I don't do late updates on purpose, this totally slipped my mind till now.

Either way this chapter sees four new pictures on my dA for the Berserker Lord: Gashuuka Anondye, the Snipemaster: Telray Sarhara and the Disciple: Drake Pozem as well as the only character to class up during the course of the story. It's one of the female troop members...

Chapter Fifty Two

Stone Tower

"Ro'Hozak, how goes the rebuilding of our Roc Knights?" King Gra'Tisk asked the new commander.

Ro'Hozak was much younger than Hashten'Kor and definitely not as experienced in combat, he simply excelled at rules, regulations and training. He had dark hair and a small bear below his lip. His armor was fastened to his body by dark brown ropes and in combat situations he attached knives to his arms in case he was too close for his weapon to be a viable option.

The man bowed "Well, it seems Hashten'Kor's training methods were deeply ingrained and they are adapting quickly. The new trainees are also improving rapidly."

Gra'Tisk nodded "That is good to hear…and you, Fee'Tal?"

Next to Ro'Hozak was a woman just as young, both she and Ro'Hozak has dark skin but where he had dark hair and eyes she had frosty blue hair and faded green eyes. Her magnificent blue robes were adorned with bright blue decorations.

With a smile and a bow she responded to her King "The Water Sages have never been stronger my King."

"Good."

At that moment a guard walked in "I apologize deeply for the intrusion but the Queen of Anondye and her caravan have just arrived."

Gra'Tisk nodded to Ro'Hozak and Fee'Tal, taking notice the pair bowed and left.

"Send word that I am coming to meet with her, clearly this is about the threat of the Midnight. Also, find my wife she-"

At that moment Yi'Pyre entered the chamber "I noticed the delegation from Anondye approaching. I presume this is for the battle you are preparing our armies for?"

Gra'Tisk nodded and sent the messenger away on his duties "We need allies. The Midnight have conquered all of Numengate without breaking a sweat, they will come for us."

Yi'Pyre nodded "I agree wholeheartedly, let us meet with her."

As Gra'Tisk walked past Yi'Pyre, she caught sight of Peltzm'Jakq in the shadows who nodded before vanishing.

The Stone Tower Division of the New Emissaries set off from Anondye towards the Holtair Keep on the border of Anondye and Pozem. Passing back through there they marched along the South Pozem Route before breaking away towards Vitality Lake.

The Lake is known for being a fishing and relaxing spot for the local Worker's Retreat where Miners and Smiths from the Ilkim Caves came to relax.

After circling through the bright forests that surrounded Vitality Lake the group now faced a steep climb to the Stone Tower. The massive structure had two tall spires on the left and right but the center point shot higher into the sky. At the tip was an orb with one column rising even higher towards a gray orb from which the beam shot towards Numengate.

Mikel wiped his forehead and spat "We're here."

Leena chuckled next to him "Obviously."

As the warrior shot her a look the rest of the group behind him looked at the mighty tower before them.

Shinon narrowed his eyes "From that height I could feather anyone."

"Really?" Uhnie stated "That is what you're thinking about?"

Shinon shrugged "I'm just saying and come on, you know it's true. C'mon Gore Eye, back me up here!"

"I'd rather not…you should focus on what is before you Shinon. This coming trial is calling for all of your attention."

"This is how I prepare, don't question it."

"We heard from Soren that you two are the best healers he's ever known." Janie stated towards Rhys and Mist who smiled.

"It's good to know that Soren speaks so highly of us." Rhys said, impressed and embarrassed.

Mist laughed "Well of course he does, he's known that even when he was sour."

"Did he say anything about me?" Gatrie asked eagerly towards Janie.

"Hmm…not much, just that your Shinon's best friend and rather loud, straightforward and obnoxious…"

Gatrie sighed "Oh…"

Janie laughed "Hey! Those are his words, not mine! I think you're great!"

