Chapter XXXIX

The fact that Reigious didn’t speak even when all the Masters were gathered was enough to immediately put Album on edge. The knowledge that Sinna and Nakoma had found Arisa Kirisan and the others had given her hope that the situation with the Children could be over that very night, but there was a grim look on the prince’s face that told her things hadn’t gone as well as she hoped they would. Every seat at the table, save Seiras’s, was full, and each Master had a different expression on their face. Iris and Nyx were both unreadable as always, while Ryokumo and Nigreos failed to hide their concern. As for Sinna and Nakoma, the former looked more angry than Album had seen her in a long time, but the Master of Fire was calm as ever, most likely keeping his emotions locked deep inside. She hadn’t seen him since before she and Nigreos went to Omaruo, and part of her had wished it would stay that way. His seniority over them was something he often flaunted, and it only ever managed to rub Album the wrong way.

Though, if he failed to catch the Children then that would be amusing in its own right. I’ve always thought Taurus deserved to be put in his place.

Album’s eyes then shifted back to Ryokumo, who still hadn’t looked at her, and her irritation and anger only grew. It had only been a mere handful of hours since he arrived in her quarters and cast Seiras’s vision spell on her, and she would be lying if she claimed that she wasn’t still shaken up. She was torn on what to do about him, and Ilirianna’s words only continued to torment her and mock her.

“So are you saying that you won’t turn him in for casting this spell on you? You’re going to let him walk away without consequences? If you turn him over, what then? What will this have been for?”

It was becoming more and more apparent the longer she thought about it that the time had truly come to erase Ryokumo Caeli. She had always toyed with the idea but had never been able to bring herself to do it. Erasing Ilirianna had been painful enough and she wasn’t sure she could do it again, but she knew her choices had become limited. Ryokumo now had power over her, and she knew how threatening that spell was. Its ability to make the victim see visions of their regrets was dangerous in its own right, but it also caused the victim to fall to the ground, unconscious for a period of time, and that was long enough for the caster to kill them.

If he wanted, he could cast that spell right now and drop us all for all I know, she thought with an internal scowl. It’s too much power. Should he harness it, not only will it destroy his mind like that type of magic always does, but it could wreak more havoc than he ever could have without it.

To her, Seiras’s assassination had been a blessing, and she had believed the spell to have died with him. The fact that it didn’t was alarming, yet she didn’t have the time to contemplate the matter much more before she turned back to wait for Reigious. There wasn’t a single Master in the room that was going to interrupt this silence. They could all tell that the prince was thinking things over and it would be better to simply wait. Album wasn’t sure how long it had been, but finally, Reigious looked up and addressed them.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I just needed another moment to process everything. There has been an emergency and it needs to be dealt with swiftly. I know this, but… It’s just hard to wrap my head around.”

“My prince,” Nigreos began carefully. “What happened? I was told that Cartus and Taurus went after the Children but…did something happen? Did they escape again?”

Reigious leaned back in his golden seat and clenched his teeth before taking a deep breath and replying. “It should have been simple. Nakoma confronted Malt Territh up north and managed to hide a tracking beacon on him, and to our luck, the man wound up heading south to Erika, almost assuredly to come to Kirisan’s aid. In fact, he led them right to where Hannah and the Children were hiding. Taurus returned to the Citadel, made contact with me, then swiftly met up with Cartus down in the city to corner them, even going as far as to bring a group of Korrei-Tarr with him.”

Album narrowed her eyes, leaning forward as a sudden bad feeling reached her. “That sounds like a perfect plan. They shouldn’t have been able to fight that, especially if you had the element of surprise, so what happened?”

“We were betrayed.”

Sinna spat the words so sharply that Album could feel the rage permeating off of her. Her brows were drawn tightly and her jaw was clenched with fury.

“Betrayed?” Nyx inquired, her head tilted to the side as her eyes opened wider. “Betrayed by whom, Sinna?”

The Master of Rock scoffed, then slowly looked up not at Prince Reigious, but at Ryokumo, and it was at that very moment that Album realized what she was going to say before the words had even left her mouth.

“By Eric Reiner,” she growled. “The boy made contact with the Children and aided them in their escape.”

