Bruno del Sed stepped into the ruins of a soul.

It was funny. Part of him had expected to be attacked the instant he arrived in this place, assaulted by an array of mental weaponry. He'd even been bracing himself for it… but no. It wasn't just that this place was quiet.

There was an absence to it.

Bruno existed in a dark void, stone beneath his feet, the vague shapes of great pillars barely visible through the gloom. He supposed he was probably standing on or in one of those pillars himself. Returning to a crystalline facsimile of his original appearance, Bruno walked forward.

He inspected his surroundings. Not a pillar, he realized, but a bookshelf. This mental space -- this Archive -- was full of massive bookshelves like skyscrapers, stretching up and down infinitely. An Archive was how a Cogitant stored and sifted through the information in their head. A library was a fitting shape for it to take, he supposed.

Only…

Bruno went to reach for one of the books, and felt it decompose between his fingers. These books… they were absolutely soaked, drenched to the point they disintegrated at the lightest contact. Not soaked with water, though. Bruno recognised well the sight of blood pouring onto the floor.

To put it simply, this was not a good headspace to be in.

If he focused on it, Bruno felt he could probably escape from this place. It was exceedingly difficult to record something infused with someone else's Aether, after all. Dragan's own considerable level of power and the conditions he'd imposed just about made it possible, but that was still on a temporary basis. If he were trying to escape, Bruno felt like he could manage it in around a minute or two.

But he wasn't trying to escape.

So long as Gemini Dominion was active, Dragan couldn't use most of his other abilities. That meant he was facing Serena right now with just his infusion and physical prowess. Those weren't anything to scoff at, either, but taking away his ranged attacks and ability to relocate would balance the scales quite a bit. It was in Bruno's best interests to remain here as long as possible. Right now, he was acting as a seal.

And… of course… he had his own reasons. Back on Azum-Ha, he hasn't been able to reach Dragan's heart with words. Maybe he'd have better luck just walking inside the damn thing himself.

At the very least, he wasn't completely in the dark. As Bruno wandered between the bookshelves, he spotted something in the distance -- a glimmer between the shadows. A faint orange light, bobbing up and down, like a lantern beckoning him. Maybe part of Dragan's subconscious or something? Honestly, Bruno had no idea, but a lead was a lead.

Bruno leapt from one bookshelf to the next, doing his best not to look into the abyss below.

As he did, as he grew closer to the orange light, the landscape shifted slightly. That darkness began to flicker, displaying scenery from the past for fractions of seconds, like this whole space was a train going through a series of tunnels.

Future slipped into past, further and further, deeper and deeper.

A burning city.

A stadium.

A promise.

A dying hand resting on his head.

A subway station with a king of killers.

A castle full of monsters.

A ship going down.

A lethal shot.

A ruined temple.

A car smashing through a window.

A corridor bathed in orange light.

A star.

And… as Bruno finally crested the gap and seized the orange light… the world changed for a second time.

Hallo, crystallo!

Bruno blinked. The image around him, the image of the Archive, had begun to rapidly decompose. The bookshelves softened into sludge, individual books pouring and pooling onto the ground like porridge. As if to replace the endless monochrome, growths were worming their way out through the gaps and crawling into the air… orange growths, eager mushrooms.

Panacea.

Bruno swallowed. He no longer needed to do that, but the impulse still remained. It felt like he was in the presence of something far greater than himself, after all.

"You're her…?" Bruno asked, looking out at the world as it fully became a burnt orange. "The one inside Dragan -- the Panacea?"

Yes! I'm her!

Call me Pan, crystallo. It's shorter and cuter! But yes, I'm inside the dead boy. Right now, you are, too. That's so good!

Bruno looked this way and that, trying to locate the source of the voice, and finding no luck. His barrier-formed skin tightened and hardened warily. His hand became a claw.

"Are you the reason?" he asked coldly.

Reason for what? Reason you're here? No, you did that. You don't remember?

"Not that!" Bruno's voice boomed throughout the emptiness. "Are you the one making Dragan go crazy like this?!"

The orange tint to the world turned colder… no, sadder, like this ruined library was a wilting flower.

Oh… no, I'm not doing that… dead boy did that to dead boy.

