Lorenzo wheezed and coughed for a solid minute, doing his best to free his lungs of the dust as he would pick himself up. He had been thrown backwards and out of the tower, though by some miracle he was alive. His armor had certainly done its job, though as the thought crossed his mind what remained of his helmet would crack and crumble off his head. He winced, his head pounding against the absolute chaos that had erupted around the tower. People were running as far away as they could, though to his surprise, no one else was hurt.

It was then he realized that something was blocking the sun, and he looked up to see the dark barrier Shion had erected. It gave him chills—clearly dark magicks were at work, but he was too relieved when he would see Reia would run over to him. “[color=darkorange]Your rescue team has arrived,[/color]” He managed to put on a grin.

“[color=turquoise]And you choose the path that led to blowing up the entire floor?! What if you had gotten killed?![/color]” Reia yelled, displeased at his lack of seriousness.

Shion let out a small gasp as the veins along her arms would turn black, and she gripped her arm. It had been a bold move, but a needed one, lest innocent people get crushed because of their power-hungry fool of an Emperor. Her amber eyes widened as she spotted Roman approaching them, brushing the dust off his coat, a look of annoyance on his face.

“[color=darkorange]Eh? Roman? What’re you doing here in Archadia? Did you leave Bhujerba?[/color]” Lorenzo was the first to question him.

“[color=turquoise]It’s an open secret that Roman’s heritage is Archadian,[/color]” Reia told him.

“[color=IndianRed]And so we meet again, my lady, though I daresay I wish it had been under better circumstances,[/color]” Roman didn’t skip a step, his cheery expression returning with full force. “[color=indianred]My sincerest apologies for the ruckus, had I known my grandfather was back at the helm of the country, I would have advised against your visit. I ask that you forgive my younger brother—Jackson has good intentions, but he still lacks the foresight of a royal ruler. Althought even I was surprised at my grandfather…[/color]”

Lorenzo interrupted, “[color=darkorange]That’s all well and good, but where did they go? And Jaakie and the rest?[/color]” He asked, for once being serious.

“[color=indianred]I was caught by the…darkness,[/color]” Roman pointed at Shion’s barrier. “[color=indianred]Though I was blown some distance away. The others must be around, if I who has had little experience in battle managed to make it out alright, I’m sure the rest are fine. Although…[/color]” His eyes rested on Shion’s blackened arm.

Reia followed his gaze. “[color=turquoise]That power…[/color]” She murmured, clearly recognizing it.

“[color=deepskyblue]There is little time to explain, but I must ask once more that you take shelter. I highly doubt an explosion of that caliber was enough to do Hamut in—I expect he will not go down without a fight,[/color]” The blue haired woman reiterated herself.

“[color=darkorange]You aren’t going alone![/color]” Lorenzo protested.

“[color=deepskyblue]There is no one else to protect them. I know you will make sure no harm comes to either of them—for the sake of Ivalice, I must put an end to this battle, there is something very important I must inform the sky pirate of, and Hamut prohibits me from doing so.[/color]” Shion took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

[hr]

Oh no, she didn’t like where this was going at all.

Her outstretched hand froze in place as Sylvester spoke. Master? What Master? There wasn’t any time to ask, however, as Sylvester would transform before her once more. This was not like before, and she stepped away from him as his dark form completed. This must have been why Ultima had said what she did—but what changed? No, she had no one to blame but herself. She had known from the start that necromancy or some form of twisted magicks had been afoot, but she had gotten to distracted by escaping she hadn’t noticed the enemy right in front of her.

Her hand went to her weapon, and she went to withdraw it when she heard Ultima: [i]The enemy reveals itself![/i] Unfortunately, the warning caused Nadeline to freeze in place, and Sylvester took the chance. No, that wasn’t right, he simply reacted before she could, his hand around her throat so quickly that only when he tightened his grip did she realize what had happened. Her hands flew to his, struggling to free herself as he lifted her off her feet.

