Glory and Quiescence and the Not-So-Typical UPS Deliveries

My absence didn't seem too fruitful at the start, but the corrupted files that I possess seem to mend in place now!

Sure, you can blame me for not uploading a chapter in an earlier time, but, as you can see, being an honor student, aspiring writer, bibliophile and a Legend Rank player in Mobile Legends is absolutely taxing.

I had to point these out because I want you to at least feel for me. I also have a personal life with my friends and family. I hope you feel for the other aspiring authors who are having a really hard time coping up with life. Believe me, a few encouraging words may be all you need to preserve a life with so much potential.

Anyway, if you have developed any theory about the full plot of my story, please post it! If there are exactly ten reviews about it, I will absolutely give a hint or sneak peek in the upcoming chapters. Yes, ten reviews (from ten different people, so stay sharp!)

So, why do I have such a snarky title for the tenth chapter? (I just realized the number 10 is revolving around. I should stop before the conspiracy theorists converge.)

I just want a bit of humor and cheese in this story, but at some point I need to be depressing to jar you b@cK t0 R3#@li##gyf6 !n O0RD4ERm(&kqa#P%&$s1}{?\!?

Oh, crud. Sorry.

My prototype file decoder got mixed in with my custom documents. (Facepalm intensifies.)

Don't worry, the FBI ain't meddling with us here. And the files are virus-free. Besides, I undone the mistakes.

As I was saying, I need to jar you back to reality often times to note that the heroes I portray have lives with worth, and that no matter who they are, their humanity is still present, unwavering in their souls… a reminder of who they truly are in this world. The romance in my ships aren't the cheesy, teenage dreams you'd want to relish on. These are real, painful and scarring, which often lead to tragedy.

I made it so that you will pity them as they fall for the world they live in. But never fear! This story has a good ending, so they'll probably live.

Live and die at the same time? Arcturus, how's that even possible? Just read. I have a suitable ending planned already.

I also seem to drop a cliffhanger IN EVERY CHAPTER that I write. I only noticed that when I checked out my stories to find ways to maintain my flow. I decided that I send cliffhangers in almost every chapter to keep you hooked on what happens next.

And if you're wondering, Alucard's appearance hasn't changed ever since the encounter with Aurora. And that I was alarmed about the insane drop of views after I didn't post for a few days. I guess you really want me to upload fast.

Back to the story…

Sure, the feast in the Centaurs' Island was neat and filled with tons of foreign food and scrumptious fluids, though that wasn't on the minds of three people: Chou, Alpha and Miya. They often walked around, worrying about their friends and their wicked escapades, and how awesome it would have been if they were with them right now.

"I wonder what Zhao and the others are doing," Miya said. "I hope they're all right. Aurora is… cold."

Chou scoffed, "Yeah, you tell me! With the team's charisma, she'd most definitely agree."

"I wish," Alpha replies. "Beta can't get any signature on this place. Signal is cut. However…"

"We can ask Hylos!" Cyclops said, appearing out of nowhere, happily drinking on the wine. "Problem solved!"

Chou squinted his eyes, noticing the mage's drink. "Um, Cyclops? You do know that's wine, right?"

The giant peered on the contents of his glass with his blue eye. "Oh… I see. Don't worry. My powers prevent me from getting drunk, anyway." He strolls around the bouquet, walking without any difficulty. Alpha couldn't hint any slur on Cyclops' speech.

"Man, I learn new stuff every day," Chou joked.

Hylos walks up to them, staff still in hand. "I took note of your concern. Is everything alright?"

Miya stood up from her seat. "We wish to see our friends, Hylos. We are worried. We want to know that they're safe."

"Come on," the centaur motioned. "Follow me."

The four walked away from the banquet, in which the centaurs and the other heroes told old tales and sung ancient songs in different languages. Even Clint and Minotaur joined in the fun.

Anyway, as they walked up the Fountain of Youth (or Eternal Life), they see Karrie and Irithel on the slope with Leo the smilodon. The duo were chatting a lot.

"I see why the old man warned you of the future," the archer said to Karrie. "You are part of this war. I merely got here by accident. I am glad I am with the centaurs and other heroes."

Karrie nodded. "We all strive to survive this madness. Pray we walk away from all this in safety and grace." She then sees Chou, Alpha, Miya and Hylos on the scene. "What bring you here?"

"Some personal matters," Alpha replied to the marksman. "You can join in, though."

Irithel beckons Leo up. The smilodon let out a faint growl before following the command. The duo walk along with Karrie and the others to the Fountain.

The Dawn Shard shone brightly, a second star in a terrestrial territory. Hylos dipped the scepter once more into the water, but traced a different mark. The water shifts and projects images.

"Please be good, please be good," Miya silently prays.

What they see first was NOT good at all.

They saw Aurora freezing the bodies of their comrades one by one, forcing them to suffer the intense cold. To intensify the suspense, they could hear the dialogue.

