"Hrrrrrrrmmmmmm…"

"Oh don't give me that."

"Hrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmm…"

"Can you at least let me explain-"

"HRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMM…!"

Shortly after leaving Charlotte's lab, Artorian had held his promise to bring Mei Mei to meet Karen, although as he learned there was a bit of an issue in the meeting. That in the form of the girl's disapproval of seeing yet another developed woman being present and familiar with him.

"Are you seriously going to pout about this?" Artorian asked, his shoulders slumping as the young girl was turned away from him, her lips pouting with her arms crossed.

"Yes, you know exactly what I'm upset about." Karen said, her eyes closed as she turned her head up to avoid any chance of seeing the boy.

"Karen I barely even know Mei Mei, she's Charlotte's assistant and I decided to break the ice." He'd explain. "I thought you two would be able to become friends if I introduced you, I swear it's not what you're thinking."

"Right, you just happened to find another big boobed girl to hang out with while I stay in here."

"We've technically only known each other for a total of two hours. She's an acquaintance at most right now."

"You're still ignoring the problem!" Karen whined, hitting Artorian's shoulder with barely any strength, both from her condition and not wanting to actually hurt him.

"I don't understand, why is Karen so upset with Artorian?" Mei Mei spoke, blinking in confusion as Artorian simply sat in place, not even fazed by Karen's gentle hits.

"Oh no reason Mei Mei, Karen's just a little jealous is all." Miharu would laugh, smiling as she watched the two interact over the situation.

"Come on Karen, this can't be that big of a deal can it?" Artorian would ask, raising an eyebrow as the girl would stop her cute show of anger, going back to her pouting as she did.

"You keep getting surrounded by girls, your only guy friends are Emile and Matthew."

"What can I say, I just have a way with women?" Artorian shrugged with a smile, Karen puffing her cheeks more while Miharu chuckled.

"I'm not talking to you for the rest of the day. Maybe when you apologize I'll reconsider it."

"Don't be like that Karen. Karen." Artorian would speak, trying to lean to be closer to the girl, however she would simply shift further away, her chin raised as she did everything she could to ignore him. "Karen, come on we both know you can't ignore me forever. Who else are you going to read fortunes about?"

"Hmph!"

"Well okay, if it's like that…" Artorian said with a smirk, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the signed tarot cards. "I guess I'll have to find someone else who wants these. But where am I going to find a Sakura fan so late into the day on a military warship?"

"Wah!?" That last bit got the girl's attention, sputtering as she turned to see the tarot cards in hand. "Y-You got them signed!? Sakura signed my cards!?"

"Huh? I'm sorry do I know you?" Artorian responded, his smirk growing as he held the cards up more, shaking them playfully as she looked to them. "You look like a friend of mine, sweet little girl by the name of Karen. But you couldn't be her, she said she wouldn't talk to me for the rest of the day."

"Artoriaaaaaan!" Karen begged as she reached for the cards, the boy easily keeping them out of reach by simply holding them up high. "Artorian please, I'm sorry! You know I didn't mean it, I'm sooooorry! Please let me see them!"

"Curses, the puppy stare. My one weakness." He chuckled as he lowered his hand and handed the card case to Karen, the girl beaming in excitement as she took it into her hands.

"Sakura signed my…"

"She was more than happy to." Artorian smiled, placing his hand on her head as her eyes shined with joy. "Took spending the whole day with Sakura in order to get them, I hope you like them."

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Karen cheered as she got up onto her knees and threw her arms around Artorian in a full embrace. "Thank you Artorian, I never thought I'd actually get an autograph from Sakura! This is the best day ever!"

"Hehe, careful there champ you'll crush me if you hold too tight." He joked, returning the embrace gently. "I was more than willing to put up with the Pink Princess if it made you smile. And I… I think I take it back."

"Huh, take what back?" Karen would ask, the two separating as she sat back down on her bed, the boy pulling the sheets back over her legs.

