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Chapter Text

The age of the gods is over. The Earth Mother, Mila and the War Father, Duma were put to slumber for all eternity. Valentia has been united. Alm is the new and first king of the One Continent of Valentia. Everything begins anew.

After the war, many of their comrades went their own way in search of their own path in life. Some remained with them to aid them in their quest to rebuild the foundations of the new kingdom. And Celica, now married to Alm, provided him with her support and wisdom. Many believed she was the reincarnation of the goddess Mila herself, though she denied such claims. She may have achieved a great feat, but she was still in fact human after all, despite bearing the Brand which symbolizes her great destiny.

Anthiese or rather, Celica (she still preferred to be called by that) would at times, visit either the monastery she grew up in, or in the Sage's Hamlet, where her elder brother Conrad lived in. The children adored her so, and every time she would visit, the children would go and play with her, though only in a short amount of time since she still has obligations to fulfill as the queen. Her best friend Mae is now married to Boey, which was to be expected since she and the rest of the priory knew that they were always close and would always bicker with each other. When they announced their marriage, they all commented on how "it was about time" they admitted they loved each other. It was just like her and Alm then at the time.

Whenever Alm would go and perform his daily duties and would sometimes leave her if the situation calls for it, she would stay in castle on his behalf. When she finishes her duty, she would sometimes go to the castle's library to read books mostly involving political matters and learning the history and such. Since she grew up in the priory, she was never exposed into the life of a royal, and she felt she needed to keep up the pace for her to grow us a queen. She would also urge Alm to study as well.

Even when it was no longer needed, she still wears her Mila's Turnwheel on her neck. The turnwheel also provided as a key which grants access to the Altar of Duma. When Duma was defeated, they both agreed to seal the altar forever along with Falchion so no one may ever enter the god's resting place, and decided to keep the two turnwheels with them. Despite the goddess now gone, fragments of her power are still inside the turnwheel, and thus she can still see all the Memory Prisms they've gathered in their journey, however, she could no longer go back in time. Ever since the war ended, she and Alm stopped receiving any more visions of the future, so the turnwheel has remained dormant since then.

While in her study, Celica began hearing ticking sounds coming from the turnwheel. Strange, she thought. Back in the days of their fighting, whenever she uses the turnwheel to go back in time to right the wrong, the turnwheel would make a clock-like ticking sound on just how far from time she would like to go back to. Once all of those are fulfilled, the turnwheel would remain silent until the time she would use it again.

She stared at her Mila's Turnwheel. There was nothing out of the ordinary, except from the ticking sounds. Maybe it's broken? She will have to check on Alm's own turnwheel once he gets back.

That night, Alm and Celica were both in their bed chambers getting ready to settle in for the day. She could still hear the ticking from the turnwheel.

"Alm?" she quietly asked, which made him turn.

"Hm?"

"Can I…see your Mila's Turnwheel?"

Alm blinked, obviously confused. Why would she need it despite that thing not working anymore? He still gave his that was wearing around his neck. Celica stared at his turnwheel if there was something off about it. None. She placed the turnwheel on her ear if there were any ticking sounds. None again.

"Um…Celica? Is there something wrong?"

"My own turnwheel…it's…" she reached for her own turnwheel. What she saw was something she didn't expect: some of the symbols of the turnwheel began to glow, and the ticking was faster. Both of them were wide eyed.

"What's going on?" Celica asked, not expecting any answers.

Then the symbol's glow subsided, and the ticking was slower again, though constant. Both of them looked at each other, still not knowing what the heck just happened. Alm checked his again, but his own turnwheel was quiet and there was nothing glowing. Why only Celica's?

"You don't think it's broken, right?" asked Alm.

Celica shook her head, uncertainty filling her like something has a tied a knot in her stomach. "I'm not sure. I hope it's nothing." I really do hope it's nothing. But why am I feeling like this? Things like these would usually signify something is going to happen. People would call it "women's intuition", and she's usually right with these things.

Alm saw the nervous look in her eyes. To comfort her, he stroked her soft, flowing hair, kissed her forehead, and hugged her tight. "Don't worry. It's going to be fine," he said gently. "Whatever happens, I'm here for you."

Alm's reassurance most definitely warmed her heart. "Thank you, Alm."

They both tucked in for the night. They would have to get used by the ticking sound while they are sound asleep.

A week has passed and the turnwheel still ticks like a clock. Day by day, more and more of the symbols would glow and subside. She asked Nomah and the other priests and priestesses of the Novis Monastery, and even they had no clue of what is going on, only saying that some of Mila's power must be reacting to something. She even went to the Temple of Mila, and even they do not know, except when they said that perhaps fragments of Mila's power is starting to awaken again. She also asked the people in Tatiana's priory, but there was no luck. Her last chance was when she visited Sage Halcyon. The old sage only said to her that something is causing the Mila's Turnwheel to react this way, but it was, he does not know. All of them agreed on one thing though: the turnwheel is certainly not broken.

She went to the castle library again to search if there was anything at all that would say about the turnwheel. Alm was worried about her since she was in the library for hours without even eating. He would go to her and urge her to eat, which in the end she obliged. She was getting famished from hours of searching through books. After eating, he went with her to the library, offering to help her.

"Thank you Alm," she said, while reading one of the books.

"I'm worried about you," he glanced at her. "You've been visiting here nonstop for days now. Also, you've been helping me out with duties without any rest. You know you can't keep doing this to yourself."

She stopped reading and looked at him. "I'm sorry Alm. I didn't mean to worry you."

Alm gave her a warm smile. "It's all right. Whatever is happening to this," he glanced at her Mila's Turnwheel, then back at Celica, "I'm sure we can figure it out."

She smiled and nodded. How she felt lucky she was married to this man.

One of the servants came into the library and bowed at them. "Your Majesty…"

"Is there something the matter?" asked Alm.

"One of the nobles wants to arrange a meeting with you," she said. "He wishes to see your presence."

He looked at Celica, who the latter smiled. "Go on. It's okay."

"I'll be back," he said and left the library, silently hoping this meeting would finish quick.

Now she was alone again. The library was quiet, aside from the turnwheel ticking. She looked at the door where Alm had been. He was becoming a fine king, and the people of Valentia adored and loved him in return. Perhaps in the future, he would be known as the Saint-King.

Mila's Turnwheel started glowing again, this time, the glowing was strong. The sound of ticking was faster and it was going faster still. The hand was spinning faster and faster like a clock gone out of control.

"W-What's happening?!"

Bright light engulfed her and she screamed. The light and the scream was seconds quick. The library was now eerily quiet, and Celica was gone.

Chapter Text

Celica felt herself lying on the ground as she can feel the grass and hear the rustling of tree leaves. She scanned her surroundings. Why is she here? She was supposed to be in the castle's library. She checked the Mila's Turnwheel, and to her horror, the turnwheel was destroyed! Not only that, the gears of the turnwheel were missing, save for one of them which was right next to her. "Oh, no….no, no, no…"she muttered, and wandered the area searching for the other missing parts, but to no avail. Another question crossed her mind.

Where is she?

She is in some sort of woods, and yet, there's a strange familiarity about it. Wait a second, this is near Ram Village! But how did she end up all the way out here? Her only option for now is to head to Ram Village and maybe she could ask for help with her old friends and villagers. She did miss visiting this place after all. This was the place where she met the man she loved.

Ram Village. Same old small, quiet village, though it was odd there were armed men guarding the village gate. The villagers were doing normal business as always, and she could see children playing around. She recognized so many people here, even when she only spent a short time with them due to circumstances.

Suddenly, her turnwheel glowed. Despite the turnwheel looking like a wreck and was missing its parts, the power in it still remained. She wasn't sure whether it was a good sign or a bad one. She heard footsteps going her way, and she immediately hid the turnwheel. It was an adult woman. She had long brown hair which was braided. Even for a village girl, she looked very pretty. Celica definitely knew who she was.

"Excuse me miss. Something wrong?"

Celica smiled. Her family business was the one responsible for making the famous Ram Village Wine, which was favored even amongst the nobles. She had met her when she was just new to the village and gave her some bread. She would sometimes play with her and Alm and the other children as well. She was one of the people who Celica missed dearly.

"Carol! It's been so long!"

The woman named Carol only looked at her with confusion. "Do we know each other?"

"What are you talking about Carol? It's me! Celica!" What? How can she not recognize her? When she became queen, she helped her endorse the wine not too long ago. "I helped you with your family wine remember? And, you were the one who showed me around the village when I was new here. Alm and I used to play with you when we were young!"

Carol thought for a moment. "I'm sorry. I really don't know what you're talking about. I remember playing with Alm though that's for sure. Oh, what am I saying? He's now King Alm! He has grown into a fine young man…and now look at him, I never thought he'd be king!"

"I…see…" Why doesn't she remember her?

"Oh, I have to go. Have to help out my father. Nice to meet you, Celica!" She waved goodbye, leaving Celica bewildered.

Okay. This is becoming really odd. She then, went to the village bakery since she also knew the people there, and to her surprise, they don't know her too. Since this was a small village, people here are prone to gossip, and word about her was going fast. Whenever she passes by, people stare at her either amazed by her beauty, or she was that weird girl who claims she knows them. Normally, they'd be surprised when they see her, in a good way. But now, they are all acting as if she never existed in the first place.

At the village gate, she saw two knights who were circling around the village as if on patrol. Another oddity. What's with the security all of the sudden? What was Alm thinking? Wait. Those aren't just knights. That emblem was very familiar. It belonged to the Rigelian army. And normally, any knight that patrols the village would make the villagers frustrated, since they are somewhat invading their livelihood and privacy. But instead, none of them are making any complaints at all. In fact, it's as if they are even glad they are there.

"Rigel?!" she muttered, while looking at the patrolling guards. The One Continent of Valentia no longer has a Zofian or Rigelian army, since the two kingdoms merged, they were called the One Kingdom's Brotherhood of Knights. Something about this doesn't feel right at all. She slowly started making her way towards the village gate, hoping the guards wouldn't pay her any attention.

"You there!" shouted one of the guards as she was starting to make her leave. "Halt!"

She did stop on her tracks and slowly turned. Now what?

"Never seen you here before…" said one of them. "Where are you from?"

"From the One Kingdom's castle," she answered.

The guards looked at her as if she was out of her mind. Her heart sunk. This has become very, very bad.

"There is no "One Kingdom's castle". Only Rigel castle stands, with King Alm as its ruler."

It was then that her eyes widened with terror. How is this possible? And what did he mean by only Rigel castle standing? Not even the guards are making a fuzz about her. For once in her life, she felt like a complete stranger in her own home.

"I'm sorry little lady, but you're coming with me for questioning."

She shook her head. "No," she said as she was slowly walking away from them. She could feel the knots tying tighter in her stomach.

"We insist lady," they said, slowly advancing towards her.

"I'm sorry, but no." She then casted a fire spell on one of the guards to stall them, and she quickly ran. Where she would end up, she doesn't know, for all she cared about right now was getting away from them.

"After her!" One of the guards yelled. She could now here the sound of horses galloping towards her. She casted a thunder spell on the two cavaliers so they wouldn't be able to catch her. However, that's all the magic she could muster at the moment. Any more spells that she casts could also lose her vitality as well, and she needed the vitality to run away.

She jumped into a bush hoping the guards would lose sight of her. She peered through a small opening, just enough to see the other side of the bush. She saw the horses with the soldiers on were running past her. Good. She managed to evade them.

She sat there on the ground breathing heavily and was sweating. Questions ringed in her head all at once, and the anxiety she was feeling right now was far greater than the time she willingly accepted Jedah's offer to take her soul in exchange for Alm's safety. She stared at the turnwheel on her hand, which was no longer ticking. She managed to salvage one gear, but that's about it. The other parts could be who knows where right now.

She heard a twig snapping just ahead of her. With everything quiet now, she checked at the trees, then checked the other parts of the bush. "Who's there?" she said, her voice just enough so people on the other side couldn't hear.

A little girl was peering at a nearby tree with a basket full of flowers. She looked about seven years old, she had short, black hair, her hairstyle reminding her of Silque's and had peridot-green eyes. She looked like a villager from Ram Village, but what was she doing here?

"Hey…" she said gently, hoping she wouldn't scare the girl. "Are you alone?"

The girl hid shyly behind the tree. "It's okay…I won't hurt you…" Celica said again, hoping her words would get through her.

She peeked again, looking at her. She looked adorable, she thought. She slowly walked towards the girl and crouched to level with her. "My name is Celica. What's yours?"

The girl gasped and looked at her with surprise. "M-Madeline…"

Celica gave a smile. She was so cute! "Nice to meet you, Madeline. Where are your parents?"

Before Madeline could answer, a large shadow loomed over them. It was one of the soldiers and this time there were more of them, and they found her.

"Gotcha, lady!" He said as he forcefully grabbed Celica's right wrist. She struggled to let herself go because of the strong grip the soldier has. Madeline was terrified at the whole thing, she froze.

"Run Madeline!" she shouted.

Her shout shook her back and she started running away. It doesn't matter now if she was captured, just as long the little girl ran away safely.

"After the little girl!" the soldier shouted, which they all replied with a "yes sir!"

"No!" she panicked, and she tackled the soldier. She tackled him so hard he lost balance and was forced to let her go, and she immediately turned to the direction Madeline went until she was barred by two more soldiers. This was not good. She was surrounded.

Suddenly there was an arrow that flew past them. A second arrow was fired and landed on the tree. Then she heard a soldier grunt in pain from behind her. Someone cast a thunder spell at the soldier in front of her, and the soldier collapsed.

"We're under attack!" shouted one soldier.

"Tsk. Damned rebels!" shouted the other.

Celica heard flapping wings above her. When she looked up, it was a Pegasus, and the one riding it was Clair, Clive's younger sister. She twirled her lance and attacked one of the cavaliers. Up ahead, Tobin was firing arrows nonstop. Next to him was Mae, who casted a fire spell which made one of the soldiers tumble.

"Trying to hurt Madeline, are you?" Tobin shouted. He then looked at Celica and his expression shifted to surprise.

"CELICA?! CELICA, IS THAT YOU?!"

"Tobin!" she said. She was so glad she finally saw someone familiar.

"WHAT?!" Mae said in turn. Even she looked surprised. "Celica?!"

"Hey, guys, a little help over here!" Gray said, having a sword fight with a cavalier.

"Er, right…"said Mae, and she casted a thunder spell. Clair on the other hand, just defeated the other one next to Gray.

