Chapter 145: LEAVE!

“Can everyone hear me?”

Zach looked around the small den; it was a meager room tucked away in the back of Kalana's large, recently constructed home. Only about twice the size of a walk-in closet, and on the second floor in the least-busy part of the house, it was the perfect place for a private meeting between a few individuals. Originally, the room had been intended to be used as a comfy little study where someone could come for a bit of quiet seclusion. That changed a short while ago when a white-cloaked Elf carried in a table and a few chairs at the request of Eilea.

“We can, Prila,” Zach said. “Or at least I can. What about you guys?”

Mr. Oren straightened his back in his chair where he sat directly across from Zach. “I’m sure we can all hear her just fine.”

“Who else is with you two? If I may ask.”

Briefly, Mr. Oren remarked that, along with himself, Eilea, and Zach, they were currently joined by Jascaila Iseldar, Count Olivir Soloux, and Countess Kolona Vayra. Zach was genuinely surprised to see the vampires show up, as they arguably had the least stake—no pun intended—in the future of Galterra. Not only could they retreat to Archian Prime whenever they pleased, but Olivir and Kolona had only just ended a war; Zach imagined the last thing they desired was to be involved in another.

I know they don’t want to be here, so why did they come?

As far as Donovan and Zephyr were concerned, their absence was in no way a mystery. Those two wanted nothing to do with war and politics, and right now, they were busy raiding Trials of Nolak—somewhere Zach himself would much rather have been. If only the world had given him that option. To his own disappointment, Zach could feel the current precarious state of Galterra pulling him away from the adventuring life he yearned to live. Hopefully, after this period of nastiness was over, he would be able to go back to raiding dungeons and living free.

This has to be the last thing, he thought. I’ll get through this and then go to their stupid world-leader-meeting-whatever, but then I’m focusing on the World Eater and nothing else! I’m done with this war bullshit!

Kalana, who’d gone along with Donovan and Zephyr, was also not present in this meeting. That had been mostly by Zach’s doing—but he’d needed to lie to her to make it happen. This left him feeling guilty. Very guilty. It hurt so much to lie to the girl he loved more than anything, but he couldn’t have her be part of this. For all that his sessions with Jascaila had strengthened his mind, there were some things he was just not ready to face and, in all honesty, would likely never be okay with facing. Kalana being involved in this kind of filth was one of those things. Keeping Kalana’s hands free of blood had become the primary motivating factor in Zach’s life.

“So, it seems all of you can hear me,” Prila said. “This is good.”

Olivir, who was wearing a gold-and-red, button-up vest with a black pair of slacks, scratched his silver hair and looked around the room as if tracing the source of the voice. “This is amazing. I can’t believe we can do this.”

“I can’t believe it either,” Kolona agreed. She was dressed far more casually, wearing a dark grey blouse and a pleated skirt.

By now, Zach had grown accustomed to these strange, telepathic antics that the Great Ones employed. That aside, this newest “trick” of theirs was wild. They’d actually managed to establish some kind of phone-like connection to Prila’s mind, enabling her to communicate across long distances without those around her having any awareness that this was taking place. Of course, this did mean that they had a new addition to their little “group,” as this feat was only possible with the help of Adamus, the Great One.

So far, he’d said but a few words, seemingly content to passively observe. Yet his presence here was something that couldn’t be ignored or forgotten. Regardless, Zach tried to act as he normally would, and with that, he smiled and said, “It’s good to hear from you, Prila.”

“And it’s so good to hear your voice again as well, Zach.”

“Are you doing okay over there?”

“I’m fine, Zach. There’s no reason for them to ever suspect me, and it’s beyond their ability to know we’re speaking.”

Zach placed his palms on the table’s edges, gripping them. “We’re going to get you out of there when this is over. I promise you.”

There was a strange, perhaps even awkward pause. Zach wasn’t sure why. A moment later, the voice of Prila returned, sounding as though she was speaking to them from all directions. “Zach, that…that won’t be necessary.” She then sighed, and it was odd how it could actually be heard along with her words.

“Hah? Of course it’s necessary,” Zach insisted. “There’s no way we’re leaving you there.”

“No, you don’t…forgive me for not being clear. I’ve made plans for my own escape.”

“Too risky. I’d rather personally go down there and—”

Mr. Oren cleared his throat. “Zach, please, that’s enough.”

“What do you mean ‘that’s enough?’ What’s gotten into you?” He pointed upwards despite knowing that there was no correlation with Prila’s actual location in the world and the direction he indicated. “She’s literally trapped in a secure location with the Guild of Gentlemen. We’re not leaving her there.”

Mr. Oren lifted his glasses and rubbed his eyes. For the time being, he’d replaced his contacts with a sturdy black pair of round glasses with small lenses that fit well on his face. “Zach, you don’t understand what’s being hinted at here.”

Olivir and Kolona nodded, Eilea frowned, Jascaila gave him a calming look, and Mr. Oren made an odd expression that Zach couldn’t quite place. “Why do I feel like I’m the only one here who doesn’t get what’s going on?”

“Because ya kind of are,” Olivir said.

“Oh yeah? How so?” Zach asked, becoming annoyed.

Mr. Oren moved his lips, but he did not open his mouth. It was as though he found the answer to Zach’s question awkward. Everyone seemed to squirm a bit. This only made Zach even more unsettled and confused. What were they hiding from him? Why didn’t they want to rescue Prila? For another few seconds, these questions lingered in his brain. In the end, it was Adamus, of all people, who provided him with the answers—and in way that, for Adamus, felt unusually blunt.

