Yes, this is still alive.

Chapter 18: The Accursed of Aldricante

Verdigris almost felt pity. After all, the three figures precariously standing before him were barely more than children. And yet the two he had discarded as unnecessary years before had shown a surprising amount of resilience and talent. Despite his patient research and calculations, the power of the beast was more evenly distributed than he expected. That made failing to kill Kaito and Luka two years ago even more of a blunder. Gakupo would never reach his full potential as a mage as long as they were around to siphon the beast's essence away from him. Even now he could sense the energies going back and forth between them capriciously, focusing on Gakupo one moment then flowing back into the other two. Such a nuisance.

He studied their insolent faces with a sneer. It was quite beyond him to understand how could they look so confident all of the sudden, despite their sorry state. Did they think he wouldn't attack because Gakupo was standing there in the middle of them? His magic wasn't a blunt weapon. He was perfectly capable of breaking their minds and protecting Gakupo at the same time. He gestured forward with his staff, marking the road for his nightmares.

"Please stop this! You are the closest thing I have to a father now, don't make me fight you!" The loud shout made him freeze, despite himself. It was a trick, obviously. The lackluster attempt at feigning surprise by the girl was more than enough evidence. Besides, Gakupo would never call him father in earnest. Even though they both knew Verdigris had done more to shape him into what he was than any other. Nevertheless, for a moment Verdigris decided to play along and see what the boy was planning.

"I don't dislike the sound of the word 'father' coming out of your lips, dear boy. But I've got to ask, why now? Do you really think you can move me by sentimentality?"

Gakupo hesitated visibly before answering. "I don't know. You've never allowed me to see who you are. How could I know what moves you?!"

Verdigris cocked his head to a side, still smiling. But on the inside, he felt irritated. "You haven't been paying attention then. Ever since we first met, all my actions had one purpose. Everything else is subordinate to that."

"Then explain it to me all over again, because I don't understand!"

"I'll be glad to." Verdigris gave a little nod and then immediately launched another attack towards Luka and Kaito. "Once I'm finished with them."

Immediately, he sensed something was different. Luka and Kaito had never been taught how to defend themselves from the likes of him, and it had been very simple to lead his illusions into their brains. But now… Ah, now the exchange of energies from before made sense. Gakupo had woven spells for them both, strengthening their mental defenses. But he had done nothing to protect himself. All Verdigris needed to do was to incapacitate Gakupo without serious harm and the other two would fall eventually.

Verdigris stepped forward confidently. The invisible forces that always enveloped him would shield him if the brats tried a physical attack. They had to know this, given their previous experiences, and yet the stupid blue-haired boy jumped forward with his paltry shield. Verdigris made sure to give him an especially insulting smile when he bounced back and tumbled to the ground without even touching him. An unseen force pressed Kaito's body against the ground, despite his efforts to get up. It rapidly increased its force until Kaito seemed to fall unconscious. Immediately, the girl stepped between the warmage and Gakupo and fired an arrow, likely wasting the remainder of her energies. This time the strength of the attack pushed Verdigris ever so slightly backwards, but that was all. With a movement of his staff Luka was sent flying to their left; she rolled on the ground until she stopped face-down, unmoving.

"It's time to go home, Gakupo."

"I'm done following your orders. And you won't kill me, or sic your nightmares on me again." Gakupo seemed too calm. He still had something up his sleeve, but Verdigris wasn't sure of what it was. The boy wasn't in any condition to keep fighting him. Perhaps he truly was under the impression that words could work. Verdigris advanced shaking his head. Gakupo had grown past the point he could send him to sleep with a gesture, but once he touched his forehead he wouldn't be able to resist the magic command.

His hand reached forward, but Gakupo grabbed his wrist with both hands before he could touch him, looking more childish than ever. "If you take me back, bring them too! You said I can have anyone I want!"

"They're the exception to the rule. Whether you like it or not, your friends must die to make you stronger. I won't change my mind on this."

"I thought as much." Gakupo looked resigned, and for a moment Verdigris entertained the notion that his pupil was finally learning. "Beast, I'm ready."

The grip around Verdigris wrist tightened and at the same time the fingers became scalding. The warmage screamed, caught by surprise. The heat was spreading quickly inside of him, like fire seeping under his skin. There was a presence there gnawing at him, and altogether too late he realised he was completely wrong about the extent of the beast's consciousness. Not only was she rending his flesh from the inside, enormous claws seemed to be grasping him, slowly grinding his invisible shields into nothingness.