Gatrie smiled "Of course! I'm ecstatic to hear that my lady!"

Janie turned to Mist who was giggling before noticing Mikel and Leena calling for them to move forward.

Gatrie looked at the tower ahead and a serious expression came over him "She's there…"

Janie raised an eyebrow "What? Who?"

Mikel stopped and looked back as well "Gatrie? Who is here?"

"The woman from Numengate who was commanding Midnight 3…I believe her name was Asai Versha."

Leena took her turn to face Gatrie "How could you possibly know that?"

Shinon cut in "He's got a thing for identifying women."

Gatrie nodded slowly "This is more about her essence, suffice to say: she is evil. I can just feel her presence radiating from the tower…she's pissed."

Mikel sighed before turning around and walking towards the tower while throwing up his hands "Brilliant…well, let's not keep her waiting. Shinon?"

The marksman nodded and drew back on Gore Eye "Open sesame…"

Mikel gestured for the group to move forward as Shinon's bolt pieced through the barrier causing it to fail.

"They're here…"

The Fell Lord turned as Ushnae and Telray arrived. Before the Froghul could speak Gashuuka roared and charged Telray.

The Apothecary waves his hand causing a black aura to grab Gashuuka and pull him away.

"Calm down…"

Gashuuka struggled against his bonds as Telray approached the Fell Lord.

"What are we all on the same side for, my Fell Lord?"

The Fell Lord smiled "We didn't succeed in our goal generations ago…we went about it the wrong way. Thanks to Ushnae and the Apothecary we now have a clearer vision…a blank vision that I will introduce to the world."

Telray remained silent as the Fell Lord turned away "We will begin our dominion once the rest arrive."

The Sarharan Sniper Master bowed as the Apothecary released Gashuuka who just clenched his fists and turned away.

"This stupid stone…all this for this stupid stone."

Versha spat on the ground staring at the East Orichalcum before her, the gray stone gave off a faint glow as it searched for human emotion and will in order to revive another of the Fell Lord's students.

"Bloodlust…anger…and what are you? Pain?"

Versha rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, she was intensely furious. After the massive bout in Numengate it came to her attention that along with her personal Midnight 3 being destroyed her partner Dalton Pesh was killed.

Shaking her head slowly she thought about him "You gave your life and you never got to see the Fell Lord…ah, well…he isn't much." Midnight 2 was assigned to the Frost Tower while Midnight 1 was with the Fell Lord in Numengate, assigned to the Bastion's protection, specifically the Chamber in which Midnight 12 would soon emerge from. The final Midnight's host was predetermined a long time ago but they now have the ability to make their darkest dreams a reality.

She pulled out her tome and gave it a once over, she was way past ready to burn whoever came to her alive with her vast collection of magic, but more than that she was ready to inflict pain.

"I know exactly how to awake you Drake Pozem. It will be tough because this is a tenacious bunch but I will break them."

The woman turned as her targets entered the chamber, none surprised in the least that she was there.

The one called Mikel turned to a man in blue armor who brought his lance to bear.

"That one is Gatrie…he was there in Numengate along with that Legend…Ike, and the rest of his group…this lot thinks they can defeat me?"

The rest of the Emissaries pulled out their weapons and took a few steps forward with Leena speaking "So, Versha, are you going to make this easy for us?"

The Necromancer just chuckled as she scanned the group until she noticed Mist and Rhys.

"You…"

Bringing out her tome Leena sighed "Didn't think so."

"I'm here for one reason only and that is to cause you all great pain…and I will succeed."

With a frustrated groan, Jyuugo turned and drew Alondite, aiming it at Zelgius "I'm through with you ghost!"

Lifting the blade Jyuugo brought it down only for it to be countered. The Dread Fighter blinked his eyes, realizing that his Alondite was stopped by another being wielded by the Black Knight who now stood in front of Zelgius.

"What is this? What are you!?" The Dread Fighter screamed.

