They ate in silence while the rain poured. The gryphon had fallen asleep while Luna and Merlin stared outside.

"I’m sorry. It seems it really is you in there." He said to her.

"What?"

"I was testing you. Testing to see if your thoughts are still your own."

Luna watched the clouds roll by outside. "Why would you test me?"

"Because of this." Merlin brought out a vial filled with black ooze. "I know you have seen this before."

She carefully reached for the vial and took a better look. "I have."

"Do you know what it is? Or what it does?"

"…No."

"This is corruption, Luna. Believe it or not, it is evil given physical form. It draws the evil thoughts from within the hearts of men and creatures alike and makes them act on it." Merlin looked at her with concern. "Do you want to know why I asked you all those things? Why did I test your morals? Because I can sense it in you."

He drew out a small triangular totem from his neck. "Watch."

Merlin brought it closer to the vial, and the totem began to glow an ominous white. As if fog emanated from the totem. It twitched and shook violently until he pulled it away. He then put it close to Luna’s heart and, although it did not twitch, there was an incredibly thin aura coming from the totem that she almost did not see it.

"I feared that you acted in Pharc because it was tainting your heart and mind."

"So you think… that I acted the way I did back in Pharc because of… this?"

"When I saw the destruction and heard your name… I did not want to believe it. I know what you are capable of, but I also know that your safeguards is stronger. But when I saw the ruin, I just had to make sure. Luna answer me truthfully. You have been touched by it, haven’t you? Your thoughts were assaulted by it?"

"… It did."

"Tell me how it happened."

Luna closed her eyes as she did not know where to begin. "In the underempire, there was an obelisk. I did not know what it was, but when I touched it... the corruption… came out and engulfed me. When it infected me, I saw visions…"

"Visions?"

"I saw Marko and Bea. I saw Bella and… Bruno. I saw what I did to them."

"You did not kill them, Luna."

"I caused their deaths, Merlin. And the corruption… made me see it. I saw them every night after that. Their anger, their hate, their pain towards me. Not just them, Merlin... I saw everyone. I saw everyone… I destroyed."

She wanted to cry, but some part of her can’t. Her heart buckled, but no tears came out. Merlin did not press her to continue, but it took minutes before she spoke again.

"After I saw them, I saw horrors… demons… a world… our world on fire. I saw millions, perhaps even more people of all races from every corner of the world in unending agony, praying for death or mercy, but neither will come. I saw them, Merlin. The demons, I saw them and they saw me."

"They… saw you?"

"They saw me and laughed at me. Mocking me, blaming me, I saw it all. From then on, whenever I closed my eyes, I would see them. I could not sleep. I was angry all the time. I felt like I was being eaten, or choked. And then…"

"And then?"

Luna did not continue as there was a lump in her throat.

"Luna tell me. How did you rid yourself of it? I can feel that somehow you managed to remove it from yourself. How?"

"Merlin… I will ask you a question, and whatever I say next you must keep a secret."

"Fine I will."

"Merlin, did you know that Princess Elizabeth, Alicia, and Catherine are… Mages?"

Merlin took too long to answer, as the silence dragged on for minutes.

"Only Catherine. Alicia and Elizabeth, well, that’s new."

Her eyes widened. "You knew... of Catherine?"

"The heir to the most powerful empire in Aelmion is a mage? Yes, the previous Merlin told me, as he taught Princess Catherine personally, but it matters so little now. Word of her being a mage is starting to spread but it is overshadowed by the news that Braenarim is cursed with eternal night.

"...What?"

"Eternal night and a wall of fog that blocks their side of the continent from the outside. I dont need to tell you what type of economic, agricultural, and geopolitical disaster this is. Aside from the information blockade by Silvus, The fog blocks anything from entering or leaving Braenarim. But that news is nothing. Before the wall came, the last intelligence that came out was that Emperor Aurelius was dead and Heir Empress Catherine was missing, most now having assumed she had died as well.

With all this chaos, the authority of Braenarim is declining, and the last act Empress Sophia did before the fog cut them off was to withdraw from the war in the north. Silvus has also abandoned the north, leaving only Aspana alone to fight the seperatists."

"I still can’t get around the eternal night.”

“I’m more concerned that people now know that the heir empress is a mage. And that mages from Silvus all the way to Afrua and Miyax are now beginning to weaponize this knowledge.”

“Back to this fog and eternal night…”

“Don’t concern yourself with it. The inquisition is already investigating the matter and the inquisitor assigned by his holiness is someone I trust completely. If anyone can get to the bottom of it, it will be Marsilia.”

