It's been about a year since the expedition. We all agreed not to tell a soul about what had happened, as to deter wannabe treasure hunters from releasing the aberrant. Our alibi was that we were attacked by bandits in the night, which is why the casualty rate was so high; and that the six of us that escaped managed to flee before we were caught. No one questioned our story. It was consistent between all of us and most of us have lived clean lives. There was no room for suspicion.

I spent the next few months searching across Karia for help for when I inevitably return to that place. While in the Kingdom of Ascensia I met a rather quirky individual by the name of Doctor Faust Strangelove. He claimed to be some kind of 'scientist back home', whatever that meant; but he was exceptionally skilled in making explosives, so I invited him to come back with me to the dig site to erase it off the face of Idoria. He was initially hesitant; but when he heard about the rituals that took place there, he was determined to turn the site into a crater.

When asked about others who may help, Faust suggested an old friend of his; a Champion of Idor by the name of Rae'Nör. He mentioned how she became a bit of a loose cannon by the time she departed his adventuring group; but that she was extremely strong and reliable. The way he described it sounded like they were once lovers, or at the very least she was a crush of his... The last he saw her, she had gone to The Vas'kii Deserts, just south of the Kingdom of Ascensia, to exorcise a lich that had amassed an army of Nulls and was terrorizing the region.

On our way, Faust regales me with talk of his adventures. How his first adventuring party delved into The Void during a time of crisis to purge it of an ancient tyrant who sought to destroy that plane and all others. He also revealed that his friend got married while in The Void only for her to join another adventuring party and disappear a year or two after that original adventure wrapped up. Something about 'two mages and a Pit-Fighter seeking some magical relic and ending with three of the four of them dying just to get it'... Sounds familiar... He did suggest that one, or both, of the mages were not Etherials, Oath-Sworns, or Naturians, however; that they radiated an identical aura that he'd never seen before. Jackpot.

We quickly turned around and headed towards the small village of Riverbrook in search for this 'mysterious mage'. I had to see it for myself; if there was any chance that they were an Arcanist, I knew my prayers had been answered.

As our carriage pulls through the gate of Riverbrook, I notice a sign labelled 'Apothecary'. If a mage lived in this town, they had to be here. Stepping inside the apothecary shop, we're greeted by the overwhelming smell of herbs and spices. The walls of the shop were lined with shelf after shelf of various exotic ingredients. Who ever runs this place is either quite the adventurer, themselves, or makes quite a lot from whatever they sell to be able to afford such ingredients to be shipped in like that.

As we inspect the shelves, Faust points out a plant in the corner that is identical to the one the mage brought him all that time ago! It pulsed with a gentle light, the air feeling a lot more energetic and pure around it compared to the other items. As Faust is telling me all about what he's discovered about the specimen from his sample, we hear the clicking and the clacking of heels descending from the second floor. A tall and beautiful woman appears the counter, her eyes were that of a polished ruby, and the magical energy that surrounded her was immense. This had to be the mage Faust was talking about.

I explain the situation and offer her to travel with us back to that forsaken site. She seemed a bit hesitant at first, but after buying an armful of potions from her, she was more than willing to close up shop for a few months to travel with us. She mentioned how her name was Yviira Hyric and that she was, indeed, an Arcanist! I gesture a little prayer in thanks to Po'oraat when I hear the news. All we needed was the Champion of Idor and we'd be set.

Returning on our journey South towards Black Gem, Faust continues telling us about his previous adventures. He explains how he once had gone up to The Frosthead Kingdom and bumped into Rae'Nör on her way South as she tried to avoid freezing to death with the rapidly approaching winter.

He mourns the loss of some of his old adventuring companions, and how they all used to get along in the most chaotic manner. He mentions how, much like himself, one of his companions loved blowing things up. Apparently that companion was also an Arcanist; but Faust had no idea until Yviira revealed that that is the reason for the loss of that companion; a spell they attempted to cast was within their capabilities, technically speaking, but that Arcanists are limited by their mortal bodies. This means some spells can result in a fatal casting if one doesn't moderate themself.

After some silence, Faust continues on and on and on about this Rae'Nör person. About how she liked Performers, and one lashed out at a band of them for being greedy sleaze-bags. He also explained that he was witness to the first time she killed someone and how it seemed to have broke her inside. Something that not even time had been able to fix, according to Faust... At this point I became entirely convinced they were a thing or that he yearned for such.

Once we reached Black Gem, we hired another caravan further south to the Vas'kii border town of Vas'vanu, known to the natives of The Vas'kii Deserts as 'fertility before the sands' or the last reliable place to stock up on things like water and food before being met by the near-endless expanse of sand that expands for weeks in any direction. We expected to have to travel quite far into the desert to find our Champion of Idor, so we took a few days to rest; ensuring that we had the proper strength and resolve to force our way through the sandy hellscape that lay just outside the boundaries of the town. Faust thought it was appropriate to reserve his own room during our stay, as not to intrude on Yviira's and I's space or comfort; so she and I decided to split the cost of a room.

Sharing a space with an Arcanist wasn't something I thought I'd ever experience, and I felt myself drawn to her actions and movements far more than I usually would with someone else. She moved with purpose, rarely backtracking; as if she had planned every action in advance and was executing several tasks at once. On multiple occasions, I'd watch her sit down to do some work just to see a mess of notes and diagrams appear not even a second later. It was a strange feeling, an endless fascination with someone for what they were; always wanting to know more, but rarely asking anything out of fear of condemnation. Is this what the other side of that feels like? To yearn for more information and insight, but barely being able to contain myself? How curious...

After the second day, Yviira approaches me, "I know you've been watching me. Is there something I can help you with?" Her ruby eyes glistened as she spoke, it was almost hypnotizing.

Her question caught me off guard. When did she notice? How did she notice? I don't recall her ever looking my way. "O-oh, I uh..." I've only felt myself tripping over my words like this when spending more time with Aiya after the expedition, "I've just never seen an Arcanist before, I apologize."

"Ah, no worries then," She smiled gently, "It must be like how others feel when they find out you're an automaton, if I had to guess." How did she know that, too!?

"Wait, you knew???"

"It was quite obvious when we met that you were," She moves her hands when speaking as if to denote certain ideas in physical space to make it easier to connect them together, "When we first met I immediately noticed your coverings and tried detecting any magic on you to see if it was some sort of curse or illness. I typically do it to all of my clients as it saves me a lot of grief and confusion trying to ask a plethora of questions to figure out their illness or issue," She pauses her train of thought before flickering a few centimeters to the right, "Anyways, when I went to detect what the issue was, I noticed a very old magic deep inside you. It wasn't a curse or illness, so I knew that you had to be either made of this magic or that you, yourself, used such magic. I also theorized you may be an airenian, due to the coverings, but that deep and ancient magic was truly what made me guess 'automaton'."

I sit on my bed, stunned that she was able to figure all of that out before we had even spoken a single word to each other, "Was that all that gave it away?"

