“Pinnacle Kolya, why were you at the clerk’s desk and processing entry?” Aziz asked, after failing to restrain his tongue.

“The only way for me to better understand the needs of my subordinates is to wear their shoes,” he replied. “I went entirely incognito. Even my secret service department wasn’t aware of my sudden appearance. Take a look at their faces.”

Aziz glanced at the men in black, who were looking as stoic as ever, and then shifted his eyes back to the Pinnacle.

“You can’t tell? Well, don’t feel bad. It’s natural for them to hide their emotions,” he replied. “Marshal Marie, Colonel Aziz, I recommend that the two of you try to pick up this skill. Being able to peer through the facades of others is a skill that will serve you well in the years to come.”

Gesturing for them to follow, the doors of the building they’d stopped at glided apart, and a wave of cold air flooded Aziz’s nerves. Leading them towards an elevator — Aziz couldn’t help but mentally compare the one here to the ones he’d seen back at Interregnum — the Pinnacle escorted them into a shiny room that was all glitzy and crystalline. Golden, high-backed chairs dotted the room, each of them hinting at a price tag that probably went into four digits’ worth of gold coins.

“Nice place,” Marie commented idly. “Let me guess; people ask about how much it costs to decorate a room in this manner all the time?”

“Spot on, marshal.”

The two continued to make small chat, and Aziz, who was bored, began to look around in interest. This private dinner party had quite a few guests. Most of them were distinguished-looking men and women, each of them wearing an expression of polite interest. There were some exceptions, though. One of them was the now-world famous Phantom Blade, who had a sleeping little girl on her lap.

“That girl looks familiar,” Aziz muttered.

“Which girl?” Marie asked, having caught his little comment. At the same time, Pinnacle Kolya looked at the direction of his gaze, and his gaze seemed to settle on the Phantom Blade and the little young miss on her lap. She looked familiar, save for the fact that her hair was now violet, and for a moment, Aziz struggled to remember her name.

“Ah, that’s the younger sister of the Lost Star,” Kolya replied.

“Gaius is here?” Aziz asked.

“You know him personally?” Pinnacle Kolya replied. “Didn’t expect you to have any connections with him.”

“Our guests have crossed paths with him before,” said a lilting voice. The red-haired woman — the Oracle — smiled, and pulled Kolya into a passionate embrace that led up to a kiss.

Aziz didn’t know where to look, so he forced himself to watch the two make out for a minute or two.

Breaking up their kiss a minute later —which was quite an astonishing number in Aziz’s book— the Oracle said, “Those two used to be the Lost Star’s teachers, if I’m not wrong.”

She paused. “No, I didn’t need to use my powers for that. The intelligence gathering ability of the North should not be looked down upon, and neither should my inference abilities be.”

Aziz’s words died in his throat, and the colonel felt stifled for a moment. “I’m going over to say hi. You with me, Marie?”

“Sure, why not?” The marshal’s eyes glittered. “Let’s go over.”

The little girl on the Phantom Blade’s lap was still fast asleep when he approached them. It was somewhat unbelievable how she could still doze off in an environment that was moderately noisy, but after giving it some thought, it didn’t seem that off. After all, soldiers could drop into a dead faint even during a war, what more for kids?

Watching the little girl sleep at the side was a golden-haired girl, who looked like she had quite a few troubles weighing on her heart as she nibbled away on a cookie.

“Where’s Gaius?” Aziz asked, his voice quiet.

“You’re looking for him?” The Phantom Blade, who was holding on to the little girl in her hands, looked at him, her eyes curious.

“He should be here, no?” the colonel replied. “I don’t think he’s the kind who would leave his family alone. And besides, Marie wants a re-match.”

“No, I didn’t.” Marie replied. “But we do want to say hi.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” the golden-haired girl said, a bitter smile on her face. “He’s been in a coma for the past year or so, after…”

“A coma?!” Aziz asked, shocked. “What happened to him?”

