Shiina was sitting on the edge of a cliff, her legs swinging freely.
An owl hooted, so close it was probably in the top of a tree right behind her.
Her eyes watched the horizon in a distant manner, without focusing on anything specific.
A fresh, soft, and comfortable breeze blew through her gray hair and calmed her. This was the kind of breeze she liked, not a freezing and unpleasant blizzard.
As she contemplated, she heard Raymond approaching slowly.
"What is it?" Her dry tone showed she was still irritated.
"I came to talk... Why do you defend Aegreon so much?"
Shiina turned her face to the horizon, not answering immediately.
"I can't say."
"If you don't talk, it will only be a matter of time before one of you kills the other. I'm sure Sariel has good intentions, but I know nothing about Aegreon. You're the only one who knows him."
"And you're going to trust what I say? A murderer?"
"I don't trust you yet, and I never will without knowing more about you."
Shiina stared at Raymond fixedly for a while, then turned her face back to the cliff.
"If you promise not to tell anyone, I'll tell you."
"You have my word." He placed a hand on his chest as a symbol of his promise.
"Alright, sit down here then." Shiina pointed to the edge of the cliff.
Nodding, Raymond approached and sat cross-legged beside Shiina, but a little apart.
"Why do you always stay so far away?"
"No particular reason."
"You're always so proper," the assassin laughed. "If you don't get closer, I won't tell you anything."
"Alright..." Raymond, hesitantly, moved a little closer.
"Well, it all starts right after my birth, there in the White Mountains..." Shiina began.
*****
A man and his small daughter walked across the snow-covered ground on a tremendously cold day.
Shiina, the child, was barefoot, so she felt the soles of her feet burning raw, and her father continued to pull her by the arm, not caring about her pleas and her cries of pain.
That old, cursed, and clumsy man, with his unshaven beard and terrible breath of alcohol, didn't even care about her suffering, even though she had just learned to walk.
He hadn't even given her a coat; she was wearing her pajamas.
After a few minutes walking through a white forest, Shiina saw a masked and fat man in the distance.
"Is this the merchandise?" His voice was detestable and had an appraising tone. "She's too young, do you think I'm a babysitter? I'll pay less for this."
"Wa-Wait, she's intelligent!" Her father didn't even try to hide how much he wanted to get rid of her. "She learned to walk before children of her age, and she already knows how to read and write a little!"
"Hmm, alright, take this." The masked man handed him a small bag, which he took with disappointment on his face.
"Is that all?"
"If you're so demanding, then you can keep her. Give me back the money."
"I meant I'm grateful for the amount, here." Her father pushed her towards the masked man.
"Hmph, get out of my sight!"
"Yes sir." With his tail between his legs, that man abandoned his daughter without any remorse.
"Daddy!" Shiina despaired, and tears welled up in her eyes, making her face freeze due to the temperature. "Wait! Don't leav..."
"Shut up!" The masked man placed a dirty, foul-smelling cloth over her face. Her vision quickly darkened, and she soon lost consciousness.
When she woke up, she found herself in a small windowless room with a wardrobe, a bed, and a closed door. The only source of light came from an Alteration stone in the ceiling that barely illuminated the room.
She tried to get out through the door, but it was locked. Then she banged on it, called for her father, and cried, still feeling somewhat dizzy. She tried to get out in every way for hours until she grew tired and gave up.
She leaned against the wall, crying in a corner of that claustrophobic room for who knows how long, when she finally heard the sound of the door unlocking.
She immediately ran towards it, shouting "Daddy" in the false hope that it was him, but she was met by another masked man, this time tall, thin, and wearing black clothes.
"Well, I see you're quite agitated!" His voice was calm. "Unfortunately, you won't be able to see your father now, but you can go home if you do well in your lessons!"
"Lessons?" Shiina hesitated.
"Yes! If you learn well what we're going to teach you, you can go back to your father!"
"Okay, I'll try my best then!"
Little did she know that she was being manipulated just so she would cooperate.
Soon that day, they began to teach her the basics of becoming an assassin. At first, the days passed, and she tried her hardest because she wanted to see her father again, even after he had abandoned her.
It wasn't long before they realized that she had more magical power than normal, and that she was the best apprentice among others her age.
Therefore, they changed the speech from "if you try hard, you can go home" to "your father doesn't want you anymore, and this is your home now."
Eventually, after months of hearing the same thing, every feeling she had for him died.
With that, Shiina continued learning, as exemplary students received rewards.
