Rotavitea furrowed her brow as she spotted Virno in the distance, blindfolded and stumbling occasionally as he made his way toward her.

  Rotavitea (muttering): "What the hell happened to him...?!"

  The closer he got, the stranger he seemed. Words escaped her.

  Virno: "Got quiet all of a sudden?"

  Rotavitea: "You'd've shut your mouth too if you saw what I'm seeing... Are you even *you* any longer?"

  Virno: "If you're worried about my sudden personality swings, rest assured... It's *just me*, again."

  She didn't look convinced. Her eyes flickered over his altered physique, the way his presence felt wrong, off-balance, like a thing that wasn't supposed to exist.

  Rotavitea: "And that's the sword, then...?"

  Now standing just a few feet apart, she took a long, careful look at the weapon.

  A black blade of strange design.

  Glowing runes pulsed along its surface, their rhythm eerily synchronized, as if breathing.

  Virno: "This is it. Ballo got his wish..."

  A beat of silence.

  Rotavitea: "... Guess he did."

  The awkward silence between them didn't get a chance to settle.

  A small, furry shape peeked out from behind Rotavitea's back, snarling.

  Virno: "Ah crap... It's that damn critter again."

  His grip on the sword tightened. He turned sharply toward the sound, angling the blade.

  Virno: "Is it... standing on you? Careful, it won't start chewing your skin off. Don't move, I'll take care of it."

  The runes rearranged themselves, shifting into a new configuration. At the tip of the sword, a sphere of green energy began to form, cloaked in razor-sharp wind.

  Rotavitea: "What do you think you're doing?!"

  She reached back and scooped up the fox, cradling it against her chest. Without hesitation, she turned her back on Virno, shielding the creature from harm.

  Rotavitea: "This little thing wouldn't hurt a fly!"

  Virno: "Wouldn't hurt a fly?! It was trying to eat me alive!"

  Rotavitea: "Maybe because you goddamn deserve it!"

  The runes dimmed. The sphere of wind dissipated.

  Virno scowled, lowering the blade.

  Virno: "Whatever. We should leave this place... Something tells me it won't remain quiet for long."

  Rotavitea: "You don't say...? It was like a goddamn earthquake up above. The earth caved in on itself to reveal... this."

  She gestured vaguely at their surroundings. The ruins of the Cradle stretched out around them, a landscape of devastation.

  Rotavitea: "I-I don't even know what I'm looking at...!"

  Virno: "You're not looking at much any longer... And whatever's left will crumble too. One day. But not today."

  Rotavitea: "The hell's that supposed to mean...?"

  Virno: "... Doesn't matter. Just thinking out loud. Lead the way."

  Virno stretched out his hand, expecting her to guide him.

  But before she could react, the fox lunged forward again, biting down on his fingers.

  Virno: "DAMMIT!"

  Rotavitea: "Wow... It really hates your guts!"

  Before Virno could retaliate, Rotavitea grabbed the fox by the scruff of its neck, pulling it close and stroking its fur to calm it.

  Rotavitea: "You're a grown man, Virno. You don't need any hand-holding!"

  Virno: "... I'm goddamn blind."

  Rotavitea: "'Course you are, you keep wrapping that blindfold around your damn eyes... What're you expecting to see?"

  Virno yanked the blindfold down.

  For the first time, she saw them.

  His eyes.

  Shattered jade. Cold and lifeless.

  Rotavitea: "Holy crap..."

  He let her look for a moment. Then, with a sigh, he covered them up again.

  Virno: "Yeah. But I'll manage. Rather stumble a couple of times than get my fingers chewed off by a rabid little animal."

  The fox barked sharply, as if it understood him perfectly.

  Rotavitea: "Let's get a move on, then..."

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  They climbed their way out of the ruins.

  Above them, the morning sun greeted their arrival, light cutting through the mist of destruction. A calm breeze stirred the tattered remains of the forest. What had once been a lake had caved in on itself entirely.

  Virno inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh air.

  Rotavitea: "Right. This is where we part ways, then. Goodbye!"

