Shocked, Essairyn directed her vehicle toward them without a second thought. Parking the capsule a short distance away, she ran over to the crowd and pushed her way into the center. Akari hustled after the girl, shouting for her to come back. But, Essairyn couldn’t let the remaining evidence of Balgair’s crimes burn without an explanation.

“What’re you all doing?” She hollered at the sight of the grandma tied to the stake. Unlike when Essairyn had first met her, the elderly woman no longer looked healthy and plump. Her skin sagged around visible outlines of bones, and while her clothes had been shabby, they weren’t nearly this tattered and soiled. This woman had tried to warn them when they stayed the night, so Essairyn couldn’t let this horrific act proceed. She also had to prevent the angry villagers from destroying a crucial witness.

“You again!” The elderly woman shrieked with crazed eyes, almost lunging at her.

Startled, Essairyn drew back in surprise as the grandma continued, “You’re the one that caused this! Because of you, they killed the children!! My poor kids…they didn’t deserve this!”

At the old woman’s wailing, Essairyn’s face twisted in confusion. But before she could ask, a man stepped forward to answer the questions strewn across her expression.

“She and the children lured curious adventurers, knights, and common folks like myself from Farinheld to this ramshackle village. We had no idea that she was an agent of H.T. and Balgair’s sick experiments and would stay the night due to her hospitality, only to be stripped of our body’s functions by the next morning.”

“Huh? I don’t understand, why would you––?” Essairyn looked between the two villagers and the old woman.

“Balgair gave them food and supplies while the rest of us suffered with nothing but the clothes on our back and just enough food to not die,” he explained with a grimace. “We might not have been able to leave this village, but we still retained our free will to refuse participating in his abductions. That’s why he starved us.”

“It wasn’t just me!” The old woman screeched at the man. “You killed everyone who helped him! I only happened to live in the building that they decided to stay the night in!”

“Stop making excuses, old hag! You lived in the largest building, and they had a carriage! Of course they stayed there!” He spat at the ground by the stake. “And besides, you and those dirty children got the best accommodations as his first accomplices. We gave those children and the others a quick death, but you deserve to suffer for manipulating them all!”

“That’s right!” A young woman with brown hair shook her fists. “Unluckily for you, us mages never gave up fighting against his control, so we didn’t accept his offer, and now, with our powers back, all those weaklings who assisted him will get what they deserve!”

“Hypocrites!” The old woman roared. “All of you are murderers! Blame me, torture me all you want. Just let the kids go––they’re innocent! They don’t know what they’re doing is bad… Balgair gave us a way to survive when no one else took pity on an old lady and some homeless kids. All of those self-centered nobles, pompous mages, ignorant knights…” She glared at Akari as she said, “And heartless spirits groveling to the elementals’ might… Hah! They willingly turn a blind eye to our suffering, so they all deserve what was coming at them!”

Listening to the old woman’s maniacal yet miserable laughing, Essairyn didn’t know what to make of the situation. She understood the villagers’ desire to enact vengeance, but what they were doing was also wrong. So, regardless of right or wrong, both sides weren’t clean of blood and fault. Glancing at Akari, she saw the spirit fox gloomily shake her head.

“Shut up!” The brunette mage whacked the old woman with a rod. “The Knights will be arriving soon, so you had no way out to begin with!”

“Hm?” Essairyn whipped her head around to stare at the young woman. “How did you know that?”

The other woman cast a side glance and answered, “I’m a knight sworn under the Oath, so I have connections and contacted the Order right away. But, I couldn’t contact anyone while under Balgair’s hold. He had complete control of my magic, that bastard.”

The grandma snorted at the brunette’s rage. “You cowardly knights will never see what’s coming. All these years, you only cared about the ‘hard-working civilians’ of As’pyze without a care for the humans wasting away in the Borderlands or suffering in the elemental kingdoms. What Order? What Oath to help the people? Such lies! All the Knights care about is expanding Neu’arth so that they can hide from the elementals! But do you think some measly magic wall can stop the elementals from attacking if they ever wanted to?” The woman burst out laughing in hilarity. “You’re all just sitting ducks while catering to the elementals and hiding behind the useless As’rienians!”

