It was 3:00 AM.

  "Okay, this is a horrible idea. But who's going to stop me?" she says she has a paper box sitting on the sink. A towel around her neck and her hair flowing down.

  ***

  It was now 4:00 PM.

  "Where is Axton?" Valve asked Baron.

  "Not sure, but apparently Eine knows where to find him. She left like five minutes ago. Any idea where that is?" Baron responded, his brows furrowed.

  "Since when did they get so close?" he asked.

  "I see, I'll go there without them," Valve said as he walked out.

  "Meet you at the showrooms in a few days. See ya," Baron said as his face shifted to a face of specution.

  'Why does he favor Ax so much? Medusa? No, it can't be. But none of my business; he better not try and steal him, though', he muttered to himself as he grabbed his bat and left the castle soon after.

  ***

  "There's so much I want to ask you. You two specifically..." Ax talked to himself, leaning on the foot of the statue as he sat down. The flowery scent of the gardens was flowing through his lungs.

  "I miss you..." he muttered to himself. The shade of the massive tree encapsuting him, the sunny day wasn't bothering him, however. Instead, it gave him comfort. He started to doze off.

  A soft grasp touched his shoulder.

  Ax woke up immediately; he looked to his right, and he saw a bck-haired girl with metal boots and a metal arm walk up to him.

  "Knew you were here, well? What are you doing?" she asked Ax with a grin on her face.

  "..."

  "What?" she asked again.

  "Have we met before?" Ax's face was painted in a shade of confusion.

  "You're fucking with me, right?" she asked, her grin immediately vanished.

  "Oh Eine! Hi, I didn't recognize you." He said as his eyes widened.

  "Anyway, we still have like four hours. I'm going to go buy some stuff. Want to tag along or want to meet up back at the castle?" She asked him, knowing that he doesn't know his way around the city yet.

  "I'll tag along, since we're supposed to meet up either way," he said as he got up.

  "Where to first?"

  "Vithr, I need to pick up something," she answered.

  Eine and Ax were now at Vithr's shop; Ax was browsing through Vithr's wares while Eine was waiting at the counter. His hand was on his chin as he looked at the prices; he still couldn't afford most, but some of them...

  "Ah, finally you're back!" Eine excimed.

  "Forgive me, this has been sitting around for about a week. Needed to search for it," Vithr said as he plopped the sword onto the counter.

  The scabbard looked like that of a normal sword, but the tip was ft rather than pointed, and it was a two-handed one and rger. Eine picked up the scabbard and unsheathed the sword for the bde to be revealed.

  The hilt of the sword was a deep red, bck to those looking from afar. The sides of the hilt had small reptilian heads poking out. However, that was the least interesting aspect of the sword. The bde itself was a broad, straight-edged double-sided metal of the same deep red color. However, it cked a point. It was a rectangur bde.

  "Whoa, is that an 'Executioner's Sword'?" Ax asked, amazed at the craftsmanship.

  "Yep," Eine said as she was proud of herself.

  "Fucking Emo."

  "Alright. Fuck you too," Ein replied.

  "But what's so special about it? Why get it right before the trials?" Ax asked, genuinely curious.

  "Hmm? It's enchanted, that's why. I killed a samander once, and I gave Vithr the lungs, and... Tada! Fming executioner's sword made from the blood of—Okay, yeah, that is... I'd make fun of me too." Eine's voice shifted.

  As she stood in the corner, dejected. Ax turned to Vithr.

  "Enchanted?" he asked.

  "Yes, I've yet to expin to you, but when you kill a dweller... or any beast. If you bring their remains or specific body parts to a bcksmith, gunsmith, or armor artisan, they can fashion it into a piece of equipment," Vithr expined.

  "Such as the lungs of a fming samander, such as this dy. A heart of an Oni, throat of a Wendigo," Vithr kept expining.

  "Or the fangs of a Basilisk!" Ax excimed. Both Eine's and Vithr's ears perked up.

  "Wait right here!" Ax said as he summoned the blue door.

  ***

  After a few minutes, Ax returned with two snake fangs and set them on the table.

  "You fool! Be careful with that; these are dangerous!" Vithr yelped out.

  Eine walked up with her sword on her back and grabbed one of the fangs with her right hand.

  "I assume this thing tried to eat you?" Eine asked.

