Kafkë rested on top of its mound of bones watching the Twilight King upon his throne. After fleeing the Eternal Light’s Bastion, Kafkë had traveled through the spiritual pathway between the Well of Souls and Twilight Key to reunite with the boss. The explanation of what had transpired in the Eternal Light’s Bastion had been the most uncomfortable that Kafkë had felt in its unlife. Worse yet, the Twilight King hadn’t responded at all as expected: no anger, no sadness, no frustration— just silence. He sat there even now, eyes dark and inanimate. If Kafkë couldn’t see the powerful soul locked within his large skeletal frame, it might’ve thought the boss had passed to the Well of Souls.

It’d been hours since Kafkë’s return and the skull wanted to tell the other outworlders about Jack’s disappearance, to discuss their plan going forward, to do something; however, the Twilight King did nothing. For better or worse, Kafkë stayed by his side, unsure that it should leave him alone. It hadn’t been completely inactive though. Occasionally, it spoke up probing the boss for a response before becoming dejected by his silence. At present, it considered attempting to engage the boss once more in the hopes that something had changed in the hour or so since the last time it tried. The consideration took less than a minute. After years spent in inaction, it didn’t want to regress when they were so close to finally moving against Bohum.

“Hey, boss,” Kafkë said, levitating into the air and moving toward the Twilight King. The skeletal figure showed no signs of acknowledgment. If Kafkë could gulp, it would’ve from the anxiety festering within its thoughts. “Listen, I get that you’re upset and I messed up but we have to do something.” There was no response as Kafkë stopped in front of the throne. “I know you're wary about using the connection between pointy-ears and Jack but it might be worth it if I can find him. Besides, maybe he didn’t get dragged into the planes of light or wherever the Dark Ones actually came from.”

The skull fell silent for a moment hoping to get some kind of response. The Twilight King had forbidden Kafkë from attempting to locate Jack through the soul pathway the blue man shared with his pointy-eared companion. Kafkë understood why, of course; if its connection with the Well of Souls was exploited by Bohum or the Dark Ones, the results would be catastrophic. At the same time, they needed Jack to destroy the lanterns that bound the remnants of the old tribes under Bohum’s control. Those people only “lived” because Bohum needed to siphon their souls for his own ends. Yet as more time passed, not only did the lanterns consume more of the boss’s people but the Twilight Key also grew more unstable bringing Terras ever-closer to its end.

Ironically, the only saving grace of the situation came from Bohum’s zealotry. If the Pope of the Eternal Light looked past his faith-borne hatred against the undead, he might’ve guessed their intentions after the failed rescue of the lightweavers from the temple. As it stood, the madman likely believed the boss had tried to steal the lightweavers in order to turn them into undead puppets, a foolish notion unless one believed undead were nothing more than pitiful creatures of base desire and dark whim as Bohum did. Then again, the dogmatic doctrine of the Eternal Light and the Pope’s faith in it offered a blind spot through which they could act.

Kafkë sighed when, as expected, no response came. It drifted over to its bone mound and settled back down. It needed another plan.

Maybe, it’s time to face the truth. Jack was probably beyond their reach and the boss wouldn’t budge on the matter. He had made it clear that he had no interest in saving Terras unless the people of the old tribes could be saved and Kafkë understood why. Without the living, Terras would be hollow. Powerful chthonic rituals could restore the land over time leading to sustenance and renewal but not even the Trinity could truly resurrect the dead according to the stories. Necromancy, the magic of the Crystal Child, was the closest any could manage yet necromancy only maintained the soul, not the body, and it was the body that gave life.

Kafkë wracked its mind for any conceivable plan of action that could save Terras without Jack. The hope settled within its very soul persisted despite the dire circumstances. Terras was its home and although the Twilight King seemed willing to throw it all away, the ancient skull wished to fight on to the bitter end even if it was ultimately a futile endeavor.

For the next half hour, Kafkë brooded, slowly coming to the conclusion that it had no idea how to save Terras outside of a miracle. Its thoughts drifted to the Earth Mother and Jack’s purported meeting with her. Its eyes locked onto the Twilight Key as a mournful feeling swelled within. If the Trinity truly has been broken, miracles are the last thing I should expect.

