Morning came, though it was impossible to tell as deep inside the ruins of Ephlesia City as Mint, Belle, Duke, and Klaus were. Their bodies woke up anyway; though the night had been far from comfortable, they were all at least a bit clearer of mind. This was especially important for Klaus, as the bits and pieces that had been coming together the previous night finally formed a cohesive whole in his mind.
"Any ideas yet, Doc?" Duke asked him, sitting up.
"Yes!" Klaus exclaimed, standing up with an enthusiasm that surprised his companions.
"Really?" Mint exclaimed. "Way to go, Klaus!"
"So no more monsters?" Belle asked, looking impressed.
Klaus shook his head. "I can't promise I can keep us from running into any more obstacles," he told them; "I can, however, more or less promise that we won't run into anything impassible, as long as you follow my lead."
"Follow your lead?" Belle repeated. "You don't belong on the front lines, old man."
"You're one to talk," Mint taunted.
"Shut up!" Belle snapped, shooting a fireball at Mint.
"Stop it!" Klaus shouted.
Mint, Belle, and Duke fell still, surprised.
"We can't afford to be fighting each other in here," Klaus scolded. "We have to work together. Yes, Belle, I should be on the front lines - this is my theory, I need to test it, and if I'm right, I should lead the way from now on."
Without waiting for anyone to so much as speak, Klaus took a few steps forward, past his companions. He paused, looking around carefully, then slowly placed one foot on a spot that didn't look any different from the rest of the floor.
Nothing happened.
He took another step. Then another, then another…He wasn't walking normally, he was clearly following a very distinct pattern, and he had to jump far to the side at times, but no monsters appeared, and nothing else got in his way.
After about twenty such steps, he looked back over his shoulder at the others, making sure to keep his feet very still. "Follow my steps exactly," he told them.
"How are you doing that?" Belle asked.
Klaus shook his head. "It has to do with the way the trail spirals," he said; "it's actually not smooth, there's a fractal pattern to it."
"What's a fractal?" Mint asked, completely clueless and not trying to hide it.
"Never mind," Klaus said; "it would take a long time to explain, and we have a long way to go. Just make sure to step exactly where I did and nowhere else."
This wasn't actually too difficult, as Klaus had left very distinct footprints in the dust that had accumulated on the floor over the centuries. Duke had it easiest with his act, but Mint and Belle were also nimble enough, and so they began to dance through the halls, around and around, drawing ever closer to the end of everything they thought they knew.
~o~
There was no one in the world who appreciated the race against time that began that day, no one understood just how close it would come between who would reach the central chamber of the Ephlesia City ruins first. Maya, Rue, and Ruenis popped from spot to spot across the continent, each spell taking minutes to finish - and more and more minutes as time went on, as Maya's strength dwindled; meanwhile, Mint, Klaus, Belle, and Duke carefully made their way through the halls as quickly as they could - at times, one of them made a misstep, and they had to break the pattern to overcome an obstacle before continuing on. Maya knew the world depended on her getting Rue and Ruenis to Avalon, though, and she forced herself to keep using her magic continuously as she tired; likewise, the team of four in the ruins were steadfast in making their way through the maze, all determined to fulfill their dreams, dreams they thought would be theirs if they made it through, completely ignorant of what truly awaited them.
It was early evening when at last Maya managed to reach Avalon.
"Thank you," Ruenis told Maya as soon as they were there. "Don't bother trying to bring us closer; Valen's magic won't let you." He looked in her eyes. "You did well," he told her; "we may not be too late."
"Thank you," Maya panted, barely able to stand from the exertion she'd put into bringing them this far.
Ruenis nodded, then gestured to Rue. "Come, brother," he said, "it's up to us now."
"Thank you, Maya," Rue told the young queen. "We won't let Mint-"
"Don't think you're going without me!" Maya exclaimed.
Rue and Ruenis stopped short. "What?" Rue asked.
"Mint is my sister," Maya said firmly, forcing a second wind on herself, "and I am the queen of East Heaven Kingdom, whose duty it is to oversee all affairs related to magic, Aeons, and [relics]. I'm coming with you."
"My Lady, please, you can barely stand," Ruenis protested.
Maya gave a laugh at Ruenis's formality. "I have to come," she told him. "It's my duty."
It took every ounce of self-control Rue had not to flinch at the sound of that word. Still, it was clear that Maya would not be dissuaded in the matter. She determinedly walked to them, a tenacity almost comparable to that of her sister taking hold in her. This was something she had to do, and that was that.
"Alright," Ruenis said at last, "but we must hurry!"
And the three of them headed into Avalon.
Because their Dewstones were bound, Valen's spell to keep people away from Ephlesia had the same effect on Rue and Ruenis as it would have on the average human; this meant that Ruenis was more affected than he should have been, while Rue was actually affected a tiny bit less than before. Between that and the fact that it was Rue who knew his way around the town at all, Ruenis actually had to work at keeping up with his brother - the brother who was finally acting as the older brother he technically was - and they couldn't move too much faster than Maya could go.
