The question surprised him.

Stratos opened his mouth to answer, but let out a gasp instead. Cold steel slid into his chest between the plates of his rear pauldron. He had been stabbed...but how?!

The floating candle flew at him, dumping wax into the slit of his visor. Burning liquid covered his eyes.

In pain and momentarily blinded, Stratos's grip slackened.

The blonde whipped back her head into his helmet, crashing it against his nose. His vision blurred as the ground became slick with blood. He slipped, inexplicably hitting his head against the wall as he fell.

Something in the wound was making his body go numb. But he refused to let it take over.

He wanted to stand up. Wanted to kill the measly dogs who dared to oppose him. Wanted to get vengeance on those who had humiliated him.

He pushed off his helmet and scratched the wax from his eyes. He would recover his lost sword, and when he did, his power would...

Groping, his hand found something, but it was not a hilt…it was a foot. Looking up, he found himself face to face with the other Transcendent. Her eyes crackled with energy that soon consumed her whole form. Light filled his sight and the whole cavern, energy radiating from the nebulous galaxy.

He tried to move, but his body felt heavy. Or at least his armor did. He struggled to overcome it as panic flooded his system.

There was nothing he could do. It was too late.

For his sins, he would pay.

The end had come.

But not before he heard one last word from the blonde, which held no meaning to him.

He could not be bothered to care. He had been stabbed in the back.

What the wound could not finish, the daughter of the Lord of Northgate certainly would.

As the galaxy descended upon him, Stratos felt his body obliterated into nothingness, his soul released mercifully to the Shadow Realm.

The Empire was no more, and now, neither was he.

-------------------

As the galaxy of Syrce's Transcendent form descended, Noble knew that the Captain would never harm anyone again.

Her heart beat wildly. It had worked!

Turning her attention to the fourth man, Noble smiled as she watched him tuck his scarf back into his armor.

"Roan!"

Noble rushed at him, relief washing over her as she called out his name. She hugged him, then her eyes widened as she pulled away.

"Sorry, I was so excited to see you that I needed to make sure you were real!"

"Don't worry, I wanted the confirmation as well. That plan was risky, but I am glad it paid off. It is good to see you." Roan's eye flicked to the other Master, "both of you."

"Don't expect a hug from me!" Flint took a step back.

"Aw, come on!" Noble chuckled, unconsciously tugging on the tether.

The surly Master planted his feet on the ground, but it did no good. His boots slid across the dirt and stone like they were traveling on ice.

"Stop it, Blondie!" Flint scowled. His movement ceased.

Roan furrowed his brow. "What am I missing?"

"That woman has doomed me to follow her the rest of my days," the older man pointed an accusing finger at his blonde counterpart.

Dismissing his sword, Roan rubbed the back of his neck. "That begs more questions than it answers, I'm afraid."

"I'll explain later. We don't have much time." Noble glanced at the bright balls moving feverishly around Stratos.

Roan raised one eyebrow in question, but Noble simply shook her head.

The Saint had shown more than once that she could not hear while in her Transcendent form, so this was possibly their only chance for privacy for a while.

"How did you end up with this motley crew?" Flint jerked his thumb toward the dead men.

"I was placed with them at the beginning of the Nightmare. From what I can tell, Stratos brought everyone here in search of a source of power. I knew that they were unsavory characters, but I didn't realize they were quite so brutal. I hope your companion is of a friendlier sort."

Roan's eyes drifted to the swirling energy.

"Very friendly, but just as dangerous. Spell knows what would have happened if Stratos and Syrce crossed blades in a full confrontation. One thing is for sure: the three of us would not have been around to see how it ended." Noble gulped.

It was that realization that had led Child of Promise to take drastic steps. Stratos had suppressed his aura, and she had decided to play his game. Using her bracelets to make her seem weak, Noble had also changed the pattern of the cape to give her an even more petite appearance.

After a silent exchange of hand signals with Roan, Noble knew the best course of action to avoid a direct confrontation was to lure Stratos into thinking he had the upper hand.

So, although it appeared that she had fled from the flying hurricane of dirt and mud out of fear, Child of Promise was actually making a tactical retreat to get in position.

It had been a gamble, placing herself knowingly in harm's way. But with Roan to back her up, Noble had full confidence they would succeed.

And they had!

"You have a flair for the dramatic," Flint rolled his eyes. He reached out and touched the lady's shallow wound. The cut immediately disappeared under his fingers. "I think you like playing the damsel in distress a little too much."

"I wasn't in any real danger," Child of Promise smiled. "Stratos had no killing intent with that cut. If he had truly tried to murder me, I would have donned the hood of my cloak and disappeared from his sight. Thankfully, it didn't come to that."

Everyone was safe, and now no one still living was injured.

"The easiest way to overcome an enemy is to let them underestimate you." She told the men.

"Preying on men's egos is the oldest trick in a woman's arsenal," Flint scoffed.

"What Flint is trying to say is that next time, let's find a strategy that doesn't end with someone putting a blade to your throat. That was very nerve-wracking!" Roan wiped his forehead.

"Understood," Noble could sense their worry. She could see the sense in not cutting it so close. "And don't worry about what Flint says too much. Until he figures out how to get that belt off, I am his best friend. My death means he will be stuck with someone else, and I think he is too addicted to flying to let that happen."

"It's called floating..." Flint coughed, "I mean, I'm not addicted to anything!"

Roan stroked his chin. "Ok, now I really have to ask. What in two worlds is going on?"

"About that..." Noble wasn't sure where to begin.

The Doom War, the many Realms, the world being consumed? More immediately, they needed to explain about the tether on the belt, but that tidbit seemed less pressing.

Before Child of Promise could decide which topic to broach first, Syrce's Transcendent form began to fade.

The mossy-haired Saint was still filled with fury.

And Roan was her next target.