Every second ticked by like sand through an hourglass, and Jack could hear every single granule fall to the bottom. Before him stood Nat, his sister, roughed and bleeding but very much alive - but obviously, the fact she was even there in front of him was enough to make him feel as if the world around him was completely unreal. He thought, if he looked close enough at the wall, he'd be able to see the pixels, or if he went to talk to Alear, a dialogue tree would suddenly pop up in front of him.

The cacophony that surrounded them, the sound of steel against steel and blood splattering against the ground, all of it felt so far away as Jack held out his arms to his sides and looked around, as if to ask if the world itself was seeing and believing what was in front of him.

"Surprised?" Nat asked. "So was I, when I saw you. You almost made me lose focus."

"Lose focus?" Jack repeated incredulously. "Lose focus!? You helped kill a monarch, Nat! I know he wasn't exactly a saint but come on! You're working with Sombron, for fuck's sake!"

Nat raised a brow. "And?"

"And? And!?" Jack echoed. "Good Lord, what the hell happened to you? Why are you here? Are you even really Nat? You can't be. Nat wasn't this stupid. She could be dumb, but not stupid."

"You're the stupid one from where I'm standing, fighting with the enemy," Nat stated, her brow furrowing. "Do you even remember the game you played? Why're you fighting for that Alear guy or whatever?"

Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. What was going on? What did that even mean?

"Excuse you?" Jack hissed. "Fighting for 'that Alear guy'? You're calling me out for fighting with the hero? Do you even remember the game I told you about?"

"'Course I do, you wouldn't shut up about it," Nat said, crossing her arms and wincing. "How do you think I got this Bracelet? Would've had more if you guys hadn't stolen several of the Rings, but that's just the way the story goes. Couldn't change that."

"I…" Jack said, "I don't think I understand-"

Jack noticed a brief flash of yellow light heading straight toward him, and he narrowly dodged it, grasping at his spear nearby. He heard the sound of clanking armor behind him, and he turned to see a woman - or was it a girl? She was small and petite, and her face was youthful, but the armor she wore, the axe she hefted, and the shield she used showed she had some amount of strength. Lucina was there, slashing at her legs. It didn't cut through the girl's armored leggings, but it was enough to throw her jump off balance, and Jack grasped at the wrist that held her axe, and helped her along.

She had done most of the work for him, but even so, he winced at how hard she struck the stairs. She coughed and sputtered, but was on her feet in an instant, right by Nat's side.

"Not fair!" the girl exclaimed. "Not fair not fair not fair! Stupid armor, making me easy to hear!"

"Marni…" Jack growled out. "I can only guess that blast from a second ago came from Zephia, and-"

Jack shouted in pain as a gout of flame struck him in the shoulder, sending him tumbling across the stairs until he steadied himself on the bannister nearby. His armor had protected him from the worst of the fire magic, but he could still feel the heat underneath, and his left pauldron had effectively become worthless, charred scrap metal. He glared at where the magic had come from.

"You will tell me what you have done with Lady Veyle, Outlander," the man said, his massive armor clanking with each step. Complete with a black circlet and short-cropped dark hair.

"Mauvier," Jack hissed, "Is Griss anywhere around here or is he off doing something else?"

"Doesn't matter," Nat said, "You should do what he says, Jack. The faster Sombron wins, the faster we can go home."

"You're not really my sister, are you?" Jack said, pointing his spear at her. "You're one of the Corrupted, aren't you? You're not real. And you! You, Mauvier, you don't have the right to ask me that question. Not after you let Veyle get brainwashed."

"Am I to believe that Lady Veyle was not here of her free will? She is one of Sombron's children," Mauvier stated.

"Yeah, so he probably kidnapped her," Nat suggested. "Him and Alear. Can't do anything without the villain, obviously."

"This is insanity. I'm going mad…" Jack whispered, mostly to himself. "This is a joke."

"No one's laughing, Jack," Nat said. "I don't think Marni appreciated being slammed into the ground, either. I'd do what Mauvier says - come with us. You won't be hurt."

Jack sneered. "You're asking me to betray friends for what? For you? You're probably not even real."

"My, but that is a very rude thing to say to one's family, is it not?"

