Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Five hundred years ago, a shrine maiden prayed for her brother's safe return.

In the hillside temple she safekept, in the innermost shrine, she had knelt on both knees for hours. The morning's sermon had long since ended, leaving her surrounded with empty benches. Even so, she whispered prayers for her brother's return. He was a warrior, and their foes were dire. 

The foreigners outnumbered them, with strong magics and stronger steel. Only their devotion to their homes kept them standing. Strategic savvy was their shield, mastery of the mystical their sword, and their heroes their spirit. She was not among them. This shrine maiden was not violent. Her magics were too weak for war. But she was devoted. Devotion was of some use. It had to be.

Every night that he was gone for, she channeled lights along the road to the city. Every day that he was gone for, she prayed. Five days late and counting, but not a moment had passed without his sister's strength reaching through the heavens to support him, be it with the meekness of mice or the strength of gods. If there was any chance that greater wills would hear her prayers and aid her people, then she would clench it with all her might, as her hands clasped together in prayer.

“He would not want to see you stress yourself like this.” The village chief wearily said at the end of that morning’s sermon, the light of the open door behind him - soon to vanish. “Please, rest. The Hollow God must have heard you by now.”

She’d keep trying. So, rebuked by silence, he let her be. For all the maiden did to help while the soldiers were gone, her only request was an undisturbed meditation. So undisturbed it would remain.

Until a strange little creature flew onto the open window sill.

Its flapping wings broke the stillness, until they were louder than the maiden’s troubled thoughts. Just another sparrow passing by, she’d figured. Leave it be. But instead it flew closer. Its flapping wings rustled her long brown hair as it encircled her. Now it perched atop the altar, all the better to look closely at.

It was as big as a sparrow, yet nothing of the sort. Its white belly was almost chubby compared to its broad battish wings. Its dragon head had a small mouth – when resting, it looked like it was smiling. Grey skin lined with a pink curse commandment marked it as a domesticated Void. It was safe, as she felt from its big endearing eyes that took one look at the frowning maiden and then swelled up with joyous excitement, excitement it released in a great hearty coo.

"Kuu!"

Or something of the sort.

"Huh?"

Flapping its wings, it darted back to the window, wagging its head to beckon her. Stirring her sleepy legs to wake, she looked outside to follow its gaze. There, on the dirt road in the green meadow. Their faces were but specks at this distance. But the banner they waved made her heart stop, until it restarted with a sharp gasp.

Her prayers had been answered.

In the peaceful city streets, passersby nearly tripped themselves as the temple doors were flung open with a thunderous crack. Before the doors banged against their sides, the gentle maiden leapt out and cleared the temple steps in a single lunge. As her feet touched the ground, she sprinted down the hill, dress fluttering behind her, sandals kicking dust in her wake, stopping for no one. Without a word, without hesitation, and with the flying creature struggling to keep up with her. Down the streets. Through the alleys. Over bridges. As fast as she could. She was running through the current that was word of mouth of what she had seen as she left behind womenfolk gossiping excitedly, messengers running opposite her towards the lord, and stewards decreeing preparations for a feast.

"The Night Blade have returned!"

The maiden reached the main plaza just in time to see the battalion march down towards it. Some were mounted, others walked tiredly besides starving steeds, and others were close to collapse. The defiant few had marched out - the victorious fewer had returned. Each familiar face was hope. Shieldbearer Sato, bearer of the Bulwark. The ever-smiling Yagami, master of the whip-snake Meuniel. And Kuro, the Forgemaster of Voids, whose constructions had been invaluable. Every man marched in pace, because their leader still marched. The shrine maiden’s eyes darted to the head of the column, and her heart stopped when she saw him. A swordsman with a long brown ponytail, walking besides his horse with his shoulders held back, and a katana sheathed in a saya as black as night.

Kuon.

Kuon was alive.

Kuon was home.

Before he could even tether his horse, his sister all but jumped onto her brother’s back in an ambush, holding him tightly. Swordsmen and maidens both fawned mirthfully at the sight, then watched closely, for they all knew she was just moments away from thumping his back with her fists.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.

The soldiers chortled, and Sato waved on Kuon's behalf for the unit to disperse. Some of them stayed with stifled laughter to watch their fearless leader get berated.

"Linne." Kuon winced. "Hello."

"You're late again." She pouted.

"Tragically, I am."

"Again."

"Tragically.”

However hard she thumped, she hurt his heart the most. "Forgive me. I knew I was making you worry."

"And you did it anyway."

"Have mercy on your brother, my lady," Sato called out, "the enemy army was thrice what was anticipated. We are thankful to have survived."

"Thrice?"

Now that Linne took time to look, and now that Kuon did not have a battalion to guide, her brother’s eyes were far too weary. Still handsome, still strong and tall, but only his smile was truly indomitable. His posture had crumpled under her weight. His knees weren’t steady. And now that Linne thought to hear it, he had fought to suppress pained grunts under her thumps. She started to massage his back, and felt the crust of new cuts through his cloth.

"What were you thinking, getting into such a bad spot? Doesn't that mean I should thump you harder?"

"You probably should." He winced. While pinching his shoulders, Linne looked into his shut eyes and forced smile and tried to keep a dour frown. She tried, but her own knees started to quiver.

Instead, she tucked his weary head close to her warm bosom.

"Never mind. Rest now."

Swaying him gently, with a soft grip on his hair, she rocked him to and fro. Onlookers must be joking about how their strong leader now looked so coddled and pampered - let them.

Sato had quietly excused himself to take Kuon's horse, but more importantly to chase away as many annoying onlookers from them as he could without making a scene himself. That was easy. Most gossiping maidens found the seriousness of Kuon's right-hand man equally amusing, indulging themselves in the distraction of teasing him.

"I'm so thankful you're home." She sighed sweetly.

With every moment Linne's fingers strummed through her brother's hair, the recent fear that they'd never do this again was brushed further away. Even if Kuon must eventually protest, he'd never break free alone, so she stopped for now.

"I'll rest all night, I promise you." Already his smile looked a little more innocent. "The Lord will want a debriefing...but that won't be long. Then I can enjoy a good feast."

"You'd better. I'll be helping make it."

"You're cooking too?" His eyes lit up and his stomach let out a long-suppressed grumble, for it knew it would soon be time to treat that.

"With your favourite dishes. But...We'd hoped to feed more mouths than this." Linne's head turned around to see any troopers she recognised or had missed. 

"Where's Dazai?"

She had been looking first for a missing face, but it was easier to spot a casualty among the Night Blade by someone holding a weapon that was not theirs. Dazai had held a pair of twin sai forged from a Void; such were too valuable to leave behind or bury with the dead. Now a passing soldier carried them instead. She needn’t have asked.

"He fought well.” Kuon apologised. “We fight for him now, too.”

Linne believed him. But that wasn't enough. She had not known Dazai well, but she'd wanted to. He said there'd have been time to.

"Brother...When will this war end?"

"When I defeat the Licht Kreis' leader and send them running. Just watch. It's not far now, I'm not just saying that. I..." Kuon hadn’t intended it, but his tired eyes were drifting away to the battle he'd been fortunate to survive.

"I will pray you do." Linne's nod failed to hide her fear. Even she knew that this would likely take a long time. The weight pressed down on both their spirits. 

"Kuu~"

One onlooker hadn't been chased away - the pet Void that had flown beside Linne. Circling above them both, it couldn't decide whose head of hair it wanted to settle on more, so it hopped down and quickly hopped back off each. 

"You forged this Void yourself?” She asked, touched. “On the open road? For me?"

"I've improved, haven't I?"

With Kuon's nod, it fluttered by Linne, rubbing her cheek with its soft head.

Tiring out, the pet Void saw Linne's open hands, and gently settled into their warm embrace, feeling joy and love that only the human world could give.

"Did you name him already?"

"And take the joy away from you?" The smirk hid the softest tease.

"Hm..." Linne's ears attuned to the soft sleepy mewls the pet made while resting. "Kuu."

Kuon wasn't sure what he'd expected, but he could only nod in agreement.

"I don't think I expected anything else."

"Oh hush! It's a perfect name for him! He coos like a pigeon. And when you want to call him, you'll be saying something he understands."

"Exactly. He plays perfectly into your strengths."

"What does that mean?"

"That I hope you never get better at making up names."

"Why would you want that??"

"Did you know you look like a squirrel when you pout?"

Thump-thump-thump-thump--

"Kuu~!" Kuu fluttered around Linne's thumping fists until she stopped berating her brother again.

"This fellow makes it hard to be mad." She sighed.

Kuon resisted the obvious counterarguments. He felt like a winner anyway. "Glad you like him."

"How did you ever find time to craft a Void in your travels?"

"Our escape route took us near the Void Plains. As we braved the outskirts, this small Void stowed into our caravan, his teeth too small to even gnaw rice. I painted him, I gave him wings, and I attuned him to you. 'Kuu' is a swift and dedicated friend. Now that he is attuned to you and I, he will always know the path between us. From me to you, and from you to me. If ever I am late, Kuu will find you to say everything is alright. If ever you are lonely, Kuu will bring me any message you give, and keep you company until I return. And I will return. I'm sorry this war has been so long, sister. But I will do everything to return home to you. I promise."

Linne could only hug him tight until his sore muscles ached with love. Let him be speechless.

"I know you will. I'm glad you escaped." 

"It was a bit more than an escape. Sure, they fielded enough to push us back - but they've made a big commitment. Their supply line is reaching its limit. If we can apply more pressure, then their leader will have to consider a peace treaty--"

"No more planning."

Linne squeezed a little tighter so he'd be quiet.

"Not until you rest."

Linne was not violent. She couldn't hurt a soul if she wanted to. Kuon carried that burden for her. Despite his skill with the blade, he was once the same. Virtue and love had driven him to use his skills for something beyond sport, to shield them in this war. He had found good reasons to do bad things. But it tore at him. Little by little, the scars of war chipped at each of the Night Blade. As their strength, as their hero, as their strongest swordsman, Kuon was in the most peril. But Linne wouldn't let him falter. She hated the Licht Kreis for everything they had put them through. This 'Adelheid' had taken so much from them all. Take as she might, her hate was not stronger than Linne's love. So long as she could support her brother, she would let him remember the peaceful days they once had. She’d remind him there were many peaceful days yet to come. She dared to help him believe in a coming era of peace so long and full of wonders that this horrid war and its horrid foe would be but a blink in time.

No matter what, Linne promised this for her protector.

Over five hundred years had passed since that soft embrace. Linne was still around, keeping the temple lit in her own way. Kuu was still in the palm of her hands, always watching, still smiling.

But if she let him fly, he’d not know where to go. For her brother was long gone. She had not seen him since those days. She may never see him again. 

Chapter Text

The first thing Orie noted about the child was her posture. She walked like someone twice her height. Though her hands were tucked into her yellow hoodie's pockets, she walked straight with her shoulders back, and her light footsteps were evenly measured. Most of all, her gaze was fixed and sharp. Those eyes were far too young to cut so deep.

This poise couldn't have been forged in a year, or even two, or even the years since this infant learned how to speak.

Orie stood before a child who had been fighting since before she could crawl.

True, she herself had started her training young, but not this young. The road to forge a fighter's instincts for her had been long, bitter and painful. Was the Night Blade's even worse? Did Linne ever let her disciples be children? For even five minutes? What kind of life had this child been allowed to live? No life at all.

It was the bitter mix of something so sobering and nauseating that made one ask how they ended up here.

It was because Orie saw an innocent young man's chest cut wide open. His head bloodied against the concrete. And herself to blame. Never again.

Orie Harada, the Fifth Executor, had such a steep path still to climb.

