~ Hours Earlier ~
"Lavere," Leno called as he stepped out of the council hall, Gordoi and Meyer following close behind.
The blonde turned and immediately straightened, offering the three men her respect.
One look at their expressions told her this wasn't a casual conversation.
"What did you do down there?"the Chieftain asked.
Lavere blinked.
"...We didn't do anything," she replied honestly, then quickly raised a hand before they could question her further. "But Reoloy came into contact with a member of the nation's royal family."
"What?"
"We're meeting them tonight."
Leno seemed to go deep into thought while Gordoi sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"What a confusing kid," he muttered. "Sometimes he seems to know far too much. Then the next moment he's completely clueless. Then he goes and starts moving like he's playing some grand game only he understands..."
"It's clear he still doesn't realise that the moment he claimed the sacred land as his own, he became our ruler," Meyer said, folding his arms as he leaned against the corridor wall. "Personally, I wouldn't mind things remaining as they are... but our ancestors' sworn oath comes before my preferences."
He looked between the other two.
"We should tell him."
Leno shook his head.
"He would just reject it."
Both Gordoi and Lavere nodded almost immediately.
Of everyone in Cardana, they had spent the most time around Reoloy. They knew exactly how he'd react.
Lavere suddenly paused.
A memory surfaced—one that felt strangely distant despite having happened less than a month ago.
"Under the right circumstances, he can't," she said as if having an epiphany.
The men looked at her with slight confusion, though Leno much less so, because he had already arrived at a similar conclusion.
"He said he would become 'King of the Sky and Sea'," Lavere continued, prompting Gordoi and Meyer to widen their eyes. "He obviously didn't understand the weight of those words... but we can use that."
Leno laughed. "That's not bad."
"But not enough," Gordoi said. "Reoloy isn't someone who can simply be cornered with his own words. He isn't dishonourable... but he's hardly the image of unwavering integrity either."
"Which is why we'll take advantage of this little mission of his," Leno replied, smiling kindly, much to their discomfort. "Captain. Get the armoury guys to give you some of the good stuff."
Meyer didn't ask further questions, simply nodding.
"Gordoi, melt it down and process it so it can be used to make high-quality clothing," he continued, then turned to Lavere. "Go tell Tigrian I want to see her."
The last instruction caught the blacksmith completely off guard.
"Really?" he asked incredulously. "You haven't spoken to her in ages."
Leno shrugged. "I didn't need to."
He began walking away towards his chambers, a small smirk playing on his face.
"But this is the new age," he said coolly. "So all the talents need to come out and play their part."
---
~ Present ~
The air inside the study grew noticeably heavier.
Neither Cale nor Wynn spoke immediately.
Instead, the siblings silently reevaluated their thoughts and opinions of the blue-black-haired boy standing before them.
"King... you say?" Cale asked at last, studying Reoloy with a greater curiosity than earlier. "Of an entirely new nation, no less?"
The reincarnator almost squirmed beneath the collective scrutiny but held himself together. His eyes drifted to the self-satisfied Lavere, only for Leno's equally pleased face to superimpose itself over hers in his mind.
'She might as well be his successor already...'
He was stuck.
If he denied it now, he'd make himself—and by extension everyone standing behind him—look like an uncoordinated joke. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't have cared, but with Cale, even though he was desperate, that display of instability would immediately erode whatever chances he had.
Besides that, he could leverage being "king" to stand on equal grounds with the prince and, in some ways, even command more respect since technically he outranked him.
'Though, since it's an obscure new country, that might deduct some of the workable prestige...' he mused, scanning Cale's expectant face. 'Fair play, old man trio...'
Reoloy let out a slow sigh, forcibly smoothing the frown from his face.
"...Unfortunately, yes," he admitted, earning obvious satisfaction from the Cardanians and mixed reactions from the fugitives. "That said, my... position... isn't why I'm here. This is a personal matter."
Cale's brow lifted ever so slightly.
"And yet," he observed, frowning. "You arrived announcing your station."
Reoloy froze, looking over his group and their flashy appearances as well as the banner, on top of the potion he'd given Wynn the day prior... It probably did look like he was flexing his authority as a newly established monarch.
But...
Cale should have known better than that. He was one of the sharpest minds in RON, and that was while being even further into death's door than he was now.
Observing closely, he caught the pink-eyed prince's lip twitching up just the slightest bit.
