I gently glided my thumb across my wrist.

  I felt something tingle beneath it, flowing into my fingertips.

  My fingers twitched.

  A tiny ember lit up at the tip of my index finger.

  The tingling continued.

  I stared at the small flicker of flame for a few seconds before blowing it out.

  My mana started to flow properly again recently.

  I still probably wasn’t in the proper condition to do anything with it, but even if I was, I don’t think it would have mattered.

  News of my condition had long since spread across the city. Even the new arrivals who had never seen me before knew to ‘not let the white witch near the battlefield’.

  I had already been sternly scolded several times by General Hywind for even trying to approach the city’s walls.

  I needed to find something to do.

  Something that wasn’t anxiously looking out towards the walls, where my eyes lingered on small peeks at gigantic bony appendages that tried to claw at Arden’s walls.

  I needed to not imagine what kind of horrific, gargantuan monstrosities it was out there that everyone was fighting.

  I needed to not think about the flashes of starlight that signified Mother’s presence at the frontline, leading the battle herself.

  Maybe there was something I could have done in the medical bays and hospitals, maybe I could have comforted the injured or inspired the tired to keep on pushing, but…

  Just standing there, it made me uncomfortable.

  The way they looked at me-

  They pity you.

  They mourn you.

  They think you are fragile.

  They think you are weak.

  My hand trembled.

  I closed my eyes, tightly wrapping it around my necklace for comfort.

  In the end, I just stayed home, at Arden’s centre, next to the spires in which all the magi gathered, and a mere district away from where Professor Sibyl and Luna were working all day.

  In the end, you ran away.

  I opened my eyes, staring into the befuddling runes on the necklace in my hands.

  I tapped it, letting a small spark of mana siphon off my finger into its core, lighting up its runes.

  I was still lost as to what its exact function was.

  I clutched it tightly, feeling its soft hums in my hand as I recalled what Mother had said about it.

  ‘Just a little something to help you with Samsara in case you ever need it.’

  In what situation was I supposed to need it?

  What was it supposed to do?

  Was I meant to activate it? Probably not, right? At least not primarily, it was meant to be a ‘contingency’.

  I sighed. I had been meaning to ask her about what exactly it did, but we hardly even had the time to see each other anymore. I could count the amount of times we talked since Arden’s lockdown on two hands.

  Still, I was a bit peeved she didn’t tell us what these necklaces actually were for on our birthday.

  At times, Mother’s stubbornness as a witch still came through. No matter how much she disliked the demeanour of Citadel magi, she still couldn’t shake off those same behaviours and mindsets.

  Tools and gifts like the one in my hand weren’t meant to be relied upon. Your first, foremost primary tool was always your brain. Falling back on anything else was weakness and would create complacency. Information was to be held tightly no matter what; telling even a single soul about your research created an unknown factor that could jeopardise everything you worked for.

  I couldn’t be too annoyed.

  Mother just thought I would have more time to study Samsara.

  It wasn’t like she had foreseen any of… this – the lockdown of Arden, the enactment of martial law, the Lunatic disaster – happening and taking away our lessons together.

  And even if she knew I had somewhat of a reckless streak, it wasn’t like I was suicidal enough to just jump in head-first suicidally at the first chance I could against a foe far stronger than I was.

  It was just unfortunate enough that both times, I was the only one close enough to do anything about it.

  I would have tried my best to stay out of it otherwise, really.

  That’s a flimsy, pathetic lie and you know it.

  …

  Right, the necklace.

  Back on Yrd, it had done… something.

  I had never managed to wrap my head around Samsara’s third principle; that of unwinding and nullification of form. Repeating the second step of elemental conversion an infinite amount of times inevitably resulted in the untangling of all matter into its purest most essential form – that of untamed, raw mana.

  If performed successfully, it could create a miracle of sorcery; a storm of violent, purified energy known as a ‘manastorm’, endlessly exploding and spinning in an unending chain reaction.

  Just finding a method to create one would already be enough to make any mage a peerless genius, but Mother went a step further and found a way to harness that explosive potential energy.

  In the perfect ritual form, the manastorm was simply an intermediary point. If one invoked Samsara again, rotating the storm along a second imaginary axis of infinity, they would manage to ‘nullify’ the energy completely, resulting in a twisted simulacrum of the extradimensional energy that formed the Void.