  She turned and walked away.

  The fox, cradled in her arms, stared back at Virno. Its gaze lingered.

  Virno: "W-wait! Do you even know where we are?!"

  Rotavitea: "Doesn't matter. I'll bump into some semblance of civilization eventually. So will you, I'm sure...!"

  She moved fast. Too fast for him to catch up.

  Virno tried. He barely made it three steps before his foot caught on uneven ground.

  He fell, face-first, into the dirt.

  Virno: "Dammit, we're in the middle of nowhere! It's not safe to just wander off! We should stick together, at least until we find someone who can give us directions!"

  She didn't slow down.

  Rotavitea: "Goodbye, Virno. With some luck, we won't meet again."

  He clenched his teeth.

  Virno wanted to argue. But he knew his words would only push her further away.

  Still --

  Virno: "Ballo shouldn't have died like that. But I was doing what I thought had to be done."

  Rotavitea froze. Her breath hitched.

  Rotavitea: "Shut the fuck up..."

  She said it between clenched teeth. Virno didn't hear it.

  Virno: "At the time, I was out of options. Novilunium was about to win. I thought I was just a pawn. That the only way to win was to not play the game at all. So I tried killing myself... But I know better now. Now I know there's another way out."

  Rotavitea: "Good for you...!"

  She spoke louder this time.

  Still, it was too quiet for him to understand it.

  Virno: "What?"

  Rotavitea: "GOOD FOR YOU, MOTHERFUCKER! NOW SHUT UP AND DON'T EVER CROSS PATHS WITH ME AGAIN!"

  She stopped walking. Her breath was ragged.

  She turned, fists clenched.

  Rotavitea: "Whatever happened, I don't care. Bottom line is Ballo died so you could live. Nothing's changing that -- it's what happened! If it wasn't for you, he'd still be here..."

  Virno pushed himself up from the ground, his brow furrowing.

  Rotavitea: "You're nothing but bad luck. A walking disaster...!"

  The words hit like a dagger. Something inside Virno snapped.

  Virno: "If it wasn't for me...? What about you?!"

  His voice rose, sharp and unrestrained.

  Virno: "You're the one who drove us all the way here! You think I knew things would unfold this way?! Think I could've guessed Ballo would literally sacrifice himself to bring me back to life?! I never wanted him to die! But don't act like this is all on me!"

  His breath was ragged, fists clenched.

  Virno: "He wouldn't have died if I hadn't killed myself. But I wouldn't have had to kill myself if we hadn't been tracked down by that thing. And do you know how it found us?!"

  His voice cracked.

  Virno: "Because of the damn fuel cell. Ballo had to refuel using his own magic, and that magic left a trail -- a beacon that led it straight to us."

  Rotavitea's expression darkened, her fists trembling at her sides.

  Virno: "If only someone had bothered to bring an extra one, we wouldn't have been followed! I wouldn't have been pushed into a corner! I never would've resorted to -- !"

  Rotavitea: "HOW THE FUCK WOULD YOU KNOW THAT?! MAYBE WE WERE ALREADY BEING FOLLOWED!"

  Her voice exploded, raw and furious.

  Virno: "AND HOW WOULD *YOU* FUCKING KNOW THAT?!"

  Their words collided like thunder.

  Virno: "Look, you want me to take the fall for his death? Fine! But at least admit you're just looking for a goddamn scapegoat! You're grasping for someone to blame because you can't shoulder your part of it!"

  Rotavitea whirled around.

  Her knuckles clenched.

  Virno's state of heightened tension amplified the sensitivity of his power. He felt the currents warp around her fist -- for a split second, he thought she was going to punch him.

  Virno: "Go ahead! Hit me."

  He straightened his stance.

  Virno: "If that'll make you feel better, fucking do it!"

  She reared back her fist --

  And then --

  A blast of grey energy erupted between them.

  Both of them were thrown back, landing hard on the ground.

  Virno's breath hitched. His ears rang.

  Virno: "H-how did --"

  His words cut short.

