Who the heck allowed me to write 100 chapters of this insanity?

A thousand years ago, the cities scattered about the desert faced a crisis. Dark creatures had appeared in mass, destroying towns and slaughtering the people without discrimination. The monsters were led by the Accursed, a group of corrupted humans who served the Dark Djinn and sought to fulfill their own desires. Desperate to save their dying land, a man came out from the midst of the people. A man called Hikari Hizuri.

Hikari rallied the people, bonded with the demi-goddess Rosa, and together with a group of followers, destroyed the Dark Djinn, Vaith. It was a miraculous victory, one that brought the entire land together. The people crowned him their King and thus, Ashuron was born under the banner of the Phoenix.

But the victory was not a complete one. Dark creatures had survived the slaughter. The Accursed, though severely crippled, had not been completely wiped out. The Dark Djinn's physical body had been destroyed, but his spirit lingered, casting darkness where it wandered.

Apparently, that part of history was wrong. The body hadn't been completely destroyed. The Djinn lived.

It was difficult to see through the oil-like surface to the body resting within. Hiroaki only saw dark blue skin with hues of darker blue, veins and muscles bulging from a vaguely humanoid body. A deep fire seemed to reside within. Dark and endless.

"He's supposed to be dead," whispered Hiroaki. "How… how is this possible?"

"The first king was a fool," said Hirotaka. "He assumed he'd killed the Djinn, but in reality, our master has been here this whole time, patiently biding his time and growing in strength." He beckoned with a hand. "Come closer. See for yourself the Djinn's majesty."

Hiroaki shook his head vigorously. He was already closer than he ever wanted to be in his life. Only now did he spot another figure in the room, hovering next to the root of the tree. It was a cloaked figure, face hidden and radiating the same evil energy as the Djinn. Though Hiroaki had never seen him in this form, he'd heard the figure described by both Kyoko and Cain. That had to be the Djinn's spiritual form.

"Come," said Hirotaka, now sounding impatient. "If you touch his essence, then you will understand his might. Then you will be able to roam the miasma freely. That how that little female fighter was able to survive in the miasma without your trinkets."

Hiroaki's eyes finally broke from the Djinn, snapping back to his father's.

"Wait, Kanae never came in contact with the Djinn," he said.

"She did," said Hirotaka. "The Dark Djinn took hold of her essence and she lived to return from the caves."

Hiroaki had no idea that had happened to Kanae. It also didn't escape his notice that his father knew that Kanae had been in the caves and survived to tell the tale. Was that due to his own observation in the caves, or was their spy network in Mosall that reliable?

The specter suddenly moved its hand, long grayish decayed claws stretching toward him.

"No!" Hiroaki managed to jump to his feet, scrambling to the wall as far from the Djinn as possible.

Hirotaka let out a sigh, impatience evident in his stiff stance.

"Isn't there anything you desire?" he said. "If you make a contract with the Djinn, he will give you the power to fulfill that wish. Didn't you always want to make me proud? To surpass me and my work?"

"Not like this, dad," said Hiroaki quietly. His chest felt tight, every breath a herculean effort. He steadied himself against the wall with a hand. "Never like this. I've always wanted to surpass you, and I've always wanted to work by your side. Despite those desires, I never thought I could."

He swallowed, finding a strength in him that was borderline manic. It was so ridiculous. Somehow the absurdity of the situation had snapped something inside him. He spoke with more surety than he'd ever spoken to his father.

"Now I see I won't ever be like you. Ever. And I hope to the gods that never changes."

"…I see." Hirotaka's voice was tight, the tone causing the stitch in Hiroaki's chest to tighten. "That is a disappointment."

Before Hiroaki could speak again, the ground beside Hirotaka became to swirl with shadows. From within, another specter emerged, a perfect copy of the other. Hiroaki stared, wondering how there could be two manifestations of the Djinn's soul.

The newest Djinn didn't even acknowledge Hiroaki, speaking instead to Hirotaka.

"Any changes here?" said the creature, voice a low overlapping rasp.

"None," said the Accursed, nodding to Hiroaki. "Save, of course, my boy waking up. I think it will take a little longer to convince him."

