A tower of pure white.

  Sunlight poured through stained glass, casting golden halos across the marble floor.

  Two figures stood before the window.

  One blindfolded.

  The other uncertain.

  Angelic figure: "I hear our main focus will not be in the conflict itself... Are you sure of what you're doing, Yuriel?"

  His voice held doubt.

  His hands, clasped behind his back, tightened.

  Before him, Yuriel stood motionless.

  Long white hair cascaded down his shoulders, his features hidden behind a blindfold.

  Then -- he exhaled, slow, measured.

  Yuriel (Blindfolded figure): "Open your eyes, Zaciel."

  A pause.

  Yuriel: "We would be fools to engage in direct warfare with Nox."

  His voice was calm, even.

  But beneath it -- veiled contempt.

  Yuriel: "Their power has expanded over the years. Their numbers rise by the thousands."

  He turned his head slightly.

  Yuriel: "And what have we done in the meantime?"

  Silence.

  Zaciel shifted, his unease palpable.

  Zaciel (Angelic figure): "What do you mean? We have done as we always did... Engaged in the endless prayer. Hoping for His return."

  Yuriel's fingers curled.

  A slow, deliberate fist.

  Almost in disgust.

  Yuriel: "Endless prayer..."

  His lips curled into a mirthless smile.

  Yuriel: "Look how well that has served us."

  Zaciel's wings tensed.

  His voice lowered, panicked.

  Zaciel: "Yuriel...! If the others hear you --"

  Yuriel: "Old dogs cannot learn new tricks."

  A sharp arm motion.

  An unspoken dismissal.

  Yuriel: "Those old men and their clouded minds, too caught up in the roots of Lux to care about reality as it is today..."

  He turned, staring into the sunlit city below.

  His voice lowered.

  Yuriel: "Why else would they appoint me to lead our young into war?"

  A pause.

  His fingers tapped against the glass.

  Yuriel: "They put themselves on pedestals, indulging in their futile prayers..."

  His expression darkened.

  Yuriel: "... As they send us all to die, now that war is at our doorstep."

  Zaciel inhaled sharply.

  Zaciel: "W-what you're saying could be considered heresy, Yuriel!"

  Yuriel laughed.

  Soft.

  Cold.

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  Yuriel: "I am merely a vessel for our mutual feelings."

  A step forward.

  The light behind him burned bright.

  Yuriel: "Do you not feel the same?"

  Zaciel looked away.

  But he did not answer.

  Yuriel: "The younger generation does not receive the same treatment as the elders."

  His words were measured, careful.

  A scalpel, cutting through illusion.

  Yuriel: "They commune in secrecy, plotting Lux's future by themselves... For themselves."

  A pause.

  Yuriel: "If you believe they care for the rest of us, you are fooling yourself."

  A smirk.

  Yuriel: "All they care for is preserving their comfortable, easy lives."

  Zaciel's wings twitched.

  A flicker of something --

  Doubt?

  Recognition?

  Yuriel: "But now..."

  His blindfolded gaze tilted toward him.

  Yuriel: "Now, there is a chance to shake the status quo."

  Zaciel's breath caught.

  Zaciel: "And just how do you plan to do that...?"

  Yuriel smiled.

  A slight white glow escaped from behind his blindfold.

  Yuriel: "By letting those Eclipse watchdogs fight our battles for us..."

  A beat.

  Yuriel: "... While we seek the lost city, deep within the Eluvian Ocean."

  Zaciel's eyes widened.

  Zaciel: "T-The lost city?! Yuriel, the elders have forbidden us to --"

  Yuriel: "AH! Yes! The elders have! And don't you wonder why, Zaciel?!"

  His voice rose, feverish.

  He turned fully, stepping toward him.

  Yuriel: "They forbid it because they FEAR it."

  His wings spread slightly, a rare show of emotion.

  Yuriel: "Because they know the secrets it holds would shake the very foundation of Lux!"

  His hand pressed against Zaciel's chest.

  Yuriel: "It would give us the power we need to destroy Nox once and for all."

  A breath.

  Then --

  Yuriel: "We would wield power as great as our ancestors did thousands of years ago."

  His voice softened.

  Yuriel: "Back when war, not peace, was the default state of the world."

  Zaciel stepped back.

  His expression shrouded in doubt.

  Yuriel's dropped to a whisper.

  Yuriel: "Our leaders are a symptom of what centuries of peace bring to any nation."

  A pause.

  Then --

  Yuriel: "Inertia."

  One step.

  Yuriel: "Torpor."

