Cordayl is walking through a little lake, striking at fish and filling up his basket. Satisfied that he has caught enough for a good meal, Cordayl heads back to his campsite to start cooking.
Cordayl is trekking back from his fishing trip through this outrageous rainstorm that seems to have come out of nowhere.
The rain is coming down so heavy that it has damn near turned the whole forest floor into mud.
While slowly making his way back, Cordayl sees a massive bear trudging through the mud as well. Cordayl decides to move around the bear to avoid confrontation and picks up his pace to make it back to his campsite, hoping the bear hasn't already rummaged through his belongings looking for food.
Cordayl finally makes it back to his campgrounds, and he senses someone in the area. Scanning around, he finds a little girl cowering and crying behind his stuff.
Cordayl looks down on the sobbing child and softens. He bends down and extends a hand. The girl reaches out and tries to pull Cordayl down with her. Cordayl doesn't budge, and the little girl is uplifted.
Being forced up, she lets out a quick cry in pain but quickly slaps a hand over her mouth after a quick gust of wind blows right in Cordayl's face.
Cordayl has a blank look on his now dry face, but he isn't dry for long as the rain comes down even harder when the little girl's tears start to fall again.
As she cries in silence, Cordayl scans the child and sees she is bleeding due to a slash on her leg. Looking it over, Cordayl realizes that it had to come from the claws of that bear, and his anger starts to cook.
Cordayl pats the little girl on the head, trying to calm her down. It works a little bit as the rain starts to subside. Suddenly, the bear is behind them, the hunger in its belly making its growl even more menacing.
The little girl's eyes grow in fear seeing the massive beast, and she closes them tight, unwilling to watch the giant claw cut Cordayl down.
She finally opens her eyes, and to her surprise, the giant bear is face down on the ground, unable to move as if some invisible hand is pressing it into the ground.
"It's okay. The bear won't hurt you again. I'll give it some food to satisfy it until its next meal." Cordayl tells her.
The little girl looks up at Cordayl, and to her, she sees a superhero. Cordayl smiles at her and stands up. Turning around to walk towards the bear, the little girl grabs his leg to stop him.
"It's cool," Cordayl says, feeling the tug. Pushing her off, he continues walking. She tries to go to his side, but Cordayl holds out his hand to stop her, as he still has his gravity activated around the bear.
Cordayl stares at the bear until he sees the submission in its eyes. Only then does he release his hold on the bear.
The bear stands slowly, but Cordayl tells it to sit and rest. The bear listens and watches as Cordayl takes his basket off and dumps out a ton of fresh fish in front of it.
The bear is confused, but Cordayl pats it on the head and tells it to enjoy the meal. The bear thanks him by nudging him with his nose and then begins to eat the fish.
Walking back towards the girl, Cordayl bends down and says, "Let's do something about that leg."
Now, with a sunny day and the little girl on his back, Cordayl tries to learn more about her. "So what's your name?"
The little girl sits there silently. "It's okay; you can talk to me. I'm not as mean to children as I am to bears," Cordayl tries to encourage her.
The girl turns around and rummages in her sack, pulling out her whiteboard. Writing on it and handing it to Cordayl, he reads, 'Turn your head.'
As soon as he does, the little girl speaks her name. The moment she does, a strong gust of wind escapes her mouth and shakes every tree in front of them.
Cordayl turns his attention to the shaking forest in front of him, amazed. "So your name is Éclair? I like it." The little girl smiles, and the day seems to get brighter.
"Well, I'm Cordayl. Nice to meet you. Why were you out in the forest by yourself?" Cordayl ask.
Éclair writes on her board and hands it to him. Cordayl reads it, "All alone, huh?" He says, handing her the board back. She writes another message and hands it to him.
Reading it, Cordayl answers, "I'm alone too."
The two walk in silence for a bit. "Well, how about we get some lunch together?" Cordayl asks. Éclair smiles hard and nods her head in agreement.
Arriving in a nearby town, the two hit a local burger joint. Éclair's mouth waters as she watches her plate get placed in front of her. Cordayl tells her to dig in, and she doesn't hesitate as she dives in to enjoy her meal.
At the end of the meal, Éclair is asleep in the booth as Cordayl writes in his journal. As he does so, he notices a strange figure who keeps looking over at him.
Fearing an unwanted confrontation, Cordayl wakes Éclair up and tells her it's time to go.
As they walk through the city, Cordayl notices the same guy trailing them.
Seeing a playground, Cordayl asks Éclair if her leg is feeling better. She nods yes, but Cordayl knows this is only because she wants to play.
Letting her down, Cordayl tells her to go play but to be careful. She smiles and limps off to join the other children at the playground.
Walking off, Cordayl paces through the area until he is away from any civilians. The man trailing him isn't surprised to see Cordayl waiting for him.
Cordayl sighs as he pushes off the wall he is leaning on, and then, in the blink of an eye, he is behind his follower.
Hand tight around the back of this stranger's neck, Cordayl tells him, "I promise you a quick death if you tell me how many more gloves are with you." Cordayl tells him.
The man raises his hands in surrender, showing his bare hands. "Please wait! I have no affiliation with that organization. Please spare me and allow me to explain myself."
Cordayl relaxes his grip but doesn't release his hand, allowing the man to continue.
"I am with the black lotus. We have been trying to thwart that monstrous group since the day they organized. I have been sent to ask for your assistance in seeing them destroyed."
"The enemy of the white hands is the black lotus. Very creative. But why would I help y'all?" Cordayl ask.
"Well, haven't they been hunting you? And every assassin they have sent at you has been defeated. Our organization is strong, but none have proven as strong as the Diablo. Our chance of success will be greatly increased, if not guaranteed, with you on our side." The man explains.
"Not interested." Cordayl bluntly states.
"Why not?! Our enemy is mutual, and we would be doing the world a service by ridding it of such an evil group of men. You can-"
"I can do what? Rid the world of one evil and let another replace it? I don't know your organization either. You could potentially be worse than them. I've only recently declared war on them because I don't like being considered prey. I will end them because I am sick of them. And as long as you and your organization stay clear out of my way, I won't destroy you either." Cordayl tells him.
Looking up, Cordayl sees that the weather is changing and knows something is wrong with Éclair.
"Don't let me catch you or any of your associates following me again. Or that will be an ally you won't see again." Cordayl warns, disappearing as fast as smoke in a tornado.