“Jack, how long are you going to lay there?” asked a familiar voice.

Jack ignored her. He was so tired after everything that had happened. He didn’t see any harm in resting a while longer. He heard her laugh then felt the press of soft lips on his own. Despite himself, he took the bait opening his eyes as she pulled away. He was dismayed to discovered Esthara was already fully clothed. Her olive eyes teased him as she walked over to the dresser to fetch her jacket. She pulled it on with a satisfied expression and Jack thought of how excited she had been when he bought it for her just a few days prior. Although he didn’t consider the gift to be anything special, Esthara treated it like a treasure which made him happy. The others had teased Jack about Esthara’s reaction especially Mitani who called it the “spell of new love”.

“Come back to bed,” he said reaching out for her. She walked forward as if she were going to heed his call but dodged his hand at the last second when he tried to grab her.

“Nice try, blue boy, but if you want it, you’ll have to come and get it,” she said. He grunted in response. He wouldn’t fall for that trap. Since she actually had a designation to level up, she was already stronger than he was. If he tried to wrestle her into submission, he would lose and then, she would stop him from going back to sleep. He was no fool. Besides, she’d have to come back to bed eventually. Seeing that he had no intention of getting up, she walked to the door and said, “I’m going out with Mitani, Ruka, and Alindal. You should join us.”

“Have fun,” he called waving his hand. She sighed and opened the door. There, she hesitated for a moment as her lips parted slightly. Unspoken words hovered between them briefly before she turned to leave.

It was Jack’s turn to sigh. “Fine, you win!” He groaned and got feet, grumbling all the while as she smiled triumphantly at him. She handed him a pair of pants that she pulled from the dresser drawer, but Jack used the opportunity to grab her wrist and pull her closer. She didn’t resist.

“You cut it close,” she said as she let herself be drawn into his arms.

“I’d say I was just in time.” He kissed her, closing his eyes and enjoying the feel of her closeness. Even though she was the same height as him, she shrank into his arms while their lips intertwined. The sensation was still new to Jack. Without his memories, he couldn’t remember anything before waking up in Fracture. It meant Esthara was his first lover and he found her intoxicating. They had only been physically intimate for a little over a week but he hoped their passion would persist long after the “spell of new love” wore off.

As that thought passed, he suddenly felt a shiver. The warmth of Esthara’s body against his own grew cold as ice. He opened his eyes, confused, yet instead of her beautiful olive eyes, he saw pits of darkness which threatened to swallow his soul. He tried to pull away but she leaned harder into the kiss. Her lips were frigid as they locked with his. He couldn’t resist. A cloying sweet smell filled his nostrils and her skin paled, growing sickly and spotted. Strands of platinum hair fell from her head in clumps as she pushed him onto the bed mid-kiss. He tried to grab at her face to push her off him, but her skin tore away in the process leaving exposed bone. His struggle seemed to encourage her spurring on her passion which was matched in turn by his horror. When she finally pulled back, she wore the face of death, not love. She leaned down to kiss him once more.

Jack cried out as he woke up drenched in a cold sweat. He heard someone exclaim in surprise nearby and he glanced about frantically, trying to make sense of his situation. He didn’t know where he was. The only light in the room was a steady stream of pale moonbeams from the solitary window on the wall adjacent to him. His eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light and he saw two other people in the room.

He spotted Raina first. She was standing by the window in the moonlight which played off he pale skin and white hair in an almost ethereal way. From her expression, he guessed she had been the one he’d heard earlier. Next, he saw Alindal laying a few feet away from him. Thankfully, Jack heard his breathing which sounded even and unimpeded, so the elf was merely unconscious. Still, he shakily rose to his feet to check on his friend. At that moment, a chair creaked in the darkness and Jack glimpsed the last occupant of the room.

Cordan sat at a medium-sized table on the other side of the room. Jack wasn’t surprised since he’d heard the man’s breathing along with the others; however, he was curious why Cordan and Raina were present at all. Where are we and what are those two doing here?

He remembered the events before he’d lost consciousness well enough to know the giant skeletal boss likely had something to do with his current predicament, but aside from that hunch he was clueless. Jack, Raina, and Cordan stared at each other awkwardly for a moment until Jack walked over to Alindal and knelt down to check the elf for injuries.

