"Monster!" Obrona shouted, drawing her sword. "You have escaped me twice, now, but I will not suffer a third. The blood of my family demands vengeance!"
"Really, boy," Sheba said, reclining in her chair as Obrona stared daggers at her. "T'was nothing personal. It is simply the business we have committed ourselves to. If you must place the blame for their deaths, then surely the world that has spurned my master so would befit your anger more than I."
"Liar," Obrona spat. "You claim this action in the name of your master, but my parents were simple tanners. Innocent folk who sought only to live their lives in peace. What offense could they have committed against a man such as him, who only concerns himself with blood and darkness!?"
"None at all!" Sheba exclaimed. She stood and spread her arms. "In fact, it was their innocence that served most useful. For you see, my master seeks to overturn the world itself, and to do such a thing requires a great deal of power. And the human soul is the most potent power of all. As his servant, I have no choice but to accede to his desires, and as such, I have been sent to reap the souls of all those who stand before me. As a smith stockpiles lumber to fuel his forge, so too have I gathered the souls of the innocent to feed my master. That is all the reason there is."
"And yet there is satisfaction behind your eyes," Obrona said. "This is no mere task you have been granted. It is a purpose."
"Just so!" Sheba laughed. "I suppose, then, that I have told a lie. For you see, when my master found me, he stripped the death from me. I have no choice now but to do as he bids me. No action I take is of my own choosing, save for one thing. The killing is my own. An art I have perfected over the course of many lifetimes. I take a great pride in my work as a master of death. And so I admit that I lied to you in exactly one respect. Killing your parents was one of the fleeting moments of control I have managed to carve for myself in all my long years. In that respect, their deaths were intensely personal."
"Choose your words carefully, fiend," Obrona said, drawing her second sword. "Every word you utter only sharpens my blades."
"Alas, I have no time to play with you, boy. My master calls me to his side once more, and so I must end this swiftly. Magus! If you would?"
Horrified, Obrona turned to face Ursula, her steadfast companion. But before she could act, Ursula raised her staff and placed it against Obrona's forehead.
"I am sorry," she said, her expression filled with sorrow. "They gave me no choice."
Obrona collapsed to her knees, the strength sapped from her by Ursula's magic. All she could do was watch in silent fury as Sheba strode over to her and drew the knife from her belt.
"Really, I would have preferred we do this your way," Sheba said. "But I have business to attend to. 'Tis nothing personal."
With a great sweep, Sheba slashed Obrona's throat, sending up a spray of blood. Obrona collapsed to the floor, desperately grasping for her swords as Sheba and Ursula left the stage. But there was nothing she could do to stop them. Once again, she had failed in her duty. And now it looked like she would die before she ever found her revenge.
Zeke stood and applauded as the second act closed. The play was an original of Akhos's, so Zeke had been a little skeptical going in. But he was invested, now. There was a ten-minute intermission while the cast and crew prepared for the next act, but Zeke could hardly stand to wait even that long. He needed to know what happened to the Tanner next. How would he survive? How would he recover now that his closest friend had betrayed him? How was he to stop the Man of Darkness? Would he even, if his only goal was to kill the one who'd slain his family?
"I must say," Dromarch said. "I never thought Obrona, of all people, would have a talent for theater. But she's put on quite the performance."
"Cole certainly knows how to pick 'em," Nia said, idly stroking his fur. The two of them sat with Zeke in the stands, watching the play. Dromarch still wasn't back to full strength yet, but he'd been making rapid progress over the last few days. More of his memories were beginning to return, too. And now that he was finally starting to recover, Nia felt like she was back to her old self.
"He's a good director," Zeke said. "I'm sure he knows how to draw out that kind of potential."
"This is all quite strange as well," Dromarch noted.
"What? Never been to the theater before?"
"No, I mean this." He motioned a paw at Zeke. "The last thing I knew, I was going in for surgery, and now I wake up to find that My Lady has not only become romantically involved, but with Zeke von Genbu, of all people."
"What, am I not up to your standards?" Zeke asked.
"I have no great concern in that regard. If My Lady has chosen you as her companion, then I will trust in her judgement. Though I must admit, her decision has taken me somewhat by surprise. I hadn't the faintest idea how she felt."
"I don't think anyone did," Nia said. "It all kinda just… Fell into place, all at once."
"That's not quite true," Zeke said. "Pandoria knew this was going to happen months ago. Ever since the summit, I think."
"I can only imagine what sorts of shenanigans that caused," Dromarch said.
"I think she wanted to give us the chance to figure it out on our own. But once it became clear neither of us were willing to take the first step, she ended up taking things into her own hands."
"I'm sorry I missed out on all the fun. I think I would have liked to participate."
"I appreciate the sentiment, mate, but I think we had enough people on our case as it stood."
"I'm sure there's going to be plenty of opportunity for shenanigans in the future," Nia said. "Zeke's practically a magnet for that sort of thing."
"It's a gift," Zeke said.
"Well, whatever the case, I'm happy for you both," Dromarch said. "It might take some time to adjust, but My Lady is finally starting to make a life for herself. I couldn't have asked for better news to wake up to."
"I'm just glad you approve," Nia said. "I'm honestly not sure what I would've done if you didn't."
"Why do we need his blessing?" Zeke asked.
"You'd rather I not approve?" Dromarch asked.
"Nah, I mean, I'm not complaining. But you're not her dad, y'know? She can make her own decisions."
"Now see here young man," Dromarch said, standing up and turning to stare at Zeke. Despite his lack of human facial features, he still presented a very good impression of a stern father. "I expect you'll treat My Lady with the respect she deserves. And furthermore, I expect her back at ten o'clock sharp. No funny business, you hear me?"
"Wouldn't dream of it," Zeke said, putting his hands up in mock surrender.
"Really?" Nia asked. "Because that's not the impression I got last night."
Slowly, Dromarch turned back to stare at her.
"Pardon?" he asked.
"Sort of what I was trying to get at," Zeke said. "We've already moved in together, so…"
He trailed off, hoping Dromarch would put the rest together without them having to spell it out for him.
"Oh," he said, realization dawning. "I see. Kicked me out of my room, have you?"
"Sorry about that," Zeke said. "I didn't mean to; it's just sort of… How things ended up developing, y'know?"
"Is this what you desire, My Lady?" Dromarch asked.
"I…" Nia looked around for a moment. "You know I love you more than anything, right Dromarch?"
"You flatter me, My Lady."
"And I'm over the moon that you've recovered this quickly. But if I'm being frank… I expected this would take longer. I thought I'd have more time to figure this situation out."
"You've invited Zeke to live with you," Dromarch said. "It seems you've made your decision, to me."
"I… When you put it like that, I guess, but—"
"Splendid!" Dromarch said, beaming at her.
"Huh?"