The Black Knight's voice echoed along with Zelgius "We are Alondite."

With a massive force the Black Knight pushed Jyuugo away, the Dread Fighter skidded to a halt and looked up to see the massive armored man charging him. Roaring Jyuugo approached Black Knight and began swinging Alondite only for it to be easily parried by the Black Knight.

With furious anger Jyuugo continued his frantic attempts to break the Knight's guard only to stop instantly once the Black Knight's blade pierced his chest.

At that moment Jyuugo opened his eyes and found himself still sitting in the center of the North Orichalcum Chamber with Alondite before him as if nothing happened.

"What is this?"

"Truth."

The man looked up to see a woman standing before him. Jyuugo noticed first that she was beautiful, long purple hair and flowing white robes. However she also looked extremely familiar and something began to burn inside Jyuugo. He knows for a fact that he's never seen this woman before but the sensation was still there.

"Speak my name…"

The somewhat serene yet tension filled East Orichalcum chamber exploded as dozens of black tentacles shot forth from Versha's tome across the room. In response Mist, Rhys and Janie shot forth their magic to counter as many of the attacks as possible.

Gatrie charged forward, shield up with Mikel and Leena close behind him while Shinon moved back and brought out Gore Eye "Here we go!"

Versha casually swung her arm about using her magic to destroy Shinon's approaching arrows. Noticing Gatrie drawing close Versha quickly jumped away as Gatrie's lance crashed into the ground. Mikel and Leena leapt out from behind Gatrie and engaged Versha.

Sword and axe flashed as they tried to tear into the vile necromancer. Versha responded by encasing her arms in black magic and using them to block the weapons.

The necromancer felt Uhnie approaching from behind and struck the ground with her magic, shooting into the air out of Uhnie's reach. The damaged floor where Uhnie shot her magic exploded as more tentacles sprung out and attempted to grab Gatrie, Mikel and Leena.

"Gore Eye!" "All over it."

With a spin Shinon released another arrow which exploded upon reaching Versha, more than half the tentacles vanished as Versha moved farther back.

Beams of light followed her, once again from the Saint and Valkyrie. Clenching her teeth Versha spun around and held out her palm, a large blue beam shot through the white magic and exploded near Mist and Rhys throwing the two across the room and into a wall.

Janie turned "Are you two alright?"

Rhys got up slowly "Yeah…but what was that?"

Without answering Janie turned and began heading towards Versha.

At the same time Gatrie, Mikel, Leena and Uhnie descended on her again as Shinon lined up a few more shots. Holding her arms up, Versha formed a black wall that stopped Leena and Uhnie's weapons. The women leapt away as Gatrie's lance and Mikel's axe smashed through the wall causing Versha to jump away again as several arrows followed her.

Upon landing Versha brought her arm up stopping all of Shinon's arrows and reversing them. "Shit!" Shinon yelled "We can detonate them Shinon."

The arrows fired towards the group, many evaded while Gatrie continued forward with his shield up, deflecting the vicious shots. Bringing his lance to bear the Marshall shot it forward; Versha smirked as her hand began glowing blue. She grabbed the lance chain as it passed by her and spoke "I must admit you are a lot faster than you look."

Gatrie just smirked as Versha grabbed the chain with both her arms and gave it a powerful pull. Gatrie flew past her as she released the weapon and he crashed into a wall. Janie closed the distance quickly and covered her arms in magic, seeing this Versha laughed and the two began swinging their arms, black magic welting the ground between them and cancelling out in the space between them.

"So, you're the Elder Sage they entrusted everything to."

Janie remained silent as she continued her assault; Versha rolled her eyes and struck the ground with her arm causing a dark explosion beneath Janie, shooting her into the air.

Versha brought her arm back forming a large blue ball and then shoving it into Janie, shooting her across the room after Gatrie.

Leena came in again her blade flashing as quickly as possible; Versha was barely nicked before taking to the air "Though you would do that!" Leena called.

