“Huh?”

“Listen… Let’s hold off the past for now, okay?” Leva wiped off Sora’s tears.

“I know. It’s just that, we’ve not seen each other since I left.”

“Ah, I understand~ I feel the same way too, but now might not be the best time to reminisce. You’re with Vassal United, and I’m with Frostfall.”

Sora sniffled.

“Gods, you’re more of a crybaby than I am!”

“Says the one who’s also crying.” Sora retorted, placing both of his hands on the table as Leva wore her bonnet.

“Tch! I need to keep my attitude up!” She said as she fixed the bonnet over her head.

“…You have no qualms in killing now, don’t you?”

“Hmm, nope,” Leva said straightforwardly. She quickly regained her tough attitude, but Sora was still crawling to do it himself.

“You had to do it to survive, of course,” Sora said.

“Obviously~ The same goes to you, you know.”

“Hmm…” His mind slowly drifted into his thoughts again, but he managed to pull out of it, remembering the still-looming threat near them.

Stretching his body and fixing up his suit, Sora dismissed their small reunion.

“Well, better get back to it, then. I should patrol the place before anything catches us off-guard.” He departed for the stairs, but not before looking back at Leva, who stared at the small patch of skies visible from her view.

“Listen, Leva. I know this is an unexpected reunion for both of us, but I’m glad to see you alive and well.”

“Oh? So am I. Although, if it weren’t for coincidence, I would’ve blasted you. And I’d really regret it, of course.” She jested, but what she said was likely possible. If it weren’t for Shear’s intervention, the two would not have this chance to see each other and the two parties would have been on the opposite sides instead.

Sora chuckled. “Of course, you would. Then, I’ll take my leave.” He stepped up the stairs until his feet eventually were out of sight.

With Sora out of the picture, Leva let out a heavy sigh.

“Ahh~ That was a close one!” She exclaimed before departing the area herself.

On the other side of the tree, Wizbette sat with Mido, shaded by the small canopy it made with its thick leaves.

She used her ability, and the strings that manifested on her hands clutched into the trunk, eventually connecting to Mido. It pulsated an ethereal green before dissipating into his body, then the same cycle goes until the tree’s leaves dried and fell. Within minutes, the wood withered until it was nothing more than a dead tree. Ever so slightly, Wiz would groan from the strain she’s carrying, converting the plant’s life into tonal energy to heal Mido’s ill body.

The feat exhausted her too, and she slumped down together with him. Looking at Mido, Wiz saw the black veins on his neck and wrists start to stabilize and disappear. His pale, parched face reinvigorated as seconds passed by.

Seeing the results of her ability went smoothly, she released a sigh of relief.

“I hope this is enough…” She said, slowly taking Mido’s hand.

“Don’t push yourself too much, okay?”

“…I…won’t,” Mido whispered. “But when it comes to protecting you, Wiz? I’d… gladly take the risk.”

“You’re such a hard-headed man, aren’t you?”

“You used it again on me, huh? So, you’re the same.”

“You need it. And give thanks to the tree.” Wiz pointed at the now-withered tree they slumped their heads on. Mido propped his back up to it and scanned the area. Dried leaves scattered about as they were surrounded by a wall of balconies and a building going up three floors. At their front lies the closed gate, which they did not use because D-7 had to hurriedly enter through the back doors. The tree that once stood magnificently as the building’s natural décor became a bleak monument.

“Oh…”

“It’s not a risk. I took life from one and gave it to another. That is the nature of my ability. Naturally, I can also use mine to heal, but…”

“It’s a heavy risk for you. So, don’t do it, Wiz.”

“Mhmm…” She nodded, and slowly stood up, offering Mido a hand. “Now that you’re good, let’s notify the others. We still have a lot to do.”

“Right… I need to catch up—” As he stood up, Mido was suddenly hit by a stinging jolt of reflex. He never questioned why he got here with Wiz and the others.

Nervously, he grabbed the cloth of Wiz’s suit. “Uhm… How did I get here? All I remember is a blur, and…”

“Well, unexpectedly, the mercenaries that took you… gave you back. What’s more confusing is that they betrayed their client, and are now joining forces with us to eliminate them.”

Flashes of what transpired recently began to rush him…

Needless to say, that answer boggled his mind all the more.

“Ahh, I need a lot of catching up to do…”

“Welcome back, Mido. I see Wiz healed you just in time.”

“Captain.”

Everyone gathered in the small, candle-lit room. Mido was still wary, but as soon as he saw everyone, he felt relieved. He, however, did not take into account the new faces that occupied the room.

“These are Shear and Leva, the Frostfall mercs that both captured and ‘rescued’ you, to put it bluntly. I have only a hint of doubt, however, but they brought up a lot of information about the Void Vassal, and coincidentally, about you.”

