Look at that, another chapter! You finally get to see what happens. And since I'm so nice, the title is a very obvious twist on the saying "What goes up, must come down." I thought it was clever, albeit, childish and obvious.

Guess what the next chapter is going to be called?

Now, I wrote the middle section, after the first line break all at once. Approximately 3000 words...

Anywho, Lefiya I think is interesting in this chapter, just because of what she was trying to say. I'll leave that to you all. Also, I did not call Revis by her name during their fight, fair warning. They didn't know it, they didn't ask, end of story.

ALSO, I NOTICED WE HIT OVER 100 HUNDRED STORY FOLLOWERS! Excuse me while I go sit down and freak out that over 100 of you decided to compel yourselves to read the content I produce...

Are you okay?

"Speaking"

Personal Thoughts

*Ability/Spell*

...

Just before Ais's voice rang out.

The rogue town had its own problems. Violas were sprouting out of the ground with reckless abandon. They gave zero shits to the world around them. Their goal was simple: kill.

Tiona leaped into the air and swung Urga like a baton and sliced the Viola in half. "Ahh, how I missed that sweet, sweet sound!"

"Less admiring, more killing!" Tione chided her sister as her own weapons, a pair of kukri knives named Zolas carved a path through another one, dropping its mutated magic stone. Since magic stones are usually purple and this one was a sickly green, these will therefore be called 'mutated magic stones.' They were dropping like flies, but they were like serpents. Cut one head off, two will take their place. They sprouted up like weeds.

Both Hiryute sisters both shut up and finally leaped back into action. They continued to slash and jab and cut down the opposition in their way. The two of them have about the same coordination as the Wallenstein siblings. Having grown up together, fought together, bled together, they know that they can take what the Dungeon throws at them.

Finn was instructing Bors, "We can take them down together! Gather a team of fighters while Riveria distracts them!" Finn's voice called out. Fortia Spear decimated Viola after Viola, gaining higher ground. These monsters, these abominations continued to tear through the town, and the Pallum Captain had to witness as an adventurer was eaten whole. His thumb tickled for a moment as he jumped to a different roof. As soon as he left, a Viola sprung up where he was standing.

Bors, meanwhile, was able to hold his own, being level three. Even though these monsters were considered level four, the man knew his way around a fight. "Sure, whatever," the rogue leader said, taking out a Viola himself.

Once Finn was clear, he finally got an overview of the battle. There are too many of them, even with us here. Who could have done this? These things shouldn't be up this far, so was it a tamer? A monster parade? Both are possible, but my thumb is betting on a mastermind, not a tamer.

Riveria decided to become a distraction, or the beacon, in this case. She stood in the middle of all the assembled adventures and began to chant, pouring as much magic energy as she was willing to part within it. Violas tried to get to Nine Hell but were unsuccessful. Each and every attempt was met with a blade, and even when an attempt got close, Riveria's mastery in Concurrent Chanting allowed her to move with ease. In any case, there was something else that needed to be taken care of. However, there was one stipulation.

They wouldn't be ready for what came next. None of them would be.


Once the orb was properly stowed away, Axton quickly focused on his sister. "Look at me Ais…" It was a struggle to keep his own voice level, but he had to, for her. "That feeling, it's gone. Get it out of your head, okay?" He cupped her cheek, getting her to look at him. "I'm right here."

Ais threw herself into her brother's arms, and he threw himself into hers. The siblings needed a moment. There weren't words to describe the feeling that they just experienced. If they tried, the words would die on their tongues. "What was that…"

"I don't know, but I need you to get your head on straight," I do as well…like what the hell was that thing… "Lefiya, take that freaky thing and Lulune and get out of here. Take her to her employer and get rid of it."

"But-"

"Now, Lefiya!" Axton yelled, not having any time for a debate. His voice was harsh, but the elven mage knew he was right. "Ais, focus on me," he continued to assure his sister, not even looking back at her. He trusted her to get Lulune and herself out of danger. If there was any flak to be had, he'd take it. Something was wrong, and there were pieces in play that were meshing with the others… I need to have time to reflect on this, Axton thought as Ais gently stepped away, aloof again, but underneath those golden irises, she was still thinking about it.

