"Sorry I'm late. I had some business in the Phoenix Empire to finish up."

Azul seems surprised to finally see me in person. They all seem pretty surprised, actually. “Anyway, I'll go collect Savior and Eighth. The cops will get Alex... King, later. You guys, head back to my house.”

“What?” Baek voices confusion at my request.

“Come on, don't just stand there. Go rest up and get healed. I'll catch up.”

“Oh, okay...” After hearing me say that, they stand up and leave immediately. I'll think about what happens when I get back. So he was able to call out the Dragon of the Abyss this early... This just became a lot more complicated. Why was I unable to predict this?

After collecting Savior and Eighth, I put them in new tubes so I could work on regenerating them and the others later. Forging more pseudo-souls is gonna be a pain... By now, Alex has been arrested. I make tea for all of us, and we sit down to talk about everything that had happened.

“...I see. Maybe I should have been a little more careful about all this.” I just think to myself quietly for a moment. I nearly got these kids killed, and without thinking about what kind of burdens they were already carrying... I know I can only do so much, but some of this mess is definitely my fault.

“I'm willing to assume Alexander talked a lot about things that happened in the past.”

“Who's? Alexander, again?” Cleo says, puzzled.

“The one you know as the King of Shadowhand.” It's Primo who answers the question.

“Did you know the King was your brother?” Trace asks.

“I knew Alex was up to something, since I hadn't heard from him since we defeated CORE all the way back in 2000.”

“We?” Blue asks.

“Me, Rey, Indie, and Murasaki.” Shock and surprise can be seen on all their faces, almost as if to say, 'Oh my God, she's famous!'

Cleo is the first to say anything. “Cool! You have to tell us! Tell us about--”

I hold my hand up for silence. “Maybe some other time. We're getting off track. So, did Alex talk about CORE? About the DotA?”

“Dota?” Trace asks.

“The Dragon of the Abyss,” Emerald says. “The criminal God banished. So, he's real...”

“Yes,” I say. “You all know the story about the Dragon, don't you?”

“Refresh my memory, please...” Baek says, raising his hand.

“Hmm... okay, listen up. In the beginning, on this planet, there were no humans. God's plan was to watch and see if life would grow naturally, without any interference. However, two angels made physical bodies for themselves, came here, fell in love, and had twins. These angels are named Víctima and Lapsis in the holy texts. When God saw what had happened in the physical realm, He was enraged. Víctima and Lapsis were both banished. One to Hell, the other to the Abyss. Lapsis drifted in the endless darkness, feeding his hatred for God. The darkness, along with his hate, has turned him into The Dragon of the Abyss.

“I can tell you that that's not just a myth or fairy tale. Everything in the original religious texts is true.” I let out a sigh and start to rub my head. This is such a pain... “We Strifes are meant to keep him from gaining power by sealing fragments of him in our souls, but we lost the ability to do that in 2000. The fact that DotA appeared through my brother proves that he'll have enough power to come into the real world, soon, and I won't be able to send him back with my magic.”

“Does this mean...” Baek starts to ask a question, but I know what to say before he finishes the sentence.

“Yes. The Dragon will arrive in our world, fully restored, and destroy it...” Everyone gasps. Maybe I should have found a less scary way to say it, but it's a little late to be thinking of that.

“We can't let that happen!” Emerald shouts.

“Alright, alright. Listen, everyone. I believe DotA will reawaken in 2020, when the master seal in Dragon's Cradle breaks... You can live normally until then, but when the time comes, I will need your help... I'm sorry, but will you fight alongside me and my comrades against the Dragon?”

Everyone seems uncertain.

“It's okay if you don't have an answer right now, just keep it in mind.” I finish my tea. “Alright, thanks for listening. I'm done with you guys for now, so ahead and live your lives. Good job. All of you.”

And then, they leave, Primo goes to sleep, and I sit here in this house. Thinking to myself...