Blue

by Silenta-Atestanto

The history of our world is a simple one. An Overlord emerges to terrorize mankind, before a Hero rises up to slay him. So the cycle went, until it was broken when a succubus claimed the mantle, seduced the Hero sent to slay her, and created the stalemate we recognize today. But history is rarely ever so straightforward. I should know. I saw the events that would unfold for myself.

31. Chapter 31: Buried

Chapter 31: Buried

Standing on the shores of Arielian Sea, Holst was a port town- one of many that dotted the southern coasts of the Ermisian Empire. And like many such towns, it was one of the first in their nation to receive news from abroad. Rumors of war, disease, and other calamities were not uncommon, and while the news that reached the ears of Arecibo's denizens was not of the usual fare, its tidings were no less dire, and quickly spread to seemingly every corner of the town. From market stalls to taverns, there was nowhere one could go to escape from it. And it was in one particular tavern near the harbor, by the name of Chandler's Lure, that discussions of the news were at their most feverish.

"I heard that the Champion of Bacchus returned from across the eastern sea."

"Wait, you mean the Whoremonger?"

"Apparently, he returned from… wherever he went. And get this- with two more women under his thumb."

"I hope he doesn't come this way. Still, I should keep my daughters out of sight, just in case…"

"What could the gods be thinking, choosing a man like him to be a Champion?"

"I know. Why can't all Champions be more upstanding? Like that Shavran fellow?"

At this, one of the patrons seated at the counter burst out laughing. This patron was a woman, with long auburn hair, wearing knee-high heeled boots, light grey shorts, and a white shirt whose buttons strained visibly to contain her prodigious bosom. It was obvious that she was not a local- though the sorceress's shirt had the emblem of the Mage's Guild embroidered across its back- an eye within an eight-pointed star- it was not the uniform worn by the local chapter (and would likely be seen as too provocative for any branch of the Guild), and the lines in her face were carved by many months of travel.

"And what's so funny?" one of the other patrons demanded.

The stranger turned to face the rest of the tavern. "The only reason you can call Shavran 'upstanding' is because you've never met him for yourself."

"Oh, and you have?" another patron sneered.

The sorceress scowled. "Yes, I have. I traveled with him for some time actually. And for far longer than you, I'd wager."

There was another murmuring among the crowd. But then, one stranger- a grizzled man with an unkempt black beard, dressed in the faded leather armor of a warrior- stood up, his eyes squinting through the smoke-filled air. "Let's say we actually believe you. If you met the Whoremonger, how did you escape from him?"

The sorceress glanced back, taking her tankard in hand. "There are two things you should know," she then said, but not before taking a long drink. "First, his name is Abel. And second, he's not some swaggering barbarian who carries off any woman who catches his fancy. And he's not some warlock that bends minds to obey his whims, either. In fact, if you met him in person, you might not believe he was a Hero at all…"

---

Six weeks earlier…

Vanessa had always been one to rise early, even before Shavran took her to his side- even before she'd joined the Mage's Guild. She'd always found a serenity in the quiet hours before dawn, before the world slowly roused from its slumber. Chances to indulge in this pleasure had become a rarity since Shavran recruited her to his cause, and Vanessa cherished every day where she wasn't called to his bed. There had been a time, once, not even that long ago, when the thought of being the companion of a Champion of the Gods had seemed an enviable position, one that Vanessa would have gladly accepted if given the opportunity. But now, she saw his touch for the curse that it truly was, and every moment where his eyes fixed upon another- even as his hands moved over her body- was a relief, even if it merely delayed the inevitable. He had taken a new favorite, not long before setting out for Flanvel- Katrya, the silver-haired priestess- and had been with her for the past several nights. And as far as Vanessa was concerned, the longer Katrya held his interest, the better. A reprieve meant she could put her mind fully into unraveling a new enigma.

The Champion of Bacchus. Abel.

She had heard of Bacchus's Champion the way many in Magrad had: from a proclamation made by the Church, read from the steps of a cathedral by a fat priest, condemning him for his sins and bidding all true faithful to provide no aid to one so wicked. In truth, at the time, Vanessa had given the proclamation little thought- the world was full of sinners, after all, and even Heroes could fall to corruption. But after catching Shavran's eye- after learning what true debauchery looked like… Vanessa couldn't help but wonder. If Shavran could act as he did without rebuke, how vile must the deeds of Bacchus's Champion have been in comparison? How wicked could a man who had managed to capture the ire of the gods themselves truly be? Her imagination wasted no time in painting an image of what such a man must have looked like: a towering, boorish, arrogant, and entirely too self-assured brute, barely a step above an animal, caring little for the world around him beyond how it might sate his lusts, and even less for those unfortunate enough to fall into his path.

But when she finally met him face-to-face, Vanessa found that the man the Church named "the Whoremonger" was barely a man at all. He was young- hardly out of boyhood- scrawny, awkward, and soft-spoken. Despite his bright blue hair and vibrant pink eyes, he was the sort of person that one could glance at on the street, then forget about the instant one took their eyes off him.

This couldn't be right. That was her thought when Abel first approached Shavran. This was the Whoremonger? The man who inspired so much fear and revulsion in women, and their fathers and brothers and husbands, all across the continent? A boy who couldn't even meet her eyes as he introduced himself? …No. She refused to believe it. This… boy had to be nothing more than a proxy- a malleable puppet dispatched to distract and mislead, while the true Champion moved about unseen and unburdened by the weight of suspicion and scrutiny.

And yet…

During his meeting with Shavran, Vanessa felt… a presence from Abel, barely noticeable, yet undeniably there. It was not the prideful, arrogant strength one would expect from a boy his age, but rather a quiet confidence, one that felt no need to boast or flaunt itself, content to simply exist in its own right. And his eyes… they were not the eyes of a boy naive to the ways of the world. They were the eyes of one who had witnessed horrors beyond the imagining of common men- horrors that now reflected within the very depths of his soul.

But all of those things served only to heighten Vanessa's wariness, rather than put her at ease. Perhaps he wasn't the brute she'd expected, but that didn't mean he wasn't a threat. There were many who wore their wickedness openly, flaunting it like a cloak before the eyes of the world. But there were others who veiled themselves in a mask of normalcy, letting the world see only what they wished to be seen, waiting until they had drawn in their prey before baring their claws. And all of that, of course, was based on the assumption that the boy who'd met Shavran had indeed been Bacchus's Champion, and not merely a pawn sent to play the part.

She would have to watch him closely. Him and his companions. Vanessa had analyzed them closely during the meeting, searching for any signs of thrall or influence, magical or otherwise. She had seen none, but such magics- if the cause was magic to begin with- could be incredibly subtle, and easily concealed by a practiced hand. Perhaps another method was the cause- there were poisons that, though rare, could affect the mind as well as the body. But before she could ruminate further, a voice called out, "Morning, Vanessa."

The sorceress glanced back, to see one of her companions sliding into a stool next to her. She was swordswoman clad in a light leather vest and black trousers, though her most distinct aspect was the cloth band she used to hold back her long black hair. Though she spoke Mavorian well, she spoke it with a distinctive accent, and had a tendency to lapse into Ermisch when frustrated, suggesting that she hailed from one of the kingdoms along the Empire's eastern border. "Iris," Vanessa replied, before taking another sip of her ale. "You're up early."

"Couldn't sleep. Was up all night thinking about that kid. What was his name… Alvis? Alistair?" Iris shrugged. "Whatever it was, from the way the Church talked about him, I thought he'd be some kinda… monster, you know? Not some… skinny little stick." She glanced over, eyes narrowed. "You don't seriously think he's the Whoremonger, do you?"

Vanessa took another drink before giving her honest answer. "I haven't decided yet," she admitted. "He doesn't look dangerous… but I think you and I know by now we can't judge someone just by appearances." She sighed.

Iris let out a sigh of her own, but didn't reply.

The swordswoman had already been a member of Shavran's party for some time when his attentions fell on Vanessa. For how long exactly, the sorceress couldn't say, but it had been long enough to gain a wealth of experience in battle, making her an invaluable asset… and long enough for whatever affection that might have existed between the two to be worn away almost entirely. Iris was kept more because Shavran saw her as a tool too valuable to be lost, rather than because of any lingering feelings. And the swordsman knew it.

But she didn't leave. She couldn't. None of them could. Heroes reserved the right to recruit almost any individual whose skills may be useful in defeating the Overlord and his minions into their service- a right that Shavran exercised without hesitation or reservation. Only he had the authority to dismiss someone from his side- and Vanessa had seen firsthand what Shavran did to those who tried to leave his service without permission, whether by request, by force, or by escape.

Sometimes, Vanessa wondered if the scars on Eleanor's face had ever fully healed.

Iris broke the silence first. "Still, never thought I'd see the day where you didn't have all the answers, Vanessa."

The sorceress scowled, but didn't deny the words. "I have some ideas, just… nothing solid." Her eyes turned towards the ale at hand, her gaze distant for a moment before returning to Iris. "I wonder if he'll actually take up Shavran's offer. It would certainly make studying him easier."

Her companion snorted. "Well, just be mindful of how things might look to Mister Shavran. Or you might end up like Melissa." Melissa had been one of their companions, and an archer- one of the best in Mavors Fighter's Guild, Vanessa recalled… until she made the mistake of flirting with another man while Shavran was in earshot. She'd been dismissed not long after, but she would never wield a bow again. Shavran liked to show off her fingerbones as a warning to those who he felt had forgotten their place.

"I'll keep that in mind," Vanessa said, her tone dry. "Though I wouldn't worry too much about that. I don't intend to let my guard down around that boy… or any of his companions for that matter."

Iris smiled, and she was about to speak again… only for a hand to lay on her and Vanessa's shoulder, and a voice to call out, "Good morning my dears! Did you sleep well?"

The smile quickly faded from the swordwoman's face, and the feelings of levity building in Vanessa drained away. "Good morning, Mister Shavran," she answered coldly, almost mechanically. She maintained her composure, even as his hand began to slide forward, gliding over her collarbone toward her chest. Even here, where others could see, his shamelessness never wavered.

It was a struggle to not react, icy rage bubbling beneath her skin. But Vanessa had seen before what happened when Shavran's advances were rebuffed. And so she sat still, frozen, as his fingers grazed her breast, suppressing every natural instinct screaming at her to shove him away, biting back the words of disgust that threatened to spill from her lips. If she showed no reaction, she was safe. As long as she showed no reaction, he would get bored, and turn his attention elsewhere.

Vanessa wasn't sure how long she endured, holding her tongue and remaining still, before Shavran finally withdrew, his hand sliding back. She let out a quiet, shuddering breath, feeling her skin crawl, and her stomach twist into knots. It couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds- that's what she told herself- but somehow every second stretched into eternity, the weight of his touch lingering upon her body like a foul stench.

"Alright dears," he said, stepping away. "We have a long road ahead of us today. Best we make an early start." He flashed one of his toothy grins, a grin that reminded Vanessa so much of a wolf baring its fangs. "And don't worry- once we're safely back in civilization, I have something special in mind for-"

He was interrupted by a tinkling bell from the Wheelhouse's entrance, the door opened to reveal a young man stepping inside, accompanied by two women and… was that a fox? It was the boy from yesterday- Abel. She recognized one of his companions, a very short girl with silver hair and glasses, but the other- a taller woman with cold black eyes and a long mane of wild, forest green hair- was unfamiliar. "You're still here," Abel said. "Good. I was worried you'd already left."

Shavran's grin faltered. "Ah. It's… you." Shavran not being able to recall Abel's name was hardly surprising- he could barely be bothered to remember the names of the women standing at his side. "I take it this means you accept my offer. I trust you've made the necessary preparations?"

Abel nodded, his expression serious as he stepped closer. "We have. We're ready to leave as soon as you are."

Shavran approached the other Hero, looking closely at his companions, his smile disappearing entirely. "…Who are these you've brought with you? What about the ones from yesterday? And…" His eyes turned to the fox. "…is that a dog?"

"This is Tamayatsu," Abel said, stroking a ruff of fur on the creature's head. "She's… specially trained to find things like water sources and-"

Shavran cut him off, his face twisting with frustration. "No, no, I don't care about your pet. What about that blonde one that was with you?"

"She's… not coming with us," Abel replied. In an instant, his tone had shifted- he still sounded uncertain, but his words, at first cordial, were now laced with steel. "My companions and I decided that only our strongest fighters should go with me to Mayfil."

Shavran seethed, in a way Vanessa had never seen him do in front of a stranger. And not without reason, she thought grimly- Shavran was a man very much not used to being denied. But he quickly regained his composure, forcing a smile back onto his face. "Of course…" he said, teeth gritted. "A smaller group needs fewer supplies. But… are you sure you want to travel with just two companions?"

"Three," Abel corrected. "Tamayatsu's just as much a part of my team as the others." The fox let out a chirp, seemingly pleased by Abel's words. The blue-haired boy then glanced around. "Where are Xiao and Katrya? Aren't they coming too?"

The anger Shavran had been suppressing flashed openly across his face before he concealed it once more. Vanessa had never seen such a display of open hostility from Poseidon's Champion before. Even in his cruelest moments, Shavran acted with cold, detached indifference. But in that brief moment, he bristled like a cornered animal, his rage all the more terrifying for how unexpected it was. But, just as quickly, it was gone, hidden behind a forced mask of pleasantness. "Ah… of course. They were simply… preparing the last of their supplies. I'll… fetch them." He turned away, stalking off to the stairs leading to the inn's upper floors.

Vanessa kept silent through the exchange, alternating between observing Bacchus's Champion and Shavran's responses. Perhaps the most unusual part was the boy's visible confusion as Shavran departed, as if entirely unaware of how deeply he'd angered the other man. But… was Bacchus's Champion truly unaware? Or were his words, few though they had been, carefully chosen to provoke Shavran? Vanessa couldn't say for certain… but neither could she fully discount such a possibility.

Iris glanced in the sorceress's direction, with a look that said, What was that? Vanessa returned the look with a shake of her head. She had no more answers than Iris did.

Within a minute, Shavran returned with two women at his heels. The first was a woman with short, unkempt white hair, and a simple, if ruffled black robe, a silver chain with a pendant around her neck- Katrya. From what Vanessa understood, Katrya hailed from Deningrad, a city far to the west in Peryn, and served as a missionary, spreading her people's faith- an amalgamated syncretism of Old Cybelian, old Vinlandic, indigenous, and Church beliefs. She didn't know much beyond that- the missionary had only been part of their party for a few weeks, being recruited immediately prior to them setting out for Flanvel. It seemed that much like the Church, followers of Katrya's Faith were obligated to provide aid to the gods' chosen Champions, though from her body language, the way she kept her eyes firmly fixed on the ground, and her arms wrapped protectively around her own torso, the way she flinched every time Shavran so much as touched her, it was clear that she had come to regret the obligations of her faith.

But for what little Vanessa knew of Katrya, she could say even less of their newest companion, Xiao. She was a short woman with narrow eyes, strange clothes, and a strange accent the sorceress couldn't place. But despite her stature, Xiao had a presence about her, an intensity and purpose that radiated from her in waves, like the heat from a furnace. The stranger had simply… appeared to them just a few days prior, requesting their assistance in reaching a tomb hidden in the hills near Mayfil. At first, Shavran dismissed her out of hand, but then the strange woman leaned in, muttering something into the Champion's ear in a language Vanessa didn't recognize. But whatever Xiao had said, Shavran changed his tune instantly, making preparations to set out as soon as possible.

The atmosphere inside the inn had grown thick with tension, threatening to snap at any moment. "Well," Shavran said. "I suppose we're all set then. Shall we be on our way?"

Abel nodded, his expression neutral. "Let's go." With that, the two groups left the inn, stepping out onto the road, and making their way out of the town.

It took less time than expected to put the narrow, twisting streets of Flanvel behind them. Beyond the city was a dense cluster of farms that clung to the banks of the Cepheus River, broken by the occasional cluster of palm trees. It was… surprisingly pleasant, the smell of freshly tilled soil and blooming flowers filling her nostrils, cool air brushing across her skin. But one needed only to look a little beyond to see the endless dunes of the Akhtamar Desert stretching out endlessly toward every horizon, like great waves frozen in time. And it wouldn't be long before the group parted from the path along the river, following the ancient Krios Canyon into the heart of the desert, towards their destination: Mayfil.

The party had quickly divided into two groups once out of the city: Shavran and his entourage, which included Xiao, took the lead, while Abel and his associates took the rear. However, though there was literal space between them, the air was still thick with tension. Though in this case, the tension radiated entirely from Shavran- Abel seemed entirely oblivious to the air of hostility, speaking to his other companions. Though his words were faint, he seemed to be sharing information about Mayfil, Duat as a whole, and of potential dangers they faced on the route ahead.

Vanessa's pace began to slow slightly. Tensions aside, now was the perfect chance to begin gathering information about Bacchus's Champion. And so, she let the others draw ahead, falling back to walk a few paces ahead of Abel and his party. As she did, she heard the voice of one of his companions- Holly, if memory served: "…you worried though? I mean, those sandworms Raine talked about sound terrifying…"

"I won't say I'm not worried…" Abel replied. "But, she also said we'd be safe as long as we stay close to the riverbed. Sandworms can't burrow through the solid rock there. We'll be fine."

"But…"

"Holly, don't worry. I'll protect you, from whatever's waiting for us out here. You know that, don't you?" Vanessa glanced back- she saw Abel reach toward the silver-haired girl… only to seemingly think better of it and drop his hand, as if embarrassed. "We all will," he quickly added.

In response, Holly offered a soft smile, which faded as she looked around the desert. "Thanks, Abel… I just hope we can make it to Mayfil without any trouble."

"We will. I mean… there's three Heroes here…"

Vanessa frowned. For a man feared across an entire continent for his ability to bring women under his thrall, Abel seemed oddly lacking in charisma. But again, it could all be a ruse- after all, he would have no need to charm someone already under his influence. Still, there seemed to be… a sincerity to Abel's words, a genuine concern for his companion's well-being. It was almost as if…

"Miss Montague?"

The sorceress jumped slightly from being addressed by name, her mind snapping back into the present. "Ah, yes?" It felt like an eternity since someone had referred to her by her last name- Shavran always called her 'dear' or 'darling,' while the others just called her Vanessa. The formality made it hard for her not to feel just a little bit awkward. "Did you… need something from us?" Holly continued.

"Why would you think that?" Vanessa countered.

"Well, you're… a little close."

Now that the silver-haired girl had mentioned it, Vanessa realized she was indeed standing a bit closer than she intended, practically walking directly alongside Abel's group. "Oh, I suppose I am." She paused, looking for some way to continue the conversation without making it apparent she'd been eavesdropping. "I… overheard you mentioning sandworms. And what your friend said about them is true. They are formidable, but they rely on soft ground to sense prey. Harder rock impedes both their senses and their movement."

Abel looked toward Holly, looking reassured. "See? There's nothing to worry about, Holly."

"I wouldn't say there's nothing to worry about," Vanessa added. "There are plenty of other dangers in the desert. And not just monsters, either."

"You seem to know quite a lot about this area…" Holly then said. "Are you from here?"

This was it. Precisely the opening the sorceress needed. "No. I'm from Mavors. Magrad specifically. I just did a lot of research before we came here." Her eyes fell on each member of Abel's entourage. "What about all of you? Where is home for the rest of you?"

"I'm from Vulkan," Holly replied.

"Istar," Abel said. "I found Tamayatsu while we were in Zipangu. And Fiann's from Brighid." The green-haired woman nodded in response to Abel, but didn't speak.

Vanessa continued her questioning. "And how did you all come to travel with Abel?"

