As Emiri had told the tale of this scholar, Wesley had to admit that he was just a bit intrigued by it. No matter how spooky it might've seemed or how absurd it sounded, in this world and the things that they had bore witness to, Wesley would be a fool to deny these things to be true. One thing he knew, however, was that Grant didn't want things like this to be true. Even before Emiri had stated he wasn't that fond of ghost stories, he could tell the anxiety that his soon to be uncle-in-law feared the moment Emiri would use the fabled 'we should split up' suggestion. In many horror tales that the servants would tell the kids, that was a common phrase used.

And, as soon as Emiri said it, Grant would protest without a moment's hesitation. That would result in Wesley letting out a low chuckle. "There is nothing to fear, Grant. I'm almost positive that what Emiri said isn't the truth. That tale, whilst convincing, is one I've heard as well..at least, a version of it." He didn't actually believe that, but for Grant's sake, he'd put on a convincing face for him. "It's a big library, though, so we'd benefit from taking a different section. If we do run into trouble, just use the mental link established by the Word and our Espers. Or, just meet at the central pillar where all sections meet." Wesley said, giving Grant a nod.

---

"You both are utterly useless." Savayna let out a disappointed sigh. Though, as she would exchange her glance from their rather curious, hopeful ones to the sight of the spear, she did wonder about that same thing. High as it was and easy as retrieving it would also be, a good point was raised about how something that valuable being so high wouldn't have some kind of countermeasure in play. "Perhaps, we should formulate a plan before we--" Savayna was inturrupted mid-thought as Jaakuna would start climbing up the rack, using the secured weapons as steps "--what are you doing?" She asked Jaakuna.

"I'm climbing - what does it look like I'm doing?"

She shook her head. "I can see that, you idiot. I mean, why are you doing that without us deciding on it?"

Jaakuna was about halfway up the rack. He stopped, looked down at Savayna and Nadeline. He gave them a thumbs up, climbing more. and though Savayna was worried for him, she had to admit that his climbing speed was rather impressive.

After a few moments, Jaakuna had reached the top. He was just a few steps away from the spear and it only occurred to Savayna that he was rather high. He was at least three stories from the ground. The thought of something bad happening to him the minute he touched the spear came to her. She couldn't explain it, but there was something in her gut that just knew there would be some sort of trouble coming their way as soon as he touched the spear.

And, as his right hand made physical contact with it, for a moment, Savayna thought that maybe she was being just a bit too paranoid.

"Hey, look! I have it!" Jaakuna exclaimed, pulling it off of its surprisingly unsecure latching.

And as soon a sJaakuna did, an alarming noise went off that sent a pulse of mist to latch onto JAakuna's limbs, suspending him in the air. He tried to wiggle himself free of it, but the more he did, the tighter the mist had restrained him and had banged him against the steel racks; each time was harder than the last.

"A little help ple--ow--ase!"

Why had Wesley betrayed him?! Grant was so sure the prince would agree, but much to his dismay, he was on Emiri's side. He was absolutely crestfallen as Emiri would simply turn and pick a direction, and Grant was soon left alone as Wesley would do the same. Silence was the only thing accompanied him, and he let out the quiestest protest as he looked around. He was tempted to follow one of the other two, but he knew Emiri would just use the opportunity to scare him and Wesley would just give him a lecture about bravery.

Taking it one step at a time, Grant soon realized he had no idea what exactly he was looking for. The books around him were in ancient languages long lost to any living denizen of Ivalice, some gave him a bad vibe, others were simply too dusty to pry out. Soon, curiosity replaced his fear, and he found himself wandering aimlessly. Zeromus had no comment as Grant chose to pull out a book, though he chuckled as Grant flipped the blank pages. What the hell? Scoffing, Grant shoved the book back into place, though a chill ran up his spine once more.

Turning around, he could have sworn he felt another presence. Letting out a groan, he crossed his arms. "I know you're there, Emiri," He called out, unamused. He waited for a response, though she would not come out. "It's not funny to me!"

Nothing. Oh no. She was going to jump out and scare him again! Grant felt his body shake unwillingly, his back to the shelf in case she decided to jump him from behind. Man, he tried so hard to keep his fear of ghosts a secret, now that Wesley knew it would only be a matter of time before it spread. A low groan escaped him, the anticipation killing him. After a moment, however, nothing came. Boy, she was really drawing it out, wasn't she?

Daring himself to take a peek around the corner, he spotted a brown haired girl, though he realized it wasn't Emiri. Her back was turned to him, though she then turned, revealing her face. What was Ren doing here? She smiled at him, a disappointed look on her face as she turned towards him. "You're...Ren, right?" He asked, though he then realized that she had basically caught him. "Oh, right, this is probably blocked for outsiders, right?"

She nodded. "Ah...well...sorry," He offered an apology. She shook her head, bringing out her lotus flower. He remembered its red color, though he was surprised to find it colored black.

"Where is she?" Her voice was barely above a whisper as she spoke.

There was that feeling again, and this time Grant instinctively reached for his gun. "What did you do to Ren?!" Grant asked, his mist charging around him.

She smiled once more, a sudden wind scattering her petals. He let out a gasp as they formed a whip, and nearly received the attack as Ren whipped it at him. Still, she was faster than he was, the petals on the grounds erupting into several vines. Grant's eyes widened, though he immediately began shooting at them.

Grant's bullets rang through the aisles, catching Emiri's attention. She placed her book down, cautiously walking towards the commotion, though she stopped as she spotted Ren in front of her. She backed away, alarmed when Ren continued to step forward. "Ah, if you're here, he must be as well." She mused outloud, eyeing Emiri hungrily. Emiri wasn't sure why, but Ren seemed to send every alarm in her head off. Narrowing her eyes, Emiri remained steady, extending an arm out as she summoned her sword. "I've always wondered just how powerful the so-called Scion of Time is...But you're just a child. You haven't the slightest idea how to utilize that power, do you? No matter...I'm sure your screams will summon him."

---

The princess' head tilted back slightly as she watched Jaakuna with a bemused expression, her lips slightly parted, as if ready to say something. For once, however, she remained steady in her spectator role, watching Jaakuna climb. Oh, she definitely believed that this was a bad idea, and there would certainly be consequences to Jaakuna's stupid actions. But as of this moment, she was content with watching, the smallest of smiles on her face as Savayna and Jaakuna bickered back and forth. It was only a matter of time before something was to happen.

And sure enough, it happened once Jaakuna had the spear in his hands.

Her smile widened as Nadeline watched Jaakuna get slammed into the wall repeatedly. "Did you truly believe we would be taking the weapon without any trouble? And I thought Grant was the naive one," She called out to him, unable to hide her smugness. After the third time, the wall shook, and she let out a sigh, looking at Savayna. "We could try to take the spear and leave him behind."

The Lhusu Mines had been tucked away from the rest of Ivalice for a reason. It was absolutely beautiful in the way the lhusu veins, even though there was an absence of excessive light, the way they had a magical shine throughout the mines made it seem as though sunlight was necessary. Even though the deeper one went into the mines, the less present the light from the entrance was, it didn’t matter one bit.

It was a crystal mine that had all sorts of colors of crystal ore that, when mined properly and gone through the right process, could make magicite. It was akin to the Magicite Mines of Stigma, though, their mines paled in comparison to the hidden gem that Bhujerba hid from the world. As if it weren’t enough that it was high on the Sky Continent of Bhujerba and heavily guarded by the Marquis’ men, the mines had been infested with all sort of unsavory types. Monsters that ranged from the Steeler Bats to the different types of skeletal monsters that roamed the rare corners of the mines where the ore light didn’t reach.

Deeper within the mines, other monsters dwelled - monsters that weren’t so simple as the ones that greeted travelers near the entrance. These were the kind of fiends that hunters aimed to fight because they were the same breed of fiends that were known as Rare Game. Such beings like the Rocktoise and Antlion. They were ferocious beasts that had a reputation almost as bad as seeing them in person.

And when the group of Ivy, Michel, and Meli had entered what could be described as the deepest region that Lhusu had to offer (as noted by not only the absence of light from the outside world but how bright the crystal ore lit up a large section of a room), they came to the sight of something that was shocking. Coming this deep, there was half of the mind that expected to be greeted by one of those rare elite marks or a hoard of unstoppable beasts, but that wasn’t it at all. In the center of the room, along with the walls of ore lit up and a single waystone in the center, the first sight that had come into their periphery were two sets of rabbit ears, a tail, and tall forms standing just five paces away from that way stone.

“I see that you two also had the same idea,” Michel said. He approached the two and as they would turn around, he greeted them with a smile. Though, one look from Aloa and Michel knew that what he thought was the worst-case scenario was, in fact, exactly the truth. “I feared the worst when Ren didn’t return, so we came looking. Who knew that of all things, we’d find--”

“What’s going on, Miss Bunny! Haven’t seen you in for-ever!” Ivy’s voice echoed through the caverns of the mines.

Michel turned around, his eyes glaring back at Ivy. She, of course, let out a chuckle. She had to have known that this wasn't the time for her shenanigans.

“By the way, what did you find, Michey-bear?”

He sighed, shaking his head at Ivy. “That Waystone over there. Does it not look familiar?”

Ivy heeded Michel’s advice and approached the waystone. Only after a long moment of silence and of her humming to herself did Ivy have an “a-ha” moment. “Wait, isn’t this…” She turned around, facing Michel.

He nodded, his eyes on Aloa. “I heard the rumors, but until this very moment, I wasn’t sure if it was true or not,” Michel said. “This Waystone here leads directly to our headquarters.” Michel revealed to the group.

Though, while Michel had certainly been surprised by that, he noticed the lack of one person among the extended group. “Where’s Ren?”

---

Well, this certainly wasn’t a favorable situation.

Among every, bad thing that happened to them(things that were too far in the dozens to list), it would seem a dark force arriving in this grand, expansive library was just another thing to add to that list. Whilst Wesley was certainly at least fifty paces away, he could feel it: the pure darkness that was felt throughout Ivalice just last night had not-so-subtly made its presence known. He wasn’t certain if it was here the entire time and had simply decided now was the time to reveal itself or if it just came in, but one thing that was absolute, it was that, whatever he had been doing up until that point, Wesley was done.

