As Vualla slowly slipped her numb hands into her heavy iron gauntlets, she had to suppress the ball of panic that was running through her chest like a rabid rodent. For each time since the strange dreams started, Vualla would have her… something drained, and then that weight would rip to pieces like a wax paper when she woke up. But not today, not now. It hung over her like a steel chain, cold and relentless against her skin even as she moved in the waking world.

Ready to take from Vualla. To devour her emotions.

It was there now, as the huge army of the Nether King began to march downward toward the bristling bases of the Aether forces. Vualla felt nothing as she looked on at the tide of Nether Beasts rushing down toward the comparatively minuscule fortifications. An army of over one million, with likely at least one thousand Nether Gatekeepers waiting to strike. With worse foes waiting beyond them, as the Nether King itself began to move downward.

The wild fury of the Nether King was like a weather pattern, lapping lightly down from the sky and soaking them all to the skin. In the face of that, they were-

There was a knock at the front of Vualla’s tent. In the next moment, her wish that the knocker be Randidly Ghosthound was so strong and sudden that she swayed lightly. Even the weight across Vualla wasn’t enough to handle that emotion and was pushed back by its vibrancy. But the emotion passed, and the lack of heat on her back meant that this individual was not Randidly. Still, her face broke out into a smile as she opened her tent flap and saw her visitor.

“Elliot! What are you doing here?” Even as the thirsty darkness continued to sip at her emotions, Vualla threw her arms around her brother and pulled him in for a hug. “You should get out of here. I don’t want to be pessimistic, but the fighting might reach this area. And the supply division should be retreating! Having you here won’t make much of a difference…”

“Bah, my worry-wort of a baby sister,” Elliot said fondly as he patted her hair. Then he favored her with a rakish grin as they separated from each other. “Come, I have a surprise. A good one. Maybe not enough to turn the tide, but Aether will not be cowed by the evil beasts that lurk in the darkness. May it always be so.”

The darkness that was sipping on Vualla’s emotions seemed amused at Elliot’s words. Which was somewhat shocking, as it was the first time she ever had the impression of emotions from the weighty darkness. But she allowed herself to be led outside the tent by Elliot. And what she saw there truly shocked Vualla to her core. “...where did they all come from…?”

“They are the forces at the front lines, gathered together,” Elliot said proudly. “They might have been stationed in other areas, but they are here now. And they will bleed this Nether army dry before they give up this base.”

Huge columns of forces were hurrying forward through the gaps in the fortifications that each of the Commanders had set up, bolstering the defenses immensely with just their numbers. And the sheer mass of bodies was what left Vualla floored. It was like someone had snapped their fingers and doubled the number of forces that the Aether possessed. Thousands of troops were marching forward to join the front lines, with long lines waiting for their turn to move forward and settle into formation.

“How many?” Vualla whispered. Despite her own struggles, seeing all these forces did a lot to inject confidence into her that they could live through this. Even the weight on her shoulders couldn’t suck that away.

My Path is the right one. We can win this without relying on… other methods.

“Almost two hundred thousand,” Elliot bragged shamelessly, as though he was responsible for gathering them all. He gestured elaborately and bowed to Vualla. “My princess, your knights are here to rescue you.”

You always were the bravest in imaginary games as children… and the first to tattle when we broke the rules.

Shaking her head, Vualla just stared at the troops in wonder. But the longer she looked, the more her brief respite from depression departed. It might have been the darkness continually walking with her, but it was also more than that. As Vualla looked at the army that was coming forward, she saw the details of them.

The soldiers that marched forward almost looked like beggars. And while there were some powerful images in the group, none were even close to Randidly’s tier of strength. They looked untrained and ragged to her eyes. Their armor was mismatched and ill-fitting. Rather than a true force, this looked more like a group of hastily raised levies.

...which is probably exactly what they are. Vualla clenched her fists so tightly that her wrist popped. The System throwing innocent bodies at a problem that it cannot solve on its own. That’s why… that’s why…!

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“We are going to win this,” Elliot said as he looked up toward the shifting Nether army.

Vualla wished she could share some of his enthusiasm, but it was devoured as soon as she tried to feel it. The darkness would not let it linger long. Above them, the heavy nodes of blue veins shifted and drifted toward the Aether camps. Huge groups of powerful Nether Beasts began to flash into existence and then fall down to land on the no-man’s-land between the two forces. It started with just a few groups, but Vualla stood and watched almost one hundred squads appear and land.

It was a staccato of drumbeats announcing the approaching battle. The vanguard was coming. Vualla tightened the buckles on her gauntlets and prepared to kill.