  What Mother wanted to teach me to keep me safe from being forcefully infected by the Void was the reverse; a way to simplify Null energy, stripping it of the Void’s corrupting influence and transforming it into usable mana.

  And somehow, this necklace was related to that final step; applying all three principles in reverse along an imaginary axis to create practically boundless mana… but how?

  Was it a centrifuge? A beacon? A reference point? Did it contain the exact mathematical form of Null energy? Was it a compass that found the correct alignment for the Great Wheel to spin into the fourth dimension and beyond?

  I sighed tiredly.

  If only I could figure it out.

  Then I could actually be of help. Then I wouldn’t be-

  Powerless.

  But the chances of that were slim. I could barely wrap my head around the first two and a half steps of Samsara, let alone actually enact them. And that final half of the third principle was nightmarishly complicated, beyond the understanding of everyone on Manusyara besides Mother.

  And she didn’t have the time to teach me.

  I bit my lip, flipping the necklace over and over as I gleaned its runes for the thousandth time in days, fruitlessly hoping I could learn something.

  Something rumbled in the distance.

  I flinched, looking out to the distance as I heard a wave of roaring cheers roll and echo towards me.

  I blinked in confusion.

  They sounded… upbeat? Excited?

  That was positive noise. I hadn’t heard that in… weeks, if not months.

  And now, of all times, what was happening?

  I cautiously grabbed my belongings, put on my hat and walked outside, keeping an eye on any oddities.

  I strolled into the backlines, where whispers rumbled through off-duty soldiers.

  “No way, really!?”

  “Time to put these suckers back in their graves where they belong.”

  Loud explosions and roars still echoed in the distance.

  Dazzling spells still fired off overhead, protecting Arden’s skies from aerial invaders.

  The walls of the city flashed with bright light as great mounted cannons fired off, kicking up great clouds of smoke and dust.

  If I listened closely, I could still hear the distant sound of clashing steel.

  The battle was still ongoing.

  I continued stepping through the city hesitantly, as the whispers around me slowly grew louder and louder.

  There was a stampede of feet followed by the cries of gryphons.

  An entire battalion of knights and adventures stormed by, almost shaking the ground with their combined footsteps.

  Weapons were being handed off. Friends exchanged farewells and salutes.

  Then I heard a familiar voice in the distance.

  “Sister!”

  Luna waved at me cheerily, jogging back towards our home with a big smile on her face.

  “Sister, great news!”

  “L-Luna?” I stumbled, puzzled.

  She beamed at me.

  “The Pale Dragon’s grave, and the site of the resurrection ritual… we’ve finally found it!”

  I reeled, my eyes widening.

  “H-huh?”

  She nodded excitedly.

  “Yup, the scouts just got back, and they confirmed the authenticity of my calculations! I was right! No one believed me aside from Professor Sibyl, but I was right on the exact location!”

  She laughed.

  “All that’s left now is to gather everyone available for the expedition team, and then we can finally end this madness!”

  “Hold on a second, Luna,” I shook my head, trying to get my bearings.

  I took a small breath and stared at her.

  It just seemed so… sudden.

  Even just yesterday, the scouts reporting back to Arden were bemoaning just how fruitless their attempts had been, and the common sentiment seemed to be that the triangulation was at most thirty-percent complete.

  Everyone was preparing for another full week of defending against the undead siege, and now…

  I don’t know, it was all just such a sudden turn around of the mood and atmosphere that I had no idea how to react.

  I blinked.

  W-wait, did Luna say she was the one who found it?

  I balked at my little sister.

  “Sorry, you found where the Pale Dragon is?”

  “Mhm!” She nodded proudly, “and it was exact too! I didn’t just get the right mountain range, but the exact valley and cave as well! Done, just like that!”

  I was stuck to the spot for several seconds, a thousand emotions running across my face.

  Confusion. Weariness. Relief. Pride. Doubt. Anxiety.

  My lips twitched and my eyes blinked several times as I sorted through the mess of feelings.

  In the end, in my worn-out state, I could only manage a small, wobbly smile of pride.

  My eyes softened just a bit.

  “You really are a genius, Luna… good job.”

