Zindra sprinted down the echoing corridors, clutching the shrefin tightly as it wriggled and let out distressing cries. The sharp noise grated on her ears and drew confused looks from the Seedlings she passed. She could hear Arc's heavy footsteps closing in as she weaved through the crowds of workers and visitors of the central building. The onlookers' stares intensified as she neared the building's main entrance, where a growing gathering of Seedlings had accumulated. Ignoring the shrefin's noisy cries, Zindra glanced around for the escape, knowing she still needed to find the girl and ask where she needed to go. Despite this, a part of her didn't want the chase to end. Spotting a group of Seedlings making their way out of the grand front doors, Zindra swiftly joined them, offering hurried apologies for her sudden intrusion and the uproar caused by her friend's pet. Despite the odd looks and forced smiles, the group merely nodded, carrying on with their conversations as if the Grandmaster Alchemist was invisible.

Arc dashed around the corner just in time to see Zindra, whose head swiveled back and forth, looking for an exit jump into the large group of Ambrosia Race Seedlings. Arc pulled himself back and hid just around the corner, his eyes glued to the panicked grandmaster as she bowed and pleaded with those around her. He knew that his new pet was fine in her hands, but he was curious about what took hold of this Seedling for such an abrupt action to take place. Arc's interaction with Zindra showed that she seemed level-headed and methodical, asking for permission long before she would take action. Still, something so spontaneous was beyond her typical actions, so Arc couldn't help but let curiosity take hold.

Zindra mingled with the group, half listening to their small talk about the weather, local politics, and rumors. She couldn't shake the feeling that Arc might be planning a surprise attack, as he had fallen silent since she arrived in the main foyer. As Zindra passed through the large door, she glimpsed Arc, leaning casually against the wall in the hallway they had just traveled. His sly smile and confident gaze caught her off guard, making her realize her face was growing warm.

Arc watched with a sly smile as Zindra made her way with the group. He couldn't help but mouth 'have fun' as their eyes met. As she continued to walk, flanked by the village's common people, Arc laughed as he looked at her dumb, shocked face and the growing red that soon took over her face.

"I thought she was smarter than this? I wonder if she knows how much she sticks out from the Ambrosia Race?" Arc mumbled

Amid a crowd of people with pale pink and brown hair, she seamlessly blended in as if she belonged. To the simple onlooker, it would seem like a child in a deep purple dress, with hair transitioning from dark brown to bright pink, was being escorted by her parents. Only those like Arc, who were familiar with Zindra, would think she stood out among these Seedlings. Zindra appeared to fit in more here than she would have among the Alchemic Race.

Arc followed behind the group, leisurely waving at those that passed by, giving his usual casual greeting that the village people had grown used to over the last almost year, but Arc never let the little grandmaster stray from his vision. He watched the awkward shuffle as she finally passed through the enormous doors leading outside. Her awkward smile as she tried to talk to those around her made him laugh once again.

As she attempted to engage in conversation with those nearby, she couldn't help but feel the discomfort caused by Arc's smug gaze, which felt like daggers in her back. This only served to amplify her embarrassment, causing the redness in her face to grow and causing her words to stumble.

As Zindra stepped outside, she was greeted by the intense light of Morin, which illuminated her face and revealed droves of Ambrosia Race Seedlings just outside of the central courtyard gate and fence, making their way toward the village's main entrance. Curious about the large amount of moving Seedlings, she tried to ask those around her, but even they seemed unaware of what was happening. Based on her experience, only something important would garner this attention, so she assumed help had finally arrived after months of silence, but upon seeing those returning from the entrance, her thoughts took a drastic turn.

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The pale, worried faces of those on their trek to the main entrance of the village and the pale, troubled faces of those returning made Zindra panic about what could be happening. At this point, she could not think of a single thing that would get such a reaction from so many Seedlings like this.

