"After our last meeting regarding the gaze you felt, I sent a request for a joint reconnaissance," Mavuika began, her tone measured but firm. "On the ground, the Scions of Canopy, led by Burkina, tracked Abyss activity. Meanwhile, within the Night Kingdom, the Masters of the Night-wind, led by Sanhaj, did the same. And both groups returned with troubling news."
Burkina leaned forward slightly, his expression serious. "On the ground, it looked like the same old pattern—waves upon waves of monsters, and every so often, new Abyss pylons appeared. But… it was too constant, too precise. It felt staged, like they were deliberately trying to keep us busy. Almost as if the real threat was happening somewhere else."
"And that is when we truly saw what they were planning," Sanhaj continued gravely. "With our shamanic arts, we were able to survey the Night Kingdom, and we saw the Abyss organizing a sizable force—enough to overrun all of Natlan if left unchecked."
Lumine narrowed her eyes. "So they maintained the fight on the ground just to make it look like the war was still continuing, while their real army was being gathered for the real strike."
Kiana tilted her head, frowning. "...But the Abyss can't just pop up on the ground, right?"
Miss A nodded, folding her arms. "Correct. With the protection of Natlan's Sacred Flame, the land is safe from large-scale invasions. It's not easy for them to bypass that… unless they've found a way to snuff the flame out."
"Hmm, either they're confident they can extinguish the Sacred Flame, or they've got a trump card that lets them manifest on the ground," Elysia mused, tapping her chin with a thoughtful look.
Lumine shot her a quick glance. "Or unless they have something worse."
Noah finally spoke with certainty. "No. Their main force isn't after the ground—it's after the Lord of the Night."
Mavuika and the heroes exchanged wry smiles; he had nailed the target just from hearing their reports.
"Well, well… it seems you do have a good brain in that beastly head," Citlali snorted, clearly impressed but trying not to show it as she sat atop Citlalin.
"Well, isn't that nice? A compliment from my dear Itztli," Noah said with a playful grin.
Citlali's cheek twitched at the pet name. "It's Citlali," she corrected him flatly.
Noah's grin only widened, the twinkle of amusement and mischief in his eyes growing more obvious.
"…She really doesn't know when to give up, does she?" Lumine whispered, glancing at Citlali with gentle amusement.
Kiana(Sirin inside), Elysia, and Miss A exchanged knowing looks, each nodding in agreement, while Citlali pretended not to hear them.
Mavuika chuckled at Noah and Citlali's back-and-forth. "The Lord of the Night will be happy to see you two getting along so well," she teased.
"Yes, I'll make sure to personally thank the Lord of the Night later—for giving me the chance to meet my dear Itztli," Noah replied smoothly, shooting Citlali a deliberately smug grin.
Citlali's jaw tightened. Relax, Citlali, don't fall for it. He just wants to see you react. She straightened a little, trying to ignore him.
"Oh? Then I'll personally guide you there later," Mavuika laughed, clearly enjoying the exchange.
"I'll hold you to that," Noah said with a nod, still smiling.
Beside him, Citlali groans and winces slightly from her sore muscles, muttering just loud enough for him to hear, "You're insufferable."
"And yet, you're still here," Noah quipped under his breath, earning a sharp side-eye from her, But her blush made it less intimidating.
"Right after we learned of their movements, Citlali herself came to us directly, saying the Lord of the Night had something to tell us," Mavuika narrated, her eyes briefly turned toward the priestess.
Noah and the girls glanced at their newest companion with a mix of awe and curiosity. Citlali, however, just waved a hand dismissively, as if it were nothing worth mentioning. The casual gesture only deepened Noah's intrigue.
So not only could she sense when the Force whispered to me… she also has connection to the ruling powers of this world. Noah's thought as he looks at her with new respect.
"With Citlali guiding us, the heroes and I met the Lord of the Night," Mavuika continued. She turned her gaze squarely on Noah. "And she confirmed the existence of the 'gaze' you spoke of. It is called Gosoythoth… the Reaper of the Abyss."
