Arknight Terra

Arknights takes place in a post-apocalyptic science fantasy world known as Terra.

Terra is similar, if not identical, to Earth, including having an oxygen atmosphere, more-or-less identical gravity and atmospheric pressure, carbon-based lifeforms, and an identical climate. Even the Homo sapiens of Earth will have no issue living on Terra if they are somehow brought into it, as attested in Operation Originium Dust. Terra’s environment, however, is notably more arid and inhospitable than Earths.

Terra is located in the Zobeide Nebula on a planetary system centered on a main sequence star similar to the Sun and has two natural satellites (i.e. moons) known as the Twin Moons in various folklore.

Terra is strongly hinted at to be a former space colony that was terraformed by an advanced space-faring civilization, but was later abandoned for more than 13,000 years due to unknown disasters that wiped out said civilization. As a matter of fact, Terra possesses many remnants of architectures built by the previous civilization. For example, one of the Twin Moons is said to be an artificial satellite.

Another remnant of the previous civilization is the Starpod.

Within Terra, there are also hidden threats that could easily wipe out its civilizations. To start with, the planet is filled with Catastrophes that force many Terrans to adopt a nomadic way of life through nomadic cities. A crystalline substance known as Originium is left behind at the site of Catastrophes and is widely used as a source of energy and the catalyst for Originium Arts, but is capable of causing Oripathy through direct or prolonged exposure. Together with other threats such as the Seaborn and the Collapsals, Terra is indeed a rather bleak and grim world that sets much of Arknights’ tone.

As of the current events of Arknights, much of Terra still remains uncharted and unexplored. These charted areas encompass various landmasses with different biomes.

Terra appears to be located on a massive supercontinent. As a matter of fact, much of the land is covered by arid deserts. However, temperate and fertile regions do occur in areas near the bodies of water. Specifically, central Terra where Victoria locates is the most fertile one. A giant inland sea called the Sea of Clariside s located between southern Victoria, northern Iberia, the Siestan peninsula, to the Acahuallan region, creating sub-tropical and wet tropical biomes. Surprisingly, there is also a mysterious subterranean region which the majority of the Durin race inhabits, and it remains at large uncharted territory to the average Terran.

So far, very little information is given concerning Terra’s “great beyond,” with two regions acting as the borders between Terra’s civilized world and terra incognita: the Foehn Hotlands in Sargon and the Infy Icefield in Sami and Ursus. Beyond the Icefield is a mysterious, continental-sized, crater-like region that is currently unexplored by the Terrans and is likely the “source” of the northern Collapsals.

Most of Terra’s oceans are found on the southern part of the continent, notably south of Iberia and Yan, where Aegir is located. The southern coastlines have been drastically altered since the destructive tsunamis caused by the Profound Silence that flooded much of the region. Beside the south, there are coastlines in north of Bolívar and northeast of Higashi. And because of the awkward geographical isolation and the landlocked status of most countries, the concept of ocean is alien to most non-Aegir Terrans.

Terra is predominantly inhabited by various humanoid races with animal features and completely anthropomorphic animals, and they are categorized as either Ancients and Elders based on social classes. There are others that are not categorized as both of them like the Teekaz (Sarkaz, Sankta, and Anasa) which are native to Terra, and the Elves. In fact, Terra was originally the homeland of the Sarkaz that was colonized by the Ancients and Elders whom they clam as “invaders”

The Terran races have an extraordinary strength that could easily outmatch Homo sapiens of Earth thanks to their unique racial traits, and they also have different anatomy that requires extensive medical studies to fully comprehend.

Beyond the known Terrans are supernatural beings such as god-like Feranmuts, demonic Collapsals, and the Seaborn from the abyss of the vast ocean. The Feranmuts are also implied to be natives of Terra as well who fought against invasive otherworldly beings.

Biology

Fauna

The fauna of Terra have notable stark differences to our world in which they possess chimeric traits. As differentiation with the animal-like Terrans, most of them have the suffix “beast”. Some of the notable Terran fauna are:

Large gastropods known as “Originium slugs”

Crustacean “metal crabs” and “gloompincers”

Badger-like “sand beasts”

Arachnid “rock spiders”

Slumberfoots: Tapir-like animals living around the deserts that could cause soporific effect on nearby organisms through their digestive glands

Needleflies: Giant arthropods resembling scorpions and dragonfly nymphs. They have the ability to ambush in sand and attack their prey with their stingers.

Goat-like leporibeasts and mossback beast

Cloudbeasts: Cat-like mammals with horns of a goat. They are noted to be domesticated as pets.

Beckbeast: Mammals resembling a mix of a dog and a mole that is widely used as police dogs.

Sandbeast: Rodents who lives in deserts.

Musbeast: Squirrel-like rodents with feathers. Originally from Sargon, they are adopted by the Terrans as pets but have recently become city pests that destroy infrastructures caused by abandoned pets.

Manglebeast: Bear-like mammals with smilodon-like fangs and spike-like fur known as “manglefur” covering their soft bellies that could pierce into the flesh. They are born in a matriarchal hierarchy led by a “packmother” that is made up of ten beasts, and they surprisingly possess hermaphrodism in which they are born as female and can turn into a male by the age of ten after successfully surviving in harsh environment, but males will quickly pass away shortly after mating. They are best known to be trained as war beasts by the Ursine.

Terra also have umbrella terms for animals acting as analogues of Earth animals but with various traits:

Burdenbeasts: An umbrella term for any animal used as a beast of burden by the Terrans but usually possesses rhinoceros-like features. One of them resembles a mix of a rhinoceros, tapir, and the extinct Ceratopsians. Another variant of it, the mountain burdernbeast, has a horn of a Megacerops and furry body of a woolly rhinoceros which are domesticated in mountainous regions such as Kjerag.

Clawbeast: An umbrella term for any wild animal with sharp claws. One of them, the chitotex clawbeasts, are Glyptodonts-like animals with turtle shells. Another kind of clawbeasts, the arma-clawbeast, are carnivores with social structures that burrow underground and build their nests around Originium veins.

Fowlbeast: Avians. There are many kinds of fowlbeasts inhabiting Terra with some having unique traits. The stinkfowl are raven-like birds with dazzling silver and black feathers that has the ability to secrete stinky fluid onto their enemies. Another kind of fowls in Rim Billiton could fly up to 4,000 above sea level, and in a particular site, some of them evolved into giant flightless bird with robust speed after they were abandoned by their migratory ancestors.

Cystybeast: Dairy animals (e.g. cows). The milk they produced is usually called “cystymilk.”

Tuskbeast: Large carnivorous animals

Fangbeast: Carnivorous animals

Vesperwing: Bats

Gnawbeast: Rats, rodents

Scalebass/Fins: Fishes

Shells: Crustaceans and shellfishes

Long ago in the forgotten past, around 13,000 years ago, Terra, once the homeland of the Teekaz, was colonized by the “First Civilization” – a highly advanced, space-faring humanoid race that are implied to be of alien origin with extraordinary technologies such as planetary construction, hyperspace travel, terraforming, and most importantly, the construction of one of Terra’s “Twin Moons.

But the predecessors of the Civilization were wiped out by a mysterious disaster originating from outer space without a single trace remaining, leaving on the Ancients and Elders to build a new civilization from the predecessors’ ashes without their memories or legacies.

Most of Terra’s political bodies are ruled by monarchs and oligarchs who have been in power for generations. The current known political system is believed to have originated from the Sargonian monarchy which was adapted by most of the ancient Terran civilizations except Sami, Yan, and Higashi.

The current geopolitical situation is similar to the pre-World War I era where feudal empires expand their territories without checking due to the scarcity of diplomatic talks; the Battle of the Four Emperors is the closest moment to an outright world war. Nevertheless, there are many institutions, whether official or private, that attempt to establish a worldwide peacekeeping system such as Laterano’s Legati and other non-governmental organizations not only to aid common folk who are ignored by the governments, but also to prevent Terra from falling into a destructive mess. The current internal turmoil also forces Terran nations to completely ignore many hidden threats beyond the borders of their civilizations, especially the threats of the Seaborn and the eldritch demons in the south and the north respectively.

Terra is divided into many nation-states, often being parallels to those in our world, or rather, amalgamated cultures which do not belong to merely one country or time period, but several at once – the most notable example being the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican and Middle Eastern influences of Sargon.

There are some Terran nation-states that are not elaborated in the game with some being likely defunct by the time of the Main Theme of Arknights. These include:

Gaul

Nightzmora

Tara

Rus: Mentioned by Kashchey,Rus is likely a parallel to the ancient Rus people.

Kingdom of Agamemnon: Mentioned in Conviction’s Archive files, Agamenmnon was founded by an artist and was claimed to have far more advanced technology than the rest of Terra, notably QR codes and trolley problems. It is now absorbed into present-day Minos.

Dan: Mentioned in the description of “Frost”, Dan is possibly one of the three Eastern nations that Ceobe once ventured into. It is likely a parallel to Korea in our world (just as Higashi and Yan being parallels to Japan and China respectively) with its name taken from Dangun in Korean mythology.

Science and technology

Due to the planetary disaster that befell Terra millenia ago, there is an enormous technological gap between the current era and the previous era, with present-day Terrans having no memory regarding it. While Terra’s current technological level is similar to that of Earth, it is more advanced to a limited extent. Just like their forebearers, the Terrans can achieve many marvelous engineering such as A.I.-controlled robots, UAVs and UGVs, and especially gigantic nomadic cities and steam-powered power armors. But there are also many crucial developments that are far behind time due to many circumstances, most notably shipbuilding and nautical exploration due to the Seaborn’s presence, and high-altitude flight due to the Starpod.

Terra notably have different chemical and geological makeup, thus they do not have some of Earth’s chemical formulae and compounds, most notably those that would be necessary to fashion simple gunpowder.

Warfare

Terran guns are completely different to Earth’s, despite their superficially similar appearance

The Terrans generally make use of cold weaponry (swords, spears, shields, bows, crossbows, etc.) along with the enhancement of giant military landships playing similar role to naval warships. Firearms and explosives do exist, but unlike Earth ones, they are Originium-based; Terran firearms use Originium Arts as the operating mechanism and fires Originium projectiles, making it more of a “magic wand” that fires bullets – which, from an Arts standpoint, are disposable Arts projectile wands themselves. On the other hand, Terran explosives use compositions that are derived from Originium.

As the result, firearms are a rarity in Terra – more so than explosives – with handguns being more common than long guns (e.g. rifles, shotguns, (sub)machine guns) that are almost exclusively used by the Sankta who have a native predisposition to the Arts required for firearms, calling them “patron firearms”. Some non-Sankta such as several Blacksteel operatives also use firearms, but they are noted to be different from the Sankta’s patron firearms and notably expensive, being reverse-engineered replicas inferior to Sankta firearms.

Astronomy

Due to the presence of the Starpod, the Terrans lack astrological technologies taken for granted in Earth due to both their disinterest and their disabilities in exploring outer space. As a consequence, development of astronomy and aerodynamics in Terra is nearly non-existent. Because the Starpod causes disarray to the starlights, the Iberian sailors are forced to abandon celestial navigation and rely on alternative methods built by Aegir technologies such as lighthouses and ship signals.

In Terran year 1099, Kristen Wright of Rhine Lab became the very first Terran who managed to overcame the Starpod as part of her extended interest in navigating beyond the world by blasting off the barrier. Since then, the hole left behind was given new opportunity to scientists to conduct research regarding the Terran sky.

Culture

Many of the Terran cultures are almost identical with Earth’s, including Chinese elements in Yan such as celebrating Spring Festival and ancestral veneration, British influence in Victoria as in their literatures and social manners, and Columbian pop culture that is identical to the American one. There also exists similar religious faiths like those being parallel with Shintoism and Buddhism, or similar religious or universal festival like Christmas and the Sauin as the Halloween.

In present days, the Victorian culture is the most prominent one that are widely accepted and practiced by the Terrans, but a long time ago, it was dominated by the Gaulish one prior to its annihilation. Other cultures remain influential as well such as Yanese poetry and idioms, Ursus’s militarism, and Higashi’s comic and samurai traditions, though some are starting to lose its position due to political stability as in the case of the Iberian ones.

Terra uses a dating system that is exactly identical to the Gregorian calendar aside from a different year count; the Main Theme is set during Terran Year 1096 ~ 1098.

The world of Arknights, Terra, is comprised of many factions, whether nation-states, corporations, or independent groups, with their own interests and goals.

This article shows the factions to which Operators in Arknights are aligned/affiliated to, which includes the smaller branches of a faction as well as those loosely tied to one particular faction. The faction is not always indicative of their current allegiance/affiliation, however.

The world of Arknights is populated by various races which resembles the Homo sapiens of Earth, but with physical traits from various animals, legendary creatures, and mythological beings, and could be humanoid or bestial.

Humanoid Terrans appear similarly to Earthlings, albeit with bestial ears and a non-prehensile tail (although some Terrans do not have either of them), as well as additional features based on their race (e.g. horns, feathers). They are better known on Earth as kemonomimi.

Some humanoid Terrans have rounded ears in place of bestial ones.

Some humanoid Terrans actually have two pairs of ears; the bestial ones and rounded ones. Interestingly, all four ears are functional, but how this affects hearing is unexplained.

Bestial Terrans are bipedal, sapient versions of the animal/creature they are based on. They are better known on Earth as furries.

Whether or not a Terran is humanoid or bestial does not correspond to their lineage, as attested to by the bestial Rat King having a humanoid daughter (Lin Yühsia). It is unknown if Terrans are related in some way to Earthlings due to their superficially similar appearance.

In regards of reproduction, Terran races have no differences with the Earthlings. All female Terrans reproduces via giving birth (i.e. viviparity). While many Terrans are divided with many races with distinct traits, interracial relationship is common in Terra, and race-mixing is in some way similar to the Fauneses in RWBY with the exception of the Sankta. If a couple is of similar race (i.e., both being Forte), their offspring will inherit similar traits. But if the couple is of different races (i.e., a Savra with a Forte), their offspring will always inherit the traits of either parent. Nevertheless, since the Aslanian Conquest, race-mixing has been evolved to a political concept where they seek to keep their bloodline’s purity, especially among the ruling class.

