A/N: I'm back home now, so hopefully I can update a bit quicker for the foreseeable future (assuming life doesn't throw any curveballs at me).

Warning: The fic takes place during that year-long gap between Cold Steel 2 and Cold Steel 3, so there'll be references to spoilers for every single game up to that point (and possibly beyond).

Mildred had been praying to the Light for deliverance for years, if not decades. At first it was to save their crops from being blighted. The Farmstead had been passed down her husband's family for generations, and he had been fully intent on having his children inherit it. Not even the insanity consuming the nearby Hamlet and the flesh-eating witches infesting the Weald were enough to drive her husband from his ancestral land. Mildred and her husband had done everything they could to save their farm, from experimenting with new crops, taking out loans to invest in new equipment, even resorting to buying magical charms claimed to bring good fortune and deliverance from evil. And when all other options had been exhausted, they'd finally contacted the nobleman in whose fiefdom they dwelled for help.

Then it was to be free of the yolk that same noble had cast upon them. It soon became clear that His "Grace" had no interest in helping her husband, but instead wished only to pursue his own dark agenda. The family's beloved Farmstead had become their prison, and they its inmates. They toiled away with strange stonework day in and day out, even when the arcane symbols they were carving onto the rocks drove people sick. That damned noble had even brought a gang of ruthless enforcers to remind the household that he, not her husband, was the new master of the Farmstead. What precious little harvest they could wring from the fields was used to fatten up those goons, with her family getting table scraps.

When the injured young man discovered in a field had woken up, Mildred thought it was a good omen, that her prayers for salvation would finally be answered.

How wrong she was.

After that hateful shard from the stars crashed into the windmill, Mildred had continued to pray for deliverance even when her body became a petrified husk. Being too weak to fight or be useful in any way, whatever hateful entity had arrived in the comet was content to just leave her in the Farmhouse. The home that she had eagerly moved into on her wedding day, that she had delivered her husband's children in, became an eternal prison.

With her husband still off searching for their children and the others nowhere to be seen, Joshua (that was the lad's name) was her only company. He'd come by occasionally, talking about home, his past adventures, and the love of his life that he called Estelle. The warm, gentle look on his face whenever he talked about Estelle reminded Mildred of her own husband when he was young, even if Estelle sounded nothing like Mildred in her younger years. The bond between Joshua and Estelle sounded a lot like the one between herself and her husband: always supporting each other through thick and thin and braving the seasons together.

Mildred had prayed for deliverance for years, if not decades.

None ever came.

Mildred may not have been a scholar, but she knew that her state of being was not natural. Being trapped in this limbo, this purgatory, was worse than death. The act of moving, no matter how little she actually shifted, caused immeasurable agony. Finally, Mildred had decided enough was enough. The next time Joshua came, she would thank him for his kindness, present him with whatever gifts and blessings she could, and say her goodbyes. For if the Light had forsaken her, then she would take her fate into her own hands for once.

Even if it meant her death.

Joshua sighed as he leaned against the broken wall, pulling out his harmonica. It was another failed escape attempt, with him going in circles and alternating between avoiding enemies and cutting them down. He gathered his thoughts for a few seconds before putting it against his mouth and shutting his eyes, trying to block out the hellish blue glow that surrounded him. As he played The Whereabouts of Light, he pictured himself perched beside the pond back at home with Estelle sitting next to him.

"Joshua…"

He could practically hear Estelle's voice, gently saying his name while she waited for a fish to bite.

"Joshua?"

The voice was a bit louder and began to echo in his ear. Am I imagining things? Or is that actually her?

"JOSHUA!" A shrill yell faded throughout the void, drowning out his tune for the split second it had sounded. He snapped out of his reverie, mouth pulling away from his harmonica as he shot up to his feet. No way. There's no way…

He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted at the top of his lungs, his own voice echoing throughout the Farmstead. "ESTELLE?"

"JOSHUA! I'M HERE!" Estelle sounded so near, yet so far. Hearing his lover's voice for the first time in an eternity made Joshua grin ear-to-ear while tears of joy welled up in his eyes. It's her. It's really her! My Estelle! Thank you, Aidios!