"I should be the one reassuring you…" she whispered, but he didn't hear it.

Now was not the time to dilly dally in the Dungeon. Lefiya needed to move. Grabbing Lulune's hand, she started moving forward, running down the path they had just recently run-up. It was a lot more stressful because of the now increased stakes.

A pillar of fire erupted in the sky, meaning Riveria's distraction had worked, not that they knew that. As the smoke cleared, there was someone in the path. One emerald eye, one covered by a bandage, walking ominously towards the pair of girls.

Both tried not to show it, but they were terrified. Seriously, who in their right mind walks ominously towards someone and does not have the sense to run? Lefiya wasn't going to run. "Who are you?"

The figure had to suppress the grin they wanted to sport. Finally, they had caught up to their target. The target, you may ask? The bag that the elf girl had over her shoulder. In a split second, that would all change.

Lefiya didn't even see them move, but all of a sudden, they were in her face. Forest's Teardrop hit the ground and Lefiya found herself being held up with one hand. The problem was…the hand was around her neck.

"Gah!" Lefiya choked out, her attempts to free herself were in vain. Is this how I'm going to die? No! I never got to…te...ll…Ax... Her hands fell to her sides and those blue irises were starting to close. She could feel their fingers applying pressure to her neck, how they could easily snap her spine, ending her life. If anyone saw her, they would see the terrified, fearful, blue eyes of the Thousand Elf.

At least until air suddenly flooded her lungs. She was in someone's arms. Her eyes tried to focus, but all she could see was an outline. What she didn't see was a very pissed-off and angry Sword Prince. Someone just tried to kill...his interest...and now he wanted to know why. Why were they trying to kill sweet Lefiya? Ignoring the way he just addressed her, Requiem was poised ahead of him, "So, explain yourself…" his tone was dark, a far cry from what he was speaking a few minutes ago.

Ais tactfully stepped in, Desperate drawn, "Are you the one who murdered Hashana?" On the ground, Lefiya had heard this and thought, But I thought the killer was a woman?

The next words—the first words—spoken by this figure did not match the body type. "And what if I am a woman?" Lefiya croaked those words aloud, hence the response. The helmet fell, revealing Hashana's face. Axton did get along with the man, so it was a literal case of a dead man walking. However, what this woman did next was beyond sick. She tore off the face, revealing her true face. Lefiya paled and let out an 'eep' of disgust, horror, and fear all wrapped in one.

"Did you…"

"Yes, she did…" Axton growled, and whether he knew it or not...his skill was activating. He felt the pressure increase, the intent was leaking from every pore of the woman, and he knew that it was about to get worse. Once her whole face was revealed, it made his anger flare higher than ever before. Axton doesn't get angry that often, but his temper is said to be legendary. Giddy Prince was the face they—the people—most often saw. If anyone saw him now, they would understand that he's not just a boy, but an adventurer who has to deal with hardship after hardship. As do any adventurer who dares enter the Dungeon.

The reason for his anger was simple. It was her face; one that Axton recognized.

"You?!"

"We meet again...and this time...you're not walking away," the woman threatened, and her whole aura meant it. She wanted to kill him, and there was nothing else. She was starting to reek of death. The intent came full force at him and Ais, but both stood firm. It's not the first time that they have received such ire. However, it was the first time that it was this intense.

Lefiya groaned as she sucked in lungfuls of precious air, "A-Axton? Y-You know…" she coughed as she tried to regain her breath, "this woman?"

His grip on his weapon tightened, "Briefly, she showed up at the pantry, but I wasn't interested in fighting nor dealing with competition. She left without speaking a word."