"Ah, I see," Reoloy said dryly. "This isn't very smart on your part."
The prince tilted his head, his smile finally widening as his eyes closed.
"I haven't the slightest idea what you're referring to," he replied pleasantly. "I'm merely trying to understand the stranger who barged into our lives claiming to be a potential ally."
"And?"
Cale opened one eye and stared, then stepped in closer.
"I'm curious, I'll admit it." He gave a small nod. "But accepting help from an outsider was already a difficult proposition. Learning that you're the ruler of an entirely separate nation only complicates matters."
His smile softened.
"How can I be certain your goodwill toward me isn't simply another way of harming Lindis?"
Reoloy met his one-eyed gaze and scoffed.
'That's it?'
Before anyone had time to react, he placed a hand on Cale's shoulder, and they were gone.
---
Wind tore across Cale's face with a violence he had never experienced before.
It wasn't the cold breeze that occasionally slipped through his bedroom windows, nor the gentle drafts he had grown accustomed to during his short walks through the castle gardens. This wind was alive—wild and unrestrained, carrying the scent of salt and open skies as it roared past him from every direction.
Instinct seized him.
His hands shot down, clutching at the surface beneath him with surprising strength despite his frail body, his heart pounding as the irrational fear of being blown away took hold. His breathing quickened, every muscle tensing as he fought the urge to curl into himself.
Only after several long seconds did he realise...
He wasn't moving.
The wind battered him relentlessly, yet whatever he stood upon remained utterly unmoved.
Slowly, he forced himself to look up.
To his right, Reoloy stood with both hands tucked casually into his pockets, the gale whipping through his slicked-back hair and tugging at the tails of his black coat as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
He wasn't even looking at Cale.
Instead, his gaze rested on the endless horizon stretching beyond the clouds, his expression calm enough to make it seem as though they were standing in the middle of a quiet field rather than somewhere impossibly high above the world.
"You asked how you could know I don't intend to harm your kingdom..."
Cale, still unsteady, slowly pushed himself upright. His legs trembled slightly beneath him, but he refused to show weakness for any longer than necessary.
Reoloy pointed downward.
Through breaks in the clouds, faint sections of the massive, sprawling city beneath them became visible.
"With this..." Reoloy tapped his foot against the surface beneath them. "I could eradicate Anselt without much trouble. And no, there's nothing worth playing the long game for on your soil."
Cale steadied himself.
The bluntness of the statement was almost more unsettling than the threatening words themselves.
"Can you read minds?"
"Not yet."
The prince blinked.
He had only asked the question as a joke to lighten his own nerves, but the way Reoloy had answered made it seem like he meant it and it was a genuine possibility.
"You have questions," Reoloy said, turning to him for the first time. "Ask away."
Cale opened his mouth, then closed it and shook his head. His eyes briefly wandered around them—the endless sky, the clouds all around, and most importantly, the sickeningly unnerving structure they stood on the edge of.
He took a loud gulp of air.
"Where... what is this?"
Reoloy shook his head.
"It's a part of me, and I'm a part of it."
For a moment, he felt the slightest sense of disapproval somewhere in his mind, his eyes narrowing as he recalled some of his earlier suspicions, but filed it away for later yet again.
"That's all I can tell you about it for now."
The answer he'd offered wasn't false.
Through the connection formed when he claimed Luvarne, they were essentially counted as one entity, pretty much.
Cale nodded slowly, though the dissatisfied look in his eyes made it clear he had noticed the carefully crafted non-answer.
"If you truly have no interest in Lindis as a nation..." he began, glancing around at the endless structure beneath them. "And you possess the power to destroy it as you claim..."
His gaze returned to Reoloy.
"Then what exactly do you hope to achieve by placing me on the throne?"
"Hm?"
Reoloy's brow lifted.
"Who said I cared about that?"
"What?" Cale asked.
"That's just my offer to you," Reoloy explained, leaning dangerously over the edge of the structure. "My end of the bargain, if you want to call it that."
He looked back toward the city below.
"Whatever you choose to do after that is your decision."
The prince stared at him.
For all the power Reoloy looked to have at his disposal, for all the impossible things he had shown him, that answer was somehow the most unexpected.
"You don't want control?"
"No."
"Influence?"
"Not in that particular sense."
"Then what do you want from us?"