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room changed. Kafkë looked to the boss and the skeleton’s eyes flared with power. A silver flame ignited in one eye while a vortex of darkness swirled in the other. The bones of the Twilight King’s form shimmered and his soul pulsed with power waiting to be unleased.

The boss looked up, his eyes passing over Kafkë and settling on the wall next to the entrance to the throne room. After a moment, he stood and began walking toward the exit. Kafkë, startled by this sudden motion, also rose.

“Boss? Did you—” it started to say before the Twilight King cut it off.

“Someone just opened a portal into the castle.”

Surprise made the skull pause in mid-air. “Wait, a portal here? That impossible. The only way to get past Agim’s wards is one of the teleportation circles.”

“Indeed. It would seem our guest has enough power to force their way through the wards. Let us greet them.” Two of the rings on the boss’s skeletal hand flashed with power.

“A guest? Who— Hey wait up, boss!” The Twilight King exited the throne room without further comment leaving Kafkë to hurry after him.

***

Raina parried Cordan’s attack and feinted to create an opening while shifting her lead foot to follow-up. He called her bluff and stepped forward pushing into her space and forcing her to retreat or be grabbed by his free hand. With her momentum ruined, Raina took a moment to catch her breath and assess her opponent. He did the same.

The veteran relic hunter might not have had a martial designation but his skill in martial combat was undeniable. From their sparring, Raina could tell he wasn’t specialized in any particular weapon. He pushed her hard with a combination of experience and his higher Attributes; however, she never got the impression of mastery or intimacy between him and his weapon like she did with Rovena. He utilized practical, quick sword techniques along with several unarmed strikes or grabs whenever possible like a cross between a brawler and a duelist. The style kept her on her feet punishing her habit of treating his weapon as the only threat. She’d already been punched in the face twice and because of her depleted Ethos, she had a sore jaw to show for it. In light of all that, she’d managed to win against him once when they first sparred though he had beaten her in the two following matches. This was their fourth bout.

She dashed forward having found the most success by overwhelming his defense with her speed and ferocity. He waited in a loose stance, sword held in front of him with one hand. As soon as she was in range, he struck with a diagonal slash effectively covering her path forward and guarding against her ability to slip inside his guard unless she dealt with the blow. She brought her weapon up to parry the blow and at the last second, shoved his blade away while stepping forward. Cordan reacted accordingly by pivoting his lead foot so that it would interfere with her footwork and simultaneously, throwing a swift cross punch at her head with his free hand. Raina had learned firsthand that Cordan’s punches packed enough power to send her reeling and she wouldn’t be able to dodge the incoming blow unless she completely abandoned her assault.

Refusing to relent, she took the only option that came to mind. As the punch veered toward her face, she threw a headbutt to intercept the attack and activated Heavy Blow. For a split second, she saw red then their blows met. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cordan frown. The impact rattled her but not as much as she would’ve thought, likely thanks to the added momentum of her charge and Heavy Blow equalizing the Attribute difference for the exchange.

She wasn’t done though. She slid her non-dominant hand up the blade of her practice sword and aimed a vicious half-sworded thrust at Cordan’s throat. From his compromised position, he barely avoided a direct hit as it grazed his neck. Raina arrested the weapon’s movement and held it there, her eyes gleaming.

“I win,” she said, a smile blooming on her lips.

Cordan held up his hands in defeat and she cheered laughing as elation washed over her. It was like when she first realized she could walk upon arriving at Fracture but different in a subtle way she didn’t quite grasp. She broke out of her mini-celebration to glance at Cordan who looked at her with a measure of amusement in his eyes.

“You’re getting stronger,” he said, clenching and unclenching the hand she had headbutted. A slight frown still lingered at the edges of his mouth as he did so.

“Thanks,” she said, basking in the praise. Then, her mood came down a little bit. “I’ve been trying to learn as much as I can from our duels and I got a few ideas from my fight with Rovena. Still, if you were using your Skills, I wouldn’t stand a chance.”

When they started, Cordan insisted that she use her Skills while he refrained from using his own or his Pathos to read her intentions. She naturally protested but he made it clear that it was a necessary step to make the fights even close to fair. Apparently, in addition to his higher Attributes, Cordan also had damage reduction against sources lower than B-rank, a trait which all B-rankers gained after advancing. Even without his Ethos which he let Raina deplete before their first match, her attacks could only do so much damage to him. However, Raina’s pride didn’t take the handicap well and after the first two matches, she had stopped using Combat Surge with the excuse of conserving her Vigor which wasn’t altogether untrue. The third match had been brutal for her and resulted in a number of bruises that marked her pale body. She had trucked on in spite of the pain.

