Still losing, still together

Wrath, indignation, and vengeance overwhelm him, consuming his mind little by little.

- Kai…

A distant voice echoes.

It is so unfair. Kai was about to have the life of his dreams, but some random knight ended it all at the starting line. He is so angry… So resentful… He wants him to suffer.

- By the love of God- Aah!

The voice let out a feminine, scared scream. It’s the voice of a man, though.

Why does he always need to pay the price for something that wasn’t even his fault? Why does everyone always take their frustrations out on him? Why everyone won’t just-

- Wake up already!

Kai comes to his senses, startled.

- Giovanni?

- We gotta leave. Now! - he shouts, pulling Kai with him. They run from some bullies as fast as they can while Nicholas distracts them.

After hiding in an alley, the duo catch their breath. For teenagers, these two were clearly out of shape. Both of them are covered in bruises and are wearing their secondary school uniforms.

- I think we are safe here… - Giovanni is almost passing out from exhaustion.

Kai sits on the floor, staring at the ground with an indifferent expression.

- How did you guys find out?

- Why didn’t you tell us some morons were beating you after school? - he asks with a hint of seriousness in his voice.

- I…

- C’mon, Kai. For how long do we know each other? Why did you hide this from us?

- And what were you going to do? Your health is terrible, Pietra is the size of a toothbrush, and Nicholas is as dangerous as a newborn puppy!

- So what? We get beat up together like a good team. - he jokes.

- I don’t want to disrupt your lives because of my problems…

- We are not your friends only at the good moments, man.

Kai looks at Giovanni, conflicted. He always finds a sense of security and happiness around his friends, and he doesn’t want to burden those moments with his suffering.

- Okay… - Kai says in a shy, low tone.

- Good.

Nicholas catches up with them. He is also quite beaten up, yet his face has a charismatic smile.

- Gio, Kai! I lost them!

Giovanni and Kai get ready to leave.

- What we would do without you, Nicholas!

- They will come again, though…

- And when it comes to that, we deal with it. All of us. - Nicholas declares proudly. Giovanni nods in agreement.

- What if I’m alone?

- Well, in that case, you always have Him~ - Giovanni points at the sky with a gentle smile.

Kai sighs.

- You and your religious talk again…

- The Lord is your buddy as much as I am. - he winks.

- Yeah, yeah… Can we get out of here? I feel like watching some cute anime girls more than ever.

- Yeah, Pietra is probably worried. She was the one who followed you here and called us. Thank her later - Nicholas makes sure to credit her help.

- Ugh, she’s going to scold me…

- Pray to be saved, brother~

- Shut up.

After that, everything gets blurry.

…

- Pia, can you see that? His wound is gone! How?

- Nicholas, I think he is waking up!

Kai slowly opens his eyes. As he comes back to his senses, he notices that they are no longer in that "church", but inside of a dense forest. Nicholas's shirt is stained with blood. Pietra's dress is torn at the hem, the fabric used to make an improvised bandage on Kai's wounded body.

- What happened?

- KAI!

Nicholas hugs him tightly, crying like a baby. Pietra does the same, without as many tears and sweat. Despite feeling suffocated, Kai warms at the relief of his friends seeing him fine. All those feelings that were consuming him are gone.

- Guys, please…

After the emotional moment, they explain to him what happened while he was unconscious.

- So you took advantage of those knights being distracted and managed to lose them in this forest?

- Nicholas jumped through a window and ran all the way here with you on his back, you know? - Pietra points out.

- Sorry for that... Thanks.

- Anytime. More importantly, are you really okay? I thought you were gone for good, but your injury has healed. There is not even a scar left.

- You seem kinda pale. More than usual - Pietra comments.

Kai runs his hand over his chest. The hole in his shirt is still there, yet his body is fine.

- Rasnati’s power, maybe?

- That makes sense. I may be strong, but that man with full armor I pushed went down way too easily. However, Kai wasn’t any lighter.

Using his sword, Kai makes a shallow cut in his arm. The wound does not heal.

- Is there any trigger for the powers to work?

- About that. Can you see a string tied around your wrists? - Pietra asks.

They exchange looks.

- Not at all, Pia. What do you mean?

She looks at her right wrist. There are two long, thin strands connecting Pietra to Kai and Nicholas. The same goes for them, making a total of three. All of them are blue.

- Hmm, it is more like fabric threads, I guess? It’s tying us all together. I wasn't paying much attention back then, but I can't stop “unseeing” this since I noticed.

- That’s creepy. Does that mean we share our fates? - Kai states, worried.

Pietra tries touching one of the strands, but her fingers pass right through them.

- I don’t know. We should be careful. Make a few more tests when possible.

- We should also find somewhere safe. We don’t know what lies in this forest, and those knights could still be after us - Nicholas suggests.

They wander for a few minutes until they are confronted by a creature that stares deep into their souls with eyes that are as black as the void itself. This childlike being has pointy ears, delicate white skin, and pure white hair tied back in a ponytail. She wears a black dress adorned with embroidered details that reference nature, along with a black beret that is slightly too big for her head.

She was staying still inside of a simple animal trap, just of her size, made out of wood.

- This looks like a trap - Pietra narrows her eyes.

- One hundred percent a trap - Kai agrees.

- She is so cute! - Nicholas runs at her.

He lifts the object, releasing the little being. Instead of leaving or thanking him, she keeps staring at Nicholas.

- Aren’t you the cutest thing? Don’t be afraid, you can go.

She wiggles her arms, dancing.

- I see!

- You understood that? - Pietra questions from afar.

Nicholas wiggles his arms back, copying her movements.

- Idiot…

The creature smiles, reaches for her pouch, and gives Nicholas a small black fruit.

- Asai!

- For me? Thank you~

He eats it instantly.

- Delicious! What’s your name? Where are your parents?

- Asai!

Nicholas pats her head.

- I’m calling you Asai, then.

- Nicholas, you done there? - Kai shouts, also from afar.

- Guys, can we keep her? - he lifts the young girl in joy, amused by her cuteness.

But the moment he turns around to show her to his friends, Nicholas is surprised by the scene of Kai and Pietra surrendered by a group of peasants.

- Oh no… It was a trap!