"…intolerability of the chaos! I do not see that same Queen in you!" Layla said, aiming the huge cannon she wields on Aurora. The Queen of Ice simply held Layla by the throat, covering her body in frost.

The scene shifts as only Alucard and Bruno stand inside the Mystic Injunction field placed by Gord before he was immobilized. Alucard's face shown pain.

"Layla is merely my half-sister?" he moans out. This catches the ears of Chou and Miya, but not Alpha, who has immediately known this when he encountered the Malefic Gunner the first time.

The water blurs out and warps back, showing a scene of a large battle within the citadel. Irithel catches the sight of a Korean fleet along with an ethnic tribe and a helmed man with golden lion gauntlets.

"The others have come," Hylos says. "Gatotkaca, warrior of the heavens, has joined Yi Sun Shin and Lapu-Lapu for the war."

The final scene comes into place as Hylos cast small ripples in the water. They gasped.

Alucard was grabbing Aurora by the jugular, slamming her body to the ice throne. No one could come close because of the fiery aura he gave off. His hair was swept, and the appearance of his greatsword and uniform changed. His eyes were aflame. Only Ruby had the guts to pacify him, which brought Alucard back to reality, feeling guilty of what he had done. The other heroes, surprisingly unharmed, join to comfort him. The image blurs, and the scene disappears into the dark nothingness.

"What was that?!" Chou exclaimed. "I've seen some crazy stuff. I have seen cyborgs from different timelines, psychotic girls with huge scary weps, but not this! This isn't Alucard. I swear."

"Sadly, it is still him," Alpha replies. "Estes seems to have planned to tell him everything. And I mean everything."

"It's only fair," Miya adds. "All these occurrences happened in one day. It's too fast."

"Chaos urges time to rush, but it remains constant," Karrie quotes. "Time is of the essence, yet it remains all the same. Haste saves what is essential. Cramming forces the impossible. Evil has manipulated our minds. We must be ready."

"Alucard heard another voice, it seems," Hylos contradicts. "Yes, the first one was the Dark Lord's, but not this one. It seems strangely familiar. Even with my wisdom and expertise, my memories fail to support me in this situation."

"Who could it be?" Irithel asks. "Alucard's mind-reading was passed onto via the demonization process, right?"

The centaur sighs. "No. If your statement was true, he'd hear the voices of demons. These were voices of particular people. Selective, and not broadcast. The question is, who telepathically called Alucard during those scenes?"

"Anything you can think of in particular, Hylos?" Miya interrogates, feeling uneasy.

"It cannot be Estes, that is. He can't intrude the mind without proper reason. He doesn't seem like it," Chou answers.

"You're right, Chou," Alpha supports. "Not even his fellow Hunters would brave to do such a thing. Beta here agrees with you." The drone blips around Alpha, indicating a 'yes'.

"The voice said, 'Don't waste all my suffering just for this.' No one from your present group seems to fit this statement," Hylos said. "It also said, 'Get up, Child of the Fall.'"

"Child of the Fall?" Miya's eyebrows scrunched. "I haven't heard of the Fall for ages."

"Wait, hold up," Chou interrupts. "What's the 'Fall'? What does this have to do with my homie?"

Suddenly, a horn blared, echoing around the island. It was time to sleep.

"We shall talk about this later, Chou," the Grand Warden finishes. "If you want the truth, then we better make it to Estes."

Everyone slept in peace into their own tents. Of course, the centaurs needn't a tent to sleep and a cot to lie down, so they stayed outside.

All were at peace… except Karina, who was dreaming. And they were no simple dreams.

She 'wakes' up to find herself on a high balcony at the citadel of the Land of the Dawn. She sees Hayabusa on the edge, looking down on the kingdom. He's with a girl wearing a blue kimono and held a blue Yin Yang umbrella. Her hair was white and flowing.

"Why are you here?" the ninja says, presumably to the girl.

"I've been looking for you. I thought you were gone, and that you don't want to see me." Karina notices that the girl is silently crying. She feels the same dread from Hayabusa, who seems to be trying so hard to look away from the girl.

He then replies, "Do you know how I have longed to see you again? It hurts whenever I think of you, but I still reminisce, because you're a part of me, and we can't deny that." His voice begins to break.

"It's been too long," the girl says. "We haven't seen each other for a decade! Do you even know the troubles I had to face just to know you once more?!"

"I don't!" the ninja shouts. "I don't know why fate is so unfair to us! I really don't! I love you, and I want to hold you, but we're forced not to touch, because our passion is our demise!" Hayabusa looks at the girl, who covers her face with her hands, weeping terribly. He holds out his hand, but then keeps it back to himself. He was crying as well.

The dream warped. Karina is in an unidentified plain, covered with green hills and thin grass. A faraway meteor from the sky falls down to the ground, emitting a low boom upon contact. Karina's location from the meteor was a couple hundred meters away, but she did see someone come out of the object. Then, an array of meteors showered on the land, and out came a foreign group the Night Elf can't recognize. But one thing is for sure… they're extraterrestrial.

