Caleb and Taranee were still flabbergasted. They had brought the rest of the guards, Cornelia, Irma and Hay-Lin up to speed.

"We must prevent and escalation of the situation at all costs. We cannot defend against these armies." Jerry said.

"I think it'll be hard to do so. The situation's been escalating ever since we got here." Caleb said.

"Are you sure N said 'It will depend on Harold'?" Irma asked.

Cornelia looked at Irma, who hadn't said a word to her since they Taranee had left for Caleb. Both knew who N meant. When they had gathered together before, they had spoken about their trust in Caleb and Taranee, but then they had been silent against each other, both obviously thinking about what had happened before that evening. Then, when Taranee and Caleb came back, they had been caught up in their explanation about N's appearance and their location being surrounded by armies. Irma caught her looking and Cornelia quickly looked at away, reddening in the process. She thought she saw a small smile on the lips of her servant, no, her best friend.

"Yes, we're quite sure of it." Taranee said. "It seems everybody thought it would come to this. Except for us. N said he would try to find a way to help us, but it would depend on Harold."

"It's my fault." Caleb said. "I thought everyone would keep themselves to the treaties and international laws. I trusted in their honour and their word."

"It's not your fault, sir." Jerry said. "It is their fault for disobeying. If everyone was as honourable as you, the world would be a large step closer to peace."

The rest of the guards seemed to agree, nodding and chanting 'Caleb!'.

"It's just terrible." Hay-Lin said. "But the mine? Are they already trying to go inside?"

Taranee nodded. "Yes, when I had told them the details about the inside of the mine, a small exploration team was prepared to go inside. They should be busy now, trying to find any survivors, and get to the room with the masked man."

"The one this Thom Garvin told you about?" Irma asked, receiving a nod from Taranee.

"Yes. The city guard brought him to a jail cell. Uncomfortable, but one of the most closely watched areas in the city. He's being taken care of pretty well, so hopefully he won't feel himself a prisoner." Taranee explained.

"So what do we do now?" Jerry asked.

"I do not think there is much we can do at the moment." Caleb responded. "We should rest and interrogate Garvin tomorrow."

"Shouldn't we try come up with something now?" Taranee asked.

Caleb gave her a little smile. "Taranee, I'd love too, but a lot has happened recently and for once I want more than five hours of sleep."

Taranee laughed. "Tell me about it."

The rest of the day went by, nothing peculiar happening. Caleb had went to duchess Alexandra and the other representatives, and they had made a schedule for the interrogations of Garvin. A city guard had told them they expected the mine to be cleared tomorrow morning, and to have the masked man out by noon. After that, Caleb had come back to camp under the blackened sky, as thunderclouds drew closer towards Cryssandor, and everybody had eaten together. It was a mostly silent dinner, as everybody had things on their mind. Sometimes a question was asked, or a remark made, only to be answered by a nod, a shake of the head or a short answer. And thus, everybody soon found it time to go to bed, as the tension in the room made everyone uncomfortable.

Irma entered her bedroom, which she shared with Cornelia, and found Cornelia staring out of the window. Cornelia turned around as she entered, both becoming red as they looked at each other.

"Hey…" they both said, simultaneously.

"You go first." Irma said, but Cornelia shook her head.

"No, I always go first. Now you can start, for once."

Irma didn't know what to think about it. Was she being viewed as her friend this time? Or was Cornelia trying to evade saying something and trying to get information out of Irma first?

"I…don't quite know what to say." Irma said. "But, I do know that I want to say I'm sorry. You know, for… pinching your breast."

"That really hurt!" Cornelia said, in her usual tone, but becoming red at the mention of it.

"Sorry!" Irma said, reddening as well. "It just…happened. It was the only thing within reach! Will it…affect your bath time?"

"No, I don't think so. I quite enjoy that too much."

Irma let out a sigh of relief. She didn't quite know why.

"But," Cornelia continued, causing Irma to look at her, "Maybe it will affect yours."

"Excuse me?" Irma asked. "How will this affect my bath time?"

Cornelia smiled. "Cause your next bath time will include me!"

"…I think I might've heard that wrong. I heard that you'd be there when I take a bath. That's surely a mistake, right?"

"No, you heard that correctly." Cornelia said, with a serious tone. "I mean, I clearly upset you. So, what better way to make up than by reversing the roles?"

Irma was stunned. "So you mean, the princess is going to get her hands dirty?"

"It's supposed to clean you, Irma, not make you dirty." Cornelia said with a wink.

Irma didn't quite know how to react to that, as it was usually Irma who would say something like that.

"Ehm…"

Was this a trick? Some way for Cornelia to get revenge? No, Cornelia wasn't stupid enough to do something like that when she could just manipulate the water and just retaliate Cornelia almost instantaneously. Calmed by the idea that whatever Cornelia would do, would be instantly retaliated, Irma agreed.

"Fine then. But I'm warning you, try something, and I'll make sure you'll never do something like it again!"

Cornelia rose an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "What makes you think I would do something?"

"Let me think…" Irma said, placing a finger on her chin as she feigned thinking, "You're Cornelia. I think that should be enough of a reason."

"Haha, very funny." Cornelia retorted.

"So, ehm," Irma asked, "when are you planning to…you know?"

"Tomorrow?" Cornelia asked.

