goons passed the door. She could feel the reserve of souls in her stomach depleting. The warmth slowly turned back to its cold, fleshy state.

  Maybe she'd be better off dying again. Resetting the whole thing or however, it worked. Would she wake up in the tipi again? Or six feet under- buried because these trolls thought she actually died. The idea sent a chill down her spine- finding out might not be worth it.

  "Get her talking," The bald man said, stepping to the opposite end of the room to lean against the wall.

  The man in the apron stood in front of Kita with a wrench in his hand. This wasn't going to be fun. They didn't believe a word she said, will they take it easier on her if she just pretended to be with this Chevo guy's crew? Surely that’d just get her killed.

  Fuck.

  He placed Kita's right-hand pinky finger between the wrench and rotated a knob to get a firm grip. His deep voice whispered calmly at Kita, "What were you doing in the tent?"

  "Are you supposed to be the trustworthy one?" Kita chuckled to herself at their contrasting tones of voice.

  "Wrong answer. What were you doing in the tent?" His voice was stern. Unwavering. Making him all the more intimidating. He's definitely an experienced interrogator.

  "Consuming souls," Kita answered, looking into the man's eye without flinching. Wondering if he will see the truth in her words.

  He slowly shook his head in disappointment, "Wrong answer,"

  There was a loud, snapping sound that sent a jolt of shock through Kita's body before a sharp pain exploded through her hand and arm. Her eyes glanced down as she bit her lip trying to withstand the sudden pain, but the sight of her crooked pinky finger forced a gutwrenching scream from her lips. Her anguished bellow reverberated throughout the small room, giving the spectating, bald man a reason to break his character with a smile.

  She couldn't help the tear that streamed down her cheek. The agony in her hand. She can't look at it again, or it'd hurt even more. Her body shuddered as she realized these guys couldn't discern lies and truth.

  "I only ask once now… What were you doing in the tent?" The man said, tightening the wrench around her ring finger.

  "I just told you, asshole!"

  "Wrong answer," He said before looking down at her hand.

  "Okay-okay!" Her body jerked in fear, trying to pull her hand away, but to no avail. "I was there to steal coin,"

  "Only five pouches?" The man asked, unconvinced by her answer. "We found over one hundred in the chest,"

  "T-that's all I needed," She stuttered, barely getting her words out as she looked into the man's doubt-filled eyes.

  There was no response from him, but the searing pain burst in her hand once again the moment she heard a loud crack.

  "Aaaah!" Kita cried with all of her breath, shaking her body in an attempt to escape the man.

  The rattling of her cuffs was the voice of her fear. She wanted to run. Her body's in flight but it was chained down. Restrained to the tracks.

  "What were you doing in the tent?" The interrogator asked again. Still unbothered, and with no semblance of expression on his face he aligned the wrench to her middle finger.

  Her mind screamed for her fingers to heal. For the pain to diminish at the very least, but she'd achieved nothing in the process.

  Her back was against the wall here. Hopelessness slowly converted to rage as she understood there was no correct response to his godforsaken question.

  She ground her teeth and looked at the interrogator with her blackened, cold eyes. Projecting as much hate through her glare as she could.

  "I killed your fucking friends," She nervously chuckled at the pain she expected to follow, doubling down on her stance. "They screamed for their lives when I took them,"

  She noticed the man's expression tilting to one of frustration at Kita's words- A pain point.

  "You knew one of them," Kita smiled, knowing that she was not the only one experiencing pain at this moment. "Which one was it, huh? The big guy? The scrawny kid, or one of the girls?"

  She wanted to share it. To relieve the burden of this suffering. "Your friend died like a fucking cowar-"

  Her middle finger crunched. And she fell silent as her breathing stuttered about. No screaming this time. It was too sudden.

  Another tear fell from her eye as it twitched to the pain numbing her hand. She couldn't bear to look. She wouldn't. She held her watery eyes in contact with the interrogator's face as she felt the wrench clamp around her index finger.

  "How did Chevo know about the job?" His face returned to the blank stare it was before.

  He'd moved on to the next question. Her response wasn't anything they didn't already know. Was this the truth he was seeking? Not a truth of words, but a truth of character.

  Her body returned to flight as she came to understand the man's method. Her hand hurt so much her eyes needed to peek, but she fought them. The outcome of any response she could muster up had her in fear- She'd rather not answer. But, they're back to this Chevo guy she had no idea about. Telling them she didn't know who that was won't work. At best, she could pretend she didn't associate with the man anymore.

