Raina blinked up at the vibrant moon in the sky as she awoke in a familiar room. She was back in the Twilight King’s castle, that much was apparent.

But how did I get here? She wondered noting the slight aches dancing along her body. Did I…

Then, she remembered. Her hand involuntarily gripped a fistful of the coarse blanket covering her as the memory of the angel’s blade descending to end her life crashed into her thoughts. The ache in her wrist intensified, her breath quickened, and her heart pounded in her chest. Suddenly, the blanket became a weight constricting her movement instead of a warm barrier to the cold air. She sat up and nearly jumped out of her skin when a voice spoke out from her right.

“Ah!” she exclaimed bringing her hand to her racing heart as she looked over to see Cordan. She didn’t even hear what the man had said. Thankfully, a quick glance down revealed that she was clothed though the garments were unfamiliar and a bit loose-fitting. Cordan raised an eyebrow and she caught the hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. “Sorry, you, uh, scared me. I… Never mind, what did you say?”

“I said that you shouldn’t move around,” Cordan said. Sitting with his elbows on his knees and gazing out the window, he looked tired. Shallow bags rested under his eyes which were unfocused. He didn’t turn his gaze on her as he continued. “Lay back down or you’ll hinder your recovery.”

Raina did as he said but she couldn’t help holding her sword hand up for inspection. The wrist ache had subsided a bit. She wanted to get up and move around; however, a lifetime of disability had trained her to listen when people told her to rest. In a minor act of defiance, she flexed the muscles throughout her body, a practice she had grown fond of since gaining full motor control upon her arrival in Fracture. She winced when she tensed the muscles in her back. Ow… Why does my back hurt? I could swear I got hit from the front.

“Was this the first time you’ve almost died?” Cordan asked after a brief silence.

“Uhm… No?” She said though her uncertainty made it sound like a question rather than a declaration. Suddenly, it occurred to her that she had been very intimate with death over the past week. The thought tanked her already poor mood. Inadvertently, she clenched her fist around the blanket. Her voice rang of old frustration when she spoke again. “This is my second time here in Fracture though I’m pretty sure I died before I came to Fracture.”

“Ah, so you're one of those. I heard that’s rough.” Cordan kicked off his boots then shifted further onto the bed swinging his legs up. He laid down with his hands clasped between his head and the pillow. Once he was settled, he glanced at her. “Sorry that you had to go through that, whatever it was that killed you.”

The two sat in silence for several minutes. She turned her attention to the foreign night sky. Out of habit, she searched for any familiar constellations. She found none which made her feel lonely for some reason. Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she spoke up to distract herself, “Speaking of dying, what happened with the mission?” She propped herself up to look at the other beds and saw Alindal sleeping in one, but the other was empty. “Wait, before that, where’s Jack?”

“He was taken.”

Surprisingly, Alindal answered. He kept his eyes closed as he spoke but his voice communicated his emotional state as clearly as his eyes would have. Sadness, regret, and bitterness mixed in his tone adding an edge to his otherwise soft voice.

“What do you mean he was taken?!” Raina burst out, partially from confusion and partially from the distress in Alindal’s voice.

Cordan grimaced up at the ceiling. “That angel that attacked us— I’m almost certain it was one of Pope Bohum’s Justiciars. After it nearly killed you and Alindal, it turned its attention to Jack. When it did that, Pope Bohum ordered it to bring Jack to him and it flew off to the Eternal Light’s Bastion, Jack in hand.”

Before leaving, Jack had filled the group in on the nature of the lightweavers and the actions of the pope. Raina’s heart wrenched at the implied consequences of Jack’s capture. An image of him standing before her with the same unfocused eyes as the lightweavers and a lantern held in his grasp flashed through her mind. Emotions from frustration to sadness tumbled through her mind. Although her relationship with Jack had been tenuous due to her affiliation with Ciel, he had still treated her fairly and with respect.

“Why would the pope want Jack?” she asked, unable to keep the beginnings of anger out of her voice. She suspected that she knew already but asked anyway.

“The Twilight King mentioned that Pope Bohum wants the Twilight Key so he took Jack for the World Core in his chest,” Cordan said.

