Arthur opened his eyes slowly, the sun's rays streaming through the window illuminating his face and clearing the fog of sleep from his mind.
He let out a long yawn and blinked multiple times as he stretched.
'Damn, I slept like a baby.'
Sylvie greeted him.
'Good morning, Art.'
He sat up in bed and returned the greeting, then looked out the window.
Everything looked the same from his view—the sky remained its intense blue, the sun's rays shifting constantly with the movement of the clouds.
Surely the citizens of Ravenheart continued with their daily routines without many worries… and why would they?
Ravenheart was the second most populated and secure Citadel in the Dream Realm, only behind Bastion.
All these people were protected, fed, and sheltered.
The same could not be said for the people living in Antarctica.
Where the chain of Nightmare Gates was going to start today—or rather, had already started. But he was only going to be deployed in a few hours.
His parents, on the other hand, had already arrived in Antarctica just yesterday, after spending an entire month on a ship. Fortunately, they arrived without complications, thanks to the House of Night handling the transport.
Arthur had been in the Waking World yesterday and said goodbye to Ellie. Obviously, she wasn't at all happy that he was going too, but… Ellie would stay with Rain's family for the time being.
He had left a specific order for his sister—if she felt she was being infected by the Spell, she should head to the clan's compound so they could take her to Ravenheart, and the Queen would prevent her from having her Nightmare with the help of her Domain.
Unfortunately, he had nothing that could help her if she did have one. He even thought of Regis, but he was connected to him, and there was a distance limit between them.
Besides, even if that weren't a problem, he wasn't sure Regis could accompany Ellie into her Nightmare.
Arthur stopped looking out the window, got out of bed reluctantly, and went to his wardrobe to put on some clothes.
He put on a simple outfit—a black hoodie with matching pants, along with a pair of slippers—and headed to the dining hall.
Today was the day all the cohort members would go to Antarctica, while their equipment was already on the continent.
Jet and Emily had personally taken care of ordering all the necessary modifications for the Rhino, so he didn't have to worry about that.
The only thing he had been doing since the Song Ball was training. Actually, everyone had trained.
The Queen had given them the mission of clearing an entire zone on their own, and that was exactly what they did. They could have rented Gates in the Waking World, but there weren't many available, and besides, they wanted to keep everything secret—at least at first.
Once the operation started, that would be impossible.
Arthur greeted one of the clan's employees and continued walking toward the dining hall.
The cohort hadn't trained by using Gates or sparring with each other. Instead, they had spent a month and a week killing Nightmare Creatures from the region where Seishan and Sylvie had their Second Nightmare.
In the process, they faced countless Awakened, Fallen, and even Corrupted creatures—and survived.
Ki Song herself had taken care of killing all the Great Nightmare Creatures beforehand, as those were impossible for them.
An entire month where they had to survive in circumstances similar to what they would experience in Antarctica.
Mainly the issue of the cold.
Actually, Seishan and he hadn't suffered from the cold at all.
She was immune to it thanks to an Attribute she had obtained in her Second Nightmare, and thanks to Djinn of War he could manage the cold.
The rest, however, weren't so fortunate. Of them, Jet suffered the least, followed by Sylvie, but the problem was the three Awakened who would complete the cohort. Although he had prepared armor with cold protection for them, the enchantments didn't provide much.
One of the Awakened was a Pathfinder named Hale.
He was part of the King's Wardens—most of whom were castle guards, but there were also Pathfinders in that group, with Hale being one of them.
Then there was Emily, who was actually a Handmaiden.
She had been tasked, along with Jet, with ordering everything necessary for the Rhino, and she would be in charge of repairing it in the future as well as driving it.
Her role would be purely engineering.
Finally, there was Owen.
He had been a castle guard like most of the King's Wardens, but his Aspect wasn't particularly offensive. He would have more of a support role and would be key during the campaign.
The three were chosen personally by him, and their roles were very important.
After turning one last corner, an enormous wooden door with gold details stood at the end of the hallway, and Arthur pushed it open slightly.
The cafeteria consisted of a huge room made entirely of smooth stone. Small torches placed along the walls created a light dimmed by the sun's rays streaming through the windows. The seats were also made of stone, but they weren't cold at all.
Arthur had already sat on them several times, and although they were black volcanic stone, they were extremely comfortable.
Inside the cafeteria were the members who kept the palace in perfect condition—workers of all kinds, from cleaners to guards.
Usually, higher-ranking clan members ate elsewhere, but Arthur liked coming here. Besides, at one of the tables sat the person he had come to see.
Sitting with one leg crossed over the other while having breakfast was Jet.