Versha looked up just in time to see balls of Shine smash into her and send her to the ground where Uhnie was waiting. A quick slash from her knife got Versha in the back, the Necromancer rolled across the ground to her feet as Uhnie came towards her followed by more of Shinon's arrows.

Versha shot forth more black magic but Uhnie leapt over it allowing the arrows to get close before they exploded all around her. Mikel then took that chance to move it and maul Versha with his axe. As she reeled back she held her arm up, stopping Mikel's axe before it hit her a second time.

"You are the farthest thing from a gentleman."

Mikel smirked at Versha "Well, you are the farthest thing from a woman."

Rage burning in Versha's gaze she took Mikel's axe and threw it to the ground before punching him in the chest, a blow that exploded in blue waves throwing Mikel to the floor.

Gatrie stood up and turned to Mist and Rhys who were already heading towards Mikel.

Janie stood up after him and shook her head "Suffice to say, she is tough…"

Gatrie nodded "That blue magic though…it's much more powerful than her normal magic…what is it?"

Janie shook her head "I don't know…I learned a lot from Freen but that doesn't fit anything I remember him telling me…unless…"

Gatrie raised an eyebrow "Unless what?"

Janie looked past Versha at the East Orichalcum "Ike said he fought a completely revived Einseek if that was their goal with the original Orichalcum then perhaps the point of these other towers is to revive the other Students."

Gatrie spun his lance around "Then our need to stop them has tripled! Let's go!"

Screaming, Versha swung her arm causing a powerful slash of Verrine to rip through Leena and Uhnie, tossing the pair back before bringing her arms to her, blocking another Shine from Rhys as Mist took the time to heal Mikel.

"You two!" Before Versha could move forward more shots from Shinon kept her pinned down, allowing Mist and Rhys to move back as Mikel, Leena and Uhnie got back up.

Gatrie yelled as he barreled into Versha, throwing her to the ground allowing Janie to run past her. Versha shot Gatrie into the air causing him to crash hard into the ground. The Necromancer turned to see Janie near the Orichalcum "Oh no you don't!"

Leena, Uhnie and Mikel brought their weapons up behind Versha who clenched her teeth "Damn you all!"

Janie heard a massive explosion behind her and several yells as she brought her arm up "Verrine!"

The mighty Midnight Bastion stood tall over the ruined Numengate. On a balcony at a high level Kino kept watch over half of Ymarkteg. He noticed the green beam from Anondye fade and was now watching Pozem.

He raised an eyebrow as the gray beam faded away and shook his head "They are working fast…"

"Indeed."

The swordmaster turned to see Ushnae land next to him and sighed "This is your fault…you could've held the Desert Tower team off for much longer."

Ushnae shrugged "I saw no reason to do so. Besides I spoke my peace, I'll let the chips fall where they may."

Kino turned around "That's not your call to make."

Ushnae smiled "We still have Jyuugo at the Frost Tower. I trust he'll do his job better than anyone else don't you?"

Kino remained silent before turning to look out towards Pozem when Ushnae laughed "I'm pretty sure that you want Soren and Mia to get here so you can meet them on the field of battle."

At Kino's silence Ushnae laughed again "I'm right aren't I?"

The swordmaster reentered the bastion causing Ushnae to roll his eyes "It's almost time…the end that I've wanted is so close."

With that the Froghul vanished as well, an air of unsteadiness still hanging over Ymarkteg.

Janie turned to see Versha very close to her; looking past the Necromancer she saw the rest of the group on the ground.

Swallowing she looked up at Versha who smiled "Was all of this worth it?"

Versha brought her arm up, covered in the deep blue magic "You carry the foolish hopes of those foolish Elder Sages. It makes no sense to me but is this really where you want to die, Janie?"

The Elder Mage shook her head "No…I don't want to die here but I also don't want Ymarkteg to fall to the Midnight either. For true peace I'll give everything I have."