Raina scowled as her hunch turned out to be right. It seemed that everyone had an interest in Jack’s World Core. I wonder what World Cores do. Whatever their purpose, they must be important if even World Bosses and Celestials want them. I can’t imagine how he must feel…

After arriving in Fracture, she had been in shock more than anything. She imagined being chased from the moment she woke up instead of being taken care of as she had. Thinking of it brought thoughts of Ciel to the forefront of her mind. However, rather than his charming smile and warm demeanor, she recalled his passing gaze as he watched her training and the praise that he would give her when she succeeded at something difficult as well as the cold distance that manifested when she failed. For the second time since talking to Jack about Celestials, she questioned Ciel’s true nature and his intentions toward her. Was she just property to the man? Did he care at all about her beyond the resources he had invested? She couldn’t say and that scared her.

“Well, what are we going to do now?” She asked, reaching for hope and a distraction from her thoughts. They couldn’t proceed without Jack in their plan to restore Terras. Additionally, the man had been the lynchpin in their alliance. Without him, where did that leave the group?

Cordan shifted his gaze to Raina then Alindal then back to the ceiling. “Right… I’ll fill you both in on the situation.”

And so, he did, from his point of view on the angel’s attack to his meeting with the Twilight King. Upon hearing of the death of all the rescued lightweavers except Dorek and Twilight King’s dismissal of their defeat, Raina suppressed a swell of anger to avoid interrupting Cordan. The anger turned to hope as Cordan spoke of the Twilight King’s plan to rescue Jack then the hope dimmed to uncertainty when she heard of Ciel’s return. The combination of learning that Ciel had picked her up at a slave trader, Cordan’s strange apprehension at the mention of the Celestial, and the furrow of Alindal’s brow instilled a certain dread in her which compromised the relief she felt about being rescued from the Twilight King’s apathetic clutches. She brought her hand to her chest clutching her heart and biting her lip. If Ciel sees me as property, is that really any better than being a prisoner?

While she ruminated, Alindal sat up opening his eyes to glance at Cordan. The two exchanged a brief look before the elf said, “I’m going to join the Twilight King’s assault.”

Cordan shrugged, “Even if he’s a Celestial, I’d take Ciel over going into a warzone though I’m not surprised you don’t feel the same. It’s not like Ciel would let you walk away.”

“I wouldn’t even if he would. I’m not some mercenary with no loyalty,” Alindal said, offense and accusation in his tone.

Cordan tensed, frowning as his eyes narrowed. Raina abruptly realized that Cordan was the only one in the room armed with a weapon. Her hand twitched as she scanned the room. Not seeing her sword, she mentally combed through Cordan’s retelling of events. He hadn’t mentioned retrieving her lost sword. For his part, the relic hunter didn’t say anything but something passed between the two men that Raina missed while she looked for her blade.

Alindal sighed. “I said something I should not have. I haven’t even properly thanked you for saving my life and I’ve insulted your integrity. I… apologize and thank you for not leaving me to die among the ashes.”

“Al’s right. Thanks for not leaving us, Cordan.” Raina joined in Alindal’s sentiment feeling like an ingrate for not thanking the man immediately.

Cordan seemed a bit uncomfortable. He waved a hand as if to disperse the tension in the air and grumbled, “Don’t worry about it.” He looked at Alindal. “What the deal with you two anyway? Did you know each other before Fracture?”

Raina listened closely. She wanted to know more about Jack and Alindal for multiple reasons.

Pausing before he answered, Alindal’s face turned contemplative. A good ten seconds passed before he spoke. “Jack was the first friend I made in Fracture.” An uncertain expression crossed his features as though he weren’t sure if he should go on then he shrugged. “I… I was a slave in a facility run by the Celestial called Azatiel. He apparently likes exotic humanoids so I was kept in one of his personal facilities. Jack was there too. He had been captured shortly after his arrival in Fracture; however, the day they brought him in, someone attacked the facility and Jack escaped. For some reason, he freed me too.”

For the next quarter-hour, Alindal told the story of his and Jack’s escape from Azatiel’s forces, their near-death in the wilds of the Broken Lands, and Jack’s refusal to leave Alindal behind even as the elf almost succumbed to starvation. Cordan asked occasional clarifying questions about locations and the group that attacked the facility.

