“What is it? What’s wrong?” Klayson asked his men.

  The watchmen of City D’s eastern tower turned to him. Behind them, in the far distance and beyond the horizon, was City N. Coming in from their forward side was something else entirely.

  “S-sir! We may have a problem on our hands here… Look.”

  He handed the colonel a pair of binoculars. Klayson’s expression was frozen for the first few seconds. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. But it was real enough; within the minute, the oncoming force was so impactful that the windows of the tower were rattling already.

  “My God…” Klayson muttered. “Look at that… Could be an army of half a million, if not more. And they’re just… charging right at us.”

  “Sir? Should we open a channel?”

  “Don’t waste our time. They’re coming with everything they’ve got. Nothing’s going to slow them for a second.”

  “But what can we do, sir?”

  “I see at least twenty of those mobile hammers we’ve heard about out there. Maybe a dozen combat rairer. D could be torn to shreds.”

  “So…”

  “We have no choice. We evacuate immediately.”

  “But…” one of the younger rebels shouted without thinking.

  Klayson turned to him and patiently allowed him to continue.

  “But, sir! We’ve spent a month fortifying this place! I—I thought this was going to be our home base.”

  “Not anymore, I’m afraid.”

  “But… We have to try, right?”

  “Do you see that mass of moving metal and angry Guardsmen out there? This is not retaliation or retribution—nothing so simple. As mighty as the Guard is, they’ve never sent a force this size out after someone. Let that sink in, Private. They aim to obliterate us. To crush our spirit. We can at least avoid pointless death and the complete destruction of this City by evacuating, right now. We’ve already lost D. We’ve lost this battle.”

  “I understand, sir. But who do we prioritize? Do you think they’ll go after civilians?”

  “Those from I and sympathizers, possibly. We need enough manpower here to keep them back, but the rebels still need every man they can get, so… I’m afraid we’ve no choice. Corporal, get the local military out first, and then fill the rest of the trains with civilians—get the officials and I evacuees away next. After the trains return, we’ll fill them with a one to four soldier-civilian ratio. We do as many trips as we can, understood?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  “And as for the central fighting force, we need them all facing that oncoming army! Get moving, people! We’ve got to do everything we can to make sure the spirit we put into capturing this City makes it out intact!”

  “Understood, sir!”

  Viveri, riding on the top of a heavy Guard tank that roared across the open plains, looked on out towards the glowing hemisphere that they were quickly approaching. Three armed airships mirrored weak sunlight onto the army, and there were enough sunglobes attached to the war machines to keep the invasion force under total protection from the haze.

  The pretorian dangled his sword down loosely, giving it a tap now and then out of boredom. He didn’t know how to feel about what he was just about to preside over, and he didn’t appreciate the overgrown armored rairer keeping up alongside sprinkling him with dribble every now and then.

  “If you ask me, we’re really going overboard,” he radioed down to the tank commander below him, who heard him over the engine noise.

  “Sir, we must show these traitors the true might of those who rule over this world! They will know the terror of war iron and rairer tooth!”

  “Eh… Simple lug-heads, all of them,” Viveri grumbled, and then spoke through the radio again. “We’re four-hundred thousand strong, so I guess overkill is Lontonkon’s new style. Didn’t succeed playing it safe with I, so he’s really not holding back this time… Then again, guess that means I could one-up Trinqit. Put another dent in her track record.”

  “Permission to speak freely, sir?”

  “Whatever.”

  “I despise serving under that woman.”

  “Yeah, mutual feeling. Terront can’t even stand talking to her.”

  “But you sir—you’re made of the right stuff! You can keep a cool head in battle. Nothing ever gets to you. You don’t give into rage—and that’s the making of a real commander! I’ll be sure to do you proud, sir!”

  “No one likes a kiss ass, Mr. Tank Commander. Just do your job, blow stuff up. There’s no way we’re going to lose, so go wild for all I care.”

  “Yes, sir! I plan to, sir! These bastard upstarts are finally going to get what’s coming to them! May the Guard stand forever!”

  Viveri, who hated the typical macho, hot-head military bravado, removed his headset in disgust. “War and battles are so boring…” he sighed. “Nothing is as romantic as a good ol’ fashion duel between two rivals or enemies. What’s the point of dying on the battlefield? Nothin’ glorious about it. You get exploded, and no one else even hears about it. Still… I guess it will feel good to win. Just for once.”

  “Sir, yes sir!”

  “The hell?” Viveri turned around to see the tank commander’s upper half poking out from the opened hatch.

  “I apologize for your headset malfunction—we’ll get a replacement right away. Duels may be romantic, sir, but there’s nothing like the adrenaline rush of full-blown combat! But if you ask me, it loses a bit of its ‘oomph’ in a world where death is not an unknown, doesn’t it?”

  “I’m guessing you’ve done this before, huh?”

  “Yes sir! I’ve been in many wars on Earth, and have even seen a few skirmishes in Aurra! War is in my veins! To die on the battlefield is—”

  “Shut up. Just tell me, have you even lived through any of them?”

  “Dying in battle is the most glorious way to go, sir!”

  “I’ll take that as a no…”

  “Look, sir! We’re almost at the City! All men, prepare to open fire!”