"Her music still kills my ears, and the level of pink is by far the most painful thing to stare at for too long… but maybe she isn't such a fake after all." He'd admit, scratching his cheek as he looked away.

"So you admit that she's actually a great idol and an amazing singer!?" Karen asked in hopefulness, looking up to him with a smile.

"Still can't stand her voice, I have no idea what you find so great about it but… yeah, she isn't so bad of a person. And maybe a good singer in your eyes."

"Step 2 complete…"

"I heard that."

"Eep!"

"Wow, are those tarot cards?" Mei Mei would ask, walking up to Karen's bed with fascination in her eyes.

"Yeah… what about it?" Karen asked, giving the maid girl a sideways glance with defensive eyes. She had forgiven Artorian for bringing her, but Karen was still on the fence about Charlotte's assistant in regards to her being around him.

"Back then Charlotte had her own set of tarot cards, she always showed me them but didn't ever actually use them in any way." Mei Mei recalled while looking at the cards in interest, before her eyes beamed with excitement and her tail started to wage. "Could you show me how they work?"

"E-Eh, you want me to use my cards?"

"Not these ones, I can tell they're meant to be kept for keepsake, but do you have a set that you do use? I always wanted to have my fortune read but Charlotte always told me that it's bad to listen to anyone just offering it out of the academy."

'Yeah, that'd make sense.' Artorian thought.

"Well I… I guess I could but… are you really sure?" Karen asked, suddenly getting cold feet at the cyber-cat maid girl's request. "Artorian's the only person who ever actually listens to them, everyone else calls it silly parlor tricks."

"I would love to see you work your magic Karen!" Mei Mei confirmed, smiling brightly as she did. "You have a gift, and I for one think having clairvoyance is a useful and special power. It would be my pleasure to see you demonstrate it."

"W-Well maybe if…" Karen would look over to Artorian, unsure of what to do on the matter over the sudden request. But seeing him nod as he got up, the girl would look back to Mei Mei sheepishly while putting her signed cards on her lap. "You promise you're not going to tease me?"

"I wouldn't even dream of it."

"Then… then I won't disappoint!" Karen would say, putting on a brave face as she would go for her normal tarot cards. "Today's almost over, so seeing your fortune wouldn't be very fun. So let's see what tomorrow might bring!"

"Yay!"

"You two enjoy yourselves for now, I need to talk to Miharu for a minute." Artorian would say, excusing himself and the nurse as they stepped to exit the room.

"Don't stare at Miharu's boobs!"

"I only promise to try." He'd chuckle in response before the two exited, closing the door to give them some privacy. "So, you said there was something about Karen's health?"

"Nothing bad, I just figured you'd want an update since last week was the last one you heard." Miharu would say, going to the console next to Karen's door and opening her notes. "The treatments are appearing to be doing very well, she's received them well and is showing signs of her Severance being prevented from further developing."

"That's good…" Artorian would sigh, half expecting the information to be bad but hopeful it wasn't.

"We'll be waiting a week to see if any complications develop, but should nothing come up we'll begin treating her to remove the virus' presence." Miharu would continue. "In about a year, she should be cleared down to the first stage of Severance. And after a process of smaller procedures over three years we'll have her completely clear of any trace of the virus."

"Four more years then." He'd mutter. "Four years and she can finally have her life back."

"It must have been scary, not knowing what you were going to do when she developed to the second stage." Miharu would guess, looking back to the boy as she saw him appear both relieved and sorrowful.

"I never wanted to leave her side, but my inheritance would only keep her in the hospital for so long." He'd respond, looking through the door's window to see Karen smiling as she'd set her cards down, Mei Mei watching attentively as she did. "I knew it would be a long process, but I never knew how to prepare that far. I worked and trained to get stronger to give her some semblance of normalcy. But when you're stuck in a hospital bed for years… I hate Judal but he gave her a chance, so I'll work as hard as I can to be a Slayer. For her sake."

"She's lucky to have a friend like you."