The term human and its derivatives are typically used to refer to the Terran races as a whole, with specific titles reserved for use in technical circumstances.

Native Terran races

Ancients

Elders

Alien races

Other races

Originium: is a substance in the world of Arknights which forms after Catastrophes and widely used as an energy source, but causes the development of Oripathy in living organisms.

Appearing as a black, semi-transparent crystalline mineral (although it has been occasionally seen in other colors like blue or gold), Originium can be found at sites of Catastrophes in large quantities, and is believed to play a role in causing them. Unlike other crystalline minerals, Originium grows and metastasizes naturally in the wild, and can even assimilate with organic matter if given the opportunity. Originium is also quite unstable, as it vaporizes into gaseous particles over time, is highly flammable when in a liquid state, and exhibits highly explosive properties under the right conditions. However, contrary to what one might believe, Originium is not actually radioactive.

The structure of Originium is similar to an onion; it is composed of a core and layers. The core is the pure crystal that yields yellow glow, while the layers are a result of the core exposing itself to the environment as it grows by itself. The durability of the condensed Originium crystals becomes higher the longer it spends exposed to the environment. However such crystals are often found deep underground, therefore it require advanced mining equipment.[2]

Originium has a high energy yield, and as such, has remained a valuable resource since it was discovered in ancient times. By the time of modern era where the events of Arknights occur, the proliferation of Originium had brought a technological revolution to Terra, with virtually all technology being powered by the substance. Notably, Originium allows the use of various forms of “magic” known as Originium Arts, which has applications in both daily life and war. Processing Originium ore and similar natural substances into useful products have become an essential part of modern industry. Rather than its instable core, Originium layers become the most valuable part of the crystals as they can be refined into condensed crystals.[2] Most valuable of all Originium products is the Originite Prime – highly refined, pure Originium which serves as the main energy source throughout the world.

However, Originium is not without its dangers, since as mentioned above, it can gradually assimilate into a living organism’s blood and cells – this is regarded as a “disease” called Oripathy. Many Terrans have been infected by Oripathy since the advent of Originium, and these people, often called Infected, are widely discriminated against in Terra. Furthermore, Originium assimilation may cause varying degrees of genetic mutation depending on the organism.

In ancient times, the use of Originium was mainly focused on Arts. The invention of Originium engines and artificial Arts Units ushered in an industrial revolution across Terra. Despite Originium’s hazardous traits, it is immensely useful, with applications ranging from fueling nomadic city engines to batteries, plastic covers, and light bulb. As such, no alternative source of energy (such as petroleum, hydraulic, geothermal, or nuclear energy) could replace the magical traits Originium possesses.[3]

While Originium is indeed hazardous, it has been stated that the mineral is the “source” of all Terran lives, which shaped them into their present forms.[4][5] It could either be a metaphorical sense with civilizations revolving around Originium technologies such as nomadic cities or a literal sense in which all Terran lives were “molded” by the said mineral biologically.

Story of the Doctor (main character)

Someone is calling you from the darkness, and you try to respond it. Even though you might have forgotten something, she still needs you in the nick of time. The day is December 23, 1096, and it will change your future forever.

Within an operation theatre, a girl with a pair of bunny ears is holding the hand of a person while trying to call them up. Introducing herself as Amiya, she is here with her teammates from a company named Rhodes Island to rescue them from an ancient device. She mentions that the person is formerly a Doctor, but they could not remember anything due to amnesia. Nevertheless, Amiya and her team fight their way out of the abandoned building in order to regroup with the other team led by another woman codenamed Dobermann.

Escape from Chaos

The Ursine nomadic city of Chernobog is currently suffering a bloody riot led by Reunion, a pro-Infected violent non-state organization. The chaos has spread across the city, and no one could escape from that. Even though R.I., an Infected organization meant to resolve any issue with peace, wishes to stop the riot, they could not do much as they met resistance from both the Reunion fighters and the anti-Infected local authorities. Despite the dilemma, their first and foremost goal was to get the Doctor out from the city.

The journey, however, is not smooth either. The rescue team encounters Reunion’s commanders Crownslayer and Mephisto. Both despises R.I. for being cowards towards the Infected, so they launched an attack onto them. Fortunately, Nearl and Ace come for the rescue and manage to get Amiya and the gang from the siege. In turn, Mephisto decides to inform their leader to bring terror onto R.I.

But everything has just begun as an imminent disaster is about to happen onto the city.

As Rhodes Island passes through the Reunion-occupied Chernobog, they notice something strange with their surroundings. They could sense a metallic smell in the air, and the sky getting abnormally darker—signs of an imminent Catastrophe. Not only does it bring terror to the rescue team and the refugees, it destroys much of the city. It also spreads Oripathy, an incurable disease caused by the mineral that these disasters leave behind. Chernobog has now become a living hell.

For the R.I. rescue team, however, there is something worse than the Catastrophe. Standing in front of them are numerous skilled fighters and their leader: Talulah of Reunion. As a fierce Draco, her blazing Flame Arts could easily melt the surrounding buildings. As she pours her wrath onto the rescue team, she haughtily proclaims that their goal was fulfilled the moment the Catastrophe struck the city. All she wants to see is the common folks suffer the disease that the Infected have been bearing for ages.

Ends Justify the Means

Even though Nearl charges forward to deal with the Draco, it’s futile. Her flame easily suppresses the light of the Radiant Knight. If Amiya had not unleashed her Arts, Talulah’s flame would have consumed Nearl. When everything seems hopeless, Ace steps out to buy some time for the team. Their separation is tearful as Amiya watches the Pythia man stand firm with his shield to block Talulah’s flames. In the end, only Ace and Guard survive the wrath. After binding Guard’s wound and dealing with his own broken arm, Ace carries on to face Talulah alone. He hasn’t returned since.

When the rescue team arrives at the outskirts of Chernobog to wait for their eponymous landship, they encounter a band of Sarkaz mercenaries led by the enigmatic W. She recognizes both the Doctor and Amiya, though she allows them to leave her past with them. While the rescue team is puzzled by her actions, they immediately leave Chernobog and finally return to base. Though their sacrifice was immeasurable, the rescue operation was a success.

Into Lungmen

December 27, 1096: four days after their escape from Chernobog, Rhodes Island arrives at the Yan nomadic city of Lungmen to form an alliance with its defense force, the Lungmen Guard Department, and protect the city from the looming Reunion threat. Upon reaching the Inspection and Quarantine zone, the Doctor and Amiya meet a stern Lung woman named Ch’en, the Superintendent of the L.G.D.. Though she seems to be a harsh woman who despises the Infected, noted by her suppression of an Infected riot at the Quarantine zone, she lets the guests into Lungmen as part of the negotiations regardless.

When they reach the office, the Doctor and Amiya find Kal’tsit, the unofficial leader of R.I., debating with the governor of Lungmen, Wei Yenwu. Kal’tsit attempts to convince Wei to consider her plan, as Lungmen will become Reunion’s next target, but he doubts R.I.’s ability. Amiya steps in and promises Wei that only R.I. can peacefully handle the issues surrounding the Infected. To prove their capabilities, she reveals that R.I. not only survived the catastrophe in Chernobog, but has also fought Talulah, the leader of Reunion. After deep consideration, Wei finally agrees with Kal’tsit and allows R.I. to cooperate with the L.G.D. to eliminate the Reunion threat.

The Girl and the Key

The first mission of the cooperation is to search for Misha, a Chernobog refugee who has sensitive intel and is currently living in the slums of Lungmen. With aid from Penguin Logistics and Blacksteel, R.I. fends off a force of Reunion infiltrators. When they encounter Misha in an abandoned building, Misha doesn’t trust them, and thinks they are there to arrest her. Amiya persuades Misha by telling her that they are Infected too, and that only by staying with them and the L.G.D. will Misha be safe from harassment. Convinced, Misha decides to follow them and willingly hands herself to the L.G.D..

However, things begin to go south as the Reunion Assault Squad, led by Skullshatterer, arrives in Lungmen to also search for Misha. Their appearance causes conflict between the joint forces and Reunion fighters. Seeing that R.I. has taken Misha into L.G.D. custody, Skullshatterer angrily vows to crush them all. He diverts the joint forces by having his team ambush R.I. in an alley, where W attacks the L.G.D. and takes Misha. When the battle is over, R.I. immediately regroups with the L.G.D. to prepare for a rescue mission.

Wild Goose Chase

After Reunion’s capture of Misha, the joint forces of Rhodes Island, the Lungmen Guard Department, and Texas and Exusiai of Penguin Logistics pursue the retreating fighters through the wilderness bordering Ursus and Yan. Their only goal is to slow down the retreat and arrest them in one shot. Along their way, they receive aid from another team led by Hoshiguma and easily take down the fighters.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the wilderness, Skullshatterer has a short reunion with Misha, who turns out to be his long lost sister. Revealing himself as Alex, he wishes for Misha to fight alongside him for the betterment of the Infected. When his Assault Squad informs him of the arrival of the joint forces, he leaves Misha under W’s care. Misha could not do much to persuade him not to fight Rhodes Island, so she obeys his instructions and wishes for him to stay safe. W tells Skullshatterer that the easiest way to take down Rhodes Island is to assassinate the Doctor, their best tactical strategist.

The joint forces eventually catch up to Skullshatter’s men, and a bloody conflict ensues. During the battle, Skullshatter tries to harm the Doctor. Amiya unleashes her Arts once again to protect them, but the blast ends up mortally wounding Skullshatterer, who curses Rhodes Island to his last breath. The Assault Squad laments his death. W promises another Reunion member that she will keep Misha safe.

Death and “Rebirth”

Misha mourns for her brother when news of Skullshatterer’s death reaches her from the front lines. Shortly afterward, she makes a call to Amiya via W’s phone to inform her that she has decided to side with Reunion. Misha expresses her guilt for not doing anything to support the Infected back when she lived in Chernobog — now, after she has become an Infected herself, she understands Reunion’s anger, and wishes to “atone for her sins” by seeking retribution against the Infected’s oppressors. In the meantime, she wishes to have a private time with her brother’s corpse and vows to bring Skullshatter back to life. Amiya tells Misha to wait for her, but Misha rebukes her and reiterates her allegiance to Reunion.

On the other side of the battlefield, the joint forces almost have a victory over the Assault Squad. Just then, a familiar figure appears once again. Now carrying her brother’s weapons and mantle, Misha has turned herself into the second “Skullshatter.” Seeing their leader’s “resurrection,” the Assault Squad once again regain their morale and bravely fight against the joint forces to their last men. However, to Amiya, this was the worst possible outcome, as she never wanted to fight Misha or her fellow infected. Amiya hesitates during the battle, so Ch’en orders her to remember that from now on, she must treat the Infected as her enemy. She then orders the LGD to put an end to the Reunion forces.

A Hollow Victory

The battle concludes with Misha’s death and the annihilation of the Assault Squad. To Amiya, the events that transpired were an unbearable tragedy that never should have happened in the first place. Amiya begins to question if Rhodes Island is even in the right; despite Rhodes Island’s mission to help people, they still ended up killing Misha. Trying to comfort her, Ch’en tells her that if Reunion is willing to cooperate with her, there won’t be any bloodshed. Every decision made will eventually lead to its consequence—that is the lesson she learnt. Ch’en also reminds Amiya that she must grow to accept the tragic reality of the fight against Reunion if she wants to fulfill her ambitions.

While the joint forces are conducting a cleanup of the scene, W stands from afar and mockingly observes the mess. She comments that fate is always intertwines, and that she looks forward to what the future holds in store for Rhodes Island and Reunion.

Out of the Frying Pan…

After returning to Rhodes Island’s headquarters in Lungmen, Kal’tsit scolds the Doctor for not taking care of Amiya, who is visibly shaken and forlorn after Misha’s tragic death. Amiya goes for a walk in the slums to clear her head, where she sees Ch’en receiving a small teddy bear from a young girl. Amiya asks Ch’en what she is doing in the slums, but the other woman only states that she is “taking care of Lungmen’s business.” She later tells the Doctor that this experience made her believe that despite their differences, Ch’en is not so different from Rhodes Island after all. Amiya regains some confidence in Rhodes Island’s mission.

Rhodes Island’s scout team has found evidence of several Reunion hideouts in Lungmen’s residential district. However, when Amiya suggests another joint operation between R.I. and the L.G.D., Ch’en refuses, stating that an Infected faction carrying out more missions in Lungmen will sow disorder.

Meanwhile, two days after the the fruitless rescue operation for Misha, Rhodes Island dispatches a reconnaissance team led by Meteorite, Jessica, and Frostleaf into an abandoned city not far from Lungmen, which formed in the aftermath of the Chernobog incident. Upon their arrival, they realize that the city had turned into a makeshift base for Reunion after its destruction by the Catastrophe. Nevertheless, they carry out their mission to search for survivors, explore the city, and uncover new information for Rhodes Island.

Along their way, the team notices a sudden drop in temperature. Frostleaf discovers thick frost covering the surrounding buildings and recognizes these as signs of an unfriendly faction — the infamous Yeti Squadron that once wandered around the northern tundra and are rumored to have overwhelmed Ursus’ forces in the past. Suddenly, Mephisto and W attack them, forcing them to retreat deeper into the ruins of the city. Jessica calls Amiya during the attack to call for backup, but Frostleaf insists that Amiya not come, lest she become trapped with them. Amiya convinces Ch’en to agree to another joint operation between R.I. and the L.G.D. in order to rescue the recon team.

