Septimus bowed before her master. He sat upon the ebony throne beyond her.

  “I want you to tell me what you saw.” Her master told her as she faced the ground in submission.

  His body dominated the air around her. He tapped his shoe on the ground; a signal for her to stand. As she does, she looks at him and points to where her mouth would be under her mask.

  “No Septimus. Use your notes and markers.” He ordered.

  She complies, pulling them out her pocket and scribbling down what she can recall. It was windy outside. It was also raining.

  It has been for the past two decades. And it was dark.

  It usually is when she's around.

  There was nothing different or out of the ordinary. Not yet.

  She tore off the sticky note; Gauth Van Hulsieg extends down his finger for her to stick it to so he could read. She put it on upside down, so it'd be the right way up when he looks at it.

  “Medicopters flew into enforcement half way through the raid. They killed most of them when they blew up.” The note read.

  She couldn't see his expression while she wrote yet another, sticking it to him as she'd ripped it off.

  “The resistance fought far harder than expected. Approximately half survived. They held seized virtual devices and such.” She wrote on that one.

  She writes another, the last which should be needed about the raid. On it she decided to ask a question too.

  “While obvious, the fact that this flew under our noses is a huge problem. We should kill SERaMACs. Might I ask how Cerberus has been?”

  She watched him as he read the last one to gauge his reaction. Not because she's ever successful at figuring that out, but because she likes looking at him.

  But she could tell her master was… sad. Gauth Van Hulsieg looked unmistakably sad. Just a second ago he looked unknowable. Before she could question it, he put his finger down and spoke.

  “You do not kill your golden goose just because it has stopped laying eggs. We must protect SERaMACs at all costs, Septimus. I. Must.”

  He clarifies before coming to a stand. He tried to wipe the expression off of his face, but it was too late now.

  That image of his face will be in her mind for the rest of her life.

  He continued speaking.

  “As of Cerberus… he is in talks to cancel the pleasure summit. I do not care if it is tradition. The risk has risen too much.”

  If only she could speak or even make a noise. That news sunk deeper than any knife she has put in someone. He walks past her, but Septimus follows behind. Overstepping her corporate boundaries by miles as she put her hand on his calf.

  He walked towards the balcony. The touch made him stop in place.

  He brought his hand behind his back and looked down to her.

  “You are fortunate I do not punt you for that. Write your query so I may answer it already.”

  She scribbles down her question with terrible handwriting so she may get answers as fast as possible. They read as follows.

  “What is happening? Why must it be canceled? Why have you changed since I was last here? Are you okay?”

  He extends his finger and she sticks it to it, though she forgot to put it on upside down. No matter, it seems he's reading them just fine.

  “This will be the last of the questions I answer for now. Anything beyond this is irrelevant for you. I deem it so.”

  He looked down upon her with a side eye of destruction.

  She nodded keenly. And so he turns to her to give her the answers, standing far and above her due to no more than his height.

  “For your second question Septimus… for why it must be canceled. John and Amy remain out there. Abroad. And the cost of coercing SERaMACs into finding them would now be too great. We cannot have that many elites within one place.”

  He begins circling her like a bear protecting their cub.

  “For your third question… I still have to issue you your final mission.”

  He stops behind her and bends down to take a knee. She remains facing forward as he whispers his last answer isn't her ear.

  “Septimus… you ask me what is happening. You will be sorry to hear that… I do not know.”

  He lets her go to stand again. But Septimus remains frozen. He let the silence speak for itself for a moment. All whilst he went back to sit on his throne.

  He takes a seat, Septimus still stuck looking aimlessly at the wall.

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  He clicks his fingers, and she turns to him.

  She didn’t get an answer for the fourth.

  “Very good, Septimus. This brings me closer to my final orders for you. At first, I planned to give these to Cerberus. Given changes in circumstance, I think it is better you lay claim to them.”

  It must be those Void Texts, she thinks. As her master reaches into one of his suit pockets, the remaining parchment which comes out confirms her fears.

  They remind her of her sticky notes in a way. Though the papers are leathery, cold, beaten, stained. They look as old as time, yet speak things which seem relevant.

  As he hands them for her to read. For her to keep’ she begins reading the second one.

  “Void Death in Another World - II

  We are robbing ourselves of the very essence of life— our will to shape our own existence. True progress lies in the difficult, not the easy. Life’s value is not measured by pleasure or comfort, for those things fade with time. What matters is actions. People. Support. For no one who has lived an easy life will leave behind a legacy worth remembering. Yet as we chase ease, we sacrifice our very will to live.”

