It took all that Bahamut had within him not to strike Reia for her insolent behavior. The fact that she had the gall to speak to him in such a dignified manner actually made the now-Emperor of Archadia gain a little respect for her. Despite how infuriated he was with her and how it was about to show on his face, she stayed true to Reia form: always speaking her mind and doing it with certain glamor that was only matched by her reputation. Truly, this made Hamut smile with a wide, cheek-to-cheek grin.

But as she finished speaking, Hamut wouldn’t reciprocate her right away. Instead, he observed her gaze, then turned his attention to the window. What a nice night it was shaping up to be. The clouds were darkened, remnants of sunlight obvious, leaving a sort of fading pink shade amidst the oranges and blues and violets and reds. For some reason, the old man found it fitting, because as the light would fade into darkness, it will shine upon Archadia as she entered the beginning of a new rule.

“Tell me, Empress, do you know of why my grandson was banished from Archadia five years ago? I’m sure you heard about it. It was quite the ordeal. Well,” he mused a thoughtful sound, “I suppose it was more of a pain, really. Setting up my son’s — Jackson, Vincent, and Roman’s father, Simon — death was quite a bother. Setting all of these wheels in motion just so everyone would believe that Simon was murdered by his own son, by his oldest, mind you.” Hamut gazed towards Reia, a flicker of light in his free eye. “And to think, I had to set it up to where vincent had to kill his own father. I had to indirectly manipulate the entire scene so that my son died by his youngest, Vincent, and for Vincent to frame his own brother, thus driving Jackson out of the country.” Hamut relished at the thought of that memory, as seen from his twisted smirk.

“It all was going according to plan. But alas, I did not foresee the involvement Zodiark was going to have in it. My son, for all of his foolish choices as a ruler, actually pulled one over me, and made a pact with the Dark Esper, freeing him from his imprisonment in Henne’s Mines. In return, Zodiark replaced my son with a very convincing double. And now, somewhere, my son is alive.” Hamut seemed conflicted on how he felt about that. “I know this because my son Vincent thought this news would thwart my plans. He even told me what Jaakuna and Emiri did. Now Vincent is by his father's side somewhere. Honestly, I really don’t care if my son is alive or if one of my grandsons is being a tool for him. As far as I’m concerned, neither of them pose a threat to me. Jackson, however,” Hamut stood up, gandering at Reia thoughtfully, a hint of annoyance in his eyes, “he presents a real threat to everything I have hoped to accomplish today. So, to answer your question, yes, I will strike down my ‘own flesh and blood’. And if it comes to it, I shall kill my grandsons: Jackson, Roman, that treacherous Isaiah, and eventually, when the time comes, even Vincent and my son. And do you know why? It’s because I shall rule —”

Before Hamut could finish that sentence, two things happened that made him look first to the ceiling, then to the door. Above him, he saw only fire in the form of a large beast, and to the door, he only heard sounds of multiple clanking metal boots mixed in with battle cries. It happened so fast that there wasn’t enough time for him to react; not enough time for him to absorb what was going on at a reasonable rate. All he could do was act. His hand was out, and it shined brightly with a transparent purple and orange glow. It collided with the fire, and then…

BOOM

An explosion occurred. No sign of survivors. Top half of the Emperor’s tower gone...

---

“Alright Jaakuna, now that we’re here, what’s the plan?” Lannit asked, looking to Jaakuna for an answer.

The blonde Archadian had to think about this. After he got over the side-effects of his own invention, Jaakuna was in the perfect position to do something. They were directly over the Emperor’s Office. He didn’t know how far above they were, but Jaakuna had been on this rooftop so many times that he knew nothing but metal and stone separated this roof from the office. With that being said, it didn’t exactly mean that it made it any clearer to him about what they should do.

“I..don’t know,” Jaakuna rubbed the back of his head nervously, laughing.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I never did plan that far ahead. I didn’t know Roman was going to be in the dungeons. I didn’t know that Isaiah was going to tell me to get him. And most of all, I sure as hell didn’t know if that old contraption of mine was going to work, let alone warp us to where exactly we needed to be at.” Jaakuna laughed again. “Honestly, Lannit, this is all just a stroke of good luck.”

“]You’re hopeless.” Lannit said, sounding defeated.

About half of a moment later, a glyph appeared next to Jaakuna, the form of Belias stepping forward. “You never seem to surprise me, Jaakuna.”

Jaakuna grinned, “you can’t say it’s ever boring.”

Belias nodded, grunting a laugh. “Right you are.” Belias said.

Lannit was looking at Balias, eyes widened and mouth as low as it could be. He had never seen such a creature as huge and menacing before in his entire life. Well, maybe not counting the Hell Wyrm. Still, his hanging jaw and wide eyes could not be mistaken.

And Belias caught the sight of Lannit. He started to chuckle. Jaakuna noticed both of them, raising an eyebrow. “Oh right, you’ve never seen Belias, have you Lannit?” JAakuna asked.

Lannit shook his head slowly.

“Yes, well this is Belias, formally a pain in my ass —” Jaakuna would say, only to hear Belias do something of a scowl not even a moment later. “Note I said formally.” He emphasized. Belias still scowled, but more out of habit rather than reason. “—Anyways, back on point.” Jaakuna would cough. “As I was saying, I simply haven’t thought this far ahead. I’m open to suggestions.”

“Seems to me there is only but one course of action to take here.” Belias said, his human arms stroking his man-beast beard.

“By all means, do tell.” Jaakuna gestured Belias forward.

“Heh, well since we are above, why not use the expressway down.” Belias snickered.

For a moment, Jaakuna looked at his Esper. For a moment, he was dumbfounded, baffled that he didn’t think of it first. It was a suggestion that Jaakuna would most definitely come up with on his own, but for whatever reason he couldn’t be the one to come up with it. Still, he was astonished that, of all people, Belias was the one who brought up that suggestion before he did. He simply smiled.

“You just read my mind, Belias!”

Just moments later, Jaakuna looked to all three, gesturing Lannit and Roman to get on Belias’ back. Jaakuna would stand up top of his Esper’s head, swords out in his hands. Belias would look up at Jaakuna with his beast eyes, and he would return the gaze.

And then Belias lit himself aflame, crimson mist surrounding him. Those on his back would find themselves surrounded by a layer of protectaga as well as faith and bravery. His glyph appeared below them, and as fire would surround them, swirling and twisting in the air like a raging inferno, they crashed down through the roof.

And as they would come into sight of Hamut, he glared up them briefly before there was explosion of three parties: Belias and fire, Hamut and the power of meteor, and the combined elements from Shion, Lorenzo, Shinto, and Dominic, causing such a massive display of mist, it completely evaporated the entire top floor of the Emperor’s Floor, resulting in all thirds of the explosion hurling down to the streets of Archadia, but most importantly, onto unsuspecting innocents. If something wasn’t done soon…

---

Now that they were at where they needed to be, next came what they would do next. Good thing about their disguise is that it was the perfect cover, so if anyone came by, it wouldn’t look weird or out of place for a group of four Archadian Soldiers standing guard of their acting-Emperor’s office. Still, that didn’t help them any on when the right time was to act.

Dominic grunted, annoyed. He felt itchy from the fabric of the inside of the armor and his hair was begging to be free from the confines of the helm he had on. He wasn’t a guy who was made for helmets that required thick hair to be stuffed inside it.

Over the course of a minute, Dominic had moved around more than a dozen times, trying to scratch that itch that seemed out of his reach. Of course, this brought great annoyance to the others, specifically Shinto. “Would you keep still? You’re making too much noise.”

“Well, I’m sorry, I can’t control how bothersome this armor is to my bare back.” Dominic let out a rather annoyed sigh, furthering it as he just looked at Shion. “This is really what we’re going to be doing? Just standing guard, waiting?” Dominic asked. He gaze Shion an annoyed look, head tipped to the side slightly, eyes narrowed half of a centimeter. “This is utterly boring. We should just burst through the door.”

Of course the idiot wants to go rushing in. She wasn’t too surprised, but it was then that she let out a small gasp. She recognized the Mist of an Esper, and it was getting closer. “Change of plans--Belias comes!” She announced, withdrawing her sword as she turned on her heel. A glyph appeared on the door, and before anyone could react, she kicked it down, a burst of magic disintegrating the doors as they clattered on the ground.

“Finally, some action!”

Sure enough, Belias had appeared with all his glory, with Jaakuna, Lannit, and Roman in tow. It was quite a way to get there, but there wasn’t any time for them to be distracted. They had all gathered, with their sole enemy right before them. Reia stood from her seat, alarmed at both Jaakuna and Shion’s rather abrupt entrances, though she rather wisely ducked when Hamut’s spell began.

Lorenzo made to move, but Shion was faster, and already knew what he had wanted. “Focus on Hamut!” She ordered the three men as she ran forward, seemingly right into the blaze of Mist as it erupted.

“Wait--!” Lorenzo’s call was drowned as the force of the Mist quite literally blew the entire office apart, and he found himself flying backwards.

The blast threw Shion forward, her arm extended to Reia’s. She managed to throw herself on top of the Empress, protecting her from the brunt of the explosion, though before she knew it, she felt the wind billowing around her freely. Her armor was all but gone, but that wasn’t her focus. They were falling, the ground and the debris rapidly approaching. Reia was too shocked to let out a scream, moreso when Shion released her and dove faster to the ground. Twisting her body backwards, she extended her bandaged hand, the wraps unraveling as it revealed her entire hand and forearm were covered in a thick, black layer of magicks.

“By my shadows, let there be bliss--” The darkness from her arm extended wide, forming a shield and blotting out the light. As any fallen rubble touched it, rather than bouncing off it would disintegrate into Mist.

Letting out a sigh, she looked to see the falling Reia next to her, giving her a glare. “My apologies, Majesty,” Shion replied, outstretching her untainted hand. As Reia took hold, the two would hit the dark barrier, though instead of perishing, it served to slow their fall, and the pair landed safely. “I’d suggest finding somewhere to hide, I believe another battle is on the horizon.”

---

It had been hours since Wesley had last seen Nadeline. When he did last see her, she was whisked away from him while Cassandra borderline-appropriately snuggled him with her arms. That allowed her and his mother to apparently talk. When he had asked her(after crawling out of Cassandra’s clinging grasp), she told him that Nadeline wished to explore the city on her own, as a way to get to know the country she was going to inherit. Wesley voiced his concerns, but Isabella cited it wasn’t needed. She sent one of the best Knights of the Order of the Knights of Dalmasca as her personal bodyguard, so there was nothing to worry about.

Still, as Wesley had retired to his room shortly after dinner, his mind was kept on Nadeline. Call it what you may, but the future king of Dalmasca did not have a good feeling about Nadeline being gone this long. He could feel it in his gut. Usually gut feelings were right - well, at least as far as Wesley was concerned.

Hashmal would sense WEsley’s worry, so he manifested beside the prince. Of course, he scaled back on his size and left his gauntlets in the Esper Realm. “You’re troubled.”

“That obvious?”

“Talk to me.”

Wesley let out a sigh, “it’s hard to explain.”

“Try me.”

He smiled, finding Hashmal’s patience comforting.“I know mother told me Nadeline is safe.”

“You doubt your mother?”

“You haven’t been with me long enough. My mother has a shoddy record when it comes to the truth.”

“I see,” Hashmal mused, “so why haven’t you gone out into the city as soon as she told you what may be the truth?” Hashmal asked.

“I didn’t think much of it. Nadeline is the kind of person who would do that without telling me, but..” WEsley’s voice trailed into a grim expression.

“But?”

“She wouldn’t be gone this long, unless something happened.”

Hashmal didn’t say anything, he simply looked at Wesley. He knew what the look meant.

Laughing to himself, Wesley got up, looking to Hashmal as the esper would start to fade from the physical realm, retreating into WEsley’s palm. The Order Seal fading so that Wesley’s skin only remained in his view.

It would only take him moments to get what he needed: his usual battle gear, his sword, and of course, Hashmal waiting for him by the window. He didn’t know what waited for him out there, but one thing he did know was that Hashmal would be his ride down, and he would seek out his fiance, wherever she might be.

---

Sylvester was quiet. He stood there looking at no general location in specific. His eyes made it seem as though he wasn’t all there, as if someone had sucked out his soul. His golden eyes lost its glow, his limbs were dangling lifeless, dropping in front of him. His back was hunched forward, but his head was looking straight ahead, it contorted to the right. It was doing so straight at Nadeline.

And that’s when he lipped something; something that one could easily make out..“Yes master. I understand.” Sylvester lipped, arms gaining life again.

His eyes had a glow to them, but not gold, rather they had red and black and sickly green. And within them, if one looked close enough could see the glyph of The Dark Lord, a contorting, shadowy snake with red eyes and eight tails.

His form changed. His entire molecular structure was altered into something that was sickly looking. Sylvester was no longer of human form, but rather his entire body had been encased with a massive shell of black and red, his hair was of midnight color(or lack thereof).

“Kill the girl,” a voice not belonging to Sylvester said, only to be heard by Ultima.

And then, when he reached out, his arm extended so fast that it had a grip of Nadeline’s throat so tightly that it would deny her the option of breathing for a splitsecond, surely to warrent some kind of response from her.

As he lifted her from her feet, her motioned body wiggling, Sylvester looked at her. “This is...unfortunate. We were not supposed to accelerate our plans, but you gave us no choice, princess. You gave me no choice. Truly, why couldn’t you just mind your own business? You’re such a bother.” He said, leaning close to Nadeline. “But fret not, your suffering will end soon. Through this vessel, The Creature of the Abyss will rectify what you have ruined.”

And in that moment, the Creature’s hand burned red, like a brilliant flame, and went to plunge it into Nadeline’s heart. Inches away, he heard something. Or felt something. It was faint, but he pulled back. When he did The Creature felt an enormous fist meet his face, sending him in the opposite direction, crashing into the wall, and being buried under its crumbling form.

“We got here just in the nick of time,” Wesley said, catching Nadeline in his arms. “Nadeline,“ Wesley spoke softly to his beloved, stroking her cheek gently. “Are you okay, my love?”

Lorenzo wheezed and coughed for a solid minute, doing his best to free his lungs of the dust as he would pick himself up. He had been thrown backwards and out of the tower, though by some miracle he was alive. His armor had certainly done its job, though as the thought crossed his mind what remained of his helmet would crack and crumble off his head. He winced, his head pounding against the absolute chaos that had erupted around the tower. People were running as far away as they could, though to his surprise, no one else was hurt.

It was then he realized that something was blocking the sun, and he looked up to see the dark barrier Shion had erected. It gave him chills—clearly dark magicks were at work, but he was too relieved when he would see Reia would run over to him. “Your rescue team has arrived,” He managed to put on a grin.

“And you choose the path that led to blowing up the entire floor?! What if you had gotten killed?!” Reia yelled, displeased at his lack of seriousness.

Shion let out a small gasp as the veins along her arms would turn black, and she gripped her arm. It had been a bold move, but a needed one, lest innocent people get crushed because of their power-hungry fool of an Emperor. Her amber eyes widened as she spotted Roman approaching them, brushing the dust off his coat, a look of annoyance on his face.

“Eh? Roman? What’re you doing here in Archadia? Did you leave Bhujerba?” Lorenzo was the first to question him.