Soon she was moved to a special class with two other people: one was a shy and serious boy who was the same age. He had short white hair, fair skin, and blue eyes.
The other was a girl, a little older, with long brown hair, the same color as her eyes, and a lively smile.
The boy introduced himself, saying his name was Y5, while the girl was M3.
All the apprentices in that place were named this way, a letter and a number, so that they would completely forget their original names and abandon their past lives.
Shiina's name in that place was C7.
In that class, the three learned to conceal their presences by suppressing their feelings, and they were soon sent on their first assassination missions at just six years old, succeeding in all of them.
At that point, they were no longer children. The brainwashing they underwent had turned them into almost perfect killing weapons; they only failed to prevent the three from becoming close friends.
Despite a life far from ordinary for children their age, they always had fun when they were together, sometimes even taking longer to return from a mission to do something together afterward.
Because of this, they began to be severely punished, as they were instructed to always omit their feelings, but they didn't do so when they were together. Later, they would discover that ignoring this lesson was a mistake.
They became so close that they gave each other names.
In the language of the White Mountains, the letters and numbers are pronounced differently: five is "go", three is "san", and seven is "nana", so Y5 became "Yuugo," M3 became "Emi-san," and C7 became "Shiina."
At eight years old, they received the mission that would be their final test.
They were to kill Yukinoshita Yuu, Feng Ping's apprentice.
That was the perfect moment, as the Pillar was at Eden at the time due to the recent definitive victory against the angels.
It seemed easy, but as mentioned, Yukinoshita was a Pillar's apprentice, so even if she was alone, caution was still necessary.
Upon arriving at the residence, they were faced with a large wooden house covered by the snow of the White Mountains, which never stops falling no matter the season.
As Shiina's main element was Illusion, she was in charge of concealing the presence of the three, while Emi was responsible for establishing telepathic communication with Alteration, and Yuugo would be responsible for killing Yukinoshita with his Fire magic.
Since Feng Ping was away, it was easy to enter the house and find his apprentice, who was in the entrance hall and sitting on the floor, near a table.
At that time, she was about sixteen years old, but she was more mature than other girls her age.
The three were about to kill her when suddenly, the Wind's Pillar entered through the door quickly and launched a powerful spell right where they were.
Shiina would later learn that Yuugo let slip a bit of murderous intent, which caused Feng Ping to detect them.
Everything happened very quickly; one moment Shiina was inside the Wind's Pillar's large room, and next she was lying on the frozen ground, feeling terrible pain as she breathed and slowly drowning in her own blood.
She looked around and realized she was outside, and the snow had taken on a reddish hue. In fact, the predominant color of the snow had become scarlet instead of white.
Emi was lying beside her, her face on the ground. Her hand was outstretched towards her, trying to reach her, and Yuugo was further away and trying to crawl towards her.
Shiina tried to get up and help Emi, but a terrible pain took over her body. She called her name repeatedly and desperately, but she didn't answer.
With great effort, she managed to turn her body over, almost vomiting as she saw her flattened face, covered in blood and with part of her brain leaking from her forehead.
Her whole body was the same way, as if a mountain had fallen on her, turning her into a pile of flesh...
As Yuugo crawled towards her, the Wind's Pillar approached with a terrifying murderous aura that rivaled Aegreon's.
Then, he grabbed Yuugo and asked him several questions.
"My friends... take me instead of them, please..."
Those words echoed in Shiina's mind... He was willing to die in their place, not knowing that one of them was already dead, or perhaps his mind was just in denial.
Realizing that Yuugo wouldn't say anything, the Wind's Pillar brought him close to Shiina and punched him in the chest, leaving a void where his heart was.
After that... he dropped his body in front of her, with his empty eyes staring deeply at her.
Following this, he asked Shiina the same questions, using Yuugo as an example if she didn't answer.
"Yuugo... Emi... Get up! Please..."
She pleaded, denying that this could be happening.
They can't be dead, we were supposed to be the best...
'It was supposed to be an easy mission...'
Shiina clenched her fist, grabbing some of the reddish snow.
'Why the hell did Feng Ping have to come back just today?'
Tears welled up in her eyes, freezing little by little due to the temperature of that place.
Realizing that she wouldn't say anything, Feng Ping grabbed her and prepared to kill her, when another voice stopped him.
"Feng Ping..."
He turned and saw a black figure approaching. His animosity immediately redirected from Shiina to that person.
"What are you doing here, Aegreon?" He dropped the girl on the ground.
