TORIN YOUTH – CHAPTER 05: A BROKEN BOND

In the northern region of Crystal Island, a fight to the death between Team Two and a giant lamia comes to a bitter end under a moonless night sky.

The four Elite Legionnaire candidates were caught by surprise. Nevertheless, they raised their weapons in a brave effort, unleashing elemental power against the towering predator. Unfortunately for them, the enormous serpent-human hybrid was a powerful spellcaster herself, tilting the odds in her favor.

Her victory did not come easily, and she bears scars from the conflict on her bare skin. The surrounding forest is likewise scarred from the battle. Trees are fractured. Craters reveal the magnitude of the powers unleashed.

However, the flashes of light and ground-shaking explosions have ceased. Now, there’s darkness and the sound of a predator relishing a hard-earned meal.

“It’s a good thing there were four of you,” the slithering giantess remarks to the last of the four team members, dangling him by his leg before her face. “That fight really worked up my appetite.”

The hungry giantess tilts her head back and lowers the badly beaten legionnaire into her gaping mouth.

Gasping in pain, the young man can hardly voice his terror while staring into the abyss before him.

“…argh… ngh…” he weakly grunts as he disappears behind her lips.

The lamia savors the taste of her last prey.

Satisfied, she swallows him whole.

The victorious predator slithers away from the campsite into the dark cover of the forest, leaving the scattered belongings of Team Two as a haunting reminder of the dangers of the wilderness.

Meanwhile, farther east, near the ruins of Old Torin City—

Without Atreus, the other three members of Team Three sleep at their campsite, tucked away in a gigantic fallen hollow tree. It does not guarantee safety, but it has served them well enough for the night.

Leon tosses and turns in his sleep, reaching out with a hand and groaning as a nightmare troubles him.

In his dream, darkness surrounds him. Fear grips him, but not for himself.

“RHEA!” he calls. “WHERE ARE YOU?”

A light appears in the distance. It’s the only light that he can see, and yet it doesn’t bring him comfort—rather, it feels ominous.

A voice calls back to him in despair from within the light, echoing chillingly in the void.

“LEON!”

Recognizing Rhea’s voice, Leon runs toward the light, pleading with his cousin, “Hold on, Rhea! I’m coming!”

“I can’t see you,” the voice says.

As Leon gets closer, the light becomes a blazing fire burning so hotly that he can scarcely approach it.

Leon steps back from the heat of the growing flame.

In spite of the pain, he extends his hand, crying out, “TAKE MY HAND, RHEA!”

“Leon,” the voice calls as Rhea’s silhouette appears in the midst of the fire. “I can’t see you!”

She reaches her hand out of the fire toward her cousin.

“IT’S TOO HOT!” she wails.

Leon takes her hand. “DON’T LET GO!” he says.

The tall and muscular young man pulls with all of his might.

Yet, he doesn’t seem to be getting any closer to freeing the girl. Rather, his feet drag along the soil as he is slowly pulled toward the flames.

“Rhea, you’re pulling me in,” he says. “You have to come out!”

“I CAN’T SEE!” the girl cries, her voice still echoing. “I’M BURNING!”

The fire spreads up Rhea’s arm and begins to cover Leon’s.

“AAARGH!” the boy screams in pain, but he refuses to let go of his cousin. “JUST HANG ON!”

His feet enter the fire as he is pulled into the scorching inferno.

“LEON, WAKE UP!” a gentle voice calls to him from outside his nightmare.

Bia kneels over Leon, her heart breaking as she can see how tormented the boy is by his dream.

She nudges him gently and calls to him again, “Wake up, Leon! Wake up!”

Leon’s eyes open wide, and he gasps, staring past the girl. The morning light creeps into the hollowed-out tree, shining on the three of them.

Bia rests a hand on him to comfort him, assuring him, “Leon, you were having a nightmare... but it’s okay now. You’re safe with me.”

Leon sits up, still looking shaken, and sees Rhea sleeping nearby.

He then looks at Bia with unease flickering in his eyes.

“Every time—that dream gets worse,” he says.

Bia becomes deeply troubled, but she can’t help but ask, “What is this dream? What did you see?”

As Leon starts to answer, Rhea stirs, drawing the attention of both her teammates.

“Umph,” she moans quietly while sitting up to stretch her arms and yawn.

Leon looks back at Bia, his unease giving way to fear.