Versha smiled "Surely there is something you want to know before you die…something not even Freen told you…"

Janie gave Versha a questioning look "Whatever he knew died with him…you couldn't possibly-"

"The man and woman…the bodies Freen found and declared to you as victims of a random mugging. He took you under his wing perhaps out of a guilty conscience, not wanting to leave a little girl all on her own in the Pozem wilderness but there is more to that story."

Janie swallowed "Why would you tell me this?"

Versha just laughed "To succeed in my mission I need you to know this."

Janie noticed her friends getting up slowly; Versha turned around as well "This is the last chance you have to know the truth…"

Shinon was the first to draw back on Gore Eye but Janie held up her arm "Shinon! Wait!"

The marksmen gave Janie a questioning look but kept his aim on Versha who whispered "Tell him to put it down…"

Janie made a motion with her arm and Shinon slowly lowered his weapon giving Janie the 'I hope you know what the hell you're doing' look.

"Tell me." Janie said lowly.

Versha smiled and began "In the early Midnight days we knew there were some things we had to accomplish...aside from the Orichalcum we knew that we needed the Fell Lord's Arms and we knew where they were thanks to the Midnight Apothecary. He has ties with all of the Fell Lord's essences. The weapons chose their masters and we needed to determine if these people would be a threat to us. Peltzm'Jakq had one in his employ in Jyim'Son who wielded Yewfelle but we couldn't openly strike the Altar at the time. We had to wait and eventually we organized a successful attack against Jyim'Son, To'Eltz and their allies Orn Oshwa and Ernrile. When the smoke cleared they were all dead, well not counting To'Eltz. In addition Meloi held the Orichalcum though we would come to regret that later. The only thing we didn't get was Yewfelle because as clearly as it has become Jyim'Son gave it away before we got to him…"

"I know all this!" Janie yelled but Versha's smile remained.

"On the other hand…we easily approached Gorm and convinced him to side with us. He keeps tabs on Duke for us and we greatly appreciate it. Gashuuka and Einseek got themselves killed prior so we had to bring them back the best we could for Helswath and Balmung but the problem we could never solve was Drake's chosen…the one who would wield the Hellish Scream, Goetia as Night Shade."

Janie narrowed her eyes as Versha continued "We knew about the Elder Sages and after much thought we approached Shaelin, once we let him draw the conclusion he was Night Shade he was perfectly okay with betraying the rest of you and reporting your moves to us. It was a brilliant set up for everyone. We eventually tracked a powerful magic to Pozem and came across a man and woman giving off the most powerful dark magic we've ever detected and we knew they were the ones capable of wielding Goetia. With Gorm and Shaelin we needed no other allies so we cut that end loose.・

Janie's eyes widened "My parents…you killed them…"

Versha smiled "Yes…Pesh and I to be exact. It was so easy…they cried for us to spare your life, something we had no intention of doing until Freen appeared before us. We could not reveal the Midnight's motivations and presence at that time so we let him go. If I had known you would become such a pain in our ass I would've forgone that decisions and killed you on the spot. I mean what could be better than an entire family lying dead together? Right?"

Janie stood still, her eyes wide as she thought of her parents and this truth Freen kept from her. Versha looked to the flashing blue on her arm and smiled "I suppose I can kill you now that you know everything about your life was a lie I can't imagine the pain that you're in…then again…I also don't care."

Janie noticed Versha bring her arm back but did not make any move to avoid her. However the blow never came as Versha's eyes widened in shock. The woman looked down to see the end of a spear piercing her chest.

Turning she saw Gatrie holding his lance, a chain connected his end to hers. At that moment the rest of the group charged in again with Mikel, Uhnie, Leena, Mist and Rhys closing in almost immediately.

Versha ripped the spear out and shot her magic towards them, flooring Mikel, Uhnie and Mist but not stopping Leena as her blade clashed with Versha's arm. Rhys quickly shot in a stream of light that broke apart the black magic armor on Versha's arm allowing Leena's blade to follow through.

