[Era]: “Heh, how could something be more important than a deadhead? Knowing its existence alone is probably more valuable than—.”

  [Cindy]: “If you would let me speak, then I can expin why it might be.”

  [Era]: “You,,,?!”

  [Xander]: “Era, enough.”

  The tension rose, but it quickly subsided it as Xander’s attention is piqued by her words.

  [Cindy]: “There was a barrier.”

  [Cindy]: “It was much weaker than what we have, but something’s odd about it. A simple force alone was enough to destroy it, which means it was not created by a treasure. No, there’s someone who made that barrier.”

  Xander teleported right beside the throne.

  [Era]: “Heh, what’s there to worry about a barrier? Unless a god made it, we can always destroy it.”

  [Cindy]: “Yes, but the question is, who erected that barrier? We’ve only encountered warriors and that one nomad. which means…”

  [Xander]: “One of the travelers.”

  Cindy looks up to him.

  [Cindy]: “Heroes.”

  All eyes widened as Magnus, the draconic humanoid steps forward.

  [Magnus]: “Awakened Travelers.”

  [Magnus]: “Give me your words, Xander.”

  [Xander]: “You have just returned to the world of the living, Magnus.”

  [Magnus]: “There’s no better time to fulfil my duty.”

  [Xander]: “Very well, but first, Cindy. You are to meet Dorian and receive your punishment.”

  Sis’s eyes widened as Era grins in satisfaction. Trembling slightly, Cindy bows before leaving the room.

  [Xander]: “Sis.”

  He shudders.

  [Xander]: “You are dismissed.”

  Clenching his fist.

  [Xander]: “Sis.”

  [Sis]: “Y-Yes, Xander?”

  Holding his gaze.

  [Xander]: “Is something the matter?”

  [Sis]: “Huh? Ah, no, Xander. Nothing.”

  [Xander]: “Dismiss.”

  He bows and leave the throne room.

  [Xander]: “Lyra, bring the Travelers here.”

  Within a locked dungeon beneath the castle lies weapons, armors, and artifacts of great power. Heavily enchanted by the one residing in this very dungeon. An indescribable monster that has the form of an octopus and a trait of a porcupine.

  {Dorian Bloodmoon / Rank: Eternal / Approximate Level: 6000+ / Leech Mutation}

  [Dorian]: “Haa… the st time was your eyes, but now… Goodness me, what did you do, Cindy. It’s rather heavy this time.”

  [Cindy]: “My face?”

  [Dorian]: “Heheh, no. It will be your back.”

  Her trembling stops. There’s only one pce she needs to go, and that is the stool. As she sits on it, Dorian drags a chest before turning her backwards.

  [Dorian]: “Was it Era?”

  [Cindy]: “Mm.”

  [Dorian]: “Heheh, really making it difficult for you, huh. Can’t you get along with her?”

  [Cindy]: “Now, you’re asking too much of me.”

  Taking out a serrated bde out of the chest.

  [Dorian]: “I always believed in you, Cindy. Never forget that.”

  [Cindy]: “…”

  [Cindy]: “Just get it over with.”

  The bde sparks afme, and the night goes full of pain. Inside a room decorated full of staves. From the ones hanging on the wall, stored in dispy cases, and even ones that are simply loaded into a basket. There lies Cindy shaking uncontrolbly with a back severely wounded by the torture session she just had. Sis is there rubbing some medicine which proves ineffective against it.

  [Cindy]: “Hnnnrgh… That’s enough.”

  [Sis]: “Right.”

  Resting her face on the sofa.

  [Sis]: “I’m sorry.”

  [Cindy]: “It’s alright. Just leave. I need some rest.”

  Reluctantly, he did, but then he encounters Xander outside. They did not say anything to each other and Sis simply just left the area. Xander enters the room to see the state of Cindy. She’s panting as she turns toward him, “Sir.”

  [Xander]: “Was it worth it? Sacrificing yourself pointlessly like this.”

  She chuckles.

