Renatus scaled up the walls of the stone tower, effortlessly avoiding the attention of guards who continued to drink until their livers gave out, boring him to death with the lack of suspense and thrill that he usually got from sneaking his way past security. 

For someone that seeks the Death Dealer so desperately, the security sure sucks, he thought to himself, pulling himself up with one final heave onto the windowsill.

The window had already been unlocked from the inside, allowing the steady breeze to stir a mini gust inside, with sheets of papers dancing in the room. He jumped through the small stone arc window and landed quietly into the small study, a hooded silhouette awaiting his presence in the shadows. 

“Renatus van Raynes. I already know why you’re here - to pursue information about why I operate as I do, to deal with the tyrant that runs this Realm, and to have me slain once you get what you need to hear,” the croaky voice told him, their dark oversized hood concealing most of their features, save for their blackened, wrinkled fingertips. 

He raised an eyebrow, surprised yet pleased that he could save his breath.

“Oh? Then I’ll ensure I end things quickly for you then,” he cooed, holding his blades close to his body. It was a bit strange that everyone in Ylipeste knew him by name, but it wouldn't surprise him if it were just a Higher Being thing.

“The angel isn’t with you. Most intriguing as this is about her, if you’re willing to hear me out, van Raynes,” they continued, their eyebrows lifted in amusement, noticing his curious gaze follow them as they began walking around the room, maintaining a consistent distance from one another.

“We’ve been investigating her and noticed that she’s been lurking around in The Middle Ground recently. Its existence is widely unknown due to confidentiality reasons to prevent mass hysteria to the Realm dwellers as it has begun to affect the Mortal Realm, yet she was able to pass through the Gate when it is known that no pure angel can do so without the blessing of a GateKeeper, prompting us to commence an investigation as to her origins.”

The Watcher stopped in front of a wall plastered with documents and colourful threads and pins that strung between documents, some heavily marked in red markers. They sharply jerked their head towards the wall, silently asking him to come forward and have a look at it for himself. He quietly assessed the situation, coming to the conclusion that there were no extra eyes nor ears that seemed to be present with them before sheathing his blades, and obeyed their command, carefully observing every inch of the wall. 

Several photographs of Higher Beings that he hadn’t seen before had been pinned onto the wall, including Vaina herself, and it was also accompanied by layers of documents and scripts that he couldn’t quite comprehend. 

As if The Watcher had read his mind, they broke the silence between them and explained the documents one by one. “I presume you have been informed about the ongoing crisis in Ylipeste as of now. We believe the impurity mess is a mere distraction from the larger picture of a much grander scheme. Hence, we started a private investigation, starting with Malachi, The Messenger you had slain. We needed him to fabricate lies so we could understand Godric’s intentions for closing the Gate in the first place - his desperation to seek the Death Dealer was strange, even going so much as seeking the Underworld for help. A man with so much pride would never look to the Underworld for help, only for an extreme last resort - the only thing in the Realms he could ever care about so much to do such a thing is indeed his daughter, so it made sense to look into her. It had already been suspicious when we found records of him paying so many henchmen and angels to seek the Death Dealer, and we do know it's for his daughter’s sake.”

Renatus observed Malachi’s photograph, now marked with a red cross. 

“We got it all wrong-” The shrill of his deafening screech echoed into the back of his mind. “There’s so much you don’t realise, Renatus van Raynes. It would’ve been better if she was actually DEAD.”    

The corner of his lip curled, the phantom blood that drenched his fingertips starting to feel slick. 

“Frankly, Malachi was used as bait to capture Vaina, but you reached him first. For whatever reason upon the tyrant’s corruption, he can no longer accept her for who she is, going so much as trying to destroy her soul when she was unconscious on multiple occasions…” they continued, leaning into the black regal lounge chair adorned with golden fittings. “And as for you, your ties with the tyrant are not what you think. Rather, they’re what you refuse to accept about yourself.” Renatus’ eyes flashed, feeling his blades fly on their own as his arms instinctively charged them into the air, striking into the chair and the wall behind it, where The Watcher had just been sitting. “Oh, if only you had the luxury of being visited by them as well, van Raynes…” their disembodied voice murmured, dark particles emerging then disappearing from the seat.