She heard one say, "Escort the Dominator to the Land! He seeks to reap the essence! He longs for power!"

The scene shifted, and she was in a dark row of caverns. Someone from the shadows pop out. Karina despised the figure, for it was Alice.

She was the same ever since. Pale skin, sharp face, purple hair, a revealing outfit, and menacing wings. Blood trickled down the corners of her mouth. She wiped it off with her free hand, for the other one held the body of a child.

(I am not kidding, once more. To see that in your dreams is absolutely disturbing. The corrupted files don't lie. Sorry, now, for the kids who are reading this, since you may not be one for violent themes. You can skip away if you're scared.)

She simply threw the pale body to a pile of corpses, consisting of bodies from different races. As long as blood is present, the Queen of the Apocalypse gets it.

"Vexana, things are going according to plan," she said. From another side came Vexana, who was once beauteous royalty, but today, merely a fear.

Her skin was greyish, and her physique is very thin. Her hands were long, gnarly claws. Her headdress was as flowing and frightening as Alice's. She hovers in the air, accompanied by a few of her spirits.

"As long as they are so, the Master will remain pleased," Vexana replies to Alice. "So far, no hindrance was detected."

"Only an unexpected meteor shower," Alice interrupts. Vexana was taken aback.

"What does this mean, Alice? Someone has interfered?"

Alice laughs cruelly. "No, my dear. Someone just wants a part of his claim, and we can come to terms with that."

Vexana sighs. "Alice, don't you fear the converging forces? Our enemies grow stronger within the hour! Why aren't we acting? We have only put Moskov in the field to at least hinder the progress for the retrieval of the 3rd shard."

"He is merely a pawn," the Queen answers. "An elite hound of ours, scouting every move of every fool in his sight. He does his job well. He won't betray us."

Vexana tries to contradict. "But it's only a matter of time before A-"

Alice suddenly hisses at the Necromancer with distaste. "Never mention that name! Even if that vile being has betrayed his virtues, he poses a threat! Something far more than the unaware Demon Hunter. Tempt not desperate men, for they can shift the tides alone."

The Necromancer nods. "So, what shall we do?"

"We gain our own forces and let our pawns do the bidding for us. If we show ourselves inappropriately, the Master shall disagree within the Chest he resides in."

Alice then yanks a body of a woman from the pile of bodies, already dead, due to a broken neck. She clamps her teeth on the neck and seeps out all the blood from under her. The body thinned and weakened until it was greyish and no more. Alice throws the body away from somewhere else.

"Waste not," she mutters.

The dream warped to the final scene. She was inside a room. It was very grand, so she assumed royalty lived inside. She looked out the window.

The view was majestic. Beautiful gardens came into Karina's view, peppered with different flowers. A marble fountain was in the middle of the floral maze. A girl, presumably the princess, sat on the fountain. She wore a white dress and a laurel crown. A wand and sword were on her hands. Karina couldn't help but think that this woman resembles a swan.

She said, "Who are we to not leave this place? The wonders of the world are not present in the heart of Swan! I might have to disobey my family, but I have no choice."

"Hey, you all right?"

Karina wakes up with a jolt. Hilda crouched next to her, checking the conscious assassin.

"You were breathing a tad too fast," Hilda replies. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"I dreamed a lot more than usual," Karina heaves. "I've seen too much in one night."

"You need to tell us, mate," said Clint, who woke up as well. "Anything in particular?"

Karina mentions the dream about Hayabusa and the mysterious girl, the meteor shower, Alice and Vexana and the swan-looking princess.

"The Palace of Swan?" Hilda asks. "If anything, you dreamed of Odette! But… we should be the ones to pick them up. We can't let her go out alone."

Clint replies, "She's fed up from being stuck there. We can't blame her. Have you seen Lancelot?"

"No," Karina answers. "That's her fiancé, right?"

"About to be," said Hilda. "What of Hayabusa? What's so important with that dream?"

"It's something about the girl," Karina says. "He hasn't told me anything about her. Not a single breath."

"And they're to meet. Hayabusa doesn't seem eager to see her, even if…" the cowboy stops, then says in shock, "Wait, Hayabusa has a girlfriend?!"

"We must ask him once we get back. At least we know Vexana and Alice are laying low. But who were they talking about?"

Hilda starts rounding down the topics. "You said Alice doesn't want to hear a certain name. Starts with the letter 'a', right?" Karina nods. "And that they know of the meteor shower and the aliens. But… who is Moskov?"

"A friend of Zhao and Hayabusa's. The Spear of Quiescence," Clint answers. "He wishes to avenge his fallen brethren from the Khan of Thornwolf, which he did. But he has fallen into evil. We can't trust him. We must prepare for his arrival. As for the 'a', I don't have the foggiest idea."

"It could be an angel," Karina suggests. "Who would Alice fear, anyway?"

