- So... That's basically the current situation - I said to Will, sitting in his office in the late evening.

I could see the lights fighting with the darkness through the windows, on the streets of Arc. Will didn't seem to be happy with the information he just received. He hid his face in his hands, and rubbed it a bit, before putting them down and sighing heavily.

- So we should prepare for war? How big is the chance that those are the guys of whom The Great One was always speaking? - he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders, unable to give him a proper answer.

- Maybe. I don't know. It's too soon to know. He will notify us if he finds out anything more, but I guess we should be preparing for the worst-case scenario. Even if whatever-it-is is not hostile, it might become, since guys working against us, already are working to contact that entity, to use it against our queen Ixa - I added a moment later.

- Fine. I'll gather the trustworthy people, and tell them to start preparations - said Will. - There is no way I'm letting you face this alone.

- If it's anything like Ixa was, then you won't be able to help at all - I pointed out.

- Maybe not on the front lines. But we can hold the back line. If you fail, we will fight too. This will, at least, give you the comfort of knowing that there is a backup plan - he argued.

I sighed, then nodded.

- Ok. Let's do it your way - I agreed.

Mostly knowing that it was pointless to try and change his mind, and also because I knew that he wanted to help, even if he couldn't do much. I, in his situation, would also want to help, because I couldn't bare to stay idle and just watch.

Will stood up, and extended a hand, giving me a clear signal that our meeting was done. He probably had a lot of work with organizing everything in the ranks of Arc, for the preparations for the worst-case scenario, so I just accepted this, stood up too, and shook his hand before leaving.

I left the building and entered the first dark alley, to immediately shadow walk to Loistavadvaar.

I without delay, I began my hunt in some random gate, chasing after ghosts there, but I didn't find any. It was understandable, because I only spent there few hours, till morning, when I had to return and make breakfast.

As Celestine, Tihana, and I, sat by the table to eat, I started the conversation:

- I'm gonna be less around for the next, at least, few days. Since I was the one cooking so far, I guess you should know. Something came up, and I need to do a few things.

Tihana had a toast with jelly in her open mouth, but her hand fell on the table when she heard that.

- What happened? - she asked bluntly.

This put Celestine on alert. I glanced at her briefly, but after telling her what I already did, trying to come up with a clever lie seemed pointless.

- I need to prepare. There he's been some grim news spreading. I won't go into details, but it might be something dangerous. Before you panic, we know very little as of now. It's just a precaution I'm taking - I explained.

- W-who are we? - Celestine jumped into the conversation.

- Will and a few others - I explained quickly.

Tihana seemed frozen. She was thinking heavily before she picked up her toast again.

- It will be fine. Dad can deal with this - she said, more to Celestine than to me, although I was the one she was looking at. - I guess we should split the house chores.

With her last sentence, her attention switched to the brunette, who gave a slight smile in response.

- I guess we should - she said then, but the little bit of fear I was sensing in her behavior, didn't vanish. - W-when are you leaving? - she then asked me.

- After breakfast - I responded. - The place I hunt in is far away, and the monsters are... Quite hard to find, not like here, around Arc.

This immediately picked her interest, but she didn't ask further questions. She rather focused on the food. I seized the moment and started stuffing myself because I knew, that I might not have time to eat properly if I were to begin chasing after ghosts.

I ate most of what was on the table, then went to the bathroom to refresh myself, and straight-up shadow walked to Loistavadvaar.

There was no time to waste, especially when I didn't have The Great One to point me to the correct place to find any enemies. I had to do that on my own, which was a very much hit-or-miss situation.

I had only a vague idea of where I can find some of them, which gave birth to the idea of maybe looking around the outskirts of Aaraam'soturi. It was a very dangerous place, which even managed to push back the High Queen herself, so I didn't give it too much thought but also didn't completely ignore the idea.

The next few days passed me running around, and a few occasional fights. I gathered a handful of crystals, but instead of investing them, I put them in my vault. To use later, when the correct time came.

I preferred to have an idea of which skills would be useful for me, before dumping large amounts of points into something, which would prove to be useless in the potential fight. Of course, there were some universal things I could invest in, but I would rather choose the best option if I was able to, which led to this decision.

During this time The Great One didn't contact me, which was clearly indicating that I had some room to work with, but I eventually grew tired and popped back home, straight to my room. To get a nice shower, and spent some time in my own bed. Mostly on sleeping, but there was also an option for something else.

Something much more fun. Wink, wink.historical