Both Eclipse and Chael removed their blindfolds - the strings still attached to the pigeons which guided them here. Eclipse and Chael took in their surroundings.

  They were in an abandoned ruin with half a wall missing, sunlight streaming in, and from the looks of it, they were at least several stories up.

  Flocks of birds perched everywhere in this open room, and especially around the jolly-looking man in front of them. He had tanned skin and a rugged appearance. He had a large belly and was dressed in a fabric hat with holes, a long jacket covered in dirt and patches, and trousers which were equally worn. His white stubble and slanted eyes gave him the look of a cheerful beggar, despite his dishevelled appearance.

  “Nice to meet you, gentlemen. My name is Alaric of the Feathered Eyes,” the man said with a grin.

  Chael, smiling back, replied, “Nice to meet you, I’m Chael, and this is my friend Eclipse.”

  “Hohoho, so you’re not Leo and Jin?” Alaric chuckled, his laugh echoing in the empty space.

  “Ahaha, well, I figured there was no point in hiding our names from someone like yourself,” Chael said with a mixture of amusement and embarrassment.

  “You’re a wise man.” Alaric nodded approvingly.

  “So, why have you brought us all the way here, old man?” Eclipse asked, cutting to the chase.

  Alaric’s laugh grew more intense. “Hohoho, you’re quite straightforward. That six-sided coin is special. It allows one to see me, the most prominent figure of the Feathered Eyes, for as much information as you desire. It’s a coin I only give to a select few.”

  “So you knew the old hag,” Eclipse asked suspiciously.

  “Hohohohohoho, old hag, you say? I suppose you could call her that,” Alaric chuckled knowingly.

  “It’s nice chatting with you, sir, but we have some questions to ask.” Chael said with a light smile.

  “Hohoho, oh my, this old man almost forgot! Ask away, boys. I’ll answer your questions to the best of my knowledge.”

  Eclipse wasted no time. “What are the goals of Khali, the leader of the Dracoferus tribe right now, and where is he?”

  Alaric’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “Mmmmmmm, you boys should know that involving yourselves with any of the Six Figures is a dangerous game for young men like yourselves. The Dracoferus tribe is not to be taken lightly. But then again, my job isn’t to warn you, hohohohohoho.”

  Eclipse's eyes narrowed, but he remained patient. “So, what’s Khali up to?”

  “Khali of the Dracoferus tribe is currently focused on resurrecting Tartarus of the Xephyr clan.” Alaric said seriously.

  Chael suddenly grabbed his head, wincing in pain.

  “What’s wrong?” Eclipse frowned.

  “Oh, it’s nothing, just a bad headache I get once in a while,” Chael said and shook his head to clear the pain and focused despite the lingering headache. “But this is the first time in a long, long time. Anyway, what is this Tartarus of the Xephyr clan that Khali is trying to resurrect, and why is he doing this?”

  Alaric leaned in, “The Xephyr clan is an ancient lineage, one that served an all-mighty king until the end of the Senshin Era.”

  Chael’s brow furrowed. “The Senshin Era? What’s that?”

  Alaric’s eyes glinted with a hint of mystery. “Ah, the Senshin Era - it's a time shrouded in myth and legend. It was an age from hundreds of years ago, so distant that it’s almost thought of as a fairy tale now. To be honest, even I have only fragmented knowledge about that period, gathered from old, half-forgotten sources.”

  He paused, his gaze drifting as if he were lost in the memories of ancient stories. “It is said that the Senshin Era was an epoch of relentless war, destruction, and annihilation. During this chaotic time, a king reigned supreme over all the lands, residing in the Bloodmoon Kingdom. His right-hand man was none other than the head of the Xephyr clan - a clan of Phacers renowned for their exceptional Tenelux and boundless Qi. Their prowess was legendary.”

  Alaric’s voice grew softer. “But the Senshin Era ended in catastrophe. The king, along with his allies, including the Xephyr clan, faced total annihilation. The end of that era saw not only the fall of the king but also the near obliteration of humanity itself.”