  "Fuck Chevo," She half-heartedly scoffed as another tear escaped from her eyelid. "I haven't worked for him in over thirty rotations,"

  "Then how did you know about the job?"

  "I stole a tipoff from his informant. Something about a twenty rotation raid you had planned,"

  "And your goal was to interrupt us?" The guy said with a curious look on his face.

  "I just needed some coin... So, I improvised,"

  "And you're no longer part of Chevo's crew?"

  "I never really was," Her breath stammered with worry, "Just did a few jobs to get by,"

  The interrogator squinted his eyes as he read Kita one more time. He came to some sort of a conclusion before he loosened the wrench around her index finger and walked over to the boss- Whispering something in his ear.

  Kita released a deep exhale, and all the tension in her body quickly dissipated, presuming the torture was over. Her head slowly lowered to look at her hand and the sight of her three mangled fingers sent a sickening taste down her throat. The pain had her gagging. But she held it down.

  The boss stepped forward and leaned towards Kita's face again. Blowing a ploom of smoke around her.

  "I'm going to give you two options," he said, raising his hand with two fingers pointed up.

  "One, you work for me and I forget this whole thing ever happened. Or two, I kill you, and put your body someplace no one will ever find it."

  He stood back up and walked to the front door, this time opening it to leave the room. But he paused before he left.

  "I'll give you a few hours to make up your mind. Put her in a cell,"

  Three goons entered the room after the bald man left, two of whom stood at either side of Kita and started undoing the cuffs around her arms and legs before heaving her out of her chair- Every twitch and shuffle of her body sent more pain to her hand. She still wanted to fight back, but her body could barely support its own weight. She wouldn't be able to move if it wasn't for these guys moving her.

  They dragged her down the hall to a few flights of stairs before they arrived in a basement-like hall with three big cells against three of its four walls. A leaking ceiling created several puddles, a pungent odour permanently wreaked and a few dying lightbulbs all contributed to this grim, prison-like atmosphere.

  Rusty steel bars shape the large cages built to hold a lot of people, but there aren't many in them. She'd count, but she's so tired. Her eyes were heavy and she honestly just wanted to sleep through the pain.

  A cage door creaked open before Kita felt her body crash to the floor. She squirmed as her sideways view of the guards walking away and closing the cage was her cue to lose consciousness.

  °?°?°?°

  Kita awoke to the sight of her right hand lying in front of her. As her vision adjusted she remembered the interrogation she’d undergone, and in a moment of panic, she sat up to assess the damage to her right hand. Bringing it into vision, she found all of her fingers perfectly intact. She lifted her left hand thinking she'd misremembered, but she found the same. Nothing wrong.

  She felt for the back of her head, where the wound was and the same healing had taken effect.

  "Your hand healed while you were sleeping," said a young voice from behind her, "How'd you do that?"

  Kita turned to see a little boy who hadn't gotten much sun, dressed in rags that wouldn't do much to keep him warm. He must have been here for a while now. Her eyes widened as they finally locked with his. They’re… They're black too- He had his soul stolen.

  "I don't know," Kita answered but quickly realized she'd lied. The strength she felt in her core. The feeling of… Fullness that she'd gotten from the souls. It's completely diminished. Ten percent of what it used to be. She can only cast one small spell with what felt like two souls at most. "How long have I been asleep?"

  "I dunno. There are no windows in here so it's hard to tell. Half a day maybe,"

  There are no windows, just dense, concrete walls on all four sides. The place stinks. Wreaking of body odour and mould. Ugh, she can't be here for long. She was not the raider type.

  "Why did they put you here?" The boy asked, with his curious, soulless eyes.

  "I was just trying to get to the marketplace,"

  "Marketplace?" The boy giggles, "It's called the strip, silly,"

  "The strip?"

  "It is a marketplace, but no one calls it that here,"

  Shit, they all must've known she wasn't from around here whenever she called it a market. Is that why they were so certain she was part of Chevo's crew? This is their territory, so raiding is either done by them or by competitors they’d want to snuff out.

  "I also lost my soul," He said too loudly, prompting some of the other downtrodden prisoners to glare at them.

  She covered his mouth with her hand and passed him a menacing glare for his loud mouth behaviour. This kid will get himself killed if he talks like that. People could be religious and make a scene if they heard such.

  "You should speak less," Kita said, trying to shut him up.

  Speaking to him in the first place is probably where she went wrong. Kids can be so damn irritating, and this one met the requirements.

  She lowered her hand from his mouth after he mumbled in confirmation. "How did you end up here?" She asked him.

