Shadowbane

I turned down an alley, expecting the pursuers to stupidly follow me again. But as I waited, nobody walked past or into the alley. They were clearly onto me, so I turned invisible and put my back against the wall.

Fairy, is your mother available? I need to ask her something.

{'What is it?' She said.}

While watching those memories I noticed something really bizarre, but I didn't pick up on it at the time because of everything that was going on. I continued, Viktor's men never used any abilities or magic. Why is that? They were literally just regular soldiers who only knew how to enhance themselves. And they were pretty bad at that as well.

I watched the alley and rooftops while waiting for Lunaria's reply.

{She said she found that odd too. Maybe Viktor doesn't allow the men in his army to use their soul realms?}

But that's...

{'A complete waste, right? He might not trust the Humans working under him. He has Xerath he can depend on now after all.'}

.......

Thinking back on it; if I, Simon, and Nera were able to overcome Ash and that Satyr, then Viktor would have had a real problem on his hands. And then there's the fact that I had destroyed nearly all of Xelba while almost killing him as well. When you put that together with his ability to completely control the actions of his Xerath, I can see why he'd put most of his faith into them while hamstringing his Humanoid followers. I think it's a horrible idea, but at least I understand why he's doing it.

{'That werewolf and the two men in power armor had abilities though. So he trusts some people!'}

True. There must be a certain point where a person advances high enough that Viktor will allow them to learn abilities and spells.

"Okay, okay, we give up Miss Reimia. You're down there somewhere, right?"

I looked up and saw Artorus peering down from a nearby building. Now that I knew it was an ally, I removed my veil and wall-jumped between the buildings until I reached the roof. Up above, it wasn't just Artorus waiting for me though. There was another familiar face as well.

"Hello, Cera. You look completely different, I almost didn't recognize you."

Cera smiled, but not your usual kind of smile, it was one filled with what looked like motherly affection, "Welcome back, Rei." She then walked over and hugged me, making the reunion doubly weird.

"... Cera, from what I remember, I swear you hated me? I was surprised when you sent your son to defend me."

Cera pulled back and looked at me with a sad expression, "Not anymore, dear. That changed over ten years ago. I um, I didn't think about you for many years, until one day I was at one of Artorus's birthday parties, and for some reason, I was thinking of you at that moment."

I quirked an eyebrow at that and Cera giggled in response before continuing, "That night, I went into my soul realm and re-watched everything my mother had told me while also watching all of my past interactions with you. I felt horrible afterward... Aresa had told me about how you grew up, and now that I was a mother it was hitting me differently from when I was that proud idiot back in Viseux."

As a mother? I'm not a mom so I don't really get it... Maybe because I was alone as a kid for so long? I'd ask her but I don't want to drag this conversation out right now.

"Well, I'm glad you see me in a different light now, even if it is kind of confusing still. But I need you two to stop following me for now. I'm glad you're trying to protect me, and even willing to put your own son at risk, but I have somewhere I need to go. If you two followed me, it'd be, um..."

"The Phoenix Initiative, right?" Artorus asked.

"Did Kai tell you?"

"Nope. Lady Aresa did."

"What...? Did she somehow anticipate what I was going to do after she left?"

Cera giggled again, "You're not as spontaneous as you think you are, Rei. Kellog aside, your impatience and willingness to put yourself in a bad situation was made clear to us while we were in Viseux. Even if I could turn invisible, I wouldn't be anywhere near reckless enough to try and sneak into Rai'ga's temple."

Ahh, in hindsight that was a really bad idea. I'm lucky he spoke to me before I had even entered the temple.

"Miss Reimia." I looked at Artorus before he continued, "We weren't planning on following you over the bridge leading to the northern district. However, you should know that this is a really bad idea. Mother believes it'd be better if you allowed us to get you an audience with Hyun or one of the other Initiative's leaders."

