"I am in fact not pleased. There are too few people apart of this operation. In some operations like this, the smaller the better. In this case, though, we need everyone to be on it. Or someone might go asking questions, and those questions might just expose us all. If someone does not go along with the operation, it might be best to remove them, and you'll have all of my resources to do so. For the Inquisitor."

-Private Message II, by Executive Chancellor Angelo

No matter how hard she tried, Nynae couldn't fall asleep. The gossiping of the girls next door permeated through the thin walls, filling her empty dorm room with incessant noise.

When Nynae had first entered the dorm she was surprised to find that the entire room was hers, for not many Alandrians had the letter 'Z' as their last name. Although it only helped in further isolating her from the rest of the Academy, unable to properly form friendship groups due to the culture barrier, Nynae now welcomed the emptiness.

Since she had the room all to herself, Nynae was able to have more room than others in the dorms, using the other bunk beds in the room as storage area. Currently, she was lying down on the most comfortable one, the mattress on top of the left-most bunk bed.

Despite the day not having much physical activity involved, only learning how to make fires, organising shifts and basic scouting, at the end of all of it Nynae could hardly move a muscle. The only thing that stirred her from her day-dreaming was a loud knocking at her door. Groggily moving to it, while cursing a bit under her breath too, Nynae opened the door, loudly creaking. On the other side was a dishevelled Lanyon.

"Now that door really does need oiling. I'll get someone to do that then."

"Lanyo- Sir, what are you doing here?" Nyane asked.

"I just wanted to talk. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything...?"

"No, sir. Please, c-come right in."

Lanyon swiftly settled in, Nyane clearing her things from the bunk next to hers and offering it as a seat. Nynae sat opposite on the one underneath her bed.

"I felt like it is my responsibility as your teacher to check up on you."

"I'm doing fine Sir, thank y-you."

"Then, how're you... dealing with Daniel's loss." The second those words were uttered, the smile on Nynae's face evaporated. "I knew you two were particularly close, so somewhat... make up for the time I would have had with you to help, I wish to know if there's anything I can do to lift even just a little weight off your shoulders or offer some comfort."

"Can I stop going to lectures then?" Nynae joked awkwardly.

"That is something I can't do, sorry."

Unable to find proper words for what to say, Nynae sat in silence with Lucan opposite her for a few minutes before she finally spoke again.

"I didn't properly mourn Daniel in the end. I cried when I learnt the truth and wished that the man in front of me would kill that white haired boy for it. But, after that, I sat in my dorm, only socialising when going to lectures and just thinking when I was doing anything else. Although I knew that Daniel was friends with that Sun boy I never thought much of it. I thought that if I did try and befriend Sun, I could have seen the signs and stopped the incident from ever happening. I didn't become depressed, I didn't sob; I just thought.

"Eventually, though, I ran out of things to think about. So I just stopped thinking about Daniel. Whenever I saw his empty seat next to mine, I fooled myself into believing that it had always been empty. When I heard his name, I made myself think that I didn't know him. Sometimes that doesn't work. And more often than not I feel my mind going blank, my thoughts trailing off in favour of not trying to remember the pain of his passing."

"Nynae, I-"

"And everyone treats me like a little girl because of it." Nyane said, beginning to raise her voice. "They comfort me like I'm a small child whose toy is missing; They treat me like fragile glass, thinking that I'm going to shatter the second someone says anything mean. Hell, even Connor, the guy who was flirting with everyone in the class when he could at the beginning, began to treat me differently! And after that, he began to treat everyone else the same as he did to me! Even though he's a friend, he still treats me like a toddler. I wish they would just realise that despite my appearance, I'm not the same foolish, naïve girl I was when I first started!" Nynae's voice rose to a shout, tiny droplets of tears forming in the corners of her eyes from frustration.

"Why can't I be treated normally for once! I want to be treated as a person, a friend who can do things on their own and make their own decisions. I get sticking up for or handling something for me because we're friends, but not allowing me to do anything is infuriating!" Nynae screamed for the last time, standing up shakily. Once she realised what she'd done, she crumpled to the bed in an instant. "Oh, Sir, I didn't mean to-"

"You don't have to apologise for anything Nynae, especially to me. If you're solely to blame for what happened to Daniel, Nynae, then I might as well have been the culprit in the crime itself. You see, earlier that day, the day he was... taken, I had talked to him. I tried to connect with him on some common ground between us; our artlessness. It didn't go as planned and he thought I was faking it. So he just stormed off. I wonder, if I could have kept him there long enough, could he have avoided being taken in the first place?

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Nynae, it's alright to think. Everyone processes death in different ways, whether that's becoming a crying mess or going strangely calm. But sometimes, the past has to be let go. I'm not telling you to let go of the past or anything like that, yet it might be useful to start just... I don't know, living? Enjoy the present as much as possible, and when you're comfortable, confront those memories. And you might just find that instead of longing for or regretting the past, you may find yourself able to accept them and face them. Not facing them with anger, but rather acceptance. You can be sad. You can be depressed.