She was wearing casual clothes—comfortable blue pants with a black hoodie. Jet also seemed more alive than usual, even considering her Flaw.
Physically, she looked better than ever. Arthur considered that she might currently have strength comparable to an Ascended Devil. The typical dark circles she always had from overwork were gone, and her skin had a healthier tone, making her more beautiful than usual.
Her icy-blue eyes held a cold, deadly depth, but there was also a spark of happiness? Arthur couldn't quite describe it… maybe it was more satisfaction?
Either way, he approached her table—she was eating alone; even in Ravenheart, rumors of the famous Soul Reaper existed—and sat down with a smile on his face.
"Good morning, Jet."
Jet smiled and slid a plate slightly toward him.
"Good morning, Art. I ordered a plate for you in case you wanted some."
"Thanks, but…" He summoned his storage Memory and took out some bags of snacks. "I have something better than meat for breakfast."
He had gone to the Waking World yesterday, so he took the opportunity to bring a ton of snacks and things. Obviously, he also bought supplies for the campaign, such as cans of coffee, tea, canned food, and many more things.
Jet raised an eyebrow elegantly.
"I suppose there's more than enough for two people?"
Arthur laughed at her attempt to ask for food discreetly and slid a bag of chips toward her.
She opened the bag and started eating without a care in the world.
"Thanks," she said between bites.
He simply imitated her, and soon they were both eating chips at the same time. The crunchy sound echoed slightly in the cafeteria.
"You know," Jet began as she finished her bag, "that's a good idea. I didn't think about filling my storage Memory with snacks."
"You could copy it if you want, but…" He smiled with one side of his lips. "I'll have to charge you for plagiarism."
"Is that so?" She said with a smirk on her face. "Are you going to charge your wonderful teacher for such a simple idea?"
He pointed at her immediately.
"Simple? You just said it was a good idea."
Jet shrugged.
"Did I? I don't remember… still, I think you should tell me where you bought these snacks."
He rolled his eyes while letting out an incredulous breath.
"Changing the subject." His voice continued in a lower tone. "Since this is our last day before the campaign, I wanted to talk to you about something."
She finished the bag completely, then took a sip of water and let out a satisfied sound.
"Oh? Let me guess… you want to apologize for bringing me here?"
Arthur nodded and began to speak.
"At first, I thought it might be a good idea. I knew the Queen wouldn't let me go alone without something to cover me against Valor, and my first thought was you. But then…" He looked to the side. "I realized you wouldn't have a choice—your role would change quite a bit, and well, I felt bad about that."
He kept looking to the side while Jet remained silent, watching him with her icy-blue eyes.
After several long seconds, she slowly raised her hand and gave him a light smack on the back of the head.
"You're stupid?"
Arthur felt the hit and turned with a frown to look at her.
"What?! Why did you hit me?!"
Jet crossed her arms and began shaking her head with her eyes closed.
"I can't believe it…" She let out a sigh and opened her eyes to look at him intently. "Look, I'm going to be completely honest with you, as I always have been." She uncrossed her arms. "At first, I was angry, mainly because the role I was going to have was something I was excited about, even if the circumstances weren't ideal."
Her icy-blue eyes softened slightly. "But then I understood something important." A slight smile appeared on her pale lips. "What you're going to do, is something no one in your position would do. It's only been two months since you returned from something most would have died from, and you didn't just come back—you came back much stronger than any of us expected."
"And the possibilities that brought you were enormous. Well…" She made a gesture with her arms, showing where they were. "It's not for nothing that you're in the second largest Citadel in the Dream Realm, belonging to one of the great clans…"
Jet took a small pause.
"You had every chance to stay here and have a quieter life. But you didn't choose that. You chose to go to a continent on the brink of collapse to try to hold it together long enough for as many people as possible to be evacuated."
She smiled genuinely.
"What I'm trying to say is, I'm proud of you." She took another sip of water. "That's why I stopped being angry and am even somewhat grateful."
Arthur blinked.
He wouldn't have thought she would react that way, though she had already shown some signs of this recently. Still, it caught him by surprise.
He couldn't do anything but look to the side to hide the slight embarrassment he felt, his cheeks turning slightly red.
It was already strange to see her smile genuinely like that, but on top of that, she said she was proud of him…
"...Well, thank you."
Jet smirked.
"Besides…" She quickly raised her eyebrows several times. "Look at me! I'm more alive than ever!"
Then she started laughing at her own joke. Arthur followed along and started laughing too.
He had already noticed that Jet was in much better shape than before—in fact, she had been like this for a few weeks.
The zone they went to train and completely clear had too many creatures, so each of them had the opportunity to kill a lot.