"Oh no," She chuckles, her freckles dancing as she smiled, "That initial 'test' was what made me hypothesize that you were an automaton. What really convinced me was during our travels so far- including staying here- I noticed you wouldn't eat or drink. During the night I also noticed that your head would slightly turn towards me whenever I got up, implying you were never really asleep." She pointed to the several places she'd been gesturing towards as she spoke, connecting them back to each other like some sort of invisible string-board conspiracy theorist, "So given you had this deep and ancient magic, you never showed to use any magic, and you neglected what a normal person would require every day; it was pretty easy to connect the dots."

I felt seen. No one's ever figured it out without poor timing or me revealing it, myself, before. I'm usually exceptionally careful, especially around new people; but somehow she saw through my facade...

"If it makes you feel any better," Yviira continues, "I've met an automaton once or twice before hahaha."

"You've met more than one!?" Even I hadn't met any in recent centuries! How was she able to find two to three of them in her lifetime living in that tiny village!?

"Of course," Her tone was nonchalant as she blinked to the desk in the room, a pile of papers suddenly stacked to her eyes, "I travel a lot for my ingredients. I've seen all kinds of people from all over. Automatons, airenians, dwarves, elves... I've even known a gnome and a zoi at one point!... I wonder if they're okay."

I knew she had to have traveled for all of those ingredients! Faust owes me a copper piece next I see him, "That does actually make me feel a bit better," I scratch the back of my head in relief.

"Also, if you ever wanted to ditch the bandages and mask, I could whip up a potion for you that would altar how you appear to most people," The pile of papers suddenly disappear as she appears on the bed, her face was pale and she looked exhausted.

"I'll be okay for now, thanks... Say, are you alright?" I finally ask, pointing out her paleness and the papers that were previously here not even a moment ago.

"Oh," She attempts to sit up, but is unable to bring herself to it, "Yeah... I just over-exerted myself is all. I like to abuse a 'simple' spell that allows me to stop time for a set period; it lets me get a lot of work done but can really drain me."

"What work have you been working on?" I ask, as I could never read any of her papers by the time they disappeared.

"Potion-craft, mainly," She pulls out a small backpack from under her pillow and pulls out a few of the papers she'd been working on, "Some of my potions are expensive to produce, so I've been trying to find ways to stretch the ingredients out to lower their costs. People buy my potions and medicine regardless, but I feel like helping more people is better than making more money, you know?"

I look over the paper she gave me and notice it's covered in diagrams of pipes and flasks. It looked incredibly complicated; but Yviira assured me that it was much more simple than it looked and that Faust had been helping her design the apparatus in exchange for some potions or ingredients when she goes out for more. According to her, Faust lived only about an hour away by carriage- or a half day by foot- and they had been occasionally working together for various projects that the Kingdom of Ascensia had hired them for. I hand the paper back to Yviira as it disappears back into the backpack. We both decide to get some rest, as tomorrow we'll be heading into the desert in search of Rae'Nör.

The next morning I decide to beat the others to the tavern portion of the inn for breakfast; the room was mostly empty, save for the bar-keep and a woman humming as she tapped her fingers on the table. The woman was built like an ox and was covered in scars where her chainmail didn't cover. Besides her sat a dirty and battered shield with what I thought used to be a golden triangle. I felt strangely drawn to her, but decided to sit at an empty table with a book as I waited for Yviira and Faust to make their ways down.

After a short time, I heard a familiar clicking and the clacking of heels descending a staircase and see Yviira order some food before sitting down across from me. We chat for a bit about various menial things until a groggy Faust shows up and sits down next to Yviira.

"Good morning, Faust," Yviira smiles, scooching over to make more space for him to sit more comfortably.

Faust mumbles something unintelligible as he holds up his right hand in an attempt to greet us.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice the woman from earlier look in our direction in a snap once Faust's name was mentioned. As we begin discussing our plans to search for our Champion of Idor, I notice the woman eventually stand up and approach the table.

"I'm sorry to intrude," The woman apologizes, her voice softer than I anticipated, "But I couldn't help but overhear your plans to venture into The Vas'kii Deserts in search of someone." She gives us all a quick judging glance, "It appears you don't have a 'front-liner'... I can offer my services if you'd like. I have unfinished business that requires me to go back in that direction at some point in the future..."

Yviira was too busy eating and Faust was still in the process of becoming conscious so the conversation was up to me, "I wouldn't mind the help, personally; but what do you bring to the table? Just a standard Pit-Fighter set of skills?"

The woman cackles maniacally, "Oh no, darling, I'm not a Pit-Fighter," She pulls off one of her chainmail gloves and extends her hand for a shake, "The name's 'Rae'Nör': Champion of Idor, but you can just call me 'Rae'."

Oh. I blink blankly for a moment before finally reaching out to shake her hand, "You are the exact person we were about to go looking for! Faust had told us all about you, so it's nice to finally meet you in person!"

Rae'Nör glances over at the barely cognizant Faust, "I knew I wasn't hallucinating when I heard the name 'Faust'!" She pulls herself in towards my ear, "What did he tell you about me?" Her grip tightened around my hand like a boa around its prey.

"N-nothing- Ow! Nothing bad, just that you like Performers and that one of your other companions was also an Arcanist!" I manage to free my hand from her iron-grip, shaking it to attempt to relieve the pain.

"Oh?" She raises an eyebrow in curiosity, "I didn't realize you were an Arcanist."

"Ope," Yviira slips out before covering her mouth to keep from being rude, "No, that's me! I'm an Arcanist," Yviira extends her hand out for a handshake, apparently missing the fact I nearly had mine crushed by Rae'Nör just a moment earlier.

Rae'Nör gives Yviira a suspicious look and hesitantly reaches back for her hand, "You're not an explosive-seeking psychopath, are you?"

Yviira gives a concerned look, "No? Astromancy is a great way to have my body ripped to shreds, and I worked hard to earn my body, thank you very much."

"Hmmm, so I take it you're the chronomancy-type?" Rae'Nör was still glaring suspiciously at Yviira.

"That's right. Much less risky and has a lot more utility than astromancy."

"Right... So I just have to worry about that one when it comes to exploding then?" She points acquisitively at Faust, "I can handle that. So what's the plan now that you don't need to track me down?"

"Find Rae," Faust snores, as he tries his hardest to avoid falling back asleep, "Get back to Mar'karéth, then head to the Southern docks to venture towards the place that Ain needs us to deal with..."

"All the way to Mar'karéth?" Rae'Nör asks, "Why so far?"

"That's where I'm 'from'," I state, "I went searching for information and ended up finding an aberrant. Bullets nor arrows affect it any, so-"

"Ah, yeah I'm familiar with aberrations," Rae'Nör nods woefully, "Horrible creatures... I've had to take care of a few of them in my travels. Not fun, especially for those without the proper protection."

"Agreed," Yviira nods in unison, "I've fought several of them before my magic was fully awakened. Horrendous scourges. I should be able to protect us from anything it's capable of if you protect me, Rae."

