Silas followed Arael as patiently as he could pretend but he couldn't stop his heart from racing with an anxious sense of hope. What would he do if he had a second chance?

The sudden motion of the guardian in front of him snapped him back into the moment. "Arael―!" he managed as he reached forward to Arael's shoulder for support. "Are you okay? Hey, Arael!" The words escaped his mouth before he could think. Then he realized that Arael's source of pain was his chest. "I'll call a medic―" he started to say as he reached for his smart watch.


The fallen city in sector four always had a kind of gloom to it between the uninhabitable smog and natural fog. But this time Cecilia had no problem pinpointing the commotion. A large but faded plume of dust suggested an area, and the signature bright glow confirmed it.

She barked commands over the wind and into her communication headset. There were half a dozen guardians traveling with her and she expected ten times as many to follow up in the next few minutes. She frowned at the sight of the light―the bright, red-tinted white was unmistakable. She had seen Nerva once before and the thought of another run-in made her shiver. As she approached the scene and the small fleet started to land, she made out the complete shape of her comrade, Ghost. And her brother.

She froze.

"Ah―!" a mellodic voice sounded from ahead as Cecilia crashed into the guardian in front of her. It was her right hand, Beatrice. The two spun out and landed heavily on the ground. Beatrice coughed and Cecilia caught her bearings immediately. "Commander, what―" Beatrice started to say. Cecilia stood and stared ahead, and then Beatrice realized.

"Ghost!" one of the medics in front yelled as he and another medic dashed forward into the dust toward Ghost and the silhouette on the ground. Their voices faded with their silhouettes as they ran ahead. When Cecilia and Beatrice and the others caught up, the grave expression on the medics' said everything. Cecilia swallowed hard, and an eerie silence blanketed the group.

Beatrice spoke first. "Commander, how do you want to handle this?" she asked.

"The same as we always do. Burn everything in earshot with the Releasing Flame." Cecilia managed. It was unthinkable to bury a guardian and trap the physical vessel of a being from above in the ground. Instead, it was tradition to let their ashes rise to the sky, where all guardians belonged. Historically the ceremony was performed by lighting the perimeter of a battle zone aflame with magic so that it burned inward. It was unusual for a guardian to die alone. That this could even happen...

She frowned when the half dozen soldiers under her command remained silent. "That's an order," she declared. The underlings scattered, and she was left alone with Ghost until the underlings were ready to initiate the ceremony. Cecilia placed her hand on his shoulder. "There will be half a hundred guardians here soon. Do you know where to look for the shinigami? I understand that with Nerva's help they could be long gone in escape by now, but you know possible shinigami whereabouts better than anyone. I trust you with the decision of whether, and how, we pursue them."


Mars blinked in surprise. She had never actually seen Nerva's power, and had only heard of it until now. "My lady," she murmured. Then she realized that her hand was still bleeding from the summoning spell. She tore off a strip of cloth from the bottom of her t-shirt and tied it around her hand. As she glanced around she focused on Jason and Lea. "Ah, Jason! Is Lea alright?" she asked as she tried to stand and move over to them.