A sweet fragrance emanated from the silver teapot that sat atop a short glass table. Within the large marble confinement, the group had seated around a glass table on green couches made of soft cloth. If one breathed deeply, they would smell a savoury aroma which lingered from the kitchen behind. A chained ball of light dangled harmlessly above the table at a height twice that of Khaos – its magnificent luminosity painted every inch of the room in a warm yellow. At the far end of the room, a single wooden table held the group’s previously confiscated weapons.

Exrite sat composedly between Frosty and Khaos as he picked a single biscuit from a glass bowl. His arm ached to the light stretch, but it was nothing compared to the pain just prior.

“Oh.” A surprised voice slipped from Frosty’s mouth as she sipped from the tea cup. “It’s so fragrant and sweet. Tasty.”

“Glad it’s to your taste.” Talia too sipped from a glossy-pale cup. “Are the biscuits fine?”

“Very.” Exrite answered after he took a large bite from the crunchy brown treat.

“These are good too.” Khaos took a few chocolate-coated biscuits and piled them into one hand hungrily.

“Sure you don’t want any tea?” Inkshard offered once again to Exrite.

“I’m fine, thank you.” He buried himself deeper into the soft cushion of the orange couch and shifted his gaze onto Talia.

She set her cup onto a ceramic plate just by the edge of the glass table with a soft clink. No one had to speak a single word, for she knew what was going to come from the eager man’s mouth.

“My, we’re already getting down to business?” Her voice was refined and sharp like a blade. “Tell me, Exrite, what exactly were you told by the Children of Balance?”

He pondered for a moment.

“They only offered me the removal of my curse, as far as I’m aware of.”

While Exrite was truthful about the contents of their interaction, Talia didn’t seem satisfied. Rather, confusion struck her momentarily before she vented a soft sigh.

“How vague. I find it hard that only that much convinced you to come all the way here from… wherever you came from to Farshard.”

“Gods are like that, aren’t they?” Frosty growled and snapped a biscuit with her jaw.

Exrite wondered how to respond to the priestess. It was a gamble whether or not he should come clean with his background, or fabricate one just in case. But he didn’t want to betray their trust, or everything they were doing for him. In the end, only one reasonable choice could be made. One because he had a hunch that this wouldn’t be the last time he’d be working with the priestesses.

“We have our reasons. But it was more than enough to get us travel from the kingdom of Enthrile.” Exrite responded with a hint of reluctance.

A surprised look befell both priestesses. It wasn’t the answer they hoped to hear – it was far off their expected parameters.

“That far!?” Inkshard exclaimed in utmost surprise, almost jumping from the couch.

“Impossible. The regions can’t be traversed over by the Gods. Are you sure it wasn’t something else? A messenger of some sort?” Talia was shocked by the reveal.

The regions exist solely because the Gods do. It limited and confined their powers to key areas of Six Point in order to maintain peace between the other Gods. While some coexist with each other, particularly the lesser Gods, it’s was all within a set region.

It was no doubt that she couldn’t believe what he said, but the proof was already laid out; Exrite definitely was called by the Gods due to the altar’s animation and the reaction from the shard. She wondered whether there was someone else working with the Children of Balance other than her family. It was unlikely, but the possibility still remained.

Perhaps the king knew something about it.

“Impossible… “ She repeated in a gruelling whisper. “Enthrile is two regions away from here.”

No God could ever dream of pulling such a feat.

Talia reorganised her thoughts at the sight of the unanimously confused faces across her.

“Sorry. Inkshard, please add this to the letter. The kingdoms need to know about this as well.”

“Right now?”

“Please.”

“Wait, what’s being relayed to the king?” Exrite grew defensive all of a sudden.

Frosty refrained from sipping from the cup held before her mouth as Khaos stopped chewing, his eyes drawn to Talia with suspicion. Tension seized the room with its talons as a dire unease gnawed at Exrite’s heart.

Talia had a hunch as to why they suddenly raised their guard.

Exrite’s name was awfully familiar to a name circulating around both the kingdom of Truebirth and the neighbouring Pathfist kingdom. Of course, it was only the kings and their closest aides who knew of the news – there had been a ‘kidnapping’ of a member from the royal Enthrile family. Exrite’s full name perfectly matched with the name, and it was no wonder he went out of his way to go under a different alias.

But the kidnappers; they were supposedly Frostbitten, which explained why it was difficult to deter.