"HOLD ON, JOSHUA! I'M COMING!"

... wait, she's coming to me? Does she have any idea how crazy this place is? Joshua's blood ran cold as a dozen nightmare scenarios ran through his head. Damn it, Estelle, don't just rush in!

"ESTELLE, WAIT!" he yelled back. "STAY WHERE YOU ARE AND I'LL COME TO YOU!" He had more experience in this place, wherever it was; he was sure he could find her, now that he knew to look. With bated breath, Joshua waited for another response.

There was none.

Joshua's fists balled together. Estelle had already gone through hell and high water to find him once before, when he was a damned coward who couldn't face his past and his feelings. This time it was different. He wasn't running away from anything, just trapped in the same place by some unknown horror from the stars. His heart ached as he imagined just how much Estelle had suffered alone out there, yet he was already channeling his worries and fears into purpose and resolve.

Joshua smiled. Guess she rubbed off on me a little. He gave his gear one last look before unsheathing his blades and dashing towards the sound of her voice, ready for whatever came next. After the familiar sensation of falling through a void, he emerged in the middle of an ashen field. There were already corrupted farmhands sprouting out of the ground, thirsting for his blood.

"Get out of my way!" He gritted his teeth as he dodged and weaved among their ranks, his blades slicing through joints and necks with ease. Even a foreman whipping the surviving farmhands into a frenzy wasn't enough to stop his lightning-fast assault as he cut a swath through the rabble. One swing took off the foreman's hand before it even had a chance to raise its whip, and a second swing took off its head. He found himself staring down a plow horse before it began to paw the ground with an unnatural quickness, stirring up a dust cloud to conceal itself.

I've fought your kind so many times before in this hellhole. Do you honestly think this trick will work on me? Joshua scoffed as he got ready to pounce. Even with Estelle having taken their shared Detection quartz, Joshua still had his assassin senses to rely on. His ears perked up as a patch of dirt stirred to his left. Acting on reflex, Joshua dropped to a prone position and thrust his blade upwards straight into the charging horse's stomach, gutting it using its own momentum. He jumped back up and surveyed the results of the carnage, confirming there were no more enemies to be seen.

Like clockwork, the glowing pile of floating rocks appeared. As the core began to shine with a blinding light, Joshua took a deep breath and cracked his neck. Come what come may. As long as Estelle doesn't give up, we will find each other.

"ESTELLE, WAIT!" Joshua's voice echoed throughout the void, and her other companions shared the same sentiment as they held her back. "STAY WHERE YOU ARE AND I'LL COME TO YOU!"

"Let me go, damn it!" Estelle was livid as she struggled at the combined might of Barristan, Bigby, and Sarmenti. The relief at hearing his voice had turned to fury at her companions for trying to block her way. "Joshua's been trapped in this hell for the past two months! I need to get him out!"

"Listen to me, soldier! I saw what happened to your Orbment during the last battle!" Barristan shouted in his typical authoritative voice. "If you can't get it working again, it means we have no healer! You'll be good as dead if you just charge out there! How are you two supposed to reunite if that happens?"

Hot tears welled up in Estelle's eyes as she growled incoherently in frustration. She was this close to finding Joshua, and she wasn't about to let anybody or anything get in her way. Yet Barristan's words rang true. Nobody else on her team had any healing skills, leaving herself as the sole healer. And even if she relied on her already meagre amount healing balms from home instead, it would only be a matter of time before the supplies dwindled and left the team at the mercy of the enemy.

"Listen, take the time to get it fixed, and then we can head out," Barristan said once Estelle stopped struggling. "You have my word that we shall forge ahead with you."

"And if I can't fix my ARCUS?" she asked.

Barristan smirked. "Then we'll fight as one to the bitter end."

"All right, I'll stay put for now. Just give me some peace and quiet," Estelle said, and the others let go of her. She was no Orbal prodigy like Tita, but after using Combat Orbments for a long time now, she knew enough to do some emergency troubleshooting. First things first…

"JOSHUA! WE'LL MEET YOU HALFWAY!" Estelle shouted. "WE JUST NEED SOME TIME TO GET READY, OKAY?"