Using the enhancements granted to him from Hashmal and the Seal of the Lion, Wesley had covered the length of twenty paces in a mere three seconds, his form dashing from one bookcase to the other. All thoughts of exploring and expanding his knowledge were now replaced with finding Emiri and Grant. This wasn’t necessarily easy for him because the feeling of the disturbance that had suddenly came into the library was hindering their mist, but with the increase of his speed, Wesley was able to cover the large landscape.

Not there, Wesley. Try the other corner. Hashmal urged Wesley.

He heard him loud and clear. By the time he had finished, Wesley was already a third across the way from the opposite corner. Each time he jumped one of the shelves, Wesley’s feet activated two haste glyphs, which had increased his movements by four times and had allowed him to cover more ground in less time. When the corner of the vast room produced nothing, Wesley went to another. And then another and another. He must’ve backtracked across the entire room until he was high above and got a view of the entire library. It was faint, but right dead in the center, he had spotted some kind of gathering. It wasn’t until he focused all of his mist on that one location that he had sensed Grant.

And now he went forth.

Wesley jumped up to the ceiling, sticking his feet on the top. As one moment passed, he pushed off of it, using his magick to actually send him propelling down. He had gone so fast that Wesley’s whole body shone brightly with white and lavender dancing along his dark clothing. The entirety of this protective veil had a masterful showing of white magick as he had nonverbally cast shellga, protectga, faith, and bravery not only around himself but around Grant. They would no doubt feel the sensation pass through them. And whilst Grant shot at what looked like a woman as Wesley came into view, he had his sword in his hand that had white mist surrounding it.

And in the moment his presence would be known, Wesley added to Grant’s onslaught by slicing down right after his body had flipped and his feet landed on the ground, landing next to Grant. The slash produced a wave of mist.

---

Wait what did they say? “Hey, I am not going to be left behind!” Jaakuna yelled out, offended at Nadeline’s suggestion.

Savayna had ignored Jaakuna and looked to Nadeline. She was actually really considering her suggestions. Considering how much easier it would be to disarm the trap and take the spear, leaving Jaakuna behind wouldn’t be the worst idea. This was his mess, so why should they have to clean it up. Clearly, the trap is focused on him and him alone. Ideally, one would back the other up while they went to grab the spear. Even if there was a second trap, having a spotter made the job a lot easier.

But, of course, they couldn’t. It was bad enough that Emiri and Shion were fighting. The last thing Savayana and Nadeline needed was her to direct that pettiness at either of them because they opted to leave Jaakuna to die. Though, Savayna still hadn’t forgiven him for the stunt he pulled in Archadia when they were doing the treaty negotiations.

“You know I would love to, but we are a team.” She gagged sourly, “regardless of how bothersome he is, Emiri would kill us if we left him to the trap’s mercy.” the blonde let out a sigh, looking to her fellow golden-haired maiden as she gestured her neck towards where Jaakuna was.

Taking but a moment to look at where the tentacles were coming from, it was likely they would attack if they physically got near the spear. And Savayna knew not if there was another trap waiting to be activated. There needed to be an experiment conducted.

“Say no more,” Mateus’s glyph appeared next to Savayna, his form towering almost a full foot above hers. “I will be the guinea pig.”

Without so much of waiting for a reply, Matus had floated up, no time being wasted as he had reached where Jaakuna was, who had given Mateus a simple nod of acknowledgment, though the ice esper didn’t do anything. Instead, he examined the spear. “This spear has caused so many humes to violently attack each other. Such a pity.” Mateus said.

He sighed and his hand reached out to grab it. At first, nothing significant happened. The first thing that did, however, was that Mateus did feel a sudden surge of the spear’s mist flow through him and because they were connected, Savayna felt it as well. This sudden feeling sent a wave of both excitement and fear through her body. It was so sudden that she found herself overwhelmed, causing her to fall to her knees and breathe in deeply..and then it became frequent, short breathes.

Meanwhile, Mateus had remained unaffected. He did look down at Savayna and then over to Jaakuna--wait, where did he go? The tentacles of mist were gone too. Only by looking down at the floor did Mateus see what happened. The moment he had touched the spear and activated whatever that was, the trap that had been active was deactivated, causing whatever hold it had over Jaakuna’s body to cease. And in doing so, Jaakuna had earned himself a one-way ticket to the ground. Mateus would ignore Jaakuna’s current situation and instead remained focus on the spear. He lifted it up and as he did, he heard Savayna cry out in excruciating pain, feeling overtaken by the mist. This caused her to become paralyzed where she was.

Shion opened the door to the library, approaching the Way Stone. As her hand reached out towards it, the main stone would turn from yellow to orange. The woman stared at the light, though her expression would immediately sour. Great, they were being infiltrated. It was odd, she felt that the alert should have gone out if that was the case. Narrowing her eyes, a few possibilites ran through her head as she would activate the Way Stone, letting it whisk her away. As her vision cleared, the feeling of an enemy presence filled the air. Shion extended her arm, pulling her katana out as she looked around. Taking a step forward, she could feel powerful magicks in the air, and as a wind blew her way, she knew which direction to take.

Breaking into a run, Shion kept her view straight ahead, showing no surprise as several vines barricaded the path in front of her. So that was its game, was it? Shion placed two fingers on her blade, slicing the air in front of her, the attack registering a second later as the vines whittled away. Turning a corner, she only stopped as an unfamiliar sword landed point down in front of her. Her eyes went from the sword to its owner, and she watched as Emiri cut through Ren's attacks. She should have expected this, but she hadn't quite expected it to take Ren, having assumed she would have had to deal with Michel.

Emiri herself was summoning sword after sword until she had nearly a dozen floating around her. As Ren though she found an opening, Emiri would put a halt to the fight as she stopped time. Charging forward, Emiri prepared her blades to cut Ren to pieces, though just as she was about to land the blow, Ren moved. How?! Emiri watched with wide eyes as her swords stabbed the ground uselessly, though she took as step back as Ren giggled.

"Reality is simple enough to manipulate." Ren stated cheerfully. "Did you think you were the only being in Ivalice capable of such a power? But I can tell you're not relying on it as much as you want to. Chaos won't answer, Zodiark still lingers in your soul..."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a failure, I've heard that a lot lately," Emiri said, bringing her swords back to her. "Are you going to stand around talking, or are we going to fight?!"

Biting her lip, Ren let out a dreamy sigh, though she perked up as she noticed Shion. "Shion..." She murmured, though her eyes sharpened.

"Well, well, well...you found a way in," Shion stated, placing a hand on her hip. "I'd be impressed, but giving you any sort of satisfaction is beneath me. Did you think hiding in the body of my subordinate would spare you?"

Ren closed her eyes for a moment, though she opened them. Shion raised her sword, at the ready, which seemed to anger Ren. Throwing her arms up in the air, the petals around them exploded, and Emiri found herself backing up, bumping into Shion. The woman gave her a glare, though Ren would get their attention once more.

"Try not to get in the way," Shion told Emiri.

"Oh you got me, I was going to let Ren stab me to death," Emiri snapped back.

---

Feeling the slightest pity for Jaakuna, Nadeline rolled her eyes, a snap of her fingers causing her Slow spell to make his fall a little more pleasant. Once she heard the thud signaling his connection to the ground, she brought her hand to her chin as she watched Mateus. Even though Mateus himself was unaffected, Savayna was, making it clear that the trap was mist based as opposed to magick based as was her initial assumption. She nodded to herself, though she would compliment Shion on her trap. Truly, the woman didn't just want to trap the thief, she wanted them to suffer. Sadistic, yet effective.

Letting out a small sigh, it was time the adult would handle the situation. "I suppose I could try my hand at a solution," Nadeline stated, lightly picking her sleeve off her arm as she stepped forward with her rapier in hand. "Seeing as Ultima would rather enjoy watching me get trapped, there's nothing stopping me."

Drawing her rapier upwards, almost as if conducting an orchestra, Nadeline pointed her weapon at Savayna. Several symbols formed underneath the blonde general, magicks weaving themselves together as she directed them. Using Savayna as a conductor, Nadeline's magicks connected with one another as they interjected with the trap. Nadeline furrowed her brow slightly, working her way through it as she would unlock it little by little. It was more complicated than she had anticipated, but Nadeline wasn't one to give up easily, especially when she reveled in the challenge.

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy…

In between the winces of pain she made from the outside mist that had made its way inside her, she watched Nadeline warily. Whatever the princess was going to do, regardless how well versed she was in the healing arts, it didn’t take a magitech engineer to know that the process would be incredibly painful. Just the fact that several glyphs had appeared around the two and had involved Nadeline use her rapier to stabilize those very glyphs so that, as Savayna surmised, unlocked the seals that had appeared on Savayna’s arms and legs and practically her entire body.

At first, it wasn’t so bad. She felt the mist starting to leak out of her body one smokey drop by drop. After a few, long moments had passed, Savayna was beginning to think that it was going to be okay. Perhaps it would go without a hitch and, not only would she be free of this continuous uncomfortableness, there was a high chance that they could walk away with one of the rarest weapons in all of Ivalice: the Zodiac Spear, that is said to house power from all thirteen espers.

“Wow, she’s actually doing it.” Jaakuna seemed surprised, which Savayna didn’t find comforting at all.

“Just--just shut up, will ya!” Savayna was trying to focus on something other than Jaakuna’s idiotic word choices. She wanted to focus more on how painful this whole procedure was getting. “Will you hurry up already?” Savayna snapped at Nadeline, urging her to make haste.

The pain was unmeasurable and every time Nadeline had gone forth with another moment of drawing out the mist from her body, much like slicing open the skin raw, she felt every drop of it as if someone was guiding a jagged blade across her skin.