  "Yeah, a bit a few times, but—" 'Shit.' Ax immediately regretted saying that.

  "Huh, must've not seen you as a threat until the moment you killed it. Right? You're lucky this juvenile was inexperienced." Eine wanted to confirm her suspicions.

  "Yeah, I guess that makes sense—wait, did you say juvenile?" Ax's voice dropped.

  "Yeah, usually the fangs are big enough to fashion swords. This can only be made into daggers or ammo, or antivenom, I guess," she continued.

  "Antivenom?" he asked.

  "Yeah, take it to the Olive Doves, and they will buy it off of you," she finished.

  "Oh. I might just do that. I like my sword," he replied.

  "Suit yourself. That reminds me, the next stop is—" Eine's ears perked up mid-sentence.

  ***

  They were at the suit and leather store Ax first stumbled into.

  "Oh, I bought some gloves from here this one time. It was when I was searching"—Ax stopped mid-sentence.

  "Searching for what?" She stopped mid-door.

  "I forgot," he answered.

  She shrugged it off and walked in, Ax immediately sighing in relief.

  She walked in, immediately seeing the Welsh man with a measuring tape hanging from his neck, inspecting a mannequin.

  "Ah, Perez. Always a pleasure to see you, and... you? I don't believe we shared names before. I'm Gareth, Gareth Davis," he introduced himself.

  "Oh right, I'm Axton, Axton A-cks." Ax got his rib elbowed by Eine.

  "Axton... Axe? That's a funny name, especially for someone who's Bengali. Anyway, Perez, Axe, how may I help you two?" Gareth welcomed them both as Axe was grabbing the side of his rib while staring daggers at the culprit.

  "Is the suit finished?" she asked as her eyes showed excitement.

  "Ah, not yet. Give it two more days; it'll be done by then."

  "In that case, I'll come back after the trials; I'll be busy," she said and then turned to Ax, who was staring at a mannequin.

  "You going to get something or do we dip?" she asked Ax, who was preoccupied.

  "Gareth, how much is that?" He asked as his eyes didn't flinch.

  "10 gold. However, it's crafted with the leather of a Koguhpuk. A mammal usually found in frozen tundra. It is fairly resistant to ice and frost," Gareth expined, tempting Ax. Enticing him.

  "I'll take it."

  ***

  Ax was back at his room at the castle. Opening his backpack, he grabbed a new bck t-shirt, wearing it with his dark, tan pair of jeans. His boots he brought from home. He rummaged through his backpack, looking for something small.

  "Where is it... Found it!" he grabbed a red pick with a chain going through it. He tied it around his neck and looked at the bag he got from Gareth. "Cost is almost everything, but... worth it," he muttered to himself.

  Eine was waiting for Ax at the entrance as she waited. She saw him walk up to the castle door. Wearing a deep blue leather trench coat, his guns hidden under his coat and his sword and dagger strapped to his left.

  As he walked over, she could only stare. Only one word could escape her lips.

  "Emo."

  "Fuck you."

  "You look good, but the orientation starts in an hour. We have to go, like, right now," she said as night fell.

  ***

  Ax and Eine made their way to the other side of the capital; they ran for it and arrived at a rge, open-air theater. The theater was massive, and all around them were people of various races and several cultural origins. Including some people who looked as if they came from modern times. Some even beyond that.

  As she led Ax in through the gates, she took him to the top rows. There were several rows of seats, capable of holding what seemed like about three thousand observers.

  "Fuck, should've come earlier. We only got the seats all the way back," Ax compined.

  "Oh, my sweet summer child. Just wait," Eine said as she looked proud of herself.

  "What...?" Ax was confused.

  "Hush, pay attention." She said as a man walked into the center of the theater. Her eyes were glued onto the man. As Ax turned to look at him, he saw a Viking.

  A tall Viking. Easily over 6 feet tall. A golden lion hide caped over his shoulders. A round, deep brown wooden shield attached to his back and a rge spear in his grasp. His blond hair is tied in braids, the same as his beard.

  "My name is Gorm Odinson!" his voice roared throughout the theater.

  "And I shall be the co-ordinator for this year's Summit Seeker Trials!" he screamed out.

  "Your goal as a Summit Seeker is to seek your ideals and make them reality! Now, what even IS a Summit Seeker?" he asked rhetorically, but this caught Ax's attention in a vice grip.