Before they reached the inn, however, they ran into Mira, Elena, and Prima Doll.
"Rue!" Elena exclaimed, running forward at the sight of him.
"Elena!" He ran to her. "Where are Mint and the Doctor?"
"Rue," Elena said again, "you're okay! I was so worried…"
Rue blinked. "I'm fine," he said. "I'm sorry I was gone for so long…some things came up…"
"Rue." It was Mira who addressed Rue now, joining him and her daughter.
"Mira," Rue greeted. "Where's the Doctor?"
She sighed. "Klaus and Mint left for the ruins yesterday morning," she told Rue gravely; "they haven't returned."
"That may not mean the worst," Ruenis piped up. "The maze is large, and it does take a couple of days to fully traverse, especially for those who don't know the steps."
"Oh, uh, hello," Mira said, only just noticing Ruenis. "Who are you?"
"This is Ruenis," Rue introduced his younger brother. "He's my brother, another Doll. And Ruenis, this is Mira, Elena, and the Prima Doll."
Ruenis nodded a greeting, then turned to Rue. "We need to hurry," he said. "If they've already been inside for more than a day, they may be close."
"Rue." Elena reached out and took Rue's hand in both of hers, tears in her eyes. "Bring my dad back, okay?" she pleaded.
Rue met her wide, dark eyes. She was truly, deeply afraid for her father, but she also clearly trusted Rue completely. In that moment, Rue knew that he couldn't let her down, no matter what he might have to do.
He returned her grasp. "I will," he told her. "I promise."
"Can we come with you?" Prima Doll asked.
"No," Ruenis said firmly, "especially not you."
"But…" Prima looked hurt.
"It's because you were made to unlock the seal on the Dewprism," Rue explained quickly; "your magic might have an effect in the ruins, and we can't risk that."
"But I gave my special magic to Mint," Prima said.
Rue and Ruenis blinked, then looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. Then, without sparing even a second for another word to anyone, they both took off for the ruins as fast as their legs could carry them, Maya forcing herself to follow as best she could.
It would be very close.
~o~
Ruenis had explained the fractal pattern of the path to Rue and Maya on the way over, but they still had to follow his lead step-by-step. The going was slower here, and Maya was able to catch up and even catch her breath. After several minutes, though, they reached the area where Mint, Belle, and Duke had started fighting off guardians. The first four explorers actually had been experiencing roadblocks from the start; before the monsters, the path had lengthened every time they'd misstepped. This, again, had been an incredible stroke of luck for them, almost as though some unseen force had been guiding their steps even in their haphazard formation.
"The pattern's broken here," Ruenis told the others, breaking out of the dance to run directly along the path; "as long as there are monsters on the ground, we can just run."
"But if they stop, will we be able to pick up the pattern again?" Rue asked, not stopping either.
Ruenis nodded. "Yes," he said, conserving his breath for the run. Maya didn't bother trying to spare any for words.
When they reached the end of the stretch of monster corpses an hour later, Ruenis stopped.
"What's wrong?" Rue asked.
Ruenis was staring at the empty path before them, his eyes wide.
"They figured out the pattern," he said, unable to believe his eyes.
"What?" Rue exclaimed.
"Look!" Ruenis pointed at the footprints in the dust. "Every footprint in front of us is in precisely the right place. Somehow, that Doctor you spoke of must have solved the puzzle." He shook his head. "Brilliant," he muttered. "Humans are incredible…"
"What does this mean for us?" Maya asked worriedly.
"It means we have less time than we thought," Ruenis replied grimly, and he began jumping along the fractal pattern of the trail as quickly as he could, slowing himself just enough to not allow for missteps.
Rue and Maya followed.
~o~
"Wow!"
First Klaus, then Duke, then Mint, and finally Belle took the last steps, and came to stand before a grand double-doorway. It was colored a rich, midnight blue, with elaborate golden embellishments swirling across both doors without interruption.
"Woo-hoo!" Mint cheered, giving a victory twirl. "We made it!"
"And it's about time," Belle added.
Klaus walked up to the doors, then hesitated a moment. These doors hadn't been opened in centuries, and never by human hands. Many had tried to get here over the years, but he had been the first to succeed. It was a heavy moment that he had to stop in acknowledgement of.
But Mint had no such inhibitions. "Come on!" she exclaimed, running right past Klaus, turning an ancient knob, and throwing her weight against the door.
It swung open easily, as if brand-new. Klaus wasn't sure whether or not he should be uneasy about the fact that it wasn't locked - there had been a lot of obstacles thus far, yes, but if anything, that just made it seem more likely that whoever had built this place would have put a lock on the door.
