Virno: "Take good care of it, Rel. When I'm ready to wield it, I'll come back..."

  He stumbled through the streets, his shoulder scraping against the walls of old buildings for support.

  Virno: "... It's no better than a paperweight at this point."

  His gaze lowered to his hands.

  There, glowing faintly against his skin, an arrangement of sigils pulsed—the same symbols that had once etched themselves onto the sword's blade.

  Virno: "Whatever power it held... It belongs to me now."

  His fingers twitched.

  A test.

  He raised a palm toward the ground.

  A soft breeze stirred at his fingertips.

  It coiled outward, sweeping through the labyrinthine alleys of the slums.

  It whispered against stone.

  It slithered between iron railings.

  It wrapped around wooden beams, curling into every crack and corner.

  Virno saw.

  A silent map unfolded in his mind.

  Every bend, every structure -- almost as clear as if he had eyes once more.

  His lips curled.

  Virno: "This body... It's not like it used to be. It can withstand the strain. I know it. I feel it."

  His boots planted firmly.

  He was done staggering.

  With renewed purpose, Virno strode forward, slipping through the quiet city like a shadow.

  Virno: "Which means I can learn to control it. By myself."

  A flicker of memory -- Lunalus standing above him.

  The searing weight of tar digging into his flesh.

  His body collapsing from exhaustion.

  His fists clenched.

  Virno: "If I kept relying on the blade, I'd most likely end up dead..."

  His mind drifted to how the sword felt in his grip.

  It had been flawless -- the perfect extension of his will.

  But it had no restraints.

  It had made it too easy to pour everything he had into it -- too easy to burn himself out.

  Virno: "So please, keep it safe for me."

  The memory of Rel's grip on the wrapped blade flashed through his mind.

  He exhaled.

  Virno: "Because the next time I square off against Lunalus..."

  A slow breath.

  His hand curled into a fist.

  Virno: "I don't want to rely on anybody -- or any sacrifice -- to win."

  The wind picked up around him.

  Leaving the city that had become his home behind, Virno sets out in search of something, or in search of someone...

  In the meantime, Lunalus had returned to Nox's headquarters.

  The stone walls of the cathedral trembled.

  Lunalus stood motionless before the throne.

  Above him, seated like a king on a broken world, Dominus watched with eerie amusement.

  His posture was different today.

  Less apathetic.

  His arms rested on his knees, his chin propped on interlocked fingers.

  The corners of his mouth twitched upward.

  An anticipation.

  Dominus: "Well, Spymaster... I'm all ears."

  His voice was a hum, thick with amusement.

  Lunalus did not immediately respond.

  His silence lingered too long.

  Dominus' fingers tapped once against his jaw.

  Still waiting.

  Finally --

  Lunalus: "... Novilunium was a failure."

  A pause.

  Then --

  Laughter.

  Not a chuckle.

  Not a smirk.

  A full-bodied, thundering laugh.

  It rolled through the cathedral, shaking the rafters, rattling the stone.

  Dust and rubble cascaded from above, breaking against the floor like shattered bones.

  Still -- Dominus laughed.

  Then, slowly, he leaned back into his throne.

  The amusement didn't leave his face.

  Dominus: "Well, clearly...!"

  He gestured vaguely, as if mocking the obvious.

  Dominus: "The boy remains at large, after all."

  The smile faltered slightly.

  His fingers tightened.

  Dominus: "The question is..."

  His eyes, sharp as glass, bored into Lunalus.

  Dominus: "Will he be a threat?"

  Lunalus did not immediately answer.

  That was his mistake.

  A slow inhale.

  Then, carefully --

  Lunalus: "He has already attempted to tap into power beyond his ken... Much like the Owl, his eyes paid the price."

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  The words hung in the air.

  Dominus' gaze didn't waver.

  Lunalus continued, his voice measured.

  Lunalus: "And after meeting with him... it became clear he will oppose us when the time comes to see our mission through."

  The words settled.

  The silence that followed was too still.

  Then --

  Dominus' expression darkened.

  His back pressed against the throne, his body sinking into the seat like a weight had finally been placed on him.

  The smile was gone.

  Dominus: "I take it you've killed him, then?"

  A beat.

  A flicker of hesitation.

  Dominus' fingers drummed against the armrest.

  He was picking up on Lunalus' silence.

  And he was growing weary of it.

  Dominus' fingers dug deeper into the armrests of his throne, stone groaning under the pressure.

  Finally, Lunalus spoke.

  Lunalus: "I could not. The Lion himself appeared."

  Dominus: "The Lion...?!"

  His eyes flared, and the throne shuddered as his grip tightened.

  The armrests crumbled.

  Dust and shattered stone rained to the floor.

  Dominus rose to his feet, his presence swelling like a storm about to break.

