The stew did wonders in warming them up. After downing the last bit of their meat stew, the two of them got up from the table and left, nodding in thanks to the chef who had afforded them the respite of warmth. Only the Moons knew how much they actually needed it; flying around at high altitudes really needed lots of preparation.

“That was nice,” Lily rubbed her hands as the two of them left the restaurant. Business had resumed, despite the looming threat of a battle. Or whatever that was currently passing as a battle, anyway. Neither side had moved at all; both Duchess Lacuna and the commander of these shadows were more than content to stare at each other.

“Reminds me of the time when we first went out. We also had meat stew, remember?” Claud replied, before pulling out a small pyramid. After checking that it was misaligned, he stored it away a moment later and said, “I like those warm-in-the-stomach kind of dishes the most. Makes me feel happy and protected.”

“Who doesn’t like to be protected?” Lily chuckled.

“Oh, I’m sure there’ll be someone who would tell you otherwise.” Claud rubbed his nose. “We only feel that way because we have similar circumstances.”

He looked down for a moment, and then shook his head. Changing the topic, he said, “Anyway, Crescent Moon should begin today, right? If the Dark and the Moons are diametrically opposed, we should expect the shadows assembled outside to weaken in strength.”

“Crescent Moon, huh?” Lily raised her free hand to the sky. “In the past, the Moons used to bring me comfort, but now I don’t know. They’re…protectors, to be sure, but they’re the kind of guardians that don’t seem to put us humans in their eyes. Like…”

“The gods?” Claud completed her words. “I’m sure Nero and Clarissa will have a lot to say about that. Still, while the Dark wanes, the Moons wax. The situation in Istrel…it’s definitely going to worsen.”

“Mhm.”

“Maybe we should go back there?” Claud suggested. “But…”

“We can’t. Breaking the barrier to escape makes us hard to track, but if we were to break into the sovereignty, the Moons can find us easily,” Lily replied. “Recently, I’ve been getting a feeling that you would have been in danger had you stayed in Istrel. You have a skill that blocks many ways of finding you, but what if something like karma was involved?”

“I think it should work too,” Claud replied. “But…yeah, to be safe, leaving was the best choice.”

He closed his eyes for a moment. Now that he thought about it, he found the fact that he couldn’t verify the effect of Omen distressing, along with how he couldn’t test its limits and everything.

Also, it had also become his class back then, in Celestia. How did that work? Shaking his head, the two of them strode over to a park bench and sat down. While they could get a room at an inn right now, the two of them had agreed in silent accord to sit on a bench and survey Lostfon. It was something that the two of them occasionally did after they grabbed some sweets from a good day’s patrol in Licencia; old habits died really hard, as a rule of thumb.

“Omen, huh?”

“Something wrong?” Lily asked.

“I’m just going to check it again,” Claud replied. “Right, did I tell you about my passive skill, Understanding? I got it when” —he raised three fingers— “died. Allows me to interpret my status.”

“That sounds…rather pointless, but I suppose that when it comes to you, it’s probably rather useful.”

Claud smiled, and then opened up his status. “Eh?”

“Something wrong?” Lily’s question, this time, carried some panic. “Something happen to your status, right?”

“Y-yeah.” Claud took a deep breath and looked through the whole thing again.

Name: Claud Primus

Class: Omen

Lifespan: 368 years

Active Skills: Presence Nullification (8), Flight (5), Binding Order (7), Cleanse (6), FiBoD;A??? (0), FiBoD;A??? (0)

Passive Skills: DiL???C, Mana Hub, Omen, Understanding

Mana Circuit Superimposition: 3.00

Mana Control Proficiency: Expert

Authority: 3

Comments: The Moons rise and the Dark wanes. But the seasons turn and turn and turn. The only constant is the grand catastrophe. Omen, be careful.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“There’s a new section in my status now,” Claud reported. “Class. Omen. Oddly enough, it’s also in my passive skills too. I don’t really know what’s going on right now.”

“Maybe it stuck or something. You have question marks in your status, right?” Lily asked.

“You…don’t sound all that surprised.” Claud thought back to Lily’s question, and grimaced. “You even expected something odd to happen to my status. What made you think that way?”

“Well, I had a feeling that something was going to happen, when you reported that you actually had an entry in ‘Class’,” Lily replied. “And besides, lots of funny and odd thing happen around you all the time.”

“I swear, it only started after that botched heist and the moniker of Tot,” Claud replied, his voice quiet. “I’m quite sure I lived quite a normal life before that happened.”