Ignoring her comment about Skill use, he said, “No, I wasn’t talking about your tactics though those are getting better too. I meant that literally.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, a bit confused.

“Look at you, you’re covered in bruises. Not to mention, we’ve been at it for a while and before that, you were sparring with Rovena. Your blows should be getting weaker and you should be getting slower but that’s not the case.”

She tilted her head to the side and looked down at the arm holding her practice sword. It had two bruises one on the bicep and the other near the wrist. Several similar marks of her struggle dotted her skin and occasionally pulsed with dull aches. However, she did feel amazing although a moment of introspection revealed that it had nothing to do with the elation she felt from winning. A pleasant hum was running throughout her body filling her with energy and excitement for more combat. Honestly, she wanted to lunge at Cordan and start their next bout but she managed to push it down.

“I’m am feeling awesome, to be honest,” she admitted. She tossed her sword from one hand to the other to keep her hands busy.

“And you don’t find that strange?” Cordan raised an eyebrow.

“Well… I guess? I don’t really have any comparisons from my old life and in the books that I used to read, the protagonists sometimes spontaneously got stronger while training so… I don’t know, I just assumed it was like some sort of exercise high or had something to do with my designation.”

Cordan shook his head again. “Warriors do get a Skill called Second Wind but it’s an active ability and you aren’t a high enough rank for that. Something else is going on.” He observed her for a few seconds and stroked his chin. “How do you feel right now?”

“Hm,” She paused to consider her condition a bit more before answering. She wanted to give an honest answer since Cordan was trying to help her out. “I feel sore but really good and I really want to continue fighting.”

Cordan nodded, his expression thoughtful. “How bad is your urge to fight?”

Despite herself, Raina blushed as she said, “Honestly, I feel like starting the fight now instead of continuing this conversation.”

“Ok, last question then we’ll get back to it,” He said. Raina perked up then her cheeks reddened further when she realized how transparent she was being. Part of her found the behavior disturbing though its concerns were drowned out by eagerness for the coming spar. “When did you start feeling this way?”

Bouncing slightly on the balls of feet, she answered, “I didn’t really notice until just now but I think it started near the end of our third match.”

“I see.” Cordan nodded and moved in a battle-ready stance. “I think I’m starting to get a clearer picture of what your hidden trait might be.”

“Really?” she asked, her excitement building. She made to ask another question but a notification appeared halting the words in her throat.

[Cordan has used the Defensive Mindlink Skill. Do you wish to join the mindlink? Y/N]

She acquiesced after shooting Cordan a look and his voice sounded in her head.

“I think we need to step it up a notch.”

[Cordan has used the Psycho Boost Skill.]

+15 Might

+15 Agility

Cordan rushed forward catching her off guard in her shock at the Skill; however, she recovered almost instantly. The two met in a feverous pitch of wooden blades smacking against each other and unprotected flesh. Raina fought with everything she had but it was obvious Cordan’s pulled many of his strikes to avoid seriously hurting her with his increased Might. On her end, the boost in power allowed her to inflict some damage when combined with Heavy Blow which she used sparingly to avoid completely depleting her Vigor.

Again, and again, they clashed as Cordan pushed her harder than any of their previous matches punishing her mistakes and exploiting her weaknesses. His constant read on her maneuvers convinced Raina that the veteran relic hunter was finally making use of his Pathos. She was forced to adapt continuously yet each time, she adapted faster.

Another feeling began to accompany the hum throughout her body— the slow build of anticipation. Her perception of time and the aches in her body melted away until only her struggle with Cordan remained. Each hit that he landed on her body pushed the anticipation further along. When she landed particularly effective blows on him, the sensation swelled twice as much.

Eventually, it built to a peak and something pushed outward threatening to erupt. Whatever it was couldn’t break through whatever barrier held it in place. She could feel it teetering on the brink of release yet lacking the final component that would push it over the edge.