  She slides this one behind the other. The first of the testaments, yet the last to be read.

  “Void Death in Another World - I

  Convenience is the death of humanity. To surrender our autonomy in a world beyond our control is a trap that leads us to oblivion. Humanity lies in agency: the ability to act as we wish. To assert control over ourselves despite our deepest fears. It is this conscious determination which defines us. Yet in our quest for convenience, we are steadily erasing it.”

  It was finished. As far as she knew, there were only four.

  And her master was smart to keep it that way.

  She folds the texts up and stores them with where she kept the rest. And thus, she stood in silence. Her master sat all the same.

  They looked at each other for a moment longer. It was clear Gauth Van Hulsieg couldn't hide his current expression. Neither could her mask hide how far her heart has sunken.

  But someone had to speak. And she was now mute.

  “It is time for your final mission Septimus.” Her master said as he climbed himself out of his throne again. Why did he just sit if he knew he had to get back up?

  His pace was as controlled and ordered as they always were. The balcony door opened again of its own accord.

  The Neosun was still nowhere to be seen.

  Nor did he go to the balcony.

  Instead, he chose to overlook what he had done from the safety of the throne room.

  This is what Septimus saw, at least. And she joined him by his side. They looked out over the fruits of their labor together. To Septimus, it was calming. To Gauth Van Hulsieg... he simply spoke.

  “You need to leave. You must go as far away from here as you please. Think of yourself as an insurance policy now. This is your final mission, and it will never end.”

  He didn't look down as he sought her confirmation.

  “Do you understand, Septimus?”

  No answer. He continues to look out over the cityscape.

  “I said… do you understand, Septimus?” He asked again, his voice and explosion in slow motion. Still, he gets not answer. With visible frustration, he finally looks down to her. And she simply nods.

  The ordeal came as something of a test to her. To see if she'd speak to make up for a potential mistake. Though she was not sure if it was a test. Either way, she had passed. She continues to look up at him, nodding again just in case he didn't see.

  His look was deeply emotional even if she couldn't tell what emotion it was. Lightning strikes as it always does, and Gauth Van Hulsieg turns back to his throne. “Good. Execute your mission.” Her master utters as he begins to walk. But a touch comes from his calf again. He looks down to see she had touched him. Again.

  Septimus saw his hand form a fist in her peripheral vision. But that was not what she cared about. She looked up at him, then extended her arms towards him, splaying her fingers out like grabby hands to be picked up.

  There was a temporary scowl on his face, but it withered away. As all resistance eventually does. He shakes his head and sighs.

  “Okay Septimus… one last time.”

  He picks her up again under her arms, and lifts her to sit on his forearm like is usually done. His right hand goes into his pocket as she kicks her shoes out like a playground. He roams outside again so they may witness its beauty once again. The beauty… of the outside.

  Septimus couldn't tell where he was looking. She was just happy to be up there, far and beyond the gate. On the balcony above all, at the peak of the Ivory Tower. With her master, one last time.

  They both got wet standing in the rain. She grabbed onto his coat sleeves as to not get blown off. She was curious as to where her master was looking right now, and so she turns right to look.

  He wasn't looking into the horizon. He was looking at her. Grief.

  Since when did he express grief?

  She just felt happy she got to do this one more time.

  But her master? Well, she couldn't empathize with him.

  He is a big friendly giant to her.

  She decides to write him another note. Gauth Van Hulsieg covered her with his other hand to make sure the paper didn't get wet. She scribbled it down, tore it off, and turned it for him to read.

  “I'm just happy I get to be here one last time. Please don't be sad, master Gauth Van Hulsieg.” His face went from grief to expressionless again. Must be a good sign, she thinks. “Stick that on my nose, why don't you?” He suggests. And so she stood up to put it on him. She wanted to say boop, but couldn't. Her master steps back into the throne room as he grabs her torso.

  He gently lays her down on the floor, and gives a calculated smile.

  “Very good, Septimus. I have enjoyed your company. It has been a pleasure doing business with you, but you must be going now.”

  That's way more words than he usually says. She complies with the request regardless. She stomps her boot against the metal floor and stands straight with a silly salute. She turns around and leaves for the elevator at the bottom of the stairs.

  As she does, she hears the last words she will ever hear from her master. “I will see you again, Septimus. In infinite finality. Be careful. Be safe. And be quiet.”