The lock on the gate easily snapped off when I flexed my control over one of my swords and increased its size, the shaped qi slicing through the metal with ease. I shortened the sword to the size of a dagger and did the same in my other hand. I had gotten much more used to adjusting the size of my swords, and even though I hadn't used them in the months following the competition, I had been using them plenty in the trial and was reacquainting myself with my control over them. Though when I was running with Rin I needed to moderate myself as the girl couldn't keep up if I was going full speed.

I stepped into the dark corridor leading below the city lord's manor, doing my best to silently move into the darkness so as to not alert any of the more vigilant cultivators outside to my actions. Once I was far enough away from the entrance, I increased my pace until I was treading a familiar path through the underground at speed.

Despite Alexis's assurances that the underground compound would be empty, I summoned Shimmer in case we needed to quickly dispatch a guard. I didn't have much time to meet and convince Loran to help us, and if Erazael made it to us before I could, this try would be a failure too.

Despite my worries, I encountered no resistance even up until where I knew the secret passage into the depths lay. I tried pushing against the wall where I knew the it would open up to create a door, but it refused to budge for a moment until I tried injecting some of my qi into the wall. I felt it enter the stone facade and some mechanism click as the wall slowly opened to allow me passage through.

I ran through the rest of the halls, the mounting tension and anxiety rising within me as I approached the solitary cell holding our only hope to defeat Erazael. The beat of my heart was quickly matching the pace of my footfalls on the stone. A niggling sense of doubt began rising up within me. A few days ago I couldn't even apologize to Rin properly, but I was supposed to convince a man who had lost his family to help his enemies? Even with the benefit of knowing Erazael killed his family, as morbid a boon as that was, could I do it?

I felt my confidence waning just in time to round the final corner and come face to face with the lone cell wasting away in these depths.

The rancid smell I couldn't have failed to notice the last time I found myself here assaulted my nose, the acrid taste invaded my mouth and lingered on my tongue forcing me to scrunch up my face in an instinctual disgust. I supposed Calius had no reason to treat Loran well, but this seemed extreme. With an almost palpable trepidation, I cleared my throat and shakily engaged the withering husk of a man.

"Hello, Loran…" I forced out, my heart tightening in anticipation. He didn't react at first until a yip from Shimmer seemed to tug on the tenuous tether anchoring him to reality.

A singular pinprick of light kindled in his eyes and, despite my doubt, I knew I needed to grab hold of this chance.

"Hi, I know you've been…kept here and Calius has done… a lot of bad things to you, but something big is happening in the city and we need your help." I said, hoping to slowly broach the subject but not really having that much time to waste.

He stirred slightly before finally looking toward me.

"How?" he asked, his voice almost ethereal. Only my heightened senses from my cultivation even let me grasp at the thin threads of sound.

"How what?" I asked, my previous train of thought abandoned now that he was willing to say something of his own volition.

"How is…Caelith here? Is the witch of myriad dao here somewhere?" He asked, looking around furtively.

It took a few moments for me to realize he was talking about Ylvaria and her summon. That gave me an idea, reminding me of what Situ Yin had done to me what felt like ages ago.

"Ah-no this is Shimmer, she's my summon. She is the same kind of spirit companion as Caelith. You see, I'm from the future, and am currently undertaking a trial where I have to save this city from you shattering your domain and the encroaching horde of demons currently being fended off by all the cultivators in the city." I told him.

Luckily my provocation had the desired effect and the previously vacant expression on his face was replaced with open mouthed astonishment that morphed into befuddlement.

After a few moments he seemed to regain some of his wits as he sighed.

"I see, Shironia has finally resorted to mental torture, though I suppose I do deserve it." He said, sighing and laying his head into his lap.

"I know it's hard to believe, but I'm not here to torture you or anything, Loran. Sometime soon, Erazael will make his way down here." I told him, hoping my knowledge of the demonic cultivator would lend credence to my story.

Loran only sighed deeper.

"Even if Erazael is here to rescue me, I won't go. I no longer have anything to live for." He said, sporting a look that was a little too much like looking in the mirror for me to handle.

"Erazael isn't here to rescue you. You were lied to. Calius didn't kill your wife and child, it was Erazael who did. He's going to sense you down here and…" I trailed off, feeling my stomach rioting at the memory. I couldn't stop though, I needed him to believe me.