  [Cindy]: “Nothing really gets past you, sir.”

  A ring with an embedded gem all around it, tossed right beside her face.

  [Cindy]: “This is…”

  [Xander]: “Once, there was a dragon capable of controlling the air around it. A very much overlooked power, often frowned upon, but it manages to leverage its strength to reach new heights. Its power allows him to take control over the world, making those around it submits. A part of its power now lies within that ring. It is now yours.”

  Instead of wearing, she caresses it with the tip of her finger.

  [Cindy]: “A dragon… to think a power of such creature is granted to a lizard.”

  [Xander]: “…”

  [Xander]: “Rest. You will resume your guard duty by the morrow.”

  [Cindy]: “Yes sir.”

  As he opens the door.

  [Cindy]: “Thank you.”

  A moment for him to ponder before leaving. The ring besides her is grabbed by a gentle hand, a double body of herself. Inserting it to the middle finger before going to a mirror.

  [Cindy-Mirror]: “We don’t have much time left, Sio. Are you really intending to betray my father while being as weak as you are now?”

  [Luosa]: “Even these people wouldn’t be able to protect you from him.”

  [Sio]: “Shut up, I know what I’m doing.”

  She stood. Grabbing a piece of clothing. Wearing it despite how much it makes her wound stings. Because of the cloth wrapped around her head, one cannot see her expression, but from her body movement, she is in pain, “Have you been able to control my shadow yet?”

  [Luosa]: “It’s tricky, but yes.”

  [Sio]: “For how long?”

  [Luosa]: “Will it even matter? If you cannot hold your grounds against scissors, we’re both doomed regardless. I need to know if you can do it. Otherwise, I’d suggest concocting a new pn.”

  The view from the window, a rge city under the tyranny of the storm. Turning over her shoulder, seeing Luosa not behind a mirror but sitting on the desk.

  [Sio]: “Let’s try it then.”

  Lashes, a woman standing beside a corpse of a nomad. One is giving him energy while the other observes patiently.

  [Era]: “How much longer, Lyra.”

  [Lyra]: (sigh) “Unlike necromancy, resurrection spells require time and—.”

  [Era]: “Tsk, fine! Just let me know when it’s done.”

  She turns to check on the hundreds of prisoners being tortured to death and back by Magnus, and she turns towards him.

  [Era]: “Any news on the deadhead yet?!”

  [Magnus]: “Madam. While it is true that I answer to you, I must prioritize the duty given to me by her majesty, Lerusagon.”

  [Era]: “Bah, useless.”

  [Era]: “Guess I have to look for it myself.”

  She disappears and begin to traverse extremely fast towards the location of which Sio or Cindy has invaded. The remnants of the battlefield, and itself gives off an odd feeling.

  [Era]: “Heh, this is all the damage needed to bring them back?”

  She descends to the encampment.

  [Era]: “No, she cleaned it all up.”

  [Era]: “That girl is on to something. I just know it.”

  [???]: “Oh? Era, surprised to see you here.”

  [???]: “My, you look so heated.”

  {Zara Nightsong / Rank: Eternal / Approximate Level: 6000+ / Succubus}

  {Ael Stormcaller / Rank: Transcendental / Approximate Level: 3000+ / Mutated Sprout}

  Two entities appear before her. One is a luscious demon with a pair of wings and the other is wood creature standing on two legs.

  [Era]: “Heh, to think Xander would actually listen to her words.”

  At a certain hall in the castle lies Sis munching on meatballs on a ptter. Pondering of the event that has just transpired. The sight of Cindy with her wounded back. That image makes the taste of the meat much more revolting. He sets it on the floor and look up. A woman is approaching him, one with a red dancer outfit. Fiery eyes and ponytail hair.

  [Sis]: “Lady Anya.”

  He quickly stood to greet her.

  {Anya of Whispering Fme / Rank: Ethereal / Approximate Level: 10000+ / Human}

  [Anya]: “What dy. Come now, Sis, what happened to you? Looking so worse for wear.”