Hiroaki bristled but kept his tongue when the creature turned its attention onto him. The seconds lasted for hours as he gazed into the darkness under the hood. Then the monster looked away from him and Hiroaki managed to breathe again.

"Everything else is going as we planned," said the Specter. "Send out Miroku. We're ready to proceed."

"Finally!" Hirotaka grinned, that manic long toothy smile that made Hiroaki shiver. "I can test my catalyst soon."

The specter nodded, fading away in a smudge of shadow. Hiroaki wet his lips, staring at the spot where it had disappeared.

"What was that?" said Hiroaki.

Hirotaka had started fidgeting with the devices hooked up to the tree, drawing runes and adjusting wires. He answered though, as absently as always.

"One of my fellow Accursed can manifest the Djinn's will in the form of his spirit," he said. "She can also communicate with us, as you just saw." He gave a long sigh, tilting his head back. "What I wouldn't give to be able to copy that ability. I can copy anything else – that's my ability – save a few of the other abilities of the Accursed. No matter. I'll figure out the trick one day. It's only a matter of time."

"And… what was this about a Catalyst?"

Hirotaka paused, shooting an icy glare with his blue eyes.

"That my son, is a surprise." He gave a low giggle. "But don't worry. You'll have a front-row seat when I activate it." His chuckles grew into a cackle, then a long high laugh. The sound made Hiroaki's already empty stomach heave.

He floundered for the door handle, turning it and throwing the door open as he flew from his father's mad laughter.

"You're lying," said Kanae flatly. "The Djinn isn't alive. Not his body at least. That was destroyed a thousand years ago."

The Dryad riding on Kanae's shoulder scowled. Twig had spun a few strange tales since they'd set out together, but this was the tallest one yet.

"Time has distorted your people's history," said Twig. "The body was never destroyed. Gravely injured, sure, but not killed. He was sealed away with the strength of Rosa and Hikari. You must have lost track of it or something because it has been hidden away under the fig tree for a hundred years. The Accursed moved it here to both hide the body and to weaken the seal."

"How did the people not know this?" said Kanae. "And how could they just move something like that without being noticed?"

"It has been a thousand years," said Twig. "You humans forget things easily and with the Tree's natural light aura, it covered the Djinn's malice. Until now. His seal is breaking, and the malice is leaking through. That's what's killing the tree."

Kanae swore loudly. Then again for good measure. It wasn't bad enough that they were fighting Accursed, the Djinn's spirit and a literal army of dark creatures. Now they had to deal with this? It was so much worse than what they thought would be down here.

"We have to destroy it," she said. "Kill the body or something before it's let loose."

"Whoa, hold it there," said Twig, jumping off her shoulder and coming to hover in front of her. It forced her to stop in the middle of the caves.

"You can't just "kill" it," he said. "A demi-goddess couldn't manage it."

"You said it's sealed up," said Kanae. "There's no harm in trying."

"Uh, what about the other Accursed down here?" He folded his arms, the leaves in his hair twitching in irritation. "There used to be only one, but three more just arrived the other day. You can't slip past all of them."

Kanae managed to keep the surprise from her face. Four Accursed? They had only known about the potential of three; Hirotaka, the ax-wielding man, and Reino's unclaimed relic. Well…. Unless Twig was including Cain, they didn't know about a fourth.

The thought of four Accursed here made Kanae hesitate, but only for a second.

"And why not?" said Kanae. She wove the spell she'd seen Twig use, modifying it for her arcane magic to hide her presence. Twig's jaw dropped, eyes bugging as Kanae completely disappeared. Not even her aura was visible this way. She held it for another second before dropping the spell.

"I think we'll be able to slip by unseen," she said.

Let's put my skills to the ultimate test.

Twig sputtered, his disbelief satisfying. She smirked, sidestepping him and continuing down the caves. It took a second for him to catch up with her. She could almost imagine unseen wings beating furiously as he flew beside her.

"How did you do that?" he said.

"I have a few talents. One of them is mimicking spells I've seen once."

"Seen once? That's insane. I've never heard of a human with a talent like that."

She raised a brow at him. That had sounded suspiciously close to a compliment. He noticed the look, quickly backtracking.

