Fire.
I couldn't see.
I couldn't think.
All I felt was heat, and the heavy pounding of my heart.
"What happened?"
A soft whisper escaped my mouth.
"Oh..."
"Eimira."
The last thing I remember before it all went dark was her smiling at me.
That smile…
Felt like she had let go and accepted her faith.
"But what happened..."
My eyes opened slowly, as the smoke cleared around me.
My vision remained blurred, but there was someone in front of me.
"Argh..." He trembled.
I blinked several times, clearing my vision.
Yunok.
He was embedded deep in a wall.
My hand wrapped around his throat.
My arm—
"My arm?"
My eyes widened.
"What is this?" I asked, panicked.
What I saw wasn't my hand in the gauntlets, but something different.
The gauntlets had completely fused with my hand.
Like they were part of me.
"Z-Zandren?"
Someone called my name.
I turned around slightly.
Ryona.
Her hand gripped tightly around her swords, but they remained lowered. Every step she took came with a limp.
"Hey Ryona, hope you aren't hurt too much?"
Behind her was Chichi.
She seemed—
Terrified.
"Cough." Yunok chuckled. "You still haven't realised, have you?"
I turned to him, puzzled.
"What do you mean?"
"V-Veil!!!" Someone yelled.
My brows furrowed. "Veil? Where?"
I glanced around the dust-filled courtyard.
Yunok scoffed. "It's you, idiot."
Whoosh.
Ting.
An arrow flew by me, barely missing my head. Penetrating the wall I held Yunok against.
"Hey! Stop!" Feona yelled, lowering the bow of a member.
Before them, Eimira rose slowly, using her sword to support her weight. Barely conscious and blood still running down her forehead.
No one moved.
She slowly lifts her head.
And our eyes met.
I was happy.
Seeing her able to stand after all that has happened.
B-But—
Her eyes.
They seem... different.
"...Kill..."
She found her balance, and raised her sword.
"Kill the veil." She ordered, tears rolling down her cheek, mixing with her blood.
Feona ran forward, lowering Eimira's sword.
"Hey captain." She chuckled anxiously. "T-That's Zandren."
"No." She muttered, trembling. "Not anymore."
"So..."
Her voice trembled.
"Kill the veil."
Few members stepped out, both injured and uninjured, clutching their weapons tightly. Slowly approaching me.
Then, they attacked.
All together.
"You had better defend yourself." Yunok whispered, then pushed me towards the oncoming attackers.
Two swung their swords at me, and the others attacked from my sides and rear.
My body reacted on its own.
My knees bent.
Then—
BOOM!
The courtyard vanished beneath me.
The wind howled past my ears as I continued climbing.
Higher.
Higher.
"Wait.... What?"
I looked down and finally realised that the entire Lost Aegis base had become a miniature beneath me.
Then something brushed against my ear, prompting me to turn my head.
A wing.
"What!!!?"
I stopped.
Then started plummeting downwards.
The base appeared bigger the closer I got to it.
"Is this the end?"
Below, the vanguard members waited. Ready to attack.
I don't know why they'd think I'd survive this fall.
Something roared behind me.
I turned back and noticed the trail of crimson red fire I had left behind me.
The ground was near.
I had no choice but to brace.
BOOM!
The explosion sent the members flying and crashing into the ground, kicking up dust as they did.
I stood slowly.
Even after falling from such a height, it only felt like a sting.
"Or, did I subconsciously slow down using my wing?" I asked, staring down at what used to be my hands.
Now something I can't even describe, all I know for now is my gauntlets fused with me.
"But, what were those flames?"
I stood still, straining my arm and finally, a tiny red flame ignited and floated calmly above my arm.
"Emberia?" I smiled. "It's beautiful."
"Did I by chance awake—"
Squelch.
"Grrrr." I groaned.
The tiny flame varnished.
I looked down.
A blade...
...was protruding from my chest. Blood dripped from its tip.
Then it slid free.