Joshua didn't respond, and Estelle figured he was already trying to make his way trough the Farmstead to reach her. She grunted and kicked a nearby wall so hard that it cracked before pacing around for a few moments to regain her composure. She was this close to reuniting with him, but her supposedly trusty Orbment out of all things was getting in her way. After her frustration was satiated, if only for the time being, she sighed deeply and sat down against a wall before pulling out her ARCUS.

Aidios, I know I'm not exactly a genius, but please guide me and help me figure out what's wrong. The first order of business was to check the EP level. Just like how a gun won't fire without bullets, Orbments can't function without Orbal energy. She grunted dejectedly when she saw her ARCUS' EP indicator read full power, meaning the problem must be a lot more complicated.

Next up was popping open the emergency maintenance cover on the back of the ARCUS. Some of the interior circuitry might have gotten damaged when Estelle had dropped it on the stone floor of the Ruins on the way to fight the Necromancer Lord. She carefully pored over the interior, using the creepy glow around her as a source of illumination. Guess this stupid blue light is good for something after all.

Despite her best efforts, Estelle failed to find anything wrong during her inspection. Her heart began to race as she looked around at her comrades, who were watching intently with all the hope they could muster. Focus, Estelle! Don't overthink it! Worst comes to worst, we'll just use my supplies and keep fighting until Joshua finds me.

With no other options on her mind, Estelle decided to simply swap out all her quartz for a different set and cast a Tear to see what would happen. To her surprise and delight, the familiar glowing halo appeared beneath her and was soon followed by the refreshing feeling of the healing Art working on her. She clapped and yelped happily at the result before rushing to her feet. All right, so I can heal after all! Time to go find—

Estelle's train of thought was interrupted by the sight of her three teammates who were leaning towards her and looking on with anticipation. It was quite clear they were relying on her for both for healing and offense, and having her ARCUS failing again in combat would be nothing short of a catastrophe. Right, I should test out the other elements just to be safe. She cycled through each element, from Fire all the way to Mirage, using a nearby wall as a target for offensive Arts. To her relief, it was only Time and Space that didn't work, which still left her being able to heal, support her team, and dish out damage. Before cracking open her quartz case, she paused to jot down the details in her Bracer notebook, figuring the strange way her Orbment was affected might be a useful clue for later. After settling on a decent quartz combination, Estelle gave the others a thumbs-up.

"Guys! We're good to go! Let's get a move on!" Estelle yelped happily as her three companions began to sit up. She walked over and held out a hand to Barristan, who gratefully took it and allowed Estelle to pull him up.

"Thank you, Estelle," Barristan said. "If you don't mind one small delay, I'd like to address the team before we leave."

"Stage is all yours," Estelle said, giddy at the chance to be able to finally find Joshua.

"Troops, we now have a new objective," Barristan said. "All of you have witnessed the evidence that Estelle's lover is trapped here. While we explore the depths of this realm, keep a lookout for him and render assistance if needed. Now, form up in a single file and move out!"

"If only I had some drums to accompany our march to war," Sarmenti quipped as they moved towards a gap in the wrecked Farmhouse's walls, striding forward with determination. "Even banging two coconut shells together will do."

The team shared a chuckle as they strode towards the unknown with Estelle at the lead. They suddenly found themselves falling through what seemed to be an endless void, yet it only lasted moments. They found themselves in a strange new place: an island of sorts, maybe just a bit shorter than the arena in Grancel, floating in an eternal void. It was a twisted parody of the night sky, with the backdrop glowing a sickly yellow and the distant stars nothing more than black pits leading to some unknown abyss. Estelle and her comrades examined their surroundings, finding nothing more than a ruined stone wall that looked oddly familiar and the ground beneath them paved with the same stone that made up the wall. More "islands" could be seen in the distance, with their "inhabitants" repeating the same actions for all eternity.

Bone rabble patrolling their minuscule domain.

A Crusader being devoured alive by two ghouls.

