It was the perfect day and Elizabeth was running. She sped through the streets of Liones, skirts clutched in her hands, passing citizens as she headed for the place that felt more like home than the castle. Soon enough, she was running on springy grass rather than cobbled streets. And it rose up in front of her, crooked roof first. The Boar Hat. Elizabeth smiled.

'Sir Meliodas,' she called. '[Y/n].'

A song started to play. It wasn't coming from anywhere in particular. Rather it seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. The melody was simple yet soft and lilting like a lullaby. It felt so familiar to Elizabeth and even though she couldn't hear any, she knew the song had words. The song kept repeating, the words dancing on the edge of Elizabeth's memory. She was sure if she could just hear the words, everything would make sense.

But the sky turned black. The air turned heavy.

Elizabeth gasped. She clasped her hands to her chest. 'What just happened?'

A ferocious shout came from behind her. It sounded like Sir Meliodas. Elizabeth turned. It was Sir Meliodas. He was fighting a group of shadows, each one darker than the sky. As Elizabeth watched, Sir Meliodas fought on, becoming more battered and bruised. His eyes turned flat black and that same crest appeared on his forehead.

A loud clanking reached Elizabeth's ears and she tore her eyes away from the fight. [Y/n] was a few feet away with heavy looking chains wrapped around her wrists, the ends buried in the ground. She must have been restrained for a long time, the skin under the chains was red and raw, and her face was streaked with dirt and tears. [Y/n] struggled fruitlessly against the chains.

Elizabeth wanted to help. She had too. But who to help first? It didn't matter. She took a step forward, but something pulled her back. She turned to see what it was. Some kind of purplish-black root had gotten hold of her arm. It gripped her relentlessly, seeming to get tighter as she pulled.

A feeling of dread and fear gripped Elizabeth's heart. [Y/n]'s struggles reached a new crescendo. The monstrous shadows loomed over Sir Meliodas. He panted heavily. One of the shadows walked closer. Elizabeth screwed up her courage.

'I won't let you hurt anyone else,' she shouted.

And suddenly the dark was gone. Everything was gone. Elizabeth was back in Liones during the fight with Hendrickson. It was like she was watching it happen to someone else. She watched as Sir Meliodas and [Y/n] defeated Hendrickson. She watched Hendrickson's body twist and tear apart. She watched herself dive into their arms.

And then in changed again. This time it wasn't something that Elizabeth remembered. It was more like the dream of a dream.

'So, you wanna come?' said [Y/n] and Elizabeth watched herself take the other girl's hand. Sir Meliodas, [Y/n] and Elizabeth called out farewells before disappearing into the distance on Hawk's mum. The last thing Elizabeth saw was the familiar shape of the Boar Hat on Hawk's mum walking to the horizon before everything was bathed in white.

Elizabeth woke with a gasp. She looked around her bedroom. The familiar sight calmed her racing heart even as the unfamiliar song started playing in her head again.

'Was I dreaming?'

The stone floor was cold against her bare feet, but Elizabeth didn't really notice. She walked over to her window and opened it, looking over the streets below. It was so much like her dream.

'I dreamt I was on a journey with [Y/n] and the others,' she told no one in particular. In her mind, Elizabeth saw her dream again. She saw Sir Meliodas fighting the shadows and [Y/n] wrapped in dark chains. The song didn't stop. Elizabeth frowned. 'But wait ... what on earth was that?'

After getting dressed in the same yellow dress from her dream, Elizabeth went to greet her father. He was sitting on his throne as usual.

'Good morning, father,' said Elizabeth as she curtseyed. 'How are you?'

'Is something wrong, Elizabeth? You look a bit pale this morning,' he said.

Elizabeth straightened and saw the way her father's brows furrowed. 'No. I just had a strange dream. Guess it made my sleep a little restless.'

'A dream?'

It didn't take long for Elizabeth to tell her father exactly what had happened. The images kept swirling in her mind as clearly as they had first appeared.

'So, it was you setting off on a journey with the Seven Deadly Sins,' her father clarified when she had finished. His eyebrows were still knotted together so Elizabeth smiled.

'It was just a dream,' she said. 'Nothing more. The capital is peaceful once again, after all. Anyway, what was it you wanted to see me about?'

