Auric Welkin

by Skinny Baron

Isaac stared into the distance. The sun began to sink into the sky and Isaac felt a calm, soothing feel where his heavy heart once was. The sun disappeared and Isaac felt empty. That empty feeling, burned like a fire. It never left. It took him into every turmoil, every ordeal, and every imaginary hell. But he didn't care. All he wanted, was to see and feel that sunset again.

10. Chapter 10

... Fluxing Odyssey...

Isaac, Garet, and Ivan made their way into Biblin. After the treacherous cave, they safely made it to town. The sun was beginning to set into the horizon when they made it into the inn. Biblin was a large town. It had a certain life to it that made it feel alive. The massive size made them feel small. Isaac walked into the familiar gate. He looked around and saw that not too much changed. What did stick out though was random trees that were planted everywhere at the entrance. They were small trees in the front of the gate that seemed out of place. Inside the gate was several sets of buildings that lined up perfectly with a balance. The roads were clean but the life of the giant town faded away when they saw that they were empty. The massive roads and houses looked odd without people. It was like midnight but it wasn't. Isaac felt a chill go down his back as if something was about to happen. He couldn't help but feel paranoid. He kept imagining something coming out from the empty space. They looked around until they finally found the inn.

Inside it seemed very empty. There was a single person at the desk and a only a few people in the dining hall. The inn manager was rough and sounded raspy. "How many and how long?" He asked.

"Three, one night." Isaac answered.

"Dinner is served at eight so plan accordingly. Another other meal during the day will cost you like a regular customer. Your room is at the second floor, two beds unless you want to pay extra for four."

"Two is fine. Thank you." The manager handed Isaac the key and looked back down in what looked like filing was actually a book.

They went to their rooms and began unloading. They all took off their gear and put it on the floor. Each one of them glanced at the bed and then at each other. "So how should we do this fairly?" Isaac said.

"We could arm wrestle for it." Garet said.

"Yeah that's really fair." Ivan said with a tone. "Here I have a fair and easy solution, rock paper scissor." Isaac and Garet looked at each other and back at Ivan with a confused look.

"You're kidding." Ivan exclaimed with a sign. "Okay look its easy. Rock beats scissor, scissor beats paper, and paper beats rock."

"That's interesting… where does it come from?" Isaac asked.

"To let random chance decide ordeals like this." Ivan said. Ivan set them up to face each other and set their hands up in a fist. Ivan showed them each of the sign of rock, paper, and scissor. They readied themselves and in a count of three, each one of them played their sign. Ivan played rock and the other two played scissor. Isaac and Garet cursed under their breath. "Okay, now you two play each other of who gets the other bed." Ivan said.

"Pitting two friends against each other, you're horrible Ivan." Garet snarled.

"Fairs fair my friend. Go ahead now." Ivan said as he sat down on his bed. Isaac and Garet faced each other and played another game. Isaac played paper and Garet played rock. Garet made a pout and yelled, "Just how the sand hell does paper beat rock?!"

"Fairs fair bro." Isaac said as he tossed his bag on the bed. "Don't worry we'll get another blanket in the front."

After refreshing their supplies, they sat at the table at eight o clock. They sat on their chair with their back completely against the rear. Walking was becoming tiresome. Their feet were starting to turn red with sores. Although they couldn't smell it anymore, they were quite sure that their sweat soaked cloths secreted a disgusting smell. Their hair grew shiny with oil and face dirty with gunk. Traveling was not as luxurious or as simple as they thought. The sense of adventure has faded away. So the restful evening was very comfortable for them.

The dining hall was quite lively despite the empty town. There were several travelers staying and it was hard to find an empty table. Dinner was served with a buffet style where they packed in as much as they plate could carry. They didn't talk to each other during the first parts. All they did was eat. When traveling they forgot how hungry they were. Now with endless food in front of them, the hunger crept in like a hibernating bear.

When they finished, they sat still for a moment. Isaac noticed Ivan staring in the distance. He looked over and said to him, "What are you looking at?"

"Just look." Ivan said. Isaac and Garet both looked in that direction. They didn't see anything. "Are you guys kidding me? You didn't see that?" Ivan said.

"See what?" Garet asked.

"Look at that babe at that table!" Ivan said. Isaac and Garet went back to looking and only saw a women who looked in her thirties, not too old but definitely not young. She wore shorts under a long skirt with a revealing slit in the middle. She wore a tight top that showed a lot of cleavage. She sat at a table with a lot of men who looked rough and bad. "I think she's a whore." Isaac said.

"You might be right, but she's pleasant to look at." Ivan said with hungry eyes.

"How old are you?" Garet asked.

"Fifteen."

"You kidding me? Find girls your age you sicko!"

"What? It's not like I'm marrying her. She's just very... alluring."

"Alluring? Ivan, dude you need some self control." Isaac said.

"Oh you two are so dense. How have you not fantasize about things like these?" Ivan said with a smirk.

"Ugh, we're much more gentlemen like than that." Garet said with disgust.

"Hey now, we're all somewhat mature adults. We can be open about these kinds of things." Ivan said with a devious smile. "Well you know what kind of girl I like. What about you guys?"

"Why? You gonna hold it against us?" Isaac asked.

"Course not. Just curious is all." Ivan said keeping a devious look.

"So what you like whores then?"

"I like to say revealing, but yeah." Ivan said. Garet sat with his head shaking and looking down with a bit of embarrassment. Isaac grew a mischievous smile and boldly said, "Well I'm an ass kinda guy." Garet dropped his jaw and looked at Isaac like he was crazy. Ivan laughed like a hyena and said, "Well then! You know people like that are usually scare to look at people in the eye."

"Nah, eyes are my second favorite. Even before boobs." Isaac said laughing. They both laugh besides Garet who continued his nod of disapproval. "This is dirty and wrong." He said.

"Don't be like that. We said ours, now you." Ivan said.

"Come on bro, spill the beans." Isaac pressured. Garet kept his head down and began to mumble, "Well you know, I like rough and stubborn girls, but with still a tender side-"

"Yeah cause you can really be able to tell that at first glance." Ivan said mockingly.

"Come on Garet. Dirtiest and wildest desire in the world, go." Isaac said.

"Well... I dunno. I know I'm not a behind guy like you." Garet said uneasily.

"Ah I see. So you're more of a chest guy eh?" Ivan said with a smirk.

"I guess."

"Ah, so your that kind of guy that like the luscious kind of ladies eh?"

"S-sure?"

"Ah, so you like the meaty kind of ladies eh?"

"What?! Ivan stop your crazy bullshit!" Garet yelled. Eventually Garet eased down and became more relax in conversing in the conversation. They harvested their crude and dark ideas with each other which was fitting in the smoke and liquor scented atmosphere. For a minute they forgot they had a serious journey that would determine the fate of the world. For that moment they sat with full stomachs talking trash and being boys like they should have been.

They slept well for once. Normally they would have a night watch who would sit guard as the other sleep and they would switch off every couple of hours. So they would get six or so hours of sleep and they would always wake exhausted. So a stay at the inn was very fulfilling. They had blankets over them so they were quite comfortable where if they were on foot, they would just lay with their coat keeping them warm. They readied themselves to move again and though they were dirty and smelled bad, they were fully refreshed. They readied their supplies and gear and prepared to leave the giant town behind them.

