"Why would I having the same spirit companion as Ylvaria be a good thing? I thought everyone would hate me because of how I would remind them of her?" I asked, confused. Alexis shook her head.

"It must not be common knowledge in your time, but spirit companions have a rarity determined by their power, abilities, and uniqueness. I'm not sure what words you would use for the rarity, but for us the rarities are, Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Special, Legendary, and Mythical.

As you might guess, Ylvaria's spirit companion, the Nine-Tailed Fox of Destiny, is one of the very few Mythical rarity spirit companions we know about in the universe. Its power, and abilities, easily match up to others of its kind like the Glacial Emperor; World-Freezing Fenrir, Eternal Tempest; Wind Monarch Garuda, and the Heavenly Phoenix; Ruler of Samsara's Flames. Though the Nine-Tailed Fox of Destiny is special in that it's the only known spirit companion of the mythical rarity that commands dominion over all six of the elementary elements.

All this is to say, if we show the other nobles, and the city lord, that your spirit companion is the same as Ylvaria's, then we will have an easy time convincing them of the truth of your story. After all, it'll be way easier to convince them you're telling the truth than trying to convince them Ylvaria has been killed and someone new has inherited her spirit companion." Alexis said, a wry smile on her face.

I looked to Rin and shrugged, she shrugged back and we nodded to Alexis who smiled and stood from the table.

"Well then, it seems we don't have any time to waste. We have a demonic invasion to stop!" She said, pep in her step. We followed her out of her office and, just like in the previous attempt of the trial, dutifully watched as she mobilized her guild members. The guild quickly devolved into an kicked anthill, but we didn't stay long to watch the festivities. We had a pair of nobles to convince.

We strode into the white and black marbled room to find Byron waiting for us again. After minute of deja vu, Avarus once again strolled into the room and, once again, made remarks to Alexis that proved he was the enemy of all women.

Once everyone had taken their seats, Alexis, with much more confidence than the last time we accompanied her to this meeting, spoke.

"Byron. Avarus. I've convened this meeting bearing bad news. A demonic invasion will be brought to Shironia in three days time." She said, her tone serious. Byron arched an eyebrow while Avarus narrowed his eyes.

"How reliable is the source of this information? You should be well aware of the most recent scouting reports." Byron said, evenly.

"Considering the ramifications should the information be incorrect, I would willingly stake my life, and my noble title, on the veracity of the information." Alexis responded. This elicited a choking sound from Avarus and a light whistle from Byron.

"Very well then, bring us this informant and let them tell us what's going on." Byron said, a seriousness entering his voice.

Alexis motioned to Rin and I and we stepped forward. Avarus and Byron both shifted their piercing gazes to us and I felt them inspecting our spirits. After a few moments of no one speaking, Alexis nudged me on the shoulder and I addressed the two nobles.

"In three days from today, a massive army of demons and demonic cultivators will attack Shironia. Their numbers will be so numerous that the city will be easily overwhelmed should nothing be done in preparation. And even with ample preparation, it will be a hard fight to save the city." I told them. Byron frowned. Before he could speak, Avarus interjected.

"And how do you know this, girl? The best scouts in the sector have seen no signs or any demons. Why should we believe what you're saying? Lady Everwood's trust notwithstanding, I'm skeptical." Avarus said.

"I know it's hard to believe, but we believe the scouts are either being tricked in some way or…" I trailed off, but Byron picked up where I left off.

"Or they're working with the demons. That would be troubling news indeed. Though Wren's question still stands. I trust Alexis, and am willing to extend a certain amount of trust to you due to her influence. But this is quite the difficult story to believe." He said.

I looked back to Alexis and she nodded. I took a deep breath and summoned Shimmer onto the table in front of myself. She coalesced and immediately began preening herself.

I looked to the two other nobles whose eyes were wide in shock.

"You… but how….that's!…" Avarus babbled. While Byron recovered quicker and narrowed his eyes.