“We said shut up, hag!” The man walked up and sharply kicked the old woman while the brunette addressed Essairyn.

“Ignore her slew of nonsense. Us knights and mages faithfully serve the good people of As’pyze. Turncoats like her and H.T. can rot in hell for disturbing the peace of our nation. If it weren’t for the Knights Order, human civilization wouldn’t have advanced to where they are today. Take Byar’non for instance, it’ll soon be the centerpiece for Southern As’pyze to flourish into a metropolis like the North! Those backward elemental kingdoms could only hope to achieve the technological innovation of humans!”

Essairyn frowned as she contemplated both of their accounts. If what the old woman is saying is true, then this world’s humans are in a worse situation than I expected. Her lavender eyes flicked to Akari who was silently brooding. This corresponds to when Akari said spirits didn’t act out against elementals. Then, is H.T.…? Are humans and demons working together to fight against elemental reign? From history class, elementals always dictated the terms of trade and border disputes with As’pyze. So, Essairyn knew that magical might held more sway than economic or political power alone. And not only were elementals on average rank C versus humans who averaged rank E, they also held the numerical advantage in Sol’h’meyr as the first intelligent species.

“If what you’re saying is true,” Essairyn slowly began, addressing the old woman. “Then why harm others? You only care about those who have been oppressed yet are willing to step on everyone else? Isn’t that also hypocritical?”

The old woman went quiet for a moment, blankly staring at Essairyn. “Bahahaha!” She suddenly cackled at the absurdity of her questions. “You’re saying I’m hypocritical? Perhaps, but at least I’m honest about it! Not like those Knights who lie straight to everyone’s faces. Oh, hahaha!”

Unnerved by her laughter, Essairyn was silent. I guess I won’t know until I head to Neu’arth and see for myself if everyone remains blind of this so-called truth… Before this encounter, she believed that the Knights Order was an upstanding organization, even if she didn’t want to be tied to it. But hearing this divergent claim ushered growing doubts in her mind. And due to the Order’s close union with the Knight-Mage Academy, the only educational institution across As’pyze, Essairyn could fathom how reality might be skewed by these two cornerstones of human civilization in Sol’h’meyr.

As she deliberated, Essairyn didn’t notice that the two villagers had set fire to the stake until the old woman crowed, “Mark my words, Hyd’Tyml will cast judgment upon you all!”

Jerking forward, Essairyn yelled, “Wait! Where is Balgair?”

But the old woman’s howls of mockery had swiftly turned into howls of agony as the voracious flames licked her bones. And Essairyn was left to ponder the grandma’s final words and extinguish the sting of her conscience at not being able to save her. The cycle of violence had continued with no rest.

“Balgair is dead, of course,” said the man with a quirk of a brow. “Why’re you asking when you killed him?”

“That is…” Essairyn glanced between him and the fiery corpse. “We didn’t find his body… I actually thought one of you might’ve taken him.”

“Hah!” The man scoffed. “If we had Balgair, we’d be torturing him instead of this old hag!”

Essairyn nervously laughed. Looks like my guess was right. These people’s anger runs deep… “But what does Hyd’Tyml mean?” She wondered out loud.

“The Hand of God,” answered the brunette. “As H.T. likes to call themselves. The literal translation is the Hand of Time, of course.”

“Since ‘Tyml’ means Time, which is the creator ‘God’ of this world,” confirmed Akari.

“I see…” Essairyn furrowed her eyebrows. “That’s a pretty bold name. It’s like they’re declaring they’ll be changing the world with their own hands.”

The brunette sneered at the notion. “As’pyze will go backward instead of forward if they’re ever in charge. But the Knights would never allow this. Though, it’s high time they took these scumbags seriously. I can’t believe it took the disaster of Farinheld, my hometown, before they stepped up their game. But now that everyone’s all healed up and this place wiped from the face of Sol’h’meyr, we can finally go back and rebuild our lives. I still don’t know if my parents survived…”

Conflicted, Essairyn could neither condemn the old woman for her deceit nor these people for killing the others who bent to Balgair’s will. They were two sides of the same coin, and both had suffered and been bit by karma. Even if H.T. was defeated, the wrath of the oppressed would remain as long as the core issues went unresolved.

