The Meanderer

by xeveningx

"The world is beautiful and pure, it's the weeds in it that ruin it." And to save the world she loves, Noé will do what she must: find her friends to free her master. But as she learns what saving it implies, discourse stirs in her. Is it really worth saving anymore? "It's not the world that's worth saving," a red cub told her. It's hard to understand his words.

16. Mother and Son

You thought it'd be another month for the next update

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Chapter Sixteen:

Mother and Son

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i.|

"Gross."

"Are...are you serious?"

"What?" There was no way that Chief didn't think the sac of glowing flesh and juices hanging from the ceiling and pillar wasn't disgusting.

"You carried a healthy, fully-formed babe in half of what is considered normal and you consider this disgusting?"

"Tell me it's not!" Noé called out pointing at the sac. "She can decorate it with all the flowers she wants but her wombs still look gross as fuck."

"Have some tact. It's a child in there."

That thing wasn't a child.

Noé was certain of that one fact. Standing away from the one womb she examined, her eyes scanned the underground chamber. Many more wombs were attached to the ceiling and scattered around the floor. All of them broken, already having birthed their vessels. The newest one there and from which Noé could sense the fraction of Scheherazade's rukh was the lonesome womb glowing in the midst of the darkened room. Walking away from it, she stepped closer to the granite bed where an old, wrinkled sleeping beauty rested. Fingers gently brushed against grayed hair that after centuries had lost its golden hue. Eyes that were once a beautiful baby blue were closed forever, never to truly open again.

"Tell me," she spoke softly to the lying figure, "what is it like to die?"

"Painful." Her fingers halted the moment Scheherazade's soft voice echoed within the silent room. Almost a whisper. But then again, that was the way she talked. Softly, gently. Dismissively. "And lonesome."

"Lonesome?" Noé finally responded, turning about to find the magi as she came to stand at the entrance of her chamber. "You have a whole country, subjects that love you blindly for what you've given them, and you call dying amongst them lonely?"

"Even amongst a crowd, one can be lonely. I thought you would understand that more than anybody."

Noé scoffed, her feathers bristling somewhat. "I'm alone because I want to be." Because when she cared about something, weeds like her would inevitably wreck everything. Brandishing her arms outward, Noé grinned smugly as she gestured at the empty wombs. "You're alone because you fear death."

"I don't fear it." Regal and proud, the magi took the few steps to stand before her.

"What do you call doing this song and dance of creating clones to carry your rukh then?" Visibly, Scheherazade flinched which only made Noé smirk. "It's not hard to intuit. For anybody who cares to look and who has the power to do so, they'd recognize how weak you've become. I wonder how your people would react if they knew that the powerful magi they thought to be all-powerful and knowledgeable is, in reality, nothing but a hollow husk carrying a conscious along for the ride until it withers and dies."

"That does not mean I fear death, Noé."

"No?" Mocking laughter echoed through the chamber. "What do you call all this then?" she called, brandishing her arm out once more to gesture at the wombs.

Scheherazade remained solemn as ever and noticeably quiet. But when she found the words to reply to her, the magi did so with certainty and confidence that Noé abhorred.

"My oath."

"What?"

The tiny magi—so fragile, so easily destroyed if Noé really attempted it—trod carefully through the weed-infested floors until she reached the single womb still alight with crafted life. Her small, fragile hand laid on the outside tenderly as her baby blue eyes opened to glance at it from below.

"The day I chose Pernadius as my King's Candidate, I vowed to see Reim prosper into the future. Beyond him, beyond the kings that would come and go—my oath was to this country and its people."

"Your word means nothing," Noé spat back. "They meant nothing to you when you let your people butcher my son and they will mean nothing for these people when they need it most."

"That is what I truly fear...and why I do what I do. To avoid another tragedy by my hand. To keep others from suffering the way you have. And it all will rest on him."

"Whatever you say." Stepping up to stand beside the magi, Noé dragged one long nail down the womb noticing how despite being hurt the magoi feeding it rapidly restored it. She clicked her tongue disdainfully before letting the light around her refract. "But it still changes nothing. All you're avoiding by doing this is having to dirty your hands. All you'll be doing is placing the burden on others. And a horribly cruel curse."

"Curse?" Scheherazade asked.

"This thing didn't ask to be created. You may have splurged as much magoi as you could into it and it can be as much 'you' as can be, but it won't be you. And it won't even 'be' for long, either." At Scheherazade's suspicious glance, Noé confirmed the unasked question to her. "Yeah, I know."

I know you're dying.

"How?" Chief asked, unable to believe what she was insinuating.

Scheherazade was speaking with the same finality her meistras once did. A finality that she couldn't distinguish back then. A tone she believed to be courage and determination was nothing more than a hope and wish for them...for when she left the world and them behind.

Her nails briefly dug into the womb from the bitter thoughts running through her head. The glow of it made her release it, a pang of regret washing over her at having harmed it unintentionally.

"But if you can't understand what I mean then perhaps you'll deserve what becomes of this one."

Perhaps then you'll finally find the divine judgment for what you let happen to Elior.

The light fractured and she flashed away.

—{i}—

The silence was deafening. But it was better to hear nothing at all than know someone would come and interrupt her. Noé simply sat with her back against the wall with the womb just above her.

"You don't know what awaits you out here. The horrible things you'll see. The things you'll do just because someone tells you to. That's not a life for anybody. Not even one I'd wish on you."

"Noé?"

All Scheherazade found when she reached the bottom of the stone staircase were fragments of light.

—{i}—

"You're not human. You won't ever be. Scheherazade created you out of misplaced pride and ideologies. To birth someone precious from her own flesh, to care for it, to see it grow—she's the one that least deserves to be given such a gift."

—{i}—

"I wonder how long you'll have. A year? Two maybe?" Noé chuckled, scratching her head. "I'm bad at math."

—{i}—

"It's not a kind world out there. It won't ever be. It won't hand you anything for free, either. You'll have to fight for yourself, protect yourself. It's the only way that you'll be able to have a life worth living. By fighting for it with your own two hands."

—{i}—

"Maybe you'll be better than her..." Silence answered her and she scoffed. "Nah, not a chance. You're a part of her. Quite literally. You won't be any different from her. You'll be just as selfish, just as hateful."

"Are you like your mother, child?"

"Don't mock me, Andromalius." Noé practically fumed with the mere insinuation. "I am nothing like Theophania. I loved Elior. I loved him despite where he came from, what his birth meant. I loved him."

"Then I ask, between you and this child, is there a difference?"

—{i}—

"It's a big world out there. Big and scary...but it can also be wonderful. I hate the sky but it will forever be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. I hope you find something like that during your lifetime, little one. I hope the world at least bestows you that little bit of kindness."

—{i}—

"Hey, bud. I hope you're doing alright in there. Today was a long day. Long but fun! It started out when…"

Scheherazade didn't announce herself when she sensed Noé this time in her chambers. Instead, she left her to tell of her adventures to the growing womb.

—{i}—

Emerald eyes gazed with wonder as the womb finally tore open letting something fall from within it. A boy. A young boy. Though covered in muck and still somewhat escaping from the womb it'd been growing in for the past fourteen years, Noé could make out the features that related him to Scheherazade.

Blonde hair. Baby blue eyes.

He looks just like her.

"...who…"

Noé behaved on instinct, hushing him when his voice trembled as he spoke and undoing her obi to quickly take her robe and wrap it over the boy's wet body. Those baby blue eyes stared upward and met hers as she focused on wiping away the water from his eyes and nose.

"You're alright," she assured him, wiping away at his face and head with her clothes.

"At last." Noé couldn't help but glare back at Scheherazade who barely now made her way to them after the boy was just born. Kneeling beside her as she cleaned him up as best she could, Scheherazade raised a hand to pat his somewhat dried head. "Welcome."

"S...Sche...hera...zade…"

"Yes." It was incredible to hear how the boy knew that, but she supposed that having come from a piece of her, the clone would know its source. "Noé, please, remain with him here. I shall call for the Regalia to come to tend him."

When there was nothing but silence afterward, Noé raised a peeved eyebrow Scheherazade's way. "That's it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look, I don't know how the hell you dealt with your other ones, but this isn't just another husk your inhabiting. You actually gave him a conscious. He's more than just another part of you. He's alive and he needs a name."

"I shall give him one."

"Babes are named upon their birth," Noé chided, bringing the boy closer to her to give him some warmth when he started to shake from the cold. "Even before it, their parents know what they shall be called. If you gave him life, give him a name."

Taken aback by the scolding, Scheherazade took a moment to think before she said, "I...never thought of one."

For goodness's sake.

Noé pursed her lips as she thought. The sudden shifting in her arms brought her attention back to the boy that now looked up at her with huge doe-like eyes. She's lucky...to have the chance to have you. A thought struck her then. "How about...Titus?"

"Titus?" she repeated tentatively. "What does that mean?"

"...Honored."

"Honored." Scheherazade reached her hand to caress the boy's cheek and smiled. "Yes, Titus shall be your name."

"Ti...tus…?" he repeated.

"Yeah." Noé smiled at him as she held him close to hug giving him a warmth that Scheherazade seemed to lack. "Welcome to the world, Titus."

When Noé sensed Chief's restlessness, she asked her what the matter was which prompted her question. "What made you say that name in particular?"

Because Scheherazade will have him.

She would have the honor of having him as her son.

---

ii.|

I don't like this.

"You've witnessed many a battle. Certainly plenty of wars. What about this one has you so ill at ease?"

I don't know. And I dread finding out the reason why.

Noé barely raised her gaze from the floor to watch generals and nobles alike—all who had the intention and the power to be a part of the fight—gathered in Regia's temple. The son of the emperor, the commander of Reim's militia—both men in possession of Metal Vessels.

"A war, huh…" She glanced at Commander Ignatius as he commented on the current situation.

"That should be obvious." The emperor's son held a smugness to him that Noé wished she could punch off his face. "We cannot avoid war against the Kou Empire. Reim shall expand its territory further. It is simply inevitable."

Invisible to them all and hidden by fractured light, she watched from afar as Scheherazade climbed down the staircase to them. "Before that, we have to get Titus back. That boy is a member of the Reim Empire."

They saluted in agreement. Faithful. Ever loyal. And following behind her was the biggest threat her country held by far: the Fanalis Corp and its captain, a Metal Vessel wielder. A somber hum resounded in Noé's head as Chief took in the scenery that she witnessed before her. Her djinn remained silent, pensive as it finally understood what Noé realized ahead of her.

"A war of three countries."

"Two of which wield your brethren," she whispered under her breath.

Yeah, the more she heard, the less she was liking this whole situation.

