For thirty minutes after Hrin and Aldrick left, Korven stood still, isolated from the massive city in the basement of a long-abandoned building, knowing that the city's future sits on her shoulders. No physical injury she's ever received compares to one hundredth of the pressure she feels. Her life, specifically her investigation into the Chosen Angels, has always felt like an unsolvable maze. Now, she had reached the exit, but the very man she had come to defeat was the one who called her out. Not for one second was Korven convinced by what Aldrick was saying, but clearly, there was more she could find out.
"As long as he lives true to what he promised, it would be dumb not to go to the second meeting."
She thinks to herself, desperately trying to convince herself that the decision she had long decided on was, in fact, the correct one. For as soon as Father Guardian let it slide that the mass sacrifices attributed to the Chosen Angels have a deeper purpose, Korven had decided that she would attend her meeting no matter how dangerous it was.
Ever since Korven was left alone with just her parents' life insurance and her miracle, she had thought of her life as a curse, a curse only lifted when she accomplishes some sort of ultimate goal. At 14, Korven stayed on her mission in secret, without even a record of her existence, yet she couldn't find an ultimate purpose. By 16, she had used her miracle to prove to the police that a local restaurant was a front for a drug-smuggling ring. This was the first time in her life she saw her miracle as a blessing and not just a reminder that she is the only one who can fix Kilder. When she found out that the drug ring was paying the captain's salary, her faith in her miracle was lost again. With that went all the remaining faith she had that she could save Kilder, or even that she should. When she discovered the cult of the Chosen Angels at 17, she dedicated her life to stopping Father Guardian. For three years, she followed lead after lead, broke her fingers, slit her palms. Yet nothing worked; she wasn't the person who could stop the unholy cult. For those three years, she endured hell to protect her city and to find any clue, but when the man she had hunted for years turned up in front of her. Instead of thanking the gods for having such a lead, it feels as if she is still standing there, as she was 4 years ago, when she first realized that the very city she had dedicated her life to protecting is a void that sucks out any semblance of hope. This ever-present void fills the smoggy streets, this black mist that keeps citizens ignorant and those who know destroyed.
As Korven walks back through the street, she is filled with equal parts dread, hope, and satisfaction that she is, for the first time in years, fully healthy. From bullet wounds to broken ribs, Korven can't remember the last time she felt alright. Although 'alright' isn't a proper word for her situation, 'alright' only represents her physical situation. Although she's finally able to run and jump, her soul is destroyed. For the first time since the beginning of her mission, she feels defeated. Adlrick is smarter than her; she'll never be able to trick him. He's constantly protected by Hrin, who could have her bleeding out if she ever tried to attack him. And even if Hrin isn't there, Korven killing Yyelter wouldn't bring an end to the Chosen Angels.
Korven finally makes it back to her apartment building. She walks up the dirty, neglected stairs and arrives on her floor. Before entering her room, she sees a glass shard lying on the floor. Looking down at the glass, she sees her reflection. She picks it up and doesn't recognize herself; gone were the bruises and cuts she had grown so used to seeing, and even her pale skin seemed healthier. She kept admiring herself, her brown, damaged hair now clean and smooth, proving to Korven that she hardly understands the Aldrick's Guardian miracle. The bruises around her emerald eyes vanished. Adlrick had left Korven looking as if she had never fought a day in her life. Korven's awe turns to horror as she realizes that the glass came from her own window. Panicked, she enters her room to see her walls and floors stripped of all pieces of evidence. She's been robbed. Korven quickly looks around to see if she can find the culprit, hoping to recover the years of evidence that she'd been gathering on Aldrick.
"This whole thing was a setup!"
She screams at the top of her lungs, understanding that she'd been fooled by Aldrick. She looks around out of a last pit of desperation, but falls to the ground crying. All her work vanished; she never had a chance against Aldrick. As she stands up, sulking, she feels a hand grabbing her neck. Korven starts choking, unable to breathe, as she realizes that whoever robbed her wanted more than just her evidence. Instead of panicking, Korven reaches for her knife but realizes she left it on the floor of the meeting room. Although Aldick might have healed her up to look like it, the truth is, Korven is a fighter by nature. Instead of panicking, she grips the glass shard and cuts the fingers holding her. The fingers let go of her out of pain, and Korven jumps away to make distance. Except, when she turns to face the intruder, she sees nothing, just a floating dagger and the cries of pain.
"A miracle, how?"