An overview of the Skyworld kingdom was seen, with Kloud and Flint rushing through the crowd of civilian Rhyme, beasts, and other allied species. The two made their way through several blocks of populous, before reaching the castle courtyard. The perimeters were guarded by armored templar, but that didn't stop the duo from entering the main hall of the castle. Inside they encountered Ayame, which forced them to cease movement.

"Just where on Desdemuna are you two off to in such a hurry?" She crossed her arms.

"A-Ayame!" Kloud gulped, his face turning bright red.

"Flint, when I asked you to help him, I didn't think you'd stoop to Kloud's level. There are much more civilized ways to enter Aoba's domain." Ayame gestured at Kloud, before holding her temples. "You two better have a good reason to explain this manner of behavior."

"Believe it or not, we actually do." Flint stated. "The grand master will need to hear about this, it's pretty urgent."

Ayame's gaze turned to Kloud, getting in his face. "Explain it for me then."

"Well, that Amygdala that Aoba sent me after... She's... uh... well...." Kloud stammered.

"Kloud, out with it." Ayame appeared cross.

"We discovered she's... the next Queen of Fiends." Kloud was nervously avoiding looking to her.

"There's no way..." Ayame gasped, in shock. She was holding her hand over her mouth. "The bloodline survived after what the former grand master did to Lenault? I-I'm in shock... That means, this Amygdala is even higher priority than the Angel of Death... Maker's breath...This needs to get to Grand Master Aoba immediately! Quickly!" She exclaimed, taking Kloud's wrist, to lead him and Flint in the direction of Aoba's study.

The situation in the deep roads however, was still very confrontational. Nye was fleeing oncoming assaults from various lesser fiends as she made her way to the underground city. With how many beasts attempted to flank her, it was far too dangerous to engage in combat. She narrowly dodged a tail striking from behind her, that crashed into the walls of the nearby catacombs. This forced her to land with one hand touching the ground.

"Mistress, allow me to assist you." Nikolai phased from her grasp, forming his scythe.

More fiends flooded in around them, which made Nye a bit edgy. "Now's not the time, Nikolai!" She insisted, before quickly attempting to escape.

Nikolai turned to see where Nye was progressing, hastefully warping to her side. "As you wish, mi'lady."

Nye kept her eyes on the path ahead, trying to keep a strong face. "(Just what has gotten into the fiends? All but Nikolai seem to have grown hostile. It doesn't make any sense.)"

The eerie glimpse of the savage beasts pursing Nye in the darkness was seen from above, as several eyes observed from the darkness. "Everything is going according to plan... Ehehehe..." It cackled in a sinister manner, as the mysterious figure hung from the ceiling of the cave by black tentacles.

Finally, after dodging with several parkour maneuvers, and weaving around the several aggressive monsters; Nye and Nikolai reached the gates of Wynorex. Nikolai watched her back, forming his scythe, as Nye went to open the doors. Many fiends were incoming, letting both Nye and Nikolai narrowly make it inside Wynorex, and managed to get the gates sealed before there could be any further conflict. Nye was sweating, and out of breath, as she held the gates with her back. She slid down to the ground, sitting there in relief, with Nikolai floating just beside her.

"That was way too close for comfort..." She muttered, with closed eyes.

"NYE!" Called a frantic voice. Nye's eyes opened, peering up to see Miles staring down at her in concern. "H-Hey... Are you alright? What happened to your hand?" He asked, his ears slanting backwards. He was eyeing the bandage wrapping that Jack had placed on her.

"I'll be fine." She replied, getting up to her feet. "Where's Finch? Something's going on with the lesser fiends out in the caverns... I need to speak with him."

"...He's in his study. Hey... look, Nye..." Miles glanced off nervously. "About earlier..."

"We can discuss that incident another time. Right now, there's hundreds of fiends at our doorstep. I need you to go make sure the others are aware of the situation. I'm not sure if those gates will hold up, or not. Understand?" Nye glanced his way.

