"Everyone is here it seems," Barragan stated. He calmly brought his stride to a halt and surveyed the scene, his gaze falling upon the now reticent and slightly annoyed Ezel. He continued, "I presume you've fulfilled Iala's request?" Ezel had gone completely quiet, as he blankly stared at the other side of the library. Seamlessly donning the kind of indifferent expression where he's looking beyond anyone or anything that may have been in his line of sight. Iala and Larlunt looked between both Barragan and Ezel in silence, with the former not looking forward to mediating potential dissension that may arise and the latter taken aback by the palpable tension that was invoked within mere moments of the Älteste's arrival. A tension she could instantly tell was born from years' worth of unseen strife between the two from her point of view.

Iala stepped in and snuffed out the embers of confrontation, "Were you able to speak to Xero? You were quite pressed to find him when we last spoke."

"I did." Barragan let his glare linger on Ezel a few seconds longer than necessary before turning to his sister and continued, "I sent him to the border wall to inspect the sentinels. Some of them have gone awry as of late, so I felt it best to get them sorted out as soon as possible."

"Oh? So I guess that's why their response time was so delayed when I arrived here in Grahl," Larlunt stated. "I'd just assumed that they were slowly worn down by time and allowed to operate at that level. Since barely anything has happened to this place from what I've been told."

Barragan immediately turned to Larlunt, failing to hide the bit of annoyance that crept along his stern visage. "I think you'd do better to expect more from us, young one. Did the other Starklanders not teach you how to speak to an Älteste?"

As soon as those words left his mouth, an audible and sarcastic huff was heard coming from Ezel. Safe to say that that's the side of Barra he instinctively detests to an indescribable degree. The Älteste ignored him. Iala was concerned. However, Larlunt corrected herself almost instantly by standing up straight and slightly bowing her head. "I apologise, Älteste. I'd forgotten my standing for a brief moment and humbly apologise for my recent lapse in proper conduct." Ezel had finally turned his gaze to everyone else and surveyed the scene before him. Larlunt kept her head low, likely waiting for Barragan to address her before even thinking of changing her stance. The change in her demeanour and tone shocked Ezel. Having only met her today, he truly believes that the persona he met atop the tower was Larlunt in her unimpeded glory. He was a bit crestfallen for a moment, but that was replaced with renewed disdain for the Älteste himself. Forever imposing his will upon those around him at the expense of the truth being expressed in any manner.

Barragan held his hand up, "Raise your head. It's fine, young one. I'll just have to have a word with your superiors whenever I get the opportunity. It's clear that their methods and judgement are now lacking if someone of your stature is allowed to traverse all the villages." It was half a second's worth of an observation but Ezel could've sworn he saw her hand twitch following Barragan's condescending statement. Ezel felt vindicated and oddly happy. The person he'd met was still in there somewhere, potentially cursing at the Älteste as we speak. Or at the very least fighting the physical urge to show her disapproval of his berating.

Larlunt lifted her head and revealed an austere expression, "Thank you, sir."

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Barragan continued, "So what had you told everyone here while I was gone?" Larlunt relayed the developments she'd shared with Iala and Ezel in quite a monotonous tone and concise manner. Hearing about the latest developments surrounding the Omnia in the barren wastes still gave Ezel quite the thrill, regardless of the looming danger in the instance that this isn't dealt with swiftly. Why is there a group of Omnia forming? Why are some of them hunting and killing each other? Why were Omnia solitary creatures to begin with? Where do they come from? What purpose do they serve, if any? These thoughts branched out and formed a theoretical network of possibilities in Ezel's mind, which would ultimately hit an abrupt dead-end when a screeching sound sliced through all of his thoughts. The sound was incessantly pounding against his skull, with no rhythm to it at all. What followed was his chest slowly beginning to burn, yet there was no chaotic beating coming from that part of his body at all. The slow increase in temperature reminded Ezel of the rising of the sun, with its rays slowly creeping along the ground from the horizon and steadily illuminating all that it surveys from high above. As this was happening, Ezel grabbed his head and tried to walk it off but to no avail. He began stumbling and eventually fell to the ground, writhing in silent pain. Larlunt and Iala rushed to his side, while Barragan just stared at him with indifference. Ezel was still conscious and aware of his surroundings, but he couldn't hear the words of any of his would-be saviours as he blankly stared at their mouths moving. Larlunt had a look of genuine concern, as she grabbed and lifted him to a seated position on the ground. Iala had stopped speaking and was inspecting Ezel's eyes, ears, nose, and every other part imaginable to try and diagnose what the issue was.

Then, amidst the madness, Ezel could've sworn he heard someone attempting to speak. These malformed words weren't coming from anyone in the immediate vicinity, nor did they seem to be addressed to him. A voice completely unfamiliar to him had infiltrated his mind. A voice that carried a wave of primal anger swept over Ezel, one that he couldn't believe to have belonged to a single entity. The voice began to ring louder and grew more vicious as well.

Gi... th... b..k.

Struggling through the pain, Ezel willingly dove deeper into his mind. Even in this unknown situation, he felt that hearing what was being said had to hold value in some capacity. Then the moment finally arrived, with the exclamation bellowing towards him with the force of a howling typhoon.

GIVE THEM BACK!

Absolute silence followed. Ezel felt himself floating in absolute darkness for what he felt was minutes. Or an hour. Or even a day. He struggled to come to terms with where he was, yet every time he tried to recall the preceding events that led him to this place he'd always go blank. An endless cycle of cerebral trial and error was burdened upon him. Within brief moments of clarity that were spaced out by an incomprehensible amount of time, Ezel would think to himself that a sane mind wouldn't have survived this. Then, the question that would follow but remain unanswered was this: Why could he?

Ezel woke up in the library. He was still being held upright by Larlunt, with Iala staring straight at him and showing a sign of relief. I thought days had passed, Ezel thought to himself. He could instantly tell that he may have been unconscious for, to at least everyone else, mere seconds. Almost as if it were anticipating his upcoming verbal inquiry, a deafening alarm enveloped the entire library's tranquility. Ezel saw Barragan's face tense up immediately, then he turned to everyone and was silent.

Ezel finally spoke, "... What's going on?" He saw a look of worry fall upon both Larlunt and Iala as well. Larlunt immediately responded to him, "What I thought wouldn't have been possible. At least not so soon..."

Barragan gave his sister a look that conveyed a plethora of unspoken words and feelings, and then he left with a swift sprint that was unbecoming of a man of his physical stature. Iala then solemnly continued where Larlunt had left off, "Ezel... Eisengrahl is under attack."