Rudolf’s little girl was twenty-one now, and it had been a year since her friend’s passing. Vora could no longer visit because of the whole situation. She informed her father about the loss and betrayal, and Rudolf, in turn, explained to Madeline that Vora couldn’t stand O’Landra after Maive's passing, which was still a shard of truth.

It was midnight, and Rudolf was in his office finishing a letter with the flair of a quill pen. It was a letter to his wife, who was fast asleep upstairs. He sealed the note and placed it into one of his drawers. Depending on how that night went, it may be found by Madeline at a later date.

The man wasn’t Rudolf Snihde that night; he was the Dowser, Zero. He had a deadly task that would change Ruth's shape and begin the Burning Bell's fall. After losing many from the holy war, he had boldly arranged a meeting with Maiden Sympha herself, along with Kindlers from across Ruth representing different Bearers. It would be him and him alone speaking for the Dowsers.

From his safe, Rudolf drew the pipe that his best friend Nigel made for him long ago. He considered it his “lucky pipe” and had only carried it twice before. Once was during a crucial doctor’s appointment for Madeline, and the other was when she was mad at him for forgetting their anniversary.

After he pocketed the gift and left the study, he paused with his key and decided to leave the door unlocked this time. At the entrance, he went straight for his coat, thrusting in one arm, then the other. Afterward, he donned his hat, tilted it down, entered an HC waiting outside, and drove off. There were four other Dowsers in the vehicle, two being Drowned rank. Rudolf would be meeting the Chimes solo, but his cohorts demanded and forced an escort.

“Why won’t you just accept our help?” asked the maskless One. “Maiden Sympha couldn’t beat all of the Drowned.”

“Why bother asking him?” asked Two, lazily. “Man’s full of annoying conviction.”

“The Ten Drowned stand no chance against her,” Zero said firmly. “I don’t even expect that Sympha could be killed by standard Fallite. Besides, this is just a meeting, not an assault by the Dowsers. Remember?”

One sat back, disappointment eating her half-burnt face. Two swapped crossed legs and groaned. The rumble of the cobblestone road weakened, and they stopped a reasonable distance from the meeting point. Zero got out, sprinkling some parting words on his underlings.

“You know the plan. You know what’s at stake. Do not be hasty. And don’t be stupid,” he added.

“I can tell you’re staring at me through that mask,” Two said, insulted. “What you’re doing is moronic, so I don’t want to hear it.”

“Be well, Zero,” One said.

Zero traversed up stone steps to the top of a baby-sized hill in O’Landra. He reached a lesser Church of the Burning Bell. After pushing the doors open, soft glows on either side revealed dozens of Kindlers. When he looked straight ahead, he met the golden eyes of Maiden Sympha, standing there properly and unthreateningly. The doors snapped behind him, and he approached the tall Chime while feeling the hostile air from the Kindlers.

Sympha perked up and said in her slow, careful voice, “It’s exciting to finally meet you. You’ve been leading quite a mess across Ruth. The Dowsers have been making a sinful mess for my father for a long time.”

“They have,” Zero confirmed coldly. His blank mask stared at Sympha. “For what you have done to their friends and families, it’s natural they’re bitter. It’s an honor to lead so many strong people."

“I imagine you are. But your ways and thoughts are wrong. You deny yourselves heaven and eternal salvation from the God who loves you. And you try to deny this to others, as well. How is that fair?”

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“There is no salvation. All you do is lie. You still claim the fog had destroyed the world, but it hadn’t. We’re trapped here in our country, worshipping a false savior. We won’t be free until you dispel the fog and off yourselves.”

“Rudolf, be realistic. Were you upset with your sister being saved? Being granted heaven?” Sympha gracefully dropped to her knees, her head level with Rudolfs. “You have a twisted mind thinking that was evil. You're sick."

“Two was right, then.” Rudolf removed his mask and pocketed it. “You can see right through them.”

“Yes, I can see through your mask. That doesn’t mean I automatically know who someone is. But I do know my children in O'Landra. The world is gone; the fog is not the Bell’s doing.”

