Velvet Crowe dodged aside from her opponent's blade, tumbling gracefully into a stance of her own, ready to react to the inevitable follow-up strike. Her foe didn't hesitate in the slightest, as though having expected her to dodge his initial attack, already correcting his course and adjusting the grip on the long, curved sword in his hand. She hesitated for only a moment, before pooling mana into the hand that held her own blade, willing for it to be shaped and kindled.

Her eyes narrowed, as the distance between her and her opponent shortened within instants. Her prepared arte now ready, she swung her blade in a wide arc.

"Searing Edge!"

Her opponent didn't hesitate for even a moment. He held the immense, heavy blade in a single hand, his other hand raised before himself in a gesture. "Form 6!"

Her eyes widened, as her opponent's arte took effect. Damn it! She tried adjusting her stance, but try as she might there was no way to react to it in time. A swirling vortex of darkness manifested from the tip of his blade, and with a single swipe, the flames of her arte vanished into the void that was the Sixth Form of the Rangetsu style – Dark Vortex.

Worse, however, was that she was now being drawn toward her opponent through his arte. She gritted her teeth, slamming her blade down into the earth, but it was all for naught. Within instants, cold steel pressed down on her shoulder, resting against her neck. She panted, staring at the face of the battle's victor.

"Good try," Rokurou Rangetsu said, looking entirely at ease. The weight of Stormquell lifted from her, and he idly rested the flat of the blade against his shoulder. "A good few too many elemental artes early on probably cost you the battle."

"That makes it the fifty-seventh loss," she grumbled, sheathing her own sword. "And the chances of beating you remain just as it was on the first."

Rokurou shrugged. "You trained with wrist-blades. A few months of practice with the Rangetsu Style isn't going to turn you into a master."

"And you're more versed with double daggers," she pointed out. "You only started practising with Stormquell a while back."

"I spent a long time working on the foundations in all the Rangetsu forms back home," he replied just as easily. "And even if you trained with the Arthur Crowe, moving from wrist-blades to a sword is far more difficult than adapting one form of swordsmanship to another." He paused, looking off to one side, before smiling faintly. "Well, it seems like any further comments will have to wait."

She turned, a smile forming on her own face as a bundle of excitement ran toward her. "Velvet! That was amazing!" Laphicet shouted, gesturing enthusiastically with his hands.

"I still lost, you know," she said, bending over slightly to ruffle at his hair. He squirmed, protesting indignantly.

"Sure, but he's Rokurou Rangetsu," he said, stretching the name out. "Even Arthur finds him a challenge when they both get serious!"

"Indeed," another voice approached them. Arthur Crowe's tall form walked toward them, but the warm, proud smile on his face negated any notion that the man could ever be considered imposing. "That spar was brilliantly executed, Velvet. You've taken to swordsmanship far more quickly than I expected."

She grimaced, embarrassed. "Hardly," she argued. "I've barely scratched the surface of the Rangetsu style."

"It took a long time before you developed your own forms under my tutelage," he pointed out. "I'm sure that in no time, you will excel just as easily." He looked at her friend and tutor, who had been patiently watching everything unfold. "Rokurou. It's good to see you again."

"You too. Everything going well with Celica?"

"She's taking care of our newborn at home," Arthur said, a wistful smile on his face. "I would challenge you to a battle of our own, but unfortunately Celica has expressly forbidden such an act."

Rokurou gave a booming laugh. "Ah, yes. The single weakness of Arthur Crowe."

Velvet smiled, letting her posture fall as Laphicet excitedly began pestering Rokurou for his own lessons. This was it. She and Laphicet had gone on adventures of their own, meeting such interesting people as Rokurou, Eizen, Magilou and Eleanor. Their latest trip had brought them circling back to Loegres, where they had serendipitously come across Rokurou who had inherited the Rangetsu leadership from Shigure.