Holly adjusted her glasses. "Well, I'm a mercenary. I never worked with the Fighter's Guild or any major companies, though. I was looking for work in a town called Hokes, when I heard that a new Hero was looking for an escort to take them to the nearest big city. I've been traveling with Abel ever since."

From Vulkan to Istar… that was a long way to travel for anyone, much less such a seemingly young girl. "And you? Fiann, was it?"

Fiann's cold black eyes fell on Vanessa, causing a chill to run through her body. For several long moments, she stared, saying nothing. Eventually, she did do something, though she didn't speak: instead, she pulled a small leatherbound book from her pocket, and wrote something inside it. She then held the book up for Vanessa to see, but the writing within was formed from hard, angular runes that were completely indecipherable to the sorceress.

"Uh…"

"Fiann can't speak," Abel quickly said. "She's got a… scar on her neck. I don't know from what, exactly- she never told me. But, we met in Fueno. She's a really good fighter who got in trouble with the local guards. I… helped her out. Now she travels with me."

"I… see." The sorceress had the impression that there was much more to the story than Abel let on, but decided not to press the issue. Not here, at least. She could dig deeper later, once they'd made camp. "And what about those two that visited the inn with you? Lailah and… Raine? Are there others? How did you meet them? What sort of… arrangement do you have?"

"Arrangement?" Abel asked, his tone laced with unease. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Vanessa pursed her lips. Surely he couldn't be so oblivious. "Well, I wouldn't want to make assumptions. But I'm certain that I don't need to explain the… implications of a single man traveling with a group of women."

Abel's face reddened, and he fidgeted uncomfortably. "There's no 'arrangement.' They all have their own reasons for following me. You know Holly and Fiann's. Lailah's a priestess with the Church, and followed me because I asked her to. Someone else is traveling with me because a member of her family asked me to take her with me, another person was a criminal, and her sentence was to help me defeat the Overlord. I saved someone else's life and she won't leave until she feels like her debt to me is repaid. And… to be honest, I'm not sure why Raine's following us. I mean… I guess I did save her too, but…" He trails off, looking uncertain.

Vanessa made a quick tally in her head. Seven women. Eight if one counted Tamayatsu. And those were simply the ones Abel had mentioned- there could possibly have been more. Although Shavran had traveled with more partners overall, even with all the charm and charisma he had, he'd never managed to surround himself with quite as many followers all at once. It was almost impressive in its brazenness. Almost. "I see," she said at last. For now, there was nothing more she could say. She would continue to gather information, of course, but there was a limit to how much she could glean without her intentions becoming blatantly obvious.

And besides… there was still Shavran to worry about. She could see him glancing back at her with increasing frequency, the anger in his eyes burning hotter with each glance. He normally wasn't the type to confront members of his entourage in front of others, but Vanessa suspected that if she pushed her luck too far, this time might play out differently. Besides, by her own estimates, it would take them at least four more days to reach Mayfil. There was plenty of time for her to learn more about these people, and their connections to Abel. It was just a matter of patience and subtlety. "Well, I should be returning to my own party."

Fortunately, the two groups encountered no trouble on the first day. Though criminals acted freely within the walls of Flanvel, the farms beyond were well-guarded and patrolled regularly- and the guards were just as capable of repelling monsters as they were at repelling bandits or other ne'er-do-wells, it seemed. As night began to fall, the group set up camp in the yard of an old, crumbling temple, the ruins providing shelter from the wind. They were moving a little slower than Vanessa would have liked- she had hoped they would at least reach the fork where the Krios Canyon broke away from the Cepheus, but it seemed they'd have to make do with an early start tomorrow.

As they settled down around the flickering flames of their campfire, Vanessa couldn't help but notice that one of Abel's companions had broken away from the others. Holly. The girl had slipped off into the darkness, vanishing as silently as a ghost. But the sorceress wasn't the only one to notice her absence- Abel too had noticed, asking the others where she had gone. Eventually, Katrya pointed him toward the old temple- Vanessa followed, ensuring she stayed out of sight, and casting a translation spell on herself so she could eavesdrop on any conversation between the two. What little light there was within the structure cast eerie shadows over the ground, and the air felt heavy with dust. But in the darkness, she could hear the silver-haired girl's voice. "… Moko Above, watch over my sister, and ensure no harm comes to her or to those she leads. Yarov, lend your strength to me, and my sister, so we may defend those we care for. Kista, light the path to wisdom for me, and for my sister." But all of a sudden, her prayer stopped. "…Abel? Did you need something?"

Vanessa peered into the temple- before her, she saw Holly, kneeling in front of the temple's altar, Abel standing not far behind. The temple's far wall had crumbled away, giving a view of the surrounding dunes. Abel shook his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

Holly stood. "It's alright. I was just finishing up. Sorry I didn't say anything before stepping out."

"It's fine," he replied, drawing closer, before sitting on the steps leading to the altar. "I just… never thought you were the type who prayed, Holly."

"I've prayed to Dazh and Moko every night, ever since I was a little girl. But I'll admit, I only started praying to Yarov and Kista after I left Vulkan."

Dazh and Moko… Vanessa recognized the names. They were the gods of Katrya's Faith. But then, it made sense- Vulkan had been part of Peryn for generations, breaking away only within the last sixty years. It would be natural for them to still share the same faith.

"What about you, Abel?" Holly asked. "Do you ever pray?"

"No…" he replied faintly. "I might have, a long time ago. But not anymore." There was a pause as he looked over to her, seemingly noticing something. "…What's that?"

"What's what?"

He pointed at her neck, where three small, silver pendants glinted faintly. "That. I never thought you were the jewelry-wearing type, either."

"It's not jewelry. It's a semmigran. A symbol of the Faith. Every follower gets one on their first birthday. I… guess I've never shown you before now." Katrya wore a similar pendant, Vanessa recalled- a pillar with seven sides, each representing one of the gods of the Faith, as the missionary had explained.

Abel moved closer. "Can I…?"

"Of course."

Cautiously, Abel took one of the pendants in his hand- it was obvious in the way he moved that he was trying his hardest to not brush against Holly's chest. "So… your faith gave you one of these on your first birthday? Why do you have three, then?"

"Well, one is mine of course. The second belonged to my mother. And the last to my father." She touched each in turn, starting with the center, then the left, and finally the right.

Abel recalled that Holly mentioned her mother had died giving birth to her, and her father… "You mentioned before that your father died in a… border skirmish. Did the survivors… bring it back?

"No. He gave them to me- his, and the one that belonged to my mother. He asked me to hold onto them." She rolled the pendants between her fingers, looking out over the sands with forlorn eyes. "Sometimes I wonder… if he'd taken them with him, maybe the gods would have protected him. But, sometimes I think… that he knew. That Vel came to him in his dreams and told him… that he wouldn't come back. So he left them- because he knew his fate."

Holly fell silent, lost in her thoughts. Abel, too, was silent, though it was clear from his expression that he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. But, after some time had passed, Abel spoke up, his voice filled with a quiet solemnity. "You know… we actually have something in common. My mother died when I was very young. In fact, the very first memory I have… is of standing in front of her grave. As for my father, I… I couldn't tell you anything about him. I don't even know if he's alive or dead. My parents didn't leave… anything behind for me." He hung his head slightly. "Not even memories." He raised his head, though he didn't look Holly's way. "I'll admit, I don't know anything about your father. But, if he's the kind of person I think he is, then he gave you those pendants because… if something did happen to him… then a part of him would always be with you." His gaze then turned to Holly. "At least… that's what I think."

Holly's eyes widened, before she looked down at her pendant, gripping them tightly. The silence that followed felt heavy, even to Vanessa- especially to her, given that she was intruding on a moment meant only for those two.

But then Abel suddenly stood. "I… I'm sorry, Holly. I… I shouldn't make assumptions about your family." He shook his head. "Let's just forget I said that."

"It's alright," she replied faintly. "To be honest, I… never even thought about it like that. About him leaving something behind for me and my sister." She touched the pendants again. "Now I feel a bit guilty. Taking both of these and leaving Alisa with nothing…"

Her voice trailed off, and once more, silence settled between her and Abel.

But eventually, the silence was broken. Abel sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Well… we should probably head back. Mayfil's still a long way away, and the others will probably want to head out early tomorrow."

"Sure. But… can I have a moment alone? Please?" Holly asked, her voice barely audible.

Abel nodded, stepping back to the temple entrance- Vanessa quickly retreated, so as not to be seen, before returning to see just what it was that Holly wanted to do in private. When she looked, the silver-haired girl was still seated on the small steps, her pendants clutched in her hand. It seemed she was lost in thought, staring into the darkness beyond the temple. Then, she began to speak again. "…Yarov, though Abel is not one of the Faith, I pray that you lend your strength to his sword, and protect those he has sworn to defend. And… Deva. Please… help me figure out… what Abel means to me. Help me understand… my own heart. Please…" Her words faded away, lost in the night as Vanessa finally retreated back to their camp, her mind swirling. Everything she learned about Bacchus's Champion only served to muddy her image of him rather than clarify it. Reconciling what she had just seen with the stories she had heard, the whispers of fear that hung over him like a shadow, wasn't a difficult task- it was an impossible one. What she knew about the Whoremonger simply did not match what she saw and heard with her own eyes and ears.

…But one could still be deceived by their own senses. Sometimes, evidence gathered by one's own eyes and ears could still mislead. It was a possibility she simply could not rule out… no matter what her senses told her.

And Vanessa had no intention of letting her guard down. Not until she was certain she knew exactly what sort of person Abel truly was.

---

The two groups set out early again the next morning, following the path of the Cepheus River. By midday, they finally reached the fork in the road- the river bent sharply to the east, while the Krios Canyon cut a jagged path further to the southwest. With Mayfil due southwest, their path forward was obvious; though the riverbed provided little shelter from the sun, and wind howled through the canyon like an angry beast, threatening to rip away any items not securely fastened down as they traveled. Still, the canyon was the best option- their only option, as traveling across the open sands would only draw the attention of sandworms and other desert-dwelling monsters.

Everyone in both parties was in surprisingly good spirits. But then again, being both on the road and traveling with another party, Shavran couldn't engage in his normal 'morale-boosting' activities. Still, Vanessa was thankful for the reprieve, and it seemed she was far from the only one. "So, what d'you think of the kid?" Iris asked, glancing back toward Abel and his group.

"I still can't make up my mind," Vanessa admitted, wiping sweat from her brow. "He doesn't seem anything like how the Church says he is. But… I just feel like there's something I'm missing."

"Maybe you're not seeing whatever you're looking for because it's not there," Iris said. "Not everyone has a hidden agenda or ulterior motives, Vanessa. People can just be… decent."

"You don't know that," Vanessa replied, frowning. "I'll admit, right now, he seems harmless. But I learned long ago to trust my instincts. And my instincts are telling me that there's something there, something I haven't seen yet."

"You sure that isn't just Shavran your senses are trying to warn you about?" Iris suggested.

"I'm certain," the sorceress replied harshly. "I've been around Shavran long enough to know-"

But any further conversation was cut off when Shavran stopped and drew a small silver handle with a claw at each end, a blade of light erupting from one end with a hiss. "…Mister Shavran?" Iris asked cautiously. "Is something-"

"Quiet." he ordered. "Listen."

They all fell silent, straining their ears- Abel's group must have realized something was amiss, as they all stopped and drew their weapons. Under the howling of the wind, Vanessa could hear something… or rather, she could feel something. It was almost like an earthquake, except the ground beneath their feet didn't shake. The feeling, however, grew stronger, spreading like ripples on the surface of water…

And then, in a burst of stone and dust, something burst forth from the canyon wall. A massive, hideous serpentine form. A worm? No, it had legs- far, far too many legs, attached to a segmented body covered with chitinous black plates. Its maw yawned open wide, revealing rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth hidden behind a pair of large, powerful-looking mandibles. The beast let out a deafening roar, its presence sending all who saw it stumbling backward. It wasn't a sandworm, but a foe that was just as deadly.

A carrion crawler.

The monster's beady, multi-faceted eyes fixed on Shavran and his glowing blade, its massive body coiling and tensing, ready to lunge forward. But in an instant, the blade of light wicked out, and the clawed handle lengthened until it was nearly as tall as Shavran himself. But in an instant, the blade of light wicked out, and the clawed handle lengthened until it was nearly as tall as Shavran himself. A thin line of light connected the clawed ends, and as Shavran drew it back, his weapon began to bend, as if it were a bow. And when Shavran released the line, a bolt of light fired forward, piercing deep into the crawler's eye. The creature let out an ear-piercing screech, rearing its head back and flailing wildly. But even in its throes of pain, Shavran's aim remained true- he fired another bolt, this time hitting the creature's throat. A third struck one of its mandibles, ripping it away from its body entirely. And a final bolt struck the creature's throat, tearing through flesh, and cutting off the screech that had been deafening all who stood nearby. The beast's massive head dropped to the ground with a thud, its remaining mandible twitching and writhing, until finally, it stopped.

Shavran sighed, his weapon collapsing into its compressed form. He had explained once that in his home realm of Dimitra, there existed weapons imbued with powerful elemental magic and capable of taking various forms known as "vajra," and that he had been gifted one before setting out for Lescatie. His particular vajra, which he named "Viscika," was imbued with the power of light, and Vanessa had seen it take the form of a sword, a staff, a bow, a spear, and a handful of others. But its deadliness was not diminished in any of its myriad form, capable of tearing through even the heaviest armor with terrifying ease.

Poseidon's Champion approached the fallen beast, giving its corpse a swift kick. It didn't stir. "Is this one of the sandworms you were so worried about, Miss Montague? They're hardly the threat you described them to be."

Abel approached the scene, peering at the carcass with a mix of unease and curiosity. "I thought sandworms couldn't burrow through rock. And it doesn't look like much of a worm, either. What is this thing?"

"It's a carrion crawler," Vanessa said, approaching the corpse as well. "Normally they're scavengers, but on occasion they hunt live prey." She looked to Shavran. "If there are other carrion crawlers in the area, this corpse will draw them in. We should move on before they arrive."

As soon as the words had left her mouth, there were screeches and eruptions of stone, as three more carrion crawlers emerged from the canyon walls. "Well they certainly don't waste any time, do they!?" Shavran shouted, firing on the nearest of the beasts.

"Focus only on the ones blocking our path!" Vanessa ordered, drawing her weapons: a short sword in her right hand, and a wooden wand in her left. She would have said not to attack, as the carrion crawlers' attention would have been focused entirely on their fallen compatriot, but now that they had been provoked, they would have no choice but to fight. The sorceress aimed her wand at one of the beasts, her preferred incantation already on her lips: "Scorching spear, unleash upon mine enemy the wrath of fire: Spiral Flare!" As she spoke the words, a flaming lance erupted from the tip of her wand, and struck home- the carrion crawler screeched in agony, its chitinous shell cracking from the heat, steam rising as the soft, vulnerable flesh within boiled. But the spell was not the killing blow Vanessa had hoped- even as white wisps rose from the cracks in its carapace, the carrion crawler's eyes focused on her, and with an angry screech, it lunged toward her. She weaved back, falling just beyond its reach, running her wand along the blade of her sword and chanting, "Feel the fangs of fulgurous fury: Electrify!" Instantly, the blade glowed with an eerie blue light, crackling with electrical energy just waiting to be unleashed. It wouldn't wait long- again, the carrion crawler lunged, and this time, Vanessa met its assault head-on, driving her electrified blade deep into its underbelly. There was a brilliant flash as the electricity was released, and the beast convulsed, its many legs flailing uselessly as it let out yet another furious screech. Once again, this blow was not fatal… but then, Vanessa hadn't intended it to be. "Iris!" she shouted.

The swordswoman sprinted toward the stunned carrion crawler, and with a furious cry, she swung her blade with all her strength, aiming at a gap in its segmented shell The blade bit deep, spraying Iris with a shower of thick black ichor, but not deep enough to cleave the beast's body in half. The swordswoman pressed her blade, driving it deeper into the carrion crawler's flesh… until it twisted around, catching Iris's arm in its mandibles. Iris screamed in pain as the creature lifted her into the air, her blade still buried inside the creature's body.

Vanessa swore, readying another spell. "Great flames of the mighty-" But before she could even reach the halfway mark of her incantation, a white streak raced past her, and the next thing she knew, the carrion crawler's head tumbled onto the ground with a dull thud, dragging Iris with it, as the rest of its body flailed and spasmed wildly, its legs scrambling blindly in the dirt.

Vanessa should have gone to assist Iris, who was trying to pry the carrion crawler's mandibles open with her free hand. But she instead stood transfixed, her eyes wide, as she saw what- or rather, who- had struck the fatal blow.

The Champion of Bacchus. Abel. He hung in the air above the carrion crawler's body, held aloft by what looked like wings of white fire. In one hand he held a sword of steel, but in his other hand, he held a sword of pure white light. His clothes were stained with ichor, and his hair clung to his face, soaked with sweat. Then, he began to lower, the wings of fire and the sword of light disappearing as soon as his feet touched the ground. Vanessa had always considered herself to be someone not easily surprised or shocked, especially after all her time traveling with Shavran and the others, but Abel's display had her completely taken aback.

Abel began to approach Iris. But all of a sudden, the swordswoman shouted. "Vanessa!" That, along with the rush of air from behind, was the sorceress's only warning before a sharp pain shot through her leg and she was violently pulled off her feet, her sword and wand sent flying from her grasp. She looked back- a carrion crawler had grabbed her calf in its jaws, and was dragging her toward a hole in the canyon wall. Her leg burned as the beast's caustic saliva seared her skin. "Let me go, damn it! Let go of me!" she screamed, kicking its head with her free leg, aiming her heels at its eyes. But the carrion crawler barely reacted, its focus solely on dragging her further and further away from her party. She heard Abel shouting something, but couldn't make out what over the sound of her own ragged breathing and the scraping of stone beneath the creature's claws.

Then, fiery white wings erupted from Abel's back. He took flight, racing toward Vanessa and the carrion crawler in an instant. At the same time, a blade of brilliant white light sliced through the air, cutting a deep gouge into the beast's body. It failed to cut all the way through, but as the carrion crawler screeched in pain, it let go of Vanessa's calf- she dropped unceremoniously to the ground, and crawled away as fast as she could, stopping only twice- once to collect her sword, and again to snatch up her wand. But before she could rise, another screech rang out- but this one sounded different. It was higher pitched, more frantic, more… desperate. She looked back just in time to see Abel thrust the glowing blade deep into the carrion crawler's body- this time deep enough for the blade to pierce though completely- before dragging it upwards, carving through the creature's underbelly. Ichor sprayed from the wound, and the carrion crawler wavered, the halves of its upper body swaying like the split ends of a rope, before finally slumping to the ground, twitching and spasming.

Again, Abel landed. But this time, there were no interruptions as he made his way to Iris. Vanessa tried to follow, but her injured leg gave way, and she stumbled. She reached toward her wound on reflex, only to quickly withdraw her hand when the carrion crawler's lingering caustic saliva stung at her fingertips. "Damn it," she muttered, only able to watch as with his bare hand, Abel tore away the mandibles still holding Iris in place, snapping them as if they were little more than dry branches. The sorceress couldn't see the state of Iris's injuries from her vantage point, but whatever her state, Abel held out his hand towards Iris, and the swordswoman was surrounded by a white light that seemed to emanate from Abel himself. The light faded, and Iris blinked, then looked down at herself in surprise, moving her arm about- though covered in blood, there didn't appear to be any wounds.

Abel then hurried to Vanessa's side, again holding out a hand toward her. She was surrounded by a white light, and the pain in her leg faded… but only for a moment, before the burning returned. He looked down at her in shock, and again she was surrounded with a white light, but again, received the same result. "W-What?" he said. "I… I can't heal you."

