In the depths of the earth.

"...There is one missing." A voice mumbled to itself in a dim cavern barely illuminated by lanterns which contained a strange ever moving liquid. If one were to look closer, they would have realized it wasn't liquid within those lanterns, but captured Lava Slimes. They were simple creatures that needed very little subsistence, and their skin emitted light in sporadic periods akin to fireflies.

Even with the lack of light, there was no mistaking that the darkness was studded with pairs of glowing red eyes except, as Lord Telsin pointed out, there was one pair missing.

“That one….” The Necromancer tried to remember whom’s corpse he had used in that experiment, but the name eluded him. Could one truly bother to remember the name of every lab rat that they came across?

“No matter. There’s always plenty of fresh corpses.” The Necromancer couldn’t be seen under his hood, but the expression he would have had was clearly dismissive.

It was true, after all, his minions were constantly bringing him fresh corpses of beasts and humans alike -- whether killed by the Reanimated or other means. His Reanimated does not needlessly seek out prey since there would be retaliation if Telsin were to venture into more populated neighborhoods, but there were all manner of ways to obtain materials. Graveyards where the living bury their dead, mass graves deep in the ground from wars past, carcasses of magical beasts that had become dinner… death surrounds us in every form.

“....I suppose it’s time to try a different method.” Telsin slowly reached down and picked up a staff leaning against the stone table. When he tapped the staff against a gloved hand, the Fire Slimes in the lanterns seemed to flicker and momentarily die out — causing the room to be bathed in darkness.

A split second after, they returned amidst an even dimmer glow- and the red eyes had reappeared, but now a lighter shade of yellow. And in their place were creatures of dark mist and fog, creatures of cloaked shadow and undeath.

These were creations of Telsin’s own creation-

Cairn Wraiths.

Garth's Bulwark. Northern Front.

Under the endless night created by Nenhym, the Shadowless and Shadeless tide had ceaselessly stormed against the enchanted stone walls of Gareth's Bulwark. Every so often you would see a gigantic half-sphere carved into the wall where a Shadeless had self-destructed. The giant aged gate was in even worse condition, the continuous onslaught had rendered it into feeble splinters. A squad of knights wielding silver great shields held the choke point at the gate, but even though they rotated often to maintain vigor, they had grown battle-weary.

This endless night gave them no rest, and there was no cover from their allies on the wall who were fighting Nenhym's Aerolite Archons, assailants that wore moonlight-silver armor that wielded pale white spears. A thin white must surround their bodies, and their movements would leave behind silver-white trails, causing them to take on the appearance akin to Will-o-Wisps. What was truly disheartening was that these nameless figures that descended from the sky only sent about fifteen percent of their forces and easily storm the walls, while the remaining loomed in the sky like a foreboding omen.

Morale was low, and it was only a matter of time till the defender's weariness caught up to them…. Or the rest of the floating specters in the sky decide to descend all at once and overrun their defenses.

The breaking point came soon after, with one of the squad captains at the gate stabbing out with a Holy Lance at the Shadeless that made another charge towards the gate.

The spear of pure light pierced the Shadeless like a needle and dissipating it, only to be clutched by a Shadeless that had hidden itself right behind its companion.

Nothing was truly more eerie and terrifying as the squad captain realized too late what the abomination was planning. With a twisted, red, mocking grin, the Shadeless ran forward and impaled the spear into its own abdomen while pulling on the spear, dragging its owner out of the protective circle. Even as pockets of white and red light bubbled out of its chest like tumors, the Shadeless only cackled and howled as it threw itself through the gap it had created.

An explosion rang out, one that signified a change in the tide of the battle, a possible end to the defense that the humans had mounted. Those are the forefront were blinded by bright light, followed milliseconds after by the sound of a heavy explosion.

When the light cleared, the band of knights holding the gate found that they were not dead and had all their pieces.

As the dust cleared, a lone figure stood in front of them, dressed in attire that looked like a nun's dress, except it was covered in pure white metal plates that resembled white marble. Petra, one of the Six Sisters under Geisla, had an ornate kite shield held in front of her, and in front of her was a wall of towering light.

"Her warmth is the light of the sun, and her will…" Petra slammed the shield into the ground causing the wall of light to surge out like a wave, disintegrating both Shadowless and Shadeless where they stood. "Is the wave that guides us to the greater tomorrow!"

"For the Goddess!" Three voices shouted in unison with Petra's, instilling newly found courage and vigor into the tiring knights. Pillars of light quickly surged into the sky, temporarily illuminating the darkness of Nenhym’s eternal night.