“He’s alright,” Raina said drawing his gaze once more. Her red eyes wavered as they met his own. Jack didn’t bother putting on a pleasant face for her. He recalled the hidden conversation she had had with Ciel hours before the he had confronted him at the rift. Based on the Celestial’s behavior beforehand, Raina had likely said something that had clued him in on Jack's identity. Most likely, it had been something unintentional stemming from a mistake Jack must’ve made. He didn’t care though. He ignored her and went about confirming Alindal’s well-being in silence. While he did so, Jack noted the absence of his metal club, the Shadowtitan’s Fist, and his belt containing the various tools he’d brought along for the job. His mask was also nowhere to be seen though he suspected it was still laying where Ciel had dropped it, probably forgotten or trampled underfoot.

In the meantime, Cordan made his way over to Jack. He crouched on the other side of Alindal and his eyes caught Jack’s own imparting a clear message. Once Jack finished, the two stood and walked over to the table. Cordan sat back down while Jack chose to remain standing.

Cordan spoke first, “So what’s your deal?”

Jack leaned on the edge of the table raising an eyebrow. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

The former foreman was less than pleased with Jack’s answer. His expression soured and he slammed his hand down on the table producing a dull thud from the heavy wooden frame. “Could we cut the stupid act, Jack? Who are you and what connection do you have with that boss? The thing referred to you by name when they locked us in here, so don’t try to sell me any of that “I don’t know” shit.”

That was news to Jack. The creature knew his name? How? His genuine confusion must’ve shown on his face because Cordan’s glare lost some of its edge. His outburst did confirm Jack’s suspicion that they were inside of the Remnant Gate though. He suspected they were close to the boss’s lair if the creature had dropped him here personally. Nonetheless, he had no intention of explaining himself to Cordan.

“I don’t know what you are talking about, but my personal details are none of your business,” he said meeting Cordan’s glare. “I could ask you the same thing. Who are you to that undead? Why are you here? Or hell, why are any of you here? I’m the one who got gripped up by the damned boss at the rift. Why don’t you explain the situation to me? It’s news to me that that thing knows my name, so obviously you have more information than I do.”

The two men glowered at each other for a few tense seconds until Raina broke the silence. “I don’t know why Julian and I were taken.” Jack turned his frown on her causing her to pause briefly before she continued. “Julian tried to attack the boss but I stopped him before he could cast a spell. He wanted to save you even though he had to know it wouldn’t work. Once we saw you go limp, he stopped struggling and we tried to run, but then Ciel…”

She stopped again, but this time, Jack saw tears glisten in the moonlight at the corners of her eyes. Turning away from them, she wiped her tears away. Jack’s eyes narrowed at the mention of the Celestial. When Raina didn’t continue, Jack pressed Cordan, “What the hell did Ciel do?”

The relic hunter sighed and said, “He died. The boss hit him with an attack called Greater Destruction. It looked like he might be alright but that damn undead woman cut him down while he was fending off the boss’s attack.” Raina wiped her eyes again and Cordan aimed a somber look at her. Perhaps out of sympathy, he added, “He put up one hell of a fight though.”

For his part, Jack actually chuckled. “I bet he did. Hope it fucking hurt.”

Cordan frowned at his callous remark and Raina looked shocked then angry but Jack didn’t care. His emotions hadn’t settled from Ciel’s stunt and any suffering the the man suffered was more than deserved in his eyes. He truly wished the Celestial would stay dead but he wouldn’t be surprised if he was alive and well already. His frown deepened as he realized Ciel was likely plotting an incursion into the Remnant Gate to retrieve him as they spoke.

At the very least, he was relieved to hear that the boss could overpower Ciel. It meant he was safe from the Celestial for now; although, he did still have to worry about the boss’s intentions whatever they were. Additionally, the boss’s strength raised a very large question that he hadn’t considered yet.

“Cordan, how the hell did the Remnant Gate open by itself? And how did a boss from a D-rank Gate overpower someone like Ciel?”

Cordan gave him a strange look before he said. “Can’t tell you how it opened, but the rift Ruptured.”

“Still, you saw Ciel fight so how—,” Jack said but he stopped when Cordan shook his head and met his gaze.

“It Ruptured to S-rank.”

Silence ruled the room as Jack processed the man’s words in disbelief. A Rupture from D-rank to S-rank was supposed to be impossible. The devices used to monitor and measure rifts were almost never wrong and no rift had ever Ruptured more than two ranks in the history of the Relic Hunter guild— D to S was double that record. Jack hoped the boss didn’t plan on torturing them or anything.

The undead king was already an anomaly since he had taken them alive instead of killing them. Most denizens of any given Remnant Gate were instantly hostile toward outsiders even if they were intelligent enough to speak. On top of that, the boss had something called a “World Core” in his chest which was somehow related to his power core. The memory of Arcen Corran and the inquisitors resurfaced in his thoughts and he wondered if it was related to the boss or the Twilight Key. If it was the boss, then Jack might’ve gained a glimpse into the creature’s past. Had the Harmonic Resonance affected the boss as well? He suddenly realized that it probably did otherwise how else would it know his name?

