· · · · · · ·

Filia and Ragradia trained in dream, always within the safe convinces of magic and a cottage garden. This night, though, there was a gate in the fence that wouldn't stay closed. A draft of wind would swing it open, small red flames licking at the woodwork.

Curiosity expended little effort to make Filia step through, only to find a wasteland of ashes on the other side. Filia cross it in a few hours backward, finding the source of the invitation : Luna Inverse sat with her back against the giant plush Siephied. The blood came from the stitches of the plush, whose fur peeled back to reveal skewered flesh. Little rows of blood ran down her face, she did nothing to wipe them away. In fact, she didn't move at all.

With one slow step at the time, and apprehension in her heart, Filia knelt before her.

"Luna?" Filia shook her shoulder, soft at first. "Luna!"

Luna's head drooped to the side, bangs revealing one red eye. When Filia moved back, it followed her.

"What are you doing here?" Ragradia asked.

Filia stood to face her. The god had donned her old hag form, but her expressions had moved beyond the endless smiling. Her lips were drawn, her brow low.

"Did you know Luna was ill? I need to go to her," Filia said.

"Luna will be fine."

"She is not fine," Filia hissed. "Help me find her. If I just have a clear sensation of where to teleport to, I can make it!"

"Here or there will make no difference. Luna will sort herself out, but if she comes to Sailoon, we may get negative attention."

"Is that so? I'd take you a lot more serious if you'd trust me with why that is."

The answer was stubborn silence.

"Are you afraid of what we can do when we're together?"

"There's nothing you will learn unless we want you to," Ragradia said. "Even if you and Luna can defy the influence of gods, I now know how you do it. That's the weakness you invited when you asked me to help you train. Speaking of this, why don't we return to that? Learning to by conscious on all levels will be a lot more useful than risky teleportation schemes."

The ashland grew green as Ragradia brought rain in, but Filia shut it off.

"If miss Luna can wander into dreams because of her godly power, I should be able to do it too. If you're not helping me, then get out."

"You're—"

Filia rammed her soul gate shut for Ragradia, but kept the flow open for Luna.

Did she actually need a god's guidance? The piece of Valwin's power lay untouched, perhaps she could use some of that power.

The piece had little concrete form, but now she thought of it as a cloak to wear, it slipped around her sense of self. She opened a gate in her soul and just like that, she stepped out.

She'd expected to see Claire in her true form, but the astral plane was murky and dark, if it could be called anything at all. Trying to see was useless. Xelloss had told her once that he could detect the physical plane (she'd asked him whether he ever accidentally projection into something solid) but to Filia there was nothing but the vaguest glimmer of the surrounding lifeforms.

Her own body glowed with holy power, a thin, barely visible thread connected her to her body. With a small tug, this thread evaporated into only flow.

In the opposite direction, the fragmented flow tying her to Luna offered something peculiar. While nothing here had a color till she decided on it, Luna's trace shone red. Siephied's power? No, as she let the flow pull her along, it proved something different. The red force actually embedded Siephied's power.

Letting the flow pull her along, she passed out of the temple. Filia almost lost herself in the mass of citizens beyond the palace gates, a dense field of astral forms milling about without any landmark. If not for the red path, she would have lost Luna's trace.

She did her best not to look at anyone, as it was rather embarrassing. Without walls, there was no way she couldn't invade people's privacy. She sped on.

Outside of Sailoon's holy seal, when all semblance of format was gone, remaining was a hollow. No noise, sight, touch, no up or down, no weight, no balance, nothing beyond the holy path and the occasional ghostly astral form. What little astral forms remained, animals, wasn't enforced anymore by the clear flow of the holy seal. Here was a world devoid of any gods where the first cracks of the divine rampage already showed.

All her senses expanded, her mind desperate for something to grasp onto. Anything to give herself definition, but there wasn't enough.

With a start, she woke up. Almost she transformed.

The world was in place again, the bed below, the sound of her blood flow and heart beat which normally passed by unnoticed. A small, cold hand touched her arm, Filia resisted the urge the grab the person and hold them close.

"That is too risky for you," Claire whispered. "Your mind does not encompass any concepts to help you keep your mind whole on the astral plane. If you were an astral being, you'd be destroyed now."

"I'm sleeping in this temple exactly because I need to get better at the dealings of gods," Filia said. "How do stay whole?"

Claire shook her head. "Really, Luna will be alright. I can tell how she and Lyos are all doing, they haven't succumb to the madness like Valwin and Vrabazard. What illness you detect is simply an issue with their consumption of miasma. I am already linking to the Knight of the Aqualord to teach him how to do it."

"But you haven't succeeded yet?"

"Well, no, but I will."

"That's all the more reason for me to bring those two here." She took Claire's hand. "You once trusted us dragons to fight in your wars. Trust me now when I say that if you abandon them, neither I nor Luna nor Lyos will feel you are a god worth serving."

"I have to act in the best interest of as many lives as possible, you know that."

"If it goes wrong, I'll teleport them away from Sailoon. I'll stay with them at all times, for extra security. I can handle it. Ragradia, Claire, you've known miss Lina. We mortals can make a difference for the better, even if it's not a guided effort under a god's hand."

"You ask me to take such a risk?"

Filia slapped her on the top of the head, just enough to be felt. "I'm asking you to stop being a stubborn mule who is obsessed with relying on only her own wisdom."

Claire rubbed the top of her head, pouting. "You make no sense. I'm clearly relying on Sailoon to be a good army."

Filia crossed her arms and legs, eyes bearing down on her. "That's using your own advice. You won't take any from anyone else! Honestly, you're an idiot. Even a child could have told you the war would drain your food source."

"Is the insult to a past version of my self meant to provoke me into obliging your risky idea?" Not a flinch or even a raised voice; Filia's eye twitched.