For the two of them, this meant very positive things.
Arthur had Dawn's Ballad's counter, which now only increased when he killed creatures of the same rank as him or higher.
Which meant the sword would take its time to reach Supreme rank.
Name: [Dawn's Ballad]
Memory Rank: Transcended.
[147/1600]
On top of that, he had finally became a Titan.
But for Jet, this meant she could continue absorbing the essence of all the creatures she killed and use it for herself. The capacity and size of her core kept increasing the more she killed.
That was why Arthur estimated that she should now have the same strength as an Ascended Devil, or perhaps even greater.
Jet had definitely killed Fallen and even Corrupted creatures this month, so it could very well be more.
Arthur stopped laughing and looked at her with a genuine smile.
"You actually look good, Jet, and I'm glad you're not angry with me."
She stopped laughing and raised an eyebrow.
"I look good? Shouldn't you be saying that to someone else?" She finished with her typical teasing smirk.
He and Seishan still weren't anything, but during this time, it was somewhat inevitable that things didn't happen… still, the most they had done was hold hands.
And that was to move her away from a creature!
Which was already dead… but still, that was his honest reason!
It absolutely wasn't the fact that her hands were extremely soft…
'Nah, surely not!'
Arthur cleared his throat.
"You were there with us, so you know nothing's going on between me and Seishan."
Jet looked at him judgmentally for a few seconds, and he began to feel something akin to fear rising in his body.
Finally, Jet's icy-blue eyes widened slightly.
"…You're scared."
"What?" He frowned.
"How didn't I realize this before?" Jet asked herself. "It all fits now… you're scared of liking Seishan…"
Arthur opened his mouth to speak and closed it, not knowing what to say.
Jet continued. "I'm not sure why you are, though… it's as clear as day that she likes you too."
He finally let out a sigh.
"I think, I think I am…"
She looked him up and down, then did it again, analyzing every detail of him.
"Maybe you're scared of messing up?" Jet narrowed her eyes and then shook her head. "No… there's something else, but I can't figure it out. How annoying!"
"Can we change the subject?" he asked, forcing himself to be nonchalant.
Jet finally let out a sigh and shrugged.
"Fine, but don't think for a second I'm going to forget about this, Little Art!"
He nodded and stayed silent for a few seconds.
In fact, he knew he was scared of liking Seishan, and he also knew the reason. It had taken him some time to realize, but now he believed he knew.
Seishan actually didn't have much to do with it—it was more… the Queen.
Being so busy, he hadn't been able to gather much information about the Queen betraying Nephis's father and then sending assassins after her. That was why he had decided to put his feelings on hold.
He had tried to get some information from Seishan as well, but in the process, he felt uncomfortable doing so.
Mainly because if the answer he got was that everything was true, he would basically be accepting to kill her mother.
Arthur was confused about his inclination to accept this.
The reasons to help Nephis were there, and besides, he felt his instincts pushing him to accept.
But he also knew those instincts were actually false.
It was whatever Grey had left him after his First Nightmare that was pushing him toward the decision.
And he was definitely somewhat tired of all that.
Mainly because he felt that his life had already been dictated years ago, and he had no decision-making power over anything.
No matter how much he was Grey's reincarnation, in the end, he was Arthur.
And he wanted to live as Arthur.
But what did that mean? Should he simply stop controlling his feelings for Seishan or keep doing so?
Or should he ignore Nephis's plea for help and let her do it on her own? Could she really kill three Sovereigns?
The answer was no.
She might be able to kill Anvil and the Dreamspawn with luck in the future, but if he didn't help her… Nephis would first have to go through him to reach Ki Song.
And he wouldn't hesitate to kill her if necessary. Which is strange to think that Nephis could kill two sovereigns but not kill him.
But did he want to do it? Should he take advantage of the fact that he knows Nephis's intentions and carry out a preemptive strike?
The answer was also no.
Just as the answer to wanting to hurt Seishan was also no…
So what could he do?
Arthur didn't know…
He was exactly in the middle of a problem he hadn't asked to be in.
He hadn't asked for Nephis to ask for his help in killing the Sovereigns.
He hadn't asked to fall in love with Seishan, the daughter of one of those Sovereigns.
And he hadn't asked to be Grey's reincarnation.
But the worst part was that he wasn't going to have a choice either.
Arthur knew that in the end, he would help Nephis kill the Sovereigns—hell, who knows, maybe he would be the one to do it. He also knew he would end up in a relationship with Seishan, the daughter of one of those Sovereigns who would end up dying—or maybe not.
And regarding Grey, he knew that until he was strong enough, he would keep dancing in the palm of his hand.
So… what did it matter what he chose?
