Reginald returned a short time later, taking the opportunity to escort the others to their own private chambers for the night. However, Nora declined to leave me alone, and I begrudgingly offered her half of the oversized bed. “You want the right or the left?”

“Nah. Couch is fine,” she declined with a wave of her hand.

A sigh of relief nearly escaped me. “You sure? I can share...”

“Just take the bed, Rae. You had a long day.”

“We all did, really,” I conceded, even as I claimed the bed with a dramatic flop to celebrate my small victory. “Hopefully, tomorrow will be a bit easier.”

Slumber descended on me rapidly that evening, aided by the cozy bedding, but it was also skittish, fleeing in the dead of night. I attempted to chase after it and drift back into unconsciousness, but my efforts were ultimately fruitless. After a few fitful attempts, I sat up in bed with a faint sigh, noticing a flickering light seeping through the gap under the chamber doors. The glow remained steady for several long moments before gradually fading away. The person holding the candelabra must have been walking softly since I couldn't hear their footfalls.

It could just be a guard patrolling.

Or something else entirely.

I gathered myself, unconsciously holding my breath as I mentally counted out about half a minute, figuring that even with a slow pace, they would be out of earshot but still trackable. Before sneaking out, I took one last look at Nora to make sure she was still sleeping soundly.

The hallway, lit sporadically by dim lamps, stretched in both directions. However, a stronger glow to the left hinted at someone's descent down the spiral staircase at the corridor's end. Trying to remain quiet, I hurried to the landing for a better view.

It was Relias.

I was tempted to call out to him, but my curiosity got the better of me. Why had he paused at my door? Did he want to talk? Was something amiss?

Was he just checking on me?

Why was he up and about in the middle of the night?

Feeling I would get better answers by observing than asking directly, I clung to the railing, watching him pause in front of two ornate doors inscribed with Euphridia's holy star hovering above a sea of lesser ones. He carefully set down the candelabra on a nearby table, sighed heavily, and slowly opened the sanctuary's door as if the weight of the world had settled on his shoulders. He then entered the sanctuary, a divine radiance spilling forth as the doors remained ajar.

After descending the stairs as stealthily as possible, I peeked inside the sanctuary. Inside, countless candles cast a serene glow, their calm flames seemingly frozen in the still air. Relias was on his knees in front of the altar, his head pressed to the floor. As he whispered, a twinge of remorse washed over me.

I shouldn't be spying on him like this in such a moment of vulnerability.

He sighed once more and assumed a kneeling posture, his head bowed in solemn prayer. “Thanks be unto you, Divine Euphridia, for reuniting her with me. Your favor towards her is well known, yet you would share her with us once again in selfless sacrifice. It weighs heavily upon my heart to think you are still out there, all alone and unable to return...”

“She's not alone,” I called softly as I walked down the central aisle between the two rows of wooden pews. “Her grandfather is with her, and he seems to be a rather doting one at that.”

He turned with a momentary fluster, half-rising from the ground. “Rae!”

“Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. It looks like you were having trouble sleeping, too, huh?”

“I am feeling all of my years tonight,” he admitted quietly as he stood up slowly. “Once again, I find myself powerless, unable to render any useful aid to His Majesty. Though I promised to provide formal blessings to him here tomorrow night, beyond that, there is nothing I may do for him.”

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“I think you already have done a lot,” I countered, sitting in a nearby pew. “Prince Mito said you spent time with him earlier.”

"Dialogue, though valuable, cannot alter his fated path," he lamented.

I slid down the pew a little to make room for him. “Maybe, but I'm still certain you brought him some comfort, which I'm sure is greatly appreciated. But that's not everything you're worried about, is it?”

He sat beside me, and to my surprise, he rested his head heavily on my shoulder. “There is much more churning within my mind, but to burden you with my thoughts is...”

I cleared my throat. “I invited you to share, so... it'd be really rude not to take me up on it.”

“I would be nothing if not for a gentleman...” he mumbled. “Agreed, yet should the revelations I impart prove overwhelming, I beseech you to make your discomfort known to me.”

“Alright.” I nodded, gently tapping my temple to his.

