Rachel’s ears tilted left and right as she scanned Paris in the falling snow; Nia, Yseress, and Alexa were with her, studying the wintery veil that surrounded them. She only had one last thing to do before going to the Crystal to get a full grasp of where Yseress stood in terms of power.

Overall, the nephilim was left to do what she pleased—for the most part—which Rachel had promised the woman in Cuba, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t involve herself if something snagged her attention; Yseress could likely destroy the world without much trouble if she was serious upon soul harvesting this Crystal and returning to her full strength.

It was nice having people she could rely on, and Rachel was glad to have a team that could function on its own when things grew out of hand; she couldn’t be everywhere at once. Unfortunately, the threads of misfortune were always shifting in ways that made her have to reevaluate things.

Nia shivered as Rachel brought them to a stop on the side of the road; not many people were out, due to the thickening storm. “Mmmgm. I knew I should have eaten a few good winter coats…”

Alexa hovered nearby, still getting used to her flying ability as an angel-magical girl. “I thought you weren’t affected by weather changes? I don’t really feel the cold, even if I know it is.”

“That’s the point!” the girl hugged herself, glancing at the 13-year-old Mystickin before casting her gaze to the street. “It looks cold, so I can’t help but shiver, and my ears are exposed—I need bunny ear muffs—uh, why are we stopping, Rach? Uh-oh! I feel that weird draw in your emotions,” she cried. “What’s happening?”

“Mistress?”

Rachel’s eyes defocused as a new string of events fell into place as if out of nowhere. “Something… big is going to happen tonight…”

Nia’s expression dulled. “I hate how ominous and vague your misfortune thing is. Will it be bad or good for us? Big Sis getting her powers topped off is big.”

“She has a point,” Yseress mused.

“Very bad,” Rachel growled. She brought them on the move again, doubling their pace to meet Solomon at the cafe; he was already at the location, having set things up in advance, it seemed.

She pulled out her phone from the folds of her skirt, flipping to her contacts. “It won’t be bad necessarily in the long run, but… No. How did I not see this misfortune before now? It’s linked to Nemesis and Mara, so… China—a combination of our plans and the changes others made in accelerating things?”

Nia spun in a circle, looking for any trouble as if she could spot what Rachel was sensing. “Umm, so, what do we do; more unpredictable changes—is it the assassins—are we going to get assassinated?!”

“Great…” Alexa breathed out her frustration. “The more I hang around you, Rachel, the more insane things get… It never cools down.”

Processing what she could understand from the new thread, each ring of her phone felt like an eternity; if Nemesis and Mara went after their target—at least how they were going to go about it—it would end badly for everyone involved.

Mara answered with a yawn, sounding more than a little off her typical game. “Mmgm? Something wrong, Rachel?”

Whatever this was, she had to find some wiggle room; making a snap decision, she said, “I want you to head back to the boat and get some sleep.”

“Okay? Don’t we need to find this… this China person or whatever? Nemesis is confused, too. We’re already in the city, heading to the place you mentioned.”

Rachel didn’t respond right away, allowing the threads to shift as she tried to tweak things in their favor. “Hmm. How are you feeling?”

“Tired as hades,” she grumbled. “Annoyed at Nemesis… throat parched… I’m perfect.”

“Would a nap help?”

“I won’t say it wouldn’t. Why the sudden concern for my health? It’s never come up before.”

“Heh. We haven’t known each other that long,” she playfully returned.

“Haha. True, I suppose. Hmm?”

Nemesis groaned on the other end. “Why are you so tired? You can usually go for days without sleep.”

“Hah. Days? Yes, Nemesis, I am not a robot like you who only enjoys prowling after a strong opponent! I’d like to soak in a cold bath, maybe read a bit—I don’t know… do something besides always stressing.”

“What’s got your hair knotted?” he asked, and Rachel could picture them scowling at one another; their destiny was changing by the second. “You’ve had a stick up your butt since we’ve returned from that island.”

