Tetsuya descended and shook his wings to get the snow and ice that had accumulated on them off. Despite feeling like a long flight due to the weather, it had only taken him and the others a few minutes of flying to make it to the gates of the city.

There, several soldiers dressed in blue and orange military uniforms awaited them. In their hands weren't spears like the guards of King Osamu's castle. Instead, they held black rifles—high powered ones at that.

"Welcome back, Masters Kohri and Hyosetsu. The Grand Duchess and her comrades await you," the guard standing in front of the door said as he and the others bowed their heads. "Please, come in."

They stepped aside, and the soldiers closest to the silver and blue ten-foot-tall doors pulled them open.

"Wow," Tetsuya said as his eyes grew larger. Beyond the walls was a city that appeared to be made out of nothing but white and blue milky stone. Then there were some buildings which glistened like crystal. Even the streets themselves seemed to be made out of crystal. "It's almost as if the entire place were made out of ice."

Hyosetsu scoffed as they walked inside. "Of course. That is its purpose. It allows us to blend into our surroundings."

"Wait. If that's true, then why that gigantic wall?" Tetsuya asked as he glanced back at the wall.

The Sword Knight grinned smugly. "Tell me. Did you pay it any notice prior?"

Tetsuya's face drained of color as he began to wonder when he had noticed it. "Uh..."

Hyosetsu chuckled. "That is right. You only realized there was a wall when my brother pointed it out."

I guess that even a giant wall can blend into a mist and icy landscape as long as it doesn't stick out. Those orange and blue uniforms that their guards outside wear certainly don't go with the whole blending in thing.

"Why are you trying to blend in?" asked one of Hyosetsu's squad.

"That's a secret," the knight responded as he took to the air once more and headed for the next wall. Tetsuya followed after him. Above all the walls and buildings, standing at the center of town was a twenty-foot-tall dome-roofed palace made out of shimmering silver crystal.

The amount of white in the town nearly made Tetsuya feel like they were still outside the castle walls. The coats of the residents were the only thing that made it clear that they weren't. Nearly everyone, including the kids, wore dark-colored fur coats.

"Welcome back, first and second dukes," the pedestrians said. They bowed their heads as the heirs of Kuroyuki and their comrades in arms passed through the shopping district.

The district was the most colorful place in the entire town due to its open-air market, filled with fabrics and various other goods from other parts of the kingdom.

Tetsuya assumed the fur coats were reserved for outdoors, and they could enjoy wearing a layer less indoors.

"Hey," Kohri said, waving at his compatriots.

"Ah. He's so cool," a girl remarked to her friend. She and several other onlookers followed them on the ground. "And so is that tall, dark-skinned guy with them!"

Tetsuya averted his gaze. His face grew warm as he continued to feel the stares of others. Suddenly it felt like he had returned to campus. And to think he had almost forgotten how it felt to be fangirled over.

"Prince Hyosetsu is the really cool one," her friend gushed, staring at the oldest prince with the eyes of a fangirl. "Though the others don't look too shabby either."

"Look, isn't that princess Rosalba?" a guy called out.

"You're right," one of the soldiers said on the streets said. "Ahh. She's prettier in person than on tv. But that blond with them is even prettier." His glance shifted toward Akari.

"Feels like we're celebrities," Akari said, chuckling. She waved at their 'fans' and even blew kisses at some of them, causing them to swoon.

Eiichi grinned at the admirers and blew kisses at a few of them too.

Tetsuya bet that if the guy had roses, he would've thrown them in their direction too, the casanova.

He turned toward his sister and noticed she was glaring at Akari. Tere turned away from the blond young woman and waved at the crowd.

"I guess this is how celebrities feel, not that I would know," Teresa said, smiling slightly.

"This is embarrassing," Tetsuya said as he pulled the hood of his coat over his face. It really was like when he was in Elitia. The only difference now was that he didn't have Serrano around to join in on the awkwardness, nor Ximena to scare them off with her rapier.