"U-Uh. Yeah, s-sure thing." Miles nodded, still nervous from before, as he timidly watched Nye head to Finch's chambers. He sighed, sliding his hand up his forehead into his hair.

Nye entered Finch's study, peering over to him as she knocked on the entry way's wall. "Finch."

"Oh, my queen. You've returned." Finch smiled to her.

"Aye." She said, before entering the room. "We have a situation outside our walls. I need your consultation on the matter." Nye explained.

At this time, Miles was walking up the steps to where the others were located. His ears perked up a bit, listening. In the room ahead, Zyron was coming to.

"Shit... Where... the fuck... am I now?...." He grunted in a displeased tone, sitting up briefly.

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine." Ashewyn snickered, from behind a lit cigarette. He had been sitting in the corner of the room, resting his chin to his free hand.

Zyron quickly looked his way, with an angered face. "Got something to say to me, asswipe!?"

"Chill out, Goldy-locks. Pinkie had me bring you here to make sure you didn't die. She's asleep in the other room, so relax buddy." Ashewyn teased, getting to his feet, and stepping out the butt of his cigarette that he dropped.

"..." Zyron looked off, with a disgruntled gaze. His eyes trailed back, when Ashe leaned forward, in a pestering way.

"That's some attitude, well, I'm sure she'll at least be relieved you're feeling better." Ashewyn joked.

Zyron shoved Ashe to a distance, baring his fangs. "GET OUT OF MY FACE!" He snapped.

"Jeez, talk about testy." Ashewyn scoffed, with a smirk. "There's no way a girl like that would want such a snappy Vuplis as a pet."

"How about you go fuck yourself." Zyron retorted.

"Sounds to me like you want that Solitaire girl as your master." Ashe teased, in a cunning manner.

"I'm no one's pet!!" Zyron snapped, angrily.

"I see the dog's finally awake." Miles intruded, leaning to the doorway with his arms crossed with a bored expression.

Right as the two glanced Miles's way, before they could even make an effort to reply; there was a sudden noise like a battering ram crashing into the front gates. It was so strong the cave shook briefly with some minor debris floating down from the cavern's ceiling.

"What the FUCK was THAT!?" Zyron growled, tensing up.

"Shit... Okay listen up. Nye just got back in, and said something about fiends surrounding us. She sent me up here to warn everyone. I-I don't know what she's planning, but we could be at risk if those gates don't hold up." Miles tried to explain, urgently.

"Well, ain't that peachy. Alright then, time to go guys. Move it or lose it." Ashewyn stated, heading for the door.

"Wait a goddamn minute!" Zyron shifted, trying to get up.

Ashe's eyes shot over to Zyron, without delay. "If there's any chance of invasion, with how loud that was, we won't survive the first wave. Let's get the ladies, and bail NOW."

Zyron seemed unnerved, but nodded. "U-Uh... Yeah... Good point... Fucking hell..." He stammered, getting his feet to the ground.

"Fluffy, handle getting him suited up. I'll grab Solitaire. Don't waste any time." Ashe instructed, exiting the room in a hurry.

"..." Miles lazily looked to Zyron.

"..." Zyron quirked a brow back at him. "Gonna help me or what?!"

"Ugh! Fine!" Miles whined, moving to help Zyron get the rest of his gear on.

In the other room, Ashewyn got to Solitaire's bed side. Without warning, he scooped her out of bed, startling her as he placed her over his shoulder. "BLOODY HELL!? JUST WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU ARSE!? YOU NEARLY SCARED THE KNICKERS OFF OF ME!" She exclaimed, in panic.

There was another loud bang down stairs. Ashewyn's eyes glanced it's way. "It'll be a lot worse if you stay here, trust me." He stated, grabbing her boots from the floor, and proceeding back to the hall.

