Spyro groaned and held his head as he flew into the dormitory's halls, the sounds of yelling and insults past tossed still ringing in his ears. Who knew one strategy meeting would be this stressful? Well, he had, for he'd had his fair share of meetings like this before. For some reason, this one just drained the life out of him. Maybe it was the stress from the unforeseen events of all these past few days: their mission's derailment, Kaos being possessed, and their loss today.

Maybe it was the high-strung tension that rang in the room, but he was sick of playing mediator. Spyro closed the door and sighed as he fell to the floor on all fours, but quickly scrambled away as it creaked open.

"You doin' alright, Spy?" Gill Grunt asked as he crept in the halls and slowly closed the door behind him. "That meeting got pretty intense."

"I, I'm alright," Spyro replied as he hung his head. His temples throbbed, and Spyro groaned as he massaged the pain away with some healing magic. "I, I'm sorry I couldn't calm things down there."

"Don't blame yourself, little buddy." Gill Grunt patted Spyro on the back. "It's been a tough day for all of us. You did the best you could." Gill Grunt sighed and turned back to the door. "Seems like nobody's in the mood to listen right now."

"You got that right."

Spyro and Gill Grunt both sighed, but turned their heads as a distant, sobbing noise came from down the halls. Well, Spyro wondered where Chihiro went during the briefing—guess there was his answer. His heart sank a little at the sound of her dulled, strained cries, still rife with anguish even after all the time that passed. Now that Spyro thought about it, she'd never witnessed a death like this in the field. They had their close calls, but they always bounced back one way or the other…

And the time they almost didn't, well…

"Speaking of taking things pretty hard, I've never seen Chihiro cry like that before," Gill Grunt remarked, parting ways from Spyro's side. "I'd better talk to her—"

"No, let me," Spyro said, holding out a paw in front of Gill Grunt. "I, well—"

Gill Grunt nodded and stepped away. A twinkle sparkled in his eyes as he turned for the door.

"I understand. You go talk to her, and I'll see if I can't calm things down back there."

Spyro nodded as Gill Grunt closed the door, and flew off in a slow pace, as if his body piloted itself. Its target was the sound of her cries as they grew louder and louder. It led him to her dorm room on the right, where they sounded off the loudest, and Spyro jiggled the knob. Chihiro only continued to sob and sniffle, so he sighed and knocked.

"Hey, Chi? It's me, Spyro!" Spyro shouted as he leaned against the door. "Can I come in for a bit?"

The sound of frantic sniffling started to dull, followed by the sound someone wiping themselves off, and finally, a small, strained voice.

"Come in."

Spyro nodded and opened the door.

Sure enough, Chihiro sat on the bed with her front to the wall and her head hung, all curled up and sniffling still.

Spyro winced and flew over to the bed. He quickly set down and gently wrapped a wing around Chihiro's back. She lifted her head a little and turned to meet his glance, her face still just as red and puffy as it became when the Machine Ghost died in her arms. Maybe even worse, if he considered how her hands trembled still, and her entire face was wet and sticky. Heck, the tears still fell even as she looked at him!

"Oh, Chi," Spyro whispered, unable to do anything else. Just the sight of her so upset left his heart stuck in the depths. She gasped and turned away from him, and Spyro frantically flapped his wings. "No, no, don't turn away, it's, ah—"

Spyro shook his head, summoned a cloth and gently wiped away her face, cleaning off the tears and snot. She grunted a little, and pouted a bit as the cloth's fabric brushed against her eyes and cheeks. When it disappeared, she just stood in silence.

She watched as it disappeared into sparkles right between her and Spyro, but as the last of the sparkles disappeared, she sniffed for one moment and threw herself into Spyro's grip the next! She moved so fast that he barely had time to steady himself before they both fell on the floor. Her shaking skin, and the cloth of clothes left damp by her tears hit his scales.

