The Lone Nomad slipped into the darker streets of the city using Occultare. The cheers of the arena were still echoing faintly behind him, swallowed slowly by distance and time. His boots scraped against cobblestone as he entered a narrow alleyway.
He leaned against the wall, eyes half-closed beneath his mask, letting out a low breath.
"You can come out now. You've been tailing me since I left the colosseum."
For a long second, there was nothing but silence. Then, a swirl of crimson mist appeared near the mouth of the alley. From it, a cloaked woman emerged. Her crimson eyes burned through the darkness like dying embers.
The Lone Nomad didn't move. His hand rested loosely on the black chokutō at his side.
"You really had to control the Frost Beetle, huh? I thought Ceresei preferred subtlety."
The woman paused. Then she reached up, slowly pulling back her hood. Her hair fell in smooth caramel waves. Her skin was pale like snow. Literally.
"Who are you? No Commoner Fluxer could withstand that hit, let alone destroy my creature. I can sense… Fluvium mutations in your blood but they're bound. They are not controllable."
He gave a small, amused scoff.
"You're not exactly subtle either, Asnarade, Eighth Ecliptarch of Ceresei. Master of Puppetry. Half-human, half-Fluvium."
Her eyes widened but it was enough to confirm her shock. She took a slow step closer, crimson Xana surrounding her body.
"How do you know me?"
"I'm a wanderer. I hear things, especially about people who pull the strings from behind the curtain."
The woman tilted her head, crimson light pulsing faintly from her eyes.
"You're human, I can tell. But you hide it too well. What are you doing meddling in Ceresei's affairs, Nomad?"
"What does Ceresei want with me?" he countered coolly. "If you're sending mutated Fluviums after me in an arena, that means someone up there's worried."
The crimson around her eyes shimmered. For a moment, the air rippled and a dagger of condensed Xana shot toward him. He sidestepped. The blade cut through his sleeve, embedding into the wall beside him with a sharp hiss. The Lone Nomad didn't flinch.
"I'll take that as an answer."
"You took something that belongs to me. That Fluveheart you lifted from the Frost Beetle. I've been nurturing that specimen for years. Its heart wasn't ready. Now, hand it over."
He stared at her silently, then slowly reached into his cloak and pulled out the glowing crystal. He held it loosely, letting the eerie light dance across his fingers.
"You want this? Then you'll have to fight for it."
"Don't tempt me."
"You won't win here. The Roman Empress has surveillance all over this city. You start a fight here, they'll descend before you can blink. You're strong, Miss Asnarade, but not that strong. You won't escape before they pin you down. And me? I'll just gain more popularity. After all, the Lone Nomad being targeted by the same organization whose members were executed in the opening ceremony would make me even more valuable. And it will be a bad name for Ceresei, right?"
Asnarade's frown deepened. Her Xana simmered back to stillness. She clicked her tongue and sighed, irritation flickering across her beautiful features.
"You're clever. And annoyingly right."
"I try. It's called being logical."
He flicked the Fluveheart up once, caught it again, and tucked it away inside his kimono. Then, in a lower tone, he added.
"But… I do have something else you might want more than this."
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Information?"
"Exactly. Something about you, your organization, and a certain… leader of the Null Handmaidens."
That made her expression falter. For the first time, Asnarade looked unsettled.
"You know the leader? How?"
He smirked faintly under his mask.
"Let's just say the Eidolon Saint, the leader of the Null Handmaidens, paid me to retrieve this Fluveheart."
"You... you're connected to him? Their leader is called the Eidolon Saint? And he is a male?"
He didn't answer. He simply folded his arms, leaning against the wall again.
"So, Asnarade, how about it? You take the information instead for a simple trade. The Fluveheart for knowledge. Fair deal, isn't it?"
The Ecliptarch hesitated, her gaze locked on him, weighing the sincerity in his voice.
"Very well. You intrigue me, Lone Nomad. I'll take your information. But if you lie, Ceresei will make sure even your ashes don't remain."
He tilted his head slightly, completely unfazed.
"You have my word. I'm just a wanderer, not a liar."
He reached into his cloak again and pulled out a small black chip, shaped like a prism. He tossed it toward her. She caught it in mid-air without taking her eyes off him.
