A few minutes later, with the solitude of the courtyard settled and the promise of a return in mind, Tristessa heard footsteps approaching. Of course, she hoped it was Severus.

  “…!”

  But it turned out to be that other person who held a special place in her heart, wanting to occupy part of the space that belonged to her love for the blood elf.

  “Ah, Tori!” Tristessa exclaimed upon seeing the platinum-haired woman standing at the bottom of the steps. It was still strange to see her without her armor, although seeing her dressed in the same white shirt and black trousers as that morning was a welcome sight. “Um… Where are you carrying that?”

  What was curious was the large wooden box she carried, filled with objects that clinked and fueled the girl's curiosity. As was the mischievous smile the knightess was giving her.

  “There you are. Perfect. Come with me, Tristessa.”

  “Huh?”

  When a woman as beautiful as her smiled at her like that, Tristessa had no way of resisting the call, like a sailor lured by the song of a siren that would condemn him for all eternity. It went without saying that Astoria's intentions weren't hostile or malicious, but the air of mystery surrounding her gave the girl kind of a bad feeling.

  “Come on, hurry up! Don't make me slow down for you, this stuff weighs a ton!” the woman exclaimed, pulling Tristessa from her train of thought and making her react.

  “What could possibly be so heavy that you're having trouble?” she asked, reaching her side and noticing with concern the effort Astoria was making to carry that box. “Do you need help?”

  “No, this is a good practice about no relying on my Essential Dilution. Let's go, move!”

  “Y-yes!”

  Tristessa walked ahead of Astoria, who led her northeast, toward a corner of the courtyard where the stone path was sheltered by a wooden pergola covered in vines. There were moments along that covered path when the darkness was almost absolute, nature obscuring both starlight and the blueish glow of the lanterns. This caused Tristessa to be overcome by the primal fear inherent in every human being, making her uncomfortable and nearly causing Astoria to bump into her as she slowed her pace.

  “What’s wrong? Are you afraid of the dark?” the knightess laughed at her. “How adorable.”

  Tristessa didn’t let that irritating comment get to her.

  “Why all the mystery, Tori? Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see… Also, what made you change your hairstyle?”

  “It was Sev’s idea. Do you like it?” Tristessa teased, looking slightly over her shoulder with a smug smile.

  “…”

  In the dark, Astoria’s face was hidden. There was no answer.

  At the end of the pergola, the field of pale widows and the energized lanterns illuminated a series of granite tables arranged in rows. Those were empty that night, except for one where Severus and Auron were waiting for them, sitting on stone blocks and chatting peacefully. They had placed a tablecloth, two small brass lamps with power crystals, and various appetizers such as blue cheese, cold ham, warm bread, fresh fruit and red meat sunk in a steaming platter filled with bubbling sauce.

  “I thought I told you to bring the bare minimum, Silverthorn!” Severus scolded her before popping a cube of cheese into his mouth as Auron—ever the gentleman—went straight to the knightess to help her with the box. “At least you listened to me when I asked you to bring Tristessa.”

  “If this is your idea of ??a surprise, let me tell you, you’re about as talented with them as you are with your thaumaturgy.” Astoria and Auron lowered the box near the table, a clear relief crossing her sweaty face at being freed from that task. “Thanks, Auron.”

  “You’re welcome.” The gunslinger stared at Tristessa, blinking and nodding. “Hey, you look good with that hairstyle.”

  “Thanks! So… What surprise are you guys talking about?” Tristessa asked, watching in confusion as Astoria ripped the wooden lid off the box with excessive force and Severus pointed at it with his right hand.

  “Erd Escant.” With that elemental ice thaumaturgical spell, the elf conjured a series of glyphs above the box. The instant the supernatural symbols collapsed, a layer of frost began to cover the wood, metal profiles, and screws.

  Tristessa approached to unravel the mystery of the box's contents, finding an answer that, in retrospect, wasn't entirely unexpected: dozens of beer bottles submerged in water that reached half the box's volume, slowly freezing.

  “Well, our intention was to surprise you with a small celebration for the victories over the Dullahan and Lady Eramisaptor, but… Severus told us about Vergil,” Astoria explained, taking four already chilled bottles and placing them on the table. Everyone sat down, Tristessa next to Severus and Auron next to Astoria; all listening to her speak as she uncorked the drinks. “I’m sorry. We had planned everything in advance; we never imagined something like this could happen…”

  Vergil’s absence was noticeable: his place was under the table, waiting to be fed and snatching up whatever fell to the floor, like any gluttonous beast of his kind. Tristessa couldn’t speak for Auron, whom she had never seen eat or drink with someone staring at him, but seeing Astoria uncomfortable and hesitant to touch the bottle of refreshing, frothy concoction she had left in front of them was almost blasphemous.

  A shadow of sadness had fallen over them, and it was Tristessa’s duty—she being the most affected of the four—to dispel it.

  “We’re going to get Vergil back, aren’t we, Sev?” she asked the elf beside her, receiving a curt nod in return. “Hey, cheer up! We all deserve a moment of peace. Or don’t you think we can defeat the Dead End King?”

