The voice was distraught:

"Light is taking root."

"STOP HER. NOW!!!"

Daleth closed the door to the bedroom behind him and turned back to his friends. Januz, Halystaru, and Fupac watched him as he shuffled back to his seat, obviously worried and filled with the worst of thoughts. He almost fell into his chair; totally exhausted, and simply closed his eyes, waiting for one of the others to speak. The other three mumbled softly to each other; but Daleth did not pay attention, he had his own worries at the moment.

After the events at Selbina, Halystaru had safely gotten the six of them back to the Crag of Mea, north of Windurst. None of them had left the fight without injuries, however. Chase and Kidria were the ones who took the majority of the brunt of the assault. Fupac, after being crushed against the wall when he had tried to rise to the opposition, had gotten a concussion, and now held a bag of ice to the wound. He had also gotten numerous bruises and scrapes, but his overall injuries were minor compared to the other's. Daleth's armor had been totally trashed and bent until it was nothing more then an unrecognizable blob of sheet metal. He had taken more blunt hits then cutting ones, and so had been bleeding internally until a small army of white mage Tarus had come and taken care of that. Halystaru had gotten a twisted ankle and a few broken ribs, and some sort of bonk to the head which left her confused and unable to keep her balance very well, but these injuries, too, had been fixed by the white mages. Chase had taken too many wounds to count, numerous broken bones and shattered ribs, and had been totally unconscious and unable to walk on the way back to Windurst; Daleth had carried him. His internal bleeding was far worse then Daleth's, and Chase had also attained a broken nose and several twisted limbs. He was lucky to be alive, and now rested in the back room in bed. Kidria's ailment was far apart from the others; on the outside she seemed perfectly fine with few bruises and cuts, all of which had healed quickly, but the girl had collapsed midway to Windurst into a coma. She had not wakened from it since, and neither doctor nor mage had yet determined what was wrong with her. She now rested in the back, near Chase, with a fever, crying out in spontaneously nonsensical sayings, and delusions filling her senses. Daleth was worried sick, but totally unable to do anything about what had happened to the girl.

Meanwhile, the Star Sybil, who was the leader of Windurst, had been informed about the occurrences outside the wall, and the entire city had been put on alert, and expected a strike from the beastmen and pale warriors anytime. They would not be caught off guard. However, for now, no signs had appeared of any such attack, and the night remained quiet. Daleth worried about Kidria more then any other...he saw her as a little sister, as one he should be watching out for...and the only ones who knew Kidria just as well as he did were now the ones trying to kill them.

Off in the distance, the quiet darkness was interrupted by the sound of some chocobo's quarking, a cry chocobos made when surprised or alarmed. Daleth shrugged the sound off, and turned his attention back to Halystaru; he had stood up and spoke.

"We are totally clueless as to what has happened here. I was under the impression that when we captured our enemies with Truth, Evil would be gone for good. Now it comes back, with its ranks fully filled, and now 'perfect'? I think that we should all explain what we know, and put the pieces together. Obviously, this is not as simple as we thought. I shall begin with my part of my story:"

"I shall start with what happened after I defeated Fxeni in Sandoria. The fight was more of an insult fest then it was an actual battle, and looking back upon it, it wasn't so much a challenge as it was a test. Not to say it was easy, but I certainly expected more of a fight from someone so strong. Regardless, Xenif and I fought off Fxeni and trapped the evil within the scythe he fought with, but lost Truth in the process... After the battle, Xenif and his friends were released from their purgatory, and upon his departure I noticed a small scripture glowing on Fein's blade. I took little notice of the riddle, but wrote it down, and then tracked down a few of the surviving civilians left in Sandoria. I left Fxeni with an Elvaan family who I knew, and asked them to take care of him. I left later that day for Jugner Forest to check on Celos."

"In the Forest, nothing seemed amiss. The woods were totally devoid of any naturalistic life, which bothered me, but my instinct told me there was no danger left in these woods any longer. It was many hours before I literally stumbled across Fupac..."