“I will be bringing Prila home,” he stated. “She is returning to the OMP with me, and there she will stay. Do not concern yourself with her rescue, my child.”

Zach looked to his left, then to his right, unwilling to believe what he was hearing—and also unwilling to believe how easily the others were accepting this decision. He felt an explosion of outrage within him. “What the fuck?” he snapped. “Prila, you’re going back to the OMP?”

“Yes,” she said. There was no trace of shame or apology in her words, just a hint of sadness.

“You’re betraying us?”

“No, Zach. Of course not!”

He threw up his arms in anger. “Clearly you are! Why would you possibly want to turn against us and—”

“Zach,” Jascaila cut in, her voice soft but stern. “This may not be about you at all.”

He turned his head her way. “Of course it is. It’s not like she’s suddenly fallen in love with the guy or something.” This caused an awkward gasp to come from Prila, a wince from Olivir and Kolona, and a frustrated look from Mr. Oren. “Wait a minute. Are you…” He exhaled, trying to keep his temper under control. “Are you shitting me, Prila? Are you actually shitting me? You’re going to pull this now? You’re not allowed to…you can’t love him. He’s the guy you came down here to—”

“Zach, that’s enough,” Jascaila said. When she spoke, she did not do so with any kind of threat or anger in her words, yet they were so halting despite this. She leaned forward in her chair and placed her palm on top of his hand. “This isn’t a decision that’s yours to make for her. It’s also incredibly rude to comment further. She has the right to love who she loves, and it’s clearly not a conversation that’s appropriate to have with Eilea present.”

Of all things, Eilea rolled her eyes. Though Zach had barely spent any time with her in person, it still felt like an odd thing to see from such an ancient, powerful being—even if she did look like she was practically the same age as him or maybe Jimmy.

“That’s one concern you needn’t have,” she said to Jascaila. “I’ve moved on from him thousands of years ago. Our marriage is but in name only. Adamus is well aware I’ve found another, and I have not the slightest problem with him doing the same. Let me speak clearly: while my issues with him are numerous to the point of being uncountable, that is not one of them.”

“She speaks the truth,” Adamus said. “We are long past the point of awkwardness. So please allow me to reassure you of one thing, boy. Prila has told me nothing of what was said between her and you in confidence. She will not betray you, and I do not require her to. This, I swear.”

Zach took a moment to steady himself. He closed his eyes, slowed his breathing, and then reopened them. “All right. I apologize. This is clearly not my business, and I’m sorry for prying. Jascaila is right. Prila has the right to choose her own path to happiness, and that’s not for me to decide for her.”

Having spoken those words, Zach watched as Jascaila removed her hand while Mr. Oren gave him a curt nod. With that, Zach sensed that this was a topic that would now be dropped and never again raised. Despite this, Zach couldn’t help but wonder what could possibly have possessed the woman to love such a heartless prick: the man she herself had acknowledged was responsible for allowing atrocities to happen.

It really is bullshit, Zach thought. Even if it’s not appropriate for me to say it. Everyone here has to know it.

Letting it go, he sat up straighter and observed Mr. Oren folding his hands on the table while pursing his lips together as though in thought. A moment later, he turned his eyes upward as though it somehow constituted looking towards Adamus. “Let’s try to limit our discussion to the reason we’re all here,” he said. “The nuclear threat. Her Greatness told us that Prila would be able to provide us with the latest, most up-to-date details.”

“Y-yes, of course,” Prila replied. Then her voice became far more serious. The emotion seemed to drain out of her words. “I’m afraid,” she began, “that things have moved faster than even I expected, and as of a few hours ago, events have taken a turn for the worse.”

“Please continue,” Mr. Oren said, keeping a straight face. Zach felt nerves rush into his abdomen, but he remained quiet and allowed Mr. Oren to lead things from here.

Zach listened in as Prila began to deliver a very technical, very scientific-sounding explanation on the current state of the research facility. Zach, for his part, had no idea what any of the stuff he was hearing meant. But he did know it must’ve been bad, because Mr. Oren’s shoulders began to tense apprehensively, and then he began to mouth something that almost looked like a swear word under his breath.

Eilea, on the other hand, was not showing any reaction at all. She seemed distant and unfocused. There was something bothering her, and Zach was pretty sure it had nothing at all to do with Prila and Adamus. It was something else. Since the start of the meeting, she’d been fidgeting and constantly changing her position in her seat. When Zach tried to focus on reading her emotions, he discovered that she’d blocked the link they shared as if not wanting him to know what she was feeling. It was all really strange.

Concerned, Zach studied her expression, but he looked away when she caught him staring at her. He returned his attention to Mr. Oren, who began looking even more tense as he asked, “Are you certain about this, Prila?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so. The Guild of Gentlemen can now synthesize the isotope U-235, and they’re rushing new weapons into production. I did not believe they’d be able to create the facilities necessary to start this process for a little more time, but it appears they’ve done so, and production has begun today.”

“This is terrible news,” Mr. Oren said, a pained expression crossing his features. “This is truly, truly terrible news.”

“Why, what’s it mean?” Zach asked. In a weird way, he was actually relieved to see that Olivir, Kolona, and Jascaila also looked just as clueless as he felt. “For those of us who aren’t scientists, how does this change things?”

“The timeline has shifted dramatically,” Prila said. “Originally, we believed we’d have months. Upon this breakthrough, it became a week. But with the success the Guild of Gentlemen is having in terms of creating the infrastructure necessary to begin production, I fear we might be looking at days or…or potentially hours before they can build an untested prototype missile.”

