- "Hey wait up!" Julian yells, running after Nyx.
The latter was walking through the prison's courtyard, heading towards a heavy iron door. Beatrice, who is walking beside her, flicks her hand at the door which unlocks with a muffled click. Nyx pushes it, and starts making her way through the structure's hallways. Eventually, Julian steps in front of her, and she stops.
- "What do you mean you need to talk to Solomon?! At least tell us what's going on!" He exclaims, as Agnes catches up to them, Regulus in tow.
- "Hmmm… It's complicated." Nyx mumbles. "Humans really shouldn't be dealing with this stuff, so just let me handle it!"
- "And you're doing it right now?! The prison is still under attack!"
- "Oh yeah I need to take care of that." She glances to her right, at a small portal that was slowly forming on the wall. "Beatrice, can you open that? I'm weirdly low on magical energy."
- "Hm? Okay." Beatrice snaps her finger at the portal and it stabilizes. A humanoid monster slowly emerges from it, its tendrils feeling the space around it. They all freeze as Nyx walks up to it, and the creature takes a step back.
- "Hi." Nyx says without a hint of the usual warmth of her voice. Her eyes were brightly glowing, like two blinding flashlights aimed at it. "Go back to the time-out zone with all the others, or I'm deleting you for good this time. If they're still here in the next five minutes, tell the stragglers that they won't even get to live in my memory. Understood? Go."
The creature vigorously nods and runs back into its portal. All around them, and in the upper floors above them, the sounds of battle slowly die down as they are replaced with the sounds of the monsters scurrying back into their portals as fast as physically possible. In a matter of seconds, the entire prison had fallen silent, save for the footsteps of the guards in the floors above them. Nyx resumes her walk, followed by Beatrice.
- "That's done! Now I'm leaving." She declares.
- "Oh no you're not!" Julian gets in her way again, and Nyx pouts.
- "What now?..."
- "You still haven't told me what you're trying to do!"
- "I need to find that Radiance guy. And I need to get rid of Lady Night quickly too, so I'll just ask Solomon to tell Serafim to do it. I don't have my powers, but it looks like they still do so it works out!"
- "Serafim?... If what you were saying about your first death is true, why would he even help you?..."
- "Why would he not?"
- "He helped kill you."
- "I'm not dead."
- "You… get what I mean. Scratch that, you actually don't."
- "If you want to find Radiance, I can help." Beatrice cuts. "His portal is still fresh, so I could reopen it!"
- "Oh! That would be great!" Nyx exclaims.
Beatrice has a satisfied grin and Nyx carefully picks up Julian and sets him down on the side as they walk by him. The latter angrily starts following them.
- "I'll at least make sure nobody gets blown up or something…" He grumbles. "Somebody's gotta report to Agnes anyways…"
A few minutes later, they're back next to the parlor, or what was left of it. The entire portion of the hallway next to it was gone, along with anything on the floors above and below it. Julian waves his hand towards the precipice in front of them, creating a platform of air for them to stand on. While they walk above the void towards the room, Julian's face goes pale as a sheet when he looks down and assesses the height of the drop under them. A pair of guards in the distance waves at them, standing on the far end of the hallway that was spared from the destruction.
- "Are you lost? The shelters are this way!" One of them calls out. "Get over here quickly if you can fly above the entire gap safely!"
- "Fourth Branch." Julian replies, showing his badge. "We're here to find out what happened."
- "Oh, you must be the newbies we heard of, that apprehended the head of the Leventis! Good work out there!"
- "Thanks."
- "Uh…" Nyx suddenly stops, looking down at the rubble at the bottom of the chasm they were crossing.
- "What now? Having second thoughts?" Julian glances at her, and his heart drops as he notices the stars in her eyes are gone. "I'm going to lose it."
- "..." A single cross shaped star manifests in her right eye, and her cheerful tone returns. "Vanessa wanted to say something, so I switched with her! Going to Regulus' mind helped me figure out how to do that, so I'm practicing!"
- "...Okay at least you can come back at will." Julian sighs. "What do you want?"
