"You really are a handful, you know."

Tsukihime's emerald eyes slowly opened, hearing a girl's voice just above her. She was resting on a person's lap, her head cushioned by plump thighs. They seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, an endless plain, with only the faint light of a large crescent moon illuminating the area. The only other living thing in there was a tree in which they rested upon.

Her mind was still in a state of confusion, completely unaware on how she got into that place. The last thing she remembered was the scene at the end of the battle, where she desperately tried to get ahold of the boy. Suddenly recollecting all that has happened, her senses got ahold of her whole system and she quickly tried to stand up, startling the girl.

"Wh---where am I?" she asked, her head turning left and right to observe the area.

"Do not worry, you are safe. This is your subconscious, where I patiently waited for this moment."

The girl's voice was quite similar to hers, a bit on the soprano side. In fact, her whole person was an almost striking resemblance to Tsukihime, with the exception of the hair, which was light green instead of golden yellow, and her irises, which reflected a bluish hue. She wore minimal clothing, a simple white cloak, to cover herself.

"It seems that your head still needs time to recover, so I'll just introduce myself again. I am---"

"No need, our Goddess. I already remember almost everything," Tsukihime promptly interrupted the girl, which did not take it lightly. The girl pouted, and proceeded to pinch Tsukihime's cheeks.

"Don't call me Goddess, idiot!" she grudgingly told Tsukihime as she continued with her pinches.

As Tsukihime felt more pain, though, the surroundings began to dramatically shift, revealing polygons at every corner of the space that they were in, akin to that of a glitch in a video game.

"Whoops, I overdid it. You almost slipped out into reality on that one."

Now that she saw the shift, her sense of touch began to pick up the bizarreness of the space. It felt nothing like the real world, something that bothered her from the moment she woke up.

"Is this really my subconscious? It looks...too real," she spoke, describing what she was seeing with her eyes.

Having no idea on how to explain the mechanics behind the space in a simpler way, the girl scratched her head and nodded.

"Well, this is YOUR subconscious. The Crescent Sonata just processes and emulates what you observe out there," the girl answered, giving emphasis to the fact that the space was Tsukihime's.

Out of curiosity, she looked at her right arm, and found out that the bracelet was not there, instead it was replaced by a holographic replica of itself. She still felt the flow of misteria from outside her body through the Sonata, with an added effect of her actually seeing it streaming to her arm via the energy lines that periodically glittered with misteria.

All of a sudden, the girl clapped her hands, breaking the ice between the two.

"Alright, enough with the chitchat. We still have a business to attend to. Come walk with me for a while, we have a lot to talk about."

Having established the state of her being, Tsukihime took the girl's hand and walked with her into the seemingly eternal plains of her existence.

***

"It's been a week since they left. Where could they be?"

Hailey, Ren's mother, was worried sick since the two did not return on the time that they were supposed to come back home. Because her husband Arthur got sick, they were forced to let the two children hunt for the family. The hunting grounds was a two day journey by the Kettenkrad, so she expected them to be back on the fifth day, yet both Ren and Tsukihime were nowhere to be found.

"Now, now, my dear, you worry too much. They're grownups now, one way or another, they will have to learn how to fend for themselves," he tried to at least calm Hailey's mind.

"I guess even a doctor like me is not immune to sickness."

As he spoke, Hailey placed a wet towel on his forehead to try to lower his body temperature.

"Thanks, Hai. I do feel a bit okay now, though. Maybe I can stand up and walk tomorrow."

Arthur had contracted a flu, making his body weak and causing him to have a high fever for several days. Thanks to him being a doctor, though, and with the help of his wife, his recovery was quicker than usual. But because of this, he could not attend to any patients, and in a place where sickness spread like wildfire and him being only one of the four doctors in the city, it really gave the place a hard time to combat the epidemic.

"I went to the market just now, flu medicine prices are still on the rise. This epidemic got really out of hand," she remarked while holding his hand.

"Well, what can we do? The disease came out of nowhere, and the supply for the cure was not enough for this many patients. First, the Catastrophe, then this. Is God really that mad at us?"

That epiphany made Hailey think for a moment. The Luna Catastrophe caused a planetary-scale dimension shift that left the Earth in a state of total chaos, wiping out almost half of the world's total population and majority of the mankind's civilization along with it. But life went on for the survivors, rebuilding what they could on the remains of a once thriving civilization. Several cities have been built, Axria being one of them. Located at what used to be Manchester in the island of Great Britain, this city became prominent for its alacrity crystals which were used for the misteria engines that kept the city running.

