Delilah was drifting. Her mind was a fog, her body felt so heavy. Memories… what had happened to her? Where had she…
That’s right. The Astral Wall. The Lingering Will. I led it away… went through the door with Alice…
And then…
Delilah awoke with a start, sitting up, eyes wide. Immediately her hand went to her chest, and relief flooded through her as she felt the Key still around her neck.
It wasn’t taken. I’m okay. But…
She looked around.
Where… am I…?
She’d gone through the door to Revue Palace, but that wasn’t where she was. She was outside, and the landscape that stretched around her was bleak, dotted with ruins. Dry, browning grass crackled as it swayed in the harsh winds that swept across the plains. And up above…
The sky was striking, and haunting. Like a vision of the end of the world, it was cracked, fractures running through the sky itself, seams within the bleak, grey sky peering out into a dark, endless void.
This place… I feel like… not that I’ve been here, but… that I’ve heard about it, or…!
She suddenly wheeled about, because she heard a faint, shaky whisper. And there she saw ghostly hands, blasted away by winds and then reforming, feebly reaching for her.
The Lingering Will.
It’s still after me!
Delilah leapt to her feet and reached into her pocket.
But her hand came away empty.
My…
A spike of fear lanced through Delilah’s heart.
My Talisman! It’s gone!
She looked around, her heart pounding, her breathing swift and panicked. Her lifeline, her only connection to her Felines, and it was gone! It must have fallen, but where? She didn’t know this place. She had no idea how she’d gotten here, how far she’d fallen while unconscious. Her keychain Talisman could be anywhere!
“…the Key…” came the faint, ragged whisper of the Lingering Will. Ghostly hands came nearer, and Delilah stepped back. But other hands appeared behind her, feebly grasping from the ground.
And Delilah ran.
She knew the Lingering Will wasn’t something she could fight. No one could. But it broke her heart to abandon her Talisman. If she replaced it, would she still be able to call forth her Felines? She had no idea. Was she abandoning them forever? Could she live with herself if she did?
She couldn’t. So she didn’t just run away. She ran in widening circles, racing past the ghostly, clawing hands of the Lingering Will, leaping over them, dashing around them, constantly searching with her eyes in the thick, cracked grass and nooks and crannies in wind-blasted ruins.
Where is it? Where is it? It has to be around here somewhere! It has to!
“Delilah!” a voice suddenly called out, strong and clear. Delilah looked up, and saw Maribelle atop a hill, one hand held high, holding…
My Talisman!
Delilah’s heart leapt within her, and she raced to Maribelle, who didn’t risk throwing the keychain in the harsh, swift winds of this place. Scrambling up the hill, Delilah reached Maribelle and crashed into her in a hug, gasping for breath.
“Thank you,” she said softly, feeling the familiar Talisman and its four Feline plushies pressed into her hand. She clutched it tightly. “Thank you.”
“We’ll be safe, at least for a moment,” Maribelle said, gently stroking Delilah’s hair. “Look.”
Delilah looked, down to the clearing where she’d awoken. The Lingering Will was there, yes, but…
“It seems so weak,” she said.
“Yes,” Maribelle said. “The pathways between Bastions are Light, and the Lingering Will couldn’t stand it. It survived, of course it did, but its strength is nearly spent. It will need time to recover — time that we’ll be able to use to get farther away.”
Even as Maribelle spoke, another harsh gust blasted the plains, and the last few ghostly hands of the Lingering Will dissolved, vanished, and no new hands formed in their place.
For now, at least, the Lingering Will was gone. They were safe.
“Where… are we?” Delilah asked. “Hold on.” She turned to face Maribelle. “You’re here, too. But I thought just Alice and me —”
“We all followed you,” Maribelle said. “Marcus, Belle-Belle…” her gaze fell, her mouth set in a grim line, “…Sara.”
“Sarabelle came, too?” Delilah asked. “But isn’t she —”
“Yes,” Maribelle said. “She isn’t prepared for this kind of journey. And I… I don’t know where anyone else is. We were all scattered. For some reason, the portal between the Astral Wall and Revue Palace… it rejected us. I believe it was because of the Lingering Will, in order to protect both Revue Palace and the Key of the World. So it should have sent all of us to the same Location, but here… the Westward Plains are vast. Finding the others will not be an easy task.”
“The Westward Plains…” Delilah said softly. “Where Shana found you.”
Maribelle nodded. “Yes. I know these plains well, but… they are vast, and ever-changing. And I have no leads on where to search for the others. We should hurry, but in what direction, I…” She shook her head, and Delilah heard a slight tremor in her voice, the faint hint of her worry and fear. “I am not sure where to start.”
