Fayn Itagral

The map of the northern part of the continent unfolded in my mind as I flew. The prisons formed a diamond. At the top vertex was Helena, on the right was Jader, at the bottom was Violet, and on the left was Kusog. Beneath this structure lay the Capital. All these points were equidistant from each other.

For some reason, Hogan gave me a specific sequence to follow for retrieving the War Lords from their prisons. I still didn't understand his intention, but it must be related to Helena or the mission he refuses to tell me about.

I had also never heard such urgency in his voice as I did a few minutes ago. He didn't seem to be anywhere near the Dahlia Festival; at least, there were no similar sounds during the call. I wondered how Alissia was; she said she would attend the celebration.

Considering the old man's urgency, Alissia wouldn't get a minute of rest today. Being the only captain still in the Capital had its disadvantages at certain times.

Helena broke the silence as the prison appeared on the horizon.

"What is that?"

It was a valley surrounded by mountains. Inside the valley were five main structures; I recognized the designs as soon as I saw them.

On the outer part of the complex were four pillars forming a square. A high, thick wall made of pure metal connected the pillars, forming the edges of the square. I didn't even need to enhance my vision to see the eternum flux within the pillars.

The eternum came from above like a funnel. The white mass emitted enough heat and light to turn night into day. All that shapeless mass entered the pillar and ran through its mechanisms in numerous cycles; the temperature at this point was so immense that the colors alternated between gold, white, and red. The eternum was released at the bottom into the atmosphere as another hot mass. The heat generated by the particle movement was directed by ventilation ducts leading into the prison itself.

The prison was in the center. There was nothing special about its external architecture; it was like any other prison in the Capital. The only difference was the four chimneys to allow excess heat to escape.

My body grew warm even while flying high. The air I inhaled felt like it had been preheated in a kettle. I found a large number of soldiers resting in the area inside the walls but outside the prison. They all wore only light clothing: short-sleeved shirts, thinner pants, and the two women had their hair tied up.

They didn't notice my approach when I landed a bit farther away. The dark-haired woman noticed when I took a few steps and bowed. The others took a second to close their left fists and hit their right chests, trying to stand up in an awkward manner.

Helena let out a laugh watching a pair further back. The veteran soldier tried to tackle last year's rookie and ended up being taken down by him.

"Is that your army?"

I turned to greet the captain of this division. It took Helena and Jader two seconds to notice the approaching fluctuation.

"It's the Capital's army."

Finally, she appeared, jumping from the top of the metal wall and landing in front of me. Blue eyes found the two beside me and then fixed on me; a scowl formed on her masterfully painted face. The golden strands of her hair were tied in a ponytail, and she wore the same light clothing as the soldiers, with the difference being she wore her captain's coat. A replica of mine, issued to all captains, but the pentagon on the back was white, not gold.

"It's been what? A year?"

"I thought you'd be happier to see me."

"The environment isn't conducive to good cheer."

"I imagine not." A moment of silence followed. I knew she wanted to tell me something, but I wouldn't ask. Not now, at least. "Well, let's get to the cell and settle this quickly."

The captain let out a stifled laugh, shaking her head. She pushed me aside and started leading the way without a word. Both the soldiers and the two War Lords with me were left with their mouths agape and eyes wide.

"Who is she?"

I didn't even need to answer Helena; the captain spun on her heels and spread her arms to answer while walking backward.

"Captain of the fourth division, member of the Phantom Triumvirate, Unlimited warrior, squad annihilator. Estela Gold."

"She's also my childhood friend."

Estela snapped her fingers and pointed at me as she turned around to walk properly. Helena whispered something to her companion, but he still came toward me.

"What is the Phantom Triumvirate? We heard about it during our imprisonment, but we only know the name and that they're an elite group."

"The Triumvirate is a group formed by the three strongest people in the Capital: myself, Estela Gold, and Alissia Airo. We are responsible for the most high-risk missions requiring a greater level of power, in short."

"And what is the level of those two?"

We stopped in front of the prison; reinforced double metal doors stood before us. They opened slowly due to their weight, giving me some time to think of an answer. Estela glanced back twice but remained silent.

"If I were to compare, I believe Estela and Alissia are on the same level as the War Lords were in their active days."

"Impossible." Helena gestured with her hands and head toward Captain Estela. "That skinny little thing is as strong as I was?"