He fell silent at those words. Something had stirred in his memory, but before he could capture that thought, it had slipped through his figurative hands, like a person trying to scoop up water. A little flame of frustration burned in the pit of his stomach as that feeling of not quite being able to sneeze assaulted his mind, and he made a little noise.

“Claud?” Lily patted his head. “You look angry. Or something. Did I do something wrong?”

“I won’t get angry at you,” Claud replied. “When you see my face like this, it’s usually me getting angry at myself. And in this case…it’s a memory I can’t quite recall. Gah.”

He mumbled under his breath a few more times, and then decided to toss it aside. There was no point in getting angry, after all.

“So, about your status…” Lily tilted her head. “I checked my own, and it seems to have reverted to its original state. There’s an extra passive skill there, but that’s all.”

“Artificial Life Contractor…” Claud sighed. “If only I can look at your status…but even then, I can only interpret my own status screen.”

“That’s how life is, really.” Lily smiled, and then sidled up to him. The two of them began to talk about random people passing by, passing judgements based on their attire and demeanour. Most of the people in Lostfon were quite rich, from their clothes alone, and the practiced, confident gait that many of them sported reminded Claud of Schwarz, an opinion that Lily agreed with.

“Last day of New Moon.” Lily looked up at the darkening sky. “Do you think the shadows or the great Dark would do anything today?”

“We’re here and waiting for a reason, aren’t we?” Claud replied, an enigmatic smile on his face. “I know something’s going to happen. I can feel it in my bones. Perhaps…”

Something shook the world, and the two of them turned to look at the north. Far behind the assembled army of shadows, beyond the gigantic dome that had surrounded the Quies Dukedom, he could vaguely sense a huge amount of energy.

“Something big is happening,” Lily muttered. “In Voidum Sovereignty. Maybe the Dark is erecting a huge wall to isolate it from the rest of the world. So, the part about how both sides might be using a sovereignty as a base of operations might just be true, huh?”

Claud looked at Lily. Like her words, her eyes were calm and placid, and he smiled at her composure.

“You don’t feel…scared?” Claud asked. “That huge amount of energy is definitely more than a tetra-folder. Heck, maybe even a penta-folder or Emperor Grandis himself.”

“I watched you hurl two lances of pure destruction up close,” Lily replied. “Nothing fazes me now, really.”

Claud chuckled. “Yeah. Seems like this year really is a screwed-up year.”

He looked up at the darkening sky, and then thought about a particular mission. The Coloured Gods would probably not stand idly by as the two powers waged war…or perhaps they would, and play the role of the intruding third party when both—

A screen appeared in his vision, a screen that was coloured by the rainbow. At the same time, an hourglass appeared in the top right of his vision, and Claud looked at the words that had popped up in shock.

< In compact with the five grand skies, the Trial of Aeons shall commence in a year.>

Claud felt a thousand horses run through his mind as the ominous proclamation, inlaid in a seven-coloured rectangle, unfurled before him. He hadn’t quite expected this development; in fact, the Coloured Gods’ Bearers of Destiny should have been the last to get involved, and yet—

His heart jumped a moment later, as even more screens appeared, superimposing upon each other.

< With the scales tilting, the Trial of Aeons shall open to two lives.>

“Three Bearers of Destiny, dead like this? The Trial of Aeons?” Claud stared at the three shining screens, a shiver running down his spine. “What’s going on?”

“The Moons,” Lily whispered, her eyes staring up at the night sky. “Early. By one day.”

As those words escaped her lips, light leaked out from the once-shadowed Moons, drenching the ground with their chilling radiance. Claud watched in silence as the black mist that surrounded the area writhed and fought back, before taking a deep breath.

Bells began to ring a moment later, shattering the peace of the night. As soldiers idling away in the town immediately stood up and made their way towards the city gate, Claud felt the desire to escape and head to Monsville keenly, but this was the home of a friend’s family. Like Lily, the idea of escaping without even putting in any effort to help their friend didn’t gel well with Claud, and he took a deep breath.

“To the walls,” said Claud, ignoring three new notifications about complete quests. “Let’s see if they need our help.”

Lily looked at him, and then nodded. “That’s all we can do for Caroline…and perhaps, Licencia itself.”

Squaring his shoulders, Claud and Lily got up together, and then headed for the towering battlements, where shadows marched onwards. Giving off wisps of smoke under the moonlight, they surged onwards, like soldiers marching to their death.