…and Into the Fire

Seeing that the recon team is in danger, R.I. and the L.G.D., including Ch’en and Hoshiguma, arrive at the abandoned city. Ch’en suddenly sees Talulah and runs off after her, separating from the rest of the team, who are attacked by Reunion. Amiya decides to goes deeper into the Originium dense zone of the city to find Ch’en and the recon team while the L.G.D. stays behind to guard the entrance to the zone. Amiya eventually finds Ch’en, who denies going after Talulah and turns back to find her squad. R.I. then discovers Frostbite hiding from Mephisto and his forces in a building. Frostbite shows Amiya that the cold spread by the Yetis has not only caused frostbite all over her body, but has also frozen over their communication devices, cutting off contact with Meterorite and Jessica. After clearing out some Reunion forces, the team find Meterorite and Jessica, but the latter is completely despondent. Amiya manages to get Jessica out from her shell shock by somehow connecting to her mentally and encouraging her to wake up. Frostleaf questions how she was able to do this, but Amiya asks her to keep it a secret from Dr Kal’tsit. Meanwhile, Mephisto continues taunting Rhodes Island to come out, and sets parts of the abandoned city (with refugees still in them) on fire, to everyone’s horror. Rhodes Island comes out and attacks Mephisto directly, when a sudden chill fills the air…

The Yeti Squadron arrives with their “master,” FrostNova. Upon her arrival, the temperature drops sharply, and ice begins to form on the ground. Surmising that FrostNova is draining all the heat from her surroundings and that they have no chance against her, Amiya immediately orders Rhodes island to retreat. Frostleaf puts her own life on the line to buy time for Rhodes Island to evacuate, but Meteorite comes to her rescue and bombards the area with her explosives. The team takes the opportunity to escape successfully. Speaking to a mysterious figure, FrostNova vows to go after Rhodes Island.

Attack on Lungmen

Rhodes Island Headquarters — Swire wakes Ch’en up from a nightmare with a splash of water and informs her that Reunion has occupied the headquarters of the Lungmen Guard Department. Swire blames Ch’en as the cause of the entire mess, since she had been knocked out during the assault and taken to a Rhodes Island cell to recover. Ch’en and Swire bicker back and forth over what the right course of action to take is, as well as Ch’en’s culpability in the loss of their headquarters. Swire tells Ch’en that she ought to resign and pass her position as head of the Special Ops division to someone else, before storming off. Ch’en gets a call from her informant, codename XR-02, who tells her that Reunion lured him into a trap at Muk Wo Warehouse and that he is still holding time-sensitive intel.

Ch’en speaks to a Rhodes Island officer in order to coordinate a joint attack on Reunion. During the conversation, she reveals that she made the decision to defend Lungmen, and so chose to leave Amiya and her forces behind in the abandoned Chernobog sub-city earlier on — Amiya, Frostleaf, Meterorite, Jessica, and the allied forces are now considered missing in action. The Rhodes Island officer leaves in disgust at her actions, but Ch’en does not seem offended; even so, she decides not to employ R.I.’s help in the operation. Hoshiguma wonders why Ch’en decided to abandon Amiya’s squad so decisively, and speculates that the orders were from Wei Yenwu; she says that while she appreciates what he has done, she will never respect him.

Ch’en and Hoshiguma launch a counterattack at Muk Wo Warehouse, the abandoned warehouse in Central Lungmen where XR-02 is being held hostage by Reunion. Ch’en confirms to Hoshiguma that the informant is actually Phal, who recently became an Infected and who Hoshiguma has known for ten years. However, when they breach the warehouse, they find Phal mortally wounded. Even though it is too late to save his life, the L.G.D. successfully retrieves the information he had on him, which points them towards the location of Reunion’s bases.

Phal’s intel also indicates that Reunion’s objective is not just the construction of a forward base in Lungmen, but to look for an “extremely high value target.” After fighting through some Reunion forces, Ch’en stumbles across Ch’en Estate, a mansion that belonged to her biological father’s clan. Since Reunion had already torn through the house and caused structural damage, Ch’en breaks down the door to let herself inside. Although she tells Hoshiguma that she has no particular attachment to the estate, being inside its walls clearly leaves her reminiscing about her past. Ch’en comes across a cracked picture frame holding a photograph of herself and Talulah as children, hugging; knowing that Reunion had also broken into the mansion before, she wonders if the photo could have been what they were looking for.

After the brief detour, the L.G.D. forces continue their advance by capturing Paci Plaza, a nearby shopping mall (that is also owned by Swire’s family) currently occupied by Reunion. During the battle, an explosion causes the floor beneath Ch’en to collapse, but she is saved by Hoshiguma, who holds the debris so it doesn’t crush both of them. Hoshiguma is badly injured but insists she can still fight; she urges Ch’en to leave her behind to fend off Reunion and focus on recapturing L.G.D. Headquarters, but Ch’en refuses to abandon her. Ch’en admits that she has changed — after abandoning Amiya’s squad, she reaccessed herself, and has begun to put more trust in people. For the first time, she calls Hoshiguma her friend, and vows to be her shield. Ch’en and Hoshiguma then fight off Reunion together; after the battle, Hoshiguma is tended to by the medic team, and Ch’en heads off to recapture L.G.D. headquarters without her.

Swire calls Ch’en, irate at all the damage that Paci Plaza had sustained during the battle and blaming “Ah Ch’en” for it. Ch’en promises to treat her to a meal as penance. Swire advises her not to throw her life away for the sake of the mission, revealing a more vulnerable side to their relationship, then wishes her good luck.

Chi Xiao Unleashed

After countless street battles, Ch’en and her team finally enter the headquarters. However, the officers immediately feel that there is something suspicious about the operation; the Reunion forces posted at headquarters seem barely prepared for a fight, and many floors are completely empty. They also receive intel that Reunion’s temporary command center is on the rooftop. Ch’en senses the obvious trap, but takes the bait anyways. When she arrives at the rooftop, it does turn out to be a trap set by Mephisto. The L.G.D. is able to defeat almost all of Reunion’s forces while weathering sniper attacks from Faust, but Mephisto resurrects the dead Reunion soldiers using his Arts and a powder. The resurrected soldiers start attacking again, now transformed from corpses into hulking monstrosities puppeteered by Mephisto and invulnerable to physical damage.

Knowing that the L.G.D. are about to be overwhelmed, Ch’en attempts to unsheathe Chi Xiao, the “dragon-slaying sword” imbued with Originium Arts. Wei Yenwu had given the sword to Ch’en in the past, and told her it should only be used against “worthy opponents.” However, she is interrupted mid-cast and loses control over Chi Xiao; the blast injures her and some of the Reunion guards. Mephisto taunts Ch’en, reminding her that forcefully activating the Originium Arts inside the blade will only injure herself further. He tries to convince her to join Reunion, but Ch’en refuses to abandon her duties to Lungmen.

Boiling Blood, Looming Threat

Just then, reinforcements from Rhodes Island arrive on the battlefield via helicopter. Swire calls Ch’en, revealing that she had been coordinating with Rhodes Island behind her back and had rescued Amiya’s squad from the abandoned Chernobog city. Now joined by Amiya, the Doctor, and the Elite Op Blaze, the tides of battle finally turn to the L.G.D.’s side. Mephisto is outraged to see that Amiya is still alive, and demands to know what FrostNova had told them. Meanwhile, Ch’en finally apologizes to Amiya for abandoning her in Chernobog. Mephisto presses Reunion to continue attacking, but knowing that the jig is up, Faust convinces him to retreat. They purposefully destroy the building and make their escape under the cover of explosions. Nevertheless, the recapture of L.G.D. Headquarters is the turning point of the invasion. Swire and Ch’en report their success to Wei Yenwu; during her report, Ch’en credits the joint efforts of Rhodes Island and herself in taking back the headquarters.

After the battle, Blaze confronts Wei Yenwu for using both Rhodes Island and the L.G.D. as bait in Chernobog to lure Reunion out — Wei had led Reunion to believe that the L.G.D. had been separated and that Lungmen was undefended, drawing Reunion to openly attack Lungmen. Blaze also brings up how Wei ordered the L.G.D. to abandon Amiya and her team to die, but Amiya talks her back down because they have no proof. Wei ends the conversation by reiterating that the relationship between Lungmen and Rhodes Island is still a political partnership, not a statement on the status between illegal Infected and the local authorities.

After returning to his office, Wei orders Swire and her squad to purge all the remaining Reunion forces out of Lungmen in a single day, without Rhodes Island’s help. Despite Swire’s protests, Wei insists it is essential as a show of Lungmen’s strength.

Meanwhile, Wei anxiously awaits a message from Ursus. He tells Fumizuki of his premonition that the attacks on Lungmen and Chernobog is “the start of something bigger,” i.e. a deeper conspiracy, possibly conducted by the Ursus Empire in order to expand its hegemony.

Shadowy Purges

After repelling Reunion’s occupation of the Lungmen Guard Department’s headquarters, Rhodes Island and the L.G.D. perform a joint operation to clear the city of its Reunion presence once and for all. On Rhode Island’s side, Blaze, Amiya, Doctor, and the un-infected GreyThroat are deployed. Meanwhile, Mephisto uses his Originium Arts to turn some of his men into zombie-like Herds, who begin attacking anyone around them, including their fellow Reunion comrades. He plans to use the horde of undead to decimate both Rhodes Island and the L.G.D. and allow him to escape Lungmen, but Faust is disgusted by his actions and leaves him. The horde soon reaches Blaze and the Doctor, forcing them to flee.

While Ch’en and Swire are leading their squads in the slums, the former encounters a band of mysterious assassins named the “Black Raincoats” viciously killing Reunion fighters and thinning out Mephisto’s horde. Along them are three Yanese imperial censors, Leizi, Taihe, and Jie Zhen, who are monitoring the situation. The assassins’ indiscriminate killing of anyone, including civilians and children, horrifies everyone, yet the censors did not restrict their actions. Furthermore, most of the buildings have been abandoned and the streets are empty, as if the residents of the slums suddenly all disappeared at once. The leader of the Black Raincoats approaches Ch’en and asks for a temporary truce between them, arguing that they should both focus on Reunion first. Ch’en demands to know where the slum dwellers went, but they warn her not to investigate what happened here, implying that they have Wei Yenwu’s authority to be there. The shadowy figure then disappears, leaving Ch’en with more questions than answers.

Swire immediately contacts Lin Yühsia, the daughter of the slums’ godfather, who is well familiar with the underground world. Yühsia does not reveal much to her friend but only mentions that she is in on Wei’s plan to not only level the slums, but to purge the Infected from it; by doing so, Reunion would have no place to hide in the slums, and no chance to escape Lungmen. With this, Ch’en and Swire realize that Wei is planning to destroy the slums and kill its residents using the Black Raincoats, having been ordered by the censors to conduct the purge.

Broken Arrows

Meanwhile, Faust makes it back to Mephisto, as the only way they can defeat the L.G.D. is if they combine their forces. He tells Mephisto not to use the same Arts again, but Mephisto believes the only thing that matters is their survival. Mephisto was once a boy named Eno, whose only friend was a boy who lived in the sewers named Sasha. Eno gave Sasha bread and taught him how to read and write, while Sasha defended Eno from bullies; however, Eno still suffered terrible abuse from his family. One day, Eno became infected when he was forced to swallow a piece of Originium. The infection gave him the ability to heal wounds, which he used to manipulate the other neighborhood kids into killing his abusive parents. Eno and Sasha vowed to survive together, and the latter also swallowed Originium so they could both be Infected together. The pair joined Reunion, where they were initiated as new members by Talulah. They shed their old names and their past lives — Eno became Mephisto, and Sasha became Faust.

Rhodes Island and the L.G.D. prepare to enter the slums to engage Reunion. Meanwhile, Faust orders Reunion to push further into the slums, as they are the only way out of Lungmen. He also plans to die fighting so everyone else can get out, with FrostNova replacing him as commander of his army. Despite his protests, Faust says that his last wish is for Mephisto to survive on his own. He orders his men to take Mephisto with them, then stays behind, using his Arts to cover their tracks and giving them the chance to escape. GreyThroat witnesses Faust’s death in battle and reports back to Amiya. Amiya and Ch’en then receive intel that FrostNova’s Yeti Squad have joined with Reunion’s forces through a passageway under the slums.

Nine, Ch’en’s senior in the L.G.D. who had become infected years prior, suddenly decides to switch sides and join Reunion, believing that Lungmen doesn’t care about the Infected and the L.G.D. can’t protect them. Ch’en comes up with an idea to steer the Yeti Squad towards the Black Raincoats, so both the L.G.D.’s enemies can destroy each other at once. Meanwhile, Mephisto has entered a completely withdrawn state after Faust’s death. FrostNova and the Yeti Squad take over fighting, pushing back against the Black Raincoats through FrostNova’s worsening condition. She eventually lowers the temperature so much that she overstrains her body and falls unconscious, already near death. However, FrostNova’s sacrifice lets the rest of Reunion to pull ahead of the L.G.D. The Yeti Squad instruct the rest of Reunion to take FrostNova back to Chernobog so she can be with Patriot when she dies, then move to hold back the L.G.D. and buy them more time to escape.

Fading Frost

Rhodes Island and the L.G.D. join forces one last time in a fight to the death against the Yeti Squad. Ch’en saves Blaze from an encounter with the three imperial censors, who disparage Blaze for being Infected. Meanwhile, FrostNova wakes up and discovers that the Yeti Squad has gone without her; she then elects to stay behind and die in Lungmen, instructing Reunion forces to take Mephisto and go. Rhodes Island later finds her at the same spot, her body paralyzed. However, in one last stand, FrostNova pierces her skin with Originium to once again use her Arts. FrostNova is powerful enough to overpower the combined forces of Amiya, Blaze, and Greythroat at once. However, she betrays her true feelings during the battle, confessing that she believes Reunion has failed in their mission to help the Infected, and that she and her brothers have fought and died for nothing. She finally challenges R.I. to a fight to the death, believing that R.I. cannot hope to achieve its goals if they can’t defeat her, let alone Talulah.

The cold finally withdraws when Rhodes Island defeats FrostNova, and the Doctor stays behind to hold her as she dies. FrostNova regrets joining Reunion and committing so many atrocities in her last moments, but implores the Doctor to save the “real” Talulah from her destructive path. She joins Rhodes Island before dying in the Doctor’s arms.

