Even as the sun chased the moon across the heavens, it still could not expel the shadow from Maeyune's soul. Dawn slashed the gloomy azure in red and revealed the horrendous devastation of the Golden City.

Smoke clouds continued their ascent from Bresnia. When Maeyune and the others returned to the Bresnian Celestial Base for debriefing, her eyes absently heeded the fume colonnade in the distance.

She stepped off the transport craft after day broke, hardly absorbing the sight of the celestial facility and its partial destruction. She was ready to retreat into the facility, when she discovered a familiar, warm face waiting among the wreckage.

Seeing her aunt reminded Maeyune of the pain she thought she had left behind in Bresnia. It was everything she could do to hold back the sting in her eyes.

Lyn said nothing as she wrapped her arms around her niece.

Reo watched as Maeyune and her aunt embraced. He stopped the rest of her team before they joined her.

"What happened back there?" he asked Meera. "What happened to Maeyune?"

The water celestial's eyes were red from weeping. She looked about ready to burst into tears again.

"I told you," she muttered, averting her wet eyes. "She changes."

Meera said no more and stalked off.

Clover came to stand beside Reo, his gaze hovering on Maeyune. "Where there is light, there will be shadow," he added carefully. He narrowed his eyes at Reo. "You of all people should know that."

Together, he and Aerylis followed after Meera. Maeyune's aunt took each of them into her arms, and after a few words exchanged, the remainder of Aegis Team returned inside.

Since the Wobeck first began their attack, all long distance air travel had ceased. Like many others, Aunt Lyn had no other choice but to remain in Bera. Hundreds of survivors were relocated to temporary homes in Beran cities that war had left untouched. Despite her aunt's reluctance, Maeyune had managed to get Lyn to go with them.

She watched her aunt leave on one of the dozen large transport vehicles. Although she knew her aunt was safer away from the destruction of war, it did not assuage the anxiety in her heart.

Maeyune lost count of the next repetition of days. It was the same from dawn to dusk: hunt the last of the Iron Prophet, sleep a sleepness night, and then repeat.

Reo had verified the Wobeck ship's escape. With the black smoke's appearance, the ship had made its rapid disappearance.

It was days before Maeyune learned the truth about the black smoke. Before then, the Iron Prophet had become her primary objective.

With the Nomenian rebels having successfully removed the usurper from the Nomenian throne, the Iron Prophet was encountering its final days. And with the eradication in progress, Maeyune could not hide the darkness that shadowed her light.

In one of the hangars of the celestial base, she stood over a line of kneeling Prophet soldiers, their hands bound behind their backs. She peered into the mind of each man and woman.

And she saw herself.

Through every telepathic connection, in every instance of using her powers, the darkness emerged to remind her of its presence. Dark webs swam across her skin, and her silver eyes turned black.

She was acutely aware of those around her who took notice.

She could not hold her powers for long. Shadow eventually hampered her abilities, and she was forced to stop lest her skin turned a complete shade of charcoal.

Having learned all that she needed, she nodded at two celestials who waited for her orders. They hesitated, their fear evident as they stared at her. Finally, they forced the Prophet soldiers to their feet and escorted them to the newly-established prison cells.

As they left, Maeyune's eyes landed on the water celestials at the far end of the hangar. The wounded lay around them on padded mats, waiting for their turn to be healed.

A golden light stood out against the blue and green auras. While Maeyune oversaw the capture of the remaining Iron Prophet members, Reo had taken charge of healing the injured.

It was as if the sun had swooped down from the sky. Pure, golden light illuminated his half of the hangar. He may not have realized it, but she saw it. She watched it.

A smile fell across his lips as he exchanged a joke with his patient. Several others around them joined in with laughter. Bodies naturally gravitated toward his presence, like flies to a lamp.

He is warm and bright, Maeyune thought.

He was happy. She was happy for him.

And she envied him.