  Chael and Eclipse exchanged glances, the weight of the story settling heavily. Chael turned back to Alaric, “Wait, I heard that Ghost, one of the six figures, had killed the remaining members of the Xephyr clan. But you’re saying they were annihilated hundreds of years ago?”

  Alaric nodded slowly, “Yes, it’s true that the main forces of the Xephyr clan were destroyed in the ancient times of the Senshin Era. Yet, history tells us that a small group of survivors did manage to evade complete destruction and attempted to rebuild the clan. But they too met their end many years ago at the hands of Ghost.”

  “However, it’s not certain that those killed by Ghost were of the true Xephyr bloodline. Many believe they were simply imitators, people trying to assume the mantle of the great clan without truly being of their lineage.”

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  Alaric’s gaze grew hazy as he continued, “The original Xephyr clan was said to have had a guardian beast of immense power, a creature known as Tartarus. This beast was no ordinary creature; it was a three-headed hound of legend. It was a beast of unparalleled might and ferocity, feared by all.”

  “Three-headed hound, huh? Sounds cool as fuck.” Chael commented.

  Alaric then narrowed his eyes. “Khali’s current efforts are aimed at resurrecting this mythic beast from the depths of the Senshin Era. If he succeeds, he would attempt to subject the Bloodmoon Region under his rule. But he won't stop there, he’ll try to conquer the neighbouring kingdoms and bring about a new era of war, chaos and destruction.”

  “So we’re dealing with a typical, power-crazed bastard?” Chael said and inhaled a breath of cold air.

  Eclipse raised an eyebrow. “So this Tartarus - does it require some kind of blood sample or something like that?”

  He recalled Thorn’s words about Khali sending out his men to search for a blood sample of the Xephyr clan.

  Alaric nodded, “Yes, it appears that Khali has discovered a stone tablet, one that he believes was left behind by the late Xephyr clan. This tablet is said to hold the precise instructions for resurrecting Tartarus. To complete the ritual, Khali needs a blood sample from the previous head of the Xephyr clan.”

  “So that’s why…”

  “Khali is searching for this blood sample with great urgency. Once he obtains it, he intends to perform the resurrection ritual in the Iris Cavern, located towards the north.”

  “Iris Cavern?”

  Alaric chuckled coldly, “Hohohoho, that’s correct. It’s a cavern that Khali believes can grant the seeker a wish at the cost of something great.”

  Chael gaped, “I’ve never heard of anything like that before.”

  Eclipse absorbed his words, “I see. Where is he right now?”

  Alaric’s eyes gleamed with a hint of excitement as he continued. “As of now, Khali himself is heading to Draconis Village. He’s convinced that this is where the blood sample of the former Xephyr clan head is hidden, based on the villages and regions he’s already explored and the clues on the stone tablet. He plans to arrive at Draconis Village with an army of hundreds in five days’ time, hohohohoho.”

  Chael watched Alaric with a mix of amazement and skepticism. Despite the jolly old man's seemingly harmless appearance - his fabric hat with holes, his dirt-covered clothes, and his friendly demeanour, Chael couldn't shake the feeling that this man was far more dangerous than he let on. The fact that Alaric was sharing such sensitive information about the Dracoferus tribe, information that almost no one outside Khali’s inner circle knew, was unsettling. Yet, he seemed to be doing so with an almost childlike glee, as if he were telling a bedtime story rather than disclosing a plot to seize control of the entire Bloodmoon Region and surrounding kingdoms.

  Eclipse realized that Alaric wasn’t just motivated by the six-sided coin or his past connections with Celestia. There was a deeper agenda at play. If Alaric’s information was accurate and if the stone tablet’s instructions were true, then Khali’s resurrection of Tartarus could give him control over the entire Bloodmoon Region, including the Feathered Eyes. Something Alaric clearly wouldn’t be favoured by. It became evident that Alaric had an interest in seeing Khali stopped, which explained why he was being so forward with the details. The old man’s motives were transparent enough that Eclipse trusted the accuracy of the information he’d been given.