Lumine gave Elysia a deadpan look remembering their conversation back when they first arrived on Natlan wishing the Abyss had someone on Touya's level. Elysia's cheeks twitched as she stubbornly ignored the stare, a bead of cold sweat sliding down her temple.
Miss A rubbed her chin, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Hmm, so there really is a boss-level entity among the Abyss. This changes everything we know so far about the Abyss."
"As per her, Gosoythoth is a formless entity capable of taking any shape to mimic its enemy," Mavuika added gravely. "And now it's the one leading the Abyss to engulf the Night Kingdom entirely with their corruption… which would also mean the destruction of Natlan."
"And that's where I come into the picture," Citlali cut in. "The Lord of the Night saw your capabilities—starting from when you burned the abyssal creatures that attacked the Children of Echoes, to when you somehow sensed its gaze on you from the Night Kingdom."
Noah arched a brow at her, curious. "That's quite a leap of trust for her to place in me."
Citlali waves her hand. "She believes you're not only capable of defeating it, but that you can save both the Night Kingdom and Natlan completely."
She guided Citlalin to turn and face Noah, meeting his eyes directly. "She said I'll be needed when you put your plan into action to fix Natlan's leyline issue. So she told me to help you with that… and," she paused for a bit before continuing, "she suggested I might as well be your wife—not just as some reward, but as a symbol of connection between you, this world, and this nation."
Noah took her hand and held it tightly. "I better have to live up to her expectations, then. Not just for you but everyone else as well."
Citlali looked away from him, hiding her blush and not so little smile.
But Kiana, Sirin, Lumine, Elysia, and Miss A all fell silent for a moment. They did understand and accept Citlali as one of them, but hearing it again, her being 'a reward' felt something uneasy in their chests. Elysia glanced at the others, and Lumine's lips pressed into a thin line, while Kiana folded her arms, clearly turning the words over in her mind.
"We know Captain will treat you well and with care, just as he treats all of us," Kiana began, her tone gentle with a hint of concern. Then Sirin's voice slipped in, finishing the thought without missing a beat. "But still… being treated like a 'reward' for all of this—are you really fine with that, Citlali?"
"That's right," Elysia added, her voice warm but strong. "We don't mind you joining us—far from it. But this arrangement… it feels like it's taking away your choice. Love should grow naturally, not be handed down as a decision someone else made for you."
Lumine and Miss A stayed quiet, but the look in their eyes said they agreed completely with their sisters' concern.
Citlali turned toward them, her expression soft and grateful. "Please don't worry—I truly don't mind. This brute may have shattered my expectations in a dozen different ways. Like how, despite his cool exterior, he's actually a shameless pervert. Or how that harmless expression hides the fact that he loves teasing people. Ask him to be gentle, and he'll deliberately be rougher. Even when he's being caring and kind, he somehow plays with our feelings—making us feel like we're in hell and heaven at the same time. And many more things I could list…" She let out a small laugh. "But even then, I've come to like being with all of you. Surprising, I know… I've always been a lone person. So believe me when I say this—I really don't mind, and I would even love becoming family with all of you."
""Citlali…"" Kiana, Sirin, Lumine, Elysia, and Miss A were all touched by her words. Noah, on the other hand, clutched his chest dramatically, as if her heartfelt confession had pierced straight through him.
Elysia didn't even try to hold back—she threw herself at Citlali, wrapping her in a hug despite the protest from her sore muscles. "Citlali! We love having you with us too!"
Lumine smiled warmly, stepping in to embrace them. "Welcome to the family, Citlali."
"Hmm! I'm not missing out on this!" Miss A chimed in, practically leaping into the growing group hug.
'Come on, Sirin,' Kiana urged gently in their shared mindspace when she noticed Sirin hesitating.
'But… is it really okay for someone like me to join?' Sirin asked, uncertain in her tone.
'Ahaha, of course! We're family, after all,' Kiana reassured her, and together they moved their body to join the embrace, folding into the circle of warmth.
Noah, watching the scene, couldn't help the warmth that spread through him… though a tiny pang of jealousy crept in too. "...Isn't that nice… I want to join in," he muttered under his breath, half-serious.