"This is something I've been meaning to do for a while," Dromarch said. "Ever since the summit, I've wanted to have my own space. I think it might help me relearn who I used to be. What kinds of things I liked. If I can make a place that truly feels like mine, then that should put me well on my way, don't you think?"
"I suppose," Nia said. "But why haven't you told me any of this before?"
"Because you needed me," Dromarch said. "You were putting yourself through hell and you needed someone there to support you. But with Zeke around, I don't think that's going to be much of a problem."
"You're not getting away from me that easily," Nia said. "You're still my partner, yeah?"
"Of course, My Lady," Dromarch said. "But at this stage, it's only appropriate I give you your privacy. So I might as well take full advantage of the situation and spread my wings a little, as it were. So long as Zeke can measure up to the task, anyway."
"I won't let you down," Zeke said, giving Dromarch a salute.
"I should hope not." Dromarch smiled at him. "Otherwise I'm going to break you in half."
Zeke faltered a little, at that. Dromarch hardly ever seemed capable of this sort of menace, but there was a look in his eyes that told Zeke he was entirely serious.
"Alright, stop harassing my boyfriend," Nia said, pouting at Dromarch.
"Sorry, My Lady," Dromarch said, chuckling to himself. "I couldn't help but indulge."
"So we're officially going with 'boyfriend', huh?" Zeke asked.
"Why not?" Nia asked.
"I seem to recall something about it feeling too trivial," Zeke said.
"Yeah, well…" Nia shrugged. "Screw it. Maybe that's what I need right now. A little bit of normalcy."
"Feels like I've been saying that for months," Dromarch said. "Nice to see you're finally taking my advice. Maybe I should've moved out ages ago."
"You could probably take my old room," Zeke offered. "Pandoria's already moved in with Kora, so no one's living in it right now anyway."
"Wonderful." Dromarch said. "Perhaps I'll leave the two of you to enjoy yourselves while I go inspect my new property."
"Absolutely not," Nia said, wrapping one arm around his neck and dragging him back into his sead. "Just because I'm dating Zeke doesn't mean the two of us can't spend time together too. And so long as you're out and about, I'm taking every second of this I can get."
"Well, maybe not every second," Zeke said. "Not unless you're cancelling our plans for tonight."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Nia said, leaning over to give him a quick kiss. "You're not getting away from me that easily, either."
"So demanding," Zeke muttered, smiling to himself. It was good to know they were still on for tonight. He'd been looking forward to that picnic she'd promised him.
"Alright, hush now," Nia said. "The next act's getting started."
The three of them settled in, ready for the next act of the play to start, but just before the scene opened, Strix's voice came over the comms.
"Movement on the border," he said. "Looks like Mikhail's team is back."
"Already?" Zeke asked, doing his best to keep his voice low. "That seems odd."
"Are they in danger?" Nia asked.
"Not so far as I can tell," Strix said. "There's no one pursuing them, anyway."
"Can you and Nal handle things, then?" she asked. "Zeke and I are in the middle of something."
"Don't think that's the best idea," Strix said. "They're coming back with a bunch of Praetorians in tow."
"They're what?" Zeke asked, almost shouting. A few people gave him dirty looks, so he did his best to keep his head down and not interrupt further. "Why?"
"No idea," Strix said. "But I can't imagine it's anything good."
"Alright," Nia said, sighing. "We'll be there in a minute."
Reluctantly, the three of them stood and made their way out of the amphitheater as quickly and unobtrusively as possible. The next act had finally started, and Zeke really wanted to see how this thing ended. He also wanted to be there to support Obrona. But if Mikhail was bringing Praetorians back to the Gardens, then that had to take priority. Unless they were very careful with how they approached this, then at best, a lot of civilians were going to be unhappy. And that was before Zeke considered the possibility that they might be being held hostage or something.
Though, once Zeke actually saw them on the horizon, he knew that couldn't be the case. Because they weren't just coming with the Praetorians. It seemed like the whole population of Fonsett was with them, too. Rex led the way, with Roc circling overhead, while the Preatorians and Blades flanked the group on either side. The civilians were huddled in the middle, hauling as much as they could carry.
And right in the middle of the group, Zeke saw Jibril and one of her monks carrying Mikhail on a makeshift stretcher.
"What the fuck are we doing about this?" Strix asked. And from where he stood, Zeke didn't really have a good answer. They'd run through a lot of possibilities, but they hadn't prepared for this.
But Nia didn't let that slow her down at all.
"All hands on deck," Nia said, her voice oddly calm as she spoke into her communicator. "We've got a lot of refugees coming from Leftheria. Adenine, I want you to clear as much space as possible in the infirmary. Akhos, you and Patroka spread the word amongst the people you can reach. Tell them we've got refugees incoming and that they need to spread the word to the rest of the community. Anyone who wants to volunteer to help should meet us at the gates. We need a group who can set up temporary shelters at the fields, and we need healers here to assess injuries."
"I'll go find Boreas," Dromarch offered. "We're about to have a lot more mouths to feed, so I think an audit of the food stores is in order."
"Alright." Nia nodded. Dromarch went back inside, and Nia headed down the trail toward the incoming refugees. Zeke followed after her.
"Fuck me," Strix muttered. "We're really going to let the Praetorians in here?"
"I don't see what other choice we have," Zeke said. "We'll figure out what happened once everyone's settled, but right now, our priority is the people."
"Strix, you stay by the gate," Nia continued, still issuing orders even as she moved. "Send any volunteers who arrive our way."
"I'll be keeping an eye on the Praetorians, too," Strix said. "Just in case this is some kind of ploy."
"I really don't think it is," Zeke said.
"Well, how else do you explain what we're looking at?"
"Speculate later," Nia said. "Just focus on maintaining the watch for now. And don't take any action against the Praetorians unless absolutely necessary. So long as they don't attack us, we'll offer them shelter."
"I don't know how well that's going to go over with the community," Zeke noted.
"We'll deal with that later," Nia said. "For right now, let's just do what we can."
It was very like Nia to want to see the best in people. To offer shelter to everyone, regardless of circumstance. It was one of those things he loved about her. The possibility of not offering them help probably hadn't even crossed her mind.
But it had crossed Zeke's. Only in the hypothetical, but since Nia was already on top of coordinating the immediate response, that left him in charge of thinking about the long-term situation. And no matter how he looked at things, inviting the Praetorians into the Gardens was a bad idea. There was too much bad blood on either side for things to just be fine.
So if turning them away wasn't an option, then Zeke needed to focus his efforts on getting out in front of the impending storm.
"Nia!" Rex called out, jogging up to meet them near the base of the hill. A few of the volunteers from the Gardens broke away from the group and ran out with him, including Vess and Dahlia.
"How many wounded?" Nia asked.
"Only a few," Rex said. "Spessia left more corpses than anything." There was a look in his eyes Zeke hadn't really seen before. Rage. He was doing his best to subdue it, but it wasn't quite working.
