Arnaud Astrey breathed in the brilliance of the fading golden radiance swirling around him as a resonant chime echoed through the chamber.

Everything went still.

The projections, ghosts, and shifting 'reflections' he'd fought moments ago were gone. Only silence remained. Heavy and taut with a residue of danger, yet carrying a weight of finality that suggested the worst had passed.

He scanned the shattered floor and fractured walls with a swordsman's eye, absorbing details not just with sight but with the subtle pressure of his aura. The brittle edge of fatigue clung to the space, mingled with the aftertaste of violence and the fleeting traces of something vast and ancient.

Drawing a steadying breath, he felt the strange chill recede — as if the air itself struggled to forget some deeper memory.

Across the chamber stood Fynn, battered and drawn, locked in a wary standoff with the masked newcomer. Fynn's aura whipped around him in restless currents—winds with the tension of a wolf at bay—while shifting shadows danced at the masked girl's feet, writhing in anticipation.

It might have been called a fragile truce, but Arnaud didn't dwell on it. In one smooth motion, he sheathed his sword, the Silver Repose technique settling into his steps as he crossed the cracked floor in one breath, reaching Allyssa and Kat near the chamber's heart. His voice softened, a gentle warmth threading through his tone.

"All in one piece, I hope?"

Allyssa started. "Dad!" The word carried equal parts relief and exasperation.

He chuckled, ruffling her hair with a gloved hand. "The fight ended half a minute ago and you're already this jumpy? Stay sharp, dear." But even as he teased, his eyes swept over her, searching for true injuries. He noted the bruises and fresh tears in her clothing, but saw nothing that hadn't already healed. His aura traced faint echoes of pain, but nothing lasting.

Small hurts always struck deeper in a father's heart than wounds he bore himself. Still, he recognised that Allyssa was more than capable of enduring them.

His gaze shifted to Rosa, the bard, standing a few paces away behind the rough stone barriers Kat had conjured. Her klert sagged loosely in her hands, exhaustion etching deep lines in her face. Gratitude stirred in him that she was here — and that her unique, resonant magic had kept his daughter and the others alive.

Kat leaned on her claymore, eyeing Arnaud and the rest of the chamber. From her, he could sense a deep fatigue. The onset of mana exhaustion, no doubt, but her shoulders remained tense.

"Is it over?" she asked hoarsely. "Did we…win?"

Arnaud weighed the chamber for a moment, then offered a slow, measured nod. "As far as I can tell, whatever presence haunted this place is gone."

He chose not to voice his theories about what that presence truly was, or the tangled schemes he'd glimpsed behind today's events. Those matters would be left until later, and he lacked the whole picture.

"Thank the gods and their bare buttocks," Kat muttered, before grimacing. "What are the odds Scarlett had a hand in that?"

"Hah! What are the odds that she wasn't the one holding the matches?" Rosa chuckled from her little stone shelter.

Arnaud released a small sigh as, not a moment after, the bard's knees buckled. He was already there to catch her, steadying her as she blinked up at him in a haze.

"I could have sworn you were just over there," she mumbled, pointing weakly.

"You have my thanks, Miss Hale," he said, voice low but sincere. "For your charms — and for keeping my daughter, Shin, and Kat alive. Those are rare talents you possess. I hope you'll continue to use them."

Rosa managed a weary, lopsided smile. "My, my. You know how to lay on the charm yourself, don't you? Are you sure you're not the bard here?" She shot a grin at Allyssa. "Your father's really something, Allyssa."

Allyssa, in turn, gave a mortified little groan.

Arnaud couldn't help but smile as the tension in the air eased a notch. This group, for all their oddities, had a way of wringing humour from even the direst situations.

Still, he was glad they hadn't lowered their guard entirely. It was never wise to grow too reckless.

His gaze lingered on Rosa's eyes — clear violet now. The wild energy from before was gone, as was the daunting presence that had emanated from her chest. Exhaustion was the dominant impression he sensed.

Even so, when she caught his eye, he glimpsed the sharp glint beneath her fatigue and playful veneer. The woman carried a survivor's edge that rivalled most anyone he'd known.

Shin's voice cut in. "It's too early to celebrate."

