It takes a week before the group who defeated God arrives in the Sacrosanct Empire, attempting to find someone who will be able to help Gwendolyn. As the group files off the ship, they are met by a horde of soldiers.

“Who are you and why have you landed here? This is an unfamiliar vessel, identify yourselves,” one of them calls out.

“How could you approach these people with such hostility, they are the heroes of your Empire. They should be treated with the utmost respect,” Maximus retorts, infuriated by their behavior.

“Calm down Maximus, no need to get that way they are just doing their jobs,” Xander tells him as he walks forward.

“It is like he said, my name is Xander and these are my friends, I’m sure if you tell Commander Avesa we arrived she would want to meet with us,” Xander explains calmly.

The soldiers talk to each other, deciding, “Okay, some of our men are going to bring her the message. The rest of us are going to stay here and watch you”.

“That’s fine,” Xander agrees, knowing this will all blow over momentarily.

Half an hour later, Commander Avesa appears along with Alwin, who she seems to be cursing at as they approach.

“They’re more my friends than yours. You barely even talked to them, I was there the whole time they were trying to make Oswald King,” They can hear Alwin complaining.

“How many times have I told you to address his majesty correctly, you cannot be so lax in front of the people, they will think their king doesn’t command respect,” Avesa retorts, frustrated with Alwin’s antics.

“Well well well, look who it is? What’s up with the unannounced arrival, you guys usually write first,” Alwin asks once they get close enough to see the group on the docks.

“Sorry, we came here because we need your help,” Xander responds, preparing to explain what happened to Gwendolyn.

“Let’s not discuss this here, follow me back to my office, we can speak in private,” Avesa suggests, leading the group past the horde of soldiers.

They all huddle into her office as Xander begins to explain, “That tournament we entered, the one on the mysterious island neither of us had heard of. It was held by a man who called himself God, he had been holding Gwendolyn since we were separated by those portals. During that time he tortured her and now she is like this”.

Hearing the pain in his words, Avesa takes a look at Gwendolyn, who she did note seemed uncharacteristically quiet. She sees that unchanging expression and realizes what Xander means.

“We talked to the doctor on the island we were on and he explained that her problem is not something a usual doctor could solve. He suggested we come here and that you might have people that know about issues like hers,” Drakthar speaks for Xander, knowing it is difficult for him to keep repeating what happened to her.

“Damn, I’m sorry man. That’s rough,” Alwin sympathizes with him, his usual lax attitude disappearing for a moment.

“I am not familiar with any doctor that deals with this sort of issue either but I can send people out to ask around and see if we can find people,” Avesa assures them, looking to help in any way she can.

“In the meantime, I can have some houses set aside for all of you to stay in during your time here. Let’s see, did you want two or three?” Avesa offers, unsure of the length of time they will be staying.

“That’s very generous, we can just find an inn. You don’t have to go through all that trouble for us,” Xander tries to refuse, already feeling indebted to her since she is helping them find a doctor for Gwendolyn.

“I’ll hear none of that. All of you have done things for this nation that cannot ever be repaid, giving you a few houses to stay in is really the least I can do,” Avesa insists, forcing them to accept her hospitality.

“Speaking of houses, Kayde, we should go visit mine in the woods! It would be good to see what’s become of it,” Lunette suggests excitedly.

“Yeah, that would bring back memories, okay, let’s do it,” Kayde agrees, thinking back fondly on their time there.

“One more thing, if you could, I would like you to send this letter to Grayson with the Silent Brotherhood,” Xander holds out a letter to Avesa.

“He should know about what happened to Gwendolyn,” he adds solemnly.

“Sure, I will send it right away. Alwin, why don’t you make yourself useful for once and show them to the houses they will be staying in,” Avesa suggests, trying to get Alwin to do something so he doesn’t fall asleep in her office like usual.

Alwin responds by flamboyantly bowing before her, “Yes, my queen”.

“Ooooo, does that mean Avesa and Oswald are a thing?” Kayde exclaims, making that assumption based on Alwin's choice of words.

Avesa starts to blush before responding, “No, his majesty and I are not romantically involved. This is just his new favorite thing to call me. I don’t understand why he began calling me that”.

“It’s because you are always bossing me around like you're the queen or something, literally has no other meaning,” he winks at her, causing her to blush even more.

“I will see you all later, I will go attend to the matters you have brought to me,” Avesa declares, walking from the room in a flustered manner.

“So she and Oswald are a thing then?” Kayde asks Alwin once she has left.

“Nope, they aren’t,” Alwin responds with a wry smile, one that makes it impossible to tell if he is telling the truth.