Walking was a certain protocol. Ivan would be in the middle constantly checking the map and direction while Isaac took the lead and Garet watched the rear. They would keep walking in the trail and avoided the heavy forest and woods because that is where many of the monster are. They walked a steady pace with each other. It wasn't too slow, but it wasn't faster than jogging. It was a pace where they could endure walking for a while. They would keep a keen eye for land marks and unique areas to not get lost.

It was near sunset and when the sun disappeared, they would walk four more hours before sleeping. As they walked the plain dirt road, they saw an abandon home. They would see a lot of these sorts of things. Sometimes they would find broken carriages, weathered homes, or places that took a bit of havoc. During the afternoon, they passed a broken carriage at the edge of the forest. They carefully walked near it and saw that plants were starting to grow around it and they knew it was old. As they walked closer, they noticed the thin covering was stained in a pattern that reminded them of blood splatter. They quickly walked away and continued walking. So they were a bit weary in going into the abandon home for shelter, but it beats sleeping in the open.

The door was weak, but still locked. Isaac went through his gear and used his lock picks to open them. "We could just plow our way through." Garet said.

"Yeah, but then we won't have a door." Isaac said. Garet thought about it and nodded in agreement. Isaac carefully picked each pin with the feel in his hands careful and gentle. Garet watched their back as Ivan carefully looked through the glass window for anything. Isaac turned his tension wrench and held the door knob with a tight grip. Isaac looked back and said, "Listen, there could be something in there. So we look through it together and quietly okay?" Garet and Ivan both shook their head.

Isaac slowly opened the door. He had already drew his long sword out in the open. He walked in with his sword pointing on the ground and the other two walked in. Garet kept his hand on the handle of his blade while it was still in the sheathe and Ivan walked in with Hamlet's staff. He pulled a button near the center of it and a foot long blade switched out of the top. They had to be careful with psynergy because they knew Isaac's quake would crumble the house, Garet's flare would burn the dry wood, and Ivan's lightning was versatile in shooting from his staff or the air but was incredibly loud so he only uses it with caution to not draw a crowd. They were not particularly focus in battle at the time being but survival. Isaac closed and locked the door behind them. The house was only two stories so it would be easy to clear it. Ivan went forward to the living room and found it completely empty of life and furniture. They quietly went to the kitchen which was also empty. Now they were left with the upstairs. They quietly walked up the steps but it continued to squeak with each step. There was no door and it just led to an open space. They saw two beds and a table but it was still pretty empty with a lot of open space still.

They walked into the bedroom feeling safe that there was nothing here. Garet walked to one of the beds and exclaimed, "Well I think I get a bed this time since I slept on the floor the other time." He carelessly sat on the bed and heard a loud startling crunch sound. He jolted away and Isaac and Ivan dashed forward to confront what was in the bed. Garet recovered his nerve and unsheathed his blade. He went forward and took off the covers and revealed a skeleton. Garet tossed the smelly blanket back and they went closer to examine it. "I don't feel any life coming from it. And I don't think it'll come back to life or anything." Isaac said.

"You can tell just like that?" Ivan asked skeptically.

"Yeah, it's one of those earth adept senses. I can feel if there is any life in an area of object. It's like feeling wind on my skin."

"Okay, so we have nothing to worry about right?" Garet asked who was still a bit shaky.

"I dunno, I can't tell if it's going to magically come back to life. But I think we should take it outside and maybe try to cremate it or something." Isaac said.

"Why?" Garet asked.

"Well I don't want to take any chances for one and plus, I think you might have pissed it off. Your heavy butt sort of snapped all of his ribs."

"Oh cram it."

They wrapped the bones up in the blanket it was covered with and carried it outside. They went to the back and found some old firewood in the back. They set up a fire place with rocks to contain the fire and set the bones on top of the firewood. They stepped back and Garet ignited it with his flames. Garet focus his hand that developed an oval shape of condense fire. He guided his hand forwards and the fire doused itself completely over the blanket in a light flame. The blanket and wood burned brightly and they went back inside.

Garet and Ivan was setting a fire place around the bedroom. They felt safer upstairs then the downstairs. It was a bit more complicating, but with the convenient uses of well shaped bricks in the front, they managed to make a small circle of fire. Isaac went to hunt for food. When he took off his trench coat, he had an outfit of a dark gray shirt and pants that also had a hint of green. Isaac recalled his moment with Sam and her typical outfit which was this dark green and grey cloths. She explains it blends very well in the dark. Thankfully Isaac had cloths similar to that at home so he just wore that. It was a button up short sleeve shirt but it was better than carrying the heavy jacket on him. He didn't take his sword and instead took a short bow. Isaac had carried it along with him attached to his back with his sword, but only used it for hunting. It was compact in three feet but very strong in design. It was recurve at the top and bottom and used a very strong but flexible alloy.

Isaac crept around in the near dark. The sun disappeared but the light still lingered. Isaac didn't know what to expect and was prepared to be disappointed. But he kept in high spirits as he looked into the forest. Isaac knew it was unpredictable and dangerous so he knew to run if he ran into any monsters. He only had ten shots so he had to be careful and conservative. Isaac crept low. The cool breeze made his skin grow goose bumps. He honed his hearing and listened carefully in the forest. He heard footsteps and growls and groans of monsters so it wasn't useful to hunt because he would only be able to find predators and monsters. Isaac crept between trees when the skin on his back jumped. He honed his hearing and heard footsteps, several of them like a stampede. Isaac quickly began to climb the largest tree until he was well blended in the leaves. Isaac then saw a horde of giant rats. They skittered and ran past Isaac's tree. Isaac kept still hoping he wouldn't be noticed. Near the end of the crowd, a single rat stopped and began sniffing around. It began to climb the tree Isaac was on curiously sniffing around. Isaac knew it was a matter of time. So he quickly readied his bow and fired. The rat was struck and fell to the ground. Isaac looked around carefully and leaped back down. He was surprised to see the rat was actually the size of a full grown boar. Isaac knew it was crazy but began to drag the giant rat back.

Garet stared at the giant rat in disbelief. "This thing is freaking huge. Is it like... Sanitary?"

"I wouldn't eat it's organs, but I think it should fine." Ivan said.

"Alright, Garet would you do the pleasures?" Isaac asked. Garet grabbed it by the tail with a disgusted look. "Oh come on now. Just imagine it like a big furry pig with unnaturally long teeth and tail." Isaac said with a light chuckle. Even with an odd animal, Garet was still able to butcher it up into something delectable. He carved off the meat with his knife and skewered them into an open fire. "Its a bit tough and tacky so I figure this was the best way to cook it." Garet explained. Garet had the most experience, or the only experience with cooking so they let him do all the work. After dinner they, they blew out the fire. The smoke was getting heavy and they had to keep a low profile. They kept the window open and tried to sleep on the hard ground. The beds had a giant black stain in the middle of it and it reeked terribly. Naturally they would have a night watch, but Isaac put a tripwire at the stairs so if something were to come unexpectedly, they would trip up a trap that Isaac set up. The trip wire was attached to a table that hung from the ceiling. It would fall that might injure their pursuer and wake the three. So they managed to sleep easy without a night watch.