That chance meeting had led to her training as an amateur in the Rangetsu style under her friend's tutelage, while Laphicet had continued on with his adventures alongside Eizen's crew. Somehow, his journey had sent him looping back to Aball, where he had promptly dragged Arthur along with him to visit her in Loegres. She hadn't seen Celica in quite some time, but Velvet hoped that everything was going well with her. Having her second child couldn't have been easy, after seeing first-hand the many struggles that came with childbirth her sister had to deal with just a few years ago.

Rokurou was getting Laphicet to fall into the basic opening stance of the Rangetsu style, prodding him every now and then in subtle corrections. Arthur was standing to one side, the very picture of serenity, his sword hanging loosely from his hip. Yes, everything was right in the world.

Suddenly, a subtle distortion manifested in the air in front of her, a trail of loose lines coalescing into an amorphic mist, and she flinched reflexively. Her hand fell to her sword as she took a step back, eyeing it carefully. There was a feeling of something pulsing in her head, a gnawing sensation, as though there was something she was forgetting –

"Velvet?" Arthur asked, his eyes concerned. "Is something the matter?"

"That thing," she pointed out, trying to track the distortion that weaved in and out of reality. "You don't see it?"

What am I forgetting?

"Velvet?" he asked again.

"The air… it's –"

Just as quickly as it appeared, it gave up all notion of subtlety, rapidly coalescing into a shimmering orb. Then, with a single thundering boom, it exploded into light, her vision immediately whitening.

With a single gasp, Velvet awoke as though from a very, very long dream, looking around wildly.

Dreams. She had been having a lot of them, lately.

She had seen Oscar and Theresa, who reviled her and declared her a daemon, the Lord of Calamity. She had met Seres once more, coming to terms with just what she had done to her sister's reincarnation. She had repeatedly dreamed of Phi, of Kamoana and Medissa and the other therions, knowing just what had to be done in order for them to survive while still putting an end to the Abbey's plans for the reawakened Innominat.

Wait… she had done all that, hadn't she? They had made their way through Innominat's domain atop the Empyrean's Throne. She had embraced the Empyrean that bore her brother's form and memories. She would drain Innominat's power, converting it to malevolence, allowing him to take it for himself, only to be drained once more. It was to be a perpetual, futile cycle, one that would allow for Phi to go on and live his own life, and for her to atone for all the lives she had ruined in her quest for vengeance.

Yes, she had been dreaming.

What didn't make sense, though, was why she was still awake.

"Woah, woah!" Her vision was starting to clear, now, and she caught sight of a green-haired man, holding his hands out placatingly. Behind him, a woman with long, red hair stood cautiously. "Easy, now! You're safe here!"

Two more people stood by the side; one in military uniform, while the other wore a long, flowing white outercoat. While the former was clearly no stranger to combat, the latter's build didn't suggest any experience in fighting.

The two in front of her, however, wore an attire she recognised easily. "Exorcists," she growled, wrist-blade snapping free from its sheathe within her gauntlet. She held it before her in a cautious stance, and the pair's hands fell to their own weapons. By the side, the soldier gripped his own blade. "Here to finish Artorius' job?"

"Arto-who now?" the one in the lead asked, deliberately pointing his crossbow away from her. Good for him. Any threatening gesture, and she would part his head from his shoulders. Already, she could feel her therion arm squirming and pulsing, eager to feast on anything it could.

She frowned. It seemed… hungrier than usual. Still, however, she could keep it in check, after the three long years she had spent imprisoned in Titania. The therion half of her hadn't been present in that long, blissful dream, but it was now just as easily part of her as it had always been since the Advent.

"Don't play dumb with me," she snapped. "Artorius is dead. The Abbey is finished." Then, her mind began catching up with her, and what her presence in the living world outside of the long dream she had entailed. Her eyes widened. "Innominat… where is Innominat?!"

"Woah, woah, easy now!" He gestured with a single hand, while the other that held his crossbow didn't waver in the slightest. Velvet could see the tense tightening of his face. "You're safe here. We won't hurt you, promise. You've been asleep for a long, long time. Let's put down our weapons, okay?"

