In the car on the way to the teleporter, Ed was seated across from Ulric. Neither spoke to each other. Ulric sat there like a statue, his body remaining stock still even as the car sped through each and every turn and intersection on the road. It was unnatural just how still he was, as if he wasn’t even breathing.

Whenever his attention slipped, Ulric seemed to disappear from the car entirely, as if he was never there in the first place. It wasn’t until Ed focused his attention on him that he slowly came back into view.

Annoyed, he kept his eyes locked on Ulric for the rest of the car ride, who didn’t seem to mind the situation at all. How am I supposed to work with someone if I can’t even keep track of where they are? This is ridiculous!

And with that momentary lapse in focus, Ulric once again disappeared from view. The surroundings grew more and more crowded as the car neared the teleporter. With every passing moment, Ed grew more annoyed with not being able to keep track of Ulric, despite knowing exactly where he was.

There has to be a way. I don’t want to have another invisible person around me if I can do anything about it. Wait, that’s it.

Ed blinked, bringing the strings of fate into view. Strings weaved through the backseat of the car, spreading out in all directions. But through the flood of strings, he saw some of them congregate towards the point slightly above the chair he was facing. And as he focused on that spot, Ulric once again came into view.

The car came to an abrupt stop, shaking Ed out of his focus as they arrived at the teleporter. He let the strings disappear as he got out of the car.

Ed and Ulfric moved through the crowd, the movement making it easier for Ed to see him. But even with this, Ed knew that he would most likely not even be able to tell that Ulric was there if he didn’t already know about it. He blended into the crowd despite his statuesque appearance which should have made him, if not stand out, then at least noticeable in the crowd.

Ed tried to follow Ulfric by sensing his strings of fate, but he was almost immediately overloaded by the flood of information coming from the crowd.

Damn. It won’t work in crowds. I should’ve seen that coming. Shaking his head, he lined up with Ulric.

Entering the crowded square, he was engulfed in a bright blue light.

~

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Back inside Elaine’s palace, her and Lola were enjoying some tea, with Wilfred standing dutifully off to the side. Lola gently rested against Elaine’s side, simply enjoying the peace and quiet.

“How do you think he will fare?” Elaine asked between sips of her tea.

“Hm? Oh, I think he’s gonna die. I mean, did you see what happened in the dungeon. He didn’t even want to hurt the guy.” Lola responded.

“I don’t know. I feel like there’s something strange about him. Besides, he’s in Hell for a reason. Maybe He will surprise us.” Elaine said.

“Honestly, I can’t see it. I’m surprised his soul isn’t wandering in Limbo right now.” Lola said.

“That just means he’s good at hiding. Wilfred, have we figured out where he came from?” Elaine asked, to which a piece of paper appeared in Wilfred’s hand.

“We have already addressed everything that he’s done since arriving in Pride City, so there is no need to go over that. He arrived here from the teleporter in Craghollow, where he spent a night at a hotel. He had taken a train to there from a place called Balestone.” He said.

“I’ve never heard of either of those places.” Lola said.

“Both places are relatively unimportant. They’re both situated near the current edge of inhabited land, with Balestone in particular being a small settlement right on the edge of Limbo.” Elaine explained. Having engrained the knowledge of every settlement and town of Pride into her mind, her explanation came almost instinctively.

“The information is uncertain, but something seemed to have happened on the train, resulting in him being unconscious when it arrived in Craghollow. He was carried out of there by an imp named Victor, who had accompanied him for the entire trip up until the first day in Pride City.” He said, turning over the page to read the information on the back.

“Craghollow is the closest town with a teleporter to Balestone.” Wilfred continued. “And that, in combination with how short their stay there was, suggests that their goal the entire time was to enter Pride City. Victor has already left and returned to Balestone, but Ed remained.”

Elaine stopped to consider everything she heard. In combination with what she had already learned about Ed, she determined that he was most likely working for Victor while also travelling to find a new home in Pride City. “Do we know what he was doing in Balestone? And what about before that?”

The paper disappeared in a cloud of smoke, replaced by another page. “He seemed to have been involved with a sinner named Mr Milani, a small crime boss that Victor works for. He was delivering a package to Mr Milani’s residence from Victor’s family when he got involved in a fight between Mr Milani and an unidentified, and now deceased, sinner. It was from there that Ed and Victor made their way here on a mission for Mr Milani.” Wilfred said.

“Go on. What happened before he met Mr Milani?” Elaine asked.

Wilfred turned over the page and glossed through the information, a frown slowly forming on his face. “He had got into a bar fight at Victor’s parents’ business. They patched him up and gave him the job. As for before that...” His frown slowly morphed into a look of confusion as he kept reading. “... There was nothing. He had entered the settlement from the outskirts. His clothes were dirty and almost entirely destroyed, and he looked as if he was almost dead when he entered the bar. As if he had walked out from Limbo.”

“Interesting.” A small smile formed on Elaine’s lips. “It seems we’ve found something interesting after all this time. Whatever happens with the mission, I’m sure he will give us a surprise.”