The two looked at Mido, visibly stoic, yet cautious. Shear took it upon himself to speak.

“Mido?”

He nodded.

“You are the Flame of Faust, according to Aurelia.”

“I have heard both of that before…”

“Yes, because she explicitly stated that information. I have my reasons about changing our minds at the spur of the moment, but most of all, because I can’t let her have you.”

“You’re being awfully cryptic again, Shear.” Gen groaned.

“It’s not for us to debate at the moment. But we need to eliminate Aurelia here as soon as possible. I admit we were wrong to trust a Void Vassal in the first place, let alone a Faustian one at that.”

“True, so let’s stop yammering and do this plan.” Gris initiated. Seemingly like a signal, Fein immediately took the helm.

“Right. I have one question: Why are the riots so far from the center of Reiss? Assuming you collaborated with Pierre with this, you have some information.”

Leva shook her head. “We never collaborated with that noble. He only served as a distraction while we executed our plan…”

“Distraction?” Enna shrugged. “Isn’t this ploy too much for a ‘distraction’?”

“It was out of our jurisdiction. Pierre might have other plans leading to this shitshow.”

“It’s out of the question.” Fein retorted. “Back to it, however.”

“Right. We noticed that Pierre set up blockades around the plaza, about a few blocks from here. With that being said, we should expect lesser casualties when we deal with them.”

“Good. All I can worry more about is bigger casualties. On to our plan: I’m guessing that that fog in the plaza is thick. And there’s the problem of the shades and Woodcarver’s ability…”

“We should pluck out the red-hair first,” Leva suggested. “I’m seeing you have a sniper. I can handle her.”

“Can we count on you, though?” Gris warily asked. Leva did not faze, but her face says she’s doubted. Sora looked at her, however, and helped her ease herself.

“You can only count on my bullet, and my willingness to do so.”

“Hmm…” Gris harrumphed, but Sora nudged him.

“Give her some trust, Gris. They went this far; they’re hostile against Aurelia now.”

Gris gave the plan a hard, long thought, but eventually nodded to agree to her choice.

“Well, we have no choice now. Do your best then, little one.” His mood turned as quick as he pointed to Leva.

“nuh—I’m not little—”

“Leva.” Shear scolded her, making Leva recess back from the candle’s light.

Time passed by as they planned out their attack. Shear was to ‘cut’ a path into the fog, while the others repel the shades and Woodcarver’s ability. They will pose as a potential distraction while Leva and Sora pinpoint and take out Woodcarver from a distance. Pierre’s blockades ironically isolated their field of battle, letting them go all out without risk of outside casualties.

“…Where should I come in, then?” Mido asked as he was conscious about his weakened state becoming a detriment to their plan.

“You can be our trump card.” Shear suggested.

“Trump… card?” Everyone exclaimed. “How!?”

“It’ll be a gamble, but if you’re the Flame of Faust, your ability is enough to rival the sun. I’ve seen that ball of fire you hurled against Aurelia. It stunned and delayed her ability for a bit, but if that firepower is potent enough to stun her, we would have a chance of winning, with you taking the final blow against her.”

“But look at Mido’s state! He shouldn’t be fighting right now, and should not even come close to that Aurelia lady.” Enna barked.

“No, Enna. I’ll… I’ll do it.” Mido said with conviction.

“Mido…”

“I can’t sit back doing nothing, can I? I know you’ll want me to stay put, but I can’t just watch you all fight.”

“But your health, it’s not good at the moment…” Gris emphasized to him, concernedly.

“I need to push through this. I have… I have questions for Aurelia. About everything that happened... and I need to find it myself. Besides, it’s what we all want to find out--”

“And risk Wizbette’s life again? Mido—” Sora berated, trying to approach Mido, but he was interrupted by Wiz. This ushered in a reaction from Leva on the other side.

“Sora!”

“Sora. Stop. You’re not helping.” Fein lifted his word unto him, which he promptly obeyed.

“Just promise to me she will not go through the trouble of picking you back up again.” He let out a remark before calmly crossing his hands.

Mido fell silent.

“We will go through our plan. We can’t afford any delays now. Everyone!” Fein dismissed and they immediately addressed all of the people inside the room.

“We will apprehend these Vassals. As much as it pains me to say that this endeavor accosted a whole city, I will not let this loss be in vain. Therefore, I also expect cooperation from the Frostfall mercenaries that joined us—”

“We will be of assistance!” Leva and Shear proudly bowed.

“—and will keep to their word. Should you act otherwise, there will be repercussions.”

“You’re missing something captain. We don’t have a contract yet~” Leva insisted. Her demeanor made Sora sigh, not in disappointment, but on how independent she became, be it forced or not.