"Okay then." Irma said. "I guess."

They looked at each other for a little while, both saying nothing more. Cornelia then turned away, undressing and putting on her night gown and laying down in her bed. Irma followed Cornelia's movements with her eyes, and when Cornelia lay down and rolled away from Irma, she asked:

"What are you planning?"

Cornelia turned around and looked at Irma, clearly annoyed. "Nothing!"

She then turned away again. Irma decided she'd better go to bed too, so she too undressed, put on her night gown and lay down in her bed. Soon, the two of them fell asleep.

…

N was standing on a hill, his horse bound to a tree. He had found the Grand General's escort a while ago and had followed them for a while. Knowing which route they would take by reading the coachman's mind, he rode ahead and was now waiting for their arrival. Behind him was a forest, in front of him an open plain. He knew that the carriage and entourage had to cross the plain. When they would get out of the forest, there would be no place to hide them, no place they could run. N remembered his promise to Cassidy all those years ago. He had uttered the words he hoped to say today as well, but this time…he wanted them to be truth. For the lush green fields of Aetherfall to rise again, for the darkness to fade, and the spark of light to spread from the castle. He gazed at the entrance of the forest, growing more and more tense every second. The wind had grown stronger, now seemingly howling as it went past his ears, and causing his hair to flaunt on it. The leaves in the trees rustled and a soft rain started to pour down on them, causing a soft drum to be carried along on the winds behind the howling. N could cast a spell to make the rain fall around him, and not on him, but that was so unnecessary. So unnecessary.

For once, he didn't think of suppressing thoughts. For once, he would be free. Free to do as he had wanted, as Cassidy had known he had wanted all those years ago. This was one man who deserved this, not a friend who had no choice. This would be no accident, no mistake. This would be calculated, swift, and most of all, intended. This would be the one kill he would not regret. It seemed like it had been his duty, his mission, his fate, his destiny. This was the one thing he had to do. He carried the harm this man had caused in his very body. He felt the tension in his body rise as he kept gazing at the forest entrance. If his calculations were correct, it shouldn't be long now. He knew Marcus, after all…

And, seeing as N's calculations were often correct, he could soon hear the horses hooves in the small puddles of water that had started to form, the sound of soldiers marching, the sound of metal armour clicking against its parts…N cleared his mind, and filled it with only one objective: kill. He knew he did not have to pity killing the guards and the coachman as well, as they were all trained by Marcus himself to be his personal body guard since they were born. If Marcus was dead, they'd have no other purpose in life, as their only one was to serve him. N, of course, knew that that would not be the case, as when one purpose ends, another starts. But the bodyguards themselves would probably not realize that, and fight until the death anyways. So if he had to kill them either way, why not do so quickly? Maybe that thought was just an illusion, a false justification for what he had to do, so as to not feel guilty later…

Before N could fully continue that train of thought, however, the entourage emerged from the forest. Four heavily armoured guards marched on, looking around for any suspicious activity in the area. The carriage was being pulled by four horses and the coachman looked tense. Maybe he could sense something was about to happen? Next of the coach, two soldiers on horseback secured the flanks and behind the coach, four more guards held completed the line. Ten in total. Ten who would be no match against him. Ten who would be wiped off the face of the earth in a matter of seconds…

They were now clearly out in the open, and the soldiers looked even more eagerly for suspicious activity. They knew, just as well as N, that if there was ever a place to strike, this was it. And so N seized the opportunity.

He quickly slid down the hill and used magic to rush him to the back of the carriage. By the time the guards noticed his presence, he was already next to a guard. He grabbed his head and the guard screamed, as the metal helmet he was wearing melted and engulfed his face in hot molten metal, dripping inside his mouth, burning him alive as well as suffocating him. As the first guard fell to the ground, a sword flung down from above, which N quickly dodged by taking a step back and tilting his head to the side. He twirled and shot a blast of magic against his attacker, killing him and shooting him against one of the horsemen, causing the horse to collapse and the rider to fall down.

'Two guards dead, one rider down for the moment.' N memorized.

A halberd tried to stab him, but he simply created a shield and deflected the attack, exposing the attacker. N shot lightning at him with such a force that he was blown towards the carriage and causing instant burn marks. N saw the carriage disappear faster than before, meaning the coachman had tried to quicken the pace. N focused on the top of the carriage for a small fragment of time, felt himself get compressed and then decompressed, as he emerged on top of the carriage. He hit the coachman on the back of his head with his staff, causing him to fall over the front end and be driven over by the carriage's wheels. He shot small sparks at the ropes keeping the carriage connected to the four horses that pulled it forward and burned it, letting the horses run away in their panic. The carriage immediately started to slow down, and it happened with such a force that N had to take a small step as to not lose balance. He jumped down from the carriage, gently landing on the ground using some magic.

The two horsemen came charging for him, the other guards rushing after them trying to get close to N again.

"Protect the carriage! Protect the Grand General!" One of them yelled.

The horse riders rode side by side and both lifted their swords. N extended his hands to his sides and then quickly crossing them in front of him in one, swift motion. The two horsemen were lifted from their seats by an invisible force and they smashed against each other midair. N lifted his hands and brought them down, and the two horsemen flung to the ground. N lifted his foot and crashed it down in front of him, creating a fissure towards the horsemen in which they fell. He then closed the fissure by pulling his arms back, sealing the two men beneath the ground. This, however, had left enough time for the remaining five guards to encircle him.