"N-not that it's anything impressive," he said with a pout. Then he slapped his forehead. "No! We shouldn't go down there. I nearly died the last time I did."

"Then you can stay here," said Kanae. "I need to get as much info as possible."

She stopped suddenly, staring at a root embedded into the cave wall. She reached out a probing hand, finding the knot of magic hidden so carefully by the dryad. He had been showing her how to maneuver through the caves. With a deliberate press of magic, the root moved aside, and a hidden entrance appeared. She crawled into it, just making it past the smaller opening.

As she closed the entrance, Twig shot through at the last moment, the root nearly clipping his feet.

"This is insane," he muttered. "You are insane. I've never heard of a human like you."

Kanae let out a huff of pride. "You're not the first to say that."

He continued to mutter all the way to the next drop off. Here, Kanae stopped, looking down at a familiar scene. Miasma rolled in thick clouds on the ground floor. It had a purplish tinge, obscuring the rocks and making it impossible to judge the drop distance by sight alone.

"I thought you said this was a safe way to the tree," hissed Kanae.

"This is the safest path," corrected Twig. "There is no true safe way. The miasma is thinnest here and closest to the barrier."

"I'd probably die if I waded through miasma that thick."

Twig threw up his hands. "That's what I've been telling you. Just getting to the tree will probably kill you. No. It's better to just go back and tell the other humans what you found. Then come back and find a way to fix everything."

She almost did. Standing there on the precipice of that miasma, no one would blame her if she turned on her heel and raced back to the surface. She already had so much information that it was well worth the trip.

But I could learn even more. Find out definitively what is down here. Maybe even find a way to destroy the Djinn's body.

More than anything, her gut was telling her she'd be just fine. Even down here where the miasma killed in seconds, she remained unharmed. The thicker areas should just hurt rather than kill.

"You say that Accursed can walk through the miasma unscathed, right?" said Kanae. "And that I don't show any signs of being affected by it, just like them?"

The humanoid narrowed his eyes, looking between Kanae and the miasma, putting two and two together.

"You can't be serious," he said. "You must have a death wish. There's no way you can survive walking through that."

"There's only one way to find out."

Kanae took a breath, casting as many air filtering spells as she knew. She threw on the vanishing spell Twig had used, making it possible to pass through the alarm spells that were likely present near the edge.

"If I don't make it," she said. "Can you go to the surface and tell them what is down here?"

He slumped in the air, staring at where she had vanished with sad eyes. A surprising sight considering how much he complained about her.

"I… don't want to," he said. "Crowds of humans make me nervous. And it's been a long time since I've been that far from the tree."

"Will you do it or not?"

"If I say no, will you not jump?"

In response, Kanae moved a foot over the edge. He likely couldn't see her, but he could see the disturbance she made in the cloud of miasma. She heard him gasp as she landed, dark mist swirling around her.

Kanae remained crouched, heart beating frantically as she took long slow breaths. She shuddered as she watched herself inhale the thick miasma, waiting for something to happen.

After several seconds, nothing did.

Satisfied she wouldn't die immediately, Kanae sped forward, wishing to minimize her time here as much as possible. She heard Twig speeding after her, muttering under his breath before his presence too disappeared with a spell. The natural caves and tunnels continued for another half mile. It sloped downward, the miasma getting thicker as Kanae counted every second she remained in it. She reached the end of a tunnel, entering a small space filled with large rocks and glimmering stalagmites. The soft drip of water echoed as she stared at the dead end.

"Twig?" she hissed. "Wasn't this supposed to bring me to the center of the tree?"

"Over here." She could just make out Twig's presence, rounding a particularly tall stalagmite. The structure resembled a rippling curtain rising high to the ceiling where another rippling curtain reached down to meet it. It was a strange shape for a rock to make, considering it looked natural.

Kanae followed Twig around it, only now noticing a hole on the other side. This one was definitely man – or creature- made, the walls smooth and symmetrical. Just a few paces inside the tunnel the wall of miasma stopped, blocked as if by some invisible field.

