And we are back with chapter two. Glad to see people have been checking the story out, hope you all continue to enjoy it. I don't intend to abandon this project, but I can't really make any absolute garuntees. I can't predict the future, I'm no Vex Mind.


Chapter 2: A Stranger in an even Stranger World

"Are you sure it was destroyed?" Royal asked as he sped away from the forest, not particularly concerned with where he was driving. Lancer spoke up over their comm-unit.

"Almost certainly, that grenade launcher packs one hell of a punch."

Royal nodded, his Deafening Whisper has served him well for years now. He always had a soft spot for wave frame launchers. Royal saw a large settlement coming up ahead of him. Pulling over, he pulled out his scout rifle and peered through its scope for a better view. Royal raised an eyebrow, the architecture of the town bore a fair amount of similarities to that of ancient medieval towns from before the Golden Age. As a Warlock, Royal had studied innumerable records on Humanities history, so he was surprised at the similarities he saw. The people walking around the town came in a variety of forms. Royal didn't know how to begin describing it all. Some resembled humans, albeit with some odd addition such as pointed ears or extra eyes. Others were just downright demonic in appearance.

Royal had been fighting against the enemies of mankind for a long time, he had learned that aliens were never to be trusted. The only thing they brought was death. The only thing they wanted was conquest. They would never stop. They had to be killed. That was the only way mankind would survive. His grip on his rifle tightened, he remembered the Red War. How the Cabal had invaded the Last City. How they had butchered innocent civilians. How they had stolen the Light, nearly killed him, nearly killed Lancer.

The eponymous Ghost slammed into the side of Royals' helmet, momentarily stunning him. His Ghost floated in front of his face, staring at the Exo with his eye.

"Can you hear me?" He asked. Royal nodded, rubbing his head.

"Good, I've been trying to get your attention for a good minute now. I was saying that we should head down there after dark and see what information we can gather up."

"Fine," Royal snapped, "but I'm not waiting until nightfall. The sooner we're out of here, the better." He didn't want to be here with these things any longer than he had to. He dismounted from his sparrow, sending it back to transmat. He marched towards the town, holstering his rifle and drawing his glaive, Edge of Intent. It was a long, elegant weapon that Royal had forged using metal harvested from broken Vex forms and his own Light. Lancer watched him for a second, concern etched into his eye. Eventually, he sighed and flew to catch up with Royal.

"We'll probably want some kind of library, check out whatever historical accounts they have. Also, it would probably be for the best if we minimized our contact with others. You might want to put your glaive away too, it's a bit high-tech for this place," Lance instructed. Rather than acquiesce, Royal gripped it tighter. Lancer sighed, transmatting his body away to avoid detection.

As he walked through the streets, pedestrians turned to stare at him. The residents muttered to each other about the strange newcomer. He continued walking as crowds began to form. They were staring at his weaponry, clearly unfamiliar with them.

"And I thought Cabal were unpleasant to look at, this place is an ugly contest where everyone's a winner." He muttered to himself, unknowingly quoting a certain Hunter Vanguard.

Out of the corner of his eye, Royal saw a pair of people conversing with one of the more human-looking residents. They pointed at him and the two looked over. They had strange, bird-shaped masks and wore white cloaks long enough to make a Hunter jealous. They must've been some kind of local law enforcement. The two began walking over to him. Deciding to avoid confrontation, he stopped and let them catch up with him.

"Hey you," one of them called, "Tall and purple, with the glaive."

Royal turned around, eyeing them up. They were smaller than him and appeared unarmed, but this entire world was unknown. Royal would need to play this safe.

"Is there a problem?" He asked with a dangerous edge to his voice. The guards either didn't notice or didn't care.

"You're causing a disturbance in town, disrupting the peace." The lead guard stated plainly.

"I'm just taking a walk, not disturbing anything." He replied. One of them glanced at his weapon.

"Well, a disturbance is a disturbance. What's your business?"

"Just came from far out of town, want to get to the library, pick up some light reading." The guard seemed skeptical, but before they could challenge his claim, his partner spoke up.

"What's that you got there? Doesn't look like anything I've ever seen before," she said, gesturing to his glaive.

"It's a survival tool from my homeland," he said, not exactly lying.

"Looks interesting, what does it do?"

Royal didn't respond, holding the weapon loosely to his side yet keeping it close and guarded. The guard seemed a little disappointed. Her partner spoke up again.

