The dreaded feeling started to get worse. Avernus felt out of place, his spirit deteriorated, and a headache started to kick in. Avernus tried to take his mind away from all the negative energy. It was already chipping away at his essence. He turned back and decided to go inside the house, in hopes that maybe talking with Velvet and Laphicet can help with the agony. He opened the door and saw a very familiar scene; Velvet scolding Laphicet.

"Look, your fever hasn't gone down a bit! Go lie down, and I'll cook dinner."

Laphicet apologetically dropped his head, "…I'm sorry."

Avernus smirked at the scene. Laphicet was beaming when he saw him, "Welcome home, Avernus!"

Avernus tried to look casual by returning his greeting with a smile.

"Come here! I want to show you something!", Laphicet said in excitement and at the same time, Velvet was looking inquisitive at something on the table. After a few seconds of collecting his mind, Avernus joined them.

"What's this?", Velvet pointed to a sheet of paper on the table.

"A compass! It uses a magnet to tell you which way you're facing. Have you seen this before, Avernus? I bet your ship had one.", Laphicet explained the drawing with a passion. Avernus acknowledged Laphicet's statement, "That's correct, Laphicet. Our ship’s captain used a compass all the time. Even many people use them on land as well."

Velvet jumped in the conversation, shrugging. "Woohoo. You can use the sun and stars for that."

Laphicet frowned, “And what'll you do if it's cloudy, huh? Thanks to this invention, people will be able to voyage across the ocean!”, Laphicet points to the drawing of the compass, “See? It's designed to stay level, so your heading will be true even when the ship is rolling with the waves.”

Avernus nodded, "He’s right, Velvet. Without a compass, there’s no way that my ship would have made it near the Midgand shores."

Laphicet looked at Velvet, waiting to see her reaction. "Pretty neat, right?"

"If you say so, Laphi.", a confused Velvet responded, shrugging the question.

Laphicet was irritated at her ignoring his thoughtful explanations, "C'mon, it's a must-have for any adventure! Can't you see how useful it is? Avernus! You tell her, she'll listen to you!"

Avernus was in the process of sitting on a chair. He glanced at Laphicet with confusion. His eyes widened as soon as he understood Laphicet’s plea to take his side, then immediately nodded. "Yeah, of course… It's a crucial piece of equipment. I had plans to get one for myself, but…"

Velvet closed her eyes, groaning as Avernus agreed with her brother. She shook her head and grabbed Laphicet by his shoulders, forcefully leading him back to his room. "You can tell me more about it later, Laphi."

Laphicet dropped his head in defeat. Suddenly, a fresh notion flashed in Avernus' mind. He yanked Velvet's arm. "Wait, I have a plan."

Both siblings whirled their heads at him in wonder.

"Well, when my work here is done, and I'm back from the capital, how about we all go to the far continent together? All four of us can take a vacation. How does that sound?"

Laphicet eyes sparkled with joy and nearly pounced from Velvet's arms, freeing himself from his sister. "Can we see the great harbors of Hyland?!"

Avernus crossed his arms and cocked his head proudly. "That's the first thing you’ll see. Afterwards, I’ll bring you to the capital's great library. There are so many books and scrolls in there, you could get lost in it for days."

"And the palace?!"

Avernus opened his arms in welcome. "My young friend, you’ll be the royal guests."

"Royal guests…?", Velvet asked bafflingly.

Avernus' eyes widened, he didn't explicitly explain his position before, "Yeah, um… because I work there! As a knight!"

Velvet knotted her eyebrows, "Are you trying to steal my brother from me, Avernus?"

Avernus flashed a grin at Velvet, "Didn't I mention that you can come too? I'm sure I did."

Velvet put her hands on her hips and looked away, "What makes you think I want to go?"

Avernus chuckled at her response, "Come on, you need a break from this more than anyone.", he grinned, "Besides, you’ll have so much fun there. There’s fashion shows, food contests, festivals! And don't worry about Laphicet. I swear I'll make sure you two stay together at all times. I'll glue him to you if I have to."