"Carrion crawler saliva is… acidic," Vanessa gasped, her voice strained. "Unless a bite- is cleaned thoroughly, it'll eat away at anything it comes into contact with."

"How do we get rid of it? Will water work?" Abel asked.

"Yes. But you shouldn't waste your supplies to-"

Without waiting for her to finish, Abel knelt down, placing his hand just over Vanessa's wound. "Aqua Vitae." Cool, clear water began pouring from his palm, washing away the carrion crawler's venom from her skin. Then, once more, he held out his hand and a white light surrounded the sorceress. This time, the wounds on her leg- which had looked like angry red craters in her flesh than ordinary injuries- remained shut, without leaving behind so much as a scar as proof they'd ever existed. When she looked back toward him, Abel had extended a hand toward her. "…Do you need a hand, Miss Montague?"

But Vanessa quickly pushed herself up, ignoring the offer. "What happened to the other carrion crawler? And what about the others?"

If Abel was offended by Vanessa's rejection, he didn't show it. "It's dead. Like I told Shavran, I brought our group's best fighters. Now come on. We need to get away from here before more carrion crawlers show up."

Vanessa wasn't going to argue against his suggestion- after all, she'd seen firsthand just how quickly the carrion crawlers had moved in on them, and she was in no hurry to find out just how soon the next ones would come. The two moved to Iris, along with Abel's other companions, and after the swordswoman had wrenched her blade free from the corpse of the carrion crawler that had grabbed her, they all moved further down the riverbed, as far from the remains of the battle as possible.

As Vanessa hurried away, she was deeply unsettled. Not because she had been wounded, or even because Abel had saved her, though admittedly it did sting her pride a little. No, what unsettled her was Abel's capabilities. Mages, powerful mages especially, constantly radiated a magical aura, even when not actively using magic- and the stronger the aura, the stronger the mage. As such, it was easy for mages to identify one another from a distance, and even gauge how strong they were. But, Vanessa had been unable to sense anything from Abel. In fact, until she'd seen him use his magic, she could have believed he had no skill with it at all. And even now, after witnessing his power, she felt nothing. No aura, no spark, not the barest hint of any magical prowess. For someone to display such power while remaining completely undetectable to magic detection… it defied explanation.

And that was what unsettled Vanessa most. The more she seemed to learn about Abel, the less she understood. It was like trying to grasp smoke with her bare hands- every time she thought she had a firm grip on him, on his true nature, it slipped through her fingers. And she hated it.

She hated not knowing.

At least with Shavran, she knew what to expect. Under his charismatic and charming facade was an arrogant, lecherous, selfish man. But as irritating- and even dangerous- as those traits made him, they also made Shavran predictable. But Abel- his desires, his motivations, his very being- were all unknowns to her. And the unknown-

Vanessa's thoughts were interrupted when a voice called out from up ahead. "Over here, darlings!" Speaking of predictable…

Up ahead was Shavran, along with Katrya and Xiao, the three emerging from a large dome formed from thick ice- most likely made by Xiao's hand. "There you all are," Shavran continued. "I was beginning to worry."

"Shavran, what… what is this? Where were you earlier?" Abel demanded.

Shavran's eyes flashed briefly. "Isn't it obvious? We fell back to regroup and fortify our position." He gestured to Xiao. "And to protect Miss Xiao, of course. After all, without her, we wouldn't even be able to find the entrance to the tomb, much less open it."

Abel stepped forward, face twisting. "You could've stayed to help us! Iris and Miss Montague were hurt! They could've died! All of us could've died!"

"But you didn't. I had every confidence that all of you would survive." Shavran smiled. "And you did."

Abel grit his teeth, as if about to say more, but suddenly stopped, as though thinking better of it. "Whatever you say…" he muttered. "But we should keep going. There could be more of those carrion crawlers headed our way."

"Quite right," Shavran agreed. "Come along then, everyone. And stay close. We don't know what other dangers lie ahead."

This time, Abel was the one whose eyes flashed dangerously, but again, he held his tongue. And after Xiao had dismissed the ice dome with a wave of her hand, the two groups began moving down the canyon once more.

But Vanessa's mind was not focused on the path ahead. This was far from the first time that Shavran had abandoned her and the others. It wasn't even the most egregious instance, either- no one had died this time- but something about Abel's response struck her. He, virtually a stranger, decried by the Church as an enemy to all decent women and the worst sort of deviant, had shown more concern for her and Iris within just a few minutes than Shavran had in all their months of traveling together. …But once again, the doubts settled in. Was this his game? Did Abel deliberately seek out men like Shavran- men too self-centered and arrogant to even consider raising their hand in defense of anyone other than themselves- so he could look good by comparison, playing the hero at every opportunity to win the trust of his target's companions? Was that what he was doing now?

…But there was something about Abel's response to Shavran, and the anger in his eyes, that was difficult to dismiss. His anger toward the other Champion felt too raw, too genuine to be feigned… but such emotions could be feigned- and if it all was an act, then Abel played his role so flawlessly that theatre troupes across the continent would have been clamoring to sign him on. And even if his anger was genuine, that didn't mean it couldn't also be a ploy to manipulate her and the others into trusting him more.

Vanessa sighed, rubbing her temples. She'd been around enough charlatans to recognize when someone was spinning a web of lies- but she had never seen someone spin such a web with so little effort, so effortlessly weaving deceit and truth together until it was impossible to tell which was which. The only thing she could say she knew about Abel for certain was that she didn't know anything about him for certain. He was almost entirely an unknown.

And as she was about to think before, the unknown was dangerous.

---

It would take three more days of travel before the groups finally emerged from the Krios Canyon, and set foot on the vast, dry expanse of the Krios Lakebed. In that time, while they faced numerous threats, none were so dire as the carrion crawlers: giant ants, giant beetles that disguised themselves as stones, flocks of stymphals- small but extremely aggressive birds, with talons and claws on their wings that could shear through even metal armor- nesting in the canyon's crags, and once, a lone, roaming fire elemental. But the group's combined strength proved more than a match for each of these dangers.

During those three days, Vanessa kept a close eye on Abel, learning a few small details. First, not long after their fight with the carrion crawlers, she learned there was yet another woman in his party, bringing the grand total to nine. Apparently, she was a maid in service to one of his other companions, responsible for washing and mending the party's clothes- this was admittedly an extrapolation, gathered from overhearing Abel's lament that he couldn't get rid of the ichor stains from his cloak as well as "Minze" could, nor could he mend a new tear he'd noticed.

A second, more interesting detail came about from a conversation he'd had with Xiao the next day, after they had made camp for the night. Xiao had set herself apart from the others, going through a strange, flowing sequence of movements, as if fighting a crowd of enemies only she could see. Abel approached her, waiting until she was seemingly finished, before speaking to her. "Hey, Xiao. Can I ask you a question?"

Xiao turned to him, her expression unreadable, before beginning her sequence again. "Ask."

"Do you… know someone named Julia Reis?"

Xiao abruptly froze in place, before looking in Abel's direction. "I… do. We were… students, who trained under the same master in my homeland. But, how did you know that I knew her?"

"It was your stance. The one you take right before you fight." Abel then lowered himself into what Vanessa assumed was his own approximation of Xiao and this 'Julia's' stance. "Julia's was almost exactly the same as yours. The difference is that she put her back hand here -" Abel waved his right hand, which was by his waist. "…while you put your hand here." He raised his hand, holding it by his chest.

"I see… And, how did you and Julia meet?" Xiao asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

"We met in a city called Fueno. She's with the Crusaders. Part of Wyvern Company. A… 'Special Operations Unit,' is what I think it was called. The Church sent her unit to test my abilities."

A Special Operations Unit… a group of elite warriors, hand-selected by the upper echelons of the Crusaders, for special missions beyond the capabilities of their average forces- monster pacification, cult infiltration, and other high-risk assignments. In short, not the sort of people one would typically send for the mundane task of evaluating a single person's abilities… unless said individual was seen as a potential threat by the Church, and the unit's mission wasn't just to evaluate his abilities, but to neutralize him if deemed necessary.

But the final, and perhaps most significant detail, was one Vanessa noticed in the early hours of the morning they emerged from the canyon. She had awoken before sunrise, not by her own choice, but because she'd heard a voice speaking nearby. She looked toward the source, and saw Abel sitting near the embers of the night's campfire. His fox, Tamayatsu, lay alongside him, but while he idly stroked her head with his hand, his attention was turned seemingly elsewhere. At first, the sorceress thought Abel was just idly muttering to himself. But as she listened more closely, she realized that his words were in fact a conversation.

"…I know. But I didn't think he'd be this bad. It's like… the more we see of him, the worse he gets." A pause. "No. We've already come this far. Besides, what if he tries to run away again?" Another pause. "…You know it isn't like that. I don't go around trying to 'collect' them. And I think there's enough people traveling with us as it is." A third pause. "Yeah, I really hope all this is worth it, too." Yet another pause, though shorter than the others. "I wonder what the others are up to. I hope they're not causing trouble…"

At first, Vanessa didn't hear the other half of the conversation. And that immediately set her on edge. For all of Shavran's faults, as far as she knew, he didn't speak to imaginary voices in his head. But then, she began to think more rationally. Abel had some skill in magic, and while rare, spells did exist that allowed people to communicate over vast distances. It was possible he was using such a spell to speak with one of his companions back in Flanvel… though if that were the case, why not simply ask what they were doing, rather than speculate? Then she remembered- Abel was a Champion. A Hero, sponsored by a specific god. There were times when Shavran would claim his patron had spoken to him in a dream or vision. …Was it possible that Abel was communicating with his own patron? But as she listened, she realized there was another voice responding to Abel's words. It was a faint murmuring, too faint for anything specific to be made out, but it was unmistakably a second voice. And she highly doubted that even a god of wine was the sort to make a casual visit to the mortal plane just for a chat, even with their Champion. So who or what was this mystery entity? It was merely the latest in a seemingly endless string of unanswered questions about Abel and his companions.

But those questions would have to wait with their destination now literally within sight. This was the last leg of their journey, but also the most perilous. Unlike the canyon, the dry lake offered little in the way of shelter from the elements, and much of the lakebed had been worn down by time, connecting directly with the surrounding sands. An encounter with a sandworm, once a distant threat, was now a very immediate, very real danger.

The silver-haired girl- Holly- leaned forward at the mouth of the canyon, trying to get a better view of the distant, sand-buried ruins at the edge of the dry lake. "Is that it over there? Is that Mayfil?"

Abel reached under his collar, and removed something from around his neck: a golden pendant on a chain. As he held it in its hand, the pendant suddenly jerked upward, pointing toward the ruins, vibrating slightly as if trying to escape the chain and fly there on its own. "Looks like it," he replied.

As he put the pendant away, Iris asked the question Vanessa had been thinking to herself, if much more crudely: "What the hell was that just now?"

"It's my Relic," Abel replied. "If I concentrate, it points toward things I'm looking for."

"I must say, for a Relic it's rather… unimpressive," Shavran replied. In Vanessa's head, she could practically hear Shavran add on, Much like the man who carries it. Instead, he drew Viscika from his belt, a blade of light erupting from one end. "Not like my Viscika."

Abel looked decidedly unimpressed with Shavran's Relic- though given what Vanessa had seen of his abilities so far, it was difficult to blame him. Though he suddenly blinked, turning his attention to Xiao. "That reminds me, you must have a Relic too, Miss Xiao. What can yours do?"

Xiao held up a hand- on one finger she wore a thin silver ring with a blue gem set into it. "When Jinxing first spoke to me, and bid me to travel to the west, my master gave me this ring. The men of your Church name it 'the Ring of Boreas,' but I have always known it as Hei Di's Ring. As for its power…" She closed her eyes, letting out a long breath that took the form of a white cloud. Then, she thrust her arms forward, spines of ice shooting up from the ground surrounding her, making Abel jump back in surprise. "…it allows me to call upon winter's fury." As quickly as they appeared, the icy spikes vanished, leaving behind only the faintest dusting of frost on the ground which melted away under the desert sun.

"Well, that's… good to know," Abel said, sounding somewhat shaken by the display. He turned back to his companions, gesturing at the ruins ahead. "Let's move. We're not getting any closer to the tomb standing here."

With that, the company began to cross the lakebed. Shavran took the lead, shifting his Viscika into a long staff which he used to probe the ground ahead, to ensure it was solid. The group moved slowly, their eyes constantly scanning the ground for any telltale signs of disturbances from beneath the earth, their ears listening for even the slightest hint of the sound of shifting sands, and their hands gripped tightly on their weapons, ready to draw at a moment's notice. But ultimately, despite the tension that threatened to snap like a bowstring, the journey across the lakebed was uneventful, and they were able to reach the ruins of Mayfil without incident.

There, they were met by a massive archway built from worn stone. There were carvings on its surface, but what these carvings had once been was now lost, eroded and worn away by centuries of harsh winds and sandstorms. And beyond the arch were hollow, half-buried shells of buildings- homes, shops, inns, stables- their walls crumbling and roofs collapsed under the weight of time and sand, stretching on for as far as the eye could see.

"Well… I suppose this is it," Shavran sighed, resting Viscika on his shoulder. "Welcome to Mayfil, everyone."

The group ventured into the ruins, moving slowly and cautiously- searching for any signs of danger or hidden traps. But there was only silence, except for the soft crunching of sand beneath their feet, and the wind whistling through the ruins. Treading amongst the fallen buildings, Vanessa wondered if what she felt now was how the ancient Cybelians who first found this city had felt upon discovering it. The unease of setting foot in somewhere so old, so dead, that not even the memories of those who once lived there remained. Even calling the city's remains "ruins" felt too generous- in many cases, the remnants were little more than weathered pillars of brick poking up through the sand, arranged in such a way to suggest that a building had once stood there.

For some time, they moved through the ruins in silence. But eventually, Abel's voice broke the quiet. "It's hard to believe that a whole kingdom existed here once."

"This place wasn't always a desert, you know," Vanessa replied. "Though even before the Cybelians discovered it, Mayfil and the other cities of Duat were long dead."

"What happened?"

"Thousands of years ago, before even the Vinland Wars, a calamity took place within Windurst's interior. No one knows exactly what happened, but the calamity rerouted the river that fed Krios Lake- along with the rest of the cities of Duat- forcing its people to abandon them. Only one city, named Gemenos, was spared, and even then only because it was fed by two rivers: the Krios River, and the Cepheus River that flows from Mt. Vanth. The city still stands to this day, but most know it by the name given to it by the Cybelians: Flanvel."

"I'm certain that all of this is a fascinating topic of discussion, Miss Montague," Shavran suddenly cut in, "but perhaps we should keep our attention focused on the present?"

"Right…" Vanessa said faintly. "…We should find a vantage point and get our bearings. There are a lot of hills surrounding Mayfil, and the tomb is supposed to be hidden amongst them." She turned to Abel. "Could your Relic help with that? Point us in the right direction?"

Abel looked down at his Relic. "It… should. But I'll need the name of the person buried there. Without it, I won't be able to find the tomb's exact location." He turned his attention to Shavran. "Did your source mention who exactly was buried there?"

Shavran gave a toothy smile. "I think I can tell you that much." He then turned to Xiao. "Tell him, dear."

Xiao looked away briefly, bringing a hand up to her ear- the air filled with the sound of faint, indistinct whispers. After a moment, Xiao gave her answer. "The tomb belongs to a king named… Kheron."

"Kh- Kheron!?" Vanessa stammered- she'd done quite a bit of research into Duati history, but to hear that name…

"Who's Kheron?" Holly asked. "A king of Duat?"

"Not just a king- t- the king!" the sorceress exclaimed. "The founder of Duat! Most scholars don't even think he was real! They're sure he was some sort of mythical figure. But if he was real, the historical significance alone-"

"-is entirely irrelevant to us, Miss Montague," Shavran interrupted. "We're not historians. What matters is what we can get from this… Kheron's tomb."

Vanessa seethed, but held her silence. There were many who viewed the past as Shavran did- relevant only when it could provide some immediate benefit in the present, and otherwise ignored. But she couldn't abide such a view. The past was important in its own right, not merely for what could be gained from it… but now wasn't the time for arguing about that.

Again, Abel pulled out his amulet. "Kheron…" he muttered faintly. The pendant shot upward, pointing ahead and slightly to Abel's right, toward the west. "…Alright. Looks like we need to go that way."

The group continued moving, following the pointing amulet. As Abel led, Iris leaned toward Vanessa and asked, "So how far away are these hills?"

"Not far. Only a few milia, I'd say," Vanessa replied. "We should be there before sunset." She glanced over at the swordswoman. "Why?"

"Just seems weird. I mean, if this Kheron guy is the founder, it'd make sense he'd be buried so close to the capital. But, how has no one found his tomb before now?"

It was a valid question- perhaps the most distinct aspect of Duati culture was the construction of large, elaborate tombs for their deceased kings, the most well-known being a massive, partly-disassembled pyramid in the middle of Flanvel. If Kheron really had been a historic figure, and his tomb lay so close to one of the largest cities of the ancient world, how could it have gone undiscovered for so long? That the region could be searched so thoroughly for over a thousand years by countless treasure hunters, only for the tomb to evade notice until this moment, seemed utterly impossible. And while there almost certainly was a reasonable explanation, any answer Vanessa could conjure felt unsatisfying.

As they journeyed on, nothing of note occurred, until finally the sun began to set in the distance, casting a golden glow over the desolate landscape. Just as she'd predicted, the hills loomed before them, casting their long shadows over the dead city, though what light remained would soon fade completely. "So…" Abel began. "Should we start searching now, or should we wait until morning?"

"If your Relic can guide the way, I see no reason to wait," Shavran said. "We can rest once we find the tomb."

"Mister Shavran, are you sure that's wise?" Vanessa began. "We don't know what dangers are waiting for us here, and stumbling around in the dark would-"

"Miss Montague!" Poseidon's Champion cut her off sharply. He blinked, as if surprised by his own outburst, before collecting himself and repeating, more calmly, "…Miss Montague, I believe that our party is more than capable of handling any threat we might encounter." On the surface, his words were measured and calm, but there was an undercurrent- a subtle tension- that he couldn't quite hide. "Do you doubt our capabilities, Miss Montague? …Do you doubt my capabilities?"

"I- no. Of course not, Mister Shavran." Vanessa swallowed hard, feeling herself shrink in the face of his hostility.

"Very well then." Shavran smiled again- not his normal toothy grin, but a sharp, wolf-like smile. It unsettled her more than the hostile tone had. "I suggest we move quickly, while we still have some daylight remaining. Come along." And with that, the Champion turned and marched further into the hills, not waiting to see if the others followed. With no other recourse, Vanessa followed after.

In the sorceress's travels with Shavran, she had learned that Poseidon's Champion was many things. Arrogant, self-centered, an incorrigible lecher… but one thing Shavran was not, was reckless. He was the type to calculate the odds of every outcome before taking action, weighing risks against reward. So why was he behaving so recklessly now? What could be lying in this tomb that made Shavran so anxious to reach it? Her mind flashed back to the day he and Xiao met, and the strange words she'd whispered in his ear. That seemed to be the moment when Shavran's demeanor shifted…

And so Vanessa's thoughts went, as they weaved through the hills, the light from the setting sun fading fast, but not quite gone. The air grew colder, the shadows deepening, until finally they crested a hill and found themselves standing at the edge of a small valley. There was nothing particularly noteworthy about it- it looked like any number of other small valleys nested between two hills. Yet, Abel approached one of the steep hillsides holding out his Relic, which pointed directly at the rocky wall. He moved his hand about slowly, but his pendant continued to point directly at the rock. "I think this is it," he said.

Several moments in silence passed before Iris made the obvious statement. "That's a wall."

"Are you sure your Relic is reliable?" Shavran asked, glancing dubiously at Abel.

