It feels as though Lena is returning home. The Aveyards do not seem at all surprised to see Lena with Caelus at the door, and they don't fuss about with her like a guest needing extra attention; they just let her be and allow her to be comfortably settled in.

Their first attention however, goes straight to Caelus. There's a generous bout of nagging from the ladies—from Celeste's furious hug to Mrs Aveyard's rapid comments about her adoptive son being reckless and not careful—that Caelus can barely get a word in to say that he in fact had not done anything that should worry them. Celeste had been home before him, making it seem as if he'd wandered off somewhere before this.

Celeste eventually turns her attention toward Lena, all while disallowing her brother to move, scanning him from top to bottom for anything amiss. "Lena, he wasn't doing anything stupid, was he?"

Seeing Caelus' conflicted face, Lena offers, "I brought him home, did I not?"

With that, Celeste all but abandons Caelus for Lena instead. "And thank you for that! Come, I have something to show you."

"Come on now, don't bully my poor son." Mr Aveyard walks over to Caelus behind Lena's shoulder, giving her a thumbs up on the way. "Let me check your physicals."

To Lena's surprise, Caelus doesn't protest as he follows Mr Aveyard—Lena now recalls that he's a physician—to the corner of the living room. Celeste tells Lena that she's glad to have the Andromeda Sector's expedition cancelled, even if she is prepared for the worst and expects a battle either way.

"That's why I couldn't get to Caelus—though I assume he'd be with you and Roen, at the very least," Celeste explains. "They herded us out the moment the city-wide alarm went off and they made the decision to announce that we are all to head home from the sudden rift activity. I suppose it's just as well. The authorities can't be controlling us and the state of the city at the same time. I don't usually enjoy rift openings"—she glances at where Caelus is, and Lena can guess why—"but if everyone is back here and home, it's hard to believe that this isn't a miracle granted in our favor."

That may be the case, but Lena can't stop thinking about Viktas' words. Even if the students are now all sent home, it feels temporary, as are all things recently. Something tells her that she's also the one to blame for this mess that the world is in; every single event is clashing in on each other. The rift may as well be dealt with by this evening, and all will be well again for the authorities to reenact their law. It's hard to say, and it's harder still to fathom what's next in store for them. She understands why Celeste believes a pause in whatever the authorities have planned for them is a relief for now, but with everything going on in the world, it's unlikely that they can sit themselves out of this disaster. Sooner or later, the battle will come to their doorstep, whether they like it or not—whether or not they are prepared for it.

And even if Sector Eridanus is safe and currently away from the front lines for now, it doesn't change the fact that one part of their city is engaged in battle. Delphinus is currently suffering, and while it has always been the authorities'—and the professional Catalysts'—duty to handle such situations, Lena can tell that the war will soon be brought to them. With the growing amount of unpredictable events, abnormal rift openings, increased demon activity level and simultaneously the decrease in professionals due to the high fatality rates recently, not to mention humanity's own enemy the Shadow Syndicate, it's as if the world's balance has been shifted.

There's no guarantee that Sector Delphinus will survive this strike, considering the lack of manpower in recent days, with even the stronger A-ranks killed in action from the abnormal spike in demon activity. Lena shudders, remembering the demon attack she herself had been through. She doesn't know how powerful an individual has to be to fend off this sort of threat, but if the students are the best chance the city's got, then they are not at all prepared for this. Besides, if the rift only allows more of these beasts to enter their realm—and makes the demons in the area grow hostile—then she wonders if humanity stands a chance at all.

And what if it all falls? Will Sector Delphinus end up just like Andromeda, with countless of casualties, leaving the city in three fifth of its original condition?

Most of all, how much longer before the rest of the city is destroyed altogether if this keeps up?

Everything seems to be set in motion. Even if Lena now has her memories back and is confident she can use her ability to its full extent, she isn't at all sure what it is she should be altering. Things are happening too rapidly for her to pinpoint and determine a significant event that she can twist the outcome of, and there is simply too much uncertainty, if she's learnt any other things from the past timelines.