"Look, if you want to get to the library, you just need to head down this road and take the third left. Should come up on your right."

Royal looked over at him and nodded.

"Sorry for bothering you then, I'll be on my way."

The two guards watched as Royal continued walking down the road. The lead guard turned back to the crowd that had gathered.

"Alright, back to your lives people. Nothing to see here." He shouted. As the crowd slowly dispersed, he turned to his partner.

"I better go write up a report, this guy could turn into trouble. You good to manage the rest of your patrol?" He asked. She flashed him a quick thumbs up and he took his leave.

Royal finally made his way to the library. It was a large building, which meant it should have quite the reservoir of knowledge. He walked up the step to the main doors and swung them open. The interior was organized, so calm and quiet. Royal felt a sense of nostalgia for all the nights he had spent within the Towers archives, reading ancient human history or catching up on the latest philosophical arguments on the nature of the Light. The Thanatonauts' ideas in particular were always a thrill to read. The smile on Royals' face died as he remembered the reality of his situation. He hadn't had much time to reminisce while he was trapped in the Vex Domain, every second was a hard-fought struggle just to stay alive. Now that he was out, it all came crashing down on him. How much had changed since he had been gone? Did the Tower even still stand? Were they looking for him? He shook his head at that last thought, Guardians went missing all the time. They wouldn't be looking for him specifically. He only spoke with a few others anyways; Iris, Malek, Banshee. Aside from Lancer, they were his only real friends.

Royal pulled himself from his thoughts, refocusing on the mission at hand. He stepped inside the library, heading over to the main desk. A colossal bird-like creature sat behind it, carefully inspecting a book through its glasses. They noticed Royal approach and set the book down.

"Welcome to the Bonesborough Library, how may I be of assistance?"

"I was hoping you could direct me towards any historical records you might have? I'm a bit new here."

The librarian nodded and pointed off to the left side of the library.

"You'll find it all down there, I would personally recommend starting with 'A Complete History of the Boiling Isles' by Salazash Bloodfang. Don't let their moniker intimidate you, it's just a family name."

Royal thanked the man-bird-thing and left to begin his research. Lancer took this opportunity to speak up.

"Bonesborough of the Boiling Isles. At least we know what to call this place now."

Royal walked up to the bookshelf and found the tome that was recommended to him. He also took the opportunity to grab a few more books. After all, Hunters had knives and Titans had fists, but to Warlocks, knowledge was the greatest weapon. Fortunately, the area was empty of visitors, save for him, so he would be free from distractions. He opened the first book and began to read. He quickly devoured the information in front of him, thanks to his Exo mind being able to process the data exponentially faster. As he learned about the history of this new world, he found himself becoming more and more confused. He gathered that this world, named the Demon Realm, was inhabited by a wide variety of Witches and Demons and that the Boiling Isles was the locals' name for the corpse of a massive Titan which they lived upon. The inhabitants of the Titan were able to channel magic through their bodies and use it to perform a wide variety of tasks. A long time ago, magic had been unrestrained and wild. Then, a figure had risen, claiming to speak for the Titan. He had instructed them that they were using their magic incorrectly and had brought about the Coven system, with his right at the top. Now, this Emperor Belos ruled over the lands, punishing the 'Wild Witches' as he called them.

Royal had also discovered something very interesting. Apparently, the Demon Realm existed in dimensional parallel to the Human Realm, though travel between the two was difficult. Human junk was known to wash up on the coasts of the Isles from time to time. That would explain why Royals' light felt strained, he was separated from the traveler by a dimensional barrier. He remembered a radical Dead Orbit member theorizing about alternate dimensions that they might be able to escape to. They had been mocked for their outlandish ideas, now Royal was starting to put more weight on the theory.

Royal continued to learn about the Human Realm and he was less than happy with what he read. Not the information itself, that was all fine. He was more annoyed by the blatant propaganda being cast. The records described Humans as weak due to their lack of magic. It called them primitive barbarians. Royal rolled his mechanical eyes, he knew enough about Human history to know how destructive and powerful his species could be, even without the Light.

He continued reading, going through book after book. Lancer even popped out to help him at one point. He had been reading for so long that he didn't notice the day slipping by. It took a librarian physically coming by to inform him that they would be closing soon to finally drag him from his research. The librarian was astounded by the number of books Royal had managed to read through in such a short amount of time to which Royal only commented that he was a particularly fast reader.