What made matters worse were the two other civilizations which were in a constant verge of war, the Holy Empire of Paladinus and the Argento Collective. Just years after the Earth had healed itself from the damage of the Catastrophe, they began to occupy the planet, and eventually settled themselves with colonies that they were more than willing to fight for against each other. These colonies were widespread, but what was known was that the east side of the Eurasia continent and the north side of Africa were predominantly occupied by the Paladinians, while the rest was Argento's. Nothing was heard of from the Americas since it was cut-off from the rest of the world for unknown reasons.

While the past leadership of Paladinus' over Axria was not of any inconvinence for them, the current one, Plio Cruxia, was a harsh and greedy ruler. Ever since he replaced the former magistrate of the Holy Emperor for Axria, he imposed rules which made life harder for the Axrians. Higher tax rates and restrictions over businesses and resources has made the former blooming economy of the city fell down the drain. Adding insult to injury was the fact that he does not care at all about the people of the city, instead indulging himself to a life of party and the then newly discovered substances known to the past as drugs, which began to spread within the city itself.

The problem of drugs and the flue epidemic caused major chaos to Axria, either making the residents addicts or victims to the deadly disease.

Arthur, along with his three comrades, did all that he could to alleviate the suffering of the people, and in the process has contracted the disease himself, and the attack was so severe he had his wife put him on total quarantine to prevent her from getting the sickness from himself.

And now he was almost healed, and ready once more to help those in need of his help, but just like Hailey, he was also worried about the state of the two children who they sent to hunt up north the island, although he was also confident that they could handle themselves on the journey, knowing that he taught them everything they needed to know.

***

Tsukihime’s consciousness slowly went back to her, as at is did, she felt something wet and tingly touching her cheek. It persisted for quite some time, enough for her to open her eyes. Her vision, blurry at first, became clearer on each passing second. The scenery around her was dark, walls of rock surrounded her once again, making it hard for her to discern any distinguishing features. Her head, while still aching, was functional, enough to mover her limbs and eyes. The place was quiet, except for the occasional crackle of a bonfire, which reminded her of the night she and her stepbrother spent the snowstorm inside the cave, her discovery and the battle that they faced with the elusive Fenrir.

The tingling sensation continued, making her feel uncomfortable. With a little effort, she turned her head around, and then was quite surprised at her discovery.

It was a small Fenrir. It had almost all the features of the Fenrir that she and Ren encountered, with the exception of a strange marking on its forehead that was shaped like a cross. It had fluffy gray fur and small ears, a pair of black eyes with a greenish hue, and soft pinkish paws. As she lifted herself up to a sitting position, the little wolf backed down for a bit and began growling at her, as if it was trying to assert its dominance. Instead of showing fear, though, she did the complete opposite and slowly moved her right hand towards it, making the Fenrir gnarl even louder and even flash its teeth. For a moment, she pulled her hand away, deep in thought if what she was doing at that moment was a good idea, but then she reached out once more, determined to at least make contact with the creature. Seemingly as response to her, and sensing no hostility from the girl, it cautiously approached her hand, its snout smelled her scent. Finally, it let itself be petted by her, and judging by its reaction, the little one instantly liked her gentle touch.

“You’re pretty gentle for a Fenrir. Maybe I should keep you as my pet,” she playfully said as she caressed her fingers on its fluffy fur.

Out of nowhere, a deep, familiar voice broke the silence around the cave, making the little Fenrir jump on its feet.

“So, you already befriended my son. As expected of humans like you,” the alpha Fenrir said in a rather calm tone, but its mere presence caused Tsukihime to instinctively stand ready, although her body was still weak.

“Oh, calm down, will you? We do NOT eat humans. Besides, why would I harm the one who helped us defeated that gigantic Celentrepoda?”

“Celentrepoda?” the girl asked, getting back to sitting position.

“Yes, that thing... It was an oddity of its own,” it answered, laying itself down at the entrance of the cave.

“You see, their kind should not even grow that large. I suspect that this one used your friend here as its source of misteria.”

The creature pointed its snout towards the right of Tsukihime, and there she saw the person it was talking about, coat and all. He laid flat on pieces of cloth that they stored at the Kettenkrad for camping. His breating was stable, and nothing else seemed wrong, with the exception of slight burn marks on his right hand.

“What...happened to his hand?” she asked.

“Ah, that. We do not know. When we removed the gauntlet, it was there, still smoldering.”

“Is that so,” the girl sighed. At that moment, she felt something on her back that she did not notice until then.