"It hasn't been wrong yet," Abel replied. "And I was just having it point to the tomb. Maybe if I focus on finding the entrance specifically…" He held the amulet up, concentrating. The pendant shifted, pointing slightly further ahead, though still at the rocky face. The group moved further, in the direction indicated by Abel's pendant… but when they arrived, they were met by another solid wall of rock. There were no cracks or fissures, no depressions, nothing to indicate that the hillside was anything other than a solid mass of stone. And yet, Abel's Relic continued to point directly at it. "This can't be right," he muttered, confusion evident on his face. "It has to be here… somewhere…" But despite Abel's protests, there was nothing but a wall, solid and unyielding.

"This is absurd!" Shavran spat. "Are you suggesting we're supposed to spend all night digging through a damn wall, just because your toy is pointing at it!?"

"No, I- i-it has to be here!" Abel stammered.

"Then where is the damn entrance!?" the Champion demanded. He tore Viscika from his belt, the blade igniting, before pointing it toward Abel. "If you've been misleading us this whole t-"

Shavran was abruptly cut off. Within the blink of an eye, Abel's silent green-haired companion, Fiann, had slipped behind him, pressing the blade of her axe into his throat. Her eyes were fixed on Poseidon's Champion in a dead, unblinking stare. Shavran let out a small chuckle, not in amusement, or in fear, but in contempt. "…And just what the hell do you think you're doing? Do you have any idea who you're threatening?"

Fiann's reply was to press the blade more firmly against Shavran's neck, a silent indication that she was well aware of his identity- and that it meant absolutely nothing to her.

"Fiann!" Abel shouted, as if giving commands to a horse, or a dog. "Let him go right now!" The abrupt shift in his demeanor startled Vanessa… but also gave the impression that this was not the first time a scenario like this had occurred. A moment passed, with Fiann standing utterly still, weapon still pressed against Shavran's neck. But, she finally pulled away, melding into the shadows behind Shavran and reappearing at Abel's side.

Shavran reached up, touching his wound briefly, before giving Abel a withering glare. "You should keep your bitch on a much shorter leash."

Abel tensed. But before anything else could be said, someone stepped in. "That's enough," Katrya said, speaking for quite possibly the first time since they'd left Flanvel, stepping between the two parties. "You're not going to solve anything by shouting and waving your weapons at each other."

Shavran snorted derisively. "Then perhaps you'll tell me what I should do, Katrya?"

The priestess looked toward the rock wall, a strange glow in her eye. "…there's something here." She then reached back, pulling a staff tipped with a glittering crystal from her back. Aiming the staff toward the rock wall, she intoned, "Zlyye dukhi, izydite: Razvéivatʹ!" A bright flash of light illuminated the area, and when it faded, there was no longer a solid wall of rock. Instead, there was a door carved into the stone, where none had been before.

"What… what was that just now?" Iris asked.

"An illusion…" Vanessa said faintly. But how had Katrya seen it? Much like the mages that cast them, spells left behind a lingering aura, one that could be sensed by those attuned to magic. Yet, just as with Abel's magic, Vanessa had felt nothing to indicate the enchantment's presence. Katrya, however, appeared to have found it with little difficulty. "How did you know?" Vanessa asked her.

Katrya glanced toward the sorceress briefly. "I trust in Svar and his works- these… Relics, as you know them. If one of His creations says that something is here, then it is so. I merely asked Kista to grant me the sight to see beyond any deceptions."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Shavran suddenly interjected, pushing his way past Katrya. He reached out and pushed the door… but nothing happened. He strained, his feet digging gouges in the earth as he tried to force the door open. "Come on… open, damn you!" he muttered. But when his efforts still yielded no results, Shavran sighed and stood upright. "Alright then, let's see what you do about this then!" A blade of light ignited on Viscika, and he swung it down on the door. But as soon as the blade touched the stone, there was a bright flash, and a wave of energy rippled outward, sending everyone flying. Vanessa landed hard on the ground, groaning, before picking herself up in a daze. When she got her bearings, she saw that the door was entirely unharmed.

"What… what the hell was that?" Iris asked, stumbling to her feet.

"I think, that was a ward," Vanessa replied, squinting at the rock once more. She could see that there was some sort of inscription on its surface, but the characters were unlike anything she'd seen before- and from how weathered they were, they must have been truly ancient. "…There's something written there. Perhaps it's a key?"

Xiao was the first to approach the door. As her eyes swept over the inscription, she said aloud, "Sositi kalu, sositi ālehi. Huleti kalu, huleti ālachihu. Gini ānidi kale, minimi yelehimi. Inē mini nenyi?"

"Uh… what's that supposed to mean?" Iris asked, still trying to right herself after Shavran's sudden attack.

But Xiao was quick to provide a translation. "It says, 'If there are three, you have three. If there are two, you have two. But there is one, you have none. What am I?'"

Shavran began to stammer. "A- …a riddle? It wasn't enough for us just to find this damn door?"

A tomb, constructed in the middle of nowhere, its entrance hidden by an illusion, and further sealed with a magic ward that could- presumably- only be removed by translating and answering a riddle in a language that hadn't been spoken in thousands of years. Vanessa was beginning to understand how this place had managed to escape detection for so long.

"If you have three, you have three…" Iris muttered, seemingly unaware of her mangling of Xiao's translation. "Ah, I've never been any good at these things…"

Katrya touched her chin. "From the sound of it, I don't think it's a physical object. It sounds like something more abstract. Perhaps a concept, or a principle?"

"If there's three, you have three… but if there's one, you have none," Abel mused out loud. "I think the last part is the most important. 'If there is one, you have none…' maybe… a secret?"

"That doesn't make any sense," Shavran scoffed. "If you have one secret, you still have one."

Fiann tapped Abel's shoulder, and held up her book for him to see. "What about… choices?" he then said.

"Choices?" Vanessa repeated.

"Yeah," he replied with a nod. "Fiann's explanation makes sense. If you can choose between three options, you have three choices. Same with two. But if you only have one option, it's the same as not having any at all."

"That could be the answer…" Vanessa murmured. "But wouldn't our reply have to be in the same language as that inscription?" She gestured toward the strange script on the door.

"And what'll happen if our answer is wrong?" Katrya asked nervously.

Shavran scoffed. "What could happen? It's just a door. Let's try it. Miss Xiao?"

"Of course, Mister Shavran," Xiao said, stepping forward again. "Mirich'awochi."

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, there was a faint rumble under their feet, and a light shone from the edges of the stone door, before it swung inward, revealing a chamber filled with dark air and an unsettling silence. Even so, Shavran stepped through the doorway without hesitation, Viscika's blade driving back the darkness beyond. "Well now…" his voice echoed from within. "…this is a bit more like what I was expecting."

The others, after hastily lighting a few torches, followed him into the darkness, stepping into an enormous, dark cavern. Before them, carved into the cavern wall, was a gateway flanked by two enormous columns, themselves flanked by two statues depicting a strange beast with men's faces but feline bodies. Sphinxes, Vanessa recalled, monsters capable of speech, allegedly favoring riddles over violence- though merely statues, their presence seemed somewhat fitting. Beyond the columns and the statues, there lay another door, larger, this one adorned with intricate carvings depicting countless figures bowing before one central figure, who appeared to be some kind of king. that depicted scenes of war and conquest. But the most striking feature of the room was the air- still, almost oppressive with its silence, as if saturated with the weight of centuries.

"Another door…" Shavran said with a sigh. "Let's hope we don't have to solve another riddle to open this one too…" But when he crossed the room and pushed against it, the door swung open without resistance. "Ah, finally." He stepped through it, followed closely by the others. The room beyond was smaller than the cavern, but its walls were lined with carvings, depicting various images. The group spread out, looking at the carvings- Vanessa in particular found herself in front of one depicting two groups, one emerging from a cog-shaped door in the side of a mountain.

"There's more writing here," Abel said aloud. "It says, 'Here, we the people of Kobol record the history of the world, as imparted to us by the Wise Ones who emerged from their Vault, so that the tale may yet reach the grandsons of our grandsons, and all those who would follow them.'"

"'Kobol?'" Iris asked.

"It must be the name the ancient Duati had for themselves," Vanessa said. "But… does that mean you can read all this?"

"That's right," Holly replied in Abel's stead. "An angel shared her blood with Abel, so now he can understand any language, whether it's spoken or written."

"Fascinating…" the mage said.

"What does this one say?" Katrya asked, pointing to another mural.

Abel approached, and after a moment, answered, "'Long ago, the world was naught but boundless sea, embraced by a boundless sky, reaching beyond imagination. And within this endless sea dwelt great, and nameless Things.'" The mural seemed to show the ocean, and some sort of long, slender creature with numerous tentacles- presumably one of the 'Things.'

The next mural showed two images: the first was more of the Things in the ocean, along with figures that were more visibly human standing on clouds above them, raining down flames and lightning bolts. The second then showed the human figures coming down from the clouds, lifting mountains from the sea and shaping trees and animals. "'In time, those we name Gods descended from the heavens, and fought the Things in a great and calamitous battle to claim dominion over the World. The Gods triumphed, and forced the Things into the darkness beyond the World's bounds. Their leader, The Lord of Thunder, pursued them to ensure they would never again menace the Gods, commanding His companions to reshape the world for their own purposes before departing.'" Looking back at the mural, Vanessa saw some of the 'things' above the clouds, with a figure clutching lightning bolts in its hands chasing after them.

The third mural showed a large figure with a lantern in his chest shaping smaller figures, with other large hands grasping for them. "'One of the Gods, the Lightbringer, desired to create beings that were like Gods but not Gods, with which he might share his wisdom. Thus did he create the Wise Ones, who then spread over the Earth. The other gods soon became aware of the Lightbringer's creations, and realizing the actions of these lesser beings empowered them, fought great wars in the heavens to claim dominion-"

"I'm sure this would all be fascinating to someone out there…" Shavran then said. "But I don't think I need to remind you of why we're here? Can we hurry this up?"

Vanessa bristled silently. Even if this tomb turned out to be empty, the information alone inscribed in this chamber would have been of tremendous value, and plenty of scholars across the world would have given princely sums for a single glimpse of this writing and the chance record their contents… assuming of course that Abel's translations of them proved accurate. She had no idea what Shavran thought he was going to find, but it seemed increasingly likely that whatever it was, it would prove to be far less significant than the discoveries already made within this tomb.

Still, Shavran had called, and he would not be denied. They moved further in, Abel clinging to the wall, reading out as much as he could as quickly as he could: the gods fought to claim various domains; the Wise Ones spread further; the Lord of Thunder returned, and demanded the Wise Ones bow to him; the Wise Ones refused, and fought against the Lord of Thunder with powerful weapons built with the Lightbringer's wisdom; many gods- including the Lord of Thunder- and almost all the Wise Ones were killed in the ensuing war. Some Wise Ones survived, sealing themselves in great hidden vaults beneath the earth; when the Wise Ones emerged, they found an unfamiliar world filled with new races, and that the Lightbringer had disappeared; then, the Wise Ones departed to an unknown destination, but not before imparting their tale and some of the wisdom to the people of Duat.

The next chamber, in contrast, was almost entirely barren. But its contents, solitary as it was, still gave Vanessa pause. Set into the wall on the far side of the chamber… was a stone door, carved to resemble a massive cog. A cog just like the one Vanessa had seen in the murals of the previous chamber- the mural depicting the Wise Ones emerging from their… Vault. Was this chamber constructed as a facsimile of the Wise Ones' vault? Or… perhaps this chamber- this whole tomb… was that selfsame vault. As they crossed the room, the silence continued to press down on the group, punctuated only by the soft echo of their footsteps off the walls. Whatever lay beyond that stone door, it felt more momentous than anything they'd encountered so far, and the weight of it hung heavy in the air, as if the tomb itself held its breath in anticipation of what was to come.

"So…" Shavran began, looking over the door. "Any idea how to open it?"

"Well, there are handles," Abel said. Indeed, spaced evenly around the door's surface were several bar-like protrusions. "Maybe we can push it open. Fiann, Xiao, help me out." He approached the door, gripping one of the handles, Fiann and Xiao doing likewise, and on a count of three, they pushed. Vanessa expected the chamber to fill with a terrible grinding of stone against stone, but the door slid from its place with surprising ease, and at Abel's direction, they rolled it to the side. The vault- tomb- was open.

The room beyond was unlike anything Vanessa- and likely everyone else- had ever seen before. From ceiling to floor, it was built of metal… or at least, it had been at some point. But in many places, the metal had rusted away, exposing the stone beneath, which grew into long, thin spears that hung from the ceiling or rose from the floor. The air that flowed from the chamber beyond was thick with the taste of rust. As old as the buildings on the surface- and the chamber before- had been, it was clear that this place was even older. Yet, even as they entered, Vanessa could see no sign of any treasure. In fact, there didn't seem to be anything at all. Just a chamber full of rusting metal and crumbling stone.

"There's… nothing here…" Katrya muttered.

Vanessa frowned, feeling a growing sense of disappointment mixed with frustration. Had they come all this way, only to find an empty tomb? Shavran ventured further in, the light from Viscika filling the chamber, but revealing little else. But after a few steps, the Champion came to an abrupt stop. "What the hell…" he muttered, as he stared at the floor.

"Is there something over there, Mister Shavran?" Xiao asked.

"There's a stairwell. Leading down," Shavran replied.

The others entered the chamber. And set into one of the walls, hidden from sight by one of the earthy pillars descending from the ceiling, was indeed a stairwell. And so, without any other recourse, the group followed the steps.

They walked down the stairs, their footsteps echoing loudly in the narrow passage. And then, without warning, the staircase ended. The group filed into a new chamber- like the first, it was built from rusting metal, but was far larger- an atrium, Vanessa guessed. It seemed that this room had once been made up of several levels, separated by platforms, but through untold ages of neglect, they had collapsed into one another, until all but the lowest level was inaccessible. The group stepped carefully around the remains of the broken platforms, the metal creaking and groaning underfoot, and continued further in. And it was here that they saw that, unlike the room above, this chamber was not empty. "What are those things?" Iris asked, pointing.

At the heart of the chamber stood a number of objects- one in the center, with twelve others encircling it. They looked like stone slabs, their top surfaces carved to resemble a human figure lying on their back. Sarcophagi. "They're sarcophagi," Vanessa replied.

"What's a 'sarco-'"

"A stone coffin, in essence," the sorceress clarified. "They were used by the ancient Duati, and other peoples, to house their dead." She then glanced over at Shavran. "Mister Shavran… was this what you were looking for?"

But if Shavran heard, he gave no sign of it. His attention was fixed on the sarcophagi, and in particular, the one in the center. "That one… that's Kheron's, isn't it?" he muttered. He then quickly crossed the room, and, placing his hands on the slab resting atop the sarcophagus, pushed. There was a faint crack, and a small shower of dust as the lid slid free, before tumbling to the ground with a deafening clatter. Once the sarcophagus was open, Shavran wasted no time reaching inside, having seemingly no compunctions about disturbing the corpse within.

"Mister Shavran, what are you-" Katrya began.

"Shut up!" Shavran snapped, like a feral animal. Even having seen what he was capable of in private, there was still something unnerving about seeing him so openly hostile, especially in front of strangers… and especially to his current "favorite."

Vanessa approached as Shavran continued rooting through the sarcophagus like a possessed man, as if searching desperately for something. "Mister Shavran," she began, reaching toward his shoulder. "I think it would be wise if we didn't-"

"I said shut up!" he roared, wheeling around and slapping Vanessa's hand away, sending her stumbling backward. But as she righted herself, Vanessa noticed Shavran immediately returned to the search, digging into the sarcophagus.

"Hey, what the hell is wrong with you!? Leave her alone!" Vanessa turned to see the source of the angry shout: Abel, who was striding over, a look of fury in his eyes.

Shavran finally stopped, but not in response to Abel's words. Instead, he slowly withdrew something from within the sarcophagus, muttering faintly, "Look what we have here…" It was… an oil lamp, its brassy surface shining faintly in the light of their torches. "Just like you said, Miss Xiao."

"That's… that's it?" Abel asked incredulously. "That's what you were searching for?"

"I wouldn't expect a mind as feeble as yours to understand," Shavran retorted. "But now that I have this-"

He abruptly stopped when a spindly, weathered hand reached out to grab his wrist.

"Eh?"

The sarcophagus's occupant was sitting upright. He was wrapped in bandages of linen, but patches of his could be seen, skin that was grey and leathery, like old parchment, stretched taut over his features. His eyes, however, were wide open, burning with an intense, unnatural light, the irises swirling with an angry red. Then, he opened his mouth, letting out a furious, deafening screech. Shavran was flung across the room by the force of the blast, while the others stumbled back, their ears ringing from the sheer intensity of the sound.

At the same time, the lids of the other sarcophagi burst open, the linen-wrapped corpses within rising from their resting places. Vanessa had encountered the undead before, but these were nothing like the shambling, stumbling wretches she was accustomed to. Though slow and stiff, the desiccated forms moved with purpose, free of the clumsy awkwardness that was usually the hallmark of their ilk. And as he took a long sword in his hand, the first corpse to rise- the legendary Kheron- pointed at the group and bellowed, "Serigo gebochini gidelu!" Vanessa needed no translation to understand Kheron's words- a command to kill the intruders.

The undead soldiers wasted no time obeying and charged forward, their movements stiff but relentless. They were far from fast, but the spark in their eyes, the way they held their weapons with practiced skill, betrayed the fact that the creatures before them had once been- and still were- masters of combat.

But then, Katrya stepped forward, commanding, "Everyone, behind me!" She then raised her staff high, chanting, "Velos, vyrezhi svoyu svyatuyu pechat' i ne day zlu proyti mimo…" before slamming the staff against the ground and shouting, "Otvrati Nezhit'!" The ground around Katrya began to glow with a blinding light, and as it spread, a dome of light stretched up and covered the group. The undead slowed- one cautiously prodded the barrier with their hand, only for their fingers to be burned away as if touching a flame. They pulled back, waiting, seemingly knowing that Katrya's spell wouldn't last.

But that didn't mean the group couldn't do anything. Drawing her wand, Vanessa focused, but in the corner of her eye, she spotted something. It was Shavran, creeping around the edge of the atrium, only a few steps away from the stairwell. "Mister Shavran!" she shouted "What are you doing!?"

Anger briefly flashed on his face, and the withered soldiers quickly took notice of him. "Damn it," he muttered.

Suddenly, the barrier holding the undead back vanished. One of them rushed at Shavran, shortsword drawn back- but with a mere flick of his wrist, Poseidon's Champion cut him down, Viscika's blade cleaving him in two. Then Shavran sprinted to the stairwell's entrance, glancing back at the group. "Sorry dears…" he said- his tone sounded sympathetic, but from the smile on his face, it was clear his sympathy was insincere. "But I have what I came for now." He bowed. "For what it's worth, you all played your parts beautifully. But now the show is over, and it's time for all the extras to shuffle off the stage."

"What!?" Katrya cried out, turning her staff to deflect one of the undead soldier's swings. "You- you rotten bastard!" She then thrust her staff at the desiccated soldier and shouted "Solnechnyy ogon'!" engulfing it in a torrent of flames. "You said that I was special to you! That you couldn't imagine living without me!" The flames did little to stop the corpse's advance- instead, the mage thrust her staff into its abdomen, and with a blast of white light, cut it in two at the waist.

Shavran's smile faded, and he turned away. As he ascended the stairs, he swung Viscika upward, the blade cutting through the ceiling overhead. His words echoed down: "…That's what the others thought too." An instant later, the ceiling gave way, and a torrent of earth and stone poured down the stairwell- within a matter of seconds, the stairwell was filled entirely, blocking any chance of escape.