"I was in a nearby region when Clementius notified me of your departure from the Council; I thought you would come here." He glanced briefly at Shiina. "Your help is still needed to deal with the Sects."
"I swore an oath never to use my magic again. The Council will have to find another Wind's Pillar."
"Then what just happened to your house when I was coming?"
"I did that on impulse, to protect Yukino from these assassins!"
Aegreon examined Shiina more closely.
"A child like her? Kill your apprentice?"
"A child corrupted by your damned element!"
The Pillar of Conjuration clenched his fists slightly.
Then, he walked up to Shiina, stopping a step away from her and looking down at her.
"I'll handle her."
Feng Ping turned and, without a word, left towards his house.
"Why did you try to kill the Wind's Pillar's apprentice?" He stared at the girl with a murderous gaze.
"It was our mission... We were forced..."
"By whom?"
Shiina, however, was on the verge of death, so she lost consciousness at that moment.
Aegreon then lifted her in his arms and carried her away from Feng Ping's house.
Upon finding a hidden place, he treated her wounds, and while she recovered, he went after the bodies of her friends.
When he returned, he waited until she woke up and then questioned her about what had happened.
At first, Shiina avoided saying much, as that was how they had taught her, but upon learning that Aegreon had brought back the bodies of her friends, she ended up telling him everything.
After hearing everything, he stood up with a serious look.
"I'll deal with this group that trained you." His violet eyes glowed for a moment. "But know that, depending on what I discover there, I may have to kill you too."
Without waiting for an answer, he left.
A few hours later, he returned, finding Shiina still awake and holding Yuugo's black fox mask and Emi's necklace.
"You came back..." She looked at him with slightly hopeful eyes. "Did you kill them?"
"They're all dead." He approached her.
"What are you going to do with me?" Shiina didn't seem afraid; she had lost her only friends, so she felt it wouldn't be bad to join them soon.
"You're lucky you're strong and learn quickly; you would have lost your soul if you were weak." He placed his hand on her head. "You still have salvation, so I'll take care of you for a while."
Shiina stared at Aegreon with a suspicious look. Since she was born, she had never known what kindness was, so she couldn't believe that this man would protect her without wanting something in return.
"Soul? What do you mean?"
Aegreon explained in detail about the Sects, their objectives, and how they use the souls of people to open dimensional portals.
He also said that, because Shiina was strong, they planned to make her part of the Sect, which is why they hadn't extracted her soul yet.
If they had judged her to be weak, they would have removed her soul and murdered her.
"Someone like you can be important to humanity. If you want, you can join the Vigil to fight against these Sects, saving other children from suffering the same fate as you and your friends."
When she heard that, Shiina was in doubt about what she wanted to do. She didn't understand why this stranger was being so kind, and she had no curiosity to live, since she had lost her friends.
"I... I don't know..."
"Don't worry, you don't have to decide anything now. For now, you'll just travel with me."
"Okay... but I want to bury my friends."
Following her wishes, Aegreon helped her find a distant place and bury her friends.
Afterward, the two traveled together for several months, and Shiina gradually found joy in life, but she still didn't know what she wanted to do.
Aegreon also didn't pressure her about joining the Vigil; he let her think calmly.
Eventually, the two separated, with Shiina still unsure of what she would do.
Sometime later, she returned to working as an assassin, but only accepted contracts to kill people she judged harmful to humanity.
She even considered joining the Vigil to deal with the Sects, but she remembered that if another person had found her on the day she met Aegreon, she would probably have been killed.
Therefore, she knew that she would have to kill victims like her and her friends, and that was something she couldn't do.
So, as she was accepting assassination contracts, she ended up becoming wanted and a fugitive from the Vigil.
Years later, however, while resting in a small town for a while before continuing her journey, something changed.
She was in a room at a humble inn when she heard a knock on her door.
She opened it without hesitation, finding an old man with a wooden tray and food.
"Good evening! I brought your food!" He greeted her cheerfully.
"But I didn't order anything..."
"It's on the house, take it." He offered it to her.
Shiina, judging that it wouldn't cost anything to accept a free meal, accepted without much thought.
"See you later!" He walked away soon after.
Shiina closed the door and placed the tray on the table but soon noticed something strange.
She was surprised to see a letter with two seals on it depicting a pillar, one golden and the other red.
When she saw that, she could feel a bit of the Fire and Protection elements in them.
There was no doubt, they were the seals of Clementius, the Protection's Pillar, and Ardos, the Fire's Pillar; she knew what they looked like from her travels with Aegreon.
