Älskling

"Why did you do that, Eigil?"

"What are you talking about?"

Somewhere in one of Gesmaura's numerous cave systems, a group of Unforgivables made their base hidden away from prying eyes. Even with lanterns, the darkness of the area was all consuming, the twists and turns borderline impossible to navigate. But it provided not only protection from the elements, but from the Sorcerer authorities trying to sniff them out.

As usual, Eigil showed no emotion beyond a slight inquisitive coldness. He was only twenty-eight years old, but his looks were wizened and his body weak, so any non-discerning soul could easily mistake him for middle-aged. Once, he was strong and vibrant, but a years' long battle with tuberculosis took his spirit away, leaving behind a sickly husk.

Eigil, however, wasn't bitter about being robbed of his youth, because he lived.

"Because he lived" was his motto. The very moment of his birth, he was unsafe. Eigil hadn't always been an Unforgivable. No, he was the precocious child of wealthy Sorcerer lobbyists who got on the bad side of their political opponents. And because of that, they were killed. The assassin made an attempt on his life, too, but he lived.

He lived when he got turned into an Unforgivable. He lived when he was savagely beaten by Sorcerer delinquents looking for an easy target, when he was falsely arrested by the police and withheld food and water, when that same assassin came back and tried to finish the job.

He lived.

And he refused to be killed.

But in order to keep living, he had to eliminate those who wished to hurt him.

"Don't play dumb with me."

Leader glared at him with distaste from the old chair upon which he sat. He almost looked like a king sitting on his throne, except the throne was scavenged from the garbage and his subjects the losers and misfits of society. In comparison to Eigil, Leader was healthy, his body pure lean muscle mass and his eyes bright with foxlike intelligence. But despite being only a teenager, he, too, bore scars from his mistreatment at the hands of Sorcerers. And so did Felice and everyone else in the little crew, all of different ages, but all shouldering the same sadness.

"My specific instructions were not to harm civilians, especially children!" Leader snarled. "But you attacked the train depot anyway. What do you have to say for yourself? Well?"

Even that couldn't get Eigil to react.

"The agreement between the Prime Minister and us was no one was to come into Modrica, or out. The ones who tried to smuggle themselves out of the city violated that."

"We only attack cops and bureaucrats. Who cares if they tried to get out? What harm could young kids possibly do?"

"You say that, but are you not a young kid yourself?" Eigil raised an eyebrow. "And look what you've managed."

Felice, who up until now had been silent, drew her pistol on him. "Show Leader the respect he deserves!" she snapped.

"You are also a child, Felice," said Eigil, not caring at all about the gun in his face. "If I may repeat my report from the meeting: His Holiness Zagiha-sa supposedly used his power to set the agreement in stone. If anyone were to violate it, then their side would be cursed to die. The way I look at it, by killing those people, we saved a lot more lives."

Leader faltered. "So that was your line of thought?" he asked.

"Yes."

"But you didn't have to use your weapons. You couldn't have turned them away without harming them?"

Eigil crossed his arms. "Leader, it has been hammered into you again and again that those buffoons will only get the message if we use brutality. We tried peaceful methods, and they didn't work." Leader opened his mouth to speak, but Eigil didn't give him the opportunity to even make a peep. "Might makes right. That's how it is. For years, the Sorcerers lorded over us with their magic. Even the Workers were stronger because they can still get Blessings. But us? We had nothing to defend ourselves with. And now we do. Only by an iron fist can we put them in their place."

"The goal isn't to 'put them in their place.' This isn't about revenge." Leader scowled. "This is about equal rights."

"And we will be equal when they take us seriously." Eigil smiled, but his smile was as empty as the rest of him. "You know how much I believe in this cause. Even if we don't see eye-to-eye all the time, I would follow you into the depths of hell."

Leader sighed. "You already have." He leaned back and crossed his arms. "I see what you were trying to do, but don't draw your weapon so easily ever again. Otherwise, there won't be a next time for you."

"You're threatening me?"

Felice's finger brushed over the trigger.

