The rest of the day after the patrol at the goblin camp passed by relatively peacefully. The Mage Knights left Pale and her friends alone, and there were no other signs of trouble. By the time night began to fall, the sheer monotony of it all had started to make Pale feel very uneasy.

  Many of the other soldiers at the camp seemed to be treating it like some kind of reprieve, the Mage Knights included, but she knew better. To her, this felt closer to the calm before the storm more than anything.

  Pale stepped out of the makeshift baths they'd set up, fully dressed save for her body armor and weapons, still shivering as she did so.

  "Should've brought Kayla with me…" she muttered as she marched through camp. "She probably would have been able to heat the water up…"

  She'd teased Kayla a bit about missing the creature comforts the Luminarium had offered them, but at this point, Pale was starting to miss them, too. If nothing else, she'd grown used to the Luminarium's hot water, and definitely missed it.

  "Pale."

  At the sound of Valerie's voice, Pale paused. She turned and found her friend standing between rows of tents, an anxious look on her face.

  "Valerie," Pale greeted. "Something on your mind?"

  "You could say that. Can we talk? Just the two of us?"

  "Absolutely."

  Valerie nodded, then motioned for Pale to follow her. The two of them strode through camp, eventually ending up at one of the back corners, away from most prying eyes save for a pair of Mage Knights who were stationed nearby, eyeing them warily as they whispered to each other.

  "What is it?" Pale asked.

  Valerie bit her lip. "...I just wanted to ask… what do you think of the Assassins?"

  "What do you mean, Valerie? I think they're clearly very dangerous-"

  "Not what I meant. I'll put it this way – how likely do you think an attack from them is?"

  Pale paused for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't know," she answered honestly. "It's entirely possible they are planning to move against us, but at the same time, it was only a single scout. It's also possible he was sent to gather information on us, and nothing else."

  "Which one do you think is more likely, though?"

  "I can't tell you," Pale confessed. "If we're looking at this from a purely logical standpoint… why send a scout to gather information if you don't intend to act on that information in some way? But then again, if I'm being honest, nothing about the way the people of this world wage war makes sense to me. Every single movement from our former Commander was completely nonsensical and only served to waste lives. I would assume that the Otrudians have better commanders than that, but at this point, I can't be sure."

  Valerie suddenly had a funny look cross her face. She turned towards Pale, her head tilted in confusion.

  "What was that you just said?" she asked.

  Pale blinked. "I'm not sure I follow-"

  "Something about the people of this world. What did you mean by that?"

  Again, Pale blinked in surprise. After a moment, she let out a heavy sigh and shook her head.

  "...I owe you an explanation, I suppose," she confessed. "Frankly, this is overdue, anyway. And you're one of my only friends – you have a right to know."

  "Know what?"

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "To put it simply, Valerie, I'm not from this world originally."

  Valerie fell silent, staring at her with a stone-faced expression. "...What does that mean, exactly?"

  "It means I come from a different world entirely," Pale explained. She motioned to herself. "Look at me, Valerie. Look at everything I wear, the weapons I use, my overall demeanor… my explanation for all of it was originally that I was from a far-away land, but that was only partly true. The full truth is, I come from a different solar system entirely."

  Again, Valerie stared at her. "...How did you get here, then?"

  Pale was stunned by her lack of surprise. "Valerie, you're taking this very well, all things considered."

  "Oh, don't get me wrong, this is the strangest conversation I've ever had. But truthfully, I've known something was up about you basically from the moment we became friends. I didn't know the specifics, obviously, but still. Something was definitely distinctly off about you. But even then… you're still my friend, Pale. That won't change no matter who you are or where you're from."

  Again, Pale was stunned into silence for a moment. A few seconds passed before she finally shook her head.

  "...I don't know why I expected anything different," she confessed. "I guess I've just made it a habit of keeping this concealed from almost everybody."

  "Who knows, if you don't mind me asking?"

  "Kayla knows, obviously," Pale said to her. "Professor Tomas knew, before he passed away. Kayla and I's… adoptive sister, I suppose… she knows, too. Past that? Nobody knows the full truth. Professor Virux knows something is odd about me, I'm sure, as do several other people, but none of them know exactly what it is."

  Valerie nodded in understanding. "And why hide it?"

  "Because I wasn't sure how people would react… and also because there are other things about myself that tie into it, too," Pale emphasized. She motioned to herself once more. "The civilization I come from is very technologically advanced. They have no access to magic, but even without it, they are far more advanced than anyone else on this planet is, to the point where they have begun to colonize other planets outside of their home solar system. And even beyond that… they are capable of creating someone like me."

  "Creating you…?"