"It's more of the other way around." Artorian whispered to himself, looking down for a second before smiling to the nurse. "Speaking of being lucky, I caught a break when you found Karen's cards. Charlotte got them to me just before Sakura had to go back to her hotel. I owe you one."

"Oh, it's no problem." Miharu responded. "I was just happy to help, I knew that signature meant a lot to both of you and that it would be a shame to have her wait till your next mission to try again."

"Oh no you don't, I let Charlotte off with that." He said, crossing his arms while keeping a finger pointed at her. "You had no obligation to help other than seeing Karen happy, I will be paying you back for that. At the very least I owe you dinner, no acceptations."

"Well, I'd love to but, I already ate for the night." Miharu would say.

"A date then, I'll take you out to dinner sometime next week to pay you back for getting me Karen's cards."

"Artorian, you really don't have to-"

"Miharu, you not only are looking after Karen, but you're putting yourself in harms way by promising to report anything that could involve her." He'd then smirk, giving her a wink. "I refuse to let a fair maiden such as yourself do so much for me and not be given a proper reward."

"My, so forward for a knight." She'd giggle in response, appearing still conflicted at the idea but her posture relaxing. "Promise me you won't do anything too serious?"

"Just a casual dinner, no fancy restaurant or ulterior night of unbelievable passion. Although, I can certainly squeeze that second part in if you'd want."

"I'm not sure, I'm a woman with many needs. I couldn't imagine anyone could be so good as to give me an entire night of excitement."

"Well I'd say it's never too much of a stretch to try. I'm very good with my hands I've been told."

The two would then share a laugh at their back and forth teasing, neither having given ground and remaining calm. It felt like a good distraction for the two, as both their occupations demanded a lot of their time and energy. A moment to unwind if even for a moment was what the nurse really needed, and the knight was more than happy to provide a humorous distraction.

"Okay, I'll accept a SIMPLE dinner." Miharu would relent, making sure to remind him to keep it from going too serious.

"Of course, if that's what the fair lady requests." Artorian would give an over exaggerated bow, getting a small laugh from the nurse as he overplayed the knight motif many would put on him. "How would next week sound? I know you have a busy schedule, so I would expect you need some time to find a window of time."

"Next week sounds lovely. I'll see when's the earliest I can get off and we'll have a nice dinner."

"Step 1 complete…"

"I heard that."

"Heeee…"

"Gods, today was longer than I expected." Artorian would say to himself, cracking his neck as he walked to the dorm's public bath. After the constant change of pace going throughout the day, he simply wanted to end the day with a nice long soak in the hot, herbal water.

When he reached the door, he didn't even hesitate to hold his PDA against the room's scanner, not noticing the "Under Cleaning" sign on the door when he opened it.

"Huh?" Hearing the door open, the lone occupant in the room turned, Artorian staring with the boy with a half lidded stare.

Or rather said the girl posing as a boy, as Emilia stood at the shelves with nothing but a towel on. She appeared mostly drenched, having just cleaned up before moving to go to the bath, being interrupted by the boy's sudden entrance. The two were completely silent, neither knowing what to say for a second before Artorian sighed.

"Déjà vu." He mumbled under his breath, chuckling to himself as he looked back up. "Twice now I've walked in on you in nothing but a towel Emile. If I didn't know any better I'd say you're doing it intentionally."

"A-Artorian! W-What are you doing-!?"

"Wanted to soak up for an hour or two, been a bit of a long day." He interrupted as he walked in, casually walking over to the white haired girl and resting his sword against the wall next to a set of shelves. "I just finished checking in with Karen so I figured why not come here now before I do my late night activities?"

"O-Oh, but I thought you were still going to be out for a few hours." Emilia would say, her cheeks dusted red as the boy began to take his uniform off.

"Souffle relieved me early, said everything was set and since I went early that I could leave early." He informed, taking both his coat and undershirt before putting them in his assigned shelf. "And since I spent a good chunk of my day either cramped in a limo and standing, I figured washing up would be a nice change of pace."

"I see… then, would you mind if I…?"

