The holy rays of the three moons lightened the clearing, Iris's glowing red eyes reflected the flames, and the burning fire crackled. The rising smoke merged with the star-poor night. In fact, the night seemed to consume every notion of daylight in its darkness.
Warming himself by the fire, Levin sat to the west. Iris rested opposite him, sitting on a fallen tree trunk. She handled the meat of the slain spider.
"How did you survive that earlier?" She only looked up now.
Levin flinched, surprised. He didn't know how good it would be if she knew his ability, especially since he didn't really understand it himself.
"The spider probably realized I couldn't be tasty." His body was frail anyway.
For a moment, the air became heavier; Iris's gaze hung on Levin. "Hmm. You must be an idiot. As if I would believe that."
She looked back at the black meat in her hand. After a short moment of silence, she sighed and continued. "For both of us, it is better if you are honest. I just remind you, I have no reason to protect you. Literally, your life depends on me."
Levin smiled sheepishly and rubbed his head. He knew that, but if she were going to kill him over such a trifle, she would have done it already.
"Well, with this frail body, the spider really wouldn't be nutri—"
Iris pierced him with a threatening look.
"But I could escape. I am not quite sure how that was possible..." Levin looked thoughtfully at the ground. "I could dive into the ground."
"I see... tell me, what were you thinking before you woke up here?" asked Iris.
(...Huh?! Does she know that I only woke up in the cave? That I am not from here?)
Levin thought back to her threat and flinched slightly. "So you know what is going on here?"
Levin had seen her fight. It was clear to him that what he did was not natural. Just the fact that he woke up in this place even though he was on the threshold of death. None of this made sense... for a normal human. But what was happening now could be nothing other than reality. One had to take off the lens that filtered and categorized all sensory impressions through experience and memory. In short, he had to discard all his notions of natural and unnatural. For diving into the ground and nearly suffocating wasn't exactly a natural experience.
"What I remember last..." Levin's blue eyes looked up at the three hanging moons. "How beautiful the darkness can be." His voice was calm. Controlled. Almost nostalgic.
"Hmm. That makes sense." Iris placed the side of her index finger thoughtfully on her chin, but turned her gaze back to the exhausted boy. "That is your ability. When humans enter this world, their inner desires, cravings, and imaginations manifest as abilities."
Iris stretched out her hand and pricked her index finger with a twig so that a little blood flowed. In the next moment, that blood began to boil. Not a second later, Iris's red eyes reflected a small, flickering flame.
"That is my ability. I am sure you understand how it works."
Levin's shadow fluttered through the unsteady campfire light. For him, time seemed to stand still briefly. It made sense. Everything about Iris screamed fire. Her hair shining in the moonlight. Her eyes that warmed his body just by contact. Her blood that ignited with a blink.
But it also became clear to him that these abilities were like a double-edged sword. They gave you supernatural possibilities, but they also limited them and endangered you. Iris had to lose blood whenever she wanted to use her ability. He had to dive into a cold sea of darkness, disoriented.
Levin nodded briefly. Suddenly he felt something. His hairs stood up. His eyes widened.
It was an alarming feeling; his heart beat faster, his hands sought a blade all by themselves. Levin looked around, searching for the trigger.
"Oho, not bad, kid," Iris interrupted him with a smile. Her left arm was close to her body and her left thumb pointed to the side.
Levin turned his gaze sharply. Five meters away, where the flat ground merged into trees, a figure stepped out of the shadow.
(Can't get any peace here, can one?)
But to Levin's luck, this figure was not large. On the contrary, it was small, perhaps as big as an infant and built very similarly to one. Only it was pitch black with large, white eyes and a small mouth consisting only of lips. But what really caught the eye was the iron blade growing sideways out of its right forearm. You could see the place where flesh fused with iron. Several veins flowed over the blade and lumps of flesh marked the threshold between monster and metal.
Levin stood up, alarmed, and sought Iris's eyes.
She was already stretching out her hand, offering the knife she used to cut the spider meat. She held the tip of the knife so that the handle faced Levin. He understood and grabbed the blade quickly.
"You should be able to handle this one alone. This is the perfect chance for you to present your ability too, right?"
She slowly lay down sideways on the tree trunk, supporting her head with her right hand while patting the trunk. "Don't get hurt, that would be suboptimal." She searched for stars in the sky thoughtfully and then said, "Oh yes, good lu—"
The small monster didn't wait. It sprinted forward. The wind blew through the trees, the rustling of the leaves louder than the silence. The smell of blood and burnt meat filled the air. And a fast little monster now stood before Levin as if appearing from nowhere.
It jumped, aiming for the neck. Levin held the knife with his right hand so that it pointed outward and swung instinctively as the monster jumped.
(This little bastard. It knows where to wound humans.)
When the blades clashed, sparks flew and an impact occurred that pushed the monster back a few meters.
For the first time, Levin was grateful for that filthy city, Gorra. It had taught him how to deal with men who wanted to kill him. In his profession, this was not rare, only Levin usually preferred to avoid the fight. It only cost him; what did he gain by fighting? A rise in the Cowdis? Respect? Authority? Unthinkable. He was already known as the family-less dog of Gloros, from whom one took what one could.
(But now it is different. Now I have the power.)
He realized a fundamental rule. In this world, it wasn't about money. It wasn't about holding the weapon. It was about being the weapon.