The warmth of the season lasted about a week. Perhaps two. Snow returned to Mount Chappelle, and with it, the signal of another cold year around the corner. While it wasn’t truly freezing by winter’s comparison, the disappearance of the sun behind constant clouds and snowfall hastened the forsaking of carefree comings and goings of Roespeye’s citizenry. They instead scampered from location to location, seeking warmth wherever they might find it.

Raven scanned the smooth, glassy surface of the golden cocoon confining Sheeharu, the Sleeping Devil. The innocent child slumbering within remained ever peaceful, locked in immortal stasis. Raven pressed his palm against the surface. There were no jagged edges or rough patches. He scratched it. It left no mark, of course. The mystical substance created by Valius Shrale was somehow so impenetrable that not even Remnant Aria had been able to crack it.

That meant only one thing: the golden structure of the Sleeping Devil’s cocoon had also been drawn from something immortal and unbreakable. Raven’s first thought on the source: a soul. But how did he do it? The answer had to be procured. Not only could such information be invaluable in the fight against the Titan and his peerless pandora weapons, but it was the key to saving the girl. Releasing her from these shackles and restoring her to peace. Raven’s first conjecture had been that the cocoon was built from Sheeharu’s own soul. But this ultimately seemed unlikely. According to Panka, Sheeharu’s soul had been extracted before Shrale locked her within the cocoon, and she had terrorized the city for a sizable amount of time between the two events.

So then, what else could it be? Could Shrale have used his own soul to form the cocoon? That also seemed unlikely, since he initially survived whatever ritual he devised. Could he have used something else? An artifact, perhaps, which are also nearly unbreakable. Or perhaps an extremely advanced seal?

Raven shook his head. All speculation. He needed more information, and he wished he had more time to continue looking. But his last Task remained before him, and he was about to start his long journey.

Suddenly, Raven felt another presence and he whirled, looking around the courtyard. But nothing was there. It was the same presence he had felt on Simon’s Call, the alley leading to the Gold Lecher’s place.

“Show yourself” Raven called out, eyes narrowing.

There was no reply, but he still felt it. It didn’t feel threatening, but it also didn’t feel friendly. He turned in place, looking all around. Something was definitely watching him. Something in the shadow.

“Raven?”

He turned, pandora at the ready. Van emerged from the gap between the buildings that served as the entrance to the courtyard.

“Woah, what’s going on?” he asked in alarm.

Raven didn’t reply, searching again for the mysterious presence. But it was gone. He put his pandora away.

“You okay?” Van asked, coming up to him while looking around.

Raven picked up the pack next to his feet, slinging it over his shoulder. “I am fine. Not sure what it was.”

Van handed him a slip of paper. “One of my boys will meet you in the city. At the location you directed. Second Holy Day from today, at sunrise. Don’t be late.”

Raven pocketed the paper. “I got it.”

“I can’t believe you’re going to Zaliance. I’ve never been, but I’ve heard it’s outstanding. You sure you don’t want me to tag along?”

“I’m sure. This task is my own. You won’t be able to help me.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“Two months or so.”

“Sheesh. So that’s why you didn’t enroll in any classes this term.”

“I frontloaded many of my required classes in the second quarter, and just completed all the final exams without issue. I am glad you were able to find me the information I needed. I can hopefully kill two birds now.”

“You really think you’ll be able to solve the mystery of that murder in such a short time?”

“If I can, it would certainly help with a certain scheme.”

“Well, good luck.” Van scratched his face. “You know, there’s two kids trying to solve Panka’s Riddle right now. Want to watch before you go?”

“I suppose I could be entertained by the stupidity of the attempt.”

“If the attempt is stupid,” Van asked as they headed for the main courtyard, “how are you going to solve it?”

“I already know how to solve the riddle. But it requires certain additional elements. Elements I don’t yet have in place.”

“Valentine said she tried to figure out the riddle herself once, but her parents forbade her from ever trying it.”

“They are very wise. Speaking of Valentine, how have you two been doing?”

Van’s face lit up in a dream-like sort of reverie. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been. It’s a bit strange. Valentine, she… well she still mourns for Barkley. But I think she’s also really happy. Probably not as happy as I am, though. It’s only been a couple weeks dating, but… I am going to marry this girl.”

