During his investigation using the strange "computers" as Lute called them, Ephraim managed to discover the name of the building where Eirika was staying. Takarazuka. It was only a matter of time before he himself discovered that he was currently housed within the same building. How foolish was he! She was mere footsteps away from him, yet there he was flailing about as he contemplated ways to pass through the storm towards the location of Eirika. This certainly made things easier on him.

He left his room, determined to take back his sister despite the protests of Seth and perhaps even Eirika herself. He had seen the effects that this storm had had on people. Lute became an empty shell of what she was and  a so-called prince was reduced to a petty commoner. With these drastic effects, how could he be sure that Seth himself did not regress? As one of their greatest retainers, he would only degrade into the most vile knight he had ever known. Eirika was not safe so long as she was anywhere near him. No one could be trusted.

Of course, he must have been affected as well. He claimed to be a king, but he wasn't a god. However, after much thought, he had determined, perhaps naively, that there was nothing wrong in what he was doing. No matter how he thought of it, he could not think of any way that safeguarding Eirika was a bad thing. After all, he was her twin brother. He had sworn to himself that he would not let harm befall his sister and he was determined to uphold his promise.

Though...there was one thing that might have been questionably impure about his intentions. A certain desire for his sister that now was left unchecked. But in his altered state of mind, this impurity slipped through the cracks of his reasoning and was allowed to fester along with his more noble intentions...

Within minutes he was at her doorstep. He banged on the door and called out. "Eirika...this is Ephraim. I know you're in there."