Shiver’s eyes fluttered open slowly to the bright shimmering sun pouring through the windshield of the truck, alerting her to a new day. They were still traveling as slow as before, but she could see clear as day that they had almost arrived at their destination: The Ice Kingdom. Directly ahead of her, she could see the outpost she was pulling into. Its architecture consisted of that standard military infrastructure, with barbed fences, vehicle depots, barracks, headquarters, and generally everything else that came with it, all painted in blues and greys. However mixed into that were old echoes of a distant time before the Ice Kingdom fell, with sections of the fence replaced with sturdy walls of ice blocks and entirely frozen roads that stretched on endlessly, and a towering pole in the center bearing the flag of the kingdom. 

 

Soldiers could be seen within its walls, going about their business up until they took notice of their truck pulling in. It was at this point Iggy hooted a few times, hopped onto Hypo’s chest, and ruffled his wings to wake him up. Groggy and slightly irritated, the boy sat up and placed the owl back where he belonged before taking a drink from his canteen and looking around. He became noticeably more alert as it dawned upon him that he was back at base, sitting up fully and rubbing his eyes. As the truck came to a stop near the entrance of the camp, a crowd had already formed around the area as they came to see for themselves the return of a spectacle. 

 

“...Talk about oversleeping. It’s past noon.” He mumbled, checking his watch. 

 

Hypo looked out the window and took a deep breath before turning to Shiver. 

 

“You ready?” He asked her. She didn’t respond, nor did she even look his way. She simply stared dead ahead at nothing in particular, her gaze cold and uninterested once again. He took that as unwilling acknowledgement and walked past her to the door of her side, and opened it up. He was greeted by cheers from the soldiers around him, men and women alike congratulating him for his mission well done. He sheepishly waved to them as he exited his ride, an unsteady grin seen on his face. 

 

“That kid really did it!” 

 

“Way to go, hypo!” 

 

“He actually survived?! Looks like I’m making my money back tonight!” 

 

“Not a chance in hell he managed to do all that by himself! Kid probably waited for the reinforcements to come before he did anything.” 

 

“Wait, I see someone still in the truck! Who is that?” 

 

It was at this point Shiver decided to stand up and follow Hypo outside. Slowly she stepped out and into the light of the bright sun above, where everyone could see her clearly.

 

“Hold on…I’ve seen her before…isn’t that the traitor? The demon knight?” 

 

“My God. It is her.” 

 

“You mean Hypo was stuck with her the whole time?! They were practically asking him to die on this mission.” 

 

“Careful…I heard she once killed dozens of the elite knights tasked with capturing her. No telling what she could do here.”

 

As I thought. These people are already contemplating the worst. Shiver thought, her eyes scanning those around her. Some gripped their weapons tighter. Some left immediately. Some began consulting others in a silent panic. I am a nightmare to these people…and yet, I know they respect me. They don’t dare to look me in the eyes. They don’t even want to say my name. They must know the only thing keeping me at bay is the boy in front of me. In a way…I find it nice. ‘Veneration through violence’ or however the saying went.

 

Hushed whispers and nervous chatter had replaced the cheers and shouts of the crowd. All eyes were on her. They stepped back slowly and moved out of the way as Shiver followed Hypo towards one of the larger buildings at the other end of the fort. She spared no more than a single glance to the troops around her, despite the effect she had on them. She simply remained silent and kept her gaze forward. Hypo on the other hand now had a more uptight and uncomfortable look on his face, his head tilted down as he tried not to look at the others. It was no surprise that just about everyone either exited the building or found themselves on high alert as soon as they walked into the building, save for two men standing front and center in the room. 

 

On the left stood a knight. He wore midnight blue armor with white accents and engravings. More specifically, underneath all his armor, he wore a dense looking coat and pair of pants colored entirely black that acted as the padding for all his equipment. He had a sturdy looking chestplate that bore the insignia of a large round shield with three spears pointing up from behind it. His arms were protected by decently sized pauldrons and gauntlets that reached out to cover his forearms. Around his waist was a skirt of chainmail and leather, with metal tassets jutting out from just beneath to protect his thighs, and greaves to protect his shins along with some sturdy brown boots to complement them. He wore no helmet, leaving his face entirely visible, revealing that he was a young man, about twenty-three from the looks of it. His skin was a light blue-grey, with his face cleanly shaven. His hair was a cool black, somewhat grown out and rather well groomed. His eyes were notably human in appearance, with white scleras and blue pupils. 

