Jack fought to keep his nerves steady as they waited for the Twilight King’s answer to their proposal. The proposal had been simple: they would assist the Twilight King in restoring his world in exchange for their freedom and their belongings. Although Jack had mentioned acquiring Eidos to his group, it would come from the objectives that they were most likely going to receive while attempting to restore Terras.

Beside him, Cordan stood with an impassive expression contrary to the slight scowl on Jack’s face. On the dais in front of them, the undead monarch sat on his throne with Kafkë to his right while Rovena stood behind the pair near the door. The four of them were the sole occupants of the room. The click-clack of the Twilight King’s bony fingers against the crystal arms of the throne sounded through the chamber with an odd echo. Jack could swear that he could hear whispered voices in the echoes causing goosebumps to dance across his flesh.

Kafkë looked from Jack to the Twilight King. “So, let me get this straight. You’re saying it's possible for us to restore Terras from destruction?” Jack nodded “But, you don’t know exactly how to do it?”

“No, but I have some idea as to how we could find out,” Jack said, his scowl deepening. “If allowed to, I could work with you and His Majesty to ascertain the answer.”

“What makes you so certain it's possible? You saw the Well of Souls; Terras is on its last legs,” Kafkë said, clearly doubtful of Jack’s claim.

He didn’t hesitate in his response. “While the worlds tethered to Fracture are close to death, they aren’t beyond saving. There is a place called the Shattered Remnant. It is where worlds beyond salvation are locked away to rot. Your Majesty likened Fracture to a graveyard, but the Shattered Remnant is much closer to such a place than Fracture. Since Terras remains tethered to Fracture, there must be a chance to restore it! Of this, I am certain.”

He really wasn’t certain at all yet he was all-in at this point so he needed to show conviction if he wanted them to believe him.

The skull exchanged a long look with the Twilight King and Jack feared that he may have misread their attachment to their world. Thankfully, he didn’t sweat for long since the Twilight King finally chose to speak.

“You have saved me from an inconvenience, Jack,” he said. “Aside from my own curiosity about your World Core and Fracture, the desire to restore Terras is the only reason I chose to keep you and your companions alive. To hear you come forward with an offer of aid pleases me and saves both of us the unpleasantness that may have transpired to coerce your cooperation.”

Jack stared into the Twilight King’s unnatural eyes and felt a cold shadow pass through his very soul. Several unpleasant images of flitted through his mind at that moment until he shook them away. He honed in on the Twilight King’s implication and said, “So you accept our proposal?”

“No,” said the king causing Jack to blink in confusion.

“If you’ll permit my asking, why not, Your Majesty?” asked Cordan. The muscles throughout Jack’s body tensed slightly. Without the Twilight King’s approval, they couldn’t do much and his earlier statement made it clear that the undead had no issue killing them all. If he didn’t agree, they’d be forced to take the gamble with Tartarus— something Jack preferred to avoid for multiple reasons. Although he could kill Jack with ease, the Twilight King offered a certain amount of security against his pursuers while Tartarus was an unknown location with an unknown threat level. On top of all that, he wanted to see the fruition of the Blue Heart’s Harmonic Convergence with the Twilight Key.

“Perhaps, it is best that I show you.” He stood up causing his great cloak to billow dramatically as he descended the steps of the dais. Jack and Cordan stepped to the side to let the undead monarch pass between them. Cordan shot him a questioning look and Jack shrugged in response before following behind the Twilight King.

Their group including Kafkë and Rovena who took up the rear traversed the dark passageways of the castle in silence. They took the same route that led back to the room in which they were being held but the king moved westward when the hall spit into multiple paths. After a few minutes of walking, Jack noticed a new source of light coming through the occasional arrow slits in the walls. Finally, they stopped in a medium-sized circular room.

“Come, we must ascend,” The Twilight King said as he raised his right hand waving it through the air. Two braziers flared to life on opposite sides of the room illuminating them with pale blue fire. Looking up. Jack saw the ceiling was high over their heads. Based on that, their route, and the shape of the room, he figured they had come to a tower of some sort, yet he saw no stairs going up or down. Unsure of how they would ascend or where they would even ascend to, Jack followed the rest of the group to the center of the chamber. Once they were all in the center, one of the Twilight King’s rings flashed with blinding yellow light blinding Jack momentarily.

Cool wind brushed past him as he collected himself. He opened his eyes after a moment, blinking a few times to banish the black spots from his vision and biting back the sudden urge to swear at the S-rank world boss. Then, he saw it. The group wasn’t inside of the castle anymore. They stood at the top of a high tower overlooking the Twilight King’s stronghold and much of the surrounding land. Above them, the stars twinkled in the seemingly eternal night sky while hundreds of undead stood motionless in the open areas below. However, neither of those things were what drew Jack’s attention.

