We're here. This path... connects the palace and the ducal manor.
Siege
(Whispers) ...Golden mane.
Totter
What did you just say, Vina?
Siege
No, it's nothing. It's been a long time since I saw them.
Allerdale
Not long ago, we left this place. Today, we walk these ancient bricks again. This path has likely never been trodden this frequently.
Allerdale
It was only meant for emergencies.
Totter
Too bad. Be it the ducal manor or the palace, it has never really served anyone in their time of need.
Dagda
Mercenary, if you don't want to buy everyone here a drink, you'd better not joke about that.
Totter
Right then.
Siege
Allerdale, you said I once came back through this passage with the Sighs of Kings...
Siege
I really don't remember that.
Siege
This has me very restless. It's as though I am purposefully avoiding a great responsibility.
Allerdale
Vina, it's okay. You were too young then.
Allerdale
Anyone who tried to force any kind of responsibility onto a child that had only just learnt to speak would have to be extraordinarily selfish. No mistake about it.
Allerdale
Apologies. I might have insulted someone close to you.
Siege
Hm, actually, I rather agree with what you said.
Siege
But now, we've come back nonetheless.
Siege
'Responsibility'? 'Miracles'? I have no idea what they expected of me, nor do I really care.
Siege
But I stand here today, and I have something I must accomplish.
Siege
I shan't take on any titles because of it. I'm doing this... so that the people will know peace again.
Allerdale
Hah... We are approaching our objective, then.
Allerdale
Sirs, please tear down the brick wall blocking the path up ahead. Be quiet. Don't let them find us.
Allerdale
We need to go down from here...
Siege
Right, I...
As I walk through the darkness, I hear footsteps from behind me.
The Sarkaz couldn't have figured we would go down.
Victorian Mercenary
They must be throwing quite the party above us.
Siege
It's possible that our allies are sacrificing their lives in this intense battle.
Siege
I was actually apprehensive when Allerdale proposed this plan.
Siege
I should be standing with the Corps fighters... and the Rhodes Islanders.
Allerdale
The Doctor's plan is meant to ensure our operation remains undetected.
Allerdale
No matter what happens aboveground, we must get our hands on the Sighs of Kings.
Allerdale
It is the key to foiling the Sarkaz's plans and can even turn the tide of the war.
Morgan
This sword... I've only heard of it in the stories.
Allerdale
It was the sword of the Aslan forefathers.
Allerdale
As the legend goes, it was forged for the Aslans by the fairy of the grasslands. A pasha of yore once beheaded the Poltergeist King with it.
Allerdale
Then, the Aslans came to Victoria to rule, and it became the symbol of their reign.
Allerdale
According to some historical records, in the days before the nomadic cities came to be, the kings once cleaved Catastrophes with it.
Allerdale
For centuries, there was not a single storm to threaten Londinium.
Allerdale
The masses believed that as long as the Sighs of Kings remains, Londinium would overcome all her foes forever, be they powerful poltergeists or terrifying Catastrophes.
Siege
......
Morgan
You can't really believe...
Dagda
I do.
Indra
I... I believe in Vina.
Morgan
It's like you're trying to change the subject. Of course I believe in Vina too, but you can tell right away it's just a fairy tale. That's not real...
Allerdale
That is in fact not a fabrication to legitimize the Aslans' reign. It really can cleave Catastrophes.
Allerdale
If The Shard, with its ability to pull in storms, is Victoria's spear against the outside world, then the Sighs of Kings, capable of rending Catastrophes asunder, is its strongest shield.
Allerdale
The spear is known far and wide, yet the shield exists almost only in legend.
Allerdale
But if we are able to wield this power, we will almost certainly be able to stop the Sarkaz's ambitions.
Siege
Allerdale, you're very familiar with our Realmblade.
Allerdale
I... I'm only fulfilling my responsibilities as a member of House Cumberland.
Siege
Have you seen the blade with your own eyes?
Allerdale
......
Allerdale
Yes, but only once.
Allerdale
What I saw... was something that could only happen in a dream.
Dagda
What did the blade look like?
Allerdale
It... It was beautiful.
Allerdale
It has the power to liven one's heart. The moment you lay your eyes upon it, you'll believe from the pit of your soul that you can triumph over anything.
Morgan
A bit over the top, innit?
Indra
Legends... Legends...
Indra
Maybe that's about the Sarkaz? Is that sword especially good at cutting Sarkaz?
Morgan
Is cutting all you think about?
Morgan
If Vina had beaten that Sanguinarch bloody with her hammer the other day, it'd have a story like that in two hundred years.
Allerdale
Haha, that just might happen.
Allerdale
Then Rhodes Island will become the fairy that bestowed the hammer.
Dagda
Closure'll probably be happy about that.
Morgan
'The Ark of God in the barrenlands! The return of the king!'
Indra
How's that a story? It's all real!
Indra
In twenty years, the story of the 'Great King Vina, leading the Londiniers to chase out the King of Sarkaz' is bound to become a favorite story of all the kids that run around in front of our houses!
Morgan
Then I've got to spend some time thinking how to better tell Vina's story... Hm...
Siege
This isn't my story.
Siege
The bold, fearless Hannah 'Indra' Jackson, the witty Kate Morrigan, and the loyal, tenacious Isabelle Montague.
Siege
Also... the noble, upright Allerdale Cumberland.
Siege
This is your story.
Allerdale
Hah.
Siege
Let's keep going.
Siege
The story isn't going to write itself.
Kyngasycath, the Sighs of Kings.
In her heart, Siege thinks to herself that she must have seen it before.
They are only vague fragments of memories and unclear voices.
She wants to climb up and see what kind of show they are putting on outside. Things are always very lively on the king's birthday.
But all she sees is fire. The fire rages. There are also many men in uniform, either fleeing in all directions away from the flames or lying lifelessly on the ground.
The earth trembles. She's suddenly worried about the glass fowlbeast by her bed. It's a gift that she has just received. Lately, she hasn't been able to sleep without hugging that delicate little trinket.
Victorian Officer
Her Royal Highness Alexandrina!
Victorian Officer
Don't go back! It's dangerous! Thank goodness you ran outside! You're their only objective, aside from His Majesty...
The path ahead is pitch-black, but she is more afraid of the star-like glow chasing her from behind.
She runs and runs for a long, long time. She's forgotten where she started and where she is going. She's almost cried all the tears she has, and the path before her is so long that she can't see its end.
She runs and runs, and a huge, golden mane appears beneath her.
She holds tight to the warm, golden color, and it feels as though she too has become a wild beast dashing on all fours.
At last, she no longer fears the nightmare that chases her. She cries for the things she has lost no more. Instead, she dashes forward freely in the darkness.
The phantoms have disappeared, and the memories recede like the tide.
She finds herself standing in the middle of a long path.
At the end of the path is a door. The door divides life and death, and whether it leads from life to death or from death to life, it opens only to the King of Victoria.