“What’s wrong with me? I don’t know. I just… haven’t been feeling that well after stressing my voice so much, saving useless pirates from certain doom. Maria said I should rest a bit, but you picked me up right out of bed like I’m a child!”

Rachel had somehow missed her conversation with Maria; they needed to communicate better, but it was hard for them to know what she didn’t know due to her hearing. Of course, she’d been preoccupied with Wu and all the other events drawing her ears.

“Alright,” she interjected. “Nemesis, take Mara back; I have a bad feeling about her returning alone.”

“Ugh… I was looking forward to this, Rachel,” he snarled, likely signaling Mara by the snort she gave the Lion King. “Do you still want me to search for this dead woman?”

A lump formed in Rachel’s throat as she slowed, looking up at the white heavens; there had to be a way to escape this destiny. “It’s… complicated. I think you’ll certainly get a fight if you do go back on the hunt; can Mara put some kind of protective barrier around you with her voice?”

“My abilities are mostly active,” Mara huffed, but Nemesis wasn’t listening, now expecting a challenge by the dark chuckle he let off. “Haaa. I can’t do anything like that; he’d be on his own.”

“That’s fine,” Rachel said, going through other options to escape this nightmare. “Hmm. I’ll give you a callback, Mara. Return to Zippy; I’ll have your next partner ready when you get there, Nemesis… Tell me next time you don’t feel well, Mara.”

“I certainly will… Mmgm. My throat kills.”

Nemesis’ tone lightened at the news; a promised fight was all the beast was interested in. “Haha. If they don’t interfere with whatever ambush or attack is awaiting us, then I’m fine with a partner.”

Mara’s voice spoke to her rolling eyes. “I think you don’t understand the concept of ‘partner,’ Nemesis.”

Attempting to smooth this new path out, Rachel’s jaw set as the misfortune became more balanced; they wouldn’t come out completely unscathed, and she didn’t want to go down this route, but she couldn’t discover any more wiggle room—this was their best play, which made her want to punch something.

“I’ll let her know.”

Hanging up, Rachel’s gut swirled as she hovered over Scarlet’s number. “Yseress, take Alexa and Nia to the Crystal to wait for me… I need to meet with Solomon alone.”

Flaming black feathers revealed Yseress’ interested smile. “How terrible of a calamity this must be to have you so frustrated, Mistress. Why must we separate; does it have to do with Solomon, the gateway, or our path to it? Mmh-hmm-hmm. Maybe I am not supposed to be with you to frighten off some poor soul?”

“Just get going,” she sighed, accepting Nia’s worried hug.

“Be careful, Rachel… You promise you’re not going to do something dangerous? I don’t want to lose you like Mom.”

She caught Alexa’s concerned nod and paused upon breaking away, realizing she’d forgotten a few very important details in the complex mess entangling her mind, drawing out a short laugh as she summoned the Rabbit Gang. Both teens’ faces lit up upon seeing the squishy and excited buns.

“Guys!” Nia chimed, kneeling in the snow to hug each of them. “The squad is back! Wait, Gisele’s not here…”

Rachel gave her a thumbs up. “I know. She was sleeping when we left, but I bet she’ll be mad I didn’t wake her up. Scarlet will send her to be with me. As for the buns, I’ll take Rose with me, and you can each take one to hold,” she added, having noticed Yseress’ eyeing their newest Hades Bun.

“Okay! See you soon. Let’s go, troop; we’re off to war! Hop with me! One, two, three—one, two, three…”

Alexa got a hug of her own in before silently scooping up Hayan—the white bun—Nia taking Coral; her sister-in-law was more soft-spoken than Rachel remembered after her mother’s disappearance. It had probably been her mom that had somehow pulled Alexa out of her shell, likely through bonding about their fantasy escapes.

