||| THE PATH OF ILLUSION: ARIADNE |||

[Meanwhile…]

[Somewhere in The Edge, The Opal Sun Kingdom]

The hunching old woman slipped into the dank and narrow alleyway, her terrified eyes constantly peeking over her shoulder. Her lungs were burning, desperately gasping for air, but she couldn't afford to stop – not even for a brief second. She quickly pulled her tattered brown shawl up to hide her white, braided hair, hoping to blend in with the backstreet – although her action was a little too late.

"Where are you going, you old hag?" She heard a raspy, male voice calling for her from behind. Instead of turning around, the elderly woman quickened her pace – until she collided with something in front of her. Lifting her head, she saw a pair of incandescent eyes looking down at her.

"Going somewhere?" asked the tall and jaded man before shoving the woman against the wall.

“Urgh!” the old woman coughed out but then, she heard someone clapping his hands.

"Oi, Cy! Careful now! Don't go breaking that old hag in half. Not until we finish questioning her first," said the initial voice that was later revealed to belong to a stout middle-aged man in a blue military uniform.

"Question me?" the old woman giggled weakly, "I wonder why would you be interested in an old woman like me?"

SMACK!

The woman yelped as she was slapped on her left cheek.

"Goddamnit, Cy! If you don't restrain yourself, I'm gonna make sure you spend a week in The Gaol, got it?" The robust figure let out a grunt in return before finally taking a few steps back from the woman – much to his companion's relief. "Sorry about my friend here. He can be a bit of a pain in the arse to work with, sometimes – not to mention, stupid. But, beggars can’t be choosers, amirite?"

"You…I know you," the old woman squinted her sunken eyes, "You're one of those Liberation goons. Dimitris, wasn't it?"

"Ah, you knew of me? I must say, it's truly an honor to be recognized by the former handmaiden of the late Moon Queen herself. Unfortunately for you, that is as far as my respect to you," Dimitris returned. He yanked down the woman's shawl and wrapped his hand around her neck. "I’ll be asking you some questions and what happened next will depend on your answer.”

“Oh, lucky me.”

“Quiet, lady. Now, firstly – a little birdy told me you spoke with the Envoy last night when he was doing his rounds. Mind telling me what you two are discussing?"

"Then, that little birdy must be mistaken because I do not recall having such a conversation."

"Do not play games with us, witch," Dimitris growled, "We have eyes and ears everywhere, especially in The Edge. We are aware of your visits to the slums to lend aid to the people on behalf of your Royal Prince. So, allow me to reiterate – what did you two talk about?"

"Well, for starters, he asked me how I've been doing in this godforsaken place. Then, he wanted you and your kind to mind your own damn business."

Overwhelmed by frustration, Dimitris threw the chuckling old woman to the muddied ground. "To be perfectly honest, I’m slightly impressed. Your misplaced loyalty to the royal family is commendable, Diana. But, such loyalty in this day and time, can one day get you killed. Just as it did to your beloved Queen," said the man as he fixed his sleeves.

“Wow, I'm getting lectured about loyalty by someone who barely knows what that word even means. That’s funny – until you insulted my Queen."

Dimitris sighed heavily. He shifted his attention to his companion and made a gesture by sliding his finger across his neck. The tall, topless man later sneered in response.

The man named Cy marched toward Diana - his hands outstretched. However, before he could grab the old woman, a dark, shadowy figure suddenly landed between them – the sound of a knife slicing into the flesh soon followed.

The muscular man collapsed to the ground like a stringless marionette with a large gash on its face, shocking Dimitris greatly. "You…!" the man gritted his teeth as soon as he saw the white mask worn by the mysterious black hooded visitor. "This is none of your business, you mangy Faceless mutt! So, get lost!" exclaimed Dimitris.

"Careful with your words, punk, or I’ll slice up that tongue of yours to be fed to the crowds,” said the Faceless with a distorted voice.

"Oh, he's not the only one I brought," said Dimitris before putting his fingers in his mouth and whistled out loud. Then, there was nothing. He was expecting heavy footsteps and the clattering of swords, yet, he still heard nothing but pure silence.

"Don't bother. Brainbiter and I have already taken care of your other friends," the Faceless calmly remarked, a white-handled saber slipped out of their robe.

Startled by the sight of the blade, Dimitris raised his hands and dropped to his knees. "Now, let's not do anything rash here. You don't kill an unarmed person, right?" the man nervously uttered.

"That will depend on your answer."

"Okay, okay. How about we struck a deal? If you let me go, I'll tell you everything you want to know about the Liberation Army. Sounds fair?"

"Tempting, but let's stop beating around the bushes. You don't know anything, do you?" replied the Faceless as they approached the kneeling man. "Let’s play a guessing game, shall we? A little birdy told me that there used to be a low-rank soldier who is too scared to get his hands dirty. So, he ordered someone else to do the job for him. Do you know who this soldier is?"

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"H-Hey! Would you please p-put that sword away," Dimitris stuttered as the saber rested on his right shoulder. "Okay, I admit it. I don't know anything, alright! If you let me go, then-."

"Hush now, it's alright. Just close your eyes and take a deep, long breath," the hooded figure casually interrupted. Then, as Dimitris exhaled, the Faceless knocked him out with the hilt of their saber and clasped on his collar before the man fell on his face.

"Huh, you're keeping him alive?" asked Diana as she got to her feet.