Her father jerked like she had pulled him from a deep thought. 'Ah yes. There are two things to discuss, and the second one will not be so easy. But, to start with, the kingdom is well on the road to recovery. People are adjusting back to their normal tranquil lives.'

'Indeed.'

'It goes without saying, if the Seven Deadly Sins hadn't been there to intervene, thwarting the Demon race's return, this newfound peace would have never come to pass.'

Elizabeth smiled.

'With that in mind ...'

—

'Medals?' Your voice was still kind of muddled with sleep as you looked at the bundle of clothes Meliodas had just lobbed at you.

'Yeah,' he said and began to take off his clothes. 'Elizabeth got us these new outfits for the ceremony.'

You ran your hands over the soft fabric and smiled.

'So, what do you think?' Meliodas began to pose, each one more ridiculous than the last.

'Looking good,' you said with a laugh, pulling on your own set of clothes. They were nicer than your last set (and much better than wearing the "uniform" again). Elizabeth had picked out something that you not only liked but was comfortable and functionable as well.

Meliodas waited until your last button was fastened before bounding out the room and down the stairs. You followed at a more leisurely pace, still running your fingers over the soft lining on the coat you now wore.

'Thanks for waiting, guys,' you heard Meliodas say as he – for some reason – hopped over the bar to stand in front of Elizabeth and Hawk. 'Ta da! All right, what do you think? This would make an awesome new uniform for the Boar Hat too.'

'Yes, it would,' said Elizabeth. 'It looks wonderful.'

'Ah so you get a new uniform, but Elizabeth doesn't?' you said walking up behind Meliodas and adjusting the cuff of your coat.

'Where'd you get those sweet threads?' asked Hawk before anyone could answer your question.

'They were gifts from Elizabeth,' you told the now slightly-less-than-normal-sized pig.

Elizabeth smiled. 'Well I wanted you to look nice for the ceremony.'

'And you picked out something that makes [Y/n] look even sexier,' said Meliodas giving Elizabeth a thumbs up.

Hawk jabbed his snout at Meliodas. 'Hey.'

'I, too, am all set to go,' came familiar voice from the door. You turned to look at Gowther and immediately blinked. He also had a new outfit on and it was ... a bold statement. But he seemed to like it. 'Sparkle.'

Meliodas and Hawk didn't seem to like it. 'Who the hell picked out that get-up for you?' they said in equally dry voices.

'What's that?' said Gowther. 'Oh, that would be my sweet one of course. My beloved.' His facial expression didn't change even as he clenched his fists in an imitation of excitement.

'Your beloved? What are you talking about?' said Hawk.

Meliodas folded his arms. 'Guess all that reading he's been doing must have blurred the line between dreams and reality.'

'Well I think you look lovely, Gowther,' you said with a smile.

Elizabeth laughed a little, but her face immediately fell after. You caught Meliodas's eye but quickly looked away before anyone could notice.

Bartra must've kept his end of the deal, you said.

Meliodas sighed. Which means now we have to keep ours.

It was quiet for a moment as you watched Elizabeth talk to Hawk and Gowther.

After the ceremony?

After the ceremony.

'Hey, hey,' came King's voice from behind you. 'Looks like everyone's having fun.'

'You're dressed like always, huh, King?' said Hawk. 'Hm? What's going on with your hood, dude? Is that a helmet?'

Attached to King's hood was indeed a helmet. It was the helmet that belonged to the person who had stabbed you in the back. You weren't one to hold a grudge, but that still stung.

King looked back at his new accessory. 'Oh this? It's a special gift from my best friend.' He floated down beside Meliodas. 'Have you seen Diane?'

As if she had heard his question, Diane's voice came bursting through the window. 'You guys, come take a look. Outside.'

Everyone exited the tavern and walked over to Diane. As you got closer, you breathed out in awe, hearing Meliodas, Elizabeth and Hawk do the same. King's noise was more than just awe.

Diane was wearing a new dress. It was orange and had a cute ruffled skirt. The arm that had been missing a brace since the Forest of White Dreams now had a fingerless glove in the same shade of grey-blue.

'You have a new outfit too, Diane,' said Elizabeth in excitement.

