(Zack)

  "Where'd you go?" Nik asks as I reappear in the Dark Temple's courtyard.

  "Big Breeze's Sacred Temple."

  "Which one's that?" Theodore asks Nik.

  "He calls Light of Air 'Big C'," Nik says. "So I'm going to assume Dark of Air."

  "Yeah, it's him," I say. "Anyway, I need to push for Ascension."

  "You're already doing that," Nik tells me. "Why are you-"

  "Big Breeze confirmed it's as I suspected," I state. "He said the only way he knows of for me to strengthen my Sacred Crystal and help guard against these effects is to Ascend. Also, he said that it's not rage that's triggering it, but emotions that are extremely heightened. The only one that's been hitting me is rage, which is why it seems like it's just me going into a blind rage. The blackouts will continue to get more frequent, though, but if the Ascension does strengthen it, then the blackouts should stop. Based on the timeframe he gave me, I should be fine. However, I'd like to stay in Talorn for two weeks, rather than seven to ten days. I want to hit this as soon as possible."

  Nik nods, then tells me he'll buy me some additional food for the trip, before heading out. I look at Theodore, then start stretching.

  "I have a weird-ass feeling," I tell him. "And need to focus off of it. Spar again?"

  Gold hurriedly runs to the bench, causing Theodore and me to laugh. He blushes furiously, then I draw my swords, Theodore drawing his own sword, and we begin sparring again. As we spar, Gold leaves, returning half an hour later with lunch.

  Theodore and I break for that, the resume our sparring and his assistance with my techniques. We finally stop at dinner, though Nik hasn't returned. A few of the other Dark Knights join us, Gold happily making food for all of us.

  Part of said happiness probably comes from the ham I gave him as part of what he can use for dinner, while he was staring at the kitchen's supplies.

  After dinner, Theodore, Gold, and I return to the courtyard to teach Gold a bit more, the Beastborn sparring with both of us, something that's interrupted when I receive a purple notice in my vision. Based on their reactions, they, too, did.

  It is one hell of a long message, and literally the second line in it shows how pissed Big S is by something.

  And the message ends with that final note. Holy fuck is Big S pissed. Was this because of what happened with me? I can't help but note the coincidental timing, there. No one's really telling me what's going on because of last night, just that it's causing a fuss.

  And damn, Big Breeze wasn't kidding when he said Big S is a cusser.

  "So, Theodore," I look at the Dark Knight. "Want to tell me it's not that bad?"

  The Dark Knight sighs, and Gold giggles a little, causing the man to roll his eyes.

  "People have been calling for you to be arrested," Theodore said. "And for us Dark Knights who moved you in here and refuse to let them have you."

  "What, exactly, do they think they could do to me?" I ask. "I'm literally near the top in terms of power among the entire Boundary's Adventurers."

  "There are still those stronger," he says. "And teams could do it, too. Considering how lengthy that was, I'm assuming something happened while Nik was out, which would explain why he's taken so long returning."

  Yeah, Big Flame says. We, ah, bothered the System's 'business' because they were causing him problems. We barely managed to keep him from adding 'off with their heads' to the message.

  "What?" Theodore looks confused.

  "Cut off their heads," I snort. "You know, kill them? Decapitation? Calling for the deaths of those interfering with those of us who actually fight against the Shadow of Life, not act and perform a show."

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  Seems Big S has a few regular movies he likes to watch. That, or it's just Big Flame saying that, and he was being metaphorical with what Big S was wanting to put in the message. The fact that they managed to affect what he sent, though… did he let them review his message, first?

  If that's the case, did Big Breeze add those swears in to show me that Big S swears? Or was that just Big S swearing because his nap got interrupted when the others decided enough was enough?

  "Okay," Theodore says. "Didn't know the System could be bloodthirsty, but I guess that works, too."

  "He was probably napping."

  Was not!

  "His miffed response says he was," I say, and Big S huffs in my head. "Looks like things might be changing. Gold, let's go get washed up, we're both all sweaty from our workouts."

  Gold nods, then follows me to the bathing chambers. We rinse off a bit, then climb into the bath and soak, Gold tilting his head from one side to the other every now and then. I can tell he wants to ask something, but I don't poke around in his head to find out.

  He'll let me know if he wants to, and I'm trying to test my patience with not just asking him. I mean, I know I can be incredibly patient, but I'm also incredibly curious.

  Eventually, Gold slides under the water. I can't actually see him due to how warm the water is is and the soaps in it, but due to my Perception, I can tell where he's at. He's sneaking his way towards me. When he's around two feet in front of me, he pauses, then rapidly shoots up, snarling with a grin when he breaks the surface.

  He only manages the snarl for about two seconds before exploding into giggles, and I chuckle at his antic, flicking my wrist across the top of the water, sending a wave of it slamming into him. Gold yelps, then shoves both hands forward through the water, pushing a smaller wave towards me as he giggles again.

  I do a fake-angry splash at him, before launching myself forward and dunking him down into the water. He yelps, slips out of my 'grip', and comes up behind me, dunking me down.

  Gold and I wrestle around for a few minutes, then I take a break, knowing he's getting a bit too exhausted from this after his workouts today. Once I let him know it's time to calm down, he nods seriously and watches as I sit back where I was.

