I Stand Resolute
Two days had passed before Irelia had a break in her schedule that she could dedicate to visiting Syndra at the hospital. As she walked up the path to the pearlescent building, however, Irelia only found herself growing nervous, both anticipating and dreading the imminent meeting. Regardless of her own emotions, Irelia continued moving forward until she was standing in the lobby of the hospital.
"Ah, Miss Irelia, visiting again?" The receptionist greeted Irelia as she strolled in.
"Greetings Josh, how are you?" Irelia asked politely as she walked up to the desk.
"Good. Good. Thank you." Josh answered with a smile. "We missed you yesterday, you have been coming in everyday for the past few..." He continued with a small chuckle.
Irelia smiled wryly in response, but didn't offer any words.
"Alrighty then... Syndra again yeah?" Josh inquired, guessing that Irelia was there to visit the mage once more.
"Yeah. You don't have to look it up though, I remember which room she's in." Irelia answered and took a few steps towards the infirmary.
"Ah wait, Irelia!" Josh called out just as Irelia reached the door.
Turning her head, Irelia glanced at the receptionist through the corner of her eye.
"It looks like she isn't here anymore." Josh called out.
"What?" Irelia asked in surprise. Her brow furrowed slightly as she wondered how the mage could have been released in such a short time.
"Yeah. It says right here that she was released earlier this morning." Josh replied.
Irelia walked back to the desk and rested her arms on the counter top.
"That can't be right. She wasn't in very good condition a few days ago when I last visited her." Irelia commented sounding confused.
"Uhm... let me see..." Josh muttered and shuffled around a pile of papers. "Ah there we go. Here are her records."
Josh hummed slightly as he scanned Syndra's timetable, activity data, and check up history.
"Well that's weird." Josh finally spoke up and glanced at Irelia. The warrior raised an eyebrow and waited for Josh to explain.
"It starts on 0:00 two days ago with 'sleeping' and then the same thing is repeated for the next forty eight lines, staggered at one hour intervals." Josh said, seeming doubtful that what he was reading was correct.
"You mean she slept for forty eight hours?" Irelia inquired skeptically.
"Sounds about right." Josh answered, seeming just as surprised as Irelia. "At the bottom of the page it says she was released about four hours ago."
"Forty eight hours..." Irelia muttered to herself. Finally, she turned back to Josh and spoke up once more. "Thanks for your help, Josh, I think I can manage from here."
"Sure thing, Irelia, see you around!" Josh replied happily.
With that, Irelia turned about her heel and strolled back out of the hospital. Only one destination was in her mind. The Fortress.
One Hour Later
Irelia was stumped. Ordinarily, the warrior had a good intuition as to where she could find other people, but when it came down to Syndra, Irelia had only one guess as to where she could be. When it turned out that her guess was wrong, Irelia was left clueless. Aimlessly, Irelia wandered the busy streets of the Institute of War. Only a mere twenty minutes ago, she was standing in front of the gates to Syndra's fortress. However, the mage was most certainly not there; the entire castle was sealed and barred from entry with several sealing spells and runes. Irelia sighed as she walked. The warrior cringed as she wondered what Syndra's response to having her home taken away was like. Irelia had a pretty good idea as to what the reaction was.
Anger...
Rage...
Death threats...
Irelia's mind continued to drift about until she accidentally bumped into a lean man who was backing his way out of a door, causing him to drop a box filled with unknown contents.
"Ah!- Sorry!" Irelia immediately apologized as she brought her thoughts back to attention. Irelia immediately kneeled down and picked up the box for the individual she bumped into.
The man chuckled slightly and spoke.
"It's quite alright, Irelia." The man replied. Irelia immediately recognized the voice and raised her gaze to meet Master Yi's.
"Sorry..." Irelia repeated again, blushing slightly with her clumsy absentmindedness. "Are you moving or something? Need any help?" Irelia offered, trying to find a way to excuse her blunder.
Master Yi chuckled again and shook his head.
"This is all I am carrying. Just running a favor for a friend." The swordsman replied as he took the box from Irelia.
"Oh... Alright then." Irelia answered.
"You look troubled, Irelia..." Master Yi commented, giving Irelia a sideways glance. "Is something bothering you?"
Irelia blinked, mildly surprised that Master Yi was able to detect such a vibe from her.