Heart stone cold, Rachel stood in the heavy snowfall, watching them make tracks on the sidewalk until they disappeared from sight; tingles cascaded from her spine to her tail—tomorrow, someone important would die, and she couldn’t tell anyone.

Bending down to bring Rose into her arms, she held her squishy blob against her chest as her Flush Moon bun embraced her neck with her ears, and Rachel let a long stream of carbon dioxide go, creating a trail of mist.

If I cut too many threads, I risk falling into a trap I don’t have any ropes to pull on to escape; too little, and it opens strings for us to deal with… which is why so many problems are happening all at once. I don’t know who will die, but if I tell someone…

She bit her lower lip; from what she could see, if she did let someone know, it would create an even worse scenario where not a single member of Mythic would survive. Who died was still up in the air, but it would be someone that got involved with this hunt Nemesis was on, and Rachel knew Twilight would not allow Scarlet to die; at least they would deal a major blow to their enemy.

Setting Rose down, the eldest bun hopped around, eyeing people and looking for danger as Rachel examined her phone contacts; if she singled it out to Nemesis, Scarlet, and her when it was time—keeping everyone else busy—she could stack the odds, and, if it was going to be anyone, the Lion King would love nothing more than to go down in a fight… if it wasn’t herself.

“It’s not like I’m the main character or anything,” she casually chuckled to Rose, gut tightening at the prospect. “No… I have too many things to do to let that happen…”

There’s also the possibility it’s no one in the group… just someone important to us? Selvaria’s mother… Richard even, since he’s in France? There’s no way to tell!

Cursing her misfortune, Rachel connected to Scarlet, continuing her journey to Solomon while studying the bundled-up citizens of France, moving through their capital; few cars were on the road, which surprised her, but the area might not receive snow that often, keeping people indoors because the streets seemed too snowy for cars without the proper tires.

Her unofficial adopted sister answered after only a few rings. “What’s up?”

“I need you to swap tasks and join Nemesis… There’s going to be a pretty intense fight, and I need you not to get involved but carefully watch everything to tell me exactly what happens. You’ll probably need to return back to Zippy with Nemesis when he falls.”

“Woah! That’s, heh, kind of crazy… So, Nemesis is actually going to lose—against who—he freaking beat down an aspect of death with his fists because it destroyed his shirt! Oh! Is this your misfortune sense—does he know?” Scarlet asked.

The vampire broke away from Fiona as the fairy listened in on the sweeps the French were making to find Melissa’s sister; Selvaria and her were biting at the bit to take action by their whispered conversation.

Rachel turned down the next street; she was nearing the cafe Solomon waited at. “No, and you can’t tell him. Say you won’t get involved in whatever ambush will happen and observe from a distance. I suspect it is one of China’s emperor factions or the eldritch-connected person Anthony mentioned—hades, it could be the Cult of Reason and the rogue alien faction, but I doubt it.”

“Got it,” Scarlet moaned, stretching out a little. “In short, memorize their tactics and save Nemesis when he goes down. No fighting. We retreat?”

“Yes. Our real confrontation will be tomorrow… You, me, and Nemesis; you’re going to delay their objective tonight.”

Scarlet forced a chuckle. “Yikes. I guess Maria will be pissed when we return and wake her up to heal him. Alright! Leave it to me, Sis!”

She sounded a lot more energetic about it than she should have been, yet the teen vamp had possibly been getting a bit restless; the girl wanted to do something useful, and Rachel couldn’t blame her after their Cuba mission.

“Just… be careful, Scarlet.”

“Yup! Yup! Oh, did you hear?!”

“Eh-heh. I guess not. What?”

“Jeanne said she might be able to swing a meeting with my mom in the next few days! I just… ever since, umm, our mom kind of did the whole rescue us from the Beast thing, I just… I just feel like I should talk to her… Not a good idea?”

Rachel’s tension eased at her hesitant tone, stopping in front of the cafe window to find Solomon sitting on the second story, which had a clear view of the entrance and falling snow through large windows.

