So Braunah's suspicions were well-founded. The she-wolf, before parting, warned them about what she had perceived of Blanche during their time together. Although each went their own way, the pack would keep an eye on her from a safe distance to find out whether or not her doubts about the other Signer were valid or not.

"Now you're talking? Really, Kali?" Blanche exclaimed angrily, looking at the fairy. "Wasn't there a better time?"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic, Blanche. They've already figured it out, and what's the difference if I talk?" Kali said.

"You're not sensitive at all, are you?" Nero said, ready for action. If that elthean didn't give him good vibes before, now less so.

"We're not so helpless. Do you want to see our true power?" Kali smiled with a chuckle.

Which was not a question they were looking for an answer to. Fairy and Signer exchanged glances and, as soon as the light enveloped Ark, held their breath as he evolved. The small seven-tailed fox disappeared before their eyes, changing his appearance and taking on a more streamlined one. Being the same height as Finnian or Blanche, the arms and legs were muscular and defined, retaining that animalistic touch they saw before. His intense red eyes never left their gaze, but what had haunted him most in his nightmares were those two blades attached to his arms.

Before the fight began, his friends made their appearance. Aer, Rune and Leith landed in front of them, creating smoke and causing the ground to shake. It was enough to see the four of them at their Champion level (angel, eagle, dragon and wolf) to understand what his vision had been warning him about.

"Will you fight me, Finnian? Even when we're looking for the same thing?" Blanche said with a smirk.

"Don't play innocent. That winged critter was the first to threaten us," Nero said.

"Relax, little wolf. You're not fooling anyone with that look. You're a softie on the inside; that's why no one wanted you in the pack," Blanche mocked, making Nero growl.

"Did you expect it to be different?" Finnian said.

"Because of our friendship? Of course. I never wanted to hurt you, Finnian. I thought we'd be united in this," Blanche admitted.

Friendship? What lie was that? They had never been friends, not really, so her words made him laugh nervously, a gesture that did not go down well with her.

"United? Just like what you tried to do to us in High Sword?" Aer exclaimed.

"Or at the Esandil River?" Rune added.

Not a day had passed in Elthea when she went after them. Even after leaving Ellery Forest, she didn't hesitate to pursue them. Who could trust someone like that?

"Oh, come on! You're not still mad about that, are you?" Blanche said with fake disappointment.

"We'll just look at the facts. You've wanted to finish us off from the beginning," Finnian said.

"True," Blanche smiled, shrugging her shoulders. "But as soon as I found out who you were, I decided to change my plan. You can't start something new without breaking a couple of things first."

"Is that you talking, or is that winged dwarf manipulating you?" Finnian said.

"Stupid," Blanche said, holding out an arm so that none of her eltheans would intervene.

"Wow. Are you so easily offended that you start with insults? Is that all you have to offer?" Finnian said with sarcasm. "Why don't you leave your plans of conquest, and let's remain friends?"

"You're always so sarcastic, but you didn't realize it until now. Not as smart as you think you are, eh, Finnian?"

"See, that's always been your weakness," Finnian said, being the one who was smiling this time. "You want to look above everyone else because you know, deep down, you're not worth it."

If it seemed supernatural before, the Signer's calm changed suddenly as soon as he finished his sentence. It was a mixture of anger and hatred that events were not developing as Blanche preferred. It was not the first time Finnian had to see her like that, even if the situation was different.

"So strong and naive, Finnian, yet you want to play the hero. Don't you think all those books have filled your head with nonsense?" Blanche mocked again.

His partners' tension was rising. Ark or Kali had not acted or intervened did not keep them out of danger. They were planning something, especially if they decided to show up at a time like this.

"Do you want to take that step? Against me?" Blanche said, letting out an unpleasant laugh, and then her face turned to stone, exuding only one emotion: hate. "You'll regret it."

Roaring with eagerness, Leith was the first to intervene to launch a flare. Ark stepped in, blocking it with his blades and dispelling the fire with a gesture in the air. As soon as Blanche snapped her fingers, Ark hit Leith twice. First in the torso and the second in the head, leaving her on the ground, immobile and stunned. As soon as he feinted to bring one of his blades close to her neck, the other elthean intervened. Rune's speed was superior on this occasion, blindsiding Ark just as he put distance between the two groups.

"If you want to do it hard, so be it," Blanche said.

"Titanus, can't you see you're always the one who starts trouble?" Finnian said, letting out a groan.

Despite Nero's reluctance to let him off, Finnian understood the danger he was exposing himself to enough to give her what she intended. An opportunity for Ark to be close to him. And it was enough to see the next few seconds for him to tense up. They knew part of that elthean's abilities, so a close-range confrontation was their best and worst option at the same time.

Channelling his energy, he tried to strengthen them with magic. Perhaps they had gone a week without sleep or food, and even if they didn't feel it, they still had the strength to give them war. Blanche didn't need to order Ark to continue, nor did he. She may not have looked as lovely as before, but it was enough to see that faith in her and the elthean's determination to understand why they were together.

"You've never felt Elthea's call, have you, Finnian? I've known for years that such a world existed, but my parents didn't believe me."

"Are you going to tell me how sad you were at home? That no one understood you or fit in?" Finnian said. "Save it. I know that story. It's part of mine and many others until only some value what we have."