In response to one such question, Alindal finished his tale by saying, “We learned later that the group who attacked Azatiel’s facility was none other than Uriel’s Legion. When he saved me, Jack actually broke off from a group of fleeing slaves headed for safety. Apparently, Uriel’s Legion clashes regularly with Azatiel since they oppose slavery and offer shelter to freed slaves that reach Pinnacle, their seat of power. If Jack had left with the other slaves, he might’ve made it to Pinnacle and his life might’ve been different. He dismisses it regularly but it’s something I think on more than he’d appreciate. We’ve been on the run for about five years now.”

Cordan took on a pensive expression but Raina almost teared up. She asked, “Have you tried making it to Pinnacle for safety?”

Alindal sighed again. “After learning about it, we considered it, but the ruler of Pinnacle, Uriel, is most likely a Celestial. Technically, it is not known one way or the other yet the chances of a non-Celestial getting away with antagonizing Azatiel are slim. Among the Celestials, Azatiel is known for his cruelty and vindictiveness.” Azatiel’s empty eyes stared at Raina from her memory sending a chill down her spine. She had no trouble believing a man with eyes like that had cruelty in his heart. Alindal continued, “I believe Jack’s words were ‘I’d rather not trade literal chains for figurative ones even if they’re more comfortable.’”

Raina laughed despite the dismal topic. Cordan gave her an odd look. She had a soft spot for dark humor; it’d gotten her through several rough patches in her life before Fracture as her disease progressed. Dealing with suffering was easier if one could laugh at it, at least in her experience.

Aside from the humor that she found in Jack’s words, they also resonated with her. Did she join Alindal in rescuing Jack or return to Ciel? Once she chose one, Raina knew she would be closing a door on the other. If she went back to Ciel, any trust she had built up with Jack and Alindal would vanish. They would be enemies whether she liked it or not. By the same token, she was certain assisting Jack would put her at odds with Ciel. I wonder how Ciel will change if I get between him and Jack.

The room went silent in the wake of Alindal’s story. Raina gazed up at Terras’s moon which reminded her of Earth’s own. As she contemplated her choices, a revelation struck her. Her decision had more implications than just her next course of action. She summoned her notification for the Protector of Mundus reward.

[Congratulations! You have completed the Protector of Mundus hidden objective!]

Assignment Rewards

Select one of the following:

-1 Protector’s Emblem (Living Relic)

-1 Fractured Logos Key (Relic)

-Protector of the Blue Heart (Trait)

Her mind churned with uncertainty as she read the rewards again. She glanced at Alindal. In the brief time that she had known him, the elf had been kind, understanding, and attentive in his interactions with her despite her connection to Ciel. Similarly, Jack had treated her like an ally and included her in the plan even though he had every reason to do the opposite. However, Ciel had done a lot for her whatever his reasons. Can I really ignore that? A normally silent part of her spoke up. Am I going to break my word?

A bitter memory flooded her mind of a broken promise and a shattered dream. Before her nerves could stop her, she selected the Fractured Logos Key and accepted the prompt.

The notification winked out and a bright orb of blue light materialized in front of her face. Cordan and Alindal looked over, surprise on their faces. The light of the orb faded revealing a luminescent blue key about twice the size of a normal house key. Raina held her hand out and it drifted gently into her hand. She blinked down at the blue Relic in her palm which glimmered in the moonlight streaming from the window.

“What is that?” Cordan asked, glaring at the key as though it were going to cause trouble.

Alindal locked eyes with her and smiled. “You picked the Fractured Logos Key.”

“He told you?” She asked.

“Yes, he did,” Alindal said. His eyes lingered on the Fractured Logos Key for a moment. “Thank you, Raina.”

Raina blushed a bit. “I figured we might need an escape plan when we rescue Jack.”

Alindal gave her a look that said more than words could have with his silver eyes. Cordan glanced at Raina then at Alindal and covered his face with his hands stifling a tired groan and messaging his temples.

Raina was about to say something when a thump sounded from the door. Another followed then another. By the third, Alindal was already on his feet wincing slightly with a hand to her chest. Cordan made to stop him but Alindal waved him off. “I’m fine.”

He opened the door, revealing the glowing red eyes of Kafkë. The floating skull was a terrifying sight in the dark hallway. Its crimson eyes scanned the room before settling on Alindal.

“Ah, pointy-ears! Just who I wanted to see.”