"Less than a minute left! You're doing great!" said Tim, grinning mischievously at the trio.

Standing across the young blacksmith was Sam, who was squirming in agony. Both his arms were still inside the crucible - the blue bubbling lava refused to release its searing grip on the man.

"It's nearly time," Amelia calmly asserted before pushing her hands against the man's back.

All of a sudden, a burgundy-red gleam radiated out of the container that lit the entire Forge in an instant. "Now!" Tim instructed, and his sister quickly pulled Sam away from the vessel. Using only his bare hands, the blacksmith tossed the vessel into the furnace that soon released sweet-smelling fumes into the surrounding, akin to the scent of benzoic resin.

"Wow. That…that went better than I expected," Tim remarked.

"What?! What do you mean it went better than you expected?!" Sam lashed back. Despite the pain and the steam rising from his arms, he noticed that his skin was relatively unharmed by the crude process.

“Well, in some rare cases, the participants would suffer from a third-degree burn.”

Sam and the Nightingales’ eyes widened at the same time.

“But, it is just as I said,” Tim continued. “They are rare occurrences. The last time it happened was…what? Fourteen or fifteen years ago?”

“That still doesn’t change the fact that it happened,” Lucy replied with a scowl on her face.

"Oh, Miss Nightingale. Has anyone ever told you that you worried too much over petty things? After all, what is life without a dash of surprise once in a while? Sure, it can be a bit aggravating at times but then again, we only have one chance in life.”

“Ah, see? Tim gets it,” Rupert snapped his fingers as he gleefully agreed to the blacksmith’s little speech.

Burying her face into her palms, Lucy exhaled before murmuring, “You idiot – you just walked straight into that.”

qs********************************************

[30 minutes later…]

As Tim placed the third and final metal vessel into the furnace, both the Nightingale siblings fell on their backs at the same time. "Ow, Ow! Freaking heck, it seems Sam wasn't exaggerating with his reaction," Rupert groaned as he cradled both of his arms.

"Of course, he wasn't," Lucy retorted as she sat herself up. Her arms were still smoking, producing a briny tang akin to the sea breeze. Her brother, on the other hand, smelled like freshly mown grass in the summer - a scent that made her feel slightly nauseous.

"So,” Tim interjected before picking up a hammer with a worn-out red handle from the nearby anvil. "I heard you’re going against the Empyreans. I don’t know whether to call you lucky or otherwise. If I were you, I would try to avoid a direct confrontation with them," the blacksmith added.

"Well, we are tasked to bring those three back here, and judging from the recent incident, a direct confrontation is pretty much unavoidable," Sam replied.

"Ah, the massacre at the Edge. That was quite saddening. I’m not sure if what I said is gonna help you, but if you want to have the slightest chance of defeating the Empyreans, then I advise you separate them from their weapons – and also from each other,” Tim casually suggested.

"Oh, that's right! You made their Core Blades as well, didn’t you?” Lucy recalled.

“I did. The Three Friends of Twilight, as I called them,” the blacksmith answered proudly. “They are some of the toughest Core Blades I have ever worked on. Those three requested so many things but somehow, me and my sister managed to pull it off.”

“Then, I don’t suppose you could tell us about what they can do? Anything’s fine,” the young Nightingale inquired.

“Hm, I don’t know much about their fighting style,” Tim grumbled. “But, their Core Blade, however:”

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"That Theo guy wields a pair of identical longswords with turquoise handles. They are collectively known as The Severed Lovers - if I remember correctly, one was Altair, while the other was Vega. But, what's unique about those pair is there was something else added to them – a rare metal that can only be found in the land of the Sapphire Star. Ambitite, as the locals called it. It is a peculiar ore that attracts when they're far away from each other but repels if they're too close. Overall, that metal was a pain to work with."

"For Princess Ariadne - she also has two Core Blades: A white-handled saber called the Brainbiter, and Nightfall, an all-black longbow. Both of them are designed to be much lighter than a standard sword but sturdy enough to cut through a boulder. Furthermore, the princess' bow is fitted with two curved blades as their limbs - in case of a sudden need for a close combat encounter."

"Now, on to the prince himself - his Core Blade is a standard-size rapier known simply as Light. Compared to Theo and Ariadne, the only modification he requested was, as I quote, 'a sword that can be balanced on one finger'. Not sure why he wanted that, but hey, it's not my place to ask questions."

"I guess...that’s all?"

