ETREUM

Severen

For the next few weeks, Quorra and Troy brought me along with them to search for Deka's crew.

From what we had gathered, Deka was somewhere in the past Star System.

Somewhere in the dark sector.

And at some point, his coms went out.

Quorra tried to get Yelena, her Ship Dataform, to contact Folock, but there was no luck.

"Don't worry, Shane. We'll find them." Quorra reassured me.

I sat on the bed Quorra had tried to make for me. She had Yelena create a personal quarters for me, claiming she knew exactly what I wanted. In other words, she didn't know jack shit about me.

I stared at the numerous dumbbells and gym equipment that I just didn't need neatly racked all around my room. There was a poster of Reagan Glass, the champion bodybuilder of her time, flexing his guns at me every time I woke up in the morning.

The words "DON'T PULL OUT, PULL UP!" Were plastered at the top of my doorframe. For a 16 year old girl, Quorra had quite a dirty mind. It made me kind of scared.

I sighed and got up, bonking my head on a punching bag that Quorra had installed from the ceiling, and walked up to Ais, inspecting it.

Severen metal and Severen designs. The thing looked demonic, but sported its own grace to some degree. It was weird. I knew the Severens and the Torons were both rivalling factions. But you would think with their eight appendages and alien-like appearance, they would be living in some kind of spaceship like the movie Alien.

Not quite the case.

These past few weeks have been nothing but a rollercoaster of emotions. No matter how much I tried to fight back at fate, it just came back to bite me in the ass. SHADE was right; fate never stops messing with you. I thought I had a new life, fighting alongside Captain Price, in his battle to get his mother back.

My days spending time with Rinne.

Chilling with Umbra and Flippy.

Letting Aurora try out new foods and cuisine like an older brother.

But now, I couldn't have any of that. With the truth being revealed.

I am SHADE's past self. I would eventually grow up to become the Severen's greatest monster. Everything I had with Captain Price would disappear. No. It was already beginning. I could only hope they were safe. But safe from SHADE and the Severens? Was that even possible?

Quorra had my back. But even Quorra herself admitted she stood zero chance against SHADE. And even if I chose not to believe her, I witnessed it myself. When she joined the top ten of the Valian Council to take down SHADE, only three of them survived. And SHADE let them go on purpose to prove a point.

As long as SHADE was with the Severens, we were at a severe disadvantage.

SHADE couldn't be beaten.

I put my hand on Ais. The only Valian that had ever fought toe to toe with SHADE was the legend himself, Zennen Ful. With Zennen on our side, the Valians believed they stood a chance against the Severens. But Zennen had gone missing for years. No one knew what happened to him. At this point, many of the mid tier and low ranking Valians questioned if such a Valian even existed.

"We're here." Yelena notified us.

We got off the Landing Craft and stepped onto a platform on what I presumed to be Europa. Was this Dark Sector? No clue. From what Deka had told me, it was controlled by the Toron Corpo of his time. But as of now, the whole icy place was completely overwhelmed.

And it didn't take a genius to know who was causing all the ruckus.

"That's an Eidolon."

I turned to Quorra. "Like those giant chickens?"

"Chickens?"

"Isn't that what you guys call those things? Deka always called those chickens."

"I think you're confusing that for the Ropalocyst. We never once called those things chickens."

My face became red with embarrassment.

Troy let loose a laugh. "Ahhh don't worry about it, Shane! We can take that thing out easy peasy."

I stared at the towering Eidolon as it made a large howl, stamping on buildings as it made its way across the icy mountains.

"Can we even put a dent on that thing? I think Quorra should just-"

"Nope."

"Heh?"

Quorra began tending to her Landing Craft.

"You two will capture that Eidolon for me so I can extract information from it on Dekani's whereabouts. Use the training I gave you. You two should be able to defeat it without my help."

Troy and I stationed near the front of the Severen. I nodded at Troy, who closed his eyes and began to glow purple just like Quorra did whenever she used her void powers. Then he blasted into the air, void dashing right through the enormous adversary and pinning it to the ground, completely shattering its shields.

I took out my Upgraded Harkanon and took aim with one arm, firing an extremely high velocity shell at the synovia. I then took my other Harkanon and fired, blasting the other synovia into pieces. Simultaneously reloading and firing and repeating until all the synovia's were destroyed.