The choices had already been made for him.
But that doesn't mean he's going to accept it. In the end, he will only follow his own will.
He let out a sigh and finally focused on Jet again, who was staring at him intently with her head slightly tilted to the side.
He blinked.
"What?"
"…Are you okay?" Jet tilted her head to the other side.
He had thought several times about whether to tell Jet all of this or not. In the end, she was one of the people he trusted most—she was almost like an aunt to him.
But he knew that telling her would only bring her trouble, and that was something he was completely opposed to.
So he forced himself to smile and replied:
"I was just thinking about something unimportant."
Jet, who had known him since he was a teenager, obviously didn't believe him. She could read him perfectly, but precisely for that reason, she decided not to push.
"Well… since you won't tell me what you were thinking, do you want to know what I was thinking?"
Arthur nodded.
"I was thinking that life within a Legacy clan is quite comfortable in the position I'm in, thanks to you. But the politics within one and other issues are also a constant reminder of why I never wanted to belong to one… still, weirdly, I feel a bit of kinship with the sisters…"
Arthur raised an eyebrow.
"Kinship?"
She lingered for a few moments.
"It's just a vague feeling, but I think that their Flaws are similar to mine… not exactly the same, but similar. I have no solid proof, of course, but there are ways to tell. A thing like that influences you in many subtle ways."
Jet looked away and let out a wistful sigh.
"All of Ki Song's daughters are adopted, you know? Many of them were taken from the Outskirts when they were very young. Who knows, in another life, I might have been a princess of a great clan, as well… wouldn't that be a sight?"
Arthur actually knew that—Seishan had told him that all her sisters and even she had been adopted from the Outskirts…
Still, in his eyes, the image of Jet belonging to the clan was something he couldn't quite picture. The idea of seeing her in a dress already seemed impossible to him…
He scoffed.
"That would be a sight, yeah. However, I like the current you much more." He continued quickly. "Not like that! Don't start again."
She laughed.
"That's the second thing I've let slide in this conversation… but yes, I like the current me better too. You already know everything I went through to get to this point, and a big part of it is thanks to your family too. So, yes. I wouldn't trade it for the world."
Arthur couldn't help but agree as he stood up from the table.
"It's getting late. We should gather the others and start making preparations to leave."
Jet finally nodded, and they both headed to the room where the rest of the cohort should already be waiting.
After a few minutes, they both arrived at the room and opened the door to find them there.
Sitting around a stone table with a map in the center were all the cohort members.
They both went to the table and sat down next to each other.
Arthur had Jet on his right, while on his left was Sylvie, and next to her, Seishan. Completing the circle were Hale, Owen, and Emily—to the right of Jet.
Hale was a man of the same height as him, though with a physique even more worked, as if every muscle had been sculpted with pure precision. He had short hair, cut in a military style, and blue eyes that stood out against his dark skin.
The curious thing about Hale was that he had been one of the Pathfinders in Nephis's group at the outer settlement in the Dark City, but instead of going with the Fire Keepers, he had decided to follow him.
Owen, on the other hand, had always been one of the castle guards.
He was blond, with eyes as dark as two pearls of compressed True Darkness, and skin so pale it seemed like it hadn't seen the sun in weeks. His height was below average. Arthur thought he was barely taller than Sunny, and Owen also came from the Outskirts.
And finally, there was Emily.
She was short, practically the same height as Cassie. Her intense, expressive green eyes stood out against her alabaster skin, while her striking orange hair was cut to shoulder length and framed her delicate face.
The most curious thing about Emily was her insistence on wearing glasses despite not needing them.
According to her, the stereotype of engineers was wearing glasses, so she thought she should follow it to the letter.
Emily was definitely strange—she also had a small friendship with Revel that had led her down dark paths… literally and figuratively.
Finally, the entire cohort was together, and Jet cleared her throat, pointing at the map.
"As all of you already know, this is Antarctica and is divided into three parts… West Antarctica, East Antarctica, and the Antarctic Center."
She continued: "The only ones that matter to us are the last two. The Antarctic Center is an administrative and technological hub of the quadrant, while East Antarctica is the largest and most densely populated region of the continent."
She sighed, then leaned forward and lightly pointed at the routes and cities.
"Since we're going to work outside the norm even for others who were already outside the norm, it's expected of us to resolve as many Gates as possible that are along the evacuation routes of the fortified cities."
Jet paused for a moment and then added somberly:
"That means we'll be sent to most of the Category Three Nightmare Gates that the government can identify along such routes… in addition to the possibility of facing high-class creatures that might threaten the aforementioned cities. This is in case the three Saints stationed across Antarctica are occupied."
