Joachim stood away from his classmates as half of them gathered together to discuss their next course of action. The others aside from himself not involved with the planning were Nos and Enneya who kept watch, and Lua and Shimona, the latter of the two keeping company to the mourning sister.

Aside from the long period it took for Joachim to explain what happened in his muteness, his classmates had largely ignored him since his return. He wondered if they thought he was to blame for the death of their friends. If they did, he would be thankful, because that was how he felt and was a burden he thought he deserved to carry. If he had stayed and fought with each of their fallen comrades, perhaps thing would have been different. If he had managed to summon the courage to kill himself, perhaps he could have saved them from their fates. Perhaps he still could rescue everyone else. The Watcher did say that so long as they died out of order, the unspawns would disappear.

He forced himself away from the negative thinking, instead choosing to simply look out towards the field of flowers, remembering the last time he and Ishumi had went there to pay their respects to her family. It was a bright day that burnt into his mind with all his classmates present for the occasion. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not take his mind away from a single thought. If he died, his friends' lives would be saved.

“That's what you're thinking, is it not?”

Joachim turned to see Nos walk up to him. The latter had apparently started a conversation with the former, but Joachim had completely ignored it. He simply looked quizzically to Nos.

Nos sighed. “You were thinking about dying, yes? Trust me, I know what you're feeling.”

Joachim wanted to tell him off. How could he possibly know what he was feeling? Joachim was destined to be the last to die. He was going to have to watch all of his friends suffer before finding the end. But then Joachim realized how wrong he was. Because Nos was numbered One. If anyone was going to feel the way Joachim did, it was Nos. Both of them at the bottom of the ladder.

“Our lives don't matter, you and I,” Nos continued. “By the time it's our turn, there'd be nothing left to protect.”

He never liked Nos. The two of them simply never clicked. They fought together well enough, even managing to sustain themselves in the Spellblade Tourney. But that did not meant they got along. At best, the two of them tolerated each other.

“But I won't kill myself. And neither will you. We do that to save ourselves the suffering from watching our friends die. But then they will have to live with our sacrifice.” Nos paused to glance over the field of flowers. “I don't think that's fair, having others carry the burden of your sacrifice. It's not the same as getting killed or dying of an illness. It's a conscious choice to leave people behind.”

Joachim pointed to himself, made a gesture across his throat, and then indicated to Nos.

“Yes. You could kill me. I could kill you too. Either way, as long as one of us dies, we can probably put an immediate stop to this thing.” Joachim felt a chill run down his spine from a sense of dangerous bloodlust. But instead of a fight, Nos gave a final message before turning away. “Enneya is looking for you.”

Nos walked away and back to his patrol, leaving Joachim in stunned silence. He wondered if that was a threat. Or perhaps it was an invitation. Maybe it was a hint that their rivalry would make it easier for them to end one another should the time come. Eventually, he decided to put the thought aside for later, simply because it was more horrendous a train of thought than he would have liked to dwell on.

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So he went to look for Enneya as he was told. He circled the field until he found her by one of the bell trees. The wind chimes that dangled from the branches carried the colours of a rainbow. It was one of the most decorated tree he had seen the, with close to a hundred of the chimes slung onto it. A few had fallen to the ground, knocked off by the passage of life and time. Enneya was using her staff to pick the dropped ones off the ground and place them back onto the wooden arms that held them.

“Sorry,” she noted when he approached. “I know I'm suppose to be patrolling, but I got distracted.”

He picked one of the chimes off the ground and handed it over to her, showing his understanding.

She took the chime and smiled. “Thanks.” She hooked the end of chime onto her staff and raised it like a flag up and hung it onto the tree. “Were they scared?”

He knew she was asking about their friends. About Ishumi, Shjacky, Quinton, and Kingston. Enneya Devini was numbered Nine and was to be the next in line to die. While he could not speak for Kingston, he could make a guess of his feelings. Joachim nodded affirmatively. They were afraid. Of course they were.

She sighed and picked up another chime. “That wasn't a fair question.” She then turned to him. “Remember what Sik Rehiy said to us on our first day last year?”

He nodded. They had a lesson on Edward 'Golden Knight' Lyonhart. A legendary commander of ancient times that fought in countless wars, charging fearlessly into battle. At the founding of Aleynonlia, the soul arm, Caliburn, was used as a way to determine the one to rule by finding a wielder of impeccable courage. Despite his accomplishments, Lyonhart never managed to pick up the weapon. It was not until when Atria Pendraegon – a former deserter turned freedom fighting hero – picked up the sword was the first queen of Aleynonlia chosen.

Enneya reworded her question. “Were they brave?”

He raised his hand to wipe the tears that were forming. When he gathered his composure, he nodded assuringly. They were afraid. Of course they were. But they faced their enemies anyway. That was what being brave was about. It was not about not having fear, as Lyonhart did. It was about being afraid, but choosing to face the monsters despite of it.

“I'll have to brave soon,” Enneya said with a sad smile.

He wanted to tell her not to worry. That he would make sure nothing happened to any of them. He wanted to say that they would all get through it together, at that The Janus was going to pay for all she had done and taken from them. But he had lost his voice. He had lost what helped put his thoughts and feelings into words. He had lost his best friend.

Pempe was walking towards them, his meeting apparently finished. Behind, everyone else had gathered in the clearing, weapons out and ready to move out. Even Lua had gotten back on her feet with a fresh coat of anger in her bloodshot, tear dried eyes. It was the kind of anger that only came about from pain. It was a feeling he knew well. It was a feeling he felt.

“It's not your fault.”

He turned back to Enneya who was also looking at Pempe's approach, albeit with a sombre stare.

She added finally, “If what I'm feeling now is even close to what Ishumi felt as the next in line, then I want you to know that whatever happened and might happen are not your fault.” She gestured for him and they started walking together back to the others. “I bet The Janus feels that she will get away with this unharmed. We either kill ourselves off or she succeeds. But we're not going to let either of that happen. We're going to stop her. She cost the lives of our friends. She's not getting away with it.”

Joachim wondered where everyone got that conviction from. He had half a mind to run. To kill himself and stop the cycle prematurely. He could not find it in him to search for that logic or strength to keep losing his friends. He thought back to Nos and the latter's threat. A part of him felt it a necessary sacrifice. He felt he could bear the weight of being a murderer so long as it saved the lives of those close to him. Perhaps, he could kill Nos.

They met up with Pempe mid way. Joachim wondered if they had decided he needed to die. If they were willing to kill him on his behalf, he would accept that as well.

“We're going head first. No point in hiding or running,” Pempe said. It was honestly not an answer that sat particularly well with Joachim. It placed them at more risk than they were already in. “We'll head to the northern watchtower. The Janus probably don't expect us to have guessed her identity. So let's take the upper hand of surprise and put an end to this, once and for all.”