Between two flames

Where the safety ends

Reichimo soon left the building and headed towards the nearest forest.

"How did I become so susceptible to stress in society? Is it because of the long years of surviving alone?" Astrith pondered, blaming herself for her weakness.

As she stepped onto another path, she continued to wander peacefully through the forest until some unknown rustling noises stopped her.

"What is that?" the thought flashed through her mind as she looked around.

Taking off her shoes so her steps wouldn't be heard, she began to explore the place to figure out where the sounds were coming from. Suddenly, a tall black silhouette appeared through the gaps in the leaves, with something sparkling in its hands.

As Reichimo moved closer, she noticed a scar on the figure's hand, same as the others had in the organization, after the implantation of a beacon.

He had jet-black hair, a black cloak with shortened sleeves, designer slashes, pins, and clasps. His face wasn't visible as he stood with his back to her, and approaching any closer didn't seem like the best decision. Astrith hesitated, unsure of what to do next. It was a difficult choice - she was curious about who this person was, what he looked like, and what he was doing there, but at the same time, she didn't want to die.

She decided to retreat and head back to her room since, if this person was from their organization, she would surely see him again at some point.

Rei began to slowly and carefully back away. Everything would have been fine if not for a dry branch that treacherously snapped under her foot. The unknown figure reacted instantly and sent a blue, sparkling sphere in her direction.

"Shit!" Reichimo hissed, dodging the attack, and glanced at the clearing where the figure stood. For a fraction of a second, she locked eyes with piercing, icy blue eyes, and another sparkling sphere flew toward her. She dodged again, but the attack caught the chain of her pendant as she moved. The jewelry broke and fell to the ground. Realizing that in this situation it was best to run, Astrith did just that, not noticing the loss from around her neck.

The man in the black cloak also didn't get a good look at the girl, seeing only her small figure, dark hair, and one emerald eye, not covered by the hair that had fallen across her face. He calmly approached the spot where the branch had snapped and saw the pendant lying on the ground. It was a black, triangular-shaped stone, framed by silver wire that gave the jewelry an elongated shape, resembling a dagger.

The man crouched down, picked up the pendant from the ground, and began examining it. As he turned the jewelry over in his hands, he noticed that the stone could be removed from the silver frame. After extracting it, he saw letters scratched onto the mineral. The dark-haired man quickly returned the stone to its place, hid the pendant in his cloak, and disappeared into the depths of the forest.