Again, it was Raina who broke the silence. She asked Jack, “What did Ciel say to you before the Gate opened?”

From the looks of it, her anger at his earlier statement seemed to have abated; however, the look in her eyes said she was determined to get some kind of answer from Jack.

“The piece of shit threatened me and my friend,” Jack said, deciding to go with a half-truth. As far as he was concerned, he didn’t owe Raina an answer, but he responded anyway since it felt good to speak ill of Ciel.

Instead of getting angry again, Raina glanced over at Alindal and her face twisted with a mix of emotions that was difficult to read. Once she mastered herself, she said, “It’s my fault he threatened you.” Jack’s brow furrowed as the words left her mouth which seemed to spur her on causing her words to come faster. “I didn’t know he would do such a thing and I never intended to put you in that kind of position. You have every right to be angry after what Ciel did. Ciel is—.” She paused blinking a few times as she visibly struggled with her emotions again then continued, “Was. Ciel was kinder than anyone I’ve met here. I thought… I thought he would help us both, not take from you so he could help me. I should’ve considered your situation more and how hard things already were for you. I’m sorry.” When she finished, her eyes searched Jack’s anxiously.

Confusion and anger warred for dominance in his mind. On the one hand, Raina had basically admitted to screwing him over, so his hatred toward Ciel nearly shifted to encompass her as well. However, her apology didn’t make sense to him. Why would she have anything to do with Ciel’s desire to capture him? Raina was supposedly new to Fracture and unless she was an amazing actress, Jack believed it which meant she couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the reason why Jack was hunted. After all, he’d been pursued for nearly five years, long before Raina arrived on Fracture. All the same, her words implied an understanding beyond what she should have. Jack didn’t think she was playing him either. The regret and sadness in her eyes were honest, raw emotions laid bare by her apology. He was clearly missing something.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Since her apology had been so earnest, he resolved to be straightforward with her until he saw a reason to be otherwise. He had to remind himself that Raina wasn’t Ciel. He still couldn’t trust her but he could at least be civil.

Raina looked a bit surprised by his question. For some reason, she glanced at Cordan then back at Jack while biting her bottom lip with an uncertain expression. Jack gestured for her to continue hoping to get a clear answer.

“I know about the Protector of Mundus objective,” she said, giving him a knowing look.

“The what?” Sadly, her answer only confused Jack further.

Cordan who’d been quietly observing their exchange piped in then, “Wait, are you talking about a hidden objective?”

Raina’s eyes widened which told both of the men that she was, in fact, talking about a hidden objective. Jack sighed and said, “Just explain what you’re talking about clearly. There’s no reason to be subtle at this point since we might all be dead soon either way.”

After a moment of hesitation, Raina began telling the story of how she had received the hidden objective, Protector of Mundus. By the end of it, Cordan was eyeing Jack in a way that made him uncomfortable and Raina appeared to happy to have gotten the secret off her chest. Jack was a mess of emotions. Obviously, he didn’t have the Protector of Mundus objective but he did have a solid idea what the objective meant by “new World Core”. He had to stop himself from glancing down at his chest during her explanation. He’d suspected for years that his power core had something to do with the reason he was hunted, but Raina’s story basically confirmed it especially after she explained that her assignment pointed directly at him. It meant his power core was actually a “World Core” which didn’t mean much to Jack but he’d be willing to bet it had meant a lot to Ciel. After hearing her explanation, it was a wonder the Celestial had let Jack get off the bus before confronting him. Because Raina lacked the context Ciel had, she’d come to the conclusion that he was hiding the World Core on his person as opposed to the truth which was that it was a part of his body. The earlier misunderstanding had stemmed from her mistaken conclusion which had led her to believe he was ferrying around the World Core due to the hidden objective.

After ruminating for a bit, Jack realized Raina and Cordan were both looking at him as though they expected him to say something. He ran a hand through his hair, frowning as he grasped the complexity of his current predicament. Thankfully, he was saved from having to concoct an explanation on the spot when the door to the room slammed open startling all three of them and waking Alindal.

Rovena strode into the room causing everyone to tense up at the sight of her. Jack noted she was still wearing her armor though the black metal appeared to have taken quite the beating from her battle with Ciel. She turned her dark gaze on the trio and announced, “All of you, get up and follow me. The Twilight King has summoned you.”