Deep down, Vanessa had always known that this was an inevitability- that Shavran would abandon her, and Iris, and everyone else who followed him, under the worst circumstances imaginable. She had done everything she could to brace herself for that day… and yet, now that it had actually happened, the sheer cruelty of it left her reeling. With numb fingers, she grasped at her sword, trying to focus on the task at hand, fumbling as she pressed her wand against its blade. "Scorch my enemy with searing-" She stopped abruptly when one of the dead soldiers managed to slip around to her side, and swung its weapon at her- a strange claw-like row of blades mounted on its wrist. She lashed out her sword in a desperate bid to deflect it, but the force of the blow sent her staggering back, and her blade from her hand. She aimed her wand on reflex, but the undead soldier was already upon her- there was no incantation she knew that could be recited before its blades tore into her flesh…

…but then a row of white spines burst from the ground under the dead soldier, impaling it from below. The soldier twitched, trying to force its way through the spines to reach Vanessa, but they held firm as frost crept from their surfaces, spreading into the soldier's flesh and freezing it solid. Then, something fell onto the soldier from above, driving him into the ground, his frozen limbs shattering like glass. It was Xiao, a grim expression on her face. Beneath her, the dead soldier wheezed, still trying to reach for the sorceress, before Xiao drove her heel into the soldier's head with a disgusted expression, crushing his skull. "Focus, Miss Montague," she said, before whirling around and blocking a spear thrust from another dead soldier with her bracers. "Things have only just begun."

Xiao's words shook Vanessa from her stupor. She was right. All of them were still in danger- she didn't have time to dwell on Shavran. Snatching up her sword, she rushed at the dead soldier attacking Xiao, an angry cry tearing from her throat. There was no magic to reinforce her blow, her training in swordplay momentarily forgotten- only raw anger. But her fury lent her strength, and the blade cut deep into the dead soldier's neck, almost decapitating him. He wavered, the spear falling from his hands, but it wasn't enough. She shoved the soldier back- as he stumbled and fell, she fell upon him in turn, driving her blade into his chest again and again until the moldering body finally lay still beneath her, claimed by death a second time.

Vanessa rose from the dead soldier's body, breathing heavily. But her anger didn't abate- instead, it grew stronger, so much so that sparks began to dance at the tip of her wand. But, looking around, the sorceress saw that the undead were being driven back- of the thirteen that had risen, only seven still stood, which was quickly reduced to six when Fiann swept her axe through a dead soldier's legs, dropping him to the ground, before splitting his skull in two. Kheron was among the soldiers still standing, and he raised his sword, shouting, "Ts'enitachihu k'umu!" The remaining soldiers rallied around him, all gathered into a tight formation… one that would be easy prey for a well-placed spell. Vanessa leveled her wand at the formation, taking aim at Kheron. "Scorching spear, unleash upon mine enemy-"

"Aqua Vitae!" A sphere of water suddenly crashed into Kheron's formation, sweeping several soldiers off their feet- they let out terrible screeches as their skin boiled, as if burned by acid. And before they could rally themselves again, Abel rushed toward them, a glowing blade in each of his hands, but only managed to fell one before Kheron intercepted him, the ancient king parrying Abel's blades with ease, and kicking the boy back. Abel fell hard onto his back, dazed for a moment before struggling to his feet, clutching at his side where Kheron had struck him. He seemed surprised, though he wasn't the only one- much like Shavran's Viscika, Abel's blades of lights seemed to be able to cut through even the most resilient of defenses… yet somehow the dead king had parried Abel's blades with his own. Was it protected by some sort of enchantment?

Kheron aimed his blade at Bacchus's Champion, sneering. Now that he was standing still, Vanessa had a chance to re-target. She raised her wand once more, her anger not abating. "Spiral Flare!" she shouted, hurling a stream of fire at the ancient king. He glanced briefly in the flames' direction, before holding out his hand. The flames struck his palm, but instead of spreading over him, the flames spiraled in the air, until he closed his hand into a fist, the flames extinguishing in an instant. "Dekama," Kheron said, before the flames rose again, coalescing into a fiery spear that launched itself from his palm directly at Vanessa. The sorceress had only a few seconds to react- she darted to the side, but although she dodged the missile itself, the heat it radiated as it passed was still enough to sear her skin, leaving a row of red blisters on her arm. She hissed through gritted teeth, clutching her wound. But as serious as her wounds were, had her reflected spell struck her head-on, there was no telling how badly she might have been injured.

Still, she couldn't let the pain distract her. There were still threats other than the dead king- four, in fact. Kheron's surviving troops had circled around the perimeter of the atrium, clearly intending to use the distraction of Abel and Kheron's clash to flank the rest of the group. One of them- carrying a spear, his skin blackened and practically sliding off his bones- was advancing on the silver-haired girl, Holly, as she batted back another dead soldier with her shield, oblivious to the danger approaching her. But before Vanessa could so much as point her wand in that direction, a small figure leapt up and latched onto the soldier's chest. The sorceress had only an instant to recognize that it was Abel's pet fox… before flames suddenly erupted from the creature's entire body, engulfing the undead soldier in a blaze of fire that burned fiercely for several seconds, until the soldier crumpled to the ground, smoke rising from its charred remains. For a moment, Vanessa was so stunned by what she'd just seen that she forgot about everything else… until fire surged through her chest, and a pained cry forced itself from her mouth. She looked down to see a spear buried deep in her side, clutched in the desiccated hands of one of the dead soldiers.

She tried to draw a breath, but the pain was too much, even before an explosion of agony tore through her as the soldier ripped its weapon free. Her weapons slipped from her hands- first her sword, then her wand- as she fell to her knees, blood pouring from the wound, darkness clawing at the edges of her vision. The world slowed to a snail's pace as the dead soldier raised his spear again, poised to drive it through her heart…

But then, she heard a voice cut through the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. "I'm coming!" Something moved at the edges of her vision, something that seemed to move much faster than everything else around it. She watched as the blur suddenly seized Kheron by the arm, before whipping him back and throwing him at one of the atrium walls, where he seemed to hang in midair. The blur then moved between the remaining undead soldiers, a brilliant arc cleaving through them one by one as it drew closer, until finally, it reached her.

It was… Abel.

The dead soldier slowly turned his head, but never had the chance for his gaze to fall on Abel before Bacchus' Champion cut him down, his blade of light carving a line from the soldier's shoulder to his hip. Then, even as the soldier's two halves fell to the ground, Abel turned, holding out his hand toward Vanessa. A ring of light appeared in his palm, before brilliant rays shone forth, washing over Vanessa… and then all at once, the world sped up. The sorceress collapsed onto her hands, hitting the ground as the atrium echoed with a deafening boom as Kheron struck the far wall with the force of a meteor, punching through the rusting metal like paper. Vanessa inhaled, before she spluttered and coughed, her need for air exceeding her lungs' capacity, before looking up at Abel, who looked down at her with wide eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked, offering his hand.

Still catching her breath, Vanessa touched a hand against her side- there was a fresh hole in her shirt, but no wound below, and no sign one had ever been there- before reaching out and taking his hand. "You…" she began, still somewhat dazed by the whole experience. "How… how did you do that?"

In reality, she knew. As a Champion, Abel had capabilities beyond those of ordinary humans- speed, strength, agility, stamina, durability. She had known that, at least in an academic sense. But to actually witness it- to see him effortlessly throw an enemy clear across a room and through a solid metal wall with barely any effort, cross a room while carving through a half-dozen opponents without slowing, and then heal what surely had been a fatal wound, all within what must have been a matter of seconds, before his opponents had even finished falling to the ground- it was…

In all honesty, it was possibly the most terrifying sight she'd ever witnessed.

And yet…

And yet his hand, clasping hers, was warm, and gentle. It held no trace of the brutality he'd demonstrated just moments before. And looking into his eyes, all she could see was genuine concern. "I… I'm fine," she replied, gently pulling her hand free. "Just… a bit shaken. That's-"

She abruptly stopped when she heard something. Something… scraping, or perhaps crunching. She looked over in the direction of the sound, and saw a shape moving on the other side of the chamber. It was Kheron. His legs and one arm were twisted at unnatural angles, dragging behind limply, and his jaw hung flapped loosely as he drove his blade into the ground with his good arm, and dragged himself across the atrium toward them. "Isikahuni… ālich'eresikumi!" he hissed.

The others raised their weapons, preparing for Kheron's renewed attack, but the ancient king ignored them, focusing his burning gaze on Abel. In response, Abel strode toward the dead king, a blade of light forming in his hand. "Yes, Kheron," he said, seemingly in reply to Kheron's words. "You are." Then, he drove his blade into the king's heart. He screeched, his good arm clawing feebly in Abel's direction, before he collapsed against the ground, the red glow in his eyes fading until his pupils went dark. Abel looked down at the dead king, before turning away, asking aloud, "Is everyone else alright?"

"I think so," Holly replied, her breathing labored.

"Holy fuck," Iris said. "I know they say Heroes are stronger and faster than normal people, but… fuck me." She shook her head.

In spite of the crude way Iris phrased it, the sentiment was one Vanessa shared. Abel had saved her life, had defeated Kheron and the last of his troops with almost contemptuous ease… and yet, he seemed completely unphased by it all. As if this sort of thing happened to him every day. She didn't know whether to be grateful, or afraid. Or perhaps both.

A small yip suddenly caught everyone's attention. It had come from Abel's fox, which was digging at the blocked stairwell. But her paws were much too small to make any difference. …Nothing the group brought with them would have made a difference. They may have dealt with the immediate threat, but the fact remained that they were all still trapped. The fox turned back, letting out another yip.

"What should we do now?" Katrya asked.

Abel looked around- there were a small handful of doors that lined the atrium, including several far above the floor. "We should check the side rooms. Maybe there's a passage that leads back to the entrance. Or a tunnel that leads to another exit."

"Should we really be poking around in the other rooms though?" Holly asked cautiously. "What if there's more of those things?"

"We… should be safe," Vanessa replied, after scouring her memories for the information she'd researched before setting out. "Although it was common for early kings of Duat to be buried with servants, the number was usually small- a dozen was the most ever found." Though she spoke confidently, Kheron was no ordinary king, meaning his tomb likely defied ordinary conventions. Still, if there was any hope of leaving this place, it was a risk they had to take.

So, the group spread out, searching the attached chambers. Vanessa, along with Katrya, ended up in a small passageway lined with more doors. It was apparent that, before becoming a tomb, this place had originally been a much larger complex, though what its original purpose had been, the sorceress couldn't even begin to fathom. At the same time however, many of the doors were firmly sealed shut, and those that weren't led to small rooms that were entirely empty. There wasn't even any treasure to be found… though at the moment, treasure was the last thing on Vanessa's mind.

During their search, Katrya had been utterly silent, and Vanessa could only imagine what thoughts were going through the missionary's mind. After all, while she had anticipated Shavran's inevitable betrayal, Katrya had- for a short while at least- been his favorite… only to hear from the man's own mouth that she was entirely replaceable. Vanessa wished she knew what to say to comfort her, but words often proved hollow in times like these. But, to her surprise, Katrya was the one to break the silence. "…Miss Montague," she began cautiously. "I… I'm sorry."

Vanessa turned to the younger woman. "For what?"

"For being such a fool," Katrya said, expression pained as she averted her eyes. "You and Miss Iris… you were just like me, weren't you? You were his favorites, just like I was. He found you, he whispered sweet promises in your ear, he made you feel special, like you were the center of his universe… until you weren't anymore." Her gaze turned back to Vanessa. "That's what happened to you too, isn't it?"

"…Yes," Vanessa admitted, though the thought still left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"…why didn't you leave? Once you learned what he was really like?" Katrya pressed.

The sorceress hesitated. There were reasons, of course. Reasons named Eleanor, and Melissa, and Mariel and Olivia, and a dozen others whose names she couldn't remember now. All of them had made the mistake of displeasing Shavran in some way, and all of them had paid a steep price for it. She stayed because she didn't want to end up like them. But how could she say that in a way that didn't make her sound utterly pathetic?

But before she could dwell too long on the matter, a voice echoed down the passageway. "Hey, I think we found something!" It sounded like Iris.

"We'll have to continue this conversation later," Vanessa said. Katrya nodded, and the pair rejoined the others. The others were gathered in a small room branching off another passageway. But unlike the rooms Vanessa and Katrya had explored, this room wasn't empty, though it wasn't far off. Resting in the center of the room was a small altar, carved from three slabs of white stone.

Xiao was the next to join them, followed by Abel and his group. "Hey, that's one of Alondight's altars…" Abel said.

"What's one of them doing here, though?" Holly asked. "I thought Duat was founded long before Alondight was born."

"Although they are known as Alondight's altars," Vanessa explained, looking the altar over, "most were not built by his hands. Many were built years and even centuries after his death, at the command of Ilias and other gods. However, all are modeled after the altar upon which Alondight prayed before his final battle with Bahamut. Hence why they are named Alondight's altars."

"So… I guess this is why you agreed to follow Shavran," Abel said, eyes turning to Xiao. "But… how did you know it was here?"

"Jinxing told me," the monk replied. "His whispers carry to me in the wind, guiding me on my path." Vanessa remembered the eerie whispers that emanated from Xiao throughout their journey. Those must have been this "Jinxing" character speaking to her. Then, Xiao approached the altar, and said, "Excuse me for a moment," before laying a hand on its surface. Instantly, her eyes became unfocused, clouded, as if looking at something far away. And she stood utterly still, without even the rise and fall of her chest.

"What's happening?" Katrya asked. "What's wrong with her?"

Vanessa didn't blame Katrya for being startled. The missionary hadn't been there when Shavran had found his own altars- she hadn't seen the fugue that a Champion entered during those moments, but Abel beat her in explaining. "She's communing with her patron deity," he replied, before adding in a quiet voice, "… So that's what it looks like to the others… "

Sure enough, after a minute or so, Xiao's eyes refocused, and she stepped away from the altar. As she looked around, as though getting her bearings, Iris asked, "So… what did your patron say? Please tell us they said something about there being a way out of here."

"…there is a way out," Xiao replied, "though we may not like where it leads."

"If it can get us out of here, I don't care if it leads us straight to the Overlord's private outhouse," the swordswoman said. "Out with it!"

Xiao didn't reply… or at least not with words. Instead, she laid a hand on the metal wall, a thick frost quickly spreading over a large part of its surface. She then pounded a fist against the wall, shattering the frozen section like glass. Behind the wall was a number of strange pipes running alongside the wall, including one that was significantly larger than the rest. Xiao pointed to the larger pipe. "This is… a well of sorts, one that once connected this place to Krios Lake. If we climb through it, we should be able to escape." It did indeed resemble a well… if a well was built entirely of metal and laid out onto its side. Again, Xiao laid her hand on the giant pipe, freezing a section and shattering it, allowing access to the inside.

The others gathered around close, a mixture of expressions on their faces. "Are you sure about this? It seems like a tight fit," Abel said warily. "And what if it bends up… or down?"

"Would you rather remain here?" Xiao asked in turn. "If there was another way, then Jinxing would have told me as much. This is our only chance."

"Alright then. But… let me take the lead," he said, before climbing into the pipe. "If anything's waiting for us in here, I should be the one to hold them off."

If some danger was lying in wait in that tunnel, one that Abel was unable to overcome, it was unlikely that the cramped conditions would have allowed Vanessa and the others to escape to safety. Even so, the sorceress found herself… appreciative of Abel's willingness to place himself in harm's way for their sake. Had Shavran still been with them, she could imagine that he would have placed himself at the very rear of their group, ensuring there were as many human shields between himself and any potential threats as possible. Actually, now that she thought about it, she didn't have to imagine- when traveling, Shavran had always made certain to keep himself to the rear of their formation, ensuring he could make a quick escape if the situation called for it.

One by one, they entered the pipe, Vanessa entering after Iris but before Katrya. The air inside was stale, but dry- if this pipe indeed had been a well, it had gone unused for a very, very long time. And so, for a time, Vanessa crawled on her hands and knees through the dark, the pipe silent save for the sounds of the others' movements- and Iris cursing the cramped conditions- echoing strangely off the walls. Vanessa had never imagined herself in a situation like this, but in her own eyes, it was far from the most humiliating thing she had endured while under Shavran's thumb.

The sorceress had no idea how long she crawled. Time lost all meaning in the darkness; the only sign that time was passing at all was the pain and stiffness slowly growing in her arms and legs. On the surface, she had described the hills outside of Mayfil as being "only a few milia" from the city, but in that pitch-black pipe, she felt every last ped separating them from freedom. But the sensation of suddenly running into Iris's backside brought Vanessa out of her reverie, and she heard Iris grunt "Hey, watch it!"

"What's going on?" Vanessa asked. ""Why did everyone stop?"

"I think that kid said he saw a light ahead," the swordswoman replied. "But I can't see anything yet."

Vanessa couldn't see anything either. But she could feel something. The air felt… different. Cleaner, fresher than what they'd experienced in the pipe thus far. …Could they finally be nearing the end of this ordeal? They pressed further on, and sure enough, there was a light, shining somewhere up ahead, growing brighter and brighter as they drew nearer, until it was nearly blinding. They continued, and the passage abruptly ended, the pipe's sides simply falling away- Vanessa tumbled forward, landing on something that wasn't metal, but was no less hard and unforgiving. She rolled onto her back as her vision began to return, to see a wide, clear blue sky above her.

Vanessa never thought the simple sight of a blue sky would fill her with so much joy.

The others emerged from the pipe as well, groaning and grumbling as they picked themselves up and surveyed their surroundings. A flat, barren expanse stretched out as far as the eye could see, a hot, dry wind blowing across the open ground.

"Where are we now?" Katrya asked.

Rising to her own feet, Vanessa replied. "It has to be the Krios Lakebed. This must be the western edge."

"Well, at least we're out of that hellhole," Iris grumbled. "How do we get back to town from here?"

"We just have to cross the lakebed and find the canyon leading back to Flanvel, don't we?" Holly suggested. "It shouldn't be too difficult."

Katrya raised an arm, still breathing heavily, even though she had been outside the pipe for at least a minute. "Can… can we rest first? Just for a little while?" Fatigue was draining at Vanessa as well, and looking around, she could see exhaustion etched on the faces of everyone else, too. And not without reason- it must have been at least a full day since their arrival, and not once had they so much as stopped for a rest, or taken a moment to eat, let alone sleep. And the events of the previous day had been nothing short of grueling.

"We shouldn't linger here for too long," Xiao warned.

"We all need some rest," Vanessa replied. "And some food. If we go stumbling back into the desert without gathering our strength first, we'll all die for sure."

Xiao seemed reluctant, but Abel then spoke up. "Miss Montague's right. We should set up camp for a while. At least until everyone's ready to keep going."

Xiao had no further objections. And so, the group set up camp where they were, trying to rest and gather their strength for the rest of their journey. Vanessa had elected to remain awake and keep watch- despite her fatigue, the lakebed was not a place that inspired the feeling of safety. So, she huddled in her small tent for shelter and watched the lakebed for any sign of danger.

After a while, she heard footsteps approaching. She peered out of her tent, expecting Iris or Katrya. But it was neither. Instead, it was Abel. His eyes were sunken and his movements sluggish, but he made his way over to her, sitting down next to her tent, and looked out over the lakebed. "I thought you'd be resting, Mister Abel," she said faintly.

"I wanted to let the others rest first," he replied. A silence settled over the two briefly, before Abel then asked, "So… how are you feeling?"

It was such a vague question. And yet, somehow, Vanessa knew exactly what he was talking about. "Honestly, I always knew that things with Shavran would end like this. So if you're worried about me… don't be. We'll be fine."

"What will you do, once you get back to Flanvel?" Abel asked after another pause.

Vanessa shrugged. "I don't know yet. But I can worry about the future later. All that matters to me right now is getting back to civilization safely."