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

"Hmm," Sam grumbled for a brief second before responding, "Thanks, Tim. That was certainly an invaluable insight.”

"Really?” Rupert blurted out before his sister elbowed him in the chest.

“Don't get too cocky just because you took down an Antlion. Have you already forgotten about our scuffle with Lizzy? The same fight where you nearly lose your legs? " Lucy sternly reminded her older sibling.

"Ahem," Amelia jumped into the conversation, "I didn't mean to interrupt but, brother, the Spider Core metals are ready to be shaped."

"Ah, finally! Then, my dear sister, would you please escort our guests out while I work on their weapons?" Tim politely instructed.

Amelia nodded before guiding the trio to the main entrance. As the petite woman pushed the door open, she turned around to face Sam and said, "Please don't stray too far from the Forge. It won't take long for my brother to finish your Core Blades."

KLINK! 

KLANK! 

BANG!

The Forge quivered as the furnace exploded, spewing out a black cloud of smoke everywhere. "Ah, shit. Not again," Tim bleated before tossing his hammer onto the table.

"I…I stand corrected. Just leave the rest to me and Tim. Um, if you'll excuse me," Amelia exhaled.

**qs******************************************

||| THE PATH OF THE EMPYREANS |||

[Meanwhile…]

[Forest of the Bandit Lord, Land of the Opal Sun]

Theo(?) grabbed the unconscious Royal Guard by the neck and dragged him toward Jason. The bespectacled man proceeded to throw the armored man to the ground before giving him a kick in the stomach.

"Augh!" the guard yelped, both eyes wide open.

"Rise and shine, soldier," Jason(?) said calmly.

"W-What? Who? W-Where am I?"

"Get up! Now!" Theo(?) exclaimed, sitting the disoriented man on his knees. The guard raised his head and noticed the Opal Sun Prince approaching him with a bloody rapier in his right hand. He instinctively tried to reach for his own sword but soon found out the scabbard strapped to his waist was empty.

"I wonder what is it that you're planning to do? Fight me? And then what?" the prince scoffed. With a flick of his wrist, Jason pressed the tip of the rapier against the guard's throat and continued, "Is it worth it risking your life for this decaying Kingdom? Your beloved king is useless; even his regent turned a blind eye to the bigotry of his ministers. Honestly, it is actually quite sad – no, almost comical really - to see the prince and the princess struggling to fix the mistakes of their greedy elders."

"W-Why are you telling me this? Is it not enough that you used the prince's body to kill my comrades and the civilians? Now you're insulting my king?" the guard hurled back.

"Insulting? No, I'm merely stating the fact. The Sapphire Star, the Diamond Wolf, and the Land of Mystica; their downfall was perpetrated by their ineptitude rulership. Guess who is in that similar situation now?"

The guard opened his mouth to protest but closed it shortly after. He dropped his gaze, unable to deny the truth in the prince's blunt words.

Noticing the distraught look on the man's face, Jason(?) drew his rapier away. "Fortunately, I can offer the solution to your problem. You want the Inner Circle gone, correct? I can do that - for a price, of course," the prince(?) proposed, grinning from ear to ear.

"A price?" huffed the armored man, glaring irately at Jason(?).

"The exact location of the Royal Crypt. I know it's somewhere in this forest, and I believe that a person like you ought to know how to find it."

"No," the guard instantly replied, shaking his head anxiously. "Even if I know, I will never tell you."

SMACK!

A fist shot out of nowhere and hit the guard in the face, causing him to cough out warm red blood. "That wasn't a question," said Theo before punching the man in the cheek.

"You don't understand. That Crypt is forbidden to all except for the Royalties and the Inner Circle - the Chief Consul will have me executed."

"Did you listen to what I said? I can solve your problem - provided that you solve mine," Jason(?) responded, extending his right hand at the guard. "So, do we have a deal?"

The armored man wiped his bleeding lips, and his eyes darted at the prince(?). The man inhaled deeply before giving his answer, "No. I won't do it - not at the cost of the House of Helians' name."

"I see. That's too bad. Then again, I don't exactly need you to physically point the way." Jason placed his hand on the guard's head; the latter's body started to tense up as a jolt of electricity ran down his spine.

"Now, just sit tight and relax," Theo(?) whispered into his right ear.

