Kai and Elara walked down the dusty road, leaving the city behind as the sun cast long shadows over the stone path. The energy between them remained as charged as ever, their conversation filled with banter and sharp remarks.
"You are the most reckless, impossible person I have ever met!" Elara yelled, her arms crossed as she glared at him. "How do you always manage to make every mission more dangerous than it needs to be?!"
Kai chuckled, hands behind his head, his crimson eyes glinting with mischief. "Relax, Captain. You know you can't hurt me even if you tried. Remember?" He shot her a smirk. "Immortal. Undying Body. It's kinda my thing."
Elara opened her mouth, ready to retort, before realization struck her. She had forgotten that. Her hands clenched into fists, and her glare deepened. "That's not the point! Just because you can't die doesn't mean you should throw yourself into danger like an idiot!"
Kai laughed, his deep voice carrying through the open road. "But that's what makes life fun! Besides, you care about me too much to let me get into real trouble."
Elara huffed, turning her head away, her frustration evident in every motion. "I do not care about you. I just... someone has to be responsible! And clearly, it's not going to be you."
Kai grinned, stepping closer to her. "Aww, Elara, you're so cute when you're flustered. If I didn't know better, I'd say you enjoy our little arguments."
Elara's face turned red, and she swung her arm in frustration, though Kai effortlessly dodged it with a chuckle. "Stop saying things like that! It's annoying!"
Kai's smirk softened, his playful demeanor shifting just slightly. "You know," he said, glancing at her with something more genuine behind his usual teasing tone. "I like having you around. You keep things... interesting. It's nice knowing that no matter how crazy things get, you'll always be here, yelling at me like usual."
Elara blinked, caught off guard by his words. She opened her mouth, but for once, no sharp retort came to mind. Instead, she crossed her arms tighter, looking off into the distance. "Well... someone has to make sure you don't do something completely stupid," she muttered, her voice quieter than before.
Kai chuckled again, flashing her a genuine smile. "And that's why I like you, Captain. You're the only person stubborn enough to keep up with me."
Elara groaned, her expression twisting into annoyance once again. "I swear, Kai, one of these days—"
"Yeah, yeah, you'll knock me out, right?" Kai interrupted, grinning. "Can't wait."
Elara exhaled sharply, shaking her head. "I really don't know why I put up with you."
Kai gave her a sideways glance, his smirk still in place. "Because you'd be bored without me."
Elara didn't respond immediately, but the faintest twitch of her lips suggested he wasn't entirely wrong.
After a few hours of travel, the distant silhouette of Duskford Village came into view. The sun was beginning to set, casting an eerie glow over the quiet settlement. Kai and Elara walked side by side, their conversation flowing as they approached.
"Well, this looks... inviting," Kai said, smirking as he stretched his arms behind his head. "Nothing says 'friendly village' like a bunch of people hiding behind their windows."
Elara rolled her eyes. "You can feel it, can't you? Something's wrong here. The air is heavy, like there's something lurking beneath the surface."
Kai nodded, his usual playful expression dimming slightly. "Yeah, I was about to say the same thing. It's not just paranoia. The entire place feels... off." His crimson eyes scanned the village, noting the wary gazes of the few people still outside. Some hurried inside the moment they caught sight of them, while others only stared, their expressions weary and distrustful.
"It's like they're afraid of us," Elara murmured, her gaze sweeping over the surroundings. "Or maybe just afraid of outsiders in general."
Kai chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "Or maybe they've just never seen someone as handsome as me before. Can't blame them for being a little stunned."
Elara sighed, rubbing her temples. "Kai, can you take anything seriously for five minutes?"
Kai smirked. "I could... but where's the fun in that?"
As they continued walking through the village, they noted several oddities—empty market stalls, boarded-up homes, and a general sense of unease lingering in the air. The intuition both of them had honed from countless missions screamed at them that this place was hiding something.
"It's too quiet," Elara muttered. "There should be more people out this time of day."
"Right?" Kai agreed, his usual carefree tone laced with something more serious. "Even if they were just paranoid, you'd expect some life here. But this? This is next-level eerie."
Before Elara could respond, a voice called out behind them. "Who are you?"
They turned around swiftly, their eyes landing on an elderly man standing near a well. His posture was rigid, and his weathered face was lined with suspicion.
Kai, ever the diplomat, placed a hand on his hip and grinned. "Just some friendly adventurers passing through. I'm Kai, and this is Elara. We're here on a guild mission."
The old man narrowed his eyes but didn't immediately dismiss them. "A guild mission, you say?" he muttered. "Hmph. Not many adventurers come here anymore."
Elara stepped forward slightly. "And why is that?"
The old man sighed, glancing around as if checking for unseen ears. "Things have been... changing here. People disappearing. Strange sounds at night. The village ain't what it used to be."
Kai exchanged a glance with Elara before turning back to the man. "Well, lucky for you, we specialize in weird. Maybe you can tell us more?"
The old man hesitated, then nodded. "Come inside. If you're really here to help, you'll need to know what we're dealing with."
Kai and Elara followed the old man inside his modest home. The wooden walls creaked faintly as the door shut behind them, the dim candlelight casting long shadows over the room. The atmosphere inside wasn't much different from the village—quiet, heavy, and filled with an unspoken tension.
The old man gestured toward a simple dining table in the center of the room. "Sit," he said gruffly, moving to grab a kettle from the fireplace. "We don't get many visitors anymore."
Kai took a seat, leaning back slightly as he glanced around. The house was well-kept but sparsely furnished. Shelves lined the walls, stacked with old books and a few worn trinkets. A small, faded tapestry hung above the fireplace, depicting a moonlit night over the village.
"Nice place," Kai said casually before resting his elbows on the table. "But I can't help but notice the eerie welcome outside. Care to explain what's been going on here?"
The old man poured them each a cup of herbal tea before sitting down himself. He let out a weary sigh, his aged eyes reflecting exhaustion. "It started a few months ago. At first, it was just livestock disappearing—cows, goats, sometimes entire chicken coops wiped out overnight. We thought it was bandits or wild animals. But then... people started vanishing."
Elara, who had remained quiet, straightened in her seat. "People? How many?"
The old man's hands clenched into fists on the table. "Seven so far. All of them taken in the dead of night. No struggle, no signs of forced entry. They were just... gone. And then, the noises started."
Kai narrowed his eyes. "Noises?"
The old man nodded, glancing toward the covered window as if expecting something to be lurking outside. "At night, we hear them. Chanting. Low, guttural whispers carried by the wind. And then there's the glow. A deep red light coming from the forest edge."
Kai tapped his fingers on the table, his usual carefree expression fading into something more serious. "Blood magic," he muttered under his breath.
Elara turned her head toward him, surprised at the shift in his demeanor. He wasn't joking or teasing. This wasn't the playful, overconfident Kai she was used to. This was someone analyzing, thinking, and calculating.
She kept her gaze on him, silently observing. So he does have this side to him... she thought to herself.
"Who's missing?" Kai asked, his voice steady.
The old man sighed. "Villagers, mostly. A hunter, a blacksmith, even the town's healer. All vanished without a trace. We sent a search party into the woods, but only one man came back. And he... he wasn't the same. He kept muttering about 'shadows moving in the trees' and 'faces with no eyes' before collapsing from exhaustion. He hasn't spoken since."
Elara frowned. "That doesn't sound like a simple group of cultists. Whatever's out there is playing with something dangerous."
Kai leaned forward, his crimson eyes gleaming in the dim candlelight. "And we're going to find out what."