“So you’re the brat causing trouble around here, huh? Libevich did warn me beforehand, but you’re feistier than I thought.

“Oh, relax. I’m not here to hurt you. Just listen to me for a bit. There’s a lot of hate in your eyes, far too much a kid like you should have. But I understand—what else can you do? This nation’s downright rotten: You either survive by licking the boots of those up top, or you fight, and rebel, and do everything you can to forge your own future.

“But Xeros, I don’t see that in you. You’re not fighting to bring change, but for revenge. You’re angry, broken, hurt, and you want nothing more than to watch this world burn… along with yourself.

“I get it, I really do, but no matter how ugly or foul this place may seem, there’s plenty of good to be found. My dream is to see this nation free from all the filth polluting it, and then we’ll build a better nation: a Caelum of, by, and for the people. No one will be exploited, no one will go hungry, and we’ll all be free to chase after our heart’s deepest desire.

“So, how about you follow me? I’ll put your skills to good use, and eventually, I hope you’ll realize that this life of ours is worth living.”

- Luxmi Corvus, the First Revolutionary

———

Xeros

It comes without warning: a jerk, a lurch, an agonizing shift into the realm between realms. Xeros is whisked away, brought to a dimension no man nor living soul should ever dwell. It is a place of everything, everywhere, all at once, and for the Grand General it feels as if his mind and body and every stretch of his existence is being torn apart into the unfathomable.

And then, he returns. The dark ceiling of the spire’s summit unfolds before his eyes, and he lets out a deep, wretched heave - collapsing onto a crawl - and trembles and convulses and clenches his teeth as he summons the last bits of his strength to haul himself atop his work-table.

The world has never felt so barren, so empty. The stench of smog and oil that once plagued his every wake is gone, replaced by a stale odor that besets him with a never-ending congestion. His hands rugged with blisters cannot be felt. No warmth. No chill. Not a texture or grain. It is all dull to him, even his own tongue.

Xeros no longer feels human, but rather a corpse. It is a strange sensation, as if his own body regards him as a stranger, and though he can move it feels unnatural. Like giving directions to a machine. The limbs move in tandem, but it is not he steering the body.

No matter. Xeros will adjust to this new bumbling form eventually. What matters is that he still lives, still alive to remember his failure. The Star may have taken his sensations, but the Grand General’s desire still beats strong.

Xeros hoists himself up and drags his withered body onto his seat before gazing out towards the view outside. A wall of nonsensical structure and material surrounds the entirety of the capital, entrapping all who call themselves citizens of Caelum within.

There is much to do. The wall of everything will not last forever; eventually, the King will lay siege once more, but he shall have to do so against the full might of the capital recovered.

For now, Xeros must rest. Even he has his limits, and this day has worn him down far more than his old, shriveled self can bear.

He closes his eyes, and lets his mind recede into the dusk.

“XEROS!”

For one measly second apparently.

Libevich smashes through the entrance with a cheerful guffaw and sends the door flying. It soars past, narrowly avoids crushing the Grand General’s head, and shatters the window-pane behind him before tumbling down into heaven knows what.

At this point, Xeros is too tired to care anymore. Let the woman do as she pleases.

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Libevich enters the room, her appearance unkempt as usual, and her expression twists into disgust before Xeros’s shriveled form.

“Ah… there you are,” she says, flopping onto a nearby seat. “Well, looks like you’ve been through a lot.”

“So I have,” he replies, sighing and abandoning any further plans of peace.

“To think you’d run away from the boy King. Really, I expected better from you.” Libevich laughs and slaps her knee, taking great pleasure in mocking Xeros. He must remember to return this humiliation at a later date. “Luxmi would weep if she were to see you now, failing like a wench even after using her corpse and everything.”

“But she is not.” And upon speaking of her absence, even the crude Libevich falls silent. “And she will never be. I do not wish to hear your taunting, especially after having failed your own duty. Do not think I did not witness it, how helplessly you were beaten by that creature donning Lorelai’s skin.”