The deepest Hollow Night that Japan had suffered yet had been endured. Paradox was defeated, and Amnesia was in disarray. But the corruption of EXS still filled the air, the Night Blade remained an enigma, and worst of all, a Void had to be judged for murdering her parents. Sometimes, daybreak could be so bittersweet. For the light of day was a bitter reminder of how far away the next shroud of night was, until she could hunt the shadows again.

Then she saw Lex, her closest friend and confidant, whose bond that night had been proven deeper than she ever knew. And then she heard Hyde, the boy she'd hurt. And so there were still gifts sunlight had to give.

The gift of sunlight. It was caressing her head right now, wasn't it? It was. Soft on her eyes and warm on her skin, even the desk she leaned on was warm like a good bed. Her desk. Her classroom desk. 

She'd fallen asleep in the classroom, hadn't she?

Oh, grief. 

The girl rubbed the embarrassment from her groggy eyes. Only so groggy - despite everything, that really had been the best she felt after a rest since her childhood. Why, she was so rested, that the giggles of classmates she awoke to actually sounded polite; they weren't trying to be noticed, after all. They just couldn't help themselves.

"Guess the class president really does work hard, huh?"

Whichever student quipped that was also being polite; it was far too incredible for her to just leave unnoted. Orie couldn't believe last night, herself.

Lex, she was faintly aware, sat in the desk adjacent her, with a knowing smile as she rocked one leg back and forth. "See you this evening?" She winked before grabbing her bag and walking out. Before Orie could ask where she was going, Hyde suddenly approached.

"Hey Harada, can you hear me now? Sleep well? You're sure looking well."

"Kido..."

There he was. Alive and well. His smile was carefree and indomitable like the rising sun. At the sight of him, she felt her heart soften and sing...Save for a scrap of steel. Or maybe it was a virus, as she could feel its cold vice spread. Orie couldn't help but look to his temple, where a bruise was still healing. There he was, alive and well - despite her.

Her conflict must have been etched onto her face. Hyde held his breath and shook loose some nerves before unclenching his jaw.

"Before anything else - wanna hit up an arcade?"

"An arcade?"

"Yeah. Just to hang out for a bit. While we still can."

Orie's instinct was to scold him. But her eyes winced, torn between two contrasting visions; the healthy boy before her, and the dying one from that bloody memory. If her pain was valid, then perhaps she'd agree that she should trust him just this once.

"That...I don't deserve that."

"Yes you do. It'll be fun, trust me."

Alright, Hyde. Have this one.

They got their favourite hot chocolate. They walked under the bright midday sun. They played games at the arcade - Hyde let her win, she could tell. Except in bowling, when she rolled three gutter balls in a row: that surprised them both too much. All they could do was laugh in good spirit. Just as good as the spirit she tittered in when he was flabbergasted to learn there was an exam this Friday. Oh dear, even more to think about - and by extension, to avoid thinking about. Thankfully, they had money left over for coffee. Admiring the river by his favourite spot in the park was free.

It was a guilt-free date. It made no sense.

In the late afternoon, the sun still shone, caressing the emerald park plants with a serene shimmer. Their empty coffee cups rested on the bench, and they leaned over wooden fences to watch the glistening river. When the sound of gently rolling water tickled his ears just right, Hyde finally let out a long-held sigh. 

"Thanks for humouring me, Harada. I hope you had fun."

"It was a great afternoon. You always have the best ideas for afternoons." She meant it.

He allowed himself a smile. "I'm just glad things are okay."

Orie's mouth rushed open to rebuke him, but stopped, with a pensive pause. The sight sent a slight panic up the back of his head.

"We're here." He continued. "You're alive. During our fight, that was all I'd hoped for."

Hyde's ears twitched for solace amidst the faint breeze. The footsteps of some passer-by brushed gravel and crunched fallen leaves. Once those steps were as quiet as the trickling water, he turned to Orie with his fidgeting hands behind his back. 

"If you want..."

He'd trusted his instinct just as he did in battle to almost tell Orie what he thought she wanted: 'we can leave this until later'. But he saw her open mouth, how in its frown she almost looked too ready to jump and say something. Her wilted brow pressed on her blue eyes, and just as he once saw sincere joy and serenity reflected in those cerulean irises, he now saw pain. Hyde had so much to learn still.

"Right, I'm done running. Harada, I am so sorry."

"I was the aggressor, Kido. You gave me an olive branch, and in return I gave you pain. The fault is mine."

"I don't care. I should have been strong enough to find a better way."

"What better way?"

"...That I'm stumped by that question is part of the problem. If I was strong enough, I'd know. This Hollow Night crap's been ruining lives for years the world over - I've only had a month to catch up. If it could've waited just another month, then I'd be twice the man to stop it. And if it could've waited even more..."

Hyde was far too young to be putting the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Why are you being like this?" Orie pleaded.

"Do you want me to be mad at you, Harada? Well I can't be. You can tell me it'd make you feel better and I won't. You can fight with me again and I still won't. This isn't easy to say. But anything else just isn't worth it."

"You're just beating yourself up here and it hurts to see."

"I have a lot of people to save."

"So do I."

The way they looked at each other wasn't quite a glare, but too desperate to be simply a stare. Pleadingly. This time, there were no swords to draw to turn it hostile.

"...You can't take responsibility for the Hollow Night out of my hands, Harada."

"Nor you out of mine."

"Then can we agree to split the burden?"

Orie felt her heart and her head trembling again. Last time, the head won out, and she would forever regret the result. So, the heart would have a chance. Its one chance. 

"It's our mess to fix, then."

"Fair."

As his frown lifted into a smile, something deep inside his gut seemed to heal. They both let that healing settle for a peaceful moment, hoping they weren't about to rip the wound open anew.

"Well," Hyde scratched his head, "that's the main thing. Next, let's figure out factions."

The beating heart of this wicked issue. The Licht Kreis and the Night Blade. They stood on opposite sides of two factions still at war, and had been for centuries.

"Harada, are you sure we can't work together in the next Night?"

"You can't formally join the Licht Kreis, but if you forego the Night Blade and share the Insulator, then I might be able to argue you're an exception. But you can't, can you?"

Hyde's mind flashed back to that bitter song and dance. Despite their feelings, that fight had not happened without reason. A girl from the Licht Kreis. A boy from the Night Blade. It can't work. It was forbidden.

"I still can't. Okay...what if we tried just avoiding each other? Or you can do one mission while I do the other?"

"Paradox may be beaten, but the last Hollow Night cast so much energy - the next Nights are set to be even worse. The mysteries behind Amnesia's benefactors are still unsolved, and the Licht Kreis will expand our operation. With so much at stake, Kido...we can't count on just avoiding each other."

So quick to shoot down Hyde's ideas, yet so slow to suggest her own. Orie's knuckles twitched on the fence in disgust at herself.

"Well what if the Night Blade and Licht Kreis got along?"

"Kido?"

Hyde honestly only said that because that was his last option he hadn't reasoned himself out of yet.

"I'm not just helping Linne; I'm really close to her. I can get you a face-to-face meeting. That's basically as big as it gets, isn't it? If you bring Adelheid or someone, we can all talk this out."

As important as it was to keep Hyde's spirits high, he basically asked a policewoman to bring a world leader to parlay with a terrorist.

"That is an incredibly big offer, Kido - but do you even know what happened between the two?"

"Not much. Linne told me they had a war for Japan five hundred years ago that ended with the Licht Kreis' retreat."

"Give or take a historian's bias, that's as much as I know too. But Kido, the Licht Kreis consider all EXS use outside its regulation to be forbidden. Treating the Night Blade as anything besides criminals and heretics flies in my superiors' teachings. I can't even suggest this idea without being taken off the Japan operation completely. Just speaking with you now is dangerous enough."

If Hyde was ever identified as the wielder of the Insulator, he'd never know peace again.

"Sheesh...Don't big factions and stuff at least humour diplomacy? For the appearance of it if nothing else?"

"In a fair world, with humans. But we're not really human anymore, Hyde. The Hollow Night is always a power struggle. Everywhere I've been, every conflict I've found, it's just never been in the nature of those involved." She chewed on that bitter truth. "They want to be at each other's throats." 

"We're not, are we?"

"Hm?"

"People keep saying that to me, that I'm not really human any more, but I just don't get it. I have power now, yeah, and I gotta use it...But I still feel like me. Like doing good with it. I don't wanna hurt anybody, Harada. My dad would yell at me as a kid not to get into fights unless I had no other option. I can get other people forgetting that, sure, but I just don't think whatever part of our souls we lost was tied to that. Mine sure wasn't. It's probably for the same reasons normal people forget themselves, but the normal world isn't hopeless just yet. So we can't be either."

However Orie frowned, she couldn't really refute him without refuting herself. Or their bond.

"I wish I could show you the minds of every in-birth I've fought, Kido. I wish they thought more like you. That's as easy an answer as I can give."

"Well I wish more people thought like you, Harada. A real paragon of justice. I bet deep down, people feel that when they see you."

Now she was smiling, leaning her head over one shoulder and looking away to hide the sudden warmth dancing on it. Some hope to draw from. If she went any longer without saying something, Hyde would stop admiring the slant of her long blue hair at this angle, then start leaning in with a growing smile.

"--Anyway," she shook her head, "I don't know a single Licht Kreis official who'd not just try to dismantle the Night Blade. Sorry."

"Damn, not even you?" Hyde asked on reflex.

"M-me?" That was a sudden question. "Well I only lead a squad, but if I--wait, what are you saying?"

"I mean, us and Linne talk it out. This has to start somewhere, doesn't it?"

"If it starts at all, yes..."

"Hell, I'm okay if it's just you and Linne who get along. That should be enough, right?"

Maybe. But perhaps Hyde didn't realise just how serious a question he'd asked. Orie sure didn't. Even now, something twitched in the corner of her mind, a dark corner at that. It'd be fine if they could get along - if. And Hyde was taking for granted that they would. Or should. But that was Hyde's nature, to see the best in those he could help. Orie's was to seize each sinner's shadow by its throat and make it writhe under righteous light. 

What would Linne say about the Night Blade? Were they innocent? In their unfettered rule of five hundred years over this land?

Even just ten years ago? Would she swear that to Orie's face? Would she swear it to Merkava's face? Would an immortal Re-birth think herself above accountability?

That was worth judging. That needed judging.

"Are you ok, Harada?" Hyde leaned in.

She'd blinked out of her sudden trance. But Hyde seemed too relaxed to have sensed her dark thoughts.

"Kido, could you make it happen?"

"You'll try? Of course I will! Excellent!" He pumped his fists as if his war was won. "Fair warning, Linne can be a biiit prickly when things get serious, but she means well. She taught me everything I know, and she's been working so hard to stop the Voids. You'll like her, I really think so."

Orie would be the judge of that.

"I'll...do my best to prepare." Orie gradually made her posture more composed.

"Don't worry, it'll be great. I'll cook dinner for everyone."

"You're cooking?" Her eyes suddenly glimmered.

"Your favourite, even. Mixed with a Kido household classic. Leave it to me, Harada, I'll see you tomorrow! I'm gonna do some swordtraining this evening and get started with--"

Hyde was so excited to be in control again, he almost ran off there and then. But as he turned, Orie suddenly grabbed his sleeve.

"Hold on, Kido. Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Am I? Is there anything more to say?"

"About the Night Blade, no. But did you forget again?" She shook his sleeve ever so playfully, as if just to expose how much cloth she could shake. "We have a math test Friday."

"Ah...yeah...I won't make you beat an admission out of me, I'm pretty far behind."

"I hadn't intended to, it's perfectly understandable. You've had far too much on your plate to manage it alone. So let's do a study night tonight, like we used to."

She took his wrist in her hand and started walking toward the nearby library. For however firm Hyde's legs stayed anchored, he didn't shake her off him.