The guard gasped as an excruciating pain rushed into his head - as if someone pried open his skull and clawed into his brain. A few moments later, hundreds of images flashed before his eyes - the Guards' barrack, the pearly white wall of the Opal Sun fortress, and the smiling faces of his fallen comrades. "S-Stop," the man pleaded, just as the scenery changed to the Raid of the Edge. Once again, he watched in horror at the savagery of the Distorted, they indiscriminately mutilated and devoured every living thing - including his friends. Their bloodcurdling screams filled the air as the monsters tore them to pieces, feasting ravenously on their dying corpses.

"NO! STOP!" the guard continued to beg, but his request fell on deaf ears. As he tried to push the prince(?) away, Theo swiftly grabbed both of his arms and popped them out of their sockets.

Jason(?) sneered as the guard howled in agony, prompting the former to playfully remarked, "See? That's what happens when you're not relaxed." The prince(?) later tightened his grip on the man's head, skimming through the images inside the guard's mind until a certain picture appeared – an image of a spool-like object with cherry red thread wound around it. “Interesting. So, that’s how you get around. I wonder…”

The prince(?) released his hold and began searching the armored man. “A-ha!” Jason exclaimed before pulling out the spool from the guard’s back pocket.

“There you are. That wasn’t so hard, was it-Oh dear," said the prince(?) after spotting trails of blood dripping from the motionless guard's mouth and nose. "It seems I’ve accidentally fractured your mind. Meh, it's not like I have any use for you anymore. Farewell, good soldier, and thank you for your service."

After giving one last pat on the catatonic man's shoulder, Jason(?) and Theo(?) left the area to resume their search for the Royal Crypt.

||| THE END OF THE PATH OF THE EMPYREANS |||

****qs****************************************

[Meanwhile...]

[Outside the Forge, Tower of Nexus]

"What do you think my Core Blade will be called?" Rupert asked, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.

"Hm? How should I know?"

"Well, I hope it'll be a really cool name; one that could rival Markus's Absolute End or Rowanna's Mortal Pain."

"Or it could be a silly name like Blockhead or Scatter-brained," Lucy blurted, causing her elder sibling to burst out laughing.

"Jokes aside," Sam interjected, "Back at the Disciples' Lair - when I got my arm cut open - you were staring at the Distorted's corpses as if you were in a stupor. What's up with that?"

"Did I? Can't remember," replied Rupert, shrugging his shoulders.

"I do," Lucy returned with a solemn look on her face. "And I know what it was. Bloodlust - the bothersome curse of the Nightingale clan; said to appear once every 10 generations."

"Bloodlust? That sounds...concerning," Sam retorted, his left eyebrow raised.

"It's not as bad as you thought, okay? I just got...lost in thought once and a while - that's all," Rupert casually explained.

"It wasn't just that, Rupe. Recently, you've become addicted to combat - to conflict," Lucy rebuked. "Perhaps you haven't noticed, but your thirst for battle has become rather worrisome to the point it became nearly unquenchable."

"That's ridiculous! If you're implying that I'm losing control of myself, then you're clearly wrong. I admit that I can be rather impulsive and a pain in the ass sometimes; that does not mean I'm going crazy," whined Rupert. "You, on the other hand," the elder Nightingale proceeded to change the subject, "When will you learn that you're simply wasting your life away for your quest for vengeance?"

Baring her teeth, Lucy snapped back, "I'm trying to bring our parents' murderer to justice - to make him pay for his crime! Is that so hard for you to understand?"

"And how you're gonna do that, my dear sister? This perpetrator has successfully eluded the Order for many years - for all we know, this guy might already be dead. So, that makes you the bigger blockhead 'cause you're chasing a ghost."

Suddenly, Lucy yanked his brother by the collar and shoved him against the wall. "Just because you have given up; doesn't mean I should do the same. I won't stop until I see that man's lifeless body with my own two eyes, even if he was buried six deep under," muttered the female Nightingale.

"Huh, here I thought I was the only one carrying our clan's little curse," Rupert chuckled. "Let's drop the 'seeking for justice' charade and be honest with one another. You never intended to bring him in alive, did you?"

"Tsk, look who's talking nonsense now?" Lucy replied before freeing her brother.

"Are you two done?" said Sam, who has been watching quietly from the sideline.

Rupert and Lucy exchanged a look with each other. "For now," the elder Nightingale responded in unison.

CREAK!

The Forge's front door swung open and Amelia slid out, looking quite restless. "Your weapons are done," she announced but immediately paused after noticing the Nightingales scowling at each other. "Um, did something happen?"

"No worries. It was just a, um...minor siblings' quarrel," Sam explained. "Now, let's see what your brother made for us."