Renatus retrieved his blades, feeling a deep unease rest in his body. His body had never reacted violently out of his volition, even with his short temperamental bursts of anger that incited many brawls in the past. He made his way down the desolate tower, the heaviness of his uncertainty sinking deeply into his chest.

Vaina had been leaning against a pillar awaiting his report, the moonlight brushing against her milky skin. She lifted her head upon noticing Renatus dashing towards her, her hot-pink eyes gleaming with excitement.

“The Watcher died before I could go after them,” he explained, catching his breath.  

“Curious... You should be the only one capable of destroying a soul in the Realms, especially a Higher Being,” she pondered, her mind drifting. “Then, the Death Dealer must’ve returned. Regardless, we will continue with our plans.”

His nose twitched, noticing a strong floral fragrance in the air, its concentration almost pungent.

“I’m sure you have much to tell me, my Renba,” she whispered, leaning towards him. “You’re the best thing that’s come to me in the longest time…”

She threw her arms towards him, Renatus rapidly side stepping in response. 

“Playing hard to get, I see. That’s not an issue, since I enjoy playing these mind games, my Renba,” she told herself, licking her lips. “My one, and only Renba…”

***

Rhys’ head throbbed violently, each sharp pulse becoming more unbearable as it continued to scorch through his mind. Each deafening shriek became more ear-piercing than the next, demanding for absolution. He slumped his head against the workbench, thankful that his sunglasses were sturdy enough to survive the impact, with distant smoke from the workshop’s forge thickening the air.

It’s nothing, he repeated to himself. I can deal with something as miniscule as this… 

“Rhys, are you alright?” Alyse asked with great concern as she shifted from her disguise, her wrinkly fingers returning to their smooth, slender self. 

“I am. How was your encounter with Ren? Hopefully he didn’t attack you as well,” he groaned, rubbing his temples. It had been a while since his migraines were that painful, and they wouldn’t go away anytime soon until the disturbances were dealt with. 

“Well, yes - but thankfully I got away unscathed. He’s definitely been brainwashed to some degree. Not entirely but enough to be controlled and manipulated to some extent. From afar, I was able to sense his mind was amiss, but it seems she hasn’t been able to find a way to gain full control of him,” she responded, taking notes as she spoke. “I believe it might be related to a drug that Godric concocted once in an attempt to control the Death Dealer to do his bidding in purifying the impurity that emerged in Ylipeste. There was something else muddling with his mind that lingers in his body, but I couldn’t quite make out what it was. As for how you broke him out of its effects, I'm genuinely uncertain if it was just out of pure luck, or if there's a condition to it.”

“What else would she want to achieve with his drug, though?” Rhys enquired, leaning against a nearby workshop table. “For now it just seems that she's using him to eliminate those that'd obstruct her from reaching Godric. Strangely enough, Jayr and Mirmir alerted me that she disappeared from the dancefloor immediately once Ren got there.”

“Interesting note... That aside, Godric’s ability to materialise the impossible makes it difficult to track everything he’s created for sinister purposes. If Vaina intends to use these creations against him as revenge for how he’s been treating her, then it's likely the Realms are also in danger. Considering how he’s capable of making untraceable Pocket Realms, such as the Shattered Corner, we don’t know much else of what tools she could use to her advantage - using Ren as both her weapon, and shield. On that note, do be wary when you’re encountering  Pocket Realms. They don’t abide by the laws that govern our Realm - death included.” 

“I will. Though I'll be surprised if they can transcend death themselves. Then I'll be crawling back into my little hole,” he commented. “I must say, it’s scary how much you know. Yet we know so little about the Realm's imminent threats that could cause a wide scale calamity.”

“I have to try. For our sake,” Alyse muttered, her attention shifting to the heavy doors of The Forge creaking open. 

“How are things? It seems heavy in here,” Hiram chuckled heartily.

“It’s going rather smoothly actually. Vaina’s been confirmed with Ren,” Alyse reported, presenting her handwritten notes to him.