"However, you must be able to face those memories and accept them. Or you'll never move on. You would sit in this limbo you've created for yourself, too scared to face the past and too depressed to embrace it. You just need to take it at your own pace. Because, even though you may not like being called one, you are a child at the end of the day. This Academy is full of children, and some of them have past tragedies to come to terms with too. And no child should have to deal with such trauma alone. No child. And if I see someone who wilfully lets a child deal with that by myself, I would barely be able to hold myself back against them.

"So don't be scared to go to me for help or just to vent. As your teacher, I have a responsibility to care for you. It would be irresponsible if I didn't check up on all of you every now and again. What I've been trying to say is this. Please, just talk to me."

Nynae, her eyes still a bit damp, gave a slight nod before bracing herself. Lifting her head, she met Lucan's gaze and talked. It wasn't for long, and it was barely about Daniel at all. She didn't want to talk about him right now. For now, taking Lucan's advice, she would enjoy the present, and face the past when she was better prepared. For now, she would laugh. She would laugh.

* * *

Daniel was led by Gulliver over to where Anya was playing with other kids, a small nondescript hill by the town centre, a large assortment of colourful flowers crowning the hill with a small wooden stump in the middle of it. Even this close to the town centre, there still weren't many buildings, with nature taking up most of the town space. It seemed that most buildings were focused around the entrance to the town, most likely for visitors and such.

"Sir, if I may ask, why am I being led here? When I'm supposed to be... well, starting my training?" Daniel wondered.

"You think you're going to start training now?!" Gulliver laughed, acting as if it was the funniest joke he has heard in years. "In your state, you may fall apart by just warming up! For now, I'm going to set your body up. More specifically, your soul."

"My soul? What is the point of that?" Daniel asked before swiftly adding, "If I may ask, sir."

"Well, you know what a soul is, right? You should have been taught that at least."

"Um... sir, to be perfectly honest, I didn't really pay attention to lectures about nodes and souls. Since, well, I'm artless."

"Are you serious?" Gulliver said, stopping in his tracks and staring at Daniel intensely.

"Y-yes."

"Dammit." Gulliver cursed, "Let's just sit down here. It looks like it's going to be a long day.

"Tell me, what do you think is a soul?"

Daniel, sitting down on the grassy ground near the hill where Anya was playing, thought for a time before answering, "It's like a collection of soul particles, right?"

"You've got that far at least, I have to congratulate you on that. As defined by Edward Faliner and a few others many centuries ago, a soul is a swarm of minute particles that carry energy, generalised as just soul energy. I won't teach you why energy in the spiritual realm is both an energy and a particle, but for now you just have to accept that as fact. This swarm is just like a swarm of bees or flies, ever changing and fluctuating around a singular focus, but this swarm has slightly condensed into a somewhat material form. And this material focus and form is what constitutes a soul. Nobody is really sure why we have one though, as it doesn't give us sentience, morality or consciousness; but without it, we are just a lifeless husk."

"That's a bit more complex than what's taught in the Academy, sir."

"It better be. What is taught in the Academy assumes you have a grasp of the soul and a node, so you can at least intuitively know what a soul is referring to as you can interact with one as a part of your node control. You, on the other hand, have no direct way into the spiritual realm due to your lack of a node. So, you need a more detailed description and a much more in depth walkthrough on how to actually feel spiritual exchanges and happenings. I will explain what happens after that, but even with a simple control of the soul, you can do many things, such as that supposed advanced technique, FAE or forceful Art elicitation. It really isn't all that hard."

"But sir, I sort of understand why, but won't this be mostly useless without a node to apply it with."

"Now that's a valid point, Daniel. I'm not going to tell you the reason why, at least not just yet. You are just going to have to trust me and Avos on this, and you are just going to have to bear with us as we try to confirm a hunch."

"O-okay... sir."

"Firstly, let's get you caught up on all that you missed."

I hope we're right Avo, Gulliver thought, because if we're not, it will be really hard to try and explain this to Lucan or Igo. If we are right however, I hope that I might be able to see David's Arts again. Just now it will be from this boy instead.

* * *

On the third day of looking after Avos, Iago opened the front door of his estate to find a small box awaiting him and the sight of a courier running away. Strapped to the front with a red ribbon was a letter, the name 'Igo' written in cursive on the front of it. Iago brought the package inside before retrieving the letter and reading it. Somewhat confused, Iago read:

I thought you would know better, Igo.

You have clearly violated my, and therefore the Guild's, wishes.

Even with all of the respect and love I have for you, I cannot accept this.

For every week you continue to house Ashbeck, someone will die.

Today, I bring his teller.

Lots of Love,

Ellis Hang

Chills ran across Iago's entire body as he read through the letter a second time, and a third, just in case he had misread. With trembling hands, Iago let the letter tumble to the floor. Swiftly, he pried the box open to find the scent of old blood wafting into his face and a sight that made Iago gag. In the box was the decapitated head of James Wiiring, Lucan's personal teller, staring back at him.

With this, it signalled the start of The Inquisitor's true wrath.