The stone was glowing by that point, and James Mallory felt a surge of energy go through his entire body. Suddenly his joints felt just a little bit tighter, his breathing clearer and his senses sharper.

All in all, he felt as if he was thirty years younger. Back when he was at his apex, with everything he could ever want in his life.

But he wasn’t. He was a sixty year old man, staring down a smirking Yui. He gripped the sword tighter as he began to put things together.

“You’re working with Chiron. I should have known,” said James, careful to keep any emotion out of his voice.

No, he did not care about the being in front of him enough to warrant either affection or hatred, but the fact that his old friend would stoop so low disgusted him.

“Is that really the reaction you give me after all these years? And here I thought, dad, that you’d be happy to see me after so long.” sighed Yu dramatically, moving her arms and head in exaggerated ways. “And by me, I mean me me, not the young one.” she added, this time appearing somewhat bitter.

“I am not your father.” he rebuked calmly. “And the young Yui is your superior in many ways. Her determination and sense of duty make her an invaluable asset to the Association.”

Yui’s anger started to flare so much that it was clearly visible. James would have grinned if he didn’t have all these years of experience under her belt. Truth be told, both Yui’s were just incomplete experiments.

Predecessors to Marly and Ava that could never capture the genuine things’ worth and prowess. Of course, a voice deep within his head reminded him, Ava and Marly weren’t the genuine article either.

They might have looked the way they did, had the names that they had, but they were in the end nothing more than another way for him to cling even more to the past.

“An asset to the Association?” she growled, before pointing at him accusingly. “You made us, for no other reason than the fact that you wanted test subjects before you perfected your little pet dolls!”

“I didn’t make you. The Association did. You should know by now that we are not one and the same.” said James, struggling to keep the calm in his voice. He would slice her head off now if he could.

But the fact that she hadn’t moved to attack him at all during this talk meant that he couldn’t. Because she wasn’t actually there.

“The Association made you two before realising that Marly and Ava were the only ones that could carry out this plan.” he explained, walking towards her.

She clearly began to panic as he reached, and eventually walked straight through her.

“I know your plan. The Perlie boy will fail and Marly will not change her loyalties.” he stopped and said without looking back. “I will find Chiron, and I will make sure that he gets a front row seat.

“You will fail.” he heard her say quietly, a lot of the gusto having left her voice and being replaced by pure anger. “No one will stand by you, and that is why you will fall.”

He resumed his walking, determined to get out of there and complete his goal. Yui was right about one thing. Everyone was his enemy at the moment, and the sooner he got to Marly the better.

He ignored the slight clenching of his heart at the thought of Yui’s broken spirit.

Everything was coming to an end and he couldn’t stop now.

He heard an odd clinking sound and turned to see that Yui was gone and let out a breath he didn’t know that he was holding.

In the deepest recesses of his mind, he would admit to feeling guilt over her predicament. It was his meddling that caused her to be obsolete and, even if he didn’t care for her personally, he couldn’t help but feel for her.

It wasn’t logical, it might not have been entirely warranted, but just a bit of his old self was popping out in moments such as this. Steeling himself, he continued walking toward the exit of the building.

And it was safe to say that pure chaos was what awaited him outside.

Civilians were running away, in what was clearly a desperate attempt to find a safe space. Sorcerers, werebeasts and sorcerers had made the previously safe land a war zone, the likes of which he had not seen since he was a much younger man. He stepped back inside the building, which was currently the only safe zone in the radius.

Several of the fighting troops had outfits that identified them as soldiers of the Association, and they surprisingly seemed to be being pushed back. It wasn’t an unwinnable scenario, since all they would need would be to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

James could probably manage to do so if he took charge, but he couldn’t claim to have any sympathies for the Association at this point.

He took off his jacket, which had his house emblem on its front and threw it away. He tied the cloth on his head, using it to cover his hair. He prayed to whatever God was out there that he wouldn’t be noticed, and began walking outside again.

“Where do you think you’re going?” came a voice from his behind. A double voice, both masculine and feminine at the same time.

Damn it.

“Honourable Magesmith.” greeted James through gritted teeth, turning to face the faceless golden mask of the Magesmith behind him.

“I hope you didn’t have anything to do with this. Or that you didn’t think of betraying us in this dire hour of need.” said the Magesmith, the threat evident in their voice.

“I hold no allegiance to you.” he admitted, figuring this to be the time to drop all pretence. “The plan will be complete on my terms, and you can’t do anything to stop me.”

“The teleportation isn’t working. We are stuck on the Caelum Terra. We are working on fixing it, but it will take a few hours at the very least.” explained the Magesmith, ignoring Eobard’s rant.

The man’s eyes widened, remembering the conversation he had with Ava. She couldn’t leave either then. She would be stuck there, in this situation that had just gotten as hopeless as could be.

“Get out of my way.” he growled quietly, raising his sword at the being in front of him.

He was wrong. Strategically, this was an unwinnable situation for the Association. That boy he killed had been right. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t bring his designs to fruition on his own.

No matter what it cost him.