  "Well, they said they could sell me for a lot of money… Ya know, because of-" With his finger, he draws a circle around his face. Trying to refer to the whole 'souls' thing.

  Kita chuckled at his attempt at being inconspicuous.

  "I'm Jan, by the way," The kid said, extending an arm out for a handshake.

  "Kita," She responded, shaking the kid's hand. "Where are you parents, kid?"

  "I just told you my name, and you call me kid?"

  "Seriously?" Kita rolled her eyes.

  "My parents said remembering names is important. Did you forget it already?"

  "No, stupid. Your name's Jean,"

  "It's Jan!"

  "Jan, right. That's what I just said,"

  Jan overtly rolled his eyes, mimicking Kita's fed-up attitude. "My parents are at home," He answered, wrapping his arms around his legs and drawing his knees close to his chest. "I haven't seen them in a while,"

  "They live here?"

  "No, I'm from a different city. I don't know where it is now, so… I don't think I'll see them again,"

  "Sheesh, kid. That's depressing,"

  "You asked!"

  "I just asked where they were. All you had to say was 'Not here'. But you go and hose me down with your sad ass story,"

  "Oh yeah? Well, it's more depressing that a grown-up like you can get caught just as easily as a little kid did!"

  "Uhm, did they hit you in the back of the head with a bat or some shit to bring you here? Or crush three of your fingers in interrogation?"

  "No…"

  "I didn't think so. It's much more difficult to get me in here than you,"

  "Yeah yeah, you're here anyway," The kid pointed at Kita, grinning. "We're equals,"

  "The only thing you're equal to is my left boot. As a matter of fact, my left boot is more useful,"

  "Because it covers up your stinky feet!"

  Kita chuckled at Jan's argumentative attitude. Screwing with him is pretty fun. As far as kids go, he's not that bad- He isn't some kind of spoilt brat.

  "You know what," Kita said, "I was going to take you with me when I escaped this place but after the stinky feet comment… I'm having second thoughts," She shrugged.

  "There's no way to get out of here," The kid sighed, "There are so many guards upstairs. Anyone that gets out the cell doesn't come back,"

  "So… They escaped?"

  "No, they died!"

  "Oooh, of course. Well, I won't,"

  "How do you know?"

  "Want to hear a secret?" Kita asked him.

  "O...k," He answers suspiciously.

  She leaned over to whisper in his ear, "I can't die,"

  "Liar! That's impossible,"

  "You saw my hand heal, didn't you? I'm a hero with magical powers,"

  The kid laughed, "There's no way you could be a hero,"

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "You bully little kids! You'd be a supervillain, definitely not a hero,"

  "Whatever," Kita giggled, rolling her eyes. "Villains are cool too,"

  "Some are scary," The kid said, curling his knees closer.

  It was settled. Kita was going to get both of them out of there. Her other options weren't so great- Working for these raiders or dying again. Why the hell would she waste her time with any of that? Waking up buried sparked some abyssal fear in her chest. If anything, that option genuinely had her worried, so they needed to leave and get out alive.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  She'd need a couple of souls though… The two guards by the front door of the hall are an option, but getting them over here is a mission of its own. She looked around her to count four other prisoners, excluding Jan, sharing a cell with them. Three in the cell to her left and six in the cell to her right. Getting all of them won't be so easy. She could pull two at a time, and it took about five seconds to consume a soul.

  If she's quick with it. This will be done in under a minute, tops.

  What next? How do they get out of here? She was brought down a few flights of stairs but she couldn’t recall how many, or which one would have the exit. Walking out the front door wasn't the best idea anyway, maybe there was a back exit. Somewhere they send out cargo or something.

  "Hey kid, do you know a way out of here?"

  "Not really… Sorry,"

  The two raiders guarding the main entrance suddenly unlock the cell Kita resided in- It must be decision time. They both stood in the cell and walked straight past Kita to grab Jan by the arms.

  "Hey!" He yelled as he started violently shaking his body to escape their grasp. "Let go of me,"

  "Where are you taking him?" Kita asked as they dragged him out of the cell.

  "Shut up," A guard ordered Kita, slamming the cage shut behind him.

  "Let me go!" Jan continued to resist.

  "Hey, Jan. It was nice knowing ya',"

  He didn't respond, he was too panicked. They are really planning on selling the kid. To who? Why would anybody purchase a soulless? She was going to have to find him. Both of the guards had dragged him beyond the door, creating a window for her to get out of there before they returned. This wasn't a big deal, she'd just have to improvise.