They all came closer at the same time, as in perfect unison. They were truly stupid if they thought they could contain N this way. N tapped his staff on the ground and let loose a small shockwave, flinging all five to the ground. N quickly electrocuted one before the other four could get up again.

"If he taps again, jump!" One yelled, causing N to smile.

N stood still, letting the four get closer to him. Two decided to strike and N used a magic surge to jump, causing the soldiers to impale each other temporarily, although not in a weak spot, thus not killing them. N kicked the two of them to the ground and used them to jump on another guard, his hand grabbing the guard's throat and electrocuting him. The remaining three guards tried to slice at him, but a shield stopped them. N closed his eyes and their weapons suddenly flew out of their hands and floated in the sky, a little above them, causing them all to look in shock at their now out-of-their-control weapons. That was their final mistake, as it exposed their necks and with a swift movement, all three were impaled in their throats by their own swords. The last three guards fell on their knees, and one then fell on his side, one fell forward, causing the sword to go all the way through him up to the hilt, and the last one fell to a side but rolled on his back in death.

N got up and opened his eyes, looking at the empty and unknowing faces of his adversaries. He only shortly glanced at them, before his eyes went to the door in the carriage, of which the handle now went down, indicating someone was opening it from the inside. The door opened slowly and a leather shoe embraced with silver straps emerged from it, quickly followed by the rest of Marcus Escanor's armour as he made his way out of the carriage. His eyes quickly glanced at his dead guards, but soon rested on N's face, causing a faint smile to appear on his lips.

"N."

N looked at him and squinted his eyes. He said nothing.

"I was already wondering what all the commotion outside might be." Escanor continued. "Now, not that I'm very surprised to see that it is you. You've always been a thorn in my side. But, unfortunately, necessecary."

N smiled a little. "I had to make myself necessary."

"Very observant," Escanor remarked.

"I've had my years to observe." N responded.

Escanor's smile grew bigger. "Aaaaaaaaah. I see. You are fascinated, aren't you?"

Escanor looked at N, who didn't respond. Their hair fluttered a little in the howling wind as they locked eyes, never letting go, trying to gaze into each other's mind to read the other.

"What exactly about it is what you want? The knowledge about how to perform the ritual? Its side effects? But, surely, you'll know about all of that already, no? So, what is it you want to know? What to do, with so much time?" Escanor remarked.

"I wouldn't know what to do with so much time, for I would never want it." N said, calmly.

"Ah. So…" Escanor said, almost silent, his words being carried on the wind. "What, then, does the great archmage of Aetherfall, a position granted to him by the Grand General Marcus Escanor himself, want from his liege, that is so important that he shall attack and murder all his guards in a brute fashion, as to force the Grand General out of his carriage? What question could possibly be on your mind?"

N just gazed at him. "You know the question, Marcus."

"Of course. I know everything about this world, do I not? A simple question shouldn't be that hard to figure out."

"Quit with the games, Marcus." N said sternly.

"You wish to know why. Why would I do it?" Escanor said, his smile growing.

N smiled in response. "Wrong."

Escanor's smile fell. "What did you say?"

N spread his arms.

"Well, will you look at this!" He said mockingly. "Marcus Escanor does not know everything in the world! No, Marcus, no. What I wanted to ask you was how you could do it. How could you live with the guilt of taking away those people's years? Shortening thousands of lives to feed you own. How did you live with that?"

Escanor laughed. "Guilt? Those peasants should've been happy that they'd have their years taken for someone worthwhile to keep alive!"

"You are not more important than others!" N said, pushing his staff into the ground.

"And so I see that the great archmage N also doesn't know everything in this world." Escanor concluded. "I have been the catalyst for everything that has happened in the past 150 years. Everything has revolved around my wishes, around my desires and ambitions. I have controlled the continent for the past century and a half. And you say I am not important? No, Nicholas, I AM importance itself. Everything that is important in this world is important because I desire it to be so."

"The crystals in Cryssandor?" N asked.

"Important because I will them to be. Do you think the other nations would find them interesting if it hadn't been for my desire to have them." Escanor said.

"Really, because it seems to me that they found them important because there are so few of them, which makes having one in your position more unique, and thus more valuable. The less there is, the more it's worth, because people want it. You are misguided and deluded! You live in your own fantasy world, where everything revolves around you. People can die for they are not important, just tools to a means. They should be happy to serve someone as great as you, and if they do it even the slightest bit wrong, they can just be disposed of! But they are not. People aren't tools. Everybody is important to someone else. You do not have the right to decide their fate!" N said, pointing at Escanor.

Escanor wasn't smiling. He stared at N. "How dare you talk to me like that!"

"You have terrorized this continent long enough, Marcus! I will not let you have your way with Cryssandor!" N yelled, the rain now starting to pour down more, creating small pools around them.

"So that is what you're here for? To defy me? To stop me from going there? To foil my plans with Cryssandor?" Escanor whispered.

"No. I am here to end it all. Once, and for all." N whispered back.