Jack felt a chill crawl up his spine at those words, and he looked far behind Nat and Marni to see Zephia sauntering up the stairs. True to her depiction that he remembered, she hardly wore anything, letting her tan-skinned body out for the world to see. With crescent-moon shaped horns on her head, long flowing silvery hair - she was probably one of the most beautiful women Jack had ever seen. And that thought, oddly enough, terrified him.

The prodigal Mage Dragon came up behind Nat, a hand on her shoulder before stepping forward.

"She is right, you know, Jack. Come with us willingly, and be truthful in your answers, and you will not be harmed," Zephia said, with all of the gravitas of a woman asking him out for dinner.

Jack's gaze switched from her, to Mauvier, to Marni, and then finally on Nat.

"Willingly? Oh, no. No no no. I won't follow a failed royal knight, a demented Mage Dragon, a little homicidal twerp, or that thing that insists it's my sister. You'll have to kill me, or try your damnedest to take me alive."

"What did he just call me!? I'll-!" Marni shouted, only for Zephia to stop her in her tracks. "What?"

"Think carefully, Jack," Zephia continued. "This is not your world. These are not your people. You do not need to be a part of it. Why not simply return home? Lord Sombron is not as you think."

"He's a seven-foot tall three-eyed man with shark teeth and glowing red eyes," Jack deadpanned. "And when he transforms into a dragon, he looks like a wyvern with a cobra head grafted on. There is no way home, dammit! I already talked to the Anna! There's some sort of barrier preventing us from going back to Earth anyway, and I'll be damned before I spend my time here helping a megalomaniacal, child-slaughtering lizard conquer the multiverse all because I want to go back."

"What's he talking about?" Nat asked, her brows looking between Zephia and Marni. "What's an 'Anna'?"

"Nothing to worry about, my dear. I am afraid your brother has had his mind altered by the Divine Dragon," Zephia stated, "We will likely be unable to bring him in willingly, so I must render him unconscious. This will only take a moment-"

"Try me, bitch," Jack snarled, Lucina appeared beside him as he held his spear up. "I'll die before you get the chance."

"C'mon, Zephia! I'm sick of hearing him talk! C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

"Marni," Nat said, "Don't kill my brother, please."

"I wasn't gonna kill him! Just knock him about the head a bit," Marni said, though she still looked to the side like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Okay, maybe I was thinking about it, but-!"

Marni never got to finish her sentence. Jack had been so busy talking that he didn't realize that the former battlefield had been deserted; the others had gone ahead. Not a terrible thing in itself - even if someone didn't notice he was gone, they would need to come back out eventually. Even so, that wasn't what interrupted the armored brat. A deep rumbling bellowed beneath their feet, as if a great monster had awoken and was digging a tunnel toward the surface. Soon enough, he couldn't just feel the vibrations, but see them as well. With their status as enemies forgotten, if only for a moment, they turned toward the door of the inner Cathedral. A bright, piercing white light gathered within, and Jack heard Zephia take in a short breath.

"That is not Lord Sombron transforming… No, it cannot-"

As if in response to Zephia's proclamation, a shockwave of pure energy ruptured the very stone itself, sending it flying from the doorway and into the air. A roar unlike anything Jack had ever heard before sounded as if it would rupture his eardrums before the entire Cathedral fell down upon them.

After that, Jack knew no more.

When Jack came to, he couldn't move.

It was groggily at first, but as his memories returned to him, feeling like they were traveling across a sea of molasses to be recalled by his mind, he slowly became cognizant of the world around him. He was covered by stone, and the cold wind of Elusia brushed against his face like the hand of Death itself. He had a clear view in front of him, and as far as he could tell, his limbs were not crushed; the only pain he really felt were from scrapes and bruises, and he could move his limbs in place, but they were pinned, and he did not have the strength to get the rubble off of him.

A roar echoed across the sky, and Jack tilted his head up as best as he could, only to have his gaze met by a duel in the skies.