"At first, I didn't believe it. I didn't think she could have offspring. After all, it was impossible for them to even have children. Yet here two of them stand. While I don't have an accurate name for you, boy, for her...I do…" The armor that this woman once wore was slowly being shucked off like how one does a clam. "It was only thanks to that idiot that I was able to sneak out. Being disguised as a man is much easier than being a woman."

Boots that went up halfway to her knees, grey wrapping that exposed various parts of her legs, a white shirt that covered the...important bits...her sword resting comfortably above her bottom. A small chest plate covered her breasts, a ring rested right under her throat, multiple straps connected to it, presumably connecting to her outfit. Short red hair, and green eyes... did they just dilate like a cat's? "Now...hand over that Seed!"

She was already on them as she spoke, the sword she wielded with one hand was a powerful weapon. One that already seemed to have claimed the lives of adventurers. Axton intercepted the strike and felt the raw power. She's strong. So why didn't she attack me at the pantry?

As a result of Axton being distracted by his own thoughts, the woman brought down a fist. One that would have crushed his chest cavity, if he wasn't wearing armor. Fortunately, he was, but he managed to bring up his arm to dissuade the blow per se. It still hurt, but it could have been worse. "You're a tough little cookie, spawn. Too bad I like them crushed."

Axton...didn't know how to properly interpret that, but he dodged her next strike and when they both came to exchanging blows, it was to her advantage. Once the woman brought her weapon up, did Axton leap away and Ais took his place. She was much faster and used that brief second to land a glancing blow. "She's fast."

"And annoying too," Axton grumbled, shaking his arm. That blow, as glancing as it seemed to be, was painful. Guardian was waiting for a target. The skill was active, but only partially. It needed a target to be at its peak.

Lefiya was not slouching either. Once she was able to stand without a problem, she began to chant, ignoring the bruising that was probably on her throat, "Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree. You are an expert of the bow. Shoot, sniper of the fairies. Penetrate, arrow of absolute accuracy."

*Arcs Ray!*

The beam of light shot from Teardrop, straight at the woman. She countered Ais, kicking her away, before holding her hand out, intercepting the magic spell before dispelling it with just her hand. "She's stopping it with her bare hand?" Lefiya was in disbelief. No one in their right mind would even try to do this. Surely, they'd be annihilated

"Wait, she isn't dispel-"

The woman then turned the spell around, sending it back to Lefiya, sending the young mage tumbling on the ground. Guardian now had a target. "Lefiya!" Axton wanted to move to her side, but the woman appeared in front of him. He was lucky to even bring up Requiem to block. She forced it down, but Axton went with the momentum, bringing the flat of the sword against his back as the woman slammed her sword into his. The ground crunched under him, but he still held. Using a small amount of wind, he forced her weapon off his, before making a small wind blade appear on the edge of Requiem.

Using the low ground he was so graciously provided with, he spun around on his feet and slashed, the woman hadn't the slightest chance of moving without taking damage. For if she dodged him, she would have taken a hit from her. This her? Ais, of course.

The siblings are the ones who fight most often, so of course, they can read each other's tactics without a word. They managed to get a decent cut into her leg and her arm, but her focus changed.

Why?

Lefiya recovered enough to stand, but that was the catalyst. "Why don't you just stay down like a good girl. Even better, just die!"

**Tempest!**

The siblings were quick and appeared in front of Lefiya, crossing their blades as the woman's blade met two Durandal weapons. They quickly pushed her off and recovered, the wind dispelling. "Lay another hand on her, you'll regret it, of that I will personally make sure of," the growl in his voice was dark, making the woman look at him specifically.

They failed to notice the pulsing red glow from the package in the bag that Lefiya was carrying.

"Wind magic…I see..." the woman looked to the two of them, "I know you two are the offspring of a Spirit...of Aria."

Both Wallenstein children felt ice enter their veins, even Axton's Guardian-induced state paused. They glanced at one another, thinking the exact same thing, How does she know that? How does she know Mom? Why is she calling Ais/me Aria? That explanation would have to come at another time.

