The last person Suoh expected to face in this crazy world was a woman. And now he faced not only one, but two.

Well, that was not completely true. Awhile ago, the person he least expected to face was a child, yet his expectation had been crushed at the arrival of Shuei Shives. And, really, the blue-haired warrior should have dropped any predictions or expectations he had of this other worldly contest. He left behind any hope of reaching his wish upon the next door. He now refused to believe that every person he went up against was a human. Why was it so hard for him to just let everything take its own course?

And yet, as he turned away from the statue, puzzled as to why there was no book seated by the angel, he found his next opponent to be a beautiful black-haired, slender woman.

That was the first glance look. Then he noticed the pointed ears and that her grayish skin was not just the lighting. He also noticed that her sleeveless kimono revealed scars that traced up and down her arms, as well as a sword strapped around her waist. It did not take long for him to assume that this was not a human, nor a woman to mess with.

Suoh stood there, silently watching the woman as her gaze shifted around the room, taking in all her surroundings. He could spot her lavender eyes narrow in trepidation at what she saw, and he did not blame her. He was not particularly fond of this chamber, if he had a choice in the matter. The glass room gave him the eerie feeling of being trapped in a cage, the iron frames acting to keep its occupants inside. The sun shined through the glass, lighting the earthly chamber with light, but something about the light made it almost too perfect. As if it was trying to make the garden seem better than what it was.

Even if he wanted to, the warrior could not shake off the chill that ran down his spine. However, without any book to instruct Suoh on his next task, the thought of leaving the chamber soon quickly dwindled away.

As she finished inspecting the room, the gray-skinned woman finally turned to look towards Suoh. Eyes still narrowed, her gaze drifted behind him as she asked, “Where’s the book?”

“I don’t know.” Suoh simply replied, holding up his empty hands as he stepped away from the statue. She made no move towards the sword at his hip, so he safely assumed he could continue. “There was nothing here when I arrived a minute ago. Either someone else is here to mess with us, or Turiel decided he wanted to try something new. Basically, we have nothing to go by.”

She opened her mouth, as if to question further, but she slowly shut her lips before uttering a sound. Silence reigned as the mysterious woman thought over his words, gaze sliding back to the angel statue before muttering, “What do we do, then?”

Shrugging, Suoh replied, “Wait for a sign?”

Hardly amused, the woman walked off towards one of the other statues in the chamber, one that appeared to be a young woman, and leaned against the pedestal while staring at Suoh. Following her actions, he walked over to the one across from her, the one depicting the youngest child in the room, before sitting on the ground against it. Fatigue, as well as hunger, was starting to eat away at his old body. His eyelids began to shut against his will, but with a quick shake of his head tried to stay awake. There was no way he would let himself relax while his opponent was staring right at him.

And yet, there was still no sign of reaching any closer to his wish, nor any time he could rest. The warrior had to wonder just how much longer he could last until he reached his goal.

“Elin.”

Startled by her sudden words, Suoh lifted his head up to look at the black-haired woman. When she said nothing more, he asked, “What?”

“That’s my name. Elin.” She quietly replied.

“Ah.” Suoh muttered, looking down. “Takeshi Suoh.”

“Takeshi, why is an elder such as you involved in this terrible business?”

Alright, he was becoming sick and tired of these people assuming he was a frail old man. Gods, he was in body, but not in mind! “Before you continue in making your assumptions, this is not my real age. I’m just about as young as you. I was… cursed, or however you want to call it!”

Looking away, Suoh closed his eyes as he tried to ebb down his frustration. The aching of his wound in the shoulder began to throb again, which did not help with his current anger. It was the first time in awhile since he was angry about something besides Yagi, but simply at himself and his fate. And yet, there was nothing he knew he could do about it all. That was the most aggravating part of it all.

Before he could calm down, though, Elin broke the silence. “Is that your wish then?”

He looked back at the young woman, surprised to see not a critical or doubtful gaze, but one of pity. It reminded him of Alyssia and her eyes as she offered to help him with his own revenge. Why was it all of the sudden that he appreciated and even wanted their pity now? Now that he had nothing else?

Shaking his head with a slight chuckle, Suoh said, “No, far from it. In fact, I wish it was something as simple as that.” Turning his gaze down, he whispered, “I wish for the power to take revenge. So that the man who took everything, even my lover, from me can get what he deserves.”

Suoh did not lift his head up to look at Elin. He imagined now her sad look had faded away, and really he did not blame her. With a snort, he finished, “Rather selfish of me, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.” Her words cut deeper than any blade could harm, but that reality had already hurt him from the beginning. What he did not expect, though, was the next words she uttered.

