The past couple days had been annoyingly uneventful. It'd been a cycle of waking up, meeting the King, and wandering the Manor House, stopping for meals. It frustrated Shogai, since he knew that Jade and the others probably needed his help. But at the same time, this must have been what a normal life felt like. Shogai had never once lived like this before. In such luxury.

  Kiara seemed even more affected. Growing up as a thief, she was terrified of accepting food from the King. It was unlikely he knew of her past, but even if he did, it wasn't likely that he'd care. The Nexeans didn't. Kiara's fear of even using one of the King's forks was very irrational.

  The Nexeans with them were also quiet. Amelia tried to stay as close to Casi as possible, attempting to make a good impression. Ciela was rarely outside her room, and Nifa only occasionally left her side. Valerie and Tina kept Shogai company, but they also didn't have much to say. They were anticipating something to happen.

  Shogai was restless as night fell, and lay awake in bed. It was an honour to serve the King. Of course it was. But this felt so… pointless. Seven Nexeans were completely out of commission, waiting what could be months for something.

  Someone gently knocked on Shogai's door. He hadn't even gotten dressed into his nightgown yet, since he wasn't expecting to be able to sleep. He stood and opened the door.

  Ciela was outside, still on crutches, along with Nifa, Valerie and Tina.

  "Hi Shogai," Ciela said. Her voice really was super quiet. "We're going sightseeing. Want to come?"

  "Are we allowed to leave this building after curfew?"

  "Not at all, so let's not get caught."

  Shogai thought about it, but figured there was no harm in trying. Plus, it seemed to take a lot of Ciela's courage to even ask him. He still owed her, so he accepted.

  Ciela seemed relieved when he accepted, and Tina smiled. She then stomped over to Amelia's door and aggressively hit it.

  "Amelia! Sightseeing! You in?!"

  "At this time?! No! It's past curfew!"

  "Your loss, coward!"

  "Insubordinate!"

  Tina walked back and kindly said, "Amelia says she'd rather not, but I'm sure she has a good reason. Let's go."

  This was the first time Shogai had left the Manor House. He'd stayed inside, partially to protect King Casi (who really did seem fine) and partially because it was freezing cold outside. That latter part was still true. Santh seemed to be in a permanent blizzard, and it was impossible to see two feet in front of them. They walked down the snowy streets.

  Valerie dealt with the cold by creating a small fireball in her hand. Ciela saw and looked as if she were about to do the same, but Nifa was clutching her book.

  "No. Absolutely not."

  Ciela looked down, disappointed.

  "Can you really only use spells with that book?"

  It was probably an insensitive question for Shogai to ask, considering her position, but Ciela answered enthusiastically.

  "Almost. I can do this."

  A rune appeared in Ciela's hand, and the book vanished from Nifa's arms and appeared where the rune was.

  "Ciela. No magic."

  Ciela sheepishly handed the book back, before continuing.

  "...but that's more of the book's magic than my own. I've memorised every spell, but I need the book to cast them. All I can do by myself is summon the book. Thank goodness Muryoko didn’t figure that out."

  That was a topic that Shogai was surprised Ciela could address so casually. He didn't want to pry, however.

  "Look," Valerie said. She largened her fireball and illuminated the night sky. The blizzard was fading, so the stars were visible. The group settled down to stargaze. They shone and glimmered as they looked down on Earth. They were beautiful, and yet Shogai almost resented them. The truth was that those gleaming balls of light always watched the pain of the people on this island. It was stupid to expect them to do something, but Shogai still didn't see them as a sign of hope. They were just taunting everyone of how beautiful the upper world is.

  "Ciela, it's been a while, but thanks for saving me a while back. I'd be dead if not for you."

  Ciela closed her eyes.