“I envy you. Not something I say very often. Enjoy these moments. And protect them. In this world shaped by the Titan, happiness possesses a habit of abandoning the ones who embrace it most.”

They arrived at Funny Tower, stepping inside to find a large group surrounding Panka’s Riddle. The barrier around the great puzzle was red, and a boy stood on the podium inside, frantically working the puzzle’s miniature statues while constantly referring to a notebook. Raven recognized Stephon Salinode, as he had several times attempted to solve the puzzle during the year. As he slid them along the tracks, the giant statues on the towering golden slab copied the movements. At the moment, there was no discernible pattern.

Raven produced a bag of chocolates and munched on the candy while they watched Stephon work. His clothes were raggedy and dirty, and his shoes had holes in them. Another boy that must have been his brother stood just outside the barrier, anxiously watching him work.

“Come to watch the riddle finally be solved, young sirs?” a voice said behind them.

Raven and Van turned to find Master Cooley, accompanied by Master Czeslaw. Cooley smiled, clasping his hands behind his back. Czeslaw harrumphed with disdain upon sight of Raven.

“Er, hello,” Van said awkwardly.

“I am the one who will be solving Panka’s Riddle,” Raven replied. He looked at Master Czeslaw. “That was your challenge, isn’t that right?”

Czeslaw huffed again angrily, ruffling him immense beard. “You are intolerable.” He walked away, mingling with others in the crowd.

Raven turned to Master Cooley, regarding the mysterious professor with interest. He didn’t seem upset with the torment directed at his colleague; rather, he looked into Raven’s eyes with a penetrating gaze.

“So, you do know what we wrote on our papers,” Cooley said. “Rumor had it you somehow found out.”

Raven smirked. “Does that cause concern, Master Cooley?”

He chuckled. “Not really. If I lose my challenge, then I will have won.”

Van and Raven looked at each other briefly. Cooley’s challenge was one they didn’t yet know, and it seemed the professor had no intention to talk about it.

“I wanted to wish my condolences to you regarding Barkley Chessex,” Raven said. “I hadn’t found the opportunity until now.”

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Cooley nodded. “He will be missed. Such a kind young man. I heard you two were there. That you came face-to-face with the Titan.”

“It wasn’t the first time. And it certainly won’t be the last.”

Raven watched his face carefully as he said this. The professor’s reaction, however, lived up to his name. He regarded Raven with a straight look, searching his face but not seeming the least bit put off.

“Even so, I was glad I got to know him during the brief time we had together,” Raven continued. “He spoke very highly of you.”

Cooley smiled. “He was a light in a dark world.”

Raven’s gaze flashed to the man’s insignia ring. He considered broaching the subject of his secret society, when he was interrupted by a shout of joy.

"Mike, I think I did it!”

Behind the barrier around Panka’s Riddle, Stephon seemed elated as sweat poured down his brow. The formation of the statues on the slab now formed something resembling a pattern. The light tracks also possessed a noticeable design as they wound up the grid. The crowd watching him buzzed at his elation as he jumped up and down.

“Don’t do it,” Raven and Cooley said at the same time. They looked at each other in surprise, before focusing back on Stephon.

“Pull the lever, Steph!” his brother shouted, placing his hands up against the barrier. “We’re gonna get that treasure!”

Stephon placed both hands on the golden lever on the podium.

“Oh no,” Raven said. “He can’t…”

But with a shout, Stephon pulled the lever switch down.

The figurines and statues shuddered, racing out of their current positions. They careened through the tracks until they all stood at attention at original starting positions, marked by a symbol. Steam issued from the podium, and Stephon looked around nervously, waiting for something to happen.

“Did I do it?” he asked.

Then, the podium ignited with white light. Stephon screamed in horror, grabbing his head. Electrical currents ensnared him in tendrils, squeezing him as they coursed through his body. Louder and louder his shouts became, filled with torment. His brother cried, pounding on the barrier, but there was nothing he could do.

The crowds backed away in terror. What seemed like an eternity of torture finally relented as the currents snapped and faded. Smoke issued from Stephon’s body as he collapsed off the podium. The barrier disappeared, and the marking seal turned blue. Mike rushed to hold his brother. The moment he did, the seal turned red again, and the barrier returned.

