Chrysalis

The shadow falls like clouds, like rain;

Creeping dread begins to stain;

Shudder the heart, freeze the brain;

Ring out the laughter, again and again;

Call of you lover, daughter, son;

Sinks into your ears, your will undone;

Forward you step, your soul is wrung;

Cannot resist, Gon has come;

Who can defy that fateful call?

Who can escape the shadows pall?

Forward you go, heedless to stall;

Into the depths to meet the fall;

Lament the brave and pity the meek;

None can flee the song of the freak;

• Rinnidan children's rhyme.

appeared as stone faced and duty bound as ever. Ever since Morrelia had been selected for accelerated development his pride had almost been ready to burst out of his chest. It would seem

to bear over the years, but only a little. His acute awareness of how fleeting joy could be only made his current appreciation for

demons without armour on, the commander would

been recalled from their postings during the wave was a monumental task. Thousands of soldiers and thousands more auxiliaries needed to be accounted for, equipped, fed, billeted and kept happy. Promotions, training, Skill development, Class upgrades, managing morale, all of it demanded the careful attention

it!" Titus crashed his fist down on the table as his

looked around the room as if expecting to see a

commander didn't lose his temper. He just didn't! For him to yell like that, something must be seriously wrong! As she glanced back to the face of her old friend and superior, she froze when she saw the hard lines of his expression. Though he always looked carved from granite, right now the commander appeared as if he was forged from Abyssal Iron! Knowing him for as long as she had, Aurillia

his name in a breach of protocol. "Is something bothering

face his wrath if the moment demanded it. After a long moment where he took hold of his temper, Titus breathed out his tension once more, his expression softening imperceptibly as

and finding it difficult to concentrate," he admitted as he waved a hand towards the piles of forms and applications in front

your daughter out working hard in the Dungeon?" she

Titus frowned.

course I'm proud, but that doesn't mean I want to hear

trained when she was a young

"Hmph," Titus snorted.

stumbling into camp once every few days, covered in ichor and half dead on her feet. She

Titus didn't blink.

did she

it was her decision and the rest of us should leave off," the

"There it is."

can't be serious, Titus! This is your daughter we're talking about, don't tell me that you aren't

that didn't mean he got

straight in the eye, "you don't know what it takes to succeed at that level. If she worked any less, she

much is insane! She

will support her choices. She understands the risks and is willing to