If anyone back in Riftshade saw that exited expression on Kane's face, they wouldn't have believed it. Just as Luna's death had thrown a wrench into his usual calm, it appeared her unexpected survival did much the same.
But, despite his current state, there still burned a white-hot ember of vengeance inside his soul. Just because she survived, did not suddenly give these elves the right to keep on living.
But these thoughts were only in the back of his mind right now.
Mána watched his change in demeanour with interest. The usual mischievous smirk on her face.
"You really like this girl, huh?" she chuckled. "Although I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, considering you already managed to forge a bond with her. Anyway, I guess that bracelet meant something to you? So, I suppose you believe me now?"
Mána's question ripped Kane from his thoughts. He reigned in his enthusiasm. His discipline once again stamped down, and his face returned to its usual calm. True calm, this time. Not the faked calm he used when he still thought Luna was dead.
"Let's just say I choose to continue on the assumption that Luna is alive," Kane shrugged, with narrowed eyes. "That still doesn't mean you actually have my best interests at heart."
Despite finding out Luna was likely alive; he knew they were still a long way from okay.
His real body was strapped to some chair and impaled with needles doing fuck knows what. Luna was out there on her own in the middle of nowhere as a mere first stage Mystic in this unknown world filled with danger. And to top it all off, his soul had been invaded by a mysterious yet somewhat annoying woman in red.
Things were bad.
'I guess there's a chance this woman really is here to help me,' he thought, sceptically. 'And I'm not really in a position to turn down help right now… but trusting any random stranger might just as well make our situation even worse.'
Mána sighed heavily. She let her body hang forward in act of helpless frustration. "Uuuugh, I know I don't really deal with people much, but are you lot all so damn suspicious all the time?"
Before Kane could ask what exactly she meant with that, Mána perked up and suddenly flashed forward instantly. Now standing right in front of him, she poked his chest with a finger and narrowed her eyes, "Listen. Just let me help you, huh? I mean, what else are you gonna do? Sit here and mope? Wait until that bitch has turned you into a pet?"
She waved her hands in front of his face as if to try and wave away the suspicious thoughts, "Just trust me, alright! We're on the same side here!"
Kane blinked in surprise and took a step back. He didn't have much experience dealing with people like this. Although he couldn't deny that her playful demeanour lowered his defences somewhat, ironically, that only made him put up more defences instead.
Seeing that Kane was still hesitating, she used an argument she knew would work. "Look, like I said before, that friend of yours is on her way here. She's stumbling weakly through a very dangerous forest, on her way to this city. Now, I can use my influence to keep the mindless beasts away, but I can't do the same with the elves."
Seeing she had his attention, she continued, "Furthermore, those Splicers will be done with you soon, and then the queen bitch will come back. If we're not ready by then, both you and your little girlfriend are fucked. And not the good kind."
Kane stared into her Mána's crimson-moon-looking eyes. While there was still mischief and playfulness there, he could see solemnity, worry, and, most importantly, a hint of sincerity.
So finally, he sighed, and nodded. "Fine. I should hear you out at least. Can you tell me why I'm here? What are these Splicers doing to my body? And who exactly are you, besides just Mána."
Grinning, Mána exclaimed, "Finally!" But then she pursed her lips and looked a little guilty. She poked her fingers together. "Alright, so this first part, you're probably not gonna like so much. The truth is, that you're here because of me. Partly, at least. I wanted you to end up in that chair."
Kane blinked. The fact this woman had been trying to earn his trust, only to drop this bomb the moment he showed a little willingness, confused him.
Surprisingly, he didn't feel much anger, for the simple reason that he hadn't expected much different.
Yet his arm still shot forward. His large hand wrapped around Mána's lithe neck and squeezed a little, finding her body to be soft, and not that powerful. "What did you say?" he threatened with narrowed eyes.
But Mána looked unconcerned. Instead, her lips curled into a playful grin. "Ooooh, kinky. Fierce. I like it." she purred, a little hoarsely from the cut-off airway. But then she suddenly disappeared and reappeared a few meters away. "But the fun will have to wait, alright?"
Surprisingly, Kane didn't pursue or even look angry anymore. 'Figured as much,' he thought calmly. 'I can touch her, maybe even harm her, but she can leave whenever she likes.'
Seeing his calm, Mána pouted. "Aww, I liked seeing you angry. Don't tell me you faked that?"
Kane shrugged. His lips curled into a slight smirk, "Let's just be glad Luna is alive, otherwise this conversation would now have turned ugly."
"You can't blame that on me! She was never supposed to be there!" Mána waved her hands with a helpless expression, as if defending herself against attacks. "You were supposed to come alone!"
"I know," Kane nodded, frowning. "That's the only reason I'm continuing this conversation calmly. We made the decision to come here together, despite being warned about the dangers."
Then, his eyes narrowed again, and he continued in a threatening, low growl, "But that doesn't take away whatever part you played in this. If you want me to go along with your plans, you'd better have a good explanation for all this… And if Luna dies, none of your words will matter anymore. Nor whose fault it actually is."
Mána sighed a little in relief and nodded in assent. 'He's got a kind of calm ferocity about him. And I love it.' she thought, her eyes twinkling with interest. 'He'll make a great Dreadwolf.'
"Alright, so here's the thing," Mána began, her serious face returning. Although even this expression somehow held a hint of playfulness. "Splicers are genetic manipulators. You see, where your Earth came up with the concept of Cybers to mimic the power of Mystics, Alfheim and it's elves came up with Splicers."
Seeing Kane's interest, Mána shook her head, "I'm not going into the concept of Splicers right now, we don't have time. Suffice it to say that they use genetics to make up some shortcoming, but mostly they are still Mystics. Regardless, we needed their expertise to activate some of your ancestral genes."
Kane blinked and raised an eyebrow, "My what now? And who's we? That reminds me, you said partially responsible earlier?"
"Right," Mána nodded quickly, clearly wanting to hurry this along as much as possible. "The other parties are my sister on Earth, and the elven queen. The bitch."
Kane frowned. He had already realized the queen was likely a part of this, and Mána was probably pulling a betrayal right now, but that wasn't the interesting part. "You have a sister on Earth?"
Mána shook her head, "I'll get to that. First let me explain about the ancestral genes. The thing is that you, Kane, have a very important, long-deceased ancestor by the name of Lycaon."
"Lycaon…" Kane immediately muttered, thinking he'd heard the name somewhere before. "Wasn't he supposed to be some kind of mythological Greek king?"
"I wouldn't know anything about that. Nor do I care," Mána shrugged uncaringly. She quickly continued, suddenly gaining enthusiasm, "The important thing, is that Lycaon was the 97th Dreadwolf. And also, unfortunately, the last Dreadwolf."
Suddenly, she grinned widely as she looked at Kane. "The last, that is, until today…"