Bruno ran a frustrated hand over his face. "Damn it… okay, dead boy is Dragan, right?"

Right, crystallo.

"And I'm crystallo?"

Yes.

"Why?"

Because you're crystallo.

Many years of dealing with Serena had prepared Bruno for this. He took a long, needless breath -- and decided to just let the nonsense go. "Okay," he said. "What do you mean Dragan's done this to himself? He's all messed up right now!"

Mm-hmm. Dead boy came here to pick up a tool for his dream. Only he had a big freak-out, and now the tool is the one tooling. It wants him to do all sorts of things for some reason, and he's just going along with it. And he's not listening to me! So rude!

"A tool?" Bruno narrowed his eyes…

Yep. Have you ever heard of a The Prince before?

…and those eyes widened right back up.

"Tell me," said Erica. "Have you ever heard of something called the Prince?"

The secret of the Sed. The purpose for which so many -- Yakob, Annatrice, Cott, Erica -- had been chewed up and spat back out. The invisible intelligence that was supposed to lurk within the minds of men, silently and subtly puppeteering the universe towards its ultimate goal…

…peace and joy for all mankind.

Bruno put a hand against the melting bookshelf to keep his balance, fingers sinking into the wax.

"Dragan came here…" he gasped. "To try and find that?"

No.

"Oh, thank Y --"

He did find it! It's inside dead boy, now, too. That's the tool!

Dead boy wants to destroy that thing called Supremacy… but he was a little worried about his plan, so he wanted the tool to help him. At first, he was able to get even stronger, but now he's all messed up! I think this tool is maybe sucks.

"So it's controlling him?" Bruno asked urgently.

No… it's just that he's not controlling it. Dead boy has fallen asleep inside himself. If he wakes up, I think everything will be good again! Or normal again. You know.

Bruno looked up, towards the great orange light that was shining through the void like a star. He clenched his fists, barriers buzzing as they brushed against each other. A resolute gleam ran across his crystalline face.

"He's in here, and he's asleep," he slowly nodded, standing up straight. "If that's right… then all I need to do is wake him up."

Just like he did for me… back on Yoslof.

"Will you help me?" he asked the light called Panacea.

If you want to help dead boy… then I'm your ally, crystallo. I can take you to where he is. Wake him up, and make him stop freaking out!

And if you want to help Dragan… Bruno decided. Then I guess I'm your ally, too, Panacea.

He took a step forward… and the world, and his form, were swept away like dust.

In this configuration, Bruno del Sed did not have a body. He was nothing but consciousness in an endless inky ocean, permitted to do nothing but watch with clarity beyond eyes. He had no arms or legs to swim. He moved with intention alone. In this space, he was a witness only.

Witness to arms.

Hundreds of humans arms, thousands, multi-jointed and spindly, like some great and unholy sea creature. They weren't what drew Bruno's attention, though. What did that was what they were holding. Each and every one of them was latching on to the same single tiny, childlike figure -- barely visible among the endless fingers… but, between those squeezing fingers, there was the slightest glimmer of silver hair.

Bruno's heart broke, just a little.

This was the universe as Dragan Hadrien understood it. The world strangled you, and you strangled it back. There was nothing else.

If he wanted to reach out, he needed hands. Bruno willed them into being. If he wanted to take a step, he needed feet. Bruno commanded them into existence. Struggling against winds that had just decided that they too were extant, Bruno pushed forward, striding with all his might towards the restrained child.

These were just fingers. They could be peeled away. Everything could still be made okay. The child's head turned, just slightly, as if barely registering Bruno's presence.

Bruno opened his mouth in the same instant he decided he had it. "Drag --"

HE WAS NOT ALONE HERE

Bruno stopped. His hand froze. His legs trembled. A shiver ran down his spine as if weaving it into existence. He didn't dare move. He didn't dare breathe. He didn't dare blink.

Something else was with him here. Not the orange light. It had vanished. Something else was with him here. Something close. Right behind his head.

Don't look, he begged himself.

Bruno del Sed looked. The instant he

SOMETHING DIDN'T HAPPEN

SOMETHING DIDN'T HAPPEN

SOMETHING DIDN'T HAPPEN

SOMETHING DIDN'T HAPPEN

SOMETHING DIDN'T HAPPEN

All things considered, Serena del Sed felt she must be pretty strong. She was taking on a Supreme in one-to-one combat, after all.