“Fuck!” Zach shouted, slamming his fist down onto the table. “I thought we had more time!”

His outburst caused one of the Elves standing in front of the doorway to look over his shoulder as if to ensure everyone inside the room was okay. At the moment, the entrance was being guarded by a number of white- and green-cloaked Elvish warriors. Queen Vayra was also not far away. Incredibly, she seemed to have no problem allowing this private audience with the Elvish Goddess. She’d asked no questions, and she hadn’t appeared suspicious. Zach supposed she was so pious that she didn’t even consider it acceptable to privately dwell on it.

“We have to do something soon,” Olivir said. “Kolona and I won’t fight directly, but we can help in other ways.”

Kolona nodded. “Oli and I talked about it, and even though we’re not willing to get ourselves into another war, we believe what the Guild of Gentlemen is doing is wrong. So we’re willing to revive those who die in the coming fight.”

“I appreciate that very much,” Mr. Oren said. Then he turned his gaze on Zach, and there was something in his eyes that Zach found deeply disturbing. His expression had turned icy, and more so, he curled up his bottom lip as if signaling for Zach to brace himself.

“What?” Zach asked him. “What are you about to say?”

“We have to change our plans.”

“How so?”

Mr. Oren turned his head to Eilea, but only for an instant, and then he again focused in on Zach. “I know that our goals were to free Vim and then prepare for an invasion. But that’s not going to be an option anymore.” He shook his head. “We need to muster all our forces and launch an emergency attack tomorrow morning. Though it’s asking a lot, I believe if we begin moving right now, the Elves and the Lords of Justice can piece together a strike force by daybreak with the sole purpose of identifying and destroying their weapons-building infrastructure. That, right now, takes priority even over destroying or capturing the research facility.”

For a moment, Zach stared at Mr. Oren in confusion, unable to grasp what he was saying. “So what’s the issue here?” he asked. “Vim’s execution is tomorrow morning. We have plenty of time between now and then.”

“No, we don’t,” Mr. Oren said.

Still confused, Zach struggled to see the issue. “Of course we do. Weren’t we going to strike in the middle of the night? We can still do both things—just closer together.”

“You’re not getting it.” He leaned back in his chair and took several deep breaths. “We need to commit every single unit we can muster towards the dismantling and disarming of their production process. We’re going to be cutting it so close as is. If we deploy units to rescue Vim, not only do we risk losing some in the process, but even if we succeed, they won’t be ready to rejoin the invading force in time for the attack.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Zach, how are you not understanding this?”

“Because you’re talking about deploying units and this and that. Mr. Oren, exactly how did you think this night attack was going to go down?”

Now, Mr. Oren was the one who looked confused. “Isn’t it obvious? Senior-Lieutenant Haisel Ragora would launch a surprise aerial bombardment with his fighter jets around the location where he’s being held—which we believe is in a holding facility belowground in southeast Shadowfall Coast—in order to cripple their defensive capabilities in the area, and then the two of us—along with a small but competent group of leveled warriors and ground troops—were going to fly in on armored helicopters, storm the compound, rescue Sir Alazar, and make a hasty extraction.”

By the time Mr. Oren had finished speaking, Zach’s mouth had fallen open in a state of dumbfounded shock, and he found it difficult to even blink. Was this actually what Mr. Oren had been running through his head this whole time? Could that even be possible? Zach was so surprised by how far apart they were in terms of their thinking that it actually paralyzed him, albeit briefly.

“That’s what you thought I meant when I said we should attack in the night?” Mr. Oren, seemingly caught off guard, wet his lips but said nothing as if failing to find the words with which to reply. Therefore, Zach continued on without waiting for an answer. “Mr. Oren, that’s not what I ever thought we were going to do.”

“So what did you think was going to happen?”

Zach lifted his hands from the table and then extended them to both sides of himself. “Something way simpler. Me and a couple of Elves rush through Yorna, come out on the beach, break our way into the prison, grab Vim, and then I throw him on my Kralzek’s Beast and flee at full speed back to the dungeon, Phase Rescue him inside, take him down to B10, then elevator back up to the farmlands in Whispery Woods.” The moment Zach finished speaking, he realized he needed to add one more detail. “Oh yeah, right. My Unleashed Phase is on cooldown because I used it in Nolak, so add to that list me scrambling to get to Fylwen as quick as I can so she can heal me after it expires. I’m going to have to Phase Reset.”

Mr. Oren lowered his head and averted his gaze. Zach had no idea whether this was to contemplate Zach’s plan or if it was because he found it so ridiculous it’d stunned him. Yet before Zach could find out which, he was surprisingly rebuked by Adamus, who was the last person he’d expected to weigh in on something like this.

“That plan will not suffice,” Adamus said.

“Why the hell not?” he asked, tuning his head upwards out of a weird habit that had formed.

“As the young scientist has already told you, we need every available Elf to search for and destroy their weapons or the facilities that make them.”

“So…” Zach replayed his words in his head. “So you’re not saying I can’t do it, you’re just saying I can’t bring any Elves. Correct?”

“That is correct, my child.”

“So, to clarify, Adamus, you’re saying you have no problem whatsoever if I just decide to go by myself?”

“Of course not. Do as you wish. I have no problem with this.”

“Well I do!” Eilea shouted, a sudden, intense heat to her words. Hearing Zach’s plan seemed to have snapped her out of whatever trance she’d been in. Mr. Oren also seemed to disapprove, as evident by the way he narrowed his eyes and fervently shook his head. “You’re not going there by yourself,” Eilea told him. “I expressly forbid it!”