"Gods I don't understand you sometimes." Artorian chuckled, taking a moment to stop and look to her. "You're always so forward in public, but when it's just you and me you go back to being flustered. From tomboy to school girl, it gets hard to tell which one you're more like the longer I know you."

"You didn't answer the question."

"You didn't ask one." Seeing the pout and stare the girl gave him in response, he shook his head with a smirk while turning back to his shelf. "Sure, I don't care if we wash up together. I'd certainly never pass up such an opportunity like this."

After turning away to give him privacy, Emilia would blush at the idea of Artorian taking the remainder of his clothes off, the Slayer wrapping a single towel around his waist before sitting at one of the basins next to the bath.

He would only take a minute to clean himself off, washing his filth off while Emilia removed her towel and got into the bath, folding the towel and placing it somewhere it wouldn't get wet. He would then follow in shortly after, rolling his eyes at the girl turned around to look away while trying not to look at him as he entered

"You know it's perfectly normal to be curious" He'd call out, seeing her shoulders tense from behind. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I'm the first boy you've been in a bath with."

"Well of course you are, are you telling me I'm not the first girl you've bathed with?" Emilia would ask, looking over her shoulder with a measuring gaze and a bright blush.

"Well of course not, I grew up with Karen remember?" He responded, relaxing in the water, feeling the herbs in the heat wash away his fatigue. "Hayato, Karen and I used to bathe all the time together back then."

"Oh right, you knew the Kisaragis for a few years before then. I can't believe I forgot about that."

"Me neither." He chuckled, stretching his arms as he sunk a bit more in the water. "Meanwhile places like Gudenberg have more personal baths, so I'm guessing you didn't have as many baths with your parents and siblings."

"I never really got a chance to…" Emilia muttered, looking down and getting his attention.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing! It's nothing." She would deflect, waving her hands forward as she turned to face him. "I was just rambling a bit was all. I didn't say anything important, honest."

"Hmmm." Of course he didn't buy it, but Artorian knew better than to push on personal matters like family. It was also a stretch for him to assume her family life, especially with her having a more "royal" background than him.

"So uh, how did your mission go?" Emilia would ask, wanting to change the subject of her family standings.

"Well it wasn't a total waste, when my ears weren't ringing anyways." He would say, scratching the back of his head. "Sakura was a little annoying through most of it, but I at least understand her a bit better. Plus I got Karen her autograph so guess who's her favorite person for the next lifetime?"

The two shared a collective laugh at that, finding Karen's antics to be both adorable and humorous. After a bit, they'd be sitting in silence, simply relaxing in the hot bath a few feet apart from each other.

As they soaked, Emilia couldn't help but think about how despite it having been two weeks since their first mission, this was the first time the two were actually relaxing while together. Normally they were either studying, training or going out to have lunch with Karen.

And recalling back to the mission, she looked to his submerged arms and imagining both the burn scar from Claire's full powered attack and the scar left from his bone puncturing through his skin. It hadn't been too long, but the little time she had since reuniting with the boy were followed with him immediately suffering multiple injuries, adding on to the scars that were already on his torso.

"Something the matter?" Artorian asked as he sat up more, having noticed Emilia's expression turn more somber and regretful.

"Nothing it's just… do they still hurt?" Emilia responded in return, looking up to Artorian.

"What, these?" He'd question, holding both his arms up out of the water to show the full extent of his scars. "Nah they didn't hurt that bad to begin with. My pain tolerance is pretty high, they numbed out after two days. I just had to wait for the bone to recover to avoid any jolts of pain."

"And the burns?"

"You did see me do this didn't you?" He'd ask, facing the palm of his right hand to her, revealing the more darkened scarring from him cutting the skin off. "The burns barely hurt, Claire's attack just did the right damage to make it difficult for me to move. For the most part it didn't hurt too much, physical attacks are the way to go if you really want to hurt me. Not that she isn't lacking, I sometimes still feel that punch she gave me."

"That bad?" Emilia knew it had to of hurt, since the force had actually managed to make him puke up his meal from before the fight. But she figured that with everything else he suffered through it would be the lower end of pain.