Jet leaned back and continued in her normal tone.
"This means we will be constantly immersed in the most critical, bloody, and hopeless points of the entire operation, with the intention of resolving them and moving on to the next almost without rest."
She studied their faces and then raised an eyebrow.
"Any questions?"
Everyone shook their heads.
They had already reviewed their objectives several times, but it never hurt to do it once more.
Jet stood up from her seat and said,
"Well, if we all know what we have to do, let's try not to die, okay? We're too pretty for that…"
"Well said, Master Jet!" Emily exclaimed happily, raising an arm.
The rest let out a cordial laugh so she wouldn't be left alone in her celebration and began leaving the room. Emily was the last to do so.
Their next destination was the throne room, where the Queen and the Saint who would take them to Antarctica were waiting.
The Saint had already made his tether in one of the cities of the Antarctic Center, and that was where their journey would begin on the continent.
Minutes after walking through the hallways, the seven members arrived at the enormous doors of the throne room and knocked twice.
Before going in, Arthur changed into a better outfit—he actually activated Djinn of War and the door opened slowly and closed behind them.
The throne room remained as always, with its wide windows and rays of light bathing the entire room in a warm sensation.
The only difference was the new presence of the Saint standing with his arms behind his back.
He was a tall man with austere armor, cold eyes, and a mature, handsome face. His tan skin and strange ashen hair made him a noticeable figure.
Arthur knew who he was, though he didn't know why he had been sent to Antarctica.
He was the Saint of Sorrows.
The cohort reached the front of the Queen, and when they moved to kneel, she stopped them with a small gesture of her hand.
"There's no need for that today," Ki Song said. "Today, you are the heroes who are going to risk your lives." She let out a light laugh. "Though I hope not too much!"
They let out a small laugh at the Queen's attempt at a joke so as not to leave her hanging—except for Emily, who laughed as if she had genuinely found it funny.
'Damn, that was the first thing I heard after my nap, and I regret waking up,' Regis said in a still-sleepy tone.
'Good morning, Regis,' Arthur and Sylvie said.
The Queen continued. "Well, with the tension out of the way, let's get serious now." She shifted into her Queenly tone. "The mission you're going to have will be complicated, painful, and surely bloody, so from the bottom of my heart, I wish you the greatest luck possible."
"Don't forget something important in your battles—saving lives is satisfying, but staying alive is much better." She paused and let the meaning of her words sink in. "That's all from me."
Her eyes focused on Jet's.
"Soul Reaper Jet, I leave them in your care."
Jet bowed.
"I will take care of them with everything I have, Your Highness."
Ki Song smiled. "I know you will, but your life is important too." Then she turned to the Saint of Sorrows. "You are free to take them."
The Saint bowed and first took the three Awakened together.
Each trip would cost him a different amount of essence depending on the weight of their souls, so Sylvie and he would be the ones to give him the most trouble.
The process took a few minutes, and eventually only Arthur remained, but the Saint hadn't returned yet, so he took the opportunity.
"My Queen, if I may ask a question." Ki Song nodded slightly, and he proceeded. "I'd like to know the real purpose behind the clans' inaction in the campaign."
If the Queen was surprised by the question, she didn't show it in any gesture.
"Oh, you've just asked a great question, little Arthur… one I'm not sure I can answer in the time we have left." She shifted her tone slightly, now softer. "Let's make a deal, shall we?"
Arthur tilted his head slightly but ended up agreeing.
In the end, he had suspected something like this might happen.
Ki Song continued. "Every time you come to notify me of your progress in the campaign, I'll tell you a little bit of my history. Does that sound fair?"
"It sounds perfect, Your Highness," he accepted without hesitation.
It was his opportunity to learn more about Ki Song's life—and indirectly, the reasons that might have led her to betray Nephis's father… besides the fact that he simply quite liked history.
He would also be able to compare what the Queen said with what Nephis had told him and what she might discover from Valor's side.
Ki Song smiled.
"We have a deal, then. Don't die in the campaign—it would be rude of you to get me excited about telling my story only for it not to happen!"
"I'll do everything I can to avoid it, Your Highness."
At that moment, the Saint of Sorrows returned from his journey, already looking quite tired, and he still had one more trip—perhaps the most complicated of all.
'This guy is definitely going to hate us' Regis said mentally, and Arthur couldn't help but agree.
The Saint approached him without uttering a word, and after bowing to the Queen, he pulled his tether one last time, taking Arthur and Regis with him.
Immediately, the cold air of Antarctica filled his lungs, and Arthur closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
The end of the second most populated continent had just begun… and not even minutes passed before the first mission was already loaded onto their tablets.