As Royal headed for the exit, he noticed the bird demon from earlier speaking with someone else, a young Witch with green hair. Not wanting to disturb them, Royal departed swiftly. He headed back the way he had come, the streets now mostly empty. It was late after all and the sun was beginning to set.


Synegorus was calculating a billion possibilities at once. They considered every single factor from every conceivable angle. Countless outcomes are analyzed, deconstructed, and remade. All of this happens instantly within the immeasurable scope of the Paradoxical Mind. Eventually, it narrowed down all of its options to one perfect course. All of this had been done in an attosecond.

The Mind got to work, molding the Vex Domain to reopen the vortex that the Intruder had escaped through. Synegorus perceived something odd, a universe that the Vex did not know. The Mind did not like not knowing. It continued its work, sculpting the Vex Domain to open a bridge to this new reality.

It would not be able to invade itself, not yet. It would have to start small, sending in proxies to establish a foothold. They would be reinforced until Synegorus himself would finally be able to manifest. Then, assimilation would be complete. The Mind continued its dreadful work with single-minded determination.


Luz had not had a great day. She thought she had finally found her destiny, that she was going to be something special. She was the Chosen One, who would find the legendary Celestial Staff. Instead, it had all been a trick. A puppeteering demon had been using her to get to Eda. She had managed to defeat said demon and her mentor had given her some uplifting wisdom. However, even as they were flying back to the Owl House, she still couldn't help but feel a little upset. As the group touched down, Eda spoke up.

"Alright, you scamps head inside. I got a mess to clean up." She grumbled. Luz looked at her with curiosity.

"What kind of mess?"

"You remember all that scrap that ended up in our backyard?" Luz nodded in response, "Some psychopath in armor and a dress attacked me and blew it up. He called it 'Vex tech' or something, and said that I didn't understand what I was tampering with. Who does he think he is?" Luz looked over at her mentor.

"Wait, was their armor purple?" She asked.

"Yup," Eda replied, popping the 'p' sound, "He had a bunch of metal over his dress."

"I heard about that guy in town," Luz said, "while I was delivering potions. Apparently, he gathered this huge crowd. I heard some Coven guards even got involved." Eda raised an eyebrow at that, before continuing.

"Well, he had this weird little box that he pointed at me. Whatever it was, it was no match for me because, you know, I'm the best." She boasted, flexing her arm.

"Of course, I'm sure you sent him running for the hills," Luz played along with her Mentor. Eda chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, something like that."

"It doesn't matter how mighty his little box is," King declared, raising one fist into the air, "He shall tremble before me!" Luz cooed at the adorable display, lifting King into a hug.

"Yes, he certainly shall you adorable little tyrant." Luz lifted King into her arms, cuddling with him despite the Demons' protests.


Lilith sat at her desk, filling away some paperwork. It was nothing major, just a compiled manifest from this week's shipments and other matters. She appreciated how the busy work kept her mind occupied. She took a sip from her drink. It was nice and quiet tonight. Lilith set the manifest down, everything appeared to be in order. She picked up the final form on her desk. It was a short report, just recording a mild disturbance in Bonesborough. She glanced over the report, everything appeared to be in order. A crowd had been gathering, Coven guards had confronted the suspect, and the situation had been defused without incident. She was about to set the paper back down when she saw the attached recreation of the suspects' appearance. It was unlike anything she had seen before. Slick purple armor, a massive Glaive, a strange contraption held in their hand, and a rather stylish dress. That was assuming the playback magic was accurate, which it almost always was.

Lilith tapped her fingers on the table. First the massive trench, then the strange creature they recovered, now this foreign character. Lilith recalled an old saying; once is a circumstance, twice is a coincidence, thrice is a conspiracy. The Emperor would want to know about this. She hadn't told him before as she didn't believe anything she had uncovered to be remarkably important and he was a rather busy man, instead choosing to wait for further development. Now that development was here

She set the report down, sighing. Her quiet night had just gotten a lot more complicated.


The evening sky was still. The outside was quiet, a rarity on the Boiling Isles. Naturally, it couldn't last. The air crackled with energy, splitting apart in a spinning vortex. A wave of pure force was blasted in all directions, Data tore through the air and a bipedal figure fell through, landing on its feet in the middle of a clearing. The vortex closed behind them, unable to sustain itself any longer. The figure raised its head, a crimson eye sweeping the landscape. The Goblin stood at full height and drew its weapon. Synegorus had given it express directions; observe, investigate, and remain out of sight.

