➨Eventually, Vanessa and Finral returned. They claimed there was something criminally important that they needed to attend to (they didn't tell you what), which is why it took them so long to come back. Honestly, you don't believe a word of that, but you were just happy to have your wrists freed.

"So! How did it go? Do you guys feel closer? Oh, and sorry about the whole pushing you down the hole. I really had no idea what was down there." She explained.

Zora stuck his hand in his pocket and brought out the golden necklace he snagged from the dungeon. "Close enough." It falls into the palm of her hand and her eyes light up.

She inspects it and brings it up to her eyes. Without wasting time she fastens it around her neck proudly. "This is absolutely gorgeous. Really though, I'm glad you're both okay. I would've felt terrible if something really bad happened."

Clearly she didn't consider nearly getting mauled by an enormous sea creature bad enough for her sympathy. Or the part about getting bit by a mutated spider and being chased by possessed polar bears.

"Mission accomplished." Since you were alive, you had little complaints. You peered up at Zora. "You ready?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Finral and Vanessa stared with their jaws dropped slightly. They looked equally shocked as they looked horrified. "Uh oh. Something possessed them while they were in the dungeon!"

"Hold on. I'm going to see if Gordon is somewhere. Maybe he'll know what to do!" Vanessa panics.

You held your hands out. "No no no. We're fine. He's just helping me with something. Actually, he's about to make a phone call with me."

There's a pause, both of them looking at Zora. When nobody says anything Finral nearly jumps out of his skin. "He doesn't have any snarky comeback!"

"Would you shut the hell up? Your voice is like glass in a goddamn blender." Zora pushes past the two of them and steps outside.

Finral on the other hand sighs with relief. "Whew okay! He's fine!"

You slipped out after him and found Zora standing against the wall. Though he appeared to be less irritated, it was still written on his face. It might just be his resting face.

"I still don't understand why you'd want me to be here while you call your mother. That's awkward and extremely weird." He grumbled.

You took the communication device out of your pocket and continued to walk into the forest to look for a quiet spot. Preferably where the connection was still stable. "From what you told me, she might be happy to see you alive and... somewhat well."

"Somewhat?"

There was a perfect clearing within the trees. Shade from the leaves and one large trunk to sit against. "I mean you probably look different with your whole..." You gesture to his outfit. "...This."

While you sit underneath the tree he swings himself up on a branch above you. He crosses his legs at his ankles and leans back against the trunk.

You hover over your mom's contact and take a deep breath. It's been a minute since you've called and you didn't know if she's already seen everything about you. There was a good chance she didn't which means you have a lot of explaining to do. And questions to ask.

Shaking off the nerves, you rip the bandaid on and click her name.

It rings for an eternity. Each one echoing off your skull before it picks up and a miniature hologram pops up. Her features are exactly like you remembered despite the bags under her eyes. After your dad died she'd been having trouble sleeping and she would usually just work through the night to distract herself.

"My baby!" She exclaims and a smile spreads across her face. "Oh Y/N you don't know how good it is to see your face again. I was getting worried. You never call!"

Immediately you felt like a kid again. Much easier back then too. Not much you had to worry about. "Hey mom. Sorry, there was... a lot. I have a lot to tell you and ask. But first of all, how are you doing?"

"Way better now. I've been dealing with the aftermath of your dad's mess. Spade's been surprisingly patient with me though. Some of them sent me gifts, and some of them still want to threaten my life. Ha! Some things never change, you know?"

Your jaw tightened. "They're still giving you trouble? How are they still mad even though they murdered him?"

She seems to just shake it off. "That's exactly why the gifts are being thrown directly into the garbage. Anyway, what's my favorite daughter been up to?"

"I'm your only daughter. Before I tell you the mess, I want to show you somebody I met." You glanced upwards to see Zora had looked a little, no very, nervous. "I hope you catch this."

