“Yakhsa!” The bodyguard boomed as she suddenly remembered that she pushed somebody out.

“That one left in the confusion.” Nura said with a shrug.

“How can you be so nonchalant about all this?!”

“Rather than worrying about that, don’t you have some kind of tracking beacon or something on the Princess? Clearly, you had anticipated something like this happening due to how you made warriors pose and handmaidens.”

“…we do.”

“Then let’s hurry up and get a move on – no doubt, Lawman will lead the Princess to an exit and emerge with her.”

“We don’t even know where they fell!”

“It’s fine, let’s just go. I’ll tell you something interesting about the Enforcer as we go.”

As the Council Security and the Princess’ guards organised, a few levels below, Relovan and Princess Nkanyezi were recovering after the explosion and fall. After having reached the Princess and wrapped her in the cape, Relovan withstood the force of the explosion due to the cape. The Dome that had been created was a lot taller than those on the top level could see, with its base actually being set in the sewer level that serviced the top tiers of the city. The Dome that everybody saw was just tip of the structure, and the Princess and Enforcer had fallen to that sewer level. During the fall, Relovan had positioned himself in such a way that whatever floor they hit, the Princess would land on him, and before they could be flattened by the debris that fell with them, Relovan quickly stood up and dashed away from the Dome, while still holding Nkanyezi within his caped embrace. The rubble all fell through the holes created by the now dissipated Dome, and closed them up, preventing Relovan from even contemplating going back the way they came. The Enforcer lay on his back, facing the ceiling of the sewer level while breathing heavily, before spreading his arms and opening the cocoon.

“…it’s safe to come out now, Princess.” Relovan said between breaths.

The Princess had been pressed against the Enforcer’s chest, and when he finally let her out, she rolled off of his chest and looked down at him.

“Thank you… for saving my life, Enforcer.” She squeaked.

“I haven’t done a thing yet.” Relovan said as he sat up with a groan. “We still need to get you out of here.”

“Would it not be better to wait here for help?”

“There’s likely a reason why those who are after you chose to blow you down here, Princess. If I had to guess, they were planning to either send you down here with that Yaksha person in the event that Carolina or any of your guards were around. Then after they were killed, you would be carried over to wherever the extraction point is. If Yaksha was not caught within the Dome’s explosion, then people would be sent from various places within this sewer level to come finish off your guards, and then take you. As much as the explosion was enough to destroy the thick layers of concrete and whatever else these floors are made off, it seems like it was… configured, not to cause too much harm to flesh and blood. I guess whoever these people are, they don’t want you dead, and they don’t care if you get injured either.”

Relovan slowly got to his feet after speaking, and looked down at the Princess.

“So then what should we do, Enforcer?”

“I just need a second or two to get my bearings straight and think. In the past, I had to memorise a number of schematics that covered the sewers of this city, so if I can just tap in to my memory, I might be able to come up with a route for us to take.”

“You had to memo… do all Enforcers have to do that?”

“Enforcers? Not so much. Invaders? More than likely.”

Relovan then fell silent for a minute or two, before looking up at the ceiling of the level again.

“If I recall correctly, there are only two ways to enter or exit sewer levels. One exit leads up to the levels directly above via an elevator, while the other leads to the levels below. There is no other way to enter or exit.”

“Do you know which lift is in which direction, Enforcer?”

“One is to the East, and the other is to the West.”

Relovan said this as he dug inside his pocket, searching for his Communicator. He pulled it out and flipped it open, only to find that the screen had been cracked to oblivion.

“Well, shit. How did this happen when the screen was flipped shut?”

The Princess chuckled and Relovan looked at her and shrugged.

“If this is the case, we might have to wait for a bit.”

“For help to arrive?”

“In a sense.”

Relovan took a deep breath and closed his eyes, taking a second to activate his sense again. It took a little bit longer to do this time, and even once it was active, it didn’t seem to be as effective as it was before.

“So there’s a limit to how much I can actively use this, huh?”

“Excuse me?” The Princess asked as she tilted her head in confusion.

