The group left their room without a clear destination, so they just wandered the halls.
"Ehi, I wonder if we're even going the right way…" Liro muttered, shuffling beside them.
"In my old world we used to say, 'All roads lead to Rome,'" said Darian.
Everyone turned to him with blank looks.
As they walked, they ran into Tauren.
"Oh, I was coming to wake you. Are you three heading for breakfast?" Tauren asked kindly, waving them over.
They approached.
"Yes, could you show us the way?" Darian asked.
"Come with me. And you'll also meet the two you missed yesterday, they came back this morning," Tauren said, leading them down the corridor.
'I wonder what kind of people they are'… Darian thought as Tauren pushed open a door.
Inside were a young man and woman, about Liro's age. But their nature was… different.
The room was a disaster. Two tables overturned, the pair behind them, screaming and throwing food at each other.
"It's your fault!" shouted the woman, hurling a fruit that splattered against the wall.
"No, it was yours!" yelled the man, tossing one straight toward the group.
Tauren snatched it out of the air, still smiling calmly. "Wait one moment." He ushered the others back outside.
Ten seconds later the door opened again. The room was spotless, as if nothing had happened.
"Please, come in," Tauren said with his usual huge smile.
'What did he just do…?' everyone wondered.
The two now sat quietly at the table, eating with stiff, nervous faces. The group sat across from them.
"These two are Nysira and Jaune," Tauren introduced, dropping a hand on each of their shoulders. Both flinched.
"Oh yes… I'm Nysira," said the woman. She wasn't very tall, with two long braids.
"And I'm Jaune," said the man, his blond hair spiked messily.
They finished eating quickly and hurried away. The group sat in silence.
Tauren collapsed into a chair, exhausted.
"They're always like that. They fight over nothing. This time it was because Jaune made Nysira's fork fall." He rubbed his face.
He wasn't annoyed at the chaos itself, but because they always seemed to treat him like a scary enforcer, he wanted to be seen differently.
"So you understand… that's not who I am," Tauren said quietly, almost sad.
"This group is… something else," Vane whispered to Darian, though Tauren was too drained to hear even if he'd shouted.
"But Tauren, didn't you say they'd just come back from a mission? Why send them together if they're always like this?" Liro asked.
Tauren shook his head. "In battle, they're the opposite. They work perfectly together, that's why Eros always pairs them." He stood. "Speaking of, Eros asked to see you in the main room."
After Tauren left, Vane searched under the table. "By the way, where do you think they hid the fruit they threw?"
"They probably ate it," Darian said, reaching under only to touch something squishy. He pulled his hand back. Yep. The fruit.
Meanwhile, down the hall—
"Where'd you hide them, Nysira?" Jaune asked.
"Under the table," she said with a laugh.
"You should've thrown them in the bin…" Jaune muttered.
"Why should I do everything? You could've helped for once!" she snapped.
"You started it!"
"No, you did!"
Their voices rose again, and Tauren sighed as he marched off to stop them, they looked him scared. He stopped them once again.
After breakfast, Darian's group reached the main room. Eros was waiting, clad as always in the old Shakurn uniform, a deep red no one else wore anymore.
"Would you three like to see the city? The elections are happening now, and I'd love to show you," Eros said, his eyes shining.
They agreed, though they soon overheard Tauren and Allen whispering:
"I'm glad he took the newcomers with him… you know how he gets during elections," Allen said.
"Yeah. Let's just hope they survive it," Tauren replied with a tired laugh.
Both smiled awkwardly when they noticed the group. Darian, Liro and Vane looked completely scared. Luckily, Eros hadn't heard a word.
In the city, Eros explained the workings of the government, his voice brimming with excitement.
"Sadly it's the final day, so you won't see everything," he said as they entered the crowded square.
The candidates for "Voice of the People" were speaking, but most townsfolk weren't paying attention. Everyone already knew the winner by now.
Eros noticed the apathy and snapped.
"Everyone! Gather here! It's important to hear what the candidates have to say!" he shouted, waving his arms wildly.
"You three!" he barked at Darian, Liro, and Vane. "Go bring more people! We need a full crowd!"
The three ran off immediately.
"…Now I get why Tauren and Allen warned us," Liro muttered.
"Yeah. And imagine if we'd been here since the start…" Vane added. A shiver ran down their spines.
As they tried to convince townsfolk, they spotted a familiar face.
"Bianca!" Darian exclaimed.
"Oh hey, you're the ones from Therya. What are you doing here?" Bianca asked, looking surprised.
They explained, then Liro asked, "Weren't you supposed to be gone two more weeks? they told us that your expesition usually last for a month."
Bianca's expression hardened. "Yes. But the same thing that happened in Therya might happen here, in Skar-Zhul. We need to find Eros now."
"Oh you won't find him in the building..." Said Darian trying to stop her, she then realized which day it was.
She stormed off toward the debate stage, muttering "Not again…" before dragging Eros away by the ear.
Back at Shakurn headquarters, everyone gathered in the main room. Whenever Bianca returned early, it meant danger.
"They're going to attack soon. And they're not alone," Bianca said. She explained about the humans helping the Krukins.
"Mhm… four humans, one inside a city already?" Eros asked, suddenly serious.
"Yes. But I couldn't tell which city." Bianca frowned. "And there's a woman with them… she'd kill me and the others and use me for her power."
"Control of the dead, maybe?" Allen asked, his slime form bubbling oddly.
"That's what I thought too. Even some Krukins said they disliked her power."
When Bianca finished, she left immediately to prepare her next mission.
"She's always like that," Jaune explained to Darian. "Never stays long."
"There are three main caves around the city," Eros said, unrolling a map. "They're all connected beneath us. That's where they'll come from."
"So they'll try to collapse them and the whole city with it," Tauren said, horrified.
"Exactly. But we'll stop them. I'll place guards at every cave entrance. Once portals appear, we'll know."
The meeting ended, and everyone returned to their rooms.
Late that night, Darian lay in bed with Snowy curled on his chest. His thoughts wouldn't let him rest.
That woman… 'when they said she ate their mother's body and hair… what did they mean?'
"Lost in your thoughts, Darian?" Liro asked from the other bed, still awake.
"…Yeah. The 'mother stuff.'"
"I thought about it too. Do they really have one? Who could it be?"
"How should I know… But if she ate her body, wouldn't she already be dead?" Darian muttered.
"Basically. But it doesn't add up. They even treated Bianca kindly, called her their 'brother'…"
The two fell silent, each lost in unsettling thoughts, until sleep finally claimed them.