But there was no help for it now, not with Mint charging inside at full speed, Belle and Duke right behind her. Klaus resisted the urge to shake his head, and he stepped inside with them.
What he saw took his breath away.
They were in a relatively small room, what looked like some sort of cross between a lab and a library. There were tables scattered with magical tools Klaus couldn't make heads or tails of, as well as several shelves crammed full of books.
"That's it?" Mint asked, disappointed. "There's nothing here!"
"Nothing but books," Belle agreed grumpily.
But Klaus shook his head. "These books date back to the days of the Aeons," he said breathlessly, stepping further into the room and approaching one of the shelves. "They may very well have been written by Aeons. Some of the greatest - Ruehi, Vierna, maybe even Valen!"
"Are they worth much?" Belle asked, her interest sparked, if only barely.
"They're priceless!" Klaus exclaimed, his eyes perfect circles of wonder. "Tomes upon tomes of never-before-seen, heavily-guarded, primary-source documents…The implications are mind-boggling! At most, these could completely change our understanding of all of Aeon history!"
"If you say so," Belle said with a shrug.
"I thought we were looking for a [relic]," Mint grouched.
"There may be one here," Klaus said, already reaching for a book. "I'll help you look…just as soon as…I…" And he was gone, already lost in an ancient tome written by Aeons long ago.
Belle walked straight for what she saw as the most useful item in the room: A chair. She sat down with relief, already plotting how to steal some of these books from under Klaus's nose and sell them for a fortune to scholars and historians. Duke was looking at the books curiously, but though he was a fantasy novel fanatic, ancient scientific texts in a language too old for him to have even heard of didn't have much for him - even if that 'science' was technically magic.
Frustrated, Mint started fiddling around with the ancient tools scattered on tables here and there. She couldn't begin to guess at the function of most of them, but if Aeons had used them, she wasn't going to give up hope that there might be some magical artifact to be found here. When she'd looked at all the various objects and found nothing, and all of her companions still hadn't so much as spoken, she started looking around the room itself, hoping to find a hidden compartment or something somewhere.
After a while of searching everywhere, floor-to-ceiling, she finally found some strange engravings on the far wall. They were shallow and easy to miss, but Mint thought she recognized the same pattern from the platform at the center of the lake ruins near Carona.
And she had the magic that went with it.
Without even taking a moment to celebrate her discovery, she whipped out her Dual Halos and charged them up, reaching for the golden magic from Prima Doll's amulet, shaping it with the power she'd been able to get from the Book of Cosmos. The others noticed what she was doing, but before any of them could do much more than turn to look at her, she conjured a prismatic cloak of golden light. The magic served as both offensive and defensive, but if she could push it into the wall…
The golden magic floated forward, and to Mint's delight, it immediately merged with the pattern on the wall, filling out the engravings with a bright golden light.
"Mint…?" Klaus asked, actually setting his book aside. "What have you…?"
The lines of gold flowed outward from the pattern, cracks streaking across the wall, until the whole thing looked ready to crumble. Then, crumble it did, revealing a whole second room.
As the remains of the wall melted away, light streamed into the study, and not just white light or light of one color - streams of every color imaginable poured out of the secret space, bathing everything in dazzling rainbows.
"Whoa."
If Mint had been underwhelmed by the first room, she was completely blown away by this new place she'd found. Colors of all sorts shifted, mixed, and swirled on the walls, floor, and ceiling. This new room was much bigger than the study - the one wall of the study was only the size of a doorway compared to the wall of this second chamber.
Mint stepped inside, half-wondering if the floor was even solid enough to support her weight. Fortunately, it was. She barely heard the others following her. This was even more amazing than the central chamber of Valen's Fortress where the Dewprism had been housed, and she had no doubt that a [relic] was in here somewhere.
There were no furnishings in the dazzling chamber, making it that much more difficult to see where the floor ended and the walls began. After a few steps inside, however, something near the opposite wall caught Mint's eye. The room was all made up of colored light, but a much brighter light, grass-green in color, shone like a star even in here from across the room. At the sight of it, she sprinted straight for it, knowing her long search was finally over.
On the opposite side of the room stood an altar. The base was a simple rectangular block, each side shining with a different color, steps cut into the side facing the entrance. On top of this block, two crystal protrusions, mint-green in color, arched from the edges towards the center, the tips curling in on themselves. Perched between these two inward curls, like the keystone of an archway, was a ring. A simple green band, unadorned with even an engraving, but shining brilliantly like a star. It wasn't what Mint had been expecting, but it was clearly an object of powerful magic.
A [relic].
"Yes!" she cried joyfully, dancing with triumph. "Yes, yes, yes!"
She ran up the steps, reaching for the [relic]. Just before she managed to close her hand around it, though, two voices rang out, loud and urgent:
"Mint, stop!"
"No!"
Rue and Ruenis had made it just in time, Maya right behind them.