"Easily. So how do we want to get back to Mar'karéth then?" Rae asks, "We can either cut through The Vas'kii Deserts or we can backtrack up to Snowmelt and hire a boat to take us from there all the way around Karia to Mar'karéth. The first option is the cheapest, but more dangerous and would likely take longer; and the second option is more pricey, but is guaranteed to be far safer and faster once we actually get on a boat..."

"I vote we avoid the sandbox," I hold my hand up, Yviira and Faust following suit.

"Damn," Rae sighs, with a slight look of disappointment, "The deserts are more fun though... But you're right, if we're to rid the destination of the aberrant, we'll need to survive getting there in the first place."

Once we've eaten our breakfasts and gotten ready for the day, we hire a carriage to take us as far North as it'll take us. The journey was relatively uneventful until we approached what Yviira called the 'Wyvern Caverns' territory, an abandoned settlement in the North-East corner of the Ascensian mountain range where a family of wyverns had decided to settle some few hundred years ago. According to Faust, that was the source of Ascensia's 'Wyvern Riders', a band of elite knights that worked in the military of the Kingdom of Ascensia as aerial support for ground troops. Their existence is the sole reason why The Nation of Xylotile hasn't tried to capture any of The Kingdom of Ascensia's land. Our carriage driver told us that we'd be stopped just outside of the wyverns' territory until nightfall, and then we'll continue our journey towards Snowmelt.

As the last of the sunlight vanishes over the horizon, the carriage driver alerts us that the sooner we leave, the sooner we'll be out of this treacherous area. We climb aboard and he whips his horses for maximum speed. The carriage driver's finer movements boasted his experience, and his horses responded in kind; it's clear they've been working together for far longer than most in their line of work.

We breeze through the wyverns' territory in only an hour and a half, much to Faust's dismay; he was adamant about obtaining wyvern scales for a new trinket he was working on, though he was eventually convinced to wait until next time. Shortly after escaping the wyverns' territory, we stumble across a stone bridge near a waterfall. The carriage driver stops so we can see the water glistening in the moonlight. Just then, an apparition appeared at the top of the falls, beckoning me up. My body begins to move on its own, as if it were in some sort of trance.

"Come unto the falls~" The apparition beckoned, "Make your wishes come true~"

"Ain, no!" Yviira and Faust shout, yanking me back by the shoulders, the force of their pull knocking me out of the trance-like state.

"Don't trust the ghost, Ain," Yviira stated coldly, "These are The Wishing Falls; a place where local legend tells that surviving the fall into the jagged rocks below will grant you any wish!"

"That doesn't sound too bad-" I stop to reprocess what she said, "Did you say 'jagged rocks'???"

Yviira nods, "The idea of a wish is alluring to many," She leads me over to the edge of the bridge before casting an orb of light that drifts down to reveal the spike-trap-from-hell, riddled with the corpses of those who attempted the spirit's temptation, "But unfortunately for all who attempt it, that desire is the last thing they have before losing it all... Some speculate on the spirit's true nature. Is it malevolent? Is it even a real spirit? No one knows for sure. All that's known is jumping is a death sentence."

I look back towards the cart and see the carriage driver and Faust nodding at Yviira's explanation. I feel silly for my body taking over, but I'm glad I had those two to catch me before I did anything stupid. As we step back into the carriage, the whip startles me as it cracks in the air above the horses.

The rest of the journey towards Snowmelt was rather calm, albeit strangely eerie after The Wishing Falls. As we passed through Myrefall, we saw no trace of people. No candles or fireplaces lit, no guards on patrol, the tavern and local brothel were even silent and empty; as if the place were abandoned. Rae told us we need to keep moving and we can rest in Snowmelt; but that Myrefall was not a safe place for reasons she did not disclose. I do wonder at what about the town was so... Odd, though. Was it the stillness of the air? The willows loomed over the roads and buildings? Or was it the lack of any sound outside of the carriage and its horses? Perhaps it was a combination of the three; regardless, I trusted Rae when she said not to dwell there, so I may never know...

When we arrived at Snowmelt the sun was just beginning to peek over the Iamic Ocean to the East. Exhausted from the near-nonstop travel, the horses nearly drown themselves at one of the troughs by the stables. Paying the other half of our fare, we say goodbye to the carriage driver as we enter local inn to rent a room for a few days as we search for a boat-for-hire that'll take us back to Mar'karéth. We decided to save costs and opt for the largest room the inn had to offer instead of splitting rooms or each of us taking one.

Finding a ship to rent was far easier than any of us had anticipated; as one of the merchant ships that was docked was already going down to where we're heading anyways! Rae, Faust, and Yviira were willing to dish out a bit more coin to get there without having to do any extra work; but I opted to save as much as I could by hiring myself out as a deck-hand for the trip.

A decision that I almost regret doing that more than going into that cave back at the dig site... Almost.

The three week journey around Karia was brutal for me. The captain ran a tight ship, but also ran it a bit shit, if you were to ask any of the crew. Every night I'd pass by the other three relaxing or laughing about previous adventures in their quarters on the way to my bunk. The difference a few extra gold can get you is often overlooked by most when comparing quality-of-life features or luxuries. While the others had a clean, spacious, room, I was left with a hammock underneath one of the most foul and rancid-smelling people I've ever had the displeasure of being near... It was a good thing I don't need to eat, as I would've starved from a lack of appetite otherwise.

Nearing the Mar'karéth port, Faust had to restrain me from jumping overboard and swimming to shore just to avoid spending another second on this lousy vessel than I had to. The second our boat made contact with the pier, I was climbing down the wooden siding while cursing the ship's very structure.

"Miss Ain?" A familiar voice calls out, "Miss Ain is that you!?" I snap my head in the direction of the familiar voice and nearly begin crying when I see my old friend Keildrik again.

"Keildrik! Thank the gods you're here!" I embrace him for an exhausted hug, "You will not believe the journey I just went on..."

Keildrik looks over my shoulder, "Did you just get off that ship there?" He points towards the merchant ship we had hired to take us here.

I nod woefully.

"Well that's your problem, lassie!" He cackles maniacally, "That's Captain Jeögn'r's ship! He burns through men like my ship burns through coal! Oh hohoho! That lousy piece of work hasn't had a consistent crew since he bought his first boat ten years ago! Fifteen gold says that half the crew you came here with aren't leaving this port with him again!" His laughter was contagious and it was difficult to resist laughing despite the situation. Keildrik nods towards the others as they approach, "Who's this lovely bunch, lassie?"

"Oh! Let me introduce to you the people who are going to help me with my 'issue' from last year!" I say, with more excitement than I intended, "The mage with the ruby-red eyes is 'Yviira', the one that looks like she can break me over her knee without even trying is 'Rae'Nör', and the guy who looks too eager to blow something up is 'Faust'-"

"Doctor Faust," Faust corrects.

"... Y-yes... 'Doctor Faust'..." I echo awkwardly, "They are an Arcanist, a Champion of Idor, and a Tinkerer? I think Faust is a Tinkerer..."

