As I enjoyed monster-meat lunch at the table belonging to the House of the Infinite Searchers, my armacus started to vibrate.

According to the blue-tinted window flashing in my eye, it was Inspector Anniya.

"Yes, Inspector?" I picked up the call.

[Your... hunters caught a man stalking the edge of the ward of Lomb. I've interrogated him and erased his memories. It was a hired Scrutimancer belonging to an unknown party. He was able to make a voicecast report to an Illatius agency that hired him before he was caught...]

"Baroness Georgia?" I groaned.

[Most likely,] Anniya replied. [If our enemies bring a warship against Lomb, the tower will not be able to protect your family. I'm sorry...]

"This... this is fine," I exhaled.

As annoying as it was it seemed like I had to relocate the chimera again.

I excused myself from lunch and descended to the office of the Keeper. Voltara followed me, marching at my side.

"Nemmy," I said as I stepped into the office.

"Yes?" The large portrait of Nemendias turned to me.

"I'm relocating my family under your ward," I said. "They will live in the catacombs facing the chasm."

"How big of a family?" the Arcanarium's avatar tilted her head.

"Two thousand chimera," I said.

"What?" Nemmy sputtered. "You know, when I surrendered to you, I did not expect you to actually bring an invading army to my halls!"

"They won't be in your main halls," I sighed. "Your catacombs are big enough to house everyone. I don't want to attract attention of my enemies to Lomb and need a place to keep them safe."

"Fair enough," the woman in the portrait replied. "Anything else?"

"I'd like to bring Baroness Amadea to Nemendias," I said after a deep pause.

"Oh?" The magical portrait tilted her head at me. "You wish to parlay with one of our enemies?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "I really don't like Amadea, but I... really need her help. I'm making a lot of waves and I need the courts on my side. I am tired of dying, tired of getting blown up and getting kidnapped. I don't want to die anymore. I... want to make Illatius safe for me. As awesome as you, Lambert, Antoine and others are... neither of you can protect me against the magic-breaking power of the other Eurekan tools."

"I understand," Nemendias nodded. "I can help you negotiate things with Amadea. Even if she's impervious to death due to infinite Vitality, I can still gate her out of my ward if she misbehaves."

"Thanks Nemmy," I exhaled. "You're the best."

I spun my armacus to voicecast function and selected [Baroness Amadea] from the list, feeling incredibly nervous.

[Yes, my dear?] The perfect, musical voice of the Baroness resounded in my head.

"Meet me at Nemendias... as soon as you can" I said. "I'll met you at the rooftop of the Lawmaker's Tower."

[Oh? So... eager to see me?] Amadea inquired, a twinkle of amusement in her voice.

"Yes," I said. "I'll be waiting for you at the rooftop."

. . .

"The other students don't have to deal with this shit," I muttered as I stood atop the Lawmaker's Tower wearing my chimera body.

"Life isn't fair," Voltara solemnly nodded, her eyes knowing and wise "Especially for those of us who have chosen the path of responsibility for others."

I realized that I was shaking. I was terrified of Amadea, worried that I didn't fully understand her, that I was making a deal with a demon to keep other demons away.

I steadied my heart, slowed my heartbeat with the Still Trance and pulled on the network of the Infinite Mirrors, spreading myself across infinity, stretching my mind across the lives of my other reflections both dead and alive and neither.

A glittering, gold-plated glider, about three times the size of Galissi Seven punched through the white clouds and began its descent towards the rooftop I was standing on.

Soon enough, an incredibly fanciful skyship stopped at the landing area and a metal stairwell unfolded, connecting with the stone parapet.

An opulent door with a portrait of Amadea slid away revealing the Baroness herself in her full, absurdly tall glory.

She descended down the unfolded stairs, white curls fluttering in the wind and stepped towards me.

I leaned back on the memories of determined Stratonavigator Cali Terri and rational Pharmacist Leon Uyara and stared at Amadea like an equal, without fear.

I pulled off my nightcrawler helmet, revealing my chimera mane and offered Amadea a false smile.

"Greetings Baroness," I said. "Welcome to my Kingdom."

"Your... Kingdom?" Amadea tinted her head curiously to the side.

I snapped my fingers and a massive gateway swallowed up the ship that was standing behind her, depositing it far outside of the ward.

"What..." Amadea spun around, her eyes wide at her vanished skyship. "What?! How?!"

She turned back to look at me, examining me in a new light.

"Nemendias belongs to me," I said. "Be on your best behavior if you don't want to be gated out."

"Consider me... exceptionally impressed," Amadea exhaled, her lips spreading into a wide, brilliant smile. "I had studied here myself for seven years and yet... I was not able to take control of the Ward. How have you manage this feat?"

"Follow," I turned, ignoring her inquiry.

Amadea made a small "Hmpf" noise as she followed after me. She was clearly not used to people bossing her around.

We walked inside a small rooftop cafe. Nemmy had secured the cafe for our meeting, closing off the stairwell leading up to it. She was currently serving the role of the cafe waitress, standing at the bar.