The letter was addressed "to Shiina," and when she opened it, she realized it was an offer from the Council: if she killed the princess of Fordurn, an angel, they would reward her with a huge amount of money and pardon her crimes.
Shiina was even more surprised by the fact that the old man was part of the Vigil and probably using magic to change his looks, yet his Illusion managed to deceive her, which meant that person had a considerably larger amount of that element than she did.
She didn't think much about it and immediately decided to accept that proposal; she simply had everything to gain.
She would receive an absurd amount of money, be pardoned, and kill an angel, who only caused harm to humanity.
So, she left for Fordurn, but before she could do anything to Luna, she ended up meeting Aegreon after so many years.
There, she discovered his intentions to take the princess away from Fordurn.
Because of this, she decided to abandon her contract. Not only did she have a debt to repay, for Aegreon having saved her, she was also curious as to why he wanted to protect her.
*****
"And that's all," Shiina finished.
Throughout this time, she firmly touched a thin necklace with a small Alteration stone on it, the only object from his friends that survived, since Sariel broke Yuugo's mask.
After hearing this, Raymond was silent for a while.
"I'm sorry for your losses."
"It's okay, it's been a long time. Besides, now I have you." She smiled at Raymond.
"You have me to be sadistic?" The bodyguard, however, was skeptical.
"More or less, you kind of remind me of Yuugo, you know? He was serious and shy just like you, maybe that's why I like to torment you so much, hehe."
Hearing this, Raymond couldn't help but let out a small smile which, unfortunately for him, was noticed by Shiina.
"Oh? So you like being teased?" She approached him with a provocative tone.
"I'm just glad that... that I can trust you."
"Ah, so you trust me... What about Aegreon?"
"Well, if he saved you from a Sect then I don't see why he would try to sacrifice Luna, so I believe he has good intentions... but his behavior doesn't help much."
"I know... He must have gone through a lot..."
"So, you don't know about his past?"
"No, and I never asked either; it must be something too painful to remember."
"That could be problematic; I don't know if Sariel will agree to travel with Aegreon without knowing more about him..."
Hearing that, Shiina looked seriously at Raymond.
"Do you really trust Sariel?"
"He's had numerous opportunities to harm Luna, but he's never done anything."
"I don't believe someone would leave their home just because of a rumor; he must have some objective."
"Maybe he wants to find out about himself; he has angel blood, you know? Maybe he thinks he can find the answers he's looking for in Luna."
"You're right... maybe it really is a misunderstanding..."
After that, they both remained silent while watching the cliff. The owl's hooting continued insistently, as if it were curious about their conversation.
"Well, I think we'd better go back," the assassin suggested. "I'm worried that Aegreon will return sooner, and with Sariel there..."
"You're right."
Then they both stood up, startling the little owl, which took flight and flew away.
They both walked back to the camp and found Sariel and Luna; Aegreon had not yet returned.
"Oh, you've finally returned." The traveler seemed calm as always.
"Sariel." Raymond approached him with a serious look. "I believe you can trust Shiina."
"And what about Aegreon?"
"I'm not sure, but..."
"Forget it. I'll tolerate him for now, but I can tell he's eager to get rid of me. If he tries anything, I'll have no choice but to kill him too."
"I... I can try to talk to him." Shiina stepped forward.
"Great, maybe he'll listen to you."
Shiina nodded in agreement and entered the forest in search of Aegreon.
It wasn't long before she found him, sitting on a rock looking at the sky.
"What is it?" He glared at her irritably.
"It's about Sariel."
The Pillar stood up in a jump.
"Did he do something?!"
"No! I just think we could trust him a little..."
"I've already decided I'm going to kill him."
"What?!"
Shiina noticed a burning and determined look in Aegreon's eyes; he wasn't joking about it.
"I will kill him as soon as we reach the Volcanic Plains."
"But that's too risky! If it weren't for him, Indra would have already captured Luna! And what if another Pillar appears? Don't you think you're being irrational?"
But Aegreon ignored her question.
"We will soon reach the Volcanic Plains, and I will fight him there. Don't say anything to anyone, understood?"
"But..."
"Understood?" he insisted in an irritated tone.
A brief silence fell, accompanied only by the hooting of an owl.
Despite still not fully trusting Sariel, she felt he was necessary for this adventure.
But she couldn't go against Aegreon; she owed him her entire life.
"Alright..." Shiina agreed against her will.
After that, they both returned to the camp. Shiina looked at Sariel with a conflicted gaze but said nothing.
Then, everyone rested and departed the next day.