Fei wasn't dead. How could she be dead? This gisoat who was beaten to a pulp by the prince practically managed to call another mukha before it died, and this reinforcement was no simple beast, for it was a butterfly-scorpion hybrid known as corfly mukha. It's strange appearance was frightening at first, but the moment they landed at the Wineart trio's airship, it began talking to her. They hid themselves on one of Lian's claypot right before she locked her two Heavenly Serpents together on one claypot. That time when the three boys were busy having a good drink, Fei and that weird corfly was confronted by Lian on the corner. The heavy presence of mukha still lingered because they just defeated a colossal gisoat, so none could barely notice the two at the time. However, this kid's sense of smell was keen enough for them to be caught. The corfly revealed something to her that she wasn't able to get out of the airship. It was incomplete in detail, but she was able to get a grasp of what this fellow wanted her to know; most importantly, she wasn't persuaded by its pathetic statement… at first. Well, simply because it kept on calling itself Yumi. The corfly told her that it couldn't remember anything, and the fact that its original body was being possessed by another soul, who called itself Yumi as well, remained a mystery to it. As for the gisoat, the corfly who claimed to be the real Yumi said that it contained a part of her soul, so she could control it at will and become its puppeteer. But now that it perished, she'd have to keep an eye on a new mukha to plant a fragment of her soul again. Though this trick risked that her remaining soul might not stick together and dissipate forever, never to reincarnate, she won't be able to rest in peace knowing that her own body was all and well, alive and being treated the same as before, as if she didn't own that body. 

This story sounded bullshit to Fei. If this corfly, aka. real Yumi, couldn't recall what happened before she incarnated into a mukha and continued to think she was someone else, it could be an imagination or a dream, not a reality that actually happened. Even the trio who listened to its story had shook their heads in dismay, such a poorly created accusation. However, it wasn't until a buddy alighted on the airship last afternoon before they crossed the space from Auteal to Sapphreeze. Of course, this familiar buddy was none other than the second prince of Fierystal, Qian Jiro. He carried a large bag of fruits and vegetables, so he probably went out to market. The three youths and two mukhas were chilling and having a nice talk when the prince suddenly arrived out of nowhere. Fei didn't suspect this close friend of the past lifetime at the very least of committing unwise deeds; however, he looked restless when he came, as if finding a lost valuable; he also had a trace of agitation. She thought that it couldn't have sensed her presence as Tzar Fei, no? It could be that, but she was more than proud of her students' skills that they'd be one of, if not, the first to find out. Thus, the prince being here had nothing to do with her own identity, rather, it could be more probably associated with this corfly beside her. Lian quickly hid them at the claypot while Guo conversed with the clueless Jiro that they were covering up for mukhas. It didn't take long for him to convince the prince that nothing was in the ship except the three of them. When he left, the airship proceeded to the space to Sapphreeze. Ravi asked Fei multiple times if she really won't stay at Yumi's side, but her answer had always been no. Despite their alliance, she had not revealed her real identity; so they called her Kuu, just without the ridiculous word 'Kitty', leaving it for the so-called fake Yumi. She may not be the real person, but it was her whom Kuu recognized as its master. Truthfully, Fei only clung to that Yumi whoever the hell was she, for that girl treated her kindly and fed her more than enough to be able to power up her abilities. However, it wasn't merely because of the corfly's pretense. There was an unfinished mission that must be fulfilled at all cost, to save Dizion from breaking apart. It all started from a series of fissures several years ago. Everytime a crack appeared on the surface, there would be an oozing dark anti-life force from it. The stench smelled like blood and the smokes appeared like shadows. Before the previous king of Wineart died, he left a letter to Tzar Fei about it. Unfortunately, other people didn't think of it as something urgent. She, herself, once doubted it as well; but the letter clearly stated the signs that Dizion was in danger. The orb plate supporting the land beneath the layers of soil and rocks found between the borders of Nobyss was becoming weaker and weaker over the past one hundred years. But during her reign of eleven years, there had been worse damages on the plate; thus, many more mukhas, corpses, and spirits were climbing up from Nobyss and were able to get their feet in mortal territories. This was the very reason why she kept on insisting that the Truth Inscription from each kingdom had to be puzzled together, for only then would the Earth Mending Spell would come out. The Earth Mending Spell would be drawn into a newly forged orb array called Penta-Orb Brace to replace the worn-out plate, which was left to be built by the home of top-tier blacksmiths, Sapphreeze Kingdom. Before the revolution, Fei had been in a rather secret alliance with their king, Kaiser Milan, to forge the said orb. Given that no people would run after her, Fei decided that she'd reveal herself to Kaiser and ask the state of Penta-Orb Brace. Back then when she first met the king and showed him her father's letter, he was already in the process of forging the plate. Kaiser's kiln for it was actually a volcano, and it was taking him so much time taking care of that while ruling his domain at the same time. 