“No, nothing… I was just speaking to myself. Anyway, I’m curious Princess, do you have any idea who this person coming after you could possibly be?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t, Enforcer. I am neither high up in the list of successors nor powerful enough to be a threat to somebody within my family, and that means it’s likely somebody who is after my…”

The Princess suddenly stopped speaking and covered her mouth, before looking up at Relovan. It was as if she remembered she didn’t know Relovan at all, and exposing secrets about herself was a bad idea. Relovan though just crouched down in front of her, and smiled.

“I already know you have some special eyes, Princess Nkanyezi. Eyes that are desirable to certain people because of the power they possess. But those people will not prevail, at least not today. They have come up against an unstoppable force today.”

“An unstoppable force?”

“That’s right; the Law.”

Relovan’s smile grew wider, before he stood up and started stretching again, loosening his body.

“So just sit tight and wait right here… I’ll be right back.”

Relovan turned to his left and suddenly dashed off in that direction, prompting the Princess to call for him. Relovan moved with such speed that a mini gust of wind blew her robes about and he turned his body to the side. His boots slid along the ground and he bent over a bit as he raised his guards. An Essence imbued mace zoomed over the Enforcer’s head from around the corner, and just as he came to a stop, he reached up with his left hand and grabbed the wrist of the one that attempted to take his head off. Relovan pulled the wrist towards him as he sprang up and unleashed an uppercut that not only snapped the attackers head back, but produced a sound akin to the explosions that his fist made during his final sparring session with Chief Nura. The attacker’s body immediately went limp, and Relovan released his wrist, before darting backwards and avoiding another weapon. This time, he slid to the side, turned his body and drove a left hook directly to the body of the good that had swung the weapon. Immediately afterwards, he delivered a short left uppercut which also snapped the second attacker’s head up, and finished the attack with a straight right that sent the goon crashing into the wall, before slumping down to the ground. Relovan took a few deep breaths as he stood to up straight and then quickly made his way back to the Princess.

“Are you alright, Enforcer?!”

“I’m fine. We have to move, Princess Nkanyezi. I think I may have figured out which way to go.”

“O-Okay.”

“First thing’s first, though.” Relovan positioned his hands as if he was about to do the salute again, but took a knee and bowed his head completely. “Princess Nkanyezi, I, Police Enforcer Relovan sincerely apologise for having held you without first seeking permission. Due to the circumstances at that time, I was unable to, however I am able to now. In accordance to Thoba Law, I ask if you will allow me to touch you.”

Princess Nkanyezi, who was still kneeling on the ground, looked in Relovan’s general direction. She might have been blind, but it was as if she could see Relovan clearly, and while it took a few seconds for her to remember urgency of the situation, she did end up nodding.

“Yes, yes I will, Enforcer.”

“In that case, I ask that you forgive one more transgression.”

Relovan grabbed the Princess’ clothing and without waiting to clarify anything, began to rip the overelaborate and unnecessary bits off. Much to his surprise, there was no screaming, no putting up a fight, and no fussing. The Princess simply sat there and waited, and this prompted Relovan to look at her with a slightly confused look. He persisted with the ripping until he was done though, and when he finished, the Princess smiled.

“Are you finished, Enforcer.”

“…I am. Were you not afraid or offended, Princess?”

“Not at all.” Nkanyezi said with a shake of the head. “You’ve already saved me twice… I have no reason to fear you or doubt your intentions.”

“…no, you still kind of do. Having your clothes attacked like this isn’t normal.”

The Princess just smiled as she tilted her head to the side, drawing a sigh from the Enforcer. Relovan then offered his hand to the Princess, which she took without hesitation, and they both stood up.

“Please hold on to my hand tightly, Princess. I suspect more people will come after us, and we will have to get to the lift quickly.”

“Did you figure out which direction it is in?”

“More or less. We will just have to search around a bit.”