"He describes all of the awful things he does to your family before killing them and everyone in their village. Then you, in grief I think, shatter your domain and everyone on this planet dies." I told him. He now wore a confused look on his face, but there was less incredulity and doubt in his eyes.

"No…he's my comrade, he wouldn't have betrayed me…" He tried, but I could tell he didn't believe his own words. I gave him a sympathetic frown before hitting him with the information he probably already knew.

"He said that before you left to exact your revenge, he gave you an elixir that was truly a qi dispersing poison." I said. He held my gaze for a moment before averting his eyes down toward the ground. His manacles jangled as his fists shook in his lap, showing a level of vigor in him I hadn't expected from the corpse he had been before.

Seeing his building anger, I hopped on my chance to recruit his help.

"Erazael is going to come down here once he senses you. This is your chance to take a true revenge!" I reminded him.

I watched as the slowly kindling flame deep within his eyes was rapidly stoked and I saw a glimmer of the powerful cultivator hidden within him. The ferocity blossoming in his gaze filled me with a sense of trepidation and unease like an animal suddenly feeling the gaze of an apex predator upon them.

Then his gaze softened somewhat as he jangled his manacles.

"You're right, the true killer of my family is out there and…I've committed a grave sin. I've done to another that which tore apart my heart. It may have been from grief and rage, but that's no excuse. Though there is no true way I can make up for what I've done, I'm sure Erazael's objective is the complete eradication of the city.

I will assist in the defense of the city, get my revenge, and after the fighting is over, I'll accept whatever my fate will be. Quickly, before it's too late, help me out of these shackles." He said, lifting his arms closer to the bars of the cell. Without a word I summoned one of my swords and lifted it to slice the manacles and stopped. I suddenly couldn't move my body at all, and I could barely breathe. Loran tensed and then looked off to the side before his face morphed into a furious rictus.

He leapt to his feet, the chains connecting his arms and legs jangling against the cell's bars.

"ERAZAEL!" He screamed. His voice rasping and raw, the primal hatred in that single word worth an entire lifetime's ire.

"Loran, old friend, I've no clue why you're so angry at me, but unfortunately I cannot allow this insect to release you. That would simply ruin all my delicious plans! Now tell me, what has you so riled up?" He asked, a knowing smile on his face.

"You know what you did you vile beast! Camille and Agnes were my everything! WHY?! Why take them from me?!" He yelled, almost pleading. Erazael smiled.

"Now who could have told you that tidbit? No one should know that unless… perhaps those three worms were telling the truth? If that's the case then the girl with the blue hair would be…" He said, his eyes slowly lazing over in my direction until they locked onto me. I felt a chill run down my spine as I realized who the 'three worms' he mentioned must have been. I didn't know what would happen if I didn't die and was instead captured but I didn't want to find out. I still couldn't move my body, but I had one chance. I coalesced my sword of earth and wind directly over my chest and tried to plunge it into my heart. Before the sword could even begin moving toward me, I was launched back against the wall of the small corridor, my sword shattering from the casual slap of the demonic cultivator. The clicking admonition from the man following soon after, easily overshadowing the protests from Loran.

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"Tsk, tsk, tsk, we can't have that now. You might succeed next time should I allow you to kill yourself, though I'm still doubtful of the truth of those three's words. Your pathetic attempt on your on life might indicate you truly will be reborn, or maybe you just know who I am and would prefer a swift death at your own hands. Regardless, I will not allow it. I'm going to take my time with you, but don't worry, I'll make sure to keep you alive for a long time." He said. I felt hopelessness well up from within me, my eyes looking past Erazael, pleading for Loran to shatter his domain to ensure I died.

He seemed to understand I wanted him to do something then thought for a moment before a look of understanding crossed his face. He nodded, but before he could begin the process, the sound of splitting metal and clanging chains echoed through the small corridor.

Erazael's face hardened and he whipped around in time to see Shimmer clamping down on the other engraved manacle around Loran's wrists. He hadn't seemed to notice her either, but she had sneaked close enough to the cell to snap the formation engraved iron.

"NO!" A quick shout from Erazael escaped his lips before the bars of the cell exploded outward and Loran grabbed the demonic cultivator by the throat, flying upward and breaking the rock ceiling, ascending out of view within moments. I was released from whatever hold Erazael had over me and fell to the ground, gasping. Shimmer padded over to me, licking my face as I smiled at the wily little fox.

