Symonne observed, as she often did; Margaret was unfazed, methodically working through her meal. She sometimes offered a bite to the other girl, who took it off her fork without much thinking. They were sitting at one of Marlind's inns, currently devoid of other patronage; Symonne had a minor illusion over their table so they could talk in peace, none of their words passing to anyone outside and their eyes merely seeing her partner eating.

The girl kept pushing herself over the previous month, always going until her feet began to hurt and then a little longer; she definitely had the experience of a traveler, but her body lacked it. She also took on a bit of a tan after wandering through Glayvend Basin for two weeks, Symonne noted idly. They talked about quite a few things during this month, but nothing groundbreaking came up; they got used to each other, fought together. Now, Symonne had something more curious to bring up. "Were you going to tell me about Innominat sometime soon?"

Margaret stiffened, fork halting halfway to her mouth for but a moment. Many others may have missed it with how fast she caught herself, but Symonne saw. She smirked victoriously before reassuring her... friend? "Don't worry, I figured it out on my own before we left Lastonbell. How long did you know?"

She received a cautious look that made her figure Margaret was also aware of who she actually worked for. It may just be general caution, though; the Empyreans were a difficult subject at the best of times, especially with one nearby.

Symonne waited patiently and in the end, her partner sighed softly. "For a while," she admitted while putting down the fork. "I think they took pity on Mother and I, or maybe it was because I was Velvet's student, but they could have simply pushed our inn out of business. They turned us into business partners instead, and they did tell us... most of everything. I only learned Velvet is Empyrean as well a week or so before meeting you. And Mother said she didn't want to know, all this was too much for her."

"I see."

She mulled that over, wondering about Margaret's flat tone. As if she was reciting something, or perhaps trying not to show emotions. In the end, Symonne could not tell for sure, so she rather placed a little trap: "Alright, I just wanted to have it mentioned. That's one less secret you have to keep from me."

Her partner did not stiffen this time, though her eyes sought Symonne's. Both girls stared at each other, suddenly aware that the other knew. Margaret sighed. "I'm sorry, but I have to."

"I'm not blaming you. This is a difficult balancing act we're playing and you're young." Margaret nodded and went back to eating while Symonne continued: "I'm honestly more surprised they would just tell one of their most guarded secrets to anyone they don't have to tell, but you're probably onto something with the matter of being Velvet's student. That kind of bond can make people act differently than they normally would. And honestly," she finished with a little grin, "they are both bad at secrecy. They're just too honest."

Margaret snorted and tipped her head to Symonne in agreement. The human girl probably did not even realise that she was almost as bad as the two Crowes in that regard.

Instead of poking that subject for longer though, she had something else to talk about. Something more relevant. "That aside, Sorey's resonance is weak."

Margaret blinked and nodded at Symonne to continue, her mouth full of meat. Having her attention, the seraph frowned. "Not pitifully weak in the sense that he can barely perceive seraphim, but weak. He tried to hide his reaction earlier, but the squire's pact is already affecting him negatively. He might be able to bond with two seraphim normally, without a sublord's pact, but that is probably his limit."

She thought back to Nica, who did not seem at all inconvenienced by bonding with her while already being bonded to two Normin; then again, Symonne never checked whether those might be easier on their vessel. Margaret swallowed her food and considered, then glanced around out of habit before remembering no one could hear them anyway. "Are you sure? He seemed to be a natural with armatisation."

Symonne shrugged at that. "Perhaps he is, but that doesn't change his resonance. That boy is stretching himself thin to fill shoes two sizes too big for him. It's not going to break him immediately, but it will eventually."

Margaret sighed in response, clearly sad but not denying her assessment or defending Sorey. She certainly held wisdom that no child her age should hold.

Their conversation was interrupted by a seraph man with a red scarf walking up and wordlessly putting a small parcel on their table; he nodded at the two before leaving the inn as fast as he entered. Symonne immediately put her hand on it before her partner could reach. "Finish your food, Maggie."

The girl looked put out, but she did as told. Symonne took the opportunity to finish what she was saying: "Sorey is in a perilous position; his enemy is entrenched and has eyes and ears in many places. He's had decades to gain personal power. Sorey's chances are little better than if he tried to fight Velvet, if victory is possible at all." Margaret already knew, or at least suspected her allegiance, so she could speak in vague but clear enough terms.