  She just chuckled, almost rolling her eyes.

  “Of course I am. How many other students at Nindo have managed to skip entire years of its curriculum? Not even Setsuna, the impassable wall of swordsmanship, has managed that!”

  My smile widened a bit.

  “Yes, of course, Luna. I’m very, very proud of you. I always will be.”

  In the end, past all the confusion, my heart settled on an affectionate, almost maternal pride for Luna.

  She had really come a long way.

  It was hard to believe she was the same as that timid little girl from the orphanage, unable to read a single word, yet whose eyes glowed with endless curiosity and innocent wonder.

  But at the same time, in some other ways, I could not help but feel as if things were always going to turn out like this. Of course that curious child who was so eager to learn and dream would grow up to be such a talented witch. Of course she would grow up to be far more talented than her peers, than even her older sister who had tried her best to shelter and nurture her up to that point.

  Luna had become a fine witch all on her own.

  Luna looked at me-

  Strangely.

  Why is she looking at you like that?

  Calmly and reassuringly.

  “Don’t worry, Sister. This will all be over soon. You don’t need to worry anymore, or get yourself hurt because of us. You’ve done enough. You can just stay home and relax, before you know it, all of the undead will disappear! We’ll send them right back to where they came from!”

  I nodded, letting the weariness and tiredness show on my face.

  “Yeah, it’ll be nice… we can go back to eating together as a family. Mother can go get some sleep again, you can go back to your classes at Nindo, everything will go back to normal.”

  “Yup!” Luna nodded excitedly, “Just sit tight, we’ll be back before you know it and Arden will be saved!”

  …?

  ‘We’...?

  Luna spun on her heel, waving as she walke-

  Where is she going?

  I almost stumbled as I reached out to her, catching her hand before she slipped away.

  She blinked at me, confused.

  “H-hold on, Luna… where are you going? Your work… it’s done now, right? You already found the Pale Dragon, why do you need to go back?”

  My smile became brittle.

  Luna just frowned, as if I was missing something obvious.

  “Huh? I have to go on the expedition with Professor Sibyl and everyone else. The Pale Dragon has to be stopped, why else do you think we’re doing all this?”

  My smile snapped.

  No.

  “What are you talking about, Luna?” I chuckled lowly, gritting my teeth.

  I think my hands started to shake.

  “Are you joking? Why would they let a fifteen-year-old girl onto such an important mission? Surely you’re not suggesting they looked at a fourth-year student and decided it was okay to let her join.”

  Luna frowned as she tried her best to not roll her eyes at me.

  “Well maybe because they don’t just see a child, Sister. I’m not a simple fourth-year student. I was admitted entrance one year early and I’m taking almost three years worth of classes in advance! That’s already more accomplishment than some of the actual Citadel witches on the expedition team!”

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  My spare hand started to tighten into a fist.

  My eyes started to darken.

  “Luna. It’s dangerous. You can’t go out there. Stay here where it’s safe.”

  She started to scowl and glare at me.

  “You don’t need to keep babying me, Sister!”

  She yanked her hand away from my grip.

  “I’m a more capable witch than half of the other adult witches who are going on the mission. For Sol’s sake, I’m a provisional A-Rank! That’s higher than any of your preliminary rankings and tests!”

  “Luna, this isn’t like that. The danger is real. You could die. I’m not letting you risk yourself out there when there are plenty of other people who could go in your place.”

  Luna glared intensely at me.

  “Says you of all people! You’re just being a hypocrite! If it was you standing where I am right now, you wouldn’t think about it for a second! You wouldn’t even give me the decency of letting me know what you were doing! You’d just disappear before anyone even knew what you were doing!”

  Shut up.

  She should just listen.

  My hollow eyes glared back.

  Luna just glared back even harder in defiance.

  “You aren’t even trying to refute it! You’re always like that! Always throwing yourself in harm’s way at even the smallest sign of trouble, always worrying about every tiny, little thing no matter how much it will hurt you to fix it!”

  I frowned.

  “Because I have to, Luna. You’re a child.”

  She’s still the same.

  Still as curious.

  Still as innocent.

  Still as stupid.

  Luna narrowed her eyes.

