"Tim�."

　　A voice called, forcing the young man to open his eyes.

　　"Did you sleep well?" Aevana asked.

　　Tim� looked at himself and saw that he was covered in a thin blanket.

　　"Yes. Oh and thanks."

　　Aevana nodded before crossing her legs.

　　"Did you learn anything substantial?"

　　"Quite a bit. These beings, the ones that have haunted my dreams for as long as I can remember, might very well be actual gods. Well, I`ll have to talk to either Kenos or Kats韐i before I come to any conclusions."

　　Aevana nodded before lowering her head slightly.

　　"What?"

　　"Could you- could you accompany me to the Oasis?"

　　"Sure." Tim� said as he stood up.

　　He then folded the blanket before placing it on the couch.

　　Aevana took the book Tim� had read and returned it to the shelf before accompanying him out of the house.

　　The two then made their way towards the teleportation platforms in lower Coh, but just as they stepped onto one of the platforms, Tim�`s tummy loudly growled.

　　"We`ll eat when we get back, ok?"

　　"OK." Tim� said before rapidly blinking as he and Aevana were teleported to the Oasis.

　　They were greeted by a few guards who guided them to a certain spot to the east of the Oasis.

　　Tim�`s eyes widened upon seeing the man who was Aevana`s father.

　　Petrus, once captain of the Regal Thorns, now hung from a circular crucifix with his large head hanging from his small body.

　　He was covered in countless scars and coated in blood, shit and piss all which contributed to his rotted state.

　　Aevana and Tim� stood about twenty meters away from the crucifix but they weren`t spared from the nauseating smells that came from Petrus`s hanging body.

　　"One thing I`ve learnt since coming to the expanse is that you can never truly appreciate joy or happiness without having felt despair." Aevana said.

　　Tim� looked into her eyes which caught the reflection of the rising sun, but even as she stared at the mutilated body of her gather, her eyes remained steady.

　　"I& that isn`t entirely true, though& right?" Tim� asked as cool winds blew across the Expanse.

　　"I`m pretty sure one can fully appreciate joy on its own. The joys that come with living and how one appreciates them doesn`t necessarily depend on how much a person had suffered& at least, that`s what I`d like to think." He added.

　　Aevana sighed before resting her head on his shoulder.

　　"You`re right as well, but to me& one shouldn`t be allowed to experience that ecstatic joy without having tasted the worst of unrelenting agony and dread." Aevana said with a twisted frown.

　　Tim� wrapped his arm around her and joined her in looking at Petrus.

　　He remained silent as he digested Aevana`s words.

　　"Did I ever tell you what my life was like in Lanceberg?" She asked.

　　"Not really."

　　"I was a happy girl. My father made it clear in the very beginning that he had taken me from my place of birth, but he promised that he would make me happy and he did so without fail, for the most part. He turned Llendor into a rather prosperous town and turned Regal Manor into a castle fit for his princess. I was happy for so long and now&"

　　Aevana looked up at Tim� with teary eyes.

　　"Love as you will, feel as you will, but always remember, my dear, that despair is the price you must pay for happiness."

　　Tim� nodded before pulling her into his arms.

　　"Lets go back." He eventually said.

　　Aevana nodded before following Tim� back to the teleportation platforms.

　　They then returned to Site A where Tim� followed Aevana into her room.

　　"Need help with anything?" He asked as she sat behind her desk.

　　"Yes. Han came up with yet another variant of the MSDA. He wants to make it& death proof."

　　Tim�`s shoulders fell.

　　"Shit."

　　"Yes, I want you to take his schematics to Serylea. Ask her to report her thoughts." Aevana said while reading through various documents.

　　"Aww& why can`t she and Han sort it all out?" Tim� whined.

　　"Because you, Tim�, will be testing the new armour. Also, Han is extremely busy with the war efforts and I don`t want to bother him." Aevana said while offering Tim� a certain document.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

　　He skimmed through it and saw something rather peculiar.

　　"Hoh?"