"I can talk to her to now," Gakupo said in a low tone. His face looked so sickly that the fragment of Verdigris' mind not occupied with his own pain fretted wondering if the foolish child had overexerted himself for the last time. Gakupo continued after glancing at the fallen figures of Luka and Kaito. "I can only do this because they are here with me. I wish you understood how strong that makes me." The young man looked as if he wanted to say something more, but he just shook his head and stared at the ground.

Even if Verdigris had an answer, he had no breath or strength to voice it. Instead, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, while the unseen beast keep pulling him from all directions. Suddenly, a clear image came to his mind: Milena and him in a balcony of the conquered palace, the day after the monarch of Alm-Ardjalus was put to the sword. The panorama wasn't beautiful; the city had suffered much during the last years of the regime and the fighting had only made things worse. But he dearly remembered the excitement of that first dawn at the prospect of the work ahead. And now he'd never go back to the city. He would never hold Milena's hand on that balcony again.

With the last spurt of energy, he stretched forward and touched Gakupo's head. It was too late for the sleeping spell, but now all he wanted was for the boy to understand, to know the purpose of his struggle. Gakupo looked up, wide-eyed, as a disembodied roar began to grow in volume around them. The warmage's fingertips left a small, bloodied handprint on his forehead.

"Don't let...our city die..." The roar quickly became deafening, as the pressure around and inside Verdigris grew. With relief, he saw Gakupo nod. The final sight of his life was his own blood splashing the younger man's face and uniform, then everything went black.

Gakupo sunk down, falling into a kneeling posture. He began rocking back and forth softly, his long hair swaying heavily before his face. Red trails marked his features; a couple of drops hung from his chin briefly then fell to the ground. His jacket seemed almost black, instead of its usual white and purple.

At first, there was no sound but the rustling of the trees in the distance. Then, like a wave, a murmur began to grow in volume. The troops of Alm-Ardjalus were coming back to their senses and their awakening was turning out to be a highly confusing one. Gakupo didn't react at all to their increasingly agitated voices.

Then, a voice close to him groaned and muttered a few obscenities. Kaito sat up rubbing his shoulder and looked around. The world was back to a more logical appearance at least, although his memories of the landscape before the battle were a little fuzzy, so he couldn't completely rule out the possibility that Verdigris hadn't permanently altered the zone with his nightmares. There was the road to Oto to his left, the distant woods, the open plain…and the contingent of soldiers who were bound to notice very him and his friends at any second. He looked at Gakupo and Luka hoping they were in good enough shape to escape, but his heart sank. Luka was lying on the ground, completely still. Gakupo was kneeling, hugging himself and swinging his upper body back and forth with a depressingly familiar look of pain in his eyes. Alarmingly, he was also covered in blood, though Kaito desperately hoped it was all from their enemy.

"Gakupo!" Kaito barely had anything left to crawl closer, but he wasn't about to let that stop him. Besides, the clamour coming from the direction of the soldiers made it obvious they had been spotted. The blue-haired mage dragged himself miserably over the rocky ground while the shouts and footsteps grew in volume. It sounded as if the whole host was running in their direction. Sure enough, his fingertips had barely brushed against Gakupo's blood-soaked jacket when they were surrounded by soldiers.

"Lord Gakupo, are you alright? Where is Master Verdigris?!" A man too elegantly dressed to be anything other than an officer dismounted his horse and knelt in front of Gakupo. The other soldiers eyed Luka and Kaito with nervous curiosity, though thankfully no one seemed hostile yet.

Gakupo didn't seem to realise anyone was talking to him. He didn't stop his repetitive movements, or even focus his gaze on the soldier.

"Lord Gakupo…?" The officer looked at the younger man with almost a pleading look. He and the rest of the soldiers appeared completely lost without a mage to tell them what to do. When Gakupo failed to respond for a second time, the soldier gave a brief glance to Luka's prone form and then stared at Kaito. His mounting panic was palpable when he asked, "Are- are you a mage?" His eyes lit up with relief after Kaito nodded weakly and introduced himself.

