Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

That Elson brat is the one to give Vildred the news.

Vildred comes downstairs to the sound of a boy panting in the front room. His butler lets him in, the traitor. Vildred decides to just stand there, glaring at the recruit until he spits out whatever is on his mind. It was obviously of some importance, as they had sent whoever was close at hand instead of an actual messenger, so he wouldn’t kick him out. Yet.

Then Elson tells him that the Heir of the Covenant has awoken, and Vildred’s mind is busy with other things.

—

Vildred is assigned to escort the Heir of the Covenant to Tirel Castle.

Vildred is assigned to escort the Heir. All the way to the Castle.

He has to take a moment to calm down, to reassure himself that this is what he wanted. He can finally get answers after all these years, explanations to what Kayron showed him.

Vildred ignores the voice in the back of his head that asks what happens if the acolyte is right. 

He packs his gear (light, to travel quickly. He can restock at the various towns along the way), and tries not to think.

—

Kayron appears again, on the way to the World’s End.

“He’s awake, I’ve heard,” he says, stepping on to the forest path from seemingly nowhere.

Vildred doesn’t flinch. “Why do you think I’m going there?” he scoffs. “Diene sent me to go fetch him.”

“I see. Messenger or bodyguard?” 

Vildred can’t tell if Kayron is joking or not. “Does it matter?”

“You’re her dog either way.”

Vildred stops short. “I wouldn’t say that. ”

“Don’t fool yourself,” Kayron scoffs. “Diene directly serves Diche, and you’ve been volunteered as an errand boy for the Heir himself.”

“It’s not like I had a choice,” Vildred says. 

“I gave you one, and you ignored it. Why haven’t you decided yet?” 

Kayron takes Vildred’s silence as an answer. “You’re running out of time. We both are.” 

Vildred asks suddenly, “And what happens if I refuse? If I attempt to kill the Archdemon by the Heir’s side?”

Kayron is unamused. “You’ve asked this before.” 

“And I’m asking again. Humor me.”

“....fine. We fight on opposite sides, the Heir loses like he has each time before, Diche corrupts the world entirely trying to ‘fix’ it, and we all get eaten by Unknown if we’re lucky, or die slow, cancerous deaths by dimensional deterioration if we aren’t. Make your choice, General.”

“Let me talk to the Heir first. I need answers.”

Kayron scoffs. “Still holding on to that hope? That the Goddess’ plaything will magically fix everything? You should know by now that he can’t even do what he was created for.”

“I’m going to ask anyway. I need to know.” 

“Of course. You’ll finally get your answers .”

Vildred continues walking. “And if you don’t like them?”

“I’m ending this damned cycle whether you have a hand in it or not,” Kayron responds. “One option is much less pleasant for you than the other.”

“Fine.” Vildred turns a corner. He refuses to look back.

He makes it the rest of the way to the bar without incident.

—

Upon his arrival, the Heir is nowhere to be found. 

Instead, Vildred is greeted with three very enthusiastic women, all spoiling what appears at first glance to be a large blue ball of cotton.

Vildred sighs, then coughs to get their attention. 

“Oh! It’s the general!” one of them squeals, picking up said cotton ball and rushing over.

“...You are of the Three Sisters Merchant guild, correct?”

“That’s us,” one of the others calls. “What can we do for you?”

“I’m here to retrieve and escort the Heir to Tirel Castle. Is he here?”

“Oh, Master went out,” says the ball of fluff, now revealed to be a certain guardian, in between bites of food. “You’ll probably find him in town somewhere.”

Vildred internally groans. He should have known something like this would happen. Turning on his heel, he storms out without a word. 

—

The Heir isn’t in the bar. He isn’t in the nearby market, either. Vildred walks up and down the streets, even checking the nearby alleyways, anywhere a directionless idiot might wander off to. He is just about to give up and start walking around when he spots a shock of bright white, contrasted against the greys of the stone paths.

The Heir is staring at a fountain. It’s made of rough-hewn stone, and Vildred can see the slight glitter of ice magic keeping the water pure. He walks up beside him.

“Heir of the Covenant.”

The aforementioned Heir startles, spins around, and nearly trips into the fountain. “Oh...Hello.”

Vildred feels a flash of irritation. “I’ve been assigned to escort you to Tirel Castle, as soon as possible. Do you have all your possessions?”

The Heir just stands there, a blank look on his face. 

Vildred lets out an exasperated sigh. “I’m going to assume everything’s back at the merchants’. You coming or not?” He turns to leave the way he came.

The Heir mumbles something.

“What was that?”

“...I’m sorry.”

Vildred pauses. Looks back. The Heir looks lethargic. Exhausted, even. He’s slumped against the fountain, and his usual smile is replaced with a vacant gaze. Maybe this is one of the side effects Kayron mentioned? If the goddess is running out of power, it might make sense that her Heir would be low too…

….He decides to think about it later. Vildred’s priority is to do his job, for now. He can reassess once they’re on the road.

He gestures to get a move on, and the two of them walk back towards the World’s End. 

—

There is something seriously wrong here. 

After that little encounter by the fountain, Vildred decides to keep a close eye on his companions. 

What he notices is rather concerning, actually. The Heir (Ras, his mind supplies unhelpfully. He shuts it down), to put it bluntly, looks like shit.

His posture is slumped, his eyes are empty, and despite being superhuman with little need for rest and having been in a coma for two decades, he looks like he hasn’t slept in weeks. 