“Oh, such is the nature of mercenaries. Fine. We will strike a contract, but only after this crisis dies out.”

“Ahh~ Shear?” She leaned to Shear, looking for an answer.

“Agreed. We will go through the procedures. For now, let’s turn our heads to the matter at hand.”

“Understood. D-7. Frostfall. I do not take casualties for an answer. As always, stay cautious and true.”

“Understood, captain!”

“Right!”

As quickly as they got there, they took their breaths and relieved the room of their whereabouts. After minutes of preparation, they split into two groups: One to survey and snipe from the distance, and the other to brave the fog head-on.

Their equipment clattered as they walked the eerily empty street under the moon. Everywhere they see had a bleak, bluish tint to it. Sora and Leva eventually broke from the group via rooftop and scaled the skyline of the buildings with expertise. She lugged a sniper rifle she borrowed from D-7, as Sora trailed behind her.

“This is our first time working with each other, big bro!” Leva glanced back as they walked on the rooftops, occasionally shielding her bonnet from flying away from the night breeze.

“Yeah. I have to say, I’m quite nervous.”

“Huh? About what?”

“Actually, never mind…” Sora replied, trying to hide his shaking hand. Leva seemed to have noticed, so she stopped and assured Sora.

“Hey~ We’ll be okay. I’ll need to rely on your sight again. You know, like what I did when we snuck out at night?”

“On the orphanage, yes.” Sora breathed heavily. “Just, don’t slip again, like the clumsy girl you are.”

“Oi. We were kids back then.” Leva pouted.

“Exactly my point. Let’s go.” Sora regained his strength and quickly built up the pace. Eventually, the view of the huge obelisk that commanded much of the plaza came into their eyes.

“The fog went this far?” Sora observed the fog from the plaza, slithering through every nook and cranny of the empty streets below them like the vapor of cold-dry ice.

“The others…”

“Sora, let’s go.” Leva waved for him.

Meanwhile, the others that braved the fog stuck together like magnets. The fear of being jumped out of nowhere by Aurelia’s shades permeated their minds, along with the fog that seemed to crawl the walls and pavements.

“It’s cold… shit…” Enna shuddered, rubbing her shoulders briskly.

“Wait…” Shear signaled to stop and took a stance.

“Grantor, with the wind, harness the tones to dissipate the fog.”

Windshear: Vortex.

With a graceful circular slash, Shear managed to eliminate the fog in front of them with the wind. The fog did not just simply waft to the sides; it was seemingly erased from the area itself. It was to no avail, however, as the fog slowly came back to the hole Shear created. In response, an incessant, guttural howling, arguably coming from a human mouth, whispered from the fog.

“Quick, before the fog closes in.” Shear whispered and made a run for it. The echoes of their footsteps managed to attract the shades that dwelled within Aurelia’s ability: The otherworldly fog that now encompassed much of the district, extending from the plaza outwards.

“Everyone, just keep going forward!” Fein exclaimed, his footsteps slowly gained traction, and currents of electricity slowly gathered on his hands. Soon thereafter, the very shades that they wanted to avoid attacking them. Their ethereal bodies were only capable of clawing and grabbing, but they were fast, and quickly swarmed the group.

Mido shuddered, as he tried to use his ability, but Wiz saw his effort and swiftly placed his hand down.

“Mido! Not now!” She said before turning back to the shades, using only but their standard-issue sword to repel the swarm of shades that howled, barked, and screamed at them ominously.

It went on for well a few minutes before Shear noticed that the road they walked on changed from stone to marble.

“The plaza! It’s near!” Shear exclaimed, walking to the steps that lead to the plaza proper. One by one, they fended off the shades, until Gen was the last to step. No shades lashed out at them ever since. The silent echoes of gunfire from the distance around them were the only sound to let loose on their ears.

Until the sound of creaking and twisting took over.

“Shit! Get out—” Gen was hurled a few meters away by a thick log of warped wood. Luckily, his shield negated much of the damage. D-7 immediately went into formation, covering each one’s rear. Another tendril whiplashed them, but Shear countered in time with his ability, the wind blade he let out cut the wood in half.

“Noisy… So… Noisy.” An ominous voice came from the fog. It was everywhere.

“The lady… Is that her?” Fein asked, but Shear did not answer.

“Well, you came back with friends, mercenary?”

“I’ll end you here, Faustian!” He taunted, raising his sword against the fog.

