Iris Elocplise was finally asleep again. She was having dreams of the past. Her life before becoming a Knight. Her adventures with her friends. Her brain was conjuring the memory of her time joining the Order with members of her gang.

Memphis had been hesitant to trust the Order after of Knights after being alone for some time but Eliyah wanted their resources. It was put to a vote between the leaders of their gang, ruling in favor of joining the Order.

She dreamed of her time in the labyrinth with Memphis. It was in that labyrinth where Iris lost her virginity.

She woke at the memory of Memphis' jagged grin and his sword to her neck.

She laid on her back for a while before rolling over to grab her brown flask that sat on a nightstand. She took a long swig and closed her eyes. She was trying to drink away the memory of the man who left a scar on her heart.

She loved the fool. She wasn't romantically attached but she loved him deeply. Even till this day. She knew his fear was why he accepted black mana.

Iris wondered when exactly did he start using black mana.

She remembered another time he stabbed her through the the abdomen. He had been so strong then. Even with her Stardust Goddess form. She was lucky reinforcements had shown up. That time she hunted him to turn him in. She thought she had planned it so carefully. She had been arrogant then and someone lost their life.

She then remembered a time Memphis had hunted her to consume her life force while she was aiding a very important political event. It had been a fierce battle but Iris had trained harder. Even gaining tips from Vimra. She could've killed him but hesitated. She had wanted revenge for Evelyn and that was why she couldn't. She knew if she killed with hate in your heart she'd enter the Fallen Place.

The training of a Knight came in handy when it came to emotions.

She wasn't going back to sleep now. Her mind wouldn't let her. She kept remembering her past. When times were much simpler. Now here she is looking for a spy with no leads.

Not only that but Aya and Kariah were out there risking their lives. Who knew where Kaden was. For all she knew he was already dead.

She bit her bottom lip. The thought made her feel sick. She then took a deep breath and slowly got out of bed. She had looked after them since before they had been born. Kaden wouldn't remember because she had been too late in stopping the council from wiping his memory. They didn't want to risk Kaden seeking vengeance on Memphis and end up releasing Darqus.

Riah wouldn't remember. She had been so young.

The clock on the wall read ten o'clock am. She had slept through the night for the first time in a year's worth.

She got ready to tackle the day with a shower. After brushing her teeth and putting on her battle gear, she made her way to the mess hall. It was packed with Vympiris and humans. With both groups separating themselves from the other.

Iris couldn't believe that vympiris and humans were in the same room without killing each other. Iris didn't hate vympiris. The training of a Knight included putting hate aside. Only love could make a holy Knight powerful.

She pit them. In her younger days she would try to reason with them. She had learned the hard way they were vicious monsters.

The brown-skinned woman waited in line to get her plate of food. After waiting she finally got her meal.

Chocolate chip pancakes, bacon and chicken strips. Yum.

Iris wondered how long the good food would last before smaller rations would have to be distributed.

Iris looked around for Van then remembered he was apart of a team to find Kaden. She thought of the time she and he had fought off a horde of evil barers. There were so many. Maybe He had been brave. They had taken turns watching each others backs during many missions.

She smirked at a time an adventure she was on lead her into him while he was undergoing a covert assassination mission. She doesn't plan on telling the soul. Plus it would make the Order look bad. The story went a noble was dabbling in the illegal drug known as Blacklight. This powerful drug gives one a boost in lifeforce but makes you more susceptible to the maddening effects of black mana. The man had worked up a reputation as a good man so if they had killed him in cold blood the people would probably mistrust the Order. If they had sent him to have a trail he probably would've gotten off with a light sentence. He had been well connected.

Remi sat next to her. Iris smirked.

That was a wise move. Seeing two of their leaders sharing a meal could ease the tension between the two species.

Remi ignored her, the burgundy haired Vympiri took a bit of her chicken strips. "Not bad. For humans."

"Yeah we humans could surprise you."

"So about that long lasting treaty you mentioned." Remi took another bite.

Iris was taken aback. "Why the sudden interest?"

"I see the efforts you're putting in to make this work. You've put your pride and hate aside for the safety of your people. I admire that." She then looked into the distance. "Aside from that, I talked it over with the other members of the Royal Guard. We have no reason to hate you. You only defended yourselves. We thought lord Dracula was right to let use hate you."