Estela turned her head slowly, a scowl on her face, until her eyes locked with Helena's crimson ones. I pulled Jader back a bit and took a step away.

"Repeat what you said, if you have the courage."

I covered Jader's mouth with one hand and suppressed a laugh. The redhead smiled proudly, crossed her arms over her chest, and lifted her chin.

"Impossible. That skinny little thing is as strong as I was?"

A vein bulged on my friend's forehead, and she turned to me.

"Deactivate this bracelet. It seems I have to teach this old woman some basic manners."

I ignored Helena's gaping mouth and looked at the nearly fully open doors. I thought carefully about each word before speaking.

"Helena and Jader, you will be under Captain Estela's care until I return." I interrupted the flow inside the bracelet by injecting some ambient eternum; Helena's red eyes widened in surprise. "You can fight, but don't kill each other."

"Are you sure about this?"

The pale man beside me looked worriedly at the two women moving away.

"No." Jader's eyes widened, and he started to open his mouth, but I shouted before he could utter anything. "Which way to the cell?"

"Just go down the stairs!"

She didn't even turn to me… what a wonderful friend.

"Jader, stay here. I'll be back in a moment."

The malnourished man opened his mouth and reached out a hand, but I just ignored him and continued into the prison. I heard a sigh from behind and could imagine the expression on his face. To be honest, I wanted to see the fight between those two.

The interior was like any common prison; it had even been used to confine ordinary criminals. Within moments, I realized why most of the division was outside the building. The place had a strange atmosphere, as if someone was watching me constantly. Of course, the heat was also a major factor.

The air was heavy, hard to breathe, and I needed to concentrate to control my breathing. With every step downward, this difficulty intensified. The sweat dripping down my body was already making me annoyed, my clothes sticking to my skin.

The pipes coming from the four pillars outside heated the corridors even more. When I reached the bottom of the staircase, I saw the cell I was looking for at the end of a dimly lit corridor. As I approached, I also analyzed the woman and her cell.

It was a wall made of some transparent material. Inside the room, the heat distortion was evident and affected almost everything in my vision. The four pipes carrying heat emptied into the four upper corners of the cell, which seemed like a cubicle. The heat distortion was even stronger at the pipe outlets. Even though the hot air rose and was carried away by a few ventilation ducts in the ceiling, it was still nearly unbearable to get closer.

In the center of the cell was a woman. Her hair was a purple so dark it seemed black. She wore tight black clothing covering every inch of her, except for her face, hands, and feet. She was chained to the floor, preventing even the slightest movement, right at the point where the heat from the four pipes met before rising and disappearing through the ceiling.

Four thick chains restrained her torso, one on each limb, and one completely around her jaw. She couldn't even lift her head enough to look at me above my waist. The sweat running down her forehead was absorbed by the black clothing.

Including all that, what impressed me the most was that woman's eternum fluctuation. It was vast—larger than Alissia's or Estela's—constant, and controlled. It lay inert, as if dead, but her chest still moved with her breath. She was the only thing not distorted by the heat.

The information from her file ran through my mind. I took a deep breath before saying anything. When I finally managed to speak, my voice echoed down the corridor.

"My name is Fayn Itagral. I am the High Commander of the Capital. Identify yourself."

The sound of metal clanging against metal echoed through the corridor as the woman raised her head. As I had imagined, she began enhancing her body with an accelerated eternum flux.

The chains stretched to their limit, sucking the eternum from the one they were meant to restrain like a thirsty animal finding a river. Yet, the more was sucked away, the more appeared to continue the enhancement. The blue lines on the black clothing, designed to suppress the flux with electricity, glowed like high-power lamps in a futile effort.

As if merely stretching, she stood up, and the chains broke with a dull thud. The electricity generated by the suit was nullified by the high-speed eternum before it became a threat. The circuits were shattered from the inside out like exploding glass, but were contained by the fabric itself.

The woman was now standing, at the same height as me, looking directly into my eyes. Her eyes were dark as pitch, calm as the moon, and emanated no threat. She was just there, looking at me. Her features were as calm and apathetic as they were beautiful and seemingly untouched. Her time imprisoned didn't seem to have affected her body.

When she spoke, it was a melodious and rhythmic sound. Each syllable was pronounced with firmness.

"Violet Itagral, twin sister of Dália Itagral." Her pearly teeth appeared in a happy, animated smile; she brought her hands together in front of her body like a nun. "It's good to finally see my nephew."