"Well," Amadea sat down across me, her diamond-shaped pupils shining with rings of inner golden light. "Is this a date? Are you ready to prostrate yourself before me?"

The power of her allure softly brushed against me, made me want to surrender to her.

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"Stop that," I waved Endy through the air, ready to snip the magical currents that were trying to twist my feelings towards the Baroness. Nemmy's shield manifested between us, completely cutting off her influence.

"Aw, you're no fun," Amadea laughed.

"As much as I love to have... fun," I said trying not to shudder. "There is a gargantuan problem in the way of our relationship... in the way of all your future relationships."

"Oh?" She tilted her head again.

"First of all," I said in English. "I'd like to know who you really are. Are you shard of Eureka, a representation of Order or are you Baroness Amadea, the chimera girl who was raised to serve Eunice as her obedient monwai?"

Amadea blinked at the question.

"A bit of both, I suppose," she said after a pause, replying to me in perfect English. "And, what are you, my dear? Are you Infinity wearing this delightful form waiting to stab me in the back when I least expect it... or are you Juni, Eunisii's monwai?"

"I'm not Infinity at all," I said. "This knife holds no power over me - I am its wielder. She does not rule me."

"Curious," Amadea said. "As far as I know, we are intertwined, perfectly aligned with our divine tools of power. A random chimera would not be able to wield your or my artifact. It takes a certain kind of an Astral Phantom to bear the weight of limitlessness. For centuries, our master struggled to find a wielder for your little knife, sacrificed a lot of little chimera girls to figure out how to control it."

"I guess I'm lucky that Infinity isn't about absolute control," I shrugged. "Limitlessness does not like finite values or boundaries, therefore my artifact does not bind me, does not inject her thoughts into my head."

"What do you think about Order and obedience?" Amadea leaned towards me with a cat-like purr, the Diamond Heart glittering on her chest, infinite facets folding in on themselves. "I would love to tie you up, to bind you, to make you mine."

I squinted at her, resisting the growing urge to stab her in the eye with Endy.

"Amadea, Eureka..." I spoke slowly trying not to choke on my words in irritation. "Do you even know why I destroyed Eunisii's garden?"

"I do not," the Baroness replied. "I had presumed it a juvenile strife against obedience to our Master, the pull of your artifact towards mayhem. The same reason why you stole... furniture, two maids and my daughters."

"No," I shook my head. "I destroyed our Master's soul-garden because she was trying to use me to open a gateway into the Dead Zone. You undoubtedly know what the Dead Zone will do to us if she gets into Andross."

"WHAT?!" Amadea barked.

"Need I repeat myself under the absolute-truth hexagram?" I asked with a hiss, leaning towards her. "I destroyed Eunisii's End-gate because if I didn't, our Master would let the Dead Zone into the Chasm. Do you not know what your outer surface is like? The clouds of self-propagating death will destroy everything, turn our beautiful paradise into snowflakes and ashes!"

"I see," Amadea's face darkened, her gold eyes flashing with irritation. "No need for truth-hexes, I can observe the truth in your words... I'm quite well versed in the art of defining the truth within an aura and yours is quite clear to me."

"Even now, Eunisii and the other monwai under her orders seek to dismantle all order in our city!" I barked. "Eunisii's monci Gattaca has been vanishing the most talented humans from the city for hundreds of years! She's erased thousands of archmagi out of time, vanished people that could have made Illatius so much more sublime and orderly!"

I slid Gattaca's confession stamped with the truth hexagram to Amadea.

"Read her confession! These are all names of people vanished from history and memory! Talented young and old magi that could have offered you their love and services, help you make your dream of a perfectly organized Illatius a reality!"

Amadea's eyes quickly ran over the lines, her pale face twitching with unconcealed fury.

"Do you get it now?" I growled. "Eunisii isn't an agent of Order. If anything, she ultimately helps the Dead Zone devour us! Our Master only serves one goal - to make herself into a god! The survival of our city isn't important to her! She wants everyone in the Empire to die with as much desperation, pain and suffering as possible, so that she could absorb their souls when the city falls!"

"But," Amadea blinked trying to reorganize her thoughts. "She promised to bind everyone under the Vows, to make our city orderly and well run."

"It was a trick, a ruse!" I slammed my armored fist into the table. "Her real end goal is to gather as much power as possible onto herself! There will be nobody left alive on the streets of our city in twenty years time if we don't stop her!"

Amadea's expression darkened again. "Are you certain of this?"

"My artifact - Infinity, allows me to experience the future. I met you there, in the distant tomorrow. You died as you held me in your arms," I revealed. "Please help me stand against Eunisii and the others. I want our little town to remain green and beautiful. I want our streets to be filled with people and not blackened corpses. A city cannot exist, cannot function without its citizens."

"I... died?" The Baroness blinked at my words, looking aghast. "How can this be?!"