Besides, she'd promised Arcana not to do it. At least, not until it's absolutely necessary. They're in a predicament of her own actions as it is, and there's no telling what might happen if she changes just a minor thing at any point of the timeline.

Lena looks past the open balcony right beside the dining room. The Aveyards have yet to replace the glass she'd broke few days ago; a soft breeze is gently sweeping in from the open evening sky. Far away, from halfway across the city, the now active rift stretches and expands ominously over a section of the city, blending in with the darkening sky.

The relief Lena feels upon returning to safety with the Aveyards and in Sector Eridanus is now short lived as she thinks about Roen, who has returned to Sector Delphinus to check on his own family. Anxiously, she wonders if he has managed to reunite with them and evacuate the danger zones.

As it is, battles are evidently underway. Dark objects streak the air and swoop the skyline, whilst charges of power doubtless from either offensive type abilities or government made weapons are fighting back. Some parts of the city shake and explode, and smoke soon follows, marking sites where the most intense of skirmishes are taking place. Sector Delphinus has completely turned into a war zone.

Watching this all unfold from the safety of where she is, Lena can't help but consider if she could be a bit of a help in this war. Her body itches to fight, because isn't that exactly what they as students of Arcane Academy are trained for—to one day battle these otherworldly threats and be of use to society? She'd once ambitiously hoped that she can live the fullest in this lifetime by being a Catalyst. Even if they are years from graduating and becoming professionals, what if things take a turn for the worse, starting today? There will no longer be an academy to graduate from, much less a world to save. And if that is to happen, Lena wants to be out there, fighting with everything she has alongside everyone else.

She may have the power to alter events of the past—thus having a failsafe to fall on—but if her past reiterations have taught her anything, it's that life is as precious as it is fleeting, and for every one of her friends, they only live once. Because of that, they give it their all to fight to live in every single universe, however futile things may seem. This, more than anything, touches the bottom of Lena's heart.

"Do you know if Roen will be joining us for dinner?" Mr Aveyard strides over, asking suddenly, until he notices the grim looks on both Lena and Celeste. It's as if he's treating this as any other ordinary day—and perhaps he is, considering he's not an ability user and just a regular civilian—until he is reminded of the active emergency protocol due to the rift. He looks to the source of the girls' despair. "Right. Sorry. Forgot that he—well..."

Celeste is suddenly aware that Mr Aveyard is alone, and she looks past her father to where they'd been last seen, finding Caelus who appears to be passed out on the couch.

"What's happened?" Lena beats her to ask, standing up immediately, her heart beat frantic.

"Please relax and settle down," Mr Aveyard says placidly. "He's only just sleeping. I've given him a sedative because you know how it gets for him when the mark burns, even if he doesn't admit it. I'm sure you'd rather he be fast asleep under this situation than sneaking out on his own to deal with the pain, so I'm pretty sure I'm doing everyone a favor."

Lena looks to him in astonishment, having a hard time believing Caelus would be this compliant and willing to take the easy card for once. "And he allowed you to do that?"

This earns a laugh from Mr Aveyard, and she is reminded of how Celeste has gotten her warm traits from her father. "You'd be surprise how lazy my son is. He'd never pass up an opportunity to sleep things off, if given the chance. Besides, I believe he's only here because of you, Lena, and we have you to thank for his presence."

"Don't embarrass her like that!" Celeste complains.

Before Lena can interpret that—and possibly misunderstand whatever it is—further, there's a buzz in the room signaling there's someone at the door.

When no one immediately acknowledges it, Lena thinks she must have misheard the interruption until Mr Aveyard jokes, "I thought we weren't expecting Roen?"

"Not a good time, dad," Celeste says, frowning. She, too, seems perplexed at the idea of someone visiting under such conditions, when a part of the city's under attack and the rest of it being put under curfew for safety. "Perhaps it's a mistake."

Apparently not, because the buzzer sounds for a second time, then a third when no one is answering the door.