It was true that she had seen wars upon wars happen over the centuries. All had been people fighting one another. Always normal human beings. Sometimes magicians. But never Metal Vessel Users against one another. In her life, there had never been this many wielders existing at the same time. That a handful of them were congregating to fight one another was a terrifying thought.

A grand warcry for Reim's victory filled the air and brought her back to the present as the whole of Scheherazade's army followed behind her to prepare. Suddenly, however, the little magi halted before reaching the exit and turned about to face her general direction. She couldn't see her, that was for certain, but Noé would never be able to hide the presence of rukh from a magi. And, well, the bunch of birds that always surrounded her like the very air she breathed wasn't something she could control.

"What will you do?" she asked to the open, letting the words strike the silence around them before speaking again. "Fight with us...or against us?"

Soldiers, general, and captain alike stood still with bated breath unable to discern what their high priestess spoke about.

"Neither." All heads turned her way despite being unable to see her. Tired of hiding, Noé walked towards her, letting the light that shrouded her fall off her like a sheen of ice on frozen glass. "I have never interfered in any country's war. Much less a triad fighting over petty land. But you knew this." Finally, Noé came to stand face to face with the priestess. Two of her candidates responded in kind, stepping up as if to defend her if the need arose. As if they could stop her if she decided to act. The third, however, stayed in place assessing the situation instead.

He's learning. Her gaze fell from them to her once more. She isn't.

"Which makes me think that you're actually asking permission to ask something else."

Her tiny hand grasped her staff tightly, knuckles turning white as she opened her baby blue eyes to gaze at Noé. "I ask for your aid in ending this war and retrieving Titus."

The whole temple shook as the light refracted for a split moment, pillars of light threatening to appear from thin air to impale the whole building and bring it crashing down. But before they could even manifest completely, Noé took one deep breath and held it deep in her chest before releasing it slowly. Like a dying ember, the faint silhouette of the pillars harmlessly vanished. But without any destruction of property, her anger could only seep through her acerbic tone and sharp words.

"I suppose an old lady like you won't ever learn new tricks." Shaking her head, Noé gave her answer. "Forget it."

"You could help end this war with the least amount of bloodshed possible. With what you're capable of—"

"You could end this without a drop of blood being shed by simply saying enough." Noé reached up to her silver arrowhead as it shone as if that would quiet the subtle sheen of rage coating her words. "You call your war justified and yet you are never the one to fight it. You send the people you claim to love so dearly into a battlefield from which many won't return. They are the bloodshed. These people who leave behind families and friends to fight your wars—their sacrifice won't be a burden on my heart, it'll be on yours. So no, I won't. I don't belong to Reim and I don't fight for it, either. These people go into the battlefield for you, Scheherazade. They are the willing ones to whom you should be pleading to, not me. So don't bother guilting me into ending your war. It won't work."

Silence again. Deafening enough to leave a ringing in her ear after how harsh her voice sounded. But as she was about to dismiss her altogether, her eyes rose, meeting a pair of crimson that softened her resolve enough to heave a long breath.

"...I will do you one favor, though."

"...which is?" the magi spoke softly as if afraid of what she'd hear if she dared ask.

Noé didn't respond right away. Instead, she took the few steps past Scheherazade until she reached the threshold of the temple. It was then she turned to face the soldiers of Reim as a whole. The brave who would soon go into war and give their lives. And it pained her to see so many familiar faces among them. But that was their choice.

And this is mine.

"I truly believe that in this war there will be no victors. I've witnessed too many to not be able to foresee such an obvious outcome. But I know you won't listen to me. So let your men walk into the slaughter for all I care, but you will not use an innocent as the catalyst for your stubborn and prideful war. I will not allow it. Which is why I will do what you never did for me." Emerald eyes narrowed on the magi as those baby blue eyes filled with regret. Almost as if understanding her meaning before she even finished. But Noé wouldn't let her forget it.

Never.

Noé flashed, the light refracting and breaking apart as she vanished, leaving her last words to echo in her place.

"I will protect your son."

---

i.|

'Protect her for me, Noé."

That woman had some nerve ordering her around and leaving her with a damn brat. With how small their band of misfits was, they needed all hands on deck each time they raided any tower. So everybody there went. Except one.

This...nuisance.

"Tch. I should be out there fighting. Not fucking stuck with a damn brat."

"I agree." Noé froze at hearing that tiny voice from behind her, her feathers bristling as the little girl walked over to where she was. The girl disregarded her defensive demeanor and chose to sit down on the same ledge where Noé sat. "You're an asset. The most logical would be to have you on the battlefield. But Teo won't allow it."

"Yeah, because of you." The young Vastago didn't care how crass she was being with a child. Her ire was already at breaking point. At this point in time, she'd be complaining to whoever would hear it of her. "I'm stuck here protecting you instead of liberating others."

Large doe eyes that reflected the color of the night sky—such a dark blue that they almost appeared black—turned upward to Noé and stared. For a long moment, those eyes stared at her somewhat hidden behind strands of messy dark blue hair. That gaze...it unnerved Noé. It gave her the same uneasy feeling that she got when looking at Teosa's mercurial eyes. But instead of that uneasiness being tinged with submissiveness, there was some sort of serenity in them. Finally, the girl looked ahead towards nothing at all before continuing.

"I'm...very important to Teosa."

"Don't know how when you're nothing but a defenseless brat," Noé sarcastically spat back with a scoff added for good measure.

"I'm like Sol. She cares for us both deeply in a way she has never cared for anything before. One of the others said it was...natural. A mother's love."

"The only love a mother can give weak children like you is a merciful and painless death."

Like mine should've given me.

"You believe in the genocide of the young?" she asked curiously.

"It's the law of nature, brat. The weak die and the strong live."

"Did you survive because you were strong?"

"I…" Noé's lips pursed shut. The idea of lying had never brought her much turmoil before. She could've well said that she was but after feigning such strength for so long, it was hard to keep up the facade even in front of a child. "...I'm not."

Teosa had saved her and brought her here to heal. She even had the damn patience to deal with her cranky ass afterward when she followed the encampment around. Now that she was officially one of them though, she wondered if it'd been the right choice to accompany them in their arduous and, quite frankly, seemingly impossible task.

"Then it's a fallacy," the girl said, matter-of-a-factly. "The strong aren't always the ones that survive. And the weak aren't always the ones that die. I see…" Hauling from behind her something that Noé hadn't seen before, the little girl placed a hefty book on her lap. She opened it where a ripped piece of cloth functioned as a makeshift bookmark before taking a sharp piece of charcoal from her pockets and scribbling down. Noé had seen the brat carrying that thing around, whether it be in her arms or latched onto her back like some satchel. Regardless of that, wherever she went, it came along. "It's a good lesson. Thank you."

"What are you babbling on about?"

"I believe the best way to understand something is to learn from it. I know...very little about this place, about people most of all. So I wish to learn as Teo does and record it in case we forget." Finishing what she was writing finally allowed her to breathe as she sat up to let the charcoal settle. "I'm always learning when I'm with them. Learning what it means for things to be right and wrong. Learning why they are and why they aren't if they're not. Learning that it's okay to be wrong and that being right isn't always so. I've come to find that existing...is just a constant and complicated learning experience."

Noé remained quiet for a moment before asking, "How old are you again?"

"Sol's age."

"You're twelve?"

"Yes."

"Kids like you two shouldn't be so introspective," Noé noted with a chill. "It's creepy."

"I've heard that before. It took me a while to understand why you and others have said such things about me. I've concluded that foreign things make those who don't wish to understand them fearful. And fear only leads to hatred. A very sad and unfortunate outcome for those on the receiving end who seldom have a say om their circumstances."

Got that right, at least.

Instinctively, Noé attempted to move her wings, but no matter how badly she willed them to they wouldn't budge. Malformed structure. That's what one of their comrades had said when Noé allowed them to examine her. Apparently her bones never properly developed and because of it, there never existed a possibility of them properly functioning ever. Her nerves had, though, and to a very large extent. It explained why they were so sensitive despite not working.

Those wings were nothing but a cruel and painful reminder of exactly what the brat spoke of. A bunch of people not understanding nor wanting to understand something as simple as a deformity she had no control over.

"People are cruel that way."

"Nature and societal norms working in tandem incite them to put down an unknown variable. One they perceive as capable of ruining their status quo. Something rather sad, really, seeing as a change in the genetic composition of a species marks the hand of natural selection at work."

"You're not talking about people in general there, are you?"

"No," she confessed. "Teo told me what the Vastago did to you."

Noé clicked her tongue in frustration. "I never should've confided in her."

"She hasn't told anybody else if that's your qualm." The little girl brought her book closer and set it down as she crossed her legs before her. "The only reason she told me was because she was having a hard time understanding their motives."

"There's nothing to understand. There's no reason in what they do."

"I agree."

"You're a weird kid. Weirder than your so-called brother."

"You're a child, too."

"I'm still way older than you."

"Mm." The noise of pages flipping caught her attention when it came out of nowhere. Emerald eyes turned to the little girl when her words trailed pensively and found her with her index finger pressing the nail of her thumb against her lower lip as she stared intently at her book. "I think I understand why Teo left you with me."

"Really?" Noé scoffed. "Do enlighten me then."

"Teo must think of you as one of her children, too. Someone to take care of and love." Her small hand reached onto the page, sprawling over it as if that would let her absorb the words into her mind. Surprisingly enough, Noé believed it would with the way her eyes shone as she stared at the page. "And ever since finding out about how she feels, her wish is to protect that feeling and those people with all she has."

Noé ridiculed her nonsense with a scoff but couldn't hide the warmth that swelled inside her chest at the mere thought of someone like Teosa loving her like a child. Hiding her face against her forearm as she looked away from the girl, she said, "What a bothersome mother you have then."

"Bothersome?" The girl looked through her book again, nodding when she found what she was looking for. "Ah, I see. Teo can be rather vexing, yes, but it's all in good faith."

"And you're obnoxious." Noé chuckled when the little girl seemed to unknowingly pout at reading the definition of that word. "But in a good way."

"How contradictory. Does everybody speak in such a manner?"

"Just the ones who like teasing those who are easy to poke fun at."

"Like you?" she asked, sounding genuinely puzzled.

"I suppose so."

The girl nodded. "It's confusing talking with you, Noé, but also very...fun."

"Likewise...um." Noé chuckled again when she realized something she should've really noticed before. "I don't think I know your name."

The girl closed her book shut. "My name is—"

---

ii.|

A country on the verge of war completely absorbed in the mayhem. It'd been a good century or two since she last saw such turmoil up close. And that was only by flashing near the city gates. From where she stood atop a spire, she surveyed the people that looked so tiny from up high. Having a bird's eye gave a wonderful insight into what would soon become a war-infested city.

