Myles tried to find some positives in her current situation. It was a relief to be away from all the lava, at least. And an even bigger one that she'd gotten the sword to Cloudy Eye and his student, Esther.

Less of a relief was once again being in the clutches of the Verdant Colony's Commander Raytris, who was beyond furious that the sword had eluded her, mostly due to Myles swiping it and getting it to her friend. She was now being being led through a stone underground path in the nearest city controlled by the Colony, the surviving Obsidian Hunters still with them, with two each with firm grasps on Myles' arms, making sure she wasn't trying to break out of her handcuffs, and Sev behind her playing with his sword, a constant reminder that he was ready to strike.

"If you move one step out of line, one hair out of what I command you to do again, I'll kill you on the spot," Raytris said. "I should kill you right now. I should have killed you when you stole the artifact."

"But you haven't yet," Myles said. "Because you still need me."

"Because there are rules," Raytris said. "My side follows them. Because we have honor. Dignity. Integrity. Things you lack entirely."

"I think I have at least a little integrity," Myles said.

"And because I want to see you afraid," Raytris said.

"I was pretty scared back in the lava, sister." Myles said. "And with all the traps your guys almost stepped on, I thought I'd get hit in the crossfire."

"One hit," Raytris said, holding a single finger up.

"Gladly." Sev said, stepping forward to punch Myles in the stomach. As she wheezed in pain, Raytris continued.

"I want you truly afraid," Raytris said. "So scared you have no smug comments to give, no acts of resistance. Fear of understanding that aberrations will not be tolerated in our world. I'm bringing you somewhere where I can get my wish. A place where And then when you face that true abyss, then I'll kill you."

Myles didn't have a response as she was dragged along, the lights in the tunnel seeming to dim more and more the further they walked.

Kit's dreams were a different sort of darkness, but still plenty frightening. She dreamt of her home, her real home, not the tiny dorm the Colony stuck her in, a real home, a comfy place with plenty of rooms and parents that were actually there. Only they weren’t this night, and they never returned there.

It was the Day of the Verdant Sun, where something happened to end the war that left most of the population missing or dead or something. Kit didn’t know that at the time. In her dream, the screams were the same as they were, a kid who couldn’t understand why the fighting was happening. Everything got blurrier as the walls shook, and all she had was Myles holding her close saying “It’ll be OK,” over and over as if to affirm it to herself more than to her sister.

Then she was awake, alive again after thinking it was all over. Esther was sitting over her. Kit groggily wailed a bit as one does after sleeping on the floor. Then the last night came back to her. A girl crashing her plane into the sea, a strange sword with her, one who knew Kit's name.

“How are you feeling?" Kit asked. As Esther stretched, looking like she had a cozy night's sleep in spite of her incredible crash right before it. Kit went to her cupboard to get them some of her breakfast rations, giving one to Esther and having one for herself.

Now what?

Esther seemed to read Kit's mind, answering quickly.

"I can explain everything," Esther said. "I hate to ask this, but can you show me to the nearest temple first?"

Kit wondered if she should oblige the request. Why couldn't they just have the conversation in her room? She still had some time before her work shift, and she hadn't visited the nearest temple of the ancient ones in a while.

Kit bitterly figured the temple would be torn down any day now, given the Colony's dislike of any signifier of the ancient ones and their legacy. They had already ransacked most of the temples, claiming they were simply making modifications.

The temple in Kit's district was called the Temple of Life. Fittingly, it barely looked like a building, more like a giant bulb of plants all crammed together and held together by vines.

Kit tried to look as normal as she could on the way there, walking casually and trying to avoid any Colony guards. She had Esther put on one of her uniforms, making her stand out less. Esther still elected to bring along her strange sword, the one that she claimed to be Ihli's.

Kit could see looking through the front gate of the temple that they were alone; not many people visited the temple anymore, some out of lack of care, others out of fear that the ancient ones had been cursed after Verdant Sun and that it would spread to them if they stepped inside.

Esther looked around and started walking around the perimeter of the temple instead of going through the front gates.

“Are we going inside?” Kit asked.

“We are, just a different way.” Esther said.

She led Kit around the vine covered walls and through the tall grass. The duo reached a small clearing with a little dirt patch by a wall covered in carvings. Esther flashed a smile before parting a few, and touched one of the wall etchings. It began to glow, and the ground shook. Kit flinched but still looked forward in awe at the section of wall slowly rising upwards, dripping down trapped rainwater left over for who knows how long.

"How did you know...that would..." Kit started.

“Come on!” Esther said as she went inside.

Kit wondered what exactly she had gotten herself into as she followed Esther down a staircase into a hallway, covered with the same carvings as outside, showing some of the legendary events of the ancient ones. None of them scratched by the Colony's claws.

"This is...incredible," Kit said.

Esther stopped at another door. Like the wall outside, it opened to her touch.

“Here it is.”

Kit followed her into a very different room. While much of the temple was mostly filled with stone, this room was more advanced technologically. A large map of the entirety of  the continent was built on top of a table in the center of the room.

“The ancient ones built a room like this in every temple," Esther explained. "They were guardians, and this was their way of knowing where to be, what was wrong…”

Kit didn’t feel worthy to be there. Esther walked around the table, looking for something. Her eyes lit up. KIt followed her to the other side of the table to see a slot carved into it. Esther unsheathed the sword, which fit perfectly into the slot.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Esther looked frustrated, almost desperate as she stared into the blank space in front of them.

Then, the sword ignited, and lit up the whole room. Random points of light and shapes surrounded them. Kit let out a small gasp as they began moving faster and faster, before they started to form clearer shapes, and the details were painted in with beautiful color. The carved map on the table was now lit up with all kinds of details.

“Look at the side, this map has everything.” Esther said. 

Kit was entranced by the sword and the glowing map, igniting the room in all hues, with dotted lines crossing everywhere and languages she mostly didn’t understand. Esther reached toward some tabs floating next to her. The projection responded and changed, flipping through a few cities and regions. While moving, she heard something rattle in the empty sheath on her back. She took it off and Kit and Esther both stared as a small piece of paper fell out of it.

They both stood there for a moment, Kit not sure how to process any of this. Esther picked it up, and smiled softly.

"I think," Esther said, holding the paper out to Kit. "This is for you."

Kit's hands shook as she took the paper.

Kit:

This isn’t safe with me. Bring it back to its rightful owner.

Myles

Kit stared at it and scanned the words a few times. Letters from Myles were usually dramatic descriptions of life in the big city, but this was different. But it was absolutely her handwriting. Kit read it out loud to Esther, her voice trembling much like her hands.

"That girl's tricky," Esther said. "I'm not even sure when she snuck the letter in there."

"You know Myles?" Kit asked.

"I do," Esther said. "Not incredibly well, but. My teacher is friends with her. We went on a mission to get the sword. She got captured.

"She...wh-" The room felt like it was spinning.

"Myles is alright, don't worry," Esther said. "She's tough, she'll be alright."

"So...the..." Kit tried to piece together all the information that had just fallen onto her like an avalanche from an overstuffed closet. "The rightful owner...that sword is..."

“It's Ihli's,” Esther said. “I told you, it's the real thing. The rightful owner. He could fix this! He beat Astraea, after all. I’m sure he could help turn the tide.”

Kit could only stare on in shock. Not only did this girl know her sister, but the sword she'd brought with her was the blade wielded by Ihli Azariah, the person who saved the world.

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