You toss the device upwards and he catches it in one hand. The moment he lays on the hologram his body language changes completely. His shoulders loosen, and he straightens up just a little bit.

On the other end, your mom nearly screams. "Little Zora?! Oh my gosh I'm about to have a heart attack." She gets closer and inspects more carefully and all you can see is her eye in the frame. "No, I'm being lied to. Is that really you?"

"In the flesh." He replies with the most normal tone you've ever heard from him. No temper, moodiness, no brooding.

"Yeah, a whole lot of it I can see... where's your shirt?" She murmurs and stands back so her entire face is back in sight. "Kieran and I were so worried something happened when we went back to try and visit and you were gone. Have you been well?"

He nods. "I'm doing fine. I... joined my Magic Knight squad so we'll see where that goes." It looks like he goes to say something else but he hesitates. He glances down at you and then back at the device. "My bad, it's just strange to really see you again. You and Kieran helped me get through everything. Probably the only reason I'm here."

She smiles. "Sweetheart, you're where you are right now because you're resilient just like your father. We just picked you back up. You did the rest. I hear the Black Bulls are an interesting squad. They're no Golden Dawn but I've heard about that... Asta guy? He's made wind over here for being a hellraiser or something like that."

Zora looks back down at you. "Yeah, something like that. Anyway, I'm sure your daughter has a lot more to say than I do." They say their goodbyes and he drops the device back down into your hands.

"Speaking about squads, how's the Golden Dawn, Y/N? What about those three friends you were telling me about last time? Are they around?"

You sighed. "About that..."

At first you gave her the short story. Skipped out a lot of the details in order to not hold her up forever. But then she basically cussed you out and didn't believe you. So then you started from the beginning and went through it slower, making sure she got everything she wanted to hear.

When you were finished she had her hands clasped around her nose as she paced back and forth. "So you're like one misstep towards execution?" She asks with barely settled anger.

"If I'm lucky I might get two missteps. And execution isn't confirmed. They told me if I'm not cleared of all suspicions, or if I don't bring the real killer to justice, they're kicking me from the Magic Knights."

"Do I need to come down there?" She crosses her arms. "Maybe I do because somebody's lost their goddamn mind and I'm gonna figure out who it is."

"Please do not do that."

"Y/N this isn't okay. I'm sure there's some reason for what happened. You said an elf possessed you! Is that not enough reason to give you some leniency?" She emphasized her point with a slam on the desk.

You shut your eyes and let out a breath. "I'm working with the Black Bulls to try and fix it, okay? It's going to be fine." You hope so at least. "I need to know though, did Dad tell you anything about what he was doing before he died? It might help me out."

She lets out a heavy breath. "You shouldn't mess around with it. I mean he was going through a lot of changes and he just kept dabbling where he shouldn't've. I told him if he kept going down the path he was on something bad could happen and it did."

"Mom, this could be a breakthrough. There's something that I'm not seeing and if I could just figure it out it might help me make an argument."

"Against the Magic Parliament? Y/N do you hear yourself? You want to use Spade magic to appease a court of nobles? You're going to dig a bigger hole for yourself and then they'll have more incentive to do something terrible to you! I already lost my husband, I'm not losing my child."

"You're going to lose me if you don't tell me anything!" You snapped a little too quickly before you realized you were raising your voice. Everything was just hitting you at once and you were taking it out on the wrong person.

"I'm sorry." You apologized. "You know I wouldn't do anything to purposely try and get myself hurt. But as it's going right now I don't have anything to go off of except maybe a hint of what Dad was doing. Mom, I decapitated a man. It hasn't been very easy trying to live my life with that hanging over my head. Something is happening, and he knows."

She watches you with a look that screams how exhausted she is. Between whatever Spade has been harassing her about, and now you calling with this, it can't be easy. You start to feel like maybe you should've just tried to figure it out on your own like you do most things.