More cold, damp sensations fell against his shoulder as she buried her face into his shoulder and wailed. She cried as loud as she could—not like she did back at the vault, for her voice strained so much that she could barely gather any volume. In the silence of it all, her voice seemed like the loudest thing there was.

"I, I, it's all my fault!" Chihiro wailed, and squeezed Spyro tight as she curled closer into his grip. "If, I just got there sooner, if I just fought harder, if I stopped him back then, maybe, maybe he'd, he'd still be—"

"I know, Chi, I know.”

Spyro stroked her back as he wrapped both his front paws around her and hugged her right back. Chihiro whimpered a little, but her sniffling and sobbing quelled itself as she pushed her head into his shoulders. A small hiccup came from her as he hugged her further.

Chihiro squeezed him one last time, unwrapped herself just a bit from his grip, and sighed as she fully pulled away. The two of them just sat on the floor. They didn’t even look at each other, instead focusing their glances down at the bed's tossed blankets.

"Spyro… Does this happen a lot for you?" she asked, her voice still barely a pained whisper.

Spyro winced, but steeled himself and nodded. "Unfortunately. We try our hardest, try our best to save everyone we can, but sometimes, we're just a little too late, come up a little too short…" Spyro sighed and folded his wings. "Sometimes, we just can't save everyone, no matter how hard we try."

"It hurts, doesn't it?"

Spyro lifted his head and glanced at Chihiro, but she shied away from his look and turned aside.

"How do you even deal with all that?"

Well, that was a loaded question, wasn't it? Spyro pursed his snout shut, and hummed for a moment before he took a breath. He pulled his head aside, a bit uncertain as to whether he should speak to Chihiro or not. After all, she was already so upset, and surely this could easily make her feel worse, right? Well, it was worth a shot.

"Well, every time it happens, I want to blame myself. I want to get angry at myself, at someone else, at anything. I guess it's easier to think that there was something that could've been done, but sometimes, things don't work out the way I'd like. It's hard, I know." Spyro lifted his head up and turned back to Chihiro. "But, I guess, even if I can't save them, I can save as many as I can. I'll mourn the ones I couldn't, pick myself up, and try my hardest for the beings still here, in honor of all the beings I couldn't save."

Chihiro stirred a little, shuffled her weight to the left, and Spyro tilted his head.

"Does that make sense?"

Chihiro nodded and wiped her face off a little.

"Yeah, it does."

Chihiro gulped and hopped off the floor. her hair fluttered, but quickly rested at her shoulders. She glanced to the wall, her lips now steeled. Though her eyes were still red and puffy, that sparkle of determination shone in them like it always did.

"I, I don't want any more beings to end up like he did."

Chihiro took a breath, stormed towards the door, and yanked it open with such force that a cold burst of wind flew in! The whole air chilled around her as she summoned a sword, and she raised it to the air as she entered the halls. That same blue glow that always came from her spellcasting trickled around her, lighting her veins in a bright shade of blue, a sight of energy after so long.

"So while I'm still here, I'm gonna stop that Arkilles guy, no matter what! Even if it's the last thing I do, I'll stop him!" she vowed before she turned around with sword still in hand. "Where's everyone else? We need to get ourselves together and figure out how to stop this guy!"

Spyro winced, the faint memories of the earlier meeting tension still in memory, but he nodded and flew off after Chihiro nonetheless.

"We were actually holding a strategy meeting in the lower decks," Spyro explained before he scratched his horn, "but, uh, it hasn't been going well."

"Take me there, now."

Fire burned in Chihiro's eyes, and not the metaphorical kind. No, hot blue flames masked around her normally brown eyes, and tinted her skin in a cool cyan tone that burned into Spyro's heart! In fact, just her gaze—cool and tough without relent as she held her sword's hilt the tightest she could—made him burn as well. The Chihiro who cried her eyes out disappeared, and a new determination flooded her. Just being in her presence even left Spyro shaking for once, which said a lot!