Isaac had how body to his side with his eyes closed. After a bit he opened his eyes and saw Garet laying on his back staring at the ceiling. "It would be a good idea to go to sleep." Isaac said.

"Yeah I know." Garet mumbled.

"What's this? Are we all up for some reason?" Ivan asked.

"No, could you sleep?" Garet asked.

"Not anymore. But something is really eerie about this place."

"I know right? Why would there be a house in the middle of nowhere?"

"Well sometimes people want to live away from a city or town. So they decide to take their chances here. Sometimes that's not a good idea." Isaac explained.

"So it's either town or death huh? What a crappy decision." Garet said.

"I wouldn't call it that. Sometimes you might find a good place that doesn't have a lot of monsters. They're as predictable as weather. But you know, I think it's safe here."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Well that body, it looked like he died in his sleep peacefully. I didn't see anything brutal about him. And if you look around the house, there wasn't anything destroyed. They were weathered but not vandalized." Ivan explain.

"Aha! I see what you guys did there! But that doesn't explain why there was two beds. I didn't see a tombstone or anything either."

"My guess would be that one of them moved out. There's barely any furniture besides a table. Probably took half the stuff."

"Why would someone leave like that? I mean you live with someone for such a long time, why would someone leave like that?"

"I dunno. They got sick of each other?" After Ivan said that, there was an awkward silence that settled in. Isaac felt it and he blurted out, "That ain't going to happen to us."

"Yeah... I know." Garet said.

"Don't be thinking like that now. Time doesn't always pull apart things like this. It may happen to a lot of people but not everyone."

"Yeah, I mean I don't know you guys as long as you do, but bros for life, calling it right now." Ivan said.

"Heh yeah, bros for life." Garet quietly said.

"Ivan, when I first met you, you didn't have this sort of lingo." Isaac said.

" I'm quite talented at misguiding people like so. I study proper English as a young man. But bros do bro talk you know what I'm saying?" Ivan joked with shifting tones. They all laughed it out for a bit before they got tired and fell asleep.

At morning they began to travel again. In daylight it was usually safe. As long as they didn't walk into any shady areas like the forest or cave, they should be safe from monsters. As they headed towards the mountains, the forest began to become impossible to avoid. So they tried to stay on trail though the forest was to the left or right of them. They kept their formation and kept a keen sense. After four hours of trusting the trail, they made it to the tunnel. It was a well lit and was so long that they couldn't see the end of it. It was covered by a gate guarded by a soldier inside. Isaac went up to the gate and asked, "May we enter?"

"Yeah, are you travelers?"

"Yes."

"Alright, get in fast." The soldier opened the gate and they closed it behind them. Isaac watched the soldier closed the gate and he asked, "Sorry for sounding like an ass, but what's the gate for anyway?"

"Well it's to make sure traders and travelers have a safe pathway because things can get pretty nasty at night here. You see those bars?" The soldier pointed at one of the bars which had teeth marks on them. "It's just to make sure to keep away monsters because this region usually doesn't have any monsters and we'd like to keep it that way."

"I see. Has any other people come through lately?"

"Yes, a group of six came around morning."

"I see, I'm just wondering if anyone else was as crazy as we were." The old soldier made a light chuckle and the three of them began to walk down the tunnel.

They walked in a facer pace than normally. It was almost like a job now. When they reached a good distant from the soldier they began to quietly talk to each other. "A group of six, you know what that means." Isaac said.

"It's the people we're looking for right?" Ivan asked.

"Yeah, so how are we going to do this?" Garet asked.

"Remember what the great healer said? Elemental stars take priority. But I'm not risking Jenna or Kraden's life. We'll just have to kill those people." Isaac said with determination.

"Hell yeah. But it's gonna be a bit risky man. It's three against four."

"I know. We'll think things through when it happens. Remember, no negotiation. We'll just have to get the jump on them." They walked a fast pace with determination written on their face.

When they reached the exit of the tunnel, they were surprised by a powerful snowstorm. The wind felt pushed them like an ocean wave and the snow felt like flying daggers. The wind blew a loud note and they could barely hear each other. They were told to follow the trail, but the snow was so thick that they couldn't tell the difference in the ground. Their only hope was the light footprints left from the group they pursued. The soldier advised them to stay in the tunnel until the storm ceased, but they needed to get to the lighthouse as soon as possible. They still had a chance to catch up to Saturos and they could not waste any precious time left.

The footsteps faded away when they reached the bridge. They hoped they were close now, but they had no idea where they were going now. They had to trust their gut in the direction they were heading. The storm did not let up and the group was not getting any better. Garet staggered as he walked and they needed to take his arm so he wouldn't fall. Their coats and jackets was covered in snow now. The snow was knee deep. It felt like they were dragging their legs through heavy snow. They were lost, but they continued to follow the glimmering hope of something good to happen.

After a while, they managed to find a gate. The sight of a gate was enough to send them running. The gate was wide open and they saw a large building they guessed the inn. They quickly went inside. They saw a fire place and ran while dragging Garet to it. They first put him close to it. Garet had his eyes closed and he shivered violently. Isaac kept him close to the fire although he and Ivan were freezing as well. But Garet being a fire adept was very vulnerable to the cold. Isaac checked his pulse on his neck and began to panic when he realized it felt very slow. "Garet! Hey man can you hear me!" Isaac yelled. "Oh god, I can barely feel his pulse."

"Can you heal him?" Ivan asked panicking

"I can heal wounds, not hypothermia. Shit... We need to find some help. You stick around, I'll try and find a doctor or something." Isaac quickly dropped his supplies and ran to the front asking where he could find a doctor. The inn keeper gave him directions and he bolted out the door.

Isaac barged into the peaceful scenery of the hospital. It was small and very few people working. A women startled by Isaac walked up to him with a staff with a cross and a circle on top of it. She held it as if she was readying to fight. Isaac noticed and held his hands out to show he was non threatening and said, "I need a doctor. My friend is suffering hypothermia. His pulse is very weak and he needs help." The nurses glanced at each other. "Weak pulse? Then we'll need to pump him with adrenaline."

"No wait, if it's through hypothermia then I think I can handle it. Where is he?" The women with the staff asked.

"Inn."

"Take me too him."

Isaac led the lady to the fire place at the inn. Garet laid there with a blanket over him and Ivan watching over him closely. The lady went over to Garet and examined him closely. She felt his pulse and head. Afterwards, she placed her hand on his chest. Garet's cold pale skin began to fade away and the lady's arm began to glow a dark blue. It was as if the chill and ice on Garet was being drained into the lady. Isaac and Ivan watched in amazement and when she finished, she examined Garet's pulse and stood back up. "He should be fine now. His pulse and body condition will take a while to return to normal so just let him rest for a day. Do not wake him. He needs to wake up on his own when his body is ready. He's very fatigued and needs time to recover, understand?" the lady sternly said. The two boys nodded with bewilderment still caught in their face. "What was that?" Ivan asked.

"It.. Takes time to explain. So just don't worry too much about it and take good care of your friend." She responded.