“You shall do no such thing, my beloved,” Adamus said even before Zach could challenge her. “You may not inhibit his free will. If he decides this a worthy pursuit, you’ve no right to forbid it.”

“But he’ll die, you fool!”

“I refuse to discuss this further. My interests lie solely with protecting the system from these abhorrent weapons of mass destruction. Let us not waste any more words on the topic of the boy and the guild leader. I invite you two to engage in a heated debate on the matter after we conclude our business here and I have returned myself to other tasks.”

Mr. Oren set his eyes on Zach, and in them, Zach could see worry, alarm, but also frustration. Yet he removed them a moment later and seemed to refocus his thoughts on the more serious matter of the nuclear weapons. “Adamus is right,” he said. “For the moment, let’s keep this discussion on point. To that end, little has changed.”

Eilea winced. Zach wasn’t sure why. She’d returned to fidgeting, but now, she seemed even more unnerved. Something was clearly upsetting her: that much had been obvious from the start of this meeting. And as Mr. Oren continued to speak, she only seemed to grow even more restless.

“Zach told me about your discussion with him very early this morning, Adamus. He explained to me the reason he brought Eilea here: so that she can ask the queen to deploy her Elves to war. He’s come up with a very intelligent plan, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I would very much agree,” Adamus said. “I have endorsed it wholeheartedly.”

“Good,” Mr. Oren said. “Because my plan is to simply use Zach’s existing plan but with the addition of my own forces and a very accelerated time table.” He tapped his finger against the table as he spoke. “Essentially, we’re just doing what everyone here has already agreed we should do, only we’re doing it now instead of next week or later. The only thing that’s changed is the level of urgency.”

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“It seems we lack any disagreement with how to proceed from here,” Adamus said.

“Excellent.” Mr. Oren stopped tapping his finger and now placed his hands down flat on the table. “So then, what I propose now is that we execute our plan immediately so that we can hopefully be ready to strike by first light tomorrow. Right now, we should immediately have Her Greatness order Queen Vayra to begin—”

“No,” she said, abruptly cutting off Mr. Oren.

“No?”

“I refuse. I’m not doing it.”

Zach blinked at her in confusion. “Oh…oh shit. Is this my fault? Is this because of the Vim thing?”

“No,” Eilea said. “It has nothing to do with that. I simply do not think it wise to order the Elves to storm Shadowfall Coast, and I refuse.”

“Because…of me?” Zach asked. An icy sensation traveled down his spine. Eilea’s behavior was becoming increasingly strange, and he was beginning to think it was his fault. “Is this because you’re upset that I’m planning to go there alone?”

“No,” she repeated. “This has nothing to do with you at all, Zach, although I am indeed very upset about that, and I plan to talk to you about it as soon as this is done. But no, this is completely unrelated.”

Her words made no sense, and now, Zach was beyond puzzled. Mr. Oren also looked like he had no idea what she was getting at or what game she was playing. Even Adamus, from his silence alone, must have been taken aback. Or maybe there was another reason he’d gone quiet. Zach wasn’t sure. Either way, Eilea was acting off, and Zach wondered if her refusal and her earlier fidgeting were related.

They might be…

“Eilea, if you’re not doing this because you’re upset with my decision, then I don’t understand why you’re refusing. I mean, that’s why you’re even here, right? That was the whole reason you were willing to make a deal with Adamus and break your thousand years of imprisonment: so you could ask the queen to—”

“I know why I’m here!” she snapped, shouting with such unexpected, loud, and burning anger that it caused Zach, Olivir, Kolona, Jascaila, and even Mr. Oren to flinch. It also caused Zach to become lightheaded simply from the sheer level of bewilderment he felt as she displayed such erratic behavior. Zach tried to make sense of what he was seeing and hearing. What had gotten into her? Where was this emotional outburst coming from? This was a side of her he’d never before seen, and it threw him totally off.

“Eilea, I don’t…I don’t understand what—”

“And there it is,” Adamus said, his tone saddened yet oddly knowing. “My child, I fully understand your confusion, yet you are about to experience firsthand what I have had to deal with for thousands of years. You could not possibly have known, but you will soon see what befalls all those who attempt to side with my beloved.”

“I don’t get what’s going on at all,” Zach said.

“I don’t…I don’t either,” Mr. Oren replied.

Eilea began to sob, and then she used the front of her elegant dress to dab at her eyes. “I’m sorry for that outburst. Ignore my wretched, vile, vulturous husband. I apologize, Zach. I care deeply for you, and I wish not to degrade myself.”

Zach was so caught off guard he actually held his breath a moment while he tried to figure out just what in the hell he was witnessing. “Eilea, I don’t understand what’s going on here. You’re kind of…scaring me.”

“Please don’t fear me,” she said. “It’s not…it’s not what you think. I would never harm a single person in this room. I swear that for all I’m worth. I apologize for my outburst.” To the four Elves who Zach realized only now had burst into the room, she waved her hand at them, bidding them to leave. They obeyed, but there was a certain hesitance to them. They seemed just as uncertain as Zach.

After an agonizing few seconds of silence transpired, Adamus spoke once again. “There is a reason why my wife can never accomplish a single thing she sets out to do, and you are bearing witness to that now.”

The fact that Mr. Oren was darting his eyes between Zach, Eilea, and the ceiling meant that he was no closer to figuring out what the hell was happening than Zach was. “Your Greatness,” he said to her. “If you could please explain to us what—”

“I love them,” she said, her words so unexpected yet also so overflowing with passion.

“You…love them?”

“Yes,” she said to Mr. Oren, sobbing once more. “The Elves.”

