A lone figure walked along the misty paths, the tombstones supposed to be intimidating, but the stone torches burning with green flames brought a strange peace.
As Kain entered the Forgotten Tomb lands, the traveler's spirit awoke in him. He wasn't afraid of someone attacking him from the fog, he was trying to find the place marked on the map.
"Hmm... Perhaps for someone who has been here quite a few times, it makes sense, but..." Kain picked up the paper, frowning. "How am I supposed to figure out where I am? This is turning out to be more difficult than I thought."
He had no other option but to stick to the road.
After a few minutes and possibly correct turns, Kain came to an abrupt halt.
A silhouette, large and tall, appeared in the distance, leisurely approaching Kain. Oddly enough, he didn't hear footsteps, though he could see everything.
Kain's eyes went wide. "What the hell...?"
Black fur rippled in the wind beneath the wide pieces of cloth of a round, soft body. A long tail, two pointed ears, and green eyes with vertical pupils looked up at Kain with a smile.
The cat stood in front of him, upright on two legs, holding a bag behind its back.
"My, my... A lone Tainted here? At the Forgotten Tomb? Not an easy fate since you came here."
With silent steps, the cat strode past, though he was two heads taller than Kain.
"Wait!" Kain exclaimed, turning around before the strange creature disappeared into the fog. "Are you... Are you real?"
The cat tilted his head, pointing to himself.
"Me? Of course, I am!"
Then his eyes went wide in realization.
"Oh! I see! You want to meet me? Damn, young people are so shy these days," he put his palm to his chest. "My name is Misezko. Nice to meet you."
To say that Kain was shocked was to say nothing.
But losing opportunities was not something he was comfortable with.
"K-Kain, my name is Kain!" he ran up to Misezko, showing the paper. "You're familiar with this place, right? Can you tell me where this path leads?"
Misezko scratched his ear.
"Hmm... Boy, I'm not good with maps, but I know where you need to go."
Misezko smiled widely.
"Come on, I'll guide you."
...
A hanging sign swayed on a pillar, a butterfly with a torn wing carved into the stone slab.
Kain's eyes traveled forward to the wooden door in the cave, only green light coming out.
'How strange,' he thought. 'This is definitely not a welcoming place, but when Valkyra mentioned it, things sounded a lot scarier. I thought she was supposed to perform a sacrifice here.
'Well, either way, I'm not going to give my life to some Crimson Reaper, not to him or any other deity.'
'My life is mine alone.'
A creak sounded as the door opened.
There was no one at the table in the room, and they walked forward to meet a silhouette with its back turned to them.
A middle-aged woman with short gray hair was impatiently grinding herbs in a mortar.
"Knock. Knock," Mirazko murmured, who if not him.
She turned around abruptly, staring in shock, but not at the living cat but at Kain.
"Virgia, you have company," he smiled, standing up against the wall.
"Tained...? What do you want? How did you even end up here?"
Kain didn't know what to say, but once he remembered something, everything fell into place.
"I came for help, hopefully, this will help explain everything," he handed her the bottle.
Virgia eyed it suspiciously but still opened the seal and pulled out a tiny letter. Something resembling a tooth in shape but smaller than a fingernail fell into her palm.
"Hahahahahahaha! The Tooth of Star Cricket! Oh boy, what did you do to make Old Eye finally send me this wonderful thing?"
Then, her eyes passed lower on the letter.
Her expression abruptly became as gloomy as night.
Without warning, she grabbed Kain by the warthog and threw him into a chair. Before he knew it, Virgia squeezed his shoulder, one movement and the bone would crack.
"Tell me, is one of the Blades following you? Answer me honestly, or I'll wring your neck and throw you in the trash!"
In a panic, Kain exclaimed.
"Yes!"
"Who?"
He gulped. "Valkyra, the Shadow Blade."
"Could be worse, but it still sucks," Virgia glanced over her shoulder at Misezko. "Who did you bring to me, you mustached monster?"
"Well... I didn't know he was a Sacrifice. I was just passing by in general."
Then, Virgia stared at Kain. "Does she know you're here? What do you want from me? If Valkyra gets here, we're in for rivers of blood!"
"We have time, she's at the Hollow Patch right now. I only have one request, help me get rid of it!" Kain pulled back the cloak revealing the Red Swirl.
Virgia stepped back with her arms crossed, examining the mark.
"Hmm... If Valkyra is after you, you're a Highest Sacrifice. I have a way to wipe it out, but it'll take time, which we don't have."
"Highest Sacrifice...?" Misezko was surprised. "Wait, doesn't that mean that a deity from the middle or even the highest ring of the Sacrificial Bridge wants his blood and flesh?"
In response, Virgia nodded deeply.
"Yes, the Crimson Reaper. As long as this guy has that mark on him, he'll always be hunted."
Then, she took a book from the shelf and unfolded it on the table. Page after page flashed before Kain's excited eyes.
"Here it is!" she slammed her fist on the table, pointing to the image of a red flower. "Grief of the Forgotten. This is your only chance, young man."
Kain ran his eyes over the flower's title.
"This plant... Will it help me stop being a Sacrifice?"
"Not exactly," Virgia shook her head. "We don't have time my way, but maybe that's even better."
"How?"
Answers, he needed answers.
"Grief of the Forgotten will take over the Red Swirl, getting rid of the mark completely. However, it will in no way change your status as a Sacrifice. In other words, it will no longer be possible to track you, but the advantages and drawbacks will remain."
Virgia smiled bitterly.
"Considering you're a Highest Sacrifice, the runes should have offered you at least something worthy."
Kain smiled bitterly. "That's reassuring."
But he thought about something else entirely.
'Yeah, I have some effects, but I'm not a Highest Sacrifice. Fate has treated me harsher.'
"Do you agree? I can tell you where to find the flower." Virgia asked.
Not that he had a choice.
"Sure, I don't want to run anymore."
Without the constant chasing and fighting for his life, Kain would finally be able to find the Ascension Rune.
At least, he hoped so.
However, he completely forgot that he was always out of luck, and there was no reason to believe that this time would be any different.