  [Sis]: “It’s just… Ahaha, it’s nothing really, but what’s the umm, what’s the purpose of your visit to the treasury this time?”

  [Anya]: “The usual, some Maxima and Overdrive scrolls.”

  [Anya]: “The fissures on the Northen region hasn’t let up at all, so I gotta clean up those demons and undead before they got everywhere.”

  [Sis]: “Hm, I thought master Valerian, with his use of necromancy, would make a quick work of them.”

  [Anya]: “Yeah, but it’s different this time. The Soul Reaver can’t do much against those that doesn’t have a soul. They’re invaders from another realm.”

  [Sis]: “Is it… the Alpha and the Omega?”

  [Anya]: “No, it’s something different… much weaker. Hahahah.”

  [Sis]: “Ah ahahaha.”

  [Sis]: “Then, please. Help yourself. Let me unlock the door for you.”

  The door to the treasury, unlocked by a key. He smiles at her as he guides her inside. A wide-open space full of gold and treasures. The two walks as Anya follows him, but then their steps halted after seeing an entity standing on the center of the room. A pedestal holding a demigod-level sword, a Nexus ranked item. That person is holding it in her hand. Eyes widened after realizing who it is. Sis mutters her name, “Cindy?” She turns to see the two visitors.

  [Anya]: “That’s… Sunder.”

  [Sis]: “What’re you doing?”

  [Cindy]: “…”

  The three comes to a stalemate. Waiting for one to make the first move, Anya keeps eyeing the weapon that Cindy is holding while Sis is focusing on the person herself. But then, instead of answering, she opens her free palm at them and sends a dark current. Sis couldn’t even process fast enough to it, but the current is halt when a massive shield of ever burning fme absorbs it. Cindy flies in maneuver towards the entrance to escape.

  [Anya]: “Sis! We can’t let her off with Sunder!”

  His heart clenched as it beats hard. He notices the tempest spear that has been confiscated by Xander and takes it. With a swing, he sends waves of lightning imbued wind towards her but it just passes through her, but she’s not materialized enough to grip Sunder as it falls and impale the ground, “Hrmm.”

  Anya closes her distance as fmes spew out of both hands, with a punch, a dragon-like fme hurl towards Cindy. But once again, it simply passes through her.

  [Anya]: “What?”

  Cindy sms her foot down and sends a massive ice towards which Anya counters with a seething fme. Ice spears flying, and she dodges as she sends numerous fireballs at her. Cindy flies towards her, closing her distance as the fireballs simply passes through her again.

  [Anya]: “Damn it. What is this, you’re not even an ancient being!”

  She accepts her challenge and charged both of her fist with fme. The first blow is sent, with Anya feeling the weight of her own punch. Cindy redirected that by controlling part of Anya’s limb, something of which Sio can do before she lost her powers. Limbic Possession.

  [Anya]: “Guhk?!”

  That’s when Cindy follows up with a knee to Anya’s gut. Eyes widened upon impact. A flurry of punches before she teleported to her back and sends her down with a plunge.

  *Boom*

  Ground scattered and destroyed. Anya’s enraged. Her body emits powerful fme that swirls up to the ceiling but then Cindy sends a dark current to the back of her head. Poking numerous holes on it, and all that energy simply disappears. Blood filling the gaps of the shattered ground. Cindy walks towards the sword Sunder, but before she can pick it up, a bde through her chest. A spear. Comes from a man with a pained heart.

  [Sis]: “Cindy… why?”

  However, the bde never actually touches her, and he soon find that out when Cindy simply turns toward him and spsh a water on his face. Just like the nomad from before. Sis’s eyes widened when he finds the difficulty to breathe in the water.

  [Sis]: “Mublrubh?!”

  A punch to his gut, a backhanded sp to his cheek, two kicks before a plunge.

  *Boom*

  He lies on the ground, close to his final breath. Cindy aims her palm at him to finish the job.