“DAMN!” Raven shouted, rushing to the front of the crowd.

Mike sat beside his brother, crying and holding him tight. Stephon would be dead soon. The punishment for pulling the lever when the puzzle wasn’t correctly solved had been demanded of him.

“Michael, come back across the seal,” Raven said. “Hurry!”

“What?” he replied through the tears. “Why?”

“Your brother needs medical attention. You must bring him over. We can’t get through.”

The boy looked at him angrily. “I know who you are! You’re that devil student. You’re just trying to trick me, aren’t you? We were about to win Panka’s treasure!”

“You can’t solve the riddle. You don’t know how and neither did your brother. Don’t ruin your life like he did.”

“Woah,” Van said behind him.

Raven looked at him angrily, but felt a measure of shame. “That’s not what I meant.” He turned back to Mike. “I’m saying you don’t have the answer. Come back through the barrier.”

“NO!” Mike let go of his brother and jumped onto the podium.

“Don’t do that!” Raven shouted. “Don’t you dare.”

Mike reached for one of the figurines.

“DON’T DO IT!” Raven shouted, pounding his fist on the barrier. “DO NOT TOUCH THAT! I WILL DESTROY YOU! DO YOU UNDERSTAND? I WILL UTTERLY END YOU!”

The young boy defiantly switched one of the figurines down the nearest track. The corresponding statue on the slab copied the movement, with a beam of light following the track as it moved.

“DAMN!” Raven roared, pounding on the barrier once more. “You have no idea what you’re doing! You stupid child!”

Tears streamed down the boy’s face as he continued to work, referring to his own notebook through blurry eyes to try and solve the puzzle. After several minutes, it became apparent he was lost. And he couldn’t help but constantly look aside to his brother lying on the ground.

Raven folded his arms, pure loathing in his eyes as he watched.

After several minutes, Mike’s shoulders slumped. He heaved with new tears, and stepped off the podium to hold his brother once more. Raven continued to hurl mental daggers at him.

“Don’t be mad, Raven,” Rue said. “Please don’t be mad. They were just making a wish.”

Raven sighed. His anger still fomented within. But Rue was right, and he found himself pitying the boys. The raggedy clothes. The desperation. They were just poor children looking for a miracle. Hadn’t he once been the same?

“Damn.” He sighed again. “Michael,” he said calmly now. The boy looked up at him. “Come back across the barrier. I will do what I can for your brother.”

Czeslaw approached him, angrily. “What are you talking about? The punishment for pulling the lever without solving the puzzle has always been death. You yell at him like a monster, and now you’re saying you will save them?”

“You shut your mouth,” Raven rasped. “I won’t entertain fools.”

Hope had returned to the boy’s face. He took his brother’s arms and dragged his body back across the seal, which turned blue once more. Raven produced a pandora pen and quickly commenced to draw a seal on the ground around Stephon’s body. With expert precision, the seal within a seal was completed.

“Step outside, Michael,” he commanded. He obeyed.

Raven kneeled, placing one hand on Stephon’s head and the other on the seal. All immediately went dark.

When he opened his eyes again, he beheld a now-familiar sight. The room was quite similar to the first room within Valentine’s mind. Stephon’s Frame of Mind pattern was etched into the wall above a small door frame. However, the similarity between his mind and Valentine’s ended there. Unlike the vast network of halls within Valentine’s mind, reaching to a deep cavernous grotto, this mind featured a simple form. The door led to an adjacent room not much bigger than the first.

Raven stepped inside and frowned. Stephon’s Frame of Mind stood on its dais, bare. The cords of his conscious had been ripped to shreds by the punishment curse, scattered on the ground. Stephon Sword, Stephon Shield, and Stephon Mind all lay on the floor, asleep. And their tangible forms were fading, as if slowly melting away into ghosts.

“Well… let’s see if we can fix this.”

“Stop!”

Raven whirled. Standing before him in human form… was Panka. The guardian’s human self was nearly naked and ashen, similar to Rumail. But he possessed all the command of his full guardian persona.

“You cannot do this,” Panka commanded.

