After meeting up with the others at the hotel, we traveled to the border of Seikara to find Phoenix waiting there, an open black trench coat covered his bandaged arms and matched his black pants with the black belt and small rectangle silver buckle perfectly.

"Let's go, yeah?" Phoenix sighed and he led us out of Seikara without another word.

The area between Seikara and Orina was full of green trees that slowly turned different colors as we got closer to Orina, highlighting the "fall" portion of the sectors. Eventually, after a few hours, we came to a hill with an oak tree, surrounded by multiple valleys and hills with mountains covered in red, brown, green, orange, gold, and yellow trees in the distance. A giant circular arch made of white columns surrounded what appeared to be the entrance of a city made of white stone walls. Multicolored leaves would blow occasionally with the wind and drift throughout the sky, flittering about until they found their place on the ground.

"You'll find Khalida somewhere in her sanctuary," Phoenix said, pointing a finger to the city, "you'll have to pass through there first in order to get to the mountains. They're blocked off with magical boundaries so that you can't go around to get to her."

"What about the relic holder?" Reine asked.

Phoenix let out a little smirk as he glanced down at the ground and shook his head.

"You'll find the holder where you least expect to," Phoenix said.

"Won't you please take us further?" Ciana pouted her lips and held her hands up in a pleading manner.

"I can't," Phoenix shook his head, crossing his arms against his chest, "sorry. I'm only nineteen. I have no death wish."

"Why would going into Orina be a death wish?" Dimitri questioned, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I've...made quite a name for myself there," Phoenix chuckled, "I'll see you guys back in Seikara sometime, yeah? Well, hopefully. You're all welcome in my shop."

"I knew you'd come around!" Tsukumi shouted as Phoenix turned on his heel and began walking home.

"Not you," Phoenix said, waving a hand in the air as he kept walking, "anyone but you."

"That's biased..." Tsukumi muttered.

And so, that's how we ended up here wandering the streets of Orina, searching for, well...anything to help us. I wanted to ask Phoenix more about himself before he left, but I figured the timing wasn't right. I also didn't want to make him choose to stop helping us, and we need all the help we can get. So, I just kept quiet.

"Do you think we'll find the relic holder?" I ask as I walk alongside Reine.

"Possibly," Reine says, glancing up to look at the clouds, "but I believe that anything is possible if you never give up."

"How sweet," Renee mutters, trudging along with her bag while Renji walks beside her.

"Renee, be nice," Renji sighs and Renee relents with a sigh in return.

"Why couldn't Aislinn take us here?" Nathan asks.

"I am unable to make a gateway to Orina currently," Aislinn says, tilting her head back and raising a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, "the proper conditions were not cultivated."

"Man," Nathan blinks and sighs, turning to look up at the sky as well, "you're weird."

"Be careful what you say," Aislinn says blankly, "I could slice your matter to ribbons in a matter of mere seconds."

"That's scary..." Shitau's eyes widen and Kaltrina shakes her head, smiling.

"Oi! Look!" Ayette shouts, stopping in the middle of the road of wooden cart vendors to point to a short redheaded young woman with shoulder length wavy hair and brown eyes angrily staring up at us from a few feet away.

"Stop imitating Phoenix," Dimitri sighs, pressing his hand against his face.

"You there! What are you doing here?" the girl asks, her hands on her hips as she stands there in a red sweater with white sleeves and a white collar, black shorts, and weathered black combat boots with the laces tied in ribbon fashion.

"Um, who are you?" Ayette asks, walking up to her and bending down slightly, placing her hands on her thighs.

"Don't insult my intelligence," the girl scowls, "I'm four hundred years old and I'm the guardian Iegashyia of Orina."

"Damn," Nathan says slowly, "she looks fine for four hundred."

"How old are--" I turn to Reine with wide eyes.

"Seventeen," she holds up a hand, cutting me off, "I'm not ancient."

"What is your purpose here?" the girl asks again.

"We're here to help stop a war," Reine says, her head held high, "we would appreciate your assistance in guiding us through Orina."

"Who are you?" the girl asks, raising a brow.

"I'm Reine Yvatlovich, guardian of Spring," Reine says and the girl's eyes flicker with interest.

"Welcome, Queen," the girl offers a small smile, "I am Bridgette Ashford. We have many of our soldiers fighting in Winter as of now, so it's a bit emptier here than normal. Where is it that you're heading?"

"We need to head to Khalida's sanctuary. I know this is a big favor to ask, but could you help us?" Reine asks.

"I will help you on one condition," Bridgette says after a few moments of contemplation, "you must meet with the leading family of the Fall Sector."

"On what regards?" Reine asks wearily.

"The leader of the Fall Sector oversees Khalida's sanctuary," Bridgette explains, "you can't pass without their permission."