  The fox stood between them, its mouth slightly open, an ethereal mist escaping its teeth.

  Above them -- reality twisted.

  Like a window peeling open, the air itself warped, unraveling.

  And through the rift --

  They saw.

  Virno's breath caught.

  Punjo, Rel, and Tyssa.

  Battered. Bloodied. Huddled around a strange vial of liquid inside the orphanage.

  Virno: "N-no way...!"

  At the same time, Rotavitea's eyes widened in horror.

  She didn't see them.

  She saw --

  Clavia's workshop.

  Closed.

  Despite the daylight, despite the fact that it should've been open.

  The vision shifted. Inside the workshop, a figure lay motionless on the floor.

  Clavia.

  Rotavitea: "C-Clavia?!"

  Then -- darkness.

  The vision snapped shut.

  The fox collapsed.

  Virno (thinking): "Could that've been... Faya's antidote?!"

  His breathing was uneven, his mind racing.

  Virno (thinking): "This doesn't make sense. This magic -- I've seen this before. It's just like when Ballo showed us Sadducee's final moments through his eyes..."

  Rotavitea was already standing, her fists clenched.

  Rotavitea: "... Let's leave this pointless blame game for later. You noticed it too, right?"

  Virno lifted his head.

  Her gaze was locked onto the unconscious fox.

  Rotavitea: "That magic... it's too similar to Ballo's. I've seen enough of his tricks to recognize it."

  They both stepped toward the fox, cautiously.

  Rotavitea: "Where did you find this thing, exactly?"

  Virno shook his head.

  Virno: "It found me. After the Cradle collapsed, it was chewing on my wrist."

  She crouched, carefully lifting the small creature in her arms.

  Virno: "Wait... Did you see the same thing I did?"

  Rotavitea: "I saw... someone collapsed."

  Virno's brow furrowed.

  Virno: "I saw my friends."

  A pause.

  Then --

  Lunalus: "Well, I saw nothing."

  Virno's instincts screamed.

  He whipped the sword around in an instant -- unleashing a shockwave of wind.

  A grey mist dissipated in the air, as if ashes were scattered mere moments before Virno's reaction.

  Lunalus: Seems I arrived a bit too late for that show... But just in time to see the sword's new wielder. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in the flesh.

  And as the dust settled --

  A figure stood before them.

  Pitch-black armor. A presence heavy as death.

  Virno's blood ran cold.

  He knew this man.

  Sadducee's killer.

  Virno: "Lunalus..."

  Lunalus nodded, unfazed.

  Lunalus: "... Virno. I've been looking for you for quite some time now."

  Lunalus flicks something Virno's way.

  Something small and metallic.

  Virno reacted instantly, his wind magic surging forward to deflect it --

  But the object remained unfazed, its trajectory unaltered.

  It landed at his feet.

  Lunalus: "I believe that *coin* belongs to you, right? Strange, how it always seems to land tails up..."

  Virno's breath hitched.

  Lunalus: "... I believe you left it behind when you killed Lacerbus."

  Virno's grip on his sword tightened.

  How did he know that?

  Lunalus chuckled.

  Lunalus: "Please. There's no need for that. I didn't come here to fight... though, I have no shortage of reasons to want your destruction."

  His voice turned low, measured.

  Lunalus: "Not only did you murder one of our most promising lieutenants..."

  A pause.

  Lunalus: "You also killed my son."

  Virno's chest seized.

  Lunalus: "My creation. My child... And now, all that's left of him are the ashes scattered across this very field."

  Virno's mind raced.

  Barr. Novilunium.

  It clicked.

  Lunalus had been the one to twist Barr into that monstrous form.

  Lunalus: "I felt his final moments as if they were my own."

  His voice was quiet.

  Lunalus: "And I listened as the earth cried out. Because something had shifted. Something... you shifted."

  Virno stepped forward, pushing Rotavitea away from the scene.

  Lunalus: "Again... I am not here to harm you."

  Virno: "Then what are you here for...?!"

  Lunalus smiled.

  Lunalus: "I come with a proposal."