"Are you listening to me Chance?" the annoyed voice squawks from my mobile, rousing me from the waking dream. My eyes water for a moment and I find myself back in the present. 

This is bad. Ever since my last fight with Gallant, the dreams have been getting more and more intrusive. I'm now having them not only during idle moments, but also when I am up and about actually doing something. There's a knot of tension building somewhere deep within me, urging me to take action. To finish things with Gallant once and for all. 

"I sent someone to check on you at the hospital," Siobahn continues over the mobile, "and they told me that you had just walked out without telling anyone. What in the world are you thinking?"

I scratch my eye patch, and the sensation of ants crawling all over the empty socket eases a little. My remaining eye takes in the sight of a large stage being set up right at the main entrance of the von Amsterg manor, accompanied with rows of seats in front of it. Kirarin paces about restlessly on the stage itself while workers begin installing sound equipment and lighting to all around her. At the base of the stage is Siobahn herself, her stiff gait looking even more uptight than ever and her face twisted into an unpleasant grimace as she lectures yours truly over the phone. I quickly duck back behind the row of rose bushes before Siobahn catches sight of me. If she finds me here, it would ruin everything. 

"I just needed to get some fresh air boss." I say, "I'll be back in the hospital before you know it."

"Fine." Siobahn grunts, "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something that can't be put off any longer."

"Go on." I reply while slinking through the bushes towards the side of the manor, scoping out the place as thoroughly as I can. 

"You're fired." Siobahn announces, completely without preamble. 

"Uh huh." I answer, expecting something like this. I may play the fool, but I am far from stupid. The whole thing with Daffyd had placed a huge strain on my relationship with Siobahn. It was only a matter of time before she decided to cut me loose. 

"I said, you're fired." Siobahn repeats, with greater emphasis. 

"Yes. I heard you the first time." I shoot back, completely unconcerned. Truth be told, ever since I realized Daffyd had become what he is now, I had been hoping to be released from Siobahn's service. At the end of the day, Siobahn would always balk at taking the final step. She would turn away from doing what needed to be done. 

"I'll be settling the hospital bill," Siobahn continues, "and depositing in your account the final drawn salary with us."

"But after that I'm on my own, right?" I mutter back distractedly too engrossed with reconnoitering the grounds of the von Amsterg manor.  

"No. We should have a final meetup to iron out any loose ends and perform a handover of duties to your successor." Siobahn clarifies. 

"You're going to keep ORPO at bay until I leave The City?" I query, mentally confirming that my knowledge of the manor's grounds is accurate. Silence is all I get with Siobahn. She must think that I'm an idiot. Scratch that, everyone thinks that I am an idiot. 

"Or are you planning on jumping me and having me sent back to Neo-Cardiff in chains?" I challenge. 

"Where did you get that idea?" a quick denial from Siobahn, too quick and too smooth for my liking. 

"Why are you so concerned where I am if I've been fired?" I point out, "And are you really fine with me having given Daffyd a thrashing the other day?"

"You're paranoid." Siobahn scoffs, "Now stop imagining things."

I snort to myself as my feet carry me back out of the von Amsterg manor completely unseen. Once I hit the public foot way, I see a pair of initiates waiting patiently for me under a tree. Good thing I summoned the rest of the Path to The City shortly after I had been hospitalized. They may not be strong, but they're capable enough to act as scouts and gophers. 

"Then why did the entire capture squad show up at the hospital?" I ask, "That doesn't sound like a friendly visit."

Imagine my surprise when I got the news from my initiates. Siobahn's certainly not wasting time. By any measure I should still be immobilized thanks to my injuries. Its odd though, the more the dreams intrude, the faster I heal up. There's a correlation obviously at work here, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Just be grateful that I made myself scarce before the storm hit. 

Siobahn clicks her tongue in annoyance but holds a contemplative silence as she considers my words. I don't give her the chance to respond though. 

"Times up boss. Sorry, ex-boss." I taunt, "I know you're trying to trace my location using my mobile. We won't be talking again. Goodbye."

I stab the call end key and immediately shut off the phone. With a flick of my wrist, the phone sails into the gutter nearby. The initiates walk up to me, concern on their faces. 

"Was that wise Master Chance?" one of the initiates, a rabbit man with lop ears asks, "You knew that you were being tracked, yet you accepted the call." 