“Why?” Raven shot back.

“This is the punishment for pulling the lever when the puzzle isn’t solved. The divine risk they all must wager. You cannot undo it.”

“You are okay with one of your citizens dying? I can save him.”

“Of course I don’t want him to die! I love all my people! But it’s not my decision!” Panka growled.

“That’s a load of garbage, and you know it.”

“You don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Of course I do!” Raven shot back. “Why on earth do you think I’m here, Panka? Have you really not understood? After all this time? What did you think this was all about? Shrale? Sheeharu? Taking school tests and whiling away the hours in the cafeteria? No… I am here for your treasure!”

Panka’s eyes widened, but he did not respond.

“Don’t give me that look. I care deeply about saving Sheeharu. Just like I care about saving this boy, and it’s because I can. And I will. But this is about so much more than that. The Titan must die. And your treasure is the key to everything. Everything! You know this. Which is why the Titan can never have it and why you were appointed to guard it by the Holy One. But you were required to devise a test so that someone could obtain it one day, right? Someone worthy?”

The guardian frowned, flabbergasted. “How do you know all this?”

Raven raised both hands. “Because I, too, have been called. I figured this out a long time ago. Maybe you don’t believe it, but I am fortunate to know my sole purpose in life. Along with Noelle Sevalier and Arkh Slipfire, we have dedicated ourselves to this single cause, this One Vengeance. Nothing else matters except the Titan’s death. And nothing will hinder us. Your treasure is my mission, and I will have it.”

“Then why haven’t you taken it yet? I thought this was all bluster before.”

“You know why.”

Panka sighed. Looking down at Stephon’s body, he frowned deeply. “If word gets out that the punishment for failing my Riddle can be reversed, it would cause a mass rush of attempts to obtain ultimate riches. Someone else will eventually figure it out. It’s supposed to be a true test of conviction and sacrifice.”

“No one knows the method of restoring the Frame of Mind except me and Rumail. And we are the only ones who will ever have that knowledge.”

“Rumail?” Panka sneered in disgust. “I already know why you gave him the knowledge, but just hearing his name is nauseating. He’s such a pill.”

Raven smirked. “Quite. So then, I will save Stephon. But I will put a seal on his Frame that keeps him in a coma for some time. To the outsider, it will seem like a miracle he survived, and the punishment will still be seen as outrageous. This ploy only needs to last until I solve the Riddle and take the treasure.”

Panka nodded. “I suppose this is acceptable. Just promise me one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Regardless of what happens, promise me you won’t abandon Sheeharu. Promise me you will find a way to save the child.”

“Panka… it’s the promise of a lifetime.”

Raven opened his eyes and stood up. The onlookers collectively gasped, closing in to look at the scene. After a few seconds of silence, one of the onlookers shouted, “He’s breathing!”

Stephon indeed had started breathing again. Raven stepped out of the seal, dragging his foot across the seal lines to destroy the pattern. Mike rushed in to hold his brother, sobbing with joy.

“Someone bring in a doctor. He needs attention,” Raven said calmly.

Master Cooley came alongside Raven. “How have you done this?” he asked. “It’s a miracle!”

Raven looked at him, but did not answer. Van stood to the side, eyebrows raised. “Yeah, how did you do this?” he feigned.

“Attention, everyone!” Raven shouted, turning to the crowd.

The throng fell silent as all eyes turned toward him.

“Most of you know my name,” he said. “You have heard about my challenges to the masters of this school. And you have heard of my exploits since I arrived. But some of you do not know who I am. So, hear my words now. My name is Raven Whitesong, and I will be the one to solve this Riddle. It is my guarantee!”

Whispered chatter went through the crowd as they regarded him carefully. Fear crept into their faces as they looked all about.

“Why are you afraid? Why do you fear the Titan? Let these words reach his foul ears!” Raven shouted. “And allow your fear to vanish, because I will kill the Titan!” Gasps went through the mass, but he shouted all the more. “And with his death, I will end this world of pandora forever. Let this be a day you remember. May it soak your minds and hearts. The day you heard the Titan’s great enemy declare his very death sentence. For the day is coming when you will behold his death, and when that time comes, remember this day. Remember it for as long as you live!”