“Why are you not wishing for this lover instead?”

Eyes slowly lifted up to lock gazes with Elin, hoping to see that she had not meant what she said. However, he knew just how serious her words were, and her unchanging lavender eyes only confirmed it. She did not know the situation; she could not understand what his motives were. She was simply a bystander in his own quest, and she did not see this was for his lover. This was to save Daisuke, it was all to protect him.

And yet, as he lingered on the thought further, he wondered if he was just lying to himself. Was he just using Daisuke to justify his revenge?

The thought continued to crash down further as Suoh’s eyes widened in realization. No, he knew his anger and hatred toward Yagi had driven him into a bloodlust, but along the way he thoroughly convinced himself that it was for Daisuke in the end. And, truly, his death would help Dai, but would it save him? The blue-haired man could see all the follow up questions now: How will that ultimately help him? Aren’t there other dangers out in the world? Will that blood-driven power be enough to protect him? Do you truly love him, or does vengeance come first?

If Daisuke could remember him, what would he think of Suoh now?

He never really thought what it would be like if Daisuke remembered him, he determined from the beginning that he would live a better, more comfortable life without their relationship holding both of them down. And he would remain firm in that respect. However, now that he considered that point of view, he felt so ashamed of considering taking revenge against Yagi. He had every right to, any other person could tell him that, but to see Dai’s disgusted and disappointed face hurt him beyond any words.

How could he justify his wish now? Placing a hand against his face, Suoh struggled with the thought of what to do next. He still wanted Yagi dead, and yet to do it through such a selfish and demeaning method would ruin him. He wanted to protect Dai some way, but he could not wish for his memories back. That would ruin the goal of protecting him. Try as he might, he could not find the answers to his own questions. How could he go on without knowing his own wish?

As he continued with his internal struggle, he was interrupted by the sound of the glass cracking from above.

Suoh jerked as the iron structure shook above them, quickly returning to his feet while Elin moved away from the statue. A chill ran through the chamber, and as Suoh breathed he could see the misty cloud roll with his breath. The patches of flowers throughout the area began to wither and die, while the leaves on the trees slowly turned crisp and brown.

That was when he remembered what happened upon entering the chamber. He did notice the iron supports rattling when he walked inside, but he simply brushed it off as another feature to add to the overall wrongness of the chamber. Now he knew it meant something more.

“Something’s happening.” He muttered slowly, hand moving to the hilt of his katana. And it was obviously not to their advantage.

A shiver wracked his cold body as the sun that had escaped through the fog of the sky suddenly disappeared, leaving the chamber in a hazy darkness. An ominous darkness settled into the chamber as Elin whispered, “What does it mean?”

That they should probably finish their business there, Suoh kept to himself. In all the chaos ensuing, though, the blue-haired warrior tried to find a sign as to what they needed to do next. Anything really, but the only left to look at was the center statue with its hands framed around the hole in its chest.

The heart? Suoh grimaced at the thought. Was it really that obvious?

The sound of rippling water echoed in the glass chamber, though as Suoh remembered correctly there was no stream or any signs of water in the chamber. It was not until Elin gasped and backed away that his gaze towards the ground. Blood began to flow from the statue and their stairs, leaving no opening for the people in the chamber to escape its path. The warrior took a step back as the blood continued past him, hearing the grating of stone around him. The lips of the angels were no longer in a perfectly carved smile, but now shaped into an ‘o’ shape, as if in a silent scream.

Drawing his katana, Suoh turned his gaze from the young women statues to the glass roof, where the cracks slowly began to multiply and close in towards each other. He could feel his hands shake at the realization that the chamber was slowly falling apart. But, what happened when the glass caved in?

“Of course…”

Suoh turned his eyes back to Elin, who had moved through the grass and blood closer to the statue. Her eyes were trained up at the hole in its chest while she muttered, “Why did I not think of it before?”

His own eyes widened as he began, “Wait, Elin, perhaps there is—“

“Can’t you tell, Takeshi? This is the only sign you spoke of earlier.” Elin interrupted, turning around to face him. Without warning she drew her own blade, holding it still and firm, pointed towards Suoh. “I’m sorry, but this is the only way.”

Without another word she charged forward, both hands gripping the hilt of her blade. Suoh brought up his katana to block her attack, forcing him to step backwards before separating their blades. Panting slightly, he barely had time to catch his breath before he had to step back to avoid her strike. Damn, she was stronger than she looked. Either that or he had become much weaker as an old man.

“Listen to me!” Suoh groaned, holding back yet another of her attacks.

“There is nothing that can be said now.” Elin grimly replied.

“Yes there is! If he wanted our hearts for sure, why did he not spell it out in words for us?”