"Tonight? But I've training, Harada, that comes first."

"You were training hard to be in shape to fight in the Night. You made the right choice for your goals, even if I wish you hadn't. Thankfully, with a bit of extra work now, your grades won't have to suffer for it."

"I can't miss training tonight, you know why."

"You have to find the right balance in these things. It's hard, I know, I've been there."

"Don't worry, it's just one exam."

"Exactly, so we'll cram for it now. None of the material is going to be new, we can get it all done between the two of us."

Hyde softly put his free hand on Orie's wrist.

"Harada, I wish I could be a simple student. But I'm an in-birth now. And I'm not a very ready one. I have to give my training my all, or else who knows what will happen because I wasn't strong enough. Given everything I'm scared of losing, my grades really don't matter--"

"Kido."

Orie's grip on Hyde's wrist came very close to a painful pinch.

"That is why you have to study. Because of what you can lose - when this madness is all behind us, what world do you want to return to? One where your parents are disappointed and you can't get the career you wanted? One where you've lost years of your life because you spent too much time fighting the Abyss? You can't lose that. You don't have to lose that. Do you understand?"

In truth, Hyde had little clue why Orie said what she did. But even if her speech left him uncomfortable, he was starting to understand her glares weren't always the same. This didn't hold the Executor's wrath. There was a lot of warmth and worry behind her eyes - a familiar warmth, and an almost comforting worry.

"I do. Let's do this."

With a humbled sigh and a beaten smile, Hyde let himself be marched to a study room, prepared for an evening of misery.

It wasn't that bad.

Chapter Text

A majestic mansion. A large garden. Four gilded lanes convening reverently towards it. Smiling young students walked in, closed the door after them, and suddenly became foot soldiers of the Licht Kreis. Once an old foreign embassy set up in Kanzakai, it was donated in an act of philanthropy to the Licht Kreis International Charity Foundation. In their benevolence, they restructured it into part of their Worldly Drive For Gifted Youths, and its vintage walls were polished as good as new. A simple cover story, past all the sophistry, and it drew little attention from those outside its permit. As intended. There were treasures it did not want the world to see.

This was the Licht Kreis headquarters in Japan. With the power vacuum clear for its righteous light to shine again, it was busier and stronger than ever. No one marched up to it without a plan.

Not even Orie. Not Lex, either.

"'In war, truth is the first casualty.'" Lex said, far outside, while it was still safe to speak. "I always liked that quote."

Orie remembered that class. Greek tragedy spoke to her. "If I'm going to talk with the Night Blade tomorrow, I need to understand their grudge with us better. If we did wrong, my acknowledging that will be an olive branch. If they're more than what we know, it's worth finding that out first." They were lucky enough to know there were places off-limits in this headquarters, with an idea of where.

Lex nodded. "I'm sure Adelheid will understand you not asking her directly." As well as everyone else.

Orie parsed her pain with a sigh. "This is wrong of me. I know it's wrong. But...not trying it seems wrong, too?" This was confusing. A real Executor would find a compromise.

"Hey, I didn't mean it that way. I told you before, I'm with you so long as it's your call."

"I haven't even told you why."

"Because it's a long story. We’ll miss our shot if we don’t take it now.” Lex showed her a small smile. “You can settle my spinning head later.”

A little elbow bump sent a calming confidence to Orie's spirits. "It'll work..." She hoped. Then pulled out a plastic wrapping in her hands she'd pocketed, as if Lex just told her again it would solve her problems.

"You sure you don't need any time to practice this?" Orie asked.

"No more than I already have." The most innocent of shrugs. "I wouldn't give it to you if I wasn't sure."

"I should probably hand you in for a bunch of little crimes, shouldn't I?" Lex took it as a good sign when Orie teased back.

"As a plea deal for if we get caught? Orie. How could you."

That got a smirk out of them both.

Here, it was important to keep etiquette in mind. Even around friends. Lex was easy to get along with, no rules required. But Orie had learned the hard way that some of them needed...direction. Without growing that skill, she might have never become an Executor, much less a squad leader. And Kreis knows, she'd need it today, on a day she planned to be in places she wasn't supposed to.

Inside the great mansion was a hallway full of ornaments and statues. The silence of their thoughts faded as they approached a foyer full of chatter and footsteps - today was a busy day. Familiar faces and new ones looked and waved her way, while others turned back to each other with excited looks. Orie could imagine why. She was more comfortable pretending not to know.

This mansion had an outer sanctum and an inner sanctum. No one got to either without the correct key from the reception desk. Where two overworked receptionists were verbally torn apart by an old woman in a conservative dress and a hunched back.

"An academy's worth of training, with millions of dollars, and you can't shuffle one set of papers right?! I should send you back to Berlin! Clean up! Now!"

Mother Krenna. As nurturing as a belt to the backside.

"Y'know," Lex whispered, "her face looks like an egg when she's angry." Orie almost choked on her suppressed chuckle.

Before moving any further, her blue eyes met Lex's amber. "Good luck." A simple bump of each other's knuckles. Then Lex vanished into the crowd, Orie not looking back once as she approached the desk.

Controlling Krenna was simple, if demanding. First rule - get results. The crone would dote on those who did and find punishments for anyone else for not standing straight enough. Second rule, stand straight. Just in case. Third rule, always make your requests small. Meet all these, to a tee, and she was as kind as the grandmother you never had.

"The Fifth Executor herself!" Krenna went from clapping the table to clapping her hands. She scanned Orie’s posture (straight with shoulders back) before granting a smile. "Congratulations on such a tremendous feat last Hollow Night. If only there were time for celebrations. Tell me, dear, have you seen Lex today?"

"Thank you, Mother Krenna. I think I saw her earlier? I was going to help her with some research in the archives."

"Straight to business? Of course you are. Just give me a moment with these two first, please. It's all hustle-and-bustle at headquarters today, in case you hadn't seen. The moment Germany heard Paradox was defeated, orders have been flying out left and right. It's time, I suppose."

"This new operation..."

A poster on the wall behind the receptionists said it all: Orie had seen it a few times in the mansion today. With bright white and gold, it was not an official Licht Kreis charity, but a proxy group not on their enemies’ radars. It spelled out their initiative to give the young experience in communication, leadership, and urban volunteering. But next to this poster was a map, with a clear circuit of bullet points. Each one a Licht Kreis safehouse. Of course, they were all next to Amnesia hideouts and deep EXS territories. Feed beggars by day, punish them by night. Classic Licht Kreis doctrine.

"It's been planned out for a while?"

"By my peers, yes. Yes, even I have peers. But we could only start after your win, my lady. We already have helpers today practicing their speeches as if they've had months and not minutes to prepare."

"Even the buildings are staked out." Orie observed. "I recognise some of them as Licht Kreis safe houses, but they've gone months without Amnesia even giving them a glimpse."

"Amnesia bought expensive locations - we bought smart."

"I'm thankful for our garrison being expanded like we need, but Amnesia still has many strong elites. Are you sure we're ready?"

"This will be the first serious test in a deep Hollow Night for many of the young ladies. But with this, we're aiming for the stragglers rather than their officers - Paradox's death will have created a power vacuum. Her lieutenants will be so desperate fighting for status and supremacy, they won't expect us."

They rarely did - it was nauseating, just how predictable the power-hungry were.

"I still hope precautions are taken around the lieutenants. As best we know, they all survived the last Hollow Night."

"Likely so - so let them have nothing to work with. From your squad's investigation, Adelheid believes most of Amnesia's followers were trend-chasers, fish following the strongest current. Split the tide, and see them scatter."

"Can I ask about my role for this operation?"

"None. Leave your sword in the armoury."

"Eh?"

"You're to remain on standby until next week. Adelheid's orders."

"N-next week?? Adelheid's orders?!"

"Oh, spare yourself that surprised look. Yours was one of two names I heard directly. You've made Lady Adelheid very proud, lady. Please, rest and savour that. Rest assured, there'll be much more to do. Perhaps that's why you're to enjoy a restful break now?"

A restful break...the idea shouldn't make one's stomach twist, but there it did. Orie only did what was asked of her within her means. Did Adelheid honestly think so highly of that? Was she overthinking a simple reward? Or...oh, Kreis...could she have known...

"Are you not glad?" Krenna furrowed her brow.

"I'm...confused, is all."

"If a simple weekend break is giving you such stress, then you must take one. I am not Lady Adelheid, but let me suppose what her wisdom may be. Fifth Executor, you will need seasoned support in the operations to come. We have one hundred executors trained to spread the peace of Kreis in Japan - first, they must cut their teeth." Krenna gestured to the busy foyer of young executors, low in rank but high in spirit. As Orie looked around, some women returned her gaze with either a smile in their eyes or an exuberant wave. "We will guide them well. Fear not. After all, anyone caught slacking will have to answer to me." Krenna's dread almost slipped in, before remembering she was talking to a good egg.

"You are wise, Mother Krenna. Thank you. I might just let you take it from here - after I assist Lex in the archives?"

"That sounds suspiciously like work." Krenna quipped, as much as her stiff face let her. "The outer sanctum's archives, I trust you meant? You may."

"Of course I did." Only a select few could access a headquarter’s inner sanctum. It had been a long time since an orphan had ever entered one. And a long time still.

"I'll just prepare the key for you here, attune its gemstone--"

Suddenly an eight year old flung open a door on the first floor. The boom of its hinges sounded through the room as it clapped against the walls.

"ORIE-CHIIII!"

"Mika! Don't--"

The happy infant leapt from the top of the stairs, over the heads of many a panicked bystander, to try and catch Orie in one big hug. Orie only just caught her, spinning her around as the child laughed heartily and gently putting her down - just in time to raise a hand of mercy to Mother Krenna, whose graceful face was simmering like a boiled eggshell cracking before their eyes. Out of patience for Orie, the egg kept simmering.

"Orie-chi, Orie-chi! I finished my second day of school today! My second day undercover! It's sooo much easier now I already know how to spell! I impressed everyone! Wh-why do you not look happy?"

"Mika. What did I tell you about--"

"But I put away my big gauntlets this time before trying to hug you!"

"--leaping like that outside of a Hollow Night? In a crowded space?"

"...Th-that I might hurt someone?"

"And?"

"...Might hurt myself?"

"Correct!" Orie pet Mika on the head to help the lesson sink in, then gave her a focused look in the eye. "Say it with me now - there is a time and a place for everything. Right?"

"There is a time and a place for everything..."

"Now show me you mean it - walk back up the steps and walk down to me. With indoor steps."

First rule of controlling Mika - be firm when she crosses the line.

No matter how many gossiping giggles surrounded her, Mika did the whole long walk of shame, there and back again. But her reward was a hug of pride. A big, deep, warm hug. Mother Krenna blinked on the spot.

"We've been trying to make her behave for the last two days, and you do it in one minute."

"Mika is a good girl, really. She's just...we were all children once, y'know?"

Mother Krenna gave a doubtful nod. "Huh. I'll put this one down to my age. While you're here, can you get her to stop leaking military secrets?"

"She leaked what??"

"It was essentyal, Orie-chi!! The other kids were calling me lame! They called YOU lame! They had to know you’re not lame!"

"There might not have been any undercover agents there. We pray..." Mother Krenna's hairs were greying by the second from this child's hubris. But Orie stopped, thought, and smiled.

"Aw, you were trying to look out for me? How sweet of you."

Second rule of controlling Mika - always show you understand her. She is inexperienced, not stupid. Already, Mika was smiling dearly. However, the little blonde also had an ego, and that needed reining in. That was rule three.

"But Mika, children your age are more impressed by people who don't care about being considered cool. Tall tales might work for a little while, but you should be the cool Mika who welcomes people without needing them to praise her - people like that more."