The Severen screeched and fell to its knees, summoning a bunch of its Severen brethren from within the shadows to assist it, but I leapt in to intercept them.

"Lance Upload Protocol: SLINGER Peacemakers 210%"

Everything slowed down as everything became instinct. Impulse. My body moved on its own, as my senses dialled to eleven.

"Ain't nothing coming out of this without bullet holes." I heard myself say. Damn you, Slinger.

In the span of two seconds, everything was destroyed, and the Severens began to prime themselves to explode, taking me with them, but Troy leapt in front of me, unleashing a massive wave of void energy, disintegrating them.

The Severen screeched and groaned, as Troy turned to me.

"It's done."

I retracted my Regulators back into my forearms, and putting my Harkanon Rifles back into their straps. I walked to the head of the Severen and drew Ais.

"Tell me where your brethren are. Where SHADE is. Tell me where Deka is."

The Severen said nothing, as it glared at my sword.

Quorra approached us, resolved in her own Slinger Lance.

"We can't communicate with Severens. But that sword... maybe it might help."

I inspected Ais. I didn't like using this sword. But objective wise, it was superior to Gram in so many ways. If it meant getting information about Cap from this bastard, I had to do it.

I placed blade against the Severen's head, as it began to screech. My brain became flooded with thoughts.

"Wow I didn't think that would work." Quorra said.

What the hell?!

My knees buckled as I collapsed. I could hear Troy shouting my name, but his cries became distant as reality warped in itself. Until I was somewhere else.

I gasped as I stumbled around, staring at my hands, which were mere projections of nothing. I was like a ghost, as I took in my surroundings.

A large contrast from the Toron architecture was an understatement. Dark grey walls, angular, like a citadel. It felt like I was in a dark medieval society. Almost like a dark reflection of the Toron. I never thought much about the Severens. Because they seemingly looked so alien like. So inhuman. Yet... this place. It was hard to describe in words. But this place proved me wrong.

The Severens had an entire civilization of their own. They sported grace like the Toron, but in their own way.

I took a step forward, when suddenly, I heard a bunch of chattering and clicking. I quickly hid behind a pillar as I watched several Severen drones lead a pack of prisoners down a pathway. I narrowed my eyes and nearly gasped out loud.

Toron Corpo.

What was the Corpo doing here?

I followed quietly, as the prisoners were brought into a citadel. Upon entering inside I was taken aback by the architecture. This place reminded me a lot of the Catholic Churches I used to go to. White and red trim decorated the entire place.

This place almost contrasted with the Toron perfectly. The Toron architecture was always white and gold trim. Blue emissive lights. But the Severens were white and red trim. Yellow emissive lights.

"Adam Virgo." A voice said, from one of the highest pillars of the place.

A voice squeaked from one of the prisoners.

"Yes, my liege?"

A large Severen opened up its appendages, levitating to the ground. I clenched my fists. I knew who this was.

Queen Lena.

Deka and Quorra's adopted mother.

"Why were the Amalgrams not completed as requested?"

Adam began to sweat.

"A mere miscalculation, my Queen. I have sent my men to investigate-"

"This mere calculation has cost us greatly. The Valians have made their move. Father slumbers."

"I promise it won't happen again."

Adam Virgo. Deka told me Adam was the leader, CEO of the Corpo. To think this money hungry business mogul was scared shitless, it was almost beyond me. But then it all made sense. The owner of the huge business media empire would never have voluntarily joined the Severens unless it was for two things.

Profit.

Or survival.

"Take him to the confines." Lena ordered, as Adam and the others were pushed and shoved out of the room. I watched them leave, making the decision to stay and hear out Lena.

"My queen." Another voice said, as a large, sickly figure stepped out of the shadows.

Nero.

"Brother, what progress has been made in our efforts?"

"The father dwells. Our body, together, but shattered by the Void Devils. SHADOW continues to weaken the weaker Valians, and SHADE has destroyed their best.

"Seven of the Ten. Victim of Ais. Three remain, as instructed."

I clenched my fist. SHADE. He killed those kids in cold blood. I thought I had saved Quorra and those two other Council members, but it was all because he had truly done so on purpose.

"The Void Devils. Children of the Toron. Why was such a thing created? Why were these children created... Ballard?"