And then, just as Nadeline seemed to go in once more and the look on her face gave Savayna a bad feeling, a series of events had occurred to where a pulse of magick sent Nadeline and JAakuna back a few paces and the glyphs that had surrounded Savayna dispersed. And as the magick had faded, the dark red and purple mist from the Zodiac Spear had surrounded Savayna. For a moment, she watched it curiously, then as it started to swirl around her, she tried to move. However, due to the effects, the mist had on her, she was still a bit slowed. Then, right out of nowhere, the mist had wrapped around her, constricting her moment, and took the physical form of what looked like vines from blue roses. Much like Shion’s trademark move to have the blue rose in her hair glow before she did something with her mist, they emitted the same glow. It only took Savayna one moment to realize what they were doing.

It was Sap.

“Seriously?!”

Jaakuna had kept his eyes on Savayna, but for a moment, he looked at Nadeline, “so, what do we do now?”

“I don’t care what you do -just hurry. This sap effect is strong. I can feel my mist being drained. At this rate, I’ll only have--” Savayna was cut off mid-sentence, her voice disappearing.

“She’s right. It’s strong, so we have to do something.” Jaakuna said, looking to Nadeline, “Ultima, stop being a lazy bitch and help your chosen one for once.”

And though Jaakuna probably shouldn’t have said that(Belias’ words, not his), it was the only thing he could think of that would get her attention. For Savayna’s sake, he hoped it wasn’t too late.

Getting forced back had broken Nadeline's concentration, and she let out a whine as her glyphs dissipated. Damn it, she had been making progress! No, wait, it couldn't have been that her progress had actually triggered the next phase, could it? If that was the case, then there was more where that came from--and Savayna would continue to suffer for it. For the moment, Nadeline ignored Savayna and Jaakuna as they spoke, immediately conjuring up her next spell on queue as she focused. Despite its appearance, it wasn't a Sap spell, and once again she found herself giving Shion a compliment on the trap. The previous pain was just icing on the cake, and as Nadeline weaved her magicks once more, she found herself trembling slightly. Was she nervous? That was a stupid question,of course she was.

Raising her rapier once more, she resummoned her glyphs as Jaakuna would state the spell was strong. Strong wasn't even the right word for it. She let out the slightest of chuckles; this had to be fate itself. Wesley was probably the only one who could match her magical prowess, but Nadeline's casting was much faster. Emiri's powers would likely make things worse, and Grant's magicks outside of Arcane magicks wouldn't have been up to task. Inhaling slightly, she concentrated, though she did have the time to scoff as Jaakuna would tell Ultima to help her out. Like that would happen.

Maybe if you ask nicely. Or don't, I don't care either way, Ultima told her bluntly.

"Yeah, no, I'm on my own," She told Jaakuna as she closed her eyes, trying to focus. She was going to have to get rid of this trap in a more creative matter, though admittedly, it wasn't the most humane one. "Even if I took the time to have Ultima help, we could lose Savayna by the time we unlocked it. The only choice to to keep going, trigger the next phase, and work my way through it," She stated, a Regen casting itself on Savayna, as well as a Haste. "My only regret is that Savayna has to suffer, rather than the idiot that triggered it."

Curse that Shion for making this spear nigh impossible to grab without there being some serious consequences. First, she had to make sure the first thing anyone who touched it without her permission experienced the violating essence of foreign mist pour into their body, causing any and all actions they were going to do or had thought about doing left their minds and only the screeching agony remained. And, after it was said and done and all fo the mist was finally out of their body, an extension of that wrapped around Savayna's body, bloomed flower petals, and induced a strong sap spell that was only akin to the Elder Wyrm of Gilmore. Of course, she was without the additional status infections, but the sap was real.

Really annoying, that is. Savayna was clearly at the end of her ropes. She lost the use of her voice, her access to her mist was fading(as noted by Mateus being forced back into his domain). It wasn't long until her basic senses were gone. Smell, sight, hearing--well fuck, that just went.

Meanwhile, Jaakuna just looked at Savayna, seeing how helpless she was and how Nadeline mentioned something about how what she was going to do Savayna was going to cause her more suffering. And, apparently, there was something about it being inhumane. He couldn't fathom what she was hinting at, but if she didn't do it fast, as she said, Savayna would be gone. "Just do it and don't even worry about hurting her. She's fine." Jaakuna gestured to how she had retained her color.

Annd that was gone too.

Savayna was fine? Fine?! Was Jaakuna blind?! "You call that fine?" Nadeline asked Jaakuna, completely shocked, though the novelty wore off rather quickly as she scowled at him instead. "You're a bigger idiot than I gave you credit for!"

Nevertheless, he had a point. Not that she was going to stop and admit it, but she needed to pick up the pace, and she needed help. As she heard Ultima already beginning to chide her, Nadeline ignored her as well as her free hand rummaged through her pockets, bringing out the feathered hair clip she had picked up in Archades--ironically, the same day they had first met Shion. Raising it above her, she poured her magicks into it, and when it would begin to glow softly, she would release it. The golden clip dissolved, leaving only the feather to gently flow down, though Nadeline would take a step back, slicing through it with her rapier. The rapier shined brilliantly as it absorbed the magicks, elongating and turning into the Rod of Faith.

Nadeline gripped the rod with both hands, her magicks getting a boost as she channeled them through the rod, which was known to enhance White Magicks. Taking in a deep breath, she pushed on the Haste spell, and rather than stopping the Sap, she chose to make it work faster. Her enhanced Regen was able to keep up the pace, though she would have to pause and throw a Curaga once in a while. Every spell had its end, regardless of its strength. The Haste would further the process, her Regens and Curagas healing Savayna as the Sap worked its way, though she then chose to focus on the vines. Pushing her magick further, Nadeline would form her own vines, mimicking the cursed spell, though hers were laced with the obvious Holy magicks. The vines cancelled one another out, releasing Savayna.

Would you look at that? Ultima said, impressed.

As if. Things were just getting started.

---

It had been hard for Savayna to gauge what actually was happening to her. Just a minute ago, all but her sense of touch had faded away. She couldn’t hear what the two of them were saying. She couldn’t see their two faces. If it wasn’t for that final sense, Savayna wouldn’t even know what was going around her. Savayna had only the feeling of a gentle caress stroking her arm until there came the feeling of a warm glow surrounding her body. She couldn’t hear anything, so she couldn’t tell if this was a misleading glow that would soon reveal itself into what her mind convinced her was death or if it was going to cure her.

Even being in the darkness for only a minute, Savayna did not do well. She just never realized how much she valued the simplest things like being able to see the sight of that idiot Jaakuna and the bothersome Nadeline. She didn’t realize how essential it was to her mental health to hear her ex-husband’s voice and how he never thought about what he said. He simply said it and hoped for the best. Savayna never knew how much she would miss hearing the princess scold her for doing what Jaakuna always did. She didn’t realize just one or two minutes in the silent blackness that she would find herself missing all of that.

And as she counted down the time, her mind began to race back and forth from the past to the now, and all the way into the future that she had planned out once everything had been settled with the Creature and eventually Venat. Her mind was still her own. She had that at least and with it, she could picture all of Ivalice celebrating the union of the three great nations with Wesley and Nadeline marrying, uniting Dalmasca and Rozarria. She saw the union of Archadia and Dalmasca with the arranged marriage between Wesley’s younger sister, Cassandra and Jaakuna’s older brother, Roman.

And then, in the distance, on top of what seemed like the balcony of the palace of Stigma, she saw it. She saw her in a dress that glistened like fresh snow at the peak of winter and her hair elegantly folded above her head, tucked in several layers with a few strands hanging over her forehead, showing just how beautiful she was when she had been given the works.

In this scene that she was picturing and that had flashed before her was a future where she was about to get married to Grant, who was directly across from her. His hair was put in a single ponytail, though, due to the length of his hair, it still fell down to his midback. He had royal Rozarrian robes on that had the emblem of House Roselia on the center.

Savayna was admiring every inch of his body and how handsome he truly looked. She was savoring this moment. The sight in which she and Grant, throughout all of their troubles they had in their time together, this was it. They had made and all eyes were on them.

Behind Savayna, dressed in varying shades of blue and white, were Nadeline and Emiri who had looked nearly as beautiful as Savayna herself was. She saw Wesley and Jaakuna behind Grant. Separating all of them was the High Priest of Stigma’s First Church. His mouth moved and the sacred rites of marriage began to be recited from the ancient texts. This was it. The final moments of Savayna’s planned life. All of it amounting to this.

Or at least, it’s what her life would’ve been like. Had she lived to that point, it would’ve been the perfect end of her adventuring days and the start of her life as Empress of Rozarria and wife to GRant Marshal Roselia. The man who tamed the Ice Queen of Glacie. The one whom she loved with all of her heart. But most importantly, Grant was the one who wouldn’t even be by her side as all of that which she had dreamed.

And as she let the final thoughts linger for a moment longer, a sort of mental timer went off. Five minutes are up already, huh? She let out a smile, chuckling at how the Gods truly wished her to rot in her own pity. They put her through trial after trial only to let her take her leave from Ivalice’s soils because of selfish, hume greed. All of the livelihood had faded and she would only have herself to blame.

In the end, it truly didn’t matter. No one was to blame but Savayna Glacie, the Ice Queen of Archaida. She was at complete fault. So, might as well embrace the facts. This is your ending. The story has been written and in an ironic twist of fate, her undoing was an unexplained curse put upon her.

Savayna…

What sort of torture were they pulling up there? Within minutes, they had robbed her of all senses, but right when she accepted what life led her, now she heard a voice. Now was the time that she would be able to hear something that wasn’t her own consciousness? Truly, what lows weren’t out of bounds for them?

Savayna! Can you hear us?

Of course, I can hear you, but why are you doing this to me? Just..just…”Just leave me alone!” Savayna shouted, standing up as she took out her Ice Queen Sword, raising it high above her head.

In that moment, frost glimmered in her eyes, scanning around her. This seasoned general of battle had only the short moments in front of her to figure out what was happening. Above everything else, the first thing she noticed was the ground she had been looking at. Grey stone laid beneath her feet..her feet, which had been robbed of her were in her periphery. Those snow-colored heels and her blue nail polish shining with her porcelain skin. Savayna’s heart skipped a beat, then another one as she slowly rose her sight from the ground and slowly took in the sights of familiar features: golden hair and emerald eyes, and another set of golden locks with eyes like sapphire. She saw both of them look back at her.