A branch snapped nearby and the Goblin spun to face it. Its optic peered into the night. Its' rifle slowly panned across its' surroundings. Without warning, it fired and a bolt of energy soared into the woods. After a half-second, a thud was heard. The Goblin walked over to investigate. A four-legged beast was writhing on the ground, and a smoking hole had been burned through its chest. The Goblin inspected it for a second as its optic twitched. It pointed its rifle at the creature's head and fired. The beast let out one final, pathetic whimper before dying. Before the Goblin could properly dispose of the body it heard voices shouting. They were getting closer alarmingly fast. Assessing the options, the Goblin decided that it was better to simply vanish rather than risk detection.

The Goblin phased out of existence, teleporting away seconds before a Witch ran into the clearing. The Goblin watched as it inspected the beast it had shot. They were distressed, crying out loudly. The Goblin did not understand this being's sorrow, it was not made to understand such things. Rather than lurk any longer and risk detection, the Vex teleported again, disappearing into the night.


The night had come and gone. Royal hadn't slept much, not that he was particularly tired, but that was beside the point. The Guardian had departed from Bonesborough to find a place to get himself set up. Lancer had been weighing up their options at the moment. They could find a way off-world from the Demon Realm, which would be pointless, find a way back into the Vex Domain, which would be suicidal or find a way into the Human Realm. That last option was the most promising, unfortunately, they had no idea where to even begin going about it.

While Lancer continued to strategize, Royal was training. His skill as a Dawnblade was impressive, so he wasn't worried about that. Hovering in the air, he cast out his hands, fingers spread. A burst of Arc Light exploded from his hands and a bolt of lightning slammed into a nearby rock that he had placed as a target, atomizing it instantly. As Royal touched down, he inspected his hands. The Light still felt off to him. It wasn't making him weaker, but he felt as if this area was overwhelmed with Darkness. He had encountered this phenomenon before, notably within the Vex Domain.

"If you are quite done with your wanton destruction," Lancer chirped, "I think we should address your recent behavior."

Royal ignored him, instead slinging a bolt of Arc light at another rock. It wasn't destroyed so much as it simply failed to continue existing.

"Then can we talk about that wave of force we felt last night?"

Royal continued ignoring his Ghost, tossing a condensed ball of Void energy at another target. The stone shattered, debris flying in all directions. A few stone chips bounced off his armor. Lancer was not so fortunate, having to dodge as a large chunk parted the air he had been occupying. Lancer turned back to his Guardian who hadn't even noticed, let alone apologized.

"That's it." He muttered. Royal had been acting odder than usual and Lancer was getting tired of it. He flew directly in front of his Guardian, finally capturing his attention.

"Royal, are you alright?" He asked slowly. Royal laughed, a sound utterly devoid of joy.

"Alright? Neither of us has been 'alright' in years," he ranted, "Ever since we got trapped in that accursed hell of temporal data and murderous robots. Even when we finally make it out, we end up trapped in another reality entirely. A reality filled with all kinds of disgusting alien freaks! So I'm afraid you are just going to have to accept the fact that I am a little on edge." Royal didn't notice how loud his voice had gotten, or that his fists were clenched. Lancer looked at him with pity.

"Royal," he began, "You know I'm here for you. We're going to find a way out of here. You survived the Red War without me! Compared to that, this is nothing. We'll be flying back to the Tower before you know it. And for the love of the Traveler, you need to control yourself here. I understand that our experiences with other species hasn't really been positive. But this is a new world. I doubt they've ever even met a Human, let alone an Exo. You're letting your past experiences fuel your hatred. Give them a chance, maybe they'll surprise you. Trust me on this." Lancer finished his tirade, staring at Royal with intensity. He cared deeply for Royal, they'd been through a lot with each other by now. He watched Royals back and Royal watched his.

"Maybe you're right," Royal responded, his words barely more than a whisper, "Maybe you're right about our current predicament." He reached up and removed his helmet for the first time in years. There was a soft hiss of pressurized air escaping. White metal shone under the morning sun as bright orange eyes filled with pain and desperation stared out over the landscape.

"But you're wrong about them," he continued, "Not all aliens deserve to die, but none of them can be trusted to continue living." Lancer sighed, they weren't done with this.

