“I would show them. I’d do whatever it took to show them what Chrysid’s really sitting on that weapon for. Not Evigilari. For greed. I’d show them why they need to listen, if they have any shred of loyalty to humanity. That’s what exalts are for, aren’t they? To protect humanity. From the Evigilari.”
“Yeah… of course.”
Still, Liam hesitated to give the orb to James.
James’s jaw clenched. He tensed for a moment, huffed, and then relaxed to feign calm.
“…I’d show them the same footage we saw with Jove,” James said with a pleasant, but forced smile.
For a moment, Liam once again felt that sensation of having lived that very moment before. A recollection of a memory that couldn’t possibly exist.
What did I do back then?
Hell… what the hell do I even mean by “back then?”
Liam shoved that feeling of uncomfortable familiarity aside.
“That’s all it takes, right?” James said with a casual shrug. “If it convinced Jove and I, it’ll convince Libelle.”
“Right… so, say that you succeed. You take down Chrysid. What’s your next move?”
“Why are you asking all these stupid questions?”
“She’s left these questions for us, James!” Liam said, gesturing to the symbols on the orbs. “She wants us to connect the fucking dots!”
“She wants you and little overthinkers like you to interpret signs and symbols in a way that aligns with your perception of reality,” James said. “You do see how much she stands to gain by causing us to question our motivations for being here, right? Or our preparedness for whatever future lies ahead of a Chevalier?”
Liam fell silent.
“It’s called planting seeds of doubt, Liam,” James hissed. “Get inside your enemy’s head and chip away at the legs slowly until they crumble under their own weight. You even told me yourself—the Chevalier, she’s into psychology, right? It shouldn’t surprise you that she’s fucking with your head.”
James made one last attempt to grab the orb and his fist closed tight around Liam’s.
Liam refused to give it up.
“She’s been planting little hints of some deeper meaning to these stupid puzzles all along because she knows who we are. She knows that you’re ‘The Professor’ and even though you’ve never met, she can probably read you like an open book—you’re a neurotic overthinker.”
Something wrenched in Liam’s chest at the idea that Serena may have had more awareness of his existence than he ever considered.
“Lucienne created traps that look harmless but hit like freight trains because anyone who’s ever heard me on broadcast can probably tell that, yeah, I’m brash, I’m a little reckless, I’m the meathead of the group.”
“But you’re not,” Liam said.
You wear that mask because it’s disarming.
“Thanks, man. Glad to hear from ‘The Professor’ that I’m not the dumb jock I come off as.”
James’s grip on Liam’s fist tightened.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Liam said, “…what do you plan to do next, after you’ve ended the structure of the world as we know it and have to build something else in its place?”
“What?”
“Destroying the system without knowing what to do next only creates conditions for the next Chrysid to spring up and start the whole thing over again. Who do you think will jump on that? What organizations do you think are going to side with you? The Aviere? The anarchic exalts? Moreover, who might decide they’re more fit to guide a broken system and challenge you?”
James’s grip loosened. With a sigh, he then released Liam’s fist.
Finally, James softly answered, “…without Chrysid or Exaltation, Libelle’s going to be in one hell of a state. I’ll need all the help I can get to set things straight. That’s why you need to stay alive, too. I’m not out here to make enemies, Liam.”
An uncomfortable feeling swirled within Liam.
One he couldn’t put a name to.
“Besides,” James added with a charming smile, “I think we both know that you’re the other half of our brain. We need to get through this together. Don’t let that anxiety of yours get between us, alright? If I can’t think of something, I know that you could… you’re a better diplomat than me.”
“Alright,” Liam conceded. He eased his grip around the orb until James drew it from his hand.
James placed the orb in the statue.
Liam swallowed thickly through the anxiety as the last symbol lit up, high on the wall across the room. The sound of machinery whirred to life and just above the entrance to the centermost corridor, the wall shifted. A heavy panel slid aside to reveal another path—one that would be a pain in the ass to reach if they didn’t have an element that could get them up there.
James summoned a mountain of ice and cleared their path.
Just ahead lay the glassy doors to another lift. Thick windows along the walls looked out upon the cloud sea.
The crimson sunset before had long since melted beneath the horizon. Stars glittered in the darkness above the storm clouds. The Spire of the Chevalier sat at the literal edge of their realm.
Liam’s stomach sank as they stepped inside. A glass floor revealed a long, seemingly bottomless elevator shaft below. He took a breath and tore his gaze away. Within his gloves, his knuckles blanched at how tightly he gripped the railings. The doors closed behind them and soft piano music filtered in, just as in the previous lift.
At the heart of the sky, the cascading lucidium halo rippled and shimmered over the horizon, brightened by the light of a silver full moon.
* * *
The most powerful exalt in Libelle. After defeating all eight Pillars, an exalt is able to challenge the champion who holds the title of Chevalier in an officiated, deathmatch-clause battle. The winner of this battle inherits the title of Chevalier and assumes the responsibilities and roles that come with the position.
“Liam,” Nym said, “I have a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“What happens if you and James both beat the Chevalier? Would that mean there would be two