"He had been totally mangled. His body was twisted like a piece of metal wire, distorted, and out of shape. He was bleeding quite profusely, but I restored him to normal health with my magic. When he awoke, he babbled nonsensically about things I did not understand, 'Danger in the woods' or 'Bastok burning' or such. I knocked him back into conscious thought with a slap, and he immediately ran off towards the south, screaming that I should get Fxeni and get to Windurst."

"Not understanding a word he said or what was going on, I did what he suggested: I trekked back to Sandoria. What I found was yet another massacre of my home. The Elvaans who I had asked to care for Fxeni were all dead, slain and still bleeding from their throats. Fxeni himself, and his scythe, were gone. Upon finding this horror, I ran back south, happened upon Fupac who was running back north, and he led me to Selbina...where we found you." Halystaru nodded to Daleth, who again, heard the sound of panicked chocobo's in the distance. The small Taru plopped back into her chair, obviously still exhausted from the escape from Selbina. Fupac took this as his cue to stand up, and began his own part of the story.

"It wouldn't exactly be pompous to say my fight in Valkrum Dunes was no easy fight...I nearly lost my life, as well as Sreyaa. But we did win the fight, and smote Seryaa into the ground, and trapped the evil in her axe. I left them both at the Dunes, and immediately after the fight, grabbed Truth and ran for Jugner, intent on delivering the weapon to Celos, who needed its aid."

"In La Theine Plateau, clouds had gathered in a circle which hovered almost mechanically over the Forest. It poured rain and spat thunder upon the woods, and being a varied traveler, I know that normal weather does not do that. I entered Jugner, expecting an attack from a Pale Warrior at any time, but still being aware that I needed to find Celos, and quickly."

"I searched for a long time before I came across any sign that our friend had been there. All the time, the clouds rained upon me and shocked my senses with blasts of light and sound from the storm above. I relied on my ears and sense of smell solely as I searched, until I finally found the girl, sleeping in a small alcove, which was sheltered by the rain."

"As soon as I laid eyes upon Celos, I let my guard down. That was my mistake. Some immense force picked me from the ground like I was twig, and all that I was aware of was that I was being attacked. I was almost instantaneously knocked unconscious, and let fall to the ground. Badly hurt and knocked into an unnatural sleep, I drifted in and out of consciousness. I saw part of what happened; I viewed Celos attack Marzinquan, watched the Pale Warrior kill Quanzirman, and saw Celos brutally massacre Marz. I watched our friend, and fellow fighter, get sprayed by that blood....Celos is now one of them."

There was a long silence, followed by a small cry of a few Tarus outside in the streets. Daleth found the noises annoying, and now began to grow uneasy, but Fupac continued, unhindered.

"Halystaru came, and healed me. All the memories and things I had watched while in this 'coma' came rushing back to me, and I remember Celos 'reviving' Marzinquan, who headed for Bastok, laughing about its destruction. I realized what they were doing, they were off to revive their trapped friends. I yelled for Halystaru to get to Sandoria and get Fxeni out of there, but apparently it was too late. Evil got there first. Still, I headed south, intent on finding Seryaa and the black axe. Both of them were gone."

"At this time, panic began to overwhelm me. I was too scared and too frightened to actually explain to Halystaru what had happened, and I was alone. So I tried to get to Bastok to warn you Daleth, and get you and Kidria out of there, since Marzinquan had mentioned its destruction."

"I made it to Bastok in the middle of the attack. Beastmen had only breached the first gate, and I ran into the battle without hesitation, killing whatever foe I could. I met the captain of the guard, Juliuz, who told me to seek out his brother for help, and to let Windurst know of what had happened to Bastok. The Captain of the Guard knew he would not make it out alive, and that it was a losing battle, and I wanted to stay...but he said to tell you, or that he would cut my throat." Fupac laughed at that, but he was the only voice who did so. He cleared his throat. "I left and sought out Januz, and let him know about the events. Januz insisted on checking on his brother before he came to help us, and I let him go. I wasn't about to try and stop a man who was worried for his family. I soloed my way to Selbina, trying to get to Windurst, where I met up with Halystaru, and then the others, where we fought. So here I am."