  "Alright," She said to herself as she stood on her feet and shook her arms to loosen up the tension in her body.

  She turned to face two of the four prisoners sharing a cell with her and shrugged before raising each hand to a prisoner. They all looked at her in confusion before she cast the spell in her mind. Consume. Two of the prisoners' bodies tensed up and started shaking in a fit-like manner as black smoke slowly passed out their mouths and into Kita's palms. Just as she was about to close her eyes to enjoy the sensation of the souls, one of the remaining two prisoners stood up and stared at Kita with an enraged glare.

  He didn't say a word, and vaulted at Kita as she finished consuming the first two souls. But she was still exposed, and the man rammed Kita with his shoulder. Throwing all his body weight at her. Kita crashed against the cell bars, prompting one of the prisoners in the adjacent cell to grab Kita through the bars, wrapping his arm around her neck to keep her restrained.

  Crap- This is a nuisance. Of course, they don't want to die.

  The prisoner who'd just shoved her now has his hands raised in preparation to start throwing punches. He encroached towards her when she noticed the makeshift shiv in his hand. He wasn't planning on punching. Like a newly applied layer of skin, the souls energized her body. She raised her hand at him before casting a spell- Push. A gust of energy blasted out of her hand, blowing the encroaching prisoner into the bars at the opposite end of the cell. The entire room vibrated with the force of his crash before his body dropped to the floor, motionless. Dammit, did I kill him? What a waste of a soul, she thought as her focus shifted to the guy grabbing her from the cell behind her.

  She lifted a hand beside her head, with her palm facing where the man's face is most likely located and cast a consume spell. The satisfactory tingling she felt throughout her body confirmed it worked as she felt the grip around her neck loosen and the sound of a body crash to the floor.

  That push was pretty hefty. It used up an entire soul. The unfortunate receiver hasn't twitched or breathed since- definitely dead. Kita raised her hand at the last person cowering in her cell- A middle-aged woman with fear radiating in her eyes as she clutched herself in the fetal position. Consume. Three souls, she noted. Looking at the remaining two prisoners in the cell behind her and the six in the cell ahead of her. All worried and helpless. A sense of power rose in her again- instilling fear in others. She raised her hands at the two in the cells behind her and consumed their souls. Leaving the remaining six prisoners in the cell across from her.

  "I'd prefer to make you suffer," She said, slowly stepping towards the bars. "They feel much better when they're afraid,"

  She raised her hands as she picked two targets at random out of the six in the cell.

  "Unfortunately, I'm in a hurry,"

  Eleven souls surged through her body as if she had twice the strength she'd ever felt. Her mind felt clearer, more aware. The dust drifting in the air around her felt slower than usual, and she could sense the ocean of souls radiating from within the raider’s hideout. Calling to her, like the scent of a great dish that'd caught her senses. Push. She cast the spell at the cell door, erupting the socket off of the gate and swinging it open. She hadn't had much time to think of a plan but her mind had been leaning towards the idea of casting an invisibility spell. How many souls will that cost? It would most likely cost quite a lot, so she'd ideally use it after she found the kid. Ten souls remained. She'd try only using three to get to Jan back, and the remainder to get out of here.

  So far, a shield and a push cost a soul a piece. Consuming didn't come with a cost, thank the gods- This would be way tougher otherwise. Her body seemed to use the remaining souls on injuries… Automatically? Or if she was unconscious? Having ten souls didn't seem to be enough anymore. There were swarms of people on the floors above. She could feel them.

  Fear didn't just make the souls feel better, it also made anyone she faced feel hopeless. The fewer that fight back, the easier it is. Some of these basic spells might not do that considering the cost. She needed to think up a spell that cost more but killed more people in exchange. Killing more of these fuckers sounded good enough to her. Who was this bastard to tell her she had to work for him? She should consume his soul too. No- he wouldn't suffer that way. Taking everything he cared about sounded better... Maybe he had a family.

  She slowly opened the door of the room to find it void of any protection. Exposing a hallway that led toward a staircase at the end of it.

  "That's definitely where the others are," she said, looking up to the fifteen flights of stairs. Where's the kid, though? There were five different floors and she had nothing to work with, her memory of coming down here was blurred- A few random moments of consciousness.

  She'd have to do it the long way. Floor-by-floor. She jogged her way up the stairs to the first door- Slowly cracking it open as it screeched briefly. She peeked through the eye-sized gap she'd created to find that one end of the passageway was clear. She pulled the door open, raising a hand to face the unchecked side of the hall.

