Kalos awoke to find that Estella wasn’t there.

He quickly got up while taking care not to wake Keema and snuck out from underneath Peeta to see the most bizarre sight.

“Estella?” Kalos called out to a rather tall pale woman.

Adorning her head were beautiful dark horns and strange pale markings covered almost every inch of her skin.

The woman turned to Kalos before running towards him at an incredible speed.

The woman then hugged Kalos tightly.

“What in the world happened to you?” Kalos asked as he hugged her back.

“I took Amartia into my body.” She said.

[What?]

“What?”

Peeta and Kalos gasped.

Glass whistled in shock as well.

“Why did you do that?” Kalos asked as he let go of Estella, who tucked some of her hair behind her ears.

“I thought I’d be able to help you in this form- oh and look!” Estella said as she stuck her hand out.

Red particles gathered around her hand before an Eexel level weapon revealed itself.

“See? I can help now.” Estella said with a pained Enthusiasm.

[Estella… I agree that we could use more fighters and that new form of yours looks pretty strong. But think about Keema. You’ve been asleep for about seven years of her life. I don’t think you should miss out on any more time.]

Peeta said.

“I think I can raise her and protect her at the same time,” Estella said with a determined expression.

Peeta and Kalos exchanged glances.

“Ok. If that’s what you really want, then we will not stop you. However, you must train and take care of Keema before we even start talking about things like actual battles." Kalos said before noticing that Katharos was gone.

[He went to the veiled repository. Said he’ll battle Saya and assume the role of true god. Hey, I don’t think we should really care. If he wins and kills her, then she dies. If he loses and dies, then Saya would have killed her weapon against us.]

Peeta said.

Kalos nodded as Glass playfully raised his sword.

Estella giggled before raising her sword.

Peeta noticed that Glass was absorbing a ton of darkness.

Glass dashed towards Estella, but Peeta smack the back of his head sending the golem flying forward.

Estella dropped her sword as Glass crashed into the cave wall.

“Yeah… you’re going to need a lot of training,” Kalos said.

Keema stretched her little arms as she approached everyone.

She then froze upon seeing her mothers new form.

Everyone froze as well, but then the most surprising thing happened.

Keema casually walked up to Estella and tugged on one of her fingers.

“Mommy...” Keema whispered to Estella before being picked up.

“When do you think she’ll realize that we all have extremely good hearing?” Kalos asked as Estella and Keema left the cave.

[Meh, does it matter? Speaking of training. I think it would be best if you joined Estella.]

Peeta suggested with a yawn.

“Ok,” Kalos said as Estella and Keema returned.

“Come with me,” Kalos said.

“Where are we going?” Estella asked as she followed Kalos out of the cave.

Keema ran over to Peeta, while Glass followed Kalos and Estella as they made their way to the forest.

Kalos stopped once he reached a clearing.

Estella giggled in anticipation.

“Ok. Let’s do some basic stretches, practice basic stances and test your endurance.” Kalos said, much to Estella’s confusion.

“I thought we were going to be learning how to fight?” She asked.

“We are,” Kalos said before their day of training commenced.

.

..

Estella fell face flat onto the grass as the sun went down.

“Why… didn’t you… tell me… we'd be doing so much running?” Estella asked as Kalos sat by her side.

Yes, he was exhausted as well, but unlike Estella, Kalos had been trained by none other than Raymond Yulrun himself.

Kalos sighed as he remembered sweet yet distant memories.

“Would you have trained if I told you that all we’d be doing was exercise?” Kalos asked.

“Yes,” Estella said firmly.

“Oh?” Kalos sounded as he stood up.

“Then let’s fight,” Kalos said.

Estella got up as well.

“Dad told me that you should only fight to protect those you love. So Estella, my dear, are you ready?” Kalos asked as he assumed a low stance.

Estella raised her sword awkwardly in an attempt to mimic Kalos.

“Yes! For you, Keema and Peeta.” Estella said, but a sad whistle tone from Glass made her chuckle slightly.

“Oh and Glass,” Estella said with a smile, but then Kalosýni’s smile vanished as the clouds darkened the forest.

A chill crawled up Estella’s spine as she saw nothing but pure hatred in Kalosýni’s eyes and even though she knew it wasn’t directed at her, it still made her fearful, but she could feel something deep within her telling her to confront it.

Estella smiled before Kalos dashed towards her, his steps were quick and his stance was low, but for some reason, his movements felt slow to Estella.

They felt telegraphed.

Estella could feel him as his thighs sent power to his feet before they stomped the ground.

She could feel his fingers ache as they squeezed Reu.

Estella took a deep breath before moving to the right.

Kalos pierced the space in front of him before realizing that Estella wasn’t there anymore.

Kalos realized that she was to his right before sighing.

“Using your new powers is cheating, no?” Kalos asked while still in his battle stance.

“I didn’t use my powers. I just felt your attack coming.” Estella said.

“Does this have anything to do with Amartia?” Kalos asked before attacking Estella again.

She perfectly dodged his attacks once again, but Kalos didn’t relent.