"Hnnnngh! Can you really not think outside of the box? People like I and miss Amelia who will just help you because aren't common. You need to work a little to earn people's loyalty. If you help miss Luna and mister Lyos now, they might want to return a favor. There, is that logical enough for you?"

"I already have Lyos's loyalty. I don't need Luna's."

Filia flopped back on bed. This was about as fruitful as trying to reason with Xelloss.

Hmm ... perhaps she needed the same tactics for all astral beings, and it happened to be so Claire was a far cry from Xelloss's power level. She could get away with a lot more provocation.

"If you don't help me get to miss Luna, I will try it myself. Maybe I'll damage myself somehow. Who knows. I hope you don't need me in the future."

"The difference between your need to make everyone happy and mine is logic versus self-satisfaction. You'd do something rash and dangerous just to get that obnoxious little feeling of compassion out of your mind. Learn this : Luna Inverse isn't worth the effort because she is contrary to compassion."

"Excuse me if I don't trust a god's opinion on the value of life, Aqualord."

"Claire will do. Also, your imagination will do."

"What?"

"You treat the astral plane like space rather than mind. Define yourself with fantasy, and the plane with paths. Don't bother with logic."

Before Filia could reply, magic pulled her into sleep. Why exactly Ragradia had agreed was a question for later. She was back before her open soul gate. Ragradia's power pulled her out. Filia had difficulty seeing herself still, if only because her self image had two equally true definitions. The paths were easier to go on.

Ragradia let her go at the edge of Sailoon, leaving her with the thought of speed, or merely the sensation. If she thought of this plane in her own way, she could ride her imagination as a chariot.

Flarelord Siephied was the sun to her candle of power. Whatever time existed had no point here. She followed a path for a short or long time until she came across a devil. She dodged, carrying herself over the flow quicker than they managed. She met more, all confused at what she was, some attacked. She was always quicker, they were always weaker.

As the devils thinned, a holy haze thickened. Filia could still navigate it, aligned to holiness herself, but it was difficult.

In the center, surrounding by a group of mortals, were two forms that felt like gods, but writhed like monsters. Sick in sense and form, they had a clear form for her to see : one a draconic skeleton with peeled off flesh, the other moist bundle of guts sewn together like a serpentine dragon. Though she had no body, nausea took her over.

"Luna?"

Abruptly, both turned to her.

"I'm here," Filia tried to say. "Let me see that power near you, Luna. I'm sure I can use it to teleport to you if I understand it."

The ribs moved aside, revealing nothing human inside, but there was a ruby shard. Forcing her own form into hands, or perhaps forming hands because she associated it with touch, she brushed a finger across the strange power.

Magic without words, the essence of the world. This shard was like the barrier of souls, but instead of binding a person, it bound this world.

The second she had done what she'd come for, she was pulled back.

· · · · · · ·

The next morning was sunny in a way that complimented Sailoon, or perhaps it was the other way around. The sheer power of optimism, as radiated by Amelia and the other priestesses, poured into everything. Usually Zelgadis was amongst the few grumpily resistant, but Filia was a serious contender this morning. It took all her effort to not let her face drop into her cereal bowl, so tired she was.

Her body was fine, it was her mind that had gone without rest. Ragradia had mentioned a cap on their nocturnal lessons so her brain had time to process. She hadn't realized how serious that was. She'd dragged herself through a summary to Amelia a few hours ago, before falling asleep on the spot. Now she felt a little better, but hardly good.

Zelgadis, true to his habit of intense slinking, slipped in through a corner window of the temple. He just barely had enough time to mutter, "This better not be a trick to make me go to the gala," before Amelia noticed him. She glomped him, which added a blush to Zelgadis and a wave of giggling to the priestesses at the table.

When they detangled, he asked, "What's Filia doing here?"

"Miss Filia and miss Claire have been practicing new magic here," Amelia said, guiding him to the table. "Tonight she saw miss Luna is in trouble."

"Is that why she looks like she's seen a ghost?" Everyone gave him a look. "I mean, if she were someone not used to seeing ghosts or exorcising them or ... look, you get what I mean."

"I went to the astral plane," Filia said. "What I saw of her there was horrific."

Zelgadis blinked twice. "No way. You can't go to the astral plane. You're always there already."

Filia held up her hand. "I know, I know. I'm tired. I think ... I think I transplanted my awareness into a projection onto the astral plane."

Zelgadis took a seat opposite of her. "Tell me everything."

She covered the ray that hit Claire, the strange flare in power that preceded it and her visit to Luna. For some things Zelgadis had no concept, being no priest. Amelia did her best to fill him in, but was often at loss as well. Filia's impatience to leave already made her rush, and Zelgadis often asked her to backtrack.

"It may be that when the gods prepared you as Siephied's channel, they did something more complex than simply expand your bucket capacity," he finally said. "Since in your dreams you lack full reasoning ability, it didn't occur to you to find this peculiar. It may be part of your power now, so I'm willing to take the risk you can teleport on that power."

"Neither you nor—" Amelia stepped on her chair, planted a foot on the table and there came the finger of justice.

"Off course we're coming along, miss Filia! We will not abandon miss Lina's sister to the devils!" At this, the other priestesses broke into cheers.

"Point being, whatever did not happen to Claire did happen to Luna. Also, I'm eager to find out more." Zelgadis shoved a letter across the table, neatly inscribed by Sylphiel. "I just came from Sylphiel's family. She disappeared two days ago, having left only a suspicious note. I've been trying to find any trace of her, no luck so far."

Amelia took the letter, opened it and frowned. "Miss Sylphiel wouldn't just randomly get up and disappear to pursue some surprise. Did she even pack?"