"An audience? That's no good. Your mother just called me impatient, but I'd say I'm very patient if the situation allows me to be. However, the Initiative's people have already attacked me, and from what I hear, they're the reason Aresa is no longer surrounded by nearly as many people as she should be. I want to leave and either find the main Xerath hive, or absorb as many powerful Xerath as I can before we find Rai'ga or have to deal with Viktor. This 'summit' sounds like it's meant to be a non-violent affair, but..."

Yeah, there's no way I'm going to let Viktor leave here peacefully. I'm sure Aresa and the others have their own plans, and I'd love to hear them when we have more time, but no matter what they are, I'm not letting Viktor leave here without trying to kill him yet again.

"I know what you're thinking, Rei. When we have more time we'll discuss the summit, but for now, take this. It's clear you're not going to let us help you, which is also something Aresa had foresaw, so at least follow the instructions on this, please?" Cera said, handing me a folded-up piece of paper.

I unfolded it and smiled when I saw what was drawn on the paper. It's nice having allies like this...

The paper had elaborate drawings on it that showed me how to enter the Initiative's headquarters, and how to advance from there to Hyun's office. Although, there were a lot of red question marks that were basically saying they weren't sure how I was going to get past those parts of the building.

"Kai wasn't kidding. There are a lot of Dwarven runes in there..."

Artorus nodded, "Like I said. This is a really bad idea."

I stared at the paper, thinking about all the different ways I could try and get past the dozen or so choke points I'd have to sneak through, and while it was possible to overcome them, it was highly unlikely I'd make it to Hyun's office undetected. And there was no point in doing this if I couldn't take the man unaware. I needed time alone with him to interrogate him after all.

"... What kind of audience are we talking about here? And do you know this 'Hyun'? Even if they did change their titles, he's basically still a noble, and an influential one at that. I'm already assuming he'll dodge any question I throw at him, so what's the point?"

"I don't know what he'll say, Rei. I've had to deal with the man many times. And in my experience, he's been mostly straight forward." Cera said.

"And this is a detailed sketch on how to get in from the basement while advancing up toward the top floor. Is there no way to just enter the building from a higher floor?"

"No. The top half of the building is reinforced and even if you could get in through one of the windows, that's where the strongest soul detection runes are." Artorus replied.

I sighed and folded the paper back up before handing it back to Cera.

"Let's try the audience first. If it doesn't work, I'll come up with another plan."

Both Cera and her son smiled brightly upon hearing that before jumping down into the alleyway below. I jumped down next and followed behind them as they led me toward the northern district.

"And just how long are we expected to wait here?"

"... Miss Reimia, it's been ten minutes."

"I know that! I'm not that impatient. I was only curious about how long it usually takes for you guys to get an audience. An hour? Three hours?"

Cera looked up from the magazine she was reading, "With any of the other higher-ups, probably five hours. But with it being Hyun and the fact that he clearly wants to talk to you, I'd say an hour tops."

That's not so bad then.

I looked around the waiting room, causing two of the staff to quickly look away from me. The room itself was annoyingly beautiful, but not in the way I would have found appealing. Crystal chandeliers, fabulous rugs, and art pieces. The whole room was dazzling. And the staff were wearing matching outfits. Both sexes were wearing red and black checked vests, with the only difference being what they had on below. Pants for the men, and puffy skirts for the women.

One of the female staff kept looking over at me, and I stared right back at her. Cera noticed this and smirked at me, "She your type?"

"She is, but it's more about the fact that I recognize her... Oh! Now I remember where I saw her from. It took me a bit because she was naked in Rodger's memories."

Artorus's face scrunched up, "Is that one of the men you killed in the alleyway? I heard about your ability to view the memories of others, and while it is amazing, it's also rather creepy. I'm sorry to say that so bluntly, but my Father raised me to be honest."

"Right? My friends back in Xelba said the same thing."

Artorus was taken aback by my nonchalant response, but his surprise quickly turned into a smile as he realized I wasn't offended in the least.

"I'd love to see that memory..." Cera mumbled as she looked over at the woman with a weird look on her face.