Ballard? Umbra's creator?

Nero yanked a chain, forcing a sickly man to step forward. His skin was purple, but his lower half... it was...

"I beg for your mercy, my Queen. My body, my soul, my face. It was so perfect." Ballard muttered, his voice full of defeat.

"You were always perfect, dearest Ballard. Your existence is to serve the Severens. From the day you chose to abandon the Toron. You were always perfect for us." Lena said, as she hovered to Ballard.

Nero grabbed Ballard's head and slammed it to the ground as Ballard whimpered.

"You shall address your Queen with gratitude."

"Thank you, my Queen." Ballard said.

So Ballard, the creator of the Toron Lances. The guy who made Umbra and almost all of the Toron warfare, was under the Severen's control. This was bad. That meant they had every trick up their sleeve against the Valians.

"Tell me, Ballard." Lena hovered closer to his face.

"Tell me about the Unarmored Valian. How is a Terran able to wield your technology without a Lance? How is this possible?"

My blood turned cold. The Unarmored Valian? Was that... was that me?

Ballard was silent.

"No. Such a process should not be possible. The art of war. The Infestation. This is what gave the Lances strength. That was what gave our test subjects the power to move, to fight, to serve. To throw a mere boy into the Infestation, and to not only fight alongside his comrades, but retain his humanity? His own control? This is simply not possible."

"Yet Umbra walks among them."

"The Umbra model was different. His sentience was through unparalleled rage. Horror. Pain. These feelings were what drove him to stay true to himself. But a child like Shane Mayen should not have the mental will to resist the Infestation without turning into a mindless monster like the millions before him."

"You say such things, yet the one known as Shane Mayen walks among them. The one known as Shane Mayen fights like them. And not only that...

"His movements. He possessed two styles. The first style, the Way of the Valian, likely taught to him from the Valian Dekani Price. But his second style, perhaps he himself does not realize it, is the very style of Ciel Licita. The Seventh Sense. The General of the Tora."

Ballard's eyes widened. "A Licita lives?"

"Yes, Ballard. Shane Mayen possesses the blood of a Licita. For reasons unknown. But he has not mastered the full potential of it. But should he do, he will pose a threat much greater than any of us can imagine."

Nero walked next to his sister.

"Indeed. Because one of our own, also possesses the blood of a Licita. SHADE. With both Severen and Licita blood in his veins, he has become one of our best. But to have another SHADE on their side, would be disadvantageous."

"No. It will not." The doors opened, revealing a tall man with long white hair and a Severen style trench coat. He walked in, dragging the head of a Lance with one hand. A Saryn's head.

Shardis tossed the head to the feet of Nero.

"The job is done. Kiyoria, the leader of the Odin Alliance, has been eliminated. Her reliance on her pathetic Saryn, and delusion that she was the best, was of no challenge to me."

Ballard stared at the head of one of his creations.

"My Saryn..."

"Very good, SHADE."

I glanced at the severed head of the Lance. He had hunted down another high ranking Valian. Kiyoria Nikion. MR30, Council Rank 19. Apparently she was one of the best Saryn users of all the Valians. This was huge loss on their end.

But what about Deka's crew? SHADE had said he was looking for them. I needed to know where they were. That was the whole point of this.

"The Valians are at war, yet they fight amongst themselves. Their pride keeps them from fighting their enemy with full vigor. An influence from the Toron, perhaps?" SHADE turned to Ballard, who was still staring at Saryn's head in horror.

SHADE knelt down and grabbed Ballard's head. His tone suddenly shifted, whispering with full malice.

"Listen here, Toron trash. My name is Shardis Licita. No matter how powerful you make your Lances, it is useless. Because I will always be stronger. It doesn't matter how many Reactors you stuff into that Saryn bitch. I will cut her head off all the same. The Valians exist for Ais to cut through them."

SHADE got to his feet and bowed to Lena.

"My Queen, I will take my leave."

SHADE got up but paused, staring directly at me. My eyes widened as I instinctively stumbled backwards.

"Ah, I see." The future me muttered, as he smiled.

SHADE turned around.

"My Queen, would you like a status report on your problem child, Dekani Price?"

Lena descended from her throne and approached SHADE.

"Tell me."

Shardis smiled and brushed his hair back.

