Part V - Reparations

"Legends Never Die" - Secession Studios

1.

The sun had set, bathing the city in light of the twilight hours. Normally in the beginning hours of the night, the market life would light up. Bringing discounts upon the day to encourage sales. People would freely walk and gather enjoying the sights that the city offered.

This was not the case for tonight.

Nestled under the tower of Babel, two individuals struggled against one another. A man adorned with gray hair and orange eyes gripped the other by the neck, holding him over the edge of the chasm that led to the Dungeon.

Blood, sweat, and heavy breath. This was the culmination of a series of observations, experiences. An attempt to thwart the history from repeating itself for the both of them, both in their own ways.

Yet tonight, they shared a common result.

They both failed.

Though only one had come to realize this sooner than the other, carrying a misplaced sense of faith.

Ansem gripped the arm that carried him by his neck. Breath and words unable to exit his mouth. If he could, he would make a plea. To try and understand. But that was impossible as the darkness grew from the corner of his vision. And despite this odd sense of the incoming darkness, Ansem could feel the presence of the Dungeon beneath his dangling feet. The intangible presence of a being reaching out from below.

Fear and anxiety gripped him. Much like any other being would experience in anticipation of what was to come.

"Be—." Ansem tried to call out. "Pl—…"

Bete grimaced with snarl as he cocked his hand back and suddenly thrust it forward. Piercing his chest, any light that was had suddenly ceased to exist in Ansem's eyes as his face relaxed and grew pale. The faint struggling signs of life clinged to the world, wielding a determination that burned to see things through. Then Bete wrapped his fingers around his heart.

" I won't let you.." Bete snarled as he pulled his hand free from within Ansem's ribcage.

A single breath exhaled from Ansem's lips as his body became limp. The royal blue eyes lost their shine. Bete released his grip on Ansem's throat, sending his body to the depths of the Dungeon.

Despite Bete's own exhaustion from the fight, it shouldn't have been this easy. For everything he had known, everything that he had witnessed. A thing like Ansem should never have gone down so easily. There should've been an organic armor of sorts that protruded from his body. But no such thing came. The lingering confusion of what should've been only greatly exacerbated his rage.

There should've been some relief. No matter how much he ran it through his mind, he couldn't understand why it felt that something was horribly wrong. As Bete's ears picked up the sound of Ansem's body hitting the ground, he finally realized what it was.

There was no magic stone in his hand.

But a human heart dripping with red.

"No." Bete said in disbelief. He gazed swept over the area, he could feel their presence on his back. They were standing right behind him, the people who had begun to accept Ansem. But how could this be?

The parallels he observed from Lefiya and Filvis, the scent of the Dungeon that lingered on him much like the one Filvis carried when she transformed in their fight, how could he have been wrong?

Yet the undeniable proof was in his hand and from the depths rose a few blue glowing embers from the bottom of the pit.

"It wasn't-.." Bete tried to say but his words faltered as he held Ansem's heart. "He was-…"

He couldn't bring himself to say as he turned to face Riveria and Aiz who stood some distance away with the audience it had garnered, but his wavering expression alone was enough.

"What did you do?!" Came a horrified voice, an innocent plea. A denial. All from Aiz as her body wretched in horror.

Before Bete could summon the will to answer, a voice sounding pure and as beautiful as life itself spoke with a trembling.

"Kill them." Freya said as she stood on the opposite side of the Dungeon Chasm.

A single swing of a blade was all it took for Bete to turn into a mess of red and flesh. His body clean in two toppled to the ground with bits of what was him strewn across the park encompassing Babel. Painting Riveria in the blood her comrade, Aiz gave a shrill shriek as the blood speckled her white uniform, and the audience stood in horror at the sudden mess. Riveria froze, her vision blurring as the world seemed to have gone to an angle. If it weren't for the screams she wouldn't have known that she had fallen victim herself having been cut clean through her torso.

Her consciousness lingered only to pick up the screams that filled the air. Trying to turn her head, she could barely make out the figure who had attacked her.

The Boaz Warrior himself presented his back to her as he focused his onslaught on the few members of the Loki familia who had ventured after Bete. No matter the effort she exerted, no words could escape her lips as the muscles of her diaphragm were severed, so too did her breath cease and the darkness closed in.

Riveria reached out to the blur that was Aiz as she struck blow upon blow to the Boaz Warrior. But it was for naught.

The bout of horror continued for a moment, coming to a stop when a glow like that of the sun had erupted from the city center. Captivating any and all who bear witness to its grace and beauty.

Despite these terrifying moments, this light brought her peace and awe. For a moment all she saw was her.

If Riveria could utter words, they'd be Goddess of Beauty's own name.

Freya.

Riveria's being relented, strewn in two, and darkness overtook her.

Whoever hadn't been slain had their purpose shifted, stolen.

Captivated.

In the masses they all moved north.

So few had dared to leave the safe confines of their home, watching as the Goddess of Beauty herself ventures down the main street. What they saw is what the people of the city had fully anticipated.

Freya stopped before the defaced front of the Twilight Manor. The far right corner remained vacant as the tower was strewn across the front yard, devasting the green lawn and reached out into the street. Already the Loki familia had been hard at work putting out the fires and rebuilding with some figures stopping their efforts upon spotting the Goddess who had inflicted the initial damage. Amongst them was their own deity, Loki.

The expression of frustration and angst soon faded as she saw what was before them and they gazed on in horror for it was not Ottar who stood by Freya's side.

Bell's rubellite eyes had faded, that youthful gaze and energy had vanished. Behind them, Ottar stood with Aiz in tow. Her face beaten and bruised, with clumps of hair missing as her white attire had been stained red.

Loki stood helplessly, she couldn't find the energy to shout defiantly as it seems she had become aware of what had happened just moments ago.

Ansem is dead and so too were the others she had sent to stop Bete.

Dread overcame Loki as Freya faced Bell. Leaning forward, she caressed Bell's cheek and their lips met. Freya passionately reached behind Bell and pulled him close to, and instinctively, so too did he.

On her knees, Aiz wept in sorrow as Ottar forced her to watch. She pleaded out to Bell, calling his name with what strength she could muster. But there came no response from him. No sign of the person that she had known.

Their love had died. Killed and forcibly replaced.

There was no need for a cue for Ottar, for it seemed to be the simplest way to strike the heart of the Loki familia; gripping her golden lock with one hand, he swung his sword with the other.

"Aisu?" Loki uttered under her breath as she watched Ottar with Aiz.

In one swipe the Sword Princess was no more, angled from her left shoulder and down to her ribcage, her right arm dangled lifelessly as the shock overcame her. Aiz's face twitched and contorted as her lower half fell to the ground as she remained hoisted up by her hair.

Ottar held her dripping corpse for all to see. The Goddess of Mischief gave a hollowed cry. Loki's own star child, her love was taken from her.

Upon Aiz's body two halves hitting the cobblestone street, the masses of the Freya moved out in force, overwhelming the Loki familia. Leaving their Goddess, Loki, in the midst of the fray. Any who tried to assist Loki in escaping were cut down without mercy. Leaving her surrounded by the corpses of the one's she once called her children.

There was no escape, there barely was a fight. With no leadership it had ended as soon as it had begun. the Loki familia had fallen.

When the battle had settled, the Goddess of Mischief had fallen to her knees, adorned with the splatter of blood and dirt, surrounded by the fallen and the torn estate that lay in ruin. Breath continued to escape her, and her body rampantly trembled from the sudden loss of life that surrounded her. The one who initiated approached, and by her side the boy with rubelitte eyes stood close.

In the gap between Freya and Bell, Loki could see Aiz's body lifelessly staring upon them.

"Odr, dear.." Freya said softly to Bell. "Stay here and cover your ears."

Complying, the boy covered his ears with his hand with enough force that muted any sound, leaving only his racing heart as he gazed upon Freya as she traversed over through the ruin of what once was the Loki familia.

"No." Loki sharply cried out in instant denial of Freya's inevitable approach. "No! Don't come any closer you crazy bitch!"

Loki tried to veer her already shut eyes from Freya. And without looking she could feel the soft skin of Freya's hand attempting to grasp her throat. Wincing desperately, Loki tried to stumble back, but even for the Goddess of Beauty, her grip was one to be reckoned with.

"No! Don't touch me!" Loki shouted sharply as she tried to hold on to herself, the one hope she had to try and thwart what was to come, not for herself, but for the city and the Dungeon. "Don't you touch me! Let me go!"

Loki shivered and jerked at the foreign sensation that began to sweep over her.

"You were shown mercy, an opportunity so few have had the luxury of," Freya said in Loki's ear. The sound of Freya's passing breath, brushing against her ear brought tingles to her and her skin became flush.

"…-and yet you chose to continue to take what was mine. Not once, not twice." Freya said in a voice so cold that it brought a chill to Loki. "But three times."

Loki's eyes open a sliver, and there Freya could see the vermillion color of Loki's eye. Freya's supple skin seemed to glisten in the fires of ruin that surrounded `.

"No more."

Freya released Loki from her grip and stepped back. A figure appeared by Freya's side, brandishing a knife in hand, offering it to the deity. Taking the blade from her child's hand, the child vanished, leaping back to wherever they had been before.

"We're all going to die." Loki said before Freya swiped the blade through Loki's jugular.

For a moment, Loki's head bobbed back and around by the sudden imbalance of her front neck muscle being severed. Blood pulsed from the gapping wound in her neck, and out of her mouth as she coughed.

The panic had faded from Loki's face. All that remained was an determination to keep Freya in her sights.

Tossing the blade to the ground, Freya turned and began her return to Bell. And for the last time, Loki had set of sights on Aiz before being engulfed in the release of her arcanum.

"Aisu.."

Standing the immense light of a deity returning to Heaven, Bell saw only one thing. All that was, or ever will be, stood in front of him gently caressing his chin as she brought herself closer to him.

—-

When two lights of day fall,

Idle hands will be laid to waste.

A mind that wanders in an unknown space.

Forced astray from action by eyes of an ashen hue.

Bringing all to be strewn apart,

Like the stars of the sky in an empty space.

Divided and bearing ill intent,

Whether or not there was a choice,

One by one they will begin to die.

The world will fall within itself,

A consequence of the blinded having never known darkness,

Bathed in its purgatory, its last salvation shall come through fire.

A future of life, free from this terror, must come at a price.

Only when hope rises can the last light fall.

-

Cassandra woke up in a sweat, gasping for air as if she were held under water. The panic that had set in, one that she couldn't quelm or conquer. She scrambled out of her bed, flailing miserably, as she held her nightgown to her body in a self hug.

They used to be just words. Vague descriptions of a future that is yet to be. Words that no one ever dared believed in. But in her slumber, these words brought such a vivid picture of a horror that even in the present world she could not escape.

"Her eyes!" She shouted as the images stained her memory.

Darting out of the room barefoot, she sped her way down and out of the Miach familia. Her shoes tapping against the wooden floorboards that creaked under her panicked steps, as her hand slid over the wooden rail leading down the stairs.

The commotion created by her panic drew the ire of the only other person in the building.

"Hey, what's with you!?" Daphne shouted, as Cassandra blindly raced by her. There wasn't a moment where Daphne saw her face, instead she was met by the glossy stream of Cassandra's light blue hair.

"Her eyes!.." Cassandra hurriedly cried, utterly the two words over and over.

Cassandra kept walking, prompting Daphne to reach out for her friend's hand. Gripping it, Daphne was confronted by the force of Cassandra's frantic attempt to leave as Daphne was unexpectedly pulled forward.

"Her eyes.."

Only when Daphne pulled back did Cassandra come to a stop. There Daphne saw the panic on her face, a level of which she hadn't seen, not even during their time back on the twenty fifth floor facing the aquatic floor boss.

"Let me go!" Cassandra yelled as she whipped her hand free from Daphne's grasp, rushing out of the front door and into the light of day. For a moment, Daphne held confusion before her eyes narrowed and she began her pursuit.

Unbeknownst to them, in a room adjacent to the lobby, Hermes stood dumbstruck opposite of Miach.

"Is that normal?" Hermes asked after having watched the two leave from what could only be described as the storage room.

"Unfortunately, yes. Her nightmares are a frequent occurrence that not even I've been able to remedy." Miach solemnly admitted. That even despite having built a library of potions and elxirs, he has found none to solve the recurring nightmares that haunt her.

"Nightmares have been causing all of that?" Hermes asked with a knit brow, where Miach nodded with a gloomful expression.

"She fears that they're premonitions. Things that are yet to come, they have been haunting and captivating her like so." Miach said raising his hand to the door as a grand example.

"Huh… Would you mind if I-?" Hermes asked as he pointed to the door.

"If you are able to help her find peace, I would be in your debt." Miach politely accepted the offer for Hermes to investigate.

"Where do you think you're going?" Daphne shouted as Cassandra anxiously paced through the crowd, as if were trying to get her bearings. "Will you wait a damn second before running off?!"

Daphne followed Cassandra into the mass of people that coursed by, it was by no means irregular for so many people to be out and about, but it was most inconvenient as Daphne struggled to keep her eyes on her friend.

"Cassandra!" Daphne shouted her voice raw with irritation, a call out that drew gazes of the people passing by. "Just stop!"

Daphne went further and further in the traffic, until finally she reached a thinning where the people narrowed avoided. In it's center stood Cassandra, her eyes darting around the people, looking overwhelmed as she strained to keep her eyes open. The people parted ways like the flow of a stream coursing around a rock. Cassandra huffed and huffed as breath managed to escape her. In a city full of people, she looked on helplessly into the crowd that were bathed by the twilight of the rising sun, the one she sought could be anywhere.

"Her eyes. Her eyes. Her eyes. Her eyes."

Hermes carefully peered through the crowd of people, his eyes and ears paying close attention to the shouting that lay dampened by the steady traffic coursing through the street. It wasn't until he heard the shouts of Daphne that he was able to dial in the direction they had traveled.

Drawing closer and closer, he found the bubble of space where the foot traffic circled around with the few onlookers who paused only to appease their waning sense of curiosity. There he found them both.

Hermes couldn't shake the feeling how familiar it was seeing the distress across Cassandra's face despite his feelings of skepticism that surrounded her. Yet he looked on carefully, reminiscing of the days that held words of things yet to come. Words that were proclaimed to have such deep meaning listened to by any and all.

While the world knew of the words to be sourced from an oracle named Forher. He knew that name was simply a moniker. And that the true identity of such was none other than a young woman named Delphi.

A child of the god Apollo.

So too was Cassandra.

Yet if these were indeed premonitions that haunted her, tellings of the future, why was it that no one would listen? Were they past the mythic sense of such things being a part of this reality while gods and monsters roam these lands?

No, Hermes theorized there had to be something else. A sole reason that evolved into the conclusion that possibly, the only person who believed her was none other than Apollo himself to use those premonitions for himself and his ambitions alone, yet leaving her feeling cursed that no one, not even her own deity would believe her.

Again, it was only a theory. One that after having known Apollo seemed closer and closer to being truth. But that line he didn't dare cross eagerly. So he tucked it away not as fact, but simply as yet another thing that he humbly didn't understand.

"Her eyes."

"Hello there." Hermes said with a smile of his face. Drawing both Cassandra's and Daphne's attention to him. "I hear something is bothering you, is that right?"

Cassandra looked feeble, a nervous wreck, as she held herself in a self hug. There came no look of relief of the arrival of the god. If anything only reinforced the idea that had been set in her mind from the years of ignorance she had experienced.

"Nobody believes me.." Cassandra uttered in defeat towards how no matter how much she invests and proves these premonitions to be true, that ultimately she'll be met with ire and ignorance. In turn, she began to wrap her arms around herself, subconsciously trying to soothe the despair she faced. "Nobody has.."

"Believe what?" Hermes asked, feigning ignorance.

Cassandra looked to him distraught as the desire to tell him was overridden by the ridicule she feared that she would face and instead she opted to remain silent.

"Whatever weight it is that you're carrying," Hermes said carefully. He was already a tall diety, even amongst mortal standards, he felt obligated to kneel down before her as he placed his forearm on his knee and offered her his hand. "It gets heavier the longer you carry it.. So what do ya say?"

Cassandra's eyes trembled at the sight.

"You-..? You'll believe me?" Her voice was stricken with confusion. Daring to step over the line into speaking the truth that dwells in her mind.

"I'll do my best." Hermes with a reassuring smile.

Cassandra laid her hand in Herms palm, and he slowly rose up, gently bringing her up to her feet.

"Who exactly was it that you were looking for?" Hermes asked carefully.

"I was-…" Cassandra looked back at her friend, Daphne who waited silently with her narrowed glare. Her body tensed as the words began to flee from her lips. "I was looking for Bell. I need to tell him, he needs to know.. He needs to stay away-.."

Upon hearing the boy's name, Hermes remained still, mentally plotting out the details that she had revealed. For him and the insight he had held of the politics and workings of those who operated in the city, he was able to deduce one thing.

"Her eyes-…" She uttered. "Her eye's are silver. Even when they're not."

"Her eyes?" Hermes asked gently with a smile. Cassandra feebly nodded

"I can work with that." Hermes kindly said before turning to scan the horizon. As if on que, a woman appeared out of nowhere in the crowd causing a few individuals to gasp at the surprise. "Asfi, will you find Bell?"

"On it." Asfi said as she donned her helmet granting her invisibility and vanished from sight, leaving only a gust of wind that now occupies the space where she once stood.

Hermes' eyes lowered from the sky, as if he were tracing her trajectory, but in truth he had no such sight. Turning back to the girls, Cassandra had a look of bewilderment at the event that took place before her.

"We'll take some of the load off your shoulders. Ok, kiddo?" Hermes said warmly.

Cassandra was struck with disbelief as much as Daphne was.

"You're helping?" Daphne asked.

"Well of course." Hermes said nonchalantly as he peered to Cassandra's friend. "Better safe than sorry, isn't that how the saying goes?"

Flashing them a smile, reassuring Cassandra, he began to walk past them down the street. But before getting too far he turned back to the girls who were already beginning to move on. It seemed Daphne had begun voicing her concerns, rather strongly, but the exact words escaped Hermes' ears.

He wouldn't return to Miach until he was certain of the girls words. To see whether there were any real truth or the tellings of an anxious mind. The latter he couldn't blame if it were to be, the world was harsh, often unfair and utterly cruel. But on the off-chance that they were in fact words like that oracle Delphi once spoke, then it brought consequences that even he trembled at.

Hermes knew where to go to begin his search for answers, in this query of truth or fantasy. Unfortunately, it led right to the mouth of the beast.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

2.

"The First Departure" - Sarah Schachner

The city was bathed in the twilight of the rising sun that had yet to greet the world. Of those who rose in these hours, either obediently or through sheer willpower alone, it was the beginning of a new day. Most sought answers from the Guild in their opening hours, while other's assumed their role in the city. Whether that was being a baker, a custodian, a clerk, these individuals assumed a role that they had placed some value in.

A network of lives all brought together to shape the life of the city. And if one were to fall out of web, to become estranged, the change itself may bear its difficulties, but as time would have it another would take its place. Creating only a mere delay in the grand scheme of operations for the city. Life would have its way. Carrying on.

Though there are some things that are reluctant to admit that they have lost their place.

—-

The front door to the Twilight Manor opened with a creak. In the small gap, Riveria peered out and saw none other that her dear uncle, Ettore standing in the cool light of the morning. Dressed in a coat that spared him from the frosty air, his book bag hung at his side.

"I'm surprised you made it past the gates." Riveria said.

"As am I." Ettore humbly said with a smile. "Though any security was fairly lacking if you were intending on keeping me out."

Riveria refrained herself from groaning at the poor attempt at humor. It was hardly the time or place for such things.

"Come, grab a coat." He said with a turn as he presented the book bag at his side.

It was too early to argue, and thus she found herself leaving the confines of her home to journey with Ettore out into the city.

"Where are we going?"

"Elton's Cup. I'm sure you heard of it." Ettore said as he held open the gate for his niece. "It's a quaint little place."

The name seemed vaguely familiar, there were quite a few small dine-in's and cafes in the surrounding area, but only rarely did time afford her going to such luxuries. But maybe some time ago she had visited the place, and even if that were the case, it became a matter of whether or not she had any memory of it.

"Hmm." Riveria gave a contemplative sound as she processed the name.

The magic lanterns that stood tall over the street continued to glow, shining their light that seemed dim in comparison to the light that had begun breaching the horizon. There on the streets Riveria found a few groups of adventurer's having funneled themselves from the side streets to the main street that bore directly south. Occasionally she spotted the few sole individuals who had left their homes and began their way to work.

Despite being so close, they all seemed so far away. There were too many people in the city to directly affect, to reach out. Yet all they had to know was the tales that they had heard from those who have seen, and there they could make their judgment, their vote.

Perhaps it was the morning hours, or perhaps it was the stress that wore itself on her shoulders that harbored a frustration on the matter.

"There we have it." Ettore said in quiet anticipation.

Coming to a stop, nestled in between two larger building was the cafe that stood two floor's high, with the cafe being established on the first floor. From the outside looking in, it seemed that the interior had a small capacity for it's customers, resorting to the front patio that held two wooden tables and a set of chairs.

None of that would have been a problem though as it appeared that the establishment itself was closed. The interior lay dark with the only light being a dimmed flickering light nestled somewhere deep in the kitchen.

"Come." Ettore said leading the way.

"Uhh, what are you doing?" Riveria said, bringing Ettore to a pause right before the small set of stairs. "They look closed."

"Oh don't worry, Maron is always up this early." Ettore said with a smile before continuing the stairs and into the seemingly closed cafe with the storm door closing behind him with a clack.

Again, it was too early to argue. Taking a breath, she followed suit entering the cafe. Inside it was just as she had seen it outside, dark and vacant. But inside, she was greeted by the sweet smell of freshly baked pastries and rising bread.

Waiting behind Ettore, who stood by the counter, she couldn't help but notice the glass cabinet that displayed an assortment of delicacies. In fact, a few were missing, presumably from customers who had come and gone. Scanning the countertop on the back wall, steam gently wafted upwards on a small kettle before vanishing as it cooled.

For a place that was open, it seemed determined to appear closed. A counter-intuitive approach for business.

"Is there anything that caught your eye?" Ettore asked breaking Riveria's wandering train of thought.

"Hmm?" She raised her eyebrows, behind Ettore at the counter was a small woman adorning a red apron with black hair that was cut in a bobber haircut. Leaning on the counter with her forearms, she waited along with Ettore for Riveria's answer.

Though before she could fully connect the dots, Ettore flashed her an unamused purse of his lips, understanding that she had not fully woken up yet, and turned to the short woman.

"Two, will be fine." Ettore said with a smile to the woman.

"Ok, coming right up." She said before hopping down from the stool and began her process from completing their order.

"Here." Ettore said, ushering Riveria to one of the tables inside, where they sat opposite from one another.

Sitting in the sturdy wooden chair, Riveria rested her hands in her lap as she tiredly looked on to the short woman who managed her way up a stool to grab from some labeled containter nestled in cubes on the wall.

"You were right." Riveria said tiredly.

"Of course, I hope you don't mind though.." Ettore said as he slung his coat then bookbag on the back of the chair. "The leaves here are the closest to that of what you'd find back in the Kingdom."

"Hmm?" Rivieria hummed.

"I got us tea." Ettore said reassuringly with a polite smile.

"Oh. My apologies." Riveria as she rubbed eyes.

Ettore sat back into the chair, carefully observing his niece with crossed arms as he bobbed his head to one side.

"Long night?"

"Long past couple of days..." Riveria said as she readjusted herself in the chair, trying to sit upright.

"Well hopefully this might provide some relief." Ettore said as he caught the young short woman approaching bearing a tray with two cups, their respective plates, and a single tea pot of hot water. "Thank you, Maron."

Ettore said as he reached out to aide her in delivering the tea. The woman merely smiled, as her dark brown eyes met him, appreciating his kindness. Witnessing the exchange, Riveria had summed up that Ettore must be a regular here. Having spent some time building relations with the staff. Purely platonic, she had hoped.

Taking the tray, Maron left to clean up the counter and made her way to the back room continuing her preparations for the day.

"As I was saying before, these leaves are the closest to that of what you'd have back in the Kingdom." Ettore said as he lifted the teapot to pour into Riveria's cup and then his own. "Adequate kick."

"No crash?" Riveria said as she wrapped her hands around the warm cup.

"No crash." Ettore said as he gently set the teapot down.

"Good." Riveria said as she brought her lips to the teacup.

Unbeknownst to her, Ettore silently watched her with a knit brow. Instead of opting to fill the void with any sort of an attempt of conversation, he simply waited for both his tea to steep and for the morning fog to clear from the mind of his niece.

Looking out the window, the twilight painted everything a light shade of blue. From the streets, to the buildings, and the people. As if they were all one of the same. And for the time being, there stood peace.

Reaching into his bag, Ettore set three brown folders on the table between them. They were clipped shut, with each folder bearing a subject name on a flap, titled with their corresponding code. Ettore had done as he had said, and recreated the files.

Riveria held a mild look of skepticism on her face, one that Ettore read all too easily.

"It's them. And accurate." Ettore reassured her. "Go on."

