Neelae’s eyes widened as Raymond casually paced across the sidewalk. Their carriage had yet to arrive, but even then, he was a bit too calm, all things considered.

“What do you mean by signing child? He’s already grown up.” Neelae whispered as to not alert anyone.

“Mmm? Why are you whispering? I was planning on telling him soon. Anyway, I’m not sure about the details either. After he was born, nothing out of the ordinary happened and he grew up to be the wonderful young man he is today.” Raymond said, his eyes flashing back to a time that had long passed, but still meant the world to him.

“I see. So that’s why it all happened.” Neelae said thoughtfully.

Raymond noticed that she was talking to him in a more casual manner, which he didn’t mind.

“Yes. But in all honesty, I don’t mind. I mean, look at him-" Raymond said as Kalos bugged Estella about her health and the overall condition.

“He’s a simple lad, but I love him nonetheless.” Raymond said with a deep sigh.

“And his mother?” Neelae asked, but saw that Raymond maintained his happy expression.

“I'm not sure. She was always a free spirit so I’m not sure if she’d have approved the way I raised him. What I do know is that she would have loved him regardless.” Raymond said. He noticed that Neelae had been staring at him for some time.

“What is it? Let me guess, your parents weren’t so great?” Raymond asked.

“Mmm… I can't say. They weren’t really present. It was straight to the academy for me.” Neelae said with a hint of wistfulness in her voice.

“I can understand that. I too was forced into battle and that was back then when kingdoms wanted to wage war with just about everyone. But, what our parents did to us matters not. What matters right now is how we choose to raise our children.” Raymond said.

“Children… having one of those would be nice,” Neelae said as she looked at Estella.

“Mmm? That Hagert is a pretty decent guy, not that anyone asked.” Raymond said, causing Neelae’s face to light up a bit.

“Oh no! My family would never allow me to marry someone like him. I mean, his family isn’t even that high ranking. Sure, he is strong and dependable, but he can be a bit paranoid and stubborn.” Neelae rambled before stopping herself, but by then, Raymond had heard enough.

“Who said anything about marriage?” Raymond teased.

This made Neelae’s once pale white skin, beet red.

Raymond let out a sly chuckle before noticing a rather sturdy carriage approaching in the distance.

“Hey, head knight. My son and I are going to go on a wild adventure. I know this may not be my place to say, but one day you’ll be given a choice. To cast off that armour you so proudly wear or be forever shackled by its crest and code. When that day comes, I want you to think about what we’re talking about right now. Living. Which choice will allow you to truly live?” Raymond said as he returned to his group.

He turned around facing the perplexed Neelae and spread his arms.

“Just think about it ok?” Raymond asked as he turned back, only to bump into Crimwal.

“Think about what?” Crimwal asked in the distance.

Raymond’s words echoed loudly in Neelae's mind. She had been a knight for her entire life and had seen the darkest of nights, yet this was the first time she questioned herself. It was the first time she question the order.

“Oh nothing, just giving some bad advice to good people,” Raymond replied while slapping Crimwal on the back.

The carriage that approached stopped just in front of the group and two knights helped them pack their things. Hagert keenly inspected the vehicle before walking to Neelae’s side.

“What are we going to do?” Hagert asked.

“We wait. You’ve spoken to the eminence, you’ve seen what kind of person he is, on the surface at least. If the worst comes to pass and his wrath falls on the order, I doubt he will mercilessly come for us. But if he does, your plan might work.” Neelae said. She then looked at Hagert with thoughtful eyes.

“What are your thoughts on children?” Neelae asked as Crimwal hopped into the driver’s seat atop the carriage.

“Uh- well… they are small,” Hagert said nervously. Neelae giggled at the notion of Hagert being a father, but it didn’t sound that bad either.

The carriage carrying the eminence of old eventually left Tolman. Some of Tolman’s people would go on to speak about the eminence of light as a being from above carrying tidings of a coming darkness, while others whispered his name in hushed tones. They remembered the name of the one who betrayed the order and slaughtered the innocent.

.

..