The pair jumped aside as an arrow from Shinon landed near Versha and exploded, tossing the Necromancer aside. Gatrie reached Janie and began shaking her "Hey! Wake up! Janie!"

"Speak. My. Name."

Jyuugo remained still with Alondite out as the woman before him continued to order him.

She looked so familiar for a reason Jyuugo still could not fully understand, shaking himself he aimed Alondite at her "Do not presume to command me ghost! I'll rip you apart!"

He charged her only to be held back by the Black Knight and Zelgius though the pair no longer had Alondite.

Jyuugo then realized he didn't have his blade either though he was just holding it.

Examining the woman before him closer he saw that she had two sheathes at her side. She drew one of the blades that gave off an unmistakable silver glow. She then proceeded to draw her other blade which Jyuugo recognized as well.

"Speak my name…"

After swallowing Jyuugo finally cracked and gave her what she wanted "Altina."

The woman smiled and sheathed Alondite and Ragnell before dismissing the Black Knight and Zelgius.

"The blade you wield…its history is far greater than anything you pretend to know. I wielded it first and emblazoned it with my spirit and my desire. Those who picked up the weapon followed suit and the cycle will continue regardless of what happens to you. The righteous blade will find its way into proper hands. It always has…which begs the question…why do you wield it?"

Jyuugo kept his eyes on her; he knew for a fact that the two blades at her side were massive and double handed yet he strongly believed she could wield them both with little effort.

"I took it. It belongs to me."

Altina shook her head "Not even close and obviously a lie that you do not believe. I'll ask you again Norad Jyuugo of Archanea. Why do you wield Alondite?"

Gatrie turned and brought his shield up as blue flames erupted from Versha, her magic began to rage throughout the chamber. A powerful surge of blue flames exploded from behind Shinon, throwing him to the ground where he skidded across the floor into a wall. Rhys and Mist brought out their barrier staves to shield the rest of the group before being pelted with the flames as well and forced to their knees.

Mikel roared and charged Versha alongside Leena only for her to spin causing a powerful welt to strike Mikel and Leena, flooring them. Uhnie landed behind Versha and raised her knives though they came to a stop. The assassin felt two black magic arms grab her, stopping her attack. Versha turned quickly and blasted Uhnie away before facing Gatrie who still protected the unmovable Janie.

"This blue fire is all a result of one extremely powerful dark sorcerer. This country is his namesake and I am here to revive him."

Gatrie shook his head "We destroyed the East Orichalcum, he isn't coming back!"

Versha smiled "Drake Pozem was a brilliant mystic in many ways. He predicted that you would destroy the Orichalcum so I allowed him to move his spirit into me. When you speared me I was amazed because I felt no pain. Drake absorbs pain. It is his everything and right now the pain radiating from Janie will complete his resurrection and the Midnight will be another step closer to ultimate victory and there is nothing you can do about it.・

Gatrie turned to Janie "Janie! It doesn't matter what she told you about yourself! You decide what kind of person you are and what kind of person you want to be! Where you come from and the people who helped you along aren't everything that you are! I left the Greil Mercenaries before when one who gave me everything was killed. I struck out on my own and became a much better man than before. I came back to the Mercenaries as a stronger fighter and person but I still have my faults, we all do but I'm all the better for admitting that. You can get through this. I did and you are much better than me, I know that for a fact."

At that Janie looked up "Gatrie."

Versha rolled her eyes "Drake is laughing but he is also growing tired of this・

Versha raised her arm "Move!"・

She then proceeded and swung her arm, a magnificent blue flash came over Gatrie, ripping his shield to pieces before a second blue blade pierced through Gatrie's chest. She lifted the man in the arm and laughed before swinging him about and slamming him into a wall.

Versha kept her hand on him and moved across the room into another wall. "You bitch!"