“You still lie, even when my bearded face is bare.” Rudolf drew his lucky pipe and slid his finger against the oak.

“What are we doing?! Let’s just smite him now,” exclaimed an agitated Kindler. “He’s the leader of the heretics. This isn’t a tea party.”

The Kindler sporadically raised his hand to cast divinity, but his arm exploded into white and silver fire, burning away unburnable flesh. He fell his butt, and Sympha’s eyes had changed to black and orange for a moment.

Sympha, whose patience had run thin over only a decade, stated, “I have a proposal. You and the Drowned turn yourself in for public execution and declare that you were misguiding people, and in return, the Burning Bell and its children will no longer seek Dowsers. Given that they keep their noses to themselves and give up their ways. There is no negotiation,” she said with a bite and a glare.

Rudolf finally lit his pipe and puffed it. “You say that like a mother scolding a child. Burning us all alive in front of Ruth doesn’t matter. You can’t sway free will. Trust me, sometimes they just don’t listen,” Rudolf laughed, thinking of his daughter. “I didn’t come to negotiate.” After Sympha raised a brow, he explained, “I’m here to snuff a dangerous flame.”

Rudolf slid out two red spikes the size of short swords from his coat sleeves. From his lucky pipe, he blew ever-expanding, crimson glittering smoke that filled the whole church and burst out of cracks and windows of the walls.

Chimes gasped and coughed as they rusted painfully from the inside out. Wiser ones covered their faces, and another made a light barrier around himself.

Darting around in the smoke were bloodthirsty eyes seeking prey like a wolf, waiting to strike from anywhere. A Kindler tried to divine step out, but his light sigil shattered on creation from the Fallite particles. The Chimes became fearful, trying to follow the darting eyes in the plumes but unable to keep up.

Those with ivory skin were punctured with holes at random around the room. The one with the barrier had his divinity shattered and his throat pierced.

Sympha’s six wings emerged and created a gale to blow the smoke away, taking some Fallite particles into her feathers as a result. One flap blew out the church walls and blasted the plumes into the atmosphere. The building became one with the outside as debris fell away. Afterward, her wings withered and lost their luster.

“Clever. This limited Fallite is the most potent thanks to Maskless One's synthetization." Rudolf said after he was revealed clearly. “Using fire would have increased the smoke, holy light dims to uselessness, and brass chains and weapons would just rust instantly. Now you can’t fly thanks to my brother's greatest gift.” Rudolf twisted his pipe’s top, and a red glow became bright. Before he inhaled deeply, he warned, “A senior Dowser wouldn't half-ass it with the word of God herself.”

More smoke vomited out of Rudolf's lips within his blonde beard. Traversing his smoky domain, he rapidly punctured holes in his victims, dropping them to the dirt. They fell consecutively like gnats until only Sympha remained.

“I’ve tried hard to stay away from hostility, Rudolf," Sympha reminded thoughtfully. She held out a hand. “You may not believe it, but I’ve the best intentions. I've always known what's best. That is my purpose."

Smoke collapsed tightly around Sympha, and two large needles pierced her heart. Taking pause to examine her injury, Sympha sighed sadly. Her eyes changed, and white and silver fire consumed her, forcing the Dowser away and allowing regeneration.

Rudolf’s attacks were unceasing, like a hornet swarm attacking picnic-goers. Even weakened, Sympha recovered and even got a few slashes in with her sharp, ebony nails.

Then the smoke thinned, and Rudolf was revealed, bloody and holding two red glowing spheres.

“You will be executed,” Sympha panted, annoyed. “My father wills it.” She shot barbed chains from her black nails into Rudolf’s shoulders and shins. "If it were my will, I'd kill you already for your betrayal."

"I see," Rufolf grunted. "The Burning Bell just killed you, then."

Rudolf released the spheres from his limp fingers. They clicked, opened, glowed bright crimson, then snapped shut.

Sympha couldn't divine step nor fly away from earlier disruption as a mechanical screech was followed by a ruby aura that flowed around objects like water.