To Kesshō, it appeared as though the time was distorted, perhaps stopped. Lyranse explained to her everything about the world, how it works, about 'Ultimate Authority', the 'Immortals', the 'Goddess of Chaos', how everything came to be, and the other ones. It was one long story that included all there was to know about the world, the gods, it's functioning, everything. Kesshō’s understanding of chaos didn’t improve much, but of the world did. She was certain she knew more than anyone else that was alive, except a few. The six Immortals, The Creator, the Dictators, and a few others.

For now it didn’t matter to her much. Even if she had all this information, it’s not like she would be able to keep it. Certain skills needed to be learnt to retain one’s memories, and Lyranse didn’t know of them. Being an immortal, he didn’t need them, but Kesshō did, for now at least. Lyranse was going to teach her many more things as well, combat related however.

“The world is a cruel and unjust place, the weak ones perish. In a battle between good and evil, only the stronger side wins, your goals matter very little in that," Lyranse explained to her. “The war that is going to happen is a good example. These people are fighting against the heartless king, yet they will perish, the king’s armies are far too strong.”

Kesshō flexed her arms, not having any muscle to show but still driving the point home.

“As I said, the weak ones perish, the strong survive. They are all doomed, nothing even you can do would save them, you can only learn from this. Another thing you should remember, no matter how strong you are, you may be able to protect yourself, but you can never protect everyone, never, no matter how hard you try, no matter what you sacrifice, in the end, all except you will perish," Lyranse informed in a grave tone.

Kesshō didn’t know what to think of that, and so she didn’t. She made her way to the dining hall as if nothing ever happened. When she arrived there, the area was deserted, maybe even the entire fort. Her dinner was there on the table, a note on the side. It said:

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There is some important work that we need to do

so we won’t be there for tonight. You should

eat and go to sleep, meet you in the morning.

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Kesshō didn’t understand what it said. She was never taught how to read or write. She learnt how to talk by listening to others, but reading and writing were harder to learn by just watching. She could copy written things just fine, but she possessed no clue what they meant or how pronounce them. This note was as good as scrap paper for her.

She folded it a couple times and slipped it into her coat. Sitting down on her usual place, she ate her dinner before going back to her room and sleeping. She woke up quite early in the morning due to loud noises outside the room.

Getting up she pushed open the door and stepped out into the hallway. There were people rushing down the hallway, wearing leather or iron armor and carrying weapons. Swords, spears, bows, all were carried along with arrows and black spherical balls made of metal.

Kesshō followed the people down the hallway, sticking close to a small group pushing a cart with the balls. Kesshō recognized the scent from her times at the castle as the scent of gunpowder, meaning these were explosives. She took a step away, not wanting to accidentally ignite them.

Everyone was headed outside, and so Kesshō followed. When Kesshō reached the outside she was confronted with large groups of people standing in battle formations near the gates. There were people everywhere, some were talking to each other and some were practicing their attacks. A sound like a thud caused her to turn as she watched a group carry a cannon towards the wall.

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The sound was caused by a ninja dropping down from a tree. He bowed slightly before raising his head with a serious expression on his face. “Our lord has called for you, please follow me,” He whispered.

Kesshō nodded and followed the ninja, not knowing what else to do. She was quite certain that Kurai or Yuki were the lord, and she wanted to meet them so it seemed like a good idea. The ninja led through the units to a small brick house which looked from outside to consist of just one large room.

The ninja opened the door and led her in. Inside, Yuki, Sora, Kurai, Hori, Mei, and some other people, the generals most likely, were gathered around a table with a rough map of the fort, small pieces placed on it, most likely signifying the troops. They all looked towards Kesshō with a hopeful look in their eyes, all except Kurai and Yuki.

“Are you sure you want her to do it?” Yuki inquired.

“I don’t, but I am outvoted here,” Kurai sighed.

Kesshō walked to Kurai and stood between the two.

“Well, she is here, tell her what she has to do," One of the generals shrugged.

Kurai sighed but Kesshō beamed at the idea. She turned to Kurai with an expectant face, impatient to know what she has to do. She wasn’t usually asked to do anything, so she wanted to help in any way she could.

“What you have to do is not as good as you think," Kurai mumbled crouching down to be on eye level with Kesshō. “Listen carefully, the enemy armies have arrived, are about to arrive actually, our scouts were spotted and killed, three were captured and only one made it back. He was also too late though, the armies will be here before evening. Their plan is most likely to charge right through and crush us.”

“We still have the upper hand however, they have no clue we have taken control of the fort, the element of surprise will lead us to victory," One of the generals announced proudly.

“Not that easy. We are outnumbered, most likely outmatched in skills as well. Their numbers are ten times more than ours, which means we can’t protect every side, but they can attack from every side. There are three ways to attack the fort, the one in the front being the best, and the one to the right being the hardest. There is a straight wide path upfront, compared to the narrow paths to the sides, the right being broken and steep at some places,"” Kurai explained. “Kessho,” he said turning to her, “the least amount of troops will protect the right path of the fort. In case the enemies attack that side, we need you to help there as well, I don’t want you to, but we don’t have another choice.”

Kesshō nodded, understanding the weight of the responsibility on her.

“Good," Kurai sighed. “The troops will be on the front, you are to help them by shooting down the enemies with a bow from the wall. The troops will fall back if they lose five, wounded or dead. When that happens, you are to charge straight into battle, use any attacks you want, no need to hold back in any way. If you can’t continue then retreat to the castle wall, the troops will take it from there, you don't have to worry about them."

Kesshō nodded.

“Seems like it’s time for her to use her own daishō,” Hori mumbled.

Mei and Yuki nodded their agreement.

“I will prepare her for battle and explain everything to her," Mei offered.

“That will be very helpful," Kurai appreciated.

Mei gestured for Kesshō to follow, leading her back to the main area of the fort, through many hallways and into a room that Kesshō guessed was the weaponry. There were many swords, spears, bows, greatswords and what not.

“This one was made specially for you,” Mei informed picking up a katana.

Kesshō received it and judged its weight in her hands. It was shorter and lighter than the other katanas, perfect for Kesshō. The handle was pitch black along with the saya. The hilt of the sword designed into vortex of pink and blue hues. It was the only part of the sword that wasn’t black. Kesshō unsheathed it, revealing an extremely sharp blade that shone like the moon in the night. The blade was silver in color with hints of pink and blue throughout it. Sheathing the katana, Kesshō tucked it into a belt that she copied from Mei’s outfit.

“Here’s a bow, a fairly small one for the little one." Mei winked as she handed Kesshō the bow.

It was smaller than most, and lighter. The bow possessed sharp blades at both ends and the seemed highly flexible, but still extremely tough. Mei also handed Kesshō a few shurikens, her wakizashi, a shorter version of her katana, a small pack with food, and some medicinal herbs and bandages. Kesshō slung the pack over her shoulders, tucked her wakizashi into her belt and pocketed the shurikens.

“Let’s get to the wall so you can practice a few shots and I can explain some things,” Mei suggested, leading Kessho towards the right wall.