This time, he dreamed of a nightmare of his earlier years. It was during the night he unleashed the seal which resulted of his first encounter with Henrick and being bestowed upon the Oracle’s mark.

A ravine suddenly opened below his friend. Kihet jumped in to save her but also fell, saved by stray roots that broke their fall. The bottom of the ravine was dark and cold. Their cries couldn’t reach the surface, so their only choice was to find their own way up.

Further ahead, they saw an obelisk with weird symbols and characters not of the seven races. Being the bravest of the two, Kihet dared himself to interact with the object as he attempted to decipher it.

It was then the words on the obelisk glowed then summoned a creature whose body burned in silver flames. Soon later, he would powerlessly watch the demon slaughter his rescuers including Sorah’s parents and his folks.

“—!”

Panicking, Kihet flung his back off the bed and held his forehead. His head pounded with pain and covered in sweat. After calming his ragged breathing, he surveyed the room and was reminded that event had long passed.

Beside him was a familiar person. Her young face was framed by long black hair with two dark ruby horns. One of them was broken. She was stunned with tears flowing down her cheeks when she saw him suddenly woke up and without delay, jumped at him.

“Kihet!”

“Ouch! Don’t tackle me! You’re hurting my arm! It… hurts? Huh? Wasn’t one of my arms cut off?”

“The treatment went well.” Lily wiped her eyes. “They used some powerful stuff to put it back on.”

“There’s something like that?” Not that he recalled anything similar from Lemi’s medical encyclopedia.

“En. But it still took a week. The healers called it… Full Moon Dew?”

Apparently, it could only be collected from the heart of the great tree on nights with full moon, hence its name. One drop per moon cycle. Its healing properties weren’t instantaneous, but the effect kicked in pretty fast. He was given a dose of it after his arm was stitched back on, which quickly mended the wound but left a noticeable scar.

“I passed out for a whole week?”

He moved his left hand up, forming a fist. He thought he had lost his arm forever when the Headsman chopped it off.

Speaking of the Headsman.

“That Acolyte, where is it?!”

“It’s alright, it’s been taken care of.”

“By who?”

“Fufu.” The corner of her lips curled up as she reached behind, drew an arrow. “By me, of course! A hero doing her work! I drove it back!”

The aura emitted from the arrow had the same energy as the flames he produced. Kihet even held the arrow and when his fingers wrapped around the shaft, the light combusted into flames.

“It changed? Why does it burn after I hold it?”

“That’s what I want to know. I’m not complaining that it works the same way.”

“When did you find out you can use it?”

“After I met my doppelgänger. She calls herself Elenora.” Lily narrowed her eyes at him as she crawled on the bed, putting herself above him so Kihet wasn’t able to escape. “And you got some explaining to do. I can’t believe you were seeing another girl behind my back!”

“I think you misunderstood something. I was not seeing her. She infiltrated my dreams.”

“I heard from her that you might’ve knew we’d meet an Acolyte. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“That… I thought we could’ve avoid encountering it.”

“And look where that led us. You almost died and you promised to not get so reckless!”

“Sorry… I was, desperate.”

“A sorry isn’t going to cut it. I might just write to Martha about your recklessness.”

“Please don’t. She’s going to send me stacks of papers to read.”

“You’re going to have to persuade me somehow.”

“What would make you happy?”

Hearing that, Lily pushed her face even closer to Kihet’s. Now staring eye to eye, he could see the sparkles in her irises.

“Hmm? Are you sure you want me to decide?”

“No wait, I take it back. Give me time to think.” Kihet sighed, ignoring her boos. “By the way, where are we?”

“The capital’s healing ward.”

The wooden pattern of walls, floor and ceiling looked identical as if the room was carved in a tree. A decently sized window allowed him to survey the streets outside to determine he woken up where Lily said. Like him, people who survived against the Headsman rested on rows of beds, but he was given an entire suite.

“So, Lily.”