“Well it is rare for you to trust someone, so I will take your word for it. Wait, Braenarim withdrew? Why? I mean, sure that the Emperor and the Heir Empress are dead, but why would Empress Sophia abandon the war?"

"Well it's not confirmed that they are dead. Also, no one knows. Sophia is not herself anymore. She has not shown herself ever since word of their deaths, either in mourning or for some unknown reason. No one could get close to the palace, or even the city of September. But the rumors' coming out of it... they say Sophia is on the verge of insanity."

"That's impossible. From what Elizabeth has told us, Emperor Aurelius and Sophia loved their children greatly. Did they even send out search parties or diplomatic missions for Princess Alicia and Elizabeth? Aren’t they in line for the throne as well?"

"You know what surprised me, Luna. She didn’t.

Empress Sophia… changed. And once news that Aurelius has died and her daughter went missing, it seems as though the Empress has lost her mind, even to the point where she let Braenarim descend into unrest."

"That is insanity. That is her daughter and grand-daughter."

"I do not know what Empress Sophia is thinking but the one speaking for her; Lady Claire has even gone as far as declare Heir empress Catherine as the one who caused the Hecatoncheires attack."

"Heca-what?"

"An abomination Luna. That's all you need to know. They said that Aurelius was the one who slayed whatever that thing was, but that did not stop the people from branding the heir empress as a traitor, and the church from calling her a heretic. With Empress Sophia being unpredictable and Braenarim cut off from the world, Silvus openly swept through Ablan, and now Aspana and Afrua are in their sights as well."

"That… cannot be. What about the other countries in the coalition?"

"The coalition of nations do not know what to focus on. The curse spreading across Braenarim, The seperatists, A potential Silvus aggression or the impending massive famine. Most of the harvested crops this autumn were infected with a sickness. That was what Marsilia was investigating before Braenarim got cursed, but I have not received an update from them yet.

The sentinels full attention is on fighting an invasion that came from the under empire. Reports say that the ithraxi has sprouted from beneath the ground and is ravaging the north-eastern side of the continent. Rugnor, and even Riyax are struggling to contain the insects."

"But Riyax and Rugnor can rival Silvus and Braenrim when it comes to military power. How could the ithraxi have brought them to heel?"

"Riyax was in a state of civil war before the invasion of the Ithraxi. The Black Banner Rebellion is leading the fight, but now that the insects have sprouted from the ground, Riyax barely had to do anything and just watch the black banners and the insects destroy themselves."

Luna stared at him in disbelief. Everything Merlin said kept getting worse and worse. "Wait, a civil war?! When did this start?!"

"When Prince Kenshin vanished." He threw a stick into the fire. "Matomo, the leader of the rebellion, rallied the feudal lords and is hell-bent on taking the throne. But the newly seated Emperor Hiro is actually putting up a good defense. Hikedo and Ghao have the emperor at their beck and call. Many say the boy emperor was manipulated into the war, but that is just mere speculation and rumors. I suspect the truth is more complicated than that."

"Oichi’s father can never start a war, a rebellion no less, without a good reason."

"As I said, Luna, the truth is more complicated than that."

"What about the separatists? Surely with the ithraxi attacking Rugnor and the Nordlands, they have to stop hostilities?" She said as she warmed her hands in the fire.

"The separatists have much bigger problems. Aside from them destroying themselves, the dead have marched against them."

Luna looked at him completely bewildered. "The... Dead?"

Merlin looked at her completely serious. "Yes, the dead. It is pure madness; hordes of the dead rising from the graves and ravaging their lands."

"I thought no magic could bring the dead back to life?"

"Oh there is no such thing. But re-animating corpses like puppets is not impossible. However, to do it on a massive scale, I don’t know who is behind it, but they picked the prime opportunity for it. With the dead to the right and insects to the left, the separatists have been squeezed. Aspana is holding on to four fronts; the dead, the separatists, the ithraxi and an imminent Silvus invasion.

Meanwhile, Silvus has begun its campaign into Afrua, gathering resources and strength. With Ablan occupied and half its bounty hunters now joining its ranks, soon an invasion to the north is imminent with Aspana locked on its sights.

The Ork confederacy is holding their own in Afrua but how long before they fall to Silvus as well? And that is just for the obvious threats. What about what you saw? Or the lands beyond Aelmion and Miyax? What of the new world or from beneath the underempire? What about the races where we don’t have any diplomatic connections or knowledge?"

Merlin looked at her and for a brief moment she thought she saw fear. But Luna realized he wasn’t afraid for himself...

"I’m afraid for us, Luna, for you." He confirmed her thoughts. "That is why I am asking you to rethink your vow. We are heading towards a war that will destroy or reshape the world, and sooner or later you will be faced with the choice to take a life in this war. You cannot stay in the middle forever. You will be forced to make a choice."