'You like it?' Diane winked and bent to look at you all. 'This is just a little something Merlin put together for me. Well? Do you?'

Merlin appeared out of thin air just behind Elizabeth in her same skimpy outfit of purple.

Diane crouched down, smile still plastered on her face. 'I had a really hard time picking between the two you gave me, but I ended up choosing this one.'

Merlin blinked. 'That's odd since I only remember giving you one. I wonder ...'

The door to the tavern creaked open and Ban's drawling voice preceded him outside. 'So what's with all the commotion out here?'

'Ban's wearing his new costume,' Diane announced as you all turned the look at the Fox Sin. 'Wait, no he's not. Ban, where is it? What happened to your new outfit?' Diane demanded so loudly that a wind started up, whipping your hair back from your face.

'Outfit? What?' Ban rubbed the back of his head, staring up at Diane's pout. 'Wait, you mean that thing hanging in my room?'

Diane got even closer to him. 'King and I spent a lot of time picking out those clothes just for you, you jerk. Come on.'

'All right, all right,' said Ban, raising his hands in surrender. 'I'll put 'em on later ... As long as they're cool, 'cause they're staying right where they are if they're ugly.'

'What did you say?' said King, his glare turning poisonous as he flew over to Ban.

'Easy now.'

Before it could escalate any further, Meliodas walked up to the three of them with the rest of you following behind.

'All right listen up everybody,' said Meliodas. 'The ceremony's tomorrow. In the meantime, why don't we celebrate?'

And celebrate you did. In fact, you celebrated so much the day seemed to end faster than normal, the night sky unfolding like a patchwork quilt of stars. Knowing the day had come to a close didn't stop the celebrating. It didn't even slow it down a little.

'Cheers!' Diane, King and Meliodas toasted once again, tapping their full steins together.

Hawk was gorging himself once again. Merlin and Gowther sat talking at a table. King bobbed through the air like some sort of large drunken butterfly. Ban served a freshly baked pie to Elizabeth and Diane at the bar. You had once again sat on the counter itself with Meliodas leaning against your legs. Your own stein was almost empty and your cheeks were warm and you were currently weighing the pros and cons of getting up to get yourself a refill. Instead, you decided to worm your way across the counter to steal a slice of Elizabeth and Diane's pie.

As you chomped on the flaky pastry, you were vaguely aware of Ban walking up to Meliodas and speaking to him with a smile you didn't trust at all. It was a little too overzealous. But Meliodas didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, putting his drink down on the bar and following Ban outside. You frowned at the closed door and drank Meliodas's ale.

'As of tonight, I quit.'

You choked on the ale. Elizabeth and Diane looked over to you as you coughed, but you waved them off more worried about the conversation happening outside than your own predicament.

'If you quit, who's going to do the cooking?' said Meliodas.

'[Y/n], duh,' said Ban. You gripped the stein tighter. 'I'm serious, Captain. Today was my last day in the Seven Deadly Sins.'

Meliodas was quiet for a moment as you both tried to understand what Ban had just said. At last he spoke up quietly, 'You know [Y/n]'ll never forgive you if you leave without saying goodbye.'

Ban laughed slightly. 'Come on, Captain. We both know she's listening in right now.'

'No I'm not,' you said automatically. Everyone in the bar stared at you. Whoops. Maybe you had had too much to drink.

It was the perfect day for a ceremony. The air was crisp and clear. Most, if not all, of the citizens of Liones had gathered in front of the castle. The building supplies had all been stacked neatly to the sides and a deep red carpet had been rolled out. On this carpet stood Bartra and Elizabeth, the latter holding a fancy cushion. You and the rest of the Sins plus Hawk stood opposite them. Everything was very grand. Well, everything except Hawk who was once again stuffing his face.

'Hawk, try to show a little decorum in front of his majesty, would you?' said Merlin.

'Whatever.' Hawk didn't even stop eating to speak. 'This is who I am, okay?'

'It looks like he's back to his original size again,' said Meliodas.

'So have Ban and King chosen not to attend?' asked Gowther. You leant forwards to peer at him around Merlin. He didn't seem especially worried.

Diane, on the other hand, did. 'Where could they be at a time like this?'