Not even Arkasus, once they drag him from the pampering merchants, can get him to act normally. He barely responds to the usual teasing and nagging for snacks, and when Arky disappears to find some food or pets, he just stares blankly.

Despite his best efforts, Vildred is growing more and more worried. The Heir’s (possible) betrayal may have wounded him, but not even that can erase the years (decades, if Kayron is to be believed) of close friendship the two of them had built up in past worlds. He may only have a few memories of Ras now, but that doesn’t erase the sense of innate wrongness Vildred feels when he sees the state he’s in.

Vildred squashes it down yet again. The job, he reminds himself, and then answers.

It doesn’t get any easier. 

—

They finally reach Tirel Castle one early evening, and Vildred is grateful that the guards just wave them through. He’s irritated, the Heir is somehow even more exhausted, even Arky seems to have picked up on the mood and has gone quiet, and if Vildred had to go through the regular channels he thinks he’d have sliced the papers into miniscule scraps.

Anyways.

Queen Diene greets them in the main hall, Prince Aither hiding behind her skirts.

“Heir of the Covenant, Guardian Arkasus, General Vildred,” she says, nodding to each of them in turn. “I’d love to make plans now, but you all look exhausted. General, you know where the east wing guest rooms are, correct?”

Vildred tamps down the flash of annoyance he feels at once again being volunteered as a guide ( her dog, Kayron’s voice reminds him), and forces himself to nod. “I remember, Your Majesty.”

“Good. Why don’t you three stay the night, and we can talk tomorrow afternoon? I’ll have someone fetch you.” Queen Diene dismisses them with a nod, then turns to speak softly to her son. 

Prince Aither just stares at them with wide eyes. “G’night,” he mumbles, as his mother leads him away. 

Vildred nods back, then turns on his heel and starts towards the east wing.

—

The Heir drags his feet as they move through the many corridors. Vildred wants to get to his rooms soon, but he has to slow his pace not to leave him behind completely. Vildred grumbles to himself, shoving away a hyper Arky who had managed to charm a few sweets from…somewhere. 

Unfortunate timing, really. Neither of them were in the mood to deal with it. Arky grumbles something incoherent before giving up and bounding on ahead.

The Heir stops completely.

Vildred continues a few steps before realizing that he’s not going to be followed. “What is it,” he asks.

The Heir sighs. “Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.”

“It’s evidently not,” Vildred says, before he knows what he’s doing. “You’ve been acting strange ever since I arrived to escort you here. Why?” Vildred’s suspicions have been growing the entire journey, and now is as good a time as any to finally get answers. He turns around to see the Heir shrinking further into himself.

“I...it’s fine, I’ll take care of it…” 

“You’re not going to save the world in this state,” Vildred says flatly. “What is it?”

The Heir deflates. “I really wanted to tell you.”

“What?” Vildred freezes.

“You were my best friend, you know, and you were there every time. I got so close, after Aki sacrificed himself, but…” Ras trails off, looking unsure and unsteady, and maybe just a bit surprised that he said so much.

Kayron was right. Kayron really had told him the truth, about the world and the resets, and Aki. 

Well, that was easier than expected. Vildred sighs. “How long?”

Ras looks up, confused. “What do you mean how long?”

“Just how long has it been for you?” Vildred clarifies.

Ras averts his eyes. “I lost count.” 

A pause.

“You knew?”

“Kayron showed me.” Vildred frowns. “So you really wanted to let me know?”

“...so you don’t care?”

“Oh, I was pissed for years,” he admits, “but I wanted proof first.”

Ras sags against the wall. He hugs himself as a few tears begin to make their way down his face. “Thank you.”

Distantly, some part of Vildred’s brain muses that he didn’t know Ras was capable of tears. He sighs, and shrugs off his coat as he walks towards Ras, then wraps it tightly around him. “Let's get you to your room. We can talk more about this tomorrow morning..” 

Vildred’s head is spinning with many things that night, but mostly he’s just glad that he has Ras back.

—

Unfortunately, Vildred is woken up by a certain pouncing furball. 

“How did you even get in, ” he groans as Arky bounces off the walls like an overexcited cat. The sun hasn’t even risen yet.

“Master told me you would know where to find snacks,” Arky explains cheerfully. 

Traitor. “Down the hall to the left,” Vildred grumbles. “You’ll find some servants to bother. They can probably escort you to the kitchens or something, I don’t know.”

Arky cheers and sprints out of the room. Vildred sits up and rubs his eyes. 

Well, he’s awake now. Might as well get up. He stretches, gets dressed, and after reaching for his usual coat and realizing he left it with Ras, he puts on a grey one and leaves to find something to do.

—

He’s sitting in the gardens with a mug of tea one of the servants offered him when Ras comes up behind him. “I thought I’d find you here,” he says, “you’ve always loved these gardens.”

Vildred just sighs, turning around, before startling. 

Ras stands in his coat, looking a bit sheepish. “I was going to give it back, but I got cold…”

I thought he couldn’t feel cold. “Yeah, whatever. Anyways, we need to talk plans.”

Ras nods and sits down next to him. “You said something about Kayron? I’m not entirely surprised he showed up, after what happened last time.”

“He wants me to help him destroy the world,” Vildred says bluntly.

Ras snorts. “Are you going to take him up on his offer?”

“You seem awfully calm about this for someone tasked with saving it.”

“As you’ve probably figured out by now, I’m not very good at my job,” Ras says. “You didn’t answer my question, which means you’re considering joining Kayron. I honestly wouldn’t blame you if you did.”