Miles was helping Zyron out the door, when there was a harder bang, that shook the whole location. It made Solitaire jump, gripping to Ashe. "WHAT THE BLEEDING HELL WAS THAT!?"

"Nye!" Miles called, as he spotted Nye and Finch hurrying to the gates with Nikolai right behind them.

Nye happened to glance his way, right as the front gates busted open with fiends manning a make shift battering ram. Her attention turned quick, as she fumbled to form her wraith-edge. She was going to be quickly overrun by demons if the others didn't do something fast. The swarm flooded the ground, and the air, without a moment's notice. Miles rushed ahead of the others with his sword drawn.

"Guess we got company." Ashewyn remarked, as he followed Miles' lead; setting Solitaire down, and forming his flaming dragon armor before proceeding after him.

Zyron had formed his staff, using it as a crutch to stand, while both he and Solitaire stared to the commencing chaos below. The fiends were already engaging their allies. Nye was slashing them back, the best she could, with Finch by her side blasting some beasts with the flame magic from his will-o-wisp lantern. Nikolai had already drawn his scythe, wailing it at nearing foes.

Miles joined the fray, slashing with his katana. However, a fiend had proceeded to cause a preemptive strike on the feline, as he was combating another fiend. When to Miles' surprise, his adolescent phoenix dove down, blasting blue fire out, and scorching away the savage monster. "Ember?" Miles asked in shock, seeing the bird looking his way as his hovered beside him. Miles quickly seemed relieved letting his gaze trail over to the Queen of Fiends, as he was preparing his next attack. "Nye, we're coming. Just hang on..." He spoke softly.

Ashewyn has also joined the battle, knocking back many oncoming fiends that rushed his way. Solitaire bit her lip, restraining herself, before rushing in after them as parts of her body morphed into blades. "..." She seemed scared.

"HEY! DON'T BE STUPID!" Zyron shouted at her. "IT'S TOO DANGEROUS DOWN THERE!"

"I can't just stand around like some bleeding statue! There's no way they can handle this on their own!" Solitaire nervously retorted back, not letting up her pursuit, as she lunged down and slashed off a head of a lesser fiend.

Zyron gritted his teeth, knowing she was right. "Goddamn it!" He swore, shakily attempting to follow after her, even though he was still wounded. A fiend was rushing Solitaire's way, but Zyron enchanted his staff, casting out magic. "HEY! WATCH OUT!!" He called, as the ice magic froze over the beast in a matter of seconds, and sent it flying into a wall; before it shattered like glass. Solitaire nervously looked his way, just barely avoiding friendly fire.

The battlefield was in complete disarray, as a massive fiend burrowed it's way from the soil, screeching at Nye and the others. The tension was heating up, forcing a decision to be made. Nye bared her fangs, before shouting to the others. "Listen to me! We need to abandon Wynorex, and flee! Hurry for the tunnels!" She commanded.

With that, she had her allies' attention, even in the midst of battle. "Nye..." Miles timidly glanced her way.

"Spooky's right..." Solitaire muttered, glancing back to Zyron who was trying to keep on his feet.

"You heard the lady! Time to go!" Ashewyn called to Solitaire and Zyron.

Making haste, the entire party began to maneuver so that they could reach the exit; fighting back whatever foes engaged them. They were just barely managing to avoid major conflict, as the group reached the corridor. There was still many fiends looming in the underground tunnels, as Nye and her allies regrouped. "There's an escape route just through this passage, let's move." Nye instructed, leading the others with her, as fast as they could proceed.

Many fiends were crawling on the tunnel's floors, and flying above in the dark crevices of the ceiling around them. Nye let the others get ahead of her, as fiends began to flank them. Finch was the closest to her, keeping his lantern at bay as Nye summoned her blade.

"We're nearly to the exit, don't stop now!" Nye tried to ease their minds. She kept a protective stance, slashing back a few hostile fiends, as she let the others hurry ahead. However, she noticed that Finch had kept near. "Come on!" Nye called, getting Finch's attention, as they hurried to catch up with the others.