"Retreat!" The soldier said, and they all obliged. They all began running away after that skirmish, until all was quiet again. Tobin, Gray, Mae and Clair all gathered towards Celica, the look on their faces as if they were seeing a ghost. Even Madeline was with them.

"By the gods," Clair cupped her mouth with both her hands.

Celica on the other hand, was just standing there, all bewildered. Why were they acting this way? "Clair, what's wrong?"

Mae suddenly hugged her, and there were tears flowing down from her eyes. She's crying? Why is she crying? "I can't believe it…" she sniffed. "It's you! It's really you!"

"W-Wait! Mae!" Celica gently pushed Mae from her. She looked at her features, hoping that all of this is some kind of practical joke. But her tears and sniffles seem genuine, and the way she reacted to her when she saw her clearly stated that she was not kidding around.

"It's…really nice to see you again, Celica," Gray said in a low voice. Even he was trying to hold back his tears.

Below them, Madeline smiled. Clair turned to her. "You young lady, shouldn't have wandered off on your own! You could've been captured! Or worse! What will Lady Rinea say?"

The young girl lowered her head. "I-I'm sorry…I was just gathering flowers when I saw her…"

Clair sighed. "You were lucky young lady. Please, don't wander off on your own ever again."

"Okay…"

"Everyone," Celica said again, and all of them turned to her. "Would someone, please, tell me what is going on?"

Before anyone else could answer, the turnwheel glowed again. It blinked for a second, then stopped.

"Wasn't that the Mila's Turnwheel?" Tobin asked. "What happened? And why does it look broken?"

"I don't know either, Tobin," she said, still looking at the turnwheel. "Honestly, I don't really know what is happening, what is going on…"

"Poor dear," Clair chimed. "We'll fill you in once we get to the hideout, though temporary. Not here. There might be more soldiers lurking about."

"All right. Lead the way," she said. Perhaps what they are going to say might help her know what has happened to the world. It was a whole lot better than being alone lost in the world.

The castle was always gloomy. Light can be seen through the window behind the throne, but not enough light to lighten up this gloomy castle. Not only that, the king himself sat there, his legs crossed and his head slightly tilted on one side, supported by his left arm. He listened to one of the soldiers making a report, while he sat there, listening as if he was bored. The lighting, along with his cold demeanor, made the whole atmosphere in the throne room creepy, which made the soldiers and staff shudder whenever they enter here.

"There have been reports from one of our soldiers stationed in Ram Village, your Majesty. A mysterious girl appeared in the village and attacked our soldiers."

This somehow peaked his interest. "Oh? Is there anything more about this girl?"

"S-She can use magic milord. And, uh, they said that she had a strange mark on her right hand. And she was carrying a strange object."

His expression darkened which made the soldier gulp. He was doing his best not to show any fear in front of him. "I see…Is there any more?"

"That is all, your Majesty."

"Good. You're dismissed."

It was just a matter of time until he set his plans in motion. Once his plans go to fruition, there won't be anyone or anything standing in his way ever again. Even the resistance will stand no chance against him. He chuckled at the thought, the thought of seeing the love of his life again.

"Celica…"

Chapter Text

The Thieves' Shrine…or that's what it used to be called. This was the first place Alm explored when he first stepped foot outside of Ram Village. This was one of Mila's shrines until brigands made this as their little headquarters to plunder nearby unlucky villagers who were in the area. This was also the place where he found Silque, one of the clerics in the Novis priory.

Celica was led by Clair and the others in the dark path of the cave. It was thanks to Celica's fire magic that the path was lit up even just a bit. As they go inside, she wondered, what could have happened to them? Why did they resort to settle in this place? She hoped she would have that answer later.

They were now in a wide open space which composed of barrels, chairs, tables and such. Up ahead was a bridge that leads to the statue of Mila, where they are granted blessings whenever they needed it. And the light somehow illuminated the small river which lit up the room even just a bit, just enough for them to see.

"Well Celica," Mae said. "Welcome to our hideout."

"Temporary hideout," Clair corrected. "Um, Lady Celica, er—Princess Anthiese—"

"Just Celica is fine, Clair," she stated. Although calling her real name is all right, she would still prefer being called Celica by the common folk.

"Right…Celica," Clair said again. "It's not much but, please make yourself comfortable."

"Don't worry about it, Clair."

They heard running footsteps heading towards them. It was a bit unclear at first, but when the figure came closer, Celica instantly knew who she was. She never met her, but she had heard about her from Alm. It was Rinea, Berkut's fiancé. How? Wasn't she supposed to be dead?

She kneeled and immediately hugged Madeline tight. "Oh thank gods…" she muttered. She sounded like a mother who was worried about her child. "Don't ever do that again, young lady! You had me very worried!"

Madeline's peridot eyes looked down to the ground, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry…"

Rinea smiled and stood up. When her eyes met with Celica's, she gasped. She had the same look Mae and the others had earlier. "Oh my…"

Celica couldn't reprehend all of this either. Again, she asked herself, what is happening?

"I…never thought I'd meet you…You're…Princess Anthiese…" Rinea said slowly, still looking shocked.

"Likewise…" Celica replied. "And please, just Celica is fine," she repeated.

Clair noticed her bewildered, lost look. Honestly, all of them are confused just as she is, although she knew hers was something even harder to comprehend. "I know you are very lost and confused about all this, but I assure you, we'll tell you everything we know…"

They all sat down as if they were holding a meeting. Celica clenched her fists, preparing for anything what they're going to say. Clair and the others were at the opposite side of the table, and Madeline sat on Rinea's lap. This almost honestly felt more like an interrogation.

"Okay…" Celica began. "Where to begin…" So many questions were in her mind she didn't know what to ask first.

"Anything you want to ask," Tobin said. "Just fire away."

She finally got one. She made a deep breathe, and exhaled. "Mae, everyone…why did you all react that way earlier after that skirmish? And why doesn't anyone in Ram Village know me?"

"Celica…" Mae began to answer, though she found it difficult to say the words. But she knew she deserved to know. "You're supposedly…dead."

She widened her eyes, hard to believe. Her? Dead?

"It's been two years, Celica," Mae continued. "Two years ago, you were killed in the war. You were captured by Jedah, then…"

Two years? So does this mean, this is the future? "But…that's impossible!" she bursted out. "I…we, won the war, and survived! All of us did!"

Clair put a hand on her chin, deep in thought. "I think I know where this is going…"

"We know," Gray chimed. "Which is why it's hard to believe you're here in front us talking."

"Now it's my turn to ask," Clair locked on to her. "Do you recall everything that happened before…this?"

She nodded. "Before I got here, Mila's Turnwheel was acting strange. It was making ticking sounds, and the symbols would sometimes glow. I was in the library when it suddenly went out of control. When I awoke, I was at the outskirts of Ram Village, and the turnwheel was destroyed."

They all looked at each other while Celica was waiting for their reply. She looked at her turnwheel, which was silent now, and was still a wreck as before.

"I think…" Rinea then, began speaking. "You time travelled."

"It is possible…" Celica agreed. "Tell me, what year is it? Just to clarify."

"It's the year 403."

"I'm from the year 401. But—you said I died two years ago, right? But you can see I'm clearly all right. In my time, I married Alm and became queen of the One Kingdom of Valentia. Mila and Duma were put to rest."

"One Kingdom of Valentia, eh?" Gray said, leaning back on his chair. "Has a nice ring to it."

Celica eyes turned to him. "What do you mean?"

"There is no One Kingdom, Celica," Mae said. "And Alm…" she bit her lip.

Celica's eyes lit up. That's right! Alm must be in this timeline as well. "What of Alm?"

They all went quiet and looked away from her, their faces having a solemn look. Her heart sank. Good gods, this doesn't feel right. What happened to Alm? "Everyone….?"

"Alm is…" Clair said slowly, "Alm is…not the same person you once knew..."

"W-What do you mean?"

"What she means is…Alm has completely changed, Celica," Tobin said, crossing his arms. "He has turned into something…evil." He looked down, and Celica sat there completely shocked.

"Alm became the King of Rigel after he had killed his own father, Emperor Rudolf," Clair explained. "When we were seeking to take down Duma, that's where we found out you died. I don't know exactly what had transpired in that room which has a barrier, but when he came out, he completely changed. Not only had he become twisted, but he had also harnessed Duma's power as well."

Celica could only listen in shock, her right hand cupping her mouth. How could this have happened? How could Alm do this?

"When he returned to us," Gray said in turn. "He began going on a killing spree. He killed Faye, Kliff, even Sir Mycen…"

She shook her head in disbelief. "No…how could he—I—"

"I know this is hard to believe," Clair said, apparent of Celica's shock. "But this is true. He killed my brother, and Lady Mathilda when they tried to defend me."

"And we came just in time to witness all of that," Mae chimed in. "We managed to escape towards the Sage's Hamlet, but there was so much bloodshed… After all of that, he began ascending to the throne and became the new king. He used Duma's power to manipulate every single person in Valentia. We weren't affected by it thanks to Sage Halcyon's magic."

"Manipulate?"

Mae nodded, her face grim. "Notice how everyone in Ram Village weren't making a single complaint about the guards? They were all under his control. How he does it, I have no idea…But it's very powerful magic."

"Is that why the people there don't recognize me?"

"That's right," Clair spoke in turn. "The mind control also deliberately erased everyone's memory of you. It started out small. But then, he began to invade the territories the Deliverance freed, and whenever he succeeded in his conquest, he began to control the people there."

"But everyone in Ram Village did not show any signs of mind control."

"That's because he can only do so in a certain amount. He knew he didn't want to get risked getting discovered, so he just did so to a certain extent where everyone's personalities are still intact."

Celica began rubbing her temple. This has turned into a horrible nightmare. Mind control? How could he have gone so far? What could have possibly happened that made him this way? This was all so heartbreaking to listen. The man she loved, now an evil king.

"Oh dear," Clair said. "I'm truly sorry. If we have only noticed the signs beforehand, none of this would've happened."

"No, Clair, don't blame yourself," Tobin said.

"It's our fault, really…" Gray said, the tone in his voice showing sadness. "We were his friends…and we just…"

They all went quiet. The revelations were just too painful, and Celica, hearing more and more about Alm felt like her heart was tearing itself bit by bit.

"So, this hideout…"

Clair nodded. "After that incident in Duma's temple, we formed a new resistance group to fight Alm. We called ourselves the New Deliverance, in memory of my brother Clive and Lady Mathilda, with Prince Berkut as its leader."

She blinked, feeling surprised. "Berkut? Alm's cousin?" Though she never met Berkut because of what happened in Duma's temple, Alm would sometimes talk about him.

Rinea made a small giggle. "I know it's hard to believe, but yes, Lord Berkut is the leader of this resistance group. Though I know he didn't look like the type to be in one."

"What about little Madeline?"

"We found her in one of the casualties in Zofia. When Alm made his conquest there, her parents resisted his control…and in the end, they perished. Madeline managed to escape, and in the outskirts of the castle, we saw her all alone, crying. Lord Berkut didn't want to take her in at first, but I just couldn't leave her alone so in the end, he relented. We took her in, and we've been together ever since." When Rinea looked at her, the little girl smiled.

Celica smiled at the sight of the two. "So you're like her mother now? And Berkut is the father?"

She chuckled. "I guess you could say that. Though Lord Berkut still feels uneasy on becoming a father… or being called by one."

"You see…" Clair continued again. "Prince Berkut and Lady Rinea were exiled from Rigel…when we found them; he was reluctant to join at first. It was Lady Rinea who insisted. Because of their help that we were able to gather the supplies and weapons we needed. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't be where we are now."

"But as it goes on longer," Gray then, spoke again. "Our numbers are diminishing bit by bit. Even Forsyth is now gone too… Forsyth, Valbar, Kamui, Boey…"

Celica then gasped and looked at Mae, her face shifted to sorrow. No wonder she was so less cheerful when they met. "Mae…I'm so sorry…" Does this mean even the Novis priory was not spared from Alm's conquest?

Again, the silence. Now that she had heard everything, despite her own heart breaking, she had to remain strong. There is still hope. And that hope is going back to her own time. But how? She stared at the destroyed Mila's Turnwheel, and to her surprise, it glowed again, then stopped.

"Whoa…" Tobin leaned towards the table. "That thing glowing again?"

"What could it mean?" asked Mae.

"Perhaps it is best to see the sage himself," Rinea adviced. "He might know something."

"You're right…"

Suddenly, they heard footsteps running from the entrance. Then they heard voices which sounded male saying, "Over here!"

"Oh no!" Gray sad as he began unsheathing his sword. "They found us!"

"Everyone, quick! To the statue of Mila!" Rinea said in urgency, and they all hurried to the statue. The sunlight gleamed over the statue making it look as though it radiated light. But Celica wondered, why here? There was nowhere else to run.

"Mae! Hurry!" Tobin yelled.

Mae clasped her hands like she was in some sort of prayer. Suddenly, the statue glowed and a white magic circle appeared below their feet. They all began glowing, and in a second, they disappeared.

General Massena was always there to guard Alm, but only when needed.

Unlike his father, Emperor Rudolf, Alm preferred most of the time to be alone, what he does, he doesn't know. But whenever he was there with him, he always felt troubled. All of the other soldiers where deeply loyal to him, but for those who knew something that other's do not, they would fear him. But not him, for he had to be the captain of the guards and show bravery, or else they would fall apart.

He was quite impressed with the young king, since he had done so much in only a span of two years. He reformed the foundations of the empire, and he expanded it, reaching at the borders of Rigel, then through Zofia. Because of him that even the people of Zofia, who at first were meek and hopeless without Mila's bounty, became strong and accepted the hardship. Not only that, he made the security of every village, fortress, and even the temples heavy, though Massena never really saw the need of such high security. But in the end, the king's orders were absolute, and the people of Valentia adored him so. Perhaps he was even a better king than his own father.

And yet…

Ever since that day, that day when he appeared again in the castle, he saw the tremendous change of behavior from the boy. When he saw him again, he was no longer that friendly, troubled boy he met after Emperor Rudolf's defeat. He still retained his kind demeanor, but he was colder, distant, and ruthless if needed to be. How many lives were lost in that conquest, but he had stated that if it is to better Valentia, then bloodshed was necessary. It was for Valentia's own good. He was an effective king, but he had lost a big part of himself. He knew that his sudden change had something to do with what happened in Duma's temple.

