"Well?!" Charlotte groaned, her pale skin flushing crimson with fury.
I sheepishly looked up at her, quite unmoved, and uttered an anxious sigh. "I'm sorry."
"I-I'm sorry?" She echoed, her fingers scratching her chin in sheer disbelief before she sat down heavily in front of me. "That's it? That's your grand excuse? You waltz in here, say two measly words, and expect me to nod along?"
I could hear yet another wave of hushed whispers ripple through the canteen. Charlotte leaned forward, lifting a clenched fist right in my face, her knuckles dangerously close to making contact.
"I could punch you right now!" she whimpered, the words barely making sense as she swallowed her frustration.
"I said I'm sorry," I repeated, holding my ground. "I know you waited for me last night—Anthony told me—but I already made up my mind."
Her lips thinned to a sharp line. "You could have at least informed me! Anthony broke the seal, didn't he?! I waited all night for you, and I couldn't leave because Yosuke told me not to—not until we talked about the plan! I even had to lie and say we did so they wouldn't freak out!"
I looked at her uneasily. "T-the truth is... I honestly forgot about you. I was too focused on the plan—which, by the way, Anthony clarified was his. Since we already talked, I thought talking to you was unnecessary."
Charlotte’s nose flared. "You little shit."
"I’m really sorry," I repeated, hands raised in surrender. "Anthony conveniently left out the part about telling me what the plan actually is. If you still wanna say it, I'd be happy to listen—but my decision stays the same."
"Like heck I’d still tell you! You can just rot here for all I care! But seriously—why? Why’d you choose to stay?" She snorted, her eyes narrowing like daggers aimed at my soul.
"In order to save humanity and what's to come, some things have to be sacrificed."
The rage in Charlotte’s eyes dulled. Her fist finally lowered onto the table, the tension between us settling like dust after a storm. We weren’t even eating anything—we just happened to cross paths while I was looking for Zachary.
"Are you really fine with that?" she asked. My head nodded before I even willed the gesture.
"Yes," I whispered. "If it means all three realms will finally be at peace after all this, then I won’t mind. I’m not the only one making sacrifices, after all."
"What about your mother? Are you giving up on her already?! That’s idiotic!"
"I had my terms." A small, weary smile tugged at my lips. "I made a trade. My mother will live long enough for me to finish things here and find the sorcerer’s book—at least."
My voice turned cold as I recalled what the Rulers and I had agreed upon.
Charlotte shook her head, horror filling her expression. "No, you didn’t."
"I had to," I swallowed a sigh. "I don’t have time to search for the book and deal with everything else at the same time. This was the only way."
Charlotte exhaled sharply, rubbing her temple. "Do your tamed descendants know?"
"No. Aiden blocked any contact between us, and I have no plans of telling them either. They’d just get in the way." I looked up at the ceiling, then back at her, my bleary eyes clearing slightly.
Charlotte nodded. "Yosuke," she said, her voice soft now. "I’ll save him, too. Don’t worry, he won’t die."
A small smile curved on my lips. "I know. Thank you."
The canteen, massive yet suffocating, suddenly felt like it was closing in on me. Was it just my mind finally reaching its limit?
"Ahhh… So what Anthony said was true?"
Charlotte and I turned as Zachary tapped his forehead in frustration. He stood at the edge of our table, staring down at the discolored, white floor. The crinkles around his sharp eyes screamed dismay as he asked, almost blandly, "So you decided to leave all matters in your own hands, huh?"
"Just leave her be, Zach. We can’t force our plans onto her," Charlotte sighed, eyeing him as he hovered beside me.
"You decided to trust the Rulers after all?" he snorted.
"Yes. They’re the only ones capable of fulfilling my will before I leave this world for good."
I saw Zachary’s lips tremble, but he didn’t say a word. He must have already heard it from Anthony.
"I think it’s better for us to stay out of it from now on, Zach," Charlotte muttered, standing up to fix her clothes. "She made her choice."
I looked at her again, and the frown on her face had cleared. It was better this way—we’d fight for the same goal but in different ways.
"I haven’t run out of arguments yet!" Zachary suddenly raised his voice, loud enough to hush the entire canteen.
Several ladies gasped, clearly having just noticed him. Their surprise quickly turned into excited shrieks.
"Oh great, here we go," Charlotte muttered.
"Well then," she continued, crossing her arms, "let’s hear it so you can convince her."
"I—I can’t put it into words," Zachary stuttered, looking at me with sheer desperation. "But I won’t let you be a sacrifice."
I chuckled softly. "I was bound to disappear the moment I was born—I never should have been born anyway. I was just lucky enough to live this long and meet all of you." I placed my hand over his. "Thank you, Zach. I’m not blind to everything you’ve done for me, and I’m grateful."
His eyes glinted with sadness as he suddenly gripped my hand. "I—I just can’t let you do this. We still have another way—"
"No," I cut him off. "This is the only way. I’ve been avoiding my fate for too long. It’s time to face it."
I stared into his eyes, and a slow smile softened the inexorable expression on his face.
"I live in hope that one day, I’ll gain freedom for both myself and my mother, without fear of losing everything. And I have no intention of dying until that hope is fulfilled," I murmured, just for him to hear. "I fight for what is right—not for what I want."