“It’s an open secret that Roman’s heritage is Archadian,” Reia told him.

“And so we meet again, my lady, though I daresay I wish it had been under better circumstances,” Roman didn’t skip a step, his cheery expression returning with full force. “My sincerest apologies for the ruckus, had I known my grandfather was back at the helm of the country, I would have advised against your visit. I ask that you forgive my younger brother—Jackson has good intentions, but he still lacks the foresight of a royal ruler. Althought even I was surprised at my grandfather…”

Lorenzo interrupted, “That’s all well and good, but where did they go? And Jaakie and the rest?” He asked, for once being serious.

“I was caught by the…darkness,” Roman pointed at Shion’s barrier. “Though I was blown some distance away. The others must be around, if I who has had little experience in battle managed to make it out alright, I’m sure the rest are fine. Although…” His eyes rested on Shion’s blackened arm.

Reia followed his gaze. “That power…” She murmured, clearly recognizing it.

“There is little time to explain, but I must ask once more that you take shelter. I highly doubt an explosion of that caliber was enough to do Hamut in—I expect he will not go down without a fight,” The blue haired woman reiterated herself.

“You aren’t going alone!” Lorenzo protested.

“There is no one else to protect them. I know you will make sure no harm comes to either of them—for the sake of Ivalice, I must put an end to this battle, there is something very important I must inform the sky pirate of, and Hamut prohibits me from doing so.” Shion took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

---

Oh no, she didn’t like where this was going at all.

Her outstretched hand froze in place as Sylvester spoke. Master? What Master? There wasn’t any time to ask, however, as Sylvester would transform before her once more. This was not like before, and she stepped away from him as his dark form completed. This must have been why Ultima had said what she did—but what changed? No, she had no one to blame but herself. She had known from the start that necromancy or some form of twisted magicks had been afoot, but she had gotten to distracted by escaping she hadn’t noticed the enemy right in front of her.

Her hand went to her weapon, and she went to withdraw it when she heard Ultima: The enemy reveals itself! Unfortunately, the warning caused Nadeline to freeze in place, and Sylvester took the chance. No, that wasn’t right, he simply reacted before she could, his hand around her throat so quickly that only when he tightened his grip did she realize what had happened. Her hands flew to his, struggling to free herself as he lifted her off her feet.

She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t breathe, her hands were clawing at his for some form of release. She could hear Ultima calling out to her, but her mind was sent into a panic, her body too focused on the grip around her throat. A muffled cry escaped her, though she did manage to narrow her eyes at Sylvester as he spoke. Minding her own business, what arrogance—so long as he was involved, so long as he had his relation to Wesley, it would always be her business. Still, he seemed to decide her meddling was done, and she caught sight of his other hand. She was going to die here, wasn’t she?

His hand stopped, much to her surprise. What was stopping him? Before she could question it, he was sent backwards, and she fell into someone’s arms. She coughed slightly, though as a hand stroked her cheek, she looked up and saw Wesley. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Wesley…? Why are you here?” She asked, though her expression turned into one of regret. “I…I thought…”

---

Opening her eyes, Emiri let out a groan, a hand to her chest. She could still feel where Chaos’ swords had gone through her, and despite getting more rest, the pain wasn’t quite gone as she had hoped. It took her a moment to realize that she had been staring at the ceiling of the cage again—no! Why was she back here? She sat up, immediately crawling towards the bars, though she didn’t see Keiran around. If he hadn’t put her there, who did?

“Awake already? Impressive. Chaos did his very best to try to kill you, but we just couldn’t let that happen. Not yet, anyway,” Her eyes widened as she spotted a girl that looked very much like herself, her eyes colored a sharp red and contrasting her black dress. “We still have to restore Zodiark back to his former self. After that, death is just a step away. A fair deal, isn’t it?”

“You’re crazy if you think I’d go ahead and do that!” Emiri responded immediately, gripping the bars of her cage tightly. “He’s going to end the world as we know it, why would I let that happen?”

“Because you hate this world, that’s why,” She replied, a small smile on her face as she approached the cage. “Let’s face it, none of this would have even happened if you had just been honest. But no…you let the darkness seduce you, let it corrupt and egg on all those deep, dark thoughts in the back of your mind…not that I blame you, seeing it all end would make me giddy, too.”

Emiri narrowed her eyes at her imposter. “And what’re you supposed to be, my conscience?”

She scoffed. “You wish. If I was, you wouldn’t be in this mess. What, you don’t recognize me anymore? Or is it just ‘cause I’m not that good looking boy anymore? ” She stated, her arms outstretched in a dramatic gesture.

So she was Keiran. “Having fun parading around as a woman?”

“A little bit,” She giggled. “Technically speaking, I’m genderless. I don’t really have a true form, so I can pick and choose as I please. And apparently, your physical form is quite pleasing to the eye, so it’s a win-win,” Keiran nodded, red eyes glinting.

“That’s not the point. If you want to die, go ahead, but don’t go bringing in innocent people that have nothing to do with it!” Emiri snapped at her.

Keiran’s expression fell, her face hardening. “ I’m the demon born from Zodiark’s seed, and you’re the beautiful maiden I’ve captured. All that’s left is for the dashing hero to come and save the day…but even he doesn’t stand a chance against Zodiark. There’s no winning, everything will come to an end, regardless of our will.” She stated bitterly.

“And what is your will?”

She smiled again. “Nice try. My will is just an extension of my master’s. I’m just another pawn in the grand scheme of things, and my one job is to make sure you—” She placed her hand under Emiri’s chin, forcing her to look up at her. “—play your part.”

Emiri narrowed her eyes, smacking Keiran’s hand away. “I’ll find a way out. And when I do, I’ll make sure you pay.”

“I invite the challenge. After all, this is all your fault to begin with.”

What a pain in the ass this had been. From posing as soldiers to nearly dying due to a three-way explosion that would use a lot of them taxpayer gils to work. It blew off the rooftop of the Emperpor Tower so clean off that the cleanup crew was surely to have their work cut out for them. You can’t say that Hamut didn’t do any good for Archades. He has already provided the Archadians with jobs. Too bad it had to be at the expense of the cleanliness of her streets.

Speaking of which, the groups seemed to have been forced apart due to the force of the explosion. At least DOminic and Shinto were still in one piece. And that they were still with Lorenzo and Shion. Oh, and they rescued Reia. That’s something, right?

As Dominic and Shinto respectively made sure that they weren’t too injured, they would make sure that the others weren’t as well. Thankfully, most were unharmed due to that weird, black mass that originated from Shion’s arm. Dominic didn’t know what the hell it was, but he sure was thankful for it. Still, one thing he knew was that it looked harmful.

And, after a few back and forth exchanges between the Empress of Rosarria, Lorenzo, and Shion, the latter felt that she needed to tell Jaakuna something, which left the rest of them to wonder what that was...or at least Dominic. The rest were simply silently accepting it. Or, that’s the way it appeared to be. Dominic didn’t like it though. He almost voiced his opposition, but by the time he thought of the right thing to say, she was clear gone, and out of hearing range.

“Now what?” Dominic asked bluntly, looking around to the others for a suggestion.

It was clear to him that they had to do something. As to what that “something” was, well it remained unclear to Dominic at the current present.

---

At first, there was darkness: black, nasty, and almost putrid—like a swamp, only it was comforting in a way. Unlike previous incarnations of the blackness, it wasn’t threatening. It was a veil from the collision of forces that severed the top-half of the Emperor’s Office. Not only did it protect those within its reach, it had some kind of magnetic force that protected the innocents roaming below either in Aircabs or walking on the low streets of Archades. It suspended the chunks of rock and concrete, and launched them opposite of the streets to Occuria-knows where. One could bet that it was towards the Tchita Uplands.

As for those who were blanketed in the blackness, once it ceased, they were scattered along the streets. While Shion and her group were at one location(Roman as the only addition), the rest weren’t to be seen, not to them at least. Far, three hundred paces west, rubble surrounded a street, aircabs surrounding as they have been set aflame, and intrigue at an all-time high. Crowds gathered around the wreckage as they bore witness to a sight they have never seen before.

“What happened?” Jaakuna groaned, trying to find balance, trying to center himself amid the chaos.

He looked around him. A little out of the ordinary. The first thing he noticed were the aircabs. They were completely wrecked. And they were empty. Not completely odd. Maybe I landed at where the aircabs are stored.

As Jaakuna would try to recollect what happened, his head hurt just by thinking about it. So, that wasn’t going to happen.

Jaakuna looked around. He saw the crowd. They knew who he was as if right away. He shrugged, for Jaakuna Darcone wasn’t exactly one to be subtle. It just wasn’t in his making. Instead, he would focus what energy remained on finding Lannit. Or anyone for that matter,

He scanned the area, but to no avail. He saw no sight of Lannit or Roman. Either they landed elsewhere or he was too hurt to increase his field of vision. Regardless which it was, Jaakuna wasn’t going to get anywhere just by standing around.

So, Jaakuna started to walk, rummaging through the wreckage of automobiles, pushing through the crowd of Archadians. They were insistnat that he talk to them, so Jaakuna had to get aggressive. He cursed at them. Loudly. They frantically fled, as if threatened by his rhetoric. Jaakuna would receive a scolding lecture from Belias not too long afterwards. He shrugged, walking along the streets of Archades.

Jaakuna Darcone was on a mission to find anyone that wasn’t his grandfather or the many soldiers of the Imperial Army that were sure to figure out something was afoot. Hopefully he would reach friendly faces before that happened, because Jaakuna only had enough energy for a steady walk.

What fun this will be.

---

Of all times to get separated, now had to be it?

Lannit was cursing himself halfway and back to where the remains of the Emperor Tower was and back to where Old Archades resided.

How did this happen? Last thing Lannit remembered was crashing through the roof of the Emperor’s Office, then blue magick that turned abyssmal quickly, and an orange-sepia light from Hamut all collided at the same time, and that produced such a massive — albeit condensed — explosion that sent the three parties off on their own. Jaakuna went west, Shion and her group fell straight down, and as for Lannit..

“Why must I have the worst luck of all?!” Lannit groaned as a meteor spell came his way.

He rolled to the side, though he groaned again when he felt the pain of bruised ribs compromising his equilibrium. He fell to his left side, and a massive form came from above.

Lannit found the strength to roll to the side before a massive boot surrounded in mist obliterated the ground. Though he was safe from the direct hit, a shockwave created from that metal, dark red and orange boot sent him rolling ten paces. As a result, Lannit was disoriented. Still, he was able to catch himself mid-roll, and jump to his feet in a half-corkscrew flip.

After half of a moment, Lannit’s eyes adjusted to the sight in front of him. There he saw the Judge-Sal, Exodus, off his chair. He was large. And strong. His entire form was surrounded in a thick aura of orange. Beside him was his Chosen One — The Just Bahamut.

There was a strong sense of dread running through the battered up body of Lannit. He was in no condition to fight, let alone take on one of the strongest warriors in all of Ivalice. He’s not only a Judge Magister of the Archadian Imperial Court, but he’s the freaking leader of them! How was Lannit to try and compete with that?!

Fuck me.

Surely you don’t kiss your Wendy with that mouth. Or perhaps she likes it crude.

Okay, now I’m hearing things. Wonderful. “Listen, I don’t know who you are, but now is not the time.”

Really? I would think that you being half-dead and against a foe you couldn’t dream to defeat even if you had a hundred years of intensive training. But, do go ahead and prove the voice in your head wrong.

Lannit didn’t know who this voice was, but he knew it was right. Against his own better judgement, he would indulge the voice.

Good. Now that you have seen to my reasoning, listen well. Exodus is strong, there is no mistaking that. And Hamut is plenty strong on his own. Put them together, and you’re pretty much destined to fail.

“Yeah, tell me something I don’t know.”

Though in his head, Lannit swore he heard the voice scowl at him.

I can give you unbelievable power to hold him off.

Okay, that was something I didn’t know.

“How?”

Let’s just say that, when you defeated me, I hitchhiked a ride with you.

Now he was full of shit. It was a rarity that Lannit would defeat anyone(or anything), but for that very person or thing being able to give him powers was, at best, a crock of shit.

The thing inside his head sensed his doubt and would chuckle, but no further verbal sounds came. The only thing that would follow it was a flash of a form in Lannit’s head. He saw this form. It was blurry, but he made out something of a man in a cloak. Didn’t seem to be no taller than Lannit himself was, but this form had weird magicks surrounding him. It was radiant, golden, and shining so bright that it was like this cloaked man was the embodiment of light itself.

“You’re shitting me. Fuck, it’s you Gilgamesh..”

Lannit saw a smirk of confirmation from the figure. And then the form would disappear, only to reappear. This process repeated until an outward explosion of light towered so high that anyone within a quarter of a league of the area would notice it. The light stretched ten paces around Lannit and a full league into the sky, piercing the heavens.

Lannit stepped through the light. When he did, it ceased. He stepped forward once more, and he covered the distance that separated him and Hamut in one second. Forward his arm went, aimed for Hamut’s gut. Instincts kicked in for the old man and he blocked it with a fist. The next moment would see that the two exchanged in blows so fast to the normal eye that it seemed like a sequence of blurs.

They first exchanged blows on the ground, then it became aerial. Some of the exchange landed on Hamut, some on Lannit, and some on Exodus. Throughout it all, shockwaves from the high-octane fighting would be sent to a distance of at least twenty paces, the results causing even more damage to the surrounding area.

And that was only the start of it. As the fighting would get more intense, the more powerful the shockwaves. It was only a matter of time before something drastic happened...

---

Oh thank the gods.

Wesley let out a sigh of relief. He feared that he would have arrived too late. If it wasn’t for his gut feeling, he would have been weeping the loss of his fiance rather than holding her in his arms.

“Believe it or not, but it was Ultima that led me here, even if unknowingly. Hashmal sensed her worry for you. And just as well, because we got here just in time.” Welsey told Nadeline, informing her of the crunch of time that was between her dying and her, well, not.

But they weren’t out of the woods quite yet, because the thing that was inches away of piercing Nadeline’s heart had been staring at Wesley for the entirety of the past minute. Wesley caught the glare mid-minute.He couldn’t palce it, but something about this thing gave him a sense of familiarity. Maybe it was the eyes, or maybe it was the foul mist he sensed.

Curse the seal, now I’m suspect to what the Viera feel.

Wesley put whatever feelings he had towards the foul stench in the air to rest as he returned the gaze with the thing ten paces across from him. He scanned the beast, trying to get a measure of what it was. It failed, so he tried a few more times. All of them failed as well. There was nothing that Wesley could do, no technick that he knew, no spell that would help him get a better understanding. For all intents and purposes, this was a foreign enemy to WEsley, and he seemed content on simply watching Wesley.

“Wesley Alexander,” he heard the beast speak. It was raspy and deep, layered with an echoed tone. “The prodigal son returns to claim his birthright, yet does not know that of which he has come home to claim.” The Beast spoke, stepping forward. Each step he took created a rotted spot on the ground in the shape of its large foot. “And now you come here to save your queen. Admirable effort, but her death will happen. Though..”

And the beast was a mere two paces away from WEsley. Close up, it was much bulkier than Wesley thought it was. But height-wise, it was around WEsley’s own. And even though it was so close to him, Wesley didn’t feel threatened. Why was that? Surely something that tried to kil Nadeline would want to kill him too, yet it didn’t raise a finger, nor did it have a tone that hinted at violence.

