Rolynd was standing on the palace terrace, looking over the work being done in the city square far below. Large-scale disenchanting was taking place so that a new statue could be set into the hard feldspar foundation of the square.

A certain person’s head popped into view, hanging down from above, forming a clean silhouette against the clear blue sky. The ponytail of fiery orange hair betrayed the acrobat’s identity.

“Hey, Roly.” They called.

“Phee. It is good to see you. How is your body?” Rolynd replied.

“Oh you know, doing pretty well.” She said, grabbing the gutter with one hand and swinging her body around the edge of the parapet to land feet-first beside her friend. “Coming back ain't so scary after the first time, still not used to the feeling of dying though. How are you feeling these days?” Phee asked,

“I’m doing alright,” Rolynd answered.

“‘Alright’? That’s it?” the girl pestered.

“Why? Is there something wrong with that?”

“I guess not. It’s just that I expected you to be happier. Sophia and Effie survived, and Lord Miretrix returned Al Dherjza to you, the Law of Fairness prevents any would-be retribution and protects us all. It even prevents the Incandestine from destroying Apolaphia as a Rogue Planet, doesn’t it? And, Lucina’s dead and Catherine’s been brought back to life! Isn’t that just perfect? Everything went exactly to your plan, right?”

“Exactly to plan, you say? I guess so.” Rolynd said. But whose plan, mine or Catherine’s? he wondered.

“That’s right! You were born to lead, Rolynd, that’s why Catherine trusted you to lead us during the escape, and why the people of Al Dherjza fought so hard to keep you on the throne! Man, I still can’t believe you would announce your abdication without even talking about it with us first.”

“I never wanted to be king,” Rolynd answered. Phee was taken aback, not by his words; most everyone knew that he was reluctant to be king of Al Dherjza. It was the way he spoke; He suddenly sounded very tired. “I gambled the entire city away. We lost countless lives in a senseless, selfish war. If the people knew why Lucina had really come, and how we had manipulated them into fighting and dying for us-”

“That’s all on Lucina. You didn’t start the war. You didn’t kill everyone.” Phee stated strongly. She continued with the passion in her voice intensifying with every successive sentence. “You never asked to be king or to be a tool for the Incandestine Empire to use. We never asked for that. We just want to be free. Is that not right? Is that too much to ask?”

“No, it’s not, it’s not too much to ask,” Rolynd answered. He knew that. But he was allowed to feel conflicted about it nevertheless. He sighed, taking the Crown of Al Dherjza off his head and into his hands. He turned the golden circlet over, letting his fingertips trace its simple edges. The large, lone gemstone embedded into its front carried a different meaning now. The unusual black onyx with a white core was clearly a reference to the black hole which acted as the entrance to ADAM’s Labyrinth.

Rolynd put the crown back on his head while Phee watched with some sense of understanding. Empress Lucina may have been wrong about many things, but there was one thing Rolynd was forced to appreciate in her philosophy: He was bound to his duty. In the eyes of the world, it was right for him to be king, no matter how he might feel about it.

“Let me ask you something,” Rolynd said.

“Why? What is it?” Phee asked.

“Have you ever heard of the Cephalogene?”

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“Cephalo-what?”

“The Cephalogene. It was a rumour floating around the Daedalus Facility. A rumour about the Rex family.”

“The Rex family? That would include Lucina and Catherine, right?”

“Yes. Correct. The rumour states that early in the formation of the Empire, a group of founders betrayed the others, and genetically modified their kin with the Cephalogene.”

“I guess a rumour about genetic modification is to be expected in a facility where they’re raising genetically modified children, right?”

“Right, sure. Well, the Cephalogene is a bit different from your usual rumour. It’s a gene that’s meant to express itself in the environment, not in an individual.”

“That literally doesn’t make sense.”

“Listen, it does. The carrier of the Cephalogene is supposedly blessed with the power to be favoured by fate itself. They succeed at whatever task they put their mind to, they can’t be killed unless they will it. Think about Prince Seraphi. He survived his spaceship exploding while it was mid-warp. Sure, his torn-apart body had to be put back together, but he survived. The odds of that are astronomically, incalculably low.”