Setting her tea down, she reached for the folder on the top of the stack and opened it. The first page held the what could be described as a dossier of a single individual, a deity.

"Vishnu.." She said softly. The answers that she had sought, answers that continued to evade her grasp now rest in her hand, and in this sobering moment she felt herself wake up and her focus sharpen her mind as she carefully flipped the pages.

There were possibly over thirty pages alone in this folder alone. Each page that she skimmed through held no ramblings or waste of words. Each page contained words used with precision.

Looking to the remaining two folders, they lay thick with more pages than the folder in her hands.

"You did this? You weren't just hiding these the whole time?" Riveria couldn't believe it. "Because this is-… This is honestly incredible."

Ettore humbly nodded his head, as he carefully watched his niece.

"Thank you." Riveria said softly with relief.

"You're quite welcome, dear." Ettore said with a warm smile much like that of a parent who had made their child's day with a carefully crafted birthday surprise. "There is more to that folder than just Vishnu."

Hearing those words, Riveria shot him a perplexed look.

"The Guild has a register for any deities who enter into the city. Point in case being, there was one who was incredibly reluctant on acknowledging such a thing. That, I feel gives a greater context to some of the circumstances behind Vishnu." Ettore said recounting the information.

"Why would they-…?" Riveria pondered before trailing off as she flipped further into the document.

"I could imagine taxes. The root of all evil for some people." Ettore shrugged. "But from what was recorded, she adamantly denied any notion of being a deity. Given such a response, the Guild barred them from operating under their in the city."

"And that in turn brought them to Vishnu?" Riveria said.

"Precisely." Ettore said as he reached for his cup of tea. "And then to another."

Finally Riveria stopped as she found the pages. Setting the folder down, she locked her eyes on one particular point.

"Ok, but what would have brought them to the conclusion that she was a deity?" Riveria asked with her focusing unbroken on the name before her.

"That is a tricky thing. From what I recall, there was one interaction report that alluded to her being something else entirely. And well-… Coming from the words of a child hosted by her, she was a demi-.." Ettore flatly said, relenting under the persistent curiosity of his niece. The term demi often operated as an umbrella term, encompassing a variety of species. His voice was sought to convey it objectively, it was easily rendered null and void by refraining from uttering the suffix of the species.

Perhaps it was the sheer obsurdity of the statement, to not bear any association to breathing it out into the world. The deities who have descended were all but one thing; fertile.

"You're absolutely certain? Because even the idea of a-.. that-… This…" Riveria held the document in her hand.

"Ludacris, I know. But even if they were the naive words of a child, the Guild must be diligent in recording their interactions regardless of the outcome or in this case the truth of the matter. And as such it was swept under the rug. Deemed just the words of an ignorant child, no more, no less." Ettore said as reflected back to the grand vestiges of his mind.

Ettore gave a wave of his hand crediting the accuracy of his memory, almost reluctantly.

"Be assured that what is before you is an accurate retelling. All in all, you'll find that they operated as a proxy for some of Vishnu's endeavors, and through that loophole allowing them to operate in the city. And quite often they used the Guild as a means of communication, a sort of indication where they could anticipate where to find the deity."

Ettore nodded slightly, then reached for the comfort of the freshly steeped tea before him. Allowing a window for Riveria to continue reading.

"Forher's Right is just a prophecy from one of Apollo's children. An Oracle. That prophecy was labeled as 'The Trial of Fifty-Eight Days.' Which turned out more to be an unfortunate witch hunt, spanning said fifty-eight days." Ettore said as he dotted invisible points in the air and spun his pointer finger creating a circle.

Riviera focused on the words that spanned across the pages.

"It was to be on the Fifty-Eighth Day that the First Son of Evilus should held for his crimes against the City, the common good of the World and the Dungeon." Riviera squinted her eyes at the final entity listed in the passage. "The Dungeon?"

"Yes. All things in this world and the next are to be respected. No matter how vulgar or terrifying. This First Son of Evilus had presumably been connected to many of the terrors that had transpired deep within the Dungeon. Often bringing uncertainty into the well-being of the entity."

She couldn't let it escape her mind, how the Dungeon was labeled as an entity one that had been afflicted by the events. If it weren't for recent events, she largely would have been dismissive of such a statement. Though she often had to remind herself that in this world of deities and monsters she knew so very little of the world.

"-And well the Harbinger was wreaking havoc through much of this time. Effectively creating a war on two fronts. One on the surface and one in the depths. The city and it's citizens were struggling in anxiety and terror of what seemed like a series of inescapable circumstances."

"And how far back is this dated?" Riveria said with her focus returning to the folder before her.

Ettore narrowed his eyes as he sifted through his memory. Carefully matching them with established points in time with similarly dated memories.

"Around the same time that your father took the throne."

Riveria dived into thought, performing the calculations based on the history she had been taught in her time in the Kingdom. Her head was tilted to one side, and when she had come to an answer, Ettore witnessed her shift as pieces of the puzzle she sought came together forming a picture in her mind. Her mouth fell agape, in preparation to speak, only to be interrupted in her attempt.

"If I may interrupt that train of thought before it garners too much momentum. Generations have come and gone as this information faded into obscurity. Leaving only the few to know of it's weight.." Ettore mumbled, catching her attention. "Which brings me to a question that has been gnawing at my mind since you left the archives.."

Ettore leaned to the table and spoke softly.

"Where did you find these names? At best any remnant of them would be scattered bits of ash. Fractured pieces bearing no cohesive sense.."

In that moment, she wondered how she could put it. That they found a stranger who at first seemed anything but trustworthy. Hell, even now, she still had trouble accepting that notion with him. But for her to try and summarize any of it, she currently couldn't muster the mental strength to elaborate without rambling. And that frustrated her. Rather, he frustrated her.

"There was a book. It belonged to one of the victims of the Harbinger." Riveria said in a voice just above a whisper. "Given the circumstances, I thought it would be best to default to 'guilty until proven innocent,' as there were things I'd never heard before that drew a great deal of suspicion. Would that book be anything related to the exposé you were referring to previously?"

Ettore brought his hand to his chin in contemplation.

"Possibly. It's slim, but to be sure I'd have to take a look myself if that is at all possible." Ettore said, but Riveria remained silent, as she wore an unsatisfied look upon her face. "It's not possible is it?"

"I'm afraid not." Riveria said as she shifted uneasily in her seat recalling Bete's tantrum.

"Damn." Ettore said as he leaned back into the chair and narrowed his eyes, filling them with the view of the city through the window.

"You know much about this. Where were you? Because you were not in the Kingdom for this." Riveria asked as she gestured to the documents with a nod.

Ettore tucked his chin, dropping his gaze and gave a half hearted chuckle. One part fond, the other feeling like it were a cruel joke.

"I was tasked with finding and assessing the authenticity of a family heirloom. An item of your grandfather's. That inevitably required me to venture out into the world to track it and its wielder down. And it was those experiences, those brief moments and connections is how I stumbled across the rumors and word of these things. From there it grew, and flourished into a life outside of the Kingdom." Ettore said with an open hand as if it held a seedling taking root and beginning to rise. All the while recounting the memories, with no particular distaste, rather that he had accepted what that was the past is simply that, the past.

But through the stoic and often pleasant exterior, Ettore held a look of forlorn that lay hidden to most.

Ettore's focus lay on his hand, as he slowly closed it. He seemed determined to look on the past with a sense of being content. For whatever happened in that time that drove from him the Elven Kingdom, she was not sure of. But she was certain of one thing, much like his ability to recount any story with all of its finest details, that he surely too would be able to experience those memories again and again. The curse of a perfect memory.

"I stumbled upon these findings during those times and it brought me great uncertainty about the future."

"That's why you never came back? Because you were afraid?" Riviera asked as she narrowed her eyes.

Ettore sighed. "No, when you find something or someone worthy of your heart, mind and soul, you will do anything to secure its future."

It was a time that he was away from the Elven Kingdom, a place that she too had sought to leave. Swept up and given an opportunity to serve in the Loki familia while on the run from her own father.

"Take my advice." Ettore said as he lowered his hand. "This world has an infinite number of experiences and opportunities. And despite the general consensus of our kind, even us elves only live so long, time will continue to flee from your grasp just like for everyone else. Dare to live, even if it terrifies you. It's all there for you."

Riveria was still, as her eyes fell to the remaining folders just off to the side of the table, with a blank look on her face, prompting Ettore to sigh.

"I've rambled haven't I?" He shaked his head as if in disappointment in himself for thinking he had the privilege of speaking to her on such a familiar basis considering that it was his absence from the Kingdom that thrust into the position she will soon be required to assume.

"No, it's just that-…" Riveria paused as relented, releasing the rigid posture that had been instilled upon her. "..I don't know what to do."

The number of variables were monumentous, for sole entities she counted six. The city's populace and whatever mob mentality that may follow, Freya and her familia's nature brought her much uncertainty, the Guild and their rule of imposing sanctions, Evilus and whatever role they have in the midst of the catastrophe, the Harbinger itself along with it's goal of reaching the surface, and how does he fit into all of it.

That insufferable man, who causes her to flip back and forth mentally. From the disdain and this damn feeling that haunts her, to the-…

She had to stop thinking about him. To forgo that train of thought.

"Your eyes softened.." Ettore said softly that it was barely audible in observation of his niece.

She didn't care to respond, all the high elf did was grab the edges of her robe and cover her torso, creating a cocoon around her body as she crossed her arms, practically mirroring her uncle.

"I don't like it.. I really don't." Riveria said, shaking as her gaze seemed locked on her cup of tea.

"Whatever it is-.." Ettore paused as he searched for the words that could be best utilized. "..Whoever it is.. Don't steel your heart against it. Our family line has only ever taught us how to deal with things such as discipline and duty. The more delicate things, they can seem much like intimidating endeavors bound with uncertainty. Well, they are at first.."

Riveria wondered how much of that she could actually apply, though there seemed to be no surefire way in any of it. That her sole option was to default back to the family legacy of discipline and duty. Though she was certain that already had misunderstood her stance on the matter. It wasn't out of romantic frustration, but it might as well be easier for him to believe that.

If she could right now, she would curse that man, Mathis, out of frustration. Even then that didn't feel right.

"I know you'll figure it out, Riveria" Ettore said, catching her gaze. Where he smiled warmly. "If anybody can, it's you."

Carrying that smile he nodded confidently, a smile that softened her own dire expression. And though he may not have been there time and time again to congratulate her on her successes, there was no doubt that in his time at the archives that he had read about her endeavors with the Loki familia.

"Oh. There is one more thing.." Ettore said as he reached to his bag as the thought occurred to him. "How well is your comprehension of hieroglyphs?"

"It's a little rusty, but it's still there." Riveria said at the precipice of confusion at the sudden shift.

"Well I suggest you brush up on it or find someone you can trust who can." Ettore lurched towards his bag as he hefted what seemed to be a heavy object. Holding his bag at its handle, he slowly swung it around the side of the table to her. In the open zipper, revealing an old leather bound book and its bare leather spine facing her.

Accepting the handle of the bag she looked down to it, preparing to reach into the bag to retrieve it.

"No, not here." Ettore warned. "Take the bag with you."

"But what is it?" Riveria asked as she set the bag on her lap.

"A book. Though you did not specifically request it, you sought information on the Harbinger and what I present to you is one of a kind, as it may very well be the final piece in solving the mysteries behind it." Ettore held his hands as he rest his forearms on the edge of the table. "A volatile piece.."

"Volatile..?" Riveria uttered back.

"Yes. Volatile." Ettore clenched his jaw as he starred upon the bare leather cover. "From what I peeked at, if what it prescribes is not done to a 'T,' the results could be catastrophic. Which is why I need you to promise me that you'll perform this with the utmost care. Take no unnecessary risks with this. If you're not confident in your abilities, then I advise you to find someone who you trust who is capable of deciphering the text."

She had no idea what the requirements were, all that she was certain of was the concern that was written on her uncle's face. Riveria nodded in a slight motion.

"I'll do my best." She said, trying to reassure him. "But the files, this book?.. You've done a lot. Why?"

"Because you asked." Ettore said. "As a child, you never asked for much or anything. You always charged forward with that determination of reaching for what you desired all by your lonesome."

"I know that you don't think much of me. Even then despite your reservations, you came into the archives, my domain, searching for something that time had forgotten. How could I refuse in helping you?" Ettore asked her humbly.

Riveria relented with a tired sigh. She didn't want to admit it to any of it, but the words he spoke struck true to her intentions.

"You really decided to address that head-on…" Riveria said trailing off. "You have my thanks."

She spoke earnestly, allowing those words to be a genuine representation of what she had thought in that moment.

"Yes, of course." Ettore said with a warm smile.

There still remained some time before she would anticipate Aiz returning from her training, and almost conveniently enough there still remained a half-filled kettle of hot water, and tea leaves to fill some of that time before she was required to resume her responsibilities. Riveria drifted her gaze upon the document that had laid open on one particular page since she set it on the table. Her eyes locked on that one name .

"Serene.." The name echoed in her mind. What was revealed to her was not what she was looking for, in fact it threw her previous assessment out the window.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

Some time ago…

The morning sun has risen in the city of Orario, bathing the city in it's grand light, calling out the beginning of a new day. Hordes of people traversed the city, whether that was for the morning breakfast with family, stopping at the market to pick up the best and freshest of produce, or for those who sought to begin or end their day of work. Everything seemed normal in the city of Orario. Including the spectacle that they were about to witness.

A woman dressed in the finest of silks strolled down the middle of the street. Her golden eyes held slivers of silver and her golden hair shared the same trait. Each step she took carried elegance, steps as light as a feather. As if she were walking on clouds.

Her wandering golden eyes flaked with silver creased as she smiled, taking in the sights of the city. The signs of abundant life, every single sensation it brought she welcomed whole heartedly. All the while she led a group of adventurer's from all walks of life.

Some wore their armor that carried the signs of a battle and their victory. Whether it was the orange colored armor that shifted in waves under the bearer's own movement, or the light armor that tightly hugged another's body granting them the agility they sought and required. Others had a shorter stature, adorning themselves in robes or another wearing the bare minimum of what was to be socially acceptable.

Their numbers were forty-two strong and proud. And the people of the city who bear witness to them could not deny such a thing. They have tried and succeeded. But most importantly, they failed. They fell. They endured.

Together.

Their struggle brought them closer to one another than any could imagine.

Drawing themselves closer to the center of the city, they stopped as the woman bearing silver and golden hair stood at the edge of the park.

From the very back of the group, a head covered in an obsidian black hair that wore a shine from the sunlight sought its ways around their comrades. Passing their sides, their excitement spread amongst themselves at the feat that stood before them above the trees that dotted the park, grabbing their attention. For those who had seen the two march, it were like how the night sought after the day.

There she stood, standing in the shade of the trees, peering up with the others. When he approached, she greeted him with a smile and together they left the shade. Standing side by side, in the light of the day, she continued to peer up at the magnificence before them. And the feelings that coursed through her, she dared not restrain it.

From the years and years she had endured, boundless joy and hope swelled within her.

"We did it." Her voice trembled. Never in a million years did she believe that she would have set foot on the path for which she desired for so long. The one thing her heart yearned for. "We actually made it.."

Dropping her gaze to the man beside her, tears began to pool in her eyes. Bridging the gap between them, she wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you." She said as she winced, holding him close.

Their bond was that from the blood they shared and the life they had created in spite of the greatest trials they had faced. Surviving a world that deemed them unfit, they crafted themselves for them to thrive by offering sanctuary and community for those who were lost.

They stood side by side. As brother and sister. And today was the first day they had set foot in the Labyrinth city, Orario. All in order to save the heart of the woman before him from that kindling flame of darkness that planted itself within her. A flame that if they were not careful would fester into an even greater despair, one that she is unwilling to admit that she is facing already. But that first step towards healing the ailment of her heart, of her soul, made the darkness quiver.

It was here where it all began. Underneath the presence of the great Tower of Babel, marked day one for their search for the thing that they had been taken from.

The last surviving remnant of their family.

Their mother.

After offering salvation for so many others, it was finally time for them both to find peace as brother and sister. At least that was what Serene had hoped.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

3.

Ansem held his gaze out to the fields that lay to the north just before the mountains. Nestled in between a battlement on top of a tower erected on top of the city wall, he could finally feel the wind that dared not reach the city streets. The cool gust of winds bringing the scents of the world to his nostrils, easing his conscience.

Down below him were Aiz and Bell, the boy she was so fond of. He stood at a distance to Aiz, briefly in observation of Ansem as he sat high above them. The boy had just arrived.

"Uhh, what is he doing here?" Bell asked at the surprise. From his understanding, their training was to be in secret.

Aiz shared Bell's gaze, prompting Ansem to give him a wave of acknowledgement.

"Just a third set of eyes." Ansem said across the distance.

"He's helping to see how we could improve. I hope that's ok." Aiz said.

Bell nodded, reassuring Aiz that it was ok. Yet the motion lacked the energy that she had grown used to. And the look of exhaustion in his eyes seemed to further drive Aiz's concern.

"Ready whenever you are." Bell said as he unsheathed his knife and took a defensive fighting stance, drawing the blade out in front of him.

"Ok." Aiz said as she trained her eyes on him.

A wave of hesitation washed over her as she laid her grip on the hilt of her sword causing her great unease. Slowly she drew her sword, fighting the temptation to return it to it's sheath. So much of her desire to train was to gain an edge in getting stronger faster. Yet as she drew her sword, she couldn't help but feel at odds with Bell.

For his sake, she couldn't admit that she was anything but-

"-Ready." Aiz said, lying to herself.

Aiz carried her sword up in preparation for a horizontal swing, and leapt forward with tremendous might.

For any normal mortal who lacked a faulna, the training would be nothing more than a blur of figures clashing. Their sight would be unable to comprehend the session merely due to the immense speed that high level adventurer's were capable of. It could easily be described as super-human.

Only when there was a significant blow traded, where one was forced to collect themselves in the brief time between choosing to attack, defend, or parry, could one capture a brief glimpse of the fighters.

The easiest way to track the blurred figures was by the sunlight that reflected off of their blades and armor, the highlights streaked through the air creating a brief mirage of light only to fade before a new strike would be attempted.

For Ansem, and the one eye that offered him sight, he had no other choice but to watch from a vantage point. His depth perception lacked due to the lack of his other eye, and being up so high allowed him to easily track the two as they exchanged blows. Yet they remained visible, unblurred by the faulna that he too possessed.

"Hmm." Ansem said in contemplative silence.

His general expectation of the training was off. From so much of what he had researched seemed to be fairly basic surface level knowledge. For starters, he didn't expect the boy to be as fast as he was according to his stated level from the Guild.

"That's gotta be through the roof for the kid." Ansem said to himself as he focused his gaze upon the two.

Aiz was swift, but not to the extent Bell was. The boy was agile, enabling him to move at great speeds, and change his movements just as quickly according to Aiz's own movements. What he had in speed though, he lacked in strength, which still was nothing short of impressive.

For a few brief interactions, Ansem watching Bell's feet as they changed stance and pivoted in accordance to him blocking, dodging, or attacking. One stance set firmly planted, and the other two would either pivot or shift his weight to build the greatest momentum.

Aiz on the other hand lacked the agility Bell possessed, but conversely made up for it in sheer strength. It was evident that Aiz wasn't giving the training the entirety of her strength, even then, Bell still managed to block or divert her blows, despite the shock it would send through him and his body.

Bell dodged, creating a gap, hoping to find a bit of breathing room to ascertain the next best action. In that moment Aiz slowed as she turned to face him. A movement intentionally slowed.

"She's taking it easy on him.." Ansem mumbled to himself as he peered upon Aiz who stood near the other end of the section of wall. For a split second, Aiz caught Ansem's gaze. "What is it that you want me to see?"

Aiz leapt forward and so the clash of training continued, and Ansem had every intention of keeping his eyes trained on them to see what Aiz was so determined to show him; at least until he spotted a glimmer on the tower across from him.

Instinctually Ansem narrowed his eyes, as the shape and color came into view.

"Asfi."

Ansem discretely gestured for her to join him. Though her helmet shielded her from the sight of many, her glimmer was visible to Ansem as she glided to his tower. Landing on the gap of battlement beside Ansem, she lifted her helmet, revealing her being.

"It's almost unnerving how you're able to do that.." Asfi admitted, nestling the helmet by her side. "It defeats the purpose of even having made it."

"Don't beat yourself up about it too much. It's not a flaw on your part." Ansem said trying to reassure her as he returned his sight to the Aiz and Bell. "That helmet is pretty impressive. Is it of your own design?"

Asfi nodded, helmet in hand. "It is. It'd be more impressive if it continued to work on everyone." Asfi carried a subdued irritated tone at being spotted.

"You can't win them all. So why'd you come? Hermes got any news?"

"Nothing for now. I need to speak to him." Asfi said as she nodded to the boy who moved swiftly around Aiz's attacks.

"Oh?"

Asfi caught Ansem gaze but quickly diverted her eyes.

"There's a girl suffering from nightmares, she believes they're premonitions, and well-.."

"Bell was name dropped in one of them?" Ansem said, finishing the thought.

"That seems to be the most likely interpretation."

"You sound skeptical."

"Call it professional skepticism. You're not?"

"It's not the craziest thing I've heard of. It's easy to fixate on the wrong thing when it comes to prophecies." Ansem said as his eyes trailed the two adventurer's in training. "So what's the context?"

"Hmm?" Asfi hummed in question, only to see Ansem nod to the boy. "It's likely that he may need to refrain from interacting with any individuals with ashen eyes for a brief time."

"Ashen?" Ansem faced Asfi, bearing an intense stare trying to be certain that was what he heard. "That's pretty specific. Do you got any leads?"

"No." Asfi said flatly. "Hopefully he can fill in that gap."

"Hmm. Ok." Ansem returned his attention to the fighters. "But Hermes is keeping tabs on him, why?"

"Excuse me?" Asfi replied.

"Aiz explained that few knew of these training sessions. And I doubt that Bell would tell someone outside of his familia about this. Hermes no less. You knew to come here to find him. So why does Hermes have you keeping tabs on the boy?" Despite Ansem's bias towards Hermes, there lay a caution in his voice, weary of the schemes that Hermes may have laid in place. Though he was certain it was nothing like the plans during the Trial of Fifty-Eight Days, he had grown weary of deity's and their inner machinations.

"It's nothing so dire. He is heavily invested in the success of the boy." Asfi plainly stated.

"I don't like that.." Ansem said as he narrowed his eyes at the thought of Hermes and whatever true desire lays within. "For some deity's, the end justifies the means. Hermes has shown me that example once before. So if there is something that needs to be addressed, would you be willing to tell me?"

Ansem turned to face Asfi to read her. He had chosen the words specifically to maintain that freedom that all being born of this world should have.

The freedom of choice.

"No." Asfi said firmly. Though Ansem looked to her heart before nodding accepting her stance.

"Alright then." Ansem said as he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.

"But that begs, the question." Asfi said as she stood on the battlement next to him. "Why are you here?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Ansem said as he focused his attention on the two. Their footwork and technique seemed extraordinary, the boy's primarily, considering how little time he had been in his adventurering career. Ansem could spot a few things, but even that'd be nitpicking.

Technique aside, he had to wait and see.

"You and Hermes…." Ansem said as he kept his eyes trained on the duo training below.

"Yes?" Asfi said acknowledging him.

"Why did you chose him of all gods?" Ansem asked. It was evident that he didn't think much of the deity with their troubled history, but for Asfi? He couldn't help but wonder why someone of her nature would follow him.

"Choice had very little to do with it. It was out of necessity." Asfi said as she shared his gaze.

"Hmm." Ansem nodded. "Bad home life?"

"You could say that." Asfi ambiguously answered as she remained cryptic.

"But once you were rid of that place, why did you stay under his wing?" Ansem asked as he gazed to her.

Asfi gave pause, considering his words.

"He can be rotten. Perverse. And quite often underhanded to achieve his goals. But when looking at the kind of deities that call Earth home, he's the most honest. Even when he lies." Asfi said recounting her experiences with him.

"You mean that you can see through the lies? And that you stay with him because it's safe?" Ansem said trying to comprehend her reasoning.

"Because I chose to." Asfi said simply. Ansem nodded, as he turned his gaze back to Bell and Aiz.

"Maybe the gods can change after all.." Ansem said under his breath.

"Maybe." Asfi said softly. "Or maybe what he always wanted was to keep things from falling apart.."

Ansem gave heed to her words. It wouldn't have been the first thing to come to his mind in regards to Hermes given their history. But dwelling on any one thing long enough would drive anyone to believe it.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

The world was a blur as his body moved through the space between her blade, dodging its edge. The momentum of Bell's dodge carried him past her, the sole thing in focus. The bottom of his boots slid across the floor as he braced one hand on the ground to keep him from falling flat.

Aiz stood a short distance away. With one leap forward, Bell was confident that he'd be able to bridge that gap and strike.

One step forward, then another. Bell leapt, landing a few steps before Aiz where he thrust his knife forward from across his torso and up. It was a daring move, to dive into the close quarters where Aiz's sword couldn't easily navigate, there he could place her into the equivalent of a checkmate.

Or so he thought.