  "No problem," she mumbled. Shogai wasn't surprised that she didn't like the memories of that night. That was the night she'd run into Muryoko. Wright had saved her. And she was only there because she'd been chasing Sekara. It was Sekara’s fault. Shogai felt a lot better about killing her. He'd not only saved thousands of future victims, but he'd avenged a Nexean. An Inner Rank, at that. He couldn’t help but be a little proud of himself. But on the topic of Inner Ranks…

  "What's the deal with Amelia?" Shogai wasn't directing this question at Ciela, who'd almost been getting bullied by Amelia. Instead, Valerie answered.

  "You've seen this story before. Amelia partially doesn't like Ciela because Ciela is ranked above her, and she wants to beat her but can't. But Amelia doesn't like Ciela for another reason. Amelia dresses as an angel. Ciela dresses as a witch. She seems to think they're fated to be eternal enemies. It's stupid, but at least she's sort of strong. She brings some value to Nexus."

  That was sort of unsettling for Shogai to hear. Every Nexean he'd met so far was nice in one way or another. With Raven, it took time. Even Scott didn't seem like a bad kid. But if, after all this time, Amelia was still disliked… then does she have a good side? Can they even rely on her?

  The feelings of doubt vanished from Shogai. It took him a moment to register Tina's hand on his shoulder.

  "She's an ally, Shogai. We're not entitled to anything more than that."

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  That was an incredibly strong argument. Tina noticed the environment was tense.

  "I'm used to dealing with unapproachable people. I have a twin sister, and her face had a birthmark on it. Grown-ups would call me the pretty one, and pity her. She began to wonder if she was just the worse version of me. She stopped speaking to people. I'm sure if you met her right now, Shogai, you'd dislike her for being closed off from everyone. My point is that there's always more to someone's story. I'm not going to be harsh on Amelia."

  "Where's your twin sister now? How's she doing?"

  Tina opened her mouth, about to answer, but Nifa suddenly stood. She ran forwards, into the cold, without even slowing down. Did she have some kind of cold resistance? Valerie reached out to stop her, but she was already long gone.

  "Hold this." Valerie shoved her fireball into Shogai's hand, briefly terrifying him, but it didn’t burn. It was just warm, like a candle. Valerie ignited her hands and chased after Nifa.

  Ciela, Tina and Shogai were in silence. They cautiously began to stand, Tina helping Ciela, but Valerie and Nifa returned in no time.

  "Back to the house, now! They're coming!"

  That needed no more explanation. Nifa threw Ciela's book at her, and it began circling the witch. She levitated into the air, abandoning her crutches, and created a giant rune in the ground. Tina grabbed Shogai's arm to make sure he stayed in the circle, and for the second time ever, Shogai experienced teleportation.

  They reappeared in the throne room. Ciela landed on her legs, which wobbled but held. Nifa rushed up to her, but Ciela stopped her.

  "You said it yourself, they're not broken, just unstable! I'm fine! Go wake up King Casi. Tina, get Amelia! I'm creating a perimeter."

  Ciela's eyes began glowing. This wasn't Elano's Heart, since her eyes were glowing white, not blue like her eye colour. But outside the window, Shogai saw an enormous translucent barrier encircling the city of Santh. Ciela's eyes stopped glowing, and she fell to her knees. Shogai rushed to support her, but she refused to accept help.

  "I'm fine. Just never created a barrier that big. It won't last long. This is just to stall."

  On cue, Amelia and Casi appeared simultaneously, both still in their nightgowns.

  "Ciela, you're okay?" Casi asked, to which Nifa answered,

  "No she's not! Be careful, Ciela! Don't be reckless!"

  "I know. Casi, Aberrants are attacking Santh. A Prime is presumably with them."

  Casi's eyes widened. "Well-we need to meet them in combat immediately! I'll send some soldiers out there to suppor-"

  "No."

  Ciela spoke back to the King with no hesitation, as if she were the monarch.

  "Tell your citizens to hide in their houses. Open the palace gates and doors. I'm taking down the barrier."

  "What?! Ciela, what are you thinking?! Letting a monster inside the-"

  "Think for a second!" Ciela growled, "Those monsters aren't affected by cold! If we fight it out there, we're at a disadvantage! Open up the largest room in this building. We lure it there. Understand?"