Abel nodded slowly, his gaze still fixed on the empty horizon. Vanessa eyed him warily, expecting him to try to win her favor, to exploit what must have seemed to him to be a moment of weakness. But, instead, he was silent. And so, for a time, the two simply sat together, watching the wasteland around them, listening to the whistling of the wind. After some time, Abel's fox wandered over, settling in the boy's lap. "Hey, you should be resting, Tamayatsu," he muttered, gently scratching her head. "I told you all that I'd take the first watch." But the fox just purred in response, her tails wagging happily. He smiled slightly, a sight Vanessa found herself appreciating more than she expected. It was a genuine smile, unlike the ones Shavran had given to her and to others so many times. And as Abel sat next to her, stroking the fox's fur, Vanessa let out a small laugh, in spite of the situation.

Iris had been right all along, it seemed. Abel had no hidden agenda, no sinister designs for her and the others, no plan to use them for his own ends and then discard them the moment they ceased to be useful. Vanessa hadn't found Abel's ulterior motive… because there wasn't an ulterior motive to find. Abel was exactly as he presented himself. It was a strange thought- an unnerving one, even… but perhaps that was only because her time with Shavran had made her all but forget what sincerity looked like.

"What's funny, Miss Montague?" Abel asked.

"Ah, it's… nothing important," she replied, waving him off.

There was another brief silence. "…You should think about what you want to do, though. Once you're back in Flanvel. We can help you. Once we explain what happened to the others, I'm sure they'd be willing to help."

"…I'll… think about it," Vanessa said, unsure of how sincere her words sounded.

No more words were exchanged between them. They simply sat, looking out over the barren expanse. In time, Iris awoke, taking Vanessa's place on watch, while the sorceress settled into her tent and slept- or at least, attempted to. Sleep eluded her, no matter how exhausted she felt. She couldn't help but fear that if she were to close her eyes, even for a moment, that she would once again find herself waking up in some nameless inn or a camp near the road, finding that the events of the past few weeks were little more than a fevered dream… and back in the nightmare that had been her life under Shavran's control.

But sleep must have come at some point, because Vanessa abruptly awoke, the lakebed before them bathed in a golden light, the sun hidden behind the distant hills. Everyone else was already awake, packing the last of their gear, their campsite already dismantled. "Finally," Iris said. "Guess you were more worn out than you thought, huh Vanessa?" She approached, pushing something into the sorceress's hands. "Here. We should get moving while we still have some daylight left. You'll have to eat on the way." Vanessa looked down- it was a water skin and a pouch of dried rations. Her stomach growled at the sight, the pangs of hunger reminding her that she not only hadn't slept for an entire day, but she hadn't eaten anything since setting out the morning prior. And once Vanessa's tent was packed away, the group set off across the lakebed.

As the sun beat down on them, the group moved in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. At some point, Vanessa managed to take a bite of her rations and wash it down with the water from the flask, though with night fast approaching, the others moved swiftly to cross as much of the lakebed as they could before darkness fell- she could barely slow down enough to eat. But there was another problem with their pace. In their first crossing, Shavran had probed the ground with his Relic to ensure that it was solid- but now, no such precautions were being taken. And it would only be a matter of time before-

"Gyaah!" Holly cried out, falling face-first onto the ground. "Ow…"

Abel- and everyone else- stopped. "Holly, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I-" She was abruptly cut off when the ground beneath their feet rumbled violently. It didn't take much time to find the cause- a ridge of sand bulging up as something passed underneath, moving directly towards them. And from how large the ridge on the surface was, only one creature could have made it.

"Sandworm!"

All at once, the ridge began speeding toward them. "Spread out!" Vanessa shouted, and the group scrambled in every direction… or at least, those in Shavran's company did. Vanessa had made extensive plans in the event that they were attacked by a sandworm, and one of the first steps was to spread out, forcing the worm to divide its attention and hopefully giving everyone a chance to retreat to solid ground. But it seemed Abel and his companions had made no such contingencies. It was only when the ridge was almost upon them that they finally scattered, but they hadn't gone nearly far enough- though clear of the beast's gaping maw, the worm's head suddenly erupting from the sands threw all of them off their feet, and it was only through sheer luck that none of them were pulled into the shifting sands.

Vanessa had learned early in her time in the Mage's Guild that preparation was the most important tool a mage could have- if not the most important tool a person could have in general. But there were instances where, no matter how thoroughly you planned ahead, how well-prepared you were for a possible event, until you experienced that event yourself, there was no way to truly be ready.

This was one of those instances.

Her research had told her that sandworms could grow up to eighty pedes long, with a width of up to twelve pedes. But reading those numbers in a book was one thing. It was quite another to see an eighty- ped long monster rise up from the sands like a chitinous tower, crowned with a circular maw lined with concentric rows of teeth and a ring of glowing red eyes peering from beneath the creature's carapace. The sandworm was still for only a moment, and Vanessa knew it was assessing them- deciding which prey it would go after first. Then, its body began to bend as it fell back toward the earth, seemingly having chosen its target: Holly, the very girl who had drawn the beast's ire. She scrambled desperately to escape, but her limbs found no purchase on the soft sand, unable to even lift herself up. The worm descended, maw open wide…

…only for a flash of white light to streak across the ground, leaving a bright trail in its wake, and sweep Holly away a split second before the beast impacted the sand. The ground shook as worm burrowed back into the sand, sending plumes of dust flying everywhere, but Vanessa doubted the beast was retreating. It had found its quarry- it was just lying in wait for another opportunity to strike.

"Hel's tits that was one big bastard!" Iris shouted, wiping sweat from her forehead. "What the hell are we gonna do!?"

Running was out of the question. The entire lakebed was the sandworm's domain, and now that it knew they were there, it wouldn't let them leave easily. They had no choice but to fight their way out of this mess. But how? Even with two Heroes on their side, how could they possibly defeat something so massive? Even simply driving the sandworm off, convincing the beast its quarry was more trouble than it was worth, seemed impossible- to say nothing of actually killing it. And yet, the choice laid before them was stark: do the impossible, or die.

Vanessa swallowed hard, trying to think clearly despite her racing heart. There had to be a way out of this, right? They hadn't fought Kheron and his men and escaped the dead king's tomb just to fall here. Not when they were so close to freedom. Not when she was so close to freedom. It couldn't end like this.

But what in the name of all the gods was she supposed to do about it?

Abel landed close by, setting Holly on her feet. "Miss Montague, I need you to gather everyone together," he said. "Once you do, start making your way to the canyon."

"While you do what? You can't possibly mean to fight this thing yourself!" Vanessa asked, incredulous.

"I don't plan to," Abel replied calmly. "I think I have an idea, but you'll need to be somewhere safe if Miss Xiao and I are going to handle this."

"But-"

"It's alright, Miss Montague," Holly then said. "If Abel has a plan, we should trust him. He's fought monsters a lot worse than this."

Vanessa couldn't help but be skeptical. The list of monsters worse than a fully-grown sandworm was an exceedingly short one. But what choice did she have but to trust in this plan of his? Not that she was given much of an option in the matter, as Abel then said, "I'm gonna draw the sandworm's attention. Don't go anywhere until it starts chasing after me." He then ran out over the sand, the ground rumbling and a ridge rising up beneath the sand as the worm pursued him. Vanessa and Holly waited until the ridge was well away before moving, gathering up the others one at a time. They moved as quickly but cautiously as they could- Abel's diversion would be meaningless if they inadvertently drew the sandworm's attention back onto themselves.

As she and Holly gathered the others together, Vanessa couldn't help but look back frequently, both to ensure the sandworm hadn't set its sights on them, and to ensure that Abel was alright. And, to her surprise, Abel didn't seem to have any trouble staying ahead of the beast- when his legs couldn't carry him further, his wings took over, lifting him above the ground just long enough to gain some distance, before setting back down to run again, always close enough to ensure that the worm continued its pursuit, but not so close that the beast could catch him.

Holly had been right. As much as she or the others may have wished to assist Abel, there was simply no way that they, mere mortals, could have kept pace with him. All they could do was move as quickly as they could, praying that the opening Abel had made would last long enough for them to reach safety.

They reached Iris without trouble. And Fiann after her. But as the group began moving toward Katrya, Vanessa quickly realized something was wrong. The sandworm had breached from under the sand, attempting to catch Abel in its jaws, but Bacchus' Champion managed to keep himself well away from the snapping maw. But as the sandworm burrowed back into the ground, it didn't continue its pursuit of Abel. Instead, the ridge that rose from the sands moved directly towards Vanessa's group. "Dammit, everyone make a run for it!" Iris shouted, and the group scrambled to get as far away from the rapidly-approaching worm as possible. It must have spotted them before burrowing back under the earth, Vanessa surmised, and decided a larger group was more appealing prey than a single opponent. The canyon and the safety it offered was still hundreds of pedes away; they would never be fast enough to reach it before the worm caught up to them. Abel flew in their direction, his wings blazing with white flames, but the worm had too much of a lead on him.

But then Vanessa saw something else racing toward them- a shape masked by a thick mist. Her chest clamped in terror- was it not enough to be pursued by one monstrous predator? Did the gods truly feel the need to send a second one after them? But as the mist parted, she realized that the figure was a human, skating across the surface of the lakebed as though it were made of ice. It was Xiao, her face a mask of concentration, a thick fog trailing behind her. And the reason she was able to skate over the sand was because, as Vanessa now saw, her feet were encased in a thick layer of ice. She sped toward the fleeing group, before a thick spire of ice shot up from underneath her, launching her high into the air. She seemed to hang for a moment, surrounded by a swirl of glittering frost and snowflakes, before she called out "Dà Guī Dòng Jié!" and plummeted to the earth, slamming her hands against the ground. A blast of cold burst from the impact, a wave of ice and frost washing over the ground and spreading out in every direction, until it reached Vanessa and the others.

Instantly, Vanessa's feet slipped from under her, and she found herself sliding helplessly over the frozen lakebed, her companions hardly faring any better. Then the ice beneath them shook, and the air was filled with a great crack. Only a few pedes behind the group, the ice bulged upwards, as something tried to force its way through. The bulge flattened briefly, before shooting up again, higher this time, cracks racing across its surface. Again, the mound flattened before again shooting upwards- but this time, the ice broke completely, spraying frozen shards and plumes of sand in every direction. The sandworm rose high above them, fully rising from the earth… but rather than turn toward them, it collapsed, falling to the ground with all the grace of a felled tree, making the earth shake and sending deep cracks running through the ice sheet. The worm screeched, squirming across the ice, as if searching for an opening, a route to burrow back into the sand and into safety. But the ice never yielded, cracking under the creature's thrashing but never giving way.

"We need to move, quickly!" Xiao called out, skating over to the group. "The ice won't hold for long!" The sandworm thrashed once more, and Vanessa felt the ice shudder beneath her. "Go, now! "

And so they ran, sliding over the ice as fast as they could, the cold biting at their skin even through their clothing, the sandworm's frustrated roars echoing through the air as it thrashed futilely, trapped on the lakebed's frozen surface. Ice gave way to sand and stone as they entered the narrow canyon, the sound of the worm's roars growing more distant with each step. But the group continued, their fatigue and exhaustion forgotten, not stopping until they were well within the safety of the canyon's depths, surrounded on all sides by firm, solid rock.

Only then did they stop.

For a while, no one spoke. They simply sat on the cold stone floor, the wind whistling through the narrow canyon, catching the occasional gust that kicked up small plumes of sand and dust, and tried to catch their breath. It was… difficult, to say the least. They had all survived. That fact alone seemed to be too good to be true, a miracle, even. But they had done it.

It was over.

It was finally over.

They were free.

She was free.

It was such an unfamiliar, and yet comforting thought. For the first time in a long, long time, Vanessa could look to the future, and not feel terror. The future wasn't something held in the hands of another, reshaped according to their whim, a thing she could do nothing to change, merely wait helplessly to arrive. Now, her future was again her own, to shape and mold and build as she saw fit. The freedom that had been robbed from her, and slowly chipped away until she'd thought that none was left, had been restored. And was now hers once again.

She looked at the others. Iris was lying on the ground with her eyes closed; Katrya kneeled with a hand on her chest, though whether in prayer or simply to catch her breath, Vanessa couldn't say; the seemingly-implacable Fiann rested a hand against the canyon wall, shoulders slumped and bent over, the first sign of fatigue she had shown in the journey thus far; Holly sat with her legs stretched in front of her, leaning back, chest heaving hard; Xiao stood at the edge of their group, watching the way they had come for any signs of pursuit, though she too leaned against the canyon wall for support; and next to her, Abel was sitting with his back to the canyon wall, his pet fox curled up next to him, watching for any sign of danger as well.

After several moments of labored breaths, Iris finally sat herself up, letting out a long breath. "That was way too close. I don't think I've ever run that fast in my life." She shook her head, falling back once again. "And I'd rather not have to do it again anytime soon."

Katrya nodded, slowly rising to her feet. "Agreed. This has been one experience I would prefer not to repeat."

Vanessa was quiet, her eyes fixed on Abel, surprised once again. She'd thought for certain that his plan would have been far more reckless- after all, when given power such as his, young men like Abel threw themselves heedlessly into danger for the sake of glory, believing their power made them invincible. But Abel's plan had been far less ambitious- his plan had not been to attack the sandworm, but simply to delay it, to create an opportunity for the group to escape. Some would doubtlessly have viewed such a plan as cowardly- after all, Heroes were meant to slay monsters, not flee from them- but Vanessa didn't see it that way. If anything, Abel had shown uncommon wisdom in recognizing the limits of his power. And rather than waste that power in a foolish gambit against a foe he couldn't defeat, he instead used it to accomplish a far more modest, but no less important, goal.

…But of course, it hadn't been Abel alone who had saved them. Xiao and her ice magic had been just as crucial to their escape, perhaps even more so. Abel may have devised the plan that allowed them to escape, but it had only been because of Xiao's abilities that the plan had actually worked. In a strange way, it was almost… familiar, reminding Vanessa of the many instances when Shavran had formulated plans, then foisted the actual task of carrying them out onto her and the others. But the moment the comparison came to mind, she was immediately disgusted with herself. Comparing Abel- someone who had saved her life multiple times on this journey- to someone like Shavran was not only a grievous insult toward Abel, but a betrayal of her own gratitude. By letting Shavran's memory taint her perceptions, she was allowing him to continue holding sway over her, even now. And the last thing Vanessa wanted was for that man to remain in her life in any way, shape, or form.

"Hey. Vanessa," Iris spoke up, snapping Vanessa out of her reverie. "You okay?"

Vanessa nodded, trying to keep her thoughts hidden behind a mask of calm. "Yeah. I'm fine."

The swordswoman flashed a dubious expression, but didn't press further. "…Well, this is probably as close to Flanvel as we're gonna get for today. We should rest here until morning before pushing on."

Vanessa looked at the others, taking in their weary faces, the exhaustion etched into every feature. And they all agreed. They would rest, for a while at least, and then they would continue their journey towards Flanvel.

And they would reach Flanvel.

She knew they would.

---

It was often said that returning from an unfamiliar place took less time than the initial journey there. And while the actual tracking of days told her that the journey from Mayfil to Flanvel had taken five days- the same number of days it had taken to travel from Flanvel to Mayfil- Vanessa felt as though their party's return had taken much less time. It was true their party was one member lighter, but the weight lifted by Shavran's absence was far greater than merely the loss of his physical presence. The pall of fear and wariness, the constant threat of punishment, the knowledge that she was always being watched… all of it was gone. And without those weights holding her down, each step felt easier, lighter. And even the occasional attack from monsters seemed more manageable, even trivial compared to what they'd faced before.

Vanessa hadn't realized just how much Shavran's shadow had darkened her life until that darkness was lifted.

But at long last, the group set eyes on Flanvel once more. Civilization. A rough and dirty and unrefined form of civilization, perhaps, but civilization all the same. The air was warm, the sky clear, and the streets bustling. After spending so much time in the desolation of the desert, the sight was like water for a parched soul.

"…I wish we'd found something to bring back with us…" Abel said as they followed the road that wound alongside the Cepheus. "Maybe a necklace from one of those soldiers. Or a ring. Something to make all this worthwhile."

"I think escaping with all of our lives is enough of a reward, don't you?" Holly asked, though she didn't seem particularly concerned.

Abel sighed. "I guess… I hope the others had better luck than we did."

Vanessa felt a small pang of sympathy for him. After all, Abel and his party had been a victim of Shavran just as much as the rest of them, even if only for a much shorter time. Still, it was hard to say whether any bauble, no matter how valuable, would have been adequate compensation for what they'd endured.

Slowly, but surely, the city drew closer. As it did, Holly asked, "So… what will all of you do now?"

Xiao was the first to answer. "There are other altars out there for me to find. And Jinxing has already told me where to find the next. Once I make a few preparations, I'll be leaving Flanvel."

"Eh…" Iris began with a shrug. "Haven't decided yet. But I'm not worried. There's always work for mercenaries like me."

"I think… I would like to go back to Peryn," Katrya said, her voice soft, distant. "I don't think I'm cut out for missionary work anymore."

A brief silence settled, before all eyes turned to Vanessa. "And what about you, Miss Montague?" Holly asked, her tone neutral.

Vanessa… wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do. She could always return to the Mage's Guild; and there were probably plenty of mercenary companies that would gladly hire someone with her skills. But something had changed within her during Shavran's absence. As much as she wanted to let go, to refuse to let him keep hold over her any longer… she couldn't. Shavran was out there, somewhere. And so long as he was allowed to roam unchecked, Vanessa knew he would do to others what he had done to her, and to Iris, and Katrya, and Eleanor and Melissa and all the others who'd had the misfortune of crossing his path. And as someone who had seen beneath his mask, who knew that man's true nature, she felt as though-

"…Abel? Abel, is that you!? "

Her ruminations were abruptly interrupted by someone shouting Abel's name. She looked up, only to see something rush down the road toward them and knock Abel to the ground. It was a person, and one she recognized at that. It was one of the women who had been with Abel during his meeting with Shavran at the Wheelhouse, Raine. Abel cried out as the two of them hit the ground, saying, "Aah… you're not as light as you look, you know."

If the red-haired woman took any offense to his words, she ignored it. "I can't believe it's actually you! It… it is you, right?" She poked and prodded him in various places, as if that would somehow confirm his identity.

"Of course it's me," he replied, rising to his feet as Raine continued clinging to him, clearly flabbergasted. "Why wouldn't it be?"

But before Raine could answer, a group approached them, departing from the city. The handful of people were mostly strangers to Vanessa, but they clearly knew Abel, and Abel in turn knew them, as they quickly surrounded him.

" Master Abel! "

"Is that really you? Why are you here? "

"Look at all of you, fawning over him like a pack of dogs…"

Several of the strangers looked over Abel in turn- a pale, purple-haired girl, a brown-haired, darker skinned girl with hard eyes and a red scarf around her neck, and a blonde woman clad in black- this one Vanessa recognized as "Lailah." Although, two of them- a white-haired woman with a stern face, and a pink-haired woman tied in tails clad in purple, the Mage's Guild emblem sewn onto her breast- kept their distance, though their expressions made it clear they were pleased to see him, though the pink-haired one tried to mask it. For a minute or so, Abel allowed the strange party to fuss over him, clearly embarrassed about it all the while, before finally pushing himself free, saying, "Alright, I get it. But I'm fine. Now, what happened? Why were all of you so worried?"

The rest of Abel's party looked to one another warily, as if trying to decide among themselves who should break the news. In the end, it was Lailah. "Mister Shavran, he… he told us all that there was a cave-in at the tomb. That you were all in one chamber when the walls collapsed. He said he tried to dig through the rubble to save you, but… anyway, that's why we're here. We were headed to Mayfil to search for you."