Aiz grasped the flat side of her sword with her free hand, thrusting the sword down in a block. The shock sent a wide throbbing pain through his hand and arm, forcing his grip to relent, releasing the knife from his grasp.

From the beginning of the training session, that tight sensation in his chest he could easily ignore. Driving it to the back of his mind so he could focus on what was before him. That worked up until he realized he had lost his knife.

No. Bell's eyes grew wide.

It had been only a few days since the terror of the Dungeon had stricken him and his familia. Yet in that moment, every feeling of desperation, terror and adrenaline came back to the forefront of his mind.

The lines between reality and memory began to fade, and without hesitation he darted to his blade. Once the blade returned to his hand, his vision began to narrow as if the world around him became black, engulfed in a nothingness resembling the twenty-fourth floor. The sole thing in his sight was Aiz.

Lost in the blur, his mind was set with one goal.

Survive.

He dashed forward with no concept of speed or pace. All that he was aware of was that his blade was being thwarted again and again. He couldn't land a single strike. It began to feel tantamount to swinging in the dark as his vision narrowed even further.

Bell? A distant voice spoke softly in the silence.

In between the clash of metal on metal, there lay the faint sound of words being shared. No, they were being yelled as commands. But he couldn't stop.

That terror that gripped his stomach, and the grief of reliving everything propelled him forward, further narrowing his vision.

Bell, please stop.

He needed to survive to give the others a chance to escape the darkness.

Until finally the sole source of light faded like the light of a dying star.

BELL! Another voice faintly echoed, as if it carried the force of crashing waves dulled by distant shore.

Estranged from himself, the world and the darkness that engulfed his conscious seemed skewed. As if everything was distorted and pulled at an angle. There was no breathing, simply one lone breath neither in nor out.

And soon the beating of his heart fell to nothing.

He hadn't died. No he had no real idea where he was, nor how long he was in this state.

But the pain, the grief, it all vanished. There was nothing. But the solace never came. Instead therein lie a muted sensation, terrible in nature, in his being.

Something beautiful had died. And those who were lucky to survive had endured horrors by a sadistic monster.

The purity of his heart ached under this veil of ambiguity trying to nullify any and all, for those who had fallen and for those who had come so close to.

"What's going on?" The words managed to escape his lips.

"Bell. Listen to my words." A voice penetrated the darkness. "You're safe."

"I'm…. Safe?" The words formed a ponderous presence in his mind. As if the words held no meaning, his mind desperately trying to decipher their meaning.

"I'm safe." Bell uttered in a dulled voice with lips that barely moved.

The darkness faded as if Bell had woken up, and everything had changed. First the sensation of his boots came and the immense pressure that was exerted upon them, as he stood pressing his back against the wall, as if he had come to a mad scramble backwards. He could feel the trembling that traversed his body, and most prominently his right arm that was extended out in front of him. Squeezing his hand, he could the handle of his knife, yet the trembling dulled in its motion, as if it had come into contact with something soft.

Finally his racing heart and breathless chest heaved and hoed, as the light of the world came to. There he was met by royal blue eyes.

"Bell. Listen.. You're safe." Ansem said with both hands raised as Bell held the edge of blade to Ansem's throat where a small bead of blood gathered at one end.

"What happened..?" Bell uttered with trembling eyes as his body straddled its fight or flight instincts.

"Will you lower your knife, please?" Ansem politely requested.

"Oh god-…" Bell pulled back his blade, almost eager to drop it entirely. The man before him had never done him any wrong, yet to have drawn his blood caused an immense guilt and confusion to spawn within him. "I'm so so-…"

Bell's mind raced as he tried to put the pieces together, wandering every which way around Ansem and there to his left, not too far from him stood Aiz hidden by Asfi. Aiz's golden eyes, briefly caught Bell's but diverted themselves as Asfi stepped in front Bell's line of sight. Preventing him from the sight of her.

"Aiz, what-…?"

"Bell. Look at me." Ansem said.

Immediately there came an internal pulse from Bell's being that seemed determined to reject this command, yet as its influence waned the confusion brought Bell back to Ansem.

"Do you have any recollection as to what just happened?" Ansem asked.

No matter how much thought Bell, no answer came.

"All I remember is when my knife…" Bell said weakly, gazing at his empty hand.

"When your knife left your hand?"

"Yeah." Bell nodded.

Ansem was propped on one knee, only to drop to his behind. "So that's what she was talking about.." Ansem murmured to himself. It wasn't training, but to see what had been afflicting the boy during that training.

The trauma that the Dungeon had inflicted had followed him to one of the highest points of the city. That fact brought some pity for the boy.

"Huh?" Bell pleaded for an answer, prompting Ansem to reach out with one hand.

"Your knife hand. Show me it." Ansem said as he brought himself closer, taking the glove off of Bell's hand. "Do you lose grip of your knife often?"

"No I-… Only recently I-.." Bell's eyes fluttered as he tried to see how it was relevant. "Only recently when back in the Dungeon.."

-Back when he had fought the Harbinger. Reflecting on it even now, he could feel the pace of his heart begin to grow faster.

"And this is your only weapon? No back up?" Ansem probed. Bell could only nod, as versatile and capable of an adventurer he had proven himself to be, he couldn't help but feel utterly helpless reflecting on the events of the past two days.

Ansem rolled up Bell's sleeve, pressing his thumb right below his wrist in spaced intervals.

"What are you doing?" Bell asked.

"Checking something. Do you feel any tenderness in these areas?"Ansem asked.

"A little.."

"Have you ever had any injuries to this hand or arm?" Ansem asked as his eyes lay intensely focused on his hand and forearm.

"No, not this arm."

"Ok, then have you had any weakness or numbness and tingling in this hand? A sensation similar to if your arm or leg fell asleep. Anything like that?" Ansem said as he brought his examination back to the palm of Bell's hand. "Maybe waking up, with your arm tingling or numb?"

"Yes? But how is any of this going to explain what happened?" Bell asked desperately.

"I'm getting to that." Ansem said plopping himself back down on his bottom as he rubbed his throat, wiping the dried blood that had begun to crust and itch his skin. "Look, when you next see Amid, which should be today, because we both are still technically admitted under her, bring that up to her."

Ansem pointed to Bell's hand.

"-About the weakness, and numbness. How your grip is affected by it. She should then be able to put you on the right path to resolve that before it gets any worse. Alright?"

Bell nodded, as if he had any other choice.

"When she parried one of your attacks, and your blade went flying-.."

Ansem held up his hand and snapped his fingers.

"You went off, like that. Alright? You don't remember anything like that happening?" Ansem asked once more, trying to get any more insights from his observations up top.

"No, I swear. I didn't mean for whatever happened to happen. Just please tell me if Aiz is ok!" Bell pleaded his patience wearing thin.

Ansem sighed as he pursed his lips at the unfortunate circumstances that have just transpired.

"You cut her. Right below the eye." Ansem said pointing right below his right eye. "It's pretty deep, luckily, Asfi here was willing to spare a healing potion of hers. So Aiz is going to be ok."

Upon hearing what he had done, Bell immediately attempted to scramble to his feet to apologize. The thought of inflicting something so needless upon her, he couldn't bare the guilt, he couldn't the thought of becoming estranged from the one woman who he sought after.

"Bell. Please wait for a moment." Ansem said, before Bell could dart off. "I know you want to apologize, but do you know what you're apologizing for?"

"I hurt her, I hurt Aiz." Bell said.

"That's good. You can apologize for the action, but if you don't recognize what led you there, intentional or not, how can you prevent that from happening again?" Ansem proposed.

Bell drummed it over, fighting the impulse to dart off, but overwhelmed in conflict as what to do.

"But-… Nothing make sense anymore.." Bell finally said in defeat.

"I know." Ansem said. "But she means a lot to you doesn't she? That you're certain about, right?"

Bell winced, nodding, as if there were any doubt.

"Then why don't we take a moment and reflect on what happened?" Ansem said as he offered a spot right in front of him. "You really only have one chance to make an effective apology, this is just to make sure that you do it right, true to yourself and true to her. What do you say?"

Bell seemed to know what he meant by an effective apology. To only let that thing happen once. And yet, what happened, in it's entirety escaped him.

"What, we'd just talk?" Bell asked.

"Yes. If it helps, I'm more than happy to just listen if that's what you need." Ansem said.

Why? Bell held a look of bewilderment on his face as he gazed upon Ansem. This maybe was the third time in which he had interacted with the man. He'd never look a gifted horse in the face, but he couldn't fathom why a stranger would be so invested in him. Why a stranger would care.

"I see it." Ansem said, pointing to his own chest then to Bell's. "I know you're in a lot of pain right now. And what you two have is something special."

Ansem nodded thoughtfully as he gazed upon Aiz.

"For some people there will only ever be that one."

Bell's confusion shifted through the many things that occupied in his mind, and so too to the desire to satisfy the impulse of his good natured heart to race to Aiz in an attempt to apologize. His entire body cringed at the sight of her as Asfi used her own being to shield Aiz from him.

"I'm here to help while I still can." Ansem said.

Bell clenched his fist and lowered his head as he composed himself, turning his body away from Aiz to face Ansem.

"Ok." Bell said. As he sat himself down, he could feel Ansem's attentive gaze upon him.

"Alright." Ansem said before glancing at Asfi. He raised his hand with all fingers extended out, suggesting that they'll need five minutes. Asfi nodded.

Should've known better than to let Hermes buy healing potions from Nanhza.. Asfi murmered to herself in frustration as the wound on Aiz's cheek refuse to heal any further past the freshly pink scar tissue on the cheek under her right eye.

Sitting down with Bell, both he and Ansem slowly went over the events of training on briefly touched on the encounter with the Harbinger. Naturally, Bell would wince and shift uncomfortably. For a few brief moments, he was have to pause, gathering himself as his he tried to slow his breath from his heaving chest.

It had grown evident what propelled the boy forward into this panicked state as he continued explaining that the confusion and grief didn't end once they left the Dungeon. He carried the fallen elf, his friend, back to the place that she called home. The city had seen him grieve. And as much as Ansem would like to put his faith in the good of others, he knew very well that some people were opportunistic. That this grief would bring an opportunity for others to place and project themselves upon the boy, good intentions or not.

That grief that he faced was only further compounded by this confusion brought by a conflict of values. Ultimately whether or not those values and insights were from others or his own.

"Bell, do you think you have a good grasp on it?" Ansem asked after giving him a moment in silence.

The boy nodded, gripping his hands tightly on the slack of his pants.

"Ok. When you're done, though, Asfi needs to speak to you about something on Hermes behalf. You're not in trouble for anything, I just want to give you that heads up." Ansem said.

Bell rose to his feet, his conscience weighing down upon him, but he was determined to do what he felt was right for quite possibly one of the most important people in his life.

Asfi turned to face Bell, she carefully observed him in a manner that seemed to recognize the weight of which wore. Yet she shared no words of empathy, she merely took one step back, allowing Bell and Aiz to come face to face.

Aiz's own golden eyes danced around the features of his face. Searching for a lingering expression of Bell's previous violence.

"Aiz.." Bell said, his conscious weighing heavily on him, that it desired to draw his gaze down in shame, but his eyes remained locked on hers. "Are you ok?"

Aiz nodded

"I'm sorry that hurt you. I can't take back what happened, I wish I could."

Bell opened and closed his right hand, only to clench it tight. Even now the strength of his grip felt weak, drawing the memory of how he had lost his blade in the fight with the Harbinger made his chest tight with anxiety.

"Until I'm certain that it won't happen again, I can't-…." Bell struggled to say. "I can't train with you."

Aiz's eyes fluttered, reluctant to accept the notion because it was the short time that they could share together. Just the two of them. But she knew Bell was right.

"I can't stand the idea of being the one who hurt you." Bell uttered.

Aiz winced. She had knowingly done so much more to the boy than she could bear, and yet he wore this guilt heavily on himself over a mere cut.

"We-.." Aiz paused, bearing a nervous tone. "We don't have to stop seeing each other, do we?"

Bell's face immediately blushed, going into a mild panic. Every fiber of his being anticipated that she'd want this to be a hiatus between the two. It seemed like the only right thing in his guilt ridden mind.

Flustered, he turned back to face Ansem, looking for any clue what to do.

The main culprit was an event in which Bell would lose his blade in training with Aiz, and the trauma that was associated with his failing grip in those dire times. There was no reason to refrain from spending time together outside of training.

Ansem gave him a thumb's up that said go for it.

Jostled, Bell turned back to Aiz.

"No, no, no, we can keep seeing each other. Is that something you want?" Bell stuttered, in a brief panic as his hurried words came to a steady pace.

Aiz nodded thoughtfully.

"Mhm.. After this, there is something I need to show you." Aiz said softly as a mild anxiety spawned in her, pulling her gaze away from Bell she peered out to the city.

Somewhere it stood, and only just a short time ago had she returned to that place. It served as a reminder for why she had begun down this path, but also the selfish truth that she harbored.

"There's something-..?" Bell uttered back.

"Yes." Aiz said.

"What is it?" Bell asked perplexed.

Aiz looked past Bell, to where some distance behind them Ansem sat, carefully watching them. If she were looking for an another to answer what to do, she found none. This matter was hers alone.

She shook her head, vehemently, swinging her bangs.

"It's easier if I show you.." Aiz said, struggling to chain her words together.

"Aiz…?" Bell said as he took a step forward reaching for her hand. Instinctively she pulled it back, but without hesitation she reached back for his hand with both of hers.

"Please-.." Aiz began but faultered. All the words that the world would dictate be spoken in a situation like this, all that remained were the words for another place and time. Frustration loomed over her head.

For so long it was easy to hide it from everyone. All she had to do was simply exist, to be quiet. To observe. No one would know, that she was anything but calm and collected, that it was a misinterpreted fascade hiding her inability to properly formulate and convey what thoughts lived within her. And at times she seemed content with that distance.

But when she gazed upon the boy, there grew a yearning to cross that distance. And so it too brought her face to face with the ability she felt she sorely lacked.

Aiz shook her head, unable to bring her words to fruition. Dropping his hand, she walked past him.

"We're going." Aiz said, trying to hold onto the feelings and words that dwelled within her. Clinging to them in hopes that once they arrived, she'd be able to tell him.

Bell looked shocked and concerned, his gaze following Aiz as she walked down the length of the wall, to the tower.

"I'll walk with her, so you can talk to him." Ansem said as he rose to his feet..

Ansem strolled, hobbling with stiff legs that must've fallen asleep from his time sitting cross legged on the ground, to catch up with Aiz.

"What can I do?" Bell said aloud, oblivious to Ansem and Asfi.

"She said she needed to tell you something. So listen." Asfi said firmly. "It's that easy."

Bell looked to Asfi, wholeheartedly accepting the advice.

"Come on. Lets walk." Asfi ushering Bell alongside her. Bell relented, matching her stride.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

The sun had finally risen when Riveria had returned to her home, its light relieving her of the pale blue and sought to warm the few bits of skin had left exposed and bare from her coat. It was a quiet morning, all seemed quaint and relatively normal. What people had traversed in the masses to go to work had dissipated, leaving a trickle of food traffic.

In their absence, the morning birds had begun to sing their songs as some hoped from branch to branch, others massed and sought to call to others in search for their first meal.

Riveria arrived to the gate, her uncle's black shoulder bag slung over one shoulder as she attempted to open the gate leading to the property. She had one foot past the gate, before her ears alerted her to a few hurried footsteps heading her way. She looked back, and found two individuals walking along the fence line.

The first she recognized, the other left her perplexed.

Aiz and Asfi walked side by side, their steps overlapping. Riveria backtracked through the gate, and there she saw Aiz with her bangs hiding her eyes. Not too far behind them walked Bell and Ansem. Upon noticing Riveria, Aiz stopped some distance away just out of earshot and waited for the last two to approach her.

A brief moment, Ansem met Riveria's attentive gaze. But for once, he seemed to move on from her existence, focusing on the few before him.

Aiz spoke softly to Bell. Words that seemed to draw concern to be written on his face. Asking her, if she was sure. Riveria could only assume Aiz reassured her, and so he agreed. Casting a glance to Riveria he turned back to Aiz, as he backstepped, offering words that she couldn't manage to pick up on. If he were any close, she'd be able to read his lips, but at the moment they appeared nothing more than vague shapes. Their meaning unknown.

Bell turned and disembarked from the group. Asfi leaned to Ansem, her expression seemed like that of an suggestion. Ansem shook his head. This time, his voice seemed to just barely reach her ears.

"I think he has eyes in the back of his head. So keep your distance, alright? And Asfi, thanks again, you were a lot of help." Ansem said. Asfi nodded, and walked from the group, leaving Aiz and Ansem.

Aiz had her back facing Riveria, her body seemed stiff and upset as Riveria could only assume that Aiz was voicing a concern. Ansem knit his brow in worry for her. Even as Ansem spoke in a hush, as he placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to reassure her.

"I could've done something sooner-.." Aiz strained her voice trying to keep herself, forcing her words to fall short of Riveria's ears. "To help him, to help them.. Maybe then he-..."

"It's alway easy to blame yourself when you care about something so much, but Aiz, you did nothing wrong." Ansem said as he hunched over a little to meet her eyes.

Riveria found herself drawn into his words, taking a few steps closer. Only did she stop when she heard something so unfamiliar coming from Aiz. A strained breath, and a few brief words that only as she drew this close could she hear.

"I just don't want him to be-..." Her words fell short of Riviera's ear, but Ansem winced, and hugged her as she quietly broke. An action that brought some discomfort to Riveria, tempting her forward to separate them. But she heard the worries that washed over Aiz, the worries that she chose to confide and share with Ansem.

"You're doing everything you can now and I know that none of it has been easy on you. But you're doing more than what most people would in a situation like this." Ansem said.

Riveria stopped as he heard his words that were full of warmth. Stopping because she realized that they were words that she couldn't give, like she had tried once before after the Daedalus Battle. Disbelief swept over her. How could she be so inept at providing for someone who she practically raised? She was no mother, no, she wasn't Aiz's mother. But the time and energy that she had invested into her, it was everything that she had learned from her own family.

Recalling the words of her uncle.

Our family line has only ever taught us how to deal with things such as discipline and duty. The more delicate things, they can seem much like intimidating endeavors bound with uncertainty. Well, they are at first..

Steeling herself despite the inner turmoil she remained put.

"He is incredibly lucky to have someone like you in his corner." Ansem softly said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, so don't give up." Ansem said softly as he pulled himself away, reassuringly resting his hand on her shoulder once more. "Because he doesn't want to give up on you either."

"You're sure?" Aiz asked softly. Ansem nodded, trying to reassure her.

"Through thick and thin?" Aiz spoke, the words gracing Riveria's ears.

"Through thick and thin." Ansem said, restraining the lines of a heartfelt smile that desired to grow on his face.

"Thank you." Aiz said quietly as the doubt and guilt began to fade. Stepping aside there Riveria could see how the concern on her faced remained, as the ever present concern for Bell loomed over her, but most notably, there was a relief. That even though she faced these uncertainty, there lay hope.

Turning away, Aiz began to the gate passing Riveria without a word, looking to her right, as if to hide her right cheek.

Riveria stepped aside, watching Aiz pass the gates and enter the property of the Twilight Manor. Ansem's approaching footsteps caught her attention.

"Good morning, Nine-hell." Ansem said politely.

Riveria dumbstruck, found herself unable to reciprocate the formality.

"I have questions." Riveria bluntly stated. In reality, she fully anticipated that any answers would inevitably avoid her, imagining that her luck this morning could only go so far.

"Understandable. I may have answers." Ansem flatly replied. The reply caused Riveria to shirk.

"Ok, what happened?" Riveria immediately asked with no real expectation of an answer.

"Bell had a flashback to the Dungeon during training. He just blacked out and got a hit on Aiz. They're both a little shaken up by it. That's what this was all about." Ansem said as he gestured to where everyone departed.

"He did what?" Riveria asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, he's a good kid, he didn't know what was going on, please don't hold that against him."

Riveria paused. Taking a moment her gaze lingered downwards as she held on the two parts of her; the maternal instinct over Aiz, but the uneasy understanding of what Bell's current state.

"I don't intend on it. He's been through more than what we wanted him to be." Riveria said as she reflected on his recounting of what happened. "Is Aiz ok?"

"Aside from everything I just told you? She has a mark under her eye from it. Otherwise she's fine." Ansem said trying to rattle off the answers as fast as Riveria shot them out.

"And Asfi?" Riveria asked with narrowed eyes.

"She was relaying a message to Bell, from Hermes. Kinda weird isn't it?" Ansem shrugged at the fact at how far from normal that interaction seemed.

"Incredibly." Riveria said as she pursed her lips.

"Yeah, but hey, I'm sorry but is there a time crunch or somewhere you gotta be with how fast you're asking all these questions?" Ansem asked shaking his hands, utterly perplexed by Riveria's current demeanor.

"No." Riveria sighed. "You're just so damn cryptic. So to get any answers out of you is-…"

Riveria pursed her lips and shook her head in exasperation, not at Ansem but at the entire situation.

"…-Is a moment that I can't afford to waste."

Ansem nodded, knitting his brow as he mulled over Riveria's words.

"I apologize for being difficult, self-defense mechanisms are a damned thing.." Ansem said. " There are things that are genuinely difficult to talk about, but if any of it pertains to the safety of yourself and others, I will not hesitate to be transparent about it."

She wanted to believe his words, they seemed genuine, but ever since having met him there always hovered a sense of skepticism over him.

"Give me your word." Riveria said firmly. "If you truly mean it, if you do care about them, about Aiz, you won't let them get hurt."

Ansem nodded, taking a breath in, he focused his gaze upon her.

"I promise that I will take care of you and your people." Ansem said.

His words bore no artificial weight, nor were they hollow. They held a weight that washed over her. Ansem held an expression of stone with a soft focus as he gazed upon her eyes. The only explanation her mind could summon was that he was searching.

But for what?

"I'll hold you to it." Riveria said.

From the bottom of her view she spotted a red line across Ansem's neck. It was no crease of the skin but a minor cut, the thinnest part on the left, and gradually widening as stretched to the right, ending in a red dot the size of a small mole that nearly crusted over with dried blood with a faint red smeer surrounding his neck.

"Your neck." Riveria said, instinctually reaching out. With her thumb, she gently ushered Ansem to tilt his head. There was still a faint glistening red at the mole. "You're bleeding."

"It's nothing." But Ansem didn't refuse Riveria's advance, merely because of the unusual nature of it. Yet he still couldn't help but lean away from her. "You know, you're awfully touchy for an elf."

"Quiet. You need to be more careful." Riveria said reprimanding him after experiencing first hand how easily he bled.

"Oooh, look at the lovebirds!" Tione squeamed from behind.

Riveria jolted, turned around and found the Amazon twin, gushing at what she believed to be catching her with her hand in the cookie-jar, alongside another member of the familia. The sentiment brought Riveria to a standstill, craning her neck to face Tiona with a glare sharper than a blade.

"Your observation skills are like your chest; lacking." Riveria cold said, completely dismissing Tionae's attempt of tomfoolery.

Tione's face held a frozen smirk, one that was stuck on pause from her teasing as her ego was crushed.

"Holy cow, you killed her!" Tiona exclaimed with laughter at sister's humiliation as she wrenched over hysterically.

"-Ehhh." Was the only sound that Tione could make as her sister urged her on down the street.

"We're going to Hephaestus' shop, need anything?!" Tiona shouted with a dumb grin. Riveria shook her head. "Okey dokey!"

Tiona waved goodbye as she bounced herself around to face her way down the street to visit Hephaestus' shop to either repair or replace their weapons for the coming battle.

Word had already traveled through the grapevine of the Lokia familia that their strength would be needed again soon in the future. They may not know the full extent of the situation, but they had begun regardless.

"That was, uh-… That was something else." Ansem said at an awkward conversational standstill.

Riveria couldn't bring herself to look Ansem in the eye after Tione's teasing.

"Just forget that any of that happened." Riveria sighed as she raised her hand to her brow.

"Ok. Consider it forgotten." Ansem said with an indifferent shrug.

Riveria gripped the strap of the shoulder bag-out-on-loan, and faced Ansem. "I should be going shortly. Are you returning to Dian Cecht?"

"After I meet with Hermes, yes." Ansem said in a reassuring tone. And genuinely, she was relieved, because the funds that have been used to treat him along with the others cannot be refunded.

But Riveria couldn't help but narrow her eyes.

"Why can't you meet him at Dian's? You need to recover, or else you risk remaining utterly incapable. Hermes should recognize that."

"Woah, hey now." Ansem said with a mildly irritated chuckle. "Incapable is pretty harsh. Either way, Hermes specifically requested that I meet him elsewhere, in Hera's district. But like you, I kinda wish he didn't choose that place, Dian's would've been more convenient."

Ansem shook his head, unwilling to hide his displeasure of the deity even in front of Riveria.

"Chances are that it'll be brief. And if I'm guessing correctly, we're going to talk to Ganesha. After that, don't worry, I'll head right on back."

"But Ganesha is on the other side of the city. Why make you-?" Riviera stopped and sighed in frustration realizing there was no point in trying to understand Hermes' logic.

"Good.." Riveria said bluntly. Gripping the strap of the bookbag, she prepared herself. The mental clock that ticked within had begun to feel strained that she was spending too much time here, reminding her that she had to return to her responsibilities.