“I think it would be wonderful. Stay safe. Oh, and wake Gisele up; I’m sure she can find me.”

“Ooh! Hehe. I can see her feathers ruffling that she was left behind already. I’ll stay at a good distance, don’t worry; I can see like five miles now!”

“The gains!” Rachel cheered. “I’ll be putting that vision to good use since you can filter out everything once getting your first look at who attacks Nemesis.”

“Yeah! Okay, I’ll get ready for our own ambush.”

Letting her go, Rachel’s smile fell, and she entered the cafe; it was empty besides the man and woman on the ground level since the Legend used some kind of enchantment to turn people away from the front door, paying the couple that owned it a large sum to make up for the lost business.

She silently accepted the cup the woman offered her; they were deaf, which made for a great area to discuss private matters. A soft strum of harmonic music played in the back from enchanted instruments, setting the mood.

Solomon sat back, listening to the calming sound while watching her sit. “Welcome. I expect you’ve had quite an eventful night thus far. Is there any subject you first want to touch on?” he questioned, sipping at some brew of tea by the smell.

Rachel jumped right into it as Rose hopped onto the table to glare at the Legend. “Your connection to Wu—are you working together—and what does she want from me?”

He nudged his head to the side, long silver hair nearly touching the ground due to its length as he studied the falling snow; there was a serene calmness to his actions that said nothing could upset him, which likely came from his famed wisdom.

“The Empress has her internal war, and I, my own… There are things that both of you can provide for me, so, yes, we do have our own arrangements. As for what she wants from you? I think it is fairly obvious,” he noted, yellow irises drifting to her.

“Wu is searching for someone who can expect the unexpected and develop a way for her to survive the coming war between warlords.”

A wry smirk lifted the corner of Rachel’s mouth, reading between the lines. “In short, you both need Twilight more than she needs you, and she needs me, which means you can gain access to her when you’re no longer of use to her by building rapport with Mythic. You don’t think she already planned for that when introducing you to us via the Cuba conflict?”

He smiled, rising to stand at the back window and look at the heavy veil obscuring much of the park across from them. “It is not wise to move against someone you know nothing about, and Twilight is… far too dangerous to be blind to her movements. You are of the same opinion, I have calculated, and if I want access to Scarlet, among other individuals, you are the gate I must knock on.”

Solomon motioned at the snow. “This snow isn’t natural… France is in a state where it can only look after itself due to the many enemies it has gained upon capturing Revilla and those who she’d gathered. It is not random who she selected to bring about her revival. How do you see things going for Mythic with so many factions vying for your attention?”

Rachel drank her tea in one gulp—it was decent—before rising to join him, holding her hands behind her back; she hadn’t considered the snow was a smoke screen for a bigger play, but it made sense now that she thought about it.

Laughter bubbled up in Rachel’s chest. “Honestly, I thought I’d been doing fairly well, predicting things and maneuvering myself before Cuba, and then I saw Twilight’s hand in it. She would have operated totally in secret but knew she couldn’t keep herself hidden forever. So, she set many things in my path to keep me busy while she works on setting things up in her favor.”

Her tone turned bitter upon picturing the most aggravating woman she’d met in her life. “Wu has been… quite a handful, I will admit, and has certainly humbled me a bit with how swiftly she was able to turn an unexpected event into her victory… No one had gotten under my skin until she came into the frame.”

“Hmm-hmm-hmm.” Solomon reached up to pull a few loose locks behind his ear. “She can be quite provocative, which is how she operates. You’re already actively thinking about how dangerous she is before she offers a sweet stick instead of a strong fist.”

Rachel’s tail shivered a little. “It’s effective, I’ll give her that… Anthony’s convinced she’s something special. If only she weren’t so greedy and pushy… I don’t like being pushed or being challenged without pushing back, and I find it… difficult to see a way I can with her,” she growled.