Escanor laughed coldly and then stared at N, his face hardening as he talked. "I've lived 150 years, Nicholas. I don't want to stop living anytime soon! Ended it will be, indeed. It will all be over, once and for all, indeed. It will all end, when I never have to see your face again, never hear your arrogant voice, never hear you be mentioned at all. It will all end, when you're but a grain of sand in the desert that is time. And in the end, only I will remain, to remember you as that one upstart that stood before me, all high and mighty, and fell too easily to the ground. To remember how I placed my boot on your head and pushed it into the earth to reunite you with the dirt you are!"

Escanor unsheathed his blade. His hand started to glow and so did his sword. "My sword cannot be touched by magic. I will cut through you like butter and squash you like a bug."

"We'll see about that, Marcus." N said.

They stared at each other, and suddenly N shot a blast of electricity at Escanor. "Quintessence!"

Marcus dodged and tried slicing at N, who blocked the strike with his staff, augmented with magic to be as tough as steel. N was muttering words that Escanor couldn't understand, but he knew N was preparing an attack and quickly unlocked their weapons and tried to trip N, who jumped up and flipped over Escanor and tried hitting him in the back with his staff, but Escanor blocked it. Escanor tried to stab N under his staff in the heat of the moment, but N replaced his staff to block it and hit Escanor in the face with the backside of it. He then pulled it back and hit Escanor in the face with the front of it, causing him to fall back and on the ground. N made use of the situation by pushing his staff in the ground, still muttering, and create a new fissure. Escanor fell, but his hand grabbed the cliff and he hung on, pulling himself up with remarkable strength, standing on top of his hands and kicking N in the face. N was fazed for a second and Escanor sliced at him, but N saw it right on time and tried to dodge it. It barely sliced his check, causing a small cut in it, which immediately started to bleed. N took two steps back, continuing his muttering.

"What's the matter?" Escanor said as he backed off. "Didn't you want to end this?"

N didn't answer, instead kept muttering. Enraged, Escanor tried to strike, but N pushed the blade down with his staff and quickly dashed to him and elbowed him in the face. Escanor let himself fall to the ground and kicked N's legs, causing N to fall down as well. They both got up simultaneously and they tried to punch each other, causing their fists to collide and sparks flew off of it as magic coursed through them, trying to gain the edge. N was still muttering and Escanor could catch a few words.

"Este com reverte corpi…"

Escanor backed off and summoned his sword back into his hand using a bit of magic, then took a battle pose. N had his staff in hand and looked at Escanor's eyes. Escanor suddenly shot forward, but N had predicted it. Escanor tried to stab N, who bent out of the way, his free hand grabbing Escanor's hands. The metal of Escanor's armour became very hot and Escanor yelped in pain. His hands were bound together by his own armour, which was quickly cooled down as to prevent Escanor's hands from separating by pure force. Escanor fell to the ground, but tumbled and quickly got back on his feet.

"Reverte corpi!"

A wind blew from N to Escanor, which was visible in streams. Escanor looked at them, clearly confused.

"What are these?"

"This, Escanor, is the instrument of your destruction." N replied, as he took off his robe.

Escanor's eyes widened and his face contorted in horror as he saw N's disfigured body, his bones being able to move without muscles, his flesh torn away and where he still had it, he could see the edges being blackened and dead. N's entire lower body and his entire left arm were exposed and skeletal. Escanor looked at N.

"What are you?"

"What you created me to be. This is the result of seventeen long years of absorbing all your death, expelled by ritual to others, to take their years. I carried the burden of all those people in myself. And now…" N strectched his left arm out and placed it in a 45 degree angle, and pulled his right hand to be in front of his right cheek, "I will give it all back to you!"

"What did you just say?!" Escanor exclaimed, sounding fearful for the first time.

The streams darkened, becoming deep black, so black that it pained Escanor to look at them. As the black stream crept closer to Escanor he started to freak out and as it touched his skin, he yelled in pain. He screamed and screamed, his voice cutting through every fiber in N's body and seemingly being the only thing he could hear, but it did not pain him nor distract him. N's body started to heal, rapidly. First, his muscles started to regrow and his skin then slowly started to regrow over it. Escanor, however, seemed to grow older and older with every passing second. His skin started to seem hollow on his bones, and his face looked older and darker every second. Escanor yelled, but his voice seemed to become weaker as well, causing his once sharp voice to become softer and barely audible.

"Those who you so eagerly dismissed as unimportant…those you had no meaning in this life…who were but a grain of sand in the desert of time…they are important. They bring about the next thing and push onwards. Everyone is part of history and is important. And as long as the world continues on, they are a part of it, even if they are forgotten by those who now live. And no-one may take away their time on this earth." N said.

Escanor fell to the ground and squirmed, but he could not escape. As he fell, N could hear a bone break, as it had become very brittle. Escanor tried to look up, into N's eyes, and when he managed to do so, his eyes had become hollow. His face showed he was angry, but Escanor could not rage, his voice not working along. Instead, it was but a whisper.

"Nicholas…you…"

N strengthened the bonds and the last of his skin regrew. The stream's blackness faded away and then the streams disappeared completely. Escanor looked at N. His hands now small enough to be pulled out of their metal binds, he did so. He extended a shaking hand towards N, his skin starting to fall off.

"You…" he whispered, skin starting to fall off of his face.