"But not Rafaela," says Hilda. "Why not we wait until sunrise then discuss it with the king?"

All three agreed and went back to sleep.

The next morning, Hylos, the heroes and the other Centaurs make their way to the fountain. Balmond numbered the centaurs. About a hundred only were present.

"My brethren!" Hylos announced before them. "The hour of vigilance is at hand! We have prepared for this untimely event with all our strength. The Dawn Shard we harbor must be escorted to Estes, the Elven King, safe and sound! Never fear the evil that wishes to claim our lands, or the deception that arises within Gaius, for the light shall be our guide through our journey to the stars!"

"Hoorah!" chanted the centaurs, raising their weapons high.

"Let the demons of hell rue this day, whilst we rejoice, for the Land of the Dawn has united the world once more!"

Hylos then reaches for the Shard on the top of the fountain. He prays, "May the Lords of Order be with us, now and forever." He then grabs it and places it on a knapsack.

A rumble sounded around the island. The flocks of birds flew away, startled and frightened.

"What's that?" Balmond asked.

"Something bad," Miya replies. They were on top of the fountain's hill. They could see the whole landscape… even the beaches of the island.

Alpha was flying around on Beta, scanning the whole place. He then detects movement on his east… a lot of movement.

He zoomed in. Multiple water demons were rising out of the waters, desperately grasping and clinging on the sand, trying to crawl. They were of no direct origin, but they were covered with kelp and corals. Wet, grey hair flowed from their heads. Their physique was thin, but their claws were long, and designed for multi-purpose use. Their faces were barely indistinguishable, but one thing is for sure.

Those are some sharp, nasty mouths.

"Hostiles detected," Beta warned. "Request immediate evacuation."

"Everybody! Dive!" Hylos beckoned the heroes. Five by five, the heroes and the centaurs dived down the fountain to reach the other side.

"Let's go, Leo!" Irithel encouraged the smilodon, before it leaped as well.

"Here we go again," Chou grumbled. "Geronimo!"

Alpha volunteered to go last. He was alarmed by the amount of demons covering the whole island. They travelled with insane speed… 15-20 meters per SECOND.

(If you do the math, that's 1.2 km/h in a minute. And the radius of the island is only 1.5 kilometers.)

"Alpha! Get in!" Karina shouts. "Time to go!"

"Welp, gotta hurry!" mumbles the cyborg.

Alpha jumps off of Beta, gripping the cybernetic spear tightly. He can sense the demons closing in. Seven seconds remained. (Imagine how fast that is.) He barely recognizes the lush forest he discovered yesterday.

He and Beta dive right on time before the grips of a couple of demons got them. But there was something unusual that occurred.

During the initial dive, there was no huge reservoir of water that he had to swim through. He simply popped out of the other side on his feet. Alpha got slightly dizzy to the sudden transition.

"Phew, that was close," Clint said. "You," he points to Alpha, "have a hell of a death wish!"

"I can't die," Alpha replies. "As long as my diagnostics are online."

Cyclops wedges in. "Um, Alpha? That was a joke."

"Oh." Minotaur facepalmed. (Yes, the big boy himself did so.)

"Well, look who's here," said a familiar voice. The Empyrean Turtle was back again. "How's the trip?"

"Why didn't we need to swim farther?" Miya asks.

The turtle answers, "After Hylos took the shard out, a remainder of the fountain's magical properties remained, but it didn't include the protective barrier of water. After the last person got out, the island exploded."

"Wait, what?!" Karina exclaims.

"Yeah! Cyclops, show them."

The mage lets out his hourglass and sets it down. He pressed a button from the tip of the object. A holographic projection of the island appeared, showing the summit. Cyclops swept his hand slowly on the holograph, and the island erupted as a volcano, incinerating the demons that surged on the land.

"Woah," Hilda mutters, amazed. "So, what should we do?"

Hylos and the other centaurs come into view. "We leave the oasis and get to Estes' makeshift portal. He designates it 12 kilometers away."

"Why so far?" Minotaur complains. "We can't cover that much distance in a short time."

"We can," Hylos says. "Someone will come to bring a couple of you in."

The Grand Warden raises his staff, which shone brightly. A wide, bluish path was cast starting from him. The path extended far away. It didn't go exactly straight, as it dodged a couple of sand dunes along the way.

"This pathway increases our speed," Hylos explains. "But we need to leave the turtle behind."

"I am to stay and hold them off," it adds. "I'll buy you the time."

"Wait, hold what off?" Chou interrogates.

Another rumble grew from the dark, chaotic side of the oasis. A horde of demons, mainly Ravagers, Hellhounds and Wombats were on the scene, going straight to the oasis.

"We must hurry, now!" Hylos urges. He and the other centaurs gallop for it.

"Farewell, brave heroes," the Empyrean Turtle says. "It was a pleasure to be with you, at least for a time." He turns to face the oncoming horde going closer to the lake.