"Wish I had your looks," Hyosetsu's teammate, who had spoken earlier, said with a sigh. "It would be easier to find a girlfriend."

Hideo mumbled something under his breath, but the wind blew most of the words away. From what little Tetsuya heard, he could tell that the young knight shared the guy's sentiments. Hideo and the guy both looked rather plain, but like Teresa always said, it depended not only on looks. Though in Hideo's case, he didn't even have personality going for him.

"You'll find someone eventually," Tetsuya said, smiling. For some reason, his golden eyes shifted toward Rosalba, causing his face to heat up against the cold polar gust. She had held onto his hand all this time.

"Hey. Think they're dating?" some of the onlookers asked.

"Maybe. But he doesn't strike me as a noble," another responded.

"Oh, but the older princess is said to be engaged to a peasant too," a third person said.

These people sure love to gossip. Not much different from the people back home, though. It is oddly nice, though.

"Speed up!" Hyosetsu shouted. "Don't rest now. We still have some ways to go before we reach the castle."

"Couldn't you have had someone pick us up?" Akari asked, whining.

He stopped and glared at her. "I'm not even sure why you came. You've been whining more than the princess herself."

"Sure does whine a lot, then again, she is a princess," Teresa said, chuckling.

Rosalba opened her mouth but didn't say anything.

Akari glared at Teresa before turning her attention back to Hyosetsu. "Excuse me, Mr. 'I'm so cool and strong'."

Hyosetsu smiled proudly. "Thanks for noticing."

The princess of Amadeus scoffed. "It wasn't a compliment! Gosh, you remind me so much of my e..." Her eyes darted toward the crystalline cobblestone street.

Her e...? Wait, had she meant to say her ex? As in Zafir?

Tetsuya glanced at Takuya, who was patting her on the back. Hadn't he barely met her? Yet, they seemed as if they've known each other for months, if not years. Never did Tetsuya imagine Takuya to have been the kind to fall in love upon first sight. Though... maybe he wasn't any better.

***

It didn't take them long to arrive at the palace.

"The Grand Duchess awaits you," said a guard as they stood in front of the throne room gates. She and another opened the door. Releasing the sweet smell of cinnamon.

The room looked like a near replica of the king's throne room. Except it was only half its size and instead of a black floor, it was white. The walls were also all silver instead of gold and silver. The one occupying the throne meanwhile wore a black crown with sapphires.

"Welcome," Lady Miyuki said with a smile. Flanking her right were Anis and Eiko, while to her left were Eiji and Kuroshi.

Tetsuya narrowed his eyes at Kuroshi. Had he really imprisoned Yuko and Nori and made them into living weapons? And why had Kuroshi told Yuko that it was all for his benefit?

Kuroshi seemed to notice the dirty look Tetsuya was giving him but responded by waving back. Tetsu was sure that the guy was smiling behind that mask. He wanted to run up to him and shatter it, but now wasn't the time nor the place to do so.

"I am glad to see that you have returned safe and sound," Lady Miyuki said as her sons stepped forward. She glanced over at Rosalba and the rest of them.

"I hope that your journey here provided you with some time to heal from your wounds and to adapt your bodies to the environment," she continued. "Even with our local forces, this danger will prove too much. On your way here, I received word the king is already on his way with the larger force."

"The preparations are ready?" Rosalba asked, startled.

The Grand Duchess nodded. "Correct." She stood up, allowing her fur cape to touch the blue carpet beneath her throne. "These past few days, Eiji and Kuroshi here have been studying the inner workings of that dome. We believe that they plan to launch a laser into the atmosphere which will unleash legions of shadows which will allow them to easily spread across the globe and even beyond."

"Le..gions?" Hideo said as his voice cracked.

"Continue, mother," Hyosetsu said, gripping his sword.

"Though we discovered that there already is a legion of those beings within the castle built by the enemy."

"They built a castle?" Teresa asked, stepping back. "How?"