"But that blue glow... We're you absorbing away the cold in his body?" Isaac asked. The lady turned to Isaac surprised and asked, "You saw that?"

Before they could say anything else, they felt the ground rumble. The three of them went to the window. Outside the harsh blizzard they could see a tall white light soaring to the sky. "That's... The lighthouse!" The lady said. She quickly dashed outside of the inn. Isaac looked at Ivan and he did the same. "I think that's our queue. We need to get to the lighthouse." Isaac said.

"What about Garet?" Ivan asked. Isaac looked at Garet. He remembered the doctor's word to let him rest. Isaac knew he wouldn't be any good if he was limping every step. "We'll let him rest. He needs it to recuperate." Isaac said. He went through Garet's bag and pulled out the elemental star. He began devising a plan. He remember what he said in the tunnel about having no negotiations, but that was when he thought he still had a chance to fight. He wondered if he could trade it for Jenna, Kraden, and even Felix if he hasn't fallen too far. So he stuffed it in his pocket and they left Garet near the fire place of the inn. They placed their bags near him as well and asked the Inn manager to look after him. The inn was quite empty so she agreed. They began to run to the direction of the light.

At the entrance of the lighthouse was a large opening with a giant statue in front of it. Isaac and Ivan emerged from the cold blizzard and saw the women standing in front of the rubble. They went to her and when she noticed them she asked, "Why are you here? This is a sacred place."

"Well we sort of have business here. Someone might have got through here and we're looking for that someone."

"The only people allowed here though is me and Alex. We're the only people who can get through the barrier." the women said. "He can't be the one you're looking for."

"No... I believe their name is Saturos, Menardi, and Felix. Do you know them?"

"No, but I can't let you through. Strangers are not allowed." she sternly said.

"Look, those people are dangerous. You can't hope to go there alone. They will kill anyone in their way without hesitation." Isaac said matching voice.

"Then I'll go back and call a couple of soldiers."

"They'll just die. These people have supernatural powers like you. They will be no match."

"They... Wait how do you know?" she asked.

"Garet, our friend who you cured. We saw that blue light flow from him to you. I felt what it was and knew it had to be psynergy. You know about that?"

"Yeah..."

"Then I'm betting you know about this lighthouse too?"

"... I was told it would bring great destruction to the world."

"And those people who came are intending to do just that. We're here to stop them. Look you will need our help."

"What makes you so special? You said they won't hesitate to kill." she said. Isaac looked around and came up with an idea. He walked to the side of the statue and began to focus his mind. His hand glowed a color of distorted air and he raised it to the statue as if he was pushing it. The air enveloped the statue and the statue began to move revealing a blue gate. Isaac looked back at Mia and said, "We know about psynergy and know how to use it as well." She looked at the two who stood confidently and said, "... Alright that's fine if you two come along."

"Thank you, my name is Isaac by the way." Isaac looked at Ivan who zone out for a bit.

"Um, I'm Ivan."

"My name is Mia." she said.

"Alright, so shall we?" Isaac asked.

"Yeah, I'll open the gate." Mia went in front of the blue gate in the wall. She placed her hands through it and said, "Walk in." Isaac and Ivan boldly walked through and they found themselves inside the giant light house.

In their view they could see the top of the light house. It was a wide open upward tunnel with blue water scattered like a river. The ceiling felt like it reached the sky because it was so high up. "So how do we get to the top?" Ivan asked.

"I don't know. Usually there's this elevator but that's no where around." Mia said. Isaac walked to a podium in front of them and read, "May the mercury purify the water to reveal the hidden waterfall... What does that mean?" Isaac looked around the large area and saw there were certain areas that seemed discolored. The water shone a bright blue in the stream. But there were certain areas which was circular that was a faint grey as if it was muck. There were three of the areas total and one massive circle of blue water where they thought that was where the streams led too. "Hey gang, look at the streams of water. Some of them lead to these round body of grey like water. I bet that's what they mean by purify."

"So what, like clean it up? I'm pretty sure mercury poisons water though." Ivan said.

"We'll find out when we get there." Isaac said.

The first circle of grey water they approached had a sinister feel from it. As they approached it, they found a tentacle poking out from one of the water. They walked closer to it and saw that it moved back into the grey pool. Isaac told the two to halt and drew his sword and slowly walked towards it. When Isaac reached the edge, he looked into the murky water. It was cloudy and he couldn't see anything in it. Suddenly a tentacle burst out from the water. Isaac wasn't quick enough and the tentacle wrapped around his ankle and began to pull him in. Isaac dropped his sword in surprise and was dragged into the murky water. Ivan reacted quickly and leaped into the water. In the water none of them could see where they were heading. Ivan just went deep with his knife from his staff. Isaac grabbed his dagger from his thigh and began to cut at the tentacle that held him. But the tentacle was tough and he couldn't cut through it. Ivan kept swimming deeper until he saw a giant eye in the murky water. It looked still and Ivan viciously drove his spear tip into the pupil. Suddenly something hard pushed into Ivan and he began to ascend out of the water. He was launched out of the pit and back to the ground along with Isaac. The grey pit revealed a giant squid. The head popped out of the pit and viciously swung its tentacles left and right with its eye gushing black blood. Mia quickly reacted and began to focus. When her hand glowed a dark blue, Mia quickly dashed forward and touched the water. A wave of ice covered the pit. The squid was immobilized as the ice sheet began to travel up its body and to the tip of its head. Isaac and Ivan began to slowly stand and when they regained balance, they both cast their psynergy. Ivan charged a ball of electricity above his head and Isaac focused in readying a quake. They both simultaneously casted. Isaac's quake traveled as a crack through the ground and when it reached the squid astounded in ice, it began to travel through the squid splitting it in half. Ivan's lightning crackled wildly and shot itself into the squid's eye which exploded leaving it into bits of ice. The chunks of frozen squid began to dissolve and so did the grey murky water. It became a clear crystal blue once more. Mia regroup with the two and asked, "You guys alright?" Isaac and Ivan nodded with their hands to their chest. The air was knocked out of both of them still. "Sorry I couldn't dive in with you. I can't swim."

"Don't worry, you did fine." Isaac said while gasping for air. "Well it looked like that did the trick. I suppose we will expect something like this for the other two huh."

They went to the next hole of water that was a murky grey. As they closed onto it, they noticed something crawling out of it. Isaac and Ivan were suddenly stunned. Their eyes paralyzed them when they were presented with three beautiful women. They were surprised at first then somehow infatuated. Each one of them saw a women that was perfected by their fantasy. Isaac and Ivan stared at disbelief. They hesitated when holding their weapons. Only Mia had her senses straight. She saw three walking skeletons with grey rotten skin and flesh on them. They had horrid faces with mouths that drooped with slime dripping out of it and hollow eyes. "Guys! What are you doing?!" She yelled.

"Uh... Umm... Look Ivan, they can't possibly be real. I mean, they look too good to be real." Isaac stuttered.

