Gelehrter whirled about and waved his sword to attack an invisible enemy. His companions raised an eyebrow at him.

“Where are we?”

“I believe this is the Lower Sector.” Arden concluded. “Mother used to tell me stories about this place when I was younger...it is believed to be a myth, but here we are.”

Rena fidgeted uneasily. “Did...you take in too much of the air, Gelehrter?”

“The air...” He seemed at a loss. Slowly he turned to his friends; they too had the dark masks over their faces and they eyed him curiously.

“In the Lower Sector, many were driven mad from the air. Its poisonous and causes hallucinations in those who take in too much.” Arden gripped the handle of her enchanted sword and then raised it aloft. The blaze surrounding the weapon appeared to ebb as she reached out with it. A soothing mist encompassed him and he released a sigh of relief. Around him, the creatures vanished without a trace into wisps of smoke.

“I suppose if you wish to keep using that thing you should give it a name.” Rena suggested and began to walk.

“It is much more useful than a torch, that much is certain.” She giggled.

Gelehrter however kept to himself and walked alongside them. His mind drifted into his memories.

* * *

He nursed a bruise on his cheek.

Stolzer knelt before him, the sun at his back. His dark eyes, usually carrying the air of study, bore the kindness of a master to his student.

“You did well, all considering.” He nodded to him.

They had been traveling to their next mission into the Eastern District. Ovelia gave Stolzer a quick briefing while Gelehrter recited his incantations.

The gentle caress of the wind against his skin soothed his worries. He released a sigh of content.

“Stolzer, do you ever wonder what life will bring you?” His question caused him to raise an eyebrow.

“Something on your mind, friend?” Stolzer sat next to him.

“I have...been wondering. Ovelia is always alone, I have never met her, but she seems like a lonely person. Is that what life has brought her?”

Stolzer contemplated for a few moments. “You chose a tough one this time...”

“I read about past two Sanguine Overlords, just like you have instructed me.”

“Besides Ovelia, there was Ernald and Eloise. Because of them, we have the ranks of Sanguine Overlord and Knight Undying. Comparing our Overlord with Ernald is quite different, you see. He had a lot more challenges...and most of them were very new.” Stolzer took another moment to think then he continued. “In a way...I suppose you could say Ovelia was handed a very loaded deck and proceeded the best she could.”

“S-She's...”

“Yes, just like us.”

“There is no way! She is so...strong!” Gelehrter denied the idea that Ovelia could have a weakness.

“Well, if you had taken the time to read further, you would learn of my Grandmaster. Gavilis trained her when she had descended.” Stolzer explained.

“Gavilis...he is...the short one?”

“Yes, the short one.”

“You have not answered my first question.” Gelehrter pouted.

“That thought does not escape my mind.” Stolzer admitted and crossed his arms. “But, I do not let the fear of a future I cannot foresee interfere with the present. I make my choices and live with them. If I find love, I will marry. Otherwise, I will continue on as a Justicar.”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Gelehrter frowned.

“Come, we must be off. Dawdling about won't get us anywhere.” Stolzer stood upright and brushed himself free from dirt.

* * *

“Arden, could I ask you something?” Gelehrter blurted out. He returned to the present and interrupted the silence which had settled over them.

“E-Err...yes, of course.”

“What kind...of mother is Ovelia?” His question seemed to shake her. She fidgeted uneasily.

“I'm not sure if I can answer that...”

“Most of us do not have mothers.” He added. “I...was wondering what a parent was like, more or less.”

The atmosphere of the Lower Sector had thickened with tension.

“Mother...could not take care of me at first. She had a nanny care for me when I was younger and as I grew, so too did the world around me. I did not get much time to be a child...” She brushed her hair behind her ear then continued. “Mother had found me in the midst of a vampire raid. They had found a way to deactivate the defense matrix in the Western District and as a result, my original parents were killed. I was too young to remember, but she told me when she felt I could handle it.”

“Neither Rena and I never knew our parents, thank you for sharing.” Gelehrter exhaled profusely. “I am sorry...I had to ask.”

She seemed distraught.

“I would like to ask something...further.” Rena chimed in after a spell.

“Yes?”

“Did...your mother ever find anything concerning the case with Stolzer?”

“She had recorded a few items and showed them to me...she did keep a journal that a man named Alphonse wrote for her.” Arden shook her head. “Kind of spooky that a man she never knew would confess such things.”

“Alphonse?” Gelehrter turned to Rena, whose expression soured. She halted and they mimicked her.

“I would like to make camp for the time being. I have a few things which may protect us...if we imbue some form of magic into it.” Rena reached for her satchel and took a knee. She retrieved a tent, some of their supplies and a few blankets. “Unfortunately, we must sleep near Gelehrter tonight. We don't get a separate tent for spacial reasons.”

“Suppose hearing Arden's snoring at night is punishment enough.” He jested.

Her visage flushed with color and they all laughed before setting to their chores.

Arden and Rena set up the tent while Gelehrter prepared the flames. A small space was sectioned off with loose pieces of stone and he reached for several bits of loose cloth. With a quick incantation, the blaze erupted into life. Despite the need for fuel, the fire consumed nothing of the materials used to spark or the materials used to sustain the flames.

Arden took her place at the campfire, the same as Rena. They each retrieved a small device and place it in equal distance from each wall. A barrier erected shortly afterward and the air lightened around them.

“This will work for a short time...” Rena finally pulled off her mask and the other two followed suit. The oxygen-enriched air filled their lungs and strength flowed through their muscles once more.

“Why did you wish to know more of what my mother experienced from Stolzer's journal?” Arden blurted out.

“I-I...”

“Do you...know something we do not?”

“I have a...feeling, if you will, that...Alphonse did exist.” She pondered for a few moments before continuing. “Imagine...for a moment...that we are in one dimension. The dimension where your mother loved a man named Alphonse, the same man who achieved the same things as was stated in the journal...and there is this one. Where none of us know a Knight Undying named Alphonse, who ascended to bear the name of Mortem. Imagine then...there is forbidden magic which is used to...erase a person, or many people, from a plane of existence entirely? I am speaking of memories of those who knew them and the idea they were even born... All at the cost of your own life. Now, imagine...for another instant...that if many people were to chant this spell, would its effects spread evenly across all of them for that same person. Instead of an eye for an eye, you have one death for the cost of a few to have limbs rot.”

“Sounds like a joke.” Arden concluded.

“No, hear us out.” Gelehrter rushed to Rena's aid. “We believe Stolzer knew of this and was informed of such magic from Alphonse before he could no longer sustain himself. His legs were rotting, were they not?”

“I agree...they were, it was quite peculiar.” She admitted.

“Perhaps, Alphonse embedded memories of himself into Stolzer to preserve himself long enough to break the terms of the magic. He used Stolzer's body as a catalyst and remained in this dimension before he finally was erased.”

“But...if we know who Alphonse is...does that mean...?”

“Alphonse still lives in our memories, yes. The spell's effect is strong, but it has its own weaknesses.” Rena bit her lip nervously. “I...I know...in my heart...that Stolzer was my master. In my memories, he was the one who taught me swordplay. He was the one who gave me manuals to study while he was in Council meetings and the one who taught me the fundamentals of magic. But...in my memories I cannot see his face. There is always too much sun, or something is preventing me from seeing him.”

“I can in all of my memories. In fact, he often would sit in front of me when we discussed many aspects of the world. Many of them I had questions about.” Gelehrter focused on Rena, who blinked in surprise.

“This is too much of a coincidence for Alphonse to not exist...” Arden grumbled. “I'll bite on this one; do you believe it is--”

“Orchestrated, yes.” They said in unison.