With that, Relovan darted off in the opposite direction from where the two goons he had just encountered came from. At first, he thought about running at a steady pace, however it became clear that while the Princess was sleight of build, she was actually keeping up with his pace rather easily. Even as he upped the pace he was running at; she was more than able to match him. The only provision he made was alerting her of directional changes in advance. Even with the sight part of the active sense being severely weakened, Relovan was more or less able to see, even though the light within the sewer wasn’t the greatest. He was also paying special attention to the minute changes within the atmosphere of the sewer. He was using the sensation on his skin to dictate what route to take, based on wind flow, temperature, and such. Despite the Princess being able to keep up with the Enforcer’s speed, Relovan was still wary about running with her for too long. He gradually started slowing down, until the point where they were both standing completely still.

“Is something wrong, Enforcer?” The Princess asked as her head darted about, as if she could see.

“Not particularly, I’m just checking to see if there is any danger ahead. How are you feeling, though Princess?”

“There is no need for concern, Enforcer.” Nkanyezi assured Relovan as she let go of his hand for a second.

She then started undoing all of the knots and binds that held the headdress in her hair. She was neither sweating, nor out of breath, and Relovan just looked at the Princess, thinking back to how she had reacted to certain scenarios and situations.

“You don’t seem all that flustered Princess, in spite of your current circumstances.”

“Hmm? I don’t? Am I supposed to be panicked and weepy, Enforcer? Should I be more vulnerable because of my blindness, or my stature?”

“You should be whatever comes naturally to you, Princess.” Relovan answered as he looked around a corner, keeping up the act. “What comes naturally to people is shaped by their experiences… at least in my experience.”

“Chief Nura mentioned how you are a defender of the law, Enforcer. Has that mindset also been cultivated by your experiences?”

Relovan looked back at the Princess in silence for a bit, before approaching her.

“There is no set of laws that is perfect, Princess. There will be flaws, there will be inconsistencies, and there will be loopholes. I am by no means blind to that, and in fact, I have firsthand experience witnessing the laws of certain territories that are beyond the Coalition’s borders at play. Laws that have allowed murderers and rapists murder and rape legally. I’ve seen laws that have allowed the weakest in society get brutalised and be treated worse than anything you could think of, yet because the law has stated that it possible, it has been done. But having also seen firsthand just how dangerous lawlessness and absolute, unfiltered and uncontrolled freedom can be… I will choose serving and upholding the law over the alternative any time. Laws can be amended and changed, the lawless on the other hand… I’ve yet to see them change.”

“…so, that was a yes then, Enforcer?”

“My experiences have served to strengthen me, Princess. If that means they are at the heart of my resonance with rules and discipline, then so be it.”

“I understand.” Nkanyezi said as she tossed her headdress on the floor and rolled her neck like Relovan tended to do before physical activity. “This is not the first time that I have been attacked, Enforcer. Despite not being a threat to anybody in the Royal Family, my eyes are immensely valuable. My Honoured Father never really showed any interest in me; thus, I was left to my own devices. Despite Carolina being ever present, I always thought I should at least be able to escape on my own should we become separated. Also, I’ve done all that other stuff more than enough times at this point… the wailing, the tears and feeling sorry for myself…”

The Princess felt Relovan hold her hand, and that halted her rather sad monologue.

“Let’s keep moving, Princess. I think we might be close enough to just push until we reach the exit.”

“…alright.”

Relovan looked at the Princess, who had an embarrassed look on her face. Her purple hue had become a touch darker, which didn’t tell Relovan a thing, because he still had no idea what purple represented. The pair darted off again and this time, Relovan ran even faster than before. The continued absence of goons made Relovan feel as though they were headed in the right direction, mostly because he felt those who had planned the entire thing would be waiting at the exit that would take them down, as there wouldn’t be any police or Council Security waiting for them the deeper they went into the bowels of Gaia. The more they ran, the stronger the sensation on Relovan’s skin became, and soon enough, the Enforcer ended up having to come to a rapid halt. The Princess totally lost her footing and crashed into his back, however there wasn’t any time for her to ask Relovan why he stopped so suddenly, because they were not alone. In front of them not only stood Yaksha, who was still cloaked, but a few more cloaked people standing behind them.

“So, it turns out that you were actually right, Yaksha – the Princess and this no-name police bum really did find the exit that leads back up to the top. How did you know?”

