Two Seconds

"Help me!"

"I have a family! Lady Elisabeth, plea—"

Elisabeth walks past every cell in the dungeon. Screams pleading for her forgiveness reach her ears and bring a smile to her face. A sadistic smile. She walks to the end of the corridor, to a heavily guarded cell and latches the door open. After entering, her eyes fall to the person chained to the wall. "How are you feeling today, my sweet Ivy?"

Ivy – dishevelled and bruised all over – looks Elisabeth in the eyes, then cracks a smile. "I feel wonderful. But it's been five days since you captured me. I think I'm ready to leave."

"Still defiant as you were five days ago, are you? Well, I never expected you to submit willingly. Not after his death." Ivy jumps forward, her face inches away from Elisabeth's, but is held back by the chains. She stares at an unfazed Elisabeth. "Did I hit a nerve?"

"I'm going to kill you. In the most brutal way I can think of!"

"That's not very ladylike of you. Plus, your village had it coming. They committed one too many sins."

"What sins did my brother commit? He was seven!"

"My sweet Ivy…" Elisabeth walks to the door, then continues, "Everyone non-human born in this realm has committed the sin of being born. That's why I intend to purge all non-humans from this realm. Everyone except one, of course." A masked guard enters the room and throws two people inside. "Maybe this gift will earn me some brownie points, don't you think?"

Elisabeth and the guards take their leave. The darkness clouds Ivy's vision, so she can't make out the new prisoners. Not until…

"Urg… What… happened?"

"This voice? Niklaus? Is that you?"

"I-Ivy? Ivy! It's you."

"What are you doing here? What about your mission?"

"His mission is right next to him."

"Who?"

"My name's Selina Drias. I am accompanying Sir Niklaus and Haruki for the time being."

"Ivy, what happened? Why are you stuck in a cell?"

"Same way you got here. Elisabeth Faith caught me."

"Elisabeth Faith? So, that was her voice I heard."

"Yes, that was her. She's a sly witch parading as a prophet. Her sadistic and narcissistic personality is irksome. But… she's powerful. Many times more powerful than I am."

"If you ever thought you could defeat Lady Elisabeth, you were naïve. She is not someone you should fight. But knowing him, he will surely fight against her."

"Him? Are you talking about Haruki?"

Selina nods her head. "He's an enigma. The information we collected on him amounted to nothing. And then there's that."

"That? What are you talking about?"

"I saw it when I helped Haruki. Something sinister within him. A demon-like entity." Selina wraps her arms around her legs, "It was frightening. And its voice …"

Ivy turns to Niklaus, "What happened?"

He shakes his head. "I don't know. It must have happened when she performed a spell on Haruki."

"I'm lost. Why did she perform a spell on Haruki?"

Niklaus sits there, quiet. When he tries to speak, the words lodge in his throat and his chest feels heavy. "You see… Back when we were in Til, Louisa and I were waiting to hear back from Haruki—who tried to convince Selina, Duke Reinhart's daughter, to work together and defy her father's orders. At the time Selina and her father were working for the Illuminati."

"Working for them? Then what is she doing here? And why would you work together with her?"

"She's different compared to then. At the time—"

"The Illuminati are a group of extremists who want nothing but the destruction of every non-human race in Leagard. For a Maga Noctis like her, you'd wonder what perks she was receiving for betraying her people."

"Betraying? What do you know…!"

"I know more than you! Do you know what they do? Do you know what they did!? My village… My people… My brother… Tristan… They killed him. Slaughtered everyone and left me for dead. Me… the most useless big sister to ever exist."

"Ivy, I…"

"He was a bright young boy. Someone I'd bet my life on had the power to protect the village. Or would have had the power. My village was known for their friendly nature. They accepted strangers into our homes and rescued humans from the magical beasts in the forest. But what did that friendliness get us? A visit from the most radical group in existence, the Illuminati, that's who. They fooled us with their friendly, helpless nature. When they asked if they could visit again, we gladly welcomed them. But the next time they visited, they brought an army of one thousand mages and burnt the forest to the ground. A small village of half-elves was nothing compared to their might. By a stroke of luck, I survived. But no one else from my village was that lucky. After getting knocked out by the falling debris, I awoke holding my brother's cold hand. His body was scorched but a barrier spell protected me from the debris. His barrier spell protected me. Even in his final moments, he was the brother a clumsy girl like me didn't deserve. I stayed there, for days, holding my brother's corpse, and crying. When I was malnourished and too weak to move my body was when Raizo found me. He, together with Seanan and Callisto, pulled me from the ashes of my fallen brethren and brought me into their family. Every day, I fought. Every day, I endured. For years, like a corpse flower, I was waiting. Waiting for the day I could burst forth and eviscerate the Illuminati. That day came five days ago… When I came face-to-face with Elisabeth Faith. I fought against the twins, Emihiko and Yukio—defeating them with ease. But when she showed up… I lost… in a mere two seconds."

"Two seconds?"

"The moment I waited for. The training I went through. All of it… for a mere two seconds."

And Ivy did not exaggerate the loss. As she said, she defeated the twins, Emihiko and Yukio with relative ease. But after her battle, she was confronted by Elisabeth Faith.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am someone of godly importance."

"Are you associated with these two?"

"Why, yes. They are my dear subordinates. So, I'd like to ask that you not kill them."

"Your subordinates?"

Ivy's knowledge of the situation before her led her to one conclusion. Before she could think, she was overcome by a dormant rage that propelled her forward like pollen dust in the wind. But Elisabeth merely said these words, "It was nice to meet you, Ivy." After those seven words, Ivy fell to the ground, unconscious. Two seconds to introduce herself turned into a world-shattering two seconds for Ivy.

"Don't beat yourself up over a defeat," says Selina. "Lady… Elisabeth Faith is monstrously strong. No one in Grand Order can defeat her. Not even the traitor."

"Traitor? What are you talking about?"

Selina looks at Niklaus, who's too shocked to speak. "Louisa betrayed Grand Order. She was working together with another organisation and destroyed Mico."

"What!? Mico is destroyed. And Louisa is a traitor? I find this all hard to believe. Niklaus, is this true?"

He nods his head. "I was about to tell you what happened earlier. When Louisa and I were waiting for Haruki to convince Selina to join our cause, a man covered in smoke appeared. 'The time for the True God to make his appearance has arrived' is what he said to Louisa, who left with him."

"True God? Come to think of it, when I explored an ancient ruin in the Forest of the Lost Emperor, I came across a portrait and a sealed door. The picture portrayed six figures surrounding two babies. Looming in the darkness was a woman—who looked different from the six figures. Her expression was one of envy… and anger? Anyway, the writing on the portrait's frame said these words, 'Birth of the Seventh True God'. What's a True God anyway?"

Both Niklaus and Ivy look at Selina, who shakes her head. "I heard the words before, but I don't know what it means. I was not trusted as much as you think I was. So, important information like that was not accessible to me."

"I see. Well, if we can escape here, then we can try to figure it out with the rest of Grand Order."

"Right."