Margaret nodded again, though she wore a thoughtful frown while chewing the final bit. After swallowing and sipping from her juice, she voiced her thoughts softly: "But, isn't it also impressive?" Symonne arched an eyebrow and her partner elaborated: "He has to push himself so much and does it without complaint, not because he has to but because he wants to. His wings are strong and they will carry him far."

"Yet he might end up breaking them in the process of flying further than he should."

Symonne's response drew a grimace from Margaret, but no denial once again. She simply sighed. "I might end up doing the same thing, you know?"

Her comment just made the seraph girl huff. "Young fools are endearing like that," she told her friend sagely, then followed with a renewed grin, "but you're a lote cuter than Sorey, so I'll forgive you. And you have Velvet to hammer some sense into you already." A thought struck her at that moment and she studied Margaret more closely. "Say, did you do something like that in your past life?"

The girl stiffened before averting her gaze and nodding; she did not say any more, though. Symonne let her be, well aware that whatever life she lived was a source of distress for her friend. Deciding to change the subject with Margaret done eating, Symonne unwrapped the package they received. Soon enough, her fingers revealed a plain wooden case about as long as her arm from wrist to elbow. She could feel some weak traces of mana from within, now that she had her hands on it directly.

"Hm, I wonder."

The girls exchanged glances while Symonne pondered what it might be. Yet she had no concrete idea for what the Bloodwing Butterflies would send them like this. Part of her wondered why Laphicet did not deliver it himself; he definitely could have and she definitely missed him by now.

Regardless, she left the honour of opening the case to Margaret, who did so without hesitation; this revealed to them a dagger, imbued with intricate runes that formed a familiar yet unrecognised arte. On top of it lay a little note that Margaret picked up while marveling at the artwork; Symonne ran an analysis-arte over it at the same time and her eyes widened. "This is a divine artifact," she told her friend softly. "Freshly made, too. They sent us a catalyst for armatisation."

"Oh. Wow."

They both stared at the ceremonial weapon a little longer, then at each other. Symonne was not sure she could armatise; she could allow it, but whether she was able to form a union with anyone, she did not know. Margaret seemed to be doubtful as well, so at least they both had their reasons not to expect it to work without a lot of practice. Now however, she pointed to the parchment in Margaret's hands. The other girl handed it over and Symonne read it quickly; just a note from Laphicet, telling them not to overwork themselves and to visit soon. Some part of her hoped that 'everyone misses you two' also included him missing her.

Looking back down at the dagger, she could not help but huff. "Of course he would. I didn't even consider that a god would obviously bring along new divine artifacts. It has been centuries since any new ones were made."

"So there is only a small number of them still around?"

Symonne nodded and made a sweeping motion while explaining. "Lords of Calamity destroyed whichever artifacts they could find, but at least some survived to this day, usually as heirlooms or hidden in ancient ruins. The world is big after all, they can not check everywhere." Admittedly, Heldalf had also made to destroy several dozen divine artifacts, yet he could never get at Ladylake's sword in the stone, with Lailah standing guard. Others likely survived as well, considering Sorey's group. She did not know if all three seraphim had a catalyst on them, but it would not surprise Symonne.

Margaret hummed with renewed cheer as she strapped the dagger's scabbard to her belt, right next to her actual sword. Then her expression fell. "Now I miss home even more. We should head back for a day or two soon."

"Agreed." Symonne glanced from the empty plate to her friend, then to their new weapon. "Should we go and test that?"

A moment of hesitation held them both tight, broken when the girl nodded. The wooden case went into storage and she paid for her meal, then got up and left for the nearby forest. Some protection from sight was good for them, though they both took note of the air shaking on the way; they both figured it was Sorey fighting and moved on.

Once they were both happy with the distance they took from Marlind, Symonne raised one finger at Margaret. "Let me explain the procedure, just to be safe."

She received a nod, though the other girl also tilted her head slightly. "Did you armatise before?"

Now it was for Symonne to be a little sheepish; she averted her gaze and shook her head softly. "No, but I heard about the theory." With no further comments from Margaret, she continued after a moment's pause: "To start with, both of us have to agree to the procedure; it's impossible to force a seraph or a human into armatisation without changing the arte or manipulating the person a lot." The latter of which she could do with enough time and the former of which had been done long ago. "Anyway, before activating the arte we are... supposed to grasp for each other, somehow. I'm not sure how that translates into actions, though. Then you call my true name to activate it."

