The light above was almost blinding. It was just as it had been when Syllis awoke in Lurgica’s infirmary. Surgery demanded such brightness. The ability to see into every crevice, discern the smallest detail.

‘So damn bright…’ Syllis fought the urge to laugh. The bright lights were humorous.

‘They aren’t funny. Why am I—damn it all.’ Syllis’ corruption had receded, but not entirely. She had used far too much of her bond for that. Her reasoning was mostly intact now, but her humor was still compromised. She suspected her general regulation of emotions to share the same fate.

They were glow-tree sheets above. The sheets had been melded to the roof and shone their purple-blue light down upon the bed. Most of the light was focused there.

Syllis felt a weight on top of her. For a moment, she believed her bi-weekly ‘episode’ was coming on. This thought retreated once she looked down from the ceiling. A woman’s arm was the root of the problem.

‘Aura…’ Syllis thought. She remembered the tragedy.

Her shoulder had been entirely shattered and her flesh, blood and bone scattered across the ground. The tears that fell from her eyes. Most importantly, the fact that it was her own fault. Her method of destroying the first titan nearly killed Aura.

Gently, Syllis grabbed her arm and placed it over her own body. She had freed herself!

Crash! Syllis met the floor shortly after standing up. She was not in the most optimal shape. She had forgotten the medical ability of the elmannise doctors. They were good, but specialized in burns. They also lacked the powerful effects of anathemic bonds.

The floor was cold and almost entirely black in color. Only slight speckles of grey were littered throughout and the surface rippled like the top of a pristine lake.

‘If only it wasn’t so dreary.’

Syllis utilized the side of the bed to the fullest. It was ironic. She had taken down two entire titans. Hulking monstrosities that threatened the entire existence of the elmannise. She is certainly the most lethal force in the wall. Yet, she was losing a battle against her own legs at the moment.

‘Am I even in the wall right now, or were we moved? How long was I out for?’

“Damn it!” Syllis yelled at herself. She hit her fist against the cold floor. It would not break even if she had met it a million times. She was frustrated.

Eventually she had pushed herself back onto the bed where she sat up straight. Even that was difficult to manage though. Breathing was a toilsome task.

Syllis, basked in the—oddly soothing—purple-blue light of the glow-tree sheets, examined herself.

Bandages, a whole lot of them. This was what was inhibiting her breathing, not Aura’s airy arm. These bandages covered her—forearm, the majority of her chest, abdomen and her right leg—this was why it had been so difficult for her to walk. The cloth was already beginning to stain. The gauze underneath had absorbed a lot of blood. But, Syllis’ body did not have much to give. She could feel her vision blur slightly. It would be a while before she recovered.

There would probably be around a week before she—and Aura at least—could fight at the foot of the wall. Korman and Clyde would likely be shuffled around teams. Unless Vernim appointed them as caretakers for both Syllis and Aura. This was unlikely. If the next battles were as gruesome and absurd as the last, then they would be needed. There was a chance the wall could fall.

Every once in a while, Syllis heard a slight murmur. It was a great improvement over the incoherent ramblings that she was being told throughout the fight. Improvement or not, they were still irritating…

‘Enough!’ Syllis urged Coryzan inwardly.

Syllis exhaled, defeatedly. She was bored. But what could she do? Her legs still buckled under her weight and she was not exactly keen on damaging her body further. Her eyes wandered as she scanned the room. On a slight table—or what acted like one—there was clothing. It was rugged and worn.

‘Better than nothing.’ Syllis thought. She disliked being exposed. It likely stemmed from her time in the outer ring of Asanoch.

Syllis awkwardly put on the clothing. The shirt was straightforward, the pants though… It was difficult to put on pants without being able to stand up. Eventually she figured it out though. She felt much more comfortable in the embrace of warm clothing. Not that her cloth bandages were not warm—only less so.

Syllis then felt a subtle warmth within. She smiled, before frowning. ‘I thought there would be at least a few days before…’ Her episode had triggered a couple days before she entered the fable rift. It was speeding up again. It was likely only a matter of time before it would be happening once a week.

‘Then what? Once a day, twice a day?’ The dread was creeping in on Syllis. When would it become unbearable? Who was there to say if it would eventually be happening at all times. She could not possibly deal with that.

‘As soon as we get out of this fable I have to find help, somehow.’ Syllis resolved, though hope was slim. She had approached Edward about it and he had nothing to say. He probably wanted to tell her that she was crazy, his expression said so.

Syllis felt the searing pain begin and immediately used her odd method of dealing with it. The pain was spread throughout her whole body so the intense pain that was brought by biting into herself overpowered it, taking the attention of the mind.

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After around ten minutes passed, she supercooled her hand. It was numbed and would be left unusable for around a day, else she could injure it further. This was not an issue for Syllis though. She could not combat the taran for at least a week and her wrapped arm prohibited her from really pushing that hand to its limit

The secare nymph looked at Aura, again. She was tranquil as she slept. The occasional snore left her. She deserved the reprieve. Syllis was not about to wake her up simply because she was bored and lonely.

This would likely last through the entirety of her week recovering. There was nothing ahead and aching pain was not a vacation. Only more pain awaited her. Syllis knew that.

Again, she tried to stand. Several seconds passed before she buckled this time.