"....It seems like they declined again this year." Jaela commented as she received six delicate white envelopes from Minerva

"What is this symbol?" Klaris asked, having never seen the golden crest stamped on each of the letters.

"Letters to each of the Six Sisters that serve under High Priestess Geisla." Padan lamented as he opened one of the letters to read the contents within. There was a scent on the paper, likely some sort of perfume or scented oils.

"...Their handwriting is envious as usual." Jaela said quietly as she also picked up and opened one of the letters. “Or rather, I suppose you can even call it an art, with how they draw out their capital letters.”

"You'd suspect they spend more time practicing the quill than the sword." Curtis snorted, glancing over the politely worded rejection letter before tossing it aside.

"Now, now. The Six Sisters have plenty to deal with." Padan said peacefully. "If anything we are much more fortunate since Lord Dumeis is such a laid-back individual."

"'Laid-back? More like he's leaving all the troublesome work to us." Minerva scowled as she moved another stack of envelopes in front of her. Even Sime, who was seated at a small desk in the back overflowing with paper, nodded his head in agreement.

"Why did he insist on inviting the Six Sisters anyway?" Klaris, who was shredding old envelopes, asked.

At her question, Padan and Jaela exchanged a knowing look before chuckling.

"What? Tell me!" Klaris scowled, tossing a handful of shredded paper across the room. Normally this behavior would be looked down on, but with the amount of envelopes and papers on the ground, it meant nothing.

"I..I would like to know too." Sime piped up from his corner.

"It is traditional that wherever the High Priestess goes, she is accompanied by two of her devout sisters." Minerva started to explain to the youngest among them.

"So the invitations are by extension, inviting the High Priestess to join in the festivities." Padan continued. "-and don't tell a soul but-"

"Lord Dumeis and Lady Geisla, in their younger days were once a pair." Jaela finished.

"Of course, she was the one that left him," Curtis replied after seeing the blank look on Klaris and Sime's faces.

"At least that is the story Dumeis once told me when he had a bit too much alcohol, and I was his sole student." Padan shrugged. “There’s probably more than what meets the eye, but he never bought it up again.”

"Must've been quite a bittersweet tale." Klaris' eyes sparkled. "One bound to be the head of a religion, and the other a nomad that is always flitting around."

"Don't delude yourself." Minerva smirked. "I cannot possibly imagine our Lord Dumeis ever settling down for one person. I will not be surprised if one day he brings in someone and goes 'This is my son! Take care of him!'"

Despite Minerva's blunt and crass words, nobody in the room refuted her. They were all too aware of what sort of person their mentor was, and even scarier still was...

They can actively envision their teacher doing such a thing.

"Well, at least you two know why there is the Six Swords, and the Six Sisters." Padan made an off-hand remark.

In response, all the other eyes in the room looked at Padan in astonishment except for Jaela, who had heard of the story before.

"Why, you guys never figured it out?" Padan shrugged, before his mouth tightly as the younger ones barraged him with probing questions.

"....Their morale is diminishing." Nenhym commented absentmindedly as she peered at the ground from her obsidian throne in the Night Citadel. "Humans are as resilient as ever… don't you agree?"

A figure that was undoubtedly human nodded in response to Nenhym's words. The figure was enshrouded cloak that was reminiscent of the starry night, and wore a helmet resembling griffon that covered the top half of his head.

"They believe in the cause they are fighting for without knowing any truth, and even the few that knew the truth willingly choose to ignore it." Nenhym sighed, patting one side of the throne's armrest with a hand. Where her nails touched, specks of silvery stardust would drift.

"It is only a matter of time till that battalion at the gate falls." Nenhym sighed. "I ill enjoy having those mindless beasts tear them apart, but I do like to indulge ironic karma, as I'm sure you know, Oz."

The silent figure besides Nenhym's throne nodded in agreement, the same way as before.

"You know, some days, I even forget you are one of them." Nenhym chuckled. "Why, that girl Yuelei really brings back some old memories…."

Nenhym sighed, as if wanting to clear those images from her mind. She ruminated for a bit before standing up, sensing a change on the battlefield.

As if in response to her movement, several pillars of light surged into the sky, illuminating the eternal night sky.

"It seems there are people of note in this land after all." Nenhym commented as she looked down at the earth below. "I suppose, out of every hundreds of thousands of humans, there are a few gifted ones like you, Oz."

The black shrouded man nodded again in agreement. His gestures and visage signaled that he was without a doubt human, yet there was almost no warmth to it, only an empty void.

