Lin grinned and Introduced himself to the strange girl. "Name's Lin, nice to meet you two."
The cat Anima introduced himself. "My name is Diron, nice to meet you and thanks for thr help."
"Eh, they were kinda getting irritating, who knows what I would have done if Dorothy didn't intervene." Lin said with a toothed grin, he wouldn't have done anything severe. He would probably just crush his bones.
Diron chuckled. "You must be strong then?, I wonder how strong though."
Lin shrugged. "Well I have trained my body from a young age so I am a bit more stronger than some folks here and if I were to use Tai to increase my strength I can multiplie that strength and if I use my Trait I can tripple it though my Tai would be consumed rapidly."
Dorothy opened her mouths wide in awe. "Wow that sounds terrifying, what is your Trait."
Lin smiled. "You'll find out later when we are fighting some monsters. Anyways what about you, you don't seem to have a Morphtech."
Dorothy chuckled. "I actually do, it just flies around me since I went for the Animal type Morphtech/Weapon Morphtech, it's a golden crow that can transform into a pair of twin daggers," Dorothy finished, her grin growing wider as she waved her hand, and as if summoned, a sleek, golden-feathered crow swooped down from above, perching neatly on her shoulder. The creature gleamed under the streetlamps, its beady eyes glinting with intelligence and mischief.
She tapped its head lightly. Click! The crow shimmered, its body flowing like liquid metal, before twisting into two wickedly curved daggers that floated mid-air around her. With a flick of her fingers, they danced in the air, forming lazy circles before returning to crow form and perching once more.
"Neat trick," Lin remarked with a lopsided grin, his crimson eyes narrowing in amusement. "So you're more of an assassin type, huh? Looks like this trial will be fun."
Dorothy gave an exaggerated bow, her pink hair bobbing. "Why, thank you, Mister Scythe Boy. I aim to impress."
Lin chuckled and raised his scythe. "This old thing?, I recently added a few functions to it and increased the speed of it turning into a spear and now I can use Taimat crystals to shoot energy beams....but it kinda needs Taimat crystals..."
"Sounds like how my guns work, though I don't really have any cool morphs, my dagger can split in two and I can control it using my Tai. Due to my trait, i don't really need any Morphtech. " Diron said with a relaxed shrug, his green eyes glinting under the streetlamps. "I guess my Trait leans more on precision and agility than flashy tech. Makes me good at quick shots and close combat, but I'm not the type to show off."
Lin nodded thoughtfully. "Sometimes subtlety wins over brute force."
Dorothy smirked, twirling one of her crow-daggers between her fingers. "Well, whatever your style, we all need to take down as many monsters as we can to get trams we are suitable in."
Lin nodded and then grinned. "Yeah, we just need a fourth person."
Diron raised an eyebrow. "You want to be teammates with me."
Dorothy smiled. "Oh, that sounds more fun, our synergy seems quite good don't you think?."
Lin's crimson eyes glinted with interest. "I'm thinking more of someone who can cover our backs. Speed, power, and precision are great, but when the night's crawling with monsters, having someone who can sense danger or provide support could be the difference between life and death."
Dorothy tilted her head, golden daggers shimmering faintly in the dim light. "You're right. We need a fourth—someone versatile or with a unique Trait. Anyone you have in mind?"
A golden light flashed by them.
Diron ignored it. "Maybe we can find someone among these people."
Another one flashed by Dorothy but she too ignored it thinking it was someone's trait flashing by. "Maybe I can ask around, no one can resist my charms."
A golden light flashed by Li-
Lin outstretched his hands and grabbed the l
Person who was running past them every second. It was another girl. "Huh? Let me go you red eyes punk."
The girl had blonde hair and sharp blue eyes, but here's the problem. Lin smirked and said "Oh I never thought the golden child would be here, so I wonder how you are invited to Babylon, Freya."
Freya's eyes widened at the sound of her name, and her lips curled into a sharp scowl, baring teeth that didn't look quite human. The golden aura flickered around her body like an angry flame, and the air between them seemed to spark with tension.
She tried to yank her arm free, but Lin's grip was firm, his crimson eyes locking onto hers like a predator to prey.
"Let. Go." she hissed, her voice low and dangerous, like a blade drawn halfway from its sheath.
Lin simply grinned, the grin of someone who knew he was being annoying but enjoyed it far too much to stop."You descendants of Azkorel are quiet flashy....and feisty too."
He finally let her go, a gentle smile now on his face. Freya rubbed her arm while glaring at him furiously instead. "Hmph stupid red eyes?!."