"Who are you, girl? Ylvaria wouldn't have died even if she was thrown into the demon heartland. What's going on here, Alexis?"

"I believe that story is best told by Astra and Rin." Alexis said, giving us the floor once more. I took a deep breath before jumping into my story about the trial of Shironia.

After I finished recounting my story, Byron blew out a deep sigh.

"That…is a hard to believe story. But I'm finding it much more easy to believe than Ylvaria dying." He said, a pensive look on his face.

"I think Ylvaria is dead, and these two are remnants from the church. One of them, the blue haired one, must have inherited the spirit companion somehow. I refuse to believe that I'm merely… merely acting out some macabre play for some trial!" Avarus yelled, standing up and looking panicked.

"Calm down Avarus. I know its hard to believe but these two girls said something to me that only I could have told them. There would have been no way for them to know to say that to me without their story being at least partially true." Alexis said, doing her best to quell the growing panic within the man.

That seemed to calm him down somewhat. He inspected Alexis for a while before sighing and plopping down in his chair.

"I suppose if Lady Everwood believes this story, I must show her some deference. Truth be told, I have contacts within the Aurion Sect and from what they have told me, a plan to leave behind a way for the future generations to fight back against the demons should we fail is under way. It's just… hard to wrap my head around…not being real." He said. A weary tone in his voice.

"I agree." Began Byron.

"Though, even if I do believe you, I cannot go against the city lord's orders. I will not be able to mobilize my crafters and cultivators to help defend the city. If you want my help, you're going to have to convince Calius."

Avarus nodded.

"While I'm not currently under orders from the city lord myself. I cannot mobilize the people under my command without his permission. Should you convince Calius, I will join in to help protect this city. Should you be unable to convince him, I will still help with the preparations. Though I would request that word of this…trial…not spread to the fighters. I'm barely holding it together at the moment, and I can't imagine that those without sufficiently high levels of cultivation and mental training will fare much better." Avarus said, earning back a little bit of my respect with how serious he was taking this situation.

Alexis nodded solemnly.

"That's what I expected. Worry not, I think Calius will be swayed by our words. He's well aware of Ylvaria as well. And of course word of the truth of our current world shall not spread further than these walls, and those of the city lord's manor."

She stood up from the table and, after giving our regards to Byron and Avarus, led us out of the meeting room, and back through the streets of Shironia to the city lord's residence. In another bout of deja vu, we were escorted through the long hallways of the residence, the same sparse collection of paintings lining the walls. We were announced to the audience chamber, and then allowed to enter the room.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

We walked down the carpet bisecting the marbled floor until we once again stood at the bottom of the dais.

Just like before, the city lord was seated in the throne on the dais, while the fully plated Brutus stood by his side.

"Alexis, I've been told you have important information to tell me. Important enough to warrant an emergency meeting. I assume this information has something to do with the two young women you've brought with you to this, the heart of our city?" Calius asked. Alexis nodded.

"Yes, that's correct Calius. These two young women has brought extremely compelling evidence that an army of demons will attack Shironia at dawn in three days." She said, the utmost seriousness in her voice.

The city lord's demeanor immediately changed from his semi-relaxed posture to leaning forward, hands steepled in front of him.

"That's quite the serious claim. I'm sure you have received evidence to support this claim? Because I have it on good authority that there are no demons in this sector." Brutus said, immediately raising the tension in the room. I started getting a little nervous, but It was going to be difficult to argue with Shimmer's existence.

"You said that these young women brought extremely compelling evidence of an imminent invasion? I take this kind of claim very seriously. Should you be lying, even you will not escape punishment, Alexis." The city lord followed.

"I understand, Calius, but unfortunately, I'm not lying. There will be an invasion in three days. As for the evidence? I'll let Astra show you, and then explain." She said, gesturing to me with a light, reassuring, smile. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before reaching within and pulling on my bond with Shimmer. She popped into existence next to me, prompting a sharp inhale from both the city lord and Brutus. The city lord was the first to speak.