"The Rogue Valian continues to resist the Infestation. As with the girl. The Lance, Umbra, has been dismantled and fed to the Infestation Culture created by Ballard, ready for deployment. As for the rest of the people on the Orbiter, we have them ready for execution on command, but I believe a proper ransom can be put in place for the Dataform. After all, Folock is quite a valuable resource for the Valians. Perhaps a trade set by the Corpo slaves."

"I see. Dismissed."

SHADE left the building, but not before beckoning me. I followed him, my eyes wide, and my fists shaking in rage.

"You... sick fuck." I growled.

Shardis turned around, his eyes empty and face void of emotion.

"Temporary. As all things are."

"Even if they are temporary, why would you tear it away like that! Umbra dismantled?! Are you telling me he's dead?!"

"That Lance was never alive. He was supposed to die when he became that monster and was blown up by Lena."

I reached behind my back to draw out my guns, but my hand went through like mist.

"You are just an astral projection. Do you think you have what it take-"

"RAAAGH!!" I roared, charging forward and slamming into my future self as we spiralled into reality, landing in another region of the Severen base.

I fell to the ground but got to my feet, as Shardis brushed off dust from his jacket. His face showed no signs of concern as he regarded me.

"Show me then, Shardis Licita. The results of your training with Quorra Lavine."

I took out my Harkanon, my hands no longer projections, and fired repeatedly as SHADE deflected them with Ais.

"Lance Upload Protocol: HELOS Flashgrenade 50%"

I tossed a flashbang at SHADE as I went high, readying my sheathe.

"Lance Upload Protocol: ASH Fivefold Bladestorm"

Five of my clones closed in as I readied Ais summoning everything I had and slashed behind me, intercepting SHADE.

"You're beginning to fight smart. That is good." SHADE said.

"Shut up." I snarled, as I summoned Kien's strength and pushed him back.

I landed on the ground and brought my hands up in a cross.

"Licitian Potential: Kien Licita, Ciel Licita, Tricity Licita"

My body exploded with power as I levelled Ais and blasted forward, slashing and cutting to pressure SHADE, but his face remained calm. How was he able to keep up against all three Licita's?!

"Not yet. You're not a proper vessel for fate yet." SHADE muttered, as he dodged another swipe, and leapt into the air.

"GRAARR" I growled, shooting into the air like a comet, the power of the Licitian Potential overflowing from my body, giving me a blinding white glow.

SHADE landed on the top of an arch, his face disgusted.

"I forgot how repulsive I used to be when I fought." He said, as he raised his hand, forming a fist.

I continued approaching him, my body no longer listening to me, as it became berserk from the overflowing power.

"I have revealed enough. All in accordance to fate. All in accordance to the progress of Shardis Licita."

SHADE began to glow white, as his fist swirled with power.

"Licitian Potential: Kien Licita - 600%"

SHADE brought his foot back and smashed me in the face with overwhelming force, the punch rippling through my body as everything shut down. My muscles burst as all the strength left my body. I smashed into the ground as I slowly began to lose consciousness. Everything turning dark as I watched SHADE approach me, his face, empty. His eyes, lifeless.

"Go to sleep, Shane Mayen."

"Why... what happened to you. Why did you become this... How did I turn into this..." I croaked.

SHADE stopped walking, slowly turning around.

"In time you will understand. At some point, you will truly see that the only way through all the obstacles that life puts in front of you is to barge straight through. No one can understand what it's like. Not Deka. Not Rinne. Not Troy. And all they will do is try to help. But because it is the very fact that they don't know what it's like, that their help turns into obstacles."

SHADE closed his fist.

"And the only way to get through obstacles is to barge straight through."

Mantle

"We can't go after them like this." Quorra shut me down.

"What?! Are you serious? We have an idea of where they are and you're telling me we can't go?"

Troy held me down as Quorra inspected the interface Yelena had made for her.

"That place you just described is a Severen drone ship in the outer proximity of Mars. It's completely swarmed with their battle units. My Vessel is going to be blown up to bits. We need a Railjack to clear them out."

"The Clan Railjack..." I muttered.

Quorra raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"The Clan Railjack. The one Deka stole from you guys. You don't have it anymore, right?"

"Shane, did SHADE knock you in the head a little too hard?"

"What are you saying?"