“Though what?” Wesley bit, hoping not to fall into whatever trap this beast was leading him into.

The Beast looked at Wesley once more, smiling at him. “You shall find out soon enough...Wes..”

And in that moment, as the Beast would shatter its form into particles of red and black and white, a voice clear as light resonated in Wesley’s ears. As the Beast had disappeared from sight, the voice of a ghost hit the prince like a ton of magicite to the face.

Lorenzo scowled after Shion's figure in the distance. As much as he hated to admit it, she had a point. Still, as Dominic voiced his ver thought, he scowled once more. He hated everything right now, but the only thing to do was to keep going forward. Letting out a groan, he scratched the back of his head, looking at Reia, who was simply scowling at him. No doubt she truly regretted coming to Archadia, but now wasn't really the time to complain. What should they do? What could they do? What was the right thing to do?

Roman clapped his hands together, twice, drawing the group's attention. It seemed he had enough of their gloomy expressions, resulting in Reia lifting an eyebrow at him. "The floor is all yours, might as well get it out," She welcomed whatever thought was pent up in his head.

He let out a rather hearty laugh. "Now, now, the best thing to do at a time like this is to make sure we don't lose our heads," He stated rather cheerfully, lightly dusting his shoulder. "A time of crisis is upon us, and I must see to it that my people and my guests are safe."

"Oi! I don't need protection from a geezer like--OW!" Lorenzo's bold statement was interrupted by Reia elbowing him.

"He's saying that if you're going to go after Shion and find Hamut, now is the time to do so," Reia told him, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, must I explain everything to you?"

Lorenzo placed both his hands on her shoulders, staring hard at her. "That's what I need you for. You know I'm hopeless without you!" He grinned. "I'm going then. Make sure to hide somewhere so you don't get caught up in any of this."

Reia scoffed, batting away his hands. "As if I'm going to play the damsel again. I'll assist Roman, of course."

The blonde grinned once more, cracking his knuckles, though he glanced over at Dominic. "I guess if you wanna tag along you can, though I can't promise that you won't get hurt."

---

Shion came to a halt, letting out a surprised cry as her arm pulsed with darkness. She grabbed a nearby wall for support, watching the darkness crawl up her arm, twisting her skin into hard plating, lacing itself with blue magical veins, glittering against her skin. Her free hand immediately clutched her arm as she made an attempt to steady her breathing. This was really it for her, wasn't it? No, like hell she was going to give up and die, if she was going to be pathetic she would at least make sure she died a warrior's death. She wasn't going to deny Emiri's magick was definitely starting to take its toll, despite her resistance. Unless, perhaps, rather than resist, would it buy her more time if she gave in?

Before she completed the thought, she pushed herself off the building, continuing her walk, though she spotted someone worse off than she was. She shook her head at the blonde, clucking her tongue in disapproval. "You've seen better days," She mentioned nonchalantly.

---

Dying was not part of her plan at all, no matter what her previous experience with the thing nearly crushing her throat was telling her, no matter how much Sylvester believed it. She narrowed her eyes as the beast approached them. Why did it look familiar? For some reason it reminded her of that...that thing she had seen with Emiri and Keiran. Not to mention it was trying its damndest to kill her. It would have to get in line with the numerous lords repeatedly sending assassins and the numerous monsters she had battled, though. But no, this wasn't about her at all--it was about Wesley. She was willing to bet that Sylvester--or whatever that creature was--only wanted to kill her to get to him. Was it to tempt him into the darkness?

Nadeline gripped Wesley's sleeve, though she stared at the beast. Its darkness seems to have revealed itself. How curious. Ultima mused to her. Though I wouldn't get a big head. It only desires your death because of my precense.

An idea clicked in her head. Are you saying I could purify it as Shion did for Jaakuna? She asked.

Considering the staggering differences in your powers and her talents, it's a long shot.

...thanks.

I didn't say it was impossible.

Several minutes and paces were spent scouting the ruined streets of Archades and all that Jaakuna was able to find out was that a heavy battle raged on about three hundred paces away from him. The amount of mist that surrounded it was so thick that, even as far away as Jaakuna was, he felt as if he was watching it from the front row. What two powerful warriors had to been fighting to create such a strong mist field?

Exodus has been summoned.

“Yeah, I got that.”

Then I’m sure you’re aware that Hamut is fighting someone with high enough mist that they would rival that Shion in pure force.

That sent chills down Jaakuna’s spine. To think that someone within Archades that was strong enough to hold their own against not only one of the strongest warriors in all of Ivalice, but able to do so while Exodus was fighting beside Hamut...that was just unheard of. What kind of person was this?

Actually, that was exactly what Jaakuna was going to do. Of course, if it hadn’t been for a familiar voice suddenly speaking from behind him, he would have taken to a full sprint.

“Says the woman with the injured arm.” Jaakuna snickered as he took notice to Shion’s hand and how it was blatantly obvious that she overexerted herself. Of course, even if he could tell that she wasn’t in the best of shape and if he asked, she wouldn’t confirm it. Knowing her like he did, Shion would brush past it, and move the topic onto more pressing matters.

And as much as Jaakuna would like to talk about what was going on with Shion’s poor attempt at covering up her arm, there was no time for that; not when there was a major battle raging on not far away from where they were standing.

After a moment of awkward silence had passed, Jaakuna would cough slightly, then his emerald eyes would look to Shion, who from where he stood, seemed awfully tense, as if something was bothering her. After all this time that Jaakuna had known her, he couldn’t help but sense that about her.

“So, what’s wrong? I’ve seen that look on people’s faces before, so something is obviously troubling you. And, if I recall, you did say you had something to tell me when we met up in the dungeons.” Jaakuna said, catching Shion’s glance. “Yeah, I know - I actually pay attention. Who would have thunk it?” Jaakuna found himself laughing at his own surprise. He was actually maturing somewhat. “So, out with it, Shion!”

---

As the plan had been decided, Dominic pondered on what to do. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He knew what he was going to do, but there was still the matter of all of the shit that was going on. He heard that loud boom a few minutes ago, which made him extra curious about who might’ve caused it and what exactly was going on. It put worry on his face when he noticed that it came from the direction that Shion had run off to, so that gave him extra incentive to go after her. If not for his own sake, then for the fact that he’s curious as all hell.

“You bet your ass I’m going with you.” Dominic slammed his fists together, grinning.

“I suppose you have made up your mind, haven’t you, Dom?” Shinto mused, looking conflicted.

“Yes I have. Shion might need our help, so I’m going to do everything that I can to provide that help.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Shinto said, “then I won’t feel as bad for choosing to accompany the Empress and Roman.”

“But Shinto —”

“But nothing. You and I have different ideas of what we need to do in this mess. You have your path that you must take and I have mine. But don’t fret, my brother, we will meet again, as long as you don’t get too reckless, and die.” Shinto said with a snickering grin.

“How can I possibly die when I have my little sister waiting for me at home?” Dominic reminded Shinto.

“Ah, yes, little Nila. Then, I suppose, you’ll have to be more careful than you usually are. Hopefully you can do that.”

Dominic scowled, then he turned to face Lorenzo. “Let’s go princey! Our friends aren’t going to save themselves.”

And with that, Dominic took off to one direction, leaving Lorenzo behind. Shinto shook his head, and looked to the Emperor and Empress. “Well, shall we?”

---

Wesley stood there. Frozen. His eyes staring at his own hands, obviously shaking from the thoughts going through his mind. The way the voice spoke to him, the way it reminded him of his brother was — well, it was uncanny. The tone, the way it had an identical Dalmascan Accent to him, the endearing way it spoke Wesley’s name — there was no doube in his mind that it was Sylvester’s voice.

...But how?

As Wesley tried to come to grips of that, he...just couldn’t find himself to stop shaking. The memories were coming back in full: his brother dying in his arms, his last words to him, how everything in those last moments shook him to his very core and how, regardless if it was a trick or it was actually his brother.

She was probably getting soft in her old age. Or rather, she was weary of it all. Still, as much as Jaakuna had 'grown' (despite that not quite being the right word, it fit the bill). Her amber eyes were more curious, even as Exodus' rage was around them. Their own little bubble, she contemplated whether or not the truth was to be said now. Shion raised her corrupted hand, her fingertips now more akin to thin claws as she stared at Jaakuna. It was painfully obvious now that whatever was wrong with her arm, it was spreading. A very thin, white line seemed to hold it back at just above her elbow, though it one would watch carefully, it would move ever so slightly.

"You're absolutely correct," She stated. "Yet just as you have come to know me, I, too, have been watching you. You who could easily be equated with fire itself--flashy, temperamental, unpredictable. Time has shown you slowly grow out of your impulsiveness, but you are not quite at the level to take on Zodiark himself--not yet," The magicks around her arm pulsed, though it was under control. "I was careless. If only I remained true to my goal...but that is neither here nor there."

She sighed. "I need you to show me that I can trust you. I need you to defeat Hamut now, I cannot tell you what it is that I need to say until I see that you have the power to defeat someone so above your level."

---

Son of a bitch, who the hell did he think he was?! It wasn't even HIS idea! The nerve of that scoundrel! "DON'T GO STEALING MY THUNDER!" Lorenzo yelled, his expression comical as he gave chase. "WHAT'RE YOU TRYING TO DO, ONE UP ME AT MY OWN PLAN?!"

---

"Wesley! Wesley, snap out of it!" Nadeline shook his shoulder, trying to get some response out of him. She recognized the voice as much as he did--though this time there wasn't any mistaking it. Her grip tightening on Wesley's coat as she shook him, though it was a while before she realized she was trembling. The thought of someone rising from the dead...perhaps the man from before hadn't completely been lying after all. Such dark magicks were forbidden--she distinctly remembered her father forbidding her from even reading about it until she was of age.

Get it together! She reprimanded herself, trying to stop her own shaking.

“After all we’ve been through together, you still don’t trust me?”

There was something about the way that Shion spoke, the way she looked at him, and overall the feeling that Jaakuna couldn’t shake off that something grim was going on in that head of hers. Sure, she had some kind of wound on her hand. Just by a brief glance, Jaakuna could tell something was up with it, but it was also her words. She seemed to be acting as if the end is nigh and she didn’t have a lot of time left.

Jaakuna looked at her face, scanning every inch of her fair skin, seeing little hints of fatigue and weakness underneath her eyes and how those amber eyes of hers seem to have less of a shine to them than they once did. This more or less cemented Jaakuna’s feeling.

“Whatever. You don’t need to ask me. I still have some unfinished business with the old bastard,” Jaakuna grinned to hide his worry for Shion’s shape. Turning around, he took a few steps, then looked back to Shion. “You better not die while I’m gone. Gonna need the almighty Shion to say that she trusts me right to my face.” Jaakuna snickered as he took off in a high-speed dash, a trail of flame magick being left behind him.

---

The fight had been up and down for both men. The power of Exodus and Gilgamesh clashed as they had fused with their summoners -their chosen ones, if you will. Astral and light clashed in brilliant orange and golden hues, flares of rock and heavenly magick struck each other. Those strong magicks that had been unleashed upon the clearing within the ruins of New ARchadia had caused vibrations to the surrounding area. Debris flew all over, building a sort of barrier of dust and smoke around them.

When the two colossal forces clashed again, they seemed to be evenly matched. Lannit and Hamut utilized the powers of the one that they combined with. Hamut was utilising the unique magicks of one of the Thirteen Espers while Lannit was utilising the battle-born warrior spirit of the Legendary Swordsman himself, Gilgamesh.

Lannit, for the time being, had the upper-hand. His speed topped Hamut’s old age and that made Hamut take several punches in a row - all of which were strong enough to floor Tiamat. The fact that several of these landed on Hamut and the seasoned general was still standing said a lot about his endurance. Granted, he had the assistance of a real esper.

The Archadian Pirate went in for a final punch that was laced with a golden light that seemed to be akin to Holaja in strength, but it seemed vastly different. This punch had made direct contact with Hamut’s chest and it sent the old warrior flying through a dozen buildings. Lannit would follow as he didn’t want to waste this perfect opportunity to finish off Hamut. As he did, he had zipped through the debris of the chunks of the stone and steel fragments from the buildings. When he spotted Hamut, his entire body unleashed an aura of golden light and he charged his entire body towards Hamut.

And Lannit made contact, forcing Hamut into the ground. That specific action created a crater several paces wide and deep.

Lannit was smiling down at Hamut as he saw a seemingly lifeless man below him. His eye was wide open. The mouth was open wide too. It was as if he had done it, which prompted Lannit to get up. Assuming the best, he powered down and reverted to his normal self.

“Thanks for the help, Gilgamesh,” Lannit would say. He heard a response inside his head.

Just as Lannit had turned around, his eyes caught the sight of a few familiar faces with their eyes widened as wide as they could, mouths dropped to the floor and a look of complete astonishment on their faces. “Oh, hey guys,” Lannit casually said, not even trying to address what they were probably thinking.

“L-Lannit, did you just.” Jaakuna stuttered.

“Yup.”

“How did you--when did you--” Dominic also stuttered.

“About twenty minutes ago.”

“I guess we didn’t need to come after all.” Shinto stated simply, smirking at Lannit as he popped a cig into his mouth and lit it with a simple fire spell from the tip of his right index finger.

“I guess not.” Lannit chuckled. He noticed Lorenzo. He seemed to be disappointed that he didn’t get a shot at Hamut either,“oh, sorry about that Prince. I guess we didn’t need your awesome skills after all.”

The other men would start to pat Lannit on the shoulder. Jaakuna had brought him in for a quick hug and Dominic did the same. Shinto would nod at him. They all laughed and cheered at the surprising end to Hamut. Lannit couldn’t help but notice that Jaakuna seemed disappointed about it.

“Sorry man, I know that was your kill, but--”

Before Lannit could finish that sentence, he coughed up blood. It was a few drops at first. Nothing to worry about, but in the moments that followed it began to increase past just a few drops. The blood started coming out of his mouth by the pints. None of them realized it until they all looked down. Lannit didn’t realise it until his eyes fell down to his heart. There was a blade laced with what looked like sap and bioaga. His entire body had a mixture of green and blue-colored, toxic bubbles forming on his skin, burning his insides as well as his flesh. Before Lannit could even do anything, he collapsed on the floor face-first in a pool of his own blood.

And as his form had done that, the rest looked up and saw Hamut standing just three paces away, smiling and his entire body covered in a golden armor and his hair just as golden. His eye that was normally hidden away by an eyepatch had the glyph of Exodus in it.

“So who’s next?” Hamut curled a sinister smile as he scanned the group. So many choices, he murmured.

---

It wasn’t as if Wesley didn’t hear her voice - he heard Nadeline loud and clear like a bell constantly ringing. It was more like he was in a frozen stasis, paralysed by the memories that wouldn’t stop appearing into his mind. They were images with the sound of tears and crying that was playing on repeat. So much blood. A lifeless body. The absence of life from his brother. And all of that was nothing compared to the torment that Wesley had gone through himself, blaming nobody else but him. When it happened, he blamed the one person that was powerless to stop it: Wesley Alexander Dalmasca. The young teen who couldn’t stop his brother from losing his own life.