With the help of Wineart trio's airship, Fei could easily travel and stop at Sapphreeze to know what was going on with this old friend of hers. This evening, she'd be slipping to Zi Castle and knock Kaiser on the head. Currently, they were traversing the second space, and fortunately, there were no gigantic mukhas anymore. The corfly who identified itself as Yumi went out of the ship shortly after the prince left; it wasn't a malevolent one, so they let it follow its body as long as it won't harm anyone again. These martial fighters were still oblivious to Fei's real character, so they'd drop her too right at the capital of this kingdom. Her target wasn't really the capital but the Zi Castle located on the northern part of Sapphreeze, so she'd have to proceed by foot or by calesa, though the latter was quite impossible due to her being in a mukha's body. 

Each kingdom stood equidistant from each other, but because they didn't run into trouble on the way, the ship reached the target destination in time, just right before midnight. The three's destination was to their home country, however, they fully consumed their stocks of Northern Frost Extract when they accidentally met the prince and this liquor was only available in this kingdom. So they disembarked the ship on a port nearest to the capital and went with Kuu together. Like any other, the city was bustling even at this late hour. The atmosphere was cold like in Wineart, so everybody wore an extra layer of clothes on, which were usually in the shades under the blue color. People generally don't pay attention to foreigners, but they had the menacing aura of a swordlock and carried weapons around, so they pretty much stood out. The roads were spacious, and perhaps because it felt like winter all year round and these diziens had to exercise their bodies that there were not much calesa; majority of the people walked. From faraway, the mountain range that stretched along the edges of Sapphreeze in northwest was visible. At the tail end of those mountains in this kingdom lies an active volcano complex, which was an area used by blacksmiths to forge large valuable weapons and also by Kaiser for Penta-Orb Brace. Originally, that location was situated in isolation, far from the landmass of any village or town, however this past years, especially during in the occupation of Tzar Fei's army in Auteal, a lot of poor and weak immigrant diziens had sought refuge to hide near this place, obscured from possible military target. The invasion shocked everyone, and from the rumors about the Wineart Matriarch circulating amongst the communities, they utterly forgot that this violent fellow was once the Light Aloft Celestial Heights that they respected and loved. Their lives felt threatened; there was only a monster. That goddess, who spoke the most flowery oath, came and stole their land, stepping along the rocks of dignity that they wholeheartedly offered. If else, these diziens preferred to die from the rage of the earth than from the hands of an ultimate traitor. It bore the pride of their own beings that only lava could thaw. 

They arrived on a street where establishments of different goods and services faced each other left and right, and cherry blossoms aligned themselves in the middle, parting the whole street into two. There were benches between the trees where people who waited for their accompaniment from any of the establishments could linger and sit by. The boys entered a small tavern adorned with four yellow lamps hanging on the eaves of its front roof. Ravi and Guo were regular customers in Hut Tavern for a great deal of Northern Frost Extract, and oftentimes, their sister would stay in the ship to wait for them. Though the three weren't siblings by blood, they treated each other like one. Anyway, this time, Lian, carrying the claypot where Fei hid, tagged along and waited on one of the benches but got instantly swarmed by girls and boys of her age alike. A boy asked, "Young Miss, what are you looking for?" 

Another boy grasped her hand, "Miss Swordlock, what made you come in our store?" 

"Milady, your quiver looks old already. Why not replace it with a new one?" 