  Dominus: "You mean to tell me that not only is the wielder both willing and capable of sacrificing his own life to achieve victory above all else..."

  His words rumbled through the chamber.

  Dominus: "He is also under the protection of Eclipse -- who have been sabotaging and maiming our efforts for decades?!"

  Lunalus: "It would seem so, Dominus."

  Stone splintered beneath Dominus' feet as his fury bled into the very walls of the cathedral.

  He took a step forward, and the ground shook.

  Dominus: "Spymaster Lunalus..."

  His voice lowered, but the weight of it pressed against Lunalus' spine like a vice.

  Dominus: "I have placed great -- *great* -- faith in your abilities."

  His armored hand curled into a fist.

  Dominus: "I granted you power unlike any other in Nox."

  He took another step, voice edged with razor-thin patience.

  Dominus: "I even allowed you free reign for your questionable 'experiments.'"

  Lunalus held his breath.

  Dominus: "All I ask in return are results."

  He exhaled, slow.

  Dominus: "Yet as of late, you have delivered nothing but --"

  His head tilted slightly.

  A smile -- cruel, humorless.

  Dominus: "Failure. After failure. After failure."

  Lunalus remained silent.

  His spine was rigid, his hands clasped behind his back.

  Waiting.

  Dominus: "SPEAK, Lunalus!"

  The walls trembled with the force of his command.

  Dominus: "You are the eyes of Nox! You are supposed to give us the all-knowing edge we require to win this war!"

  His voice dropped into a venomous whisper.

  Dominus: "And this... This is all you can muster?"

  Lunalus' teeth gritted.

  Something inside him snapped.

  Lunalus: "This... is a travesty. Utter nonsense!"

  A terrible silence fell over the cathedral.

  His expression darkened.

  Dominus: "... What?"

  It was not a question.

  It was a warning.

  Dominus: "What did you just say?"

  Lunalus' jaw tightened.

  His gaze met Dominus' directly.

  A deadly, razor-thin moment.

  Lunalus: "I said that THIS is NONSENSE."

  The words hung in the air like a sword waiting to fall.

  Dominus did not move.

  Did not speak.

  He simply watched.

  Waiting.

  As if the next words Lunalus spoke would decide whether he lived or died.

  Lunalus inhaled, steadying himself.

  His voice did not shake.

  Lunalus: "I am powerful, but I am still one. My network spreads far and wide across the kingdoms, but I cannot peer through all eyes at once. I have limits."

  His fingers tightened behind his back.

  Lunalus: "And yet, I have gone above and beyond to expand my reach. I have forged alliances with slumlords. I have engineered agents to give us an edge. I have slaughtered Eclipse members with my own hands."

  His breath quickened.

  Lunalus: "I have done everything I could for the cause --"

  A sharp pause.

  His next words came slower, calculated.

  Lunalus: "But no effort was great enough to overcome the core limitation of my abilities. If an all-knowing edge is what we desire..."

  His breath hitched slightly.

  Lunalus: "Then all-knowing power will be necessary."

  Dominus listened.

  Strangely, his gaze did not burn with wrath.

  He was listening.

  Lunalus pressed on.

  Lunalus: "The wielder of the Sword of Greed is one pawn. But there will be others. Greed is but one of the Seven Deadly Sins."

  Dominus' expression shifted.

  Intrigued.

  Lunalus: "The sword's release was only the beginning. The other artifacts, too, will awaken. And this time..."

  He exhaled.

  Lunalus: "We will be the first to reach them."

  A grin carved itself onto Dominus' face.

  Dominus: "Your words are sweet, Lunalus... But they are just that. Words."

  His smile widened.

  Dominus: "And your limitations? They are your own shortcomings. Your power is only as vast as your essence allows it to be."

  His voice lowered.

  Dominus: "So tell me -- how will you overcome your own, limited nature?"

  Lunalus did not hesitate.

  Lunalus: "... By subjecting myself to the very experiments I have spent years perfecting."

  Dominus' smile curled into disgust.

  Dominus: "And then what? Will you become another mindless puppet, like the one you sent before me?!"

  Lunalus shook his head.

  His tone remained calm, assured.

  But deep within, a desperate certainty burned.

  Lunalus: "Despite his untimely demise, Novilunium was a promising result... I must shoulder the blame for his imperfections."

  His hands tightened behind his back.

  Lunalus: "I was too hasty. I needed him completed sooner rather than later. As a result, he did not have enough time to mature."

  His voice lowered.

  Lunalus: "Novilunium took less than two weeks to be created."

  A slow pause.

  Then, he lifted his chin.

  Lunalus: "And yet, his strength rivaled that of your average member of Eclipse."

  Dominus' expression remained impassive.

  Lunalus: "But I do not plan for my procedure to take weeks."

  A breath.

  A dangerous admission.

  Lunalus: "It will not even take months."