"Well I'll be damned," Keildrik says astonishingly, his hand on his hips, "You must've encountered something real foul to get an Arcanist AND a Champion involved!" He lets out another chuckle, "Do ya need my ferry services over to that blasted place again or were you going to have 'Captain High Turn-over Rate' take you?"

"I would love it if we could take your ferry, Keildrik," I say with an exhausted smile. The sheer thought of getting back on that blasted merchant's ship made me want to melt myself down for scrap.

"Of course, lassie! Anything for you!" He gives me a tight squeeze before setting me back down, "Are ya takin' that sweet lass with you again? What's-her-face again? Aina? Agatha?"

"Aiya?" I ask, assuming he meant her.

"That's the one!" His smile beamed like the sun overhead, "She's been worried sick about'cha, by the way. You may want to find her before she finds you..." His tone turned to a slightly-serious one as his voice dropped into a whisper.

"I will, I will," I chuckle nervously. Aiya didn't like that I'd be gone for so long, especially if I didn't check back in with her when I was in-town. If it weren't for her studies, she would've come along, too; but she'll be graduating in the next couple months and needs to focus on her school work, "Do you know where she's at right now?"

"Aye, she should be in the university's library around this time," He nods, agreeing with himself as if he wasn't entirely sure, "I pop in every so often so she sees a face that isn't the librarian's or her classmates'."

"Awesome, I'll head there as soon as possible then," I give Keildrik one last hug before signaling to the others to follow me, "Let's discuss the ferry later, yeah?"

"Sure thing, lassie! Tell Aiya I say hello!" Keildrik waves as he continues on towards his vessel.

"Who was that?" Faust asks quietly, as to try to not insult me with the question.

"Shit," I bury my hands in my face, "I forgot to introduce him! Agh! That was 'Keildrik', an old friend of mine. He and I have been going on adventures for a while. He's the most trustworthy sailor I know."

"Also, who's 'Anya'?" Yviira asks, similarly to Faust.

"'Aiya', and you'll see! She's pretty great! We're actually going to stop by and say hi to her before resting for a bit, if you don't mind?" I smile awkwardly as I glance at Rae who has been noticeably silent since we docked.

"What?" Rae asks, looking behind her then back at me, "Oh no, I'm good. No questions here."

As we continue towards the university's library, I begin undoing my bandages and storing my mask in my bag, "Just a little further!"

"Aren't you scared you'll be seen as an automaton?" Yviira asks nervously, "I know you said you try to keep it hidden, so I just want to make sure you're okay..."

"Oh yeah," I wave my hand, "It's fine. This town knows me already. Aiya, Keildrik, and the other students from the trip spent a lot of time after my previous expedition petitioning the university and the town to crack down on their kidnapping laws; especially for folks like me. It took some time, but I feel safer in the streets, uncovered, now than I did before when I was completely concealed!"

Faust nods in fascination, "How'd they manage that?"

"A lot of the students who attend the university come from noble bloodlines. Since I saved some of the students, and assisted in the identification of the ones I couldn't, they wanted to extend a hand of thanks to me," We turn a corner in the alleyway and enter into a large courtyard, "I was hesitant at first, but they wouldn't take my 'no' for an answer... Oh, we're here!" I push open the doors and enter into the library, the salty-air of the sea being quickly replaced by the smell of old dusty tomes and scrolls. In front of us were massive bookshelves reaching all the way up to the ceiling; some of them even sliding on rails to reveal more books behind even those shelves! I glance over at the others, Yviira's and Rae's jaws were agape in awe.

"Woah!" Yviira whispered, "I haven't seen a library like this since I was a child! Even then, Ascensia's library is quite small compared to this one!"

"Tell me about it," Rae agrees, peering around the room as if trying to find something to latch onto without being overwhelmed by the sheer volume, "The temple I grew up in had a library, but it was all scripture. None of it had much substance beyond that... And it was more of a closet with a table than a library."

"Eh," Faust shrugs, "I've seen bigger..." Yviira, Rae, and I all turn to look at Faust, dumbfounded by his declaration.

"I'm sorry, bigger!?" Yviira asks, unconvinced, "Where in the hells have you been???"

"Back home, actually..." His voice was hollow and filled with yearning, "This is big, don't get me wrong, this is bigger than anything I've seen here; but I have seen bigger."

The three of them begin bickering over menial details about the library and its size when I spot Aiya on the second floor, "Follow me, she's up here!" Storming up the stairs, we approach Aiya from behind; I turn around giving the others a sign to be quiet as I approach. Sneaking over, I notice Aiya staring longingly at the ring on her left hand, the emerald shimmering in the light from an overhead skylight. Positioning myself just back and to her left and reaching my hand over, I poke her on her side opposite of me, causing her to jump, before quickly retracting my hand. Aiya turns towards her right, looking for what just poked her before snapping back towards my direction, "Hey cutie~" I smirk, poking her side closest to me.

Within a fraction of a second I see her face go from angry to confused to flustered before settling on excited, "By The Nine! I didn't think you'd be back so soon!!" She wraps her arms around my neck before leaning in for a kiss, "I thought you were still looking for folks to help with the aberrant problem?"

"Ah, I see I somehow beat the parcels I've been sending!" I giggle, motioning towards the others who were acting awkwardly as if they didn't see what happened, "Well, I'd like you to meet the folks that will be helping me with the aberrant! That's 'Yviira', she's an Arcanist. The one with the shield and flail is 'Rae'Nör', she's a Champion of Idor. And the last one is 'Doctor Faust', he's a Tinkerer... I think..."

Aiya goes to shake each of their hands, "Nice to meet you all! I'm 'Aiya', Ain's fiancée."

Immediately upon Aiya revealing that, I see everyone's faces change. Yviira grows a smile I didn't think was possible for her face to display and Rae's attitude shifted from aloof to showing off a gentle smile; but Faust's calm demeanor dropped, as if he was frustrated or something.

"Oh my goodness, that's adorable!" Yviira squeaks in excitement, "Congratulations! Why didn't you tell you were engaged, Ain!?"

Aiya slowly turns towards my direction, her face depicting a smile that communicated a feeling of dread. It was one of those smiles where you fear what will happen if you say the wrong thing, "I- uh, I wanted it to be a surprise!" I chuckle nervously, patting Aiya on her head. Aiya's smile returned to a gleeful one as she and Yviira were squealing about the details of the ring, the proposal, and when the wedding would be. I didn't expect them two to become such quick friends, but I'm glad that it happened. "We were thinking about heading back to the dig site in a day or two, by the way, Aiya," I call out, hoping to pry her attention away from the conversation she was having with Yviira, "I've got Keildrik willing to give us a ride, so we'll leave once we've had some time to rest from all the travel."

"So soon?" Aiya frowns, "But you just got back!"

"Yes, but we both know the situation down south and how important it is that we deal with it sooner than later," I reach out and grab her hands, "We'll only be gone for a few days, at most."

