We continued to laugh and smile together, losing sight of the world around us. I let myself fall into Astrid's allure and quite frankly, I don't regret it one bit. Her smile makes me forget all the pain, makes me feel like... a normal person. All the people that were here were now long gone, their blood and tears stained the stone pavement. Even though they saw me as a monster, I don't hold it against them. I do wonder though, if someone had done what I did just now, when I was captive; would I view them as a hero— or a monster?

"So darling, let's get a move on yeah? I'm glad Mira gave us some alone time" Astrid smiled.

My eyebrows rose and my lips puckered. "Darling? I've been promoted- Do I get a prize or something?"

Astrid laughed and shrugged, definitely not taking my proposal for a prize seriously. "You really notice all the little things don't ya?"

"Well of course, those are my favorite things after all" I said.

Astrid gripped my hand, sliding her fingers to lock in place with mine. "I can't say I'm very good at noticing all the little details in things... but when it comes to you, I try my best" she giggled.

We started walking in the direction of the dried blood, assuming Mira went that way too.

"And why is that, my lil' angel?" I smirked.

Astrid, with her face growing slightly red, spouted: "B-because, I love every part of you. My lil' devil."

"O-ho, devil you say? You're definitely the naughtier one of us two" I say, trying to hold back my face from exploding.

"I think we both know... that's just not true darling" she whispered, leaning in close to my ear.

I tried to pull away from her from sheer embarrassment, but forgot our fingers with interlocked. "Now now, no running from the truth love~" Astrid teased.

My attempt to keep composed backfired completely, and now my face is streaming. She got me this time, Astrid, truly a woman that I can't handle.

We continued walking along this street, still with no people in sight. The silence was picking away at my skin, it just didn't feel right. All these beautifully built buildings, streets flowing with shining gray stone, vegetation erupting from the intentionally placed cracks— so much apparent life, yet the air felt dead.

Eventually we reached the top of the pathway, exposing a huge fountain. It was adorned with diamonds with a base of silver, the water and sun made all the metal shimmer ever so softly. My eyes lit up just from seeing it.

"So this is the center of town huh? Incredibly beautiful, a solid nine out of ten I'd say" Astrid said, panning around.

Her eyes stopped at me. "Not as beautiful as you though Reimi, a perfect ten. Definitely my favorite thing to look at."

My cheeks started to heat up. "Shut up you flirt" I said while gently punching Astrid's shoulder.

"You two sure took your time getting here."

I'm not sure how, but both Astrid and I missed Mira. She was sitting on the border of the fountain, staring ahead with her mask on. A bunny mask. I'm still on the fence whether that suits her or not, but then again I have yet to even see her face.

"Sorry, Reimi here was just confessing how much she loved and adored me" Astrid smirked.

"I hate you-"

Astrid laughed. "See?"

Our voices seemed to bounce around this large space. The fountain itself was surrounded by many of the same buildings as before, accompanied by some shops and interconnecting alleyways. It was a wide open space with only us three occupying it; and I still can't say it feels right. Something was definitely wrong but I have no idea what it could be.

"I led the people to a nearby safehouse, I think they'll be okay now" Mira said.

Astrid crossed her arms, I could tell she had a twinge of doubt in Mira's words. "Something isn't right here, don't ya guys think? Also, how'd you even know it was a safehouse Mira?"

"I agree, the air feels a bit ominous, even for my taste. As for how I 'knew', one of the people in the group basically led to that place. I'm assuming he knew what he was doing."

"Huh... well regardless, it's out of our hands now. Let's make our way to Arlo now, shall we?" Astrid said.

We continued past the fountain, traveling up an elevated pathway. Gradually, a palace started to reveal itself in the distance. Water flew from its sides, shining brighter than any water I'd ever seen before. It was almost like magic was infused into it. The closer we got; the more grand everything seemed. Gemstones were meticulously placed into the castle walls, allowing the glow to reflect into the water. The effect was... indescribable.

The door leading into the palace was massive, surrounded by a huge moat as well. Sharks swam slowly within it, giving off a threatening aura of their own.

Astrid gently grabbed my wrist. "Don't worry darling, I won't let ya fall in."

I looked at her, dumbfounded. "H-huh, if anything you'd be the one to fall in. Don't ask me for help either" I teased and moved ahead, standing next to Mira.

"Heartbreaker- but I guess that's what makes you my lil devil, love you" Astrid shouted.

Mira sighed. "She couldn't be more embarrassing if she tried."

"Ahhhh-" I mumbled with my head down, trying not to expose my red face.

"Come onnn, at least say it back" Astrid cried.

The inner doors opened and right in the middle stood Arlo and her knights. "Welcome strangers!"

"Make yourself at home," Arlo smiled.

"Compared to Gus, Arlo is much more..." I whispered.

"Much more like us I'd say" Mira responded.

Astrid chimed in. "She just doesn't have a huge stick up her ass, thank god for that."

"Shush" I muttered.

We made it into the main throne room. To say it was anything less than magnificent would be a lie. There were so many windows adorning the ceiling and walls, with a massive throne in the back.

"Someone's a rich girl, our palace will be better than this though, right Reimi?" Astrid teased.

"She'll hear you," I whispered harshly.

"So what, she can't do anything love."

"Well that's a bit harsh, wouldn't you say, Astrid Everard?" Arlo said, while sat on her throne.