"Wha-what? You guys, good looking is the last thing they are!" Mia began to panic as they closed in. Isaac and Ivan stayed frozen. Their stomachs ached and throat stuck. It was as if they were suddenly falling in love. One of the monsters quickly realized Mia was still sane so it quickly circled the two and went behind them to confront Mia. Mia backed away and kept her distance so she could fiddled with her staff. She pulled a lever at the side and revealed a sickle at the rights end of the cross that made her staff look like a scythe. The monster didn't notice and when it went for a lunge, Mia swung sideways like a bat and the sickle lodged itself into the monster. With the monster stuck on the blade, Mia jolted forward and kicked it off wounding it. Isaac and Ivan stayed paralyzed as the two monsters appearing like beautiful women approached them. One of them touched Ivan by the shoulder and wrapped her arm around him and began to take him towards the water. The other did the same to Isaac but his senses began to spike. The touch on his shoulder felt twisted. It felt inhuman. It felt like he was caught in the teeth of a beast with alluring pain. That single feel was enough to fully convince that the women was a true monster. Isaac took it off guard and instead going for his sword, he slyly reached for his dagger and attacked the twisted beautiful women. He grabbed her by the head and drove his dagger into her neck. The monster struggled and pushed Isaac off. Ivan did something similar. His instincts made his mind read ability subconsciously activate. Instead of hearing thoughts, he heard terrible screeching that burned his head. They were no understandable words but mumbles and whispers making no sense. Before they stepped into the water, Ivan backed away. He readied his staff and went for a single stab with his spear tip. The women cried a terrible sound similar to what Ivan heard in his head. With all three of the monster's wounded, they retreated back into the water. Ivan was quick though and casted a ball of lightning near the ceiling. A root of electricity flashed into the water and shocked the entire water making a loud crackling sound as if rocks were being destroyed. Slowly the grey murky water turned blue again. "Good thinking Ivan." Isaac said.

"What in gods name were you seeing?" Mia asked frustrated.

"Beautiful women? They looked beautiful at least." Ivan said but with doubt.

"They were walking bones and flesh for one and secondly, beautiful women don't just come out of the dirty water like that."

"Hey, well I was hoping they do. If you were a guy, you'd understand."

"You're right, men are pigs." Mia signed and shook her head.

The next and last circle of grey water was darker compared the rest. Ivan had already cast his psynergy and had a ball of lightning over his head ready to strike the water when they were close enough. They etched carefully and when Ivan reached a comfortable range, he raised his hands and threw it down aiming at the water. But in a fraction of a second, something leaped out of the water dodging his lightning strike and avoiding the electrifying water. It was a large monster and had a form like a lizard with a reptile like head and a tail. It had one arm reinforced with steel gantlet and even steel hand with rough looking fingers extending out. In his other hand was a small axe it held with one hand. It's form looked brute like and its yellow eyes seem to glare at the three.

Isaac, Ivan, and Mia all drew their weapons and the two casters behind Isaac readied their psynergy. Isaac walked closer to confront the lizard and it did the same. It had its metal arm guarding itself. It looked like it covered its entire body and Isaac wondered how he might get through. Mia prepared her icicles and ten dagger like ice launched itself at the lizard. But its tough armored arm completely blocked it. Ivan followed it up with his lightning strike, but the lizard reacted fast and jolted to his left dodging it. "Damn, this son of a bitch is fast!" Ivan exclaimed. When the psynergy was used, the lizard was vicious in its counterattack. It jumped forward and smashed down with its axe at Isaac. Isaac leaped backwards. He knew it would be risky to fight it with an axe because it could hook him if he tried to block. After the leap, it dashed forward and made a dive with its armored arm directly punching towards Isaac. He barely dodged it. The lizard was incredibly fast and fluid leaving no openings. Isaac stumbled back to his feet and awkwardly stepped back into stance. He had never fought someone with such brute power and speed before. He couldn't block or attack because of its powerful axe attacks and gauntlet defenses. Psynergy was useless as well because he had no time. All he could rely on was an opening that might happen. Ivan and Mia began to cast again hoping something good to happen. When they both simultaneously cast, the lizard simply dodged it and was fluid even with backing away with stepping off and guarding itself immediately. Mia and Ivan began to try again and as they cast, Ivan slowed and asked, "Any ideas? I don't think this will work out if we try again. I'm kinda running low on steam too."

"I don't know. If we can only just shock it if it was still in the water."

"We can have Isaac work it into the water again."

"Doubt it, he hasn't been able to land anything ... Well actually I got an idea. Just keep focused." Mia halted and went over to the water where the lizard came out of. Isaac and the lizard were a bit far away so she was able to distance herself. Mia touched the calm water and a wave began to form. It was small and began to grow strong. Mia focused and eventually the water jumped onto the surface and travel towards the Lizard and Isaac. Mia focused in the water that was flowing towards them and also the fighting. She had to be careful to not get Isaac. As the water crept onto the lizard, Ivan saw what she was doing and went close to the water so the lizard couldn't react as fast. Isaac did not notice because he was completely occupied in holding the lizard off. When the water touched the lizard, Mia called out to Isaac, "Back away Isaac!" Isaac noticed the water and quickly backed away. Isaac backing away was Ivan's cue. He subtly and sneakily touched the water instead and the electricity flowed from his fingers that a powerful lightning strike traveled through the water. The lizard was paralyzed in the water. It stood in the water shaking violently with the electricity binding him. Isaac reacted quickly and followed it up with his quake. A crack in the ground swam through the ground and upon touching its foot, burst the ground launching it upwards. As it landed back down, Isaac leaped forward and drove his sword into its chest. The single fatal blow caused the lizard to go completely limp dropping its axe and slowly fading into water. Once again the water in the circle was clear once more.

With all three of the water holes completely clear, the water in the center of the area appeared clearer as well. The water sparkled a brilliant blue and filled the atmosphere with life. Suddenly the center revealed a spur of water jumping upward. The unsettling water moved with waves circling like a whirlpool in the middle. But instead of sinking downward, it burst upward like an upside down tornado. The water reached all the way to the top and went to the ceiling before it stopped.

Isaac, Ivan, and Mia went towards the waterfall. "I think this'll take us up there." Mia said.

"What? Are you sure? It looks like it'll just smash us into the ceiling..." Isaac exclaimed.

"The elevator isn't here so we have no choice. Trust me, it will work." Mia walked into the waterfall and it took her up like a hurricane. She flew off her foot and spun all the way to the top. Isaac and Ivan watched in disbelief. They reluctantly step closer. "You wanna go first?" Ivan asked.

"No, how about rock paper scissors?" Isaac proposed. Ivan agreed. As they were about to play their hands, Isaac jolted forward, grabbed Ivan by the shoulders and tossed him in. Ivan spun all the way up the waterfall just like Mia. Isaac swallowed hard before he decided to go as well.

...