Celeste is the first to reach her limit. She teleports to the entrance, trying to peer through the opaque material. Some of the more technologically advanced households either announce the identity of the arriving subject as best they can interpret, or have a live video feed the owner can identify, but the Aveyards have none of these, so they simply await in suspense now as Mrs Aveyard give the final encouraging nod for her daughter to open the door.

What awaits the other side is not at all something Lena expects—or, more accurately put, someone.

"Arcana?" Celeste wonders, frozen momentarily into position, before she stills—if possible—even further at the sight of the person beside him once the door is opened wider. "G-Grandmaster Alizeh."

The Grandmasters are the highly respected founders of the City of Leatia, and are powerful ability users rumored be extraordinary and unrivalled, needing no ranking or classification, because their abilities are completely different from what Catalysts possess in the present. Lena has never met any of the legendary said Grandmasters in person, but Grandmaster Alizeh was the closest she's ever came into contact with—from a distance. She'd been a guest during the Arcane Academy Annual Games, and she had been there when the Shadow Syndicate somehow controlled and brought in the dimensional rift on their own as a form of threatening bargaining chip.

All Lena knows of Grandmaster Alizeh is that she is supposedly Caelus' mentor. Every S-class has the luxury of getting assigned to their own Grandmaster based on ability affinity and general passive compatibility because the founders possess something unique beyond the comprehension of researchers. Their powers are irreplaceable despite the fact that special abilities are genetically related, and since the S-class are the only people in the city capable of potentially one day standing equal with the original founders, the bureau had hoped to recreate this phenomenon in ability users by pairing the strong up for them to learn from one another. It's also an attempt for the S-class to one day surpass the Grandmasters in case anything happens to the originals.

Celeste must also make the connection immediately, because she teleports rapidly but stays in the same spot, as if to draw attention to herself all while blocking the entrance. "You're not taking my brother away."

"Relax," Arcana says, trying to force his way in. He sighs when Celeste insists on blocking the doorway, and adds, "No one is going anywhere."

Only after a few moments of careful consideration does Celeste ease up a little, giving in merely an inch of space. "What are you even doing here? Don't you have like, headmaster duties or something?"

Lena doesn't miss the informal tone Celeste uses with Arcana. With the way he is acting as if familiar with this place, she can only assume it's not his first time here. The headmaster eventually moves in, Grandmaster Alizeh an overpowering, unknown force behind him.

"With the all students now home, is there really an academy to run?" he counters when he is inside, shutting the door behind him without waiting to be welcomed any longer. "Besides, I'm here for a different reason entirely, and I thought you might appreciate the heads up or warning."

While Lena latches on to the word warning, thinking there is nothing good about whatever news Arcana has to offer, Celeste doesn't relent as she insists, "Why aren't you doing something about the rift? Aren't you needed out there at the battlefield or something?"

"Such hostility," Grandmaster Alizeh comments, speaking for the first time since she's stepped inside the residence. "Now I know where my protégé learnt his sarcasm and sharp remarks from."

"I'm surprised you aren't on the battlefield either," Celeste retorts without formality or respect. "Aren't the Catalysts heavily understaffed?"

"That's exactly why I'm here," Arcana says between them, trying to make peace between. "It's time you know the truth of things, and the predicament this world is in."

Just what else is there that Lena hasn't come to know? Dreading the answer, she is about to find out when a movement in her peripheral vision catches her attention; Caelus stirs, and he slowly sits upright, as if sensing the presence of the newcomers, which he probably can.

"This is not somewhere you come and go as you please," he says sleepily, directing the comment to Arcana and Grandmaster Alizeh.

Celeste is at his side in an instant as she asks, "I thought dad put you to sleep."

"Guess even the sedatives don't work too well," Mr Aveyard reflects from the back, then ushers the two guests inside.

"I'll take that as a warm hello," his mentor replies. "You're rather needed to deal with the rift."

"I thought you said she's not taking him away," Celeste accuses Arcana, stepping back in an attempt to block Caelus from view.

