Taken Horizon Origin, volume 1, Duality

Episode 10 : the dragon and qilin

"I'm assuming your after my bounty?" I breathed with a sigh

"On the contrary. I want to travel with you." Seer was resolute with her words making it difficult to try and persuade her otherwise

There was a myriad of things i could do to just lose or kill her but her potential is something that could be exploited.

Training my aether i made a glowing claw sprout from my finger as it exuded an amber-gold light. "How did you find me?"

"Thats..." pressuring her i unleashed [abyssal howl] to a slight degree briefly but instead of scaring Seer it made her more certain strangely. "There was an oracle from the gods. It directed me to your hotel room and has been leading me for the last week."

The gods contacted her? Why would they.... oh. Her curiosity about me. They exploited it. "What did you hope to gain by following after me? Let me guess... secrets to power? Or is it-"

"Freedom and hope." My formerly prejudice gaze turned to acknowledgment. "you... are something different. Outside of whats known. I chased after you hoping that you could not only help me leave Shatterre but tell me what happened to Cayde Barbaten. Even if you say he is dead." As her next words left her lips Seer began to faintly tremble, "I followed after that chance despite coming to the one place in the shattered archipelago i am more scared to be than anywhere else! I ask of you to just hear me out."

'She's scared to be here?' Thorn asked mentally. He had left the room but was using me to eavesdrop.

her tenacity of trying to find me for the past three months since we parted was something to be commended but there are too many unknowns about her that could potentially screw everything over, asking aloud I said "...who are you really?"

She didn't respond. Her mouth opened to speak but it looked like something was holding her back, it looked like fear but not towards me.

As i was about to ask for a second time Virgil intervened, "the former shrine maiden of the pythonorgana cult. As well as the favorite cousin of the sovereign's betrothed. Her real name is Serena Qilin. Also known as the beloved of the gods."

Seer stared daggers into Virgil after he spoke. "Its Seer now. I don't want to be associated to that... that freak." Pure horror and hatred washed over Seer as she made her proclamation evident, "but you already knew that. Didn't you mister Cargen?"

Virgil was silent. These two knew about each other and likely have a history together. That didn't matter to me though as curious as I was.

Going behind her chair i cut Seer loose with the aether claw on my finger before its form discombobulated, "leave. Go and pursue whatever your freedom is, it's certainly not with me. I don't have time to deal with some idiot who thinks I'm carrying the meaning of existence."

Rubbing her wrists Seer was silent. She didn't try to plea or put on a disgusting act but instead asked a question full of her resolution, "...what do i need to do to prove I'm not baggage?"

Not taking her seriously i said the first thing that came to mind, "its not me you need to prove yourself to. But yourself." Nodding at Virgil he lowered the barrier and we got on our way

"What?... but that makes no sense!"

Virgil led the way out of the room as i followed but i didn't answer Seer's final question as i closed the door behind me. leaving her alone in the room.

"I need another drink." Feeling pitiful for his gloomy appearance i gave Virgil back one of the ten whisky's i had to steal from him last night. "thanks kid. That dame brought up some bad memories. How much did i tell you before i became completely drunk?"