Who are these monsters knocking at our doors...

Kathleen's body had been moved to the morgue and the ward was left with just Nadier and Adelaide herself. She could not help staring at the blank expression of her fellow elf as he looked stoically to the wall. In his hand, Nadier casually twirled his ring dagger around, his dexterity and coordination no longer requiring visual help.

Unable to hold it in any longer, she said, “I know what you're thinking.”

“The last time I saw you, you can teleport, not read minds,” Nadier replied apathetically.

“You're thinking about going to Ta'Galadul yourself to find out what the dark elves are plotting.”

He stopped playing with his dagger. “I need to know.”

“I'm not coming with you, you know that, right?”

“I don't expect you to.” He started to swing his dagger again, never once glancing her way. “I'm sorry about blackmailing you.”

She clicked her tongue and looked away. After a moment of thought, she replied, “Make sure you survive the trip.”

“Why?”

“I want to kill you myself.”

They looked over and their eyes met. Nadier sighed and gave a thin smile. “Sure.” He cleared his throat before hastily changing the topic, “That girl you said you met, Stella Barber, why do you think The Watcher reacted that way when you mentioned her name?”

“Probably someone from his past,” she speculated.

But Nadier corrected, “He said he came from another universe.”

“I still don't quite believe that.” She laid back into her bed and stretched slightly, careful not to reopen her wounds. “But we've given him everything we know. What he does next is up to him.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“What are you going to do now?”

She let out a deep breath before replying, “I'm going to Valent to get my forest back.”

Whose claws are sharp and teeth bared raw...

As Miguel applied the finishing touches to the item, he wondered how he should compensate his apprentice for letting him use her workshop. He shook the idea out of his head for later before raising up the pocket watch for a final quick inspection by the light. The crystal embedded in the back of the case flickered.

He turned to The Watcher who sat waiting patiently on a chair in the corner of the room. Miguel asked, “And this Stella girl is in Muscoh?”

The Watcher replied, “According to Adelle, yes.”

“That's all the way to the eastern coast.” Miguel passed the man back his pocket watch.

“Which is why I'm getting all this done. I'll be leaving tonight, before all of you.” He held up the watch to examine it. The crystal was perfectly fitted into the casing, as if it had always been so.

“Looks good. But does this actually work?”

Miguel puffed his chest as the aesthetic was complimented. “The crystal's energy is now part of the watch. As long as you're holding the watch, it'll be connected to your circuits.”

“Was this really necessary though? I really liked this watch.”

“Which is why I suggested it,” Miguel explained. “It's best to embed the crystal to an object that you keep close to you. The crystal itself is small, and you'd be surprised how often people misplace them.”

The Watcher nodded in understanding before pocketing the watch. “Thanks for your help.”

Miguel nodded back. Then, the question popped into his head. “The engravings on your watch, is that your real name?”

The Watcher's eyes widened. “How did you know?”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“I could read it.”

The Watched chuckled nervously, “That's, hah... not possible... hah! It's a language I made up—”

“In Gaia,” Miguel cut in. “But on Earth, it's a fictional language for a television series.”

“And you can read it?”

“I was bored one night.”

“So you're saying I should be worried about nerds from another universe?”

“No, I'm saying you should worry about geeks,” Miguel jibbed. “But also, not to show your watch around too much. We don't know if there is a variation of the language on Tearha. There are variations of Mandarin, Latin, and countless other languages from Earth here on Tearha embedded in both modern and ancient tongues. Be careful.”

“Right... speaking of multiple worlds,” the Watcher began. Miguel could sense a long topic coming up so he leaned against the nearest workbench for support. The Watcher continued, “When I told you about portals before, you didn't know anything about it. But your tone sounded as if you knew something.”

“Rifts. We call the phenomenon Rifts.” The Enhancer began his explanations almost immediately. “These are many forms of gateways between different universes or dimensions. There are only two types we know of. A tear is a naturally occurring cut in a dimension. A gate is where we magically stabilize an opening by poking at the weak points between universes. After the Second Exceed War, the entire continent of Ciara became sensitive to these Rifts. But there has never been Rift activities here on Eltar.”

“That doesn't sound normal,” The Watcher chimed in. The man's face was lighted up with curiosity and attention.

Miguel continued, “No. It's not. And neither was your description of your 'portals', which is why I am interested in what's happening right now.”

“From one genius to another slightly less intelligent genius...” The Watcher pointed first to himself then to Miguel, to the latter's annoyance. “What would be your educated guess on the nature of these portals?”

Skipping the offhanded insult, he replied, “A gate is a stabilized pathway between two universes, like a tunnel covered by a curtain. And a rift is a small cut within the edge of our dimension that doesn't reach all the way through. From what you say though, it sounds like these portals are more akin to someone punching a hole through universes using brute force, with energy leaking out like a drain.”

The Watcher nodded again as if he was a child being taught an interesting fact in class. He got up and gave a small bow in thanks before heading for the door. He stopped just short of reaching for the handle before turning to ask, “How much of my name do you know?”

“Just your first.”

“Shorten it.”