Internally, Vanessa seethed. But she tried to keep herself calm. A cave-in was a clever explanation, she supposed- after all, it was true. It merely left out the fact that Shavran had caused the cave-in himself. However, while the sorceress maintained her composure, Iris had no such reservations. "That's what he told you!? Oh that bastard- where is he now!?"

Lailah seemed confused. "Mister Shavran told us he was going back to Mayfil, but he needed to hire some mercenaries to help dig everyone out. He left yesterday. Did you not run into him on the way back?"

Obviously, they had not. "How long ago did this happen?" Holly asked, a suspicious glint in her eyes.

Raine, Raine with the bright red hair, turned her attention to Vanessa. "I'd say… two days ago, at the latest."

"Two-" the sorceress spluttered. That was utterly impossible. Even if Shavran had had a lead on them, there was no way he could have arrived back in Flanvel in just three days on foot. Unless whatever Shavran found in Kheron's sarcophagus had also given him wings, the very notion was absurd. But it was clear from the faces of Abel's friends that they were not trying to deceive him- no, if anything, the looks on their faces showed confusion and suspicion, as though they knew themselves something was amiss but were unable to piece together exactly what it was.

Eventually, one of Abel's companions spoke up- the girl with the red scarf. "It's obvious that something happened between Mister Shavran and all of you. But I think we should discuss it somewhere else. Not on the road like this."

There was a general murmur of agreement, and the group began making their way into the city proper. They found a mostly empty tavern not far from the gate by the name of the Cracked Cask. And once settled, Abel began recounting the events that took place in Mayfil, beginning from when they discovered the tomb's hidden door, to their escape from the sandworm in the Krios Lakebed. He would frequently be interrupted by the others, either asking questions, expressing shock, or- in the case of the Mage's Guild girl- letting out some expletive. Though in nearly every instance, someone- Holly, Iris, Xiao, and sometimes Vanessa herself- would add their own commentary, or details Abel had forgotten or not mentioned. But their additions never contradicted his story, always asserting that everything Abel said was entirely true. Vanessa had to admit, she was impressed by Abel's memory- in the haze of emotions at the time, she had forgotten more than she would have liked to admit.

For some time after Abel finished his recollection, the tavern was quiet. There was a general air of disbelief lingering over everyone, punctuated by the occasional confused mutter. But then, one of Abel's party asked a question- Lailah, with her stern face. "Abel… you said Shavran took something from Kheron's sarcophagus. What was it exactly?"

"It looked…" Abel spotted something, hanging from the ceiling by a chain- a golden object with a handle and a spout with a flickering flame. An oil lamp. "It looked just like that thing."

"An oil lamp?" Raine asked, before gasping, as if realizing something. "A genie! "

Genies. Stories described them as spirits with almost limitless magic power, sealed away within various items by the gods when their power threatened the safety of the world. The trapped genies could still use their power, but only to grant the wishes of the one who held its vessel, and even then, only a finite number. Though common in folklore, scholars disputed the existence of genies- some claimed they had never existed, their feats misattributed to mages whose abilities had been exaggerated over time, while others conceded that such beings may have existed at a point, but were long extinct in the present, having exhausted their power in their eons spent sealed away. But, according to legend, the kingdom of Duat had been founded when its first king, Kheron, beseeched the gods to grant him and his people a place of safety, ultimately leading them to the shores of the Krios Lake. …

And according to the carvings within Kheron's tomb, a great spirit had instructed Kheron to seek out a great mountain, where he discovered the "Wise Ones." Perhaps this "spirit" mentioned in the inscriptions was actually a genie. And if the object Shavran had taken from the sarcophagus had indeed been a genie's vessel…

The reactions from the rest of Abel's party were mixed, some skeptical and others clearly surprised. The girl with the red scarf, however, seemed to take the story in stride. "It might explain how he got back to Flanvel so fast," she said. "He probably just wished himself here."

"But that would be a waste of the genie's power, would you agree?" the purple-haired girl asked.

"Using a wish to cross hundreds of milia of hostile desert and reach civilization in the blink of an eye, particularly to escape a group he has wronged, does not strike me as a waste," Xiao then said, drawing several pairs of eyes. Including Vanessa's. That made her remember something. In the tomb, just as Shavran had pulled the lamp from Kheron's sarcophagus, Shavran had said something.

Just like you said, Miss Xiao.

She hadn't thought much of it at the time. But then she recalled the strange words Xiao had whispered into Shavran's ear, and how what she said instantly made him agree to finding Kheron's tomb… Xiao had known about the genie, and had passed on her knowledge to Shavran to secure his aid in reaching Kheron's tomb, and the Altar of Alondight within. For a man like Shavran, an artifact that could grant any wish would be too tempting of a prize to pass up. Meaning that for the sake of completing her quest, Xiao had knowingly endangered all of their lives, and given the most despicable man Vanessa had ever known a virtually limitless amount of power.

"…Miss Montague?"

Vanessa jolted as the room's attention suddenly turned to her. She cleared her throat, trying to maintain a level expression. "Sorry. I was just… remembering something." What good would come from making such an accusation now? The damage was already done. And even if Xiao had anticipated Shavran's betrayal, she likely couldn't have anticipated the sheer scale of it. Not to mention, without Xiao, it was likely none of them would have escaped from the sandworm… or at the very least, not all of them would have escaped with their lives. No, Vanessa thought it best to keep her suspicions to herself. For now, at least. "…Were you saying something to me?" she asked, having entirely lost track of the conversation.

"We were talking about what Shavran would want a genie for," the Mage's Guild girl answered, her voice cold and harsh.

"For the same reason anyone would want a genie," the purple-haired girl replied. "Who would not want an entity capable of granting them any request?"

"Yeah, we covered that," Raine then said. "We were trying to think of what specifically Shavran would wish for."

Vanessa had more than a few ideas. Ideas best not mentioned in the present company, however. But… "I can't say for sure what Shavran might wish for. But I doubt it's anything good."

"We should report his actions to the Church," Lailah suggested. "Champions are granted certain liberties, but in return, the Church demands Champions hold themselves to certain standards. In situations like this, where a Hero's actions could compromise the public's trust in them, the Church has the authority to impose penalties on him- if they deem the situation severe enough, they can even strip him of his title as Champion entirely."

Everything the blonde woman said was true. But her suggestion was hamstrung by one simple fact: Shavran heeded no authority aside from his own. And now that he had a genie on his side- if that was indeed what it was- he had even less reason to be afraid, if such a thing was possible. Even if the Church chose to take action against Shavran, and that was far from guaranteed, it was possible- likely, even- that they would be unable to stop him before he could inflict whatever harm he had planned. She could easily envision him carving out a private fiefdom in some hidden corner of the world, surrounded by a harem for whom the very thought of leaving his side was utterly unthinkable… but with such power at his disposal, Vanessa feared Poseidon's Champion might be inspired to reach for loftier heights. Someone had to stop him. Somebody who couldn't be swayed by his sultry smiles and empty words. Someone who had seen him for the demon that he was. Someone…

Vanessa rose from her seat. "Where are you going?" Katrya asked.

"I've made up my mind," she answered. "Shavran's gotten away with too much. What he did to us, he'll do to someone else. For all we know, he could be doing it right now." She shook her head. "He has to be stopped. So I'm going to stop him."

The table fell silent. "What? You're gonna try and fight Shavran yourself?" Iris asked incredulously. "Are you crazy?"

From a certain perspective, it did sound crazy. More than once, a follower of Shavran had challenged him to a duel, in the hopes of claiming their freedom. Only in these instances was Vanessa- and Shavran's would-be opponent- reminded of the gulf between Champions and mere mortals. "I'm not going to fight him…" Vanessa said firmly. "But I won't stand idly by while he does whatever he wants, either. So, I'll go after him. And I'll do whatever it takes to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone ever again."

It all sounded ludicrous, even to her own ears. What could she possibly do to a Champion- to someone who not only had the power of the gods flowing within him, but also a genie's power at his beck and call? The notion was insane. The logical part of her mind insisted she should simply go back to the Mage's Guild, and resume her life as it had been before she'd ever met Shavran. Yet, she knew she couldn't do that. If she did nothing, then Shavran would be free to continue his wickedness anew. She had spent far too long standing to the side, watching and doing nothing. If she didn't act now, when would she ever? The thought of innocent people, trapped in Shavran's little world… the memory of the ones who had already suffered under his whims…

Would her efforts succeed? She didn't know. In all likelihood, her journey would end with her bloodied, mangled corpse being dumped in a gutter somewhere, Shavran free to act as he willed. But she would do it anyway. She had seen the consequences of inaction. Even if the chance of success was almost zero, it was still better than doing nothing. She could not, and would not, run from this any longer.

Many of the others looked at her incredulously- others had less easily identified emotions. But no matter what they might have to say, Vanessa wouldn't let herself be dissuaded. She understood exactly what she was up against. So, when a hand laid itself on Vanessa's shoulder, she was taken aback, especially when the owner of said hand spoke. "If this is what you have decided," Xiao began, "then I will help you. In whatever ways I can."

Vanessa was stunned. Of all the reactions she'd expected, support was the last one. But before she could question why, the monk began to speak, turning to the others. "I am the one who told Shavran about the genie in Kheron's tomb. Any misdeeds he commits in the future using its power are a result of my actions. If my involvement is what has put him in a position to cause harm, then it is my responsibility to put an end to it." She turned back to Vanessa. "So, I will accompany you."

Vanessa had been right, then. Xiao had known about the genie from the very start, using the information to force Shavran's hand. "Wait, you knew!?" Iris exclaimed. "If you knew this was gonna happen, why the hell didn't you say anything!? You just sat there and let us walk right into his trap! "

"I required assistance reaching the Altar of Alondight within Kheron's tomb," the monk replied calmly. "My options were limited, and though Jinxing made me well aware of Shavran's character, securing his cooperation presented the path with the best outcome." She closed her eyes, a hint of regret creeping into her voice. "But, I underestimated the depths of his corruption. If I could have foreseen the consequences, I would have chosen another course of action."

Katrya- of all people- scoffed. "It's easy for you to say that now. What about if Shavran hadn't turned on us? Were you just going to let him go and do gods-know-what with that genie?"

Xiao was silent, her expression unyielding, but a faint flicker of shame danced in her eyes. Her silence was enough of an answer. But, eventually, she spoke. "I will not pretend that I am blameless in this. Nor will I ask for forgiveness. I wish only to say that I have made a grave mistake. The blame for any harm Shavran causes as a result shall rest solely upon my shoulders. And as the one who permitted him to take possession of such ruinous power, it is in turn my responsibility to correct that mistake."

A heavy silence settled over the tavern. It wasn't much, but it was something, at least. Still, Vanessa would be lying if she said that Xiao's decision to come with her wasn't a relief. With a Champion's aid, the odds of success rose from 'outright impossible' to 'very unlikely.'

"Well, it seems you've made up your mind, Vanessa," Iris said. "But if you're doing this… then I'm afraid you'll have to do it without me."

Vanessa expected as much. She was fully prepared to face Shavran alone. But the swordswoman's response was clearly a surprise to Abel and his allies. "You aren't gonna help her?" Holly asked, her brow furrowed.

Iris's gaze fell on Xiao, before returning to Vanessa. "I can't put my trust in someone who would lie to us like that. Who'd be willing to put all of us in danger to accomplish their goals. I know that you and I have unfinished business with Mister Shavran, Vanessa, but as long as she's with you-" Her eyes darted to Xiao again. "-then I don't want anything to do with it."

"I agree with Iris," Katrya said- though her tone was less hostile than the swordswoman's, it was no less firm. "As you said: your patron made you fully aware of Shavran's character. Meaning you must have had at least some inkling of what he might use a genie's power to achieve. And yet, you still chose to aid him." The missionary said no more, but her disapproval hung in the air like a dark cloud.

Abel however… looked conflicted. And it was something his companions noticed. "Don't even think about it, degenerate," the Mage's Guild girl said harshly to him.

"Why not?" he argued in reply. "Shavran's dangerous. And I've heard stories about genies before. I know what they can do. We can't just sit back and let him do whatever he wants with that kind of power!"

"And do you know who else is dangerous, Blue? The Overlord," Raine then said flatly. "Trust me, whatever Shavran thinks he can do with that genie, the Overlord can surpass it a hundred times over."

"But-"

"You should listen to your allies, Mister Abel," Xiao interjected, her voice calm yet carrying a weight that commanded attention. "I am the cause of this situation. It is only proper that I bear the burden of correcting it."

Though she held her silence, Vanessa agreed. Abel had done… more than enough for her already. She was indebted to him in ways she could never hope to repay. Asking for any further aid was… too much. Besides, this was her battle. Shavran was her demon. Her curse. If Abel- or anyone else- shouldered her burdens, she would never truly be free of it. She would accept the aid Xiao had offered, but beyond that, she would allow no one else to be dragged down into this abyss with her.

"But… what about your quest? Aren't there still altars you need to find?" Abel asked, clearly searching for any reason he could join them.

"What does that have to do with anything?" the Mage's Guild girl asked. "If she wants to chase after that fuckboy and his genie, let her. If anything, you should be thankful- that's one less Champion you'll have to compete with."

"Saving the world shouldn't be about 'winning' or 'losing,'" Abel countered. "If someone needs help…"

Vanessa cut him off, her voice firm yet laced with gratitude. "Thank you, Mister Abel. Truly. I will never be able to properly express how grateful I am for everything you've done. But… I can't let you get any further involved in this. Shavran is my responsibility. And I won't draw anyone else into this fight."

"Miss Montague-"

"There's a whole world of people out there in need of Heroes, Mister Abel," Vanessa continued, meeting his gaze directly. "And right now, they need you far more than I do."

Abel was silent, his gaze locked on hers, as though searching her eyes for something. A crack in her resolve. But he would find no such sign. And finally, his shoulders slumped slightly, as if the weight of her words had settled upon him. "…alright. If you're sure."

"I am," she answered, offering a nod.

She thought that would be the end of it. But it seemed Abel's capacity to surprise her had not been spent. "But… there has to be something we can do for you at least. You can't be planning to do this without any money or supplies. And not just you and Miss Xiao, but Miss Iris and Miss Katrya too."

"I can manage just fine on my own," Iris insisted.

"Actually, I think some travel funds would be helpful," Katrya said sheepishly.

As much as she hated to admit it, Vanessa was of a like mind with Katrya. Shavran had always been the one to hold the party's purse strings, and now that he was gone, all their funds had gone with him. In truth, what meager funds she had probably wouldn't have been enough to get her out of Flanvel, let alone chase Shavran across a continent. And while she prided herself on her resourcefulness, she couldn't conjure gold out of thin air.

Abel looked over to his allies, namely Raine and Lailah. "Were you able to raise any money while we were gone?"

"We did, but-" Raine began, "But we spent most of it on supplies to go rescue you and the others. Even if we sold everything, we wouldn't get back half of what we had before."

Lailah's gaze turned to Vanessa, her eyes narrowed, as though judging the mage. "You're a member of the Mage's Guild. Shouldn't they be able to assist you?"

"Maybe… but there aren't any Guild chapters in Flanvel," she explained. "And it would take at least a month for word to reach any chapters in Bastok. I'd be entirely on my own until then."

"We'll sell what we can," Abel declared. "As for the rest, we'll just have to take a few jobs from the Fighter's Guild to make up the difference." His gaze turned toward Vanessa and the rest of Shavran's former party. "I hope you don't mind waiting a few days while we take care of all that."

"I told you already, I can pull my own weight," Iris said bluntly. "If I need coin, I can earn it with my own hands."

"We've burdened you and your companions enough, Mister Abel," Xiao then said. "We cannot ask any more of you."

"It isn't a burden," he insisted. "And just because you didn't ask for help doesn't mean you don't need it."

There was an intensity behind Abel's gaze, and an almost physical weight behind his words. In that way she was again reminded of Shavran. But Shavran's gaze had a way of making one feel small, his words like a vise tightened around her throat, ready to squeeze the life out of her should she even think to disobey. But Abel's was not a gaze that tried to force one into submission. His words did not seek to bend one to his will. If Shavran's presence was a hammer, beating others into the shape he desired, then Abel's was a warm hearth, driving the back the shadows and soothing weary bones.

Vanessa swallowed, feeling a strange mix of emotions within her. Gratitude, yes. And something else too… something akin to fear? No, not fear. Respect, perhaps. Or was it… admiration? She couldn't be certain. The sensation was both familiar and unfamiliar. It was how she'd once felt towards Shavran, and yet somehow different. There was no trace of the uneasiness, the apprehension, that had always accompanied her feelings toward Shavran, even in those earliest days. With Abel, there was only a sense of calm.

"…Thank you, Mister Abel," she said softly, bowing her head slightly. "I appreciate your generosity."

"You can just call me Abel, Miss Montague," he replied, looking away as though unsure how to respond to Vanessa's gratitude.

Vanessa allowed herself to smile. "If you insist… Abel. But in return, I insist you call me 'Vanessa.'"

---

The tavern was silent. "…And?" the grizzled man said.

"And… nothing," Vanessa replied. "Over the next few days, Abel managed to gather the funds to send me, Miss Xiao, and Katrya on our way. And that was that."

The group of men and women gathered around Vanessa were quiet for a few moments. Then, a man with a large, bushy beard, wearing a leather apron, laughed, slapping his knee. "I must say, I never knew you mages could spin a yarn. But that was quite a story."

"Aye, 'twas," a woman sitting next to him said, her voice thick with an accent Vanessa had never heard. "I almost believed it for a minute there." She chuckled, shaking her head.

"Do you really expect us to believe that the Whoremonger just… let you go free?" a man dressed in a long black coat asked.

"I am sitting here in front of you right now, aren't I?" she replied, gesturing towards herself.

"Well what about this other girl you're traveling with?" another woman, this one clad in leather armor, asked. "Shay, was it? Where is she now?"

"Xiao," Vanessa corrected. "And at the moment she's speaking with the town bishop, gathering information about Shavran's most recent movements."

"Well, that's awfully convenient," the man in the black coat said.

"You wanted to know how I escaped the Whoremonger," Vanessa said, turning away from the crowd. "Well, I managed to escape because I was never his prisoner to begin with." She took a drink before looking back, to be met by a wall of confused expressions. But she was finished. The sorceress had told them all she cared to tell. They could decide for themselves whether they believed her or not. And with that, she dropped a silver coin onto the bar next to her tankard, and left the tavern.

Xiao was waiting for her outside, leaning against the doorframe of the inn. "I'm guessing you have news?" the sorceress asked.

"Shavran has been traveling west," Xiao said, her voice neutral. "According to the bishop, he was last seen in Tir, in the Kingdom of Tolstoj."

"He's that far west already?" It had been about three weeks since the two left Flanvel- a week and a half crossing from Flanvel to Merzis in Proserpina, then another week and a half following the southern coasts of Bastok. Immediately prior, at Lailah's insistence, Xiao and Vanessa had informed Flanvel's bishop of Shavran's deeds. Unsurprisingly, the Church had taken no action against him in that time- no penalties, no summons to account for himself, not even an official reprimand. But that was exactly what Vanessa had come to expect from the Church.

"There's more," Xiao continued. "According to the Guild's informants, he's heading south toward Eminescu."

Eminescu. The westernmost kingdom of the Ermisian Empire. There was little worth mentioning about the kingdom itself, save that it bordered the Cybelian Empire to the south. But Cybele… the mere thought of that land made the sorceress's blood run cold. It was one of few regions of Bastok where slavery was still widely practiced, and the Cybelians fought fiercely for the right to uphold that tradition. Raiding parties would cross the border into Eminescu every now and again, capturing and enslaving any unfortunate enough to cross their paths, turning the southern half of the kingdom into an abandoned, lawless wasteland… a perfect place for a man like Shavran to do whatever he wished, away from the prying eyes of the Church and the public alike.