She wasn’t sure what was happening? Was this the afterlife? It had to have been. What other explanation was there? These Gods truly loved to toy with their creations, didn’t they? “I’m not going to fall for your lies!” Savayna took a big step backwards, arming her free hand with an idle blizzaga spell.

“Savayna what are you doing? It’s okay. You’re fine now. Nadeline healed you.”

She shook her head, blocking out all of the sounds of what sounded like Jaakuna’s voice. She knew better than to let this facade confuse her. No, she would not let them deceive her. She was dead and whatever they tried to put into her mind, claiming she wasn’t was, to her, a lie of the worst kind. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” Savayna charged forward, pushing her free hand forward as a wave of powerful ice magick consumed her sight as it made contact with two swords. The image of Jaakuna blocked it with a fire spell, but Savayna wasn’t done there. Her sword, on her command, floated from her hand and twirled over Jaakuna and what looked like Nadeline and began to replicate what she had done before: a tornado of air and ice gathering and shooting down to swallow both of them in the chilly breeze.

The multiple Rens continued to giggle, creating an echo of laughter that, in all honesty, added to the creepiness of the library. Grant continued to shoot them down, though for every one that was shot, another two popped up. He felt like he was dancing, constantly having to be on the move to avoid the many, many vines that dared him to stop so they would trap him. The library was beginning to look more like a jungle at this point, though Grant wasn't sure if a creepy jungle was any better than a creepy library.

He stepped on something that wasn't the floor, and promptly slipped; in that moment, he really took a hard look at himself. Honestly, there were so many things he should have done better. Maybe he would have taken over the world or something. That thought went flying out the window as he let out a yelp, the vine ensnaring his ankle and promptly pulling him upside down into the air.

"I'm starting to think the universe hates me," He called out to Wesley as he continued to shoot.

---

Emiri landed on the ground with a hard thud, though she had no time to even think as she would roll to the side, Ren's vines stabbing the ground where she was just a moment ago. For someone so meek and withdrawn, she was dangerous, her vines giving the pair more trouble than either woman wanted to admit. Shion sliced through the ones sent at her, sending her own vines towards Ren, though the latter would prove the attack futile as with a snap of her fingers, they would all temporarily dissolve.

"I had sort of hoped getting a taste of her own medicine would have gone better," Emiri admitted as she jumped to her feet.

"I don't have the same mastery she does," Shion would explain. "Ren is a more recent recruit, I've only known her for a few years."

The brunette gave Shion a look. "So you're telling me she taught you? I thought you knew everything," Her last sentence probably shouldn't have come off as sarcastic as it did, but damn it, the one time she wanted Shion to be a showoff and she was being a massive disappointment.

Unfortunately for Emiri, Shion seemed to have gotten the hint. "Let's see you rip out a piece of your soul and see how you come out, hmm?" She was quick to snap.

"You seemed eager to do it!" Emiri replied, although before she could continue, she noticed Ren charging up her next attack. "I'm open to any ideas, O Great One!"

This was one of the few times where Shion wasn't quite sure what was coming next. The Creature's possession of Ren had quite a few tricks up its sleeve, making use of her powers in ways even she couldn't imagine. Taking in a breath, Shion leaned forward, touching her katana to the ground as she closed her eyes. As she opened them, she burst forward, a blur to those who hadn't seen it coming. Swiping her blade across the air, the attack rushed at Ren, who dodged it with surprising ease, though the attack sent several bookcases crashing to the ground. Ren herself smiled, extending her hand as several dozens of vines erupted from behind her.

Shion's eyes widened, bracing herself, though as something touched her arm, everything would freeze in place. To her surprise, Emiri had taken a hold of her arm, though as she moved to get away, Emiri held on tighter. "If you let go, things will resume for you," She explained, though it was obvious this was a painful experience. "This used to be really easy, but now..."

"But now, things have changed, haven't they?" The pair froze as Ren's voice rang out.

What?! Emiri let out a cry of pain as a vine pierced through her left shoulder, and time would resume for the pair. As the vines came after Shion next, the woman tried to cut Emiri free, only for Ren's vines to take a hold of her katana. Wonderful. Shion released it, the katana dissolving into mist as she jumped back.

"See, you have to think of it this way," Ren decided to educate Emiri as she approached the two. "Originally, it was through the Espers that you channeled your mist through to use your reality-bending-time-manipulating powers. That connection, however, became corrupted by Zodiark in an attempt to get himself free. To protect you, Mitron essentially severed your connection to them, but in turn, you no longer have any outside sources for your powers. You'd be surprised how much time manipulation takes out of a regular hume."

"And being a creature of the mist exempts you?" Shion asked warily, placing a hand on her hip. She noticed Emiri's sword closeby, though kept her attention on Ren. Still, another opportunity was before her, and she found herself needing to confirm Venat's words. "You must be something special for that, the thought probably thrills you."

Ren shook her head at Shion, though she smiled. "You wound me, Shion. Centuries come and go, and you're still as arrogant as ever," She stated bitterly, although as she stepped forward, she was coated in darkness. Ren fell back to the ground, unconscious, though in her place stood a dark figure, slowly forming features until a man stood before them. His eyes were as dark as his hair, a stark contrast to his pale skin, and for a moment, Emiri thought it was Keiran before them. "Come on, darling, I thought you'd be happier to see me?"

---

And to think she was about to pat herself on the back for a job well done.

The chill was bad enough, but Savayna had gone berserk. Nadeline gripped the rod tightly, though she could already feel the freezing effects. Raising her rod, she channeled Fire magicks, though it didn't seem to be any match against Savayna's mastery of ice. Nadeline changed tactics instead, using the same flames she had instead to temporarily enhance her Shell to shield them, if only for a moment.

"I suspect that would be the next phase," She admitted to Jaakuna. "Fire versus Ice is the only way this will go down. I will make the attempt to dispel whatever hallucinations she is carrying as you go on the offensive."

Maybe Grant was right and the Gods truly loved to test him when he had thought he was done with their trials. Or perhaps this was just a spree of bad luck that seemed never-ending. Regardless if it was both or neither, Wesley didn’t believe in such things.

He knew Grant was one of those men that focused on the negative. Sulking in his own despair and what happens to him. While that was good for him, Wesley wasn’t such a man. There were times to feel sorry and times to stand up on your own two feet with your back straight, weapon in hand, and face your opposition. Any man who did that could get anything done. Wesley believed that and as the multiple Ren’s came at them, his resolve would shine much like his mist along his blade was doing.

“Don’t be like that. Perhaps you just need to look at things from a different perspective,” Wesley said, encouraging Grant.

When Grant’s bullets flared, piercing through one of the Rens, Wesley gathered mist at the soles of his feet, propelling him upward. Though it was only temporary, it had provided him with enough leverage over them to twirl his body in the air, twisting and contorting to where he had shot off various rays of magick down at the Rens, though, they were only meant to be a distraction. While they focused on deflecting those, creating somewhat of a smokescreen in the process Wesley used that covering to sneak behind them, his sword raised high, shining with bright light.

Whether or not they saw this wouldn’t matter, for as his blade came down in a single, vertical strike, an excess of his mist unleashed its wrath upon the Rens.

---

Jaakuna had understood exactly what that meant. He was all too familiar with how halucinations worked and what they did to the psyche...well, probably not first hand, but his mother had suffered from them due to abuse of foreign substances that were all the range back then, but he certainly knew. They made you see things that weren’t actually there and made you do things that you wouldn’t normally do. For his mother, it was running around the house naked, claiming to be a bird, flying through the skies. Only thing it did was bring a great amount of discomfort for both Jaakuna and his brother.

At least for Savayna, it was just seeing him as her enemy. Not ideal, but a lot better than being scarred by seeing your mother’s nude form running around every inch of where you were born.

He shook his head, regaining his focus on Savayna. She had a crazed look in her eyes. It was both one of blinded, misguided rage and a loneliness that he had known she had feared for so long. Whatever it was about this Zodiac Spear and why Shion would put such a powerful series of traps within it, he’d never understand, but one thing that Jaakuna knew was that time was on his side. All he had to do was survive the incoming onslaught that he knew was coming his way from Savayna’s enraged state. If he did that and allowed Nadeline the time to find the right spell and execute it like he knew only she could, this could end up being not so bad.

And in the time that he took to regain his focus, Jaakuna spawned his own tornado that met the one that Savayna had attempted to launch at them. It was a literal snap of his finger. As soon as his index, middle, and thumb fingers snapped, traces of red and orange mist had flowed from it in a very thin, almost invisible string of magick and then, in the blink of an eye, expanded into a veil that hovered over both Jaakuna and Nadeline.

As soon as Savayna’s tornado had made contact, steam immediately covered the area due to the cancellation natures of fire and ice. The cold from Savayna’s element and the hot from Jaakuna’s made a sizzling sound, then came to a complete stop, both attacks fizzled after one minute passed of it being at a deadlock.

“No! Noo!!” Savayna roared, charging at Jaakuna at full speed.

She sent a flurry of erratic sword strikes at Jaakuna. Most of them were dodged. Jaakuna’s speed was inhuman. No matter how many times she went to thrust, strike, and stab, Jaakuna evaded them with little effort. At some point, they had been moving at such blinding speeds that, to outside observers, they were like two dashes of red and blue.

As they came to a stop about twenty paces away from where Nadeline was, Savayna snarled at Jaakuna. “Stop running away!” Savayna roared, sending a wave of Blizzaga towards Jaakuna’s direction.

Smirking, Jaakuna held his hand out. It began to emit a fiery glow and a wave of fire met Savayna’s chilly blast. For a moment, it seemed like it was evenly matched. The two opposing elements once again created a cloud of steam, but then Jaakuna chuckled to himself. In that moment, he saw Savayna’s widened gaze as the fire consumed her attack and, at the last second, she rolled forward, ducking underneath the overwhelming hellfire. Jaakuna had surmised that she saw it would’ve killed her had she not done what she just did.