Felix stood at the top of the lighthouse with Saturos and Alex. Saturos stood in front of a giant hole near the center and went through his pocket. He pulled out a mythril bag and revealed a blue stone. He tossed the pebble into the hole and quickly backed away. It was a tall tower and Felix wondered where the stone would end up to. After a minute, a bright light shot vertically up. It was bright and lit up the entire sky. It filled the entire place with light that made it feel like the sun has pierced through the storm and lit up the entire world. Saturos backed away and held his sword drawn out and hugged the flat side to his chest. He looked like he was drowning in water. Felix didn't feel anything until he noticed his body glowing a bright white light. The skin on his hand was no longer his original skin tone but instead a glowed a brilliant light. Felix couldn't feel the cold anymore and felt like he was losing control of his body. Saturos quickly ran to Felix and held him down. Felix waved his arms violently and screamed in confusion. Saturos began to talk to Felix in a soft manner. "Listen Felix, you are taking in much of the psynergy that your body is beginning to lose control of itself. But listen to this, you can get rid of it by only one way. You need to release all of it from your body. I need you to imagine this. Right now the world is dying. But this light shining through your body can help save it. Imagine the light leaving your body. Imagine it shining out of your body as if you were the sun. Focus on controlling your body and push it away as if you were moving mountains. You are powerful, you can save the world. You can do it Felix." Felix began to control his arms and his legs. He crouched down. It felt as if he was carrying weights on his body. It felt like he was holding down a rabid animal from going wild. He began to slowly stand. He could feel the light flowing through his body. He could feel the blood closing through his body. He felt invincible. He felt as if time has stopped. After standing against the hard wind that felt like it was pushing down his body. He began to push away the light in his body. It felt like he was pushing against something impossible when he brought his arms in and began pushing outward away from his body. But when it gave way an inch, Felix was flooded with strength that he believed he could do it. The weight holding him down became weaker and he gained all the energy in his body and a bright thick light circled his body. Felix didn't need to move his arm to keep pushing; he felt as if he could push the circle further with his mind. All Felix could see was the light around him that felt like a cage. But it felt bendable and the more Felix tried, the more he felt he could push. The circle of light began to slowly expand and when it finally reached its limit, it broke apart. The circle of light dashed away from Felix and he watched a wall of light flew across into the ocean and mountains. Felix looked around feeling great and even smiled. It felt good. It was like a light of happiness.

Saturos glanced as Alex and went close to his ear and whispered, "Take Felix back to the inn. I can feel the Mars star coming this way. I need to confront Isaac." Alex nodded and said to Felix who was still im awe, "Come, we leave now!"

"Saturos, aren't you coming?" Felix asked.

"I will in a second, I just need to stay a bit longer." Saturos said. Felix was a bit skeptical, but decided to leave with Alex. They both went down the long elevator while Saturos stared at the giant ball of Mercury. He held his sword close to him as if it was a camp fire for the cold.

Isaac, Ivan, and Mia both reached the top. They were a bit dizzy, but were quick again in a matter of no time. As they jumped the floating platforms and ran to the top, they saw a giant ball of mercury floating above a hole. They also saw a blue man in front of it with his sword drawn. Isaac immediately recognized this form and drew his sword. "Saturos." he called out. Saturos turned around and his eyed grew a cynical red. "Isaac right? I'm impressed you made it out if the volcano. So you come here to throw your life away?"

"We came to take back the people you took. Where's Jenna and Kraden?"

"Where's the Mars star?"

"In my pocket."

"Good, the two you are looking for are actually at the inn. So shall we trade?"

"What's our guarantee?" Ivan asked.

"You really don't trust me do you?" Saturos asked with a sick tone.

"How can we? You have that look."

"Watch your tongue kid."

"Well he right, nothing is going to happen unless we have a guarantee." Isaac said. Saturos took a deep breath and shook his head. "Look, why are you even here? If it weren't for Jenna or Kraden, you wouldn't be here would you? So does it matter if you have a guarantee?"

"It's that, also we can't let you doom the world. It was my fault this happen and I plan to fix it."

"You won't listen if I told you that this was for the greater good would you?"

"In how you are, not at all."

"Perhaps we have approached this the wrong way then." Saturos said. His motive to compromise disappeared. He waved his sword downward shattering the ground like glass and said, "I guess some things have to be resolved with killing. Don't you think?"

Isaac walked towards Saturos head on while Ivan and Mia walked at him at an angle. Mia was a little confused in what was happening between Saturos and the other two, but with Saturos already on guard, she decided it was best to be on guard as well. Saturos had his sword in front of him while Isaac slowly approached him. Ivan and Mia had already began casting their spells and Saturos took note of it. Mia readied her spell fairly fast and shards of ice launched itself at Saturos. But Saturos was fast in his cast. He placed his hand to the floor and pillar of pure fire erupted in front of him. The ice immediately melted on contact and Isaac backed away surprised. Ivan finished his spell but held the bolt of lightning above him. The wall of fire was incredibly thick and he couldn't see him. Suddenly Saturos leaped through the wall of fire and made a heavy horizontal slash towards Isaac. Isaac barely reacted in time and his blade was pushed against his side. Ivan startled himself and shot the lightning bolt missing Saturos when he dashed. Ivan knew it would be a long time before another cast will be ready so Ivan went to help Isaac engage. Ivan dashed forward and made a stab at Saturos making him back away. Saturos quickly made a counter and dashed forward for a downward strike. Ivan blocked it but was much more weaker than Saturos. The blade brought down the staff until the blade dug into his shoulder. Ivan screamed in pain and Saturos made a diagonal slash. Ivan backed away in time but could not avoid the light cut made across his chest. Mia joined the fray as well and wave her scythe blade into his hip. Saturos almost didn't catch it but managed to jolt forward to avoid it. Isaac also continued to engage. Saturos blocked Isaac and backed away from Mia. They were quick and attacked simultaneous and fluidly so if Saturos were to attack, he would leave himself exposed. Saturos kept backing up and completely forgot about Ivan. Ivan behind him grabbed his staff and waited for Saturos to back towards him. When he was in range, Ivan stabbed his spear forward. Saturos stopped in place. He wildly swung his sword at Isaac and Mia not caring that Mia cut some skin off his hip. When Isaac and Mia back away, he jolted forward to get his back out of the spear and cast immediately a wall of flames that got rid of Isaac and Mia away from him. The fire danced wildly and parts of it began to form as balls. Saturos pointed at Ivan and the fireballs launched themselves at Ivan. The first few missed when Ivan dashed to his right. But the last one came at a closer angle and ignited the floor below him. Ivan's thigh and arm caught fire and he collapsed to the floor violently rolling around. Saturos still had the wall of fire blocking away Isaac and Mia when suddenly a crack beneath the floor swam under his feet and burst upward. Pieces of the ground flew upward with Saturos as he was launched upward and landed on his back. The fire faded and Mia quickly went to aid Ivan. Isaac ran towards Saturos with his sword pointing at him. He was about to finish him off when suddenly, water began to gather around him. The water took a form of a human and a man suddenly appeared in front of him. Isaac halted in place and saw a familiar person. "Stop Isaac." He calmly said. Mia tended Ivan's wound and glanced back. She hid her shock and continued mending Ivan's burnt arm. "You're..." Isaac tried to remember his name but the man finished his sentence. "Name is Alex, from the Sol sanctum. Put away your sword please."

"You really think asking nicely will cut it?"