 

His name was Gransel, and Hypo knew him only vaguely due to his reputation. 

 

Next to him was a man Hypo was friends with, a soldier who often deployed alongside his brother during the war. His name was Wasp, and he was a member of the Queen’s elite guard, much like Shiver. Hypo and Wasp wore remarkably similar outfits, the main difference being that Wasp was equipped with more body armor and that he wore a helmet covered in camouflaged fabric with a beanie underneath, the chin straps of the helmet hanging loose. The helmet came with a unique trait of having writing on it in black marker that read ‘FEAR THE SWARM’ on one side and the insignia of a buzzing yellow hive on the other. His skin was a lighter shade of blue, and his eyes were a mix of dark blue sclera and white irises, while his hair was hidden by his hat. 

 

“I saw you kicked some ass out there yesterday! Just like I thought you would!” Wasp said, looking quite pleased. “They threw the whole base at you and still went down hard! The only thing more impressive than that was the fact that you went toe to toe with the Queen’s favorite prisoner here and lived to see another day.” 

 

Shiver didn’t react to this beyond turning her gaze towards him. 

 

“Yeesh…I feel like a dead man walking already. Hypo, do you mind being the man in charge here and taking the former general to her cell?” Wasp asked, looking at him, then to Gransel. “We’ve gotta set up the debriefing stuff, and I’d rather not be anywhere alone with her in case she goes berserk again.” 

 

“This is a crappy way to welcome me back to base, you know.” 

 

“Forgive us, Hypo.” Gransel interjected with a serious, yet apologetic look. “But you are the most capable one for this particular case. I’ve seen first hand just how far her abilities can reach in the right state.” 

 

Hypo looked mildly annoyed, grumbling to himself before walking off with Shiver in tow. They remained entirely silent during the short walk to the holding cells, up until Hypo was about to open the door to send her in when he stopped in an instant and turned to her in a slow manner. 

 

“...You were a general?” He asked in disbelief. 

 

“I was. Only by technicality, though. Or it might have been a formality. I don’t care to remember. The King’s Mountain, as we were called by some of the troops, already commanded the attention and respect of the army. The high court just decided to make it official to boost morale more than we already did when we deployed.” 

 

“So…does that mean you were like a war hero?” 

 

“I suppose that was a way to describe it. I showed up, did my job, and left. It just so happened that some soldiers saw what I did and passed the story along…’above us soared a blue winged demon of sapphire flames and ruinous ice, sent forth by his majesty to destroy all who would threaten our homeland…’ was something I once heard.” A slight smile crossed her face as she reminisced on her history, but it quickly faded away. “Does that answer your question?” 

 

“Yeah…it does.” 

 

“Then let me into my cell. I’m tired of standing here.” 

 

“Oh right. If you’re going into a cell, I guess you don’t really need the cuffs anymore.” Hypo placed his hand on the cuff and exerted some energy, causing them to unlock before opening up the door for her. She then looked at her now unleashed hands for a moment before walking into the jailroom.

 

The boy walked away as she sat down, turning around one last time to see her staring at her hands absentmindedly with what seemed like an almost melancholic look. Shiver seemed a bit happy thinking about her past…I have to wonder how much different she was back then. He thought to himself.

 

Once back, he entered the office in which both Wasp and Gransel waited, quietly looking over papers until they saw the boy. Hypo took note that Wasp had now taken off his helmet and hat, revealing he had short grey hair that was hidden. 

 

“About time! I thought she might have gutted you or something!” Wasp half-joked as he stood up. “Now enough kidding around, we don’t have a lot of time to go over this after-action business!”

 

“Huh? What do you mean we don’t have a lot of time?” 

 

“Hypo, you’ve been given a new mission. The briefing folder arrived this morning.” Gransel answered. 

 

“HUH?! I don’t even have any time to relax?!” 

 

“Such is the life of us elite and wonderful soldiers!” Wasp exclaimed, holding his hands up in a poetic pose. “Given the world’s hardest job to get fired from!” 

 

“I believe that’s enough fun. It’s time to discuss the matters at hand.” 

 

“Uh, sure. What do you guys want to talk about?” 