"Might makes right," said Leader.

--

Mica, as ever, was a gracious host. He brought out some pillows and comforters from storage and set up a cozy nook for Hana. The young man was cheerful, a complete 180 from their moment in the dark chamber earlier that day. She was still a bit out of it; she had no idea how Mica managed to perk back up so quickly.

"I can't believe he left the damn dogs…" Pops muttered under his breath, but still, he had one of Zagiha's corgis on his lap. "We'd better be gettin' paid for this…"

"I'm gonna teach them how to pull a sled!" said Mica, picking one up. It licked him on the nose. "Don't worry, Papa, they'll earn their keep."

"Doubt it. You alone already eat me eat of hearth and home!" He looked over at Hana, scrolling through her Message Crystal. "You've been pretty quiet there, lass. Are you all right?"

Hana couldn't summon enough energy to sound convincing. "Hmm? Um, yeah, I'm okay."

"Teens these days and their damn Message Crystals…"

Once again, Hana's parents flipped out over her staying at a boy's house. But this time, they didn't have any power to make her leave, since because she was being targeted for some reason, and with Téo being a policeman and all, they had to evacuate as well. Eliza was hiding out with a friend in the countryside, while Téo was deployed throughout the area, sniffing out Unforgivable strongholds. And at the very least, Mica made a much better first impression than Zagiha, although that wasn't exactly a high bar to pass.

"Can you come sweep the floor?" asked Mica.

Hana obliged, using her magic to gather all the dust and dirt into one pile. Then she lifted it up and dropped it into the dustbin.

"Sorcerers sure do have it easy," said Mica. Hana felt a little self-conscious about that. "Anyway, tomorrow's Monday, so I have to go back to work. I'd really appreciate it if you could water the vegetables and make dinner."

Hana nodded. How did he do it? How could he be chipper after what happened, talking about the most mundane things in the world as though there wasn't a heavy weight on his shoulders?

She looked at her Message Crystal.

"I wonder what's happening in the city?" she asked.

"I'm sure they've got things under control," said Mica.

Hana sighed. He was probably right. Now that they had time to evaluate the situation, the government must have responded by now. Not only that, but the foreign armies must be on their way. She even bet that in three seconds, Zagiha was going to call to yack it up.

Three…

Two…

One…

The Message Crystal vibrated.

Of course. Classic Zagiha. She opened the Crystal and prepared for his nonsense.

"Hana," he said, and from the tone of his voice, there was no nonsense to be had.

"What happened?" she asked.

--

Hana and Mica arrived back at Rirasiru's Temple late in the night, meeting up with Rory. The man didn't greet them; he just bowed and led them to the hospital wing. Despite its isolated location, many charitable doctors came here to offer their services to the poor. And in this case, also practiced during a national emergency when Modrica's hospital was full.

Zagiha stood outside the operating theatre, his back leaning against the wall. He wore a terrible expression on his face, and every so often glanced at the clock. "Thanks for coming," he said when he saw them. He didn't even have it in him to make a snarky comment. "I don't have any family, so… I'm glad you're here." He dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief.

"How is she?" asked Hana.

Zagiha shook his head. "I don't know. A doctor hasn't come out for hours. I've been waiting here, worried sick!" He sat on the ground and buried his head in his hands. "Everything in my life is spiraling out of control and I can't do anything about it. I should've seen that person… I should've been able to save her…" He silently wept into his chest. "He just… randomly attacked her."

Hana didn't know what to do. She never knew what to do when it came to grief. "Have you let her parents know?" she asked.

Zagiha shook his head. "I'm such a coward. I can't bring myself to face them."

"It's okay to ask for help sometimes, sir," said Rory. He took out his Message Crystal. "I'll call them."

Zagiha just nodded. He was somewhere in between shock and a trancelike state. "Why do I help these people?" he said to himself. "I've tried to be perfect for them for so long. I'm so tired… but I have to be strong…"

Mica started to say something, but just as he was about to speak, the door opened, and the doctor came out.