  “It’s been a nice chat, but I really should be moving to a different spot now, so have fun and everything.”

  “Yes sir! I wish you a glorious battle!”

  With that, Viveri used an elemental travel technique and turned into a bolt of lightning that bounded across the battlefield. Although he actually only wanted to get further away from everyone else and the smell of burning fuel, the army took it as a sign of power and let out a war cry. Despite the noise, he still hears himself groan in response between leaps.

  As emergency sirens flooded the City’s ravaged streets, Hekens grasped his son’s hand tightly while seeking a path down to the trains.

  “D-Dad, what’s going on?” Jeremi screamed above the crowds.

  “I’m not sure. Just stay close to me at all times, got it?”

  “Y-yes.”

  “Damn it! I can’t believe that this is happening right after I get here! At least I found you, Jeremi. I guess that’s the important thing.”

  “So we have to get out of D now, too, right?”

  “Looks that way. If only I could find out where the other officials are being led. Normally, I’d stay and help, but I feel like this is a lost cause.”

  “Hekens!” a voice called out. “Mayor Hekens! Over here!”

  He turned to see Klayson, standing out in the crowd. Pushing his way through others and keeping a firm hand on Jeremi, he hurried over.

  “Colonel Klayson, I assume? What the hell’s going on?”

  “A Guardian army is approaching the City. Overwhelming size. We’re getting the City’s military and as many civilians as we can out of here. Please, follow me to the evacuation route.”

  “Is—is there anything I can do at all?”

  “I’m afraid not. Now please, come with me quickly. We’ve got to get as many trains out as possible. This way.”

  Klayson led Hekens and his son closer towards the southern end of the City; back towards the capitol building that now laid in ruins.

  “I didn’t believe it when I saw it, Mayor, but the Guard, they’re…”

  Suddenly, a deep crackling sound permeated the air. Everyone froze and fell silent for a few moments. A mighty tremor shook their feet, which was quickly followed by a long, powerful rumble. Almost at once, everyone on the streets found the source and turned their heads towards a group of towers on the south side of the City.

  They had averted their gaze just in time to see them crumble and fall, one right after the other. Huge buildings, each bigger than any tower on Earth, taken down in seconds. The crowd fell back into a panic, now trying to get to safety from the oncoming storm of dust, fire, and smoke.

  “Holy hell…” Hekens muttered. “They’re here already…”

  “This way, this way,” Klayson continued.

  They stopped at a service entrance just outside the destroyed capitol. Klayson tore the defunct door open, and gestured to Hekens and Jeremi to get inside as a distant roar from a rairer echoed across the City.

  “This is the quickest way to the executive transport from here. Just follow the service corridor until you get to the station. But you must hurry—it could leave any minute.”

  “But what about you?”

  “I’m staying. If I can’t guide my men, we won’t last an hour.”

  “And… how long might you last if you do stay?”

  “We may double our expected lifespan,” Klayson said sardonically.

  “It’s suicide. You’re a high-ranking officer—the rebels need you.”

  “They’ll replace me if anything happens. Officers fight one battle at a time, not entire wars. We can’t just abandon our men at times like this.”

  Above, a hundred rockets and missiles took to the sky, filling the air with hums and hisses. They exploded vibrantly after hitting towers, and rained down shrapnel far below. Hekens was completely bewildered by the full might and brutality of the Guard. Jeremi was too scared to move.

  “Go! And make sure Rivia and his men know what’s happened!”

  “I… But, Klayson…”

  The Colonel shoved the two through the service door and slid it shut behind them. He looked back up the City he had tried so hard to capture and keep and let out a deep sigh of regret.

  “Sir!” his radio buzzed in. “The fifth and seventh districts have already fallen! There’s almost nothing left of them! We’re regrouping, but there’s just so many… can’t… much longer… -questing… orders…”

  “Give them as much hell as we can provide,” Klayson ordered back. “We are not going down without a fight, do you understand?”

  “Of course, sir! Praise be to the rebellion!”

  “Everyone, we’re leaving our mark on history. If we have to die to make it that way, then so be it. Now’s your chance to take a chisel to thousands of years of tyranny! Don’t waste it!”

  Nothing came in clearly on his radio; too many people were trying to respond or get a word in. It didn’t matter; he knew how everyone felt.

  “Damn it…” he muttered to himself. “All I wanted was one lifetime where I made it to retirement. Guess it’s just not in my blood.”

  After one final moment to catch his breath, the Colonel took out his specially designed, trusty rifle and charged into combat with the rest of his men, all shouting their best war cries throughout the streets.

  “Where to begin…” Leovyn murmured.

  Lank, sleeping under his desk, whimpered and flipped over. An awkward, impatient silence fell upon the ten people in the room.

  “Hm, no. I’m afraid I don’t know really know where to begin,” Leovyn said with a smile towards Rivia. “Believe me, I tried.”

  “It’s been a while, Jack,” Rivia replied. “Why don’t you just start by telling us what you’ve been doing as of late?”

  “You know each other?” Milla asked. “And his first name is Jack?”