 

“Well truth be told, we already got all the standard necessities from your little owl friend’s generated report, so we’re skipping straight to the real point…what did you find?” 

 

Hypo found himself somewhat surprised at the sudden shift in Wasp’s tone from humorous to serious in a matter of seconds. His breath ran short for an instant as he realized they may very well have been aware of the fact that he did encounter the Riptide, interacted with the rift, and took the medallion for himself.

 

“...What do you mean ‘what did I find’?” 

 

“I mean in the vault they were protecting. The one that was down below the camp. The report from your owl says you investigated it alone. So I’m asking you, what did you find inside that vault? Because when we got down there, it was entirely empty, and there were no fresh tracks indicating anyone besides you had left the area.” 

 

Hypo tensed up even more, his throat went dry, and a cold sweat began to run down his brow ever so slightly. He needed to think fast. 

 

“I uh…” He began to say as his brain worked in overdrive.

 

I can’t say ‘nothing’. They’ll know I’m lying. In fact, they might just launch a deeper investigation if I do. He stressed. I’ll probably look even more suspicious than I already do now. I can’t tell them the truth either. Who knows what they’ll do if they find out I took this thing for myself. Damnit! It’s even my jacket still! Thank God I didn’t show Iggy this. If he put it in the report, I'd be done for already. I need to come up with something. A story. One that makes sense.

 

“…Found something…” Hypo continued to stammer out while he came up with his lie. 

 

Ok, I found something valuable enough to be in a vault. But what? An enemy general? No. There wasn’t ice residue and no way out besides the way I came in. They’ll know no one died in there and Iggy would have spotted an enemy fleeing. Weapon? Money? No, not a chance. That’s the kind of thing too big to hide and they’ll check my truck for that kind of stuff. Think, think! Something that easily disappears that I only could have found! Like that rift…THAT’S IT! THE RIFT!

 

“What is ‘something’?” 

 

“It was a, uh…something strange, I think it was a rift…” 

 

“A rift…that would explain why it had disappeared. I’ve never seen one stay for long after it has been used.” Gransel said. 

 

There we go…I didn’t need to make every part of the story up.

 

“Of course, the question remains, why did it disappear? Clearly something used up its energy, and there was no report of anyone rifting out of the area. Which means it must have spawned something.” Gransel added. 

 

I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy! The investigation isn’t over yet! But I get it now. I just gotta skip out on some details and make up my own. The rift disappeared, that answers the empty vault. They say something had to spawn from it…but what? Wait. I know. That butterfly. Only that spawned, nothing else. It flew around, landed on me, and then disappeared. That’s the story.

 

“Yeah, I remember something spawning actually, like a…little glowing blue butterfly.” 

 

“That sounds like a rift butterfly alright. They’re an uncommon sight, but they do spawn more often than not nowadays.” Wasp piped in.

 

“A rift butterfly, yeah. It flew around for a bit, then landed on me, then kind of…just disappeared.” 

 

“Hrm…this would explain why the vault was empty, and why the owl reported nothing coming up. There have been previous reports of the rogue ice legion having rifts like these in their vaults with butterflies floating around, though really we still don’t know why they value them so much.” Gransel said.

 

Yes. Just like that. Come to your own conclusion, answer your own questions, whatever it is, just be satisfied with that and let me walk outta here.

 

“But there’s just one big difference with Hypo’s story.” Wasp interjected. “The rifts never disappeared, not until now. So clearly something happened differently. Rift butterflies almost never have enough power to close a rift on its own when they spawn in unless they’re incredibly special, and what you described was just a normal one, isn’t that right, Gransel?” 

 

“Indeed it is. A sage from the Queen’s court is well versed on the subject of rift’s, and in her books she often described that dozens of butterflies could come from a rift before it disappeared, unless the rift was incredibly small in size. So I suppose the question is, what else occurred down there?” 

 

DAMN! I backed myself into a corner with this one. I can’t go back on the butterfly now. It’ll be too fishy! Maybe that’s where more troops spawned from? That’s a possibility, but there’s a chance this could lead to even more questions if they reveal it's even more out of line from all the previous rift encounters they had, and that’s trouble I don’t want. I need to think of something, anything that could have drained its energy after I went down there the…second time…That’s it! That’ll be my easy out!