“The world's goodwill is declining. It seems at every turn, animosity grows for our neighbors, dividing us and isolating our hearts. To find out that those who would use amity to benefit all are no longer entering this world only furthers my fears for the future...”

“Well... about that. I think that if we could get into Paradise, we might be able to fix some of the root causes of that problem.”

He snapped his head up as his body went rigid. “Paradise?”

“The NAU--, I mean, that's the birthplace of all creation, right?” I awkwardly avoided calling it the Naught Terminal.

“Naught?” he asked with wide eyes. “Is something wrong with Naught itself?”

How much was I allowed to disclose? What was confidential information about it versus standard lore? “I think there may be a problem with how it counteracts abundances of ambient animus… but...” I really didn’t understand the intricacies of the process, though. That’s why it would have been nice to have had training on the tools we would need to do our job right!

“Should Naught falter, we stand on the precipice of total annihilation. Though, in truth, it makes sense... The harbingers of the apocalypse undeniably manifest before us. It is with a heavy heart that I acknowledge even my abilities have waned...”

“What do you mean? I saw you do so much with them! You even exorcised that demon... amalgam?” That counts for triple!

“Rae... Many know I no longer hear the Goddess's voice, but I believe soon even I will no longer be able to carry out her will. My physical form wanes, with the evidence cast onto my very brow for all to see.”

I openly searched his handsome yet melancholic face. “I'm not sure what I'm looking for,” I admitted. “You look just fine to me?”

“Here. Right here,” he pointed to the space above his eyebrows. “A wrinkle, a symbol of my fading vitality.”

If this was a joke, it was a terrible one. “Relias...”

“Do you not see it?” he questioned seriously. I was about to deny it emphatically, but then I saw the faintest of lines appear as they would have on any other adult showing such concern.

“Everyone has a wrinkle like that!” I declared a little too loudly.

“I did not have this wrinkle last week. Rae, I am aging rapidly. Wrinkles appearing. My skin is thinning, discoloring.”

I took his right hand and turned it over, inspecting it carefully. His delicate fingers were long and tapered, with manicured nails that even the most meticulous could only dream about. “I really can't see the blemishes you're talking about...”

He chose not to reply directly, staring at the floor. “If we do not restore balance soon... I fear I, too, shall also succumb.”

Surely, this wasn't the problem that haunted him the most, right? Everyone gets older. There's only really one alternative and, well, let's not think about that.

I gently squeezed his hand. “A wrinkle here and there is nothing to be ashamed of...”

He confessed, with a hint of embarrassment, "I've taken to dyeing my hair. It's a trivial matter, perhaps, but it signifies deeper shifts."

Don't you dare laugh out loud!

“I would have never known,” I murmured, not knowing what else to say.

“I only tell you this in confidence because I believe it is another sign of amity leaving this world. It is most embarrassing, to say the least.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” I swore sincerely. “But to your point about the imbalance of animus and amity, shouldn't our priority be restoring Naught? Should we just forget about Chairo for now? We could be a no-show for Pravum and leave him confused. I'd feel bad about standing up Captain Corwin, but maybe we could send a message that something else came up?”

Relias shook his head, his long blond hair cascading over his shoulders. “It will not be as simple as that, Dear One. We must first take your shield from Pravum's grasp before we can obtain the other tools necessary to break through the barrier to Paradise.”

Although he spoke of tools, I knew what he truly meant: weapons.

“My sword is one of these tools, isn't it?” I murmured, my gaze fixed on the ground. “But what about the other one?”

At this, Relias let out a heavy breath. “The dark scythe of the demon king.”

I felt my heart skip a beat. “We're... going to need his help?!”

His response was swift and firm. “I never mentioned needing his help. We only require the scythe.”

I was certain I felt my own hair turn white, but I was still desperate to try a different route, no matter how ridiculous it sounded. “With some luck, maybe we can sneak into his sanctum, get back my sword, and steal his scythe while we're at--”

“Steal? He will have no claim to it once you send him to Naught," he affirmed. “Eternal torment for those most deserving is one function that I am certain is still in effect.”