"Practice utmost caution, Noé." Chief appeared to be way more on edge than Noé expected her to be. Then again this was quite the thing to be alarmed about. "A good portion of this country's citizens are magicians. Unlike other countries you've made your way into, they will be able to sense your presence."

I know.

Though not quite in the same way as Scheherazade, magicians could still see rukh. And the fact that Light rukh followed her wake like moths to a flame would make it all the easier for them to notice her. Thankfully, though, the fact that they were in such an uproar because of their impending war would be enough of a distractor. At least she hoped that would be true amidst a crowd of powerful magicians.

"Noé, don't you dare do what I think you're about to do."

"I have to search for him, Chief," she said as the light refracted around her. As it did, she contemplated from afar the tallest building standing in the center of the whole city: the academy. "Regardless of what I promised Hera, I want to make sure that Goldilocks is safe."

"Will you return him to Reim, then?"

"Only if that's what he wants."

Flashing away, she slowly made her way through the havoc. Bit by bit and flash by flash she traveled until she found herself where a great number of what appeared to be students was gathered. Flashy foyer for an academy but it was to be expected when Magnostadt expended most of their resources into it. Noé kept herself hidden and did her best to avoid the students that either nervously stood about or ran from the foyer. Their voices trickled into her ears as she did, their anxiety tangible even in the air.

"This is futile…we have a thousand magicians on hand at best. And even with the regular soldiers we barely come short of 30,000."

"Rumor has it that it's not just Reim… the Kou Empire could invade us any day too."

"What are we going to do…?"

It was hard not to empathize with their plight. They were mere students—just children for fuck's sake—many from different countries who came here to learn something they would never have been taught anywhere else so liberally. Aside from that, she bet many here saw Magnostadt as a home away from home. Perhaps the only one they knew of. In spite of this, Noé did her best to harden her heart. She was there for a reason. It was surprisingly tough though. Just as she was about to flash out and search elsewhere, though, something caught her attention.

A very, very familiar head of blue hair and large blue eyes.

No way.

Flashing right next to him without revealing herself was enough to grab Aladdin's attention. His head whirled at the sudden influx of rukh in his vicinity before his gaze focused on her without really being able to see her. For a moment, Aladdin stood there with his brow furrowed trying to decipher what he was sensing until his eyes widened.

"Onee-san?"

Her hush was quiet enough for only him to perceive. Thankfully, the young princas was smart enough to heed her warning to remain quiet just as a group of older and what she assumed to be much stronger magicians filed down the stairs.

"Rest assured." A blonde wearing a spectacle on her left eye said as she led the band of whom she assumed to be the teachers in the academy. "Neither the Reim nor Kou empires are to be feared. After all, we have long held in reserve the 'power' that will topple such arrogant goi rulers."

One word, in particular, caught Noé's full attention outright.

Power?

"I'm despising the sound of this by the second."

She felt obliged to agree. They appeared to be too confident and at ease for people whose country was about to be attacked by one front. And that wasn't taking into account that it would very likely be two simultaneously the moment Kou showed their faces. Whatever this power was, they had way too much faith in it, and it definitely had Noé worried. Bending forward to be as near Aladdin's ear as possible, she whispered the question that gnawed at her.

"I didn't come here to interfere in this war...but what that busty blonde just said doesn't bode well with me. Do you have any idea what this 'power' could be?"

"I think so…" he mumbled under his breath, his brow clearly furrowing as he spoke. "It could be something to do with dark rukh and dark djinn."

"What…?"

The sudden outburst of the Heliohaptian next to Aladdin caught both of them off guard as all attention was suddenly drawn to a figure that descended the stairs after their professors. The moment Noé caught sight of the boy, she stood back to fully see him. There was no need for her to hear Aladdin call out to him to know who it was—Titus looked so much like Scheherazade, after all. And yet so different. Titus had grown so much since she last saw him. Despite having spent countless times in that chamber, talking the boy's ears off with senseless topics, the moment he was born, Noé couldn't bear to stay and see him with the magi. Witnessing that brought back pains that were too eager to rise. And though she had no qualm in hurting Scheherazade, Noé would never bring harm to an innocent like him.

But now that she saw him after almost a year and a half, there was something about him that bothered her. That filled her with a sadness greater than she could explain.

"He...looks like you."

What?

"That look in his eye—so bleak and empty and desperate—it's the same one you had the day of the conclave."

The day she won and was ordered for execution.

He's hit his breaking point.

"...it would appear so."

The boy had known his whole existence that he wouldn't be a long-living being. His life would be short, as would Scheherazade's, but the magi made a mistake by sending Titus out into the world. Her grasp on her forearm tightened as she crossed her arms before her chest, seething anger towards Reim's magi growing fervently the more those thoughts surged in her. What a cruel woman to give life to a child who wasn't long for this world and let him experience its grandiosity anyway.

Driving her out of her own thoughts, the Heliophatian boy who seemed to be friends with both Aladdin and Titus alike pointed out something that she very well wanted to know as well.

"The Chancellor said...that you completely changed sides. Is that true?"

It was then that Aladdin pushed forward a crucial query. "Are you going to fight alongside the people of Magnostadt?" Titus averted his gaze. The obvious reaction Noé expected. Magnostadt showed him a world he should've never seen if he was never intended to live long. But he'd seen it. And it was cruel to pin him now between a sword and the perpetual rock that was Reim. "Will you also fight against...Scheherazade-san?"

Noé had to really reign her emotions the moment Titus shoved Aladdin so forcefully against the wall. Having to focus on stepping back and keep herself hidden after that shock helped somewhat. But all that quickly died down when Titus suddenly turned hostile against Aladdin. Something that she couldn't understand from the boy. All the little princas was trying to do was approach him in a sensible manner. But even after letting go, his self-deprecating and talk about selfishness only struck Noé deeply with sorrow and remorse.

This boy… How long had he been suffering alone? How long had he been damning his own existence, hating that it was destined to last but a fraction of anybody else's for the sake of such a hollow thing as an empire? Noé grasped at her chest at Titus's sudden cry.

"I could only think about myself…"

"It's okay to be selfish."

His blonde head snapped up from where he'd fallen on the floor, his baby blue eyes brimming with tears and staring wide towards Aladdin. Yet not really at him. It was only then that she realized that she'd been the one to say those words. Cursing under her breath and covering her mouth with one hand, she thanked goodness that Aladdin caught onto her slip-up faster than she had, continuing the conversation as if it'd been him who'd spoken.

"I'm the same, too. What I do is for my own sake, as well. We are born in this world...and then we meet people dear to us. We don't do what we do only because of the duty that was bestowed upon us, but because we came to love this world."

We...come to love the world?

Aladdin's words struck a chord. Not because they were particularly shocking, but because she could finally see the truth in them. It took so long for her to care again that she'd forgotten why she had decided to follow the path she had in the first place.

'When my friends need me—even if it's not really them anymore—I'll be here. For them.'

'Maybe...it's not so much the place.' Curious how now of all times Muu's words made a little bit more sense.

"It's not worth it."

Maybe the whole world wasn't.

"I will fight with all of my strength...until my life is totally consumed for the wishes that the others entrusted to me!"

But some people in it definitely are worth fighting for.

And for children like Aladdin and Titus to have a chance to live in it, no matter how the world may be, was why she fought. For those without a place to belong to have a chance of finding or creating that place themselves. Her hands closed into themselves, her fists tightening in her grasp. Magnostadt against Reim, even against Kou—it wasn't just any war. People she cherished and wanted to protect were here, too. And if Noé could be proud of anything in her life, it would be of protecting those which she loved.

"But I'm not that inclined to fight against the Reim Empire. They're not the real threat here…" Aladdin's sudden comment took her by surprise. Not only her, either. The mention of this threat and its source being dormant nearby made her feathers stand on end. His proclamation to stop it, however, certainly had her going.

Tapping his shoulder, the little magi did his best not to react and only watched carefully from the corner of his eye as Noé made her way towards an empty hallway. The pitter-patter of hurried footsteps going every which way didn't allow her to assuage whether Aladdin followed her, but all that doubt got dispelled pretty quickly when a few minutes later, she heard the door of the empty room she'd entered close behind another person.

"You startled me, onee-san."

At ease with only her and the little princas in the room, Noé undid her camouflage so he could see her before turning to greet him with a smile. "Nice to see you, too, Aladdin."

His expression relaxed then, a small smile coming to his face as his shoulders relaxed as well. "It really is nice to see you." Running over to her, Aladdin freely threw himself at Noé, the latter catching him readily in a hug before pulling him at arm's length.

"Now," she said, her tone becoming stern, "Please tell me that this 'power' and its 'source' aren't what I think you're talking about?"

Aladdin's lips pursed. "I'm afraid they might be."

The little princas took only a few minutes to inform Noé of the major points of information he'd learned while studying in Magnostadt Academy. The 5th District that absorbed the magoi of non-magicians, the special classes he'd taken where they studied dark rukh, the fact that the chancellor of the academy had allied himself with one of Al-Thamen's magicians, Ithnan, and created the Dark Metal Vessels, and the fact that Matal Mogamett's ideology seemed too centralized on his beliefs to not resort to dire options like using such findings for war.

"He's got the worst weapon that one could ever have during a war sharpened to a deadly point," Noé concluded.

"Yeah. That he has this information and the capabilities and knowledge to use it..." Aladdin's hand grasped his wooden staff tightly. "I'm worried he's had something in motion long before I came here ready in case of a war like this."

"Have you any idea what it could be?"

Aladdin shook his head with a grimace on his face. "I intend to search for it, though. Before it can cause a greater rift and put in motion what we want to avoid."

Hearing that suddenly got Noé thinking and asking outright. "You've been different, little princas. Ever since I met you in Zagan's dungeon, there's been something different about you. Something oddly familiar."

"Well…" He pursed his lips and dropped his gaze for a second before lifting his face. It was as he did that, that something shone on his forehead just as brightly as her own seal did on her face: an eight-pointed star.

"W-What is that?"

"Solomon's Wisdom." Emerald eyes grew wide at the name. Aladdin smiled nervously as the glow on his forehead disappeared along with the mark. "It lets me hear the will of the rukh and also see what it's held… All of it."

Suddenly, it made sense. The change in him from Amon's dungeon to Zagan's and even more so now. That solemnity in his eyes. He knows. Crouching down, Noé hung her arms out before her and hung her head as she sighed. How embarrassing for him to have had seen that particular part of her life. But that was neither here nor there. Knowing that he knew what she did as well, he would agree that there were things far more important than her dashed dignity.

