Twilight of the last day, 3-A Tactician met with the Auramancer. They appeared at the agreed-upon location, at opposite ends of the forest clearing.

  The Auramancer, sensing the tactician’s intentions even before they had entered the clearing, landed the first hit to the tactician’s leg, an augmented Cosmic piercing spell.

  Support diagnosed the spell immediately, citing the hit and discoloration in the tactician’s blood to be that of poison. The healer began casting a Tonic spell, which the support interrupted.

  The Auramancer stood still while the tactician continued to advance and ignore the blow, albeit with a slight limp. The tactician cast a melded Torrent and Ex-Katagid.

  When the rain and thunder landed, the support managed to cast a basic heal over the noise, fearing a too-high order cure would allow the Auramancer to discover their presence. The attending physician concurred, noting that it had a good chance of sending the tactician into shock.

  The tactician’s hit damaged but did not break the Auramancer’s barrier, and they redirected the tactician’s own spell toward them, which they recognized and deflected, as the spell was far weaker after landing first on the Auramancer’s shield.

  When their own shield fell, the tactician readied several successive spells, resulting in invisible punctures on the Auramancer’s shield, which still did not yield. The Auramancer remained stationary as the tactician quickened their pace and continued to cast, dodging the Auramancer’s easily readable spells: a Grade V trigger spell Dusk which was parried by the tactician’s Frostflurry, and then the Grade V trigger spell Seize.

  At this point, the tactician readied another shield and transformed the earth under them to raise up as they kept running—time was running out.

  The support cast a Stabilizer and Pagos. The healer attempted to cast another shield to stack on top of the tactician’s; failing, they began casting a Veil.

  I intervened with an Aoira at seeing the tactician stumble and stop to check on their leg wound, which the Frostflurry had begun to infect.

  In their defense, Frostflurry is the quickest, most effective counter for a Dusk.

  As the Seize landed, the ground started to shudder and quake, which the tactician managed to dodge as the Aoira nullified it.

  The tactician, receiving the support buffs, began to quicken their advance again, lowering themselves back onto the solid ground, now approximately halfway to the Auramancer.

  They sensed the danger and hurled more spells at the tactician, some of which appeared to be energy orbs that exploded on impact, some of which were full-sized weapons. The tactician conjured their own weapons and several small crystals to disorient the orbs, some of which missed their mark.

  It was apparent at this point that some of the orbs were augmented with Targets, so the tactician cast an Ex-Antigraf, which left bright images of their figure that the orbs collided into instead.

  Not even taking the time to look back, the tactician continued to send crystals forward, most of which managed to hit the Auramancer’s shield several times—none of which were able to break through.

  By this time, the Stabilizer had worn off, and the tactician was slowing down. After a few more spells that were deflected and parried, a Grade V trigger spell for Divinity finally managed to blow back the Auramancer’s shield and gave the tactician enough time to begin an Araise.

  The spell was interrupted halfway with a Mute, and the opponent summoned another smaller shield.

  Seeing this, the tactician slowed down and eventually stopped, collapsing onto the ground a few steps away from the Auramancer.

  Another heal was cast by us, compounded with a Revitalize and Sustain. The physician considered an Enkindle for the Frostflurry but was worried about its side-effects with the poison.

  As a last-ditch effort, the tactician weakly raised their hands to the sky and cast a Grade V trigger spell Meteor with an unknown spell melded into it, which produced several blinding white lights that obscured the falling rock.

  And finally, they constructed a white nest around themselves, which seemed to melt into the blinding whiteness.

  The Auramancer briefly lowered their shield, casting another Dusk before realizing it did not work in suppressing the white meteor, resorting to sending several pillars of earth randomly into the sky. Then, after a few tense seconds, they gave up and prepared a shifting spell that sent the meteor’s remnants toward the tactician’s reinforced shield.

  The comets all fell upon the shield but also appeared to be absorbed into the nest’s shell. The physician noted that the tactician’s life signs were faint due to the muddling of the poison. The one half of the Araise that was spoken appeared to handicap them with a cooldown period, which prevented them from casting it now. The tactician had only a sliver of time left.

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  Then, instead of dealing the final blow, the Auramancer began to walk up to them. They put their hand on the nest.

  The comets it had absorbed were expelled instantaneously.

  Unfortunately, while the Auramancer’s shield managed to show some signs of breaking, the trap only managed to slightly inconvenience them as they expertly dodged the majority of the impact.

  The tactician then emerged from their nest, every shard of it now makeshift spears that were pointed toward the enemy. In the center they knelt, winded and incapacitated.

  Without giving the Auramancer any moment to recover, the spears were launched toward them. All hit, but most deflected afterwards, three of which landed onto the tactician.

