My eyes narrowed as I looked at the many warriors who surrounded us.

“What are you and what brings you here?”

A voice to the south asked.

“My name as I Katsíki, this is Han. As we told your people, a war may soon engulf the dark expanse. I just wanted to make sure you were informed.”

“Who has decided to reignite the flames of war? Is it the humans?”

“Yep.” I said.

Silence followed.

“How do we know that you aren’t spies?”

“Good question.” I said while placing my hand on my chin.

“I’m not sure. What do you think we could do to earn your trust?”

“Remove all of your armour and drop your weapons.”

“Heh?”

Han and I sounded simultaneously.

I sighed before dropping my bag.

Han sighed as well while following my lead.

Unfortunately, unzipping the under amour was a two man job and so the warriors all watched as I slowly undid his suit with a single hand.

Han then removed mine and we stood at the bottom of the hill, stark naked as the sun finally sunk into the horizon, casting naked Han and I in a deep blue darkness.

Two Wraiths walked down the hill and cautiously grabbed our gear before heading up the hill and disappearing from sight.

“What are you going to do if they attack us right now?” Han asked. His voice low.

“That’ll be the third time they’ve tried to kill us. We’ll kill all except one of them before dragging them back to their home and informing everyone about the Expanse’s situation.”

“At that point wouldn’t it be better to leave them to their fates?”

“Ahh… I don’t think I could ever do that.”

“Of course.” Han said with a chuckle.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Three wraiths broke formation and walked down to us.

One of them, a tall and beautiful woman, had her furry hoodie pulled back, revealing her features.

Although young, she had a head full of grey hair, had dark eyes and soft features. That and a few scars could be seen here and there.

“Raise your hands.” The woman instructed and we complied.

Dark chains then bound our hands and I couldn’t help but chuckle as how weak they were.

“What is it?” The Wraith I assumed was in charge asked.

“It’s nothing. I kinda understand why you’re taking so many precautions.” I said with a grin causing the leader’s face to twitch ever so slightly.

Several more Wraiths surrounded us and the leader instructed that Han and I sit.

We did so and the leader looked down at us. Her face expressionless and her eyes… well, I couldn’t tell.

Rendaro eyes are weird.

“How do you know that humans are coming back to the Dark Expanse?” The leader asked.

“That’s because… err… what should I call you?”

“Nira.”

“Alright, Nira. We know there are coming because we encountered two legions of knights and they told us as much.”

“Did you come here with the intention of mocking us?” Nira snapped prompting all the Wraiths around us to point their spears at their necks, but I was done playing around.

The sky rapidly darkened as Nira’s eyes widened with rage.

“What makes you think we came all this way just to mock you?”

“There is absolutely no way you encountered two entire legions and survived.” Nira said through gnashed teeth.

“And what if we did? What if our interactions were mostly non violent?” I asked as the dark storm above intensified.

“That’s simply impossible… Fine. Let’s assume your interaction with the knights was non violent-“

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“It was.”

“Why would they tell you their plans?” Nira asked.

“Ah… there are two reasons. One is that I happen to know a certain golden knight…”

The dark storm above reached hurricane levels, but I didn’t let a single gust of wind reach the surface because I wanted my demonstration to be as dramatic as possible.

“The other reason, is that unlike you, who attacks everything that approached…”

Nira and her warriors all looked up as the storm above grew so dark and turbulent, it looked as though they were staring into a another world.

“I enjoy peaceful talks and peaceful times.” I said and almost instantly after, the storm disappeared, revealing the clear night sky.

“What was that?”

“Did he cause that?”

“So much darkness.”

Such things were said by the Wraiths.

Nira glared at me and I stared at her with equal intensity.

“What are you?”

“Katsíki, Host of Darkness.” I said as distant thunder echoed across the sky.

Nira closed her eyes seemingly in thought.

She then opened then before deeply sighing.

“Fine. I believe you.” She said and I faintly smiled in response.

I then let out a darkness infused sigh before gesturing that Nira sit.

She did so and we looked at each other for a moment.

“Now, I feel as though I must tell you my full truth before we move on to war talks.” I said before detailing who I was, what I had done since arriving on Edenton and what my dreams were. I then detailed everything I knew about the whole Lanceberg situation.

At this point, morning had arrived and the sky slowly turned grey.

“I will not force you to join us if war does break out. I just want you to know what’s what.” I said.

Nira nodded before looking at her people, all who looked both bewildered and terrified, but I had since grown used to this reaction.

“Part of me wishes we could somehow have the humans take what they needed and leave, but… I cannot afford to entertain such naïve thoughts.”

“You… you say that you are from another world… so why are you trying to desperately to minimize the casualties of a war in a world to which you do not belong?” Nira asked.

“Good question. The answer is really simple. I like it here. I have people under my wing that need to be protected and I will do whatever it takes to keep them safe.” I said with furrowed brows.