  There was no one. It wasn't a passageway either, it was the upper walkway of a much larger hall. A storage room with huge boxes stacked on top of one another with a variety of steel cases peppered amongst them. Is this a product? Or the goods they stole? She didn't have time to find out. She'd scour the floor further but it just wasn't the place raiders would take a little kid that they're about to sell off.

  She backed out of the storage room and into the stairway, closing the door behind her before making her way up to the second floor. She used the same method, slowly peeling the door open to observe the end of the hall. This is more like it! She immediately saw a guard standing at a nearby door. He had a rifle-like weapon in his hands and a very focused look on his face. What could be in there? It wouldn't be the kid- she concluded. Jan was most likely taken to the boss's office. Where else would they do the trade? His office would have way more guards and a much bigger door. What bad guy doesn’t love a big door?

  The sound of footsteps chugged their way down from the floor above- It must be the guards. She confidently stepped into the passageway of the second floor, trying her best to act as if she belonged. The guard by the door noticed her but didn't pay much attention to her sudden entry. She turned to look at the other end of the hall, to find five other guards staring at her in the same manner. Each is stood by a door- Another prison?

  She nodded her head at them all, prompting a nod in response before a butch lady guarding a door at the end of the hall asked, "You the one that's going to question the princess?"

  "Uh,” Kita stuttered, "That's me,"

  “Where’s your equipment?”

  “No need. Just take me to her,” Kita said, feigning a confident voice.

  "She's in here," The lady shifted her body to unlock the door.

  Kita stepped into the open room to see a woman slightly older than her lying on a mattress on the floor. She had the same rags on as the prisoners from downstairs, her pale skin and baby-blue hair were her only discernible features.

  "Knock twice," The butch lady said before closing the door behind Kita. Leaving her alone in the room with the… Princess.

  "You know what I'm here for," Kita improvised, trying to understand what this was about before she blew her cover.

  "Why would I tell you?" The lady's posh voice softly objected as she remained lying on the mattress with her eyes closed.

  "For starters… I could hurt you,"

  "Your friends tried that already," She responded, still unbothered.

  "I'm not like the others,"

  "Clearly," She scoffed, "You do an awful lot more talking,"

  "Like I said. I'm different," Kita shrugged at her own response. "For the right price, I can tell them something… Untrue,"

  The girl's eyes shot open, and she sat up on her mattress to look Kita in the eyes. They're the same colour as her hair- baby blue. Fading in the light like a golden hour sky. The girl's head tilted, as she looked in the eyes of Kita.

  "I do not have any coin," She responded, eyeing Kita in curious anticipation of her response.

  "You're a princess, aren't you?" Kita stammered, somewhat intimidated by the Princess’ glare.

  “You’re telling me the great Soul Stealer doesn’t remember if I’m a Princess?”

  Kita couldn’t help but sell herself out with a squint of her face, She knows who I am?

  "I have a better offer,” The Princess grinned, running a hand through her hair, “I can tell you where the dark one is."

  Kita's eyes widened at the blue-eyed princess's offer. She briefly wondered if she should keep up her act, and pretend to be the interrogator so she can get herself out of here. But, her heartbeat thumped louder when the words left the princess’ lips. Kita wanted to know.

  "You know where he is?" Kita asked.

  "Do you still seek revenge?" The princess asked.

  Kita didn't respond, this posh girl had her number. Still? She didn't want to give away all of her leverage, what kind of an interrogator gets interrogated?

  "I've looked into the dark one's eyes," The princess added. "I saw something similar to what I'm seeing now,"

  Black eyes? Is the dark one missing his soul as well?

  "What'd you see?" Kita asked, enthralled by the woman’s words.

  The girl paused, squinting at Kita before shrugging her shoulders. "Loss."

  "Tell me what you know," Kita ordered.

  "I will tell… If you take me with you,"

  "Huh?"

  "It's obvious you aren't an interrogator, or a raider for that matter. Your methods alone are beyond mediocre,"

  "You an expert victim or something?" Kita scoffed.

  "Not quite," The princess chuckled. "I will tell you anything you want to know if you get me out of here,"

  "What makes you think I can do that?"

  "I've seen you destroy armies, Kita."

  Kita shuffled backwards. The Princess didn't only know about Kita’s soul, she knew more about Kita's past than she did. Armies? She had no memory of destroying armies. The idea of being so powerful sent a shiver down her spine, drawing her attention to the sensation of souls in her core. A curiosity. A new desire. Such power sounded more than enticing. She couldn't fathom losing to the dark one despite having had so much power- She may be underestimating the number of souls she needed to consume. The amount of power she currently had was barely a fraction of what she'd achieved before.