"Explain." He said. The one word carrying a strong command behind it. I flinched, but retold my story for the third time that day. By the time I finished, the city lord had a shocked look on his face, while Brutus looked pale.

I stopped talking, looking up at the pair of men, waiting for their response. I hoped my story wouldn't sound too unbelievable for the city lord, but to my surprise, Brutus spoke first.

"My lord! This girl is clearly out of her mind. You cannot possibly believe her." He implored, much more vehemently than I expected. Calius frowned before looking over to the man.

"It is hard to believe Brutus, but how do you explain the fox? You and I have both seen Ylvaria and her bond. That, alone, should be enough evidence of her claims, no?" He asked, quirking his eyebrow. Brutus thought for a few seconds before responding.

"Then Ylvaria must have been killed and this girl inherited her technique. This is all a plot by the church to make us waste resources. Having us spend so much to prepare for a clearly made up demonic attack will weaken our position within the alliance!" He said. The city lord's frown deepened. He looked back to our group and stared at me for a while, as though determining if he could trust my words. He had a complicated look on his face even as he looked down and seemed to be thinking about something. Finally, he looked up, a look of determination on his face.

"Brutus, while I understand that you have your doubts, and I don't completely believe the girl's story either, I would be remiss to ignore her. If I'm being honest, I find her story more believable that the idea that Ylvaria has been killed. That woman is a force of nature." He said, chuckling lightly after his last sentence.

Relief flooded me, as it seemed we were going to be able to convince the city lord to help us prepare.

"But Sir!" Brutus tried to protest, but a raised hand from the city lord stopped him.

"I understand you are against this decision, but I cannot ignore such a credible threat. Though I must admit, thinking about how I may already be dead and gone for years and the me I am now is just some… simulation being used to determine a worthy successor, is both heartening and disheartening all at once." He said, a sardonic smile now on his face.

Alexis nodded.

"That's true, but I'd like to think that we're being given an opportunity, right now, to save Shironia from its grisly fate. Though it won't bring us back to life, revenge against the demons sounds quite cathartic, no?" She asked, a mischevious smile on her face. The city lord got a solemn, sad, look on his face.

"That's a good point. If we cannot change the past, at the least we should enjoy the present. Very well. I'll send out a message to Byron and Avarus, and have them begin preparations for securing the safety of the city. We do not have much time to prepare, but we'll be sure to become as prepared as possible." He said, now serious, before standing and exiting the chamber, presumably to send word of the needed preparations.

Without any further delay, Alexis led us out of the city lord's manor and, after returning to the guild, took immediate charge and roused the entirety of the White Forest guild. The next few days flew by in a similar manner to the last try. The guild hall was a flurry of activity, but this time, it wasn't just the guild hall. Instead, the entire city was a kicked anthill. The city was abuzz at all hours with soldiers, crafters, and guild members running to and fro in preparation for the imminent invasion. Then, after two and a half days of preparation, the time had come. We were again standing on the ramparts on the walls of Shironia, though now Rin, Alexis, and I were joined by Byron, Avarus, and Calius.

We all watched with bated breath as the sun crested the horizon, bathing the vast plain around Shironia in oranges and reds just as the army of demons and demonic cultivators appeared.

"By the gods…they were telling the truth." I heard Avarus mutter, but I didn't spare him a look. We had more important things to worry about.

"Prepare the defenses!" Calius yelled out to the assembled guards, guild members, and crafters.

The creaking of wood and whining of stretched twine marked the readying of the myriad ballistae lining the walls. At the same time as the archaic weapons were winding up, all of the cultivators on the walls readied their long range projectiles. Elemental effects of all kinds lit up the defenders atop the ramparts heralding death for the approaching demons.