"I know..." She rubs my hand against her cheek, "Why don't we all get some dinner in an hour? There's this place just up the road that has really good pasta!"

Rae shrugs indifferently, "If you're buying, I'll go."

"I'd love to!" Yviira's face lights up, "I haven't had good pasta since I last lived in Ascensia..."

We all turn towards Faust, who'd taken a few steps away from the group, "I guess I'll go..." He mumbles. Something's up with him, I just know it. He was all chipper and dandy until five minutes ago... I'll have to ask him later.

"Sweet!" Aiya exclaims enough for us to all feel the librarian's gaze set upon us before she quieted down a notch, "Let me finish up my work here, and I'll meet you all there!"

Saying our farewells, I lead the others towards the closest inn so they can get settled before dinner. As they settle in, I head back to my own apartment and clean myself up. Despite not smelling rancid, I feel gross... Not to mention I was still filthy from the journey back on that blasted merchant's ship. Just thinking about that lousy excuse for a captain made me irritated.

The rest of the night went as smoothly as I had hoped it would. I met the others at the inn and showed them how to get to the restaurant and back. When we arrived, Aiya had already reserved us a table and was waiting for us. We each told stories about our individual adventures, where we came from, and what we were excited for in the future. Rae told us that despite defeating the lich in The Vas'kii Deserts, she had yet to track down all of its nulls that it created; nulls, she told us, are undead servants. Every member of The Nine Divines abhors their existence and make it their Champions' primary duty to rid the world of their rot and decay amongst other things. Yviira mentioned how she was on-the-fence about taking on a student due to trauma surrounding previous students of hers; Aiya tried to encourage her, but I had to intervene when I saw the visible distraught welling up on Yviira's face. Faust barely mentioned what he was going to do... Something about a 'reactor' or 'getting home'... Aiya tried asking where he's from, but he wouldn't give her an answer; it was starting to rub me the wrong way.

After dinner, we each parted ways for the night and agreed to meet at Keildrik's vessel at the end of the week on Teriae morning. We'd need the rest for what was to come.

As the sun rose on Teriae, I realized Aiya was still glued to me as she slept. She had paused her studying for the past couple days so we could spend more time together. I always hated the idea of leaving without her since we started dating; her reassuring presence always made my worries fade away... Today was no exception, as it was when the others and I go back to the accursed dig site to exorcise it from the aberrant's presence. Aiya had to keep reminding me to unclench my jaw every few hours in the days leading up to today. She always did know when I was anxious more-easily than I typically could.

"Aiya," I gently shake her in an attempt to wake her up, "Aiya, I've got to go."

"Hm?" She grunts as her body begins to sloppily move, "Already?" Her voice was a mixture of sadness and exhaustion.

"Unfortunately, my love," I run my fingers through her hair, its waves gently flowing between my fingers, "It'll only be for a few days at most. I promise," I lean over and kiss her on the forehead before fighting my way out of her grasp. The rest of my morning routine was a blur from that point forward until I found myself at the docks.

"Took you long enough," Rae teases from out on deck, "I'll tell the captain you're boarding now!" She climbs up the small flight of stairs and into the bridge when not even a second later Keildrik comes bursting out.

"Miss Ain! Do ya need a tail wind? We need to go!" He'd always say that whenever I'd show up late. It used to kick me into high gear, but now it just makes me chuckle.

"I'm on, I'm on!" I shout at him, as I step onto the deck and remove the stairs that lead to the boat, "Don't let an octopus get in your mouth with it open like that, Keildrik! You know what happened last time!"

Keildrik belly-laughs before slapping his knee, "You've got a point there, lassie!" He heads back inside the bridge and almost immediately the boat jerks and begins to fly through the otherwise calm waters, "I figure at our current pace, we'll get there by lunch! So hold on tight!"

Sitting down in the cabin, we begin to formulate a plan. I whip out the map I 'borrowed' from one of the other students and set out a few of my bullets to signify each of us, "We'll be arriving around here in the harbour," I begin explaining, "We'll then have to hike about twelve minutes inland to reach the previous camp site that our group used. The families of the noble students have probably already gathered anything that belonged to them, as well as the bodies; assuming they were still there by the time they came for them." Moving the pieces along the trail marked out on the map, I outline a circle with a pencil, "Here is the dig site. It has two massive doors that currently contain the aberrant. They open outward when a certain passphrase is spoken." I pull out a mangled bullet and set it by where the doors would be on the map, "This will signify the aberrant. I highly suggest fighting it out in the open, as the ground in the courtyard here has been cleared of most of the debris and plant-life while the room behind the doors has a floor that is littered with bones. I'm not personally a fan of walking on bones, let alone fighting on them."

"So how should we go about killing it?" Faust asks. He sounded normal for the first time since we arrived at Mar'karéth, "You said bullets and arrows do nothing..."

"Correct. That's why we have these two," I gesture towards Yviira and Rae, "These two have experience fighting aberrations and their magic should be able to damage the beast."

"More importantly," Rae interjects after a brief pause, "We should be able to kill it. Aberrations can heal over time, so we need to kill it and kill it fast." She turns towards Yviira, "We'll need you to cast some sort of ward on us to protect us from the aberrant's psychic damage. I can bless us with holy protection for a short time, but it may need to be refreshed during the battle. If that ends up being the case, I need it to be locked down by any means necessary; meaning it can't move at all so I can re-apply the blessing."

Yviira nods, "Worst comes to worst, I can pull us out of the time-stream in order to get a breather, reposition, or allow you to reapply the blessing."

"Hell yeah," Rae slugs Yviira's shoulder playfully, "That'd be perfect, actually!"

"So what kills it?" Faust asks, looking more invested in the conversation, "Do we wear it down? Can we 'pop' it in a burst of magic? Do we have to wait for a specific timing?..."

"That's a good point," I echo.

"Well," Rae sighs, "It depends. I've fought some that I've had to wear down over a long and drawn-out battle. Others I've just smitten them with my flail and they disintegrated. We'll have to see. Let's plan for a drawn-out battle just in case."

"Excellent," Faust nods as he pulls out a small alchemical distillery set, "I'll get to work on some potions. I'm thinking Instant Health, Stickiness, and Ice? Do we want to drink the health potions or do you all prefer contact or injections?"

"I'll stick to ingested," We all say simultaneously, "Jinx!"

"... Great," Faust rolls his eyes, "I'll get to work on those then. I'll make five of each just in case." He begins to toil away, mixing various ingredients together along with Yviira's help. For as much as he's seemed distant these past few days, at least he gets along with Yviira reasonably well.

As soon as we arrived in the harbour, Faust finishes up corking the potion bottles and hands them out to everyone, "Remember, it's better to use it than to hold onto it in case you need it later. We can share if it gets bad enough."

We all nod in understanding and begin boarding the row boats. Given it was just the four of us this time, we were all able to fit onto one row boat.