  "That’s not me anymore," Kita stuttered, trying to deflect the information.

  "I noticed," The princess responded, rising to her feet. "You're much more nicer now,"

  "I am?" Kita said, stepping backwards as the blue-haired girl stepped toward her. The girl was tall, a good amount taller than Kita and walked with a prideful posture that towered over her. With a royal walk that was slow as she encroached.

  “I mean, of course I am,” Kita haphazardly corrected herself.

  "You've forgotten everything this time?” The Princess asked with her curious eyes, ”Fascinating… It’s as if you don't even remember who you were,"

  "And… Who was I?" Kita asked, wanting to fill in the pieces she was missing.

  "A warrior. A leader… A monster,"

  The princess reached her arms out to Kita, prompting a defensive stance in response. But before Kita could prepare, the Princess's arms draped around her shoulders and then pulled Kita in for a warm, firm, hug.

  "You poor thing," The princess whispered. "You're the shell of your former self,"

  Kita pushed the girl off of her, uncertain of whether or not she was serious. She didn't see herself the way this woman does and being called a shell was fucking rude. Was this some kind of disrespect? The way royalty manipulated the minds of others?

  "People change," Kita scoffed. "I don't need your comparisons,"

  "Sorry," The princess responded politely, surprising Kita yet again. "We were good friends in your past life… You usually remember me,"

  "Well, I don't… Not this time,"

  "Then I shall befriend you yet again," The princess passed an endearing smile.

  "Not interested," Kita dismissed, "I'll get you out of here, if you tell me everything you know about the dark one and my past,"

  "Escaped prisoner!" a voice yelled from beyond the door, echoing through the stairwell. Prompting a look of urgency as they both glanced toward the door.

  "We have a deal," The Princess nodded. "My name is Raya, by the way,"

  "Listen, Princess. There's a kid named Jan who also had his soul stolen. I'm getting him out of here as well,"

  “A kid?” She raised an eyebrow, “Why?”

  “He might know something about the dark one,” She said, but what she didn’t say was that she felt an affinity towards him. Maybe because he was soulless too?

  Either way, the goons that took Jan definitely noticed Kita's little mess once they got back. It's time to get out of here- she stepped over to the door and knocked twice. Raising her hand in preparation for the door to swing open. The moment the burly guard revealed herself, Kita consumed her soul and caught the falling body to pull it into the room. From the corner of her eye, she saw Raya grab a knife from the guard's body and strap the rifle over her shoulder.

  "You know how to use that?" Kita asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "I've never met a royal who couldn't," She responded with a focused expression on her face.

  Kita glanced out the doorway to see only two other guards on the floor- the rest must have left to search for her. She walked straight toward both of them with her hands raised and from a reasonable distance she cast another consume spell. That's thirteen. Still not enough. After what the Princess told her, Kita felt the well within her crying out to be filled.

  "Come on," Kita cleared her throat. The floor was empty, and they needed to get a move on before they realized they were here. She positioned herself by the door to the stairwell, taking a deep breath to focus up.

  The princesses' blue hair and rags stood out like a sore thumb. Anyone would notice her or know she was a prisoner- sneaking about won't do. They'd have to fight their way out. This girl had better know what she was doing.

  "They're planning on trading the kid, do you know where they would take him?"

  "Vlad's office, on the second floor,"

  This was the fourth floor, so his office was up six flights of stairs. Nothing too crazy, from there were three more flights to the exit.

  Kita cracked open the door to the stairway, looking through the gaps in the railing below to see that the coast was clear. She then looked up to see an open door three flights up, on the third floor. They stepped into the stairwell and scurried their way up the three flights of stairs while trying to remain as quiet as possible. Before she reached the top of the third-floor staircase, she paused to look into the door to see four sets of boots huddled together by the door- She readied a spell. As she took another silent step to the top of the stairs, the group of raiders charged into the stairwell below. Kita froze in a moment of panic, and one of the raiders looked up in her direction before a look fell on the raider's face.

  "She's here!" He yelled, raising a pistol at her as the others turned to raise their weapons as well.

  Raya instinctively stepped up close to Kita's back. Kita's reaction to danger came with the same muscle memory she had at the rich folk's tent- Shield. The raiders opened fire in the stairwell, bullets erupted in all directions as bright streaks of light ricochet into the sphere of energy surrounding Kita and Raya.

