The sun was the only sort of warm and light for humans. It signaled the start of a day and a symbol for life. Yet, on a morning where the sun shined bright and warm, all it brought to the people of Tolemac was a better view of the iciness in the hearts of their rulers.

The rift between the king, the councils and other factions were getting wider by the second. After yesterday's incident, it was clear to Henry that he could not trust anyone under his disposal. The unknown scribble was meant to be a secret, yet, just hours after he sent it to the task force, someone had already gotten it, and the news spread like wildfire.

However, there was one thing that could be considered good after the book burning incident. What everyone long suspected was proven true. The legendary Durandal sword held another piece of the puzzle. Sasha was immediately summoned into the castle, but it was too late; many had seen the strange scribble. And Henry would make sure that no one else could even see the sword from now on.

“Hand over the sword, commander !” the king ordered clearly.

“What !?!” Sasha couldn’t help but question, “Your highness, why are you taking my blade ?”

“Durandal is not your weapon, it’s Avalon’s. So this is simply me taking back what I’ve lent. So, commander, hand over the sword.”

With bitterness, Sasha had no other option than to hand over her blade.

But if Sasha thought the king was being unreasonable, she wasn’t prepared for what was happening on the streets. The king was so focused on finding or preventing others from finding the Holy Grail that he turned a blind eye to whatever was going on in Tolemac. Of course, when his own throne was on the line, nothing could be more important to a king than that … not even his own people…

Humans had a saying, “Stealing under the moonlight, they are thieves. Stealing under the sunlight, they are royals.”, and that saying couldn’t be more accurate in Tolemac.

“What do you mean the taxes have been raised !?!?”

“What !? Then how did you think your house was rebuilt !? And the wall we have to rebuild to protect everyone !? You think it cost nothing !?!”

Soldiers in full Avalon’s uniform came knocking on every door in the city, calling for more tax payments. It did not matter if the residents were wealthy or if they were wearing ragged clothes. No one was spared.

It did not take much investigation for Sasha to find out who was the corporate behind this. Kelvin Phillip, the king's financial advisor, was filling his pocket during a time of chaos. The only question in Sasha’s mind was, “Is he just doing this because of greed, or is there a bigger plan to this !?!”. With the throne potentially up for grabs, many factions had been secretly preparing for a possible civil war, catching fire at any moment.

And within the castle, it wasn’t any better. Soldiers were turning it upside down, following the king’s command, looking for any possible hidden secret. It did not take too long for Henry and the rest to figure out the message, unlike Azar, who had never seen such a strange and rare human language before. Based on what was told, the Holy Grail was kept in the highest place in Tolemac, and as they all know, the highest building in Tolemac was the castle itself. Starting from the high tower, where just a week ago the king and the rest of his most trusted councils sat, all the way to the stables where the horses were kept, no stone was left unturned. Henry would literally tear the castle down brick by brick if possible. The only thing stopping him from going that far was that he did not know who to trust.

Even at the moment, when his soldiers were scavenging throughout the castle’s wall, he wasn’t even sure how many were truly following him and how many were just spies working for the others. The dark circles underneath his emerald eyes, the pale color on his face, the way his legs were constantly moving and his hand always clenched tight, everyone could tell the king was on edge. In fact, some could say that he looked even more stressed at the time than during the Red Mist. Henry trusted no one, not even General Geralt or Sasha, and especially not anyone in the high councils. Everyone knew that many in the councils were secretly finding the Holy Grail on their own; Henry just didn’t know exactly who they were. And in the case that everyone was going for it, it wouldn’t be an easy solution for Henry to just kill off every single one of them. He held great power, but so did they. If they knew Henry was going for them personally, they would combine their force and potentially overthrow him by force. Besides, who was to say the army would follow his command? He had seen how they were willingly bowing down to an unknown man like Azar; who was to say they wouldn’t plead their legion to another if they deem him more worthy than Henry. And even if he managed to slaughter all of his potential enemies, how would his people react to such a cold-blooded act? Killing off all of the most powerful and influential people governing Avalon would leave a huge gasp to be filled, and surely no one would want to work under him after such an authority. Not to mention the always looming threat from foreign forces. If his own people raised against him, they could use that as a reason, some sort of crusade or military aid, all to conquer Avalon. Henry could barely sleep or eat since the lightning strike, and the enormous amount of constant stress caused his health to drop dramatically. He was losing weight so quickly that he looked as though he had gained 10 years of age in a few days.

However, after a day of relentless work, Henry still could not find a clue about the Holy Grail. But there was one person in Tolemac who already knew about the treasure, and Sasha was about to meet him under cover of the night.

The king had been keeping a close eye on everyone, including Sasha. Soldiers were patrolling every street. No one was allowed to leave their house unless there was a valid emergency. So, in the end, there was only one place Sasha could trust to hide their secret meeting, her sanctuary.