“Improvement,” Syllis grumbled through gritted teeth.

Eventually she grew bored of waiting for her legs to regain enough strength. There was a more efficient way for her to get around. She was thankful that Aura was asleep and could not see her at the moment.

Syllis reached her arms forward and crawled, dragging her legs across the group. She could not just lay in the room forever. There were important things to do such as—learning of Aura’s treatment, figuring out how Clyde and Korman were faring and assessing the state of the wall—although the last one would be difficult to accomplish without the use of legs.

‘Oh well, it doesn’t matter to me much.’ Syllis thought. ‘Many people died, the number is irrelevant.’

Syllis pushed a door in front of her open revealing a wider room.

Within, a large table surrounded with six chairs. Glow-tree sheets were lining this room as well, basking it in the familiar—and somewhat irritating—light. Two figures sat on a couple chairs. One of them had blond hair and the other, brown.

“You two!” Syllis yelled to Korman and Clyde.

They turned towards the door. Puzzled expressions only grew on their faces. Then, they looked to the bottom.

A battered nymph lied against the cold floor. Her hair a cerulean blue and her eyes a sympathetic seafoam color. Her body was littered with bandages and a rugged outfit was on top of it all.

They turned to each other, stifling laughter.

“Laugh at your savior,” Syllis said. “doesn’t bode well for your future.”

“You’re right,” Clyde answered, his voice sympathetic to her cause. “It isn’t right to laugh at the… fallen.”

Korman did not speak or laugh. He merely watched Syllis, waiting for her reaction.

Syllis stayed silent, watching the two men.

“Are you just going to leave me on the ground here?” Syllis said. “Offer me a chair or something.”

“Right,” Clyde said, “would you like a chair?”

“I’d more like for you to help me up to one…”

“Sorry, sorry.” Clyde moved to the ‘fallen’ nymph and extended a hand.

Syllis wavered before grabbing it. She was pulled up and nearly collapsed again. Clyde wrapped his arm around the front of her to stop her. She groaned with the weight pressed against her abdomen.

“Wounds,” Syllis grumbled. “Watch out for the damn wounds.”

“Sorry, Syllis,” Clyde said.

Syllis was then gently guided to a nearby chair. There was not any food or beverages to be had. But it did not matter to her. Syllis was just happy to have company. She did not want to be alone.

“So,” Syllis said, “how have you two fared? I mean any major injuries?”

“Not for me,” Clyde answered. His afterimages helped him stay out of trouble.

“There were a few gashes on my forearms and back,” Korman said. “I tend to lose the idea of evading under the influence of my bond. Manifesting those bestial characteristics is an easy way to lose track of your own humanity.”

Syllis frowned a little after hearing this. It reminded her of the time she spent on the outer ring and her ritual. She had essentially been treated like a beast, being forcefully tethered to a ‘god.’ Even afterwards, when she was roaming the outer streets, her life was essentially on auto pilot. No day was unique, same as an animal’s.

“What about Aura?” Syllis said. “How was her treatment? Did the doctors say she was going to heal well?”

Korman’s face flushed at the thought of Aura. Clyde looked at him with a smirk.

“Heal well?” Clyde said, his expression turned solemn. “Anyone could take a glance at her shoulder and see how completely broken it was.”

Syllis exhaled slightly, biting down on the inside of her cheek. It was her fault, at least partly. ‘To hear that she won’t recover for the while is… Disheartening to say the least.’

“Aura won’t regain use of that arm,” Korman furthered. “Not in here at least. Once she gets home though…”

“Once we all get home, Korman.”

“Clyde,” Syllis said, “I think it's time you look at things as they are.”

“And how are ‘things?’” Clyde asked sarcastically. “You want me to acknowledge the state of this fable, of the wall?”

“I want to know that you are.”

“What good would that do?” Clyde asked. “If I acknowledge the horrible state of everything do you think that I’ll repent?”

“I don’t want to see you repent,” Syllis said. “I want to see you feel the consequences and move forward.”

“Feel the consequences? Do you think I haven’t felt the consequences?” Clyde asked. “Of course I knew the results of my actions. We could die, but that is not set in stone yet.”

“It's a damn likely scenario,” Syllis said.

“You’re right Syllis,” Clyde said. “I could have killed you three. What does it matter in the grand scheme?”

“What does it matter? You don’t give a damn!” Syllis yelled. “You dare tell me that our lives don’t matter!”

Korman watched in silence. He shifted backwards slightly. Clyde looked at him for assistance but he only shied away further.

Clyde looked back to Syllis before continuing. “Our lives might be sacrificed, but thousands more will be saved. Can you even imagine how many lives the flames of the four suns would have claimed!? What about those titans you nearly died to kill?”

Syllis tried to stand before her body put her back in her seat. “Did you ever stop to think that I didn’t want to risk my life for those people? What the hell did any of them give to me!?”

The secare nymph once again looked back to the outer ring. She was constantly threatened. People tried to steal from her and traffic her for quartz. The only reason she had survived until this point in her life was due to her bond. It was a situation of two evils and the lesser one had enabled her to live. The people of Asanoch were a greater evil.

“What did they—”

Clyde was interrupted. All three of the kindred sat at the table and looked to their side.

“Aura.”