"So you know what we can change here? We are Signers, Finnian. We have the power to shape this world as we wish. I had my doubts at first, but we can stay here Finnian. We don't need to go back to Earth."

"Don't you realize how boring you are by repeating yourself?"

"I'm nobody there. I'll never go back to that. And nothing will control me," Blanche said sternly and without flinching. "With Ark by my side, there'll be no stopping me, not even you."

A gap opened up in that fight in which no elthean could afford the luxury of holding back. Ark's strength was increased, managing to push his friends away to go straight at him. Then, Finnian made a blow with his staff, generating an air block that managed to repel him.

"Why do you think I won't stop you? Did you only join us to try to take me to your side?" Finnian said.

"Isn't it obvious? We wanted to see what you were capable of. A Signer like you breaks all the rules," Kali said.

"I want you by my side, Finnian. No one can stand up to us with you," Blanche said.

"And how do you intend to do that? I doubt that holding hands will solve everything."

"Don't you ever get tired of being so sarcastic? Or is it a device you have to hide how terrified you are?"

The fight may have been broken up, though both sides had shown what they were capable of. Nor could one easily forget what Ark accomplished when he warmed up. Blanche waited for an answer, but when she saw that Finnian did not accept her proposal, she shook her head and sighed.

"Everything would be easier, and without you... " Blanche smiled, "I'll have to cause as much imbalance as possible to change Elthea. And I need that egg you're hiding so much."

"You ask me, I refuse... We can go on like this all night long and never get anywhere."

"You'll be a hero to the end, won't you?" Blanche said, looking at him with mock pity. "You could be a god, and you limit yourself to that."

"A god?" Finnian repeated, laughing at such nonsense.

"Your power reaches everyone. You decide who you give it to. They follow you without question. What I wouldn't give for something like that, even if you don't know how to use it yet."

"Have you lost your mind?" Aer exclaimed, tired of all this talk.

Then Ark moved again, but this time much faster than before. He sent Aer flying quite a few meters away from them, while Rune, enraged, tried to attack him and ended up on the ground. She pushed the same with Leith and reunited with Aer in the distance. Nero being the last one left standing, tried to regain ground to suffer like no other as he received quick and continuous blows, falling back in level instantly.

"I told you," Blanche smiled, looking at the little wolf. "Now you're soft inside and out."

And with several flashes of light, the rest of his friends changed appearance after all the damage they received.

"You'll be able to do this and much more once we teach you, won't you, Kali?"

"You'll just have to follow us to change the rules this way and do what we want," the fairy assured him.

"Wake up!" Finnian shouted.

"We are Signers, Finnian. Chosen by this world with powers that others do not possess," Blanche reminded him. "Do you think we came to fix their problems? We could stay here as long as we wanted. And I know you would want to stay with them."

"Please, say something!"

His panicked scream might have reached them, but they were too stunned to recover, although his fear was for what might happen to them if he continued to refuse. Aer was trying to stay on his feet while Leith tried to get back to him. And there was Blanche, smiling and enjoying the victory. She insisted too much on needing him despite the power she already possessed. Because she was missing something, and that was him. Then, someone else joined the fight.

He was similar in height to Anwil but different in appearance; his white hair lay loose with a few braids. His purple tattoos shone both on his fair-skinned face and his muscular arms that held a bow. He wore tight-fitting dark blue armour and stepped between the two, launching an arrow at Ark that for once knocked him back.

"The Silver Orchid Guardian? You took a long time to show your face. What do you think, Kali?" Blanche said.

"There's a different energy in this one. It won't make any difference, though," the fairy assured her.

Instead of allowing Ark to deal with him, Kali approached the other Guardian, surrounding him in a stream of purple lightning. His bow ended up on the ground, and he let out a piercing scream in pain.

"Hey, the fight's not against him," Finnian interjected, using his staff to control the air, though his attack did not alter the tiny elthean's power.

"I'm going to do something I've wanted to do for days," Blanche said.

Reddish-purple energy emanated from her hands, and, after a few words that Finnian didn't hear, his staff ended up wrapped in it and went straight towards Blanche, who reduced it to ashes in a matter of seconds.

"How annoying it was to watch you practice with pride every day," Blanche said, rolling her eyes.

"You will pay for what you have done," the Guardian said between grunts and gasps.

"Maybe, but you won't be here to see it," Blanche said. "When we're done with this place, they won't need another Guardian."

Blanche's words were beyond insane. She had no problems causing as much chaos as she wanted to get what she wanted. If she seemed like a capricious girl in her world, power had corrupted her. Joining the fairy, she and Ark intended to finish off the Guardian instantly, joining forces in that magic beam. Or so it was until he stepped in, stretching his arms out in front of him.

He barely had time to raise a shield, an ephemeral one, so that electric magic would not disintegrate his hands. Not even Finnian could move, not while he was using everything he had so that nobody would be destroyed.

"I will never let you. This fight is not over!"

New energy screamed within him, making his words sound like a true roar. A ghostly shield surrounded his hands, causing them to glow and release all the power his body was capable of storing. That clash had been the last one they had, and when the strength of both of them was nullified, neither Blanche, Ark, nor Kali was there. They had fled, but it would not be the last time they would see each other.