And then, just as earlier proved itself, he was still that useless kid. Unable to get to Nadeline before it was too late. Unable to prevent her from being hurt in the first place. Unable to cope with the idea that his brother was alive, Wesley’s trembling didn’t cease. He, just as lifeless as his brother was that day, looked in front of him with eyes that were as close to being dead as they could ever be without Wesley himself being slain.

Shion watched him leave, slightly annoyed as they were clearly headed the same way, though she didn't bother shouting after him. Letting out a sigh, she looked at her corrupted hand. She made the right decision, if she had mentioned Emiri, there was no way Jaakuna would have had a clear mind to fight Hamut. As that thought crossed her mind, she could sense the Mist changing. Her eyes widened, and she immediately took off, following pursuit of Jaakuna.

---

Lorenzo was the first to react, even if it was in vain, he wasn't about to sit there and do nothing. He dropped down to his knees, his hands already yanking out the tainted sword. What a fucking combination, Sap was probably one of the quicker ailments. Adding poison to it was just cruel--though considering who they were dealing with, it shouldn't have been a surprise. Sap was the more pressing matter, though more difficult to extract, but the poison wasn't anything to scoff at either. He'd have to get the poison out first, distinctly recalling Karolina teaching him on the many ailments that could kill a person.

"You better not die on me, you bastard," He told Lannit, his magicks pumping into his veins. "You better not fucking give up, you hear me, Lannit?!"

---

A pair of footsteps distracted Nadeline, and her first instinct was to stand, her hand on her rapier. She wasn't in the best shape, and Wesley was in his own world at the moment. If it were an enemy, she wasn't sure she could handle it. She braced herself, her body at the ready as she stepped in front of Wesley. She could make out the outline of the figure approaching, noticing their height, though what was that on their head--

"Aloa?" Nadeline's eyes widened in surprise as the viera approached them.

Aloa bowed to her. "I've come to fetch you, Highness. It breaks my heart to see your stance so rigid--did I not teach you better?"

Nadeline didn't even bother defending herself, tears of relief in her eyes. This was no illusion, this was the real deal, and she had never been so happy to see her teacher. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

Aloa's eyes fell on Wesley. "I came at Shion's request. To the Dalmascan castle I went, only to find you were gone. You are fond of making my job harder, aren't you?" She said, kneeling down to Wesley. "He will not budge, will he?"

"He...saw his brother," Nadeline said, her hand on her neck unintentionally. "Dark magicks are involved, and...oh, Aloa, it's terrible...I don't...why did this have to happen?" Her voice choked unwillingly.

"Life is cruel. Have you forgotten?" Aloa asked, her arm outstretched as a glyph appeared beneath them. "It will always go out of its way to test us. Always."

And with that, the trio were teleported out of the cursed hideout, and the hot air of Dalamasca surrounded them once more. The princess let out a sigh of relief, although she knew they weren't finished as she looked down at Wesley. She kneeled down, both of her hands on his. "Wesley...can you hear me?" She asked him, wondering if he even noticed they were back in his hometown. "...I feel so helpless, Aloa."

Aloa looked around, already hearing the whispers of the people. "Perhaps getting back to the castle would be best." She said, taking Wesley's other arm, and together they would make him stand, though it was clearly out of instinct and not of his own will. Together, they would lead him to the castle.

---

Sophia watched Emiri almost lovingly, as the girl had fallen asleep with her head on her lap. She didn't mind, and she didn't have an assignment yet nor anywhere to go, so she remained as still as she could be. A shadow loomed over her, though she paid no mind to it, already knowing it was a nosy Keiran appearing as he pleased. He always did go this way and that, doing whatever he wanted with nary a care to Zodiark's wishes. The way he spoke, however, Sophia knew there was a deep, deep sorrow, though she didn't bother mentioning it. There was no use having sympathy with the devil, after all.

"Did you want to play with the doll, too? You can't be too comfortable with her snoozing away there," Keiran asked, a mischievous smile on his face as he poked Emiri's cheek. "If you'd like, I can have her entertain us."

Play? "She is fine where she is," Sophia assured him, staring at him.

"What's the fun of owning a toy if you can't play with it?" He asked, standing straight. "That's what dolls are for, aren't they? To be used then thrown away when we're bored with them?"

She frowned at him, disagreeing with his words. "You mustn't treat her like that...our Lord seems to have taken a liking to her, and she is cooperating. At the very least he will gladly grant her the release of death she desires. The trials and tribulations of life are harsh on delicate humes," She explained, clearly pitying humes in general. "Do not outstep your boundaries. Our will is our lord's will, and to do otherwise--"

"You seem to forget I'm literally a part of him. There's no way I can do anything else," Keiran rolled his eyes. "I'm just having a little fun. If I really was cruel, I could always...have her drown herself--" He motioned towards the fountain behind them. "--or tell her to take her sword and cut herself repeatedly. Maybe have her strip down and dance in front of everyone--she could dance to one of your songs."

Sophia lifted her nose, unimpressed. "My songs are not meant for that kind of dancing," She was quick to correct him.

"Isn't that what most songs are for? Dancing?" A third voice indicated that someone wished to join them.

Both Keiran and Sophia shared a mutual distaste for their...'comrade', who strolled along and inserted herself into the conversation without any input. Keiran visibly glared, though Sophia seemed more curious. "And to what do we owe this pleasure, Nabriales?" Sophia asked warily.

Nabriales was...probably the most narcisst being in existence, which made her little more than a pest--even Keiran garnered more respect among their own than Nabriales, and that was saying something. She always insisted on parading around in a false image, a rather stunning visage of beauty with her fire colored hair, fair skin, and lips so red they'd make a rose feel shame. Her image put most humes to shame, but she paraded herself around with so little to the imagination so much no one really took her seriously. Well, at least they didn't when she was in that form, anyway...

"I was curious," She stated simply as she walked up to Sophia, kneeling down to stare at Emiri's face intently. "Igeyorhm said she was prettier than I am."

"Must you let your vanity get the best of you?" Sophia asked, slightly irritated.

"She's way prettier than you by a longshot," Keiran stated, grinning. "To be fair, Sophia here is, too."

Sophia shot him a look as Nabriales exhaled sharply, trying to pretend she was amused. "To compare the beauty of a goddess to that of a hume...I admit that she has the potential, but as long as she remains mortal she does not stand a chance against me," She stated haughtily as she would stand.

Keiran rolled his eyes, taking note that she intentionally left out the part where he mentioned Sophia. "The only thing you have going for you are those way-too-large knockers on your chest. She has a better face, a nicer body, a sweet sounding voice, a personality that doesn't involve her making our with her own reflection--"

"I do not! Sophia, tell Mitron that he is wrong!" She whined, reminding Sophia very much of a petulant child.

Keiran visibly gagged. "Don't...use that name on me. It's Keiran," He snapped, clearly displeased.

"Enough, both of you," Sophia's voice was dangerously dark, coming out almost as an order. "Arguing between ourselves serves to do nothing but sew discord. It simply won't do. Nabriales, if you have no other business, I ask that you leave us if you are continue to purposely aggravate Keiran."

Defeated, Nabriales pouted. "I just wanted to see. Keiran insulted me first," She said, hands on her hips.

"I didn't know stating facts was considered insulting," Keiran replied.

The three fell silent as Emiri stirred, letting out a yawn as she rubbed her eyes. She sat up, stretching, though noticed everyone staring at her. "...what?"

"Nothing, darling," Sophia stated, lightly brushing Emiri's bangs out of her eyes with her finger. "Do you wish to rest more? I would be happy to take you back to your room."

Emiri wanted to reply, but she felt Nabriales' glare needed to be addressed first. The brunette looked back at the red haired woman, wondering what her deal was. "May I help you with something, ma'am?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Your staring is starting to make me blush."

Sophia shot a glare at Keiran, who snickered. He clearly had used his influence to add that 'ma'am' at the end, and Nabriales didn't like that. To their surprise, Nabriales took it with stride, though her stare was vicious. "Tell me, Scion of Time, how does it feel to be constantly used everywhere you go? Doesn't it bother you to constantly be a nuisance? Is that why you came here, to seek some kind of purpose?"

Keiran's eyes narrowed, though he remained silent as Emiri smiled. "It's funny...you remind me so much of my mother that it's starting to bother me," She said as she would stand, clearly not imposing at her rather short height, but there was something about the look in her eyes that was unsettling. "I never did have the courage to stand up to her. But fate decided to take care of that for me...she died. I'd suggest you be more kind to me, lest an unfortunate fate befall you as well."

"Is that a threat?" Nabriales asked, not noticing both Keiran and Sophia backing away.

Emiri held out her hand, her sword appearing in it. "Why don't we see? I'm eager to test my powers again." She beckoned the red haired woman, itching for a fight.

Nabriales hesitated for a moment. She wasn't new to battle, but if something were to happen to Emiri, it would be her head on a pike courtesy of Zodiark himself. Keiran seemed to confirm that fact as he strolled over to Emiri, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. He took her sword out of her hand, letting it disappear as he brought Emiri closer to him. "Now, now, you're not even at a hundred percent yet. Nabriales is just teasing you--she's just jealous 'cause you're cuter than she is," He said cheerfully, pinching Emiri's cheek, much to her displeasure. "Isn't that right, Nabbs?"

"...yes," It was the most unconvincing answer, though Nabriales wasn't about to go and anger her Lord. "I'd be happy to spar...when you feel the time is right. If you'll excuse me..." The woman simply turned on her heel, deciding to leave.

Emiri was disappointed, though she disliked Keiran being so close. "I could have taken her," She snapped at Keiran, making an attempt to push him away.

He held on tight, though for once he had a pretty serious expression. She was shocked to see him so as she didn't bother pushing him away. "I don't doubt it, but not without a few scratches. Can't have that happen, can we?" He asked her gently, almost lovingly. Sophia raised an eyebrow at him, but he ignored her. "You're walking around fine, but we need you to be at your best. We're expecting a lot out of you."

He really did talk to her like he owned her. Sophia looked at the pair, noticing how close Keiran was to Emiri's face, he could have stolen a kiss if he so had desired. Emiri didn't respond, prompting Keiran to pat her on her head as he released her. "I never thought you'd be the one to discourage fighting," Sophia admitted to him.

Keiran smirked, resting his elbow on Emiri's shoulder. "Can't have anything happen to my doll. Rather...can't have her exterminate half the castle and Nabriales in ashes. It just wouldn't do. The woman is annoying, but she has her own part to play in Zodiark's plan. We all do. Some more than others..." His voice trailed off, a small frown on his face.

And there was that vulnerability Sophia had come to know. He usually did a good job of hiding it. Though as quickly as it came, it left, and he pinched Emiri's cheek, causing her to swat him. "How 'bout another song, Sophie? I haven't heard one in a while."

It was an interesting night for the trio. After an extensive conversation about the Espers and their seals and everything that comes with it — mostly Savayna asking both Vlyn and Mateus about it — they got moving onto the road as soon as they could. When daybreak came, they gathered their supplies, and quickly made the final trek to Archades.

It would have taken them a full day’s worth of walking to get to Archades — especially from where they were, but due to the vehicles they had with them, it cut that entire journey by over half of the time it would had taken them otherwise. Before high noon, they had already left the Sochen Cave Palace and made their way into Old Archadia.

And to what they saw was enough to render anyone speechless: fire and smoke looming in the distance, bodies of the sick and poor everywhere. Whatever had happened, whatever was happening in this great city, there was one thing that they knew.

“We need to get to the bottom of this.” Savayna stated the obvious. She was unsure exactly what had happened, but she knew that the answer was at the core of the smoke and fire in the distance.

---

There were smiles on Jaakuna’s face as well as the faces of his friends. Happy to see that Hamut was finally put down like he rabid dog that he was. Relieved that they didn’t have to deal with his bothersome presence any longer. It was if that they could finally rest easy knowing that the great dragon of Archades was slain and by LAnnit of all people.

Jaakuna had approached his friend, aiming to bring him into a tight bro-hug. It had been too long where he could just do that to his friend and actually do it with genuine relief. Just as his arms were about to wrap around his friend, he felt something poke him about half of an inch into his stonach. It was cold, yet there was an odd, warm sensation.

“What the--”

Jaakuna didn’t have to guess what it was. As soon as his eyes had followed Lannit’s surprised expression down his body, he saw the blade of Hamut’s sword impaled through his stomach and slightly into Jaakuna’s own. And when he had backed away out of pure instinct, Lannit’s body fell. First he went to his knees and time stopped as if Emiri was here using her powers as his body fell into the pool of blood that his gaping wound had allowed to form.

While Dominic, Shinto, and Lorenzo had all rushed to Lannit’s side, Jaakuna slowly backed away. He was seemingly in a state of denial. Tears slowly flowed down his face and his entire body was shaking. His mouth appeared jittery as his jaw joints were unable to close. He tried to speak words, but only thing that came out were half-words that were barely audible.

Meanwhile, Lorenzo’s efforts seemed to had actually made a slight difference. Though Lannit was in a severe condition, he coughed up blood.

“Impressive as your magicks might be, Prince Lorenzo, your efforts to save this pathetic, useless man will be for naught. His aorta was severed. In ten minutes, he will die.” Hamut said, sounding almost sympathetic.

“Shut up you son of a bitch!” Dominic roared.

He went charging at Hamut out of anger and grief. Crimson lightning surrounded his entire body and he ran around in circles around Hamut. The latter simply smiled. When Dominic had darted to Hamut, aiming to strike the older Archadian with a punch infused with all of the kinetic energy he had built up, it only took one moment for Hamut to seize the moment and stop DOminic where he stood. He did this by simply extending his left hand. A flash of gold emitted from his hand and all of the lightning magick that had been gathered up was sucked up like a vacuum does to air, converted it into pure, magickal energy, and shot it back at Dominic, sending the bulky redhead back about five yards. He was presumed unconscious.

Shinto looked on and he wanted to react, but seeing how Dominic couldn’t do anything, what use could he be? No, he would stay put, but he didn’t like it one bit.

“Do you see now? If Lannit, who had been empowered by the great Samurai spirit of Gilgamesh and the famed Crimson Lightning of Archadia couldn’t touch me, you truly are out of options.” Hamut stepped forward, aiming to squash his enemies.

As he would take five steps, which brought him about two yards away from everyone, he stopped. Something in the air had prevented him from moving. He was trying but it was as his entire body was frozen by a greater pressure. “What gives?”

“You were right about one thing, Grandfather,” Jaakuna stepped forward, steam and fire surrounding him, “they aren’t able to do anything. As strong as LAnnit was and as strong as Dominic, Shinto, and Lorenzo might be, they don’t have the one thing that puts them on equal grounds as you.”

The air practically bubbled past the point of boiling temperatures. It contorted in ways that were only possible near active volcanoes. His eyes were like brimstone and his hair had a fiery reddish-orange shade to it now. Jaakuna’s entire body was now starting to be covered in an oddly-familiar armor. In the place of his usual twin swords was a longarm - a staff-lance, if you will. It appeared through a portal of fire. Finally, two additional arms formed off the side of his body. They were the very same arms that Belias himself has.

Jaakuna swiped his free arm and he moved Lannit, Shinto, and Lorenzo out of his way - harmfree, mind you. They were at least twenty paces to the side, allowing Jaakuna enough room to do battle without any worry of them getting hurt.