You started to smile at Diane, ready to put her mind at ease, but stopped when you heard some voices from the crowd muttering some quite unsavoury things. You knew Meliodas heard them too. His anger started to bubble even though his expression didn't change.

'The Seven Deadly Sins,' said Bartra, his deep voice putting a stop to the whispers in the crowd, 'along with their friend ... Scraps Disposal?'

'Captain of Scraps Disposal,' Elizabeth whispered.

Bartra cleared his throat. 'Captain of Scraps. We gather to honour and commend you for your heroic efforts to protect this kingdom. When your name is called, step forward and allow me to present –'

'I object,' said Meliodas, his clear voice cutting through the courtyard as easily as his sword would. 'The Seven Deadly Sins shouldn't get one medal.'

Elizabeth and Bartra seemed quite shocked at this outburst. You were trying to hide your grin.

'I mean, that's what some people here are itching to shout,' Meliodas continued, looking over his shoulder at the crowd. 'If you have something to say, say it to my face. I'll hear you out.'

No one said anything. The crowd shifted uncomfortably. It was all quiet until the sound of footsteps started, some clanking like armour. They got closer. The crowd parted to let them through, helpfully announcing who the three men approaching you were.

'Aren't those the Pleiades of the Azure Sky?'

As they got closer, you surveyed the three men. The one on your left was short, his fringe almost obscuring his eyes. The one in the middle was tall and graceful looking with long beautiful hair. The one on your right was also tall. He wasn't wearing a shirt for some reason and had an unpleasant smirk on his face.

The three stopped just opposite your six and a slight stare-down began.

'Huh,' said Meliodas with a smile. 'I could've sworn there were a few more grumblers here. That's weird. I guess for now we only have three straight shooters. So, what's the problem?'

The man in the middle (someone in the crowd said his name was Deathpierce) answered with a pleasant smile of his own. 'We would like nothing more than to see the power of the legendary knights known for saving the kingdom from evil firsthand. Well, Sir Meliodas?' His smile became significantly less pleasant. 'Would the Seven Deadly Sins' Captain honour that request?'

A loud clatter of armour. A normal knight appeared. No one looked at him. 'Sir Deathpierce, we are in his majesty's presence.'

'Due to the unfortunate fact the two Grand Masters – no, those two traitors – assigned us to a remote post, we didn't get to witness you in action,' said Deathpierce, ignoring the knight. 'So we can't accept this unless we can see your power for ourselves.'

'Fine,' said Bartra. 'Do as you wish.'

Deathpierce bowed his head. 'We are most grateful, my king.'

The man with no shirt – the one the crowd had called Dogedo – stepped forward and cracked his knuckles. 'I'd like to go first, then.'

'Hold on a second,' an unlikely voice interrupted. You looked at Hawk. 'Magic: two hundred and ninety. Strength: four hundred and seventy. Spirit: one hundred. For a Power Level of eight sixty.'

Dogedo stumped over and bent to look closer at Hawk. 'This pig ... what is it?'

'Sorry about his mouth,' said Meliodas.

'Not bad, not bad,' said Hawk with a smug grin. 'But unfortunately, you're no match for me. I think Meliodas should fight you in my place. Okay, buddy?'

'Actually, I was planning to from the beginning. What's gotten into you?'

'That new earring the Captain of Scraps Disposal is wearing is the Magical Eye, right?' Gowther's voice came from behind you.

You looked closer at Hawk and, sure enough, dangling from his ear was a familiar shape. It was three-pronged, almost like your pupils, and glinted gold in the sun. You laughed to yourself. No wonder Hawk was being cockier than usual.

Dogedo got into a fighting stance and said, 'All right. Let's do this, Mister Hero.'

'Any time you're ready, then,' said Meliodas.

You took a couple steps back and turned to Elizabeth. She was watching the confrontation worriedly, her eyebrows pulled up at the centre. You smiled slightly and folded your arms.

'There's no need to worry, Elizabeth,' you said. She turned to you with a gasp and you beamed at her. 'After all, there's no way that prat is stronger than Hendrickson, right?'

As if to prove your point, the fight began. Dogedo threw a flurry of punches and Meliodas dodged each one without even taking his hands from his pockets. Meliodas kept dodging until he slammed a kick into Dogedo. Dogedo flew back with a grunt but he didn't stay down.

