“Three hours to the promised day,” Marshal Marie murmured. “And then, we’ll know what the Human God has in mind for the East. Aziz, inform our men that we’ll be taking off in five minutes.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Aziz saluted, glancing at a newspaper in his boss’ hands. The Adventurers’ Guild was giving them out when Marie sent one of the company commanders out to gather information in Seireiden. As expected, no one knew what the Human God had in mind for the East — the Preserver had given them a deadline of 31st January, but as for the exact hour…

It didn’t take long for the colonel to be done with his orders. Most of Thunderbolt, while they were out having their fill of fun, had come into contact with the increasingly scared populace of Mi-Zu. Any order that would prepare them for a return home would be executed swiftly. In the past few days, tens of families had fled Seireiden, making their way towards the coastline. Reportedly, ships had been employed to ferry them over to the ruined Central Circle, whose eastern coastline was only a few days away from Mi-Zu.

Flying back into the pagoda’s highest room, Aziz saw a contemplative Marie, and tilted his head. “Marshal, a penny for your thoughts.”

Marie looked up. “We’re seeing history in the making. The past decade has been a point of great, callous change. And yet, all these pales in the face of the possible annihilation of a landmass a hundred thousand years old, and the people residing in it. I can see why the Mortal Light Dynasty is against the great gods.”

She passed the newspaper to Aziz. It was somewhat dated, around two days ago, but it was something that came from the North itself. Aziz looked at the headlines, and then blinked. “Pinnacle Kolya assaulted by young boy during a social function for flirting with his family. Marshal, uh…”

“Not that one,” Marie said. “The piece on the lower half.”

“Oh.” Aziz narrowed his eyes as he saw the article she was talking about. It was a piece dedicated to why the great gods were a threat. It was an opinion piece, to be sure, something that dealt with hypotheses and possibilities, written in a manner similar to Scorpio’s’ public confession back then.

“What do you think?” Marie asked.

“It’s alarming,” Aziz replied. “But all these are just conjectures, right? The great gods are the ones who created Orb, so shouldn’t they have complete control over it?”

“No, the great gods weren’t the ones who created Orb,” Marie said. “Do you remember the myth? Orb didn’t use to be like this. It was—”

“A world of gems.” Aziz, surprised by his own interruption, frowned. “So…this article is saying that the original Orb was being suppressed by the great gods? That the natural processes of this world are…”

“We can test this out,” said Marie. Her eyes were alight. “Do you remember Scorpio’s public address?”

“What of it?”

“He showed us a way we can verify the truth,” said Marie. “If you recall his words, he couldn’t speak the truth, since his words would be blotted out by some power. If we assume that such a restriction holds true for written stuff, we have an explanation for why this article, despite being an opinion piece, is on the front page.”

Aziz ran through her words for a moment. Virtually everyone had seen the ex-Constellation’s address to the world. The mechanism that had prevented him from speaking candidly…

“Are you crazy?” The colonel asked. “You’re using it as a verifying mechanism?! If these words are true, and this…blotting out thing exists, it could affect you in ways that is beyond mortal comprehension!”

“Like a mark.” Marie narrowed her eyes. “Don’t worry. I don’t intend to do it here, in present company. There are people who have touched upon the truth of this world, who are better equipped to handle this…truth, and whatever consequences that come with it.”

“The Republic doesn’t have much in the way of Lords, let alone Paragons,” Aziz said.

Marie smiled, an enigmatic expression on her face. “We’ll see. Anyway, five minutes are up. The troops are already assembled; I’ll give my final address. Let’s go.”

She walked to the window and descended slowly, Aziz right beside her. The wind whispering in their ears, the two looked down impassively on the assembled troops of Thunderbolt. The battalion had sustained minimal casualties during their tour of duty here, but one death was one too many in the first place.

The night sky, the clouded moon…all these combined to turn the ranks of Thunderbolt Battalion into shadowy figures. Aziz could feel the trepidation, excitement and a whole host of other emotions emanating of their figures — all of them were keen to return home…and even more keen to escape the Human God’s wrath. There were but two hours and fifty minutes to the possible doomsday of the East, and no one here was willing to gamble their lives on staying.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” said Marie, “our time here in the East is up. It should have been long over, but we stayed to uphold order in Seireiden. But all good things must end. Tonight, we return to the South, to take up the mantle of defenders once more.”

The troops watched her solemnly, and the marshal nodded. “But we have one last mission. We will observe the East on this very day, and burn into our memories if it is destroyed by the Human God. All troops, hear my order — do not avert your eyes!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Prepare to move!”

At her words, the battalion pushed off the ground, their eyes trained on their battalion commander. Aziz nodded at their exquisite discipline, and said, “This will be a night flight. Report immediately if your buddy is missing, am I clear?”

“Yes, sir!”

Aziz turned to Marie, who nodded back. The wind picked up once more as they began a steady ascent, followed closely by the rest of Thunderbolt. Hundreds of shadows flickered across the streets of Seireiden, and a short distance away, Aziz caught sight of the Paragon that had welcomed them into this country.

Their next destination was a small island floating on the sea, thirty minutes away from Mi-Zu. There, they would observe the fate of the East…and bring back news of it to the Republic.