Interlude: The Lion, The Dragon, And The Candlestick

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“We had a deal, you treacherous snake!”

Elsewhere in the city of Redrook during Ren and company’s fight against the fire golem, in the sewers beneath the Palace District, a secret meeting was taking place between Alpha and another co-conspirator. A certain man who had reached the limits of his patience.

“Try to calm down, Captain.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Captain Grimwick, face red with anger, pointed a finger in Alpha’s face, who was now re-cloaked. “You had the dagger in your possession, and that filthy street rat was going to take the fall for the Princess’s murder. Everything was going exactly to plan, and what did you do?”

Alpha simply stared, not offering a rebuttal of any kind.

“You go behind my back and attack them prematurely, giving away our evidence in the process!” Captain Grimwick barked before rubbing his temples, and sighing. “And to make matters worse, somehow, you unleash a-a… monstrosity in the Northern District that injured several of my men! Do you realize how weak that makes me seem as a leader that I had to then stage a retreat to protect our interests??”

“I am well aware that my actions caused you some grief, but it couldn’t be helped, you see. My hand was forced.” Alpha shrugged. “Even if we did succeed, and you were somehow made king in the aftermath, what then? Shion joining the fray changes the whole board, scratch that, the entire game!”

“The Headmaster’s personal gopher? Oh please, she’s nothing special.” The Captain scoffed. “And aren’t time keepers supposed to keep their noses out of things as long as we don’t stray from their little universal balancing act? That glorified secretary should be no different.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, my simple-minded associate.” Alpha’s comment earned a sharp glare from Captain Grimwick. “Shion isn’t like other time keepers, electing to stand idly by while the world burns. She has long-since been shunned by her god, and lost her capacity to properly wield her abilities, which is why she elects to siphon mana from her master like an infant on her mother’s teat, a pitiful way to live.”

Alpha paced around, his hands folded behind his back.

“So, what? That doesn’t explain her sudden interest in meddling in our affairs. I could see if her main objective was to prevent the death of the princess, but why does she care what happens to trash like Itsuka Ren? It’s inconceivable.”

“Reason being, she has grown fond of him—more accurately put—she has always been enamored by the one named Itsuka Ren. The boy you call a street rat.” Alpha explained, taking a bit of an exception to the Captain’s sobriquet. “She has determined herself to stay by his side to the bitter end, turning back time for his sake and only his sake. She has not changed. Shion still clings to her ideals—and to the Akashic Records—with the same stubborn hardheadedness as before.”

“You’re starting to sound a bit like a jealous ex.”

Now it was Alpha’s turn to glare.

“How about we kill her instead then, problem solved, right?” Captain Grimwick suggested. “Or, alternatively, we forget them altogether and move onto phase two, and rush my appointment before a council can be held to decide the next king. I’ll just let it slip that the “Prince” is not actually a Prince, and—”

“—Neither of those options will work, Captain.”

“Wha—well why in heavens not!?”

“To start, let's say Shion were to die, and that’s assuming in the very rare case that she hasn’t looped time to restart upon her death. The Akashic Records and all its secrets would die with her.” Alpha explained knowingly. “Such a result would be unacceptable, and I don’t care to let her take the easy way out in any case. You were also wondering about phase two, were you not?”

The Captain nodded, growing a bit annoyed.

“It appears you haven’t been made aware, but my sources tell me a moot has already been organized to select the next ruler.” Alpha smirked like a man holding a cookie over a child’s head just out of reach.

“A wha—! A MOOT!? When??”

“To be held in a week’s time, in the City of Ember. What, you didn’t know??? Oh, and get this, someone saw fit to have you purposefully left out of the loop on the matter.” The man broke into a full-on cackle. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say someone suspects you’ve been compromised. How sharp of them!”

“But, how could they...? I’m the Captain of the Royal bloody Garrison!!” Grimwick declared indignantly. “Who could’ve approved such an order without my—!?”

“Go on…”

A realization suddenly hit the Captain.

“Milton… That wretched elf!”

“Hah! At least I need not explain who is wary of you, but I doubt he came to that conclusion on his own.”

“What do you mean??”

“The source of Milton’s skepticism of you is none other than Shion herself, and her experiences in a previous loop.” Alpha presented his main point at last. “In all likelihood, we had already been on the path to victory, but an opponent such as her can do things over at her leisure and reset time. Frustrating, isn’t it?”

“Very…” The Captain narrowed his gaze intensely. “How do we even begin to fight someone who can change history to her liking? It’s—it’s cheating is what it is!”

“It seems you finally get it.” Alpha clapped once as if to illustrate his point, that Shion was a bigger pain to deal with than just a mere secretary of the Headmaster’s. “But if your opponent appears to have no weaknesses, and they do little to hide that fact, then they only want you to think they don’t.”

Alpha took note of the Captain’s confused expression and elected to continue speaking.

“I mentioned it already, but Shion is broken. She gave up her blessing the moment she decided to intervene in mortal affairs. It was such a long time ago now for us both that the details grow fuzzier with each day…” Alpha looked on with his nostalgic gaze. “But now that she has used up the remainder of her power, she will no-doubt scurry back to her master in Ember to recharge and to help oversee the moot, along with the imposter.”

“So you’ve decided to chase her there as well, her and the street rat?”

“No, we will chase them there!” Alpha corrected the Captain, pointing his finger in the air dramatically. “You have just as much reason to join the moot as a leading candidate to become the next ruler, along with Milton and Shion’s master, Argo. They won’t deny you.”

“And then what?”

“Must I spell out everything for you??” Alpha groaned. “Bring a sizable force, and when the opportunity is right, we kill them, Milton and Argo both. Then we detain Shion and her meat shields. Think of it as your opportunity to weed out the competition, and rob Shion of her source of power in one fell swoop.”

“Yes… Yes, I see it now! And with the two of them gone, I alone will return to Redrook and stake my claim for the throne of the Kingdom of Zen!” Grimwick was beside himself with glee, but he had a sobering thought all of a sudden. “But, they’re both rather… strong mages, aren’t they?”

“In an open battle, Argo might be unmatched, and Milton is certainly no slouch either.” Alpha conceded. “That’s why I’ve concocted some underhanded methods of my own to dispose of them, and I’ve recruited some powerful new allies to join us besides.”

“Don’t tell me it’s those death cult zealots again?”

“No, we can’t count on the Black Sacrament and their undead thrall this time. They have their own marching orders to attend to, and I’ve been unable to contact their leader as of this morning.”

“Typical, I told you not to trust those freaks, they’ve caused almost as much trouble around here as you lately.” Grimwick scoffed. “I’ll have to deal with their ilk as soon as things are cleaned up, but if not them, then who?”

“Why, she should be arriving any—” On cue, the two men heard a light pair of footsteps approaching them from somewhere deeper in the sewer. “Ah! There she is now, and not a moment too soon I might say!”

Stepping into the moonlight was a petite young woman, one who looked just as surprised to see Captain Grimwick as he was to see her. She bowed to the two men, a sleeve-covered hand pressed to her heart.

The young woman’s name, of course, was…

“Fia Fuoco, it’s nice to meet you.”