They follow Alwin to a row of houses in a nearby city square.

“These were built a few weeks ago. You guys can pick out whichever ones you want,” Alwin tells them.

“Let’s take this one!” Lunette declares dragging Kayde along as she points to a house on the left.

“Might as well take the one next to them”, Kali suggests as her and Drakthar approach that one.

Drakthar spots Maximus following behind them and turns around to ask, “What are you doing?”

“It is a large house Mister Drakthar, I thought I would stay with the two of you seeing as how most of my songs are written about you,” Maximus explains, looking up to Drakthar the most out of all of them.

“Hey, Maximus, why don’t you stay with us instead. Kali might get embarrassed if the walls are thin,” Lunette calls out to him, seeing what is going on.

“What?... Hey!” Kali reacts, realizing what Lunette meant by that, as Maximus joins Lunette, Kayde, and Fore.

“We’ll take this one then,” Xander notes as he leads Gwendolyn up the steps towards the house next to the one Kali and Drakthar chose.

“Xander, seriously dude, sorry about what happened to her. I hope Avesa finds you guys someone who can fix her,” Alwin tells him before he leaves.

“Yeah, thanks Alwin, I hope so too,” Xander notes as he watches Alwin walk away, back towards the capital building.

“I guess this is where we are going to be staying for a while. Not exactly the married life either of us expected but here we are,” Xander says, having gotten into the habit of still talking to Gwendolyn even though she doesn’t respond.

He puts their stuff down in the biggest bedroom and slumps down onto the couch where he left her. He is about to start sulking again before he hears the door open and sees Kali and Drakthar come inside.

“Thought you would be like this,” Drakthar comments, it not being too difficult to notice Xander’s depressed state.

“We thought we would come over once we put our things down in the other house,” Kali adds, explaining why they are there.

“Thanks, yeah I guess we could use the company,” Xander thanks them, knowing what he would be like if they didn’t show up.

“You know if you ever need help taking care of her you just have to ask us,” Kali tells him, wanting to ensure he knows they will be there for the both of them.

“Yeah, thanks both of you but I should be okay. I’m just glad we made it here, it was hard taking care of her on that ship where she couldn’t go above deck. It makes me appreciate what Klara did for her more, she was the one looking after Gwendolyn for all that time,” Xander notes, realizing he should have expressed more thanks than he did.

The four of them sit there in silence for a while waiting for someone else to say something but they never do. Over the next month, the group continues to stay in the Sacrosanct Empire, waiting as Avesa’s people continue to search for doctors that specialize in mental health.

During that time Kayde, Fore, and Lunette make a trip back to Lunette’s old home. They find the outside even more covered in moss than it already was and the inside untouched, a thin veneer of dust covering everything Lunette left behind.

After their trip, they spend the rest of their time going around to the different happening spots within the capital. Trying to get better acquainted with the nightlife as they have Maximus practice his new songs for everyone to hear. He even teaches a few other songwriters and slowly his songs start to spread across the Empire, by now most of the people have heard of what transpired between their heroes and a man who called himself God on a mysterious island.

Unlike the others, Drakthar and Kali remain serious in their training, heading off into the woods for most of the day, trying to ensure they don’t lose a step even though they aren’t traveling around anymore.

Xander joins them every so often but mostly he spends his time talking to Gwendolyn in hopes of a response. But he never finds one, Gwendolyn’s condition does not change for the entire month.

Just as everyone feels like they have fallen into a monotonous routine, a familiar airship lands in the capital. After identifying himself, Grayson is brought to the house Xander and Gwendolyn are staying at.

The others say their hellos before he rushes inside. In the main room, he finds Xander and Gwendolyn sitting at a table having lunch. He stops to watch Xander help feed Gwendolyn for a few moments before he makes his presence known.

Xander starts to apologize and then stops as he sees Grayson hug Gwendolyn before pulling up a chair.

“Alright son, I want to hear it from you. What happened?” Grayson asks, staring intensely at Xander.

“After the last time I visited you, we got word of a tournament, one that would decide the strongest fighter of all time. Knowing Drakthar wouldn’t pass up such a challenge we went to this island where the tournament was being held. When we got there we found our missing friends and learned that Gwendolyn was there as well. But she was being held by an immortal who called himself God. He tortured her… holding her head below water until she would do what he wanted. But she never did, and so he kept torturing her until she ended up like this. She’s been like this since I found her… I’m so sorry Grayson, I don’t know what to do,” Xander recaps all of it.