Bia discreetly nods in understanding and assures him, “We’ll talk later.”

Rhea stands and looks at her two remaining teammates, appearing to be in a good mood.

“Let’s get after it, team,” she says.

Both Bia and Leon nod and begin preparing for the day’s journey.

As the day goes on, gray clouds roll in, swallowing the warmth of the sunlight. Rain lightly falls, making it difficult for Leon to read the map without ruining it. He hums as he determines their location.

“There’s the final landmark before the ruins,” he says, noticing a stone pillar nearby.

Ahead, the trees become sparse, and incomplete cobblestone streets stretch into the forest as if they were hastily stitched into the landscape.

“There it is,” Rhea says.

Within a few steps, the three Torinians find themselves in the ancient remains of a city that was ripped from its homeworld and thrown into this realm of gigantic man-eaters.

“It’s so eerie,” Bia says, looking at the haunting structures that were once homes for millions of people.

The webs of giant spider-human hybrids stretch across the many buildings and streets, hinting at the fate of the people who failed to escape this city hundreds of years ago.

“To think that this was once the capital of an empire,” Rhea sighs while gazing at the ruins of the city now claimed by driders.

“It’s a miracle any of our ancestors survived to find a place to rebuild,” Leon says.

Bia takes a step back.

“This place gives me the creeps,” Bia says, shuddering. “Let’s plant the flag and get away from here.”

Rhea removes her leather backpack and kneels as she reaches into it. She pulls out a flag with the Harpy Queen’s image emblazoned on it and assembles the flagpole.

She then drives it into the ground at the designated place, marked by holes where past teams had successfully planted their flags.

“Now, to make it home,” she says.

As they turn to enter the forest again, Leon looks at Bia, who trails a few steps behind him and Rhea, concerned for her since they lost Atreus. She hasn’t been her usual bouncy self. And despite her efforts to hide it, her crying did not escape anyone’s notice.

Rhea can tell that Leon wants to say something, and she nudges him discreetly as they walk.

Leon nudges her right back, lightly clinking his armor against hers.

“You’re the team leader,” he mumbles to his cousin. “Maybe it’s time you stopped pretending not to see that Bia isn’t feeling well.”

Rhea replies, raising her voice slightly to insist, “You know what this is about, Leon. I… can’t!”

“It’s the least you can do to make up for trying to drive Atreus away, Rhea,” Leon argues. “It’s blatantly obvious now what happened on the night we all went out.”

“That would only make my attempt to comfort her sound more hollow, cousin,” Rhea tells him.

Realizing that there’s no winning this argument, Leon exhales in exasperation and steps back to walk beside Bia.

“How are you holding up, Bia?” he asks her.

Bia sighs.

She looks at her hands, clad in her armored caesti.

“I failed,” she says sorrowfully. “Rhea was right—my strength wasn’t enough.”

Leon is grieved by Bia’s words, realizing that Rhea had apparently put those thoughts into her head as well.

He encourages her gently, saying, “Don’t blame yourself for what happened to Atreus, Bia. We share victories and failures as a team, the same way that no house can stand without proper support.”

Rhea speaks up, attempting to set the other girl’s mind at ease.

“For whatever it’s worth, when I looked into the Vixen’s eyes, I didn’t see the eyes of a predator,” she says. “It was very strange, to say the least.”

Bia is baffled by the statement and scrunches her face.

“Huh? What is that supposed to mean?” the black-haired girl asks.

“It means I don’t believe the Scarlet Vixen killed him,” Rhea says with frustration seeping into her tone.

“Besides that, you shouldn’t blame yourself for someone else failing to take their fate into their own hands. After all, there’s only one rule governing this world—only the strong survive.”

Rhea steps on a twig as she walks, snapping it.

“And I am never wrong… usually,” she says quietly, looking discomfited by a thought entering her mind. “But that boy…”

Leon sees that Bia is fighting back tears.

“Rhea… please, try harder,” he begs. “We need positivity at a time like this. You told me that you didn’t hold a grudge against Atreus’s mother, so why are you so cold regarding him?”

Rhea takes a deep breath and blows strands of strawberry-blonde hair away from her face, continuing her confession.

“You want me to be honest?” she asks, looking away from her two teammates. “I’ll confess—I tried to protect him. We all know how he feels about me. Love can be a dangerous distraction. I thought that by breaking his heart and forcing him to move on, I might somehow make him… stronger.”