Delilah turned on the hill, gazing out across the plains. She couldn’t see very far in any direction thanks to the hilly, ruin-dotted landscape, but she couldn’t see any sign of which direction would be right.
Alice was right next to me. How could we be separated this much?
Alice… Isabelle… Marcus… Sarabelle…
Wait. Wait!
“I might have a way!” Delilah said, holding up her Talisman. A portal appeared, and out came Reginald, dapper and elegant, ready and awaiting instruction. “Divination Magic. I’ve used it before to follow people I’ve met previously. Before, it was to follow an enemy, but to find people I know and care about, and with Reginald’s help, it should be even easier.” She nodded to Reginald, and both stood gazing out across the plains. The landscape turned greyscale, color vanishing. The only colors that would exist through Delilah’s Divination Magic-infused sight would mark her companions — if they were anywhere to find.
I don’t know how far away they are. I don’t know how strong my magic really is, how far it can reach.
But if they’re close enough… if I’ve gotten stronger like I think I have…
“There!” Delilah cried, pointing. A faint mote of purple light, distant and tiny, appeared in her vision. “I’m not sure who it is, but it’s the only one I can see from here. Let’s go!”
“You don’t know who it is?” Maribelle asked, running alongside Delilah and Reginald.
“I should be able to tell when we’re closer,” Delilah said. “How dangerous is this place?”
“It’s mostly safe,” Maribelle said. “The primary danger here is the space and the desolation — you won’t find anything to eat or drink on the Westward Plains. There are a few pockets of danger — we must stay away from the Rampancy — but don’t worry. I can guide you.”
Delilah didn’t ask what the Rampancy was. She stayed focused on moving forward, towards whoever it was she had found, and trusted Maribelle to guide and keep her safe. Up and down hills they went, and Delilah often stumbled at the harsh winds. She was small and light, but even so, this was the first time she’d experienced winds powerful enough to make her lose her balance. If she wasn’t careful and ready for them, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to knock her sprawling.
The Westward Plains are part of the Final Frontier.
It… really does feel like a place of finality. So bleak, so desolate. And that sky is so haunting.
“Why were we sent here?” Delilah asked as they crested another hill. The mote of light was brighter and larger, but Delilah still couldn’t tell who it was.
“I’m not sure,” Maribelle said. “I’ve never seen the portals between Bastions fail, and this one failed spectacularly. I’ve never even heard of such a thing happening. I can only guess, and my guess is that we were sent as far away from Bastions and civilization as possible. All due to the danger the Lingering Will poses.”
“But we’re okay, while the Lingering Will is weakened,” Delilah said.
“Yes. I think that’s due to the Light of the portal. We are beings of Light, and all of us are Paladins or Sub-Paladins on top of that. The Lingering Will is not — it’s an Intangible of the Void, a being of twisted malice and desire, so the Light was a powerful repellent for it.”
“But it wasn’t destroyed.”
“If it were one of the Sons of Night, or a creature born of the living Darkness, things would be different. But the Lingering Will is not a physical being.”
“Intangible,” Delilah said, understanding. Such a powerful Light could weaken it, repel it, but whatever it would take to destroy the Lingering Will for good, or send it back to the Void from whence it came, would have to be something very special, and likely very specific to what the Lingering Will was.
They crested another hill, and the mote of purple light formed into a silhouette, one that Delilah recognized instantly. “It’s Alice!” she said, hope rising within her. But… “It looks like she’s fighting. Let’s hurry!”
Alice’s silhouette leapt and spun, dashed and danced, in combat with an opponent invisible to Delilah’s Divination Magic. Despite her and Maribelle’s efforts, the pair couldn’t move as fast as they wanted. The winds were coming straight at them, now, and it was a struggle just to jog.
But those winds also carried voices.
“Why are you holding back?” Alice asked, frustration clear in her voice.
“You are desired alive,” came another voice, one that sent a chill through Delilah.
Sen. She’s fighting Sen.
“What for?” Alice asked. She spun, likely away from an attack. Her sword, the one Addie had made for her, was in her left hand, and she parried several blows before leaping into a high flip. Delilah could make out Rabanastre as well, and the rabbit Summon caught Alice, then stepped in front of her, defending her from an attack. “Ah, stuff it. I don’t care what someone else wants. I’m not going anywhere with you!”