A chill went down Album’s spine and for a few seconds, she didn't know what to say or how to feel. It shouldn’t have surprised her. She had predicted this from the very beginning—from the moment Nigreos expressed his desire to take Eric back to the Citadel with them. It was predictable. She had told everybody in that room that trusting the boy would be a mistake, so she should have turned to stare Nigreos in the eyes so she could laugh at him.

But she didn’t.

Instead, when she looked at her partner, she just stared blankly as the man gazed at Sinna, and it almost seemed like his mind had ceased to function. He didn’t speak nor did he even react much, but she knew his mind had been thrown into complete disarray.

It’s happening again. He did exactly what I feared he would do. Eric Reiner turned on Ijiria.

“N-no,” Nigreos finally uttered. “No, there’s no way! There has to be some mistake, Cartus! Are you sure it was him?! Did you see his face?!”

“We did,” Nakoma confirmed. “He wasn’t wearing any sort of cloak or distortion. The boy faced us with all the defiance of his mother, and apparently with her skill, as well. I had faith that Cartus could deal with him, yet upon my return, I found her trapped in a cage of vines and not a Child to be seen.”

Before anybody could even question this supposed cage of vines, Sinna had already fired back at the man. “And what of Kirisan? You should have been able to beat one measly child and yet you lost her. Don’t think the blame for this failure falls only on me.”

“Enough!” Reigious barked, preventing any further argument from erupting. The prince then turned to Nigreos, his irritation swiftly fading back to his prior exhaustion. “I’m sorry, Nigreos. I…didn’t want to believe it either. I spoke to the boy just this morning, and I felt as if I may have bonded with him, if only a little, but it seems I was mistaken. From this moment on, Eric Reiner is a fugitive of the Citadel, but I do not want him dead. I want him taken into custody. You hear me, Nigreos?”

Album wanted to snap at the man and tell him he was being foolish. Any other traitor who attacked a Master would be killed on sight, yet Reigious only wanted him apprehended. He was being weak, and it was obvious that the prince simply didn’t want to see another tragedy unfold the way it did when Abi died.

But Eric has already taken that choice away from us. You know that, Reigious. You do, too, Nigreos. Yet you do this? The boy could now be a guide for all we know! He’s as dangerous as Kirisan and the others! He needs to be killed! Is anybody else going to say something? Is anybody going to call them out on this idiocy? Rana? Mackia? Cartus? Taurus? Ryokumo?

But nobody said a word, not even Album. She kept her mouth shut as Nigreos put his head in his hands and covered his face. Reigious’s lips tightened as he turned to once again address the group.

“This needs to be dealt with now,” he declared. “I want the Children of Reiner dead, as well as Hannah Lynn, and I want Eric Reiner in the dungeons by sunrise! This meeting will be quick, and then I want each and every one of you to go into Erika and hunt them down! Now, Ryokumo.” Reigious then eyed the Master of Wind with determination. “I need you to tell me everything about Eric’s movements today. What has he been doing? When did you last see him? Where did you believe him to be right now?”

Ryokumo nodded, his emotions not as obvious as Nigreos’s as he responded. “I was under the impression that he was still in the Citadel. Just this afternoon, I went down into the city to speak with a man named Nuvo Tannath, who I had heard rumor might have known something about the Children.”

Album was quick to repress any reaction at hearing the name of Nigreos’s contact, and while it could very well be a coincidence, after the events of that morning, she knew she couldn’t be sure.

How much to do you know, Ryokumo? Are you involved in this? Did you aid Eric in betraying us? Are you puppeting this yourself?

She raised her eyes to stare at her old friend, but if he noticed, he didn’t react, instead waiting as Reigious spoke.

“And you went into the city alone?” he inquired. “When did you return?”

“Just now, in fact,” Ryokumo said. “I was on my way back to my quarters to check on Eric when I ran into Nigreos and Album, who informed me of this meeting. He was supposed to be in the Citadel, so if he went into the city, it was without my knowledge.”

You’re lying. You have to be! What game is this, Ryokumo? If you’re the one helping Eric rebel then do you understand what you’re doing? You know where this path led Abi so why would you take him down the same way?

“And you’re certain you knew nothing of this?” Nakoma asked softly. “Of course, I don’t want it to sound like I’m accusing you of treason, but you were responsible for keeping watch on him, so for him to have made contact with the Children, you’re either doing a terrible job or…” The Master of Fire’s gaze then turned sharp. “...you’re helping him.”

“Nakoma,” Reigious snapped.