Remi turned to her and gave a serious look. "But some of my people can't control themselves. Some Vympiri without mana feel an unquenchable thirst until they reach full maturity."

Iris learned something knew. "So why did Dracula hate us?"

"Dracula blamed you humans for keeping Kul away from us." Remi took a gulp of orange juice. "With the goddess' power, Vympiri could use mana at birth. To him keeping that away from us is a crime."

Iris took it in. She knew very little about Dracula. In fact she knew very little about Vympiri.

"So why did you hate us?" Iris asked.

"Because you displeased lord Dracula. that was reason enough for most of us."

"I see. What's the real reason you're telling me all of this?"

Remi's smile showed off her fangs. "I just want my people to survive as long as possible. If that means working with humans then so be it."

Iris could understand that. It was why she wanted a treaty in the first place. If Vympiri and humans can work together then their species would survive a lot longer.

An explosion rocked the room.

"Oh no." Iris said.

She and Remi rushed to the site of the explosion. That explosion looked to have blown up the side of a building. Remi looked as if she would be sick.

This was a district where Vympiri stayed. More explosions shook the area where onlookers gathered.

Iris managed to conjure a mana hull so she was fine but a few civilians were not. Both Vympiri and humans were killed or injured.

What the hell is happening. Iris thought.

A man came out from the opening in the building. He held a detonation device in each hand. He had a scar on his forehead. He looked to be an ex-Knight.

"Why are you doing this?" Remi shouted!

Iris saw the finger of the man twitch and immediately sent stardust to cut off his hand. Her mana control was still in top shape. She felt a chuck of life force leave her.

Before he could scream she wrapped in front of him and grabbed his shirt. She pulled him into a headbutt and knocked him out.

She debated on whether to kill him or not. She decided against it. This man could be in cahoots with the traitor. Instead she reached in the pouch at her thigh and pulled out a collar. The equipment would provide a powerful shock to anyone who tried to create mana.

Remi looked on. Her eyes held hatred. "Is this how a treaty would work? Give him to us."

"No." Iris said plainly. "We will question him first then we will vote on what to do with him.

The Vympiri thought. "Very well. You will choose four of your people to vote and I will choose four of mine."

"Sounds good." Iris agreed.

With that, Remi left to gather her people.

Iris lifted the man onto her shoulders and walked to the holding district, prison. She tossed his body into a room that acted as a cell.

"He doesn't leave your sight." she told the guards.

They nodded their understanding.

She left to pick her four to vote. Her first stop was councilman Ralphial Stoneheart.

"Looks like you've been making progress," he said as they walked the stone streets.

"Looks like it. I'm glad for it. A lasting treaty with the Vympiri could pay off big." Iris answered.

"You and I may be able to overlook the Vympiri's past deeds but will our people?"

That was a good question. "I sure hope so. If what Vimra told me all those years ago prove true, then the mortal races will need all the help we can get."

Ralphial nodded. The council knew of her time with Vimra. "I still can hardly believe there are other races outside of out our planet. To think there's something worse than the Darkness out there. It keeps me up at night."

Yeah the Darkness were enough on their own but it was decided long ago that when mankind was ready, they'd join the fight with the mortal races.

Iris thought back to Vimra's message. Visitors from the Galactic council were coming. She wished she could welcome them on better terms.

They made it to council woman Berceil's room. It was empty. It looked like someone packed in a hurry.

The holy Knight looked around in dismay.

"Berceil." Ralphial whispered. "Have you betrayed us all."

She moved toward the stairs where Knights stood guard. "All Knights are to capture councilwoman Berceil Felicity! By force if you have to!"

She conjured a mana hull and felt her life force dwindle. She vaulted out the window. She then searched for Berceil.

Remi caught up to her. An entourage of Vympiri were behind her. "What's the matter human?"

"The name is Iris." she said annoyed. The Vympiri refused to use her name. "We think we might have found our traitor."

"Lady Iris!" called a master Knight. An escape pod has been found missing.

"Can we stop it?" she asked.

"If we try we could do major damage to Atlantis." the Knight responded.

"Damn it all." Iris bit her lip as she looked into the distance. "That bomber was only a distraction. Innocent people died for her to escape."

Berceil had been the traitor all along. Berceil was why her friends and those happy moments had been taken away from her. Berceil would pay one day.