“Have the others arrived ?” Sasha asked quietly, covering herself with a dark cloak head to toe; she used her knowledge of the guards' patrolling schedule to sneak past all of them.

“They have been waiting for you for quite a while” Sister Mary nodded. “Was there any trouble ?”

“Nothing to worry about. I just have to be certain that no one was following me” Sasha shook her head slightly. The church was the only place Sasha could think of, the only place she could trust with her life. When she got to the praying room, Azar and Munir greeted her.

“No sword ? That’s highly unusual for someone like you.” Azar went straight to business. As Sasha suspected, Azar’s keen eyes easily spotted any abnormalities.

“The king ordered me to return the sword, by his word, Durandal is Avalon’s weapon, not mine. As the king, he was only letting me borrow it for the time being.”

Azar rolled his eyes.

“What could he possibly hope to gain from that ?” Munir raised his voice. “In the hand of someone like him, it would just be a piece of iron.”

“It’s not about what we could gain, but what he could prevent. If the sword still holds more secrets to the treasure, then now only he could decipher it. And if the worst case happens and some factions want to overthrow him, then it’s better to have the legendary blade on his side. As much as he would want to, he couldn’t trust someone like Sasha to stay loyal to him.” Azar mused, “A reasonable move, based on the situation….”.

“If I was him, I would give more attention to what was going to my people rather than chasing after a treasure !” Munir grunted, “The nobles are dipping their filthy hands onto any source of money they could find. They took whatever they can ‘legally’ take, even from those who don’t know where their next meal will come from. The people are growing more desperate everyday, they haven’t even recovered from what happened with the Red Mist, now this !!!”

“And it’s only going to get worse. Haven’t you all noticed that for almost three days now, the fire from every blacksmith in Tolemac hasn't had a second of rest ?”

Munir nodded. “Weapons, but for who ?”

“Seriously, who would be dumb enough to forge weapons right under the king nose ?” Azar bluntly added. “And what kind of king is blind enough to let this happen.”

“The kind who had lost 4 pounds in a week. I don’t think he even dared to blink without fear of getting assassinated.”. Azar and Munir could tell just from Sasha’s tired eyes that Henry wasn't the only one who hadn’t got a comfortable rest for the last few days. “As for the weapons, I don’t think they are for only one buyer.”

“Shit …” Munir sighed. “Tolemac is not ready for another war.”

“Yeah, that’s why I call you here.” Sasha said, “Please, If there is something you can do to help Tolemac at this moment, I beg you ….”

“As much as I want to, after what the king did to us, invading our home ! I can’t say the guide would want anything to do with the king anymore.”

Sasha and Munir both diverted their eyes to Azar.

“Do I really need to tell you how I feel about your king !?” Azar raised an eyebrow. “And not to worry, everything will end in a day or two ….”

“WHAT !?!!?” they both gasped aloud.

“Yeah, you’re right, … with their deductive skill, maybe in a week …” Azar shrugged.

“You know ?!!!!”

“I saw it, ... just to make sure my guess was right ….”

“You saw it !?!?!”

“The conversation would be a lot better if you stopped replying to me with a rhetorical question !!” Azar shook his head disappointingly.

“If you already have it, then end the chaos !” Sasha slammed her hands on the table.

“I don’t have it,” Azar said calmly. “The king has always had it in his hand from the first place. I can only look at it from afar.”

“HUH !?!”. Clearly confused about what Azar was saying. And no matter how hard they tried, Azar did not give them any more information about the treasure, except that it existed.

“I hope you know what you’re doing !” Munir leered.

“For a guy who said he held no ambition, you sure do love to play God !” Sasha sneered.

Azar understood that what he was doing may seem unreasonable to the human’s eyes, but he also knew that it was the right choice, the only way these humans could move forward.

“Do you remember what I told you ?” Azar softly spoke to Sasha, “Trust that I’m trying to help….”

“By letting others suffer ?!”

“Are you blaming me for what’s happening ?” Azar leaned back. His voice grew frostier by the second. “I’m not the one who’s tearing the castle walls or hunting for coins in every house in Tolemac. And for what, a vague promise !? An old scribble on a stone ?!”

“That’s all it takes to turn Tolemac upside down, and I’m not responsible for any of it !”

Under Azar’s eyes of judgment, Sasha and Munir felt so small, like they were just children in his eyes.

“But if you can stop them _” Sasha tried to reason with him.

“Stop them ?! … How !?! Give them the treasure ?! Show them where to find it ?! You think that all it takes to stop them is to give them what they want ?!” Azar shook his head slightly, disappointed at what he heard. “No matter how much you have grown, you still live in fear. Fear of change, fear of dream, fear of becoming someone bigger than yourself. All I have heard from you are dreams and hope, never action. And you only ever dream so small, so in particular.”