But she had lingered long enough. While she didn’t regret her decision to stop here and learn a snippet of the truth, the clock continued to tick for a sick child. So, Essairyn scooped up Akari, hastily bid goodbye, and returned on her way with extra vigor.

Two hours before afternoon struck, they arrived in Farinheld. Essairyn left her magical vehicle in the nearby forest with Akari and dashed through the streets in search of the knights. But as she raced, an uncanny feeling seethed in her gut. Her eyes flicked about the people strolling, and her steps slowed.

“Who…?” She murmured to herself. Who are these people? Essairyn didn’t recognize any of the passerby. Farinheld was a small town, so from their mission group’s daily rounds, she had gotten to know most of the citizens at least by face. The unsettling gut feeling exploded into mild panic. The inn, the inn…there must be something I can learn if I check the inn.

Hurriedly, she headed for the deserted inn only to find it now occupied by people familiarly garbed all in black. Shocked, she flattened herself against the wall near the front doors and listened to the raucous cheers inside the lobby.

“…south side is all set to go.”

“The new era awaits!”

“ …all attacks will occur simultaneously.”

“Finally! We can go out of hiding!”

“…sign to all in As’pyze and the other kingdoms that Hyd’ Tyml are a force to be reckoned with.”

Frightening realization trickled down her spine, shaking her core. H.T. were back in Farinheld, and all the original townspeople were gone. But how? Why? Classerth didn’t stay? Or, at the very least, no more knights were stationed here because they thought the town was a lost cause? What are these attacks H.T. are planning? Essairyn felt nauseous at the thought of Farinheld’s tragedy happening all over As’pyze. It can’t be. How can the Knights be so oblivious if that’s the case?

Essairyn estimated that twenty to thirty people were inside the inn lobby. The group of knights arriving were only a handful in number. So, any altercations would result in a one-sided defeat for the Order. And Essairyn could not spare any magic in joining the battle because of Lyressa.

Frustrated, Essairyn surreptitiously left and resumed her search, praying that she wasn’t too late. After a few minutes, she located an abandoned campsite on the outskirts of the town. As she picked through the area, hope dropped into dread. A tattered Knights flag hung loosely on a branch. Am I too late?

“Essairyn.”

The girl froze at the familiar voice. No… A raging quagmire rattled her heart. No… It can’t be!

She spun on her heel and beheld a mop of auburn hair on top of frigid, ocher eyes.

“Leœss. …you’re alive.” She almost whispered as if seeing a ghost.

The young man scoffed. “I never died. Did you cry much at my ‘death’?”

Essairyn was speechless. But her surprise quickly elevated into anger. “Did I cry? Is that all you have to say to me? Did I cry?” She put her hands on her hips and rocked back in mock laughter. And upon meeting his gaze again, she cursed and held her head.

“You better explain yourself, Leo––Leœss. How could you lie to us and fake your own death? Did you… Do you have anything to do with Hyd’Tyml?”

The man raised an eyebrow, as if impressed. “Oh? You found out our real name already? The Initiation isn’t starting until tonight, though. Ah.” He tapped his temple. “You probably got that from Balgair’s survivors. I didn’t have a chance to clean up before K arrived. Who knew that the mercenary would catch up with us that quick? If I had known that Aispin was in contact with him, I would’ve never suggested the detour.”

“You! You knew?” Essairyn’s anguished voice shook with boiling rage. “We trusted you! How could you––” She gulped and calmed her wavering words as she stepped forward. "How could you betray us like that? No. Why are you with H.T.? Your parents died because of them. What about your sisters? Do they––”

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“They already know,” interrupted Leœss. “My parents didn’t die because of H.T. You want answers? I’m happy to oblige. Unlike you, I’m not looking at the world like some tourist. I live and grew up in this world.” His tone was sharp and condescending. “They died from spirits who hated their guts. And wanna know who saved me and my siblings that day from also being killed?” He snorted and narrowed his eyes.

“It was Chaera who came back to visit after becoming a famed knight. But instead of punishing the spirits who killed them, she let them live. But I forgave her, thinking she couldn’t help it as the Order imposed a lot of rules upon knights. Then, I later found out she became a Commander.” Leœss’s ambivalent emotions about Chaera muddied his eyes. Essairyn could see love tainted by hate in them.