Arnaud's protege joined them near the chamber's centre, but his attention was fixed on the section where Fynn and the masked girl still stood, neither willing to move first. "That's not over."

"Shit," Kat muttered, as if only now noticing. "Who even is that? Another Council creep? Cabal?"

Allyssa quietly uncorked a vial from her bandolier and dipped an arrow into the contents.

Rosa, now upright but leaning lightly on Arnaud, eyed Fynn and let out an exasperated sigh. "I swear, if that boy loses one more pint of blood, I'm not patching him up again."

"Is there even a pint left in him?" Kat shook her head, though with real concern.

Arnaud turned back to the standoff. Fynn's aura—though he supposed it was only partially true aura—had grown dangerously ragged earlier in the fight, veering close to losing control. Arnaud might have intervened, but he'd been too occupied shielding his daughter and the others. Fortunately, the white-haired youth had pulled himself together, though he did not look in condition for another bout. He was now more blood than flesh or cloth.

The masked girl, by contrast, looked untouched. Shadows curled at her feet with a cold, predatory calm that made Arnaud frown.

The sensation was not entirely unfamiliar.

He brushed a hand lightly against his sword hilt, weighing how to best separate them before things escalated. While he recognised that she was likely another Cabal member, she also fit another set of descriptions he'd been given. He might have to step in.

Beside him, Rosa squinted at him, her voice wry but quiet enough for only him. "Can't help but notice you're not just worried about Fynn there, Mister S-ranked Shielder."

Arnaud raised his brows, glancing at her with a small, knowing smile. "I wonder what it is you see through those eyes of yours, Miss Hale."

"Oh, all kinds of fun things."

"I'm sure."

His focus shifted back just as Fynn and the masked girl seemed poised to move. Arnaud stepped away from Rosa, preparing to intervene and defuse matters so that he could speak with the girl himself. His sword lifted a hairsbreadth from its sheath—

Scarlett appeared.

There was no fanfare or sound. One moment she wasn't there, and the next she simply stood between them, facing Arnaud and the others.

He stilled, letting his hand fall from the sword.

A range of reactions rippled out. Kat swore, while Allyssa's eyes went wide, and Shin subtly shifted into a more guarded stance. Rosa gave off a powerful sense of relief. Across the chamber, Fynn immediately turned from the masked girl to Scarlett.

Arnaud's gaze sharpened as he took in the baroness. There was something different about her. For one, she was wearing a crimson dress, but it was her bearing that drew his attention. There was something new in the gravity surrounding her that was difficult to determine through just aura alone.

"Scarlett," Allyssa eventually said, relief in her voice as well. Arnaud hadn't seen exactly how the baroness disappeared, only that it had been while aiding Allyssa. He had felt his daughter trying to hide her panic ever since.

Kat released a long breath. "You gave us all quite the scare, lady. Was it you who took care of all the reflections? Are we in the clear now?"

Scarlett didn't answer at once. Her amber gaze swept the group, pausing for a beat on Rosa. A faint crease touched her brow—Arnaud thought he caught a silent exchange passing between the two—before her focus shifted across the room. First to Fynn, then unerringly to the masked girl.

The girl, for her part, seemed to forget Fynn existed the instant Scarlett arrived.

Scarlett studied her for several long moments.

Then, to everyone's shock, she laughed. The sound rang through the chamber, bright and sudden.

There was something unsettling about the action, as if it did not belong to the woman. Indeed, Arnaud sensed very little true amusement coming behind it, though Scarlett had always been difficult to read.

The masked girl tilted her head, three lavender eyes glinting as they fixed on the baroness.

Scarlett ran a hand through her hair, an indecipherable expression playing across her face. "Terrifying, truly. I see now that woman downplays her designs far, far too much. She is considerably more frightening than her words let on. 'Provisions', she called them."

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Arnaud glanced between the girl and Scarlett, nodding almost to himself in confirmation. He had likely guessed the girl's role correctly, then. As for who the 'frightening' woman was…

The thought trailed off as Scarlett turned, a subtle shift suddenly rippling outward from her and across the stone. There was an undercurrent of wrongness to it, but nothing overtly hostile.

