Sitting behind a tower with a beer bottle in his hand, a slacking Tachyonian soldier looked up to the sky with a tipsy mind. Alone with no one to catch him, he unguardedly smiled at the clouds, letting his drunk imagination entertain him with those floating, fluffy cottons as props. Some clouds appeared like little animals, while others were seen as funny faces.

  But then, there was one tiny cloud, which was drifting at an odd speed. It was a lone cloud, just barely below the lowest of other clouds. The drunk soldier noticed it and said:

  “hehehe…*hic*, that cloud is runnin’ away… must have not paid the in-cloud tax… hehehe… *hic*”

  The tiny cloud went on to fly past the city’s edge and toward the forest, where it then strangely descended behind a hill. The soldier, already so drunk, looked at it confusedly and expressed:

  “Huh…?”

  “Did it… *hic*… just hide itself…?”

  He grabbed the beer bottle and said to it: “Damn, this… *hic*… this local beer really made me see unreal things! The guy really wasn’t lying, huh...? *hic*”

  “Whatever… cheers!”, he cheered to the cloud and chugged some more.

  .

  .

  .

  Behind the hill where the suspicious cloud descended, anchors were fired and lodged into the ground, as the Strife Striders successfully reached a safe landing site after sneaking past an entire city in broad daylight. Over the control panel, Captain Odya closed her eyes and released a huge sigh of relief while her finger still rested on the anchor button.

  “It… actually worked…”, she relievedly said.

  “See? I told you that none will catch you”, tiny Matina hologram talked to her.

  “But how? We flew way too fast just now”, Odya expressed. “I initially thought you were joking when you urged me to speed up”.

  “That’s what's special about our light projections. The disguise was seamless enough that you’re free to move however you like”, Matina humbly bragged.

  “I really hoped that none from the city saw that”, Odya said as they stepped out of the bridge room.

  On the deck, Captain Odya and Matina saw the Strife Striders standing together while waiting for them to join. Approaching closer, they overheard Lorian talking to Alaric as he gazed out at the trees surrounding the airship:

  “Man, I never missed looking at Everbloom’s tree so much”.

  “I understand, kid. This is what it feels like when I first came back to Everbloom”, Alaric responded.

  Corley interjected: “Oh yeah! I still remember us dropping you off near Ninova. Come to think of it, we also landed in the middle of the forest just like this one, just that it was nighttime at the time”.

  “Heh, felt like it was only yesterday…”, Alaric calmly expressed.

  With their captain and adjutor joining in, they focused their lights onto them and readied themselves to hear them speak.

  “Alrighty, righty. So, we’ve reached our first stop: the port city of Nova”, Odya freshly started.

  “Now, due to security reasons, and the fact that this is not our main destination, I proposed that only Lorian should accompany Alaric to the city. The rest of us shall remain here”.

  “Oh? So not even you are coming with us?”, Lorian asked.

  She said: “Yeah… After all, I don’t see the need for all of us to disembark together here. Besides, with both of you having local faces, it would be easier for you to blend in with the people there”.

  “Your captain’s right”, Matina supported. “Since it has long been occupied, Nova pretty much received no visitors from the outside other than from similarly invaded places or Tachyon itself, and even those were just the military or their logistic workers”.

  She continued: “Anyway, I’ll be helping to conceal this airship’s presence while you leave, so you wouldn’t need to worry about us. As for how you’ll sneak in, I’ll guide both of you via Lorian’s contact bracelet”.

  “Well, I guess we shall get going now”, Alaric said before he left with Lorian into the forest.

  As promised, Matina used the contact bracelet’s telepathic function to guide the two of them toward the city, while evading the patrols near the city’s edge. Everything was easier for them as compared to when they tried to enter Ninova back then, partly thanks to Matina’s direct guidance, and partly because Nova was less strictly guarded due to its safe distance from where all the ground attacks were going.

  Mere 30 minutes later, they set foot on the city’s street through an unguarded alley behind some houses at the northern edge, and casually blended in as if they belonged there.

  “So… this is what Nova looks like”, Lorian commented as he looked around.

  Being part of Everbloom, its buildings were mostly made of stone bricks and timbers, similar to what was seen in Ninova. Even though he had never set foot in this particular city, there was a sense of cultural familiarity in seeing the stone brick roads and the tightly built shops around them. However, seeing past the basics, signs of foreign occupation were almost immediately noticed by both. Out-of-place signal towers and antennas were oddly placed on the roofs, while high-tech metal boxes were stacked on the sideroad; all of which were unmistakably Tachyonian from style alone.