“And what might that be, dearest grandson?” Hamut inquired, noticing the distinctive change about Jaakuna.

“The unlocking of an Esper’s Inner Seal.”

Before even giving his grandfather time to respond, Jaakuna, as fast as a blink of the eye was in front of Hamut, and he brought his staff-lance in a low, vertical slash, only for it to meet with Hamut’s sword that he had acquired back when Lorenzo pulled it out of Lannit’s body. The collision created aftershocks of aether and fire magicks, surrounding the two inside a dome of gold and red and yellow and orange. A mixture of powerful, ancient magicks of two espers clashing with one another and the potent mist of the ones their wills were manifesting through caused unbelievable aftershocks throughout the city. It doubtless caused more, widespread damage throughout the city - enough to cause more buildings to topple on top of their already-damaged structures.

---

“It seems he has activated it, sir,” a raspy voice said.

“Seems like it.”

Zodiark was out on the balcony of his private quarters, simply looking at the skies. Archades was in view. The smoke and fire was clearly seen. He was hundreds of miles away and he still felt Jaakuna’s power from here. The aftershocks of that collision between his older brothers, Exodus and Belias was something of legends. Hell, it is the stuff of legends. When his brothers and sisters rebelled against the Light Scions, they were outcast by the very ones they revolted against, sent away to be sealed within the confines of Ivalice. Only, when they were defeated by persons worthy of their power shall they be freed.

The wicked beast curled a twisted smile as he turned around, looking at the masked, cloaked figure behind him who was leaning against the door. “So what other developments do you have for me?”

“The Ice Queen, crown prince, and the male Viera arrived in Archades. Meanwhile, the Dalmascan...king seems to be indisposed at the moment. Seeing his brother alive right in front of his eyes is not something the average hume can handle and not walk away without a few mental scars. Oh and our esteemed guest is currently being entertained by Emmeroloth and Sophia, though Ritron is definitely having too much fun.” The male sounded discontent with Keiran.

“So everything is happening as I’ve predicted,” Zodiark said, thinking out loud.

“It seems that way, sir.”

“Very well. Prepare the next stage of our plan. If this is going to be successful, we will need The Time Scion at full power. Oh and do keep Ritron in line. If, at any point, he proves to be more bothersome than he is worth, you know what to do.”

“Of course sir.”

“Then you are dismissed, Loghrif.”

Loghrif bowed and left Zodiark’s chambers.

As he looked on at the great city of Archades, he smiled. “Oh how the mighty have fallen.”

---

Wesley’s door closed slowly as the prince had been forced the milk of poppy just so he would sleep. His mother closed the door very slowly, seeing Cassandra at her brother’s bedside. She would not leave his side. Even though he was out like a light, she definitely didn’t want him to wake up to the sound of a slamming door.

“You have my thanks, Miss Aloa. thank you for bringing my son and his fiancee back home. Please, allow me to extend you the courtesy of giving you a hot meal before you have to go,” Isabelle said warmly. She was just happy to have her. Moving her relieved eyes to Nadeline, she knew the blonde was rattled. It wasn’t every day that you almost die at the hands of your soon-to-be brother-in-law, not to mention being powerless to help the one you truly love.

Vlyn was as surprised as Grant was, though he did a better job at hiding it. His ear would twitch, and he would look towards the Aerodome. “Lord Roman…and Majesty Reia? Where is Prince Lorenzo?” He murmured, his eyes looking at the core of the city’s destruction. “This Mist…a battle between Espers—no, their Seals have been unlocked.”

Grant snapped out of his shock long enough to hear Vlyn. “The Seals you spoke of? But who—” As the words left his mouth, he frowned. He didn’t need Zeromus to tell him who it was. “It must be Jaakuna and Hamut. Who else would it be?”

“I agree. I will see to their Majesties’ safety—worry not,” Vlyn told Grant and Savayna.

---

Hamut may not have realized it, but he seemed to solve Lorenzo’s problem. Lannit probably would have been as good as dead—except now that he knew what the main problem was, he knew how to handle it. He had to ignore Jaakuna for now, though he was grateful when he moved them all to a safer location. “Go for it, kid!” He shouted, though he would rummage through his pockets, looking for something. “Ten minutes, huh? It’s gonna be close but…Oi, Shinto, I need you to channel Mist into Lannit—if you know any healing or cleansing magicks, fantastic. If not, just channel, the Sap is an issue but I need to fix this bleeding before I can take care of that.”

His mind was racing as he struggled to remember Karolina’s lessons. Nadeline’s healing may have been from her mother, but he was no slouch, either. Granted, he always preferred the power of technology, and as he extracted a needle from his bag, he knew that whatever he was going to try, he needed to do it quickly. He stuck it in Lannit’s chest, close to the heart, and started directing all his magick to his heart. The serum should have aimed for the arteries, though he tried to guide his magicks to have both ends of the aorta stick together. It’s a long shot…but I sure as hell am not going to give up. He didn’t even know if it would work, but he needed to try.

“Lannit, if you can hear me, you better not give up. I’ll chase you right into hell and beat you so bad the devil himself will end up feeling bad for you,” He warned him, trying to focus.

---

“Your hospitality is appreciated, but not needed. I am pressed for time, I must get to Archades,” The Viera politely declined. “There is trouble there."

Jaakuna was in trouble? It was then that the day’s events truly hit her. She was talking about Emiri. “Aloa…is it true? Did Emiri really attack you?” She asked, afraid of the answer. Though the Viera was silent, Nadeline despaired, burying her face in her hands. “We saw her…we saw her in the Westersands…but we couldn’t stop her! She was whisked away before we could do anything! And then when we came to Dalmasca I heard of Sylvester…but all I could do is…cause more trouble…”

Aloa would kneel before the princess, an apologetic look on her face. “I came looking for your and His Highness, in hopes of reuniting you all in Archades,” She admitted. “If you saw Emiri as well, then she is in Zodiark’s hands by now. Shion is seeing to it that you will be able to locate her.”

Nadeline gripped the hem of her dress, shaking her head, though she would look at Aloa. “Reunite us…I suspect you’ll find me to be of little use,” She said sadly. “I couldn’t even help Wesley when he was right in front of me. How could I hope to help when I would just end up in the way?”

“Is that truly how you feel?”

Of course it was. How she wanted to stop Emiri, how betrayed she felt as they fought…and yet, would sitting around really be the best course of action? There had to be something she could do. Her gaze went to the closed door, where Wesley was on the other side. She had failed her king. She had no right to be here. Shaking her head, she would stand, her hand to her chest.

“I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know if I can do anything…but I must go,” Nadeline stated, a more determined look on her. “At the very least, I must see to it that Jaakuna knows what happened. I must tell him…and I must ask him for forgiveness.”

---

“The nerve…if only she knew…”

Nabriales had stormed off, deciding it best to lay low. As she walked, however, she couldn’t help but feel that she was being followed. She came to a halt, turning on her heel and spotting Emiri behind her. “I’m so glad I found you,” Emiri told Nabriales, winking. “I feel the need to clarify my intent from before.”

Intent? Nabriales narrowed her eyes slightly, though her lips curled into a smile. She definitely noticed Keiran was nowhere to be seen—and that played into her favor. She watched Emiri carefully, though the brunette simply smiled, hands behind her back as she circled Nabriales once. “As if I care! You may have Lord Zodiark’s favor now, but once he’s done with you, you’ll suffer the same fate as the rest of them,” She stated, crossing her arms under her breasts.

“Maybe. But there’s something he said yesterday that piqued my interest,” She admitted with a small shrug. “My potential to ascend…so, if I were to defeat one of his cohorts now, imagine the possibilities if I did choose to ascend, I’d easily eclipse someone of your…stature.”

“Really? Darling, you have no idea what I’m capable of,” She warned her. “The number of casualties I’ve caused has hit the thousands. Do you think you can outpower me?”

“I’d like to see,” Emiri said. “There’s something about you I don’t like.”

Now it was Nabriales' turn to smile. “That would be because you and I have met before. You just haven’t recognized me yet.”

Emiri wasn’t sure where she was going with this. “I don’t think so. I’d never be able to forget someone as obnoxious as you.”

“You’re serious? Really?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. “Do you recall Mitron’s original promise? That he would lead you to Lola?”

That certainly wiped the smile off Emiri’s face. “What does that have to do with anything?” She asked slowly, uncertain what direction this was taking.

“Come now, why do you think I would mention her? Put two and two together—no, wait, there was a small detail I neglected to mention,” She admitted, wagging a finger at Emiri. “My main attribute is my ability to gather information. With information I can do anything—I can attack with any magick, I can even change my form if you want to look at it that way.”

Emiri froze in place, her red eyes wide with shock. It was if time itself has slowed down as Nabriales would pull out an all too familiar iaito. She should have felt rage, but there was no mistaking that weapon. As it dawned on her, Emiri couldn’t help but smile. Just as Keiran promised, he would lead her right to Lola—and deliver, he did. She looked at her face closely, realizing that despite the hair color, Nabriales truly did resemble Lola. If she could shapeshift, she probably had many forms.

“So what, you murdered the original Lola and took her place, too?” Emiri raised an eyebrow.

“I infiltrated the Blue Rose’s ranks under orders from my master. I made sure to sabotage her plans and gather as much intel on the Espers as I could—and that was when we first met,” She said, flipping her hair off her shoulder. “Little Emiri, Scion of Chaos…you got me good in Archades. Would’ve died, too, though Michel is a very talented healer.”

This was it. This was what she was looking for. “Perfect. I have no reason to hold back, now,” Emiri stated, summoning her sword. “It’s time I avenged my family.”

“Avenge your family? Really? Last I heard, you hated your mother,” Nabriales said, pointing her iaito at her.

“You also hurt my father—and I will not forgive you for that.”

A moment’s pause, and then, the two would clash blades, a wave of power emanating and forcing them both back. As the battle raged on, blows would shake the palace wall close to them. “Why’d they have to fight in front of my window?” The young man sighed, clearly annoyed as his window repeatedly vibrated. There went his concentration. Not wanting glass all over his desk, he would open the window, though that invited the sounds of Lola and Emiri’s battle into his room. He sighed in defeat, resigning himself to watch. “Oh hey, it’s that chick and Nabbs. Would ya look at that?” He said, giddy. A knock on his door distracted him, and he would pull his finger, causing it to open and reveal Sophia. Her eyes widened as she would hear the battle, and she rushed to his window. “Come to watch?” He asked her, grinning.

“You would enjoy this,” She said, though she would sit on the windowsill, a concerned look on her face. “She shouldn’t be fighting, she should be resting. She managed to sneak away from Keiran and look at what’s happened.”

“It’s all in good fun! What’s a couple of scratches gonna do?” Igeyorhm asked, watching the pair. “She’s super cute, too. Think she's straight?”

“Really?”

“Hey, I need to know if she swings the other way so I don’t embarrass myself!”

As Sophia opened her mouth to retort, a wind nearly knocked her over, causing them both to look out the window. The battle seemed to have reached its peak at this point, a crazed Emiri surrounded by a dark aura. She was going to kill Lola if it was the last thing she was going to do. As she raised her blade, her suddenly felt a hand on her wrist. Before she could react, she was slammed down, her arm twisted behind her. Lola raised her eyebrows as her own aura dissipated, though she had to admit she was rather impressed with Keiran’s power. He must have gotten a boost from Zodiark—neither she nor Emiri saw him coming.

“What are you doing?! I can finish her!” Emiri shouted, enraged. Keiran looked at her, expressionless, though he ended up simply twisting her arm further. As she went to push him off, something changed. The power she had felt from before suddenly stopped, and Emiri suddenly felt pain in her head. At that point Keiran released her, pulling her up to her feet. “My power…what…?”

“There’s only so much a hume can do on their own,” Lola informed her, almost giddy in her response. “Too bad, so sad, I was really looking forward to that hatred you had for me.”

No! That couldn’t be it! That wasn’t her limit! She was capable of more than that, she could crush Lola here and now! And yet, as she looked at Keiran shaking his head at her, she realized that Lola was right. She had spent herself, stretched her power too thin without a chance to rest up in between. Despite thinking things would change, she was right back where she started. She grabbed her hair with both of her hands, torn between wanting to cry and wanting to scream in anger, though she somehow managed to keep herself soundless.

Keiran patted her head once more, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and wordlessly guiding her away. She conceded, letting him lead her away. Lola bit her lip, trying to surpress a laugh, though as she turned to walk away, she caught sight of both Sophia and Igeyorhm watching her. “Enjoying the show, are we?” She snapped. “You baited me, Iggy!”

“Yup,” He replied immediately, not even bothering to deny it. “Get angry all you want, it’s in Lord Zodiark’s favor. Anyone who hits their limit will always be wanting more,” He stated as Sophia let out a sigh. “Feel free to chime in.”

“Reckless fighting serves no purpose,” Sophia told him, eyeing him specifically. “Pushing that girl’s heart into further disarray…I cannot say I approve.”

“It ain’t ‘disarray’, it’s ‘I want more power’, its practically basic hume instinct,” He corrected her, nudging her slightly, though she would turn away from him. “Don’t go soft on me, Sophia.”

“Equilibrium must be absolute,” She stated. “Push too much, and she will break.”

What amazing power she felt. Savayna had never sensed such pure and unadulterated mist in all her time that she had been able to sense magick and the mist it originated from. It made every hair on her body stand up and bow to it. This was the power of Hume and Esper combined. It was exhilarating as much as it was frightening. Someone like Jaakie who had been wild and reckless his entire life was just half of the power she felt. The other half, his grandfather -a seasoned warrior and without a doubt the strongest of the Judge Magisters. And yet, as Savayna concentrated on sensing where they were and the battle that raged on, she noticed something quite peculiar..

“You sense it too, don’t you Ice Queen?” A manifested Mateus said, appearing next to Savayna.

She looked over to her Esper. She noticed he was also intimidated by this amount of mist; so much so that it had him quivering. “Mateus..”

“It’s amazing, really. Exodus and Belias doing battle against one another. Belias, who is the easiest to acquire on this Hume realm of yours is also, without a doubt, one of the strongest of us Espers. And to think that Jaakuna has managed to bond with his soul.”

From the way he was talking, Savayna had to wager that Mateus was in awe just as much as he was jealous of their bond. She felt similar emotions. But it was more like she wondered if she and Mateus would ever get that close. Jaakuna and Belias had been through so much and thought if they had an unfair advantage of being made for each other, Savayna couldn’t help but wonder what was stopping her and Mateus from reaching that point of their partnership.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Mateus’ blind face looked to Savayna, “I felt the pain that Belias felt. I know exactly what he was experiencing: pain beyond belief but also the need to protect. That is what unlocks our Inner Seals, not just the need for power but the desperation of protecting those who mean closest to you.” Mateus spoke with wisdom.

As Mateus spoke, his words filled Savayna with a warm feeling, bringing her eyes to look at Grant. This brought a soft smile to her face.