- "...I can see people trapped in the rubble down there. Nyx noticed but didn't say anything, so I felt like I had to do something…" Vanessa replies, her voice growing quieter after every word. "It's kind of my fault…"
- "Is that so?" He looks down, and after a few seconds he gasps, noticing a hand under a fallen portion of wall. "You're actually right. Hey!" He shouts to the guards on the other side of the precipice. "There are still people under there, you should probably send a team to try to save them!"
- "Huh?" The guard who spoke earlier replies, looking down at the spot he was pointing at. "Damn that's true! Let's go get the wardens!"
The guards run off and Nyx's stars return to her eyes.
- "Why didn't you say anything?..." Julian asks as they resume their walk towards the parlor.
- "I have more important stuff to do." Nyx replies.
- "I thought you loved humans though?... These people are probably between life and death right now."
- "I do! Even if they're dead, they'll live in my memory like everyone else."
- "That's… one way of looking at it. I don't even know why I question you sometimes."
- "Me neither!"
When they reach the parlor, they step onto the creaky wooden planks which had narrowly survived the blast thanks to their protective enchantments. Beatrice walks over to the table, and places her hand on it.
- "Oh that's gonna be easy." She comments. "Unlock."
The space-textured circular portal opens again, completely covering the table.
- "Good job Beatrice!" Nyx pats her head before climbing onto the table.
- "Hold on, if you're going to jump in at least let's do it at the same time." Julian cuts. "I know there's no point in trying to convince you not to do that."
- "Hm? Sure."
- "...You know, you can be very predictable. In a really messed up kind of way."
- "Huh, is that so." She shrugs. "Okay then let's do it!"
Julian climbs onto the table with her, and turns towards Beatrice.
- "You stay here, if we're not back in about ten minutes try to contact Agnes." He points his thumb to the battered door on the other side of the room. "You should be able to leave through where we originally came from if you don't find her, and in that case try to get Angelica to come over here."
- "Okay!" Beatrice nods.
He turns his attention back to the portal, and takes a deep breath before stepping into it with Nyx. He feels himself falling, while his vision is overwhelmed by all the lights around him. He could see millions of stars shining around him, and in the distance he noticed a familiar blue dot.
- "Isn't that Eaaaarth??!" He yells to Nyx who was also falling, her arms crossed with a completely neutral expression on her face.
- "You should stop panicking!" She replies as she reaches towards him to take his hand. "I kind of recognize that magic, if you flail around too much you might get lost between realms forever. I can't see what's happening there very well, so I don't think I'll ever be able to find you if that happens."
- "Is that supposed to be reassuriiing?!!"
- "Yes!"
Their fall abruptly stops as they are shot upwards out of the portal. Their momentum sends them flying a few meters vertically, and Julian seems to quickly recognize the area as he looks around. It was some kind of large, dark underground tunnel lined with weathered bricks and roots. It was only lit by a few torches on the wall, which looked like they were about to burn out. On some of the walls, symbols of swords, flames, and lightning bolts among other things were painted in vibrant colors.
- "The Labyrinth…" He whispers.
- "What's that?" Nyx asks.
- "It's- hold on." Julian creates an invisible platform under them as they start plummeting towards the ground, stopping their fall. "A bad place. Lots of criminals and people with shady pasts down there."
- "Ah, so this is where the church of the Eternal Night is!"
- "Well… that's technically possible I guess? There would be nobody to police them down here."
As his platform starts descending towards the ground, a familiar voice fills the tunnel and light footsteps resonate around them.
- "Well now, that won't do." Radiance declares, his silhouette slowly being outlined by the light of the torches as he walks towards them. "Are you the people who managed to open my gate? I must say I am very impressed."
- "Guess we've got our work cut out for us." Julian comments, reaching for his dagger. "We're taking you in for questioning. Surrender or else."
- "Is that truly how an officer of the Arcane Guard should behave?"
- "Who cares? I'm getting the job done."
- "Is that so?" Radiance raises his hand to take a look at something inside his palm. It was Julian's dagger.
- "Huh?..." Julian's hand grasps at nothingness, and he realizes his weapon is well and truly gone. "(What??)" He thinks. "(That's not just speed, even Angelica isn't that fast! Teleportation then? But when?...)"