"Well, I should go."

Ansem said with a raised eyebrow. "Duty calls?"

"Yes. I've got quite the list of tasks to tend to." Riveria said, refraining that a select few of them regarded Ansem himself. "Good luck with your meeting."

"Thank you." Ansem said. "Same to you and your list."

Riveria nodded politely and faced the gate, where she entered the property of the Twilight Manor. Stepping back the green lawn and the occasional tree, she managed to reach the main door of the manor. Closing the elegant white door with gold inlay trim.

Walking to the stairs she ventured to the one space where she could dive into the materials that she had been given. Her room.

Unlocked the door with a key nestled in her pocket, she entered and hung her cold weather coat on the nearby hook in her closet. The interior of the manor felt safe as the door's latch engaged with a satisfying click.

The rectangle shaped room itself wasn't too large, nor was it small. In her eyes, it was a happy medium, where she could lounge comfortably but not a place where she could hideaway. Simply, the room served it's purpose and had their own dedicated spots or functions.

Setting the bag on the seat of her desk's chair, she withdrew the documents, careful not to let the files spill out. But when she reached for the book, it's heft took her by surprise. It's weight caused her desk to shudder, and the few sentimental trinkets she allowed shook.

The tanned leather cover was laid bare with no etchings or markings indicating the title nor it's author. Perhaps there was something inside? She pondered. But when she opened the cover, she was greeted by a wall of hieroglyphs on the pages.

Raising her eyebrows, she flipped through the book aimlessly. Each and every page was filled with the written language of the Gods.

"Huh.." Riveria said in a sort of awe at the overwhelming task before her. "This is going to take a lot of time."

Even with her upbringing and what she was taught, there was no way she could claim that she was fluent in hieroglyphs. And just how her Uncle knew that this particular book was a key component in stopping the Harbinger was beyond her. She didn't dare ask as already it seemed that the book was not one to be discussed openly, the same could be said about it's owner. Whoever they were, they were willing to hold onto this item, and willing to let it leave the safety of where it had laid for however long it had been since the Harbinger had last roamed.

It was safe to say that it belonged to a deity.

Yet as much as she desired to dive into her research, there were a list of responsibilities that she must tend to. Determined to complete those tasks, she left her room, in the hopes of returning back to her desk to begin her search for answers.

In her heart lay an anticipation of what was to come as she could not drive out those names from the first document she had briefly read.

Per the words of an ignorant child, the supposed half-deity, Serene, had a brother, and his name was Ansem.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

4.

Hermes found himself at the most southern landmark of the city. Folkvangar.

With the sun finally resting above the horizon, the coming winds would sweep across the planes and carry themselves over the low rooftops of the southern district. At least, that is what normally would happen. The air remained still, and so too was the city life that surrounded the familia's headquarters.

Hermes encountered few pedestrians on his way to Freya's home. The fact alone unnerved him as he was about to enter the belly of the beast.

With his first knock at the gate going unanswered, he boldly decided to enter the premises. An act that he would advise any and all to refrain from unless they desired a swift death. Yet as he strolled along the cobblestone path leading to the front doors, there came no warning, nor attack.

It was as if no one were home. Something that he was highly skeptical of.

Reaching the front door, it opened, inviting him in before he even could raise his hand to knock.

As his eyes adjusted, he spotted the figure holding the door. An elf stood with a narrowed glare. For a moment the elf stood in the doorway, silently declaring his reluctance on allowing the deity before him entry to his home. Moving aside, Hedin spoke.

"Enter."

Hermes dared only to flash him a smile, biting his tongue as he could only guess the volatile reaction any of his words would entice.

Entering the Freya's domain, his eyes rested on the masses of Freya's familia in the large open area that made up Folkvangr's interior. Nearly one-hundred of Freya's own stood battle ready and in formation before him. The sight alone caused his pulse to jump and skip.

All eyes were locked in front. Clear of distractions.

They stood with focus as they patiently waited for the word of their beloved deity.

On the second floor balcony overlooking them all, Freya stood with Ottar by his side. She gazed upon Hermes with a cold stare.

Hermes flashed a ruseful smile, squinting his eyes so that much like looking at the sun, he could refrain from succumbing to the nature of the deity before him.

"Freya-.." Hermes uttered softly, then his voice grew filling the once silent space. "Quite the welcoming party."

Hermes swung his view to the forces before him.

"Planning on going out for a stroll?" Hermes said, playing coy.

In all reality Hermes very well knew the reasoning behind their formation and so too the inhabitants of the southern district. The vacant streets were indication enough, that not even the working class sought to risk getting in the way of Freya and her children.

"The last time I saw such a collection of your forces all together had to be, what-?.." Hermes pondered aloud, trying to ease his own anxiety of being in the midst of her forces. Though intimidating, he was confident in them not being a threat to him. Afterall, Freya was more than willing to confront another diety herself. "Fifteen years? Funny, it feels just like yesterday."

Strolling forward, inspecting their form, Hermes turned back to Freya.

"Though those were much different times, weren't they? A time that required action for the sake of the city, for the two once-great powers to relinquish their role in the Orario. To bring forth; this-…" Hermes held out his hands, broadly gesturing to the quiet nature of the city district, and the other to Freya.

"And rightfully so; you."

Freya's influence was undeniable, practically irresistible for those who she had her sights on. Whatever she sought, sure enough she would obtain what she desires. All with a smile, some words, or merely by touch. Her charm bought her any and all.

Though Hermes liked to think he'd come to terms and had formed an understanding of her. That she acts with great intention in everything that she does. Whether they are carefully selected words in conversation, however brief, or her continued stoic nature that kept the effect of her charm subdued.

"So perhaps you'd be willing to share the truth of your endeavors? Word of mouth could spread, either in your favor or against you. Because this-." Hermes paused as he swung his hand to display her forces. "This might scare the children."

From below, Hermes spotted movement above on the balcony. A messenger had appeared for Ottar, who nodded and dismissed the individual, who vanished promptly. Freya gave Ottar her ear, and he whispered words just out of Hermes' reach.

"I will trust you with this task." Were the only words Hermes could pick up from Freya.

Ottar nodded, and spoke softly, presumably acknowledging the privilege of having her trust.

Silence followed as if Hermes was never there and Freya continued to turn her attention away.

"Freya." Hermes politely called out.

Freya paused as she held her hand on the railing of the balcony facing the eastern wing of the building.

"What is it that you hope to accomplish here?" Freya asked without giving him a glance.

"Preferably to keep the peace." Hermes said with a bob of his head.

Freya let out a single chuckle as if amused by her perception of him without even giving him a glance. "Your tongue is as slick as any snake."

"Excuse me, now that I take offense to." Hermes began.

"I don't care." Freya said sharply cutting off any further opportunities for Hermes to speak. "You chose to operate in the manipulation of information. A vile thing selling lies no matter the truth of it's contents. You've soiled the air of this space enough with your words."

Hermes stomach churned as her words graced his ears. Freya began to travel to the stairs, the heels of her shoes gently clacking against the marble steps.

"I did not come here for the exchange of bitter words, Freya. Nor to play any games." Hermes said as the veil of courtesy began to lift revealing a mild frustration at her name calling.

"Oh?" Freya asked. "Are you trying to lead me to believe that you, the Herald of Gods, known to be another cunning schemer who revels in their mischief, has the intention of conveying an honest message? The last time I gave credence to your words you dared make a fool of me."

"I know, I know, my reputation precedes me. But if the circumstances did not warrant my presence here, would that not at least entice you to heed my words?"

Freya narrowed her eyes in deliberate contemplation as she came to a stop after the last step, holding onto the elegantly carved railing.. Her lull in countering his argument gave him the opening to wedge in a different perspective, one in hopes to persuade her before she could enact upon her 'grand' plan.

"Whatever it is that you're planning, for good reason or not, the risk it poses of throwing the balance of the city into jeopardy is far beyond what any of us are prepared for. " Hermes said, attempting to reason with her. It was obvious this was no mere stroll. The formation of her forces meant that it was not for show, but a commitment to display their force through violence. And not a single individual in her familia would object to her will out of loyalty.

Freya remained silent, and if Hermes could dare say, it were like his words were reaching her. "Whoever it was that was hurt or taken too early from this world, whatever had happenedto that brought you to this point it, is it worth risking every other life?"

Hermes spoke symphathetically, trying to draw on the divine nature of her being. Trying to draw on what compassion there was rumored to be in the cold and calculated deity before him.

"You're willing to write off such a loss of life as an extenuating circumstance?" Freya said, as her voice tightened and eyes narrowed as she stepped down the stairs drawing closer to him.

"No, no life should be written off. But just as no life should be easily disregarded, if you wish to cast judgment upon someone you better know the whole truth." Hermes carefully said, trying to usher her away from her making what very well could be a terrible mistake. "Trust me when I say that is something I am deeply familiar with, and that I cannot bear to have such a thing happen again."

"The truth?" Freya asked softly, nodding as she came to her conclusion. Throughout much of their time interacting with one another, his understanding of Freya had always remained incredibly vague, only through great intention and observation did he begin to construct a blurry understanding of how she operated, her goals and ambitions. But with all that he had thought he had known, he never once witnessed the solemn expression in her eyes that she tried to tuck away. "So that is your truth.. But the city will know a single truth today."

"I will not stand idly by as another takes what is mine." Freya declared.

Hermes was dumbstruck. There never was any note of her familia suffering losses in the Dungeon due to the recent catastrophe that struck the other familias. Any job pertaining to medicine was cast upon the newcomer that he had been keeping tabs on. Even so, many of her children could handle themselves in the depths. Which left one other person in question.

"What? They're fine." Hermes said straining to keep his voice level in outright confusion as he looked to army before him. "Bell is fine. He survived." Hermes announced, not gleefully but with enough emphasis to bring Freya to narrow her eyes at him, evidently displeased at his knowledge of her obsession. "Blessed he is, that even his entire accompanying familia survived too. In fact the only loss was-…"

Ryuu Leon…

Hermes narrowed his eyes as the thought crossed his mind. Ryuu, the elven girl who shadowed the boy with an admiration that she seemed intent on sheltering from him. He'd known her to occasionally interact with Bell not only in the Dungeon, from the few instances he was able to collect from outside sources, but also a quaint little cafe nestled on the west side of town. A cafe owned by none other than one of Freya's own, and hosted with a variety of female fatales, a fact that they themselves seemed intent on hiding, yet their identities were obvious enough, at least to him. All except for one.

The Hostess of Fertility held one employee who many of its customers fawned over.

"Why would-..?-…" Hermes muttered aloud. Years and years of information compiled in his mind, there were pieces juggling trying to formulate a picture. Most of the time, a complete picture was never created, facts or key details ultimately would become lost to time. And a basic deduction was from substituting the most likely facts that could in its place.

Syr, was not only a great advocate of Ryuu but also for the other workers in Mia Grandes' establishment. But how much could he genuinely recall of the girl with light gray hair and eyes? She seemed to come and go as she pleased, often avoiding work with little to no repercussions. That was easy to tell thanks to a vocal member of the workplace. And from what he had learned from Bell, is that she often volunteers selflessly at an orphanage in Daedalus street. A place that reportedly had a benevolent deity overseeing the area.

All of these points held a weak connection. But what if that were intentional? To create plausible deniability of the actions of a deity who sought to live a second life. That didn't explain why or how she could be in two-places at once if that ever came to be, nor why she the Goddess of Beauty herself, a being who could have anything she wanted, do such a thing.

Perhaps there wasn't any grand reasoning other than that she wanted to. But even then it felt like a stretch. Then Cassandra's incessant rambling crossed his mind.

"Her eyes are silver…" Hermes mumbled. The similarity was uncanny, gray lacked the metallic shimmer of it's silver counterpart, but often they could be indistinguishable. "Even when they're not.."

"Syr.." Hermes found himself thinking aloud as the pieces formed together loosely. The name that brought Freya's eyes to sharpen.

"You've been digging your nails into him this entire time, haven't you?" Hermes asked with a suspicion.

Freya's icy glare all but confirmed it. Her words cemented how grave of a mistake he had made revealing her 'hidden' activities.

"Hold your tongue, Hermes." Freya commanded.

A jolt struck through his being, forcing his being to comply. He fell silent. Any and every desire to speak had been quelled.

Freya stepped forward and with each antagonizing step the anxiety that had spawned in his being grew. Even though her command was to remain silent, he couldn't force himself to look away from her.

No.. The panic had begun in him as he felt her charm.

With a wave of her hand, the formations of her children begun to move out in columns out of the front door. The sound of their synchronized footsteps filled the chamber.

Hermes could barely summon the will to close his eyes, leaving the sound of her approaching footsteps filling any and all stimuli. Soon he felt her presence near, and the softness in her voice as she whispered in a hush that bore a grim disappointment.

"I warned you, Hermes. Did I not?"

Hermes shivered but nodded under her presence.

"Once again, you overstep where you should not. The audacity that fuels your being never ceases to surprise me.."

There was no telling what she could command, and that alone terrified him, possibly a little too late. Yet there was a hope that shimmered within, that if he weaseled his way through the city's social structures he might be able to prevent the city from falling into itself just as they feared it would centuries ago.

"It is all that you are. All that you ever will be."

That hope he held within him was held for the boy and the future he'd help create. In a city where they'd declare him as the City's Hero. It was his own selfish desire to fulfill what Zeus had started.

There too dwelled remorse for the ignorance of his past and the lives it had cost, that up until now he could escape. With Ansem's return, realizing his own mistake, Hermes vowed he would not repeat the past. For the fear of failing Ansem and in turn robbing Bell of his chance to be crowned Hero, turned out to be greater than Freya's charm.

"Static. Unchanging."

As she grew closer, tried to muster the will to speak but her presence overwhelmed him.

"Doomed to be the conniving bug that you are."

Hermes opened his mouth to speak, but word failed to breach the realm of his mind. He was certain that she was there, witnessing this attempt, so he continued to struggle against her command with all of the will he could muster.

For a moment, she carefully watched his struggle, void of any sense of sadism, instead lingered an intrigue.

"Prostrate yourself." Freya commanded, forcing Hermes to his hands and knees. He fell with a gasp as his body gave out from underneath him.

Against the cold marble floor, his mortal body continued to tremble as it sought to jump at the opportunity to find safety, yet he remained stuck on the floor. Hermes could count the seconds as Freya's presence lingered.

Hermes strained his diaphragm, urging himself to speak. He had to. Every fiber of his being cringed at being shackled by her charm. The words repeated themselves over incessantly in his mind battling the obsession of lust and infatuation that swept over him until finally-...

"You will remain here, awaiting my return."

"△▼△▼△▼△"

"Freya" - Christian Reindl, Lucie Paradis

Bell had gone to the Hearth Manor after training, cleaning himself from the sweat of training, donning his black shirt with rolled sleeves and pants, all to bring himself to a familiar place. Luckily Hestia was visiting Dian Cecht's familia, where his friends lay resting, freeing him of any distraction as he attempted to leave the manor.

Fleeing the building in a job, he reached the gate and began to dash down the strangely empty street.

There came a soft sensation on the back of his head. Someone was watching him, and before he could garner much momentum, this sensation brought him slowly to a halt. Wearily he turned, and there he saw Aiz standing in a white summer dress a short distance down the other side of the street. She must've just arrived.

"Aiz?" Bell said as he began to backtrack slowly to her. His eyes briefly scanning the empty streets.

She stood bashfully, as if she had every intention on letting him dash off if he hadn't noticed her and turned around.

In the time it took Bell to change and compose himself, Aiz had arrived at the Hearth Manor. She seemed pretty determined as if she had it all planned out. But as they ventured down the street, Bell had lead them both on a detour, there was something that he needed to do.

"Is now not a good time?" Aiz asked softly as she trailed behind her. He had told her that it was ok when they were up on the Wall.

Bell stuttered, how could he say no to her?

"I just got to do something quickly, it shouldn't take long." Bell said turning back to her, throwing his thumb over his shoulder, hinting at his intended path.

"Ok." Ais said uncomfortably.

She knew where he was going, Bell was certain. There were a number of times that they had run into one another, and another number of time when he had brought it up in conversation.

So she had to have known that Asfi had to be talking about Syr. There had to be something that she had caught up on, right?

Bell turned to face Aiz as she followed close to Bell, skipping backwards, he kept his step. Convincing himself that Aiz was aware of why he was going to the Hostess of Fertility. "She's not a bad person, you know? All she's ever been is nice to me."

Bell spun himself forward, dodging a bit of trash on the alley ground.

"If it weren't for her, I'd probably have starved more times than I can count."

It was all in defense of the girl who he was warned of, but in his mind, as much as he wanted to bare the warning that was given to him, he had to know for sure.

"How can someone like that just turn-.." Bell shook his head. "She wouldn't. She wouldn't hurt me. Or anyone."

He had seen the Orphanage. The children that she had gone out of her way to care for. Bell couldn't believe there was a single bit of her that would harm anyone. It's not in her heart.

"Are you sure that it's a good idea though?" Aiz asked as was just a mere arms distance away, following Bell's lead as they navigated the nooks and crannies of Orario. "

"Hmm?" Bell said aloud, glancing back.

"Going to her.. I mean with me-..." Aiz said nervously.

"They can be wrong, can't they?" Bell said over his shoulder in defense of Syr. He couldn't find it in himself to vanish from Syr without a word, he'd feel like he was abandoning her. That alone gripped his heart with tremendous might, bringing each step closer. The main street they stepped out to held more people than most, perhaps it was due to the surrounding market

"If they're wrong? I.. I don't know, Bell.." Aiz said trailing off growing uncomfortable.

"She won't hurt me, Aiz. She is a good person." Bell said abruptly as he turned to face her in the streets. People strolling by feigning any lack of interest as the two stars of the city and the rising tension that surrounds them.

Aiz's gaze fell at the words as a solemn expression overcame her.

"You think that I'm not?" Aiz asked reluctantly, preparing herself for the worst.

Caught off guard by her misinterpretation, Bell stuttered, his words failing to breach his frantic mind.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come." Aiz said in response to his silence.

Turning, she began down the street.

"Aiz, that's not what I meant!" Bell pleaded through the crowd, trying to catch up to her.

A few frantic steps and he caught sight of her, turning back to face him. Never had he seen her like this as Aiz's normal stoic personality had come to wane. So much of her seemed uncomfortable, as if she were trying to reach out but upon treading foreign territory she would shrink back into herself.

"I didn't know.." Aiz softly said as she kept her gaze away as he approached. Uttering her defense from the words that fell from his lips during his dissociation in training. "I swear that I didn't know."

"I'm sorry! I don't understand, what didn't you know?" Bell said as he fought the habitual panic that usually overcomes him.

"I didn't know that you were going to get hurt. That she was going to-.." Aiz knit her brow with guilt. The guilt on her face, amongst the uncertainty of what she was already facing felt heavy upon his heart.

"I know. I know that you didn't know. It's ok." Bell tried to reassure her in a gentle hush that had a mild effect on her. So he held her hands. "I was talking about something else just now.."

Aiz nodded as she held her gaze away, gripping her hands.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel that way.." Bell said.

"Can we please go?" Aiz asked as she brought her golden eyes to his. Shifting uncomfortably on her feet as the eavesdroppers kept passing by. "I know you want to visit her but everything feels off.."

"Yeah, we can go. I'll come back later." Bell said gently, instinctively reaching for her hand. "Come on."

He spoke gently as he held her hand.

"Thank you." Aiz said, as the strain on and uncertainty on her face seemed a little relieved by the compromise.

Beginning a new course they aimed to escape the growing sense of claustrophobia that the passing citizens created as they ease dropped. At least until a voice rung out like a beautiful bell from the crowd.

"Bell?" Syr said in surprise as she appeared in the gaps of the crowd. She stood holding a single brown bag of groceries, just enough for the girls back at the restaurant. They had stopped a mere ten feet from each other. "Where were you? I waited-.."

Then a narrowed glare adorned Syr's face as she spotted Bell's companion who held his hand.

"What is she doing here?"

Bell felt his heart race at her sudden change of demeanor. The warmth of her character had vanished, in it's place a sharp cold emanated from her as she gripped her grocery bag tightly.

"We were just leaving, I'll be back I pro-.." Bell began.

"No." Syr said.

"Bell, we need to go." Aiz warned softly.

"Get away from my Bell." Syr called out. And so indiscriminately the people surrounding him parted leaving Bell in confusion as the people complied with her. So too, he began to feel Aiz pull away, his grip on her hand being the only thing keeping her close.

"Syr, please." Bell pleaded as he gripped Aiz's hand tightly.

Out of nowhere he felt the strangest sensations, a scornful gaze landed upon him. It came from the rooftops, and just as he noticed it, it vanished. In that split second he recognized it from when Bell, Syr and the children from the orphanage ventured into the tunnels.

Bell turned, to pull Aiz close. But it was too late.

To her surprise, Aiz's grip relented as a flash of black struck her. Separating the two from one another. A gasp overcame the crowd as their vision caught up to what had happened.

Alan pinned Aiz to the ground, pressing his forearm against her throat, the ground having caved slightly from the force of Alan's surprise attack.

"Fucking pitiful." Alan hissed as he raised his free hand for a strike to her skull.

Aiz dodged Alan's fist by moving her head to the side and in one swift movement she swung her right fist into his temple. As the force of her blow put him in an unstable stance, she reached across with her left hand to his left shoulder, pulling him off of her.

Alan rolled briefly and kneeling on the ground. Without rising, a single bead of blood dripped from his temple and dripped to the cobblestone road.

Shooting her a glare, he slowly rose.

"I've waited a long time for this." Alan said menacingly.

"Please wait a little longer-.." Aiz asked, offering her hand in an attempt to defuse the situation.

In a moment he vanished. One leap forward, and another off to her right he appeared as if from thin air and struck her with a blow equivalent to her own.

The crowd gasped as they watched her fly across the street, leaving Bell to witness it all. He prepared to follow as he watched Alan vanish into the crowd to catch up to Aiz, but Syr called out to him from behind.

"Bell. Come to me, please." Syr said almost pleading as she reached out with her hand, the grocery bag having been set on the ground. "You'll be safe with me. I promise."

Her sweet nature returned with words, and as much as he wanted to believe that, to fall within those words and believe, it didn't feel right. He couldn't allow himself to leave Aiz. Not with Alan, not when he led her into this situation.

Shaking his head, he wore a conflicted gaze as he stared upon Syr.

"I can't." Bell said softly.

Syr watched him turn away, his eyes reluctant to break their gaze on her before he darted off down the street to Aiz. As he vanished into the crowd, there lay a sinking feeling in Syr. Her heart ached. This boy was to be hers and hers alone. She willed it so.

So why does he constantly resist her? Were her pleas not enough to breach the boundaries of his heart and bring him to her side?

That sinking feeling continued when she realized that truly, her words were not enough.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

5.

"Taken" - Abbott

After leaving Riveria's company, Ansem walked. Venturing from the northern district to the western districts. To the place he once called home.

He needed to find an obvious meeting spot seeing as Hermes never mentioned one the night prior. There was an old bakery, run down of course in it's time left abandoned. It was in too far of ruin to be a suitable meeting point. As the soles of his loosely tied boots thudded against the unkept cobblestone, his gazed swayed from left to right. All of the places he had come to know were gone. Their sounds, their distinct smells.

The life that made this place home was gone.

In his search he had stumbled upon an old church. One devoted to Hera.

So too was she.

Standing in the open door way of the barron church, his eyes ventured to the roof that somehow still stood strong. Battered from a battle, only a few key columns supported the remaining patches of roof which blocked only a margin of the light from the late morning sun. As he stepped inside the ruin of her church, he felt this apprehension swell in his chest. He reached to one of the church benches to his right for support.

He felt lightheaded. Like the lights were slowly dimming. But clenching his fist, he forced himself to breathe in and he focused.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four. And out.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

He found it. A part that rested deep within him that burned like the flames of a fire too close. He was careful to draw a kindling of it and so the weakness that flooded his body soon faded. It was all that he needed, all that he could bare. His inheritance. And all that remained was the continuous pain that he fought to repress in an attempt to avoid wasting any more time.

There was only Ansem in the church, Hermes had yet to arrive and he hoped that it wouldn't be long. Standing in the aisle of the church, Ansem gazed past the stage as the light returned to his eyes. Past the pastor's podium stood a wall with a mural in honor and dedication to none other than Hera. Her visage worn, all that remained were fragment's of her person. To anyone else, the mural held nothing of value. But as Ansem approached, his tired footsteps caused the wooden steps to creak and the stage to groan, he reached the wall.

Just an inch away, he stood before her memory. Wiping the dust and the dirt away revealing a small window into what was. Closing his eyes he rested his forehead upon the wall, where he knew her's would be.

A deep heartfelt sigh escaped from his chest.

Before Vishnu, it was Hera. She was their saving grace. The first deity to offer more than shelter for the two wandering children. She was the first to offer them a home, salvation and respite from the harsh lands beyond Orario. The warmth that she provided still clung to his skin and heart. But now?

She was gone. Exiled.

"Hera.." Ansem softly said as he held his hand to where her face would have been. "I know you're still here, that you're somewhere out there, but I pray this still reaches you.."