"Not enough to justify a long journey. Her neighbors saw someone who fits Xelloss's description," Zelgadis said. "He must have taken her away shortly after he left the palace. I'm also worried about the fact that he talked to you, Filia. If Xelloss is volunteering information, he's no longer in control of the situation. Zelas probably isn't either. I say we take some things back into our hands. Sailoon is already involved anyway."

"Exactly!" Amelia said. She stepped onto the table, pointed at the heavens and called, "Come on, girls, let's give miss Filia a boost!"

· · · · · · ·

Amelia's fellow priestesses helped turn the temple into a beacon, allowing for safe jumping point. The other ended end depended entirely on Filia and the red trail. The whole procedure passed by almost too easily; given the way Sailoon operated, Filia half expected Philionel to just know his daughter was about to skip off again. No huge men burst through the door, however, and so Filia, Amelia and Zelgadis popped off to the other side of the globe.

The serene interior of the holy temple was exchanged for a face full of freezing fog.

"Windtool spirits, gather your power in my hand! Demon Wind!" Zelgadis chanted at once.

The cloud dissipated only a little before returned to its former density.

"It's no use, Zelgadis," Amelia said. "This cloud is summoned by holy magic stronger than a shamanic spell."

"I see. Filia, fly lower."

She again got wave of unpleasantness, this time the sting of of devil aura, smoke and bloodlust. Below them was a burning city.

At this sight Amelia nearly jumped off, but Zelgadis pulled her back.

"Wait! We need to know first what's going on. Filia, circle the city," he said.

She obliged. It had been a harbor city once, but. The streets were mostly motionless save for flames, but more than a few humanoids lay on the pavement.

"That gate near the hill bottom is about to be breached. Once they've got that gate, the city will flood. Now there ..." Zelgadis pointed at at a the seaside battle. "That's their secondary diversion. They pretended to flood the main gate, then attacked from the sea, but their real objective is that third gate. All those lesser demons will be able to fit through it. From there on, the larger devils in the woods will move in. There's two things I don't understand : nobody seems to be holding the gate, and why some of those higher ranked devils don't cross the astral plane?"

"Something holy is embedded in the walls," Amelia said. "Right, miss Filia?"

"Yes, I feel it too. Do you have a plan, mister Zelgadis?"

"Amelia and I will deal with the gate. Filia, bring as much people as possible onto those ships. We can buy time, but the city won't hold for much longer."

"Understood." Filia swooped across the small gate.

"Ray Wing!" Zelgadis and Amelia were off to the ground, the Rah Tilts starting the moment they touched down.

Filia turned to the harbor, which had a rocky plateau to the right and beach to the left. Close to the rockhall was the most intense clutter of combat. Filia skimmed the rocks and landed on an abandoned market. Some of the devils projected as squids, molluscmen, distorted stingrays or ridiculous tropical fish, but her senses told her a great deal was on the astral plane. Whatever they fought couldn't be a human.

As a golden dragon, she stood out sorely against the flames and curse magic. A chunk of the devils broke off to flock Filia and she readied her laserbreath. Before she shot even once, a red hit wave burned away all the devils.

Filia now clearly felt Luna's power, but a collapsed building prevented her from seeing.

On all four, she carefully walked closer. The flames didn't harm her, but she was worried she might step on Luna, who probably lay somewhere in a heap, at the end of her powers. What had happened just now was probably a last power expulsion, she couldn't imagine any other reason Luna would have allowed herself to be cornered like that.

"Miss Luna?"

"Hey, Filia! Didn't hit you, did I?" It was Luna's voice alright, but it came from all directions. Every piece of the city soaked with her power echoed it.

"No, you didn't."

"Not why do you feel so uncertain?"

"I'm worried for you. All those devils flocking you—"

"I was just having some fun, but can't have these things eat you."

When she reached the top of the ruins, fire leaked around her, she stopped dead in her track.

Before her writhed a ghostly entity, its only fixed point a skull and an open ribcage. Everything else was distorted arms, scaled wings and two dozen red eyes without socket, constantly fading and emerging elsewhere. Everything about it felt holy, but it was a rotten holiness. Inside of the ribcage, Luna hung like a rag doll. Powers flared around her, ruffling the bangs. Luna's eyes were wide open and mad.

A shiver ran across Filia's back, revolt taking over. Devils were just infuriating, whatever had happened here was downright sickening. This would have happened to Ragradia too?

"Miss Luna, I came to bring you to Sailoon ..." she started in a weak voice.

"Good, let's go. Valwin's been a poor host," she said without moving her lips.

Filia forced herself back to her senses. "We need to help the citizens evacuate first. Mister Zelgadis says we should take it to the sea, the main forces are all coming from the land."

"Ah, right. That's cause of the sea, it's ours. Lyos did it." A massive claw manifested before Filia's nose, pointing at the clutter on the beach. "You might wanna go get him. He's in one of those hazes, we don't think straight during'em ..."

"Alright," Filia said, hesitated. "Will you work on getting people on the ships? Are there any survivors at all?"

"Yeah, in the warehouse behind me. Boats, you said? I'll handle it. Get Lyos," Luna said.

Filia nodded, trying not to let the thought off all that death get to her? Only one warehouse of people left alive? She should have arrived earlier.

Whatever sickness affected Luna and Lyos distorted the flow of the area to the extend Filia couldn't just teleport to the beach, or even feel anything beyond that cold cloud around the city.

She fried a squidshark with her laserbreath, knocked away a dotted seagul and planted herself before the young man with the unruly blue hair.

Confused, he blinked at the sudden gold wall before him, poking at it with his sword. His hands weren't human, but draconic claws, and lines of blood ran from his lips; he'd bitten himself with fangs.

"This isn't a devil ..." An actual devil that tried to attack him from behind vaporized in a tendril of water.