 

“I remember now…that was the second time I went down there when the butterfly spawned. The first time I went down there was when I went to go search for Shiver, who was possessed by her demonic sword. When I found her down there, she was draining all the energy from the rift and absorbing it in a way, until the thing was basically fading out of existence. I think that might have been why she was so powerful when I fought her, since she was using all that rift energy to boost her attacks.” 

 

C’mon. That has to work. It all lines up. It all makes sense. I’m sure Iggy put our battle into the report, but I know things like that don’t get too much detail put into ‘em. That means they can’t know I’m lying about how strong she really was. It helps that neither of them have seen her fight in a decade too. It’s like everyone out there said…pure luck I survived. Nothing else to consider.

 

“Huh…yeah. That does make sense…rifts pack a lot of energy. No doubt whatever she has in that sword of hers sensed it and went straight for it.” Wasp thought out loud. “With all that power she was packing, it explains why the whole base was in shambles, she must have spent most of it clearing out the ice legion before you came along.” 

 

“It appears we have our story set straight then.” Gransel said while Wasp nodded in agreement. “I must admit, Hypo. You are beyond fortunate to survive an encounter with the Demon Knight. Someone is certainly watching over you up above.” 

 

“Uh…so is that all you guys wanted?” 

 

“Nope. We still gotta do the materials review for all those supplies you burned through during the fighting, including those not-so-cheap boogie bombs. Then we have to go over all the stuff that your owl picked up and what you want to do with them. And then we have to go over all the-

 

“Unnnggrrrhhhhhsssoobooooorrrrringggg…!” Hypo groaned, halfway falling out his chair as he interrupted Wasp in the middle of his checklist. “Can’t you just cut me a break already?! I’m too young to go through office work!” 

 

“Sorry son, but this is the cost of war. You have to make sacrifices. My sacrifice is being in charge of the world’s most boring desk work. Your sacrifice is being here because I’m not suffering alone to figure this crap out.” 

 

The boy let out a defeated sigh. “...Okay…” 

 

At least they aren’t asking any more questions about the vault.

 

Hypo reluctantly sat back up in his seat while Wasp and Gransel began opening up documents to begin their work. While that was happening, Shiver remained quietly locked up in her cell, simply waiting. 

 

Heavy, slow footsteps approaching her position alerted her that she would not be waiting for much longer, however. What started as a cursory glance, turned into one of mild surprise as into the room stepped a massive knight that looked to be twice the size of Shiver, wearing a suit made of dense plates of white ice, carved out in large pieces to fit the giant. 

 

“Bairon...I thought you died.” 

 

The knight stopped right in front of her cell and simply stared at her for a moment with a sharp gaze. 

 

“He did.” A voice echoed out from underneath the knight’s helmet. It was deep and somewhat intense, but it was clear that it belonged to a female. The helmet then cracked up into dozens of pieces, but didn’t fall apart, instead dissolving into mist straight away.  This revealed a girl with a stone-cold gaze and a somewhat angered look on her face. There was a nobility to her features, as if she was destined to be a knight her whole life. Her jet black hair draped down just past her shoulders, long and straight. Her skin was a pale blue, blemished only by a scar that ran across the left side of her face, starting from her cheek and ending at her ear. Her eyes were dark blue on the outside with white pupils, still harboring a threatening aura.

 

“I am Bairka, daughter of Bairon.” She announced. “Your actions resulted in the death of my father. I will not permit you to say his name so lightly.” 

 

“That’s right…he did like to mention how proud he was to have a family of his own. I forget how much time has passed.” Shiver half mumbled, just loud enough for the knight to hear, though she didn’t seem to care much. 

 

Bairka then pulled from her hip what appeared to be a white sword handle, yet with a flick of her wrist she created a full blade of ice in the blink of an eye. Sharp, jagged, long, and sturdily built, it was a fearsome weapon to behold, much more imposing that what Shiver could generate with her own blade. She stuck the blade into the ground with the handle pointing straight up, and rested both her hands on it as if it were a cane. 

 

“I came here today on my own volition to see for myself if the once great demon general herself was being held here. After seeing the aftermath of your actions at the enemy camp yesterday, I truly was interested in having a chance to duel you. I didn’t anticipate that I would see you in such a…docile state.  It’s hard to believe that you really are the same person. In a way…it’s almost disappointing.” 

