Eric stared at his old friend, gripping his hands. "K-Kendall how? Y-You-I-I-"
"I should be dead, right?" Kendall finished Eric's words. Eric looked down, unable to meet his old friend's eyes.
"Well, I'm not! I got out of there alive, just like you!"
"But I-" The words caught in Eric's throat. "I... killed you, Kendall. I passed the ruin trial by killing you..."
Kendall's brows drew in. "Why are you being so down about this, dude? Do you think I blame you for almost killing me?"
"You should."
"Well, I don't!" Kendall exclaimed. "We wanted to get out of the ruin together, but one of us had to go down. And you came out on top. I don't blame you for winning the fight, Eric."
Eric lifted his gaze. That carefree reaction. It was just like the friend he remembered. Nothing could shake Kendall.
A shaky smile crawled onto Eric's face. "It really is you. Kendall, you're really back!" he dove at his friend and squeezed him without guilt.
His pure happiness washed away the guilt.
Kendal smiled and gently patted his friend on the back. "Same here, Eric. It's been so long since I've seen you. This must be what Master meant when he said I'd have a fateful encounter in Amal. Fate brought us back together in the Town of Broken Bonds."
With his hands still on Kendall's shoulders, Eric pulled back, his brow furrowed in confusion. "The town of what? Wait, I think Mama Wolf mentioned something about that? She heard it was one of the town's nicknames."
"Mama Wolf?"
Eric looked at Kendall, confused, then laughed in realization. "Sorry, force of habit. It's this girl, Alix, she's been helping me learn to control my magic. She has the same sort of determination that my real mom had, and she used to call me and this other guy wolf pups. So, I started calling her Mama Wolf."
"Ok? I think I get it?" Kendall said, his hand resting on his chin. "She's like your master?"
"Yeah. That's about it." Eric encouraged. "She's really rude and crazy about magic. I think you'd like her! We should go meet her now!" Eric didn't wait for Kendall to say anything and pulled him up the stairs.
However, Kendall fought against Eric's pull, which surprised Eric.
"Kendall? Are you okay, dude?" Eric asked.
Kendall turned to him and looked up at him with an innocent gaze. "I was just thinking...you came from down there, right?" Kendall gestured down the stairs.
"Y-Yeah? Why does that matter?"
"Then... did you get it?" Kendall took a step closer to Eric.
"Did I get what? Was there something down there that you needed?"
"Don't act like you don't know, Eric," Kendall scoffed. "The next piece to the Sigil. Did you get it?" Kendall's eyes shined in anticipation and... something else that Eric couldn't quite place. Something sinister.
Eric released Kendall's hand, a strange unease rising in his chest. "Y-Yeah. I'm sorry, it happened so suddenly. You're probably mad at me, right?"
Eric turned away from his friend. He felt guilty. He and Kendall went through the same horrors. If anyone knew how he felt about the Runic clan, it'd be-
"Why would you apologize?" Kendall questioned.
"Why?"
"You did what you were supposed to do. Our clan is closer to reaching its resurrection!" Kendall beamed. "You came here to get the next piece as well, so you must know our purpose by now?"
"P-Purpose? What? Why would I want to bring those sick bastards back to glory?"
Kendall's eyes shook and his gaze slowly dropped from Eric's. "Oh, so you still think that way..."
"Still? Kendall, what are you talking about? Do you actually believe in the twisted words of those devils?"
"I thought that coming here, that learning about the clan's past, opened your eyes. But now I see you still choose to reject our gift." Kendall's gaze trailed down to Eric's chest with a solemn smile.
"Kendall? Dude, come on. Let's get out of this creepy place!" Eric urged, but Kendall didn't move an inch. He just kept smiling, with his eyes locked onto the glow from Eric's chest.
"Kendall, what are you-"
In an instant, Kendall yanked Eric forward. Time seemed to slow as their eyes met right. Then, Kendall punched Eric, a heavy hit right to the stomach.
The blow was so hard that he felt nauseous. But he didn't have time to recover, as Kendall threw Eric back down the stairs that he'd just climbed.
He rolled down the stairs. Every moment more pain flooded his system.
Then, a memory resurfaced. The day he'd gotten out of the first ruin. The day he'd killed Kendall and gotten out.
He remembered something that he had repressed. A memory that would've changed how he reacted when he saw Kendall again. He crashed at the bottom of the stairs, tumbling for a few extra feet before fully stopping.
Bruises and cuts covered his body. The unmistakable urge to vomit came again, but he couldn't stop it this time.
"Blarugh!" Eric evacuated his guts onto the ground. He breathed heavily upon finishing, glancing back at the stairs.
Kendall slowly entered the arena with a wild grin on his face. "Did that shock you, old friend?"
Eric slowly picked himself up from the ground and retreated from his old friend.
Kendall shook his head. "Now you're running? Come on, Eric! It's been four years, how are you still exactly the same!" Kendall drew a pair of short swords from their sheathes and he approached Eric.
Eric stared at his friend. His eyes shook as he finally remembered what he'd forgotten.
Both of them, Kendall and Eric, had made it to the end of that place. They'd gone through the same experience... but they didn't have the same feelings about it.
That day haunted Eric. Grief, guilt, and trauma were all that he felt about that experience. He'd refused to consume his friend's blood but had to alleviate the pain, so he fed the brand directly by rubbing blood on his chest.
Kendall, on the other hand, relished the entire experience. He gladly gulped down the blood of their friends and was ready to do the same to Eric.
"How could I have forgotten?" Eric groaned, staggering up from the floor.
"It has been a few years, old friend. And you never did have the best memory."
"Shut up!"
Eric drew his own blade and pointed it at Kendall. "Y-You should be dead..." Eric spoke through gritted teeth. His face twisted in rage as he looked at his friend with vicious eyes.
"You should've stayed dead, you psychopath!" Eric screamed, then charged at Kendall.