"I'm Filia, we share a friend in miss Lina. Listen, we need to get back to the docks and cover for the escape of citizens."

"Uh-huh," he said without looking up. His voice didn't come from everywhere, but did carry an echo from the sea. "Right."

He took a sprint around around her, further away from the harbor, skewering devils left and right. Filia shot down a few herself, all the while invoking Holy Rezast straight out of her mind. The circle just barely took below Lyos, he almost moved on before she could cut away the strange pain.

Faltering in his speed, he fell to his knees. The flow around him calmed down and carried away whatever he felt. With a shudder, he started breathing like a human again. Good gods, what had happened to him. Filia morphed to human form, raised a protective shield around them and softly shook his shoulder.

"Mister Lyos, can you understand me?"

He looked up like he only now saw her. The claws turned to hands, and the holiness remembered to heal his body.

"I ... what are you doing?"

"This is a Holy Rezast based spell, it diminished negative emotions in the area. I thought it'd help you calm down."

"It's more than that," he muttered, face turned down to his hands and sword. "I think we were eating miasma ..."

His head snapped up and he shot to his feet, grabbing Filia's shoulder. "Orun. Are the others okay? Have you seen them?"

"I haven't see anyone but miss Luna, but she said there were people in a warehouse."

Lyos nodded. "What's that escape plan you mentioned?"

"We head out to sea. Mister Zelgadis and miss Amelia are warding off an invasion from the land, we don't have much time."

Lyos clutched a hand in his hair. "Damn, they were diverting me! Okay ... Amelia's here, you said?"

"Yes, we're bringing you all to Sailoon as soon as I can teleport again."

"Alright. Go support those two, I'll take care of the rest."

Filia nodded before transforming back into dragon.

Amelia and Zelgadis had scattered the devil flocks, and those that had slipped in over the sea were thinned out, likely by Luna. She got the chimeras up to date with the progress and helped them drive apart the devils. Before long, they could move closed to the harbor, a line of devils on their trail. A line, but no legion.

A wall of water near the warehouse indicated Lyos was already busy securing the people. They closed their circle of defense to the warehouse, covering the miserably low number of people streaming from it. Humans and beast folk alike came out, many of them injured. Devils had gotten to them as well, it was a miracle they'd survived this long. How much of a miracle was up in the air, Filia had no idea of their original number.

Luna fought further down the harbor, but she didn't shield. Though she could produce shockwaves that killed only devils, she chose to destroy them one by one. Luna's smirk never was pleasant, but the longer Filia saw it, the more it disturbed her.

While firing away whatever devil approached her, Filia got halfway through cast another Holy Rezast. Luna skipped over to her, whacking her on the head hard. "Don't. I like it this way."

"Mister Lyos said that the miasma—"

"I'm twice his strength. I can eat just fine. You work on the boat," she said, nodding at a carrack. "Don't dare to do anything to my emotions."

"If you say so ..."

"You go back. They'll focus on me."

Reluctantly, she rejoined the chimeras, providing cover for the path between warehouse and carrack. They all fit. Zelgadis called Lyos over, commanded him to use all his power to steer the waves so the carrack would move out. There was very little further effort needed once they were in the haze, where devils saw virtually nothing.

Luna was right, the devils kept their focus on her. Filia recalled Luna telling her, years ago, that her power level meant the only chance weaker devils had was by depriving her human body of sleep.

Filia was positive Luna wasn't thinking clear. Maybe she could cast Holy Rezast from this distance, using Lyos's haze as conduit ... but it wasn't so easy now Luna had made it clear she didn't want. This was absolutely an emergy ... but to be honest, not enough of an emergency to justify ignoring her words.

Instead, Filia flew back to the harbor, calling, "Miss Luna! We need to leave!"

She landed on a pier and turned to human form. No response from Luna, save for for the silent head atop the skull turning frightened eyes her way.

"The others are safe now, miss Luna. We need to leave."

"Just a little more," Luna said with two voices. "I've almost emptied the net."

A flare of power pulsed through the ground and the shielding cloud above the city, that was when Filia understood.

These devils were trapped. The moment they entered the area, there was no leaving. All they could do was fight, even after they found out this enemy was beyond them. They weren't flocking, they were desperate. Luna reeled them into those long tentacles and killed them most slowly than she needed to. No battle at all, this was a buffet of poison.

With a pained shriek, another devil was drawn near. Filia balled her fists, took a deep breath, and jumped at Luna. Filia had the power of a dragon over Luna's human self. Putting a heavy jolt of exorcism and healing magic, she moved through the ghostly corpse, grabbed Luna by the shoulder and pulled her down.

Luna's legs were too weak to stand, she took a knee. Filia set a hand on her shoulder to keep her down.

"What do you think you're doing?" Luna drawled. "That hurt."

Filia answered with a healing spell, turning Luna's own holiness back into her body. The surrounding devils saw a chance to flee.

"Filia, I don't like this," Luna said. The deep sense of a threat lingered all around Filia, but she ignored it. Xelloss had been by so often she was used to unpleasant auras.

"Well, too bad. You don't want a temporary amputation of whatever sick emotions drive you right now, so I used physical force," Filia said calmly, letting go of Luna's shoulder so she had an extra hand for healing. "I must admit I prefer that over messing with minds, as I believe is your preference for dealing with naughty people as well."

Luna chuckled. "Touché."

Once Luna was healed enough that she could stand on her human legs, Filia transformed back to a dragon.

Luna climbed on her back, and Filia took off. "No teleportation?"

"I can't navigate this area due to the flow distortions. Besides, I'll need to rebuild my power before I can teleport everyone back to Sailoon."

"Okay," Luna said before laying back down, crossing her legs. "Go up, find some sun. You eat, I sunbathe."

"Honestly, miss Luna! This is not the time! I'd like to see whether everyone is alright."