  Click. The first raider ran out of ammo. Kita raised her arm across her body, preparing to strike.

  Three more clicks followed. The nearest raider was out of her reach, and still reloading when she dropped the shield and announced a spell in her mind. Slice. Her arm swiped the air like a sword- In the same motion, a sharp slice of air soared following her motion. Slashing the raider's chest and creating a deep gash from his shoulder to his pelvis. The upper third of the gun in his hand fell clean off the rest of the weapon before his body fell to the floor.

  Without a second thought, Kita raised her hand at the two raiders nearest to the door and cast a push. The doorway to the third floor busted open, sending the two raiders through the newly designed entrance. Shit, I should’ve consumed!

  As Kita raised her arm to the last raider, who'd just finished reloading. Raya suddenly appeared in front of her and with a few swift strafes, Raya kicked the gun out of the raider's hands and used the blade she'd collected to cut him in three swift moves. An X marked by two cuts to the raider's chest, and a cut to the throat.

  "Holy shit. The Princess is violent," Kita jested.

  "I led an army," Raya chuckled.

  "Sure, but those two extra cuts were just-" Kita exhaled and put her hands on her hips.

  "Oh please, did you see what you did to that guy's chest?" Raya rolled her eyes. "I've never seen you do that before,"

  "Is that right? Your pal Kita the conqueror couldn't think of that one, huh?" Kita smiled, a knowingly smug one. She joked, but she genuinely felt proud of herself for thinking of it.

  "You're different, but you haven't really changed," Raya laughed, readying her rifle.

  "What's changed?"

  "For starters, the old Kita would've taken them all out with one spell," Raya responded, stepping into the hallway of the third floor.

  "Well, I prefer to make it a fair fight," She sassed, stepping into the debris-filled room to hear the sound of a few coughs. They stepped over the bodies of two other raiders who must've been on the other side of the wall.

  Two sudden pops erupted from Raya's gun, dropping a guard at the opposite end of the room who was still on his feet. On one half of the room are rows of bunk beds, with the other half having a kitchen and a seating area. The place was a mess- understandably considering how many people probably lived here.

  "How many souls?" Raya asked, surveying the room.

  "Huh?"

  "How many do you have left?"

  "Feels like… nine," Kita answered. "We should head upstairs,"

  "We got lucky. This is usually where they all congregate," Raya said, turning back to the stairway.

  "Where are they?"

  "Mostly likely a job,"

  Kita's eyes widened, thinking it might have something to do with Jan. She double-timed her way out of the room and up the stairs when she heard the ricocheting of bullets emitting from the floor below.

  She cast a shield around herself, and Raya stood inside moments after. They both started moving up the staircase, shifting in tandem to avoid being exposed to the whizzing bullets.

  As Kita and Raya reached the door to the second floor amongst the rattles of gunfire, they burst through the door into a waiting room. At the other end of the small room is a large, booming, door of steel that eclipsed the entryway they'd just used. Raid boss door- Called it. It is one of the best uses of coin. If she had an organization like this, her office door would be the first order of business. She stood a little closer to the door and raised her arm in the air, admiring the inscriptions on the door one last time before casting a push spell.

  The door completely shattered, erupting from its hinges as it flew out towards the centre of the room. Raya raised her rifle and scouted ahead of Kita. It was empty. The kid wasn't there.

  "Where else would they take him?" Kita's eyes flared as she asked Raya.

  "I'm not sure," She answered. “Maybe into the city?”

  The footsteps of raiders from the floors below clanged louder as they approached. It was decision time. And she needed to make it quick.

  "Are you sure he’s worth it?" Raya asked.

  "I think so,"

  It was highly likely. Not many people have had their souls taken by the dark one. She needed to learn everything she could. If pure strength and an army still resulted in her death in past lives, then she may have to approach this all very differently. She just needed a clue and this kid could give her one.

  "We need to find out where they're taking him," Kita ordered.

  "So we fight?" Raya asked as the stairwell rattled with the raider’s footsteps.

  "Leave one for questioning," Kita said.

  They both posted up around the large office desk at the opposite end of the room, facing the wide entryway in preparation for the ensuing raiders.

  "How many souls?" Raya asked.

  "Seven,"

  "Keep the shield up," Raya ordered, getting a good grip on her rifle. "I'll handle them,"

  Raya crouched beside Kita, aiming down her sights as Kita cast the spherical shield around the both of them. Kita wasn’t so sure if this would work, but Raya seemed so certain it would that Kita committed to the plan.

