Lyra donned her mother's armor once again. Her sword on her left hip, the ebony crossbow on her left, and Oath Breaker on her back. She wore the cloth Aeris gave to her when she started the Knight's Academy, wearing it like a short cape.

The Veil manor felt empty.

The corridors lacked warmth and light. Dust swayed in the cracks of sunlight, threatening to cover all the surfaces, and the silence was deafening. There was an absence of movement within the manor, as if time stood still. Even the dance of the Everfire has quenched just slightly.

Birds went on their daily business, tweeting their carefree tunes. The streets barely held any activity, just the usual passerby and greetings.

The world had already forgotten. . .

"You doing alright?" asked Kaelen.

Lyra hadn't heard him come in, startling her for just a moment. "I'll do better once I'm out there," she replied, adjusting herself.

"Joanne sent me with a message. She says that you will be pulled from the academy."

Lyra's head turned sharply to Kaelen. "No, that can't happen. I'm so close. I'll talk to her. I'll show her that I'm fine."

"Everyone's concerned about you, worried that you'd do something reckless. I can agree with them on this."

She looked at him in disbelief, then shook her head slowly. "They want to cast me out?"

"You're misunderstanding—"

"Then tell me!" she shouted, interrupting him. "Why does the world reject me? Why can't I—" The words crashed in her throat, turning into a frustrating sigh and a shift in her weight.

Kaelen looked at her, at a loss for words, unsure how to approach her in the moment of silence.

"What am I doing wrong?" she finally said softly.

"You're doing nothing wrong," Kaelen tried to reassure her. A silence fell between them again. He watched as Lyra brushed the desk Aeris worked at. His resolution faltered, and his breath left him in a sigh. "I'll talk to Joanne with you, but we have to leave now."

If it weren't for the crushing weight in her chest, Lyra would have expressed great gratitude, but all she gave was a sincere smile.

· · ─ · ◯☽✵☾◯ · ─ · ·

Lyra and Kaelen walked down the training hall. Knights were in their sparring rings, but their presence disturbed their focus. Their heads turned as the weapons in their hands dropped to their sides. She felt as if they were staring at her specifically. For what? She didn't know—she didn't want to know.

The duo made their way to Joanne's office. To their surprise, the door was closed when it was usually opened. Kaelen knocked on the door, and Lyra shot him a worried look, worried she would be intruding on her business. But he shrugged her off.

"Enter," the two heard.

He swung the door open, and she followed close behind him, presenting themselves to Joanne. They found her in the midst of putting her armor on. Her toned muscles glistened in the sunlight from the sweat of her morning workout. She looked at Lyra but ignored Kalen.

"I wish—"

"I know what you wish for, girl." Her cold blue eyes analyzed every inch of her. "You have guts coming here after you failed, after your loss."

"Captain—"

She held a hand to Kaelen before he could speak, silencing him. "You come here to seek revenge, but revenge kills you first before your target. Is that what you want?"

"No!" Lyra stepped forward, her fist balled and her eyes radiating with resolve. "I come to serve this kingdom. I made a promise to help this nation; I made a promise to finish this fight."

"We can argue semantics all day," Joanne quickly put her hair up in a ponytail. "Bottom line is, you're not ready."

"Please!" She begged. "This is all I have left. I'm ready, more than you ever know."

Joanne's posture relaxed with a sigh. Her frosty eyes shut to gather her thoughts. She planted her hands on her hips before her eyes opened with annoyance, yet with defeat.

"I will redact my proposition," she said, not liking the words she went back on. "However, you must prove that you're ready. The academy is in its field training phase. We'll now be going on excursions near the borders to help civilians in need."

Lyra hid her victory well, only letting out a smile and focused eyes.

"You are dismissed," said Joanne, waving her hand as she readied to put on her breastplate. "Oh, one more thing. You will be the one to assemble your team. Give me your list by first light."

The two saluted, their heels clicking together as their fists banged over their hearts. They left Joanne's room. A smile tugged at Lyra's lips, which Kaelen noticed.