She narrowed her eyes, watching him carefully. Behind him, his subordinate was still holding her blade in both hands cautiously. The soldier was gripping his sword in a stance meant for rapid sword-drawing.

"Like I'll believe the word of an exorcist," she spat. She leapt backward, and the man cursed, raising his crossbow. With a single sickening squelch of daemonic flesh bursting free from its bindings, she held a massive claw of unnatural darkness protectively in front of her, jagged edges on full display. Its ravenous hunger yearned to be sated, and she gasped involuntarily, as energy flooded into her arm, even though it hadn't made contact with anything.

It didn't feel like malevolence. It didn't feel like the mana of a structured arte. The sensation…

Malakhim?

No more pondering on that. Her arm was pulsing with a thick darkness, but it didn't look like the eerie purple of malevolence. This was a pitch black, and she quickly brought it under control, reining in its hunger. The room dimmed, the light of torches flickering with each pulse emanating from her claw.

"Stop!" the man shouted. "Ries! Cid! Wait! This energy –"

She brought her attention back toward the trio. The female exorcist held a blade that divided into numerous smaller sections, hanging suspended in the air through what Velvet thought were thin wires. The soldier was standing protectively in front of the civilian, his posture poised to strike.

With her attention divided, another pulse from a claw that didn't seem willing to cooperate cast the room into complete darkness, extinguishing all the torches within the room of stone she found herself in. Her claw had never done that before, but she wasn't in a position to further contemplate on that.

"This – but that's the Gospel…"she heard the leading exorcist gasp. "The artifact… you're an artifact?"

"What the hell is going on?" she demanded, the lights returning to the oddly-shaped braziers in the cavern once she controlled her claw's hunger once more. "Where is Innominat?"

She could taste the tension in the air. All three of them were easily ready to attack at any moment, and she subtly repositioned herself to enable her to fend off any attack.

"We aren't your enemies!" the exorcist urged. "I –" Very slowly, he bent down, and Velvet tensed. With obvious deliberation, he placed his crossbow in front of him, kicking it away. "There. Now, then – less, uh, scary arm action and more talking, okay?"

A trap. That much was obvious. Exorcists didn't function like that. Even Eleanor, who eventually saw for herself just what Artorius had planned for the world through accompanying their group on their quest, had initially been in position to act as a spy for the Shepherd. The man in front of her was no exception. She couldn't see a sword by his side, but there was no ruling out a concealed blade, or some other trump card.

"Ries, Cid," he cautioned slowly. "Unhand your weapons, yeah?"

"But Kevin –"

"Trust me on this, Ries," he said, not letting his gaze fall from Velvet's tensed form. "Please, do as I ask, okay?"

Unwillingly, she lowered her sword, the separated metal segments reforming into its original shape. Still, she gripped it loosely in her hands, ready to react. Velvet glanced at the soldier – Cid, she presumed – who took his hand away from the hilt, but was likewise in a position that would allow him to easily intervene.

Rather diplomatic, for an exorcist.

"What are you planning here?" She continued studying the man, who despite his declaration of peace, looked more tense than before. Clearly, he had a trump card in store for her. "If you're not from the Abbey, then who the hell are you?"

"Kevin Graham, priest of the Septian Church – even if I don't look the part, I know, I know," he gave a weak laugh, trying to defuse the tension, but Velvet didn't buy it. She knew their tactics better than anyone. He continued, nonetheless. "This is my Ries Argent, also of the Septian Church. These two are Lieutenant Colonel Cid, of the Liberl Royal Army, and Professor Erika Russell, of the Zeiss Central Factory. I don't know what you mean by an Abbey, or exorcists, or Innominat, but –"

"Lies."

Velvet didn't know what manner of madness he was spouting, with this nonsense about a 'Septian Church', or just where and what this 'Liberl' or 'Zeiss' were, but there was no way in hell he wouldn't know what an exorcist was.