I tried to turn, but my body refused to listen, as blood poured out from my wound.
I forced myself around.
Standing behind me...
Was Eimira.
Her sword trembled. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Yet her eyes...
…were filled with resolve.
"Zandren wouldn't have survived a fall like that…" She whispered.
My legs gave out first, and I collapsed on both my knees.
Now looking up at Eimira, all I could see was her silhouette.
I felt my consciousness fading, and my body tilting sideways.
The world grew quieter.
The noises around me began to fade.
All that remained...
...Was Eimira.
"...Eimira... I'm glad you're alright." I murmured, smiling.
Then, it all went dark.
----
Yunok staggered through the fields far from the Lost Aegis base.
One step.
Then another.
Blood dripped from the corner of his lips, and wounds, staining the grass and fallen leaves beneath his boots.
Every breath he took burned.
"...heh."
He laughed weakly, clutching his bruised neck.
"A cursed rune." He coughed. "I'm sure."
Then pressed his hand against his chest.
"A rune so strong, Morvethis went silent."
He chuckled weakly.
"That wasn't supposed to happen in the slightest."
Yunok kept walking beneath the scorching hot afternoon sun.
Exhaustion from the battle against Eimira finally caught up to him.
His legs trembled. His vision blurred.
"...Not yet." He murmured
"Just... a little... farther—"
Stumble.
Thud.
He collapsed face-first into the dirt.
Silence.
Wind brushed past the trees, rustling them. Ants and insects crawled over him. Birds perched, feasting on the insects on him.
A few moments before another pair of footsteps approached.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
A silhouette stops beside him.
"So..."
"This is where you ended up."
Yunok turned his head, slowly opening his eyes.
"...Zeth." He said weakly.
Zeth crouches beside him, completely calm.
She glanced at Morvethis.
Then at Yunok.
"You lost?"
Yunok forced a laugh. "No, quite the opposite."
"Something unexpected and stronger just showed up." He added.
"...Stronger?" Zeth blinked
Yunok nodded.
Then turned to Morvethis.
"Strong enough to make Morvethis remain silent until now."
He chuckled dryly. "Tsk. How pathetic."
Zeth sighed. "Alright. Alright. Let's stop being a sore loser and head home."
"Home?" Yunok laughed. "Word about this has probably reached the Academy, and the Royal Palace."
He scoffed. "I'd thrown into the dungeon on the spot. Or worse, executed."
Zeth stood, then stretched out her hand.
"Our home." She said, smiling. "Not the mansion, not the academy and not the palace."
Yunok stared at her, not saying anything.
After a brief moment, he took Zeth's hand.
"Good, hehe." She said. "Will you be able to walk? It's quite far."
Yunok shook his head. "I doubt."
Rumble.
Zeth morphed to her runic form.
"Then, I guess I have no choice but to carry you there." She muttered, a slight grin tugging at her lips, as if she wanted this to happen.
Yunok sighed, slightly covering his face.
"..."
"How embarrassing."
----
Clink...
Clink...
Clink...
The slow rattle of chains echoed through the darkness. Their cold metallic scrape dragged me back to consciousness.
My throbbing head forced my eyes open, as I let out a slight groan due to the cold chains biting into my wrists.
"W-Where... am I?"
I lifted my head, slowly.
There he was.
In the same position exactly as I was. Head lowered.
Arms restrained by countless chains which seemed to have reduced since the last time I saw him.
His head remained lowered, quiet sobs escaping his lips.
"You..." I muttered.
"What is all this?" I asked.
Silence.
His sobbing continued.
"I thought I was born without a blessing, I already accepted that as my fate and was ready to die that way."
I caught my breath.
"So..." My voice lowered. "What were those flames?"
"What did you turn me to?" I asked, tears rolling down my cheek.
"More importantly...."
"Why do you look so much like me?"
Nothing.
No response.
Just quiet sobs.
"ANSWER ME!"
I lost it.