Like a dog with a new master, Kaito thought. But it could work on his favour. His body protested every movement, but he sat up and pulled Gakupo into a hug. His friend rested his head on his shoulder, still ignoring everything around him. Kaito patted his matted purple hair anxiously, wondering what to say. Just how deeply indoctrinated were these men to mindlessly obey mages? Their current injuries could be explained away since they were in enemy territory, but what about Verdigris? Kaito couldn't let the soldiers realise what was really going on, but he had no idea how to justify his disappearance.

"The girl and I accompanied Lord Gakupo here to observe the situation, we're new…" Kaito started saying when the silence became too awkward. "We, um, we ran into some problems coming here and had to escape on foot…" In part due to genuine worry, in part to gain time, Kaito added, "Do you have anyone that can examine us?"

The officer's eyes became almost comically round, then he looked frantically around. "Medic, medic! Tend to the lord and the apprentices! Medic!" A group of soldiers with white armbands broke through the crowd; some approached Luka, others pried Gakupo away from Kaito and began to search his body for open wounds. A final one fussed over Kaito.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Kaito asked before the officer had time to say anything else. He consciously adopted the confident tone that gave him such great results when Luka and him crossed the border into the mage nation. Only the fact that a medic was cleaning his chest wound made him stop short of adopting a theatrical pose.

The man before him inclined his head, readily accepting Kaito's supposed higher status. "Sir, we were on route to Oto, bound to arrive within the hour. Our Lord Verdigris travelled in front of the column…" His eyes suddenly adopted a glassed look as he continued mechanically, "This fight is not for the likes of us. We shall not intervene." The expressionless stare lasted even after his words ended, until Kaito cautiously waved a hand before his face. The man blinked and looked around in confusion for a moment, before focusing back on Kaito. "…I'm sorry sir, what was the question?"

"Something dire is going on," another officer said with a frown; he had been observing their conversation from a distance. "Our memories are jumbled; the young lords have been hurt and Master Verdigris is gone." He gazed at the still unresponsive Gakupo, who was being sedated by a medic uttering an endless stream of apologies. Then, his eyes surveyed the open field and the soldiers surrounding them. "We need to retreat."

Hushed and not so hushed whispers rose from all around them, some of them sounding quite irate or shocked. "We can't turn tail without searching for our Master!" One voice shouted and several others rose in agreement.

"Our duty is to protect the young mages!" The second officer, a tall, grizzled man with a long scar across his forehead exclaimed loudly, silencing some of the voices. He then continued with a growl, "This is not a good defendable position, we're right in the middle of nowhere. We will return to the last encampment and strengthen our defenses there with most of the force, while sending search parties for our Master." He turned towards what looked to be the rest of the senior officers. "Is this acceptable?"

Whether they agreed or not was left a mystery, because at that moment a voice shouted, "Enemies to the north!"

Everyone turned to the direction of Shinwa, including Kaito, not that he could see anything past the soldiers blocking his view. Could it be Tomorrow? She had promised her help, despite the reluctance of her father and the outrage of the priestesses present at their encounter.

The officer next to Kaito rose and joined the others in barking out orders. The troops obediently formed creating a barrier between the mages and the medics treating them and the approaching menace.

"Help me up, will you?" The medic blinked at Kaito's request but he nodded and supported him. Clumsily they approached the horse of the scarred officer, who turned to look at Kaito with disapproval.

"Sir, you shouldn't be standing."

"Let me…let me speak with the people of Shinwa."

"With all due respect-"

"Verdigris is missing and Gakupo is incapacitated. That means I'm your commander now," Kaito said forcefully. Truth was, he had no idea if that was exactly how it worked in the mage city, but he wasn't about to let these men hurt the little princess.

The man looked at him with a smidgen of impatience, but ultimately he bowed. "As you wish, sir." He dismounted and between him and the medic got Kaito on the horse. "Make way for the commander!" He demanded and the troops parted like clockwork, leaving a narrow passage between them. He guided the horse by the bridle until they were on the other side, and the troops closed ranks again.

A column of riders was approaching them at good speed. The soldier at the front was carrying a big banner with light colours. Kaito recognized the emblem of the royal house of Shinwa; he had recently seen it on the walls of the council room of the Flowered Palace. Gradually, the figures grew into full-sized humans and he saw the familiar face of the princess. She was garbed in a pristine little silver and black uniform, like a doll prepped for war. She still wore her veil, which clashed quite a bit with the rest of her attire with its lacy, fluffy appearance.

"Do not attack unless I give you a direct order, no matter what they do!" Kaito yelled, hoping the soldiers would listen. He heard the scarred officer sigh mutedly in response.