“I think I’ll do the explaining here.” Kolya cut in. “During the Conference of the Four, Paragon Shizo and one of the Human God’s familiar spirits tried to hijack the Unity as it brought back a bunch of students. Gaius and his family happened to be included in that number. Eyewitness reports tell us that Gaius killed the familiar spirit, although obviously none of us knew it at that time.”

“The Lost Star killed a familiar spirit, a Demigod?” Marie asked, clearly in disbelief. “How?”

“We’ll have to wait for him to wake up to know,” the Pinnacle replied. “What we know, however, is that he sustained heavy injuries in the battle. He’s healing as we speak, although we now have an example to prove that repeated uses of the Crystal of True Restoration will diminish its effect.”

“Repeated…”

“Yes. He used it once before. Quite extravagant, isn’t it?” The Pinnacle’s face darkened. “I hope he wakes up soon.”

“You of all people should know the strategic importance he holds in the war to come,” Oracle Galina added. “The Pint-Sized Railgun’s involvement is needed if we are to reduce attrition as much as possible. The knowledge in his possession is very important.”

The little girl sitting on the Phantom Blade’s lap twisted into a more comfortable position, before muttering some words. The Phantom Blade exchanged glances with the golden-haired girl, and the latter turned her gaze to Pinnacle Kolya.

Aziz, who was watching the entire silent exchange, raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”

“It’s her beast trait,” Marie replied. “It seems to be awakening or something. I can’t tell all that well. It’s apparently sealed, but her bloodline’s somehow overcoming it and making it manifest in the form of sleep.”

“Keen eye, Marshal Marie.” Oracle Galina sighed. “Nakama’s been activating her beast trait in secret, hoping that she could look for Gaius through a different medium. Despite the fact that her brother requested for me to prevent her from using it at all.”

Kolya wrapped his arm around the order. “Sofia…”

“I know. But I still can’t help but feel that I’ve let the kid down somehow,” she replied. “I’ve tried everything. The best food, familiar faces, everything. Even the two of you” — she pointed at Aziz and Marie — “were called here to see if I could anchor her mind here. But it’s all coming apart.”

“You’ve tried your best.”

Aziz fidgeted slightly, unable to formulate a response. This was the first time he’d seen someone show weakness this openly; as a soldier, he and his companions were conditioned to remain stoic at all times.

“She might wake up when Gaius recovers, then,” Marie said. “In the end, Nakama activated her own beast trait, despite the risks she’d take, just to search for her brother. If her brother wakes up and calls out, the chances that she’ll recover are very high.”

“I know that too, but the world of the mind isn’t something many people can tangle with and get away unscathed.” Galina clenched her fist. “What most people call the dream world is actually a place whose name has popped up more than once during the Conference of the Four, the true Orb. The souls of the dead, along with that of the dreaming, enter it and vanish into whereabouts unknown. I’m worried that something might happen to her in those dreams.”

“Don’t stress yourself up,” said the golden-haired girl, who was taking a few deep breaths, “it’s not the first time that has happened to her. She’s still alive, and that’s as much as we can ask for already. Gaius’ return is probably our own means of waking her up at this juncture.”

“I’m really sorry, Isabelle. I’ve tried everything possible,” Oracle Galina replied, her voice cracking.

At some point in time, a small dome of energy had surrounded them, preventing their words from leaking out. That didn’t stop the others outside from looking at Aziz and the others, though, and the colonel didn’t like it. Resisting the urge to punch one of them, he took a step forward and took a proper look at the little kid.

After observing her for a while, Aziz narrowed his eyes. “She seems to be indeed in another world. I’m not sure if it’s her dreams, but I have seen some distressed soldiers dreaming in a similar fashion.”

“The seal on the beast trait seems to be undone too,” Marie added. “It’s pointless to reinforce it now, and we should instead get her onto a bed or something. Aziz, does this look rather similar to you?”

“I had my suspicions at first,” said the colonel, “but I think she’s really one of them. A dreamwalker.”

“A young one at that.” Marie glanced at Galina, who clearly knew about her too. “How did she survive the Second Extermination?”