To be fair, Dragan was still clearly out of it. His swings were clumsy and he was slow to react. Still, the air pressure that accompanied each swipe of his hand was enough to make clear that Serena couldn't afford to make too many mistakes here.

She hurled yet another straight sword at Dragan, charging in as he batted it away with his arm. As she ran, she forged another blade -- this time accompanying the concrete with the broken glass all over the floor. If she could strike him and leave the glass shards stuck in the wound, she could surely slow down his regeneration.

That way, over time, they would be able to immobilize --

Blue Aether sparked.

Serena skidded to a halt just in time, throwing up her arms to block right as Bruno was ejected from Dragan's Aether -- blasting towards her like a missile. His crystalline form shattered against her, sending her flying backwards and crashing into the wall. The half-formed sword slipped from her grip.

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Slowly, Dragan cocked his head at the immobilized Serena -- and slowly, he raised his hand to deal the finishing blow.

"Mr. Dragan…" Serena wheezed, trying to pick herself back up. "Wait… don't you recognise…"

Dragan Hadrien did not wait.

"Gemini --"

Contretemps.

The ray of crimson light slammed into Dragan's stomach in the terminal moment, sending his shot flying wide and his body hurtling backwards. Impaled by the sudden attack, he was -- for a moment -- pinned helplessly above the ruined elevators on the other side of the atrium.

Only for a moment, though.

Groaning in mindless pain, he tore himself free -- opening up his stomach -- and dropped down to the floor. By the time he landed, the hole had already closed, his entrails retracted by thin tendrils of Panacea. Against anyone else, that surely would have been a lethal wound.

But the attacker hadn't fired with the intention to kill, anyway.

Ruth Blaine's footsteps were heavy as she marched into the atrium, the crimson cowl of the Empereur Set billowing behind her. She released the lance of Contretemps she'd been holding with one hand, allowing it to dissipate into red Aether. Behind her visor, her golden eyes narrowed.

"It's been a hell of a day, Dragan," she growled, her voice reverberating with power. "I'm hoping for an explanation."

Bruno managed to partially reassemble his physical form, becoming an upper torso floating behind Ruth.

"Something's wrong with him," he said gravely.

"You got that right," Ruth grunted.

"No, I mean… I don't think he even knows where he is right now. I was just inside his Dominion. Something's… something's really wrong, I don't… my head hurts just thinking about it. My head?"

Ruth stepped forward, cracking her knuckles within their gauntlets. "Whether he knows what's going on or not," she said. "I can't just let him keep running around."

"Just don't… don't kill him."

"I'll show you! That people can be good. That they're not what you think of them."

Ruth smirked sadly. "...like I could."

She stepped forward, armour gleaming in the light. He lurched forward, eyes shining in the dark. The human and the zombie. The warrior and the monster.

The Emperor and the Dragon.

Ruth's hands twitched over empty air. Dragan's fingers twitched in imaginary impulse.

Then they moved.

With her strength and speed enhanced by the Empereur Set, and Dragan far from peak condition, Ruth was able to land the first blow before he could react. Her fist slammed into his stomach, doubling him over -- the aftershock of the impact shattering half of the room's remains.

Blue points appeared over Dragan's back, like the spines of a hedgehog -- and Ruth leapt backwards right before a flurry of Railguns struck her in the face. That hadn't been her best possible move, though. Far from it. Dragan was moving on instinct right now, but his instincts were far from dull.

She'd gone right where he wanted her to.

"Gemini Coilgun!" Dragan roared, slurring and spitting the words like he'd never spoken before.

Immediately, scorching light washed over Ruth's body, peeling at the outer shell of her armour and sending waves of excruciating heat and pain right down into her core. Even Empereur couldn't withstand an attack like this forever -- and yet the pressure was holding her in place, stopping her from easily escaping. She was like a frog slowly being boiled alive, like a stupid animal.

No, she decided. I'm better than that.

Monarque Set!

Direwolf Set!

