Cyn listlessly rested her head against the grimy wall of the room she and Nhanga had been left in by the Elite Knight who had left only moments earlier.

  She glanced at her sister to see her sleeping restlessly on the room’s sole cotton mattress.

  Her eyes then drifted to the window which allowed the solemn light of the morning sky to limp into the room which was on the second floor of an inn on the southeastern side of the city—Sunnyside. Below, panicked motions could be heard.

  Some thought of fleeing to either Ardania or Apollon while a brave few chose to stay and fight for their home.

  A call for reinforcements had been sent out to all states after it was reported that forty-five thousand of the fifty thousand soldiers had died with the rest being captured and this wasn’t even the worst news.

  What filled the hearts of those in Qaya with fear was the fact that the corpses of the dead had been dragged into the Forest of Briars and everyone feared the worst.

  Cyn wanted to run back to Apollon but every time she thought about expressing the thought, an aching lump formed in her throat.

  She was a mending sister, after all.

  Her place was at the side of those in need and Qaya was full of the needy.

  The Elite Knight eventually returned with a leather sack in his free arm. His armour had been darkened by ash, dried blood, along with most of his head.

  He gently rested his great sword on the wall after closing the door and throwing the sack to Cyn who clumsily caught it as the knight leaned against the wall with a thud which awoke Nhanga.

  Cyn opened the sack to find several large pieces of bread as her sister yawned herself into sitting.

  “Where is Sister Zǎochén?” She whimpered prompting Cyn to glance at the knight who tiredly crossed his arms.

  “I do not know. It would do you well not to think too deeply about her fate and instead focus on your duties as Mending Sisters.”

  Tears welled in Nhanga’s eyes and a painful knot grew in Cyn’s stomach.

  They knew that the knight was right but hearing those words felt like someone had dropped hot coals into their chests.

  “Eat up. The enemy stands ever strong and the coming days will only be harder fought. So eat.” The knight spoke in a low thunder but his words bore no negative emotions, even though his brow was crusted with blood.

  Was he being gentle for their sake or was he just that jaded? Cyn didn’t know.

  She didn’t know anything in fact and so distracted herself by asking something trivial although her voice got caught in her throat as she spoke.

  “A-alright, sir knight. And what may we call you?”

  “The name is Fern.”

  “Thank you for saving us, Sir Fern.” Cyn gave him a curtsey before handing Nhanga a piece of bread after which she retrieved one for herself.

  “I needn’t be thanked. Your rescue was most vital since, faced with such a humiliating defeat, morale is at its lowest. The people will need something to keep them going and to keep them fighting. Faith isn’t enough. They need to hear it. To see it. The pillars of their hopes.”

  Fern’s words were an echo of the duty she felt but one glance was all Cyn needed to know that Nhanga wasn’t ready to face anyone or anything at the moment.

  “Sister?”

  “Mmm?” Nhanga softly whined as Cyn sat by her side.

  “If you are not ready just let me know. I would rather you recovered first before we did anything.” Cyn offered her right hand and Nhanga took it, a rare sign of affection between them.

  “I could ask you the same thing, Cyn.”

  “I am ready to give myself to fulfil the duty I was given.”

  “Then I was give myself to my duty as well, for Zǎochén's sake as well.”

  The two nodded to each other before turning to Fern who looked at them with unmoved eyes.

  “We’re ready.” The confirmed in unison.

  “Good, now eat your damn bread.”

  Fern’s stern reminder startled them a little but it was enough to get them to eat although they spent most of their time chewing since their appetites were uncooperative.

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  Fern waited for them to finish before briefing them on his plan.

  “Since the two of you are here as agents of the order, not its representatives, it would be foolish to expect any special treatment or aid. We must act independently but for the sake of the empire and we’ll start right here by tending to those we can. Tell me, how many Cycle Shards have you each absorbed?”

  “Nine.”

  “Seven,” Nhanga answered after Cyn.

  “Mmm… that means both of you can cast [Healing Touch] forty-nine and thirty-nine times respectively. That’ll have to do until I get you some more Shards.” Ferd tapped his smoothly shaven chin in thought.

  “Why would you go that far for us?” Nhanga asked.

  “These may be the delusions of a wizened knight but when I saw the three of you in that Prism, I saw the next pillars of faith and so I made it my mission to protect you and get you to where you are destined.”

  “And where is that?” Cyn asked.

  “I do not know. All I know, all my heart tells me, is that your survival will mean the ultimate triumph for all mankind.” The smallest sliver, a glimpse of a smile crept onto Fern’s face and it soothed the ache in Cyn’s chest, blooming within as well was her sense of duty which she swore to keep alive.

  Fern then led the sisters down into the lobby and as soon as they arrived, all fell silent.

  Fern stepped forward and planted his sword into the wooden floor a little.

