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DISTRESS CALL

Lino was currently standing at the edge of the Palace’s grounds, looking over the city well down beneath . Brisk breeze caressed his cheeks, his slightly loose clothes fluttering on him . He directed his gaze into the horizon, where right about now the sun was supposed to be dawning on the world; yet, far and wide, there were only ashen clouds and occasional flicker of lighting .

There were too many things at the moment that were ripping apart his ability to think properly; according to Non, the Emperor had settled in a rather obscure village near the edge of the Holy Continent for a few weeks now, which either meant he was waiting for someone or that really was his plan on prolonging his existence . There was also the matter of Devils he had captured and were currently residing in his Dimensional Pouch and what to do with them; there was also the mission he and Hannah were supposed to be solving by now, tracking down the members of the Order of Eternity .

Then there were more personal issues looming over him -- Lucky, for starters, as he was still entirely blind to what he can do there . There was also Eggor who ’stealthily’ shadowed him wherever he went, the matter of what Hannah’s visit home would do to her, and his place in all of that . He’d made too many promises to too many people, and the tolls were beginning to catch up to him .

This was all without even thinking about the fact that he’d become the most wanted person in the entire world -- that, right now, there were probably tens of thousands of people crossing Continents searching for him . All of it seemed too much to unload and unpack, yet he seldom could relax; he hadn’t took a sip of a drink for nearly three days simply because he couldn’t afford to .

" . . . you look eerily handsome, gazing off into the distance like that . " a rather settled voice spoke out next to him; he briefly glanced sideways and saw that Princess Annabelle had joined him, wearing a rather decorated dress and so much jewelry she could almost replace the sun in the sky . "The rugged, brave sort of soul, a forbidden romance for us Maidens . "

" . . . I’m honored . " Lino smiled faintly, putting his hands into his pockets . "You look . . . effervescent . "

"Apparently it is easy to bedazzle the minds so long as you bedazzle the eyes," she chuckled . "And we still have quite a lot of bedazzling to do . "

" . . . ’s that so . . . ?"

" . . . I’ve figured it out, you know?"

"Figured what out?" Lino asked .

"Who you are . "

"Oh? Besides being the rugged, brave sort of soul, a forbidden romance for Maidens such as yourself?" both laughed for a moment before she replied .

" . . . you’re the Descender," she said . "The one I met way-back-when . "

" . . . you seem to be handling that revelation well enough . " Lino said .

"With it, things make much more sense . " Annabelle chuckled faintly, taking a deep breath . "Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me . "

" . . . thanks . "

" . . . you have the same look my Father used to have," she said after a few moments of silence . "Right after it, he would lock himself up into his Chambers for months at the time . We never knew what he was doing . . . until, well, recently, when we had to do everything he did . "

"Everybody wants the Crown," Lino said . "Nobody wants the title’s burden . "

" . . . are you alright?" she asked, concern flashing in her voice .

" . . . I will be," Lino smiled widely, glancing at her . "You know, you ought to bear a whole lot more hatred toward me . After all, I’ve pretty much sent your Father into exile . "

" . . . Father’s a term rather loosely applied here," she said, sighing, gazing off into distance herself . "Besides, even if I were angry, you think I’d dare show it to a Descender?"

" . . . your Father’s mistake was that he was too terrified of me," Lino said . "Had he not been, he might have even told me the truth . But, he feared I’d not only take it all away, but possibly execute him in the end . "

" . . . would you?" she asked .