“But surely you know,” Sen said, his voice calm and steady. “You know now why Jormungand wants you, yes? He thought you a failed project, yet now he sees —”
“I’m not someone’s stupid project!” Alice dashed ahead, thrusting and slashing, but was soon repelled, back on the defensive. “The ‘Dark Eater,’ right? I hear the name sometimes in my dreams. What about it? What would he want with a Dark Eater? I can absorb and destroy Darkness. Isn’t that the opposite of his desires?”
“You understand only a little,” Sen said. “Your power is so much greater. Don’t you wish to understand fully? Your fight is fruitless, after all — you know you cannot defeat me. So come. Let me show you —”
“Screw you!” Alice snarled, launching a barrage of thrusts and slashes, Rabanastre right alongside her punching and kicking. “I’m not going anywhere with you, so shut up! If you think we can’t win, just watch us!”
“Reginald, go to them!” Delilah said. But Reginald struggled against the winds, barely keeping a pace slightly faster than Delilah and Maribelle. Delilah lifted her Talisman, holding it tight, and Summoned her other three Felines. Nekoma could handle the winds, but she wasn’t fast enough to race to Alice’s aid. Redmond managed a little bit better, but the green archer was too light to manage his usual speed.
Felix alone was different. Delilah’s first Summon, her strongest Summon, he was also tailored to his namesake. The First Swordmeowster of the Twelfth Circle was more than just the greatest swordmeowster in all the realm — he was full of incredible abilities.
Abilities like Wind Dancing.
The wind didn’t touch Felix, not in the slightest. He moved with lithe, elegant steps, following the rhythm and flow of the wind itself and evading its fierce buffets and gales. He crested the hill and dashed down the other side, ahead of the others, to join the battle.
“Go, Felix!” Delilah shouted, as loud as she could.
“I’ve had about enough of this,” Alice said, not yet noticing Felix. “Rabanastre, kill this guy.” Delilah heard Alice snap her fingers, the telltale signal for Rabanastre to transform from the white rabbit to his more powerful, more fierce, black rabbit form.
Delilah crested the hill just in time to see the transformation. The muscular, anthropomorphic rabbit grew larger, his white fur rippling as it morphed from white to black, his black eyes changing to pearly white. He was fearsome.
And yet…
He didn’t charge Sen. Sen stood, about two dozen yards from Alice and Rabanastre, sword held casually, watching them.
Alice looked up at Rabanastre, cocking an eyebrow. Rabanastre turned to look at her, slowly, menacingly. Something was strange in his eyes. They were fierce, but that ferocity seemed turned on Alice, directed towards her, his Summoner.
Alice’s white eyes slowly widened. “Raba…nastre…?” she asked slowly, disbelievingly.
Rabanastre made a slight move towards her. But he didn’t move very far, didn’t complete whatever he was going to do.
A blur of orange light slammed into him, sending him flying.
Felix Feline Felinosis stood, twin rapiers held at the ready, between Alice and Rabanastre. He stared down the hulking black rabbit, a fierce gleam in his eyes.
A challenge. A question. You would lift a finger against your Summoner? Against your most precious friend?
If you wish to harm her… then you must go through me, first.
“Felix…” Alice said slowly. She took a step back, shaking her head, looking past the swordmeowster to her own Summon. “Rabanastre… what are you doing? You can’t —”
Rabanastre dashed, spinning into a wild kick aimed at Felix. Felix raised his swords…
And Rabanastre vanished. Pulled, suddenly and without warning, through a Summoner’s portal.
Alice dropped to one knee. Tears glistened in her white eyes. She dropped her sword, and her shoulders hung slack.
“Why…?” she asked softly.
“Alice!” Delilah cried out, finally reaching her. She knelt beside her and pulled her into a hug.
“Stay back, fiend,” came Maribelle’s voice. Delilah and Alice looked up, to see her and the Felines standing together, defending Delilah and Alice from Sen. Sen still stood, watching, not attacking.
And then he smiled.
“You act as if you arrived just in time,” he said. “But you are already too late.” He turned away, and before anyone else could make a move, vanished through a portal of Darkness.
“Coward,” Maribelle muttered. She turned to Delilah and Alice. “Alice? Are you all right?”
“All right?” Alice asked, her gaze snapping up to Maribelle. “Do I look all right to you?” She stood, pulling away from Delilah. “Rabanastre, he —!” She cut off, turning away, hiding her face. “We… we’ve been a little out of sync for a while. But I… everything was fine during the Revue. What… what happened since then? I don’t… why would he…?” She shook her head. “He was furious. He’s angry a lot, but always at our enemies. But he’s never been as angry as he was then… and he was directing all that anger… at me. What… what did I…?”
The winds howled around them. No one spoke for a long time.