Shinon yelled standing up and firing at Versha who used her other arm to stop the arrow and detonate it harmlessly.

"Janie!・Shinon yelled before he fell. "Janie!・Gatrie yelled from behind.

The woman blinked and looked up as Versha reeled Gatrie back in, her other arm became a second bright blue blade. As Gatrie reached her she ripped through him again before swinging him around and tossing him towards the other Emissaries. Gatrie hit the ground barely missing Uhnie who was struggling to stand.

"How is everyone doing?" To'Eltz asked as he dusted himself off before turning to face the ruins of the Desert Tower.

Nephenee sighed "Fine over here…"

She bent down to help Heather up as Zey'Yu, Kay'Shera and Eien dusted themselves off as well.

Volke turned "Eien."

She followed his gaze to the Goetia tome half buried in the sand "Thanks, Volke."

As the woman kneeled down next to it she noticed it move slightly. "Is something wrong?" Teiaya asked as he walked over.

"Get out of the way!" Eien screamed, using her magic to push Teiaya to the floor as the tome shot past where he was standing at blinding speed.

To'Eltz walked a few steps in the direction the tome took off before turning to Eien who covered her mouth and whispered a name.

"Night Shade."

Janie surged forward and used her magic to shove Versha across the room. The Necromancer turned but shock came across her face as a powerful black aura converged on Janie.

"That power…it can't be!"

Mikel looked up as a portion of the ceiling exploded and a tome flew to Janie's side.

The Elder Mage looked at it "Goetia."

Versha pointed at her in anger "You're Night Shade!?"

Janie quickly grabbed Goetia as Versha unleashed another massive blue flash this time only focused on Janie.

Closing her eyes Janie felt everything go silent for a few sparse moments. The tome whispered its secrets and powers to her and awoke all of her potential at the same time. Opening her eyes they were now purple with the Goetia insignia within.

"Eien no Kuro! Goetia!" Janie yelled as she swung her arm, the tome flashed and unleashed a devastating scream that caused the rest of the New Emissaries to cover their ears. A black mass came from the Goetia tome with a human shaped figure inside that seemed to be screaming. Purple tendrils flooded the room as the blue flash exploded against the apparition that Janie summoned.

The creature descended on Versha who roared at it and attempted to destroy it, the being burned through the ground still screaming leaving a massive hole in the chamber.

An eerie silence filled the chamber as Janie's eyes returned to their standard light blue shade, feeling her knees grow weak she began breathing heavily. The Elder Sage felt like collapsing and was about to when she remembered Gatrie and quickly ran towards him, Rhys was near the fallen Marshall as Mist was working hard to heal the rest of the Emissaries.

Janie kneeled down next to him and whispered "Gatrie."

His hair was all out of sorts and his skin was very pale, a stream of blood came from the side of his lip. He grinned at Janie "You did it…"

She nodded slowly "I'm sorry…this is all my fault…I just-"

"No need to worry, Night Shade…"

He chuckled as Janie smiled despite her tears.

"Gatrie!" Shinon screamed sliding across the ground on his knees, coming to a stop near the Marshall "You son of a bitch, stand up right now!"

"Hey Shinon…we won…"

"Damn right we did now get the fuck up or I'll pick you up!"

Uhnie came up behind Shinon and put a hand on his shoulder "Shinon."

The marksman shook his head "No! I'm not letting this happen! Gore Eye!"

"There is nothing I can do Shinon…you know that."

"Mist! Rhys!" The young woman came over along with Mikel and Leena but stopped as Rhys slowly shook his head.

"Just try! Please!" Shinon begged to which Mist and Rhys exchanged looks and kneeled down next to Gatrie.

Everything seemed to freeze and Janie looked around blinking her tears away. "What's happening?"

"Janie."

She turned up to see the human like apparition approaching her, a silent scream following it.

Janie stood up "Have you come to take me like you did Freen?"