“…”

Yaksha remained silent and just looked at the Enforcer, who glared right back. The one who had just spoken scoffed at Yaksha’s silence, and then looked at Relovan and the Princess.

“Nkanyezi… getting to this point has taken planning, a lot of money, and even more time… yet here we finally are. You will be coming with me, my young Princess.”

“No, I don’t think so, Mkhaba.” The Princess declared while standing behind Relovan.

“H-Huh?! Who is this Mkhaba of whom you speak?!”

“I already know that it’s you… I recognise your voice. Besides, your stomach is sticking out through your cloak.”

“Shit!” Mkhaba shouted. “Maybe I should have gone on that diet like my wife suggested. It matters not that you know who I am, it doesn’t change a thing! Yaksha, get rid of that pesky officer and bring the Princess back here.”

“Princess, please step back.”

“Of course, Enforcer. Will you be okay, though? This person is strong.”

Relovan simply let go of Nkanyezi’s hand rolled his neck slowly, before assuming his fighting stance, holding his right fist by his jaw, and lowering his left arm. He decided to go with his more offensive battle stance. Yaksha stood motionless for a bit, but ended up pulling the jagged blade out from somewhere within the cloak.

“You know Princess, the initial objective was to escape from here with you, then return with some reinforcements and storm the other exit. Yet as things stand right now, I am right in front of the ones responsible for what happened up there in that Shopping District and as an officer of the law, I really cannot leave this sewer without apprehending them. I hope you understand.”

“…I do.”

“Thank you, Princess.” Relovan said as he looked back and smiled, before quickly facing Yaksha and the rest again. “You are all under arrest… and you will all be coming with me to the local station.”

The Enforcer’s eyes suddenly changed, as did the air around both him and Yaksha. The pair resumed the stare down from before the arrest declaration, and as if some kind of random cue went off, they both charged one another. The moment they both got into range, they launched their respective attacks, with Yaksha teeing off first, testing the waters with a few tentative thrusts. Relovan evaded them all while still moving forward, before suddenly dashing in. He threw a two punch combination directed at Yaksha’s head, but the hood fluttered as both punches were also evaded. Yaksha’s left hand then swung in from Relovan’s right, aimed squarely at his neck. The Enforcer ducked beneath the hand and slapped it away with his left, before clenching his right fist and driving it towards the side of Yaksha’s head. Yaksha took a quick step to the right to free up some space. The cloaked figure then opened up its body to the left, freeing the sword bearing arm slash down diagonally from right to left. The Enforcer once again ducked beneath the attack and moved to his left this time, raising his lowered left guard. Yaksha, who had raised the blade to waist height upon completion of the slash, turned the weapon around and had the jagged, cutting edge face Relovan again, before completing a horizontal slash at speed. The Enforcer did a dodge roll to his right, rolling under the weapon. Once back on his feet though, Relovan did not try and stand up – instead, he swept his foot across as he tried to take out one of Yaksha’s legs. The sweep was avoided, however Relovan continued spinning and when he was half way through the Revolution, the Enforcer pushed off of his right foot and leapt up. He extended his right leg while behind his left at the knee and tucking his foot under his body, executing an improvised spin kick. Yaksha’s left hand shot up and blocked the kick, before the right thrust the blade towards Relovan’s torso. The Enforcer brought his right fist across and punched the blade away from above, before pulling the same arm back forcefully to open up his body. As he pulled his right arm and leg back, the Enforcer twisted his torso to generate extra momentum and threw a left uppercut that was barely evaded and produced the loud bang from before. As he landed on the ground, Relovan dashed back and created space between himself and Yaksha.

“You’re strong, Yaksha.” The Enforcer said as he stood up straight.

“…”

Yaksha remained silent, and Relovan changed his fighting stance yet again, adopting the more defensive, peekaboo type style he had come up with while training at Chief Nura’s compound. He then charged Yaksha again, glaring at the cloaked warrior from behind his fists. Yaksha held the jagged blade out, and some kind of Essence started seeping out of it, coating the blade making it… sing. The song was more like a screech, and the blade even rattled and shook violently in Yaksha’s hand, prompting Relovan to be extra circumspect as he approached. The caution ended up being warranted, as Yaksha suddenly started swinging the blade violently, and with far more speed and force. The Enforcer found himself on the defensive, tightening his guard and tucking his elbows in. Much like he had in Nura’s Training Room, he began to sway his torso just like he did during the final spar. The octagram defence was in full swing which was just as well, because Yaksha wasn’t playing around. Each swing of the blade resulted in a louder wail from the weapon, and Princess Nkanyezi even found herself having to block her ears as the high-pitched screeching became too much.