But the man merely shrugged. “I don’t mean to be rude, my prince, but I do feel as if it’s worth considering. I mean, we all know how much Caeli idolized Abigail to the point that he still visits that monument of hers, and now he’s training her son? If you ask me, it's not out of the realm of possibility that he helps the boy with this, especially considering the fate of his beloved apprentice. It seems he only trains traitors.”

“That is a fair point,” Ryokumo quickly conceded. “And the best response I can give is that it seems I am just too gullible. I trust too easily, and it seems it only ever ends in tragedy. I gave Eric too much leeway and didn’t keep a proper eye on him. I wanted him to feel comfortable in this foreign world, but I should have heeded Album’s warning. He was a far more clever boy than I thought.”

Ryokumo slowly lowered his head before them, an act of apology, but all Album could think was that he was playing to Reigious’s pity. He knew the prince liked him and if he painted himself as the victim, he could get away with an almost obvious lie.

And to her fury, it worked.

“I am sorry,” Reigious said. “You’ve had a hard few months, but when we capture Eric, perhaps we can learn what was really going through his head. Hopefully that, if anything, can give you peace of mind.”

Album clenched her teeth and glanced around, only to find suspicious expressions on the faces of both Nakoma and Nyx. Both Iris and Sinna, however, seemed as if his lie had actually worked on them, and Album found that to be surprising when considering how harsh the two could be toward him.

They’re being played! How are Taurus and Rana the only ones seeing this?! I don’t have a choice! Whether Ryokumo is lying or not, he needs to be erased. Assuming Reigious still sends us to Harunhein tomorrow, I need to deal with this now. When this meeting is over, I’ll pull him aside…and I’ll end this for good.

That thought brought her a sudden twinge of pain, but she forced it back down and decided to gather as much information as she could, so she pulled the conversation back to a topic they had brushed over earlier.

“So Cartus,” Album began. “Earlier Taurus said you lost to Reiner because you were encased in a cage of vines. What the hell happened? Who did that to you?”

Sinna grimaced, her large fists clenching atop the table. “I don’t know, honestly. Reiner had held me off long enough to allow the Children to escape, and once it was just us two, a figure in a cloak appeared behind him and without any warning, vines began to wrap around me, pinning me to the spot. If Taurus hadn’t come back for me, I’d probably still be stuck there.”

“Nature magic then,” Nyx murmured. “Mackia, how powerful would one have to be to cast a spell like that?”

Iris considered the question for a moment and then shrugged. “Well, the spell itself isn’t terribly hard, to be honest. Even Eric could probably cast it, but in order for one to be able to hold Cartus down, they must be quite strong. Though, these kids were taught by Abi, so I wouldn’t be surprised if one came back to aid the boy and had the skills to pull off such a feat.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“That’s what I was thinking as well,” Reigious added. “Sinna, was it light enough to see any finer details about the attacker?”

The Master of Rock shook her head. “Probably, but I was fully encased in armor at that point, so my vision wasn’t at its greatest. All I saw was a shadowy form, so it could have been anybody.”

“It's likely one of the Tessir twins doubled back to help him,” the prince went on. “Or, if they managed to hold you down, both were probably there and you simply missed the other. However, my fears are more about what happened to Nakoma. Would you please explain how Kirisan escaped you?”

Nakoma nodded, a confident look on his face despite having just been beaten. “Well, I had Kirisan pinned down. I decided not to take any chances so I had the phoenix ready, and I was so close to finishing her off…and then everything went dark.” His eyes gradually shifted between all the Masters before he went on. “And I saw visions…visions that I will not share the contents of, but by the time I awoke, Arisa Kirisan was gone.”

Visions?! No… So he really did…

This time, when Album raised her head to stare at Ryokumo, he was already looking back, and there was a slight curve of a smug smile on his lips. He knew she knew and he was challenging her to tell them.

You son of a bitch! You’re working with Eric! You’re doing this to us again! How dare you, Caeli!

She almost did speak up, but Ilirianna’s words kept her quiet, and she urged herself to deal with the issue in private. Once Ryokumo was erased, the damage could be undone. She could change history once more and save them from the pain. Even if the effects of his erasure caused different pain, at least control would be in her hands. She could dictate what happened. She could change reality to be anything else. The past did not have to be set in stone.