Solomon’s bright eyes twinkled while wandering to her. “Would you have accepted her offer if she were to show up out of the blue and offer a hand in friendship?”

“No…”

“I thought not. So, she and I have maneuvered into a delicate position to find common ground we can walk.”

“Heh. A delicate position?” Rachel mumbled, ear twitching. “She may not have kidnapped my boyfriend, but she is practically holding him hostage, and forcing me to go to China to collect him… all while gloating and flirting with him. I hate to admit it—I really do, Solomon—but she is truly a formidable woman.”

The Legend’s sly expression mirrored his words as he whispered, “When you are the victim of behavior, it’s black and white; when you’re the perpetrator, there are a million shades of gray. Is that not accurate as to your own actions since The Oscillation?”

“Words of wisdom?” Rachel hissed, scratching her left ear. “What is your skewed opinion of her since you are both somewhat in competition for my ear?”

“Hmm. Empress Wu is like the cherry blossoms she loves… blooming in splendid beauty, yet, after a short time, they fade and die. She is a woman who sees herself as the flames in a forge, and once her job is done in fashioning the dream for China she clings to, she is content to let another take her place…

“She has her people’s best interest in mind, and only their interest in mind—she would let the world burn if China would prosper, but she is far too intelligent to believe that is the best path for her nation. She is a believer in meritocracy to its core and seeks the best talent at any price she deems required. Heh. Including stealing a young woman’s boyfriend.”

A heavy sigh exited Rachel’s nose. “Wu said that you had my answers regarding Ying Yue Jiang… We’re going to stop something big from happening tonight. Is it her, or someone else—who is the spy that is feeding her information?”

Solomon didn’t answer for several seconds, studying the falling blanket covering the city. “Hmm-hmm. Here are some more words of wisdom: to appreciate the beauty of a snowflake, it is necessary to stand out in the cold…

“I do not have definitive proof, but I have been investigating a great many things as of late, which Twilight has indeed supported me in, yet Twilight wants you in the thick of this storm. It may surprise you, but where would I place my bets… Have you heard of the name Heinrich Himmler?”

Rachel shook her head, pulling out her phone to look at the wiki, and her eyebrows narrowed. “ Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel… One of the leading members of the Nazi movement? You have to be joking.”

Solomon’s white locks shifted against his shoulders. “Heinrich was known as the leader of occultism, military combat, and using esoteric symbolistic rituals for his purposes, and I’ve come to learn he has taken a great interest in Revilla. China’s Northern Empire and the occult Nazi order are working together in this, so I would be cautious.

“The Nazi movement is underground, well-funded, and larger than you might think. Germany is refusing to comment or allow investigations, and the EU is strained as it is these days. Germany is one of the world’s greatest powers at the moment, due to several Mythickin and Legendkin—one of which was likely ranks seven or eight on the world kaiju list.”

Her thoughts instantly went to the party that would also be connected to this. “Wolfgang must be connected—he has to be—and both Twilight and Wu are working with him?”

“I have no doubt the man is involved,” Solomon nodded. “I’m sure it will be a topic you can bring up with Wu to force her to reveal a little more about her relationship with him. I will continue my investigations, but I’m afraid this runs far deeper than that…

“I’ve discovered the link between the two groups is someone we only know by the moniker ‘The Wizard,’ who Twilight believes is trying to set things in motion for Revilla’s release.”

Rachel couldn’t even comprehend how anyone could be so stupid. “Why? Revilla is just going to devour everything. What does he gain?”

The man’s face pacified, now showing what truly caused his concern. “Twilight confirmed that Anthony and Jaenona halted The Wizard’s first plot, which is where tonight comes into play.”

It clicked in Rachel’s mind. “Revilla is aligned with the eldritch; does Northern China or the Nazis know they’re being used—what aren’t you saying?”

“It’s… not something that should be said aloud,” Solomon muttered, breathing on the glass to make a sign on the fogged surface.

