"Take your time, we have all night."

  The teens felt silent as they tried to piece out their experience in a coherent way. After a few minutes, Margos and RaviK looked at each other and cleared their throats, catching Raya’s attention again.

  “So, are you guys ready to talk ?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Very good, so why did you guys do it ? Why did you force your way somewhere you shouldn’t have been, tell me.”

  “Miss Raya, I think that you’re aware of… old relics and scrolls. Remnants of the previous eras of our world.”

  “Yeah. A bit. Wyvern culture doesn’t really teach that stuff. It doesn’t teach much at all apart from our own history.”

  “Oh… But at least you have some knowledge about their existence. It turns out that… there’s an area in the restricted zone we trespassed. It has a very powerful skill scroll that we were trying to get.”

  “Yeah it’s something pretty big for someone who’ll end up battling Demons and bad guys.” interjected Margos. “Liz’a de Wandermer had knowledge about the scroll’s location through… it was a scripture, right ?”

  “I think so, yeah.”

  “But basically that scrolls contains the magic of |Fast Recovery| and we felt like we needed it very much. Especially Ramiel, who’s supposed to… y’know, fight the Demon race. He'll need to recover his strength pretty fast to avoid getting killed by the Demon King...”

  “So we tried to get close to the general location of the artifact.”

  “But it didn’t work." Raya cut off without even looking. "And just so you know, there’s a tamed Basilisk sleeping in a cave in the very same training grounds. What if you guys awakened it ? It can recognize padins, but you... Certainly not. Besides... what you tried to pull off could be considered… actual theft. If what you’re saying is correct, then that scroll belongs to the Papal States. Do you follow my reasoning ?”

  Both twins shifted uncomfortably in their seats, clearly embarrassed.

  “Hey. Quit looking like hurt puppies. I'm just stating the facts. But... one st thing, how many uses was that thing supposed to have ?” the female Wyvern asked.

  “Five, why ?”

  Raya scratched one of her horns at the answer, seemingly deep in thought.

  Five ? But that’s the same number as a trial scroll for Sun Mane’s mid-terms…I'll need confirmation for that.Ugh… I should have read more of the pamphlet Millia gave me...

  In any case... Scolding people of the same age is... strange. I'm barely older than these guys. I'm... wait....Did I really forget ? Don't tell me I really burnt away this too...

  -

  After getting a few more specific points of what happened before she came to stop the golems, Raya suddenly smmed her tail down and got up to stir.

  “Alright. That’s enough for this question. Your answer's believable enough. And your version aligns with what some other student saw and already told us. Next one now. I don’t expect you to answer if you have no expnation for Ramiel's and de Wandermer's behavior. But since you guys were retively close… The elvish Shaman already left the Stats so it had to fall on you.”

  “That… makes sense.” let out the second twin. “But… I think it’s the same thing. I'm betting my hand that Ramiel and Liz’a got scared of not being able to get any more opportunities and they, well you know Miss Raya… They fled.”

  “They fled…” she repeated dryly as her tail whipped at the cold air of the night, showing her frustration and confusion. At some point it almost smmed into the pavement, but it seemed like Raya was making a great effort to not smash it, again...

  “You know what guys ? That makes sense. You weren't with them, so you wouldn't know what went through their minds. So either you’ve… crafted an extremely eborate lie in a few minutes, or they’re dumb enough to forget that… any student of Sir Sun Mane’s institution receives the same |Fast Recovery| scroll you’ve talked about… After receiving a passing grade in the mid-term exams.”

  “Uh ?” The two brothers looked at the Wyvern in astonishment after hearing the revetion.

  Was that ever in the plot of the game ?None of the lore...

  “Hey ! Don’t look at me like that ! I’m not familiar with the curriculum either ! It’s just something Stallion gives to all passing students !” Raya excimed as she crossed her arms in a defensive manner.

  “What the actual fuck…” Margos sighed.

  “Anyway. That’s about it. Sorry to have taken your time.” the Wyvern apologized as she dusted her wings, talons and tail off. “Wait a second, it’s past curfew for you guys. Oh shit. I didn’t realize that I prevented you from getting to the dorms… You'll get into trouble if someone sees you wandering alone, right ?"

  The teens nodded awkwardly, remembering that they weren't supposed to be here at this hour.

  "... Say, how can I make up for it ? You won't get scolded if you're with me. I can even get you back to the dorm whenever you want to.”