Bia’s thoughts are immediately dragged back to the night they went out, when Rhea requested to be alone with Atreus. Her anger erupts.

“So that’s what happened,” Bia says, clenching her fists. “If I knew you were gonna treat him like that, I woulda never—GAH!”

The five-foot-nine-inch brown-skinned girl lets out a shout of anger, struggling to keep her fists at her sides.

Leon’s eyes widen as the conversation intensifies, and he steps in, saying, “Calm down, Bia. We can’t afford to fight amongst ourselves out here. Believe me, I’m just as disappointed as you are.”

Rhea feels a pang of guilt seeing how much she’s upset her teammates and turns toward them, halting her steps.

“I apologize,” she says with genuine remorse showing on her face. “It wasn’t my intent to hurt either of you. I only meant to give him closure…”

Looking into her cousin’s eyes, she reminds him, “You know how much I hate loose ends, Leon.”

As Bia and Leon ponder the meaning of Rhea’s words, a chill wind blows, carrying an ominous feeling.

Rhea looks about. She narrows her eyes, carefully scanning her surroundings as her hand inches toward the sword carried on her back.

Bia still fumes while Leon notices that Rhea’s posture has changed.

He shushes Bia. “Bia—stop! Rhea…”

Rhea draws her sword and steps forward slowly.

“Wait… What’s happening? Are we being hunted?” Bia asks, looking around.

“No,” Rhea quietly replies. “I am hunting.”

Bia and Leon ready themselves for battle.

A low rumble echoes among the trees.

It grows, becoming the unmistakable growl of an enormous beast.

“A wolf?” Leon asks.

“Sounds too big to be a wolf,” Bia answers. “Unless it’s…”

The white paw of a 10-meter-tall beast sets down as its figure slowly emerges from among the trees.

“…a Dread Wolf.”

Leon braces himself and searches for signs of other dread wolves around them.

“Don’t they usually stick to hunting larger prey in packs?” he asks.

Rhea observes the beast’s features—white fur with red stripes and a missing right eye.

“Nosys,” she presumes, revealing her familiarity with the beast. “Am I correct?”

Her teammates glance at her, puzzled.

The beast sniffs the air and sneers.

“Correct,” he growls. “And you reek of Taiyo blood.”

“IT CAN TALK?” Bia and Leon ask in unison.

“This one can,” Rhea says. “My father told me stories about Nosys, the Lone Dread Wolf. A beast cursed with sapience. Doomed to a lonely existence, hunting smaller prey to survive.”

“Ah—it warms my heart to know that I wasn’t forgotten,” Nosys says in his deep tone, moving closer as he looks down at the three. “Did your father tell you what happened to my right eye?”

“You trifled with the wrong Taiyo. That’s what happened… dog,” Rhea says, pointing her sword at the dread wolf as he paces around them. “At that time, it was my great-grandfather, Pyros.”

“And you are?” Nosys asks.

“Rhea,” she answers, igniting her sword with fire magic as the caeli crystal crafted into the hilt begins to glow.

Nosys gives his best attempt at a smile.

“Afraid, are we?” he asks.

“It was a Taiyo who took your eye, dog,” Rhea reminds him. “You’re the one who should be afraid.”

“In that case, what do you say we settle an old score, Rhea?” he snarls.

“It would be my pleasure to finish what was started,” Rhea replies with a determined glare.

The fur on Nosys’s back stands on end as he bares his fangs at the five-foot-ten-inch girl in armor.

Leon and Bia watch uneasily as both the giant dread wolf and the Torinian girl prepare to strike.

Leon gulps nervously.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” he says.

The dread wolf strikes out at Rhea, who swings her sword upward, throwing a scorching blast from her blade into his gaping maw.

Nosys recoils from the intense flame, giving the others an opportunity to attack him.

Bia springs into action, determined not to lose any more friends.

“We have to help Rhea,” she tells Leon.

Channeling her psiki, she amplifies her physical strength and strikes hard at the dread wolf’s front leg with her armored caesti.

Before the predator can even react to her strike, a tempest of wind magic erupts from her fist and staggers the giant.

Nosys hobbles briefly and steadies himself, shifting his weight onto his other legs.

Not wanting to give the dread wolf time to recover, Rhea leaps upward, aiming to thrust her sword through the giant wolf’s neck.