"Ohhh…" Mika went starry-eyed. "--So like you then, Orie-chi?"

"What--I--thank you, I suppose?"

For the first time that whole week, Mika voluntarily took out a notepad to track this masterclass of a lesson she thought Orie was showing her. “Snitching = bad. Pretending to be humble = 'super cool'”

"It's not pretend!"

Mother Krenna finally found the matching key for Orie - just as the phone rang. "The German branch. Forgive me, Fifth Executor, these are always high priority. Hello? Sixth Executor? Yes, I have those permits for your--yes, she's here. Are you sure?--You have a call."

From one challenge to another.

"Hello K--"

"Orieeee!" Sounded a staggeringly sweet siren. "Look at what my darling girl has gotten up to while I was gone! Again! Oh, I'd start to feel a little useless--if I wasn't just so proud of you! Oh yes I am, yes I am. You're the talk of the town back here in main headquarters. Japan is making operations in Italy look old-fashioned!"

"--Kaguya."

"By the way, guess who was at the Vatican last week? And guess who met the Pope? And guess who got the Pope to sign our favourite band album you sent me? Ohh, I can't wait to get out of here and see you myself. My flight is a ways away, but once I’m there, let's celebrate! Spa day: my treat. We'll play truant if we have to! Mm? Did you say something?"

"I was just trying to say hello, Kaguya."

"Oh! Oh-hoh-hoh!" She giggled without missing a beat. "Am I doing it again? Sorry-not-sorry~ absence just makes the heart grow fonder. Seriously, sister, you defeated a re-birth?"

A would-be re-birth: very different.

"That's incredible! And a whole gang disbanded in one night?"

Amnesia hadn't disbanded.

"And the Night Blade on the run?"

Not even close.

First rule of controlling Kaguya - unless critical, just let her run her mouth. That meant she never had to touch rules two or three. Even so, that simple step could be so demanding. Orie pinched her brow: Kaguya had been spilling the embellished version to everyone, hadn't she? No mention of a talking Void, at least.

"Anyway, I can tell you're doing important Executor stuff: I should stop procrastinating on mine. I'm nothing like you, what can I say? Hmhm! Okay, Orie, I'll let you go now. Ta-ta! Noughts and crosses!”

"Goodb--" She’d already hung up.

Her eyes were squarely on the key with the gemstone on the keyring. But first, she'd have to wave Mika off.

"Mika, you have to run the obstacle course for training tonight, don't you?"

"Yeah-yeah! Will you please come? Pretty please?"

"I'm sorry, I have boring work stuff to do. But tell you what: if you get a high score on the course tonight, I'll treat you to ice cream this weekend."

"Really??"

"Really!"

"Look out, stinky course! Here comes Mika-chan!" As she ran fast through everyone to the training grounds. A high score would be easy for Mika, Orie was certain.

This was as many eyes as Orie wanted on her today. Key firmly in her focused hand, she descended down the stairs, towards the basement, hoping everyone might forget she were ever here.

A marble crossroad. This deep in, only one path was preserved for executors of rank three or higher. Ignorance was no excuse.

As if to impress that, a statue of a small old man with an enduring smile stood in the center to softly greet visitors. Kreis himself. The publically accepted image of Kreis, at least. Medieval politics established him as a Christian saint. Only executors knew his true divinity as a God in his own right. A God of discipline who preached philanthropy and abhorred excess - their guiding figure.

"This is not for my sake." Orie gestured a prayer to him. His smile endured.

Since Amnesia attacked them earlier this year and stole a powerful relic, security had been stepped up. Each perimeter was guarded with a fortified gate, one that would be hard to break even in a Hollow Night. No dedicated guards: they simply lacked the manpower for it. For now. These gates had not just keyholes, but also runic engravings that read the EXS of a stone imprinted in them; hence the gemstone on each key. Slot both key and gemstone in, see the door click open. But Orie could only reach the familiar outer sanctum with this.

Unless Lex's trick worked.

The key itself was fine – to save on budget, each gate was the same model. The gemstone was the hard part. And tweaking that required someone who understood the security thoroughly. Lex had been the ideal choice to stress-test them. Meaning she knew all sorts of ways that a runic reading of EXS could be changed. Orie sure didn’t.

Take a small sheet of plastic, doused with some oil bought from a bike shop. Wrap that around the gemstone. Now, infuse a modicum of EXS into the sheet, and concentrate it for ten seconds. This needed precision – if it fell out of balance, the stone would break. See it glow. Quickly, before the glow vanished, visualise the colour that matched the locked door. In this case, red. Then stop. Now, place the transformed gemstone inside. Roll it inside the runic latch...twist the key...

The click of victory. Presto. Lex, you genius.

With a pocketed pinch of vinegar, and a tissue, the stone and its odour were wiped clean. Not a trace of the crime remained, save the open door.

At once, the new corridor with its open gate was inviting and foreboding. But peacefully, Orie could walk down it, and her life had yet to end. The thrill of hope kept her going.

Long enough to feel a sudden aura of power.

Power incarnate. An aura so strong it assaulted the senses. As strong, in fact, as the gate to the abyss the executor fought near just nights ago.

Orie thought it was coming right towards her - but as she stayed still, her head steadied itself, and she realised it wasn’t. Not yet.

It wasn't too late to turn back. But if she did now, all she'd do was plan how to get back to this very same spot. With gentle steps and a firm eye, she carried on. Onto where the air started to simmer. It felt like an explosion had gone off.

Rounding unfamiliar corners, like a moth to the flame, she neared a great marble door. Greater power seared behind it. Orie paused. With pensive eyes, she seriously considered her next move. But fate was decided for her, as the door opened on its own.

A fog of smoke blew out from the pushed open door, one so thick that Orie had to hold her breath. In its mist was that great power's source.

"Ballardiae." A wrathful woman grunted.

Erika Wagner. The strongest of Adelheid's young soldiers. The fourth - and also acting third - Executor. Her buckler of crimson and gold was laced with soot from a fresh fire. The contempt from her glistening gladius smoldered with smoke seeping through its scabbard. Eyeing Orie up, she ran a hand through her golden drills of hair, as her eyes - redder than the deepest fire - sneered.

"You shouldn't be here."

"Erika?" Orie let out a huge sigh of relief. Yes, relief. "Good to see you. I--"

"I am Lady Wagner to you. What are you doing here?"

"I was just answering that, please let me finish."

"Five seconds." Think fast.

"There was a great power surge I hadn't sensed before, so I left to investigate. I must have been given the wrong key, or the door was sabotaged. Still, I feared an intruder had--"

"Hah." Wagner smirked, pride dripping like venom from fangs. "Of course you'd be intimidated. So foolish and fragile outside of the Night, you've forgotten it already."

"Is something wrong?" Orie tilted her head to sell the pretense of confusion.

"That was me. Just me." She dusted the soot off her shield before strapping it under her illustrious cape. "I forget sometimes, how terrifying my aura alone is to paltry in-births."

Or a mere glimpse of it. Had Wagner's power not been somehow restrained, this entire mansion could have been burned to the ground. Yet even then, a part of Orie was thankful it was only her.

"Have you defeated the intruder then, Erika? I hope they're not mere soot now." Orie knew full well one shouldn't normally assume.

"Must you continue outing your own foolishness? There was no intruder. There is no danger. I was merely training."

"Training in there? And not on the grounds above?"

"Obviously not, no, only the inner recesses are designed for--" Wagner bit her tongue, a bit too late. Just as it was a crime to intrude, it was also a crime to spill secrets to an intruder.

"Oh, I get it." Orie said excitedly. "So there is a chamber in there which can contain your power? Magnificent, Erika. I haven't seen anything like that since the main headquarters."

"Gh!"

One shouldn't normally assume - but if done correctly, an assumption can aggravate a proud foe into making a mistake. And when Lady Wagner realises she's made a mistake, it is somebody else's problem. Enough to change the subject, as Orie was banking on. First rule to controlling Wagner - play into her sense of pride. Second rule - don't let her pick the terms of engagement.

"Ahh, I can pretend I didn't know, if that's what you're worried about, Erika."

This upstart orphan heard she could be exhausting to talk to.

Wagner shook her head. "I trust you're satisfied that there is no need for alarm here, among other reasons."

"Other reasons?"

"Have you not heard? I thought they told my would-be jailor everything. Silvaria herself has authorised my return to the front lines this weekend. You will soon be redundant."

So that was the real reason Krenna wasn't worried. Any agent of the Wagner bloodline alone was powerful enough to achieve what the Licht Kreis would otherwise commit an army for. Much less Orie's small squad. Had she waged battle on the Hollow Night, she'd have had to work far less for the same result. But she lacked nuance. Lacked restraint. She did not lack control, she simply always chose to go too far. If Adelheid’s right hand, Silvaria, truly wanted her on the front lines, then she must believe the time for nuance was long since passed. That would be trouble for the Night Blade. For everyone.

"But," Wagner sighed, "I suppose you scored a passing grade in my absence, even if that was the most we could expect."

"The honour was mine. The Nights in this land are longer and harsher than elsewhere. Your support will be invaluable, Erika."

"My support?"

"We will be supporting each other, so it matters little to me who is given the lead. Should command appoint you, I'll proudly follow your lead."

Third rule - make her challenge her own assumptions.

That twitch in her regal brow. Orie knew it - Wagner hadn't been explicitly told she'd be in charge. With that one compliment, Orie had induced doubt into her mind. Of course she'd presume authority. House Wagner is the most distinguished lineage in the Licht Kreis' service. All putting aside her steep rank.

Yet, Orie was the one who had been entrusted this operation. Adelheid chose her. Not Wagner. Adelheid might choose wrong again. That poison had not numbed in an entire year.

"My lead..."

Eventually, she humphed and threw back her shoulders.

"Doubtless you have been too soft on the animals in the wild. When my sword is set alight, you will see how it is done. This mission? This farce? I'll end it in a month. Not this pathetically prudent year. Then at last," She smiled like a lioness, "there will be time for our rematch."

"If there's time, I will be honoured."

"It's not something you can choose to oblige. You will duel me."

They'd fought before. Once. Purely for appearances, at that - Adelheid's referees had scripted a draw. But Wagner despised that idea, and had tried to humiliate her opponent. Orie...Regrettably, she still had some growing pains to suffer back then, in the face of others' egos. That was it.

"You've hidden it well so far." Wagner sneered. "That look your eyes held that day. The moment it was cast, I saw the real you."

If Orie dwelled on what Wagner was getting at, she herself would be distracted, so it was safely boxed away.

"I will see it again, commoner. And you will see that all pretenses you have of being my equal in battle were just that. Your vain, self-indulgent pretenses. You will see true power. And you will thank me for showing you."

"There is a long way to go until then."

"Not as long as you think."

Something about Wagner's smirk was a bit too self-assured, even for her.

"Now. Your business is done. Let me escort you out, in case you've forgotten the way."

"How courteous. I'm glad our etiquette lessons have been paying off, Erika."

"We will march in silence."

"If you're that considerate at the patisserie I want to take you to, Erika, they'll add sprinkles to--"

"In. Silence."

Fourth rule - make her have fun once in a while.

The marble doors slowly sealed themselves shut. Captive as Orie was, the archives were truly beyond her reach now. Her reach alone, that is.

With both enforcers' backs turned in a long march out, an in-birth who specialised in shadows and surreptitious skulking slipped out. A vessel so unassuming, with a manifestation gifted in masking itself, it was so easily overlooked. But as Orie was marched out, she took one glimpse over her shoulder and smiled, because she saw that shadow slip through the archives' door. Free to roam without anyone the wiser.

Yes, Orie could always count on Lex Bartholomeus. When they met again, she'd be able to tell her everything.