“Whew! I’m glad that’s over." Raymond said as they rode down the path. Their carriage was led by two horses so their pace on the rather heavy carriage was fairly steady.

“I don't know… we could have avoided the whole part where we got locked up.” Crimwal groaned from in front of the carriage. There was a small window that was behind the driver’s seat.

“Really? Then how else would my legendary reveal as eminence have played out?” Raymond asked while raising his right brow.

“Umm… different? Listen, all I’m saying is I’d have preferred it if you didn’t freak me out every time you used your powers. I’m pretty sure I got a few grey hairs back there.” Crimwal said as he looked out at the vastness that was the Tsav mountain range.

On their way up, snow and shadow clouded their vision and they were unable to appreciate the true beauty of what could be considered a natural wonder.

The white icescape that was the Tsav mountain range seemingly crowned the world with its peaks, which was something Crimwal couldn’t appreciate during their ascent.

The carriage rode along steadily down the path. Crimwal and Raymond took hour long shifts leading the horses to wherever they were going, which was northeast.

Kalos continued to read the intriguing red book and gained further insight into the many dark things the knights of the first descent had to deal with.

Kalos felt his eyelids slowly falling. He quickly checked on Estella, only to find that she had already succumbed to sleep's allure.

Kalos readjusted her blanket, making sure to cover her entire torso and rested his head backwards. This would be his first wink of sleep in a while so he wanted to relish it.

.

..

Many hours later.

Kalos was awoken by the sound of the carriage coming to a stop.

He opened his eyes to find Estella was already awake, but she looked bored out of her mind. Kalos wondered what he could give her that would keep her entertained.

Unable to think of anything, Kalos decided to shelve the thought. He then noticed that Eevana was also awake, but her expression was far darker than Estella’s.

Kalos wanted to ask her what was wrong, but Eevana looked like she didn’t want to be bothered so he turned his attention to the front of the carriage, the driver seat specifically. There, Raymond and Crimwal succeeded in stopping the carriage on a patch of cold dry grass.

“We’ll camp here. Let the horses feed. We'll set off first thing in the morning.” Raymond said as the sun slowly sank into the horizon.

Raymond and Crimwal hopped into the carriage which briefly allowed the cool air to sneak inside.

Estella frowned at Raymond, but shrugged it off and turned to Eevana.

“So… are you gonna say something or should I?” Raymond asked, his eye’s narrowed.

Eevana stopped leaning against the side of the carriage and looked at everyone.

They were all curious about her markings and who she was, all while being considerate about how she felt.

They were truly an odd bunch.

Eevana sighed.

“I apologize for not telling you before, but… I’m a Saepenar.” She said hesitantly.

Kalos tilted his head in confusion.

“I’m from Nar' Agrun.” She said, prompting Estella, Crimwal and Kalos to gasp.

“Oh yes, since we’re all being honest here, Kalos was a singing child,” Raymond said rather quietly, but the others were still baffled by the fact that they had been travelling with a being of darkness the whole time.

“Ok… what’s a Saepenar?” Crimwal asked while slowly reaching for his dagger.

“A saepenar is being of darkness takes with guarding the highest room in the spire of sin,” Eevana said.

“The spire of what?” Crimwal couldn’t help asking.

“It is a tower at Nar’ Agrun’s centre. It is the only way to access the dark realm.” Raymond said while looking outside the carriage window.

“So tell me, Eevana. Just how did you end up in this world of ours?” Raymond asked, his voice contained the tiniest traces of malice, but Raymond did a good job hiding it as best as he could.

“Well, I’m not sure. I was attending my duties one day when suddenly I was pulled into this world.” Eevana said.

“When was this?” Raymond asked.

Eevana opened her mouth to speak when a loud yell from outside interrupted her.

Raymond’s eyes trembled and he made an expression that no one in the carriage had ever seen before.

“Raymond!” A voice called from outside, prompting Kalos and Crimwal to pull out their daggers.

Raymond quietly exited the carriage, along with Kalos and Crimwal, to see a knight.

Except this knights armour was so dirty it looked black. A dark cloak covered most of his upper body but it did little to hide his incredible physique.