Vildred pauses. “Why not? We’re literally talking about world destruction here.”

“What reasons did he give you? Something about dimensional corruption? Chaos gates appearing everywhere?”

“Exactly that, actually.”

“He’s right. Orbis is teetering on the edge, and it’s going to get destroyed anyway if I don’t somehow miraculously erase the archdemon from existence. Even then, Diche might find some new way to screw us over. I don’t blame Kayron for wanting to choose a better ending than that.”

“You sound so sure. What happened?”

Ras sighs. “When I was asleep, I….saw some things.”

“Things?” Vildred frowns at Ras’ tone. 

Ras seems hesitant, but continues on anyway. “The Goddess isn’t losing power. She’s losing interest. Orbis is just a shiny plaything to her, and she’s going to throw us at the Archdemon one last time before leaving us behind to find another.”

“Well, shit.”

Ras nods in agreement.

“Do we have any options?”

Ras sighs. “To be honest, Kayron’s is probably the easiest one. I could try to talk Diche out of messing with us, but I really doubt she would listen, and even then we would still have the Archdemon to contend with. It may be sealed for now, but that can’t last forever.”

“So we have two celestial problems.”

“Quite literally. Did you know the Archdemon used to be the god of the sun?”

“Wait, really? I’ve never seen any mention of that.”

“You could probably find something if you looked really hard at the texts the Cult of Ilryos uses, but Diche erased most mentions of it.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah. I was most likely never going to win,” Ras sighs again. “I’m done serving Diche.”

The two sit in silence for a while, both processing the new information they were given. After a few minutes, Ras speaks up. “I want to tell everyone. They don’t deserve to just die for a failing cause, and I’m done keeping secrets for Diche.”

“Should we tell Diene first?”

“We’re meeting her this afternoon, and I want her to have a say in what happens next. How about you?” 

“...I want to talk to Kayron again,” Vildred confesses. “He was going to find me after I talked to you, and I think we can get him to listen to us. Maybe we can figure something out.” 

Ras frowns, lost in thought. “Maybe…”

—

Afternoon rolls around, and the two are still haphazardly throwing ideas at each other. One of Queen Diene’s personal retainers shows up to bring them into a private tea room.

It’s a sunlit area, with tall windows and comfortable chairs. The Queen of Ezera is sitting primly at the head of the table. She gestures towards two empty spots. 

“Master, where did you go?” Arky whines, flopping over on a large cushion that has been placed on the table. “I couldn't find you! The people here are very nice, though, they gave me snacks!”

“Sorry, Arky, I was busy talking to Vildred.”

“For seven hours? ”

Queen Diene coughs lightly. Ras ignores the annoyed squawks of his guardian and sits down, Vildred close behind him.

“Twenty years ago, I managed to suppress the Archdemon by splitting it into fragments and sealing each away,” Diene begins. “However, the seals won’t last much longer, as the Goddess-given power I have used to retain them has been dwindling. I assume this is the reason the Heir of the Covenant is now awake.” She nods to Ras. “As it is taking most of my strength to simply contain fractions of the Archdemon’s power, I would like to enlist your help in destroying them.”

Ras sighs. “I’m not sure that’s actually possible.”

Queen Diene frowns. “The Goddess Diche created you for this purpose, did she not? So her strength really is failing?”

“Well, the Goddess is a right bitch,” Vildred mutters. Judging by the way the Queen frowns, she definitely heard him.

Ras sighs. “There are...some things that I should probably tell you.”

Arky looks at his master in alarm, before seeing the look on his face and tensing up. “Alright, Master,” he says quietly, settling down on his cushion. “If you’re sure.”

Ras tells his story plainly, without embellishing or holding anything back. Vildred watches as Queen Diene’s expression changes from doubt, to realization and horror, to perfectly molded calm. 

“I see,” she murmurs at last. “That explains...a lot. I will have to think about this. Do you three mind leaving me for now?” Her hand trembles as she gestures a dismissal. 

Arky silently jumps off the table and trots towards the door, Ras quickly following. Vildred closes the door behind them, looking back once to see Queen Diene staring out the window.

—

Ras picks up his guardian. Arky seems to be drooping. “I didn’t know about some of that,” he admits. “I’m glad other people finally know.” 

Vildred groans. “Now that we’ve gotten that done, what’s next?”

“It depends on whether Acolyte Kayron decides to talk to us before the queen does,” Ras says.

A voice comes from behind them. “Well, that’s easy.” 

Vildred whirls around, sword half drawn, before seeing the Acolyte in question leaning against the wall with a smirk. He sheathes his sword with a glare. 

Beside him, he can hear Arky squeak in surprise. “How did you even get in here?!”

Kayron dismisses him with a wave. “Oh, Vildred left me a backdoor.” 

“I don’t remember this,” Vildred grumbles.

“It was there nonetheless.”

Arky readies the start of an outraged interrogation, but Ras thumps him on the head. “Acolyte Kayron,” he says, nodding politely. “From your sudden appearance, I assume you know we want to talk?”

Kayron rolls his eyes. “Spare the formalities, Heir, we have the end of the world to discuss. I’ll meet you at that spot in the garden you two claimed earlier?” Between one blink and the next, he is gone. 

Vildred pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath.

“Is he always like that?” Arky pipes up hesitantly.

“Yes, when he’s not being a dramatic asshole.”

Ras sighs. “We might as well go meet him there.”

—

Kayron has somehow acquired a cup of tea. 