- "You should see the look on your face right now." Radiance grins. "I truly love this trick, it always impresses the first time."
- "...I knew it was you!" Nyx suddenly exclaims, pointing her finger at Radiance. "It's obvious now that I get a good look at you!"
- "Pardon?" Radiance glances at her. "Do we know each other?"
- "...What?" Nyx immediately loses her smile, as if her entire world was crumbling. "Even you don't remember me, Ka'el?..."
- "Those eyes… This presence… This manner of speech… Lady Nyx!" Radiance shouts, his purple eyes lighting up after a second of hesitation.
- "Ah, so you do remember!" Nyx's mood is immediately lifted, and she runs over to him. "How have you been?"
- "Quite well! These modern times have such a fascinating way of life. I often find myself envying them, if I'm being frank. What about you?"
- "That's great to hear! Personally I'm doing great, I managed to get a human vessel, so I'm enjoying my time among you guys."
- "Sorry if I'm interrupting…" Julian says as he walks up to them, before punching Nyx in the back of the head. "...But why are you having a casual chat with the enemy?!"
- "Ouch." Nyx complains. "The enemy? Ka'el is a good guy!"
- "Now now, let's not get violent." Radiance adds as he raises his hands, and tosses Julian's dagger back to him. "Frankly, I have no intention of fighting. I was simply planning to send you back to where you came from, before you ran into Lady Night. If you did, you most likely would not be allowed to walk away. But things are taking quite an interesting turn!"
- "...Okay I'll play along." Julian sighs, sheathing his dagger. "Who's this guy then?"
- "Ka'el! He's the guy who founded my first cult way back then!" Nyx looks up at the ceiling, thinking for a second. "I don't know how much time has passed since I went to sleep, but it would still be a lot of years." She glances at Ka'el. "You died though, I remember it."
- "Haha, that is unfortunately correct. Apologies for disappointing you."
- "You didn't strike me as the type to kidnap princesses for sacrifices, so I was really surprised when that happened!"
- "Ahem…" Ka'el's smile turns forced. "The Children of the Eternal Night were simply getting out of control. I assure you I had NO hand in this. When I attempted to stop them, they labeled me a non-believer, and most likely would have sent me to meet you themselves if I didn't die in the war that ensued."
- "Ah."
- "Don't tell me you believed that I caused this for all this time?..."
- "I… uh…" Nyx has a blank smile and her eyes shift to stare at the wall on her right. "Nope, not at all."
- "I am somewhat skeptical." Ka'el grins as he walks around Nyx to look her in the eyes. The latter keeps pivoting to avoid looking at him.
- "So, how are we talking to a dead guy?" Julian chimes in.
- "Lady Night offered me a second life." Ka'el replies, temporarily stopping. "I have been serving her for the past two millenia, I believe? Time becomes harder to measure as you age."
- "...You can do that too?" Julian asks Nyx.
- "Bring people back to life?" Nyx frowns. "I technically could when I had all my power, I guess. But there's no point in doing that, it just ruins the fun. Dead people need to stay in my memory."
- "Her memory is essentially our afterlife." Ka'el comments. "I know it might be hard to believe, but it is a genuine, tangible realm. Lady Night simply pulled me from there through means unbeknownst to me, along with a few others."
- "...Guess it'd make sense she'd have her own underworld, like the other gods." Julian replies. "Alright, you're a follower of Nyx, right?" Julian asks.
- "Correct."
- "Then you mind helping us out? I think it's pretty clear Lady Night's evil."
- "Evil is a strong word, but I guess it is not entirely unwarranted… Lady Night is still my goddess, and she did bring me back to life. The name Radiance was bestowed upon me by her, and as long as I call myself that I cannot betray her."
- "Ka'el is very loyal to me!" Nyx brags.
- "Why are you so proud?... He's loyal to your evil clone right now."
- "In theory this Nyx would be the clone, in terms of sheer age." Ka'el comments.
- "Hey Ka'el?" Nyx's eyes start glowing dangerously. "I think you should go back to my memory. I'll take you there."
- "Haha, my apologies. You're every bit as fun to tease as Lady Night, I cannot help myself."
- "Don't compare me to her…" Nyx sighs. "So I'm guessing you won't tell us anything?"