As the archive door sealed itself shut, Lex flicked on a torch.

Enveloped in stillness, she arched her head up to count all the shelves that towered over her, and all the cases whose relics glimmered back at her.

These were all Lex's to discern in pure silence. For the whole evening.

Orie spoiled her sometimes.

Chapter Text

In her dreams each night, Orie saw a shadow. But this was no dream.

The shadow stared through her, into her soul. Orie felt a hunger in its lidless gaze, and felt a kinship with the void of the abyss. Tall and terrifying.

But not so tall when she stood up straight. And not so terrifying when she drew her blade.

It outright quivered. The thousand violent voices were silenced as she uttered her oaths and her thrust rent the dark asunder, writhing in silent agony as the wave of light washed over the veil. She had only given what was due. In its wake, there was peace. Beautiful, everlasting peace. The shadows parted, heralding a radiant dawn that was rung in by the gentle knocking of a door.

A door knocking?

That wasn’t right.

And suddenly Orie was lying on a bed, fully dressed, in her and Lex’s dormitory room. The knocking continued.

Oh Kreis, it had been a dream!

She leapt up in a panic. How much time did the clock say had passed? An hour?? She had to set the table. And turn the kettle on, and clean the floor—but the door was still knocking.

Lex! The door was Lex! That meant you stop preparing, Orie, and let her in! Wake up already!

As she hurriedly opened the door, her friend Lex slumped forward through the gap with a groggy wobble.

"I'm baaack..." She croaked.

Lex had aged twenty years in three hours. Dark eyebags and heavy lids pinched her amber eyes, and her unfocused head slowly tilted like an uneven frame. Her cheeks looked as grey as her hair.

Orie had been confident her friend would return safely, but just not so exhausted.

"Are you okay, Lex??"

"How do you use your Vessel so much and not barf?" She croaked again.

Orie helped her in with a doctor's care, holding her by the hand and back, repressing the laughter that came from a friend finally learning your daily ordeal.

"We train that gut reflex. It's much harder outside of a Hollow Night. Would you like a sit down? I can boil some tea, but I also packed an energy drink in case you were...tired."

Gently, she sat Lex down at the table, whose head started nodding involuntarily.

"I'll be okay...I just..."

Nodding up…and down…and still. Slant at one side, softly sighing in her sudden sleep.

Almost adorable. Orie slipped a pillow behind her head just to make it easier for her. Adorable.

They had time. Orie just sat quietly opposite her resting friend, her smile stretched with self-aware giggles she dared not let slip. It was enough to admire her friend’s ability to look so rested while napping on the spot, her little head sometimes bopping up before drooping down like a wave in a gentle sea. Maybe a little nap wasn’t the worst.

When Lex did awake, twenty minutes had passed. The first thing she saw was a cup of warm tea. The second was Orie’s delicate smile, telling her there was no need to be embarrassed. She still was.

“I-I just…”

Forcing her arms to act through a deep yawn, she sipped her tea. It needed milk. The next wasn’t just a sip but a long drink that nearly emptied the cup.

And let out a satisfied sigh.

"...Needed to clear my throat." A slight gasp, quiet and clear. The curse on her voice was lifted.

Now a smile could bloom. Those eyebags did not dull the glow in her amber eyes. "I should be really cranky right now, but, I actually got to read something good. It's been too long. Thanks for the read, Orie."

"Shouldn't I be thanking you for taking on such a risk?"

"Are you kidding me? Talking with Wagner is ten times scarier than risking treason. I got off easy here."

"Erika's not a bad person. She's just...a lot."

"'A lot.' Suit yourself." She shrugged smartly. "Besides, don't thank me yet. Not until you decide for yourself if what I have is any use to you."

Pensively, Lex slipped off her backpack, making a pronounced knock against her chair's legs like a box would. "Lex, did you take something from you-know-where?"

"No. You'll want it, believe me. But let me get to that later."

Of course curiosity itched at Orie. But Lex had trusted her, as she always had with so much. She'd trust her back. Still - an item and a notebook's worth of notes? Orie was going to be well prepared to confront the Night Blade.

"So," Lex dusted her skirt, "now that we have a moment to catch our breath..."

Orie made sure the door was shut tight, then put on some simple classical music - nothing too distracting, nothing so quiet that any eavesdroppers would make them out. Then, and only then, did she rejoin Lex at the table. The task at hand beckoned. The truth of the war between the Night Blade and Licht Kreis.

Lex tapped her fingers together. "...I know we already talked about our Void problem. I know that's weighing on you. A lot. So are you sure you want to add to that by making the Night Blade your responsibility too? Right this moment?"

"Just this moment." Orie insisted. "Please, after this chat, focus on our Void problem. I'll be with you after tomorrow, one way or another. This is just a chance to tie up a loose end first."

"An ancient army with at least two re-births who have fought us for 500 years is a loose end? That you can wrap up yourself? In one day? And then just walk away from if you don't?"

Orie didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed. "I'm not as scared of it, no."

"How? Why?"

Orie took a deep breath and muttered an apology to Hyde. "An opportunity came up yesterday. Did you figure out who else in our class became an in-birth? I only learned on the last big Hollow Night."

Lex's eyes lost their focus. "No, I'd been focused on you, honestly." But it wasn't hard. Now that her head started to drift and she tapped her chin, the answer struck her like a snowball.

"Him?" She mouthed, and Orie nodded. "In the Night Blade?"

"If you can really do me a favour and pretend you don't know, that'd be great."

One serious implication of this confession gave way to another. For a moment, a childish impulse that neither woman had before their time in Kanzakai found its voice. Something they'd scold Kaguya or Mika for, as they'd never do it themselves. Because Lex slipped on a fake pout, one that did not suit the glimmer in her eyes. And Orie felt her body brace for pain. A regrettably bearable sort of pain.

"Now that actually is a favour." Lex tutted. "I don't know if I can do it for free."

"Name your price." Orie clasped her hands in only half-sarcastic begging.

Lex did not grin at the most devilish possibilities – but it felt like she did. She also didn’t sprout devil horns, but Orie could see them. "Anything?"

"We're haggling, Lex, not pleading."

That didn't wipe away her not-grin.

"Hmmm...So our long-running fashion debate?”

“You mean how long skirts are obviously better than short skirts?”

“They’re not. Say I’m right.”

"Never."

Lex flinched. Her devil horns vanished, shown what a real demon spoke like. Plan B, plan B. "Make Kaguya stop picking on me?"

"I'm just an Executor: I can punish criminals, I can't make them reform."

Lex actually covered her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"Final offer. Meals are on you for the month."

"But you always order the expensive stuff."

"Take it or Mika knows by morning."

"Deal." That was a fast handshake. "A hard bargain. But, thanks Lex."

"You seem heavy with enough burdens - maybe it'll help to lighten your purse?"

"Thanks." Orie winked.

And now the first implication could sink in fully - forcing out a heavy sigh from Orie she didn't know she'd been holding.

"Jokes aside," Lex frowned, "I understand now. I just wish the timing wasn't so awful for you."

Orie almost sank into her tea cup. "Tell me about it."

Now the bookworm looked bitterly down at the hardback book she held. "Let's begin. Everything I can tell you about our old feud with the Night Blade."

Orie's eyes drifted to the book too. "That's not taken from the archives, is it?"

"Oh, this? No, these are my notes from it."

"You had time to make that many notes?"

"More like I had to. Uh, fun fact, Orie? Our plan to sneak me in so I could get the historical archive of the war that we weren't told, read it, and get back? Well, there is no archive."

"There isn't??"

"I had that same look when I realised it. If they've written everything down, it's not kept here. But they still had relics and documents, a lot of things that had to have been from the war and post-war eras. I'm lucky at least a few of them had a date attached."

"Why would we do that? We've always kept records everywhere else we've gone."

"If I had to speculate, because Japan is the only country where our predecessors lost. Or rather, couldn't conquer it in name. It seems the account we heard in our academy days was true without contradiction. Upon his death, Grand Executor Waldstein's final order was for the army to retreat from the island altogether, formally pausing the war."

Grand Executor Waldstein. The only warrior Adelheid ever honoured with that title. Undefeated until the day he died – a boast he fulfilled.

"But that would have been Adelheid's call to make, no?" Orie asked.

"It would have been hers to overrule. But instead she chose plan B; let the Night Blade destroy themselves. Shortly after their win, they had their own civil war, between those wanting to expand and those wanting to recede. Ultimately, the latter won. As their lords dispersed into shadow, doing...whatever they've been doing all these centuries...Most of their kingdom's power has been locked up for safekeeping. It's been stored inside the souls of two humans made re-births - the Siblings of Eternity."

"Kuon...and Linne."

Needless to say, either one held unbelievable powerful.

"Right. Wherever they are, they have the power to plunge this country into a permanent Hollow Night, as it apparently was in days of yore."

"They also had the power to stop anyone else from spreading the Night."

"Right. Are you getting at something with that?"

"...I was just thinking aloud."

"Regardless, they didn't spot the Licht Kreis sneaking back in. Traitor houses across Japan were sympathetic to our skeleton crew; the Night Blade made enemies, ones who were willing to ally with foreigners if it meant undermining them. House Jinguu was one of the most helpful."

"House Jinguu...Kaguya's family?!"

"I'm telling you, Orie, you have the best sense for which friends to make."

Coming from Lex, who did not take Kaguya's bombastic teasing and doting in stride, that was quite the quip.

"Still," Lex tapped her chin, "she's the only Japanese executor besides yourself. It'd be odd for her lineage's name not to come up, really."

Orie rubbed her head. "She just draws so little attention to herself when it comes to her duty, yet so much when it comes to her social life. It's hard to expect so much of her." Which, having said it aloud, struck Orie as the point.

"I wish she were around in time for your big day, but I tried calling her; she won't be in contact for at least a week."

"And I was just on the phone with her earlier today - if only I'd had the wits or chance to ask anything." Orie shook her head. "I'm not sure she'd be able to help much, anyway. But it begs the question - why did Adelheid not consider her a higher priority for leading this mission than me?"

Lex raised the most incredulous eyebrow, so incredulous it couldn't possibly grow any more derisive.

"What?" Orie frowned.

But it could.

"It was an honest question!"

"It's like you do this on purpose."

"Lex!"

With a soft smirk, the bookworm decided she'd made her friend fidget enough. "Let's move on. See this?" Lex showed Orie a sketch from her book. Her artistry was not some burgeoning talent, but it impressed her friends. An array of relics and weaponry made for in-births, enough to take over a city in skilled enough hands. "Some of the artifacts they searched for, at least those we managed to find and still have sealed away. Most were pilfered from the Night Blade."

The greatshield Bulwark. Weapons forged from Voids like the snake Meuniel. And the Codex of Disorder - that one was stolen by Amnesia. Yet another loose end for Orie to tie up.

"Orie?"

She shook her head, having zoned out. "Sorry, could you repeat that?"

"I was just saying, one by one, every weapon that was documented and vanished has reappeared. Bulwark, Meuniel, the Indulgence weapons, they've all come straight from the Night Blade's armory. Not ours. All within a very close time frame of each other."

"And with no one else to point the finger at..."

"The Night Blade baffle me. There's just as much evidence suggesting they all died while our backs were turned, as there is that they're behind the deep spread of EXS from the last nearly two years."

Could they be so lucky. Or unlucky - give Hyde a chance.

Orie leaned forward, hands over her chin. Lex could feel her eyes boring the back of her notebook, and took a deep breath over it.

"Lastly, I made a note of our different interactions with the Night Blade in the gap over the centuries. Not a lot. The last one was 12 years ago, where we investigated a possible Night Blade lord in public. That led nowhere. It's possible I missed something, or somewhere else has more information, but I wouldn't know where."

