There was no way Alex wouldn’t recognize that voice.
Especially, when it was accompanied by the same gaze as back then.
The last time was when he, along with Victoria, Lady White, and Humphrey, aided him in performing a feat that blanketed the empire in an unfamiliar night sky.
Back then, more words had been said only for the voice to disappear like it was never there.
Now it has returned and it spoke with a hint of anticipation, causing Alex to wonder what it was looking forward to.
Was it dangerous for him?... What was he to do now?
Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Alex closed his eyes and tried to see if he could track the voice.
Alas, that proved to be a waste of time as the voice was long gone and any trace of its existence taken along with it.
Letting out a disappointed sigh, Alex opened his eyes to find Victoria staring at him.
"Are you alright?" She asked with Alex nodding.
"Mn." Alex nodded before glancing down at what remained of the undead army.
All were consumed by Embers, with nothing but ashes serving as a reminder that there was once an army in that particular location.
"We should be on our way," Alex said. "There’s much to be done."
"Understood," Victoria remarked after which the two took off, making their way towards the next settlement they could find.
Sayda walked through the cold, lightless, and, most importantly, empty streets of Thespene, dressed in a sky blue saree along with minimal makeup and light jewelry.
With her hair tied in a bun, she looked incredibly appealing, capable of taking away the breaths of any man or woman who laid eyes on her.
She walked in a dignified manner, indulging in the cold winter breeze with Douglas trailing behind her.
The latter walked on all fours like an animal, his back hunched and his once muscular body, all but gone, replaced by a gaunt physique that left one worried that the brutal winter chill might just end him in an instant.
He was dressed in rags with his hair a complete mess and his eyes were devoid of sanity, replaced by a bestial instinct that was almost unfortunate to see.
He appeared more like a beast than a respectable gentleman, a sight that pleased Sayda.
She had succeeded in breaking him, adding yet another name to a long list of names of men she had dealt with over the years.
Just as she turned a corner, Douglas suddenly paused, before turning his gaze in a certain direction.
Sayda glanced back at him, not bothering to say anything as she watched him sniff the air, almost as though he was looking for something.
After almost a minute had passed, she came closer and placed a finger on Douglas’ chin, forcing him to focus on her.
"Tell me, what is it?"
Douglas stared blankly at her, causing Sayda to facepalm.
"I forgot, I took your ability to speak, didn’t I?"
Without waiting for a response, she went ahead to regurgitate Douglas’ ability to speak.
His lips parted but what came out couldn’t even be described as words.
It was more like he noticed longer knew how to speak and so had no choice but to let out unintelligible nonsense.
"Quite unfortunate," Sayda muttered in disappointment before once again taking away his ability to speak.
Since he could not speak, there was no reason to waste her time teaching him how to do so.
Whatever it was, it wasn’t more important than getting her hands on the Midnight Pearl.
And so, she continued her stroll with Douglas once again sniffing the air before following closely behind.
Meanwhile, at the entrance to Thespene, a man stood, wearing a coat made out of animal hide, while carrying a wooden cane and wearing a wooden mask, accompanied by two others, one male and the other female.
The female had dark skin with similarly colored hair and irises, marking her out as a denizen of Emet, while the man seemed more like an average Henosian with copper skin, brown hair, and similarly colored irises.
Both wore coats also made out of animal hide.
"No welcome party?" The average Henosian quipped as he stared at the dilapidated gates that stood at the entrance to Thespene.
"It’s been decades since Thespene hosted tourists for the opening of Twilight." The Emetite woman said. "Considering it’s the only thing it allowed it to develop, it’s a wonder Thespene has held on for so long."
"It’s precisely because Thespene has no resources that it has managed to stay this long." The masked man leading the other two commented. "There is nothing worth conquering it for."
"Agreed." The man and woman said.
Then, the woman remarked, betraying a hint of doubt. "Are you sure we would be able to get in?... I mean, no one has ever gotten in."
The masked man paused, taking the time to glance back at her before asking. "You doubt me even after all that I’ve shown you?"
The masked man raised a hand, stopping her from saying anything else. "I gave you two the opportunity to join me on this mission, but do not think that I need your presence. This is an opportunity to change your lives, so you can either take it or leave, your choice."
After saying that, the masked man turned and made his way through the gates into Thespene with the Emetite and Henosian exchanging looks with one another before hurrying to catch up to him.
If there was anything Nadia needed to be careful about, it involved losing her morals in her quest to reach the peak of the Devil Wheel.
She was well aware of what it entailed to become a Devil Wheel Mystic.
One would end up losing their humanity to become a Devil, an entity that served as the congregation of humanity’s darkest desires.
Of course, it was inevitable, especially when one was crossing from the seventh Lock to the eighth, but she would do whatever she could to delay it.
Alas, there was no way to escape what had to be done, hence the reason she currently stood at the entrance to a Henosian settlement, one that had just suffered an undead attack, resulting in heavy losses, with tears in her eyes and a single phrase on the tip of her tongue.