So far he could tell that only it was the only two of them that knew the truth. There was no divine connection between the two. That now, his words may as well be cast into the wind, carried and spread into nothing. What little hope he had, rested in the faith he had in her and the memory of the ones he loved.

"You were always there for me. -For us.."

Ansem refused to admit it, that the toll of Forher's Right taken it's toll upon them all. He drove himself away from her. And if he could have, he would've driven himself away from Serene and the rest. Not to die a martyr, but save them from the disaster's that shrouded his name in infamy.

"You always knew-..."

He did only what he knew. To try and fix things.

"You always believed-.." Ansem choked. "You always believed in us. In me..."

Shame prided itself on depriving one of their self worth, it's reach far exceeding what Guilt could be capable of.

"Even when I didn't, you did. You all did. And now because of my name, you're all gone."

Shame knew not of what fairness was. Shame simply was all that had happened, all of the tragedy's were because one deserved it. As if there was some innate thing that deemed one to be worth lesser of the dirt under a man's feet. That it was right and just.

"I'm sorry." Ansem said solemnly. "-That I didn't listen. I was scared of the idea of losing you. Of losing anyone else.."

"Ansem!" A woman's voice shouted from behind. Ansem turned and saw the panic on her face. Gone was her normal expression of distant observation, in it's place Ansem could see the panic that something had gone horrifically wrong.

Bell and Aiz were in trouble.

Turning back to the mural of Hera, memories of what had passed, graced his mind. Memories of the people who had been taken far too early from this world. So long as he had breath in his lungs, as long as his heart still beat he vowed-..

"No more."

Turning back to the exhausted Asfi, he stood with a steeled resolution.

"Take me to them." Ansem said.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

"What do ya mean you're not gonna fix Roland?!" Tione shrieked. It felt like a travesty, one thing after another. First her greatest insecurity was called out by Riveria, and now the weapon she sought to be brought up to tip-top shape for their future battles.

"Don't make this any harder than what it needs to be." Tsubaki said as she stood behind the counter.

Behind Tione stood Tiona absentminded.

"I don't get it. Is there some sort of new blacksmithing magic-ry you can't do to fix it like last time?" Tiona bobbed her questioning.

Tsubaki planted her palm on her face in exasperation. "No. It's that-... Geh-. I'm sorry guys, just can't." Tsubaki said.

It was hard enough for Tsubaki to say it outloud, to reject a customer, to reject people who she had accustomed to seeing on a relatively friendly basis. But there were just some boundaries you don't cross.

"But how am I-..?" Tione swung her head around trying to mentally map out every possibility and everything came back to in order for her to be an effective fighter in the upcoming fight, she needed Roland in her arsenal.

Tiona stood off by far right wall that held some items on display, biting the insight of her cheek as she took her pointer finger to the tip of a blade on display. "Do not touch the items on display." Tsubaki said.

Tiona jumped a little and smirked. "Oh, sorry 'bout that!"

Adjacent to the main room, stood another room connecting to the rest of the building and out from the room came Hephaestus, seeming displeased by the presence of the two in her lobby.

"You are free to stay and look, but until noted otherwise the decision is final." Hephaestus said coldly as she gazed upon Tione with her one eye.

First it started with gossip. Then it tumbled commerce. If Hephaestus would not allow Tione to have Roland repaired, what of the Goibniu familia? Their weapons? And not just them, but the rest of the familia?

There grew a sense of isolation in her stomach. While they could endure by the grit of their teeth, the cost of that would be severe. And now? Now, it seemed that the only thing keeping their plan together was the fact that no one was up in arms.

"Well, we can't buy your stuff, and you won't fix Roland.. So I guess we'll-.." Tione said spinning herself around to the door and from the windows she saw an army heading north.

"Woah.." Tiona said in awe as she approached the display nearest the window. "Is that-..?"

Tiona turned to face her sister who stood silent. There traveled a small group of adventurer's, possibly numbering from three to four individuals. And as she peered into the crowd she could recognize the familia.

"I've never seen a group of them like that.." Tione said with unease in her stomach. Before long, they dispersed. Leaving only one who moved turned to an ally facing the southwest of the city.

A hand came into view beside Tione, reaching for the small sign in the window. Hephaestus flipped it, from open to closed.

"As I said before. You are free to stay and look." Hephaestus said sternly before walking away to Tsubaki.

No one would enter the premises for a fight. Nor would they wait outside. What Hephaestus silently offered was a temporary shelter.

"The things are waiting for ya in the back." Tsubaki said.

"And the note?" Hephaestus asked.

"Uhhh... There was a note?"

There was long audible sigh in the background followed by footsteps that faded away in the backroom. "You were supposed to leave the note.."

"What do ya think they're doing?" Tiona asked as she lowered herself to peer up to the rooftops, trying to catch a glimpse of Freya's adventurer's.

"Remember back home when that fowl got loose, and we had to find it?" Tione said, leading Tiona.

"Mhm.." She said with a nod. Wincing her eyes as she lost track of the adventurer's.

"Well, I think that's what they're doing."

"They lost a turkey too!?" Tiona almost gasped at the gossip, leaving Tione to roll her eyes at her sister.

"No, they're looking for something. Or even worse, someone." Tione said uneasily as she began to worry for whatever poor soul were to be their target. "We should get back."

"Orrrrr-..." Tiona trailed off as she carried a wide mischievous grin.

"No." Tione said in disbelief at the absurd idea. "We shouldn't."

Tiona's smile did not relent as she then proceeded to raise and lower her eyebrows.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

Aiz flew across the barron street and crashed into the lobby of what was once a small cafe that lay now long abandoned. A plume of dust billowed out from the structure, and before it stood Alan. His face covered in sweat and a sore scowl that refused to fade.

It was silent as the dust settled. Chunks of brick and stone intermittently clattered as they fell. Yet Alan waited, doubting that the Sword Princess would have fallen so easily. No person could mistake her as being weak. Facing her, Alan knew it would be a challenge. But she was a powerhouse, and her agility was nowhere near his own.

Every punch, swing and kick she had landed, it was nowhere near the strength it should be.

She's holding back. And that thought alone frustrated the hell out of him.

From the dust a silhouette appeared, walking towards him unphased by the collapse around them.

Aiz stepped out with her fists clenched, her white dress dirtied and stained red.

"Allen. Please stop." Aiz said in warning, her golden eyes trained on him. "We can't afford to fight one another."

But her words were wasted as his frustration mounted at her audacious statement.

The building behind Aiz creaked and groaned, and even though she knew they were near the abandoned district of the west, she could help but listen intensely for any cries of help. She turned only just enough to listen and keep her eye on Allen.

She knew of his wrath. The stories echoed throughout conversations at the Hostess of Fertility. Sometimes, Gareth would joke that in another life both Bete and Allen would've been as close as brothers with their shared resentment towards those they believed were lesser. But Aiz knew better than that. That Bete was mean.

Allen was cruel.

Aiz had hoped that she could resolve this issue before Bell caught up. But Allen had other ideas. In a blink he vanished. Forcing her to rely on her eye to hone in on his intended course to strike her. Amidst the sound of the falling building, she heard him. She dodged, but it wasn't enough.

One missed strike was followed by a second to her left shoulder heaving her through the air as she landed on the cobblestone. Rolling like a ragdoll, she struggled to push herself off of the ground as one arm was stable, the other was not. She yelped in pain as her dislocated shoulder strained itself through the flesh of her back. The skin and tendons underneath stretched forcing her to lean off of her injured arm.

Standing up, she leaned over. Her left arm dangling under its own weight until finally the tendons and muscles contracted, pulling her shoulder back into place. Aiz let out a sigh of discomfort and then relief as her arm had returned to normal.

Allen stood at the base of the now crumbled building where she just was. With scornful eyes tracking her, he had barely broke a sweat. Then he began his approach. Aiz gazed upon him uneasily, preparing herself for another bout of fighting until she heard his voice.

"Aiz!" Bell shouted as he rounded a corner. For a brief moment he stood in the middle of the street some distance away with a look of terror on his face as he saw her condition.

Then Bell grew silent as he turned his gaze to Allen.

"You stay out of this you little prick!" Allen warned seething with contempt with a finger drawn to him.

Bell took a long hard look at Allen. Aiz had recognized his expression, she had seen it in so many others. His nostrils flared as he took a deep breath in, and his body tensed. Leaving the only thing for Aiz to do was to scream in objection. "Bell! No!"

Before the words escaped her mouth, Bell darted off, vanishing from her view.

One leap, then another. Aiz had trouble keeping up with his movements. She had always known Bell to be fast, but the intensity of which she had seen just now left her in surprise. Too bad it wasn't enough.

Allen vanished, dodging Bell's forward attack with ease. The boy slid on his boots, using his momentum to spin himself around to face Allen as if he had tracked his evasion. Allen hadn't moved far, he stood a few steps away glaring at the boy.

"Remember." Allen said.

Without hesitation, Aiz leapt forward fearing that Allen would strike Bell down.

"-This is all your fault."

Aiz closed in, and Allen swung.

Then the world went dark.

Allen's fist met Aiz's temple with a solid crack and her body fell limp rolling to the ground, kicking up the dust and dirt that now stains her once gorgeous white summer dress. It happened all too quickly for Bell to comprehend. And once he saw her laying on the cobblestone unmoving there was released an unholy cry.

"AIZ!"

Bell's heart burned with a fire as he clenched his fist. It was a strike without thought, one purely driven his heart's desire and the pain that was inflicted watching her fall.

Allen dodged once more, side-stepping out of the way.

"Stop your wailing." Allen said with a snarl. But Bell swung again. "This is what you wanted isn't it?"

Bell swung and missed.

"You got what you wanted, and now you're being a little shit." Allen continued and so too did Bell's attempt. But with each failed strike, he had grown closer. "When is it enough?!"

"Hey, stop it." Allen warned as Bell's fist grazed Allen's side after narrowly dodging.

Allen met Bell's eyes who shared a hostile glare. Bell dropped and spun his leg out, but Allen leapt backwards.

"Stop it, you little shit!" Allen said as he landed a few steps away. But before he could finish the sentence, Bell had already begun to close in. Unleashing strike after strike, Allen had no choice but to keep falling back.

"Hey-!" Allen shouted as he parried one strike away from his face with a growing scorn. Bell stood close, just inches away from Allen. Bell swung his right to his side, only to miss again.

Bell's failed attempts were not for the lack of trying. But was the prime example of the vast differences in capabilities in adventurer's who were at two different levels. It was this that gave Allen some confidence in his abilities. They were earned through blood and sweat.

He endured for a one who he had sworn his very life to. His loyalty, unwavering.

All for one.

All for Freya.

Then Bell had struck Allen's cheek. His head lurched to one side as Bell froze for one second as the realization overcame of what he had just done.

Bell had hit Allen, the fastest being in the city.

Allen straightened his glare to the boy. For a moment there was a silence, not one of contemplation. No. It was the coming of wrath without thought. Allen returned with a strike of his dead center in the boy's face.

Bell's head lurched backwards and wherever the head goes, so too the body will follow. As his body hit the ground, Bell struggled to get up as his body lay twisted. His right arm flopped to the ground having failed to push himself up. The boy groaned as his eyes rested on Allen. The blood trickling down his nose that now stood broken.

Upon the sight, a cold wave washed over Allen.

"Fuck." Allen panicked in his own realization. Allen screamed in frustration. He had broken his word to Freya. "Fuck. Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!"

Allen ushered forward, preparing to strike him out of frustration. Before stopping himself and shouting at the fallen boy who clung to consciousness.

"YOU!" Allen pointed to Bell. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Allen clenched his fist as his body tightened. "YOU UNGRATEFUL, UNDESERVING VILE FUCKING PIECE OF TRASH!"

He screamed full of rage, where his voice shook the dirt.

"I SHOULD-…!" Allen stopped as he stopped a shimmer on the ground in between him and Bell.

Bell's eyes tracked Allen's gaze and before them was his knife. In his fierce tumble it had become unsheathed. Then Allen approached it.

"No.." Bell said weakly reaching out to it.

Once more had Bell lost possession of his knife. And he was helpless, unable to obtain possession of it as Allen gripped it in his hand.

"You did this." Allen hissed coldly, as his own voice shivered in anger. He gripped the blade tightly before turning away, marching to Aiz.

Bell's heart raced as he tried to call out to Allen. "No."

Bell planted his palm on the ground, trying to left his chest off the ground and unwind his body out from under him so he could stand. Every fiber of his being ached, and his head throbbed.

"No." Bell called out once more as he forced himself onto his knees.

It was happening all over again.

He was going to lose her.

He was going to lose Aiz.

Bell's heart began to ache in fear of losing her. He couldn't.

He couldn't.

He couldn't.

Allen reached down to Aiz, grabbing her by the collar of her dress and tossed her to the remains of the crumbled building like she was nothing more than a broken toy that no longer served it's purpose.

There she sat, hunched forward, her head bobbing up and down as her consciousness came back to the world of living, if even for but a moment.

Bell gasped as a wave of pain rushed over him, as he came to one knee. The pressure in his head growing as the light of the world overwhelmed him.

"Aiz."

Aiz's golden eyes perked up to the sound of Bell's voice.

"Bell?" She said disoriented. Focusing her eyes, she could see the faint hostile silhouette of a man before her. Yet she could not respond to this threat. Instead, the strength she had come to rely on had fled from her body.

Slowly Allen came into focus, knife in hand. But instead of preparing a strike with the blade of the knife, Allen struck his fist into her face once more.

"Be-…" Aiz said.

"You shut the fuck up." Allen scolded her before striking her once more, sending Aiz's head to bobble after hitting the stone rubble behind her.

Allen shifted the knife in his knife as Aiz's bloodied golden eye's met his. He prepared his aim to thrust the blade into the top of her skull to watch the life drain from her eyes.

"No!" Bell shouted with all of his might as he forced himself onto his feet. "Aiz!"

"Look away." Aiz said weakly to Bell as Allen cocked his hand back. "Please."

Bell weakly held out a closed fist, his aim wavering between the two as his rattled consciousness tried to cling to the world. He was preparing to cast as he grimaced, trying to force himself to focus.

Aiz closed her eyes waiting. But the strike never came.

"The hell?!" Allen said.

"That's enough of that, don't you think?" A man's voice growled.

When Aiz opened her eyes she found a hand gripped Allen's forearm with a stern look on his face.

Allen turned to face the stranger, and repulsed by the intrusion he shurked his arm but found himself unable to free himself. Allen tried to free his arm, but Ansem's grip did not relent. Instead Ansem casually threw Allen a short distance away from Aiz. Even as Allen tumbled and landed to his feet, his grip remained strong on the knife. And slowly he rose.

"Pretty sure that knife doesn't belong to you, kid." Ansem said. "I'm going to need you to hand that over."

Allen straightened himself up, emitting a foul aura to the nobody who thwarted his wrath.

"You want it? Sure." Allen said through his teeth.

In an instant he was gone, and from Ansem's blind side he appeared. From the years of training, Ansem was able to grasp Allen's right arm once more. The act brought a look of shock upon Allen's face as Ansem locked him close by locking his right arm around Allen's left, gripping his shoulder and thrusted his forehead down to the aggressor.

Allen's head whipped back with a crack, and his body fell limp in Ansem's grasp. Maintaining his grip on Allen's arm and shoulder, he carefully lowered the boy to the ground.

"Such an angry guy.." Ansem said under his breath before checking the boy's pulse. Thankfully, the headbutt didn't kill him as his abdomen continued to rise and fall. Behind him, he could hear a figure breaking through the still air behind him.

Asfi had joined them and already she had begun to treat Aiz.

"You-…" Bell's voice came from his right. There was a mix of relief and awe in his voice.

Ansem turned and met the boy's rubellite eyes. Bell continued to struggle in rising to feet after having fallen back down. His dominant hand landing to the ground to brace himself.

"You're.." Bell said as Ansem approached him.

"The guy from before? Yeah." Ansem said, reaching out his right hand as he approached Bell. "You ok?"

"No, I'm fine. I mean, yes. But-.." Bell said, trying to correct Ansem as he gazed to his shoulder. "You've been stabbed."

He couldn't see anything from his left side, but by tilting his head and carefully drawing his hand across his collarbone he could feel the damp and sticky shirt that was stained with blood. Not too far away the hard metal of Bell's blade stuck out from in between his collarbone and shoulder as his fingers gently wrapped around the blade trying to keep it in place.

"Ah shit." Ansem glanced back at Allen who remained unconscious on the ground. "Funny guy, huh?"

After such an injury, his body had undergone shock, blinding him to the wound as well as the nerve damage further altering his awareness of the blade sticking out from him. All that he could pick up on was the arrival of heat that emanated from his wound.

"Should we pull it out?" Bell asked.

"Nah, if it hadn't already, we might knick an artery." Ansem shook his head as he turned to Asfi who was kneeling down beside Aiz applying aid and with an empty potion vial in her hand. If they would take it out now he'd just bleed out.

"Asfi?" Ansem nodded to Aiz. Asfi's ears perked up and Aiz weakly bobbed her head towards them.

"She's coming too. But she's in rough shape. This'll tide her over for now-…" Asfi trailed off as she eyed the blade sticking out from his shoulder.

"I know." Ansem said bluntly, getting it out of the way.

"These potions can treat her. You need medical attention." Asfi said firmly.

Ansem silently nodded as he approached Aiz and waved Bell over.

"How are you holding up?" Ansem asked softly as he kneeled down, while using his opposite hand to stabilize the blade in his shoulder.

Her face was horribly swollen, the cracked skin from the amount of inflammation and dried blood that clung to her skin despite Asfi's attempts at cleaning it off.

"Not too bad." Aiz mumbled, it was a sentiment that made Ansem chuckle as he softened his gaze. He knew that she was trying to not let them worry.

"Yeah? You could've stopped him." Ansem said as he looked down and saw that she wasn't carrying her sword. "But you didn't. Why?"

"You said we shouldn't fight one another.." Aiz said softly.

Ansem sighed as he wiped the sweat from his face. "When it gets down to it, you have every right to defend yourself and the people you love."

"I know.. I just thought that.." Aiz trailed off as her gaze landed upon Bell. "Maybe this once, I wouldn't have to fight to stop it."

"You're precious." Ansem said under his breath as he rested his hand on her shoulder. Through the fading swelling, she smiled softly.

It was hopefully naive to believe such a thing in this instance. But he didn't dare squash that. She had hoped for change. To break from the habits and conditioning of life she had lived and force herself into a situation outside of her comfort zone.

Yes, it was foolish. But she dared to make a change.

"When can we move her?" Ansem asked Asfi who was a foot away kneeling by Aiz's side.

"A couple of minutes. If I had my other bag I would've been able to make these into proper potions, not whatever Nazza made." Asfi said in exasperation.

Ansem glanced to Aiz, and she nodded her head agreeing that she just needed a couple of minutes.

"Nazza? Isn't she one of Miach's?" Ansem asked.

Asfi nodded. "That's where we found your friend." She said, glancing to Bell, trying to hint at Cassandra. Bell fully well understood.

Cassandra was known to have these prophetic dreams. Dreams that may have turned to bear some weight in recent events. And her words had gone unheeded. But perhaps it wasn't too late.

Ansem slowly rose to his feet, trying to keep himself steady. Leaning over to Bell, he whispered. "When we're done here, you and I, we need to talk."

Bell's eyes flinched just a moment. It sounded anything but a pleasant conversation as they both knelt near Aiz who slowly recovered.

"Yes, sir." Bell said, steeling himself. The boy knew what the matter was. He didn't tremble, nor start a ramble of excuses. Ansem nodded and diverted his attention to the fallen individual.

"Who was this guy anyway?" Ansem asked as he slowly made his way over to Allen.

"His name is Allen and he's one of Freya's. It's not often they break out of the woodwork, but when they do, well.. They're not very cooperative." Asfi trailed off. "It just had to be this one."

"What do you mean by that? Something wrong with him?" Ansem probed.

"Wrong? I guess 'volatile' is the answer you're looking for." Asfi said as she continued cleaning up Aiz's wounds. "He's often referred to as Freya's Chariot. A name he earned by always being by her side. Which could only mean one thing.."

"That she's nearby.." Ansem said quietly to himself. "I don't like this.."

"Aiz? What's wrong?" Bell asked.

Ansem turned them, the swelling had already gone down on Aiz's face, and Ansem could see the sudden alertness in her eyes as her fight or flight mode activated. Then she pointed to the far end of the street.

"Ansem…" Aiz said wearily at the possible threat.

They all turned, following her gaze. At the far end of the street a mountain of a man stood with a group of five adventurer's behind him, and a set of two set on the roof's above that began to draw themselves closer.

Ansem and the man stood about one-hundred yards from one another.

"Asfi, care to fill me in on the big one?" Ansem said as he kept his eyes trained on the man who's being emanated an unrivaled strength.

"His name is Ottar." Asfi said with a dread as her eyes locked onto him. "That's the Captain of Freya's familia."

"Yeah.. He's pretty high up there isn't he.." Ansem mumbled to himself.

In all of his research that Eina had brought him, he had neglected one familia. Freya's. For reason that are solely his own, he couldn't help but realize his mistake, for of course, it just had to be the familia that he left aside that he may very well be standing at odds with.

"He's level seven." Aiz said, groaning as she braced herself against the crumbled wall, slowly rising to her feet. Then the lumbering giant began his slow approach.

"Aiz, you-.." Asfi tried to encourage her to be careful with her wounds, but quickly trailed off. With Ottar in the play, there was no telling what would happen, and if anything did, there was no being careful.

"Asfi, if it's things out of hand here.." Ansem trailed where she picked.

"We'll make our way to the Guild." Asfi said.

"Good." Ansem nodded as he kept track of Ottar.

"I'm not leaving." Bell's voice rang with resolve causing Ansem to break his gaze and bring it to the boy.

"What?" Ansem narrowed his eyes, perplexed.

"This is my mess, I'm not going to leave you to clean it up." Bell said. There was no doubt that his words were unshakeable. But that only meant that-..

"I'm staying too." Aiz said as she summoned her strength, fighting the fatigue and the injuries that had only partially healed.

Ansem glanced to Asfi who looked severely uncomfortable. Per Hermes request until the matter of Cassandra's dream were to be resolve, she was to keep an eye on the boy.

"Damn it." Asfi said confining herself to her duty, then looked upon Ansem where they locked eyes.

"Alright then." Ansem said. He could see it, the thing that lay within Bell, the thing that had drawn Aiz to him. When things got tough, that soft naive exterior shed it skin and underneath lay the heart of a man bound by honor, courage and the determination to win. "-Together."

Ottar's roof-bound sentries closed in before he had arrived. Surely having heard all that was discussed, whatever unease slipped through Ansem's mind. He didn't have the luxury to worry, when Ottar approached that aura of strength grew, all he could think of was how to prevent the worst to come. A key part in doing so was ascertaining what Ottar wanted.

Ansem stood before the fallen adventurer, Allen, who lay unconscious with the noticeable rise and fall of his breath. For a moment, Ottar observed his fallen 'comrade,' and the dark trail of dry blood for his forehead as his ground sentries covered behind him.

"He's alive." Ansem said, trying to initiate conversation. "Just unconscious."

Ottar remained quiet as he transitioned his gaze to Ansem. Slowly he drew his eyes upon Ansem's forehead where a small red bump had spawned, and then to the blade still lodged in his shoulder. Recognizing it's hilt, his eyes traveled to Bell, spotting the broken nose, and fell upon Aiz whose condition had marginally gotten better.

Asfi's breath shivered as Ottar's gaze fell upon her. But as soon as he had, he returned to Ansem. And so spoke to the one who met him after coming to his conclusion of the events that had transpired.

"I've come for the boy." Ottar said bluntly, taking them all by shock.

"Uh- what?" Bell asked rapidly, looking to the giant.

One of the ground sentries approached Allen and grabbed him by the back collar of his shirt before gripping Allen's belt and tossing him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"He was attacked by that kid. One of your subordinates." Ansem said, gesturing to the fallen Allen. "You really think he'll go with you willingly?"

"No. But it is better than the alternative." Ottar said.

The air stood still. The man before them all had committed himself to one goal. As he stood as the city's strongest, who could oppose him?

Truly no one in their right mind.

"You can't just take him!" Aiz tried to shout but it came out more than a strained cry out to Ottar. Her body ached, causing her to clutch her side that remained stained with dried blood.

"I can." Ottar said.

"I-… I don't understand. Why?" Bell said bearing some nervousness, he had no intention of complying with Ottar.

"For your own safety."

"Is this on your own accord, or Freya's?" Ansem asked. Though Ottar said nothing, already it was too much dialogue for the man, giving Ansem the answer he needed.

"After everything that has happened to the boy, wouldn't you say that Freya would offer her compassion and allow him make a decision of his own? If she truly cared for his well-being wouldn't she be fair and respect his wishes?"

Ottar remained silent. For them, or rather, for the Freya familia there was no other more fair and compassionate than their deity Freya. She was their salvation, the one who they have sworn their lives to as no other deserved such brilliance. All would fight to earn a place by her side. And the way of her heart though sometimes shrouded in mystery, it was divine. Beautiful. The world was undeserving of such a deity.