- "I would rather not, but you still undeniably are my goddess… You truly are putting me in a difficult position."
- "It's fine, I was planning on visiting Solomon to ask him stuff anyways."
- "I am relieved." Ka'el pauses for a second, a worried look on his face. "Say, before you do so, what are your thoughts on the rewritten history?"
- "Oh, like them acting like I never existed?"
- "...Yes."
- "I don't care, I guess? I exist. That's pretty much all there is to it."
- "I see." Ka'el gives her an approving nod. "You truly are different from Lady Night."
- "I'm happy you can tell!"
- "I can take you to Lord Solomon's realm if you allow me. It is well defended, but I managed to break it once before for… reasons I cannot disclose."
- "That would be great!"
- "Erm…" Julian cuts. "I really don't think it's a good idea to just walk into our god's realm. And personally I think that'd just be plain disrespectful. He'd probably smite you for going there uninvited, just give up on that idea."
- "Nope! Plus Solomon doesn't smite people. That's more of a Serafim thing."
- "I'm… pretty sure he does."
- "Do not worry, one thing I have learned over time is that Nyx can handle herself, no matter how clumsy she might seem." Ka'el comments.
- "I guess that kind of holds true." Julian nods along.
- "I'm not clumsy…" Nyx grumbles.
- "Apologies." Ka'el smirks. "I will escort you back, young elf. I was present when Lady Night confronted Solomon a few thousand years ago, and I assure you that no mortal should witness something like this. Godly affairs should not involve us mortals."
- "...Welp, good luck Nyx. Make sure you come back, or Beatrice might lose it. And I just might too." Julian concludes, extending his closed fist towards her.
- "Don't worry!" Nyx smiles, looking down at his fist. "What are you doing?"
- "It's a fist bump…" Julian's face turns red as silence fills the corridor. "You know what, nevermind."
- "Oh right, I know those!" Nyx winds up and delivers a punch to Julian's hand. The latter instinctively dodges, and the air pressure created by her swing generates a light wind as Nyx narrowly misses him. "Hm? What are you doing now?"
- "Control your strength, I don't want to lose my arm!" He shouts as he turns to walk back towards the portal on the ground. "I swear, being friendly with you is probably the most dangerous thing I've ever decided to do."
- "I will go with him." Ka'el points both his arms at the floor next to Nyx, and after focusing for a few seconds another gate appears next to her. "Just use this, I will keep it open as long as I must. It leads directly to the center of Solomon's realm."
- "Thanks Ka'el! See you!" Nyx replies before jumping into the portal without hesitation.
A few seconds later, Nyx is hurled out of the other side of the portal. As she rises into the air, her eyes lay on the boundless space she had just entered. It was an infinite sea of clouds lit by the infinity of stars in the night sky above, and right under her was a massive building entirely made of stained glass that looked like a mix between a castle and a cathedral, surrounded by gardens featuring vegetation she had never seen before. As she starts falling, she attempts to readjust gravity but notices her magic was much wilder than usual, harder to concentrate and dispersing everywhere every time she would attempt to focus her spell. When she is about to hit the ground, a bright pink aura surrounds her and cushions her fall as she lands in one of the gardens. The pink energy leaves, and when Nyx's gaze follows it she sees it congregating around a woman who was curiously looking at her with a smile. She was wearing an ample sleeveless white dress covered with golden jewelry, and two golden bracelets were floating around each of her wrists. She had pink hair long enough to almost touch the ground, and a golden tiara was sitting on her head, modeled after a stylized depiction of the sun. Her eyes were pink, and while her right eye featured a glowing white heart, the left one was broken. Among the stylized hearts forming her aura, a red one was split in half and slowly orbiting above her head.
- "I knew I was right to come with Balthazar and pay a visit to Solomon!" The woman exclaims, her voice echoing around them. "Did he finally decide to create angels like me? He went with such a cute design! That's really unusual, maybe he's finally becoming less of a grouch!"
- "Oh hey Vivianne!" Nyx waves at her.
- "Oh you already know me?" Vivianne tilts her head to the side. "That's right, I'm the goddess of Love! Nice to meet you!"