"We should have some healers coming to the gates," Nia said. "Dahlia, do you think you could run ahead and get them up to speed on the situation?"
"Sure," Dahlia said. She took off running for the Gardens as fast as she could.
"We've for a lot of families here," Rex said, motioning back at the group.
"Nal is rounding up volunteers to set up some temporary shelters," Zeke said. "They should be going up on one of the public fields."
"I can lead people there," Vess said.
"We brought what supplies we could," Rex continued. "Food and clothes and the like. Only what we could carry, but—"
"Dromarch will handle that," Nia said.
"We're going to need to get Mikhail to Adenine as well."
"On it," Zeke said, breaking off from the group and making a beeline for the crowd. He worked his way through until he found Jibril and her man carrying an unconscious Mikhail on a stretcher. He'd been beaten pretty badly, there was a big hole in his stomach, and his Core Crystal was flickering erratically. But somehow, he was still clinging to life.
"Ozychlurys," Jibril said, narrowing her eyes at him as he approached.
"Jibril," Zeke said. "We have an infirmary we can get him to. If you want, I can—"
"I'll carry him myself," she said, shying away as Zeke reached out to take the stretcher from her. "It's the least I can do."
"Alright," Zeke said. Then he turned to the monk. "Let me take him."
The monk obliged, and Zeke took his spot.
"Thank you," Jibril muttered.
"Don't thank me yet," Zeke said. "Before we get to the Gardens, your monks need to put their weapons away."
"Spessia could be pursuing us," Jibril said. "They could attack at any moment."
"We've got Strix keeping watch. He'll give us advanced warning if there's anything coming. But for right now, I'm going to need your help if we don't want this to escalate."
"Escalate?" Jibril asked. Momentarily, she stopped and looked back at him, seemingly confused.
"A lot of people in the Gardens hate the Praetorium," Zeke said, poking her with the stretcher and prompting her to keep walking. "A rather vocal minority wanted us to join the Coalition's assault and wipe you guys off the map. So until the dust settles, I think it'd be best if you guys came off as nonthreatening as possible."
"So be it," Jibril said. Then she turned to the other monk. "Pnaddio, tell the men to stow their weapons. Until tensions ease, we'll submit ourselves to the custody of the Caretakers."
That almost made Zeke stop in his tracks. Jibril was one of the Praetorium's most zealous fanatics. If she was willing to swallow her principles and work with them, then whatever had happened in Leftheria must've been dire.
Zeke and Jibril carted Mikhail up to the Gardens as quickly as they could, while Nia stayed behind with the others to coordinate everything. As they moved, though, someone ran to catch up with them, breaking away from the larger group.
"Zeke!" Rex called out. "We need to talk!"
"Mikhail first," Zeke said, motioning his head down at the unconscious man.
"This is important," Rex insisted. The angry look in his eyes had intensified, now, but Zeke held his gaze.
"So is he," Zeke said. The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Rex finally broke his gaze.
"Walk and talk, then," he said, moving up next to Zeke as they rushed for the infirmary. "I need your help."
"This have anything to do with Mòrag's team disappearing?" Zeke asked.
"They're back in Leftheria," Rex said. "The Coalition took some nasty casualties, so they're assisting with the evacuation. After that, they're going to stake things out for a bit to make sure Spessia doesn't try to swoop back in and finish the job while the Coalition is vulnerable."
"What happened, exactly?" Zeke asked.
"We got played," Rex said. "It was a setup from the beginning. They were counting on us to stop the Coalition's assault. And once we did, they hit us and the Praetorians with a whole fucking battalion. They had some Sthenosi with them, too, and together they slaughtered most of the Praetorians where they stood. They caved in the Spirit Crucible, too, which trapped a good chunk of the Coalition's army."
"Which way?" Jibril asked, briefly stopping as they reached the gate. People were moving in all directions around them, trying to get things set up for the refugee column's arrival.
"Straight across the courtyard," Zeke said. "The big doors on the far side. The infirmary will be in the third hallway on the left. Rex, can you—"
"I got it," Rex said, rushing forward to hold the door open for them. Once they were inside, he stayed with them.
"I get the sense this isn't what you wanted to talk about," Zeke said.
"No," Rex said. "And that wasn't even the real setup. I think that was all just a nice bonus. Their real goal was Pyra."
"Shit." Zeke stopped in his tracks and glanced over at Rex. He hadn't noticed before, but sure enough, the Aegis Core wasn't hanging around his neck like usual.
"Ozychlurys," Jibril said. "We should—"
"Yeah," Zeke muttered. He kept moving, but for the moment, his thoughts weren't on internal Gardens politics anymore. That seemed pretty small-time compared to Spessia getting their hands on the Aegis Core.
"I need help," Rex continued. "Mòrag's too busy, and Tora's back in the capital. You guys are the only people I can turn to."
"You want us to march into Spessia with you and go get her back?" Zeke asked.
"Absolutely," Rex said, unable to keep the anger out of his voice. "I'm going to kick that asshole's teeth in if it's the last thing I do."
"Listen, right now, we need to get Mikhail squared away," Zeke said. "We'll talk about this after."
"We can't just sit here," Rex said. "We need to—"
Before he could get started, he stopped himself and shook his head.
"You're right," he muttered. "Infirmary first. Everything else after."
Silently, the three of them got Mikhail to the infirmary, where Adenine was waiting with a bed. They transferred him to it as quickly as they could, and immediately she got to work.
"Nia," she said, speaking into her earpiece. "I'm going to need some backup over here pretty soon."
"Dahlia's coming with the rest of the wounded," Nia said. "Vess will be over once she gets the civilians settled. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Alright. Be quick."
With that, Adenine got to work, doing her best to shore up where the other healers had tried to close the wound.
"I need to borrow your resonance analyzer," Rex said, crossing the room and grabbing a contraption off the wall.
"What?" Adenine asked. "You can't—" She shook her head. "Whatever. I don't have time for this."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Jibril asked.
"Are you a healer, or—" Adenine glanced over at her and immediately stopped what she was doing. "Jibril."
"Adenine," Jibril said. "I had heard you'd become a Cannibal, but I hadn't quite believed it until now. Another heresy I find myself grateful for, in these trying times."
"What are you doing here?" Adenine asked, tensing up.
"He's my Driver," Jibril said, motioning at Mikhail. "I would like to save him, if I can."
"The Praetorians have agreed to cooperate," Zeke said, putting himself between the two of them. "They're not here to cause trouble."
"If you say so," Adenine muttered, turning back to Mikhail. "But you're not a healer, Jibril. You can help by staying out of the way."
"Alright." Jibril nodded and stepped back.