"Am I really that easy to read?" Irelia asked the swordsman sounding mildly alarmed.
Master Yi laughed openly before replying.
"Your worry is written across your face. Perhaps I can help you?" He inquired with a smile.
"Uhhh..." Irelia started, wondering where to start when suddenly an idea popped into her mind. "Say, do you know where the tallest building in the city is?" Irelia inquired hopefully.
"This one." Master Yi answered immediately, gesturing to the building he had just exited. The swordsman seemed mildly confused as to why Irelia would be concerned with what the tallest building in the city was, but after he saw the worry evaporate from Irelia's face, he brushed aside his doubts.
"Convenient." Irelia stated, giving Master Yi a thankful smile. "Thanks!"
"My pleasure." the swordsman replied and turned away before heading down the street towards his destination.
Irelia wasted no time ascending the seemingly endless amount of stairs to the roof of the watchtower. She didn't recognize the building when she was outside of it, and she still didn't recognize it when she was within it. Regardless, Irelia was hardly paying attention to her surroundings as she swiftly made her ascent. The only thought on her mind was Syndra. Subconsciously, the warrior bit her lip in anxiousness. Irelia didn't really know why she found herself so bothered by the fact that she couldn't find Syndra. She didn't have any guesses as to where Syndra would be if she wasn't atop the watchtower. After all, if the mage wasn't enjoying her heights, what else could she be doing?
Thankfully, Irelia's intuition proved to be accurate. As she opened the hatch that led onto the roof of the watchtower, Irelia's ears were met with the sound of a rather ungracious sneeze. Irelia, however, only felt relief after hearing the sound. She had found the sovereign. Finally emerging onto the rooftop, Irelia fixated her gaze on Syndra's back. The mage was leaning forward on the protective stone railing; her hands gripping the railing, providing a support for her torso as she gazed out across the bustling city.
"You really do like your high places, don't you." Irelia finally spoke up, yet again trying to strike a conversation with the mage. Syndra glanced at the warrior briefly with a gaze that displayed her annoyance. However, the mage's eyes were quickly drawn to Irelia's right arm which was wrapped in white gauze. Curiosity flashed in the sovereign's eyes as her gaze settled on the white bandages, but she quickly turned away, hiding her interest. Irelia, however, easily picked up on Syndra's curiosity. Subconsciously, Irelia wondered if the mage was pleased with the damage she had dealt or if she even remembered that she was the one responsible for the damage at all.
"Cooking accident." Irelia finally spoke up, doing a good job to disguise her injury with her lie.
Syndra ignored the warrior's explanation with a muffled grunt.
"Nothing too serious though..." Irelia added, hoping that Syndra was perhaps interested in her well being.
Of course, Syndra felt the exact opposite. She was displeased that the injury wasn't more serious.
"Weak fool." Syndra muttered dismissively in response to Irelia's comments.
"What?" Irelia spoke up immediately, straining to pick up on the mage's words. Upon not having any response from the mage, Irelia nonchalantly strolled up right beside the sovereign and rested her elbows on the stone railing. Syndra was immediately annoyed by the warrior's indifference and straightened herself, intending to leave. Needless to say, Irelia felt slightly insulted by the mage's actions and lack of acknowledgement.
"Hey, I just wanted to be able to hear what you were saying..." Irelia called out after the mage, tossing her hands slightly in exasperation.
Syndra grimaced and whirled upon the warrior.
" I said you are a weak fool. Fool." Syndra finally answered in a punctuated and insulting tone. She paused briefly in her speaking to let off another unpleasant sneeze.
"You preach 'balance in all things' and yet you yourself can't even cook without burning half your arm." Syndra finished snidely.
Irelia's forehead wrinkled slightly as she regarded the mage's comments. On one hand, Syndra was quite clearly insulting her. On the other, Syndra definitely had no recollection that she was the one that inflicted the damage to Irelia's arm. Intent on finding out exactly how much of their interactions Syndra remembered, Irelia made another sideways comment.
"You were out for a two days straight..." Irelia stated, referring to Syndra's odd sleeping pattern.
The mage frowned in response.
"Whatever you drugged me with clearly worked then." Syndra spat accusingly.
Behind her poker face, Irelia couldn't help but feel her heart sink slightly. Syndra didn't remember anything. She didn't even realize that she had not eaten anything from Irelia prior to her falling asleep in Irelia's arms, let alone did she realize that Irelia was the one that put her to sleep.
