[Realm: Uhorus]

[Location: Galadriel]

[Capital City]

She stood out immediately, especially in a city so bereft of people willing to remain outside any longer than necessary.

Even from a distance, she drew the eye.

Wild ashen hair framed a soft face that looked far too innocent for the current state of the world, strands of it shifting in the wind that moved through the streets. Salmon-colored eyes were alight with uncertainty beneath the dark sky overhead. She wore a simple black dress, modest and unadorned, yet in the dim atmosphere of the capital, it almost made her seem like part of the shadows.

But of course, as ever, the thing that drew the most attention was the black horns protruding from her head.

They curved naturally through her hair, impossible to ignore.

Agatha's emerald eyes narrowed ever so slightly the moment they landed on her.

("This girl…") she thought.

There was no outward hostility in her expression, but her instincts sharpened immediately.

Even from here, she could feel it.

That mana that was malevolent and heavy. Not uncontrolled or violent—but undeniably similar to that of a demon.

And in a city already drowning in fear, that alone was dangerous.

"Juliana?" Mirabella spoke up first, tilting her head slightly as recognition settled across her face. "You didn't have to come out here, I was just coming to get you."

The horned girl gave a small smile at that, though it looked more relieved than happy.

("Juliana… right, I remember her.") Agatha recalled. ("She also went to Luminare Academy. A spawn of the Demon God, if I recall correctly.")

The thought lingered as Agatha quietly studied her.

This contradiction was particularly strange. She had an innocent appearance and a soft demeanor. Yet beneath it, mana that felt eerily close to something abyssal.

"S-sorry," Juliana murmured softly, her voice gentle enough that it almost blended into the quiet street. She shuffled awkwardly on her feet as she spoke, fingers lightly clasping together in front of her. "I was getting a little anxious waiting."

Her salmon eyes briefly lifted toward Mirabella before quickly drifting downward again.

"It's just…" she continued more quietly, "you were away for so long. And you have to fight so much lately…"

The concern in her voice was obvious, genuine worry she could not quite hide.

Mirabella clicked her tongue lightly, though there was no irritation behind it this time.

"As if you need to worry about me," she scoffed, gesturing lazily toward herself. "I'm an Inheritor. I'm strong, remember?" A smirk tugged at her lips as she jerked a thumb toward Agatha beside her. "Just ask blondie here."

Agatha chose not to indulge her.

Instead, her gaze remained fixed on Juliana.

("She's a fool for walking around with a mana signature like that,") Agatha thought.

Even suppressed, it lingered unnaturally in the air. To anyone already on edge, she would feel wrong.

The citizens were frightened enough already. The skies looked like the end of the world had split open overhead. Rumors spread faster than reason these days. Someone who resembled a demon walking openly through the capital could send people into outright panic.

Some might think the city's defenses had failed.

That demons had breached the walls.

That the calamity had finally reached them directly.

The fact Juliana had made it this far without causing some terrified uproar was honestly close to miraculous.

Juliana seemed to notice the scrutiny.

Her shoulders drew in slightly as her gaze shifted away. She almost looked smaller beneath Agatha's stare.

Then Agatha suddenly felt a sharp nudge against her side courtesy of Mirabella's elbow.

"Oi," the princess said sharply, shooting her a look. "Stop staring so hard."

Agatha blinked once before finally turning her gaze away from Juliana and back toward Mirabella.

"Awfully protective," Agatha noted calmly. "How sweet."

Mirabella's eye twitched almost immediately.

"You always gotta say things in the most annoying way possible?" she muttered.

"I simply say what I observe."

"That's exactly the problem."

Juliana looked between the two girls uncertainly before speaking up in a quieter voice.

"You… don't have to argue because of me…"

"We're not arguing," Mirabella and Agatha said at the exact same time.

A brief silence followed.

Mirabella grimaced and Agatha remained perfectly composed.

Juliana blinked twice before unexpectedly letting out a tiny laugh beneath her breath. It was soft and small. But in the empty street, it stood out more than it should have.

Mirabella looked at her in surprise for a second before snorting quietly herself.

"See? Even she thinks you're difficult."

"I am beginning to think you project your own traits onto others," Agatha replied dryly.

"Gods, you really don't stop."

Despite the words, Mirabella's tone had lightened considerably.

Juliana noticed it too.

The tension in her shoulders eased ever so slightly. Still, her eyes wandered upward toward the fractured sky above the city walls. The violet tears stretching across the heavens reflected in her salmon-colored eyes.

"It's scary outside lately," she admitted softly.