" . . . probably not," Lino replied . "I’m a softie like that, which, apparently, only tells the rest of the world that you consent yourself to being fucked over time and again . "

" . . . I won’t ask what happened to your friend, because I’m fairly certain it is well above my pay-grade," she said . "But, I can offer an ear if you wish to talk about it . "

" . . . what happened to him, huh?" Lino chuckled bitterly . "I did, I suppose . I happen to a lot of people . You should be careful; people around me tend to drop like flies . Poof, gone . Just like that . "

" . . . I’d met him just a few times," she said . "As I’ve Annar and Scarlet, but I can tell they weren’t here against their wills . People that shadow the light tend to lag behind, and eventually flicker out . At least that’s what my Mother used to say . "

" . . . I hope you’ll do better than your Father did," Lino turned around, beginning to walk away . "And lead your people to a better place . They truly believe, Annabelle . However that faith was achieved is irrelevant; their faith in you is nigh impossible to shake . Don’t abuse that . "

" . . . likewise, Lino . "

Lino’s chuckle faded softly in the wind as he vanished into the Palace, leaving behind Annabelle to stare strangely at his fading back .

He aimlessly traced the massive hallways of the Palace, admiring the painted walls and chiseled stones sticking out of them, and hand-woven carpets beneath his feet, and golden chandeliers burning away the darkness . All of this grandeur, he mused, was beyond vain -- yet, even he was not averse to decorating himself in splendor . Image of oneself is a fickle thing, he realized, prone to a quick change depending on how others see you .

He eventually found himself inside a basement room, one he’d visited quite often over the past few days . There, beneath the ceiling of crystals, three translucent, crystal coffins were lain at an angle . Two were stacked with crimson gems, and the one in the middle with pure silver . He approached them and leaned over, the still faces beckoning back expressionless .

Each time he’d look at him, it felt as though he was being given a punch in the gut; though he very much wanted to give him a burial of Kings, Lino knew he couldn’t . Across the vast ocean, he had a family -- a family who deserved to bury him, to mourn him, and to let go of him . Just then, a peculiar sensation escaped through the void world and shook him; furrowing his brows, he reached into the vast emptiness and took out a flickering talisman . As he’d handed out far too many, he couldn’t exactly pinpoint to whom it belonged so he simply answered it .

The screen flickered brightly for a moment as a familiar face popped out; to his surprise, it was none other than Evelyn’s . Her usual beauty seemed marred, her expression exhausted, eyes tired-looking and dull, a massive scar running down the left side of her face .

" . . . hello . " she smiled weakly and bitterly, seemingly short of breath .

" . . . hello . " Lino replied .

" . . . your promised favor still valid?" she asked, surprising him . Though he very much wished to say no, seeing her like that, he couldn’t .

"Of course," he said, smiling lightly . "Who needs to get beaten up?"

" . . . I don’t know," she said, anger present in her voice . "A group of ten just came out of nowhere a few days ago and started bombing the Sun City with . . . well, let’s just say we stood absolutely no chance . I can’t even count the number of soldiers that threw their lives away so I and a few others could escape . I don’t know how much longer we can hide, though . "

" . . . where are you?" Lino asked, frowning .

"We’re, uh, we’re approaching the border of the Demonic Battlefield," she replied . "We figured we’d stand a better chance over there . "

" . . . look for Kvalend tribe and Valkyria," Lino said after a short thought . "Tell her I sent you . She should be able to keep you safe until I get there . Can you at least describe anything unique about them?"

" . . . uh," Evelyn frowned for a moment, thinking deeply about something . "They all, uh, wore same coats, inscribed with same insignia . I can’t recall the exact shape, but it was like a circle, I think with only two colors . That’s about it . I’m sorry, I--"

"It’s fine," Lino sighed inwardly, smiling on the surface . "Don’t worry about it . I should be able to get there in a few days tops . If the situation changes, Val has ability to contact me . Try and avoid fighting at all costs though, okay? We wouldn’t want that beautiful face scarred any more, would we?"

" . . . heh, ply-tongued as always . Thank you . "

"No problem . See you soon . "

Putting away the talisman, Lino quickly rubbed his temples in frustration; he very much hoped his assumptions were way off the mark, but doubted they were twice as much as he hoped . From what he recalled, there was only one Clan in the entire world who donned that sigil as no one else dared to -- the undisputed leader of all the Holy Grounds practically since their inception, Heaven’s Chosen Clan .