"Do you have in your mind who you want for your team?" he asked.

"I'd love for you to be my second. Of course, if that's okay with you."

"I would be honored to have this position."

Slowly spiraling the stairs, she thought of candidates, but only one stood out amongst all of them.

· · ─ · ◯☽✵☾◯ · ─ · ·

Helen was nowhere to be found in her usual places, which weren't many. Lyra and Kaelen found themselves outside the academy. Now that they looked, there were fewer knights than they remembered.

A caravan began to echo down a tunnel from the side of the academy. Horses clopped into the sunlight, pulling a rowboat-sized cart that was covered. Fully kitted knights walked beside the cart—heavy sets of armor, long pikes, tower shields, and flowing banners—as if they were getting ready for war.

"Excuse me!" Lyra called. One of the knights stopped to approach her. His demeanor called for respect. His scuffed armor showed signs of a battle. "What's happening?"

The knight pushed his visor up, revealing an older man with a greying beard. "Demons have infiltrated the southern border of Windermere, putting those villages in jeopardy. Unfortunately, some of the shinies got caught up in the battle. If you have able bodies, we could use the help."

Lyra looked at Kaelen, then back at the knight. "I have some in mind, but I think it'd be best if we caught up with you instead. I don't want to halt your progress waiting for me."

The knight nodded his head, flipping his visor in the process, then marched back to his unit.

Lyra glanced back at the academy, knowing that what she was about to do was going to upset Joanne.

"Please tell me you're not thinking what I'm thinking." said Kaelen, the sound of worry intertwining with his words.

She gave him a look and began to run towards the fountain several blocks away. She entered the alleyway and made sure no one was watching them. Making her way through the sewers, she finds the familiar door and enters her mother's secret lair.

"What are we doing here?" asked Kaelen, shutting the door behind them.

"Draven has given me an idea."

"Draven?"
Lyra dismissed his question, slightly shaking her head. "I believe that I can funnel time and space to drop us off at a certain point in the known world, using his power."

"Lyra, you know what happens when magic and science mix."

She entered her laboratory, flipping a switch that caused the machines to start humming to life. "I've delved into it more," Kaelen glanced at all the research papers that scattered the walls and tables. "It is possible. And I have the key to do it."

She plugged her rhombus-shaped cell into the machine, watching the purplish-pink light illuminate the auxiliary power cords. The cylindrical chamber began to spark as a controlled, dense mass, devoid of light, began to form.

"I advise you to grab your true weapon," she suggested.

At first Kaelen hesitated, but he ran out and found his twinblade. He glanced at Spiteblade, only to grit his teeth and turn back to the laboratory. The feeling of his twinblade in his grasp brought a certain vigor to his body—not that of hate or a lust for blood, but a conviction that he would one day rebuild the Kingdom of Lycra.

Lyra watched Kaelen walk through the doorway. She never realized how much she grew to rely on him, never seeing his true strength up until now.

"Come!" she said, gesturing towards the large black hole. "We have to hurry. There's no better time than the present."

Kaelen nodded his head and stood beside her. She could tell he was uneasy; anyone would. This is something they couldn't fathom, not this lifetime, but perhaps a thousand millennia in the future.

She took hold of his hand and gave him an assuring nod. Part of her was excited, if not nervous, that she was going to experience one of her theories with someone. And with that excitement, she stepped forward.

"Be sure to take a deep breath before you go in," she said, entering the rift.

Kaelen didn't have time to question, taking in as much breath as he could before getting pulled in. She watched as Kaelen held his eyes shut, but she patted his hand to let him know it was okay. His eyes opened, then widened in disbelief at the endless corridors that went on in every vector. He tried to speak, but Lyra held her other hand over his mouth, shaking her head.

She let go of his hand and began to focus, closing her eyes and picturing the process in which an exit would be made at her desired location. A warm energy began to move within her chest. Once it swelled, she opened her green-lit eyes to find a dark matter surrounding her. She moved her hands so that they were parallel to each other, curling her fingers as if she gripped an invisible ball. The matter began to concentrate between her palms until it formed into an unstable ball, like something was trying to escape from within.

