25 Years Ago

It was difficult to intimidate Chorsay, but Romoalt had somehow figured out a way to do it. The grizzled man stood outside a door with a soft smile on his face. The same smile he always had. Even in the most harrowing battle, he smiled.

"What if she hates me?" Chorsay asked.

Romoalt had the odd habit of shedding his armor anytime he was outside a dungeon, which was something Chorsay had never seen. It left the man always looking presentable, always regal. His graying hair was slicked back, tucked behind scarred, cauliflowered ears.

"How could someone hate you?" he asked.

It made Chorsay smile, but it didn't dissuade his fears. Regardless of what Romoalt said, his granddaughter's opinion would sway his own.

Romoalt opened the door to his office, revealing a small girl. Even smaller than Chorsay had expected. She wore pajamas, despite it being the middle of the day, and had her hands on her hips. The resemblance to Romoalt was there, mostly in the eyes, but she looked far grumpier than he ever had.

Romoalt grabbed Chorsay's hand. "Veph, this is Chorsay."

Veph's expression soured even more as she looked Chorsay up and down. "I don't like him."

Romoalt's hand tightened, but Chorsay only laughed.

"You can't dislike someone if you don't know them. Get to know me first." Chorsay let Romoalt go and approached the young girl. He crouched low and extended his hand. "Chorsay Eoghet. Soldier and Shard Hero."

A look of concern, then her face softened, just a little. She grabbed his hand and shook. "Vephthru Veriss. Wizard and 7 Shard Hero."

Chorsay let her move his hand up and down in an exaggerated handshake. "Are you?"

"I will be."

"I bet you will be."

***

"Romoalt Veriss was unbelievable." Chorsay looked longingly into the distance. The slightest hint of a smile flashed before the sadness returned. "That's a story for another time. When I fell in love—" He took a moment to take a long drink of his coffee. "When I returned to Atrevaar with him, he introduced me to his foster daughter, his granddaughter. She was small and strong. Confident. It took us some time to connect. Romoalt was an assassin, and as a soldier, we found it difficult to train Veph. The little monster was so set on being a wizard like her mom. There was nothing we could do to convince her."

Chorsay took another moment, turning his gaze to his coffee.

Owin and Shade looked at each other from across the table. Shade's eye sockets shifted, narrowing and widening in a way Owin was unable to read. Eventually the skeleton seemed to get annoyed, as if he had expected Owin to follow whatever he was doing.

"Intelligence is an important attribute for wizards," Chorsay continued. "Veph got me into reading. We spent so much time at the library. She found every book on wizards and magic, and I mostly read history when I could find it. Every day. A new book every day. I didn't know someone could read so fast." He smiled at Potilia. "You read even faster."

Potilia grinned proudly.

"We grew close when she was young. When she turned fifteen and got wizard, I had never been so proud and so happy. We immediately started training. She was going to be a 7 Shard Hero after all." He pressed his lips together and looked at the ceiling. His eyes glistened while he cupped the coffee mug tight between his hands. "I don't know why she attacked you, Owin. I don't know why she would do something like this."

"People change," Potilia said. "You said so yourself."

Chorsay finished his coffee, looked at Potilia's cup for a second, then walked to the kitchen counter. He poured four whiskeys, adding an ice cube to each, and returned, passing them around the table. Shade immediately tried to drink his, letting its splash all over his bones.

"I left Void Nexus because I changed. Fighting other people had always been part of being a hero. Combat in the dungeons was unregulated. It was an opportunity to push the other hero companies down a peg. It was the reason Void Nexus was able to rise so quickly. It wasn't Romoalt. It wasn't Void Nexus. It was me. I left Romoalt, and I left Veph."

Chorsay immediately downed his whiskey and stared at the ice cube that clattered inside the glass. Before he could continue talking, Shade swapped glasses, giving Chorsay what was left. Owin also pushed his glass over, but Potilia grabbed it and pulled it away.

"I know none of you asked for this. I'm sorry, Owin. You've suffered enough." Chorsay swirled the liquor around. "You shouldn't have to worry about other heroes anymore. I'm trying."

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"I'm not angry," Owin said. "You'll talk to Veph and figure it out."

"I should've never left." He smiled, but it wasn't the same. It had no warmth, no joy. "I've killed two Shard Heroes to protect the family I've built, and I haven't even kept them all safe. Lera. Ilarion. Artivan. None of them deserved the pain."

"Artivan was proud of being a Nimble Hog. He looked up to you," Owin said. "We all do. And we're all here."

"Thank you." Chorsay rubbed his face. "I made a promise to you, Owin. I said I would honor Artivan Morro, and I would keep you safe. Nothing has changed that."

"I know. I trust you."

Chorsay's smile was a little warmer. A little closer to normal. "Po, how is everyone else doing?"

"Well, uh." She scrunched her face, glanced at Owin, and shrunk a little. "Not great."