She stabs the beast, but Nosys manages to dodge just enough that the blade misses the artery Rhea was aiming for.

Blood seeps from the wound, staining his white fur.

The girl plants her sandaled feet against his neck to stabilize herself.

She ignites her blade again, going for the kill.

Nosys shakes violently, dislodging the blade and throwing the girl off just as a torrent of flames erupts from her sword.

Rhea is hurled toward a tree. She flips in the air just in time to plant her feet against it and push off to strike at the giant dread wolf again.

The dread wolf’s eyes widen in astonishment at the girl’s ability. He snaps his head back to avoid the next slash of her blade but fails to react in time—Rhea slices Nosys’s jaw, cutting into his flesh with her blazing sword.

Pain grips the beast, but he grits his sharp teeth, letting out a growl that sounds as determined as it does agonized.

“GRAH! Taiyo pup!”

Rhea’s feet land on the ground with a heavy thud.

Nosys lunges quickly, trying to close his jaws on her, only to have a rising pillar of rock and mud from Leon come between them.

“Sorry, no eating my teammates,” the boy says.

Leon then touches the ground, causing it to quake and become unstable beneath the dread wolf.

Nosys’s legs sink into the earth. The wolf growls in anger at the tall, muscular boy.

A loud thud and faint crack are heard as Bia takes advantage of the distraction to strike one of the beast’s hind legs, likely fracturing the bone.

As he yelps in pain, Rhea throws another fiery blast from her sword at the giant.

Bia puts her hands together; the caeli crystals crafted onto the backs of her armored gloves glow as she sends forth a whirlwind to fuel the fire from Rhea’s sword.

The inferno proves too much for Nosys, and he staggers backward, growling in pain.

Before he can escape the flames, Leon causes a rock to shoot forth from the ground below and strike the giant’s jaw.

Nosys falls over, shaking the ground on impact.

He groans weakly, his fur scorched yet still wet with blood draining from his neck.

“Heh heh,” he laughs. “Not bad.”

He attempts to stand, but the pain in his hind leg spikes.

“ARGH!” he growls, falling down again.

Rhea gazes coldly at the creature.

“Did you mistake me for prey, dog?” she says to him.

Nosys looks at the girl with curiosity.

“A strange question, human,” he replies.

“I’ve never tasted dread wolf before,” Rhea says, taunting him.

Leon looks at Rhea, concern etched on his face.

Rhea seems to be relishing the moment to a disturbing degree.

The girl continues, speaking in a cold monotone. “After I’ve slain you, I’m going to feast on your flesh. Just as you would have done to me.”

Leon steps between Rhea and Nosys.

“Rhea…” he sighs heavily. “That’s enough.”

Rhea, confused, looks Leon over.

“You are in my way, Leon,” she says calmly but firmly.

Leon shakes his head. “You’re taking this too far. He’s down. Let him go.”

Rhea’s lips curl in subtle anger.

“It’s our job to kill. You know that, right?” she says.

“Killing for survival is one thing,” Leon says. “This is... something else.”

“It’s called reality, Leon. When are you going to grasp it?” Rhea snaps back. “This world doesn’t care about your... morals! It is kill or be killed. Eat or be eaten. Choose, cousin, or the world will choose for you.”

Leon stands quietly, conflicted.

Bia squints at Rhea, troubled by her words and posture.

“Perhaps you should let her make her own choices, Leon,” Bia says softly, trying to de-escalate.

Leon hesitates to move first.

“Please... turn back, Rhea,” he quietly begs.

Rhea’s eyes narrow at him.

“You are in my way, Leon,” she repeats forcefully.

A deep voice laughs disturbingly behind the group.

“Ha ha ha. Arrogant pup, she is,” Nosys says as he stirs from his brief reprieve.

He uses the distraction to swipe at the group with his massive paw, knocking them over.

In a blur, Rhea is struck on her left side by sharp claws that penetrate her armor—one of them slashing across her face.

“Ahhh!” she cries out as she is slammed into the muddy ground.

She pushes herself up slowly, badly injured.

Her hand reaches up to the left side of her face as blood pours from her eye socket.

Rhea kneels, her heart racing. “S-som-something’s n-not right...”

The dread wolf chuckles, knowing he struck true. “An eye for an eye, my dear.”

He grunts loudly, pushing through the pain as he lunges at Rhea.

She barely has a moment to process what is happening before the beast’s jaws close around her.