“Hm?”

“How long are you going to stay on top of me? I want to stretch my legs a bit.”

“You can’t! You’re going to stay in bed until the healers bring in your report. I don’t want to see your arm suddenly falling off.”

“It’s for a tiny bit.”

“Then I’ll hold you down!” Lily leaped on his chest, pushing him down on the bed with her weight.

“H-hey!”

Before he could push her off, he heard sniffles.

“Lily…?”

“I’m glad you’re still alive. I was so scared when I saw your arm ripped out like that. Your blood was everywhere and I just-.”

As Lily sobbed, Kihet reached around and patted her back. He heard her crying beside his ear while holding her tightly. Even after Lily couldn’t cry, she didn’t let go of Kihet until half an hour later.

“You’re such a cry baby.”

“Whose fault do you think it is?” Lily shot back as she rubbed her eyes.

“I get it. It’s all my fault.”

“Good. Want some fruit?”

“Sure.”

She climbed off the bed, plucked an apple out of a basket and peeled the skin. She cut it up into slices, sharing some with Kihet. As she fed him a slice, her ears perked up, remembering something.

“I saw what it looked like before the Acolyte ran away. My powers were able to clear the miasma for a few moments.”

“One of the races of old humanity?” Kihet guessed.

“How did you know?”

“I was told.”

“Well, it said something to me. Destroy the Sanctums and help its Master. Does that mean its master is our ally?”

-Destroy the Sanctums and help its Master? I’ll ask Elenora when I see her, but I’m more curious to know what Sanctums are. It’s the first time I heard of it.-

“No clue. All I know is that we aren’t on equal footing against them.”

“Yeah. I couldn’t have drove it back alone.” Lily fell backward, landing on his legs and spread her arms on the bed. They fell silent for a moment, munching on apple slices then she turned to him once again. “You know, we made some friends in Vivrus. Could one of them be a candidate?”

“I don’t know if I could call them friends. Acquaintance at most. Besides, I didn’t even know how I gave you a Hero’s crest.”

“But at this rate we won’t make any progress. Try asking Elenora next time you see her.”

“Already thinking a list of questions. And don’t look at me like that. I’ll fill you in on everything.”

“Promise?”

“Do I have a choice? Anyways I can hear people coming here.”

After the healers came and did his examination, they deemed Kihet recovered enough to be temporarily discharged so long as he doesn’t burden his arm until it was fully healed.

While Lily packed their belongings, Kihet practiced moving his hand by folding paper cranes she taught him. He didn’t manage to create one. As soon as they were prepared to leave, Kihet saw Lily’s hand on the handle, staring back at him.

“Why aren’t you opening the door?”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

He gave her a blank look then proceeded to pat his pockets. Malth’s battle axe and Lemi’s tome were with them.

“Aside from my weapons, it doesn’t look like it.”

“I didn’t mean those. I’m saying I managed to drive away the enemy and I was hoping to expect a good word or two from you.”

“You want praise.”

“Do I have to spell it out for you?”

“You do know I was the one who took all the hits for us.”

“And I was the one who drove it away!” She thrust her chest out proudly, her hands on her hips bragging her deeds overconfidently. “I won’t open the door until I get my praise!”

“You’re awfully childish.” At this rate they were going nowhere. He put his hand on her head and gave her hair a bit of a ruffle. Her long ears flapped up and down. “Good job, Lily. You really came through.”

“It sounds forced, but I’ll take it anyways.”

“It is forced.”

Displeased, Lily pouted but reluctantly opened the door and helped him put on his backpack. They met one of the guides who prepared a carriage heading towards the palace to meet the Queen. During their ride, Lily stared out the opening, singing and humming. She would occasionally toss a glance to check on him.

“Here.” Suddenly she pushed an envelope forward. “I received a letter from Martha.”

“Is it her usual nagging?”

