The sun had just begun to set over Crocus when Rhea had taken a bite from the bowl of fried rice, leaning against a nearby lamppost to catch her breath. The day had been long, much longer than she cared to admit. It had started with the usual Rune Knight duties: patrolling the streets, ensuring the citizens of Fiore’s capital went about their business unbothered. The market had been lively, filled with vendors calling out to potential buyers and the sounds of merchants haggling over the price of exotic fruits and spices. Rhea’s sharp vibrant-golden eyes had darted back and forth, always scanning, always watching for anything out of place.

By mid-morning, she had stopped a pickpocket, a scrawny boy who couldn’t have been more than fourteen, before reluctantly handing him over to the local authorities. Later, she had intervened in a dispute between two traders arguing over the price of a magical artifact. A small surge of her Light Dragon Slayer magic had quickly ended the argument, with both men backing off when they saw the power she wielded. But none of it had been thrilling—at least not the kind of excitement she craved. For someone who had grown up in the fierce jungles of Stella, hunting massive creatures for sport, the petty and trivial problems of city life left her feeling restless.


Rhea wiped the sweat from her brow, as she and Lector made their way back to Batra's Inn. The night had finally settled over the capital, casting long shadows across the cobblestone roads. The day had been exhausting—she’d spent hours patrolling the city, ensuring that nothing disturbed the relative peace of Fiore’s capital. For the most part, nothing had. And now, Lector had finally caught up to her, ready to spend some much needed quality time with his new friend. For a Rune Knight with the power of Light Dragon Slayer magic coursing through her veins, it had been a day that tested her patience more than her abilities.

Rhea adjusted the strap of her weapon—a black, dragonic claw-shaped gauntlet that hugged her forearm, each talon gleaming under the moonlight. The weight of it was familiar, comforting even. She had been in Fiore for only a few months, but she was already growing tired of its politics and mundanities. Tonight had been particularly uneventful, though perhaps that was for the best? She seemed to always be itching for action, when she probably should have been making a plan of some sort. Beside her, the burgundy-furred Exceed, Lector, padded along. His nose was in the air, and despite his small size, he moved with an air of arrogance that Rhea had quickly become accustomed to. They hadn't known each other long, but she had come to accept his confident aura, mostly because he reminded her a bit of herself.

As the two slowly approached Batra's Inn, the small, quaint lodging where they had been staying, Lector broke the silence. “I still don’t understand why we wasted so much time today,” Lector grumbled, his voice as haughty as ever. “Do they really think a Rune Knight and an Exceed as talented as myself should be relegated to such...menial tasks? You, the great Light Dragon Slayer, and me—well, I don’t need to remind you of my credentials, but we’re practically royalty, Rhea!”

“Ah, sí, sí, Lector, your ‘credentials’... remind me again what they were? Was it the time you got stuck in the market fountain?” Her voice had a musical quality, but there was a sharpness to it, a bite that matched the steel in her gaze. Rhea smirked as she pushed open the heavy wooden door to the inn. Batra’s Inn was modest but comfortable, tucked away on a quiet street not far from the heart of Crocus. It had become their home in the capital, a place to rest their heads after long days. “We were on watch duty. You know, making sure nothing bad happens to the city or the king.”

"That seagull was far too aggressive for its size!” Lector retorted, his small body puffing up with indignation. "I was taken by surprise, is all.” Lector hopped up onto the counter of the empty common room, stretching out as though he owned the place. “I'm just sayyyyyinnggg. I just think our talents are wasted here. You’re a Dragon Slayer for crying out loud!”

Rhea let out a short laugh, her short temper held in check after a long day. “And for the record, that stupid bird wasn't prepared to deal with me. Besides, I’m still searching for something, and being in the Rune Knights isn't helping.” His voice trailed off, and he glanced away, his feline features growing unusually serious.

The Dragon Slayer raised an eyebrow as she threw her body onto the bed. “Still searching for what?”

Lector sighed and stared out the window, the moonlight casting a silvery sheen across his fur. “I don’t exactly know where I’m from, Rhea,” he admitted quietly. “I mean, I know I’m an Exceed, but... I haven’t found anyone else like me. Not in Fiore, not anywhere. It’s like... I just appeared one day. I’ve been searching for others like me, hoping to find some sort of clue. I don’t even know if they exist.”

The Elven Knight sat up, caught off guard by the vulnerability in his voice. She had only known Lector for a few weeks, ever since she'd been nominated to be the first ever Stellan Captain of the Rune Knights, but she’d never seen him like this before.

“Sounds like you’ve been on your own for a while,” she said softly, crossing her arms as she leaned against the headboard. “I know the feeling. I left Stella behind a few months ago... haven’t really found many other Stellan's here. I'm a complete stranger in these lands.”

Lector perked up, his curiosity piqued. “Stella? You’ve never told me much about it. What’s it like?”

Rhea leaned back, her eyes glazing over with memories. “Ah, Stella... my beautiful homeland. It is not like here. The sun is... alive. The people are... proud, strong. Everywhere you look, the land is green, the jungles thick with life. And the animals... ha! Dinosaurs, Lector. Real beasts. We used to hunt them, my cousins and I. Big ones, like Thunderclaws, with teeth as long as your arm. We hunted for sport.”