I shrug easily, "We will be long gone by the time the capture team gets here. Anyway, I felt that I owed it to Siobahn to at the very least say goodbye. What happened between us wasn't her fault."

Damn it, what are their names again? I can never remember the names of the initiates. It may not be practical to actually memorize every single one of their names, but I always feel somewhat guilty about this bit of ignorance. Especially since the initiates came to The City at my request. 

The initiates lead me to a rented car, a generically inoffensive compact painted blue and we pile in. One of the initiates takes his position behind the wheel and with a light pur of its engine, the compact drives off, leaving the von Amsterg manor behind. 

"I feel sorry for Kirarin though." I muse thoughtfully, "Its already sad that she's just going to be a toy for Tensei, but now his Uncle is forcing her to perform at Tensei's wedding as well. Talk about rubbing salt in the wound."

"What a weirdo that rich old guy is." the other initiate says offhandedly, idly scratching his toucan's beak.

"Nah, not weird. There's method to the madness." I quip, "Its dominance play. Tensei's Uncle wants to put Kirarin in her place, force her to publicly support the marriage."

"And Kirarin's management allows this to happen?" initiate one asks disbelievingly.

"I reckon Siobahn's getting paid." I fold my arms more comfortably while explaining, "This whole marriage thing makes no difference to her, one way or the other."

"There's another girl right?" initiate one queries with his eyes squarely focused on the road. 

"Yeah. The policewoman, girl, whatever you want to call her." I agree, "Saw her standing in the background in a maid's outfit. More dominance play on the old man's part would be my guess. Mistress number two is probably going to be serving drinks to guests on the big day."

"You're exaggerating." initiate two scoffs. 

I shake my head, "I lived with that family for years. Believe me when I say that the old man is a nasty piece of work. None of these arrangements would be out of character for him."

"Are you just upset that you couldn't get together with Tensei?" initiate one cuts in. 

Yeah, that's a complicated question. I think I fancied Tensei at one point and I'm pretty sure that I would be willing to do the dirty with him. I mean, he's cute and strong and gentle. As a friend with benefits, you could really do a whole lot worse. But now? That's no longer on the table. Not when I've met my fated enemy. The whole reason why I became Master of the Path.

There's no time for love when you've got to save the world.  

I snap my fingers and gesture at the pair of initiates, "Back to business. You brought the stuff I asked for?"

"Well yes," initiate two begins, "but no one has actually used it in recent memory. That thing might be packed with magical energy, but it's an antique. Wouldn't something newer be a better choice?"

"I still think we are over our heads." initiate one comments, "Its one thing to read about this stuff in the old texts, but actually doing it? Well, I don't know."

"I'm ready. I can do this." I reassure, "You guys just cheer me on from the back."

No shit everyone else is over their heads. If you guys had spent some time actually studying the legacies instead of cosplaying, you could actually help me out here. But that's spilled milk. I have to work with what I have on hand. 

"The box under the seat." initiate two says, "What you asked for is inside."

I reach out and pull the box up before placing it on my lap. The box nondescript and fairly large, but weighs very little. I lift the box's cover and begin removing the protective layer of bubble wrap that has been packed inside. I feel it. As the bubble wrap is peeled away, I sense the pulse of energy emanating from within the box. Excitement begins to mount within my heart. I never thought that this day would come. 

Slowly, I lift up the ancient short sword from the box with both hands. The weapon is well preserved, but etches and pits mar it's pitch black blade. But despite flaws that would make the blade brittle and unusable, the weapon thrums with indisputable power. An invisible force that holds the scarred blade together regardless of whatever metallurgy has to say about that. 

"The gift from the Princess to Prince Enma." initiate two whispers reverentially, "With this sword, Prince Enma defeated a servant of the True Emperor in single combat and began walking the path of a hero."

I flush from a combination of shame and excitement. Shame because from the dreams, I know the truth of how Enma received the blade. He was no hero, no matter what the myths say. Still, one part of the legend is correct. This weapon did kill an enemy of the world, a servant of the True Emperor. The sword possesses real power, regardless of its provenance.

And the excitement builds from the opportunity to finally make this weapon worthy of its reputation. To defeat an enemy of the world with my own hands. To redeem Enma's memory.   

To truly be a real hero.