Two days later.

“There. All done. The cotton layer can be removed in case it gets too hot in Vivrus.”

“That’s helpful.”

He stepped down from a small stool and looked into a mirror. Aesthetic wise, he was glad the design was within his expectations of normal and not as decorative as higher ranked soldiers patrolling around the palace.

The chest piece had three layers of plating bolted above a leather cuirass, mainly focusing on protecting his front. The new vambraces and leggings were reinforced with steel plates. The extra weight was surprisingly from the cloak. Although it wasn’t heavy and only draping down to his thighs, he thought it would be lighter due to its appearance mostly cloth and fur, but it was weighty -about the same as chainmail- when he threw it over his shoulders.

While ordinary soldiers wouldn’t have the endurance to wear it for lengthy period of time, Kihet was able to. He raised his elbows to shoulder height, examining the cape. It had the same designs of a brigandine, but in a form of a cape as his hand ran over bumps made by a coat of plates between layers of fabric.

“It has plates in it.”

“The arrangement of materials is effective at repelling basic forms of ballistics. It’s a prototype that’s been revised many times with magic ores brought back from dungeons.”

“How well? The weight’s a bit cumbersome.”

“It’s meant to act as a secondary means of protection when you’re in a situation where you need to take cover but can’t find one. You do tend to charge headfirst into the enemy. The Empress believes it’s the perfect accommodation for your rush tactics.”

“She’s too observant that it’s scary.”

“Your journey will be long and difficult. Everyone here wishes to provide the best for Xu’s savior.”

He furrowed his brows. “I haven’t saved anything yet.”

“You already did plenty in my eyes. By the way, how is it? If there’s anything loose, I can adjust it.”

Kihet gave the armor a few good tugs, adjusting the tightness. He hopped side to side, testing and adapting to its weight.

“I’ll get used it. Thanks Martha.”

“Your very welcome. What do you think, Lily?”

“En! Now he looks the part. As for me, I think it’s a bit tight around the chest.”

“Did you forget to wrap bandages around your chest or is it your stomach?”

“It’s not either! Maybe my chest grew? I’ll take it off to show you!”

“Not with Kihet here. I’ll fix it in a second.”

Lily hopped off the stool. Like Kihet, she too had a cloak, but it was only made to keep her warm as she did not want any extra weight hindering her movements. She wore body armor that covered her chest and waist. Her robes underneath extend down to her knees.

“Martha, when you’re done with Kihet, I’m going to take him.” From behind a screen, Lily raised her arms and let Martha make adjustments to the straps.

“It’s time for you two to head off to your daily meeting, isn’t it?”

“En! We need a plan to cross the borders properly. After Kihet visited the Sacred Tree’s shrine, there’s been less movement all around the country, but it’s still too dangerous us with just the two of us trying to cross.”

“With all the snow, I’m sure.” Kihet nodded. “Martha, I’m off. This might take a while.”

“You should bring an umbrella with you. There’s lots of-.”

Right when her words reached Kihet, he was greeted by a face full of powdered snow. It was enough to think someone waited outside of the room just to throw it at him.

“I tried to warn you…”

“I know.” Wiping his face, he closed the door quickly before more got into the room.

It was pure white outside. The snow blanketed almost everything without a roof over a head.

“It snowed a lot.”

“En! It can’t be helped since Xu is located closer north.”

“Will it be alright for the army to march through this weather?”

“It’ll be fine. We’re hoping to use the snow to slow down the Shadows while we shoot down their numbers. Then we’ll use a sled and zoom by the border when it’s safe. At least that’s what big sis is thinking.”

“Solid plan.”

“I heard it’s warm in Vivrus.”

“Should be.”

“Must be nice.”

Vivrus. The whole country could be said to be enveloped in its giant bio dome, keeping the weather the same all year round for insectoids.

Megith, Malth were two of his seven friends sent there. If anyone were to survive against the Tower’s onslaught, the twins would have the highest chance among his friends. However, he couldn’t dismiss Elenora’s warning. When she spoke of the Hero in Vivrus’ tower, she sounded genuinely afraid of him encountering it.

He already encountered three corrupt heroes. Out of the three, he knew the Shadow Wizard was stationed in Rozzosea while the Shadow Knight was sealed in his village. He wasn’t sure which country the Shadow Executioner came from.

Speaking of Elenora, Kihet hadn’t mentioned their meeting to anyone. He wasn’t sure if she or her words could be trusted, but he did not dismiss her warning.

“Achoo!” Lily suddenly sneezed. “It’s getting colder. Hey, Kihet. Let’s race!”

“You’re going to slip or bump into someone.”

“Loser will have to buy the winner some iced candy!”

From here on, it was a straight path to the throne room.