“Dan.”

“Shit. That's no good.”

Miguel asked, “How many people outside your time stream knows your real full name?”

“Three. And they're all dead.”

“Well, let's not make me the fourth one.”

Draw your swords and take the floor...

The female Titan Ranger stood at the edge of the town, watching the blimps and birds float through the sky against Everwind in the distance. Without the dry air for which cooled her at the ridges, she sifted in the heat of noon, though skin dried by the cold winter air.

From behind her, a voice said, “It's not like you to get involved.” Luce turned to see Hilde walking up to her. “You always stay up in that hut of yours. Retirement, you called it.”

Luce replied, “I know. But there's something that has caught my attention.”

“You? Miss Lucinda 'I fight Titans for a living' Baerrinska has her attention caught?” Hilde walked up to the side of her friend.

Luce ignored her, continuing to stare out at the plains before them. After a moment, she said, “Last night, while I was providing covering fire for The Watcher, that elf girl appeared behind them.”

“Adelaide?”

“Yes,” Luce confirmed. “She did not sneak up on them. She just appeared. One moment that spot was empty, and the next, there she was, in a cloud of brown. As if she teleported. And there's her hair and eyes. I don't think those are rare genetic traits.”

Hilde, catching on to the conversation, let out a surprised, “You don't mean...”

“I think Demon Eyes is a sentinel,” Luce concluded.

“If she is...”

Luce finished, “She is the last of her kind and one of the most powerful person on the planet.”

Blood splatters windward from all to all...

Though his hand was on the handle of the door, The Watcher was not yet ready to leave. Something still tugged at his mind. Deciding to continue through the conversation, The Watcher stated, “There's something else that's been bordering me.”

“Speak.”

He turned back to the Enhancer. “Nadier took slightly more than a full day to ride here from Everwind on a horse, am I correct?” The Watcher asked, to which Miguel nodded to the details. “Say the horse was full tilt sprint the whole way, that meant the distance between Everwind and here is about a thousand kilometers.”

“That's about right. Why?”

“When I jumped from The Tower of Everwind, I could have sworn the height was no more than two hundred meters.”

“Again, about correct. But what is your point?”

The Watcher asked, “Are you good with mathematics?” To which Miguel nodded affirmatively. The Watcher continued, “When I was at the ridge of the Valley of Titans, I could barely see past the plains. Tell me, given the curvature of the planet, how is it possible we are able to see Everwind at the horizon?”

The Enhancer did a quick, rough mental calculations, fingers dancing as he counted through the formula for viewable distance by height. His eyes slowly grew wider as The Watcher looked on as the hume made a second round of calculations to confirm the theory.

Miguel confirmed, “We should not even be able to see past a quarter of the way to Everwind.” The Enhancer looked worryingly to the time traveller. “You're saying Lord Light has the power to—”

“No. I am saying he is bending the light waves of the entire continent so that he could watch over the entire country in one fell sweep.” The Watcher's mind churned, the gears of logic piecing themselves together. “It's a very slight change over a long distance. It's not something you would notice if it was done slowly across many, many decades. Maybe even centuries. And unless you're someone specifically looking for such a thing, it's not likely you'll notice it.”

“You were looking for it?”

“No. But I'm not just 'someone' either.”

“If he has the power to do such a thing, why hasn't he come after us? It should be easy to kill most of us without a fight.”

The Watcher finally opened the door. Before stepping out, he glanced gravely back to Miguel. “I think he's doing this for his ego. And an egotistical man with power terrifies me.”

I will knock at the wood that is coarse...

“My Lord Light!” the messenger greeted as she stepped onto the balcony of the tower.

The Twins had set and darkness once again took the land. Yet, despite the shadow that had engulfed their half of the world, Light almost glowed with holy brightness. His land stretched out before him. From the port cities of the west to the mines in the east. The glow from each town and municipality dotted North Eltar. The ridge of the Valley of Titans cutting off the unsavoury sight of the undeveloped south.

He turned to the messenger. “What is it?”

“We have received reports that Lady Nora have been killed in her mission, my Lord.” The messenger had his right foot in a slight bent step forward as he meekly bowed, head staring to the ground, never meeting Light's gaze. “The Wanderer and his companions are still at large. What are your orders?”

“Leave them. There's been words that the dark elves are making their moves. The heads of those three are no longer required for bargaining now that it has come to this stage,” he replied sternly, returning his gaze back to the lay of the land. Unknowingly, a toothy grin spread across his face. “But I want to watch their movements a little longer. They may be of more use to me on the ground.”

“Understood, Lord Light.” The messenger furthered his bow before turning away and walking back into the tower.

Alone again, Light spoke aloud. “Oh, my dear Danny-boy, what would you do now? A war is brewing. Can you still stand at the sideline and watch as innocents dies?” Unable to hold back his joy any longer, he let out a short laughter and started humming, “Who are these monsters knocking at our doors? Whose claws are sharp and teeth bared raw. Draw your swords and take the floor. Blood splatters windward from all to all. I will knock at the wood that is course.”

...For I am the demon at your door...