Aeternus Metus

Aeternus Metus (English: "Eternal Fear" or "Fears Forever") is the second Versus comic in the Year 1 Tournament.

Being Hunted
Starting off from the end of Entry Fee, Saint ventures onward into the city, accompanied by Serif and Anya. Following close behind, however, is an unknown hunter and the antagonistic figure at the end of Issue #1. As Saint, Serif and Anya venture further into the city, they begin to pick up signs that they are being hunted. Finally, Saint discovers who is hunting them and stows the children away in a safer place.

Finding the Hunter
Saint then travels alone to find the hunter. Along the way, he sees trails of flame, death and fire. Although he doesn't follow them, he makes a note to come back later. He continues to search for his hunter.

Kidnapping
As Serif and Anya are stowed away in an abandoned wine cellar, they try to entertain each other. They tell each other about one another's previous lives and why they joined the tournament. As they do this, they become interrupted by someone who broke into the cellar. The intruder incapacitates Serif and uses Anya as ransom. The hunter leaves a note and escapes the house with Anya before Saint returns.

Emmaline vs. Saint
Serif and Saint attempt to track the huntress down in the snowscape, and find the warehouse they think the hunter is holding Anya hostage in. The hunter seems to only be infatuated with capturing and killing Saint as opposed to the two children. They find Anya tied and bound in the warehouse, and Saint and Serif are separated. Serif keeps Anya warm, and Saint makes his way through the perplexing warehouse. Saint gets ambushed, and Saint and the hunter fights. It is revealed that the hunter is Emmaline, an elven battlemage. Her infatuation with killing him in specific spiraled to the point of obsession. They fight in hand-to-hand close quarter combat.

Saint gains a vantage point and ties her up, unaware of where he is in the warehouse. He builds a fire and keeps himself warm. Emmaline and him converse, talking about why she followed them and targeted the children. It slips that Emmaline's obsession had slowly turned to insanity and romantic attraction towards the only other living being she had found in the wasteland.