“News?”

“Yes, Gemini.” The Campmaster sighed. “Come on, let’s go hear the fellow out. I’m willing to bet today’s dinner that it’s bad news.”

“I’m willing to bet three days’ worth that it’s bad news, Campmaster,” Gemini replied with a smile. “Come on, it’s always bad news. When was the last time someone with news bore good ones?”

“Point.”

It didn’t take long for the duo to reach Ark Interior. Their destination was the opulent structure that Gemini and company had hosted Ars-Maia months ago — it was, for all intents and purposes, a place to receive visitors from outside. Gemini hadn’t had the time to appreciate it properly back then, and the only impression he had then was that the place was a grand palace.

“It’s called the Welcoming Dais,” Magnus informed the Constellation helpfully. “It’s usually reserved for not-so-official meetings by members of the Congress, but we do open it up for visitors of a certain status. Today, our guest is Scholar Ars-Lila. Or Knight Ars-Lila, if we were to use our system to assess her.”

“Odd,” said Gemini. “I thought the entire Ars Tribe left for the Five Lands. What’s she doing here?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out.”

The two crossed through the checkpoints that, like Ark Interior itself, dotted the insides of the Welcoming Dais. They were soon in the dining room that had hosted Ars-Maia, where someone who looked like a human girl with three eyes was staring at a plate of pasta suspiciously. She prodded at it with her fork, and after a few seconds of sniffing, started trying a few bits.

Before Gemini could stop the Campmaster, the man had walked up to the demon and asked, “Are you Ars-Lila?”

The girl turned her head fast enough for Gemini to hear a crack, and the Constellation winced. The next thing he heard was the sound of her choking, and only after downing the glass of water set out next to her plate did she return to normal. She glared at the Campmaster, patting her chest the entire time, and then nodded resentfully.

“Yes.”

Gemini, who had caught up with the Campmaster, said, “My apologies. The Campmaster here is a rather…insensitive person who doesn’t understand that scaring people who are eating is a bad idea.”

The man in question frowned, but the Constellation kicked him a few times lightly, an action that went unnoticed as the table the dishes were laid out on blocking it from Ars-Lila’s line of sight. After a few kicks, the Campmaster kicked Gemni back and said, “My apologies. I didn’t know that frightening people when they were eating was a bad idea.”

“You’re an old man, but you don’t know that?” The girl sniffed. “Seems like you wasted your life on something useless.”

A vein throbbed on Magnus’ temple, and Gemini hurriedly intervened before the Campmaster blew up by asking her purpose here.

“I’m here to let the key decision, err, makers at Ark City know something,” said Ars-Lila.

“To us?” Gemini asked. “What’s so important that you didn’t leave with the rest of your tribe to the Five Lands?”

“It’s about the Violet Regret Crystal,” Ars-Lila replied. “It’s an item that allows the holder to control the teleportation formation at the Crater of Purple Rain. If the primal demons get hold of the item, they could use the large-scale teleportation formation to chase the Ars Tribe down.”

Magnus breathed in sharply, and a second later, Gemini understood why. It wasn’t just the threat of the Ars Tribe being hunted down — if the primal demons had control over that formation, they could easily invade the Five Lands. It would be war once again, but this time, without the Cardinal Champions…

One side was immortal.

The other wasn’t.

How the war would go wouldn’t be all that much of a surprise to anyone with the slightest understanding of warfare. The Five Lands would be overrun within months, leaving only death and devastation in its wake. A sense of crisis began to well up inside the Constellation, and he glanced at the Campmaster.

“Why did your tribe not bring this when they left for the Five Lands?” Campmaster Magnus asked. “Rather, what was preventing them from bringing this Violet Regret Crystal with them?”

“The Demon God,” Ars-Lila replied. “Legend has it that the Demon God, when he carved out a huge chunk of land from someplace called World’s End, his nemesis interfered the creation of the Wildlands. In the end, the Demon God was unable to fully sever the connection between the Five Lands and Wildlands, creating a channel between the two places.”

“And that place is the Crater of Purple Rain and its counterpart in the Five Lands,” the Campmaster added on. “Am I right? And maybe this thing can’t enter the Five Lands because…the gods made it that way.”

Ars-Lila nodded rapidly. “That’s right, that’s right. We tried many ways of destroying the Violet Regret Crystal, but nothing worked. We tried to bring it over to the Five Lands, but every time we activated the formation, the holder of the crystal was left behind.”

“And it’s not something you could really leave lying around either, right?” Gemini ran his hands through his hair. “What a conundrum. So after a long time, you guys decided to pass it to us, because we are the next hardest nut to crack after the Ars tribe themselves.”

“Something like that, I guess.” She lowered her voice. “Also, it was to give your tribe a way out if the primal demons become too strong.”

A thought hit Gemini. “But we’re a static city. Forgive me for saying this, but you’re rootless now. You can go anywhere. Isn’t it better if the crystal stays with you?”

“Well, this thing is an item from the Demon God. I’ve been chased down and attacked every few days by random demons, despite the fact that I’ve been hiding in weird places,” said Ars-Lila. “The Demon God probably wants this crystal, or the primal demons can sense it somehow.”

“Hold up,” said the Campmaster. “Did you just literally bring an item that primal demons can sense, and want badly, into my city? And you’re saying that you want us to look after it?”

“No, I’m still going to look after it,” said the demon. “Just that I’ll be staying her as a citizen of the Commonwealth Tribe now. Sage Meloda thought it would be quite rude if I sought asylum without letting you know of the nature of the item I was carrying.”

“You weren’t intending to let us know about that Crystal thing?” Campmaster Magnus stared blankly at Ars-Lila. “Are you a demon?”

“Yes?”

“That was not what I meant!” The Campmaster held his head. “Never mind, let’s see what the other have to say about this.”

“Warmaster Chamberlain and the other…Paragons, right?” She cocked her head. “They told me that you’d have the final say.”

“Sonuva…Gemini, you stay here and entertain our guest. Give me some time to sort this out,” said the Campmaster.

“O-Okay.”

He romped out, his footfalls heavy and resounding in the nearly-empty Welcoming Dais, leaving the two alone.