Suddenly, there was another powerful tremor, which shook the entire cavern. A gigantic rock crashed down from the ceiling, colliding with the ground before sending a surge of dust and derbies around. Everyone was on the ground coughing and bracing themselves after the sudden impact.

"Is everyone alright!?" Nye called, looking to the rock, as she stood up. She could see Finch pushing himself off the ground as well, but the others could not be seen. "Miles! Solitaire! Ashe! Nikolai! Can you hear me!?"

From the opposite side of the massive rock blocking the tunnel's path, the others seemed to be alright, also getting to their feet. Nikolai was peering to the rock, then to the others.

"Nye, we're okay! It's just... The rubble is blocking the path..." Miles said, his back facing the direction they had been heading. His phoenix was in his arms, as his ears drooped back.

Nye hesitated, glancing back to see the growling faces of the advancing monsters creeping in around her and Finch. "My queen." Finch looked to her.

Nye begrudgingly turned to the rock, with a stern gaze. "Ashewyn, get them to Knothole! There's no time to waste trying to get through this cave in."

"You got it!" Ashe replied, glancing back to the others.

"What about you though, Spooky?" Solitaire spoke up.

Nye took a breath, facing her back to the rocks. "Don't worry about me. We'll rendezvous back at the safe house. Get going!" She stated.

"Don't take any chances, Nye. Finch, Make sure she gets out of here." Ashe stated, seriously.

"Leave it to me." Finch held to his lantern firmly.

"Let's move guys!" Ashewyn ordered, getting Miles, Solitaire, Zyron and Nikolai to follow his lead further down the passageway.

"There should be another passage this way, keep close." Nye instructed to Finch, as she proceeded to slash back some fiends to resume the escape.

"As you wish, I'm right behind you." Finch replied, hurrying after Nye as the two traveled further through the deep roads.

They were forced to fend off more beasts, before reaching an underpass in the catacombs, where it grew more scarce of hostile creatures. With it more at ease, they placed away their weapons, continuing through the tunnel. "This direction seems far quieter, we might be able to avoid further conflict from here. I just hope everyone else made it out." Nye spoke up, walking ahead.

"Luck may be on our side yet..." Finch agreed, following not to far behind her.

Without any given warning, Nye suddenly felt a massive surge of pain as her body grew fatigued. Her legs gave out, with her vision became disoriented. It took a few moments to realize that she had fallen, and was laying back in Finch's arms. "F-Finch?..." She weakly inquired, just barely noticing him removing a syringe from her neck. The veins had turned deep purple, in a near black shade, touching the surface of her skin.

"Everything has gone exactly as expected. Hahaha." Finch chuckled, taking the map from Nye's pocket. "I'll be taking this..."

"Finch? What the hell are you trying to pull!?" Nye struggled to speak out, but she couldn't move her body.

Finch had gotten up to his feet, slyly smirking down at Nye, as he held his mask up to his face. "Your lack of understanding is certainly adorable, I'm only surprised you were so easy to fool, it's rather deplorable. Did you truly think that I would blindly align myself with your forces, after having been wary of you to begin with? It's hard to believe that you're really this naive. You were able to rise as the perfect decoy for the Templar, and now that their eyes are locked on you, we no longer require your services."

"What are you going on about, Finch? ... Why are you turning coat like this?" Nye was struggling to get the words out, it was getting hard to breath.

"All that clammer you made about being the Queen of Fiends, was nothing more than subterfuge given to you by Lenault. You're not the Ghestro heir, you never were. You were a convenience to undermine the templar, a ploy to confuse the enemy. Let's face the facts. You just don't fit the archetype, Nyghtmare. Do you really think a queen would rise from nothing? That's little more than a dream. A fairy tale." Finch cunningly stared down Nye.