"Mother, please..." Artorus sighed and looked over at me, "She spends most of her days reading spicy love novels. Father has no problem with it and even finds it amusing, but this right here only bolsters the idea that she needs to find a new hobby. She should not be this interested in seeing the sexual encounters of others."

Before Cera could respond the phone on the desk in the middle of the room rang. The man sitting at the desk picked it up and said something into it as he looked at us. Looks like it's time. That really was fast.

Not too long after that he put the phone down and walked over to us, "Apologies for the wait, Lady Cera. Lord Hyun will see you now." See? He still goes by 'Lord'. Just like all of these 'ex-nobles' do I bet.

The three of us stood up and followed the man past a set of large double doors and up yet another flight of stairs before finally stopping in front of a door with one guard in front of it. The guard scanned our group impassively, but when his eyes reached me he disgustedly looked me up and down. Xi was right, I probably should be wearing something over this. But soon I'll have enough strength to comfortably battle in heavy armor, so I might as well just wait.

After he was done scanning us, the guard opened the door and returned to his post. The man who led us here also motioned for us to enter before going back downstairs.

Cera walked forward first, with Artorus and I following behind her. Hyun was standing up at his desk watching us enter with a smile on his face that looked surprisingly genuine, not that I was going to put much faith into that appraisal. He was a noble after all.

Once we got close to the desk Hyun raised his arms out to his side and said, "Now this is a wonderful surprise... Master was certain that the girl would try and sneak into here and torture me for information. But instead, look at what happened! She entered peacefully and even allowed me to see one of my old friends again."

He motioned for us to sit down in the chairs surrounding his desk. We obliged, but my eyes were going every which way, looking for some kind of threat. The man, Hyun, had so easily admitted he had a 'master', and the master was obviously Rai'ga. So the idea that he allowed us in here just to chat wasn't an idea I was willing to entertain.

Hyun looked at me and chuckled, "Looking a bit too perturbed there, 'Reimia.' But it's understandable. To you, this is unknown enemy territory. I'm sure it'll fall on deaf ears at this point, but allow me to try and dissuade you of your fears. I did have some very dangerous plans for you if you came in here ninja style, but if you're going to come here peacefully to chat, should I not do the same?"

"Rei." Cera said, causing me to look over at her, "Hyun is one of the people who made our integration into Telebron much safer. We had nothing except Alicia's parents to assist us when we arrived here, and to put it bluntly, they were broke back then. But fortunately for us, Hyun gave us a home and jobs before Lunaria found Aresa and turned her into a saint."

"You couldn't have told me this before we met him?"

"I thought you already knew..." Artorus said before looking at his mother.

Cera saw that and shrugged, "You know now. What's the difference?"

... Okay, fine.

"Hyun, I'll just ask it straight out. Is your master Rai'ga?"

Hyun nodded, "He is, and he's greatly amused right now, to say the least."

Cera narrowed her eyes, "Hyun, you..."

"Come on now, Cera. Lunaria's 'plan' was getting us nowhere. Look at the damned map! We lost how many provinces to Viktor now?"

"And your new plan is to rely on Rai'ga instead?" I looked over at Cera, "You would know more about him than I do. Be honest, Cera. How much did you trust Rai'ga back in Viseux?"

"I think my feelings toward Rai'ga should have been pretty obvious when I helped all of you try to overthrow him after we came back from Kellog. But if I must spell it out, I never trusted that monster. Over half of his followers didn't trust him either. I ran in those circles. Even the most influential families in Viseux were suspicious of him, but they couldn't bring themselves to support Aresa when all they saw was a naive Eldritch Lord who had lost her creator."

Hyun smiled and nodded, "Indeed. He's very suspicious, isn't he?"

"......"

The three of us stared at him. A few seconds later Hyun laughed and leaned back into his chair. But once he was done laughing, instead of talking, he was fiddling with his fingers while looking at a photo on his desk. At my angle I could barely see it. It was Hyun, a woman, and two children. None of us spoke up. We sat there in silence, waiting for him to continue, and eventually he did just that.