"Maybe let's head outside," Zeke said, shuffling the two of them out the door to give Adenine room to work. He was still expecting Jibril to turn on Rex at any moment, like she had at the summit, but it seemed like she didn't much care about him anymore. Or any of them, really. The events in Leftheria seemed to have taken the fight out of her.
"Do you know how this thing works?" Rex asked, holding the machine out toward Zeke.
"What are you doing?" Zeke asked.
"It's a resonance analyzer," Rex said. "Adenine showed it to me once when I came by to visit. It can detect ether resonance, and my heart is still resonating with the Aegis Core. I figure we can use this to track her down."
"Listen," Zeke said. "Why don't we just take a breath and slow down. We—"
"Don't you fucking tell me to slow down!" Rex shouted. "Every second we sit here is another second those assholes have their hands on Pyra. And I don't know about you, but I am not going to let them get away with this."
"Neither am I," Zeke said. "Believe me. If Spessia did all this just to get the Aegis Core, then I'm not looking forward to finding out what they plan to do with it."
"Her," Rex said.
"With her, sure. This is bad. But if we start running around half-cocked while the Gardens are in this much chaos, it's only going to make things worse."
"I am not going to just sit here and do nothing!" Rex insisted. "I can't! She needs me!"
"Which is why we need a plan," Zeke stressed. "We need to make sure we do this right. For her sake."
Rex stared at him for several seconds, wild-eyed and angry with nowhere to vent that emotion. But eventually, he got himself under control.
"You're right," he muttered. "Need a plan. Can't afford to slip up a second time."
"Good. Now, if we want to get her back, then we need to talk to Qadar. Hopefully, she'll have some advice for us."
"The Oracle," Jibril muttered. "I didn't think she really existed."
"Yeah, neither did I," Zeke said. "She's not as helpful as the legends make her sound, but I'm hoping she'll have something for us. She hasn't let us down so far. Not when it's counted, anyway."
"Alright then," Rex said. "Let's go get her."
"First things first, though," Zeke said, turning to Jibril. "I need your word that this won't escalate. We'll do our best to keep the peace on our end, but that has to be a two-way street."
"I will keep my children in line," Jibril said. "We will do our best to cooperate until this is over."
She looked him in the eye, and she looked very, very tired. Despite that, though, she also looked calmer than he had ever seen her. She seemed to have made peace with the situation. He could believe she was telling the truth.
"Good," Zeke said. "Nia should be able to help you and your men get settled in. Until Mikhail wakes up, she's the closest thing we've got to a leader, so while you're here, I expect you to respect that."
"Of course," Jibril said. "If you'll excuse me."
She headed back outside, clearly eager to get things moving.
"Qadar," Rex said, his patience already running thin. Zeke knew this must've been agony for him, being unable to go after the people who'd stolen the Aegis Core. But his head wasn't on straight, and if Zeke let him go off on his own, he got the feeling that people were going to get hurt.
"Give me a moment," Zeke said. Then he activated his communicator. "Has anyone seen Qadar?"
The silence that followed was almost unnerving.
"No," Akhos finally said. "I haven't seen her all day, come to think of it."
"I need to find her. It's urgent."
"I can't reach her," Patroka said. "Her communicator is offline."
That wasn't necessarily a bad sign. Qadar was weird, even at the best of times. But it certainly didn't bode well for his ability to keep Rex from exploding.
"Strix?" Zeke asked. "Anything?"
"Can't see her at the moment," he said. "Though I'm a little busy with other shit. A cursory glance says she's not anywhere obvious inside my range."
"Kalarau? You know her best. Any idea where she might be?"
"No," Kalarau said. "But it sounds urgent. I'll meet you near the gate and we can look for her together. If Strix didn't see her, then she's probably underground. I have a good idea where we can start searching."
"Alright." Zeke nodded and started walking, motioning for Rex to fall in behind him. "Qadar's run off somewhere, but we've got another Caretaker who should be able to find her."
"Good," Rex muttered. "The sooner we get started, the better."
Zeke didn't feel great about abandoning everything else to help Rex with his personal vendetta, but he got the feeling that if they didn't do something to help him, then he was liable to run off and do it by himself. And there was no way that would end well. Rex may have been a good Driver, but he was only one man. At least this way, they could convince him to stick around long enough to let cooler heads prevail. Or, failing that, to put together a viable plan.
It meant leaving the situation with the Praetorians in the hands of Jibril, but for the moment, he trusted her to uphold her end of things. With any luck, she'd be able to prevent any impending violence. The fact that she was willing to work with them at all was surprising, so maybe they didn't have as much to worry about on that front as he'd initially assumed.
He really hoped so, because he didn't have the time to focus on two problems at once, and right now, Spessia felt like the bigger issue. What happened in Leftheria seemed to confirm Corvin's suspicions. They weren't interested in actually waging war against the Coalition. That was just a distraction. Something to sew chaos, pit people against each other, and prevent anyone from looking too closely at what they'd been doing. And, judging by the mass of refugees and impending conflict that had just been dumped at their doorstep, it was probably working. Zeke doubted very many people were paying attention to the details, right now.
Which was why he needed to be. Spessia was making a bomb powered by Titans, but nobody involved actually wanted to use it as one. They'd stolen the Morythan Herald from the Restoration Department, and if it was anything like its sibling Esra, then it would be capable of taking over any machine in the world. They'd tried several times to get their hands on his Eye. And now they'd stolen the Aegis Core.
Zeke didn't quite know how all those pieces fit together, just yet, but they all had one thing in common. Everything on that list was extremely dangerous. So even if he didn't know what their endgame was, he knew it wouldn't be pretty. If they didn't put a stop to this soon, there might not be much of a world left to save.
Nia had seen plenty of refugees before. During the invasion of Gormott, people had fled their homes by the thousands. Better to take their chances in the lower reaches than under Ardainian occupation. Back then, the only thing she'd been able to offer them was vengeance. The chance to strike back at the invaders. The chance to spit in the emperor's eye before they died.
She was going to do better this time. She was going to help these people. She was going to make sure they were safe and fed and cared for. And most of all, she was going to make sure they got to go back to their homes after this was all over. It would take a mountain of effort, to be sure, but she was going to see it done. No matter what.
What good were the Gardens if they couldn't even manage that much?
And it seemed like a lot of the others felt the same way. Most Blades had seen more than their fair share of refugees, and most of them didn't seem willing to sit by and let it just happen again. They'd managed to relocate everyone to the fields, where Agate and a group of volunteers were busy erecting temporary shelters. Vess was currently running around trying to scrounge up enough bedding for everyone to sleep on. Dromarch and Boreas were hurriedly cataloging all the supplies the refugees had brought with them, trying to figure out how many days' worth of food and medicine they had to work with. Dahlia was taking a group of healers around to reinforce all the healing she and Vess had scraped together during the long march back. And Nia was doing her best to coordinate it all, moving from group to group to make sure their needs were being met.
