Two years later, Nox trudged through the vast woods that she'd grown up with all of her life, yet still felt afraid of. It wasn't the darkness- she was used to darkness, as natural light only reached Underfall one day every year. This was not such a day. It wasn't the bone-chilling cold that sucked everything out of you, or so it felt; she was also used to that, even though as she walked she looked up at Spook, who never seemed to notice it. It wasn't the moans of the ghosts of lost spirits, either- the melancholic symphony often lulled her to sleep at night. She walked slightly hunched over, arms wrapped together firmly. "Are you sure we're supposed to be out here, Spook?" she asked quietly.

Spook, who was so much taller and faster and more agile than her and seemed to know every crevice of the woods, didn't stop or slow down. "Of course we are. I told you you'd know someday." He turned his head slightly back to Nox. "This is that day."

Nox should have been relieved. All of her life she had had questions, and now she was getting answers. But she turned her gaze to the very dark green ground below her and muttered, "I'm not allowed out, though."

"You aren't allowed out alone," Spook said, his tone light. "As long as they know you're with me, it'll be fine. By now Crowslip knows I can get around easily, so she'll be fine with this."

"Fine? She freaked out when I tagged along with the group that went to the shrine on Rashnu's festival. She won't like this at all."

Spook shrugged. "Nothing she can do."

And then it was silent again. He had slowed down a bit, as if looking for something. This brought questions to Nox's mind. Spook knew every inch of Underfall's woods. "Spook, where are we going?" she asked, like a little child.

Spook, who was brushing his hand against the rock walls, paused, and replied, "To see the Oracle. She's been wanting to see you for years, and we both agreed you are ready now." He continued searching. "Now be quiet. I need to focus."

Nox shut her mouth and leaned against the wall, staring at a ghost that didn't look quite normal. Too light, she thought, its eyes too red. But she didn't pay too much notice to it. Probably just a vampire that had been staked. They tended to look different from normal ghosts.

And then Spook let out a cry of joy as he brushed tons of rock from an opening in the rock. Nox's eyebrows folded together as she stepped closer. He was pulling old rocks from a small opening. "Could you help me, Nox?"

She nodded and started removing handfulls. The opening seemed to have collaspsed over the years, but somehow there still remained a doorway large enough for them to fit through. He turned back to her again and said, "Take out your hatchet. The Oracle didn't tell me what's in here."

"Is she here?"

He shook his head. "No, but we need to go through here to get to her."

The opening, she discovered, led to a huge temple. An amazing sight stood before her- a huge pool of water, up to her waist. Stunned, she dipped her fingers into it, loving the cool, clear water wash over her dirty hand. Nox stared as the dirt soaked into the water, and then vanished. With wide eyes she looked up to Spook, who looked unphased. "A godesses' protection," he said, his voice echoing in the empty space. "That's why it hasn't collapsed."

Nox stood back up, feeling childish and silly. He looked down at her and said, "Come on. We'll have to go through the water. It's the only way to go."

Spook led her through the water that felt so strange to her. It weighed down her legs, felt too heavy to go through. But instead of focusing on the water she looked at the walls, at the beautiful, golden, intricate details. She never took her eyes off of them, not even when he led her through a doorway. She didn't even realize it until she was standing in the middle of another pool, Spook screaming at her, the huge jaws of some sort of fish coming closer.

He was screaming her name, and Nox fumbled for her hatchet util she realized she had lost it and it was gone and she was dead and-

With an ear-piercing shriek the fish fell over, burns covering all of its body. Nox felt sick, her knees felt weak, and she hauled herself out of the water and onto a platform before falling to her knees and vomiting into the pure water than dissolved it all.

And then she looked up and saw that the fish were still there, swarming around a bloodied Spook who was trying his hardest to fight them off with a knife, but she knew he was failing. So she set her teeth together and focused on that hopelessness again and pictured the fish burning... and they did.

Her head dropped down again and she felt utterly drained, like just moving her arm would be too much. And then she felt Spook's arm on her, helping her into a better position. He held a vial of something in his hand. "Drink this," he said softly, none of the surprise he expected in his voice. "You'll feel better."

She inhaled the solution, which tasted warm and sweet in her dry mouth. And then she felt energy coursing through her veins, and with a newfound strength she stood up.

Spook was smiling at her. Spook never smiled.

"That... that was magic, wasn't it?" Nox asked. He nodded.

"I've known for a while. You're actually developing pretty late, for a mage- most discover their powers around nine or ten years old. I've been keeping some Aquafolium with me for a while, in case you found them."

Nox stared at her brother. Blood flowed down the side of his face from a cut on the side of his temple, and there was a pretty nasty-looking bite on his neck, but he didn't seem to care. "Come on. We should be going." He started walking again. "Oh, and try not to use magic. It's pretty bad right after you discover it."

And so they continued. Somehow, they didn't run into any more lethal fish, something that Nox never wanted to see went through long, sprawling corridors, but Spook never seemed lost. He had to have gine this way before.

Suddenly, he stopped. "You might want to cover your eyes. The light's going to be brutal out there."

She nodded and obeyed. Sure enough, the light caused a radiating pain in her head and eyes, and Nox felt like she was going to die. But then, eventually, her eyes adjusted, and she saw a beautiful place. She was standing on a rocky ledge, water below her- but not like the water in the tomb. This water was darker... and it moved. Bright light reflected off of it. Nox simply stared, frozen, at it.

"Come on, Nox. We have to go. We can't be seen. Now," Spook said frantically under his breath. He pulled on Nox's arm, breaking her trance, and ran over to the high stone wall with another ledge. "We have to climb this. Quickly." He was already starting up when they heard avoice behind them.

"What are you two doing here? You're not from Acropolis."

Nox whirled around at the voice of the stranger. Her tone was higher than Nox's, lighter, sort of pleasant. She was faced with the bright, bright, pale blue eyes of a girl about her age. She stared at the eyes. Hers were the exact same shade, she knew. No one else had that color. And then she looked up. The girl had white hair underneath a cream colored hood.

"Look, Uma, we need to go. I would explain, but we're in a huge rush. Sorry," Spook quickly said.

"You know her?" Nox couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, I do. Long story, but I do. Now come on before someone else sees."

Uma said, "Don't worry, Spook. I won't tell. No one will know. You're safe." She gave him an innocent-looking smile. "Go."

But, the minute Spook turned around, Uma's expression turned into a glare before she turned around and looked away.