“Dinosaurs!?” Lector repeated, his eyes wide. “You hunted dinosaurs for fun?”

Rhea grinned. “Sí, for fun. The hunt was everything. My tribe—our pride was in our strength. My mother, she cousins taught me the ways of the hunt, but my mama taught me the ways of the forest. She was an elf, you see. A fierce woman, with magic that could make the trees bend to her will. But my father...” Her expression darkened. “I never knew him. He left before I was born, and mamá never spoke of him.”

They sat in silence for a moment, the hum of the city outside faint in the background. Lector, despite his usual haughty demeanor, seemed to sense her pain and quieted for a moment. He hopped onto the bed beside her, his tail curling around him curled up beside Rhea on the bed, his usual arrogant demeanor replaced with something softer.

“Sounds like we’re both searching for something,” Lector said quietly.

“Yeah,” Rhea agreed. “I guess we are.”

Just as the conversation settled into a comfortable quiet, there was a sudden knock on the door.

“Room service,” came a woman’s voice from the other side. “I’ve brought fresh linens for the night.”

Rhea’s brow furrowed. It was late—too late for any service. Her hand instinctively drifted toward her weapon, the black dragonic claw strapped to her arm. She motioned for Lector to stay quiet as she rose from the bed, her footsteps silent against the wooden floor.

“Did you ask for linens?” Lector whispered, his tail flicking anxiously.

“No...”Rhea muttered back, her voice low and wary.

“No pedí nada,” Rhea called out, her voice cautious. “We don’t need any linens.”

There was a pause. Then, without warning, the door creaked open. A woman dressed in a simple maid’s uniform stepped inside. Her hair was long and raven black, falling in waves over her shoulders. But there was something unsettling about her—her eyes, too sharp, her movements too precise. Rhea’s instincts flared. This was no ordinary maid. The maid smiled, but it was the kind of smile that carried danger. “Perhaps you don’t need anything, but I’ve been sent to deliver a different kind of message.” In a flash, the woman dropped the linens she was holding and lunged forward, her hands glowing with a deadly magic aura.

Rhea was faster. She sidestepped the attack, her reflexes honed from years of hunting beasts far more dangerous than this woman. Her dragonic claw weapon flicked out, the black metal talons glinting as they caught the light.

“Lector, get back!” Rhea barked as the room erupted into chaos.

The woman recovered swiftly, spinning around with a series of kicks, each one aimed at Rhea’s throat. But Rhea’s movements were sharp, calculated. She blocked the blows with her forearm, using the dragonic claw to parry and deflect, the force of each hit sending sparks into the air. "Who sent you?" Rhea snarled, her accent thickening as her temper flared. She slashed upward, forcing the assassin to leap back, her smile faltering for the first time. The maid dropped into a low stance, her hands crackling with some kind of dark energy. "You’ve made enemies, Rune Knight. Too many. And now, they want your blood."

"Is that so? Shame, they should have sent someone stronger."

The woman charged again, her fists glowing again. But Rhea didn’t rely on  her spells—not when she was still so magically untrained She waited until the last possible second, then ducked low, sweeping her leg out in a fluid motion. The assassin stumbled, and in that split moment of imbalance, Rhea moved in, her black dragonic claw slicing through the air. The talons connected with the woman’s chest, the sharp metal cutting through her clothes and leaving deep gashes. The assassin gasped, staggering back, her face twisting in pain and fury. She tried to counter with a desperate punch, but Rhea caught her wrist, twisting it sharply. There was a sickening crack.

The assassin screamed, her arm limp in Rhea’s grip. Without mercy, Rhea slammed her into the wall, pinning her there with the sharp edge of the dragonic claw pressed to her throat.

"Last chance. Who. The. Fuck. Sent. You?" The Knight's voice was low, dangerous. If this woman had given an answer she didn't like, within seconds she'd be dead.

The woman’s eyes burned with defiance, but she said nothing. Instead, she whispered a few words under her breath, and before Rhea could stop her, her body dissolved into black smoke, disappearing into thin air. Rhea cursed under her breath, stepping back as the last traces of the woman faded. She stood there, breathing heavily, her heart still racing from the fight. Lector, wide-eyed, jumped down from the bed. “That... that was insane. Who the hell was she!?”

“I don’t know,” Rhea muttered, still catching her breath. “But whoever she was, she wasn’t alone. We need to leave. Now.”

Lector nodded quickly, his tail twitching with unease. “You think more are coming?”

Rhea glanced around the room, her mind already working through the next steps. “Sí. We can’t stay here. They know where we are.”

Without wasting another moment, Rhea grabbed her things, strapping the black claw weapon securely to her arm. "I don’t know who sent her, but they’re after me...and we not sticking around to find out why.” Together, she and Lector slipped out of the inn and into the shadowed streets of Crocus.

As they disappeared into the night, Rhea couldn’t shake the feeling that this was only the beginning. The cool night air hit her face as they moved through the shadows, her mind racing. She was on the run now. But from who? And why?