Roun and Jayce regained their consciousness some hours later, waking up in an unfamiliar room surrounded by mostly unfamiliar faces. Roun grimaced as he sat up and looked around. The homogenous nature of the features of the occupants of the room was a clear indicator that he now sat in a room controlled by the Kingdom of Malaikin, but neither Zielle nor Aeriul were present. Interestingly enough however, there was a face that he did recognize—and it wasn’t a Malaikin one.

“Rueben?” His gaze narrowed at the young man, who nodded in return.

“Prince.” Came the reply with a wry smile.

“I see the Rogues let you out.” Roun’s voice was laced with contempt, but Rueben just smiled.

“I wouldn’t quite say that they ‘let me out’ but I am definitely out.” He shrugged. “Good to see that you’re okay, by the way. The doctors did a pretty good job of patching you four up.”

It was only at this point that Roun realised that his body was no longer leaking Synchros and a cursory glance at Jayce revealed a similar situation.

“You said four?” Jayce now pressed.

“Yeah, the Malaikin army may have impounded the Xelot escape-crafts on arrival.” Rueben explained with some guilt. “But once they realised that they were ferrying two of Terra’s guardians, they were a bit more… accommodating.”

Roun’s gaze narrowed at the cryptic statement.

“Last I saw Xavier; they were rushing him into surgery.” Rueben explained. “Nikolai looked fine though, so I assume he’s already out and about.”

“Out and about where, Rueben?” Jayce growled with annoyance. “Where the hell are we?”

“Oh.” Rueben chuckled lightly. “We’re guests of His Majesty, King Zien Malaikin II—this is his palace.”

As Rueben announced their location, a familiar voice sounded from behind Roun and Jayce.

“Young prince, it’s good to see you alive.” Zielle spoke as he entered the room, causing Roun’s head to snap around to his location.

A light gasp escaped his lips as he turned his head, realising for the first time as he did that he could not see out of his left eye. The young Synchros host quickly raised his hand to his face, but he could feel no bandages covering the eyes. Further inspection revealed that there was something in the socket, but whatever it was, he couldn’t see through it.

“It’s also good to see that you’re recovering, Majesty.” Zielle continued as he closed in on Roun, but the young prince was now feeling about his face and neck frantically. “Yes, unfortunately, there was little that we could do about your eye—or the Khaaos host’s arm for that matter.” He began to explain. “Our magi-tech seems more advanced than your zeta technology, but even that has its limits when dealing with wounds inflicted by the Destroyer himself.”

“Bring me a mirror.” Roun muttered, causing Zielle to nod to one of the attendants inside of the room.

Soon, the young prince was presented with his request. As he lifted it to his face, he could see the deep gashes around his neck, which seemed to be filled with an almost solid, luminous form of green energy. This energetic substance did it’s best to replace the structures that he had lost, allowing blood and other vital fluids to flow from one healthy part of his body to the next—but beyond that, it just seemed to fill in the space left vacant by Teros’ assault. It failed to adequately replace muscles or ligaments, leaving his neck stiff and hard to move. Tears welled up in his remaining eye as he noticed that the same substance also sat in the empty socket of his left and filled in the short gash that ran vertically through it. Those tears soon rolled down his one good eye.

“What—what is this?” He questioned, doing his best to steel himself as he spoke.

“Prosthetic tissue replacement.” Zielle explained. “State of the art—bonded to your Imperial Veranos Sigil to replace lost tissue with your own energy.” He continued. “You’re weak from your battle with Teros, but as you heal, the bond between you and the prosthesis will strengthen… returning some of the faculties that you’ve lost.”

“The doctors did the same for Jayce, and I assume Xavier.” Rueben explained, but Zielle shook his head slightly.

“They’ve certainly done their best, but we don’t have as strong an understanding of their energies as we do veranos.” Zielle explained. “Their prosthetics might take a bit longer to integrate—if they do at all.”