First, a tremendous transformation into Monarque to blast away Dragan's onslaught. Then, becoming Direwolf, she lunged zigzag towards him -- and flung both of them out of the window and out into the night. The rain greeted them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ruth could see vague purple and violet streaks -- Bruno and Serena -- chasing after them, but for the time being this was their battle. The two of them spun in mid-air, grappling even as they fell, Ruth doing her best to restrain while Dragan did his best to escape.

Point-blank, Dragan thrust his hand towards Ruth's face, a Railgun already prepared in the centre of his palm --

Noblesse Set!

-- only for the reflected shot to blast that hand off entirely.

Screaming in pain, Dragan kicked off of Ruth's chest to escape -- but at the same time, Ruth lashed out with Revolutionairre's cape. The red cloth was twisted together into a rope, and it quickly wrapped itself around Dragan's leg as he flew through the air back towards the Seat of Man, pulling Ruth along.

The thing she had to watch out for the most was Gemini World. If Dragan used that, he could basically run as far as he wanted at stupid speeds, and she wouldn't be able to do anything to catch him. No -- if she wanted to bring Dragan down, she had to stop him from using Gemini World in the first place.

Crimson Aether flowed down the length of the rope, and sapphire Aether fought to repel it. So long as that battle for the infusion of Dragan's body was ongoing, he wouldn't be able to disappear. So long as this rope was intact, Dragan Hadrien had no choice but to face Ruth Blaine.

The two of them smashed through another one of the Seat of Man's few remaining windows, crashing through a massive office and sending desks and chairs flying in every direction.

Skeletal and Direwolf switched places on Ruth's body rapidly as she rolled, the optimal shape to protect her from injury changing by the moment. Dragan just landed on his face, skidding across the floor and leaving a red trail with no thought for his own safety. She stood, wrapping the other end of the red rope of fate around her wrist like a handcuff.

Dragan didn't even bother lifting his ravaged face from the floor before he attacked again, voice muffled by the carpet.

"Gemini Coil --"

Empereur Set!

Like Ruth was gonna let that happen.

Roaring with exertion, she swung Dragan around using the rope, smashing him into the wall and dragging him along its surface, shredding it as she went. Sweat poured down her face. Switching between Sets like this was exhausting… especially when it came to Empereur, a power she wasn't used to yet. The heat inside the armour was already sweltering.

Right now, though, her biggest problem was her path to victory. If she'd gone into this wanting to kill Dragan, then that would have been easy enough. Destroying his brain wouldn't be easy, but it was definitely doable. How was she meant to non-lethally take down an opponent who could regenerate from basically anything she could dish out?

Neverwire? She didn't know where she'd find some in the middle of a fight… not to mention, she didn't know how much she'd need to smother that overpowering infusion of his. No, she couldn't rely on outside tools here. She had to get this done with just what she had in her body…

…and in her mind.

Skeletal Set!

Noblesse Set!

Revolutionnaire Set!

Ruth shed Empereur entirely as she slammed Dragan into the floor -- but the armour she summoned to replace it did not appear around her body. Instead, the three Sets rushed forth as puppets filled with crackling crimson Aether, weaving through Shotguns and Railguns with inhuman gymnastic ability as they closed the distance to Dragan.

As the puppets reached him, Dragan finally rose to his feet -- only for a sharp tug from Ruth with the rope to send him head over heels again. The back of his skull smacked against the floor, and the armours seized their chance. To put it simply, they piled on top of him.

Skeletal took one arm, Noblesse took another, and Revolutionnaire pressed down on his legs. Together, they were just about able to keep him trapped in place -- but Ruth already knew that was a momentary situation. Just one of those Coilgun attacks would surely clear out all the metal pests.

The infusion in the armour would still stop Dragan from using Gemini World for a moment. This was her best chance.

Ruth spun, infusing her body with strength as she pulled at the rope slung over her shoulder with all her might. The struggle was rewarded. There was a nauseating ripping noise -- and Dragan's left leg was torn free from his body, still wrapped tight in the rope. Another spin and that severed leg slammed into Dragan's head like a club, before finally coming loose and flying off into the distance.

For a moment, Dragan was dazed by the blow to the head, and the restraint of the armour intensified for just a single vital instant. Ruth bound over towards him, leaving a crater in the floor from the sheer force with which she kicked off of it. The red rope was still clutched tightly between her hands.