After one moment, he ceased the blast and Savayna rose from the heated smoke, her body twirling as her heel came for Jaakuna right cheek. He had seen it coming a mile away, so he simply raised his corresponding hand to block the kick. Furious, Savayna went on the melee offensive. Her legs and arms delivering kick and punch after kick and punch, to which were all blocked and evaded by Jaakuna.

All of his efforts made Savayna reach the point past her boiling point and something in her eyes flared. Her eyes went completely solid - or so it appeared as such. They were like literal crystals of ice and before Jaakuna had a chance to react, Savayna had his throat gripped by her hand, transferring absolute zero temperatures into his body and slowly, the fire that resisted the cold was fading. At some point, Jaakuna had felt all of his limbs going numb as if they were frozen and any access to his fire magick was severed.

Even his voice was being slipped away.

“If you will not leave me alone, I will force you to!” She yelled in his face.

Though he couldn’t move, use any magick/mist, or speak, Jaakuna, surprisingly, had all access to his senses, so her words didn’t fall on deaf ears. I sure hope you're ready, Nadeline...

Rio's words were a bit of a shock to the brown haired girl, who immediately looked at Shion. As always, Shion kept herself collected, though she didn't seem very surprised. Had she known? The possibility was high, as Shion would cross her arms, her expression impossible to read. Emiri looked between both Shion and Rio, the latter with a bemused smile on his face, though admittedly she didn't quite appreciate getting caught in the middle of a love affair--and nothing was worse than dealing with a former lover, at that. She slowly placed her free arm on the vine, though as she did, she let out a cry as thorns immediately responded to her touch. The vine wrapped itself around the rest of Emiri's captured arm, pulling her off her feet, leaving her dangling in the air.

"It doesn't bring me any joy to see you in pain, believe it or not," Rio assured Emiri, watching her pained expression. "But I need to speak to my beloved."

Shion scoffed--loudly--and the woman's glare towards Rio turned harsh. "I'm 'beloved', am I? I'm going to make the assumption that you haven't been simply staying put all these years. You know very well that I've tied my existance into your eradication," She stated. "Or rather, into whatever abomination you've become."

Rio smiled once again, giving her a shrug. "You are right, I haven't been sitting around," He said, taking a few steps forward. One of the still vines rose, dropping Shion's sword into his hands. He frowned at it, inspecting it for a moment. "Ah...and so the Prodigal Son has risen. I'm impressed, to think you'd break your own soul to leave such a heavy task on another. The Shion I knew was strong, proud, and took matters into her own hands."

"Let me guess, 'you've grown soft' is the next set of words?" Emiri rolled her eyes at him.

Rio gave her a surprised look. "Soft, hmm...I suppose that was the general direction I was headed towards..." He murmured, though he would then take Shion's sword, placing it behind his head and across his shoulders. "But you know, Scion, the way you look at me, I admit I don't appreciate it." He pouted slightly, stepping towards Emiri. To his surprise, Shion stepped in front of her, effectively blocking his path. "That protective side of yours is noble, it truly is, but there's no fire in your eyes--you don't actually care about this girl, do you?"

Shion didn't respond. Emiri glared at the back of Shion's head. She could at least pretend to care! As she opened her mouth to speak, instead came out a scream of pain as she felt the vines produce more thorns, her arm slowly bleeding as each one pricked through her skin. Rio never took his eyes off Shion, who in turn, simply stared at him. To his surprise, however, Shion vanished from his sight, though reappeared, Emiri's sword in hand. Despite the years, her form was as precise as it was that day, the strength behind her strike nothing to scoff at. But Rio never did truly fight alone, a shadow appearing to take the hit for him as Rio himself sank down into the shadows. "I admit, it's unfair," Rio told Shion, as he reappeared behind her, and with a slash, he watched as Shion fell to one knee, her shoulder freely bleeding. "I came here hoping for your cooperation."

"How can you call her your beloved when you can easily strike her like that?!" Emiri yelled at him, catching his attention.

Rio raised his eyebrows at her, though once again he put on a charasmatic smile, giving her a wink. "Do you think that every tyrant in history was born a monster?" He asked Emiri as he approached her. "No one is born evil. Evil is a creation...a corruption of the pure, and you would think knowing that, the world would go out of its way to prevent it from being born. But here we are, a Scion of Light--" He gestured towards her. "--And an embodiment of darkness. Every light casts a shadow, my dear, and the greater the light, the greater the shadow. The Transcendent shines a brilliant light that would easily illuminate anything, and you, the Chastiser, walk a fine line between joining him, and falling to the darkness you despise."

What was he talking about? "Not everyone is as weak as you are, Rio. All you ever craved was power," Shion snapped at him, voicing Emiri's own thoughts.

The man seemed to agree, though as he neared Emiri, she could feel herself stiffen as she saw his amused expression. "I'll let you in on a secret, little Chastiser," He said, placing his hand under her chin, pointing her face towards Shion. "Miss Shion's dislike of you is my fault. I do apologize, I truly do, but every time she looks at you, she sees my younger self. A well-meaning, good hearted, power hungry young warrior." He pressed her chin upwards as she wanted to interrupt him. "Let me guess, 'there's no way I'm like that'! Maybe not at first. After all, you're not going to find the power of time lying around just anywhere! You were chased by the entirety of Ivalice by power-hungry Emperors who craved it. You hated it, oh, how you wished you could be normal...But then..."

"Don't listen to him!"

"One day, you meet someone stronger than you are. Maybe it didn't start that way, but it certainly became so. You've always watched his back, and at one point, he doesn't need you anymore. You realize that you can't really catch up to him, can you?" Rio continued, making sure he had Emiri's full attention. "It's not his fault, you know this. But deep down, deep, deep down, you harbor a feeling of resentment. You promised you would protect him, so why is it nowadays you find yourself in situations where you're awaiting his rescue? If only you had more power...what you have now should have been the pinnacle, but it isn't enough, is it?"

Biting down on her lip, Emiri shook her head at him. "That's not how it is at all," She told him. "We're a team."

Taking her wrist, he lightly stretched her arm out, his touch revealing Zodiark's markings. "Even if it's your nature? Chaos may be the priginator from where you got your powers, but it was you who were meant to be Zodiark's chosen," He pointed out. "Mitron shined her light so brightly in an attempt to bury that darkness, so why are these markings still here?"

Emiri was stunned to silence, though her eyes widened as she saw her sword pierce though Rio. The man didn't seem bothered by it, though he did look back, seeing Shion holding the hilt of it. "They're only there due to Levi's influence," Shion informed the pair. "Don't go twisting the truth to your advantage!"

"Seeing as how easy it was for you to strike me down, I can't say I didn't see this coming," Rio sighed, snapping his fingers. Shion leapt back as the vines around then sprang to life, and she cut them down with ease. Emiri let out a gasp as Rio's wound seemed to instantly repair itself. "Once you let go of your mortal body, silly things like getting stabbed become a thing of the past. But I've been rambling again... I suppose I should really do what I meant to when I came here and be on my way."

Emiri closed her eyes as her hand took a hold of the vine trapping her. Rio raised an eyebrow, although he felt the mist shift around him. Taking a few steps back, he watched as she vines around her crumbled to dust, and as her eyes opened, violet was replaced with green. "Then now is as good a time as ever," She replied as the wind blew around her, mist forming several swords as they floated around her.

"Ah, caught on, have you?" Rio asked, grinning. "As cute as it would be for me to take you to be my damsel in distress for the hero to rescue, killing you would certainly put a dent in the Transcendant's step."

---

To break that which would take hold of the mind...

There was no possible way she'd be able to catch Savayna, and as she and Jaakuna would battle, she had to think outside the box. A direct hit was unlikely, though instead, she would take advantage of Jaakuna buying her time to make her spell stronger. Inhaling, she closed her eyes as she gripped the Rod of Faith, raising it above her head. Pulling on power she didn't know she had, Nadeline made sure to craft her spell in a way that it would be foolproof. For a moment, she thought Ultima would chide her once again, though she was pleasantly surprised when the Esper would give her the peace she needed to concentrate. One less thing to worry about--thank goodness.

To illuminate the truth in her eyes once more...

Focusing was proving slightly harder than she though, especially as the effects of both fire and ice swirled around her. Her hands went from going numb to nearly releasing her rod due to the heat, and she ended up grabbing it with both hands, lest it slip and her spell be entirely ruined. She was in too deep to stop, and if she messed up, she could possibly make Savayna's hallucination worse. The thought of a further berselk Savayna was not one she wanted to make a reality, though all her thoughts were put aside as she was enveloped in her holy power. Such a warmth was comforting, though once again, there was no guarantee it would actually work. And of course, an oncoming silence told her that time was running out, as the sounds of battle lessened.

To bear the reality before us...!

Nadeline opened her eyes, watching as Savayna threatened to turn Jaakuna into a human popsicle. She gave him a mental apology for taking so long, but her spell would (hopefully) thaw him out. Her sigil appeared beneath the pair, a Protect barring Savayna's escape should she choose to run. "Begone ye who would cloud the truth from her eyes! Cleanse this soul, body, and mind! Nadeline shouted, her sigil erupting around the pair as her spell came to a completion.

While it may have started out by Jaakuna trying to subdue Savayna without hurting her, that was proving to be a useless endeavor. She was so focused on hurting him with everything that she had and being trapped in some sort of brainwashed state by her own mind that had convinced her that Jaakuna and Nadeline, who were both doing everything they could to snap her out of this daze, weren’t real and the people in front of her were trying to kill her. Of course, in a direct response to that, she did everything she could to kill them before they did her in.

That’s exactly what brought the two, former lovers in the situation that they both found themselves in. After repeatedly dodging and deflecting just about every attempt Savayna had made on his life, Jaakuna was successful in making sure Savayna didn’t sustain any serious injury. She might’ve had a few minor or moderate burns that had scorched away parts of her dress, but there was nothing life-threatening done to her by Jaakuna. He wasn’t trying to hurt her - just overwhelm her enough so she would see the truth.

It’s not working.

No shit Sherlock.