 

“...I don’t really care to live up to your expectations. I just want to do what I need to do to finish a mission and go home.”

 

“Those expectations exist because you set them upon yourself. All my life growing up, my father told me tales of all the knight’s within the legion of the King’s Mountain. Stories of daring assaults, valiant last stands, and all the victories and losses that came with them…the same stories that you appeared in countless times, these helped shape me into the person I am. I wanted to join the King’s Mountain because of you. I wanted to one day fight alongside you. I wanted to be as great as you. You were my hero…Now here I am, finally meeting the woman I once idolized, as she sits behind bars, detached from the world around us…it’s not just disappointing…but something else that I can’t describe…I wish you hadn’t turned traitor.”

 

The look in Bairka’s eyes were no longer hostile, now melancholic. Shiver opened up her mouth as if she were going to say something in response, but instead remained silent, turning her sights back to the cold floor. She wasn’t sure about how she felt in regards to what Bairka said, but it was enough to make her look the slightest bit uneasy. 

 

The Grand Knight regenerated her helmet from the bottom up, and then walked out of the room without another word. 

 

Moments later, Hypo walked into the room, peeking over his shoulder in curiosity. 

 

“That was…general Bairka, wasn’t it? What was she doing here?” 

 

“...She just wanted to talk.” 

 

“Oh.” 

 

“Did you finish up your business with Wasp and Gransel?”

 

“Yyyeah? Well, I mean I got all the important stuff covered. They were about to go over even more stuff I didn’t care about, so I told them I had to go pee. Now I’m here to bail you out, and you can read the mission report on our way to the inn.” Hypo said as he unlocked the door, and gestured for her to walk out.

 

“Mission report? Did we get new orders?” Shiver asked, half-curious as she walked out of the cell and alongside the boy.

 

“We did! Crazy, right?! I didn’t even get comfortable in my chair before they told me! Apparently some lord within the Queen’s court want’s us to meet him for a mission. And here I thought they’d at least let me-uh, us, let us have a few days to rest! At the very least, we get to stay the night free at the inn.” 

 

“Not really. It’s a pace I'm familiar with. One mission after the other. ‘...No rest for the best.’ We used to say.” 

 

“No kidding!”

 

Hypo looked over just in time to see what he thought was a faint glimpse of her smiling, though he couldn’t be certain, and thus remained silent.

 

It’s stupid to think, cuz, y’know, she killed half of them, but I gotta wonder…does she miss the King’s Mountain?

 

“...Hypo.” 

 

“H-huh? What?” He responded, somewhat nervous, as if she could read his mind.

 

“You don’t need to use titles with us.” 

 

“What?” 

 

“It’s just Bairka. Just as you call me Shiver. You are technically a general now. You’re the same rank as them.” 

 

“Oh…right. I guess I kinda forgot about that. I haven’t really been here for very long so…I dunno, it just felt weird or something if I didn’t say the title and stuff.” 

 

“You should get used to the discomfort. Soon you’ll be giving out orders to many others, not just me. You’ll be forced to act your rank, whether or not you like it.” 

 

“Awwwhaww…can’t they cut me some slack? I never even wanted to be here in the first place! I should be in school right now, maybe sleeping in class or something…” 

 

It was at this point that Shiver stopped, which cause Hypo to stop uneasily.

 

Did I just piss her off? 

 

“Hypo.” 

 

Oh I totally did. She’s gonna kick my ass now.

 

“Yes?” He answered, apprehensively.

 

“I never thought to ask until now, but…how old are you?” 

 

Unique to only the inhabitants of the Ice Kingdom, the people of this frigid land possessed a longevity like no other. The cold blood in their veins aided in slowing their aging process to a snail’s pace, allowing them to measure their lifespans not by decades, but by centuries. Of course, their actual age had little bearing on their mentality and personality, rather their physical appearance was the best measurement to go by. The children were children, the adults were adults, and the elderly were elderly. 

 

“Uhh, 40. Why?” 

 

“You really are just a boy. If nothing else, I’m impressed that you are able to carry yourself in this army, even if a little immaturely.” 

 

“Thank you…um, hey, Shiver? How…old are you?”

 

“...I believe I turned 122 this year. Though I may be off, considering how long I was imprisoned.”

 

“Wow. You’re way older than I thought.” 