  “No, not really. But sort of,” Leovyn tried to explain. “See, Rivia, myself, and one other person are a kind of… trio. We’re all friends that go way back. Way, way back. Our lifetimes are seemingly almost perfectly synched in Aurra. We’ve spent many lives together in various positions in this world. Just to identify ourselves, we have certain ‘universal’ names. Mine’s Jack. Rivia’s is Peter. By the way… Garder’s already met me.”

  “Right,” he replied. “You’re in better clothing and clean shaven this time, but I see your personality hasn’t changed much. So, um, what’d you do with that village you were hauling around? Finally dumped them off at X so you could come back here, huh?”

  “Hm. You’re not… very quick on the uptake, are you?”

  Garder scowled. “Look, just because I can’t figure something out doesn’t make me an idiot, okay?”

  “I didn’t call you an idiot. Don’t you remember my village? It was mostly women and children. Know why? I was bringing them here. They’re families of some of our staff.”

  “What? Really?”

  “Yes. We used to let our staff out sometimes, but given the recent events, we have to hold them here indefinitely for safety. Least we could do was bring in their families and up our recreation ‘budget.’ Getting here is dangerous enough, as is living in a nomadic village. So… the only real thing we could to protect ourselves was to dress and act like poor villagers. Worst case, our captors would at least have no idea where we were headed.”

  “Smart thinking,” Lechi replied.

  “So, Garder, these are all of your friends, hm?”

  “Well, most of them.”

  “You can save the introductions. Our scanners ID’d you and sent the information straight to me. I’m sure we’ll have time later to get to know each other over a drink or two, but that’s not why we’re here right now.”

  “Yes. This ancient race you speak of—the inglix… what were they?” Wendell questioned.

  “Wish I could tell you something substantial. From the little we’ve found on their culture, we think they were likely few in number, but grew to be very advanced. Just in a different way than we’d think. All that remains of their technology is the datastone holding their genetic design—a massive feat on its own. They likely reached their evolutionary pinnacle at about the time ours began. We don’t know if they originated on Aurra or Earth.”

  “How would that be possible?” Rivia asked. “If they were more advanced than our primitive ancestors, they would’ve destroyed or enslaved us—certainly if they were just reaching their own age of intelligence.”

  “They might’ve, had they any contact with us. In theory, any interaction didn’t come until the very end of their people. Eden’s Burrow is this far down for a reason. It was here that we discovered the first remnants of their society. Eden’s Burrow was a prototype Administration facility built before the current City C was constructed. Those who constructed it never found anything, and for one reason or another, abandoned this place. Due to its size, it was eventually discovered again by City C’s science division.

  “Pangs moved some men down here to investigate an unusual signal that his labs’ scanners picked up. Eleven years later, the demon wreaked havoc under C, destroyed its transfer capability, and opened some sealed cave networks. We explored and found the genetic datastone in a connected, abandoned Administrator facility, and have had it since.”

  “Are you saying the demon came from this place?” Verim asked.

  “No. They’re totally unrelated, as unfortunate as that incident was.”

  “And then you created Norria. So C’s tunnels have been damaged for that long? And the inglix… They lived where the stone was found?”

  “It seems so. We theorize that they evolved into a sapient species deep under the surface, perhaps near an underground river. Thermal vents or a magma chamber could have kept them warm, gave them an ecosystem. We may never know for sure, but it’s a testament to the power of life.”

  “It sounds like they would’ve had difficulties with sustainability if they evolved that way,” Shin stated. “Would that be a viable way of life?”

  “That’s the interesting thing. We believe that they were adapted for subterranean Aurra, not, um, sea-level Earth. Their genetics suggest eyesight designed for darkness. In Aurra, they likely appeared closer to the surface, if not right under the Aurrian sun itself.

  “If that is true, then the Aurrian inglix may have desperately clawed their way back down to reach a more comfortable climate. Aurra no doubt expanded their minds and gave them a completely different look at life, just as it does for us. Imagine growing up underground on Earth. You wouldn’t even know that you were on a round planet, or that something called a sun exists. Whatever happened, I’m sure that Aurra sped them along a path of evolution, and they eventually built a civilization near here. This area is tectonically inactive, making it the perfect place to keep intact whatever they might’ve built down in the local sprawling cave systems. And once the haze arrived, they would’ve been completely safe from it.”

  “What else can you tell us about this race?” Milla wondered.

  “That’s about it, I’m afraid. I’ve told you the majority of our ten years of research. We don’t even know why we found the inglix stone where we did. It might’ve been part of a long destroyed sacred alter for all we know, or perhaps a genetic library. Maybe they wanted it to be found.”

  “We met the Original, and destroyed it,” Garder explained. “Before they left, they told us that Aurra shaped them—not the other way around. What do you think could’ve happened? Are the inglix behind that?”

  “It sounds like you’ve gone on some amazing adventures, Garder. I wish I had an answer. We’ve certainly been studying the aftereffects.”

  “You’re researching many other subjects too, right? Rivia replied.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “Oh, of course, though nearly all of our fields still have pending theories. We’ve got plenty of working studies. For instance, the haze could actually be a microscopic life form that self-destructs when brought out of its environment. Maybe a kind of plankton, in a sense.”