A couple of minutes later, the riders stopped, leaving a good distance between the two forces. The princess made her horse advance a few more steps, flanked by an older man decked in elaborate military garb and by the youngster carrying the banner.

"You're far from home, mage," Tomorrow said and gave him an exaggerated look of concern due to his ragged appearance. "Oh my, you seem to be having a rough day. That's the price for travelling uninvited into places that might be hazardous for the unprepared, I'm afraid."

The men of Alm-Ardjalus reacted with expected anger at her frivolous tone, while Kaito was left scratching his head. What was exactly her game?

"Don't misunderstand me. You and your countryman are welcome to come to the Flowered Lands for trade and enrichment, but I do question the number and martial appearance of your escorts. I think you'll discover that brings more problems than it's worth." She brought a delicate hand to her cheek and adopted a patently fake sympathetic tone. "Oh, if only your master had learnt on time how dangerous it is to flaunt your military might on our lands!"

"…What?" Kaito felt like someone had tugged the carpet under his feet. Did she know what happened to Verdigris? But it sounded like she was trying to imply her forces had defeated him. He felt so confused that the cries of indignation behind him barely left an impression. Only later he realised that only his supposed authority as a mage stopped them from disobeying his orders and launching an immediate attack towards the princess.

Tomorrow examined the rabid faces before her with no fear whatsoever, and even giggled a little. "That's right, your Master is finished. Now be good boys and go back home before we have to run you off."

Many voices showered her with obscenities and threats, which only caused her smile to widen. The man beside her shouted almost as indignantly. "How dare you, mage lapdogs! You should be on your knees begging the holy one for mercy!"

"We have to capture her and find out with happened to our Master," a voice suddenly whispered into Kaito's ear. He looked to the side and saw that the first officer that spoke to him was next to him.

"I… We need to get Gakupo and Luka out of here," Kaito whispered back. The situation was quickly overwhelming him, but avoiding a confrontation still seemed like a wise idea.

The scarred officer turned his head at the exchange, but provided no opinion. Perhaps he hadn't understood their mutterings.

"Are you done deliberating, my dear mage? I grow weary of the wait," Tomorrow said in a tone that seemed carefully devised to be obnoxiously sweet.

Her behaviour was so perplexing that Kaito decided to simply stop questioning her reasons. He spared a glance towards the distant Oto, its shape disguised by the vegetation around the town; despite his hate for most of the inhabitants, he felt a small pang of regret he wouldn't walk its streets again. It was the city Captain Fuuga had loved despite its ugliness. He wondered if his childhood home was still there, waiting for him. He thought of his lost friend Meiko, rehearsing her dancing or reading holy texts.

It was all so inaccessible, despite being so close.

"…We will go back to Alm-Ardjalus." More angry rumblings came from behind Kaito, but no one openly rebelled.

"Go on, then. I'm sure we will see each other again." Tomorrow winked. The princess and her escorts returned to the line of riders and waited, evidently not going anywhere until the troops of Alm-Ardjalus went away.

"Give the order to retreat," Kaito ordered the officer next to him. "We can't take any drastic action before contacting another of the Seven." The man bit his lip but nodded and began yelling at the men to get in formation. Over the heads of the soldiers, Kaito observed some strange wagons he hadn't noticed before, presumably carrying foodstuffs and healing items. At least he thought they had to be wagons given their shape, but he couldn't see any oxen or horses to haul them. Nevertheless, one of the long vehicles marked with a white star rolled closer by itself and opened its back doors. Gakupo and Luka were carried inside by the medics in stretchers. He let out a sigh of relief; what a strange turn this was, to rely on their enemies for care! But if it meant his friends were going to be all right, he could keep up the charade.

"You should go inside with them," the scarred officer suddenly interjected. His expression was hard to read, but at least he didn't seem to question the retreat.

"All right, then take charge of things out here, please... What was your name again?" Kaito rubbed his face tiredly. Now that things were resolved exhaustion was rapidly claiming him.

"Lieutenant General Alfonso. You should rest, apprentice." For the first time, the officer's face seemed to adopt a kinder look.

"Will do." Kaito gave one last look at Tomorrow and her riders, still staring triumphantly, and allowed Alfonso to lead his horse towards the medic wagon. Yes, a decade or two of sleep would do him wonders.

