Belos stood silently, observing his progress in reconstructing Edalyn's portal. A winged halo surrounding the door emitted a statis field to keep the fragmented bits of wood in place as each splinter of wood was meticulously put into place. A large, hemispheric device – colored in the usual Imperial white and gold – ran several hoses into the halo, presumably powering the magical device. Another hose ran from the device into the emperor's staff, which stood resting in a specialized rack on a nearby wall as the red gem at its head flashed with magical power

Belos stood in an almost dreamlike state, completely engrossed by the progress he was making. Near 50% of the door had been reassembled by this point, and Belos imagined that in only a few short days his plans for the Day of Unity would be set back on track. His trance was broke, however, by the sound of several latches unlocking, and slowly turned to see two members of his coven slowly opening the large chamber doors.

Kikimora entered through the growing gap between the doors. She slowly made her way down the long, ceremonial carpet towards Belos, as the two coven members began to close and re-lock the doors.

"My Emperor," Kikimora said – just managing to contain her composure – once within speaking distance, "There was a disturbance in town."

"This news is reaching me somewhat later than expected." an entirely uninterested Belos replied. He turned his back to Kikimora, once again observing the portal's progress, "I could feel the destruction from within the palace. The fact I no longer feel any tremors or hear the sound of falling rubble tells me this disturbance has been dealt with, correct?"

"Yes, my lord." Kikimora replied, "Though we are unsure what happened to the perpetrator. Someone may have disposed of him, but it is possible that…"

"He?" Belos asked, turning back towards his steward, "Why are you so sure it was a 'he?' Do we have the identity of this individual?"

"Well, yes…" Kikimora began, nervously twiddling her thumbs, "We saw the individual, but we're unfamiliar with who exactly they are. He was incredibly tall – gigantic, even – and had a strange suit of armor. One recruit had also mentioned him having red eyes…"

"I'm sorry," Belos interrupted with a sense of uncertainty, "I'll need you to be more specific. When you say, 'red eyes,' are you referring to the iris, or his actual eyes?"

"The recruit was quite clear." Kikimora explained, "His eyes – in their entirety – were red. They also mentioned unusually dark skin…"

"And his armor was green?" Belos rhetorically asked, his body growing visibly tense.

"Y… Yes, my lord. Well, mostly, if I am to be perfectly honest." Kikimore specified, "The armor was also gold-trimmed. There was also mention that his shoulder sported…"

"The skull of a drake…" Belos interrupted behind his gritted teeth, "And I'll hazard a guess that he caused all of this damage with an exceptionally large hammer?"

Belos slowly stepped towards Kikimora, the black voids that could be called "eyes" on his max affixed on her small frame.

"Emperor?" Kikimora asked, shaking in her boots.

"It is imperative you follow these instructions to the letter," Belos began in a severe tone, "So I'll speak slowly so as to be sure you don't fail me as you had with Eda and the human. Contact the head of the Construction Coven and have him coordinate repairs on the isles. Then you will send my coven into town and search for this giant. You will scour every building, search every crevice, and upturn every rock and pebble until you have dragged his body to me, alive or otherwise."

"My apologies, Emperor," Kikimora penitently said, "We will do everything in our power, but as I had said, we still don't know what happened to the perpetrator. They could have fled Titan just as the destruction stopped."

Belos kneeled down to meet Kikimora at eye level.

"If that is the case – and for your case I hope it isn't – then you will continue to search. Every island, every cavern, and the depths of the Boiling Sea! You will not stop until that giant's body is secured within my palace, and if my coven should have any reservations, be sure to remind them there are several candidates that would be more than ecstatic to take their positions."

Belos stood back up. He turned his back to Kikimora and took a few steps closer to the half-assembled portal, before taking a brief look over his shoulder.

"Have I made myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes, my lord." Kikimora sheepishly answered. Belos turned his head back towards the portal. He could hear the rapid pitter-patter of Kikimora's feet as she rushed towards the exit, followed by the grating sound of the chamber doors being dragged open.

"As for you two…" Belos ominously said, clearly addressing the two coven members closing the chamber doors.

"Yes, Emperor?" they answered in unison.

"Did you get all of that?" Belos rhetorically asked.

"Yes, Emperor." they answered.

"Then you should understand that, as members of my coven, finding this giant is far more imperative than watching my chamber door!" Belos growled without having the common curtesy to turn and face the duo. "Now catch-up with Kikimora and pray that the giant hasn't gotten very far."

The duo raced through the opening between the doors. As the began to make their way down the corridor, Belos suddenly turned around.

"Oh…" he playfully added, "And do be sure to lock the door on your way out."

"Yes, Emperor!" the duo anxiously replied. Each one grabbed the handle on each door and hastily pulled them shut, being sure to secure the latch before leaving.

Now alone, Belos let out an exasperated sigh. He slowly made his way to a shelf towards the back of the chamber, filled with a variety of small palismans. He grabbed the closest one and took a brief moment to examine it: a small, short-haired kitten. The craftsmanship was quite admirable, with shallow etching in the body mimicking stripes of fur and fibrous threads in the place of whiskers. Belos admittedly felt some guilt destroying a work of such effort, but not enough to lose any sleep over. He tore through the wood with the sharp talon covering his thumb, creating a large laceration through the kitten's chest. He then raised the palisman above his mask and split it in half like a freshly cracked egg. The viscous mana contained in the palisman slowly poured out into the eyeholes of Belos' mask, and once its contents were completely drained, he tossed its wooden shell to the floor.

Belos' eyes glowed with magical might as a sudden sense of vigor flowed through his body. After the initial rush had faded, he slumped his shoulders and let out a deep sigh. He lifted his arm towards the other side of the room, and his staff rose into the air. The hose connecting it to the hemispheric device detached itself before the staff flew into Belos' hand. He headed back to the center of the room and resumed observing his progress on the portal.

"Hm…" Belos pondered, "Barely relying on a mostly-braindead workforce to do the most basic of tasks while being constantly pestered by some savage rascal with an animal motif…" Belos paused and let out an ironic chuckle, "I think I finally understand how Magnus feels."