　　"Yep. Life Infused Cavumium Cells or LICV`s will help save many of our elite soldiers in the future but I`m sure you`re not interested in the details-"

　　"I am!" Tim� said before sitting down opposite Aevana who sighed before handing him another document.

　　She then grabbed a box of cookies which she dug into while Tim� read.

　　"We have since discovered that enriched Cavumium has many applications beyond the medical, but for now that`s what I`d like to focus on. Neaj has been conducting extensive research on Cavumium and it was he who discovered that not only could we pour life-force into Cavumium crystals but if those crystals were placed near wounds, life force would naturally flow out of the crystal and into the wound. Think of all life as a river made out of tributaries that are part of the same river. They divert, yes, but all life yearns to return to the greater river. With this in mind, we plan on installing several cells into the unnamed variant of armour so that if any elite soldiers are wounded and are unable to receive immediate help, the cells can at least buy them some time."

　　"Wow! Who`s Neaj again?" Tim� asked.

　　"He is one of Farin`s top students. He`s also a conceited prick, but I guess it doesn`t really matter since he`s somewhat capable." Aevana scoffed.

　　"Wow, I`ve never seen you speak like that about anyone other than Yna." Tim� chuckled.

　　He then noticed something else in the blueprint.

　　"Mmm& what are the filters on the helmet for? It says he that they are going to be a replaceable mesh of life Infused Cavumium fibres designed to negate any death in the air but I have two questions: where on earth would one encounter so much death and in such a situation, wouldn`t it be best for a normal or even elite soldier to just retreat and wait for Komm醫i support?" Tim� asked while tapping his chin. His tummy growled again and Aevana offered him some cookies.

　　"Sorry for making you do all this. We`ll eat up as soon as you get back."

　　"Don`t worry about it. Also&"

　　"Oh, the filters. First off, you need to know that there are beings who can control unimaginable amounts of death. Nel and the sevenths are just two of the many possible examples. We want to equip the future soldier to allow them to fight while Nel and others like him wreak havoc. Also, the Komm醫i aren`t immune to the effects of death. We`ll create a variant for them as well."

　　Tim� nodded while loudly chewing.

　　He then grabbed the blueprint and hopped onto his feet before standing attentively.

　　"Alright! I`ll return as soon as possible!" He said before rushing out of the room.

　　He made his way back to upper Coh where he entered Farin`s home.

　　"Uhh& do you know where Serylea is?" He asked one of Farin`s students.

　　"She should be supervising the construction in Rahadiya, but I`m not sure if anyone is allowed to freely travel there yet."

　　"I see. Thanks for your help!" Tim� said before rushing out of the house.

　　He then ran north before eventually arriving at the war room which was occupied only by a certain small goat boy.

　　Kats韐i slept with his head rested on his arms.

　　Covering his small body was a thin blanket which was embellished with the crest of Coh.

　　Tim� nervously swallowed what little saliva he had before lightly tapping on Kats韐i`s shoulder.

　　"Mmm?" The boy sweetly sounded only for him to sit up, revealing a pair of weary eyes.

　　"Oh- Tim�& what do you need?" He asked.

　　"Nothing much, sir. I just want to give Serylea some blueprints, but I heard she`s in Rahadiya which is currently off limits. Could you& help me get there somehow?" Tim� asked with a nervous smile.

　　Kats韐i slowly blinked a few times before cutely yawning.

　　"Ower, please take him to Serylea`s office." He said and almost instantly after, a Komm醫i appeared by his side.

　　Tim�`s eyes widened as the Komm醫i walked up to him.

　　It then placed its hand on his shoulder and Tim� wad overcome with nausea as the Komm醫i teleported him to what seemed like an office within which sat Serylea. She wore a simple grey dress, although sitting proudly on her chest was a badge which depicted the crest of Coh.

　　She looked up and glanced at the Komm醫i before looking at Tim� who was desperately trying not to vomit.

　　"What brings you all the way out here?" She asked.

　　Tim� stumbled towards her as the afternoon sun brightly lit the office.