"Out of shadow, of course," Kuroshi said in a matter of fact tone. "They made it on day one and built the laser too. It has been inactive these past few days. I assume it's charging up power. Though, there are signs that they are getting close to having enough to launch a beam capable of ripping through this world's atmosphere and reaching the lower moons."

"And you all simply allowed them to gather it?" Hyosetsu asked, glaring at the five of them.

"Not much that we could do much other than look," Eiji said, shrugging. "It could be that the enemy wanted us to go in. They have not made any significant moves of their own, which is puzzling."

"So, what now?" Tetsuya asked. "Are we going to attack them or what?"

"We will wait for King Osamu's forces to arrive," Lady Miyuki said with a stern stare. "For now, feel free to rest and gird yourselves for the battle at hand."

"Or you could get in some more last-minute training if you wish, not that it would do much at this point," Kuroshi said.

"I think I'll do some anyway," Tetsuya said as he looked down at his silver and gold bracelet.

"So be it," Kuroshi said, shrugging.

Tetsuya glanced over at Rosa and smiled. "Hey, want to have that fight we keep holding off?"

Rosa smiled back at him and nodded. "Sure!"

***

The two had decided to go outside to an empty part of Shirayuki Palace's grounds where the two could fight without worrying about damaging anything.

Rosa smiled at Tetsu as she formed a crystal sword. "Ready when you are!"

Tetsuya laughed as he transformed Agnes into its shield form. "That should be my line!

"Take this!" Rosa yelled, charging at Tetsu with her makeshift crystal sword.

Tetsuya raised his Agnes overhead and pushed back against the blade.

"You're fast," the knight said, moving away as she went around his shield.

"Thanks," she said with a confident smile. It had been the most self-assured he had seen her.

The princess aimed for his side, but Tetsuya stepped aside and moved his shield in the way.

He snickered. "Though I'm faster."

She threw her sword into the air and cartwheeled over to a seven-foot-tall hill covered in snow. She raised her right hand and caught the sword she had sent flying perfectly!

"Wow," Tetsuya said with an open mouth.

The princess jumped and pulled her body close. Tetsuya watched in amazement as she somersaulted in mid-air. He stepped back, but it was hard to tell where the princess would land thanks to the snowfall obscuring his vision.

Is this snow her doing?

He gasped as Rosa's wings spread out, and she came down at him like a bird doing an aerial dive into the water.

Tetsu rose Agnes above his head, blocking her sword once more. He grinned. "Impressive moves, but they're all a waste when you can't land even a single hit on me."

She caught herself from landing face-first on the ground and twirled, delivering a spinning kick to his knee. The force sent him skidding across the ice. He tried to regain his balance, but it was nearly impossible to do so. He was gonna fall!

He winced and held the shield toward his right side to lessen the impact of the fall. Doing so shattered the ice underneath him, causing the stuff to fly into the air. He shuddered as clumps struck his face. Though at the very least, he avoided a worse outcome.

"Did you seriously just win against me?" Tetsuya asked. He pushed himself up and sighed. "That was so ungraceful..."

"You were not bad yourself," she said, wiping away the semi-frozen sweat from her forehead. "Though you do need to work on your fall for the next time you lose to me."

Tetsuya crossed his arms over his chest. "Hahaha, very funny. You had the advantage here."

She put her free hand on her hips and scoffed. "Making excuses now? That's not the Tetsu I know."

Tetsuya tried to protest, but he couldn't think of anything to say. She was right. He shouldn't have been making excuses. After all, no excuse would save him from the abyssmals. That he lost to even the weakest Seven Hill simply showed how far he had yet to go.

Rosa walked over to him and extended out a hand.

A chuckle escaped the Shield Knight's lips. "You're too kind... going easy on me."

She shook her head. "I'm not going easy on you at all."

"You sure? I underestimated you and even went as far as making excuses for my loss," he said, lowering his head.

She folded her arms over her small chest. "Are you saying that you expected me to be weaker than this? My, how rude of you."

He moved his hands around in circles. "No! No! That's not what I was saying." He lowered his eyes. "I mean that... I'm surprised by your strength."