She reluctantly turned her head away from him again. Avernus sighed, "And the women at the Palace could learn a thing or two from you."

Avernus then looked at Laphi and wore his serious expression, "Until then, Laphicet, listen to your sister and drink whatever medicine she throws at you. I will accept no excuses for being sick whatsoever when I return from the capital." Avernus extended his right arm towards him for a handshake, "So it's a promise then?"

Laphicet's face abruptly went blank for a moment, Avernus narrowed his eyes, still waiting on Laphicet. Finally, after a brief moment, he clenched his hand, "It's a promise."

Avernus nodded and moved his hand towards Velvet, "Your turn, Velvet. I need your promise too."

Velvet suddenly blushed, "W-What? Why me?!"

Avernus raised a brow, "I need your promise more than Laphicet's because you're the only one who can stop this trip altogether."

She didn't shake his hand. Avernus grinned maliciously and grabbed her hand himself and softly squeezed it.

"There we go! This is the promise of Velvet Crowe!"

Velvet blinked rapidly at Avernus, "Hey! You cheated!"

Avernus suddenly moved closer in a breath distance and leaned near her ear, "You'll have fun there, and I will personally look after you. That's my promise." He whispered alluringly and tipped his head away to watch Velvet shaking and blushing.

To her, he was the true personification of prince charming and he was too close for comfort. Velvet barely managed to raise her eyes to watch his glittering eyes glancing at her, showering her with flowers and bright rays.

Before her face could go all scarlet, she pulled away panicky and escorted Laphicet, now having a dimpled smile, back to his room.

"Did the prickleboars hurt you?"

Her eyes flashed with excitement, forgetting Avernus’ flirting altogether. "Not a scratch, and we brought back plenty. I can hear Arthur already. “Gosh, Velvet, I think it's time you learned all my secret artes!”.", Velvet mimicked Arthur.

Avernus nodded at Laphi, "She fought splendidly, Laphicet. Although Velvet still has a few years left to learn “my secret artes”."

Laphicet laughed at her, and then Velvet growled back at Avernus with tsundere aura flaring all over her.

Avernus suddenly noticed a small notebook with Laphicet's handwriting. He took a sneak peek and read the visible page,

"The day before the Scarlet Night. Sis went prickleboar hunting with Avernus. She's almost as good a fighter as Arthur, and with Avernus looking out for her, I know those prickleboars don't stand a chance. But I worry that she's too athletic to land a husband. Avernus teases her, but he doesn't make a move. Maybe Velvet should try to be more ladylike. I know she’ll regret it later if he's gone and won't come back to us."

Avernus' eyes widened and nearly let out a loud laugh, but he held his breath, so not to expose himself. "Man, that kid is beyond his age."

He slowly placed the notebook back on the table, but his glance darted on another book underneath.

Observations on the Nameless Empyrean

The thought of Laphicet and Velvet went away in an instant. A barrage of questions bombarded his mind, "Nameless Empyrean? Is this one of Arthur's books?"

Avernus stroked his chin. His mind was back on track. Velvet stepped out of Laphicet’s room and saw him idly standing,

"Hey, Avernus. I want to cook dinner, so could you please go out and bring me some chopped firewood for the stove?"

Avernus woke up from his reverie, "Uh, yeah… sure, I'll bring you some wood."

He quickly went outside to finish the task as quickly as possible. To him, reading that book was his top priority. Nothing else mattered. Avernus reached the shed behind the house and started to gather some firewood from the stockpile. Abruptly, he felt his nostrils flare up and blood started dripping on the lumber. The amount of bleeding increased instantly. Avernus brushed a finger on his nose and then bit his lips in anger as he saw the blood. "No, no… Not now. Damn it!"

