Testament - Vol 1. RE:BiRTH

Kizuna

"How did they know?!"

Emotion, once concealed by a monotone voice, finally released with a thud against a wall of stone. Nabi's mind raced with the possibilities of why or how, fighting against her mind's attempts to slow down. A shivering ripple passed through the wall as the girl retracted her fist.

The glow of her crimson gaze dulled as a calming sigh escaped her lips. From the corner of her eyes laid Guisei, resting on a couch. Within the dimly lit room, she still saw the glow of his golden eyes observing the sight.

"Actually... All we need now is a plan. It doesn't matter anymore," she muttered under her breath.

She found comfort in a couch across from Guisei's, letting the ruby red fabric envelop her. A single flame lingered, that of a candle resting on the table between the two. Guisei looked over to Nabi, carefully. Her eyes were closed as if deep in thought for a moment, a familiar sight to him.

"Let's hear it, Nabi," Guisei said.

A familiar chime filled Nabi's ears as she saw Guisei extend his arm above him, watching the golden fireflies of his reiju swirl around him. The boy let his sight wander to the unlit fireplace, letting the fireflies focus around his hand.

Shape, Composition, Function, Formation.

Just like always...visualize, execute.

The thoughts echoed through Guisei's mind as a replica of the candle before him appeared within his palm. Like a blade in the dark, he slashed across the candle's fire with his replica, releasing it into the fireplace to set it ablaze.

"The hell did she even want out of us, anyway?" Guisei asked. His golden eyes flickered back to Nabi, carefully analyzing her demeanor. Her eyes examined a map; the crimson traced each pathway as if searching for someone's whereabouts.

"The trial that Zephyr spoke of, the one they refer to as Prota. They want us to find the other two candidates and complete the Trial of Axía, but I guess the nobility leaked that info here," Nabi said. "Surprising no one makes this that much more difficult."

Guisei let out a chuckle. Possibilities were almost like an endless river to wander down in his mind.

"This'll be fun then. Nobody ever liked playing games that were easy after all."

"You're forgetting the other two that we have to find, Greed," Nabi said with a sigh, "On top of that we'd still need to amass a legion somehow on top of merit to qualify for those trials in a semester."

Nabi let her mind swirl through the possibilities, guided by the crackling voice of the flames. The girl sulked in her chair as she watched Guisei toss a knife into the air, narrowly catching it before the blackened metal reached his face.

"What do you think, Greed, about all of this?"

A voice that held the apathetic and empty cold of winter resonated with the light hum of flames that filled the room, capturing Guisei's wandering mind. As the black blade neared him, it slowly broke down into golden light, mirroring the sparks from the fireplace.

"At least the way you described it... This will be easy enough: get enough merit to qualify us, a group willing to die for our cause, and the other two. After that, we leave this place behind like all our other memories... It'll be just like any other mission."

Intrigued at the idea, Guisei rose a brow at Nabi, reassessing his analysis.

"Don't tell me you're worried, right?" He asked with a slight chuckle.

Apprehension. Like the fickle form of the fire, Nabi's will seemed to match the flames as she looked up at the ceiling. "It's not that. I just... Don't think it'll be as easy as the other times...."

An echo of a familiar voice filled Guisei's mind as he let out a sigh at the sight of Nabi collecting her thoughts. At the sight of her crimson eyes, he offered words that ran through his mind, ones that were barely his own.

"If worse comes to worst, we can leave it up to lady luck. We have been gambling with our lives for a long time, anyway."

Nabi stifled a laugh.

"You're starting to sound like Lord Mammon, you know."