At the mention of his brother's name, Januz had stood up and turned away from the others. Daleth watched the man, and was afraid for what Januz had found remaining from his brother, but stayed quiet.

A short pause followed before Daleth realized the entire group was watching him, waiting for his part of the story. He coughed nervously and straightened himself in his char, and began the reminiscence of his adventures. Daleth told them all of Cerulean's sudden arrival and the attack, as well as the trek from Bastok. However, he stayed silent about Kidria and the strange things Kidria had said and gone through, as they were probably inconsequential and unimportant...They were Daleth's worries, and his alone. The others, perplexed and just as confused as Daleth was, began to place the pieces together, and they all nodded sequentially when Daleth was finished with his tale.

Fupac turned to Halystaru. "What, exactly, is this poem you found on Fxeni's scythe?"

Halystaru ruffled in her cloak, pulled out a small piece of parchment, and read aloud.

"When dark recalls all it has to offer,

renewing the object it once held,

The greatest power shall be found

in the smallest possible voice,

The six shall stand against the five when one is felled,

But victory means death and losing means destruction; all decided by the sister's choice."

The final lines of the verse echoed around the room almost magically and mixed with the sound of the burning fire in the hearth. Daleth rubbed his chin, and leaned back, thinking.

"'Dark recalls all it has to offer, renewing the object it once held'...I think that refers to the perfection that the Pale Warriors now have. I don't understand the other four lines, but maybe it's a riddle pertaining to Evil's plans or intentions. But the smallest possible voice? Evil already has its 'perfection' so what could possibly be as strong as Darkness is....?"

"What about light?" Januz crossed his arms stubbornly.

Daleth nodded. "That would make sense. The smallest possible voice..."

Halystaru shrugged. "You mentioned that Cerulean mentioned being after 'Light' in Bastok. Then we saw the Pale Warriors in Selbina. What was at both Bastok and Selbina?"

Daleth stopped stroking his chin, and thought about that. He realized exactly what had been at both places, and then thought about that further. His eyes widened as he took the thought further, and his jaw slowly dropped as he comprehended that possibility. It all made sense...Light was right here in Windurst, right now. It was in this town, and in fact, right in the same building with Daleth. He looked toward the door in the back where his two friends slept...

Noises outside the window erupted into a flurry of shouts, and Daleth jumped from his seat. Fupac calmly walked to the window and opened it a small amount to look outside. He looked angry. "What the hell is with that racket?!"

Halystaru, realizing what Daleth had already, almost shot out of her chair, and almost shouted as she spoke, excited. "Fupac, get away from the window."

"Why?"

"I think someone is here. An assassin. One of the Pale Warriors."

"Huh? They're way back in Selbina. I don't care how strong they are, they aren't that fast!"

Daleth shook his head. "Wrong. We fought five Pale Warriors in Bastok. One of them was still out there, and I now realize exactly what was going on. Cerulean knew that if the attack on Bastok failed to kill Light, then Light would be taken to Windurst. And the only way to get to Windurst is on boats through Selbina."

"But we escaped..."

"Yes, but Evil does not make mistakes. It took a third precaution. It knew we would come here, and so, it sent its sixth member to finish it. We fought five Pale Warriors in Selbina: Takmir, Seryaa, Fxeni, Marzinquan, and Taea. There is one more. And she is here."

Fupac stepped back from the window, shocked, and eyes locked on something outside. The shouts outside finally erupted in an alarm, and a large amount of cries in the distance. The night exploded in noise, and then climaxed as there was a noise on the roof. A second later, the room was filled with a detonation of glass, as the window looking outside was shattered by an intruder, which sent pieces of the sharp edges flying in every direction. The form, clad in black armor, and wielding two dark, black, curving, crooked swords, stood up and faced the room. Daleth gritted his teeth.

"Celos."