Alice finally turned back to face the others. But she walked past Delilah, didn’t look at Maribelle, and stopped in front of Felix. She reached out with a small fist. “Thanks,” she said, her voice shaking slightly.
Felix sheathed one of his swords and then held out that hand in a fist, to bump his knuckles against Alice’s. A small smile touched Alice’s lips, just for a moment, and then she turned to face Delilah.
“You’ve got something hopeful or encouraging to say, right?” she asked. “You’re my big sister now, so that’s your job, you know.”
Delilah was caught off-guard for a moment, but then nodded. “I don’t know what’s going on,” she said. “But if you tell us everything you know, that might give us some answers. We might not be able to fix things between you and Rabanastre immediately, but we’ll find a way in time.”
“There,” Alice said, nodding once. “Good job. Thanks.” She turned away. “So? Where are we going next?”
“We have to find Marcus, Belle-Belle, and Sara,” Maribelle said.
“Belle-Belle’s out there somewhere?” Alice asked. “Alone?”
“Most likely,” Maribelle said.
“Then let’s show some hustle,” Alice said.
“Hold on, I’ll see if I can spot any of them,” Delilah said. She and Reginald looked around with Divination Magic, and after a few moments… “There! Two of them, one closer than the other. I don’t think they’ve found each other yet. Let’s go.”
They started off, and this time the wind came at them from the side, so they were able to manage a quicker pace. Alice stayed close to Delilah, but just ahead of her enough so that Delilah couldn’t see her face. For a while, they ran in silence.
Alice was the one to finally break the silence. “Jormungand wants my powers,” she said. “As the Dark Eater. That’s me, that’s what he calls me. All those experiments he did, when I was still growing inside my mom, turned me into this. I can absorb Darkness, just like you saw with Valgwyn. And I can’t… well, I’m pretty sure I can’t die. At least, I can’t be killed. I’ve been stabbed, slashed, impaled, shot, set on fire… and I don’t even have scars. Anyway, I started thinking, with Valgwyn’s arrows and other stuff, that I could use this power to do some good. Swallow all the Darkness or something, you know? But Sen says there’s more to it than I know. I don’t get what scar-face could use it for, though. Seems the opposite of what he’d want.”
“When…” Delilah started hesitantly. “When we were on our way to the Third Bell Tower, you had that dream. You woke up, saying ‘Dark Eater’.”
“Yeah, I remember,” Alice said.
“Well… Solla and Lunos… they were both terrified by that term.”
“It scared them?”
“Yeah.”
For a while longer, they were silent again.
“So I guess it’s not as good as I thought,” Alice finally said. She nodded over her shoulder. “Mari, you ever hear of stuff like this?”
“I haven’t,” Maribelle said. “But perhaps Marcus has.”
“Aren’t you older than him?” Alice asked.
“I am,” Maribelle said. “But he has experienced elements of Darkness, and been exposed to knowledge, that I have not. As a Paladin, he has a greater breadth of knowledge than me.”
“Well why the heck’s that?” Alice asked. “You’re the daughter of the Prime Paladin, aren’t you?”
“Yes, well,” Maribelle said, not sounding even the slightest bit put-off, “I have spent more of my life traveling and learning about the world than I have focusing on Paladin-specific duties.”
“So Marcus is the dutiful knight, huh?”
Another short time of silence, which Delilah broke. “When did you first notice you and Rabanastre were out of sync?”
“Right after we saved Revue Palace,” Alice said. “It was just… little things, while we were cleaning. Every now and then, there would be a tiny pause, less than a second, before he’d respond to me or follow an instruction. I just thought maybe his hearing was going, even though that wouldn’t make sense for a rabbit. He’s too young for that, anyway. But it was so little, why would I worry about it? Maybe he was just having a mood, being a teenager, heck if I know.”
“He’s not a teenager yet, is he?” Delilah asked.
“I’m not even a teenager yet, so of course not,” Alice said. “But he… well, what was I supposed to think? It was always so little. The only really noticeable thing was just before we left for the Astral Wall, that hiccup with our exercise routine. He was supposed to catch me, but he didn’t even try. That’s when… I started to worry. Just a little.”
“You haven’t transformed him to the black rabbit since the Revue, correct?” Maribelle asked.
“No, I haven’t,” Alice said. “That’s a trump card, saved for emergencies. We haven’t had any emergencies since then.”
“How does that work?” Delilah asked. “I… always meant to ask. I’ve never known a Summon who could do that.”
Alice shrugged. “Dunno. He’s always been able to. I never thought about it.”