"... This can't go on, Cera. I understand that Lady Aresa is your friend, and even I find the girl to be quite fascinating. Under normal circumstances, I could see myself following her on her journey to becoming the one true owner of Termia, and eventually Aetheria itself. She's not someone I would hurt if I had a choice in the matter. But she put her faith in that worthless Fairy, and look at where it's got us? I already know what is going to happen at the summit. The attitudes of the remaining provinces around us couldn't possibly be more obvious."

"And with that said, I'll ask again. You've decided to put your faith in Rai'ga instead?"

"Begrudgingly, I have. Once he has control of the wellspring he'll have more than enough power to obliterate that Elven freak."

Cera sighed, "Hyun, you know that's not a connection Rai'ga can make overnight. Aresa is the type of Eldritch that was, as far as she's concerned, created solely to control the wellspring, and it's taking her years upon years to expand her control of Termia. Even Shiva would need a few years to catch up to what Aresa has accomplished so far."

"Yeah... Yeah, I know." Hyun said, looking over at the photograph again, "That's why he needs Aresa."

"What?" Artorus and I said.

"He's not going to change what she's currently doing. Instead, he's going to take control of her, and filter the wellspring connection through her into him."

"In other words; She'll do all of the work, and he'll reap the benefits. Is this what he had planned in Viseux as well?"

Hyun went silent, but his expression was changing a little here and there, suggesting that Rai'ga was talking to him.

He eventually said, "Apparently that was his plan. But Shiva's control over her chateau was extremely powerful while also being directly on top of the wellspring, so the only thing he could do was persuade Aresa to willingly enter the pact. But as you all know, she was not interested in helping him or handing Viseux over to him. Master thought he had plenty of time to win her over, but again, as you all know, Viktor made sure that never happened. So master was left with no choice but to give up. After the broodling was taken care of, he absorbed as much as he could, and fled to another moon."

"Another moon? He didn't come here to Aetheria?" Cera asked.

Another twenty-second pause ensued before Hyun responded, "No. He was building a society somewhere else with the intention of taking that moon's wellspring from its current occupants, but a band of travelers from Termia appeared and that's when he heard about a small girl with blue and gold horns being praised as a Goddess in the biggest city on Aetheria. That's when he remembered what his spies had told him back in Viseux about one of Lady Aresa's new companions. About how she was from a place called 'Termia'. And, well... Here we are."

"So he abandoned that moon and decided to try and make use of Aresa again? All so he could speed up his connection to the wellspring?"

"No." Hyun shook his head, "That was only part of it, but it also played a large role in solidifying his decision to come here. What he was most interested in, was ending the Xel'nethra. He wanted to get revenge on those 'worthless cultists' who had ruined his plans while corrupting his moon. I may find him wholly suspicious, but I do believe him when he says he loved Urza."

Artorus leaned his head down, rubbing his temple with his fingers, "But even if I believed his assertions that he wants to destroy Viktor's nation. At the end of the day, controlling the wellspring is only an advantage. A very powerful advantage, but nothing that would guarantee his victory."

"Wait..." I thought back to that ray of light from the sky that almost obliterated me. "What was that attack he used against me? The one from the sky?"

Hyun laughed and smacked the desk, "Well look at you! You already figured out how he plans on ending that vile nation."

"What??" Cera looked back and forth between me and Hyun, "Can someone please explain? I don't remember Rai'ga having any attacks that came down from the sky."

Hyun put his palm up, telling Cera to wait for a moment before he responded to her, "Master said that he had created the spell after absorbing the templars back in Viseux. Their energy had sparked something inside of him which allowed him to create a powerful light-based spell that he can fire from very far away."

After he finished speaking I had bolted out of my chair, but fortunately, I stopped myself just before I jumped over the table. Hyun looked at me wide-eyed as I returned to my chair.

"Thank you... For restraining yourself..." Hyun said before openly exhaling in relief. But I wasn't buying it, because I saw what lit up just before I reached his desk. Runes on both sides of the walls that Viktor had etched into his office and home for emergencies.