"I see," she murmured, barely audible. Arnaud caught it only by sharpening his aura further. "So he is here as well. I would have preferred to avoid him…but I suppose he will prove useful. Hah." She shook her head, and a second, lighter laugh slipped free. "Just how many people does Yamina have dancing in her palm?"

"Um, Scarlett," Kat said, watching the woman cautiously. "Not to alarm you, but the sudden laughing? Actually kind of worrying. You good?"

Scarlett's gaze lingered on her before she gave another small shake of her head. "I am merely…impressed by the designs of a certain Senior Wizard, Kat. Evidently, even gods—and the clergy who serve them—are not exempt from her schemes. It is almost tragic. All the fruits of their efforts, soon to be plucked by another."

Kat fell silent, then shrugged with a somewhat nervous laugh. "That's actually less cryptic than I expected from you, but still too cryptic for me to make any sense of it." She looked at the others. "I'm not alone, right?"

"You will have your answers soon enough," Scarlett said before anyone else could respond. "There are a great many moving pieces in play. Overlapping plots and fates that are difficult to unravel. Frankly, I am only now beginning to see how some of them fit together."

Without another word, she raised her hand and pointed at the masked girl. A dagger appeared in it and shimmered with divine fire as she cut the air, tearing open space itself. A rift yawned wide, revealing an ashen sky and flames licking across a boundless horizon.

Arnaud tensed—if only for an instant—as a figure stumbled out: a man in priestly robes, hair a shock of blond gold, brows drawn in confusion.

It took him a heartbeat longer to place the man.

Father Ray Abraham blinked, taking in the ruined chamber, the group, and the burning portal at his back. He looked lost for a breath, then—almost theatrically—regained his composure. A dazzling, perfectly timed smile spread across his face as he turned to Scarlett.

"What fortune! Precisely, miraculously, the one I was seeking. Baroness Hartford, always a pleasure. And so many familiar faces! Why, if I'm not mistaken, I even spy my fellow connoisseur of life's finer things — Miss Hale, you're looking most tragically depleted." He tipped his head to Rosa. "Might I recommend a restorative tonic? Or perhaps something with a bit more spirit?"

"You're late!" Rosa called.

"Fashionably so. The truly important guests always arrive at the perfect dramatic moment." He cleared his throat, focusing again on Scarlett. "Now, Baroness, grateful as I am for your rather unconventional invitation, I do have just a few questions…" His smile thinned, tone sharpening. "If we are to get down to business, what—"

"We will discuss those later, Father," Scarlett interrupted. "For now, it is true that you have arrived at an opportune moment. Especially considering the disturbances you have introduced."

She gestured past him towards the masked girl. Father Ray followed her gaze, eyebrows rising in mild surprise before he looked back at Scarlett.

"Well. A happy coincidence. I was just searching for that little one myself."

"I am aware. And it is hardly a coincidence. As it happens, I require the aid of you both. I trust you will take responsibility. And that you will not disappoint."

"Responsibility? Now, Baroness, whatever do you—"

He didn't get the chance to finish. The fiery landscape behind him rippled, and a split-second later, a jet of water surged into existence, slamming into the man and hurling him back into the flaming rift amid splashing and half-drowned protests. The portal snapped shut after him.

Arnaud shifted. Beside him, Rosa gave a snorting laugh. The others looked only bewildered.

Scarlett had already turned to the masked girl. With a swift, precise motion, she slashed her dagger through the air once more. Another portal tore open beside the girl, who stiffened as shadows whipped up defensively.

Scarlett's gaze didn't waver. "Fynn."

Fynn moved instantly. Wind carried him towards the masked girl as threads of water lashed at her position. Shadows rose in response, but the combined assault was enough to force her off balance for just a moment. A chain of water hooked her arm, dragging her into the portal as it widened and swallowed her whole before closing as well.

Silence fell over the chamber again. All eyes turned to Scarlett, who gave no reaction as she strode to Arnaud and stopped a few paces away.

"Mister Astrey."

He studied her closely. "Baroness Hartford."

"You lied to me," she said without preamble.

Arnaud's moustache twitched with the ghost of a frown. "About what, exactly?"

