Shrouded by nightfall, Leander looked across the no-man's-land to the other side. Holding Silas' spyglass – what Leander had been referring to as a 'cylinder' – to his eye, inspecting the other side. Unlike the Kingdom of Death's border, the Kingdom of Light's border was bathed in the light of a series of luminescent orbs that shone down on the camp, leaving it in what could only be referred to as perpetual day.
"You'll have to be careful not to be seen by those orbs."
Silas' dry tone was accompanied by his footsteps as he joined Leander and Narina in the darkness.
"We're not sure where they come from – they seem to appear without any of the soldiers doing anything. They don't only shine light, but from what our mages can tell, they seem to also be capable of seeing their surroundings. We can tell this sight goes to someone within the Goddess' Kingdom, but who that is is a mystery to us."
"So don't get seen."
Narina would nod as she squinted into the dark.
"We can do that."
Leander's brow furrowed as he looked from left to right. The light cast by the orbs was like a wall keeping the darkness out, making the Goddess' Kingdom some kind of fortress that even the night itself was unable to breach.
Lowering the spyglass, Leander turned to Silas.
"I assume you have a plan for how you want us to get there undetected."
"My lady has something planned for you. You just have to be near the Goddess' border and wait for it."
Leander's expression shifted slightly, turning from calm compliance to an agitated squint. His fingers curling tightly around the spyglass, Leander took a step towards Silas.
"Did you just say you want us to sneak over there and… wait?"
Not returning Leander's gaze, Silas slightly nodded.
"That about sums it up. Not that you will need it, but good luck, you two."
Frowning, Leander handed Silas back his spyglass. Without responding to Silas, Leander began walking into the no-man's-land. Seeing Leander simply walk away, Narina couldn't help but pause.
"Wait! Leander, seriously, we're just going to walk over there? Seriously!?"
Despite her cries, Leander did not turn back. His gaze was fixed firmly on the light far ahead. Turning to Silas, Narina's eyes were wide with concern.
"Seriously?"
Silas would nod.
"You will be fine, I assure you."
Despite feeling uncertain about their current path, Narina looked at Leander's back – the shape of which she could barely discern. Stamping her feet in a fit of frustration, Narina chased after Leander.
Watching them go, Silas didn't move as a black-robed undead joined his side. The undead – a female zombie – turned her head, squinting at Silas. She repeated his last words.
"You will be fine, I assure you. What assurances could you possibly provide them?"
One of Silas' hands moved up his body to hold the necklace. The cyan light pulsed within the crystal. Not looking at the zombie that had just spoken to him, Silas took a few more moments before responding.
"What would you rather I tell them, Sollenne? To prepare for the worst? What are the readings?"
Sollenne was silent for a second before responding, her tone was solemn.
"The readings say this is going to be big. That should there is going to be a Fulcrum and it will be… immense. We have already sent word to the queen. Hopefully, she will send her shadow."
After a few moments, Silas would turn to Sollenne. His dry tone seemed colder than usual.
"Send word along the border, ensure everyone is prepared."
----
The no-man's-land was dark, which was not much of a surprise to Leander. It was nighttime after all.
But what did surprise Leander was a strange sensation in the air that began to itch not his body, but his very soul. It felt as if two invisible forces were clashing all around him. Despite never having felt this sensation before, it wasn't long before Leander was able to make an educated guess about what was happening.
And this was only for one specific reason.
"Hey Leander, have you noticed the closer we get to the Goddess' Kingdom, the more alive the grass looks? I mean, I can't actually see it, but it feels less crunchy and more squishy… Does that make sense to you?"
Turning to Narina, Leander couldn't see the dragon girl; the only reason he knew where she was, was due to Narina holding onto the end of his ragged cloak.
"I think I know what you mean."
Leander would mutter.
It was exactly as Narina had described, just as when Leander had entered the Wilds – the closer they walked towards the Goddess' Kingdom, the more the aura of decay that permeated every inch of the Undead Kingdom lessened. And with the aura of decay weakening, the more nature was allowed to grow.
In fact, it was not just the grass growing on the ground that had changed. Even the dark night was changing, as he looked in the direction of Narina, the pitch black darkness that met his eyes began to change. Narina's silhouette began to slowly appear in the dark.
A realisation dawned on Leander: if he was able to see Narina, then he wouldn't be the only one. Abruptly grabbing Narina, Leander pulled her to the side. The no-man's-land wasn't simply a flat stretch of grassy land; it rose in some parts, forming hills and lowered in others. Across the land were a few trees as well, one of which Leander pulled Narina behind.
Landing on the ground with a dull thud, Narina groaned at Leander's silhouette.
"Hey, what was that for–!"
Covering Narina's mouth, Leander silenced her.
"Keep quiet. We are not that far from the other side now. If you start shouting now, we will be found out. I only grabbed you because the closer we get to the other side, the less dark it gets– Narina, that is disgusting!"
