Explaining the prior events while avoiding his deaths and staying true to the narrative of amnesia proved to be a rather difficult task, one Touji feared would be contradicted further down the line. Though by looks on the faces of his they seemed too interested or distracted to have noticed.

He had skipped most of what had happened and focused his story overall on the "zombie incident" as he dubbed it, which they seemed to find quite intriguing as it seemingly answered much of Chylum's condition.

As it turns out the town and its members were part of a movement known as the separationists. Back in the day, these individuals actively defied the royal court, refusing to rely on them for protection and instead starting their own settlements outside of the kingdom's territories.

Apparently, the Black Tails had stationed spies of their own to monitor activity in these locations, in order to keep tabs on the situation but had recently gone dark over the past week in the territory Touji's had fled from.

When asked if Touji knew any of the ingredients needed for immortality he shrugged, believing as he really didn't know as his memories of it were already becoming hazy.

He tried to subtly hint throughout the conversation at the possibility that perhaps he had been summoned from another world which was immediately shut down with a strange look from his listeners.

"Well, I know it sounds crazy but is there someone who would possibly know about this. Someone like a sage or an elder? You know. The old man who knows a lot. It's a troupe." Touji asked, hoping they didn't consider him a lunatic at this point.

Foss burst out in a fit of laughter, almost knocking himself off of his chair.

"Geez. You really are peculiar arn't ya." He wiped his eyes like he had just peeled a union.

Fairial shushed him raising her hand up as if she were to perform some sort of discipline. "I wouldn't know even if you asked. Not much is known about summoning our own kind in the first place. We are leagues below such a level."

"So, there's nowhere to go to find information on this topic."

"Not that I know of.” Fairial replied regretfully. “Summoning can only be done in unique circumstances, according to my knowledge, and is limited to creatures of a lower system than us."

-This is trash. So, either they've been lied to on a fundamental level or it's the classic history case of it's impossible until someone does it.

Touji shook it off knowing that pursuing this was becoming increasingly bothersome and yield little fruit.

He then continued the tail, going on to explain his encounter with the tree man. Fairial had a hard time following and Foss was far more interested in the milk jug than anything else. After he had finished, Fairial seemed to repeat to herself the words "Why did you wake me?" but it seemed that no bells were rung. She then issued an order to the guard still standing behind her to send some men to investigate the area.

After brushing her hair back into a ponytail and resting her elbow onto the wooden table located between them, she then proceeded to begin jotting down some notes onto a slip of overly thickened paper, yellow in color and looked to be quite durable and difficult to tear.

Touji began to take note that the bluish light emanating from the crystals was beginning to irritate his eyes. While there were no windows in the room, the lighting was enough for Touji to make out the features and expressions of his audience, something he often wished was not the case as watching Foss eat was a scaring experience. The dimness in the room itself made the atmosphere heavy and depressing, which was only added on by the sterile and medical scent lingering in the air.

"Firstly, thank you for telling us all this." Fairial began, seemingly down with her notes. "You have already provided substantial information which no doubt will come in handy in the future. I regret to ask you again, but you must reconsider joining us. I implore you to rethink your decision."

"Explain why I'm so needed again? I kinda missed why I was important." Touji rubbed the bottom of his chin, readying himself to turn her down once more regardless of her explanation. He did not want to come off as rude and in this situation, it was essential to leave while still on their good side but at the same time hope that he would change his mind was the last thing he wanted.

"Any high ranking official or military bases are impossible to sneak into due to the security measures implemented by the crown. There are always multiple sages constantly looking for any arclight that enters the premises unaccounted for. This prevents us from using any tactics which require any form of infiltration as they can also recognize if you are not the same person by your arclight's size, capacity, color and fluctuations. If we were to try and infiltrate, we would be instantly discovered which is why up until this point we have relied on speed and distractions or timing of when a person or item of want leaves the premises, though these scenarios are often used for ambushes. Due to their airtight security, they have become extremely comfortable. You can bypass the entirety of these systems and not a single person would know."