But if what he said was true…

She couldn't see any malakhim bonded to the two exorcists, but they could just as easily be dwelling within their vessels. Still, the many oddities were beginning to pile up, and though she hated to admit it, the exorcist seemed to be equally genuinely clueless as she was about what in all of Desolation was going on.

"Enough!" the civilian interrupted loudly, stepping forward.

"Professor –"

"I can handle myself, Colonel." She brushed the soldier aside. "You two – argument's over. Discuss this civilly."

She declared that with authority, although Velvet had no idea where her confidence came from. From what she could tell, this 'Erika' had no experience in combat.

Kevin Graham fell into a relaxed posture, but Velvet spotted the seriousness in his eyes. He still viewed her as a potential enemy, but for now she could give him some benefit of the doubt.

"Innominat," she said slowly. "Did you unseal him?"

"Unseal? And Innominat?" he repeated, before shaking his head to himself. "No, never mind that. Look, missy, if what we think about where you came from is true, then I know you must be terribly confused. Let's all put down our weapons and talk this over."

He gestured for Ries to relinquish her sword, nodding subtly to her. Whatever ace he had up his sleeves in the event that Velvet lowered her guard, it clearly didn't rely on his subordinate. Reluctantly, Ries did as she was bidden. Kevin glanced over at Cid, and the colonel did likewise, standing ramrod straight, although still in a position to protect Erika if the situation turned south.

Fine, then. Velvet allowed her claw to deactivate, the bandages obscuring it from view once more. Still, she made sure that she could react just as easily to any would-be attackers as the three people in front of her. Velvet didn't compromise on her wrist-blade, holding it in a ready stance.

"Where am I?" she asked simply.

"We are beneath Grancel Cathedral," Kevin spoke quickly, eager to follow up on her seeming willingness to engage in discussion. "You were found alongside an artifact that fell from Liber Ark into Valleria Lake. You've been unconscious for the past three days, but with the awesome powers at my disposal you were returned to the world of the living. No thanks necessary."

His attempt at a weak joke fell flat, as Velvet continued staring blankly at him.

The hell is he talking about?

She didn't know of a place called Grancel, or a Valleria Lake. She had come across artifacts, whether in person such as the Siegfried that Zaveid possessed, or through the stories shared by Eizen about his many archaeological findings and curiosities. She didn't know about Liber Ark, but from what she could tell…

"This Liber Ark," she said. "It was a structure in the sky?"

He seemed relieved at that question. "Yes. We didn't see you during the operation aboard the Arseille, but the Liber Ark fell into Valleria Lake six months ago, at the conclusion of the Orbal Shutdown Phenomenon that took hold of Liberl. Recovery of artifacts began from then, before Erika and Cid found you and this cube just three days ago."

She stared at him blankly. Nothing coming out of his mouth made sense, aside from the fact that Innominat's Domain had collapsed from where it had been high above the Empyrean's Throne. If that was the case, though, just what did he mean by fishing her out of a lake?

"The Orbal Shutdown Phenomenon. Orbments didn't work while," he added on slowly, stretching out the words, sensing her confusion. "Uh… you know… orbments – things that run on orbal energy –"

"The hell are you talking about?"

There was silence for several seconds.

"Where do you think you are right now?" Erika broke the silence, a strange gleam in her eyes. It bore an uncanny resemblance to Magilou's own whenever she had something diabolical in mind for Velvet.

She gestured around them with her wrist-blade, rolling her eyes. "A stone chamber, obviously."

"I meant that, ah, more generally," Erika said, not at all perturbed. "Which country, for example? The year we are in?"

Velvet frowned. "The Holy Midgand Empire," she said. It was the power that ruled over most of Desolation since the war between the Hyland, Midgand and Lohgrin royal families after the apparent death of King Claudin. "The year 103 of the Era of Asgard."

There was another pregnant pause.

"One more question. Do you know which continent we're in?"

"Midgand," she said, annoyed. "Somewhere close to the Empyrean's Throne. Now can someone tell me just what in all of Desolation is going on? More importantly, where is Innominat?"