---

The battle had raged on with Grandfather and grandson matching each other blow for blow. Hamut was a seasoned general of the Archadian Imperial Army, so it was doubtless that whatever Jaakuna had thrown at him - be it a piercing strike with his Staff-Lance that was laced with ancient fire magicks or a wave of firaja - Hamut had blocked, parried, and countered it with ease. But the one thing that Hamut didn’t count on was Jaakuna’s overtly reckless nature. Specifically, when Jaakuna had launched an additional wave of fire magicks, the seaoned Judge didn’t anticipate that Jaakuna would use it as a diversion to gain distance and whack him with the backend of his lance.

And that one move turned it in Jaakuna’s favor. The tides were changed and JAakuna had Hamut on the defensive.

The air was thick and yet Jaakuna moved gracefully. When he wasn’t thrusting his lance forward, he was waving odd signs that activated various enhancing spells. The two entities of Jaakuan and Belias were working in unison, creating glyph after glyph. But Hamut and Exodus were doing the same. When Jaakuna had created a glyph of fire magick, Hamut responded with a glyph of earth and air. Terra Nova and Aeroga met Dark Firaja in an impressive display of potent magicks - only the likes that could be possible with two Esper Seals doing battle against each other. The result of this collision, however, was forcing both Hamut and Jaakuna out of the dome as they both went in opposing directions. Jaakuna was sent flying past Lorenzo and company while Hamut went crashing through the Imperial Palace, causing it to crash on top of him.

“That could have went better,” Jaakuna noted, aching as he stood up.

We need a different strategy. Belias spoke, urging Jaakuna to think.

“Yeah, I know.”

Belias would sigh as Jaakuna would do the same. He stood up and took just a brief moment to himself. As he did, he saw Hamut did not waste any time getting up as he was overhead. On Belias’ command, Jaakuna dodged his grandfather’s vertical strike with his sword. As the steel blade that was laced with powerful magicks hit the ground, Jaakuna whipped his body in a clockwise rotation three times and built up his kinetic energy inside his left leg, and at the right moment, he delivered a roundhouse kick that had been completely surrounded by white fire right into Hamut’s face. The foot connected with the left cheek, and Hamuts’ body whipped back.

As Hamut was flying back, Jaakuna followed, zipping in the air and jumping, then coming down on Hamut’s sternum as both feet(still laced with remnants of white fire) crashed into his grandfather, sending shockwaves throughout the city.

The ending result of Jaakuna’s onslaught caused Hamut to be the center of a ten-foot-deep crater that had been created by Jaakuna’s magick.

Jaakuna didn't’ stop there, however. He pounded on Hamut’s face. Punch after punch, everything Jaakuna was feeling or had felt in these past weeks was being unleashed on his grandfather. All of the vile things that he had done to him or his friends or his entire family. All of the pain that Jaakuna had to endure because of this man was being sent back at him with a mist-laced punching spree - rage-filled, even - onto his face. Jaakuna yelled as he delivered each punch. FOr minutes his grandfather was Jaakuna’s personal punching bag.

And yet...nothing was happening. Hamut just laid there. Still. Nothing was really happening to him. Sure, his face was a bloody mess, but there was no facial reaction. It was just neutral, as if he was allowing Jaakuna to get all of that anger out.

“You finished?” Hamut asked with a slight hint of arrogance in his voice.

It was fair to say that Jaakuna didn’t know how to respond to that, so he wouldn’t say anything. Instead, he would concentrate the remaining wrath into one final punch. Powerful mist and the magick it came from was concentrated so much that magicks swirled in colored of white and black and red and green, and it would strike Hamut in the neck, exploding in hot fire, surrounding the two.

If one was looking from the outside, they would catch the glint of gold and maroon red through the veil of charcoal smoke..

---

Shinto could sense the intense battle raging on. Whatever power Jaakuna had channeled, it was far beyond Shinto’s paygrade. Well, at least he started training. Still, he had a task to do - and that was helping save one of his friends.

“Sure thing,” Shinto nodded. He held both hands over Lannit’s body. Both hands started to glow as his mist started to surround Lannit’s body. The glow was very reminicnet of Cleanse but acted somewhat different. It surrounded Lannit in a veil-like aura and it was literally drawing out the poison drop by drop and turning it into raw, white magicks. “Do what you need to do. I can only maintain this for three minutes,” Shinto stated, panting.

---

Isabelle didn’t quite understand what Nadeline was saying, but her tone gave the former Queen of Dalmasca a pretty clear indication of exactly what the young blonde had to do.

“You’re going, aren’t you?” Belle wasn’t so much disappointed in her tone but more understanding. “Do what you must, Nadeline. Wesley will be here upon your return. Perhaps, when you come back from whatever it is you must do with this Jaakuna fellow, then perhaps we can celebrate your return with the wedding of my son and his queen,” Isabelle said with a joyous smile.

As Grant and Savayna made their way through Archades, he couldn't help but note the city was wrapped entirely in chaos. He had to commend the soldiers that tried their best to keep everyone in an orderly fashion, though it did nothing to dissuade the citizens who jumped every time Jaakuna and Bahamut would clash. An all too familiar shade of blue caught his eye, and he would come to a halt. "That's..." Grant recognized that hair.

The woman stopped, head to her forehead for a moment, though she noticed both Grant and Savayna. "So you've come," Shion stated, closing her eyes. Her voice had come out quieter than she had anticipated, but after a few seconds of catching her breath, she regained her composure, straightening up and opening her amber eyes. "That leaves two..."

Grant couldn't help but notice Shion's now entirely black hand. "What happened to you--" He started, though he seemed to realize it when the words left him.

Shion would confirm his suspicions. "Zodiark happened," She replied.

Then everything Vlyn had said was the truth. It wasn't that he believed him to be lying, but it certainly was a wake up call. Grant remained steady for the moment, instead choosing to focus on Shion. No, that wasn't right, they needed to get to Jaakuna, though he wasn't quite sure how the battle was going yet. "If you're injured--"

"An inconvenience. Hardly an injury," She raised an eyebrow at him. "A mistake I made in a battle, and one I could easily dispel...but hanging onto it is the only way I can track your 'friend' and Zodiark. Let us make haste to the sky pirate, if your questions are done."

---

Three minutes?! Lorenzo knew he was asking for too much, but he had hoped Shinto would've bought him more time. No, that wasn't it, Lannit was getting worse, Lorenzo just needed to work faster. He wouldn't have to worry about the poison, at least he could focus on the more pressing matter. All he could think about was the bastard in front of him, whose pale tone didn't comfort Lorenzo in the slightest. Still, he knew the serum was in place, now all he needed to do was complete the spell and pray. Taking his hands off Lannit for the moment, he drew in a deep breath, though he noticed his own hand shaking. 'Can't let his future kid grow up without a dad' really puts the pressure, huh? He couldn't help but think to himself. Forming a fist, he held it out, closing his eyes. An orange glyph would form beneath the three of them, magical in nature, though it would then begin to rewrite itself, looking more mechanical in nature as it completed the magical circle.

As the circle faded, signaling the finish, Lorenzo nearly threw up. He managed to hold it in, signaling Shinto to stop, and he looked at Lannit, panting. "Okay, Bennit...if this worked, you should hear me...and say something..." He said between breaths. "I'm getting old..."

---

Keiran had taken Emiri back to the guest room she had slept in before. She didn’t bother resisting as he would sit her on the bed, and watched him as he paced back and forth in front of her. He then snapped his fingers, her own clothes reverting back to her simple black dress, though her shoes were missing for some reason. Once he was finished, he would straighten up, and in a flash, his demonic form was reverted to that black haired hume form he had. He would kneel before her, a thoughtful look on his face. What did he want now? To scold her? And yet, she found herself calming down as she stared back.

“I…was going to lose, wasn’t I?” She asked him quietly.

“That was why I interfered,” He admitted, gently lifting her ankle to him, a green light emanating where Lola had cut her. “You didn’t seem to believe me when I told you that you needed to rest. But Nabriales took things too far…I can’t have anything happen to you.”

“Because you would be punished?”

“Because I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

What? He released her foot, taking her wrist in his hand. She winced as she felt his magicks patching up the cuts, though she needed to know the meaning of his words. “Why? Aren’t I just some tool to you? To Zodiark? What does it matter if I get hurt?” She asked, wanting to know more.

He was quiet, though he looked at her arm, inspecting a bruise on her shoulder as his fingers lightly traced another cut. “Do you remember what I said when we met?” He asked, watching as the bruise would fade as he healed it. “I told you, didn’t I? I wanted your heart. I promised I’d mend your heart. I was created for that purpose…or at least, I’d like to think so,” It was partly true, it sounded so sincere. But why did he look so sad about it? “I haven’t left your side yet, have I? Unlike him…I’m here.”

Emiri shook her head—she didn’t want to think of Jaakuna. “That’s…ridiculous.”

“Because you don’t believe it? Or because it’s true?” He stated, causing her to look right at him, and she caught his black eyes staring at her once again. “Once the world falls to ruin…if your wish is to die, then I would want to die right alongside you.”

Her eyes were wide with shock. It was like a pit had formed in her stomach, but she didn't want to believe anything he was saying. What, was he in love with her? Was that why he was so kind? No, it had to be some sort of ruse, it couldn't be true. It was then that he would take hold of her hand, lightly kissing her wrist. It was almost instantaenous, but something inside her caused her to take her hand away. To her surprise, he would get up, though he towered over her, and the next thing she knew she was on her back, staring up at him.

It was a familiar feeling, staring up at someone. But she wasn't thinking about Keiran. She remembered Jaakuna, that little smile he had just for her. As he got closer, she realized what it was that Keiran wanted. Her breath was caught in her throat as his hand touched her cheek, a gentle touch. Everything he was doing reminded her of Jaakuna, even the way he got closer, and closer...until...

“Don’t.” Her voice came out as a small plea, so quiet she didn’t even realize she had said it.

Both their eyes widened, the pair staring at one another. For some reason, he then looked...angry? She couldn't take her eyes off him, though Keiran’s would close as he would get off the bed. “Can’t forget him, can you?” His tone was mellow, disappointed more than anything.

She was speechless. Why did Jaakuna have to come to mind? Why? Though as quickly as that warm feeling came, it left, and she would instead lay on her side, her back turned to him. “I…want to be alone,” was her only reply. She heard the door close. After turning around to make sure he was truly gone, she couldn't help but punch the wall. Was she doomed to always have him in her thoughts? She couldn't bear that feeling, it hurt too much. The way he said her name, how he looked at her, the stupid jokes he'd make, it was as if every memory pushed a knife deeper and deeper into her heart.

She laid down once, more, closing her eyes. If the gods were merciful, they would make it so that she would never waken again.

Three minutes was the maximum Shinto could keep his unique magicks active, but little did Lorenzo know that this unique healing spell that he had used to aid Lorenzo in healing Lannit was far more than your average Cleanse spell. In appearance, it was cleanse, but it was far more complex than that. It drew from Shinto’s aether and it manipulated the life force of its designated target. By both working with each other, it served as an enhancer for white magicks, which was evident by Lorenzo’s use of that magick.

As Lorenzo had begun using his own healing spells, Shinto noted that it was working. He could sense Lannit’s life force was slowly returning to him. His color was slowly returning and Shinto saw a shimmer of life in his eyes. It wouldn’t be long now.

One minute left and Shinto could feel himself wavering. He slipped for a second but forced himself for Lannit’s sake. His hands maintained a steady glow of aether for just forty more seconds. In those seconds, Lannit’s color was back in top form. His eyes were opening and..

“By the Occuria..”

Shinto couldn’t believe it. They actually did. By all that was holy in this world, Lannit was breathing - coughing more like - but breathing nonetheless.

Seeing that it had worked, Shinto ceased his mist and he fell backwards, unable to stay seated upright, his eyes faced the sky, panting heavily. Though, as he would, he caught the glimpse of someone looking at him.

“Fancy seeing you here, Savayna,” Shinto said in a neutral tone. He didn’t have the energy to speak in his usual snarky retort.

Savayna looked at Shinto, then looked at Lorenzo and an unconscious-esque Lannit. “So, I see you’ve been keeping busy.”

“In a manner of speaking, yes,” Shinto shrugged

Forcing himself to sit up, Savayna would help him, noticing that he was obviously struggling. When he sat back up, he looked at Savayna. As he gazed upon her face, he noticed Shion, Grant, and..a male Viera? Shinto thought about it for a moment. Oh, that was Vlyn. Jaakuna had told him about that one a few times. Shinto couldn’t hold his surprised expression, though. It was one thing to hear about it, but to see one in person was truly an experience.

“Hey, will you stop smiling and tell me what’s happening?” Savayna snapped at Shinto.

“Right..” Shinto bit his lip, thinking. “I suppose the easiest way to explain it is - well, this way.”

Shinto extended his hand onto Savayna’s forehead. His mist flowed into her - and by extension - anyone without a “trace” of the memory of what happened. Through this unique life force manipulation, Shinto showed the others exactly what happened. They would experience it memory by memory. An all accounts of how Lannit fought Hamut and had him on the defensive and how he was struck down and how JAakuna activated Belias’ Inner Seal and how thier battle raged on to the point of locking themselves in that dome one-hundred paces away. They would see how Lannit was on death’s door and how the Crown Prince and he did everything they could to save his life, only to make it within seconds.

After Shinto had completed that, he started panting even more deeply. “So, ah, you see, that’s what--ah, ah--happ..ened..”

Shinto overexerted himself that time. He felt it. He had been completely drained of his mist reserves.

Aloa’s ear twitched lightly, her eyes closed as she leaned against the wall. A pair of footsteps would cause her to open her eyes, and she would watch as Nadeline came into view. Standing straight, she looked at the girl. She was getting better at holding together her mask—though not so much that those close couldn’t tell something was bothering her. Nadeline seemed to know, making eye contact with Aloa. Her wounds were healed, and she was in more battle ready clothing, rapier at her belt.

“Shall we depart, Highness?” Aloa asked her.

Nadeline nodded, though once again she would look at Wesley’s door. She walked over, her hand on the handle, but she couldn’t bring herself to open it. No, she couldn’t bear to see him again. “If you can hear me, Wesley, I wanted to say that I’m sorry,” She spoke to him through the door. “I wanted to resolve your problems for you. We spoke about going forward together, yet there I was, running off without giving you so much as a warning. Now…now I’m leaving once more, though this time, I’ll be waiting for you. Whenever you do wake up, I’ll be there with Jaakuna and everyone. So wake up soon, alright? We’re all waiting for you.”

Nadeline backed away from the door, turning to Aloa. “Let us take our leave,” She stated, slightly more confident. “To Archades.”

“Of course, Your Highness,” Aloa stated as Nadeline walked up to her. As Aloa’s magicks whistled through the air, Nadeline looked at the door once more, although in a flash, Dalmasca’s castle was replaced with the streets of a very chaotic Archades. Her eyes widened as she looked around at the panicked people, a far cry from the quite smug citizenry that had once taunted her arrest. “Shall we?” Aloa asked her.

Nadeline shook her head, unfazed. “I ask that you find Reia. I will go to Jaakuna,” She instructed her. “Bring her back to Stigma. There is something I must do.”

Aloa bowed, and the two would go their separate ways.

---

Lorenzo threw his arms up in the air, clearly happy with his victory, though it ended with him on his back. He was so relieved, he almost cried, though seeing Savanna and his little brother gave him a second wind as he would sit up. Shinto greeted Savanna (now that he thought about it, didn’t they have the same last name? Were they related? He couldn’t remember…) and…something happened, he was too tired to pay attention, though he did catch Grant’s disapproving look.