"Impudent." Nenhym suddenly scowled, her calm demeanor changing into one of anger. "None of them will ever be what you were, yet your kind knows nothing of you."

"I cannot wait for the day that Yuelei girl grows into what it means to be a scion." Nenhym laughed. "And then the world shall know once more who we were, who we are."

"But for now, let us settle for reaping the karma sowed by the inhabitants of this land." Nenhym held out a hand and the entire Night Citadel shook.

The starlight obsidian from the castle seemed to monetarily lose its glow, and the traces of silver-light seemed to traverse through the walls and ground until they were next to Nenhym's feet.

They rose, like fireflies on a summer evening, except they appeared more like stars in the night sky, revolving slowly around Nenhym like a planetarium.

The beautiful sight was suddenly torn apart as Nenhym clenched her hand, causing the spots of light to suddenly converge, forming the image of a stave in Nenhym's hand.

"It's been some time, old friend." Nenhym gave the double-scythe a twirl, cause the sickle blades on both ends to glittery with moonlight.

Nenhym held the weapon out and closed her eyes. After a few moments, she sighed and swung the weapon borne of starlight into the ground.

Nothing seemed to happen within that room, but on the outside, all the observers on the ground witnessed what had transpired as a result.

Two rings spread out from the Night Citadel in waves, the first one a pale white, and the next a pitch black. These rings not only rid the sky of clouds but when the white ring collided with the pillars of light, it disintegrated them, reducing them to nothingness.

And perhaps what was even more horrifying was that the night seemed to even grow darker as the black ring expanded outwards. Lit torches that had illuminated the fortress walls did not spread fire-light as far as before. The holy-imbued gear that the combatants below wore grew dim. The archers and mages on the wall could not make out friend or foe beneath them as their vision shrunk. If there had to be a better way to describe it, it was as if the world had grown darker, or if all the colors in the world had paled.

"...Let's see how long they can struggle." Nenhym commented as she dispersed her weapon back into moonlight.

"My condolences. I knew that you and Zuan were closely associated." Corga from the Weeping Willow poured out four cups of fine wine.

"There's no point grieving over it now." Ittai sighed and downed the cup easily, wincing at the flavor. "Corga, this tastes like vomit!"

"Your taste buds are dead, old man." Belvar snorted and he sipped his own cup. "Almost as dead as the eyes of the darned kids I have to teach."

"At least I have a cushy job at the League of Adventurers and not slaving away as a 'professor'.” Ittai laughed and poured himself some hard liquor from a nearby jug.

"See what good it did to Zuan" Belvar snorted. "His corpse was hacked to pieces and tainted in all manners of color."

Belvar's words seemed to have struck a nerve, and both Corga and Ittai went quiet.

"How's the investigation going?" Belvar quickly sensed that he had blundered and steered the conversation to a different topic.

"The reward wasn't high enough for an S class Adventurer to look at it," Ittai said grimly. "That no-good Zuan seemed to have some under-the-table dealings, so the higher-ups don’t have much interest in his death."

"He always wanted to get out of this country. Said he would do anything." Corga said quietly. "For the sake of his wife and daughter."

"Did you see them at the funeral?" Ittai shook his head. "Have we decided where they should go? If we leave them be, then they'll end up as a victim of this country. Slaves, or worse."

"This is no place for a young widow and her daughter." Corga sniffed. "She can stay here, but I will gladly chip in for her expenses elsewhere."

"Ever the dreary cleric." Ittai shook his head. "Hellis and her mother can stay at my place, but I am not at home to watch over them if whoever murdered Zuan decides to wipe off remaining connections.”

"She has a job at the academy as a chef, if she wishes." Belvari rubbed his head. "Our headmaster is quite the sympathetic one, and there is plenty of housing on campus."

“That sounds to be the best option,” Ittai said after a little while.

The three of them drank for a little bit longer before parting ways.

In the middle of the night a deep blue ship sailed across the frozen ground. In the far, far distance, there was a momentary burst of light that quickly faded away as a ripple surged out from the distance, creating patterns in the clouds above.

"Oh? It looks like there are people worthy that would cause Nemhym to wield 'that'." Lumnieve commented as she leaned against the prow of the ship. The surging ice from the ground as the ship-castle traversed the frozen ground looked almost like waves.

Whatever leads to a quick end to the conflict. Korrbin sighed. Many have died since this war began, and many more will do so before it ends.

"This war started centuries ago." Lumneive corrected. "We were merely onlookers until now. If anything, we are preventing the loss of even greater life."