'Is that the best you can do?' he goaded as he got to his feet. 'That was little more than a bug bite. That's all it took to defeat them? I guess Hendrickson and Dreyfus weren't anything special at all. They were nothing but props, two piss poor substitutes for the Grand Master. What a sham.'

As Dogedo kept talking, Meliodas's anger kept simmering. Even your own was rising and you clenched your fists.

'If not for his untimely death, those hacks would have never been given that title. And if I had known all that, I would've finished those weak posers off by myself.'

With those words, Dogedo finally managed to break through Meliodas's façade. 'Not that I'm trying to stand up for those two, but they would have killed a guy like you in no time.'

'What?'

'I don't know what made them carry out an idiotic plot like that, but the men I knew were Holy Knights. Not only did they have the heart to try and do the right thing, they also had the strength to back up that ambition and see it through.' Meliodas's voice, which had been harsh all through that speech became less so. 'I mean, you might have the strength, but you're lacking right here where it counts.' He tapped his chest right over where a human's heart would be. 'Which makes you a failure if you ask me.'

Dogedo whipped his hand through the air. His fist shook. 'Don't give me that. A Holy Knight needs one thing: devastating power to pulverise his enemies.'

And with that dumb battle cry, Dogedo leapt at Meliodas, fists flying once again. Meliodas met each blow with his left hand, the right still in his pocket. It was pretty cool to watch. When Dogedo finally stopped his "attack", every one of his fingers was broken and unnaturally crooked. This seemed to shock him.

'You know,' said Meliodas cheekily, 'I think you need to start over as an Apprentice Holy Knight.'

You pursed your lips and nodded your head. Salt in the wound and a solid piece of advice.

Apparently Dogedo disagreed. The enraged Holy Knight charged headfirst at Meliodas but Meliodas simply raised his hand. Dogedo's forehead smacked against Meliodas's palm and Dogedo was thrown back like the bastard offspring of a drunk acrobat and an equally drunk ballerina. Before he could hit the ground, though, Dogedo's limp body was caught by Deathpierce.

'Woah, there's no way,' Hawk muttered. His pig body was covered in sweat. 'Meliodas is that strong? Amazing. Hold on ... Magic: four hundred. Strength: nine hundred and sixty. Spirit: two thousand and ten. Power Level: three thousand three hundred and seventy!'

Meliodas got back into a fighting stance. 'One down, two to go. So who wants to fight me next?'

In a twist of events, Deathpierce hoisted Unconscious-Dogedo onto his shoulder and smiled. 'Pardon us,' he said. 'I would like to apologise on behalf of Dogedo. Please forgive his barbaric actions. While we were away, his best friend lost his life in that battle and he hasn't taken the news very well.'

Meliodas relaxed.

'Also,' Deathpierce continued, 'we're satisfied now. That exhibition more than convinced us of your prowess, Sir Meliodas.'

'Really? You mean, that was all it took to change your mind?'

'Yes. We're not even able to determine the limit of your power. I admit that you might very well have been capable of defeating Hendrickson who fell to the demons.' Deathpierce looked directly at you and smiled. 'With a little help.' With that, he turned and walked away, the short knight at his side and Unconscious-Dogedo's limp arms swinging. 'And now we will be taking our leave from this ceremony. I bid you a good day.'

Hawk read off their Power Levels and snorted a laugh. 'They're running off. Guess the super high Power Levels of me and Meliodas must've scared them away.'

'That's not necessarily true,' said Gowther, walking over to Hawk. 'The stats of Power Levels can fluctuate due to various circumstances, compatibilities and conditions. Take [Y/n] for example.'

Hawk turned to you and you waved awkwardly. He read off your numbers and gasped. 'Huh? They're exactly the same as Meliodas's.'

'Indeed,' said Gowther. 'But her strongest power lies not in those numbers, but rather in her ability to control the captain's emotions and stop him from rampaging.'

You rubbed the back of your head. 'I wouldn't say I control him. And it doesn't always work.'

'What do you mean?' said Hawk.

'What if I went on a rampage too?' You grinned slightly.

Hawk snorted. 'Yeah right. When was the last time you rampaged? And what happened when you did? You smashed a plate? How scary.'