The woman smirked, "Looks like I'll be taking a souvenir." The 'Seed', as the woman called it, was floating in mid-air. After a moment, the fetus inside expanded, opening its eyes and mouth, making it look horrifying. It got even worse, it broke out of its container.

The first thing it did was leap at Ais and Axton. They both dodged, having snapped out of their thoughts. New problem, though.

It latched to a knocked-out Viola. Oh, Ais had fought some while I was fighting crazy lady over there.

Another problem arose at this moment.

It started to expand, dark veins stretched across the corpse before it started to mutate. "Alright, I've seen some things in my time, but what the fuck is that abomination?" The face was blank, except for a mouth. Its color scheme matched that of a Viola, obviously.

The woman took this moment of surprise to sneak behind the Sword Prince, "It's a shame that you'll never find out…"

I let my guard down… was his thought before he got sent flying at speeds that would kill a man outright. Thankfully, there was a cliff face that broke his speed...and his body. Or so they thought.

"Axton!" Lefiya shouted. Lulune appeared by her side, "and where have you been?!"

"Ask me later!"

Ais felt a wave of intent bleeding from this thing in front of her, she didn't even have time to worry about her brother. "Run!" She grabbed both level three women by the hands and booked it, almost making them trip over their own feet. "We need to get to a better position, where's Axton?"

"You didn't just see him get launched into a cliff face?!" Lulune exclaimed. How careless are you?

"No, but he is capable of taking care of himself," Ais disregarded him for now. The Dungeon was no place to coddle.

The thing—later dubbed a Corrupted Viola, or maybe a Demi-Spirit—launched vines at Ais, who had activated Tempest, but thankfully didn't have to worry as two Amazonian women came in and sliced up the vines with ease.

Lulune ran right by Riveria, while she stopped Lefiya, "That combo we've used...we need to do it again."

"Right, but what about Axton?"

Nine Hell turned as Finn's voice came by, "He's not with you?"

"N-No, Captain. He was launched into a wall by that woman," the young elf explained.

At that moment, Ais was locked into a battle with said woman. They kept trading blows, but neither had gained any ground, maybe the woman did. If I can overpower her with...that won't work!

"I am so sick of being launched everywhere!" Axton's voice boomed as he came flying in, Ariel active. The Corrupted Viola tried to shift its focus to him, but a greater one took its attention away. "That wasn't very nice, sending me on an all express paid trip into a wall. The service was terrible."

"Axton…" so much relief from that one word…

"How did you survive?" A genuine question from the woman.

A scoff, "Happy that the wall was thin, and there was water...I dried off quickly, so I could come back and make you pay." Guardian switched targets. It was not Lefiya, but Ais now...no, that's not right...it's both after some realization. What are you, Guardian?

He received no answer. He only felt the feeling of becoming one with his status.

With a smile, he launched into battle. Ais joined him a moment later. Everyone else focused on the freak monster. Tiona couldn't help but think, Bete would have loved this.

Somewhere on the surface, a werewolf sneezed, then fell back asleep. He would wait at Babel come nightfall.


During their battle, the three combatants got separated from the rest of the group, and they were going at it.

Axton would aim in the middle. Block. Ais would aim for the back. Evade. Axton maneuvered out of the way, to follow up with Ariel. Evade to then Block his follow-up. "You two are tough, but I have to say...I'm enjoying this and I don't enjoy anything…"

Both siblings refrained from responding. Both were taking this seriously. They needed to find a proper opening to end this. Yes, they were prepared to kill her because, in their defense, she was doing her damndest to kill them.

"Come on, Aria, spawn...is that the best you have?" In response, both activated Ariel and charged her. None of them noticed that the Corrupted Viola was taking heavy damage from a fire spell. That spell belonged to Lefiya.

Even with their wind, she was overpowering both of them, and with Guardian active, Axton's injuries were piling up. Bruises turned into cuts, cuts turned into gashes, and gashes can lead to death. He didn't plan on dying here. Not now and not yet. However, he knew that they wouldn't be able to keep up forever.

"How do you know that name?" Ais asked again.