Luna shrugged, but didn't get up until Filia was over the ship. Just before Filia shrinking down, Luna jumped off.

A green wolfman waited on deck, when Luna landed he eagerly jumped up. He fussed over her, but she brushed him off in her casual way.

Around the deck, frightened people huddled together, but most had to be below deck already. Lyos sat in a mast, still controlling the waves, while Amelia finished casting a shipwide Resurrection.

On the stern of the ship, Zelgadis spoke with a brown woman with wild white hair. Filia joined them.

"The way they acted, they really liked killing," the woman said. "Lyos had a few moments of clarity, but it didn't last long. Sometimes, they seemed to forget entirely about us. I don't understand why."

"They were poisoned on miasma," Filia said.

The woman let go a breath of relief. "Thank goodness. I thought the pillar had done something to them."

"I'll bet you that it was the cause of this," Zelgadis said. "Anyway, Orun, this is Filia."

"Thank you, all of you, for coming to our aid," Orun said, inclining her head. Filia didn't doubt she meant it, but she was stiff with tension.

"It's alright, what else would we do?" Filia said. Zelgadis looked away, clearly embarrassed. "It's okay, mister Zelgadis. Go find yourself a guitar, we're safe now and you can return to your brooding berserker act."

"I don't do that," Zelgadis muttered. "Anyway, can we expect more of those devil armies?"

"Maybe," Orun said. She explained how they'd taken refuge in the city to take care of their exhausted and injured, because the devils allowed them no rest on the road. Luna had figured out how to embed the city with magic, enough to give some reprise in the attacks, but the enemy had soon changed tactics. Only the fact Lyos and Luna pushed themselves to the limit had allowed them to survive at all. Those two didn't eat or sleep anymore, which worried Orun as much as it did Filia.

"They probably pushed themselves into chimera territory. Astral beings tied to mortal souls aren't automatically chimera, but can become so. Hence the difference between Gaav and Shabranigdu's hosts. Lyos!" Zelgadis called up. "Did anything change about your personality after that pillar?"

Lyos shrugged. "I don't know. I eat emotions now, I can't really stop it. If anyone changed about my personality, I can't just tell."

"I don't think you're very different, mister Lyos," Amelia piped up. Slowly, she climbed up the stern, where she sat down on the top step. Tired, but satisfied. "You know miss Luna better than we do, miss Filia. Is she the same?"

"I think so. She was a little addicted to the negative miasma, but not to the extend of mister Lyos."

"Good. If we can't expect anyone to go berserk, we should focus on getting everyone some in top shape in case any new legions show up. Filia, got a time estimate on when you can teleport again?"

"It may take a day or so. If mister Lyos can make a hole in his fog shield, I could feed on the sunlight."

"Can do!" Lyos called. He opened a gap, only for them to look at twilight. "Ehm, you can do that tomorrow, right?"

"No choice," Zelgadis said. "Everyone, get this place in order. We'll talk tomorrow."

They dispersed, but Filia remained on the stern to feed on the wind instead. This was part pretense, she needed some time alone to think.

No one would go berserk. That nagged at her.

The three most prominent people in her life all had inclined to wanton violence because of supernatural afflictions to their mind. Taking Xelloss's jumbled "Milgazia's humor is a distortion of reality" for true, that left Val alone as the one most truly himself when he did it, and the one person she had most expected to listen if she implored. Val had not listened, and had caused the most damage.

It would be easy to blame that she knew what to say to Luna and Xelloss, but not to Val because he didn't know everything. It would be an easy lie. She hadn't said anything special to either of them. But Val ... she hadn't even tried hard to speak him out of it. She'd known on some level it wouldn't have worked, just like nothing she could say reached Valgaav.

Her son should have been the one to listen. If not for those mythical tales where light conquers dark, then because he was her family. Why hadn't it worked?

· · · · · · ·

Filia claimed a spot to sleep on the lower deck, hoping to not only restore her power for teleportation, but also to visit Luna in her dreamscape. They needed to talk, yet she was alone. She tried reaching Ragradia, but the flow didn't cooperate. Luna and Lyos were too poisoned still, they interfered.

She woke, buried deep in her blankets. There wasn't much comfort here, on this rocking ship where the flow was broken. It would have been nice to get a hot tea with Elena right now, maybe some midnight snack. A lot of things would be nicer than this right now.

A holy source moved above the deck, either Luna or Lyos. Careful not to wake anyone, she slipped out of bed. She was in her dress still, lacking anything else, but left the cloak in favor of the thick blanket.

On deck, she found Luna in the light she was named after, but with none of the mood to match. The woman was using projections to tidy up the unruly deck.

At her curiosity, Luna said, "This ship is a mess when it doesn't have to be."

"Why aren't you sleeping. You've been awake too long already!"

"Heh. I can't sleep anymore," she said. She spun a lifebelt around her arm before she kicked it away. It rolled neatly to the side even when it should have wobbled over. "But hey, at the sacrifice of sleep, I get these nice new ways to use my power. Where would I have been if I couldn't tamper with inertia?"

"I could try to cast a sleep spell on you. I know five different types, meant to induce different sleep types. You can—"

"Nope. I bet it'd just dissolve. If I can't steer it, why would you?"

"Hmm." Filia pulled up her blanket. "I think you underestimate my spells. Miss Luna, what I saw of you on the astral plane indicates a serious problem. You looked distorted, like you were a devil!"

"You're so needlessly dramatic. Did you really think I'd lost it? What an insult! I've always looked like that."

"Miss Luna, we're dabbling with powers that affect the mind directly. I've grown to expect problems and if you truly cannot filter the emotions you eat, well, there's a problem already."

"Heh, don't worry. I will figure out the optimal way to exist like this and then, I'll get back to you about sleep."

