“Lord Shironia, these two young ladies have come to warn us of an impending demonic invasion happening tomorrow. I have found them to be believable and would request that you send orders to prepare the city for imminent invasion.” She said, all business.

  The city lord leaned forward at the mention of demons but after Alexis finished speaking, he sat back again, before sighing deeply.

  “Alexis, you’re well aware of the latest reports from our spies. We just received a report yesterday that the demon army is nowhere near our sector, and you’re calling emergency meetings the next day, bringing two unknown girls crying demon attack into this, the heart of our city? Reports of a possible demon attack are no simple matter and lying about a demon attack is something I take extremely seriously.” He said. His ire becoming clear as he spoke, the room practically vibrating near the end with the power being exuded from his cultivation.

  I shuddered and felt a cold sweat break out on my back and could tell the city lord was more powerful than I was by a fair margin. But if he’s this strong, how were the demonic forces able to invade the city? And what was the cause of that massive explosion? Before I could continue my musings, Alexis spoke up.

  “I understand that this story strains credulity, but you must see that being even slightly more prepared in the case these young women are telling the truth is valuable. Should they be lying, I’ll take full responsibility for the costs incurred and will personally punish the them. Please just allow me to rally the city guard and increase the city’s alert level.” She pleaded. The city lord rubbed his chin and nodded slightly. He was about to open his mouth when the fully plated man next to him spoke up first.

  “My lord, lady Everwood would throw the city into unrest and panic at the word of mere strange women. You must think about the citizens! We cannot just heed the word of the rabble over that of our trusted spies. There will be no demon attack, and wasting precious resources, even at lady Everwood’s personal loss, is a great loss for the entire city. Not to mention, if word gets out that we’re jumping at the mere mention of a possible demon attack, the people will lose faith in us and we will look weak. I urge you to decline lady Everwood’s proposal, my lord.”

  The city lord frowned and thought for a few moments before sighing deeply and rubbing his face.

  “I apologize, Alexis. Though I personally believe allowing you to do as you wish would be for the best, even if these young ladies are lying, Brutus has made some good points. I cannot allow the populace of Shironia to be unnecessarily burdened by the panic that would ensue should we raise the city’s alert level. While I cannot allow you to panic the citizens, I will assign you temporary control over the city guards until the end of the day tomorrow. Hopefully that will help you enough that, should these young ladies be truthful, the damage to the citizens and the city may be minimized.”

  The armored man, Brutus, moved to protest but the city lord raised his hand.

  “I understand you disagree with my decision, Brutus, but I’m not comfortable rejecting a report of a possible demonic invasion no matter the issues of credulity. It is not strange for control of the city guard to be transferred to one of the city’s nobility so the citizens should not suspect something is amiss. Additionally Alexis, should these young women be truthful, the city will compensate any losses you or your guild incur during the preparation and protection of the city. If that’s all, I’ll leave it to you and take my leave.” He said, standing from his throne and striding through a side door out of the audience chamber.

  With nothing else to do, we left the city lord’s manor in silence. The tense mood of our group lasted until we made it back to the guild hall and into a plush office on the top floor of the building. Through all of the excitement of the day, we had never been to Alexis’s office, but walking into the room made it clear who the space belonged to.

  The center of the room was populated by a small table with a pink, frilly couch, and a pair of gaudy pink plush chairs. Even the main chair behind her desk was made of the same material, seemingly irreverent of traditional interior design principles. A large stuffed bear was given an entire corner of the room to itself, and one wall was covered from ceiling to floor with a large, intricately crafted bookcase with gold engravings all along its smooth, dark brown, wood.

  Alexis plopped down in her chair, sighing, the first sign of relaxation and informality we had seen from the woman the whole day.

  Bot Rin and I sat down in the plush chairs, sinking in deeply as we all sat in a tense silence.

  After about a minute of closed eyed meditation Alexis sighed, then meandered over to the couch across from us. She studied us intently before speaking.

