Elzio sat on the ground, dew covered grass strewn about. Several feet away, Syrene sat in the grass as well, catching her breath. Carlin was prone but stirring. Elzio didn’t say anything to them as he inhaled the sweet smell of grass.

They had won. They had actually won. When they walked out of that castle the day before, burning from the challenge issued to them, Elzio had thought death and failure were ensured, but they had done more than just survive. They had won.

The people of Ythrel had won. Jenna, Alyssa, and Carlin had won. If they had all fought, all remained convinced of their righteousness, willing to die for their corrupt nexus, they would have emerged victorious, only to be fed to the yawning maw of Deluuth. Jenna’s betrayal, Alyssa’s swaying, their willingness to die for Elzio’s cause, that was why they won. Ythrel had a chance. The free people of the continent had a chance.

A cool hand pressed on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Syrene had made her way over to him.

“I’ll speak to the city,” she said. “Ensure none try to stand in our way.” A frown was on her face, and her eyes flicked to Carlin. “Take care of him. If my fears are right, he’s going to have a very hard time handling the fallout of this match.”

Elzio looked to Carlin, who had pushed himself up to sitting, but still blinked, rubbing his eyes. It was jarring the first time you exited nexus battle, and given how rarely Ythrel fought, and how unlikely they were to take an armorsmith, this was his first time experiencing post arena shock.

Syrene’s request for him to take care of Carlin spurred Elzio out of his musings and to his feet. Carlin would need the support right now, given he had potentially lost his friends. The odds were very high that neither Jenna nor Alyssa had survived, and though Carlin had accepted this as a possibility, the reality might still hit hard.

“Hey.” Elzio reached down a hand to the bleary eyed man. “We did it.”

Carlin blinked up at him, before grinning. “We did. Damn yeah we did it.” Then his smile faded. “Do we know how the other team fared?”

“Not yet.” Elzio cupped his head around his face, squinting around the dawning field around them, looking for bodies. Each person had about a ten percent chance of survival, so there was a likely scenario where no one made it out. Then his heart skipped in his chest. “There! Over there!”

He didn’t wait for Carlin to confirm the sighting before he began to run. Two figures lay on the ground, two different people, and at first, Elzio couldn’t recognize them at all. But then he made out the long, blond hair of Jenna Noryn. By her side was the wiry, redheaded figure of Nolath.

Elzio hadn’t quite expected the rush of happiness he felt upon seeing Jenna, but he was grateful for it. This would make the victory easier for Carlin, and Jenna deserved it. She had refused to volunteer, making her almost as much of a hero as Carlin.

“Jenna!” Carlin had easily caught up with Elzio and now rushed to Jenna’s side. “Nolath.” He put a hand on Jenna’s forehead, before checking on Nolath’s breathing. Then he looked up at Elzio. “No Alyssa.”

Elzio shook his head. “No. I’m sorry.” The apology wasn’t needed. Carlin knew that’s how this would end. But it felt right to say.

“Ugh. Gods. Oh my God.” Jenna sat upright, clutching her head, breathing heavily. “Oh my God. Oh my God. I’m alive. I’m…” Her voice trailed off as her eyes fell on Nolath. Then they flicked to Carlin and Elzio. “Oh.” She swallowed and pressed her eyes shut, tears squeezing from them. “Right. Right.” She pressed her palm to her eyes, swiping away the tears, before opening them back up again and smiling, swallowing her tears. “We should have left with you. I didn’t think they’d pull me in. I thought… But Alyssa, she went out fighting.”

“You fucking traitors. Both of you.” Nolath had woken and scrambled several feet away from them. He didn’t sound angry though. Or if there was anger, it was masked by fear. “They’re going to bend us to their will. A tiny city that couldn’t even handle an echo. They’re going to—”

“We’re not.” Elzio knelt down, feeling awkward standing over the three. “We never came to do that. We only ever wanted to warn you about Deluuth.”

“That and oust Irona’s influence from our city.” Carlin’s fist tightened around the grass. “There are enough good people left on the council, enough good left here. We’ll rebuild it.”

Jenna stared at the empty grass around her, before nodding. “I’m sorry, Nolath.” She struggled to her feet, leaning on Carlin. “I’m sorry, I—” Her voice choked up, and she pressed her hand to her mouth. “I’m sorry.”

Carlin held her as she wept, looking stricken himself. He hadn’t been as close to Alyssa as Jenna had, and he’d resigned himself to the fact that either he would die or they would. Jenna woke up that morning thinking she could just deny the call and wash her hands of the situation—wash her hands of the deaths of Elzio, Syrene, and Echo. She’d done her part, abstaining from something she didn’t believe in. Now she was mourning her dear friend.

Nolath, who Carlin had told Elzio had always been closer to the other Swordsman, who hadn’t been summoned, looked numb. As far as Elzio knew, he hadn’t lost any close friends, and with Elzio still maintaining the innocence and justness of Echo’s cause, the man’s mind was no doubt racing.