She couldn't allow the Empyrean to regain his power once more. Even if Artorius was dead, the power of suppression that Innominat possessed was too much to be left unchecked, after seeing for herself just what the Abbey's perfect world of reason entailed. His presence was necessary for suppression of malevolence to prevent the unchecked rise of daemons at every culmination of the Cycle, based on what Phi and Grimoirh had uncovered from the ancient texts, but the Empyrean's power was too much for humanity to hold. Poisoned by Artorius' philosophies, there was no telling what he would do.

"Desolation?" Cid asked.

Of all things, that was what needed clarification?

"The world of Desolation," she said, before suspicion began taking hold. "This isn't one of Magilou's pranks, is it? If it is, it isn't funny."

"Hooo, boy," Kevin said, slouching over. "No idea who Magilou is, but in that, we are in agreement." He relaxed himself slightly more. "Right, then. I've got no idea who or what this Innominat is, but I'm pretty sure we're starting to catch on about what's going on."

It was starting to dawn on her too, now. She knew that her final actions atop Innominat's Domain meant that she would be sealed with him for all eternity, but she had had underestimated just what that meant. The dream she had, however long it may have been, felt like only a matter of years, unable to account for just how neither party could understand a single lick of what the other was saying.

Still, though, she needed confirmation.

"Explain."

"You might want to take a seat for this," he said, gesturing to a nearby stone structure, resting himself idly on another one of his own. "Oh, and, uh – if it's alright with you – less of the knifey-hands, yeah?"

She eyed him for a moment longer, before carefully walking over to the platform a respectable distance away, one that would give her enough time to react if they turned on her. The meaning of it wasn't lost to the other four people, but they didn't offer any comment on the action. Finally, after a second moment of hesitation, she obliged, retracting her wrist-blade, but deliberately placing it in plain sight of them all.

Now, then. Time for answers, and to figure out just where Innominat had gone.

"Talk."

-o-o-o-

Bullshit, was all that Velvet could think as Kevin weaved an intricate, impossible story. The world, apparently, was not called Desolation. They were within Grancel, the capital city of Liberl, within the continent of Zemuria. There wasn't a single name of any place she recognised – no Endgand, Midgand, Northgand, Southgand, Eastgand, Westgand or Islegand. There was not a single mention of malakhim, or daemons, or Empyreans, or even the Abbey or exorcists.

Instead, there were things they called orbments, relying on the energy of crystals known as septium. The Abbey didn't exist, and the only religion they knew of was the Septian Church, that praised a Goddess they called Aidios, who had apparently blessed the land with the gift of septium and seven treasures known as the Sept-Terrion.

Velvet had been found from the wreckage of a floating city. They were sparse with the exact details, but it had apparently been an ancient one from a time before a period they termed the Great Collapse, and was powered by one of the Sept-Terrion. It had been linked with a phenomenon that caused the shutdown of all orbments in Liberl, but didn't offer any further information on that.

No prizes as to guessing just what this 'Sept-Terrion' was. She knew for herself just what Innominat's power was capable of, even when he hadn't fully awakened. Lacking two of the malevolences present within Velvet's arm, he still managed to completely suppress the emotions of almost everyone in the vicinity of the Empyrean's Throne, spreading all the way out to the further continents before they awakened the other Empyreans and forced him out of the earthpulse that was his domain.

With Artorius' despair he had claimed as his own following their armatisation, Innominat had to be capable of much more. Innominat had Laphi's memories, but they were just that – memories. Everything else that had been Laphicet Crowe had died during the Advent, leaving only the manipulative Empyrean guided by Artorius' ideals.

Kevin made a brief mention of something he called a Gospel, an ancient relic of the floating city that had the power to drain orbal energy and transfer it into the Liber Ark. He didn't explicitly mention it, but Velvet knew they all suspected her therion arm was one of these Gospels, given that the orbments supplying light to the stone chamber had flickered and extinguished when she didn't rein in its power.

