?


    "You have to… You have to show them the path…"


    The words went over Nino''s head as she couldn''t believe what she was seeing. The old woman holding her hand was none other than Ra Zadzisai, the fortune teller leading the human survivors and the one who had warned them about the horrors they were having to face right now. Supposedly she had lost the ability to walk long ago. Not only that but her eyes were incapable of sight which added to the mystery of his she had made it so far.


    The answer was the golden halo over her head. It was simple and had few runes, but the support it provided helped the woman navigate the ruined airport and find her way to the Japanese doll.


    ''What are you doing here?'' Nino thought to herself, but before she could say the words out loud the old woman suddenly copsed in her hands.


    "Old hag!?" Nino yelled, catching Ra while being careful enough to not let her control over the barrier falter.


    "Now… now that''s a bit rude." Ra replied with a stifledugh. "I''m not that much older than your Doctor, you know."


    "That''s not the point!"


    The halo over the old seer''s headcked the bloody red color and the messy Runes, which showed that she didn''t lose her mind to the Whispers of Madness, something that was difficult to believe considering the way she behaved.


    "You… you said your name was Lachesis, right?" Ra spoke, coughing all the while.


    "Eh? Well, that was in my past life so…"


    As the memories returned to her Nino found out that Lachesis was indeed her name, and not just a codename or a title given to her for being a part of the Olympians.


    "Lachesis…" the old woman broke into a fit of coughs. She tried to suppress it as she spoke, but the words kept getting cut. "The… sis…ters…of… of Fate… you… You can see the… You can see the Thr… eads… you… you must… guide them…"


    Though she understood everything, Nino could only grimace and look away.


    "I''m sorry…" she said. "I… I lost that ability after I died…"


    "I… know…" Ra replied, a pale light shining in the hand clutching Nino''s. "You… you need the Needle… you can''t… you can''t see the Threads… you can''t weave them without… the Needle…"


    Slowly, a red piece of metal began to form in Nino''s hand. It had a slender cylindrical shape with one of its sides ending in a sharp tip while the other had a small hole in it.


    The Japanese doll recognized the tool almost immediately and turned to the old woman with eyes full of surprise.


    "You… where did you get this?" She asked, her voice slowly trembling.


    "You tell… You tell me…" Ra replied,ughing between the coughs. "Weren''t you… the one who hid it… inside me?"


    "I…"


    When she tried to recall, Nino couldn''t remember how she lost the needle. She remembered Atropos'' betrayal and how she escaped along with Clotho after Zeus decided to get rid of them, but how everything ended has yet toe back to her.


    Looking at the needle once more, Nino felt a slight pain in her chest. Even if she were to die her younger sister would''ve never left the Artifact behind.


    ''No…'' She shook the idea out of her head. ''There must be another exnation…''


    "Lachesis… no… Nino…" Ra coughed once more. "You have to… you have to stop him… please… save… my people…" Drawing in what she she knew was herst breath, the old seer closed her eyes and made her final wish. "Even if it''s only the… children… please save them… Doctor…"


    As thest bit of life left her body, the Runes over Ra''s head flickered out of existence. Her body rxed as it lost all of its strength, the trembling and shivers settling as if she entered a deep slumber.


    Nino stared down at the old woman, then at the Needle in her hand. She wondered how the Artifact ended up in her possession, but most importantly, how much she sacrificed in order to use it.


    "Clotho… what were you thinking…" Nino asked, wondering what her younger sister had in mind. The more she thought about it, the less sense it all made. Why did she choose to abandon the artifact, and why did she force it on a human from a lower realm. She should''ve known that the woman couldn''t use it, and without anyone there to im it after her death it would''ve been left in this lifeless world.


    ''Hold on… could it be… did she use it, perhaps?'' Nino suddenly came to the realization. ''Did she know I would arrive here, and that''s why she decided to leave it behind?''


    After thinking about it for a few seconds, she concluded that it couldn''t be the case. Just like Atropos'' scissors, the Needle was one of the powerful Artifacts the Thee Fates had created. To ensure that they couldn''t be used against her or her sisters, they added a failsafe that prevented the user from seeing the Threads that involved any of them. Even if she were to use her own Artifact, Clotho would''ve been unable to see a Path where Lachesis makes an appearance.


    ''If that''s the case, why did she leave the Needle behind?...''


    Looking up with a start, Nino turned around. Her gaze fell on the man d in the whiteb coat, standing amidst the Valkyries with a solemn expression on his face. Suddenly, everything made sense.


    The n her younger sister had suggested; going to other worlds in order to raise a hero who could defy Zeus.


    If Clotho had seen the fate of this world then she would''ve known about the Doctor visiting it and the inevitable sh with the Olympians. She left the Needle somewhere close for him to find before leaving for another world.


    ''Did she choose the Doctor?''


    For some reason, Nino didn''t even consider the possibility that the hero her sister had picked might be one of the Valkyries. In her mind, she had already decided that the only one capable of stopping Zeus was the man named Sam Sanderson.


    He has already shown that he could snatch victory even under the most desperate of situations. Armed with the power to alter the Tapestry of Fate, she was sure that he could put a stop to the Evil King''s heinous ns.


    ''Thank you, Ra…'' Nino thought as she ced the old seer''s motionless body on the ground. She then stood up and looked at the needle in her hand. ''Clotho… I know you didn''t mean for me to be the one to find it, but thanks to your actions I will be able to be of much better assistance to Doctor…'' The small red piece of metal began to glow, and at the same time a number of Runes began to appear over the head of the Japanese Doll. ''Don''t worry, sister. I will make sure to take really good care of the hero you chose.''