“We can’t question his methods now. Not after all the other tasks he put us through.”

Suoh was not sure how the sequence of events happened after that point, but he did know this much. In trying to avoid Elin’s attacks, knowing another wound would not do him any good, he tried to sidestep one particular strike. Whether there had been a rock there, or he had caught himself in the developing mud, he quickly transitioned from moving to planted on the ground and under the short haired woman.

Staring up at her face, it was hard to make out everything in the darkness. However, he could still see her lavender eyes, narrowed into a hard and cold gaze. Staring up long enough, though, he caught the hint of something else, weary and along the lines of sorrow. This was not the way she wanted this to end. And yet, when fate was telling them what they needed to do, what else was there?

Holding her blade out over Suoh’s chest, her frown curved further as she muttered, “This is for my people.” Her blade glinted, held high above her head while she motioned to bring it down. Before she could though, a loud, resounding crack sounded above them.

Then, without another warning, the glass shattered, raining down its heavy and ominous shards down on the chamber.

Shocked, Suoh watched as the glass pieces quickly fell towards the two. There was no possible way to escape their path; every plane of glass had shattered in that last crack. With no option left, the warrior turned over on the ground, now soaked in blood as he faced his back up towards the ceiling and covered his head in his hands. The last thing he heard was another thud on the ground next to him before the rain of glass finally reached them.

The thousand shards splashing into the blood sounded like a chorus of music, echoing a deadly note throughout the chamber. Suoh hissed as some of the glass scraped against his skin, though the majority was tiny shards that hit against his back. By the time it finished, an eerie silence settled on the room, before Suoh finally lifted his head up to look around.

The trees scattered around the grassy chamber were all but twigs of their former selves, the leaves completely disappeared with the rain of glass. The flowing blood had spread to the ends of the chamber and was starting to drain out. He followed the gaze of the flowing blood to the once glass walls that surrounded the chamber, now simply metal frames enclosing the room. Where the blood went to, though, the warrior did not dare question.

What caught his attention next, though, was what came from the outside. The fog that surrounded the glass planes were now free to flow into the chamber, its thick and black ominous clouds slowly rolling in. A crack of thunder sounded above, revealing the only source of light left for anyone inside.  

“Gods, the chamber truly is falling apart.” Suoh whispered in disgust before reaching down and picking up his blood covered katana. For once, it was soaked in the blood that he had not caused.

A groan sounded next to him, drawing his attention back to his opponent. Elin was still kneeling on the ground, though now a hand was planted on her side. The grimace of pain spread out over her face was more than information for Suoh to know that the woman had been struck by a particularly big piece of glass, but how serious the wound was he could not tell. Her once white kimono was also soaked through with the blood from the ground.

Suoh opened his mouth, motioning to help her, but he stopped as he let his gaze drift back to the center statue. The statues of the girls had now turned black, as if covered in black ink or soot. However, the angel had been left untouched, expressionless and still brightly colored even in the darkness. Its hands were still framed around its chest.

Was this really what it all resorted to? Sure, they had all resorted to terrible violence to get this far, they all had the weight of their deeds hanging over them. But to cut out their heart? Was a heart truly unique to a human?

Was he truly aiming to create a human, or to make them lower than humans?

Shaking his head, Suoh could not find the answers to his question. Without some sort of guide, all that was left for him was the heart. He turned his gaze back to Elin, hoping to make one last plead with her, but before he could utter anything the world around him was engulfed in water.

Suoh’s hands shot up to his face, preventing any water from entering into his mouth. The water blurred his vision, but he could make out Elin standing up in front of him, hand held out in front of her. The last thing he caught from her was her sorrowful gaze and her lips moving in two words. I’m sorry.

Then, the blood gathered in his clothes began to soak into the water, drowning him in a film of red.

Suoh closed his eyes, blocking out the ensuing chaos outside as he concentrated on holding his breath. The irony was becoming too much for him. This was the third time now that someone or something tried to drown him. It was as if some kind of curse was following him throughout his life, just to make his struggles to live so much harder. However, he would have the opportunity to yell about it later. Right now, he needed to concentrate on living.

Somehow, though, something always came in at the last minute to save him. In his childhood, his father had jumped into the river and pulled him to safety. With Yagi, he wanted to see Suoh live longer purely out of amusement. This time, there was no one to help him. And he highly doubted the woman would simply stop on her own accord. She was too desperate for a solution to let him live.

With this in mind, what could he do? Even if he tried to draw his blade, how would he be able to reach Elin in order to stop her? Or what could he do from the inside to end the spell?

It seemed, though, that his luck had not run out yet.

