Before I reached Hausen, there was another great earthquake. It was on a scale completely different from the aftershocks of Zodiac Aquarius.
“Myne, is that…?”
“Galia…”
I saw it break from the earth, untethered, and float into the air on the horizon.
“Does that mean…?”
“Right now, I have to get to Fate.”
The Door to Distant Lands flashed through my mind. Even then, I had to see Fate first. He knew better than anyone what had happened after I lost consciousness. I shook my head clear and ran toward the city of Hausen.
The citizens were all staring up and shouting joyously. Fate drifted from the sky, carried by a girl who looked like an angel. The sight of him then, even for me, appeared almost divine. No doubt the citizens also felt as though they were witnessing the arrival of a hero, even a holy savior—one who had saved them from the mysterious assault on their home.
Fate was in the middle of rebuilding Hausen, and to do so he had invited people who had nowhere else to call home to live in his city. These same people praised his name as they saw him. He was already popular with his people; his actions to fend off the Zodiac Aquarius were just the icing on the cake.
“Not going to wave at him?” asked Sloth.
“I can’t… I-I don’t have the right to.”
Even though I’d come all this way to see Fate, I was once again afraid. I was the reason all of this had happened. I had been tempted by Shin’s promises, and I had left Fate’s side. Could I ever look him in the eyes again?
“I don’t know…” I added.
“He said ‘we’re in this together,’ didn’t he? He’s made his feelings clear, if you ask me. Now go on, do something.”
At Sloth’s suggestion, I lifted my hand and waved at Fate. I felt my face redden, just a little. There were so many people, I was sure he’d never notice me. I was so sure. But he found me, there in the crowd, and waved back with a smile.
“He found you too! Great!”
“Yeah!”
Filled with joy, I waved again. As I did, Sloth laughed at me. I growled back.
“Someone’s a bit overeager.”
“Am not!”
Fate wore a smile the whole time the citizens of Hausen waved and cheered, but at times I caught a brief glimmer of sadness in his features. The angel who was with him seemed to know why, and she was concerned for him. When she felt they had adequately reassured the people, she didn’t land, but rather flew straight for the castle.
“Myne, let’s go.”
“Okay.”
I ran after them. The streets were too crowded, so I leaped up onto the rooftops. Some children nearby cried out with delight when they saw my jump.
“You’ve always been popular with kids,” said Sloth.
“Are you calling me a kid?”
“Well, you are the same height.”
“I’m not a kid. I’m a grownup!”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“Do you want to make me mad?”
“I don’t! I don’t! I’m sorry!”
“Then drop it.”
Fate never looked at me like I was a kid. I’d known that ever since the day we spent in the Desert of Extinction. When he saw me standing before him with little in the way of clothes, his face went scarlet and he could only stammer. I found his reaction so amusing that I couldn’t help but tease him about it.
I headed to the castle by the rooftops. When I got inside, I saw that Fate was already fast asleep. The angel by his side saw me as I approached.
“You’re…You’re Myne, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“As I thought. You look just like Fay’s description of you: a petite frame with a massive axe. I’ve seen you once before. It was at my family estate, but I only saw you from behind. I am Roxy Hart, a holy knight serving the kingdom. I assumed this form when Snow lent me her powers.”
Roxy?! So, this is Roxy…
Fate had ventured into Galia by himself for her sake. There was something sisterly about her, and I could see why Fate was drawn to her. Still, I felt a twinge of jealousy when she called him “Fay.”
Roxy left the sleeping Fate in the care of a maid by the name of Memil.
“Roxy!” Memil said. “You’ve changed!”
“I… Well, Snow lent me her power…”
Roxy once more explained the reason behind her new appearance. As she did, her body began to exude light, and with a blinding flash, her wings and halo vanished. Roxy was now like any other human, but a young girl with red hair appeared beside her.
“Whew!” said the girl. “Snow did good!”
“Snowy!”
So this was the girl Roxy mentioned—the girl who had given Roxy her powers.