Kanae walked over the threshold without hesitation. She felt powerful alarm spells as she passed through, unable to determine if she'd set any off. Too late now to worry about that. She placed a hand to her chest, subtly letting herself breathe normally. It felt like an unknown weight had been lifted the second she'd stepped over that line. Had that been because of the miasma, or something else?

Now that Kanae was directly in enemy territory, she needed to keep moving. The halls were thankfully lined with small orbs of light, allowing Kanae to close her own spell. She strode down the hall, the feather-light presence of Twig keeping pace with her. They kept their stealth spells activated.

"Which way to the tree root?" said Kanae, keeping her voice a whisper.

The Dryad didn't response. She stopped at a fork, only now able to make out the soft muttering coming from Twig. It sounded like he was praying to Rosa for help.

"Twig!" she hissed.

The Dryad flitted off her shoulder, hovering beside a root embedded into the wall.

"We have to go left," said Twig. "I can feel dark creatures at the end of the other hall."

"How can you know that?" Kanae had spread out her senses but hadn't been able to tell.

"I'm connected to the tree. It can tell me where dark creatures lurk near its roots."

Handy thing that. She gestured for Twig to return to the lead, taking the left tunnel.

They continued like this for a half-hour, twisting this way and that to avoid other dark creatures. Once or twice they were unable to avoid them, hiding behind alcoves or large roots. They passed several rooms, some of the full of objects. One looked like an armory housing an assortment of crude weapons and armor. Others looked like actual living quarters. She heard snoring in one of these, fighting the temptation to kill whatever was in there. But no. She needed to put off a confrontation as long as possible. The second an Accursed found a body, they'd know someone was here. Based on the creatures they passed, no alarm had been made. The Accursed had no idea Kanae was here.

"Monsters up ahead," said Twig, hovering by another root. "And coming our way. We need to move."

Kanae turned to head back the way they came but stopped when she heard sounds coming from that way as well. The hall was narrow and didn't have any other branching tunnels. They were trapped between the two approaching parties.

Twig moaned beside her. "I knew it. I shouldn't have come. We're dead and I didn't even reach my five hundredth birthday."

She remained calm, looking for any way out. There. A wooden door sat embedded in the rock. It led to another artificially created room.

Grabbing at the air where she knew Twig was flying, Kanae just managed to slip inside without making a noise. She closed the door just as the monsters came into view sending the room into complete darkness.

Kanae pressed her ear to the door, listening for the monsters as they passed. A fluttering in her hand reminded her that Twig was still there, beating at her fist. She released him and his aura shuddered in annoyance.

"Never have I been manhandled like that," he huffed. "Just downright disrespectful. Have you no respect for the keepers of the light and their—"

Kanae shushed him, one ear still pressed to the door. It sounded like the monsters had stopped just outside. Great. And this was a common place for them to patrol. That would have been helpful to know.

Twig suddenly started tapping her shoulder. She ignored it in favor of trying to listen. The tapping became more insistent until she finally snapped.

"What?" she said.

"Shh," said Twig. "There are people in here!"

Kanae had been so focused on the dark creatures, she'd failed to search the room with her magic. Stretching out, she felt them immediately. Two humans, both weak, and both light users.

Light users? What would they be doing here? Unless…

Kanae threw up a spell of light. It illuminated the small room, showing Kanae a horrible scene. The air was dusty and thick with a sour smell, bars separating the front half from the back of the room. Behind the bars lay two humans, one male one female. They slept slumped against the wall and each other, their breathes coming in slow ragged gasps. Both wore fine robes of silk and wool, indicating their wealth.

And both were riddled with the marks of the Shueman's rot.

Kanae approached the bars, staring at the two humans. She felt a mixture of relief and worry that neither of them was Hiroaki.

"I don't like this," said Twig. She had the impression the Dryad was hugging himself. "It feels like decay and death."

"That's because that's what this is."

Kanae grabbed the cell's door, magic assessing the spells keeping it closed. She grumbled at the intricacy of it. Someone had taken the time to weave the lock together with an alarm spell. If she failed to open the door with the right spell, it would go off.

Frustrated, Kanae kicked the bars. They rattled, making the man on the other side stir. His eyes flittered open, glossy with fatigue as he looked around. He was young, but nearer the end of youth than the beginning. Considering the progress of the rot, he would never make it past that.

