In the next two days, Cecelia reached the Fusion Rank. Barret Duncan and Hot Rod followed closely behind, and five days later, the duo achieved their greatest desire. They had shrunken, looking like skeletons, after seven days of hard word, without eating or sleeping. As soon as they finished their task, they collapsed—and the next day, Elora and Khrom also became Rank 2.
Far away the storm was brewing at the borders of the Gubia Empire. A large army had gathered in the closest town—Stanlow—to the border, waiting for the enemy. They had already abandoned their garrison, as it won't do any good, holding. The watchtowers standing tall at the walls of the town, the torches flickered, as the guards signalled one another.