  The physician noted that the tactician’s leg was inoperable at this point, but it was possible to cast a targeted Araise through the binding spell we had performed on each other before the duel.

  The proposition was denied.

  In the chaos, the Auramancer’s shield finally managed to break, a single spear miraculously landing on their neck, which temporarily stunned them. The tactician took this chance and propelled themselves up by raising the ground, grabbing the Auramancer by the shoulder before raising a hand to conjure what would be their final weapon.

  However, the opponent regained their footing easily and reached out to grab the arm that was materializing the weapon, effortlessly dislocating the tactician’s arm in one swift movement.

  With a cry, the tactician fell, their weapon vanishing, their grip releasing.

  The Auramancer caught them, knelt down, and held them in their arms.

  The battlefield was silent.

  The Auramancer leaned in toward the tactician’s ear. They seemed to say something, because the tactician responded with their own labored words. None of which were discernible from so far away.

  And then the tactician suddenly went limp in their arms. The physician and healer conducted another verification, whereby they discovered that the tactician’s life signs were somehow now more stable than it had been a few seconds ago.

  Yet the tactician remained stationary in the Auramancer’s arms.

  As the Auramancer waited, they looked up at us in the distance, indicating that they knew we were present. On their face was an expression of victory.

  And then, as sudden as the tactician had gone limp, they regained consciousness.

  The physician and healer conducted another analysis. The tactician had returned to their severely weakened state.

  The Auramancer and tactician exchanged more words, and the latter, under distress, shook their head and said a single word.

  After a pause, the victor spoke a few words, left the tactician curled up on the ground, and then raised a steady arm toward the vulnerable figure. They opened their mouth.

  Ex-Annihilate.

  Gone. All gone.

  Tactician lost in battle, dusk of the last day of the Fifteenth Circle.

  End of log.

  The cream pages ended.

  Staring at the last few entries in the log, Ty touched the harsh, angry words. The marks it made in the paper were so deep that it almost pierced through the back, full of emotion and discord.

  She gently turned the page and saw white, smoother pages with a title at the top: COMBAT REPORT. The handwriting was different, but it was also someone else’s she had seen very recently.

  Academy. First hour of the Sixteenth Circle.

  Success may not be the proper word for this.

  To read the fight that ended up foiling my plans proved to me many things, but there is a lot that was not observed, so much still that is left unanswered.

  This was the first time I had completely lost her. I did not know whether this failure was with that in mind, or if I had tried to fulfill my purpose as the Academy’s Headmistress. I had already failed the Academy several times. I am my own actor in this grotesque play, and I know that many already know. There have been too many failed attempts for this to be coincidental. But no matter the lives lost, no matter the hardships, I am still convinced there is a way of ensuring my happy ending. Our happy ending. No matter how long it took, I once thought. Yet there is no more time.

  We were desperate. The total wipe occurred. But now, I have her. If the tactician had not fallen, if the Auramancer had been the one—she would be gone. Would the world truly be saved?

  But perhaps it is too late, like many have told me. Like he has told me. The Fifteenth Circle was the closest we had ever come. If only I could have held her in my arms. Perhaps I would have been stronger.

  I had made the tactician the second-last obstacle. I believed in him, but perhaps I also knew, in my heart, that he would not have been able to win against the Auramancer. I needed her back. I could not have her back if the Auramancer was dead.

  I didn’t think she would die. They told me that it was the only way. Is the only way through death? The Earth Mother is a cruel mistress.

  The Auramancer, he had given Theo a way out. The true end we had all been seeking, all this time. But he was too weak. Weak like all of us. The one true victor, we all know what it always is. Every time, without fail.

  What had happened when he had fallen unconscious? What did the tactician see to compel him to say no to winning?

  The fault, then, truly lies with him. His weakness. The dead one, the one who said he would live. The world truly got the best of him, didn’t it?

  Faris, no doubt he annulled the permission for an Araise. It could have been done, I think. It was the stacking that broke him. How could that not have worked for the tactician?

  What do we change this time? Must I lose her again? Or is the world destined to burn? Will all be forgiven?

  And then, at the end, do I send the tactician to his death, knowing he is just as weak as me? For the good of the world, shall I sacrifice my own blood?

  But isn’t it natural for a parent to want to protect their child?

  I’ve tried so many times only to come up short. I’ve thought about countless possibilities, read through countless records and reports. I wish there were an easy way out. It’s him. It’s always him. Why?

  My mind’s decision is clear. The council’s decision is clear.

  So why is my heart so heavy?

  The Headmistress’s hastily scribbled signature.

  Under that, a red stamp.

  CLEAR.