"Oh Gods, she doesn't look it but I'd say she can punch as hard as my master used to. That isn't any small accomplishment either, Bastard packed enough force to match a rock slide."

"You had a master? I thought you were self taught?"

"I taught myself to use a sword, but I learned martial arts and a few other tricks from a dojo master that lived close to the hospital that Karen was staying at." Artorian explained, grinning at the thought of his mentor while crossing his arms. "Bastard was an old friend of my dad's, I felt if anyone could teach me what it was to fight like him it'd have to be him."

"Did your dad have a lot of friends in Yamato?"

"Only a few, most were first generation Slayers so they were either retired, dead or working as intelligence for Warslran. Bastard was the former, so he knew how to whip a punk like me into shape."

"It must have been some intense training." Emilia would say, subtly referencing Artorian's heightened build. As she could tell from the past, he wasn't over muscular as many strength based Slayers were, but the definition to his body made it clear he went through more than his fair share of serious work. Not to mention the scars that ran across his chest and back.

"Oh like you wouldn't believe, Bastard's routine pushed me to my limit and then some. This body before you came from years of blood, sweat, tears and vomit." He'd chuckle; opening his arms more to show the smaller scars on the inside of his arms. "I can't even begin to count how many times I puked from our sessions, not to mention all the debris that'd hit me for my technique training."

"But enough about the past, I think we've focused a bit too much on it." Artorian would state, although out of an interest to change the subject than anything defensive. "Anything interesting happen while I was off protecting Sakura?"

"Not really, the day was honestly boring not having you around." Emilia admitted, pulling her knees up to her chest as she looked over to him with a half lidded stare. "You left in such a hurry that we couldn't eat breakfast together, and then you waited until this late to show back up at the dorms. What, had better things to do than hang out with me?"

"Hey, things just kept stacking up was all. Guarding Sakura took up a good chunk of the day, and then Claire asked me to meet her at her residence here when I was done."

"Oh, so you decided to have some fun with the president huh?"

"Don't give me that look, I'll feel bad leaving the adorable princess all by her lonesome today."

"You better…" She would grumble, although her cheeks would turn slightly red at the adorable comment.

"So it'll be like that then, huh?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, smiling as he crossed his arms. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to make up for today. Emile, would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow?"

"Wait, but don't you have-"

"Sakura will be busy the entire day, and her hotel is guarded by at least a dozen Slayers around the clock." He'd inform. "Souffle gave me tomorrow off so I'm completely free. And as you're going to try and guilt trip me, I thought why not take this chance for us to have a more official date. Sound good to you?"

"Of course it does, yes!" Emilia cheered, throwing her hands up out of the water with a grin on her face.

'Take that Claire! He asked me out first!'

"Huh, taking a second look I think I misjudged the size." Artorian would say, confusing Emilia as she looked back to him. "With the way your variable suit was pushing on them when it got ripped, I assumed you were roughly a mid B-cup. But without anything keeping them down you're definitely a high-C, maybe a low-D if the water's obscuring more."

"W-What are you…" Emilia's voice died down as she noticed his gaze, going down past her eyes while he cupped his chin with a hand. Shooting her hands down, she would instantly wrap her arms around her chest, her cheeks turning bright red again as she pouted at the boy.

"Pervert."

"Says the girl who was eyeing me up minutes ago." He grinned in return, shrugging as he did. "I mean, I won't deny the accusation; but I'm not about to let you get away with doing the same thing to me. If I'm a pervert, you're a pervert."

"It's… different…?"

"Nope, that ain't working." He chuckled, crossing his arms as he continued to smile at the girl. "Do you even really care that I was looking?"

"…Not exactly…" She'd mutter, although loud enough for him to hear. "I just thought you were going to be the more subtle flirt, since you saw through my disguise and played around."

"Oh that's what you took it as?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "I just thought you were going through a phase or something. Or maybe that you were thinking being a guy would be a better life than-"

"That's what you saw it as!?"