As things started to get settled, however, she became aware that not everyone was here to help. There were a handful of onlookers who were just standing around, whispering amongst themselves. Their attention seemed focused on the Praetorians.
"That's gonna be a problem," Nal noted, appearing out of thin air behind Nia.
"And where have you been?" Nia asked.
"Keepin' watch," Nal said. "Just in case the Praetorians decide to start makin' trouble."
"Do you think it's likely?" Nia asked.
"They're Praetorians, Nia. Trouble's all they know. But they've been remarkably well behaved so far, so who knows? Maybe we're due for a miracle."
"Why are they being so cooperative? Only a few months ago, Jibril was ready to burn this whole place to the ground."
"Not a lotta other options," Nal said. "The Coalition want to round 'em up, and the Spessians want to kill 'em."
"Jibril's a fanatic, though," Nia said. "Or she was, last we spoke. There isn't any threat I can imagine that would force her to betray that fanaticism."
"I think findin' out who her Driver is gave her some pause. Though who knows how long that'll last?"
"Zeke would," Nia said. "This is really his wheelhouse more than mine."
Now that she stopped to take stock of the situation, she realized that he wasn't here, which seemed odd. He and Jibril had taken Mikhail up to the infirmary, but Jibril had come back a while ago, so where was he?
"In fact, where is he?" she asked.
"He's lookin' for Qadar," Nal said. "Some business with the Aegis Driver or somethin'."
"What's Rex want with Qadar?"
"The Spessians stole the Aegis Core durin' the attack," Nal said. "I imagine it's probably somethin' to do with that."
Well, that was… Bad. But she trusted him to handle it, at least for the moment. International saber-rattling was also more his wheelhouse than hers. Which meant she would have to deal with this Praetorian business herself.
She didn't want to, but once Corvin arrived to join the other onlookers, she didn't really have much of a choice. His being here was only going to create more headaches unless she dealt with this now.
"Nia," he said, giving her a small nod as she approached.
"Corvin," she said. "Here to help?"
"I doubt there's much I can do, in my condition," he said. "Do we know what happened?"
"Shit went tits up in Leftheria," Nal said.
"Clearly." Corvin motioned out at the crowd of refugees. "But I'm more wondering about the warrior monks. They've made no secret of how much they hate this place."
"Believe me, I'm not thrilled they're here either," Nia said. "But we sent our people to Leftheria to prevent a fight, not start one. So long as they behave, then I'd like to uphold that."
"I don't think everyone's going to be on board with that," Corvin said. The looks from the others with him said that they agreed.
"It's not ideal, I realize," Nia said. "But we can't turn them away when they've come to us for help. We're better than that."
"That's all well and good, but what happens when things calm down and they find their faith again? I don't trust a bunch of warriors trained to hunt 'Cannibals' to just wander around unsupervised."
"Believe me, they ain't," Nal said. "I'll keep an eye on 'em."
"Corvin…" Nia sighed. "I'm choosing to believe you when you say you care about this place. After all the things you've done, I think that's fairly generous of me. So I'm going to need you to reciprocate a little, here. I need you to work with me on this one. We have a lot of scared, hungry people we need to figure out how to provide for, and there's no telling when the people who drove them from their homes are going to follow them back here. So until this whole mess is dealt with, we can't afford infighting. It's only going to make things worse."
"Who do you think is coming after them?" Corvin asked.
"I doubt the Sthenosi are going to leave a job half-done," Nal said. "And if they come lookin' for a fight, Spessia won't be far behind."
"If there's this kind of danger, then we should never have taken these people in at all," Corvin said.
"Well, tough shit," Nia said. "No walking that one back, at this point. So I need to know if I can count on you, or if you're just going to cause more problems."
Corvin sighed. "Fine. I don't like it, but clearly I'm in the minority, here." He motioned out at all the people helping the refugees get settled. "And I don't want to see this place destroyed any more than you do."
Nal laughed at that.
"Yer sure about that?"
"I'm not interested in having this argument again," Corvin said. "Just tell me what you need."
"We need people to keep the peace," Nia said. "Avoid provoking the Praetorians. They might be a bunch of bastards, but they've come to us for protection, and we're going to honor that."
"Sure." Corvin shrugged. "I guess we can manage that."
He shifted from "I" to "we" rather naturally, and for a moment, Nia worried they might be starting down the road to another uprising. But they had more immediate concerns, so she could deal with his renewed political aspirations later.
"We also need defenses. If the Spessians or the Sthenosi come looking for a fight, then we need to be ready."
"I'll round up who I can find," Corvin said. "I guess it's time to put some of those contingencies we developed into place."
Just as he turned to leave, however, Jibril walked up to the group. Immediately, everyone else tensed up, including Nia. She still didn't really trust her not to attack them. Sensing that hostility, Jibril put her hands up and took a step back.
"I apologize for interrupting," she said. "But my Children are experienced warriors. If you have need of more defenders, then we'd be happy to oblige. It's the least we can do to repay the kindness you've shown us."
"I've got no interest in being stabbed," Corvin said. "So there's no way I'm entrusting my back to a bunch of Praetorium fanatics."
Jibril stared at them all for several seconds, choosing her next words with exceeding care.
"I am aware of how you all must think of me," she said. "And I'm not foolish enough to think I can convince you of the purity of our intentions. But we are faced with a very stark reality. Either we stand together, or we die alone. And I will not let any more of my Children die. So long as you can provide us shelter, then our warriors will be at your disposal. It is as the Architect wills."
Corvin clearly wasn't convinced. But to Nia, the woman sounded sincere. It wasn't a long-term guarantee of peace. Nia wasn't sure such a thing was even possible, unless they abandoned the Praetorium's dogma entirely. But at least until the danger passed, Jibril would cooperate. She believed that much.
"Alright," Nia said. "I doubt everyone's going to be comfortable with it, but so long as you pull your weight, then I won't complain. Report to Strix, and he should be able to figure out something for you to do."
"Very well." Jibril bowed to Nia, then she turned and bowed to Corvin's group as well.
"I don't like it," Corvin muttered, watching her walk away to round up her warriors.
"Are we really going to turn down help?" Nia asked.
"We're more than capable of fighting off Spessia or Sthenos on our own," Corvin said.
"They ain't who we gotta be worried about," Nal said. "Sthenos might come looking for trouble, but they're small fry. And we all know Spessia's heart ain't in it. They're just looking to cause chaos. The Coalition are the ones we gotta be concerned about."
"I really hope not," Nia said. "But at this point, we can't rely on hope. And if the Coalition really does come for us, then we're going to need every combatant we can get our hands on."
"I really wish I had a good counter-argument," Corvin said, shaking his head.
"So do I," Nia said. "I don't want to think the Coalition would betray us, but we can't afford to take chances right now."