"Yamina. You told me she had not shared anything beyond what you already revealed."

"…You've spoken with her?"

He recalled his last conversation with Yamina. She had told him a great deal, some of which he had confirmed over time. He had passed along the most crucial details to Scarlett, but not everything. There were truths Yamina had asked him to keep hidden until the time was right. Until Scarlett proved to be the person she hoped she was.

From across the chamber, Fynn—done with the Cabal girl—approached, frowning at Arnaud. He couldn't blame the boy. He'd also neglected to mention he had some experience deceiving truthtellers.

Scarlett extended her hand. "Yamina instructed you to give me the 'key'."

He was silent for a moment, considering her. His daughter caught his gaze, the surprise on her face enough to prick him with a flicker of guilt, though he didn't show it.

At last, he reached into his belt pouch and produced a small, silver-etched object. It was the 'key' Yamina had entrusted to him.

"To be honest, I had little idea what to do with this, since it seemed you weren't going to ask."

Scarlett regarded the key, a thoughtful frown on her brow. She took it delicately and turned it over in her palm. "Did she tell you what this is?"

"She did not," Arnaud said. "Are you familiar with it?"

"I am. It is the key to the Forgotten Tower — the place where Yamina currently is."

Arnaud hummed under his breath. He…had not expected that.

Fynn paused a step away, shooting Arnaud a flat look before turning to Scarlett. "Where did you send the annoying priest and the Cabal girl?"

"Deeper into Beld Thylelion," she replied, eyes still on the key.

"Why?" Fynn pressed.

"Because they, apparently, are among the 'provisions' Senior Wizard Ward bothered to arrange as assistance. Nol'viz possesses a unique ability that we have need of, and Raimond the capacity to curb her."

Arnaud examined the baroness with keen interest. The way she spoke now reminded him of Yamina — not in tone, but in the way she appeared to see several steps ahead, as if glimpsing the path before them. It was subtly different from the near-omniscient insight she'd showcased earlier.

"Ward was the woman from the Rising Isle, right? The one with the weird note?" Kat asked, glancing between Arnaud and Scarlett.

"She is," Arnaud confirmed.

"So…what sort of help is she actually providing? And for what?"

Arnaud looked back at Scarlett.

Those were the very questions he had hoped to answer in time. He still had only the vaguest sense of Yamina's true motives. He trusted her, but trust, for him, rarely came without conditions. If things tipped too far into danger, he was ready to break his promises.

Scarlett was quiet for a few seconds.

"I believe it will become clearer soon," she eventually said. "For the time being, what I can tell you is that Senior Wizard Ward and I shared a goal in removing the presence that lingered here in Beld Thylelion." She gestured to the chamber around them. "The next step is to obtain the Tribute of Dominion and put that presence to rest for good. Ward has indirectly provided the means to accomplish it."

Kat squinted at her. "You sure you can just send that…priest guy and the Cabal girl off on their own with no instructions? Seems a little risky."

"I am sure, yes. I saw it." She hesitated briefly, then added, quieter, "I have seen a great deal, recently."

Her eyes swept over the group, and for an instant, Arnaud thought he glimpsed a rare vulnerability beneath her composure.

"There remain matters I must resolve here," she went on, gaze lingering on Rosa for a second longer than the rest. "…But I will explain more once this is all over. Is that acceptable?"

Rosa said nothing—curiously, as she had almost since Scarlett's return—and simply met her gaze. The others, after a pause, gave nods of assent.

Scarlett finished examining them, then released a soft sigh. "You all look dreadful."

Arnaud was the only one still relatively unscathed. Allyssa and Shin could perhaps fight on if pressed, but Kat and Rosa's exhaustion was plain. As for Fynn, Arnaud doubted the young man would quit before he collapsed, but it would be best if he were not allowed to fight any further.

"Funny how fresh you look," Kat remarked.

"Yeah, and what's with the dress?" Allyssa pointed at Scarlett's attire.

Scarlett glanced down. "I decided something more comfortable was in order."

"And you chose a dress?" Kat asked skeptically. "One that looks worth more than I make in a year, mind you."

"Naturally, yes."