He appears to sit on air, floating a few feet above the ground as he reclines against some imaginary throne. He raises an eyebrow and gestures to the spot Vildred and Ras had been sitting earlier.

“There’s the pretentious bastard,” Vildred mutters under his breath. 

Ras just sighs and goes to sit down. 

“Nice area,” says Kayron, looking around appreciatively. “Hard to eavesdrop on.”

“Not like that stopped you.”

“Oh, details,” he says dismissively. “Now, I heard you say something about booting Diche?”

Vildred groans. Arky looks scandalized, but huffs and curls closer into Ras’ (Vildred’s) coat.

“If you heard that discussion, you also know that I doubt it’s possible,” Ras says. 

Kayron takes a sip of his tea. “But given sufficient force, do you think it could work?”

“Where would this force come from? The four of us combined aren’t a match for the power of a Celestial. Even if we recruited every Heir and Guardian currently on Orbis, we wouldn’t get halfway.”

“How about another Celestial?” Kayron smirks.

Ras falls silent, contemplating, and Vildred groans in realization. “Shit, that might actually work.”

Arky pops up. “What? What other Celestials are there?”

“Bastard’s talking about the Archdemon.” 

Arky frowns suspiciously. “Are you just trying to get us to do your work for you?”

Kayron shrugs. “Way I see it, it’s the best solution we have. Best case scenario? We’ll all be able to live here without the influence of either Celestial. Worst case? We’ll die too quickly to care.”

Arky’s face scrunches up. “Master, why-”

“No, this could work.” Ras looks up. “From what I know, the Archdemon is probably powerful enough.”

“Wonderful,” says Kayron, “we have a strategy. You three should get going, though, it seems that your queen has finished ‘thinking.’”

He vanishes with a smirk, and Vildred very nearly slams his head into a stone wall. “That disappearing asshole- ”

Ras slumps backwards, nearly squishing Arky. “Well, like he said, we have the beginnings of a plan now, and that’s much better than nothing.”

—

On their return, Queen Diene looks even more stressed. “I don’t want to believe you,” she begins, “but there is no logical reason why you would lie. If you were working with the Archdemon you just wouldn’t tell me, after all.”

Ras nods. Vildred stands silently behind him. 

Diene rubs her temples, staring at the table. “They all deserve to know,” she says finally. “Unless you give me reason not to, I’ll be drafting letters to every major figure I know.”

“Set up a meeting,” Ras suggests. “It will be easier to answer questions in person, and I don’t want to hide anything.”

Queen Diene nods. “So we inform everyone of our current situation. I’ll start writing tonight.”

“Speaking of the situation, we may be able to do something,” Ras says.

“Yeah, don’t get your hopes up for now, but we might have an idea,” Vildred continues. “We’re thinking of throwing the goddess into the sun.”

Diene blinks.

“That’s not quite right,” Ras says, frowning. “It’s more the other way around? The sun is more portable.”

The Queen now has a polite smile frozen on her face. “Could you perhaps elaborate?”

“They’re talking about the archdemon,” Arky pips up from Ras’ arms.

“...that makes much more sense.” Queen Diene sighs. “I should get started.” 

Ras nods. “We’ll see ourselves out.”

—

“I’m hungry,” whines Arky.

“I know that,” Ras groans, “you’ve only told us twenty times or so.” 

“That’s because you haven’t gotten me any snacks yet!”

“That’s because we can’t find any- ”

“Then look!”

“We are! What do you think we’ve been doing, wandering around aimlessly?”

“Yes!”

“ Listen here, you- ”

“Quiet.” Vildred hushes them with a raise of his hand. The two stop instantly.

Footsteps can be heard, quiet but unmistakable. Vildred frowns. Kayron doesn’t have footsteps, any servants would sound more even...he puts his hand on the hilt of his sword, just in case.

A child pokes his head around the corner, and Vildred breathes a sigh of relief.

“Hi,” says a wide-eyed Prince Aither. “Are you the Heir of the Covenant? Mama told me.”

Ras relaxes as well, and nods in confirmation. “That would be me.”

The prince beams. “You look a lot different from the story books, but I knew you were here! Mama keeps disappearing because she’s busy except she’s not usually busy and that’s the only thing she's been talking about with Uncle Charles. What are you doing here? It’s gotta be important, right?”

Ras blinks.

Prince Aither bounces in circles around them. “It has to be important! Otherwise Mama wouldn’t have left me alone with Uncle Charles. And you’re a hero, right? You have to be one, it says so in the storybooks! And you’re with the General! Come on mister, what is it?” 

Confronted with the endless well of energy and questions, the aforementioned Hero lets out a very small “eep.” 

Vildred makes an attempt to back away slowly.

Prince Aither just grins and moves closer, cheerfully readying the next barrage of questions.

Luckily, the two are saved when Arky pops out of Ras’ jacket with a “Hiya!”

He meets the Prince’s stare. “Hi! I’m Master’s Guardian, Arky!”

Prince Aither gasps. “Is that what a Guardian looks like? Mama said they looked scary, but you’re so fluffy! Can I pet you?”

Arky bristles. “I’m not scary! Well, at least not usually…”

Without waiting for permission, Prince Aither swoops down to pick up the fluffball. “Mama says you help kill a lot of monsters! You look like a pillow, how does that work?” 

Arky puffs up again, and begins a long-winded tale of past heroics. Prince Aither grins and hugs the Guardian closer, then skips down the hallway, continuing to bombard him with questions.

Arky wriggles up so he can see over the Prince’s shoulder and gives Ras a Look. 