"I'm glad that you're dealing with it, but please don't overtax yourself. You've never been through anything like this."

"Don't coddle me," she said the way one spoke of not needing an umbrella for a drizzle.

Had this been a dream, a booming voice would have announced whatever Luna really felt. Yet only the wind and the waves could be heard. Filia pulled her blanket a little higher.

"Well ... off course, but I tried reaching you in dreams because it would be easier to show you everything I need to tell you."

"Just tell me." Luna set aside what she had gathered and leaned against the mast. Filia stood at her side, following her gaze towards a distant storm partially visible over the holy mist. The clouds had a strange, stacked form, like windstreaked from multiple directions. Lightning danced at the bottom.

"Is that —"

"Valwin."

"I've been told the other gods had gone mad, but I hadn't thought they'd act this drastic."

"Who told you?"

"I'll get to that. First, Zelas knows where your sister is. Miss Lina is part of the plot, though I do not know how voluntary," Filia said. "Second, Aqualord Ragradia's remanant has been reincarnated into a living creature, she's with us now. Third, Zelas intends to use Sailoon's forces to guard an unknown location during a future conflict."

Luna nodded across the sea. "I'll bet you that location was the source of that pillar. In fact, this whole lot is part of it too, the villagers and the shard," Luna said, tapping those odd silver shoulderbands. "I was never meant to visit Valwin, they just made a little vial to brew something in."

"It's a shard of the world's staff, I think," Filia said. "She's creating an angelsblood talisman, I've learned about them in the temple. Would you like it out?"

Another nod from Luna. Aside of a slightly clenched jaw, there wasn't much to indicate what she really felt about this situation.

"Say ... Filia ... this is big. We need leverage, but we can't get that if we don't eve know what's going on? Do you think you can enter an astral soul, the way I got into your mind?"

"An astral being's mind works very differently than ours," Filia said. "They do not dream. They only can enter our dreams by sending in a little bit of their power and we have to learn how to open the gate for this. I doubt it."

"But you want to try. I know it. We can't exactly fly over to that pillar's source and expect to change anything, but we can dig into minds. We just need to find a way."

"I've been learning some things from Ragradia," she said. "But I'm not sure what I want to use it for."

"I'll capture us a devil," Luna said. "Right now. There's some around."

"Miss Luna, I'm all for learning the truth, but I don't have this kind of power yet, if it's possible at all! I'm tired and I'd much rather try to cast a sleep spell on both of us."

"I have a better idea. You shut up about sleep and we stop pretending the ground is more than just a tad scorched."

Before Filia got in another word, Luna jumped off the ship, landing on something invisible. Like this, she ran across the surface. Filia was too tired to figure out how she did it. She disappeared into the fog, but not for long.

When she stepped back aboard, she brought the sensation of a devil. Though Filia couldn't see it, the weak signature indicated there wasn't anything to fear.

"Come on, just experiment a bit."

Luna did something magical, invisible but clear to the senses. The devil manifested in the form of a frightened ammonite-like creature. It couldn't even talk, unless there was a language in the spluttering sounds. Slimy tentacles flayed around, trying to get away from the pincer Luna had run through its shell. More than loathsome, it was pitiable.

Filia reached out, unsure of what exactly to do. Maybe she could try putting herself into vision mode, and astrally stepping out ...

It occurred to her there had been captured devils in Kataart. She had never minded that much.

Quickly, she pulled back her hand.

"What? Try it." Carried on that voice was a command that bore down into her mind. In a failing attempt to block out the flow, to feel Luna's compulsion a little less, she crossed her arms over her chest and breathed out.

"Come on, Filia."

This creature before her would likely go on and cause pain, but did that give her a right to abuse and even kill it? She would have had no doubt ten years ago, but now she knew Xelloss. For all his irritating habits and amoral nature, he did more for the world than against it. Who was she to decide this wasn't another one of those defective devils?

"What are you afraid of? It's safe. Do it." Luna's voice took on a threatening edge. The more Filia reeled against it, the more she realized something supernatural was happening. It frightened her, not just because it took away a little of her agency, but also what it could turn her into.

She didn't move, but quietly invoked Holy Rezast and tried to cut away this odd compulsion to obey Luna. It didn't work, only her anxiety disappeared, leaving the pleasant sensation of obliging a god.

Luna smirked. "Good call. Now focus."

She really, really wanted to obey Luna. It felt so right.

Then again, being angry at customers and Xelloss also felt right, but she knew it made her do things that were wrong.

Filia took a few steps away.

"What?" Luna snapped.

"I don't want to go this far. I have no idea what I'm doing, I'll probably end up killing him, and there is nothing we can learn from this one's mind. It's just a random devil."

Luna stayed still, save for her smirk turning to a thin line.

"Why not? Why are you afraid?"

"I think that being near you is doing something to my mind."

"Explain."

"I used to describe the feeling that Xelloss and other devils gave me as deep evil, and the presence of the gods as good. The latter still feels like that, but in my mind I know they are something else. It's just a feeling. Right now, your powers give me that feeling and tempt me to agree with you."

"Well ... damn." Luna's arms slacked. More than any time before, Filia wished to know what was behind this seeming resignation.

Luna didn't move further, so Filia added, "I can't do this, miss Luna. Even if I could honestly believe they were all relentless murderers, I can't do this."

"You were fine with is when we experimented on Valwin."

"That was just a piece of his power. This would be torture."

"Fine." Luna's projected tentacles pierced into the devil, who shrieked so loud Filia couldn't bear it. Quickly, she grabbed the devil away from Luna.

Calmly, Luna tilted her head aside, revealing her eyes. "You're an idiot, Filia. It's not going to thank you for that. It's going to kill someone."

