Alex had managed to make his way back into Asgarnia’s gates. Oddly enough, the Shroud seemed intent on keeping its promise to him.
“All right then,” he muttered to himself in a hushed tone. “The less often that happens, the better…if I don’t go looking for these guys, it’ll leave me alone, hopefully into the daytime, where I’m safe…”
It seemed easy enough to Alex. Lay low all night, and move out in the daytime, when the Shroud had no power. He first had to make amends with Midna, though, which would no doubt be no easy task.
For once, he could finally hear himself think without the Shroud’s constant chatter. It had been a good hour or so since it had said anything. For what sinister ideals it had, it at least had a good faith when it came to promises. For now, anyway.
He had to find Midna, but he had no idea where to look. No doubt she had traveled to the Twilight to tell the elders of the unfortunate news…regardless, she might be looking for him now.
The streets had finally recovered from the surprise attack earlier, most of the mess had been cleaned up, the spikes disposed of.
“Alex?” a feminine voice called out. He turned around, revealing it to be Ilia Savant.
“Oh, hello Ilia,” Alex greeted her with all the innocence he could muster, forcing recent events to the back of his mind.
“Isaac told me to come out here and ask you if you were okay,” she said. “He told me you were thinking about a lot. How do you feel?”
“Well, this isn’t the best I’ve felt in a while,” he replied, “but I’m pulling through however I can. I, uh, got into a little fight with a friend, and now I need to find her and apologize…”
“That’s unfortunate,” Ilia replied, trying to console him. “I’m sure she’ll understand what you have to say Alex. People say you have a heart of gold, you know.”
Then why does it feel like stone? He thought to himself.
“That’s an awfully generous thing to say,” he replied out loud, “considering what I’ve seen over the past few days…I can’t say amiability’s been on the top of my priorities.”
“The war’s taken a toll on all of us, some more than others,” she said, “and in different ways for different people. I hope you can work it out.”
“Thanks,” he muttered. “I hope so too.”
She began to walk back to the lab. “We’ll be in here, feel free to come back in whenever you like.” She left him alone once more.
A heart of gold. He wished that was what he had right now. Why did he want revenge in the first place? He wasn’t dead. None of his close friends were. Just a underlying grudge against Roth perhaps? Perhaps it was just the drive of helping out people in need, and right now, the Twili needed his help greatly.
He heaved a sigh. “I wish you were here,” he spoke softly. “I could explain everything.”
“I am here,” Midna replied, tapping him on the shoulder. “You’re a lot tougher than most, you know?”
“So I’ve been told,” Alex replied. “I just want to say sorry for what happened before. So far the Shroud’s been behaving kind of strangely. It offered me this night to myself if I didn’t go looking for Carmine.”
“That’s strange,” Midna mused. “It must sense your will is stronger than the last Twilight Warrior it possessed, and is probably not taking any risks. Has it said anything at all recently?”
“No, it’s been quiet,” Alex said. “At times I forget it’s even there.”
“You can bet though,” Midna kept on, “that whenever the going gets tough, it’ll rear its ugly head to protect you. It needs you to survive, Alex. It won’t allow you to die.”
“That’s probably the one good that comes from this,” he said. “That, and I can only manifest it in the dark. In the bright sun of tomorrow, it’ll be like it’s not even there…”
“That’s for the best,” Midna said. “That is, until Carmine and whatever tricks he has up his sleeve realize that and decide to attack during the day. Perhaps I was wrong, Alex…”
“How so?”
“Maybe you can be the one person to control the Shroud…maybe you can take it over, rather than the other way around. But it fears control. Eventually, it might be terrified to the point of departing entirely.”
“Something tells me that time is far off,” Alex said. “It seems adamant about being manifested by me whenever possible. It’s just a matter of trial and error I suppose, until I learn what actions set it off and what actions cause it to leave me alone, and right now, it’s working.”
“That’s great,” Midna replied. “Because you have to learn the Aura of the Juggernaut.”
“What about the elders?”
“They also believe you can take control of it, but are well aware what could happen if you fail…they haven’t given up on you, Alex. Know that much.”
“Good to know...” he muttered. “Now about this page…”
“Why did Kronos order everyone to learn this necromancy shit?” Sgt. Victor Sig complained as he rode one of three wyverns across the icy northern seas.
“They say that if everyone learns it,” Odessa explained, “it would make a better defense overall.”
“That’s bullshit,” he sneered. “Just because I control one little part out of a huge wall that’ll win us the war?”
“It’s not meant to be an individual effort,” Odessa tried to reason, “but as everyone does it, it’ll make an elaborate defense.”
“Bah…”
“Sir?” Corporal Les Grylls called to Carmine, who sat in front of him on the wyvern they rode, “how much further?”
“It should be another few miles or so before we make landfall in Vandrin,” Carmine explained. “From there we’ll make our way to Asgarnia, looking for Alex all the way.”
“Of course, sir.”
Carmine thought his mission through. It seemed easy enough, six men against one man and an imp. Even if Alex had Twili magic on his side, he could easily be overwhelmed by them. Unless Carmine was overlooking something…was he? It all seemed too easy. Surely Alex had some sort of secret weapon which he would whip out right when they got on the offensive. He must, it wouldn’t be like him otherwise. He prayed that his men would be ready for whatever trick Alex had to throw at them, but for all he knew, he was looking at a relatively easy mission…
…For all he knew.