And then those rebels…

It was strange that Alm's former companions suddenly turned against him. During the confrontation with Rudolf, Alm made sure none of his companions would be in serious harm, and he led the Deliverance with such outstanding leadership. So it didn't make sense. And some of them were from the same village he grew up in, so why? He even ordered an exile of Prince Berkut and Lady Rinea, which he found very unreasonable, but he did not dare to question him. The strange twist was Lord Berkut was now leading the resistance alongside Alm's former companions.

Sometimes, whenever he was with Alm, he could feel his head throb a little and would seem foggy, and it was unclear why. He even sometimes forgets things which he found it disturbing. He was usually someone who was very detailed about the things of what he should do due to the long years he had served his father. He just concluded that he may have simply overworked, and Alm would instruct him to get some rest from time to time.

Celica was astonished from what happened. They all warped from the Thieves' Shrine to the Lost Treescape in just seconds. Mae then, led her the way towards the Sage's Hamlet. Obviously now she and the others got this place memorized for coming back and forth every now and then. They saw the village gate, and all of them finally arrived at the Sage's Hamlet.

"Phew…that was a relief!" Mae said, then turned to Celica. "I'm sure you're familiar with this place, right?"

"Of course." How can she not recognize this place? This was where Conrad settled in for years.

"Hey!" Said a familiar voice from behind. "It's about time! What were you—" he stopped at his tracks the moment he saw Celica. When Celica turned, he saw Python, the laid back archer of the Deliverance.

"Twist my arm…I can't believe what I'm seeing…"

"Python?" Said another male voice. His tone was calm and composed, someone Celica knew so well. It was none other than Lukas. When his eyes met Celica's even his usual calm composure could not hide his shock.

Now that she knew the truth, she could imagine how they are all feeling. "Python…Lukas…"

"Python," Lukas called, "I want you to tell Conrad and Berkut about this, immediately."

When usually Python didn't like orders since it was a big hassle, for once, he obliged without any complaints. "Aye…" he said, and ran off.

Lukas took a step closer towards Celica. There can't be no way, right? This was all too real. "Princess Anthiese," he began with that same calm voice, "Is it really you?"

"Yes Lukas. It's me." For confirmation, she showed the brand of Mila on her right hand.

All of the people around the Sage's Hamlet gathered towards them. More and more familiar faces appeared. From Alm's Deliverance were Silque, Luthier, Delthea, and Tatiana. And from Celica's side were Genny, Nomah, Saber, Jesse, Leon, Sonya and Conrad. Then Sage Halcyon himself was there, all of them with that same, surprised look. Some of them were even on the verge of tears.

"C-Celica…" Genny stuttered, too surprised of what she's seeing.

"Well, I'll be damned," Saber said. "Lass…you're alive…"

Celica felt her heart sink further and further. Just how long did they all suffer since the Celica in this timeline died? Her mind trailed off to Alm. Alm, what have you done?

Conrad could no longer hold back his tears. He ran to her beloved sister and gave her a tight embrace. "Anthiese," he sobbed, "It's you…it's…really you…"

Though she knew the Conrad from where she came from knows that she was alive and well, this Conrad obviously suffered the most. Even she was now starting to tear up, and reciprocated his embrace. He very much needed it. "Conrad…"

She felt him press harder. "Please…just let me hold you a little longer," he said softly. How could this have happened? How could this future turn so horribly wrong?

When he finally let her go, he rubbed his eyes from all the tears. It was Genny's turn to hug Celica. She also noticed that she was now slightly taller. Two years has changed her height it seems.

"Celica, my dear," Nomah said, "It's truly a miracle you are here now."

The last time she saw Nomah, he was at the priory along with the priests and priestesses. She never thought she'd meet him again a few days later like this, or rather, two years. Then in one of the crowds, she saw Berkut himself. He was surprised as well but not as surprised as the others. He still managed that stoic manner after all.

"Princess Anthiese," he said as he walked towards her. Though his demeanor looked domineering, he had that presence that reminded her so much of Alm.

Madeline ran towards him and hugged his leg. He gave her a pat on the head, and turned to Celica again. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

"Indeed I have."

They all gathered in Sage Halcyon's home despite feeling cramped because of the small spaces and pile of books and papers. If it was one thing she knew, two years later the sage was still very poor at organizing his things.

"So," Berkut began, "I trust they have already filled you in the details?"

She nodded. "Yes. I am aware of what happened to myself two years ago, and how Alm—" she stopped. Berkut noticed how uncomfortable she felt whenever the subject involves Alm. That was enough for him to know on how much she knew.

Strangely enough to Celica, Alm had told her that he was always very arrogant, prideful, and would look down on commoners, his nobility that important to him. But now, he seemed more mellow, the arrogance was still there yes, but now he seemed kinder and more caring even amongst the common folk. These two years have changed him into a better person. But the twist of irony of him leading a resistance group was something Alm did before.

She began to explain the events that happened in the castle library, the turnwheel acting odd and how she was sent here two years ahead of her time. She also mentioned how the events in her timeline were different of what is happening here. Everyone only listened to her, amazed. Sage Halcyon was deep in thought and so was Nomah. Conrad could not hide his surprise when he learned she was from another timeline.

"So, that explains it. Interesting." The sage said, his hand under his chin.

"I never thought Mila's Turnwheel was capable of such power," Nomah said in turn.

"Do you think you know why, Sage Halcyon?" Silque asked.

He closed his eyes, then opened them again. "I can only hypothesize. Princess Anthiese literally jumped from one timeline to the other. The fact that she said she was brought back to life by the goddess proves this. But how Mila's Turnwheel can do this, I do not know. I can only speculate that Mila herself brought you here."

Everyone in the room gasped.

"But Mila is dead," said Berkut. "Falchion had pierced her."

"Yes, Mila is dead. But her fragments of her power, her will, remained in the turnwheel. But since this is destroyed, the power is very weak. The most it can do, is collect memories." He turned to Celica. "And as it is now, the turnwheel is collecting new memories since you got here"

"The Memory Prisms?"

The sage nodded. "Nomah and I will help repair Mila's Turnwheel, however, most of its parts are missing. Even if we were to restore this to its original state, it will be incomplete."

"Where do you think the other parts are?" asked Saber.

"When I came to, I felt the other parts fly away," Celica answered on his behalf. "It must've been because it couldn't handle the sheer power."

"So that means the other parts are now scattered all across Valentia," Mae groaned.

Celica sighed. This is going to be a problem. And now with Alm's soldiers patrolling about, there is no way they could just walk around freely without being harassed. But then another part of her was crying out that she could offer her help free Valentia in this timeline. It felt like it was her duty, since the Celica in this timeline died. Another thought crossed her mind: since she is here, maybe there is a chance that Alm would change back into his old self again. She hoped that somewhere inside his darkened heart is a man waiting to be saved from damnation.

"On another note," Mae suddenly spoke. "Do you think Alm knows she's here?"

Everyone looked at her.

"I'm pretty sure he knows by now," Saber said, leaning against a wall. "His Majesty has got eyes all around the kingdom through his soldiers. Plus there's that mind control. Almost everywhere is not safe, not unless we are quick enough. She attacked those soldiers in Ram Village didn't she? Word will spread faster than a plague."

"Quit over exaggerating Saber," Mae put her hands on her hips.

"I'm just sayin' what I think."

"But Saber is right," Silque said. "So Celica, please be very careful. Anything suspicious found in the kingdom will be sent to prison immediately…or worse. We are only safe now because of Sage Halcyon and Nomah's protective charms around the village."

"Before I forget," Sage Halcyon turned to Celica. "Please, come here."

"O-Okay…" she said, and she took a step forward to the sage. He placed his left hand on her forehead and began chanting a spell. White light glowed and went to her head, and the glow spread across her body. It was warm light she felt, and it felt very soothing.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I placed a protection spell on you in case Alm decides to penetrate your mind and attempt to control you. Every single person in this village has it, which was why Clair and the others retained their minds and memories."

"Thank you, Sage Halcyon."

"Now, please, give your turnwheel to me for now, and take a good rest. You have been through so much. You are welcome in this village."

[ Memory Prism: A Flower Beneath The Ruins ]

They have all put up a good fight, but in the end, there was so much loss. What's worse, Zofia castle fell at the hands of the empire. In the end, Alm won.

Berkut and Rinea stumbled upon the whole tragedy as they were wandering the continent. Few remaining soldiers managed to get away, but so many were very unfortunate. The soldiers and the common folk who had dared tried and resist him, knowing the truth, ended up receiving Alm's blade through their chests to silence them permanently. By then he had announced in the Zofia castle's balcony, that a new era would begin, and Valentia shall rise to glory. So many people cheered, but the couple certainly was not.

When everything was over, they managed to sneak past their way from the patrolling guards. For all of his life, he never thought he'd be in the receiving end of being banished from his own kingdom, and the worst is that, Rinea got involved in this as well, and now they are living the life of fugitives on the run. Alm certainly liked to play games. Instead of just executing him right there and then when he was still in Rigel, he decided to just put him on exile since "he was still his cousin". Sentimental, arrogant bastard. He wanted to play a cat-and –mouse game with him, see just how far he will evade him. How Rinea got involved into this mess? He basically used her as a hostage. Should he refuse to leave and decide to fight him, he will harm Rinea. It was not like him at first to be using threats. When they were first face to face in battle out of sport, he was a naïve, but kind person. However, when he heard what had happened to Sir Mycen and the other members of the Deliverance, he was indeed dead serious. He knows that he has the potential of inheriting the throne should he ever try and put up a fight, but Alm didn't want that to happen. Tsk. Emperor Rudolf, see for yourself what your son has become.

Rinea knew and decided to follow Berkut in his path of exile. Of course, he was against it. This was dangerous! But even if she remained in Rigel, it was no longer safe for her to stay. Better that she would come with instead of waiting for her to get killed.

At the outskirts of Zofia castle, Rinea heard sobs and sniffles coming from the bushes. She decided to check while Berkut was on the lookout. When she peered at the bushes, it was a little girl, crying nonstop. She looked about six years old. She was carrying a basket full of flowers except some of the flowers were either cut or burned.

"You there," she said, trying to be gentle towards the crying girl. To her surprise, the girl ran to her and hugged her, and her cries were louder and louder.

"Sshhh…" she gently touched the child and embraced her back, hoping that she would calm down. When the sobbing somehow subsided, she had taken a good look at the girl. She had peridot-green eyes, has short black hair, and there were a few cuts on her face and on her clothes. She must've escaped for her life during that skirmish.

"Where are your parents?" Rinea asked, and the girl began sobbing again. Oh no, she thought. She had lost both of her parents.

"Rinea," Berkut called. "We have to go, now."..

"All right. Wait." She turned to the young girl. "You have to go. It's not safe here."

The girl held her sleeves tight, not wanting to let her leave. She looked at the girl, and the girl looked back with those sad eyes. She sighed. There was no time for them to stay longer, and there was one thing she could do.

"We'll have to take the child with us," she said.

"What?!"

"Please, Lord Berkut. She's all alone. She has no more parents. And I don't want to see her get captured," she pleaded.

Good gods, he thought. He then looked at the little girl, to which the girl looked back at him. Those eyes…those sad eyes. Why does he feel something stirring inside him when he looked at her?

"Please," Rinea pleaded again. "I will take full responsibility."

He placed his right hand on his forehead and sighed. "All right. She's coming with us." He kneeled down at her. "What is your name little girl?

"Madeline."

Chapter Text

She saw herself standing in a field of flowers. The skies were blue, the flowers slightly swaying and petals being blown away by the wind. Wasn't she sleeping elsewhere though? Why was she here? This place…she remembered it so fondly. When she was still a child, she would come here and make flower wreaths, and also spend time with Alm. She had their last, special moment before she was forced to leave. Then, in the distance, she saw someone else and recognized him immediately. When he turned, he saw her and looked at her lovingly, giving her a warm smile. Overjoyed, she leapt towards him and embraced him, and he reciprocated. She felt his warm, tight embrace, and she longed that this moment could last forever. She was so glad to see her Alm again…

Until…

She suddenly felt a cold blade impaling her through her abdomen. Her eyes slowly looked down, and to her horror, she saw Alm's left hand holding the sword. She saw her blood trickling down to the flowers, and when she looked up to him, she saw him wearing a malevolent smile on his face. She felt terrified and wanted to run away, but she couldn't move. She was paralyzed. She wanted to scream, but no voice came out from her own mouth. He leaned closer to her enough for him to hear her.

"Don't worry, Celica…" his gentle voice laced in an icy tone whispered in her ear which sent down chills in her spine. "It'll all be over soon…"

He quickly removed the sword from her abdomen, falling to her knees, and then collapsed, lying on the ground; the flowers she was standing on now laced with her blood. Her eyes were filled with tears as she saw her own blood flowing out from her wound. She tried to get back up, but her body wouldn't let her. She also saw her beloved standing in front of her, holding his sword stained with her blood. She looked up and saw his face which was looking down at her; he was smiling, but it only showed coldness and cruelty.

Alm…please…

She saw him raise his sword one more time and this time, he was aiming for her chest. Her eyes were filled with tears and terror for he was aiming for her heart. He saw her terror, and his smile widened.

"Goodnight…Celica."

She felt the sword pierce through her chest and her eyes shot up—

And she was awake.

Celica shot herself awake, rubbing her head. She then rubbed her cheeks, feeling something wet. Tears. She was crying in her sleep. She looked at her abdomen and chest where Alm had supposedly thrust her with his sword. There were no wounds, and there was no blood. Her clothes were clean and she doesn't feel any pain, yet in her dream, it felt real.

She corrected herself. A dream? More like a nightmare.

She sighed, and rose from her bed. The morning was calming and cool, and she could feel the morning breeze from outside her window. Things would have been more relaxing if it weren't for the fact that for one: she is in another timeline, two: they have to constantly worry about defending this only village that wasn't invaded by the Rigelian empire and three: she has to find those missing parts of Mila's Turnwheel without being found by Alm. She never thought once in her life that she would be evading her own husband. She shook her head, correcting herself again. No, this isn't Alm, but rather, an alternate future version of him. The Alm that she knew would never commit such atrocities. Somehow, that gave her a reason not to lose hope.

She heard someone knock on her door. "Anthiese?" It was Conrad's voice. "Are you awake? We're breakfast so you better catch up."

"I'll be right there!"

Fixing her hair and her clothes, her mind went to another problem: gathering all those missing parts of the Mila's Turnwheel. She remembered when she and her companions went on a pilgrimage to seek the Earth Mother, and along the way, they would find the missing pieces of the turnwheel until it was whole again. It took a lot of effort and patience to find them, and now she is going to repeat that again just to go back home. Feeling the hunger in her stomach, she went out from her room to meet with the rest of the group.