  “I apologize that we were unable to rally the support necessary to prepare for an invasion tomorrow. I must admit this is quite the frustrating experience. Well, there’s nothing to be done about it. Either you two are lying, and I’ve just embarrassed myself slightly in the eyes of my peers and the city lord, or we’ll try our hardest to defend the city. I suppose that, should we fail to protect the city and you’re not lying, you’ll be able to retry again?” She asked.

  I nodded.

  “That’s…true. Both Rin and I will be reborn again. But that doesn’t mean I’m comfortable just waiting around and doing nothing while the people around me are killed by demons. Even if you’re all…” I said, trailing off.

  “Not really alive?” Alexis said, a sardonic smile on her lips.

  I flushed.

  “I-I didn’t-“ I started but she raised her hand.

  “It’s of no concern, Astra. While I was initially bothered by the idea, if I’m truly just a memory of a bygone age, used as a trial to test the worth of the successor of our hopes, then I’m proud to be chosen as an actor in this macabre play.” She said, her smile brightening.

  I looked over to Rin to see what she was feeling, but she was staring at Alexis, a starstruck expression on her face. I raised my eyebrows slightly but decided I didn’t want to know what was going on there so I directed my attention back to Alexis.

  “So what’s our plan, now?” I asked.

  “Without the assistance of the other nobles or the city lord it will be difficult to mount any significant resistance against an invasion. Though taking control of the guard and placing them on high alert should provide enough warning to mount a proper defense once any demons are spotted. I’ll need you two to stick close to me. If the demons invade tomorrow, I will have something I need to tell you both in case we’re unsuccessful in saving the city.” She said, her tone growing solemn as she spoke.

  I nodded and Alexis stood up.

  “Alright, that’s enough of a break, it’s time we go brief the rest of the guild. I’ll meet with the captain of the city guards after we talk to Elysia. Then, you two can rest until tomorrow. I’ll let you guys stay in the guild accommodations for guests for the night, you’ve earned it I think.” Alexis said, standing and escorting us back down to the main guild hall.

  With a simple, clear, clap once we reached the bottom of the guild hall she drew the attention of everyone within the main hall and everyone quieted. The silence was palpable and not even a whisper sussurated through the crowd of onlookers.

  “Thank you for your attention everyone. You all must have heard rumors through the guild network of something big looming on the horizon. I’m here now to explain what’s going on. We’ve received credible information that a horde of demons will be assaulting Shironia tomorrow. While this isn’t guaranteed, and thus, I cannot issue a guild order that you all stay in the city and help defend it, I’m asking, as a favor to me, that you all spread the word to your fellow guild members so they may seek safety or prepare to defend the city tomorrow. I don’t wish to see any of you die defending Shironia. I know many of you have families in other sectors.” She said, leaving the unasked question hanging in the air.

  After a few seconds of nothing happening, a gigantic, bear of a man stood up and approached the guild leader. They stared each other down mere feet from each other, a comical sight due to her diminutive form in comparison to his bulk.

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  “Oi, Guildmaster! This is bullshit!” He said, scowling down at the woman. Rin looked like she was ready to slay the man on the spot, a fiery red chakram in her hand. I watched the encounter with a small amount of bemusement. The man surely knew he was no match for Alexis.

  “Yes, Karom?” Alexis asked, a smirk on her lips.

  The air of the room felt tense for a few moments before the man, Karom, turned around.

  “Now I think I speak for everyone in this room when I say we didn’t join this guild to run away when the time’s get tough. If Guildmaster Everwood is going to stay and protect Shironia, then there’s no way I’m going to run away like a dog with my tail between my legs! What about you lot??” He bellowed, much louder than necessary, to the room. After his impassioned speech, the crowd in the guild hall all cheered out a boisterous denial to his question and I looked over to see Alexis smiling wildly, looking very proud of her guild members.

  After that display there was a whirlwind of activity as guild members rushed off to spread the word, prepare, or finish up personal matters before the big fight the next day. Alexis, as promised, left to go to speak with the captain of the city guard while Elysia, a bubbly brown haired woman, escorted both Rin and I to a large suite within the guild hall.