Rachel followed the two skewed, coiled question marks that were joined at the dot with a line branching away from the point that dyed gold in her mind, drawing to the surface a phrase she’d never heard:

The Yellow Sign—The Unspeakable One—The King in Yellow.

Solomon swallowed the lump in his throat, swiftly wiping it away. “Dagon draws your attention, but another works in the shadows to release their herald of chaos. Elinnila’s contract is to return to Hades with a powerful soul tribute to offer Cerberus…

“This Wizard will do more than just that. Revilla’s masters are far more than you can imagine, and what Jaenona fights against. You’ll find your answer in the place I’m sure Anthony sent you, but be cautious. If you thwart his efforts tonight, tomorrow, he will be ready for something far more sinister with everything he has gathered to throw against you.”

The scope of things coming into the light, Rachel’s fists tightened against her tail. “Did Twilight tell you to give this to me so I’d join your side, or is this something you’re doing on your own… or manipulated by Twilight to give me?”

“Hmm. To be candid,” Solomon muttered, “I have many reasons to associate with you, and Twilight seems very keen on keeping track of your movements, so they don’t throw her plans out of order. Above all, I’m curious about you, Rachel, as this unfortunate center point that Twilight is using to achieve her goal.”

“Heh. Alright,” Rachel groaned, trying to shake off her discomfort at having the unsettling eldritch sign touch her soul. “What can you offer me?”

“Peter Defrost from Neil’scera? I have learned a little in my study on how to open the way for him to exit. It will provide a way for Anthony to return if you want to take that option.”

Rachel smiled. “You were already planning to do that for Charlamagne; I may be very distracted, but I can calculate that much since he’s linked to the Cult of Reason. It would also be better to have a human contact than the alien, and my boyfriend already softened him up for the French government. The alien split in records also makes them susceptible to sabotage; from what I hear, they’re a mess. A test?”

Solomon chuckled. “Correct. You are as intelligent as I hoped. I have given you what I have to offer. I suspect you have one question that will get me a second meeting?”

She giggled. “These games between Wu and you can be a bit of fun, I guess… Confirm to me everything Twilight had a hand in with manipulating Cuba’s fall—between Relica, Revilla, Wolfgang, and the things that weren’t told to our blonde Saint—promise to tell me everything about her little group, and I’ll promise to get you the meeting you want.”

His smile brightened, and he held out a hand. “A pleasure doing business with you, Rachel.”

She took it. “I suppose I need to contact a few people… I can’t save France alone. Also,” she paused, a loose thread tickling at the back of her mind. “What do you know about Sir Comte de Saint-Germain?”

Solomon’s expression pacified. “Be cautious of that man,” he warned. “He is a man of curiosity, and will do anything to satisfy his desires… good or bad, he would join any side that offered him the right reward.”

“Noted.”

Taking her leave, she gave the deaf couple a charming wave on her exit; entering the blizzard, she texted the information to Scarlet, telling her what to watch out for, and went to join her troublesome outfit, nephilim, and sister-in-law, picking up her pace and jumping over buildings to reach them faster.

The Crystal had shrunk to only 3-meters-high from its original eight, meaning the number of people that could enter had diminished—a difficulty spike—and this meant it went from over 25 people to 5 at the maximum.

Not only had the volume diminished, but the green glow was now blue—overlapping the bright blood gem’s base—telling them to hurry their conquest, or another change would occur. Tom’s notes placed this as a Level 7, Rank 7 Gate, which was terrifying to consider; the Azure Frost Double Crystal had been a Level 5, Rank 7.

Well. This should be interesting. Yseress, I hope you bring your A-game.

“Hmm-hmm. I hope you had fun with Solomon. No heavenly treat? I’m disappointed in him. Oh, but this is about to be a real treat,” she cooed, studying the frozen Stellated Octahedron gem in its shifting patterns. “What delicious souls await me? Shall we?”

Breathing deeply, she motioned for them to enter the frozen forest. “Let’s get this over with.”