Another sneeze from Syndra snapped Irelia out of her thoughts.
"Are you feeling alright?" Irelia inquired, "You're not allergic to anything right? Are you getting sick?"
Syndra sneezed yet again before turning her head and glaring at Irelia.
"I'm allergic to YOU. Get away from me before you infect me with that disease all you Ionian freaks have." Syndra snarled, irritated with Irelia's concerns.
Irelia frowned as her worries only increased. Although the warrior knew Syndra was merely behaving as usual, Irelia could not recall a single instance in which the sovereign actually fell ill. Unfortunately, seeing the concern on Irelia's face grown only seemed to aggravate Syndra further.
"Stop following me around. I'm not some child that needs surveillance." Syndra growled in a threatening, low voice.
Syndra sneezed again, breaking the threatening aura about her.
"You need to rest." Irelia stated firmly, ignoring the sovereign's threats.
"I don't need anything. Don't you ever tell me what to do." Syndra snapped
Irelia frowned at Syndra's obstinate resistance. Even though the warrior was right, Syndra insisted on fighting her every step of the way.
"Do you need a place to stay-"
"No." Syndra interrupted.
"You can stay at my-"
"No." Syndra interrupted again.
"UGH! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE!" Irelia almost yelled, her frustration getting the better of her.
"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT ANYTHING FROM YOU! ALL YOU IONIANS DO IS SPIT LIES!" Syndra yelled back before falling into a coughing fit.
Irelia's frustration evaporated as she watched the mage turn away and subdue the signs of imminent illness. When she finally recovered, Syndra fixed Irelia with yet another hostile glare, conveying her hatred of the Ionian.
Irelia said nothing in response, choosing only to stare at the floor while Syndra's eyes punched holes through her.
Finally, after the two had stood rooted in their positions for a good few minutes, Irelia sniffed loudly and whirled on her heel before swiftly disappearing down the stairs.
"God, finally... Good riddance..." Syndra muttered...
And then she sneezed again.
Night had consumed the skies of the Institute of War by the time Irelia emerged from her home. Alone, the warrior spent the entire day attempting to distract herself from the heavy weight burdening her mind. Alas, she was unsuccessful. Syndra alone, was the sole source of her discomfort. A part of the warrior felt angered by the mage, frustrated by the fact that Syndra refused to connect with her on any level at all. And yet, Irelia still felt as though she needed to reach out to the sovereign despite how many times the mage rejected her. On top of it all, the fact that Syndra didn't remember the events that occurred between them during Irelia's last hospital visit only made Irelia feel wounded. It was as though the progress she made in communicating with Syndra had been erased without even a backwards glance.
Needless to say, Irelia's mind was still swarming with thoughts of Syndra when she stepped out of the front door of her home. The most prominent of which was a curiosity as to where the mage planned to rest during the night. Irelia had a fairly strong suspicion that Syndra had every intention of refusing any and all housing accommodations other than repossessing her fortress. That meant she was most likely still out atop the watchtower, alone and unsheltered against the frigid night air. Irelia frowned as she imagined Syndra sleeping on the roof, shivering in the cold. Unwilling to accept such a picture, Irelia disappeared back into her home. A solution was already brewing itself in her mind.
Thirty minutes later, Irelia found herself struggling up the countless steps up the watchtower. With a large, military grade sleeping bag in her arms, Irelia had a difficult time navigating her way up the stairs. Finally, after what felt like ascending the stairs to heaven, Irelia reached the access hatch to the watchtower roof. Unceremoniously kicking the hatch open, Irelia pulled herself out of the stairwell and dumped the sleeping bag onto the tower roof, taking a brief moment to catch her breath. Out of the corner of her eye, Irelia saw Syndra tilt her head in Irelia's direction, frown, and then go back to pretending as though no one was behind her. Much to her surprise, however, Syndra chose to speak before Irelia could even think about starting a conversation.
"Don't even think about telling me that that bundle of trash is for me." Syndra snapped, not even giving a chance for Irelia to offer the bed roll to her. The sovereign's voice was difficult to recognize. Syndra's voice had become scratchy; her throat sounded dry as though her illness had somehow advanced extremely quickly in a mere matter of hours.