On an afternoon that broke her repetitive pattern, Maeyune stood quietly inside the base's conference room, surrounded by uniformed officials. They chattered endlessly, leaping to conclusions about the Wobeck that, at one point, began to hurt her ears.

She heard Deiyu and General Soras deliver their input. But with her distant gaze concentrated on the room's mahogany table, her mind returned to Bresnia.

She found herself standing in front of what remained of the Council Hall. Mounds of ash covered the ground, their clusters refusing to give to the wind. The sky was gray - bleak and woeful, not at all like the land of the sun. Not a single bird took flight; there was no sign of life.

"Mae."

Maeyune recognized Trix's voice. Even without its usual, resonating humor, she knew it was him.

Trix and Benny stood at the top of the Council Hall's steps. She examined their blanched skin.

"You didn't save us," Trix reproved.

Her chest squeezed. "I couldn't," she choked. "I couldn't. I'm sorry."

"You killed them," he continued, voice impassive.

In unison, Trix and Benny raised their arms and pointed behind her. She turned, eyes landing on the three Iron Prophet soldiers whose lives she had extinguished. From where they knelt, they stared at her with vacant expressions. Blood slithered down from their black eyes.

Remorse wrenched her heart.

"Miss Ereni," Trix said.

She glanced at her friends again, brow furrowing in confusion.

"Miss Ereni?" he repeated.

The dream vanished, and her mind returned to the conference room. They were all waiting for her response.

"Yes?" she stammered.

General Soras frowned at her. "Miss Ereni, are you alright?"

She nodded quickly, clearing her throat. "Yes, I'm sorry."

He turned his attention to Reo, who stood across the table from her. "Please continue, Mr. Castell," the general directed.

For a moment, it appeared as if Reo had not heard him. Maeyune met Reo's gaze and read the concern on his face.

His eyes eventually returned to the general. "We found containers underneath the Council Hall," Reo declared. "We weren't able to secure them before the Iron Prophet attacked. I think that was where the black smoke came from."

His words echoed inside Maeyune's head. Containers underneath the Council Hall.

The Wobeck ship's beam had destroyed the hall and ruptured those containers.

And she had let it happen. She had set the calamity in motion that had killed her friends.

"I've seen it before," Reo added, voice just above a whisper.

No one but Maeyune heard his words. While they all continued in a droning debate, Maeyune's stare shot back to him.

But he avoided her eyes.

"There were more of those containers stored in the underground shelters," informed one of the officials. He shook his head. "We have lost tens of thousands! Men, women, and children!"

"Those containers were set for concurrent detonation," commented a second official.

"Who was able to hide them inside the city in the first place?" interjected a third.

"Ristoff."

Maeyune's voice was clear, and it assembled everyone's attention. She plastered pieces of her recent memory together, prepared to offer her own words.

"The black smoke is Wobeck by design," she explained quietly. "The Head Councilor must have procured a sample somehow from the Wobeck and had Nomenian technology mass produce it."

A facility official scoffed at her. "Are you accusing the former Head Councilor of working with the alien threat?"

Her gaze balanced his. "He was working with the Iron Prophet. I wouldn't doubt his involvement with the Wobeck."

The official frowned at her.

"By using alien technology," she went on, "Ristoff Greylord was responsible for King Shuren's death."

With the mention of Suolan's former ruler, she had them there. Loud gasps swept across the room. Reo's eyes widened.

Deiyu stared at her with mouth agape, a heavy frown cast over his face. "How do you know this?" the Suolani commander challenged.

Maeyune met his eyes squarely. "He told me himself."

"Why did you not inform me?" he demanded.

Feeling a pinch of irritation, she answered, "We were preoccupied with Iron Prophet and Wobeck attack."

Detecting the sting in her voice, Deiyu sighed and ran a hand down his face. He asked, "Did he tell you anything else?"

He wanted Shivra and Yunra dead, she wanted to say. Her gaze transferred to Reo, and like the others, he waited for her response.

But her head hurt. It did not matter what she said, because it was not going to get them anywhere. She was tired of talking about Ristoff. She was tired of talking about the dead.