  “Nova… Ninova… Hey, Alaric, have you wondered why both cities were so similar in name?”, Lorian curiously asked.

  “Well, of course I do”, Alaric proudly replied. “Nova was founded first, and its history stretches way before the two empires were even established”.

  Entering the fairly busier main street, he continued: “A long time ago, the areas around the Sea of Nova were the most prosperous region in all of Equilibria. It was, after all, situated at a crossroads between the east and west, back when trade between the two sides was a thing”.

  “What started as a small trading stop here on the mouth of Goldilocks River slowly grew into the trade city named Nova, and it quickly became wealthy by placing itself as the main hub where all goods travelling by sea flow”.

  “And then, as Rustbed began developing thanks to their rich amount of resources, another city was founded at the intersection between the Venusian and Martian rivers, originally called ‘New Nova’ before someone shortened it to Ninova”.

  “Ninova became the hub for all goods going from the desert to this city and vice versa. From then on, the two cities became well known as the most important cities in all of Everbloom”.

  “Wow… you know a lot about this”, Lorian was amazed.

  “How could I not? My family, the house of Vither, grew wealthy and influential thanks to them getting involved in the trading business here”, Alaric bragged.

  Lorian grew excited: “Really?! Then, you must be left with a lot of inheritance in this city, right?”,

  “Well… as to that…”, Alaric paused, his face turned solemn.

  “I’ll tell you more at the graveyard”.

  As they continued walking, they passed many old places Alaric had fond memories of. There was his middle school, Coronae Elite School, still intact with its traditional style, but with students wearing Tachyonian school uniform. There was also the old merchant guild hall, which had been sealed off and appeared abandoned for a long time. Finally, there was the landmark of Nova, Protective Angel Grand Temple, which seemed to have been turned into an administrative building, with the iconic 20-foot protective angel statue on its front yard now replaced by a 20-foot flagpole flying a Tachyonian flag.

  Finally, they reached the graveyard’s compound, right across the street from the converted temple. From afar, it looked like a massive grassy mound in the middle of the city, neatly sprinkled with white tombstones. Surrounding it, on the other hand, were metal fences that guarded the dead’s resting place, but they were in such a sorry state when the two reached it. Just like the dead were left behind, so too were the maintenance of the fences and the gate, it seemed.

  Alaric pushed the unlocked gate lightly, just enough for the two to slip in, fearing it might just fall off its rusty hinges. As they threaded along the old pathway, Lorian looked around to see cracked tombstones overgrown with weeds all over. Their names were barely legible; some had only their base left. He found it very bleak, as if the people still living here no longer cared about their deceased ones.

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  “Why does this place look so abandoned?”, Lorian asked somberly, “Do they not use this graveyard anymore?”.

  “If I had to guess, it seems like this city has fully abided by the occupiers' rule and customs, because in Tachyon, they do not bury their dead. In fact, they don’t even believe in venerating the dead. After cremation, the ashes would simply be disposed of or turned into fertiliser at best”, Alaric said.

  “Huh? That’s… so cold”, Lorian was horrified.

  Alaric told him: “You might find it that way, but it's how the people of Tachyon see death. Death is the end, that’s it. For them, what matters is what they did when they were still alive. Any legacy they made, be it the work they did or the achievements they received, is what helps Tachyonians connect to their deceased loved ones emotionally”.

  “Because of the same reasoning, some Tachyonians went ahead further and signed a contract to have their body donated for research, or the more nature-spirited ones would request to have their body buried underneath a sapling in reforestation projects”, he added.

  “Oh… that’s quite a profound way to see it…”, Lorian said.

  “Heh, don’t fall for their benevolence so quickly. The reasoning I just said now was pushed by their corporations so the people would feel better serving them back. Usually, this sort of conversation would end with a promotion to work under their wings with the justification that they could make a legacy with them before they die”, he spat out without holding back.

  Lorian was left speechless after hearing the last sentence. The rollercoaster of coldness, profundity and pettiness wasn’t something Lorian was ready to listen to.

  “Anyway, we’ve arrived”, Alaric said as he stopped before a cluster of tombstones. “All that you see in front of us are the Vithers that died during the Civil War”.

  There were a dozen of them sitting in front of Alaric and Lorian. Just like other tombstones, these too were left without any maintenance.