“We had both lived in the same town growing up, and yet she didn’t bat an eye at the spirits who murdered the demon god who had protected it for decades. And from there, the hypocrisy of the knights and ‘neutral’ spirits was clear to me. They only cared about humans when it fit their agenda.” Leœss laughed scornfully.

“By controlling As’pyze and making demons a common enemy across all kingdoms, the Knights could continue expanding Neu’arth without alerting the elementals. Byar’non and other cities are merely centerpieces in the their point growth system for eventually establishing a bigger wall that encompasses almost all of As’pyze.”

“Wait.” Essairyn held up a hand. “Isn’t that good? Why would H.T. fight against a goal like that?”

Leœss looked at her in revolt at the notion. “Do you have any clue how much magic is needed to sustain that wall? Or the hierarchy that binds that people that live within Neu’arth? Straight up, it’s impractical. And the elementals would never allow a ‘magic-less’ nation to arise. They already hate Neu’arth as it is.”

Essairyn was at a loss on how to process this disclosure. She had seen little of the world to truly know of its intricate workings and the daily lives of its people. Whatever H.T. was fighting for, she did not have the right as a new traveler to impose her way of thinking. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t berate Leœss for breaking her trust.

“I may not be able to understand what you went through, but it sounds like you were going to let us die. Am I…wrong?” Her miserable expression gnawed at Leœss’s obdurate heart. He could tell she wanted him to say no.

“If you all died…that would’ve been for the best. But I was never going to kill you.”

“Never going to kill us…?” She repeated softly with dark eyes. “Letting us die might as well be killing us yourself, Leo. Don’t shy away from the truth if you’re telling me all these ‘truths.’”

Leœss turned away his gaze away and mumbled. “…It would’ve been better if you never woke up from the poison.”

“…What?” Essairyn’s pitch peaked at words she never expected to hear. “You were the one that poisoned us? That was you?”

Leœss barely had time to dodge as Essairyn latched onto his throat, and he tumbled backward onto the ground. But instead of flailing underneath the girl to escape, he let his body flop while he croaked, “That wasn’t me.”

“So it wasn’t you.” She sneered. “But with your lack of care about our lives, give me one reason why I shouldn’t end you here and now.”

He stared at her inscrutably. “…I saved Akari that night.” The pressure on his throat abated at the girl’s momentary disbelief.

Opening and closing her mouth like a fish, Essairyn struggled to respond. “…That was you? But how could you…? Why would you––? You saved her from Kajarn.”

Leœss smirked at her dumbfounded expression. “Yeah, boss wasn’t very happy, but the plan was already going haywire. If you went berserk over the loss of Akari and hunted us down––which I have no doubt you would with your stubbornness once you decide on something––we’d have a very annoying thorn at our side instead of a potential recruit.”

“A potential recruit?” Essairyn was aghast at how this man changed his stance. “What the hell! You were just talking about letting me die!”

“Actually, I was trying to convince Kajarn that you could join us, but he was dead set on eliminating all of the mission group. It was too tricky to single you out, and unfortunately, Darren already swore under the Oath. Otherwise, I’d have recommended him, too.”

“Are you serious? You actually thought we’d join an organization that murders and kidnaps people? Hah!”

Leœss frowned and let out a small sigh. “You need to get the idea out of your head that H.T. are some murderous, villainous terrorists. Most of the people in Farinheld are a part of Hyd’Tyml. They volunteered to be a part of our plan. Ordinary civilians, those who suffer under an unfair system and servitude in foreign kingdoms, flock to us to reinstate their liberty. Also, instead of alerting the others, I followed you here by myself.”

Essairyn stared at him incredulously. Regardless of how he spun his narrative, Hyd’Tyml had executed their goals immorally. “…Then, how did you see me? Why didn’t you tell the others?”

Leœss’s lips curled into a smug smile. “The others are too low-ranked to notice. But for me, you’re pretty hard to miss when I’m right by the door and can recognize your aura, no matter how small you try to make it. There’s only one human I know with rain magic.”