"And you swear you don't know anything about malakhim or daemons?" she asked, once an uncomfortable silence took hold. There were too many questions, and too little answers.

Why had the world changed? Melchior had warned them all about what awakening the Empyreans would mean in terms of changes to the earth's crust, and the chaos that the manifestation of their elemental powers would bring. She had accepted it as yet another price she had to pay in order to put an end to Artorius' unacceptable plans for humanity. It wasn't as though her soul wasn't already damned.

Now, however, she began to question herself. Had her actions somehow led to the vanishing of all malakhim? Their description of septium and their elemental properties sounded uncannily similar to the elements possessed by malakhim. If so, then perhaps…

Kevin cleared his throat politely, snapping her out of her contemplation.

"Apologies," he said. "I, uh, know it's a lot to take in and all – but it would help a lot if you answered some of our questions as well."

"Your orbments," she said, a thought forming in her mind. If septium was really related to malakhim, then…

"Beg pardon?"

"You mentioned something about orbal artes." Velvet stared Kevin in the eye. "Use one of them for me."

He looked uncertainly at the others present, before shrugging. He rose to stand. "I'll cast a healing arte known as Tear," he said. Velvet gestured for him to continue impatiently. After a brief pause, he sighed, and blue energy began swirling around him.

A malak arte. The reshaped mana swirled around him, gaining form, and with a final shout, it coalesced around him, enveloping his body before entering him as though absorbed into his skin.

It was as good as confirmed, then. For whatever reason, malakhim had become these inanimate septium crystals. Combat orbments – all orbments – served as an intermediary between septium and humans, not unlike the pact between malakhim and their vessels, allowing the latent formless mana of malakhim to be reshaped into malak artes.

"Good enough for you?"

She nodded slowly. She was beginning to get a grasp on the situation, now. She had sealed Innominat, changes had occurred to Desolation, and after an undefined period of time the land had become one utterly unrecognisable to her. Malakhim had disappeared, leaving septium as the only traces of themselves behind. Given that she half-suspected Innominat to be one of these Sept-Terrion, it was possible that the other Empyreans were likewise these gifts bestowed unto humanity by their Goddess.

There should only be five, though. Four Elemental Empyreans, and the Great Suppressor the Empyrean Innominat at their centre. Just what had happened between the time she sealed Innominat and the present? Why were there seven Sept-Terrion?

Were any of her theories even correct?

"Mind answering some of our questions now, missy?" Kevin asked. "For starters – perhaps telling us about who you are?"

She studied him for a moment longer, before acquiescing. "…Velvet Crowe."

"Well, then, Velvet," he continued. "Could you shed some light about how you came to be aboard the Liber Ark?"

This was risky territory. For all that he seemed to be all smiles and sweet words, he was undeniability well-versed in combat. She couldn't freely offer all information about Innominat, without knowing what someone might do with knowledge of the Empyrean's power and how it could be utilised.

They had seen her therion arm. They thought it to be one of the Gospels, some sort of artifact that allowed denizens of the Ark to access Innominat's power. In that regard, it wasn't entirely wrong, only the relationship between her and the Empyrean was more bidirectional than they realised. The therion half of her was a force to be reckoned with, but devoured malevolence would trail through the earthpulse into Innominat's body, gradually reawakening him while suppressing malevolence in the living world.

What could she tell them?

"That's a really long story," she stalled, deflecting the question. She doubted any member of this Church, Abbey or otherwise, would appreciate just what she had done from the time of Artorius' betrayal on the day of the Advent.

"Tell us about your world, then," Erika interrupted, visibly just barely reining in her excitement. "Are you saying that you came from a time even before the Great Collapse?"

Velvet was grateful for the question. It was safe territory, one she could easily answer. "There is no such thing as septium in Desolation," she said, looking at the researcher who paid rapt attention to her. "Instead, there were malakhim – beings that existed on our world, visible only to those who possessed resonance. Every malak corresponded to an element – earth, wind, fire, and water – and by forming a pact with a malak, a vessel could utilise their powers in the form of malak artes. Your orbal artes bear similarities to them."