Two brigands in a desperate last stand against a horde of bone soldiers.

"What is this place?" Estelle looked at her surroundings rapt with horror.

Before she got her answer, a group of bone rabble sprung from the ground and charged at the group. Their little clubs were nothing compared to Estelle's staff which smashed them apart with ease. In no time, the bone rabble became nothing but a shattered mess strewn around the team. Before they could catch their breath, however, even more undead appeared and assailed them in waves.

Falling back on the experience gained from her previous expeditions, Estelle was at the forefront of the battle against the new undead horde. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as she lost track of how many enemies she took down. Be it the skeletal legions or reanimated brigands and cultists, she smashed into them with a cold determination. I don't care what's in my way! I gotta find Joshua!

While Bigby hung back and spat caustic bile at the endless undead horde, Sarmenti played his lute with a maniacal zest that riled up the others in one measure while soothing them in the next. Barristan stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Estelle and tore into the enemy with his mace, alternating between exhorting his companions to heroism and taunting the enemy. During the battle, they discovered any corpses that were left intact would reform into a crystalline formation which would explode if left for too long. With that in mind, they adjusted their tactics accordingly to take advantage of that strange aspect of the world, pushing enemies onto the crystalline things whenever the opportunity presented itself and let the explosions take them out.

Just when the undead horde began to thin after what felt like an eternity of fighting, two hulking shapes emerged from the ground. Estelle instantly recognized the nightmarish visages of the flesh golems, the close calls with them still fresh in her memory.

"What the hell?" Estelle yelped in surprise as she blocked a strike.

"Old friends?" Barristan grunted as he swatted away the other flesh golem's hand.

"Dead ones. Reynauld and I took care of these guys," Estelle said, straining to keep the enemy at bay. "We thought we did, anyway. I can cast an Art to take them down, but I need you guys to buy me time."

"Very well, then," Barristan said before shouting at the top of his lungs. "Sarmenti! Bigby! Get up here! Hold the line and don't let them get to Estelle!"

"Don't stop me now! I've been pining for the leading role!" Sarmenti said with an edge to his voice as he slid forward, strumming one last solo before slinging his lute and unsheathing his dagger and sickle. Meanwhile, a bloodcurdling roar sounded from Bigby's position followed by the sight of the Beast dashing forward and slamming into one of the flesh golems. Seeing her opening, Estelle fell back behind the others and whipped out her ARCUS.

"I don't know how you guys are back, and I don't really care. All I know is that you're going down!" Estelle thrust her Orbment forward. "Earth Lance!"

Jagged stone spears shot up from beneath the flesh golems, skewering them and tearing them to pieces. Before the team could catch their breath, however, the familiar hooded visage of the Necromancer Lord sprung up from the ground.

"You! Are you behind all this?" Estelle asked. "I saw you die! Reynauld killed you!"

The Necromancer Lord simply snarled in his ancient tongue, causing more undead to sprout from the ground behind him like mushrooms after a rainstorm. He retreated behind his minions, seemingly intent on having them do his dirty work as always.

"Courage, troops! Hold the line!" Barristan braced himself for the onslaught. "We have stood tall against the dead before, and we shall do so again!"

"Haha! It appears this act is approaching its climax!" Sarmenti sneered as he twirled his sickle and dagger. "On with the show!"

Bigby said nothing and simply howled at the sky.

"Go back to your grave!" Estelle shouted as she readied a La Forte. "ARCUS, activate!"

In moments, fiery auras enveloped the entire team, strengthening them with burning vigor. Estelle and Sarmenti switched places, with the Jester falling back to provide support as always. She and Bigby charged ahead, staff and claws smashing and slashing at any undead in their way. With her experience and his unnatural strength, the enemy simply fell in droves. Joshua must have fought them too, and maybe even that Prophet guy. What's with this place?

Bones shattered by Estelle's staff and Barristan's mace, sickening crunches sounding in the air like machinegun fire.

Bigby's claws tearing through the enemy ranks like paper.

