Alois and I arrived back in the trade territory near the borders of Tethia and Beraud. It was funny how it had only been three days and it somehow felt nostalgic. Three days if the time spent in the Pavilion didn’t count. When I walked up to the building I suddenly realized something. Alvis had probably stopped doing paperwork the moment I left him! Even though I understood the reason it was still somewhat frustrating.

“Ah, you’re back,” King Nero said once he spotted me, “Then it must be over.”

“It is,” Alois agreed.

He sounded exhausted. It was probably the adrenaline crash, but there was one more thing I wanted to do before we forgot. It had to do with Mickey’s last words.

From the way she had spoken she already knew she was going to die. Not only that, but she sounded as if Cassandra would summon her again and tell her about it. There was also the fact that she had yet to have her destined meeting with the Heroes of Tethia. Perhaps this was meddling with destiny or thinking too much, but I had to make those two events happen. Who knows what might have happened if Mickey hadn’t created the otome game that Autumn played. Who knows what could happen? I was almost certain that if I asked Autumn he would tell me that it wasn’t over yet.

I had planned on calling the others and rushing to the Pavilion immediately, but I thought better of it. We should probably rest first, and explaining things might take a while as well.

“You should get some rest,” Nero told as if hearing my thoughts, “A lot of things are going to be happening soon and you need your rest. Once you are rested, I think you should let me in on that little private meeting I am sure you are planning.”

“How long have you known?” I asked warily.

“The whole time,” Nero said, “I didn’t bother you at first because I thought it wasn’t important, and then I couldn’t bother you because of the circumstance. Now I can and I will. I want to take a good look at the king candidate of your group. A group that the founding Headmaster sought out is not to be taken lightly so I should be able to ditch this position quickly.”

Ditch? I was about to ask but something told me it might be better if I didn’t. I wondered what Maximus would think about being scouted by the next thing. Then I wondered how I would survive working with Maximus every day if he continued flirting and we both made our dream positions.

“Sleep is a wonderful idea,” I decided and headed to my room before I could think of anything more complicated or awkward.

Alois stumbled off to his with a yawn. He had been tense constantly for the last three days so I am sure his body was in far worse condition than mine.

The next morning Nero was the one to call the secret meeting. He seemed pleased with himself for his method of making sure he was not left out. King Nero was surprisingly childish. Then again, he only had a difference of about three or four years from us.

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It was incredibly convenient, however, since Nero took the time to explain everything that had happened for us.

“The headmaster was a traitor?!” Rena asked in shock.

Autumn frowned. “Was it the headmaster in the game? It was the first story arc so I can’t remember too well.”

“More importantly, he killed a summon?” Caleb asked, his voice icy, “That crime alone was punishable by death. Pulling a summon away from their world permanently has been taboo for a long time.”

“It is a good thing he was dealt with so quickly,” Maximus agreed, but the gaze he was giving Alois was one of jealousy. I decided not to think about it.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you guys about Mickey,” I told them, “Before the Hea- Osmond killed her she told me that if anything happened I should just summon her again. Not only that she hasn’t had her destined meeting with the Heroes of Tethia, as she called us.”

“That’s right,” Caleb realized, “Time works completely differently for a summon. If we summon her again we might get a younger version.”

“Does that mean we have to warn her?” Rena asked, looking nervous.

“I think so,” I replied, “but we should be careful depending on when she appears from. We don’t want to just tell her outright that she is destined to be murdered.”

“That could end very badly,” Keane agreed with a grimace.

“She called you heroes, right?” Nero brought up, “What if you tell her as if you are reciting an old fable or made-up story. Depending on how young she is she may think it was a particularly vivid dream.”

“I didn’t think of that,” Alois muttered, “Do you think she will just brush it off and forget it?”

“Only one way to find out,” King Nero said and got to his feet, “Shall we go? I have been dying to see the Pavilion of Eternal Dusk since I heard about it. With a name like that, it’s got to be something special.”

Before anyone had a chance to protest Nero led the way right to the passage Alois had used last time. Cassandra was now certain that Nero had been spying on them. She decided to ask him how he did it later.

The maze was still there and seemed livelier than ever. That might have something to do with the Pavilion stealing back its magic or them releasing the magic trapped in the capital.

“So these are the grand doors to the Pavilion,” King Nero hummed, looking at them, “Alois, do the honors?”

Alois shrugged and stepped forward, opening them with surprising elegance. “Try not to be too surprised,” he warned, “The Pavilion can be overwhelming.”

King Nero was the first to step inside and looked around with wonder. “It truly is incredible,” he agreed, “Even the feel of this place is distant from reality.”

“I think Cassandra should summon her,” Caleb broke in, making sure they did not forget their reason for coming here in the first place.

I took a deep breath. I had managed it once, so I could do it twice. I could feel the Pavilion supporting me. If this failed I didn’t know what I was going to do.

A light formed and descended like a falling star, landing gently on the floor and causing perfect ripples. Slowly the light turned into a teenager, perhaps a year or two younger than them. This was the youngest Cassandra had ever seen her, but this was without a doubt Mickey.

“Mickey!” she called with a smile.

The teen looked confused. “Yes? How do you know my name?”

“That isn’t important right now,” Cassandra told her, “For now, why don’t I tell you a story?”

“Sure,” Mickey replied with curiosity, as she glanced around the Pavilion.

Nero was probably right. She probably would think everything was a dream, especially after seeing a place like this, but I wasn’t going to give up. I began telling the story. Soon Autumn joined in, then Caleb, and Rena, and Alois made sure he sounded amazing enough. Maximus also broke in a time or two, but somehow the story of our past turned into a harmonious tale that had the teenage Mickey completely enthralled.

I smiled as Mickey thanked us for the story. “I hope I dream about you next time too,” she told them, beaming from ear to ear. Then, I unsummoned her, and she was gone.