Jerius stirred. A sharp pain punctuated his head as more consciousness came back. He surveyed around the tiny cell, built with a pulsating circle of sigils engraved into the stone floor.

How long has it been?" He thought.

The stone wall around him, topped with an oppressive and low ceiling, was inscribed with powerful signs that sealed his magic. His arms were shackled as well with anti-magic cuffs. This space felt almost too comfortable for him.

Bitterness in his mouth, Jerius called out to the broad silhouette of a person sitting on a small stool, just behind where the dim light could shine. "You got your wish after all. A Noxarian behind your prison bars."

"Don't speak foul of what you do not understand," Fermand leaned forward, the dim light from above casting uneven shadows on her strong features that gave her a countenance even more fearful to behold.

Jerius gritted his teeth. "How long was I here?"

"Two days."

"Where's Mirayoung?"

"She's investigating something for me. Don't worry. It's for the purpose you came," Fermand said. "You got what you want."

"To hunt the wraith? You sure know how to delegate," Jerius tilted his head, so the faint light from outside the bars could shine on his left eye. There was a fiery hint to it.

"Now," Fermand said, ignoring him. "Mirayoung made me promise a few things. No truth serum. No torture‒what does she think I am? But I do have a few questions about the man you're pursuing."

"So you're not going to kill me?" Jerius asked.

"No," Fermand said. "But don't make me change my mind."

There was an edge in her voice that told Jerius she meant it.

Jerius said, his tone biting. "I would prefer a comfortable space with warm light and a pretty face to look at before talking but shoot your questions away."

If Fermand were affected, she showed no signs of that.

"This will feel slightly more comfortable than the Ritual of Intent...hopefully," Fermand extracted a few sapphire orbs that glowed blue in the dim light.

"I feel like a lab rat for your dissection and abuse," Jerius could see tiny spirits wisping around them.

"Where were you when Aderis killed Nighvicto VII?" she said. "Now, if you want us to help you fight Aderis, answer my question. I will not ask twice."

Jerius stifled the growing emotions he had in him, and the distaste of being imprisoned. The last he was stuck behind cold steel, Nox fell. For all their disagreements, Fermand aligned with him in intent and stood on the same side against Aderis. Being cagey or defiant would hurt his cause.

"Imprisoned. Aderis knew I would be an obstacle. He pinned the false claim of rebellion on me when King Nighvicto VII was down with an illness and unable to attend court," he said, which trailed off into a mutter. "If I had known, I would truly rebel at that point. Zen wasn't around, so Aderis held complete sway over Box as the grand advisor."

"So imprisoned within Nox? That's close enough," Fermand said, musing. "The distance isn't far. I want you to, in your mind's eye, trace the path from the prison cell to the king's private chamber."

"...where he drew his last breath." Jerius furrowed his brows, checked himself and acquiesced to the request. He inhaled and closed his eyes. The rough stone floor and the anti-magic cuffs eased his visualisation as he traversed through his memories, back to the original prison cell in Nox.

Outside, Fermand crushed the orbs and the tiny spirits spread around Jerius as a cacophony of light burst forth from Jerius' eyes, much to his oblivion. Then she watched as his memories unfolded.

In his mind's eye, he imagined no wall, door or gate could block him. Like a spirit, he soared out of the dungeon deep within the army barrack then glided down through the Are Marketplace, the oldest spot of the city where age reeked the strongest. But it was also his favourite spot. It was where Lady Lyvia took him for a stroll after every lesson till he was past twelve in age.

In his mind's eye, as he passed the marketplace full of people, carts of food, vegetables and accessories, he picked up speed and sped towards the castle. He went past the big house at the end of Are Marketplace where the young widow Alyssa, who always wore a high-necked dress lived alone and whom Jerius had a crush on when he was younger.

Then an image of the long-haired Alyssa lying in a pool of her blood, with her broken body and neck, punctuated the visuals. Jerius gasped in pain. "W-what is that?"

"The spell's working. Now...focus," Fermand said, her voice stern. Her fingers motioned, and the spirits followed, circling more intensely around Jerius.