Lily quickly closed her umbrella and sprinted ahead. She waved at group of workers, running past them and waved at another. Everyone greeted her with the same lively attitude. When their eyes shifted to Kihet, they nervously kept their distance, though, it was unintentional. Perhaps they didn’t want to act disrespectful in his presence.

Suddenly he heard a ruckus.

Lily carelessly knocked over a wooden cauldron. She caught herself mid slipping by executing a cartwheel to a backflip, landing back on her feet.

“Lily, I told you to be careful.”

“But I landed perfectly!” She shouted back as she ran further ahead.

Kihet made a heavy sigh, enough for his face to get covered by his breath that turned white. In turn, that small act of him scolding Lily relieved some tension of workers observing the guardian and child relationship between the two.

He tilted the cauldron back in its place, burying the base with compacted snow to keep it from falling as he checked the silver flames burning strong from it.

Ever since he lit the Sacred Tree’s altar, strange pods sprouted out of the ground around the underground shrine and burned with silver flames. They were an extension to Kihet’s ability to enchant weapons with the Oracle’s power. Anyone with their equipment next to it were automatically blessed with silver flames effective at striking down against the Shadows. They could be harvested and moved into places where their most needed.

Approaching the throne room, he saw Lily rolling up some snowballs and stacked a row of tiny snowmen. Two of them had horns.

“You’re slow.”

“I was fixing the mess you made back there. You need to watch where you’re going.”

During the winter, the large front gate to the throne room was locked to preserve heating. Lily guided him through the appropriate entrance next to the gates.

Through the corridor, he heard a messenger giving their report.

“Have you guys found anything yet?” Kihet asked. “Wait. It’s just Kenji. Where’s Miyabe?”

“Mother is busy but will arrive soon.” The young prince waved a gesture to dismiss the messenger. “I am at the hearings in her stead to speak to you and auntie about events to come. Tomorrow’s the day.”

“Already? It hasn’t been two days since the Sacred Tree’s fixed.”

“It’s what mother has decided.” Kenji answered. “Among many paths, there was one surveyed to have the least Shadows crawling over it, but they are still many. General Toudo and his handpicked soldiers shall open the way for you.”

“There’re still that many?”

“Even if the Sacred Tree regained its strength, it could only cleanse the spreading miasma. That is not enough to stop the Towers spawning more monster. An encampment has been set up as close as we’re able to without alarming the creatures.”

“And the details about Miyabe’s plan?”

“I heard mother is planning to use a ‘secret weapon’ that was being developed for a while. As for specifics, even I am unsure, but I heard it uses fire medicine and will clear the path for you and auntie.”

Kihet was tempted to ask, but in the corner of his eye, he spotted Lily holding a smug face.

“Want to know? Do you wanna know? You really want to know what big sis is making, do you?”

“I could ask all day and not get an answer. I rather wait and see what Miyabe has up her sleeve.”

“You don’t want to know?”

“You’re scheming something and it’s making me not want to know.”

“I am not!”

“Then what’s with that face?”

“Oracle, you get along with auntie really well, don’t you?” Kenji interrupted.

“En!” Lily pounced at Kihet, snuggling him under his robe “We get along reaaaallllly well! We’re always this close!”

“Let go of me so we can go find Miyabe.”

“It’s cold. Let me cling onto you for a while.”

“If you’re cold, you should wear another layer. You’re making it hard for me to walk!”

“So warm, so warm.”

Despite his protests, Kihet never considered pushing her off. He remained still, waiting for Lily’s shenanigans to end.

“Oracle, I-I have a request.” Kenji suspiciously exchanged looks with Lily. “I wish to ask about father. Mother kept saying how wonderful a ruler my father was, but never told me about why he died.”

“Kenji, you aren’t supposed to ask that.”

“But Auntie, I really want to know. Once you two leave, it might be months or years before I can try asking.”

“You want to know about Rozzosea?” Kihet raised a brow.

“Y-yes. I’ve secretly searched through the library, but it only contained my father’s greatness in his campaign against my terrible grandfather. There were no records of such information of the incident in Rozzosea. Mother also refrained me from asking you as it would bring unpleasant memories.”

Kihet’s head throbbed at the slightest effort to remember that day. He narrowed his eyes towards Lily who in return, stared back at his gaze with a stern face.

“Lily, how much do you know?”

“I’m on the same boat as Kenji. Big sis didn’t tell me anything beyond what I remembered.”

“Then I won’t as well.”

“Why?” Kenji protested.

“Miyabe kept it a secret from you for a purpose. I don’t know what you’re planning to do after you hear it, and I don’t want to find out. All you need to know is that your father was a good person.”

“I already know that! Everyone says the same thing! I want to know what happened!”