  Casi thought for a second, but nodded. He grabbed a walkie-talkie, no surprises that he owned one, and spoke into it.

  "Hi Kate, how's the family? Good, good. So I need a palace right about now, if you know what I'm saying."

  A muffled, confused voice came from the other side.

  "Yes I'm sure! It's about time! Do it now!"

  The room began to shake. Casi began to emit an aura. "Ciela. Would you be so kind as to cast a small barrier around us?"

  "How small?"

  "Enough to withstand a few dozen bombs."

  Ciela reacted immediately, but by the time Shogai could register what the King had said, the room was already exploding. Shogai closed his eyes, but didn't feel anything. Ciela was protecting all of them. Amelia crossed her arms, disappointed that Ciela was in the spotlight, and tried to make up for that by comforting the King.

  "Your Majesty, in case her barrier fails, I'll be sure to fly us to safet-"

  Amelia yelped as the spherical barrier shook after an extremely close bomb went off. She fell to the ground and hit her nose, which started bleeding.

  "Amelia." Ciela said, coldly, "Stay near the centre of the barrier."

  "R-right…" Amelia waited patiently.

  The explosions lasted a full minute, and Shogai couldn’t tell what the purpose of this was. Didn't they need this building? As the roof and walls collapsed, the group found themselves outside in the cold winds. The Manor House had been destroyed.

  "I will personally replace all your destroyed items, I sincerely apologise." Casi said. "Please back away now. Far away. You'll see."

  Ciela listened to the King and hovered away. She cast a small spell and everyone else began floating with her.

  "No, no, no. I can do it myself!" Amelia broke free from Ciela's magic and began flying. Her feet were encased in energy, almost like light, which was propelling her in the air. She wasn't flapping the light wings on her back, proving that they were completely cosmetic. The group flew north, to a mountaintop barely within the large shield, where they could overlook all of Santh.

  "What's he planning?" Valerie wondered aloud. Her question was quickly answered.

  All the rubble from the old Manor House was tossed away in a sudden burst of wind, leaving an empty foundation. The square plot of land began to glow, and it tore apart, revealing a pit below the ground. The area began to shake, furiously.

  "Valerie! There's an avalanche! Can you deal with that?"

  Tina tapped Valerie on the back, giving her the confidence to nod her head. Valerie turned around to the incoming wave of snow, which Shogai hadn't even noticed under the shaking across the city. Valerie rubbed her hands together, and they began to heat up. An inferno escaped her hands, instantly turning the avalanche to steam, which harmlessly washed over them.

  "No way…" Amelia was in complete awe as she looked down at Santh. Shogai could barely make it out through the steam, but what he saw blew him away.

  A palace was ascending out of the pit. An entire, enormous castle. It was slowly moving upwards, and it was incredible. It was what Shogai expected a King to live in.

  "What the-he's been hiding that thing under his city?"

  After the castle stabilised, everyone rushed back to the site of the castle. Casi was in the front garden, breathing heavily.

  "You didn't really think I lived in a boring old house, did you?" He said as he saw them approaching.

  "I didn't want to reveal this palace to the world until after we'd killed all the Deviants, but right now I think you need an arena. The main hall should suffice."

  King Casi fell to his knees.

  "Are you alright?" Amelia asked, this time out of genuine concern.

  "I'll live, just about. Lifting a palace is a bit hard on my shoulders, believe it or not. And this is all I can do. This palace is tied to my bloodline. It's the only thing I can control. Make this worth it."

  Casi completely collapsed and Amelia caught him.

  "Ciela, get him to safety. Now."

  Amelia's aggressive tone was back, but Ciela was one step ahead of her. The books of her pages began flickering, and Casi vanished.

  "I've sent him to Nexus. He should be safe there."

  Ciela then winced. The enormous barrier over them shattered like glass, having finally taken enough damage.

  "There's seven of us. Let's win this."

  The group stood between the new castle and the area the barrier broke from. There was definitely a Deviant Prime there. They waited for the enemy to show themselves, and they did.

  There were two of them.

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