Talia however, didn’t know whether it was true or not – if those two beside Exrite were indeed Frostbitten. But it didn’t matter the slightest to her. What mattered more was Enthrile’s absolute determination to recover him. She’d heard from the king about the rewards they’d give to anyone who could return their family member and the Frostbitten, dead or alive.

It was despicable, at least in her eyes. For others who didn’t know well of the situation – this would be an applaudable effort for an attempt to save a family member.

She allowed herself to hum as she comfortably leaned into the couch.

“Exrite, please let us reassure you that you’re just as important to us as the Children of Balance.” Talia claimed as she stared unwaveringly into Exrite’s calculating eyes. “We would be a fool to even think of throwing you away. If we betray you, then we betray the Children of Balance.”

The Gods were responsible for many things in their region, such as advice on the general direction the kingdoms should take, as well as granting insight to the many events that occur within the region. It was like a form of clairvoyance, to which the priestesses would often relay back to the two kingdoms.

It was also the Children of Balance’s worldwide stigma of being the most malevolent Gods which brought the creation of the regions in the first place eons ago. This alone was enough to drive attackers or war-thirsty kingdoms away.

“That’s right! No matter what we’re here to support you, the one chosen by our Gods, to the very end! We wouldn’t be their vessels otherwise!” Inkshard cried as she leaped from the couch and placed an open palm against her chest.

An insatiable ember sparked from the depths of her light blue eyes as she directed them to Exrite wholeheartedly. Silence followed as all eyes shifted onto Exrite from every direction.

He broke the silence with a sigh and smiled to himself. Why was he believing a mother and daughter so easily? Why was he giving in to their claims? The stern face that Inkshard showed was admiral.

But also, humorous.

While he most definitely was reluctant on having the king of this kingdom know about his identity, the two made it seem like it his concerns had an obvious answer right from the start.

“You two really are something.” Exrite sighed as he slumped forward in defeat, showing a wry smile.

Both mother and daughter melted in relief as a sigh trickled through Talia’s lips.

“Feels like I keep getting worried over nothing.” He added.

“Whew… for a second there I thought we’d be back at square one.” Khaos vented a sigh as he reeled his head over the couch.

“How can we be so sure to trust you?” Frosty was still cautious.

“Frosty. I think we can trust them. No one would be stupid enough to go against a God, let alone the Children of Balance.” Exrite assured.

“Even so- “

“Just trust Exrite’s gut sis. It’s gotten us so far already.” Khaos cut her off with a proud chuckle.

Frosty sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “If you say so… “ Her brother’s words seemed to convince her enough.

“Mother, I’ll write the letter before bed.”

“Thank you, dear.”

The tension had disappeared almost entirely. In fact, they felt more willing to cooperate with the Priestesses than before. Inkshard collapsed back onto the couch and released a relieved sigh.

“About my curse” Exrite drew his face up. “I want to know what exactly it is.”

“The curse, hmm. My, Exrite, do you know why you can’t die?” She returned it back to him with her characteristically warm smile.

“That’s what I want to find out.” He was eager for an answer as he slowly erected himself against the couch.

She sipped from the cup elegantly before answering.

“Your time is being reset by the fragment of time hidden somewhere in your body.”

Exrite was immediately taken aback by those words. The curse wasn’t magic, but instead, was the result of an object he didn’t know was lodged somewhere in his body. It was a difficult feat to digest the information, but he continued to keenly listen to Talia.

“The Maiden of Time must’ve left it with you before she disappeared as of recent. The beams of light on the night of her departure left us with a reminder that our continent, Six Point, had lost its balance once and for all.”

No one was more perplexed as Exrite – and hearing of the Maiden of Time only made it even more confusing for him, as such a Maiden was supposedly non-existent. In fact, his home country had gone through the efforts of enforcing the continent name to be called ‘Five Point’ or ‘Timeless’, as they believed in only five of the six Maidens.

“Wait a second please! What does the Maiden of Time have anything to do with all of this? What does Exrite have to do with any of this!?” Frosty vented, unable to comprehend just what Talia was trying to explain.

“What I’m saying is, without the Maiden of Time, then all balance between the Maidens will be lost. The Children of Balance created the Maidens in order to maintain order between the Gods and the rest of our world Corozin. Without time, there is no balance.”

“That doesn’t answer why Exrite has to bear that burden!” Frosty cried in a fit of rage.

It wasn’t fair for the duties of a Maiden to be shifted onto someone so suddenly, and have everything in their life turned against them. Even Exrite’s closest friends and family betrayed him once they got wind of the curse.