"Eh." Corvin shrugged. "I kinda figured their betrayal was inevitable. They're humans. It's what they do. I just don't like having to rely on the Praetorium to see us through."
"Speaking of," Nal said. "Maybe it's time we give Rosa a call? Let her know to expect trouble?"
"I think so," Nia said.
"Rosa?" Corvin asked.
"Duthract's new leader," Nia said. "They've agreed to back us up if war breaks out."
"Not exactly a thrilling proposition either," Corvin said. "But I guess I'll take them over the Praetorians."
"You'll take both," Nal said. "Beggars can't be choosers."
"Unfortunately true." Corvin shook his head again. "I suppose I should start rounding up volunteers."
"If you would," Nia said. "If you need anything else, I'll be here to coordinate things."
"Good luck with that," Corvin said. He waved at them and started walking away, and he seemed to take most of the budding group's momentum with him. Some of them followed him, others dispersed back into town, and a handful even stepped forward to start helping with the refugees. For the moment, the situation seemed to be defused.
"Strix," Nia said, activating her communicator. "Corvin's going to be bringing some volunteers your way, along with Jibril's warrior monks. They should be able to help organize some defenses."
"Alright," Strix said. "If you find anyone else willing to fight, be sure to send them…"
He trailed off.
"Strix?" Nia asked.
"We've got someone else incoming," he said. "Some asshole with big fuckoff wings and a cannon for an arm. Looks like he's making a beeline for the gate."
"Ah shit," Nal muttered. "This asshole again."
From the sound of things, it must've been the Watcher who'd defected to Spessia. Azazel. What was he doing here? It seemed a little too upfront to be an attack.
"I'm coming," Nia said. "Don't let him inside." Then she turned around and found Agate in the crowd.
"Agate!" she called out, getting the woman's attention. "There's a situation up at the gates! I'm going to go check it out! Do you think you can handle things until I get back!?"
"We'll manage," Agate said, nodding. Nia gave her a nod back, then immediately took off for the gate.
This didn't feel like an attack. If it was, they would've sent more than one person. But whatever this was, it couldn't be good. If Spessia was about to try something, then they needed to be ready to respond.
By the time Nia reached the gates, Azazel as already there, hovering just beyond the reach of Strix's throwing arm. He'd put his cannon away and put his hands up, but Strix was still menacing him with his spear all the same. As Nia and Nal arrived, they drew their weapons too, and he let out a sigh.
"I'm not here to fight," he said.
"I find that hard to believe," Nal said. "Considerin' what ya' did last time we met."
"I wish it hadn't come to that," he said. "But I needed to keep my family safe."
"Are Spessia threatening the Watchers somehow?" Nia said. "If so, we can help."
"No." Azazel shook his head. "But the Coalition are. They want to use us to wage their wars, and I refuse to let that happen."
"It sounds to me like we share a common interest, then," Nia said. She put her sword away and motioned for the others to do the same. "We're trying to stop the Coalition from waging war, too."
"That's why I'm here," he said. "I'm not sure who else I can turn to, so I'm hoping all the stuff people say about this place is true."
"What about yer buddies in Spessia?" Nal asked. "They hang ya' out to dry?"
"In a manner of speaking," Azazel said. "The only thing they needed from me was Zedekul."
"Pardon?" Nia asked.
"A Morythan machine. One of Esrafil's siblings. One of my siblings, I guess. We recovered it during the expedition, and I helped the Spessians steal it."
"Zeke mentioned something like that," Nia said. "And now that you've gotten them what they needed, you've outlived your usefulness?"
"That's the only conclusion I can reach."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Strix asked.
"They've been angling for a fight against the Coalition for years. Or so I figured, anyway. They told me that if I helped them, we could catch the Coalition by surprise and break it in half before they even had a chance to conscript my family. But they didn't deliver what they promised, and now my family is in even more danger. With all the losses the military took in Leftheria, and the Restoration Department having broken ranks, it's only a matter of time before the council decides to use the Watchers to shore up their defenses. And the Spessians aren't really keen on doing much to prevent that."
"But you think we can?" Nia asked.
"You're a safe haven for Blades," Azazel said. "I should hope that would include artificial ones too."
"Of course. But our standing with the Coalition is a little unclear at the moment."
"I know. But you all are the last remaining hope I have for keeping my family free. I can't do it by myself."
"We'll certainly do our best," Nia said. "If you can convince your family to leave the capital and come here, then we'd certainly be willing to grant them amnesty. If that's not an option, then our councilor will do his best to stall any effort to press your family into service unwillingly while we think of another solution."
"I'll do my best," Azazel said. "Hopefully they're still willing to listen to me. But I don't think the Coalition is going to respond well if we all leave."
"You let us worry about that," Nia said.
"How do we know yer not givin' us the runaround?" Nal asked.
"Because I'm willing to give up what I know about the Spessians' plans if you help me."
"Of course we'll help," Nia said. "If you're willing to tell us what you know, then all the better. But you're Tora's family, which means you're my family, too. And family looks after each other."
Azazel nodded, momentarily at a loss for what to say. "Thank you," he eventually decided. "I don't know if we're family quite yet, but Tora and Poppi both trust you immensely, so I'm willing to extend the same courtesy."
"If that's true, then spill," Nal said. "What's Atasaiah up to?"
"He's after the Eye of Genbu," Azazel said.
"We knew that much already," Nia said.
"It's the last thing on his list," Azazel continued. "Now that he has the Aegis Core, he'll be coming for Zeke directly. He could already be on his way. I left as soon as I could, but he moves fast."
Immediately, Nia put her hand up to her earpiece. She should've known better than to let him out of her sight at a time like this.
"Zeke?" she asked.
There was no reply.
"Zeke!? Where in the hell did you run off to!?"
"He and Kalarau took the Aegis Driver out into the wastes," Strix said. "They're looking for Qadar."
"Can you see them?"
"Yeah, they're—" Strix stopped. Then he furrowed his brow. "Fuck."
"Strix," Nia said, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.
"They're gone," he said. "They were there a few minutes ago, but now… Fuck."
"Neither of their communicators are online either," Akhos said. "It's just like when that machine attacked Agate's group."
Immediately, Nia grabbed Strix by the arm and took off running. Nal and Azazel followed closely behind her.
"Take me to where you last saw him!" she shouted.
"Right, sure," Strix said, shrugging out of her grip and moving to the front of the group.
While he led the way, Nia did her best not to panic, instead channeling all her emotion into raw anger.
She was not going to let this happen. Not when things had finally started looking up. Zeke was the best thing that had happened to her in a very long time, and she was not going to let anyone take him away from her. So if this asshole put so much as a finger on Zeke, she was going to kick his fucking teeth in.