Quorra got up and pointed outside. I followed her and couldn't believe my eyes. Before me was a massive ship with starboard cannons, floating next to her Orbiter.

"Every Valian has their own Railjack. There is no Clan Railjack, Shane."

"But... Deka told me..." I muttered. This didn't make sense. Was Deka lying to me this whole time?

How he had told me, was he had infiltrated one of the Gladiator Clan dojos and stole the Clan Railjack, which happened to the be the Clan that Quorra was leading herself. When he had gone and left in it, he was pursued by numerous Valians in their Archwing, but they weren't enough to take him down because of the Railjack's importance. Then Deka had integrated the Railjack into his own Orbiter to form a Superorbiter, the Lotuscraft. That was how the story went.

Then Quorra had somehow found out, then raced to find Deka herself. Despite having the Lotuscraft and all of his Lances on his side, Quorra still defeated him, destroying almost all of his Lances, until Deka had revealed to her his intentions of saving their mother. She let him go, and he went back in time, in turn, saving me from Lena's invasion forces that day.

That was how the story went.

That was... until now.

Quorra leaned in closer to me.

"Shane? You look like you're about to be sick. Don't worry, I didn't find your naughty magazine collection."

"No!" I yelped. "What are you talking about, I'm fine."

"About the Railjack or-"

"The Railjack!"

Troy tried to hold back a laugh. "But Quorra, you said you needed a Railjack. We have one here. Why don't we use it?"

Quorra shook her head. "If it was a normal Proxima mission, I would clear it out in seconds."

"Glad to know the elitism in you never went away over the past few months." I grumbled.

Quorra continued. "But, this isn't a normal Proxima mission. There are way too many guards that can adapt to my firepower. I can't go out and fire void beams. The best way is to use multiple Railjacks to take them down with different damage types so we can cycle and take down the fighters guarding it."

Troy put his hand on his chin.

"And our mission going back to the past is strictly confidential, right? From the rest of the Valians?"

"Correct. Meaning there is only one person I can ask."

Quorra pointed at me.

"Shane's adopted brother! Arsanios!"

My face paled. Remembering the last time we met. I never had myself beat up so bad in my life.

"Oh. Great. Fantastic." I muttered.

By the time we returned to Quorra's time period, the Licita mansion was no longer the same place as it was. Rubble and debris littered the whole place. The gates were smashed in. The house was nearly demolished. My boots crunched on the ground as I entered the first two gates, knocking on the door.

"Hello? I need to have a word with the lord of the household." I said.

"The lord is unavailable to speak to you at this time. Please go away." A voice responded.

I clenched my fists. There was no time for this. I looked at Quorra, who nodded at me.

"There is little time. I need to speak with my brother." I replied.

The voice was silent for a few seconds, until resurfacing with a new tone. One that almost sounded borderline heartbroken.

"Shardis, is that you?"

The maid who tended to me, Lexa Pixus, inspected my birthmark on my stomach.

"It is true. You are indeed a Licita. How could this be? How have you returned after what Kirin had done?"

I stared at Lexa. "What are you talking about? I don't even remember anything from my past life. All I remember was growing up with my adopted parents and being-"

A pod. That was what Mom had told me before she died in my arms.

"The pod..." My eyes widened.

Lexa took a shaky breath. "What could this mean. This is... too much." She gasped, clutching her chest.

"Hey, take it easy." I got up, kneeling next to her.

"Please, let me see Arsanios. I can only imagine what has happened to this place, after recent events."

Lexa wiped her eyes, hyperventilating, as another maid ran forward and tended to her.

"Breathe Miss Pixus. We must always retain our composure in the face of those with the honour of Licita in their names."

I glanced at the smashed photos that lined the walls. The Licitas. My ancestors. And on the far right, the most recent one, was a proud man with long black hair. And a face that looked almost like mine.

Kirin Licita.

The maid got up and bowed to me.

"My name is Yelene Reinhart. To say the long lost son of the Licita household has returned is a mere understatement. I too, am in shock at what has transpired, Lord Shardis."

I took a deep breath. This place, the first time I was here, was blooming with luxury. With class. Clean polished Toron architecture decorated the entire mansion. But now all I saw, was destruction and havoc. Of remains. This place was almost unrecognizable. And for some reason, seeing this home in this state, made me angry.