"Young Miss…"

The questions seemed never-ending which made Fei more bored than she should be. If only Yumi was here to feed her a whole gallon of soymilk, then she would've been able to advance into unlocking her full potential to transform into an adult body. If only… The thought of leaving that annoyingly useful loser kind of hurt her feelings a little. She was too eager to finally save Dizion, to get her father's last will done. Going back would be too time-consuming, so she had no choice but to ask another person. As she pondered on how to shoo these diziens away, BANG! A loud explosion broke the evening silence of the capital. The people also exploded into an outburst of chaos and began running madly away from the source of blast. Ravi was the first to exit Hut Tavern and check up on Lian. His mouth might be smelling like the strong fragrance of Northern Frost Extract, but his pitch black eyes were sternly sober as he inquired, "Are you alright? What happened?" 

Those that interviewed the young lady miss swordlock had already fled from the scene, so there was no hindrance between them. She became guarded as she told him, "I'm alright, brother. Most likely, it was a nearby explosion. Where's Guo?" 

The door of Hut Tavern blasted open with Guo vomiting as his greeting. He yelled, "Let's go! Yeah another duty! Yeah a crime job! Yeah an investigation!!"

He sounded truly excited and pumped up, but Ravi strictly cautioned, "Look at you! Do you think you can help with--" 

Before he could even say another word, Guo had wrapped his arm around his neck and laughed, "Stop talking! Let's go!"

The trio hastily dashed towards the opposite direction against the crowd and prepared themselves for a future showoff of heroic deeds. Not too far from the street they were in, a three-storey building was on fire. It was a huge, enormous building. Its back was facing them, so at first, they had no idea what establishment was this for. But when they got into the front side, they felt weak all of a sudden; it was a museum. It was one of those few ancient museums of Dizion, and it burnt just like that. When Fei poked her furry head out, she felt struck by the sky. Why does it have to be a museum? Lots that had been left undone required research and study from history. A museum burnt. A possible artifact that could help her was now engulfed by flames. The rescuers were quick to respond, but the damage had been done. If an important valuable was there, it wouldn't be fun. She whispered to Lian, "Kaiser. Report this to Kaiser. There has to be an investigation. Maybe somebody did this to steal something."

That little voice was a whisper, but the other two heard it clearly and agreed on the same thing. An artifact was an artifact if it had no special effect; a holy artifact if it could enable someone to take advantage of the normals. Holy artifact, they say, but it might bring more trouble than benefits. So forget about the liquor, they headed back to the airship and flew all the way to Zi Castle. Martial fighters were addressed just a little lower than noblemen. Even the noblemen themselves had at least trained in fighting and, thus, respected the field like what it deserved. Showing up and approaching a monarch wasn't that difficult if it's a swordlock, archer, blacksmith, or a brute-tamer. Entering the castle wouldn't be the problem here but the fact that Kaiser was also known as the Eccentric Ice Prince who often disappeared like a bubble at times; not even the heavens could accurately guess where he had gone hiding. He was also oddly quiet and absent-minded, though he could rival every scholar for his genius mind. Lian hadn't met the king, so she was nervous throughout the journey. Her curved eyelashes swayed as her soft voice left her lips, "Do you think it's right? What if he knows? It's going to be really embarrassing."

Guo laughed, "It's fine. Don't worry about it. We'll just ask if he needs some help." 

This instantly made Fei's ears enlarge. She eavesdropped as she planned on how to do her next moves. In a short amount of time, they arrived at Zi Castle. The nearest port was located far from it, so they leapt off the ship as it progressed on its own. There were sets of guards in all directions, and entering from the ground would be troublesome. Their mere intention was to let the king know that a museum, possibly containing a holy artifact, was burning; and going through these guards and all would be tiresome. Thus, the three alighted on a turret and crawled their way through the parapet walls, looking like ninjas who were about to assassinate the king. At one point, they were spotted by a guard, but they'd only have to show their insignias and they'd get a two-finger salute rather than a chase. In their eyes, the guards were as strange as their king. 

