Feet aching, Kari found that he had reached a familiar part of the city. The road before him was cordoned off, and a fine layer of pale sandstone dust covered everything in sight, even the petals of the flowers in the balconies.

He had reached the site of his rampage the day prior. Angels guarded the perimeter.

Kari turned around, intending to leave when something bumped into him.

A child.

“What happened mister?” he asked, the first words Kari had heard addressed to him all day.

“…I fell,” Kari said simply.

“It looks like you need some new clothes.” The boy said.

“I suppose that is true,” said Kari.

Then he got a good look at the boy. The little one had a bandage wrapped around his head.

A pit formed in Kari’s stomach.

“What happened to you, boy?” he asked.

“A bad person blew up our house.” The boy said as only as a child might, with no filter.

“…I’m sorry.” Kari could only manage to say.

“It’s okay.” The boy said. “A special angel hero saved me and my mommy.”

Elwin.

“He saved me, too,” Kari said.

“Wow mister, you were here too?”

“Yeah, I was.”

“No wonder you look so bad.”

Rather than the child’s blunt words, guilt crushed Kari’s heart. He couldn’t stay here like this. Blue was right to scorn him, he thought. He was truly no better than the Wrights who had destroyed his childhood.

He left the little boy behind, unable to face the small figure any longer.

He remembered what Elwin had said to him: to ‘be better’… whatever that meant.

Well, if he was going to do anything, he had better start by giving his clothes a wash. Kari thought. He was drawing too much of the wrong kind of attention with what he was currently wearing.

Knowing that, Kari decided to follow signs for a public park. His plan was to find a public water source to clean himself and his clothes. He reasoned that the impoverished people that lived on Sarigold’s extremities had to have something.

The signs lead to the eastern edge of the city, almost all the way to the thick exterior walls. To his surprise, there was a bathhouse, and beside it, a humble park with a small river, partially fueled by the runoff from the bathhouse, it seemed. Kari’s intuition and deep knowledge of water told him that such an abundance so near the desert indicated a spring. Indeed, that would explain how Sarigold maintained such a large population in an otherwise inhospitable location. The river flowed under the city walls, through metal sewer gratings. Kari knew that the least fortunate outside the city likely used whatever flowed their way.

At this time in the late afternoon, it was relatively quiet in the park as most people were preparing for their evening meal. There were even a few impoverished characters already using the river to do their laundry, hidden from the sight of the main road by the hump of the riverbank and cover provided by trees.

Despite knowing that the river was runoff from the bathhouse, Kari found that it seemed relatively clean, though he wouldn’t dare to drink it. He quickly stripped himself of his dirty clothes, bathed his body and laundered his torn robe. The other locals paid him no mind, only subtly shifting away from the patches of filth making their way downstream towards them.

Performing such familiar activities seemed to lighten Kari’s mood. Or perhaps it was the way in which the other Giftless of Sarigold seemed to be so wordlessly accepting of the hydrohand. It was a humbling experience that left Kari with a gentle sense of reassurance… but even these emotions were quickly suppressed. His Gift had been a core part of his identity, and he wasn’t ready to let that part of himself go just yet.

Kari returned to the streets in search of food. He still had some money left, enough even to afford a proper clean in a bathhouse. But, he had chosen to take his chances because he had no idea how he would earn his living now that he had no Gift. He was on the path to destitution. In the past, the coldhearted man would have robbed stray travellers without a second thought. But now, he had nothing to support his more uncivilised tendencies.

He decided to step into a relatively quiet tavern on a sidestreet. He was not ready to take his chances in the slums, but he certainly wasn’t about to pay a premium price at a main street establishment.

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The tavern was a humble affair, with only seven or so tables, and three stools at the bar. It was lit by lanterns resting on each table, with a small chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the centre of the room. The delicious smell of meat roasting on the grill behind the bar set Kari’s mouth-watering.

A group of three men sat in the corner, already on their third drink. A lone patron sat at the bar, conversing with the bartender.

The patron was a rather eccentric-looking woman with short brown hair and a monocle. A white bandage was wrapped around her head.

The bartender was a balding middle-aged man with a well-kept moustache on his face and a towel resting around his shoulders. He afforded Kari a glance, searching the traveller’s worn face for any inclination of what he was after.

“Hail there, traveller. You certainly look like you’ve seen better days. Come and rest awhile. First drink’s on the house. What’ll it be?”

Kari was rather unused to such hospitality, and he was certainly not expecting to find it in such a place as the capitalistic Sarigold. He ordered what he presumed to be the cost-effective meal on the menu. Roasted vegetables and spiced mutton.

Whether by boredom, goodwill or in an effort to have Kari prolong his stay and extract more coin from him, the barkeep engaged the tired, broken man in conversation as he poured him a drink.

