On a freezing winter day, a group of hedgehogs huddle together for warmth. But as they get closer, their sharp quills pierce each other, forcing them apart. The cold drives them back together, and the pricking resumes. Eventually, they find a perfect, comfortable distance—warm enough to survive, but far enough not to hurt.
After half a day of endless wandering, only one thought remained in Eve's mind...
Why hasn't she abandoned Nightfall? It was not the first time she had wondered this. It always went through her mind when she didn't know what to do.
Why hasn't she left Nightfall behind? Simple, really, even if she claimed she was alone and shunned by everyone. Nightfall was always at her side; she served as the mother the sword once took. Or the mother Eve took...
Even if Nightfall didn't show it, it's more like never. I was always happy spending time with her.
It felt proud of how much the little girl had grown. It felt happy whenever she did something. It felt pity when she couldn't handle herself. It felt sadness whenever she got hurt.
Even if that pain transformed into powers, Nightfall was always hesitant to use them because she didn't want to spend Eve's suffering so carelessly.
"Tell me what you witness, facade of mine. Tell me what you see...."
"No? This sounds weird." Eve sighed as she tried to sing a melody that she thought of. But, alas, it sounded awful when spoken.
Eve kicked a rock on the side of the road, that rock flew into one of the painting windows, tearing a wide hole in it. She hurried her steps so the owners wouldn't come to give her an earful.
After a while, she spread her arms high in the air. "Aaa, when are those two idiots coming back? I'm bored."
She checked her pouch. "Ten coins left, huh?"
A whistle came from behind her. When she turned around, Eve saw a hooded person sitting crisscrossed on the ground. The man held his hands cupped together, as if waiting to drink water.
Eve's face scrunched. A beggar...here? This city is rich, so why are there beggars here?
"Miss, a coin for your trouble? We will make it worthwhile," the man's voice came out doubled.
We? Eve thought to herself.
"What's your name? You should beg in Scholar's Keep, you will get more money there." Eve threw the man her whole pouch containing the ten gold coins.
"I am Cain, a hungry hummingbird."
"What a weird na—" Eve's words were cut off in shock. Because she heard...
"I am Abel, a delicious poppy."
Two people talking from the same body, Eve couldn't see their faces. But she remembered the defilement. Faced with fear and the memories of a cruel fight, Eve turned around, and she started running as fast as she could.
Clank. Something fell from Eve right in front of the man.
The people behind the veil smiled.
"Sprout from the seed, grow the stem. And let your pesky reddish flowers bleed. Let the leaflets tremble in winds that carry the fragile hummingbird," Cain grinned.
"Once a bird for the forests, now a winged creature for streets to wander. Beckon the far-off smell of nectar, and with it feed your soul with the poppy," Abel grieved.
Both of them bowed their heads.
"We thank you, mother." "We thank you, mother."
Once Eve ran, she kept going. She ran and ran and ran, almost leaving the whole city.
Holes, that's all she could remember. The way the defilement made her feel. She didn't know which was more frightening, Gladys or the defilement? Yet that didn't matter; the only thing that mattered was that she needed to get away. As far as possible. Yet in her haste...
"Nightfall?"
Eve checked her backpack. Svarnam was still there, yet...
"Nightfall!"
Tears began to well up in her eyes.
"no" "No" "nO" "NO! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, NIGHTFALL?"
Panic began to override her fear, for the first time since the Colosseum. She could feel people looking at her. And she felt more alone than she had ever been.
Eve quickly wiped her tears, and she turned around. Eve started running the opposite way, not caring about what would wait for her once she reached that road again.
"Up." A voice arrived and quickly disappeared as she ran past it.
Splat. Something watery fell on the ground.
Splat, splat, splat.
It wasn't the tears that started to form in Eve's eyes again. It was just normal rain. Yet it felt cold.
Eve stopped for a moment, and she looked down at her hands. She was trembling.
Splat, splat, splat.
This time, her tears were the ones to fall onto the bark roads.
"W-where a-are you? I-i...I don't want t-to lose you."
Rain began to fall heavily on top of her hood. And her tears started mingling with the droplets. Eve started running again.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
After a while, she reached the place where she talked with the man. At her feet, there lay Nightfall.
Eve sniffled, and in a hurry, she clutched Nightfall close to her chest. The tip of the blade cut her cheek lightly. Eve started bawling her eyes out.
"DON'T EVER LEAVE ME! Please? Tell me...Nightfall, tell me you won't. Please, say it! I d-don't want to..." Eve sniffled again. "...lose you, also."
Nightfall's eye wept because it once remembered what it took from Eve.
"I promise."
Eve nodded, cutting her cheek again. A trail of blood mingled with the rain. She clutched Nightfall with everything she had.
Night was slowly falling on Ravencross.