Zach rested his forehead on his right palm. “I’m so lost right now.”

“Then please allow me to explain,” Adamus said, chiming in. “I had a feeling this would happen.” Even as Adamus spoke, Eilea’s face contorted into a vicious scowl. “Early this morning, you made a deal with me, Zachys. One that led to my beloved joining you there to convince the Elves to take up war against Shadowfall Coast. She—and I—agreed with this plan, and to be sure, it was a wise plan. One you should be commended for.”

His words became harsher as he spoke, though the harshness was not directed at Zach, but at Eilea. “Unfortunately, my child, you made a terrible error.”

“What error?” Zach asked.

“You allowed her to meet them. Now do you understand? In less than a day, she has grown emotionally attached to them, just as she has to you. And this, my child, is why for thousands of years, my beloved has never been able to stick to a single plan of action that she has come up with, because each and every time, she allows her emotions to derail her and everyone who puts their trust in her. This time is no exception.”

“Don’t listen to him, Zach,” she begged. “Please. We will find a much better way of dealing with the weapons. Our plan was premature and made in the spur of the moment.”

Zach was too stunned to process any of this. Once more, he felt Jascaila’s hand on top of his own. Right now, she wore a very complicated look on her face. It was as though she and she alone was able to fully comprehend all the emotional instability taking place inside of Eilea.

Of course she does, Zach thought. Who else could?

“Zach,” Eilea said to him pleadingly. “If Adamus wanted to do so, he could annihilate every weapons factory in Shadowfall Coast in the blink of an eye. He is so powerful. Far, far more than myself. He could end this in an instant!” she said, ending her words in a shout. “But instead, he asks me to send those beautiful Elves into combat against foes armed with loot from the dragon. Some will die. And their numbers, Zach, are already so few.” She shook her head. “I can’t ask them to do this.”

Still trying to process all of this, Zach continued to say nothing. Yet as he looked into Eilea’s eyes, he knew he could not be angry with her. He gently pulled his hand away from Jascaila, and much as she’d done for him, he placed his on top of Eilea’s.

“You know this isn’t easy for me either, right? I hate doing this. I never wanted to. I told you that at the time. But you assured me it was the right thing to do.”

She wiped her face. “But now that I’ve met them, they’re so happy, and they love me, and they trust me, I can’t send them into danger. Or you.”

“You’re right,” Zach said, nodding. “You can’t. I can’t even expect you to do something like that.”

“Really?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yeah.” He felt a heaviness in his chest. “So I know how we’re going to solve this.”

A small glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes, which reminded him so much of Kalana, Kolona, and the queen. “You do? How?”

“With the truth.”

“The truth?”

“That’s right. We’re going to tell the truth.” In Jascaila’s eyes, Zach could see her forming a slight smile, which he took as a sign of approval. “You might not be happy about this, but…but this will cause you the least pain in the long run.”

Briefly, he traded glances with Mr. Oren, and Mr. Oren gave him a slow, but similarly approving nod. It was as though Mr. Oren and Jascaila understood what he was about to do and had thought it up themselves using nothing more than common sense. And what was more: there was pride in both of their eyes. This told Zach that he had the full support of them both.

Now, likely having observed this brief, wordless exchange, Eilea was the one who seemed to recoil, her face displaying a flicker of fear as she pulled her hand away. “What…what do you plan on doing?”

Zach turned his head to look at the Elves standing guard, and he cleared his throat. “Um, excuse me,” he said to a white-cloaked Elf.

“Doth thee speaketh to me?” the Elf asked as though surprised that Zach was addressing him.

“Yep. I am.”

“What doth thee require?”

“Please tell Queen Vayra her presence is needed immediately. It’s urgent.”

Eilea’s eyes widened, her pupils becoming enlarged. “What are you doing? Don’t!”

Overhearing this, the white-cloaked Elf immediately halted; he’d been only a moment from exiting the room. This was unsurprising, as he would not refuse a direct command from the “Great Goddess.” Or at least, under most circumstances he wouldn’t. “Adamus?” Zach asked.

“Very clever, boy. You’re forcing me to shoulder the burden. I suppose I should’ve done this from the very start. Alas, I too am flawed and find this so distasteful that I’ve done all I can to avoid it. But very well. The danger to the system has now reached a level that I will cooperate.” There was a brief pause, one that lasted between two and three seconds. And then Adamus spoke again. But this time, he spoke to an even larger audience. “What is your name, child of Elvadin?” Adamus asked the man.

Now, as though he too could hear Adamus, the white-cloaked Elf immediately fell to his knees, gasping loudly and with such intensity that Zach worried he’d choke to death on his own saliva. “Doth I heareth the voice of Adamus, the Great Lord?” he shouted, causing those nearby to similarly drop to their knees. Zach wasn’t even sure they could hear him too. But after everything that’d happened, they didn’t seem to question it.

“You do, child of Elvadin. What is your name?”

“Elvaran H’ral!” he shouted

“Please bring me your queen.”

In answer to his earlier question, Zach discovered that all four of them could, in fact, hear Adamus’s voice, as each one burst to their feet as though the mere act of standing upright was the most significant thing they’d ever been instructed to do, and they moved with such haste and seriousness that they ended up destroying two doors and knocking down part of a wall in their frenzied dash to the queen.

Kal’s going to have to waste so much gold now repairing more God-related property damage, Zach thought bitterly. Such a waste of coin.