Arc strolled toward the entrance of the property of the central building not far behind Zindra. He was having a boring conversation with one of the Alchemic Race Seedlings that had come with them months ago. He wasn't paying much attention to the words being thrown at him; more of his attention was on Zindra as she left the courtyard. She had the same dazed and confused expression she did as she was looking for an escape just moments ago, causing Arc to laugh once again. Instead of running off, she seemed to run to another group of Seedlings before starting a conversation. That was when Arc noticed the strange atmosphere.

His first instinct when he saw Zindra dash off was that an accident had occurred, but why were so many Seedlings heading in a similar direction? That was when he had a thought that had haunted him for weeks.

"Did I miss one!" Arc couldn't hold back his shout as he dashed in the opposite direction, away from the rushing crowds pulling many strange eyes in his departing direction.

Zindra pushed her way through the slow-moving crowds. At this point, the little shrefin had exhausted itself and was sleeping in her arms, and the stares she garnered had all but stopped; instead, everyone seemed more focused on what was at the front gate. When Zindra finally arrived, there was such a large cluster of Seedlings blocking the way that there was no way she could pass through. She swiveled around, looking for a guard to use one of their exits. It took a few moments to see one funneling others, but it was all she had.

"Hey!" Zindra shouted.

"Get back in line, child, and return to your parents!" The guard yelled after glancing at Zindra.

"I am no child! I am Grandmaster Zindra! Now guard, bring me to the gate commander!"

The guard blinked as he bowed and apologized for the embarrassing mistake. He told her it was chaotic and that he would bring her to the commander as soon as someone replaced him.

A few moments later, a younger-looking guard came to replace the other. The original guard quickly led Zindra outside the gates and towards the forest edge that lined the village and main path. When she arrived, many guards and clusters of normal Ambrosia Race huddled around something, but it wasn't easy to see what lay there.

"COMMANDER!" The guard screamed into the crowd.

An older man with greying pale pink hair turned around, his pale pink eyes locking onto Zindra. He jogged over with a severe face.

"Grandmaster, I see you finally arrived." The commander greeted

"What is all of this?"

"Were you not told? I asked one of the guards to send someone to tell you."

"A young girl told me something had happened, but I left before she filled me in on the details."

"I see. I apologize for that; it was one of the young ones. They might have sent their sibling to ask for help."

"She accomplished what she was sent to do, so there is no reason to blame anyone. Now, what is all of this."

The old man looked at Zindra with a face that said it was complicated.

"I think it best if you see for yourself, but it answers many questions, that is for sure." The old commander said, turning around.

The commander led Zindra towards the group, who parted ways for the pair. When they arrived at the center, Zindra was shocked at the bodies strewn across the ground.

Thousands of Night Beasts, from the size that could fit in a small child's hand to ones as large as her, lay dead across most of the open field between the walls of the village and the forest. Some lay sliced in half, others squished, but a few were pierced into trees or the village walls. It was like a small war had taken place, with trees falling and parts of the wall damaged but still standing.

"Where are the guards who did this?" Zindra asked, short of breath.

The commander remained silent as if he had not heard the question, but Zindra knew what the silence meant.

"You know as well as I do that the guards here can not do something like this. And as for where they are, we have no clue. The guards that replaced the night watch found this along with empty posts."

Zindra's pale face glanced between the calm commander and the Night Beast's bodies, her thoughts churning as she looked around for Arc to help, but only his small shrefin lay unconscious in her arms. Her first coherent thought was that Arc did this or maybe the shadow that was supposed to protect Carter, but she knew where Arc had been since his return from his disappearance. As for Carter's shadow, she had no idea who it was, but no matter how she tried to justify this, it made no sense that the shadow would venture so far away from the child to protect the village like this. No, they would take the child and Arc and escape, returning to Pilosphis or Divine Gate to report a sighting of Night Beasts. But who could have done this if not these two, not her people and not the guards?

"If not them, then who?" Zindra mumbled, taking another look around her.