  Then, he stands and walks over to me, turning around so his tail's in front of me, swishing back and forth. I poke at his mind and immediately learn that he wants to know if I'll wash his tail. Apparently, something he's not told me before is that he has a hard time cleaning it too close to the base.

  That actually makes sense, since he can't see it that well.

  Grabbing the shampoo bottle, I start lathering up his tail, which isn't that easy because he keeps flicking it from side to side in his happiness that his tail's getting fully cleaned. I contemplate using Binding Darkness to hold it still, but decide against that.

  Next time, though… I might. Definitely will if his tail keeps wagging while I'm trying to clean it!

  I eventually manage to get his tail clean and rinsed, then we step out of the bath, rinse, and dry off. I comb through Gold's tail to untangle it, then we dress and head to meet Nik in the dining room, where the tables are covered in food. At least, one of them is. This must be my supply for the next two weeks.

  All of the Dark Knights I know about are in here, and then some. More must have shown up, though I'm doubting any of them are the mysterious one I don't know the identity of. Will check before this 'meeting' ends.

  "There's enough here," Nik tells me. "To last you three weeks. I also had Blaine fix up a little something for you. Something special."

  He holds out what looks like a firework to me.

  "Is this a firework?" I ask.

  "Yes," he answers. "Ignite the fuse while aiming it upwards. It'll shoot upwards and explode with a deafening boom. That should buy you some time to get clean away. It'll be visible from here, even if you were on the mountains themselves, and linger for around a minute. Someone's going to be watching in that direction at all times. You'll have no more than ten minutes after firing it before one of us shows up, so use it if you absolutely need rescuing."

  "Got it," I send the firecracker into my Inventory. "You said there were potions, too?"

  "Yes," he nods. "I had Blaine mix up twenty Health Potions and twenty Mana Potions, just in case."

  "Okay," I look around, spotting them on another table. "Those there?"

  Just to confirm.

  "Yes," he says. I walk over to the table and take them. "How many Potions do you have, in addition to those?"

  "I only had nine Health Potions," I answer. "Only ever used a single one since arriving here."

  "You've only used one Potions the five or six months you've been in the Boundary?" One of the Dark Knights I don't know asks.

  Has it been that long? Huh.

  "Yes," I answer. "I… tend to calculate my odds before going into a situation. With my Perception as high as it is, that makes it even easier. The only times I've been in danger has been a miscalculation or through no fault of my own. I'm not afraid to push my limits, but I won't let myself be in danger unless it's to save someone else."

  Like Gold with the Nian.

  There's also the standard Dark Knight absorbing Skills, which are pretty useful, and my ability to use Heal.

  I walk over to the table with the food and start sending it into my Inventory, then look around at all of the gathered Dark Knights, before looking at Nik.

  "So there are twenty-eight Dark Knights in Maelnor, now?" I ask. "That's nearly more than double what it was before."

  "Twenty-nine," he states, and I raise an eyebrow.

  "There's one who isn't in here," Nik tells me. "They're keeping an eye on things."

  Dammit, they already told the others not to tell me, didn't they? One of these days, I am going to figure out who he or she is.

  "How come sixteen more came in?" I ask. "They had to have come through our Sigil."

  "Big Flame may or may not have told almost the entire Order about what was going on here," Nik told me. "Which we found out when several more groups showed up. He seems to have exempted this particular City from that notification."

  Yep! Big Flame giggles, and a couple of people look a little shocked.

  "You were right," one of the new ones says. "He does talk a bit more here."

  That was all it took for them to believe?

  "We're holding a war conference as well," Nik tells me once I finish putting the food into my Inventory. "Regarding the message that the Crystal of the System sent to everyone. You really weren't kidding when you said his messages were purple. Nor his voice."

  "You heard his voice?"

  "He told me that I need to call him 'Big S' from now on," Nik nods. "How… how the fuck can his voice sound purple?"

  "I know, right?" I ask. "That makes no sense at all, yet that's how he sounds!"

  One of the Fallen Hunters raises an eyebrow.

  "Now I'm curious to hear him," he says.

  "He's probably already gone back to napping," I state, and he gives me a confused look. "Big S literally supports the entire System. He's constantly sleeping. The other Crystals literally woke him up because of whatever the fuck happened to Nik."

  I turn and look at Nik.

  "I ran into some trouble in town," Nik explains. "And when weapons were drawn, I told them that if they wanted to make an enemy of the Dark Order, then so be it, because we would continue to fight the war against the Shadow of Life, whether they wanted us around or not. Before it could devolve into violence, I received a message from Big Flame telling me to just bind everyone, and that I'd know why I shouldn't kill everyone in a few seconds. A few seconds later, the Cryst-Big S sent that notice out."

  "You should've made it a slaughter," I plop myself down. "Alright. What's the meeting for? 'Cause I'm super tired, and I think Gold is, too, and you shouldn't leave us out just 'cause we're young. We are Dark Knights, too."

  "We weren't planning on it," Nik places a hand on my shoulder, then gestures for everyone else to sit. "We're just going to discuss a few things regarding what's going to happen from now on, then be off to do our things."