  “Of course I am. That’s all I ever am to you, a child. Your precious little sister,” she spat, “you still think I haven’t grown up, that I can’t do anything by myself! You still think you need to break every single bone in your body and starve yourself to the brink of death for my sake! I don’t need to be protected by you forever! I need to grow up and become my own person eventually!”

  She huffed.

  “I don’t want you to keep falling over and nearly dying for me, or anyone else in Arden for that matter! For once, stop taking every bit of hardship onto yourself. I’m not a child, I’m not helpless, I’m strong enough to handle my own issues!”

  My nails dug deep into my palm, breaking the skin and drawing blood as I tried to root myself to the spot, stopping myself from lashing out.

  “I do what I have to, no matter what, I can’t let you get hurt.”

  Anything to keep your Oath.

  “That’s exactly the problem!” Luna snapped, “At the first chance you get, the minute you get back up from this, you’re going to just throw yourself at it again, and then you’re going to collapse again, over and over until something breaks! I’m not letting it get to that point! I can go out there and make a difference in that expedition! I can help it succeed, and if it does, I can stop you from being an idiot again.”

  My reason broke.

  I didn’t care for arguments or logic anymore.

  “Luna. This isn’t an argument. You’re not going. You’re staying here in Arden.”

  Luna just glared at me again and scoffed.

  “That’s what I should be saying to you. You’re the one who should stay here. Sit still. Don’t even think about helping.”

  We silently stared each other down, waiting in a stand-off for the other person to make the first move.

  Then something in the air changed.

  I froze.

  I remembered that feeling.

  I spun around in horror, watching as buildings in the distance spontaneously exploded and collapsed.

  I snarled.

  Shit.

  This would have to wait.

  There was something happening, I needed to go over there and he-

  “Where are you going, Sister?”

  Before I could take a second step, Luna’s voice rooted me.

  I spun around and glared.

  “Now’s not the time, Luna. Something happened, we can argue about this lat-”

  “And what exactly are you going to do when you get there?” Luna narrowed her eyes, “Let me guess, you’re going to see all the destruction and all the injured people, and then you’re just not going to be able to take it anymore, you’re not going to be able to help yourself, and before you know it, you’re going to heal everyone you can until you burn yourself out into another coma.”

  I bit my lip, holding back the frothing emotions.

  Why is she rebelling against you?

  Why won’t she just sit still and listen to her older sister?

  “So what if I do!?”

  In the end, I couldn’t contain it, and ended up shouting at Luna.

  “What does it matter!? All of you and your worries, your concerns, why do all of you burden me with them!? Just be grateful for the help I give you and stop worrying about me! I just hate it when I see something happening in front of me that I know I can stop, and I’m tired of finding excuses and things to blame! Just let me collapse, I don’t care!”

  “But we care!” Luna screamed back, “I care when you collapse! Do you think you’re the only one who loves me!? Do you think it’s only you who hurts when you see someone you love in pain!? I care about you as well, Sister, it hurts me every time you do something like that! I’m tired as well! I’m tired of being the timid and weak little girl who always has to be helped through everything by her older sister! I’m tired of just watching as she pushes herself to the brink of death for something that I could have helped her with! And now, I’m finally stronger than you, I’m a better witch than you’ll ever be, I can help you and everyone else more than you’ve helped us, so for just once, Sister…”

  She snarled as she ripped open her grimoire, the tome’s pages magically billowing as they flipped, preparing a spell.

  “Stop worrying about everything and just go to sleep!”

  The world around me trembled.

  I started to slip.

  I frantically looked down, only to find the ground around me destabilising.

  My eyes widened.

  I tried to jump out, but it was too late.

  The earth cracked as great walls of stone locked me into the street.

  I trembled, holding back the urge to growl and snarl like a mindless beast.

  Anger. Indignance.

  I glared at the wall, channelling those emotions towards it.

  I looked at my hand, the blood from my nails drying.

  I still didn’t know whether it was safe to use magic.

  That was fine. I could just use my hands to climb instead.

  My head snapped back to the side, where explosions continued to echo.

  I continued to see spells fire off overhead.

  The sky quaked again as a quasi-cosmic storm shot terrible bolts of lightning and raging wind down towards the chaos occurring directly inside the city.