  “Right,” Garder sighed. “A mass of swirling, very hungry orange plankton that covers all of Aurra.”

  “Pretty much, actually. No matter how dim our sun is, Aurra’s temperature stays roughly the same. Because when it gets darker, the haze thickens. To compensate for us, in a way, the haze produces both heat and oxygen that the sun has taken away. And as terrible as this might sound, the haze might dissolve organic matter because it is literally eating it.”

  “Disgusting…” Lechi murmured.

  “Yeah, well, it’s still just mostly a theory. There are hundreds on the haze alone. And ghosts? They’ll still exist in all likelihood on Earth even with the Fragmented Dimension’s occupants removed and released. Just in a more traditional form. They’re likely not conscious, but more of a postmortem spiritual residue that holds fragments of memory.”

  “Um, huh?” Garder replied. “I kind of got what you said, but…”

  “Basically, Earth handles death rather sloppily. It just leaves dead bodies lying around, and spirits leave pretty gradually. Sometimes, they might just leave a little bit behind.”

  “That’s still kind of creepy in its own way,” Temki commented.

  “They are ghosts.”

  “Jack… how is it that you found your way here?” Rivia questioned.

  “Ah… that’s a long story. Getting into it will divulge… well, the primary information I wanted to share with a couple of your friends here. I should just begin and we’ll see where it goes from there. Garder, if I may ask… Well, no; that is pointless. I already know what happened to Kamsa. And Jeryn, for that matter. Fo—ah, three pretorians in one day… Guardian channels were buzzing about it for a week straight. I’m sorry. Especially for Kamsa. I hope that she felt happiness, if only for a short while.”

  Garder looked to the floor and murmured, “It’s okay. She would’ve never been able to live completely freely in this lifetime, no matter what we did. I just hope that someone is loving her on Earth somewhere, at this very moment. That is, if she’s even been reborn yet.”

  “I’m sure that she will be. And Trinqit… She took Rayna from you just like that, huh? She’s quite the witch. I should know. She replaced me.”

  It felt as if the air had been sucked out of the room. Everyone but Rivia and Garder had fallen into a brief state of shock.

  “Rivia?” Milla spoke after a few moments of silence. “Did… did you know about this? You did, didn’t you? You’re friends, after all…”

  “She didn’t literally replace me,” Leovyn added. “Big difference in years and all that, but I was the previous vector pretorian. Joining them was always a dream of mine. But by the time I did, the Guard was almost as corrupt as it is now. I left after a few years. Why I left is where I’m headed with this conversation. This might be hard for you, but I’m the reason why Kamsa and the cloning project exist. It’s been my biggest mistake yet.”

  Garder tried to hold back his anger. “You created that project?”

  “Inadvertently. A man named Nish Formel took something from me that allowed the cloning of a paradigm. While I don’t know the end goal of the project, I can tell you that it began in a laboratory in Y. Nish is a man Wendell may know.” Leovyn looked at Scud.

  “Formel, huh…” Wendell took a deep breath. “He was once a leader of the Watcher’s Elite and someone I considered a friend.”

  “Nish is not on the security council or in the Guard. He’s something of a mad scientist last I knew. Probably still in charge of that damned cloning complex. He’s not your biggest foe, but Garder, if you want to do something for Kamsa, find this man and destroy his project. In the process, you’d be easing a long-standing burden off of me, as well.”

  Milla noticed Garder’s anger subsiding, but spoke before he had a chance to say something he might regret, “We’ll keep on the lookout for this Nish and do what we can, Leovyn, but for now, we’ve really got to get Rayna back and go after Lontonkon and Drides.”

  “I know. I understand fully. Just be aware that Nish is always trying to prove himself to someone. He’s already proven himself useful to the Guard—and that’s dangerous to us.”

  “Leovyn…” Garder just barely spoke up. “How did you get your hands on Escellé’s DNA? Why and how are you the one at fault?”

  “She would have to leave Hold, and she… doesn’t,” Shin added.

  To their surprise, Leovyn’s expression turned into that of held back sorrow. He turned around in his chair and went silent.

  “Leovyn, answer us!” Garder demanded. “This is important!”

  “Even if you can’t tell us, at least continue your story,” Simon said.

  “Jack…” Rivia sighed. “I know this is painful, but…”

  He looked over at Garder and Milla. The two noticed his gaze, and rather fearfully turned their eyes back over to Leovyn’s chair.

  “L-Leovyn…” Milla stuttered. “What is it… you need to tell us?”

  Finally, there was a deep, slow intake of air from Eden’s Burrow’s administrator. He turned back around with his hands clenched tightly in front of his mouth.

  “Garder… Milla… You’ve become so strong, both of you. So handsome and beautiful, as well. When I saw Garder back in the village… my heart ached, like it had just once before.”

  “What are you talking…” Garder whispered.

  “I’ve no right to ask you to call me this, but… I… I’m your dad.”

  They were speechless. Not a single breath was taken from anyone. Eyes grew wide and looks were exchanged as they thought of how to respond. Eventually, Garder opened his mouth, but Leovyn spoke first.

