Ersia: Raven Dawn

Randia and Viena pack their stuffs before leaving to get their payment from the church. They were about to look for the head priest when suddenly Father Klaus approached them from behind once again.

"Mr. Ran."

"Oh, Father Klaus. We were about to be on our way."

"Is that so? That's deeply regrettable. Our disciples speak highly of your work."

"We are terribly sorry, Father. Unfortunately, we are short on time and even shorter on supplies. We can barely feed ourselves for today. Still, we are glad that we were able to be of help to those in need."

Father Klaus smiled and looked at Viena.

"Pardon me, little lady. May I talk to your dad for a second?"

"Wait here and look after the bag," Randia caressed her hair.

Randia and the priest went to another room. Viena is now alone and getting bored. She decided to rummage through the items in Randia's big bag in the hope of finding his herbs collection and that peculiar thread she saw when he tied the patient's bones. However, among the things she was looking for, Viena finds something else.

It's a bottle that is tightly sealed and wrapped in an inscribed cloth. At a glance, the bottle seemed just like any ordinary bottle. Yet, when Viena takes a closer look at it, she can see a faint trace of smoke swirling inside it. The more she stares at it, the more her mind feels like it is being pulled in. Soon, she started to see something inside the smoke. It's an amber-coloured eye staring back at her.

"VIENA! NO!"

Randia rushed from behind her. He immediately closes Viena's eyes and pulls her head to his chest, while taking away the bottle in her hand. He shouts loud enough to make some people look his way. He couldn't care less about that. Right now, the most important thing for him is the little girl in his embrace.

He quickly puts the bottle back and turns all his attention on Viena.

"Viena! Look at me, kid! Look at me!" Randia put his hands on her cheek and tapped it gently and repeatedly.

Viena slowly regains her consciousness. Only after a few shakes from Randia, did she finally start to blink. Life eventually comes back to the glitters of her eyes. She was greeted by his worried face and his distinct nasolabial fold. Before she can say anything, Randia puts her head on his shoulder.

"Thank goodness. Oh, bless the world. Thank goodness …."

The little girl had never seen Randia looking so much in distraught, nor had she ever gotten this much affection from someone since her mother. However, the moment didn't last for long as Randia already glaring down at her. She immediately understands that this won't end up with a smile.

"I told you to look after the bag! Not to tamper with it! Are you a deaf or a fool?!" Randia looked furious but also tried to hold it in at the same time.

"Is there a problem, doctor?" Father Klaus approached them.

"… No. We're sorry for making a scene."

"It must be hard sometimes to look after a child, especially the smart ones. However, Holy Mother has promised no less than the heaven's door for those who are patient in their path and gallantly endure their hardship for the young ones."

After that little incident, Randia and Viena bid their farewell to the church and the priests. Awkward silence stills the air between the two once more. They pass a few bridges and crossroads holding each other until Randia decides to break the ice. He grasps Viena's hand a little harder before stopping on the side of the road.

"What did you see?"

"Yes?"

"The bottle you took from my bag, what did you see in it?"

"What did I see? Uhm ... I saw ... I think I saw an eye."

Randia let out a swift breath, a sign of resentment. He turned slightly tempered again when he heard the answer. Although it actually comes out from a deep concern, Viena mistook it that he was angry due to her inobedience.

"Careless. Ignorant. Naughty. Do you even understand what would happen if I were to come late even for a second?"

"I'm sorry, Ran," Viena shook her head while looking down.

Randia walked wordlessly again for a few minutes, trying to clear his head. He keeps telling to himself to understand that children often act that way. Unreadable and full of surprise, for better or for worse.

"... Do you want to know what that is?"

Viena hesitantly nodded.

Randia stopped to carry Viena up before starting to walk again. The little girl calmly complies and rests herself in his embracing hand. Then, Randia asked her to lend her ear closer to his lips.

"It's a very powerful being. I can't even risk someone eavesdropping on us."

"Is it that strong?" Viena started to get curious.

"Yes, stronger than me."

"Stronger than you? Really?"

"Many of my friends died fighting it. Yet, even so, we couldn't even manage to destroy it."

"Does it have a name?"

The man closes his eyes for a second. He is deep in thought, reminiscing one of many dark days of his past. Because even by his standards, the thing in the bottle was one of the most troublesome being he had ever encountered.

"It has many names … The Night Whistler, The Wish Giver, The Singing Snake."

"But according to the earliest record of its existence, its name is …."

Viena is waiting in anticipation. She is waiting for Randia to finish his words. The light in her eyes is flickering in curiosity, and nothing can make her blink. She even clenches her fist and holds her breath. However, the man keeps walking in silence. He did so for so long until the little girl finally lost her patience.

"ISH! Why are you stopping halfway?! Do you want me to have sleeping trouble?!" Viena yelled and tweaked Randia's ears.

"Actually, it's the other way around. There is a possibility that you will have trouble sleeping if I were to tell you. That's why I'm not sure whether it's a good thing to tell you or not."

"You better not leave me hanging, or I will put a ton of dirt in your mouth when you are asleep!"

Randia took a deep breath. His hand holds Viena a little bit tighter, and he walks faster. Hesitation surfaced in his face and wariness in his actions.

"The Primordial Demon of Temptation; Syamrin," he whispered.

"… Syamrin? Temptation? What did it do?"

"It tricks you into doing its bidding by toying with your feelings and emotions. It used to be picky with its target. But now that it's reduced to this, it will take anything as its host to nourish its power, be it an elder, a woman, or a brat like you."

Viena cracks a little laugh a while after, and it makes Randia a little bit annoyed.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Well, I mean, isn't it basically what a con artist would do? And it sounds like a desperate one!"

"This thing you refer to as … 'Con Artist', little one, is more than capable of making the strongest bonds turn against each other. Fellow blood brothers at each other's throat, the most loving wife at her husband, and even mothers and their babies."

"R-Really?"

"Yes. That's why I am astonished to see you taking this so lightly."

Feeling guilty, the little girl plays with her hair while looking away.

"You know I don't mean it that way. I was just ... Anyway, how did the demon do its trick?"

"Through voices and suggestions. But the most common, dreams."

Viena thought that the demon would be more like a sly dealer that roams around offering contracts that would take a person's soul as its price. Such a story is more familiar to her since her late mother used to tell her a scary story every time she stayed up too late. She remembered all of it as if it were yesterday.

"Not through a contract with a tempting offer?"

"No, of course not. A pact usually limits both the demon and the user as the contractors. However, the demons of the highest caste don't bind their power through something like that. They were a lot more sinister."

"Wait? 'demons'? Why do you use plural?"

"I mean exactly what I said."

"So there is more than just the one in the bottle?"

"... There are five of them."

They finally arrived at an eatery. Both are dying for lunch since working in the church saps their energy away. Especially to Viena, since she had never thought that they would perform such duties in a church.

"However, you don't need to worry about that. As I've told you before, I can see things that people don't. Fortunately, you are safe. There's nothing wrong with you."

"That certainly eases my mind."

"Hm. Now, let's eat."

"Okay! I feel like eating a lot today!"

It is indeed a hearty lunch for them, especially for Viena. Since this is the first time the little girl has worked for her share, everything she eats tastes a thousand times better. Randia finished first and had a little chat with the tavern master. Since Viena is eating right at the counter, she can listen to what they are talking about.

She noticed that at first, Randia was only exchanging pleasantries with the tavern master, but after a few more glasses of drink, he started to make his way to the answers he sought.