"Look, no one has to die here. If Saturos comes back dead, Menardi will cut your friends into pieces. So just listen to me." Alex said. Saturos had his sword holding on him tightly as Alex began to dissolve into water again. Isaac yelled out, "We can still do the trade! Give them back!" They stopped dissolving and the half water and human Alex simply said, "Can't say that after this. You were going to kill him weren't you?" Isaac didn't say anything. "That's what I thought. There's no more trade. You want your friends, you'll have to cut us down." They fully dissolved into water and disappeared from thin air. Isaac stared at the spot they were once at. The words cut us down rang through his head. He wondered if it was a bad idea to fight, but decided to put it aside for now. He went back to Ivan. His arm was clean, but his veins were showing as if his arm was completely see through. "We done here?" Mia asked.

"Yeah."

Felix was coming back from Imil. Alex left him when he thought something was wrong. So he told him to go to the inn and get everyone ready. Felix was uneasy in what was happening up there, but decided to let it go. As Felix went into the inn, he saw someone at the fireplace. The back of his head looked familiar. It was red and spiky. The person kept warm near the fireplace. He turned around and Felix immediately recognized him. Their eyes locked with each other and Garet immediately got up. Felix turned around and he quickly walked out of the inn. He was quick and hoped that Garet didn't catch him. Felix walked away from the inn and glanced behind him to see the door open. Felix began to run after that. Felix did not look behind him and simply ran hoping to lose him. But he could feel Garet closing in on him. Snow crushing footsteps angrily followed him. Suddenly Felix was pushed to the ground. Garet had leaped on top of him and his massive weight was crushing him. He turned Felix around and held him down by the shoulder. Garet had fury in his eyes that burned brightly against his cold pale skin. "Where is Jenna!?" He yelled. Felix was caught in shock and didn't say anything. Garet made a single punch to his cheek and Felix bled on impact. Garet was louder when he yelled, "Where is she you son of a bitch!" Felix was panicking now. He needed to get him off. Felix wanted to badly tell Garet but something held him back. Suddenly he didn't feel like the old childhood friend. He emerged as a vicious enemy. When Garet went for another punch, Felix found his opening. Garet tried a powerful swing again but Felix quickly made single punch to his chin. This halted Garet from punching and Felix was free from Garet's shoulder pin and pushed him off. As Felix Got back up, so did Garet. Garet dived into Felix about to push him into the wall. But Felix was ready to fight and as his back approached the wall, he lifted his foot and pushed against the wall with it to avoid being pinned by Garet again. While Garet pushed Felix against the wall by the shoulder, Felix kept his foot against the wall to push back and avoid against the wall. Felix got some distance and used his other leg to knee Garet in the chin. As Garet stumbled back, Felix lunged forward and grabbed his head and smashed it against the wall his back was on. Garet collapsed to the ground. The wall had traces of blood on it and Felix slowly backed away. I couldn't have killed him he thought. So Felix ran back to the inn leaving Garet in the snow.

Felix came back to the inn. He quickly went to their room and saw Menardi watching Jenna and Kraden. "What's wrong?" She asked. Felix was still catching his breath and had bits of blood on his cheek. Felix looked at his sister and waved Menardi to come out the room. When they were outside, Felix made sure the door behind him was closed. "I think Isaac is here." He said.

"Where's Saturos?" She asked.

"At the lighthouse with Alex."

"Why?"

"I dunno, he told me to wait at the inn."

"Shit... Okay, I'll go to the lighthouse, you stay and watch them." Menardi quickly walked past Felix and outside. She didn't come because she knew the lighthouse activation will completely suppress her. But she needed to come in order to see what was happening. She was even willing to trade despite what happened. As she was about to exit, Saturos and Alex appeared in the front. Alex had carried Saturos carried him by the shoulder as they walked. Menardi went to confront them and Saturos simply said, "Grab everything, we have to leave."

Isaac carried Ivan by the unwounded shoulder. His burnt body healed, but veins and fragile skin made the pain excruciating and impossible to walk. Mia led them to the hospital when they reached the village. As they walked towards the hospital, they saw a something in the snow. As they walked closer, they realized it was a person. Isaac looked at Mia and asked, "Could you take Ivan? That person looks big." Mia agreed and Isaac went to help the person. As he came even closer, his red hair identified him as Garet. Isaac quickly ran to his knees and saw the dry blood around his face and pale skin. Isaac quickly went to pick him up and was able to lift him up and carried him on his shoulder. Isaac ran to the hospital leaving Mia and Ivan behind. He burst through the doors again and asked if there was a fireplace nearby. But there wasn't, he was forced to just put him into the bed with heavy blankets covering him. When Mia arrived, she handed Ivan back to Isaac and began absorbing the cold out of Garet again. But his skin stayed the same color and he didn't look like he was getting better. Mia listened closely to his heart and felt a weak heartbeat. There wasn't too much to do now Mia figured. Mia helped Ivan into a bed as well and he shivered laying on his wounded skin. He was placed in a light blanket and soft bed to avoid anymore damages. Isaac watched his friends in the bed. One shook violently and the other barely responded. Mia went back to Isaac and said, "Your red head friend will have to wait. There's nothing to do now but see if the cold has taken him. He was unconscious in the cold for a long time and his temperature fell again. If we're lucky, he'll gain his conscious again." Isaac didn't say anything. Isaac simply went to a nearby chair and sat there. A part of him kept thinking why was he out there? What are they suppose to do now? The other part of him was paralyzed waiting for Garet to wake up. Isaac was completely unharmed but felt paralyzed yet shivered.

Mia left the hospital with Isaac in there. Mia held her staff tightly trying to comprehend what had happen. She decided this would best be settled with the mayor. The mayor stood outside of the office building with soldiers gathered around. He directed soldiers around and they went running around the town. Mia confronted the mayor and the mayor breathed heavily and she could tell he was nervous. "Mia there you are! We need you at the lighthouse, I'll send you a couple of soldiers-"

"Mayor, I was just there."

"What? How? Why?"

"This will take a while to explain. You want to go inside first?" Mia asked emotionlessly. The mayor took a bit to recompose himself and nodded.

They went inside and Mia sat at the table across from the mayor. The mayor listened carefully and quietly with his chin resting on his hand. "To start, a few men came to the inn. Their name was Isaac, Garet, and Ivan. They came here with the intention to go to the lighthouse. I realized this when the bright light alerted me. I went to see what the commotion was at the lighthouse and the place was sealed in so badly that I wasn't even able to get through. Isaac and Ivan helped me through because they needed to get through. Their friend Garet was incapacitated from the cold so he stayed at the inn. They were intending to go through and I was about to stop them, but I had the feeling they wanted to stop the lighting of the lighthouse as well. So I followed them and they reached the top. When we reached the top, we realized it was already lit by a tall man who's skin was an eerie blue. I don't know what the relation was between Isaac and the man, but they were in a position where the man was lighting lighthouses and Isaac and his group was trying to stop them. And Alex was there. He helped the man escape. So then we came back here." The mayor kept his head serious and solemn.

"So these three men... Can we trust them?" The mayor asked. Mia nodded.

"When you said Alex, you meant our Alex right?" The mayor asked. Mia bit her lip as she nodded.

"Unbeliveable, I thought he was dead. You think we can trust him?" Mia had to think about it for a second. She finally shook her head.

"I see. So what do we do now? If the stories of the old great healer was true, then we have these... Duties to do." The mayor grimly said.

