Power far greater than yours

Azrael and Ava gazed at each other for a moment in silence, their eyes locked in a moment of intense curiosity. Suddenly, the same voice that had been speaking to Azrael in his mind spoke again, this time in the form of the magnificent wolf before him.

"Why am I in this form as well?"Ava asked, her golden eyes gleaming in the sunlight.

Azrael pondered the question for a moment before answering, "This is how you looked before you evolved?"

"Yes, wait first of all, why am I here?"Ava asked, her voice tinged with confusion.

"It seems I can summon you, like Mortimer," Azrael explained.

Ava's gaze hardened at Azrael's question, "What's your name?" he asked simply but his question was met with silence.

"Well, I have a feeling we might be stuck together for a while," Azrael said sensing her hesitance to answer.

"I have no plans to be stuck with you," Ava retorted before suddenly turning her head. "There are people about 20 miles away approaching here,"she said, her tone shifting to one of alertness.

"Twenty miles? How do you know?" Azrael asked.

"I have unmatched senses," Ava said proudly.

"Well, I'm going back to the soulless forest, so since I'm so kind, I'll give you the honor of knowing my name. It's Ava. Don't forget it," she said, her tone slightly mocking as she turned around to walk away.

"Well, Ava, you can go back now," Azrael said with a sigh.

"I was already doi-" Ava began to say before suddenly disappearing, finding herself back at the Watcher's Gate in her human form.

"Wait, what the hell did you do?" Ava asked in confusion.

"You sure are slow to catch on," Azrael said with a smirk as he began preparing to continue his journey.

As he continued on, Azrael's pace quickened, his rhythmic footsteps cutting through the quiet of the forest. He didn't want to fall behind, and he definitely had no plans of meeting the people Ava had sensed approaching.

"I can summon you from the Watchers Gate and send you back as well," Azrael offered an explanation, speaking as he ran. "It seems your soul is connected to it. I remember Mortimer saying that everything there was connected to me."

Ava's voice was filled with anger. "So what are you saying? I'm your slave?"

"I mean, that's one way to put it, but it was either that or death according to what you told me," Azrael replied, his tone matter-of-fact.

"hmph, I'd rather die than be anyone's slave," Ava retorted.

"Calm down," Azrael said, his frustration growing. "You aren't useful to me anyway. When Mortimer wakes up, he will know what to do with you, so just stop talking."

Ava's voice lowered slightly. "You're a psychopath."

"I am, aren't I?" Azrael replied without a hint of remorse, his feet continuing to carry him forward with great speed.

As evening approached, the sun began its graceful descent from the sky. The moon slowly started to cast its own glow, and Azrael's movements were now illuminated by the pale light. The wind whistled through the trees as he whizzed past them, disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

After arriving at his destination, Azrael climbed up a nearby hill to get a good view of the heavily guarded residence where his target was staying. Over a dozen cyval soldiers patrolled the area, but Azrael was unfazed by their presence. He knew the real threat was the dangerous individual protecting his target, whom he had yet to see.

Azrael remained on the hill for hours, keeping a low profile to avoid being detected. As night fell, he finally saw his target's carriage arrive at the residence. He watched as his target, looking just as he had seen in illustrations, stepped out of the carriage. But then he saw someone else, someone who made his eyes widen in shock and disbelief.

It was Lyra, the same girl who had ambushed him before, The rank one in Ryzel's academy. Her ruby eyes and white milky hair cascading down her back were unmistakable.

Azrael gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and took a deep breath. "This really brings back memories," he muttered to himself. The residence was too small to sneak in unnoticed, so his only option was to defeat everyone there.

With a powerful jump, Azrael flew into the sky and landed with a thunderous thud right in the middle of the residence, causing the ground to break beneath him.

"Hmm, you sure are reckless," Ava remarked.

"I told you to shut up," Azrael snapped, his eyes scanning the surrounding cyval soldiers. But it was Princess Lyra who drew his attention. Unfazed and composed, her gaze locked onto Azrael, and her silence only made her feel all the more dangerous.

Lyra's voice sliced through the eerie silence like a cold blade. "Whoever you are," she said, her voice soft but laced with a deadly warning, "I'll give you 30 seconds to leave here with your life."

"It's Vanuk's life I plan to leave with," Azrael replied, his gaze flickering over the enemies before him.

"So it's death you have chosen," Lyra asked, her voice still soft but now tinged with a dark edge.

"I chose death a long time ago," Azrael replied, his voice cold and calculating as his hand gripped his sword. Suddenly, almost all of the Cyval guards raised their swords to block an attack, some even falling as if they had been cut by an invisible blade, they had all been affected by the phantom blade.

"You all should calm down, I haven't even started," Azrael taunted, and the Cyval soldiers watched him warily, confused as to how he had attacked them without ever drawing his sword.

"you sure have gotten stronger," Lyra said. Suddenly, Azrael's eyes widened in shock. It happened too quickly. He never saw her move. Why is she holding the balaclava that masked his face? And just when... did she plunge this spear through his body?

"Haven't you, Azrael?" Lyra asked, narrowing her eyes as she gazed at Azrael's now-exposed face. Her ruby eyes were like daggers piercing into his very soul, and in that moment, she made this god hesitate.