Sloth whispered to me as I stared at her. “Her appearance has changed, but that’s one of the holy beastfolk.”
“What?!”
I felt like I’d seen that form before. So Roxy had used the powers of the holy beast…
But to think that one of the holy beastfolk was on our side—that she would even help the bearer of Gluttony. In the past, the very thought of it would’ve been the height of absurdity.
“They are not the monolithic group they once were,” said Sloth.
“No.”
Snow spoke like a child, and it was hard to get a read on her. However, there was no doubting the truth of the matter: She had fought alongside Fate to destroy the Zodiac Aquarius. Now she looked at the sleeping Fate with concern. I decided that if Fate had faith in her, I would too.
Memil took Fate somewhere farther into the castle, and Snow followed after her. That left me alone with Roxy.
She took a look around and asked, “Have you seen Eris anywhere?”
“No…”
“Perhaps she’s still in the underground city,” she said as she started to leave. “That magical energy…”
Roxy and I both felt it. It was closing in on the castle. It was an energy I knew well—it belonged to Lust.
“Wait here,” I said. “She has somebody with her.”
“As you wish, but…Myne?”
“What?”
“You… You fought with Fate, didn’t you? I wasn’t with him at the time.”
“I did. We fought. I lost. But it was for the best. And Fate made me a promise.”
Roxy seemed flustered by my words, and she spoke her next words with some timidity. “What promise was that?”
“It’s a secret.”
Roxy was dejected by the answer. Her curiosity couldn’t have been more obvious. If I told her, perhaps she would think nothing of it, but it was special to me. I didn’t intend to tell anyone, no matter who they were.
“I-I see. I apologize for prying into something so personal…” Roxy’s shoulders drooped for a moment, but a smile soon spread across her face. “In any case, we should take a break. Eris will be arriving shortly, anyway.”
Roxy brought me to a drawing room where we would wait for Eris. Eris was annoyingly chatty. She had something to say about everything. If she got too annoying, I decided I would smack her with my axe.
Eris arrived not long after we entered the drawing room, just as Roxy had said. She looked a bit worse for wear, but she wasn’t seriously injured. A woman I had never seen before stood by her side. She wore a white lab coat and her eyes struggled to stay open as if she hadn’t slept—a researcher of some kind. Roxy was glad to see the woman, Laine, who had apparently been kidnapped by Fate’s father. It seemed that Fate’s father and Shin had some sort of connection.
Eris asked me about Fate’s father and Shin, but I didn’t know what Shin was up to behind the scenes. I’d merely followed him to Hausen and waited for the Door to open. He had used me as nothing more than a tool to stymy Fate, and even though I knew it, at the time, I only cared about opening the Door. I told Eris as much, and the disappointment on her face was unmistakable. She was already annoyed that I’d ditched Fate in the first place, and so she decided a scolding was in order. I only got out of it because Roxy interposed herself between us and said that was enough. I knew the role I had played, but I was tired.
The talk turned to the Door to Distant Lands and Fate’s father opening it. Laine took the lead in the discussion. I listened at first, but my eyelids grew heavy, and soon I was dozing on my feet.
“Perhaps it would be best for you to get some rest, Myne,” Roxy said, her brow wrinkled with worry. “We’ll have a room prepared for you. What do you think, Eris?”
“Yes, well, that was quite the battle she had with Fate earlier, that’s for sure. I haven’t seen that war demon in quite some time. It must have taken a lot out of her.”
Roxy called for Memil, who gave a polite bow before showing me to a guest room. I didn’t like the idea of missing the rest of the discussion.
“Don’t worry,” Sloth said, “I’ll stay and listen to the rest.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Sloth was the sleepiest of all of us, and yet she was willing to do that for me. I was grateful. I was drained. It was like some part of me that was stretched thin had been cut loose the moment I saw Fate’s face.
Memil took my hand and led the way as I slipped in and out of wakefulness. I collapsed in a heap on the bed and remembered nothing after.