Spyro nodded and teleported them off in a flash. Purple light enveloped them for moments before it disappeared, and dropped them off in the lower decks. Spyro didn't even need to open his eyes, for just the sounds of screaming and arguing were enough to show that he arrived.

He opened his eyes at last as the light faded, and the first thing he did was lean aside, for a gold coin shot towards him and embedded itself in the wall!

There before him, crammed into the biggest room they could manage, was almost every member of their team: the Elder Elementals sans Tree Rex and Ninjini on one end; the rest of those portal masters sans 'Enehana and Jorden on the other, and in the back; every other Skylander not named Whirlwind crowded together. They all curled around a simple wooden table practically on the verge of splitting in half. The calmer members of their ranks tense as they pulled a few more… Spirited types away before they knocked anyone's teeth out.

Gill Grunt hid in the back and winced at the sight of Spyro. Spyro sighed in response. Looks like Gill's mediating session hadn't gone quite as planned, either.

"I'm telling ya, we need to hit 'em where it hurts!" Terrafin cried as he slammed his fist against the table, cracking its surface. He snarled as wide as he could. His pearly white fangs glistened with hot yellow light that shone in his eyes, and gave them a bit of a murderous glint. "We're going back to that creep's hideout and taking him in!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Trigger Happy cried as he bounced in the background and spun around his gold pistols. "I wanna blast some robot heads off! Like, ka-pow, ka-pow!"

Trigger Happy pulled the trigger and fired off a few more golden coins. Everyone else grimaced and ducked as the coins ricocheted around the room and embedded themselves in the walls.

"That's preposterous!" Vatra cried, oblivious to how Inochi and Sihiri tried to pull him away as he slammed his hands on the table in turn. "We've already tried to storm his hideout once. Surely, he probably thinks we'll go back there again! He'll likely have moved bases or upped the security. Hell, he's probably already prepared his fair share of traps lying in wait! It'd be much better to—"

"To do what?" Terrafin pushed himself against the table, and cracked it further as his face brushed right against Vatra's. "Run around Skylands looking for something to magically stop him? Hate to say it, but we don't have all the time in the world like you think we do!"

"Rushing in head-first is going to get us all killed! What good will that do anyone?"

"What do you care about that? You're all already dead!"

A few gasps came from the portal masters' and the Elder Elementals' corners, yet Vatra hardly reacted, or so it seemed. His hair started to flare despite the lack of air, and a scent of burning started to waft in the room. In fact, just the tiniest hints of smoke came from his fingertips as he dug then into the wood, kindling it slightly.

"Take that back," was all Vatra hissed out as he dug his hands further.

Terrafin scoffed and crossed his arms. "Why do I have to? It's true. Hell, I'd say all those years sleeping in those weird crystals of yours must have messed up your head!"

"Damn shark!"

Vatra threw a punch, nearly hitting Terrafin's face if Inochi and Sihiri hadn't pulled him away. Just before Terrafin could react, Gill Grunt and Stealth Elf both yanked him away as well! The two still struggled, and their eyes narrowed and glared with sharp looks amplified by the light overhead. More importantly, they didn't even lock off of each other! Even though they were both held back tight, neither party wanted to give in!

"Let me go!" Terrafin shouted. "This guy's gotten on my last nerve!"

"Cool it, Terrafin!" Stealth Elf shouted back.

Gill Grunt grunted as Terrafin's fist hit him on the head, but he still squeezed tight. "Yes, calm down! All this arguing getting us nowhere!"

"He was the one who started it!" Terrafin cried, pointing to Vatra. "Tell that to him!"

"Vatra, what have I told you about that attitude?" Sihiri scolded.

Vatra grunted and pushed away just enough to lean forward. "I'm telling you, my plan's obviously the better one here! Why are you listening to that meat-headed shark over me?"

Terrafin's eyelid twitched, but Gill Grunt and Stealth Elf pulled him back once more before he could launch forward.