Jaakuna had to put the thought that Belias had put out there out of his mind for the time being. His comments weren’t helping the already-stressful-enough situation that he was in with his ex-wife. Everytime that she felt the need to blast her way through his wall of flames or a powerful fire spell he would set up in advance as an attempt to halt her movement, she proved that she was more than capable of clearing the way with her increased strength. He couldn’t quite place how her power was increasing.

“I got you now!” Savayna screeched.

She was above Jaakuna. When he looked up, he saw that half of her body was encased in some reinforced crystal-like armor. It resembled magicite but it had a glossier shine and seemed way sturdier than any magicite ever was. She had her sword above her head and as she shifted her body down, so did her sword. From the tip came first a breeze unlike any before it and then the smallest particles of ice created from the freezing winds solidified in no time at all, causing them to double and triple in size over a dozen times over. This had threatened to surround Jaakuna in a several layered-tomb of ice.

Three seconds until complete cryostasis. Belias informed Jaakuna.

And in those three seconds, Jaakuna had decided to do exactly what he had said he’d never do at the start. His eyes had went completely white, then flashed several shades of gold and red. Then, as his mist would surround him in twice as many layers as what Savayna had created to threaten to freeze him where he stood, Jaakuna reached up with his extended arm. From his fingers, literal mist fingers went forth at blinding speeds and had Savayna by the throat.

For nearly a full five seconds, Savayna fought it, trying to force her way out of it, but as the hold became tighter, Savayna lost all will to resist. Her attack ceased as her sword fell from her hand. When it fell, Jaakuna looked at Savayna’s dangling body. Her eyes were still on him. DEspite his efforts, she still hadn’t lost her consciousness“You are certainly a determined one, but you must know I am not your enemy.” Though Jaakuna spoke, it was obvious that it had changed into that of Loghrif.

When he spoke, it was obvious to him that Savayna still saw him as a fake. Despite being subdued and at the mercy of Logrhrif, her stance hadn’t changed. This was noted by her continuing attempts to cause harm to him even as she had limited options. She flicked her finger and a blast of ice came from behind.

"Pitiful really." Loghrif said, letting the blast hit him. To Savayna surprise, it had no effect on him. He didn’t so much as flinch as the cold breeze made direct contact with his bare back. “I do not understand why Jackson was so easy on you. And why he holds such a--” Loghrif’s body twitched. He scowled lightly, though let out a content smile. “Very well.” He said, looking at Savayna, “he wishes no further harm to you, so I will do as he commands.”

Savayna looked at Jaakuna as she was gently let down. Though confused, she grabbed her sword and took a few, large steps back. In the time it took her to do that and Jaakuna to return to normal, she kept her stance, though as Jaakuna’s emerald eyes returned, his first sight was the ground. Savayna had yet to notice it, but all went according to plan. “And checkmate.” He said confidently.

“What do you mea--” Savayna went to finish that thought while moving, though she had realized something rather crucial. “What is the meaning of this? Why can’t I move!?” She demanded to know.

JAakuna ignored Savayna’s barking as he gave Nadeline a smirk of approval, jumping into the air and landing next to Nadeline. “I honestly thought you were stalling on purpose.” Jaakuna whined, “but it went just as you said it would. She never saw Loghrif coming. Now, hurry and do your thing.”

She had known Rio was strong. She wasn't quite expecting this, however.

Saying that Emiri was on the defensive was putting it lightly. When Rio declared his intention to kill her, he certainly meant it. As the fight went on, it slowly revealed itself to be one of endurance, not skill. Rio was quite talented, his moves sharp and precise, his sword an extension of himself. The only thing Emiri had over him was her speed; he would barely miss stabbing her, his sword merely grazing her each time. He couldn't quite get his grip, though he seemed more amused than anything. He was certainly toying with both her and Shion, the same dissonant smile on his face.

As Shion was pushed back by Rio's swing, she took a few steps back, lightly bumping into one of the shelves. A glint in Rio's eye alerted her, and he swung, magicks spewing from his sword. To her surprise, it had been aimed high, but by the time she realized his intention, it was too late. Books rained down around her, and she broke into a sprint as the giant bookshelf slowly fell forward. She threw her arms over her head, a small shout being heard as everything came down.

"Shion!" Emiri called, alarmed as the dust settled, though she let out a yelp as she narrowly avoided Rio's next attack.

Spinning around to face Rio, she watched his amused expression. And he called Shion arrogant? What a jerk. She thought bitterly, taking two of her blades in her hands as the rest hung behind her. Even if he regenerates, I need to do something to slow him down. The thought crossed her mind as she noticed her knees shaking slightly. Gripping her swords tightly, an idea came to mind. Holding both blades in front of her, she never took her eyes off Rio as she crouched down. He kept his concentration on her, his sword aloft, inviting her to strike.

Breaking into a run, Emiri swung high first, her blade connecting with Rio's. Her second blade swung low, and he caught it as she anticipated. Twisting her wrist, she forced him to bend with her, swinging both his arms upwards. It left him open, and her left hand went forward, stabbing his shoulder. He raised an eyebrow, as if interested, though she managed to block his sword with her other one. Using her wind magicks to push herself, her second sword would join her first, driving them both into Rio's shoulder blade. With a swift motion, Emiri swung them in opposite directions, severing his arm off.

"Now that's not very nice," Rio murmured, his tone light as he stared at his stump. His eyes darted back to her as her sword then went for his neck, and he sighed as he blocked her swing with ease. "That kind of savagery isn't like you, now is it?" Emiri resigned herself to not give into his words--all he wanted to do was anger her--instead becoming more aggressive with her strikes. Rio clucked his tongue, though he smiled once more as she would stab him again, this time on his lower abdomen. "Feels good, doesn't it?" He asked her cheerfully.

The question completely threw her off, her eyes wide. "What?"

"Taking out your aggression on me," He explained. Her eyes narrowed, and he watched as she successfully disarmed him, though he simply watched her. "Touchy, touchy. Tell me, what will you do now? Behead me? Stab me repeatedly? Spill my guts onto the ground for all to see? Bask in the glory of killing me before the Prodigal Son could?"

"Killing you is not something I do for glory," Emiri snapped as she kicked him down. "You've caused enough of a mess, once you're gone everything will be back to how it was."

Rio scratched his cheek thoughtfully. "Will it now?" He asked slowly, catching her attention. "Last I heard, Jaakuna will be going to take his rightful place on the throne. I'm going to safely assume you'll be joining him, but...that's a far stretch from 'how it was'. You were always on the lam, always wandering from one place to the next."

"How did you--" Inhaling sharply, Emiri rightfully kicked his side. "When I say 'how it was', I mean not having to deal with the likes of you and everyone else trying to kill me!" She corrected him, annoyed.

"Did I strike a nerve?" He asked innocently. "I'm not surprised, your commitment-phobia is written all over your face."

"Nothing will ever be the same," She informed him coldly. "That's just how life is. Things change, places change, people change--" Something in the air changed, and Emiri leapt backwards, looking around. What was this feeling?

"People like...Jaakuna?" Rio asked as he picked himself up off the ground. He cricked his neck, closing one eye as he rubbed the back of his neck. "That'll be Loghrif's magicks you're feeling. A bit hostile, isn't it?" He asked her, his arm slowly regenerating itself. "The legends say it has the power to purify. His light is supposed to be comforting for the pure, and wicked for the dark ones."

"I'm getting really tired of this conversation."

"What, you get tired of the facts?"

Emiri shook her head. "You continue to speak as if we are one and the same, but we aren't," She decided to inform him. "I, for one, won't cave into my weaknesses."

"Are you sure about that?" Now it was Emiri's turn to smile, green eyes lighting up as the wind began to pick up, swirling around them. Rio grinned, crossing his arms as he watched their surroundings. "I can't say you haven't kept me entertained, at least."

---

Savayna was trapped, and the time had come. At Jaakuna's remark, the princess couldn't help but roll her eyes. Of course she was right, she had some semblance of an idea as to what she was doing. At the very least, he had done his part, now it was her turn. "If you would simply accept that I'm usually right, things would go a lot smoother between the two of us," Nadeline told Jaakuna without breaking her focus, her rod aloft with her magicks brimming. "Cleanse!" She called, her glyph completing itself as her magicks swarmed around Savayna.

The purifying magicks seared through Savayna, driving out the force that would cloud her mind. As they worked, Nadeline's knees buckled underneath her, and she let herself fall on them, still holding her rod steady. This was taking more out of her than she had realized, though she was confident she could continue. As the light faded from her rod, she gasped for air, her hand to her chest. The last of Nadeline's spell would finish its work on Savayna.

"...Did it work?" Nadeline asked Jaakuna, watching Savayna wearily.

---

As Grant skidded to a halt, something in the air had changed. He looked around, eyes scanning their surroundings. "This is..." He murmured, frowning as he looked to the direction the sensation was coming from. "I'm sure that's Emiri, but there's something else there."
He told Wesley as he looked to the distance.

It would seem the Creature has chosen to reveal itself. Zeromus mused thoughtfully.

What?! "The Creature?!" He blurted out, though a nearby Ren caught his attention.

“Now, if I were to do that, it would take out all of the fun of pushing your buttons, now wouldn’t it?” Jaakuna had teased Nadeline. She seemed to always forget how much of a doofus that he was.

But that didn’t matter at this point because, as Jaakuna witnessed first-hand, Nadeline proved herself to be right as she always had done when it really mattered. Her magicks had always been impressive and this very moment was where it all came down to. Jaakuna had done what he needed to. Digging into Loghrif’s power for only a few moments to subdue Savayna was only the first step, but it wasn’t even the step that mattered most. No, what really mattered was getting Savayna still enough to reduce her to a state that Nadeline’s magick could effect her long enough to purify her of the dark magicks that were causing her to see what wasn’t there.

It seems to be working. Belias noted.

Jaakuna borrowed Belias’ Esper Vision, and as the veil of magick surrounded Savayna, he could not only see the same mist that had flown from the Zodiac Spear and into Savayna before, but he saw it had evolved. Whatever its origin, just from its darkness alone, Jaakuna was sure about one thing: this mist was familiar to him. Almost as if…

“Wait, Nadeline--”

Before Jaakuna could get that full thought out, it was too late. What he saw in that last second had sent a pulse not only within the specific area that the three of them were at, but it extended far in the area they were in. The effects were possibly felt throughout the entire headquarters of Utena. Furthermore, it had sent Jaakuna and Nadeline about twenty paces back and allowed Savayna to get free of the hold she was under. And while it was true the foreign mist that was in her was gone and they had every right to be happy for that, a new problem arised.