While this went on inside her, her body moved in a dance of ever-increasing efficiency. Her blows became shaper, her techniques evolved, and the gaps in her defense closed one after another giving her opponent fewer and fewer opportunities to hit her. Cordan’s expression gradually changed from the measured face of a veteran teaching a lesson to an intense look of concentration. His movements became more chaotic and reactionary in contrast to Raina’s own.

Eventually, he said something to her but she pressed forward with abandon. He spoke again, this time with more force. Still, she disregarded him lashing out in a stunning display of agility and technique that would’ve amazed her if she’d been in a normal state of mine. As it stood, it wasn’t good enough. She had to push herself further.

Suddenly, Cordan sped up dramatically and his fist caught her in the side of her face before she could react. The blow snapped her head to the side straining her neck in the process. She fell to the ground on her hands and knees, blood flowing from her lower lip and one of her nostrils. Strangely, she recovered almost immediately despite the ringing in her ears; however, instead of attacking, she only stared at the droplets of blood dripping from her face onto the packed earth of the practice yard.

As she bled, the barrier holding the swell within her cracked and a small portion leaked through. Exhilarating pleasure and agonizing pain overwhelmed her senses. She gasped as her body trembled from the onslaught of sensation. A bone-deep certainty touched upon her mind at the same moment.

I have to push further, give more. It’s not enough. I must pay in blood. The last three words cut through her mind like a lightning bolt strengthened by unfamiliar power.

She swayed from the trembling but a hand steadied her. Another hand gently grabbed her chin and lifted her gaze from the blood on the ground.

“Raina! Raina, get ahold of yourself!” Cordan said. He looked worried. She heard the words and realized he was speaking out loud as well as through the mindlink. She just stared at him in a stupor. He tried to help her to her feet but the trembling in her legs made the process slow and awkward. In the lull while she tried to stand, the sensations within her started to fade leaving exhaustion in their place.

“I—,” she started to say while a headache settled into place with the exhaustion. Before she could say anything else, a notification appeared.

[Warning: You have encountered a World Boss. Extreme caution is advised.]

The message wasn’t surprising. They were in the Twilight King’s home after all and received the notification whenever he was nearby. It had become startlingly mundane to her considering the sheer power of the undead king. She looked around and noticed a red light in the darkness of the passage leading deeper into the castle. Curious, she squinted at the glow, barely making out the shape of a skull.

Abruptly, astonishment leaked out of the mindlink from Cordan, surprising her in turn. Cordan had demonstrated constant mental discipline within his mindlink, almost never letting any of his personal feelings slip through. She didn’t have to wonder about what had caused the reaction for long.

She followed Cordan’s gaze to a door on the side of the practice yard. It led into one of the side wings of the castle from what she could guess but she couldn’t be sure since she hadn’t explored much of the castle in general.

When he door opened, Raina failed to hold back her own surprise and disbelief.

***

“You’re sure Ciel will arrive so soon?” Jack asked as they made their way to the throne room. Since Alindal had set up his ritual in a relatively isolated part of the castle, the elf had had time to bring Jack up to speed on what had transpired on his end since Lilan’s attack on their group.

Alindal nodded from beside him. “According to the Twilight King, he is going to arrive the day after the planned assault. I don’t see why he would lie about it.”

Jack smiled. He wasn’t surprised to hear that the Celestial was on his way but he hadn’t expected the immortal to act so quickly. It did explain why Cordan had abstained from joining the Twilight King’s assault as well as clarify the resolve of Raina’s decision. Honestly, the speed of Ciel’s return was extraordinary especially if the immortal managed to assemble a full raid-ready crew. Before his arrangement with Helbiel, the news would have sent him into a fit of anxiety but now, he had a plan, one that would turn the tides if he pulled it off.

“Not how I expected you to react,” Alindal remarked, brow furrowing at his smile.

“A lot has changed since I was captured, Al. Ciel will get his.” They exchanged a few more words before Jack pushed open a door into a small, dusty room packed with equipment. Stepping into the room, he heard activity from beyond the door on the other side of the room and informed Alindal.

“I think that might be Raina. She mentioned that she would be training today and that door leads to the practice yard,” the elf said as they pushed through the cluttered space. Jack didn’t respond though he found that he wanted to see Raina. By all rights, she’d chosen to oppose Ciel by siding with the Twilight King; however, old habits died hard. His suspicion wouldn’t allow him to trust her until saw the truth for himself. He placed his hand on the door to open it when a notification appeared announcing the presence of a nearby World Boss.