*****

As the Nether Prince finally faded from existence, four individuals were once more standing in a tight square at the center of the array in Lord Miln’s tent. Three of them were slightly surprised and bewildered at the sudden change of scenery. Despite their obvious power and perception, it took them a few seconds to grasp what had happened. Or what it meant that the dream had cut out so early.

Soon enough, Randidly would see the realization dawning in their eyes. Someone had seized the core energy that was within that place. It was the only explanation for why the dream had ended so suddenly.

However, Randidly used that moment of confusion to glance sideways at his doppelganger. Honestly, he didn’t think the other three would end up suspecting the truth, especially after feeling the changes in Lady Iellaya and Randidly’s look-alike. And obviously Randidly knew why Lady Iellaya suddenly felt much more potent, albeit even though even he was surprised by the degree of the change, so he focused on the change in Lord Miln’s companion.

Their eyes met. Just like last time, it gave Randidly a physical jolt. They truly looked very, very similar. And the aura around the look-alike… it had shifted slightly. More than slightly, although the effect wasn’t overt. Randidly’s hand twitched as he suppressed an impulse to reach for the Philosopher’s Key so he could get a better understanding of the change.

This man absorbed some of the image too, Randidly reflected lightly. ...did they succeed at taking the shortest path? I’m just surprised Lord Miln didn’t take the strength for himself…

The confusion in the surrounding eyes turned toward suspicion. Lord Miln’s eyes were on Lady Iellaya while Lady Iellaya narrowed her eyes and looked at the look-alike.

Everyone was brought back to the actual moment by Ileot Swacc walking forward and chuckling. “I see that it was a very fruitful journey… How… interesting. But I don’t believe we have time to gossip about our gains, do we…?”

“...no, of course not.” Lord Miln shook his head and took a few steps back from the group while continually staring at Lady Iellaya. Then he turned and smiled up toward the Great Rift that loomed above them. “Everyone is dismissed back to their posts. It looks like today’s work isn’t done.”

“Thank you for the opportunity,” Lady Iellaya said frostily as she bowed. Then she spared Randidly a glance. Randidly nodded and followed her out toward the entrance of the tent.

To his annoyance, Ileot also came behind the two of them. “Ah, Mister Ghosthound, a brief word, if you please.”

“Meet me back at the camp,” Lady Iellaya said bluntly. Then there was the sound of a raven’s wings and she vanished, leaving Randidly alone outside of Lord Miln’s tent with Ileot.

Could have at least waited around to make sure I wasn’t about to get kidnapped… Randidly thought with a sigh, but he still turned around toward Ileot. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh yes,” Ileot said with a giggle. “I’m afraid I must confess that… ah, this is quite awkward. Well, some of what I told you previously turns out… to not be true. You won’t have much time to make the decision about Vualla; basically, you must choose now. Due to the circumstances of the Nether King attacking… my energy will be depleted much more quickly than I had expected. It was an honest mistake, I can assure you.”

Randidly’s eyes narrowed. “Weren’t we friends? Strong-arming me moments before a battle is about to break out is hardly a friendly move.”

“We both know that you never intended to be my friend, despite my genuine efforts,” Ileot had the nerve to sound reproving as he spoke to Randidly. “You are a cold and calculating creature… I should never have expected you to act against your own interests. So let me stress that the ritual will take no time at all, and will not affect you in any way. And once we are working together, this Vualla that you have developed feelings for will continue to live. Is that not what you want?”

At what cost? Randidly glared at Ileot, but he didn’t answer out loud. What would be the point? He could only grit his teeth and allow his mind to whirr into action, trying to decide how to proceed.

“Do you have the time to think about this, Randidly Ghosthound?” Ileot asked sweetly.

Randidly didn’t need to look to feel huge masses of Nether forces dropping down toward the frontlines. Within ten minutes, the battle would erupt into a chaotic mess. At that point, lives would be extinguished by the hundreds as the fighting began. His chest trembled with tightly controlled anxiety. If he was present, perhaps-

Randidly pressed his eyes closed. Vualla. I… I don’t want you to die. I don’t want to fight against the System alone.

And yet…

And yet Randidly opened his mouth and said, “No.”

It should have been a difficult decision. But it turned out to be extremely easy to say that word. Then Randidly turned and hurried away. Heading not toward Lady Iellaya’s camp but to move before Ileot Swacc could do anything else. Behind him, Ileot Swacc just laughed as Randidly rushed outward across the preparing battlefront.