"If that's the case…" Vanessa said, her jaw clenched, "…then we know where to go next." She turned to Xiao. "We're going to Eminescu."

"Very well," the monk replied, her voice as calm and collected as always. "Shall we set out tomorrow morning?"

"No," Vanessa answered. "If we're going to do this, then we need to be ready. We won't just be dealing with Shavran, but Cybele as well."

"Then I suppose we'll finally be putting the funds Abel gave us to good use," Xiao said, her expression unreadable.

Vanessa… didn't answer. The donation Abel had given them wasn't a lot- certainly nowhere near enough to fund an expedition of this scope- but she couldn't find it within herself to spend any of it. It had been his gift to them- to her. And to spend it would have felt like squandering his kindness. So she always chose instead to raise what funds they needed with her own hands, leaving Abel's money untouched.

Then, as though reading her thoughts, Xiao said, "That money Abel gave us will do no good tucked away."

"I know that," the sorceress replied faintly, her cheeks growing hot. "But I don't want to waste it."

"I'm certain that so long as it helps us find Shavran, Abel will not consider a single coin as having gone to waste," the monk countered.

"…You're right," Vanessa sighed. Xiao was, as usual, correct. The monk was far from the most eloquent of individuals, but when it came to advice, Vanessa could not deny her wisdom. Still… "I wonder how he's doing."

Xiao's gaze turned forward, as if looking to something distant. "I imagine he's doing well. He's very capable. And he has a great many allies supporting him." The monk's tone was neutral, but there was a subtle note of approval in her voice.

Vanessa's hand drifted to a small pouch of silver coins at her belt- Abel's gift. "You know…" she said, a strange feeling building up inside her. "…I think you're right about that."

---

Three weeks earlier…

Gathering the money to send Vanessa and the others on their way had been a surprisingly, and thankfully, straightforward affair. Selling the supplies the others had bought to rescue him and the others- shovels, ropes, torches, and similar goods- had built a decent sum, so much so that he only needed to finish a handful of jobs from the Fighter's Guild to cover the costs. Clearing a warehouse by the harbor infested with slimes from the sea, guarding a wagon of iron ore as it was transported from a ship to a local forge, delivering letters and documents to various clients… none was particularly challenging, but they paid well enough, and after everything they'd endured in the journey to Mayfil and back, simple, honest work felt like a welcome respite.

And after just two days, Abel had earned enough to book passage for Vanessa, Xiao, and Katrya out of Flanvel, with some extra to cover expenses on the way. Iris had declined his offer, melting away somewhere into the city to ensure Abel couldn't force his assistance upon her. And when the day came for the three former companions of Shavran to depart, Vanessa said their farewells, took the purse filled with their travel funds, and boarded a small ship. However, after receiving her share, Katrya didn't follow them, instead standing awkwardly, her head bowed, her gaze averted. Cautiously, he asked, "Miss Katrya?"

"Um…" For several moments, Katrya stood silent, shaking. Then all of a sudden, she bent forward until her upper half was parallel with the ground. "Please forgive me!" she said- shouted, practically.

"Uh- …forgive you for what?" he asked cautiously.

Katrya remained bowed, face turned downward. "When I met you, I thought you were just like Shavran. I believed what your Church said about you, and when I saw you, surrounded by all those women… but I was wrong. You aren't like him at all. You're nothing like him. And I'm so sorry I thought that. You saved my life. You saved all our lives. I… I'm so sorry I ever doubted you."

Abel didn't know how to respond. It wasn't often people bowed to him, or apologized to him. All he could manage in reply was a feeble, "Don't… worry about it. Really." The awkwardness of the whole situation made Abel feel as though he was the one who should be apologizing.

Katrya finally stood, though her head remained bowed. She raised a hand, tracing a shape in the air with her fingers. "Pust' blagodat' Semi-Kto-Yest'-Yedinyy napravit tebya na tvoyem puti, Geroy." May the grace of the Seven-Who-Are-One guide the steps of your journey, Hero. Then she turned, boarding the ship without looking back once.

Abel turned away as well. He had done all that he could for them. But as Vanessa had said, there was a whole world of people who needed him. And one of those people had been standing near the pier, waiting patiently for him to finish his business. "Sorry," Abel said, as he approached. "I didn't mean to take so long."

"It's alright," Lailah replied. "You did what you had to. So… do you feel more… capable now?"

Abel felt… conflicted. It was true that once Shavran abandoned them, he'd led the other Hero's companions out of the tomb and back to safety. But at the same time, he'd inadvertently helped Shavran acquire a dangerous and powerful weapon. If he had acted differently, or acted sooner, could things have played out differently? Though Niel had assured him he couldn't have known Shavran's true intentions, and urged Abel to take pride in the good he'd managed to accomplish, the question plagued him ever since they'd begun the return to Flanvel. Even now, he wondered if there had been anything more he could have done.

"Maybe," he finally replied. "I'm… not sure." The silence that followed was uncomfortably long. He doubted it was the answer she'd hoped for- it certainly wasn't the answer he'd wanted to give. "I… I-I'm sorry," he stammered. He wasn't even sure why he was apologizing- because he'd disappointed her? Because he'd endangered himself, and Holly and Fiann and Tamayatsu, only to return with empty pockets and feelings of uncertainty and doubt? "I know this isn't-"

But before he could say anything, before another excuse or explanation could pass his lips, Lailah reached out, and pulled him into an embrace. Abel's mind went blank, his thoughts evaporating as his cheek was pressed against her shoulder. She was warm, the soft sound of her breathing filling his ears, her scent flooding his senses. Her grip on him tightened, his bones creaking slightly under the pressure. "Please don't ever scare us like that again."

"Huh?"

"When Shavran told us what happened, I…" She buried her face in his neck, her breath tickling his skin. "I was so worried. If something had happened to you… I don't know what I would have done. So please, promise me you won't do something like that again. Please don't… don't go somewhere where I can't follow you. Don't go somewhere where I can't protect you."

Her words stirred up a mix of emotions in Abel- regret, embarrassment, guilt, and a host of others. But one stood out in particular: gratitude. Lailah didn't have to care about him as much as she did. She could have easily seen him as a burden, or a means to an end, as Shavran had. But she didn't. The realization that there was someone- several someones- who cared so deeply about him…

"I won't…" he muttered softly, encircling his hands around her back in return. "I won't."

For a moment, neither moved, holding each other, and allowing the sounds of the harbor and the salty smell of the sea to fill their senses. But then, something touched Abel's neck. Something… wet. It was gone an instant later, but it was enough for Abel to jerk back, his eyes wide. At first, he thought he'd overreacted, but Lailah's eyes were dry, and her lips pressed together tightly, her cheeks reddened. "Did… did you just lick me? "

The flush on her face deepened. "I… I think I got a bit… too excited just now. M-My… instincts…" She then abruptly said, "W-Why don't you head back to the inn. You've been running around nonstop since you got back from Mayfil helping those girls. You should rest."

"What about-"

"Don't worry. Raine and I can handle things for a while. You need a break."

Abel would have argued… but truthfully, the thought of a warm bed and a cold drink was rather tempting. And he did trust Raine and Lailah both. "…Alright. But, if something comes up, then-"

"I just told you, Raine and I can handle it," Lailah insisted.

"Alright, alright. I'll be back at the inn, then."

Abel glanced out over the sea one final time, his gaze wandering to the small, white-sailed ship slowly drifting away from the shore, before heading away from the docks, slowly but surely making his way toward the center of the city, to the inn they'd chosen to stay at- the Wheelhouse. And once he was past the threshold, all at once, a feeling of fatigue washed over him, his legs feeling heavy and his head swimming. Lailah was right- he did need a break. The drink could wait- he'd earned a nap, and a nap was exactly what he would get.

And so, he made his way up the stairs and into the room, tossing his jacket aside before flopping down onto the bed with a sigh. Sleep began to overtake him, his thoughts growing hazy. But, a sound drew his attention- footsteps outside the door, stopping just short of entering. For a few moments, nothing happened, but then, there was a gentle knock. "Abel?" a gentle voice asked, one Abel instantly recognized. It was Holly.

He sat up, turning toward the door. "What is it?"

"Can I… talk to you? Just for a bit?"

"…Sure. The door's unlocked."

For a few seconds, there was no response, and no movement. But then, Holly pushed the door open, closing it behind her. She was out of her armor, wearing only her black long-sleeved shirt and her black socks, her silver hair unbraided and hanging loosely down her back. She seemed… nervous. Well, in truth, Holly always looked nervous. But, she had a different kind of nervousness to her than usual. And as she walked towards the bed, her gaze remained pointed at the floor, her hands fidgeting in front of her, her breaths coming slowly and deliberately. "Holly… are you… feeling alright? Do you need me to get Minze and Violet for you?"

"Huh?" she mumbled, looking up, her face red. "N-No, it's nothing like that. I'm just…" She shook her head, turning away again.

"Well… then what's wrong?"

Holly didn't answer.

Immediately, an unease gripped Abel. "Uh… Holly?"

Still, Holly didn't reply. Suddenly, she swiftly turned her back to Abel, before seating himself in his lap.

"Wha- hey! Holly!" Outside of her armor, she wasn't particularly heavy, but… it did little to change the fact that a girl- a woman his own age- was sitting right in his lap, with her… place very close to his… place.

"You protect me…" she finally said. "Over and over again, you protect me. In Hokes, in Caral, and earlier, in Mayfil. But… I can never do the same for you. So!" Without waiting for a reply, she then grabbed his wrists, and placed his hand on her breasts.

Immediately, Abel tried to pull his hands away. "Holly, wait! What is this!? What are you doing!?" But the mercenary's grip was uncharacteristically strong- though his hands weren't touching… them, they were still far too close for his liking.

"I'm not strong like the others. I can't protect you like they can. The only thing I can give you is… this."

The sensation was immediate. Though he could still feel the soft cloth of her shirt, even through the fabric, her skin was warm, and beneath his palm, her flesh yielded ever so slightly. He could feel the subtle movements as she breathed, her breasts shifting beneath his hands with every breath.

"Holly, wait-" Abel protested, trying to pull his hand back. In truth, he could have easily broken her hold, but the thought of hurting her, even by accident, kept his muscles rigid, the strength in his arms at bay.

Her fingers overlapped his, forcing him to squeeze and causing her to let out a small, sharp breath. Hearing that stirred something within Abel, a strange feeling he couldn't identify. "Is it… because I'm not attractive to you? Is it because you like taller women? More slender women?"

"It's not-" Abel stammered. Holly… he wouldn't say she wasn't attractive in his eyes, because that would be a lie. But at the same time, to admit that out loud…

All the… sensations he'd felt during their voyage from Isha, the ones he'd tried his best to suppress, to ignore, came flooding back to him, his mind overwhelmed by a torrent of confused and conflicting desires. It felt as though some terrible beast had awakened in the depths of his soul, clawing at the edges of his reason. And admitting that Holly was beautiful would only rile that beast further, driving it to break free from the chains he'd set on it. He didn't know what it would do- what he would do- if it broke free.

"Then what is it?" Holly demanded, her grip tightening. "Why won't you let me do this for you, Abel!?" Her voice was raw, tinged with desperation.

"Because-!" It was just one word, but it seemed to explode out of him like a cannonball. For a few long moments, neither moved. Then, he began to speak… or rather, words began to tumble out of his mouth like lengths of tangled rope, a mishmash of jumbled thoughts and half-formed explanations. "Because- e-ever since what… happened with Kagura, I- I keep- I think about… about Lailah and- and you, and… and the others too. I think about- us, doing… doing things. And the more I try not to think about it, the- the more I want- the more I… I took the job with Shavran because I wanted… I didn't want to think about it. But now, I just- I keep thinking about it and I just want it to stop! Something's wrong with me, Holly! There's something wrong with me and I- I don't know how to make it stop! It's not right- none of this is right and I-"

His words stopped abruptly when Holly let go of his hands and stood up. He'd said too much. Now, she knew the monster he truly was. Whatever she might have felt for him in that moment was gone now. He could practically hear the disgust, the scorn, the hatred building within her, ready to explode like an avalanche-

But then, the mattress creaked, and a weight settled on his lap. It was Holly, of course, now turned to face him. He opened his mouth to ask her what she was doing, but a pair of warm, soft lips sealed his, muffling any words he might have uttered. His mind went blank, his thoughts scattered. This wasn't… this couldn't be happening. Abel tried to push her away, but his arms wouldn't obey. They remained limp at his sides as if bound by iron chains. In fact, his whole body refused to move, save to fall back limply onto the bed, breaking her kiss.

Holly followed him down, her weight pressing against his, her… breasts squashing against his chest. "I… I've actually been thinking about this. For a long time now."

"Thinking about… what?" The words came slowly, the sensation of Holly pressing against him causing them to get lost on their way to his mouth.

"The thought, of men touching me… it always frightened me. Even when I was younger, I… I knew how men looked at women. Especially women like me. But, when I think- …when I imagine you touching me, Abel, I… I don't feel afraid."

Abel could barely process her words. He didn't know what to do. How did he react? What was the right thing to say in this situation? Even the beast within him seemed stunned into silence. All he could do was stare up at the girl- the woman- in his lap, his mind reeling.

But eventually, Abel found his voice. "…Are you sure?"

"I am." Holly's voice was quiet, but resolute.

"And… you're okay with… me, doing… this?"

Her head bobbed up and down. "I am." Her voice, though still quiet, remained resolute. "Because… I trust you. Because I know you would never hurt me."

"You… you can't take back something like this. Are you really sure-"

Holly replied, not with words, but by grabbing his hand and placing it on her chest once more. Her breath hitched, and a shudder passed through her, before she took his other hand, and placed it on her other breast.

The sensation was the same as before- warmth, and yielding flesh. He could feel her heartbeat through her clothes, quickening as the seconds ticked by. Abel couldn't help but compare the feeling to that of a frightened bird, caught in a net, or a cage. He… he didn't know what to do now. "Holly…"

Holly's hands left his wrists, and moved behind her head, giving Abel a full, uninterrupted view of her. "Go ahead," she said softly.

Slowly, carefully, Abel allowed his hands to roam over the curves of her chest. Every slight movement was punctuated by a sound, a gasp, a whimper, a hiss, each sending a chill down his spine. He wasn't sure he liked it. But at the same time, he wasn't sure if he hated it either. He was surprised, though. Though Holly's skin was soft, and her breasts yielded slightly to his touch, they didn't feel the way he'd expected them to… not that he had ever put any thought into what they might have felt like, of course "Huh… I don't know why, but… I thought they'd be… softer." He slid a hand under one of her breasts, and lifted it gently. It was… heavier than he expected. "They're heavy too."

At hearing that, Holly let out a small laugh. "What?" he asked. "What's funny about that?"

"I, um… had a dream a while ago. About both of us doing exactly what we're doing now. In my dream, when you touched me, you… said almost the same thing." Seeing her smile, the flush on her cheeks, made something within Abel stir, even more than laying his hands on her had. "That dream was when I… started thinking about this more."

Abel's hands left Holly's breasts, slowly tracing down her sides. Though her clothes were in the way, the curve of her hips were obvious, even through her shirt. But when his hands moved over her stomach, she jolted, shifting as if to move away. "Don't… don't touch my belly," she said, her voice strained. Her face flushed a deeper red, her expression pained.

Her sudden shift caught Abel by surprise. She was okay with him touching her chest, but not her stomach? It didn't make any sense. "Why not?" he asked, before he could stop himself. "Does it… hurt, or…?"

Again, her face reddened. "I… it's not…" She averted her gaze, her expression pained. "…when I was little, my big sister would tease me by poking my belly and calling me a pudge-bug. I know it's silly, but-"

A strange sound erupted from Abel's throat, one he had never heard himself make before. It almost sounded like the call of some strange bird. Holly's face reddened again, but her brow furrowed and she glared, squeaking, "Stop laughing!"

Despite her protest, it took more effort than Abel expected to force himself to stop, and even so, he could still feel the corners of his mouth curving upward. The strange feeling lingered in his body, threatening to erupt out of him when he thought about Holly's glare, or the word "pudge-bug."

Was… was that what laughing felt like?

"I'm sorry. It's just, I wasn't expecting something like that. I wasn't expecting… any of this."

Holly frowned, no longer angry, but looking more embarrassed than ever. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "I thought this would… make you happy. If you want to stop-"

"No, it's not- I don't-" Abel shook his head, trying to force his thoughts back in order. "I… I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about all this."

"Do you… not like it?"

"I… I didn't say that," Abel answered. Truthfully, he couldn't say for sure what he was feeling. Part of him- most of him, really- did want to end things there and pretend none of it had happened. That… that this sort of thing wasn't meant to happen to someone like him. That he didn't deserve something like this. But, there was a part of him, small and quiet, yet persistent, that wanted to continue. To take Holly up on her offer, and see where this led. And he didn't know which of them he was supposed to listen to.

Why couldn't he just be a normal man, for just a single moment? A normal man wouldn't have been so conflicted, so indecisive. A normal man would have known what he wanted. A normal man-

…but, Abel wasn't normal. And he'd stopped being normal the day he and Kagura had gone into Oko's sanctum. Or… had the change happened before that? Had it begun when he found out he was a Hero? When he'd chosen left Seles?

…Had he… ever been normal?

"…Abel?"

Abel was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Holly's voice. His gaze rose from her stomach, to her chest, then finally, to her face. He could see the concern, the worry, in her eyes, and felt his chest tighten. "You… really don't like this, do you?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"I-" Abel began. "I- I don't… know. I- …I don't know." He didn't know. And for some reason, admitting that fact made him feel so very small.

Holly didn't reply, only biting her lip and looking away, her hands falling to her sides. "I… I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't… I shouldn't have-"

She tried to stand up, but Abel bolted up after her. "Wait, don't leave!"

Holly froze, her gaze locking on his. For several moments, neither spoke, nor moved. The tension in the air was so thick it seemed almost tangible, a palpable weight pushing down upon them. "I…" Abel finally said. "…all of this is just… a lot to take in. I've… never done something like this before. I… I don't even know if I want to." He added quickly, "I-It's not because of… you. I… I just…" He trailed off, unsure how to continue. …unsure of what he wanted.

Holly's face was still flushed, but her expression was calm, almost serene. "…you really are a good man, Abel."

"No," he insisted. "I'm not."

"Yes, you are." She smiled, her cheeks darkening. "If you weren't, then you wouldn't have done everything you have. You wouldn't have helped me, and the others, and so many other people. If you weren't a good man, then… I would have never trusted you. I never… would have felt this way about you."

Her words stirred something within him. He didn't know why, but the conviction in her voice, the warmth in her eyes, it made him… want to believe her.

She climbed onto the bed, but rather than lie on top of him again, she lay down beside him, her body curled up slightly. "Abel," she said softly. "You are a good man. I wish… you could see that. Just like I wish… you could see how much you mean to the people around you." She reached out, placing her hand over his.

It was strange. In spite of the awkwardness, and the tension, her touch was still reassuring.

"…do you think we could just… stay like this for a little bit?" she asked. "Nothing has to happen. We don't even have to talk. I just… I want to stay with you. Just for a little while."

"…yeah," Abel replied. "Yeah. We can do that."

They didn't speak any further. And the two stayed that way, laying on the bed next to each other, their hands resting over each other's. Eventually, she rolled, pressing her back against his side. Her body was warm, soft. Comforting. He found himself relaxing, his thoughts slowly quieting as he listened to Holly's slow breaths, until at last, sleep overtook him. The last thing he felt was her hand, still clasped tightly over his own.