“Can you handle them?” he asked Carlin, unsure of how to manage the situation. Yes, Syrene had told Elzio to take care of him, but he looked as though he was coping with the deaths reasonably well, especially given one of his two closer teammates had still survived.

Carlin nodded. “Find Tylin in the castle. He’ll have a whole list of the people he suspects of corruption. I’m not saying go and burn them all, but… he’ll know what to do better than I will. Rataga is the main one you have to track down. She’s the equivalent of your Sir Thomas.”

“Understood. And thank you, Carlin.” Elzio clapped him on the shoulder before turning to the city, which Syrene had entered several minutes ago. His feet trudged him there slowly, the cool morning air stinging his nose as he walked.

He does not seem pleased. Echo, finished with consuming the Ythrel nexus, rejoined Elzio’s side.

“Would you?” he asked. “Victorious yes, but pleased?”

He played a valiant role in saving his people. Your team out fought them. You played a smarter game and had the moral high ground. Yes, the three heroes will be mourned, especially the archer who assisted us. But they should take heart. The people live in freedom because of you.

“Assuming we can find all the roots of corruption.” Elzio looked up at the exterior of the city, the great walls with their gates flung open wide for Echo to take. “Do they need a nexus to protect them?”

Echo flitted beside him, her humming light pulsing with the new victory buff. No. Amos does not seem to have done much ruling in this place, leaving the governance of his people to the council, and only enjoying the worship of the country. They would cater to his whim, follow any order he gave, but he did not rule. They would only need a nexus to protect them from another nexus.

“Deluuth.” Elzio sighed. “Can we leave them safely? You’re level 5 now, but Deluuth will still destroy you. We can’t stay here, we need to find an ally in Genyl.”

Genyl is level 14. Our victory against Ythrel happened because of flukes of luck. Unrest. Distrust. Genyl is allied with Deluuth. They will never join us. She sounded very displeased as the realization of their situation sunk in. Ythrel betraying us in this way has left us without allies. A level 3 and 7 could take on a 14. A level 5 has no hope.

“We’ll figure something out.” If they couldn’t, well, Echo was the only nexus left on the continent beyond Deluuth and Genyl. Deluuth would come to consume her, hopefully gain and level, and then take on Genyl. “Let’s go in, handle the city. They might have resources, things we haven’t thought of.”

If you say so. I suppose we do not have much of an option at this time.

They resumed their walk to the castle. The streets were empty, the gates to the great building at the heart of the city were flung open. No one met them to resist. Ythrel had surrendered far more gracefully than Pyrthet had, which gave Elzio hope. Syrene must have convinced them that Elzio and Echo weren’t here to take them over, weren’t here to conquer. The people had lost their figurehead, but not their way of life. All Elzio had to do now was make sure he didn’t just change which nexus they would lose to Deluuth under. But with the promise of good faith from the people of Ythrel, a plan was already brewing.

It took some time to find Syrene. Elzio had expected to find her in the main hall, the council chamber, or the throne room, but she wasn’t in any of the three. Finally he found a cohort of guards in the room to the side of the Council Chamber.

They froze when he entered, but Elzio dismissed their concerns with a handwave.

“I’m looking for Syrene Wispwater,” he said, keeping his voice authoritative without bearing down too hard on them. “I’m told she was securing the castle.”

The guards shared uncomfortable looks.

“Yes,” one started, after a long silence. “Yes she came by here. She said you weren’t here to conquer. That you had no interest with us beyond ousting Deluuth influences. We thought… we thought that was a lie but…”

Elzio sighed, before giving what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Well I can confirm her claims. We’re not here to rule. None of us have any interest in that. Echo’s, well, an Echo. I’m a hero. Syrene is a teacher. We didn’t set out to take over anything. We asked for cooperation for that reason.”

“We’re sorry.” Another guard looked appropriately remorseful, perhaps more than she should, face crumpled. “We let them in. Syrene’s up in the bedchambers. We’re so sorry.”

“The only people you should apologize to are the heroes that lost their lives on the battlefield.” Still, Elzio kept his voice calm. “And that was far from anything you had control over.”

The woman who had apologized so profusely exchanged a look with the rest of the guards.

“That’s not…” A third guard swallowed. “All right. The housing in the castle is in the western tower. Third floor and up. You’ll… see what she means.”

Something about the way he said this sent a pang of misgiving through Elzio, and he started up the staircase.

Whoever they let control the castle is not our concern, Echo said. They are afraid you will hurt them.

“They still don’t trust us.” Elzio sighed. “Once we speak with Councilman Tylin, we’ll start to unwind this.”

They reached the tower where Elzio began winding his way up, calling for Syrene. He found her on the fifth floor, leaning against the wall outside a door. When he reached her, she lifted her head, eyes weary.

“I was right with my concerns.” Then she looked past him, past Echo. “Where’s Carlin?”

“Taking care of Jenna and Nolath.” The sense of misgiving was back and stronger than before. “Did something happen?”