  “You’re looking quite far into the future, lady…” the gunslinger whispered.

  “So what? A dream is a dream, and seeing Vergil again is another one that’s joined my quest for my memories and how to return to my world.” Tristessa grabbed one of the beer bottles and took a long swig that refreshed her palate and taste buds, leaving behind a taste of stale cereal. “Come on, everyone grab a bottle and let’s toast to our victories and to Vergil’s well-being, whom we will undoubtedly get back!”

  “Of course we will,” said Severus, the first of the three to go along with the girl. “Astoria?”

  “Damn it, I miss that hairy beast… I’ll kick that old hag’s ass myself after we’ve ripped Alastor’s head off!” the knightess declared, gripping the neck of her bottle so tightly the glass threatened to shatter. “What about you, Auron?”

  “I… As long as I’m paid a modest sum of soul-jewels, of course I’ll help the she-dragoon reunite with her aracross,” the gunslinger agreed, failing to hide his concern for Vergil behind his greed. “A toast to victories, to Vergil, and to future successes. Cheers!”

  “Cheers!”

  Gradually, the four of them found their spirits lifting. They ate and drank, and the alcohol helped drown their sorrows while exalting the brighter moments.

  Tristessa had set her bottle aside after only a few sips, choosing to drink water and not letting intoxication take hold of her fledgling system. She was ravenous and made herself several cheese and meat sandwiches, which she devoured as if there were no tomorrow. She stuffed her mouth while listening to her allies chat, exasperate each other, and burst into laughter.

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  She watched Astoria, so beautiful and radiant, listening as Auron recounted one of his adventures as a novice gunslinger in a city called Stormhall. She stared at Severus interjecting with sneers and the occasional joke that more than once nearly made Astoria fall backward.

  “You're the only one missing,” she thought, glancing to the side for a moment, down at the spot where Vergil would normally be, lying with his head near her feet, his yellow eyes lifting as he caught his owner’s attention. “...”

  “Come on, Auron, drink!” Tristessa turned her attention back to the top of the table, a smile spreading across her face as she watched Astoria—her cheeks flushed—slip her left arm behind the awkward gunslinger's neck. She had stolen his hat for herself and wanted to pull him closer, spilling some beer from the bottle she held in her other hand. “Take off that thing off your face and drink, please! For me!”

  “For you? And what makes you so special to me?”

  “Huh?! You took my first kiss, of course I’m special to you!” she exclaimed, laughing as Auron’s eyes expressed the desire to be swallowed by the earth. “Or is it backwards? I’m confused.”

  “There's no way I'm taking my handkerchief off,” he retorted as he was being pushed back and forth by the lively knightess as if they both were pendulums.

  “Please, please, please! Are you really that ugly?”

  “Legend says that the famous Auron Casimir is missing his teeth, his tongue is made of gold, and if you look under his handkerchief, you'll be cursed with a year of bad luck,” the blood elf added, earning a less-than-friendly look from him.

  “That’s one reason, and there’s much more. Please don't insist anymore, Astoria. Here, more beer in exchange of you shutting your trap.”

  Auron handed her his bottle, untouched and cool.

  “Hehe, thanks!”

  Seeing Astoria accept that gift with such joy, Auron being embraced by her, and Severus mocking them both was the almost perfect image Tristessa had been searching for when she decided to overcome the obstacles of the loop without allowing anyone to die.

  Surrounded by the nighttime spectacle of the pale widows, the infinite living and dead stars of the Cosmos, allies with aligned goals... It would be foolish to ask for much more when the world they walked in could strip them of everything in the blink of an eye.

  But isn't ambition the driving force of any thinking being that aims towards progress?

  Tristessa wanted more. Her heart and soul were in sync with her desires, as were those of her allies.

  Behind the laughter, the hiccups, and the flush of drunkenness, Astoria longed for her family's redemption.

  Behind the boundless greed, shyness, and discomfort reflected in her amber eyes, Auron secretly desired the salvation of a woman named Melinda.

  Behind his acerbic remarks and jokes, Severus desired vengeance for his kin, which he could only achieve by killing the Shadow Queen.

  All united by ambition. An alliance forged on words; a relationship of responsibility and work that required the consolidation of its foundations, something that time, working against them, had not allowed by then.

  “…!”

  Thinking of the premature nature of the alliance, Tristessa felt the shadowy waters of her Negative Altar stir, like a tidal wave that arose with the fall of a single drop upon its surface.

  It was an idea she'd had days before, in the suite of the Roundtable Cabaret, but one she hadn't been able to develop. Now there was nothing to stop it, and Tristessa didn't hesitate to interrupt the three of them with a proposal:

  “Listen, what do you think about formalizing our commitments with a contract?”

  The elf, the knightess, and the gunslinger initially looked at her with confusion.

  “Are you talking about our alliance with you?” Auron asked, running a hand through his short black hair. “Didn't we do that before we went to fight the Dullahan?”