‘This is ridiculous.’ Relovan thought to himself as it seemed like this was going to turn into a battle of stamina.

After a particularly telegraphed feint, Relovan dashed to his left, which was in the direction of the wall. Yaksha followed him, dashing after the Enforcer while continuing to swing. Another feint and dash later, and Relovan was suddenly standing with his back to the wall, which limited the number of evasive moves he could do. Yaksha aimed to capitalise on this, and trying to further drive Relovan into a corner. Feinting as though the next attack was going to be a horizontal slash, Yaksha had Relovan attempt to duck beneath the slash, yet the strike changed to a rising, diagonal slash from right to left. Just as it looked like Relovan was about to get cleaved, the Enforcer changed direction himself, dashing to his right and moving completely out of range of the blade. He then grabbed Yaksha’s wrist with his left hand and pulled it forward, driving the blade towards the wall which it actually pierced. Immediately after doing so, the Enforcer released Yaksha’s wrist, clenched his left fist drove it right through the sword; snapping the blade. The weapon actually began to screech and cry even louder than before, and it actually sounded like the tortured cries of a banshee. Almost everybody ended up covering their ears this time, however Relovan decided to play through the pain and dashed towards Yaksha, who was in a trance of sorts and just staring at the broken blade. Relovan took advantage of this and unleashed a series of blows, first connecting with a body blow to the midriff so ferocious, the loud bang returned and a shockwave burst out from Yaksha’s back. He then followed that up with yet another body blow, but this time to the kidneys, producing yet another bang and shockwave. The cloak was fluttering about like crazy after each hit, and everybody who was watching on believed that Yaksha was all but done for. As Relovan stepped in with his left foot and threw a straight right that was aimed at Yaksha’s head, a hand snaked up and caught the incoming right hand, stopping it dead. Yaksha’s eyes then started glowing deep red from behind the darkness provided by the hood, and Relovan’s skin began to sting and crawl. He was being warned of immense danger, yet could not pull his fist back. An aura of Essence surrounded Yaksha, and it was similar to the one that had engulfed the sword earlier. The cloak fluttered about some more, and Mkhaba and his cronies all went from being extremely concerned, to cheering without a care in the world.

“That’s it Yaksha! Finish him off.”

The aura was not only powerful, but suffocating as well, and the weaker members of Mkhaba’s crew ended up on all fours, emptying the contents of their stomachs. Relovan, who was the intended target of this Essence attack, was feeling the full force of the aura. But instead of retreating, the Enforcer stood tall and scowled intensely while staring right back into Yaksha’s glowing eyes.

“If you think this little display is going to make me retreat, you are sorely mistaken! Whether you rebel or not, you are still under arrest, so stand down, or be put down! You and your defiance are nothing before me! I side with, I stand for, and I am the law!”

Relovan absolutely roared the last two words of his declaration, and Yaksha, whose aura continued to grow, watched as the Enforcer’s eyes began to glow bright purple. Princess Nkanyezi, who had been a silent spectator the entire time, actually raised her forearm in front of the eye mask, shielding her eyes.

“He’s so bright!” She remarked to herself as she even had to turn away.

Nothing engulfed, enveloped or surrounded Relovan though, yet it appeared that none of that was even required as he felt the grip on his fist loosen, and eventually, his hand was released. Yaksha’s eyes continued to glow for a little while longer, and the cloaked warrior walked to the wall, reached down and pulled the part of the blade that had snapped off out of the wall. Yaksha then looked at Relovan one last time, before turning around and walking towards Mkhaba and his fallen henchmen.

“What are you doing, you creep?! The job isn’t don’t yet! Go back there and retrieve the Princess, NOW!”