  He inhaled sharply.

  Then --

  Lunalus: "To reach the required level of excellence, it will take years."

  Dominus: "Years?!"

  His armored boot crashed against the stone.

  The cathedral shook.

  A crack spidered across the floor.

  Dominus: "Are you DELUSIONAL?!"

  Lunalus: "No, Dominus."

  He took a breath.

  Steady.

  Unflinching.

  Lunalus: "I have thought this through in great detail."

  Unsure if Dominus would indulge him further, Lunalus continued without letting him get a word in edgewise.

  Lunalus: "Out of the three warring factions, Nox holds the most power. We have agents in every city, ears in every palace. We started this conflict with an undeniable edge."

  His hands relaxed.

  Lunalus: "Eclipse and Lux will soon make their moves. We can afford to lose settlements. It may even work in our favor -- let them think we are slow, dormant, weak."

  A smirk touched his lips.

  Lunalus: "While they waste time claiming ground, we will grow beneath the surface."

  He lifted his gaze.

  Lunalus: "We will be actively reaching for the next weapons. I will be developing my abilities further. And furthermore -- we have yet another ace up our sleeve..."

  Dominus narrowed his eyes.

  Intrigued.

  Lunalus: "... One that has just recently been uncovered by my network."

  A beat.

  A calculated pause.

  Dominus: "... Go on, then."

  Dominus squints upon hearing word of this mysterious ace.

  Dominus: "What would that ace be...?"

  Lunalus: "A vessel for Tentoria, Nox's imprisoned goddess."

  The cathedral seemed to darken.

  A presence.

  Or perhaps just the weight of the name itself.

  Lunalus: "In the coming years, she is bound to re-emerge."

  A step forward.

  Lunalus: "When Mortmundus falls, Tentoria's soul will at last be free from that realm..."

  He exhaled.

  Lunalus: "... And we have found the most suitable vessel for her reincarnation."

  A pause.

  Then, quieter --

  Lunalus: "Under her guidance... Nox's power will be unmatched."

  Dominus remained still.

  The flickering torches cast jagged shadows across his face.

  But his expression did not shift.

  Not in anticipation.

  Not in triumph.

  Something colder.

  Something unreadable.

  Then -- a slow inhale.

  Dominus: "I see."

  Not celebratory.

  Not even pleased.

  Just an acknowledgment.

  Lunalus noticed.

  And he knew.

  Dominus, for all his loyalty to Nox, was not eager for Tentoria's return.

  Dominus: "But still, that does not detract from the fact that we will be left without a Spymaster for the duration of your... 'Procedure.'"

  A pause.

  Then, calmly --

  Dominus: "Correct?"

  Lunalus swallowed.

  This was the moment.

  The moment he had prepared for.

  His fingers twitched.

  A flicker of hesitation.

  But only for a breath.

  Then --

  Lunalus: "N-not... N-necessarily...!"

  Dominus' gaze sharpened.

  A single beat of silence.

  Then, without hesitation --

  Lunalus reached into his own eye sockets.

  Dominus: "Lunalus. What are you --"

  SQUELCH.

  A ragged scream.

  Dark fluid splattered onto the stone.

  Two glowing black orbs pulsed in his trembling hands.

  Still alive.

  Still seeing.

  A sacrifice.

  A severance.

  Lunalus staggered.

  Pain roared through his body.

  But he did not fall.

  He straightened.

  His breath was unsteady, but his hands did not shake.

  He lifted them, presenting the offering.

  Lunalus: "I... I won't need these for the next few years."

  A rasp.

  Lunalus: "A temporary Spymaster can take my place...!"

  His voice quivered.

  But he did not break.

  Lunalus: "Someone else can become Nox's eyes... until I return."

  Dominus said nothing.

  For a long moment, he simply watched.

  Then --

  With the slow inevitability of a god passing judgment,

  He reached forward.

  And took the eyes from Lunalus' palms.

  Lunalus swayed.

  But he did not fall.

  His breath was shallow, uneven.

  But his head remained high.

  Dominus leaned back into his throne.

  The blackened orbs rested in his hands.

  His lips curled.

  Dominus: "The lengths to which you would go for Nox..."

  A pause.

  Then --

  Dominus: "Commendable."

  Lunalus exhaled.

  The pain was still there.

  The wound still fresh...

  Dominus: "A reminder of the reason you were appointed such a high role to begin with... Very well."

  ... But so was the acceptance.

  Dominus: "We will begin the necessary arrangements for your leave of absence."

  Lunalus bowed.

  Dark blood dripped onto the cathedral floor.

  Dominus: "May you blend with the eternal black, Lunalus."

  Slowly, he rose.

  His face lifted toward the shadows above.

  A slow, rattling breath.

  Then --

  Lunalus: "Blend with the eternal black, Dominus."