“So that’s what’s happening with us!” Lorenzo added, grinning and giving them a thumbs up, though he would then slap Shinto’s back. “We’re, uh, pretty spent though.”

Grant shook his head, though he looked at the direction Jaakuna and Hamut had gone. He started to walk, though Shion blocked him with her arm. “What is it?” He couldn’t help but ask.

“It wouldn’t do to get yourself ripped from limb to limb. You’d serve as a distraction,” Shion stated, lowering her arm. “This battle was a long time coming. Should he require assistance…you’ll know.”

Lorenzo jumped onto his feet, placing his hands on his hips. “There’s a point in every man’s life where he starts to realize his destiny. This is Jaakie’s moment!” Hes declared, winking at Grant, and as he looked at Savayna, he opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated. “Wait a sec…that ring…”

Grant was confused, but by the time he realized it, Lorenzo let out a mix between a screech and a shout. “What is wrong with you?” Shion asked him, wondering if he had finally lost what was left of his mind.

“THAT—THAT IS—THAT—” For a moment Lorenzo seemed unable to string a proper sentence, resulting in Shion knocking on his head, though she jumped back as he would finally shout, “That is a Roselia relic! Where did you get that—OH MY GOD GRANT GAVE THAT TO YOU DIDN’T HE?!”

“…the…ring…?” She asked, raising an eyebrow, though she seemed to give up on understanding what made Lorenzo panic so much.

To both their surprises, Grant actually blushed, scratching his cheek. “Oh, you know…life threatening situations, near death experiences…really called for it,” He laughed, slightly embarrassed.

“Holy shit,” Lorenzo gasped, placing both his hands on Grant’s shoulders. “I thought you were gay.”

“Uh, no.”

“If this is some kind of joke—”

“It’s not. I’m serious.”

Lorenzo burst into tears, hugging Grant tightly. “First Nadeline leaves me, now Grant’s finally found a woman willing to put with his annoying tendencies! I can’t believe this! The gods have answered my prayers!” He bawled.

Shion decided to ignore him, though a thought popped into her head, and she looked at Shinto.

The exchange between the brothers had varying looks from anyone of the group. Shinto was barely interested enough in whatever siblings moment they were having. There might’ve been something mentioned about Grant being gay, but that was debunked when Savayna’s finger was brought up. A guy who proposes to a girl would hardly be considered gay. But after that, it was merely white noise for Shinto. He was just too exhausted to care.

“Wouldn’t you look at that, Lorenzo. I’m going to be your new sister-in-law.” Savayna snickered, “you know what that means, right?” She smiled evilly.

"So this is what humes do when they celebrate this thing called marriage, huh?" Mateus appeared next to Vlyn, appearing somewhat confused. "Say, Male Viera, what sort of customs does your race have regarding mating rituals?" The Ice Esper would ask Vlyn.

As he would glance around the group, he couldn’t help but notice that Shion was looking at him. He wouldn’t have thought much of it, but her eyes gave him the impression that something was going through her mind. Usually when she had a thought in her head, it was important. “Something on your mind, Shion?” Shinto asked her.

“I haven’t seen magicks like those in some time. It reminded me of one of my flowers,” Shion admitted to Shinto. “I sincerely apologize for not getting here sooner, I would have gladly offered my mist as well.”

Vlyn opened his mouth, though his ear twitched, and he looked in the other direction. “Aloa has arrived. I hope she brought the prince and princess,” He commented.

Lorenzo finally released Grant, shoving him aside as he decided to confront Shion. “You talking about my Nadeline? What’re you doing, bringing her here of all places?” He asked, half annoyed and ignoring Grant’s glare. “Now that you mention it, the heck are you guys doing here, anyway? I thought you all split up for a reason?”

Grant rolled his eyes. “Circumstances change, Lorenzo. Clearly, you of all people should understand that, considering this was supposed to be the signing of a peace treaty,” He motioned towards the ruined buildings.

“Well, regicide has been used to accommodate peace from tyrants…”Shion said, though it was a quiet point.

Lorenzo chose to ignore her comment. “Shit happened, Grant, as you already saw kudos to Sam,” He said, referring to Shinto (Shion dryly noticed he didn’t seem to know anyone’s name). “If Aloa’s here with my beautiful daughter and her fiancé, am I to understand you left Elizabeth with Karolina? What happened to trying to seal her darkness?”

Vlyn sighed. “Zodiark seemed to have gotten to her before Aloa and Shion could, Your Highness,” He said.

“The hell you mean?! What happened—” He froze in place, eyes wide, though they would close. He looked at Shion, a look of realization on his face. “Something happened to Elizabeth, and you came here to tell Jaakuna.”

“Is that why you’re here?” Grant asked Shion. “Vlyn caught us up on everything.”

“That’s right,” She confirmed as much.

---

Stretching his arms above his head, Keiran let out a rather loud yawn. He then placed his hands on the back of his head, his mind far away, until he would see Sophia at the end of the hallway. Sophia, the ruler of ‘balance’ and doing what is just, not often what is right. She stared right at him, and he could feel a very unneeded conversation about to happen. It’d be too suspicious if he turned around, right? Not like he had anywhere else to go, though.

He chose to play ignorant, strolling up to her. “Look at us, running into each other over and over,” He said, raising his eyebrows at her. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you had a crush on me!” She continued to stare at him, unamused. His smile faltered into a look of annoyance. “What do you want now?”

She closed her eyes for a moment, choosing her words carefully. “Your mind is in disarray. It would be wise to step back and find inner peace,” She would advise him. “Lest you end up angering Lord Zodiark further.”

“I haven’t strayed from my path,” Keiran dropped his arms to his sides. “I’ve followed my orders and done precisely what I’ve been asked of. I was even rewarded! Why would you think I’m doing otherwise?”

“No, you haven’t strayed. Yet you aren’t where our Lord would like you to be,” She stated simply, eyeing him carefully. “I cannot be certain, but I’m starting to think your influence on the Scion of Time is starting to go both ways. You use her sorrow to plant yourself in her mind, and in turn it’s beginning to affect you as well.”

“That’s not—” His response was a little too quick, though he seemed to catch himself, bringing a hand to his forehead. “I have it all under control, no need to worry yourself. Don’t take me lightly.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. I simply wanted to give you a word of caution,” She said. “The Scion isn’t simply here because of her power—she is also bait.”

Keiran was surprised. “Bait…?”

“She will draw those with the power of the espers here, to Lord Zodiark’s domain. And once they come, we will strike them down,” She stated, looking outside. “The Twelve Espers and the Twelve Scions…a clash of light and darkness, of good and evil. Only when they fall shall our Lord’s reign be absolute.”

Keiran didn’t respond, though he seemed to understand. Sophia deemed it satisfactory, as she would take her leave of him. Letting out a sigh, he couldn’t help but ruffle his hair. Yeah, it definitely sounded familiar, it was like a distant memory he couldn’t quite reach. A demon’s castle, a fair maiden waiting to be rescued, and the knight of light coming to face the darkness.

And then what?

---

Slumped against the bars, Emiri let out a frustrated yell. Her hands ached as she had tried repeatedly to bend the bars, or at least move one, but they wouldn’t budge. She let out a sigh, followed by another frustrated shout, and then finally, a small whimper of despair. Getting herself out of this predicament was going to prove harder than she thought. Still, for a moment, she had some influence over her own body, and that alone had motivated her enough to start trying to escape again.

Except now, she would rest.

Taking in a deep breath, she rubbed her sore hand, though footsteps would alert her that HE was here. She sat up proper, glaring at Keiran as he revealed himself. “Having fun?” He asked her, snickering. “You sure are a noisy one. And here I thought you were groomed to become the bride of a king? Your mother would be so disappointed.”

He’s trying to get under your skin, don’t let him win! She had to remind herself mentally, actually managing to keep calm. “I’m disappointed in you. I’m sure you noticed,” She threw a taunt right back at him. “When you tried to pull that little stunt of yours, I managed to say something, didn’t I?”

His eyes narrowed dangerously, much to her satisfaction. Ha! Though as he approached her cage, she noticed the rather dark expression he had on his face. “You did. You surprised me there…but I’m going to have to ask you to behave,” He said, his tone low. His usual playfulness seemed to be all but gone.

“I’m not going to let you bully me around anymore!” She stated. “I’m not afraid of you! Maim me, chop off my limbs, I refuse to submit to you! Do as you see fit! ”

“Do as I see fit?” He repeated her words thoughtfully. He then smiled, though it sent a chill up her spine. She felt herself backing away as he would let himself into her cage. “Do you really want me to ‘do as I see fit’, Emiri?” He asked her, his voice actually scaring her. “I don’t think you can handle that.”

Stay strong. “You’ve locked me in a prison of my own mind, you’ve forced me to attack my own friends—what more could you possibly do?!” She snapped at him.

“Next time you see them, I’ll make sure you finish the job,” He informed her as he advanced on her. “Ah, who should we kill first? Wesley? Nadeline? No, I’ve got a better idea—after all, you said to do as I saw fit, right?” He asked as her back hit the bars. “We can lure Jaakuna out on his own—he’s an idiot, he’ll go to the ends of the world if it meant seeing you again. We could play the wounded gazelle gambit, you can call out to him—‘Save me! Save me!’—and he’ll come running. Then, I’ll confront him, and while his back is turned, you draw your blade right through his heart.”

Her breath caught in her throat, though she shook her head. “If you think you can use my body to hurt him, you’ve got another thing coming!” She shouted, the cage around them shaking. “I’ll die before that happens!”

“Except…that’s not really up to you, is it?” He asked, tucking a hair behind her ear. His hand trailed down, though before she could react, he grabbed her by her neck, slamming her onto the bars of the cage. “I want you to watch as you kill him. I want you to cry helplessly as your own hands stab every one of your loved ones. What, you think this little outburst of yours means anything?”

Emiri looked at him, unwavering. “I won’t let that happen—” He managed to make her cry out in pain as he squeezed his hand tighter, and while her hands would fly up to his, she continued to glare at him. “I told you, do whatever you want to me, I’m not going to let you hurt any of them!”

Keiran seemed to understand, though his smile seemed to scare her. He loosened his grip, though kept her in place, pushing his body against hers. “How admirable. But I warned you, Emiri. If you don’t behave, you will be punished.” He said, his lips near her ear. “If asking threats won’t subdue you, I’ll have to try other methods.”

Other methods? Emiri watched him as he backed away, walking out of her cage. She watched him, confused, trying to think of what he could mean. No, it was another trick of his. She looked towards the path that led to Chaos. If she was going to break free, she would need help.

Of the time that they had met, Shinto was surprised she didn’t pick up on it sooner. Being one of the few people whose mist-sensing abilities are rivaled to very few, Shinto was a bit disappointed that Shion didn’t recognize him right away. Then again, he’d been deliberately masking his mist just enough to go undetected. There are some powerful people who have been after him. Thankfully, Dominic’s assertive mist hid it well, but without him currently conscious, there wasn’t a single doubt in his mind that Shion picked up on it.

“Madame Blue Rose, I’m surprised it took you this long to recognize your Water Lily,” Shinto said taking off his sunglasses and showing his white eyes with a single spec of gold in the center. “Know that the Archadian soil isn’t quite as soft as those of the Phon Coast..

Admittedly, she had an entire garden’s worth of people to tend to, though she would let out a sigh. “I wouldn’t speak unless I was sure. When we saw one another before, I thought I recognized your face, though figured I was mistaken--until now, that is.”

Meanwhile, the rest were finding out the exact reasons for Shion’s being here. Apparently Emiri had been taken by Zodiark.

What was even worse, Jaakuna didn’t know.

Savayna gripped her arm tightly and then looked over to that dome of concentrated mist. She saw glimpses of two figures fighting. It was intense. She couldn’t believe that two superpowers were duking it out and all they could do was talk about whatever Shinto was going on about with Shion and why the busty bitch was here in the first place. No one could tell him because that dome was so full of God-tier levels of mist that, if they even dared to, they would get destroyed right away.

“Goddamn it all!” Savayna cursed, stomping her feet on the ground. Not in a tantrum kind of way but one of those ‘you can’t do anything and it sucks’ kind of ways. She hated that she wasn’t there to protect Emiri in Jaakuna’s stead. She hated that she couldn’t help Jaakuna with his fight against that monster, Bahamut. She hated that, despite all of her efforts, she was still as weak and bothersome as she was when this entire shitstorm began.

She had enough. No more staying out of it for her. Savayna wasn’t going to sulk in her self-pity any longer. That wasn’t her style. More than anything, she was pretty much the only one here who had any stake in this ordeal. Her history with Jaakuna was just exactly what made her more relevant than ever before.

“Shion, with all due respect, you have no place in telling Jaakuna anything.” Savayna stated bluntly.

The blue haired woman wouldn’t turn to Savayna, though she would eye her curiously. “No place...that’s a first.” She admitted, though she raised her head. “And I suppose that place belongs to who? The prince of another nation? The princess that let her get away? Or perhaps you’re referring to yourself.” Shion said.

“Does it really matter who tells him?” Grant couldn’t help but ask, sensing an incoming argument. He figured he wouldn’t make much of a difference, but he may as well get it out now. “Considering the circumstances…”

“Those same circumstances are what brought us all here today,” Shion reminded him, though she wouldn’t take her eyes off Savayna.

Savayna turned her icy-blue eyes towards Grant, exposing a very faint wave of icy mist specifically at him. Then, she turned her attention to Shion. “Yes, I’m very much aware of why we’re here. I’m also aware that you think you have this obligation to tell Jaakuna the news about Emiri. But, need I remind everyone that it wasn’t that long ago that she was trying to kill us. In fact, she almost succeeded when we were at Giruvegan. So why should we trust a person like that to deliver such dire news to Jaakuna? Why does this..outsider get a pass?” Savayna’s icy tone was felt throughout.

Grant let out a slight sigh, though Savayna had already made it clear he was to stay out of it. Throwing his arms up in defeat, he would turn his attention elsewhere, though he would through Vlyn a glare as he noticed him chuckle. Shion raised an eyebrow, though she let out a sigh. “It’s true,” She outright admitted, causing Grant to pay attention to the conversation once again. “Though I wouldn’t say it’s so much a ‘pass’ as it is a warning. I told him before, and I’ll repeat it here: things have changed. Not that it’s excusing my actions--my goal was, and still is stopping Zodiark.”

Lorenzo narrowed his eyes, though he stayed quiet for once. Grant, on the other hand, found this entire conversation pointless, though as he opened his mouth to retort Vlyn shook his head at him. “My obligation is to fix my errors. I underestimated her--whatever that boy did to her left me blindsided--” She lifted her blackened arm as she spoke. “--and I felt that it was my place to inform Jaakuna. I am to blame.”

“I can’t completely agree with that part,” This time Vlyn couldn’t help but interject. “You were not alone, as both Aloa and myself joined you in that battle. And we all lost…”

“So just because you got injured by..whatever it is that person is, you feel that it’s your job to tell him the news about the one person he cares most about in all of Ivalice?” Savayna asked, “don’t bother answering. I’m going to tell you exactly why you are wrong on so many levels.” She approached Shion. “First off, you are an enemy-turned possible ally,” Savayna pushed her finger against Shion’s large bust, “secondly, you know nothing about what he’s been through. You know nothing about what strife he had to overcome to be the man that he is today.” Savayna said with another hard nudge. “Lastly — and I cannot stress this enough — you are not one of us. You will never be one of us. You are, in my eyes, someone who happened to get lucky and not be on everyone’s bad side.”