You put a finger to your chin. 'It was a couple of days ago and we may have destroyed a historical artefact.'

Hawk blinked.

'But wait,' said Hawk. 'This means you two know about Power Levels too?'

'I already have it loaded,' said Gowther.

'Loaded? What do you mean? Oh no! Magic: one thousand three hundred. Strength: five hundred. Spirit: one thousand three hundred. Power Level: thirty-one hundred.'

Gowther surveyed Hawk. 'Scraps Captain. Magic: zero. Strength: twenty-five. Spirit: five.'

Hawk jumped at Gowther and started tugging on his sleeves. 'Darn you, Gowther. How dare you exceed my Power Level. You're not the fighting type. It should be impossible. That's sneaky!'

You left them to it.

Bartra pinned the medal to your coat. You had never liked medals. They always seemed heavier than their size suggested. This one was no different. It was pinned right over your heart and weighed it down with expectations and guilt. Elizabeth smiled at you and you smiled tightly back. As Meliodas stepped past you to receive his own medal, he put his hand on your shoulder. It was the briefest of touches, but the weight lifted a bit.

Meliodas and Bartra nodded to each other. There was an easy smile on Meliodas's face, but you knew his hands in his pockets were clenched into fists. It was now after the ceremony.

'So what do you think we should do with the medals we have for Ban and King?' said Elizabeth.

'Hold on to them for now,' said Meliodas.

'Huh?'

'Those two have taken off.' Meliodas turned his back on Elizabeth.

Elizabeth looked worried and then sad. You couldn't tell if it was because of what Meliodas had said or the way he had said it.

When he reached you, Meliodas took your hand in his. Together you, him, Merlin, Gowther and Hawk left the castle. Diane lingered to speak to Elizabeth but you just gripped Meliodas's hand tighter and kept walking.

'Wow,' said Hawk. 'It looks like the whole town was at that medal ceremony.'

The six of you were walking through the deserted streets of Liones (Diane had caught up not long after you'd left the castle). You were on your way back to the tavern with the probable goal of having another booze-filled celebration.

'Everyone's in awe of my heroics. I mean, can you blame them?' Hawk continued smugly before running into the legs of someone. 'Hey! Why don't you watch where you're going? Can't you see this big shiny medal here?'

The legs belonged to Griamore and he was joined by Little Gil and Howzer. You waved at them.

'Oh, what are you guys doing here?' said Meliodas.

'Sir Meliodas, I want to thank you for what you said before,' said Griamore, sincerity laced in his deep voice, 'about my father.'

'I only said what I knew to be true.' Meliodas looked to Howzer. 'Anyway, I heard the rumours, Howzer. While he was being taken in, Dreyfus wounded you pretty badly and he killed some members of the Roars of Dawn. Is that true?'

Howzer looked away and frowned. 'Uh, yeah.'

Griamore whirled on him. 'I'm telling you, that had to be some kind of mistake. Father fought in order to protect Princess Elizabeth and [Y/n] – to defeat Hendrickson – and then, he was murdered.'

As Griamore spoke, it was like you could see it all again. Dreyfus turning to dust. Hendrickson's cruel smile.

I mean, he seemed real to me, but I was kind of preoccupied.

Meliodas didn't turn to you but you saw the corner of his mouth twitch. Not blaming you for missing something. You protected Elizabeth and that's what matters most.

'I wish I could believe that,' said Howzer, fists trembling, 'but those are undeniable facts, all right?'

'On one hand he ran away after killing an ally. On the other he risked his life to rescue one,' said Merlin, her head tilted slightly. 'True it's hardly consistent, at least for the actions of a Grand Master.' She bowed her head before rising higher into the air. 'When the details of the stories fail to add up, it often helps to run everything you know in reverse.'

As she spoke, Merlin conjured a pink light. It took the shape of a bird, flying through the air. Next it turned into a horse which galloped for a bit before becoming a dragon. The dragon turned into a flying pig. You watched it in awe.

'And as you discover and give meaning to a seemingly unnatural action, a different answer will emerge. Sincerity becomes spite, the circumstances become pretence and the meaningless suddenly gains meaning,' Merlin said.

'So in other words ...' said Howzer falteringly.