  “Technically speaking, we didn't,” Tristessa replied, chuckling with distinct shyness. For some reason, the kind of formality she was proposing seemed very familiar to her, and the favorable circumstances had triggered a glimpse of that knowledge within her mind. “It doesn't have to be written. It can be symbolic, so as not to leave any evidence that could get you into trouble. All that will be needed is our word of honor and good faith.”

  The three exchanged puzzled glances. Astoria had removed Auron's hat and placed it on the table, while Severus took a swig of beer, lost in thought.

  “What do you say?” asked the gray-eyed girl, a little worried by her allies' silence. “Or…do you think it's a bad idea?”

  The three of them focused their undisputed attention on her and, simultaneously, smiled.

  “...I love it,” was Astoria's reply, the first to speak. In a moment of sobriety, she rose from the table to clear the plates of leftover appetizers, leaving the white surface free to rest her open right hand. “I give you my word that I will protect you and help you achieve your goals and objectives in exchange for your help in clearing the Silverthorn name.”

  “Tori...!”

  “And I give you mine, lady.” Speechless and beaming with excitement, Tristessa watched the gunslinger rise as well and place his right hand upon Astoria's. He even put his hat on to make a cordial salute, like a knight bowing to his Lord. “I will also protect you and lend my skills to help you recover your memories and Vergil, in exchange for you making me the richest man on the Continent.”

  “Oh, Auron! You…” She wanted to tell him there was no need to conceal his true intentions, but when it was Severus's turn to stand, she decided to let him be. “Sev?”

  The blood elf smiled hopefully, pointing toward the future, a hint of sadistic bloodlust sparking in his eyes.

  “My thaumaturgy is at your disposal. You help me kill the Shadow Queen, and I will do whatever it takes to fulfill your wishes,” he said, placing his hand upon the bond between Astoria and Auron. All three were enveloped in an aura of determination, resolved to cooperate with the girl who gazed at them with tears of emotion in her eyes. “This is our soulbound contract. Eternal and unbreakable. We place our hopes in you, Tristessa Irandell.”

  And upon hearing those beautiful words, she placed her right hand upon Severus's, feeling the infernal heat emanating from his burning soul. Combining Discord with Grace; darkness with light; chaos with order.

  Looking at each of them with the same will to move heaven and earth to fulfill their dreams. The power of ambition, capable of changing the course of history.

  “And mine are in you three. Astoria Silverthorn. Auron Casimir. Severus Malak Drakan.”

  With those words, the contract was sealed, with the Twin Moons and the Cosmos as witnesses. Four souls, four wanderers who met at the edge of the known world, believing there was no way out for them. Not only were they wrong, but now, surrounded by the magical pale light of the Lord's Castle garden, they could affirm that this was a new beginning. A rebirth from the ashes. An awakening after an assumed end. A new breath of life from within a body resigned inside its tomb.

  There was no longer an option to remain lying on the ground, feeding on misery and despair. It was time to look ahead and move forward. All together.

  “Thank you, guys!” The union dissolved, and each took a seat, their energy renewed to face the world and seize it by the horns. “Please, let’s continue eating…!”

  “Wait a moment!” Severus’s bellow startled her, and with her heart in her mouth and eyes wide open, she listened to what he had to say. “I just remembered something, Tristessa: on the day of the operation Lord Youngblood organized against the Coven, several soldiers at Camp Belsen made comments about something that caught my attention…”

  The blood elf was no longer smiling. He placed his hands on the table and glared at Tristessa with that furious look of someone who detested Strangers and wanted nothing more than to skin them alive.

  “What are those rumors that I have a human lover?”

  “What?! What the fuck are you…?!” Tristessa brought a hand to her mouth, remembering a certain prodigy thaumaturge mocking her, alongside her two cronies on the way to Entrana, minutes before the end of the Evil Dream. “Damn you, Urias!”

  Amidst Auron and Astoria's laughter, Severus's anger, and Tristessa's shouts trying to justify the mistake she'd made days before, the alliance of misfit continued their celebration, their joy somewhat diminished by the weight of Vergil's absence.

  Under the splendor of the starry night, with birds soaring in the darkness and heading north, they were unaware that several pairs of eyes were focused on the four allies. From the windows of the Lord of End-World's Castle, from the darkness of the courtyard… even from other lands beyond End-World; lands ravaged by cataclysms and cursed for all eternity.

  Shadows with agendas of their own, already on a collision course with them.

  Shadows that sought Nekrom's salvation. Shadows that sought its destruction.

  [END OF ARC 1]

  “Shut down my mind.

  Is the heart brave enough yet?

  Uncover the skies.

  And show me the birds.

  The birds, they rise.

  Premonitions of the other side.”

  Birds, by Katatonia (Sky Void of Stars)

  [Arc 1 - Angel of Rebirth and Demoness in Pain] came to an end!

  hiatus of two of three months at most. I apologize for that beforehand. Aside from recovering some hours of sleep, I have to focus on my fulltime job for a while and deal with some personal matters. But it's not all gloom and tears! I'll publish Extra and Interlude chapters weekly; the Interludes will work as a bridge between Arc 1 and Arc 2.

  follow, a rating/review or a favorite!! It helps a lot!!!??????