"Squawk!"
A loud birdlike noise reared its head out of the perpetual silence surrounding him.
A potoo like bird appeared out of the shadows landing in front of him, its head twitching unnaturally staring into Ratella's eyes.
Pinkish feathers lined its coat highlighting its crimson eyes.
Its large beak opened and shut many times, producing a variety of sounds.
Ratella stroked the bird's feathers gently looking into its crimson eyes, an odd sense of familiarity overcoming him.
The Potoo's body began to emit a vast amount of steam disrupting his vision of the bird and causing him to recoil his hand to escape the boiling temperatures.
"You're not a monster, just a devil."
A sweet charming voice casted away Ratella's solitude.
Eventually the steam dissipated and in its absence revealed a young woman of small stature twisting her pink hair around her fingers.
A single chess piece was held in her other hand twirling it around her fingers.
Her pink hair draped down to her knees, its condition silky smooth covering most of her beauty.
Crimson eyes peered into his, her beautiful features reducing the boy into silence. Six skeletal wings were attached to her back, no trace of any feathers. Their size at least double her height, dwarfing her.
Two pitch black horns sprouted from her temple displaying her devilish status despite this Ratella sensed no hostility emanating from the little woman.
"You're the Horsemen of War, yes?" asked Ratella, already knowing the answer.
"I am and you are Ratella Evergarden Miss Nuit's double agent." stated the Horsemen of War hopping down from the banister and leaning over staring into the starry night sky.
Ratella joined her leaning over the banister staring at the floating moon sparkling in the distance.
"Liliana, is your name right?"
"Yeah, I don't have a last name though."
"Hmm, what did you mean by I'm a Devil?"
"Only Devils get that sort of feeling you felt when killing those guards. Devils are creatures born from darkness and embody every nasty quality that comes with being shrouded in shadow."
"But I'm not a Devil, I don't have horns or black wings."
"Not yet but you'll eventually sprout some."
"I'm not a Devil, drop it."
"I was much like you when I took my first life, the ecstasy that filled my brain after seeing what I had done was intoxicating leading me to spiral into a murderous rage slaughtering anything that walked." said Liliana, she didn't seem proud of the memory only sharing it to help Ratella get through the hardships floating in his brain. Ignoring his request to stop.
"You're lucky everyone fled or else you would have slaughtered them all, casting this town into a sea of crimson."
"I wouldn't allow myself to fall that far into my bloodlust."
"Sometimes it's unavoidable. I don't doubt you'll be able to lift your mind from the darkness but usually it would still be too late to stop the damage."
Liliana looked truly downtrodden at the memories of her lack of control on the battlefield.
"Say I am a Devil will I always fly into a murderous rage when killing someone?"
"No, it's unpredictable and based on your current emotions whether that be joy or sorrow. A Devil can't usually gain a handle on their bloodlust until the late stages of their life after experiencing a plethora of death and despair."
"My brutality with Roda was not my intention, his death was supposed to clean and fast but I ripped him apart for all to see."
"Its just the curse of Devils, our intention can be often overruled by the bloodlust poisoning our brains. I still sometimes fly into uncontrollable rages after killing a single person although I have gotten better at controlling my mind but it's still hard to resist."
Ratella felt a weird sense of familiarity with the girl, no feeling of unease creeping up on him despite being in close proximity with a Horsemen.
Chatting about his grievances and worries like they had been friends for aeons.
"Whether you accept your Devil or not isn't my concern. I'm only here on Miss Nuit's orders to act as a messaging pigeon."
"I'll just have to wait and see if I have any more episodes of bloodlust." stated Ratella, his worries quelled with the help of Liliana. "What are Nuit's orders?"
"I'll stick with you while you accomplish tasks for Kathoros and the Choir but you are to weaken Kathoros' overall warpower while doing so. I'm to assist you in this task."
"I'm heading to the frontlines now so we can assist Faravos in any way you see fit. I'll trust your judgement on what to do."
Ratella felt that he would be able to trust the woman's mind on any matters involving war and strategy although book smart he wasn't the greatest at strategy.
"I appreciate that, I'll stay in my birdform while you are in proximity with Kathoros' military but tell me one thing, can you really slaughter the ones who trust you?"
"If it means that the Primordial Light's plans are foiled and Luna is safe, I'll slaughter whoever." declared Ratella, his resolve firm and steadfast.
His earlier conservation with the Primordial Darkness strangely popping into his head.
"If we are to go to war you'll need a last name. How about I make one for you."
"Last names aren't needed for war, you should already know this. They are nothing but a distraction and an inconvenience for soldiers' wary minds." stated Liliana her voice growing more high pitched and crossing her arms absolutely adamant on her opinion.
Her cheeks slightly puffed out in blatant aversion to the idea.
Despite her anger she still looked radiant under the moonlight catching Ratella's eye to her many beautiful features.
"Come on don't be like that, how about Liliana Battleweaver?" asked Ratella peering into her crimson eyes awaiting an answer. In his opinion, he thought the name was extremely fitting for the woman.
Liliana's cheeks turned a slight scarlet before quickly returning to a milky shade. She stood in silence for a while thinking about the name or just in ignorance.
"I'll take it under consideration. We should get going now." said Liliana trying to escape the conservation and return to a speechless bird.
"Before we do, I have a question. Have we met before? I feel oddly familiar and calm in your presence like we've been friends for years."
"I'm not answering that, it's Miss Nuit's job to reveal everything about your past to you. Sorry."
Ratella was becoming even more confused by the minute at the mounting mysteries involving his past.
Liliana wore a rather somber expression before promptly returning to a potoo, steam emanating from her Devil form like earlier.
A potoo soon burst through the steam, its vibrant colouring shimmering in the moonlight landing on his head and nestling into his hair.
Ratella patted the potoo on its head, enlarging his wings getting prepared for the long flight to the frontlines.
With a single smooth motion he burst into the skies flying towards the direction of the border between Kathoros and Faravos.