Zeke had hoped finding Qadar would be a simple matter. As the Oracle, she should've known when people would need her foresight. So the fact that they couldn't find her already seemed like a bad sign. But still, they had to try. Recovering the Aegis Core would mean striking into the heart of enemy territory, and that wasn't something Zeke wanted to leave to chance. He'd take any advantage she could give them, no matter how small.
But the more they wandered through the tunnels, the more Zeke started to question the logic of his own plan. Either Kalarau didn't know what he was doing, or Qadar really didn't want to be found. Either way, he felt like they were just wasting their time, at this point.
"Are you sure she's even down here?" Zeke asked.
"This is where we won our freedom," Kalarau said. "We slaughtered the Judician High Command and tore apart the weaving rooms with our bare hands. Torna may have finished Judicium off, but by the time they entered the fight, the empire was already on its knees. Thanks to us, and to what we did here. It was the last victory we enjoyed together before everything fell apart, so…"
He shrugged.
"It's where I would go if I were her. It's a good reminder of what we're trying to do, here."
"Is it?" Rex asked. "What's Judicium got to do with anything, at this point?"
"Judicium birthed the Flesh Eaters and the Praetorium alike," Kalarau said. "One gave Blades the power to stand up for themselves and forge their own destinies. The other constructed a social order entirely devoted to monopolizing their control and distribution. Judicium was the birthplace of Alrest's inherent contradictions. And those of us at the Gardens have devoted ourselves to resolving those contradictions and creating something new from their synthesis."
"Does Qadar really care about all that, though?" Zeke asked.
"She did, when I knew her," Kalarau said. "Though it's hard to know what she truly thinks of anything. The power of her foresight was alienating even back then. And it seems like that's only gotten worse as time's gone on."
"How do you mean?"
"I…" Kalarau paused. "It's nothing. I'm just rambling. Trying to fill the air."
"Never really took you for much of a conversationalist," Zeke said.
"No, but… You managed to get Nia to fix Dromarch. I'm still not sure how you did it, but you came through. So I figured… I don't know. Maybe you'd like to talk some? You mentioned once that you wanted to know what being a Blade Eater was like, right? I think I can spare the time."
"Really?" Zeke asked. He'd all but given up on getting anything out of Kalarau, and after how much of an ass he'd been, Zeke wasn't sure he really wanted to know what he had to say. But he was still one of the world's only Blade Eaters. One of the only people who knew what Zeke had been through. He couldn't just pass up a chance at that.
"You're a Blade Eater?" Rex asked, eyeing the man suspiciously. "I thought Amalthus invented those, and you talk like you're a lot older than that."
"The Judician Weavers experimented with the procedure just before the rebellion broke out," Kalarau said, pulling his shirt open to reveal his Core Crystal. "But I doubt their methods were nearly as sophisticated as the Praetorium's. And I was the only success they ever produced before everything went to shit. Though, I guess I had a hand in that last one. After the rebellion found me, I was all too eager to turn my bow back on the assholes who made me. It only took about a month to wipe the art of weaving off the face of Alrest for good. Or so I had assumed, anyway."
Zeke didn't really know what to think about that. He knew that the Indoline Rebellion had involved a lot of bloodshed, but it was still disconcerting to hear someone admit to it so casually.
"Wait…" Zeke muttered. "Rebellion? As in the Indoline Rebellion? You worked with the Praetorium?"
"Is that really what they're calling it these days?" Kalarau asked, shaking his head. "Well, that's not what we called ourselves, back in the day. Back then, we were just warriors. Or slaves. Or whoever. Just a bunch of nobodies trying to end Judicium's tyranny. The Indolines wanted to free the Praetorium from the High Command's control, so we convinced them to fight back. But they didn't lead the charge. We're the ones who brought down Judicium. Of course, I doubt they told the story that way."
"I suppose that makes the Gardens your successors in a way, then," Zeke said.
"I wouldn't go that far. Ultimately, we failed. Ending Judicium's rule only made room for another tyrant. Torna came to power and slaughtered everyone who stood in their way. And after they realized which way the wind was blowing, the Praetorium turned against us, branding the existence of Flesh Eaters heresy and ingratiating themselves with the world's new imperial power. The only thing we accomplished was trading one empire for another."
"The way I hear it, Old Torna was rather progressive. They revered Blades as sacred."
"An empire is still an empire," Kalarau said. "No matter how well it cares for its citizens. In the end, we lost, and history forgot all about us."
"Not quite," Zeke said. "People remember Qadar."
"They remember the Oracle," Kalarau said. "The legend. The stories the Praetorium made up about us to teach their children about the dangers of 'Cannibalism'. But they don't remember her. They don't remember what we fought for. I barely remember what we fought for, and I was there for it. The Gardens aren't our successors because we didn't leave any legacy worth succeeding. We're just ghosts."
"But you're here now."
"I guess so." Kalarau led them into a hallway, and after a moment, Zeke realized it was the same one they'd been ambushed in by Shieldwall. He could see the massive hole where they'd tried to blow them all to hell. The place Nia had almost given her life to save him.
"We're wasting time," Rex said. "Where's Qadar?"
"Just up ahead," Kalarau said, leading them over to the hole.
"You think she's at the core?" Zeke asked.
"Judicium High Command," Kalarau said. "Their command post was just down this hallway. All we have to do is cross that."
"Easier said than done," Zeke said. He could probably jump a gap like this, but he didn't know about the others. "You two good to get across this?"
"Give me a minute to catch my breath," Kalarau said. He leaned against the wall next to the hole, then slowly sank down until he was sitting. "I'm not as young as I used to be."
"Really?" Rex asked.
"I'm older than I look!" Kalarau protested. "Cut me some slack here, yeah?"
"You've been moving around just fine up until now."
"Well, you can set the pace once you've made it past a thousand. Until then, I'm reserving the right to old man privileges."
"Can Pandy and I really expect to live that long?" Zeke asked.
"In theory," Kalarau said. "Though maybe not so much in your case. I only made it this long by keeping my head down, and you seem to make trouble for yourself as a matter of course."
"I'll be fine," Zeke insisted. "I've got Nia to keep me going, after all."
"Yeah, but…" Kalarau shrugged. "Not forever, though. You know that, right?"
"What's that mean?" Rex asked. "Qadar's as old as you, isn't she? I always figured Flesh Eaters were as immortal as they come."
"Nah." Kalarau shook his head. "Take Cole for example. He's on his way out, no two ways about it. There's no telling exactly how long he'll last, but he's going to kick it sooner or later. That's how it goes for most. When the rebellion finally fell apart, there were still dozens of Flesh Eaters kicking around, but Qadar's the only one who lasted more than a couple hundred years. And even she's gonna go eventually."
"How do you know?" Zeke asked. "I mean, she's survived as long as you have. What's stopping Nia from doing the same?"