Yaksha’s eyes glowed once again, causing the fat man to tremble. There was a stare down between the two, before Yaksha turned back to look at Relovan again. It appeared as though the warrior bowed, before the strange sticky Essence aura enveloped Yaksha, then melted into the ground, disappearing together with the strange one.

“What?! He just up and ran away?!” One of Mkhaba’s remaining conscious goons bellowed.

“Mercenaries!” Mkhaba spat, before looking at Relovan. “Looks like we have to get rid of this one ourselves.”

Relovan, who was standing with his fists clenched and a scowl on his face, looked at Mkhaba and his crew with still glowing eyes. They were actually standing in front of and blocking the lift doors, and as the two remaining goons readied their melee weapons, Mkhaba reached within his robe and pulled out a staff which had a glowing orange cube on top of it. The fat man raised the staff high above his head, before pointing it in the Princess’ direction and letting fly with a massive Essence Fireball. Relovan quickly turned around and sprinted towards the Princess again, much like he did in the Gateway District. He reached her with far more time to spare this time and wrapped her up completely with his cape. The Fireball was intense and powerful, and as it exploded, it shattered the hard shield provided by the cape, depleting that resource completely. Mkhaba sneered as he watched flames dance blip and burn away, thinking he had destroyed the Enforcer. Instead, Relovan stood up slowly, and turned around to face the fat man.

“Princess… I need you to grab hold of my cape as firmly as you possibly can.”

Princess Nkanyezi didn’t even hesitate or enquire as to why that command was given – she just held the cape in both hands. She looked away from Relovan again as he was too bright for her eyes to handle, and his eyes started glowing again. The Enforcer looked about as pissed off as a person could be, and this caused Mkhaba to actually panic a bit.

“How are you still alive?! That attack should have turned you into a boneless ham!”

“Mkhaba!!” Relovan roared as he clenched his fists and crouched down a bit, as if getting ready to launch himself forward. “For attempting to kidnap a Princess, for destruction of property, for attempting to murder a Police Enforcer… I’m going to… fuckin’… CRUSH YOU!!!”

The purple vapour that was the Enforcer’s Essence had started seeping out from his body and Relovan, who at this point looked like coiled up spring, suddenly leapt forward. He burst off from where he was standing with such force, the asphalt below cracked and split, and the Princess was almost blown off of his cape. Mkhaba let out a panicked wail and aimed his staff at the incoming Enforcer, firing off a series of Fireballs in the process. Relovan, who was careening towards the fat man with both arms stretched out in front of him, twisted his body in midair and began to spin. His Essence gathered around and surrounded his body, and the Enforcer was enveloped in purple. The Fireballs all hit Relovan, but instead of exploding, they all bounced off of the Enforcer and turned black, before disintegrating and wasting away in midair. The spinning Enforcer blasted past the two goons, and the resulting shockwave sent them both spinning into the ceiling and wall respectively, while Mkhaba’s eyes balked with fear. Relovan drove both fists into the fat man’s considerable gut, launching him off of his feet, into and then through the lift doors and into the lift itself. Relovan manipulated his body so that he landed on his feet, while still spinning. As this happened, he reached out with his left arm and caught Princess Nkanyezi, pulling her against his body tightly while simultaneously bending and cocking his right arm. As the Enforcer pushed off of his feet and jumped up, he unleashed the most ridiculously ferocious uppercut he possibly could, which connected with Mkhaba’s chin. Relovan’s body was covered in his Essence once more, and he also spun again, but this time, the force of the punch launched him, the Princess, Mkhaba and the lift straight up. They left the sewer level behind and climbed so rapidly; the floor indicator couldn’t keep up. Ten or so seconds after the uppercut landed, the lift burst through the ceiling of the building it was housed in, and the three occupants of the lift flew out into the open sky. Relovan, who continued to hold the Princess close to him throughout the duration of the attack, pulled his fist away from Mkhaba’s shattered chin, and held the Princess in both arms as they plummeted towards the ground.

“There they are!” A familiar sounding voice boomed from somewhere.