She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t breathe, her hands were clawing at his for some form of release. She could hear Ultima calling out to her, but her mind was sent into a panic, her body too focused on the grip around her throat. A muffled cry escaped her, though she did manage to narrow her eyes at Sylvester as he spoke. Minding her own business, what arrogance—so long as he was involved, so long as he had his relation to Wesley, it would always be her business. Still, he seemed to decide her meddling was done, and she caught sight of his other hand. She was going to die here, wasn’t she?

His hand stopped, much to her surprise. What was stopping him? Before she could question it, he was sent backwards, and she fell into someone’s arms. She coughed slightly, though as a hand stroked her cheek, she looked up and saw Wesley. Her eyes widened in surprise. “[color=coral]Wesley…? Why are you here?[/color]” She asked, though her expression turned into one of regret. “[color=coral]I…I thought…[/color]”

[hr]

[i]Opening her eyes, Emiri let out a groan, a hand to her chest. She could still feel where Chaos’ swords had gone through her, and despite getting more rest, the pain wasn’t quite gone as she had hoped. It took her a moment to realize that she had been staring at the ceiling of the cage again—no! Why was she back here? She sat up, immediately crawling towards the bars, though she didn’t see Keiran around. If he hadn’t put her there, who did?

“[color=palevioletred]Awake already? Impressive. Chaos did his very best to try to kill you, but we just couldn’t let that happen. Not yet, anyway,[/color]” Her eyes widened as she spotted a girl that looked very much like herself, her eyes colored a sharp red and contrasting her black dress. “[color=palevioletred]We still have to restore Zodiark back to his former self. After that, death is just a step away. A fair deal, isn’t it?[/color]”

“[color=pink]You’re crazy if you think I’d go ahead and do that![/color]” Emiri responded immediately, gripping the bars of her cage tightly. “[color=pink]He’s going to end the world as we know it, why would I let that happen?[/color]”

“[color=palevioletred]Because you hate this world, that’s why,[/color]” She replied, a small smile on her face as she approached the cage. “[color=palevioletred]Let’s face it, none of this would have even happened if you had just been honest. But no…you let the darkness seduce you, let it corrupt and egg on all those deep, dark thoughts in the back of your mind…not that I blame you, seeing it all end would make me giddy, too.[/color]”

Emiri narrowed her eyes at her imposter. “[color=pink]And what’re you supposed to be, my conscience?[/color]”

She scoffed. “[color=palevioletred]You wish. If I was, you wouldn’t be in this mess. What, you don’t recognize me anymore? Or is it just ‘cause I’m not that good looking boy anymore? [/color]” She stated, her arms outstretched in a dramatic gesture.

So she was Keiran. “[color=pink]Having fun parading around as a woman?[/color]”

“[color=palevioletred]A little bit,[/color]” She giggled. “[color=palevioletred]Technically speaking, I’m genderless. I don’t really have a true form, so I can pick and choose as I please. And apparently, your physical form is quite pleasing to the eye, so it’s a win-win,[/color]” Keiran nodded, red eyes glinting.

“[color=pink]That’s not the point. If you want to die, go ahead, but don’t go bringing in innocent people that have nothing to do with it![/color]” Emiri snapped at her.

Keiran’s expression fell, her face hardening. “[color=palevioletred] I’m the demon born from Zodiark’s seed, and you’re the beautiful maiden I’ve captured. All that’s left is for the dashing hero to come and save the day…but even he doesn’t stand a chance against Zodiark. There’s no winning, everything will come to an end, regardless of our will.[/color]” She stated bitterly.

“[color=pink]And what [i]is[/i] your will?[/color]”

She smiled again. “[color=palevioletred]Nice try. My will is just an extension of my master’s. I’m just another pawn in the grand scheme of things, and my one job is to make sure you—[/color]” She placed her hand under Emiri’s chin, forcing her to look up at her. “[color=palevioletred]—play your part.[/color]”

Emiri narrowed her eyes, smacking Keiran’s hand away. “[color=pink]I’ll find a way out. And when I do, I’ll make sure you pay.[/color]”

“[color=palevioletred]I invite the challenge. After all, this is all your fault to begin with.[/color]” [/i]