"Someone there?" he said, voice a rasp of fear.

"Don't cry out," Kanae warned, then dropped her cloaking spell. The man didn't even react, his eyes vacant orbs of uncaring black. Kanae had seen eyes like this before on men who had stopped fighting for their lives and were just waiting for the end.

"You're a new one," said the man. "Going to kill us?"

"I'm not an Accursed," said Kanae. "I'm a mercenary working with the Mosall government."

"Oh." He attempted to straighten, then grimaced when his strength wouldn't let him. The woman on his shoulder murmured as she was jostled but didn't wake up.

"Have you come to save us?" he said, "We're going home. Finally. I knew the goddess wouldn't forsake us." Life had returned to his face, brought there by the hope of Kanae's presence.

Her heart clenched. She crouched down, grabbing one of the bars to steady herself as she remained eye-level with the man.

"You see those marks on your body?" she said. "It's a disease called the Shueman's rot. There is no cure, and you're nearing the final stage. I doubt you'll live another day before it takes you."

"T-that's—" The man struggled to digest her words. Kanae waited for him to recover, all the while aware of Twig watching her. Though she couldn't see his eyes she could feel his stare.

"Listen to me closely," said Kanae, keeping her voice firm but not unkind. "While I can't save you or the woman here, you can help save Ashuron. If you have any information, any at all about the Accursed and what they're up to, you need to tell me."

Tears blossomed in the man's eyes. He took a deep breath, then began talking.

"M-my name is Terric Miyagawa. I was a tax collector in the Capital. I was taken from my home probably weeks ago, I don't know. I can't tell. I don't know if they hurt my wife or daughter—" He swallowed. "I just know that there's a lot less of us here than there used to be."

"Was it one of the Accursed that kidnapped you?" said Kanae.

"I don't know, but I noticed that we're all light users."

Vaguely Kanae remembered reports of people disappearing in the Capital but Lory been unable to distinguish a pattern between the victims. Was it really something as simple as them all being light users? Of course, with higher officials, it wasn't uncommon to be a light user, even if the ability was weak. No wonder they overlooked it.

"What did they want with you?" said Kanae.

Terric swallowed. "It was that man. The Accursed with the long hair. He… he would take us one by one, do something and rip out a part of our essence. He'd twisted in strange ways with his relic. Change it into this dark thing. He called them seeds."

Kanae's stomach dropped. That was how they made the dark seeds? By stealing and manipulating the essence of light users? She could now recognize the weakness in both this man's aura and the woman's. It wasn't just from the rot, but from the inside as well. Their spirits were broken.

"It doesn't kill you immediately, does it?" said Kanae, disgust in her voice. "He's already used you to create them before, hasn't he?"

The man nodded.

Her grip on the iron bars tightened. She wanted to rip them off. To scream and rage at what the Accursed were doing. It was revolting. Disgusting. Manipulating and contorting a person's essence like that? The memory of the Dark Djinn's hand on her own essence made her shiver in repulsion.

"What else?" said Kanae. "Anything else you can tell me about them?"

Terric shook his head.

Kanae let out a sigh that sounded more like a growl, getting to her feet. She pulled loose a dagger, tossing it through the bars to the man.

"Here," said Kanae. "I'll be sure to find your family and let them know what happened."

Terric picked up the knife with shaking fingers, determination in his gaze.

Kanae left the room soon after, making sure her cloaking spell was up and the coast was clear.

Two halls away from the room, Twig spoke up.

"There's a reason I didn't want to come down here," he said. "The Accursed are evil."

"Did you know those people were here?" asked Kanae.

She felt him land on her shoulder, voice low as he scooted closer. "No. But I knew something like this would be."

If there was a list of habits one shouldn't indulge in, frequent fainting would be at the top. Yet here Kyoko was, waking up again after blacking out from exhaustion. This couldn't be good for her health.

She stirred, body heavy and head feeling like it was stuffed full of cotton. By the time she'd opened her eyes, someone was next to her bed, applying a cool cloth to her forehead. The smell of sharp salts was strong in her nostrils, helping rouse her brain from its fog.