“You’re saying…Seiras’s spell?” Iris spoke slowly, her brows furrowed in surprise before an almost impressed smile reached her lips. “Cartus, was Hannah Lynn present when you waged your little battle against Eric Reiner?”

Sinna scoffed. “She was not. From what I could tell, she rushed off to help Kirisan, which means…

“She had that spell in her possession when she fled the Citadel,” Nyx finished. “Clever child. That means she has more power than we realized. Catching the Children won’t be simple, though I do wonder why she didn’t kill Taurus when she had the chance. She’s already made it clear how willing she is to kill Masters.”

But Nakoma shook his head. “I don’t find it surprising at all. Kirisan was so close to death that she probably prioritized saving her over killing me. And for that, I do commend her honor, but she will regret that decision very soon. I’ll see to that myself.”

“We need to be cautious, though,” Reigious warned. “While I would rather not discuss what happened with Seiras again, that incident did show us just how powerful that spell is. As far as we know, there isn’t a defense against it, so if Lynn were to confront a Master, she could potentially kill them. We need to come up with a counter of some sort.”

Album grimaced, realizing that it was due to their belief that Hannah possessed Aniextiam that Sinna and Nakoma return to the Citadel rather than continuing their pursuit. If they had known it wasn’t actually the girl that had it, they might have been able to finish them off.

They’re dancing in Ryokumo’s palm! All of them!

“Well, if I had to guess, she shouldn’t be able to just use it as she pleases,” Nyx said. “Mind magic is a very dangerous affinity, and that spell was powerful. The more she uses it, the more damaged her spirit will become. If Hannah Lynn is even half as intelligent as we believe her to be, she won’t use it unless absolutely necessary. That’s what we have to take advantage of.”

Nakoma nodded his agreement. “A sneak attack then?”

“Yes, that would be best,” the Master of Water agreed. “Caeli would be our best shot then, however I do have to agree with Taurus, if reluctantly. I’m not so sure it’s a good idea for him to return to the city under these conditions.”

“Yes, I agree,” Album added sharply. “I know you trust him, my prince, but you can’t deny how suspicious this all is. In my eyes, it’s just too unlikely that he wasn’t involved in this somehow. It’s too much of a risk to allow him to join in this operation.”

Nakoma chuckled. “Glad to see two of you see things my way. Yes, Caeli should remain in the Citadel, perhaps even with someone to keep watch on him. That, I believe, is the right action to take.”

“Yes, I can agree with that.”

To Album’s surprise, Iris was the one who suddenly spoke in their favor. She had been under the impression that the Master of Nature was falling for Ryokumo’s lies, but it seems she had misread her, though part of Album couldn’t help but to be suspicious.

“And in fact, why don’t I make another suggestion,” she went on. “My affinity isn’t exactly the most useful in a fight, so why don’t I remain behind and be that guard for him. I’ll keep a close watch on him while the rest of you subdue the Children, allowing you to be worry free. Sound good?”

Iris’s smile was sweet in a way that unnerved Album, and she could see similar looks of apprehension in the eyes of the others, but Ryokumo didn’t seem terribly bothered. If he wanted to escape Iris, all he’d have to do was cast that spell and kill her, and Album feared that with the way things were going, he might not hesitate to kill even a Master.

Leaving him with Mackia might actually get her killed. Eric’s betrayal has been exposed, and I doubt that was a part of Ryokumo’s plan. He’s almost certainly going to be panicking as he tries to find a way out of this, so if he’s desperate, he will take out Mackia. I won’t have time to waste. If I want to deal with him tonight, I’ll need to act fast.

Reigious, whose features were failing to hide his conflict, then sighed. “Very well. I’m sorry, Ryokumo, but if the others can’t bring themselves to trust you, then I must ask that you stay inside and remain with Iris. Is that okay?”

Ryokumo nodded, his own expression concealing whatever he might have been thinking. “That is fine, my prince. To be honest, I’m not so sure I could bring myself to face Hannah and Eric again. My mind is already a mess and I’m struggling to think straight. Perhaps…it is best that I refrain from entering this fight, and if it comforts my fellow Masters, then so be it.”