In the aftermath, Reunion were completely expelled from Lungmen in a pyrrhic victory. The slums have been dismantled and its people displaced. Many Reunion fighters fell during the bloodshed. Despite Swire’s warning, Ch’en continues investigating into the matters of the slums and discovers the corpses of Infected in the sewers, evidence which confirms that the dissolution of the slums was not without violence. Although it is later revealed in the future that many of the Infected were already evacuated with the aid of the Black Raincoats and the Lin who defied Wei’s orders, the suspicion is already laid inside her heart.

Amiya confronts Wei Yenwu for utilizing the Black Raincoats to wreak havoc in the slums behind the backs of both Rhodes Island and the L.G.D.. She cancels the contract between Rhodes Island and Lungmen, citing the lack of transparency. Suddenly, Ch’en barges into the room, just as angry at the same man; she accuses Wei of not only wishing to eradicate the Infected of Lungmen, but of killing her sister Talulah’s father. Wei rebuffs the accusations and tells Ch’en to stand down, but the argument is interrupted by Kal’tsit. She tells the group that Talulah has maneuvered the urban core of Chernobog to collide with Lungmen in thirty-six hours. The core has already begun spamming urban identification codes to all of Lungmen’s sub-cities, all with the same message: “This city still belongs to Ursus.”

Meanwhile, Crownslayer falls into a trap set by Kal’tsit and Projekt Red. She is furious to see Kal’tsit, who she believes was part of the traitorous group which sold out her father Ilia and other scientists to the Ursus government, causing their deaths. Kal’tsit allows the girl to submit to her anger and kill her, but only if she can defeat her Mon3tr. Kal’tsit also tells her the truth: that Sergei only betrayed her father because the lives of his children, Alex and Misha, were in danger. However, the scientists did not die in vain; because they had sealed the sarcophagus, they prevented the Ursus Empire from using he machines inside it against others. Kal’tsit tries to persuade Crownslayer to leave Reunion and the path of revenge, blaming it for Sergei, Alex, and Misha’s deaths. After hearing Kal’tsit’s words, Crownslayer leaves the city as ordered and seemingly deserts Reunion.

War and Betrayal

After most of Reunion were routed from Lungmen, another major problem occurs: Talulah has set the core city of Chernobog on a collision course with Lungmen. To make things worse, the core city is still considered Ursine territory. If the two nomadic cities collide, it will not only be the catalyst of war between the empires of Ursus and Yan, but also will destroy the illusion of safety all nomadic cities operate under.

W asks Talulah about the plan during a private meeting, and she explains that although Reunion has activated the core city, they still need two “keys” to have full control over the way it stops. However, this is all a ruse from W to try to assassinate Talulah and prevent her from attacking Lungmen. Although W had set a trap with Originium explosives, Talulah was able to weaken the blast with her Arts. W blows herself up rather than die by her superior’s hands, her body falling into the core area. Talulah then entrusts the Key which can stop the city to Patriot. She then promises the Sarkaz mercenaries formerly led by W a great war.

Back in Lungmen, Wei Yenwu and the rest in his office receive word that the Ursine government will not stop the collision, as they have written off Chernobog after the Catastrophe and handed it off to Reunion. Despite the others’ protests, Wei Yenwu gives the order to prepare for war with Ursus and attack first, which would not only be an open declaration of war but make Lungmen look like the aggressor. Ch’en volunteers to head the mission stop Reunion, but ends up bickering with Wei over his decision to destroy the slums. Disgusted by Wei for turning his back on the Infected, Ch’en declares that she, too, is Infected, having contracted Oripathy in the course of her work. Suddenly, the leader of Wei’s private army, the Shadow Guards, bursts into the office, begging him to send them to Chernobog and stop the collision. Wei screams at them to leave. Although he had warned her that leaving Lungmen would make her a traitor to Yan, Ch’en turns in her badge and unleashes Chi Xiao on the Shadow Guard, who is able to block the blast. Wei, however, will not allow them to hurt Ch’en and orders them to fall back. Ch’en demands again to be sent to Chernobog, but Wei begs her not to risk her life. Despite this, Ch’en severs ties with her uncle, declaring that they are now strangers, before jumping out a window to escape.

While she is on the run, Ch’en runs into Hoshiguma, who has recovered from her injuries. Hoshiguma tells Ch’en that Wei Yenwu should be the one dying for Lungmen, not her, and that Lungmen still needs her. Ch’en finally confesses that she is Infected—a fact she had been hiding from her partner for three years—and that Reunion’s leader, Talulah, is her sister. Still, Hoshiguma holds her ground, refusing to let Ch’en die for nothing. Hoshiguma eventually lets Ch’en go after a brief struggle, knowing that she will never see the other woman again.

Meanwhile, Wei Yenwu dismisses the Shadow Guards, preventing them from going after Ch’en. Fumizuki says she will go and bring Ch’en back herself, but Wei prevents her from leaving. Wei’s plan is to lead his army against Reunion himself and then die in battle, his sacrifice being what is needed to end the war. Kal’tsit proposes that Rhode Island fight the battle in Chernobog instead, as only the Infected can face the Infected. After some persuasion, Wei reluctantly agrees that Lungmen not interfere with any of Rhodes Island’s affairs until the end of the Lungmen-Chernobog conflict, though he still openly distrusts the Infected. Kal’tsit then asks for the remains of Edward Artorius, Talulah’s deceased father, planning to keep it safe for future use.

Protector or Traitor?

The Rhodes Island landship leaves Lungmen and begins its infiltration of the core city. During the mission, Dobermann’s team uses the “Bad Guy” VTOL to lure the enemies. In the meantime, the team led by Nearl, Firewatch, and Elysium uses an upcoming sandstorm to hide themselves from enemy detection. Other Elite Ops led by Amiya, Kal’tsit, and Rosmontis help clear the path for the infiltrators, although the sudden brutality of the latter gives the Doctor an uneasy feeling. Meanwhile, Fumizuki and Wei Yenwu discuss Talulah, who they believe has been raised by Kashchey to be his heir. Despite his wife’s protests, Wei has the Shadow Guards escort Fumizuki to Sargon, believing that the conflict must end with his death. Meanwhile, Talulah is informed that Faust, the Yeti Squad, and FrostNova are dead, Mephisto is incapacitated, and Crownslayer has seemingly defected.

Rhodes Island discovers evidence that Ch’en is alive, but wounded. They also encounter the missing Guard, the sole survivor from Ace’s and Scout’s sacrifices, in a nearby warehouse. To their surprise, he is now a Reunion member in service of Patriot’s guerrillas. The Guard attempts to comfort an Ursine Infected named Tatiana, who accuses Reunion of intentionally spreading Oripathy to her, though the Guard argues that Patriot’s guerrillas are much more disciplined than the rest of Reunion. The Guard manages to convince his former employers that he did not participate in Reunion’s crimes, and only defected to Reunion to help the innocent Infected refugees. He explains that the only reason so many Ursus were able to make it through the Chernobog catastrophe is thanks to Patriot, who handed out supplies in war-torn areas. He has a deeply-held respect for Patriot and separates the guerrilla from the rest of Reunion, believing that R.I. and Patriot do not have to be enemies. However, Kal’tsit reveals that R.I. are responsible for FrostNova’s death, and that they may come to be enemies.

Now that they have reached the core city, Rhodes Island clears a path through the central district to the bridge and generator area controlling Chernobog’s movement. Rosmontis uses her Arts to locate the guerillas’ scouts and take out the guerillas’ communications, with Amiya also using her arts to regulate Rosmontis’ emotions. After taking out multiple scouts, however, Amiya, Kal’tsit, and Rosmontis immediatelt encounter Buldrokkas’tee the “Patriot,” the mightiest leader of Reunion, and his armored Shieldguards, the famous “Aegis of the Infected.”

The Last March

Amiya, Kal’tsit, and Rosmontis try to negotiate with Patriot peacefully. Although Patriot recognizes Kal’tsit from their shared pasts and trusts her, he knows that Amiya and the Doctor are responsible for the death of his daughter, FrostNova. He also appears to know that Talulah has sent Chernobog on a crash course with Lungmen, but maintains his loyalty to her as to not break up Reunion and start a civil war. Despite this, he still blocks R.I.’s way, not out of vengeance for his daughter but for the sake of Reunion, as Reunion cannot fail before it liberates all Infected. Patriot declares that only by defeating him can R.I. continue, proving themselves to be the only ones who can defeat Talulah.

With his enormous strength and heavy armor, Patriot proves to be a formidable opponent. he is eventually defeated by both Amiya and his worsening illness. Patriot recognizes Rhodes Island as worthy of killing Talulah, entrusting R.I. with the Key to stop Chernobog that he had received from Talulah. Amiya conjures up pleasant visions of his family for Patriot, but he realizes that Amiya is actually the next Lord of Fiends and the genuine successor of the previous monarch Theresa, thus fulfilling the Kazdelian prophecy that the “Lord of Fiends,” the King of all Sarkaz, would kill the last pure-blooded Wendigo. Patriot hallucinates a prophecy that the King of Sarkaz will enslave all people, and initially attempts to kill Amiya, but he suddenly stops himself at the last second. He dies right with his hands out stretched to reach her, his body frozen in place. Snow begins to fall upon Patriot’s death, which coincides with R.I.’s cremation of FrostNova’s body. Knowing that the phenomenon is a sign from their deceased leaders, the Shieldguards willingly put aside their disagreements, despite their wariness, to form an alliance against Talulah’s tyranny.

Sparking the Flames

In the wake of Patriot’s death, civil war breaks out in the core city between Reunion fighters siding with the Shieldguards and Talulah’s ardent supporters. To the rebels, they openly proclaim that Talulah has betrayed Patriot and all of Reunion. Amidst the tension, the Rhodes Island team splits into two, with the Doctor and Kal’tsit going to the Chernobog Sarcophagus and Amiya, the Shieldguards, and the rest headed to the control tower. Along the way, the former group encounters W, who had survived the explosion during her getaway from Talulah. Though she is gravely wounded, W still antagonizes them, calling the Doctor a murderer (who she longs to kill) and Kal’tsit a loonatic. Kal’tsit uses Mon3tr to toss W through a wall and out of the plot. Beneath the city’s underground structure, Mephisto drags himself towards the Sarcophagus, intending to use it to “forget” everything. Meanwhile, Ch’en has finally arrived at the city’s control tower, preparing herself to confront Talulah.

Somewhere in the royal palace of Londinium, Victoria, Theresis, the Regent of Kazdel, is plotting to resurrect the deceased Theresa as part of his plan to reunite the Sarkaz and end their ages-old civil conflicts. A new storm is brewing.

Reunion to Ruin

It is a question why Reunion has chosen a violent path unlike Rhodes Island. However, this is not how Reunion was in the beginning. It was originally founded by Infected common folk fleeing from the harsh persecution of the Ursine authorities which Talulah and her dear friend Alina visioned to build a harmonious, peaceful society for the persecuted.

At that time, Talulah lived with an old couple in a village who had taken her in and hidden her from Ursine police looking for Infected. One day, Talulah injured a member of the patrol unit during an inspection, and the old couple were ratted out for harboring an Infected. The old man presented himself as the Infected to the police in place of Talulah, and was killed. Talulah retaliated by setting the officer on fire with her Arts. Alina] Talulah’s friend who had also come to see the couple as her own parents, revealed that she was also Infected. She also revealed that it had been the old man’s plan all along to stop the inspections by proclaiming himself the Infected, as he was trying to save Talulah’s life. Talulah was enraged by the injustice of the world, declaring Ursus to be her enemy, but Alina told her to leave before she could do any more damage.

Talulah later gathered an army of Infected just as worn down and angry as she was. She trained and protected them unconditionally, creating the Reunion Movement to protest against Ursus’ cruel treatment of Infected. They made an alliance with Patriot, incorporating both his Shieldguards and Frostnova’s Yeti Squadron into their army and enabling the Infected to more effectively fight back against their persecutors. Talulah even drew up plans to build or seek out a small-scale nomadic city for infected. She ultimately wanted Reunion to leave the NorthWestern Tundra and go to war with Ursus, arguing that they would soon exhaust the resources of the region and be left to die. However, Patriot refused to entertain the idea even after two years of collaboration, knowing the Infected would stand no chance against Ursus. After the argument with Patriot that day, Talulah found Eno and Sasha, whose lives she saved by taking them in under Reunion’s protection. She even found Alina, now a teacher, and persuaded her in time to join Reunion as well.

Eventually, however, peaceful methods become an impossibility. Ursus troops began raiding the Originium mines in the NorthWestern Tundra, committing a genocide against Infected. Reunion was forced to wage war against Ursus to save as many Infected as possible. They were able to capture a small nomadic city, but tensions rose when a faction within Reunion broke off from the group and demanded to take the nomadic city for themselves. Talulah wanted to let them take the city, but Patriot insisted that they kill the traitors and take it back. Talulah was hesitant to kill her fellow Infected, arguing that Reunion could not hope to be united if they stooped to that level. However, weeks later, Talulah found Alina fatally wounded after Ursus patrol guards raided a village and executed many Infected. Though Alina begged her not to seek vengeance, Talulah inadvertently set fire to everything around her in her grief.