It was the first time Jack had ever seen Alear's dragon form. That was the only thing he could see the other dragon in the sky as. Even from his terrible vantage point, he could get a good look at it; it was a dark gray color, with a brighter underbelly, such that it almost seemed like it had streaks of pure white across its scales. One blue eye and one red eye pierced through the cold dark, with a snake-like face flanked by a crown-like adornment on its head, much like Queen Lumera's dragon form. Its forward limbs were wings, like a wyvern's, and its long tail ended in a forked tail fluke.

And then Jack laid his eyes upon Sombron's true form, and he felt his very blood turn to ice. With its snake-like head and cobra hood, and jet-black scales, it was already intimidating enough. But the third eye that nestled in its head, and the forked tongue that occasionally slithered out of its mouth, Jack was reminded that he really, really didn't like the look of Sombron's dragon form when he played the game. And the glowing, mottled red pits in his body certainly didn't improve that impression.

When the two dragons clashed, it was like a bomb going off. Alear bit into the side of Sombron's head, while Sombron raked at Alear's side with his claws. Scales and blood fell to the ground as the dragons tumbled in the air. Again and again, the two clashed, like two male lions fighting against each other for dominance, or two komodo dragons slamming their bodies against each other, over and over again.

"Fuck…" Jack whispered out, his voice sounding dry and cracked, as if he had been consumed by sand. "Alear, what're you…"

After one more titanic midair collision, the two dragons fell to the earth, kicking up the rubble and further destroying what remained of Destinea Cathedral. Sombron clamped his jaws around Alear's neck, and threw him off to the side, his body skidding across the ground causing dust and more debris to fly into the air. Jack coughed but tried to keep himself silent, to not draw Sombron's ire.

A crater remained after Alear finally stopped, but he got up either way, battered, but still very much alive and powerful. Sombron had taken damage too, Jack could see that - but in a full brawl, even if their powers were equal, Sombron had thousands of years of experience. Alear didn't stand no chance, Jack theorized, but it was an uphill battle.

Both dragons glowed with light after that, gathering power that Jack had trouble even looking at. Sombron's was a blood red, while Alear's was… confusing, like looking at a color that didn't exist. It shifted between blue, purple, red - it was almost like staring at a kaleidoscope.

Then, both dragons fired. Their breath attacks met in the middle, breaking against each other with such force that Jack could feel what remained of the Cathedral coming apart at the foundations from the sheer force of it alone. They went back and forth back and forth, neither gaining ground for what felt like hours.

Jack couldn't hear the explosion that came after, and he wondered, briefly, in the moments before he was knocked in the darkness of unconsciousness again, if it was because his eardrums completely ruptured.

The last thing he felt as the world crumbled around him was his stoney prison becoming ever tighter upon his body.

He was entombed.

To say Veyle had a hard time gathering everyone after the disastrous battle was an understatement.

What began as simply gathering the disparate parts of her brother's army turned to searching for people through the wreckage of the Cathedral. Only a handful of people had been inside the Cathedral when it had been destroyed in the wake of her brother and father's battle - but they had been buried so deep that oftentimes, she needed help, and she could feel her father regaining his strength even as they dug through the stone. Jade, Louis, and Citrinne, all three had been found beneath the rubble. Fortunately, without too many injuries. Louis' arm had been mangled, though the burn marks on what remained of his armor proved that it wasn't just because of the building. Citrinne and Jade had been scuffed and ruffled, but ultimately were fine.

Jade even remarked that she could write a book about being buried alive. Veyle shivered at the thought.

The last person she found was her brother, shallowly breathing with marks, cuts, and blood surrounding him and staining his armor and clothes. She dragged him out herself.

From there, it was left to her, Alfred, Céline, Diamant, and Alcryst to lead Alear's army out of Elusia and to the south, to Solm, to regroup. The weather didn't make it easy; the frightful gales from the past few days were at their peak, but they couldn't stop. And they couldn't retreat to the Somniel while Alear was unconscious. No matter how high the snow piled, no matter how poor visibility became, they needed to press on.

"If we keep going in this blizzard, we will die," Diamant said, his teeth bared and chattering. "We need to find a break in the storm, or some sort of shelter. Something, anything."

"L-Lapis went out ahead of us with a few others an hour ago. M-maybe they can find something before long," Alcryst said. For once, his stuttering wasn't because of nervousness.