The two friends exchanged a look.

“Looks my entrance our host has come to greet me himself.”

“It would seem so,” Alindal agreed.

“Well, let’s not keep him waiting.”

Jack pushed open the door and stepped outside. Pale blue torchlight mingled with starlight to illuminate the practice yard in beautiful hues of color. Shadows lingered in corners, between torches, and near the training dummies lining the far wall creating a dark frame for the sight. From the passage in the center of the adjacent wall which led into the castle proper, his ears picked up the faint sound of clacking footsteps.

Doesn’t sound like the big boss in a hurry Raina and Cordan stood a short distance away staring at him, wide-eyed. He’d suspected the B-ranker’s presence based on the faint sounds that he had heard earlier but he had not expected to find either of them in their current condition. Cordan sported some scrapes, scuffs, and general signs one might expect to see from someone who’d been in a fight but had gotten away relatively unscathed. Raina was the opposite. Her clothes were torn in several places and multiple splotches of purple and red stood out against her otherwise pale skin especially in the ample light. As if that weren’t bad enough, she had blood running down her face from her nose and lips, slowly dripping from her chin to the ground while she leaned against Cordan for support.

No one said anything after he and Alindal stepped into the open. In the awkward standstill, Jack focused on Cordan with the Fractured Eye out of curiosity. His perception narrowed for a couple of seconds before a notification appeared.

Cordan Rey

Threat Level: B (???)

Designation: Nexus

???

Identified Abilities

???

[Due to insufficient rank, the Fracture Eye has failed to identify several elements.]

Well, that confirms one of my suspicions, he thought with a slight frown. The Fractured Eye had failed to identify two abilities of the Harbinger Cor’tikmal which hinted that even on targets whose threat level coincided with his own. He likely had to be a higher rank than the target to get everything and identifying targets of higher rank wouldn’t yield nearly as much information. Still, the ability to know an enemy’s rank and designation at a glance was something many would kill for. Depending on how rare the designation was, Jack could find or buy information about its abilities.

If I remember correctly, Nexus is a variant magic designation that connects its allies together through a mental link and imparts bonuses based on whether they’re defensively or offensively focused, he thought, recalling a rough summation of the designation’s description from the long list of designations he’d perused before selecting his own. His memory matched up with what Cordan had told their group before assaulting the temple. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that designation before him though. Then again, variant designations tend to be pretty rare so info on it would’ve been beyond my means.

While mulling over the information granted by the Fractured Eye, Jack had been moving across the yard. His gaze shifted from relic hunter to Raina.

Raina Durante

Threat Level: D (Level 2)

Designation: Warrior

A young woman brought to Fracture via summoning after being burned to death. Before coming to Fracture, she suffered severe physical impairment due to trace amounts of divine power within her blood that caused progressive nerve deterioration and cell death. Her body was restored by Fracture’s new user protocols but the power of her bloodline has been suppressed until certain conditions have been met.

Identified Abilities

Combat Surge: Sends the user into a state of combat focus and grants a small increase to Might and Agility for a short duration.

Heavy Blow: Amplifies the force of a single attack.

Divine power? His eyes widened for a moment which seemed to snap Raina out of her stupor. She began ineffectively trying to wipe her face clean with the bottom of the tunic she wore. She likely thought her condition was the reason for his expression. He filed the information about her bloodline away for a later discussion as he finally stopped in front of the pair.

“What in the hells happened to you?” Jack asked Raina, playing into her assumptions. He placed his hands on his hips and gave them his best shit-eating grin.

“What-,” Raina sputtered in pure incredulity, seemingly more surprised upon hearing his voice. Her eyes darted from his face to his bare chest and back several times.

Cordan didn’t look happy. He shook his head with a frown and narrowed eyes. Jack noticed the hand that wasn’t holding Raina steady twitch toward the holstered sigil gun at his waist.

“How is it possible for you to be here right now?”

“Yes, I too would like to hear your answer.”

