“Hey! Wu! Wake up!”

“Wha…?”

In the middle of darkness, Wu felt Lera pushing and pulling his shoulders back and forth as he rattled awake. The sky outside was still covered in darkness with the stars hidden behind the packs of clouds. Lera’s wearing the same sexy nightgown that she wore to bed earlier, and she would usually be the one to wake up before him if they slept at the same time. Wu rubbed his eyes before he hugged Lera, but she instead held onto his face and pointed it towards the open window.

Seeing groups of chariots that were packed and parked right outside the main building, Wu’s eyes then widened when they saw groups of servants move Valkyries bound in prison Casts around. All of them appeared to have passed out and were utterly unaware of their transportation.

“Shit...Shit!” Wu cursed, spring up and running towards the window when Lera started getting changed into her clothes and armor. She was about to turn on the lights but Wu reached out and stopped her, “They must not know that we are up.”

“You are right…” Lera nodded, slipping the nightgown over her head as her smooth back reflected the moonlight in the dark. Wu found himself watching her change before he also did the same.

“Do we have a way to get in touch with Ita?” Wu asked.

“Not directly…But I could use my Cast array to track her down within the castle.” Lera said, slinging her arms through the sleeve of her jacket.

“Sounds good.” Wu said, fixing up his Void suit before he slowly approached the door, “I really need to get some scanners and sensors ready for my suit…”

Lowering his voice further, he then gestured towards the outside of the door as Lera slowly nodded. Then, she hovered the book of Casts over her hand before covering the entire room with her Cast array and extending out to the corridor just outside of the door.

There were a trio of servants who were fully suited up and patrolling quietly right outside their door. There were also Casts that were written into the room itself, simple shield Casts that were linked to a communication Cast.

Fortunately, so long as Lera doesn't use any Cast directly on the shield Cast, it would not trigger the alarm. But just in case, Wu went ahead and exposed the communication Cast by moving the wardrobe aside as Lera came in to swiftly disabled it with her Void Domain Scalpel.

Then, she expanded her Cast array further, tracing the interior of the castle and expanding their reach until every corner of the castle was shown on the projection in front of them.

“Tsk…where is she…?” Lera murmured, scanning the profiles in the Wave in each and every single room. She spotted Tanner and Ina staying in their office, and decided to leave them alone before Wu pointed to a tiny figure in the corner. It was small in size, but still glowed fiercely.

“Is that her? Or just a little kid?” Wu asked, and Lera chuckled lightly before nodding.

“Yes, it’s her.”

“Didn’t seem like she knew.” Wu said, when suddenly the tiny figure let out an outburst of Wave, but it was immediately pushed back by a trio of guards on the other side of the door, “Ok. I take that back.”

“We need to get her out too.” Lera said. Wu then headed over towards the window before she sliced open a gap within the shield Cast and they hopped right out. With a combination of Void Domain and Blinding Darkness, they moved like a black blob, disappearing perfectly into the night as they started heading towards Ita’s room.

It wasn’t exactly hard to spot from the outside, as she continuously channeled her raw physical strength and tried to break free from the shield Cast, but more and more servants were sent there to contain her.

“You don’t know what you are doing, Miss! Please trust your parent's judgment!” One of the servants yelled through the door as the entire corridor rocked from Ita’s punches. However, the shield Cast was designed in such a way to resist more the stronger the attack was, up to a certain point at least.

“You don’t know what the future holds for Talonia if they were transformed!” Ita cursed, “This is not what we should do! We need to stand up and do the right thing!”

Knock knock knock.

“Please calm down, Ita! Just let your parents handle all this!” The head servant said, pouring his Wave into the shield Cast to enhance its durability, "You can just relax in here!"

“You don’t know what I have seen! They…they are just...using whatever's convenient to keep themselves afloat!” Ita cocked her fist back before wrapping it with her hair as she nearly punctured through the shields, but it rapidly rebuilt together and stood firmer than before with more servants pouring their Wave into it.

“They are the head of the family, and they may do whatever they see fit.”

“Even if they decided to sacrifice any of you to the new Valkyrie’s program?!”

Knock knock knock.

Ita spun around, and she saw Wu and Lera floating outside her window. They waved towards her as she dropped her jaws slightly.

“They will not do that. Please, just calm down and let us handle it.”

“….fine!” Ita said, much to the head servant’s surprise. Her quiet footsteps stomped into the room as the group of servants let out a sigh of relief. In the meanwhile, Lera had also worked her magic with the Scalpel, and Wu picked Ita up by the shoulders before putting her in the chariot next to him, “Lera! That’s a new trick.”

“One of his new inventions.” Lera said, dispelling the tiny black rod right as the last of the Valkyries were loaded onto the chariots down below and the chariots rattled off from the ground, “Come on, let’s see where they are taking them.”

“We are just going around and around in circles.” Ita crossed her arms, “I…can’t believe they just lock me up like that…”

“They have their reasons, Ita, I am sure.” Wu said, patting her on the head as she closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, “But that doesn’t, and shouldn’t stop you from doing what you believe is right.”

“But...what if I am wrong?” Ita questioned, “What if…the Valkyries program is necessary? What if that’s what Talonia needed, especially during this time of PORA’s rise to power...what if...I am not seeing things clearly...I don't know.”