Royal walked over to a large, flat rock he was using as a workbench. All of his wargear was placed upon it. He had a few exotics at his disposal, incredibly powerful and ancient weapons. His Huckleberry, an heirloom he had uncovered from his life before he was a Guardian. The Sleeper Simulant, all the power of a Warmind condensed into a laser gun. And lastly, one of his own making. He had named it The Armored Fist. It was a fusion rifle that he had tampered with. He had tried to remove the charge-up time ubiquitous to the weapon class. He had succeeded, in a sense. It could be fired without charging, however, it would lack greatly in power. Charging it would improve the power drastically, but if one held it down for too long then the weapon would explode. Royal had discovered that little tidbit by accident. Needless to say, Lancer had poked fun at him relentlessly for weeks. Royal smiled slightly at the memory.

Maybe Lancer is right, he thought. He needed to calm down. He grabbed his Fatebringer, checking it over quickly to ensure it was operational. He then called out to Lancer.

"Well, if you're so sure about them surprising me, why don't we head back into town. We know the land's history, but nothing about its culture." Lancer perked up at that.

"Alright, but only if you promise to behave yourself."

"I'm not a child." Royal scoffed.

"I raised you only a few years ago. You're like, five at most."

"Fine, I promise I'll be on my best behavior," he relented, "but I'm taking my Fatebringer with me, just in case." Lancer bobbed, it was the closest to a nod he could get.

The journey back to town was uneventful and the pair found themselves retracing their path from yesterday. However, before they made it to the library, they saw a large group of people crowded around some kind of reporter with magical equipment. Not expecting to see such a modern occurrence, Royal crept a little closer.

"Lancer," Royal whispered, "Think you can check that out real quick?" His Ghost acknowledged and flew over, staying well above the crowd to avoid detection. After a few seconds, he returned.

"It's mostly nothing we should worry about; the local school is starting up their sports season, some kind of celebration is coming up, a recruitment poster for the Emperor's Coven, you get the picture. However, I did hear something rather odd. A local out in the woods reported that something killed his pet last night." Royal raised an eyebrow at that as they continued to walk.

"That doesn't really sound like our problem."

"Hold on a sec cause here comes the clincher. The local said that he heard a sharp cracking noise before his pet died and that there were two smoking holes burned into them. The wounds were too small and clean to be magic."

Royal stumbled at that before ducking away into a dark alley, his mind already racing with possibilities.

"Are you sure you heard right?" He asked urgently.

"As sure as the void is endless," Lancer replied.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" The two looked at each other.

"The Vex," they said in unison. If the Vex had followed them here, then everything was about to go from bad to worse. Royal sighed, leaning against the wall. So much for a quiet day of research.


The Harpy was awake. It watched as they poked and prodded it, but it did not react. It had been ordered to allow these creatures to discover its secrets, but that did not mean it would surrender them without some resistance. After all, appearances had to be kept up.

It had been watching for some time now, gathering information from its captors. It has managed to learn a lot about this foreign land. These Witches, as they called themselves, were technologically primitive. One of the Witches traced a spell circle in front of it while their colleagues. They were trying to use magic to crack open its secrets. They had tried this exactly 403 times in the last day, with no success. The Vex would have been annoyed if it was capable of feeling such things.

Suddenly, the Harpy felt an overwhelming presence wash over it. It crashed into the Harpy with all the force of a star. The feeling faded as soon as it had come. Instantly it knew, Synegorus had opened the vortex, however briefly it may have been. The Harpy felt another Vex presence, a single Goblin.

It was time to begin revealing itself. The Harpy started to activate, unfurling its metallic flaps. The Witches stepped back in shock and fear. However, rather than attack them, the Harpy simply stayed where it was. Cautiously, one of the Witches stepped forward with their arm raised and ready to cast a spell. The Harpy finally floated forward, startling the Witch. A beam of light emitted from its red optic, projecting a series of images to the Witches who were studying it.

They watched in equal parts awe and fear as the Vex displayed its information. One of them hurried to begin copying it down. Once it was satisfied, the Harpy returned to its stand and went dormant once more.

The Witch that had approached the Harpy prodded it gently with his finger. After it didn't respond, he turned around to address his colleagues.

"Someone get Lilith, tell her that we've made progress."


Lilith was nervous. Obviously, she would be, she was meeting with the Emperor. She had done it before, many times. That didn't mean that she wasn't still nervous. She had just gotten better at hiding it. She went over her plan again, grateful that her researchers had managed to inform her of their progress before her audience with the Emperor. The doors opened and Kikimora exited. The diminutive demon fixed Lilith with a lazy look.