“I see… well, thank you for warning us. Will you be requiring any aid from us in the future?”

“Honestly, I hope not. Although my doors will always be open if you need anything.”

Nira nodded.

“May I stand?”

“Of course.” I said before everyone stood up.

“Goodbye for now, then.” Nira said only for Han and I to laugh awkwardly.

“About that… our stuff… could we have it back?” I asked.

Nira’s eyes widened as she and her fellow Wraiths got a better look at Han and I.

“Oh! Bring back their things.” She instructed, sending one of her wraiths up the hill.

I nodded before raising my hand.

I then created a dark dagger and I recalled the fanciest design I’d seen in a fantasy video game before offering it Nira.

Sitting gloriously on the hilt of the blades was the crest of Coh.

“Here. A keepsake for this moment. If war truly does break out and you find yourself needed any sort of help, bring this to the mesa or the plateau far north and you’ll receive whatever help is available.”

Nira accepted the dagger with a brief bow and it wasn’t long until a certain wraith returned with our stuff in hand.

Han and I awkwardly got dressed as the Wraiths all keenly watched and it wasn’t long before we bid them goodbye and began walking north.

I glanced back at the wraiths and saw that the hill where our little confrontation happened.

It was rather far from the mountains in the distance.

The wraths were definitely using space magic or something.

I wondered if we could implement space magic into our armies.

“That was rather intense.” Han said to which I hummed in agreement.

“All that matters is that they are informed. Now we must move on to the next and most likely biggest challenge in all this… establishing communications with Lanceberg.”

.

..

Han and I collapsed in front of New Eimval’s southern wall.

The handful of guards that were stationed there approached our sweaty bodies before dragging us into the city which had become a lively place filled with life and laughter.

Too bad the day’s heat was practically baking everything in sight.

We were taken to the high office where Sil sat, her eyes locked onto a map.

“Can we get you anything, sir?”

One of the guards who brought us into the office asked.

“Water… and Farin.” I wheezed.

The guard nodded before storming out of the room.

I then crawled onto Han’s unmoving body and slapped him in the face.

“No. Don’t die on me, dammit!”

“How did it go?” Sil asked.

“Not as well as I’d like but better than I thought.” I coughed.

“So you’re going to try speaking with the humans next, right?”

“Yep.” I said before dropping my head onto Han’s chest.

I let out a dramatic sigh after realizing that he was still breathing.

“How’s Anda?”

“He’s… fine.”

Uh oh.

“Good.” I said after decided to mind my own business.

Some time passed and the guard eventually returned with Farin in tow.

The guard handed Han and I two cups of water.

Han sat up with a groan before accepting his cup while Farin picked me up.

He then noticed that I was injured and made an expression that I couldn’t quite recognize.

“Mmm… lady Sil, could you get a doctor here?”

Sil nodded before leaving the office.

Farin and I stared at each other for a moment.

“I told you to take more than one black blade.”

“and I told you everything would be fine.”

Farin’s eyes narrowed.

“Fine. I will let lady Yna scold you.”

“Don’t tell her anything.” I said with an intense face, but Farin simply placed me back on top of Han’s legs.

“Anyway, how did it go?” He asked with a sigh.

“Swimmingly!” I said before explaining everything that happened and Farin’s face went from concerned to angry.

“Hey. I didn’t die and that’s what’s important.” I said as Sil re-entered the room with a doctor in tow.

The doctor knelt by my side before undoing that bind Han had made.

“Ouch!” I cried as my arm fell.

Everyone looked at my now swollen shoulder after the doctor uncovered it.

The doctor then gently held my arm and felt around the joint with his cool, soothing hands.

“It’s dislocated.”

“Oh? Then do what you gotta do.” I said before biting my teeth.

“Alright. Sit completely still-“

.

..

I opened my eyes to find that I was in Han’s arms.

It looked like we were making our way back to Coh and walking next to us was Farin and a few other Rendaro as the sun rose.

I tried moving my left arm, but I screamed internally as pain assaulted the entire arm.

“Oh? Are you finally awake?” Han asked. His deep voice made my inner ear tingle. It was a nice sensation that distracted me from the pain somewhat.

“Yep.” I whined.

“Oh yeah, Farin. There’s something I have to tell you.” I said before recounting everything I had seen through Kenos’s eyes. It wasn’t complete and it seemed as though he was still hiding some things, but I needed to let someone, anyone know the things I’d seen.

“My goodness.” Han gasped.

“Our ancestors rally did that?” Han asked.

“Yes.” I said weakly while burying my head in Han’s bosom.

“And the Nemen? What happened to them?”

“I’m not sure. The few clues we have suggest that they went far west.”

“Do you think they hid underground like us?” Han asked.

“Maybe. All I know for sure is that they left and if they completely avoided participating in the war, then chances are that they are still out there somewhere.”