  Once we were settled into our accommodations for the night, both Rin and I flopped onto our respective beds. We were both relaxing and winding down from the busy day when Rin sat up.

  “H-hey Astra?” she asked. I lazily rolled over and looked at her.

  “Yeah?” I asked, curious as to what she wanted. She blushed lightly and looked away before finally mustering up the courage to ask her question.

  “If you don’t mind, can I pet Shimmer? Her coat looked so fluffy and pet-able, and you haven’t had her summoned since we met, which I understand since we don’t know if this trial is safe for her but I was hoping…” She said, and though she got a little excited as she spoke she started trailing off near the end

  Annnd I felt guilty now. I had completely forgotten about summoning Shimmer once the trial had started and I spent so much time running from the guards and trying to not get executed that I had been neglecting to summon her. Plus I was still feeling bad about ignoring her for the last few months.

  I felt within myself for that familiar feeling and pulled on it, bringing Shimmer out from within my soul. The medium sized snow-white fox stretched and yawned on top of my bed and Rin’s eyes were locked onto her eight swishing tails. The fox seemed to bask in the attention the girl was giving her and completely ignored me, opting to jump over to Rin’s bed and allow the girl to pet her all over. I felt a little jilted, but I supposed I couldn’t blame her. I had just promised to keep her out more often and broken it within a few hours.

  I decided I could deal with her ire after she was done being pampered by the now smiling, and cooing, Rin. This reminded me of someone else I had been neglecting lately. Which reminded me of someone else I had been neglecting recently.

  “Hey Text, what information do you have about trials?” I asked. I waited a few seconds but nothing showed up in my vision. I was about to ask Text something else, but was interrupted by Rin.

  “Who are you talking to Astra?” She asked.

  “I was trying to talk to T-“ I began but clamped my mouth shut before I could say anything. No. I couldn’t tell her. I barely knew her. Too many people already know. I shook my head. My heart clenched at the unbidden memories flowing up at my thoughts.

  “No one. I was just talking to myself, sorry.” I said, turning away from Rin to hide my face. I felt like she was almost going to say something, but stopped herself before she did. Moments later she returned to the soft cooing she was entreating Shimmer with.

  Now I was getting concerned. Text wasn’t responding. Maybe he couldn’t talk to me while we were in the trial? But why would that happen? I hoped Text would come back once the trial was finished. To find that out, I would need to finish this trial, so there wasn’t anything I could do by worrying about it.

  I decided to rest my eyes for a little but by the time I woke up I realized I had already slept through most of the night. I was now covered by a blanket with a heavy fox splayed out on top of me. I gently extricated myself from the bed, stretching lightly as I looked over to Rin. She was still lightly snoring away in dream land so I decided to let her rest. I walked into the attached bathroom of our room and cleaned up then quietly left through the door.

  Due to the early hour, barely anyone was even around in the main guild hall. Only a sleepy looking receptionist manned the desk facing the whole of the guild hall and a few drunk guild members were asleep with their faces on their tables.

  I sat down at one of the empty tables in the hall and just stared off into space, thinking about the upcoming fight. I knew we weren’t going to protect the city this time around. The trial wouldn’t be as simple as getting help from one of the noble factions. No. Most likely I would have to recruit the entire city to help prepare. That was going to be a tall order, but maybe with more time we can get word to the city lord before his spies report in. But why did his spies report that there is no demon invasion? I suppose it didn’t really matter. The demons were coming, and even letting the city lord know they were lying in future tries wouldn’t really help anything.

  Before I knew it, the quiet and peacefully empty guild hall was again filled with people, though the normally jovial atmosphere in the guild was replaced by an uncomfortable tension. Folks were bustling around and preparing, but they all had focused, or solemn looks on their faces. I decided that staying here would only mean I would be in the way of the guild members making preparations so I returned to Rin and I’s room in the guild hall.

  I opened the door to the room and saw Shimmer grooming herself on Rin’s bed while the red haired girl brushed out her wet hair, already having washed up while I was gone.

  She beamed at me.