  Pale nodded. "I am an artificial person, created in a lab. This human body isn't even my true form; my true body is actually a giant warship orbiting this planet. You've seen me summon machines from the sky before? Those are drop pods, sent from my true form to resupply me with weapons and other types of gear. And those are just scratching the surface of what my body is capable of… if only I hadn't been severely damaged during my trip to this solar system, so to speak."

  A concerned look came over Valerie's face. "What do you mean, you're damaged?"

  Pale let out a small sigh. "...I will give you the brief explanation," she offered. "To put it simply, my creators – that is, the humans of my home system – discovered they were not alone in the universe. They encountered a hostile alien race called the Caatex, who were bent on their complete extermination. A war broke out between the two races, one which my creators were losing until they created me, and I began to help them turn the tide." She shook her head. "Anyway, I was testing a weapon for my creators when I was damaged in an encounter with the Caatex, the circumstances of which saw me transported to this solar system and left me unable to access most of my ship's capabilities."

  This time, Valerie shook her head. "No offense, but this is crazy," she stated. "Not in the sense that I don't believe, but… this all seems so unreal."

  "You think that's bad, try actually living through it," Pale told her. "But anyway… I was transported to this solar system by myself, with no way of returning to my creators and almost no way of them finding me or contacting me. I drifted through space for several decades-"

  "Sorry, what?"

  "This body you see was in storage, so to speak," Pale explained. "During that time, it didn't age. And obviously, my ship can't age, because it is a machine. All this is to say that I spent several decades in isolation by myself, until fate carried me here, to Sjel. At that point, I took this body out of storage, and went down to the surface of this planet, intending to find a way back to my creators." Her brow furrowed. "Of course, needless to say, that idea has gone places since I met all of you… I still don't know what I'm going to do, ultimately. I'm torn between staying with you all and going back to finish the war my creators designed me for. But that is all contingent on finishing this war first, obviously."

  Valerie's eyes widened. "Several decades…? You spent several decades in complete isolation?"

  "Yes, that is-"

  Pale didn't get a chance to finish before Valerie suddenly lunged forwards and wrapped her arms around her. Pale froze for a few seconds before reciprocating her hug.

  "I'm sorry," Valerie muttered. "I can't imagine everything you've been through."

  "It's not that bad," Pale assured her.

  "Yes, it is. They built you to be a war machine, Pale. And then in the process of doing your duty, you've had to go through so much…"

  "Valerie, seriously, it's not that big a deal."

  Valerie's only response was to tighten the hug even further. Pale stiffened, but didn't resist, until finally, Valerie broke the hug and pulled away.

  "Sorry," Valerie said softly. "I just… I felt compelled-"

  "Valerie," Pale interrupted. "I get it. You have nothing to apologize for. In fact, I appreciate your sympathy… though admittedly, it does make things harder when it comes to choosing what to do."

  "You mean in terms of staying or going?"

  She nodded. "Yeah. But there will be time to determine the answer to that later. For now… for now, I'm just glad that you know. I should have told you sooner, but-"

  "Stop," Valerie urged. "I get it, Pale. Really, I do. I don't blame you for it, and honestly, I'm just glad to know now."

  Pale breathed a sigh of relief at that. "Good… I'm glad to hear that."

  "Mhm." Valerie looked up, frowning as she noticed the position of the sun in the sky. "Anyway, I know that wasn't what we were initially talking about, but I think you've given me more than enough to think about now. I say we head back to the others at this point, before they start wondering where we've gotten off to."

  Pale nodded, and together with Valerie, the two of them began to head back to their friends.

  XXX

  The rest of the night was uneventful. Eventually, it was time for them all to go to sleep. Pale and her friends had been spared watch duty for the night, much to their relief, and so had been allowed to head back to their respective tents without issue. Before long, Pale found herself drifting off to sleep across from Kayla.

  She was so deeply unconscious that she almost didn't wake up when the flap to her tent was opened and someone stepped inside.

  The noise of the tent flap opening was soft, but it was enough to wake her. Pale's eyes cracked open, and she was stunned to see a tall figure dressed in a black cloak looming over her.

  Even more surprising was the dagger in his hand.

  Pale reacted the moment she saw the blade. The figure lunged for her, but she was faster, and drew her handgun from its holster. Just before the man in black could make impact with her, Pale leveled her pistol towards him and emptied the magazine into him. The man reeled from the impact of each bullet; across from her, Kayla woke with a start from the noise of the gunshots, a scream of surprise erupting from her throat. The would-be assassin fell to the ground, one final gasp escaping from him before he seized and then died. Pale sat there, her breath coming out ragged and her heart pounding in her chest.

  And then, a split second later, screams began to erupt from around the entire camp.