Saydaa hummed to herself as she strolled down the street. She was twirling a coin around in the air.

With her magic.

And no one said a word about it.

Oh, and she appeared to be covered in glowing tumors.

No one said anything about that either.

Because they all were covered in glowing tumors.

A man wearing a robe bowed his head as she walked towards him.

“Greetings, Sister Windcaller, how are you today?”

“Hey Brother Ion, can’t complain, can’t complain! Heard those stupid bots have been quiet lately?”

He smiled and nodded at her.

“It is so! We've not seen the Soulless ever since that frightening day. Perhaps they have finally seen the error of their ways?”

Saydaa shrugged.

“More likely they’re planning something big, if you ask me.”

“It is unfortunate, but I fear you are correct. I pray for those poor Lightless, blinded as they are by the corruption of the old world. How is it that anyone would reject the Sacred Light?”

“Well, that’s why we just gotta keep up the good work, right? Fight the good fight, get that Sacred Light am I right?”

He smiled at her.

“Indeed you are, Sister Windcaller. Would you like to share in our table tonight?”

“For real? Can I?”

“Of course. A fellow sister of the Light is always welcome.”

“Don’t mind if I do!”

Inwardly Saydaa chuckled to herself.

Hook, line, and sucker.

It really was too easy these days. Just make herself look ugly and restrict her use of magic to 'one blessing' and no one was the wiser.

To be fair, she actually did consider going clean at first. Undergoing the 'Blessing of the Sacred Light', joining the community for real. Also known as exposing herself to lethal amounts of radiation in the hopes it would give her more powers instead of cancer. Or maybe along with cancer, if these guys' appearances were any indicator. But hey, if these guys could handle it, so could she!

As it turns out, she could handle it a bit too well.

Anytime she got close to something radioactive, some sort of magic spell seemed to wrap around her, preventing it from affecting her. She didn't realize her powers had an automatic protection component to them, but it wasn't like she had tested all her limits. So she had accepted it and kept up her standard order of business.

Also known as scamming as much out of the crazy cultists as she could in the name of the Sacred Light. Brother Ion's cooking was particularly good, if one could endure the inevitable sermon on the Herald's latest musings that would accompany the meal.

It really was too easy these days.

It was then that Saydaa noticed something strange. Four individuals walked down the street, covered in glowing tumors, just like everyone else. But for some reason they drew her attention.

And then she gasped.

She felt it.

The faint flicker of magic.

Extremely familiar magic.

She turned and bowed to Brother Ion.

“I’m sorry Brother, there’s something I need to do. I’ll stop by later?”

He smiled and nodded at her.

“Of course, Sister. I’ll see you then.”

Saydaa followed the group for a bit until they were walking down the main street. She then stepped out into the street, positioning herself behind the four. Suddenly she pointed at them.

“Hold it right there!”

One of them held their heads and groaned.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

“It is, in fact, you that’s kidding right now though?”

“Shut up, jerk, not helping.”

Saydaa smirked. Time to earn some brownie points!

“Brothers, Sisters, there are imposters in our midst! For these newcomers have not been touched by the Sacred Light! Personally, I think they’re come kind of devil. Or con-artist. Don’t most people consider con-artists as devils anyways? Might as well be the same, given how both are likely to be treated. The point being, they’re only pretending to hold the Sacred Light within them!”

At this point, Saydaa had gained the attention of everyone around. A small crowd started to form around her and the group, curious as to the commotion. One of the imposters winced, holding her hand up to her head and looking towards the ground.

“Is that…is that what I’m like? I’m starting to see why the boss-man found this so annoying.”

The one next to her simply patted her shoulder.

“Don't worry. We were already aware.”

“Shut up, jerk! We’re in a bit of a situation!”

The newcomers turned to her, tilting their heads.

“Ok, then, little girl who cried wolf. How are we imposters? Go on, explain yourself.”

She grinned at them.

“Like…this!”

Saydaa thrust her hand forward, intending to bombard them with a blast of magical wind, which should force a visible reaction on contact with the illusion.

But nothing happened.

“Huh?”

“Like what?”

“I said…like this!”

She tried again.

Nothing.

She looked at her hand, starting to sweat. One of the newcomers crossed their arms and scoffed at her.

"Is something supposed to happen?"

“W-What’s going on?”

Meanwhile, the original timeline Saydaa was cringing, even as she quietly moved her fingers to disrupt her alternate’s magic. She whispered under her breath, refusing to look at her panicking alternate.

“Ugh…that sloppy excuse for magic…that poorly thought out plan…this is humiliating. This…um…can we please stop this?”

“Sister Windcaller, what’s going on?”

Saydaa turned as Brother Ion stepped forward. She ran over to him.

“Brother Ion, these are imposters! And they’re blocking my blessing from the Sacred Light, somehow! Help me reveal them!”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Really?”

“Really!”

He heaved a sigh. Ok, he knew Sister Windcaller was always one for mischief, but those accusations were too heavy to ignore. She wouldn’t fool around about something that serious.

He hoped.

“May I ask where you are from, our guests?”

The four glanced at each other. Chronolock sighed.

“Across the ocean. We were fleeing the Concordat. We have nowhere else to go.”

He nodded at them.

“I’m sorry, it must have been very difficult for you. You are welcome here, my brothers and sisters.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, Sister Windcaller, why exactly have you accosted these folks?”

Saydaa opened her mouth. But she froze.

She realized that without revealing the illusion, she couldn’t explain how she knew about it without revealing her own control over magic.