  “And while you’re taking that in, just so you don’t have to go into shock twice… Care to take a guess at who your mother is? You might already feel it. I guess you two could be called Holdian royalty.”

  “What?” Garder yelled out uncontrollably. “Is this a joke? You and Escellé… you’re not our parents. I have memories—clear memories of being raised by two people who didn’t even resemble either of you!”

  “Garder…” Milla whispered. “At… at least let him finish.”

  “It gets worse,” Leovyn continued. “Those eraser twins, Bired and Vadaka? They raised you in Aurra, and then altered your memories when you were old enough to be taken in by the government. Twins raised by twins… An odd coincidence, even given the frequency of multiples.”

  “Stop it!” Garder shouted out. “You’re lying!”

  “Peh. Is it because of my attitude? I suppose some shrink would tell me that my smugness is my way of hiding my shame or guilt.”

  “Why…” Garder was almost in tears. “All of this time…”

  “Garder, why are you so upset? You’ve just met your father,” Rivia said. “The parents you thought dead never really existed. Knowing the truth should bring some solace to you if anything.”

  “But that’s just it! I never questioned it! And now you’re telling me that my memories of my parents are fake? That they weren’t even real? Do you have any idea… It isn’t about love or the search for truth or what the hell ever. I’ve never felt so… so violated. So lied to. All these years… Not once did you seek us out. Not once did Rivia tell us anything. And you’re also telling me that I was raised by those two mind-molesting freaks?”

  “Garder, please stop,” Milla demanded. “This is the truth. Just accept it for what it is.”

  “Why? Why aren’t you angry?”

  “Who says I’m not? But I don’t think I’d be angry at all if it weren’t for the false memories. We would’ve been here learning about our long-lost parents. And this secret has been hurting Leovyn too, I’m sure. You should show him some respect for working up the courage to tell us.”

  “But, Milla, I’m not like you. I like being brought up by someone. I’ve been a surrogate child in Aurra before. It’s okay to be raised by a soldier or a teacher, or adoptive or biological parents at home, as long as someone’s there to help you come of age. Can’t you understand how I feel? My memories of our mother and father aren’t even real. And I’m sure that those two had little feeling for us. The two of us… didn’t have anyone…”

  “We had each other.”

  He looked back down at the floor and no longer found the words.

  “I’m so very sorry,” Leovyn said. “It was because of my cowardice that this happened to you.”

  “Hey, look on the bright side,” Verim piped. “I just got myself a brother and sister. And you two have some powerful parents.”

  “Verim, what does Escellé look like?” Milla asked.

  “Oh, she’s an image. She has long, flowing silvery hair, a perfect complexion… and she’s a kind, motherly figure to all of us. And now that I think about it, you have her eyes and smile, Milla.”

  “Wow,” Lechi murmured. “It’s no wonder you’re so strong, with a watairre paradigm and a former vector pretorian as your parents.”

  “Garder…” Temki spoke up. “Are you okay? Surely you must feel something for Leovyn and Escellé… And I’m sure that they both love you in their own ways.”

  Leovyn added, “I might not be able to make up for what I’ve done, but I’ll never ask either of you to call me your father if you don’t want to.”

  Milla replied, “Maybe it’ll just take time. At least you told us.”

  “I’d very much like to get to know you two… Maybe we can share stories some time, okay? I’d especially like to know about your past lives.”

  Milla’s smile just slightly diminished.

  “Right. I’ll finish my own story. It’s important information, and… you deserve to know the full truth about why I did what I felt I had to.

  “The trio’s known each other for several thousand years, and while we’ve never met on Earth, our lives have been almost always in sync; we’re usually within ten years of each other. Once we were old enough in Aurra, we’d seek each other out, and you know, be friends. Sometimes one of us would be a lady, but it wasn’t like that mattered. Hell, one time all of us were women,” he added with a small smile. “And we’re not the only ones. There are many long-time friends in Aurra that have relationships past a single lifetime. But we were close. We covered each other’s flaws and succeeded together, and we’re an honest rags-to-riches story. We all started at the bottom, and slowly worked our way up the Aurrian ladder.

  “I’m known as the ambitious one. Peter is the calm and collective one. And… Theodore was the one that held the three of us together. I mean, Theo was always completely average, in the best way. A kind person, a reliable person, someone who would never let you down; but really, just a very everyday guy overall. Someone no one could not like. We’ve all served in the Guard together, on and off. You should’ve seen Peter the first time he stepped out in royal knight armor… That was quite entertaining.

  “Two Aurrian lifetimes ago, I came to meet queen Escellé while on a special mission for the Guard. At first, she was wary of us. We were with the Guard, and we had been sent to check up on her. Nothing unusual; the Guard has always kept tabs on her, and it’s not like the Holdians can stop us from popping kill pills on Earth for a little visit.”

  Shin sighed. “I still can’t believe we once let Guardsmen waltz right into our kingdom. Sure, it wasn’t like there was much of a point in keeping them in there, but… Actually, we wanted them out as soon as possible. I hated showing them around as we smiled through our teeth for a while.”