Lex closed her notebook.

"And that's it."

Orie blinked in disbelief, breaking out of her trance.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

That was what they had broken Adelheid’s trust for.

Not enough time had passed for Orie's veins to twitch.

"I'm sorry it's not more," Lex said, "but as knowledge goes, you're as prepared as we can ask a Licht Kreis representative to be. A renegade one, at that."

"So let me get this straight."

Orie hunched forward, hands under her mouth.

"The Night Blade owned this land. They had the job of containing the power of the other side. Over five hundred years, it does that on its own, in their absence. And the moment they resurge, the Abyss grows. And they do nothing to stop it?"

"...That's my reading of it too."

"Instead, reckless criminals and children get to play God. With the Night Blade's armory. For nearly two years."

"Correct."

"And for all this, not one lord of the Night Blade sticks their head out. Not one servant."

"That we know of." Lex cautiously corrected. "Our focus was on Amnesia. We were looking for them, but...well. We have theories. Maybe they're just that much better at hiding than we are at seeking. Maybe they had a second civil war and are still in disarray. But, I'm sorry to say, the most we know of are minor splinter groups. The only one who has any clue where a major Night Blade lord is--"

"--Is me."

Lex saw that look in Orie's eyes again, like she were marching off to battle.

"Orie. I'll say it again. I'm with you no matter what. But if you ask for my opinion...it looks to me the same way it looks to you."

Orie was thinking too hard to reply.

"I know you and him are close, but, are you this close? And how well does he know them?"

"They saved his life...and he can summon the Insulator."

Lex's eyes shot up and glanced at the still shut door. Still just them.

"They gave him an Indulgence weapon? Kreis...That's huge incentive for them to keep him around. We should keep him around. The Ritter Schild could use a hand."

"I tried. I can't try again. It's a middle ground or nothing."

Lex nodded in understanding, until Orie continued, "...With people who have failed this country. And seem dead set on continuing to."

Now enough time had passed. The veins around her knuckles twitched.

"I'm sure they'll tell me a very different story in person. I can imagine it. Some perfect reason why they've been spotless. I could point to a day ten years ago and look the fool for questioning where they were. I'm sure."

"Orie, I know you're meant to be off-duty this weekend, and I'm joining the sting on Amnesia, but if you want backup--"

"I will be enough."

"We don't know how many of them remain. Maybe Linne and Kuon offed a few, or maybe they're all fine and waiting for one of us to take hostage to use against us--"

"I will be enough."

A pensive sigh. "Then I have only one last thing for you."

Finally, she hoisted up her backpack, and handed Orie the box. An actual item of history was worth more than a thousand words. This would be no exception. Opening its lid showed the least useful thing to their initial mission, and the last thing Orie expected.

A dagger.

A familiar dagger, at that. Enchanted with EXS, made to fight in the Hollow Night. Orie had hunted with it once before, and slew a powerful Void in the wilderness. But that excursion taught her daggers were not her weapon. Swords were. A strong sword was a stalwart companion. Even so, daggers were small. You could pocket one on your person, with none the wiser, until it was too late. And this dagger was too modest in outward power to be detected. But put it to any in-birth's throat, and they will feel the seams of their skin strain like any mortal's.

"Just for safety." Lex stressed.

"Lex, this is a diplomatic mission. I can't just show up with a concealed weapon."

"Diplomats have security retinues. You can't. So take the next best thing."

"The same thing an assassin would?"

"Or a sensible soul stepping into enemy territory."

"This is a mission built on trust. Breaking that is not wise."

"If you don't need it, they never have to know."

"Lex, Kido is trusting me to trust him."

"And I'm trusting you to come back safe."

Lex kept her words usually cool and composed. But something in her eyes now was too cool, and too composed. How cruel of Orie to impose this on her.

"I actually do worry about you. You're always in so much danger. I can't be there with you, in the heat of the action, but I can give you everything that can be given. A plan. A path. A prayer. Then I hope it's enough. Even if this isn't the riskiest thing you've ever done, you can't just go into it unprepared. And you don't need me to say this, but if this weekend goes poorly, you'll leave too much left unburied. Things I want to help you bury."

The silence lingered. It stung to keep eye contact. But, bit by bit, their tense expressions lost their edge. Yet not their worry.

"I have to help with the sting operation this weekend. There's a chance I won't see you before then."

"You still have tonight. Hey, we still have some tea left over. Wanna relax with some study for tomorrow's test?"

Lex shook her head with a sad smile. "You know that doesn't matter to me. I'll just coast by with a C."

Lex packed her things, except for the box. Slowly but not sluggishly, she made to leave. But as her hands grasped the doorknob, she felt a warm hug from a tall friend.

"I owe you so much, Lex."

Orie's arms wrapped around the bookworm’s chest, feeling it soften. She held her close. Her chest against Lex’s back, her head by her shoulder, her warmth within her heart.

"Thank you."

Lex was quite thankful her friend couldn't see the pink dust on her cheeks. "You'll never owe me a thing. Just, think it over, maybe?"

"I will."

As Lex closed the door gently behind her, Orie was left alone with her thoughts. With all this perspective, and all these resources on hand, she begged for more? How ungrateful.

She stared at the small dagger in her hands, and at the emblem of the Licht Kreis engraved into its steel hilt. Last time she saw it like this, it was awash with Void blood. Now it was spotless. Even the blade she softly walked a finger along was clean.

As her thoughts drifted towards the Night Blade, her finger pricked itself on the dagger's sharp tip.

An old crone traipsed around a dojo. Veils of pure moonlight gleamed against the sword on her waist, a large clump of steel with no name. It, and its wielder, cast tall shadows over the dojo floor.

Here is where she had spent much time training Hyde. Nothing compared to the chaos of the Hollow Night, but she couldn't let him wander into the night unprepared. It wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.

And tomorrow he was bringing along an insider. One he swore would help set things right. Sure were a lot of people certain they’ll be the ones to fix the world, weren’t there. She was sick of them.

This insider wasn’t a drone, she was promised. Oh well. Hyde’s already in danger enough as it is.

As if sensing her concern, Kuu fluttered in and nestled on her left shoulder. His head was still soft to the touch. Kuu. He was all that remained. Just as when the Licht Kreis had terrified her centuries ago, this morsel brought her such comfort. And clarity.

Clarity honed the mind.

Hers would be sharp.

Chapter Text

Yorita. The town of flowers. Where Kuon and Linne once stood amidst a sea of sunshine, cherry blossom petals dancing gently all around them, a transient silhouette to the radiant sun as it kissed the green valley. This was how they'd spent many a summer in days of peace, five hundred years ago.

One day, power wielders blessed by the Hollow God gathered in a barren valley. With their gifts and labour, the soil was blessed and the shadows from mountaintops were parted. They gave it life. Its sun-kissed green fields and flowing blue rivers were the stuff of agricultural wonders. Farmers tilled the land until they sweat, then savoured the sweet shade. Wielders made miraculous medicines with the flowers and herbs on hand. Soldiers healed their bodies and minds in meditation in fields of flowers, before marching out again.

In their war, Yorita had become a precious lifeline to the Night Blade against the foreigners. And its secrecy all the more essential to keep. Outside the town's walls were empty planes save for flying swallows. Yonder was a serene hill. A hill meant only for waving blades of grass, not iron.

And yet, iron there was.

A dull blade, but heavy. So heavy that with every swing, it broke its nimble wielder's stance. Sometimes with a sharp yank, or a delayed wobble. Or a stumble, or a spin. Or, when she raged a defiant shout and swung to cut the heavens, it dug into the soil and flipped the maiden face first into the tall grass.

Kuu fluttered down to Linne's side and rubbed his clean cheek against her dirtied one.

"Thank you." She muttered through the green.

It's fine. Pick yourself up. Try again. Nobody need judge you, for nobody is here. The grass doesn't tease. The sun doesn't berate. The wind only encourages.

Linne always looked out of place at the dojo. It's partly why she seldom went, and never without Kuon. The idea of watching him duel was heartening; duelling with him wasn't. Even with the patience of a sword saint, Kuon could only stifle his chortles for so long. It was never mean-spirited, and he'd reinforce her too, but even so, you could only hold it in for so long with a student when she accidentally flung her training sword across the dojo onto Sato's head. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't think of a name for her blade. All the Night Blade named their weapons, for each weapon was an extension of their soul. Her palms felt iron, but her soul felt nothing.

What did she hate? The surrounding sounds of shouting men and clashing guards? The cold iron in her hands? The recoil running up her arms? The glare from her sparring partner? The rushing blood in her head as she thought her next move, still dazzled the first one hadn't failed? She felt too much.

But here? She felt the calm air in her long hair. The soft sun smooth her knuckles. The flowing grass caress her legs. The innocent crunch of soil under her sandles. The mesmerising meadow calmed her eyes. The iron felt lighter.

All her duties as shrine maiden here were done, and she'd return to the City of Sorcery within the week. To provide was one strength. But to protect...even now, she thought of people dying and her being powerless to stop it. So here, after the morning rituals, she'd train. In the fields of Yatori, where the farmers at sunrise were her only visitors. The dirt road far below was empty.

Until refugees limped across it.

They came into view from afar. An injured party of ten dragging a cart, with ten wounded more inside. The wanderers' rags were bloodied, their gazes aimless. Save for the foremost, a woman with long black hair whose lame foot did not stop her from leading the way, echoing her first step with a drag through dirt.

Linne dropped her sword, the heavy iron flattening grass blades with a thud. 

"Kuu, find Kuon." She gasped. "Tell him we have wounded."

As Kuu flew high across the valley, Linne rushed to help the victims of war.

Every need was met. Wounds that could have led to slow deaths over months faded in minutes. Such were the myriad manifestations of the village of sorcery. Wonders never before known to any refugees.

"We thought we were in the clear when we lost sight of the foreigners." One exhausted refugee said. "But those damn yokai...it's like they smelled our fear. We didn't think anyone would be here."

As much as the monks and maidens helped calm their thoughts, one maiden was too bemused not to gossip to Linne. "'Yokai', they call them." Little levities.

"They will still need time." Linne told the helpers gathered, as from afar they watched the refugees gathered sullenly in a corner. "They are healed now, but push non-wielders too soon and their injuries may reopen."

"'Non-wielders?'" A monk observed, one with a kind heart and crass humour.

"Let's say refugees. We can agree on that."

It had been an unspoken subject back home, just what to call the people outside of the Hollow God's grace. Human? Linne still felt human. Their lord had only cared to call them the enemy, since they only spoke of outsiders in times of war. But here were outsiders, fellow victims of the true outsiders.

They had needed help. That's all Linne needed to know.

The woman was Kanami, she had told Linne. A maid's daughter, and a servant herself, with two sons of her own. Neither were here with her. Claw marks were slashed into the hem of her clothes.

"Gods take me..." She hissed as she applied alcohol to her wounded leg. Linne took the bottle and bandage, and there was no pain at all when she applied it herself.

"A miracle..." The refugee woman whispered, softly flexing her healed leg in awe.

"It is the gifts of the Hollow God. We understand if they startle you, but know they are things of wonder. We want not for food or warmth or light." Linne gestured to the lamps around them. As the land grew more immersed in energy, even her small vessel felt rich enough to keep this place lit.

"So your power is as wonderful as my mother said. Perhaps it is terrifying too."

"Did she meet us?"

Kanami winced, not quite staring at Linne anymore, but at the sun-crest window with an empty longing. Its light graced much of the temple, but not yet the Hollow God statue.

Linne held her hand. "Don't put any more burdens on your troubled mind. It will do you no good."

Pensively, Kanami's hand folded back around hers. It took a lot of wriggling in order to feel comfortable.

