“Nox…”

Gaius repeated the name with a snarl, as the azure rift closed behind him. The makeshift fortress had been ruined, but at least the Harvesters had managed to buy enough time for the camp, and then escape successfully. Most of them, at any rate. Those that had fallen were in the bellies of the snowpyre horde that was glaring at him right now.

The wooden figurine he was carrying around had suddenly come to life halfway through the battle, informing him that Nakama had been teleported into the Library of Ancients. Paragon…no, Demigod Nox had decided to enter the battle raging above Heritage Basestation, and the infrastructure of the camp had been the first casualty of collateral damage.

After killing all the Paragons that were attacking the camp, the Last Star had, for some reason, taken it upon himself to break whatever alliance Ark City and the South had hammered out after the auction by attempting to stop the beastfolk’s flight to the Wildlands.

Nexus wasn’t too sure what happened next, but the beastfolk had managed to flee. Another Demigod had intervened to defend the camp, vanishing a few moments after the remnants of the beastfolk in the Five Lands escaped.

It sounded a tad unbelievable, but the small boy had grown used to events like these — which were probably part of plans that beings like Demigods or the great gods themselves had dreamt up. But none of these mattered to Gaius. All that he cared about now was Nakama’s safety, and then getting to her.

His palm opened, and broken fragments of a cube fell from it. Now that the little girl had been transported to the Library, there was little reason for him to retreat with the others into the camp. Snowpyres howled as Gaius took to the skies. The boy hadn’t been able to make use of his overwhelming mobility when defending the entrance of the fortress, but now that he had nothing to defend, the little boy was more than happy to leave.

Taking a few measured steps behind, Gaius picked up an unconscious Isabelle that he’d knocked out personally and placed her over his shoulder. The monsters glared at him, and as one, split up to form a single clear route of escape.

Unlike the snowpyres that had surrounded the Library weeks ago, the horde here was less disciplined, were more intelligent and most importantly, had more common sense. Gaius had tried to recreate the wall of fire he used weeks ago, but all that he got was a bunch of odd looks from everyone present…monsters included.

He cast another glance at the snowpyres below him, who were diligently tearing down the new fortress, and flew towards the Library of Ancients. Isabelle’s body flopped helplessly — she’d wanted to help when the monsters came attacking, but she was in no state to move. So the boy did what any self-respecting assassin who lived by a dubious code of honour would do, and knocked her out.

It was a forlorn sight, as the monsters continued to systematically tear down the object of Nalus’ and Winston’s first command.

“You’re planning on bringing this kid to the Library?” Nexus popped a head out and asked.

“We need someone who has general knowledge of the Five Lands, and since she looks rather important, we might be able to learn more from her,” replied Gaius. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem, would it?”

“Of course not.” The wooden sculpture nodded its finely-carved head sagely. “She’s never going to escape from my watch.”

“And besides, we need a maidservant to teach Nakama stuff.” The smile on Gaius’ face faded away. “How’s she now?”

“Unconscious, Master Gaius.” The sculpture made a sad noise. “There are…some complications that I’ll find it easier to explain when you get there.”

The little boy sighed, and put on another burst of speed. After an hour of flying in silence, he touched down on the snowy ground outside the Library, and entered it with all due haste.

“She’s in the medical area.” Nexus said. Shadowy figures inclined their head as the sculpture directed the little boy down the long hallway and into a room to his left. A small girl was sleeping quietly, and Gaius couldn’t help but walk up to her to ruffle her hair.

Her breathing was steady, and there were no signs of any injuries from here. Nexus had done a good job in getting her here unhurt. The boy relaxed at Nakama’s sleeping, uninjured form, before dumping the Knight on his shoulder to an adjacent bed.

“So,” said the little boy, “what’s the problem?”

The sculpture shook its head. “I’ll have to start from the beginning.”

Gaius frowned slightly and then nodded. “Very well.”

“Your sister…isn’t a normal beastfolk.”

“Colour me surprised,” replied Gaius. “Surely the seal on her beast trait didn’t tip me off to that.”

Nexus twitched, as though as the sculpture wanted to beat an annoying little boy up, and Gaius couldn’t help but to mumble an apology. It huffed, and then said, “From the residue of the seal she was under, I was able to understand two things. First, it sought to weaken Nakama’s beast trait just enough to fool detection artefacts. Second, it was designed to make her dreams more illusory and less realistic.”

“What?”

“Nakama’s beast trait is in the domain of dreams,” said the wooden sculpture. “It is a mysterious ability, and I cannot say too much until you encounter it for yourself, but she’s currently immersed in a dream world, thanks to the Demigod’s attack earlier. She herself doesn’t realise it, because her dreamscape right now is probably as realistic as the real world.”

“You mean…she’s not going to wake up for the time being.”

“Time is a relative word,” replied the sculpture, a grim tone appended to its words. “There is a reason why Demigods do not stalk the world’s surface in general, as the power that surrounds them can influence their environment. There’s probably something in Demigod Nox’s power that enhanced the reality of her dream.”

“Enough,” said Gaius. “I just need a solution.”

“It is…a relatively simple one,” said the sculpture. “You and I must be in range of the Demigod Nox when he calls upon his divinity. If his life is in danger, or if he dies, the levels of divinity released should be enough for me to make a detailed analysis.”

The little boy tapped his foot. “Any others?”

“Right now, Nakama’s affected by a remnant trace of his power, which is in turn being powered by the main source — the Demigod Nox himself.” The figurine rubbed its nose. “If the main source is entirely depleted, whatever traces he’d left out there will either return or die out. The last option is to have him become a true God, and the special traits of Heritage and the Intersection will do its job for you. His divinity isn’t pure enough yet, which is why he can form a connection to someone in this place, but once it is, it’ll be severed.”

“Sounds like it’ll take a long time.”

“Yes. Other than the last option, for all intents and purposes, you’ll have to do something to the Demigod himself. It’ll take a year, or even longer…but she’ll eventually wake up. We can’t discount the possibility of Nakama realising that she’s in a dream on her own too, but that’s not something you should base your hope on.”

Gaius was silent. “In the end, it boils down to a meeting between the two of us, eh? Enemies to the end...so be it.”

[End of Book 2: Foredoomed to a rendezvous]