"I hope so, otherwise…" Alfred said, looking over to his right. There weren't many options for carrying Alear - something had to be done, and fast. Otherwise, he would have perished in the ruins of the Cathedral. A makeshift stretcher had been made, using cloth from several of their own clothes and two sticks. It was enough, and luckily, there were two people more than willing to do the job.

"He's not gonna die! That's the Yunaka guarantee!" the woman in question said, though her smile was definitely more fragile than it usually was. "S-should still find some shelter like Prince Alcryst said, though. Micaiah said he's stable but that won't last long if we succumb to the elements."

"What would possess him to do such a thing?" Céline asked, "To transform into a dragon and attack Sombron directly… Divine One, what was your plan?"

Ordinarily, it would have been phrased as an accusation. But Céline had no hint of haughtiness in her tone; it was a genuine question. And Alear gave no answers.

"We need to keep going, My Lady," Boucheron stated, being the other person holding the stretch taut. "I-I can't afford to cry now. My tears might freeze… but, we made sure to save everyone, right?"

"F-father was about to be upon us. I needed to go," Veyle stammered out, turning back to look at Boucheron. "We can count as soon as we are-!"

A roar echoed in the air, and Veyle felt her heart leap into her throat. Misericorde was in her hands in an instant as her violet eyes zeroed in on something flying through the sky. At first, she thought it was either her father or Zephia, and she felt every nerve in her body screaming at her to throw the dagger. Something kept her from doing so, though, and a good thing, too, as the person it turned out to be was not a foe.

A wyvern slammed into the ground before them, and the person who came dismounted from it was Princess Ivy. Her purple hair flowed with the wind, and for a moment Veyle wondered if she was even really there at all. Her feet barely sank into the snow as she stepped forward.

"Greetings once more, Prince Diamant. Prince Alfred," Ivy said, "I will not waste time on pleasantries - there is shelter near here. One of your retainers has already found it. Lapis, I believe her name was. We can speak more there."

"H-how do we know it's not an ambush?" Alcryst asked.

It was hard to read Ivy's expression behind her fascinator. Veyle gave up trying.

"You will just have to trust me, and trust in your Augur's assertions of me," Ivy stated.

Diamant was the first to step forward after that. "We have no choice but to trust you, Princess Ivy. I pray that you are not actually leading us into a trap."

"You have my word, Prince Diamant," Ivy replied, "Come, follow me. It is not far."

The 'shelter' Ivy led them to was a cave. The entrance had been almost completely swallowed by snow, but the inside was cozy enough. There was just enough of the entrance left clear that the smoke was able to flow outside, and, oddly enough, there were crates with supplies and even bedrolls, though not nearly enough for the whole army. Thankfully, it was still spacious enough for all of them to be safe from the ice and snow.

"Ivy! You- oh," Hortensia had said, upon Veyle and the others entering. "Oh, it's gonna get a bit cramped in here."

Veyle could see only a few other people within the cave before Alear's army entered. Goldmary she recognized at the battle at the bridge, alongside who she assumed to be Rosado, his hair almost seemed to Veyle like a swirled parfait in both color and style - his wyvern was nowhere to be seen, though they apparently had an easier time against the cold, if Ivy leaving hers out and about was any indication.

"I apologize for imposing on you," Alfred said, bowing his head. "But, what is this cave? It seems really well-stocked."

"I am led to believe it was once manned by smugglers attempting to import Solmic contraband," Ivy said, "And please, Prince Alfred, there is no need to thank me. It was the least I could do for the Divine One."

"Huh… I see," Alfred said, looking out toward the entrance as the others filed in and took their seats. Alear was laid out on the ground, breathing steadily and no longer shivering. "Thank the- I can't even use a curse like that anymore. Not with him sleeping right there…"

"I take it the attack on Destinea Cathedral did not go to plan?" Ivy asked, her face placid as she looked at the ragged state of most of the troops.