“You really…” Essairyn’s expression contorted as if in physical pain due to her inner strife. “I should just…” She pressed her thumbs down on his windpipe. But after a couple seconds, she released her hold. Thick tears suddenly dropped onto Leœss’s face, making him irritated.

Covering his face with the back of his hand, he cursed under his breath and muttered, “Stop crying, you idiot.”

“You’re the idiot, stupid.” Essairyn lifted a forearm to her wet eyes. “I can’t even save one little girl, or kill one stupid man.”

“Wait, I can’t tell if you’re saying I’m stupid, or you’re stupid.”

“Oh, shut up! Why do you have to joke as if we’re still––”

“Friends?” Leœss smiled softly. “I still consider you a friend, even if you don’t.”

Essairyn glowered at his gall, and he chuckled. “If you’re talking about a package for Eisso Cyanmay, I took it from the knights who arrived not too long ago.”

Instantly, her expression brightened before fading into one of hesitance. “Can I have it…?”

“Well, maybe if you get off of me I’ll be generous and hand it over from my cache.”

Essairyn cast a sharp glare before standing up from her seat on his torso. “Don’t you dare run away, traitor.”

Leœss smiled sadly. “I wouldn’t dare.” Standing up, he took a small box inscribed to Dr. Cyanmay from his inventory and gave it to Essairyn who stowed it away. “Those knights, by the way, are locked up on the top floor of the inn, but they’re alive and well.” He shuffled uncertainly on his feet.

“Essairyn.” He paused on her name before slowly continuing. “I’m sure this won’t be the last time that we meet. The next time, we might be actual enemies.” His conflicted expression mirrored that of Essairyn.

“But for now, I wish you well. We may not see eye to eye, but if you ever see more of the world and decide to join our cause… Hyd’Tyml is everywhere. Balgair did in fact die; I only picked up his body after leaving a decoy body of my own. But many more disillusioned by As’pyze and the ruling class of Sol’h’meyr are rising up tonight. Tomorrow’s morning will be bloodier than Farinheld’s dramatic forewarning. I hope…you stay safe. Until we meet again.”

Essairyn couldn’t respond. She had so much yet to say and ask, but no words that could express all that she felt in this moment could form coherently on her tongue. So, she merely nodded and ran away. Leœss’s final words shouted after her retreating figure barely reached her ears.

Back at her flying capsule, she silently revved up the vehicle and left Farinheld. Confused by the stoic state of the girl, Akari prodded Essairyn’s thigh and peered up at her. “What’s wrong? You took a while. Did something happen?”

“…Yeah. It’s nothing, though.”

The fox deadpanned. “That sounds like a severe understatement from how you’re acting.”

Essairyn blinked at the scenery whisking by. “I just need to think for a little bit…”

“I see…” Akari lowered her snout onto the girl’s leg and quietly contemplated what might’ve transpired.

The ride home felt both short and long. With no breaks, they arrived at the Cyanmay house before evening. When Essairyn descended and reabsorbed the magic vehicle, a welcome face greeted her from the porch.

“Sairyn.” A young man with black locks spread open his arms. Essairyn wordlessly embraced him and hid her face in his chest.

“I’m glad to see you. The others told me what happened and where you went. But I was still really concerned. And…” He peeked at her hidden face. “You don’t look so good. Is everything okay?”

She shook her head and paused a moment before looking up at him. “Let’s go inside. I have a little princess to cure and… a lot to explain to everyone.” A profound sigh escaped the weary woman.

“Ah, I’m also glad to see you.” Essairyn added as they entered the house with a sleepy Akari trailing behind. “You really had us all worried that you wouldn’t make it. But Eisso is a genius. We’re lucky that K knew where he lived and could take us here.”

“Mmm…” Aispin murmured thoughtfully as he put aside his personal enmity for the mercenary. “I’ll have to thank him sometime…”

After Eisso administered the tonic to Lyressa and confirmed her improved condition, Essairyn gathered the others in the living room to share her story from the old woman and villagers to Farinheld and Leœss. Everyone, especially Darren and Izlende, were shocked and troubled.