Thank you, Ras mouths, then slumps in relief. 

Vildred joins him. “I have no skill with small children,” he admits.

“I owe Arky so many snacks.” The two of them sit quietly for a few seconds. “What did he mean by ‘you look a lot different from the storybooks?’”

Vildred hesitates. “....you are a living legend, Ras. You should have known that people would make stories out of your adventures.”

Ras groans. “Believe me, I know about that. You should have seen the house they put me in while I was asleep. I was wondering about the other part.”

“The other part?” Vildred frowns, then smirks in realization. “You still have my coat on.”

Ras pauses for a moment, and looks down. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. ”

Ras looks genuinely apologetic. “I’m sorry. I forgot. You want it back now, right?” He goes to shrug it off, but Vildred raises a hand to stop him.

Vildred looks Ras up and down. 

His coat fits snugly around Ras' shoulders like a cape. It almost reaches his ankles in some places, the sleeves fluttering gently in the wind. If Vildred looks closely enough, he can see traces of Ras himself - one of the buttons has come loose where he'd fiddled with it, and there are a few Arky colored hairs scattered around.

"Keep it," Vildred finds himself saying. "It fits you."

Ras frowns at one of the sleeves. "No, it doesn't."

Vildred laughs, truly laughs, for the first time in years. 

Chapter Text

Arky comes back to Ras’ rooms in the evening completely exhausted. “Small children shouldn’t be that fast,” he grumbles.

“Thank you anyways,” Ras tells him. 

Arky brightens at his tone. “Does that mean I get snacks?”

Ras wordlessly gestures to the cart he had a servant bring by earlier.

“Master is the best!” Arky cheers, diving towards the piles of food. 

Vildred raises an eyebrow from the couch. “Does he eat that much all the time?”

Ras groans. “Only when I give him the opportunity.”

“Master starves me,” Arky whines, muffled.

“I do not. ” 

“Wait.” Arky perks up. “What are you doing here?” 

Vildred bristles. “Why-”

“The gardens are nice, but our discussions of high treason and deicide are less likely to be discovered here,” Ras intervenes.

Arky frowns. “Okay. Sure.” He gives Vildred a suspicious look, before abruptly deciding that it isn’t as important as his food and returning to gobbling it up.

Ras sighs. “Anyways. Arky, have you seen Kayron around at all?”

Arky finishes all of the food, then sits back. “I think I saw a flash of pink at some point, but I can’t be sure.”

“Well, if either of you see Kayron, please direct him to me. I want to inform him-”

“Inform me of what?” comes a voice from the balcony.

The door has somehow opened without a sound, and Kayron is perching on the railing, a smirk on his face.

Vildred groans and flops onto the couch. “Asshole.”

Kayron twitches. “Bastard.”

Ras sighs loudly. “....Inform him of our current plans to include him in the Ritania Summit,” he finishes, unamused.

Arky is visibly suppressing a giggle in the background.

The Acolyte floats inside. “And how do you plan to get away with that?”

Ras winces. “Well, we’re currently working on it…”

“The current plan is just dumping everything on the table and hoping the local leaders understand,” Vildred clarifies, “and maybe they might even help out.”

Kayron actually snorts at this. “If we’re plotting deicide, we’re going all out. This is far too hilarious to let flop.”

Vildred sits back up to glare at him. “How long were you listening?”

Arky squawks in indignation. “We? Since when were you helping?”

Ras resigns himself to a long night.

—

Unfortunately, having Kayron and Vildred in the same room makes for a rather unproductive meeting. 

It’s the next morning, and all those hours of planning have only solidified what they already knew. Diche needs to go, Tenebria and Zeno have to be dealt with, and having a larger team and more resources is vital to countering a goddess and a good couple hundred unknown. Somehow, the Archdemon is the lowest priority on that list.

Halfway through the “meeting,” Kayron and Vildred had gotten into an argument that Ras couldn’t stop. Not for a lack of trying, though. Eventually, he gave up and tuned them out, but Arky wasn’t much help, and he couldn’t get much further with what he already knew.

Ras groans and slumps on the couch. He almost misses the days when he was Diche’s ignorant pawn. Almost.

At least Diene is taking care of the Ritania Summit organization...thing. He has no clue how he would have pulled that off. Hopefully some of the guests would have good ideas… Maybe he could ask the Nocturnes…

No.

The Nocturnes are gone. 

Ras forces himself to stop thinking of Kise and her family. I don’t have the time for that.

He shakes himself out of it. Maybe a walk will help. 

—

The walk does not, in fact, help. 

Get it together, Ras. You have so much to do. Moping around won’t help anyone.

He mentally slaps himself back into awareness. Taking a second to look around, Ras realizes that he has wandered into a part of the castle he is unfamiliar with. Another ten minutes of walking confirms that he is, in fact, lost.

Just what I needed.

Ras takes a deep breath. If he keeps walking, he’ll come across someone eventually, right? Nodding to himself, he picks a direction and continues.

The hallways all look the same. At least, Ras thinks they do.

He’s getting nowhere. 

Why did I think a walk was a good idea…?

(Oh, right.)

Ras takes a right. And then a left. Does that room look familiar?

(The first world was the simplest. Not the easiest, but by far the simplest.)

(Ras had done his duty. He had failed. He was put back to sleep.)

…No, it couldn’t be. That was three halls ago. Right?

(The second world was more of the same. This time, however, he had to make sure he didn’t slip up in front of Vildred.)