Reoloy looked back at him.
He raised an arm and extended a finger toward the prince, as though the answer were so obvious he couldn't believe he was being asked.
"You," he said simply, before looking to the side. "Oh—and your sister, of course."
Then pointing at Cale again.
"But mainly you."
The prince's guard was immediately raised, backing away slightly with a wary look.
"Not like that!" Reoloy snapped. "Your mana art! I think you'll be useful with your mana art!"
Instantly, Cale became serious. He turned away, almost as if displeased that it had been brought up.
"You know about that?"
"Yeah, I intend to fight in some... less than ideal situations," Reoloy started. "I'm in the middle of forming a party for that. You alone can act as a one-man army. I need that."
"Why would you need a party when you're a king and have a military?"
The reincarnator loudly groaned.
"That's a different matter..." he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look. Have you heard of the Apocalypse disease?"
"The mythical illness used to scare children in bedtime stories?" Cale frowned. "Why are you bringing it up?"
Reoloy went silent.
'That's what these guys think of it in this world?' He held his plain expression well, but internally he was thrown for a loop. 'Thinking about it now... you never really explore it until after the first major incident at the end of the first act.'
He snapped out of it and cleared his throat.
"Well, it's real," he said, his face tightening. "And soon, it will spread all across Pandora."
From his eyes alone, Reoloy could tell Cale didn't believe him, but he continued.
"Calamities will spring up, and millions will die. I want to stop that... along with something else I haven't fully understood yet."
The image of his TV screen on the night he reincarnated, as well as the Hunting Dogs he encountered not long after, came to mind.
'The fluttering black cloaks that aim to ravage the world...'
"Right..." Cale muttered, doubt evident on his face. "Even with that, I've never succeeded at using my mana art. I can't help you in your endeavours."
Once again, Reoloy looked at him like he was being made to answer such an obvious thing.
"The poison that's killing you was meant to have done its job a while ago."
Cale's eyes widened.
"The only reason you're alive is because your mana has been resisting the foreign spell and getting burned away in the process."
"Does that mean...?"
"That if I get rid of it for you, you'll be able to use your mana properly?" Reoloy finished. "Yes, it does."
He extended a hand towards him for a handshake.
"Seal the deal, and I'll do it for you right here and now. Additionally, I'll give you what you need to make a speedy recovery. That potion your sister has isn't what's most effective for you."
The prince stared at the hand, still hesitating.
"If it's about your power, I have some notes on how you can maximise its potential," Reoloy added, noticing his trepidation. "I'll hand that over to—"
"You seem to be in a rush," Cale interrupted. "Why?"
Reoloy's hand remained outstretched while he turned slowly towards the stars.
"Both you and Wynn need to enter Aldain with me in the upcoming intake."
Cale deadpanned. "Are you mad?"
"Some have accused me of that," Reoloy replied. "I'm serious, though. It's the best place to be for what's to come."
It was then that Cale understood.
"You're being serious about the whole continental danger thing..." he muttered, wanting to dismiss it as truly insane, then remembering the current circumstances. "You're sure?"
"As sure as I am that you'll die within the year without my help."
The white-haired boy frowned.
The statement was a low blow, but likely very true. He knew his own body. It was deteriorating fast—faster than ever before.
"...Aldain is impossible for me in the time we have left," Cale said, sighing. "Even Wynn might struggle. Of all us royal siblings, only Tristan and Lara ever succeeded at getting in.
Reoloy smirked.
"Follow my lead, and you'll get in easy," he replied lightly. "Besides, it would help you, wouldn't it? You get into Aldain, and immediately it will put you on even ground with at least your brothers."
'That's... unrefutable,' the prince thought.
He watched as Reoloy gestured to his hand with his eyes, urging him to agree, and after a few moments, he laughed.
"One last thing," Cale said, wiping away tears. "Is it true?"
He paused.
"That you told Wynn we would be no different from our sister if we killed unjustly?"
Reoloy stared. "I did, yeah. What about it?"
Cale took his hand, all traces of hesitation gone as he smiled at the older boy.
"I look forward to working with you."
Reoloy blinked, then smiled.
"Same here."
Upon releasing his hand, he clapped his hands dramatically and glanced at the ring structure on his glove.
As usual, answering to his will, it snapped apart and reformed into a dark claw.
He turned his attention back to Cale and inhaled, sharpening his focus.