"...My mother...knew you people. She kept how to herself, and my father was more concerned about having a child with a maid."

"A complicated lineage. But you sound fond of them still."

"House Jinguu gave me a chance when others wouldn't."

That name meant nothing to Linne, so she simply tightened her grip on the woman's hand. Despite that, Kanami shifted uncomfortably. 

"Why are the foreigners here?" The weary woman asked. "Why are they fighting you?"

"Their god thinks himself above our own. They hate us, and our ways. I wish they wouldn't...But don't worry. We're fighting hard to protect you all. This is our home, not theirs."

"Our home..."

Her eyes looked again to the window as if she could see home through it.

"My town had nothing to do with you sorcerers. Why were we attacked?"

"I...I don't know. I'm so sorry you suffered."

Linne held her hands tightly. "They should have kept their quarrels with us. This was monstrous of them."

Kanami gathered each breath as if it was her last.

"The foreigners...they rounded us up in the town square. On our knees, we waited until their giant of a general bade us stand. He told us of a new God to worship. 'Adelheid', in the name of 'Kreis'. In her name, he promised peace. A land without yokai. A land where your sorcerous city was tamed, and no god's power was used in vain. Things would finally be as they were. A long-lasting peace. Is that so bad?"

"Perhaps they lied."

"Even so." Jinguu's brow hardened. "I remember when my youngest son lay injured in my arms, injured by magics no one understood. But he breathed still. He had not joined his brother yet."

"I'm sorry they took your eldest from you."

Kanami just stared straight onward. There was something piercing about Kanami's amber eyes, something unsettlingly strong, as they just stared straight onward.

"They didn't."

Indeed, she hadn't been looking at Linne for quite some time. She waited for when the stone nose of the Hollow God was sunlit. She hadn't been the only one waiting.

"Your people did."

It happened too fast, with an assassin's speed and a widow's wrath. Kanami seized Linne's throat, and the shrine maiden shrieked as she was pinned to the floor. The rest of her cohorts followed suite, surprising their guards and carers with concealed binds and knives as they wrestled them to the ground. The meek were now murderous.

"You are kinder than most your kin." Kanami's voice dripped with cold iron. "I am not blind to that. Just prepared to die myself."

"What are you doing?!"

"I am Kanami Jinguu. Daughter of a wronged noble of the city of sorcery and his faithful wife. Student of his last faithful servant, who whisked me to safety in mortal lands. And I have oaths to keep. To my murdered mother. My murdered son. To your very god. A god who I have no sword sharp enough against, save for deception."

She tightened her choking grip.

"For that sake, no disgrace is too great."

Just a moment ago, Linne was holding this woman's hand for comfort, and now that same hand was choking her. It made no sense. She was a Wielder too, but couldn't fight her off. Her eyes, when lifted from the spell of malice her assailant's eyes casted, darted for any weapon, any tool. There was the rope, the bandages, and a knife for utility - but the voice that said to reach for them was so quiet, her arms did nothing but quiver. Even now, she was still too weak.

The rope meant to steady Kanami's injured foot now bound Linne's wrists and ankles. The paper meant to bandage her wounds now silenced Linne's mouth.

The others were stripping the carers of their garbs to use as disguises for themselves. Some were still alive, having been as weak as Linne herself. Others weren't. Wielders as they were, they weren't fighters.

Linne may have been naive. Stupidly, painfully naive. But she wasn't blind to why they had feigned innocence, and now donned disguises. Their next destination would be the gates.

The captives were hauled to an upper floor, where the door would be both locked and barricaded. Trembling, Linne looked Kanami in the eyes and was scared by how steeled they were.

"These foreigners mean nothing to me...But to wipe your accursed people and god from this world? I would make a pact with even devils!"

The door was shut.

Gifts of the Hollow God...And what could she do? She could conjure nothing. Move nothing. Help nothing.

The most she could fit was her head through the window from this tall height. She saw them walk out down the street. She did not see what they did inside the walls. She did not hear the cries of their victims.

But she did see beyond the walls. In the horizon, a banner of blue with a gold symbol rose up the hill, carried by a plague of soldiers, rising like it could blot out Yatori's sun. The banner of the Licht Kreis. With each step they took, the sounds of their footsteps in unison drew nearer and nearer, until eventually the earth would shake.

Linne could only watch.

They came without warning. And when they reached the gate, they ran. Ran with war cries into the city streets, followed by clashing swords and surprised shrieks. The sounds of people's last moments lapped over each other like a whirlpool of dread.

Linne couldn't tell where they were going. If she could parse why they'd attack in what directions they did, she'd sooner ask why attack at all.

Fires started to rise. From the market district. The administration sector. So many at once, like it didn't matter where, so long as the whole city burned and smoke blinded them all.

Would they burn this place next? No. It was sacred. Too sacred. They locked prisoners in here, too, they wouldn't have done that unless they meant it to be safe.

Clasped together though her wrists were, she could only pray. Pray for an enemy not to find her. And if they did, for Kuon to forgive her.

And as she prayed, something flew with the speed of a darting arrow through the window at her, with a loud cry.

"Kuu?"

Or something of the sort.

"Kuu!"

Excited to see her, the little Void flew back down to the ground with many a rallying cry. Moments later, a mighty whip lunged upward, the snake-void Meuniel clenching into the sill.

From below, Kuon climbed upward, one limb after the other in a blurring haste, with a force that could surge up waterfalls. Kuon. Kuon was here. He landed in the chamber and held Linne tightly. 

"Sister!"

Quickly he freed her binds and let her speak through her tears even as they drenched his shoulders.

"There were refugees!" She cried. "They were dying! We healed them, and they ambushed us! Killed some of us! Locked us in here so the foreigners could attack!"

"It's okay! It's okay." Kuon held her tight. "I need to chase the last of these devils out. Can I trust you to protect the people here?"

Kuon's strong smile and words were meant to encourage her, but Linne dwelled on the question. She couldn't protect anyone. She'd failed everyone. She'd fail again. But time was of the essence and Kuon didn't accept defeat.

"Hey!" Kuon grabbed her shoulders. "You can do this! We're only here to save the town because of you! You've been so strong so far. Just be stronger a little longer, okay? For me?"

He had to leave. He kissed her forehead and climbed back down.

Linne did what she could. As pathetically little as that was. She only realised the battle had ended long, long after the fires stopped crackling and the men stopped shouting.

In battle, Sato's greatshield was a bulwark to protect his comrades. In desperation, a bludgeon to put out fires. In lamentation, a shovel to dig graves.

"This was only a raiding party." Sato told Kuon, in between gravedigging. "They dashed straight for the granary and sacked it, then made their escape down the river. The fires in the other districts were just diversions." Overhead, smoke danced above them like a fading spirit. All was quiet, save whenever Sato dug into the earth. "All of this destruction, so many of their own dead, just for some sacks of rice. They're starving, brother. They can't keep going. We're getting to them."

But it would be naive of Kuon to believe the hope underlined in that last point.

"We are. And because we are, they will come again."

"Or anywhere they need..." Sato sighed. "This war is becoming Japan's problem, not just ours. And from what travellers tell me, all the warring mortal daimyo still scoff at peace." With a heave of a strong arm, he pulled Bulwark out, the shield now as sullen with dirt as with dry blood.

"Our old enemies are starting to notice..." Kuon rubbed his head, stinging from all the rushing blood behind it. No wound, just the feeling of one. "Linne told me how the foreigners got in. A scorned noble joined a town we once warred with. She took a party and waded through the Void Plains to here, to give the Licht Kreis this town's labour."

"Our labour, perhaps, instead of theirs?" Sato said. "If they do...Then perhaps we chose wrongly after the last war."

"What do you mean?" Kuon asked.

"When the humans attacked us to take our gifts. Suppose I'm right." Sato continued. "If the foreigners can subjugate the humans, it's only because we didn't do so ourselves. We chose to focus on protecting our secrets instead of punishing our coveters."

"That would have meant war with all Japan. It would only have ended when we ruled this island."

"And that was a good argument then." Sato dug another grave in silence. They'd need more. "I only want to protect us, Kuon. I just don't know how."

"Never feel nervous speaking your mind in front of me, brother." Kuon rested his hand on Sato's shoulder, instilling him with strength.

"Thank you."

"As for what you say," Kuon continued, "I can't prove the Licht Kreis wouldn't try to enslave our neighbours. But...I don't think they're like that. The swords I've crossed haven't felt like cutthroats. For all that I detest in them, they must have an honour that can be appealed to."

"I hope you're right. But I find that if you test a man's mettle for long enough, he will crack."

"I'm not cracking any time soon." Kuon smirked. 

Sato chuckled, some mirth despite his throat's dryness.

"But if I'm right," Sato said, "then in their desperation, they might commit to an all-out attack. They could return here. Or if not here...our home."

"They don't know where that is."

"Yet."

The Licht Kreis had found Yatori. Now that it was known, so long as the war went on, it would be inevitable that this town of flowers would face a full-fledged assault and not a paltry raid. With the City of Sorcery, they'd claim their secrets and homes. Then Linne would have nowhere to go.

"If this war goes on any longer, we will lose something we can't replace." Kuon admitted.

"If we had a way to end this war now, would you take it?" Sato asked.

Kuon looked to the sky for an answer. The sparrows soared for the hewn mountaintop.

Chapter Text

A sunlit afternoon saw Orie and Hyde reunite after school. Orie took a detour to change into something smart-casual, neater than a uniform without being too formal, and bring some food from headquarters for Hyde to cook tonight. He talked about cooking with such excitement. Almost as much as his exam score - B+. Despite every other burden, he'd gotten a B+. Orie held it with care in her fingertips and stars in her eyes. He rubbed his nose and held a beaming grin.

The walk to the Kido Estate had been all smiles. Hyde's home. Orie had grown familiar with the place, until a month ago. It made sense now; Hyde had too much to deal with, and too much to suddenly hide. She didn't blame him, she reassured, with a soft squeeze of his hand.

As Hyde entered his house to tell the Night Blade, Orie waited patiently in the front garden, and finally let her smile drop.

The first thing Orie noted about the child was her posture. Though her hands were tucked in her yellow hoodie's pockets, she stood straight with her shoulders back, and her light footsteps were evenly measured. Most of all, her gaze was fixed and sharp. Far too sharp for eyes so young.

Orie's senses understood all this. But she hadn't spelt out for herself what it all meant. The thought was too absurd.

True, Orie had been trained from a young age. But not this young, and not this quickly. Is this how the Night Blade trained their elites?

Did Linne let her disciples ever just be children for five minutes?

The notion left Orie lost in her own thoughts. Her slight grimace caught the wary youth's attention.

"So, here she is." Hyde finished leading her out and gestured to their guest. "My friend in the Licht Kreis, Orie Harada. She's here to--"

"So it was you." The child chewed on her contempt.

"I'm sorry?" Orie asked.

"I should have known back then from just your posture. It has too disciplined an edge for just a casual walk. If I'd acted, I could've saved Hyde the trouble."

"You've been...watching me?" Suddenly, Orie felt surrounded. Every peaceful memory she had this last year flashed before her eyes, as she combed them desperately for any hint of danger.

"Adelheid hasn't lost her touch. Stake out schools for potential in-births, kill them once found. That's cold. Efficient, too, I'm sure."

A loud gasp. Orie's once wide eyes focused into a guarded glare. "That is a dishonest framing of the situation."

"You think you have the wriggle room to deny it?"

Orie knew her neck should rest on a chopping block for that. But not to this kid.

"Hey, hey," Hyde cut in, "a scrap takes two to start. You can't blame her without blaming me. Harada didn't want that fight to happen."

"Oh really?" The child sneered.