That is where their loyalty lay. Of course she would be fair and compassionate.

Ottars gaze swept to the boy as Ansem carefully tracked Ottar's eyes.

"Bell, if you were to choose any person in the city to be your guardian, who would it be?"

It was a question aimed to buy time for Bell to select someone that he had already built up a report with, one that hopefully would be deemed worthy in both Freya's and Ottar's eyes. The entire process of selecting, finding said person, making the request, creating a contract and relaying that to Ottar and Freya should quite possibly take three days.

Just enough time to get back to work and set other things in motion. Mainly preparing for the upcoming revival of the Harbinger.

Bell's eyes darted anxiously, mentally going through the list of the people he had come to know in his time in the city. Perhaps it was that none of them were fit to stand against Ottar, or perhaps the stress of the situation forbade him from making such a decision.

For what came from him could possibly be interpreted as an impulsive decision.

"You." Bell said.

Ansem broke eye contact with Ottar. Upon his face he wore a serious yet careful expression as he turned to Bell.

"Bell, is that what you truly want? There's no one else?"

Bell searched and searched in the confines of his memory. It all came back to the same conclusion.

"Yes." Bell faintly said as he nodded, under the gravity of the situation.

Ansem gave Asfi and Aiz an uneasy gaze. They aimed for diplomacy, to stave off the chances of a fight. One of the key components to that were if Bell were to chose someone in the city to buy time. Someone with a reputation that could be taken into consideration.

Not a stranger. A nobody.

Asfi shared the uneasy gaze back to him.

The chances of avoiding that fight had gone down drastically.

Turning back to Ottar, Ansem met his gaze.

"I accept his request to stand as his guardian." Ansem said firmly. "As an envoy of your god, please pass those terms on to her."

Ottar raised his hand, and for a moment it were as if the entire world were in shock. Everyone froze and their bodies tightened, until they saw one of his sentinels approach from behind.

"Report to Hedin." Ottar said over his shoulder. The sentinel bore a disdain gaze at being given an order but still vanished in a second a later to fulfill it.

Reaching into his one his pouches, Ottar pulled out a small vial and tossed it to Ansem. With his poor depth perception, he still managed to catch it.

"What's this for?" Ansem asked, weighing the different meanings behind such a gift.

"Compensation." Ottar said as he gazed upon the knife that remained in his shoulder. "You're going to need it."

The Boaz Warrior gave them one last glance, and signaled the sentinel's with just a look before turning away and departing from the group.

Finally came relief. The tension in all of their chest eased as Ottar drew farther and farther away.

"I guess that means he accepted the terms.." Asfi said as a deep breath expelled the tension from her already tense body.

"So it seems.. Now if only Freya will.." Ansem said wearily, turning away but yet still at odds with the idea of letting Ottar out of his sight. "Bell…"

Ansem began as he approached the boy, gesturing to the knife.

"You don't want to wait?" Bell asked with some confusion.

"I don't have a good feeling about this. We're going to take every opportunity given to us so that we can get out of here safely. Sound good?" Ansem asked as he kneeled down before Bell.

The boy nodded, confidently grasping his words. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to pull your knife out. And please for the love of the gods, don't panic and try to put it back in. There may be a lot of blood." Ansem explained.

A shiver crawled up the boy's being, but still he nodded.

"Ready?" Ansem asked.

"Mhm." Bell said as he carefully hovered his hand around the hilt of the knife.

Ansem closed his eyes, took a deep breath in and grasped the vial that was given to him, and the bottom of his white shirt with the other.

The blade was lodged possibly three to four inches into his shoulder, and the fact that he hadn't coughed up any blood was a good sign that his lung wasn't punctured. That left the condition of any severe internal bleed, namely, the subclavian artery that runs from his heart to his left arm. If it wasn't nicked already, it very easily could upon the removal of Bell's blade.

"Pull." Ansem said.

In one swift motion, Bell pulled the blade, and with it came a glop of thinly coagulated blood. Nothing that would be considered normal as its strands failed to stay together and sprayed in an arc as it carried the momentum of the blade.

Upon seeing the dispersal, it was as Ansem said, Bell's eyes widened and if weren't for his prior comments, the first subconscious reaction was to put the blade back into the wound to stop the pressure of oozing blood that followed the blade.

Opening the vial and downing it's contents, Ansem tossed the empty vial aside and poured Nazza's poorly concocted potion onto the wound. Though he had no doubt about the quality of the potion that Ottar had given him, Ansem knew that with his blood that eagerly flowed from any open wound if given the chance, he couldn't risk leaving it at just the one potion.

Not when he had only one vial of the water left.

Bringing the bottom of his shirt to the wound, he applied pressure waiting for the potion to take effect. As he held his eyes closed, he felt Bell push his hand away and then apply pressure for him. In the brief moment that Ansem opened his eyes, he saw Bell holding a folded up handkerchief and applying pressure to his wound.

"Thank you." Ansem said quietly as he returned his eyes to gaze at the inside of his eyelids.

The heat that emanated from his wound slowly subsided, and for a moment things had returned to normal. At least the normal that was about fifteen minutes ago. Exhaustion still lingered but that was easily repressed.

"Yeah.." Bell said as he held the white handkerchief that eagerly soaked up his blood. "Why don't you like it?"

Ansem grimaced as he hesitantly took a breath.

"Let me answer that with another question, what do you not see here?" Ansem offered.

Bell looked around to the barren streets.

"It's empty?"

"Close enough." Ansem said as he winced, closing his eyes, waiting for the heat to subside. "There aren't any people here. If a fight breaks out, they can say whatever they want had happened."

"△▼△▼△▼△"

6.

They moved en masse. All in formation, not a single person out of step, not a single person out of sync. They were rigid, yet fluid. Moving around the obstacles of the city and forming back together. Most of the streets were cleared, the few citizens of the city watched in wonder and tense disbelief. As if thinking the same thought.

Oh how the mighty fall.

In the Twilight Manor, they were blind to it all. Riveria found herself walking through the corridors of the southern section of the manor. Folder in hand. It was one from her Uncle. After having gone to meet with Loki, she abruptly turned back, in search of this particular document. Hoping that it could help the two of them connect some dots between the most recent catastrophe in the Dungeon and what had happened some time ago.

Her jade eyes wandered down to the open folder, skimming the pages to find the page with the most notable information. Whatever traffic in the corridor she was able to steer around with ease. That is until Lefiya rounded a corner with great speed and bumped straight into Riveria.

"Oh!" Lefiya shrieked as Riveria's folder fell from her hands. "I am so sorry!"

Lefiya shuffled the book in her hands in between her arm and torso and gathered the pages back into the folder. For a brief moment she paused to make sure they were in the correct order, but ushered in a new thought that it would be better to get them off the ground first.

"Here!" Lefiya holding the folder out to her with a blushed face.

"Thank you." Riveria said tiredly at the inconvenience.

Lefiya turned aside allowing Riveria to go by and carry on but the large leather bound book held close to Lefiya chest caught her attention.

"You found Tiona's book." Riveria said in observation.

"Oh, yes! I did." Lefiya said as she briefly glanced to the cover and once more returned it to her embrace. Ensuring that it wouldn't escape her as an expression of confusion and concern swept over her. "I found it in the strangest of places."

"And where was that?" Riveria asked amusing Lefiya, knowing of the lengths that Tiona had harassed her over the book's unknown location.

"Well, here's the thing-..." Lefiya began hesitantly. "It was on top of my dresser."

Riveria narrowed her eyes in wonder of how she had missed it. The thing you were searching for was under your nose this entire time.

"Please don't look at me like that! My dresser is much shorter than the wardrobe, all I have to do is look down and spot it!" She began in defense. "Besides, I searched and reorganized my room countless times searching for this. Tiona too! She helped!"

Riveria fought to keep her words to herself, and instead opted for something a little more gentle.

"Well, I'm glad you found it." Riveria said hoping to end the discussion there and was fully prepared to leave.

"Please wait! That's not all." Lefiya said in a nervous hush. "I was on my way to find you, until well, yeah.. Anyway.." Lefiya swayed her head as she danced around the subject. Lefiya glanced back down to her book. "I know that I didn't leave it on my dresser."

"Because I left it with Aiz in her room.." Lefiya said. "But when I saw her last she said that she had never gotten it. And no one else besides me and maybe even you have a key to my room or hers. So that doesn't explain how this book reappeared out of nowhere. It's like it grew legs or something." Lefiya said as she subconsciously examined the bottom of the book.

"Have you noticed that, lately, things are a little out of place here?" Lefiya said uneasily in hush as she tried to discretely scan the surroundings. Opening up her observation of the current state of the Twilight Manor.

If that were so, if things were moving from one place to another, then someone had access to places that they shouldn't. Knowing Loki, her obsession stretched only to Aiz, so her infringing upon Lefiya's peace of mind was out of the question. Whoever else it was though, left Riveria with one more question. Assuming that this was not just the anxious mind of an elven teen.

Then came a glimmer casting its shimmering light upon Lefiya.

"What was that?" Lefiya asked innocently, gazing out the hallway window.

Riveria turned to follow Lefiya's gaze only for her jade eyes to widen at what she had seen.

Wrapping her arms around Lefiya, the young elf shrieked from the sensation, and Riveria immediately began to cast as they became engulfed in a white glow.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

Freya stood at the main street, just before the street widened for the Twilight Manor. It was a large block of a manor with a number of towers that dotted the sides of the building. She found the design lazy, repulsive. Or perhaps that was her bias.

Raising her hand, she found herself pleased at the remodel that was about to take place. Once her hand reached its peak, a series of quick chants were sung sending a long volley of magic mortars up and over her. The first wave started just past the gate, its magical round impacting the grass, unrooting bushes and trees, and in one quick succession that wave reached the manor.

Striking the face of the manor, a plume of dust and debris erupted from the building, racing out to the street. The tower to the far right, groaned under the impacts that crawled up its structure, until finally enough was enough. As the dust began to settle, the tower groaned one last time as the structure shifted down vertically. Sliding for a moment down it's base and then it crumpled upon itself as it fell down to the torn lawn.

Lowering her hand as the dust swept over her, Freya stood amidst the dust, unphased by the ruin. She kept her cool eyes trained on the building, examining the violence. For as the dust settled the sight brought by her ruin was one of horror. The entire front face of the Twilight Manor lay in ruin with its structure bare and exposed for all to see like the skeleton under rotten flesh.

This was the power of the Freya Familia. A strike that many would say would be undeservingly merciful. Yet she lay this strike down for all to see the skeletons of the Loki familia. To leave them exposed and vulnerable.

To humiliate them.

"You crazy bitch!" A voice shouted from the building. A head of gray fur jumped from an exposed ledge landing on the ground.

"Oh no you don't!" Another shouted in retaliation of the to-be retaliator. "You get back here! You hear me!?"

Loki stood covered in dust, with scraps all over her body in what was once the entrance of the Twilight Manor. But most notably the scorn she had in her eyes was frightening. Bete ceased, turning back with a confused grimace. It was aimed at him.

"You crazy or something, they just attacked us!" Bete shouted back.

"GET BACK INSIDE!" Loki shouted as her chest heaved.

Bete bared his teeth as he gave the Freya familia one last glance.

When Bete turned back, he saw the color in her eyes as she gazed upon him. She was restraining her anger. Trying to hold on to some semblance of control. And if Bete leapt out, he knew that would be the final crack in the castle of glass.

"Inside. Now." Loki said through her teeth.

"Fine." Bete said begrudgingly.

"Don't fine me. You'll do as I say and GET BACK INSIDE!" Loki commanded as her chest heaved.

Silently Bete returned to the ruin where a few others had gathered in audience of Loki.

Walking through the narrow pathway that remained between craters of up-turned dirt, she crossed the line of the gate and narrowed her eyes to the point where anyone could guess if she could see anything at all.

"What's with you marching up here and BLOWING UP MY DAMN HOUSE!" Loki howled as she stood before Freya. Her voice echoed in the silence.

Freya stood there. Silent. With a contemptuous gaze upon her face as she gazed upon Loki.

"Reparations."

Freya's single word filled the air. Bringing all that was to silence and stillness. The scowl on Loki's face remained, twitching slightly. She knew it was just a matter of time before Freya made her move. And that when Freya acted, she moved with an unshakable conviction.

There was nothing for Loki to say. All she could do was stay quiet with her scowl accepting what had happened. That this act of violence inflicted upon her home, and that shame that carried with it for all to see, was payment for the ill-perceived acts towards Bell and his familia.

Loki trembled with anger and frustration, clenching and relaxing her hand as words drummed themself up in her mind to say. Words arrived at the precipice of her mind, preparing to teeter off the edge and into the world until a figure arrived from out of nowhere. Not one person seemed at odds with the sudden appearance. And as word was relayed from one to another, a young elven man approached behind Freya.

"Lady Freya." Hedin reported, bringing her to turn to face him. And with words that escaped Loki's ear, he fell silent awaiting her answer.

There were to be no lavish words of grandeur. Nor the swelling and uplifting the hearts of those around her. As time and time again, her words were not enough.

She would make sure that no one would dare defy her.

That she will reclaim what was lost and taken-..

"I refuse." Freya said.

-All for herself.

Freya turned back to Loki, and gave sight to something that brought fear into the eyes of the Goddess of Mischief. Her cool demeanor shifted into a restrained wrath bearing a resentment that reached far beyond Loki's own understanding. And not long after, Freya swept her gaze away turning her back to Loki.

"Remember today and know-..." Freya said coldly. "That you are still because I deem it so."

Detachments broke formation and began to their destination. Leaping from the streets to the rooftops, others rushed the streets and alleyways. A select few walked alongside Freya herself.

They all share the same destination.

The Eastern District.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

"Kill The Crown" - 2WEI

"Shape of My Heart" - 2WEI

The shockwave's strength waned as it traveled through the air. Dust and dirt from the rooftops of the buildings were swept up in its wake. But the clap of thunder that followed was not

"What the hell was that?" Ansem said as a wall of dust shot off from the rooftops of the buildings and down to them.

It was all sourced from the northeast.

"An explosion, maybe?" Asfi added before glancing to the rooftops. Suggesting for her to scout it out.

"Give it a look, but we need to keep close." Ansem said, Asfi's sandals fluttered as the wings gave flight. Ansem turned to Bell who still was applying pressure to his wound. Slipping his hand over Bell's, Ansem spoke. "I can take it from here, thank you."

"Of course." Bell said, nodding.

"Anything?" Ansem shouted through the distance between him and Asfi.

Asfi hovered for a few moments, and in the reflection of her glasses it was evident that she had just witnessed one of the towers belonging to the Twilight Manor fall.

Sinking to the ground, Asfi's shoulders seemed to tighten and her body stiffened as she turned to them.

"Freya had attacked the Twilight Manor."

The color from Aiz's face paled as the news graced her ears.

"Asfi.. Are you certain that it was Freya?" Ansem said gravely as he instinctively took one step closer to her.

She nodded. "Unfortunately, yes."

"But why would she do that?" Ansem asked, offering the question to anyone willing to answer. Yet to Ansem's finding, Bell was the only one who diverted his eyes.

"Bell?" Aiz said, turning to him. Her voice with concern.

"I-.." Bell began as he attempted to string words together. Asfi watched the boy, waiting for any insight into the matter.

For as much as anyone knew of Freya, she would come and go as she pleased. Other than that, much wasn't known of the deity. And the prophetic words from Cassandra led to only more confusion.

Such as; why would her actions to the boy bring the fall of all that they had known? Then she heard footsteps.

"I think we have bigger fish to fry." Asfi said as her voice tightened, peering down the street. They all followed her gaze.

Ottar had returned marching down the street to them.

"Shit." Ansem said as his fist clenched.

A fight was the thing he wanted to avoid. And if that proved to be inevitable the most he could do was stall for the time being.

"The roof's!" Bell shouted pointing to the rooftops.

A number of sentinel's have returned up top, and wasted no time beginning their incantations.

"Alright, we're backing up to the church!" Ansem ordered as he began back stepping to the group.

A whistle-like sound erupted in the air as a ranged cast was completed and began it's descent to the streets. What looked like a shard of crystal shattered into multiple colorful fragments mid air before raining down on the street before them, its blast crawling towards them.

"Move now!" Ansem shouted.

Bell led the pack, his mind on full alert as the adrenaline coursed through his body.

"Do you know where you're going?" Asfi shouted through the sound of intermittent detonations.

Waves of dust and debris closed in from the streets beginning to engulf them.

"Yeah!" Bell shouted, not quite being able to express that it was once his own home.

"Must go faster!" Ansem shouted behind them.

"What's at the Church?" Aiz shouted through the deafening tones of chaos behind them.

"Tunnels!" Ansem shouted in reply.

A look of confusion adorned Bell's face. Never once had he found tunnels in the church. To his knowledge, there was only a basement where he made his home. But already the church was in a bad state, so perhaps it was something he missed. If that was so, it left Bell briefly pondering how Ansem would know.

It shouldn't have been far, and at this pace it could be any moment before they reach the Church. Rounding a few corners, they approached the main street of the Eastern District. Bearing left, they charged forward as a plume of smoke and debris erupted from behind them. Bell glanced back at the destruction in awe.

There came a moment of terror, a shudder that crawled through his body.

"Not much farther!" Ansem shouted from behind them all, covered in dust. His eyes constantly scanning the rooftops trying to anticipate the next wave of attacks. To his surprise the rooftops seemed eerily vacant.

"There!" Bell shouted pointing to the ruin. A sliver of nostalgia washed over him as the memory of his early days in Orario flashed before him. Growing closer and closer, there came a figure some two hundred yards from them.

The figure didn't belong to Ottar, this person's figure was slender, elegant. A body that held curves aimed to captivate any and all. The finer details of their being blurred by distance even to high level adventurer's. But that distance didn't impede Bell and his perception. He could feel her gaze. The cold stare bearing down upon them that caused Bell to stop dead in his tracks.

"No." Bell uttered as the others stopped behind him.

Ansem gazed down the street and for the first time he saw Freya. As adrenaline flooded his system from their escape of the chaos, everything felt exaggerated, for his stomach became knotted as his heart sunk. Compounded by the confusion of-

Why are you doing this?

A fiery of magic was unleashed behind Freya, engulfing the Church, utterly decimating it. A flurry of magical light engulfed the church and then it transformed into flames. In front of the fallen church, the light of the flames illuminated Freya's back she peered onto them and their horror.

The Church of Hera had fallen, consumed by the wrath of Freya and her children. The closest Ansem could ever be to Hera, gone.

There stood only Freya.

There was nothing there that he was told of ages ago. A goddess pure of heart. One who offered compassion, fairness. Her loyalty unwavering. A deity for the people.

It was as if the final words of his father were all a lie.

In their wake was a deity of unfound wrath. One who knew boundaries and continued to ignore them.

"Pantheon! Now!" Ansem shouted as he watched the Church of Hera fall, and the shockwave swept over them. As their first plan failed, the second option was to route themselves to the Pantheon on the surface.

The group pivoted hot on their heels to follow Ansem's order only to freeze.

Ottar had caught up.

There was no feasible way to escape conflict. The only option was to fight.

Instinctually, Ansem struck Ottar in the stomach. Ottar found himself having slid three feet backwards. Gazing down to the trail of his boots on the ground, he gave Ansem an amused huff.

Closing the gap, Ottar gripped Ansem by the neck, lifting him high above the ground, leaving his feet to dangle as surprise flashed upon his face.

Ansem grimaced as he anticipated what would happen next.

Ottar slammed him into the cobblestone street that immediately gave way to the sewer system below. The integrity of the street groaned and strained as it tried to maintain it's form, but the impact of Ottar's strike was too much.

The street's structure failed, caving in underneath Asfi, Aiz, and Bell's feet. Sending them plummeting to the sewer along with Ottar and Ansem.

Dust clouded their view even from the short distance between the group and the fight. The sound of thrashing water and solid strikes filled the air. The only thing missing was the stench. And as the dust began to settle, they saw Ansem held down by Ottar under the clear water.

Ansem, swinging his free hand into Ottar's temple. His skin had grown red and slowly the skin began to break. But Ansem was drowning.

Asfi reached into her pouch and shouted.

"Cover your ears!" Swinging her hand out, she tossed a metal orb with elegantly curved metal fragments. As the object landed, it erupted into a sudden blinding glow of light, and a sharp sound that would damage any ears that lay unprotected.

In the split second, Asfi did something uncharacteristic of herself. She swung the heel of her shoe into Ottar's already bleeding temple.

The difference between the two adventurer's were staggering. She groaned as it felt as if she had struck a brick wall.

Ottar's face and hair wet from Ansem's struggle, he glared at Asfi without so much moving his head. Asfi felt her heart skip a beat from his presence, as his gaze offered her a chance to reconsider her position in the situation.

Ansem's open hand rose from the water dripping red with a fresh wound in the shape of a bite mark and gripped Ottar's face. In a fraction of a second, the water boiled and steamed, and sourced from under the water came a blinding glow that traveled up to his hand.

A violent ball of light erupted followed by an explosion that gripped Ottar's face.

In the time of being blinded, Ottar had been thrown across the sewer wall as brick and dirt collapsed all around him.

Breaching the surface, Ansem gasped for air and his body spontaneously expelled from his lungs. Coughing and wheezing that lasted only seconds, he peered over to Bell and the others, whose gaze then traveled to where Ottar lay temporarily incapacitated.

They had no idea what to make of the event. The light they had saw, and the fact that the strongest in the city was unable to withstand it's blast.

"Why aren't you running?" Ansem asked as they wasted valuable seconds, before it clicked in their heads.

Aiz nodded her head. "Right." And extended her hand to Bell. Asfi reached for Ansem to help him up where she whispered.

"You mind telling me what that was?"

"Not really." Ansem said as he expelled the last of the water from his mouth. Thankfully, as the Eastern District was abandoned, it's sewer system had no sewage to transport. The water itself was clean, sourced from the river that flows just east of them.

The rubble began to shuffle as Ottar came to.

"Go now!"

Wasting no more time, they fled the tunnel.

Swiping the rubble off of his body, Ottar rose, his face wincing as his face bore a hand shaped burn. Inspecting the burn, he was surprised by the pain that resonated from the wound, and he found himself in a state that he wasn't used to.

His heart raced. Not from fear. But from the adrenaline of a fight. Still, despite this development he easily remained calm, but welcomed the sensation all the while restraining himself to complete the task that Freya had given to him.

The stoic expression on his face turned to a scowl as he gazed up to the figures that fled him. In one leap he cleared the collapsed sewer system and landed in the street. Already the boy and the stranger had fled blocks down the street.

Clenching his jaw repeatedly, his chest heaved as his body sought more oxygen. Reaching for his back, he pulled one of his two swords and stomped his foot down into the street.

A fissure traveled down the street, racing to the stranger and the group. The earth cracked like a clap of thunder drawing their attention. Immediately in response to the incoming attack, they veered North to an alley from the Main street.

The group's spacing spread out, instead of them being clumped together, now he had his target spaced out from the boy.

Leading his aim, he threw his sword. The blade spun end over end at a speed that surpassed the capabilities of any citizen to perceive.

A blast of magic that created a well of inverted gravity thwarted Ottar's blade, diverting the blade in between Ansem and Asfi and into the building down the street.

The sword decimated the structure of the building, causing the corner to erupt with brick and mortar out onto the streets. Like a set of dominoes the entire structure of the building collapsed before them. A cloud of dust billowed up into the atmosphere, giving the fleeing group the cover that it needed.

Ottar gazed up to the roof's where he found one of his sentinels. A fool eager to prove his worth to their Lady Freya.

The Sentinel felt Ottar's scornful gaze and waved his arms in apology trying to prevent himself from being on the recieving end of Ottar's wrath.

Dismissing the fool, Ottar returned his attention to his targets.

Ansem followed the group through the alleyway where the light of the sun failed to reach them. They had only managed to traverse two city blocks, and a small feat, and still they had much more to go. If they had any hope of reaching the neutral ground of the Pantheon, they would need a miracle.

A mortar of magic arced in the sky, howling then violently erupting as it impacted the second story of a building to their left. Instinctively few raised their hands over their heads for cover as they ran, the others increased their pace.

"They're gonna have to stop!" Ansem shouted as they grew closer to the populated area. The series of magic attacks began to trickle to a stop.

Rushing through the alley way Asfi turned her attention to the many intersections of alley that criss crossed between buildings.

"I don't like this." Asfi said upon noticing the alleys being free of pursuers.

Leading the pack, Bell slowly came to a halt. Sweeping his gaze from the rooftops to the alleys.

"What's wrong." Aiz asked in concern.

The alleyway fell silent as they watched Bell. The boy's eyes looked at no particular place, yet swept for the area. It looked as if he were listening for something. But even to the others and their adept sense of hearing they heard nothing.

"Bell.." Ansem quietly probed.

"They're just watching us." Bell quietly said as his face winced, trying to focus more on a sense that not even the rest could harness.

"... I guess they let up?" Aiz said as she turned to Ansem.

There Ansem could feel Asfi's gaze as she studied him. That sensation alone brought a shiver through his being.

"Guess so.." Ansem said, trying to avoid her gaze. Before turning around to find the Boaz Warrior had arrived.