This was not the last of Talulah’s troubles, however. One day, the Ursus Royal Guards attacked Reunion forces, forcing her to negotiate with them. They attempted to persuade Patriot to join their side, and once again be considered a member of the Ursus army; they also revealed Talulah’s status as Duke Kashchey’s daughter. To the rest of Reunion, they offered a place in Ursus’ Army, where they would be protected from the genocide waged against other Infected. Talulah tried to quell the unrest, but was soon overtaken by her own anger when she came across evidence that Ursus hunters had trapped Infected in a storehouse until they died from starvation. Kashchey’s words came back to haunt Talulah as she gave in to her rage and annihilated the hunters, setting the village on fire…

The Kitten and The Aegis

In the present, the Rhodes Island team led by Amiya, Rosmontis, and Guard heads towards the control tower of Chernobog to stop the city’s impending collision with Lungmen. Meanwhile, the sealing layer on the control tower, which slowly blocks off every entrance, begins to rise. The Shieldguards then ally themselves with Rhodes Island. They proclaim that they want Talulah dead for the lives that were lost for her sake, especially their Captain’s, invigorating a fury within Rosmontis. She lets Amiya go alone to the control tower while she and the Shieldguards stay back. Then, using her psychic Arts, Rosmontis singlehandedly shreds the sealing layer to make way for Amiya. The effort incapacitates Rosmontis, but Amiya is able to soak up the negative emotions caused by the use of direct Arts. Just before they are about to reach their destination, they receive an emergency call—Ursus’ Third Army is infiltrating the city. To make matters worse, many are disguising themselves as Reunion fighters, attempting to sow enough chaos to ensure the collision goes uninterrupted. Under Rosmontis’ command, the Shieldguards stand firm against the might of the Ursus army and provide cover for Amiya as she runs towards the control tower alone to confront Talulah.

A Pitiful Songster

Beneath the city’s underground structure, the team led by Kal’tsit and the Doctor head towards an ancient device known as the Sarcophagus to cut down its power source and disable the engines. They come across hordes of Herdified Sarkaz, who have been mutated by Mephisto’s Arts, guarding the passage to the Sarcophagus. Kal’tsit deduces that whatever is controlling the Herd has most likely taken over the Sarcophagus already. Kal’tsit and the Doctor discover a giant avian monster at the Sarcophagus—it is Mephisto, who has been transformed by the device into a creature which spews Originium dust everywhere and is capable of causing an Oripathy superspreader event. The team defeats the monster before it can become a biohazard and quickly shuts off the power to the Sarcophagus. Now, the core city has lost its power source, but the emergency brakes still need to be pulled.

Kal’tsit takes the remaining time to explain the Sarcophagus’ past and her connection with it to the Doctor. About twenty years ago, the Boris Group of Ursus discovered some strange technology in the mountains. Kal’tsit joined a team of scientists assembled to figure out the machines’ inner machinations to keep them from blowing the city up. She allowed them to siphon a small bit energy from the device to provide an energy source to the city other than Originium, which propelled Chernobog to greater wealth and development. Still, some of Kal’tsit’s students eventually figured out the artificial limit placed on the amount of energy they could take from the device, which leaked to the government. The scientists wanted to seal the Sarcophagus, tired of the endless wars Ursus would wage if they fully used the Sarcophagus’ power. After having his family threatened by Ursus’ secret police, Sergei, Misha and Alex’s father, turned the data over to the Boris Group. This led to the massacre of all the scientists in the sarcophagus except Sergei. The Doctor finally broaches the subject of their past, and Kal’tsit tells them that three years ago, she carried their injured body into the sarcophagus, which is only able to heal their pain. She then reveals the reason why she is so abrasive towards the Doctor: they had killed Theresa, someone both they and Kal’tsit had considered a friend, three years earlier. Now, Kal’tsit professes that she will work with the Doctor, but that she hates them for what they’ve done. The Doctor then suddenly remembers a forgotten memory: a woman named Priestess, who promised them they would meet again.

The Lord’s Descent

When time Amiya reaches the top of the tower, she witnesses a fierce, fiery fight between the two sisters, Talulah and Ch’en. Ch’en wants to use this battle to end their past conflicts, and Talulah even welcomes her to take away her life. Trying to pacify the two, Amiya taps into Talulah’s mind. She sees Reunion’s beginnings and its lofty goals, to Alina’s death and the turning point of the movement. It is from here Amiya realizes something: the current Talulah is not her true self, but has been possessed by Kashchey through his mind-manipulation Arts. Although Talulah had “killed” him the day she fled from him, his soul had actually been living inside her all this time, waiting for an opportune moment to strike. He was the true mastermind behind Reunion’s atrocities and eventual devolution, and had waited for Talulah to become enraged enough for him to mind control her. Kashchey realizes that Amiya is the Lord of Fiends, who he refers to as the “enemy of humanity,” though he is surprised that she is a Cautus and not a Sarkaz.

Seeing no way to hide, Kashchey finally unveils his true form. His true identity is the vile Ageless being named the “Deathless Black Snake,” who views himself as the incarnation of the Ursus Empire. Kashchey tries to manipulate the pair, but Amiya refutes his lies. She demonstrates her will to change the future by unleashing the power of her rings—the new Lord of Fiends has finally awoken. She explores Ch’en’s memories and is able to replicate her Chi Xiao and techniques with this newfound power. Amiya and Ch’en then rush Kashchey together, the dual Chi Xiaos cutting through his Arts.

After a long and climactic fight, Amiya and Ch’en bring the Black Snake down. However, Kashchey threatens to slit Talulah’s throat, killing both himself and her. Amiya and Ch’en are able to bring Talulah to recall who she is, and she slowly begins to resist against her father’s control. Knowing he is about to lose control of her body, Kashchey seemingly admits defeat, promising that there will always be another Talulah and another Chernobog for him to manipulate. He then leaves Talulah’s body. W suddenly runs in with the key to stop the core city from moving. Amiya decides to trust W just this once, and she inserts the key into the device…which does nothing. All hope seems lost until the recently awakened Talulah reveals that she has the actual key to the emergency brakes, which finally brings the city to a halt right outside the range of Lungmen’s guns.

After two weeks of turmoil, the Chernobog-Lungmen crisis has finally come to an end.

Into the Coming Storm

In the aftermath, Kal’tsit and the Doctor arrive on the scene. The two sisters reunite and exchange words for the first time in many years; however, Talulah is soon taken into Rhodes Island’s custody as a bargaining chip to prevent either Ursus or Yan from turning Rhodes Island into a scapegoat for the crisis. Without a leader, Reunion is effectively disbanded. However, some remaining factions have decided to go their own way. Guard decides to stay back with the former Reunion fighters and reinvent the movement. Meanwhile, Nine gathers her own faction of surviving Reunion members to continue its work. W admits her wrongdoing to Amiya and re-recruits the Sarkaz mercenaries that she had previously led. The Shieldguards bid their farewell to Rosmontis and others, stating that they will meet them again someday. Crownslayer flees from Chernobog and plans to to head back to her hometown in Siracusa.

Wei Yenwu and Ch’en meet for the first time after the disaster at the graves of Talulah’s father and Ch’en’s mother. He recounts the events of the past, when Kashchey had told Wei’s jealous twin and the shadow of Londinium about Edward and his sister’s relationship. Wei had been forced to choose between the lives of the unborn Ch’en and Edward; he had chosen his niece, but at the cost of his sworn brother’s life. He offers Ch’en (and Talulah) the chance to return to Lungmen, but she decides to remain with Rhodes Island. Wei also asks Rhodes Island to take in Lungmen’s Infected refugees, signifying his changed attitude towards the Infected.

Meanwhile, at Rhodes Island, the Doctor manages to convince Kal’tsit to list FrostNova alongside other operators killed in action, officially inducting her as an operator posthumously. Though incarcerated, Talulah is still affected by the curse of the Deathless Black Snake and is haunted by Kashchey’s words, but she vows not to rest until she finds and ends him.

Far within the palace of Ursus, Islam Witte tells Emperor Fyodor that the traitors from the Third Army have committed suicide before they could be prosecuted, infuriating him. Although the Emperor is sympathetic to the Infected, Witte advises him that such an unpopular view will affect his popularity and political standing.

Storm Over the Knolls

The story is set almost a year (precisely, 11 months and 27 days) after the Chernobog-Lungmen crisis. Horn, her subordinate Bagpipe, and their regiment, the 2nd Tempest Platoon, are sent to County Hillock, a small county in southern Victoria, to investigate the movement of stolen, illicit Originium products from the local warehouses, as well as the mysterious “spectre force” that has been been reported to be attacking other local counties. Their investigation, however, is frequently interrupted by the local barrack soldiers, the faction of the Victorian army which oversees security in County Hillock.

The Platoon tries to seek cooperation from Colonel Hamilton, the leader of the troop, but he strongly refuses despite their common allegiance to Victoria. They also notice that Hamilton seems to show a strong animosity towards the local Taran population, even executing some of the Taran suspects implicated in the Originium plot with no proof of their involvement. This hatred stems from the Taran populace’s retaliation to their mistreatment, which has recently become violent; a small faction of angry Tarans had ambushed transport vehicles, attacked soldiers, and even planted bombs to destroy the barracks, costing many of Hamilton’s men their lives. Though Horn blames these incidents on the spectre force, Hamilton believes it has the full support of the Taran populace, using this to justify his poor treatment of the locals. Bagpipe also begins to sense the mounting tension in County Hillock when she witnesses a scuffle between the Victorian barrack soldiers and aggrieved Taran locals, who curse the former for their recent extrajudicial killings of Tarans suspected of stealing Originium.

Meanwhile, Outcast, a Rhodes Island Elite Operator, pays a visit to the local R.I. office to deal with some routine paperwork. There, she befriends Jane Willow, a Victorian ceremonial guard who has volunteered to help the company during her stay there and is sympathetic to the plight of both the Infected and the Taran locals. Jane later finds her friend Saoirse, distraught after Victorian soldiers executed one of her cousins. Saoirse gives her a mysterious address where a meeting between Taran insurgents will be held, revealing herself as one of the conspirators. Jane then passes the message along to Bagpipe and Horn.

“Come out, ye Victorians…”

Bagpipe and Horn infiltrate the Tarans’ night rally at the address Jane provided them to gain intel, finding that most of the people there are Taran aristocrats. Suddenly, Hamilton and his men interrupt the meeting and have everyone there arrested, though there is no proof of illicit activity, having tailed Horn and Bagpipe to the location. Before they can finish rounding up the crowd however, a bomb is thrown through the window, which explodes and forces Hamilton to retreat. A band of mysterious soldiers then appear and attack the barracks—it is the “spectre force,” now identified as Dublinn, a pro-Draco militant group which has allied with the Taran nationalist movement to achieve its ultimate goal of placing a Draco king on the Victorian throne. Dublinn, under the command of their Leader, Loughshinny, is able to quickly infiltrate the city and wreak havoc, as they have the backing of the Taran populace.

Meanwhile, the uprising has also brought danger to the R.I. office. Outcast orders the operators to evacuate as soon as possible before joining the fray herself, vowing to rescue any Rhodes Islander from the chaos.

“…and fight us like a man!”

Horn informs Hamilton that Dublinn’s forces are likely hiding in the agricultural plates of the city, and urges him to evacuate the citizens there immediately. However, he rebuffs her suggestions and orders County Hillock to be bombed in the name of driving out Dublinn. Furthermore, Captain Kelly leaks the information that Hamilton himself had ordered the Originium goods to be stolen and used in his bombs, which finds its way to the Rhodes Island office and Bagpipe. Hamilton’s bombs begin raining down on Hillock, which not only kill many Taran civilians but also cause a widespread outbreak of Oripathy when the active Originium inside them begin to blanket the streets. A crackdown on Tarans within the barrack soldiers also begins, stripping officers of Taran descent of their rights, including Captain Kelly.

Meanwhile, Loughshinny has discovered that Saoirse tipped the Victorians off to the meeting, and reluctantly executes her. Jane hears the news of Saoirse’s execution and becomes distraught, blaming herself for her friend’s death; Outcast takes her to Rhodes Island’s office and comforts her. The plague then spurs R.I., along with Jane, to conduct a humanitarian aid mission, delivering medicine to the local hospitals of Hillock and rescuing civilians from the bombs. During the mission, Outcast leaves the group to rescue Loughshinny alone, who was severely injured by the shelling and has now become Infected. Meanwhile, the six elite leaders of Dublinn (the Bandit, the Elocutionist, the Toxicologist, the Immolator, the Accountant, and the Convict) search for Loughshinny; their conversation reveals that she is not the true Leader of Dublinn after all, but a pseudo-leader who represents the movement.

After discovering the truth of Hamilton’s crimes and the missing Originium, Bagpipe, Horn, and the rest of the regiment turn against the colonel’s order and head towards Hillock’s control tower to report the news back to Londinium. Along the way, Bagpipe bumps into Outcast, who has been carrying Loughshinny on her back while fighting her way through the city. Outcast hands Loughshinny over to Bagpipe, entrusting her to bring the injured girl back to Jane and the rest of the Rhodes Island operators. She then sacrifices herself in a final stand against Dublinn’s elite leaders, reduced to ashes after casting her “judgment.” Meanwhile, things have gone from bad to worse for the Victorian faction; Dublinn has overtaken most of Hillock and overwhelmed the Victorians. Hamilton himself is killed in action when Dublinn reaches his stronghold and he refuses to evacuate with the rest of the barrack soldiers.

Bagpipe, Horn, and the rest of their platoon eventually make it to the control tower, but it is too late. Mandragora, a Dublinn field commander, crushes the 2nd Platoon ruthlessly, leaving Bagpipe and Horn as the only survivors. While taunting her opponents, Mandragora reveals that Dublinn spies have already infiltrated the Victorian army. Dublinn then broadcasts a message to other Victorian counties, detailing the atrocities committed by the Victorian army and urging Tarans to join them while conveniently leaving out their own crimes. Knowing that they have lost the battle, Horn, now severely injured, orders Bagpipe to leave Hillock and pass on the truth of what Dublinn has done to Londinium while she stays back to fend off Mandragora. Bagpipe reluctantly follows orders, abandoning her superior and fleeing the city.

Resurgence

The Hillock atrocity ends in tragedy, with the county completely devastated from the bombs and the spread of Originium. The 2nd Tempest Platoon was annihilated with Bagpipe as the only surviving witness, and with Horn held hostage by Dublinn. Many R.I. members, especially the Elite Ops, condemn the atrocity that resulted in Outcast’s death. Dublinn has since left County Hillock without a trace, taking Horn with them. The Victorian government, however, has propagated the lie that the Hillock atrocity was an accident which occurred during military training. Meanwhile, Loughshinny has recovered from her injuries at Rhodes Island.