"Tatiana…" Tobin said, staring at bread on his hand. "Isn't this bread a little overcooked?"

"I'm so sorry…" she said. "I was so busy with the soup I almost forgot about the bread."

"Speaking of soup," Gray added. "Just how many spices did you put in here?"

"Oh dear…I was lost in thought. Sorry again!"

Celica gave a reassuring smile to calm the distressed Saint. "Don't worry, Tatiana. It's not that bad and at least it's edible."

"Thank you, Princess Anthiese."

"Please, no need for formalities. Just Celica is all right." How many times must she say this? She then noticed that her lover, Ezekiel isn't by her side. They are usually together.

"Say, where is Ezekiel?" Celica asked, noticing Tatiana's crestfallen look.

"Zeke is in Archanea," she answered.

"Archanea?"

"Yes…though I wished he would've said goodbye first…" she muttered, a hint of disappointment heard in her voice. "I would've understood…I just…hope he comes back."

"Have faith, Tatiana," she held out her hand to touch hers. "I'm sure there's a good reason why he has to go."

"Yes, I know. And I think it has something to do with the rumors I heard the other day."

"What rumors?"

"There's been word that Archanea has been having problems regarding the emperor. I heard rumors about it from the other villages, but that's all I know. He left some time after those three Pegasus Knights went back to Archanea. He's been gone for a year."

Celica knew instantly that those three Pegasus Knights were none other than Palla, Catria, and Est; and they call themselves the Whitewings. She was very indebted to them after the war, and they also said that they are welcome in Archanea should they decide to visit.

"That's not the only thing that's disturbing," Lukas intervened, the look on his face was calm, but there was a sense of dread. "With what is happening in Archanea, and with Alm seizing control almost all of Valentia, he may target Archanea next."

Celica gasped. "If that were to happen, there would be another war."

"That's right. We've managed to stall some of his men, but for how long, we do not know."

Celica couldn't take this anymore. "Everyone, please let me provide assistance. Maybe, if I see Alm—"

"Absolutely not!" Conrad snapped which made her gasp. Not once, has she heard him snap at her before. "I won't let yourself get exposed to danger ever again!"

"Conrad…"

"As emotional as he sounds," Saber said, leaning back on his chair. "He is right. There is no way in hell we'll risk you for our own peace. And besides," he gazed down, "Our future is already doomed from the start."

"And, you're objective is to find those missing pieces so you can go back to your timeline," Lukas added. "We can assist you in any way we can, but do not concern yourself with our burdens."

"How could you say that? I was the one who caused all this suffering—"

"It's not your fault Celica," Mae said. "It's not your fault our Celica died. We've made our bargain, and we are going to see this through to the end. We don't want you to die, or else your own timeline will mess up. Do it for the Alm in your time."

"Mae…" She looked at everyone. Going back to her own time is important, but helping them is just as important as that. After everything, she felt that she has also become more involved in this than they already think. How can they be so…

Selfish?

That word…she felt that way back when she was hiding her identity of being a princess. She had kept secrets from her friends, at one point to Alm, and even from her brother. She had made so many stupid decisions back then that she regretted dearly. She never had that much thought of it before, but now looking at it now, it felt a little frustrating.

"Hey, um…" Delthea said, which made everyone look at her. She has been quiet the whole time until now. "Alm won't be going after her while looking for those pieces, would he?"

"That I couldn't be sure," Lukas answered. "But Celica, you must remain vigilant. Knowing that you're alive in this timeline, and if he ever finds out, I suspect he'll be doing all means for your capture."

"I understand, Lukas." She sighed. Since they insisted on not wanting her to help them, she would have to oblige. In the end though, they were right. Should something happen to her in this timeline, then her own time would cease to exist. Time is indeed, a complicated thing to understand.

Celica was called upon by Sage Halcyon and Nomah who managed to repair her broken Mila's Turnwheel. The turnwheel was quiet, and she could see that there were some parts missing, which she knew that those were supposed to be where the missing gears are. She remembered this was how it looked when she was given her own for the first time, and she managed to return it to its full power as they went ahead of their pilgrimage.

"Thank you, Sage Halcyon, Nomah."

"That is all we can do for you, my dear," Nomah said. "It is up to you now to find those missing pieces."

She stared at her turnwheel. As much as it sounds easy, just how is she going to find the eleven pieces?

Mae noticed her looking troubled. "Don't worry Celica! Like what Lukas said, we'll help you find it!"

"And best you find those quickly before Alm discovers you," Halcyon added. "If something were to happen to you, your timeline may cease to exist." He then, looked at Mae, "I trust you will all protect her?"

"Of course we will!" She held Celica's right hand. "Come with me! There's something I want to give you!"

Celica followed her into one of the village houses. The house looked rather small than a normal house, and it looked so rundown it's barely livable. When Mae opened the door, it revealed a mixture of supplies and weapons.

"This is our storage house!" She said as she began rummaging through the swords. "I know it looks old and dusty on the outside, but we have to make due of what we have. Now where is that…Aha!"

She began dragging something which was wrapped in thick cloth. It must've been one awfully heavy sword that Mae struggled to give it to her. "Geez…this thing…"

"Need some help?"

"Actually…" she panted. "You unwrap it…I was going to give it to you anyway…"

"Okay." Celica began unwrapping the cloth, and how odd it was that it felt light. When she completely unwrapped it, her eyes widened. This sword, it was the Beloved Zofia. She held and unsheathed the blade, her face reflected from the blade. "My sword…"

"Yeah…we managed to get that, but it took eight people to lift that thing. We thought to bury it alongside your body, but we were afraid that there would be grave robbers. It is a royal treasure of Zofia after all. In the end, we decided to keep it away in memory of you. Conrad's been taking good care of it. It's…all he has left of you."

It's a mystery how they managed to bring this sword here, let alone carry it all the way here. Magic perhaps? Celica thought it would be best if she just left it at that. She hung the sheathed sword at her side.

"So, this is where you two are," said a voice behind them. It was Leon who was standing at the door. Celica noticed his eyes were red and so was his nose. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse. Has he been…crying?

"Leon…"

"It's been two years little girl," he said, smiling. "Or I suppose it's not two years for you. You still look the same as your other you two years ago."

"Heh…I know…"

"It feels like old times again…How I wish Valbar and Kamui were here," Leon said. His eyes showed a little sadness when he mentioned their names.

"Oh Leon…I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be. It's not your fault. If anything…blame that insane boyfriend of yours."

Mae stepped in. "Leon!"

Celica shook her head. "No Mae…It's okay." Though Celica wanted to object, she could not since it's not her place to defend him in any way. She knew her Alm would never do something like this. Even today, she could still hardly believe any of this.

"No. Mae is right, I apologize." Leon said. "I know this must be heartbreaking for you too."

"We're all heartbroken…There were just too many losses." Mae said in a low voice. "Which is why Celica, we can't let him find you. When you said that we all survived in the war and there was a One Kingdom, it gave us hope. Knowing that in another time, we were all peaceful and happy, and you're a living proof of that."

"And the sage himself insisted that we help you find those gears," Leon chimed. "The faster it is to find those things, the quicker you return to your own time."

In one of the houses in the hamlet served as the New Deliverance's meeting place. Sage Halcyon was gracious enough to provide them that in order for them to conduct a meeting and protect this place. That and the fact that them having a meeting in his house in the past caused unease for the sage. Clair held a rolled paper of some sorts and handed it over to Berkut and placed it on the table. When he rolled it open, it revealed to be the map of Valentia. There were a few marks on it, which indicated that this map has been used not only once. Everyone there gathered and looked at the map.

Berkut scanned at everyone there present. "What we are going to do is split ourselves into three groups consisting of six members. I will also assign a leader in each group." He looked down at the map. "Our destinations for now will be Ram Village, Novis priory, and the Temple of Mila. Once you reach your assigned destinations, do not limit yourselves to search in just one area. Go and search to other areas as well just as long as you are sure there's a Mila statue nearby."

Celica was very impressed of Berkut's leadership skills. He and Alm definitely have both one thing in common: they were born to lead.

"First group," he continued. "Lukas, Tobin, Sonya, Silque, Leon and Luthiere…You six will be in charge of searching through Ram Village. Originally, I planned that Celica should search there, but since the soldiers there already know her, it was best if it were the other team to do it. Lukas, I trust that you will be the leader of this group."

"I understand." Lukas said.

"Second group: Clair, Gray, Python, Genny, Jesse and Mae. You will all go to the Novis Priory. From there, you can also search in these small islands here," he pointed at the map. "Up to Zofia Harbor."

"Does this mean we have to ride boats again?" Genny groaned.

"Yes, you will have to ride boats again." Berkut said bluntly. "I'll assign Clair as the leader."

"All right." Clair replied.

"And lastly," he said. "Me, Celica, Tatiana, Delthea, Saber and Conrad," he said this while facing his group. "We will go to the Temple of Mila. I must warn you…out of all the places I've mentioned, this one is the most dangerous. The clerics won't be our main problem. It will be the soldiers guarding there."

"Why would they guard that place?" asked Celica. "Mila is dead, isn't she?"

"Because they wanted to make sure there was nothing suspicious happening inside the temple," he answered. "And…you know the circumstances. Those under his influence are dangerous to be left alone."

"I-I see…"

He cleared his throat. "There might be a high possibility that we will have to engage in combat when that happens. And another thing," he paused and examined her features. "I suggest you will have to wear something…different. I don't know how far word has reached your return, but I suggest you change your appearance just to be cautious. The way you look right now is a big giveaway."

Celica nodded. "I understand." But just how is she going to do that, exactly?

"Oh! I can help with that!" Mae chimed in after she listened and Celica turned to her direction. "I have some clothes that'll be perfect for her!"

"All right Mae. I will leave that one to you," he said. "All of you go and prepare for the supplies you need to bring."

"Don't worry, Celica!" Mae winked. "You're going to look stunning!"

"….and this goes there…and perfect! See how you look, Celica!"

Celica moved towards the mirror. She now wore simple yellowish blouse with a small collar which was covered by a red breastplate. She also wore broad pauldrons which had small silver patterns on it, and behind it was a cape which reached down to her legs. Her yellow shorts also had a belt-like material around her waist with a long yellow cloth hanging between her legs, and her greaves were like reddish heeled boots that reaches up to her lower legs. She also had to take off her diadem which she always wore to complete the new look.

"Wow Mae…" Celica said as she looked at her reflection. "Where did you get these clothes?"

"I stumbled upon it back at the priory before coming here a year before. I tried wearing it before, but it didn't look good on me. But you look amazing in it Celica! You really look like a warrior priestess!"

Celica has heard of stories back at the priory that this clothing was supposedly worn by priestesses of old. She never thought she would be wearing one right now. It felt different than what she normally wore. "I have to admit, this going to take some getting used to."

"Just in case, wear this too." Mae handed over a cloak to Celica. "Like what Berkut said, it's the soldiers we'll worry about."

"Anthiese!" They heard Conrad's voice from outside the door. "Are you ready? We're waiting for you!"

"Okay Conrad! We'll be right there!" Celica opened the door, and she saw Conrad along with Gray and Tobin who were carrying their weapons and supplies. The three boys looked awestruck from her new look.

"Wow Celica," Tobin said. "You look…wow."

"Absolutely stunning, dear sister." Conrad said, complimenting her.

Celica giggled at the three boys after seeing their reaction. "Shall we get going?"

[ Memory Prism: An Unlikely Alliance ]

Just how far did they run away from the empire? Berkut could not tell. All they ever knew now was to just stay away from them, whatever may happen. He also had to make sure Rinea's needs were tended and also keep a close eye on the little girl they met at the outskirts of Zofia castle.

All of his life, he was a sheltered child. He was taught with the finest teachers in the kingdom, and tended to his training and studies so he may rule as king in the future. Because of that fact, he never made any friends, nor made any contact of the outside world except when there are balls being held in the castle. But even if there was that, the only contacts he would make were nobles, never commoners. So how in the world did it come to this?

Now that he was away from the castle and basically stripped off his title as a general and a prince, all of those privileges were taken away from him by none other than his mentally unstable cousin. Through the times he was travelling alongside Rinea, he began to live among the common folk, had no choice but to mingle with them, he realized a bigger picture that is happening now. The people he's been talking to are like little marionettes that were being forced to follow the unjust system of the empire. What's worse is that he's been eroding the minds of the people; how he does it, he never knew. But the bigger question is, why wasn't he and Rinea affected by it? Could it be he does not actually know where they are? If that were the case, they will have to keep evading him no matter what. As they went on, his desire to fight against the kingdom was becoming stronger and stronger, and at the same time, a payback for what he had done to him and Rinea and the whole of Valentia. If he could just reclaim the throne again, he would have to set things right again. Watching people becoming puppets in his own ambitions was sickening to see.

Not only that, there was this little girl that Rinea insisted on bringing along with them. He understood her intentions, but he had to remain suspicious for who knows…she might be under Alm's influence too. He had told Rinea many times to be vigilant and keep a closer eye on Madeline or else he would have no choice but to forfeit her life. Rinea was of course hesitant, and she promised that she will watch over her to calm his suspicions. The girl was too sweet and was obviously thankful for them that they saved her before someone else could get to her. She also loved riding on Berkut's horse and would sometimes urge it to go faster, much to Berkut's annoyance.

Daytime has passed and nighttime came. Travelling about at night was trickier than daytime, especially when patrols all around were higher at night. The advantage of travelling at night though is they could take advantage of the darkness around them especially if they come through a forest.

"Where are we?" asked Rinea.

"I'm not sure," Berkut replied. "Stay close to me."

Berkut scanned his surroundings. It certainly doesn't look like a forest, and the place was eerily quiet. All they could see were bushes and more trees as they walked until they saw a village just up ahead. Rinea was relieved to see a village hoping to rest, but then Berkut noticed that something was wrong. This village was familiar to him, and his eyes widened from the realization. They need to get out of there quickly.

"No. Let's not go there."

"Why not?"

"This is Ram Village, Alm's home. And this place is—"

Before he could say anything else, they suddenly heard horses galloping towards their direction. Now the stakes were getting high, and they immediately began running away. Three Rigelian cavaliers stood in front of them, barring their path.

"Halt!"

Berkut immediately reached for his lance and began to duel with the cavalier. Rinea held the child tightly to protect her from harm, slowly backing away from the battle.

"Rinea! Take the girl and run!" Berkut said as he was fighting with the other two.