Margaret nodded and drew the dagger, what faint light shone through the dark fog around them enough to make the runes glisten. Small amounts of mana were channeled into it, slowly, as the runes truly began to shine in their own light. Just when the light grew in intensity, Symonne felt her very bond with Margaret begin to pull at her; Margaret gently grasped at this most basic connection, calling her forward. Symonne not only allowed it, but reached out with her own mind to pull as well, drawing herself closer. Her body lost coherence, flowing back into her vessel.

Margaret had her eyes closed and breathed deeply, felt the water seraph flow through her veins, become her blood, become her. In turn, she became Symonne. They both felt how their essences touched, though still separated.

"Kyurib Ishuk!"

The name left Margaret's lips as she called out to Symonne, unheard by their surroundings for it became light before it was fully spoken. Mana surged through human and seraph, unmaking that which made them different...

...and they became as one.

She slowly opened her eyes to study her surroundings. Beheld the mana dancing with Malevolence all around herself. Water formed under her will, requiring not even a proper arte; it formed into a still surface in front of her, a mirror as tall as she stood.

Staring back at her with a piercing glare was a different person; her body remained lean, her face retained Margaret's heart shape, but her hair turned midnight black. Her pants and shirt both became navy blue with golden trims. Her eyes gleamed in ethereal lilac.

Next her attention went to the arte's addition, for around her floated no less than a dozen partly material daggers; neatly folded into two lines of six that formed wing-shapes over her back, they snapped forward on her command, each by itself and all at once.

Her practice was cut short by a hellionised wolf, having followed the spectacle. Its flight-instinct suppressed by Malevolence, the beast growled and charged without hesitation, ready to tear out her jugular in a single leap. Two souls sang in harmony when she merely stepped aside, pulling on her daggers while the wolf crashed through her water mirror. Three of the dozen lashed out, skewering the creature's head, neck, and heart before it returned to the ground. Its legs gave out on impact and there was not even a whimper. Purplish red blood soaked the grass.

On her mental command, the daggers slid out of their prey as if they were fluid, which was not too far from the truth. She took another step to the side before forming more water and turning it into a thin rail, on which she hopped to slide around several trees. Upward and down, a simple motion for the miniature tide under her foot. She slid along like an ice skater, carrying all the experience and control of Symonne while analysing her surroundings with Margaret's keen eyes.

With little more than a thought, the pull of a mental muscle turned her daggers into a full circle, rotating in front of her for a few seconds. The blades sped up to form a shield with whirring sounds, then separated as each went onto its separate path before falling still in the air. She let out a deep breath and came apart at the seams, a bright glow preceding her separation into two.

Margaret and Symonne had returned to being themselves, both a little more tired yet with the biggest smiles on their faces. They succeeded.

"This was... wow."

Symonne could only agree. "Yeah."

They were not just pushed into the same being, they truly became one. Their thoughts aligned in harmony, joining together and surpassing the individual powers of both.

Margaret could remember the strength of Symonne's will, her sorrow, and that she fought some kind of struggle deep down; she said nothing, but felt she now understood her friend a lot better.

Symonne in turn remembered the feeling of being truly physical, not malleable as she normally was; she felt more real in these moments, almost invincible even.

The girls grinned at each other, more at ease now. Margaret spoke first: "I can work with this."

Symonne nodded before giving her partner a little push. "Agreed, but now you'll actually go and rest up. Practice is good, but armatisation is tiring." Her pushing received no resistance and Margaret began to walk. Neither of them mentioned how they pulled it off on their first attempt.

They both left, giving the wolf corpse a few parting glances; it was accurately killed in a way that made absolutely sure while expending a minimum of mental processing power; they had enough of the latter to control all twelve daggers individually, what with having two minds in total and only one body to control. But they agreed that being resourceful was always a virtue.

On their way back into Marlind however, the two girls came by Alisha, who trudged the path. Margaret waved the moment their eyes met, happy to see the other again, but her own expression dimmed a little when she saw how obviously Alisha had to force a smile. Symonne's eyes narrowed and the three met halfway, with Margaret immediately examining the other woman for injuries. "Is everything okay? Did something happen?"

Alisha's eyes had been on Margaret the entire time, not a glance spared for Symonne. When she broke her silence, it was with a sigh as she hung her head. "I am afraid Symonne was right. Sorey lost his sight earlier and almost died for it."