"Reine--" Dimitri starts, suspicion clear in his voice.

"We'll do it," Reine agrees and Bridgette smiles.

"Excellent. If you'll follow me," Bridgette says and turns around, waving a hand for us to follow, "oh, and Queen, don't call me ancient again."

"Reine--" Dimitri stresses.

"What?" Reine asks, furrowing her eyebrows as she glances over her shoulder.

"Look out!" I shout and tackle Reine away from our Bridgette whenever I notice a duplicate of Bridgette standing down the road across from the one we met while Dimitri summons his sword.

"She's a fake!" Dimitri shouts as the real Bridgette shoots an arrow made of glass into the fake one standing in front of us.

The fake Bridgette chuckles and pulls the arrow out of her arm and I notice a white glass-like energy flickering on her skin before she transforms into a woman with long black hair, icy blue eyes, and an icy blue skirt with white frills, black thigh holsters that hold knives, tall black thigh high boots, and a white v-neck with an icy blue jean jacket.

"Ravanna," Aislinn breathes out and summons her longsword.

Ravanna holds out two silver khopeshes with engravings on them and she runs towards Bridgette before turning and leaping in the air, throwing one of her khopeshes in our direction. Renji runs forward and bends his knee, deflecting the khopesh before swinging his circular shield around so that it's facing the sky and Ciana runs up from the side, jumps up on it, and leaps towards Ravanna with her fist raised.

Reine shakes her head and climbs up from the ground, sending me a brief thankful smile before summoning her katanas and running off towards Ravanna.

"Big mistake pretending to be me," Bridgette mutters and aims her bow, shooting another glass arrow with a chain attached to the end of it as Ciana and Reine fight Ravanna.

Ciana locks eyes with Reine before she grabs Reine's arm and pulls her backwards, making Ravanna chase after them. Just as Ravanna does so, the arrow protrudes through her right shoulder and her eyes widen in shock, a small gasp eliciting beyond her lips. Bridgette takes firm, fast steps backwards as she holds on to her bow and drags Ravanna back with her. Ravanna stumbles around and ends up falling down as she gets dragged through the street, her weapons discarded several feet away from when she was surprised. Ravanna manages to thrash around and rip out the arrow from her shoulder, splatters of blood falling on the ground and she narrows her eyes as she holds on to the arrow and it begins to shift into a glass spear.

"Look!" Ayette gasps out, pointing up to the red slanted rooftops.

A young male with fiery red hair is currently leaping through the air towards Ravanna from the rooftops, a naginata raised above his head as he smiles widely in a somewhat wicked manner. His long purple, black, and gold open robe flutters through the air as he travels closer at a rapid pace, revealing his black pants, deep purple v-neck, and black heavy combat boots, his silver necklace appearing as if there's no gravity as he descends. The male lands and shatters the chain with his naginata before he pulls on it and swirls Ravanna towards him, choking the chain so that it's tight as he holds his naginata out in his other hand and Ravanna comes to a halt directly in front of it, the blade resting beneath her chin as she tilts her head up.

"Your highness!" Bridgette gasps out, "what did I say about staying inside?!"

"A prince shouldn't have to sit back on his throne and rely on everyone else to put themselves in danger for him," the mysterious male glints a smile, "an honorable prince would put himself with his people, for he is not above them but simply provides guidance for them."

"Yes, but--" Bridgette stammers.

"That's enough," the male sighs, "lock up Ravanna in the dungeons and I shall greet our visitors, yes?"

"Right away, Sire," Bridgette lowers her bow and arrow and bows before walking up to the prince and summoning a pair of Iegashyia ability eliminating handcuffs and placing them on Ravanna's wrists.

Bridgette hauls Ravanna away as the man sheathes his naginata and turns towards us, smiling brightly. It's now that I also notice his purple, maroon, and gold bracelets on his right wrist and the silver hoop piercings at the top of his ears where the cartilage is.

"You may lower your weapons," the prince says, raising his hands as a peace signal, "my name is Aidan Jinco, Prince of the Fall Sector."

"We're--" Reine starts.

"I know full well who you are," Aidan smiles, "and I know what you're here for. My eldest sister Eden has prophetic abilities. Would you come with me to the palace? I'd like to discuss some things with all of you and I'd like to formally apologize about Ravanna. As some of you may know, she's a war criminal from Winter, and she happened to escape a few weeks ago. But, thanks to you, she's been caught. I wish you could've met the real Bridgette first, but you'll have plenty of time to meet my retainer at the palace."

Reine looks to Dimitri for approval and he nods, signaling that it's okay. Reine turns her attention back to Aidan and nods to him.

"Okay," Reine says, "let's go."

And with that, we make our way to the royal palace of the Fall Sector.