Relovan wasn’t even sure which direction the voice came from, but he was spent. The Essence Aura had worn off, he was feeling unbelievably fatigued, and he wasn’t even sure if he was going to survive the fall, but the one thing he made sure to do, was not let go of the Princess. A moment or two later, Relovan suddenly felt something very hard against his back, like a warm wall, and the instant he felt that thing, everything went dark.

“Gotcha!” Nura said as he caught Relovan and landed on a rooftop.

The Chief almost went clean through the roof, but managed to stay on it. He then jumped down to ground level where Carolina was waiting for him.

“Where is the Princess?!” The older woman bellowed as she approached the Adonian.

“…I’m right here, Carolina.” Princess Nkanyezi replied.

Her voice was slightly muffled as she was pressed against Relovan’s chest, but she was still there. Carolina then went through a myriad of emotions, from pure relief, to joy, to annoyance, and then rage. She looked at the unconscious Relovan holding her Princess like they were in a villa at some beach resort, and Nura could quite literally see her face change colour and steam threaten to burst out from her ears.

“How dare this Human peasant hold the Princess like this?!” Carolina barked while looking at Nura. “Get her out of there!”

“How dare you, Carolina?!” Princess Nkanyezi shouted. “This man saved my life, and you will not only appreciate him, but you will also respect him!”

“I will respect him as much as you wish after he lets go of you!”

“I gave him permission to touch me!”

Nura and Carolina both looked incredibly surprised, they even exchanged glances. Nura raised his eyebrows as if to say he was recusing himself from the discussion, and then looked at Carolina, clearly passing the buck to her.

“…I’m sorry Princess, but you did what?!”

“I gave the Enforcer permission to touch me – because he followed protocol and sought the permission in the appropriate manner.”

“…even if he did so while offering you a planet, how could you say yes?!”

“How was I supposed to navigate through those dark sewers without being led somehow? He asking for my permission so he could hold my hand and lead me out of there! I don’t care how you feel about this Carolina; we did what had to be done!”

The blaring of sirens appeared to cut the conversation short, but Carolina, who was still scowling and shaking her head, spoke one last time.

“You may not care how I feel about it Princess – and that is all well and good – but how do you think your fiancé will feel about it?”

A conveniently dramatic breeze blew through the street they were standing on, and silence between the two persisted right until the emergency services arrived. Relovan, whose arms were still locked on the Princess, suddenly opened his eyes. They were still obscured from view because of the peak of his cap, but he looked down at the Princess, and saw that she was resting her chin on his chest and looking directly at him.

“You’re as warm as you are bright, Enforcer.” The Princess whispered, which made Relovan’s eyes dart around awkwardly.

He then opened his arms slowly, changing the way he held Princess Nkanyezi so as not to drop her, and when Carolina, who was watching Relovan like a hawk, realised that he was awake, she stomped her way over to Nura, who was still holding the Enforcer in his arms.

“Set that man down, Nurari Hyonto!” She demanded.

“I do not answer to you, Carolina – stop ordering me around.” He snapped.

Before the bickering could start though, Relovan hopped down from Nura’s arms and carefully set the Princess on the ground.

“Are you hurt in any way, Princess?” He asked.

“Not at all, Enforcer. You made sure of that on multiple occasions. I thank you.”

Relovan simply bowed his head slightly and smiled, before looking at Chief Nura.

“Appreciate the save, Chief.”

“Any time, Lawman.” Nura grinned. “Also, well done. I knew you’d handle things.”

“I feel like a lot of this could have been avoided if somebody with monstrous strength would have acted a little differently, though.” Relovan said, eyeing the Chief suspiciously.

“Huh? Whatever do you mean?”

Carolina, who still had not addressed Nkanyezi since their brief argument, began walking around the Princess while appraising her physical condition. Her hair was loose, outfit was in tatters and she was covered in dust, but otherwise, was in perfect health. The bodyguard stepped to the Princess and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her as if she intended to squeeze her until her Royal head burst like a pimple. Nura smiled as he watched Princess Nkanyezi return the hug, and the two embraced, looking more like a parent and child than a bodyguard and a Royal. Relovan, who had been hauled off by a paramedic for the purpose of conducting tests, was seated in the back of an ambulance.