Many months have since passed since the Hillock atrocity. At this time, the Rhodes Island landship suffers its first attack since the time of Babel by the remnants of Reunion led by Nine. This new offshoot of Reunion’s mission is to break Talulah out of Rhodes Island, and then to punish her for her betrayal of her comrades and the bloodshed she caused. Due to the absence of most Elite Ops and Kal’tsit’s late response, Reunion manages to escape with Talulah in tow; she has elected to follow them rather than stay imprisoned at R.I., though she is now Reunion’s prisoner. Finally freed from Kashchey’s control, Talulah embarks on a journey through Ursus in search of the vile Ageless.

The Sarkaz United

Far in Londinium, the capital of the Victorian Empire, two familiar figures stare at the rusted city while discussing their grand mission. After years of slowly spreading Sarkaz influence in Londinium and planting his loyalists into Victoria’s defense force and aristocracy, Regent Theresis has finally secured his position in the Royal Court thanks to the support of the Nachzehrer King, the Vampires’ Sanguinarch, and the Damazti Cluster. Theresa, the former Sarkaz King of Kazdel, has also been “resurrected” thanks to the Arts of the Confessarii; however, it seems she is intended to be used as a puppet for the Regent in order to rally the Sarkaz.

Theresis’ occupation of Londinium is not without purpose. After being invited by a Grand Duke to pacify the situation following the succession crisis, Theresis has been actively building up his military there. He has ordered the reconstruction of the Shard into a gigantic Catastrophe manipulator and the building of an airship fleet around the tower. He has also redesigned the function of Londinium’s defense artillery system, made up cannons built around the city’s outer walls with the ability to automatically track targets, to face inward instead. His ultimate wish is to launch a world war against all nations of Terra to end the Sarkaz’s never-ending disunity and restore Kazdel’s former glory.

Chaos in Londinium

Deep within the capital, numerous factions are fighting against each other to secure the situation. As guardians of Siege, heir to the Victorian throne, the Rhodes Island team led by the Doctor, Amiya, Closure, and the Glasgow gang plan to infiltrate the heavily fortified city with the aid of Misery, Logos, Ascalon, and W. The team’s goal is to get in touch with Heidi Thompson, Kal’tsit’s personal Messenger. Dagda and Indra eventually rescue Mr. Thomas, a Londinium citizen and informant, from Dublinn, who had been holding him hostage for his ability to navigate around the city; he agrees to help R.I. find a way into Londinium through the port at Sudean.

At the same time, Dublinn has made a temporary alliance with the Military Commission of Kazdel, under the command of General Manfred and Hoederer, in hopes of carving up Londinium for themselves; their purpose is to help prevent the eight Grand Dukes from entering the capital and seizing and attempting to seize control from the Sarkaz. However, the alliance is not a smooth one, since Mandragora and her squad are upset with the Sarkaz’s presence. To make matters worse, a local partisan group calling itself Eartha, or the “Self-Salvation Corps,” has been resisting both Dublinn and Kazdel through guerrilla street fights. Eartha is made up of ordinary Londinium citizens who oppose the Sarkaz invasion and have taken up arms against them. Meanwhile, Horn, who has successfully escaped Dublinn’s imprisonment after being captured by them at the end of Episode 09, frees other Victorian soldiers captured by Dublinn and leads her new squad into Sudean as well.

When R.I. makes it way to Sudean, however, their way is blocked by a group of Sarkaz soldiers searching everyone going in or out of the border. Mr. Thomas panics, thinking they are after him, but runs directly into the Dublinn infantry lead by Mandagora, who have now reached Sudean and who also promptly capture him. Infighting soon breaks out between the Kazdelian soldiers and Dublinn over custody of the informant. Horn instigates the violence by shooting at the Sarkaz soldiers, who immediately attack Dublinn in retaliation. R.I. steps in to protect the civilians from the gunfire, but because they blew their own cover, word is sent to General Manfred that the Eartha rebels and an unknown group have infiltrated Sudean. Little do they know, however, that Manfred had already planned for this, intentionally leaving Sudean poorly guarded to draw out the rebels there and using the scuffle as an excuse to get rid of Dublinn. Meanwhile, Dublinn appears to be winning the scuffle, with the Sarkaz appearing uncharacteristically weak—Amiya and the Doctor then surmise that the entire operation was a trap, and order R.I. to retreat from battle. They are proven right when Manfred uses Londinium’s defense artillery system to begin firing explosives at the Sudean port, one of which kills Mr. Thomas. Seeing that the informant is dead, Mandagora also orders Dublinn to stop chasing after the Sarkaz and retreat, with the artillery system still following them. Even after routing Dublinn, however, Manfred commands his troops to continue bombing the port until it is completely destroyed. In the meantime, R.I. has hidden under some structures to escape the cannon-fire, but know the cannon-fire will reduce their surroundings to rubble in minutes. Suddenly, a stranger appears, holding the Doctor hostage until Amiya agrees to follow him and promising to save the group from certain death.

The stranger brings R.I. down a pipeline into Londinium’s underground, consisting of pathways which connect the city to the outside. He eventually introduces himself as Feist, one of Eartha’s leaders along with Rockrock. Rockrock is suspicious of R.I. due to the presence of Closure, a Sarkaz operator, though Feist defends her and brings the team to see Clovisia, Eartha’s young commander. Upon speaking to Amiya and the Doctor and hearing that they plan to help Eartha push the Sarkaz out of Londinium, Clovisia agrees to a joint alliance with R.I.. Meanwhile, Rockrock and her teammate, Bill, are ambushed by Sarkaz soldiers during a mission. Bill stays behind and is captured, though Rockrock manages to escape and return to the underground bunker with the intel that Heidi and other rebels are being held hostage by the Kazdelians in a Loxic Kohl factory (formerly owned by Mr. Thomas). Thus, R.I. and Eartha head out on their first joint operation to rescue Bill and Heidi from the factory.

At the same time, Horn, who has been hiding above-ground from the Sarkaz with the few men she has gathered, also manages to scout out the prison where Heidi is being kept.

The First Liberation

After tedious preparation, the R.I.-Eartha alliance is ready to breach the Kazdel-occupied factory on a particular night. Siege and Indra have stayed behind to defend Eartha’s underground bunker, with the rest of the team heading to the prison. Dagda and Morgan distract the Sarkaz soldiers guarding the prison while Heidi leads her own uprising within the prison, allowing the prisoners to take over the factory. Heidi meets up with the Doctor, Amiya, Feist, and Rockrock, who have also infiltrated the prison, though Sarkaz soldiers surround them. When all hope seems lost, however, W and her mercenaries, sent by Kal’tsit, appear on the side of R.I., fighting back their fellow Sarkaz. Feist and Rockrock run off and find Bill, who is still grievously injured. They also run into Hoederer during the rescue, who proves to be a formidable foe, but narrowly manage to escape up a vent back to reconvene with R.I.. Hoederer’s presence, and the growing number of Sarkaz surrounding the facility, prove to the group that the prison was a Sarkaz trap meant to lure out both Eartha and R.I.. They decide to all make a run for it in a bid for survival. W’s escape is foiled by Hoederer, however, who W confronts for killing Schwab to gain Theresis’ trust. The two begin exchanging blows, though Hoederer soon gains the upper hand. Just as he is about to kill her, Ascalon appears and deflects his blade. It is revealed that Hoederer is actually working with Ines, who was supposedly executed by soldiers, to inform W about the resurrected Theresa and the plot within the Shard.

Meanwhile, Horn and her squad have also found their way into the factory and encounter Mandagora. Though tensions are still high, with Mandagora having killed some of Horn’s teammates and taking her prisoner, there appears to be a mutual understanding between the two that the Sarkaz are the greatest threat to them. Mandagora orders her men to clear out hordes of Sarkaz soldiers, as vengeance for the deaths of her comrades during the infighting; she also intends to rescue “Spy,” a Dublinn informant and her childhood friend. Horn and her group follow Dublinn, picking off any stragglers left behind. She soon comes across a group of Victorian prisoners, who she frees and adds to her squad. She also manages to escape from Manfred’s grasp after Misery, a R.I. Elite Operator, appears and uses his hallucination-inducing Arts to allow Horn to make a run for it. Mandagora, meanwhile, successfully rescues Spy, but is ambushed by Manfred and his men, who have caught on to her betrayal. Manfred reveals to Mandagora that the Leader of Reunion is displeased with her unauthorized actions at County Hillock and her violent instability, and unwilling to let her compromise Dublinn’s relationships with Theresis and the Victorian nobility; in other words, the Leader has abandoned her, and given full authority to Manfred to dispose of Dublinn forces within Londinium. After a fierce battle, Manfred leaves a critically wounded and despondent Mandragora for dead, where she resigns herself to joining her Taran compatriots in death. However, Misery appears before her, offering her a second chance.

Siege and Indra soon grow worried about the state of the operation after not hearing from the rest of the team for a while. They come across the corpses of Eartha’s Team 6 on the surface, who have been torn apart by the Sanguinarch’s blood Arts, and hurry to meet up with Amiya and the others, who are still running from the Sanguinarch. Upon finding the rest of the squad, Siege and Indra quickly explain that Eartha has come under attack; this forces R.I. and Eartha to make their escape underground and return to the underground base. Dagda, meanwhile, goes off to seek the help of the Victorian nobles’ mercenary forces using her connections.

Insurgency Above, Threat Below

Despite their narrow escape from the factory, the threat to the alliance is still far from over. The Kazdelians have somehow gained the intel to route Eartha’s underground passages and have also figured out the location of the bunker. Clovisia also receives the news that all of Eartha’s contact points above ground have been attacked at once. The traitor within Eartha’s ranks turns out to be “Bill,” who reveals himself to Amiya to be the Damazti Cluster, a shapeshifter who had transformed into the likeness of the real Bill before R.I. and Eartha had infiltrated the prison—the man that Feist and Rockrock had rescued and brought along with them was not “Bill” at all, but the disguised Cluster, while the real Bill had died of his injuries within the factory. They had also been the one to give away R.I.’s coordinates during their escape from the factory, explaining why it was so difficult to get away from the Sarkaz. The Doctor, Clovisia, Rockrock, and Feist find Amiya holding a blade to the imposter’s throat, but the latter two believe Amiya when “Bill’s” behavior grows more and more suspicious. The confrontation is interrupted, however, when Closure rushes in to tell everyone that Londinium’s cannons are aimed right at their location and that they must evacuate as soon as possible. The group flees to a safe location, though the Cluster escapes in the chaos and makes their way back to Manfred.

Clovisia tells the others that the only way to escape the underground with their lives is to recapture a train station located a few kilometers above them, and to take the train out of Sudean before the entire area is bombed. After they have successfully arrived at the next station, Heidi’s contacts will help disguise them until they can reach Central Londinium. The only way to stop the Kazdelians’ advance is to recapture Londinium’s walls. Rockrock and her men go to get the train started before the Sarkaz can destroy the underground, while Amiya, the Doctor, and Feist head off to the walls to face Manfred, whose Arts are perfectly tailored to resist Amiya’s. Meanwhile Horn’s squad have also successfully climbed the walls, rallying the soldiers stationed there who have been forced by the Sarkaz to fire upon their own city and starting an insurgency against the Kazdelians. Horn stays behind to fight Manfred and stall for time while the rest of the group heads to the control room. They are able to set off explosives which destroy the control room and severely weaken the structure of the walls, while shutting down Londinium’s defense artillery system. As the walls begin to crumble, Manfred orders his men to retreat and leaves Horn barely clinging to life. Thankfully, however, she is saved at the last minute by her squad.

This entire time, Clovisia, Siege, Indra, and Morgan have stayed underground to fend off the Sanguinarch. However, they are powerless against such a powerful Vampire, and are forced to run for their lives. Siege inadvertently finds a control panel with a button on it at the end of a passageway—the same button she had pressed over twenty years ago, when Gawain had brought her underground following the uprising against the king. Siege presses the button, which moves the tunnel beneath their feet upward and allows the group to escape to the surface.

Unthinkable

The reunited Glasgow Gang (including Dagda, who has returned with the Victorian mercenaries), the Doctor, Amiya, Clovisia, and Feist all make their way to the train station with the last-minute help of Dagda’s guards and board the train leaving for Auchterigg Borough (i.e. Central Londinium). Just then, however, the Kazdelians chasing the train stop. Standing in the middle of the tracks watching the train depart is Theresa, the former Sarkaz King who had “died” long ago. Her majesty’s presence horrifies the R.I. gang, especially Amiya and the Doctor, who must now accept the fact that Theresa has somehow come back to life.

Upon reaching Auchterigg Borough, Allerdale Cumberland, the chief commander of Eartha and the late Duke of Cumberland’s daughter, welcomes Siege warmly. She then proposes a plan for Siege to lead Victoria to battle against the Sarkaz and take back the throne using the relic of Edward Artorius, as Siege is actually Alexandrina, the last surviving heir to the Aslan throne. W, who had also escaped the city off-screen, confronts Kal’tsit for letting Theresis get hold of Theresa’s body, having witnessed her appearance at the train station. Theresis orders Qui’sartuštaj to continue supervising Theresa and Amiya while seemingly plotting to destroy the power of the Lord of Fiends. Outside of the city, the Leader of Dublinn receives news, both of Siege’s arrival in Central Londinium and Talulah’s escape from R.I. and return to Reunion. Knowing of the rumors that Talulah may be a Draco, and thus a potential threat, The Leader prepares herself to enter the capital. A bloody battle surrounding the throne seems inevitable.

Meanwhile, in a town in northern Ursus, Talulah has finally found another incarnation of the “Deathless Black Snake,” a female Hippogryph named Koshelna who has disguised herself as a college lecturer. Koshelna congratulates Talulah for finding her and tries to tempt the other woman into killing her out of vengeance. Talulah refuses, however, believing that the Deathless Black Snake will continue to reincarnate as long as Ursus remains unchanged. After regrouping with Nine and her faction of former Reunion fighters, Talulah decides to follow them to Victoria to carry out her plans.