As Jaakuna got up, he cursed himself as he helped Nadeline up. “One problem is solved and another arises. I guess that’s how it is with us.” He let out a sigh as he saw Savayna. Whatever had happened, she was no longer under any spell, but now, from the eerie smile she had on, they were now faced with something Jaakuna never thought possible: an even crazier Savayna. “I’d prepare yourself. She’ll be coming for us right now. And this time, I don’t think she’s going to go down easy.”

Sighing once more, Jaakuna felt this was karma for everything that he had done up until this point. How he treated Savayna was now being brought back to him in full.

Jaakuna wasn’t wrong. Savayna, in a flash of cold air, had appeared above and when her arm came down, an absolute zero gust of cold air was launched at both of them. JAakuna would counter with his own protective countermeasures, a gold and red fiery shield that would hold it off. “The only way we’re going to get her free is if we knock her unconscious. This’ll take Belias and Ultima’s power, Nadeline.” Jaakuna said, knowing full well this meant that Ultima would have to not only put her trust in Nadeline, but she’ll have to trust Jaakuna. “If we don’t do this, right here, right now, then Savayna’ll kill us all. No pressure, though.”

---

Wesley sensed it too. The hairs all over his body stood up. The wave of mist that he felt, the way it was so familiar and how it was so widespread had him aware of whose mist it was. Even before Grant had said it, he knew. Hashmal knew as well.

It was The Creature’s.

“Then let us go--” Wesley was interrupted by another pulse of magick, this time it came from the opposite direction of where The Creature’s own was. Part of him felt as if he recognized it, but there was something telling him that it wasn’t as much of a pressing matter as where he sensed Emiri and Shion. “--let’s forget about that and go find The Creature. Whatever that pulse was isn’t as concerning. Besides, I still have unfinished business with The Creature.” Wesley cocked a smile, leading the way.

"We've been had."

Bodies littered the floor, a multitude of copies of Ren being the majority, but unfortunately, that included some of Shion's men. Viera eyes scanned the place as Aloa walked forward, her tall ears flickering. The density of the mist was nearly suffocating, a sinister air hanging around them. Her eyes narrowed as she observed a corpse, kneeling down to inspect it carefully. On the surface, it certainly resembled Shion's protégé, but there was a disturbing mist underneath the surface. Dark magicks were at work, the kind that toyed with life itself, the type that violated the natural laws.

Disgusted, Aloa would stand, her tall frame elongating as Vlyn would look around, wrinkling his nose. "I was going to ask 'what makes you say that' but...this is just like Raithwall..." He muttered, displeased and clearly more affected by the thick magicks swirling around them.

"I believe this is worse," Aloa stated dryly.

"Just once I would like things to be simple," The male viera couldn't help but whine.

Aloa shook her head at him. "Life is much too complex for simplicities. You would do well to remember that," She reminded him, placing a hand on her hip. "Shall I take that as your resignation?"

Vlyn sighed. "A complaint and nothing more, I promise. If I backed out now, I'd be the laughingstock of Ivalice," He grinned as the pair began to walk further.

"If that is what you wish. Unfortunately, you may already qualify for that position."

"You know, you can trim the insults once in a while to spare my feelings, Aloa."

---

Nadeline let out a huff of annoyance as the pair were sent back, her patience wearing rather thin. She had half a mind to stay down, quietly entertaining the idea of simply zapping Savayna out of minor frustration, but as Jaakuna would help her up, she would push those thoughts aside. Jaakuna then mentioned Savayna wouldn't go down easy. Of course she wouldn't, the famed General of Archadia hadn't gotten her rank from pretty looks alone. Even before they met Nadeline had been wary of Savayna and her power, her name constantly popping up when the Council contemplated war with Archadia.

Still, there was a rather creepy feeling being on the receiving end of her wrath. Nadeline lost count of how many times Savayna had her back in a fight, and the realization would only set in as her next attack came in. The princess raised her free arm to protect herself, though Jaakuna's flames canceled Savayna's attack. No pressure indeed.

"So be it," Nadeline agreed, her rod quietly fading and being replaced by her usual rapier. "I'll admit, this casting has used most of my magicks, so I'll be counting on you to take the lead on this one." Her rapier flashed as her magicks surged through it, and would bring it up to her chest. After a few seconds, the small golden crown manifested on her head, signaling Ultima's assistance to her. She would have to be very careful, she was still inexperienced at drawing upon the Holy Esper's power, and the last thing she wanted was to lose steam at a bad time.

Nonetheless, the time for action was now. Whipping her rapier in the air, Nadeline would be the first to cast. "Scourge!"

---

Grant was less than pleased at the sudden multitude of problems ever so slowly rising. Why? Why was everything happening now? He almost wished they had dealt with the ghost story, but of course things had to escalate. Letting out a groan, it turned into another yell of surprise as several vines exploded around him and Wesley, with a pair wrapping around his waist. Getting pulled into the air, he flailed around for a moment, only realizing the vines were winding up to do...something. Unsure of what, he noticed something at the base, and an idea popped into his head. It wasn't exactly conventional, but...

As he got close to Wesley, his free hand would grab Wesley's coat, and he aimed his gun, shooting several times at the base of the vines. As expected, the vines reacted, although Grant wasn't quite expected the speed at which the vines would fling the pair into the air. Tumbling, Grant gave Wesley an apologetic look as they soared through the air, though there was no time to joke as the pair would see Emiri and Rio. It was at that very moment that Emiri's wind magicks picked up, dragging Grant with it.

"ITOLDYOUTHEUNIVERSEHATESME--" Grant's shout was imminent as he was further sent flying straight up, though he came down rather quickly, crashing into the ground with an ungraceful thud.

Emiri's eyes widened at the sudden arrival of Grant and Wesley, her wind dying down. "The cavalry has arrived," Rio commented with a small smile. "Not the prince I was hoping for, I admit. But it is what it is, right?"

Jaakuna didn’t claim to know much about anything that pertained to the more advanced of magicks. He was never a scholar like Vincent and Roman. The two of them had leagues of book smarts over him while Jaakuna himself — Jackson Darcone, if you will — had what most simply referred to as ‘Street Smarts’. But, despite that, even he could recognize that, whatever Nadeline had done to Savayna, it was working.

Everything from Savayna’s outward body language to how her eyebrows and nostrils were flaring, signalling that her former visage was now fading into a more lucid, almost-serene state. Where anger and confusion previously resided, now a sense of calmness and solace had taken over. The scourge spell, that was something Jaakuna remembered his father saying possessed incredible, destruction capabilities. In the hands of novice, it still proved to be a worthy spell to have on hand. In the hands of a master, however, it was a weapon of mass destruction.

And that’s exactly what Jaakuna bore witness to.

As Nadeline would stumble back, fatigue doubtless taking over as she had delivered powerful spell after powerful spell, Jaakuna had lended her a hand, allowing her to balance on her feet and take a knee should she need it. Meanwhile, Jaakuna approached Savayna. She was present in mind, though it didn’t seem she noticed Jaakuna.

“Time to get to work.” Jaakuna muttered to himself.

His arms both were extended out in front of him. Each finger had a pulsating mist around them that only got more frequent as seconds went on. Only after ten, ever-increasing pulses, did the mist start to gain traction. The color went from a transparent array of green and yellow to a solidified gold and white. In just a few more seconds, when Savayna’s icy eyes met Jaakuna’s now-golden orbs, light flowed from his two hands, engulfing his friend with a warmth that was hard to explain. Though it would seem to cause her pain in the beginning, that only lasted a total of five seconds. When the storm passed, a serene calamity took its place, which would cause Savayna to feel utterly relaxed.

And soon, Savayna would fall unconscious. “The worst has passed. Sleep, Ice Child, for you have a fearsome fight ahead of you yet.” Loghrif’s voice came from Jaakuna’s body, though his persona would soon fade afterwards, giving Jaakuna control of his body once more.

“Now that’s what I call efficiency.”

Yep, he’s back.

---

“And imagine my surprise when the Creature itself graced us with his presence in such a surprising form,” Wesley said, pulling out his blade of light. He held it to the side. It wasn’t necessarily poised for battle, but it was in a position to where that could change in a heartbeat. FOr the moment, Wesley only wished to speak to this creature. “But regardless which form you take and no matter which prince you wished to face, I will be more than happy to entertain you until he does arrive.”

Wesley eyed the one in front of him, seeing what exactly he had to deal with. Unlike before, there seemed to be no telling what sort of power he possessed. While true that the Creature from before had disasterous powers, that was when it had consealed its true form. If Wesley was right to make the assumption, the hume-like visage it took on was its true form. And if that was the case, then he had to proceed carefully.

“What say you, Creature? Care to dance with the King of Dalmasca?” Wesley took his fighting stance. His sword was angled in a slightly-diagonal angle with the blade dipped downward and Wesley’s body turned half a turn clockwise.

Falling onto her knees with less-than-admirable grace, Nadeline threw her head back as she exhaled in relief. Her crown dissolved into Mist, her rapier slipping out of her hand and gently rolling to a stop still within arm's reach. Whatever dignity she had was gone, her body actively fighting her; if she could, she would have laid down on the ground to rest. Her magicks had all but been depleted, though at the very least, it had been worth the effort, as their foe/friend laid on the ground still.

Forcing herself to stand, she dusted off her dress, placing her hands on her hips as she eyed Savayna from a distance. "I would hardly call that 'efficient' but I suppose the job is done..." There was no way in hell Nadeline was going to let Jaakuna pat himself on the back for this one, considering it was his own fault. She looked up at the hanging Zodiac Spear, letting out a sigh. "Mission accomplished. Your prize awaits you."

Kneeling down to pick up her weapon, she felt the world spin for a moment, and found herself on the ground. She had used more magicks than she had thought, it seemed. Letting out a noise somewhere between irritation and exasperation, she pushed herself up to sit, shaking her head. Now that all was calm, she could feel something in the air was off.