Rinea then held Madeline's hand tight and began running the opposite direction. They were then surrounded by three more Rigelian cavaliers. Madeline began sobbing, terrified at the situation while Rinea hugged her tightly and closed her eyes, waiting for a death blow to kill her. Berkut tried running to them as fast he could, but he knew he wouldn't make it—

There was an arrow that flew by their direction and managed to hit one of the cavaliers. Then they heard flapping of wings and a whinny that came from a Pegasus. A blonde girl swooped in one of the cavaliers and fell down from his horse. Then they saw a pink haired girl casting Aura with another cavalier. One of the clerics approached Rinea to see if there were any injuries. She was wearing a cleric's veil which covered most of her hair, but they could make out her blue straight bangs and bobbed hairstyle. "Are you both okay?"

Rinea nodded. "Yes, thank you."

The Rigelian soldiers were forced to retreat, but they still needed to run away in case reinforcements arrive. The blonde girl motioned to them and scanned at the three.

"This way!" she said.

Without other options, they decided to follow her. Berkut certainly knew these people all right. He had fought with them before, back in the days when everything was still the way they are, before this happened.

They led them to the Thieves' Shrine, except there aren't any thieves in it except them. Now that everything was okay again, they had the time to recall each other again.

Berkut was the first to speak. "Aren't you all from the Deliverance? And also…" he stared at the blonde girl. "Aren't you Clive's sister?"

"Yes we were from the Deliverance," Clair answered. "And yes, I am Clive's younger sister. It's Clair."

Of all people, he never thought he would run into the Deliverance. But as far as Berkut could remember, there were more of them. Just what had happened to them?

"Huh. Never thought I'd be seeing this guy here of all places," said the other man. He had blue hair and was carrying a bow and had a quiver on his back. This was the man who shot an arrow at one of the cavaliers earlier. "Python by the way, in case you don't know."

Though he had fought with them before, he never truly knew their names, save for Clive's younger sister. One of them though, was very unfamiliar. The girl took notice of this and introduced herself.

"I'm Mae. I was never part of the Deliverance and I was on a pilgrimage with Celica."

"And I am Silque, one of the clerics of the Novis priory," said Silque who helped Rinea earlier.

"We've heard news about your banishment," Clair said. "I never expected that to happen."

"Hmph. And what happened to your Deliverance? Last time I remembered, you've become quite an army."

"The Deliverance has fallen Lord Berkut." Silque answered. "After what had happened to Alm, many of us were…" she looked down, her face showing sadness.

Rinea gasped. "Oh dear…I'm so sorry."

Berkut then turned to Mae. "And what about you?"

"As I said, I was with Celica…" she shook her head. "No, with Princess Anthiese on a pilgrimage to see Mila."

"What? Princess Anthiese? I thought she was dead."

Mae winced. "Well…she was alive, but now she's…"

"What…happened to her…?" Rinea said slowly.

"We don't really know exactly what happened. All we know was she was taken away from us by Jedah in the Temple of Duma. When we found her, she was already dead."

All of them remained silent. How could everything have gone so wrong? Thinking back, when he saw him in that temple, he had become an entirely different person. He too, was also in there, but if not for Rinea, who knows what could have happened to him. What exactly happened in there?

"All of you…" he slowly said.

"We were planning on rebelling against the Rigelian empire," Silque said. "But with the way things are now, it will be a difficult road ahead of us. That's why we're here. We are still searching for our other companions."

"Lord Berkut," Clair suddenly spoke. "I know this may sound brash, but will you join us?"

"What?!"

The others were surprised to hear this from Clair as well. "Whoa there lady," Python said. "Are you sure about this? I mean, does he even want to?"

"With you in our ranks, then maybe we could gather all of our missing companions again. And also, we needed a leader…we needed someone who can lead his army to victory. And you are simply perfect for that role!"

"Listen to yourself," Berkut chided. "After everything, now you want ME to lead you?"

Without hesitation, Clair nodded. "Yes. But if you wish to decline, then we completely understand. But as it now stands Berkut, we need you. Valentia needs you."

Berkut grunted. Again, this was something he never expected to happen. Him? A resistance leader? And with an army like this? How would they even stand up to Alm? True, he wanted to fight the empire as well, but he just couldn't risk putting these two girls in danger.

"Lord Berkut…" Rinea spoke. "I think…you should do it?"

Berkut turned to her. "Wha—Rinea?"

"Clair is right. The way things are now, Valentia needs you, more than ever. Don't worry Lord Berkut, I will be here with you, forever."

"Me too, me too!" Madeline chimed in.

"My, what a cute girl!" Clair crouched to level with her. "What is your name?"

"Madeline!" she gave a big smile.

"Lord Berkut…please…" Rinea pleaded.

In the end, Berkut relented and gave a defeated sigh. "All right. I will be your leader from now on."

Python was surprised once again. "Really? Seriously? Just like that?"

Silque smiled. "How wonderful!"

Another mystery to him is how they could just quickly warm up to him after all those times they fought, back when Alm was still leading the Deliverance. Then he realized they were all in the same boat now. Everyone here is experiencing loss and hardships, something that he now desired to help and guide the people after his time in exile. Every single person here has the same goal in mind: to put an end to this madness, once and for all.

Chapter Text

In just a span of seconds, Celica's group arrived at the Temple of Mila. It's amazing how the Mila statues have this kind of ability. Perhaps she'll give it a try once she goes back to her timeline. She remembered Mae telling her that all you have to do is just pray to the statue and specify what place you wanted to be transported to.

"We found out that secret power by accident," Mae explained to her. "We were close to getting captured we prayed that we were someplace else better and the next thing we knew, we were at the Lost Treescape."

Who knew that the statues could do this? But for now, it was time for her to concentrate on finding the missing gears.

Just like what Berkut described, the temple is filled with Rigelian soldiers along with the clerics and priestesses who were going about in the temple. Like Ram Village, they heed no mind to the soldiers who were watching over them. Are they truly under Alm's influence? How in the world is he doing this? She could not tell. Everything looked so normal but with the group she is with says otherwise. The wisest thing to do is to blend in and hopefully nothing bad happens if she exposes herself.

The soldiers haven't detected their presence yet, but seeing as they were guarding the entrance to the Mila statue, along with a few others who were walking about as if on patrol, this will not go easy for them.

"Great," Delthea whispered as her eyes were on the guards. "How do we get past them?"

"From the looks of things, we may have no choice but to fight our way out," Saber answered.

Celica peered from behind the wall and observed the two men that were guarding where they are. "If we could just knock them both out without anyone noticing…"

Delthea grinned. "Leave that to me! I know a spell that can knock them to sleep."

"You know a sleeping spell?"

"Yeah! I snuck in one of Halcyon's spell books and read one about it!"

All of them looked at her, Tatiana looking incredulous out of all of them. "You did what?!"

"U-Um…My brother's been bugging me to improve my magic—" The young mage stammered. "L-Look! Now's not the time to be dwelling about that! Do you want them sleeping or not?"

Tatiana wanted to reprimand her more about sneaking into the sage's study, but she was right. Right now they needed to concentrate on getting those two soldiers away. They had to be precise and make sure the ones walking around were not looking. Celica peered from the wall again, watching the soldiers. She saw that one of patrolling guards is talking to the two guards and saw him wave. Was he saying goodbye? She noticed that the patrolling guards were gone, which leaves the two. There she found the perfect moment.

Celica turned to Delthea. "Okay," she said. "We're counting on you."

She nodded and tiptoed her way closer to the guards. Not noticing her presence, Delthea began whispering an incantation, and magic waved on her hands. In just seconds, the two guards collapsed and began snoring. The rest of them went to her side and began dragging the guards inwards to where they are.

"Good job, Delthea." Tatiana said. "Now what?"

"Two of the men here will have to wear there armor as a disguise." Celica then turned to Berkut, Conrad and Saber. The mercenary, knowing what she was implying, immediately. "No way in hell I'm wearing that. I can't fight well with armor this heavy."

"Fine then. Brother, Berkut, you two do it."

The two wanted to object, but since the two of them are knights who are better equipped with armor such as these, there was no way around it. They began taking off the armor that was on the two sleeping guards and began taking off theirs. Conrad, feeling uneasy of letting her sister watch him as he change, began blushing. "Y-You should go on ahead. We got this."

"He's right," Berkut said in turn. "We can't afford to waste any more time. Go."

Celica nodded. "Okay. We split up from here."

For Genny and Mae, it felt like it was a long time ago since they stepped foot at the priory they grew up in. Everything changed since then. The place is abandoned so there were no guards or any of the priests and priestesses in the priory. Many of the people here were killed while the remaining survivors fled to Novis and Zofia Harbor. The cemetery which was a few walks away from the priory was crawling with Terrors. Since there were so many people who died here, the numbers of the people who were buried here grew, and so did the number of Terrors. Searching for that missing gear could prove troublesome if they are not careful enough. Luckily for them, the priory wasn't affected by the eerie miasma that was in the cemetery thanks to the Mila statue.

They all searched in the priory if there was any sign of the missing gear. Since the priory was small compared to the others, they did not take long and with no sign of the gear, they grouped themselves outside the priory.

"Great," Mae murmured. "From here we go to the cemetery which is crawling with Terrors."

"How are we going to search while fighting with Terrors?" Genny asked, feeling anxious.

"We have no choice but to fight our way through," Clair said. Even her pegasus who was there at her side, whinnied as if it was also worried. "We just have to fight and escape quickly if we want to go to the port."

"At least we're lucky the priory isn't affected…" Gray murmured.

Clair nodded. "Right. Let's go everyone. Right now, Celica is counting on us all."

Though they all felt reluctant, they made their way towards the Novis cemetery. As they got closer, they could feel the eerie miasma in the air and, just as they predicted, Terrors began emerging from the ground. With all of their weapons at ready, they began fighting and forcefully making their way out of the cemetery.

Clair, who was mounted on her Pegasus, was somewhat ahead of for her to help them bust their way through. Genny kept using her spell, Expel to eradicate the Terrors which was on their way, while flanking her were Jesse and Gray who slashed the Terrors by using the Blessed Sword they got from the Sage's Hamlet. Behind Genny were Python and Mae, the former using the Blessed Bow to shoot Terrors from a distance, and the latter using the holy magic, Seraphim.

As they went on, Genny was already feeling fatigued due to the amount of holy magic she produced against the Terrors.

"I've used up too much of my magic…" she panted, feeling the effects of fatigue. "I don't know if I could go on…"

"C'mon Genny!" Mae said in urgency. "Just hang on! We're almost there."

"Alright…" And with a wave of her staff, she forced herself to cast Expel and Seraphim from the Terrors that were charging on them. They began running faster and faster until they finally made it out of the cemetery.

"Phew…that was a pain," Python said as he rubbed the back of his head. "At least we made it out."

Mae nodded. "Yeah. But most of it was thanks to Genny." She turned towards her, and to her shock, she saw her collapse.

"Genny!"

They all ran to her side. "Genny!" Mae called out. "Hey! Are you okay?"

Genny had never felt so fatigued before. "I'm okay…"

"Oh dear…" Clair said in worry. "You've used up all your stamina from using too much of your magic. You even forced yourself despite that. I'm truly sorry."

"No…it's okay. We all made it. I'm glad I was able…to help. But for now, I think I need to rest…"

"No problem." Jesse said. "You can sleep on my back."

Clair started staring daggers at him. "Jesse! You know now's not the time and place to be doing that!"

"Hey, I'm not flirting. And don't worry. I'll protect her."

Clair sighed. "Oh alright. Just make sure the girl is unharmed, got it?"

Genny smiled weakly. "Thank you…Jesse…"

Jesse carried her as if putting a little girl on a piggy-back ride. The moment he carried her, she was now sound asleep. With the young cleric asleep on the mercenary's back, they began walking towards the Novis port.

While the others were still searching, Celica made her way to the Earth Mother's chamber used to be. She would be expecting some of the priestesses to block her from entering, but oddly enough, no one seemed to care. Berkut and Conrad had done a great job at stalling the other soldiers so that they can move freely. What they were planning to do with them is up to them without her finding out. She opened the doors to the chamber and found no one else inside but herself. Two years without Mila's presence, the chamber was already somewhat barren from Mila's bounty.

She went to the empty throne were Mila was once seated. She did not dare sit on the throne despite the Mother's absence out of respect for the goddess. She touched the throne while wondering what Mother Mila would say if she were here. At the back of the throne, she saw something shining. When Celica looked, her expression shifted to delight. She found one of the missing gears! The turnwheel glowed along with the gear. She immediately grabbed the gear and placed it back inside the turnwheel. That's two down, ten more pieces to go.

When she turned, she suddenly saw a bright silhouette just standing below at the center of the room. She couldn't see her facial features, but she saw that her body was that of a woman of the same height as hers. She slowly went walked towards her, while the bright figure stood still.

"Who…are you…?" Celica slowly asked.

The figure said nothing and turned her back, slowly walking towards the door.

"Wait!"

The figure continued on and to her surprise, she went through the door without opening it. What was that? A ghost? She opened the door and scanned her surroundings. The ghost was nowhere to be found. Things have become stranger as she stays there longer. First an alternate timeline, now she's seeing ghosts?

She saw Tatiana, Delthea and Saber who regrouped at the Great Hall. She went to them while her mind was still wondering what she just saw.

"What's wrong?" Tatiana asked, noticing Celica's confused look on her face.

"Er, did you see something…unusual that came out from the chamber?"

"Something unusual?" Saber asked in turn. "Like what?"

"A ghost."

"Wha—? Ghost?"

"I saw someone or….something inside the Mother's chamber. When I asked, it went straight towards the door." She shook her head. "I don't know."

"We never saw anyone come out from there except you, Celica." Saber said.

"Nevermind that. Anyway, the good news is I found one of the gears from behind the throne."

"Nice!" Delthea said. "Now where do we go next?"

"Let's first regroup with Conrad and Berkut. We'll discuss more about that later."

As they were about to make their way towards the entrance, one of the priestesses of the temple suddenly approached them, stopping their tracks. Celica made sure her hood was hiding her face.

"You seem to be troubled. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, everything is okay." Tatiana replied in their behalf. It was a good call since Tatiana is a saint. "We were just paying respects to the Mother. We're just about to leave."

The priestess noticed Celica who was wearing a cloak and an old warrior priestess outfit. "You look new here. Where do you come from?"

Celica lowered her head and stayed quiet. The priestess then looked intently at her. To her eyes, she seemed to look like a priestess with an unusual sense of fashion. She then noticed her hands which Celica immediately hid behind her cloak. Tatiana noticed this and immediately pulled the priestess away from Celica.