Talia didn’t react. She maintained a levelled composure and continued.

“Fate isn’t so black and white as you may see. Maybe those answers lay with the Gods themselves. Sorry for not being able to answer everything.” She lowered her head slightly.

“Ah, no- er… I got a bit carried away. I’m sorry.” Frosty responded apologetically as she scratched her arm. It was a light guilt trip for her as she remembered that while she was a priestess, she also had things she was uncertain of.

Everyone was in the same boat – stranded in an ocean of confusion.

“I didn’t think the state of this world could get any worse.” Exrite sighed as he resigned himself to fate.

There was no point in resisting, or even putting up a fight. The future of the world seemed bleak. He knew of the wars between the races, and how gruelling things were for them, especially for the demi-humans. Where he was from, anything that wasn’t human or slightly less so was either enslaved or publicly executed. It was a pro-human society that bathed in bloodshed and cruelty. But here –

The vivid images of Sorshore’s inn and the floating orbs brought him to a gentle smile.

It was warm.

“The fragment you carry will most likely be used to create a new Maiden.” Inkshard carried on with the conversation.

“Will I die?”

“Definitely not!” The young priestess convincingly exclaimed.

“I guess it’s fine then.” Exrite patted his lap, sounding tired. “Guys, we’re leaving tomorrow before daybreak.”

“That early?” Khaos was a bit uncertain for the reasoning behind his sudden decision.

“My, my, isn’t that a bit too early?” Talia agreed with Khaos’ thoughts.

“Exrite, your sword’s chipped. You aren’t thinking of going in with a broken sword, are you?” Frosty inched closer to him with a look of disapproval.

A wry smile formed across his face as he remembered his sword. And the reason why it broke-

“Why’re you looking at me like?” Khaos said, muffled by the chocolate biscuits stuffed in his mouth.

Khaos, as a Frostbitten, had absurd physical strength – however, at the sacrifice of no magical talent whatsoever. A bad swing with Exrite’s blade combined with Khaos’ bizarre decision to jump into his field of view spelt a recipe for disaster. The loud chip that sounded wasn’t because the blade hit his bone.

It was simply because a piece of the blade snapped when it got lodged not even half a centimetre into his body. From then on, Exrite felt like he could safely ignore the risk of friendly fire around Khaos.

Inkshard leapt from the couch and covered her mouth for a yawn.

“Ahhh~ I’ll check on the stove, mother. Excuse me.”

Inkshard departed from the group and disappeared into the kitchen behind with little patters.

“I guess we’ll be off then- “

“My, you can rest here you know?” Talia quickly said with a calming voice just as Exrite was in the motion of standing. “It would be a shame to not let you feel comfortable before your departure to the Children of Balance.”

Frosty looked a bit guilty.

“Are you sure we can stay the night? But you’ve done so much for us already.” She responded meekly.

Talia slightly tilted her head to the side and gave a mature, warm smile.

“We insist. After all, we’re still in your service.”

“I-I guess we’ll take on your offer then.” Frosty scratched the side of her face as she answered.

She didn’t know what it was, but the generosity of the priestesses made her feel awkward, especially with how she yelled at her earlier.

“Mother, the stew is ready!” A bright voice from the kitchen almost sung.

“Ah! That’s right! Please join us for dinner.” She yelled and beamed with a welcoming smile.

Khaos observed the crumbs pooled on his palm and frowned. He had finished all his biscuits and still felt like his stomach could do with more food. When Exrite and his sister sent a quick side-long glance at him, they could only sigh and smile. Frosty shook her head lightly at her glutton of a brother.

“We’d be glad too.” Exrite accepted with a quiet voice. “But if there isn’t enough food, then don’t worry about us.”

Talia hummed.

“My, that shouldn’t be a problem. After all, Inkshard’s a growing girl.”

A sudden crackle from Exrite and silent laughter from the others incite a dwelling rage from the girl in the kitchen.

“M-Mother! I don’t eat like that all the time- I mean, I don’t eat like that at all!” She yelled in embarrassment.

Talia hummed confusedly about her daughter’s statement as she discretely patted her breasts.

“Dear, didn’t you say you wanted to grow to be like me?”

“No, I didn’t!”

They laughed again, but this time it was more apparent. The enraged Inkshard could be heard stomping childishly from the kitchen in protest against her mother’s claim.

Lit beneath the cosy light, Talia finally laughed.