  RaviK and Margos looked at each other and their rumbling stomachs.

  “Lunch first, no ?”

  “It’s worth a shot..."

  Raya rose an eyebrow at the teens' hesitation.“Oh, so dinner it is ! Alright you rule-breakers ! There's this nice tavern many go in after duty.”

  “Uh, thanks ?”

  “Oh and one more thing… We'll run into some padin during dinnertime, so either call me Inquisitor, or lower your voice if you still want to call me Miss.” the Wyvern smirked pyfully.

  -

  Fme Fme~Gentle Fme~The pig you’re cooking~Is a delicious one~

  ...

  That was… Definitely strange.And what the fuck were these made-up lyrics ?!

  This Raya before Margos and RaviK… Wasn’t the Raya who saved them in the training grounds.

  The one from the training grounds was angry, furious even. She was violent, impulsive and lost in the heat of battle.

  But... This one was cheerful, pyful and passionate. She was kind, excitable, caring and very lively overall. This wasn’t the raging mass of scales and muscles from before. When the three barged in at... almost midnight... the many padins that were still eating greeted her in an either friendly manner, or a respectful one.

  In return, she took the time to greet them and even bought a pig for everyone that was still in the tavern. She was currently showcasing her… roasting skills by gently grilling said-pig with that Fire Breath of hers. The padins nearby were silently enjoying the spectacle, waiting for the meat to cook.

  At first, after Raya presented the menu to the duo of teens, RaviK tried to point out that the dozen of people here wouldn’t eat a whole pig, but he was stopped by his brother, who didn’t want to ruin the moment.

  Raya was enjoying herself, it would have been rude to shorten everyone’s fun. Still, what was that whole change in demeanor about ?

  “Done ! Bon appétit, rule-breakers ! Bon appétit, padins” the Wyvern sing-songed. "Don't forget to leave the less-cooked half for charities. And a cauldron of juices too ! Bnd, dry meat without fat is soulless meat !"

  "Aye aye !" the owner of the tavern responded while sharpening his knives.

  … French ? Again ?Cire de Lune and now… Raya too ?

  "So the whole pig wasn't only for us, uh."

  Now it made sense, it seemed like the other half of the meat was destined for the poor people.

  “Miss Inquisitor ? Where have you heard this term ? I don’t remember learning a nguage that uses… these words.”

  Raya, who was in the process of tearing off the pig's left hindleg, stopped to face Margos.“Oh ! It was the elf girl who left you a while ago. I passed by her and she was saying the same thing to two students who were about to eat. I thought about imitating her.”

  “Oh.”Well that answer made sense.

  "..."

  “... Alright guys. Spill it. What’s troubling you ? I noticed you’ve been staring at me for quite a while.” Raya softly said as she slumped in a chair, handing two ptes of steaming meat and stew to the twins.

  “Well…” the rule-breakers began simultaneously.

  “I won’t get mad. I promise. I swear on my blood. Like... the blood of the st Fire Wyvern…” she whispered and the two teens froze.

  What ? The st… What ?

  “Don’t make such a face, boys. I just shared a big secret as an oath. I hope you’ll do the same after I answer your question.” she eye-smiled cunningly.

  Still, RaviK noticed pain hidden deep in her crimson eyes. Meanwhile, Margos couldn’t help but feel as if they had been pyed. She was right, she had given away a big secret Margos was extremely uneasy with. They would have to give away something that held as much weight...

  “Ask away. You’re free tomorrow, so we can stay here all night ! Unless… the owner kicks us out.”

  -

  ... This is... strange.Why am I getting back some emotions ? I thought that... I burned those to fuel Wrath. So why ?Is it because... I am close to The Divine's aura when near the Cathedral ? Is it because I had an audience with Them ?

  Was it a gift ? Or is it a curse ? Could it be... ?

  "Raya ? What... are you doing at this hour ?" a sleepy voice came out of the clergy-men's private quarters. Pope Kari was rubbing her eyes with an arm, holding a candle with the other, accompanied by two padins who saluted the Wyvern.

  "Nothing. I was just... having a te-night snack. And having a little chat with interesting people."

  The holy figure nodded along dumbly. She had woken up after hearing heavy steps in the hallway, and wanted to give a quick check. She hadn't expected to come across her new friend, who smelt like grilled meat...

