One from the Night

"You..." Vine was appalled by Zane's sudden appearance inside the tent. Vine had been locked in the darkness of the cell for many years. After his unsuccessful infiltration of the cult led in his capture, he was relentlessly tortured for information by the cultists. Even after being tortured for more than a year, Vine did not give out any meaningful information to the cult, making them stop. They figured it was no use torturing him any longer and locked him away in the cell.

His time in the cell went by in a pretty uneventful fashion. So he clearly remembered Zane, as it was the only time anything had disrupted his daily routine of all those years. He clearly remembered the white hair and pale skin like that of a ghost. When Zane smiled with his sharp teeth, it complemented his ghostly looks. "You're the one who came in my cell that night! Who are you!?" Vine stood up from his seat and pointed at Zane.

Zane was also gobsmacked when he saw Vine. He also clearly remembered Vine as he was the first victim of Zane's feast of essence. Zane stared at him with a dazed look, unsure about what to say. 'What the fuck is he doing here?? Was this guy from the Sacred Order... I messed up...' Zane was regretting his decision of coming to talk with the Sacred Order.

"What did you do to me!? What did you do to all the knights who turned into beasts!?" Vine shouted at Zane, which made Thorn and Edana look towards him with wide eyes.

Looking at everyone's grave faces, Zane concluded that he had to say something. Wracking his brains for a moment, he blurted out in one go. "I had to do what they said! Or else they were going to kill the kid!" Zane made a resolute expression. "I didn't know what they made me do would have an effect like this." Zane turned his head and met everyone's gaze one after the other. "But even if I did, I would've still done it to save the kid."

His chest puffed out and his unwavering gaze made the three of them calm down a bit. Vine looked at Zane and clenched his teeth. "So you didn't have a choice...." He thought about all the knights who had to meet a terrible fate and sighed. "However noble your intentions were while taking these actions, you and that kid still are rogue seekers." He turned his head to look at Zane, his gaze stern. "We cannot forgive you for harming official seekers. We will take you to Arcturus and keep you in custody of the Sacred Order until your fate is decided by the Acrosanctus Church Union."

Thorn stared at Zane with pity, while Edana had a complex emotion on her face. She looked at Zane with guilt and anger. She was more worried about Valentina as she thought about what fate awaited her brother. Zane clenched his teeth and turned around. "So be it." He walked out from the tent with confident stride.

"Haah.." With a heavy breath escaping his mouth, Vine sat down back on the chair. He looked towards Thorn and Edana. "Sorry for not giving you a chance to speak." He apologized. Thorn shook his head before asking in a curious tone. "What happened? Did he have something to do with everyone falling into lunacy?"

Vine's face turned grave. "I wasn't sure, but his reply confirmed it for me." He looked at Thorn and Edana, who were listening attentively. "Remember when I told you that something happened recently and I felt like something was missing from myself?"

Thorn nodded his head and listened. "I remember it clearly now. It was that boy and the kid that came and knocked me unconscious. I don't know what they did, but after that, I slowly began falling into lunacy. My thoughts scatter sometimes, my emotions are all over the place, I don't feel like myself." He looked at his hands, and then towards the two again.

"It's a good thing that I specialized in stealth and infiltration. I've trained extensively in mental fortitude so I could barely hold on through the Saint's final bellow." Vine shook his head. "But.. Why was he here? Do you two know him?"

Thorn and Edana looked at each other awkwardly. "I don't know why he was here, but we do know him." Thorn began explaining everything to Vine, from Luesburg to the incident that happened during their academy's camping.

After they were done explaining, Vine looked towards Edana and sighed. "This makes things a little more complicated. I am sorry Edana, but we do not have much say on what will happen to him. Even if his sister is a cadet at the academy, the Union won't make any exceptions for a rogue. Adding to that, he has also colluded with the cult and harmed the knights of the Sacred Order, albeit in coercion." He closed his eyes and leaned back, massaging his forehead with his fingers. "Haah.... Even if our Goddess told us to let him be, that would be hard to do because of the Union."

Thorn nodded his head and turned towards Edana. "Edana..." He could clearly see that she was having a hard time processing the situation. "You can go now. Rest for today. We'll depart tomorrow." He sent her away so she could have some space to think. "I understand. Thank you." She bowed towards the both of them before exiting the tent and storming towards the area where the rogue seekers were gathered.

Zane was comfortably laying down on a roll of bed inside a tent. The tent was fairly large and could easily fit about six people. Slem was also laying down on a roll right next to Zane. "Did you find it brother?" He asked Zane.

"No, I didn't get to ask them... But I'm pretty sure they don't have it anyways. It was a bad idea." Zane replied in nonchalance. 'To think I was going to ask them... What the hell was I thinking. They're trying to lock us all up again. If I told them about the existence of Szal's Diary, who knows what they would've done...' Zane was lost in his thoughts.

Right then, the entrance to their tent opened and Edana came through. Startled, Zane and Slem propped their body up and looked at who it was. "Oh.. It's just you.." Zane lost interest and laid back down. Mimicking him, Slem also laid back down on his roll.

Edana walked up to Zane and looked down at him with her hands on her waist. "What the hell have you guys done!?" She glared at him, nerves popping from her forehead.