"A world without septium?" Ries mused aloud. "But the scriptures say –"

"This Church of yours didn't exist either," Velvet interrupted. "There weren't any of these Sept-Terrion, only the Five Empyreans. One for each element, and Innominat the Suppressor."

"You keep mentioning this Innominat," Cid interjected, brows furrowed. "Why?"

She considered the question, thinking over its implications. Could she trust them? Would they abuse knowledge of the Empyrean?

"The Abbey sought to abuse Innominat's power to their own ends," she said slowly. "We – my comrades and I – fought him on his domain atop the Empyrean's Throne. I should have been sealed with him for eternity. If he's escaped…"

Damn it. She didn't want to think about what Innominat could do if guided by the wrong hands, especially if people of Zemuria possessed a means to artificially create a malak bond through their strange ubiquitous devices. She didn't even have her friends to help think things through. Eizen and Magilou had always been the ones to raise conjectures related to the finer details of malakhim and the Empyreans, and now they were gone.

"What can Innominat do, exactly?"

"Why ask?" she challenged Kevin, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Is your Church looking to follow in the Abbey's footsteps?"

"Riiiight," he backtracked. "Still on the suspicious side. I get it, I get it. No prying."

"And your arm?" Erika asked. "How does it replicate the Gospel's effects?"

"How does this Gospel work?" Velvet asked in return.

Kevin, Cid and Erika exchanged glances, before nodding not-so-subtly at each other. Ries still appeared deep in thought.

"From what we learnt during our infiltration of the Liber Ark, Gospels initially served as a form of identification and a means to interface with the Aureole – the Sept-Terrion of Space – at the core of the city," Kevin told her. "More recently, the specimen that was uncovered and the copies made of one of the original Gospels had the power to drain orbal energy and transport it into a separate location in space."

The similarities between her therion powers and those that the Gospels held were unlikely to be a coincidence. She had seen for herself how the light from the strange torches that didn't flicker the way a brazier would had vanished as her claw consumed its energy, in the way it would a malakhim.

How could it be true, though? Therions were reborn under the crimson moon of the Scarlet Night, when the connection between the Empyrean's domain and the world above the earthpulse was the strongest. People who possessed the traits necessary for manifestation of the malevolences and were receptive to Innominat's power became therions. Even then, there would only ever be seven therions.

"That shouldn't be possible," she thought aloud. "The ability cannot be artificially created."

"How do you possess the power of the Gospel?" Cid asked.

She chose her words carefully. "My arm is a connection of sorts to Innominat," she said slowly. "Everything that it devours is converted and sent to him."

There was silence for a few moments.

"You're still hiding something," Erika said, frowning.

"Of course I am," she scoffed. "I'm not about to trust any of you that easily. You aren't telling me everything you know either."

There were many holes in the story they told her. How, for instance, had this Liber Ark suddenly manifested and caused the Orbal Shutdown? Where was Innominat – or the Auerole, as they preferred to call it – presently? Innominat couldn't be gone, since she was still alive. Killing him necessarily meant her own death, since she was a part of him.

"Ehh, we'll warm up to each other in time, I'm sure." Velvet glared at Kevin, who didn't recoil in the slightest. "For now, though: Professor, Colonel – I think we can agree that this situation is far more complicated than we thought at first."

"Indeed," Cid said, frowning. "Father Graham, Professor Russell – I believe that this has become a matter of national security, given the connection with the crisis from six months ago."

Her eyes narrowed, and she twitched her arm. "I won't stand for being caged here." Once was enough. If they thought they could lock her up as Artorius had done back in Titania, they had another thing coming. She tried to be civil, to make amends for what she had done as the Lord of Calamity, but if they forced her hand she would respond in kind.

"Nothing of the sort," he assured quickly. "You won't be treated as a prisoner. We just need time to contact others to decide how to proceed."