  Alaric knelt forth and solemnly greeted the lifeless stones: “Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. Your eldest son is finally back home…”

  “Sorry for not returning any sooner. I’ve been travelling all over Equilibria the past decade, trying to fulfil my promises. Some had been checked off the bucket list, while there are still a few that I have yet to complete”.

  “Dad, in case you’re wondering, I’ve found Uncle Tilman and his family in Seirion. They’re now living in Trismagista, and they appear to be doing well there. However, when I met him, he still held a lot of grudges against you and me. So, we ended up only talking for a short while. Aunt Paulina and their children, on the other hand, were a lot more welcoming to me”.

  “Also, I’ve found your former best friend in Tachyon, whom you said had betrayed you during the Civil War. He is now happily married to a Tachyonian woman and works for the Triple I.O. as intelligence advisor for Everbloom and Vaniera operations. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet him in person, since he was guarded all the time”.

  “Apart from those two, I’ve also met many others we used to know who fled Nova during the Civil War. Some moved to other cities in Everbloom, and by now, I have no idea what happened to them, since those places have also been invaded since I last met them. Some went further and lived in Rustbed, or even in other places in Tachyon or Seirion”.

  “Novans are scattered everywhere now, but none share the same identity anymore. For most of them, Nova is now just a bygone memory. They no longer believe it's possible for this city to be like it was before, and have moved on with their life ever since”.

  He then fell silent as Lorian respectfully waited at the side. For a whole minute, the only sound in their ears was the whistling blows of the wind, brushing off their hair and skin while the grass swayed around them. During the time, Lorian gazed at Alaric kneeling before his family’s graves, and thought to himself:

  “So, this must be the burden he had been hiding underneath his usual nonchalant attitude, I wonder?"

  “Indeed. The Novan Civil War left many scars on its survivors, as not only homes were destroyed, but close ties were severed too”, Matina randomly spoke to his mind via the Contact Bracelet.

  Lorian nearly shouted from getting spooked by hers, but he managed to hold on to his mouth before ruining the mood. He said back to Matina with his mind:

  “Matina! Please don’t hop into my mind like that!”

  “Sorry, didn’t expect you to jump from that. I thought you’d gotten used to it”, she replied.

  “Ugh… Anyway, may I ask you something, Matina?”, he said.

  “Sure. Go ahead”, she readied herself.

  “When Alaric talked to his parent just now, did his late parent actually hear everything said? Because, back before we learnt about your true nature, it was said that you guys would bring the message to the dead, so I wonder if it remains true”, he carefully asked.

  “Oh, you’re asking on that topic…”, Matina expressed.

  “In that case, as powerful and advanced as the EOAs are, we do not have the power to talk to the dead. In fact, the topic of death is among the least known knowledge we have, partly due to the heavy consequences it may bring…”

  “But, based on our existing understanding, the dead may be able to hear what the living said, but understanding it is a different story. However, take that only lightly, since the details are still debated”.

  Lorian continued: “So, if that’s the case, should we stop talking to the dead, believing they would listen to us, then?”

  “Listen to me, Lorian”, Matina fondly spoke, “The truth is, it's not important to ponder on such things, since the dead won’t be able to do anything with it anyway. What’s more important is what you expressed, since it shows you the wills you’ve carried from them after their passing”.

  “I’m sorry if it’s too heavy for you... especially since I knew you’ve sometimes tried to talk to your deceased parents back in Mirukafa”, she ended.

  “It’s fine… I can take it. After all, I’ve been meaning to ask you about it since we first met, but I was too afraid to ask back then”, he replied.

  Just as they finished talking via the Contact Bracelet, so too did Alaric finish his moment of silence. He stood up and spoke to Lorian:

  “Well, it’s finally time for me to tell the one thing I promised to share with you. But I suppose that you must have guessed what it’s about by now, right?”

  “Is it about the Civil War?”, Lorian said.

  “Yes, but that’s more to it, too”, he answered.

  “Before the Civil War, Nova was co-ruled by multiple merchant families, who were considered the nobility here. Although rivalries occasionally arose, they were local in nature and were quickly resolved by the merchant guild whose abandoned building we saw before”.

  “But then, everything changed when the two empires set their eyes on us, and it all began from an innocent dream of a thoughtful math teacher teaching at Coronae Elite School”.

  “His name… was Marcus Gray, or as other students and I called him: Mr Gray”.

  Lorian’s eye widened as he became alerted by the name. In his mind, he said: “M-Marcus Gray?! Is this the same person as the one that—”

  “Calm down, Lorian. Remember what I told you: don’t let him know of the current Marcus Gray”, Matina directly interrupted his thought.