Her head motioned for Kaelen to grab hold of her as her hands began to compress the ball; the dimension began to curve within itself; what was linear is now beginning to fold. Once she let go of the orb of energy, lines of light began to appear as if they were passing them. Their bodies being propelled further in space in an instant.

All of the inertia began to slow, and the dimension began to show its linear form once again. Lyra held her hand out to open a rift, allowing them to pass through. The two gasped for air as they crashed to the ground. As soon as they caught their breaths, they looked at each other, noticing their pallor, then they turned away and vomited.

"What in the heavens was that?" Kaelen asked, coughing every other word.

"It was only a theory," said Lyra, dry heaving. "It was a high possibility that everything would work, but I never put it into practice."

"You're saying we're the first?"

She nodded her head, wiping her mouth with the leather part of her sleeve. He let out a deep sigh, taunting another chuck.

Lyra stood up, finding that she put them in a forest near Windermere, seeing how a canopy of leaves and needles covered the skies. She could see the sun was in its exact position from when they left, losing no time. In the distance, they saw black smoke rise from one of the nearby villages. They hurried out of the brush and into a clearing where trampled fields lay. A strong stench of blood filled their nostrils, heightening their urgency as adrenaline flowed through their veins.

Just further ahead, some of the villagers were seen scrambling over the barn fences, desperately attempting to get away from the chaos. Lyra drew her crossbow and pulled it against her shoulder with a bolt already nocked. As they approached the fences, a man rushed towards them with his kid in his arms. The fear in the child's eye devastated Lyra, feeling her blood boil.

"Please!" the man begged, his breath eluding him. "My brother, he might still be in the village somewhere."

"Calm yourself," said Lyra, placing a gentle hand on the man. "You need to narrow it down for us. Where was he last seen?"

"He was running errands at the market in Windermere when the demons appeared; his name is Garrett."

Kaelen helped the man over the fence and then went over himself.

"We'll be sure to bring him to safety," she said, putting her leg over the fence. "In the meantime, please find a route to Kogeer. That's where I'll tell him he'll find you."

The man nodded and rushed to the nearest dirt path. A piercing scream came from one of the buildings, followed by broken glass. Kaelen's head whipped to its location, like a bat using echolocation. The duo hurried to the building, finding small amounts of smoke coming through the window.

She found a window to peek through and saw demons cornering a woman. Their grotesque forms shimmered in the firelight, bearing jagged teeth and crude weapons. Lyra raised her crossbow and shot a demon in the back, killing it instantly as the bolt pierced its spine. Kaelen burst through the door and drove his shoulder into one of the demons, knocking it into a nearby flame. For some reason, the demon's scream was more horrifying than how it looked.

Lyra turned the corner in time to see Kaelen squaring off against the last demon. She gestured for the woman to come to her quickly. The woman nodded and began running, prompting the demon to strike her. But Kaelen grabbed its arm with ease before it came crashing down on the woman. The demon's eyes grew wide, confused as to how Kaelen was able to stop its attack so easily.

His free hand balled, and it landed a crackling blow to the demon's side. The demon howled as it broke free from Kaelen's grasp. He watched as the creature was in pain. With another calculated punch, it cracked the demon's head. Grabbing the demon's hair, Kaelen began to pummel its face with all his might.

"Draven!" Lyra called.
He snapped out of his trance and dropped the dead body. When he came to, the lady had already fled to safety. They left the building and scanned the streets. The village was in utter chaos—screams filled the air, people cried for help, and bodies of men scattered the bloodsoaked cobble, thinking they could challenge them with pitchforks and rusted machetes.

She found a straggling demon, piercing its side with one of her bolts, but it wasn't enough to kill it. Its earthy eyes, which were at different heights, narrowed at her, letting out a cry as it ran at her. She switched to the sword on her hip and ran at the demon. Using the blood-covered cobblestones beneath her, she slid as she swung her sword at its knees, slicing cleanly through. Kaelen followed with a curb stomp onto its skull as it tried screaming for backup.

