The woman carried herself with an effortless grace, the kind that came from someone who believed themselves above all else.

'She's strong.'

"Hm. Cautious. That's a good sign."

"Who are you?"

"Who do you think you're looking at?"

Atticus reached for his will, and found nothing. His eyes narrowed. A moment later, he shifted focus, drawing on his element instead as fire ignited around him.

"I won't ask you again."

The woman squinted slightly.

"A useless endeavor. No fire shall burn."

The bonfire vanished. Moments later, Atticus felt his control over the fire element slip entirely, the flames around him snuffing out and plunging the cave into darkness.

Atticus was taken aback. He was about to move when she shook her head.

"Do not engage with elements. You will lose."

She studied him in silence for a moment.

"Think. You regained consciousness seconds ago. If killing you were the objective, you would not be alive."

Atticus stared at her, then slowly relaxed his clenched fist. Her words made some sense. Even now, her flawless face remained completely stoic, revealing nothing.

Trusting a total stranger felt like a terrible idea, but he didn't see another option. His memories were still blurred, and he wasn't entirely sure how he'd ended up here. What he needed was information.

He leaned against the wall, gently holding the back of his head.

"Where are we?"

"…Disappointing."

She tilted her head slightly.

"You didn't fall this far by accident. Think."

'She's very rude.'

The splitting headache made the effort harder, but before long, images began flashing through his mind.

The more he saw, the deeper his frown became.

"Well…?"

He glanced at the strange woman, hesitating.

'I'll only tell her enough.'

"Before this… I was consolidating the wills of the Marquis I killed. And—"

"And?"

The image of purple light swallowing everything filled his vision. His fists clenched.

"The fragments interfered."

"…Define interference."

"It extracted the wills. Then it isolated itself from my will. Sealed itself inside my mind."

Silence followed. Atticus shifted under her gaze. There was something about those endless white eyes that made him feel as though his entire life was laid bare.

Finally, she blinked.

"So… where are we?"

"…Inside the isolated space. I followed it here to reclaim it."

Atticus exhaled as the stabbing pain in his head eased slightly. He turned toward her, studying her more closely.

"That still doesn't explain who you are."

"…You have yet to identify the obvious."

She shook her head.

"You're slower than you should be."

Atticus sighed. The sudden interference of the Solvath fragment had caught him off guard, and it had damaged both his will and mind, but he was certain of one thing.

He had never met this woman before in his life.

He narrowed his eyes.

"A fragment bearer?"

It was the most likely answer. The fragment had caused all of this, and he had no idea who Raziel might have killed before they ever met.

The disappointment on her face was immediate.

"…That's the best you could manage?"

"…You could resolve this by simply telling me."

"…Very well."

She straightened, her presence sharpening as the air itself seemed to still.

"You may address me as Elemental Arbiter."

Atticus blinked, waiting for more. When none came, he frowned.

"That's all?"

"Yes."

She paused, then added,

"Clarification will not be provided freely."

"…Why not?"

"Because instruction without resistance breeds weakness."

"Instruction…?"

"Mastery is forged under pressure."

Atticus pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. This woman was practically another version of Ozerra and Ozeroth.

If this was his mindscape, then it made sense, maybe she'd formed from one of his worst nightmares.

Maybe he was actually in hell, and she'd been sent to torment him for eternity. He'd always known his erratic genocide would catch up to him, but this was a new flavor of punishment.

'Calm down. There's a better explanation. I just haven't figured it out yet.'

She clearly wasn't Ozeroth. Nor was she Noctis. Those two were the only ones who should have access to his mind and elemental powers, aside from the fragment bearers he'd just absorbed.

'She said she wasn't a marked… then…'

Atticus was jolted out of his thoughts as a bonfire ignited in the center of the cave. The strange white haired woman stood straight, narrowed eyes fixed on the entrance.

"Enemies. We're surrounded."

Atticus forced himself upright. The stabbing pain still hammered at his head, but he shoved it aside and silently faced the cave's mouth.

'Enemies?'

The idea of unknown enemies inside his own mindscape was hard to grasp. Worse still, the danger they posed sent a chill through him. If he fell here… would that mean an enemy could seize his body? His mind? What would happen after that… to his family?

His thoughts spiraled, and he barely registered the shockwave that ripped through the cave, sending him tumbling off his feet.

Figures tore through the walls, bursting in amid an explosion of dust that swallowed the space whole.

The white haired woman's command rang out without hesitation.

"Scatter. Now."

The dust vanished instantly, revealing multiple figures radiating lethal, crushing auras. But one detail seized his attention above all else.

'How is this possible…'

He recognized every single one of them. Only moments had passed since he'd killed them, after all.

The Marquis of the Verge… What the hell were they doing here?

None of them spoke as they launched toward him like bullets. Atticus bit the inside of his lip and tore himself free of his shock, reaching for his katana, only to freeze.

That was right. It had been missing since the moment he arrived!

He was about to hurl himself away when a voice reached him.

"Stop."

He brought his arms down and found the strange white haired woman standing before him, her back to him. Just beyond her stood the figures of each Marquis, their bodies and attacks frozen midair.

'She stopped them…'

The white haired woman glanced back at him, a sudden fierceness burning in her eyes.

"Hesitation. Truly disappointing. A true warrior is ready at all times. You still have much to learn."

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