"Good job, Shimmer!" I praised my little summon, then stared up through the jagged hole in the ceiling, dust and debris still fluttering down from the brand new skylight. I could feel the qi fluctuations from this deep underground and needed to return to the surface to reinforce Alexis and Rin now that Loran was handling Erazael.

It would take too much time to run back through the corridors so I was determined to climb through the new escape hole. I wanted to unsummon Shimmer to make my climb easier but the feeling the little fox gave me at the mere thought of doing so told me that was an unwise decision. I resigned myself to an awkward climb, but it was easier than I had anticipated. My body cultivation enhanced my physical abilities enough that I rapidly rose through the shaft despite a swaying fox perching on my shoulders.

Within a minute, I planted my palms on the now dust covered marble of the audience chamber. Various rocky debris was strewn around the room speaking to the destruction the rapid ascension of the pair of cultivators had wrought. Despite my expectation, the roof of the city lord's manor was completely intact while the doors leading out to the main square were reduced to splinters in the joining hallway. Hearing the din of fighting outside, I told Shimmer to follow and we ran out of the audience chamber.

We ran past the destroyed remains of the sparsely decorated hallway, the shattered remains of Calius's portraits littering the floor leaving only bare walls behind as we passed through the foyer and out onto the square.

The setting sun was only visible by its diffusion in the sky, the star itself having already fallen past the city walls. The lack of sunlight cast the square in shade, the piling bodies of dead demons becoming mountainous silhouettes. The demonic horde seemed to have been defeated already, but no one was relaxed. Each of the exhausted and bedraggled city defenders were holding their weapons with white knuckled grips. They were all entranced, looking up toward the sky where the currently ongoing fight between Loran and Erazael was raging on. The extreme gap in cultivation meant that as the men fought with their full strength, we were completely unable to follow their movements.

Only the after effects of their fighting on the surrounding qi was visible to me, the muted hues of wood qi mixing and warring with the corrosive mixture of wind and metal qi.

The entire square was almost silent, the only sounds present being those from the fighting above, and the angry sputtering of Calius a short distance down the stairs from me.

"How?…Why?…Who??" He asked, transfixed by his now freed mortal enemy. At least he was transfixed, until Rin noticed Shimmer and I and ran over to us.

"Astra! You did it! You got Loran to help fight off Erazael!" She excitedly said nearly bouncing in her happiness. She didn't realize her mistake until Calius's voice rang out in a feral growl.

"You?! What did you do!?" He screamed and I felt the full brunt of an early stage domain creation realm cultivator press down on me. I tried to ply my own pseudo domain in defense but it was quashed before it could even pass my skin. Before it could incapacitate both Rin and I, a soothing chill covered us as Alexis appeared between Calius and us cloaking us with her own domain.

"Calius! You must see sense! Without Loran, we will be slaughtered by Erazael! It will be the end of Shironia!" she pleaded, but his rage had clearly overtaken his reason.

"Ridiculous! I cannot allow that…that monster to roam free! I knew I should have killed him upon hearing of this invasion. I will not make that mistake again, I'll kill him myself after I deal with you all!" He spat back preparing to launch himself toward us but a surprising third party came to Alexis's aid.

"Calius! What is the meaning of this? How is Loran alive?? He should have died at Illithorim." Byron questioned, walking up to our group. Remembering the conversation with the noble from the last try I jumped at my chance, shamelessly peeking around Alexis's form to look at the noble leader of the crafters.

"Calius has imprisoned Loran below the city lord's manor and tortured him daily for months in revenge!" I said before dodging the venomous glare the city lord threw at me as I revealed his transgression. An audible gasp was released from many of the gathered crowd of city defenders even as Byron's eyes grew wide and then narrowed on Calius.

"You would dare break the accords, Calius?! Your nobility will be revoked and you'll be punished more harshly due to your status within the sect! This is madness, even if we aren't truly-" Byron started but was interrupted by Calius.

"Madness? Madness?? Madness is my wife and daughter being massacred by that man! And for no other reason than to sate his beastly, demonic, urges! He deserves to be tortured for all eternity and we all know the accords are just the posturing of those detestable higher ups so they can think themselves some ridiculous bastion of moral superiority! Morality is a luxury for the strong. The weak and powerless have no use for impotent, hollow, idealism! They're demons! They'd give you the same moral consideration as you would an ant beneath your feet, so why should we parade ourselves around as moral martyrs?? We should be doing anything within our power to eradicate those demons from the universe. They are as anathema to us as we are to them, and pretending that they deserve to be treated like we treat others of our own kind is a mockery to those who've lost their lives in this war."