"That's evidence from the Eidolon Saint. He wants to give Ceresei something you desperately need."
"We don't need anything from the Handmaidens, least of all from that masked phantom of yours. We have no interest in their chaos."
"You'd be surprised. The Eidolon Saint wants to meet your leader, The Zero Ecliptarch himself."
That made her scoff outright.
"There's nothing he can give to our leader. I'm not even amazed you know about the Zero Ecliptarch."
"Access to the Russian government databases."
Asnarade's crimson eyes widened enough to betray her shock.
"Impossible. Even Ceresei couldn't her information out of them."
He smiled faintly beneath the mask.
"You remember that incident in the news says ago? The research facility in Siberia that got wiped off the map? No survivors, they said."
Her pupils dilated. "Yes."
"The Null Handmaidens found one survivor who was strongest experiment in that facility. She's one of them now. And with her, they retrieved a suitcase. Inside shows the location and data of every Russian research site that's still operational, plus fragments of Russia's sealed codes."
Asnarade blinked slowly, disbelief bleeding into suspicion.
"You're lying."
"Then tell me, Asnarade, who do you think leaked the news about that facility to the world?"
Her lips parted slightly.
"That was her. The survivor. With the Saint's help. At least… that's what he told me. If you don't believe me, you can use the chip. It has some of the information on it."
For a moment, even Asnarade looked uncertain. Her hand tightened around the chip he had given her.
"You know the Eidolon Saint personally?"
"He's a... good friend of mine."
She took a step back, studying him. He was composed. There was no deceit in his tone or stutter in his breath. There was not even a trace of nervous Xana.
"Then I'll take this to the Zero Ecliptarch. He'll give his answer in three days."
The Lone Nomad chuckled quietly.
"No need. He's listening right now."
Her eyes widened again. "What—"
Phaser scoffed, gesturing vaguely toward the darkness behind her.
"You really think he'd let his Ecliptarchs wander around unsupervised? He's always listening. That's how Ceresei survives. If I wasn't human I wouldn't have sensed his Flux on you."
Asnarade froze. Her heartbeat quickened. For the first time, she felt the weight of unseen presence behind the words. The Lone Nomad was more dangerous than she previously thought. Humans can sense Xana signatures and Flux more then humans but still, it's impossible. She couldn't even sense her leader's Xana signature but he did? How?
"You… just how much do you know?"
He gave a small shrug.
"I'm a wanderer. I know a lot to understand what Ceresei's after. One of your goals is to dismantle the Russian government and replace its leaders with loyalists. You want to establish your new world structure in the shadow of what's left. The Eidolon Saint wants to help you do that."
She narrowed her eyes. "And what's the catch?"
"There is none. The Saint doesn't want anything. He's just… fulfilling someone's wish for revenge."
Her gaze softened just slightly. She knew that the Lone Nomad knew too much but she was in at a disadvantage. He was holding back a lot in the march and she knew it. Even though she was confident she could kill him, she wouldn't leave unscathed and discovered. She heard a few words in her ear which made her sign.
"Our leader doesn't reveal himself. If he accepts… he'll meet you only under conditions he sets."
"Then let him set them. But if he wants the first proof of sincerity, Princess Hinesia of House Rameses will deliver it on August 1st, in the VIP section during the Noble Fluxer tournaments."
The shock that struck her was instant and visible.
"You have royal connections?"
He grinned behind the mask.
"Ceresei isn't the only organization with connections, Asnarade. The Eidolon Saint knows Princess Hinesia, not me. Not even Princess Radellei knows about this."
And just as he said it, the air beside him began to warp. A void portal bloomed into existence, humming softly. Phaser turned toward it, unhurried, his kimono fluttering in the distortion's wind.
"The Saint's calling me. Seems that he wants to know what happens next."
Asnarade blinked. "Then… the Zero Ecliptarch agrees."
He gave her a small, two-finger salute.
"Pleasure doing business with Ceresei."
With that, he stepped into the portal, the void swallowing him whole. It sealed shut behind him. Asnarade stood there, silent, her cloak swaying in the night breeze. She touched the chip again,.
"The Eidolon Saint and that wanderer… just what is your goal?"