They’d long since moved out and begun walking. The familiar forest seemed to greet Ezra like an old friend, its characteristics comfortingly familiar. Sen trudged behind them somewhere at the rear.

Ezra stuffed his hands in his pockets and let out a sigh. The end of this mess would soon be over. He’d get the Dark Seal, then… then run, he supposed. Charles wouldn’t take kindly to him stealing it. He might even have to flee the kingdom.

“You’re more trouble than you’re worth, you know that?” he muttered.

Nothing replied over his connection. She was still asleep.

The entire time they walked, Ezra found it hard to focus. All he could think of was their encounter with the Snow King.

He’d have to bring out his needle. His best shot was disguising it as something else. He might also angle himself to make sure the Otherworlders couldn’t see him.

They eventually came to a stop for the afternoon. Charles didn’t have them physically train, instead going over some of the tactics that they’d be using. He went over the plan multiple times.

The only thing that mattered to him was getting that shield around the core dispelled. Once that was done, everything else would be easy.

Hopefully.

They set back out and marched. The mood had turned quiet and somber. There was something in the air suppressing any attempt at speech. Eventually, they came to a stop for the night, laid out their tents, and got ready to turn in.

Ezra stayed inside his tent and got ready to sleep. He laid his head down and shut his eyes.

That was when he heard a familiar voice.

“Ezra,” she said.

“Filamenta.”

The two remained in silence.

“You can speak now.”

“Tonight. That’s all I have. It seems that the universe has seen fit to grant me a reprieve before my… end.”

“That’s convenient because I think we’ll find the Snow King tomorrow.”

“I was hoping that I’d dreamed that conversation up.”

“I’m afraid not.”

She sucked in a breath. “Ezra, the consequences will be severe. This isn’t something you’ll be able to fix or change afterward. If you do this…”

“I don’t care.”

“Why?” she said. “I’m your partner. I’m not your friend or your lover. It isn’t as if my function will be impaired. I will continue to be a weapon capable of great feats with or without consciousness.”

Ezra felt a hot chill go down his spine.

“Are you joking with me?” he said. “What kind of stupid shit are you saying?”

She was quiet.

“You… you’ve been there for me since the start, Filamenta. No one else has ever stuck by me like you have. You know how awful I am, but…”

But you don’t leave.

Ezra knew she didn’t have a choice in the matter, but still.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

It meant something to him.

Filamenta was silent for several seconds. When she spoke again, her tone was light.

“You know, if you’d heard yourself saying this at the start of your time here, I think you wouldn’t believe it.”

“I definitely wouldn’t believe it.”

“…thank you, Ezra. It’s not as if I don’t appreciate you and what you’re trying to do.”

“Are you afraid?”

She laughed. It was a cold, dead thing.

“Of course I am. I’m terrified. One day, I woke up and everything I knew was gone. You didn’t see me at that point, but I was a shaking mess.”

“And if you go back to sleep—“

“Then it might happen again. I could return to slumber and wake up a thousand years in the future and everything would be different. I don’t think I could bear it.”

She laughed again, a hiccup interrupting it. If Ezra didn’t know any better, he’d say she was crying.

“Do you understand, now, how important this is?” she said. “I’m terrified, but I don’t want you to use that Dark Seal, Ezra. It isn’t worth it. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

Ezra shut his eyes and shook his head. “You’re wrong.”

“…I trust you to make the right decision tomorrow,” she said.

He felt her consciousness slip away into silence.

And then something happened.

As she fell asleep, a striking thought hit Ezra’s mind. It was a fragment. The smallest piece of information. But hearing it caused everything to click into place.

[Demonic Bind].

----------------------------------------

Ezra pulled out one of the books that he’d brought along with him. He carefully read through them, assembling a picture of the Demon Lord’s abilities. The books had repeatedly made mention of the Dark Seal, but they never explained how the Demon Lord was doing it. There was some secret sauce, something that neither Ezra nor the books understood.

But there were a few things that were known. It mentioned stuff about links. About the flexibility of the Demon Lord’s powers. Of the way it seemed to hijack the universe’s rules.

The only other ability Ezra knew of that was comparable to this ability was…

[Bind].

An ability granted to him by Filamenta.

She always appeared to know the dangers of the Dark Seal intimately. Not in a distant way, like someone who might recognize the symptoms of a disease, but in a deeply visceral manner.

Not only that, but she had a seething hatred of the Demon Lord. Sure, it might’ve been because he was responsible for destroying her kingdom, but didn’t it feel more personal than that?

Ezra felt a chill go down his spine.

Filamenta had some sort of connection with the Demon Lord, and she hadn’t told him. It was crucial, important information and she hadn’t said so much as a word.

For a moment, Ezra felt angry. Was it even worth saving her—?

The thought exited his mind instantly. He’d already made up his mind. There was no reason to go around backsliding. He’d already known that Filamenta was hiding things. Why was this a surprise?

He put away the book and laid his head back. It was time to sleep.

----------------------------------------

Pete fingered his bowstring and glanced from left to right.

“Hey, relax,” Charles said. “You’ve got this.”

Pete rolled his eyes. “I’m not particularly interested in hearing from your point of view, buddy.”

Charles sighed. “Fine.”

The two of them were at the front, creeping their way through the bushes. Prise had informed them that they were close and Ezra had confirmed.

“So, did you find out who One-Eye was?”

Pete frowned. “I don’t recall ever telling you that I was interested in his identity.”

“But you were looking, weren’t you?”

Pete stopped walking. Charles looked back at him, a curious look on his face.

“Pete?”

Pete shook his head. “He’s no one important. You should just drop the whole thing.”

Charles raised an eyebrow. “Really? And here I was thinking that you’d be able to figure it out.”

“What makes you think I’d be able to figure out anything?”

“Believe it or not, I do hold a distant sort of respect for you,” Charles kicked the snow. “At least, I trust your judgment. You’re kind of slow in battle, but I’ve seen how you’ve grown, and you were smart enough to know that Ezra was right long before any of us figured it out.”

Pete blinked. “You agree with Ezra?”

“Not about everything.” Charles waved his hands to emphasize his point. “Just… well, we rushed into this, and we paid the price. Idia was a bad commander. Dangerous, even, and I’m kind of glad he’s gone.”

“Don’t let the Queen find out about that sentiment.”

Charles looked up toward the sky. “I wonder how different things would’ve gone if Ezra had stuck around. I think if I’d been a better leader, he would’ve stayed, and we’d be in a different position right now. We might all be on the run, actually.”

Pete sighed. “I doubt he would’ve gone along with you, Charles. He had other reasons for walking away.”

“Reasons that you knew about?” Charles raised an eyebrow.

Pete snorted. “Quit it with the prying.”

And the two returned to silence.

Pete’s mind wandered back to One-Eye. He wasn’t certain that the mysterious merc was Ezra… but he was pretty damn sure. His behavior was just too similar to Ezra’s.

Well, it didn’t matter. Ezra’s life was his own. He was just glad to have such a competent ally.

Pete heard a rumbling in the distance. A feeling sank to the bottom of his gut.

“It’s here,” he said.