He hadn't covered even half of the distance before he felt a small stab of pain on his head. He touched his scalp with surprise, wondering if an insect had stung him. But it had felt as if someone was roughly pulling his hair, oddly enough. Perplexed, he lowered his hand and discovered a long teal hair tangled around his fingers. Kaito stared at it in confusion, gears slowly turning inside his head. He turned around to look at the shrinking silhouette of the princess and her pretty veil covering her head, but he diverted his eyes quickly. Whatever this new mystery meant, it could wait.

The strange wagon turned out to be stacked with all sorts of medical devices Kaito had never seen before, yet another sign of the mage city's superiority over the rest of the continent. But more importantly, it had room enough for three narrow cots inside its long posterior. Gakupo and Luka were already lying on two of them, surrounded by a cloud of solicitous medics. Kaito took the unoccupied cot and fell asleep almost immediately, with the strange hair still entwined around one hand.

Gakupo was moving. Even lying down on his side, he could feel the vehicle crawl over uneven terrain and hear it creaking around him. He felt incredibly woozy. He wondered why for a several heartbeats before he recalled the medic that forced him to fall asleep. And before that… Red. Not cold liquid in a vial, red liquid released all at once, hot and thick as it smeared all over. It stung his eyes. Red and red and red. He didn't want to open his eyes ever again. He had enough.

But that was then. Now as Gakupo lay comfortably, he felt as if Verdigris had died a thousand years ago, or perhaps in a dream. It barely had anything to do with him. Why worry? All he needed to do was to close his eyes and sleep some more.

And so, he slept.

Some time later, he opened his eyes and saw he was resting on a narrow bed, in a wooden room half in darkness. Now he felt more like himself; still confused, but not numbed or detached from his own sensations. As it often happened when he woke up alone, a part of his brain fully expected to be inside his cell, as if the past couple of years had only been a long dream. Unconsciously, he touched his neck, looking for the collar. Nothing was there.

Of course, it wasn't there. There was nothing holding him inside the dark place but his own fears and misplaced faith in others.

Gakupo squeezed his eyes shut while rubbing his temples. What was that, just now? Like the fumes of a cauldron, he felt strange thoughts filling his skull. It wasn't quite like the scalding presence of the beast either. His brain seemed to have cracked into several pieces, each convinced that it knew what reality was and fighting to impose its version above the others. He opened his eyes again, looking around him for something he couldn't name. He sat up and observed his surroundings: he was inside one of Rossemara's automaton carriages; judging by the line of medical devices and healing items before him, a healer's wagon. Did that mean the troops weren't holding them responsible for his master's death? The thought had barely crossed his mind when he saw a soldier dozing off in a corner, seated in a chair. He seemed awfully relaxed for a jailer. The occupants of the other cots were similarly asleep: soft snoring sounds came from a blue mop of hair peeking out of the blankets to his right; on his other side, a rose-haired girl rested face up on the remaining cot with a bandage on one cheek and an arm wrapped in gauze.

"Luka…" Like fresh water, her image diffused some of the confusion he was experiencing. He examined her pale form with concern, but despite her injuries she seemed peaceful. Nevertheless, he rose from his cot to examine his friends more closely. Maybe with his potions…He stopped and looked around once more. Someone had taken off his blood-soaked uniform and boots and replaced them with a nightshirt; unfortunately, he couldn't see his clothes or potions box anywhere.

With a sigh, Gakupo sat by Luka's head. At least her wounds seemed competently treated. He pushed some strands of pink hair out of the way and touched her forehead softly.

"We did it, Luka."

As carefully as he could, Gakupo pulled Luka towards him and cradled her. She gave out a little sigh of her own and surrounded his neck with her good arm, without even opening her eyes. He smiled, feeling the soothing effect of her warmth against his body. The strange ideas were still in the back of his mind, but in his relaxed state he felt able to face them and figure out their meaning.

It had to be something Verdigris did. Something he wanted him to see... He squeezed his eyes, trying to reach out towards the niggling feeling in the back of his eyes. Luka shifted, trying to get more comfortable in their semi-seated position. For whatever reason, at that instant something began to take form before Gakupo's eyes; he caressed Luka's head absently, staring into space.

In his mind's eye, a dirty, bruised girl with black hair and eyes stood carrying a bowl of soup. With eyes that weren't his, Gakupo watched her advance cautiously until she was a few steps away. Fidgeting like a scared bunny, she placed the bowl down on the dirt floor and immediately backed away, hiding herself behind a rough piece of wood that served as a pillar. From her position, she peeked at the him that wasn't him with eyes bright like polished stone.