The figure remained silent as the Elder Mage continued to examine it until something clicked "Is that you…Freen?"

The black aura vanished revealing the Northern Elder Sage who just smiled at Janie "I didn't want to leave my student alone so I bound part of my aura to Goetia itself before I died…"

Janie looked back at the frozen figures of the Emissaries then faced Freen again "Can you save him?"

Freen looked down "I have no power beyond what Goetia can do and that is to destroy. The tome was not created with a pure purpose. It is a Fell Arm…I can only confide in you Janie that I am sorry for not telling you the truth about your parents."

Janie turned to look at Gatrie then back at Freen "What am I supposed to do here?"

Freen vanished with one word giving off a silent echo "Live."

"Gatrie! Mist! Rhys! What is going on!?" Shinon yelled.

Janie turned quickly to see Gatrie as the Saint shook his head. Mist fell back and covered her face, tears staining her cheeks.

The Marshall slowly closed his eyes followed by the rest of the Emissaries slowly lowering their heads except for Shinon who screamed and pounded the floor with his fist.

Janie felt her tears continue to fall as her grip on Goetia tightened.

Mikel turned and kneeled next to Shinon "We've got to go. I can help you carry him out if need be."

Shinon looked up slowly and gave the ghost of a nod before the pair heard Leena curse.

From the hole in the ground, Versha reemerged now trailing blue light. She pointed at Janie "It was you…the whole time…"

Janie took a step forward followed by Leena and Uhnie. They were prepared to fight until Versha fell over, the second her body hit the floor it disintegrated like Pesh before her.

Janie however felt something dark as a strange figure began to emerge from Versha's ash.

The rest of the Emissaries now stood as a long cloak formed and two arms grabbed the hood and pulled it off, revealing a human face with piercing red eyes.

The being looked down at Janie who spoke "Drake Pozem."

Drake: To think that I would be defeated by my own protégé without even lifting a finger.

Janie: I'm not your protégé! My name is Janie the Elder Sage who will bring down the Midnight!

Drake: Night Shade. Why my tome picked you I'll never understand…

Janie: Me neither but I intend to use its power for the good of all and bring light! You will return to the shadows never to threaten Ymarkteg again!

Drake: Be wary…the worst…is yet…to come…

With that the phantasm faded and the tower's low rumbles grew to a violent roar.

Outside Leena stood watching the Stone Tower come down as Mikel turned to Shinon. The warrior couldn't bring himself to ask the question of what to do with the Marshall they carried.

"Janie!"

The woman who was beyond tired finally gave out and fell over only for Uhnie to catch her and call Mist over.

Rhys noticed the barrier around Numengate was faltering "If everyone accomplished their tasks as we imagine then I think we should return to Anondye…we can't just leave Gatrie here…"

Janie looked over to Shinon who was uncharacteristically distant though for very understandable reasons.

She nodded slowly to Rhys "Let's go."

"Power."

Altina smiled "Power to do what?"

"To rule."

"To rule…what?"

Jyuugo clenched his teeth "Everything!"

Altina's smile remained as she spoke again "Why?"

The Dread Fighter narrowed his eyes "You can ask why about why anyone does anything! Ultimately it comes down to one reason. We do what we do because we want to do it! No force could make me walk outside and kill the first person I see outside of my own!"

Altina nodded slowly "I embedded my spirit into Alondite and Ragnell because I knew these blades would find their way into the hands of some particularly unique people. The reasons didn't matter the fact was the blades would always be wielded by someone in some kind of conflict. To the best of my ability I wanted to ensure no one with a heart of malice could pick up either blade and ever since they left my hands I've succeeded in that…you are the odd man out."

Jyuugo remained silent, Zelgius and the Black Knight had long since vanished but he still felt their presence.

"Will you speak the truth now…Norad Jyuugo?"

Hmm...now, why does Archaena sound so...familiar?