Dark looked at his hand in amazement.
Memories of the body's former owner flooded his mind. He saw himself getting mistreated and cleaning his own wounds.
Dark speculated that maybe it's because of this continuous process that he awoke his healing power.
But he wasn't sure. Though he knew some of the former owner's memories, some were missing.
Even so, it was amazing.
"Whoah! I didn't know I can heal. That's the first time I did it."
Dark looked at his hands like it was a gift from God while River and the still-unnamed yellow-haired thief were looking at him with varying expressions.
River's face, as always, betrayed no emotion. But the same can't be said for the latter.
'I'm sure he wanted to kill me earlier. I would've died if this walking bandage machine didn't stop him.'
River was the 'walking bandage machine' he was talking about.
Confused, the thief couldn't sense any malice from the crazy bastard.
"I'm freaking amazing!"
In fact, the crazy bastard currently looks like any another mad man in the streets.
He faced the walking bandage machine and unconsciously asked.
"Crazy... is he always like that?"
"It's just getting worse."
The thief flinched at River's answer.
"I'm frigging awesome!"
The crazy bastard seems to have finished shouting his greatness to nowhere after that final scream and was heading back to them. His eyes are serious but he's smiling.
'There it is again. The quick change in his expressions.'
It never escaped the thief's eyes.
His special eyes glowed and true to his findings, the essence of the guy changed again unlike the bandage-machine next to him.
'It is as if he changed his personality by will.'
He observed him. It was something he had never seen before so he got curious.
"You!"
"Huh?"
Now, the crazy bastard was pointing at him.
"Do you have a pseudo-name?"
"A what?"
"Pseudo-name. Fake name. It's a name you use before your 'official name' is released. By the way, mine is Dark and the one beside you is River."
"...Shin."
Shin tried to clamp his mouth shut. He was the most startled one when he found himself answering the question without even thinking. The person who called himself Dark had a strange charisma that went well with his craziness.
"You keep staring at me. What do you see?"
Those marigold eyes made him feel an invisible pressure he sensed from predators. He could tell that lying won't work.
"My eyes are special. I can tell a person's intentions through the hue of their soul."
"Through colors, huh?"
Dark looked up as if he was thinking of something serious while Shin's eyes glowed again to observe him. He found it interesting that the hue of Dark's soul was quite opposite to his pseudo-name.
If he could describe it, then the answer would be a formless sun.
It was radiant and bright but sometimes it would change from a gentle warm light to a scorching fire.
Compared to that, the hue of River's soul is comparable to a silent blue moon.
It was consistent, reminding him of a friendly, neighborhood grandfather.
Not that one existed in the Black district. The grandfather he was reminded of was above this land, in a village called Heru, and running an orphanage.
Shin looked inside him. He could also see the hue of his own soul.
Though he was hiding his fur and claws, Shin could see the predatory nature of a beast-person lurking inside him. And along it was misty white smoke like that of a floating cloud.
He could tell that his compatibility was extremely high with these two. He went silent with that thought, and that silence was broken by the voice of the sun.
"Hey, hey, I have a great idea."
The two of them gazed at Dark. They were alarmed by his playful voice that sounds like he's up to no good.
This was the beginning.
Because of this encounter, the cogs of the universe started moving in another direction. And the ripples of this movement would soon spread beyond the reaches of the underworld.
Everything started with a simple question.
"Why don't we take over this town?"