"Tell me what happened here. Please, Yelene."

Yelene closed her eyes.

"To the war room, Lord Shardis. I will explain everything there. Your guests, I apologize for not tending to them. This household has taken very substantial losses. Our workforce is almost depleted."

"They're with me. Quorra Lavine and Troy Lucien serve the Valians."

Yelene glanced at the Hannibal Lance.

"The legend herself? The Quorra Lavine, leader of the Valian Gladiator Alliance?"

Quorra bowed.

"I am happy to be here."

Yelene smiled at me. "As expected, from a Licita. A noble chooses his companions wisely. Always."

My heart wrenched. Did I though? What was Deka to me now, knowing he had lied to me about the Railjack all this time? What else was he hiding? My trust in him had wavered when Quorra told me that every Valian owned their own Railjack. Why did Deka lie to me? Why keep these things secret from his First Mate, his most loyal companion?

"Your seat, my lord." Yelene held out her hands for me, gesturing me to sit. I sat down in the fancy chair in front of a large round table.

Yelene smiled. "You are just like your father."

"What?"

"Not so much the appearance, but your mannerisms. Your habits and the intricate details."

I paused. "Wha... What was my father like?"

Yelene pursed her lips.

"Let us not discuss Master Kirin, for Lord Arsanios listens. I will update you on our situation."

Yelene showed me a big complicated holographic interface, as she filled us in on the current state of the Licita household.

"Our household is in ruins. Lord Arsanios came to visit that day, critically injured. His Orbiter, destroyed, his Ash Lance, barely functional. We, as loyal servants to the Licita, ran to our Master's aid, but against the might of the Valians, we knew such a fight would never be a fight to win."

I watched as everybody in the household stepped in front of Arsanios in the hologram. The butlers. The maids. The cooks and gardeners. Ordinary people who could not fight, grabbing whatever they had. Be it spades, broomsticks, kitchen utensils, rakes.

These were ordinary people. They didn't belong in the battlefield. Women, and even children who looked up to Arsani, putting distance between their Master and the Valians. No one backing down, despite many fearing for their lives.

"No..." I muttered.

"Members of the Licita household, step away from the Price." A Valian said, who was resolved in a Faerar Lance, as roots began to sprout from the ground, wrapping around the servants' legs.

"We shall not yield!" One of the servants cried out. His face was filled with terror.

Another Valian readied their guns. "Mere fodder trying to protect their phony master. He isn't even a Licita. Must you all need to be re-educated on what Dekani Price had done?"

The servants were terrified, but stood their ground.

"Shane." Troy said, as he put his hand on my shoulder. I realized my hands were trembling. My eyes completely immersed in the hologram.

"Licita or not, Arsanios treated us as people. He cared for us, fed us, and gave us the earnings we need to support our families. Even from a young age, when his parents were killed and even after returning from the first Valian-Severen war, he still remained steadfast in caring for us. Tell me, what kind of Valian would do something so kind? This can only be done through love. And just as he defended us, we shall defend him."

The Faerar Lance Valian sighed. "A shame." He said, as he pulled out his Orcus Shotgun Pistol and shot the maid who gave the speech in cold blood, killing her. Screams of horror erupted from the masses, as I stared at the maid's lifeless eyes. Blood pooling from her wound, and turning the white flowers in the garden red.

"White roses, stained with red." The Valian said, as he and the other four Valians took aim and began shooting the servants left and right, as the servants screamed, their eyes wide in terror, charging with their instruments of war. The very instruments that were used to maintain the mansion, which represented their love for their master, turned into instruments of bloodshed, as servants were shot and killed left and right.

"Stop. Run for your lives. Please run." Arsanios begged, his voice hoarse as he watched his servants be gunned down before his very eyes.

"No turning back. We lived as servants to the house of Licita. We will die as servants to the house of Licita! Even if you yourself do not believe yourself to be one, we still love you all the same!" A cook shouted, as he rushed in with a big frying pan, but a Slinger Lance simply smirked and shot him straight through the chest.

The cook's corpse crumpled to the ground in front of Arsanios.

Arsanios' lips moved at the same time as mine. As we both shouted the same thing. Like brothers.

"STOP!!!"