  “Of course, this was back when the Guard was different,” Leovyn continued. “When we were still admired, to a degree. The three of us knew Escellé was beautiful and bewitching, but when we actually saw her… God, I still remember the feeling. My heart fluttered. Our eyes connected for what felt like centuries. I’m sure she thought little of me at first. Peter and Theo warned me about my feelings. I didn’t listen. I had never met a lady like your mother. I knew she was so far above me, but I had to have her. If only briefly. So… after my friends left, I stayed. For years, in fact.

  “The first few months, no one spoke to me. I could tell they were getting pissed off. They wanted to kick me through one of their return tubes. But then three years went by and they got used to my presence. Problem was, if I stayed much longer, I would be in serious trouble with the Guard. I finally worked up the nerve to speak to her. And it was evident that we couldn’t be a pair—not this lifetime. Though she spoke kindly and humbly to me, I knew that I had to prove my devotion.

  “So I bid her farewell. And over a century later, in a very different time, I returned to her. This time, as a junior pretorian. Visits to Earth had become more restrictive, and I didn’t see any other way to get to her than to join them. Working on my thirtieth life and with a history of public service and even some small legends tied to my name, they brought me in. Eventually, I managed to get into Hold again, taking Theo and Peter with me for the ride. Of course, now you know one of them as Rivia.

  “It would take two more long years to finally convince Escellé to share a piece of my heart, with Theo and Peter visiting occasionally in the meantime. I reported to the other pretorians just enough to keep me out of trouble—and this was back in peacetime, so they didn’t care too much about what I was doing in my spare time. Escellé and I would talk for hours. We’d gaze down at the hundreds of thousands below in ‘regular’ Hold. Nothing wore her out. But for the most part, I was kept a secret from all the others.”

  “Now that I think about it, Escellé was acting a bit funny back when this would’ve happened,” Verim said. “She always seemed to be off somewhere. Gave us plenty of pointless tasks seemingly just to keep us out of the kingdom. I might’ve seen you once or twice, Leovyn, but not enough to recognize you as someone important.”

  “Hm, never took Escellé for the romantic type,” Shin added. “She must’ve really seen something in you. It was probably a relationship more of respect and admiration than your typical swoon-oriented affair.”

  “Ha ha, yes, I still don’t really know if Escellé even found me that attractive. Even so, finally, I worked up the courage to break the question.”

  “Did you actually ask her to…”

  “No, no. One step at a time, right? But considering everything, this question might’ve been the bigger one. I asked her to come with me to Aurra, to see the world that she had left behind long ago. And you know what? She agreed. Relinia Escellé would spend an entire, long year out of the kingdom she had presided over for nearly a thousand years.”

  “I knew it!” Verim exclaimed. “I knew something like that had happened! She comes to us out of the blue one day, telling us to take a year off. Just do whatever we wanted out of Hold.”

  “That was the time she promised to me. She probably secretly had the kingdom emptied so no one was there to discover her absence, by telling everyone individually. No one would know the kingdom was empty.

  “Our time out of Hold only strengthened our love. I won’t go into details…” he chuckled, “but somewhere along the way, she got pregnant. She had always wanted children, but because it was impossible in Hold, it would’ve been a great challenge for her. She was happy. So was I. I rarely have kids, but when I do, I really treasure the brats like nothing else.

  “But it wasn’t meant to be. Escellé’s year-long visit had attracted attention long before it was over. For the most part, the Guard left her alone, but they saw an opportunity to kill her and leapt at it. They saw her better off as gone, I suppose. Pretty soon, half the Guard was after us, I had to leave the pretorians in a rather dishonorable manner, and we found ourselves running around Aurra, never able to hide for more than a few days. But as she was carrying you two, we couldn’t risk bringing her back to Hold. None of us knew would happen to you kids. We couldn’t risk it.

  “We thought we were in the clear, but then, possibly two weeks before you would’ve been born, they caught up to us. We had no choice. Theo and Peter saw us to Stonehenge as the Guard cornered us. It was a race against time, as Escellé had been mortally wounded in a skirmish that almost killed us. But as big as she was, she could still put up a fight. She must’ve overloaded suppression and taken out ten Guardsmen, if not more. Not to mention a chunk of the landscape. She was really something.

  “We tried saving her on the other side, but she died in my arms, right in the middle of Stonehenge. Almost poetic. I knew she was home, but I feared so greatly for you two. I was scared, and angry. I told Theo and Peter to go ahead without me—to keep their identities safe. Theo wanted to stay and help me, but I didn’t want to drag him further into my mistake. The problem was that she gave me a lock of her hair as a memento, which I had encased in a jewel so it wouldn’t disappear if she were to die.

  “Guardsmen continued to come through the portal in waves, and I put up a fight until I couldn’t any longer. At the end, I made sure they couldn’t drag me back to Aurra. I had to rejoin my Escellé. I’d stay with her forever if I had to. And so, yes… that’s how they got her DNA.

  “When I arrived, lo and behold, two Holdian babies were waiting for me. Death must’ve put her into labor, or maybe you two appeared in her arms as she arrived. She had returned just days before the others of the kingdom, and it had been up to Theo and Peter to help her see you two to life. It was just the four—now six of us, in the tiny castle’s tallest tower where Escellé went for privacy. Just as our love had been a secret to begin with, now we had two babies that had to be kept a secret, as well.”