"If you wanted to escape. You should have kept running." Ottar said, standing behind them a short distance away.

Ansem instinctively held his arm out, ushering the others behind him.

"You say that, but you never would've stopped." Ansem said, acting as a barrier between Bell and Ottar.

The Boaz Warrior nodded, confirming Ansem's suspicions.

"Then what was the point of going to the Guild?" Bell asked wondering why at all was it worth going that distance.

"A fight in the public eye." Asfi said catching Ansem's thought. "Most importantly, for the Guild to see. To cater both public opinion and the Guild's to your favor."

"Politics." Ansem said.

"There already has been great public dissent upon one of the powers of this city. It's unlikely for it to fall upon another." Ottar said in slow approach. "It was a fool's wish to think you had any chance. Now turn over the boy to me."

"Ansem.." Aiz uneasily said as Ottar approached. Ansem gave her an uneasy glance at using his name out loud so publicly. If not Ottar ears, then the sentinels and the rest of Freya's familia would surely hear it. That alone was already too much unwanted attention.

"Very well then." Ansem said in anticipating the violence that was to be set loose. It was not the first impression he wanted to make. In fact, he wasn't too sure he wanted to make a first impression with Ottar to begin. But here they stood.

Ansem approached Ottar, and then the Boaz Warrior swung with a strike as fast and fierce as lightning. Ansem vanished into the building to the left of them, leaving them with a blur and the sound of the destruction as his body broke through the structures. Ansem's blood spattered across Bell's face.

The sound of destruction ceased but the buildings groaned and the group remained eerily silent. There was no running. How could they hope for such a thing? How could they have thought that maybe there was a chance to oppose Ottar?

It was as Ottar had said. It was a fool's wish to think anything else.

"Bell. No one else has to die." Ottar spoke as he offered his hand.

Bell stood frozen. Was there any choice?

"Why?" Bell uttered without thinking. And as Ottar began to speak Bell cut him off. "-Why does anyone have to die?"

Ottar narrowed his gaze at the boy's sentiment.

The rubble began to shake, drawing everyone's attention.

Ottar faced the gaping hole in the building beside him, intrigued by the development. Then for a moment, he looked pleased.

In the second that Ottar was there, suddenly he was not as a fury struck him carrying him into the building opposite of him. There came no grand reveal of the assailant, they all knew who it was. And Ansem had met Ottar with a force great enough to knock him from his feet. Possessing a strength that defied their understanding of what was possible. That no mere human, no normal individual in recent times could achieve outside of the Boaz Warrior himself. Outside of the fallen Zues captain.

But this was no time for contemplation. Only time to act.

Grabbing Bell's and Aiz's arm, Asfi led them down further into the alleyway veering to the center of the city. As they moved reinforcements arrived shouting in condemnation at their comrades who had simply watched the events transpire. And so the chaos ensued.

With Ottar occupied by Ansem, ground forces arrived in pursuit behind them and the alleyway grew narrow.

Running in the shadow of the buildings, they dodged the incoming throwing knives as they ducked into an alley perpendicular to them. Asfi, ushered herself to the edge of the intersection, reaching into her bag throwing a small metal orb. Bell waited for the flash by closing his eyes and covering his ears, but instead her aim guided the orb to the brick wall before the first pursuer.

The metal orb shimmered before aggressively bouncing from the wall and striking the first pursuer in the head, rendering them unconscious. The metal orb shimmered again, and instead of losing the transferred momentum it continued its assault down the alleyway catching the group of pursuers off guard as they watched their comrades fall.

They chose not to flee from the expected turn of events, their pride was too strong for that. Instead they attempted to charge forward. Determined not to be thwarted by such a silly toy.

Asfi stepped out readying herself another contraption, at least that was her intention. Aiz stepped out from under Asfi's raised arm, and rushed out to meet the closest remaining pursuers.

Aiz moved, closing the gap with such speed that her stained red summer dress fluttered. Carving herself through the air around her, she struck the closest pursuer sending them into the wall. Their body slumped as the strength left their body.

Bell carefully stepped out into the alley way. Mortified. They were all fighting for him. In some way, shape or form, it all came back to him. He couldn't understand it. What did she want? He was just a boy. An adventurer.

When he had first come to the city, he was rejected by everyone. Not a single deity accepted him into their familia. He had no skills. All he had was the passion and desire to start a harem, and now, he wanted to be strong enough to be by Aiz's side. If not, then surpass her.

He wanted to win.

But none of this felt like a victory. He didn't want for Aiz, or anyone to get hurt. And most of the people in Freya's familia he didn't know, so how could he wish any of them harm?

There was too much chaos and confusion.

"Let's go." Bell said unable to process the event taking place. "We need to go."

Asfi looked back, seeing the distraught look on his face before nodding. "Aiz! Lets get a move on, now!"

Aiz thrust her shoulder into the gut of an incoming pursuer, driving her into the wall. Upon the impact, the pursuer hit her head and weakly bobbed her gaze around trying to grip onto Aiz. Mumbling incoherent words purely out of determination to serve Freya.

Aiz gazed upon the young girl, who couldn't have been more than thirteen with freckled skin and curly black hair. She would probably never see her again. And that somehow made her feel sorry for the young girl who displayed such determination that her will continued on even despite her mind losing consciousness.

"I'm sorry." Aiz mumbled before taking off to join Bell and Asfi. Pondering that if that is what she would have been like had she taken into Freya's familia. Serving solely for one being, her goddess. One person taking up their entire reason for doing anything.

It felt like an obsession.

They had come to a stop in what was once the kitchen of a restaurant, its sole source of light was the faint glowing from the cracks in between its walls and the gapping hole that lead to the next building over. It was picked clean, as any building was in the Eastern District from years of neglect.

Ottar had crashed into a wall that housed an old firegrill, structured with an array of once colorful shade of red bricks now stained black and covered in soot, and the metal rack that once held pans and cookware dangled, clanking as the chains strained under the imbalance. Ansem had stopped just after the gaping hole, his body laid halfway into the building, somehow free of any of the ruin that collapsed after they made their entrance.

Ottar sighed, as he rose. Apathetic to the dirt and debris that covered him.

"The result will be the same. I will bring him with me. If you persist you will die here, or you can surrender and end this." Ottar said.

"Not going to happen." Ansem said as he coughed up the dust as he pushed himself up onto his forearms. The dust clung to the trail of blood that tried to trickle down his forehead.

"You would die for someone that you don't know." Ottar said watching Ansem lean himself on one knee..

"I would." Ansem slowly rose, the weight of his exhaustion returning to the forefront of his mind. "Because he means something to the people you want to take him away from, that would tear them all apart."

It very well may be an impossible feat, that thought flickered through Ansem's mind. But he gave them all his word. And he had no intention to take it back.

Ansem reached for the rubble of concrete and brick, in his hand a rod of steel rebar. In one swift motion, he stripped the concrete clean off the rebar, and after twisting the rod in half, he began wrapping his knuckles with the metal.

"-And I won't allow that."

Ottar couldn't refuse the man's resolve, and so he matched it with his own by reaching for his sword.

"I'll be sure that they remember your name." Ottar said.

Ansem looked irritated at the irony of his name and bloodline. Then all hell broke loose.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

"And So My Heart Became A Void" - Ursine Vulpine, Annaca

She entered from the center of the city. Appearing from one place, when it was thought she was at another point entirely and missing the entirety of her army. Though no one questioned it. The people of the city stood silent, all in awe. How could they question the beauty that stood before them?

It was all taking place in the Eastern District. It wouldn't be long until the chaos would stretch out into the populated area of central Orario. And despite it all, she felt anxious, forlorn, and incredibly angry. For so long she had waited for this moment. To reclaim what she could of what she had lost.

This was her one selfish desire.

And so as chaos rings out down the street some distance away, she began to walk wholeheartedly anticipating her reunion with her beloved Odr. And she would smite any who dare try to take that away from her.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

They came in waves as if there were no end. But in truth, there was an end. Simply put, Freya's healers were able to hastily heal the wounded members, forcing them up to continue their battle. And if they weren't healing, they were fighting.

What equivalent could be made, was that daylight was overwhelmed by the violent glow of concurrent casting, like the nights of a firework celebration.

Aiz, Asfi and Bell were desperately trying to keep their eyes down from the constant blasts. Yet the shockwaves would often rush over them, pushing them off balance as they became engulfed in smoke.

Everything became claustrophobic as the dust circled them, and the constant ringing in their eyes became deafening. For Bell, his heart raced, borderline panicking as he tried to calm himself. Reminding himself that they weren't in the Dungeon fighting the Harbinger and it's haunting pitch.

But his body's natural reaction was to make it all stop, to search for relief. That only heightened his sense of the all the eyes tracking them, making their gazes unbearable.

He just wanted it all to stop.

It was too much.

I love you.

Freya's words echoed in his head.

This isn't love. Despite being as young as he was, he was still humble enough to admit that he lacked a strong knowledge of the subject, yet still wise enough to know that this was anything but love.

As his gaze swept over to his friends, he could seem them all desperately trying to usher him to safety. Often Aiz, would breach the circle of visibility to deter any incoming threats, but she always made it back to him and reached for his hand.

It was a sweet feeling, even though her hands were calloused, they still felt soft. And when she gripped his hand, he felt his heart swell.

It wasn't until now that he realized, that she had been trying to talk to him. The ongoing blasts had deafened him and that now Asfi was nowhere in sight.

There was a warm trickled that came down the back of his neck. Touching his fingers to it, he found his own blood. At some point debris had hit him. Clueless as to how and when, he only knew that he didn't feel right.

For a moment he paused, to gaze into Aiz's eyes, the concern written on her face last briefly only for her eyes to look past him. He saw a flicker of something that he had never seen before.

Once more his hand felt empty. The lack of her heat left his hand feeling cold.

He tried putting a word to it, but everything seemed foggy despite the dust having begun to settle. And Aiz dashed out away from the vicinity of Bell. His gaze wobbled as he tried to follow her, there he found that Asfi had gone missing. He reasoned that perhaps she was setting up some traps or utilizing her tools.

But that didn't seem right. She wouldn't have left them. She agreed to stay by each other's side despite how reluctant she was in casting her vote to stand together.

Out of the blue, the word arrived in his mind.

Anguish.

Why would she feel such a thing? Bell thought as he continued to turn. His rubellite eyes had pinpointed what she had found.

Amidst a building that had collapsed was Ottar and Ansem.

The Boaz Warrior had returned, swinging his sword down upon Ansem, only for the man to side-step the blade. Ansem thrust his fist forward, not to Ottar, but the face of Ottar's blade altering the angle of its path down the street.

The blade struck the ground, causing an eruption of violent earth that raced across the street striking another building. Bell couldn't help but follow the chaos. As the force hit the building, Bell watched it collapse from the inside, spewing out plumes of dust. Strangely, in the building next to it, something had become unsettled and began to glow an ominous red.

An explosion enveloped them all.

There was no magic that was cast to have caused such a thing. But in his current concussed state, he lacked the mental faculties to be fully aware of what danger it was. As the shockwave washed over them, forcing Bell to the ground, Ottar's and Ansem's fight continued.

From the ground, he could feel the force of the blows exchanged in place of their sound.

Further disoriented he sat up and slowly rose to his feet. Aiz swept to and around behind Bell. For a brief moment he felt her wind, and the heat of her body. He tried to turn to follow her figure, but as she landed he could make out the blur of her movements as she thwarted one of Freya's children who tried to sneak in.

Immediately the ambitious familia member was dispatched having been thrown aside. The blurred figure returning Bell's gaze back to Ottar and Ansem. Only did when others try to approach, did a beautiful and elegant carved silver orb flash into view incapacitating the adversary.

Ottar's blade had been freed from his hands and was sticking clean out of the rubble from another building. Ansem had a window of opportunity, he hunkered down low and swung from the outside to Ottar's rib.

The Boaz Warrior's face grimaced as pain shot through his body as Ansem effectively landed a kidney punch. Ansem prepared for another strike but midway through Ottar had clasped both hands together over head and swung them down upon him. Ansem tried to block the attack, but the force was too great.

Ansem crumpled. And the force of Ottar's strike shook the ground.

Even in this disoriented state, Bell felt terror at the display of power by Freya's captain. He never knew such strength was possible.

Aiz had tried to dash in to get Ansem away, but she was no match for the raw strength that Ottar possessed. He reached down to Ansem, gripping the back of Ansem's neck, lifting him to his knees and the other gripping his left arm. The white of Ansem's shirt had been stained black, brown and red. If he could hear, Bell'd bet that he could hear his scream as Ottar began to pull his arm with the intention to pull it clean from his body.

In fact, as Bell narrowed his eyes to focus he could see the stretch marks begin to scar Ansem's arm and crawl up his shoulder and neck. Ansem's scream of agony pierced the sound of battle and Bell's deafness.

Aiz had swept in from behind Ottar, wrapping her arms around his throat and face, trying to choke him and simultaneously dig her nails into the fresh burn on his face drawing blood and gouging Ottar's eyes, but it wasn't enough to disarm the Boaz Warrior.

Then he felt her gaze on his back as she waded through the smoke and dust.

The air behind pulsed, like a soft and muffled clap of thunder. With it came a warm sensation that flooded his body as the air around him began to feel like he was underwater. And a light that grew from behind.

"Odr.." Her voice rang out.

He felt compelled to turn and face her, and through the light he saw her. All of her. The entirety of who The Goddess of Beauty stood reaching out to him. Beckoning him to her side. The air in his lungs seized to flow as the temptation to reach out and grab her hand began to grow within him no matter how much he resisted.

Through the light, the chaos that began to subside, Bell heard another voice.

"Close your eyes."

—-

What was one had grown to two blinding lights as a second pulse weakly pushed through the air. Freya stood silent, her expression unmoving as if she too were frozen in place with her hand held out. Captivated by what was centered in the light that had erupted before her, it's shape and color were so familiar.

She was the first to have her light fall, as curiosity took the better part of her. Then the second light faded, and there she saw a man with his arms wrapped around her beloved Odr.

"What is wrong with you!?" Ansem shouted in devastation as he held Bell close.

"Do you realize what you could've done?!"

Freya felt a shudder. His voice was as sharp as his eyes, and they cut deep into her being. Had she searched back in the confines of her memory, she'd recall the soft shape eyes that stared back at her, cooing in delight as she held him from so long ago.

It was there. The pieces of her life from so long ago were right in front of her.

"He made his choice, and you were willing to take that away from him." Ansem continued. "He chose me! Bell is under my protection."

From the rooftops to the streets, the full force of her familia had arrived encompassing them all. They all waited for Freya's command as tensions rose high at the fiend who dared to oppose their deity.

"We're leaving. And you will not stop us." Ansem said as he began to back away. "Aiz! Asfi!"

Clearing herself from the rubble that covered her and Ottar, the Sword Princess slowly approached, well aware of the danger that surrounded them, but most importantly she kept her eyes away from the Goddess of Beauty.

Out of thin air, Asfi appeared as she took off her helmet. Her bag had long been discarded and the white coat that she had adorned herself with had been weathered and worn.

Freya gazed at Ansem as he warily backed up into the crowd of her familia. Bound to silence by the overwhelming reality before her.

"You were supposed to be better than this." Ansem said under his breath as he shook his head, giving her one last glance.

Those words graced her ears and she cringed, extinguishing the fire that drove her forward. She could no longer pursue them.

"It's really you.." Freya said under her breath in disbelief as she watched her beloved Odr be taken by the very person he had helped her conceive. Dropping her hand to her side there swelling a foreign feeling in her being.

She watched the crowd split allowing them passage as they drew away. But she couldn't help but take a few steps forward.

"-You're alive." She uttered as she watched Ansem fade from view.

—-

Freya's children reluctantly parted ways, allowing a small bubble of space surrounding Bell and the group. Their eyes gazed upon them with disdain and loathing, and their inaction fueled by the lack of Freya's order to attack. How could they take action if Freya had allowed them to leave?

Asfi reached out to Aiz behind her to guide her as she kept her guard up as the group slowly traversed down the street with the concentration of Freya's children thinning. Ansem continued to cover their back as he carried Bell who remained exhausted and disoriented from the wound on the back of his head.

Walking under the shadow of Babel they finally made it free of Freya's children as they reached a side street that fed to North Main Street. The onlookers gazed, witnessing their ragged state as they managed to wearily shuffled down the street.

Ansem circled his gaze around from the streets to the rooftops, keeping constant situational awareness. There he found the silhouettes of four pallums leaping across the rooftops. Their distance and posture didn't bare any intention to continue the prior assault, instead they seemed to prioritize observing from a distance.

"I.. I think I can walk." Bell said from Ansem's chest.

"Ok. Guys, one sec." Ansem said calling out, bringing Asfi and Aiz to a stop.

Ansem carefully let Bell down to the ground, holding out his arm in case if Bell needed the support.

"You good?" Ansem asked as Bell shuffled his feet trying to keep his balance.

"Yeah." Bell said with a nod as he raised his hand from Ansem's arm.

"Ok." Ansem said as he still held out his arm. "We're going to get you to Dian's, but before we do we're checking on Loki. Are you good for that?"

Bell nodded, still mildly disoriented. "Yeah. What are we waiting for then? Let's go."

Ansem's eyes creased, if he could smile at the boy's spunk, he would.

"You heard him. Let's go." Ansem said while remaining close to Bell's side as they began to the Twilight Manor.

—-

"Lend Me Your Voice" - Taisei Iwasaki, Kylie McNeil

Loki and her children had evacuated their home and gathered in the expansive western garden as a small team extinguished whatever fires that were ignited. Riveria, Gareth and Lefiya held a list of names for given sections. Their role was simple, to do a head count to insure that everyone made it out of the manor and safe. And if someone were missing they would begin a search and rescue.

Thankfully the extent of the damage was relatively superficial, outside of the fallen tower of course. The majority of the damage destroyed the face of the manor that faced the main street without compromising key points of the structure.

The fact that this act of violence had been inflicted upon them brought up great resentment towards the Freya familia, so much so that there needed to be some restraint enforced upon some of the more passionate members who sought retribution. Riveria knew how lucky they were, if anyone had slipped through the cracks and begun any form of retaliation, no doubt that it would have meant war. One that they didn't want.

And if Riveria dared make an assumption, neither did Freya. But there was much that was ambiguous and unknown about that deity.

As the head count continued, there were three names on her list so far that had were unaccounted for. Tiona, with her sister Tione, who Riveria hoped was still at Hephaestus' shop. The last being Aiz.

The latter fostered great concern as the last she could recall was that Aiz had left the manor. Where she had gone to was beyond her as Aiz had left as if she were trying to avoid her. Never had she known her to behave in such a way.

She could hope that Aiz had left in hopes to join Bell, but in recent events she couldn't help but worry if she had got caught up in Freya's wrath.

Despite her worry, she forced herself to focus on completing the head count. With their forces divided between the other leadership, it shouldn't take much longer.

The section of familia member's nearest the side furthest from Riveria grew restless. Sparking up with excitement. There Riveria could hear the voice of her goddess squeaming in relief.

Wading through the crowd, Riveria grew closer to the source. And as the crowds separated there she saw that Aiz had returned. Her face was laden with cuts and bruises, and still partially swollen from the fight that must've broken out just prior as Loki embraced her like a worried lover.

For once, Aiz returned the hug, embracing Loki.

"AISU!" Loki wailed as a crowd began to form around them.

Standing within arms reach of Aiz, Riviera gazed upon her in shock of the injuries that she had sustained and without a moments notice, Aiz left Loki's embrace and darted to her. The dust and blood that covered her adhered to Riviera's skin and clothes and Aiz wrapped her arms around her.

It took a moment for the shock to wear off and for Riviera to wrap her arms around Aiz, swiping the blood stained golden hair free from her face.

The concern that had stricken her since she had been declared unaccounted for began to fade as relief washed over her. Riviera was always confident in Aiz's ability to fight, but there was a part of her that was always concern for her wellbeing despite that.

From the rubble of the tower climbed a small boyish figure. And as her eyes adjusted, Riveria could recognize Bell, covered in dust and blood, and another who slowly summited the ruin with Bell.

Ansem stood by Bell's side, looking worse for wear, he swept his gaze to the rooftops ensuring no violence had followed them. Peering down to them, and amongst the crowd Ansem spotted Riveria and they locked eyes.

"Thank you." Riveria mouthed as she held Aiz. He nodded wearily before turning his gaze to the city behind them. Upon the rooftops they could see the four pallums nestled away from the property observing them.

Patting Bell on the back, they descended the rubble, and Bell approached Aiz's side who welcomed him close as she left Riviera's embrace, the members of Loki's familia grew quiet as they saw his bloodied condition they welcomed him with cheer presumably having stood by Aiz's side, protecting one of their own at his own expense. The boy couldn't help but smile at the warmth, but also the exhaustion prevented him from any sense of anxiety.

If only they had known what really had happened.

Ansem slowly traveled to Riveria, carefully dodging the ruin of the tower that lay around him. Riveria met Ansem halfway in his approach to her, fully aware of his lack of vision, but mostly of the exhaustion that he carried. Meeting each other some distance from the crowd, he whispered in her ear. "Is everyone ok?"

Riviera nodded. "Thankfully, yes."

Ansem looked to Loki as he stood next to Riviera. "Good. We need to talk about what happened."

She peered up to him, examining the dried blood that lay crusted over his skin and the stretch marks of torn skin that crawled up the left side of his neck. Strands of obsidian hair have strangely faded, as if bleached by a small degree and there in the iris of his royal blue eyes there lay slivers of silver.

"Agreed." She said and then shared his gaze to her deity. Ansem had already begun to move but Riveria stopped him by placing her hand on his stomach. Their bodies were the closest they had ever been. She didn't know where he was heading but she couldn't afford to let him wander aimlessly on the property in his current state. How he was still standing was a matter that she couldn't wrap her head around with everything that had happened in the past couple of days. "Go to the second tent on your left. We'll meet you there. If anyone tries to stop you, tell them I sent you."

Ansem nodded and staggered to the tent. Riveria could feel the prying eyes of her subordinates laying on her and her interaction with the stranger as she marched to Loki.

"I need you to come with me." Riveria politely told Loki. Before Loki could object in another attempt to smother Aiz, Riveria looked to both Aiz and Bell. "You two as well."

"Oh." Bell said in surprise.

"You're not in trouble. Let's go." Riveria said, eager to lead them to the tent.

Once free of Loki's embrace Aiz reached for Bell's hand, and for once Bell didn't blush. They exchanged glances that seemed to both be at ease with one another, to trust each other.

"Alright." Bell said, as he gripped her hand tight.

Riveria gave Loki a cautious glance, warning her not to ruin this moment between the two. Loki turned, rolling her eyes and began walking off to the tent sulking. Ushering the two on, Bell and Aiz followed Loki who apparently spotted the tent that Ansem had slowly been making his way to.

As the group marched, Riveria's eyes scanned the crowd searching for Lefiya and Gareth. Taking a small detour, she circled around the crowd clockwise, making it a quarter of a turn, Riveria found the elf with a clipboard and the list in hand.

"Lefiya." Riveria called out. Lefiya's ears perked up, drawing her attention to Riveria.

"Oh, yes?!" Lefiya asked as she held the clipboard close to her chest.

"Find Gareth, and when you do, I need the both of you to come to tent two." Riveria said.

"But the muster?" Lefiya asked, worried about completing the task at hand.

"Delegate." Riveria said before turning away to trek back to the tent. As she walked, she kept gazing upon the crowd that is her familia. Searching for a silver head of hair, trying to ensure that another outburst doesn't occur.

Riveria was already tempted to backhand him at he nearly took on the entirety of the Freya familia. His temper was growing worse lately, and his ability to convey his frustrations have been dampened for whatever reason, which she could imagine only further compounded the issue that he was plagued with.

For now, it was better that Bete was kept away and even in the dark about Ansem's presence here. They had enough happen already.

Approaching the tent, Riveria took a deep breath in to steady herself. Once the fresh air circulated through her system, she entered to find everyone in the tent. Ansem was sitting in a folding chair with his eyes closed as one of their healers had begun applying a dressing to the wound near his chest after having cleaned some of the clotted blood and dust from the wound. His wounds needed to be cleaned before any healing spells could be cast, or any potions to be used, or else they run the risk of infection.

And given their understanding of modern medicine which was already pretty advanced even outside of magic, they always chose to practice caution with their care.

Seeing the condition that he was in, and then seeing the condition that both Bell and Aiz were in, was a stark comparison. Though her expression was steeled to be focus, she felt a grave concern for the man.

"You wanted us?" Loki said, sitting in a chair opposite of Ansem with one leg crossed over the other, and her arms held across her chest. Next to her sat Aiz and then Bell who patiently waited hand in hand.

"We're just waiting on Gareth and Lefiya." Riveria said stepping aside near Aiz. She carefully looked over her, inspecting her for any injury to required any attention. Still the same pinkish scar remained on her cheek from earlier today. Though why it wasn't healed from a potion had confused her.

All in all, it looked like many of her wounds had been healed or were in the process of healing.

"I'm ok.." Aiz said shyly.

Riveria let out a sigh as she faced Ansem. "I wasn't aware you had potions on you."

