Rhyver sits in his office, sorting through the scattered papers and documents on his desk when suddenly, a purple glass sphere resting on the table begins to glow brightly. He reaches out, grabs the sphere, and gives it a few shakes.
"Yes?!" he answers.
"Hey Rhyver~! What's up?" a woman's voice chimes from the sphere.
Recognizing the voice, Rhyver sighs in frustration. "Valena... What do you want?" he asks, clearly irritated.
Valena chuckles softly. "Well, no need to be so rude, Rhyver. All I said was 'What's up?'"
Rhyver rolls his eyes. "Ah... Let's just get this over with. Tell me why you're calling," he says while picking up some papers and scanning them carefully. "I'm already tired of reading all this bullshit," he mutters.
"Well, the news I have for you might just save you from all that," Valena replies.
Hearing this, Rhyver's curiosity is piqued, and he immediately drops the papers. "Huh? What do you mean? What news?" he asks.
"Woah there, don't get ahead of yourself," Valena teases before continuing. "Word is that the Royal Patrol clashed with the slave and may have discovered where he's heading."
Rhyver squints in confusion. "That's the news? And how is that supposed to free me from this?" he asks, unimpressed.
"Let me finish first, will you?" Valena replies before continuing. "After hearing about this, I went to Byron, who told me where the slave is believed to be headed, and..." She pauses.
"And?" Rhyver presses, his irritation growing.
"And his next destination is believed to be your prison, Slavara," Valena finally reveals.
Rhyver's eyes widen in shock. Slowly, a massive grin spreads across his face, his long, sharp teeth gleaming as a dark aura engulfs the room.
"What a surprise..." he murmurs.
"Yeah, isn't it?!" Valena responds excitedly.
"Thank you, Valena... You really are a lifesaver," Rhyver says.
"No need to thank me. I owed you this one," Valena replies.
Rhyver lets out a deep, animalistic laugh. Placing the sphere back on the table, he interlocks his fingers, his red eyes glowing with intensity.
"Finally... After all these years of waiting..." His voice drips with excitement, his words laced with danger.
"I can finally get... an actual fight!"
~~~
Inside the cave, Kajin, Ruya, and Cracknut sat around the fireplace while the rest of the squirrels were scattered around, sleeping.
"Are you nuts?!" Ruya shouted at Kajin, his face full of shock and fear. "You can't go through that path! Even suicide would be a better choice! It's a horrible plan!" Ruya continued his complaints while Cracknut casually enjoyed a nut.
Kajin looked at Ruya with a tired gaze. "Ah... If it weren't for his injuries, I'd have beaten him to death..." he thought, annoyed.
"Look, if you're so scared, why don't you just stay here?" Kajin said.
Ruya was caught off guard. "W-what? No way, I'm not letting you die," he said. "Dude, you have to understand that the plan in that head of yours is going to send you straight back to that prison you escaped from!" he declared, pointing his index finger at Kajin while shouting. Cracknut listened carefully, still munching on his nut.
Kajin scratched his head, looking at Ruya with an annoyed and defeated expression. "Well, I guess he's not changing his mind."
"Well..." Kajin sighed. "What should we do then?" he asked. "Should we just charge headfirst into the enemy's base?"
Ruya was speechless for a few seconds. "To be honest, I don't know!" he finally admitted. Crossing his arms, he turned his head slightly. "I say we wait until the fire calms down, then we strike."
Kajin's expression slowly hardened, his voice turning serious. "So what you're saying is that we let people suffer longer just because 'we aren't ready'?"
Ruya sighed and replied in a serious tone. "I'm not saying we let people suffer just because we aren't ready. I'm saying that if we go there now and get caught, we'll suffer the same fate as them, and there will be no one left to save us," Ruya stated. "If I had to choose between 'continuing to suffer for a while' or 'suffering forever,' my answer would be very clear."
Kajin remained silent for a while, sitting frozen in thought. Then, with his head down, he spoke. "What if there was someone you loved, Ruya?"
Ruya's eyes widened in shock. "Did this bastard just say love?!" he thought. "Why, who, how, when?!" His mind raced with questions.
"What do you mean by that?" Ruya finally asked.
Kajin lifted his gaze to meet Ruya's. "Someone you dearly loved, Ruya... What if that person was being tortured?"
Ruya was speechless once again.
"Tell me, Ruya, would you want to see someone you love suffer? Even for a single second?" Kajin pressed.
Ruya fell silent, his eyes slowly lowering as thoughts and realization sank in.
"No... I wouldn't want that," Ruya admitted.
"For me, Ruya, there's someone there that I truly love," Kajin declared.
Ruya slowly returned his gaze to Kajin.
"And I will do anything to save that person," Kajin said, clenching his fists. "That's why I need your help, Ruya. More than ever."
Ruya listened to Kajin's words, his tense expression gradually softening. After a moment of silence, he let out a heavy sigh.
"AHH... Alright, alright! I'll help you, and we'll go ahead with your wild plan," Ruya said in defeat.
Kajin smiled. "Thanks, Ruya. I really appreciate it. Helping me with this... it's pretty generous and daring of you."
Ruya rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, just don't get us killed!"
Kajin laughed. "Got it!"
Silence filled the cave once more until a loud burp came from Cracknut, who had just finished his nut. Kajin and Ruya glanced over at him before bursting into laughter together.