Azar pointed to them and spoke aloud, “Look at the two of you, trying to stay oblivious to the power you now hold. Still accepting to live in a fragmented world, then fighting for a better one. You and the rest of Avalon are so afraid of changes, afraid of hardship and risk, that you would rather live in constant fear and instability, not knowing what might happen tomorrow. Even now, when the true colour of your government has been brought to the light of day, you still beg me to succumb to their desire rather than change it ?!? Is this the world you want to live in !??”

Azar stood up and walked out of the room, leaving the two young humans behind with parting words, “You only have one life, don’t let this be your legacy ….”

********************

Another day came and went, but Tolemac still remained under the constant chaos. The king was more focused on searching for the Holy Grail than ruling over his kingdom, and the councils took full advantage of the situation. Some tried to find the treasure themself, while others only cared about gaining more money and power.

Sasha’s question was quickly answered. She was correct; Kelvin Phillip, the king's financial advisor, had been embezzling tax money to his own pocket. But not only that, it was what he was doing with the money that startled Sasha the most. In one night, 5 of Tolemac’s highest buildings had been owned by Kelvin Phillip. No one was allowed to get even near them except for his people. And before the sun even rose, he had torn those buildings down inch by inch. However, Phillip could still consider himself to be the civil one. For the other, they did not have the same manner as him. Almost every building that could just be considered relatively high was turned upside down in the last few days. It did not matter if it was a person’s property, a sanctuary, a religious place or a guild headquarters. The king and the nobles always got what they wanted, either by asking nicely or by brute force.

The more blunt and cruel the government acted, the more the fire in Tolemac’s citizens sparked. The soldiers quickly took advantage of the current situation and started making unannounced house invasions and tax collecting. As a result, cases of soldiers having physical conflict with commoners started growing day by day.

“Please, sir, This is my family heirloom. There’s barely any silver in it !”. A poor farmer begging a middle-aged man in Avalon’s military uniform.

“You heard what the law says. Everyone had to pay their fair share of tax !”. The man ruthlessly snatched an old silver gliding box from the farmer’s hand so forcefully that the farmer was knocked over. Three more soldiers stepped out of the farmer’s shaggy house with everything they could salvage for value in their hands.

“But sir, we have already paid our taxes yesterday !!?”. The poor man pleaded.

“The tax doesn't mean one per household, but one per head !” the soldier gave a sinister smile. “And by the look of your family, you still haven’t paid half what you owe !”.

The farmer looked back, seeing his two skinny young children, standing by his mother, all in dirty clothes, crying, sobbing, begging the other soldiers to stop.

“Please, sir, my family, my children _.”

“Not my problem !”. A cold, heartless response from the people whose job was to protect the people of Avalon.

“Stop this madness !”. A young man in high-class blue silk, gold rings on his fingers, and at least a dozen armed men behind, stepping in between the soldiers and the farmer’s family.

“Master Munir, what an honor to meet you.” All the soldiers bowed their heads slightly.

“What do you think you’re doing, taking from this poor family.”

“My job !” The middle-aged man proudly said, “It’s the law, young master, and everyone had to obey it.”

“And since when did the law say you can take a man’s heirloom as a tax payment !!!???”

The soldier gave him an arrogant smile. “Since yesterday, when our glorious nation agreed that in times like this, everyone needs to chip in, whatever they could afford to help us get through this tough moment.”.

Munir’s eyes narrowed; there was no way a mere soldier like him could dare spat out such a white lie, so what the soldiers just said was completely true. Looking back at the poor farmer's family, Munir clenched his fist tight.

“How much do they owe you !?”

…..

After getting their ‘taxes’, the soldiers shared one last look at Munir and left with wide, bright smiles.

“Are you all ok ?” Munir kindly asked the family.

The farmer shook his head.

“We thank you for your help, young master.” His eyes flooded with dread and sorrow, “But that’s not the answer ….”

“What ?”

“If you give them what they want, and they will return for more, again, and again, until you’re empty.”. The farmer looked down and shook his head.

Munir watched as more soldiers came, knocking on the doors of both the poor and wealthy, asking for even more money just because they knew they could. Azar’s words of wisdom immediately came to Munir’s mind. After all, he was right; giving Henry and the high council what they wanted would not lead to peace, but it could potentially lead to even more chaos …

“Hurry !!!”. Geralt and Sasha led a dozen Royal Guards to the Elite Academy, located on the westside of Tolemac. Something earth-shattering had just been reported.

They all headed straight to the headmaster's office and

“Oh my God !”. Sasha gasped. Lying face down on the table was the dead body of Solomon Rivian, the headmaster of the Elite Academy. Geralt quickly walked up and checked his pulse and immediately gave the answer.

