Back in the present day...
And as Aiden was still trying his best to comprehend the sheer amount of things that have happened since he arrived in Sylvanwood, Synnove was scouring around the apartment, trying to find anything that could be used as an improvised weapon in an emergency.
"We'll need something do defend ourselves, you know?" she said, rummaging through Aiden's desk drawers, before moving on.
"Sergei!" Synnove screamed from the bathroom.
"Sergei? The blacksmith?" Aiden now sat himself up on the sofa, confused. "Yeah, I guess that'd work, but, I don't have enough money. Weapons are expensive…"
"Well, call in a favor from Olek, for crying out loud." Synnove grabbed a kitchen knife with a knife guard, stashing it inside her boot, before pulling Aiden up by his shirt's collar. "It's a life and death situation, and I'm pretty sure no one would be happy to attend your funeral, Olek included."
"My mom would…" Aiden giggled, unable to help himself.
Synnove stopped for a second, before shaking her head. "Oh shut up. Let's go." She unlocked the door, before storming outside as quickly as possible. Despite trying to hide it, Aiden saw a glimpse of a smile tugging at her lips. Aiden quickly followed, and they soon were on the main square.
Synnove was looking out, making sure no one was about to jump out from the crowd, until someone placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped back, before crouching down, ready to drag out the knife… Only to realize that the one who grabbed her by the shoulder was Aiden.
"I was gonna say you should calm down, but, considering that reaction," Aiden sighed. "I doubt my words'll mean much."
They made their way to the west end of the town, where Sergei's shop was. Sergei was an interesting man, one completely dedicated to his job. He had no wife, no children, and he would always say he is 'married to the craft'. His workshop is a two storied building, and he lives directly above the forge, always having everything at the tip of his fingers.
The way to the shop was fast, but only because Synnove was constantly running in front of Aiden, trying her best to make sure they weren't caught unarmed. Aiden understood her worry, but "She has the vines… couldn't she just catch any attacker in them and run?" he thought.
Walking into the dimly lit workshop, Aiden's nostrils were suddenly hit by a strong smell of red-hot metal, and Sergei was crouched over by a furnace, pulling out a hunting knife out. The rightmost corner of the shop was full of lacquered wood cabinets and worktables, and in the center was a large anvil and a quenching cauldron. Multiple fans were placed seemingly at random along the workshop floor, all spinning at max speed, helping Sergei cool off.
He soon got up from the furnace, placing the knife to quench, before he finally acknowledged his two visitors. Sergei was a man who was quite familiar to both Aiden and Synnove, because there wouldn't be a workday when Sergei wouldn't come to visit Olek after the shift's end. His bald head refracted the light from the singular overhead light, and his curly brown beard was messy and long, stretching to almost half of his chest. With a warm smile, he greeted Synnove and Aiden, although he seemed confused about them being here.
"Aiden, Midori, how are you doing?" He took off his leather gloves, placing them on a shelf near the cauldron. "What brings you here, did Olek send you? I already told him, the axes aren't done yet."
"No, actually, we need something for us. We need to defend ourselves, and pretty urgently at that." Aiden's words made Sergei raise an eyebrow, and he slowly leaned forward.
"We're being hunted. It's a long story, but, it's too urgent to explain now." Synnove pointed at some swords mounted on the wall. "If possible, we'd want to take two swords with us to defend ourselves. We don't have enough money on hand right now, but, Olek can guarantee for us. We'll pay later if needed."
"Olek spoke pretty highly of you too, so, I know I can trust you." He walked over to a door near the far left corner, turning the key and opening it. "Come here, we'll pick something out for you."
Aiden and Synnove soon followed, entering a large weapons storage. From the walls hung all sorts of weapons, from broadswords, to katanas, all the way to pocket knives on the shelf below. "Take your pick."
Without a second thought, Synnove grabbed a rapier which was directly in front of her. Turning to the empty space ahead of her, she quickly jabbed at the air a few times with incredible precision.
"I didn't know Midori could fence." Aiden said jokingly.
"She can't," Synnove turned around, gently tapping Aiden on the shoulder with the blade. "But I can."
Aiden couldn't decide what to take, especially since he wasn't too educated on swords, but, in the densely packed room, one stood out. A straight shortsword hung to the right of where Synnove's rapier was, and when he saw it, memories surged in Aiden's mind.
Training with Cassius in the Forest of Clarity, practicing his focus, his sword strikes, his blocking… he was using a sword exactly like that one.
"This one," he said, grabbing it from the wall by the hilt. "I know this sword like the back of my hand."
Sergei nodded in approval, before they made their way out. Aiden was the last to leave, and as he made his way out, he nicked a hunting knife and took it with him. "Better to have a backup." he thought.
They exchanged a few friendly words with Sergei before promptly returning to Aiden's apartment, their new weapons sheathed at the hip. Despite still fearing a surprise attack, exhaustion began to take his toll. Aiden's focus was weakening, and Synnove's quick step had slowed significantly.
After arriving and securing the apartment as best as they could, Aiden and Synnove settled in for a night of poor sleep, trying their best to avoid the sense of nervousness. And as a calm engulfed the room, the only noise was the wind, and a light rain tapping at the window's glass.
Aiden had already fallen asleep, while Synnove was still shuffling around in bed, when suddenly, a crashing noise echoed. A man cloaked in shadow kicked open the window, the shattered glass flying across the apartment. Aiden jumped awake, rubbing his eyes, trying to see what was going on, and Synnove was already on her feet.
"I guess knocking is out of fashion, huh?" Synnove pointed the palm of her hand at the man, releasing her vines to try and stop him. But, as soon as the vines touched the man, instead of tying him down, they burst into flames. "W- What? Fire?" Synnove thought, realizing that she wouldn't be of much use in this fight.
Aiden had now properly awakened, and seeing Synnove's vines turn into ash immediately sparked a sense of worry in him. If he has a fire power, he could set the apartment on fire, not only killing him and Synnove, but at least a dozen other people living here. Aiden decided to react quickly, just to stop the risk of an unstoppable blaze. He took the lamp that was on the nightstand above him, before chucking it towards the man. He quickly dodged out of the way, but it gave Aiden enough time to close the distance.
With his sword now in hand, Aiden slammed with all of his strength into the man, sending both of them tumbling out of the window. They fell in front of the apartment building, before Aiden quickly darted off to a nearby skater park, knowing it'll be empty and that the man will follow him, since he's the main target. And so, the two men now stood across eachother, staring without a word said.
"So, you gonna introduce yourself?" Aiden said, provocatively.
"Why would I bother, when you're a dead man either way." He pulled out a sword similar to Aiden's, but with a ruby blade. He threw something on the ground, before gently tapping it with his sword, and it set on fire. He now kicked it towards Aiden like a football, but he instinctively dodged.
"Oh? You actually dodged?" The man prepared a few more of those fireballs, except, they didn't seem like anything flammable. They seemed like… pearls? "I guess I'll humor you then. The name's Kaji Shirakawa!"
Dragging his sword along the pearls once more, they all set alight, before he shot them at Aiden. He was jumping around, trying his best to dodge the balls of flame, which he mostly succeeded in. But then, a small, almost bullet like projectile flew towards Kaji, and hit him in the head. Aiden looked over, and saw Synnove perched over the apartment window, pointing.
"Don't lose your focus!" she screamed. "I'll explain later, just know, he's weakened now!"
"What a cheap trick… limiting my Essence." Kaji now held his sword up vertically, before gently moving his finger along the crimson blade. The sword suddenly ignited in a bright flame, before Kaji rushed at Aiden…