"The only name I know is yours, Aria," the woman said again, parrying Axton, sending him back with a kick to his abdomen. He stayed upright but his feet dragged on the ground, creating a nice line of where he went. She followed it up with a punch to his gut. That proved to effectively cripple him as blood spilled from his throat.

Damn, she hits hard, I think even Ottar would at least have to take her seriously if he wanted to win. Axton focused on dodging, as his attack power dropped significantly, and it took less effort to dodge than to swing a sword. Ais attempted to intervene, but with only one of them attacking, the woman was dismantling their plans as they formed.

She would show them how far in just a moment. Ais launched herself at this woman, intent on skewering her.

She grinned as she pushed away Desperate and kicked her as hard as she could, the momentum sent her skidding back into a wall, blood now dripping down her forehead. Ais tried to get up, but couldn't. The pain, stress, and build-up of the fight had finally crumbled and capitalized. The woman chuckled, even as Axton tried to swing, but his body was at its limit. He misstepped and she grabbed him by the throat, not choking him, but holding him in place. He tried to grapple her, but she stood firm.

"You see Aria, it doesn't matter who I get, because if he is your brother, then he'll work perfectly…" The woman's intent rose to the highest they felt and Axton froze in fear, halting his attempts to escape.

"No...no. Don't...please!" Ais begged once she saw what she was doing. Now just knowing his Cursed Skill, she knew it was active, she knew what was happening, but her body wouldn't move, damn it!

Axton already knew what was happening, so in his fear-struck state, he turned to give her a shaky smile. She was sure he mouthed, "Love you, sis." Even as a tear slid down his cheek.

Then the blade passed through his body.

"AXTON!"


The scene that the rest of the Loki Familia came on to was heartbreaking. They all saw Ais, barely standing, limping over to something. If anyone saw the Sword Princess now, they'd assume she just fought Ottar because she insulted Lady Freya. This was something else entirely, and she was barely functioning. It looked like her legs were going to give out on her.

Lefiya was searching and she couldn't find him, and she started to worry. Come on, where are you?

She was murmuring something. Riveria felt her heart seize as she realized someone was missing. How could she not? The ground proved it. Blood was split, the ground was split, crushed, and utterly plastered. There was no sign of…

"Ais, what happened?" Riveria's tone was stern, and normally, she's always been motherly towards the siblings.

"She…stabbed him. She took him away…and I was powerless to stop her…" was her response as she bent down and picked up something. It could quite possibly be the only thing she has left of him…

Requiem.

"I failed him…" Drip. A sight that few would ever see. This was no longer the Sword Princess, but Ais Wallenstein. Drip. She wasn't a first-class adventurer, she was a sixteen-year-old child, mourning her failure, mourning her brother… "Axton!" She cried, and her tears flow freely.

Tione and Tiona didn't have anything to say, but instead gently hugged the crying girl. They somewhat understood what she was going through. Ais never let go of the weapon, her tears slid down the blade, and the sheath was right next to it.

"What happened?"

"That woman…she overpowered both of us…she was strong. She…stabbed him. Guardian was active…I don't want to think about it…don't make me…" Ais wept as she explained. "He said 'Love you, sis' before she stabbed him. It's not fair…my family being torn from me. First Mom and Dad…and now Axton…"

Riveria's grip on her staff tightened. "Finn, what now?"

The Captain was giving it a lot of thought and he knew the outcome of what he was about to say but, "We need to go to the surface and report what happened."

"What?"

"Captain! You can't be serious!"

"You'll just leave him?!"

"I know that's not the answer you wanted, but we are in no condition to pursue," Finn said with a heavy heart. "I'm sure to gain your ire, but we don't know what's waiting for us down there."

"Do you just not care?" A low, soft voice said.

"Miss Ais…" Lefiya said, having joined the hug. She was worried for her and she wanted to console her, but she was battling with her own emotions.

"Was he expendable to you, Finn?" The wind started to pick up.