Fear wormed into Filia's mind, combing the godly compulsion and the old indoctrination about obeyed those holier than herself. Perhaps Luna didn't do it consciously, but the effect was the same.

Filia threw the devil back into the sea, it vanished before it even hit the water.

"It's not about gratitude, it's about life," she said.

"Retard." Luna turned on her heel and continued cleaning the deck, leaving Filia in uncertainty.

Part of Filia wanted to tell her about all she was learning from Ragradia and that there were other ways to become wiser, but another part felt this wasn't really the point they disagreed on.

After knowing the open Luna of the dreamscapes, seeing her like this now was uncanny. She didn't know what thoughts went on behind that cold mask, but knew it could be vicious or indifferent or cruel joy. The book was closed, like her entire life at the temple had been.

· · · · · · ·

When Filia woke again, it was to the scent of fried fish. Yawning, she got up and joined the crown on the sunny upper deck.

Someone has somehow caught a load of seafood, the fish of which was currently prepared by that green wolf guy, who turned out to be a decent cook. The other villagers helped out, some preparing spices from seaweeds, others boiling clams in small pots, and to the right a few women choppedsmaller fish into pieces for a soup.

The first familiar face was Zelgadis, who leaned against a mast in an intense session of brooding or glaring.

"Good morning, miss Filia!" Amelia said as she darted by. "Isn't it wonderful? Nobody will be hungry soon. There's even octopus!"

She couldn't help but smile, even as she felt the opposite of wonderful. "As good as it can be, I suppose. Did mister Lyos catch all this food? I don't see him around ..."

"He's using his water powers to fish," she said. "Speaking of powers, how are yours?"

"I'll have to make separate trips, but I think we can have everyone safe in Sailoon by evening."

"Great!" And Amelia darted off to wrestle a five meter octopos. In doing so, she came near the wolfman, who had been seconds away from being grabbed by said octopus. Zelgadis tensed up at once.

Looming. He was definitely looming, all the more now his princess was near that wolf person.

Filia took a seat on a crate near him. "Good morning, mister Zelgadis. May I ask why you're so tense?"

"Yes," he said through gritted teeth. "That hybrid, he and I used to work for Lezo. When I defected, Dilgear was the only one of our team who remained loyal to him. I thought we had killed him, but it does not surprise me he's alive, what with his regenerative powers. What I can't put my finger on is why he is with Luna Inverse. Do you know anything about that?"

"No, but she did say something about trolls working for her once. Maybe she likes to take in criminals and reform them?"

"Hmm. Keep your eyes open."

"Watch out!" Amelia called.

Filia and Zelgadis leaned back while the octopus sailed past them, curtsy of Amelia's toss. She jumped after it, grabbed it in a locked hold and knocked it out. In the name of his coolness, Zelgadis tried not showing a loving smile when she dragged it past, and failed very badly.

Lyos brought in more, turning the decks into a banquet. Little bit by little, all hundred and eighty one people aboard were fed. There were a more smiles, and a little less crying. It never quite became cheerful, but it would get better. Amelia didn't even offer refuge in Sailoon, she assumed it was natural.

Orun and Lyos were pleasant enough people, the latter's attitude reminded Filia a little of Lina. Together, they led two parts of an annexed village : warriors and forgers. It didn't take long after learning of the Zenaffa armor project that the whispers went about they could find new work in Sailoon, which Amelia was all too glad to accept.

Zelgadis was less enthusiastic, but didn't say anything. He prepared a room in the stern for private conversation and waited for Amelia, Filia, Luna and Lyos. Dilgear followed Luna, which Zelgadis grudgingly put up with so he wouldn't make trouble elsewhere.

They set around the table, which was well lit by the rising sun, though with Zelgadis at the head it was more like a cross examination room. Everyone was barely seated before he started.

"That pillar is meant to either summon the gods or drive them to madness," Zelgadis said. "We may not know why, but the how is a problem. I got a look at the surrounding land when I was at the city's edge. All the plantlife is dead. Is that all Valwin's work?"

"Yeah, he's been flying around at random," Lyos said. "Everywhere he manifests, he chokes the life out of the place. The city we arrived in was littered with corpses, Luna burned them to prevent infections. Valwin avoids places where the flow is disturbed, including the places he himself disturbed. That's why we went there."

"Was this part of Zelas and Rangort's plan?"

Orun shook her head. "No. Zelas's siblings have found the method and took control of it."

"But it was intended to reel in the gods?"

"Sort of," Lyos said with a shrug. "It's all in the wrong order, though. We just needed them in one place, going bonkers is really not useful."

"Now that the gods are cut off from the flow, doesn't that mean they won't be able to read any minds? Can't you tell us more?" Filia asked.

"This is true, but only insofar unattached entities are concerned. Those who hold a piece of the gods are still liable. I don't know where you got that piece of Valwin's power, miss Filia, but that only increases the risk," Orun said.

"So, what can you tell us? Start with why Luna Inverse was in your village," Zelgadis commanded.

"Zelas told us that one day, Luna Inverse would arrive. Our duty was to create a holy environment to foster the growth of an angelsblood talisman. A few months ago, she let us know Luna would arrive much sooner than planned. We were also told to be on the look out for devil scouts, because there was a potential war brewing."

"Talismen that invoke the power of the supreme deities can only be forged by those who possess their magical signature. Lei Magnus could do it due to his connection with the Dark Lords through Shabranigdu. I take it you were only forging Siephied's talisman?" Zelgadis asked.

Orun nodded.

"Is Lina busy forging the other three?"

Another nod.

"Great. She's not in this universe anymore," Zelgadis said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Orun's head snapped up and Lyos's mouth dropped.

"How did you—"

"The only way to get the energy of the other gods when one doesn't have a link is to visit them. That would explain her absence now that things have gone wrong."