"We aren't, Vatra!" Inochi pleaded. "We just want you to calm down a little so we can discuss this properly!"

"Why should I do that? We've got the fate of Skylands on our hands and Arkilles still at large! This is the least suitable time for idiotic ideas!"

"Says the guy who doesn't have any idea what we should be doing!" Terrafin shot back.

Eruptor scoffed and crossed his arms. "I'm with Fin on this one. All this sitting around is making my lava boil!"

"No, Vatra's right," Nemir said. "We have to calm down and think this through properly!"

The Elder Elementals backed away as the arguing grew louder. It rumbled the chamber as the shouting flew once more! Snarls and frowns were on pretty much every face as they all leaned in, raring to fight.

In that moment, Vatra and Terrafin finally freed themselves of their allies’ grips! They jumped in to fight, but quickly jumped back as a sword made of magic smashed through the table between them! They backed away as the table's halves collapsed, and glanced back to the door.

There, Spyro carefully backed away as Chihiro hung her head. She snarled while her fist twitched. The blue glow that once surrounded her dyed itself red with heated warmth, and her clothes and hair fluttered with rage. She breathed in, lifted up her head, and…

"What the hell do you all think you're doing?" Chihiro screamed, pointing a finger at the group.

A few gasped and excused themselves to their corners, and others breathed sighs of relief at the final conclusion.

In the center, Vatra and Terrafin relented and crossed their arms. They both stood stoic as Chihiro stormed up to them, yet neither picked a fight or caused a fuss. They just stood, silent.

"The Machine Ghost, he didn't die so we could argue and make a big fuss about who's right and who's not! We can't just stand around and bicker when lives are on the line!" Chihiro shot glares at both Vatra and Terrafin. Her eyes glowed blue, and they backed away and gulped. "We need to plan our next course of action to stop Arkilles right now, and that's final! No fits, no fuss, just planning."

Chihiro stomped her foot, shaking the room just a bit.

"Understood?"

Both Vatra and Terrafin cringed for a moment, but finally gulped down their pride with a nod. They both mumbled in agreement and raised a brow at Chihiro. When she nodded, they both lifted up the broken halves of the table, and pieced them together long enough for Chihiro to seal it back together with magic. The three of them gathered at its sides, and the others crowded around the rest.

With them all together, Chihiro crafted a paper out of magic and laid it on the table.

"Now, there's no doubting that Arkilles is going to try and find another way to Arkus. He's probably begun work on repairing that Conquertron and extracting the map as we speak," Chihiro said.

Terrafin laid a hand on the table. "And that's why we've gotta storm his base again and knock him out—"

"BUT, we've already tried storming his base once. He probably would expect us to try that again, and surely he'd have protective measures in place for that." Chihiro glanced aside as Terrafin reluctantly removed his hand. "Therefore—"

"We simply find an alternate means of stopping him!" Vatra proclaimed. "I'm sure knocking down a few of his armies would suffice."

"Not quite. That's only going to slow him down, not stop him, and he'd probably expect something like that too."

Terrafin and Vatra both glanced at Chihiro and raised their brows. Even the others around her whispered and gawked in confusion.

"So what are we supposed to do?" the two of them asked.

Chihiro breathed in and out, and held her hands over the paper.

"I propose a different route: we beat him to Arkus ourselves, take out him armies, and catch Arkilles right as he gets there so we can stop him for good!"

A few gasps and nervous bits of chatter raised in the air, and Vatra and Terrafin were both left to gawk.

"Alright, that sounds all good in theory and all, Chi, but I think you're forgettin' something," Terrafin said as he crossed his arms. "How're we supposed to get to Arkus without a map?"

"Thought about that too." Chihiro parted her hands, and an illustration of a robot appeared on the paper underneath her. "Theoretically, those Arkeyan robots still in the vault could have the map in their databanks. Once we've got the Dread-Yacht fixed up, we can go back, and send a team in there to hack them and get the instructions. Granted, it might take a little while to find a robot with the map's location, not to mention it could be dangerous in this current state."