  Lorian recalled having heard Matina speak about that back in Mirukafa, right after telling him about the Prodigy. Back then, she didn’t explain why to him, saying that it would break Alaric without further detail. But after hearing how Alaric introduced him, he started to see the reason behind it.

  “Is everything alright, Lorian?”, Alaric stopped and asked.

  Lorian replied: “Oh, it’s… nothing! Please, go on!”.

  Alaric continued: “Anyway… Mr Gray was regarded as a genius mathematics teacher at our school. With his students, he was able to make everyone understand even the hardest topics in the syllabus using his own method, which ended up becoming the new syllabus itself”.

  “When he was not teaching, he would be at his table solving complex mathematical problems or finding alternatives to existing problems. Other teachers used to say how his discoveries would regularly shock the local maths society, that they begged him to stop teaching middle schoolers and focus on becoming a full-time mathematician”.

  “But he refused, because his passion had always been in teaching school teens. In his own words: What use if I were to produce revolutionary theorems, when future generations of our city won’t even understand what I wrote?”

  “The merchant guild then invited him to mingle with them, and they got him hooked on the idea of making future generations of nobles as intellectuals in various fields to increase their prestige among all the other cities in Everbloom. But to achieve this, he realised that maths alone wouldn’t be enough. He needed some inspiration, and for that, he looked to the two empires”.

  “He personally travelled to both Seirion and Tachyon, and gained the trust of many great figures from their universities and institutions. Every time he came back to Nova, not only did he gain new insights, but also new connections with people from both empires”.

  “Unfortunately, he didn’t realise the mistake he had made so far, and that was playing with both empires’ ego. The people of the empires expected loyalty from him, but he showed that he only cared about their knowledge, with nothing in exchange. When they realised that he treated both sides equally, they decided to find their gain in the city by themselves”.

  “From only school visits, their diplomats then began cosying up with the heads of several merchant families in secret. Slowly, rifts were formed, noble families fractured, and commoners rallied up around select few charismatic nobles”.

  “By the time I was 15, Nova was already heavily split between two factions. While everything seemed fine on the surface, the atmosphere among the people was tense. On the street, businesses prioritised customers of the same empire allegiance and would sabotage others who were not on the same side. At schools, schoolkids would get into fights not for childish reasons, but because of their parents’ allegiance. And the teachers, while trying to remain neutral, secretly favoured students who agreed with their allegiance”.

  “The Vither family were staunch Seirion supporters, but I, being only a teenager at the time, felt uncomfortable with the constant mocking and demeaning of the other side. So, I got close to Mr Gray at school, since he was among the only adults who actually remained neutral”.

  “Everything I told you just now came from him on the days leading up to the Civil War. And when I asked him whether he ever regretted opening the door for the two empires to Nova, he said to me:”

  “I never regretted anything, Alaric, especially when it comes to gaining knowledge and insights. But what I do regret is how easily our people fell for their lure. I was so fixated on bringing knowledge that I forgot to give them clarity”.

  “But, we can hope that eventually, after getting soaked in these meaningless rivalries for so long, the people will find the clarity by themselves…”

  “And then… the civil war broke out, and all was lost on that day. Tachyonian rebels broke into our yard and killed twelve of my family members, whose graves are in front of us now. But I managed to slip away and find my way to Mr Gray’s house to hide. However, when I got there, I found his house half blown up with him crying over his lifeless wife and 3-year-old baby inside”.

  “I cried to him: Mr Gray! Help! They’ve killed my family!”

  “When he listened to me, he told me to come close to me and said:”

  “Alaric… I’m sorry… but I’ve truly regretted everything now…”

  “But, don’t lose hope now, Alaric. Because…”

  “By all means necessary, I will fix this. I will find a way to bring justice and peace we deserve”.

  “When I asked him how, he only remained silent. All he did was tell me to hide underneath his floor until I heard him knocking. But when the knocking finally came, I instead found a group of Rustbed Aviators coming to help me, while Mr. Gray himself had gone missing”.

  After finishing his story, he asked: “So, Lorian, I want to ask you something”

  “If you were Mr Gray, would you have regretted it earlier and tried stopping everything from the beginning, or would you wait for everything to fix itself like him?”

  Lorian responded: “If it were me… then…”

  Before he could give out his answer, Matina alerted him of incoming danger:

  “Lorian! Be on your guard, a small group of soldiers is reaching the graveyard! They have a vanguard with them too!”.

  “Wait… isn’t that, Yuna?”