The sound of urgent footsteps echoed from outside the small room, and in a way that was somewhat more measured, Queen Vayra entered, looking anxious, worried, and a bit panicked. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Zach, have you disrespected Her Greatness?” There was shock, anger, and sadness in the queen’s expression, and Zach realized it was because of the tears in the eyes of Eilea.

“Zach, please tell me you have not done something which cannot be undone! Have you hurt or brought shame to—”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that,” Zach said. “It’s not like that at all. Look, Fylwen, I really need to tell you something that’s going to be hard for you to hear, but I want to be honest with you.” She twisted her lips as though to form the word “what” but she remained quiet as she met his eyes.

Zach hesitated just a moment. A bunch of words came to his mind: clever things he could say or ways he could ease her into what he knew had to be said. But he decided to throw all of them away. He wanted to tell her the truth. That was the answer to all of this. The plain and simple truth.

“Okay,” he continued. “This is going to be a lot to take in, and it’s really something that should be explained to you slowly, but…but I feel like I need to just say it to you outright even though a whole lot of nuance is going to be lost and it’s going to make me look terrible. Really, really terrible.”

“Zach?” Fylwen whispered, her voice overflowing with concern. “What is it?”

I need to just say it. Just…just tell her.

Zach pointed to Eilea. “Before she came here, me and the Great Goddess had been talking to each other weekly for a while, and after the bomb dropped, we started discussing ways to protect the world from those weapons. I don’t know if you’ve been wondering how it came to be me of all people who found themselves in contact with the Great Goddess, but the truth is she’d been reaching out to me since I started adventuring. I only became aware of her later on, though. And that’s when I started talking to her every so often in my mind.”

“I see,” Fylwen said, still speaking at a whisper.

Zach paused to draw a breath before continuing. This would be the hard part. “Okay, so, in the process of discussing this, we included Adamus—sorry, the Great Lord—in our conversations. And I, not he, brought up the fact that…shit, this is harder than I thought.”

“I’m listening,” Fylwen said, her expression unreadable.

“I told him that if there’s anyone in this world who could dismantle those weapons and do it successfully, it was the Elves. But I know how protective you are of your Elves, and I know I could never convince you to send them into battle after what happened to Ogre's Axe.” He braced himself. “That’s…that’s why Eilea is here. I asked her to come here to tell you to do it. Me. I did that. I wanted to manipulate you by getting her to make you do it. Because I knew you wouldn’t if I asked. So…so she agreed to command you to do it. But neither of us were ever happy about it. And it’s eating away at us both.”

Zach stopped for just a moment and lowered his hand back down to his side. “Fylwen, from the very beginning, I was never really comfortable with this, and now that she’s met you, Eilea loves you and your Elves, and so she’s not comfortable with it anymore either. And this is actually what brings us to why you’re in here with us right now. So um, the Great Lord, Adamus? He disagrees with us both. He still believes that you should take these actions, so there’s a disagreement between the Great Goddess and the Great Lord. I should also probably let you know that he’s here with us right now and can hear you and speak to you.”

The moment Zach finished speaking, Queen Vayra calmly walked forward, pulled out a spare chair, and took a seat down at the table. And despite how ridiculous her beliefs and her religion might have been, Zach felt nothing but admiration for her internal strength. Because in just a matter of seconds, she pulled herself together. It couldn’t have been easy. To someone like Fylwen, everything he was saying was likely mentally hitting her with the force of a nuclear bomb. Yet even still, she inhaled slowly and then pulled her chair closer into the table before folding her hands on top of it.

Zach met her eyes. “I regret ever starting any of this. I don’t want you or your Elves to be hurt. The guilt is painful. So I want to look you in the eyes and let you know that it was me who did all this. I wanted to use you and your Elves. And the reason Eilea—sorry, the Great Goddess—is crying right now is because she feels the same guilt that I feel. And to be even more honest with you, I’ll just tell you that Eilea and I both believe the Great Lord is cruel. We both think he is cold, heartless, and terrible. But I also know he outranks her. And since I don’t have the courage to deceive you anymore, I would rather him force you to do this himself than spend another second playing games or lying to you. If this is what he wants, then he needs to tell you so himself.”

Fylwen remained silent, and Zach worried about what thoughts might be going through her head. For his part, he felt like a tremendous, unbearable, and crushing weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Even if she hated him for this, he’d at least confessed to his duplicity. Still, much of his relief was held back by the blank expression that suddenly popped onto Fylwen’s face. And this blank expression remained that way as she slowly craned her neck upwards.

“Is the Great Lord Adamus truly among us?” she asked softly. “Can you hear me, Lord?”

“I can, my child,” he replied.

Zach could actually hear the oxygen whoosh out of her lungs. Yet she was again quick to regain her composure. “Is everything the boy just said true? That he and Eilea had consulted with you on using my Elves for war? And that now both are having second thoughts and suffering feelings of guilt?”

“Yes, my child. Every word of what he told you is the truth.”

Fylwen nodded. And then, very simply, she said, “In that case, I deeply apologize on behalf of both of them. The boy and your wife are dear to me, and I beg you not to punish them for their horrific disobedience to your will and your word. Especially the boy. He doesn’t know our ways, and he does not understand that you, Great Lord Adamus, have always been known to be callous in the pursuit of good, putting emotion aside in your quest to do right.” She straightened her back. “I will be ready to attack on a moment’s notice, my Lord. And you,” she said to Zach, pinching his ear affectionately. “Do not disobey the Great Lord again.”

Her response stunned Zach. Though the outcome was partially as he’d expected, he thought she’d be at least a little upset with him. Instead, her only issue with Zach appeared to be that he didn’t “obey” Adamus the first time around.

