Having left the battlefield behind, the four of us stride onward towards Caldevar Castle. It goes without saying that I haven’t taken my eye off of Nora since the battle’s end. But I’m also trying not to get encumbered by it. I mean, my brain isn’t the most active thing in the world, per se. It’s easy for it to get overloaded if I’m trying to juggle more than one heavy topic at once. I don’t know if that’s more an insult to myself or a testament to the absolute shit I’m going through right now.

The field is slowly changing as we go, from sparse remnants of ancient brickwork to an eventual culmination of city buildings with even their foundations still in place. They are more and more looking less weathered and more... forced into disrepair. To my knowledge, people of the modern era don’t have gunpowder. But the scald marks I’m finding on some of the stone really does make it look like they had invented it at one point. I’ll have to ask Lasphalia about it sometime. There’s a lot I don’t know about this province’s history. Then again, I’m not really the only one in the dark. Hell, everybody talks about this ‘Great War’ that had gone on some time ago, but nobody can seem to give me a solid explanation as to what started it, or even who the opposition was. But I digress.

“I know I said something about not raising any flags,” says Pierce, “but at this point I’d prefer we did, if only to dissuade my growing suspicions that something more sinister is at play.”

“Alright, here’s one,” I huff in response. I clear my throat to prepare to utilize the most sarcastic and superfluous voice in my current possession. “‘Boy— it sure is quiet and peaceful and calm right now, I would sure love it if it stayed this way all day and we could get the princess back without any problems!’ That good enough?”

“Sufficiently,” he replies. “Caldevar is still a ways off. Perhaps the rings are spread thin to lure the average imbecile into thinking they can lower their guard.”

“Man, their strategist must be an orangutan. I mean, if they’re relying on a chance to keep their plans safe, then they obviously didn’t think far enough ahead.”

“Or—“ Pierce sticks a hand out to stop me. “Perhaps ground soldiers are only one of the many ways they have of keeping themselves out of harm’s way. Say, glyph magic that explodes when you step on it, for example.”

“Really? How? I didn’t even sense it!” says Lilith, snapping to attention.

“Oh no, there isn’t actually one there. I just couldn’t help but realize you all weren’t on your toes enough for the intensity of this mission,” he says, smirking. He starts walking again. “Supposedly the kidnapper used teleportation magic to get within the palace walls. Such a spell, especially if they haven’t ever been there before, is no easy feat. One would have to be quite an accomplished mage to see it through. Knowing they have a mage like that in their ranks, it is with little question just what kind of tricks they will be using.”

“You piss me off a little,” I mutter.

“Though it makes sense,” Lilith nods. “We are in the middle of enemy territory. You really should be more cautious.”

“I wasn’t only speaking to Avette,” says Pierce, eyeing Lilith. “I’ve sensed multiple magical sources, even with my limited sensory capabilities. But I don’t think you even noticed.”

“Perhaps because they were nothing more than a few spectral imps in the near distance, hardly worth mentioning,” she replies. She pauses, then turns to him. “Make no mistake. Given the circumstances, I have never before been as on guard as I am now. And I have you to partially thank for that. Don’t think I’m letting go of what you said.”

“Are you seriously starting this up now? I will make everything right, I promise. But right now—“

“And how can I believe you? What if it’s all still just a big, convenient lie?!”

“Guys—!”

From somewhere unseen, a whistling object comes hurtling towards me. I was distracted, so I’m in no position to dodge it. Time seems to slow as a silver arrowhead narrows in on the space right between my eyes.

Wait... Time slowing...?

Time has stopped. I realize I’ve been holding my breath. I let out all the air in my lungs as I swivel around to face my ghastly alternate self.

“Man, you’re really on top of things,” I grin. “Thanks for the save!”

The Bloodstained Hero remains motionless with a steely gaze.

“It’s been a while. Have any input on the next big baddie?” I say.

In a flash, he’s right in front of me, landing an uppercut to my stomach. I let out an unintentional retching sound as I’m flung backwards. I’m left on my knees coughing, trying to recover from his sudden attack.