"Run!" Karrie yells. The heroes make a run for it, never minding the sudden speed boost from the path. Irithel saw the turtle breathing out a death ray to the demons, who had their attention diverted. They grouped around the turtle and clawed him down, but doesn't seem to take note of the crystal on the back, which was the weak spot of the turtle.

The heroes sped down the sand dunes, catching up with the centaurs. They didn't feel out of breath, and were able to catch up within a minute.

"Man, this is so fast!" Chou cheered. "Unfair that Alpha could fly."

Alpha, who was on Beta once more, hovered around the air to scan the surroundings. He found out that the demons who chose to get in the pathway severely slowed down. Though, the fastest ones seem to gain even more speed away from the path, getting close to the group. Luckily, the early bird was still a decent 172 meters away, while the wombats are having a hard time flying, due to the resistance of the pathway Hylos conjured.

"They're becoming slowpokes!" Hilda yelled. "I like this idea!"

Out of the corner of Hylos's eye, a small group of demons are coming from their west, foolishly attempting an ambush. Irithel and Clint went into the left side and shot down the demons, who were skidding down the sand dunes. Two got too close and tried to leap on the marksmen, but Leo swatted one out of the path, while Minotaur sent the next one sky high with the slap of his hammer.

"Home run, baby!" Alpha cheered as Beta littered the flying enemy with bullets.

"A few Wombats, incoming!" Chou shouts. A dozen of the gnarly, bat-winged creatures came into view with rusty pitchforks and spears. They dived down from behind the heroes, attempting to snag one with their rods.

Miya nocked an arrow and let it fly, hitting one right in the dome. Cyclops lets away cosmic star energy to try and control the demons. The projectiles were slow, so he didn't hit anyone, but it was enough for Karrie to deal with them with her holographic lightwheels. She sidestepped around and around, launching them until the last demon goes down and out. Any downed Wombat was chopped by Hilda and Balmond.

"Faster, faster and faster," Karrie chanted those words like a mantra while the number of Wombats increased, swarming around them.

The centaurs took note of this, so a few from the backline had their bows drawn to give breathing room. But the number of Ravagers grew, seemingly catching up.

"We can't hold this off!" Alpha warned, desperately stabbing and whacking Wombats and Ravagers mid-air, Beta constantly raining bullets. "Wait! Someone is coming!"

"Where?" Karina asks, dashing around, silently, yet quickly finishing off the Ravagers one at a time.

"Right there, on that sand dune!" Alpha points to a hill of fine sand, approximately 392 meters away from the group. It was right next to the pathway on the east side.

"Hold tight! I am stepping on the gas!" a voice called out. It was Johnson on his car form on top of the hill, engine revving.

"Watch out!" Chou warns the group. Hylos sees this.

"Brethren, split!" the centaurs split to hug the edges of the blue path, giving a driveway for the Mustang to use. Johnson speeds down the hill as he leaves a trail of dust. Everybody makes way for the car as he lands on the blue trail.

"Wait for it!" Cyclops says, readying his magic. Johnson then slams into the incoming horde and transforms back into his human form, clearly unfazed.

"Boom-Pow!" Johnson said, releasing a barrage of missiles that directly hit the surviving Wombats and Hellhounds. Cyclops surrounded himself with five magic orbs that spun around him. He became even faster as he dived toward the frontlines courageously. Hylos followed suit with a few centaurs as Cyclops's orbs homed towards a couple of monsters. Hylos and his friends overwhelm the next demon wave like a stampede.

Chou dashed toward the front and slammed hard to the earth with a fist of chi. He dashed once more and kicked an incoming Wombat to the group, following it up with a barrage of kicks that pummeled the poor flyer to death.

After a couple of seconds, the amount of demons reduced, and the next wave was confirmed to be 500 meters away and closing, 5 meters per second.

"This is fun!" Alpha says. He spoke too soon.

A huge, black spear darted from the horde, catching a few centaurs unawares. Shocked with this encounter, Alpha orders Beta to scan the horde. Leading it… was Moskov, who obviously threw the destructive spear in the first place. Every few seconds, he teleports forward, gaining much more distance than the demons behind him. He's closing in at 4 times the usual rate.

"It's Moskov!" Johnson warns. "Miya, Karina, Balmond, Hilda, Chou, Karrie, ride on me! You won't outrun him, but the others can!"

The six clamor to ride on Johnson, who was back in car form. Since there was insufficient room, Karrie volunteered to stay on the roof.

"Continue our journey! 4.1 kilometers left!" Hylos urged.

Meanwhile…

I wouldn't leave out the ladies and gentlemen from the other side, right?

Here's how it went.

All of the heroes have rested, reminiscing on the occurrences yesterday. It has somewhat been marked permanently on their minds.

(In all honesty, I had to scroll back up to see who were the heroes who were assigned. Sorry, faulty memory. Again, they were… Alucard, Layla, Lolita, Bruno, Gord, Hayabusa, Zhao, Freya, Ruby and Saber.)