“Hey, that’s only because she cares.” She narrowed her eyes. “She sent us a report of unusual activity from the tower in Xu. It stopped sending the usual waves of Shadows to attack the walls. Do you think it’s because of our battle?”

At the surface it appeared to be good news, but Kihet didn’t like it. He suspected the Towers changed tactics after the Headsman withdrew. If anything, they were limited on information about how the change affected each country. They could only react and hoped for the best.

“I wish I have answers. Send a reply back to tell them to keep their defenses up.”

“Already did.”

Then, a knock came from the door. Workers greeted them and escorted the two towards the entrance of the Royal Chambers. Lily and Kihet went straight into the burrow, prepared to report everything to the Queen. His eyes scanned each passing intersection. Every corner he turned towards, guards were there to prevent him from moving off track.

Back to usual, is it?

He adjusted the strap of Malth’s axe hanging off his backpack and continued on the only path opened to them. The Queen was there patiently waiting on her throne.

“Oracle, I’m relieved to see you awakened.”

“No thanks to what you put me through.” Kihet rolled his eyes.

“Kihet!” Lily whispered. “She also didn’t know we would be teleported into the dungeon.”

“Whatever.” He grunted. “I heard Lily successfully drove the Acolyte back.”

“Yes. Not without casualties, but the result is better than everything being wiped out. Our victory was thanks to Tomoe. Since your so-called Acolyte has retreated, we were able to regain some of the lost lands that were previously contaminated.”

“Good for you. Will Vivrus now send support to Xu?”

“Not quite yet. Have you already forgotten our bargain?”

Kihet hoped this was the last of it and quietly clicked his tongue. At least they made some money that could be used to repair and upgrade equipment.

Just as Kihet opened his mouth, his reply was abruptly silenced by a messenger’s desperation. Everyone shifted their attention onto the soldier limping through the gates with wounds. Its wings were torn off, exoskeleton cracked with holes. The diameter of the injuries looked too small for a spear to have done that and arrows would’ve stayed lodged in the messenger.

An ominous feeling crawled down his spine.

“Your majesty, I bring urgent news of Ilum mines.”

“What’s the situation?”

“The enemy surrounded the mines with a force of two thousand and have blocked all roads for escape. General Tuvok, Strategist Lazzuxui, and their soldiers managed to reinforce the mines before the attack.”

“And Alagos had just returned from his duty guarding the contaminated zones.” Elarinya muttered then waved down one of the guards. “Give word to Alagos and his soldiers to go on standby. We’ll march to the mines as soon as they have rested enough.”

“Rozzosea?” Kihet interrupted.

“Indeed. I was certain we were able to contain their scouts and prevent them from discovering our battle against the Acolyte. I believe they knew our forces had plummeted and decided it was time to strike.”

“An attack on Ilum mines?” Lily asked.

“Yes. It is where we acquire eighty percent of our ores.”

“That’s bad news. Big sis Miyabe had a trade deal for Vivrus’ ores.”

It was then Kihet spotted golden dust on the messenger’s shoulder and remembered the incident that started all of this.

He ran up to the messenger, kicked him down and stepped on his neck. Lily froze while the Queen bounced off her throne and sent a glare his way.

“Answer honestly and I might let you live. What are your real intentions?”

“What are you- I’m just a messenger- erk!”

“Next bullshit I hear, I’ll pop off your head. You’re covered in golden dust. You might be a spy for those bastards.”

“Golden dust-? Release him, Oracle! Pixie dusts have no effect on us insectoids!” The Queen shouted.

“I’m not going to take any chances to believe anything information coming out of its mouth. I saw what the effects were. If it weren’t for those dust, everyone back then wouldn’t have died!”

“Oracle, steady yourself and listen to me. Are you aware of the discrimination against my people in the past?”

“That your kind was assumed to be monsters on first contact with other races? Why bring this up?”