  "By the way Kari." the Wyvern suddenly cut-off her tone shifting to a serious one. At this, the pope's drowsiness vanished. "In truth... It's been about a day since I was graced this audience with the Divine and I've been... well, some of my emotions are coming back to me. I don't know how to expin this. I was supposed to have burnt them, back... back then. But I've been... I don't know. I've been enjoying life like I haven't in the past week... It feels strange. Nice, but strange. Do you... have an answer to that ?"

  The religious figure rose an eyebrow. Both women had already talked about Raya's calmness around the Cathedral, which was expined by her bathing in the Divine's energy. But regaining lost emotions... that was something else.

  "And what about when you get away from the Cathedral's influence ?"

  Raya shook her head."Same as before. Wrath comes back to me and I stop being Raya, the Wyvern toddler."

  "Uh... Maybe it's something like an extension of you reverting to Patience. Maybe The Divine is offering you temporary healing, to enjoy life like you should have ?"

  "Maybe... They asked me what I wanted when I faced Them. I didn't know what to ask for. And frankly, I didn't want to ask for anything. Do you think They could have gifted this to me ?"

  "The Divine giving gifts... It's not... unheard of. My predecessor was always traveling the world to cure the sick, and received the gift of summoning an angel to protect our nds when he became pope."

  "I'll make an offering tomorrow. Speaking of which... I'll have to speak about something important. Very important. Gather your most trusted padins."

  "I... will." replied Kari, caught off by the shift in topic.

  The Wyvern lt out a hmpf of acknowledgment and turned away."Goodnight pope. Be there when the sun passes over the Cathedral's northern tower."

  Pope Kari watched as Raya disappeared by one of the building's hidden passages. This one she had taken was leading to a faraway outpost. But why was she taking it ? Kari wanted to know, but refrained from following her new Inquisitor.

  -

  | I'm sorry Ramiel. I hope you'll forgive me. But this needs to be done... I cannot allow you to stay near such a dangerous woman. Even though a Hero of Humanity is chosen by Them to become a symbol of selflessness... A Hero can only grow where opportunities are. Going back to this academy is your best chance... |

  "Where do you think you're going, Hero candidate Ramiel ? Trying to leave the future Empress alone ?" a feminine voice sounded from a tree above the teen's figure.

  | Ah... these pests. Dogs of the Empire... |

  "Not answering uh ? Is your status as a potential Hero getting in your head ? Do know that I can kill yo-"

  Crow coughed up blood at the aura Ramiel just unleashed. She knelt and felt her squad-mates fainting left and right.

  ? Silence ! Miserable beastkin ! There is no Ramiel ! I am Sky the Earthsplitter ! I am the Holy Sword who cuts though mountains and oceans ! Do not stand in my way ! My mission is not to listen to some tyrant ! I only answer to those allied with The Divine, which you are not, pathetic creature ! Now, get your heiress back and crawl back to the cage you come from ! Go back to lick your emperor's feet ! It is a pce fitting of a subhuman created by otherworlders after all ! You impure spawn ! ?

  The holy weapon watched the... catgirl, as the disgusting species was called, stumbling around before fainting too. Then It sent divine energy in Ramiel's body, enhancing his endurance and erasing the body's fatigue.

  | Time to go back. As quickly as possible. Before any of them wake up. |

  ... All of this. Not supposed to be here. Should I report this ? But where ? Why is Akwa gathering forces ?How many... ?!One, two... five... nine... ten... Why would this guy mobilize the whole First Army ? Is it because The Divine vanished ? No... it would be too simple... They would gain nothing from attacking the Holy Lands...

  Rrrrrrrrr-

  What ?!

  Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-Follower... of... Drake...

  Who... who are you ? Who is speaking ?

  Rrrrrrr-Follower of the Drake Sin of Wrath... Hear me.

  WHO ?! I will not be tempted ! Show yourself ! I will face you ! Whatever you are !

  Follower of Wrath. Immotor !I am... the Beastly Sin of Pride. Hear me ! Heed my warning !

  A... Sin ?! Oh Lord Fire ! I- I am hearing you, Sin of Pride !

  RRRRRRRRR-My powers... My body... are sealed and drained by Cursed Bck Ice. Deep underground. My seal is cracking, but I am too weak. My powers are being stolen.

  What do you...

  SINFUL EMPIRE !ROAAAAAAAR !Help me ! Follower of Wrath ! Warn Wrath ! The empire is using armies infused with my essence...They will csh !

  I- I will ! Hang on, Beastly Sin ! We are trying to free all of you ! Your followers have joined ours ! We will succeed !