However, it was Irelia's turn to answer with silence. Instead, the Ionian warrior simply unfolded the sleeping bag and went about placing it in the most sheltered position atop the roof.
"Are you deaf? I said I don't want that disease infested bag of Ionian rubbish!" Syndra snarled again, clearly upset with Irelia's cold shoulder. Syndra coughed slightly and cleared her throat.
Irelia glanced up at Syndra briefly before turning back to the bag. Still, she didn't say a word.
"Tch!..." Syndra finally sounded and turned away, doing her best to pretend as though nothing had happened.
"Not so fun is it." Irelia finally spoke up in a muted voice.
"What?" Syndra snapped immediately, sounding both angry and annoyed.
"Being ignored." Irelia muttered in response.
"YOU are the one who comes to ME. YOU are the one that bothers ME. How many times have I told you to leave me alone?" Syndra demanded irately.
"I'm just helping out." Irelia stated flatly in the same muted voice.
"And I don't want your used Ionian shit." Syndra snarled back.
Finally, Irelia stood up and faced Syndra. Meeting Irelia's gaze, Syndra could see a half wounded, half saddened look in Irelia's eyes. At long last, the Ionian warrior turned without a word and swiftly made her way back down the stairwell.
"Psh. Serves you right." Syndra muttered to herself, referring to the injured look in Irelia's eyes.
Minutes later, however, Irelia returned yet again. This time, carrying another sleeping bag. Though it was not as high a quality as Irelia's military grade sleeping bag, it was still wrapped in an unopened package. Syndra watched out of the corner of her eye as Irelia wordlessly dumped the package out onto the roof and let out a deep breath.
"There." Irelia finally spoke up, sounding rather unenthusiastic.
"Don't need it." Syndra immediately answered hoarsely.
"It's brand new." Irelia stated flatly. "I just bought it. It's not Ionian, it hasn't been touched by one, and it never will be touched by one. You'll use it then, yeah?" Irelia inquired almost demandingly.
Syndra's mouth opened and closed wordlessly. "This idiot really just went out and bought a new bag?" she wondered.
"You're an idiot." Syndra stated, unwilling to admit that Irelia had solved every one of her complaints in one simple action. Needless to say, Syndra didn't expect such a generous action from anyone ever, much less from an Ionian.
Irelia, however, smiled happily in response to Syndra's insult; taking the insult as acceptance of her gift rather than as a denial of it. Finally, without speaking a word, Irelia scooped her military bag back up and disappeared yet again down the depths of the stairwell, leaving Syndra to unbox and set up her own bag. Unlike the last time she descended these stairs, Irelia only felt pleased with the achievements she had accomplished.
Irelia returned to the watchtower once again early the following morning. Much to her surprise, however, both Syndra and the sleeping bag Irelia bought were not there. A puzzled Irelia once again found herself wondering as to where the sovereign could possibly have run off to. It wasn't as though Syndra had her home to return to. None the less, when Irelia passed by the entrance to the mage's fortress, she was rather pleased to find the sleeping bag dumped rather unceremoniously on the front steps up to the castle. Irelia instantly knew that the mage had made use of the bag by the unkempt and sloppy manner in which the bed roll was tossed aside. Now, the only thing that remained for Irelia was to actually find the sovereign. Yet again, Irelia was stumped.
After spending several hours aimlessly wandering about the institute and checking several places, Irelia came up entirely empty handed. Not a single person she asked had seen the mage nor did it seem like they were unhappy that such was the case. At long last, Irelia found herself standing before Miss Fortune's bar, yet again staring blankly at the building's flashy illuminated sign. Only this time, rather than being pulled into the bar by Miss Fortune, Irelia instead got something else.
Sneaking up from behind the absent minded Ionian, Sarah abruptly took both of her arms, snuck them underneath Irelia's arms, and used her hands to squeeze Irelia's breasts.
"HI IRELIA!" Sarah yelled as she bear hugged the Ionian and tried to maintain her grasp on the Ionian.
Instantly, Irelia snapped out of her daze and forcefully yanked her way out of Sarah's grasp.
"SARAH!- You- YOU!" Irelia whirled upon the pirate hunter, her cheeks flushed crimson in embarrassment as she covered her chest protectively with her arms.