Arsanios got up and resolved into his Ash Lance, which was so damaged that it was unable to move properly. But Arsanios took a step, and another, as his limp turned into a brisk, into a run, and into a sprint as he launched himself into the air and charged the Slinger.

"Disgraceful. To know you were once a part of us through Quorra's Clan. You've stained both her reputation and ours for your Price blood."

The Slinger reeled back and entered Peacemaker mode, bombarding Arsanios with hundreds to thousands of bullets as Arsanios fell backwards, resolving out of Ash which broke into pieces.

The other two Valians, a Abaddon and Ran, approached Arsanios, drawing their blades.

"Pin him to the ground, Ran."

The Ran Lance Valian held out her hand, and Arsanios was pinned down by dozens of aquatic projections, forcing him to face the Valians.

"Master!!!" The servants screamed, trying to run to Arsanios, but the Faerar stepped in, intercepting them with hundreds of vine growth and bullets.

The Abaddon knelt down and began to carve Arsanios' face, disfiguring it as the Valians chuckled in amusement.

"A Price living as a Licita, must have been luxurious for you. Let's fix that. Playing noble for so long has given you such nice skin, you don't deserve any of it." The Abaddon Valian snarled, as Arsanios yelled and screamed in agony, blood gushing from his cheeks as the blade continued cutting into his face.

I continued watching as Arsanios' face kept getting cut, it was too gruesome, but my eyes didn't peel away. My hands went from trembling out of shock, to trembling with rage. Yelene noticed and quickly turned off the feed.

"My lord, I deeply apologize. I have shown too much-"

"No." I said, as I got up, turning to Quorra.

"That vision I had of Lena and Nero. The Severens have been making their move. Taking in Ballard. SHADE killed our top seven Valians, and assassinated one of the greatest Saryn users. SHADOW continues to haunt the lower ranking Valians during their missions, as powerful as ever. And what the hell have the Valians been doing? Killing unarmed women, children, working class people? Defenseless ones?!"

Quorra couldn't meet my eyes, as she stared at the ground.

"Shan-"

"This ends." I said, cutting her off. I turned to Yelene.

"How much people are left?"

Yelene sighed. "Seventy five percent of our workforce is dead. Another twelve percent are in critical condition. Six percent are wounded. In terms of performing workers in the mansion, we are only at seven percent."

"What about Arsanios? Is he..."

"Lord Arsanios is in critical condition as well. But during his last moments, he gave me a request. He gave us all a request.

"Find his brother. Shardis Licita, for he roams this world. He must continue on where he left off. Because right now, he is the only one that is fit to lead. Take him in, just as we took him in."

Yelene took my hand as gazed at me.

"Shardis Licita, command us."

I walked with Yelene to the main hall, where workers were stationed, trying to rebuild the house to no avail. One of the workers noticed me and beckoned the others, who all stopped working to stare.

"Is he... that face. That hair."

"He has returned."

Yelene brought her hand up.

"Members of the House of Licita. The brother of Master Arsanios has returned. I know we have suffered losses. Myriam and Lancius, died peacefully last night, but even so, for the longest time we thought it had been in vain. But no longer. Master Shardis has come home."

One of the workers got up, as she stared at me, inching forward hesitantly. She held out her hand reluctantly.

"My lord..."

I sighed as I stepped forward and took it. Why did I choose to step into this role? Wasn't the whole point of fighting against fate rejecting who I was? Wasn't I just stepping into the void fate had made for me? By becoming Shardis Licita, and accepting that past, that self, I was taking another step to become SHADE. The Severen monster.

But looking at this servant girl's eyes. My own reflection from her tears. I realized. Someone needed to be there for these people. Because if it wasn't me, there was no one else. There was absolutely no one else.

No one can lead them.

But Shardis Licita.

I want to become a hero.

I took off my coat and placed it on the servant's shoulders as she began to sob.

One who saves everybody.

More and more servants got up and huddled around me, wrapping their arms around my body.

One who descends from the skies.

I looked at the sky, through the hole in the roof, as the sun began to shine from underneath, illuminating the small group of servants who were crying and burying their faces into me.

To protect everybody. And to tell everyone that...

"It's okay." I said, gently, as Yelene, Troy, and Quorra smiled at me from the corner of the room.

"I'm here now."

Shardis Licita

"You want me to what?!" Quorra yelped.

I regarded her with a cold expression.