No matter how much Dragan could regenerate, at the end of the day he still needed to breathe. If Ruth could just get this thing around his neck and pull, she could strangle him into unconsciousness. It wasn't the nicest way to bring someone down, but it really had been a hell of a day.

If Ruth Blaine had managed to execute that plan, it certainly might have worked. But that's not what happened.

Ruth couldn't say whether what happened next was Dragan coming to a little bit, some greater battle instinct kicking in, or some directing force giving him an instruction. All she knew was that the plan she'd put together was rendered impossible just before execution. Right as she was leaping over Dragan to get behind him…

…all of the blue infusion in his body flowed into his right arm.

In that moment, the Skeletal Set went from Dragan's restraint to Dragan's weapon. With that pinpoint infusion, it took barely any effort at all for Dragan to swing it through the air and strike the Noblesse Set with it -- the reflected force destroying both Sets simultaneously. A twin kick to the Revolutionaire Set launched it up into the air, crashing into Ruth as she passed, sending her sprawling backwards.

Blue Aether crackled unimpeded. Dragan Hadrien was free, and Ruth heard the words she'd been doing her best to lock away this whole time.

"Gemini… World…"

Dragan disappeared.

Oh, fuck.

Dragan appeared.

He didn't use the recording ability to escape from the battle, as Ruth had feared, but what he did do wasn't much better. Dragan's arm wrapped around Ruth's neck as he reappeared behind her, squeezing with all his strength in a vicious headlock. Red and black began to crawl into Ruth's vision as her airflow was constricted -- had Dragan stolen her strangulation idea?

Empereur Set…!

The armour of the emperor appeared on Ruth's body just in time -- Dragan fired off a series of Gemini Railguns from within his own stomach, aimed directly for Ruth's back. Even with the Set protecting her, though, it was a hell of an attack -- Ruth was sent flying forwards, right into the wall…

…and through it…

…and through the next…

…and through the next…

…until she finally skidded to a halt in a bathroom.

Her arrival alone had already done a number on this place. Water sprayed into the air from the demolished plumbing all around, the droplets pinging against Ruth's armour as they made contact. Groaning, she pushed herself up off the floor, raising her fists in preparation.

That last attack had made it clear. Dragan wouldn't be running away, even if he was able to. Whatever was driving him right now, it was driving him to get her out of the picture.

That was fine. That was good. So long as Dragan kept coming after her, she could hit him. So long as she could hit him, she could win.

Strangulation wasn't the only way to get around that regeneration of his.

In a flash of blue, Dragan reappeared in the entrance to the bathroom, already charging a Railgun from each of his hands. Immediately, Ruth charged forward, destroying what was left of the bathroom with her egress. That didn't matter. All that mattered was the path of attack she was taking.

Two meters in a straight line. No way he could resist this.

The Railguns died from Dragan's hands.

Gotcha.

Gemini Dominio --

Monarque Set!

Pressure exploded outwards as Empereur switched out for Monarque -- and Ruth went uncaptured by Dragan's Aether. A wild grin spread across her lips. She'd figured it out. A way to get around Dominion.

Recording relied on the user understanding the structure of what they were absorbing into their Aether. It was easier for Cogitants, sure, but still a delicate art. The conditions Dragan had applied to this ability lowered the bar even more, but there was still a basic level of understanding of the target that needed to be acquired.

Switching Sets -- completely changing the shape of the object being recorded -- threw that understanding all out of balance. It was as if she'd parried his Gemini Dominion.

And that wasn't all she'd done.

She wasn't the only one who'd entered the devil egg this time. Two people were surrounded by the viscous yolk it contained right now -- Ruth Blaine… and Dragan Hadrien. He'd been close enough that she'd managed to trap him inside the Monarque Set as she'd manifested it.

He was in her dominion now.

Up, she commanded the Set -- and there was a muffled rumble all around as Monarque obeyed, crashing through ceiling after ceiling as it rose higher and higher.

Dragan struggled through the yolk as he advanced towards her, legs stiffened as the substance clung to them. Ruth, on the other hand, was able to move without worries -- Monarque's innards granting her gentle passage. Within a Set like this, the air itself was suffused with Ruth's Aether. Gemini World had been sealed off once more.