So let's have a rundown on their stuff.

Saber is replaying the events of yesterday, and analyzes every frame into his internal storage. He is in A5, with Bruno and Lolita.

Bruno wasn't playing his video games, or practicing kicks. He stuck himself lying in bed, worrying about Alucard's condition. His anxiety rose as he randomly fidgeted with his fingers.

Lolita, to calm her mind, worked on the blueprints of the mech she was previously working on. However, she can't seem to remove the thought of Layla.

Layla sits in the mess hall, head down. The Cannon rests on the table. She wants to sleep, but she can't knowing Alucard knows that the two were just half-siblings.

Gord is with Eudora, Nana and Harley, who were self-meditating. He constantly streams around with his board, honing his magic. However, he fears that the foundation of trust is crumbling.

Zhao, Hayabusa and Freya volunteered for the patrols. Yet, they're path seems to always converge to the Demon Hunters' camp. Hayabusa teleports around, scanning the area. The portal left on the main gate showed no signs of activity.

As for our main protagonist… it's really not fine.

Alucard imprisoned (exaggeration detected) himself within his tent, not letting anyone in or out. He forces himself to remember his wiped memories. Bits and pieces come, but he doesn't comprehend.

Ruby was forced to remain outside the tent and encourage the Demon Hunter to get out.

"Hey! You need to come out!" she beckons. "If you need anyone, I am right here."

No reply.

"I know what you're feeling. What Aurora said was true. But she did that to mess your head!"

Now there was. "So what?! I learn that Layla is just my half-sister, and that I have a lost ancestry! Tons of important knowledge intentionally wiped away!"

Ruby sighed. "Are you angry with Layla?"

"No! I am angry about the fact no one lets anything out of their heads!"

"Can't you just read their minds?"

"No," Alucard grunted. "It's just unfair."

"Chivalry is already dead. Can't you see that?" Ruby points out.

"It isn't dead. It's dying." (Take note of that, ladies and gents. And yes, this is what he literally said, based on the files.)

"Hey." Ruby caressed the fabric of the tent. "I don't care about the facts. Not now. I care about you. You've wished to give me the comfort I need and deserve. I know you think you owe your lives to every soul you failed to save. I know you want to avenge your friends and family. But I want you to know that no matter what, we're proud of you."

A moment of silence ensues. Freya hears the conversation and closes in.

"No matter what, we'd be right beside you, and face the problems you face. We'd be right there when you need it. It's not because you owe us, Alucard. We owe you, no matter how hard you reject it. You're drowning in your own reality. You have to blink and see."

Alucard really wished to open the tent, but then hesitated.

"Please. I may have known you for two days, but you're the closest friend I have. And I am sorry for losing my cool every now and then."

Ruby crouched down and slowly unzipped the entrance to the tent. She sees Alucard, slowly morphing back to his original form.

The Demon Hunter she recognizes.

She hugs him tightly, and he responds. Their faces buried themselves on their shoulders.

"I am here. If the world falls, I won't crumble," Ruby exhales. "Your friends owe you for all that you've did. And I tell the truth."

Zhao and Hayabusa hear the conversation and decide to listen in.

"Is it weird that I agree to pair them up?" Zhao asks.

Hayabusa shook his head. "No. I actually agree with you. Though, I pity them."

"Why is that?"

"Their lives are broken. And now, they wish to put it back. Not like jigsaw puzzles, but like a mirror."

Zhao is confused. "Why compare it to a mirror?"

"Mirrors are made of reflective glass. They risk themselves to assemble a borderline-impossible feat. In the end, they see themselves. But will they see themselves as how they were before?"

"Man, you cut deep."

"Take it from me," the ninja boasts, "who actually had a thing."

"Stop it with the roasting," Zhao snickers.

Hayabusa switches the topic. "Aren't you laying your eyes on Miya?"

The spearman scoffs. "Dude. She's my best friend. Though, I'd let fate play with my life for a bit."

"Don't let it get to you, mate."

"Why? Got you too?"

The ninja scoffs. "One day… things will be perfect."

"That, we wish all the same."

Freya barges in. "Why just stand there? You two look like stalkers."

"Come on now," Yun replies. "It's long since we saw this kind of stuff. The prophecy gets the nerves often times."

We move on to the mages.

"This is becoming boring," Nana said to Harley.

"Patience, Nana," the fellow mage answers. "Estes knows what he is doing, and he wouldn't let you out of here that easily. I mean, look at Fanny."

He points towards the Hovering Blade, flying around the Land of Dawn, though, never going over the border.

"Even with her flying, she can't cross the boundaries. She's still recovering a bit, but after a while, she'll soar!" Harley enthusiastically said to the bored cat elf, who was growing sleepier by the minute.

Nana yawns, "Yeah, guess you're right." She begins to slump on Harley's shoulder. It was a good thing the trickster's reflexes paid off.