"Milena," Gakupo muttered with surprise. Despite the age difference, his master's lover was unmistakable. But why was a memory that didn't belong to him inside his head? Was it a message of some kind? Or was it an accident, a product of the dying man's magic going out of control in his last moments?

He examined the memory over and over from every angle. If Milena was that young, the mage would've been at most a teenager. Was it their first meeting? The strange and dark place that served as a backdrop for the memory was another enigma by itself. It gave Gakupo such an oppressive feeling, a crushing dearth of breath that made him take a big gulp of air, like a drowning man.

"Hnnn... Gakupo?" Luka said half-asleep, disturbed by the sudden movement. It took a moment for her to open her eyes and look around her with confusion. "Wha- what is this place? Where's-"

"He's dead," Gakupo cut her off, unwilling to hear the name of his master out loud just yet. "This is an army wagon. I don't exactly remember what happened, but I don't think we're prisoners."

Luka pulled back and knelt on the bed with a frown. "What do you mean?"

"Like I said, I'm not sure. But maybe he kept them from seeing the battle. I doubt he wanted the troops to see one of the mages they idolize attacking their leader..." Gakupo rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable. Regular humans were so defenseless against a mage of that caliber that it was perfectly possible for Verdigris to have prevented the soldiers to absorb any of the information of their senses. Even Gakupo, who was only a beginner, was capable of forcing a crowd to do his bidding with the use of the compelling voice. As for his master, he didn't even need to speak aloud.

"So they 'woke up' when he died?" Luka dropped her voice to a whisper, eyeing the soldier with concern.

"That's my guess. And as far as they know, I'm still part of the Seven," Gakupo pointed to his own chest. "I bet most of them didn't even think twice about where I came from, they just knew they had to protect me."

Luka lowered her eyes, digesting the information. "...We are safe, then?"

"I'd say so."

In response, a smile slowly spread across her features. She stared at Gakupo for a minute with rosy cheeks, before avoiding his gaze. "There's nobody left that can take you away from me..."

Gakupo let out a low laugh, eyeing the sleepers. "And if someone else tries to, you'll send them running, right?"

Luka tossed her hair, cheeks still glowing red but with a proud expression in her eyes. "I'll stick an arrow in anyone that lays a hand on you."

Gakupo laughed again, pulling her closer. She rested her head on his shoulder and twirled a strand of his hair around her fingers. For a while they remained as they were, hugging one another in content silence. Without a doubt, it was very easy for him to ignore even the more pressing problems when they were together. But in time, the movement of the wagon sparked a question in Gakupo's mind.

"It seems we're going away from Oto. You didn't get to see your parents and... Well, it's been quite a while since you last spoke to them." His memories of Old Megurine were unpleasant, but they still were Luka's parents, weren't they?

"You are asking whether I'm fine with not meeting them?" Gakupo grunted his agreement and Luka took a deep breath before answering, "I do wish things could be different. I'd love for them to be there at our wedding, for starters. But..." She toyed some more with his hair.

"Maybe we can come back someday and speak with your mother first. She always seemed like a nice person."

"Maybe." Rather abruptly, Luka changed topics by saying, "What are we going to do now? Are we going back all the way to Alm-Ardjalus?"

"That was the idea, wasn't it? Even if we don't end up serving Rossemara, I need to search the laboratories for a way to restore Maika."

"Yes. Still, it feels a bit odd to return there, after all this running." Luka moved her head a little, causing her hair to tickle his chin and neck.

"I see what you mean. But you know? I never liked the idea of taking care of that city, but now… I almost feel like it's my obligation to make sure things change." In the corner, the soldier shifted in his chair uncomfortably but didn't wake. Gakupo observed the unremarkable face and wrinkled uniform with a strange sense of purpose. Even if he was successful for the moment at keeping the last moments of Verdigris from the forefront of his mind, he could feel the echo of the final request tickling his consciousness.

"If that's what you want to do, I'll help you in any way I can." Luka squeezed his hand.

In response, Gakupo kissed her softly, hoping that would convey the immense gratitude he felt more than paltry words. Then again, he had the rest of his life to demonstrate to her how much she meant to him. Perhaps their most challenging days had passed, perhaps they were still waiting down the road. But from now on, they were going to face them together.