Unbeknownst to the three, Fei had been gone to Kaiser before they could locate his chamber. The guards weren't acting up because the king wasn't there anymore. When Fei slipped from them, she immediately went to his chamber and luckily found the king, sincerely peeling a juicy yellow mango on a small table. She transformed into her kid form and calmly uttered, "Long time no see, Kinky Smith." 

Kaiser paused the movement of his knife. His pale white brows knitted as he gazed up and replied monotonously, "Tzar Fei?" 

Of course, he'd recognize. The curls of his hair were worse than Yumi's; it was full of kinks, like a curly noodle. He was also a great bladesmith, for he could forge something enormous like Penta-Orb Brace plate that could save Dizion. Therefore, as for his nickname, Fei thought it out. 

Kaiser entered another room to take Fei into a secret passageway to the volcano complex where he was forging the Penta-Orb Brace. There was a brick on the ground, sealed of spiritual energy that only listened to his life force. When he stepped on it, the stone tile opened, revealing a staircase that laid downwards to the darkness, then they began traversing the dim passageway. It wasn't completely dark, for every five meters stood a pillar with bluish white lamp protruding forty-five degrees out of it. The two strolled side by side, one blank-faced king who appeared like a youth in his teens rather than a figure of nobility and one stern kid with three snowy white furry tails tailing her. Fei gazed up to peer at this man who never turned his back on her and thought, Milan didn't change, he was still that Kinky Smith who barely said a word. The deafening silence might throw her into madness if it continued like this, so she initiated the conversation. "I didn't see a single Sapphreeze dizien in the revolution week. Why didn't you join them? They might become suspicious of you." 

Kaiser toyed the spring of hair that popped in front of his eyes. His voice was hoarse in an innocent way, "Eh you have not wronged me."

Hearing no trace of grudge in his words, Fei didn't say anymore. Surely, she didn't do anything to Sapphreeze during that time when she went around, coercing the other monarchs to hand over their piece of Truth Inscription. That tablet contained a set of characters that could only be visible if the five parts were put together. Back then, she automatically got the one in Auteal and Rillows plus her own in Wineart, a total of three over five. When she asked the Fierystal sovereign, Khan Qian handed it without a second thought; and at last, she went back to Kaiser. There, he explained the consequences of taking the pieces of Truth Inscription from each kingdom. The nature's life force ran out, like a drained fuel tank, unable to support the technical objects in Dizion except Sapphreeze. At first, she couldn't understand; she'd return it after she puzzled it together and decode the characters that would come out. At first, she couldn't understand; the grandmaster of Krimstone Palace, her advisor, the chief of the Wineart Army, almost everybody teamed up against her to stop her. At first, she couldn't understand, but when the seventy-two airships tragically fell while crossing the boundaries, only then it finally sparked in her mind. The irregular rhythm of her heart got colder and colder. Now, she wasn't in a place where she could say that she wanted to save them. All of those tragedies, from the deaths of the monarchs to the deaths who had nothing to do with her, to the invasion of territories; they were done because of none other than her greed and evilness. The mistake happened, but it was too late, the people died already. If only Kaiser was there when she knocked on Zi Castle. If only Kaiser was there before she went to Auteal and killed Aki's father. If only Kaiser opened the gates before it all happened, maybe she wouldn't have done all the past things to that extent. If only they had met that cold autumn. If only… 

Eventually, the two arrived at a staircase. As the king stomped his right foot on the first step, the ceiling above them flew open. There was not a single person around. The active crater full of boiling magma was huge. There was a pentagram orb of blue light that stretched circle above them. This volcano complex was abundant of life force that the forging of Penta-Orb Brace would be easier if made from here. Seeing the progress, Fei sighed in relief. She then remembered how even if the king managed to finish it early, they'd need to draw the characters to the plate, so she inquired, "How are we going to know the characters in the inscription?" 

Straight to the point, Kaiser responded, "Look into the past. Look at how they did it." 

"...." Fei had a question mark on her forehead; she muttered, "How is that possible?" 

Kinky Smith swept his gaze around then replied, once again, in a monotonous voice and expressionless face, "There's a holy artifact that lets you see the past, the Ancien Pot."