"Nothing, I'm just saying…" Kalarau sighed. "It's a crap shoot, y'know? The reason Qadar's made it this long is because she got lucky. Maybe Nia will get lucky too. But she's pretty young, by comparison, so it's too soon to tell. Could be she lasts a hundred years. Could be a thousand. I'm just saying you should be prepared for the possibility."
"Nia's the strongest person I know," Zeke said. "I'm sure she won't let something as trivial as old age do her in."
"Maybe." Kalarau shrugged. "But I knew plenty of stubborn people too. And it didn't do them any good in the long run."
"Alright, well, thanks for that," Rex said. He'd wasn't bothering to keep the disdain out of his voice anymore. "Now, have you had your rest? I'd like to actually get to the point of this stupid trip."
"If you insist," Kalarau muttered, standing up. Then he looked across the hole and paused again.
"What now?" Rex asked.
"It's been so long since I believed in anything," Kalarau said, ignoring the question. Or maybe this was his answer? Zeke couldn't really tell. "After I parted ways with the others, I just sort of… Drifted, y'know? It was easier to shut the world out. Stop caring, stop expecting anything, stop trying to live."
"This was after your Blade died?" Zeke asked.
"Yeah," Kalarau muttered. "I gave up after that. Washed my hands of everything, found a nice hole to crawl into, and waited for it all to be over. I never thought anything good would ever come from what I did. If anyone had come to me offering a second chance, I would've turned them down in a heartbeat. And I was so used to that. Giving up was the easiest thing in the world, in a lot of ways. So it's hard to be back here, standing in the shadow of everything we failed to do, and to try again, knowing how things ended last time."
"It's going to be different, this time," Zeke said, putting a hand on Kalarau's shoulder. "We've already changed so much. We just need to see it through to the end."
"We thought we'd changed so much, too," Kalarau said. "When Judicium fell, we thought we'd changed the world. But all we did was clear the way for a different oppressor."
"I won't let that happen," Zeke said. "Neither will Nia. Or Mòrag. Or Rex. Or anyone at the Gardens. We have a real opportunity to change things, and we're not going to let that go to waste."
"I'm sure you'll do your best," Kalarau said. "I'm just not sure it'll be enough."
"You don't believe that," Zeke said. "You wouldn't be here if you did."
"I suppose." Kalarau sighed. "Why else would I be here, if I didn't believe? It's just hard to get used to, after spending so long in the darkness. It's hard to believe that I might finally have a chance to make things right."
He shook his head.
"Well, whatever. I'm just an old man who's been around too long. You're young. And change is the providence of youth."
He took a step back, putting himself between Zeke and Rex.
"Let's just get this over with, then."
His stance shifted, and immediately Zeke sensed that something was wrong. Rex did too. But before either of them could realize what it was, Kalarau whirled around and slammed a fist into Rex's chest. Pure ether shot out from it, enveloping Rex in blinding light. He barely even had time to reach for his scythes as Kalarau knocked him straight into the hole.
The instant Rex disappeared into the depths below, Zeke activated his Eye and shifted into high gear. Cloud Sea surged up from his coat into a sword, and he swung it for Kalarau's shoulder, trying to incapacitate him without killing him. But Kalarau was already gathering more ether in his hands, and just before Zeke's attack made contact, he unleashed it in a barely controlled burst.
Ether surged around Zeke, enough that he could actually physically feel it on his skin. Raw, unfiltered ether. It was more than his Core Crystal could keep up with, and after a moment, it gave up. All at once, he was forced back to normal speed, and Kalarau took advantage of the resulting disorientation to slam a fist full of ether directly into his face.
It didn't hurt all that much. It was still just ether, at the end of the day. Raw ether that didn't manifest an accompanying element. It couldn't do much more than push him around, and it would take a lot more than that to hurt him. But it didn't really matter how much punishment he could take if he couldn't deal any out in turn. Because as Zeke stumbled back, he realized that his Eye was no longer responding either.
It must've been because his Core Crystal had gone silent. That would explain why it was still able to function while every other Artifice couldn't. It was drawing power from his Core Crystal in place of the Zohar, and now that his core was refusing to supply him with power, it had shut the Eye down as well.
Without his powers or weapons, Zeke stood in the middle of the hallway, staring at Kalarau as he manifested his bow. Slowly, an arrow of light gathered in it, and he pointed it at Zeke's chest.
"I'd rather not kill you," Kalarau said. "I'd hate to do that to Nia. But I'm not above murder. So long as you don't try anything, you can walk away from this."
"Going to tell me what 'this' is?" Zeke asked.
"What would be the point?" Kalarau asked. "It won't matter either way."
"What is it you want, then?"
"All I want is for you to stay still. The rest should take care of itself."
Immediately, Zeke lunged forward. If he could take the fight down to where Rex was, then maybe he could even the odds. But he didn't have his speed right now. So before he got even halfway to Kalarau, the man fired, putting an arrow straight through Zeke's shoulder. He stumbled back again, and the moment he looked up, Kalarau had already closed the distance. The man struck him to the side with his bow, and Zeke barely had the chance to put his guard up before he was slammed against the wall.
With Kalarau this close to him, Zeke tried to reach up and grab his arm. Maybe get the bow out of his hands, turn the tables on him somehow. But before he could, an arm reached out of the wall and wrapped itself around his neck. A long, wrinkled, spindly arm. A moment later, another one reached out and placed its hand against his Eye. He could feel the ether warping all around him, and he tried to break the monster's grip. But it was stronger than he was, and he didn't have Pandy here to back him up. Or Nia. Or anyone.
He was alone. And without any tricks up his sleeve, this was all he amounted to alone.
He fell forward, and the Crone of Aingrom fell out of the wall behind him. It transitioned to a crouch, standing atop his body while it worked its magic on him, and he twisted his head around to glare up at Kalarau.
"Why!?" he shouted, still unable to fully process that this was happening.
"Like I said," Kalarau said, crouching down next to Zeke. "It won't be enough. I've been through this before, and I know from experience that there's only one way this ends. I'm just helping things along their natural course."
"What happened to believing? Are you really giving up that easily?"
"I gave up a long time ago," Kalarau said. "Like I said, it's easier. Simpler."
"How are you going to make things right, then?"
"I don't need belief for that." Kalarau stood up. "I gave up on saving the world a long time ago. A world like this doesn't deserve saving. So I found someone who agrees with me. I found the Titan Eater, and I made a deal. I give him the Eye of Genbu, and he gives me justice. Real justice. Together, the two of us are going to burn the world to the ground."
Zeke felt his whole body go numb, and the Crone of Aingrom took her hands off his head as her "spell" settled into place over him. He couldn't move or speak as Kalarau produced a small, tentacled machine. A pulse of ether brought it to life, and the tendrils slowly began reaching out toward Zeke's Eye. All he could do was stare straight ahead as the tendrils wrapped around the Artifice, and Zedekul the Herald began to do its work.
"And you're going to help us."