"WHO ARE YOU?"
Then, suddenly—
"Zandren?"
My head jolted upwards.
The darkness disappeared. The chained figure and his sobs faded away.
"Ahh..."
I glanced around. Trying to figure out where I was.
Stone walls, with torches mounted on them.
Cold iron gates and the nauseating smell of herbal medicines.
Feona stood outside the cell, gripping the bars.
She frowned. "...Who were you yelling at?"
I blinked.
Then glanced around the empty cell. And back towards where the chained figure had been.
"It's... nothing." I whispered.
Feona's expression softened.
"...Zandren."
"Hi, Feona." I replied.
She smiled, it was faint. But I'm sure it was a smile.
"Knowing you, I'm sure you'd have been confused and lonely after waking up..."
"But... seeing you yell into empty space..."
"... I don't know."
I chuckled, dryly. "Yeah..."
I glanced upwards.
"How is she?" I asked.
Feona giggled. "Even in your current situation, you're still asking about her."
Her voice lowered.
"Even after what she did to you. You still ask about her." She said, glancing down.
I followed her gaze, and saw the wound.
It had healed on its own. Probably done by the same black thing from back then.
But now, all that's left is just this scar.
Feona turned her back against me, and slid down till she was sitting on the floor.
"You know Zandren..."
"...When we first found you, Eimira took a good long stare at you. If I hadn't snapped her out of it, she probably would have remained that way."
She chuckled, then turned her head slightly.
"Didn't you find it a bit strange how she warmed up to you so quickly?"
I didn't respond immediately.
"Judging by how you say it, it sounds like there's supposed to be a process?" I asked.
Feona swiveled around.
"Of course there is, Zandren."
She held her fist out.
"The shyness, the slow burn, and the slow but sure acceptance of each other." She said, dramatically.
Then pointed at me.
"But, I don't know how you did it." She continued. "Maybe Eimira found you too attractive to resist, but all she wanted was you."
Silence.
I laughed dryly. "Doesn't seem like it now, does it?"
Feona didn't respond. She just swiveled back to her previous position.
"You're no fun, hehe." She whispered. "Listen, Zandren."
"Hmm?"
She spoke. "I never trusted you, I never also liked how fast you got close to her. Neither did Ryona, Chichi and Tabbi. I'm sure you knew that at some point."
I nodded. "Yeah..."
"But seeing how you ran towards Eimira to save her, when even I, her closest friend, froze in fear."
She scoffed. "It left me ashamed of myself, and also made me question my loyalty to Eimira. But..."
She turned to me.
"It also left me with a deep respect and admiration for you."
Just then, the light from the flames flickered brighter, lighting Feona's face.
Tears rolled down her cheek as she bowed her head.
Her voice, shaking.
"If not for you. Eimira wouldn't be here anymore. Eimira wouldn't exist anymore."
I sniffled.
"So please." She continued. "Do not ever call yourself a Veil."
"Because what I saw wasn't a veil..."
"...But someone who would stop at nothing to protect the one he loves."
Feona remained bowed.
I'd always thought Feona was only kind to me because of Eimira.
Maybe...
I was wrong.
"I also ask that..."
She hesitated.
"I.. ask... t-tha—"
"If it's about me forgiving Eimira, then I have."
Feona glanced at me, shocked.
"W-what?"
I smiled. "When you left us alone outside the citadel. Eimira told me about her past and how she got the name "Lost Aegis."
"So maybe what Eimira saw was the veil that killed her mother, threatening to kill her members too."
Feona's voice softened. "Zandren..."
"I promised you, and everyone else, including Eimira, that I'd protect her no matter what."
I lowered my head.
"Even if it means to protect her from myself."
Feona exhaled.
"Let's hope it goes as you say. And let's also hope they believe you're not a veil."
"W-What do you mean?" I asked.
"He's back..." She replied.
"Who?"
"The Supreme Commander, and Eimira's father."
"Lord Mar'gareth Aevorah."