•••
"It has already been a couple of days since the last time she contacted us, and now we're only left with twenty days before the sealing," Yosuke muttered, biting his nails anxiously. His usual composed demeanor was slipping, his foot tapping erratically against the floor. He turned to Carter, who stood near the massive window overlooking the Enchanted Forest, his posture heavy with gloom.
"Is there something we need to know?" Tyler asked as he emerged from a chamber concealed behind an elaborate curtain. The space behind it held some of Tabitha's most prized treasures—a set of gold and silver arrows shimmering with enchantment, rivaling the finest weapons of Anthony's marksmen, and a collection of divine gems bestowed by the goddess of harmony, Ailbhe. Despite the grandeur, the tension in the room rendered such artifacts meaningless at the moment.
"I don't know," Carter mumbled, his fingers gripping the window frame as if steadying himself. His eyes were distant, unfocused.
The descendants exchanged worried glances. Carter was always a pillar of strength, a steady presence among them. But now? He looked... drained. Hollow. As if the weight of his own existence was suffocating him.
It wasn’t just exhaustion. They knew what this was about.
He couldn't enter Sheol. He couldn't check on his sister.
As a god of love, Sheol was forbidden to him—a cruel irony, considering the others could enter freely. Even his mother, Lelith, one of the Rulers, was out of reach. And the descendants? They were powerless without their master's explicit command.
Carter’s fingers tightened on the sill. The memory of Paige haunted him. She was locked away in Sheol, and he hadn't seen the signs—hadn't realized how deeply she had suffered. He had assumed she was handling things on her own, the way she always did. Even her own descendants, who should have sensed something, had failed her.
But Tabitha… Tabitha had hidden it too well.
He had foolishly trusted that things would work out. And they hadn’t.
"Tch!" Yosuke hissed, snapping Carter out of his trance. "You were supposed to be the one keeping an eye on her! You have that god of war or whatever he is in there—why hasn’t he sent us a message?! Lelith is your mother! One of the Rulers! You could’ve just—"
"You don’t understand!" Carter’s voice cut through the room, sharp and filled with something raw.
For the first time in a long while, his refined features cracked with frustration. His usual elegance shattered beneath the weight of guilt. His voice dropped to a whisper, but it carried a gravity that silenced everyone.
"If you really paid attention, you’d realize the Rulers are starting to keep what's in Sheol… within Sheol."
A stunned silence fell over the group, his words sinking in like stones. A static unease filled the air.
"When was the last time any of you talked to Charlotte?" Carter asked, scanning their faces before locking eyes with Yosuke.
"The night Charlotte spoke to Lady Tabitha about the plan," Heie answered in Yosuke’s stead, his voice uncharacteristically hesitant.
"But she agreed to the plan, right? Charlotte said so," Lee interjected, blinking hard as if trying to make sense of it all.
Kurama shook his head. "Unless she lied."
Carter held his gaze, his eyes misting over. The realization tasted bitter on his tongue.
"Or perhaps," he murmured, voice nearly breaking, "she might have already made her choice… and agreed to the risk of sealing Lelith's power and Zeke back inside her."
"GODDAMN IT!"
Yosuke’s roar shattered the fragile calm. His fist met the wall with a sickening crunch, sending cracks spider-webbing through the bricks. Dust and debris rained down, scattering across the floor like broken pieces of their hope.
"We need to break her out of there—or heaven help us all!"
His entire body trembled with rage. His eyes, glowing in multiple shades of red, burned with unrestrained fury. His fangs extended from behind his lips, sharp and menacing. A thin crimson miasma leaked from his skin, poisoning the air with his wrath.
Kurama didn’t hesitate.
With a sharp slap across the face, he forced Yosuke back to reality.
"Get a grip, Yosuke!" Kurama growled, his voice thunderous. "You’re acting recklessly, and you’re going to make everything worse! Think, damn it! Use that Libra brain of yours—attain balance! If you let that toxic temper take over, you'll just throw Lady Tabitha into even greater danger!"
The room was silent once more, save for Yosuke’s heavy breathing. Slowly, the miasma dissipated. His fangs retracted. He staggered backward, finally collapsing into a nearby Renaissance chair, rubbing his temples.
Kurama exhaled a deep breath, shaking his head. "I think that settles everything for now." He turned to Carter, who was pressing his fingers against his forehead, massaging away an oncoming headache.
"So? What’s the plan?" Kurama asked. "Are we just going to sit here and let her handle everything on her own?"
Carter was about to answer when a figure emerged from the shadows, slipping into the dimly lit room with an eerie grace.
A woman.
Draped in black from head to toe, her presence was both unsettling and effortless—like a phantom that had been there all along, simply waiting to be noticed.
Immediately, every descendant tensed, hands gripping their weapons. They hadn't even sensed her approach. That alone was enough to set them on edge.
Kurama and Ryuu moved without a word, stepping forward to shield Carter instinctively, their bodies taut with readiness.
The woman, however, merely tilted her head, the hint of a smirk tugging at her lips.
"And who art thou?" Ryuu asked, his voice calm but edged with caution.
She didn't flinch. Her dark eyes swept over them, calculating. Measuring.
Then, with a voice smooth as silk, she introduced herself.
"My name is Heather," she said, folding her hands in front of her. "Chaos’s messenger. And I have come to deliver a warning."