 

“...‘way’ older?” She questioned, giving him an inquisitive glance. 

 

“Uh! I mean, you look a lot younger than that! Really, uh, 122 isn’t even that old! It’s young! Yeah! You have like, your whole life ahead of you! Uh, well maybe not here but you know…” 

 

Once again, that same short-lived half-smile flashed across Shiver’s as she let out a small breath of air that could almost be perceived as a laugh. 

 

“Let’s keep moving. I’d rather not keep all the workers waiting outside in fear for much longer.” She said, walking ahead. Hypo nodded in agreement and followed along all the way back to the truck. People all around still kept all eyes on the pair, though this time Shiver had a less irritated look on her face, no longer letting her audience bother her as much. Once settled inside, Iggy automatically began moving along, heading towards the lodging. 

 

“The court is a while away, so why don’t you read up on the mission in the meantime?” Hypo suggested, handing her a folder.

 

“I’ll read it later. For now, I just want to be alone with my thoughts. There’s been a lot that I need to process.” She responded quietly, resting her head back and turning her blankly to the world outside. Hypo looked at her for a moment, and then to his owl who then darkened the rear view windows. 

 

“...I’ll be out in the back, then. If you need something, let Iggy know.” 

 

Hypo quietly walked out to the truck bed, then proceeded to sit down in his usual spot on the mattress where he pulled out his book and a pen. “Iggy. If she so much as looks at my door, you let me know.” He whispered into his earpiece. Finally he pulled out the golden rift medallion, and began flipping through the journal until he came upon the section dedicated to the relic in his hand. Finding the page that his brother had last filled out on the subject, Hypo finally began adding notes of his own for the first time in silence while studying the item. He would make this his task for the duration of the trip, for this was no time for him to rest. 

 

Meanwhile, back inside the now repopulated headquarters of the base they left, Wasp and Gransel stood amid papers and pictures of the now captured fort of the ice legion.

 

“...Hypo’s really gone and done it now.” Wasp stated, in a wary manner. “I knew the kid was hiding something…but damn if this doesn’t put things in a new light.” 

 

“Are you certain this was the same Riptide from before?” 

 

“I’d put my life on it. I knew he had been in the area, but I assumed he had been killed-or defeated I guess, in all the fighting. Didn’t expect him to reach Hypo.” 

 

“...What do you suppose they said to each other?” 

 

“Probably the same thing he told Saint. At least that’s all I can assume. Worthless ass owl…‘Hypo interacted with downed hostile.’ Vague as hell note with a single picture of the kid talking to him from behind. You’d think this thing was going for an intentional loophole, the way it recorded the event as programmed, and then made sure we couldn’t learn a thing from it. Can’t even tell what he’s thinking…” 

 

“Can we assume his credibility is entirely in question then?”

 

“I wouldn’t say that…everything seems to add up in the story. Shiver definitely went berserk, and went down to that bunker first without any supervision, and likely siphoned off that energy seeing as she blew the friggin base up. Of course, the damn bot made sure to give a grand total of two sentences notating the fight they had, so we can’t even figure out how much hell she gave him.” 

 

“The real mystery is if Hypo truly found nothing down there. Shiver may have very well consumed the rift for power, but then again, she might not have. After all, she was the demon general. Could a mere boy really take her down all by himself, let alone while she’s empowered? It’s hard to believe.” 

 

‘It is…but she was also on ice for ten straight years, she definitely lost some edge while locked up like that. It’s a total coin flip for whether or not he was telling the truth.”

 

“I believe the only action we can take now is engaging in further investigation. Discreetly. Lord Eirgan called for Shiver and Hypo to assist in supplementing his mercenary security force. I’ll bring my squadron as a courtesy attachment and from there I should be able to monitor him without much trouble.” Gransel said, walking to the window behind them, where he could see the royal castle far off into the distance.

 

“Old Eirgan, huh…I don’t suppose there’s any other reason you might be acting so graciously, right?” 

 

Gransel didn’t answer. He simply stood there silently, with a dark look on his face that Wasp couldn’t see.

 

“Hmph…heh heh. I got a funny feeling he’s gonna have one awful day in store if you’re taking command.”

 

“Indeed…” 

 

With that, Gransel swiftly left, walking straight out of the building and going around back. Wasp didn’t bother to keep watching as he returned to his papers, hearing only the fast paced galloping of Gransel’s mount that alerted him he had rode out. 

