Whilst Felicity Rhyolite experienced first-hand what it was like to be on the wrong end of Storm Veritas’s frayed nerves, Shinsou looked back at the pair, and then at Gweneal. Although outwardly characteristically calm, his senses screamed at him, begged him to get some sort of rationality back into proceedings. The sudden appearance of the Thayne of Time through an open window assailed his normally substantial powers of reason, and, as if that wasn’t enough, the revelation (if it was indeed a revelation) that Canen Darkflight was either a current or previous host for Arius Mephisto felt like a punch in the gut.

Then, there was the small matter of Veritas. The electromancer’s patience had understandably crumbled like a dry sandcastle, and Shinsou knew him well enough to know when the tobacco smoking wizard was about to go feral. Perhaps it was the sheer acceleration and enormity of events overwhelming his coping mechanisms, but even the street smart Veritas hadn’t thought this through.

“Right,” The Telgradian interjected, pinching the bridge of his nose and scrunching his eyes as he attempted to break everything back down into logical truths, “Everyone stop for a fucking minute. First things first; Storm, I know there’s a lot to take in here but we haven’t the first idea who his friends are or where his support is coming from. If we did, we’d have hit them hard long ago. So, unless you know something I don’t, we would be going out there, wanton, with no roadmap. He’s probably waiting for us to do something fucking stupid, on the hoof. Let’s not make his job any fucking easier.”

Shinsou hated reproofing his friend; not for fear of repercussion, as there had been many times where the pair had stood on each others toes over ‘creative differences’, but because he understood Storm’s frustration. Shinsou wanted to go out there and burn down Arius’s world right alongside the wizard. He wanted to make sure that his was the last face Arius saw before he died like the miserable shit he was, but this bastard was a clever one and the Telgradian had no doubt the man was waiting for them to get emotional and make a mistake.

If Storm got out there and got killed on the heat of the moment, Shinsou would never forgive himself. He pursed his lips and nodded Storm an almost apologetic acknowledgement, before turning to address the ethereal presence of Gweneal.

His golden eyes narrowed as he looked into the pearly whites of the childlike apparition. The Telgradian should have feared the Thayne. It should have been a natural feeling for a mortal to tremble before a deity, but his experiences with Joshua Cronen and their destruction of the greater Thayne Draconus in Scara Brae numbed him to the anxieties that one would feel when dealing with such power. It was an air of invincibility that he probably did not deserve, but one that he nonetheless carried with him, and it was then that Shinsou forgot he was not talking to a child, but the Thayne of Time.

“Let’s get some actual facts we can use. His last host was Canen Darkflight? Does that mean current host? Last host but one? I don’t know if you’ve noticed but we’re situated in a packed village here, a bit more detail would go a long way here, if you’d please,” Shinsou said harshly. He couldn’t see the expression on Felicity’s face, who clearly couldn't believe the way the pair of them were addressing the Thayne.

“That’s all I can tell you,” Gweneal replied, without a mote of emotion in his voice, “Canen was the last host.”

“So, is this a case of can’t help us, or won’t?” The Telgradian accused. “Right now, we have to make a decision as to whether or not Canen is an unassuming vessel for the weapon of Arius Mephisto housed at its heart. If he is, and we overlook it, we’re in trouble. Tell me, Thayne; beneath all that divine indifference to mortal life, could you stand to see Arius’s sword pierce her heart? Or are you happy to sit there, uninvolved, like many of the pantheon around you?”

There was no response as Gweneal’s eyes followed the tip of Shinsou’s outstretched finger to a bewildered Felicity. The Telgradian’s eyes flashed with a stern anger, but the feeling didn’t translate a tone of voice. Instead, he almost whispered his retort.

“I've experience with the Thayne. I have been fortunate enough to have met those within the ranks of the faithful, like Joshua Cronen, who truly do wish for a greater good. There are those of you who mean the best for the people. But then there are ones like you, and Draconus. Murderers, if not by intent, then by omission. The only difference between you and that dragon is that I doubt you truly realize what you're doing.”

That thought guided him back to the man currently under house arrest in the Brotherhood complex, Canen, and it was then the Telgradian felt something . It was abnormal, and extremely painful, like a blade being forced into his gut. Gritting his teeth, the confused Shinsou tapped into his spirit sense. Each life in Whitevale appeared to him in terms of colours. Most were blue, but both Veritas and Felicity were green, signifying a much higher than average spiritual or magical potential than the average human. ‘Specials’, Storm jokingly called them. But in a small corner of Whitevale, in the prison block where had Storm had once had to beat two men to death with their bare hands, a new colour resonated. It was eclipse shaped, and swirled with marbled lilac hues that every now and then released a fork of white. Whilst Storm and Felicity gazed quizzically at the Telgradian, sensing that something was up, Shinsou tried to make sense of what was happening, sweating from the pain in his stomach.

“Something’s going on in Canen’s cell block. I can’t make out what the fuck is happening, but it feels like-“

Shit. Fucking shit!

As his words trailed off, Shinsou’s eyes swerved from the floor and back up to Storm and Felicity.

“Canen’s dead. It has to be that son of a bitch! Let's get over there quick. I don't care if we have to kill every guard in that block to make sure we got him - let's just fucking get there, now!”

It was irony manifest, although he hadn't spotted it. The same darkness that overcame Veritas now seemed to fall upon him too. The same wild eyes, the same salivation and urge pulling him like a cosmic magnet towards ending the life of his most loathed adversary were all present.

Now, all they had to do was get to the prison block before Arius was lost to them forever.