  I ran towards it and leapt, digging my hands into the wall and burrowing my fingers into it with sheer strength as I leapt over it.

  Once I cleared the barrier, landing up on a nearby rooftop, I swerved around, surveying all of my surroundings.

  I couldn’t find Luna.

  Whatever, I could worry about her later. I had to make sure he wasn't here. That was the only way anyone in Arden could be safe, and that included Luna.

  I ran at full speed, hopping across the rooftops and ignoring the knights and adventurers pouring through the streets below me and the gryphons flying overhead, all rushing towards the outbreak of battle.

  The telltale signs of Selenia’s presence continued to rage on.

  The storm clouds oozed murky droplets that swelled into a dark tide that roared as it smashed down onto the burning buildings, sweeping away all the fire in one go.

  Bolts of wicked lightning continued to strike down upon the earth, filling the air with a sharp, metallic pungency.

  The ground began to rumble as the paved streets burst apart, great worms of revolting decaying flesh eating through the earth with jagged bone appendages sprawling from their mouth.

  Their maws gaped open, spewing out countless vile undead monsters onto the floor.

  I heard a familiar mechanical whir as I arrived on the scene.

  The giant worms suddenly imploded, a small burst of heat expanding from their cores before contracting, swallowing the creatures alongside itself.

  Mother stomped onto the street with a furious snarl on her face, waving the Helios Engine around her and pointing it towards each of the monsters, dispatching all of them with a single burst of flame.

  “Mother!” I called out to her, jumping down from the roofs.

  Her eyes snapped towards me.

  “Estelle,” her eyes narrowed sternly, “stay close to me.”

  She knew that asking me to leave was pointless-

  Unlike Luna.

  So she figured the best that she could do was keep me directly by her side, where it was safest.

  She snatched my wrist, keeping me close to her.

  A small glare was shot towards me.

  “And no matter what. Do not try to cast a spell.”

  I flinched, recalling Luna’s words with me.

  I nodded shakily.

  “A-alright.”

  You won’t listen.

  You have to help.

  Mother’s grip on my wrist tightened, pressing down on the exact area most people felt their mana flowing through, giving me a silent warning.

  The dark storm continued to howl and rumble.

  She frowned as she examined it, quickly tracing its source and marching off to its location as knights rushed in, blocking off the street and arriving just in time to contain the outbreak.

  Mother continued to stomp her way through the chaos, haphazardly flicking her free hand to command the Helios Engine, wiping away every single monster in her path without so much as a single glance towards them.

  The world around us started to quake, marking a circle around us.

  Mother pulled me closer towards her.

  Five spikes of bone burst through the ground, surrounding us completely.

  Our legs wobbled.

  We were pulled upwards along with the concrete of the street we were standing on.

  It was a claw.

  A hulking undead golem rose to its full height, crumbling the buildings it rose through, scattering debris across the whole district.

  Mother just scoffed, pulling the Helios Engine in front of her and pointing straight at the golem’s face.

  There was a blinding flash of otherworldly lightning, making me look away.

  I blinked.

  I found ourselves slowly crashing back into the ground as the golem fell limply, shortly before it disintegrated into ash.

  We continued forwards, not sparing the encounter a single thought.

  The storm slowly started to die down as we neared the centre of the chaos, marking the end of the sudden attack.

  Before long, we found who we were looking for.

  Selenia huffed in annoyance as she inspected her torn sleeves, her entire body covered in strange necrotic matter.

  Several cloaked bodies laid unconscious, scattered all across the street.

  “Hmph, I rather liked this blouse. Sadly, I doubt even my tailor could salvage this.”

  She lifted her arm, gently pulling the fabric towards her to get a slightly better view of her back.

  She clicked her tongue at the large gashes and tears in her clothing, revealing bloodied skin and flesh beneath.

  I tensed.

  Instinctively, I stepped forward, only to be stopped on the spot by Mother, who simply tightened her grip on me and pulled me back, reminding me of my condition without needing to say a word.

  Selenia then stroked her hair, lifting a few locks in front of her face.

  “Tch. I was due for a haircut anyways,” she scowled, before flicking the offending locks of hair away in irritation.

  Thankfully, it didn’t take long for priests to arrive on the scene, saving me the potential pain.