“This guess might be far fetched, but it’s to protect you.”

“Just by wanting to know?! Tell me already!”

“I thought because you were Shiba’s son, you’d understand. He’d read between the lines and know it was for his benefit while you’re using your position to demand answers.”

“Are you comparing me to my father?”

“Compare? I don’t see how you resemble Shiba aside from your blood and similar looks. I haven’t seen you do one single thing meaningful from the day I got here.”

“Kihet, that’s enough.” Lily whispered.

“It’s the truth.”

“And I saw you run through the palace and hid in a heap of filth.”

“At least I did something about the Sacred Tree and the dungeon spreading. You’re just a brat who can’t do shit, hiding behind your mother and pretending to be someone important.”

“You know nothing of how hard I’m trying!”

“Try harder. Right now, all I see is a brat doing a poor imitation of his father.”

“How dare you…!”

Kenji gritted his teeth, his hands forming into fists. In a fit of anger, the young prince walked up to grab Kihet to stop him from leaving.

“K-Kenji, stop-!”

Lily’s warning was too late. Kenji was suddenly thrown off the ground, rolling towards the bottom of the steps. He lifted his upper half off the floor, feeling pain on his face and noticed his lip bled lightly. The inside of his mouth stung. A pulsing ache throbbed on his cheek, swelling, and most likely bruised.

There were occasions Kenji would be scolded by the Empress. Sometimes a little force was necessary to get the message of his wrong behavior across. He would grumble over the reason and eventually correct it. Other than his mother, no one else dared to hit him until now. He did not understand why he was hit as he was aware he has yet acted violently.

“You hit me?! I am the Prince!”

Kenji immediately became frozen the moment he locked eyes with Kihet. He was assailed by the Oracle’s cold eyes glaring at him as if he were an enemy. His whole body shivered. Even if Kenji was angry at Kihet for hitting him, he now realized the weight of why his mother urged him to not poke his nose into his father’s death.

Lily who witnessed the argument, quickly called for workers to tend Kenji’s wounds while she calmed Kihet.

“What happened here?!”

Miyabe strode into the chamber, quickly moved herself beside Kenji and silently examined the scene. When looking closely at Kihet’s pale face and Kenji’s injuries, she understood the situation.

“Big sis, Kihet didn’t mean to-.”

“It’s an accident. No one is being blamed.” Miyabe shook her head then lifted her face to General Toudo who raised an eyebrow towards the scene. “General, may I ask you to explain the contents to the Oracle once he’s calmed down? I shall accompany Kenji back to his room.”

“As you wish, your highness.”

“M-mother…”

“Don’t worry. I’m not angry. Let us properly talk once we return.”

Lily noticed Kenji sulked as Miyabe moved themselves out of the throne room. The look on Miyabe’s face was gentle when pulling her son away. No doubt, she wasn’t planning to punish Kenji which relieved some tension in the room.

“Was the prince asking about his father?” Toudo asked.

“How did you know?”

“That’s the only thing I can think of if he wants to get beaten up by the Oracle. Kinda went through a similar experience on our first meeting. So, how is he?”

“I’m fine.” Said Kihet, gritting his teeth.

“If you say so. I need you to listen to what we’ve come up with. We only got one shot at this.”

Because it contained important information, they moved to the war room.

Much like the library, it had books and scrolls, but more. Trophies, maps and ceremonial weapons shelved all around the room. In its center, a table with miniature wood-carved pieces were laid out for them to improvise a bird eye’s view of the battleground.

“An army of five hundred has been sent ahead to set up a base. From there, we should be able to make a wedge through them. We’re not there to win a fight, but to get you two through the horde.”

“What are the chances of a third party interfering?”

“I can confidently say none. Since the Sacred tree began purifying the land as normal, most of the Shadows moved towards Xu and Rozzosea’s border. It’s almost as if the tree’s laying the foundation of our plan for us.”

“I told you, old man. The Sacred Tree has a will.” Lily pointed out.

“I think I can begin to trust you, pipsqueak.”

“Is that sarcasm?”

“I’m not the spiritualistic kind. It’d take more evidence for no brains all brawn old man like me to understand, but don’t get me wrong. I appreciate all the coincidences and the work the Sacred Tree is doing.”

“By the way, can’t we fly over them? Shiba and I took a flying carriage once.” Kihet interrupted.

“I wish we could, but wyvern taming was new at the time I heard you visited Xu. His highness was the first to own one. Then after that day, I’m sure you know the rest. In short, we might’ve domesticated one wyvern, but the technique isn’t all that reliable and I think we might be treating it better than the Prince himself.”

“I see.”

Even Kihet hadn’t managed to tame any flying creatures. In all his life, he only had knowledge of herding Felks, Horses and the likes who were strong enough to pull carts.