"I didn't." Ansem said with his eyes closed. Riveria knit her brow upon hearing that.

Ansem opened his eyes and stared off to the empty corner of the tent. On cue, a figure appeared before them as Asfi removed her helmet revealing her tattered self. Small knicks and cuts graced her skin and clothes.

"It's rather annoying how you're able to do that." Asfi said under her breath as she cradled her helmet near her stomach.

"She helped us greatly." Ansem said, dodging Asif's annoyance.

Riveria's eyes glanced back and forth between the two, trying to ascertain how he knew of Asfi's presence and most importantly why she was intent on concealing herself from them. "Then we owe you our thanks."

Asfi remained silent, and her eyes looked past Riveria to the opening of the tent. Gareth and Lefiya entered through the flap.

"Oui, you called for us?" Gareth said with a huff as he scanned the room, and stopped at Aiz and Bell. "Oh dear.."

Then he swung his head to Ansem. "Do you ever not look like shit, lad?"

Ansem let out a huff of a chuckle and closed his eyes. "It's a rarity nowadays isn't it?"

Lefiya narrowed her gaze at the stranger being the sole individual in the tent who she was not acquainted with. Casting a dubious expression over him she remained silent to try and get a read on him before casting her thoughts out in the discussion to come.

Gareth turned Riveria who subtly shook her head. "Well?" Gareth had said.

"Assuming that everyone's here, I can guess we can begin." Ansem said as he opened his eyes and sat upright. Gently ushering away the helping hands of the healer, he softly thanked her. The young woman accepted his thanks with silence before departing from the tent. "-Starting with why would Freya attack you?"

Ansem gazed upon Loki with penetrating eyes.

The goddess of Mischief knit her brow and crossed her arms tightly around her as she took a deep breath in before she began. "We fucked up."

Ansem kept his gaze locked on her. Patiently waiting for the entirety of her explanation.

"What happened down in the Dungeon, and the fight with Evilus, we wanted to keep ya and your friends away from that." Loki said turning to Bell. "We were so focused on that, that we missed what was right under our noses and they walked right into it that thing you call the Harbinger. Now word, embellished or not, has spread. Evidently that reached that narrow-minded bimbo and perceived that those events as an act of malice."

Ansem leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees offering both Loki and Riveria his gaze. "Ok. How are you and the other's holding up?"

"Fortunately only minor injuries. Many were in the common areas for lunch." Riveria said recounting her observations of her subordinates.

"The place isn't too bad either. Outside of the tower that is." Gareth said, drawing Ansem's attention.

"Much of the structure is fine. Upon our inspection, nothing seems to be horribly compromised." Riveria said filling in after Gareth. "At worst we're looking at a few weeks of reconstruction efforts."

"You'll be exposed." Ansem warned.

"We're aware." Riveria confidently nodded. They already had gameplan to limit the likelihood for any infiltration attempt. Just because they were attacked they knew that they were not weak, and are fully prepared to defend themselves. "While I appreciate your concern, you should focus that on yourself."

"Yeah. Who did Freya sic upon you?" Lefiya said to the group.

"The big one." Ansem said mostly out of exhaustion.

"Ottar." Asfi said clarifying for everyone.

They fell silent. Not because of some grand feat of strength and perseverance but at the sheer luck that they managed to survive an encounter with the Boaz Warrior himself.

Ansem rubbed his face trying to use the sensation of touch to keep himself awake. "I don't get it though. Why did she divert her army to kidnap you? Ottar said that he was sent to take you for protection. Why not your familia too?"

Riveria stood by, watching the serious expression on his face that caused Bell to stutter hesitantly.

"I-... I don't know why.." Bell tried to explain.

"She committed taboo, Bell." Ansem said bluntly. "She used her arcanum, for you. If there is anything-.."

"SHE WHAT?!" Loki shouted in outrage. "That bimbo bitch has the audacity to blow our home to bits and then act like she can do that?! THE HYPOCRITE! I'mma string her up!"

"I'd rather you didn't." Ansem said sternly before turning his gaze back to Bell once more. "Bell.. Can you think of any reason why she would do that?"

Bell's lowered his gaze as he tried to process an explanation, and the whole tent fell silent waiting.

"I think she-.." Bell began to fidget anxiously with his hand, while Aiz held the other. "When I was in the Entertainment district, after helping my friends, I saw her after a bright light erupted from one of the towers.. I-..." Bell began to pause and Aiz gripped his hand.

"Ishtar…" Riveria said under her breath that caught Ansem's attention. Filling the anxious gap in Bell's speech, Riveria brought him up to date. "Freya and her familia stormed the Entertainment District on the pretext that mass human trafficking was a source of the revenue for the Ishtar Familia among other illegal activities. Ishtar didn't herself last long." Riveria said swinging her gaze up to the roof of the tent, trying to imply her return to Heaven.

"Aye, betting Freya didn't like her too much." Gareth quietly added.

Bell looked to the people in the room, wondering if they'd believe him.

"She spoke to me from the other tower. I couldn't hear her but I could feel her words like she was whispering in my ear.."

The little hairs on Bell's arm began to stand one end as the goosebumps spread.

"She said 'I love you'."

They remained silent, gazing upon the boy.

"I don't know why she said it.." Then Bell looked to Ansem, as if pleading that the topic itself was making him uncomfortable or rather that sudden amount of attention that was drawn to him. "It's all I know."

"The crazy bimbo's always been the obsessive type." Loki roller her eyes in disdain of the deity. "I can't tell ya how many times she tried to swipe adventurer's from other familia's! Turning them into her nymphs. Makes me sick just thinking about it!"

Ansem nodded, his facing wrinkling in discomfort as he leaned back and looked to Riveria. "You got any input?"

Riveria shook her head. "She's reclusive in nature, and whenever her familia is called upon they normally 'cooperate' reluctantly."

"Cooperate isn't even the right word for it." Gareth chimed in. "That aside, it wouldn't surprise me if much like her assault on Ishtar, what happened today had ulterior motives."

"Huh." Ansem huffed as he processed the possibility, biting the inside of his mouth. "You're saying Bell was the ulterior motive behind the two of these events?"

Immediately Bell perked up as he heard the suggestion, as if it were the one he were trying to avoid. Riveria couldn't help but notice the nervous attitude that he tried desperately to hide, albeit poorly.

"It wouldn't be such a long shot now would it?" Gareth offered.

"Yes, but excuse me." Lefiya meekly budded in from behind Gareth and Riveria trying to gaze upon her deity and the others. "Loki, didn't Freya say something when you went out there?"

"Yeah. 'Reparations.'" Loki said as she bobbed her head in annoyance at the word.

"Soo maybe, by chance, it was the word of what happened in the Dungeon that brought her here? I would feel that if another familia were in a similar circumstance, to be a victim of an act that was perceived as malicious, surely we would seek to hold them accountable." Lefiya said completely unsure of whether what she had said had really made any sense as silence was cast upon her analysis. "Or maybe that was all just nonsense.."

Lefiya sunk away.

"No, I think you might be onto something.." Ansem said as his haze landed on the ground before him.

"Oh?" Lefiya perked up.

"Yes, about there being multiple facets." Ansem clarified. "There's a lot we don't know.."

"Oh…" Lefiya said quietly as her gaze wandered to the others. Riveria realized that she had never explained the man before her. Though she was intent on forgoing that formality for the time being.

"So how did you all manage to get free of that nut job?" Loki asked.

"Made a deal." Ansem said tired as the fatigue of sitting down began to set in, he nodded to Bell.

"I didn't want to go with Ottar so-.." Bell began.

"Obviously.." Gareth quipped catching Bell off guard and ruining his verbal momentum.

"So-... I chose someone else." Bell said.

Riveria raised her eyes in mild exasperation at the ambiguity until she realized Bell's gaze didn't stray from Ansem.

"So that's why you look like shit." Gareth said as the realization came to him.

"I never said that they took kindly to it." Ansem said as the fatigue fostered some mild irritation.

"Yeah but if you have an in with Freya, can't you work something out?" Lefiya hypothesized.

Ansem looked to the elf, perplexed at her naivety. "I don't have an in with her. This was the first time I met her. And frankly I wasn't too impressed." Ansem said as he crossed his arms.

Loki gleefully chuckled at Ansems shared sentiment. "Ho-ho-ho!"

"But she listened." Riveria clarified.

"Barely. It worked out in his favor." Ansem said gesturing to Bell. "So long as he's under my care, she won't go after him. Hopefully. I don't want to test the limits of this because even now she has him under watch."

"Aye the Gulliver brothers on the roofs out there." Gareth said nodding to the south.

"Wait they're outside?" Lefiya asked in mild panic.

"They're not exactly trying to hide, Lefiya." Gareth said matter of factly.

"You pretty well can expect me to be present whenever you're going out in the city. So when you're with your familia, in your home or at any neutral location like another familia's shop, Dian's, et cetera, you should be fine alone. So there still will be some privacy for you, it's just when we're out in public when you can become a target that I'll be there."

"Ok." Bell said accepting the terms in anticipation of what's to come. "Do we know how long?"

"No. We'll play it by ear though and respond accordingly. Sound good?"

"Yeah." Bell said nodding his head and rose his eyes to meet Ansem's as he gripped Aiz's hand tightly. "Thank you."

Riveria could see the spaces between both Aiz and Bell had shrunk, and if it weren't for this stranger that space would have been an uncrossable void. Leaving any and all possibilities to be what-if's and could-have-been's. With that space that had shrunk, Aiz seemed to be a little sharper, a little brighter like a flower blooming in the morning sun.

Ansem nodded and looked to Riveria. "Is there anything you wanted to discuss?"

Riveria shook her head. "No, but if anything comes up I know where to find you."

Heavily implying that he should go to Dian's immediately for care.

"Sounds good. We should get going." Ansem said as he faced Asfi.

"Let's." Asfi said.

"Bell, are you ready? We're going to Dian's." Ansem said as he slowly rose.

"Yeah, I need to see how everyone's doing." Bell said as he rose from the bench, Aiz rose with Bell.

"Aiz, it's probably best that you stay here." Riveria said.

She didn't put up much of a fight and looked to Bell. But the look she gave him, Aiz was reluctant to let go of his hand after nearly losing him. Though it came as a subtle reminder that they still were a part of two separate familias. With that, there came inherent boundaries and expectations. She was expected to stay on the property with the rest in the time of crisis. Here she would be able to receive adequate care under their own healers.

Riveria would be sure of that.

Ansem began to lead Asfi and Bell out of the tent before stopping by Riveria.

"If anything comes up, don't hesitate to reach out, ok?" Ansem said softly.

Riveria nodded, knowing all too well he had done more than enough. It was almost frustrating how even in his current state he had a willingness to help. And as they left, her gaze trailed to Bell.

Riveria knew the effects of grief. It's clear that it was exactly what Bell was going through. How in this time, he is incredibly emotionally vulnerable. That he needed a stable environment in order to preserve his spirit, to keep Bell as the Bell that they all knew. To resolidify the foundation of who he is and not be taken advantage of.

And as they left, Riveria focused her gaze on Ansem's back. Both him and Bell shared that selflessness, that willingness to help others. Even though she felt at times she barely knew Ansem, she was confident that he was exactly what Bell needed. To help keep Bell as the one that they had all come to know.

"△▼△▼△▼△"

Asfi, Bell and Ansem slowly made their way down the main street. Already it was about half past noon, and the sun had peaked. Though as the seasons had begun to shift, the heat was bearable. Their wounds on the other hand, compounded the sensation of heat as the lingering exhaustion hung in the forefront of their minds.

"Are you going to find Hermes?" Ansem spoke, breaking the silence, averting his own attention from the gaze of the onlookers.

It was hard not to draw attention in their ragged state. Both from the citizens mixed with adventurer's but most eerily the Gulliver brothers that kept their distance on the rooftops.

"I think we both know where he is." Asfi said in her usual dry tone. "For now, we wait.."

It was a quiet walk. In fact it was preferred to stay that way. Any attempt of dialogue would have been only temporarily amused out of courtesy for the exhaustion had become too much. The most unsettling thing about it was that it was only mid-day.

There remained much to do. Ansem was heavily relying on Hermes to arrive as he initially requested, and presumably to venture for a meeting with Ganesha. Through Asfi, Hermes had heard that the day prior's attempt hadn't gone so well considering Ansem's lack of report in the city. Hermes presence sought to bring some credibility.

Though, he was still occupied.

For a moment in blissful exhaustion he pondered what if he were to venture on his own to her home for Hermes?

It was a ludicrous idea.

It was highly presumed that Hermes had been kept at Folkvangr during today's event. And the likelihood of them trying to rescue him was not something that could easily be done, especially considering the amount of effort they had exerted to keep Bell away from Freya.

Ansem sighed. There was nothing they could do for the time being. And as he gazed to his side where Bell stood, Ansem understood that this boy was his responsibility now. As Asfi said, they were to wait.

Following Asfi's lead, they rounded a corner bearing south west through one of the streets. And not long after they had managed to reach the North-Western street. Nestled on the street not far from them was Dian Cecht's building. The entrance wasn't far but there remained a small crowd of people congregating near the building.

But from his own sight, he could see that none of the people there possessed the heart for any acts of hate or violence. Instead there was curiousity and concern. Good hearted people, possibly foolishly going out of their way when realistically they may very well be unable to do anything at all other than offer their verbal support.

And so as Bell and the others approached, a few opened their mouths, asking a plethora of questions. Mixed with the natural curiosity came the wishes of good health.

Asfi ushered them aside, creating a hole for them to reach the door as Ansem kept Bell close. Ignoring their questions, but not their well-wishes, they entered Dian's Cecht's familia. The large white stone walls and pillars decorated with ornate design glistened from the afternoon sun that pierced the glass windows.

Behind the counter of the receptionist's desk fortunately was not Amid, but rather another young woman who wore a light grey and navy blue dress. Her long black hair bobbed and her pen clacked against the desk, dropping it as she gasped seeing the sorry state that they were in.

"We know.." Ansem said, exhausted. "Come on."

Ansem ushered them past the receptionist's desk and took the nearest stairwell up to the second floor.

Rounding the first platform of stairs, Bell's step began to quicken.

"Before you get too far ahead." Ansem called to Bell bringing him to a stop a few steps above them, he faced them. Bell seemed to have known. "Can you explain what happened? Because the last I recall it should've been brought to your attention that there is a particular sort of person that you should have avoided for not just your own safety but for others around you. Does that sound right to you?"

Bell nodded. "Yes, it does."

"So can you explain why you didn't listen?"

"I-... I wanted to help my friend..." Bell said. "I wasn't the only one that lost someone close to me. They did too. Is that wrong?"

From the vague memory of their arrival to the safe point from the depths of the Dungeon, Ansem could recall the body he carried.

"I can understand that. As well as the grief that you all are going through, but I want you to understand two things. One;" Ansem pointed to Asfi beside him. "When the Captain of a familia that specializes in the trade of information tells you something, you listen."

Bell nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Two;" Ansem pointed to Bell's chest. "As the Captain in your own familia, you are responsible for those who follow you."

"Yes-" Bell began.

"Don't." Ansem said, warning him not to interrupt him. "That doesn't just mean your familia. That means anyone who is under your leadership. And when it comes to putting them in a situation that jeopardizes their safety and livelihood, as their leader that falls on you. If Asfi wasn't keeping an eye on you, Aiz would have been killed, and you would have been taken away."

Bell fell silent.

"When you go see your friends, your familia up there, remember that you being here almost didn't happen. Do you understand?"

Bell nodded.

"Is there anything you wanted to say?"

Bell shook his head. "No, sir."

"Alright. We're done here." Ansem said.

Bell stood up a little straighter, and nodded before turning to go up the stairs. Asfi and Ansem stood there for a moment waiting for Bell to gain some distance.

"A little hard on him, huh?" Asfi said quietly.

"Only because it's necessary." Ansem said as he gripped the handrail of the next flight of stairs leading to the second floor. "He's a good kid. I know he won't make the same mistake twice."

Ansem gazed up to the top of the flight of stairs, but found Asfi's silence a little unsettling.

"What?"

"You're very pale." Asfi said in mild concern.

"I don't really tan?" Ansem said in mild confusion. Then a cold wave swept over him. The grip on his inheritance has slipped, resulting in the heat to fade and so too did the strength that accompanied it.

"Oh.." Ansem said faintly.

"Are you-?" Asfi began as she quickly took a step closer. Then the world became dark.

7.

Folkvangr. It currently stood as a prison for Hermes. The sole individual who remained on his knees with his heart racing in anticipation for her return. A side effect of her charm that he wrestled with. Determined to keep some of his sanity and to uphold the promise that he made.

The door opened and the light of the mid-day sun streaked through the opening. Heels clacked gently on the marble floor, and then an army trickled in.

Freya had returned in silence and Hermes had no idea what this would mean. From the reflection of the polished marble floor, he could see her walk past him and stop some five feet away. Even her reflection held the effects of her charm and so he closed his eyes. Her footsteps approached and passed him. Standing what could only be a few feet away from him.

"Why?.." Freya said as something weighed heavy on her mind. "-Why did you come here?"

Hermes tried to open his mouth to speak but the words couldn't come out.

"Speak!" Freya commanded, her voice nearly breaking.

Finally the levee broke.

"To make amends!" Hermes said, holding his head to the floor as if he had breached the surface of water. His chest heaved, craving the air around him.

There came no reply but a tap of her shoe as she turned. Where to? He had no clue.

"What in the world could have made you think outside of yourself?" Freya said in a tone that straddled scorn and disbelief. But nothing came from Hermes. "Look at me."

Hermes winced as he tried to fight her charm, but there was no use. His body gave, and his eyes rose to meet her.

"Now answer me." Freya demanded.

Hermes shivered and shook as all sorts of unnatural emotions began to swell as he gazed upon her.

"Is it so hard to believe that even a god can change?" Hermes said through his trembling voice.

Hearing those words a disheartened look overcame Freya as she dropped her gaze away from Hermes.

"No.." Freya said softly.

Freya stood in contemplative silence. Her gaze wandered over to her familia, and from near one of the pillars he saw Ottar in a disheveled yet calm state. The front of his body covered in a large burn with sections of his shirt seared to his skin.

"-I suppose not.."

She turned to Hermes. "You are free to go."

Hermes heart skipped a beat in disbelief and he felt a deep breath of air rush into his lungs.

"But you will not speak of what you have learned here. If you do-..." Freya stopped and looked firmly into his eyes. "The world will forget the Herald of the Gods. Erased.."

"Not a word.." Hermes said shakily as he planted his forehead to the ground.

"Now go." Freya said.

Without delay he scrambled onto his feet and hurried to the door in a mad shuffle daring not to look back. The elf, Hedin stood by it and opened it just as Hermes approached and so too closed it once he was clear.

Hermes heard the door close behind him and he rushed off of the property of Folkvangr. Stopping at the street, his gaze peered north and behind the Tower of Babel a plume of a smoke weakly rose to be carried by the stagnant air.

"No. No. No. No.." Hermes uttered before looking back to the mansion and quickly darting off. "Please don't let it be too late.."

Freya had her eyes locked on the closed door. She let the man scramble like a rat from a trap. It would have been easy to smite the poor thing too. But it didn't feel right. It felt wrong.

This feeling had begun weighing heavy on her mind ever since she saw him. But for the life of her she couldn't find the word to fit it for it was a feeling so foreign that it might as well never have existed for her in all that she had experienced in this life on Earth.

"Lady Freya.." Ottar began.

"You have done nothing wrong." Freya said, reassuring him as her eyes still locked on the door. She knew he was to begin his apology, to offer himself to any punishment in what he perceived as his failure in retrieving the boy. A task that she had given him the utmost freedom and faith in. But what he didn't know was that in this failure, it had saved them all immense grief for if Ottar had succeeded-... It was a thought that she didn't dare finish.

Ottar opened his mouth but the words that were meant to deride himself fell short, then Freya turned to approach him and she spoke softly.

"See to it that your wounds are tended to. No Captain of mine shall be left in such a state."

Ottar nodded. "Yes, my Lady."

Standing in the main room of Folkvangr, she found her gaze lingering on the floor in defeat.

"Why-...?" Freya's eyes fluttered as she tried to shake the thought. But it clung to her mind, relentlessly tearing at her consciousness.

You were supposed to be better than this.

"Could we really change? For the better?" Freya held a hand to her stomach. Denied in obtaining what her being yearned for. Guilt ravaged her that maybe in the centuries that have passed a change had passed. "Or for worse..."

"△▼△▼△▼△"

Engulfed in an endless nothing, Ansem's body lay suspended in a what he could only rationalize as a dense water. Almost like the waters from a lake rich with salt. His body never would never sink. Laying on the surface, he opened his eyes.

Awakening to the void that is his hell, he sat up, watching the water ripple as he moved. Though there was no source of light resting in the sky, from some far horizon a faint light reflected off of the surface of the water. And as he scanned his surroundings, a dread rested in his stomach.

It was exactly as Vishnu had said.

There was no place in heaven for a soul that was never meant to exist to begin with.

Ansem awoke to the dull pain that ached on his ribs. He groaned as he forced his eyes closed. What was this feeling? It was foreign, unexpected. He could recount the blows he had received in his fight with Ottar, and could anticipate their pain, but this newfound pain was from somewhere else.

"You're awake." A woman's voice said calmly to his left.

Still groaning, Ansem managed to open his eyes. He was in a hospital bed with Asfi sitting at his bedside. But most notably was the lack of anyone else in the room.

"What- what happened?" Ansem said through his teeth.

"You needed to be resuscitated." Asfi calmly said.

Ansem sharply turned his head to her.

"What?" With audible confusion.

"You died." Asfi said bluntly.

Ansem stared at her, speechless, then dropped himself back into this bed with a deep sigh. The bed was oriented to face the window. There still seemed to be some light outside, but the world was bathed in an orange light which meant one of two things. Either the sun was setting or rising.

"How long was I out?"

Asfi paused. "About seven hours."

Ansem sighed, it was much longer than he wanted to be out of commission, yet he couldn't argue with the event.

"And Hermes, did you find him?" Ansem asked.

Asfi nodded. "He's ok. Luckily."

"Good."

"Don't let him hear you say that. He might begin to think you're starting to think fondly of him." Asfi said in light jest.

"Good point.. Don't tell me he was the one who carried me up here." Ansem said with a groan as his body ached. But Asfi said nothing, bringing his gaze to her. "It was you, wasn't it?"

"You're fairly light." Asfi avoided saying it outright.

"You did. Oh my hero." Ansem said as he returned to facing the ceiling. Asfi simply shook her head feigning annoyance.

"Thank you." Ansem said as he rested his eyes.

"Mhm." Asfi hummed, as she began to look to the door. "Don't get too relaxed. I'm assuming this is Hermes."

Ansem opened his eyes by a small margin. Sure enough there were footsteps approaching. He was hoping for them to pass by, the little energy he had, he felt he couldn't take much or anything too seriously just from the sheer amount of pain that coursed through his body.

The doorknob twisted from outside.

The door opened and through it revealed the tall and slender figure that was Hermes. Adorning a wide smile with eyes squinting that looked as if he was seeing an old dear friend. It was a stale facade in Ansem's eyes.

"Damn it." Ansem said under his breath.

"Welcome to the land of the living, big guy." Hermes said warmly opening his arms wide.

"Is he normally like this?" Ansem said, turning his head to Asfi who simply nodded.

"What? Can't a god be happy to see an old acquaintance alive and well?" The smile never faded on Hermes' face. "Besides, most people are a lot more receptive of someone if they're greeted with a smile! You should try it sometime."

Ansem narrowed his gaze at the deity.

"Are sure you're ok?" Ansem asked Hermes. The question brought the smile on his face to fade but there still lingered a warmness, and despite Ansem's sight, he couldn't really tell if it was genuine warmth or not.

"Luckily I'm still here." He said as he opened his arms. "And in a much better state than you, of course."

It took everything for Ansem not to dissociate and enter a realm of obliviousness.

"While you were busy resting, I took it upon myself to fulfill some errands." Hermes continued.

"You went to see Ganesha?" Ansem asked and there returned the smile on his face.

"Even better!" Hermes said as he flung his arms out to present the open door.

Ansem gave Asfi an uneasy glance at Hermes' theatrics. And through the door came a muscular man adorned with an elephant mask.

"I AM GANESHA!" The deity proclaimed flexing as he entered the room.

Ansem stared upon him with wide eyes overstimulated by the entrance. Wondering if all deities were this eccentric in this day and age. Ansem turned his wide eyed gaze to Hermes, searching for some sort of indication whether or not this was in fact reality. Hermes smiled proudly prompting Ansem to return his gaze to the deity.

"You're Ganesha?" Ansem asked.

"I." Ganesha changed a pose to flex his obliques.

"AM." Ganesha said, arching his arms in front of him to flex his chest and massive biceps.

"GANESHA!" Ganesha announced changing his pose to flex one arm outright with the other flexing his bicep.

Ansem turned his face to Asfi, and he whispered softly. "You know, you didn't really have to resuscitate me."

Asfi leaned in a little. "You think that I was going to let you make that clean of a getaway?"

Ansem raised his eyebrows. "You are a sadist."

And for the first time that he had seen, Asfi smiled.