Avernus quickly used a healing spell to stop the nose bleeding, but the dizziness returned. He hastily returned to the house. Velvet was upstairs, doing something while simultaneously talking with Laphicet.

As Avernus leaned to put firewood in the stove, he saw Laphicet's face suddenly flushing all red. He waved his hand back at him, silently asking, "What happened?" Not wanting to break the conversation as Velvet didn't know that he was already back from outside.

Velvet continued talking, "You're a stubborn little brat, so you might need an older girl to keep you under control. Oh, and she's got to be a good cook. A pro in the kitchen is a success in life."

Avernus smirked in amusement. Laphicet noticed it and responded in force, "Knock it off. Velvet! You should be more worried about your own love life!"

Avernus nodded and silently showed a thumbs-up sign to Laphicet while he was placing the last pieces of firewood in the stove.

Velvet voice stuttered, "Me?! I-I've got enough on my mind! For one thing, I've got to cook for you and Arthur since Celica's gone. Besides, getting crushes on strange men like Avernus? I don't see what's so-"

Laphicet nearly facepalmed himself and he instantly faked a hard cough to interrupt her without damaging her chances. Velvet ran down the ladder in a worry to check on Laphicet.

Velvet abruptly glued in her place as soon as she laid eyes on Avernus, biting her lips. She blushed and lowered her eyes to avoid Avernus’ gaze, but continued to her brother's room nonetheless.

Avernus moved back to the table to pick up the book. However, vertigo obscured his eyesight. He rubbed his eyes, but when he opened them, Velvet was standing right in front of him with a half-opened mouth and raised brows.

"What?", asked Avernus with a grimace face.

"You look pale." Velvet quickly put her hand on his forehead, "And you're starting to get a fever!"

Avernus rolled his eyes and said, "Don't worry. I'll just sit here and I should be just fine."

Velvet scowled and huffed, "No! You will go to bed and rest there. Not here. I will not allow it."

Without waiting for his response, Velvet yanked his arm and pulled him out of the chair. Avernus lifted the book to show it to Laphicet from afar.

"Can I borrow this for the night?"

Laphicet nodded back, and then his arms were suddenly pulled again by the overprotective hostess. "Ouch! Velvet, you’re pulling too hard."

She didn't pay any attention to his complaint. They stopped in the room and Velvet released his arm. Hands on her hips, she stood near the bed, waiting for him to lie down . Avernus glared at her with narrowed eyes, but after a few seconds of staring at each other, he finally yielded.

As soon as he laid down, Velvet suddenly snatched the book out of his hands.

"Hey! What are you doing? Give it back!"

Velvet quickly left the room with the book, "No reading while resting! I swear, you boys are all the same! Little scamps in men's bodies. You never listen!"

"Oh, come on! I'm a stranger. I might bite!", he jokingly threatened. Without a single spark of energy left, he decided to lay down and surrender to the mom of the house.

Avernus groaned to himself. "Why do I even care?" He put his right arm on his forehead and closed his eyes.

Twenty-one years ago, a newborn baby was found on the stairs of a great temple, near one of the most significant and most dangerous earthpulses in the far continent’s northern mountain range. At that time, the primus of the Hyland Empire was in the process of a routine investigation of the temple. The baby showed a great understanding of malakhim and other supernatural creatures that were invisible to human eyes. Soon, he decided to take the baby as his own and gave him the same name as the earthpulse he was found on; Avernus.

For twelve years, Avernus underwent several excessive sessions of training under the supervision of different imperial masters of combat and magic artes. Showing great potential as an arcane warrior, he mastered many different styles of sword fighting, martial arts, and spell casting. At the age of fifteen, he took his place as the vanguard of first imperial squires, a small group of highly skilled sorcerers and wizards that used unconventional methods to combat daemon threats all around the empire, under the supervision of a single leader that would lead them to victory: The Shepherd.