"Ais…you know that isn't true," Finn replied, his grip tightening on his spear as he knew where this conversation was heading. She wouldn't listen to reason, not now; and the black in her wind was a warning one did not take lightly.

"I'll save him myself if I have to. He's my only blood family left."

"Are we not your family? We may be in the same Familia, Ais, but our bonds are something we hold dear," Tione spoke, slowly using her Amazonian strength to keep her grounded. Whether the blonde beauty noticed it or not was uncertain.

"I cherish our bonds, but Axton is my brother...you don't know how happy I was when he and I were together as children. We'd laugh and play, even fight, but we were always together. Now, that woman took him, even..."

"It's not fair!" she shouted, the wind blew everyone back, even the ones who were holding onto her.

"Miss Ais! Please, we'll find him, but we need to regroup!"

Ais's stare was cold, emotionless, and one hundred percent Sword Princess. The girl named Ais was gone. "You're against me too?"

Finn took charge, "We're going back to the surface and once we're there, we can come up with a plan to get him back, is that clear? Or do I need to order you?" The way he said it meant that it wasn't going to be with words if she refused.

"Did his life mean that little to you?" The Sword Princess snarled, her beautiful features contorting to hateful, spiteful even.

"Axton means a lot to us, but you must understand that with our current strength, we are not ready. If you go down there, it will be on your own. I'm personally not ready to let go of two adventurers who have potential. So, please Ais, come home. We will find him," Finn said, a solemn vow.

"You're lying, you have to be!" Ais said, frantically, trying to convince herself of something. What that something was…

No one could say for certain.

Finn nodded to something before the group heard a solid thunk and Ais crumpled to the ground, her wind dispelled. Revealed to be Riveria, she looked like the hit hurt her more than it did Ais. No one commented on how she looked like a mother scolding and disciplining her child. "Tiona, carry her."

The younger Amazoness compiled without complaint. Lefiya looked horrified. She looked to her mentor, tears in her eyes. "Why…"

"She would not have gone with us and she is majorly injured," Riveria said. She quickly chanted her first level of healing magic on the girl, closing the wounds on her head and body. A detail that she didn't miss was the fact she was still crying. "Let's go."

"But you didn't have to-"

"You're hurting as well. I am not blind to how you feel for him, but we are not able to chase after him. He could be on the fortieth floor by now, given that this woman seemed to know where to go and so quickly too," Riveria said bluntly, not having it.

Finn didn't bother to reprimand her, after all, he was hurting too. Axton, if you fall, then there will be next to no one who can save Ais. He thought on it, On second thought, there is one person...but I'd rather not resort to that.


That person happened to be recovering from Monsterphillia. He was actually in the market with his advisor, going armor shopping. After having learned the lesson in having armor, he was going to purchase some. However, "Miss Eina, this is far outside my price range."

The person next to the white-haired adventurer giggled, "Don't worry, this is only the first floor of what the Hephaistos Familia owns. They own floors four through eight."

"That many?" the boy asked, stars in his eyes. That look faded when he looked over his shoulder because he thought someone was watching him. Eina didn't notice and he continued on his way.

He walked out of Babel with a new set of armor and a personal smith. The tiniest steps were taken of being closer with his idol…

When Bell finally had a moment alone, he thought to himself, I wonder where Axton is…

Little did he know, he would find out very soon.


The woman, Revis, had retreated through the lower floors with some bloody cargo. They were out cold completely, she ignored the blood and the possibility that they could be dead by the time she reaches her destination. She had accomplished part of her goal. She knew of the spawn's existence, but the other one, Aria...she needed to be the one here.

However, with the look that Aria gave her when she stabbed the spawn...it filled her with excitement that she thought she could ever feel. To see that look of horror and despair. It was quite a shame that she couldn't have stuck around to watch the aftermath.

Even so, her mission was also a failure. She needed that Seed to further her master's plans. One wasn't a total loss, but it did allow her to see the strength of Aria and she was pitifully weak. How could she be a Spirit? Wasn't she supposed to be the all-powerful Wind Spirit? That also begs the question of how this spawn was one as well. Even the Seed seemed interested in him when it leaped at them.