  The clatter of boots kept getting louder as the sound drew nearer. It sounded like over a dozen people were on their way up. These bastards aren't ready for the havoc Kita's ready to ensue upon them. It felt good, killing them one by one. Her body had no tension, it was calm and content with the situation, despite how sticky it was. They should've just let her go, and shut up about whoever the hell that Chevo guy was. When that bald prick comes back here he'll find everyone dead. Burning the place down might be the icing on the cake. She'll see how she's feeling when the time comes.

  Two raiders appeared around the corner, raising their guns as they noticed Kita and Raya. Without much delay, Raya fired two shots into the first raider's chest, and one more into the second's forehead. The raiders behind them started swarming into the room, but with each one that entered, Raya fired one or two bullets in quick succession. She'd run out of ammo soon, and these raiders kept on coming.

  Kita put a hand on Raya's shoulder, preparing to cast a spell whilst awaiting the click of Raya's gun. Six souls left. She’d be running out of souls soon. Kita needed to make a move that'd get both of them out of there. Staying here to question one of these assholes could put them in more danger than Kita was willing to expose herself to.

  Click. Kita dropped her shield the moment the last bullet collided with the raider inside the room. That same instant, she cast a spell using five of the remaining six souls.

  Cloak. Her mind echoed. A momentary ripple of the light in the room left her questioning whether it worked as Raya looked up at Kita with weary eyes. The next set of guards stepped into the room with squinting eyebrows, looking straight through Kita and Raya as they glanced around the room. Raya stood up, slowly strapping the gun over her shoulder with a look of confusion gleaming in her blue eyes. Kita kept a firm grasp on Raya's shoulder as the two of them shuffled toward the door- in sync, and trying not to make a sound as more raiders stepped into the room. Amidst their synchronized steps around the raiders, Kita bumped into a shelf along the wall- Prompting a swath of raiders to look in their direction. Kita and Raya both froze in place, glaring back at the raiders and praying they didn’t decide to open fire.

  Judging by the nervous look on Raya's face, this was the first time she'd seen this spell too and wouldn’t be impressed until it had gotten them out of there.

  The raiders slowly continued their approach towards the office desk, their attention suggesting to Kita that they thought she’d hidden behind it.

  Kita and Raya continued their surgical approach to the staircase, glancing down the stairwell to the sight of a handful of raiders awaiting orders from the raiders already in the room. Each of their footsteps had a focused effort of silence as they slowly made their way up the stairs. They weren't being followed- not yet anyway. And the raiders below were still trying to figure out what'd just happened. It was clear to Kita that the people of this world weren't familiar with her magic. Did they even know it existed? Raya and the old lady were the only people who knew of Kita's magic, but that's because she'd met them before. Are there other people with magic? Jan, maybe? Why would Kita be the only one? Assuming she was would only put her at risk- and knowing her, she’d get complacent or narcissistic. It’d be smarter to assume she wasn't.

  As they reached the first floor, they opened the stairwell door to step into a massive tent. One Kita didn't remember seeing from the top of the canyon. It was on the ground since the ground was covered in dirt, with the occasional rug that spat dust with each of their steps. Everything in the room looked like the old technology. Glass panels sat on every desk, each with a board of symbols before it. Weapons and small devices sat on all the tables scattered throughout the room… Could they have built this place? No- The Raiders must have found this. No one has the resources or knowledge to pull this off. Especially not some gang of thieves.

  "Follow me," Raya said to Kita, sprinting out of Kita's grasp. A shimmer of colour and light rippled throughout the tent and Kita knew they were no longer invisible. She ran after Raya, who was pacing towards the entrance of the tent. The warm glow of the setting sun on the horizon was the first thing she saw before Raya put her arm out, stopping Kita in her tracks. Her eyes adjusted to the light and she realized she was standing at a cliff's edge. A massive protrusion on the canyon wall created an isolated bed where the main tent sat above the bunker that expanded down into the wall of the canyon.

  "What is this place?" Kita asked, confused by the sheer scale of the architecture beneath them.

  "I'd guess it was built by the old humans," Raya responded.

  "What for?"

  Raya shrugged, "If I had to guess, It held strategic importance to its creators,"

  Kita basked at the towering canyon walls, looking to her right at the neverending corridor, then to her left- where the subtle glow of lights radiated from around the bend of the canyon. She followed Raya toward a pathway on their left, a small walkway carved into the side of the canyon that led toward a makeshift bridge.