Still, this wouldn't be enough. Even if Dragan couldn't use Aether outside of his own body, he could still fire off Shotguns and Railguns from within himself to get around that. As he was now, Ruth didn't think he'd hesitate to destroy his own body for that.

So… Ruth thought, raising her arms. …it's time for surgery.

Skeletal Set.

Crash.

Crash.

Crash.

Crash!

Two minutes and thirty three seconds following activation, the Monarque Set finally broke through the final floor of the Seat of Man -- and, as it emerged into the night air, it shattered.

Its two occupants fell down onto the roof, the one flat section of the mighty dome. What had occurred inside the egg had been a brutal fight of hand and foot, bodies smashing against each other in animalistic fury. Neither of them had come out unscathed, but funnily enough…

…the one who could regenerate was much worse for wear.

Once, Dragan had told Ruth about how he'd dealt with the Special Officer named Samael Ambrazo Zakos. There'd been a significant difference in their level of strength at the time, so Dragan had gotten around it by using external tools -- injecting the Special Officer with infused tranquilizers to bring him down. Ruth didn't have any tranquilizers to hand, but needles? There was an idea.

Each time she had slashed and stabbed into Dragan's body with her Skeletal claws, she had left one of those claws behind inside his flesh. He couldn't regenerate lost material so long as something was still occupying that space. Her aim had been exact, severing nerves with each attack, slowly but surely rendering him paralyzed.

Ruth panted as she stood up over Dragan's immobilized body, sweat pouring down her brow. Red Aether fizzled around her before fading away. Manifesting another Set was beyond her right now -- if this didn't bring Dragan down, she was basically screwed.

But she didn't think so. Dragan had stopped even the tiny squirming her last attack had left him with. He just lay on his back, staring up at the star-filled sky, his breathing slow and shallow.

"Hey," Ruth said, her voice hoarse from exhaustion. "I wanna… I wanna say something to you."

All sorts of things rose to her lips. Accusations, condemnations. Part of her just wanted to grab him by the leg again and hurl him off the building. It had been a hellish last two years… and Dragan had been no small part of making them like that.

But, when she opened her mouth…

"I'm sorry."

…she found that she'd decided what to say a long time ago.

"Not for this," she waved a vague hand at him on the ground. "You were fuckin' outta control, dude. But…"

She took a deep breath.

"Back at the beginning," she said, clenching her fists. "I told you I'd show you… that you were wrong about people. That they were better than you thought. Not just better, good. That the world was good. But I never showed you any of that."

A humourless bark of laughter was devoured by the night. Ruth stared at the floor as she talked, like that night was pressing in on her, orange hair hanging low over her face.

"How could I have…?" she said quietly, half to him, half to herself. "We were fighting to kill people. In the end, that's what it was. What kind of good were you gonna see there? It was never gonna happen, win or lose. But still… I promised, and I didn't do that, and I can't help but think… if I'd kept that promise, would we still have ended up here?"

She looked up, and there were tears in her golden eyes.

"I don't know," she said simply. "I can't know. But… even -- even now… I wanna show you, if you wanna see it. How about it?"

She didn't know if Dragan had actually heard any of that… but there were tears in those blue eyes of his, too.

Slowly, those eyes moved over to look at her. A glimmer of recognition trickled into that gaze. His pale lips, nearly blue themselves, moved.

"Ruth…?" Dragan murmured.

Ruth smirked, exhaustion written over every inch of her face. "Who else… would it be…" she sobbed. "...dumbass?"

"Look out…" Dragan whispered.

Ruth furrowed her brow. Look out…?

Suddenly, as if someone had run a blade through her, an alarm of instinctive terror rang out through Ruth's entire body. A shiver ran down her spine like so many ghostly fingers. And there, out of the very corner of her eye, she saw it.

Black Aether crackled.

Ruth whirled around… and looked right into a pair of dark, empty eyes. A black cloak billowed in the wind. Pale lips curved into an insincere smile.

"You look like you're in some trouble there, Dragan Hadrien," Niain said, smiling pleasantly at them. "Would you like a hand?"