“What idiotic manner do you intend to be killed from next time?!” he shouts.

“I— Sorry, but I didn’t... think you could hit me, is all...” I grimace. I slowly push off my knee to get back on my feet. “I got distracted. My bad.”

“You aren’t here in this world for nothing. How do you not yet realize this?!”

“Hey, I did what I thought was right. I’ve been following what I thought was my purpose. For the past half a year,” I say. “Look, I can do all the card tricks I want, but the reality of it is that I’m weak. I’m really weak. So what the hell else can I do when I need a minor GOD on my side every time I wanna go all out?”

“Perhaps one thing is not to reject an invincible power granted to you and you alone?” He pauses, then turns away from me. “You haven’t used it in six months. You think that it will make you stronger, but you are sorely mistaken. It will bring the death of you, instead.”

“You speak like you know from experience.”

“...Yes, I do. I rejected the power once.” He holds up a hand over one side of his face. “It cost me my eye. Only the first of many consecutive losses until my untimely death. I may have learned from that first occasion, but my loss of perfect sight meant it was too late. And try failing to save someone just because loss of depth perception made you miss your mark.”

“...Alright, fine. I get your point. Did you just stop me to chew me out?”

The Bloodstained Hero sighs, turning back to face me. “Besides reprimanding you for having to save your life, there is another topic I would like to discuss.”

“Alright, shoot.”

“Take a look at the arrow meant to kill you just now.”

I approach it with mild confusion, examining it to realize it’s... just an arrow. Nothing special about it, or at least nothing that I can see.

“Alright, I give. What’s your point?” I ask, turning to him.

“Perhaps nothing special with that one. However, if you look to where your comrades stand...”

I look. To my utter shock, I see one arrow for each of them, shot just as accurately as mine— right between the eyes. The closest to contact is Pierce’s, which is only about an inch away. Their faces make it seem like they aren’t even aware of what’s about to happen.

“Seriously?!” I shout, spinning to face the Bloodstained Hero. “Why the hell didn’t you just say, ‘oh by the way, all your friends are about to die,’ too?!”

“I cannot rewind time. This is as it is. Now what will you do about it?”

“What will I do?! Wait... What... What will I do...?” I pause. Making up my mind, I grab the nearest arrow. “Alright, I’ll just... pull ‘em... out of that— time space... into... this one...?”

I let go. It hasn’t moved an inch.

“Unfortunately, you won’t be able to interact with them until the suspension has been lifted,” he says. “Before you attempt to formulate some sort of plan, I would like you to see this from another perspective.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“From a literal standpoint, if you will.”

“Ah.” I start pacing around the area, peering at it from all angles. “Ah-hah! All the arrows are... in a line...? Is that what I should be getting from this...?”

The Bloodstained Hero rubs his temple with an index finger. “Yes, but what of it? Why would it be in such a configuration?”

“Because... Um... Because... Oh! You mean it’s all probably being fired from the same place? All at once?”

“Then what is your adversary?”

“...You’re jumping through a lot of hoops for something you could easily tell me...” I mutter.

“A rule unspoken is that I cannot divulge information about an enemy you have not seen or realized.”

“Sounds like you’re making shit up.”

“My time here is limited, so if you would please. I have more to give you.”

“Alright, alright. So my adversary... is a single person... able to fire at least four arrows at once?”

“Reuben Khol, a noble by birth and arguably the best archer of his time. Known for his unending stubbornness, talking your way out of this will be impossible. Unlike most archers, his skills shine brightest in close-quarters. A fight is inevitable, and no abilities you have currently will be of any use.”

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“Great...”

“I did say ‘currently,’ however,” he says. “I have control of this void space for five more minutes. In that time, I will be your master.”

“I’m... not sure I follow.”

“I can teach you a new method of combat. Use it along with your special power to secure a chance of victory. In exchange, however, I will be unable to communicate with you for several months.”

“O-Okay, so I’ve got five minutes to learn a whole new skill. If I can’t, then...”

“You and your comrades might as well keel over now, yes.”

“No pressure. Sure. I got this.”