'Think about it.' Merlin landed behind everyone. 'Consider what happened and discover the answer for yourselves. When humans stop thinking, it's all over.' She looked at you over her shoulder. 'All right. Let's go, Captain.'

Meliodas's perked up. 'Right.'

You all started walking again.

As you passed the three boys you smiled at them and reached out to punch Little Gil lightly on the arm. 'You can do it. See ya.'

'Goodbye, Howzer,' said Diane. 'See ya.'

Meliodas half-saluted. 'Try not to think about it too hard, you trio of troublemakers.'

You chewed on your bottom lip as you walked away.

Hey, they'll be all right, said Meliodas.

I guess. I just wish we could have told them more. What Merlin said was cool and all but kind of confusing.

Kind of? I think you mean very. I know everything that's going on and I still had to think about what she said.

You laughed. Yeah, well, that's because you're dumb.

Oi. Meliodas frowned at you but his eyes were soft. Then they turned sad. They're more likely to believe it if they discover it for themselves.

I guess you're right.

Always am.

—

The blood hit the stone. The air flickered with a strange light. Hendrickson ignored it all and stretched out his arms, reaching for something so very far away.

'From the Valley of Eternity, from the Edge of Oblivion, from an Unending Slumber, disappear innocent curse.'

Hendrickson felt his body crumble. He saw it too, but it was like he was watching it happen to someone else.

Then everything went white.

—

'Captain, did you figure out what the king's omen meant?' said Diane, leaning down slightly.

Meliodas was walking with both hands behind his head. 'Nope,' he lied easily. 'Not yet anyway. The only thing I feel I have a pretty good grasp of is that something huge might happen in Camelot.'

It all happened very quickly.

Bartra's voice echoed in your head as he spoke ominously about ten shadows. Then there was a flash. The most awful feeling shuddered through your body. All your muscles seized up. Beside you, Meliodas had turned to stone. The ground trembled and people were panicking but the only part of you that could move was your heart, racing faster and faster.

The shaking stopped but you were still rooted to the spot. From the end of a long tunnel, your friends were speaking. Your hands were cold. Your eyes flickered to Meliodas.

His eyes burned like lanterns. He clenched his fist. 'I knew it. They've come back.'

—

Far away from Liones, Hendrickson woke up on the grass. Every inch of him ached and he was cold. He opened his eyes with a groan and started as much as his protesting muscles would allow. Looming over him was a dark shape. He blinked and it turned into Dreyfus.

'Wait, Dreyfus?'

'You did very well,' said Dreyfus in a most un-Dreyfus voice. Or maybe this wasn't Dreyfus. He had flat eyes and a strange dark crest over his left eye. But Hendrickson knew his best friend anywhere. This had to be Dreyfus ... right? 'The ceremony is now complete.'

Hendrickson got slowly to his knees, every part of him trembling. 'Dreyfus. Those eyes and that pattern on your face ...'

'To show my gratitude for your usefulness,' Dreyfus continued without sign of having heard Hendrickson, 'I will allow you to live. Besides, it's what this man asked me to do. You are free to go wherever you like.'

Feeling his forehead crease deeper than ever, Hendrickson finally managed to clamber to his feet. 'Free to go? What in the world are you talking about?'

Something was behind him. Something dark and so very powerful. Hendrickson was scared. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so scared. Despite the cold, sweat started to form all over his body.

'Wait, what's this abnormal presence I'm sensing?' Hendrickson asked. He wanted to turn around and see. He wanted to run away. He wanted to do something. But his feet wouldn't move.

Dreyfus smiled smugly. 'It's been three thousand years, but we've finally returned.'

Hendrickson didn't seem to remember how to breathe properly. But he finally gained the strength to look behind him. And he saw them.

Nine of them. A range of sizes. Some were humanoid. Some were decidedly not. Even the ones who looked human made Hendrickson's skin crawl.

'Three thousand years, huh?' said a voice. 'Please tell me that he's still alive.'

Hendrickson knew that voice. It was slightly different and much colder, like the speaker was standing at the bottom of a very deep hole.

One of the smaller figures stepped forwards. His face was ... His face was ... Hendrickson swallowed thickly. His face was just like Sir Meliodas's. But different.

The boy smiled an unfriendly smile. 'I'll see you soon, Meliodas.'