"I'll alert the other Sepheliests," said Sequinnen. "Together we may be able to put him back in his grave and keep that plague from spreading. I doubt he has returned to his full power just yet. My subordinate Alvin has informed me of the same news. I wanted to do some more digging before taking action but this confirmation makes the choice obvious. Thank you for bringing this to our attention."

"Just doing my job sir. I'll give you proper intel on his location the moment I finish planning for this Order operation," replied Elaine.

"Why didn't the boy say something sooner?" asked Abbot.

Elaine sighed and twirled her thumbs for a moment, "Cypher was quite traumatized after the whole event. I think part of him didn't want to face the reality that something that horrible had happened to him and his friend. Honestly, if it were me I probably would have done the same thing. Most people don't know about how terrible the Minus can be, but even if they did it would be hard to relive an event like that."

This explanation didn't quite sit well with those gathered, but there wasn't much any of them could do about it. What mattered now was that they knew about it. Now, something could be done to handle that situation.

"Very well," Sequinnen began again, "you all have your assignments for times such as these. See to it that they are completed, lest we fail and doom the world. Just as the original members of our Knightly Order did so long ago, we too shall do the same. With so much happening it is important that we maintain our composure. Keep me informed of any news you dig up. Meeting adjourned. Until next time."

Everyone then moved to gather up their belongings and jot down a few notes for future use. After that, the room quickly emptied and as Elaine went to leave, Sequinnen stopped her. "Elaine, may I have a word?" he asked.

Together, they walked over to the window and he turned to face her. "I understand that you're teaching Cypher the Duality Shield, and, while I'm sure I know, I can't help but ask why?"

"If he's going after the Order, I have to make sure he has the tools needed to protect himself. Furthermore, I made a promise to Serenade. She foresaw that something like this might happen and asked me to do everything I could to help her son if he came asking," she replied.

"Just as I thought. Serenade came to me with that same order," said Sequinnen, and he let out a deep sigh. "Train him well, hold nothing back Elaine.

Elaine nodded and looked down at the floor. "You know this is risky right? What if he fails? Should we really play this game of chance just to gain the upper hand? You know as well as I that his fate is tied to all of Demilnoxis."

"What if we sent in specialists to handle this? They could get in and get out and probably even save his friends while they were at it." continued Elaine. However, Sequinnen only shook his head.

"You know as well as I that if anyone but him shows up, those kids are as good as dead. We cannot afford to turn him against us. He deserves to decide his fate, be it for good or bad. Besides, you should have more faith in your plan. I certainly do. Perhaps we can twist this to our benefit in more ways than one."

Elaine could only nod and agree. Sequinnen was right. However, to her surprise, she was more invested in Cypher's well being than she had anticipated. At some point, he had become more than just another student, or an annoyance. He had become someone she cared about and she didn't want to see him throwing his life away.

"Caution will be our greatest ally in this endeavor of yours, Elaine. If he should fail, I cannot see hope for the future of this world. However, letting his friends die might scar him deeply enough to turn him from his grander destiny. I've already made a mistake like that in the past. I won't allow it to happen again."

Elaine opened her mouth to speak, but Sequinnen interrupted her as he held up his index finger.

"That is why I give you leave to use 'that' spell. You are, after all, a master of barrier magicks. Use those skills and prepare him for this challenge.

"I trust that you are ready to put whatever you must on the line to ensure that he does not fail. Remember, he must succeed at all costs." Sequinnen smiled as he turned to leave, but paused and added one more thing.

"Ah, but then again, fate may have its own plan for that boy. Who knows, perhaps this is for the best." And with that, Sequennin Dardallus put his rings back on, and took his leave, a smile still upon his face.

.

.

.

Cypher awoke to the sounds of Elaine yelling at him to open his eyes. He had spent most of the night awake, worrying about Alex and Melodi. He had also spent a lot of time analyzing his battle prowess and abilities. He had gone over countless ways to fight and even referenced the visions from his dreams. He hadn't fought many Order members, but seeing how a few of them fought was especially helpful.

"So?" he began. "What's the plan? Are we going to train now? I'm ready and I don't have much time left. Elaine smiled and put her hands on her hips.

"Calm down ya little shit, we have plenty of time. But yes, we will be going to train shortly. That said, I want you to spend the entire day getting ready. Eat, drink. Hell, even sleep a little if you can. I need you in top form if my plan is going to work as well as we need it to."

"In the meantime, I'll finish sorting out my business and we can get right to it. Oh, and we'll need to use your house for this. The environmental simulator room should work perfectly." Cypher looked at her with a strange expression. It wasn't too strange that she knew about his training rooms, she had been on his father's team. She no doubt used them herself once upon a time, but that wasn't what confused him.

She was still rude as fuck, but her voice carried with it what he could only recognize as fondness, and it was aimed at him! He shook off his shock and nodded. However, he was extremely eager to get started, but he trusted what she had to say and decided to take her advice to its fullest.

With that, he spent the day getting ready. He ate a few hearty meals, got a couple of hours of sleep, spent some time studying in his library, and lastly he enchanted several new rings with the deep pockets spell.

In those rings, he loaded weapons, armor, several blank Arks, and any other supplies he thought he might need in his battle against the Order. After everything was said and done, the sun had just set and Cypher met Elaine outside and welcomed her into his home.

They went straight to the environmental simulator and his training began.