"You're gonna teach my people how to fight. You taught Troy and I, didn't you? I want them all to learn the teachings of Lena. I don't want another bloodbath to happen again."

"Shane, you know, teaching Troy was just a one time thing. To pass on Lena's teachings is taboo."

"Yet you didn't hesitate to train me."

"Because it was very clear Dekani didn't know what he was doing!"

I leaned back in my chair.

"Well, I don't either. Do you want me to teach them?"

"Gods, no." Quorra muttered.

"Then get to it." I said.

"But what about my admin tasks? I'm still a leader of a massive alliance, and I have my own clan to run. I'm a busy woman."

"You're 16. Besides..."

I beckoned Yelene over.

"Yelene's done admin stuff in the past. She says she is more than happy to take the load off of your shoulders."

Yelene bowed.

"It is a pleasure to be of assistance, Lady Lavine."

Quorra blushed. "Ah, well. I don't mind being called that now..."

I got up and turned to the pictures lining the wall.

"I'm doing this different. All of it different. Because I'm not like my brother. I am going to train these gardeners, cooks, maids, attendants, workers in the art of war. This is no longer the peaceful sanctuary we once thought it was, because of these bastard Valians doing whatever the hell they please, instead of devoting their time to fighting this battle. If they want to bully us, we're fighting back with full force."

The next few days saw massive changes to how the Licita mansion handled things. Quorra began to teach my servants the art of combat. The Way of the Valian. Of course, this gave her a lot of bonding time with Troy, by using him as a training dummy and knocking him to the ground. Apparently seeing Troy get beat up was super funny to the children. And I certainly didn't mind the entertainment.

As for Arsanios, he was still in critical condition.

"Master Arsanios is currently comatose." Edda said, as she inspected his pulse.

"What can we do for him at this time?"

"Right now, we need more capable doctors. But because of the Arsani Price scandal, we have lost a lot of support from our clients."

"Which clients are we talking?"

"Numerous ones." Yelene said, as she walked into the room. She had a clipboard.

"The House of Licita holds powerful political status, and by that right, had access to many shares to many corporations. While discrete, many of these corporations earnings go to us, while retaining their respective names. By far, one of our biggest shares goes to one that you may familiar with.

"Toron Corpo."

"Corpo, eh." I grumbled. Those bastards were serving the Severens. There was no way we could get them on our side. But I guess that's just how it was. That was what they believed when Arsanios was still in charge. But now we got new management.

If the Corpo wasn't going to give us financial aid because Adam Virgo was being a bitch to the Severens, I'll have to do it myself.

By taking over their entire corporation.

"What is the status on the Railjack?" I asked.

"Unoperatable." Yelene responded, showing me the clipboard. I leaned in closer and narrowed my eyes.

"Ship intrinsics are linked to Master Arsanios. If your sole objective is to obtain his Railjack, you must awaken him. But such a thing will be a miracle at this rate." Yelene glanced at her former master, her eyes full of worry.

"We'll get Arsanios back." I reassured her.

Even if we couldn't get him back, there was still the Corpo. To save Deka and Rinne. If all Quorra needed was more than one Railjack, if I gained total control of the Toron Corpo empire by killing Adam Virgo, I could get the entire corporation to funnel development costs into building Railjacks. Under the curtains of course. And to pull off such a curtain trick, I had Yelene.

I put my hand on the window and clenched my fist. Deka. Rinne. Please just hang in there. Until my plan goes through. I promise. I promise I'll get you two back, along with Aurora, Flippy, and Folock.

And I will avenge Umbra. If it means tearing these Severens with my bare hands. One Severen at a time.

That night, Yelene gave me a progress report.

"Training has gone well. Forty two percent improvement in physical assessment tests, and Lady Lavine reports that their technique has seen drastic improvement. Clientele continues to diminish. I hope your plan with the Corpo sees fruition. Despite our income still sustaining us, we will soon need to rely on our emergency response funds to support this household. No improvement on Master Arsanios, and my connections have revealed enough information to begin drafting a plan for our heist."

"Thanks Yelene. You're the best." I said, as I turned to her.

Yelene smiled, but the worry in her eyes was so obvious.

"I live to serve, as the advisor and attendant to the head Licita."

"You don't need to keep saying that. You're a highly trusted ally." I responded.