  ... Rrrrrrrrrrrr-

  As if it never existed, the cloaked individual in red disappeared with a burst of orange fmes, leaving naught but a charred patch of soil as a reminder something happened there.

  Newborn Drake. You must destroy... All that stands in your way. To free us. Kill the man atop of... this empire...

  -

  "So ? How are your... coding lessons going ? Are you learning anything interesting ?"

  "Hercules ! What a surprise ! I didn't expect to see you here ! How are you doing in these times of no-Faith ?"

  "Bah... It could be worse. I'm passing as an adventurer and bodybuilder these days."

  "Interesting. Let me just... Hey goggle, could you remind ChatGPT 69 to finish my code for me ?"

  "... Weren't you supposed to be the one to learn to code ???" the Greek deity asked, dumbfounded.

  "Not my fault every school program says to use these AI things. We're not even coding by ourselves ! What's the point of me making half a hundred bodies to hear fifty times the same thing around your world ?!"

  "Agh... Listen. Maybe you should also try to understand what this AI is about. Don't use it brainlessly. Don't make the same mistakes as we did."

  "Right, right. But I never thought I'd hear a semi-god of strength speaking about using their brains. Strange times, truly..."

  "Hey ! I'm still there !" the Nemean Lion killer shouted in indignation.

  "Tell me Hercules... Are those occupations of yours... truly interesting. Are they fulfilling your desires and spirituality ?"

  "Truth to be told... Being only a half god made me a lot less vulnerable to the loss of divinity than for others. I was able to integrate a vessel in human society without much trouble. And besides... even if it doesn't look like it, there are many people on Earth and on the moon who are interested in survival tips and tricks. The desire to feel Nature's embrace still has a a pce in the hearts of man... in this world of steel and pstic." the demi-god muttered, pensive.

  "I was able to... evade the loss of most of my divinity because I was not only a god, but also a Hero. This part of me was human, and even today, mankind adores Heroes. With my strength and experience, I became someone famous among explorers and people who wanted adventure. With my newfound fame, I kept power."

  "Were all demi-gods like you ? Your experience is a unique one so far."

  Hercules pondered on the interrogation. Not many deities were willing to share such information, but the ones he had encountered so far..."The ones I did converse with managed to find workarounds. As half-humans, we knew the inner-workings of human society and how to profit from them. Father Zeus and the other pure gods are the one who took the changes the hardest... despite our warnings."

  "... I hope to solve this situation as quickly as possible. For everyone's sake."

  "Your Holiness. I believe the Inquisitor has mentioned that we should be near the Cathedral around this time. Shouldn't we hurry ?"

  "Don't worry, Raya herself is always te by a few minutes. We'll be fine."

  "Are you... sure about that ? Isn't she waiting near the stairs already ?"

  The Pope and the troupe of elite padins following her turned their heads simultaneously to the Cathedral's stairway. Sure enough, the crimson form of the Drake Sin of Wrath could be seen walking in circles, hair lit up in raging fmes, with a schor frantically noting down things on a very long scroll.

  As the troupe went closer, Raya's furious tone began to be heard and Kari gulped down, fearing the Wyvern would be angry at her.

  "- and note that down too ! It's something that must be recorded ! I want you to contact all northern outposts, I want every record of the past five days. Records about anyone who crossed our borders. Detailed ! I need to find these Lamia merchants. They gave precious evidence we cannot ignore."

  "What's... all of that about ?"

  The Wyvern and the scribe turned around to face the Pope and everyone she had brought. After a moment of silence, she nodded as a greeting and started going up the stairs. The rest followed suit, feeling the seriousness of the situation.

  After a bit of walking, everyone settled in one of the many secret chamber below the city. Some padins that were with Raya during the HalForge incident rose an eyebrow. They recognized the bck gss stale a Lamia had given to her.

  "This... ? Cellphone, was it ?" one padin wondered out loud.

  "It is. And thanks to it, I was able to get so much information out of two very interesting people yesterday..."

  "What kind of information ? If you reunited us here, it means that it's dangerous,"

  "... At least four outworlders are in currently in our country. Five, or maybe seven in the world.The Hero candidate Ramiel. The heiress of the Akwa Empire, RaviK and Margos of Thassa. Frea the future elven Shaman. The demon and the elf who escaped from me during the purification of HalForge."