A soft cough came from behind, and all three heads turned back to Nemir as he strode forward.

"If you'll pardon my interruption, I believe I may have an easier solution," Nemir said as he raised his hand.

"Go on."

Prompted on by Chihiro's nod, Nemir cleared his throat. "Back in my homelands, we've all grown up on tales on the Oracle. Now, I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with him—"

"Wait, you mean that Oracle legend?" Sihiri added in from the back. "The one of the near-omnipotent being who knows practically everything there is to know and more?"

Nemir smiled and nodded. "Indeed, he knows basically everything. I'd know, for I've communed with him personally, as have every king, every high priest… Anyone who's ever held a position of power in my homeland has sought his wisdom, and he has never once steered us wrong. I have no doubt in my mind that he can guide us to Arkus."

"Then, where is this place?" Chihiro asked.

"Well…" Nemir hummed and rubbed his chin. "Back in my time, my homelands were known as the Dinya Jîyan û Mirin—the border between the dead and the living. I'm sure it's undergone a change in name since those times…"

A door creaked open, and turned everyone's eyes to the back, Cali pushed open the door and stepped in, curiousity in her eyes and a flick in her ears.

"Dinya Jîyan û Mirin? I know that place!" Cali added. "Well, it's called Molekin Mountain now. See, in all the years you've been gone, a bunch of Molekin moved there, and, well… We can save that for later!" Cali shook her head and grinned. "I should have a map there in my quarters! We can get right there once repairs are done!"

"Is that so?" Nemir asked, raising a brow.

"Then that's where we're going!" Chihiro cried, cracking her knuckles.

§The next morning§

Dawn just started to crack, but nobody got a single ounce of sleep. In spite of this, the island was still as lively as it was the night prior! Light poured over and painted the world in bright shades of pink and orange, warmed the chilling airs around, and roused the birds into singing their songs as the sounds of hard work rustled the air! Over on the Dread-Yacht, the faint echoes of mechanical works came from within, a symphony of buzzing drills, creaking wrenches, and pounding hammers amplified by the sounds from aside!

There the Machine Ghost's body laid. It was still in quite the massive amount of disrepair, but it was at least better than it was last night.

Bouncer and 'Enehana busied themselves as they straightened out its body parts with their technomancy, stretched out arms and limbs like accordions, and smoothed out their metal the best they could. Down below, Hot Head, Spyro, and Vatra used their flames as torches, sealing in new metal. Jorden and Terrafin pried out old parts far too damaged to be salvaged so Trigger Happy and Chihiro could pop in new ones. The metal once burnt and disarrayed at least regained some of its color thanks to Whirlwind and Luz painting it back again.

At the bottom of it all, Ermit huffed and sat down as he pushed a box of tools their way. His clothes were mended some, and a few of his bruises faded while his cuts all formed their scabs. The bandages that covered his head and body, and the crutches that laid to his side showed he was still fairly worn. Yet, there he sat, striking his frazzling beard and adjusting his dented nose ring while handing off the tools.

"Are you sure you want to help, Ermit?" Chihiro asked as she levitated a wrench from him. "You still need a lot of rest before you can recover."

"It's my robot, ain't it? I can make sure it's getting repaired to my liking if I want!" Ermit shouted. "Now hurry up and take the wrench already!"

Chihiro rolled her eyes and levitated the wrench above her. She tossed it over the shoulder to where a few of the other Elder Elementals tightened in some new tech. A faint clunk and a shout of pain came from the air, and she gasped as she glowed blue.

"Sorry!" Chihiro cried as she teleported to the back.

Ermit sighed, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. His frowns and disapproving glances turned a little more somber as he glanced over the robot. "That bloody ghost king or whatever better be taken care of when all this is over," he mumbled. "I'm not spending the rest of my life…"

"What was that, Ermit?"