"I'm not here to judge." He grinned as he looked to the side, the girl's whole face turning red in embarrassment. "But to be honest, you didn't look bad as a guy Emile. Aside from the feminine face you could've sold it, you definitely hid your rack. It's a shame you're keeping the identity up, I only get these moments to enjoy your womanly body."

"You're the worst…" Emilia whined as she put her head against her knees, trying hopelessly to hide her embarrassment.

"I enjoy the company too Emile."

*DING!*

"That's the fifth message in three hours." Matthew would sigh, looking at his PDA as Claire sent another message to him, asking the whereabouts of Liddy. It's been four hours since Artorian brought Liddy in, and as of now Charlotte was only now going through the final steps of the surgery. As a Dragon Slayer and the representative of Lordran in Little Garden, it was his duty to oversee Liddy's operation, if even just to make sure nothing turned south with the Abyss.

'She certainly knows her way around the Abyss.' Matthew would think, having watched how well the small doctor had handled the surgery thus far. Nothing less from the one who developed it, having also created both generations of Slayers. 'Someone this smart, and she wasted so much of her time on the likes of the Abyss…'

"Matthew" A screen across the room would light up, LiZa speaking up to the Lord and gaining his attention.

"LiZa? Aren't you supposed to be focusing on the equipment for Charlotte?"

"Multitasking" The screen would say, the gentle voice accompanying it as the pixels would alter and grow in numbers. "May I ask a Question?"

"It depends on the question." Matthew responded, looking to the screen with a raised eyebrow. "What do you want to know?"

"The Abyss, how much does it consume?" LiZa would question, the sentence forming just in the screen as the pixels continued to move to form each word.

"Anything and everything." Matthew answered simply, crossing his arms as he remained sitting, resting his back against the wall.

"How?"

"It simply does, nothing is safe from its taint."

"You don't know"

"History tells me all I need to know." Matthew stated. "You heard everything, and I assume you know even more since you're connected in here. Dozens of kingdoms fell to it, and if we hadn't done as much as we had, the whole world would've been eclipsed in darkness. It'd be no better than if the Savage win."

"The Abysswalkers"

"They simply acted, they had to prove themselves and were a viable power to combat the Abyss and Savage." Matthew corrected, catching the implication. "Do not mistake Artorias for the rule, he was the acceptation to what the generations of Abysswalkers were like before him. They're no different than the beasts they would fight against, whether it was Lordran's Wolf Knight or the ones from Drangleic, they were cutthroat and monstrous. They were no different than the Abyss themselves."

"You don't know" LiZa would repeat, getting Matthew to give a harsh stare.

"I have been shown the kingdoms that fell; I saw the long since abandoned corpses, toppled buildings, everything was either corrupted by the Abyss or left to ruin. My instructor made sure I knew my purpose and the dangers that came from my work. An Abysswalker has surfaced from their domain and is not only a Slayer, but also a Variant. Abyssal is a danger, no less than what a Primeval could be."

"Discourteous"

"Y-You know what I mean." Matthew would say, looking away from the screen in hidden shame. "He by nature is a threat, Artorian simply must be regarded as such."

"Do you hate him?"

"I have a duty, on the honor of my father and grandfather's name I share with. The honor of my family is dependent on me slaying him should he turn frenzy."

"Avoided"

"I don't like him, but as a fellow hybrid I'll make it as quick as possible." Matthew answered, looking back to the screen. "I cannot feel anything for him, it will interfere with my mission. Why do you even ask?"

.

.

.

"Curiosity"

"Curiosity she says." Matthew shook his head as the screen turned dark, LiZa putting her focus back solely on the operation. He knew the AI, and the truth behind its advanced mechanics. Simple curiosity would be the farthest from what made her ask about the Abyss, especially when the conversation took a more sudden shift to talking about Artorian.

'What could you be looking for?'