“Oh, right. You also had one on your back. The same pattern,” the Fenrir answered.

Tsuki reached out her left shoulder, where she felt the sensation, and as it said, the burn marks were there, although hers were in a circular manner.

“What... is this?”

The Fenrir shook its head, not knowing what to say to the girl.

“You’re the first humans that we have encountered for over a hundred and fifty years now. Unlike your kind, our ancestors’ knowledge of the past does not go through the generation, especially now that we were far away from one another. Our tribes, who were once prosperous, were now living in separate groups due to disputes. I dream of bringing back our lost tribe, but as I grow older, that dream is getting far and far away from my sight.”

It was so into talking that it did not notice Tsukihime crawling towards it, and when it finally got its senses back, it was quite surprised by the girl's presence.

“Wha---what’s with you all of a sudden? St---stay away, you... you fien---”

Its threats were cut short by the girl suddenly stroking its fur.

“So fluffy. Ah, this is heaven!” she exclaimed as she continued to stroke, making the Fenrir feel even more awkward.

It tried to brush her away with its snout, but seeing that the girl slowly went to back to sleep, it could not help but to let her stay beside him. At that moment, the divide that it felt when they first encountered each other withered away, as if she became a part of his tribe. The peacefulness of the girl’s touch calmed it down, like the soft, calming winds of spring.

Motionless, he let the girl sleep on its fur, whilst whispering something on itself.

"So this is how a human's touch feel. Not bad at all."

***

Situated at the center of Axria, the administration building was built within the remains of a pre-Catastrophe building. It was painted with a greyish hue, and was built with concrete and steel. Although not the highest among the building ruins, its refurbishment made it stand out compared to the rest of the cityscape. Trees surrounded the area around it, further improving its visual appeal. It has been the home of the magistrates sent by the Holy Emperor of Paladinus, with the intention of overseeing the resource collection and alacrity crystal mining.

In stark contrast on the outside appearance of the building, though, the interior was a disorderly mess. There were all kinds of trash and drug packets everywhere, fouling the air that stayed inside its closed doors. A lone person was laying down on the hallway's floor, almost buck naked. He was also a mess, his whitish hair and tanned, slightly chubby body covered with wet ash and dust, with bruises all around his body, suggesting that he had a fight the night before.

The massive doors of the building opened, finally releasing all the stench that was enclosed inside of it. The woman covered her nose and mouth, the foul smell just too much for her to bear. She walked inside, along with her a few of janitors who were assigned to clean the place. As they started their jobs, the woman in suit tried to wake the man up by kicking its left arm.

"Hey, its morning already."

She always hated the day after Plio's chaos of a recreation, not only because of his attitude, but also due to the mess that she had to deal with.

But that time was different.

Seeing that the man would not move an inch, she grabbed her weapon, a silvery staff with a large red alacrity crystal at the top, and pointed it towards him as a sign of threat.

"You have to wake up now," she begrudgingly said, poking Plio's body with the cold silver.

The magistrate groaned, finally opening his eyes on reality.

"What? Can't you see I'm still sleeping?"

That phrase made her anger go through the roof, snapping her whole patience in half. With a considerable amount of force, she swung her staff towards Plio. Realizing the attack, though, the man rolled himself away from her, getting on his feet.

"You better get yourself all washed up before I end your life," she continued to threaten him.

Hearing those words, Plio laughed hard, holding himself back so that he could stand.

"I know you would not do that, Margaret. Better remember who's holding the real leash here," he retorted, his brown eyes now looked at her in rage.

"So, what's with you being all serious and all? Is the end of this godforsaken planet near or what?"

Regaining her composure, Margaret put the staff back on its place, and then picked up her glasspad, finally showing Plio her reasons.

"This."

Written on the glasspad was an announcement, with it a seal of the Council of the Twelve imprinted at the bottom left. After reading the document, his mood changed once more.

"Great, another routine check. This is just great. Of all the times that they have to visit."

He walked towards the bath upstairs, but not without giving Margaret a grim order.

"Margaret, get the troops to clean up the mess on the city. I don't want any strays on the streets when he arrives, do you understand that?"

"Yes sir, although that also means that you'll have to be removed too," she answered with defiance, which made Plio smile a bit.

"Seems that you already got me. Go on, then, there's no time to waste."

As the magistrate climbed the stairs, she walked towards the door while rereading the contents of the announcement, mainly the phrase at the start.

A representative of the Twelve will arrive at the city of Axria in two days. Your status as a magistrate will be on the line, so show us what you have done for the empire.