As if an invisible barrier had been broken, the water surrounding Suoh burst forth, setting him free from his entrapment. Instantly sinking to his knees, the warrior gasped for precious air as he once again escaped his possible death. Rubbing away the water in his eyes, he looked up as he tried to make out, “Wait… what was—“

His words stopped in mid sentence when he saw what exactly saved him from death.

In his time contained within the water, the black fog had crawled further into the chamber. The crashes of thunder reached closer to the ground, setting one of the dead trees into a burst of flames. However, that was not what mattered. What was was that Elin was now planted on the ground, hands desperately digging into the muddy, blood and glass ridden ground.

She was being dragged into the mysterious fog, but by what Suoh could not tell. It snaked through the ground, soot covered like a tentacle, solid but still the consistency of the dark mist. His eyes widened further because, despite the gray-skinned woman’s efforts, she was already half-way into the fog.

And if the thunder and the snake-like creature were not enough, the utter chaos ensuing was enough to tell him what her fate would be if she was pulled in completely.

Elin cried in pain as she tried to pull herself forward, only to have her grip slip in the mud. With nothing else she could do, she looked up at Suoh and locked gazes with him. Her lavender eyes were so filled with raw pleading desperation that it left the warrior too shocked to reply.

“Please… I beg of you!” She screamed, slowing pulled further into the fog.

Another roaring crash of thunder sounded, highlighting the horrific scene before Suoh’s eyes. Everything was too overwhelming and happening all at once. His limbs were still weak and shaking in fear of what lay before him. And yet, he tried to will himself to move, try to do something to help the poor woman. Then there was that one underlying thought that he still needed her and that letting her disappear would doom him as well.

“Kehi!” Her cries sounded again. Some time during his lost thoughts, Elin had grabbed for her sword and planted it into the ground. It had temporarily stopped the pulling darkness, but in her desperation, she had grabbed the sword by its blade.

Either the fog or the pain from her wounds would lead to her end. Despite this, she looked back at Suoh with tears streaming down her eyes, now barely more than a whisper as she said, “I can’t disappoint him or my people! They need me!”

Damn it all, none of this was helping his decision! How could he decide with all that was pressuring him?! Her begging eyes, her choked up plea, the darkness enclosing both of them, his own desperate wish, and the lack of any information on the task. They all came at once as one chaotic uproar, and trying to shut his eyes and force it all out could not help him logically think of a solution.

Suddenly, a new type of crack sounded behind him.

The fact that it was soft and barely apparent in the chaos, completely differently from the booming lighting, that was the reason it caught his attention. Turning to glance over his shoulder, Suoh found the source to be the angel statue. The only thing left untouched by the destruction and chaos. The only thing left pure.

That is what Suoh would have said before he turned around. However, there was a change in the statue. The wings, even after breaking the statue in the first chamber, were left in tact through his whole journey.

Now, however, the only thing left that made it physically unhuman, with the exception of the heart, was beginning to crack and fall apart.

Gazing between the breaking wings of the angel and the struggling Elin, the connection finally hit him. Turiel wanted to create a human, and there were still certain aspects it still needed. Suoh had to do the one selfish thing a human would do: Let her be consumed by the chaos of the room to save his own life.

Only the most courageous of humans would risk their lives for another. It only seemed more human to not to. At least, that must have been what it seemed like to a creature who was not human itself.

Forcing himself to his feet, Suoh gazed down at Elin as she kept her gaze completely trained on him. Her eyes lit up in hope, and it tore him apart to look at her. It must have shown on his face, for her glimpse of happiness quickly faded away, slipping back to utter fear. The warrior had to say something, though. To leave without saying anything would be the worst decision on his life.

“I swear…” He began, watching as the sword began to slide out of the mud, and the fog crawling till it was almost on top of the woman. Taking a deep breath, he forced out, “I swear, on my gods, that I will make my wish for my love. I will never forget you, or anyone else I faced till this point. And… I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.”

Before she could even utter a response, the sword slipped out from the mud. All there was was another cry, followed shortly after by a dead, eerie silence.

Suoh had no time to linger on his decision. As if spurred by their captured victim, the fog began to spread faster, consuming most of the garden by that point. With only so much of an opening left till the stairwell, the warrior sprinted through the grass, almost tripping several times in the mud along the way. When he finally hit stone, though, he began skipping steps, feeling the chilling fog trailing right behind him as if hands were trying to grab him. He dared not look back, but he could hear the same crackle of thunder and flashes of light from the darkness all around the stairs.

And when the opening into the tower finally appeared, Suoh pushed his hardest. He practically threw himself inside, barely escaping the madness to tumble head first into a new unknown.