“Mmm… maybe,” Estella said as she easily avoided taking any damage.

“Glass!” Kalos suddenly yelled and Glass zapped towards Estella.

She tried moving, but Glass was far too fast and so he punched her in the face, sending him flying sideways.

Estella rolled on the ground for a bit before coming to a stop.

She then let out a groan before getting up.

“That’s not fair! Two against one is also cheating.” Estella yelled as Kalos attacked her again.

Reu’s scalpel-sharp edge narrowly glides mere inches from her neck as she dodged Kalosýni’s attack, but that wasn’t what worried her.

Glass sent out another punch towards Estella, but she managed to crawl away just in time to dodge it, but Kalos hadn’t stopped attacking yet.

He swung Reu several times, forcing Estella towards the tree line. Glass then summoned his Eexel making Estella’s battle that much harder.

Estella’s heart raced as she thought about how best to run away-

Estella smiled before swinging her dark blade horizontally. This sent out a thin wave of red energy that seemingly ate away at the space in its path.

Kalos and Glass backed away.

Estella then ran towards Kalos.

Her steps were clumsy, but they were driven by an unseen force.

Kalos barely had time to react before she swung her sword again, letting out another wave of red particles.

Kalos knew he’d be in trouble if the blade hit him, but he wondered what the red particles did.

Kalos stood still and watched as the red particles passed through him with no effect.

“Mmm?” Kalos sounded as the sound of burning trees filled the air.

“You said that I should fight to protect what I love. Then why would you expect me to hurt you?” She asked before running into his arms.

Kalos hugged her before noticing that Glass had been burnt to a crisp.

“Let’s go back,” Kalos said before letting Estella go.

“Yes, we smell pretty bad.” Estella said as they made their way back to the village.

Glass clinked slowly behind them with a lowered head.

He then led Kalos and Estella to the bathhouse.

Kalos took off his clothes, revealing to Estella his many scars.

Estella took a deep breath before pulling him into one of the many bathrooms.

Kalos then sat down on one of two little chairs. In front of him, was a bucket of water and some soap.

Kalos reached out to grab the soap but then felt some hands as they gently rubbed hair.

Kalos remained silent as Estella washed his kinky hair.

He quickly bathed himself before turning to face Estella.

He then noticed that she had a rather stern expression.

“What’s wrong?” Kalos asked.

“From now on, I’ll do my best to help, ok?” Estella said.

“… ok,” Kalos said before getting up.

Estella stood up as well and looked Kalos straight in the eye.

“I mean it.” She said.

Kalos simply nodded before they left the bathhouse. Their bodies were clean, but they still needed some rest especially after all the training they’d done.

They returned to the cave to find Keema playing on Peeta’s back.

“Wee!” She yelled as she tugged at Peeta’s fur.

Kalos wondered if Peeta felt any pain and when he would grow tired of her antics.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully and everyone eventually laid their heads to sleep.

.

..

Some days passed and Estella’s training continued without a hitch.

Thanks to the powers she got from the being called Amartia, Estella was able to overcome the skill gap between Kalos and herself.

Kalos didn’t hold back during training either. He made sure to emphasize the importance of timing in battle. Estella had a bad habit of letting Kalos attack first before she reacted, but as time passed, she slowly became a warrior worthy of consideration.

Months followed and even though Kalos felt himself slowly fading due to his lack of magic and general ageing, while Estella looked far younger than ever. She was energetic and passionate.

Kalos and Peeta then decided to test her.

.

..

The morning came quickly and Kalos woke up last.

Everyone from Glass to even Keema was ready for their short trip north.

“Good morning sleepy head.” Estella greeted.

“Mmm…” Kalos groaned as he packed his things.

“So… today is the day,” Estella said excitedly.

“Yes," Kalos said as they made their way out of the village.

Keema rode on Peeta’s back and Glass had an unreasonably large bag on his back.

They made their way north to a certain spot just east of Llendor.

In the distance, one could see the ruined town, but no one paid it any mind as their focus was on the gigantic slumbering beast.

It had massive horns and huge limbs covered in patches of fur.

[Behold! A Haevrul. Let’s see if you have what it takes to take it down.]

Peeta said as he created a dark bubble, within which he placed Keema.

Glass hopped into the bubble, leaving Kalos, Estella and Peeta.

Estella created a dark sword and slowly walked towards the creature which was at least twenty meters taller than she was.

“Umm… hey!” Estella tried walking it up as she approached it.

The creature remained still as Estella charged up her sword.

“Here we go,” Kalos said as Estella swung her dark sword downward sending a wave of red energy.

The wave hit the Haevrul, setting its fur ablaze.

The Haevrul opened its eyes in search of its attacker before slowly getting up.

Estella didn’t waste time as she towards the Haevrul’s ankles.

She stabbed the Haevrul in the ankle and tore its leg apart as she dragged her sword horizontally. By this time, it was completely aware of Estella’s presence and so it quickly grabbed her before throwing her to the ground.