Sarmenti's melodies filling the air amidst the carnage, followed later by a well-placed spear through the Necromancer Lord's skull. After what seemed like an eternity, the fight was over. The team huffed and puffed as they caught their breath, examining each other for wounds before Estelle healed everyone back to full strength. Like clockwork, the strange floating rock creature appeared and transported them to a new location. The team assumed their battle stances, waiting for an enemy to arrive.

None came.

"This is quite peculiar," Sarmenti remarked. "The actors are assembled, yet there is no drama."

"Phantom Raid!"

The battle against a group of brigands and their cannon was over before it began, with Joshua slicing them to ribbons before they could do any damage. The cannon itself was then melted to a puddle of molten slag by a well-placed fire Art. One thing he had noticed during his ongoing stay at the Farmstead was that the more intact corpses always morphed into crystalline formations. After having one almost explode in his face before, he always made sure to destroy them whenever they appeared. For strange reasons, destroying them always healed some of his injuries, not to mention providing some much-needed stress relief.

"Let's get this over with," Joshua quipped when the floating glowing rock appeared, enveloping him in the usual blinding light. Once more, Joshua found himself in that ruined corner of the Farmhouse where Mildred stood. Her petrified form stared ahead into nothingness as Joshua strode in front of her. Even though she never responded, Joshua always talked to her. Keeping the poor woman company is the least I could do.

"Hey, Mildred. I'm back," Joshua said. "And my girlfriend is here too. She's trying to find me and get me out of this mess."

As expected, she said nothing and simply stared ahead like the statue she had become.

"She's amazing as always. It's the second time she's had to look for me, you know," Joshua said as he paced about. "Determined, tough, and shining like the sun no matter what. That's the girl I fell in love with. I'll bring her to come to see you. You'll love her."

A crack from Mildred caught Joshua's attention, and he saw pieces of petrified soil falling off from her face. It sounded like a piece of pottery slowly cracking and breaking under a wheel. He winced; it was just as well she was nothing but dead stone now, as if she was alive, she would probably be in tremendous pain.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't help you or your family." He ran his fingers over his ARCUS. At first, he'd tried to see if he could turn Mildred back to normal by casting healing Arts, but they failed to have any effect on her. She was nothing but a statue now. "One way or another, I'm going to make it right. I swear to Aidios I'll make it right."

And then, with a voice like stone grating on stone, Mildred replied.

"Joshua... the end... me..."

He whirled around to face her, almost dropping his ARCUS in sheer shock as he fumbled for his blade. But there was no sense of threat, no prelude to an attack like with the other crystalline creatures he'd encountered.

There was only a dribble of bluish, half-liquid crystal oozing from her empty, glowing eye sockets.

Tears, he realised. Those are tears. And then, with growing horror, the full implications hit him.

"Mildred?! You... you've been alive this entire time?" He stumbled back, his whole body going slack. "But... how?"

He shook his head. It didn't matter how. He should have noticed earlier, should never have given up on her. Quickly, he raised his ARCUS and cast healing Art after healing Art, trying desperately to do whatever he could to save the poor woman... all to no avail.

"It's... alright, Joshua. I just... want this... to end," Mildred said weakly. Every word caused spiderweb cracks to appear in her face and throat. " Can't fight…can't be…its puppet… Discarded…useless…"

"No, you weren't useless at all. You got me into that cellar just in time," What Mildred said about being something's puppet struck a chord with Joshua, having been exactly that for the scumbags back at Ouroboros. "Listen, there's people from my homeland. They know far more about the ways of healing than I ever will. I'll get them here, and they can help you!"

"No…this…isn't living…tired of…holding on…" More flakes fell from her face as her mouth strained to move. The cracking got even worse as she raised her right arm, and Joshua could tell she was holding something.

"What? What is it?" Joshua asked.

"Take it…Joshua...find your…Estelle…" Mildred opened her hand, revealing a locket. "I just…want to…go…"

Shortly after Joshua gingerly took the locket from Mildred, larger pieces began to crumble away from her body. With a final ethereal goodbye, Mildred collapsed into several chunks. The blue glow coming from her eyes and the fissures all over her body soon faded away, just like what remained of Mildred's life.