“So, how will we move?”

Toudo grabbed a pointer and began shifting pieces around. He occasionally moved one, a unique looking piece compared to other units, to which Kihet furrowed his brows and glared at the General.

“You’re telling us to be bait?”

“Think of it as being the spearhead of the assault with permission to retreat. Wish it could’ve be me, but I hold the title as one of Xu’s three heavenly generals. I’d get a scolding from my subordinates if I act too recklessly.”

Kihet frowned, exchanging a troubled look with Lily who shrugged.

“I was told we were going to ride a sled through the snowy plains. If the mount is not good, the Shadows will catch up.”

“How many years do you think Xu lived through and battled the wintering grounds? We got it covered.”

“That doesn’t sound relieving.” Kihet mumbled. He couldn’t believe how irresponsible the General was.

The rest of the briefing was a lot more exhausting than Kihet imagined. Although the plan was simple enough to understand, he was unsure if it was physically possible with many unknown factors in a large scale battle. He felt a bit nervous as he never experienced a battle that included more than a dozen bodies and the fact the General kept shrugging off details.

He hanged his coat and slumped on the bed. With his face buried in his pillow, he couldn’t help but worry for tomorrow’s departure. A part of him feared he’d receive news the twins didn’t make it. Another part of him held high hopes. He won’t know until he arrived in Vivrus.

“Kihet, are you leaving me to pack your things like last time?” Martha took his cloak of the rack and folded it neatly. “Kihet?”

Kihet gave a couple of twists and turns, hanging his upper half off the edge of the bed as he dragged his chest of old things towards him. A basket of supplies was then set in front of him.

“I’ve bought some supplies from the market. You look down. Are you feeling okay?”

“Not sure. Something happened back there… with Shiba’s son.”

“The prince?”

He replied with a silent nod as he rummaged through the basket. The first layer were healing ointments, Stredhime petals, standard ingredients for first aid. Then it had basic necessities of writing utensils and some dried snacks Martha picked up along the way. As he dug to the bottom of the basket, he discovered a small pouch hidden underneath everything else.

Ruby red characters, “Warding Evil”, were etched onto the pale fabric amulet decorated by diamond shaped patterns of woven golden silk.

“What’s this?”

“A little something from me. Those charms aren’t sold often, but I managed to convince Baba to save one of the rarest ones for you.”

“Charm? I don’t sense any magic from it.”

“Jeez! Everything isn’t about what’s magical and what isn’t! It’s the thought that counts.”

“What am I supposed to do with it?”

“Keep it with you at all times and don’t open it. Ever. Or else bad things will happen.”

The more Martha pressed him to not open it, the more tempted he was. The amulet seemed to have a tiny object in it which made him curious.

“Kihet.”

“I promise. I won’t.”

“Great! I’ll hang it on the side of your armor.”

“You’re having too much fun.”

“I mean, you turn down almost all the clothes I wanted you to try.”

He flinched from remembering all the clothes he was asked to try.

Noisy footsteps stopped in front of door and stomped a few steps before the door was opened. Lily was the first to step through, but Kihet clicked his tongue when he noticed she didn’t enter alone. Behind her, a timid child peeked out from her side.

The young prince stepped away from Lily and turned his head in all directions, pretending to look at the room.

Martha gave an elegant bow. “Prince Kenji, what brings you here?”

“I’ve umm… come to speak with the Oracle.”

“Kenji.” Lily nudged him. “You’re here to apologize, remember?”

“Ouch! Auntie, I’ll go by my own pace!” He then pointed his finger at Kihet. “I’m here to get an apology and to apologize!”

“Is that brat talking to someone?”

“Kihet, that’s a bit mean of you…” Martha said.

“I’m talking to you, Oracle!”

“You got thrown because you were trying to pry into my past even though you were told not to.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how bad it was.”

“You should be.”

“And my apology?”

“You don’t get one. Everything I said was the truth. If you want me to apologize, prove me wrong. Do something that’s better than your father and I might consider it.”

“You…! You’re the worse!” Kenji snarled. “Fine! I’ll be a better emperor than my father and I’ll force you to have no choice but to apologize! Just you wait! Auntie, I’m leaving!”

With his declaration, the young prince stormed out of the room and slammed the doors shut.

“I never seen Kenji this worked up before.” Lily slowly moved away from the doors. “But I’m glad you managed to give him some motivation.”

“I only knocked some sense into him like Shiba did to me. I’m repaying the favor.”

“Favor or not, your words had a very strong effect.” Martha giggled. “I’m excited to see how the young prince will improve and make you eat your own words.”

“I thought you were on my side.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t approve of the young prince trying his best.”