Estella hit the ground hard, but she quickly got up as a swarm of red particles gathered around her. They quickly disappeared revealing dark armour with a rather familiar design. It kinda looked like Kalosýni’s old armour.

She then jumped towards the Haevrul’s chest as she left a trail of red behind her.

The Haevrul tried swatting her away, but Estella was far too quick.

She stabbed the Haevrul and sent a ton of energy into its wound, ripping it open.

Estella didn’t stop there. She dragged her sword downward, splitting the Haevrul’s skin apart and revealing its innards.

Estella charged up her sword again before swinging it horizontally, cooking the Haevrul’s insides as they poured out.

Estella then flew above the Haevrul as it fell.

She assumed a victorious pose before descending to where Kalos and Peeta stood.

“Well?” She asked with a bright smile.

“Mmm… you should have gone straight for the heart or head.” Kalos said.

[Yes, there’s no time for being stylish in battle and what if you were up against several Haevrul?]

Peeta asked.

“Sorry,” Estella said with a sigh.

“Don’t worry about it. You passed.” Kalos said as Keema ran out of the bubble and into Estella’s arms.

Estella gently picked Keema up before bowing slightly.

“Thank you for teaching me. Now I’ll be able to both raise and protect Keema alongside you.” Estella said proudly.

Glass whistled, as the sun slowly fell.

“Time to go home,” Kalos said as they made their way back south.

At one point during the trip, Keema fell asleep and so Estella had to carry her for the last leg of their trip south.

Peeta then stopped dead in his tracks.

[Kalos, take Estella and run!]

He growled as his body was covered in darkness.

Glass summoned his Eexel before running to Peeta’s side.

“Why? What’s going on?” Kalos asked, but then he quickly got his answer as a head fell right in front of him.

The expression on the heads face was one of pure fear and it wasn’t long before several more heads fell around Kalos and the others.

“Hey… isn’t that Neeron?” Kalos asked.

“These are the villagers,” Estella said.

“Harrg!” They heard a voice yell above them.

Kalos looked up and saw a rather familiar figure.

The figure slowly descended towards them revealing that it was Katharos. His body was covered with layers of blood and dirt. So much so that it looked like he was completely blackened by filth.

Katharos also held in his hand another head, but this one was rather different from the others.

Kalosýni’s eyes widened upon seeing a sick smile on the head that once belonged to Saya.

“Father!” Katharos screamed.

“Her voice! I can’t get it out of my head!” Katharos screamed as Estella wore her dark armour.

[Estella, give Keema to Kalos.]

Peeta barked.

Estella offered Keema to Kalos but he backed away.

“No. Give her to glass. I’ve got Reu. That’s the only weapon that can kill an autarch.” Kalos said.

[Ok, but I’d prefer it if you didn’t get hurt in the process of doing whatever it is you plan on doing.]

Peeta said as Kalos approached Katharos with Reu in hand.

“Hey, Katharos… I need you to calm down and explain what happened.” Kalos said as he slowly got closer and closer to Katharos.

“Katharos?” Kalos called out, but the titan didn’t answer.

“Son?” Kalos called out and this time, Katharos responded.

“Father, its mother. She wants me to hurt you so bad, but… uh-" Katharos seemingly choked on his own words before clutching his throat with his free hand.

“Calm down-" Kalos quickly tried stabbing Katharos in the heart, but he easily dodged Kalosýni's attack.

He then grabbed Kalosýni’s arms as his red eyes glowed brighter.

Peeta zapped towards Katharos from the left and swung his massive paw at him, but Katharos hit Peeta’s face with the side of his hand sending parts of Peeta’s skull flying out of his head.

Glass quickly disintegrated, leaving Estella alone with Keema.

“Run!” Kalos yelled before Estella zapped away.

Kalos sighed before looking into Katharos’ eyes.

“I don’t know what Saya told you to do or how she tricked you into doing this, but just know that I cannot die. Not until the final Reu is broken and guess what? Not you or anyone in existence can break it.” Kalos said, but Katharos’ eyes hadn’t stopped intensifying.

“Mother said that would be the case,” Katharos said.

Kalos narrowed his eyes as he desperately tried not to look to his left.

“Mother said that she’d make you pay no matter how long it took, but she also knew that you could withstand extreme amounts of pain. Sorry, dad.” Katharos said as he placed his thumb on Kalosýni’s forehead.

Kalosýni’s body violently convulsed as his eyes rolled backwards.

Kalos felt something very dear to him as it left his body. He reached out to grab it, but it was already too far gone.

.

..

Estella zapped across the landscape before reaching a certain forest.

She entered the forest and quickly found a clearing.

In that clearing, she saw a medium-sized stash of supplies that Glass had left in case of emergencies.

Estella quickly erected a tent as Keema casually walked around.

She started a small fire before finally sitting down on one of the makeshift wooden chairs Kalos had made all that time ago.

She squeezed her fists as she looked into the flame.

“Mommy? Where’s Everyone?” Keema asked as she sat beside Estella.

“I… I don’t know.”