Which would risk revealing that her powers were also not from the Sacred Light. That she, too, was wrapped in illusions at the moment.

She closed her mouth and looked down.

“I’m sorry, I made a mistake.”

Brother Ion heaved a sigh. He would have to have a long talk with her after this.

“I also apologize on behalf of our Sister here. She was always one for excitement. Would you find it in your hearts to forgive her?”

The newcomers nodded.

“No harm done, um, Brother? May we be on our way now?”

“Of course. May the Sacred Light guide you.”

Kiyosuke smirked.

“Getting into trouble as always, huh, Saydaa? Try not to be a bother please.”

Everyone froze.

The alternate Saydaa’s eyes widened.

“H-How do you know that name? I haven’t used that name since…”

Brother Ion’s eyes narrowed.

“Sister Windcaller, have you ever met these people before?”

“No! I’ve never seen them before in my life!”

Kiyosuke's eyes widened.

“Oh, um, that’s…”

Brother Ion glared at them.

“Didn’t you say you had just arrived? How is it you know Sister Windcaller’s Lightless name? And why is it that you use such an archaic moniker for one of the Blessed?”

“T-That’s…”

The original timeline Saydaa just held her head.

“Way to go, jerk.”

Meanwhile the rest of the team was on a hill overlooking the town. And currently holding their heads and groaning at what they heard over the comms and saw through binoculars.

“Resigned Surprise: So it was friendly Kiyosuke who gave it away. Surprising. This unit had predicted with 90% certainty that Voidspeaker would have been the one.”

Nana nodded her head at that. Wonder Knight, Pink Star, and Icy Rose opened their mouths to object…then paused…then looked at one another…then quietly closed their mouths. Arvid just sighed.

“A bit of misfortune, it seems. Who would have expected the other Saydaa to be present in this very town?”

Pink Star frowned.

“Um, shouldn’t we help them?”

“Explanation: Friendlies Kiyosuke and Chronolock are capable of immediate evacuation. Our role is now to determine how to proceed with achieving the mission objective.”

Wonder Knight crossed his arms.

“Couldn’t we still sneak in? Use the chaos to our advantage?”

Arvid crossed his arms as well.

“That would suffice for slipping past the townsfolk, but there is another problem. The commotion itself will put the other cult on alert, if they are still present here. Even if they do not realize they are the target yet, they will be on guard, because of the chaos that has been wrought. The second and more important infiltration will not be possible to pull off quietly.”

Nana sighed.

“And we need Saydaa there in any case. The ritual itself was pretty noisy too, and now that the town’s on guard they’re going to notice it. And here I was hoping it wouldn’t be like last time.”

“...Embarrassed Reframing: That time was all according to this unit’s calculations. It was fine. It went fine, did it not?”

“So you wanted us to have to hold the line against a horde of lizardmen? You specifically planned to disable yourself playing with powers you hadn’t used before?”

Elise simply went silent at that.

Wonder Knight, Pink Star, and Icy Rose glanced at each other. Elise turned to them.

“Warning: Do not inform the noob of this conversation. This unit will retaliate. This unit has records of Aurora Legion browser history. This is a credible threat.”

All three of them started trembling and shaking their heads with all their might. Arvid just rubbed his chin with his arms crossed.

“Since it has come to this, we should abandon stealth and conduct an all out assault. Ferocity is our last chance to catch our foe off balance.”

Pink Star immediately responded, grateful for the change in topic. For no particular reason, of course.

“What about the townsfolk?”

Arvid rubbed his chin.

“Indeed. We will need a diversion, lest we find ourselves caught between two foes.”

At that point, 20NS stepped forward to join the conversation.

“Resolute Response: Then you shall have one.”

The group turned to him.

“Elaboration: If this unit and the Liberator’s calculations are correct, you will need a great deal of time to finish your assault, conduct the ritual, and then also escape. The Concordat maintained NSLICE assets in the area and conducted regular raids on Atomic Cult holdings. This unit will launch one now.”

Icy Rose frowned.

“You will attack those people? I can’t say I like it.”

“Response: Your compassion is noted. However, the Concordat and the Atomic Cult have been at war for quite some time, a war that began with Atomic Cult aggression and that is still ongoing, despite the fall of the Concordat. This is simply the latest of our battles. You need not feel responsible.”

She continued frowning but said no more. Wonder Knight crossed his arms.

“...If there’s no other option. But what about you? It will be hard for you to escape with the cult on your heels.”

“Resolute Response: I will not.”

Aurora Legion froze. They all turned and stared at 20NS.

“Explanation: NSLICE raids against the Atomic Cult were mostly conducted with the intention of abducting new bases for additional NSLICE-NS units. Mission success results in long pursuit by Atomic Cult forces, which would jeopardize the Liberator’s escape. And the NSLICE program is no longer accepting coerced applicants. Total unit destruction will therefore result in the least amount of suspicion and the highest chance of mission success.”

He stared down at the town.

“Vengeful Addendum: Besides…this unit has many scores to settle with these fanatics.”

Tears filled the eyes of Aurora Legion but they wiped them away. 20NS turned to Elise.

“...Insolent Request: Please, Liberator, save my family.”

“Resolute Response: I will save both our families.”

With that, 20NS turned and walked away, leaving to contact and coordinate other NSLICE units in the area. Elise turned to the others.

“...Sorrowful Encouragement: Let’s proceed with the operation. 20NS will not fail in his task. Neither should we.”