It was only twenty minutes ago that she was clashing with Lost Night, which was an amalgamation of various Night Terrors. She rushed towards the sky and the Lost Night followed, where they continued their clash.

She was surprised but knew the Dark Silence didn't want their clash to destroy more of its roots on the ground.

It took her a lot longer than expected, but she was able to stun it with her rune before then piercing through it with her spear. And then breaking it down with her death, decay, and fire rune all landed on it.

After the Lost Night was destroyed, she saw the sky turn crimson. Before a massive bird screeched, she looked up to see a crimson bird devouring the King Root and destroying it.

Then she and Vlad rushed towards the towering tree where they saw Saint Lucian finishing up with Chemira Prince. Its body was filled with various Beasts that had fully broken down before dispersing, before all of them continued.

But once they reached the towering tree, they were met with constant attacks from the roots and beasts. It began as a sprint, or so Brunhilde thought, but the longer they fought through the cordons of root beasts and the raking hands of the tree itself, the more the assault warped into a siege.

Brunhilde recalled how annoying it was when the roots came in waves. Some were little more than whips, lashing out to crush bone or strangle breath, but others swelled at the tips, curling into fists or jaw-like pods that snapped at the air.

But she led with spear and rune, burning paths through each new mesh of roots, incinerating the roots. Vlad, his laughter lost in the chaos, left red tracks in his wake, a butcher's trail, roots and beasts alike.

The nearer they drew to the trunk's impossible girth, the more the air changed. They weren't much of an issue as they slaughtered through them, but every time they tried to pierce through the tree. It would instantly regenerate, not allowing them entry, leading Vlad and her to question Lucian.

It's only then that he admitted he knew this would happen, but still allowed Reinhard and the others to go without them. He explained that ending the Dark Silence would lead to the least amount of people dying.

And that their job was just to continue to force the tree's attention onto themselves instead of the others inside. Of course, pissed off Brunhilde and Vlad, but they held on, trusting his visions that hadn't been wrong.

It was after ten minutes that the towering tree stopped regenerating, leading him and Vlad to launch a terrifying attack that burst open the tree. But before they could enter the tree, they were teleported away towards another area by Saint Lucian.

This confused them but also alarmed them, making them feel something was up. This led them to quickly rush back towards the area, but every time they closed in, they would be teleported away through the Saint Grafting.

Each time they tried to close the distance, Lucian responded with a different use of grafting that they couldn't react to, leading them to be teleported to another area.

Whether it be that he grafted the distance between them and the sky, or towards a small pond. Brunhilde felt the minutes slipping away, each loop another moment. Reinhard and others were alone, and her panic grew teeth.

But if that wasn't bad enough, she and Vlad had to deal with the crimson-black tide that came out of nowhere. It wasn't until a few minutes ago that they broke through the annoying grafting and rushed over to this area.

But on their way, Brunhilde was able to sense that Reinhard's magic signature had vanished, and then came Honor.

This frightened her, leading her to rush out with full speed and blast through any obstacles as she reached the area.

And once she reached, Brunhilde didn't see Reinhard at all. Then she saw the painful and sorrowful expression on Marie, Joseph, Amiya, Janus, and Veryn.

Such a sight made her tremble, and it was then that Amiya slowly began explaining what had happened.

Honor had taken Reinhard with him into the crimson-black tide. The information registered, making Brunhilde tremble in rage.

This rage only grew when she realized Honor was already dead, and she couldn't unleash her anger on him. Her chest constricted, vision narrowing to a tunnel focused on a single point.

Her legs moved before a conscious decision formed, and cracks formed on the ground as she prepared to hurl herself toward the spreading flames.

Before she could complete the action, Saint Lucian appeared.

Not a gradual approach, but suddenly appearing at an elevated part of the ground down from them, overlooking the area.

The Star Jewel rested in his hands, a golden orb catching grey light filtering through clouds with metal claws that gleamed with each subtle movement.

Brunhilde froze mid-stride. Her momentum carried her forward two steps before she caught herself, boots skidding against charred root fragments.

She didn't need words or an explanation as the pieces assembled themselves with damning clarity. Honor's desperate attack on Reinhard, his willingness to destroy personal morals, and his cryptic statements about friendship and debt.

The friend he'd referenced wasn't an abstract concept or distant memory.

Lucian himself had pushed Honor to steal the Star Jewel. This would also explain why Saint Lucian kept on using his Grafting to teleport them away. All to give Honor time to retrieve the Star Jewel.

Vlad's face showed identical realization, his usually calm crimson eyes widened in disbelief and shock. His crimson stakes manifested automatically as he gripped them tightly, and his body trembled.

Brunhilde's eyes glowed. Golden light intensified until her irises became miniature suns, radiating power barely contained. She took a step forward, arm pulling back to launch a devastating strike-

Wait Brun! Hear him out first.

Reinhard's voice appeared directly in her consciousness. Not external sound but internal communication, thought transmitted through the connection she'd established when placing word symbols on him and the others earlier.

It might reveal something more about his plan.

Brunhilde trembled violently, in shock as she realized two things. Reinhard was still alive; he somehow survived falling into the crimson-black tide.

And the other is understanding why he would want her to wait, as their current situation isn't ideal.

With her understanding of the Saint, she knew they were all following the script he wrote and was guiding. They needed more information if they wanted to turn things around, and so reluctantly she held back.

Her expression remained fixed on Lucian while inwardly focusing on the fact that Reinhard is alright to calm herself.

Reinhard was fine, and he was good enough to communicate. He also didn't get dissolved from the curses she was feeling below, which was a win enough for her.

She thought rapidly, directing consciousness toward the connection. Fine. But after this, you have to tell me where you are.

I will. Reinhard's mental voice carried reassurance mixed with urgency. But now, we need to figure out what the Saint needs the Star Jewel for and why he allowed the Crimson Tide to come.

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