N looked at him with a cold gaze, the rain strengthening and wind causing his beard and hair to flutter along the wind. Escanor fell to the ground, his hand still stretched out towards N, his face sideways. The last of his skin turned to dust, leaving behind a corpse in Escanor's armour.

"From dust to dust…" N whispered. "The Grand General is dead. Long live the Grand General."

He took one final gaze upon the surroundings, turned around and walked back to his horse, knowing that, when the next morning somebody took this road, they would find Escanor's body, and announce it to the rest of the world.

…

"Wake up, wake up!"

Caleb shut his eyes even more, when the sunrays hit his eyes.

"Wake up, Caleb!"

Caleb noticed the voice, and turned around. "Hmm?"

"Caleb! Garvin's dead!"

The words seemed important and the voice sounded stressed and frightened. Yet, they didn't come through to Caleb at that moment, seeming he was only just awoken.

"Excuse me?"

"Garvin's dead, Caleb!"

The words came through and Caleb's eyes opened wide, revealing a fully dressed Taranee, who looked a little agitated. The image of a man came up to him, who had been taken out from under the rubble near the mine. The only witness of the scène they had found so far.

"What!" Caleb yelled, as he threw off the sheets, revealing his underwear. That, however, was the least of his worries. He quickly ran to his clothes and started dressing himself.

"Tell me everything you know? What time is it?"

"It's ten O'clock. When they went to check up on Garvin this morning at nine, everybody in his cell block had been murdered, including Garvin. However, we probably also have the murderer." Taranee said.

"That's good." Caleb said.

"He's dead too." Taranee responded.

Caleb sighed, clearly frustrated. "How do you know this?"

"Jerry told me, he was awake when this news circulated and immediately rushed to duchess Alexandra for confirmation. He told me she looked pretty stressed. I saw him on his way back and asked him why he was in such a hurry. He told me to rush along to you, and told me what happened. He's waiting outside." Taranee explained.

Caleb was fully dressed and put on his shoes, only his hair still had the out-of-bed look. They rushed outside and Jerry immediately saluted him.

"Lady Taranee already told you what happened I presume?"

"Yes. I want to see the scène myself immediately. Bring me to the duchess." Caleb responded. "Taranee, stay here with Irma, Hay-Lin and Cornelia."

"What?" Taranee asked. "I want to come with you!"

Caleb looked at her sternly. "Remember what N said? 'Taranee, I want you to be close to Caleb, Irma, Cornelia and Hay-Lin at all times.'"

"Yes! But how can I be close to them and to you at the same time?" Taranee exclaimed.

Caleb could slap himself, he knew he should have left his own name out. "Fine, bring them along. But I want you to stay close to them!"

Taranee nodded and ran off to fetch the other three. The four Guardians came back, all except Taranee looking not fully dressed, mostly because of their hair being a mess.

"What is going on?" Cornelia asked. "Why do we need to come with you?"

"I have orders to keep you four close to me, so we will be doing just that. Follow me."

They started walking, Jerry leading the way to where he had last seen duchess Alexandra.

"But," Cornelia started again, "What's going on? What happened?"

"Thom Garvin has been murdered in his cell. He was the only witness of the mine disaster yesterday. Of course, his murder means he knew something that shouldn't be coming out. Probably which state that man worked for by his looks. We would've recognized the man himself, were it not for his face being burnt off." Jerry answered.

"And that's why we need to see the duchess. We mustn't let the situation escalate!" Caleb said.

"Sounds like a pretty tough job now…" Hay-Lin said, sounding a little scared.

"Don't give up hope before we've tried to do anything." Irma replied, giving her a smile.

Hay-Lin nodded. Cornelia gave her a smile and nodded at her as well, giving Hay-Lin a little smile.

They arrived at the prison, and a worried Duchess Alexandra, Lorenz, Heidewegen and Von Trente were already there.

"Ah, Caleb, you're here!" Duchess Alexandra said, while getting glares from Lorenz and Heidewegen.

"What happened? I thought Garvin was under top security." Caleb responded.

"He was…but, well…" Duchess Alexandra murmured, before leading him, Lorenz, Heidewegen and Von Trente inside.

Once inside, they saw the problem. Dead bodies littered the ground all the way to the cell Garvin was in, and inside of that cell, Garvin and another person with a metal mask lay dead. Caleb's mind started working on a high pace as he looked from Garvin to the assassin.

"There are multiple assassins."

Von Trente looked at him. "Excuse me?"

"There are multiple assassins." Caleb repeated, not looking at her. "This one with a metal mask, someone like him was in the mine."

"That's right." Heidewegen said, looking at him as well.

Caleb had now gained the attention of all the people in the room. "But both died at the crime scène…"

Caleb looked at Garvin, and then to the assassin. "He had to kill Garvin, for he had seen the other assassin, the one in the mine, and he might reveal too much if he was interrogated."

He looked at the position of the assassin, who was facing the door directly. "He turned around, seemingly wanting to leave afterwards. However…someone had followed him. Someone who murdered him…An assassin to murder the other assassins? But then why not murder the assassin before he killed Garvin?"

"I see you have this figured out, Caleb." Heidewegen said, snapping Caleb out of his train of thoughts.

Caleb looked up and gave him a faint smile. "Simple deductions."

"Simple. Deductions." Lorenz said.