Still…

"I hope you don't see me any differently, Aladdin."

"I do, actually." Noé's heart sank almost instantly at those words. Out of the blue, however, Aladdin took the few steps to crouch before her and placed his staff down before gently placing his hands over hers. It wasn't until she dared lift her gaze that she saw the tender and endearing look he gave her. "And 'thank you' doesn't begin to express how I feel." Without warning, the boy suddenly pushed himself onto her, forcing her to sit back as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and buried his face against her chest, his arms holding her close. "I'm so happy I got to meet you, Noé onee-san."

A happiness that she couldn't even begin to fathom swelled in her chest. There wasn't an ounce of her that wasn't overjoyed by the sincerity in his words. Noé didn't hesitate then to wrap her arms around him. Her lips pursed to contain the joy that swelled within her until only a small smile could come across her face.

"I'm the one that's happy to have met you, Aladdin." Letting go and pulling him at arm's length, Noé brought them both back up before bending down with a feral smirk spread across her face. "We can catch up later. We've got ourselves some searching to do."

"Definitely." Aladdin took a moment to think of something before addressing her again. "By the way, onee-san, why are you here in Magnostadt in the first place?"

"Well…" Her story was shorter to tell. That the kid was omnipotent in a way made it easier, too. "When all is said and done, I'm really here for Titus's sake. He may not remember me but I've known him since before he was born. I don't know how Scheherazade might feel towards him but Titus has me who cares for him. And I don't intend to see him hurt in this war."

"I don't want either country to fight, either. If we're to avoid that from happening here we have to find a way to stop it."

Noé nodded. "I agree, but I can't interfere in this war."

"What? But why?"

"Believe me, it's not because I don't want to. Now more than ever, I don't think that adhering to my whole ideology will fly this time around. But I've cornered myself." When he asked what she meant with this, Noé grimaced and rubbed the back of her neck. "It's hard to explain. Just know that I'll do my best to help you find that weapon and destroy it. But I cannot end this war by myself without Reim falsely claiming I did it for them."

"Why would they—"

"I kinda got chummy over there." Lame excuse but it was the truth. "Some are a little more narrow-minded than others but the one that really worries me is Scheherazade. I've already told her before that I wouldn't be fighting for either Magnostadt or for Reim, much less Kou. She's heard my spiel of 'I belong to no country, I fight for no one but myself and those I care for' before and knows it to be true. But knowing her...Hera-chan won't pass off the opportunity nor stop to consider me."

"Are you saying that if you stop it, she'll claim it as Reim's victory?

"Sadly, she doesn't care what she has to do so long as it benefits Reim." Noé then stood back as she started to refract the light around her. "I vowed I'd look after Titus during this war and that's what I'll do. I'll help you search for that weapon and its source too while I'm out there. If there's anything fishy, I'll make it kick the bucket before it can do anything."

"Alright, thank you." Ready to flash away, she suddenly stopped when Aladdin grabbed her hand for a brief moment. "Be careful, onee-san."

She nodded before ruffling his head and messing his hair. "Don't worry. I'm glad you can rely on someone like me during times likes this. After all, you shouldn't have to carry all this on your own, Aladdin."

Without much more preamble, Noé flashed out of the academy and towards the mountain range that overlooked the pass that led from the shore to Magnostadt. From where she stood at the peak of the mountain, the masts and flags bearing Reim's sigil could be seen rising over the horizon.

A day at most. They would arrive by the morrow. Kicking away rocks, Noé crossed her ankles before plopping down cross-legged on the ground while pushing back her robe, wing and all, to sit more comfortably.

"What's your plan?"

"To wait."

It was all she could do right now. Searching for that so-called 'power' now would be a waste of time and energy. Magnostadt was far too large of a country, one she wasn't familiar with. Even if she flashed around through every inch of it until she found it, it would only expend precious magoi which she didn't have much of as it was. Even finding it and destroying it didn't reassure her that what she and Aladdin knew about wouldn't happen. The more thought she gave it the more she realized that it was the only logical decision.

The war needed to start. Magnostadt needed to react to Reim's assault. They needed to be cornered and made to counterattack with that 'power'. Once used, she'd be able to better pin it down and destroy it.

"You're placing your bets on a razor-thin chance."

"I know. But it's—"

"The most logical option." Though it caught her by surprise that she could readily understand her train of thought, what caught her most off guard was the small smile she could swear she'd just imagined on Andromalius. "You're judgment is sound, child. So we shall wait."

Wait for a war that could cause a second calamity to begin.

—{ii}—

Cumulonimbus was approaching.

The mere fact that the clouds were already darkened and brooding above Rakah was proof enough of that. Here he thought that using Miss Noé's Light magic to travel would outrun it long enough to not miss it for a couple of hours. But no. Cursed as he was, thunderheads would always follow his every step like the ankle-biters they were. Rakah heaved a long sigh. Those damn clouds always made his mood slip in a major way. But he supposed they were quite appropriate now of all times.

What with Magnostadt engaging in war just outside of the third barrier.

It had yet to begin. He could tell that much by the mere fact that there was still a very audible silence in the air. All the citizens that hadn't gotten themselves out of the magician country before the complete shutdown of the city were now enclosed in their homes. Rakah supposed that was the safest place for them. The city was the nexus of three separate borg barriers that protected it. A feat manageable thanks to such a massive concentration of magicians and very well-formulated spells.

But no matter how massive, a borg was still a borg. It would eventually break. And when it did, Matal Mogamett would use his coveted 'power' to push Reim back. And the great magi of Alma Toran would bring about a stop to it all.

Funny how this is one of the events that never changes.

Reim always engaged in a war against Magnostadt before a ceasefire occurred. One that Mogamett wouldn't see eye-to-eye with once he heard the Kou Empire was at their flanks. Dark Djinn would ensue. Along with the Medium. And whether the world lived or not from this point was always a coin toss.

"I wonder if you'll be enough to tilt the scales this time around, Teacher."

"Mister Rakah?" Amethyst eyes narrowed upon being called on by said magi as he trotted to him. Surprisingly enough, he somehow found him amidst a city at war. Rakah for sure thought he'd be out there fighting with the rest of the magicians. Blue eyes locked with his as his brow furrowed, confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Vacation." When the magi didn't find his joke amusing in the least, Rakah chuckled to himself and waved his hand away dismissively. "Relax. I'm assessing the situation."

"Here?" he asked. "I thought you'd be out there with the rest of the First-Class magicians."

"Magnostadt isn't my home nor my country," Rakah corrected him. "I have no obligation to it."

"But you're—"

"Whatever I am to it doesn't obligate me to anything. Mogamett has my favor but not my loyalty." The older magician lifted two fingers and wagged them at the magi. "Two very different things. Besides, I'm here only because a little sparrow foolishly decided that it'd be a good idea to step in a war that doesn't involve her either."

Aladdin's eyes grew wide for a moment before narrowing suspiciously at him. "You know?"

"It's hard to miss the way the rukh gathers around her." One of his fingers raised in the air and swirled about, the Lightning rukh flocking around following the motion until he stopped and they spread about once more. "Usually, I'd pin such thing to a magi's presence but seeing as you're the only one here and are currently out-of-commission, it wasn't tough to figure out." He paused briefly to give himself the satisfaction of knowing beforehand the answer to what he was about to ask. "Tell me, is the fact that she's a Gift Bearer the reason you befriended her? Or is it because you and her are so much alike?"

Such a question appeared to greatly aggravate him. "Neither. Noé onee-san is a wonderful person and she's my friend because she's let me be. Nothing more."

"Right…" Rakah drawled, a smug smirk pulling at the corners of his lips. "And I only teach because I'm fond of brats like you."

"She's not against what you want," Aladdin pointed out. "She wants to liberate Miss Teosa, too. She'll work with you. So why are you antagonizing her like you are when she's already on your side?"

"Can never be too sure, my esteemed boy."

"Then…will you do to her what you claim to have done to the others?" Aladdin's voice trembled a bit but was clearly full of conviction to protect when he spoke. "Will you kill her if she doesn't ally with you?"

"That'll be up to her. But there's still some time before that choice needs to be taken." Just then, the booming voice of Reim's magi resounded throughout the city—surely with the help of Sound Magic—and shook the empty streets and buildings with its volume. The war was beginning. Which meant Rakah had better places to be. Standing up from the wall, Rakah walked past Aladdin and patted the boy's bluehead almost entirely with his hand. "I think you have better things to worry about than a little sparrow, though. Reim's golden girl just pulled the trigger and there won't be much stopping them now from tearing each other apart." Rakah waved back at Aladdin as he made his way towards the academy, "Good luck."

It was easy to make his way through the academy. It was a place he knew like the back of his hand, after all. The one place that he wasn't so familiar with yet was that place beneath the 5th Level District. Rakah seldom ventured lower than the 5th District. Not much to do there. But now, he had a hunch that this is where he would be needed. And his instinct was seldom wrong nowadays.

Quickly enough, Rakah reached the underground research facilities there and the moment he entered, he held his breath at such oppression hitting him so suddenly. The amount of dark rukh accumulated down there was suffocating. That he could sense it as a magician was stifling enough, but that the rukh that surrounded him was so sensitive to any kind of change basically threatened to crush his ribs and lungs with it. For as strong as a seal bearing magician was, it sure sucked to be this sensitive to the rukh.

Disregarding the brutal suffocation was easy with a borg. But that wouldn't last long if he remained down there for too long. Dark rukh affected him. And it made the mark over his heart ache so poignantly that it was getting harder to breathe by the second.

The screams started almost immediately and were incessant in his head. Not only the ones of the poor bastards Matal Mogamett drove into depravity but his own demons shouting at him as well. It was terrifying how even after years of what happened, he could still hear the cries of pain—of his friends, of those he'd thought of as his family, of his wife and son—echoing so vividly. They never stopped. But that they were being exacerbated to an extreme with so much dark rukh surrounding him didn't help.

"I can make the pain disappear, boy. Just say the word and I will do it for you."

Rakah scoffed at what their so-called master asked of him. "And give your strings more leeway to control me? No thank you. I won't be like Seraphina or Masami."

I'm not your puppet.

"Don't resist it, child. It is fate's natural course for you to take your place as a champion. You are a key to liberation for this world and so many more. Why are you so reluctant to accept your place in fate's plan?"

"I'll refuse you and your Master for as long as I draw breath, Arikos," Rakah said with finality before sitting down against the wall where the entrance to the furnace stood. "What you call fate's plan...it's nothing more than a crazed fanatical dream that I'm done believing in."