"She's from Archanea. She's a traveller," Tatiana blurted. "She's…quite shy around strangers."

The priestess smiled. "Oh I see...interested in the temple, hm? Why don't you stay here longer and let me show you around the temple more."

"We appreciate it, but that's not necessary," Tatiana said politely.

"But I insist. We'd be delighted to help you. In fact, someone wants to see this traveller here."

Someone wants to see Celica?Who was she referring to? A sense of dread was starting to creep. "Um…who is this someone you speak of? What would he want with a traveller?"

The priestess said nothing and only replied to her with a smile, her eyes still on Celica. Is she on to her? They've also noticed the other people whispering with each other, their attention on Celica.

The group was starting to run out of patience. From the entrance, they could see Berkut and Conrad looking at them, wondering what was holding them up, and signalling them that the other guards we'll be coming back. Part of them wanted to push the priestess out of their way, but they didn't want to make a scene, or else they'd be discovered. "Listen," Saber started, "We just came here to pay respects for the Mother and we need to go as soon as possible."

All eyes were on them now, the bustling activity stopped and all was quiet. The eerie thing was, all of them stopped and just looked at them, while earlier, they didn't seem to mind them. "Oh, but I must insist," the priestess smiled again though there was no delight in it. "After all, his Majesty, King Alm will be very eager to see you…Princess Anthiese."

Celica gasped and her eyes widened, shocked by hearing her name.

"What?! What's going on?!" Delthea exclaimed. "I thought everyone here doesn't remember her!" The group started to gather around Celica.

"Tsk." Saber unsheathed his sword. "It's obvious now that he's after you, lass."

The moment she mentioned her name, the soldiers began to make their way towards them. The priestesses and saints gathered around them. "Please be calm and let us take you to him."

"No!" Celica used her Excalibur spell to blow them away and they all began running towards the exit.

"Stop them!" One of the soldiers yelled. Celica and Delthea performed a barrage of Fire spells to keep both the soldiers and the civilians away from them. At the entrance of the temple, Conrad and Berkut fought priestesses who were making a barrage of spells against them. One of them managed to hit Conrad by using the magic spell Aura, which made him fall to his knees. He felt the full brunt of the spell in his body that it gave him a headache. Berkut was there just in time and hit the back of her head. Because they also knew that they're just priestesses of the temple who were forced to doing what they are doing now, the most they can do is knock them out cold.

"You alright?" asked Berkut as he helped Conrad get back up.

"Yes. I'm still alive at least."

As soon as the remaining group arrived, they saw Conrad injured from the priestess's attack. Tatiana immediately went to his side and helped him heal. He felt his strength returning thanks to the saint's recovery magic.

"Thank you."

Tatiana smiled at the red head. "My pleasure."

A group of cavaliers appeared suddenly appeared at the side of the entrance making an ambush. "There she is!" One of them yelled, his lance motioning towards Celica. "Don't let them escape!"

"H-Hey! What do we do!?" Delthea asked in panic.

"Simple," Berkut smirked. "We make our escape." He then turned towards Tatiana. "You can conjure up illusions, correct?"

"Y-Yes, but only Pegasus Knights though…"

"That's more than enough to buy us some time. Now, do it!"

Tatiana obliged and she began raising her staff. Her staff glowed with magic, and within seconds, illusory Pegasus Knights were on their side. The illusions began to charge towards the cavaliers distracting some of them. Berkut then fought one of the cavaliers and managed to make him fall off from his horse. He immediately rode on the horse. Saber and Conrad did the same and helped the women get on the horses.

"Let's go!" The horses started galloping away from the temple. A number of Rigelian soldiers began chasing them down; the Bow Knights firing arrows at them. Celica and Delthea looked at each other as if they read each other's conjured a powerful fire spell: Ragnarok. The combination of the two mages made a deadly explosion which left half of the soldiers injured; some of them were even burned at the process. They no longer hear any horses following them, but they didn't want to relax just yet. They may have stalled them, but they are still determined to hunt them down.

"Where do we go now?" asked Tatiana who was riding the horse with Berkut.

"Anywhere is better than here!" replied Saber.

"This path…" Celica murmured, "Just keep going straight," she yelled at the group. "For now we take refuge in the Dragon Shrine!"

"WHAT?!" Delthea shouted. "But there are Terrors there!"

"Well it's better than getting ourselves captured!"

"She has a point," Saber added. "From there, we can plan our next move."

General Massena would sometimes find it unusual that whatever happens outside the castle, reports would be coming in quickly; perhaps too quickly.

Before, it would usually be about Alm's former companion's insurgency against their kingdom, but now things took a different turn. Lately it's about this one girl who suddenly appeared in Ram Village one day and attacked one of their men. Now she's with the New Deliverance, unclear to him of what her intentions are. Since then, he commanded all of his soldiers to capture this girl should she ever step foot outside where their hideout is. When he mentioned her name, a wave of familiarity washed over him. Princess Anthiese…or she would call herself more as Celica. Why did that name sound so familiar?

News about the attack in the Temple of Mila caused a lot of commotion from the masses and soldiers alike. For a while, two men who were later found out that one of them was Berkut, fooled their men stationed in the temple. Because Berkut was one of the generals leading the Rigelian army in the past, he knew exactly what to say and do to his former men.

It was also odd that one of the priestesses in the temple was the one who exposed the girl. Surely in a position she's in, she would've created some sort of disguise to not expose herself in front of their men. In a tactical standpoint, they would've gone away without any disturbances or discovery from the guards. In a normal everyday routine, they would just blend in like normal civilians. The Rigelian army were the only ones told about capturing the girl, not the civilians. Surely not many of the common masses were aware about the rebels either. One thing is for certain: only the king knew about all of this without even telling him anything. Compared to Emperor Rudolf, his son has many secrets he prefers to keep more to himself. Sometimes this fact frustrates him so.

After receiving that report, he had expected that he would show anger on his men after failing to capture the girl. Instead, he was calm and collected, as if he had already foreseen that his soldiers would fail. It was very hard for him to tell what exactly the king is thinking since most of the time he would just shut himself in inside the throne room or his study. Now that he was alone with the king, he might as well try to ask a few questions that troubled his mind.

"Your Majesty," he began. "If I may be so bold to ask, why are you after this girl? And, why does her name feel so familiar…?"

Alm gave a thin smile. "Interested are you? You do not need to concern yourself of who she is. Only her name and appearance." Massena expected he'd answer him that. "As for why I am after her…" he continued, "Let's just say she holds the key to everything. And while she is running around freely throughout Valentia, she is considered a threat… for now."

"A key…? A key to what?"

"As I said Massena, the key to everything. And I know you're wondering why I haven't ordered an execution once she's found, correct?" Alm found the old general's shock and confusion amusing. He simply had no idea his mind is being eroded further the closer he is to him. Massena on the other hand, wondered how he knew what he was exactly thinking.

"I—"

"Because she will help me achieve something whether she likes it or not," he answered before the general could say anything. "And since she is with my cousin," he smirked which Massena found to be disturbing, "this could get interesting. Now, does that answer your question?"

"I—yes sire," he simply said. Though on the outside he looked strong and calm, in the inside, he felt disturbed, perhaps even a slight fear of him. Sometimes he would question whether the New Deliverance's actions were just. Perhaps that is why they made the emperor's nephew their own leader.

It was also to the point that he reminded him of the fell god.

"But what if she…" he said slowly. "What if she resists and tries to stop you?"

"Even if she does, she will stand no chance against me once I have achieved what I wanted," he said, sounding confident and sure of himself. He then made another smirk and chuckled. "But I welcome her to try and stop me. Now, is there any more you need to know?"

"No…none your Majesty."

"Alright," Alm said, his expression shifted to neutral. "You may go back to your daily duties."

Massena bowed. "Yes sire." He turned his back from the king, going to the door.

"And one more thing," said Alm that made him pause from his tracks. "You're not questioning your loyalty to me, or to this empire, are you?"

His eyes widened a bit again, but immediately went back to his usual demeanor. He turned and looked at the king, his green eyes boring through him. "Of course not," he said calmly. "I promised your father that I shall stand by your side no matter what happens. I shall remain by your side until the day I die."

He softened up a bit and gave an empty smile. "Good. You're dismissed."

Massena gave another bow and exited the throne room, his walking slightly faster as he headed to the door.

Now it was only Alm in the gloomy throne room. The very thing that happened in the Temple of Mila was nothing more but a ploy to make sure Celica was kept in check. He knew that she would find a way to get back home to her timeline, so he was making sure that would never happen; not without the one missing gear in his possession.

A voice sounded from behind him. "You seem to be alone as always, your Majesty."

Right next to the throne, dark magic rose from the floor and Jedah himself materialized. He went closer to Alm who rose from his throne. "Hmph. I prefer to be alone than going along with that idiot Massena. He hasn't realized I've been treating him like my little plaything."

Jedah made an awful laugh. "Indeed. Now then, Anthiese already has two of the gears, and she won't stop until she collects all of them. What are you planning to do with this?"

"She can collect them however she pleases and she will still fail," he said. "If she did already collect all of the gears save for the one I have with me…" he gave a cold smile, "I will leave the rest to you. While she's on the search however, I want you to… put her to her misery."

It was obvious to Jedah that Alm wanted to toy the girl in the hopes that she would fall to despair. Jedah made a sadistic smile, delighted to hear these words coming out from the once kind boy who wanted to stop the war. "As you wish." Black miasma swirled around him, and he disappeared.

To him, this was also like a game. Two sides are pitted against each other, fighting to determine the fate of the world. Celica we'll be doing any means to evade him, and no matter how many times she will run, he will always find her…until it will be time that she will face him. She has no escape.

Chapter Text

It's been a long time since Tobin went home, although it was brief.

It felt like yesterday since Lukas first entered the gates of Ram Village, asking for help he can get for the Deliverance. He and his childhood friends, Alm, Gray, Faye and Kliff all have agreed to join the fight after Sir Mycen mysteriously left. Every one of them had their own personal reasons of joining: Alm wanted to fight in Mycen's stead, Kliff wanted to travel and see the world, Gray and Tobin's reason were almost the same, both having parents and siblings in the family, they needed money. It was the start of everything.

But sadly, it was also the beginning of something terrible.

He and his friends knew that Alm would sometimes contemplate that he had no parents or siblings. From the very beginning, he knew he was different from the rest of them. When it came to training, Alm would always outshine him, and felt like he could never be on par with his best friend, but that fact never got in the way of their friendship. It was until then that they found out the shocking revelation that Emperor Rudolf was Alm's father, and he just killed him without any form of hesitation a few seconds before. His whole life had been a lie; everything was orchestrated for that single moment. It truly broke his heart.

Then there was the one thing that made him snap: Celica. He never knew what truly happened, but the sudden news of Celica's death was the final straw of what sanity he had. They all felt sad and grieved for her, and it was that moment that Alm had changed drastically. The friend he knew turned into a complete stranger, and two of his friends are gone by his hand. Sometimes both he and Gray felt that they were at fault; they felt that they should've been there with their friend and yet they failed, only worrying about ending the war. The others assured them that it was never their fault, and while all of that was true, they wished they could have done something beforehand. Maybe if they had, they wouldn't be in this situation right now.

"Tobin," said Silque who was behind him. That made him snap back to reality. "Are you okay? You look like you're daydreaming."

"Yeah…yeah I'm okay," he said sheepishly while staring at Ram Village from a distance. Silque noticed the melancholic look in his eyes as he stared at his own home.

"Tobin, what happened to Sir Alm, wasn't your fault…or anyone's fault…"

The brunette made a sad smile. "Funny how you still prefer to him as "Sir Alm"…"

Silque now somehow copied the same look on Tobin's face. "Two years have passed, and yet, it is still truly saddening to see what he has become… I know, because it's hard for me too. He saved my life…"

"My mom, my siblings… I don't even know if they're aware." He slowly shook his head. "I doubt they do… I really miss them. It'll be really hard for everyone to find out what became of Alm. He was loved by the village."

"You miss him too, don't you?"

"It's hard for me to admit at first," Tobin said as he gazed down. "But…yeah, both Gray and I miss him. Even Clair admits it too. After everything he has done, even if he had casted us away, we're still his friends."

Silque smiled at this. "Keep those memories and friendship close to your heart. I know it's hard…and I'm sure everyone else felt the same way. Because of him, we all met and became friends and allies. The best thing we can do is cherish those moments."

Tobin gave a tiny smile. "You're right, Silque. I really miss those days…"

"My, you two look quite comfy over there," said Leon who was listening to the whole thing, which surprised the two.

"Ah! Leon! You were listening?" Tobin demanded.

"Not all of the conversation of course," Leon said as he gave a sly smile. "It's good to see friendships still blossoming after what happened."

Tobin suddenly blushed in embarrassment. "Why you—"

"You three," interrupted Lukas who was walking towards them. "Found anything?"

"Not yet. We've been searching this area for some time now," Tobin answered on their behalf.

"And had a little heart-to-heart talk with Silque here," Leon teased.

"Leon!" Tobin snapped.

"A-Anyway, what about you?" Silque swiftly asked the red haired soldier.

"As a matter of fact I did," Lukas showed the shining cog resting on his hand. "It was at Sir Mycen's old home. We saw a hole on the roof which indicated that something had crashed from above. And that's where I found this."

"Well that was fast!" Tobin exclaimed.

"Sonya and Luthiere are still searching around the village if they could find any more," Lukas inquired them. "If not, then we will plan next once they get back. We'll meet at the Thieves Shrine."

Sonya was getting annoyed from all the branches and leaves getting to her hair. They've been going in and out of the village just to search for a missing cog. Honestly, this felt like finding a needle in a haystack.

"Ugh…" Sonya groaned. "My hair is ruined."

"Now is not the time to be worrying about looks," Luthiere reprimanded. "We've got important things to take care of, such as finding that missing gear for Lady Celica."

"Wow… Delthea was right about you being so stuck-up."

He was annoyed being called by that. That, and it was also the fact that it came from his younger sister. "And you, Sonya, are aloof and conceited. "

The female mage only shrugged. "Hey, it's my charm."

Sighing, Luthiere continued on his search and ignored Sonya. She on the other hand, groaned out of boredom. "C'mon, let's get out of here. We've been searching this area nonstop."

Though it was irritating to here Sonya complain, she was right. In the end, he relented. "Oh alright… Let's go back."

As they were heading back however, they suddenly felt something strange; something eerie. Out of the blue, Terrors started spawning in front of them.