“We were descendants of a hive mind from ancient times. To easier coexisting with other races, we evolved to what we are today, but we kept a main trait. My subjects cannot be mind controlled because the pheromones the leader release automatically overrules any attempts.”

“As in, you’re the one preventing any mind controlling on the insectoids.”

“That is correct.”

“That also meant you didn’t have that power before. Do the Queen’s powers get passed by some method after the dual for the throne?”

“That’s…” Elaryina muttered, now a bit hesitant.

“My Queen, you can’t possibly tell him about Vivrus’ sacred practice-!”

“Not one word from you. Next time, I’ll crush your entire chest.” Kihet warned the messenger. “Continue.”

“We consume the essence of the previous Queen. The purpose of trial by combat is to renew the host of the ability. The Queen is required to be skilled in combat to protect this power. All of Vivrus have the obligation to challenge me if they feel this ability is at risk being lost or compromised.”

Kihet finally understood why Vivrus kept changing leaders frequently. It wasn’t because of sudden urge to acquire power, but to preserve a powerful defense passively protecting their kind.

“That means as long as you’re alive or if there is a queen, nothing can forcibly control the insectoids?” He loosened his hold on the messenger slightly, just enough for air to travel into the lungs.

“Correct. No matter where, they are immune.”

“And proof?”

“Unfortunately, I am unable to provide any physical evidence. However, there hasn’t been any insectoids attempting an assassination, no?”

“I can’t deny there hasn’t been any of that.” Kihet removed his foot off the messenger and scoffed at him. “I’ll take your word but I’m watching.”

“Thank you.”

The Queen then gestured her guards to escort the messenger to the healers. She then shot a smile towards Lily.

“Oh dear me, that was a dreadful mood. Let’s change that shall we? Have the two of you eaten? If not, would both of you like to join me while we discuss the next phase?”

Lily eyed Kihet, waiting for his reply. She stated at him with glimmering eyes and Kihet bet she was thinking nothing but food at this moment. He couldn’t blame Lily’s gluttonous personality. In the end they accepted the Queen’s offer.

They were led to a dining hall which looked more like a gathering hall for banquets. A long narrow table spanned horizontally from their view with dimly magical lights fuel by the tree’s everlasting magic. On one end, there was a seat large enough for the Queen. The other, two finely decorated seats for her guests.

Palace servants entered the hall pushing small carts and placed separate dishes on the table. Stirred rice with beans, meat splashed with spices accompanied by a small bowl of sweet and sour sauce on the side. Steamed Bloating mantis with rich, fragrant, royal berry sauce. Grilled soft crustacean shells with creamy milk like flavor soup, poured onto their cases. Lastly, lettuce salad toppled with vegetable alongside mayo cream.

“After losing many of our lands to the tower, the variety of dishes we were able to cultivate decreased. However, with farmlands expanded and more access to hunting grounds, food should no longer be a problem within weeks. Now, enjoy.”

From Kihet’s perspective, the meals were prepared alien. He carefully moved the food up to his mouth and gave it a lick. Tasteless as always but it wasn’t poisoned.

“These are… delicious! Especially the honey! Its so sweet and smooth, almost like-!” Lily exclaimed her surprise with her mouth partially full. The items on her dish vanished one by one until she looked enviously at Kihet for more.

Knowing she wanted more, and he couldn’t taste anything, Kihet slid his plate towards Lily.

“Now, now. There’s much more.” The Queen laughed and snapped her fingers for more orders. Kihet had to stop Lily before her manners as a glutton worsened.

“This better not place me in debt.”

“I assure you this is a gesture of gratitude for clearing the dungeon on my behalf. I would never stoop so low. However, Oracle, I wish to first voice my concern over your behavior displayed in the throne room. Had you encountered Pixies before?”

“Only dead ones. Their dusts were harvested and used. I don’t know how they got their hands on colonies of Pixies without Sanctuary noticing.”

“I see. You were there. No wonder your reactions were more enraged than Tomoe’s.”