  It was then that Mother finally let go of my wrist, trusting me to not do something stupid now that the threat had been swiftly dealt with.

  “Oi, Selenia,” Mother barked, “care to tell me what the hell just happened?”

  “Oh, Belle!” Selenia swung around, cheering up immediately and ignoring the bleeding scrape on her forehead as she greeted her friend.

  The look on her face soured not a moment later.

  It seemed like even she understood the gravity of the situation at hand.

  “The whole ordeal was quite unfortunate timing. Far beyond simple coincidence, I would say.”

  I looked around, finding the place to be somewhat familiar.

  Oh, right.

  This was where Luna was working for the past few days.

  “I was having a quick talk with dear old Avernus before he departed, discussing the countermeasures he had prepared in case a direct confrontation with the creature is necessary, for both his expedition and ourselves in this city, when I was rudely interrupted by this slovenly gang of cultists.”

  Mother frowned.

  “Right as the scouts come back and we lock down the final location? Definitely not an accident.”

  Her fellow witch just nodded.

  “Indeed. Most likely conjecture, the scouts were compromised at some point during their surveyance, these cultists were sent to stop the information from getting back, but were too late. We must assume the rest of the dreadful cult is aware we have their location and are now gathering all our available forces to confront them.”

  “And,” Mother continued, her face darkening, “it means if they have any control over what’s happening, they’ll do everything in their power to both speed up the resurrection and intensify the attack on Arden. Stretch us thin and delay us as much as possible.”

  “Quite the conundrum, no? Dedicate the bulk of our forces to the defence of Arden and we risk being too slow to stop the resurrection of the Pale Dragon. Dedicate our forces to Avernus’s effort and the city may fall before his victory. Split them evenly and we may be uncertain either objective is fulfilled.”

  “And Sibyl, where is he?”

  “He had the good sense to leave the second we were attacked. He understood the implication of what happened the moment he saw the cultists. At this very moment, he should already be leaving with his team.”

  Right on cue, an enormous flock of gryphons flew overhead, casting their shadows over us as they departed.

  “Tch,” Mother clicked her tongue, “then we don’t have time to waste either. Start rounding up every single one of your Citadel magi, I’ll gather my folks. We’re meeting at Foundry Row to roll out the experimental defences. I’ll start rolling out the emergency protocols to harness the Paradox Engine’s power. Between all of us and the city of Arden itself, the Helios Engine should have enough power to wipe the kingdom of Lemegetia off the map a second time.”

  Selenia hummed in approval.

  "Do not wait for me, dear Belle. I have my own matters to attend to; the contingencies that Avernus said he left in case of the worst-case scenario, I shall see what I can do with them."

  Belle grunted in acknowledgement, before her sharp eyes flicked towards me.

  “Estelle, get to safety immediately. You’ve probably already been told this already by Hywind, but everyone’s already under strict orders to treat you as a civilian.”

  I nodded shakily, preparing to step away.

  Shame. Hate. Self-loathing.

  I had managed to calm down at least a little bit from my outburst with Luna.

  I was barely managing to keep it all together.

  I swallowed down the roiling tumultuous emotions climbing up my throat and walked away.

  I had to listen. I had to listen.

  “Also, find Luna and get her down to safety as well.”

  I nodded absently as the two women wasted no time, immediately running away to separate ends of the city.

  That just left me.

  I just had to listen to Mother's words and find Lu-

  I froze.

  I blanched.

  Horror dawned on my face.

  The reason I was coming over here…

  It wasn’t just because I needed to stop whatever was happening.

  I had to get here before Luna did.

  But I didn’t see her here.

  She wasn’t here.

  Fear. Panic. Anger.

  I swung my head around frantically, feeling the frenzy start to creep up.

  I ran out.

  Where is she?

  Where is your little sister?

  Where is that helpless little girl?

  “LUNA!” I screamed out as knights and adventurers passed by.

  I swivelled around, shivering with panic.

  I felt everything slowly start to untangle.

  I climbed up onto the roofs and jumped across the entire district, across every last burning, destroyed building.

  She wasn’t there.

  She hadn’t come here at all,

  Where. Is. She?

  No. No.

  This…

  This wasn’t right.

  It wasn’t real.

  It was fake.