"Kieran had secrets. A lot of them he told me, a lot of them he kept to himself. He said it was for our protection. Now I only speculated because I was never 100% sure, and still I'm not very sure. But I have a feeling that he made a contract with a devil. I don't know why, and I don't know what he would've given up for it."

You felt your blood go cold. The same man that was always telling you to not make deals with the devil, did just that.

She continued. "Whoever, or, whatever she was, definitely had something to do with his death. I don't deal with those departments and I really wish he didn't."

A part of that statement piqued your interests. "You said she? It was a girl devil?"

"Well I hope so. Whenever I would ask about his work he would always reference using she and her." Your mother crossed her arms. "Either that or he was cheating on me but I don't believe he was like that."

Holy shit.

The only female devil you've come across was during the elf invasion. She never went up to peacefully ascend with the rest of them, she went straight back down to hell. Unless it was a coincidence. But it seemed too perfect to be one.

"If you want to really know, I have all of his papers and stuff. You'd be in a time crunch because the soldiers are coming in two weeks to collect it. If they got it, you'd have to go through a lot of work to read anything. If they'd even let you." She said, "Although I know Heart is sort of out of the way."

"No, no I can make it." You responded quickly. "Listen, that actually might be perfect for the Black Bulls too. They–" You cleared your throat and corrected yourself. "We are trying to clear Asta's name. Parliament thinks he's conspiring with devils."

She sucks her teeth. "Those people are so damn bored! But if you can make it, let me know. I don't know if I can arrange transportation to get here, but I can surely help you after you cross the border."

"Thank you." It was a miracle that something finally worked out in your favor.

"Oh! You should bring Zora around. I have something his father gave me–well, Kieran, a while ago, I think it would be much better suited in his hands rather than mine."

You glanced up at the man on the branch. He just shrugged and averted his gaze. "Yeah sure." You told her. "I'll call you soon."

"I sure as hell hope so!"

The two of you disconnected and you quietly let the information buzz around your head for a moment. Then you tilted your head back so you could properly see Zora. "I think the devil that my dad made a contract with was the one inside my body."

He hummed and rolled his head to the side. "Something else still isn't making sense to me. You said you've met my dad, right? And clearly our parents were buddies or whatever."

You nod. "Mhm. I was in your house and everything."

"Okay, and besides that, do you remember us having any other interactions as kids?" He asked. "Do you even remember seeing me there?"

"Zora, I was like 10, why would I remember something so small like that? It was your house, why wouldn't you be there?"

He swings his legs over the branch, letting them dangle over your head. "I'm just saying I feel like I would've remembered you coming over to my damn house to have dinner. And I'm assuming we would've been around each other a lot but I can't remember a single thing with you in it."

You sat and thought. The dinner you remember clearly. Other than that you don't remember any fond childhood memories with Zora. Your mom talks to him like she's known him his whole life, maybe she has. If that's the case, why don't you remember even having a conversation with him?

"Once again we were kids. A lot of stuff happened that maybe our interactions just got drowned out of our heads or something."

"Are you acting like an idiot on purpose?" He jumps down from the branch and lands next to you. "Use this for a second." He says jabbing a finger at your forehead. "When you first meet someone don't you ask them something?"

You swatted his hand away. "Maybe their name? Why are you suddenly speaking in riddles?"

He gave you a look and didn't say anything. Forcing your mind to work through it once again. When you first met him he wasn't even using his own name. So what was the point in bringing it up again?

"I asked you for your real name." You started out slowly to see if you were picking up what he was putting down. "And you told me." The words started flowing and suddenly you were seeing his point. "Even with your name you were still a stranger to me. If we knew each other before I would've at least known you."

"Took you long enough."

You pushed yourself off the ground. "Did you know you're actually enjoyable to be around when you add substance to a conversation?" You shoot him a teasing grin.

"The previous conversations weren't interesting enough for me to add substance to." He counters.

"Right. But you're suddenly very intrigued by my daddy issues."