Ras turns around and heads the opposite direction. Maybe if he tries to retrace his steps…?

(The third world….they got so close. And then it was gone in an instant. Diche was particularly upset about that one.)

It’s far too late for that, though. Like always.

(All the Heirs died in the fourth before they even reached the sanctuary. Vildred followed soon after.)

(Ras still counted the fourth world as the easiest, though. He didn’t even have to fight the archdemon.)

Ras skids to a halt (he was running?) at an intersection between two hallways. Should he go forward? Left?

(The fifth world was the closest Ras got to telling Vildred the truth. He didn’t, of course. He never could.)

Ras can hear someone far away. Faintly, he wonders what they’re doing here. Maybe they’re lost too.

(Diche didn’t even bother to erase the sixth world completely. It must have been truly disappointing.)

A touch on his shoulder causes Ras to flinch violently. He turns, reaching for a sword that isn’t there ( he left it in his room, like an idiot) before belatedly recognizing Vildred’s concerned face.

He winces and stumbles back. “Sorry, I’ll get out of the way…”

Vildred grabs his wrist and gives him a searching look.

“Vildred, I’m fine, I’ll just-”

“Ras, you have been staring at nothing for at least half an hour,” Vildred says, cutting him off. “One of the servants had to come find me.” 

Ras looks down. “Sorry.”

Vildred sighs. “We’re getting out of the hallway.”

Soon enough, Ras is seated on a bed in one of the nearby spare rooms with Vildred’s coat wrapped around him. Vildred himself is busy with something nearby.

Ras looks up as a warm mug is pressed into his hands. Vildred is frowning at him. He looks back down at the mug.

“It’s tea,” Vildred says. “Not really sure what kind.”

Ras hums a little and takes a sip. It’s hot. He goes to drink some more.

Vildred sits down next to him. “You don’t have to drink it if you don’t want to.” 

Ras lowers the mug to his lap. 

They sit in the borrowed room for a while. Ras stares at the mug, watching the tea inside grow darker and darker. 

Vildred fidgets next to him. He seems uncomfortable. Maybe Ras should go somewhere else.

...Ras doesn’t want to go somewhere else.

Eventually, Vildred breaks the silence. “Ras, what happened?”

Ras startles and drops the mug.

Fortunately, it doesn’t break. Unfortunately, the oversteeped tea seeps into the floorboards. He blinks and reaches down to grab it. 

Vildred stops him with a hand. “It’s fine.”

“It’ll stain,” Ras says quietly.

“Ras, you’re crying again.” 

Ras blinks and finds that there are, in fact, tears on his face. When did that happen?

Silently, Vildred reaches out and wraps Ras in a tight hug. 

All at once, the tears start flowing faster. Ras slumps forward into Vildred’s arms.

—

More time passes. Ras isn't sure how much, but eventually his eyes are dry and Vildred's shirt is decidedly ruined.

Vildred reaches down and grabs the mug, wiping off the tea on his pants. He places it on the bedside table.

“Charles would kill you if he saw you do that.”

Vildred snorts. “He’s not here, is he?”

“No…”

They both fall quiet again.

“So…”

“I got lost,” Ras cuts him off.

“It seemed like more than that.”

Ras looks away.

A sigh. “Ras, when’s the last time you got a break?”

“Um, yesterday? Before lunch, I think.”

“A vacation, Ras.”

“Well, I haven’t had to fight monsters since I got here?”

Silence. 

Ras peeks over at Vildred. He's upset again.

"A vacation is when you take a week or so off from your duties," Vildred says.

"Why would anyone do that?" Ras blinks.

"To relax or have fun, usually." 

"Oh. Alright."

"...well?" 

Ras fidgets with the blanket. "I don't usually have time."

"Why not? Even the Heir of the Covenant, savior of Orbis, gets a break, surely?"

"I have to kill the Archdemon. It's what I was created for." 

(And then he'll fall asleep, waking up only when he's needed again. There is, quite literally, no spare time.)

Vildred flops back onto the bed with a thump. "Ah, fuck it."

Ras turns to look at him. 

"We have a little less than two weeks before the delegations are supposed to arrive," Vildred states. "Any strategic meetings beyond what we already have will be pointless, as we need their input. Kayron can fuck right off. Therefore, you have two weeks to do nothing productive. I'm ordering it, in fact. Ras Elclare is to do nothing world-saving related for the next thirteen days."

"I outrank you," Ras points out feebly.

"I'm sure Diene will back me on this. You're getting a break even if I have to make Arky sit on you." 

Vildred sits back up. "We've stolen this room long enough, I think. Do you feel any better?"

"Of course," Ras says, before blinking and realizing that, yes, he does actually feel a bit better somehow. He's a mess; there are dried tears on his cheeks and in his hair, but his head feels clearer than it has in...however long it has been. He can't remember.

"Good," Vildred says, smiling.

—

As promised, the next week is filled with nothing of substance. Vildred informs pretty much the entire castle that Ras is not to be bothered with any matters even slightly related to the Archdemon, and Arky takes to his new role of Ras-sitter with great enthusiasm. 

Ras spends his days staring at flowers and birds, wandering through town with Vildred, and on one memorable occasion, having a dress-up tea party with Prince Aither and Kayron. 

( No one will ever believe you , the Archdemon's Acolyte had said, bunny ears flopping in his face. Ras, terrified, had wholeheartedly agreed with him.)

Soon enough, Ras...actually starts enjoying himself. He looks forward to wandering the streets with Vildred, even though Arky always bugs him to buy sweets. He takes more care in the gardens, asking the names of the flowers he likes. 