Blade Synchronicity— a harmony between sword skills and magic power. Using my sword as a conduit for the reception of mana, I can unleash different attacks by varying the wavelength at which the mana particles resonate. At their most basic, I can use one of three elements at a time: water, air, and fire. Accomplishing water Synchronicity has the wavelengths remain wide and slow, like the soft lapping of ocean tides along the shore. Air is more subtle, lowering its intensity to near nothing. But fire, on the other hand, makes use of the most chaotic of wavelengths: letting it all run wild. It should feel like the equivalent of television static, but bumped up a few hundred times till your arm grows numb. With this... I know I have a chance at surviving this next encounter.

My heartbeat slowed to the slowest of palpitations, I wait for the very moment the arrows start to move again. In my stance, I wait. The mana in my blade is ebbing with the breaths that enter and exit my lungs. If I’m even a moment too late, then Pierce, whose arrow is nearest, gets it right through the head. As soon as I unleash my attack, the world will kick right back into full gear, and we’ll be headfirst into our next conflict.

“Hellwind!” I shout as I drive my blade up.

‘Embarrassing! I mean, I’ve always wanted to do that—but embarrassing!’

Carrying with the blade is a tail of air magic that lashes out like a whip, snapping each arrow in half and driving their splinters straight up into the air. Seeing a glint off in the distance, I spin around, cutting three more arrows that fly past with a lash of flame magic.

“Sniper!” I holler. I stand in front of the three as they fumble to ready themselves.

“I suppose apologies are in order,” Pierce says. “You were evidently more on guard than I gave you credit for.”

“H-Heh, y-yeah, um... don’t worry about it,” I mutter, chuckling nervously. “U-Um... O-Oh—! S-So ever heard of this guy named Reuben Khol...?”

“You don’t mean—“ Pierce heaves.

A figure lands just outside of where we’re huddled, a few yards out.

“Amazing! I’m impressed, Cyrus! How did you figure it was me?”

The four of us jump seemingly all at once at their sudden appearance. I narrow my eyes to make sure they aren’t deceiving me.

“Reuben Khol...” I mutter. “...Is a girl...?”

“Die in hell! I’m a guy!” they yell in response.

Reuben Khol... Now, absolutely nobody can look at this guy and honestly say they’re not a chick. He’s maybe two feet shorter than I am, and is the kinda skinny that’s not unhealthy necessarily, but is something your grandma would probably complain about over the family dinner table. The real kicker though, is her— er, his face. He has this soft, almost porcelain doll kinda face with long lashed, sky blue eyes. The sorta-curly short bling hairstyle doesn’t help, either— despite it being the most ambiguous thing about him.

“Don’t worry, I thought the same thing when I first saw him,” mutters Pierce, putting a hand on my shoulder.

“Go to hell, both of you!” Reuben shouts. “As I was saying— I am impressed that you managed to figure out my identity. Without enhancement, it should be impossible for someone to be able to see that far.”

“Eh? Oh, well I just figured there aren’t that many—“

“Too slow!” he exclaims, loosing three consecutive arrows as he rolls away. I strike firmly and swat them out of the air before leaping backwards to anticipate his next attack. As I am, it takes all I can just to keep up with the shots. The truth that I’d rather have not come to is that I’ll need to use my power.

Keeping it a secret was no big deal. After all, nobody really knows where I draw my power from. So when I came to the realization that I was afraid of using it, I just had to stop. I mean, using someone else’s hard earned strength? It peeved me as it was, but after I almost died from it... I shouldn’t have to mention any more justification. My hands shake a little every time the silvery cards are brought up. But now... Well, I’ve come to the conclusion that I was being a little bitch.

I slash my prized possession, a culmination of the six months I spent doing nothing but helping people— the ‘Diligence’ card. Having obviously not used it yet, I’m a little antsy as to what edge it’ll give me.

I immediately feel my strength growing as it courses through my veins. I can hear the sound of heartbeats all around me, the rush of their blood traveling through their bodies. The idea of strength is fictitious; It’s the perception through experience where true ability shines. And all this card is supposed to do is raise my perception. So my sight, my hearing, my smell, taste, and touch are all improved. Going up against an enemy like Reuben means I’ll need to be aware of every little detail, every slight change. This’ll be easy.