Touji blinked and folded his arms.

-Let's not ignore the elephant in the room and point out that there would also be guards prowling the hallways and any and all entrances. Perhaps for a seasoned perfectional this is a pushover but I for one don't like to overestimate my own capabilities.

"I do have one question."

Fairial nodded, inviting him to continue.

"You would be asking me to kill people, right?"

Fairial paused for a brief moment, exchanging glances with Foss who unfortunately completely missed the meaning or context behind this action.

"Yes. I will not try and convince you this is self-defense, but neither will I back down from the fact that there is sufficient cause for the violence we incure. We murder in order to avoid joining those who were."

"..." Touji looked down at his lap.

"You did say you had a family?"

"Two younger siblings, mother and father."

"Then would you not do the same if it was them who were losing their lives instead of us?"

-This isn't my problem.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"I'm sorry but I won't get my hands dirty." Touji knew this was something completely arrogant of him to say. Simply put he had wished death on quite a number of people within the last twenty-four hours, but the fact was he hated himself for it.

"Just direct me to a place safer than here and a person who knows about summoning magic and that sort of thing. I'm sorry but there are important things I need to get back."

Fairial sighed and stood up.

"I respect your wishes. Maphori, would please escort Touji to a room. Foss and I have some necessities to take care of.” She approached the entrance of the room motioning Foss to follow. “It might be a good idea to lay low for a few months, but I can deliver you out of the city by sunset tomorrow. I will personally ensure your safety."

Touji nodded.

"Thanks."

The black knight saluted, striking her fist over her chest in a sign of respect.

Maphori led him out the door and into the winding maze of rooms and intersecting hallways, all the while making sure to leave a three-meter distance between them. As usual the silence and lack of conversation was gnawing away at his mind as he quickly found himself fidgeting with his hair and desperately trying not to get spooked by every minor sound.

"You know. It's funny." He spoke out loud, a phrase he had little context to but also required very little in and of itself.

Maphori remained silent leading him on without a single abnormity or change in her behavior. Her body motions were almost robotic as if her mind was on something entirely different from the current task and was simply proceeding out of sheer habit.

Touji quickly realized that if he wanted this conversation to occur in the first place, he would have to hand hold it every step of the way. "How is Chylum?"

This seemed to break the timid girl out of her daydream, as it was a subject pertaining to her profession however young she may be.

"She is stable. Sleeping at the moment. She is recovering and should be fine in a few days. The roots had been extracted and the poison cleared."

It was crazy how disjointed her answer was, though it was as it seemed to be an attempt to answer as many questions as possible before he asked them in the first place.

"Do you think it's possible to cure her?"

"The changes made to her system are irreversible. There are some irregularities that are keeping her body in motion but if removed she would die as a result."

Touji sighed, bringing his hand up to his face and pinching the bridge of his nose.

A small amount of relief washed over him though his guilt remained.

"Can she feel pain?"

Maphori paused for a moment before turning her head slightly.

"Yes. Pain is the one thing she has in abundance."

Touji slowed his steps.

"I have a request."

"What?" Maphori stopped while refusing to turn around.

"Could I visit her later on. Tonight, or whenever she's awake."

Maphori remained skeptically.

"Why?"

Touji failed to respond, unsure of the answer himself.

Maphori cold eyes glazed for an extended period seemingly searching the question for his intentions.

"I can ask Fairial."

Maphori resumed her stride.

Touji lowered his head and closed his eyes.

"Thank you."

"..."

His eyes caught the end of Maphori's dress as it flicked from the motion of her feet. A strange detail even for Touji to pick up on. Perhaps it was because he was simply not accustomed to that era's way of dressing, something which was undeniably true though the real oddities which still bothered him and somehow also slipped his mind. He was quite suddenly slipped out of his own train of thought when Maphori suddenly spoke of her own fruition.

