The streets of Sovereign lay eerily deserted, the cobblestones unmarred by the usual bustle of footsteps. The shops were shuttered tight, the windows barricaded with whatever the owners could find. The only signs of life were the occasional flicker of candlelight, peeking through the slats like shy stars afraid of the day. The town had become a ghostly reflection of its former self, the laughter and chatter replaced by the mournful whispers of fear.

Arteus and Ava made their way to the small, unassuming shed that had become Arteus' makeshift home. The wooden door creaked open, revealing the sparse interior. The smell of old leather and metal greeted them, a stark contrast to the floral bouquets that once filled the House of Garnet. Inside, the walls were lined with weapons, a silent testament to the battles that were yet to come. A single candle burned on a small table, casting flickering shadows that danced across the floor like restless spirits.

In the corner, they found elder Millie and Lilly, her knees drawn up to her chest, her hands buried in her hair as she sobbed quietly. The sight of her, so lost in her own pain, brought a fresh wave of anger and sorrow to Arteus. He had seen her face fear before, but never this level of despair. It was a stark reminder of the innocence that had been stolen from them all by the prophecy that had wrenched them from their former lives.

"Lilly," Ava's voice was soft, a gentle whisper in the chaos of the shed. She approached her like a caring friend would, with the grace of an angel and eyes filled with genuine concern. "Are you okay?"

But the question was almost lost on Lilly, her eyes haunted and distant. She looked up, nodding absently before focusing on the two of them.

"Castrol?" Arteus asked Millie, his voice curious yet laced with a hint of urgency.

"He said he has something to handle too," Millie replied, her eyes meeting his with a solemn nod. "Something that can't wait."

Arteus nodded, his expression tight, "Lilly, do you think you can recount what happened last night? I'd like to catch Ava up to speed." he asked gently, his eyes filled with concern as he watched her shiver in the candlelit corner.

Lilly took a deep, shaky breath, and her whole body began to tremble violently. Her eyes grew wide with fear as she tried to compose herself, her teeth chattering against one another like two stones knocking together in an ancient tomb.

"Child." Millie called to her granddaughter, her voice steady despite the fear that tightened her chest. "You can tell them."

Lilly took a moment before she nodded, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.

Her breathe was shaky, before her eyes locked onto Arteus'. "Last night, after the moon had set, and we went our separate ways, i heard strange whispers outside my window," she began, her voice trembling. "At first, I thought it was just the wind playing tricks on me, but then I saw shadows moving, people dressed in cloaks, whispering in a language I didn't understand."

"...They were taking someone away, and Gracie and i decided this was our chance. Our chance to figure out who was behind all this." Her eyes grew distant as she recounted the events of the previous night.

"i..i might only be a grade 3, but i wanted to help. We were scared. But i wanted to help! And they, they looked so... so ominous." She said her cadence fluctuating with every word,

"...Gracie and i... we followed them into an alleyway and..." Lilly paused, her voice catching in her throat. The candle flickered, casting eerie shadows across her tear-stained face.

"They found us," she whispers, her eyes wide with the memory of the terror. "They grabbed me, hooded me. I couldn't see, I couldn't scream. We were taken us to a place, a hidden chamber, somewhere under the city. It smelled of... of incense and blood."

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"They continued to speak in a language we couldn't understand," Lilly says, her voice trembling as the shadows of the shed seem to grow darker.

"But then, I heard it," she whispers, her eyes searching the faces of Arteus and Ava. "A voice that I knew. It was... it was, Sam Bower's voice?" The revelation hangs in the air like a shard of ice, sharp and cold.

Ava clenched her fists tightly at the mention of his name, her nails digging into the soft flesh of her palms. Sam Bower; him again...

Lilly's voice grew softer, the tremble in her words a testament to the horror she had witnessed. "I heard him," she said, her eyes haunted by the memory. "He was laughing. They were all laughing as they walked around us, like we were nothing more than cattle."

"There were others?" Ava asked, her voice barely a whisper as Lilly nodded, her eyes never leaving the flickering candle.

"Y-yes, i could hear them, breathing... crying..." Lilly's voice grew softer as she recounted the sounds that had filled the chamber. "There were so many of them. The others. Just kids, like me Gracie and me."

Her eyes searched the faces of Arteus and Ava, looking for some semblance of understanding, some spark of outrage that would validate her fears. "It wasn't just Sam though," she continued, her voice barely a whisper. "There were others with him, men and women of the city. They spoke in a posh tongue, nobles by the sound of them."

Ava's jaw tightened at the mention of the nobility, her thoughts racing with the implications of such an alliance. "What happened next?" she managed to ask, her voice as gentle as she could manage, though her mind was a storm of anger and dread.

"They stopped," Lilly murmured, her eyes distant, reliving the horror. "They stopped at me and Gracie. They... talked? About us? like... like we were livestock."

"They picked me up," she continued, her voice barely audible. "Dragged me out of the room. They were... s-strong, cold."

"...Gracie screamed after me, but I couldn't do anything. My magic relies on me seeing what i'm working with but they just... they just took me away from her."

The room grew colder as Lilly spoke, the candlelight seeming to retreat from the dark shadows that her words conjured. "They threw me out onto the street," she said, her voice trembling. "The hood was ripped from my head. I could see them clearly then, their faces... all satisfied with themselves and what not. They didn't even bother to hide who they were. It was like... like they didn't care if I knew."

Her words hung in the air like a curse, the gravity of the situation pressing down on the small group. For a moment, Ava was lost in her own thoughts, her mind racing with the implications of what Lilly had just revealed.

"After... after that i didn't know what to do," Lilly's voice was a mere whisper, her eyes focused on the flickering candle flame as though it held the answers she sought. "I was scared, so scared. But then I thought of you and... that's how i found myself here" she said, looking up at Arteus, her eyes searching his face for a hint of the comfort she so desperately needed.

Arteus nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. "You did the right thing, Lilly," he said, his voice firm and reassuring. "We know now, who is behind all this."

Ava watched him, his gaze was intense, a silent promise that he would not rest until justice was served. "They didn't make it hard for us to connect the dots," he murmured, his voice barely more than a whisper. "They thought it didn't matter if we knew. But they were wrong."

His eyes glinted with the fire of rebellion, the same fire that burned in Ava's soul. "They underestimated us," Arteus said, his voice steady despite the quake in his chest. "And that was their mistake."

"...this goes higher than just Sam Bower, we need to bring down the entire network. His mother, Kathleen, and the one orchestrating all these atrocities, Tobias." Arteus voice was cold and calculated, the room echoing with the promise of vengeance.

Ava's heart skipped a beat at the mention of the name. "Tobias?" she repeated, her voice trembling. "Is he involved in this?"

But just as Arteus was about to speak, the distant toll of the town bell echoed through the stillness of the morning, a mournful knell that seemed to resonate with the very air around them.

"TCH!" Arteus clicked his tongue, "I hoped we had more time."

The urgency in his eyes was palpable, the candle flame seemingly dancing in their depths.

"No time for explanations," Arteus said, his voice firm with the weight of his words. "We have to hurry. Now." He strode to the corner of the shed, where his trusty axe leaned against the wall, its gleaming blade reflecting the flickering candlelight. He grabbed the weapon, the leather of his grip whispering a promise of battle.

It was time to put an end to this farce.

-To Be Continued-