"I can bring them back," that voice promised, making the mark on his chest throb. So lively, so vividly. Almost like she was really there holding his heart in her cold hand. "With your help, you can have your family back. Your sister, your son, and—"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" His shouting seemed to do the work as it echoed through the chamber, the dark rukh responding to his volatile emotions and erupting outward. Groaning, Rakah rubbed his face to get rid of some of the frustration accumulating in him.

"Just…leave me alone already…"

—{ii}—

Reim hit the ground running.

Spearheads struck the first borg barrier with force, energy rippling through it from their attack. Their intent was clear: break through it. Behind their barrier, Magnostadt's soldiers cowered, something Noé didn't expect from a country who'd sounded so adamant about defending themselves. They quickly proved her wrong, though, the moment their so-called First-Class magicians took center stage. Varying types of magic surged through soldiers depleting their numbers and driving them back with unbelievable speed and magnitude that left her baffled beyond belief.

Magicians had always been a force to be reckoned with. Noé knew for as powerful as she was being a Gift Bearer and a Metal Vessel user, it would never compare to them who could literally bend the laws of the world to their will. They were the exemplary example of the strength knowledge had in their hands.

When well-trained and well-taught, each and every one of those magicians was a weapon of mass destruction. Reim may have the numbers but Magnostadt had prowess. Vigilant, her eyes narrowed upon the ensuing battle as thunder roared overhead within darkening skies before striking the Reimian troops and decimating their numbers further.

"Astounding…"

"I agree. With all nature at their disposal, their powers seem endless." Chief's comment cemented what she already thought quite perfectly.

Which worried Noé. If Reim couldn't push Magnostadt far enough for them to reveal their weapon, she and Aladdin would have a harder time finding it. Crazy to think that for once in her life she was hoping for Reim to have the upper hand in something, much less war.

Biting her thumbnail proved of little use as a distraction as she muttered under her breath. "C'mon, Hera. You're better than this. Hit 'em harder."

Her pleas didn't go unanswered for long. Reim had a secret card under their sleeves. What looked to be giant balloons soared through the air carrying large baskets with soldiers in them rapidly approaching the barrier. Noé watched intently when as soon as they reached the borg, the soldiers began dropping overboard what looked like basins.

Ceramic basins that exploded on impact and sent Noé into an anxious frenzy. Scooting back, her feathers bristled with each explosion from each basin that fell on the borg. Her nostrils flared at the sudden smell that permeated the air a few moments after each explosion.

Fumes. Charcoal. Acid.

The sudden realization dawned her. They smell like the firecrackers.

"They're full of gunpowder."

They must be to cause explosions of that magnitude. The firecrackers were smaller, more than likely because of the amount. Maahes hadn't much time to tell her about the gunpowder itself or of any other invention of his that the Reim Empire had used to their benefit. But she more or less caught the gist of it. Charcoal, sulfur, and some other damn thing she didn't remember were combined, and when they were lit, they burned at such a speed that it exploded in their small pressured containers. These basins were built to ignite on impact. Designed to cause ridiculous amounts of damage. Something they accomplished marvelously when just minutes after being deployed along with catapults, they managed to break the first borg.

"They're through."

Noé stood up with her declaration, watching carefully as soldiers collided and clashed in battle at last. But it was as she turned away towards Magnostadt that she saw the real threat. A colossal canon. One that appeared almost unnaturally humanoid and mechanical at the same time and appeared from goodness knew where. That mattered little though when it started gathering energy at the tip of its canon and fired.

"Move!"

Didn't need to tell her twice.

Noé flashed instants before the canon blasted through the battlefield like a ravaging wildfire. Just barely high enough to avoid it. Landing on the nearby mountains that were intact after that catastrophic attack, Noé couldn't believe her eyes. They were wide and trembling, mouth slacked open at the sheer massacre a single shot of that thing caused. Bodies were charred to their bones. The smell of burnt flesh permeated the air along with the gunpowder's acridness. Soldiers who managed to sustain any semblance of a human seemed like charcoal statues. Almost like they hadn't just been living, breathing humans seconds ago. Some lasted long enough to moan in their agony before completely halting, their lives forfeit.

So many gone in just the blink of an eye and an order.

"This isn't a war…" Noé could feel the cold sweat sliding down her neck at the sight below her as she gritted her teeth. "It's genocide."

This time when the canon began charging for another shot Noé felt the surge of magoi gathering around. Another shot of that thing would tear the Reimian militia asunder. The feathers behind her ears bristled as she stepped forward and froze. What did she think was she doing? Though her feet had moved on their own, her mind yelled at her to stay away. To stay put and not interfere. But what she'd just seen—such disregard for life and the facility to end it with a single command—no one should have that kind of power.

No one should die because someone thought them a hindrance.

In one fell swoop, she raised her hand and manifested her light bow in it moments before taking a knee to take aim. With both eyes wide open, her fingers plucked the invisible string and nocked an arrow onto it. The arrow was aimed at the canon at first but then shifted towards no one on the battlefield. Instead, Noé rapidly searched through the Reimian soldiers for an opening and shot the moment she found where the vanguard started. Her light arrow flew in the air, multiplying as it soared through before hitting the ground in front of the battalion in one straight line.

"Ashieat Qafas."

Each arrowhead connected with a line of light before a sheen of it burst skyward a split second before the cannon fired. The walls of light rose as far as the sky reached but couldn't contain such an intense hit. By then, though, massive boulders were already taking the place of her shield taking the remaining brunt and stopping it from obliterating the troops. From her perch, Noé caught the glimpse of red as the Fanalis Corp stepped into the fray. Just as she was about to join them, however, Chief stopped her in her tracks with a single sentence.

"The weapon takes precedence, Noé." It was only a moment's hesitance that she showed but it was enough for Chief to attempt to qualm her restlessness. "Keep your wits about you, kid. They can take care of themselves. You have bigger things to worry about."

Right. Turning away from the battlefield and the carnage that the Fanalis left in their wake, Noé eyed the canon in the distance and flashed to the top of a pine in the forest closest to the weapon. Crouching on the thick branch that she stood on, she nocked a few arrows onto her light bow and aimed for the canon. It wasn't until explosions soared from the pipes leading to it that she fired her arrows. Being close as she was, the arrows struck true and destroyed plenty of the machine with a single hit.

"It's not moving after that," she muttered under her breath, blowing away a stray strand of auburn hair blocking her view.

"Onee-san!" Aladdin. She didn't have to look up to know that. Scanning the sky briefly was all she needed to spot him as he flew by though. "At the vanguard! He's there—Titus!"

"Gotcha!"

With one long breath, she flashed back, this time amidst the battlegrounds. Dodging quickly out of a lightning spell, Noé gave herself some leeway to search for Titus. Something that was easy to do when she spotted Muu fighting him. Fucking great. Saying she was at odds would be an understatement. Not thinking of it to keep it from stopping her, Noé charged towards them, intent on stopping their fight in its tracks.

The closer she got, though, the clearer she could overhear what their back-and-forth was. It hurt her heart to hear that Titus had found people he cared about. Not because he shouldn't have but because it would only pain him more when the inevitable came to be. That in itself hurt even her. But Muu...Noé had gotten so used to hearing only tender and caring words that she never expected such facetiousness from him. Much less what he was saying to Goldilocks.

"But you don't understand. You cannot live together with them," he called as he charged with his Metal Vessel brandished and a calm smile on his face. "The flow of time, the way your body is made, even the fate you were given—these are all different from theirs. They're unnatural...and the same goes for us!" Muu hit the ground running, quite literally. With a punch to the ground, he sent debris flying. A brilliant way to use his terrain and avoid Titus' magic while using them as stepping stones to reach him. "Don't ever look away from what it is that you are. You can never live alongside them."

It hurt her to hear him say such things. About Titus, about the Fanalis...about himself. And about her. Maybe not directly, but each word felt like a fine needle piercing her heart to slowly let it bleed out. For as kind and compassionate as he was towards her and the others, there was no denying that he didn't truly believe what he preached.

And Noé hated being lied to.

"...stop."

"You are a monster!" he shouted. "You cannot be human. You're a life...that should have never been born into this world in the first place!"

It made her wonder why he would lie to Titus, too.

"It's not true."

Her mutters grew a little in her breathlessness to reach them, but running wasn't enough anymore. Too many people were fighting around them. Too many things to avoid.

"You can make it," Chief encouraged her. "There's still time."

But the moment she saw Muu grasp Titus' wrist and pull him upward to take him away, Noé felt the most visceral of reactions tear at her guts. The light refracted so fast that it was the fastest blink of light nobody would see. The instant Noé flashed, she knew exactly where she wanted to be. The moment her feet touched the ground, one of her arms wrapped around slender shoulders to hold Titus close as her other hand deftly slapped away Muu's hold on his wrist.

"Don't touch him."

A multitude of eyes stared at her in utter confusion and astonishment. Surrounded by Fanalis she had spent the better part of three months with who'd seen her doing what had, she wasn't surprised. Or deterred. Though Muu's crimson glare was what hit hardest, Noé didn't falter nor backed down. Instead, she held tighter onto Titus, using herself as a shield between the Captain of the corp and the boy.

"W-Who…?"

"I know you don't remember me. And that's fine." Her lip quivered a little at hearing him voice his distrust. "I'm here because I know who you are—what you are—and I don't care. I'll protect you."

"It's cruel to lie to him like that, Miss Noé." Emerald eyes narrowed on Muu and how he emphasized that word. One that seemed to put so much distance between them after all they'd been through that it pained her to hear it.

"You're the one lying. To yourself." Though she meant no animosity, she knew the weight and venom her words carried. But she didn't know what was worse, that it was the truth or that he could have the gall to say such things in the first place. "You ain't telling this to Titus because it's about him. You're saying it because you think what you believe of yourself applies to all of us, too."

Gasps and mutters from the Fanalis resounded loudly. Muu's eyes grew as a sneer marred his face in a way she never thought she'd see directed at her.

"What I said is true and you know it. Those are the real feelings of his 'precious people'."

Fed up, Noé bared her teeth at him. "That's—"

"You're wrong."

Parting, the Fanalis allowed Aladdin through as he made his way towards them. Noé stood, releasing Titus as Aladdin approached him and gave way for the magi to talk to him. Because she knew that if anybody would be able to convince him otherwise of the vile lies Muu told him, it'd be the little princas.

"Titus...is Titus. You're our friend." Tenderly, he reached out his hand to Titus with a smile. "Even if you are different from everyone else in the world, and you're all alone, there are people who'll say it doesn't matter to them at all! It doesn't matter to me, either!"

Once Titus took his hand, Noé breathed a little easier. Though it was certain things were still far from solved, this was a good step forward.

"So, Aladdin," Muu called out, a thin line on his lips. "For what reason did you come here?"