“It’s alright, I wasn’t really hit that much.”

As Relovan and the paramedic spoke, Carolina walked around to the ambulance and looked at Relovan. She looked him in the eyes for the longest time, as appraising him or something, and after the longest and most uncomfortable silence, she got down on one knee, and held her hands in the traditional Thoba salute.

“For saving the life of my Princess, and ensuring that she was not harmed in any way, I would like express my deepest gratitude to you, Enforcer Relovan.”

Carolina’s eyes shut tight as she thanked Relovan, but that didn’t stop tears from escaping from them. The Enforcer stood up in the middle of a physical test, stood at attention, and saluted Carolina in his way. The two remained like that for a while, with Carolina sniffling a few times. When she had recovered her composure, the bodyguard stood up and glared at Relovan.

“You are still not qualified to touch the Princess.” Carolina sneered, before walking towards the Princess and nodding.

Nkanyezi looked in Relovan’s direction and waved at him, and the Enforcer reciprocated the wave and smiled. All of a sudden, the handmaidens all zipped in from out of nowhere and surrounded the Princess, kneeling and expressing their happiness at her being safe, as well as profusely apologising.

“Wait, why are you all speaking like that? How did handmaidens like you survive all that?”

They all walked off as things were explained, and disappeared down the road. The Chief walked up to Relovan and grinned.

“You can’t avoid trouble, even the day before testifying?”

“People violated the law, Chief. Speaking of, what happened to them all?”

“I believe Council Security got the fat guy, and even entered the sewer through the nigh on wrecked shaft to see what they could find down in the sewer.”

“Understood.” Relovan said as he nodded at the paramedic after the completion of the final test. “Yaksha got away.”

“I’m not surprised… that one is really strong. How did you win?”

“…I didn’t.”

As the Chief and Relovan started walking off, the Enforcer relayed the details of what happened once they landed in the sewer. Meanwhile, elsewhere on Gaia, in a colossal room with a giant mural, somebody sat in a chair in near silence. It should have been actual silence, but this person had headphones on which were blaring music to the point where he was unaware of anything else. He was also reading a comic book – a paper comic book – and was completely taken by said comic. He didn’t even notice as one of the figures depicted in the mural, a thin, sickly looking character seated on a throne, had started to glow rather brightly. In fact, this person was sitting with his feet up on a hard, granite table and was munching on some crunchy snacks – yet was dressed like some kind of monk. This guy was clearly behaving inappropriately, and because he was alone, there was nobody around to scold or keep him in check. Hours passed like this, and just as this monk’s shift was about to end, he quickly stood and began cleaning up. He hid the comic book and headphones under a loose brick which had a trunk full of stuff, and as he dusted the crumbs off of his face and robes, the door began to creak open very slowly. He quickly ran over to wipe the table, but suddenly noticed the fading light on the mural. The time he took to watch the light eventually go off cost him dearly, as he was hit across the back of his head.

“Fisto, you useless brat!” A much older sounding person yelled. “How many times have I told you NOT to eat your greasy food in the temple!? And you clearly had your feet up on the alter again!”

“…uh, excuse me Priest, but uh… one of the Gods on the mural was glowing.” Fisto said while rubbing the back of his head and pointing.

“Don’t point!” The Priest snapped. “And of course there would be a glowing Deity, Void Lords are in town.”

“…uh… yeah, but… this wasn’t one of the Gods with a linked Void Lord… in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this figure glow before.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The glow came from that corner over there…”

Fisto pointed to a part of the mural that caused the Priest to freak out a touch, his eyes nigh on bursting out of his head.

“Which one was it?!”

“Uhhhh… thing is, by the time I noticed the glow, it was already fading, sooo… I don’t really know, but…”

“YOU USELESS PUNK!!” The Priest boomed, before looking at that section of the mural. “One of the Living Ones glowed… that signals the emergence of a new Favoured Soul… and we can’t even identify which Living One it is, because of this idiot apprentice!”

The Priest proceeded to scold the apprentice deep into the night.