Before he could move, a firm pat landed on his shoulder—first from Tupac, then from Sundjatta. He turned to see them grinning knowingly. Noah gave a mock sniff, and without a word, the three men pulled each other into a brief but solid brotherly hug.
"It seems we don't need to worry about Priestess Citlali anymore," Sanhaj said with a relieved smile. Coming from the same tribe, seeing her so naturally welcomed by Noah's other partners was more than reassuring—it was a genuine weight off his heart.
–
Moments later, everyone finally settled in. Citlalin now carried not only Citlali, but also Kiana, Lumine, Elysia, and Miss A. The five girls remained huddled around Citlali, chatting softly and occasionally laughing, while Noah watched them with a mix of relief… and a touch of envy.
Menilek's voice broke his thoughts. "Excuse me, Noah-dono."
"Hm?" Noah blinked and tore his gaze away from the group, meeting Menilek's eyes.
"I can't help but be curious," Menilek began, leaning forward. "When we heard from the Lord of the Night that you have a plan that could actually fix the Leylines of our nation, I just had to ask—how exactly will you do that? What preparations must we make? Is there anything we can do to help?"
Noah chuckled softly at the barrage of questions, tilting his head. "That's quite the list, Menilek-san. Let's take it one at a time."
Mavuika and the rest of the heroes exchanged wry smiles at Menilek's barrage of curiosity, while Noah simply met his gaze with an amused grin.
"Well," Noah began casually, "there's not much for you to prepare or do. I'll be using the same leyline framework the Night Kingdom already set for Natlan's use. All I need to do is channel a bit of my own power into it—to 'upgrade' it, so to speak. Similar to what I did with Sumeru when we made the Inteyvat network."
Menilek's brows lifted slightly. "I see… hmm." He glanced toward Mavuika, then back at Noah, clearly already turning over the implications in his mind.
"This way, not only can I link you all into the Inteyvat network, but Natlan will also gain a stable and reinforced leyline system to rely on," Noah explained, rubbing his chin, his eyes showing intrigue. "Honestly, I'm more surprised she figured out I even had a plan."
"Hmph! You really think she wouldn't notice your little experiments?" Citlali cut in with a knowing look. "According to her, every time you destroyed an Abyss pylon, you did something to the leylines in that area—something that stopped new pylons from appearing there again. And, almost miraculously, the leylines that should have withered and corroded instead became healthy and strong."
Noah raised a brow. "So she was watching that closely, huh?"
Citlali crossed her arms. "Of course. You leave too many footprints for someone like her to miss."
Hearing that, Mavuika and the heroes blinked, the realization settling in. Just like Citlali had said—those areas Noah and his group had cleared never saw another Abyss pylon, and even the remaining corruption had vanished.
"...That is indeed true," Burkina murmured in awe. "Those areas are practically free from Abyss influence now."
"So that's why we thought those spots felt different from the rest!" Sanhaj exclaimed, eyes widening. "When we did our preliminary survey, the land there was stable and completely free of Abyss taint! We honestly thought they were just lucky areas that escaped the corruption. We even performed rituals there as charms during our surveys in the Night Kingdom. The connection was smoother, easier… and we actually felt safer being there."
Mavuika and the heroes' eyes went wide at Sanhaj's words, then went toward Noah—who rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile and the faintest blush.
"Hee~ so even you can act like a child caught red-handed, huh?" Citlali teased, her smirk sharp.
Noah's cheek twitched as he turned to her. "Looks like I can still break more of those expectations you've got of me, Itztli."
Citlali's own cheek twitched at the counter. Kiana and the rest of the girls patted her back, lending moral support against the menace they called their man.
"Nice try, Citlali," Elysia said with an understanding smile, though a flood of memories of Noah's past counters flashed through her mind all at once.
"Better luck next time," Lumine gave a sympathetic smile.
"Actually, good job on not reacting," Miss A added with an approving nod.
"Just be careful when you tease him, okay? You don't want to end up like Ellie, who has an entire album of her embarrassing moments," Kiana warned.
"…Kii, can we not talk about that?" Elysia groaned, slumping in mild defeat.