A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

"What— What is happening?!" Naeku exclaimed, voice full of disbelief at what she was seeing. Branded Runebound were running rampant through the streets of Enkare Nkai, driven onward by groups of hunter Arcanists.

These Arcanists were laughing and joking at the expense of their targets, Naeku's people, as they casually flung about spells, burning and impaling the Enkarians left and right. Screaming and pleas for aid were drowned out by explosions and laughter.

Filled with horror, Naeku panned her gaze further. The city's stone structures were in ruins, and the open spaces where Enkarians would gather for social events were burning. Wooden theatre stages, seats, food carts—all the things that brought her people joy—were being reduced to ash.

"H— How did this happen?!" Naeku cried out, trembling hands tightly gripping the window's edge.

***

Meanwhile, back in Erik's dimension, a screen was projected just above Naeku's head, showing the events inside her dream-like state.

"Why… is she reacting so seriously…? Does she not remember where she is?" a confused Astrid muttered, tilting her head as she looked at Naeku's horror. Panning her gaze over to Emily and Emma, she raised an eyebrow. "You guys remembered everything, right? Just like me?"

Emily nodded but glanced at Emma. "I did, but I'm pretty sure Emma didn't, right?"

With a gentle smile, Emma nodded at her big sister before turning to Astrid. "When I went through the heartfire trial, I completely forgot the moments leading up to it. To my perception, I'd just confessed my feelings to Master and was then immediately engulfed by darkness."

With her hands resting on her alluring hips, Elora nodded sternly. The fairy stood a few steps away from them, closest to the sigil, and was closely monitoring its functioning.

"The sigil will determine the best way to test someone," she explained, quickly entering teacher mode. "Sometimes that means confronting you with harsh truths, like in the case of Astrid and Emily, and sometimes by making you forget you're even in a trial, and then putting you in a situation that tests you."

She waved her hand at the screen. "I have no control over this, but… clearly, the sigil chose the latter in this case."

A dark green magic circle appeared in her hand as she interacted with the sigil. "It seems the trial has erased everything up to a day after our battle against the Humanitas Sangh. Apparently, this was just after Naeku realized her love for Erik."

"Huh…" Astrid muttered in surprise. "I wonder what kind of trial she'll go through, then."

Immediately, Emily started voicing suggestions, but a sombre Erik interrupted them. "That's enough, girls. Naeku is probably feeling pretty terrible," he said, arms crossed in front of his chest. "Let's be a little respectful about what she's going through. We'll see what the sigil's got planned soon enough."

Wryly, his two wives nodded and fell silent. Soon, everyone was focusing on the screen again…

***

By now, Naeku was sprinting through the halls of the Enkare Nkai palace. Clad in the Egyptian-style armour Erik had created for her and armed with her spear, she also used first-rank nature ability to create a shield of twigs and leaves on her other arm.

Her face was twisted with anger, hatred, and sorrow at her people's plight. "How did they even get past the walls?!" she cursed to herself, confused about how this could have happened. "Did that leader of theirs use those portals?! But why did I only wake up now?! I should have been at the front lines!"

For the first few moments, she encountered no one in the empty palace halls. Only at the front entrance did she finally find a group of soldiers led by, surprisingly, her grandparents. Having never left the first rank due to age, they couldn't really fight, so their presence was surprising. Experience more content on My Virtual Library Empire

Her arrival caused a stir among the sombre soldiers gathered there to protect the palace. "Naeku!" Fatima, her grandmother, cried out in her old voice. "You're awake!"

"Teta!" Naeku exclaimed desperately. "What's going on?! Where did they come from?! And what do you mean I'm awake?!"

While Tarek ordered the soldiers to keep their calm in an old but commanding voice, Fatima quickly made her way over to her granddaughter, walking stick ticking against the stone steps.

"You've been in an unexplained coma for months now, little Naeku…" Fatima explained quickly, her brows furrowed in a worried frown. "The war has not been going well since then. The hunters returned in force, and neither that Erik boy nor Ankhur could pull the troops together like you always did…"

"W— What?!" Naeku muttered in total shock. "H— How is that—"

But then she shook her head. The screams and explosions in the background convinced her to immediately move on. "Whatever! It doesn't matter! Where are Erik and my father?!"

"They're fighting in front of the walls," Fatima sighed, sadly shaking her head. "And according to the last reports, they won't last much longer…"

"Dammit, alright!" Naeku cursed and immediately decided to take action. Sprinting past her grandmother, she jumped in front of the squad of soldiers that was apparently assigned to keep the palace, or more precisely, her sleeping body, safe from harm.

"I'm taking over, Grandpa!" she exclaimed at Tarek. Her military mindset had taken over, and she would not accept any backtalk—not even from him.

Fortunately, Tarek wasn't planning to offer any, and neither did the soldiers. In fact, they were ecstatic at their much-beloved commander's return.

Without delay, she led them into the city proper and started fighting back against the invading forces. With shield and spear in hand, she fought valiantly against their overwhelming number as she moved steadily towards the gate.

Along the way, she picked up several more soldiers and saved many people, but she knew there was only one way for this to truly end: by winning the confrontation between third rankers. She had to see if there was any aid she could offer them…