The knight shook his head and began striding forward. "This is unfortunate for you. Not only do you have to run into me up here, but when you do you are stuck with no way out either."

Without hesitation, Azara pointed her trinket at him and unshielded the gem beneath. It glowed blindingly bright. The light reflected off of his armor, which was scratched and dented here and there, as well as his silver hair. It made him look majestic rather than threatened.

He glared. “Lady Elefthera, we don't have to fight."

"You wouldn't want to try, Konrad," she replied, her face determined as she raised the trinket higher and aimed it. What was he thinking, trying to be formal with her?

He sighed and then frowned. "Azara, please, I don't want to hurt you or your friends here. This is our job though, not yours. I know this all may be personal for you, but please just let us deal with it."

"And let you hold something over my head, and my sister's, for the rest of our lives? I don't think so."

Konrad winced. "Fine, you already get it then? You understand what I’m after?!"

Azara nodded. "You don't just want to slay a dragon here. You want the Dragon's Eye too, don't you? This isn't just about a good deed. It is about gaining an advantage over the Ignis Evigan by getting an advantage over my sister and me, isn't it? You think my mother will use us as weapons in the coming war, don’t you?"

“I don’t think, Azara, I know.”

“Then you don’t understand her, Konrad. You don’t. She may be terrible in many ways, determined, and ambitious, but she can also be a loving person. She would not manipulate us like that.” Azara said. “We don’t want any part in the coming conflict in Aericia. I don’t.”

"Really? Can I trust that, coming from you? Here you are, helping a prince favorable to Aruslan take the throne of Ursulam. You know of the old traditions, or did you never read that far? Slaying a dragon is the ancient heritage of Ursulan kings. If your prince killed a dragon or received credit for it, he would be welcomed to the throne even by crown loyalists." Konrad replied. He was angry now, his brow furrowed and the muscles in his face tense. "I can't let that happen. I can’t let your mother take the north."

A brief moment passed, as the two just glared at one another, with impatience and some anger. Questioning her honesty had hurt. How could he do that, when she had even revealed her secret to him all those years ago, she wondered. She tried to think up a response that would explain this, without revealing what she was, but then Konrad lost his patience wit the face-off.

"Look...Hasn't your mother wronged me enough already?! She helped kill my father! She took my mother from me! She nearly destroyed the Order from within. Azara she cost me -"

"-this isn't about her Konrad! If it were I'd never have volunteered to be a part of this. It is about me, my kind, and people that I think are in need. And this artifact we’re after? I won't let you have that sort of power. You understand that don't you? To be hunted, to be an experiment or a magical curiosity?" she pleaded. "If you want to help provide some backup if things go south, that is fine, but I will not let you do as you please, and you will not get the Dragon's Eye."

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Over a distance away, Azara’s companions were giving each other many furtive glances, but unable to join in the conversation itself. The contents of the conversation did not make sense to any of them but Irinia, who knew Azara's secret all too well.

"You know I would never misuse it to stalk you or your sister for no reason, I wouldn't dare to-" he began, but was cut off.

"Really? Can I trust that, coming from you?" she replied, trying to turn his words back on him. "Konrad. You aren't the person I used to know. You've become jaded. You've had to see and do things already that you didn't want to, I can tell, and you will again if you deem it necessary."

It wasn't wrong. His soul was like looking down a dark tunnel, with just the faintest of lights at the end.

"...no thanks to you, or your family." Konrad shot back, and the words were practically spat from his mouth. "Your mother upset a careful balance and now the world is going to fall apart for it. "

"Which world?" Azara said, angered now that he kept returning to the subject of her family "Ours, or theirs?"

Valerius and the company were still standing back in confusion. Kasper was eyeing the drain pipes and slowly began walking towards the staircase that went down to the lower level.

Konrad glanced at his movement and then changed from speaking to yelling. "This has gone on long enough. I'm sorry Azara. I'm going to have to put a stop to your little adventure here and now."

With these words, Konrad reached to his side and drew the decorative sword there. It was made of silver, pearl, ivory, and diamond. Its blade shimmered like starlight had been forged, and in its pommel, a single large diamond-like gem was fixed. This gem seemed to twinkle from within, like a tiny star.

Azara saw this and felt herself begin to panic. That was a tear stone, and this sword was not something she had ever seen him carry before. It was special.

She desperately tried to think up a counter as she readied her presence to cast magic, however, it was too late. By then, Konrad had already pointed his sword towards her and spoke a single word.

"Sorrow."

All at once feelings and thoughts flooded Azara's mind. She was overwhelmed. She collapsed to the ground, unable to comprehend what was going on.

Konrad walked forward, and she watched in utter helplessness from the ground as he walked past her, not bothering to glance her way. For a moment, as he neared, she felt an odd and misplaced sense of hope. It was as if his very presence was emanating it. She looked at his scuffed armor, his heavenly sword, his stern, and sorrowful facial expression, his locket...locket? He was wearing a jeweled locket? He had never worn anything like that when she had known him before. Certainly not in battle.

Past this, her thoughts started to become too scrambled to think clearly. As Konrad walked past where she laid, visions filled her eyes. She saw her family drifting away from her as if into a terrible unknown. For a moment, her true father and mother were before her. She had never even seen them, yet she somehow knew who they were. It felt like there was a spear through her heart, and her stomach churned upwards constantly, so great was the wave of emotion. It wasn't something that felt fake either, it was real. It was as if real emotions, fears, and sorrows that she had experienced throughout her life had been amplified a hundredfold.

The scenes she was seeing, and then suddenly experiencing, were actual events as they could have been. She saw a life that she could have lived. It flashed before her eyes. Meanwhile, the life which she had experienced with the adopted family she loved burned. She was alone and abandoned, then she was dead and tortured, she was hunted and killed, and then she was burning

She was burning. A fire like the sun burned from within her heart. It roared to life and consumed everything that troubled her. It was like a bright sun breaking through a rainy day. It was like the safety of the hearth in the middle of winter. Her thoughts cleared and she felt stronger than a thousand men.