Even if Titus was still considered a traitor to Reim, even if Muu still wanted to fight for his country's sake—she trusted in Aladdin's judgment.

"I came here to stop you and this sorrowful war."

Like hornets swarming to protect their hive, magicians flocked downward landing behind Aladdin and Titus. One of them—the Heliophatian she recalled seeing with the little princas—strut forward before snatching Titus from Noé's side while a group of them raised their staffs against her. Promptly stepping away, Noé flashed out from their hive and stood in the rift between the two parties. Between Fanalis and magicians, but part of neither.

A part of her chided herself for intervening when Aladdin had also been on the way to meet with Titus. But the much louder one that had grown over the past few months agreed that she'd done the right thing. For as kind as Muu was, his duty would always stand before everything else. And his duties were to Scheherazade and the Reim Empire. The magicians, too, had a duty to their country. For all intents and purposes, Noé was simply an intruder in this war.

Eyeing Aladdin's determined blue gaze, however, told her otherwise. Noé had a task. A very clear one. Stopping a tragedy from occurring. And she wouldn't let anybody she cherished from either side suffer the consequences of it.

Tensions grew between the two factions the moment Aladdin mentioned a word of Scheherazade. It was expected. Especially from Muu. And it got him to deploy the Fanalis after the magicians who took flight at the first sign of a threat. Before she knew it, Noé was left behind. It'd usually annoy her greatly to be ignored but now she thanked goodness for the chance to be on the battlefield without being bothered. For the most part anyway. Magic spells were shot at her from time to time which were easy to avoid. Even then, she caught a glimpse of Strength magic deviating those attacks. Whether from Muu, Myron, or Lo'lo she wasn't sure. The mere thought of them, however, brought a grimace to her as she tracked behind them over the higher ground created by hills and valleys.

"This won't work."

Noé avoided another spell—Fire? No thanks.—and rushed after the two factions. "What are you talking about?"

"This conflict you have. You claim you want to protect them regardless of their alliances, but what about you?"

"Not the time for your riddles, Andromalius!"

"I'm serious. You'll tear yourself in twine the longer this goes on."

"I'm fine doing what I do!"

"No, you're not. Doing what you're doing...will only end up hurting you."

Noé halted ready to yell at Andromalius for her damn sermon but stopped the moment the floor gave way under her. Flashing away, Noé watched from afar as the Fanalis caught on the bottom of the makeshift ravine were flooded by the connected river. Water surged through but it didn't stop them. The thunder clouds above, though, made her heart sink to her stomach.

They were going to electrocute the Fanalis.

"Noé, wait! Think this through—"

There was nothing to think about. Fanalis were strong but even they could be killed with that much electricity suddenly frying their insides. The thought alone rid her of any hesitation about intervening altogether. Flashing just above the water, Noé collected the light around her and rapidly created a transparent box to keep the Fanalis in seconds before the lightning struck. Most struck the water indiscriminately, the hit on her light walls exhausting her as she renewed them with every hit, but it wasn't anything she couldn't take.

Thunder roared above head again. This time when she looked up, Noé met the eyes of the purple-haired magician as she raised her whip above her head. "Don't interfere!"

"Release the shield!"

Not a chance.

Lightning struck her point-blank.

Electricity coursed through in an instant. The pain was just as quick to appear. But there was just no time to react to it. The box beneath her shattered that same instant and she fell into the water. Shock took her breath away, forcing her to swallow up water. Her mind and Chief screamed for her to swim to the surface but she couldn't. She couldn't move. Her muscles were tensing from so much electricity and weren't letting up. No matter how much she willed herself to move, they wouldn't listen.

"Flash! Come on! Get out of here!"

Mind hazy, she couldn't tell if she was yelling it at herself or at her. White dots flared across her vision as it began darkening, but just as she felt herself lose consciousness, something pulled her upward in a rush. Solid ground was flush against her back as a pair of hands suddenly began pushing down on her chest. It only took a couple of pumps before Noé felt herself gagging. Turning over, she vomited the water she'd swallowed before a fit of coughs took over.

"It's alright. Breathe. Slowly."

Crimson eyes were the first thing she saw as her vision cleared. With ease, Muu helped her sit up as the coughing subsided. Muscles kept twitching as he did this. Though not enough to tense them up, they were still plenty to make her hands and arms tremble uncontrollably. His arm wrapped around her waist as he sat her up probably to prop her against himself. As he pressed his forehead against the side of her head, Noé caught the whisper under his breath.

"Please, stop interfering. I don't want to see you get hurt like this." The jerking movements of her head were the poor excuse of disagreement. But it mattered little to him what she said now. Raising his head, Noé could only listen as he gave out his orders. While Razol and Yaqut took care of the downed Fanalis, the other three would finish the job. "Take care of Noé for me as well."

After being exchanged, all Noé could do was watch from afar as Muu, Myron, and Lo'lo advanced with their Metal Vessel and Household Vessels activated. Could only watch as they ravaged through the magicians' frontlines, even bringing down and hurting pretty badly the one that had struck her down. Watched as they charged the second barrier relentlessly, breaking it further and further until it could barely hold on.

Until one last attack would bring it toppling down.

"Once we break this, we will capture the capital at once."

Emerald eyes widened the instant a giant arm swept across taking with it Muu and the others. Three giants made of what looked to be sand rose from the ground, Leading them was Aladdin as he let out a mighty shout. As if called to life, rukh blinked into existence as it rushed to Aladdin's side in swarms. Whatever he was doing, it was calling rukh in such quantities that it was even visible to the naked eye. What was more, it even called rukh compatible with her seal making it easier for it to spill into her body. Noticing this, Chief spoke up, concern clearly audible in her solemn voice.

"Noé, can you move?"

Barely. Not for long though. Despite still being able to feel her tense muscles, the warmth and energy from so much rukh surging through her now overrode the pain and rigidity. Razol and Yaqut argued with her when they saw her suddenly attempting to get up, but Noé ignored them and focused on standing without her legs giving way underneath her. They were still stiff and she could barely stretch her arms and fingers fully, but she could move a little better at least. It was always alarming how within seconds of absorbing so much magoi her face burned along with her throat as it tightened from her thirst.

Once sure she could fend for herself at the very least, Noé raised her gaze in time to witness the fire cast by Aladdin's giants that reached the shores of Magnostadt where the rest of Reim's military was. The power of a magi was truly something to be feared. And he wasn't done yet. The giants raised their hands to cast once more, embers lighting in their palms and readying another attack. Reim wouldn't yield, however. Muu, much less. They would fight no matter the cost.

And if Aladdin wanted to end this without bringing about the very thing they wanted to avoid…

What will you do, Aladdin?

His answer: for his giants of sand to crumble.

Sand rushed in a fierce wave sweeping everyone and everything with it. Her included. But before she had the mind to flash out of the sea of sand, a gentle giant hand-scooped her from the waves and brought her to higher grounds—right with Magnostadt magicians. Though she stood facing them with a meek smirk, she quickly raised her hands in surrender when they came at her with their staffs held aloft.

"Whoa, whoa. Let's relax a little here." Her cheekiness only appeared to instigate them even more as they raised their staffs higher against her.

"You protected those monsters from Professor Myers's lightning! You're our enemy, too!"

Noé's smirk faltered when they said this. Well, they obviously could hold a grudge. Good for them.

"Not the time for jokes."

Obviously. But there was nothing she could say that would ever get them to lower their staffs against her after what they saw her do.

"No, stop! Lower your staffs." Emerald eyes grew wide as could be when she overheard Titus' voice over the havoc. Pushing his way through the crowd with the Heliophatian magician, he didn't stop until he stood between them and her. "She saved me from Muu. She doesn't mean us harm."

"She saved them!"

"And she's never raised a hand against us!" Titus countered.

Averting her gaze for a moment gave Noé enough time to think of something. Before anybody could do anything, she placed a hand on Titus' shoulder and took his attention away from the rather jumpy magicians.

"It's alright. You don't gotta stand up for me."

"But—"

"Don't pick a fight with your side, Goldilocks."

Baby blue eyes grew a bit at hearing that as confusion filled his gaze. "I've heard that before. Someone… used to call me that." Suddenly becoming tender, his shoulders fell as he fully turned to her. "I…do know you, don't I?" Her own expression softened at his own conclusion. "Why… Why don't I remember?"

Her lips parted intending to answer his question when a sudden disturbance caught her off guard. Spinning on her heels, her eyes frantically searched the battlefield for what had just caused such commotion in the rukh that surged through her. It was then that she saw it, a silver dot crouched against the side of a mountain, an instant before it dashed through the first restored barrier like an arrow through a thin piece of parchment.

"Barbatos?!"

Or more precisely his Djinn Equip.

"Muu."

Barbatos was a relentless spear himself. Nothing of this world would stop him the moment he unleashed his attack. But for as powerful as it was, Muu seldom used his djinn equip. Much like her, his magoi didn't amount to much. Which meant he had a clear target in mind by taking that form. Panic flooded her the instant Aladdin's image came to mind and she saw Muu reeling back for another charge. Without warning, Noé pushed herself to run off the cliff as she called out to her djinn.

"Spirit of Candor and Credence…I command of you and your household!" Just as she jumped off, Noé flashed to Aladdin. Blue eyes widened at noticing her behind him but before he could say or ask anything, Noé wrapped her arms around him as she finished her chant. "Dwell in my body, Andromalius!"

The flurry of light from her transformation was cut out of existence the moment Muu struck. Gritting her teeth, Noé concentrated her magoi on shields of light, thickening their girth to withstand Barbatos' Javelin. But even sheets upon sheets of light were no match against Muu's attack. The momentum and speed were too much for them alone to withstand. They broke through instantly on impact, pushing her and Aladdin far back until they struck a mountainside. A grievous growl escaped her when her wing came into contact with the mountain so forcefully.

"N-Noé onee-san!"

Muu scowled at her, his eyes narrowing displeased by her foolish action as he reeled back his spear once more. "Stop getting in the way!"

Aladdin immediately broke away from her hold and swung his staff to intercept Muu's attack only to watch the wooden staff completely decimated. When he dared raised his spear again, Noé bit back the pain and manipulated her magoi to cover her hands and stop Muu's spear with them. Her arms shook under the pressure of his strength, but she held her arms aloft, only slightly bending them to avoid Aladdin who stood between them as she grasped the blade tightly in her hands.

Muu clicked his tongue at her tenacity, pushing the blade further and drawing blood from her hands.

"I don't want to hurt you!" he shouted back, gripping his spear tighter. "So don't meddle when this isn't even your fight!"

"You made it my fight the moment you targeted my prince!"

