Alex shuddered as his armor suddenly shattered into shards of Zight, which were quickly absorbed by the Ark Cradle. His transformation had ended violently, but the battle was over. Thankfully.
Removing the Ark Cradle from his waist, he turned to see the smoldering ashes of what was once a mighty Order lieutenant, and Ulric could only stare on in wonder and awe. However, behind his gaze, a deep desire to have been the one to claim the Ark Cradle revealed his disappointment.
Alex looked towards Ulric, and the man only nodded solemnly before Alex dashed over to Melodi. He checked her out and saw that she was only unconscious and had a few scratches but would otherwise be okay. He carried her over to Ulric's side and gently laid her down before turning to the wounded man.
"Are you gonna be alright, Ulric?" asked Alex. Ulric grimaced but nodded.
"I'll be fine once I get some rest. My wounds are serious, but I'll live."
"Good," replied Alex, "You have some explaining to do, my guy. But, I suppose it can wait until we've gotten out of here."
Ulric nodded and struggled to get to his feet. He sheathed his sword on his back and staggered a few steps toward the ashes of the lieutenant. He could only look down in disdain. Once again, things had not ended the way he had expected. He was glad that the man was dead, but his mission had once again been a failure.
He sighed in his heart. For the second time, he had failed because of Cypher's influence. Obviously, Cypher wasn't a direct cause in this instance. But if not for him, Alex wouldn't have been here. He turned to face the red-haired young man and smiled weakly. He could at least be glad that the Ark Cradle had fallen into somewhat responsible hands.
"Alex, do you know what you've done?" asked Ulric.
Alex shook his head and looked up at Ulric.
"You've gone and bonded with that Ark Cradle. You are the only one who can use it now. My mission was simple, come to Ardua and retrieve the Ark Cradle for my organization. However, now that won't be possible. Ownership of it can only pass from you in the event of your death, and I'm not in the business of killing innocent people. Even if you were to die, it would take seven entire years before someone else could make use of it. Unless…" Ulric paused and looked down at Alex with a pleading gaze.
"Unless you willingly give up ownership of it. Would you... Would you be willing to do that?" asked Ulric.
Alex thought for a moment, but after only an instant, he shook his head again. "I can't do that. This thing gives me the power to fight for my future. With these hooded fucks after Cypher, I need all the power I can get to not only defend myself but help him in his future endeavors. I know you need it to complete your mission, but I'm sorry, I can't just give it up."
Ulric sighed and nodded. He had figured as much but still decided to try anyway. "I understand. Well, if that's the case, then once we get back up to the surface, there are some things I'll need to inform you of—namely, my Organization and its goals, as well as the true purpose of that Ark Cradle. Suppose you weren't a part of this before, you certainly are now. My Celiest won't be pleased by this outcome at all..."
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"Well, well well... This has all been quite interesting, to say the very least!" came a voice from the distance as Ulric finished speaking. Before Ulric could even turn to see where the voice had come from, another hooded Order member had dashed into the room and knocked him out.
Ulric's body crumpled to the floor, and Alex pulled the Ark Cradle into his dimensional pocket as he gripped his Scal'tar. The Ark Cradle was ready to go already, that much he knew. However, his reserves of Zight were at a critical level, and another battle right now would be impossible. He doubted that equipping it would even be possible in his current state.
He curled over Melodi's unconscious form protectively and held his Scal'tar aloft, the blade pointed at the newcomer. "Who the hell are you?!" he asked as the man smiled down at Ulric from beneath his hood.
"That, you don't need to know right now. However, I assure you that the two of us are going to be spending a lot of time together!" The man was an Order member. That much was obvious. However, he clearly was a high-ranking member as his robes were lined with intricate golden threads, and the Order insignia was larger than the others Alex had seen.
He stood about as tall as Alex, and his aura radiated authority. The top half of his face was hidden by a mask, but Alex could see a sinister smile spread across his face as he stared down at him. A sword hung from his belt, and his aura seemed to be in flux. As it was, Alex couldn't get a proper read on his Conduction level. However, he could still tell that this guy was stronger than the lieutenant had been.
"You will be a tough nut to crack, I can already tell. But that just means that we can maximize the amount of fun we can have together," continued the man. Alex could feel his greedy gaze upon him and, without even a second thought, he knew that the Order member's eyes were locked upon the ring containing his dimensional pocket.
He could only desire the Ark Cradle, and Alex resolved to protect it with his life. That kind of power simply couldn't fall into the Order's hands. Still, Alex thought hard to find a way out of this situation. With Ulric and Melodi unconscious, his options were heavily limited. All the same, he grabbed Melodi and, with his maximum speed, slung her over his shoulder and tried to dash back towards the entrance.
The man simply laughed and remained standing over Ulric as Alex dashed away. Alex hated leaving Ulric behind, but this was the best he could do at this moment. He ran as fast as he could and weaved his way through the corridors towards the exit. His entire body ached, and his Orrium was nearly empty as he reached the final stairway.
The entire time the new Order member hadn't chased after him, and Alex wondered what game he was playing. However, as he leapt up through the destroyed entrance to the ruin, and arrived back on the surface of the graveyard, he saw exactly why his escape hadn’t been hindered.
Thirty Order members stood with weapons drawn and surrounded him completely. Alex scowled, gritted his teeth, and held Melodi closer to him as he stared them down. A laugh from behind him caught his attention, and he turned to see the man with Ulric hanging limply from his left hand.
"Thanks for saving me the trouble of hauling all three of you out of there. It would have been a pain on my own, though not beyond my capabilities."
The man smiled with smug satisfaction, and Alex could only surrender as he took in the scene around him. Each of the assembled Order members was at the second rank, and the man himself was clearly on the cusp of the fourth. Alex despaired as he considered that perhaps the man was even beyond it.
"Now, play nicely, and you and your friends might just live a little longer! We have big plans for the three of you!" The man began laughing as a cloud moved over the moons and darkened the area around them. As the graveyard was plunged into shadows, Alex could only curse his shitty luck.