"Your room is here." Maphori announced.

"Thanks." Touji responded as he reached for the door.

Maphori stopped in front of a door and motioned towards it.

"This room is vacant. Please make use of it."

"Thanks."

Maphori bowed and walked away leaving Touji alone in the dark hallway.

He reached for the handle and opened the door, stepping inside and gently closing it behind him. The click of the door made him jump as he still had his guard fully up towards Maphori. He double checked the handle nudging it so as to make sure that it hadn't locked behind him. As the squeaks and clicks of the un-oiled gears resonated, he slowly began to relax, leaning up against the frame.

-I need to calm down.

He peered around the room.

It was empty besides for the basic necessities; a bed, a small desk with a candle and a small wooden shelf. In conclusion, a room which left for much want of furniture.

Touji collapsed on top the bed frame, a choice he would quickly regret as it was mostly comprised of wood and straw hidden beneath some white sheets.

He rubbed his head violently as a sharp pain surged through his skull.

-The trend of nothing going my way continues.

He squeezed his temples, eyes closed, waiting for the headache to subside.

He rolled onto his back, his arms sprawled out, squinting blankly at the ceiling.

He contemplated how quick he was to reject their request as a substitute for a plan which consequently didn't exist and in retrospect would likely fail to bring him any closer to any semblance of progress. In truth he had partially given up, believing that if he waited long enough something good would happen eventually. But for now, his decisions were based on which scenario would most likely keep him alive the longest, call itself preservation and dumb it down as a rather unnoble instinct but to him there was an obvious winner that fit this category. Helping others was fine and all as long as it didn't affect his life enough to be considered significantly worse because of it. This, along with his many other philosophies previously mentioned, had led him to believe that this decision would result in the least number of losses on his part. Besides, the way he saw it, there was literally no way he could survive a war, let alone help and to be honest it was hard to blame him. Anyone in a similar situation would be delusional to think otherwise.

He had also seen enough. Every time he closed his eyes graphic images would appear, so much so that he doubted his body would be getting the necessary sleep he needed to operate on. He had never experienced a nightmare up until recently and the prospect of experiencing those episodes again caused him to become afraid of sleep itself.

-Just don't think about it. You'll be out of here tomorrow and then we can start again.

***

Maphori leaned herself against the wall grasping at her hair and clenching her teeth together. Her breath became erratic, and her legs began to shake.

-Why does it hurt now?

She slammed her hand up against the stone and slid down the wall, her head dropping onto her knees. She grabbed hold of her right arm and began squeezing, her nails digging into her skin.

"AAARGH"

She slowly and delicately began to slide up her sleeve exposing her arm and the multiple scars and lesions covering most of her forearm.

Her eyes glazed over as she began to trace the scars with her fingertips, her head trembling.

These were no ordinary scars but closer to the appearance of cracks which glowed and pulsed with a soft violet light.

Above her elbow sat a black mark resembling a tattoo. The mark was quite detailed and depicted the shape reminiscent of an apple encircling an oval with a close comparability to that of a closed eye. The mark continued as the fruit was encompassed by the tail of a scaly creature. Following the brand, she slid her sleeve as far up as she could leaving her shoulder fully exposed.

There the tattoo continued with the body of the creature wrapped around her upper arm and finished with a snake's head resting directly over her shoulder’s peak.

She leaned her head up against the wall in shock. The mark with its dark and uneasy depictions, showed characteristics of life. The apple seemed to pulse, beating with a similar throbbing to that of a heart. With each contraction the cracks grew bigger like caterpillars slowly encroaching on every part of her body.

Her breath became more and more rapid.

"Why?!"

Maphori forced herself up against the wall. She tried to heal the cracks, but her efforts were becoming increasingly dire as she knew the flesh would begin to split itself once more within hours of its restoration.

-Why the damned is this happening?! This boy Naegi's arrival is without a doubt a bad omen.