　　"These are schematics for a new variant of armour suggested by Han and devolved in part by Neaj." Tim� groaned as he handed Serylea the blueprints.

　　She looked them over before narrowing her eyes.

　　"Mmm& interesting. Tell them that although I like the general design, I just think it`s use case is far too specific for us to dedicate any time to developing it what with the war and everything. I`ll look over it more tonight when I get some free time but I don`t think we`ll be creating any prototypes any time soon." Serylea said.

　　Tim� nodded before looking back at the Komm醫i, who silently awaited him.

　　"Alright, thank you for your time."

　　"No problem." Serylea said as Tim� stood next to the Komm醫i.

　　Tim� then suddenly appeared back in the war room and the Komm醫i was no where to be seen.

　　Tim� looked at Kats韐i who was asleep yet again.

　　He then realized that he, a human, was mere metres away from Kats韐i, the leader of the EUF.

　　Tim� thought back to his time in the army as a starving Liland soldier.

　　He remembered growing up in the Slums of Aurenia and although he could never physically get injured, many of his days were filled with pain.

　　Hunger, fear and hatred.

　　None of these emotions filled the air of Coh even though it`s people were in the middle of a war.

　　Tim� reached out and covered Kats韐i once more with his blanket.

　　"Aww. That was sweet of you to do."

　　Tim� turned around to find Yna standing by the doorway only her armour was covered in mud and blood.

　　"Wanna grab a bite with me after I get cleaned up?" She asked as she removed her helmet revealing her dim eyes.

　　"Mmm& I`m sorry, but maybe another time." Tim� said while trying to leave but Yna blocked his way with a pout.

　　"What`s wrong? Was it something I did?"

　　"No. I`m just going to eat lunch with Aevana." Tim� said with a smile.

　　"Oh& OK." Yna said before moving to the side.

　　Tim� gave her a nod in thanks before making his way back to Site A where he told Aevana what Serylea had said.

　　"That makes sense. We`ll shelve is until Han brings us yet another variant." Aevana sighed as she stood up.

　　She then accompanied Tim� back into lower Coh where they dinner together.

　　"Hey& wanna grab a few drinks after this?" Tim� asked.

　　"It`s been a while since I last got sloshed and if you`re up for it, I wouldn`t mind seeing you a little drunk as well."

　　"I have a ton of work to do tomorrow and you`re asking if I wanna get drunk?" Aevana asked with narrowed eyes.

　　"Hey, I didn`t realize you had so much to do. We could always have drinks another time-"

　　"Fine. Let`s go." Aevana said after grabbed her empty plate and standing.

　　Tim� joined her in returned the plates and the two made their way into one of Coh`s three bars.

　　One was in upper Coh, another in the lower parts of the city and another in the outskirts.

　　It wasn`t long before the two had their fill of Foph made beverages and so, after bidding the Bartender a hearty goodbye, the two returned to Site A.

　　"A-alright, goodnight." Tim� said while using the guard next to the door for balance.

　　Aevana fell onto her bed before glaring at Tim�.

　　"Seriously?" She asked.

　　"What?"

　　"Get in here, asshole!" She yelled.

　　Tim� and the guard exchanged puzzled glances.

　　"GET IN OR I`LL NEVER TALK TO YOU EVER AGAIN!" Aevana yelled while throwing various balls of crumpled paper.

　　"Alright, alright. Also, you shouldn`t be throwing around work documents like that." Tim� said as he entered the room.

　　"Whatever, just get over here." Aevana hissed only for Tim� to fall onto her, causing her to bite her tongue.

　　"MOTHERFUCKER!" Aevana yelled before punching Tim� several to no effect with her small hands.

　　Tim� then suddenly wrapped his arm around her before pressing his lips onto hers.

　　Aevana`s eyes wildly opened as she glared at Tim�, but they eventually narrowed as he forced his tongue past her lips.

　　She then wrapped her arms around him all while passionately kissing him back.

　　The guard exchanged glances with another as they stared into the open door.

　　The first guard then closed the door, allowing Tim� and Aevana their privacy.