[Dustriver]

"What does he look like?" asked Mori.

"I don't know," said Maya.

He rolled his eyes.

They had been walking for around an hour, leaving the cursed titan far behind. 

"Someone must've told you what to do once in Dustriver?"

"All I know is that he's called the Ferryman. We planned to look around the demon districts, ask around."

Mori sighed and looked at Aura.

"What do you think?"

"We could start with taverns. Information circulates around those places."

"You're right."

They were walking through an open field, the high walls of Dustriver were right ahead. 

The walls went high and wide, the gate impressively large as well.

As they approached a line of people formed before them, most of them demons who wore rags and chokers.

A hardened expression painted Mori's face as they went to the back of the line.

"The carriage's driver was our way in. How will we get in?" whispered Maya.

"It'll be fine."

As if an electric shock suddenly went through their bodies, both Aura and Mori quickly looked up at the sky.

"It's cursed energy, sent our way on purpose," said Mori.

Narrowing their eyes, they tried to look through the clouds but couldn't see anything.

"You see it?" asked Aura.

"No."

"There," she pointed, "He's hovering."

Following her finger, he could finally see it. Someone hovering through the clouds in the sky, wearing a long black robe that looked like torn rags. 

"What is it?" asked Maya.

"You think he's one of them?" asked Aura.

"Impossible to know," replied Mori.

"Guys, answer me? What is it?" said Maya.

Clouds slowly engulfed the person, leaving no trace behind.

"We'll have to be careful," said Mori.

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" said Maya.

"Someone was watching us," said Mori.

"Who?" asked Maya.

"We don't know. It doesn't matter."

"I felt nothing," said Torryn.

"Same," said Maya.

"It doesn't matter. It's almost our turn. Let's deal with this first."

After slowly advancing, a step at a time, it was almost their turn to deal with the guards.

They were human, wearing full-plate armor. It was boasting a version of the DiveCore logo Mori recognized.

It looked like a half moon, and a crescent moon crossing each other.

They seemed to hate their job, barely looking at what people handed them. 

Most humans easily went through the gates, their backs only straightened when it was demons waiting in line.

Behind the gate were a lot more guards, sitting at tables playing card games and drinking beer despite it only being early afternoon.

Whenever it was a demon's turn, two of them would rise from a table, and take the new arrival away in chains.

"You can't do this! I have a permit!" yelled one of them.

"Yeah yeah, Next!"

Mori took a step forward as he watched the man being taken away.

"Ah. You're... Human? Paul! Paul! Come."

His colleague slowly walked toward them, stumbling on the even ground.

"Yeah. Human... What's with your eyes man?"

"I was given a fortune teller class, my eyes can predict if something good or bad will happen to you."

"Really? You're a fortune teller?" the man stumbled closer, holding Mori's shoulders while approaching his face.

Aura twitched, but remained silent, staying behind Mori with the other two.

"What's my future?" he asked, his breath reeking of alcohol.

"Come-on Paul, you're holding the line now."

"It's fine! Just a qu- uhh, quick fortune telling."

Anger was flowing through Mori's veins despite his expression not showing. 

He suddenly felt Aura's hand on his shoulder, slightly calming him down.

"I see your future."

"Yeah?"

"You'll die a horrible death. You won't be remembered. Those who love you won't grieve you for long, because they'll die too."

Paul stumbled backward, frightened. 

"He's messing with you man," said the other guard.

"b- but..."

"Just go sit, you're barely standing."

Once he left, the other guard approached. 

"Alright, you didn't need to go that far. So, are they with you?" he asked, pointing at Aura, Maya, and Torryn.

"Yeah. I bought them recently."

The guard raised his eyebrows, "Two females, and a male... That's fine. But uh, is she...?"

"A vampire? Yes."

"You must be rich to have one of those..."

"I was just lucky."

"Huh."

The guard was rubbing his chin, looking at each of them. 

"Alright, just show me the slave contracts and I'll let you in."

Slave contracts?

"Just let us in. We've been on the road long enough, and we're tired."

The guard grabbed his hilt while taking a step back.

"The contracts."

The other guards heard him raise his voice, half of them standing up to join him.

Mori's chains started rattling under his cloak, the pressure intensifying.

The guard started unsheathing his sword, but before he could finish, their attention was diverted to the plains on the right.

Everyone's head turned as a whistling sound started intensifying. 

"Not again..." said the guard, walking past Mori. "Guys another one's coming!"

The whistling sound intensified until something struck, the vibration echoing through the ground.

Smoke quickly dispersed, dirt propelled on all sides from the impact.

"Fuck! Fuck! Guys I need everyone!" yelled the guard.

Mori could see the remaining guards taking their equipment from the tables, awkwardly putting on their helmets and taking their swords as they headed outside.

"Y'all better ignore everything she says, or I'll kill you myself, you fuckers!" 

In the impact zone, Mori finally noticed the person standing was a female. 

She had pinkish skin, her eyes were black, yet her irises were purple.

Her skimpy clothes revealed her erotic hourglass figure. 

Her body proportions were outrageous, thought Mori.

As he looked at her, she quickly glanced at him, smiling and blowing him a kiss.

"You know her?" whispered Aura.

"No."

The guards kept pouring out until none remained at the tables. 

"Remember! Avoid looking into her eyes. She could charm you."

They quickly encircled her, weapons drawn ready to strike. 

Suddenly, she softly used her chin to point toward the gate, prompting Mori to react.

"Let's go, she's distracting them."

Quickly, they ran through the gate together. As they crossed it, a table was hidden behind the wall. 

One guard remained, too scared to even step outside, figured Mori.

"Hey! You can't..."

Mori's chain quickly detached from his body and went from under his cloak toward the guard.

It reached his throat, piercing it before swiftly retracting back toward him, splattering blood on the ground with every spin.

The guard tried screaming but couldn't. He held his wound, unable to keep it from bleeding, slowly falling to his knees.

They kept running forward, taking the first turn they could, fading into the narrow backstreets of Dustriver.