  “I know very well the taste of the fear that coats your hearts!” He bellowed, making sure to reach every man, woman and child in the dimly lit inn.

  “But remember that even in the darkest of nights, the light shines through! My name is Fern and come to you with testimony from the front lines. Our enemy is indeed an undead but he also controls the unnamed violence that calls the Forest of Briars home. This combined terrible force cut our brave brothers to gore bits without relent, those who bore witness know this to be true but even when faced with this unspeaking horror, there was hope. We fought back and some of us were even able to survive thanks to the aid of the Mending Sisters who called upon the Cycle itself and guided us to safety!”

  Cyn’s brow twitched a little.

  “Like ushers sent from on high, these two helped me see the way, allowing me to stand before you today!”

  Everyone in the inn turned their now hopeful gazes towards Cyn and Nhanga.

  “Using my faith as a well, they allowed me to draw strength from a place so deep within I could scarcely believe it was even there and so I ask that you do as you’ve always done, my people! Sit with these sisters and deepen your faith! Only then will the path forward be revealed!”

  A tide of cheers erupted from the small crowd who all stood in an orderly line to speak with Cyn and Nhanga who were given two blankets to sit on as they tended to the crowd.

  Most who came simply prayed for the peaceful rest of those they’d lost, a few came to have their injuries and sicknesses cured while the rest came to deepen their faith.

  They asked about the Cycle, its origins, its purpose and the meaning of life.

  Those who believed in Cycle as a deity had an answer to each question.

  The Cycle was not only the essence of all of existence but also the desire for perpetuity.

  Perpetuity of being through the near-endless expanse of space.

  Perpetuity of thought through the propagation of life.

  And that constituted the meaning of life for there was nothing more beautiful than being succeeded by one’s children and watching them experience all the joys and woes of living.

  Fern watched over Cyn and Nhanga as they bestowed this ideology to those who were willing to listen and it wasn’t long before the inn was completely full.

  This was because, unlike what was the norm, Cyn and Nhanga were allowed to speak for as long as they liked.

  They also answered any questions they were asked and joined the crowd in pondering that which could not easily be answered during the breaks the sister took to rest and eat.

  The day ended late for the two but the mood was so positive, they barely felt the weight of their eyelids as Fern led them back into their room.

  “Marvelous work, both of you.” He nodded and the two women, who hadn’t stopped warmly smiling nodded back.

  “And thank you again, sir Fern. For saving us and allowing us to preach the truth of the Cycle, the truth of all things.”

  Fern nodded at Cyn’s thanks as Nhanga yawned while stumbling into bed.

  “Get some rest, both of you. Tomorrow will be long now that people have heard the impassioned voices of two Mending Sisters. More will come and your words will clad them in something tougher than any armour.” The knight rumbled while stepping out of the room.

  “Goodnight, sir Fern!” Cyn cooed and the knight closed the door.

  She then glanced at Nhanga to find that she was already asleep which was understandable since it was past midnight.

  Cyn gently rested her hand on her sister’s before closing her eyes as well, all the while hoping that Zǎochén and all who had died found comfort in the ever-reaching arms of the Cycle.

  .

  ..

  Zǎochén had been awake for almost forty-eight hours as she sat among the imprisoned in the frigid city she’d learnt was called Massacre.

  Those who were captured in the attack on the encampment just south of Qaya had been forced to walk as they were through the treacherous Forest of Briars, stripping the ill-equipped of their clothes and shoes leaving their bare skin to the elements.

  Any who tried to flee were not only quickly caught, by beings who Zǎo learnt were called the Kudamen, they were then presented to the almost five thousand others and brutally slaughtered by slow and brutal means.

  Those who made it past the towering ice walls of the city of nightmares were then led into one of many buildings of solid stone that were so unimaginably big, that they made ordinary humans look like rodents.

  Watching over them in this cold and dark space were the Kudamen and two beings who seemed like the true tenants of the buildings.

  Creatures who, even though she was quite learned, Zǎo didn’t recognize.

  They didn’t speak, wore cracked remnants of armour, and had bodies that were somehow both withered and pale but also looked incredibly resilient.

  Zǎo wanted to cry but she had long since run out of tears to shed in the forest and so she weakly clutched her mostly naked form which ceaselessly rattled under the cold air of Massacre.

  "Welcome, honoured guests, to what will become the seat of the new age! The City of Death!" The words seemed to come from the entrance of the building but they reverberated endlessly as if the speaker was bigger than the building and even the city.

  In truth, he who had spoken, while much taller than ordinary men, was dwarfed by the gargantuan creatures at his side.

  He had dark skin that had a rough, stone-looking texture, had a head of blood-red hair and wore a regal golden gown. He spoke with a nobility that didn’t match his grin, a grin made more terrifying by his eyes which dimly glowed.

  “My name is Haki and, depending on your choice, I will either be the lord you next serve… or the one who ends our life.”