Honor of the Past

As it turns out, the relic of Edward Artorius is actually one of the two keys representing the Aslan and the Draco monarchs to unlock the underground mausoleum of Londinium where generations of Victorian kings are buried. It is the safehouse of the Kyngasycath, the “Sighs of Kings”, which is a legendary magical sword and the national realmblade possessed by Shah Lugalszargus, the great Aslan Padishah of Sargon during the grand conquest of the Foehn Hotland. With the sword, the Rhodes Island-Eartha alliance will be able to literally “cut” the artificial Catastrophe created by the Shard, hence stopping a world-wide disaster and rallying the Victorians to overthrow the Kazdelian overlords. In order to get to the mausoleum, there must be two forces with one distracting the Kazdelians and the other finding its location.

While preparing the mission, Allerdale and Siege have a nice chat about the past. Allerdale recalls the day twenty-six years ago (the year 1072) when she met young Siege carrying the “Sighs of Kings” during a royal birthday banquet, and she is happy to meet her again as promised by Gawain the Beast Lord. In turn, Siege describes her witness of the current dilemma among Londinium’s common folks while fighting for her own survival. Victoria needs to have its king back to the throne to restore peace.

However, such peace will be broken. Under the order of the ex-Gaulish Lettou, a supporter of the Military Commission, every noble within the Auchterigg Borough must be purged to counteract against usurpers. The Sanguinarch even burns down the Cumberlands’ mansion, costing the life of Allerdale’s faithful servant Ailshie and the destruction of the family’s Steam Knight armor. Nevertheless, most of Eartha’s and R.I.’s forces have retreated much earlier, hence they managed to avoid being captured.

Workers United

In the meantime, the Doctor and Feist are infiltrating the military factory of the Highbury District to seek for the Kazdelian production line and hence sever it. However, the duo encounter Catherine, the supervisor of the factory and Feist’s grandmother. It is revealed that Feist once argued with his grandmother about joining Eartha, leading to a disagreement with the two. Nevertheless, as a caring grandmother who does not wish her grandson facing the same fate as his father, Catherine reluctantly provided some information to the duo through her notes inside her office, including a map that pinpoints the factories controlled by the Commission.

While the duo are gathering the notes, Catherine and other senior factory leaders are ordered by their Sarkaz superiors to gather up at the field. To their horror, the Sarkaz are executing them to avoid information leakage after the completion of the Shard. Through the words of other workers, Feist learns the situation and decides to rally them and rebel against the Sarkaz. With his leadership, they rescue Feist’s grandmother from the executioners’ hands. While Catherine leads other workers for the escape, she has no worry for her grandson but is proud of him.

Sighs of Kings

Days later, the alliance is ready to execute the plan. The R.I.-Eartha force heads on to lure the Kazdelians away from their military posts, but they only find themselves standing against Manfred, the Sanguinarch, General Leto, and the Confessarii warriors . The gang also learn that the troops led by the Nachzehrer King and the Lich King are on their way back to Londinium despite Kal’tsit’s attempt to delay them back at the Rhodes Island landship. If the Nachzehrers and the Liches return, the alliance will be in total disadvantage due to their gruesome Arts. Even with Logos’ supreme verbal Arts and Ascalon’s assassination skill, they could not easily suppress the Sarkaz troops.

On the other side, the Glasgow gang, Allerdale, and her hired mercenaries led by Totter are entering the underground mausoleum of the Victorian kings. There, they discover the corpses of all the Victorian Steam Knights. They realize the reason why the Steam Knights did not appear during Londinium’s fall four years ago: they were completely betrayed by the nobles of the Parliament by being ordered to guard the tomb until their last man, hence falling into the Kazdelians’ ambush. Out of honor, the gang pay their last respect to the fallen heroes.

The gang eventually reaches the center of the mausoleum, the safehouse where the “Sighs of Kings” is kept. However, Allerdale and her mercenaries suddenly turn against Siege and Dagda and order them to hand in the sword to them. Siege figures out that Allerdale was forcefully ordered by the Duke of Caster to enter the mausoleum and retrieve the the “Sighs of Kings” despite the two’s close friendship. Just before a fight is about to break out, a Steam Knight corpse suddenly comes to life seemingly and attack the gang. As the guardian of Victoria’s last hope, this “last Steam Knight” proves to be an invincible foe against the gang.

An Inevitable War

On the surface, the fight seems to be out of control. Amiya’s power as the Lord of Fiend suddenly goes rampage where she sees a vision of Kazdel’s past and the root of the Sarkaz’s suffering. She witnesses a grand crusade of many nations two hundred years ago that led to the kingdom’s most recent disintegration, and she meets the preparator of that war — the familiar Feline named Kal’tsit—who vowed to stop Kazdel’s vengeance against Terra through the power of the Lord. Back in the battle, Regent Theresis suddenly appears amidst the confusion, and Kal’tsit suffers a severe injury while protecting the Doctor; had Shining not being on the spot for emergency treatment, it could easily result in her death. Seeing themselves losing the battle, the alliance quickly retreats back to the underground basement.

At the mausoleum, Siege and the rest are hurriedly leaving the place before they will be crushed by the “last Steam Knight.” To buy them some time, Allerdale uses her Arts to bring the boulders into collapse, thus blocking the path and luring the knight away from Siege. Despite Allerdale seemingly sacrificing herself, she promises that she will meet Siege again, just as Gawain prophesized twenty-six years ago.

While the mission to retrieve the sword is a success, its outcome weights more than its achievement. Even then, they reinvigorate themselves by encouraging each other. Misery and Horn regroup with the rest, and Clovisia heads on to rally other workers to join Eartha. The Doctor comforts Amiya after she wakes up from her unconsciousness by promising her that they will stick with her until the end.

While the alliance force are recovering, other factions are on their move. While on their way to meet Mr. Hughes, Ch’en and Bagpipe pass by Harmonie, and as a graduate from the Royal Guard Academy, Harmonie is interested to meet them again someday. Meanwhile, the Kazdelian airship fleet is finally completed and is ready to create the artificial Catastrophe from the Shard. Dublinn has convinced the other seven Grand Dukes outside the capital to ally with them through the influence of the Duke of Wellington, which strengthens its overall might. At an R.I office in southern Victoria, the recovered Loughshinny thanks the operator in-charged, delivers a letter to the Doctor and Kalt’sit, and heads on to Londinium to face her sister Eblana, the “Leader” of Dublinn and heir to the Taran Draco throne.

Hostage and Starve

The Shard is now ready to unleash its Catastrophic power against the Victorian troops. As the airship fleet flies around, they act as bullseyes for the tower aiming at the victims. Now, the other Grand Dukes are more cautious in approaching the capital to avoid being the Shard’s next target.

In the meantime, the Military Commission and Londinium’s wall guards blockaded the Norport Borough by breaking off its nomadic plate and having it standing in front of the Grand Dukes’ siege, effectively turning it into a “hostage”. Not only does this slow down the Grand Dukes as they do not want to hurt civilians, but this causes panic to break out among the Norport residents. Nevertheless, as the headquarters of the Glasgow Gang, Baird, Cador, and Delphine help maintain the borough’s order by arresting trouble-makers, chasing away other Sarkaz mercenaries, and taking in those who wish to seek shelter in their bar.

Despite their efforts, however, the situation in Norport deteriorates faster than they expect. More and more in-fighting occurs in the street as food and water become scarce. The residents were also forced to cannibalize corpses. Oripathy becomes more common as Infected residents are murdered by the rioters. The trio has no way to calm the refugees they take in but to allow them flee as they wish amidst this life-threatening situation.

Infiltrate and Instigate

Back in the Auchterigg Borough, the Rhodes Island-Eartha alliance are facing multiple ambushes from both the Londinium Defence Force led by Lettou and the Kazdelian armies. They realize that their underground intel has already been exposed to the enemies, and they figure out the only one who could infiltrate them – the Damazti Cluster. Seeing their hideouts lost one after another, the alliance decides to retreat from Londinium temporarily to regather their forces. But not everyone agrees, especially the local workers serving Eartha, and they even hold Catherine and Clovisia hostage. Regardless, the alliance regard retreating to be necessary as more and more fighters are becoming wounded since Kal’tsit’s injury. In the meantime, Logos volunteers to hold back the Damazti Cluster, and the two kings of the Sarkaz Royal Court finally get the chance to know each other.

In the Saint Marsol School, the intel center of Eartha, Golding is shocked to see their hideouts being quickly exposed. She first suspects Lettou for this, but he objects by telling her not to waste time on him. To her horror, Molly, her faithful school colleague, was kidnapped by the Damazti Cluster, and they shapeshifted themselves into Jasmine to infiltrate the school. The weak-minded Feline falls into guilt for allowing herself to make such a foolish mistake. Finally, out of grave sorrow, she commits suicide in her school together with her remaining intel. The Damazti Cluster respects her bravery by changing themselves into her form while witnessing her death.

As R.I. quickly evacuates their fighters, not only do they finally meet Ines again, but they also encounter the “Trilby Ashers,” the elite guards of the Duke of Caster. They bargain with them to work together for Caster’s favour in exchange for their safety from the Kazdelians, but R.I. prefers to maintain their neutral status in the war. Despite this, they unanimously agree that breaking through Norport’s blockade is a priority, forming a temporary cooperation.

Upon arriving at Norport, Siege and her fellows take this opportunity to reunite with the rest of the Glasgow Gang. To pacify the deteriorating chaos among the Norport residents, Morgan publicly exposes Siege’s royal identity to them, and disagreement soon breaks out among Glasgow. Cador despises the aristocrats for abandoning them, and he is even disgusted to see Glasgow turning from a party for the common folks to that for the royals. Even Siege starts questioning herself as to why she has to return to her homeland if she is forced by her subjects to take the vacant throne.

R.I. and the Trilby Ashers then head on to the local hotel, where the only surviving broadcaster is held, under Delphine’s suggestion. They hope to broadcast the blockade to the Grand Duke and request their rescue. And the more R.I. cooperates with the Trilby Ashers, the more the Doctor realizes their intention. The Trilby Ashers’ true intention is in fact retrieving the technology of the Kazdelian airships, and bolstering the strength of Caster’s army. They also uncover Delphine’s identity as the daughter of the Duke of Windermere who has been hiding here as a spy, and Delphine hopes her mother to save both her and the rest of Londinium through the broadcast. Just then, the Dublinn forces suddenly appear in Norport; they are here by the order of the Duke of Wellington to test the military strength of his rival Caster along with eyeing the airship. A brief fight occurs between the R.I.-Trilby Ashers side and the Brigadier’s Redsteel Guard. Meanwhile, Delphine finds out that the broadcaster is already gone, being taken away by neither Dublinn nor the Trilby Ashers.

Revenants of the Anguished

With the broadcaster gone missing, the Trilby Ashers change their priority on investigating the airship through Amiya’s and Ascalon’s Sarkaz arts. Even then, they have Ines dispatched to send the signal from the airship to Windermere’s troops before daybreak. The moment an airship stops by, the gang secretly infiltrates it.

But suddenly, Ascalon and Amiya feel uncomfortable upon boarding the ship. Some mysterious shadow looms across the structures, seemingly devouring the unwelcomed guests. The airship itself is born of Sarkaz witchcraft, and its energy source, to their horror, is actually the Revenant, the sorrowful dead souls of the Sarkaz, having been accumulated for the past millennia. As the dead souls lament the loss of their homeland, they mock Amiya, being an “Outblood King,” will never understand the Sarkaz’s yearn for vengeance, rejecting her to be their “King of Sarkaz.” Even Amiya herself admits that the Sarkaz’s sorrowful souls are already indulged by indomitable fury.

Just as the gang is about to be devoured by the dead souls, Eblana expels them with her necromantic flames. The Damazti Cluster joins the fray too, but they could not withstand the Draco’s flames. As the airship is about to lift off, the Dublinn troops surrounding the area are ordered to be evacuated. The fight ends with Eblana’s victory, but her necromantic flames have been slowly devouring the Norport Borough.

Both the escalating fire and the Sarkaz’s attempt to blast off Nortport through the Shard prompts the Glasgow Gang to evacuate the people onto Windermere’s landship. Chaos breaks off during the process, and Baird was accidentally wounded while trying to calm down a crazy, deaf man. Siege is forced to leave Baird behind to die in prioritizing saving the rest.

To What Path We Choose

Daybreak has finally arrived, and Ines has successfully sent the signal to Windermere. Just then, she’s being pursued by Paprika and Manfred. In the meantime, she has to flee from the wrath of the dead souls on the airship. While finding herself surrounded, Ines bravely breaks through the windows and jumps from the airship. Luckily, W and Hoederer arrive to rescue her through the former’s artillery and the latter’s haze Arts, allowing Ines to cushion her fall. The Babel mercenary trio head on to their new hideout after having a short reunion.

Despite being safely evacuated, the threats against the Norport civilians are far from over. Just then, the Damazti Cluster appears in front of the R.I. gang to meet Amiya. After a brief fight, the Damazti is in awe of Amiya’s uniqueness as the new “Lord of Fiends.” Meanwhile, the host of the Damazti admits their defeat to Logos as well. The immortal Damazti have been seeking an answer to their question of the meaning of new life, and Logos gives them a surprising answer – to die and rebirth. With that said, the entire Damazti intentionally “ends” their life with Logos commemorating this moment through his magical bone flute. Soon after, Theresis and Kal’tsit sense that two newborn Damazti have appeared somewhere in Londinium, with one on their way to R.I.

Thanks to Ines’ signal, Windermere could safely evacuate her troops while avoiding the Catastrophic impact from the Shard blasting off Norport. The Grand Duchess lets the refugees board the landship while reuniting with her daughter. She warmly welcomes R.I. and Glasgow as well, and they agree to sit down and discuss new plans to recapture Londinium through the “Sighs of Kings.”

Among Glasgow, only Siege and her three faithful followers are on board of Windermere’s ship. Delphine has now returned to her mother’s side, Baird is now dead, and Cador has decided to leave Glasgow out of his distrust for the aristocrats. Morgan burns off her journal’s draft as commemoration of their separation.