"That would be an understatement…" Alcryst muttered. "I should have- perhaps if I had been nearer to father, I could have taken a shot and killed that crossbowman before they had a chance to get a bolt out. Then none of this would have-"

"There is no need to blame yourself, Alcryst," Diamant said, "To answer your question, Princess Ivy: no. No it did not. My father, he…"

Ivy looked down, and Veyle couldn't tell if it was in reverence or if she was trying to hide her expression. "I see. And my father, he must have met a similar fate, I assume."

Diamant let out a breath. "I cannot remember if Jack ever said this, or if it is something new that has happened in our world, but King Hyacinth was already one of the Corrupted when we got there; his body dissipated upon being defeated, just like one of them. And yet, he appeared so life-like, so real. Nothing at all like the Corrupted we have faced up to this point."

Closing her eyes, Ivy said. "I think I understand. My father may have been dead for some time already. In which case, I should be the one thanking you. You released him from his-"

"That doesn't make any sense! He didn't change that much-! I-I mean… he…" Hortensia exclaimed, only to slowly lose steam and slump to the ground. "I-I knew we probably wouldn't see him again. We wouldn't see anything again, not even the castle - but father being one of the Corrupted the whole time? Even though he…"

Ivy gently placed her hand behind Hortensia's head before continuing. "Nonetheless, you are all still alive. And the Rings?"

"We couldn't recover Leif," Alfred said, sitting beside Alear and playing with his outstretched hand. "But we- hold on! Divine One? Alear? Can you hear me?"

The royals gathered around the Divine Dragon as his eyes slowly opened. Veyle had to resist the urge to not run forward and hug him; she'd done a good job staying silent and watching so far, and she didn't want to jostle her brother's injuries. It'd feel awkward to suddenly have an outburst like that.

"I…" Alear said, looking from Alfred, to Diamant, to Ivy, and to Alcryst and Hortensia. "Did we…? A-Alfred, is everyone okay? Are the Emblem Rings safe?"

Alfred nodded emphatically. "They're fine, Alear. They're all still with us. Well, we couldn't recover Leif, but we… hang on. We said we'd do a headcount when we got to safety. Veyle, can you help me?"

Veyle perked up. "Mhm."

What followed was the most stressful count of Veyle's entire life. Carefully, she marked off all the names in her head that she could see. Boucheron, Jade, Citrinne, Chloé, Céline - Jean and Anna were still on the Somniel, thankfully - Amber…

Veyle turned to Alfred. "I think we have everyone."

Alfred turned around, however, and Veyle felt her stomach drop. There was a wild panic in his eyes as, after a few moments, he looked at her.

"Where's Jack?" Alfred asked.

When Jack regained consciousness, he was aware of two things: a complete lack of light, and the feeling of the cold wind on his outstretched hand. Oddly enough, he could still vaguely feel his fingers, and he pawed around at what seemed to be a mountain of rubble.

"Goddamn…" Jack muttered, "stuck under this shit-"

Distantly, he could hear footsteps across the uneven ground. Jack had no idea how long it had been since he had witnessed the fight between Sombron and Alear, but some part of him wanted to hope - hope that the others hadn't abandoned him. And so, he shouted.

"I'm here!" he exclaimed. "Can you hear me? I'm right here! Help!"

The footsteps got louder, and soon enough, Jack felt someone grasp his forearm. The stone that surrounded him. Jack struggled as much as he could, jostling what remained of the debris off him as bright light nearly blinded him. Once he was out of the hole, he fell to his knees, sputtering and coughing.

After a few moments of breathing deeply, he became aware that his rescuer was still holding his forearm. He began talking as he looked up.

"Thanks, I… Oh. Oh," Jack whispered.

A man who wore nothing more than a tattered green cloak, with messy hair that covered one side of his face and what was either a burn scar or a tattoo on the other side. If that wasn't enough the piercings in his bottom lip made his smile seem almost demonic.

"No problem, friend," Griss said, his voice like sandpaper across Jack's face. "It's cold out here, you know? No telling what sort of monsters will come swooping in around here before long. But I got a nice cozy castle further up north. There's a room in there with your name on it."

Jack had only one response to that.

"Fuck."

Woe, dark times be upon us. Shit is about to get ugly. I hope you're prepared lol.

Here's a link to our Discord server: discord. gg/u89gs745fn

See you guys next time!