Four years before the departure, underground gathering hall, first imperium Legio praetorium

The sound of metal boots echoed through the vast halls of the Hyland palace. Tired, battered, but not discouraged women and men of war were gathering inside the dark chamber beneath the castle. A large man in heavy red and golden armor was probing the crowd.

"Everyone, stand ready! We will proceed with the operation shortly.", the headmaster announced to the group. The guards started to position themselves near the walls, forming a circle, and a few numbers of squires stayed in the middle of the room. The headmaster stepped closer to the man in charge.

"He is still not here, your majesty."

With a focused stare, he surveyed the crowd, "It doesn't matter. Let’s begin the-"

Before he could finish his speech, the metal door opened with a loud bang and a young Avernus with long blond hair, emerald eyes, and wearing a face-wide smile entered the hall. All attendees turned their attention towards him in unity. However, another one was looking at him with raised eyebrows, waiting for an answer. Avernus winked back at him. In response, he laughed, and they both fist-bumped.

"That's what I'm talking about, Avernus! Even a malak couldn’t resist your charm."

Young Avernus kept his broad grin, "It's not like she just took a look at me and said yes, Lucian. I had to take out ten daemons and save the whole encampment."

"At least you didn't generate any malevolence. You can safely kiss the malak at will."

Young Avernus pressed his lips, "Shut up, Lucian."

“Squires! We had enough delay due to ‘unexpected complications’.”, the headmaster started his speech and gazed at Avernus with displeasure.

"Everyone, prepare the gateway and remember; each of you must tether your pre-designated targets. Whatever the proposition, take it. We cannot afford to waste anymore time. The fate of the empire rests on your shoulders, vanguard."

The headmaster pointed to a large blue portal that opened behind him. He mumbled something privately to each of the vanguard before they entered the gateway.

Avernus checked the queue. "Looks like I'm the last one.", he said to Lucian.

"Of course, they're going to give you the easiest one. They don't want to risk losing their new Shepherd."

"Just don't get possessed, or I'll shove a mixed spell of fire and ice down your throat."

After Lucian entered the portal, the headmaster immediately closed it. Avernus raised one of his brows, surprised and clueless.

"What?"

The headmaster stepped closer and slowly nodded. Avernus waited for a few seconds then his eyes glowed.

"You've found her domain, haven't you?", Avernus inquired.

Primus walked to Avernus, "I won’t force it on you, my son. It’s not too late to back out. I won’t be-"

Avernus shook his head and smiled, "Don't sweat it, father. I swore an oath. An oath to protect our empire, to protect the people. I will not give up. Our people deserve a second chance. It won’t look good to see that their Shepherd decided to back down at the last second."

Primus looked at the headmaster and nodded at him, then he raised his bladed staff and made a tear in reality in the space behind them, creating an unstable portal, glowing red as it rotated wildly. Avernus scrambled towards the gateway. He looked back at them, "I’ll come back with help. Whatever it takes."

The teleportation took longer compared to standard portals. Avernus landed on a broad archipelago, levitating above an ocean of blue energy. He appraised his surroundings.

"Well, here we are; the deepest earthpulse point… It's a cozy place you've got here."

After walking and running for an extended period of time, Avernus noticed a group of daemons attacking a creature that looked like a horse engulfed in a cloud of smoke.

"Even the underworld has its own set of bullies."

He walked faster and shouted, "Hey, you ugly pieces of shit!" The daemons hissed at him. "Get lost or get wrecked, scum!"

They growled and started attacking him. Avernus conjured his dual phantom blades and pounced at them head-on. The daemons miscalculated their opponent and, one by one, fell to Avernus's slashes and magic artes. The last one tried to escape in fear, but Avernus quickly dashed and tore it in half by his radiant phantom sword. The screams went silent as their remains turned to ash.

The spirit swords disappeared, and Avernus went to the wounded creature's side, checking his wounded body from up close. "Poor malak. Malevolence is spreading throughout its body. But you’re in luck, cause I have the cure right here."