The western view from the tower was dominated by an opaque wall of light that stretched from earth to sky. Briefly, Jack wondered how he could’ve missed such a thing, but he remembered that he and Alindal had been unconscious upon arrival. Cordan had a look of pure surprise on his face and Jack guessed that the former foreman hadn’t seen the wall before either. Beyond the wall, Jack glimpsed the shape of a massive structure similar to a castle floating in the sky. He also caught sight of several amorphous shapes darted about near the wall though when he blinked, they vanished. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make out any other details due to poor visibility.

“Feast your eyes on the magnificent silhouette of the Eternal Light’s Bastion,” said Kafkë with a voice full of disdain. The Twilight King nodded pointing a finger at the wall.

Suddenly, Jack felt the very world around him shift. Before he had time to process what it could mean, a wave of fear and weakness washed through his mind, body, and soul causing him to stumble. To Jack’s surprise, Cordan reached out a hand to steady him.

At the same time, the Twilight King spoke two words. “Greater Destruction.”

A beam of dark energy lanced from the monarch’s bony fingertip to the wall in a matter of seconds. Jack couldn’t believe the attack could traverse such a distance; however, his jaw dropped it hit the opaque barrier. The beam ripped into its target and hundreds of ripples traveled outward from the point of impact. At that moment, he was certain the energy would pierce the wall and then, the attack stopped revealing a perfectly untarnished surface.

What the fuck was that!? Jack thought, once again trying to collect himself. His brow was damp and a slight tremble ran through his muscles in the aftermath of the attack. Whatever the Twilight King did had somehow affected Jack as well. Only Cordan and Rovena seemed to have noticed his momentary weakness, but based on her facial expression, Rovena didn’t care.

“As you can see, there exists a force in this world that can resist me. He is called Pope Bohum, leader of the Church of the Eternal Light. In truth, it was our struggle against each other that led to the destruction of our home. Although he was the one to scorch the earth, I cannot say that I am blameless,” the Twilight King said. Jack heard sadness or, perhaps, remorse in his voice. From the set of Cordan’s jaw, he could already tell the relic hunter didn’t like the direction the conversation was heading and Jack couldn’t blame him. The Twilight King’s words implied the presence of another S-rank threat on the remnant of Terras. During his conversations with the Twilight King and Kafkë, the pope had been mentioned, but Jack hadn’t even considered the idea that the pope could be a threat on par with the Twilight King. He was Terras’s world boss after all. Did that mean the Remnant Gate had two world bosses? Was that even possible? What’s more, if the king asked them for assistance against the Pope, they’d be in an unfortunate situation; too weak to do anything in the situation, yet unable to escape the collapsing Remnant Gate without the Twilight King’s favor or throwing themselves into Tartarus. Thankfully, their worries were swiftly silenced. “However, he is not the problem, merely the cause. I have plans for Bohum, avatar or not. With enough time, I could dismantle his barrier and destroy him once and for all.”

The emotion disappeared as he spoke the last sentence giving way to a cold tone that was more at place coming from an undead creature.

“So, what is the problem, Your Majesty?” Jack asked, brow furrowed. He kept his face blank as the king turned his gaze on him.

“The lightweavers are the problem,” the Twilight King answered holding out a hand, face up. Above the skeletal palm, an image appeared of a medium height figure cloaked in yellow and holding a lantern out with one hand. After a few seconds, the image disappeared and the Twilight King lowered his hand. “The Pope has approximately one thousand of them under his control.”

Fuck. He swore internally while imaging how powerful these lightweavers had to be in order to pose a threat to the Twilight King. After seeing an actual lightweaver, Jack had to admit that Ciel looked incredibly similar to them minus the lantern and cowl. The image of a thousand Ciels flashed through Jack’s mind making him want to throw up. This time, the king and Kafkë saw Jack’s reaction.

 “You alright there, Jack?” The skull asked.

Before answering, he took a deep breath to steady. “Yeah, I’m fine though I have to ask an important question. How powerful are these lightweavers? I ask because you mistook Ciel for one of them before, so…” He let the words trailed off as his expression grew troubled despite his best efforts.

Surprisingly, Kafkë and Rovena laughed until the Twilight King waved his hand silencing them. He explained, “They are nowhere near the level of your Celestial. They are more on the level of one of my foot soldiers.” He gestured below them to the assembled legion of undead. “In fact, you would likely have little trouble subduing one despite your weakness.” Jack swallowed the blow to his pride; happy to not be up against a thousand S-rank enemies. That said, the absence of the anxiety did make room for confusion.

“Wait, if they aren’t a threat to you, why are they a problem?” Jack asked starting to wonder what the Twilight King was getting at with this particular subject.

“It is not their strength that is the problem. I do not wish to vanquish them,” he continued. Abruptly, he clenched his fist producing the disturbing sound of bone grating against bone. A menacing tone, unlike anything they’d heard thus far, slipped into the Twilight King’s speech. In a move driven by pure instinct, both Cordan and Jack took a step back. “No, it is my duty to save them from that man’s clutches. I must liberate them from his accursed light.” The grating noise increased in volume as the king began to grind his teeth.  Jack suddenly wished he were somewhere else. The giant undead was releasing a palpable aura of rage that stunned Jack into speechlessness. Thankfully, Kafkë intervened.