"You couldn't possibly know that... you weren't there when I met Lenault. Do you think I'd fall for this?" Nye was breathing rather heavy.

"I may not have been there, but that doesn't discredit what I know to be factual. Think about it, have you tried to remove that ring yet?" Finch asked, seriously. He watched as Nye's eyes trailed to it, but hesitated to speak. "I had a feeling, but even if you did attempt to do so, it would inevitably fail. You see, Lenault bestowed a cursed object upon you. It's not the true ring, that one was buried with him ages ago. You may be able to speak with fiends, but a bastard like you doesn't posses a true heir's full abilities. There's no way around this, understand?"

"...." Nye took a shaky breath, her eyes wearily averting contact. "This.... This doesn't make any sense..." Her breathing was growing sporadic, and her tone cracking.

"It must be hard on you, but it will all be over soon, dear Nyghtmare. I don't even have to lift a finger now. The deadly nightshade that I injected into your blood stream, has already paralyzed your body, and soon you'll completely lose functionality. No one can save you from your demise. Time's running out, so don't dwell on the past. It will be like falling into an endless sleep." Finch smiled, eerily, just as Nye's vision went black, and she lost consciousness.

Finch turned from Nye, as he was proceeding to abandon her in that tunnel, when he was suddenly slammed hard against the wall. His neck was being strangled, and a knife inserted into his stomach, as Finch's mask tumbled to his feet.

Sharp blue eyes leered at Finch, not loosening the hold. "I should have ended your life the moment we first met." Stated the voice of Jack, who kept Finch's body pinned harshly against the cave wall. There was magic trails of blood floating from the infliction of the dagger.

Blood was coming from Finch's lips, as he chuckled manically. "Hahahaha... Here I thought you weren't going to show your face again... you're really a nuisance, you know that?... Heh heh... I still have the advantage here, even though you may have me in a bind. You're surrounded from all angles, giving you only two options, blood mage." Finch held up to fingers, before lowering them. "Either put the final nail in the coffin, or attempt to save her life. Go ahead... Kill me.... You won't have enough time to do both, so make your choice... It's fight or flight."

Jack was flaring his fangs, as he hesitated. He could feel the impending rise of fiends closing in around him. Begrudgingly, Jack decided to shove Finch to the side, as he rushed to Nye's aid. Scooping her up into his arms, he eyed the swarms of monsters in the passage way. His eyes darted to the end of the tunnel, as he quickly used his shadow stepping to make haste for the nearest route to the surface.

Finch watched them flee, as he uneasily pulled himself to his feet. "Seems the tides have shifted, for now. Either way, the under city is now under our control, and soon the Nightshade will be too far along to reverse the effects. She won't survive the night." He grinned, as the scene showed Jackyn hurrying with Nye in his arms, proceeding for higher ground with a disgruntled look in his eyes.

Meanwhile, back around the Oakwood gallows. The scene focused to a passageway, where the knights shut the stone door, blocking out any sunlight from the cold damp chamber where Shane's body had been left. Some rats crawled along his corpse, seeking their next meal. There was a pause of silence, with only the sound of shifting vermin, and their faint squeaking chatter. From the other end of the chamber, a stone wall was seen. Upon it held several detailed carvings of the story of how the Templar took down the Amygdala, and their brutal methods of torture and death.

One of the carvings was an Amygdala locked in a pillory, as a templar angel sawed off the Amygdala's wings. Another, had shown an Amygdala strapped down, and tied to four horses, in the method of them being hung, drawn and quartered. The third showed a female Amygdala, she was naked and put astride, on a donkey-like apparatus. There was even one for impalement, hanging and beheading.

The stone wall suddenly shifted, as it slid aside to reveal a hidden passage. From the darkness, a female figure appeared. She was obscured from view, due to her very long hair and the lighting of the chamber, as she stepped closer to the corpse.