"My Liege, we have returned from our reconnaissance." Out in the wastelands on the large island of the Zwei islands, two men of vastly different sizes bowed down on a single knee. The one that spoke was massive in stature, standing at an imposing eight feet tall wearing crude and heavy grey armor. His entire body was covered completely, a ruined red plume coming out of his jagged helmet. He had two massive pieces of equipment with him, a large axe and equally massive shield, the weapons seeming impossible to carry without both hands in use.

The smaller of the two was by no means small himself, standing a little over six feet. He had on a set of ruined black armor, several chunks of his armor on his torso missing along with the entirety off his right arm's gear. A single greatsword was attached to his back, a tattered cloak covering his right side with the hood remaining over his face, obscuring everything except his glowing green eyes.

"Are all of the pieces in the correct positions?" Across from the two were two other massive men; one in iron grey royal armor themed after a lion, and the other in tattered cloth, steel and bandaged armor. The lion armored man was at the same height as the axe bearing man, but the leader of the four stood taller at eight feet and six inches.

"The forsaken is serving in the ranks of Little Garden, acting as Lordran's representative for the humans." The armored man reported, his head bowing further as his arm crossed his knee. "He has made little to no movements outside of the battleship since the recent descent."

"A shame, a fresh Dragon Slayer would be an interesting sight." The leader hummed, rubbing his chin past his tattered wrappings. He would then turn to the two, a green glowing stone revealed on an alter made of stone. "What of those three Akin? What do the humans call them… Variants?"

"The currently labeled Hunters are lying in wait." The smaller of the two men informed, raising his left hand to communicate through hand gestures that the three others easily understood. "They are waiting for the woman's stone to be present, while also looking for the Exalted that are here."

"So they're looking to gain more energy from the Exalted, interesting." The leader spoke to himself. "Tell me, is there anything of concern to the plan in play so far?"

"None that we cannot handle my liege." The heavily armored figure answered. "We detect no comparable energy from the Slayers currently on the island. Should you wish for the Akin to be stopped we will eliminate them."

"For now we are to leave them." The leader would state, going back to the glowing stone and picking it up in his right hand. Removing it from the alter, the stone was revealed to be a vibrant and powerful Savage core, glowing a dark green that pulsed every second.

A more powerful pulse of light went off after, a deep but enlightened note being played by the core. The four men's eyes all glowed a bright green, their pupils turning to slits as the two men standing knelt down. The leader held the core above him, allowing the signal from the core to freely broadcast its message to them.

"As you desire, Holy Exalted. Several Akin are on the field for you, and it is a matter of time before the next Arrival. The fragment shall do its part in gathering the energy of our naïve brothers and sisters." The leader spoke, sounding as if he was talking to a revered idol from the gods.

Another low signal would be sent, the leader smirking to himself as green electricity danced around his body. Followed by it, similar traces of the power were tracing the lion knight's arms and the heavy armored man's axe. The smallest of the group remained silent and unchanged, aside from the slow build up of energy around his body, forming a calm and refined green aura.

"Your power will give us the might to defeat any that desire to keep the Akin from the feast. None can stand to us when your energy courses through our veins." The leader promised, raising his eyes to stare into the glowing core. "When the next Arrival comes, the days to your awakening will come. And the world will crumble before your holy presence. None will stand ready to defeat you, the Defiled are gone and the Lords hide behind fruitless walls."

"Your rightful will, shall be exacted on the heretics of this world!"

(A/N): A bit of a shorter chapter, but if I were to keep it going to include the next plot point I would feel this chapter would have to be roughly 10,000 words for me to fit everything in; basically double this chapter. So I thought getting this one out now would be best in case I get seriously distracted and I take two weeks to release this. Preordered Code Vein and had just beaten my first playthrough yesterday (I made Artorian, it was a blast) and started my second character this morning.

Not too much else can be said, I'm picking up momentum for this story and am excited to get to some of the good bits to come. Also with the splash of my own stuff that I've been putting in thanks to Dark Souls. Pieces are being set and I can't wait to play them, but unfortunately the best parts need time to be revealed. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a good day. Peace!