Matin screamed in terror.
"Oh, dear Trisagion!" she cried out.
Then she ran to Lien.
"Lien!" she screamed. "Please, stop this! Fight it!"
She shook his shoulders, but he didn't stop. He was still shaking in an attempt to free himself, but the song continued.
"Matin, stop!" Nox shouted. "That isn't working! We have to defeat this thing!"
Matin turned. The Ouroboros Ark was hovering above everyone, its eyes glowing in a sinister way.
"But how are we supposed to fight that?!" Matin squealed in fear.
"I don't know, but we have to try!" Nox shot back. "Look what's happening to the others!"
Sure enough, Shamshir, Falo and Adhuk were sliding towards the Ouroboros Ark, as if it was pulling them in.
"We have to save them and all the others!" Nox shouted. "I don't know how, but these swords are keeping us safe. I'll fight it!"
Nox stood in front of Shamshir, Falo and Adhuk and pointed Tyrfing at the Ouroboros Ark. Then he began to sing.
As he sang, the aura surrounding him grew deeper magenta, and his sword glowed brighter.
"Matin!" Hannes said. "Get behind me. I helped Agiona do this, so now I'll help Nox!"
"But what about Lien?" asked Matin.
"He'll be okay as long as we stop this monster!" shouted Hannes. "Just get yourself away from it!"
Hannes stood next to Nox, drew her sword and joined him in song. Matin tried to move Lien but he wouldn't budge, so she stepped behind them to see if she could help Shamshir and the others.
But Shamshir and the two men were no longer hunched over in pain. They were sitting on the ground, looking exhausted.
"Empress…Matin…" Falo said weakly. "I think…they saved us…"
He gestured at Nox and Hannes.
"Can you walk?" Matin asked.
"I…can," Shamshir said, as she slowly got up.
"Then go! Get out of here! I'll help Falo and Adhuk!"
"No…" Shamshir replied. "You can't…hold them both. I'll take Adhuk."
Matin and Shamshir headed for the door, supporting Falo and Adhuk and their respective shoulders. As soon as they stepped out into the Flask Sea, they discovered that the tremor had gotten a lot less intense.
"Come on!" Matin called. "And don't touch that water!"
It was a long walk, but they made it to the door to the secret passage to the old Novarista Castle, where Falo and Adhuk immediately sat down.
"Are you okay?" Matin asked.
"Yeah," Adhuk said. "I feel stronger now that I'm farther away from…that."
"Shamshir, please take care of them," said Matin. "I'm going back."
"But you can't!" the other three protested.
"My brother is still in there!" Matin snapped. "And so are Hannes and Lien! I'm not about to leave them!"
Falo got to his feet
"No!" he cried. "Stop!"
But Matin had already left.
Matin banged the door to the center of power open. There still was the Ouroboros Ark, hovering menacingly. However, Lien was no longer singing. He was crying in Nox's arms. The tremor had completely stopped.
"We did it," Hannes said. "We subdued it enough to save him."
"Then let's go," Matin said.
Suddenly, the Ouroboros Ark began to glow. Bolts of lightning shot out of its body. The four people in the room felt a tug in its direction.
"Run!" Nox yelled.
They rushed out of the door and slammed it shut.
Matin looked sorrowfully at the Flask Sea.
"These people…" she half-whispered. "I want to save them."
"We will," Nox assured her. "But first we have to defeat the Ouroboros Ark."
"Yes…" said Matin. "I remember Falo said we shouldn't fall in. I think we'll get pulled in if we try to touch the water."
Matin could not sleep that night.
She knew Lien and Hannes had gotten safely back to their homes, and Nox was probably still out there practicing his sword skills. He had already slashed several wooden slabs upon which crude drawings of ouroboroses were pinned. But all those people…and the terrible things Agiona had done…
Matin wandered out of her room and to a small observatory, where the starlight shone, illuminating the floor.
"Why…" she said. "Why…?"
She fell to her knees in tears.
"It's all my fault, it's all my fault, it's all my fault…"
How could she have not seen it? How could she not have known what had really killed her father and the previous queen of Azuelgatt? Why hadn't she been aware of the awful Agiona tax laws and poverty in her own nation?
Matin continued to cry. She could've stopped all this. If she had just left Novarista…but she had not.
"I should've…should've…"
"Shhh, stop. It's okay."
Matin looked up and noticed that Nox had thrown his arms around her.
"This isn't your fault," he said gently. "This was all Zalieri's doing."
"But I—"
"You did nothing wrong, Matin. You had no idea any of this was going on. Agiona are the ones who hid it all from you, and I promise they will answer for their actions."
"Nox…"
"Shhh, it's alright. I'm here. And Hannes and Lien and Shamshir and Falo and Adhuk are all okay. And so are Sigma and Aria and Malchut and L'erisia. We're all together. We'll get through this."