Frowning, she looked at Jaakuna. "I know you felt that pulse earlier," She said. "Savayna won't be going anywhere, and neither am I, unfortunately. The others are together, but..." She already knew that if something was going down, Wesley wouldn't abandon their friends. "I ask that you go in my stead."

---

Letting out a groan, Grant sat up, rubbing the back of his head. Getting thrown around was getting less and less amusing, more so when he saw his own shadow begin to morph. Getting to his feet, his hand immediately went to his weapon, his eyes on the ground as he watched a hume-shaped shadow rise from the ground. It highly resembled Ren's technique, and he ended up backing into Emiri, who had gone over to check on him. He noticed she was not looking at him, though he was surprised to see that the same thing happened to her. Her shadow slowly began to take on her features, most noticeable with the long ponytail it sported, and as Grant looked back at his, he noticed it had his coat and weapon.

"We all have a Monster within; the difference is in degree, not in kind.” Rio replied to Wesley's comment with a half-hearted shrug, though he would shake his head and motion to Wesley's shadow. "You'll have to forgive me, I never was any good at dancing. A change of partners should do in my stead, I hope."

Emiri's shadow lunged forward, with Grant and Emiri both leaping out of harm's way. As Emiri turned to counter, a stinging pain zipped past her shoulder; Grant's shadow had already taken its first shot, and while it only grazed her, she found it rather painful. Her moment of hesitation came at a price as her shadow moved, though Grant had her back as he pelted her shadow with his own bullets.

"As if I wasn't already fighting my own demons," She muttered darkly.

"Go? Don't you think we deserve a bit of a break?" Jaakuna whined, finding himself not a fan of Nadeline's idea.

Despite not wanting to follow the storm at its pulse and instead of wanting to sit and relax as the task of conquering the Zodiac Spear had all but been completed, he knew what Nadeline had said to be the course of action he must take. There was no doubting the source of where that pulse came from. Jaakuna had always used his gut feeling and the general location was where he recalled Grant and the others were at. Still, there was this large part of him - the lazy, unmotivated Jaakuna part - that didn't want to.

He stalled by slowly getting up, stretching, thus stalling for another half-minute. After a while, he felt the livid fire burst within his head, though suddenly a fire erupted around him, but this wasn't a fire that was harmless to the Archadian Prince. No, he knew exactly the source of this fire.

"Okay, okay!" Jaakuna whined, feeling Belias' impatience rising to a literal boiling point, "be sure to watch over the spear for me!"

"He means Savayna!" Belias' voice broke through Jaakuna's mouth.

"Yeah, her too.." Jaakuna rolled his eyes, giving Nadeline one last nod before jolting away as he took to the higher reaches of the spacious library, expanding the amount of distance he would've taken had he walked. Though his sense of direction could leave something to be desired for, at some point he'd run into the others. It was only a matter of finding the right path to take.

---

"How cowardly.."

As one could only imagine, Wesley was entirely disappointed in the Creature. For all of his talk about being superior in every single sense of the word, he found his lack of doing the fighting himself to be cowardly. At least when he was presented with a fight, no matter how much it bothered him, Zodiark would take on all comers. But, if Wesley must deal with a copy of himself in order to get his date with the devil, then so be it.

"Let it be known that you are high on my list, Creature," Wesley announced to him, raising his long sword as it glistened with a bright light.

His copy came for him at the same time that the copies of Emiri and Grant came for their counterparts. Each had gone forth using their unique fighting styles. While Grant stuck to his guns and Emiri floated gracefully, Wesley and his Nega-Wesley clashed blades, producing a rather brilliant display of black and white. They were completely the same, yet their magicks were equally opposing to each other. Wesley represented truth and justice; a light that was as divine as his bloodline, meanwhile Nega-Wesley had a vile mist that had the air itself distorting around him. Truly something to permit disgust.

But alas, Wesley and Nega-Wesley kept at the speed of their strikes. They parried each others' blows perfectly. When one went for a lunging stab, the other deflected it with a cross slash. When one went for multiple slices in all directions, the other, while in a counterclockwise motion, did the same. Not one missed a beat.

"This is quite exhilarating, is it not?"

Grant wasn't finding the situation to be of any benefit. His own shadow-clone-whatever's accuracy was pinpoint, and while he was certain the shadows' strengths were matched to their originals, he found himself entirely on edge. His sleeves were torn from all the near-misses, though he had gotten in his own shots. The darkness they encompassed was taking the hits with grace, not slowing them down for even a second, which was an advantage Grant didn't like. While he staggered and hesitated, his shadow marched through the damage.

Emiri seemed to be having better luck with him as she was taking on a more aggressive approach. As her opponent wasn't human, her strikes were all aiming to maim. Her defense was never giving her opponent a chance to strike, and Grant found himself mildly impressed. He may have admired it until the stinging pain of his clone's blade sliced through his cheek.

On cue, Wesley would mention how 'exhilarating' his own duel was. "I believe Nadeline is rubbing off on you," Grant quipped dryly, not quite having the same sense of humor Wesley possessed.

Wesley's humor was shared by Rio, who watched the trio with much amusement. "I'm honored," Rio told him, though his eyes were elsewhere as an explosion of Mist eradicated several books, with Shion climbing out of the debris. "Back so soon, are we?"

Shion shared Grant's displeasure, though she had no time to recuperate as her own shadow began to twist itself. Rather than wait for it to fully form, Shion placed her hand on her katana, kneeling slightly as she began to gather magicks in her sheathed blade. Within seconds, she had what she needed, and she withdrew her blade in a flash; the shadow dissipated into Mist, fading before it could be formed. As she stood straight, she turned to Rio, her eyes sharp.

"Always with the flair, it's always a treat to see your power," He admitted with a grin. "Let's see if I can entertain you just a bit longer..."

Without waiting to see what he would do next, Shion lunged forward, though she stopped in her tracks and spun around, bringing up her katana to meet with another shadow. To her surprise, however, it wasn't the only one, and she soon realized Rio had graced her with three copied of herself. The silhouette of her stance made her alert; there was no way she could turn her back on any of them.

But even this wasn't enough to entertain Rio. He surmised that Wesley had a point, simply standing around and watching wasn't going to get him anywhere. As he contemplated what his next move would be, a chilling aura seemed to fill the area. For the rest that walked in the light, it would be warm, but for him it was as subtle as ice water. A smirk played on his lips as he looked in the general direction of where it was coming from. It seemed Jaakuna was done playing with the trap, and he was alone. The princess remained with the general, it seemed, the two depleted of their magicks.

Letting out a sigh, Rio walked past the fighting Shion and Wesley, who no doubt would make an attempt to strike at him, but he would simply make sure his shadows kept them occupied. He only stopped when Emiri's sword landed in front of him, clattering for a moment before it was still. His eyes landed on Emiri, who at first glance seemed outmatched. As her opposite would close in, however, Rio watched as Emiri would grab its face. Within seconds the Mist within it would churn, its body twitching as it was returned to nothing. As she was usually very liberal with her time magicks, she seemed not to heed his warning as she fell to her knees shortly afterwards.

"Exhausting, isn't it?" He asked her, altering her to his precense.

Emiri immediately pushed herself to her feet, her chin held high in defiance. "Whatever nonsense you have to say this time, save it," She told him bluntly. "I won't fall prey to your words anymore."

"So you say," He began, though he was surprised when Emiri lifted her hand to stop him. "Deep in denial, are we?"

"Even if you're wrong?" She asked, shaking her head. "Truly, I pity you."

Rio frowned at her, though he was unsure what she was getting at. Deciding to indulge her, he would put on another smile and ask, "Do you now?"

Her eyes had a rather sad look to them as she stared at him. "I'll admit you have some truth to what you said before. Power is something I've struggled with quietly...but I wouldn't stoop to your level," She said. "My weakness is my own, there is no blame to be placed on anyone. Even then, I can rely on my friends when I falter."

"Let me guess, 'my friends are my power'?"

"My power is my own, and so are my weaknesses," Emiri corrected him. "I blame no one for my shortcomings, no one owes me anything! I don't need power beyond what I have because unlike you I accept myself for who I am!"

His smile faltered for a moment as he let out a laugh. "That's a lot of talk, all things considered," His voice seemed to drop in tone as he started to walk towards her, a rather ominous mist surrounding him. "Who are you exactly to be talking down to me like that?"

But Emiri showed no fear, meeting his gaze with relative ease, even as he stood less than a foot away from her. "I'm talking to a child who doesn't understand what power is," She said. "You're terrified of the idea of someone stronger than you are--going so far as to harm someone you 'love'...Face it, you're just a coward!"

Saying he was less than amused to hear her rather confident response was putting it lightly. "Let's see, then," He stated, extending his arm to her.

Emiri quickly swung, shocked when her swords seem to phase right through him. How?! Her confusion doubled as his hand managed to grab her neck, and she was promptly slammed into the ground with her weapons skewed around them. He was still calm as he loomed over her, his own Mist corrupting the area around them. Not too keen on wanting to know what he was planning, her hand grabbed his arm close to where he held her, her own magicks slowly clicking into place. Their two forces seemed to collide with one another, an unnatural air grasping at the area around them. Rio's confidence seemed to wane slightly, his eyes narrowing as he realized he couldn't quite cancel her time magicks like this.

Raising his free hand, he would take a hold of one her swords. "I know how to show you exactly what you're dealing with," He said, plunging it into her abdomen. She let out a gasp, the pain stinging as she struggled. "You're entirely convinced his light will be your salvation."

Rio would leave it at that, sending his magicks through the sword and into her wound. Every nerve in her body would then feel as if it was set ablaze, the air around her suffocating and setting her lungs on fire. She couldn't see anything on the outside, but she felt like he was burning her from the inside out. As he pulled the sword out of her, the pain remained, but was amplified as he stabbed her again. The second time earned him a cry of pain, though he continued to her horror, easily pushing aside her outstretched arm as a scream escaped her.

"Once I extinguish that light, you'll learn what darkness truly is."