"Why not?" Owin asked.

"Lera didn't make it. Sylmare left us right away after everything we'd been through. I-I, uh—"

"I'm sorry," Chorsay said. He extended his hand across the table, palm up.

Potilia looked at it for a few heartbeats before grabbing his calloused hand in both of hers.

"I know that must be hard for you," he said.

Potilia sighed and rested her forehead on Chorsay's hand, still holding it tightly. "I thought she was with us. I thought—"

Chorsay used his other hand to gently rub her head. Potilia fell silent, just lying face down. She shivered a little and let out a small whimper.

Even Shade was quiet. He just stared across the table.

Owin wished they could communicate like Myrsvai and Suta did, but since Shade wasn't actually a familiar, they couldn't. They just had to pretend they could.

Owin waited until Potilia calmed a little. She still didn't lift her head, but the sounds of crying calmed after a few minutes.

"Do you both trust Siora?" Owin asked.

Shade's eye sockets narrowed a little.

"I don't know her well," Chorsay said. "I think Po and Kat would be best to ask. Do you trust their judgment?"

"I do."

Potilia sat up and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I trust Siora." She sniffled and kept her eyes down. "She talked to us about Artivan. About you. She's scared like we all are."

"Of me?"

Potilia immediately reached over and grabbed Owin's hand. "No. Of everything else happening."

"You should speak with her," Chorsay said. "You have a long history, and we don't want it to end like it has with Nikoletta."

Owin nodded. He would talk to her. He wasn't sure what to say. Maybe it was a good time to let Shade do most of the talking.

"I'll talk to her," Shade said.

Owin smiled. Maybe they did have some type of connection.

Chorsay grabbed Shade's whiskey and finished it. "We need a Nimble Hog night."

"Cards and grilling?" Potilia asked.

Chorsay stood. "Yes, please. Thank you, Po."

Potilia immediately fell out of her chair, sprang to her feet, and dashed into the pantry.

"Thank you, Owin. Your kindness and patience is appreciated." Chorsay placed his hand on Owin's shoulder. "I'll sort this out."

"Okay. I'll go get the other Hogs." He took a step and stopped. "Who are the Hogs now?"

"Hm." Chorsay scratched his cheek. "That's a good question, isn't it? I guess we all are. Extend the invite to everyone."

Owin nodded and hurried away.

***

The Sky was a fitting place to encounter the Phoenix. Each Omen occupied a dungeon at any given time, but that didn't mean they were going to reveal themselves or interact with heroes. Most of the time, they passed hidden, walking through an isolated floor on their own or passing with faint interest, watching from afar.

Few people encountered an Omen, and few who did survived. The Omens each had their own personalities, so running into one may be certain death while another may toy with a hero or leave them alone entirely.

With the Kitsune gone, fused with Althowin, that made hunting for Omens even more difficult. Without Althowin's suggestion and Nehadya's information, Vondaire couldn't have hoped to find one, especially the one he was hunting for.

His stay in Stobrukha had been more than just brief. Spending time in the capital of the Three Headed Hero Company was inviting death. Before long, Vondaire was sure to find himself with every major hero company as an enemy. He already had the Unity Force, Magna Regum, and the Three Heads as enemies. The Golden Bulls could easily be added to the list as well.

At least now, at the foot of Mount Roemerrak, he could find the Phoenix, fuse, and return to civilization reborn, so to speak. Perhaps he'd even grab his third shard before presenting himself to the world.

He was due fame, especially after killing Isaak Agapov and Taralim Norkreena.

The Sky Dungeon wrapped around Mount Roemerrak like an elegant celestial spiral staircase, disappearing into the clouds at the peak. It was the only one of the seven towers that could be seen from outside.

One still had to enter through the void nexus to truly enter the Sky, but a hero with keen eyesight might be able to glean the contents of a floor from below.

Vondaire smoothed out the sides of his hair, tucking the longer strands behind his ears. If he found a blade, he'd give himself a trim. Unfortunately, spectral weapons couldn't cut hair, and he had been too busy to worry over trivial things. Trivial for now. He'd be presentable when it was time to truly step into the spotlight.

The Sky started with two isolated floors, then had two common floors, and swapped back and forth all the way through. That made it more difficult to avoid running into other parties since people tended not to wait a half hour with isolated floors at the start. With two shards, Vondaire's arrival could be certain death.

The camps around the base of Mount Roemerrak were sparsely populated. Almost abandoned. Maybe the trickle in the dungeon was faster than usual, or less people were trying to enter overall. Regardless, he wasn't going to wait around to see what was happening. The world would continue fighting whether or not he was involved, and the world's attention was going to be drawn to that action.

Vondaire pulled his gloves tight, took a slow breath with his eyes closed, calming his heartbeat. One more breath, and he stepped into the black doorway.

Entering Sky Dungeon

First Floor

Two Shards Active

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