"Goodbye, Mildred. I hope you're free now," Joshua muttered as he clenched the locket in his hand, staring blankly at the shattered stone. "If you see Karin and the real Loewe, send them my regards."

Joshua took a closer look at the locket. It was quite intricate, with the number '40' engraved on the lid. He opened it with shaking hands, revealing a painted portrait of the Miller and Mildred together. It must be a wedding anniversary gift. To think their lives ended up like this.

Joshua found himself pulling out his ARCUS and flicking open the cover, showing the picture of him kissing Estelle that he had taped to the inside. An identical picture was plastered inside Estelle's own ARCUS, a memento reminding both of them of their love. He compared the two pictures side by side, wiping away the slight dampness in his eyes. Did Mildred see something similar between their love and ours? They probably didn't go through hell to be together like we did, but the two of them must have been close regardless.

Out of all of his friends and family back home, the Miller and Mildred reminded Joshua of the Perzels the most. Before what appeared to be their enslavement by some local noble, the Farmstead probably wasn't that different from the Perzel family farm. It must have been a quaint place, with a happy family leading simple lives while making a living off the land. Judging by how old the Miller and Mildred looked in the portrait, they must have had children or even grandchildren. Joshua shuddered at the thought of an infant suffering this horrific fate. And then his breath caught as he wondered whether he'd encountered one of Mildred's children already — whether he'd cut them down like just another monster, without realising it. Whatever these people did, they didn't deserve any of this. That noble must have been as vile as Weissmann.

After a few quiet moments, Joshua decided he could tarry no longer. It was too late to save Mildred or her family, and he couldn't bring Mildred back, but he could still find Estelle and together they would make sure this tragic fate would never befall anyone else. He stood up before tucking the locket into a pocket and zipping it up. It was time to get to work once more. Thank you for everything you've done, and everything you've tried to do. It's about time I continued my search for Estelle. We'll keep fighting so we can have our own 40th anniversary.

Estelle's team was on an island of sorts again, except the lights were completely snuffed out with the island they were on was the only lit place. The island itself seemed to be hewn out of either marble or some kind of ultra-smooth metal. Three beams of red light shot upwards into infinity, flanking a translucent red platform. The décor was an exact copy of something she could never forget for the rest of her life. "This can't be right. This place was destroyed more than two years ago!"

"Estelle?" Barristan asked, concern in his voice.

"Back then, Joshua and I led a team to an ancient floating city to eliminate a major threat to my homeland. That city was known as Liber Ark, and it fell apart after our mission succeeded," Estelle explained. "This place, it looks just like one of the rooms!"

"Quite disconcerting, and I can't draw a conclusion about what this may imply," Bigby said. "The place is either feeding off of Estelle's memories, or somehow managed to bring pieces of this 'Liber Ark' out of time to here. What we're looking at can support either hypothesis."

"There's something else. Joshua and I came across this room right before one of the most difficult battles of our lives. The red beams, the elevator, the floors, it's all the same!" Estelle said, memories of that harrowing battle still fresh in her mind. "If my hunch is right, then we're about to face an enemy more powerful than anything you've seen before. Hang back as far as you can and spread out. I'll take him on by myself."

"We can't just leave you to fend for yourself, Estelle. For all you've done since you've came here, it would be a bloody crime to send you out there without support," Barristan said. "Whatever happens, we shall fight as one."

"You don't understand. This enemy is an absolute monster in close combat and will tear all of you to shreds in the blink of an eye," Estelle said as she checked over her quartz setup. "Out of all of us, I'm the team's best shot at beating him. I've fought him before, and I know everything he can do. Plus, I've trained and improved since that fight, so I've caught up with him — even if it's just a little."

"Monster, you say? You do realize Bigby is right here," Sarmenti said. "Judging by your choice of pronouns, I can safely deduce we will be facing a mere man. Surely, he can't be that bad, can he?"

"He is that bad. I don't think even Bigby in his beast form is enough. No offense, Bigby," Estelle said. "Actually, you spitting that corrosive bile at him might be a better option. He can cast an Art to shield himself, so the sooner you can burn through that shield the better.