Alongside the ballistae, metal monstrosities they had called 'Qi Cannons' were situated upon the walls. They looked like long, square barreled, tubes and were now buzzing with energy as they charged up. I felt the qi flowing from the environment into them. While they charged, crafters brought up ballistae bolts, but instead of the normally sharp points the projectiles were fitted with, these bolts had been changed. They were all tipped with glass spheres where a bubbling solution of green and red liquid sloshed violently as they were transported. The bolts were loaded into their ballistae and ready to be launched at a moments notice. I had asked the crafters during the time we spent preparing why we were using ballistae instead of some other kind of technology, but they all just smirked at me and told me that they'd be the best weapon we had against the demons. I was somewhat jealous. I knew about some weapons from books, but had never seen anything like the modified ballistae bolts or the Qi Cannons before.

I waited as the army of demons and demonic cultivators approached the city, and once they crossed some unseen line in the grass a procession of 'Fire!' commands rang out from the line of people assembled atop the walls. The ballistae and Qi Cannons fired their payloads. The bolts flew to the front lines of the advancing demons even as scouring blue beams of energy fired from the qi cannons, ravaging swaths of the approaching army.

As if a delayed effect of the qi beams, the ballistae bolts landed within the ranks of demons causing giant explosions to crop up within the marching army. Each explosion was marked with mixed red and green smoke clouds rising up into the sky. While I had seen similar weapons to these in the past, they paled in comparison to the sheer destruction that these weapons wrought. If the people in this era failed to stop the demons once and for all, what did that mean for us? Though I supposed I hadn't seen much advanced technology outside of the Qi Cannons so maybe we'd have a leg up due to our technological advantage?

I didn't have long to muse on that thought as we needed to prepare for a long fight.

The explosions marked the beginning of the nearly full day long siege of the city. After six hours, they breached the walls. We were forced back to the first fall back point within the city. Rin, Alexis, and I fought together with the White Forest guild, Shimmer by my side despite the looks she garnered. We protected our small palisade set up within one of the city streets for hours until we were forced to fall back again. This process repeated, with us taking small breaks and rotating who fought at once to conserve our strength and stamina. The sun had nearly set by the time we had retreated to the center of the city, the vast square surrounding the city lord's manor becoming the last bastion of the arrayed forces of the city. The civilians and non-combat capable crafters had been evacuated hours if not days ago, leaving only the myriad cultivators within the city behind.

We ran into the square, a horde of demons flowing in behind us, and found Byron, Avarus, and Calius still fighting with their own groups supporting them from behind. We joined up with them, bolstering their forces even as they were then able to help us in turn.

Over the next grueling hour we fought with our all. Rin's flame coated chakrams were nearly sputtering out, her over usage of her various techniques draining her reserves. Even Alexis, having fought nearly twice as long as Rin or I were able to, was flagging. Her movements lost more precision and speed when I took glances at her. Even Shimmer had forcefully unsummoned herself when she ran out of strength to fight. I panted heavily as the flood of demons turned into a river, then into a stream, then barely a trickle. With the last remaining vestiges of my strength, I launched my sword of fire and water qi at the last demon in the square, expanding its size at the last second and beheading the demon.

I collapsed to the ground, finally letting myself relax as Rin leaned over me, smiling.

"Astra! We did it, we-" she managed to get out before an all consuming explosion turned my world white.

After the pain ended, I came to my senses standing in the middle of the bustling Shironian street I had just been fighting through a few hours ago. Frustration bubbled up from within me. A seemingly unending font of fury releasing itself from within me. I screamed incoherently, drawing surprised and wary glances from the small crowd gathering around me. Eventually the guards showed up, doing their best to calm me down even as I raged impotently against the situation I was in. I nearly gave up just to be done with the trial, but the guards managed to soothe me enough that I was able to come back to my senses, though I was still fuming inside. After a lengthy lecture about disturbing the peace in the city I trudged toward the White Forest guild to meet back up with Rin and make plans to stop that crazy explosion.

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