Thirteen days fly by in an instant. Ras finds himself wishing for more time.

Time is, however, unrelenting, and Ras knows this better than most.

So on the fourteenth day, Ras gets dressed. He ignores Arky's whining for more food and follows a servant straight to Queen Diene's private office. 

Diene looks harried. She ushers her son out of the room, promising to play with him sometime that afternoon. 

He bows his head in greeting. “Your majesty.” Beside him, Arky gives a cheerful hello.

Diene nods back to both of them. “Most of the representatives should have arrived by now. Acolyte Kayron was…surprisingly helpful in that regard.”

Ras blinks. “Oh. I guess it was too much to hope that he’d stay quiet…”

“Well, Aither loves him. I should probably be concerned that my son wants to spend time with an Archdemon’s Acolyte, but Kayron hasn’t pulled anything yet, and it has been a decade since literally anyone could keep track of the prince. Maybe I should pay him…” she trails off, apparently considering hiring a harbinger of darkness as a babysitter.

Arky squeaks indignantly. “That sounds like a horrible idea. Kayron is a jerk!”

“You’re probably right. Back on topic, almost everyone has arrived. I believe Kayron is off fetching the last representative. The meeting is scheduled for this afternoon, in the winter hall. Vildred knows the way.”

Ras has been to the winter hall many times for strategic meetings. However, Diene is correct in assuming he doesn’t know the way. “Anything else?”

Diene presses her lips together. “...no, I don’t think so,” she says finally. “You should go prepare.” She dismisses them.

Outside in the hall, Ras turns to Arky. “What does she mean by preparing?”

“Eating lots of good food,” Arky suggests. 

He is subsequently ignored.

Vildred finds the two of them wandering the halls again. (Ras was just trying to find the gardens, but by the time he realized he couldn’t, he was on nearly the opposite side of the castle.)

“There you are. I was going to suggest we find something to eat so your guardian doesn’t complain throughout the entire meeting.” 

Arky perks up immediately. “Food! Come on, Master!” He bounds off in what Ras assumes is the direction of the kitchens. 

“You sure you want to wear that?” Vildred nods towards what was formerly his jacket, now hanging loosely off Ras’ shoulders.

Ras nods. “I don’t want to be the heir of the covenant anymore. Also… it’s cold.”

Vildred snickers at that. “Fair enough. Let’s go.”

With Vildred to lead the way, Ras does not get lost this time. Arky is quiet for once as they head towards the winter hall. Maybe it’s because of the anticipation for the meeting, or maybe it’s because of the particularly chewy sweets Vildred had given to them, but Ras is grateful either way. 

On the way there, they pass by Kayron, pretty much dragging a confused and alarmed Ludwig in the same direction. Ras…decides he can deal with that later. 

Most of the delegation is already seated, or wandering around the room making small talk. Ras recognizes a few faces - Angelica and Charles, for instance, and of course the Queen. However, many of the people in this room are foreign. There is a tall Suin, and a slim elf with swords floating around her. Beside them is an enthusiastic blond man in armor. Also present is a teenage girl in strange clothes sitting in the corner, and a tall, intimidating woman with a long red braid. Behind Queen Diene is a wraith, standing politely with her hands clasped together.

The tall woman nods to them as they enter, and the girl in the corner perks up and shoves a handful of contraptions into a bag. The rest of the occupants are still engaged in conversation, so Ras makes his way to the head of the table. Arky follows him, then leaps onto the tabletop and curls up. Vildred stays by the door.

A few more people notice his arrival, (the elf in particular shoots him a glare,) but after a minute or so, the Suin and the armored man are still chatting away. Ras sits in the oversized chair, doing his best not to fidget.

Queen Diene coughs politely. “I would appreciate it if we could start the meeting now.”

That manages to get their attention, and the two sit down sheepishly. 

Queen Diene rises from her chair. “Welcome to the Ritania Summit,” she says. “I’m sure many of you were alarmed when I summoned you here without explanation or warning. For that I apologize, but we are all here to discuss a matter of utmost importance. As you are all aware, the Archdemon is beginning to show signs of rising, most notably the awakening of the Heir of the Covenant. Even though it is currently sealed away, the individual fragments of its soul have been rising in power. Unfortunately, larger issues have become clear, and that is what we are here to discuss. But first, we should all introduce ourselves.” Queen Diene gestures to her right. 

“This is Sir Charles Sharon, leader of the Order of the Sword.” 

He nods stiffly in greeting.

“Iseria Asphodel, second-in-command of the Order of the Sword and representing Dun Blyraia.” 

The elf from earlier has stopped glaring at him, if only to meet propriety. 

The next person cuts Queen Diene off with a grin. “I’m Angelica! Representative of the Holy Order of the Blue Cross. It’s reeeeeeeally nice to meet all of you!”

The Queen just sighs and continues. “This is Yuna, student council president of Reingar.” 

The teenager gives them a little wave.

“Ras Elclare, Heir of the Covenant.” 

Ras nods as all eyes turn to him for a moment. Angelica raises an eyebrow.

“Kraureit Roheil, representing Taranor.”

“Ah, about that…” Krau grins sheepishly. “I don’t exactly have the king’s permission to attend this summit, so you can’t really call me a representative. I suppose I’m here to see if your cause is worth getting court-martialed for.”

That statement raises even more eyebrows.

Diene sighs. “Cartuja, representing Savara.”