Astird smirked. "My name precedes me I see"

"That's the saying right?" she whispered to me.

"Y-yes angel, that's the saying" I sighed.

"The Voidwalker, Angel and Beastmaster all together; quite a scary trio you guys make" Arlo said. "I know why guys came to Elyse, so I won't waste anymore of your time."

I could feel a fire start to build in my chest. "You seem to know a lot about my situation."

Astrid and Mira both moved closer to me.

"Before you guys get all aggressive, I would take a look at your situation."

The knights closed in, surrounding us on all sides. "Reimi, you don't even hide your aura; it's basically tangible to normal people at this point. Didn't these two teach you anything?"

"For those who have read the Voidwalker's Tale, it's obvious who you are."

Astrid looked shocked, frozen in place. I didn't know what to do now. Things weren't right in this place; and the only way we'll get answers is if we ask now. Getting help for myself will have to be secondary, since in the first place who knows if she's being genuine. The question is, how am I going to bring this up.

"Before you give us what we 'supposedly came for' I have something to discuss with you Archon" Mira said.

"Oh?"

"Where is everyone?" I chimed. "Elyse seems like a very beautiful place, with many shops and houses; yet we have yet to run into any people."

"Any normal people at least..." Astrid mumbled.

"You guys don't know? It's a well documented... tradition let's say. You'll understand."

"Seems like bullshit to keep your shady operation in order" Astrid said.

Mira and I both stared at Astrid, any chance we had now of getting through this somewhat peacefully were now gone. Honestly though, I prefer it this way.

"Slaves first, what else could you be facilitating?" I said.

Arlo laughed, seemingly to hide a twinge of irritation. "You'd really accuse me of allowing something so awful? I wanted to ask for your guys' assistance on that matter, in exchange for someone to break Reimi's curse."

"No disrespect Arlo, it just seems really tough to believe someone soooo strong wouldn't be able to deal with this on her own" Astrid said.

She was right. It didn't make sense, with her resources and strength it'd be more than easy to end any issues within Elyse. Arlo seemed very collected before, but now... it seems like she was cracking.

"If it was that simple, you're right, I would've had this done and dealt with by now. But it's much more complicated than any of us have thought. Which is why I need some help."

The knights backed away, finally giving us some space. "So, why not just join forces on this one?" Arlo said. "It benefits us all here."

Mira and Astrid both turned to me, huddling together. "Our best option would be to help her," Mira said.

"As much as I hate this, you're probably right. She's shady as hell, and annoyingly has the leverage here. Fuck."

"Yeah... I think we'll be able to figure out more on our own anyways. We should help" I said.

Astrid turned to face Arlo. "Alright, we'll help."

"Where do we start?" Mira asked.

"The raven's respite, go there. The 'staff' there have been tailing the supposed ringleaders for a while. They can point you in the right direction."

Astrid immediately turned around, heading towards the exit. I couldn't help but run after her almost instinctively.

"We'll hope that you uphold your end of the bargain, Archon," Mira said.

When we all reached the final door to leave, my eyes drifted back to Arlo. She noticed my gaze and gave a slight wave. I know she's hiding something; and I guess now is our time to figure out just what it is.

"Sooo Mira, why don't you summon one of your animals and they can find this place for us."

"No, you idiot. Why would I use my magi-"

"Oh so you won't do it? That's a shame truly, well, instead of your pets, you could go look instead! You can go that way, Reimi and I will go this way" Astrid teased.

"Wouldn't it be smarter if all of us split up-"

"See ya, good luck!" Astrid cheered while pulling me with her.

I couldn't tell what Mira's expression was, with her mask on of course, but I knew she wasn't happy. Ahh these two are truly something else. Once we made a bit of distance from the central fountain area, Astrid let go of my hand.

"Hey Astrid, maybe Mira was right... maybe I should go look elsewhere" I said nervously.

"Oh, I see. I was hoping we could spend some time together... but alas, maybe the great Mira was right" she pouted.

"N-no, I didn't mean it like that! I'd love to spend time with you- wait, but we should be serious-"

Astrid giggled. "I'm just messing with ya darling, I understand. Let's split up from here— and spend lots of time together later, k?"

"Perfect, sounds perfect yeah" my words stumbled out.

She winked and waved goodbye, walking down the opposing street from where we stood. I'm not sure why, but in the moment, it really hit me just how much time we've spent together in the past month. Almost every waking moment. I've never been this attached to anyone in my entire life; it kind of scares me.

I walked the other way, overlooking the sea. In hindsight we really should've just asked Arlo for directions but Astrid moved way too fast. Oh well... maybe exploring like this will dig up something unexpected.

"Reimi" Gheera spoke, causing me to jump.

"Gosh, you could've signaled me first or something-" I said, in my head.

"Use your magic. Looking through this entire city on foot would be a waste of time" he grumbled.

"But— I can't use my magic in public, right?"

I could hear Gheera sigh in frustration. "Summon one of the void creatures. No one can see them besides you, unless they make themselves visible."

"How does that work though—"

"The void isn't normal magic" Gheera yelled. "It's an extension of myself, a god. That's all you get."

"T-that doesn't really explain much... but okay 'my lord'."

I could practically hear him smirk. He does have a point though, especially if people can't see void monsters. That crow and I could link again! An aerial view would make this search much easier.

"Crow, I need your help?" I whispered. 

— And this is where I left off, thank you c':