Once we reach the shore, Keildrik turns to me, "I'm going to stay parked here in the harbour for three days tops. After that, I'll need to go back for supplies. I'll have my crew leave a spare boat outside the tide's reach. If, for any reason, you all need to escape, feel free to take it." He puts his hand on my shoulder, "I placed on my vessel's flare guns underneath one of the seats. Fire it every four hours to make them last if you get dragged out to sea by the currents-"

"I appreciate it, Keildrik," I embrace him for a hug, "Hopefully we won't need it, but we'll definitely keep it in mind just in case."

"That's my girl," He says returning my embrace. I always thought of Keildrik like some sort of father figure, and moments like these just solidify that feeling for me, "Remember: every four hours. I should see it." As I pull away from him, I notice one of his crew members dragging the row boat he mentioned up hill and setting it upside-down under a tree.

After a short hike from the shore, we stumble upon the remnants of the camp site. The fire-ring and a few shredded pieces of canvas from various smaller tents laid strewn about. I pull out the map for a reference and with its help I'm able to pick out the trail towards the dig site from the various game-trails littering the field of grass. While we hike, I make sure to reference the map to keep us on track.

"Hang on," I shout, stopping to look around, "I want to make sure everyone got retrieved," The place we were stopped at was the furthest marker from the dig site where we had found one of the students' bodies a year ago. I look in the area that we moved it to and to my relief it's absent, "Thank Po'oraat, he was claimed after all..."

Continuing our march down the overgrown trail, we stop at each of the markers on my map to ensure that the students were recovered by someone. So far all of them were... That is until we reached the dig site, itself. The plants had grown back over most of the ground. It wasn't impossible to walk on, but it would make getting a foothold in combat tricky. As we descend into the site, I notice a familiar sight catch my eyes. Four skeletal remains laid out in a row. These were the mercenaries that almost survived!

"Are these the doors?" Yviira asked, pointing towards the towering monoliths.

"Oh yes," I assure her, "Let's get ready, maybe clear a bit of the brush out of the way to make the fight easier for ourselves."

"Oh, by the way," Faust approaches me as Rae and Yviira begin bickering about what method to use to clear the plants, "I have something for you. Since the aberrant can't be damaged by our normal bullets, I took it upon myself to get these enchanted by the Etherial's Guild before we left... I also made these," He pulls out a strange device with wires and screws poking out of it that was attached to another revolver, "It's an augmented revolver, similar to your current one. It probably won't be able to single-handedly take down the bastard, but you'll at least be able to damage it... It fires cartridges instead of wads like yours. You shouldn't need to worry about it getting wet or being inaccurate after a certain point either! Just, uh... Be careful with it. I packed the rounds extra-hot, so they should really pack a punch."

"Oh. Thank you, Faust this is so kind," I hold the new revolver in my hands to get a feel for its weight. It was heavier than my old one, but the weight was distributed in a way that felt like it would counter-act the recoil from firing.

"Consider it, a uh... Early wedding present," His eyes refuse to make contact with mine, but I could tell he was being genuine.

"Awww, thank you~ That's so thoughtful!" So that's why he was acting funny, he thought he had to get me a present, how lovely.

Faust then shows me how to load and unload it and pressed firmly into my mind to 'keep the brass'. Apparently he has a way to reuse them, so that was good to know. He also shows me how to enable or disable the augment that was wrapped around its barrel.

"When enabled, this should fire a round that is imbued with electricity! The few times I've tested it out, myself, with dummy rounds, I'd say a rough estimate is it has a success rate of around twenty-five-percent," He shrugs indifferently, "Not great, but at least it may help given our circumstances... At worst you tickle it with a gun that already doesn't faze it; so I see that chance as an absolute win!"

With the area cleared, and our weapons and minds ready, we get in formation; Rae up front, Yviira closely behind her, and Faust and I stand a safe distance back. Yviira spends a minute casting a ward over each of us, its iridescent glow shimmering against the sunlight. She claims it's made out of primordial energy, so it should resist the psionic blasts the aberrant throws at us.

Rae then kneels down on one knee and offers a prayer, "Idor, hear our pleas! For we have a foe that stands against mortality and the gods and goddesses that give it. Protect us with thy will, so we may deliver this aberrant to Gra'Nu'Daer; that it may finally get the rest it so requires." As she closes the prayer, each of us glow with a faint light. I suddenly felt faster, more calm, and like I can face the terror that lurks behind the cursed doors.

"Everyone ready?" I ask. The others nod their head, "Zeit'iier!"

The doors creak open, their ungodly chorus snapping the overgrowth as they creep open. The aberrant mass lays dormant on the altar, as motionless as a formless-blob of mistakes can lay. I take aim and fire one round out of my new revolver, the bullet zipping through the air with such velocity that it nearly knocked me off my feet!

Zewp!

The round misses and ricochets crackling as it hits the first surface it makes contact with. Faust follows my shot up with one of his own, his round landing directly on the aberrant's abhorrent excuse for a hide. A small flicker of blue-ish-white light appears and the aberrant quickly takes form; the shapeless mass dripping from its malevolent throne of gold.

Yviira holds her hand out, her palm facing the sky. She yells something in a language I'm not familiar with and then snaps her fingers. Just as the snap echoes through the courtyard, the aberrant shrieks in pain as an iridescent burst of light and energy blasts from within the aberrant, sending bits and blobs of its gooey mass in all directions.

"Incredible," The words leave my mouth almost as if on their own. I had never seen offensive magic of this caliber before. The sheer power and control was simultaneously awe-inspiring and terrifying.

"The fights just getting started," Rae yells out, snapping my attention back into the moment. If not for her warning, I wouldn't have seen the bits and globs of the aberrant rejoining and re-forming back into one shapeless mass.

"P̸͇̿͝l̶̰̩̓̒ę̵̍̍ḁ̴̽̑s̶̖̄̕e̶̛̫̣!̴̘̀̕ ̸̹̍̕R̴̰͛͊ẽ̶̬̀ḽ̷͑͐è̶̲a̷̛̹͌͜s̶͕̀̕e̷͈̪̕ ̴̬̔ṁ̷̬̰͑ẹ̶͎̈́!̶̠̳̅̊" The aberrant's abysmal cries pierce the air, causing several birds in the surrounding trees to flee before falling lifelessly out of the sky. The aberrant rushes through the doors, its awful stature, slinking and sliding, gripping and gnashing as it leapt out of the altar room and into the open courtyard, "T̶̲̀͠ͅh̷͈̜͆͛e̴̢̚-̵͎̪̾T̴̻́̕h̷̙̊̔ḙ̵͓̐ ̶̪̦̕S̶̜͉̎͝u̸̼̦͛́n̴̛̠!̸̲̕ ̴̖͑Ǐ̵̧'̵͇̥͆͛m̴̹͋ ̵̢̗̽̍r̶̥̀e̴͖͊a̶̫͊l̴̗̃́ľ̴̖̜̀ẏ̴̡̠ ̶̹̈ŏ̸̬u̶̠̓͑͜ţ̵̻̌̏!̶̠͛ͅ" The horror stops in its tracks as several spindly tendrils rise up from various points on its body; each facing the direction of the mid-afternoon sun.