She eyed him carefully. She needed information, if she was going to return to sealing Innominat. Based on their words, however, Innominat had apparently somehow been unsealed long ago, before the Great Collapse, and supported a thriving civilisation in the sky. Had he, like the other malakhim, abandoned his form and left only his power behind?

Someone had abused Innominat's power and initiated the Orbal Shutdown Phenomenon, that much was certain. She needed to find out why, and how they planned to make use of its power. If they had similar goals to Artorius, to create a utopia of reason, they needed to be stopped.

What was she meant to do? She was alone, without her companions, in a completely unfamiliar world. She needed information, that was for certain, but –

There was a sharp ringing sound, one that pierced straight into her mind, as though a shock passed through her system. She winced, her body tensing, blade ready to spring into motion.

"Ugh," Kevin grunted, body strained, glancing around. By his side, the quiet Ries had likewise been affected, looking around.

Velvet searched for any intruders, but didn't find any sign of what could have caused that grating sound. "What the hell was that?"

"What happened?" Cid asked, stepping toward Kevin.

"You didn't feel that?"

"Feel what?"

She frowned. That energy felt familiar, and yet entirely foreign. Why –

"The artifact!" Erika abruptly shouted. Velvet turned around sharply, looking at the cube that she had apparently been holding on to at the time that she had been retrieved from Valleria Lake.

It was glowing a faint blue, pulsing with a faint humming melody.

"It wasn't giving any orbal readings at all anymore! Zero!" Erika's words rushed from her mouth furiously. "Why is it active again?"

There was a sense of nostalgia about it, but Velvet couldn't identity just what seemed so familiar about the waves of energy emanating from the cube. Kevin took hold of the cube, that was now shining with a brilliant blue intensity.

He fidgeted with it, appraising it with a critical eye. "What is up with this thing?" he cursed. "All of you, stay back, just in case!"

"Kevin –"

"That's an order, Ries! Cid, get the professor away from the cube!"

The sensation was growing stronger, now. It seemed almost connected to her –

A chuckle came from a darkened corner of the room. Immediately, Velvet whirled toward the sound, wrist-blade springing free from her gauntlet. How hadn't she noticed the intruder?

"So the time to begin has finally dawned upon us," the masked intruder spoke. Long, silvery-white hair reached to just past his shoulders, but she couldn't see any weapon in his possession. Velvet tensed, readying an arte.

"When did you –" Ries began saying.

"Kevin Graham," he interrupted, undaunted. "It's a pleasure to see you again. Traverser of the pathless darkness, repenting of his transgressions with the sin of a Stigma forever on his back."

Kevin reached for his crossbow, but didn't yet aim it. "Who the hell are you?"

The cube continued pulsing, wisps of light coalescing together into orbs that encircled the cube. The glow began spreading, and soon enough enveloped the entirety of the cube.

"Kevin, what's going on? Who are you talking to?"

The hell? Velvet turned back to face the colonel and the professor, who looked confused at the three of them. None of them could see any of this?

"Velvet Crowe," he continued, and she stiffened involuntarily. "Lord of Calamity, who carved a path of destruction in Hellawes, Loegres, Haria, and Meirchio; the irredeemable sinner with the arm of a daemon."

"Who are you?" she intoned dangerously, her blade poised to strike. "How do you know me?"

Before she could get any response, however, her world exploded into blue light, waves of energy coming forth from the cube in Kevin's hands, and she finally realised just what it was that felt so familiar. She barely had enough time to shout a warning.

"Earthpulse rift!"

The light enveloped her body, and she felt herself being transported through space itself, much like the times when Phi had opened rifts into the earthpulse to facilitate their escape at the Empyrean's Throne and at Titania. There was something else that was different about it, but she couldn't process that train of thought any further before her world faded into darkness.

Just before consciousness left her once more – something that had occurred every time she initiated travel by earthpulse – she heard the voice of the intruder gradually fading away.

"…and thus shall my Lord be revived, and the door to Gehenna opened…"

And that's all for now, might continue working on it again soon enough.