 

“I have to wonder…just what are you planning on doing with this kid, Riptide?" He asked himself, looking over the picture one last time. 

 

The sun had already set and the moon had begun to rise when Hypo and Shiver finally arrived at their destination, the lodge they would be staying the night at. 

 

The building was fairly large with three stories to it, made of wood and brick, and had a rather homely feel to it. The lights were on inside, which indicated that it was indeed open for them. Hypo stretched himself out to loosen up before hopping out of the truck. He looked at it closer and saw that a sign was posted up front that stated ‘Proudly serving the knights and soldiers of the King and Queen for a full century.’ Intrigued, he began walking towards the hotel when something occurred to him.

 

“Oh crap. Shiver.” 

 

He then hopped back into the truck and opened up the backdoor, finding Shiver quietly sleeping. He gently poked her shoulder to wake her up. When she didn’t, he poked a little harder. When she still didn’t, he decided to go full send and began poking her shoulder in rapid succession with both hands, which he found somewhat fun. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t notice Shiver had already woken up until it was too late, when he glanced up to find her staring him dead in the eyes. 

 

“Uh…we’re here.” 

 

“I see.” 

 

He cleared his throat awkwardly and left the truck, taking Iggy with him in a hurried fashion. Shiver eventually followed after him, where she discovered him standing in the lobby, quite literally all alone. There was no one else. Not even staff to check them in. 

 

“Looks like they left in a hurry…” Hypo said, noticing knocked over chairs, strewn about papers, and wide open doors to uncleaned rooms that previous guests must have been staying in. “I guess they must have told everyone you were coming.” 

 

“I don’t mind. Crowded places annoy me.” 

 

“I don’t mind the part where I can pick whatever room I want! It’s about time I found myself a good bed for an elite such as myself! Iggy! Go see if they left any food in the kitchen!” Hypo shouted as he ran off deeper inside. Shiver, on the other hand, opened the door to a nearby room, discovering it was unused and unlit, and decided to settle in there for the night. 

 

It was within the darkness of the room that she finally relaxed, taking off essentially everything besides her undersuit and undoing her hair, letting it flow loosely. She stepped over to a large floor mirror on the wall and rather than examining herself, she simply locked eyes with her reflection. The moon light provided a minor amount of illumination, just enough to provide a soft shine on her lower half, leaving her crimson eyes to glow strongly in the darkness. There was no emotion on her face, nor was she thinking deeply on anything. She simply stared. There was a tiredness in her eyes that refused to go away, no matter how much she slept or how much time passed. She then checked over her hands, now without gloves. They were delicate in appearance, but she alone knew what they were capable of as she made tight fists. Once she opened them again, she continued to focus on them. Ever so slightly, they were shaking, as if she was nervous. 

 

“...What…am I doing here?” She whispered to herself. She looked back into her reflection to see that forming around her was a deep, large shadow. Once more, unintelligible quiet voices filled her ears and a half scowl formed on her face. Yet as she whipped around to confront it, the darkness faded away in a single second, leaving her in silence once more. 

 

...Was that real…? There’s no way it could manifest without the weapon. She thought, before looking into the mirror once more. Her face now had a slightly more worn out look. I just need more sleep. All this thinking is messing with my head. 

 

With that, she crawled into bed, curled up, and closed her eyes. 

 

Throughout that small ordeal, she was entirely unaware of the mostly cloaked owl perched just outside her window. It was Iggy, who quietly flew away back through the window into Hypo’s suite on the top floor of the hotel. He hadn’t even bothered to settle in. He simply sat on his bed cross legged with his book in hand. In that journal he was on a section which was titled ‘information on the blade’s master’ in which he was filling out. 

 

Shiver unsure of purpose according to comment she made…may already be considering escape, or giving up. He wrote in neat handwriting, a far cry from what his brother’s looked like. Iggy then swooped inside his room through his open balcony door and landed softly on the covers. 

 

“Good job with getting all those observations to me.” Hypo praised, patting the owl on its head before returning to his work. 

 

Possible paranoia or mental trauma outside of combat. Now that I can begin actually interacting with her, I’m able to slightly understand her situation more. As noted previously, I assisted in cleansing her mind of violent thoughts as best as I could after she wielded her sword. Reason to believe she may still be suffering some after effects, or possibly may still be dealing with the demon attached to her, will observe more if possible.