"Are you insinuating something, Lorenz? Maybe you as well, Heidewegen. Maybe you want to add something, Von Trente?" Caleb said, his face hardening.

"Are you sure," Heidewegen suddenly said, "you don't know anything more by your simple deductions? The person who sent the assassins, for example."

"Stop! Stop immediately!" Duchess Alexandra exclaimed. "This will do no good to anyone. We must try to cooperate and figure out who…"

"You haven't been able to figure anything out since the very beginning, and the only time you get a chance, you blow it!" Lorenz snapped.

The Duchess seemed distraught and couldn't find any words.

"Don't snap at the Duchess like that." Caleb said calmly, yet stern.

"Oh, I see. You two," he pointed from Duchess Alexandra to Caleb, "you've been working together all this time, haven't you. Is this all some ploy?" Lorenz said, looking at Caleb and the Duchess.

"Enough, Lorenz." Von Trente said, and she placed a hand on Lorenz shoulder.

"Get your hands off of me." Lorenz said, shoving her hand off.

He pointed at the duchess: "You better get some progress, or else this meeting is a waste of time. If one person more gets murdered, I'm out of here! And if it is me, you all know who to blame!"

With that he stormed off.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Von Trente remarked. "I'm sorry, Duchess, Caleb. You have our support."

Heidewegen looked at her as she said that. Duchess Alexandra nodded and both Heidewegen and Von Trente took their leave. The Duchess then sighed and Caleb awkwardly patted her on the back.

"I've failed. The diplomacy approach hasn't worked." the Duchess said.

"There is still hope." Caleb said. "If we can…"

"Caleb." The Duchess interrupted, turning to face him, "If my credibility as an impartial host is called into question, the negotiations lose meaning too. I may have your and Von Trente's support, but Heidewegen and Lorenz will take side against me, and I'm sure Lorenz would accuse us both of corruption. Diplomacy has failed."

"But it cannot fail. The consequences would be too severe! There are armies outside these gates!" Caleb said, almost helplessly.

"What?" Duchess Alexandra asked, surprised, her mouth a little open. "What did you say?"

"I…have reason to believe that every nation except Aetherfall has an army stationed outside the hills surrounding the city. If the situation is allowed to escalate, the city could become an all-out battlefield." Caleb said, looking into the Duchess her eyes.

Duchess Alexandra took a few steps backwards and leaned against the wall. "This is bad. This is really bad."

"I know there is a large amount of tension…" Caleb began

"Oh there is tension all right!"

"…but as long as we can manage to prevent armed conflict, there is still hope. We will need the world leaders to get through this situation, but at least we will have prevented all-out war. We need to prevent further escalation."

"Look around, Caleb." Duchess Alexandra exclaimed. "The situation has escalated! Diplomacy has failed! There are about a dozen armies outside my city walls!"

"I will do whatever I can to prevent armed conflict. But if it fails, and the city is attacked…You will have my support in defending and evacuating the citizens." Caleb said with a nod.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, before Duchess Alexandra nodded back, a stern look on her face. It was then that they noticed Dominic had come in. Caleb and the Duchess looked at him, and the Duchess became a bit red, as did Dominic. "Am I interrupting something?"

The Duchess walked to Dominic and plunged herself in his arms. Dominic let out a careful sigh and hugged her. He looked at Caleb.

"News from Aetherfall."

"Tell me," Caleb said, "Is it a bright light in this void of darkness?"

Dominic looked at him, and Caleb's face darkened.

…

Caleb had his face buried in his hands. He sat behind a desk in his tent, a letter laying in front of him. Taranee was sitting across him, firmly pressed into her chair and staring at the ceiling.

"Just one time, I'm only asking for one damn time. One bright spot!" Caleb said, clearly frustrated and angry. "And then I get news that the Grand General's carriage is found flipped on the ground, with dead soldiers and a skeleton in the Grand General's armour! And right when we would need him to prevent armed conflict. Really? For fuck's sake!"

Taranee looked at him and he looked up at her. "Forgive me my language. I'll promise to try and keep it to a minimum."

Taranee rose her hand a little and then let it fall back down. "Don't bother. I get your anger. You don't want to know the words on my mind right now."

"We've been trying to keep this city safe and proceed with negotiations for the past two weeks, and we have lost diplomacy, a diplomat, the mine, the witness, the assassins, and about a dozen of citizens! And even with our damn combined forces, the Duchess and I can't stop any of it! And if we let this escalate…no, scratch that, since it has escalated, it'll only be seconds before those armies are inside these walls, resulting in a massacre and killing us all!" Caleb exclaimed, before banging his head on his desk. "And now my head hurts as well!"

"You really know what to say in some situations, don't you?" Taranee said with a little chuckle.

The city began to grow louder outside the tent, as the two of them sat silently, wallowing in their misery. Caleb threw everything off of the table. Taranee didn't bother to reply or react. She took the note and glanced over it. The Grand General, dead. He had seemed so young. A skeleton in his armour…somebody must have killed him with powerful magic. She was an expert, but had no idea what kind of spell could cause this. It was as if all his life was drained from him. Perhaps N knew. She would ask him when she saw him again. If she saw him again.