Roun sighed heavily at the statement, before turning his attention back to his host.

“We’re in your debt Zielle.” He nodded his head slightly as he spoke, the panic subsiding as the conversation progressed.

“Nonsense, young prince.” Zielle waved his hand dismissively. “Our lives are in your hands after all. We do what we can to be of assistance.”

“Any word on Teros?” Jayce pressed, far less concerned with the lost bits of himself that they had replaced, and more focused on their core mission.

“We’re awaiting another update from the clans on the haima’sa frontlines—” Zielle began “—but as of a half-hour ago, he was still in Haiman.”

Roun’s eyebrow tipped upwards.

“Avalon.” Rueben clarified.

Roun’s gaze just narrowed.

“What’s keeping him there?” He pondered. “I would’ve thought he’d be beating down your doors trying to get to us.”

“I’m sure he would have, but I’ve also got reports of five Perfects engaging him.” Zielle explained further.

“Perfects?” Roun’s curiosity was visible, but Rueben soon chimed in.

“Legendary-tier channels.” He explained the difference in terminology once more. “Kyasho arrived with Rayad, Maika and Shin in tow, not long after your two made the jump.”

“That’s… convenient.” Jayce muttered.

“Very.” Rueben nodded. “But with Naomi coordinating their movements; hardly a coincidence I’d imagine.” He dismissed.

“Wait a minute, you said five legends.” Jayce interrupted him. “Where’s Marshack?”

“Reverted.” Zielle replied now. “He was already unconscious when we apprehended his knights.”

“Then who’s the fifth?” Jayce pressed.

“That would be His Majesty, King Zien.” Zielle explained. “Once he’d gotten word that Shin was engaging the Destroyer in Haiman, he rushed to his aid—leaving me here to look after your recovery.”

Roun sighed heavily.

“That’s good to hear—but even Marshack only lasted a few minutes against Teros.” He shook his head. “I’m not sure how long they can hold out.

“Well luckily, King Zien took a large portion of the Malaikin Totem with him.” Zielle explained. “It should amplify his abilities significantly.”

Roun’s eyebrow tipped upwards.

“Yeah, King Zien will be quite an asset—” Rueben chimed in “—and Kyasho’s power is inexplicable. I’m sure the two of them are the only reason that the group has managed to hold Teros back for this long.”

“Yes, Kyasho’s Totem seems quite formidable itself.” Zielle chimed in, drawing a knowing chuckle from Rueben. “We were fortunate that he chose to abstain from battle during the fusion. It has made our subduing of Merricent much more manageable.”

Roun looked simultaneously confused and annoyed by Ziele’s statement, but he couldn’t focus on that right now. Instead he turned his thoughts back to the fight against Teros.

“My mother must’ve seen this coming—she probably asked Kyasho to save his strength.” He muttered, slowly turning his gaze back to Zielle. “What are you doing with the people of Merricent, when you ‘subdue’ them?”

“Luckily, the King managed to evacuate most of the Imperial City after our meeting.” Zielle explained. “It’s allowed us to use the buildings there as temporary housing for the Terrans, until we can secure our borders and begin their integration.”

“Temporary housing.” Jayce laughed loudly. “Sounds more like a concentration camp.”

Rueben scoffed at the remark.

“You Demai would know all about that.” Rueben stated dismissively, but Zielle waved them both off.

“When we subdue their military and quell their resistance, the citizens of Merricent will be integrated into Malaikin society.” Zielle stated firmly. “If they do not wish to be integrated, they will be free to leave under their own power. No unnecessary harm is to come to them, by order of His Majesty.”

Roun’s gaze narrowed at the statement, incredulous as could only be expected. However, sadly, he did not have the time to delve into the political matters of these two nations. His focus instead shifted back to the task at hand once again.

“We’ll deal with that later.” He shook his head as he spoke. “Where are Nikolai and Xavier?”

“Follow me.” Zielle nodded in reply. “I will take you to them.”