He glossed over her content and hummed in affirmation. “I agree with your hypothesis. Knowing my brother, he’s made several terrible creations that I’d try to talk him out of long before his search for the Death Dealer. In fact, the Heavenly Blades themselves are one of them, due to their deathly aspect since they were designed to specifically destroy souls without the Death Dealer, since he can’t create one himself. I’m worried that it may affect Renatus with prolonged use, since it’s likely made with harmful components, but it’s not easy to research something that doesn’t naturally exist - and as you know, disarming him is a big no-no. They will scorch us to death, and they are his comfort devices, so I will remind you both once more to not force that choice onto him. Hopefully we can look into some samples of Ylipesten weapons and technology and reverse any side effects before it's too late.” 

He turned to Rhys, reminding him to shift his sunglasses further up on his nose ridge in a silent gesture as he smiled warmly towards him, his crystal blue irises glistening beneath the flickering lights. “And I'll go through that matter with you soon, Rhys. For now, continue as you have been, and we'll collate the intel into something more feasible.” 

“Do you think Vaina intends to overthrow Godric to rule over the Realms?” Alyse enquired, tucking her overgrown bangs behind her right ear as she scribbled over her notes once more. 

“It’s likely that’s not the only thing she wants, as she wouldn’t need Renatus for something so simple,” Hiram continued, rubbing his chin. “There are likely more sinister things going on in the background that we will need to continue to dig up. I’m almost certain that she needs him for more than just assassination work, and that she’s aware of whatever Higher Authority and Godric have planned together. At the rate of how things are going, it’s likely that they’re trying to silence her, hence why she feels the need to retaliate with a weapon of her own.”

“And, well for that matter - do you think it'll become a larger threat to warrant more concern?” Rhys interjected. “Since right now, it's a concept that we ought to be, well… impossible to materialise.”

Hiram opened his mouth to answer, when a distant explosion shook The Forge, followed by clouds of thick dark smoke trailing from the inner workshop. Az, now covered in fresh smoke and char, entered the room, his hair now an afro.

“Did someone mention reverse-engineering some tech?” he asked with enthusiasm, taking a seat near Hiram.

Rhys silently growled from the distance, as Hiram cheerfully smiled towards him, quietly pleading him to keep his cool as the air around them grew colder. 

“We were thinking of having some Ylipesten technology, particularly their weapons reverse engineered so we can understand them better,” Hiram answered. “After all, it’s the only way we can learn to defend ourselves from them, should they choose to invade us in the distant future.”  

Az hummed and took a moment to contemplate the situation. “It’s difficult to reverse engineer Overworld stuff due to their animosity towards us, going so far as to implement self-destruct mechanisms upon opening them up. Do bring me samples since I do have a lot of experience tinkering with this sort of thing. I’d love to contribute to such a fine discovery.”

“Yes, please do. We’ve made significant progress with Az’s assistance,” Hiram smiled towards Alyse and Rhys, Az’s beaming adding a tad too much brightness in the workshop.

“Well, I’m off. And, Rhys, do remember to deliver those turtlenecks to Ren for me, won’t you? Oh, and Hiram - don’t forget what I mentioned about looking into the Cherub’s Cradling Club,” he chimed before shutting the workshop door behind him.

Rhys exhaled loudly, the first instance of him doing so ever since Az entered the room. He brushed off his thoughts of animosity towards the guy, and refocused on the main issue at hand, gathering all the intel that they currently had at hand and started theorising in his head. Although their main focus of this mission was mostly for the sake of the Realms, he couldn’t help but worry about Renatus and what the angels and the Higher Authority had in store for him, especially given that he hadn’t atoned for his acts just yet - not to mention that he was now on Vaina’s leash.

On top of that, there was still the ‘Death Disciple’ mystery that had been bothering him ever since the evening of the ball. He wasn’t sure if he was just overthinking it, since it was impossible for another Death Dealer to be created unnaturally, even by Godric’s hand. He sighed, and slumped against the workshop bench, feeling the weight of his uncertainties crushing him one by one.  

Alyse noticed his gloominess from the corner of her eye and gave his shoulder a firm squeeze. “Don’t worry. You know I’m looking out for him too,” she reassured him.  

It had always been that way for the longest time between them, yet he couldn't find solace in her words this time, a piece of him aching and yearning for the phantom part of his heart to return.