In the end, Cassie just sighed.
"Things will resolve themselves, somehow."
Helie chuckled.
"Ah... that's good, then. If that is the case, I'm relieved."
That answer was as good as any other would have been. Helie had already decided to put her faith in Nephis, after all... she had refused Jest's offer in hopes that Changing Star would make things work, somehow.
Now, the only choice she had was to follow that hope.
After a few minutes of silence, Helie suddenly spoke in a somber tone:
"Well, then, I have something to confess."
Cassie raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"...Confess?"
Helie did not say anything else for a full minute, then sighed.
"This whole damn war started based on the excuse of punishing Clan Song for sending assassins after Changing Star, didn't it? Well, actually..."
She paused for a moment.
"It was me."
Cassie tilted her head.
"What do you mean?"
Helie let out a joyless chuckle.
"Look! It seems there's something that even Song of the Fallen doesn't know. But, yes... there were no Song assassins, and neither Dar of the Maharana clan nor Silent Stalker had anything to do with the attempt on Changing Star's life. They're not the only Saints who know their way around a bow, you know? It was me. I shot those arrows."
She raised her great bow, which had grown in size to fit her Transcendent form.
Helie sighed, and her shoulders fell.
"Well, it wasn't like I had any choice. When Morgan of Valor comes calling, you don't say no. I was ordered to make it seem like I wanted to kill Lady Nephis, and so, I did. I thought I should mention it before we reach the stronghold of Clan Song."
Cassie remained silent for a while, stunned.
That... she had really had no idea. They had suspected that Clan Valor — perhaps even Morgan herself — was behind the assassination, of course.
But their suspicion had never once fallen on Saint Helie.
...And there Cassie was, priding herself on being unassuming and knowing things.
'Huh.'
But how did it make any sense, for Master Orum to have been a Song spy while his niece was Valor's secret weapon? Their Legacy clan was not even really on the map, in the grand scheme of things... especially not compared to the deeply impactful role they seemed to have played in the Great War.
Life was full of irony sometimes.
Eventually, Cassie shook her head and said with a bit of dejection in her voice:
"Saint Helie... respectfully, please don't mention this particular part when negotiating with Clan Song. Some things... are better left unsaid!"
Helie responded with a quiet laugh.
"Alright. I think I can keep my mouth shut, if you insist."
By then, they were almost halfway to the fissure leading to the surface of the First Rib.
And Cassie had already replenished a little essence — enough of it, at least, to maintain a connection to one of her marks.
She could have restored her connection to Helie, but instead, she softly touched the mark left on Sunny — his original body that remained near Nephis.
[Sunny?]
He seemed to be drinking tea in the beautiful gazebo on the Ivory Island. Hearing Cassie's call, he lowered his tea cup.
[Cassie? Where are you? I was trying to reach you earlier...]
She hesitated for a moment.
[Sorry. I was out of essence — in fact, I can't maintain this connection for long even now. So, please, listen carefully. I need to tell you something important.]
He prepared to listen, raising his cup and taking a sip of the fragrant tea.
Cassie took a deep breath.
[So, the thing is... I am dead...]
Sunny spat out his tea.
[...officially, I mean.]