“To think that Leœss is a part of H.T…” Darren mumbled mournfully at the second loss of his closest friend in Sol’h’meyr after his fake death. “I can’t believe that everything he did was just an act! The next time I see him, I’ll––!” He struck his thigh and cursed loudly. No matter what, he couldn’t resign their friendship. Not until he spoke to Leœss directly and heard it from him.

“I could’ve killed him right then and there,” muttered Essairyn. “It almost felt like he wanted me to as well. He let me choke him twice. But–– I couldn’t do it. I hated everything that he did to us. But I couldn’t hate him enough to kill him…” She lifted her hands and stared at the palms. “It’s like my body subconsciously knew I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

Darren’s head drooped down into his hands with his elbows propped up on his legs. He sighed deeply in understanding. “I treated the people we killed in Farinheld like some hostile mobs in a game, but when it’s someone that you know, you can’t detach yourself from the bloody reality.”

Essairyn smiled sorrowfully and clenched her fists. “I was upset at first, even horrified at what I had done. But during the following days, I didn’t think too much of it. I was able to disconnect myself from killing, reasoning that I only did what I had to do in self-defense, that I wasn’t afforded the luxury of relative peace on Earth where I can live my whole life without using a single weapon against a person…”

Aispin clasped her hand, and Essairyn relaxed her fists and continued. “But now that I know the truth behind H.T. and that the people I killed were probably just ordinary citizens… I’m not sure if I can sleep so easy anymore.”

“Hyd’Tyml.” Izlende narrowed her stormy blue eyes. “What a load of bull. Hand of God? Peh!” She pretended to spit the floor. “Just because they live and grew up here doesn’t mean that they can terrorize the rest of us! Even if most of the Farinheld townspeople were in on the act, that doesn’t mean that some of them weren’t confused and terrified! As much as Leœss claims that H.T. aren’t a ruthless group, they dragged innocents into their demonstration and got them killed! Now who’s also turning a blind eye to needless suffering?”

Akari huffed and remarked, “I don’t understand why they couldn’t replace all the unaffiliated townspeople with H.T. ones. Looks like to me that they wanted to spread actual terror. Maybe to make it more believable. How sickening.”

Immediately after speaking, Akari felt sudden shame. She recalled her own episodes of violent terror from her previous reincarnation. We’re not too different, are we, Hyd’Tyml? I also wanted to change the world of the spirits and demons, but it took learning it the hard way and spending time with this human–– She glanced at Essairyn. ––to understand that violence begets more violence. Anger clouds our judgment, leading us to worse outcomes and unshakable grudges…

“So what now?” Izlende asked. “Wait and see what happens tomorrow? Hearing that it’ll be worse than Farinheld is distressing. We don’t know what H.T. has in store or if it’s all a bluff again.”

“Yeah,” agreed Darren, “knowing that they can strike from anywhere in As’pyze is very disturbing. We have no idea of the scale of their ‘Initiation’ plan.”

Essairyn nodded. “It’s not like I had time to discuss specifics with Leœss, given that he was actually willing to divulge all of H.T.’s secrets. So the best we can do is inform the Knights.”

“Yes, I’ll send a magigram to Bodraig in a moment, but honestly…” Izlende leaned back in her chair defeatedly. “He and the Knights probably already know what’s coming. They just didn’t want to publicize it and alarm the public that the enemy lived among them. Imagine all the chaos that would arise if everyone didn’t trust their own family or neighbors.”

“I hate that we can’t do anything about it.” Darren gritted his teeth. “We can only sleep and await the fate of As’pyze in the morning.”

“Let’s try to get some rest then,” suggested Essairyn. “I’m sure Aispin here is exhausted having just woken up a few hours ago.”

The aforementioned young man colored at her observation. She had noticed the he had barely spoken in their discussion.

“Ah, that’s right.” Izlende turned to the quiet man. “Eisso said you shouldn’t be walking around just yet. But you insisted on greeting Essairyn when she––”

“Ahem.” Aispin interrupted with a light cough. “Let’s go, then.” He stood up along with Essairyn seated next to him and swiftly exited the room.

Izlende raised a brow before her expression turned to one of smirking awareness. Then, she and the rest followed after them and prepared for bed. Fitfully, they slept that night. But no news from Bodraig arrived in the morning.