“Mmmm, I don’t know Rolynd. It all sounds a bit too far-fetched for me. Like a conspiracy theory made by snooty imperials who can’t take a loss on their chin. Realistically, the Empress and her family are always going to be the most powerful and influential, even among the Incandestine nobles. It makes sense that they would succeed where others fail; rich getting richer and all that.”

“Really? I have near complete control of the matter around me. Effie has her very own pocket universe, and you can survive death. Do you really think that an ability to succeed no matter what is too much to believe?”

“Maybe. No. I don’t know.” Phee shrugged. “It’s impossible to prove anyway. And how would they make such a power? Where would it come from?”

“Gemstones, maybe. Think about it. Where do they even come from? How did the Incandestine know how to hybridise a completely alien lifeform with humans? They must’ve been studying the gemstones for ages before they made the Chimera Protocol.”

“If you’re right, that would make the Rex family the first Chimaeras. But they don’t have any of the other powers, like telekinesis or improved metabolism, do they? Besides, then you’d have to contend with having to manage two gemstone powers at once. That’s what got Catherine killed in the first place, isn’t it? Because Effie couldn’t control both hers’ and Catherine’s power at the same time?”

“Ah, yeah you’re probably right...” Rolynd conceded. “Thanks for listening though,” He added, letting out a large sigh.

“Oh? Huh. I don’t mind talking, it’s not like I’ve got anything to do really.” Phee said kindly. Then after a moment, she leaned in, placing her hand in between Rolynd’s on the handrail, her occupying a large portion of Rolynd’s field of vision. “Something else is bothering you, isn’t it?”

Rolynd was taken aback by Phee’s perception and her sudden physical closeness. “I- I don’t know… Sophia’s been acting sort of weird around me ever since she returned from the trial. She always finds some excuse to disappear when I talk to her, and she won't even look me in the eye anymore. Not even a little. It’s like she’s trying her hardest to be Effie or something.” The king admitted.

Phee laughed at Rolynd’s bad-natured joke. “Ha! That’s a pretty good one from you.”

“I’m serious.”

“I know. What do you think it might be?”

“You’re asking me? I was hoping you would know.” Rolynd paused, unsure how to phrase his idea. “I think she might’ve seen something during her Labyrinth Trial. Both she and Effie have kept their lips completely shut. They won’t tell me a damn thing about what they saw.”

“Oh, it’s Sophia is it? Alright then, I’ll try to talk to her for you. But don’t expect too much, she’s been tight-lipped around me too.”

“Thanks, Phee.”

The two of them shared a moment together. It was a strange but welcome feeling after the last four years, which had been pervaded by an inescapable sense of anxiety. But now… now there was peace.

“Do you want to go on vacation sometime maybe? We could invite everyone else too, make it a whole thing.” Phee suggested.

“Charlie’s already sunbathing at Miglan’s Lake,” Rolynd answered.

“Wait, he is?! He told me he had even packed last night!! The bastard!”

Rolynd laughed. “Yeah, I think he was hoping to avoid babysitting you.”

“What?! I’m not some kid anymore, that is so unfair!”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll give him a lecture when he gets back… How about we go to a beach on the east coast of Cartlan? I hear the Neophema Sea is beautiful this time of year.”

“Wait, really?” Phee asked.

“Yeah, why not. I’ve always wanted to have a vacation. Aleister’s even prepped the Sparrow already. It seems like he’s excited about it too, surprisingly enough. Maybe you could get Sophia to come?”

“Effie’s gonna wanna come too then, for sure.”

“Which means Charlie’s probably going to show up too. It all works out in the end.”

“Wow, it does! Doesn’t it?” Phee exclaimed, overjoyed. She was nodding to herself already, thinking about what swimsuit she would wear. Then, something occurred to her. “…This was all your plan, wasn’t it?” she asked Rolynd.

Rolynd smirked.