Pillar 2

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's get down to business."

Although the man's words sounded jovial, the tone of his voice made the gravity of the situation clear. There was no visible reaction from the purple-cloaked individuals, but the man didn't seem to mind. He gestured to one of his colleagues on the right, who stepped forward and handed him a scroll.

"This here is the signed contract. Once this mask is successfully retrieved, all of your members in Osiris will be released. All you have to do is sign it with the soul quill in your possession."

At the mention of the soul quill, there was a visible reaction from the cloaked figures. One of them stepped forward and asked immediately, "How do you know that?"

"Don't be naive, we have our ways. Moreover, your leader is clearly aware that we know it's in your possession, which is why he gave it to you to bring along to the deal."

The cloaked figure that took a step forward paused, his expression or emotions unreadable underneath the darkness of his hood. After a while, he finally spoke again. "Fine. But the key is useless; we only have one of it in your possession." The cloaked figure dipped his hand into his pocket and brought out a small stone with a rune-like carving on it.

"Don't you worry about that," the militant man chuckled.

The cloaked figure nodded and stepped forward, about to hand over the stone to the man. But just as he was about to close the distance, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

He looked behind him to see a gloved hand on his shoulder. It was one of his teammates. The teammate in question who had stopped him remained unmoving, but the leading cloaked figure didn't seem to mind. There seemed to be some sort of strange communication going on between them.

After a while, the second cloaked figure leaned in and whispered to the first cloaked figure, their voices inaudible. After a few moments of chatting, the leading figure nodded and looked towards the militants. "Well, it seems like there's been an issue. The deal has been cancelled."

"Hehe," the leading militant chuckled, his head bowing a bit as his hand rested atop his hat. His coat seemed to flutter in the air and the atmosphere immediately became tense. Both parties remained still, but it felt like they were already clashing.

"Well, that would be a bit troublesome. You should remember that you guys are criminals and the only reason you are still alive is because of the deal. If the deal has been cut off, then you can't expect us to sit back and watch you criminals leave, can you? That will be a neglect of duty and it could put us in a difficult situation. Ai, ai, what to do?..."

"No need for pretense," the cloaked figure began, his purple cloak swaying a bit in the cool wind and adding more tension to the atmosphere. "We already know what comes next."

"I see…" the militant leader sighed. He became quiet once more, both parties at a standstill. Suddenly, he began chuckling and the chuckle turned into wild, unbridled laughter. His eyes were finally revealed, red like the crimson moon and glowing eerily in the dark shades of the massive forest trees.

"Come then, the winner takes all!!"

And with that, both teams vanished, clashing at the center a moment later for a battle with their lives on the line.

***

"Why do you stay?" Ayer suddenly asked as he and Kohl walked through the forest. By now they had gotten pretty deep into the forest and if they were to head back, it would take at least an hour.

"What do you mean?" Kohl asked with furrowed brows. As they walked, he had become more lax, his toes occasionally digging into the floor, exposing broken shells and carcasses of long-dead insects. It was normal in Khun not to wear footwear, part of their elaborate aim of using all of their bodies to hunt. Khan had taught the hunters how to feel for subtle vibrations in the ground to determine the size of a creature or its speed.

"I mean, why do you stay in the village? Everyone hates you there; you can leave anytime you want," Ayer clarified. Kohl didn't reply immediately, instead looking up at the crimson moon. His gaze was wistful and the space was quiet, except for the light sounds of their footsteps and the creaking of a few insects.

"Not everyone," Kohl finally said. He looked at Ayer and Ayer's eyes widened as he saw a small smile on Kohl's lips. "I stay because of Khan. The rest of the village might not be my family, but Khan is. He has taken care of me since I was born and he's much like a father figure. I can't leave him."

"Then leave with him," Ayer replied, but Kohl shook his head.

"This place, the village, means a lot to him. He thinks I don't know, but I know. I know that someone close to him used to stay here."

"Wow. I never knew you had such a soft side to you," Ayer commented.

"It's not soft; it's just logical emotions. Softness is a sign of weakness and trust me, I'm anything but weak."

Kohl's voice was frosty and it made Ayer apprehensive. For the first time, he kept quiet of his own volition and the silence returned. But not for long.

"I'll be leaving soon. I have a family and I only got here due to bad luck."

Kohl nodded, not really caring much about what Ayer had said.

"Ouch! And here I thought you would care," Ayer feigned hurt. Kohl was about to say something when Ayer suddenly burst forward, running towards an object in the distance.

"This is it! We are here!!" he exclaimed.

Kohl walked faster, catching up to Ayer in a few moments. His eyes widened as he saw the object before him.

"Amazing, right?" Ayer asked and all Kohl could do was nod.

Before both of them stood a pillar-like structure shaped like a tusk. It was tall, thicker at the end and thinner at the top. On it were intricate rune-like carvings that seemed to add an aura of majesty to it.

It was the same pillar as the ones around the altar.