It occurred to Zach that, in a way, despite telling her the truth, he’d somehow still manipulated her. Everything he’d said was true. He really did feel terrible. He really did have second thoughts. He even agreed with Eilea. He’d told Fylwen nothing but the truth. And yet, even in doing so, he still felt off. And it was because there was one last thing he hadn’t said, wasn’t there? There was. And Zach wondered if by not saying it, it constituted a lie by omission. He wanted to clear his conscience, and having omitted this one small detail…it felt wrong to him.

“Fylwen,” he whispered. “There’s one thing I forgot to say. I honestly, truly don’t believe that Adamus is a G—ahh!”

A pain erupted in his knee as someone—probably Mr. Oren—kicked him under the table. He looked at his former science teacher, who looked back at him with such a fierce intensity that Zach understood right away he needed to let that last bit go. Now, hissing, he rubbed his knee under the table.

“My Great Lord,” Mr. Oren said aloud, referring to Adamus. “I, Sir Alex Oren, pledge my guild to the eradication of these weapons.”

“This pleases me, human. You have my blessing and favor. Please join the children of Elvadin in ridding the world of these sinful abominations.”

“Thank you, my Lord.” He bowed his head in submission.

So much was taking place so fast that it was making Zach’s head spin. Right now, in front of him, Mr. Oren and Adamus appeared to be…well, to use a word Jimmy had taught him, they were roleplaying. They were fucking roleplaying with each other in order to manipulate the Elves into doing the bidding of Adamus for a purpose that was so important it was probably worth it.

It was not a stretch to say that this was the single-biggest moral dilemma that Zach had ever faced. He had no idea what was right and what was wrong anymore. Everything felt like a mixture of both. And Eilea, the only person in the room who could maybe put a stop to this, was totally unable to do so, because she, unlike Adamus, actually believed they were Gods, and therefore would not be able to honestly bring herself to tell Queen Vayra the one and only thing that might make her reconsider: that they weren’t.

So instead, she turned to the queen and decided to plead with her in a way that Zach knew from the outset would be totally, utterly ineffective. And he wasn’t the only one who knew this. Mr. Oren knew this, too. That was obviously why he was willing to remain perfectly silent and offer not so much as a word in protest as she sought to change Queen Vayra’s mind. This, Zach was completely certain of. He knew that if Mr. Oren held even the slightest inkling that Eilea might say something to dissuade the queen, he’d find some way of diverting her attention or introducing a different angle to things.

“Everything Zach told you is the truth,” Eilea said to Fylwen. That, right off the bat, only made her case worse—even if she didn’t realize it.

“I know it is,” Fylwen whispered. “I believe you, Great Goddess. I believe Zach.”

Moving closer to her, Eilea embraced Fylwen, who appeared both honored yet also surprised by the gesture. Zach doubted the queen ever imagined that she would be in a position where she needed to comfort one of her Gods, yet she did so with what looked like genuine compassion. “Your family and your people are so wonderful,” Eilea said. “I’ve watched so many Elves die over so many years. Enough is enough. We can find another way to stop the human weapons. You needn’t spill your blood over their wickedness. We will defeat the humans without spilling precious Elvish blood or risking Zach’s life.”

“Sweet Goddess,” Fylwen said. “Our Lord is right. The humans have created a weapon of evil so profound that the Gods themselves call upon my Elves to set things right again. You cannot imagine how honored I feel that you would shed tears over my people. But I can’t disobey the Lord.”

“I am a Goddess too,” Eilea told her. “I can command you to stop this.”

“You are a Goddess, but you are not the Lord. And in truth, your tears are unnecessary. And so is Zach’s guilt. If only I had known this sooner, I could have spared the both of you so much pain.” At this, both Zach and Eilea fired her a questioning glance as she returned Eilea’s embrace. “The Guild of Gentlemen have declared war on us. I would be sending my Elves to war regardless of anything that has transpired here. The only thing that appears to have changed is the timeline and the method of attack.”

“Method of attack?” Mr. Oren asked her.

“Indeed, human. My plan was to spend a year surveilling each ranking member of the guild, and then, when the time was right, I’d planned on launching a coordinated attack that killed each one of them at the exact same moment in time so that there would be none left alive with the authority to order a retaliatory strike. Clearly, things have become more urgent since then.” Her expression became sharp and determined. “From the moment my sworn brother was slain before my eyes, there was no way this could have ended without blood and fire. I am a woman who clings to revenge, and I will have the head of Alistair Morrison for what he has put me through.”

Even Mr. Oren appeared surprised by this. “Your Majesty,” he said, “I thought you informed our guilds you would not be willing to join us in any attacks.”

“Of course I did, human. And I meant that, too. I do not trust your kind. I do not for a moment trust that you or your ‘guilds’ will not turn around and join the enemy the moment my people strike. Were it not commanded to me by the Great Lord, I would still refuse.”

“But…why would we betray you? The Guild of Gentlemen destroyed Ogre’s Axe, Your Majesty. They slaughtered a million lives.”

“And? Humans have done that to each other for thousands of years. Yet still, your kind somehow unites every time you face opposition by a different race.”

Mr. Oren closed his eyes and said, “That’s…true.”

Zach knew Fylwen wasn’t lying. Her fears were justified. But at least, now, she was willing to cooperate. Even still, it did little to lessen his concerns about Eilea, who Zach now realized was not a reliable partner. Yet despite this, she was one he would not cast away regardless. He would not cast away anyone whether they were useful to him or not. He had grown to care for Eilea just as he’d come to care for everyone in this room. More and more, Zach was realizing that he was going to have to bloody his hands to protect them: human, Elf, or even Goddess. He was going to need to step up in a way that he never had before.

