As thest remnants of the fog dissipated, Jade pondered the situation, her thoughts racing. "I suppose that was his doing?" she mused, questioning the sudden rity. "Does this mean he was here before I put up the barrier? It''s hard to say. That fog could be some type of barrier, and he seemed wary of this crow. Perhaps it''s linked to Ty in some way?"


    Turning her attention to the crow perched on her shoulder, Jade observed its focus on the wolf-like creature. The ck sludge that clung to the creature was melting away its skin, rendering it even more grotesque, its growl sounding both dead and eerily alive.


    "Hey, Red Crow," Jade ventured, seeking some connection to her past. "Do you know someone named Ty Hockenson?"


    For a moment, the crow merely gazed back at her, its expression inscrutable. Then, it gave a slight nod, a gesture that somehow filled Jade with a sense of security, just as the monstrous creatureunched itself at them once more.


    As Jade refocused on the battle, she felt the full brunt of her exhaustion, noticing that her energy had dwindled to 15. Despite its increased speed, the creature''s movements were sluggish and more predictable, a side effect, she deduced, of the ck sludge.


    "It''s like the ck sludge destroyed its mind," she observed aloud, sidestepping a clumsy paw strike and plunging her de into the wolf creature. Its body immediately went limp, then copsed to the side.


    Taking a deep breath to gather her strength, Jade turned her attention to thest of the wolf creatures. It sat back, half its face grotesquely melted by the ck sludge, which also oozed from a neck wound she had inflicted earlier.


    With her white eyes zing, Jade hurled her dagger at the creature. It made a feeble attempt to swipe the weapon away, but Jade was already in motion. She leaped, seizing the de mid-air andnding squarely on the creature''s head. Channeling her dwindling energy into the dagger, she extended its length before driving it down into the creature''s skull, delivering a fatal blow.


    Jade cautiously scanned the surroundings, her senses heightened for any further threats as Vnded heavily on her shoulder. Noticing his exhausted demeanor, she couldn''t help but express her concern.


    "Hey, you okay?" she asked, her voice tinged with worry.


    "Yeah, just wasn''t expecting a simple attack to drain me like that," V admitted, his voice betraying his fatigue. "Part of me was still worried you would have gotten hit by that. But I also knew you had a n."


    "Did you hit him, though? I saw you sh, but then you got sent to the ground instead of him?" V''s question was filled with curiosity and concern.


    Jade responded with a nod, subtly lifting her shirt to reveal a huge red bruise. "I for sure hit something when I sliced, and I think just for a short moment he used his real power or something along those lines, and hit me faster than I could possibly perceive."


    "But we are on the right direction,"


    Jade stated.


    Jade, feeling the weight of her reliance on the extraordinary vision her eyes provided, contemted a gradual return to trusting her instincts. V, understanding theplexity of her situation, suggested, "That is probably for the best, Ms. Jade, but you can still use those visions to train yourself on what to look for without them."


    Curious, V inquired, "Does it drain your energy any faster when you use those eyes, though?"


    "Not intrinsically," Jade exined, "but when I use it in conjunction with an attack, my emotions usually re more than normal, and I burn through energy faster."


    Their conversation took a brief pause as Jade wondered about the helpful crow. Almost on cue, it appeared overhead, dropping a sparkling object into her hand.


    "What is that?" V asked, peering at the object with interest.


    Jade, examining the crystal with a mix of curiosity and confusion, admitted, "I''m not really sure, it''s a crystal?"


    Pondering the crow''s mysterious gift, she mused, "Any idea why a crow would drop me one of these?"


    V shared, "I have heard about strong figures who couldmunicate through crystals or help othersmunicate through crystals in my time assisting the King of Nothing, but it was nothing more than hearsay, I suppose."


    As Jade held the crystal towards the light of the dawning sun, its pink glow seemed to illuminate the moment with a sense of wonder. "It has a pretty pink glow to it, ya know?" she remarked, admiring its beauty.


    V observed, "It does have a unique pink tint to it, almost glowing even."


    Their attention briefly shifted back to the crow, now gone. "Did you know that crow by chance?" V inquired, curiosity evident in its voice.


    "No, it''s the first time I—no, that''s not true," Jade corrected herself, a sudden realization dawning upon her. "Now that I think about it, when Ty died in my arms, I remember seeing a red-eyed crow in the distance watching me. At the time, I assumed my mind was ying tricks on me."


    The pieces of a puzzle she hadn''t realized were scattered began to click together. "But with everything that''s been going on, I wonder who it could be… but without a doubt, it''s someone who knows Ty, and that''s enough for me to care about them," she concluded, a mix of determination and curiosity in her voice.


    Turning her concern to herpanion, she asked, "How are you doing, though? You took some pretty nasty hits from those coins, didn''t you?" as she pulled out the cross, signaling their preparation to return.


    V assured her, "Thankfully, those hits weren''t fatal but more of attacks meant to distract. I''m d I didn''t die. It seemed he was never trying to kill us, though."


    Jade nodded in agreement, her mind already racing ahead. "Yeah, I need to process these events and try to figure out what he''s nning. They might be linked to these dreams I''ve been having."