“Don’t remind me. Just tell me what you know about Pixies and how you think their numbers could be so easily captured.”

“It may be speculation, but perhaps the Fairies encouraged it. Obviously, that’s one of the possibilities but the most likely of them. There is a similar situation in Stusis as well.”

“Kidnappings?”

“No. Race supremacy. The stronger and more numerous kinds whose ideals punish others that aren’t one of them and even their sub races. Fortunately for Vivrus, we value difference of our kind as we all began our life as a simple larva. The Dragonkins on the other hand, are at war with other scalemen tribes, drowning Stusis in turmoil.”

After Queen Elarinya informed him of Stusis’ situation, Kihet vaguely remembered the Scalemen who visited him in his village mentioned something about it.

“Dammit. That’s where Draigh is.” He muttered. “And other countries?”

“Pamalyra and Easul seemed to be the most peaceful. Both those country haven’t done anything to garner my attention.”

“Were there any information about other Enuis?”

“That I do not know. Either they’re incredibly good at hiding or-.”

Dead.

“Never mind. Please forget what I muttered.”

“Then what about Megith? If you want me to rest easy for the upcoming battle, you could at least tell me about her condition.”

“I suppose…” The Queen rubbed her chin slightly, looking elsewhere in the room. Her mind drifted away for a second, calculating. She placed her elbows on the table, returning a serious gaze. “The reason I am interfering with your reunion is because I am sensitive to how you would react. Holy Megith has fallen into a coma and hasn’t woken up for more than a decade.”

“From shock or injuries?”

“Neither. Soon after learning Holy Malth was slain by the Acolyte, she would not wake up. We learned it was from a curse and through research, if the curse was forcefully removed, she will die.”

“What about dispelling it?”

“Does the Oracle’s power lift curses?”

“I never tried it before.”

“Then I highly recommend you do not risk attempting it. I owe Holy Megith and Holy Malth a great debt when you weren’t awakened. Not as the ruler of Vivrus, but as Elarinya I will do whatever it takes to protect her, and I ask you to do the same if you wish to see her.”

Kihet opened his fingers and stared at his rugged hands. Closing them, letting out a sigh, he took a moment to collect his thoughts.

Rozzosea closed on Vrurus’ capital. After they conquered the mines, they’ll wait until the metal reserves depleted then attack in full force. Meanwhile, Lily and Kihet were only two bodies, to which their presence wouldn’t have much effect of the outcome of the battle.

-And if I don’t help, I’ll risk losing another friend in front of my eyes.-

To be honest, it felt like Kihet was fighting for a lost cause. How many more things did he need to lose? He didn’t want to know the answer to that question.

Then, a hand seized his shoulder, gently giving him a shake. Lily stared at him with fire in her eyes, eager to lend her assistance.

“I know.” Kihet waved her hand away. “I’ll help.”

“Thank you, Oracle.”

“I’m not doing this for Vivrus.” His dispassionate tone of his voice trailing off into a whisper. “I don’t want to lose more friends.”

He waved Lily over, asking her to hand Malth’s battleaxe and Lemi’s tome to the Queen’s servants for safekeeping.

“I don’t trust you with these, but I don’t have anywhere else to hide them.”

“Understood. I shall store them inside the Royal Vault until you ask the items to be returned to you. But Oracle, you’ve only healed. It’s best if you rest longer.”

Looking at himself, he was in no condition to join the frontlines. You might think of it as a coward’s excuse and Kihet would completely agree. However, a coward has their way to fight. He brought himself out of pinches in past battle because to this day, he held true to an old friend’s words.

“There’s a saying in Vivrus, right? Something like ‘Sometimes it’s best to take small bites rather than everything at once, else you’ll choke’.”

“Yes, there is. I’m surprised you know.”

“An old friend once mentioned it. From what the messenger reported, we have to break through a detached force blocking us to the mines.”

“Have you got a plan?”

“None. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have any ideas that can help.”