  “So Garder and Milla were born in Hold…” Shin murmured. “There was a time when two Holdian infants were right above me…”

  “Okay, so I get that they could’ve been born simply because they were just about to pop out,” Verim continued. “Any earlier, and they wouldn’t have survived at all. But how did they arrive in the first place?”

  “Aurrian babies are born with nothing inside of them,” Leovyn reminded. “So it’s likely that their mother’s life force is connected to them until their spiritual transfer happens. Typically, it’s right away, but in Hold, we didn’t know what to do. We had two quiet little newborns that would be frozen in time so long as they stayed there. And neither of you had a spirit; you were just wiggling worms without a proper conscience. We found you so beautiful, but we didn’t know how to make you anything other than soulless. A terrible dilemma… Without a way to transfer spirits, there was no way to send you to Aurra. You’d probably just disappear in the process.

  “Then Theo chose to make a sacrifice. Our only hope was to sustain you both in some way until we could complete full transfers. Theodore… cleaved his spirit into two and gave half to either of you.”

  “He split his… soul?” Milla murmured. “Is that even possible?”

  “Aurrian Buddhists and certain other religious followers sometimes mention such a thing,” Wendell replied. “Some consider it the highest triumph of the human spirit. You go on living, but in a very different way, with new memories across two lives. I can’t imagine what it must be like.”

  “There is a realm between life and death where spirits flow and briefly reside,” Rivia explained. “It is a place we will likely never see ourselves. But it has long been theorized that sometimes, maybe if someone makes total peace with themselves or reaches some other sort of nirvana, their spirit literally sheds into two equal parts. These parts may be absorbed into other wholes or grow on their own. Some scholars believe these two sides of one existence become true soul mates; two people seemingly destined to be together, whether they be siblings, lovers, or just friends.”

  “He explained it quite well,” Leovyn replied. “Theo gave you both a part of himself and lives on in you. If soul mates are real, then you may be destined to remain close from now on, perhaps for many years.”

  “But how did he manage to do such a thing on his own?” Lechi wondered. “It just seems like such a crazy idea…”

  “I don’t know how or why he learned to do it, but out of the three of us, maybe he was the only one that could pull it off. Because in that life—I guess you could call it his last one—he was Caeden, the previous apostle. I suppose with that much power, he was capable of anything. Theo was such an odd pick for that fate, though. There was nothing special about him. And I don’t think he ever truly accepted the position he was put into.”

  “And Drides is the current one,” Milla replied. “I guess that explains why he’s only a little bit older than the two of us.”

  “It also means you both inherited great power, too. Not only was your mother a paradigm, but you also have half an apostle in you, seeing as Caeden couldn’t provide either of you with a full life. He took you with him, and we placed our faith in what he told us he could do for you on the way to Aurra. With no other choice, Rivia and I left for N just after he left with you both, having said goodbye to a good friend in the process.

  “I was again scared to death of what might’ve happened, but after a bit of searching, we found you both in a hospital closet of all places, thank God. You were still so quiet. Myself with a bounty still on my head, I fled as soon as I saw you alive. Rivia rushed you to an injector, and right after you were reborn properly, I believe you cried for the first time in your current lives. In Hold, you slept, didn’t grow an inch, and didn’t have to eat, so you were both usually dead silent. That made it easier to hide you, of course.

  “And that’s everything there is to say, really. Rivia watched over you and asked Bired and Vadaka to take care of you personally, knowing how important you were. Once you were old enough, they wiped you of your early memories, and that was the day the parents you thought you knew were given both a life and a death. Caeden still resides somewhere in both of you. If you could learn to tap into that power of his, if even a little bit, well… I couldn’t imagine how strong you’d become.”

  “I already have,” Garder finally spoke up. “It happened to me when I battled Trinqit and her army… And you know what happened? I lost control of myself. Some… dark side of me took over and unleashed a fury that I could never match. Wiped out everyone. This friend of yours… This Caeden… he may have actually been sick inside. It was a malevolent power. And I’m worried Milla would be the same.”

  “Garder, is that what really happened back then?” Milla asked him.

  He nodded solemnly.

  “I see,” Rivia said. “Garder, you might’ve received Caeden’s more… let’s call it, emotional side. Milla might have the opposite half of his personality. You’re both very special cases. In your next life, Caeden’s spirit may either completely merge with both of your own, or perhaps instead break away. For now, though, it’s tied to you. There is no precedent for this. There is not a single person in the world that could sit down with you and tell you what this means in full. But it is the truth.”

  “So that’s it,” Milla replied after a few moments of silence. “You’re our… father. Escellé’s our mother. We each have the power of an apostle in us. But there’s something I don’t get. How could I be all of these things, and formerly Queen Seriph? My ability to access the palace and other City A locations has been and will continue to be important to the rebellion.”

  “It does seem too much to be coincidence,” Rivia agreed. “That you would happen to take up residence in Milla Nolland at that exact moment, in that exact City. I’ve wondered about this fact, too.”