Miss Fortune couldn't withhold her laughter as Irelia gave her the most wounded and humiliated look she had ever given anyone. Doubling over with laughter, Sarah gasped for air as she placed her hands on her knees, shaking with uncontrollable mirth. Finally, after a good minute of laughing, Miss Fortune recovered enough to speak in a straight voice.
"So Irelia, what brings you to my bar at such an early hour? My good looks?" Sarah asked, still smiling in victory.
Irelia sniffed slightly with indignation as Miss Fortune continued to gaze at her with her winning smile.
"Oh don't give me that, girl!" Sarah piped up immediately as Irelia refused to respond.
Irelia rolled her eyes in response, indicating a certain level of forgiveness. She did know the pirate hunter meant no harm after all.
"C'mon, I'll give you a drink on the house!" Sarah teased with a smile, seemingly unbothered by the fact that it was extremely early for anyone to be drinking at this time.
Without further ado, Sarah practically hauled Irelia into the bar. The moment Irelia entered the bar, however, she froze. Seated in the backmost corner was none other than Syndra. Sarah paused briefly in surprise, wondering why Irelia suddenly stopped walking, but after tracing Irelia's gaze, she quickly spoke up.
"Weird isn't it? She never comes here and now she shows up at such an early time." Sarah whispered, shooting a glance at the mage.
Oblivious to the pair standing at the door, Syndra audibly groaned and slouched forward in her chair, using her arms as a pillow for her head.
"She doesn't look too good..." Sarah commented, with a sideways glance at Irelia.
"She's sick..." Irelia answered flatly.
"Ugh..." Sarah sounded in response.
Irelia didn't reply, instead choosing to purse her lips into a tight-lipped frown of concern and worry. After catching a glimpse of Syndra's flushed face, Irelia shot Miss Fortune a rather quizzical glance.
"She's drunk?" Irelia inquired in a surprised voice.
"I bet she is." Sarah replied, continuing to stare at Syndra.
Irelia broke her gaze on the sovereign and turned to entirely face the pirate hunter.
"And why is she drunk?" Irelia inquired almost accusingly.
"Hey, what was I supposed to do? Refuse to serve her?" Sarah questioned hastily, bringing her hands up as though she were surrendering.
"What was it that she ordered?" Irelia asked in response.
"Fireball." Sarah stated.
"How many?" Irelia pressured.
"..."
"Sarah..."
"Five."
"Shots?"
"Bottles."
"WHAT!? ARE YOU INSANE!?" Irelia burst out in horror.
"I couldn't say no! She-had-that-murder-look-in-her-eye-when-I-said-an ything!" Miss Fortune jabbered out so quickly that her words were slurred together.
Irelia shook her head in exasperation, knowing that it wasn't Sarah's fault for having to serve the mage.
"So... Which bottle is she on?" Irelia questioned, though she already had a sneaking suspicion as to which one it was.
"Fifth..." Sarah muttered mutely.
"I need to stop this..." Irelia stated flatly and immediately started on her way towards the sovereign.
"Irelia! Wait! You can't-" Sarah started, but quickly stopped as Irelia shot her a silencing look.
Oblivious to the Ionian approaching her, Syndra drunkenly allowed her head to slide off her arms and onto the wooden table with a solid thump. If anything was clear, it was that she was beyond drunk. Concerned for the mage's health, Irelia strode up to the table and snatched the last bottle of alcohol off of the table. Syndra glanced up at the sound of the bottle being taken away and let out a pained groan before replacing her head back atop her folded arms.
"Syndra... What are you doing..." Irelia demanded almost angrily.
"Mmmnnnnnn..." Syndra groaned again and childishly covered her ears, exhibiting the fact that her drunkenness increased her susceptibility to loud noise. After a few moments of silence, the mage blindly reached out for the last bottle of Fireball, accidentally knocking over an empty shot glass as her hand failed to find the bottle it was searching for.
"Syndra..." Irelia whispered softly.
The mage shifted slightly and glanced upwards unsteadily at the Ionian warrior. Syndra blinked in attempt to get her eyes to focus, but her body refused to comply. Finally, she gave up and dropped her head back onto her arms with a solid thump.
"Irelia!" Sarah suddenly called out from behind the bar counter.
Irelia turned her head to gaze at the pirate hunter.
"It's almost lunch time, you might want to take her somewhere... quieter... My regulars will be comin in pretty soon!" Miss Fortune advised.