"Xelloss has a Ruby Eye talisman, he used it to bring in miss Lina's projection during Ragradia's rebirth," Filia said. " If she's in another universe, how likely is it that a Vision spell or similar suffices if she has angelsblood talismen only?"

"Not likely," Zelgadis said. "Someone like Lina could make it work with an angelsblood, but it's far more likely she's also got new demonsblood talismen."

Filia, Amelia and Zelgadis exchanged a look.

"Lina is the kind of person to go for the full treasure even if it's not part of the plan," Zelgadis said. "Or it could mean both angelsblood and demonsblood talismen are necessary, which implies an even bigger scope in this plot than just the gods. What for is for us to guess and we're told guessing is bad."

"Hmm. I don't think miss Lina would be pushed around by anyone, even someone like Zelas," Amelia said. "Miss Orun and mister Lyos, what's your impression of Zelas? How did she convince you to help?"

"We didn't do it because of Zelas," Lyos said. "You think I'd give a devil one more second of my time after what Deep Sea Dolphin did? Lina convinced me."

"My little sister convinced you to deceive me and use me as incubator for a talisman? I'll be having a talk with her about that when I meet her again," Luna said.

"Miss Orun, please, can you hint us anything about why?" Filia asked, choosing to ignore Luna's dangerous comment.

"I could, but I'm not allowed to tell either Luna or Lyos," she said. "They have human souls, so the gods can connect to their minds without disintegrating, exploiting the resonance of their power. If Valwin or Vrabazard find them, it will be the end of it."

"And the fact that the devils took control of that machine doesn't mean the end?" Amelia asked. "Does this really give you a good reason to keep us out of the loop?"

Filia's tail popped out. "Together, miss Luna and I can keep out the god's influence. We learned how to close the gates for them."

Orun cast a look at Luna. "What does she mean?"

Luna just smirked.

"We've been training in dreams, we can teach mister Lyos as well," Filia said. "If necessary, Earthlord Rangort can test us."

Orun closed her hands, turned her face to the table and whispered, "I'm sorry. I promised."

Filia could feel her tail itch to get out, her eyebrows twitch. This wasn't fair. She shot up, slamming her hands on the table.

"Rangort, do you hear me? Don't just write us off as to weak to be trusted with information. We deserve to have a say in what happens to us!"

"Eh, Filia. Bad idea," Luna said.

Without a second to respond, Zelgadis was thrown at Filia by an invisible force. A rocky elbow connected with her head, then she slammed against the wall.

"What just happened?" Amelia blurted out.

"Rangort likes to throw rocks. Your hubby was the nearest available rock," Luna said.

Zelgadis was back on his feet at once, scowling like he'd pull his sword if there's been anyone to pull it at. Filia was still rubbing her head, but no less seething.

"We are not objects, dammit," Zelgadis growled. "It's bad enough Sailoon's involved into this mess."

"That's the gods for you," Filia sneered. "Don't expect them to be honest or altruistic."

"They're worse than mister Xelloss," Amelia said.

Orun coughed. "I don't want to claim that wasn't an awful way to shut down argument, but do you really think they're that bad?"

This woman might have had a little faith left, so Filia hesitated to say it.

But it had to be said. "I've been to hell and saw there is no heaven, miss Orun. I've spoken to those who died in the name of the gods, believing there was a reward for them. Instead, they got Hellmaster Fibrizo. Did miss Lina tell you about what happened when she defeated the third piece of Shabranigdu?"

"She told me a little," Orun said. "But not much. How could you have been to hell and back?"

"As a being adjusted to channel a deity's power beyond my natural capacity, I have a two-way flow. My body was healthy at the time, so I brought us back. That was all I could do. We are so powerless, the top of our ability was only clawing our way back. The gods didn't care to do anything for those souls, so what could we do?"

"We? As if Luna would have cared," Lyos muttered.

Filia raised a brow.

"You've never actually lived near her, have you?" Lyos leaned back in his chair, looking over his shoulder at Dilgear. "Hey. Spot. Tell me again about your doghouse."

The coin dropped. Oh no. Green hair.

"What?" Filia snapped. "He is the Spot you told me about?"

"Yep," Luna said. "Figured you'd throw a tantrum about it, so didn't bother with details."

"A tantrum? Mister Dilgaer, is it true she chained you up?"

"Yes, but—"

"No buts! You have a name that isn't Spot, you shouldn't have to forsake it! You are a sapient being."

Filia glared at Luna, who crossed her arms, smirked and said, "I am very afraid of you, oh help, Siephied."

She needed to invoke years of Xelloss-bred patience to not respond to that. Calmly, she sat down. "Luna, when we get to Sailoon and you dare to treat my family like this, you—"

"Don't care." She flicked an astral cut across Filia.

Her breath took in sharply. There wasn't anything visible, nor did the pain have any location, but Filia felt something had been done to her.

"Miss Filia, what's wrong?" Amelia asked. "Something weird just happened to your energy."

Luna pushed off the wall and opened the door. "Follow, Spot."

"Hey, Luna. Does being a chimera of god and human influence you in any way? Cause you're acting more like the gods than the humans," Zelgadis said.

The air might as well be freezing. "Watch your tongue, demon," Luna said calmly. She didn't slam the door as she left, but there was a noise like grinding bones throughout the ship. It didn't go away.

Zelgadis sighed. "Great, more immoral holy people on our roof. Orun, how about you tell me when neither Filia, Lyos or Luna are around? I have no connection to the gods and a pretty good idea how reliable Lina's ideas are. If you don't, I'm about ready to do something risky."

"I guess I could," Orun said. "I'm sorry, miss Filia."

And just like that, Filia was yet again on the sidelines. She promised herself it wouldn't be for long, but what good is a promise when gods and devils are playing?

· · · · · · ·