  The room went silent. Everyone here had read the scriptures. The scriptures dating back to the Seven Years of Fire. Of the Age of Wrath. Everyone knew that the otherworldly souls that trespassed this ream three thousand years ago... were the ones who condemned Marka to sins and evil.

  Raya clicked her tongue, regaining everyone's attention."Before you get any ideas, padins. I, as Wrath, did promise that no-one that follows me... would not attempt to harm RaviK and Margos, nor their retives. They two do not hold the twisted ideals of three-thousand years ago. My Fire did not burn them."

  Relived murmurs broke out among the padins, and Pope Kari struck the ground with her staff to silence them.

  "That's quite reassuring. If the Fmes of Wrath did not purge them... They can be trusted, right ?"

  "Of course. But the same cannot be said for the Hero candidate and Liz'a de Wandermer. Those two did flee after stealing the Holy Sword. Their intentions are far from clear, and from what these boys told me, Liz'a de Wandermer seems to be the instigator of the two incidents reted to this little clique. A mind from another world, in the body of the heir of the most powerful country of Marka... You can imagine where I am going, right ? A capricious and unruly teen..."

  "Pardon me, Sin of Wrath, but how did you come up with the conclusion that these four were... outworlders ?" an old padin questioned in a cautious tone.

  "I showed this relic to the twins." Raya pointed to the bck ste. "Their reaction was very telling. A Lamia merchant gave this to us during a purge. He said that he got it from one of these pests... Both RaviK and Margos confessed about 'not being from here' the moment I asked about their reaction. When I mentioned their two comrades, they told me they too, were outworlders."

  "I don't understand, couldn't they have lied ? They could have made up some story, right ?"

  "Of course they could have done so ! But the pressure and the weight of the secrets I shared were more than enough to cloud their minds ! I will admit that this was a dangerous tradeoff ! But what I got and by extension you too, far exceeds my expectations !"

  "One secret to another... I see. Thank you for this crification."

  "Hm.. Then I assume that you want us to send some squads to find them again, right ?"

  "That would be the best move. And if possible, I'm trying to track the location of the Lamia merchants the Silver-Fme padins encountered on their way to HalForge. If they have any more information... I would be gd to get it as soon as possibl-"

  The Wyvern cut her own sentence off with a reptilian hiss. As the padins and the Pope avoided the long and thick tail coiling around in the room, they felt the air getting hotter and hotter.

  "NO ! It's... unacceptable."

  Kari and her elite forces watched as Raya... no, as The Drake Sin of Wrath began to smell the air around the room. There was something terribly wrong, they could all feel it. There was Hate, Fury and Violence in the Wyvern's trembling body.

  One of them... These bastards...The pgue of pgue... These... Miserables beings...

  The pope and mage padins wisely decided to conjure protective ice arcanes as the room itself began to activate its magical protections.

  Where ? Where ?! Where is it ?! This pest ?!Above ?! But where ?! Where !...

  Finally, Raya dashed out of the room, cracking the tiles of the floor, ruining the pavement and leaving scorch marks on the walls she bumped into. The men and women looked at each other, confused by the Sin's outburst. She was still calm a few instants ago...

  "That's weird. Did someone touch these lines ? I swore I wrote this yesterday. That NPC's supposed to be here... where did you go, little cultist... ?Let's see. The Sins are pced there and there. The Empire's setting is already set. Launch week is gonna be lit man !"

  ... What. Are. You ?

  Uh ???"What the... I don't remember setting up a wyvern here. Who messed with the area settings, dammit. Alright. Let's override its code. Alri-"

  Are you... One of them ? A developer ?

  "Now they're making self-aware mobs, great. Stay still, will you. I'm trying to fix your code. Let me just open up-"

  Access has been denied by Authority. Errors found:

  - Query invalid. -Mob data not found.- Data values unreadable.

  Virtue and God-levels Credentials required to access the following data.

  Wha- ?! the ethereal figure managed to let out, before a heat wave traversed it.

  It ?! It BURNS ?! H-HOT ! HOT ! ARRRRGH-

  "DIE !" - was the st thing it heard before a winged fist collided with its skull.

  -

  Deep underground, Pope Kari and her elite felt the air abruptly heating again, but to a magnitude incomparable as before.Near the borders, a divine bde fell the power of Wrathful Fire surging.Far away, Gram de Wandermer frowned at the orange and red sky.In the deadly frost, a Demon of many titles froze in terror.

  In another realm, a being felt Their children's warmth.In a dark room, boxes holding the magic of 1's ans 0's melted on the spot.