Ermit jumped up and yowled out before he doubled over and clutched his side! As he fell to his knees, Spyro gasped and lifted Ermit up. He levitated Ermit's crutches onto his back as he guided Ermit back to the Dread-Yacht.

"Actually, never mind. I'll take you back to the infirmary," Spyro said. "I think Flynn's about ready to shove off, anyways!"

A wave of feedback rumbled in the air, shaking leaves off the trees and sending birds into flight! Everyone stopped what they did to cover their ears, tools dropping to the grass. They peered up as a megaphone emerged from the Dread-Yacht, its crimson color turning brighter against the sunlight.

"Alright, everyone! This is your dashing captain speaking!" Flynn shouted over the megaphone. "The best airship in all of Skylands is finally done its repairs, which means we're setting off for Molekin Mountain!"

With a nod, all eyes turned to a simple trailer hooked into the Dread-Yacht's back. Everyone else skidded away as Sihiri, 'Enehana, Bouncer, Ninjini, and Chihiro all surrounded the Machine Ghost's body. Strained, pained groaning came from the team as they held out their hands, and an orange and purple light surrounded the Machine Ghost's body.

It flew up and carefully inched towards the trailer's open door, its team of movers inching behind the whole way. As it slipped into the trailer, its glow faded, and it rested down while the quintet slumped down and panted. They all rolled down the trailer's door and sighed as they pushed it shut.

With the last bits of strength in them, they rushed up the Dread-Yacht's gangplank and laid down as the gangplank itself shut. The Dread-Yacht sputtered below them, and they all beamed as it took flight! It sent leaves and grass flying in the dawny pink skies as it soared through a thicket of clouds and past the sun, finally disappearing into the skies as the sun reached its zenith.

§

"'When the jet water settles,'" Glumshanks read off the worn book that laid underneath his fingertips, its pages illuminated by the candlestick to his right, "'add the crushed spell bells and ash to the brew—'"

The door to Glumshanks' chambers slammed open! On instinct, he snatched the book off the table and shoved it into a nearby drawer. He slammed the drawer shut just as the door opened to its fullest and filled the worn chamber with light.

Glumshanks leaped from his seat. "Lord Kaos—" he shouted, before he stopped himself as he found one of those Arkeyan soldiers standing in his doorway.

His heart stopped for a moment, as if he still expected Lord Kaos—but no, Lord Kaos was still bedridden, and probably would be for the next few weeks at least. Glumshanks wasn't sure what happened back at the vault, but whatever it was, it left Lord Kaos in the worst state Glumshanks ever saw him in, and that Conquertron in complete disrepair. It was a miracle they were even able to bring it in without it falling apart and disappearing into the skies!

Besides, right now, Lord Kaos wasn't Lord Kaos. He was that ghost.

"Butler? Butler!" the Arkeyan soldier called.

Glumshanks shook his head and nodded. "Yes?"

"Our resplendent Arkeyan emperor-king wishes to see you in the medicinal bay," the robot echoed, its voice as cold and robotic as its metal body. "Arrive there post-haste."

The robot disappeared down the halls, and Glumshanks glanced back to where he hid the potion he worked on. He almost contemplated bringing it with him, but no, it wouldn't be any use to him or Lord Kaos, not in its current state.

So, he just left the incomplete brew in his desk and trailed down the halls, his eyes not lifting from the floor. He wasn't entirely sure if this ghost really was that old Arkeyan king Glumshanks read about, or just somebody with a serious case of mistaken identity, but Glumshanks knew one thing, and it was that he couldn't bear to see Lord Kaos pushed out of his own body. The Lord Kaos that stood before him was no different than somebody wearing his skin, and Glumshanks missed hearing the young lord's over-the-tops schemes and squeals about the doom of all Skylands. He even began to miss all the insults that got flung at him on a seemingly daily basis!