A dangerous light glints in her eyes, of a beast ready to pounce after the slightest offense, but her threat is worthless, and her aggression even more so. Libevich can never harm him no matter how deranged her nature: such is the curse of family.

“So you noticed it as well?” she says, her lips twitching upright into a scathing smile.

“How could I not, when I have seen her corpse with my very eyes?”

“It makes you think, doesn’t it? Just what could they be… oh to be honest I don’t really care much to find out. As long as I get my rightful death, I don’t really care who delivers it. But you?” Libevich sneers at him and throws her head back with a great big laugh. “I doubt even you can worm your way out of this one.”

So she says, but Xeros knows underneath all that dribble is a woman that thinks otherwise.

“Enough of this nonsense,” he says. “What of our current affairs?”

“Hm? Oh, I wasn’t paying attention,” Libevich says, her chest deflating in boredom. “I just wanted to see you, but now my mood’s gone sour.”

Xeros does not know why he even bothers.

“Welp, since you’re no fun anymore, I’m going to head out.” She jumps up and prepares to leave, but Xeros stops her.

“If you are not going to be of use, then send Luxanne to my office. I will need her to serve as my proxy.” It is dangerous to reveal himself before her whilst in this miserable state; however, Xeros is confident she will make no move to slay him, not when the nation teeters on the precipice of extinction.

However, the old woman’s response is not what he expects.

“I don’t know where she is.”

Xeros slowly lifts his head, and he glares.

“What do you mean?”

“I said I dunno.” She repeats her mindless statement again, shameless and blunt. “I didn’t see her, and I didn’t feel her presence anywhere around the spire. Although I did hear a couple of your grunts muttering things… something about her being missing. ”

To that, Xeros slams his fist into the desk, and he seethes through his teeth. “And why am I hearing of this only now?”

The woman acts innocent. “Oh, come now. Luxanne’s not the type of girl to get offed so easily. I’m sure she’s around dealing with her own matters.”

So Libevich says, but for Luxanne to disappear so suddenly—it is unusual. She would never behave this way, in such a suspicious manner: No, the girl is intelligent enough to know such absence would only stoke his suspicion.

Something must be wrong.

“You are useless,” Xeros says, clasping the edge of his seat and standing up. “Forget it, the fault is mine for expecting anything else from you. I will search for Luxanne myself.”

His efforts are useless, however, for his brittle legs soon collapse under their own weight, and he crumbles onto the floor with a meager stagger. Libevich shakes her head at the sight, sighs, and pulls him back up by the scruff of his neck.

“It’s almost sad seeing you like this.” She tosses him back and smacks her hands together, as if to compliment herself for a job well done. “Get it together, Xeros. This isn’t like you.”

“Do not block my way, Libevich.”

“I don’t need to. Hells, I doubt you’ll even reach the end of this room by the time she comes back.”

“Your confidence is astounding.”

She grumbles and rolls her eyes. “I have every reason to be. You know why? Because I like her. I like that she’s not a weak, gloomy little runt like you who’s satisfied with ruling over a bunch of weak-willed grovelers, fools more skilled in using their tongues than in battle. Luxanne’s not like that; she’s always sharpening her blade, preparing for the day your neck goes flying. It’s a cute sight. And if she actually did die a dog’s death out there, then that would mean I’m wrong, and that was simply her fate.”

Libevich scoffs, and turns her head back towards the door. This time there’s nothing stopping her. “But I don’t think I am. You should feel the same way.

She disappears, leaving Xeros to wallow in an empty silence.

Though he loathes to admit it, Libevich is right. Luxanne can handle herself; he’s trained her well enough to survive out there on her own. Now, all he can do is wait. There are many matters to attend to, and so little time to resolve them. But for as long as he draws breath, Xeros will continue to struggle, to persist, and to force his weary heart to beat for another day until his duty is finally complete.

Until the day he can finally be put to rest.