"His majesty will see you now." Without another word, she departed. After only a moment of hesitation, Lilith entered. The room was massive and resplendent. Massive columns held the room, framing the path that led to the throne. Sitting upon the throne was Emperor Belos. His eyes peered through the slits of his golden mask causing a shiver to run down Liliths' spine. She ignored it, steeling herself, and dropped to one knee.

"Lilith," he spoke, his voice filling the room despite how soft his tone was, "You have news that you deemed important for me?"

"Yes my liege," she started, rising back to her feet with both hands clasped behind her back, "there have been several irregular disturbances that I believe to be connected." She looked up at the Emperor as he processed the information. He waved his hand, gesturing for her to continue.

"A few days ago, locals living on the outskirts of Bonesborough reported a loud disturbance in the night. Upon further investigation, Coven scouts found a massive trench trailing down the mountain that was likely carved by the impact of a foreign object. We managed to recover several pieces of debris, including a strange construct we have never seen before." She drew a spell circle in the air, creating a replica of the Harpy for the Emperor to see. He leaned forward, scrutinizing it.

"Fascinating, I have never seen anything like this before," He said, Lilith spoke up quickly.

"I have already passed the recovered specimens to a research team. It has provided us with several unfamiliar pictures." She cast another spell and the images that the construct had provided them appeared alongside her earlier apparition. She opened her mouth to continue before Belos cut her off.

"They are blueprints."

She looked at him in surprise.

"Blueprints, your excellency?" She asked. Belos nodded, stroking his chin slowly.

"Yes, blueprints. Though to what I cannot ascertain at this time. Is there anything else you wish to inform me of Lilith?"

"Yes, my liege. We have also received reports of a strange individual from Bonesborough." At that, Belos leaned forward, resting his head on his crossed hands.

"Strange? What constitutes strange here in the Boiling Isles?" he asked rhetorically, almost in a mocking tone.

Rather than reply, Lilith simply drew her third spell circle. A final figure appeared beside the Harpy. They were tall and lean, yet strong and well built. They wore an elaborate outfit, thick metal armor over their shins, chest, and arms with long robes flowing down to their ankles. The figure wore a helmet with an odd visor filled with smoke. However, the part that caught Belos' attention was the item being held in their hands. It looked like a spear that had been exaggerated and set on fire.

"Who is this?" He asked, curiosity dripping from his words.

"This is our strange character," Lilith replied, "Coven guards confronted him in Bonesborough a few days ago. Fortunately, the encounter didn't escalate to violence and they managed to gather some information from the suspect. He said that he comes from far out of town and simply wanted directions to the local library."

Belos remained silent after Lilith finished, inspecting the illusions she had constructed. Lilith stood as still as a petrified Witch, awaiting his judgment. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait much longer.

"You have done well to bring this information before me. Continue to investigate this little construct, you shall have access to whatever resources you require. However, do not allow it to distract you from your other duties. Apprehending the Owl Lady is still your top priority." He ordered, his tone leaving little room to argue. Lilith nodded, feeling a worm of guilt writhing inside her.

"As you wish my lord," Lilith said, "What of the stranger?"

"Do not concern yourself with him, I shall have someone else handle the matter. You are dismissed." He said. Lilith nodded, accepting his orders and turning to leave.

After the door closed behind her, she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She allowed herself a second to collect her thoughts. She could still see the constructs gaze when she slept. How malicious it had felt. Like it had wanted nothing more than to end her existence as painfully as possible. She shook her head.

"Stay focused Clawthorne, you still have a job to do."

Emperor Belos watched as the head of his Coven exited the chamber and her illusions faded. He rose from his throne before calling out to the empty room.

"I assume you heard all of that."

A lone Witch stepped out from behind the throne. They wore a bone-white cloak with a hood drawn over their head. Their face was concealed by a golden mask and they wore a matching shoulder pad on one arm.

"I did, do you want me to apprehend this stranger?" The Golden Guard asked. Belos raised a hand.

"No, observe him. Bring back any information of interest. Do you understand?"

The Golden Guard bowed, "Of course my Emperor." He exited from a secret door in the back of the room, leaving Belos alone with his thoughts. The Emperor sat down upon his throne once more. The Day of Unity was growing closer and now these interlopers appear from thin air. He scowled, this couldn't be a coincidence. They could not be allowed to interfere.


Thank you for your time and attention you lovely people. Any reviews are always welcome and I'll see you next time.