Early the next day, gentle crackles of a burning fire woke up the slumbering Zesher. He yawned, stretching out to touch the sky, only to feel like something was missing.
Jakery was not there in his core anymore. But a much younger and innocent Variant was still around. Inviting him to open his eyes.
The second he opened them, he noticed Jakery was looking all around. Frantically searching for something as a lifeless body laid dormant before him.
"Hey, what the -"
"Shhhh," Jakery interrupted in a whisper.
Ether's heart began to pound like a drum in his chest. Bringing forward a slew of questions in his mind. For starters, why was Oria missing?
"What happened?" Ether whispered to his younger brother.
Jakery pointed one of the weapons he received from the metal worker, a dagger, down at the body. "Oria went insane and attacked Valentine, he's dead on the spot and she tried to bite me too."
Defeat and guilt ran rampant in Ether's stomach. How did he sleep through that? It was gut-crushing, but he had to get situated before he could grieve over their loss.
He reached beside Gloria, where Tellendor rested in its sheathe. The Sky Beast nonchalantly watched them in their struggle, careless of what happened earlier that morning.
Before long, he jumped off the roof. Landing on the gravel surrounding the bunker, which dug deep into his bare feet.
Tellendor weighed his hand down, almost telling him it was time for its arrival. "Here we go... Oria! Where are you? Come out and bite Tellendor's edge!"
Where anger would have been, disbelief replaced it. He was not angry at Oria's betrayal, but more confused. After all, he was starting to get used to her, even liked in someways.
At first, there was nothing. No one answered, the surrounding trees were still and silent. Until he heard something dash through.
Jakery watched from above, mortified at what he was seeing. Ether was down there alone, he refused to go through the main entrance since Demon's body was inside the bunker.
So he was stuck down there with a crazed killer stalking him from beyond his sight. A thought that haunted Jakery, he gripped tight onto the railings. Hoping to ease himself.
Tellendor flew out of its sheathe, then Ether used it to hack the nearby greenery. Using it to his advantage so he could spot out the incoming predator better.
"Ituna, ituna, ituna, grashu miknato..." Oria growled from behind.
Driving Ether to quickly turn around, weapon heavy in his hand. Before he was tackled from the left. His head struck the side of a nearby tree, dazing him on the spot.
After a disgusting, wet splatter rung out from the little attack. Oria pulled back, she got off Ether. Feeling sorry for what she had just done.
"Wait, wait. I'm so sorry, I really am. Are you okay? Where does it hurt?" her frantic voice rapidly asked.
Jakery dropped down, which caught Valentine's attention. He stood up from his 'dead' pose and looked over the edge. Where his two students and friend were.
Blood slowly dripped down the side of the tree, decorating it in a nasty red taint. Ether furiously struggled out of Oria's presence, hand over his head.
"Why did you betray us? You animal!" he painfully yelled.
Rage took control of his emotions, clouding up his thoughts as he struggled. Oria looked down in shock, unsure of what to think. All she wanted to do was play a little joke on him.
But now he was seriously injured. Somewhere on his skull there was an open wound. And she wanted to cure it, so he wouldn't get infected by some sort of disease.
Jakery rushed in to intervene. His hand reached down for his older sibling, who appeared to have been badly shaken up by the whole situation.
"Don't call her those things. All she wanted was a little banter to lighten up the mood. Oria is really sweet and kind, and I know you're interested," Jakery clarified.
Oria jumped, surprised by the sudden comment. She rose an eyebrow directed to the downed Ether, who continued to struggle against his shaking arms.
"But..." Oria said, ashamed. "Are you hurt?"
Jakery looked over his brother's hair, checking every little part for any signs of blood. But he found none. Everything was fine, it was just a bad fall.
Ether got up, resting Tellendor by the tree. "I'm fine, just a little shaken up. I was really afraid. Losing you as an ally would be traumatic to me."
As the two awkwardly averted eye-contact, Jakery gasped. He stumbled back from the tree as if he saw something that unsettled him.
"Wh - what the... Ether, did you take... his... glove?" Jakery asked, obviously referring to Demon.
He looked down at where Jakery was coming from. Right beside the foot of the tree was a black, fingerless glove. The same one Demon used to wear from time to time.
It was in perfect condition, nothing was off about it. In fact, it looked better than before. Almost like it has been polished and repaired to make it seem new again.
As he examined the glove, something reflected some of the sunlight. Beside the glove, hidden beneath some grass, was a throwing knife. It looked almost identical to the ones that belonged to Demon.
Except for the fact that it seemed to be made out of reflective metal. Not pure black materials designed simply for decoration.
Oria pointed at the blood running down the tree. It stopped right before it reached the ground, where it suddenly disappeared. Leaving no trace of the droplet behind.
What remained was the actual blood itself. Ether stepped back to the safety of his allies, making sure to not disturb their discovery.
His heart pounded, still shaken up by the 'attack' and the discovery. It was like a reminder of who they were when compared to stronger beings. The might of a Distorted.
Valentine crossed his arms. "All right, we had our fun out here. Let's return to the city and see what we can do today. After all, we're hoping to take down Terron and Onum."