Luna said nothing as she looked down. Neither of them talked as the storm outside raged on.

"Merlin, I wasn’t awake or am I sure. But I dreamt of a light that night. It removed the evil within me. When I woke up, Princess Elizabeth was by my side, and I think she is the one who removed the evil.

Her magic Merlin: There is just no way to describe it. It just felt…"

"Divine?" He finished for her.

"Yes… how did-"

"Catherine is the same according to the previous Merlin. A new type of magic, one that if it gets out will no doubt cause massive waves in the college and in the church, but without proof, it's all just empty waves. If what you say is true that Alice is a mage, it's safe to say her powers might also be with the same affinity. They could be the key that Marsilia and I have been looking for. Luckily, Elizabeth is with you, so we can study her magic more closely."

"She is only a child." Luna suddenly felt guilty for dragging Elizabeth into the conversation.

"None of us will have a choice when the war comes. Frankly, I was hoping to talk to Princess Catherine, Alice or even Diana but those options are gone."

"Merlin… You think there were any remnants left?"

"I’m not sure. I have only learned of this recently, and I have no idea how to deal with it. But it is highly possible. I would recommend that once you return to Princess Elizabeth that you ask her to try performing the same ritual on you again. We don’t know what we are dealing with and any precaution might help."

They sat in comfortable silence as Luna wondered what to do next.

"You are still not going to tell me what the Venom and Amber are made of, aren’t you?"

"Not... Not yet."

"Are you sure?"

"I will. I just. I need to make sure first."

Merlin did not press on.

"Did no one find Alice yet?" Luna asked when she saw the gryphon.

"Incredibly, no one has even seen a strand of her hair. For a cripple, the princess is proving quite elusive as she manages to evade bounty hunters and even the blood stalkers."

"What about Commander- I mean Princess Diana? Did you try to message her at least Merlin?"

"Only once, but there has been no reply from Jargyr or from Fort Knilus, and that is an immediate red flag if even Diana did not reply. She is usually very punctual. It seems all the princesses picked the perfect time to vanish off the face of Pandora."

"Merlin does the college know that they are mages? Or the Huntmaster?"

"No one in the college knows that the three princesses are mages… yet. Only me, right now. As for the lord of the hunt, well, if he did know, I bet he would be attacking Braenarim right now."

"What about the church?"

"If the church ever got word that the imperial sisters were mages, then did you really think that the whole world wouldn’t be exploding right now?"

Both of them smiled at the thought.

"How should I know Merlin. I am not updated on current events anymore." She said this as Luna put down her skewer.

"I thought this was your job, Luna, to know things. I thought this was your line of work." He smiled at her.

"Oh thank you, Baldric."

The strong rain kept going on outside as the gryphon had already fallen asleep.

"Tell me what will you do after this Luna?" Merlin said as he started to add more sticks to the fire.

"I need to meet up with all of them." She warmed herself by the fire. "They are probably worried sick. Then we will deliver Elizabeth to the Iron Chancellor."

"I can think of a lot of things wrong with the last part."

"I promised the princess I would be at her side until we personally see her grandfather."

"You do know that you won’t even be able to set foot in the city, right? The chevaliers will catch you, beat you and throw you in prison the moment they see you with the princess."

"I know."

"You are not scared?"

"Not really, because I know Baldric, Solomon, Alexander, or Vhlad will break me out." She smiled, which just caused Merlin to shake his head. "And, and, and now that you now know my plan, I know that you will break me out if I get caught as well."

"You sure about that?"

"One hundred percent. Absolutely. You wouldn’t leave me alone, Merlin. It would eat you alive."

"Alright fine... After delivering Princess Elizabeth, what comes next?"

"Huh…" Luna leaned back. "A lot actually. Well, first is to find Maurius, cut off his head and put it on a spike."

Merlin stared at her.

"Alright, figuratively, of course, I will just hand him to Solomon. The second is to free Ablan from Silvus. The third is to go back to Defiance and open its borders to refugees, and lastly, find Princess Alice. That may come on top, actually."

"Looks like you have a busy couple of weeks ahead."

"You know me, Merlin. If I stop working, I will die." Merlin handed her the canteen of water.

"Speaking of Defiance, how is it by the way?"

"I put Gaatz in charge, He’s probably burning it all down right now or filling the capital with taverns or whorehouses."

"That would be good for the economy no doubt, but why on Pandora did you put him in charge again?"

"I don’t know too. I thought it would be funny and it's only temporary, may I add, until I find someone better."

"Some monarch you turned out to be."