Avernus winked at the creature and made a small cut on his right wrist. Blood started to pour out. He focused and mumbled an arte, then a silver flame consumed the being and extinguished the malevolence. The malak reverted to its original form, but the wounds were severe and beyond his ability to heal. He tried different spells, but nothing took effect. Avernus attempted to comfort the creature instead, holding its head in his embrace. "I'm sorry, buddy. I tried. But at least you won’t be turning into a dragon anytime soon."

The malak spirit glanced at him with relief and slowly closed their eyes. Then the body burned with radiance and turned into an orb, then levitated in mid-air silently as if it was waiting for his touch. Avernus looked at it with confusion, but decided to hold it. In turn, the sphere transformed into a long staff. He laughed in excitement and swung it left and right, testing out different artes and techniques.

“It handles like a dream. A dream from the shadow realm."

He looked at it again, "I shalt name thee; Dreamshadow."

Avernus continued his journey towards the largest Island in the centre. So far, there were no pathways or portals leading to it.

"That must be the place." He checked his new weapon, "Shall we, partner?"

Avernus jumped and held the staff towards the front. The scepter flashed brightly, and he started flying towards the main Island.

"YEAH~! Here we go, baby! Woo-hoo!"

However, he didn't think about landing. With wide-open eyes, he darted to the ground, crashing and rolling all over the place as dust filled the air.

Pounded and bruised, he slowly struggled to stand up, wincing back and forth in dizziness and pain.

"Oww, my back. Well, at least I don't need a ritual to summon her."

Avernus checked his surroundings, waiting for something to happen. That ruckus should have been loud enough to echo throughout the inner realm, but nothing happened. No sound or indication of anything. The area sank into total silence. Avernus shook his head in disappointment.

"Well, she must be a heavy sleeper. Time to wake her up the old fashion way." He sat in the middle of the island, cross-legged. He cut both wrists and started the ritual to call forth his target by force.

Heed my call/the mother of everything/the self-procreating womb/the goddess without a spouse/

He breathed heavily as the pain from his wounds increased.

The first one/The primal dragon of void/

Come forth and hear the pleas of your child

He hissed in annoyance. "Seriously?! Who came up with this nonsense?", he mumbled and continued.

My blood is your blood/through the draconian current…

He opened his eyes and found a dark mist enveloping him. Nothing else was visible to his eyes. He kept his stance and scanned the area for any sign of presence. After a few seconds, in the distance, he saw a pair of white eyes appear. Heavy breathing followed, then another set of eyes appeared beside it. The breathing intensified, and three more pairs of eyes flashed circularly around the mist.

Avernus slightly smiled, "There she is, the five-headed sweetheart."

The mist went away, and a gigantic creature appeared before him, It was an enormous five-headed dragon.

The middle head slowly moved closer to him. sniffing Avernus.

"Hmm… It has been a long time… since seeing another… feeling another… but… you are insignificant."

Its voice represented several female voices speaking together, Avernus stood up, wore his charming look, and opened his arms.

He called to her in a friendly tone, "Hey, Tiamat! My name’s Avernus. I won’t waste time with formalities, so I’ll make this quick: I know what you are and I have come here to propose…", Avernus shook his head, "No, that doesn't sound right. I…" He looked up and saw a fireball closing on him. He dodged it and it exploded right where he was standing.

"OK, OK, I know you're angry, but we have mutual interests that…" Tiamat raised one of its claws and slammed towards him, but successfully dodged her attack once again.

"Oh, come on! Just let me finish, damn it!" All of the dragon's five heads turned to him, but he spoke his proposition as fast as he could before she went on the offensive again.

"Accept me as your vessel and grant me your powers. In turn, I will let you walk the earth once more." Avernus looked at her with raised brows, waiting for an answer.

Tiamat looked at him for a few seconds then gritted her teeth, building up a breath attack.

He narrowed his eyes, "Really?!"