We have given the humans countless years. Telif pawed the ground. It is time to break the cycle, and our watch will be concluded.

“Honestly, if Lin had not interjected at that time, we could have wiped our hands of this issue ages ago.” Lumnieve sighed and rubbed her hands together, causing the blue butterflies resting on the ice of the ship to take off in a flurry.

“I don’t know how he does it, to still have faith in humans after all these years. He has seen nearly as much as we have.” Lumnieve sighed dramatically. “But now that I have Yuelei… I think I can understand him just a bit.”

… Telif kept quiet, knowing that Lumnieve was merely reminiscing of a distant time.

"Then again, Lin was the wildcard that the Four Greats had not expected him to turn out to be." Lumnueve sighed again. "If what I heard in Ava Na Isla before I crossed over is true, he was the one that was supposed to unite the world and lead humans and spirits to new horizons."

"Well, I suppose you can't fault him for rebelling," Lumnieve said wistfully. "Even the Greats did not know there would be such resistance."

"That battle was so long ago…. And yet I remember it so clearly…."

“Ah. Whatever. If we stay here and talk about the past all day, I’d grow older than I already am.” Lumnieve huffed. “Let’s just get this done so we can meet up with Yuliii!”

Is that... Airen? A hooded figure peeked out from the crowd watching Airen's first advancement duel against a lady that clearly had a noble background.

Even though Airen kept secrets, Eullina had thought that she had a good grasp of Airen's abilities. She had just returned from a trip from the League of Adventurers with Rureya, only to hear Wuulf announcing the contestant's names.

He is as good as always on the defense. Eullina chuckled to herself as Airen parried his opponents blows deftly and lazily. A noble girl that hasn't known hardship wouldn't be able to break through his defense…

In the next minute, Khema gracefully conceded and Eullina nodded in acknowledgement. She was confident that Airen would defeat his opponents, at least up until the last one whom she had lost to as well.

The next battle quickly began and Eullina expected Airen to have a tough time with Leyton. There were many stories about Leyton, and Eullina was privy to some of them. The only son from an ancient family of mercenaries that have served in multiple conflicts. His family had died after being on the wrong side of a conflict, and Leyton was one of the sole survivors.

Eullina thought it was a pitiful tale, albeit, it was also a common one.

As Eullina was simmering in her own thoughts about the common tragedies shared by man, she was roused from her thoughts as a shocked hush fell on the crowd.

When did he learn to do something like that? Eullina almost called out when she saw the scene of Leyton's weapon being pinned to the ground under Airen's feet.

Is that really Airen? Eullina could only gawk on like the others as Airen went toe to toe with Cairo. Although the battle was breathtaking, what was truly astonishing was when the two competitors split off and changed their stances.

Cairo's stance alone was akin to a menacing tiger ready to pounce, many of the students and some of the advisors even had fallen prey to it.

Airen's, however, was graceful, almost as if it was a deer that had merely angled its horns. Eullina herself didn't understand why the crowd had been so astonished by it.

"That's one of the stances that Lord Dumeis used when he was competing for the title of Sword Emperor against the last one." Eullina caught some comments in the crowd, and she sucked in her breath at this revelation.

The teacher that Airen mentioned… it can't possibly be Lord Dumeis… Perhaps one of the Six Swords?

But they came and visited him, so it's not impossible.

Airen. Who exactly are you?

“High Priestess…. Is there a reason why you have mobilized most of our standing forces?” Knight-Captain of the Silver Guard, Howard asked the figure he was trailing as they moved through the halls of the Holy Church of Ecclisa.

“We’ve left Ellivita exposed. In every Shadowless War, we have always maintained the final stand here.” Howard continued. “You’ve even deployed four of your six attendants…”

“You should know that this war will be unlike any other.” High Priestess Geisla said quietly as they stopped a moment to take in the beauty of the Church’s inner garden — a delicately tended patch of dirt with an ancient obelisk-like monument. As the story goes — it was the final resting place of the Goddess, the sanctified air and ever-blooming flowers only adding to the legend.

“...High Priestess…” Howard started to ask but he hesitated in his words.

“Speak your mind, Howard.” Geisla said as she leaned against one of the marble railings, gazing at that holy patch of ground. The tranquility of this place always eased her thoughts, even if only a little.

“Why is this Shadowless War so different?” Howard asked. “Not only with the appearance of new foes, and the recently-issued edict that the dead would be cremated. Even if it was originally in the scripts of the Goddess, there is bound to be some discontent.”