"I asked you if you wanted to lead it, but nooooo you said you don’t want to. Besides, you don’t expect me to be seriously leading that place? Sitting down and writing all day long? The day I have a slow life is the day I will blow my brains out. They are fine without me."

"Actually, I heard some news from Defiance." He said as Luna drank all the contents of the canteen. "I heard Gaatz has passed a referendum stopping your law for free housing to lower class citizens-"

Luna coughed and sputtered. "He did what?!"

"That was a joke." Merlin said clearly satisfied with her reaction.

They continued catching up with Luna, telling stories of their journey in the past few weeks and Merlin, trading with her new information from the college as well. Soon Willow began working on Luna’s wounds again as it covered her injuries with its body.

"Merlin?"

"Shoot."

"You do know you’re welcome to just go with me, right?"

"I can’t. A Merlin’s work is never done, sadly. Why? Did you all miss me?"

Luna shook her head. "Not really but… well if we are facing the end of the world then I just… I just want to say you will always have a home… with us."

"I know." He smiled. Both of them resumed watching the rain as it finally stopped.

"You talk in your sleep. Do you know that?" Merlin said to her.

"What did I say?"

"Enough for me to know that you still love him." Luna did not reply. Instead, she just looked at the grey sky outside.

"I found something in my old books." Merlin brought out a piece of paper from his coat. "I think this will be safer with you."

Luna felt a tear escape when she saw the photograph. When her house burned down, every record of their guild burned along with it. She thought every copy of their photographs had been destroyed, and Merlin did not know how valuable the piece of paper to her was.

She remembered that day when Ferris brought a camera eight years ago and took a picture of their entire guild. In the photograph was a chaotic scene with thirty people of all races doing obscene and wacky poses, the most notable ones being the people in the middle.

Marko, the original guild master, was in the center of the image, with Luna to his left, carrying an eight-year-old Annie. To his right was Merlin who still had hair, and the two had each other’s arms on their shoulders, the four of them grinning for the picture.

Beside them was Baldric holding an infant and a pregnant Beatrice, with Baldric placing his arms around her waist, and both of them were kissing each other deeply. Max was posing with his tongue out while beside him was a jaguar bestian with short hair who was making an obscene hand gesture. Behind them was an incredibly tall and muscular man who was flexing his muscles with his shirt off.

Doctor Gerwulf was the only one not doing a stance, as she is the only one in the photograph with a dignified pose. On her shoulder was a small visible lizard creature, a Prat, that wore a coat and glasses and was sitting with its legs crossed. Beside them was a large ork, lifting his axe with one hand and roaring as though he was in combat.

Ferris, a skinny half-ork human with thick round glasses and tusks in his mouth, was standing at the edge with an automaton wearing a wig and makeup. The automaton had a name written on its chest, saying: Wife number six.

Solomon was at the back, with his large body clearly visible and carrying Oichi with one arm, with her laughing. At the back row, a tiger bestian and a female alar were smiling while carrying a sign that had their guild name; Dominion, painted on it.

Luna’s heart ached as she looked at what could have been. She put the photograph close to her chest. She wished she could go back to that time. It was only a short period in her life, but it was the only time she was… happy.

Luna silently cried, and Merlin did not stop her. He just stared at the sky outside.

=0o0=

Luna woke up and found that she was now alone in the cold cave. It was early dawn and they found Merlin and the gryphon were gone. Beside her was a stack of fruits, a canteen of water, a small golden ruby crystal and a note underneath.

Give the concealer to the princess. Make sure she keeps it close all the time. If they do imprison you, use the name of the college. I will personally rescue you myself.

Luna sat upright and offered some fruit to Willow. Most of her injuries have healed and left new large scars all over her body. After she put on her old damaged clothes, Luna heard the sound of the gryphon returning. She walked past it and found that they were incredibly high up, with a steep drop separating them from the ground.

The gryphon arched and lowered its back as if beckoning her to ride him.

"Uhmmmm… are you sure?" It softly cawed. Luna bowed first, then picked up Willow, and slowly got up to ride the gryphon.

=0o0=

It was liberating as the cold wind felt refreshing on her face. The gryphon flew through the early morning sky, and Luna could not help but extend her arms like wings and pretended to fly. They passed through clouds, and below she saw forests, lakes, and mountains in the distance. They flew through the morning, and finally, Luna saw a beautiful coastline in the distance.

The gryphon landed on a cliff that overlooked a beautiful fishing village by the coast. Luna saw Vhlad’s dreadnaught and Alexander’s strike fleet resting in the water. She carefully got off and did her most regal bow in front of the gryphon. It softly approached and rubbed its beak on her. Then it leapt from the cliff and flew away.

With Willow in her arm, Luna began the trek down towards the village.