"And next would be me." The stout young man stepped forward with the energy of someone who had been waiting for his turn. He spread both arms wide, as though presenting himself to an audience. "My name is Zou Shi. The most handsome man in the entire world." He punctuated this with a loud, unashamed laugh. "Hahaha!"
Killian stared at him for a moment. *Something is very wrong with this person,* he thought.
Zou Shi was Chinese, round-faced and a little heavy-set, dressed in a red robe thrown over a white shirt. A pair of thin wire-framed glasses sat on his nose. He wore his confidence the way some people wore expensive coats, loudly and without apology.
"You're from China?" Killian asked. "How did you end up here?"
"Long story." Zou Shi waved a hand. "I'll tell you sometime. But more importantly," he straightened up and tilted his chin, "I am an Arcana Holder of the Diamond path."
He let the title hang in the air like he expected applause.
"What does that mean?" Killian asked.
Zou Shi smiled slowly and pressed one hand over his mouth. "If you know, you know. Xixixi."
Killian decided he was going to ask someone else later.
Before he could dwell on it, a woman stepped forward with a small, self-conscious smile. Her hair was the colour of pale gold, falling neatly around a face that belonged in a painting. Her clothes were clean and well-fitted, white and soft green, pressed and careful even in the middle of this ruined place.
"My name is Marie Hailey," she said quietly. "It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," Killian replied, scratching the back of his head. Something about her manner made him feel slightly underdressed.
"And the last one," he said, turning to the final member of the group, "what's your name?"
She had not moved. Her arms were folded across her chest, her posture closed and unhurried. Long black hair, a face that was sharp and still, and an expression that suggested she found most things mildly beneath her notice. Her clothes were black from collar to boot, and at her hip hung a katana, its scabbard worn but well-kept.
She glanced at him. Then she looked away.
"Laufey Calestine," she said. "Just Laufey."
"Oh, um." Killian searched for something to follow that up with and found nothing. "Alright then. Good to meet you, Laufey."
She did not reply.
"Okay," Killian said.
Yamada cut through the moment before it could get more awkward. "Alright, introductions are over. We need to move before the fog thickens and night comes in." He was already scanning the treeline, his voice carrying the particular flatness of someone issuing an order rather than making a suggestion. "Everyone, let's go."
"Zou Shi." He turned briefly. "Use the acceleration."
"Got it!" Zou Shi cracked his knuckles and stepped into a loose stance, his expression shifting into something more focused behind those thin glasses.
He raised his voice in a clear, deliberate chant.
「Oh, Architect of the Shattered Mirror, I bind the scales of truth. Unveil the illusion of Diamonds.」
The words came out in a language Killian had never heard before. Something between a melody and a command, each syllable shaped with care.
*What is he saying?* Killian wondered, watching with his head slightly tilted.
A moment later, a ripple of light passed over each of them, brief and warm, like stepping through a sunbeam. It faded almost immediately, absorbed into the skin.
Killian looked down at his arms, then his legs. "What was that?"
"Ask later," Yamada said, already moving. "Keep up, Sinclair-san."
Killian nodded and fell into step behind the others as they broke into a run.
He noticed it almost immediately. His legs felt light, impossibly light, like the ground was giving back more than he put in. He wasn't gasping for breath. He wasn't burning. He ran, and it felt like almost nothing at all.
"What the," he said under his breath. "Its like i'm flying."
He picked up his pace and pulled alongside Zou Shi near the middle of the group.
"Hey, Zou Shi. That was impressive."
Zou Shi's cheeks went faintly pink, and he lifted his chin. "Of course it was. I'm Zou Shi after all."
"Will you two shut up," Amura said from somewhere behind them. His voice was flat and cold as a closed door.
Killian and Zou Shi both turned to look at each other at the same time. A pause.
Then they both started laughing.
"Hahaha! Who do you think you are, telling us what to do?" Zou Shi called back, grinning.
"That's the spirit," Killian said, knocking his shoulder against Zou Shi's. "Don't let him bully you, bro."
"Tch," Amura said. "Childish."
Yamada, running ahead, heard all of it. The corner of his mouth moved. Not quite a smile, but close enough.
A little further back, Marie watched the two of them with quiet amusement. "Something tells me this is going to be interesting," she murmured to no one in particular.
Laufey said nothing. But her eyes tracked the pair of them for just a moment before she looked away again.
They ran until the park gave way to trees, and the trees thickened into a proper forest. Yamada raised a fist and slowed them to a walk at the edge of it.
"From here, follow me and Laufey closely," he said. "We're the only ones who know the path."
The formation settled into order. Yamada at the front, then Killian, then Marie, then Zou Shi, then Laufey, with Amura taking the rear. They pushed into the forest in a single quiet line.
The canopy closed over them and the light thinned. The trees here were wide and old, their roots buckled through the earth in long crooked ridges. The fog that had clung to the edges of the park was heavier here, curling low between the trunks in pale, slow ribbons.
"Stay sharp," Yamada said from the front. "Monsters are drawn to the fog. They like it. Pay attention."
The warning settled over the group like a second layer of cold.
Then, from behind, Marie's voice came quietly forward. "Zou Shi." She held out her hand as she walked, and in her palm sat a single gem, small and vividly yellow, catching what little light filtered through the trees. "Take this before the acceleration wears off. Your Arcana is hungry."
Zou Shi reached back and plucked it from her fingers without breaking stride. He turned it between his fingers once, twice, and his expression, for just a moment, dropped the showmanship entirely. He looked at it with something quiet and focused.
"Thank you," he said simply.
Marie nodded and said nothing more.
The forest closed around them as they walked deeper in.