“I wouldn’t be so insensitive to ask what has you in such a sorry state, but I can only extend my sympathies and hope that it has nothing to do with those self-righteous Angels milling about the town centre recently. This little missy here was telling me all about how they cordoned off the street after blowing it to hell yesterday evening.”

“Hey! Don’t put words in my mouth, Franklin. I was just saying that they’ve been awfully suspicious since this morning. What if they’re listening in on us? Don’t get me into any trouble!” she added in a hissed whisper.

“Sorry, Lorrie, didn’t mean any harm by it.” The barkeep apologised warmly to put the situation to rest.

“I’m Lorrie. I’m a researcher for the Alchemist’s Institute of Laajvaar. And you are?”

“My name is Kar-…Karl” Kari said, stopping himself and giving them a false name. He was suddenly struck with anxiety because Rhaspalaka had seemingly recognised him by name, if not by his talent with his Gift.

“Well, nice to meet you, Karl,” Lorrie said, taking his hand rather forcefully and shaking it with great vigour. It was a rather uncomfortable experience. “What I was really saying, was that the Angels have been acting real mysterious ever since this morning. I was out shopping for coal powder at the morning market when eight of these giant metal birds come swooping into the city. I swear I saw an entire circus of those shiny gilded soldiers make their way into the destroyed residential district. Now, why would they do that?”

Franklin the barkeep spoke up while he was plating Kari’s meal. “Well, maybe they just decided to loot those houses.”

“With so many soldiers? They were armed to the teeth too. You’d think if they wanted to do whatever they’re doing, they would’ve done it last night when they wrecked the place, not wait until morning. No… something is afoot.”

A bell was ringing in Kari’s mind. What had he seen exposed beneath him as he was trapped in stasis the night before?

“I saw some kind of chamber below the street there. Do you think that has anything to do with it?” Kari asked.

“Some kind of chamber…?” Lorrie asked.

“Here,” Franklin said, passing Kari a steaming plate of food. Kari passed the man a coin in kind. The food was good. So was the beer, if a little warm.

Franklin cleared his throat, speaking in a low voice. “You might be onto something. I did hear that some of the residents were pulled from their homes in the middle of the night. They won’t say what happened to them, but you don’t come home looking like they did after a night out partyin’.”

Kari spoke between mouthfuls of warm, delicious roasted vegetables and gestured with his fork. “Do you think it's related to whatever was underneath their houses?”

“I-I remember! There’s an ancient teleportation circle linked to Al Dherjza under the city. Maybe that’s what you saw. That would explain how Al Dherjza’s barrier fell this morning. I thought it was just a silly rumour!” Lorrie exclaimed, looking around sheepishly after making such a loud proclamation. The other patrons paid them no mind, deep in their wooden mugs as they were.

“Linked to Al Dherjza? Wait, did you say Al Dherjza’s barrier has fallen?” Kari asked in puzzlement.

“Of all places, Al Dherjza? Isn’t that where that giant eyesore in the sky is parked?” Franklin asked with mild confusion evident in his tone.

“Sarigold and Al Dherjza have a storied past as sister cities. The Lord of the Great Basin would-would holiday to Sarigold on occasion. It is said that he made the trip so oft-often that he had a ne-network of teleporters constructed just for that purpose!” Lorrie was so excited in her recital that she stuttered.

It all fell into place in their minds. Lucina had sent her troops through the teleporters this morning, and whatever forces remained in Sarigold were keeping that route open.

Kari remembered the quest that Effie had given Elwin, Blue and himself. To reach ADAM and make a wish that would fix everything. He had been so self-absorbed mourning the loss of his Gift that he had forgotten all about what was at stake.

“Isn’t there a Labyrinth entrance under Al Dherjza?” Franklin asked.

“Yes… In fact, I heard a rumour that King Rolynd’s plan was to beseech ADAM’s help to repel these invaders.” Lorrie added.

“…If King Rolynd cannot reach ADAM to send these invaders away, we could all be in for a very bad time,” Frank said.

What was this familiar feeling that was twisted Kari’s stomach? This feeling that weighed in his chest? This feeling that had gripped him for so long?

Inextricable, inescapable guilt.

Had it ever left? Or had he just forgotten it for a blissful day after avenging his fallen loved ones?

No, this guilt was different. He was free from the ghosts of his past. Freer than he would’ve liked, even.

This guilt was new. The guilt of knowing he could’ve killed innocents, that he was just as bad as those that he had hated so much. The guilt of knowing that his actions had led to Lucina discovering a teleportation circle beneath Sarigold. The guilt of knowing that his thirst for vengeance had caused Apolaphia’s greatest hope to grow weak.

It was the guilt of knowing he might be responsible for the end of the world through his selfish actions.

But it was an accident. I didn’t know that the teleportation circle was below the street there. How could I have known? He thought desperately to reconcile himself.

But did it really matter? The fact was that his actions had led to this moment.

Elwin’s words rang through his mind.

“Do better….”