"You're still in the citadel," Harley pointed out. That became irrelevant, for Nana had fallen asleep.

"Ugh, fine."

Eudora barges in in time. "What seems to be the matter?"

"She's asleep, again," Harley said dejectedly.

"I'll help you out," replied the sorceress.

After a few minutes of travelling back to Nana's house (A4 with the other mages), the pair walks back to the citadel.

"When will we get briefed?" Harley asked. "This takes too long. Only Cyclops had his first mission!"

"Now, now, Harley," comforts Eudora. "It may seem absurd, but it took me two months to get recruited for the 2nd shard. Gord and I are experienced enough. You and Nana still need training. But, I did hear Estes would put you in a future mission."

"YES! WOOHOO!" Harley cheers so hard he didn't realize he bumped on Gord, who barely reacted.

"Oops, sorry," he apologizes.

Gord lets out a grin. "It's all right. When I was your age, I was deeply excited to use magic. Since my guide was a pessimist, he stated all the negative effects of magic."

Eudora's eyes widened. "Was he wrong to tell you that?"

"Most of the time," Gord answers. "After a couple of battles, my body primarily relied on magic, and what you see before you is the consequence of reliance." He points to himself. Harley nodded in awe.

"But I see passion and drive in you. One day, you will be with us into battle, and you won't disappoint your fallen friends."

"Gotta go now! Estes needs me," rushes Harley, who checked his watch. Five minutes before personal assessment. He blinks away, leaving his hat. After four seconds, the hat poofed out smoke, and was gone, too.

"Fallen friends?" Eudora asked. "What do you mean?"

Gord replies, "You know of Harley's true world. He fought the feared Dark Wizards. He lost a lot of his comrades after destroying the core of Demorte. Apparently, it all happened in an alternate dimension. Lolita, Bruno, Alpha and Saber died horribly in the hands of Demorte. He fears the same fate, even until today."

"And he's 12?!" Eudora exclaims. "I want to grant the boy his wishes, but does he have the potential? Not that I doubt, but he has faced a lot."

"He remains unwavering," Gord supports. "If he falls, we catch him. I promised him that."

Suddenly, a loud horn blares. Something is up.

The two mages rush to see what's happening. In the distance, the main gate is opening, revealing the straight, sunlit pathway. Saber joins in and checks.

"Carriage has arrived," said the swordsmaster. "Chased by demons. Intervention required."

"It's not Johnson and the Centaurs?" Freya asks.

Bruno slides up to the group, using his adjustable goggles to see. "Wait a minute. What's that big, costumed tubbo doing on top of the carriage?"

BACK TO THE CAR CHASE.

(Sorry to surprise you XD)

The Centaurs were slightly scratched after feeling Moskov's Spear of Destruction. They turned around a huge sand dune, and Alpha, who was holding off the other demons, could see the wide portal.

"Portal, dead ahead! 2.1 and closing!" yelled the cyborg as he whacks a Wombat and shoots it down with Beta.

"Be lively, brothers!" Hylos says. "Our safety draws near!" The Centaurs gallop faster than ever, then slowed down a bit.

Hylos knocks on Johnson's window and hands the satchel to Karina with the shard. "Keep this with you. We will give enough cover."

Karrie realizes that the Centaurs made a protective ring around them. They buffed the pathway, helping the heroes on foot, who were Minotaur and Irithel. Leo sprinted as fast as he could, trying to dodge any Wombats' pierces and any slashes from Ravagers. Moskov frantically throws his spears around, but Minotaur deflects or tanks the shots, seemingly NOT in pain. The beast bellows, which disrupts the footing of the evil marksman. Nevertheless, the stampede ensues, and a huge sandstorm is converging on the left side.

"We better hurry, folks!" Clint peeks on the window. "The dust mites are coming!"

Miya enhances her eyesight with her bow, and discovers a shocking truth. "Guys… that's no sandstorm."

Another massive horde of Hellhounds and Stalkers frantically try to ambush the group, which was still a kilometer away. Hylos and the others kill off the demons behind them, forcing Moskov to lag behind.

"750 meters and closing!" shouts Alpha. He detects erratic movement from behind. Moskov pauses in place and charges his throwing spear, dark mass swirling around.

"DUCK!" says Irithel. Moskov throws another gigantic spear that impales 5 centaurs and cuts Leo. 3 of the centaurs died on the spot. The others were bleeding out hard. Minotaur goes to the rescue, but the three reject.

"Don't," said one. "We cannot follow you further. We shall stand and fight." They face Moskov, and chant, "For the Light!" as they hopelessly fend off the mobile marksman who finished them off easily. Fortunately, Karrie's lightwheel punctures Moskov's spear arm, rendering him unable to fire.

"That's what you get, scum," Karrie spat.

The demons behind retreated, noticing their failed mission. 300 meters remained, but the other horde is closing in. Cyclops sees the Spear fly towards the portal. Hilda sees this as well.