"What's shocking is how well you held up fighting me in this ice," the princess said, giggling as she grabbed his right arm and pulled him up.

"True, I actually am surprised that I didn't fall face first earlier."

"Why would you be shocked?" Takuya asked as he jumped at him without warning. He put an arm around his little brother's neck and grinned.

"Where did you come from?" Tetsuya asked.

"Oh, Akari and I were watching you from afar. You were both incredible!"

Tetsuya rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, you did teach me everything I know."

Taku laughed as he ruffled his little brother's hair. "I saw some moves there that I didn't teach ya! Ya've grown strong, little bro."

"Ha. True. But I'm not nearly as strong as you."

Takuya let go of him as the sound of galloping pegasi, and unicorns filled the streets outside of the castle grounds.

From where they stood, they could see King Osamu and a caravan of soldiers arriving. All of them were donning a combination of armor and fur coats. The king was glancing at the bubbling shadow dome with concern.

***

Tetsuya and company ran back inside. The interior of the entrance of the palace glistened like solidified moonlight. The place resembled an ancient temple with its giant dome at the center depicting the heavens. At the dome center, surrounded by Hanketsu, Masayoshi, and Kushina, was a male figure with wavy dark brown hair. He had his hands stretched out as if embracing the world below.

Meanwhile, directly below the silver dome was a white-haired female statue with her hands interwoven together as if in prayer. She was also surrounded by angels. To her northwest was Halim, to her southwest was Tierra, to her northeast was Aquarina, and to her southeast was Renata.

Tetsuya didn't consider himself a religious person. Still, the sight of the seven, plus the Divine Couple, was always awe-inducing.

"Ready to greet our King?" Grand Duchess Miyuki asked as she came in through the northern entrance. Accompanying her were her sons.

In retrospect, it was wise of her to have had them on standby. It allowed Tetsuya to get used to fighting in this environment and hone his skills a bit.

The same went for the others. No one wished to be cannon fodder, regardless of the promises the king had made that they would be remembered for their bravery in battle. It was better to live to see the fruits of one's labor than to be fertilizer for them.

"Yeah," princess Rosalba said, bowing slightly.

They followed Lady Miyuki and her sons through the southern exit.
Awaiting them with a scowl was Osamu and the others.

"Took you a while. I expected you to await me out in this infernal cold," he said. He held his purple cape close to his body as if it were a blanket but managed to do so in a dignified manner.

"Welcome, Our King. I apologize for making you wait for us lowly servants," Lady Miyuki said. She bowed before the king with her sons by her side. "You truly humble us with your presence, Your Majesty."

"Enough with the formalities," he snapped. "We're here for war, not a diplomatic meeting. Now, do you have any new details I should know about?"

She nodded. "Of course, Your Highness. My companions and I were not sitting and drinking tea until you arrived. The dark dome is currently bubbling, as you can see from outside. We believe the enemy will strike soon. We've confirmed that the epicenter is indeed the Grand Crater."

"Grand Crater?" her sons asked in unison, eyes wide.

"Mother. That region is geologically unstable," Hyosetsu said, shaking his head at her. "Having such a large convoy will likely cause the ice around the chasm to shatter, leading to a cave in. And while Kohri, Rosalba, myself, and our guards can fly in this cold; the same cannot be said about those from the other branches who showed signs of struggle merely flying on the way here."

"It will likely cave in no matter what, considering the scale of this battle," Lady Miyuki said, averting her gaze from her oldest son.

Tetsuya wondered what their relationship was like? To give the crown to the younger, rather than the elder. Though if one asked him, he too would prefer Kohri as heir over his elitist older brother.

"That and flying in this cold are alleviated by the pegasi I've summoned for all of you," Miyuki continued. "Well, nearly all. We are a few short, but Kuroshi here said he would take care of that. I also would like to suggest that your squads, along with King Osamu, form the main attack force alongside Eiji, Eiko, and I," Lady Miyuki continued. "Kuroshi and Anis and the others will guard the perimeter and guard the city as soon as those creatures emerge from that hornet's nest."