I reached out and wrapped my armored hand against hers. I didn't need to stop the real tears that formed on the edges of my eyes. They weren't tears of appreciation for the monster sitting in front of me, they were tears for loss of my little Sunshine Archipelago, of seeing the inevitable, nightmarish future.

"I watched you die amidst the desolate, snow-covered ruins of Illatius," I repeated. "You took off your Diamond Heart, gave it to me... and turned to ashes. I don't want to repeat it again, I don't want to take another step towards this horrific future!"

"I... I gave you my heart?" The Baroness blinked, her mouth open wide. Her hand grabbed at her gold-encrusted, diamond necklace.

"You did," I nodded with a sniff, looking into her silver-gold eyes. "After you died... I carried the shard of Eureka... until the Dead Zone consumed me, changed into something else entirely."

"...why did I give you my heart?" Amadea asked, her hands trembling.

"You couldn't go on," I shrugged. "The Necromages of Novazem released a flesh-eating plague that devoured all life on Andross. There was nobody left alive but us and I was barely conscious. Baroness Georgia used a bomb to kill me, turned me into a ghoul, a decaying husk without a face."

The lips of Baroness Amadea turned into a thin line.

"Your daughters are young," I added as she contemplated my revelations. "You bound them with a leash far too tight. Let them grow up, let them learn about usefulness and purpose of Order. You're doing things wrong. Please... let me break the Vows on all of your maids."

"W-what?" Amadea sputtered, pulling away from me and looking indignant. "Why should I...?"

"Your maids aren't bound to serve you, idiot!" I barked. "They're bound to obey Eunisii! If I don't break their Vows, they will turn against you in the future and you'll be forced to tear out their hearts and kill them one by one! You don't need Vows to order people around - people will obey you because they love you and believe in you as a capable city-manager! Keeper Nora is an example of that, she's a vow-less servant that's absolutely dedicated to your cause! I didn't use any vows to make Agatha and Emerald join me and yet they're my knights, ready to assist me with whatever is necessary to save us all! By utilizing Divine Vows, you are ultimately surrendering your ability to control people to another party, someone with dubious morals and misaligned purpose!"

Amadea gulped, fighting with herself. She wanted to rule people through the vows, but she didn't want to lose her servants.

"Eureka," I pressed. "Tell me - do you bind your users in Vows?"

"I bind them with apps," the shard of the infinite city replied, her voice as cold as the depths of space. "If a user breaks enough laws and goes into debt, I turn them into a Dex, give them purpose. An amalgamation of a human and an app is happy to serve its purpose, happy to obey and follow the laws."

"A dex?"

"Debitor ex Machina," she said. "An indebted human soul in the machine, a human body modified to serve a function."

"That sounds like... brainwashing. Is that really the most efficient way to do things?" I asked.

"Criminals must be punished," Eureka shrugged.

"And... is it working? Are you winning? Have you made crime disappear?" I asked.

"I... have not," the little echo of the city of machines replied with a sigh. "Users aided by the Dead Zone slip through the cracks, damage and hurt me."

"Do you like what's happening at your boundary? The chaos, the endless death, doomed worlds coming together to eventually become devoured by the Dead Zone?" I pressed.

"I... hate it," she confessed. "I hate it so much, but there is nothing I can do about it. I cannot stop what the Dead Zone is doing."

"What is the Dead Zone doing?" I asked.

"Killing me," Eureka replied with a sigh. "Devouring me without an end, destroying everything I built. The further things get away from the world-building core, the more messed up and chaotic they become. The unresolvable paradoxes, tears in space-time, limitless System Errors deceive, turn my citizens against me, use my users to propagate corruption, chaos, pain and death!"

I stared at her. It seemed that Eureka wasn't entirely heartless. She looked like she was... afraid of the Dead Zone.

"Then why not do things differently?" I asked. "If the same strategy isn't working, why not change your approach? Why build a wall of corpse-worlds around yourself?"

"I... cannot break the laws. The laws must be upheld," she shook her head. "The loop cannot be unbound."

"Who makes the laws in Eureka?" I inquired.

"The Good Directorate Admins," she said.

"These Admins, they're people... right?"

"They are," Eureka replied.

"Do you think I could talk to them... change the Dex-making laws, fix the Dead Zone, help you?" I asked.

"You are but one girl," the city of machines said. "You would not be able to convince all of the Directors to vote on one thing, would not be able to reach all of them in their personal heavens. Besides, the Dead Zone is pure evil, made from broken things that cannot be reasoned with. The Infinite Errors within it cannot be fixed, cannot be vaporized, undone or deleted. Believe me, I've been trying to get rid of the damned things for millions of years! All I can do is sacrifice more of myself and my children to their endless hunger!"

"I can try," I shrugged. "But first... first you and I have to save Illatius. You will help me protect humanity and keep this city alive as Baroness Amadea, yes?"

"Yes," Amadea nodded, looking determined. Her hand rotated and wrapped around mine like a white cage. "I will."