Irelia swallowed unconsciously. It was once again falling upon her shoulders to take care of the hazardous mage. None the less, Irelia was undeterred by the task ahead of her. Returning her focus to Syndra, Irelia set the bottle of Fireball down on the table and moved closer to Syndra's side. Kneeling down beside the drunken sovereign, Irelia whispered,
"C'mon, we need to go..."
Syndra blinked at the warrior uncomprehendingly.
"Syndra... c'mon..." Irelia whispered urgently. Irelia returned to her feet and gently reached out to the mage, placing her hands underneath the mage's arms in attempt to coax Syndra to stand up.
Syndra groaned again and buried her face in her arms, refusing to leave.
"Syndra, c'mon, we have to-"
"I'll kill you all..." Syndra interrupted half-heartedly.
"Alright sure. But we need to leave!" Irelia whispered urgently, ignoring the mage's threats. Unwilling to allow Syndra to linger any longer, Irelia reached out and gently pulled Syndra to her feet. Unsteady, the mage teetered dangerously as she attempted to restore her sense of balance.
"Christ she is really gone..." Irelia thought to herself as Syndra practically leaned all of her weight on Irelia. Of course the mage hardly even noticed that Irelia was supporting her. She thought she was standing all on her own.
"Alright... c'mon, let's go..." Irelia muttered and guided Syndra towards the door.
"Here I come, Ionia! Your destruction is at hand..." Syndra randomly sputtered, her voice sounding far less threatening than usual.
As the pair emerged into the bright, noon-time daylight, Syndra slammed her eyes shut, her eyes scorched by the piercing bright lights.
"Mmmnnnnnn..." Syndra groaned and stopped walking, bringing her hands to her eyes and rubbing them in attempt to quell the stabbing lances of pain piercing her skull.
"C'mon, don't stop, we're almost there..." Irelia whispered encouragingly and gave a small forward push. The warrior was still supporting the sovereign's body as Syndra crookedly made her way down the street, taking a few steps at a time. However, the mage suddenly stopped entirely. Irelia too, paused and waited for Syndra to resume movement. Abruptly, Syndra shuddered and then let out a horrible sounding sneeze, followed by a long string of choking coughs. Mildly disgusted with the mage's illness, Irelia made the mistake of letting go and backing away slightly. She regretted it immediately. Without Irelia's support, Syndra immediately lost balance and fell painfully on her rear end. Slightly dazed, the mage blinked and instinctively curled her legs into a sitting position. Undoubtedly, she had no idea where she was or what she was doing there. Cringing slightly due to the fact that she had just dropped the sovereign, Irelia hesitantly walked forward and tapped the sovereign on the shoulder.
No response.
"Syndra... c'mon... get up..." Irelia muttered.
No response.
Her patience waning, Irelia finally walked around in front of Syndra and planted her hands on her hips, gazing at the mage in a mildly demanding manner.
No response.
Finally, it hit Irelia. Syndra had passed out.
"You've got to be kidding..." Irelia muttered in amazement. However, it was quite evident that Syndra was indeed unconscious; her head and shoulders slumped forward in alcohol induced slumber.
"Well... At least she can't fight me now..." Irelia thought to herself. Stretching her muscles slightly, Irelia knelt down beside the sleeping mage and gently uncurled her legs. Once again, Irelia placed one arm beneath Syndra's knees while placing the other behind her back; it was the same style of lifting she used back when she carried the sovereign in the hospital.
"Almost there, huh..." Irelia muttered to herself as she glanced down at the sleeping mage in her arms. Suddenly, it felt as though she was anything but close to her home.
Irelia sighed and shifted Syndra's body into a more comfortable position.
"Two miles to go..." Irelia muttered and finally started forward.
Author's Notes:
Irregular update schedule for the win? This chapter was initially slated to be even longer than it is. I cut it at this point simply because if I went ahead and covered everything that I wanted to cover, this probably would have exceeded eight thousand words. Personally, that is a little bit too long of a chapter for my tastes, so this one is being split up in two. Unfortunately, that means that I didn't get to the interesting part of the chapter just yet. I guess that leaves more to be anticipated in the next chapter.
As always, thank you all for your continued support and thank you again for the reviews and criticism.
Hope to see you all in the next chapter!