The seraph girl sighed in turn while Margaret's eyes widened, but Alisha quickly continued when she noticed: "He is quite alright. Just, the source of the Malevolence was a drake, so that one crucial moment could have been it. I, I asked Lailah to remove the squire's pact right afterward. I am sorry if you wished to speak to me, Symonne, I... I can't." Her voice became weaker toward the end even as her eyes flitted around, trying to spy a being she could no longer see.

Margaret hardly even hesitated, she just bridged the distance between them and wrapped her arms around Alisha, who stiffened in surprise. "I'm so, so sorry to hear that. Will you be okay?"

The two stood like this for a long moment, then Alisha slumped forward and weakly returned the hug, hiding her face from Margaret's eyes. Her voice was deceptively calm, if still so brittle: "I will be, sooner or later. But for what it is worth, thank you. Your concern is quite appreciated, Margaret."

"Not a speck of Malevolence," Symonne muttered from the side. Margaret threw her an annoyed look, but the seraph paid no mind to her partner; her eyes were captivated by the former squire.

Then Alisha pushed out of the embrace and studied Margaret momentarily. "I just thought, your resonance is quite strong, no? I am not concerned for myself, but for Sorey and the seraphim; their undertaking is so much greater than mine." She folded her hands in front of her chest as she voiced her plea: "Would you perhaps be willing to take my place as his squire and help him?"

Margaret blinked at her owlishly, then took a deep breath and lowered her head to think; Symonne tapped her shoulder right after. "Do you even need to think about this?"

The girl just made a shooing motion toward her partner and gave the proposal due consideration; only then did she raise her head, looking Alisha straight in the eyes. "I am afraid this is one of the few things I just can not do for you, Alisha. For now, I wish to aid the people in this world in any way I can, which I heard is not allowed to the shepherd."

"I see."

Even though she said she understood, Alisha still looked dejected to Margaret's eyes. The younger girl sighed sadly and put a hand on her pauldron. "Come on, I walk with you for a bit. If Sorey looks like he really needs the help, I can see about traveling with him for a while." She received no refusal and the two got to walking without any comments, so Margaret made to continue: "Though I feel we would not get along. You and Sorey both, you hold yourselves to much higher standards."

This brought her curious looks, not just from Alisha, but from Symonne as well. It was the other human who inquired further, though: "Whatever would you mean with that?"

The girl sighed then, uncertain how to explain. Or rather, how to word it best. "I, I do not see wisdom in attempting to save every last person. I would not hesitate to strike down one whose continued existence were to lead to greater evil." Symonne huffed as she realised that Margaret had difficulty putting it in a way that did not sound insulting.

Meanwhile, Alisha had inclined her head in response, but soon heaved a quiet sigh of her own. "I can not begrudge you that. Similar thoughts have gone through my own mind many times. Many people are not beyond salvation if you just extend a hand, but some, some are. I had to make that choice myself in the past. Dozens of lives saved and turned around, but seven had to die, and died by my hand."

She did not say any more, but her soft tone told them both enough. Margaret quietly took her hand to squeeze it. "I see. My apologies then, I had the wrong idea about you."

"Curious. The notorious peacebringer is actually willing to spill blood as a last resort."

Symonne's comment went ignored as Margaret rather continued talking to Alisha. "I assume you did not bring up such considerations with Sorey?" The older woman merely shook her head, just as expected.

They walked with Alisha for a little while, a heavy sort of silence spreading that was only broken when the former squire stopped in her tracks. "I believe this is far enough," she decided before offering Margaret a more genuine smile and clasping her hand. "Thank you for taking the time for me, truly. And please, watch over Sorey as best as you can. He means well, but he has never been amongst humans or close friends before and frankly, it shows."

"Alright, I will. You take care on the way back to Ladylake." And with that, she embraced Alisha again, who wrapped her into a much tighter hug this time. "Until next time we meet."

"Yes. Yes, I look forward to that. Do stay safe yourself, Margaret. And Symonne as well."

They stood and watched Alisha walk away, until she was but a dot in the distance. As Margaret turned around to make her way back to Marlind however, Symonne nudged her side with a pointy elbow. "So, how does it feel to have met, talked to, fought with, and embraced a princess?"

The blank look followed by barely suppressed screaming made her bend over in laughter.