"She's not," he quickly assures her, shooting the Grandmaster a look. "But it doesn't change the fact that he's been asked for."

Lena asks the question that's been bothering her. "Why can't the Grandmasters themselves eradicate this threat and save everyone the trouble?"

There's a bout of awkward silence, and she worries that she has crossed a line. But then Celeste obviously sees the point in this, because she continues to flare between Arcana and Grandmaster Alizeh. Her parents have already backed away instead of welcoming the guests, confirming that it's not the first time they're visiting, and Lena wonders what their business is with the Aveyards not only for this time. Only Caelus deems to be silent through the entire procession, looking as if he is ready to nod off at any time.

"That's one thing you've already figured out," Arcana says eventually. "Part of what I came here to reveal—and then a favor to ask for, considering that situation."

"What do you mean?" Lena demands.

"This fight is not over, and will never be" is Arcana's vague reply before he strides into the space as if owning it, glancing only once at his ace before he moves near to the open balcony, where he can view some parts of the city and the rift half a city away. "You have been told the Grandmasters are the original founders of this city, and that the powers coursing through their veins are not one and the same, and have great prowess unimaginable, limits unknown. That part is all true," he announces, "but what is the use of special abilities in the City of Leatia?"

"Money," Caelus says softly from where he is, while Celeste comments, "Fame. Respect."

Only Lena identifies what Arcana is really asking, even if the siblings' motive for being strong and powerful is for their own personal benefit. "To combat demons."

"Precisely," Grandmaster Alizeh says, "And yet, we do not have the power to do so."

It takes a little while for everyone to process what the most respectable figure in this room and in the entire city has just said about herself. If what she's just admitted is true, then the balance of power has never favored humanity. The Grandmasters are at the pinnacle of the power hierarchy. They're a group of ability users who'd build this entire city's foundations, and they rule from the backseat of their thrones. Even if the authorities are the governing body of the City of Leatia, they exist because of the seven founders. The only reason these figures have never been at the forefront of the action is because of how this world is founded upon: the Catalysts—which the city has in abundance thanks to the various benefits being one will garner—handle the demons; it's their very duty to maintain this city's peace by combating the exterritorial threat. And for years, they've been at it, until all recent happenings. Until the Shadow Syndicate, until the rise in demon activity levels, until the unusual rift openings. Until the endless slaughter of ability users, until talents are all killed in action.

Until Lena. It's a little far fetched to say she herself had been the one to upset the balance, but her ability hanging on the thread is contributing to the entire universe's downfall after the natural string of events in this world ran their course.

And if what Grandmaster Alizeh is saying is true, that means they never stood a chance. The strongest are the S-class, and the city's only got six of them, of which only four are still active. There are many high ranking professional Catalysts that are B-ranked and above, but with the aggressive state the demons are in, not to mention the rapid killings, it doesn't appear as if humanity is winning this war.

"The Grandmasters aren't capable of ending demons with their abilities," Caelus translates for the room, nonchalant as ever.

"You knew about this?" Celeste asks after she's recovered from the revelation. "And you didn't deem it necessary to spread the knowledge?"

"It's highly confidential," Arcana counters on behalf of Caelus. "And only a select few know of the truth. The Grandmasters are powerless in the eventual scheme of this entire world, and in this war against demons that have been escalating as of late."

"Stop making things sound so ominous," Grandmaster Alizeh chides. "Does he always say things like this?" When Celeste and Lena nod, she seems satisfied being not the only one who thinks this way as she rolls her eyes, swatting her hand. "Unnecessarily dramatic. What he means to say is that we're never meant to combat these creatures. The demons arrived without warning years ago after this city has been built upon the ashes of what remained. The source of our powers has always been a mystery, but it's never meant for war.

"That's why the Grandmasters' so-called abilities as you call them nowadays are never one and the same as those the Catalysts possess today. I've always believed that it was gifted for us merely to restart our timeline and reinstall civilization, but then the first rift tore through the skies and these foul beings invaded the city. We'd foolishly thought we could combat them with our own arsenal, only to be put in our place," she finishes, and Lena isn't sure if she's more surprised to hear this entire reveal of their history or the fact that Grandmaster Alizeh speaks so casually for a figurehead of the city.