"You're late, Revis," a voice said, an older voice. A skull mask covered his face.

"I'm not one of your servants," Revis said, blatantly ignoring him. She did want to get the spawn's bloody body off her. So, she did just that, letting his body hit the floor.

"Who is this?"

"A spawn of Aria," Revis replied simply, wiping the blood off her...or on her. The man across from her looked creeped out, and he was the one in the creepy white attire. "I attempted to get the other one, but both displayed the power of the Spirits."

The man grunted, "Is he alive? He certainly looks pale."

"Give him one of those potions if you're so concerned. I did stab him, making Aria express a face I wish to carve into my memory," Revis smiled, but it was sadistic in nature. "To think that this spawn was so confident and look where it got him."

A third voice joined in, "Good, you're here. My Master wanted an update." The third figure was ambiguous in nature, not looking like a person, but speaking like one. They blended in the shadows of the Dungeon, so locating was impossible. Their voice echoed off the walls.

"We've secured one more asset," Revis said, gesturing to the prone form.

"I could smell the blood. My counterpart is uncomfortable, but she'll bear with it. We do need him alive. Keep him conscious and put him in the vine containment. If he tries to escape, then convert him," they said.

"But wait, Ei-"

"Do not speak my name, you lowly peasant! Follow my orders as if they were my Master's!"

The red-headed woman felt a tinge of fear at how their demeanor changed completely, "Converting him has a low chance of success, especially now. We'd need him to be at full strength for it to work. No skin off my back if he dies though."

"Keep him alive. Understood?"

""Crystal.""

On the floor, he struggled to keep his consciousness. It was grueling, but he did. He tried to keep a mental count of what floor he was on, but they all blurred together. He did manage to know that it was less than ten, of that he was sure. He couldn't think, and his life was slipping away, and he knew it. Kinda surprising he's lasted this long. His thoughts went to his sister...to Lefiya. What am I going to do?

He didn't have the answer...but he also had an answer, I'll survive as long as it takes to get out of here.


On the surface, sometime later, the Sword Princess could be seen walking towards Babel, but she never enters. It's been this way for a week, and no one knows why; not even the Hermes Familia. What everyone did notice was the fact that she had two weapons attached to her sides. One was her rapier, Desperate. The other...those in the know knew who it belonged to.

Requiem.

Some noticed the melancholy in the air, but only she knew what was going on. She was barred from entering the Dungeon, per Loki and Finn's orders. Her hand tightened on Requiem's grip, wishing he was here. She's stooped so low that her own health was declining. They had to almost fight her to at least clean herself up to look presentable.

She didn't want to be presentable. She wanted her brother back. She needed him, as a constant in her life. She was supposed to be the one taking the blame, the hits, but his stubbornness and pride overtook hers. She was at least thankful that the rabbit hasn't seen her.

Come back, Axton...I miss you…

While the Sword Princess was her alias, her nicknames were ever-changing.

Doll Princess made a comeback. Stoned Wallenstein was an interesting take, as her face expressed nothing, not even apathy. However, two names took over the popularity contest.

The Princess without Prince and Lone Royal.

"Miss Ais?"

Lone Royal turned and was met with a very concerned gaze of one Bell Cranel.

"Are you alright?"

...

Whatoh? What's this? A glimpse into the future? What will become of Axton? Also, Mama putting it out there. She knows...

Also, I've been looking up the Timeline for this stuff, and I realize how much of a crunch imma have to do, so excuse me while I alter events to suit my needs. You know, it's just author things, don't mind me. OH! I finally am using ellipsis right! I've been doing it wrong this whole time! YAY! ←*Sarcasm*

Oh, opinions on the nicknames? I personally thought Lone Royal sounded cool.

Doing a small retcon, it is not a week, but three days instead. I am speeding up canon a little and I plan to do some of that next chapter...which may appear soon. (Edit: 7/14/21)