Leon and Bia help each other to their feet.

Terror fills them as they watch Nosys lift his head, Rhea’s legs dangling from his mouth.

“QUICK, MOVE!” Leon shouts to Bia.

The dread wolf lets Rhea slide completely past his teeth.

Inside, the panicked girl, covered in blood and drool, breathes heavily.

“N—NO… NO!” she yells.

She punches and kicks against the flesh surrounding her in tearful despair.

“I—I CAN’T… I W-WON’T BE PREY!”

She grabs hold of her sword’s hilt.

She tries, but there’s no space to use the blade.

Her panic turns to rage. Uncontrollable rage.

Fire erupts inside the dread wolf’s mouth.

Nosys writhes in pain, but he refuses to release her.

“I WILL NOT BE PREY!” Rhea screams from inside the inferno.

Leon takes up his sword and shield, preparing to launch Bia into the air as they had done when fighting the Scarlet Vixen.

The caeli crystals crafted into his weapons glow.

Bia stands ready, fists clenched.

A pillar of rock erupts from below, propelling Bia upward.

She leaps and drives her fist into the dread wolf’s jaw.

The shockwave ripples across his fur.

Nosys collapses.

Rhea’s teammates rush toward the smoking mouth of the giant wolf.

They strain together, forcing his jaws apart.

Rhea crawls out and away from the beast.

Leon and Bia rush to her side.

Rhea trembles, kneeling, her hands gripping the muddy soil.

Tears drip from her right eye onto her hand. Blood streams from the other.

She sobs bitterly.

Leon reaches down to comfort her.

“I... can use healing magic to close your wounds,” he says quietly.

Rhea lifts her face toward him in fury.

“DO NOT TOUCH ME!” she roars, reaching for the hilt of her sword.

Leon’s heart shatters.

He steps back, stunned and wracked with guilt.

Bia’s heart sinks.

Rhea’s sorrow is once again swallowed up by rage. She screams and digs her hands into the muddy soil.

Bia slowly crouches to peek at Rhea’s face.

She gasps. “Oh no…”

Nosys, severely beaten, twitches.

His ears flick as they pick up a sound nearby.

His nose sniffs the air.

Something is troubling him. The dread wolf tries to push himself up off the ground.

Team Three notices that Nosys is stirring again.

They steel themselves for another fight.

They quickly realize that Nosys has no intention of attacking them and is instead trying to flee the area.

They look in the direction that seems to have drawn the dread wolf’s concern.

From among the giant trees, the legs of a spider come into view.

The three Torinians follow the movement with their eyes until the entire body of the ninety-five-foot-tall drider emerges. The human half of her body is covered in a leather, fur-trimmed coat. From beneath her hood flows long, silky black hair down to where her human half meets the spider half of her body.

Her emerald-green eyes regard the scene with pity.

“Oh dear,” she says to herself. “It appears I’ve arrived a touch late. I’ll apologize to Cadmeia when I next see her.”

She looks to the dread wolf as he tries to limp away.

“Tsk tsk—Nosys, you naughty boy. I commanded you not to prey on Torinians anymore,” she says in an amused tone. “I would punish you for breaking my rules again, but it looks like you’ve already paid the price for your misbehavior.”

The drider carries herself and speaks with sophistication and elegance, despite her more common attire.

“Khariklo, I was only passing through,” the dread wolf says, his tail between his legs. “I just happened to run across the relative of an old acquaintance of mine. We were merely… catching up.”

She looks at Rhea’s condition and sighs. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”

Nosys pleads with the giant drider, “Khariklo, please release me from this curse.”

“That isn’t happening,” she replies, shooing the dread wolf away with her hand. “You deserve every bit of that curse for crossing me. Now leave us.”

Nosys sighs and limps away, grumbling under his breath.

The drider reaches down to gather the humans into her hands.

“Oooh, I just love Torinians, you know,” she says softly and melodically. Her cheerfulness is almost infectious. If Rhea’s condition weren’t so serious, the team members might have returned her smile.

“I can hardly wait to get you home. We’re going to get you three cleaned up and fed,” she adds, beaming with joy. “Don’t worry—it isn’t far off your course.”

The three team members look at one another in confusion as they are carried in the gentle drider’s giant hands.

“I know you have questions. Don’t fret—I can answer them all and then some,” she promises as she heads home.

(NEXT CHAPTER)

A concept sketch of Leon.