"How are you feeling?" said a voice. She recognized it as Hikaru's.

"Like I could run a mile." She opened her eyes, focusing on her friend. He sat in the chair next to her bed, applying the cloth to her forehead. While outwardly calm and smiling, she could see the concern hidden behind the tightness in his eyes. She'd worried him again.

Her physician was the one who had supplied the salts, checking her vitals now that she was properly awake. Kyoko watched him duly for a moment, allowing her brain to catch up with the rest of her.

"How long was I—?" she stared.

"Not long," said Hikaru. "About an hour? Cain left after you were out for ten minutes. Something about you recovering faster without… you know."

She did. The marks on her shoulders drained her energy faster when Cain was around. It was something that chipped away at Cain's conscience. But even thinking of that, Kyoko couldn't be discouraged. Her smile was weak and tired, but it was wide nonetheless.

"I did it, right?" she said. "A cure. We have one now."

Hikaru gave a low chuckle. "Yeah. You did great. Cain is talking to the other councilors about it now. I think some of them wanted you to demonstrate but Cain refused. And they've had other physicians – a lot of them actually – to come in and verify Murasame's condition."

"It's very unorthodox," commented the physician. "But the results are undeniable. They've already started making more drawing stones and training the other physicians how to use them." He met Kyoko's eye, really met them. Since Cain's takeover, she had been hard-pressed to find a physician that would do that.

"You've saved a lot of lives with this," he said. "I had my doubts about you, but after this… I have to apologize. I thought the title of physician was a lie."

"Understandable," said Kyoko. It was a common assumption for those that didn't know her. "Though, out of everything I would have thought me being a physician was the easiest part to accept."

The physician gave a nervous laugh, finishing his assessment of Kyoko before making her promise to stay put. He had attempted to smooth over his findings, but Kyoko quickly pulled the truth from him. This latest episode had cost her quite a bit.

She waited until he left to pull her sleeves up and examine them herself. The crystalline marks had crept even further down her arm, now halfway down her forearm. A cautious assessment of her back told her it had spread there as well, making her wince as she laid back in the bed. Hikaru watched her silently, his smile now gone and the worry obvious.

"Lady Kyoko…" he whispered.

"I know," she said.

"Are you going to tell Cain?"

She managed a small shake of her head. "Not now, later." Or never if she could help it. "Was he excited that it worked? The cure?"

"About as excited as he could be, considering that you fainted in front of him again."

Kyoko scoffed. "Yes, I'm sick, that's nothing new. But this! It should help him gain back control of the people. If they know there's a cure, I'm sure more will be willing to listen to him."

She held his gaze, challenging his exasperated look with one of her own. Eventually, he cracked, breaking out into a smile at the same time she did.

"Always so stubborn," he said with a measure of fondness. "Even against the odds. Yes. I think this will help him considerably. I've already told my platoon and they're spreading the news. I think we'll see a vast difference between people's attitudes now, and tomorrow." He suddenly perked up. "I wonder if Lady Itsumi has heard?"

Kyoko's smile grew. "You should go tell her, just in case she hasn't."

He stood up, for a moment looking like he would do so. Then he slowly sat back down, shaking his head.

"I can't. I'm still on duty."

"I'll be fine," said Kyoko. Goodness knew she had more than enough people guarding her.

"No. I should stay."

Nothing she said would convince him otherwise. They ended up chatting for a solid hour about mundane things and wondering how the situation in Mosall would change. She had this energy buzzing beneath her skin making it impossible to rest. The two of them were still talking animatedly when Cain came in much later.

Kyoko perked up immediately upon noting his demeanor. A tightness around his shoulders had been smoothed out. He no longer looked at her like she was meant to collapse at any minute. Hikaru gave them their space, promising he'd be right outside the door despite Kyoko's insistence that he take a break to see Itsumi.

"My shift is almost over, Lady Kyoko," he said. "I can be patient for one more hour."

The second the door closed Kyoko launched into an excited chatter.