"Caleb," Taranee said, "it will not be long before this news reaches others. We must take action, now. A statement, something. The Grand General was a driving force in politics, and the country one of the most powerful. Others might try to take advantage of the situation."

"MY LORD. MY LADY." A guard ran in, panting. "Excuse me my interruption, but this is important. Fighting has broken out, as soon as it was announced the Grand General was found dead."

Taranee looked at Caleb. Suddenly, she saw scared. Caleb lost all colour in his face. He might have been dead as well. He surely looked like it. Yet, when he straightened his back and spoke, he seemed almost regal.

"Create a perimeter around the camp. Nobody leaves. We will prepare to leave this place at once. Spread the word that the Council will elect the new Grand General soon, and his successor will continue the negotiations. Hopefully that will defuse tensions."

"Yes, my lord."

The guard rushed outside. Caleb donned his armour, Taranee rose from her chair.

"Gather the girls, have them pack their stuff immediately. We leave. Now."

Taranee nodded and rushed outside. Smoke was coming from other parts of the city, people were screaming. She ran towards the next tent and found the three girls, scared.

"Gather your stuff."

"We already have, we know what's going on! We saw the fire and smoke, heard the screams!" Hay-Lin said, her voice unusally high.

"Then let's go."

They rushed outside, their bags wobbling behind them. Soldiers started pouring through the streets. Caleb's guards tried to stop them but were clearly being pushed back. Caleb got out of the tent and analyzed the situation.

"Retreat! To me! All to me!"

The guards immediately left their position and came running towards him. He had trained them well. Caleb drew his sword. They rushed towards the wall. As the enemy approached, Hay-Lin, Irma and Cornelia let go of their bags, which quickened their pace steadily. Taranee created a wall of fire in between them and the enemy, who seemed surprised and frightened as the fire suddenly appeared in front of them, It took only a few seconds, before other sorcerers dimmed the flames and they could go around, but every second was valuable. They ran and ran towards the exit, but were caught off guard by more enemies from another country. The two armies clashed with each other, but the path was now blocked off. Taranee and the guards held off the attackers, but all were slowly pushed back more and more. They took a turn past a house, only to find the city walls at the end of the street. They were cornered.

Hay-Lin started panicking and Irma pressed her against the wall. Cornelia focused on her powers, then hit the wall with a fist. She yelped in pain as it hurt herself and only small pebbles from the top of the wall came falling down. Taranee shot fireballs at the incoming soldiers to try and keep them at bay. Yet they were coming closer foot by foot. Just then, a horn vaguely sounded through the air, as if from a large distance.

…

Harold sat upon his horse, his army behind him. He looked out over the lands outside the walls of the city of Cryssandor from atop the hill, seeing armies trying to get into the town and failing since it was too full with soldiers already. Thus they had taken to fight outside the walls. Smoke and fire rose up from the city itself and with a rumble a house came down, causing screams and panic. His daughter was in there, as well as N's child. While he had come to dislike N, he bore his child no ill will, no terrible fate of dying in a place he did not know nor truly cared about. After all, the sins of the father were not the sins of the son. He analyzed the situation. He had no idea where his child was besides her being somewhere in the city. Thus, getting into the city as fast and safe as possible was a priority. He spotted a large open gate to his left. Inside, there was no other way but fight until they had found his child. He turned around and faced his army. Most were on horseback.

"Form ranks!" he yelled atop his lungs. The soldiers followed his orders near immediately. "We will dash through the gate to the left of our starting position. Then the infantry will hold the gate. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my lord!"

"Good! Sound the horn! Ride out, riders of Elzas! For lord and daughter!"

A nearby commander took the horn hanging around his waist and blew the horn with all his might.

"BA-WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! BA-WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

Harold put down his visor and drew his sword to the sky. His soldiers yelled behind him as they strode down the hill towards the surprised and terrified soldiers that held the gate.

…

Hay-Lin had recovered from her panic and was creating small gusts of wind to keep the invaders away, helped by Taranee's fireballs. Cornelia was giving all her effort into creating a small perimeter around the camp, using her powers to make a trench. Irma was filling it with water and simultaneously dousing the nearby fires. Somebody came through and slashed at Cornelia, who duck away. Caleb intercepted the sword and pushed him back through an amount of quick slashes, before kicking him into the trench.

"Help!" he cried. "I can't swim! Help!" His head went underwater.

"Irma, shoot him out!"

Irma grinned. "My pleasure!" She lowered her hands and the water compressed itself to the center, pushing the man up and shooting him out with such force that he crashed through the roof of a nearby building.

"That wasn't quite what I meant, but, good job."

They heard the trampling sound of hooves, as the enemies in front of the half-finished trench ran away. Riders on horseback ran into them, slashing around themselves with swords or hacking around themselves with axes. One of the riders noticed them, his eyes falling on Cornelia.

"My lord! She's here!"

Caleb rushed forward, pushing Cornelia to the ground as the two of them locked blades, the fires around them reflected in the knights armour.

"Caleb! They're from Elzas! That crest, the fiery heart, it belongs to the duke, to Cornelia's father! They're on our side!"

It was not Cornelia who spoke up, but Irma. Caleb locked blades again, giving him the opportunity to distance himself. Indeed, there was a fiery heart on the riders armour. The rider gave him a nod and bowed slightly in his seat. Caleb nodded.