  Another step.

  Yuriel: "Lethargy."

  A final step.

  Zaciel's hands trembled.

  He closed his eyes.

  A long breath in.

  A longer breath out.

  But Yuriel wasn't done.

  Yuriel: "What's the matter...?"

  A pause.

  Then, quieter -- almost gentle.

  Yuriel: "Would you rather stay here and pray until they are at our doorstep, primed to kill us all?"

  Zaciel inhaled sharply.

  Zaciel: "I-I would rather not fight at all, Yuriel..."

  A beat.

  Then, smoothly --

  Yuriel: "A war is not won through battle alone."

  Zaciel's wings tensed.

  Yuriel: "You are not the first to express your displeasure for fighting."

  A pause.

  Yuriel: "You don't have to."

  A slight smile.

  Yuriel: "There are other ways to help..."

  Zaciel's eyes flickered with uncertainty.

  Zaciel: "H-how, then...?"

  Yuriel exhaled as he turned toward the window.

  Yuriel: "Intel."

  The sun shone brighter through the glass.

  Yuriel: "We know the Sword of Greed has a new wielder, but Greed is just one of seven."

  A flicker of white light behind his blindfold.

  Yuriel: "Lust. Gluttony. Pride. Wrath. Sloth. Envy."

  His fingers brushed against the glass.

  Yuriel: "As Greed's shackles have been undone, so too will the rest follow. It is only a matter of time."

  Zaciel swallowed.

  Zaciel: "A-and...?"

  Yuriel: "And before long, we will have seven unpredictable variables in this conflict."

  His voice was softer now, measured.

  A voice not of a zealot, but of a tactician.

  Yuriel: "In a war, the victor will not be Lux, Nox, or Eclipse."

  A pause.

  Then, coldly --

  Yuriel: "It will be *them*. Those seven can annihilate all of us in the blink of an eye."

  Zaciel stared at him.

  He opened his mouth.

  Then closed it again.

  Yuriel: "If we want to uncover the lost city's secrets..."

  He finally turned back to face him.

  Yuriel: "... We have to ensure those variables remain under control."

  A pause.

  Then, his head tilted slightly.

  Yuriel: "Do you see where I'm going with this?"

  Zaciel's brow furrowed.

  A flicker of realization.

  Zaciel: "Is that where you've been sending the young...? To seek those weapons?"

  Yuriel smiled.

  Yuriel: "Lux, Nox, Eclipse..."

  A pause.

  Yuriel: "I think all three know the real battle is centered around those seven."

  He lifted a hand, fingers flexing as if holding the battlefield in his grasp.

  Yuriel: "Each organization has already devoted resources to finding them."

  His lips curled slightly.

  Yuriel: "Some of our agents have already investigated the place where the earth collapsed into the Cradle... Signs of battle -- Nox. Eclipse."

  His fingers curled into a fist.

  Yuriel: "They are at each other's throats already. Scrambling for control."

  Then -- his hand relaxed.

  Yuriel: "So why should we bother?"

  Zaciel's breath hitched.

  His voice was almost offended.

  Zaciel: "Why should we bother...?! But the weapons -- you yourself said they could annihilate us all!"

  Yuriel chuckled.

  Yuriel: "Yes."

  He stepped closer.

  Yuriel: "You see, together, the seven would be unstoppable."

  His blindfolded gaze lifted toward the sky.

  Yuriel: "But apart..."

  A smirk.

  Yuriel: "Apart, they cannot stop us."

  Zaciel's mouth went dry.

  Zaciel: "What are you saying...?"

  Yuriel leaned in.

  Yuriel: "Our role will not be to claim the weapons."

  His words hung in the air.

  Yuriel's lips barely moved as he spoke the next sentence.

  Yuriel: "Our role will be to ensure their wielders are... distributed."

  Zaciel's stomach twisted.

  Then -- his eyes widened in realization.

  Zaciel: "You mean --"

  Yuriel: "Indeed."

  A whisper.

  A vow.

  Yuriel: "Keep them pitted against one another, and they will never be a threat... Together, their power trumps over all -- but in opposition, they will be caught in a deadlock. They will, for all intents and purposes, cancel each other out."

  Zaciel's breathing quickened.

  Zaciel: "So Lux's role is to even the scales..."

  Yuriel smiled.

  Yuriel: "Precisely. We help out which ever side is losing, until we find the city. And then..."

  Zaciel: "Victory will be ours...!"

  Yuriel nods in agreement, grinning from ear to ear.

  Yuriel: "... Victory will be ours".