“Rataga’s followers, Irona’s agents, they knew Tylin was responsible for digging up their corruption.” Syrene looked at the ajar door she stood by. “His actions led to Carlin’s betrayal, which led to Jenna’s refusal to volunteer and subsequent forced participation. What’s more, he has dozens of folders of parchment, all outlining his theories.” Her face fell, eyes sagging wearily. “Well, he had.”

“Damn.” This was a setback. Losing Tylin’s research would stretch out the persecution, without evidence, without careful tracing of their efforts.

“Indeed. I made it to him as fast as I could.” She massaged her temples. “I was too late, but I knew I would be. There was no chance of making it here in time.”

“Where’s Tylin?” Elzio asked. “I want to talk to him as soon as possible. See what might be recoverable. He’s a smart man, he’ll have backups of some of the content.”

Syrene’s brow furrowed hard at this, puzzlement etched across the lines in her face, shining in her green eyes. “What are you…” Then she closed her eyes. “I see. You misunderstood. I don't know where his research went. That’s not what they came for. They came for him.”

—

Elzio sat on Tylin’s bed, weariness seeping through his body. Now it made sense, why Syrene had left so fast. Her warning for Elzio to look after Carlin. That he would need it. It made sense that Syrene’s first impulse would be to check in on their ally inside the castle walls. And it made sense that Rataga’s people would have targeted him the moment they realized the depths of his treachery.

Had Tylin known they were coming? The lock on the door had been destroyed, indicating that the room had been sealed, but it was possible that a councilor might always sleep with his door locked. Had the other members of the council on the floor known what was happening? They must have heard something. Had they just hid in their beds, knowing what was happening one room over but refusing to act?

Against his better judgment, Elzio lifted his eyes to where Tylin’s body hung, still pinned to the wall by a dozen daggers, knives, and swords. The ordeal hadn’t happened quickly, not if the copious injuries marring his body meant anything. Judging by the way a dagger lay on the floor, a bloody handprint on it, Tylin had been alive and struggling when they strung him up. He’d been alive long enough to remove one of the blades before his grievous injuries had killed him.

His eyes were open, glassy, distant, terrified. They told Elzio anything else he needed to know about how the attack had all played out.

This wasn’t just an assassination. It was a message. A message from Deluuth, not just to the councilors of Ythrel but to anyone else on the continent.

Despite this, however, Elzio had won. He and Echo had taken out Amos and cleared the corruption. Four deaths for the liberation of the nation. This should be a victory, but right now, with their closest ally brutally murdered in his bedchambers, his brother outside, minutes from learning what had happened, it felt agonizing. Elzio just wanted to turn off all feeling until he could process this more rationally.

A creak sounded, and Elzio looked up to see Syrene enter.

“We need to take him down,” she said. “I wanted you to see what happened. We both needed to see the cost of this, but Carlin… He doesn’t need to see this. Losing his brother will be enough. He doesn’t need to know.”

Elzio pushed himself to his feet, steeling himself for the unpleasant task. Then he paused, looking back at Syrene.

“Have the guards been up?” he asked. “They know what happened. They know that Rataga’s followers did this, but have they seen this? Do they know exactly what happened?”

Syrene’s eyes turned down. “No. They were turning a blind eye until I got here.”

“Show them.” Elzio turned away from Tylin, mind now racing in anger. “Show them what they let happen, but more importantly, show them what Rataga did. What Deluuth did. Let everyone see. The people of Ythrel need to know what kind of brutal injustice happened here to one of the few men willing to stand up to Deluuth.”

“Elzio.” Syrene’s voice was harsher than he’d heard since Sir Thomas’s trial. “Has Tylin not suffered enough cruel indignity without his body being used as a method of punishment for these people? His corpse is not a spectacle. He shouldn’t be remembered like this, in agony, strung up like a butchered animal. No one deserves that.”

This wasn’t about punishment though, even if Elzio very much wanted to punish someone right now. “It’s not revenge I want, Syrene. It’s anger. Deluuth wants to send a message of fear, but they miscalculated. This will spark only anger. Anger against Deluuth. Anger that will spread. An outcrying for justice and a denouncement of Deluuth. A cry that will extend to Genyl. Tylin spent his life fighting for justice, right? We’ll make something out of his death, then. A martyr against Deluuth’s cruelty. If we play this right, we might be able to sway the minds of the ruling elite of Genyl.”

Syrene sighed, before looking back up at Tylin and wincing. “Maybe you’re right. Rataga expected Ythrel to destroy us in there. She wanted this to look like a punishment for Tylin’s treachery, which the city would know well. It was supposed to be a warning to the other members of the council. Since we won, however, she’ll be on the run.” Her red eyes narrowed. “I doubt she’ll run fast enough to escape me, though.” With these words, Syrene disappeared from the door, stalking down the hall, leaving a chill in the air behind her.

Elzio’s eyes fell on Tylin’s corpse, and he sighed grimly. “All right then. It’s time to rouse the other council members. Let’s show them what they did to you.”