The Ryokumo she knew would have fought it, so the fact that he conceded so willingly was proof enough that remaining in the Citadel was exactly what he wanted. Album clenched her teeth and briefly turned to look at Nigreos, who was still silently sitting with his head in his hands, though she was certain he had to be listening. She would speak with him first, just to get a good enough idea of where his head was at, and then she would make her move. Erasing Ryokumo was far from her ideal, but there was no longer a choice. He had to be dealt with, and she was the only one who could deal with him in the most merciful way.

And when Ryokumo Caeli is forgotten, perhaps this result can be undone. Perhaps then, Eric Reiner will have refrained from betraying this country. If I can just get rid of Ryokumo…

***

“Well, that certainly went better than I expected it to,” Iris murmured under her breath, and when Ryokumo glanced sidelong at her, she was smiling up at him in a sly manner, as if she had enjoyed watching him maneuver around Reigious and the Masters. “I never realized just how much Reigious seems to like you. Whatever did you do to gain so much trust?”

Ryokumo shook his head as the lift continued to rise further into the upper levels of the Citadel. “I’ve done nothing. He’s simply a trusting man by nature. He’s been like that for as long as I can remember. He doesn’t want to believe that I’ve helped Eric betray him, so he closes his eyes and tries to find an answer that suits him better. He’s smart though, and eventually he’ll realize the truth.”

Iris snickered. “But by then, the damage will be done. I’m honestly intrigued to see just how this all plays out. Especially given all the angry glares Luz sent your way. You think she’s already figured it out?’

He grimaced, having wished he could have avoided using Aniextium on Nakoma. By doing so, he knew as a fact that Album was aware of his betrayal and that she could ruin it all at any moment simply by going to Reigious and telling him about what happened in her quarters that morning. However, she was afraid of whatever person she erased coming to light, and it seemed as if she had yet to go to Reigious, so he could only assume that she would take matters into her own hands.

“I do think she’s onto us and I’m glad she is,” he said. “It means that Album will come to us and that’ll make this all far easier.”

“Is that so?” Iris seemed skeptical, but she made no move to question him further.

As much as Ryokumo hated working with her, he knew he no longer had a choice, and if Eric claimed some instinct of his trusted her then he couldn’t argue. It was a feeling of deja vu, reminding him of times from the past when he’d been in similar situations.

“Just trust me, Kumo! My sense is never wrong!”

Ryokumo shook his head, recalling words that Abigail had spoken to him on numerous occasions over the course of their friendship. Well, she never led me astray so I’ll just have to trust in Eric the way I trusted in her. I can’t believe I’m actually going to do this, but I’ll put parts of this plan into Mackia’s hands.

As the lift came to a stop at his desired floor, Ryokumo briefly scanned the now golden halls and when he didn’t see anybody, he decided it was safe to speak, if only in a quiet tone. His distortion would conceal them from anybody who passed by, but it wouldn’t block sound from escaping.

“Alright, Mackia,” he began softly. “Go meet Eric in your classroom and wait for me. I’ll be back as quickly as I can be. The other Masters should be departing shortly so Album will almost certainly come looking for you as soon as she can. Be ready for her.”

Iris grinned. “I’ll be plenty ready. Just be safe, Caeli. If you die, Eric will, too, and I’ll be very angry with you if this plan fails, especially now that I’ve gotten involved in it.”

“Yes, of course,” he grunted as he stepped off the left. “Now go. We don’t have much time.”

She gave him a brief wave before the lift began to descend back to the lower floors, leaving Ryokumo standing alone in the golden corridor, concealed within his distortion. He didn’t waste any time as he turned and began stalking down the hall, recalling the location of his destination from the handful of times he had been there. Speed was the most important thing at that point, so he moved as quickly and as silently as he could, keeping his senses attuned to his surroundings despite knowing he was unlikely to run into anybody on that particular level for the simple fact that this floor was protected by the illusion magic that only guides could find their way through. There wouldn’t be any guards or Citadel researchers or anybody else. Only the guides would be there, but he knew Reigious was still lower down and as far as he knew, Piura was in the Korrei-Tarr barracks where she usually spent her time.

And if I run into any High Council members, they won’t be able to sense me, so I should be safe.

And to his satisfaction, he arrived at the giant emerald door without any incidents.

The Vault of the Relics… This is it…

It wasn’t anything extravagant in its physical form, but the mana levels that protected this door were even stronger than they had been the last time he’d seen it, most likely serving as added defenses after the Children of Reiner succeeded in breaking through it. Similarly to the entrance to the Chamber of the Masters, the door lacked a handle, instead appearing as a flat slab of shining green gemstone. It would only open through magical means, and he knew what those means were.