Glumshanks sighed as his eyes drifted to the medicinal bay's door. He pushed it open to find Lord Kaos laid on a bed, seemingly asleep while two more Arkeyan robots changed the bandages that dressed his many wounds. The swelling and bruising that covered his body went down some, but his legs were still wrapped in tight casts, and he groaned and moaned as he twisted in his sleep, as if just laying down was still excruciatingly painful for him. Seeing him in this state was almost as painful as hearing that ghost’s voice from his lips, and Glumshanks couldn't help but wince.

The slight sound of his voice brought both robots' eyes to him, but they didn't make a sound. they only left the room, and slowly and quietly closed the door behind them until only Glumshanks and Lord Kaos remained.

Lord Kaos grunted. His teeth clenched and ground as he twisted in his bed, but finally, he forced an eye open and scoffed.

"There you are, Grabblerabble," Lord Kaos groaned in that awful man's voice. "It took you long enough to arrive. I'd have chewed you out if not for the awful state I'm in."

Lord Kaos groaned again as he turned on his side, and Glumshanks crept up to him in turn.

"Is there anything you need, Lord Kaos?" Glumshanks asked—but before he could come any further, Lord Kaos slapped Glumshanks' hands away.

"To begin with, do not address me by that rat's name! I am your radiant Arkeyan emperor-king, Arkilles, and nobody else!" Lord Kaos hissed, a bit of venom in his narrowed red eyes.

Glumshanks drew his hands back, warily nodding the whole time. The slap barely made contact, yet it stung so badly. Was it from the presence of that strange man in Lord Kaos's body? Perhaps.

"Second of all—" Lord Kaos turned on his other side and coughed "—how are repairs on the Conquertron going?"

"We have the best mechanics in our armies repairing it as we speak. However, it was still extremely badly damaged. It'll probably take…" Glumshanks glimpsed down at his fingers and hummed as he counted them off. "At least a week before it's fully operational again, and that's being generous!"

Lord Kaos growled and shook his arms in the air the best he could. "Well, tell them to hurry it up! I need that map to Arkus right now! I know it's in the databanks somewhere, and—"

Lord Kaos's rant cut short from another coughing fit, and Glumshanks sighed and shook his head.

"We're doing the best we can, but we only have so many mechanics to spare."

"Then I have a new assignment for you!" Lord Kaos slammed his fist against the bed. "Send out our forces to the Dinya Jîyan û Mirin, look for their high priest, and take them out! We can't have those insolents seeking out their Oracle's guidance! If they do, the plan will be—"

"Dinya Jîyan û Mirin?"

"It's probably called a different name now, so find what it is and search for it! I'd do it myself if I wasn't bedridden because of those, those…"

Lord Kaos pressed his head into his pillow, and mumbled something in a frustrated, undignified manner.

Glumshanks just nodded at the sight. "Alright then, I'll get onto that," Glumshanks said as he reached for the door.

He creaked it open and gulped. His spine shook as he avoided Lord Kaos's gaze…

"Oh, and Grabspanks?"

Glumshanks froze in his place and turned back to Lord Kaos. "Yes?"

"Know your place," Lord Kaos hissed as he shot one last glare at Glumshanks. "I won't tolerate any suspicious actors in my armies."

Glumshanks clenched his teeth. The potion he was making flashed back into his mind, but he forced a smile and nodded nonetheless.

"I, I'll be sure to keep that in mind… Emperor-King Arkilles."

Glumshanks slowly stepped out, closed the door behind him, and took a small breath. That name already turned to ashes in his mouth, so sickening with their burnt taste. Did that ghost already catch onto Glumshanks' ploys from before? Glumshanks hoped not. So, he strode down the halls, withdrew his tablet from his pocket, and chiseled in his latest assignment under a long list of added assignments brought on by Lord Kaos's injuries.

"Next up, send out those Arkeyan soldiers to do negotiations with the monarchs of Tempest Towers. Hmm, actually, that gives me an idea."