The Sarkaz troops are gradually increasing, and the Nachzehrers are ready to further expand the artificial Catastrophe through their mobile witchcraft sites. The Nachzehrer King sits on his floating throne to spread death and panic through the eternal vindicative spirits of the Sarkaz souls. Meanwhile, the Liches send Ermengarde as their Messenger to Theresa in the name of the Liches’ blessing, and the Lich King seems to approve the Commission’s action despite their neutrality. Despite the horror, the Duke of Wellington fears no enemies. Upon finishing a brief converse with Caster, Wellington orders his troop to fight the Sarkaz armies in the name of the Taran nation.

Far away around Londinium’s wilderness, Reunion finally arrives at the capital for their goal of saving the local Infected workers. Red and Percival have been infiltrating Norport not only to rescue the Infected, but also to retrieve the broadcaster. With that said, Nine and Talulah prepare themselves for the next phase of their mission – formally declaring their existence and fighting against the wheel of history powered by the aristocrats.

Divide et Impera

The Norport Borough formally declares the Sarkaz’s occupation of Londinium. With the Shard keeps generating Catastrophic clouds, the Victorian Grand Dukes’ armies are unable to get closer to the capital. Wellington’s troop has to retreat from the Nachzehrers and reevaluate their strategies. Knowing that they are at disadvantage, the Duke of Windermere decides to have her troops retreated from Londinium. Rhodes Island and Glasgow agree as they prioritize on settling down the Norport refugees. Within the capital, many of the Eartha forces are scattered with Feist and Rockrock being outside of the capital to track the Sarkaz’ supply chains. Even the Londinium Defence Forces that allied themselves with the Military Commission are disbanded.

While the Windermere troop is passing by a valley, they were ambushed by the Kazdelian forces. Through their space Arts, the Confessarii and the Sanguinarch are able to infiltrate the landship quietly. During the chaos, The Duchess and Delphine are separated, and the Duchess heads on to face the Sanguinarch alone. However, Delphine realizes that there is another king of the Sarkaz Royal Court being on board – the newly reborn Damazti Cluster. The Duchess falls into the trap of the Damazti and is brutally murdered by the Sanguinarch’ s blood Arts. Delphine could only blame her own weakness while spending her last moment with her mother.

The Confessarii, led by Salus, successfully kidnapped Amiya, and the Doctor struggles to catch up the retreating Sarkaz forces. Now finding themselves in a Sarkaz ruin inside a cave, the Doctor witnesses Salus forcefully retrieving the crown of the “King of Sarkaz” on Amiya, causing the girl to fall into rampage. Luckily, Logos and Ascalon rejoins the Doctor to expel Salus. Upon rescuing Amiya, the four have to find their way back to the Windermere troops.

On the side of Hoederer, W, and Ines, the Babel trio, experienced an abnormal phenomenon. They somehow “travelled back in time” in illusions depicting the past of the Teekaz and the Kings of Sarkaz. Thankfully, through Ermengarde’s guidance, they are able to tear off the illusions and find their way back. Standing in front of them is a red altar for Sarkaz witchcraft, and Ermengarde recognizes it as altar of the Vampires. But what puzzles her is that the illusions they encounter are not from any kind of Originium Arts, even Sarkaz witchcrafts. After separating from Ermengarde, the Babel trio continue to follow after these mysterious altars found around nearby.

Logos, Ascalon, and the Doctor too encounter the time-travelling illusion and reached a Vampire altar. Using their intelligence, they persuaded Paprika and her comrades to take them for a ride after encountering them at the altar. Logos also notices that these altars are not built with normal Originium which worries him a lot.

Somewhere outside Londinium, Reunion manages to gather up as many refugees as possible, including deserted soldiers. They meet many new faces, including Nowell who turns out to be a legendary “Ageless” but loathes his own immortality. With their members increasing, they have to make contact with the local Victorian Reunion fighters, an organization that is just carrying the Reuniona name but is never fully recognized by them, and need their aid in making suppressants for the Infected.

Burden of Leadership

Back in the Windermere troop, Siege and the Glasgow gang are busy settling down the Norport refugees and performing a brief funeral for the Duke of Windermere. Without the Duchess’ leadership, the troop begins imposing unreasonable orders to the civilians, which enrages both Siege and Delphine that leads to the former’s brawl with Lieutenant Shearer. She also admonishes a Trilby Asher coming to visit her for their failure in the Norport blockade.

Before the Trilby Asher’s silent departure, he hands in her an important intel– a mobile terminal that caught the signal of the Tempest Platoon’s urge for reinforcement in the nearby town of Chestray. Without hesitation, Delphine and Siege leads the army to expel the Sarkaz soldier. In the battle, Siege almost loses her life after destroying a mobile witchcraft altar. Chestray is now freed of the Sarkaz, and everyone in the Platoon including Misery who assists Horn are safe. Even Shearer admires Siege and the Glasgow gang of their bravery, battle tactics, and most of all, their leadership.

Knowing that more and more people have chosen her as their leader, Siege decides to create an army that is free from the control of the Grand Dukes, an army serving the people. She recalls the name of the “Exemplars”, a legendary Victorian troop that was unfortunately abandoned as a pawn in Gaul during the War of the Four Nations. Knowing its meaning, she revives the Exemplars by branding her supporters under its name, and the people’s cheerful uproar floods everywhere the moment she pronounces their existence.

Back to Logos’ side, Amiya, now fallen unconscious, sees a strange vision. She sees herself fulfilling Patriot’s prophecy by becoming the aggressive “Lord of Fiend” enslaving every being on Terra. But Amiya denounces her ultimate fate and vows that she will be a leader to everyone, one that is for both the Sarkaz and the other Terrans; she knows that this should be the one Theresa entrusts on her. As her vision fades away, Amiya wakes up from the dream, bringing relief to the Doctor and Logos.

Meanwhile on Reunion’s side, they reached an abandoned winery where the Victorian Reunion fighters are located. Guard’s negotiation with their leader Mays is a rather unpleasant one due to ideological differences in regards of handling non-Infected refugees. Just then, Guard learns from an agitated non-Infected that a few days ago, her Infected fighters have just killed an innocent Sarkaz. To their horror, that Sarkaz is already an Infected himself, and the room where they keep the Infected corpses is now full of active Originium dust. The winery is in a danger of becoming a literal ticking time bomb.

Guard orders everyone to be evacuated from the winery with Red, Nine, Nowell, and Percival maintaining the order. The building is engulfed in fire due to explosions caused by Originium dust, but Mays heads back to retrieve the crude suppressants. Unfortunately, in order to save Mays’s life, Guard is trapped in the fire as it mercilessly devours his body. He leaves his last message inside a recorder giving a question to his Reunion comrades:

“ You ask — are we fighting for all the “Infected”? Whether they’re despicable, upper class, or even… royalty? Or… Are the people we unite with, the people we want to fight alongside — only the Infected? Only… them? ”

Guard’s last message gives Nine a clearer goal in her leadership in Reunion. She declares that Reunion should be for everyone that is oppressed by this cruel society, regardless of their Oripathy, and they will treat everyone equal, including punishment for the Infected comrades. Talulah, who has been staying on her side, somehow wakes up from her guilt upon listening to Nine’s declaration.

Blood Rite

The safehouse where Shining and Kal’tsit are staying is under the attack of Qui’sartuštaj. He hypnotizes Nightingale to come over his side. It is from this moment that Shining learned the ugly truth of the Confessarii – by killing him off, Shining will immediately inherit the soul of her deceased father from the body of her younger brother, and Shining will bear a child who too will wait for the next succession, and all these are the ultimate goal of the Confessarii: to become the eternal King of Sarkaz tracing back to the bloodline of the first Confessarius. Worst of all, Nightingale is just an artificial vessel who shares the same purpose with the Confessarii’s heredity power, and time is ripe to retrieve her back.

Shining was shaken by this revelation, yet Nightingale responded with a kind answer: she was glad she could be on Shining’s side as a “human” rather than a vessel. In the meantime, Mon3tr proceeds to attack the distracted Qui’sartuštaj, but he immediately recognizes it as a mere replica of the newly reborn Damazti, the other half who sides with Rhodes Island. Qui’sartuštaj then vanishes together with Nightingale, and Shining vows to take her back afterwards.

Outside of Londinium, the allied force pinpoints all the Vampire altars and notices that many of them are centralized in Brentwood, an outskirt town that is mostly abandoned. Rockrock and Feist uncover that the villagers are forced by the Military Commission to build a large Vampire altar. However, they learn from Magdelene the gardener that they willingly do the job, and they are fine with this fragile peace in exchange of their own survival.

The Babel trio discovered an underground basement of the Military Commission. There, they encounter a gargantuan skeleton that still retains Their consciousness through the nerves surrounding Them. It turns out to be a legendary Feranmut that has the ability to manipulate time and dimensions that is only recorded in the Sarkaz legend of Ulšulah the time-travelling hero. Along with Them comes along several cargoes seemingly carrying something. Although the trio intends to further investigate them, the one who’s in charge of managing the basement, Hoederer’s former comrade who now carries the name of Ulšulah, stops them from approaching the “Lifebone,” leading to a brief fight between the two. Knowing this is an important key, they inform other allied forces to gather up at Brentwood.

At Brentwood, the construction of the altar is finally completed. The Kazdelian soldiers revealed their true intention by activating the altar that actually sucks out the villagers’ blood and turns them into worm-like creatures “blessed” by the Sanguinarch that, in turn, bolsters the Sarkaz’s strength. Magdelene almost became one of its victims until Feist and Rockrock rescued her. Brentwood became a living altar of sacrifices, yet the allied forces won’t give up through reinforcement from the arriving “Exemplars,” the Tempest Platoon, and Logos.

The Sanguinarch now proudly leaves from the darkness and proceeds to take control of both the altars and the Feranmut skeleton. But his haughtiness brings uneasiness to everyone around him. Regent Theresis sternly warns him to keep his own weakness, which only incensed him further. He even faces humiliation from Lettou who commits suicide in front of him by splashing his “filthy” blood on his robe.

Dead Yet Dreaming

After expelling the Kazdelian forces out of Brentwood, the scattered allied forces gather up for the next move. Hoederer suggests to immediately capture the living Feranmut skeleton. In accordance of his plan, Siege’s neo-Exemplars and the Tempest Platoon first breach the basement. In the midst of the battle, the Babel trio, Amiya, and Logos will climb up onto the “Lifebone” to take control of Their consciousness. The Babel trio has to first face Ulšulah, and Amiya and Logos encounters the arriving Sanguinarch which leads to a brutal battle of Sarkaz witchcraft.

The Sanguinarch is a great foe to both Amiya and Logos. As the hunter who first killed this Feranmut, he’s also capable of “blessing” those who awakens Their consciousness. He sucks out blood from anyone on the skeleton, including Ulšulah who is saved by Hoederer in a nick of time. All of a sudden, the Feranmut “drifts” into a huge void filled with only sea of stars which is described to be the beginning of the universe. Along with the brutal fight, they have to be cautious of not falling off from the skeleton as they are now trapped inside an endless time tunnel. In the meantime, he unleashes his full potential through his exalted pure blood of the Teekaz. Even Logos recognizes that the Arts he enhanced is not the same as the usual one since it originated from a special kind of Originium.

The Sanguinarch formally vows to both kill off the King of Sarkaz in the name of disobeying the order of this “Outblood King” and brings an everlasting curse as his vindication against this world. Nonetheless, Amiya bravely triumphs over his wrath. Using the power of the black crown and unleashing power from her rings, she formally denounces the authority of the Court of Blood, which baffles the haughty Sanguinarch. With the oral Arts of the young Banshee, Amiya successfully repelled the Vampire’s evil blood.

The humiliated king of the Vampire does not give up, and he takes his last try to eliminate the young King of Sarkaz. But he is now exhausted, and Ines and W manage to deal heavy blows to him, causing him to accidentally slip off from the skeleton. As he falls into the infinite void, he mocks Amiya and Logos for finally using their true power from the pure blood of the Teekaz as if they have fully become literally like him. His curses slowly diminishes, and the proud King of the Court of Blood is now forever trapped inside the flow of time.

Hoederer manages to take control over the “Lifebone.” He speaks to Their consciousness in which he makes a daring bet: who will survive in this brutal battle. The Feranmut is delighted and takes the deal. Even though Amiya finally wins the battle, They raise the stake in which who will be the final winner of the Londinium crisis.

Sins of Our Fathers

The Feranmut returns everyone to reality, bringing everyone safe and sound. Amiya reports to Kal’tsit about the Sanguinarch’s curse, and she figures it out to be related with Originium. It is from this moment Kal’tsit that the Londinium crisis could potentially bring an apocalypse to the entire Terra. The Catastrophic clouds on the Shard and the airship fleet are all façades to fool the whole world; the Sarkaz’s real goal is to activate the Shard’s destructive power through the “first Originium,” the original one that brought the curse of Oripathy onto Terra.

On Reunion’s side, after bidding goodbye to Nowell who decides to temporarily leave them for his own goal, Talulah and Nine are given the chance to meet Eblana and the Dublinns. Their first meeting comes with an unpleasant fight. Eblana invites Talulah to fight with the Tarans and bring back the glory of the Dracos in exchange of leaving the Infected alone, but she strongly refuses out of her detest against royal power. With that said, she lets go of the Reunion fighters out of her interest to let them bring havoc to Victoria, hence buying time for the Taran. But she too vows that the next time they meet everything will be much more brutal.

Even though the crisis seems unresolvable, hope is still around. The Duke of Caster finally persuades Wellington to put aside his aggression and wishes a better cooperation in the future. She also brings in the Duke of Gododdin as mediator to ease up their disagreement. Ch’en and Bagpipe are still on their journey around Londinium, and Bagpipe is amazed of the news regarding the revival of the “Exemplars.” Allerdale survives her ordeal with the last Steam Knight and works together to expel the Kazdellian forces.

Still, the Londinium crisis has brought a great alarm to every nation across Terra. Even an Emperor’s Blade of Ursus quietly infiltrates Victoria, seemingly intending to meddle the war.