"Yes, that's why she's here today. So we can avoid any of that ever again. We both have the same goal, we want to contain the Hollow Night."

"Kido is correct." Orie added. "I don't mean to speak for the Licht Kreis, only myself. If you would please permit me audience with the Princess of the Night Blade, I will show the utmost respect."

Orie wasn't sure why it felt like the breeze had stopped. Suddenly, the child relaxed, her legs crossed on the spot and her eyes rested with a bemused secret.

"Iunno," she shrugged, "she's a busy lady. Hates me interrupting her meditation, she does. Maybe if you ask nicely? But I wouldn't, I got lashed so hard when I did so last. Didn't I, Hyde?"

Hyde's mouth was agape with embarrassment until he swallowed it down. "Linne, we're not doing this. Sorry for the confusion, Harada, I feel I've not gotten a chance to introduce you two."

"Confusion?" Orie asked. "You mean...Eh??" Suddenly her mouth was slack with shock as her eyes froze wide open on the kid.

One of the six Re-births. One of the two Siblings of Eternity. One of the most powerful and wise beings in this world and the next was not an old woman with unaching bones, nor an adult with instincts and beauty eternally in their prime, but a child. Smaller than herself. Younger than herself. An infant form hiding an immortal soul, with five hundred years of experience guiding her bones, and guiding her stare was five hundred years of contempt.

Linne rolled her eyes. "Good job, Hyde, you just destroyed your last shred of plausible deniability."

"Deniability? Linne, I'm not playing any games here, I'm being honest. You knew I would be."

"You're only playing honest because you don't know what enemy you've just made. You said she was an Executor. Hey, what's your rank?"

"Fifth rank." Orie said.

"A fifth rank? Hyde, that's too deep in. She's grown up among their nobility. People that committed don't turn on a whim."

"Again, she's not 'turning', she's talking. This has never been a problem for you before, so why is it now?" Hyde pressed on, even though Linne's eyes weren't even looking at him anymore, but at the trees and walls for any unwelcome shadows.

"First, can you tell me how you know she came alone, and without a squad of executors shadowing her every move? Because that'd be smart of them. Right now, either one of them is running back to tell all her superiors that Hyde Kido is public enemy number one, or we are surrounded by a small army ready to arrest you."

"I know because she's my friend."

"Such childishness...Oh, you've a lot to suffer still before you wisen up, Hyde."

"With all due respect, Princess," Orie spoke out, "it is rude to speak of someone as if she is not there."

Her existence reasserted with a polite defiance.

This tangent had been rude, yes. But it had also given Orie time to think, and context to see Linne in. Those were important tools for building rules, the rules she should act by to control Linne with. She was stern, sharp, and clearly dedicated to her faction. Harsh, but, from her perspective, fair. So, rule number one: appease without being spineless.

The immortal pivoted, giving Orie her full attention. Just her. "It's also rude to be dishonest."

Rule two: stomach the pressure. It's no different from any seniors.

"Kido is correct." Orie said. "I am not here to contest the Night Blade's claim to Japan. I am here because our individual paths to the same goal might cross - should that happen, I sincerely desire a peaceful recourse."

"Uh huh." Linne dully nodded. "Would you accept him joining your team?"

Of course. But that question was a trap. Orie bit her reflex and slowed her thoughts. "Why do you ask that?"

"I get it, you weren't there then. You were born later, with your biased history book, in a much gentler time. The Licht Kreis has a history of conquest. Know that everywhere your people went once had its own way of doing things. Ways I doubt you represent fairly, if you bothered to keep note of them at all. Do you think you were right and all of them wrong? Every time?"

Another bit reflex. Orie did think the Licht Kreis had been a force for good in the world, yes. She'd never seen otherwise, where the forces they fought were any fairer. The idea she should be ashamed of that itself felt shameful. Still, rule two. Stomach the pressure. She bit her tongue and took a deep breath just for the pause.

"I apologise for any misdoings by my predecessors. I seek not to repeat them."

Linne's head tilted. In the gap, Hyde added, "See? We all want to do better here. Paradox is gone, but the Night is still spreading. Now is the best time to team up and do some real good, right?"

Linne held her hand up at him. Her eyes remained fixed on Orie's face, curiously squinting for any specks of dirt on a polished table.

"It's not exactly an even trade. You're not as important as Adelheid, no offence."

"True...but I have been entrusted a great deal with the Japanese operation. And I have things I must live to see done still."

"And you gotta admit, the timing you attacked my student at - it's a little convenient, isn't it?"

Good thing Orie's hands were already joined, for it kept either of them from curling into a fist. Instead, her knuckles strained.

Instead, she bowed fully. "I am deeply regretful for my actions, and their harm to your student."

Linne nodded, with a smart shake of her head. "Y'know, I'll hand it to you. You're a damn good liar."

"Excuse me?"

"If only you'd come a few centuries earlier, you'd have had me duped. It's like you're working really hard to tell me what I want to hear. Even when you don't want to. And you don't. Oh, you don't. I almost want to know what exactly is running through that pretty little head of yours. But what I see today would be gone tomorrow. Isn't that right?"

"I-I am trying to converse in good faith."

"Still acting dainty after all that? Damn." The kid whistled. "You are committed to the bit. Are you sure you're not the real princess here? You handle courtesies better than me."

Her tongue was close to bleeding.

"Tell you what. You?" Linne pointed at her, then at the gate. "You get out of here. If Hyde's still safe in a month's time, I'll consider another meeting. That's more than fair. So go, pretend this never happened, alright? See you in a month, princess."

With a blithe wave to her guest, Linne turned around, giving a more earnest wave to Hyde. And as she did, a very clear image of her real intentions formed in Orie's head, one that tied a nauseous knot in her gut. Linne wasn't going to wait. She was about to take Hyde into hiding. Tell him how to live off the radar. Take even more of his precious life away from him.

No.

"So you could do what?" Orie called out. "Continue to fail this nation?"

The immortal stopped in her tracks, and half turned around.

"You got something to actually say?"

"Say, and do, and far more than you."

"Oh, that's rich."

"Truth often is. I've done my part to protect this land ever since I arrived over a year ago. I have hunted Voids. I have guarded homes and chased sinners. I braved the Abyss in the last great Hollow Night to best Paradox, and I succeeded. I have been no burden to this city, Princess of the Night Blade, no matter your insinuations. I do not run. I do not hide. Not like you."

"God, you're high and mighty when you get going. Anyone ever tell you that?"

"My duty is justice, and I will never be ashamed of that. Are you so ashamed that you've forgotten what conviction feels like? Where were you when your people needed you?"

"Oh, you're actually serious. Typical Licht Kreis arrogance, it's a--"

"Take this seriously."

Even Linne wasn't ready for the glare of the angel of death.

Orie continued. "I have served all over this world for ten years to keep it from plunging into the Hollow Night completely. Nowhere has been as perilously close as this place. Never have I seen vandals and monsters as wrathful as here. That is your legacy. Do you understand that? That is what the Night Blade has shown this city, and so what it means to me. Didn't your people want custody of this land? That's what your war with us was for, wasn't it?"

"Our war?"

"Then how did things get this bleak? This close to catastrophe? You don't just owe me an answer, you owe all the dead and scarred of Japan that."

"Because you've seen everything." Linne began walking back to her, the gap shrinking. "Someone as small, and as young, and as indoctrinated as you thinks she knows anything about how good a job I've been doing."

"I do. Terribly."

"Terribly, yeah?" Linne didn't sound too into it any more. The point of no return was near.

"Tell me, Princess, in ten years, have you saved even one life?"

There was no clever rebuttal. There was plenty of motion, even in just their focused eyes and ever-tensing brows, full of too many years of anger between them both. But not one hand was raised. Not yet.

The pockets of Linne's hoodie rustled. Just once. There were definitely weapons hidden under there. Hyde felt he was seconds from seeing a fire catch. Orie's knees bent ever so slightly.

Before anything else, a small, featherless bird flew by Linne's side with a pigeon's coo.

"Kuu!"

Or something of the sort.

Followed by a giant crashing next to them from over the wall.

"The perimeter is secure, Princess." His deep voice declared. "She came alone."

"Oh, that's where he was." Hyde sighed with relief. "See? I told you, Harada's a good one."

Neither woman loosened up.

"Hyde, with me." Linne ordered, before glancing at the giant. "Keep an eye on our guest."

It seemed somehow that Orie would get to stay. But as Hyde followed his mentor into solitude, he spared one glance back at her, one full of the pain of confusion. Such were the fruits of betrayal.

Back in the shadows of the Kido estate, Linne straightened up her student.

"You really messed up this time, Hyde."

"I've never seen you so mad. Linne, what's going on?" Hyde asked.

"Being frank, you've never seen me fight an organised in-birth. Voids, yes. Lowlives, yes. This? That thing out there is a real threat. You should know she's a threat."

"I know in my heart I can trust her. I trust her with my life."

"She tried to kill you, Hyde."

"It was a tough situation. I wasn't perfect either."

"She tried to kill you."

Hyde sobered up, but his heart was still set. "It's my place to forgive her."

"No it's not." Linne shot back with such brazenness. "When you die, you'll leave people behind. Words unsaid and promises broken. You owe it to them not to pick such bad fights. Remember your promise to me - you swore to end my curse with the Insulator. Dead men can't keep promises. So I can't let my guard down around someone who could want to threaten you like that. Nor can I around a servant of my people's oldest enemy, you should know that. It's such a basic mistake, Hyde, what were you thinking? You're so reckless. You think you'll never have to compromise on your desires."

True as that was, all those implications weren't lost on the boy.

"Yeah. I am. I've never pretended I wasn't. But maybe that's why I don't see the problem here. I know this can work if you let it."

"With the Licht Kreis? They can't be trusted. What they've done, I can't forgive."

"All of them, down to their bones and in their blood? Even five hundred years later? Even Harada?"

"Especially her."

Hyde scoffed.

"Don't give me that look, Hyde, you saw her there just as clearly as I did."

"I, I saw...I saw a lot of things. From the both of you. You need to listen to me when I tell you she's a good person. Because I'm asking the same of her when I tell her about you. And if you'd just pretend to hear her out instead of picking a fight, you'd easily see why I'm right."

"If it comes down to blows between me and her, who will you pick?"

"What?"

"Who will you pick?"

"Linne, don't joke with me. I've been trying to tell you, the whole reason Harada's here is so that's not a problem. I don't have to choose--"

"You love her, Hyde."

Linne told him that with a damning certainty, so damning that he was stunned silent and the air turned cold.

Perhaps he should feel ashamed, or cornered. Perhaps he did. But, despite everything, as her sentence still repeated in his head, it also slowly began untying a latent knot in his stomach. As that knot came undone, so came acceptance, and some benign energy breathed life into his weary limbs and lifted the stress on his heart. Something true, something warm, something worth fighting for.

He loved her.

"Don't you." Linne pressed.

It felt wrong to put a lid on such a feeling. Yet he must, and so the stress sank back down.

"You think you're in love with her."

Amateurs always made their intentions too obvious.

She sighed. "Is it too much to ask that it's not just a young crush?"

Hyde swallowed softly, clearing his throat and gathering his thoughts. "...I don't have to choose."

"You will."

"You can't make me."

"It's not my choice to make. But it won't matter who forces your hand first, will it? Only who you say gets to end it."

The thought left Hyde taking very deep and measured breaths.

He forced his voice to sound soft. "Waldstein's keeping an eye on her, so we're safe for now. I'm going to get dinner started. Care to help me?"

With a wordless shrug, Linne took the lead and left for the kitchen. But once at the door, she looked back at him.

"One more thing, Hyde? If you take her side - can you remember to use the Insulator? That can be at least one promise you actually keep."