The dark knight was almost as tall as Raymond and although he only had one, his large arm hung beneath his shoulder. His pitch-black hair and beard gave him a rather dishevelled look.

His eye’s had a bright blue glow to them, which Crimwal found rather suspicious so he looked at Raymond, who was surprisingly calm. Actually, he was so calm, it looked as though he was relieved.

“It’s been a while. Hasn’t it, Peeta,” Raymond said as he approached the one-armed knight with Kalos and Crimwal in tow.

“Is that all you have to say to me after all this time?” The knight referred to as Peeta asked.

“Umm… yes, that’s pretty much it. There’s no changing what I did and I’m sure you want some sort of revenge or something. Isn’t that right?” Raymond asked as he stepped away from Kalos and Crimwal.

He slowly paced around Peeta, his gaze sharp and his guard high.

Peeta did the same.

“One hundred years we served together. One hundred years together, as close as brothers and yet you chose her… I thought maybe you were going through a phase but then again-" Peeta looked at where his right arm was supposed to be.

“Maybe you weren’t. One thousand of your men. Killed in an attempt to save an abomination.” Peeta then looked at Kalos.

“Was it worth it?” Peeta asked, as hatred spewed from his eyes.

The two knights continued to pace around each other. Each of them made sure not to come too close to the other.

“Speak betrayer!” Peeta yelled.

“It was. Every second. Every day. Every year. Raising Kalos was the best thing I’ve ever done.” Raymond said with a smile.

This made Peeta visibly infuriated.

“So are we going to fight, or not?” Raymond asked as particles of darkness started gathering around his body.

Peeta replied in kind and particles of darkness started gathering around his body as well.

“I don’t want to do this, but justice must be served,” Peeta said as strange symbols appeared in the air beside his as he paced.

He grabbed the particles of light gathering within the symbols and called out to the skies.

[Come, Peetus Eexel!]

Peeta yelled and in an instant, he was holding a large sword made of pure light.

Raymond, on the other hand, forged a normal fosblade.

“Still as cocky as ever ‘ey?” Peeta asked as his dirty cloak flew in the snowy wind.

“No, I just want to try something,” Raymond said as he turned to Kalos.

“Boy, you said you wanted to make an Eexel, now’s your chance. Here.” Raymond instantly summoned his Eexel and tossed it to Kalos.

“Go copy it inside the carriage, then fuse it with one of your fosblades. That will hopefully make something amazing.” Raymond said, prompting Kalos to nod enthusiastically and run off towards the carriage where Estella and Eevana cautiously watched Raymond and Peeta.

Crimwal also decided it would be best to observe the fight from within the carriage.

Raymond then summoned his gunmetal grey armour and stopped pacing.

“He can use magic?” Peeta asked.

“Yes. That and so much more.” Raymond said proudly.

“Him and his kind will be the end of us all. You know this and yet… never mind. I just want payback for what you did.” Peeta said and in a flash, he dashed towards Raymond as he swung his sword.

Raymond skillfully dodged the attack, although he was having some trouble keeping up with the dark knight. Raymond then realized that Peeta had never intended to cut him and by the time Raymond saw Peeta’s boot near his face, it was too late.

Raymond was kicked and his body was pushed several meters backwards.

Peeta didn’t give Raymond a moments rest and lunged towards him at full speed, unleashing a torrent of slashes with his sword in the process.

Raymond managed to block most of the incoming attacks, but some of them did manage to hit. He needed a break and he knew exactly how he was going to get one.

Raymond let out an explosion of dark magic, sending Peeta flying backwards.

Raymond didn’t even stop to breathe as he rushed towards Peeta while accumulating dark magic particles in his hands.

This stained the fosblade, giving it a striped appearance with its black and white streaks of magic.

Peeta sensed that the next attack wouldn’t be blockable so he rolled backwards and jumped into the air to give himself some time to think.

Raymond on the other hand stopped moving altogether and pointed his fosblade at Peeta.

In that instant, a massive amount of energy was ejected from Raymond’s sword. Peeta, who was in the air, tried his best to block it, but it wasn’t enough. His body took the entire attack head-on.