"Here! Here!" he cried out.

"Let me through!"

Harold appeared on horseback, his armour and sword bloodied. He opened his visor and looked at them, his eyes lingering on a filthy Cornelia and Irma. He smiled and nodded at the riders.

"Create a perimeter, we need to get them out of here as fast as we can."

"Duke Harold of Elzas?" Caleb asked.

Harold nodded. "Yes. And who…"

Harold stopped mid-sentence, studying Caleb. His eyes, his hair, his physique. Caleb found it surprisingly unsettling.

"How did you know where we were? Who sent you? I had no army here by orders of the Grand General Marcus himself."

Harold's eyes twinkled, having found what he wanted apparently. "That's the late Grand General Marcus now. I was sent here by your father."

"My father? My lord, I don't think you know who I am. I'm General Caleb of…"

"Yes, yes, I know who you are. I was sent here by your father, Nicholas or N or whatever you name him. He already thought there might be trouble."

Caleb nodded. Of course, everyone knew N was like a father figure to him. It wasn't a stretch to think the duke would mistake him for his real father.

"Then I shall have to thank the both of you."

The duke nodded and stepped off his horse. He walked over to Cornelia. Behind him, his horse shook its head violently and neighed heavily.

"Dad, look out!" Cornelia yelled.

Harold drew his sword and turned around, seeing his horse fall on him, a shiny mask looking at him from the roof of the house before them. The masked man got hit by Taranee's fireball and screamed. He lost his footing and fell to the ground from six meters up. The crack! Of his bones barely audible through the screams and fire. Riders speared him through, but he had already loosened his arrows, the arrows that were now stuck in Harold's horse, which had fallen on top of Harold's lower body and crushed his legs.

Harold screamed in pain as he tried to push the horse off of him, to no avail. He felt nothing in his lower body. Cornelia and Irma rushed towards him and sat down next to him.

"Father! Father!" Cornelia screamed in his ear, caressing his face with her hands. The visor made it difficult to do so.

"My lord!" Irma said.

Harold looked at the two of them. "My child." He reached out for Cornelia, who took his hand. "And you." His face turned to Irma. "I know your name. Irma."

Irma nodded at him. "I stayed at your daughters side. As I always have."

Harold smiled at her. "You did well. You knew what you had to do, did what had to be done. I did not. I could not. I broke my promises."

"What do you mean, father? Caleb! Caleb! Help dad, get this horse off of him!"

Caleb tried to push the horse, but to no avail. Several riders got down and tried to help too.

"I made a promise to Nicholas. Long ago, when you were born. The two of you. He told me you were special. You know of which I speak. He asked for two things, to have you for something special when he needed you…" He turned to Irma. "And to raise you as my own daughters. He had come with a bundle in his arms. It was the two of you, infants, barely from their mother's breasts. I did not dare ask him how he got you. I agreed to the terms. But I could not keep them. I loved Cornelia, saw myself in her, but could not think of you as my own, even when I named you my daughter. I neglected you, made you Cornelia's servant to mirror my own ideals of what should be while you knew you were her sister, or at least thought you were. Then, when N came after all those years, I tried to kill him. I did not want to lose Cornelia. And you, Irma…I'd have given away. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Irma backed away from him, tears and anger on her face. Cornelia looked at her and felt sorry. Caleb and the riders managed to pull Harold's horse off of him. He was covered in blood.

"You…you spiteful old man!" Irma yelled.

"Why, father?" Cornelia knew he was not her biological father, but he had raised her and that made him her father.

"I was afraid to lose you." Harold said. "I felt no more room for anyone else, not after your mother died. So I rejected Irma. I'm sorry." He looked at Irma. "You and N are right. I am a spiteful old man. Even now, here, when I got hit, you called me 'my lord' instead of father. Only now, at the end, do I realize what I'm losing."

"You're not dying father! Right?" She turned to Caleb, who was examining Harold's legs.

"Leave me, Cornelia. I don't want to live, not like this. Not without legs, not having hurt the two of you. At least I managed to save you two. At least I held one promise. I came here…for you. Both of you."

He coughed, spitting up a bit of blood. He turned to Caleb. "My men are holding the gate. Leave, now. Ride for Aetherfall. I'd just drag you down."

His hand fell besides him. "Cornelia…Irma…look at me…" His voice was but a whisper.

Cornelia looked at him, but Irma stayed away. Harold smiled as he looked at her. Then, his eyes became hollow, and Harold was but a shell. Cornelia started crying over his body. Irma came to her and wrapped her arms around her, whispering comforting words in Cornelia's ear.

Taranee came to Caleb. "We can't hold this much longer. We need to leave here. Now."

Caleb nodded. He signaled to leave and turned in the direction of the gate, when he was a young girl with red hair seated atop a horse staring at him. The pinkish jewel he recognized as N's pulsed as it lay over her chest. Caleb tightened the grip on his sword.

"Who are you?"

"You're Caleb, right? I was sent here by N with a message."

Caleb took a look at the jewel again. N was a strong archmage, she was just a girl. Surely, the only way she could have acquired it, was if N had given it to her.

"You're the fifth girl. The fifth Guardian." The girl nodded. "Then tell me…what is the message you bring."

The redhead's eyes scoured the group, finding the four girls near. "Guardians, unite!"