“Lilith, put up a barrier, and—“ Just as I say this, I see Nora dart past me with both knives in hand. She charges for Reuben with that look of malice I’ve grown to fear, but it’s clear that he’s waiting for her. Nora leaps over him and quickly swivels around for a kick, but he ducks under it with ease, jutting back up just after her leg passes over him to bash her jaw from below with the top of his head. She staggers backwards, holding a hand to her mouth, blood running between her fingers.

“You aren’t who I wanna fight! So go to hell!” hollers Reuben Khol, pointing angrily at Nora. “Hear that, Cyrus? I want a good look at that power of yours, ‘kay?”

“I won’t let you!” Nora screams, throwing herself at Khol. Before I can do a thing, before my muscles can even twinge in movement, he’s taken two arrows from a sleeve on his back and has knocked it in. But he doesn’t fire, he instead waits for her to get in range before slamming the curved part of his bow into her throat. She falls to the ground, coughing and holding her throat while blood continues to trickle from her mouth.

“You— You little shit—!” I yell, bursting into a sprint. But before I get halfway, he’s fired his shots. The sound causes me to wince, and in that split second of a moment he’s got four more at the ready. I’m forced to back off.

“I just severed the major tendons of both this girl’s legs,” says Reuben Khol. “Now she can’t get in our way. So call off the Admiral’s puppet, cuz I don’t want him either.”

I look down to Nora who’s clearly in pain, but doesn’t seem to be in a critical state. I glance over at Lilith, who nods back.

“Take no prisoners. Finish the job no matter the cost.” Pierce appears next to me.

“Hey, now that won’t do,” mutters Reuben. “What’s wrong with wanting a fair one-on-one fight to the death? Go to hell.”

“And I am not inclined to listen to a brat like you,” Pierce replies. “So do me a favor and die easily, you disgrace to the Noble Lineage.”

Reuben rolls his head. “Soo I killed a few guys, big deal! The only difference between me and the other nobles is that I do my killing in front of people, where they just do it in their basements!”

“...We have a job to do, and you are in our way. That is all that matters.” Pierce angles his weird blade at Reuben.

“Hmm... Well I don’t. Except for having fun with anyone that comes through here. That’s what father said, after all.”

“Father? So it was your father that took the princess?!” I exclaim. “...A noble, right? But which one...?”

“You may remember him as Wyrmton, the man who belittled Adventurers during our meeting on Velaruux’s tomb with His Highness,” mutters Pierce. “I had a sneaking suspicion, too. All nobles in the Third Rung are callous and power hungry, but Wyrmton has always been in a category of his own. Perhaps questioning this... child... will yield more answers.”

“Go to hell! I’m seventeen!” Reuben shouts.

“But catching the son of a worm won’t be easy,” Pierce continues. “Aim to kill. You can hardly call this child human anymore, regardless.”

“Fine. Lilith, stabilize Nora if you can. We’ll try to make quick work of this.”

Reuben Khol is the first to attack, taking off from a low posture to send a high kick my way. I dodge to the side and Pierce steps in my place, blocking with the blunt of his blade before pushing him back. Reuben uses this sudden backwards momentum to flip midair, letting the four notched arrows fly. I sidestep and let the mana in my sword run wild to burn the arrows out of the sky in one slash. Through the distortion in the air, Reuben lunges for me, twirling around his bow like a staff. I manage to block with the wide of my blade, but he twists his weight and somersaults midair over my head and takes another swing. Pierce steps in between us and disrupts his attack with an upward strike. Pierce takes another slice horizontally at him, which prompts the dexterous brat to cartwheel backwards and vault again towards us off a corroding stone planing. Pierce raises his blade to block, but Reuben instead lands on it and immediately kicks off, now coming straight for me, raising his bow like a club and swinging down on me with the added momentum of his fall. I decide to do something unexpected. As the face of the bow comes cracking down on me like a torturer’s whip, I let go of my blade with one hand and grab ahold of it so the force dispersed into my hand. This takes Reuben by surprise, who tries to shift his weight again. Before he can, I let my blade flow with the power of water and jab it at him through the space between the shaft and the string. He manages to angle his face away just barely, but I can see that I’ve nicked his cheek by the time he passes over me. The bow somehow lodges free of my grasp, and Reuben sails onward out of further harm’s way. I brace for a counterattack, but Reuben stays standing a good distance from us, turned away with his bow in both hands. I sense Pierce coming up beside me.