Turning around, Savayna looked at everyone’s doubtless shocked expressions. She would then look back at Shion. “An outsider has no place giving him this kind of news. I will be the one to do it. It’s my place - my burden.”

Shion looked at the back of Savayna’s head for a moment, though she then looked downcast. Grant’s jaw nearly dropped--was Savayna right? No, that wasn’t it, Shion seemed to realize something. The woman walked around Savayna, facing her, her amber eyes stern on Savayna’s blue ones.

“Is it your burden because you feel it’s your place as a friend? Or is it because you clearly still love him?” She asked her, straight to the point.

Lorenzo’s eyes widened, though catching Grant’s expression made his heart sink. Grant himself looked like someone had just slapped him, though everyone was deathly silent, waiting on Savayna’s response.

For a moment, Savayna just stood there, contemplating exactly what she was going to say — what she was going to do. So many thoughts riddled through her mind that Mateus even chimed in on a few of them, stating that whatever she did she wouldn’t be able to come back from. Savayna agreed with him. This seemed to be something they both understood had reprecautions.

She took in a deep breath. She made sure to be absolutely serene. And as she exhaled, Savayna’s mist gathered around her, focusing into her right fist. It was, of course, invisible to the naked eye. But in the moment that it had reached its peak and the next moment that had followed, the temperature around her had dropped to nearly absolute zero. It was a fraction of a millisecond, but as she would hook her right arm inside Shion’s personal space, it was dealt in full. The fist was as cold as it could be and it had made contact with its intended target: Shion, the Blue Rose. And as it did, Savayna screamed with much anger that one would think she was possessed by some sort of devil or demon.

Shion skidded back, her face turned away, though as she looked back at the group, her cheek was frosty. Her amber eyes flashed as she began to walk towards the blonde, a light glimmering in her hand. Grant’s eyes widened, though as he moved, Lorenzo was the one that stopped him. “She hasn’t answered yet, not with words, anyway,” He told his younger brother, a hand on his shoulder. “We have no business interfering.”

Even so…! Grant’s thought was interrupted by the familiar ringing of steel as Shion would summon her weapon. Her blackened hand seemed to pulse as well, clutching her blade tightly. She stopped before Savayna, spitting to her side before eyeing the woman., her rose glowing. “You got me with that sucker punch--it won’t happen again.” Shion stated as she took her stance, her petals wilting from her flower. In the next second, she charged with such a speed that the wind seemed to nearly knock Grant off his feet, though he was horrified as Shion moved with every intention to strike Savayna.

When Shion’s katana would come at her, SAvayna, held her hand out. As she would motion her arm upward in a diagonal angle, blue mist extended from her hand and solidified. In that moment, a smaller, one-handed version of Mateus’ Trident appeared in her hand and clashed with Shion’s attack. The collision of their respective mist would cause dual-effects of non-elemental and ice mist in a small radius, all the while both of them were an even match as the sounds of magick-infused steel was at a standstill with magick-infused steel. “I’m going to prove once and for all that we never needed you and we don’t need you now,” Savayna went for a push in the struggle, using the power of Mateus’ presence inside her to help her gain an advantage. While she did that, her eyes were becoming increasingly colder and appearing as if they were literal stones of ice.

Shion remained stone faced, though for a moment, she smirked, pushing back on her katana. “Let’s see about that,” She said, though she would step back, letting the force of Savayna’s sword draw her forward, and she would bring up her knee at the same time, effectively kneeing Savayna with her own force. Shion’s blade scraped the ground, a green light indicating its magicks had changed, and a wind would knock Savayna back slightly. Whipping her blade to the side, the scattered rose petals would dance around them, fading into mist, the petals reforming on her head as her sword would glow. Changing elements once more, she drew a circle in front of her, her katana taking on a different form as she held it at her side. Reminiscent of a draw, her blade would flash forward, nearly invisible to the naked eye as her jabs reached a speed where it looked more like each strike was instantaneous.

Good thing Savayna’s eyes weren’t naked. She saw every jab that Shion had unleashed. With the eyes and reaction time of an Esper - the Corrupted Esper - Savayna parried Shion’s jab. To those watching, it was an amazing feat. Each time Shion’s katana would go in, Savayna matched her own weapon at the exact moment with just the right amount of magick to fend it off. This continued for about five times until Savayna, in her other hand, had been gathering mist. When Shion’s last jab came, Savayna had pressed her hand full of Mist onto the hilt of her Trident Sword and it exploded with magick, repelling Shion back. While the Blue Rose would be in midair, Savayna would carpe diem. Her body disappeared into a shroud of icy mist, appearing just above Shion and two feet plunged into the woman’s stomach, driving them both into the ground.

The ground beneath them crumbled,though Shion’s corrupted hand pulsed. She told a hold of Savayna’s trident, this time the wind picking up around the pair. The darkness would glow ominously, spreading from Shion’s hand to the weapon, though she would not let go. As the wind whipped her hair around her, she remained steady, her eyes locked onto Savayna. “Show me!” She shouted as the darkness surrounded them. “Where is that resolve of yours?!” The darkness continued to spread. “If your reasoning is true, if this is all you’re capable of, show me! Show me everything!” Though soon the dark clouds surrounded the pair, and in a moment, they would become completely eclipsed.

“That’s...Zodiark’s power!” Vlyn gasped, alerting the rest of them.

Grant’s eyes widened. “Savayna!” He shouted, Lorenzo having to try harder to hold him back.

It was dark all right — dark enough to render Savayna’s line of sight worse than Old Dalan’s. And yet, she could still clearly see Shion in front of her. Well, not exactly see but feel her. That stench of Zodiark’s Mist was impossible to ignore. The putrid, vapid aura of it was as black as it was unique. SOmething about it just gave off a signature that, those who were exposed to it, would be able to sense it. And those who had felt it would be able to feel it. So, it wasn’t like she was going in blind. Plus, when the words of Shion hit her ears, Savayna’s instincts kicked in..

“Fine, I will.”

SAvayna brought her trident down with all her might. Whatever remained of her Mist was concentrated into the three tips of her weapon. It was so much that it illuminated the black abyss that surrounded them. In the following moments, neither Savayna or Shion, nor those outside were ready for what happened.

Silence from all fronts. No cricket was chirping nor birds tweeting - just silence in the air. Until a mild bang could be heard, reverberating through the ground and air. Next, came a louder bang that caused even louder shockwaves. It was even felt within the black fog that surrounded Shion and Savayna. It was loud enough to clear some of the clouds but not all. Only enough to give a small glimpse into it(for those outside) and a small dose of sunlight within the fog.

But, of course, like Zodiark’s natural essence was, it closed it up, ceasing any light once more. However, this only lasted for a few seconds more until a loud, thundering shockwave was felt throughout the entire area. It was so loud and so filled with Esper-levels of Mist, it overpowered whatever amount of Zodiark’s power that had activated from Shion’s arm, not only reiterating it back to whatever form it was before but in doing so, it evaporated the entire black fog, and sent both ladies flying(along with everyone else) about fifty paces, tumbling through buildings and debris.

Grant sat up in a daze, though he forced himself to his feet. He staggered quite ungracefully, but soon he was in a full on sprint, heading in the direction where Savayna had been thrown. He nearly tripped, though he spotted her not too far away. Immediately dropping down to his knees, he gently held her, shaking her. "Savayna! Savayna, can you hear me?!" He asked, unable to hide his panic at her unconscious form.

Lorenzo shook his head roughly, spreading dust and small debris everywhere as he stood up. He watched Grant run, though he figured that it was best to let Grant take care of Savayna. He chose to go the other way, where Shion had gone flying into a building. Despite her surroundings being nearly entirely destroyed, Shion simply let out a cough as she pushed herself off the ground to stand. The woman dusted herself off, mildly annoyed at the destruction of a majority of the clothing she had on. Lorenzo let out a laugh at her expression, scratching his head as she would continue to undust herself. "What the--are you alright?" Lorenzo asked.

She let out a sigh, placing her hands on her hips, her chest about a sneeze away from popping out of what was left of the shirt. "Peachy." She replied, annoyed.

Lorenzo let out a sigh of relief, letting out another laugh. "Father?" A familiar voice called out to him. He spun around, Nadeline watching him with wide eyes.

Vlyn sat up, unamused. "Goodness...ah, Your Highness, you have reached us," He greeted her.

"MY BABY CAME BACK FOR ME!" Lorenzo yelled, running to Nadeline, though he held up her arm to stop him. "My beautiful daughter, returned to me at last! All is right in the world!"

Nadeline crossed her arms, unimpressed. "I don't even want to know what happened," She dismissed her father, shaking her head, though she did notice something. "You...don't seem surprised at my arrival."

"I've caught most everyone up on the situation," Vlyn said.

Shion gave him a look. "Well...if that doesn't unlock a Seal, I don't know what will," She stated outloud, rubbing her hand. The darkness had all but vanished from her arm, leaving only a black ring around her index finger. "A formidable power, indeed..."

A Seal? Nadeline's eyes widened again. "Then that power just now...that was Savayna?"

Savayna found herself waking up but it was not where she thought it would be. Last she remembered, she was on top of Shion and about to plunge her Trident inside that full chest of hers. Then...something happened. It was an explosion of sorts. It caused widespread damage and sent practically everyone flying. That’s where Savayna’s memory was a little fuzzy.

As she looked around, she noticed wherever she was...it was not Archades. She was in some tundra that had rising mountains all covered in ice. Where she stood was on top of a frozen lake that was as clear as glass. Deep in its depths, she saw something swim. As she would look further, she saw it coming for the surface. As if trying to defend herself, Savayna backed away and placed her hands over her face Did she perhaps get blown so far that she was no longer in Archades? Judging by the area she was in, it definitely wasn’t Archades.

When the thing she saw in the lake come up, it only took her a brief moment to realize who it was. “What the fuck Mateus!?” she cursed at him.

As he hovered in front of her, he landed on the ice, taking the time to slowly lay down and look at her with an amused expression. “Hello to you too, Ice Queen.”

“Where am I?” Savayna asked, ignoring his amused tone.

“Most call this place the Ice Dimension. As for me? Well, I call it Home Sweet Home.” He snickered. He was the only one that did.

“Wait you live here?”

“Took you that long to figure it out, huh?”

“You still didn’t answer my question,” Savayna persisted. She was not wanting to steer off-course.

As he would sigh, he approached her, “don’t you know? Whenever a Chosen One is given an Esper’s Inner Seal, they are brought to their domain.”

“What the hell are you even talking about?”

“Let me put it in a way you can understand,” Mateus looked at Savayna and touched her head with a single hand, “your love for that Archadian Prince gave you something you have longed for: power. The pain he felt from nearly losing Lannit was felt within you, which fuelled your desire to prove your worth. The love you have for Belias’ Chosen One - and don’t be mistaken, Savayna. It is definitely love - I felt that too. Every possible emotion you were feeling during that last moment where you decided to concentrate everything within your soul to prove your resolve was the exact moment you unlocked my seal.” Mateus explained, “and to answer your next question, I did nothing but let you use my power whenever you needed it. Your resolve was what brought us together that only could be possible through shared consciousnesses.”

This was the first time that MAteus was actually straight with her and it had her speechless. For the first time ever, Savayna had very little to say. What could she say? From whatever jealousy - or love, as Mateus put it - she felt, came this unintended resolve and proof of strength that she accomplished. Was that the point of it? Was her subconscious doing this so she would achieve a new feat of power? And what then? What has it gotten her? In the quest to become stronger, she probably ruined what she had with Grant, all because she still had those lingering feelings of love for her ex-husband.

“So, that explosion...it was my - I mean our - doing?”

Mateus paused for a moment. “Sadly, that was neither of us. It was--”

"Savayna!

Savayna heard a voice. It was Grant’s. He was calling out to her..

Savayna, can you hear me?!"

As she heard his voice a second time, Savayna found herself disappearing from Mateus’ domain, her eyes closing. And as they would open again, she would start tos ee the form of Grant over her. His concerned face being the first thing she took notice to. She coughed and was aching all over. She tried to move but in doing so, she realized her entire body from head to toe was severely sore, not to mention that her left arm from the elbow down was broken. Her head was throbbing like a motherfucker, and to make matters worse, she looked around and saw the carnage. It was..

“Wait..” As she had turned her head, Savayna couldn’t believe her eyes. She saw someone just three paces away, buried in a pool of blood. Burnt marks all over his body. Bruises ranging from the lightest color imaginable to dark purple, and fresh cuts as deep as the arteries go. It only took her a moment to realize who exactly that it was her eyes had her viewing.. “Ja-akuna..”

Out of pure desperation, Savayna sat up. Despite her obvious injuries and the fatigue she was experiencing(plus a throbbing headache), Savayna desperately crawled over to Jaakuna’s laid-out body, while screaming out his name, each one louder than the last. It continued until she got to his form. She put his head on her lap and stroked his hair.

“Jaakuna! Jaakuna, open your eyes, it’s Savayna.” At this point, she was crying, trying to get him to open his eyes, “Jaakuna, please! Open your eyes. OPEN YOUR EYES!” She screamed, tears flowing from her face. But nothing happened. His body still motionless. It was still unmoving no matter how much she pleaded.

And as she would look around, trying to find someone - anyone - that could help, she saw the others(as well as a couple of others). “Nadeline! Lorenzo! SOMEBODY! YOU HAVE TO SAVE HIM!” She pleaded, shouting out to anyone who would listen. “I-I-I can’t lose him - not again. Not like this.” She weeped, looking down at his face, stroking his hair and skin, burying her face into his motionless one, soaking it in her sorrow.

Nadeline nearly jumped out of her skin at Savayna’s sudden screaming. She had assumed the worst as she would run over, though it wasn’t until she got closer that she understood exactly what was happening. Savayna was holding an unconscious Jaakuna, bawling over him. Grant seemed to have put some distance between them, though he only watched as Nadeline would examine Jaakuna closely. A small breeze passed, and he watched as a thin, white circle formed around the group.

Shion looked disappointed, though she remained silent as Lorenzo joined the group. “Shit…” He didn’t like how Jaakuna had ended up.

The princess watched Savayna for a moment, though she then looked at Grant. He wasn’t even watching, instead looking around, likely for whoever had done this to Jaakuna. “You’re going to smother him if you keep that up,” Nadeline told Savayna calmly, turning her attention to the matter at hand. Lorenzo would act, gently prying Savayna off of Jaakuna—though he wouldn’t dare move her too far, and would come to a second realization. “He’s alive.” She informed them as she began casting her magicks. “This won’t be a problem to heal.”

That got Grant’s attention. “You’re talented, but he’s pretty beat up,” He said, though even as the words left his mouth, he could feel Nadeline’s magicks even though he was standing away from the group. “…Did something happen in Dalmasca?”

Nadeline gave him a brief look. “Yes,” was her only response, though she refused to go further, instead choosing to focus on Jaakuna.