How did it come to this? That was a question the elven maiden asked herself as she was walking through the slums of Era. She had lost sight of her companions, or rather- lover Priscilla after a brief visit to an old associate of hers. Even now it all felt so foreign. The associate, a man whose face she had seen in memories, yet were these memories truly her own?

Even now it was something that frightened her, the voice that whispered in her ear told her that she was called Esperia. But then why did she not recall these memories? Why did it feel like these memories were not her own? And yet, a part of her instinctively felt comfortable at knowing Priscilla cared about her, had need of her. She still remembered the distrust among her kin when the ghouls first arose around that beautiful, majestic tree.

They blamed her for it, thought she was the one who brought that impurity to their lands. But was that truly the case? Her steps slowly came to a halt. "Do I even have anywhere to go home to?" The girl asked hesitatingly, her gaze lifted up to the night-sky. A soft sob came from her, the haunting thoughts making her crouch down against the wall while she raised her hands to the side of her head.

"Pri... where are you? I'm scared..."

WC: 200/1250

Little did the poor elf realize that she was in quite the dangerous place, the territory of a local gang that had been causing troubles lately. And misfortune would have it that Esperia happened to be noticed by several of their members, wanted criminals at that also.

"Look what we have here-" One of the thugs chimed in amusement, making Esperia's body jolt upright. "A little elf who got lost? You're far from your forest, little tree-hugger." Hearing these words the elf raised both hands to her ears, as if trying to conceal them while making herself as small as possible, as if thinking she could possibly become invisible by doing so. A foolish notion of course, for the thugs saw that as a sign of weakness, and weakness in their eyes was meant to be exploited.

One of the thugs walked up to her, a rough swing of its hand toward her head making the man pull her head upwards, pulling along her hair. "T-That hurts!" The lass cried out in pain, but the thugs only laughed.

Did she draw the short end? Was she going to be punished because she had gotten distracted chasing that bunny earlier? Was this just the way things were meant to be? "Pri-" Yet as she cried out for a savior a voice suddenly sighed in her ear.

"Geez~ You got your own super hero hiding inside your soul, and you still try to call for your little wife? Speaking of being ignored! Rude even by godly standards."

Esperia closed her eyes, trying to suppress the pain while the voice continued: "Go on~ If you want a hero, you just got to call my name~ You know it already, right?"

The thugs their laugher at her tears had already started to fade into the background, her lips moving slightly. "Her...mes"

A sudden blast of mana knocked the bandits off their feet, one of them hesitatingly grabbing his sword and thrusting it at the gust of wind where the girl had been at, but instead they only touched the air.

"What the!"

A sudden flicker and a figure emerged behind the nearby thug that had just tried to stab the elven maiden. "Who the hell are you?!"

One of the thugs shouted, to which the stranger remarked with a smirk: "Me? I'm just a Hero For Fun today~ Unfortunately there are no maidens among you to give my name to: So how about we get this over with? You pathetic lot are tainting my presence with your vulgarity. Not to mention... I'm kinda pissed that you mongrels made a cute elf cry."

WC: 400
Total WC: 600/1250

The thugs were clearly flabbergasted by the timely arrival of this hero. Even Esperia herself was not sure what was going on. She was still there, like an echo in the back of the entity's mind, but it felt like it wasn't her body anymore.

Hermes gently hopped from one foot onto the other, as if he was warming up for a boxing match when one of the thugs their anger got the better of them and he lunged straight toward Hermes his throat. A futile attack for sure. The god soul weaved sideways past the extended punch and a flicker of a metal blade appeared in his hand.

A slash of a dagger had followed, slashing cleanly into the arm of the thug and dismembering him with sickening ease. The thug screamed in agony, a scream that was turned into a gurgling sound when a second attack came in the form of a thrust at his throat.

The man slowly, but surely collapsed onto his knees as life faded away from his being, leaving only one more thug for Hermes to deal with. "What is the matter boi? Too scared to fight me with a knife?" The god soul flourished the weapon in his hand and pocketed it away a moment later, humming with a grin.

"I can do it with my fists as well, ya know?"

WC: 200
Total WC: 800/1250

The thugs were clearly overwhelmed and being toyed with. Even after the last thug started to wildly swing his fists at Hermes, flailing like a madman the god soul easily dodged each and every attack. It was only when the man finally tired himself that Hermes chimed in amusement.

"What was it that they said again in Joya?"

Hermes suddenly lunged forward, a fist colliding into the thug's stomach and making him bend over forwards, followed by an uppercut that send his head upwards again. "ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" With each Ora the god soul punched harshly into the face of the thug, all the way till the man's face was unrecognizable, and with a sigh of boredom Hermes watched the thug collapse onto his back.

"Guess that's dealt with." The God soul chimed softly, while he suddenly heard a soft sobbing in the back of his mind. He could feel it, the fear and alienation of the elven girl that was his host. The sadness and loneliness she felt as she struggled to regain a grasp of her identity. While some might have said Gaia's favor was merciful, it was just as cruel at the same time.

Allowing his psyche to drift into the sea of emotions, he found the girl the way he had expected. Huddled up in the darkness, sobbing and whimpering like an abandoned kitten.

"Esperia" He called out to her, crouching down and extending a hand toward her. "I know it is tough on you: Returning the way you did, most would claim your resurrection to be a unfair gift from Gaia, but these fools do not realize just how much it damaged the concept of your own identity."

Indeed, even if she claimed the name Esperia, she was still different from the vampire, vastly different. "Your memories feel foreign, because they originate from a different body. You fear the loneliness of knowing the bonds forged, were not entirely your own. Even as you cling to the kindness your wife shows you, you are aware the lover she remembers is different from the you, that you are today."

He gently ruffled her hair as he continued. "But there is no need for tears. Even if you were alone in this world, I will be your guide, your friend and savior in your time of need. So stand, stand up and smile my elven maiden."

As the girl raised her head she suddenly felt herself back in reality, surrounded by the corpse of a thug and two severely maimed ones. Rushed footsteps came of nearby knights while the girl wiped her tears and smiled at the approaching knights, explaining what had happened.

"Indeed, smile Esperia. For a smile better suits a hero."

WC: 450
Total WC: 1250/1250