"Then how did the abilities even come about?" Celeste presses. "Our supernatural powers are all hereditary and related by genetics. This is book facts. But how can this just suddenly come to be, especially if the Grandmasters are a separate entity and never reproduced?"

Lena has another more concerning question that has just come to mind with their history lesson, considering all the missing patches in the story: What exactly destroyed the world in the first place?

She recalls the time before the trials when she'd been revisiting the City of Leatia's entire history, and recounts the things she'd been taught the short time in Arcane Academy during World History. For as much as she remembers all other universes she's been in, she has zero knowledge on the foundation of the current one; it must be that she doesn't have much influence of the history, since the City of Leatia is founded decades ago, long before she's been alive.

She'd learnt that the world has been destroyed and torn apart, the remains split into two separate cities. It's always the 'world was destroyed and made anew', but never why. And only after decade of its birth, the City of Leatia descended into darkness from the first ever dimensional rift. The demons appeared only after the world was initially destroyed, and after the Grandmasters built up the city. The first demon war happened when the city was first overwhelmed with the threat from the other side.

In other words, Grandmaster Alizeh is speaking the truth when she admits that the Grandmasters' origin—and purpose—is never to defeat demons. Perhaps something happened somewhere, triggering the fateful demons' entry; Lena can't help but imagine what a different world it will be if the demons had never broke the veil to their world. One without their unique abilities, surely, but it's also one of peace and without the injustice that power balance brings.

Since Lena did not voice her own internal conclusion and obvious concern, it's to Celeste's question that Arcana eventually answers: "Like all things, we believe it's a balance this universe is working to achieve. The first demon war was only won after great struggle, during which gave birth to the first wave of ability users, eventually known as the Catalysts."

A movement at the corner of the room catches everyone's attention; Caelus is standing, as if he's finally had enough of this little history lesson. Lena doubts it's the first time he's hearing this, since he knows about the Grandmasters' secret. No one questions when he walks across the room to take a glance at the rift, but it's as if he can sense his sister's wariness and what she's about to nag him about, because he reassures her. "I won't go off without warning. Unless asked," he adds the last to words, casting a meaningful look at Arcana, whom Lena knows is one of the only people he truly respects.

Between the look the two is sharing, Lena is suddenly aware that there must be something here that Arcana has come all the way for.

"I need air" is all Caelus says before he all but strides out of the crowded space—strangely enough, not towards the bedding chambers but to the other hallway leading toward places Lena has yet to see.

"What exactly is going on here, Arcana?" Celeste asks in a low voice, catching on.

"You're probably aware that this may—or already have—turn into a full fledged war, and that we are short on people who have the power to fight back," Arcana begins cautiously as he paces the room. "All available Catalysts have already been deployed. But even then, it might not be enough. And we're not just talking about these creatures. There's still the Shadow Syndicate, who'd brought in the rift in the first place, and we still have no idea how. Or why, for that matter, are they doing this, even if demons are supposedly the only enemy that we should have our hands full with.

"We're at war," Arcana continues, "And there's no telling the outcome—or changing it." He looks at Lena meaningfully. "Students or professionals, it no longer matters who you are. We need everyone we can get to end this disaster before it spirals. Those in Delphinus, which makes up majority of the students in Arcane Academy anyway, are already indirectly involved and are fighting for control. I'm here to gather my remaining forces, and bringing them in for humanity to stand a chance."

Grandmaster Alizeh snorts at his side, but chooses not to make any snide remarks. For her to be here must mean that she trusts Arcana enough to make the call, and is equally as desperate to end this mess the city is in.

"You're asking us to fight for Sector Delphinus," Lena voices.

"Please," Arcana confirms, surprising them by doing so. "I used to think only the academy matters. But if this prolongs—and the situation isn't looking great—there wouldn't even be an academy left. What makes us then?"

