“I had some business in the North,” Xanadu replied. “Needed to get better equipment and all.”

           “Does that business happen to include the murder of the Breath-Maker?” Gaius asked. “I’m curious. How are you able to restrain a great god?”

           “With a lot of blood, donated by the willing and angry. Not literally,” she said, “but a great deal of grievance and anger was what fuelled the research into our means.”

           “Grievance and anger?” Gaius repeated. “Against the great gods?”

           “Don’t worry.” Xanadu winked. “You won’t understand right now. But suffice to say, my group and I are trying to prevent very bad things from happening down the road.”

           “And in doing so, you destroy nature’s balanced state, leading to innumerable deaths in the future from the elements.” Gaius shook his head. “You’re changing this world into one that favours the privileged and the fortunate.”

           “Unavoidable sacrifices for the greater good,” she replied.

           “I’ve heard those words before,” said Gaius. “Quite sure the Human God was thinking along these lines before he launched a damn genocide.”

           Xanadu folded her arms. “That’s different. We intend to break down this false world, that is all. Nature must be free, unrestrained. Orb is already at its tipping point. Any delays in our plan, and everyone will suffer. We do not intend to have this Orb break down mere years after we save the world.”

           “And I’m supposed to take your words at face value?” Gaius narrowed his eyes. “Where’s the proof? If it’s so serious, why hasn’t the Five Lands acted?”

           “You have to take my word for it…or so I’d say, but there’s a reason why I’m here,” said the Phantom Blade. “There’s someone here who can verify the truth of my words, who also has a channel to Pinnacle Kolya.”          

           She glanced at the red-haired woman walking over. “Although I didn’t really expect to see you here. Last I checked, you were in the East.”

           “So did I. How did you get here?”

           “Please.” She let out a secretive smile. “I can go anywhere on Orb within moments. You’ll be hard-pressed to see me if I don’t want to be found.”

           “The same for your companions, then,” Gaius shook his head. “Well, give me a heads-up before you make a move on Thasvia. I still need to fly to other places.”

           “Can’t do that, literally.”

           Gaius eyed her, and then shook his head. “Well, it seems that the good Oracle has finally shaken off her pursuers. Do you want to go first, or should I?”

           “I think she’s here for you, though,” Xanadu replied. “You can go first.”

           “I don’t want to,” Gaius replied. “Did you not see the wolves behind her? They’ll go mad if the person the Oracle shook them off for is a guy. If it’s you, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

           “What’s that got to do with me?”

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           “Think of it as a favour. I haven’t forgotten how you ditched me and broke our agreement in Kishi Gakuen a few months ago,” Gaius said.

           “You were the one going crazy! Why wouldn’t I flee?” She held her head. “Fine, I’ll do it. I’ll go first, okay?”

           Gaius turned his gaze away from her, looking at the dance floor, where Nakama was picking up the ropes of how to dance from Isabelle. Quite a few male wolves were staring at the latter, but there was some intrinsic quality that made them leery of walking up and approaching the two.

           “Hello, Gaius.” The Oracle finally arrived at their table, and without much ceremony, sat down on a vacant seat. “Kolya should have told you about me, no? I want to talk to you about something.”

           “Before that,” said the boy, whose eyes were still turned away, “my…acquaintance here has important news that she needs to tell you. And on a personal level, I get the feeling that if you were to continue talking to me right now, I will be plagued by calls for duels, showdowns and whatever other troublesome social etiquette that men can engage in against perceived love rivals.”

           The Oracle considered his words for a moment. “Very well. I shall talk to your acquaintance first.”

           With a gentle smile, she turned to Xanadu. “Please, speak.”

           “Speaking…is a problem,” the Phantom Blade replied. She reached into her pocket and took out a small wooden stick, which she snapped into two a moment later.

           As two pieces of wood dropped onto the floor, the world around Gaius changed. Colour receded from his vision, turning everything into a horrible shade of black and white. Other than the three of them, the others had turned into white shadows — everyone…except for Nakama. Before he could do anything, colour returned to the world, and time flowed normally once more.

           The scene was familiar, and after a second or so, the boy remembered seeing something like this before — back in the South, when he was a guest of House Varita. Once again, something seemed to be missing from the world, but unlike the overt difference he’d felt back at the South, Gaius felt something like a weight off his back this time round.

           “You…” The Oracle narrowed her eyes. “What did you do?”

           “I weakened the restraint on words. For the next hour, information the great gods have hidden from us can be written on paper,” Xanadu replied. “Speaking, unfortunately, is still impossible.”

           The Oracle took out a piece of paper. Producing a pen, she wrote something down on it, and then sucked in a breath, before turning it into ashes with a small flame.

           “Done verifying?” Xanadu smiled. “The information I want to tell you is all here.”

           She took out an envelope, and then snapped her fingers. “Read it here, and then use your Future Sight to verify the information, Galina.”

           “When did I…never mind.” The Oracle smiled, before opening the envelope. The expression on her face grew grimmer as her eyes scanned through line by line. Some odd power was welling around her, something that didn’t quite seem like qi, ether or even the power of the great gods, and with a small jolt, Gaius realised that he was watching a unique Skill activate in front of his very eyes.

           After a few minutes of reading, the Oracle set the paper down, shaken. Gaius, on instinct, reached out to it, but before his hands could touch, Xanadu had taken it. A small flame danced on the edge of the paper, and within moments, it was nothing but ashes.

           “You’re not letting me see it?” Gaius asked.

           “I can’t. She’s an exception, but I cannot make that for you,” Xanadu replied. She turned to the Oracle. “So, what do you think?”

           “The Pinnacle needs to know. Reaching out to the other continents is going to be an issue, though.”

           Xanadu got up from her chair and began to walk away. “You must do it, or else…well, you’ve seen it too, haven’t you?”

           The Oracle — Galina — had a troubled look on her face, her eyes following Xanadu’s departing figure. “Gaius, you have a very interesting circle of friends.”

           “She’s an acquaintance,” Gaius replied.

           She shrugged. “Doesn’t change anything. But yes, it is finally nice to meet you, Lost Star. I have a few questions for you.”