Wait, Kuroshi won't be part of the main attack force?

"Wait, can't we take advantage of the terrain?" Hideo asked. "We could bombard it with artillery and cause it to cave it, taking down those creatures all at once."

His fellow knights stared at him in awe.

"Did he just say something useful for once?" Hyosetsu asked.

"I think so," Tetsuya said.

Hideo grumbled. "Hey, I can come up with good ideas! I do plan to be a military strategist after all!"

"Hmm, that plan is rather risky," Miyuki said. "The energy they've amassed could collapse along with them, creating a super earthquake which would devastate this city and beyond."

The short knight gulped. "Then how are we going to deal with it?"

"That's where Anis and Kuroshi will come in," Miyuki said with a slight smile. "They will try to divert the massive flow of energy away as much as they can while you knights will attempt to take it down from the inside."

"Come with me then," Hyosetsu said as he turned his back to his mother and the other old Seven Hill knights. He waved for his fellow knights to follow. "We're going to get a head start toward the chasm if that's fine with you, King Osamu."

"Go on ahead, but we will be marching against that shadow dome in unison. So steady your hand, eager knight," the King responded.

"Aww, I want a break! This place is even more of a backwater than my own home!" Hideo cried as he dragged his feet.

"You already had a break. You can rest once we finish or once the enemy impales you, or whatever," Hyosetsu barked. He spun around and pointed his sword at the boy's neck. "Unless, if you wish to forfeit your life here due to desertion of the mission."

Hideo raised his arms in the air. "Got it! I'll fight and if I fall in battle, then let it be a knight's death."

"You're going to run for it if things get tough, huh?" Tetsuya whispered into the boy's ear.

Hideo gulped.

Tetsuya snickered. "Don't worry, I'll protect all you." He ran ahead of them before turning to face his fellow knights. "After all, I have a duty to protect the rest of you. That's why I'm the shield of this team."

Eiichi rolled his eyes. "Please, like I need a shield."

Tetsuya grinned. "Well, if you wish, I can allow the enemy to hit you even if it's an attack only I can block."

The blond chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "Please, like that would ever happen."

Hyosetsu scoffed and turned to look back at the king. "We will be going now."

"Go on. Those of you who have yet to put on your armor and gather your armaments, please do so immediately. We will be departing shortly to join the larger Kurorikuian force and these four knights of prophecy," King Osamu commanded, turning around.

Those gathered yelled, "May the Sky Father's blessings and mercy rain down upon us."

"Viva Kuroriku!" Kuroshi shouted, raising a fist into the air.

"Viva!" they shouted back.

Kuroshi smiled at their chants. "If only my weapon was done," he whispered but not low enough that Tetsu wasn't able to hear. "Alas, it seems that it still needs some tweaking. Hopefully, it'll be completed sooner rather than later."

What kind of weapon is he talking about? Was there going to be a sixth knight? Or was he referring to a weapon separate to the five?

"Are you coming?" Hyosetsu asked, leering at Tetsuya. He and the others had already gone on ahead.

"Ha, so much for being our 'shield'!" Eiichi said, rolling his eyes again.

"Don't worry, I'm going!" Tetsuya yelled. He looked over his shoulder to the princess. "Let's go, Rosa!"

The princess smiled and nodded. "Right beside you!"

"And me?" Kohri asked, chuckling. "I am part of your group, too, you know."

The princess snickered. "And you too, Kohri!"

"Yeah, you too!" Tetsu said, smiling.

Kohri chuckled as they made their way out. "Head over heels for her, eh?"

"What?" Tetsuya asked, wishing that his helmet completely covered his face.

The heir of Kuroyuki no San snickered. "Don't worry, man. I'll keep it a secret!"

Tetsuya ignored him and quickened his pace. He had no time to think about what Kohri was implying. They were about to go into battle. Such thoughts right now would lead to his death.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter :3. Expect more updates this week! Predictions and/or thoughts?**