The Suin bows his head. “The other major merchant and mercenary guilds send their apologies. The Archdemon’s soon-to-be awakening has caused quite the stress on Savara.”

“Aramintha, our resident expert on Chaos Gates, representing the Phantom CIC.”

“I wouldn’t say expert, but I believe I know enough for now.”

“By the door is General Vildred, and beside me is Mercedes, a personal servant of mine. Now, we may have a few people arriving late-”

The door slams open, narrowly avoiding Vildred, and Kayron strides into the room.

“Put me down, goddammit!” Ludwig is slung over Kayrons shoulder. He is, evidently, not at all happy about it.

“If you had stopped running off, we’d have gotten here in time-”

“You kidnapped me! What did you expect to happen?!”

“-Acolyte Kayron and Ludwig of the Nocturnes,” Queen Diene continues smoothly. 

“Oh my,” says Angelica. 

Ras is inclined to agree.

(Across the room, Vildred is mumbling into his hands. It’s probably something along the lines of “pretentious asshole” or “dramatic bastard,” if Ras had to take a guess.)

Charles is on his feet in an instant. “An Archdemon’s Acolyte? Your Majesty, let me-”

“Stand down, Charles.” Queen Diene nods to Kayron and his cargo. “We have a temporary truce.”

Charles reluctantly lets go of his sword and sits down. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

“Besides,” she adds, “Kayron has been staying in and near the palace for two weeks now. If he were to attempt assassination I’m sure it would have been carried out a long time ago.”

Charles looks horrified at this, but does not comment further. 

Kayron unceremoniously dumps Ludwig in a chair, then steps back to take a seat in midair, floating arrogantly how he usually does when he wants to piss Vildred off. 

“Now that everyone is here,” Queen Diene says, “I believe I can get started with the debriefing?” She looks around the table, as if silently daring anyone to challenge Kayron’s involvement. “Good. Now. The Goddess Diche cannot be trusted.” 

Dead silence.

Krau laughs in disbelief. “Well, this just got a hell of a lot more interesting.”

“Excuse me?” Angelica is smiling in the way you know you’re probably about to be eviscerated. “What do you mean by that? Are you saying that the same Goddess that we’ve worshipped for a reeeeeeeeeeeally long time now isn’t trustworthy? What of all the times she answered our prayers?”

“I am, indeed, serious about this. According to Diche’s Heir himself, the Goddess is planning to corrupt Orbis and abandon us to fend for ourselves. This has been corroborated by General Vildred, Acolyte Kayron, and myself, as I recently tried to commune with her and have received…unsatisfactory answers.” 

Charles is, at this point, very pale. Ludwig looks pissed. Yuna seems nauseous, and Cartuja looks like he is questioning his life choices, but overall, this group is taking the news better than Ras expected. 

“Do you have any hard evidence?” Aramintha asks. “Even if I discard Kayron’s - he hasn’t proven himself trustworthy to me yet - three testimonies is…not an insignificant number. However, I still don’t want to go off your words alone.”

“Beyond the deteriorating condition of Orbis, no. You must have seen the increase of Chaos Gates. This will eventually lead to an exponential increase of Unknown and Gates, until Orbis is either a chaos filled wasteland or it destabilizes and falls out of existence.”

Aramintha frowns. “I’ll listen for now.” 

There is a murmur of general agreement around the room, and Diene continues. “Unfortunately, this situation is very grim. But we can’t give up yet. There is always a chance to turn things around, as I myself know very well. Ras?” She nods in his direction.

Ras begins. “We may have a plan. Well, at least the general idea of one…” He trails off. Swallows. Continues. “It has a high chance of failure, but if it succeeds, it takes care of both of our problems at once.

“Diche and the Archdemon are natural enemies. The plan is to somehow bring them into the same plane of space and set the Archdemon on the Goddess.”

The room goes silent for the second time that day. Aramintha raises an eyebrow. “Well, I see why you want me here.” 

“Do you think it’s possible to utilize Chaos Gates to break into the celestial realm?” Ras asks.

“Possible? Yes. Probable? You’d have to find the correct one-in-a-billion Gate at the right place and time, and they’re called Chaos Gates for a reason. So unless you can find a way to control one-”

“It’s possible,” Kayron cuts in. He has somehow migrated to the other side of the room. “Pain in the ass, but possible.” 

Aramintha raises her hands in surrender. “Well, there you go.”

“Can we trust him?” asks Ludwig.

“I want Diche gone, and this seems like it might actually work.”

Cartuja tilts his head. “Are we sure about that? The Goddess has been toying with us for so long, what makes you think she won’t just obliterate the Archdemon and come for us?”

“The Archdemon used to be Ilryos, God of the sun,” Ras says. “If nothing else, a fellow Celestial should do some damage.”

Diene nods. “That is the extent of what we have planned so far. Now, you are welcome to leave and do what you wish with this information. If you want to be a part of this operation, you may stay and we will continue discussions.”

Yuna slams her hands on the table, eyes shining. “You said that we’re all probably going to die. You also said that you’re going to try to throw a sun at a god. If I’m going to die either way that is absolutely how I want to go, sign me the hell up.”

Krau bursts into laughter. “Ah, screw it! Getting court-martialed doesn’t seem so bad now. Sign me up too.”

Ludwig nods his assent. Aramintha crosses her arms, but doesn’t get up from the table. Angelica muses over how she could possibly convince Clarissa to join the cause.

Not a single person leaves the room.

Ras allows himself a small smile. “I guess it’s time to throw a sun at a god.”