Rae takes the opportunity to leap into the air, her flail glowing red-hot and crackling with black sparks as it slams down on the nightmare. The ground cracks and shifts under the weight of the mighty blow, the aberrant's body lagging behind as the shock-wave travels up and down its various limbs causing it to finally slam into the dirt below.

Taking aim, I let loose another shot, this time hitting the horror dead-center. A small crackle of light flickers, but otherwise nothing happens. Faust follows my shot up with another one of his; the beast understanding the rhythm of our attacks morphs its body out of the way of his bullet, causing it to shatter some of the stray bones back in the altar room.

Yviira, noticing the aberrant's attention is elsewhere takes out a bottle of Contact Frost potion and throws it at the beast, the air is quickly filled with an icy mist as the bottle shatters and the aberrant is consumed by ice, "I've got it locked down, now's your chance to hit it with all you've got!"

The aberrant's unholy choir of melded voices screams out, the sound penetrating the icy cocoon. As its shriek rings out, the ice lining to it begins to crack; and before any of us could react, the horror breaks free from its icy tomb, sending ice fragments flying into the area directly around it, "S̷͍̿ǫ̸͋͘ ̶̧̅č̴̡͠ơ̸̪͈͌l̷͎̘̈̊d̷̰͙̊!̷̗́" It lets out.

"Hey, ugly!" Rae calls out to the aberrant, its attention turning from Yviira to her before getting a face full of white-hot flail, "Eyes up!" I couldn't help but notice that Rae had a stream of blood trickling down her cheek, a flying shard of ice must've grazed her before she could raise her shield.

I turn to Faust and give him a nod, as I reposition myself to make it harder for the creature to know if either Faust or myself were about to fire. Luckily Faust understood my signal and as I moved, he fired another round, grazing his target. Once I was in position, I send my third bullet flying down-range, its weight impacting the aberrant, causing it to jolt and twitch! I look to Faust as he gives me a 'thumbs-up'... I guess that's what it looks like when the augment works? Odd... Well it was better than nothing, I suppose.

Holding out her hand and her wand, Yviira shouts at the aberrant, "metatea dA!" A magical arc jumps from her wand to the aberrant, but it doesn't appear to do anything, "Oh... Well that's not good."

The aberrant slashes at Rae, ripping into her shield and gouging her left arm before turning towards me and slinging a volley of spikes out in my direction. The spikes nail me in my right arm and leg, with two more piercing right through my abdomen and knocking me to the ground, "Y̴͕͒̋ő̶͔̟u̸͕̽!̶̨̞̇ ̵̖̏̕Ǐ̷̝ ̵͙̠̀w̶͔̿̊a̷͕͋̿s̸͕͊ ̸͚͎̉s̸͍̼͆͗u̶͉͛p̸̩̹̑͋p̸͓̊̍o̵̜͉̍̒ś̵̢̀e̸̬̭͂͋ḓ̴̦̀ ̴͓͓͝t̸̢̺̀͋o̴̝͉͋ ̴̠̒̌ḅ̸͝ẽ̴̱̚ ̶̰̽͊ò̶͉n̷̛̥̐ẻ̵̞̪̓ ̸̧͆ö̴͍́͝f̶̣͑́ ̷͚͒̊ẏ̷͕̎ṓ̶̡̝u̸̜̩͒!̵̹̄" It howls in anger.

"I'm over here!" Rae's eyes glow a pure-white as she points her flail at the beast, "Fight me, you coward!" Several of the aberrant's limbs twist forcefully towards Rae, as if it was forced to keep focused on her. Winding her flail up to build momentum, she unleashes a bone-crunching blow to the aberrant's body. I'm not sure what is beneath the ooze and goo, but something in there definitely broke just then.

I attempt to get to my feet, but the pain is intense, and my leg has a fist-sized hole through it. With various fluids spilling out onto the soil, I clumsily reach into my pouch for one of the potions Faust brewed for me. It wouldn't completely fix me, but I figured it would stop things from getting worse.

"Yviira, go help her, I'll cover you," Faust issues the command firmly while letting two more bullets fly; the first one passing right through the abomination and the second causing it to twitch, with visible arcs of electricity arcing over the outside of it.

I manage to pop the cork off of one of the potions and drink as much of it as I can. The taste was awful. I've definitely had worse potions, but by Po'oraat I wish they'd use a little mint or raspberries for flavour like most potion-crafters. As I expected, though, the potion stopped the loss of fluids, but I was in no shape to get up, let alone to keep fighting. I could risk another potion; but it's so easy to overdose on potions that I didn't want to risk it.

"Oh shit," Yviira runs up to me and notices the gaping holes in my body that the potion didn't fully close, "I've got you, don't worry..." With a touch of her hand, I feel a strange sense of déjà vu, as I relive the past few moments in reverse. The sensation of feeling the potion flow backwards up my throat and back into the bottle, the awful flavour hitting my tongue again, and the unique feeling of having something tear through your body in reverse, but instead of leaving a hole, the holes close up. Once the sensation fades I look down at the empty potion bottle in curiosity, did I not un-drink it? Or did it just feel like I did? "How do you feel?" Yviira asks for what felt like a second time.

"Oh, I," My head spins for a moment as I realize that I had not traveled back to the moment when I got impaled and that Yviira was still standing next to me, "I'm a bit confused, but I don't feel like I'm dying..."

"Great!" She smiles, "That's how that typically feels!" I begin questioning her intentions, as no normal person would say that.

The aberrant lashes out at Rae again and again and again. Rae's shield taking a royal beating as blood begins to drip from her arms. With each new swipe of the abomination's claws, tendrils, and maw, more and more blood splashes to the ground.

Jumping back, Rae's shield begins to glow with the purity of the heavens, "With Idor as my witness, I shall not fall!" Reaching for her belt, she pops the corks off of a potion and chugs it before tossing it to the ground to drink another. I can tell her body was trying to reject the second flask, but it was quite impressive that she was able to keep it down. She pitches the second flask at the aberrant, the glass shattering as it makes contact with its skin, "Prepare to meet your end."

While the aberrant is distracted, I reach into my pouch and withdraw a glittering-yellow potion hat has the consistency of honey and throw it at the aberrant's back; the potion splashing as the glass shatters, gluing the beast in-place and rendering it unable to move. Yviira holds out a hand to help me back to my feet, and I take aim and prepare to fire my fourth shot. Yviira, noticing my aim must've been slightly off, whirls her hands together at where she predicts my shot will land and opens a rift just in time and space for my bullet to reach it. As my stray bullet enters the one rift, it quickly exits the other, slamming right into what I'd assume was the head of the creature.

"Thanks!" I nod towards Yviira, "I didn't expect it to miss that wildly!"

"Of course!" She replies as she readies her next spell.