"Actually, just hold on a sec..." Estelle rifled through her backpack for every remaining medical balm from home before splitting them evenly among her companions. "This is all my remaining meds from home. I'll be too tied up in combat to cast healing Arts, so you'll have to settle for these. The blue ones are for healing yourselves while the green ones are for – hold up, it's better if I give an example. You know how I said the guy we're about to face can cast Arts? One of those Arts can turn us against each other. If one of us starts attacking the rest of the team, hold them down or something and make them drink a green one to get them back to their senses.

"The gold ones are especially important. If someone gets taken down and is out cold or worse, this can bring them back, assuming the body is intact enough. It might not work if the insides are all torn to shreds, but it wouldn't hurt to try," Estelle continued. "Normally I'm all about conserving these, especially considering there's an Art that does the same thing and that I don't have a lot of the gold ones, but this is not a normal situation. Like I said, I'll be too tied up in combat."

She then pointed at the pouch she had on her belt. "This is my emergency medical kit. It's got more of the meds I just gave to you as well as a few other things like bandages and dressings. If, Goddess forbid, I go down or get too hurt to use them myself, then one of you needs to use whatever's in here to heal me. I'll hammer this home as much as I have to, but don't even think about trying to take that guy on at close range. Everyone understand what I just said?"

Estelle's teammates all nodded and replied they did, but she quizzed them a couple of more times just to be safe. Taking a deep breath, she led the way towards the platform. Just like she remembered, it was an elevator which would take them to their destination. As the platform rose through the air, Estelle looked around at her teammates while tapping her foot nervously. They all seemed confident enough, but unlike her had no first-hand experience with what would come next. They have no idea what they're in for. Aidios, please let me be wrong. But if I'm not, then watch over us in the fight ahead.

After a few moments of riding the elevator, a loud rumbling was heard overhead. The team looked up and saw gigantic chunks coalescing above them, forming some kind of large platform that served as the termination point for the three red beams. There was a hole in the middle that was just the right size for the elevator which smoothly glided through to their destination.

I knew it. It's an exact replica of Axis Pillar's roof, Estelle thought as she examined their surroundings. It was a large platform with a large triangular glyph in the middle and two smaller raised platforms on opposite sides. Estelle's team was on one of the platforms while a solitary figure stood on the other one. The figure trudged down the stair towards the triangular glyph, his boots clanging on the ground at a slow, deliberate pace. Estelle's team headed towards the same location, with Estelle herself tightly gripping her staff out of nervousness for the inevitable.

"He's a handsome one," Sarmenti commented as the five of them met in the middle.

The man was just as Estelle had remembered from his death on the Liber Ark. He had messy silver hair and was dressed in a brown longcoat. Curiously, the sword he had normally wielded in his left hand was nowhere to be seen.

"I am Leonhardt, formerly Enforcer No. II of the Society of Ouroboros," he said. "But one of you knows me by another name. Don't you, Estelle Bright?"

"Yeah, I sure do," Estelle said. "Loewe the Bladelord, back from the grave for the second time."

A/N: Yeah...the RNG really screwed Estelle's party big-time. Don't worry, the explanation for Loewe's presence will come in the next chapter. Anyway, I'm sure there are people wondering why Joshua hasn't been turned into a husk like the farmhands. I'm working off of DD gameplay mechanics here, but your heroes can stay in Endless Harvest for as long they can hold out with no ill effects (aside from RNG-induced negative quirks) despite the Farmstead's inhabitants being turned into husks. To me, this means living creatures only get corrupted by direct exposure in the immediate aftermath of the comet crash and that the corrupting influence wears off after time (kind of like radioactive half-life IRL). Since Joshua was stuck underground for a while, he's good (at least physically).

Fun Fact: The pouch on Estelle's belt? That's an addition on my part and based off a real-life military concept called an Individual First-Aid Kit (IFAK for short). The logic behind an IFAK is that if you're wounded in combat, somebody else can treat you using your own IFAK's contents.