They walked along the ramparts and were overlooking the swirling purple sea. The massive stable Rift pulsed overhead, a silent, malevolent eye watching them.

  As they walked, Thyra noticed something.

  Signe wasn't walking beside her. Instead, she was walking beside Li Yu. She stayed constantly in his personal space, her arm brushing against his, her body angled toward him like a sunflower tracking the sun.

  When Li Yu stopped to look at the view, Signe stopped. When Li Yu adjusted his robe, Signe reached out to smooth a wrinkle he missed.

  Thyra stopped walking. She raised an eyebrow.

  "Signe," Thyra said dryly. "You are hovering. Haven’t you heard the rumors, that’s my son you are hovering around."

  Signe blinked, looking up from Li Yu. "Am I?"

  "You are practically sitting on his shoulders," Thyra noted. "Is this... the residue Li Yu mentioned in his report?"

  "It is... complicated," Signe admitted. A blush rising up her neck. "I feel... compelled to ensure his comfort. He is the Young Master."

  Thyra looked at Li Yu. "Young Master?"

  "Don't ask," Li Yu groaned. "It's a side effect of the possession removal. It fades. Eventually."

  Thyra looked back at Signe. She studied her friend. The loose, revealing red silk under the ceremonial armor, the wild hair, the intense and burning gaze fixed on Li Yu.

  A small knowing smile tugged at Thyra’s lips.

  "You know, Li Yu," Thyra said while resuming her walk. "The possession might have created the obsession but it didn't create the personality."

  "What do you mean?" Li Yu asked. He kept trying to gently step away from Signe but she would immediately close the gap.

  "Signe has always been... like this," Thyra chuckled. "She is like fire.. She is passion. She follows her gut, her heart and her instincts. She wears what she wants and likes. Says what she thinks and loves who she chooses with terrifying intensity."

  Thyra looked at Signe fondly.

  "Before the war, she once challenged a prince to a duel because he insulted her favorite horse. She won, broke his arm, and then seduced his sister to really rub in the point. Yes, you heard that right, his sister. That is Signe. Fierce. Direct. Unapologetic."

  Signe grinned at the story. A flash of her old self breaking through the submissive charm. "The sister was very charming and attractive. I can appreciate good looking things, for men or women."

  "My point," Thyra said to Li Yu, "is that the demon didn't change her nature. It just hijacked it. It took her natural passion and focused it entirely on you. So while the 'Young Master' title might be the charm... the intensity? That is just Signe."

  Li Yu looked at the Grand Marshall of the Coast. She beamed at him, radiant and dangerous.

  "Great," Li Yu muttered. "So even when the charm fades, I might still be in trouble?"

  "Likely," Thyra agreed. "But now, let's talk about the source."

  She pointed up at the Rift.

  "You said you have intelligence on what is keeping that thing open."

  "I do," Li Yu nodded. "Vespera."

  A mist swirled from his chest and Vespera materialized next to Li Yu. Thyra had already heard about her but her hands went to her sword instantly out of reflex.

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  Thyra quickly relaxed though. Her eyes remained cold. This was the demon that had taken over one of her close friends after all. "Speak, demon."

  Vespera bowed slightly. "Grand Marshall Thyra. As I told my Master, the Rift is artificial. It is being anchored from this side. It might have started as a natural one, it is now being kept open by other means."

  "Anchored?"

  "A Gatekeeper so to speak." Vespera explained. "A High Demon of the Spatial Lineage. He is physically hiding inside the chaotic turbulence of the Rift's mouth. He acts as a living doorstop. As long as he channels his energy, the wound in the sky cannot heal."

  Thyra frowned. As if reading her thoughts, Vespera continued.

  "You can't hit him without having good mastery of the void." Vespera scoffed. "He is phased so to speak. He exists between the layers of reality. Unless you have someone who can walk into the void and drag him out... he is invincible."

  Vespera looked over at Li Yu and signaled towards him. They convened in the war room an hour later.

  The plan was simple but the risks were astronomical.

  "I will go up there," Li Yu said as he was pointing to the center of the Rift on the map. "I will enter the spatial turbulence, find this Gatekeeper in the 1st or 2nd layer of the void and kill him. He should be somewhere in there, I can’t imagine they have someone that can go to the third layer and isn’t using them to kill with. Once he dies, the rift should destabilize."

  "And when it destabilizes?" Signe asked. "The energy release will be catastrophic. You need to make sure you escape right away."

  "I can survive the void. I believe in my abilities to escape." Li Yu said. "But the fortress..."

  He looked at Thyra.

  "You need to evacuate. Take the army. Take the wounded. Pull everyone back whatever place you see fit. Keep monitors on everyone for a while just in case. Best to keep them from going around the continent and spreading somehow. If the Gatekeeper dies, this entire coast might get wiped clean by the backlash. If he is too powerful for me to defeat, you will also have to run."

  Thyra nodded slowly. "It is the sensible choice. We cannot risk the main force if the sky falls. I will organize the retreat immediately."

  "Good," Li Yu said. "I'll go in alone. If things go wrong, I can run. I have means of escape that you don't."

  "No," a voice cut in.

  It wasn't Thyra. Signe stood up. Her face was set in stone. Behind her were Captain Kara and the forty Valkyries. They were guarding the perimeter of the room and all of them stepped forward in unison.

  "I am not leaving," Signe said.

  "Signe," Li Yu warned. "This isn't the time for this. If the rift collapses, you will most likely die."

  "I am the Grand Marshall of this sector!" Signe slammed her hand on the table. The wood cracked. "I let this happen for months! I let a demon wear my skin for four months! I let my sisters be corrupted! I let my soldiers die!"

  Her eyes burned with tears of rage and shame.

  "I have failed the Dominion. I have failed my oath to these lands. I will not run away while you, a guest, a stranger, clean up my mess!"

  She walked around the table and faced Li Yu. He could see her eyes were clear and had a blazing inferno in them.

  "I will stay," Signe vowed. "Me and my Valkyries. We will hold the ground here. If demons try to rush out while you fight the Gatekeeper, we will stop them. If the Gatekeeper is too strong, we will hold him back while you escape. We either die here or we all leave together."

  "We stay," Captain Kara echoed. The forty guards slammed their spears into the ground.

  THOOM.

  "This isn't about you being the Young Master," Signe looked into his eyes. "This is about my honor. Do not deny me this, Li Yu. Let me regain my soul. Let us regain our honor."

  Li Yu looked at her again. He saw the fire in her eyes growing even brighter. Thyra was right. This wasn't the demon's influence. This was the pride of a Grand Marshall who had been humiliated and wanted blood.

  He looked at Thyra to see what her thoughts were. He was, afterall an outsider. He knew that they couldn’t really afford for Signe to throw away her life like this.

  The Ice Dragon sighed. She looked at her friend with a mixture of sadness and respect.

  "She is right, Li Yu," Thyra said softly. "If she leaves now, she will never forgive herself. Her dao heart will shatter."

  Li Yu looked back at Signe.

  "If the rift collapses or if things get too chaotic," Li Yu said, "I might not be able to save you."

  "Then I die as myself. Making a difference.” Signe said without any hesitation.

  Li Yu held her gaze for a long moment. Finally, he nodded.

  "Fine," Li Yu said. "The army retreats. Signe and the Valkyries stay as the rearguard. But you listen to me. If I say run... you run. If i tell you to go hide by that rock over there, you do it. I am taking command of this operation."

  Signe smiled. It was a brilliant, dangerous smile.

  "Yes, Young Master."

  Li Yu groaned. "We really need to work on the name."