Kat shot Rosa a look, as if expecting her to chime in with some snarky comment or quip, but the bard only smirked.

Scarlett cleared her throat. "We will have time to talk later. First, you all need to rest. In your current states, there is nothing more you can accomplish."

A few reluctant frowns appeared, but Arnaud was glad she recognised their limits. Otherwise, he would have spoken up.

"Unfortunately," Scarlett continued, "other hostile groups remain in Beld Thylelion, moving toward the depths and the Tribute. Most were not as divergent as us, so they began further from their goal than we did. However, it is best if they are not left ignored." She turned to Arnaud, tone sharpening. "Mister Astrey, can I rely on your assistance?"

He met her eyes. "Are you asking me to help deal with these other groups?"

She nodded once. "Yes. Aside from myself, you are the only one here in any shape to do so."

Fynn started to protest, but Scarlett raised a hand, silencing him. "You will stay with the others," she said in a voice that brooked no argument.

He scowled, but held his tongue.

Allyssa frowned, looking between Arnaud and Scarlett. "Is it safe for the two of you to handle that alone? Just one Cabal group was enough trouble before."

"Trust me when I say it is perfectly safe," Scarlett said. "Miss Hale can confirm that time moved differently where I was. I have had ample time to recover and prepare."

Rosa gave a nod in acknowledgement.

Grudging acceptance flickered across Allyssa's and Fynn's faces. Scarlett returned her focus to Arnaud.

"Most of the groups we encounter will likely belong to either the Undead Council or the Hallowed Cabal, much like before. We do not necessarily need to kill them — only prevent them from proceeding. If it is you, even outnumbered, that should be possible."

Arnaud cast a last look at his daughter.

"I will send them somewhere safe while we are gone," Scarlett said, reading his hesitation.

He weighed her words, then gave a final nod. "Very well. I'll help."

"Thank you," she said, and he could see the genuine gratitude on her features. Then her expression suddenly froze. Her eyes moved, as if reading something unseen. Her face twisted into the deepest scowl he had ever seen from her.

The group sensed the change.

"…Scarlett?" Rosa called uncertainly.

Scarlett didn't respond at first. Finally, she seemed to snap out of it, glancing around, her expression easing. She raised the dagger in her hand, slicing the air open once more. A fiery portal flared before them.

"For now, step through this," she instructed. "It will take you to a secure place deeper within Beld Thylelion."

"But—" Allyssa began, though Scarlett cut her off.

"As I said, we will discuss everything in detail later."

There was a moment of tense silence. Then Rosa, after another meaningful look at Scarlett, stepped forward first. She offered the group a weary smile and walked through the firelit portal. The others hesitated, but Rosa's lead drew them on. Kat followed with a heavy sigh, Allyssa after a quick hug to Arnaud, and Shin with steady resolve. Fynn lingered, clearly frustrated, but in the end, he, too, stepped through.

When the portal closed behind the last of them, only Arnaud and Scarlett remained.

He arched a brow at her. "Is there any point in asking how you gained this new ability, or why you're so certain we can track down the other groups?"

Scarlett gave a tired half-smile. "It is a long story." She shifted her grip on the dagger and opened another portal. "This one will take you near one of the groups. I cannot be certain which, but I trust you can handle yourself."

He regarded her with a touch of skepticism. "You're not coming with me?"

She shook her head. "We will cover more ground if we split up."

He frowned. "That isn't what I meant. Will you be okay on your own?"

Scarlett met his gaze for a long moment. Then, with a snap of her fingers, a single orb of white-hot flame flared into being beside her — a dense, radiant condensation of energy no larger than a fist.

Arnaud's eyes widened. His instincts screamed to warn him just how dangerous it was.

"There is no need to worry about me," Scarlett said evenly. She hesitated, something uncertain passing across her face. "Rather… No. Never mind. I will manage. I simply need to play my part for once, and I am quite certain I am up to the task."

Arnaud studied the blazing sphere, then her. Finding no doubt in her expression, he had no choice but to accept it.

"Then I wish you the best of luck, Baroness."

"And you as well, Mister Astrey."

With that, Arnaud stepped through the portal, leaving Scarlett alone with the firelight and the silence.

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