“Howard… that is something I cannot tell you.” Geisla shook her head. “It is a secret privy to each High Priestess, and it involves the Goddess herself.”

“It is a tradition that only the High Priestess would know, and be sworn to secrecy.” Howard could not see Geisla’s face, yet he could detect a hint of deep-seated resentment in her voice. “This is the time that our faith in the Goddess will be challenged.”

“Howard, there will come a time when you may have to be deployed as well. We will need all capable hands on the battlefield.” Geisla stood up and looked back at Howard. “I do not doubt your skill, but you should make sure your family is taking care of…”

“The Goddess will provide for them if something happens to me.” Howard saluted. “...But with how strange things are going, I will doubly make sure they will be fine.”

“Go sort out your affairs. I can handle it for the rest of tonight.” Geisla smiled and excused Howard, who gave a bow before leaving.

After he was gone, in the empty sanctuary, Geisla stood silently, staring at the ancient obelisk. Many said that it was a gravestone, however, she alone knew the dark truth.

“...Is this the time we finally pay for our sins to the Goddess?”

A different time… A different place.

“Teacher, you must leave! Those barbarians will be at our steps any moment now! The City Protector has fallen. The Heroes of the Lake are nowhere to be found. Only you are still here. As your student, I beg you to leave with us before the city defenses fall!”

“That’s right, Teacher! Even if they call you the Scholar of the Blue Crest, it is just a title. We, as academics, cannot hold back those cultists! ”

“And to let such evil walk through our golden city? Or to tarnish and abandon centuries of our work and knowledge, only for it to be lost forever?” An aged man in a blue robe snorted angrily as he rummaged around an ancient chest.

“For ages we have hidden away from the world, conducting research for the betterment of mankind. And now we shall all see it perish before our eyes.” The Scholar seemed to find what he was searching for, and moved towards the nearby window. In the tallest tower of the hidden city, he could see the losing battle that raged below.

“They outnumber us, hundreds to one. Teacher, we have done enough! If we leave this place now, we can still preserve our culture and knowledge, and pass it onwards!” Contrary to his student’s pleading tone, the master of the tower ignored them.

“The City Protector sought forbidden knowledge, so he may protect that which we cherished. I gave it to him, and it consumed him.”

“The Heroes of the Lake — they too sought the same, and when I refused to give it to them, they sought it out of their own accord.”

The Noblesse of the Nine Houses...they willingly endured my experiments and trials because I claimed I knew a way to prevail. They say they died of illness…. But they died for me.”

At their master’s words, his students were greatly shocked. This was news that nobody knew, and it froze them where they stood.

“We call our foes evil — yet what am I? Evil is condemnable. Lesser, greater, for a just cause, for personal vengeance — it makes no difference. Every one of us had our reasons.”

“You’ve all been good students. Leave this place…. Your teacher will handle the rest.”

“But teacher…”

“I said LEAVE!” The scholar turned around and slammed his hand on the ground, causing a magical crest to appear beneath him. In the next instant his students and apprentices all vanished.

“Even if I must sacrifice everything ...this is worth fighting for.”

A translation of the mural on the lonely obelisk.-

Ah, one who bears a soul from another land.

In this gentle rain, listen to my tale of what I saw that day.

What I felt as I saw the back-

Of that one figure who bore the weight of the world

Hear my song of redemption, so she remains unforgotten.

All for a single wish that she made, fighting in in our stead.

Forgive us, as we remained ignorant and thankless,

Traveler, listen to my song of tears.

The one thing I wish — was for a way to save her.

Free her from the chains that bound her

Even if my words are meaningless, incapable of action I am-

I wished that somehow, some way, everyone could be saved.

Yet I…

watched us as our friendships split and diverged-

Watched us as we fought for that which we believed in-

Knowing each other’s imminent and deep sorrow,

Knowing sadness and endless grief,

Knowing the end of tomorrow.

Maybe If I keep believing, our dreams will continue breathing.

Maybe if I keep wishing, we can find ways to keep on living.

Maybe if I keep fighting, we can move on after we are done forgiving.

Here, we confront the entities we've chosen to be.

Though once, I was lost in thoughts of despair.

Though once, I face the darkness in fear.

I saw her resolve held, her wishes sincere,

Standing against our fate for all our sakes.

Yet I…

All I wished for, is to save her-

Why does she shoulder all this pain for us?

Why does she sacrifice herself to save us from our choices?

Her feelings, I felt them, an all-encompassing warmth.

Gladly paying the price as all signs of life washed away.

Yet I…

All I wished for was to save her.