The few seconds of no one speaking that followed his impromptu tirade were heavy, only undercut by the sounds of the fight still raging on above us.

Then Alexis stepped forward, drawing the crowd's full attention.

"Calius, can't you see you sound just as crazed and violent as the demons? Regardless of whether we agree with all of the rules outlined within the accords, they serve a purpose. If we one day eradicate the demonic threat, but the road we built to get there is paved with blood we've spilt by torture and indiscriminate killing, then are we any better than the demons? Some acts, no matter how justified you may think them, erode away at your humanity. You'll slowly become desensitized to the depravity baked into those actions, and one day, you'll have become just as bad as the demons. That is the reason the accords were put into place. We know that no one is more hurt at the loss of Elana and Maren than you, but we cannot allow ourselves to succumb to our rage. We need to-"

"Enough!" Calius interjected, throwing his arm to the side, a powerful gust of wind emitting from the gesture.

"I'm tired of hearing you justify the complacency that led to my wife and child being murdered. If we had been more vicious, more decisive in our responses, the demons wouldn't have thought it so simple to march into our lands and slaughter our innocents! I'll bring about a new era of retaliation to this war, accords be damned!" He said, his voice rising. As if to punctuate his speech, an empty spot off to the side of the square exploded in a plume of dust and debris, showering the gathered fighters in stone dust and pebbles. Loran landed outside of the newly formed crater, staring down into it with a blank, resigned look before turning to us. He walked toward our group, but before he could make it the whole distance, Calius clicked his tongue and flew off into the city lord's manor. Everyone's attention was now solely focused on the powerful cultivator currently making his way over to our group, so no one moved to follow Calius.

Loran moved through the crowd, the gathered fighters hastily parting around him, giving him passage into the heart of our group.

He walked toward Rin and I, Alexis standing in his way, our stalwart defender in case the ex-demonic cultivator decided to attack, not that she would be able to put up much of a fight. It was the thought that counted, she was willing to protect us, even knowing that we wouldn't truly die, and that warmed my heart quite a bit. Her protection was unnecessary though. I had felt Loran's bloodlust, and he wasn't intending to harm any of us. As if to affirm my thoughts, Loran looked to me, nodded, and then held out his hands to Alexis.

"I realize that the crimes I have committed in the past are numerous. I have no desire to continue hurting people. Now that I have exacted a true revenge for my family, I'm willing to submit myself to the alliance, whatever their punishment may be. Though if I could request something? No torture this time please?" He asked, a slightly mischievous smile on his lips. Alexis chuckled before motioning to one of the nearby guards. They jogged over, keeping one eye on Loran the whole time, before handing over a pair of manacles to the guild leader.

She fastened the metal restraints to Loran's wrists though they weren't as restricting as the manacles he was imprisoned with under the city lord's manor. It was clear he could have shrugged off the effects of the restraints and freed himself at any time, but I knew he wouldn't He looked much calmer now, almost serene. Like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Loran was led off by Byron after Alexis explained that he was to be taken care of humanely this time, Byron mumbling that he knew how to treat a prisoner. After he was gone, Alexis turned to Rin and I and was about to speak when a glowing red portal appeared on the edge of the city square. It was a bit taller than both Rin and I, and like a large oval mirror.

We all prepared to fight but after a few seconds of nothing coming out of the portal, I realized that must be the exit to the trial. Though, why didn't it just eject us from the trial if we had completed it?

Alexis looked between us and the portal before smiling.

"I suppose this means its time for you two to go home?" she asked, a hint of sadness to her voice.

Rin looked to the portal and then to Alexis before turning to me.

"Astra, do you mind if I talk to Alexis about something before we leave?" She asked, a look of trepidation and anxiety clear on her face. I smiled and nodded.

"Of course, take your time." I told her, sure she wanted to thank the woman personally for all the guidance she had given her.

I walked away from the pair, the remainder of the onlookers already being rallied to begin cleaning up the city in preparation for the return of the citizens, though a small melancholy rose up within me knowing they wouldn't be coming back to Shironia once we left.

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