Date:July 25th, year 1286, immediately after Nyx's arrest.Location:Main hall of the headquarters of the Fourth Branch, Crystal Rose
Julian looks up to Calliope as the portal opened by the latter quickly closes.
- "Where did you send her?" He asks.
- "Directly to her prison cell." She calmly replies.
- "You can just do that?... At least give her a chance to explain herself!"
- "Explain why she caused the deaths of so many of my precious citizens?"
- "Didn't you see who caused this? The darkness demon that was the size of a skyscraper?! Are you blind?!"
- "...Watch your tongue. I am aware Lady Night is the primary culprit. But our eyewitnesses all claim seeing Nyx screaming her name in the streets, either provoking or summoning her. Either way, she undeniably caused this to happen."
- "...And what tells you it wasn't going to happen anyways? I've known about Lady Night's shady business for a long time now. Stuff I'm sure you weren't even aware about."
- "...Such as?" Calliope squints, tilting her head to the side.
- "Her experimenting to create Night Touched? Creating an army of assassins to get rid of anyone who would catch onto what she was doing? Did you never ask yourself why she basically never shows up in public?"
- "...I see. Be sure to come testify in court then. I will ensure you are heard."
- "That's it?... That's all you have to say?" Julian shakes his head. "Nevermind that. You're actually going to follow through with all that instead of going looking for Lady Night?"
- "Young Leventis." Calliope's voice resonates around them, as if she was talking from all directions. A wave of invisible force emanates from her, blowing Julian's hair back for a second. A light frown forms on her face at first, but it quickly returns to its usual expressionless state. "Excuse my outburst. However, I want you to tell me what you would suggest I do instead."
- "What?... I-"
- "You do not grasp the full extent of the situation, indeed." She cuts. "You asked me if I were blind. Now I ask you, are you not blinded by your own bias? Your friend, Nyx, was seen by numerous citizens allegedly calling Lady Night to battle her. Rumors are spreading through the capital like a wildfire, and I have no effective means to dispel them at the moment."
- "Then just ask! She was right there, and we're right here too!"
- "What we lack is not only information, but trust as well. Numerous members of the Guard, along with citizens, have begun to doubt our government as a result of Lady Night's actions. Me in particular, given that I am the one who approved for her to be director of the Fifth Branch to begin with."
- "Talk about an oversight."
- "An oversight it… was, I am afraid." She glances at the crowd surrounding them. They were all staring at her with a mix of disbelief and contempt, as their relief was slowly replaced with anger. "But I shall do my utmost to right my wrongs. And it begins by apprehending all suspects."
- "Is that so? Then what about Angelica, who fought to protect our city?"
- "The Ironside?... I received reports of her battling Lady Night, was she complicit in her summoning?"
- "Hell if I know. But she was with Nyx. Are you going to arrest her too?"
- "...I believe this matter can wait, given her extenuating circumstances."
- "But Nyx also fought Lady Night, and yet you're arresting her anyway. Real convenient, isn't it? I'm starting to think you're just looking for an easy scapegoat, since you can't get your hands on the actual problem. Probably a lot easier than trying to jail Angelica and causing an international scene."
- "If you believe I am the one looking for a scapegoat, you are gravely mistaken. The ones asking for a culprit are the families and friends of those who were lost. And I guarantee you, they will find no rest until they secure one. Leaving Nyx to her own devices instead of giving her a proper trial only exposes her to being targeted by grieving citizens, emboldened by the rumors circulating about her."
- "...Tch." Julian turns his back to her and begins to walk away. "I can't believe this bullshit. You bet I'm showing up to that trial."
- "I will await your testimony." Calliope solemnly replies before hovering towards the entrance, floating above the crowd.
A small hand grabs her foot as she is about to exit the tower, and she slowly looks down.
- "Nyx was just trying to help." Beatrice says, in an almost menacing tone. She was dangling from Calliope's leg, her red eyes showing behind the curtain of her hair.
- "...I assume you have ties to her, given your vast amounts of magical energy." She answers. "I do not expect a child to understand, thus I will simply ask you to wait until her trial. Be ensured that she will be judged fairly, and that if she happens to be innocent, no harm will come to her. Trust me, this is a much better alternative than the judgment of the people."