This time, even Grandmaster Alizeh looks away, but Lena doesn't miss the fact that she's stepped closer to Arcana, and wonders what relationship the two share beyond professionalism.

"I'm sorry to ask this of you, especially since I've left the academy in the state that it is in, and we barely have to chance to mend things before it's all crumbling apart again," Arcana continues. "Especially after you were essentially forced to retake Andromeda and used by the authorities as weapons. But I'm not asking in that way. I'm asking you to fight alongside everyone else, who believes this on an equal conviction."

Celeste steps forward, smiling. She looks at Arcana as if she's been waiting for this call all this while, despite the dreary news they've just heard, and the state of the entire world. "You're right in saying that. Though I was ready for Sector Andromeda, it's different when we're fighting for ourselves, and not the bureau. Besides,"—she looks around the place, glancing once at the hallway where the other three Aveyards presumably are—"I have something I'm willing to protect."

"I knew there's fight left in you," Arcana says, "I doubt you'd sit still even without me asking, but I just wanted to come and tell you that there's no way out of this except to fight." The next part, Arcana hesitates before admitting, "And most importantly... I'd want you to have someone to push the blame on if something somehow goes terribly wrong. I am the one asking you to do this, even if you are willing."

This sounds ominous, and Lena understands the message and implication. Caelus is about to go fight regardless, if the threat is not nullified by nightfall; he has no choice, and he is one of the strongest to help tilt the balance of the outcome. And with the rift directly impacting a living sector that hosts the more important figures in the city, those who are able are definitely doing their best to defend their soil. The greatest concern here isn't even about the revelation both Arcana and Grandmaster Alizeh admitted to, and the various confusing questions in their history. It's the fact that while threats such as this have always been steady in hands of the authorities and settled by the professional Catalysts, something tells Lena that this isn't just an ordinary occurrence. Even with the recent dwindle of power among the Catalysts, Arcana being here now proves of something ominous in the near future. Why has he come to ask of every last one of those throughout Sector Eridanus and elsewhere, especially when the students who are residing in Delphinus are most probably already on the field—certain strong ones like Azalea, Nova, and Astor too—taking things into their own hands?

"Are we permitted to fight?" Lena asks, probing. "You know the authorities love to instill order on us all, on every single ability user they can control."

"They're busy enough as it is. And my students," he says proudly, confirming Lena's suspicions that they are already on the battlefield, "are more than capable of handling themselves, proving to be stronger than even some of the professionals out there. The world really needs Arcane Academy's talents right now, and can the authorities really blame them—or me—for fighting on their side?"

"But for you to be all the way here, in person, asking all of your remaining students to fight... why?" Celeste asks, glancing once at Lena, piecing everything she's just did, too. "Why now? Unless you already know something. My brother constantly talks about how you tend to bend the rules, and seem to do everything for a reason. I didn't believe it one bit, until today." She then insists, "There's something you're not telling us."

Arcana pinches the bridge of his nose, exhaling. Grandmaster Alizeh steps away, as if giving them space which makes the matter even more suspicious, before he responds, "I just don't want you to have any regrets."

"And what do you mean by that?" Lena presses.

For a moment, Lena thinks he might defer his answer into a riddle, or let them in on another sort of long-winded story with a lesson that strengthens his supposed title of 'old man'.

But perhaps it's related to what he says next that he eventually decides to give in. "Because Time Master has already saw the outcome. This will be the final battle."

⊹₊⟡⋆

Thanks for making it this far! I just want to say that this is supposed to be a double chapter ending Act 2 of the book but it got too lengthy so another short follow up is going to come less than a week later to make up for the delay for this one (still feels like a double chapter since it's 1.5x the length of my usuals).

I apologize for all the dialogues; I am not particularly proud of this chapter either but it's pretty important and I hope you're patient for the final act that I have planned 😭

Please pay attention to these two chapters as it may or may not turn into this series' own horror story at one point, good luck. And as always, to the ones following, thanks for reading!