"NO!" the huntress exclaims as the spear flies through the portal.

"Almost there!" Hylos yells. 10 seconds before the demons reach them. They only needed seven.

The escort braces as they charge through the portal, leaving the failed demon horde to choke on the dust. Moskov grimaces, but wasn't disappointed. He said nothing as he thought of how foolish the group thought they were being targeted.

Because he aimed for what's on the other side.

Before this all happened, Estes conjured the portal, though he couldn't see what's behind.

Alucard, Ruby, Bruno, Lolita, Zhao, Saber, Freya, Hayabusa, Harley and Nana waited nervously. Tigreal, who was keeping a close eye on the other carriage with Natalia, impatiently did the same.

"We help Hylos and the others recover after this," Estes ordered. "We'll-"

The Spear of Destruction appears out of the portal with such speed. The others couldn't react fast, but Hayabusa predicted this.

In a split second, he pushes his fellow heroes to the other side, teleporting maniacally as he tries to prevent them from getting hit. After he pushes Freya off, he teleports after the last MILLISECOND as the spear continued its path. It pierced through the dome of the citadel, a couple of statues crumbling down. Due to Elven technology, the building repaired itself after a few seconds, reassembling every broken part one by one until it was fixed.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Harley shouted in fear. "OH GOD! HOW?!"

"That was Moskov's spear," Hayabusa explained. "It's a good thing I knew."

"What?!" Zhao exclaims. "He was chasing the group?"

"Apparently," Alucard barges in. He looks on the other heroes, apparently dazed due to the sudden transition. Ruby helps Estes on his feet and picks up the moonlight Codex. Her eyes widen as she sees something on it, but she looks away. (Alucard reads her mind and realizes that she saw a part of the 2nd prophecy, but she doesn't remember what she saw.)

Hylos and Johnson run out of the portal, shard in tow. Minotaur and Hilda followed suit.

Bruno eyed on Irithel and Karrie. "Who are they?"

Karrie hears this and says, "Let the introductions rest for now. There's the other carriage." She points to the runaway carriage, trying to escape the demon ambush.

Tigreal walks in front of the path, without Natalia. He raises his shield fearlessly.

"What are you doing?" Nana asks, aiming with her boomerang.

"Putting the vehicle to a halt." Tigreal sprints, charging straight to the damaged carriage with his raised shield. As the two objects came into contact, the car abruptly stops, being lifted high up the ground.

"What?!" Lolita was in shock. She realizes that the shield didn't make a dent. Behind the carriage was a leaping demon, ready to pounce on the gilded knight. Tigreal made sure it met his blade, and the Ravager was cut into two.

"Now, Natalia!" Tigreal ordered. Out of the bushes, Natalia spun and dashed with her bright claw, mincing the scum into multiple bits. An armored panda leaps out of the mid-air carriage, along with a girl with a blue umbrella.

"Let me have some of that action, kiddos!" the panda said as he bounced on top of a poor Stalker, crushing its body.

The girl launched her umbrella towards the distracted demons, yelling, "Shogyo Mugyo!" Multiple violet links generated from the umbrella, tethering to the demons. The enemies try to run, but growl in fear as they slowed down. After a while, the demons suddenly transitioned to the umbrella in such force that some of their limbs were torn.

The girl teleports back to the umbrella, dazing the demons. She casts an area spell that knocks them all away, leaving them dead. The last demon leaped on her, but Hayabusa chops it down in mid-air before it dissolves to dust.

"Well, best that I go now," Chou mumbles. "Dang, I am not even on the same league as these dudes."

"Who are you?" Tigreal asks the panda. "Why were you chased on one of our royal carriages?"

"I am Akai," the panda bows, along with Frogger, who was on his hat. "I assume the Land of the Dawn is here, right?"

"Yes," Hayabusa answers. Zhao felt uneasy. He senses huge dread within the ninja, who couldn't look on his right, where the girl is. She hides her face with her umbrella, her blue kimono flowing with the wind.

Akai walks proudly to the entrance, then asks, "Where's the mess hall? I am famished."

"Let me show you!" Cyclops happily volunteers as he holds Akai's hand to escort him. The blue girl walks to the group in silence.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asks. "Is there something unusual?"

"Yeah," Miya says. "Hayabusa, you okay?" She calls out to the ninja, who was zoning out, tears silently streaming down his face. He walks slowly, but doesn't answer.

"Bad news?" Layla asks, who arrives late in the scene.

"Your friend cannot contain his past," Hylos explains. "Guilt and shame haunts him."

"Who is the girl?" Alucard asks. "Tell me! Something is wrong with Hayabusa, and we deserve to know!"

"Hayabusa had a friend, a close one," Estes says, taking the satchel from Karina, who speeds off. "They were inseparable… until fate played with their lives. The girl you see faces the same thing as well."

"And her name is Kagura," Saber answers. "Hayabusa's lover."