Gathering light in her hands, Noé set off a blinding light that caught Muu off guard. Kicking off the spear from her hands the moment his grip slackened was the better choice, but she couldn't do much else when Muu recovered and reeled his arm back to attack once more. Just as she summoned her bow and nocked back her arrows in record time, though, steam rose from Muu's feet and blood seeped from his eyes as his djinn equip threatened to vanish.

"I'm out of time."

"His limit—"

He's reached it. Her relief was short-lived when she saw the eight-pointed magic circle beneath Muu. But he's not stopping. Noé pulled back her arrows at the sight of Barbatos' Extreme Magic.

"Focus. Aim." Chief recited their usual words and took a big breath to join her in what was always their last. "Fire."

But nothing happened.

"Noé!?"

No answer.

"Noé, what are you doing!? Release it! Fire the arrow, now!"

"I—" Her fingers trembled as she aimed her arrow right at his head. Even as she could see his Extreme Magic just about finished conjuring, even when she saw Aladdin stand before her, hands outstretched in a weak attempt to stop him, her hand trembled and her hold on her bow and arrow shook. "I—"

I can't.

The light that was his Extreme Magic fell upon them...but did nothing. Noé held her breath, cold sweat running down her neck as past the duststorm she finally saw Muu's spear stopped by a familiar black broadsword.

Her equip fell the moment she released her bow and arrow, a smile coming to her lips at seeing Alibaba with Amon's sword held against Muu's spear. Within seconds the magic circle disappeared along with Barbatos' equip, leaving Muu unable to do anything more than curse Alibaba's interference.

"Who would've thought...that you would be the one to stop me…"

"Thank god, he did," Noé muttered under her breath as she fell to her knees, exhausted mentally more than anything.

From where she was, it wasn't hard to hear Myron's outcry. She was pissed—rightfully so. Both she and Alibaba had shown hostility against the Reim Empire, a place that had harbored them for the past month without judgment. More so her than Alibaba. And Noé was well aware of this. But no matter how mad she may be, there was nothing more they could do. Both Muu and Lo'lo were low on magoi. Most of the Fanalis Corp was still unable to rejoin the fight. And if the militia tried to advance on their own, Aladdin would just send them back to the shore. They knew it as well as she did.

Reim could no longer continue fighting this war.

"Everyone, fall back."

That sweet voice brought such havoc and anxiety that Noé had to laugh. Scheherazade stepped onto the battlefield like nothing. As if thousands of lives hadn't been lost in the very soil she was stepping on. But her animosity died down with Aladdin's curious words.

"But are you really...Miss Scheherazade?"

Noé snickered at how astute the little princas was. She supposed that as fellow a magi, it was something rather obvious with just a mere glance. Scheherazade didn't waste time questioning him, asking if he was Magnostadt's magi. Aladdin denied it. All he wanted from her was for the Reim Empire to leave Magnostadt alone. Too many things were aligned too perfectly for it to be a coincidence. Aladdin was right. If things continued this way, Magnostadt would only bring upon this world very terrifying things.

"L-Listen to the kid, Hera." Struggling to stand, Noé was grateful for both Alibaba and Aladdin's help as she stood back on her feet. "That 'something terrifying' he speaks of...it's real and we may very well welcome it to our world if you don't heed his warning."

Those baby blue eyes locked with hers. Searching. Wanting to know.

I'll tell you...if it'll stop this, I'll tell you everything.

"Noé." Even Chief's warning wouldn't deter her from her decision. Noé would do what had to be done to stop such a thing from happening.

At last, she looked away. "Withdraw the forces for now, Muu." When he responded seemingly incredulous of her order, Scheherazade explained to him something not even Noé knew about. "Because Aladdin and Noé…might be gazing upon the same sight as Yunan."

Yu-chan?

But whatever the case was, Scheherazade had the right mind to admit a loss when she saw it. Reim had too many casualties already. It wasn't like they would just halt their invasion like this but...perhaps a little bit of time to think things over was due.

"Have the entire army retreat in the open sea for now. And in the meantime…" Those eyes once again came to her before sweeping across to Aladdin, Alibaba, and at last, Titus as she called every one of them by name. "Would you mind if we spoke for a bit?"

—{ii}—

This truce was… What's the word? Ah, yes. Fucking awkward.

"At least it's giving you some respite after all the fighting."

Fair enough.

Be that as it may, this was not the sort of situation Noé willingly put herself in. Oftentimes, she would bail before it got to all the political stuff. It just wasn't her style. But seeing as three of those four others present were people she cared about, she found herself unable to deny Scheherazade's request. Which ultimately brought her back to this tiny boat they were on now. With there being limited space in said tiny ass boat, Noé found herself sitting on the flat space behind Scheherazade and Titus while facing Aladdin and Alibaba. Considering her vow of neutrality, it wasn't the best place, but it would have to do given the circumstances. Noé leaned back on her hands intending to enjoy the quietude of the night when the conversation began fully between the latter two. From the sound of things, they hadn't seen one another for the better part of a year. Quite some time since they last saw her too, though she didn't bother interrupting their reunion to put in her two cents.

"They're quite the pair."

Quite the pair, indeed.

When Titus began fussing over them saying they shouldn't be so disrespectful, Noé nudged his shoulder. Baby blue eyes looked at her over his shoulder briefly. With a smile, Noé simply gestured at the magi to bring her to his attention. Impressing even her, the two had Scheherazade laughing in a way that Noé hadn't heard in a long, long time.

"She's having fun," she mumbled under her breath to him. Seeing how this was going to be a long conversation, Noé made herself comfortable, scooting back so her feet dangled over the boat's edge just gracing over the water's surface and so she could fold her arms behind her head and cushion it as she laid down.

Time to enjoy the sunset.

Quite literally seeing how they talked on and on of they're adventures. Simply listening brought back dear memories not unlike theirs. Of times spent near bonfires exchanging tales of adventures and knowledge gathered. Of pains and sorrows as well as joys and accomplishments. Just her and the other recorders laughing and relishing in each other's company. Enjoying the company of the only people she could ever hope to call a family.

Frankly, Noé would've slipped off to sleep had Alibaba not mentioned his reason for avoiding Scheherazade altogether while conversing with Aladdin long after the sun set. Becoming pensive for a moment, the magi looked over her shoulder to Noé who, despite paying full attention to what was being said, kept her eyes closed.

"You were aware he possessed a Metal Vessel?"

Noé feigned being asleep but getting suddenly poked by Scheherazade's staff quickly broke through that. Clicking her tongue, Noé rubbed her sore side, irate. "Of course, I did. I trained him on how to use it."

"Something I'm very grateful for. It was actually Noé-san who kept me informed of where she would be in order to avoid her," Alibaba explained to Aladdin. "I knew she would have sensed it since she's a magi, so it was of great help."

"No. Even if we would have met, I wouldn't have known…"

That grim remark brought with it a more somber tone to the discussion. It wasn't surprising that Aladdin could tell the difference between a real magi and a clone. Someone like Titus who only knew her for as long as he had existed, however, couldn't. Which explained his shock when Scheherazade herself admitted to just being another one of the real Scheherazade's clones. Not only that but even described how her real body rested in Reim in a very familiar chamber to Noé, now too old and decrepit to take even one step outside of it. Of that cold, dark, and lonesome place.

"Old, you say…" Alibaba repeated. He and Aladdin inched closer to her, curiosity overtaking them. "Just how old are you really, then?"

"I am 268 years old." Their screams of disbelief rocked the boat itself.

The meek laughter that she covered with her hand made Noé's chest swell a little as nostalgia overflooded her. "Surprised? I may not look it, but I'm quite the grandma now." It was while explaining that she turned back to the lounging Noé with her baby blue eyes gazing her way. "In fact, Noé is the only one still alive who's known the real Scheherazade."

"W-Wait a second," Alibaba stuttered, pointing at Noé. "If she knew you then, that means she has to be at least that old, right?"

Noé wasn't going to deem them with an answer. But when silence suddenly overcame the boat and she opened her eyes to meet the expectant looks of those two, her eyes rolled as she gave up her silence.

"2595 years." The boat nearly toppled over. Noé found herself raising her voice to bring their heads back to keeping the damn boat settled. With one last humph, she went back to laying back as she said, "I'm 100% real, though. Not like her."

"Now." Scheherazade's interruption got their attention back easily enough, thank goodness. "It is my turn to ask questions. Please tell me. What is it that Matal Mogamett is hiding? What is it that he's trying to accomplish in Magnostadt? And most of all, tell me, Aladdin. What is it that you fear?"

Aladdin told her. He told her all he had told Noé. And emphasized about his fear of the chancellor making Al-Thamen's wish a reality. When Alibaba reacted poorly to the mention of the organization, Aladdin was quick to calm him by explaining the current circumstances to him. Though Magnostadt was no longer allied with Al-Thamen, the fact that so many factors aligned so well in their favor was something to be concerned with. Especially if what Aladdin said about the chancellor having a vast quantity of black rukh hidden somewhere was to be believed.

It wasn't until Aladdin mentioned that 'tragic scene' that Scheherazade saw fit to ask her next question. "This thing you call the 'tragic scene'...how do you know about it? And where did it happen."

"Alma Toran."

Noé's chest tightened with grief she thought long dead and buried. But the mere mention of that place… Some things just aren't easily forgotten, she supposed. And it would be too horrid to let the kid tell it alone.

"It's a story—"

"It's an old tale from another world whose history doesn't have any connection to ours." All eyes turned to her as Noé finally got up from her perch only to scoot herself onto the boat. Quietly she made her way until she took the now empty seat beside Aladdin who couldn't help but stare in awe as she took her place by his side. Crossing her knees, Noé looked at the trio before them with a blasé expression as she continued explaining were Aladdin left off. "All sorts of people lived in that world once, but a single war brought everything to an end. And the ones who triggered that were Al-Thamen."

Aladdin pursed his lips as he caught Noé's sudden sideglance to continue. " The war ended before everything in Alma Toran perished. Thanks to the power of a great magician named King Solomon. The few remaining survivors were guided towards a new world created by King Solomon. And that world is…"

The very one we're living in now.

A couple of things hard to explain happened at once then. The seal wasn't showing. That much was certain. But that didn't mean that Noé couldn't sense the way it reacted to the mention of the 'new world.' But what was a fraction more noticeable was the way the mark on her arm pulsated painfully at the mention of the Dark Spot. Noé merely grasped her shoulder, rubbing it to ease the pain as another took over her throat at the mention of the world being destroyed. She wasn't the only one affected, either. Though not quite in the same way, Alibaba was just as dumbfounded by what the little princas said.