Jerius steadied his breath, a lone tear threatening to break at the corner of his left eye. He brought back clarity to the mind's eye as he sped again, towards the castle. Here he lost control, swallowed instead by the memories, and the threads of the past beyond his memories that bubbled to the surface.

"Now you can relax," Fermand said. "Follow along. We'll learn some truth here."

His mind's eye, now free of his control, carried him deep within the castle, past the guards at the hallway, the library of massive tomes that Lady Lyvia made her home in the day, and into the private chamber of King Nighvicto VII. Or as some might call him more personally, Arcturius Nighvicto. His eyes met with those of the sandy-haired man, who sat weakly against the side wall of his bed. Gone were his battle-scarred breastplate, armor and the curvy black sword that went by the name Vece, forged in the heart of a volcano.

Jerius instinctively felt the need to bow and greet, but then realized he was still within what seemed more like a dreamscape now.

The man raised his head up weakly, his forehead wrinkled. "Is this worth it?"

His mind's eye could not turn but Jerius reeled, knowing the figure on the other end. He felt red-hot anger rising, and he imagined a rod of pure energy piercing through that figure in his chest.

The dreamscape started to blur.

"Calm down! You're disrupting the magic."

He heard Fermand's shout and knew the importance.

"It's worth it."

"The Ritual of Keys...You don't know if that will bring them back," the king said from his bed, his voice raised.

"...showed me the future," Aderis replied. He tried to say a name but couldn't, as though bound by a spell. "I believed...words."

"Enara and Nydia...I miss them too. And I lost many loved ones too over the years. Zephyr died in my hands. If I were less foolish...less ambitious, she might still be here."

"We all make mistakes," Aderis said wistfully. "I once thought the way forward was binary. We either dwell in our past mistakes and live in our memories, or move on to forge newer memories. But...showed me a third path, a path that lies hidden and beneath the shackles of the world. Shackles that I'm ready to tear asunder to free us all."

"Free us all from death by killing people and destroying cities? You seek a method that is irony in masquerade. That's not the Aderis I know through the decades. Not the Aderis who told me to reshape Nox's destiny as one that protects instead of one that conquers."

"The end justifies the means. I thought you of all people would understand that. You...who would take the greatest risks if they give the highest rewards. The making of Zenvix for once after Zephyr's passing, proves my point. The cruelties you inflicted on him so that he can protect Nox and her people. The difference between that act and mine is merely the scale. You help only Nox, while I the whole world."

"You're pursuing an atrocity that will break the natural order of the world...it will not bring your loved ones back," the king said, coughing as blood trickled from the corner of his lips.

"Don't be stubborn," Aderis said. "Say the oath and swear your service to this cause, and I will grant you the antidote. The poison is on the final leg. I need you, Arcturius."

He pointed at a gilt frame hanging by the window overlooking the courtyard, within which was a painting of children overlooking a glistening lake.

"That painting came from you after we fought off those painted-face bastards from the Great Beyond. You were the first to let down the pride of a young man and told me to build a future where our children can live in peace, never knowing the horrors of war. You were why I renounced our warlike traditions."

"We fought off the Yandi pirates for bandits from our backyard to loot my home, raped and killed Enara and Lisara."

The figure's voice continued, trembling. "I thought castrating them and boiling their blood were enough, but that won't bring them back. The love of my life...my daughter...my life ended that day, until I met...and until I knew the Ritual of Keys. Now old friend, will you join me? This is the last time I'm asking."

"You convinced him as well, didn't you? This poison has his signature on it."

"The Master of Poison was the brother of Enara Ulius. He needs no convincing. I'm disappointed in you, old friend, but take care for now. I'll bring you back to life once the shackles are broken."

The king sighed. "They will stand in your way."

"I'll bring them back too."

Then the dreamscape faded away as Jerius felt he was pulled through a tiny hole into reality again. The corporeal space around him wobbled as he reoriented himself, seeing as the last of the wisps went out and his eyes met Fermand's.