More demons turned the corner, blocking their path forward. Kaelen brought out his twinblade and rushed towards them. He twirled his blade and cleaved straight through the first demon. Lyra found the time to load another bolt and shot it at a demon's head; it turned her way slowly before it fell face first on the cobble.

A couple of the demons rushed past Kaelen, causing him to panic, allowing a demon to put him on the defensive.

"Don't worry about me!" Lyra screamed, bracing herself with her blade.

The first demon raised its sword above its head while the other, charged with a spear lowered to skewer her. She realized the polearm-wielding demon was faster; as it approached her, she knocked the spearhead out of her direction. The demon was unbalanced, giving her the chance to strike, but the other demon swung its sword at her. The irrational strike caused her to center her blade, watching it spark as they clashed. Her worry turned into a panic as the polearm demon regained its balance.

"I'm going to gut you like a pig!" one grumbled, laughing at his own words

"Yeah, and then we're gonna turn you into a stew." squealed the other.

The polearm demon frowned and snarled with its crooked teeth. "She's not going to care what we do to her after she dies, you idiot!"

"I thought that was scary."

Lyra took the chance between their squabble and swung her blade at the sword demon, cutting it on the arm. It cried out in pain, prompting its partner to try and stab her, but she kept smacking the spear with her blade. After the other demon regained its composure, it charged at her from behind, threatening her with every step. As the polearm demon thrust its spear at Lyra, she ducked out of the way at an angle and watched as the spearhead pierced the throat of the other demon. Its eyes widened as it gargled on its own blood.

She took her sword and drove the tip into the polearm demon's chest. It held her blade tightly with an eerie smile, not allowing her to pull her sword out of it. Her other hand took Oath Breaker from her back and cleaved it into the neck of the demon. Her eyes watched as the demon's life left its eyes.

Her foot quickly pivoted towards Kaelen only to find several demons dead by his feet. His chest barely huffed, blood replacing his sweat as it dripped off his chin and armordddddddddddddddddddddddddq.

Lyra hadn't realized the kind of warrior he was up until now—strong, ruthless, and unrelenting—he's completely different since the fall of Lycra. She couldn't help but admire his strength, not the physical kind, but his strength in fortitude.

He caught her staring at him, his eyes analyzing the two dead demons at her feet. His head nodded slowly, and he said, "Your swordsmanship is getting better, it seems."

"Well," she pried her swords out of the demon, wincing at the visceral remains that clung to her blades. "Maybe we can save that observation when a more intelligent challenge crosses my path."

Kaelen chuckled as he turned to see which direction to go next. Lyra sheathed her swords and searched with him. The village has quieted, giving an eerie chill down her spine. Crackling flames filled the cadence, accompanied by the hushed groans of survivors.

As they twisted and turned on the roads, she found a wounded middle-aged man being supported by barrels and crates. She rushed to him, trying to administer aid, but he refused.

"Save it for someone who needs it," said the anguished man. His face crinkled in pain, revealing his mortal wound. He had already lost a great portion of his blood, now taking a look at his pallor.

"I'll send help! I don't have the supplies with me—"

The man waved at her words with the little strength he had. "Just listen." He requested. "The chief ordered the villagers to escape to Windermere. But that old bastard didn't think it through." He coughed violently, collapsing on the wooden containers. Lyra tried to aid him, but he angrily refused her help as he slid down to his bottom. "He led the demons through everything from here to the damn city."

"Save your breath," she panicked. Her gaze looked up to Kaelen for any solutions, but he shook his head. "Help is on the way."

"Oh, shut it; don't spout that nonsense." The man paused to catch his breath. His head reared back to look at the sky. "I've done my time. I reckon everyone will. . . eventually."

"He's gone, Lyra."

She shut her eyes as her head bowed in silence. The flame in her chest began to swell. A quick breath left her lungs. Her eyes opened, narrowing in the direction of Windermere.