“As you obviously know, the Vault of the Relics is a pocket realm sustained by the Iiji bloodline,” Arisa had said to him when they first discussed the idea of her granting him guideship. “Getting in isn’t hard, but getting out is where the issue falls. Luckily, pocket realms have an easy method of escape, if you know what to look for. If you can fuse yourself with the protective barrier, you can get to the other side, then you just need to use the mana ports to get back out once you have what you need.”

Ryokumo shook his head. I suppose it just shows how arrogant the Citadel is when such a simple means of protection is their final obstacle to their relics. They’re so confident that it would be impossible to even reach the top floors, let alone surpass the illusion magic, and for an intruder, that’s probably true. But what they didn’t account for was being betrayed from within.

The Master of Wind carefully reached up and pressed his hand against the emerald surface of the door, immediately feeling the pressure of the mana, and as much as it hurt, he bit back the pain and chanted, “Dimiitio.”

There was a jolt that shot through his entire body, and within a mere second, he was no longer standing in the corridor but in a different place entirely. It was a long, dark hallway that stretched off into the distance for what seemed like forever. Torches of fire magic illuminated the hall with their dim red lights, and in between each torch was a doorway that, should he get behind, he would potentially find a relic. The problem was that not every door had a relic. In fact, most of them were empty, which meant that he could spend hours searching and find nothing.

But I shouldn’t panic. With any luck, what I’m looking for shouldn’t be that far inside. As long as I don’t stray too far from the mana port, I’ll be safe.

Ryokumo immediately jumped to work, throwing open the first two doors on either side of him, and unsurprisingly, both were empty, so he continued on down the line, checking the rooms and then glancing back to make sure the small white ball of mana that was the mana port was still within sight. He clenched his teeth and attempted to reach out with his magic to feel for something more powerful than its surroundings, but the Vault was far too mana-dense to pinpoint anything unique. Realizing that magical methods of searching would be useless, he went back to searching on his own.

“Ah, here we go!” he exclaimed finally when he pulled open a door to find a single pedestal with a small leather pouch waiting atop it. “Please let this be it!”

He reached out and took the item then carefully undid the ropes tying it closed, only to grimace in defeat as he found not the item he was searching for, but a small grayish-black gemstone instead. He knew very little about what types of relics were hidden in this vault, and he knew that many could be dangerous, so he pulled the strings shut and placed the pouch back on the pedestal. He didn’t want to waste his time on anything that wasn’t his goal so he quickly departed the room, but just as he did, a sudden shiver went through his body and a subtle feeling of nausea formed in his stomach.

What the…?

He glanced back at the closed door of the room he had just been in, fearing that just the act of opening that bag had unleashed something, but in the seconds that followed the strange feeling, nothing more happened, so Ryokumo carefully turned back to continue his search when another feeling erupted in his head.

Two doors down, on the right.

It was his own voice speaking to him in his head, but at the same time, it was a mere feeling, as if he just knew where the item was. He swallowed, not wanting to trust such a strange phenomenon, but with his time limited, he clenched back his fear and approached the door his internal thoughts indicated and when he pulled it open, he found yet another pedestal with a small pouch waiting for him. Scanning the room this time to make sure he wasn’t being led into a trap, Ryokumo proceeded forward only when he felt safe, swiftly picking up the bag and checking inside to see what it contained.

Here we go… I found it…

Ryokumo frowned, poking his head back through the door to stare back at the one with the gray gemstone, but it was still shut tightly, showing no indication of anything changing.

This can’t be a coincidence. I just wish I had the time to check to see what that thing was, but I can’t take unnecessary risks right now. Perhaps, if I somehow survive this endeavor, I can ask Reigious about it, but until then…

Ryokumo quickly pocketed the relic and turned to stalk back toward the mana port, anxious to finally return to Eric and Iris so the plan could begin in earnest.

***

“Truly, of all the people who could have stumbled upon my cell, I’m glad it was you. I do not know what it is you seek to accomplish, but I am interested to know what actions your effects will have on this beautiful empire of ours. The gears are turning, and one day, it will be time for me to move. But until then, I will gladly allow the gears of chaos to turn. After all, there’s nothing I love more than chaos, now is there, Ryokumo Caeli?”