- "If you try to do something to her, I'll-"
- "That's enough, Beatrice." Agnes cuts, forcibly pulling her off Calliope's leg. She had made her way through the crowd, following Beatrice after she saw her chasing after Calliope. "Forgive her, Lady Calliope."
- "But she-" Beatrice starts, struggling to get away.
- "Think about it, do you think Nyx would want you to be doing this?"
- "She'd do that for me."
- "And that would be a bad idea."
- "Why aren't you doing anything either?... I thought you liked Nyx too!"
- "That's not the problem, I…" Agnes hesitates for a few seconds. "I just can't defend her this time. There had to be a better way to go about this. So many of my agents, my colleagues that I've known for years… are nowhere to be found. I know this is Lady Night's doing, but a part of me…" She doesn't finish her sentence, gritting her teeth as if to prevent the words from coming out of her mouth.
- "Agnes…" Beatrice slowly stops struggling.
Meanwhile, Calliope resumes her advance, and exits the tower. She could have easily teleported away, but she floated through the dark streets regardless. They were filled with rubble from toppled buildings, destroyed carriages and injured civilians slowly making their way to the nearest hospitals. Some were calling the names of people who had yet to be found, or already grieving those who were. She could occasionally see shopkeepers blankly staring at the remains of their businesses, wondering if they would ever recover from this night. The Arcane Guard was organizing rescue efforts everywhere, and helping people get to safer areas. Some of the guards would stare daggers at her as she passed by, and she could hear a few making comments in the vein of "I wonder if she'll turn on us too" or "You never know who to trust huh?". She ignored them. After a few minutes, she passes by a small destroyed alleyway, and a scene catches her attention. A man was lying in a puddle of his own blood, and a small girl with the same blonde hair as him was crying next to him, desperately screaming at him to wake up. Calliope hovers over to them, and lands on the ground next to her.
- "...I am sorry, child." Calliope declares. "He has long left this world."
The girl emits a strangled half-sob, turning to face Calliope.
- "You're wrong!" She screams. "Dad isn't… he isn't…"
- "...I understand that nothing I could say would ease your pain. All I can offer is company, if only momentarily."
Calliope silently stands next to the girl for multiple long, agonizing minutes, watching her cry over the corpse. Eventually, the girl turns to her, a few orange sparks erupting from her hands. They were lighting up her face, whose traits were deformed by rage.
- "Why did he have to die?" She asks.
- "There was no reason. This was a senseless act of murder." Calliope replies.
- "I need to find who did this… Who sent the people in robes…"
- "It was-"
- "I'm pretty sure it was that fishy director, Lady Night." A man passing by replies. He was missing his left arm, and the injury looked like it had been literally melted off his body. "She got summoned by some Nyx gal along with that god damned Polemian official… I knew it was a mistake letting these guys into our kingdom." He keeps rambling as he keeps walking.
- "..." The girl's hands form into fists, the sparks starting to seriously burn her skin. She turns to Calliope. "Where are all of these people?..."
- "...We are currently arresting all suspects."
- "I don't want them to be arrested."
- "?..."
- "They don't deserve to be alive. This isn't fair. I want all the people in robes to die. And the people who sent them." Her tears quickly evaporate as her hands fully light on fire.
- "...You are injuring yourself. Come with me, I will take you to see a doct-" Calliope starts, reaching for her shoulder.
The girl slaps her hand away, and gets up on her own.
- "Where are they?!" She screams. "You're a Grand Archmage, you should know!!"
- "...I cannot tell you. You present a danger to yourself at the moment."
The girl wordlessly glares at her for a few seconds, before leaving the alleyway, struggling to drag the corpse of her father behind her. Calliope considers following her for a moment, but she knew it was pointless. She silently resumes her journey through the lightless streets. A few minutes later, she spots a boy crying over the mangled remains of a woman who looked to be his mother, on the porch of a house that had been torn apart by an unknown force. Calliope sighs.
The night was going to be long.