  “Good morning, Astra! Though I suppose it’s not going to be a good morning. I’m ready to go whenever, though do you have to send Shimmer away? Maybe she can help us fight?” Rin asked.

  I gave it a thought. So far she had been fine. Shimmer was created by my abilities so there’s no reason to think anything should go awry with her around. I decided it couldn’t hurt to have her around with us, and she could help with the fighting. I could feel excitement from her to fight since she hadn’t gotten to use the new abilities she got with her new tails yet. I did have to unsummon her during the inter-continental competition before she got the chance to do so.

  “Sure, I don’t see why Shimmer can’t come along with us.” I told her. She smiled and a small smile crossed my lips. The nice moment we shared was cut short with a rapid set of raps at the door. Without any further preamble, the door opened and Elysia came in.

  She shot a look at us and then her gaze shifted to Shimmer and she froze for a moment before she shook her head and looked to Rin and I.

  “Morning, girls…Alexis wants you two to meet her on the city walls for a briefing. You ready to go?” She asked, not quite smiling, her voice terser than normal. We both nodded and she gave one more askance look at Shimmer before escorting us through the city and to the outskirts, up a set of inlaid stairs set within the walls and to a small group of individuals watching as the tinges of fiery colors kindled on the horizon.

  As we walked through the city, we got a lot of stares. It seemed like a majority of the townsfolk were staring at us, or more accurately, at Shimmer. I was getting more and more uncomfortable at the attention she was garnering and was concerned about her safety. Luckily, despite one small situation where someone tried to approach us sword in hand, but thought better of it when our group unsheathed our weapons, we encountered no major issues during our travel.

  We made it up to Alexis’s group and she smiled when she saw us before looking down to see Shimmer. Her eyes widened and she ran over to us.

  “Which of you has summoned this fox?!” She asked, a sense of urgency clear in her voice and eyes.

  “M-me?” I asked, confused. She dialed in on me immediately.

  “Unsummon your spirit companion! Now! And don’t summon it again!” She said, no venom in her voice, just that strange urgency. Not knowing what was happening I followed her order and Shimmer faded out of existence, much to the little fox’s chagrin. I looked to Rin and she shrugged before we both looked back to Alexis. Though she was looking toward her guild members that had escorted us to the walls.

  “Elysia, I know how you must feel about this, but I thank you for holding back and bringing Astra and Rin to my side. I implore you all to refrain from discussing what has happened with them today with anyone. Please focus on your tasks defending the city.” She said, a hint of pleading in her tone. I looked back and Elysia was clenching her fists but she nodded.

  “Yes ma’am.” She said before walking away briskly.

  I turned to look at Alexis and arched an eyebrow.

  “Alexis what was-“ I started but was interrupted by one of the guards shouting.

  “Captain! I see something on the horizon!”

  “Worlds blast it!” Alexis muttered under her breath before running back to the wall.

  We joined her, despite our confusion, and watched as wriggling black forms coalesced in the distance, just cresting the horizon. We watched with baited breath as they marched forward until they were fully visible. A veritable demonic wall rivaling the very same wall we stood upon stared down the unprepared Shironia.

  I heard the wall cracking and looked over to see Alexis digging her fingers into the stone of the ramparts.

  “I know this is a bad time to ask.” I started, addressing the woman. She looked over at me and her eyes softened.

  “Do you think you could tell us what we need to say to convince you we’re telling the truth next time?” Alexis sighed, looked wistfully out over the city and turned back to us.

  “I agree. When next you meet me, tell me this: I should be unwavering in my belief that my life is my own to live and not even the strongest of tempests may fell a tree with deep enough roots.” She said.

  That sentence must have some special meaning to her, but we didn’t have time to ask her about it. I simply nodded and turned back to watching the encroaching horde. My stomach twisted and turned at the thought of what was going to happen to the city when I thought of the first time I returned. Then I got an idea

  “Alexis, thank you for believing us. Next time I’ll do my best to prevent the destruction of Shironia. For now, though, I need one more favor from you.” I told her, conviction in my voice.

  She cocked her head, puzzled. I smiled.

  “Please kill me.”