The earlier levity faded a little, Mirabella's expression shifted.

"Yeah," she said after a moment. "It is."

Juliana clasped her hands together tighter.

"Every time you leave," she murmured, "I keep thinking maybe this'll be the time something happens."

Mirabella opened her mouth immediately, probably intending to dismiss the concern again with bravado, but the words stalled briefly.

Agatha noticed.

So did Juliana.

The princess exhaled through her nose before finally speaking.

"I always come back though."

This time the confidence in her voice sounded less boastful. But she wanted Juliana to believe it, the ashen haired girl looked at her quietly for a moment before nodding.

"I know."

Mirabella scratched awkwardly at the back of her head.

"Besides," she added, trying to bring back some of her usual attitude, "those Abyss things are ugly as hell but they're still fodder."

"That confidence borders on recklessness," Agatha stated.

"Still alive, ain't I?" The princess pointed out.

"Astonishing, truly."

Mirabella shot her a flat stare. "You know, one day I'm gonna hit you."

"I would prefer you didn't."

Juliana let out another tiny laugh despite herself.

Mirabella pointed accusingly at Agatha. "She agrees you're annoying."

"I highly doubt that is what she is thinking."

Juliana immediately looked flustered from being dragged into it.

"I-I didn't say that…"

Mirabella grinned triumphantly anyway, Agatha merely gave a quiet hum.

Eventually Mirabella shook her head and waved a hand dismissively.

"Whatever. See you later, blondie."

Without waiting for a response, she strutted past Agatha toward Juliana. The horned girl hesitated only briefly before falling into step behind the princess almost immediately, staying close beside her.

Agatha watched the two of them go.

Juliana was the exact opposite of Mirabella, her steps seemed quiet and careful. Almost shrinking into herself whenever another passerby glanced their way.

Yet despite that, she still followed beside Mirabella without hesitation.

Agatha's emerald eyes lingered on them for a few moments longer before slowly drifting upward toward the torn sky again. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

("I wonder how long this particular fight will continue…")

The thought lingered in Agatha's mind as she walked through the dim streets of the capital.

Her sabatons tapped against the stone pathway beneath her, the sound drowned beneath the howl of wind that drifted through the city. Above, the sky still remained ever-present.

Agatha did not look up at them any longer.

She had spent too long staring already and too long thinking.

She was not tired, not physically. Unlike Mirabella, whose frustration bled visibly into nearly everything she did lately, Agatha's exhaustion was harder to notice. She could understand her fellow Inheritor's distaste for the situation though.

They were being used as weapons.

There was no softer way to phrase it.

Every report and sighting, it always ended the same way. They were sent out to kill Abyssal Creatures before those things could reach civilians.

Again.

And again.

And again.

To most people, that cycle would have been mentally exhausting long ago. Endless battles against creatures that barely seemed to stop coming. Victories that saved lives for a day only for more monsters to appear the next.

Agatha understood why Mirabella hated it.

At most though, Agatha found it tedious.

Not because the danger was insignificant or because she lacked empathy for the people suffering beneath this calamity. But repetition without progress irritated her. There was no satisfaction in merely cutting down another wave of mindless creatures if nothing fundamentally changed afterward.

It felt inefficient.

Like placing a hand over a crack in a dam while the entire structure continued collapsing behind it. Agatha preferred permanence and not endlessly fighting symptoms while the source remained untouched.

("Victoria should be making some progress in her outing,") Agatha thought.

Or rather, hoped.

Lucinda had accompanied her after all. If anyone could force a breakthrough regarding the tears, it would likely be those two. Victoria had the mind for it and Lucinda had the power.

Still, Agatha's gaze lowered slightly.

("I'm too optimistic for this.")

The realization came bluntly; optimism was dangerous lately. Every time people thought they had gained ground, the world reminded them how fragile that ground actually was.

Even so, Agatha found herself hoping anyway.

That annoyed her more than she cared to admit.

The young girl lightly shook her head as she continued moving forward through the street, golden hair shifting with the motion.

Around her, the capital remained subdued.

A handful of people still moved through the roads, though most kept their heads lowered. Conversations were hushed and shopkeepers closed early. Guards remained tense even within the safety of the walls.

Everyone listened for screams, for the alarms. For the sound of another attack beginning somewhere nearby.

The city had learned fear too well.

"Agathaaaaaaaaa!"

Instead, a rather familiar high-pitched voice suddenly rang out from above with enough volume to cut cleanly through the quiet street.

Agatha immediately stopped walking.

Her eyes slowly closed for half a second.

Then she sighed.