“This man, God, what happened to him?” Grayson asks, anger present in his harsh tone.

“He’s been taken care of. He’s a different kind of immortal that cannot die but another one that decided to help us has him trapped so he won’t be harming anyone else anymore,” Xander explains, the bitterness in his voice stemming from the fact that God will never be truly gone.

“Good. Now, what are you doing to help her? This can be fixed right?” Grayson asks, asking the same questions Xander did.

“I don’t know… we came here to find someone who would be able to help her. The commander of the military has sent people out to find anyone who specializes in mental conditions like this within the Empire. I’m so sorry, I should have been there, this wouldn’t have happened to her if I was there,” Xander starts to apologize again.

“Stop, you need to stop blaming yourself son. Sometimes things happen that are out of our control, trust me I would know,” Grayson insists, making Xander remember how his wife, Gwendolyn’s mother died.

Xander watches as Grayson tries talking to Gwendolyn, the man still having hope that she will respond if he just talked enough to her. He soon learns what the others already have, looking into Gwendolyn’s unchanging eyes as he starts to cry.

Xander gets up from the table, giving them time alone as Grayson is too proud of a man to have anyone else see him in this state. He walks outside finding the others standing around, perhaps waiting in case something happens.

“He didn’t take it well did he?” Drakthar asks after seeing the look on Xander’s face.

“How could he? He’s in there with her right now,” Xander responds, slumping down onto a nearby bench.

As the group sits there silently, Kayde notices Avesa walking towards them. He gets up and points her out to the others.

“Good to see you’ve all gathered here. I only have to say it once. I have gathered three doctors who claim to know about mental conditions like the one plaguing Gwendolyn. They will arrive in the capital by nightfall, and I will send them here to see Gwendolyn tomorrow,” Avesa gives them the good news.

“That’s great! Damn, we could get her back tomorrow, it’ll be good to get rid of this somber mood everyone’s been in lately,” Kayde comments, not understanding that this sort of thing isn’t going to be fixed in one day.

The others glare at Kayde while Xander tells Avesa, “Yes, thank you. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for us”.

“Stop thanking me, it’s like I said before. I just hope one of them can help. I will return tomorrow along with them. Have a goodnight everyone,” Avesa notes before departing.

Xander walks back inside, intending to fill Grayson in about what Avesa just told him. When he gets back into the room with them he finds Grayson wiping away his tears.

“Good news, there are three doctors coming here tomorrow to take a look at her,” Xander tells him as he sits down at the table.

“Good… good. I will stay here until then. But Xander, the Silent Brotherhood has a lot to deal with. The Cult of Chaos is making a resurgence, they’ve been causing trouble around the desert and we’ve been asked to help deal with them. Also, there is this new trade union and their regulations are making things difficult. What I’m trying to say is I can’t stay here for too long. I will see what the doctors have to say but after that, I’m afraid I must leave,” Grayson tries to explain, trying to convey that he cares but is too busy.

“I understand, it's my fault for pulling her away from the Brotherhood for so long. You shouldn’t have to deal with this; she should have already been back in charge by now. That was the plan after we got married but we said we would kill one last dragon and it led to all of this,” Xander starts to blame himself again.

“I already told you I don’t mind being back in charge again and you really need to stop blaming yourself for every little thing that goes wrong. Everything will work out, you’ll see tomorrow,” Grayson assures him. Xander shows him to an open room and they get some rest before the doctors visit the following morning.

The entire group gathers outside of Xander’s house after breakfast, all of them waiting for the doctors to show up. They don’t wait long before they see Avesa approach with three men, two of them look well put together, the appearance one would expect from an accomplished physician, while the last’s clothes are worn and ragged.

The first physician follows Xander inside to see Gwendolyn. Xander explains what happened to her as the doctor examines Gwendolyn, not leaving out any detail that might be needed for him to figure out how to help her.

After a few minutes, the doctor stops examining her and packs up his things.

“I’ve seen many like her in my time,” the man begins, his voice remaining monotone.

“Is there something you can do for her?” Xander asks, hopefully.

The doctor gestures towards the couch and sits down across from Xander, his tone turning grave but somehow also reassuring, “There is nothing that can be done for her. I have met many patients like this but none of them were able to recover. Your wife went through a traumatic experience. In some cases, I am able to cause a reaction that brings them back to reality, but the trauma that your wife has been through has pushed her too far. I am afraid she will be like this for the rest of her life”.

Xander heard his words but still cannot believe them. “Please, there has to be something you can do to help!” Xander begs him, not able to face a future where Gwendolyn never recovers. The man solemnly shakes his head, feeling genuine sympathy for this young man.