Faust fires his sixth shot before ducking behind a rock to reload, the bullet nailing the aberrant right where mine pelted it, "Are you sure I can't use my normal weapon, Rae!?" He shouts.

"Oh, I'm sure! I wouldn't want to be caught up in the blast, now would I!?" Her voice was mildly sarcastic, as if she was wanting to have a little fun, but was too focused on the fight to fully commit to it.

I see Faust mumble some things, as he pets a circular object before stowing it back into his bag to continue reloading. Yviira holds her hand out again and snaps her fingers, causing another primordial blast to occur within the aberrant; the pieces try to fly away, but are held at a certain distance due to the Stickiness potion's goo holding it all together. As the pieces coalesce once more, I notice the aberrant is moving far more sluggishly. Its cries are softer, and its movements are sloppy. It tries to attack Rae again, but she's able to side-step the onslaught of blows.

"It looks like it's almost finished!" Yviira shouts at Rae.

"On it!" Rae quickly embeds her glowing shield into the dirt between her and the aberrant and kneels down one knee, "Idor, my god, the great balancer; hear my pleas! This enemy is not to exist in this world! Release it from this mortal coil and deliver it to Gra'Nu'Daer!" Just then, a fiery sword made of golden light, about thirty meters in length, falls from the sky, slamming down on the aberrant with a quaking force strong enough to knock all of us to the floor. The aberrant squirms for a few moments before it stops moving; the divine blade pinning it to the ground below.

We all approach the monstrosity, prepared to begin another round of fighting when the sword and the aberrant's body begin to fizzle out of existence.

"Thank... You..." The aberrant mutters in a clear and soft voice. The princess and the other sacrifices were finally free.

Once the last of the remains of the aberrant had disintegrated, we step inside the altar room to ensure the job was done. Inside, amongst the skeletal remains of the sacrifices, I spot two bodies I didn't have accounted for back when we originally marked them on the map... It was Professor Neidle's and Maeki's bodies. There was no sign of biting, gnashing, or clawing; so they must've died the same as the mercenaries outside did. We drag their remains out and bundle them into two separate piles; ensuring that we didn't mix them together with each other or any of the sacrifices' bones. I also looked through their clothes to make sure that they didn't have anything that belonged here; going as far as to rip out a few pages of Neidle's notebook to ensure the secrecy of this site's nefarious purpose.

We assist Faust in lining the walls and cage-rooms with his special explosives, which he claims make the ones previous expeditions used on the doors look like fire-crackers... Whatever those were.

"What about the doors?" I ask, pointing towards the towering monoliths, "They're in basically-pristine condition after all this time. Despite the endless scratching from the aberrant, the blast from previous expeditions, and any other attempts at destroying or opening them..."

"I'll handle it once the explosives are finished being set," Yviira reassures me, "They have a strong enchantment on them; but it's nothing I can't undo."

As we finish setting the explosives throughout the entire structure, we run a wire to the top of the trail that oversees the dig site so we can keep a safe distance. Speaking the command, the doors begin to shut. It will be the last time they move.

Yviira's the last to leave the courtyard, as she presses both hands on the doors and whispers something in that unfamiliar language again before walking up the trail to meet us again, "It is done. The doors won't be a problem," Her voice was quieter than normal, as if she felt bad about what she- or we, for that matter- did.

"What'd you do to them?" Faust asks curiously.

"I removed the enchantment and then commanded them to turn to dust. See for yourself," She points back towards the doors as their shiny lustre fades and rusts before holes begin to appear and pieces quickly fall off, "It is not something I like doing... Deteriorating things like that." We watch in awe as the impervious doors are reduced to nothing more than two piles of rust.

"Can I detonate them now!?" Faust asks excitedly after the moment of silence between all of us. The emotional whiplash from Yviira's previous words to Faust's was potent. We lay down and brace for the explosion, "Five. Four. Three. Two. One!" Faust slams his whole body weight onto the handle of the box that's attached to the wire leading to the courtyard. Several moments pass without even a sound. Just as I open my mouth to comment on the lack of action taking place, I feel it.

KABOOM!

With each set of explosives detonating, the ground quivers. The constant explosions sounding like an extreme thunderstorm with the power of an earthquake. The quaking lasted several minutes before it finally calmed down and the dust and debris began to settle.

I peek over the ledge to see that where the structure once stood, it had now been reduced to a crater of rubble and debris. Larger pieces still remained; but I doubt anyone would be able to make some sense of it in the future.

"I want to do something," Yviira stands to her feet, brushing off the dust from her cloak, "Just to be thorough." She waves and flicks her wand, creating a shadowy glyph in the air. Not a moment later, I feel a sudden shift in my weight; as if I was being pulled in a direction contrary to what gravity normally pulls me in. I look back over the ledge and see a massive jet-black orb floating above the courtyard; the pieces of rubble and rock loosened by the explosions getting sucked into it as if were alive and gnawing on the surrounding landscape. As the ball of darkness grew, so did its appetite. Its pull snapping trees out of the ground and eating the very soil... After a moment, Yviira flicked her wrist again and it vanished, "There! Now it's like it was never here at all!" She says with a chaotic smile.

"What was that!?" Faust erupted. If I didn't know better I'd say he was about to explode next!

"A black hole," Yviira grins deviously, "I had to make extra sure that we erased this place entirely~"

"Yes, I can see that; but why wait until after we used up all of my precious bombs!?" Faust raised his voice further.

"Well, if I did this first, it probably wouldn't have gotten everything unless I let it get too big; and I don't like letting them get that big, as they can become... Unstable..." Her words had a mild amount of sass hidden beneath the surface, as if she was trying to combat Faust's aggressiveness with it.

Still seated on the ground, I look in horror at what was once the dig site. From human-sacrifice and automaton production facility to abandoned to a dig site... Has now been reduced to absolutely nothing. I glance at Yviira in fear, "Arcanists are crazy!" I mutter to myself. I had seen a lot for one day, hell a lot for one lifetime; and I've been around a while! I had never before seen a mage wield this kind of power before, granted I'd never seen an Arcanist before either...

"Don't worry, you get used to it," Rae states with a chuckle as she extends me a hand to help me up, "I've somehow known two Arcanists now... They pack quite the punch."

I take her hand and get to my feet as Faust and Yviira bicker over 'efficiency' and 'being thorough'. Maybe they didn't get along quite as well as I originally thought... I gesture for them to follow Rae and I and begin the trek back to the harbour. As soon as we reached the shore, Keildrik was already there waiting for us. He must've spotted us as soon as we could see the shore line.

"Are you kids alright?" He asks, "One minute I was sitting in the ship, reading today's paper, and the next? A sound that I can only describe as 'the ground sobbing in pain'! Then the tide came in hours ahead of schedule! I thought a tsunami was a brewin'!"

"Yeah, we're alright. Thanks Keildrik," I give him a warm smile as we board his row boat back to the ship. It was finally done. It had been over a year since the expedition, but the site and the aberrant were finally destroyed. Thank the gods, too... I was tired and ready to see Aiya again.