{R-Rei, be careful! Mother says you were almost trapped!}

I know... I've seen those runes before, and was even trapped in them once long ago. I was used as a test to see how well the runes worked.

Even I would have struggled to break out of the prison those runes created. I don't know what element is transcribed into those runes, but regardless of which one Hyun used, I would have been trapped in a magical sphere for god knows how long.

"May I ask which part had outraged you to that degree?" Hyun asked.

"... The templars. Markus said he knew Rai'ga was responsible, and while it made sense, I held off judgment until I knew for certain. But to actually hear that Rai'ga had so casually absorbed Arkaios' men and turned their souls into a new spell has only reinforced my opinion that he is not to be trusted."

Those men purposely branded themselves, giving up their lives to diligently serve their Lord for the purposes of rooting out evil and corruption anywhere Arkaios was willing to send them. To hear that those men, who were far better and more righteous than most humans could ever hope to be, were so casually eaten, was beyond infuriating to hear. I... I already wanted to kill Rai'ga, and yet he just keeps giving me reason after reason to---Oh, that's right. The fucker still hasn't told me about Seifer.

"And to add to that. Tell me about Niro. The man I knew as 'Seifer'."

Hyun raised an eyebrow at that, "So that was his real name? I don't know what your past was with him, but for us, he was just some psychopath that Rai'ga sent to guard me and some of the other executives here at the Initiative. Although his existence did add to the list of reasons I was wary of Master." Hyun continued a moment later, "And Master says he was impressed that you were able to kill him. He thought he had a good gauge of your strength and was certain that Niro could beat you with ease. And admittedly, I was also very surprised that you were victorious in your battle against him."

His abilities were amazing, no doubt about that. He must have been training in his soul realm the whole time he was here waiting for me. He had no ice abilities or spells back in Kellog after all, nor did I see any in Xethra. So those were all abilities he acquired during his time here in Termia.

I saw the weird look on Cera's face and said to her, "Ask Aresa about it later. This isn't the time or place for me to rehash everything that fucker did."

"... I'd like to confirm something, to make sure I'm understanding this," Artorus said. Hyun motioned for him to continue, "Rai'ga is planning on using Aresa and her current control of the wellspring to increase his strength enough to bombard Viktor's cities from the sky? Is this correct?"

Hyun smiled and nodded, "That's the plan. And while I've said it a dozen times, I do find some parts of him suspicious, but I also do believe him when he says he wants to destroy the Xel'nethra. And I've seen his bombardment spell, so I know he has the power to do it. Unlike a certain Fairy who is currently in a political struggle with an ass who calls himself the 'Supreme Leader'. What a fucking waste of space those two are. Lord Belfos is the only other being here that I'd follow, but he might as well be a machine from the Elven lands. All he does is mindlessly hunt any enemies who enter Termia's borders. But that in itself, is why so many people love him, including me."

"Wait, hang on," I said, making Hyun look at me. "You knew I was strong enough to kill Seifer, and yet you still sent those thugs after me? They had some good abilities, but the chances of them beating me were next to zero."

"They were supposed to tell you who I was and that I was a follower of Rai'ga. I thought that'd be enough to pique your interest so you'd actually meet with me. I only told them to use George's ability if you fled. According to Master, you would have survived it."

"Was George the portly middle-aged guy?"

Hyun sighed, "Yes... And while I could care less about Rodger, I really wish you hadn't killed George or the two Favri's, but what's done is done."

Rodger said none of the things he just said, and while I still wouldn't have met with Hyun without consulting the others, it might have stopped me from killing them. At the time they were purely unknowns tracking me, which made them all the more dangerous in my eyes. Not that I'm dissatisfied with the results. I got a few good abilities from George and the couple, plus Rodger's memories.

"Well?" Hyun said before continuing, "What are you planning on doing now that you know this? Master is nearly certain you'll still oppose him, as you don't trust him to treat Lady Aresa well."

"And he's completely correct in his assessment. At this point, I only have one last thing to ask you, Hyun." I stood up and looked down at him, "Where is Rai'ga right now?"