“Hey, take it easy, boss.” The skull placed its forehead against the king’s which was a strangely intimate display to witness between two undead creatures. For not the first time, Jack wondered about the history of the creatures before him. What was their story? He suspected their uniqueness among Remnant Gate creatures stemmed from the Twilight King’s connection with the Twilight Key; nevertheless, he questioned the depths of each Remnant Gate in Fracture. Did they contain creatures like those before him?

Remarkably, Kafkë’s appeal worked. The Twilight King calmed after a few seconds and waved Kafkë away. “Thank you, my friend. I am fine now” He looked at Cordan and Jack. “Forgive me for my unseemly behavior. Let me explain the issue at hand.”

Jack nodded as did Cordan although Jack noticed his companion observing the Twilight King with a change expression as though he were looking at the skeletal being in a new light. For his part, Jack understood. He was interested to hear what the king had to say.

Holding up his hand again, the king summoned the image of the lightweaver once again. “The crux of the issue is that the lightweavers are not creatures summoned by the Bohum like his other minions; they are all that remains of my people enslaved by the Eternal Light. The lantern they carry binds their very souls to the Eternal Light making them stronger and faster than normal. However, the lantern is much worse than a chain. While it binds, each lantern also siphons the soul of its wielder feeding it to the Eternal Light and consequently, the pope. Once their soul is completely gone, the light of the lantern flickers out and it merges with the lightweaver making them a permanent vessel of the Eternal Light.”

Ah, so that’s why he attacked Ciel, Jack realized. To the Twilight King, Ciel would’ve looked like a lightweaver beyond salvation since he didn’t have a lantern. Additionally, Jack understood the sudden anger now. He remembered the memory he’d been shown of Arcen; his anger with the Church of the Eternal Light and his pride in his people had been significant even then. How much had those emotions developed in the time between then and now?

“In order to break the binding, the lantern must be destroyed. Unfortunately, I cannot do this,” the king said gazing westward at the great opaque wall dividing the land. “The lanterns are items of power so it is not possible to simply smash one or even destroy one using a spell like Greater Destruction. The Twilight Key grants me the ability to destroy items of power tied to Terras; however, the lightweavers’ lanterns are not bound to Terras. They are bound to the planes of light from which the Bohum draws the Eternal Light’s power.; therefore, I am powerless to save the last remaining people of Terras.”

From beside Jack, Cordan said, “Are you hoping that Jack will be able to destroy these lanterns?”

Jack glanced at Cordan who was rubbing his chin with a pensive look. The relic hunter was proving to be quite intelligent. Jack had arrived at the same conclusion though he had the benefit of knowing the Skills granted by his own World Core and being able to deduce the basic similarities between the Blue Heart and the Twilight Key based on that information. Cordan had none of that information, yet still managed to figure out the Twilight King’s intent based purely on their conversations and inference. That kind of intelligence was dangerous and reminded Jack not to let his guard down around the man even more than the earlier realization that he was B-rank.

Instead of answering, the Twilight King turned his gaze onto Jack. He ran a hand through his silver hair letting out a tense breath as he did so.

“I might be able to do it, but it depends on how powerful these lanterns are,” he said, grimacing. Truthfully, he wasn’t even sure he could help with the lanterns. Assuming the Twilight King was talking about Relics when he said “items of power”, Jack could help if the lanterns weren’t above E-grade. If they were, the situation would be more complicated though potentially still manageable as long as their grade wasn’t too much higher.

“I have no interest in restoring this world if my people cannot be saved,” declared the Twilight King. There was an emptiness in his voice that Jack found disturbingly relatable. “Before I know that you can do destroy the lanterns for certain, I will not agree to your proposal. However, your willingness to cooperate makes this process easy. Although neither myself nor any of my servants or companions can pass beyond Bohum’s barrier, the same cannot be said for you and your companions who still number among the living.” A knot started to form in Jack’s stomach as he realized where the undead monarch meant. Cordan looked equally upset with the implications. The Twilight King pointed to the northwest at the foot of the opaque barrier. “There, just beyond the barrier. There is a small temple to the Eternal Light that still stands. Due to his piety, Bohum refuses to leave it unmanned so he keeps about a dozen lightweavers and a few of his light creatures stationed there at all times. Thankfully, unlike those contained within the Bastion, the lightweavers at the temple are close enough for Kafkë to sense the strength of their souls and all twelve can still be saved if their lanterns are destroyed.”

“Wait, Your Majesty, we—,” Cordan started to say, but a single look from the Twilight King silenced him.

“When you are ready, your equipment will be returned to you and Rovena will take you to the location. Go to the temple, destroy the lanterns, and bring my people back to me. If you can accomplish those that, then I will aid you. Those are my conditions.” The king’s otherworldly eyes bore into the two of them exerting an almost physical pressure. “Do you accept?”

The two men exchanged a long look. They both knew they had no hope of refusing at that moment. The only pathway was forward. Jack shrugged and Cordan sighed.

“We accept,” they said in tandem.