"For now," the Faceless retorted, removing her mask and hood to reveal a young, fair-skinned woman with tangerine-colored eyes and black, sleek hair tied into a waterfall braid. "This guy may have been a small-time crook, but he might prove to be useful for other purposes."

"To be honest, Lady Aria, that doesn't sound exactly reassuring – but, I guess…beggars can't be choosers," said the old woman before leaning against the brick wall while holding her aching hips.

"Diana?" Aria spouted with a frown forming across her face.

"I'm fine. I just need a…moment to catch my breath."

The princess couldn't help but shake her head at the sight of her exhausted guardian. Clearly, the woman's old age was catching up to her. Despite being told to minimize her participation in field missions, the former handmaiden had proven too many times that any advice given to her would only fall on deaf ears.

"Three minutes, and that's all you get. It's getting dark soon, and we can't afford to stay in this place any longer," said Aria.

Diana gave the princess a thumbs up - with a tired smile, she replied, "Will do, dear. Will do."

||| THE END OF THE PATH OF ILLUSION |||

ɹɹ********************************************

[Meanwhile…]

[Somewhere in the Desert of Ashes]

The trio stood on top of the dune overlooking the ruins where they could see several crumbled ionic pillars and a roofless stone house. Much to their surprise, they didn't see anyone patrolling the areas – a strange occurrence considering how loud the commotion with the Sandcreeper was.

"Something's not right. It's too quiet," Lucy expressed her concern out loud.

"Or maybe they didn't hear what happened up here because they are deep underground," Rupert swiftly replied.

"No, Lucy is right. It is too quiet. Moreover, do you see anything resembling an excavation site?" Sam inquired, even though he already knew the answer.

"Possibly buried underneath the sand, or the Disciples covered it up to hide their tracks," Lucy countered.

"Whichever it is, make sure to stay vigilant – we are no longer in the Tower, after all," Sam calmly advised.

"You do realize that you sounded like Markus, right? Relax, dude. Being overly cautious all the time is not a good thing. Sometimes we need to loosen up a bit and simply follow the flow. Got me?" After delivering his brief speech, the elder Nightingale slid down the mound of sand, leaving his sister and Sam behind.

"Sorry about my brother. Seeing the Sandcreeper made him a bit…chirpy," Lucy apologized.

Sam let out a short laugh in return, "No worries. In fact, our little talk just now was quite refreshing."

"Well, if that's true, then better keep it to yourself. If Rupert found out you’re complimenting him, then we’re doomed."

"Duly noted."

**ɹɹ******************************************

After Sam and Lucy glided down to the base of the dune, they noticed the eldest Nightingale was frantically examining one of the pillars. His head swayed from left to right; his facial expression cycled between frustration and total confusion.

"Now, that's a first," said Lucy as she made her way over to her brother. "You look troubled. I never thought I’ll be seeing you become so absorbed by a…stone pillar," the azure-eyed woman added, patting her sibling on the shoulder.

"Have you seen these weird doodles before? I swear they're kinda familiar," muttered Rupert, pointing at the pillar's brown surface.

Lucy took a closer look, and true enough, she saw a few lines of blade-like letters carved into the pillar and started to mumble, "These…these are not the Runes of the Golden Reeds. They're…no, it can't be."

"Luce?" asked Sam after seeing the female Nightingale scratching herself in the head.

"I don't know how to put this, but these are the Bone Scripts - the language used by the Worshippers of the Bones."

"Another long-lost faction possibly brought back to life? It seems this mystery deepens even further," Sam retorted.

"Worshippers of the Bones?" said Rupert, crossing his arms together, "So, they're uh…worship bones?"

"They do, but not in the way you imagined. You see," Sam begins his explanation, "The Worshippers of the Bones have this superstitious belief that every natural disaster and Raid happened because of people like us. In other words, our existence is why there is so much chaos in this world."

"So, they are blaming us for something we have no control over? That's bonkers."

"True, but that was what they truly believed, and because of that same belief, the Worshippers saw themselves as hunters appointed by the heavens with the sole duty of cleansing the world from the threat of the Accursed."

"And that's not the worst of it," Lucy jumped into the conversation, "Every time they made a kill, they took the bones of their victims as trophies - a symbol of their dominance over our kind. Cheery, right?"

Rupert couldn't help but gawked at his sister's grim explanation. After taking a second to recollect his thought, he commented, "Woah, I know some people out there hate us, but that's really messed up."

"Messed up or not, there's no one alive that could read the-," Sam paused after seeing the Bone Scripts pulsing and squiggling around erratically. "Do you guys see that?" he told the siblings while gesturing at the pillar.

Lucy's eyes darted in the direction of her friend's finger, but she didn't see anything other than the 50-year-old runes. "See what, exactly?"

Sam blinked, initially thinking it was a hallucination induced by his fatigue. That was until the moving characters rearranged themselves into a complete, intelligible sentence:

'FEAR THE DIVINE FLAME, THE DESTROYER OF THE WORLD, THE GIVER OF LIFE, AND THE END OF EVERYTHING.'

-P-

"Dude?" Rupert waves his hand in front of Sam's face, immediately awakening the latter from his trance. "Are you okay? You look a bit pale."

"I'm fine. It's just…wait, is it just me, or is the entire place shaking?"

The siblings exchanged looks at first. However, they soon sensed there was indeed some movement underneath the sands.

"Maybe…it's the wind?" the elder Nightingale commented, shrugging his shoulders.

Then, without warning, the ground beneath their feet dissolved, and the trio instantly plummeted into a dark pit.