The two mages were now back to back with each other. "What the— Terrors?! Here?!" Luthiere shouted.

"They couldn't have just come from nowhere," Sonya said. "Someone must've summoned them!"

The number of Terrors grew larger and larger. Normally, they would also think about attacking the village but for some odd reason, the only target they wanted was them. They were out for their blood.

"Away with you!" Luthiere shouted and casted Excalibur at the Terrors on his side that were trying to surround them. He was successful enough to blow some of them away. Sonya cast another Excalibur spell to blow more of them away and defeating them, but they're not doing so well with just the two of them.

"At this rate, we'll be exhausted from using too much magic," Luthier said as he cast a Fire spell at one of the Terrors that was charging at them.

"Hope this works…" the female mage murmured. She raised her right hand and cast Fire towards the sky.

Celica and her group managed to get inside the Dragon Shrine and somehow lost the remaining soldiers who were after them. But she knew there was no time to rest just yet. The news of the skirmish in the Temple of Mila will definitely reach the RIgelian empire, and that would mean Alm would know immediately. Not only that, she was now sure he is dead-set on finding her. What he plans to do with her, she wasn't sure.

They went to the Mila Statue to take a quick rest after the fighting and the running they did. Berkut and Conrad tended to the horses while Delthea and Tatiana were helping Saber heal his injuries. She then looked at the Mila statue and made a sigh. If it's really you Mother Mila, then please tell me, why am I here? Why me?

"Are you okay, Anthiese?" Conrad said, gently touching her sister's shoulder.

Celica made a small smile. "I am. Silently praying, that's all. Though I doubt my voice will reach Mila." She gazed at her older brother who was smiling at her. Knowing the fact on what happened of the Celica of this timeline, it was probably a long time for him to be smiling at his sister again since that time. It was cruel that he had to suffer two times. The first was when they were still children, and the villa they stayed in was attacked and caused a fire. He thought she had died, and Celica thought Conrad was gone as well. And now…this.

"What is it sister?" Conrad tilted his head. "What are you looking at?"

"Conrad…I know how much you suffered since—" she trailed off. "What I mean is, I don't want to see you suffer once I get back to my own time. I wish there is something that could be done…"

He slowly shook his head and smiled again. "No. There is nothing that you can do. Anthiese, no matter what time or where you belong to, you will always be my little sister. That will never change. And I'm sure the Conrad in your timeline needs you. Knowing that…makes me happy."

"Conrad…" She gave him a tight embrace. This was the only thing she can do for him. Conrad gently stroked her hair and reciprocated.

"Aww…that is so sweet!" Delthea cooed not too far away from them. "I wish my brother was like that. Then I'd be all sweet and cuddly."

"Speak for yourself," Saber said in a sarcastic voice. "You? Sweet and cuddly? As if."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?! I-I can be sweet!"

Saber made a smirk. "Sure you can. I'd bet with gold you won't be able to pull that off."

"Yes I can! Just you wait and see Saber! When we get back, I'm gonna be all sweet to Luthier you're going to give me all your money!"

The older man just shrugged. "It's a deal then."

Celica started giggling which made the others gaze at her. Her laugh was contagious that everyone else started giggling, then turned into full blown laughter. Even Berkut made a restrained laugh. How long has it been since they laughed like this, she wondered. They needed this to cope with the dark times happening.

Now that they all settled down again, Saber was first to ask out of all of them. "So, what now? What's our next move?"

"If only we could contact the others, then we'd know their situation," Celica answered. "Honestly, I'm worried about the others."

"They'll be all right," Tatiana chimed. "They're strong so there's no doubt about it that they will pull through."

"By the way," Delthea added. "How did those priestesses know it's you? I mean, Alm's manipulation also erased their memories of you, right? So how? Even if we took off your cloak, maybe the soldiers would recognize you, but not them."

It's not everyday they would hear Delthea making sense, not even in Celica's timeline. But she was right, how did they know? Celica looked at her right hand where the Brand of Mila is located.

"Maybe it's because of the Brand?" Celica asked, even she was uncertain.

"I don't think so," Tatiana answered in turn. "As Delthea said, those who were placed under his control erased their memories of you. It's like you never existed in the first place. So showing that to an ordinary person wouldn't change a thing. Unless…" she trailed off.

"Unless, what?"

"Unless…" she said slowly, "it was deliberately set up. It's as if Alm already knew you'd be there. And that attack, was caused by him."

Everyone eyes then gazed on the Saint.

"But…how?" Conrad then began asking. "How can he know…?"

Tatiana made a sigh. "I don't know… When I talked to that priestess, it's like she was no longer herself. It was like she was taken over by something."

"Not only that," Saber added. "I'm sure he wouldn't be able to do those things alone. Someone else must've conspired the whole thing."

Berkut made a grunt. "Alm…what are you trying to do…?" He then looked at Celica. "Whatever it is, he will not rest until he captures you." He then scanned the group who were looking at him, listening to his words. "The best thing we can do, is to avoid of letting her get caught by the empire. Should he find you Celica, just retreat. Don't engage the empire since that's our business to begin with, not yours. Just focus on finding those pieces until you go back home."

Though Celica felt they were reasonable, she questioned whether it was right to just leave them after she finds all of the gears. She made a hesitant nod, "Okay. I will."

"Hey, that reminds me," Delthea spoke again. "You said before that you saw something come out of Mila's throne room, right? Something about a ghost?"

Conrad turned to his sister, "A ghost?"

"Yes, believe it or not. Honestly, I was not sure what I saw. It looked like a woman though, and she was the same height as me. She just went through the door, and when I came out, she's gone."

Everyone looked at her as though she just told them a spooky story for children. Normally, hearing that from her would've made them think she's crazy. But her being there with them alive and well, normalcy is beyond what is happening now.

"Maybe it was just an illusion conjured up by the Saints in the temple?" Saber asked.

Tatiana shook her head. "But…I didn't see anyone using magic."

Everyone suddenly went quiet, no right answer coming into mind. Celica's mind then trailed off to Alm in her timeline. She wondered if he already came back from that meeting, and went back to her, only to realize she was gone. If he ever did, he would be worried sick. Searching with the knights and with her friends will prove futile for them, since she was plucked out of her own time.

To her surprise, she suddenly saw the ghostly woman just outside where the Mila statue is. She passed by the room and she seemed to be going deeper in the cave. Celica suddenly stood up, which rattled the group.

"There!" she shouted. "I just saw it again!"

"What?" Conrad said, looking baffled. "But I didn't see anyone outside besides us."

Without a word, Celica started running off to follow the ghostly figure. She realized she is the only one who could see her. Not knowing the answer, she pushed those thoughts aside for now and followed it.

"Celica! Wait!" Berkut shouted, his voice becoming smaller and smaller as she ran.

She followed it from the narrow path until she reached the open space of the cave, some parts where there is an underwater lake. In the past, this place was guarded by Necrodragons. In here, she also remembered she saw a journal, which belonged to a boy. She remembered how she helped a village maiden gave back her son's journal. She was devastated, but nevertheless, thanked them for their efforts. Now, this place was eerily quiet, and she realized she hasn't seen any Terrors yet. She saw the ghost going to another narrow path, and Celica remembered this path leads to the Sacred Spring, which was said that its waters will bring back the dead.

"Wait!" she called out the ghost, but it didn't respond nor stop her. She still followed it until they did reach the chamber where the Sacred Spring is, only that there wasn't any water in this and it's completely destroyed. The ghost stopped moving, its back is turned from Celica.

"Who are you?" Celica asked. "Why am I the only one who can see you?"

"….."

"Please. Answer me. There must be a reason why I can see you. If there is something keeping you in this world, I will help you rest your weary soul."

The ghost turned to her, but her face still couldn't be seen clearly because she was still blurry.

"Wandering…for so long…" Celica's eyes widened when the ghost spoke. The voice sounded low and weary, but is indeed that of a woman, but oddly it sounded so familiar…

"I feel sorrow…pain…so much anguish…" The ghost went closer and closer towards her that Celica took one step back.

"You are…"

Before the ghost could say more, it suddenly squirmed as if it was in pain. Celica immediately ran to her, but by the time she was at her side, she suddenly vanished, leaving Celica alone. She scanned the area to see any signs of the ghost, but to no avail. She gazed down, "Why…do you sound so familiar…?"

The turnwheel suddenly glowed although briefly. When the glow subsided, she saw something shining from the rubble of the Sacred Spring. Celica moved the rocks aside and in her delight, found another missing gear. She immediately placed the gear inside the turnwheel, and the device glowed again, as if saying it was happy one of the pieces were back in its place. She then wondered, did that ghost actually guide her?

"Celica!" A voice from a distance called her, and she heard footsteps getting closer. The remaining group managed to catch up to her.

"What's…gotten into you…" Delthea panted, catching her breath.

Conrad suddenly slapped Celica which surprised everyone. "Don't run off like that! What if something happened to you!? You could've been in danger!"

"W-whoa…Conrad…E-easy." The young mage never thought he would be capable of doing that.

Celica however, didn't protest. "No Delthea," she faced her brother. "You're right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have run off just like that."

"Sorry if I slapped too hard."

"No. I deserved that."

Berkut cleared his throat to get their attention. "Anyway, why did you suddenly run?"

"That ghost…I saw her again. She passed by outside the chamber. It's strange…I'm the only one who can see her. Not only that, she also spoke."

The group looked at each other. "What…did it say?" asked Tatiana.

"What she said was pretty vague…" Celica answered. "She said that she has been wandering for so long, and it was in pain. Not only that, she was about to say something about me before she suddenly disappeared."

"Creepy…" murmured Delthea.

"How come you can see her and we can't?" Saber asked in turn. "We've been fighting Terrors and illusions, but never ghosts."

"I don't know…but I think…it has something to do with how I got here in this time. And also, because of her, I found one of the missing gears." She showed the turnwheel with three gears now inside.

"Pretty convenient," Saber said. "But still, we can't be too sure, especially that ghost you saw. It might lead you to a trap if you're not careful."

Celica made a nod. "I know." She then turned to Berkut. "What's our next move?"

"For now, we should head back to the Sage's Hamlet. We'll have to know the situation of the others and also assign other places to search. And I'm sure some of us are still injured after that attack in the Temple of Mila."

Chapter Text

Back in the Sage's Hamlet, Rinea was in her own special training.

She never loved the idea of fighting, nor does she ever want to be in one, but ever since the day of Berkut's banishment and meeting a lonely little girl along the way, she felt that she needed to do something. She always felt she depended on him too much; always needed defending. But she also knew that he couldn't be there all the time to protect her and add the fact that Madeline entered their lives, she made a personal promise to herself that it would be her turn to protect those dear to her.

That one fateful day, Halcyon never expected such a request from Rinea: to take the path of the sword and magic. She looked so determined to learn, so he accepted her request; but she also made one condition: to never tell Berkut and the others about it, not until she was strong enough.

At first, she was so hesitant to even cast a spell. She could hardly even lift a sword and even slash one training dummy. All in all, she was just so bad at it; but her determination and eagerness to protect her Lord Berkut and little Madeline was so strong, that in the course of two years, she became a much more capable fighter. Halcyon was proud of her apprentice who excelled so much in healing, light and elemental magic, her graceful way of fighting with a sword since she combined her love of dancing and her fighting style. Even Rinea herself never knew how much she was capable in using magic, since most of the time she was only sheltered by her parents.

When Celica came to this timeline, she wondered on what Rinea was like in her own time. Celica was very hesitant at first, but in the end, she had told her everything, and it was very shocking to hear. It was hard to believe that Berkut would fall into madness and despair, and traded her soul with more power, turning her into a Witch, and Berkut getting possessed by Duma and ultimately lost to Alm. No wonder Celica looked very surprised to see them alive. Time can be very complicated indeed.

She also never expected for them to be back so soon when she saw Celica's group entering the village. She immediately went to Berkut's side and embraced him. "You're all back so soon."

"It wasn't easy," Berkut said. "We almost got ourselves captured by Rigelian soldiers."

"Oh dear..." she turned to Celica. "Did you manage to find one of the gears?"

"We did. And surprisingly we managed to find two of them quickly," she showed her the Turnwheel with two new additional gears inside.

"That's wonderful!"

Celica smiled, but Rinea saw that she wasn't exactly happy. She could see it in her eyes. It was obvious that something else is bothering her.

"Um…Lady Celica, if there's anything you want to say that is bothering you, I'd be happy to listen," she held her hands and gave another smile. "You deserve it, after all you've been through."

Celica couldn't help but smile back at her. "Thank you, Rinea."

Saber gave a smirk watching the two of them. "Getting close, are we?"

Rinea made a small blush. "I want to help her in any way I can, Saber."

"By the way," Delthea interrupted, "is my brother's group back yet?"

"No. You were the first to come back."

In just a few seconds that she said that, they all heard running footsteps coming closer. Lukas's group immediately came into view. They all were huffing and panting, and some of them had visible scars. "You wouldn't believe…" Tobin said, still panting, "what we just…went through…"

Sonya casted a powerful Fire spell up in the sky, and Lukas, Silque, Tobin and Leon knew that it was an emergency. Without a word, they quickly ran to where the two mages are, but on their way, they were immediately greeted by a horde of Terrors.

"Where'd these Terrors come from!? There weren't any when we first came here!" Tobin said as he shot an arrow to one of the Terrors approaching him. It was questionable indeed. They would expect Rigelian soldiers, but not Terrors. Behind him, Silque conjured the spell, Expel to ward off the Terrors in their way. Lukas pierced the Terrors approaching him with his lance, while Leon used his Blessed Bow to aid him from behind.

"It's obvious that someone conjured them," Lukas said. Silque then cast the spell, Seraphim to ward off more of them. As they try to run, more of them keep coming.

Meanwhile, Sonya and Luthier were getting worn out by using too much of their magic. They were doing their best to preserve their stamina so they could get an opening to escape, but the Terrors aren't stopping and were only interested in killing them.

"Where are they?!" Sonya panted and was frustrated their back-up was taking too long to help them.

"Judging from these numbers, I'd say they've been held up too," Luthier deduced. Shortly after he said that, he heard sword clashing and arrows being shot in just a small distance from them. The other party is managing enough to cut through, but it won't be long until they exhausted themselves. They had to think fast, or else it's all over for them. Luthier quickly thought of something, but it will take a toll on their stamina.

"Sonya! Luthier!" shouted Tobin who were still fighting Terrors at their side.

"Sonya, I have an idea. It will take a toll on us, but it's a chance we've got."

"I'm listening."