The Twilight King’s presence pressed down on everyone within the practice yard like a flood from above. Jack had been expecting it but the power of the World Boss nearly drove him to his knees regardless. The others didn’t make out any better. Alindal stumbled to his knees and like Jack, Cordan barely kept his feet. Raina had the worst of it by far since Cordan lost his grip in the moment and she fell like a stone almost face first.

Looking toward the passage, he saw the giant form of the Twilight King step out of the darkness. Above his right shoulder, Kafkë floated. A surge of relief hit Jack as soon as he saw the animated skull. One of his worries upon returning was whether or not Kafkë had escaped the Bastion of Eternal Light. Although the skull could travel to the Well of Souls at will, the negation ability of the Dark Ones was enough of a variable that he had been unsure.

After taking a second to recover, Jack bowed. “Your Majesty, I’ve returned and I’ve brought news of that the enemy we face is greater than Bohum. I would be glad to report what I’ve learned as well as how I made my way back to you.”

The skeletal king stared at him for a long moment taking in his appearance, the medallion around his neck, and marks of battle on his body. Beside Jack, his companions recovered though no one said a word. The Twilight Key flared with power causing the air in the yard to grow denser. Jack did nothing. He knew the Twilight King’s aim. In response to the power of Terras’s World Core, the Blue Heart hummed with power from within his breast and a notification asking if he wished to initiate a Harmonic Resonance appeared.

As soon as the potential of a connection established itself between the two World Cores, the power left the air and the Twilight Key dulled breaking the connection. He cursed inwardly, Damn, I was hopping I could get more out of that than a vague impression before he confirmed my identity.

“Your connection with your World Core has grown.”

“It has,” Jack confirmed.

The Twilight King nodded. “Then, I would have your report in my throne room.”

Kafkë floated closer to the Twilight King and whispered, “Hey, boss, he looks a little worse for wear. Why not give him some time to rest and clean up?”

Honestly, Jack would’ve hugged Kafkë at that moment if not for its lack of a body and the distance between them. The prospect of rest sounded amazing and much needed despite the façade of confidence and strength he was carefully maintaining. The Twilight King seemed to consider the skull’s words for a few seconds.

“It appears my eagerness has resulted in a failure on my part as a host,” he said. “You look to have been through much. Come to my throne room in four hours to deliver your report. Until then, rest and recover. I will have a servant search for clothes that might fit you.”

A weight fell from Jack’s shoulders as he bowed once more to the undead king. “You are most generous, Your Majesty. I appreciate your consideration.”

The Twilight King turned and began walking away. When he reached the entrance to the passage, he said, “Zandur, the presence of you and your children is no longer needed. Rovena, your training will have to wait. The girl likely won’t be able to withstand the strain in that state.”

Like a phantom, Rovena stepped out of the shadow under one of the torches adjacent to the passage. Several shadows in the practice yard abruptly got lighter as though they somehow became less dense. Jack was in the midst of suppressing a shiver down his spine when his blood ran cold. Suddenly, a presence loomed behind him yet when he looked, he saw nothing. Then, a blot of darkness detached itself from his shadow and slid into the night, all the while the weight of its gaze lingered on him.

How long was that thing in my shadow? The experience caused gooseflesh to rise all over his body and his heart to quicken. His companions were likewise unsettled, each staring after the thing that had left its shadow with a mix of fear and surprise.

By the time they gathered their wits, Rovena and the Twilight King were far down the passage. Only Kafkë stayed. It floated over to Jack and greeted him.

“I’ve got to admit, I was kind of expecting you to be a Dark One husk next time I saw you. Good to have you back though”

Jack laughed choosing to ignore how close he’d actually come to that fate at the hands of Bohum. “It’s good to see you again too, Kafkë.”

“The boss is glad you’re back too. He’s just not as great at showing it.”

“I’ll take your word for it, friend.” He turned to the others and added, “I don’t know about you all but I’m beat all to hell. Let me get cleaned up and then, we can get to questions.”

“I think that’s fair. Getting captured can’t have been pleasant,” Alindal said placing a hand on Jack's shoulder while stepping between him and Cordan who still appeared suspicious. The veteran relic hunter sighed then stooped down to help Raina to her feet. She looked to be close to passing out by all counts but she looked up at him with a smile.

“Welcome back, Jack”

He smiled back at her. “Glad to be back.”

Without further ado, they made their way back into the castle proper.