A close up glimpse of her dark purple lipstick was visible as she smirked to the body. The darkness around her was trembling at her feet. "Poor little thing, you've met with a dreadful fate, haven't you? Tsk tsk tsk." she spoke, in a rather twisted demeanor. She crouched down to grab his chin, with her black nails. Her presence alone was chilling to the bone, even with the near impossible sight of her. "I wasn't expecting a fresh corpse in this bone pit..."

Behind the eerie woman, a skeletal unicorn emerged from the passage behind her. It came up beside her, prodding it's nose against Shane's shoulder. This caused the gaze of the woman to shift to the horse-like beast.

"You must be joking. You want this human? I doubt he will do. You can't possibly want some human corpse as your rider." She scoffed a bit as she stood up, placing her hand to her hip. She brushed her bangs gently to the side with her free hand.

This caused the skeleton unicorn to lightly kick back a bit of dirt with one of it's front hooves, as it whinnied in disagreement.

"Fine. If you really want this rotting corpse, don't let me stop you. Stubborn mule." The woman retorted, with an almost snake-like hiss. She sneered, forcing Shane's corpse to stand up, as she grabbed his scarf. Her emerald eyes glowed, as they eerily gazed upon him. "Arise decaying form, return the soul to flesh. I beckon thy will, and bend thine ear. Cords and censor, scourge and knife. I cast open the gates of death, and awaken thee unto life." She chanted, inhaling the air around her, before her painted lips were inches away from Shane's lifeless mouth.

The woman exhaled, with a strange dark, and smokey aura flowing from her lungs. It was circling around Shane's body, glimmering faintly as it spiraled around like a mist, before it rapidly flooded his jaws. There was a loud, and sudden gasp for air, as life came back into Shane's eyes. His ears began to elongate, into a knife shaped form. The skin of his face to his chest, began to show bleeding under his skin, appearing like black blood, that manifested skeletal markings onto his face and body.

The strange woman coldly dropped him to his hands and knees, before stepping back briefly with a stone-like gaze. Shane was painfully coughing up some blood, struggling to even hold his body from the ground. From his back, two spine like formed emerged, tearing out with human skulls chattering. Shane's blood was dripping around, but somehow he was breathing. It was staggering as his neck slumped, but he was alive.

"A broken neck... Typical." The woman groaned, boredly. Her sharp eyes shot at him, as she gently elevated her palms in unison. From the soil, several skeletal hands tore through, before the bones of human corpses surfaced.

Two grabbed Shane, forcing him back to his feet, and slamming his weakened body hard into the stone wall. His neck was fairly limp as he was held there, but the woman drew closer, grabbing his jaw, to lift up his chin. With a subtle movement, she snapped his neck back into place, with a loud crack. Shane flinched, with one eye faintly drawn open to peer at her. His breathing was starting to settle.

"What... did you... do to...me..?" Shane panted, softly. His eyes trailed to the skeletons holding him against the wall.

This caused the woman to smirk, devilishly at him. "The dead fight for me, so as you can see, I'm the one who resurrected you."

"... I don't understand..." Shane had an exhausted expression, but he did not move. Even the newly formed bone appendages weakly hung from his back. "...Who are you?"

"You were chosen by Death, so I was left with no option, but to turn you. Everything else shall be explained in due time." She explained, motioning to her skeletons to release Shane, before proceeding to the exit. He barely caught his footing, seeing the bone unicorn looking his way, and the strange woman turning for the opening in the wall. "You have no choice but to follow me. Our destinies are entwined, so come along, you're one of us now." She said, before stepping through the opening.

Shane hesitated, looking to his hands. He was shaking, from the trauma he endured with death, and then his revival. It was too much for his mind to wrap around at the moment. He had so many questions he needed answering. His eyes glanced back to the skeletal horse, which peered his way, before following the woman. Shane stared for a moment, before deciding to follow. As they all passed into the secret entry way, the passage closed behind them.