Dorothy's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait she is the descendants a Child of Taimat?!!, Damn I never thought I would see one in my life, how do you know her."
Lin laughed and hit Freya's back, wrapping an arm around her. "Well one day I was on a long journey and I got injured, thankfully she was there and she healed me, at that time she was precious as Tartarac Taimat crystals but I quickly realized she was short tempered, either ways I owe her a lot and I was just playing with her."
Freya pushed his arm away from her and huffed. "You're brutish as ever Lin and still probably reckless."
Lin only smiled. "I tried to contact you using my Stele but I couldn't get through."
Her expression then turned to that of guilt. "I accidentally lost it when I was sailing through the sea....sorry I guess. I got a new one though?!!"
"Oh, do you want to exchange details again?." Lin asked.
A stele was a small circular disc the size of a Watch that uses electromagnetic waves to produce calls and transmission and some people watch live streams or record videos on them.
Freya hesitated for a second, staring at Lin's outstretched hand with a flicker of uncertainty. Then, with a sharp exhale and a roll of her eyes, she tapped her Stele to his with a faint ping as their devices synced.
"There. Happy now?" she muttered, tucking the Stele back into a hidden pocket in her jacket.
Lin smirked, pocketing his own. "Delighted, actually. Actually, why were you running past us, were you looking for something, what did you lose this time?."
Freya crossed her arms, a defensive glint in her eyes. The golden aura around her crackled faintly as if in protest, but she calmed it down with a subtle exhale. "I wasn't looking for something. I was… well…"
Her gaze flicked around, as if she was debating whether to tell them. Finally, with a reluctant sigh, she muttered, "I was scouting the area. The aura around this place is... off. Something's been stalking the crowd—something fast. I can sense it slipping in and out of view, but it's tricky. Every time I try to focus, it vanishes like smoke."
Lin's grin vanished...that description. It was too familiar.
---
*In a not far distant Past*
"ALL HAIL THE GREAT ENTROPY."
Lin was not sure what to think of this, he wondered why it has come to this, either way even if he did have opinions, he knew he was already too late for whatever this thing did left irreversible damage.
He was ensured within a thick white cloudy fog slowly eating away his Passive Tai shield. He was enraged so much that his Tai was manifesting around him as a dark red aura.
His scythe was in a spear mode and he stood straight with his left leg in front and his right at the back, the spear was pointed downward as he looked ahead staring at those disgusting eyes. That disgusting yellow gaze really ticks hum off.
Within a second, the clouds I'm front of him parted in a wide straight line and with a speed that cannot be reacted by mere humans, he arrived in front of thr entity.
The entity itself widened its eyes and barely dodged the spear that was aimed straight at it's heart. Sensing the danger the entity retreated further into the fog.
But Lin was relentless, he chased after it, his steps leaving no presence on the ground as if he was weightless.
The entity's heart heated un fear, as it now began running for it's life, both leaving that monster in that place and soon the entity's back was against a large mountain and Lin's spear was embedded right beside its head.
It stared at those crimson eyes, it shuddered feeling something primal and beasties in that gaze.
Lin's other hand was slowly reaching for its face. When suddenly he felt something interfere, his mind momentarily distracted and the fog was gone, the greenery was the only thing there. The entity was gone.
He caught the sight of someone's cloth.
Lin was utterly enraged.
Lin clenched his fists so hard his knuckles cracked, the air around him shimmering with residual heat from the Tai he had unleashed. His crimson eyes darted to the fluttering scrap of cloth caught on a branch nearby—dark fabric, torn and scorched at the edges. He knew it wasn't the entity's; it was too ordinary, too... human.
"Who… was that?" he muttered under his breath, his voice rough like sandpaper scraping against steel.
The oppressive fog that had swallowed the battlefield had vanished without a trace, leaving only the eerie silence of the forest. His spear's tip still vibrated with the echo of the strike that should have ended the entity's life. He glared at the fading ripples of power in the air, frustrated beyond measure.
Someone had intervened. Someone had stolen his kill.
With a frustrated snarl, Lin turned on his heel, Tai flaring as a brief pulse of red before fading to a faint shimmer.
---
Back in the present—
Lin's expression darkened for a heartbeat, his grin fading into something colder, more focused. His eyes snapped to Freya, who was still looking around warily, her golden aura flickering as if it, too, was on edge.
"…Freya," he said, voice low, almost a growl. "You said you sensed something… fast? Something that moves like smoke?"
Freya blinked, caught off guard by his sudden intensity. "Y-yeah. I didn't get a good look."