  It was just a prank.

  Luna’s just at home, waiting, right?

  She would listen to her older sister, right?

  I sprinted back towards the centre of the city.

  The sounds of war continued to echo in the skies and outside the walls.

  “LUNA!” I screamed as I shoved the door to our home open, almost breaking the door in half.

  My voice echoed emptily.

  My head flitted from corner to corner.

  I searched every last nook and cranny.

  I looked under the beds, like an idiot, like we were still children playing hide and seek.

  Where.

  Is.

  She.

  I trembled, feeling the boiling something start to take over every nerve in my body.

  I ran outside, back towards the city.

  “LUNA!” I yelled out to the void fruitlessly.

  I gnashed my teeth.

  I ran across every single street I could remember.

  I heard the barely familiar voice of a maybe-acquaintance behind me.

  “Young Lady, is that you? It’s not safe here anymore, all non-combatants ar-”

  Shut up.

  I snarled, grabbing the adventurer’s collar and shaking him.

  “Have you seen my sister?”

  “H-huh? Listen, Young Lad-”

  “My sister. Luna Symphonia. Have. You. Seen her.”

  He blinked at me cluelessly.

  Useless.

  I pushed him away and dropped him to the floor, stomping away as I continued my search.

  “My sister! Has anyone seen my sister!?”

  “Blonde hair! Yellow eyes! Carries a grimoire! How many witches still have grimoires!?”

  I found my way to a guildhouse.

  There was a lady there, still barking orders and assignments. I think she was a receptionist, now temporarily a logistics and personnel officer. Or something, I didn’t care.

  “Have you seen my little sister?”

  “Huh, Young Lady? Your little sister, the little lady…”

  I growled, already preparing myself to turn away in disappointment.

  “Yes, actually, the entire expedition came by to confirm their deployment.”

  …

  What?

  She left.

  She already disappeared.

  She slipped through my fingers.

  Again.

  It all just disappears right in front of you.

  Again.

  You are powerless to change anything.

  Again.

  Your little sister simply goes.

  I broke.

  “Where is the expedition headed?”

  The receptionist blanched.

  “Young Lady, if you’re planning on doing something reckless, then I’m afraid I can’t tell you that!”

  “Give me. The coordinates.”

  “I-I can’t disclose tha-”

  I snarled, swivelling around and looking for any hint I could.

  It didn’t take long for me to find one.

  The receptionist saw what I was looking at and paled in horror.

  “Someone, stop her!”

  I saw a map with a location marked.

  That was all I needed.

  I knew the gryphons were kept nearby too.

  I made a break for it before anyone could stop me.

  The muscled body of an adventurer tried to stop me.

  I tackled past him.

  An armoured knight blocked my way.

  I dived to the side and rolled.

  I stumbled to my feet and continued running.

  I felt the wind get knocked out of me as someone tackled me to the ground.

  The weight slowly increased as more people piled on top of me to stop me.

  I groaned, twisting and turning as I tried to shove them away.

  “Get…”

  Something inside my wrist tingled.

  “OFF!”

  I screamed.

  The floor trembled as vines broke apart the floor, tossing everyone off of me.

  I ignored the electric prick in my fingertips and ran.

  There was a spare gryphon.

  I jumped on it and pulled on its reins.

  “GO!”

  It whined as I forced it to take off.

  Remember your oath.

  That little girl – my little sister – would be my everything.

  She would want for nothing.

  She would grow up strong and wise.

  She would hope and dream.

  I would give her anything and everything.

  She would live and be happy, no matter what.

  [LUNATIC+]

  Pale Rider Upon Black Seas

  Part 1 - Arden Besieged CLEARED

  Preparing to enter...

  Part 2 - Valley of Hinnom

  Are you ready?

  [YES] [NO]

  8/10 Players Ready...

  10/10 Players Ready...

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  Health hasn't been the greatest again.

  Anyways, off to the deep end we go.

  As a reminder, to temper some expectations.

  The Disappearing of Arden, the return of the Seven Legions, and Estelle’s descent into madness is still two years down the timeline.

  This arc is about Estelle’s first contact with the Void, but it is still firmly Estelle in her ‘prime’, during her ‘heroic’ years – or at least she will be by the end of this arc.