Getting up from the table, he pulled his hood over his head and began to leave the room. Immediately, Eilea broke away from her embrace and shouted after him. “My queen, I order you to apprehend him at once!”

Fylwen turned in Zach’s direction. Yet she hesitated and lifted her eyes, as if no longer willing to follow Eilea’s commands while in the presence of what she considered to be an even greater God. “Do not stop him,” Adamus interjected.

Mr. Oren also got up from the table, but Zach held his palm out to him. And to Jascaila as well, who seemed to want to join him. “I’m going alone,” he told all of them. “Fylwen, I’m going to return here later in Phase Level 2. When I do can you heal me without hurting yourself?”

“I can,” she said. “But please use the ability on the sword to reduce the debt by half. It’ll make it easier for me.”

“I will. That’s all I needed to know.”

“Where are you going?”

“To save Vim Alazar.”

“You ought to reconsider, young man.”

He shook his head. “Trust me. I know I can do this. Even by myself.”

Eilea ran forward towards him, and Queen Vayra surprised him by reaching out and grabbing her, holding her back. This must’ve come as a shock to Eilea, because it shocked Zach as well. Though, in fairness, she did not restrain her in a way that was aggressive or demeaning. Yet even still, her defiance of Adamus at last came at a cost, as Adamus now went out of his way to degrade her; this, he did right in front of Zach and the others.

“Queen of Elvadin,” he said. “It is only in the rarest of circumstances—and with the greatest of honor—that my voice calls down to my subjects from my throne. So I leave you with the following two instructions. The first is to no longer consider commands from my wife as sacrosanct or law. The second is to cherish her, honor her, and ensure she has a home and place among your kin. Treat her with respect, dignity, and esteem. Care for her. But lead your own people as you see fit. As for actions, my only command to you is to destroy the human weapons and to not allow any more of them to come into existence. Aside from that, my child, I bid you total freedom and independence until such a day as the Elvish hear from me again, though I cannot ensure such a day will arrive in your lifetime or even within the lifetime of your offspring. You would be wise to expect to never hear my voice again, and any who claim to speak for me are speaking false. Are my instructions understood?”

“Yes, my Lord,” Queen Vayra said, bowing.

“You don’t need to bow to him. You do not know the God my husband is. If you did, you would not find him worthy. Young queen, do you know that he imprisoned me for a thousand years? Did Zach tell you that?”

“He did not,” Fylwen said.

“It’s true. Tell her, Adamus! Admit it!”

“It is true,” he replied, causing Jascaila to scowl. “But if you wish to publicly air grievances, perhaps you should also tell the queen that you are the reason the world is bereft of mobs and that a dragon nearly destroyed all life on Galterra due to your interference with my creation. Perhaps she would like to know that the humans were only able to defeat and enslave her people because they waged ‘mob destruction warfare’ on the planet, eliminating every source of experience that the Elves once used to grow strong. Or maybe you should inform the humans that the reason why their race now requires a special buff to access the dungeons is because you damaged the permission structure in an attempt to implement a bio-respawn mechanic that prevented death.”

Eilea fell to her knees and began to weep. “Stop.”

“Perhaps the queen would like to hear about how you failed Lieiara Vayra when she needed you the most.”

“Stop.”

“Or maybe you would like the queen to be made aware of all the times your attempts to stop war led to more war. Or the time you tried to sacrifice yourself to save a child, only to end up killing both the child and his mother.”

“Please.”

“Maybe the queen would be interested in knowing how you interfered with a young man by the name of Peter Brayspark IV. You loved him, didn’t you, Eilea? And he loved you so much that he fought a war to find and give you the Book of Elemental Chaos. What happened, beloved? What became of his mind?”

“It was an accident!” she screamed. “We were trying to save the world from you! He was…he was trying to free me. He loved me.”

“And for his love, you drove him mad, didn’t you? And then what did he do to the queen and her people? What did he do to the planet? Your help is worthless, my beloved. If only they knew the truth about you. You are the greatest villain in history. The other Great Ones never respected you. Nobody but I have ever truly wanted you. Nobody but I have ever found a use for you. You’ll never be anything without me. You’re an incompetent failure. Perhaps I should send you back to your cave. In my attempt to be kind, I have perhaps done the queen a disservice by burdening her with such a waste of—”

“Enough!” Jascaila shouted, springing up from her seat and throwing her battle-axe at the ceiling, causing it to break through it with a loud crack. “You’ve made your point, you abusive, manipulative piece of shit!” she yelled furiously. “You said you were leaving, so leave!”

For a moment, a pin drop would have sounded like an explosion, and Zach, halfway out of the room, could hardly believe the ferocity and anger in Jascaila’s words as she picked Eilea up off the floor. She wrapped her arms around her, whispered something into her ear, and then berated the Elvish God so harshly that even Queen Vayra did not interfere.

“You are an evil sociopath who uses abuse tactics older than time itself. Any heaven with a God like you is hell. You are a vicious, cruel coward, and if I have to spend one more second listening to you abuse this woman, I’ll fly to your fuckin’ space station and crack open your head like it’s a Gods-be-damned watermelon. You got what you came for now leave!”

“Very well.”

And with that, he was gone.

Zach wasn’t sure what to make of all that, but he knew now wasn’t the time to figure it out. It was still mid-afternoon here on Elendroth, and the earliest signs of darkness would now be spreading over North Bastia. Zach cared about these people too much to take any of them with him. Tonight, he’d do what he had to do alone.