text: The ship groaned as the magesteel began to expand, the vacuum of space ripping out the oxygen from the small punctures made by the alien encounter. Whatever the massive, shadowy creature was, one thing was clear: it was the end of the Einherkask. For just over a decade, the Einherkask had travelled through slipspace, using black holes for time dilation in the hopes of escaping the fate of Desmoor, of all the trillions of people in the Kalani System. The hopes of all those beings rested in the massive capital ship of a once-great fleet. But now, fate had caught up to Seto and the other survivors of the anomaly. He had enlisted at the behest of his tutor, and found that the war was drawing closer to home each day. His step-sister had enlisted just three years earlier, and as he crawled through the crew cabins searching for her desperately, he could feel the air getting thinner. It appeared that one of the tendrils that had come from the surprise attack had come clean though the hull, directly into the crew quarters. Dozens of dead men, women, and children lying on the ground, beginning to rise as the hum of the artificial gravity hushed. His own bunk was nearly untouched by the blood, but... "Nara..?" His voice was quiet as he choked through tears. There she was, frozen in place, a secondary tendril having shot clean through her heart. The tendrils began to retract as Seto dropped his head, letting out a scream, tears running down his face. His mask began to fog up as he yelled. Nara was gone, stolen from him. He would die here, broken legs and a hollow room filled with the bodies of his friends. The ship groaned again, and multiple explosions could be felt rattling the entirety of the structure. "This is Admiral Zhao to all section Commanders, the motherfucker came from slipspace, its alive, and I don't think we have enough firepower to take this thing down. The magesteel recyclers are destroyed, the engines and gone, and the larboard section of the ship was hit the hardest. To anyone still alive, take yourself and head to the Tetranova, I'm going to buy you some time." Zhao's voice over the radio was both a welcome sound, but also a dismal one. There was no chance of saving a majority of the ship, but the secondary capital ship could warp independent of the Einherkask- at the cost of the lives of anyone who remained inside. A cacophony of voices, most of which were reporting in from the starboard section, filled his head. "You know, I did try and warn the Council that I was having some strange dreams." Seto looked up, and there he was. The man in the black armor. The man who had prophesized doom to Desmoor. Giliath Osiris. He walked to the side of Seto, past him, until he was face to face with Nara. "After I unified Itr, I truly did try to warn you all of the coming dangers. All my words held great truths and proofs that the Council acknowledged, but refused to make any sort of preparations for. And so, I commissioned the Einherkask to be built. And now, Itr, is the only continent left that has a population. But they won't know that for some time. Perhaps, ever," he chuckled as he looked towards Seto. "But you and your master, you were ready." "Die," Seto muttered. "Please just die already. I've had enough of your taunting..." He looked up, tears streaming down his face still. "Did you do this to us?! Did you bring this creature here to kill us?! What sort of magic has corrupted you?! Why are we here?!" He trailed off. "Why are we here..." The once-prominent Chancellor walked back to Seto, and kneeled. "No, child, I did not bring this disaster upon you, nor the ones on Desmoor. These were inevitable events that Aidios herself warned me of. I am only a few centuries old, I am not like the supposed all-powerful Goddess." "Then why?" "Why bother with all I have done? Why bother showing up? It is because I have high hopes for you and your master..." "What hope could you possible have for us? Today, the sun sets. There will be no dawn." "... A little girl once defied me, not too long ago. I said the same words to her. And yet, she ensured that there would be a new day. She used her great magic, and her new friends were there to bring her victory. I'm sure that given the chance, you may be capable of such similar feats," Giliath said as he rose, walking towards the exit of the crew quarters, which had been ripped open by the tendrils. "However, this is where we must part ways, dear Seto. For when the rain comes, you must be strong." "When the rain comes... Yes, I'm sure... This time, you shall survive.