“If you can’t do anything why did you even come here?” Xander’s sadness turns to anger.

“I had not assessed the patient’s condition. I had to see her to know,” the doctor retorts, not willing to endure such harsh words directed at him.

As the man is about to leave, he turns around, feeling he has to tell Xander this before leaving, “Believe me or not, soon enough you will realize there is nothing that can be done for her. I’ve seen many people waste their lives trying to fix loved ones who have lost their minds. I know this isn’t what you want to hear... but let me give you some advice. Let her go, you’re young don’t let what happened to her drag you down as well”.

“What? Are you saying I should abandon her? What are you even saying? You want me to just leave her here and have her stare at the floor for the rest of her life? I could never do that. Fuck you for even suggesting it! Get out of here!” Xander yells at him, not listening to his warnings at all.

Avesa sends the next doctor in and his visit is similar to the last’s. He tells Xander in a gentler way that there is nothing he can do before departing. Xander welcomes in the last of the three, the scruffy-looking man that seemed out of place compared to the others.

Xander explains to him what happened as he looks over Gwendolyn, assuming he will be given the same news as before.

As the man finishes Xander comments, “So are you going to tell me there is nothing you can do like the others did?”

The man furrows his brow at him before responding, “Chin up kid, answer this question for me. You are sure that she reacts every time she sees a significant amount of water?”

“Yes,” Xander answers confidently, the incident by the ship not being a coincidence.

“Astounding, she might be in a better condition than she seems. She can still process information through her eyes, that shows she isn’t completely gone,” the man explains, much to Xander’s surprise.

“So what does this mean? What should I do?” Xander asks him, thinking there might be something he can do to provoke a response. The man leans back, starting to ponder what can be done.

“There is something else, I know this sounds weird but we met people who can read minds. One of them told my friend that she keeps thinking about the word breathe over and over again,” Xander adds, seeing as how this man is actually trying to help him.

“Now that is very interesting. A person who can read minds… and what they told you makes sense given the nature of what happened to her,” the man notes out loud as he continues to think.

“It’s almost as if she is tunneling focus. Because she was tortured for so long it became natural for her only focus in life to be her ability to breathe. Hmm…” the man starts to walk through his thought process.

“Excuse me, but why haven’t you given up like the other guys?” Xander asks, confused as to why he is so different.

“Because I’m not like them. I hate to sound rude... but they are merely fame whores who only want to present quick and easy solutions to gain themselves notoriety within the field. They don’t care about their patients, they are only focused on gaining more acclaim. Unfortunately for them, in this business, their method is not sustainable. The only thing that can heal patients like your wife is time,” the man explains, taking the opportunity to bash his contemporaries.

“What do you mean by time?” Xander asks, assuming this means he knows a solution.

“In your wife’s case, we need to make it so that her only focusing on her ability to breathe isn’t normal. What I suggest, and I know this might seem odd, but establish a daily routine, one the two of you can do together until that becomes her new normal and she isn’t only obsessed with breathing. Do some exercise, take her out running every morning, eat meals at the same time every day, have conversations with her about current events. Even if they are one-sided and seem pointless, they will help. When I say this will take time I mean it. That’s what it is going to take for her to adapt back to what should be normal,” the doctor expertly reasons.

Xander watches as the man starts to write on a piece of paper before handing it to him.

“Here, this is my personal information. I live in the city directly south of the forest. If you have any more questions or see any changes in her condition please let me know,” he tells Xander.

Xander thanks the doctor as they walk to the door.

“You’ve got a long road ahead of you kid, I will be rooting for her recovery. Just remember to stick to the routine,” the doctor reminds him one last time before the two of them walk outside.

“I will, thank you. For the first time... I feel hopeful she’ll get through this,” Xander thanks him profusely. The man waves emphatically as he walks away.

“So… good news?” Kayde asks tentatively, having seen the reaction to the first two.

“Yes, but it is going to take time,” Xander responds. He explains to them everything the man told him, about the routine and how it will hopefully change her version of normal.

“Sounds like you’re going to be here for a while then. I’ve been thinking. Well, Lunette, Fore, Maximus, and I have been thinking. I know I didn’t want to split up the group... but if you guys are staying here, we’ve decided to head back to the desert. Lunette hasn’t been there too much and I wanted to show her around a bit. Also, Maximus wanted to spread the word about us so he kind of has to go there to do that. Anyway, we already talked to Grayson and we’re going to leave when the Silent Brotherhood takes off,” Kayde informs the rest of them.