"Now... relax," he said, pressing the claw against the boy's chest.
"Wha—?"
The spectral claw form sprang to life, going through the prince instantly and sending a massive rush of pain through his body.
It lasted for just a moment, but Cale fell onto the ground convulsing as if the pain persisted much longer.
It took him a while to even notice that there was no visible wound.
"You're fine," Reoloy said flippantly, much to the prince's annoyance. "I destroyed the spell and the mana connection that was feeding it. Your body should already be starting its natural recovery process."
Cale wanted to speak, but words failed him as he panted heavily.
"We've been gone for a long time," Reoloy continued, scratching the back of his head. "Let's go back."
Just like before, he unceremoniously moved them before the young prince even knew what was happening.
---
Silence had held for what seemed like ages before it finally snapped.
"Where is he?!" Wynn demanded, charging toward the white-clad group with frantic ferocity. "Where did he take Cale?!"
The entire room tensed.
Bodies instinctively shifted into combat stances as weapons emerged from hidden seals within their coats. The calm atmosphere that had existed only moments before vanished as though it had never been there at all.
Wynn reached them first.
A burst of magnetism attribute mana flared from her outstretched hand, violently pulling at the metal throughout the room.
Just then she quickly realised something.
Her eyes widened as the very clothes of the people in front of her responded.
The uniforms contained far more metal than she had anticipated.
For a brief moment, the entire group was dragged toward her before she deactivated the spell.
It was too late, however, as Lohan had adapted instantly and rode the momentum.
Utilising the motion from having been pulled forward, she closed the distance before twisting mid-motion and bringing down a ki-enhanced axe kick.
Wynn managed to jump back but still got grazed, with the impact forcing her further backwards, her boots scraping across the polished floor as she barely managed to maintain her footing.
At the same time, Lavere's knives shot through the air.
The blades barely cleaved past Wynn, embedding themselves into the floor exactly where she had been standing a moment earlier.
Without hesitation, the blonde pulled them free and redirected them with a violent pulse of black and yellow casis.
Wynn's expression hardened.
Her mana surged, repelling the metal segments of the weapons and disrupting their trajectory. But the distraction was enough.
Avron and Digo had already moved in.
Mana swirled around a spearhead and fist respectively as they sealed off her options, forcing the princess to retreat under constant pressure.
She clicked her tongue.
Then she stopped holding back.
A powerful wave of mana erupted outward.
The entire group was launched into the air before being slammed back toward the ground with brutal force.
The impact shook the room.
Fortunately, the same craftsmanship that made their uniforms vulnerable to her ability also made them exceptionally durable. The Cardanians quickly recovered, pushing themselves back onto their feet before Wynn could capitalise.
Then—
Every presence in the room sharpened.
Mana, ki, and casis flared simultaneously.
Everyone readied for a fight, except for Cisco, who remained still in the back, watching.
They all knew.
The next exchange would not be a clean one. One side would have to perish.
But before either side could move—
A familiar silver light appeared in the exact middle of the conflict.
Reoloy took in the sight quickly while Cale remained hunched over on the ground.
"...The hell is happening here?" Reoloy asked, looking from the drawn weapons to Wynn's murderous expression, then to the Cardanians already poised to strike.
Wynn caught only a glimpse of her brother's dishevelled state before the last of her restraint snapped.
She launched forward, fist already drawn back.
She never reached Reoloy.
Lohan intercepted her in an instant, twisting into the path of the strike and kicking against Wynn's arm just as it came forward.
"Whoa!" Reoloy shouted, instinctively jumping back as Lohan landed between them, stance lowered and protective.
Wynn straightened, her glare shifting toward the lavender-haired girl as she prepared to move again.
"Sister... stop."
Cale's voice was quiet.
Weak, but clear.
"I'm okay."
The words took a moment to register. To really register. Wynn looked at her brother, still panting in rage, then she visibly softened.
Her lip trembled as she noticed details only she could have seen.
The colour returning to his skin.
The steadier breath.
The faint strength behind his posture.
"No way..." she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.
Cale smiled, brighter than he had in a long time, his face already much more lively than before.
"I'm okay," he repeated warmly.
Any remaining anger was promptly forgotten.
Faster than she'd moved before, Wynn barrelled into him, throwing her arms around his scrawny frame as she finally cried freely while he comforted her.