Zagiha looked up at him. "Can I see her now?" he asked.

He nodded, and Zagiha got up, following after him.

"Wait…!" said Hana. Zagiha paused and turned back to her. "Do you want me to come with you? F-for support?" Awkward. She really didn't know what to do. Zagiha looked like he was going to lecture her, but he just turned around and kept walking.

"Do as you wish," he said, so Hana went with him.

Astrid lay on a sterile white cot, unmoving except for the steady rise and fall of her chest. She didn't even greet them; she was totally unconscious. Several nurses surrounded her, with dressings, medicinal herbs, and other assorted equipment. Zagiha sat down on the chair next to her and brushed her bangs up, revealing her bandaged head.

"Is she going to wake up soon?" he asked the doctor.

The doctor faltered, and pulled up a chair himself. "We need to talk about that," he said.

Zagiha winced.

"The human brain is both a tough and fragile organ," said the doctor. "There are many times when we can walk away from an injury with just a bump on our head, yet at others, when you strike it just right, it causes a bleed inside."

"Yes, well, you stopped the bleed, right?" Zagiha leaned forward.

Hana knew what the doctor was going to say already, but she didn't have the heart to voice it. Perhaps even though Zagiha understood the concept of mortality, he didn't know how frail humans actually were.

"Yes, but this means the brain hasn't received enough air. And with the blunt force trauma, in addition to deprivation… I'm very sorry. The damage is immense."

"Aha, and that's why I'm not in the practice of putting people back together, doc," he said, his lip trembling. "That's why you're the one to fix it! Can't you use your magic God water to heal her?"

"We did use it." He glanced over at Astrid's sleeping body and shook his head. "We managed to stabilize her with it. The God's raw power is immense, but he himself is the only one who can bypass the Laws of Impossibility. Without him using his magic, the springs is just a stronger version of spells and treatments we already have… and some conditions just can't be treated without violating the Laws."

"Th-then her body just needs to heal itself!" Zagiha stammered. "She'll wake up with time!"

The doctor stared at his shoes and shook his head. "Real comas aren't what you read about in stories. There are different severities of them in a scale. And Astrid… unfortunately, her score suggests catastrophic brain injury."

"E-Eh?"

"I'm very sorry. People don't wake up from injuries like these. Even in the minute chance she did, she would need constant care the rest of her life. And then, there's still the potential for complications even years down the line…"

Zagiha's lip trembled.

"Is there really nothing you can do?"

"I'm afraid you're going to have to make some very difficult decisions soon."

"I-I can't." Zagiha wrung his hands, "I couldn't do anything like that. I-I don't have power of attorney."

Of course he'd latch onto something like that. The law was the only thing he had to ground himself in situations such as these. He clenched his hands together and ground his teeth, rising to his feet. "I need some fresh air," he said, and he exited the room, storming out to a balcony. Hana went after him, but was stopped by Mica, who only shook his head.

"Sometimes people really do need their space," he said.

But Hana couldn't help but worry about him. And even though she didn't know her very well, she still felt awful about Astrid. Just a couple days ago they were speaking happily to one another, and now… did her life have to be cut short due to the actions of one man? She thought about Jan's death, and how quickly his breath was snuffed away because of a single mistake. Death was brutal and overwhelming, and in real life, almost nobody ever got the opportunity to say goodbye.

She felt Zagiha's raw grief cut her down to her bones. Maybe Mica was right, but perhaps, there were other solutions for helping people, too. She moved past the young man. Mica shook his head, but he didn't stop her. Sliding open the door, Hana joined Zagiha on the balcony.

He didn't acknowledge her for the first few moments, just staring off into space, his eyes focusing on nothing and everything all at once. "If you're ever stupid enough to love," he said at last, "don't let them go. Hold them until your hands are calloused and bleeding, and then, push through the pain. Because if you're just going to lose them anyway, don't back down without a fight."

Hana didn't talk. She just listened.