"I'm so glad it worked! I really wasn't sure until the poison came out and then whoa! It was like a flood it was harder stopping the flow than anything else. I wonder if it was because of how much poison Murasame had accumulated over time. It makes sense that the greater the volume the harder it is to control. I heard they've already started training other physicians to use the circle. I'm really surprised they even wanted to try considering it requires them to manipulate dark magic. But everyone is desperate, and they're already working with you so they're probably justifying it like that. 'Can't be worse than working with an Accursed.' That sort of thing. Though I wonder, if drawing the poison out can be accomplished with dark runes, could it be cured as well with other herbs or potions that use dark magic? We don't know much about them due to—"

A low chuckle made her pause. Cain had a hand over his mouth, shoulder shaking from laughter. As she stared, he gave a quick wave.

"You can continue," he said.

"Yes, except now I know you're laughing at me."

He gave a guilty smile. "It's good to see you like yourself again."

Her retort was cut short as she considered his comment. It had been a long time since she'd gone off like that. Her shoulders hunched as she gave an embarrassed smile, cheeks coloring.

"I do tend to rant when I'm excited," she said.

"It's an endearing trait." His smile broadened, reaching his eyes and softening them. A rare sight for "Cain" who was often all hard edges and stern expressions.

"They're analyzing the miasma, now that we have such a high concentration of it," he said. "Together with the conversion run, they think they can find a cure for your curse."

It took a second for what he said to hit her.

"Are you serious?" she whispered, not daring to believe it.

His smile grew. "They should have one come the end of the week."

Kyoko nearly threw herself at him in her excitement. They were going to find a cure for her illness! She was going to get better! Cain only barely caught her as she grabbed his arms, nearly toppling out of bed.

"I can't believe it!" she said. "Cain! I'm going to get better!"

"Yeah."

He didn't say anything else, but she could see the excitement. Were anyone else here (at least one who was conscious, Murasame was still in the bed beside her) even they would have been able to see it. A broad grin stretched her cheeks, smoothing worry lines in favor of happy ones. He almost looked like his old self, Kuon showing clearly beneath.

"Wait," she said suddenly. "This will be before the monster army arrives, right?"

"Should be."

"That means I can help with the injured from the battle."

Cain gave her a disapproving look. "Let's make sure you make a full recovery first, and then we can talk about you going back to work."

"It's not like I can't help, even while recovering," she said. "And I can do some real work this time. I think they've had more than enough evidence that I really am a physician."

Between this, the cure for the rot and some of Kuu's army arriving in the city tomorrow, things were really looking up. All they needed was to finish their inhibitor. With so much good happening, the people were bound to keep believing in Cain.

"If only Kanae were here," said Kyoko wistfully. She'd be happy to see Kyoko feeling better. She'd also want to see Shin again. Then Kyoko thought of something else that made her clap her hands to her face in despair. "Oh dear goodness, the people here think we're married. What will Shin say about that? Will everyone find out we've been lying? The scandal!" Then an even worse thought occurred. One that made the color drain from her already pale skin. "What will your dad say?"

"I don't think my dad will be that upset about it," said Cain with amusement. He obviously didn't understand the severity of this. His dad was the king for heaven's sake!

"Yes, but what about everyone else?" she said. "What will they say about us?"

It would be the situation at the palace all over again, except this would be worse. She knew them, and they her. How would their opinion of her change when they found out she'd been traveling and sharing rooms together with Cain as an unmarried woman?

As she bemoaned their future scorn, Cain shook his head slowly, that look of amusement still on his face. It vanished a moment later as he focused on the ground. He nodded to himself a few times as if coming to a decision.

"What if it wasn't a lie?" he said

She blinked, taken off guard.

"Excuse me?" she said.

He gathered himself, speaking with more surety as his eyes met hers. Though his irises remained dark thanks to their disguising charm, she thought she could see the vibrant green hues hidden within.

"Kyoko Mogami," he said. "Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Thanks for reading!

Happy 100 chapters! (99 for me, we had that extra chapter from Imouto). Not much else to say. Just trying to write when I have time, which is not often anymore now that I'm back at work.

Thank you guys so much for your continued love and support! See yah!

-Blushweaver

Oh snap! A Proposal! What a Valentine's treat! Hope you enjoyed all the twisty turns of this emotional roller coaster!