 

As noted previously, she is still unusually tired. Often closes her eyes or outright attempts to sleep. Will look into this at a later time.

 

End of research for today, part 8. 

 

Hypo then moved his pen down to the bottom of the page and began scrawling in something new.

 

[my thoughts] I am kind of worried for her. I don’t want to say she’s close to having a breakdown, but the fact that she spent ten straight minutes staring at her own reflection puts me on edge. I don’t even think she realized how long she was doing that. I’ll have Iggy shadow her as much as possible tonight to keep an eye on her if she does anything concerning. I’ll study up some more on Eli’s stuff regarding possible sedation spells and similar things. Hopefully an empty hotel with fresh beds helps her sleep better than my truck. 

 

p.s. i took over the best room i could find, its awesome and i got iggy to bring me some cake and soda they had in the fridge. i love being a general so much. i wonder if eli ever did stuff like this. 

 

Hypo let out a satisfied puff of air from his nose and clapped his book back together, tossing it onto the bed. He then grimaced as he glanced over into the mirror. 

 

“Yeesh. Iggy, get me my pajamas. These clothes are trashed. I’ll pull some more from the locker in the morning and send these to get fixed.”

 

*hoot* 

 

“...Thanks, now if you’ll excuse me, these king sized covers need someone to smother. Oh! And remember, I’ve got your charging pad on the window when you finish up with surveillance.” 

 

*hoot* 

 

With that, the boy shut the lights off, left a handgun on his nightstand, and went to bed. Hypo hadn’t slept for more than three or four hours before Iggy’s hooting woke him up. Groggily, he rubbed his eyes and looked to his companion sitting on his bed. 

 

“...Whas ha’nin…wha y’wakin me u’ffor…som’m ha’n wi’ Shiver??” 

 

The owl hooted, then pointed his wing to the corner of the room. What Hypo looked over and saw made his sleepiness disappear in an instant and sent him into high alert. 

 

Floating in the air was the medallion, glowing bright enough to cover a small area around it with a soft golden light.

 

“What the…?” He said, looking around in confusion and slight panic. “I gotta…where’s my book? I think-I think I saw something like this before in it….” 

 

He spotted it on the other side of his bed and quickly opened it up, flipping through it he found the desired section, a page with a well drawn in image depicting the very scenario playing out in his room. Hypo stared once more at the medallion before gulping, then began reading. 

 

...In cases in which the medallion seemingly appears to float on it’s own, and appears to be energized and glowing without any input from the current owner of the medallion, this is likely a situation in which an external party (distance doesn’t apparently matter from what i have seen) is using powers related to the rift (perhaps the cube?? More research needed.) in order to ‘contact’ the medallion for reasons unknown. (so far, the only reason someone does something like this is to learn where the medallion is. there may be other possible uses for this.)

 

Almost as soon as he finished reading, the necklace seemed to lose all the power that was running through it and fell back to the ground with a soft thud. Hypo cautiously crawled over to the edge of the bed and saw that it remained harmlessly inanimate on his coat, with only the faintest hint of orange emanating from it, as if the relic was a piece of hot steel cooling down. 

 

Hypo let out the breath he had been holding and read one last piece at the bottom of the page, his eyebrows furrowing in worry. 

 

Hypo, if something like this just happened to you, then beware: Someone, friendly or not, now knows where you are. They may not be able to get to you directly, but if they have the power to contact the rift relic, then they likely have connections with people who will track you down in their stead. Keep your weapons close, keep your eyes open, and keep moving forward. 

 

He closed the book once more, then reached down and grabbed the medallion. 

 

“...Something like this is important enough to change the future of the kingdom in some way. I should have known taking it for myself would bring trouble. But…I have to know. What about this was so important that it drove Eli crazy? What’s at the end of all of this? He’s right. I have to keep going. Iggy, change of priorities. Set up surveillance around the area of this hotel. Alert me if anyone approaches our position. Someone will be on their way for me, sooner or later.” 

 

Leaving his infantry rifle by the window and slipping the relic around his neck, he went back to sleep, his closing eyes catching one last glimpse of the silent, snowy expanse with the silhouette of the Queen’s castle in the distance.