“What’s taking him so long?” Izlende paced in the parlor while Essairyn stood by the partially curtained window, and Darren sat with Akari on the couch. Aispin remained in bed per Eisso’s orders. “It’s almost the afternoon!”

“Can we not find out what happened another way?”

At Essairyn’s query, the silver-haired woman abruptly halted in her step. “Why didn’t I think to ask Ennrion or the others at the Academy? They’re bound to know through the school’s magi-net!”

Whipping out a magical device, similar in appearance to a smart phone, Izlende contacted Ennrion. Immediately, a deep voice flush with concern answered her call.

“Are you okay? You said you wouldn’t contact me unless something bad happened; although, I didn’t expect you to join a new, related mission and not return home. But now, all these uprisings across As’pyze are happening. Are you safe? I miss you.”

Izlende blushed at the atypical slew of words spoken first from her boyfriend whom everyone in the parlor could hear. “Sorry Rion, I know I told you that in order to not worry you while I’m gone––you know how things go on missions––but I’m okay. We wanted to know what’s happening in As’pyze. We’re kinda stuck in a place with little connection with the outside world…” Izlende inwardly cursed Eisso’s reclusiveness and lack of commercial technologies inside his house. He didn’t even have a television for the news.

“We? Your mission group? I hope they’re all right.” Ennrion paused to gather his words. “As’pyze is not doing so well. Southern As’pyze to be specific. A rebellion has broken out in every town and city.”

Izlende gasped and clutched her device tighter. “That widespread? How bad is it?”

“Pretty bad. The Knights are losing ground in every place. They knew that some civilians had joined Hyd’Tyml’s cause, but they didn’t account for turncoats in the Order at all echelons. One of the Commanders also turned. So if it weren’t for Chaera, the headquarters would be in shambles. A few students in Neu’arth even proclaimed their allegiance. But the North is pretty secure overall.”

“So, they declared their name to the world, huh?” Izlende sighed. “It isn’t too comforting to hear that all of the South and a Commander are up in arms, even if the North is mostly safe. No wonder Bodraig never responded. As a Chief of the Southern Province, he must be in over his head…”

“Now what?” Essairyn questioned. “We’re in no shape to fight again, especially if the Knights are being overwhelmed.”

Although curious about the unfamiliar voice in the background, Ennrion didn’t ask his girlfriend and answered, “You go North to Neu’arth. This is the safest place until the Knights form a counterstrike operation and reclaim the South.”

“The Southern Province is a lost cause? The Knights are actually considering abandoning it? But that’s nearly half of As’pyze!” Izlende exclaimed. “I know it’s not as profitable as the North, even with Reisparte’s markets and foreign trade, but it’ll soon match the Eastern Province! And forget about the Western Province. Everyone knows that the land there is eroding into the barren lands.”

“Speaking of which, the turncoat Commander of the Western Province gave his control away to the people of the Borderlands.”

Izlende cursed at the new piece of information from Ennrion. “This is getting worse and worse… Hyd’Tyml and the Borderlands are connected?”

Essairyn suddenly recalled the grandma’s words about the forgotten humans of the Borderlands. Perhaps the old woman had not been privy to H.T.’s deeper workings in the Western Province, but everything was starting to fit like a jigsaw––and the realization made Essairyn quake.

Noticing this, Izlende placed a reassuring hand on the other girl’s shoulder. Gradually, Essairyn stopped shivering. And Izlende finished up the call.

“Looks like we’re all heading back to Neu’arth, both of you included––” She gestured toward Darren and Essairyn. “Ah, and you too, Akari?” The spirit fox earnestly bobbed her head. “What a mess. I didn’t think after what Sairyn told us last night that it would turn out like this.” Izlende ruffled her side-bang in vexation.

Essairyn was silent as Leœss’s departing words resurfaced to the forefront of her spiraling mind. “Actually…there’s one thing I didn’t tell you guys last night.”

Everyone turned toward the raven-haired girl in surprise. She took a deep breath, quelling the reverberation of the enticing phrase that had haunted last night’s dreams.

“…I now understand what he meant. This isn’t a simple rebellion. He said they’ll be waiting––” She peered at each of them individually.

“‘The Revolution is waiting for you.’”