"Is this the first time you've told this story?" Scheherazade asked. Aladdin nodded once, his answer bringing Scheherazade's inquiring gaze over to Noé. "How is it that you're aware of it then?"

"I learned it on my own." When it didn't look like a satisfactory answer to her, Noé scowled. "Believe what you want, but he never told me anything. Chief Andromalius did."

"Don't loop me into your lies."

They weren't all lies. Noticing how tense the atmosphere began getting, Aladdin raised his hands to calm them down. "I never told anybody. Not even Noé onee-san." His hands fell as a rather placating smile came to his face. One Noé wasn't liking on the little princas. "I...couldn't tell anyone about it. Although it's been on my mind that I had to do something about it. I dream about it all the time. But it's a story about a totally different world that was only ever shown to me. I didn't want to worry the others more than they already were!"

'We have to do it like this. This way...nobody else will have to worry or suffer anymore.'

"Hey. Aladdin, you keep saying things that don't make any sense..."

"Eh?" Aladdin blinked a few times before smiling sheepishly at Alibaba. "Y-Yes, sorry, I said weird things all of a sudden—"

"That's not what I mean!" It took her by surprise, Alibaba's sudden change. In a rather forceful manner, he grasped Aladdin's shoulders, shaking the boat as he went off on the kid. "You should have told me about those things a long time ago. What happened to that thing you told me? 'Don't worry about it alone, let's put our heads together!'"

But those words didn't budge Aladdin from his position. A right one, she thought. He was born for this, just like she was born to be the bearer of this seal and courier of her master. They were all born with a purpose in mind. Even someone like her. Even more so someone like Aladdin—

SMACK!

Noé's feathers bristled and she jumped back almost toppling the boat over when Alibaba suddenly chopped Aladdin right on his head. Her heart sped in her chest as Alibaba shouted what he couldn't contain anymore. A truth that rang loud and clear in Aladdin's head. One that although particularly tough at first was slowly beginning to sink into Noé's.

"That has nothing to do with it, dammit! No matter how crazy it may be. Or how dangerous it may be. Even if it's just something personal...it doesn't matter! Anything that you're that worried about, I'll worry right along with you, and think of a solution! Just like you did for me all those times! Alright, Aladdin!?"

Think of a solution...together?

"Yeah…" Aladdin muttered meekly, hiding his face with his other hand as he did. "Thank you, Alibaba!"

"...Noé?"

She didn't bother answering her.

Instead, Noé returned with them to Reim's fleet in silence, her head still reeling from what Alibaba had so blatantly said. Putting that aside for just a second allowed her to overhear Scheherazade's choice. A rather wise one considering everything. The way she said it, Noé could guess that Aladdin had done well in convincing her. However, before they could leave back to await Reim's response by Mogamett's side, Scheherazade took Titus away asking to speak to him privately for a minute. Just as she was leaving to put some space between them, Scheherazade glanced over her shoulder and locked eyes with hers. With a mere look, she asked her to join them.

Honestly, Noé didn't know why she asked her to. At least not until she began explaining to Titus why he should go with Aladdin and Alibaba.

"When I saw those two...I felt that…"

Noé stared intently at her eyes. The way they grew wide with wonder, with hope. It was then that she suddenly understood what she meant. And in a weird kind of way—"Anything that you're that worried about, I'll worry right along with you, and think of a solution!"—she was right.

"He's a lot like Nadi, isn't he?"

An identical set of baby blue eyes blinked in confusion. "Nadi?"

The magi chuckled as a smile spread across her face. "Yes. Kind Alibaba...he somewhat resembles the first person I chose."

As she described him to Titus, Noé couldn't help but agree. Pernadius wasn't the strong kind, sometimes unreliable to boot, but he was always kind and cheerful. The only sun Noé had known in this wretched world had been Pernadius. He had been her friend, a love she never trusted herself to have, and the only man she ever heard Elior call his father. As her thoughts ran away from her, Noé sighed lovingly at recalling the man she had loved once upon a time.

"He was just like the sun," Noé muttered under her breath, quietly reaching her hand up to wipe away at her eyes with her sleeve.

Scheherazade's way of describing Reim thereafter was something she had never before heard from her. The way she so tenderly spoke of the country her friends' established, one she helped cultured and prosper—one she herself came to love. Love in the way a mother loves her child. But doing so the way she did, blinded her to the rest of the world. Even blinded her to the atrocities that she let transpired in her own country like slavery and the gladiators in the colosseum. And worse still, the way she pushed her own children to be like her, to think as she did.

You're finally getting it.

Her small hand gripped her staff tightly in her hand as dejection slumped her shoulders. "I was a fool. Children… Since I've never really given birth myself, and have no idea how to go about it the right way…"

Scheherazade then did something that Noé thought impossible. An act she never thought she'd see from the proud and demure magi in her lifetime.

She bowed and apologized from the bottom of her heart.

"I really am sorry, Titus."

"Don't say that…" Titus' voice was soft, obviously still in disbelief of her words. "I'm the one who acted like a traitor. All those years in the darkness… Even though you were one of the only lights I saw. Even though you truly were...my mother…"

Silence. An unbearable one at that. But the longer it went on, the more Noé realized why. Scheherazade couldn't believe his words. So much hatred was in that tiny body of hers for herself that she couldn't bear to believe that Titus could still think of her as a mother even in spite of everything she'd done.

But Noé could.

"Hera-chan, I don't think you quite get it yet." When she spoke, Titus looked up to face her, perplexed by her sudden outburst. Scheherazade, however, didn't dare lift her face. If due to shame or in apology, she wasn't sure. Though it didn't quite matter at this point. "I came to learn something throughout the years. Something I think Titus just spectacularly described."

"I…I did?"

Noé chuckled at how incredulous he sounded but nodded all the same before nearing Scheherazade and placing a hand on her shoulder. Unlike so many times before, her touch wasn't menacing or threatening. It wasn't even harsh. It was, in fact, the most tender touch Scheherazade had ever felt coming from her. No. Not ever. Noé had touched her once like this—so tenderly and lovingly. It's been the day she delivered Elior to her after painful hours of labor.

"Someone once told me that a mother is a god in the eyes of her children. But the sad thing is...we're the farthest thing from gods. We're just human beings. Faulty, selfish, and with so much to learn. And because we are human, there is no doubt that we will err many, many times." Gently, Noé reached down to carefully bring Scheherazade's face upward. As she did, the tears pooled on those baby blue eyes of hers glistened in the faint torchlight nearby, her lips trembling like a child's. Her fingers lightly brushed against her cheeks as her tears fell to wipe them away. A kind smile lifted the edges of her lips, more sincere than it had been towards her in ages. "But there is one thing that makes us divine. The power we have to forgive others, and most importantly to forgive ourselves when we inevitably commit a mistake."

Pulling her close, Noé embraced the little magi while ignoring the staff that separated them. "And if I hold the hope to forgive you one day…I think you can learn to forgive yourself and do your best for him from now on, too."

It took a moment—a long pause that sat between them—before Scheherazade released her staff with one hand to return Noé's embrace. Noé held her close, letting her animosity go for a moment and instead be for Scheherazade what her meistras had been for her once.

A pillar of strength. A friend that cared. A family that loved her.

A place to belong.

"I see…" she spoke through sobs. "...I wish...I had the time to learn and earn that forgiveness, Noé."

…What?

Breaking away, Scheherazade hid her face as she wiped it with the heel of her hand before saying, "I must still apologize, Titus. If it were possible, I wish I could let you go on living, but…"

Noé, unable to understand what Scheherazade had meant with her prior words, didn't like how drastically her tone of voice was becoming now. Even when Titus gave her the hope that the magicians in Magnostadt could somehow prolong the life of his body, the way she couldn't bring herself to look at him twisted her stomach to a fault.

I don't like this.

"Your body, yes...but that's not it." Her voice was soft, solemn even, but it carried with it such weariness and remorse that Noé couldn't help the way her heart started breaking when she heard the magi's next words. "We've reached the end...of our lives."

"What...do you mean by that?"

"Hera...?"

"Scheherazade's real body is at its limit… At most, she has a month. Worst case, she'll die in the next few days. When that happens, you and I will return to the rukh, and our egos will vanish without a trace."

That's not...possible. Now when things were starting to move—starting to be better—why did it have to happen now?

"That's why, Titus—you should at least spend your last days with the one who's so dear to you. She's in Magnostadt, isn't she?" Facing Noé who still had yet to swallow that truth she'd idly tossed without warning, the magi smiled. "And if it's alright with you, I would like you to accompany him during the time he has left, Noé."

"W-Why…?"

Scheherazade's smile fell but didn't disappear entirely. "Because you are the only one of us who cared for him since the beginning. You are more of a mother to him than I have ever been. I trust you will see to his well-being while I have the fleet retreat." Her small hands laid atop of hers for a moment. Funny how those hands felt much larger now than ever. Before long, however, she turned back to Titus. "I don't know whether Aladdin's tale is true. However, I do know of another magi who told a similar story. Perhaps it is no longer the time to think only of the Reim Empire."

Calling Aladdin and Alibaba over, Scheherazade informed them of what she had already told her in more detail. Reim would retreat at daybreak and she would officially notify Magnostadt about their withdrawal. At least, Noé could breathe. A little anyway. It was great that no more fighting would go on between Reim and Magnostadt. It'd put a great dent in the organization's plans. But Scheherazade had only added another concern to the equation. A much more personal one.

She's...going to die.

"It's tragic but inevitable. We cannot change what already will be. Only make the most of what time we still have."

Her chest tightened making the relief she'd felt short-lived. What added more fuel to the dying embers however was the sudden intrusion of one of Reim's soldiers who came with a message in tow. The Kou Empire was making way through the northern plateau. A force 200,000 men strong was headed towards Magnostadt. Noé grimaced, her emerald eyes narrowing at the news.

Against all her hopes, the war wasn't over yet. It was only the beginning.

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A/N:

What is this? Only a couple of weeks between updates? What is this madness! This is me when I hyper fixate, people. Three chapters in a row with a fourth one in the works. We finally get into the Magnostadt arc and next chapter, I'll definitely wrap it up :D

Thank you to holunderherz and ukyon for following and favoriting this story! And also to the people who reviewed! To Reichu, here's the long-awaited arc! I'm super glad you're enjoying the story. And I'm definitely taking advantage of this story to just be very open with how I write Muu so I'm glad it doesn't seem OOC. And aw, tysm for the compliment on SL, too! To Handara, tysm for reading! Here's another chapter for that transit time! Enjoy!

This'll one will be short :D I've got to get going watching some Hamilton! And, of course, getting to write the next chapter that I've already started x3 Hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you stay tuned for the next update!

Evie, signing out~!