  Chael tossed his coin up and caught it with a thoughtful expression - clearly thinking of something along the same lines. Eclipse sighed deeply and pulled out a cigarette, placing it between his lips. He lit it with a flick of electricity, the purple glow briefly illuminating his face.

  “Ahahaha. That’s pretty impressive, old man. You’ve told us more than we could’ve imagined.” Chael chuckled.

  “Hohohohohoho.” Alaric reciprocated a laugh of dark amusement.

  “One more question.” Eclipse continued, his eyes narrowing as he fixed them on Alaric. “Why is Khali so desperately looking for me?”

  Khali’s relentless pursuit of Eclipse and the mystery of why the Dracoferus tribe seemed to be so fixated on him - surely there had to be a reason for all this, one which was linked to his old man Duozian and the Nine Lamentations of Conquered Worlds. Chael caught his coin, his curiosity mirroring Eclipse’s.

  Eclipse took a long drag before exhaling a plume of smoke. The Dracoferus tribe had already taken Douzian from him, murdering him without mercy. When Dragos and Thorn had captured Eclipse and Chael years ago, they had been trying to uncover the location of the Nine Lamentations of Conquered Worlds. But why? They could have taken it from Douzian before his death. Why was Eclipse still a target?

  “Hohohohohoho,” Alaric chuckled, his eyes twinkling with mischief and insight. “Well, it seems that Khali isn’t just looking for the blood sample of the previous clan head of the Xephyr clan. He’s also searching for you, Eclipse Azafael, grandson of Douzian Azafael.”

  Eclipse’s grip on his cigarette tightened, and his eyes narrowed.

  “The situation that happened all those years ago, when the Dracoferus tribe killed your grandfather - it’s something even I don’t fully understand. It seems none of my little pets made it back to me, and all disappeared somehow. Quite strange, considering that even the entirety of Grapefruit Village simply vanished from sight, with you being the only survivor.” Alaric’s tone carried a hint of inquiry, as if he knew that Eclipse had the answer to this mystery,

  Eclipse took another drag from his cigarette, the smoke curling up in the beams of sunlight which seeped into the room. “During the time my grandfather was killed and the village was destroyed, I was looking for something that I thought would cure my grandfather’s illness. But by the time I got back, he was dead and the whole village seemed to have been wiped out. I later found out it was the Dracoferus tribe’s doing.”

  Alaric’s eyes glimmered with a knowing light as he chuckled, “Hohohohohoho, I see. Well, one thing I can tell you is that Khali is looking for you because he believes you have, or at least know the whereabouts of, the Nine Lamentations of Conquered Worlds. Your grandfather’s death, too, has something to do with this Nine Lamentations though I don’t know what exactly.”

  “Beyond that, I don’t know much else, other than the fact that Khali became increasingly desperate for those Nine Lamentations. He even went so far as to change himself, becoming more paranoid and rash with his decisions. Why, I don’t know. He has calmed a bit now, but I believe he’s still desperately searching for you and the Nine Lamentations of Conquered Worlds’.”

  Eclipse’s expression remained sombre as he exhaled a cloud of smoke, his eyes, dark and tired, locked onto Alaric. Despite the old man’s cheerful demeanor,

  Eclipse could see the gravity behind his words. Alaric’s smile seemed almost too serene for the intensity of the conversation.

  As Eclipse and Chael departed, Alaric remained on the top floor of the abandoned ruin. The light from the half-destroyed roof casted fragmented shadows across the room. Alaric watched the pigeons flutter around, their soft coos blending with the whistling wind.

  He settled into a tattered armchair, its fabric worn thin. His eyes drifted to the mountains in this distance, and a faint, shuddering memory surfaced.

  A woman - her presence so overpowering that it seemed to distort the very air. Her visit was shrouded in a chilling anima pressure, leaving him with an unshakable sense of dread. She was terrifying, but the details of her visit remained elusive, like fragments of a dream.

  Alaric’s laugh broke the silence, a low, unsettling chuckle that reverberated through the desolate room.

  “Hohohohoho.”

  The sound echoed eerily against the broken walls.