"Us Gods are actually forbidden from falling in love. But I disobeyed and did it anyway. All crimes have a punishment. I guess this is the price I'm paying for it." He rubbed his temples. "If only I were a gentler person. I put a lot of the blame on Astrid on why our relationship failed, but it's not like I was a saint." He paused. "I should've put in more effort. I shouldn't have ignored her. I push people away. If only I were braver, I could've told her how I really felt, and maybe, at least, we'd still be friends. But now I'll never get that chance. My älskling… my treasure…"

She knew how he felt. If she were also a little braver, and a little stronger, maybe she could've saved Silvio back then.

"Listen," continued Zagiha, "my life's been punctuated by failure. After the Continental War, I swore I'd always protect everyone. But I've never succeeded once. I can't even manage to be nice. And that's why…" Zagiha paused. "That's why you shouldn't poke your nose into this debacle anymore. Be it the Unforgivables, or the False One, or whatever, I've let you in far too deep. You never should've been involved in the first place. But you're strong, and I'm not, so I guess I was using you as a crutch all this time."

"Absolutely none of this was your fault," said Hana at last. "You were just trying to help me find Silvio, and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. "And you did protect me. You got me out of Modrica, didn't you? And without your help, Isaana would've killed me. I haven't gotten hurt at all, right?"

Zagiha scratched the nape of his neck. "I… I guess you're right. But still, it's for the best if you stayed here. Your weird friend will take care of you." He got up and summoned his weapon, opening up a portal.

"Where are you going?" Hana asked.

"I've made a decision," he said. But there was something very off to the authority in his tone. "I'm going back to Modrica. There will be no negotiations with the Unforgivables, or any war, either. I'm taking care of this once and for all."

"What do you mean?"

"Stay very far away from Modrica," was all he answered in explanation. "And if you see a bright light in the sky, look away." And with that, he disappeared.

Mica threw open the door and rushed onto the balcony, looking about wildly. "What was that?" he cried.

"I don't know… he said he's going back to the city. And something about a light?"

Rory joined them, gasping at what he heard. "Did you say a light? He's going to use that light?"

And then, Hana had a flashback to their fight with Isaana. When he unleashed his true form, he set a tracking beam upon her… that came from the sky…

"What can it do?" she asked, trembling. "What does that light do?"

"Fröken Hana," said Rory, "if he uses that, Modrica will be reduced to ashes. I think he plans to target the Unforgivable ghetto… but that power of his… it's so mighty, surely other innocents would be killed, too."

"What?" she shouted. "Why would he do that? That's not like him at all!"

"He's been blinded by his grief," said Mica. "Did you see those angry eyes of his? He's not in his right mind at the moment. I don't think he's even considered that. He doesn't want to end the conflict… he wants revenge."

"Does he even have enough magic for that at the moment?" she asked.

Rory shook his head. "I doubt it. But he will soon enough. There's no time—he has to be stopped! And not only will he harm humans, but if he manages to succeed, they'll surely seal him away…"

Hana headed for the door.

"Are you sure you want to go?" asked Mica, folding his arms. "If he sees you in Modrica, that might make him angrier. This really IS none of your business."

"Then I'm making it my business!" she snapped, pushing past him. "Maybe I don't have a stake in the fate of Modrica, or the world for that matter, but I have a stake in him as his friend. If he goes through with this, he'll never forgive himself. Aren't friends meant to keep each others' best interests at heart?"

"You're divin' into things you don't understand," said Mica. "If that's your choice, I'll support you, but after this, there's no turning back."

Hana raised her staff, then faltered, remembering she couldn't use magic to get into the capital city. How was she going to get there in time? Was everything conspiring against her?

"You stupid idiot," said Mica, but as usual, he didn't sound angry. Just weary. "Come with me. I'll get you there."

"But what about your work?"

He gave her an uneasy smile. "Friends are also meant to support each others' stupid decisions."

"I'm staying here," said Rory. "Astrid is still my friend, and someone needs to be there for her. I wish you the best of luck."

With that, Mica tugged on Hana's arm and led her out of the Temple at breakneck speed, down the mountain, and through the forest to where his house and dogs were.