Peeta’s body dropped onto the ground soon after as plumes of steam rose from it.

He tried getting up, but this triggered a reaction from his body and he coughed out what looked like steam.

“You’re trying to cook me?” Peeta asked.

“Hehe, what makes you think that?” Raymond asked as he swung his now clear white sword.

“Take this fight seriously or I’ll kill you, you damned idiot!” Peeta said as he slowly walked towards Raymond.

“Oh, I’m curious. Where did you get an Eexel?” Raymond asked.

“After you left, the order conducted countless experiments. They wanted to develop certain… anti eminence weapons. This is one of them.” Peeta said as he swung his sword viciously at Raymond.

“Is that so? What else did they make?” Raymond asked as he dodged Peeta’s attacks. His movements were slowly becoming better and better. With each move, he got faster, more reactive.

“I don't know. I got kicked out after I-" Peeta stopped himself.

“After what?” Raymond asked, effectively stopping their fight.

“I wanted to help you, you know?” Peeta said, his breath was still frantic but he managed to reduce the sound of his voice to a whisper.

“I know… it’s just- the order wanted you to kill Aluin and I wasn’t going to let that happen.” Raymond said.

“I know. Did you hear what the order told the other knights?”

“What?”

“Apparently, eminence Raymond stole the Axis and went into hiding. He is awaiting the end of days alone in a cave somewhere.” Peeta said with a smile, revealing his misaligned teeth.

“Whoa! Watch where you point that face of yours! When was the last time you bathed or brushed your teeth?” Raymond asked.

“Err- Wait a minute! We’re supposed to be fighting!” Peeta said as he swung his sword towards Raymond’s neck.

“Why though?” Raymond asked as he dodged the attack. Peeta noticed that Raymond’s hair was losing its greyness and becoming more silky and blond as they fought.

“Because you took my arm!” Peeta said as he swung his sword again.

“But that was like twenty years ago!” Raymond cried.

“I don’t care!” Peeta said as particles of light began accumulating near his chest.

“Fine, I’ll chop it off.”

“No, it’ll just grow back. I’m not an idiot Raymond. I know what you are.” Peeta said as the wrinkles on Raymond’s face slowly disappeared.

“I don't want to kill you so I won't hit that, but I have a pseudo-Eexel right here and I wonder how it will fair against the flesh of an eminence.” Peeta said as the two continued to fight.

Meanwhile inside the carriage.

“What do you mean you can’t figure it out?” Crimwal asked as the sounds of cataclysmic battle thundered outside.

The small patch of grassland they’d found themselves in was completely scorched and gashes the size of canyons scared the terrain around them.

Kalos had been trying to do what his father had said, but copying the intricate weapon that was the Eexel wasn’t going to be easy.

“I’m trying, but I can picture what an Eexel is exactly. Is it a sword? Is it a condensed beam of light? I don’t know.” Kalos said whirl furiously rubbing his temples.

A loud explosion went off near the carriage, spooking the horses in the process. Luckily they’d been tied down by Raymond and Crimwal earlier.

“You must hurry, their battle is intensifying,” Eevana said as she comforted Estella, who in all honesty, wasn’t that frightened. What she was actually worried about was whether Kalos could crack the secret behind the Eexel.

Kalos then recalled something his father had said. Apparently, Eexels are the manifestation of a knights will.

Kalos thought about what he cared most about. His father, Estella, Even Crimwal and Eevana. Their adventure had just begun and yet he was struggling to figure out the machinations of a super sword.

Kalos then remembered the sword he saw in his dream. It looked strikingly similar to the one his father had summoned. Only it had a strange divine glow to it.

Kalos then realized that if he wanted to create his own Eexel, he’d have to borrow the design from his dreams.

Kalos closed his eyes.

“What are you doing?” Crimwal asked as another loud explosion went off outside.

“Kalos!” Crimwal yelled before Estella placed her hand on his arm.

“Wait. Look.” Estella said as particles of light and darkness gathered around him.

“What’s he doing?” Crimwal asked.

“I don't know,” Eevana said as yet another explosion went off outside the carriage.