Leander abruptly stopped talking, pulling his hand back as Narina had licked his palm. Sticking her tongue out in the dark, Narina crossed her arms as she leaned against the tree.
A moment of silence passed between the two when Narina asked:
"So, what do we do now? Are we really supposed to just wait for whatever it is Silas?"
Transitioning from a crouch to kneeling on one knee, Leander looked at the border. Gritting his teeth, Leander turned his head away.
"It is looking that way. Unless you think it would be a good time to transform into a dragon."
"I wish I could transform, but I'd hate to tear these nice clothes. I don't really understand these human clothes, but that Melaine lady picked these out for me, so it wouldn't be good of me to– Wait a minute, was that some kind of joke? Leander, were you trying to make a joke?"
Despite how hard she squinted into the dark, Narina was unable to make out the expression on Leander's face. If Narina had the power to see in the dark, she would have been able to see a small smile on Leander's lips.
Shaking her head, Narina laughed.
"I really don't understand you, Leander. You seem driven by something, but what I couldn't even begin to imagine. You seem best buddies with the queen of the Undead Kingdom, you're trying to infiltrate the Goddess' Kingdom, and when we were in that bookshop, I heard that zombie guy talking to you… Leander, why did he ask about your quest to slay the Demon King?"
Leander's smile faded as Narina asked about what Kenju had mentioned. Lowering himself to the ground, Leander rested one hand on his knee, the other ran through his hair.
"Narina. When we first met on the doorstep of Riku's home, you said it was cool that I shared my name with the Hero of Peace. Do you remember that?"
"Uh, yeah sure, I remember. What of it?"
Leander stared at Narina's vague silhouette.
"You really do not see the connection?"
Narina blinked.
"Connection?"
Sighing, Leander continued.
"I'm 'best buddies' as you described it, with Melaine, the queen of the Undead Kingdom and I happen to share my name with the Hero of Peace who died one thousand years ago. Do you not see any connection there?"
Leander waited for Narina to respond, but after a minute of silence, Narina had yet to say anything.
"Narin–"
"You're the Hero of Peace!"
Grabbing Leander by the part of the cloak around his neck, Narina pulled him closer to her.
"The- Hero of Peace! Like, as in, the, Hero of Peace!? The man who kept the peace with nothing but his might. Anyone who is anyone knows that name! Knows your name, even a thousand years after you died, people are talking about you! Even beasts of the Wilds remember the name of the Hero of Peace, and we don't even care about any humans!"
Covering Narina's mouth again, Leander would whisper:
"Not so loud."
Pulling his hand off of her mouth, Narina would continue speaking, if a little quieter.
"You died one thousand years ago, I didn't even realise you were undead… Although now I understand why you didn't eat any of Riku's stew."
"Narina. There is something we need to talk about if-"
"You died, like, dead died. What's it like being dead, can you-"
"Narina!"
Grabbing Narina's shoulders, Leander pushed her back.
"Yes, I am Leander, the Hero of Peace. So please, can you stop repeating it now? It is important you understand something, Narina. I don't know how, but yes, Melaine brought me back from the dead. No, I don't remember what being dead is like. In fact, I do not remember much of anything."
Letting go of Narina's shoulders, Leander's looked at the dark grass beneath them.
"I have experienced a few memories, but the vast majority of my memories are missing. You see, when I died, whatever killed me. It tore my soul apart. I have half of my soul, but it is in a completely unstable state. So unstable I am completely unable to use anima to amplify my body without the threat of my soul shattering."
"Unable to use anima?"
Narina gently touched the scar above her left collarbone.
"I know the feeling…"
Narina was silent for a few minutes. The only sound that reached Leander came from the rustling branches above them. Taking a deep breath, Narina looked at Leander.
"So, Leander. What is it you want to ask me?"
Raising his head, Leander gazed up at the starry sky.
"I was returned to life by Melaine and given a mission. That mission was to kill the Goddess and the Demon King to return peace to Ozaria. If you continue to follow me, only death lies ahead of us. The death of our enemies, or our own death. Are you still willing to follow me if it could get you killed?"
Leander had expected Narina to take a moment to respond, but the moment Leander had finished speaking, Narina answered.
"Yes. You promised to train me, I have my own reasons for needing to get stronger. But as I see it, if you help me get stronger, I can help you on your journey to bring back the peace or whatever."
Hearing Narina's words, the corner of Leander's lip curled into a slight smile. Almost within the same second, Leander's faint smile faded away as he noticed something.
The black sky stretched endlessly above them, pierced by thousands of tiny stars. But something else lurked among them. Leander noticed it only because the stars near it trembled, their light-bending like reflections on disturbed water. It started as a small, tiny line. The distortion quickly swelled, spreading faster with each passing second, until a web of cracks crawled down from the sky to touch the ground, fanning out across the no-man's-land in both directions until Leander was unable to see its end.
Then, without warning, the air itself shattered. A soundless rupture split the night, and fragments of reality rained down upon the no-man's-land like shards of glass.