--

When Ignatius Crowe arrived back at Isaana's Temple, he was greeted with starkness. The students were all on break, so of course the school was emptier than usual, but he found it odd he didn't pass by any clergymen.

It wasn't that late out. Surely they were still awake.

Turning down an empty corridor, he made his way down to Ffion's office, peering in the windows of every other teacher as he passed. They were made of tinted glass, so he couldn't see if anyone was inside, but he saw that each room was dark. Strange. It wasn't a holiday. There was no reason anybody should be out.

Finally, he arrived at Ffion's office, knocking on the door. He didn't expect much, and his expectations were met when nobody answered. She didn't have a note tacked on saying where she was, either. That was unlike her.

"Ffion?" he called, even though he knew no one would answer. "Are you there? I need to ask you something?"

"Iggy?" Isaana appeared, and he turned around, shocked at how she was dressed. Isaana was decked out in full body armor and armed to the teeth, carrying a bag. "Why did you return? Did you forget about the mission? Or chicken out?"

"No, no!" He shook his head. "Of course not. I need to ask Ffion something important, but I haven't been able to call her, and now everyone's missing… I was planning on returning to Hana afterward."

"Ffion was placed on… administrative leave." Isaana raised an eyebrow.

Crowe felt a tinge in his stomach. Being placed on leave was never a good thing. He wondered what she did, but he didn't ask. But that still didn't explain why she didn't answer his calls.

"And you really shouldn't be here."

"I know," he said. "As I mentioned, I was planning on going back…"

"No! You don't understand! I've evacuated the city."

"Huh?" What was she going on about? Why would she evacuate the city, and didn't that make them vulnerable to Unforgivable attacks?

"The False One is Zagiha," she said. "My Angel told me he plans to attack Modrica, and Komouruska's too close for comfort."

"Him? Attack Modrica?" Crowe blinked and stammered. His impression of Zagiha was he was a bit of a disaster, but he didn't believe he was the False One. Then again, the man was wicked smart. Had he been deceived? If he really planned to destroy the capital, that sealed the deal.

"I can't wait for the other Gods to respond. I will not let this world be destroyed! I'm going over there to fight him. And then, in his weakened state…"

Crowe caught a glimpse of the bag's contents.

"You're going to seal him?"

"Gods cannot perform the Sealing Ceremony. I'm just going to beat him down. I need powerful Sorcerers to do it, and I've got some of the MPs on board. But I'm going to need more. I have no way of gauging his true power if he's the Great Deceiver."

"If that's the case…" Crowe inhaled. "Let me be one of them."

"That's my Iggy. It'll be dangerous, but… I'm sure you can handle it."

The uneasy feeling in the pit of Crowe's stomach deepened. Something, perhaps just raw instinct, told him that Hana was also headed to Modrica as they spoke. There was no time to waste.

"Let's go," he said.

--

Mica and Hana sprinted the last of the way to his cabin. He led her around the back, where a big covered wagon was parked. Putting two fingers to his lips, he whistled, calling the dogs over.

"You've got enough magic stones to protect you?" he asked, hitching up the animals.

Hana nodded. Before they left, Rory gifted her with the large bag he bought from the Emporium. It should be more than enough to use, but whether she had enough firepower to stand up to Zagiha was the question. She had to have faith in herself, she thought, taking a deep breath. She was probably the only one he'd listen to.

Mica finished hooking up the dogs and hopped into the driver's seat, taking the reins. "Get in," he said. "My dogs are the fastest in all the land! If we go at top speed, we'll be there in a few hours."

Hana nodded, running her hands along the side of the chuck wagon. Now that she looked at it, it was awfully strange, yet technologically advanced. It was built with a special system of levers and pulleys, which drew up the wheels to replace them with sled skis, and vice-versa. It was so absurd; it reminded her of something Silvio would make…

Something Silvio would make…

Silvio…

"Hey, Mica?" asked Hana. "Silvio was here, wasn't he?"