History was again being destroyed three days after the destruction of Ĉielarko Castle.

Max and a few others in The Advent were at their office, tearing off the wallpaper, opening all the drawers, and checking window panels, and the sides of doors. They scanned the room for listening devices and checked the pens for secret cameras. Some of the floorboards and carpeting were even torn up. All the computers at the office were only kept there, on secure networks, and they were checked weekly for any kind of malware, bots, or viruses.

After several hours of destroying the walls and flooring of a historical building, no evidence was found of the mole.

Max slammed his fist against a desk and screamed at everyone in the room, furious, his trail of rampage not ending.

"Who did it," he screamed. "People died, good people, tell me who did it!"

Everyone awkwardly grimaced and didn't know what to do. The outburst was so unlike him. He was cracking under the pressure of leadership and espionage but the recent sabotage of his plans was too much. His plans had never failed before, and he didn't have a contingency plan if they did. Success made it hard for him to deal with failure.

"If I find out who did it I am turning them into the Emporer," Max said. "If I found out that someone knows who it is and is covering, they're going down too."

"You're starting to sound like one of them."

Max turned to look at Akvo.

Akvo, always the dissenter, yet somehow a follower.

A thorn.

"My friends died. I couldn't go back for them. I want someone to pay," Max said.

"They're not your friends. They're killers," Akvo replied. "I think you're in too deep."

"Shut up!"

Akvo adjusted his tie and collar nervously and the others wanted to speak up but they were afraid to. Akvo tended to stay their objections, but if he backed down then they were unlikely to say anything in his favor. Eric was not afraid of Max's tantrum because he had seen him, breaking down on his couch the last few days. He pitied him.

"Yelling at everyone won't bring them back," Eric said.

"I know that," Max shouted.

"Everyone is here because we think what happened was wrong too. Those people that worked there didn't deserve to die."

"Neither did those knights."

Eric shook his head no and sighed. He gripped Max's arm and took him aside, away from everyone, onto the balcony. Max squatted in the corner near the railing and looked out over the horizon, still angry, hurt, confused, and distressed. Eric sat next to him and gave him some hard truths.

"You're in too deep," Eric said.

"No, I'm not."

"You were willing to turn over the mole to Emporer Valeborn! How would you explain that to him? What if the mole told everything about us to him?"

"I never thought of that," Max mumbled.

"Your grief is normal. That castle in the sky wasn't and lashing out at others isn't. Get it together, or else."

"Or else what!?"

Eric stood up and wanted to end the conversation, but Max wouldn't let him. He put his hand on the wooden sliding door but Max grabbed his wrist to stop him from leaving.

"Or else what," Max asked again.

"We'll replace you," Eric admitted.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Replace me?"

"Yes...we won't kick you out but...eventually he will have to die once he's served his purpose, and that time is near."

"Maybe we don't have to kill him," Max said quietly. "Maybe people can change."

Eric squeed his eyes shut and gave a painful short laugh.

"We know the Ekstermado is coming soon. Killing him can stop it," Eric insisted.

"Or it can make him a martyr and make everything worse!"

Eric pulled away from Max and hissed at him in disgust, making him recoil.

"Now I know why Tiffany smokes like a fucking chimney. You're stressful to be around," Eric said.

"Leave."

"You leave. Go back to your master, bi-"

Max stomped on his foot, but it was his left, and Eric barely felt it. His feelings were hurt more because of the attempt and his eyes went dull.

"Get the fuck out of my house by tonight."

----------------------------------------

Kylan had his hair dyed blonde at a salon and swiped a pair of gold-rimmed glasses for the event later. He usually wore contacts, even though he could get his eyes laser repaired for free. He always refused and it was one of the main reasons he was always in conflict with the military academy for refusing to comply with 'health standards'.

He was feeling extra spicy on his way to the floating mega-mall to go on a stealing spree. It was empty because no one wanted to be inside another floating disaster waiting to happen. Many of the employees had quit and everything was ripe for the taking.

While browsing different outfits on the metro through the small projection from his new glasses, his internet connection started to fizzle out.

"Always on the metro," he complained.

He thought it was because they were going underground for the stop before the train ascended to the mega-mall, but his internet connection was fine. The images on his projection continued to fizzle and change, and he realized something was awry when other passengers on the train started complaining as well. Kylan pressed the minuscule button on the frame of his glasses to go offline and looked at the holo screen advertisement a few feet away.

It was morphing and changing into the shape of a woman. It solidified, and finally, she was projected onto every holo ad on the metro. Not only the metro but every connection in the capital of Fadeno. Someone had written their manifesto and the entirety of Aria was going to hear it against their choice.

The woman had long, thick, black hair. Her face was covered by a mask of a paser's face, its beak slightly open with a microphone built into it. She wore a red silk dress, but there seemed to be a black void behind her. It was either a pre-recorded edited message or a weird, live, secluded location.

"Hello everyone," she said. "I have to confess something to you."

Her voice was warped by the microphone from the mask. It was robotic so she could not be tracked by digital means. She had planned out everything ahead of time. Kylan sat up straighter at the proclamation of whatever truth this woman had in store for Aria. The last time a broadcast like this happened, Princess Rhiannon's head was chopped off.

"I am the Red Paser. I lead the Sisters of The Night. You may have heard of us, or not. By tonight, I hope everyone knows us."

Kylan grinned.

A comrade in arms had greeted him without even knowing.

"Several years ago, the false god killed our Sister. He said Weavers tricked women, calling us weak. I want to let him know that weak women destroyed his filthy abomination in the sky. No longer shall you look down on the people you have no right to rule over."

A man on the subway was angry and threw his drink at the hologram in futility. It passed through it and hit the wall, making a mess over the floor. Hisses came from throughout the train and Kylan hissed along with them, not wanting to seem out of place.

"Weak women like us destroyed his silly announcement a few months ago," she giggled. "He claims he is ending ŝtupetaro but we will still be divided by wealth. The Nobli and Kuraga have changed their children to make them stronger, and faster. Normal, natural, untouched, people have to compete with abominations."

Some of the people in the train stopped hissing and what she said resonated with them. Competing for work with two classes of people that were born with not only more money, but genetically engineered as better, and their children as better, made it impossible to win. The Red Paser had many fans now, and her speech wasn't even complete.

"He is using ŝtupetaro to make you all think there is no rich vs poor. He lies and tells us there is only Weaver vs Portanto. The false god can no longer hide from his lies, down on the ground with the rest of us. Those who take the Path least traveled have compromised everything we stand for, and we are being punished."

She held her hand in the air and clutched it into a fist. On the back of her hand showed the mark of her organization, old and faded, because she had been a member her entire life.

"Let the people rise and take over those who have subjugated us for too long! You have NOTHING to lose but your CHAINS!"

The holo screen changed to the view of Supera Castle, another castle that House Valeborn owned on the continent of Mu. It floated, innocently through the sky while the Red Paser's voice spoke in the background.

"We will destroy your symbols of profanity. We will kill you, Obsidian Valeborn. We, the weak women, are coming for you. It takes you being right every time, but it takes us getting you only once."

Supera Castle exploded in a fiery boom and everyone on the train screamed. Kylan pulled the sides of his long hair, his mind not understanding what was happening. He was shaking and then noticed he was screaming along with them. Footage of Supera Castle exploding kept playing until the feed cut out, and then the holo-ads returned on the train. Everyone looked around in fear, cold and sweaty. Women clutched their purses a little tighter, men put their hands in their pockets, and children looked low to the ground.

At the next stop, Kylan got off, not risking going to the floating mega-mall.