“That’s okay, I understand. You guys shouldn’t have to stay here just because of us,” Xander reassures him, trying to not make them feel bad about it.

“We are planning to depart tomorrow morning, so we’ll spend this last night here and then be on our way. Xander, thank you for doing all of this for her, please, make sure you keep in touch and give me updates on how she is doing. I will fly back here anytime you need me,” Grayson makes him promise.

“I will,” Xander says with a nod.

Drakthar and Kali give each other a look, wondering if they should also leave with the Silent Brotherhood while they have a way back to the desert. As the others are enjoying themselves with an impromptu party Lunette insisted on, Kali pulls Drakthar aside to discuss their decision.

“Hey, I know they’re our best friends but if you want to leave with Kayde and Lunette I’d come with you,” she tells him.

“I know. I have been doing some thinking about what is next for me and it isn’t staying here,” Drakthar indicates that he wants to leave on the Silent Brotherhood airship with the others.

“So you want to keep traveling around with the group? That makes sense,” Kali notes, half glad Drakthar came to that conclusion so she didn’t have to.

“No, from the sound of it their adventures won’t be dangerous, at least not in the way I would prefer. Plus, that annoying bard will be following them around. I think once we get to the desert we should set off on our own. Find a place to stay and have that bard finally work to my advantage. If he’s going to sing his silly songs about me why not use them to lure strong challengers? That way we won’t need to search for them they will come to us,” Drakthar explains to her the plan he has been pondering over the past month.

“That’s genius actually. We don’t even need to roam around, we could find a nice place and settle down. Training by ourselves in between challenges. Just you and me… yeah, that sounds perfect,” Kali starts to drift off, already daydreaming just thinking about it.

Drakthar starts to worry about what ideas are running through her head as he watches her smile and look up towards the ceiling. He walks away from her, knowing she won’t be able to hear him even if he said something.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Drakthar pulls Xander aside.

“Kali and I are going to leave too,” Drakthar informs him once they are away from the others.

“Yeah, I thought so. Doesn’t make sense to stay here when you could be out there getting stronger,” Xander comments, having been prepared for this.

“Kali and I are going to find a place to accept challengers in the desert. Hopefully, the bard can tell enough strong people where I am so I don’t get rusty. Kali’s happy about it, she’s started going on about settling down and things like that,” Drakthar tells Xander their plans.

“Sounds nice, it’s kind of funny, if that happens you two will be like a married couple,” Xander chuckles a little knowing Drakthar’s views on a commitment like that. Drakthar glares at Xander, not amused in the slightest by his joke.

“I’m only messing with you. Seriously though good for you two. I wish both of you the best. Maybe we’ll drop by to visit once Gwendolyn is recovered,” Xander congratulates him.

“Xander, I will stay here if you ask me to,” Drakthar states, having sensed the disheartened tone in his voice.

“No, I am not going to be the one to stop you from reaching your goals. This is my battle,” Xander reaffirms, letting Drakthar know that it is truly okay that he and Kali are leaving.

“Okay, You make sure to keep training here, I wouldn't want you to slow down before our rematch,” Drakthar starts to grin.

“I don’t know about that. I think as of right now I’m retired from fighting. I’ll leave it to the young kids like yourself and Kali,” Xander decides, having other more important things to take care of now.

“You’ll fight again. This world won’t let you just settle down,” Drakthar warns him before walking off to join the others.

Xander sighs, the realization that everyone is going to go their separate ways just hitting him. He’s glad that his friends are going to keep going after what they are passionate about but it leaves a bittersweet feeling, knowing that he won’t be alongside them anymore.

“Hey! I know we are all going our separate ways and all but we should plan a time to meet back up and catch up,” Kayde declares so everyone in the room can hear.

“Like a yearly tradition or something?” Lunette asks, not sure if that is what Kayde means.

“Sure, that sounds good to me. One year from now we meet back up to reminisce about old times,” Kayde suggests enthusiastically.

“Okay, I like the sound of that. Where should we go? Melusarej?” Kali asks, that always being the place they seem to default to.

“No, that’s too boring we always go there,” Kayde dismisses her idea, wanting to try something new.

“How about the resort Gwendolyn wanted us to go to on our honeymoon? I know she’d look forward to that. And it would kind of make up for not going in the first place,” Xander suggests.

“A beach vacation, that’s a great idea. Alright, it’s decided one year from now we meet at the beach resort in the Western desert,” Kayde declares, excited at the notion of it. The others agree, making sure to remember the day a year from now that they will see their friends once again.