“There’s likely a key piece of the puzzle in understanding that,” Maribelle said.
“Just over that hill,” Delilah said. The nearest mote of light was bright blue, and it had finally coalesced into the silhouette of a small girl, huddled amongst rocks for shelter from the wind. “It’s Isabelle!”
“Belle-Belle!” Alice shouted, as loud as she could. She crested the hill and charged down it. “Stop sulking! We’re here to save you!”
“I wasn’t sulking!” Isabelle said, hopping up from her shelter. “The wind’s too strong, and I don’t know my way around, so I was waiting for Mari. That’s all!” She certainly didn’t look too put-out, which surprised Delilah.
“Oh, you trusted Mari to save you,” Alice said, pursing her lips. “You didn’t think I’d be the one to come save you?”
“Nope,” Isabelle said, giggling. “You always take your time and try to do things the cool way instead of the fast way.”
“So you’re saying I’m cool,” Alice said, grinning.
Isabelle giggled, saying nothing, turning her attention to Maribelle. Maribelle knelt as she reached her, wrapping Isabelle up in a tight embrace. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” Maribelle said, stroking Isabelle’s hair.
“I knew you’d find me,” Isabelle said, smiling. “Thank you, Mari. And, um… can you carry me? It’s too windy! I almost got blown away earlier!”
Maribelle laughed and hoisted Isabelle up. “I certainly can. Now, let’s hurry onwards. We still have to find Sara.”
“Who’s the other one you saw?” Alice asked as they started running in the direction of the second light.
“I don’t think it’s Marcus,” Delilah said. They rounded a cluster of broken, ruined pillars and descended into a flat plain. When they reached the hill on the far side, Delilah could make out the silhouette. “It’s Sarabelle! And she looks like she’s in trouble!”
Even with Isabelle on her shoulders, Maribelle moved incredibly swiftly. She immediately overtook Delilah and Alice, racing past them. Only Felix could keep pace with her, but the others did their best. When Delilah crested the next hill, she finally saw Sarabelle.
She was crouched down, terrified. Before her loomed the shadowy, reaper-like Dullan. And between them…
Was Bella.
The little white cat had dug her claws into the grassy turf to keep from being blown away by the winds. She stood protecting Sarabelle, tail straight, fur standing on end, hissing and glaring at Dullan, a giant compared to her.
“Do not despair,” said Dullan in his whispering, ethereal voice. “You will not be taken alone. Give into your fate, and join the Princesses I claimed before you.”
“Dullan!” Maribelle cried, raising her hand. Light, white and pure, blazed from her palm, and Dullan flinched back. Maribelle came to a stop next to Bella, glaring along with the cat at Dullan. “Move away from my sister, fiend.”
“An opportunity lost,” Dullan said. “And yet… perhaps not entirely.” Like a phantom, he faded, vanishing through a portal of Darkness.
“Sara!” Isabelle cried, dropped from Maribelle’s shoulders and clinging to her cowering sister. “Sara, it’s okay. He’s gone, now!”
“T-thank you,” Sarabelle said softly. Slowly she lowered her hands from her face. Tears had marked tracks through dust on her face, and her eyes were bloodshot.
“Sara,” Maribelle said, kneeling beside her. She and Isabelle embraced Sarabelle. Bella joined them, clambering up to nestle on Sarabelle’s shoulder.
“Such a brave kitty,” Isabelle said, smiling at Bella.
“Yes,” Sarabelle said in a soft voice. “But… thank you for finding us. We would not have lasted, despite her valiant efforts.”
“Sara, what did Dullan mean about joining the other Princesses?” Maribelle asked.
Sarabelle flinched back at the question, eyes wide with terror. “It’s okay!” Isabelle said, waving her hands. “If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to. Right, Mari?”
“I’m sorry,” Maribelle said. “Truly, if you don’t wish to say, you don’t need to. As long as you’re safe, that is all that matters.”
Sarabelle hesitated, but then shook her head. “No, I… there are things I haven’t told you. Things that… I’ve been too terrified to speak of. But… they must come into the light. I thought, perhaps, those terrors would remain in the past. I was wrong. And of all people, I should have told you.”
“Told us what, Sara?” Isabelle asked, holding Sarabelle’s hand.
Sarabelle lowered her head, her voice taut with fear and sadness. “I… I know. I know what happened to our sisters. To the other Princesses of Solitude.”
“The other… but, Sara,” Maribelle said, shaking her head. “Our sisters, the ones we’ve lost… they’re…”
“Not dead,” Sarabelle said, shaking her head. “No. Not dead. The truth… is far worse than that.”