"We'll have to cast Excalibur together to make some way, then you immediately use Warp us to reach our friends. Once we do that, do you think you can warp us again to the shrine?"

Sonya made a confident smile. "Who do you think I am? Of course I can!"

"That settles it. On three…" They started concentrating to focus on the amount of magic power they were going to release.

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three!"

They raised their hands together and shouted, "EXCALIBUR!" The wind magic had blown away some trees and bushes but most importantly, the Terrors who were in their way. Tobin and the others felt the strong wind magic that they had to hold on to something so they themselves wouldn't get blown away. Without anything else to say, Sonya warped both of them immediately to the rest of the group.

"Did you two do that!?" Tobin asked while trying to fix his hair which was made a mess due to the strong wind.

"No time! Come closer to me!" Sonya said in urgency. Everyone else immediately obliged, and Sonya cast a spell to warp them away from the Terrors.

Now at the Thieves Shrine, Luthier and Sonya had already felt the toll from their plan. They've exhausted themselves too much they were on the verge collapsing. Silque immediately went to their side and casted a Heal spell on them, though only enough as she too exhausted herself from the fight with the Terrors.

"Let's take a short rest," Lukas said. "Besides, our mages need it."

"I agree…" Leon said while trying to fix his hair. "Gods, who summoned those Terrors in the first place?"

Sonya sat down to the ground and leaned at the cavern wall. "I have an idea who…Jedah."

Everyone looked at her. "The fact that the Terrors didn't target Ram Village and only us could mean one thing: Jedah did it. Only someone as powerful as him could conjure and control that many Terrors."

"Wait, wait, wait," Tobin said in turn, "Jedah? I mean, I get what you said but…I thought he's…dead?"

Leon nodded. "Tobin's right. It's been two years since we saw last fought him. He was bleeding so bad there was no way he could have survived that."

Lukas sighed. "You have a point in that Leon, unless he faked his own death and actually survived. Or, he died somehow and was brought back."

"No way…" Tobin said solemnly.

Sonya slowly stood up, "we've got no time to waste," she said. "If he really is back, then we should head back and warn the others."

"Oh but I am back, Sonya," said a sudden voice that echoed throughout the cavern which surprised them. The air around them became tense, and in front of them, materialized the High Priest himself, Jedah. He greeted them with a sinister smile and everyone readied themselves for a possible battle despite their condition.

Out of all of them, Sonya expressed more hatred at the sight of the priest. "Tch. So it really was you who summoned all those Terrors."

His grin widened. "Why Sonya, is that what you have to say to our return after two years? I am after all, thankful for Alm on that part."

"I have nothing to say to you!"

This time, it was Silque who asked, "Why are you here? We last saw you in the brink of death."

"It is very simple," he then pointed at a certain object Lukas was holding. "I want that gear."

Everyone gasped. "What do you want with this?" asked Lukas.

"That gear…holds Mila's powers. Despite it looking nothing but a small cog, it holds infinite possibilities. For a long time, its power was held back by simply going back to a certain point in time. But now, since the Anthiese of a different past has appeared, a new key of possibility has been opened."

"A key of…possibility…?" Silque asked.

"The key to controlling time."

Things were now starting to become more dreadful. "C-control time?! But that's…that's impossible!" Tobin blurted out.

"For a mere human, yes. But the power of a god can. And His Majesty demands it."

Tobin shook his head in disbelief. "No…Alm…"

Silque looked at him in worry. "Tobin…"

"And what if we say we are not going to let that happen?" Leon said.

He made a malicious smile. "Know this you ignorant fools: Alm will find a way to put an end to all of you once and for all. Ah, he also has a message for Anthiese. Tell her that he is seeking her presence. If she doesn't show herself to him, there will be consequences." Black miasma swirled around him and he disappeared. In his place were a new horde of Terrors. Silque immediately cast Expel that was in front of them.

"We have to hurry! To the Mila Statue!"

Everyone ran as the Terrors were advancing towards them. When they arrived at the statue, Silque immediately clasped her hands in prayer.

"C'mon Silque!" Tobin panicked as he shot one of the Terrors who were trying to reach them at the entrance.

A white magic circle appeared below their feet, and then they disappeared.

After telling them their tale, the group immediately felt the intensity of the situation. All of this was just so overwhelming that they remained silent.

Celica was the first to speak. "He…he wants the gears…? And…he wants me?"

Rinea looked at her, her face solemn for the princess.

"We should inform this to Halcyon," Berkut said, though he himself was disturbed. "We can figure things out from there."

Celica nodded. "You're right."

Celica couldn't sleep that night. There was just so much going on in her head. But overall, she just wished she could go back home. She missed the people back in her timeline dearly, and it was just so sad that half of them had perished in this timeline. She wondered, if things in her time went wrong, could Alm have ended up the same way as this one?

Sighing, she headed towards the door and went outside to clear her head, hoping that the night sky would help her at ease. As she went out, she heard sounds of grunting and sword swinging just near the storage house. Thinking that there could be a Rigelian spy, Celica went back in the cottage to grab her sword. Slowly making her way towards the noise, she was surprised to see Rinea holding and swinging a sword with such ease and grace. The way she moved was like a dancer holding a sword. Rinea then was surprised to see Celica watching her, and she immediately stopped.

"Ah! You're awake!"

"I couldn't sleep," she simply said. "But you're swordplay, it was so amazing! You move with such grace."

The blunette blushed at her compliment. "T-thank you…"

They both sat down at a stump and looked up the night sky. Countless stars were twinkling, making the whole atmosphere so serene. The air was cold, yet refreshing, and the night was quiet. Celica wished this moment would last longer.

"Is there anything troubling you?" Rinea suddenly asked. She understood about what had Tobin and the others said earlier was indeed troubling, yet she sensed something else.

"I…miss him…" Celica slowly said.

"You mean Alm in your time, correct?" she asked, and Celica replied with a nod.

"I completely understand."

"For a long time, we've been separated because of the fact that I needed to be hidden because I was the last surviving princess, and the rightful successor to the Zofian throne. After a long and hard battle, we've reunited. And just when we're together again, here we are again, separated. Not only that, I find out that in here, the man I loved became a different person…"

Poor Celica. This was really hard for her. She could completely understand, since she had also told her about what happened between her and Berkut, and it was just as shocking to hear. She continued listening to her.

"I didn't want to admit it at first, but I guess all this I'm…afraid. Afraid of….him. If he and I do see each other, what then? It's hard, fighting someone you knew, and whom you love. We did that once, but I swore to myself that it wouldn't happen again."

Rinea placed her hand on her shoulder. "It's okay to be afraid. It happens to all of us. You just have to keep Alm close to your heart."

"Rinea…"

"I know it's hard. But you also have to know that Alm here is different…very different from the one you knew. Always remember that."

"You know…" she continued, "I was really shocked of what you told me about what happened to us in your time. It was hard to believe…I was afraid…but I guess some things…are just meant to be. It's a cruel fate indeed…but the only way now is to just focus on what's happening now."

Celica smiled. It was comforting to know that someone understood her complicated situation, but she guessed that it was the same for Rinea as well.

The turnwheel on Celica's neck glowed again that it caught both of them by surprise. Another memory is being installed inside the Turnwheel, showing them a new memory.

[Memory Prism: The Exile]

Things were becoming hectic for Berkut as he was in the throne with Alm. Rinea wanted to be by his side, but he insisted that she stayed here outside the throne room. She was awfully worried for him ever since his cousin became king, and more importantly, the sudden drastic change in Alm in the temple that terrified her so.

She slightly opened the door, enough for her eye to see what was going on. Deep down, she had hoped that something bad wouldn't happen, even when her intuition says otherwise.

Inside the throne room, Berkut was infuriated at his cousin. He learned what he had done to his own allies in the Temple of Duma, and not only that, he almost tried to kill Rinea. "Alm…" Berkut growled, looking at the king with such fury, "What is the meaning of all this?!"

"Why are you so surprised?" He made a smirk despite his cousin giving him a death stare. "I am, after all, Emperor Rudolf's son."

"His son you may be, but I will NEVER accept you as my king! Not after what you've done!"

His smirk widened, "You don't need to." There was a quick red glow from Alm's eyes and suddenly, Berkut felt heavy, like an invisible force which was pushing him down. Rinea gasped when she saw him struggling to get up. He was forced to kneel.

"Arrgh…what…what is this? I can't—"

Alm stepped closer as Berkut slowly looked up, fury was still visible in his eyes, and at the same time, was disturbed by Alm's new power. Is this…from Duma? Is he possessed? He wasn't sure. Alm looked down at him, his manner had grown menacing and imperious, a manner that Berkut had never seen from him before. It's as if Duma himself had awakened inside of him. "My dear cousin," he growled, "you simply have no idea who you're messing with. With this power, Valentia shall begin a new era under my rule. All will be at my command and nothing shall stand in my way. I would kill you now, but since you're my cousin, I'm going to spare you…for now." The force which was pushing Berkut subsided, and slowly stood up. He slowly reached for his lance when he turned his back, hoping to strike him by surprise.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." His looked back, his eyes bored to the small opening of the door with Rinea watching. She on the other hand, recoiled when she saw Alm glaring at her. Behind her were guards which caught her by surprise and grabbed her arms forcefully. She began screaming, "L-Let me go!"

Berkut heard her beloved's scream from behind the throne, and panic rose within him. "Rinea!"

The guards opened the door wide and forced Rinea to walk closer to the throne. "Lord Berkut!"

"Well, well, well…someone decided to eavesdrop."

"What are you doing?!" Berkut shouted at the guards. "Let her go!"

The guards made no response and they were both still looking at Alm. They had a blank look on their faces, as if they aren't really there. "I said let her go! Why won't you listen to me?" He was about to fight the guards until he felt his body halt his movement, like it had a will on its own. "Grr…Not…again!"

Alm laughed. "Don't you get it? They're now under my control. They will only heed my command, and soon, all of Valentia." The moment he said that, Berkut felt his heart sank. Despite his dislike towards him, he never forgot what he was like before he became the person in front of him now, so thoroughly evil.

This time, Rinea was the one who spoke. "Why… Why are you doing this!? You used to be so kind."

Alm gave her a chilly frown which was somehow frightening. "This kingdom…is far too corrupted by these ignorant fools. What I do, I will do for the sake of Valentia's own good. I am merely going to save the fools from themselves."

"No! Princess Anthiese would never—ah!"

The moment Rinea mentioned her name, the grip on her from the soldiers tightened, and the lances were very close to her neck, ready to behead her. Berkut, still frozen in his place was desperate in trying to move his limbs and save Rinea from her dangerous predicament.

"YOU WILL NOT SPEAK OF HER NAME!" He shouted angrily, and in just that moment, another voice resonated from his own; and it was the fell god's voice. Alm's eyes flashed with dangerous fury and were now slowly walking towards her, Rinea uncertain on what he will do to her. Her eyes showed so much fear for the once kind boy who once tried to end a war, and now in its place of his kindness, is like that of a monster.

"NO! RINEA! You bastard! Don't you dare touch her!" Berkut shouted in desperation. "I swear on my life, if you do hurt her, I'll—"

Alm halted at his tracks and glared at Berkut. "You'll what? Kill me?" His voice sounded normal again. He gave another smirk and chuckled. "All right…I will spare her life…However…" He unfroze Berkut and the guards released Rinea, the latter immediately running towards him and held him tight which the latter reciprocated after the scene earlier.

"However," Alm continued, "Berkut, I sentence you to exile."

Both of them gasped. "WHAT?!"

Berkut's clenched his fists and his smirk widened. "Rigel doesn't have use for you anymore. You can try and pick a fight with me if you'd like, however, it would be such a shame if something were to happen to her if you do. You will leave Rigel as soon as possible, but I will still give you time to say your goodbyes. My men will be watching you very closely."

He was angered by this, but he had no choice. His uncle is no more, his cousin has become a twisted king, the soldiers who were once loyal to him are now under his control, and the kingdom of Rigel is now beyond his grasp. All he had left from this madness was Rinea, and he promised her that he will protect her, no matter what. "Fine," he growled, and angrily walked away from the throne room. Rinea followed him, feeling the king's eyes still boring through her.

Celica was surprised to see that memory at this time. Rinea never thought she would see that memory again after a long time. So that's what happened.

"Rinea…" Celica started, "I…"

Rinea only gave a soft smile. "Strange…I never thought I'd be reliving that moment. To be honest, I was really terrified."

Celica gazed down at the ground, "All of this…"

"Ever since that day," Rinea said, "I've felt that I needed to do something. For a long time, Berkut has always been fighting for us…for me…and here I am, always waiting. I strongly resent in having to participate in conflict, but...I want to protect him too. And ever since Madeline came into our lives, that resolve grew stronger."

"But why hide all of this from everyone?"

"Because…I don't want to be a burden to them as they already have so many responsibilities in their plate. Not only that, I wanted to be worthy for their strength, so if I grew stronger, then maybe I…" she trailed off.

Somehow, Rinea still held the principles of the Rigelian Empire; she gains to be strong to become worthy enough to join the fight. It somehow made Celica more understanding towards the Rigelian way of life, but at the same time, felt sorry for her. For her, she was already worthy enough, even when not in combat.

"Rinea…You're already worthy. You have a strong heart, and that alone is enough, whether in a fight or not."

The bluenette gazed at her. "You…really think so?"

"Of course," Celica nodded. "And besides, when Berkut finds out about this, I'm sure he'll be proud of you."

"Thank you, Celica."

Celica gazed up at the night sky. "And I…I'll find a way. Not only will I find the missing gears, I'll also find a way to end this all."

"What…do you mean?"

She then gazed at her turnwheel. "At one point or another, I will have to meet Alm whether I like it or not. And when we do, then I will help all of you to stop this madness."

"But, he's too strong! You may never stand a chance against him!"

She slowly shook her head. "Alm always told me that there's always a way. Because of that, we were able to put a stop to Duma back in my timeline. And now, I'm going to do the same here."

Rinea couldn't help but admire the courage and resolve Celica showed to her. It was hard to discourage her now. She smiled, "We'll be with you all the way."

"Thank you. And I'm glad we had a chance to talk."

"It's the same with me. Though we should head back to sleep before someone catches us awake."

"You're right," she said, and they both shared their goodnights and went back to their respective rooms. On her bed, Celica stared at her turnwheel and thought about what she had said earlier. There's always a way. She believed in those words, and just as Rinea said, she will keep Alm close to her heart always. Before going to sleep, she muttered, "I'm going to save you Alm. I promise."