“He’s gone…”. The General signaled the other guards to secure the room. However, Sasha noticed that the number of people securing the perimeter was much fewer than those inside the office… and that was not the only thing Sasha spotted. Even though there was no sign of struggle and there was no blood or wound on Solomon’s body, the headmaster's office had clear signs of being rummaged, books scattering on the floors, drawers being forced wide open… In addition, she just talked to Solomon Rivian just a few days ago, and he was in good health. So, there was only one conclusion in her mind, he was murdered, or more to be more precise, poisoned. But before she could say a word, Geralt was quick to conclude.

“Solomon Rivian has passed due to natural causes.”.

Of course, that did not make any sense, and a man like Geralt should know even better than Sasha. Then she saw what they were doing, eyes wide open like the owls, constantly shifting, trying to find something they didn't yet know…

“I think we’re done here. You can get back to the castle, commander ….”

“Sir, clearly he has been _.”

“Commander !” Geralt finally raised his voice, “ Solomon Rivian has died because of natural causes. There is nothing else to this.”

With a direct command from the General himself, Sasha had no other choice but to head back. When the door closed, only God knew what was going on in the headmaster's office. But Sasha had a good guess. Not so long ago, there was a rumour that Solomon, with his vast intellectual resource, both in the number of scholars under his command and unique methods, had cracked the next part of the puzzle. Even though Solomon himself debunked that rumour in public, it did not make much of a difference. The only question in Sasha’s mind was, "did he already find the treasure or at least the next piece of the puzzle" and, of course, "who was the one responsible for his death.". The first name that came to her mind was Kelvin Phillip, she knew there was bad blood between them, and she had seen them together not so long ago. Then there was the obvious choice, the king himself; it must not have been a coincidence that Geralt ordered her to stay back from this case. The king had shown that he wasn’t in the right state of mind. It wouldn’t be far-fetched that he ordered the assassination of Solomon, and the General had to cover it up. Finally, there could be a third party involved; there wasn’t a short number of people secretly plotting to hunt for the Holy Grail.

However, it did not really matter who did it, blood had been drawn, and soon, if no one stopped this, more would follow.

“Oh right, Carl …” Just like always, watching over from a good distance away, Azar spoke to the sky, “I think they have learnt their lesson, If you let this continue any further, it would be a disaster …”.

************************

“How’s your day ?”Azar asked, raising a cup of wine in hand while sitting comfortably in the living room of Munir’s home.

“It’s a complete shit show out there !”. Munir was visibly too distraught to enjoy his wine. “The soldiers are getting greedy, taking for themselves more than for the councils at this point. And the people are ready to rally up any moment !”

Azar chuckled for a second, “And they thought the Red Mist would be the end of this kingdom.”

Munir shook his head slightly, “You’re right … We live in a fragmented world. And giving them what they desire, that won’t be the answer. Our ambition and greed show no boundary. Nothing can ever fill that abyss….”

“Interesting …” Azar glared at Munir, “So what about you? What would you do if you had the power? How would you stop this ?”

“I don’t like to think about impossible scenarios ….”

“Who said it’s impossible ?”

“What !??”Munir stared back at Azar, “What do you mean by that ?!”

Azar did not answer right away. Instead, he just smiled and waited. Then Munir’s eyes turned from confusion to wide open.

“That’s right, I won’t give it to them … But I can give it to you.”. Azar pulled out a small wooden box and started to walk out.

“Just think about it, Munir. In the hands of the corrupted, this could mean the end, but in the hands of good, just imagine how much wonder you can achieve with this gift.”. Azar spoke softly, “To finally be able to help the people, to wash out evil in this lovely nation, to become a real king …”.

And then Azar hit Munir where he knew Munir was vulnerable. “And Elly, …”

The second her name was brought, Munir's demeanor changed completely. He finally looked focused, like he was really considering it.

“Remember what I said, be the man she could fall in love with. There’s no better man than a mighty king, isn’t there? When you have that treasure, the crown is your … You’ll be more than equal to her.”.

Munir did not say a word throughout Azar’s whole monologue.

“To be loved by the people, and the princess isn’t that every man’s dream … The people would be happy, Elly would be happy, and you’ll be happy….”

“And you deserve it more than them, you know that. They are born wealthy, never have to lift a finger to get where they are today. Yet, they are still killing each other, stealing from the poor ! While you have to go through so much struggle and hardship just to be here watching from the side … You deserve this !”

“And you’ll be doing Avalon a favor ! If any one of those people get there first, what will Avalon turn into? …. Better in your hands, than them …”.

Azar reached the door and said his final parting words

“Remember what you promised me. If you have the chance to change the world, you will have to take it ….”