"What was that?" Alex asked as he raised his head to look in the direction the tremor had come from. He felt Thera move underneath him, prompting him to shift his attention back to her just in time to watch as her expression shifted from worried to amused, with a twisted smile appearing at the corners of her lips. "Plan B," she muttered before unleashing her Authority like a wave, catching Alex off guard as he was sent flying. Then, Thera broke the bindings holding her before getting back on her feet. She then pulled out a card from space and pointed it at Alex, who was trying to get back on his feet. He froze as his gaze fell on the card before shifting to regard her face which held mockery for him. "Foolish," Thera remarked. "You could have finished me off but you didn’t. Now you get to pay the price." "What’s going on out there?" Alex asked, ignoring his opponent’s chastisement. Thera chuckled. "As I said, Plan B." "That’s it?... Nothing more to gloat about?" Alex inquired. "Unlike you, Alexander. I am well aware of just how dangerous you are and do not plan to waste time chatting. So, goodbye." "Wait, one last thing." Alex quickly said. "You should look behind you." Thera stared for a moment before snorting derisively as she proceeded to exert her Will on the card. "No, wait, wait, wait..." Alex turned to dust before he could say anything else, subjected to the cruel passage of time. Eternal Night dissipated a moment later, once again revealing the true night sky of Eventide, with none of the odd twinkling lights or the circular celestial body. Instead, with Nighteye watching over her, Thera made her way out of her villa, none the wiser that her shadow looked a bit darker than usual. The ritual proceeded as it did in previous cycles with the only difference being that instead of people from the lower districts serving as the sacrificial lambs, it was instead those of the upper and middle districts. The Tribunal members, appearing as though brainwashed, continued their chanting while dancing in a circle, completely ignoring the chaos around them. Soon, even they began to join the ranks of the deceased as some cut their wrists and others stabbed themselves. Their blood stained the ground red, causing the summoning circle drawn at the center of the council hall to glow with a brilliant light. The aether rippled aggressively, almost as though it were trying to fight against whatever phenomenon these mad men were trying to conjure but it was pointless as the sky above began to crack, with the eerie glow of the Abyss shining through. Just a bit more and everything would be settled. Just then, a young lady appeared in the sky, riding the skeletal remains of a Pegasus. Looking around, Arwen wondered if she would find Alex, but saw no signs that he was close, which meant she was right to have left the lower districts to come here instead. It was clear that the enemy had turned their attacks towards the upper and middle districts, which meant that even with the lower districts saved, the ritual was still going on. With that understanding, she needed to stop the ritual before it came to a conclusive end since saving the people of the upper and middle districts was impossible. She didn’t hesitate to rush into the middle of the madhouse that once served as a place for important decisions concerning Sklaviunt to be made. The source of thɪs content is novel✦fire.net Mimicking Alex, she snapped her fingers while exerting her Will, conjuring a flame tongue that immediately spread, turning into an inferno that devoured the life force of everyone present. Under normal circumstances, killing the cultists would end up feeding the ritual since their life force would be used as fuel, but her flames ensured that didn’t happen by not just killing them but destroying their life force in the process. Most died screaming and only when silence remained did Arwen withdraw her flames, confirming that all the cultists were dead. The aether ripples in the area calmed down and above, the cracks in the sky began to show signs of mending. Just as Arwen considered celebrating, the Pegasus she was riding suddenly let out a frightened neigh before then throwing her off. The next moment, it turned to dust, scattering in the wind. Arwen, frightened by this, realized she wasn’t alone and swiftly turned to face her adversary, discovering her to be Thera. "Oh child, you should not have done that," Thera remarked as she took steady steps forward with quite a few mystical cards hovering around her. "Dusted, just like your little summon and soon, just like you too." "You’re lying," Arwen said, unwilling to believe that Alex was gone just like that. Amused, Thera replied. "If you say so." Just as she exerted her Will on a card, a sharp pain surged through her torso, causing her to pause. She looked down to find a fine silver blade protruding through her stomach, covered in her blood. Meanwhile, Arwen had a brilliant smile on her lips as she laid eyes on the shadowed form of one of Alex’s Forever Knights, the one that went by the name, Charlotte. Thera tried to exert her Will again only for black and white flames to consume her, causing her to scream out in pain. Charlotte breathed out as she pulled Excalibur from Thera’s back, watching as the Mystic collapsed to the ground while still burning. Thera stared at her before ultimately succumbing to the flames at which point, Charlotte placed a finger on her sword and cleaned the bloodstain on it. Then, she ingested it and with a thought, nullified any chance of Thera returning using Redo. And so marked the end of the Abyss Wheel Mystic. Alex appeared a moment later, accompanied by the shadowed figures of Humphrey and Azazel. Charlotte went on one knee and offered Excalibur back to Alex. "Keep it. The fight isn’t over yet." He replied as he approached Arwen who rushed over and embraced him. "I knew you were okay," she said with Alex replying as he stroked her hair. "Good to see you too."