  “Maybe we have someone in Hold on our side,” Leovyn said with a shrug. “Regardless, I’m sorry for what I’ve done to you. You could have been like any other Aurrians. But somehow, luck or fate saw to it to send you into my children. Life’s funny, I guess. I know I might seem insensitive, but I’m really not. There’s nothing special about how I ended up here, by the way. I found out about this place and worked my way into its ranks. And it gave me an excuse to keep hiding. I never thought I’d work up to telling you the truth, but I knew I’d have to do it sometime before I died.”

  “I forgive you, Leovyn… I mean, Dad.” Milla smiled. “I think I understand what all you’ve gone through and why you did what you did. I’m sure that you still love Escellé, and it hurts not being with her.”

  “I…” Garder murmured. “I don’t like holding pointless grudges. That doesn’t mean that I can forgive you so easily, but I see no reason not to at least accept things… It might take me some time to warm up to you, Leovyn, but I think… I think I can at least call you my father.”

  “Thank you,” he sighed. “You two are already greater people than anyone I’ve ever amounted to. I’m humbled to have you as my kids.”

  “Jack, I hate to hurry you along, but Rayna…” Rivia spoke up.

  “Yes, yes, of course. We’ve heard nothing about her on the Guardian network, so chances are, Drides still has her. Our first place to search is at the king’s personal fortress, deep in the Red Caspianti sea.”

  “What do you mean deep in the sea?” Temki wondered.

  “Yeah, that place is a disaster,” Lechi added. “Rock spires, strong currents, and crashing waves everywhere. Are you sure it’s out there?”

  “Oh, we’ve known for a while where Drides stays most of the time. The problem is, he has some sort of persistent spell surrounding the place.”

  “Like, what, a barrier of some kind?”

  “Effectively. Other than a direct fibrocator we have no access to, there’s no way in. The fortress sits atop a large rock spire and is surrounded by a very… unusual rain. This rain is so thick and heavy, it’d be like plowing through a waterfall trying to get through it. Normally, that’s not a problem, as Aurra has powerful enough flying machines to overcome such rain, but there’s another problem. This rain is infused with alchemagi sealant of some sort. Demirriages can’t get through it. Aircraft powerful enough to get through would have their alchemagi fuel reserves drained right out. Even a sunsphere’s power would dip to almost zero in the stuff.”

  “I bet if we had something like an F-14 that relies on real engines, we’d be able to get through,” Garder replied.

  “Maybe, but we don’t have access to Earth right now. Among other obvious problems… like getting one of those in the first place,” Leovyn added with a bit of sarcasm.

  “Then what are we supposed to do?”

  “Fortunately, Garder, we have a solution already at hand. A highly advanced warship, the pride of Eden’s Burrow, is undergoing final preparations as we speak. The bird replicates full demirriage functionality, even without a light source, and with the claws Osk provided us, it can tear open the fabric once everything’s back to normal. If that even happens in the first place, obviously. So long as you’re with us, she’ll be your new way of getting around. Want to go take a look? It should be ready by morning.”

  “Definitely,” Simon replied. “Yeah, I really want to see this ship.”

  “So do I. I always want to see it.”

  The communication device on his desk suddenly buzzed, “Sorry to interrupt, but Administrator Leovyn, you have an important update,”

  “Yes? What is it?”

  “City D might’ve fallen to the Guard. We’ve just intercepted reports that they stormed it with a force of incredible size.”

  Verim and the twins looked up at Leovyn, in shock all over again.

  “I… I understand,” Leovyn replied. “Any word from Klayson?”

  “Sorry. None, sir.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Damn it,” Rivia growled. “D was set to be a major staging area for this campaign… If we lose it, it’s like starting at the beginning again.”

  “All we can do is hope that they get as many men out of there as they can,” Leovyn said. “I’m sorry. If your Angels had arrived sooner…”

  “From the sound of it, they wouldn’t have been enough. All we can do now is move on. Show us your ship, Jack… I’m sure it’s going to be an essential part to all this from hereon.”

  “Right. Follow me.”

  The twins stayed in Leovyn’s office for a few moments after the others had cleared out, using the silence to process what they had been told.

  “This changes everything, Milla… Us. What we’re fighting for. Maybe not right away, but I just know that the inglix and whatever they did to this world are going to come back and bite us at some point. Wonder if Drides knows about them…”

  “I just can’t believe we spent time in Hold as newborns. That’s just… such a strange thought on its own.”

  “I’m sorry. I may have overreacted back there.”

  “I don’t think you did. You’re at least brave enough to speak your mind. I don’t like being lied to, either, but the truth is the truth.”

  “But Bired and Vadaka? That’s just too creepy to think about. And I doubt they wiped out their own memories during that time. No wonder they’ve stared at us before.”

  “Still… I think we should find out more about them, right? And thank them for taking care of us when we were young. I know, I know—but taking care of babies is hard no matter the circumstances.”

  “Great. We can also thank them for the free lobotomies.”

  “Garder…” Milla laughed. “Sometimes it’s not easy to tell whether you’re being serious or just joking around.”

  “So Leovyn’s really, really our dad, huh… Wonder what his last name is. Nolland might be another false thing about us.”

  “Let’s find out. Looks like we’re going to be with him for a while.”

  Garder nodded, and they headed out to rejoin their friends and father.