“Just because something needs to be done, doesn’t mean that thing can only be done in one way.” Wu said, drawing Ita’s attention towards him, “Every country needs their protector, and nobody is fighting about that. Not Icy, not Alina, and not you…What you are really fighting about is how that force of protection comes to be. You have seen it yourself at the Academy. Power can come from anywhere, so long as there is competition.”

Ita stared at Wu, and she slowly lowered her head before reaching her little fist forward and started to hit Wu’s stomach softly.

“But…I am just a girl from the Leodora family…how will I able to change the kingdom after we saved them?” Ita murmured, “How could I do anything if I could't even escape my parent's traps...”

“And I am just a powerless nobody.” Wu said, holding onto Ita’s chin as her face became puffed up adorably, “We all have to start somewhere. What matters not is not where you are right now, but where you are going. If you have a dream to change the kingdom for good, then we will help you accomplish it. And don't forget...nobody accomplishes anything notable alone.”

“And I will help you if you don’t steal him away from me.” Lera added, when Ita smiled at last and hugged onto him.

"Deal."

“Ok, I have got to admit. I would never imagine the main man hiding in a tiny little cave like this, but then again, why should I be surprised?”

“You would only learn of the commander’s location and identity after you become…me.”

“Cause he is that scared.” Shadow tilted her head as Alina reached her hand forward, activating the security Casts before the cave revealed itself behind the layers of snow as if nature had decided to part ways willlingly for her, “That’s neat though.”

The corridor of the caves itself looked just like before, and so was smell of the aroma in the air. Alina let out a nervous sigh and marched forward. Caligo, the man behind absolutely everything she knew and had, stood still over a table like a tower when he slowly turned around. Alina felt a hint of cold behind her, and she turned only to see Shadow already vanishing into the darkness.

“The prodigal daughter returns… empty-handedly?!” Caligo declared, raising his hands up into the air, “What was going on with my pride and joy, Alina? You don’t seem to be the same ever since you returned from the Academy! I was expecting the mourning of the man himself, yet I only hear the continuation of his plans?”

“I have questions and doubts, commander.” Alina said, bowing habitually near the ground as Caligo stared blankly at her, his face still dashing as always, and his deep eyes seemed dry and uninterested as Alina started to become flustered and shaken.

“You think someone that failed her mission deserves answers, or...anything at all?” Caligo asked, letting his question linger in the air before he finally put down the scroll in his hand and walked towards Alina. Then, he raised one to the side, but instead of hitting her, he simply twirled his finger as a small bottle containing purple fluid appeared in the center of his palm.

"I...apologize, my dear girl." He said, placing the tiny bottle onto the ground, "I suppose I am feeling generous today. What answers may I provide, my girl?”

“Why…do I not recall the location of my home town?” Alina asked, “Was that truly necessary as part of the program? The desire to fight, and protect…I thought it was something that will aid us in our mission…Why do I not recall more of the Valkyrie program beyond what you shared with me? Such as the ghost towns, the other girl's origins...”

“You do have the desire to protect already in place.” Caligo said, reaching his fingers forward as a string of white mist swirled playfully around his hand. However, Alina’s body froze slightly before she stiffly backed away from Caligo’s extended fingers, “Oh~ Feeling a little distant today? Perhaps a little frustrated about your failure?”

“When I came out from the other side of the Valkyrie’s program, you promised that I will be the strongest fighter in the entirety of Talonia, but that is no longer the case, is it?” Alina continued, “The Valkyrie program is failing…Icy, she grew outside of the program, yet she was strong enough to compete with me while being so much younger.”

“Are you jealous?”

“I am speaking matter of fact.” Alina said, looking down, “Frankly, I am starting to…doubt the validity of Valkyrie’s program as a whole. Then, are all those sacrifices necessary?”

“I see. I only expected you to bring me these questions, and that tells me that you are ready.” Caligo nodded before extending out the other hand, reproducing another bottle containing red fluids and placing it onto the ground next to the initial bottle, “Here. The red bottle unlocks the last ounce of your latent strength as a Valkyrie, while the blue one allows you to be reborn anew. You will forget your doubts and uncertainties, and you may fulfill your duty without needing to worry about anything anymore, allowing me to take control completely. The choice is yours, my dearest Valkyrie general, what would you choose?”

With no hesitation, Alina reached for the red bottle.

The duty of a Valkyrie general was to remember. It was to endure. For the sake of the girls that never made it, and for the sake of a kingdom that desperately needed them. All of this was necessary, and Caligo assured her of it. It’s not a matter of alternatives, but carrying through her own path until the end.

“Very well.” Caligo smiled, picking up the blue bottle as Alina grunted while her insides burned. As she breathed rapidly, Caligo then enveloped her in a pocket of mist as the redness started leaking from her own body in a gaseus form.

“You really are full of neat tricks.” Shadow said, her body appearing creepily right behind Caligo as he spun rapidly. Then, she reached a dark blade forward, pinning it right besides Caligo’s neck, “There was no choice, was there?”

“Perhaps.” Caligo twirling his fingers as Alina breathed through clenched teeth, “But that’s the trick, Valkyrie, it doesn’t matter. All of you can’t exist without me, because I molded you to be that way. Try it, you won’t be able to hurt me.”

“You don’t know the last thing about me.” Shadow snarled, “I have questions too, and I want answers.”

“Of course you do.” Caligo leaned forward, the blade inches from slicing his neck open, “Trust me. As soldiers of Talonia, you wouldn’t want to think too hard. The reason I kept your past from you was so you can be freed from it.”

"Try me."