"That was all he said to me," she replied.

The room descended into raucous chatter again. All Maeyune wanted was to leave and find rest.

When the general finally adjourned the meeting, she made her way back to her room in search of peace and quiet. She wanted to retreat into her thoughts again, to be alone.

On her way, she encountered Clover and Aerylis in the hall attempting to abate an escalating argument. Meera swung a watery fist at two non-celestial soldiers. She screamed in their faces.

One of the soldiers caught sight of Maeyune. "Miss Ereni!" he cried. "Help!"

Headache increasing, Maeyune rushed over. "Meera, please calm yourself."

The water celestial tossed her a frenetic glare. "No! Those Prophet soldiers all need to die for what they have done!"

She threw a finger at several Iron Prophet captives who waited inside an interrogation room. With their hands shackled to the table, they watched the scene with terrified eyes.

Maeyune stood in front of Meera and held out a hand. "Meera, you can't-"

"Why?" Meera retaliated. "Oh, so it's okay for you to kill them, but it's not okay for me?"

Maeyune's heart dipped. "That was never supposed to happen-"

"Oh, right," Meera spat. "Because you're supposed to be the shining example. It's your responsibility to protect all life!"

This was not about the dead Prophet soldiers anymore.

"Don't, Meera," Maeyune uttered, voice deathly quiet.

"Or, else what? Are you going to fry my brain, too?"

Maeyune winced. "No!"

"You might as well! I am tired of fighting! I am tired of everything! I don't want to be a part of this war anymore!"

With each word, Meera's voice rose higher in pitch. It grated Maeyune's ears.

Just once - just this once - Maeyune wanted Meera to be calm.

Gritting her teeth, Maeyune joined her mind to Meera's in order to beguile peace upon the water celestial. When she entered, Maeyune first felt the turmoil of anguish and sorrow. She encountered bitterness, the result of shattered hope when the moon had failed to save the ones dearest to her.

Then, she found the emotion that consumed her friend. It was a sharp, resounding pain that had stolen all of Meera's light.

Love.

Unrequited love. With heart and soul, Meera had loved Trix.

But Trix had not felt the same, and his death had torn her asunder.

The revelation forced Maeyune a step back. Shuddering, she ripped herself from Meera's mind.

She should never have seen it.

Meera's face now streamed with tears. She sniffed and pulled a twisted smile. "You saw it, didn't you?"

Maeyune swallowed. "Meera, I didn't know-"

"Mind your own business," the water celestial fumed. She spun on her heels and sprinted off.

Maeyune's heart reeled, and Meera's tears almost became her own.

After a long moment, Clover came to her side. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet, his posture awkward as he attempted to remediate the air. "She didn't mean any of that," he murmured.

Maeyune maintained a stoical voice. "You are not the telepath, Clover."

He opened his mouth, but then closed it. He could make no reply.

Maeyune closed her eyes and sighed. "She thinks their deaths were my fault."

"It was not your fault," Clover scolded.

She said nothing.

Brief silence passed before he crossed his arms and established his usual, defiant stance. "You know you still have us, right, kid?"

She hated it when he addressed her as so, but with her heart fighting to hold its last ray of hope, she was relieved to hear it. Forcing a nod, her eyes glanced between him and Aerylis.

The tall wind celestial took on a look of sisterly disapproval.

Never forget, were Aerylis's words. We lost them, too.

Maeyune smiled at them. "I'm going to give her some time before I talk to her. Just...give me some time."

They nodded. She said no more as she walked off.

With fingers pressing against the bridge of her nose, it took her a long time before she made her way back to the barracks. On her quest for silence, she spotted Deiyu and a few scientists standing at the end of the hall to the science lab.

They had not seen her, and she did not give them a second regard. But before she turned the corner to retire to her room, she saw something large and black balanced in Deiyu's hand.

She narrowed her eyes.

It was the arachnid device that contained her energy, the same device that Tin had used to control Reo's mind.