She fired five beams of white fire at him. The attack destroyed the area in an instant, nothing remained. However, Avernus called her from behind,

"Look, lady, mother of all or whatever… I can do this all day. I know, I know, I get it; you're pissed, but I'm annoyed too. Just tell me your part of the bargain, and we both move on, together." Avernus closed his eyes, facepalmed himself, and shook his head in frustration, "Damn it! Why am I so bad at this?!"

Tiamat moved closer to him, and Avernus pointed the Dreamshadow at her, preparing his defensive stance. She saw his staff and abruptly stopped. Her gills and scales cooled down.

"A malak gave you their body… Then you must be… an Oracle…"

Avernus narrowed his eyes, "Who is he? And, yes… I'm an Oracle… Sheesh, that name's old. Nowadays, we’re referred to as Shepherds."

Tiamat laughed, and her heads began to circle him.

"You smell like… the magic itself… Spirits…"

Her voice echoed through the earthpulse point.

"I wore my best cologne. Thanks for the compliment, though. So what’ll it be? Do we have a deal?"

Avernus checked his surroundings and it hit him that the ground he was standing on was the last platform. All other small islands had already been destroyed in the chaos. Tiamat's size was enormous. Most of her body was hidden underneath the clouds and the abyss below. If she decided to attack, it would be his funeral.

The middle head opened its mouth and breathed in front of him. A white orb appeared and slowly turned to a woman. She had long, glowing silver hair with gold highlights floating in the air as they were defying the gravity. Her body was also glowing, and she appeared to be asleep.

"Who's she?" Avernus asked.

"My… Vessel… Tiamat."

Avernus raised his brows, "I thought your name was Tiamat."

"I'm… Tiamat.", the dragon replied.

Avernus stood there baffled, "OK, yikes. I thought I'd be your vessel, not her."

"You'll be my vessel… and she's my vessel… You're so young… You still need to learn.

…

…

"AVERNUS! WAKE UP!" He violently opened his eyes and saw a pair of golden-amber eyes blinking at him.

"Hmm… Vel…vet?".

"Laphicet… he's not here. He's gone.", Velvet declared in a hurry,

"What do you mean he's gone?!"

Velvet was already running at the door and whirled her head back, "Come on!"

Avernus, still not fully woken up, managed to stand and follow Velvet outside. He barely heard Velvet mumbling to herself, "You better not have gone to the village alone!"

Avernus tried to focus, shaking his head as Velvet continued with her rant,

"Daaah! I bet your fever hasn't even gone down!"

"What’s going on, Velvet? Has something happened? Where were you this morning?!"

"Last night… you were… Never mind. I had to sleep with Laphicet. When I woke up, he was already gone." She decided to dodge the question and focus on finding her brother.

"That… doesn’t answer my question."

But Velvet didn't say more, and she ran towards the shop in the middle of the village.

"Hey! Has Laphicet been here?", she asked.

The shopkeeper turned to her,

"Uh, no, I haven't seen him.", the Shopkeeper's voice stuttered while he hid something behind his back. It suddenly fell to the ground. Velvet and Avernus noticed it.

"Wait! That's one of Arthur's books!"

The shopkeeper shook his head and picked it up, "Actually, it's a copy that Laphicet made. A smart merchant would pay a pretty penny for this book. I gave him a fair trade."

Avernus narrowed his eyes, "Yeah, I'd bet you gave him a fair trade.", he mockingly said.

Velvet narrowed her eyes on the book, "Laphi… Did he copy all that by hand?" Suddenly, her eyes fixed on a compass sitting on the shelf, "Oh! He must have done it to buy that compass!"

The shopkeeper, however, denied it, "No. though he gave it some puppy eyes. I told him I'd throw it in for free, but he said that it would be a bad deal for me. He's a good lad, but not the merchant type."

“Of course. His heart is too pure for that.”, Avernus whispered to himself.

Velvet's eyes widened, "So, what did he use the money for?"