“Hmm, scary~” She laughed. The fog seemed to retract to a singular point. It harmlessly passed through them, and when it cleared, it gave way to the ominous visage of the Lady Aurelia Vita. Her black dress waved elegantly underneath the clear night sky. Her face, stricken with differing emotions of irate lust, anger, and annoyance. Her dark humor was unceasing, as did the perpetual glow from her purple, serpentine eyes. Her most loyal retainer, the one who wanted to become a renowned wood sculptor, now serving the lady with her life on the line, Woodcarver, was beside her, warping the ornamental trees around the plaza to effectively seal them from the outside.

What made the scene horrifying, however, was the hulking mass of fog, slowly turning into a golem of horrors just behind Aurelia. It formed the image of a ghastly knight, or an amalgamation of one, wearing ebony armor, and slumping on one angle. It let down its left arm while the other carried a great sword that it slung lazily on its back. It was huge, accruing half the height of the building, towering over everyone else. The constant flow of vapor from the seams of its armor behaving like dry ice made it look like the knight was endlessly dripping ghostly ethereal blood.

It’s unmistakable that it’s Aurelia’s powerful shade as of yet; it bore the same stoic, ominous eyes that she had, only that its face was shrouded in darkness.

“T-That’s…” Gen shuddered. The sheer size of that knight’s sword alone will be the end of them.

“You had your last straw, Shear,” Woodcarver called out. “Now, meet your end.”

“Tch. You’ve actually opened up to a Faustian, red-hair…” Shear readied his sword. The others stood against their formidable opponents, each one readying their abilities.

“They’re Alto’s sworn enemies from across the sea. Sitting below her shade voluntarily is heresy to your kind.”

“Flame…” Aurelia shuddered, letting out a wicked, sultry voice that twisted Mido’s stomach, and unnerved the others. “I’ll need to forcibly take you, then.”

“Lady!” Mido called out, startling her in the process.

“I have a lot of questions about that ‘Flame of Faust’… but I guess you won’t listen, won’t you?”

She menacingly flaunted; her golem seemed to react to her movements. “I am inclined to answer all of your questions, Mido… If only you’d come to my midst willingly, hmm…”

“Aurelia Vita!” Fein acknowledged her in a rather hostile manner.

“Spineless mercs. Saying my name to these Vassal United…” She cursed silently.

“…You are marked as a rogue Vassal by the Vassal United and will be apprehended as such. Your co-conspirators will be dealt with the same.”

“Mmm… going to kill me? Ugh, you’re so straightforward. I know you lot are just killing rogues, but please. Have a little bit more of creativity~” Her personality degraded to that of a deranged woman, masked only by her smooth way of talking and her sophisticated visage.

“You perverted…” Gen cursed. “Just try and hurt them, bitch!”

“Bitch? Irrelevant.” She giggled before the golem leaped to Gen’s front and bashed his shield in the blink of an eye. He struggled greatly at the sheer force of its ethereal weapon as if it was made of the purest obsidian.

“Argh fuck!” As Gen groaned, his posture started to break. Gris managed to unload a hail of buckshot from his stored shotgun, piercing through the golem’s immense stature. Its poise did not even budge, however. Shear, drawing his sword, cut through the golem. It seemed to be effective as it made it flinch and back away to Aurelia’s midst.

She pulled out a crystal geode-like orb from her dress. It was perfectly fit to her hand as she held it, its core seemed to pulsate as if it was a heart beating.

“Let the void coalesce, and send a beacon to the skies. Alert everyone, and make them come to me.”

Lifting her hand to the overcast sky, Aurelia pulsated a ball of dark energy straight to the clouds. It made a tether of swirling tendrils of tonal energy as it permeated to the void of night, pulsating a cacophonic signal of some sort every second.

“Now, this is a battle of attrition.” She raised both hands beside her, summoning more shades. She had the stance of a necromancer raising an army of the dead. The shades that materialized from the fog were like ghouls; bereft of self, rampantly screaming and howling against her opponents’ presence.

“Woodcarver! Don’t let them get away!” She commanded.

“Of course, milady!” She nodded, slithering wood to their vicinity, and fortifying the already-built wall of warped wood.

“Everyone!” Fein yelled as they were bombarded by their ethereal enemies. “Brace yourselves!!”

The carnage did not stop for Reiss. On the first day, the riots happened. When the sun was at its peak, so did the height of the damage. When dusk settled, hope finally came. But it was not to last, as the uncovering of a mask led to the Flame’s discovery, and in consequence, those that stood with him were dragged to this rabbit hole.

To attest the Flame’s strength, it must venture into the dark void itself. A torch will be in its brightest below the darkest of nights. But what he sees there is for his own interpretation. Will it be the key to his boggled memory, or will it be nothing, just like the void itself?

No, I will not yield. She might have the answer to my questions.

Why… Why… Why was I the only one left, and why does she call me, the ‘Flame of Faust?’

I must see for myself. And to reach it, I must fight.