“I take it that new blade work is another result of your six months out of contact?” he asks.

“Actually, I just learned it five minutes ago. In five minutes,” I reply. I hear him huff a chuckle.

“Fair enough. Keep your secrets,” he says. I can’t help but smile to that.

Just then, we hear a sorta ‘twang’ sound, like a musical instrument with one of its strings broken. Reuben winces to it, then suddenly drops to his knees.

“Did it just...” I mutter.

“I think it just did...” Pierce replies back.

“It broke...” Reuben mutters.

“Man, it looks like he’s just lost the will to live...” I wince.

“Sure, perhaps a bow master is nothing without his bow, but...” Pierce mumbles.

“...But he was doing just fine using it as a bludgeoning device,” I finish, scratching my head.

“Well...” Pierce huffs. “When opportunity strikes.”

He strides towards Reuben with a rather loose posture. Before I can say a word, he’s nailed the kid in the head with a swift kick that clearly didn’t hold any power back. Reuben falls silent over to the side, limp and quite possibly dead.

“What the hell?!” I holler. “We were supposed to question him!”

Pierce looks down slowly at Reuben’s incapacitated body, and huffs.

“What? What’s that ‘Huh’ supposed to mean?” I mutter.

“Tie him up. We will question him later, when he wakes up.”

“If! That’s an ‘if,’ man,” I sputter.

After tending to Nora’s sounds and tying up Reuben Khol, we’re basically back on the road. I have Nora, who’s for sure out of the game, secured to my back, and Pierce has the unconscious spoiled worm-son tied nice and tight to his. Despite it all, I’m kinda glad it wound up this way. I mean, it hurts me to see Nora like this and all, but I’m just thankful that she won’t be fighting anymore this time around. Maybe I’ll get to see her to that special restorative mage without much of a fuss after all. Restorative... Restorative... Which brings me to realize...

“W-Woah, my hand’s like.. swelling up inside my glove really bad,” I mutter. “L-Lilith?”

“I just told you, I’m not well versed in healing magic,” she replies. “Remember? That’s why I can’t heal Nora, and that’s why you’re carrying her on your back.”

“...This game’s unbalanced. No healers...? That’s just bad party coordination,” I grumble. “Now I can’t move my hand cuz it’s all inflamed and shit...”

“Then perhaps you should not have caught Reuben’s attack with your bare hand like that,” Pierce retorts.

“Huh? Ohh, right. So that’s what happened!” I say.

“You forgot?!” he yells.

“Hey, don’t get mad at a party member. I have a lot on my mind,” I say in my own defense.

“So you keep telling us,” he groans. “Just as I thought. I still don’t much like you.”

“Aww, don’t be like that! You know you love me!” I tease, jokingly leaning in on him.

He grabs the wrist of my injured hand and begins to squeeze.

“Ow ow ow! It’s broken! I think it’s already broken!” I exclaim. “Sorry! Sorry, I’m sorry so please—!“

“Both of you, look—!” Lilith says, pointing off into the distance.

Pierce lets go. I squint my eyes to see through a distant rolling fog, but when I do see it, I realize right away. A stone monolith, a multistoried fortress with high rounded towers has cropped up in the distance. For some reason, I get a chill down my spine when I look at it as a whole. Below is a field of ruins, one vast and wide, all culminating to the one central structure.

“That it?” I ask, kinda stuck in awe at the moment.

“What else would it be?” Pierce snaps.

“Yes,” Lilith nods. “The precursor to Seynith as we know it. Caldevar... and its most grand of castles.”