"I'm afraid my lips are sealed. You'll have to ask Laphicet yourself.", the shopkeeper responded and abruptly before escaping into his cabin. All of a sudden, they heard a familiar voice.

"Velvet, Avernus. I saw Laphicet walking around. Is he OK?"

Velvet nearly broke down, "He's not OK! Where'd you see him?"

"He was headed for the forest. I'll help you look for him."

Velvet nodded back, "Thanks. Do a sweep of the village just in case." She then turned to Avernus, "Please go and look for Laphicet at the entrance to the Morgana Woods. I'll check the forest myself."

Avernus slightly bowed his head, and all three split up. He ran as fast as he could, striding across several paths, checking every nook and cranny until he reached the outer gate. Avernus immediately asked the guards about Laphicet. But they said that they didn't see him.

At that moment, Avernus noticed a small creature perched on a tree branch near the entrance. It was a small, orange-colored Normin, with angry eyes glaring at him. They stared at each other for a few seconds before the Normin huffed at Avernus and left.

Avernus narrowed his eyes, "What the…? You little bastard!"

Avernus sighed and ran towards the Morgana Woods. Before entering its gate, he saw Niko arguing with her dogs.

"Hey, Niko, what happened to your dogs?"

Niko let out a sigh and said, "I was going to have them join the search, but they won't move at all. It's like they're scared of something."

Both dogs suddenly started to whine loudly.

"I couldn't find Laphicet in the village. He probably went into the forest. I'll go and join Velvet. You… stay with your dogs and try to calm them down or something."

Niko nodded, and Avernus continued towards the forest hastily. Again, he couldn't find Laphicet nor Velvet, but he discovered several dead prickleboars lying down on the road.

"These kills are fresh. Probably Velvet's doing. She must have gone to the cape."

Avernus continued his way towards the shrine. All of a sudden, he heard a scream. He gritted his teeth and ran as fast as he could. Avernus reached the sanctuary and saw a werewolf attacking Velvet and Laphicet. The daemon went in for the kill as Velvet tried to shield Laphicet from the attack. He didn't hesitate and dashed towards the werewolf, summoning the Dreamshadow and slashing the creature with a tremendous force which made it fly over the cliff, followed by an arte, "WIND CUTTER!"

A string of magically pressurized wind currents slashed the werewolf in midair, cutting it into multiple pieces.

Avernus quickly went to check on Velvet and Laphicet after his overkill. At that point, both of them were passed out. He cast two healing spells, picked them both up, and carried them back to Aball. Half-way there, in the middle of the village, he ran into Niko.

Seeing Avernus carrying them in his arms, she cupped her mouth and nearly screamed, "What happened?!"

"They're both fine! Go and find Arthur NOW!", Niko nodded and quickly took off.

Avernus finally reached the house. He kicked the door open, and put both of them on the bed. Laphicet slowly woke up, seeing the angry face of Avernus looming on top of him.

"Laphicet…", Avernus addressed him with a frown and knotted brows. Laphicet lowered his head in shame.

"Look, Laphicet. It is not OK to make everyone worry. I'm not the one to scold you or anything, but you can't make these decisions on your own. At least not now. If anything happens, you are not the only one who gets hurt. Do you understand?"

Avernus sighed and moved to the Velvet's side.

"She passed out from exhaustion. What happened last night? She told me she overslept this morning. Why?", Avernus asked Laphicet. He slowly raised his head and pointed to a bowl of water and a towel on the table.

"Last night, she waited for you to wake up for dinner. After an hour, she went back to check on you. She told me that your fever had gone up. She stayed up for a few hours, trying to reduce your fever with cold water."

Avernus blinked for a second and then clenched his fist.

"So I was the reason."

Letting out a loud sigh and trying to calm himself, Avernus exited the room, brushing a hand over his face as guilt pushed down on his soul.

"You shouldn't have, Velvet. You shouldn't… I'm just not worth the effort…"