Chapter Two:

Cale walked down the long halls, somewhat lost in his thoughts. By mortal standards it was noon, by his own he should have been sleeping. While no longer a Warlord, the man was still very much tied to his element of darkness. Thus, he preferred sleeping when most people were awake, and being awake when most were asleep.

Yet, having to rebuild the Dynasty prevented him from taking such pleasure. The man let out an aggravated sigh, and ran a hand through his wild blue hair, coming to a full halt after rounding the next corner.

"Very well then, back to work," Sekhmet told the soldier, black-eyes flickering ever so slightly.

The soldier was quick to bow and scurry away, leaving the green-haired man to roll his eyes. That was when he noticed he was no longer alone.

"Ah Cale," the former Warlord of Venom greeted, "Nice of you to stop playing vampyr.

The blue-haired man snorted, "I have been awake since yesterday, you'd do wise not to try my patience."

"Join the club," Sekhmet scoffed, "It seems the more sleep I try and gain, the more memories spring up. It's more annoying than-"

"One of Dais illusions," the other finished as he began walking down the hall, expecting the green-haired man to follow…Which he did.

"At least I have some good news," Sekhmet brought in, "They've finished making the repairs to the east end. Clean-up should be finished by tomorrow."

Cale was silent, the east end…That had been where Anubis'; chambers were…

Sekhmet seemed to know what his companion was thinking, "It's not the same without him."

"No…It isn't. But, he is at rest now. Though, I still wish I had not been blind to the truth."

"We all wish the same," the former Warlord of Venom remarked. "It won't bring him back though. My only hope that Badamon's cursing of him, did not harm his afterlife."

"There is no way to tell," the blue-haired man admitted. "Dwelling on the past will not aide us further. What is there to do today?"

"Ah," Sekhmet closed his eyes and pursed his lips in thought. "Kayura wanted you to check over the soldiers' training. We are still very much open to attack from other Warlords, greedy types, etcetera. I'm supposed to continue to oversee construction. Dais…I don't think the lousy spider is even awake, yet."

Which was the furthest thing from the truth…The former Warlord of Illusion had been awake for hours. He had been checking out the magical inconsistencies located within the palace. The tears were simple reminders of the Ronin having battled there, and Talpa almost succeeding in destroying both worlds.

If left unattended these rips could be dangerous, and cause widespread destruction. Not something the Dynasty needed to deal with, seeing as how it was still in the stage of recovering from the fighting.

Dais was making sure the Nether Spirits closed all the holes, which varied in size from an automobile to just a pin prick. While Badamon had been destroyed, many of the Nether Spirits remained. It was just as well, they were the only things capable of sealing such tears.

To keep them in line, Kayura had appointed one of their own to take charge. If left to their own devices the Spirits would go near-to-insane and wipe everything out.

As for his assigned task for the day, Dais' heart just was not in it today. He felt particularly gloomy…Mainly due to what he had recently remembered.

Unlike the other two, Dais could clearly recall what he had done before entering Talpa's ranks. He had been an assassin, and due to his clever wit and sheer cunning he'd been particularly good at the task.

What he had not remember until two nights ago, was the fact that he had been the son of a feudal lord…And the eldest of the man's four children.

He had been groomed from the time of his birth to take over the clan, to one day become lord and serve in his father's place. But… The longer he trained for it, and the closer he got to taking over the more he had wanted out.

The need to be free from a strict society, and set his own rules had been alluring to the young man. So, he had left, and not looked back…Never spoke to his family again. When he had become an assassin, he felt there was nothing in the world to which he was better suited.

He was so good at his work, that he had become unbeatable. No one could match his skills, it ended up becoming mere child's play. But, with such a line of work…There came a hefty price.

In the assassination group, he eventually became leader of, there was no way to know one's real identity. Somehow, a rival had remembered meeting him before…And, to get at Dais he killed almost the entire family.

Only Dais' youngest sister had remained alive, and that was due to the fact she had been married off to some distant feudal lord's son. Thus, she was not present when the slayings took place.

The once Warlord of Illusion remembered finding the rival and killing him…And making sure that the fool's death was an excruciatingly painful one.

…That is when Talpa had found him.

Dais had failed to be impressed by the demons offers of great power and immortality. Such things mattered little to him at the time, but what had piqued his interest was Talpa's offering him the chance to gain more knowledge than any mere mortal could have had.

Still, the white-haired man had not jumped on the chance. He had given it considerable thought. Perhaps, he had given it more than what was necessary. In the end, he had decided he had nothing left to lose and joined.

"Wish I had known it would cost me my soul," Dais grumbled out, as he walked back into the newly reconstructed part of the palace. "And a brother."

Anubis…He would always be a sore wound for each of them. His betrayal had hurt, but his loss only more so. When they came to understand he had only switched sides to make them realize the spell they'd let themselves be placed under…And the errors of their ways…It had hurt worse.

They had begrudgingly accepted the fact that there was nothing they could do to change what had happened…

…But sometimes, Dais wondered if there was a way, after all.