"Yes, we do." Mia calmly responded.

"You know, we can just put this aside. Nothing bad has happened yet. I propose we just let this one go. You're our only doctor that knows her way around. We need you here in our village." The mayor said. Mia could tell the mayor wanted her to stay. If another pandemic were to come, they would need someone like Mia. "You're not just our doctor. You're the only person we have to remember the great healer by. If you disappear, we won't have anything."

"Don't speak like that mayor. I cannot fill in what the great healer left behind. I never could. And I have made a promise to follow my duty. 'The reawakening of the tower is an omen of calamity. The duty of the people is to stop this calamity in whatever means'. It may not look like much now, but if what the great healer said was true then things will get much worse. We have to do something." Mia said. The mayor sat still for a moment with his eyes closed. "... We'll send our soldiers."

"They won't know what to do. I'm the only person who knows the secret behind the lighthouse. I'm the only one who was with the great healer before he passed."

"You haven't even made it to your twenties yet. You may not know but I made a promise to the great healer as well. He told me to make sure to take care of you."

"And you have. But now I have something that means more than just my life, and maybe even more than our village."

"I don't know how you gotten this stubborn. How can you believe in something like this? How could you risk your life for this?"

"I'm not stubborn. It's called strength." Mia said.

There was a bit of silence. Then mayor let out a light chuckle. He made a sad smile and said, "Alright, whenever your ready to depart then. Just give us a heads up and we'll support you to the end. But let's go talk to this Isaac person first. If he's traveling for the same reason, then maybe you could travel with them." Mia smiled. They got up together and left for the hospital.

Isaac on the chair shaking. He wasn't cold though. It must had been the fear that shook him so violently. Ivan was trembling in pain and Garet still hasn't woken up yet. He didn't want it to end like this. The last thing he was ready for was to travel alone. He heard coughing from Garet's bed and rush over to him. "Oh thank god. You scared the shit out of me."

"I... In... In..." Garet looked like was trying to say something but trembled violently.

"Don't talk, just rest easy now." Isaac said.

"Inn... They were... At the inn... Jenna..." Isaac froze in place. They should be long gone by now. But Isaac wondered if there was a chance that they could still be here. "Hang tight man." Isaac got back up and bolted out of the door.

The inn had soldiers guarding around it already. Isaac looked around and went to the front to ask if he saw anyone. Because of Saturos and Menardi's skin tone, they were easy to recognize. The man told him that they had already left. Isaac had his head down. It was unreasonable to think they would stay any longer. But the feeling that they were once here lingered. What made it worst was the possibility to catch them off guard had slipped away.

Isaac returned to the hospital with Mia and an old man waiting for him. The old man went to confront Isaac and said, "Isaac right? I am the mayor of Imil."

"Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you." Isaac said hesitantly.

"Mia filled me in of what had happen and first of all, I would like to thank you for trying to stop the lighthouse from lighting and looking after Mia."

"But we failed in the end. And Mia here handles herself pretty well."

"That's okay, now i understand your goal is to stop the lighthouse from awakening yes?"

"Umm, yes that is true."

"We may not look like it, but we had also taken the noble deed that you to pursue." The mayor said.

"I guess what we're trying to say is if I can travel with you. We have the same goal and I think traveling in a group is better than traveling alone." Mia said.

"Sure, we could use someone like you anyway." Isaac answered.

"Splendid, so when shall we be leaving?" The mayor asked.

"We have to wait for my friends to recover. I'm not too sure how long that should take."

"Give them two days." Mia said.

"Alright. We'll leave in two days then."

"Okay, Mia if you need anything, just ask." The mayor said. Isaac went back to sitting in his chair. He was between Garet and Ivan who were both shivering. Mia went to her room at the top of the hospital. Isaac sat with his knee anxiously tapping. He could feel Saturos walking further away from him. They were so close and now they felt so far. Isaac knew he couldn't rush a healing process, but he couldn't help but feel hopeless. Garet had his eyes closed and breathed heavily. Ivan eased down his shivering and called out, "Water... Please..." The nurse beat Isaac to it and she quickly helped him with a glass of water. Ivan moved his uninjured left hand and gladly took it. He took small sips and eventually drank the entire glass. The nurse took it back when he finished and Ivan took a deep breath. "You doing alright?" Isaac asked.

"It feels like my muscle is like getting touched by cold snow." Ivan mumbled.

"Heh, you'll be alright man. Just rest easy and it'll go away soon."

"I never thought this would happen."

"Really? Considering what we are up against?"

"I just didn't think it would be this bad."

"Having second thoughts?"

"No, bros for life. It's worth it."

"Yeah, you should rest now." Isaac said. Ivan closed his eyes. He still shivered a little but not as violently as before. Isaac glanced over to Garet. He was starting to breath easier but had his eyes closed still. Isaac was a bit calmer now and even felt hungry enough to stand up and find something to eat.

Mia was in her room. It felt like the same and it was hard to tell her other room burned down. She was surrounded with medicine and began to gather her things. She wondered how much cloths she should bring and decided to just bring another change of cloths and take what she was wearing now. She didn't want to bring too much weight. She wondered if there were any travel material she was suppose to bring. But she figured she would just discuss that with Isaac. Mia brought a duffle bag which was very light. She had a ton of room for a lot of other things. She wondered if there was anything else to bring. Mia realized she would probably have to bring some medical tools. So she brought her basic surgery kit. It was small with simple tools such as a scalpel and other things. She also brought medicine and antidotes. Mia knew her own limitations of her healing so she brought the things that would confiscate for them. Her bag was still pretty light and she wondered if there was anything else. Mia glanced around her room. She didn't remember anything to sentimental to bring. But when she looked at a dusty cabinet, she remembered to bring one more thing.

Mia opened the drawer and dust floated around. Mia picked up a dagger in a small leather sheath. She pulled it out to find the metal still gleaming despite the place it was found. Mia held the dagger close to her chest with a bittersweet feeling. She began to doubt Alex again. She found herself questioning all of those years they spent together. Did she know everything about him? Suddenly he felt like a stranger she held dear to her heart. The purpose of the dagger has come into view and it was dim. It was as if the second she was handed the dagger, Alex had already said his goodbye.

She also noticed a picture in the cabinet she opened. It was a picture of herself and Alex that they took a long time ago. Mia found herself truly smiling. Mia looked at Alex and all of the doubt washed away for a minute. Mia could tell that Alex was truly happy as well. They both were. She wondered if there was still hope. So she held onto it tightly and placed it in the bag along with the dagger with mixed feelings.

It was near midnight and Isaac was at the inn. He had already eaten and wasn't sleepy yet so he sat around the bar area. When Isaac asked for something to drink, the bartender gave it to him. No one seemed to ask him age, they just gave him his drink. Isaac sipped on his scotch and stared into his glass. He recalled the one time he over drank at Vault. It was a terrible day and he really let himself go. He regretted it though. He wondered if there was a better way. Today he felt pretty bad. But when he stared at his glass, he realized the warm feeling he got faded away faster than before. Eventually he knew it would get to the point where it would be so short that he would have to be drinking whisky from the bottle to get the same feeling. So he finished his glass and didn't have another one. He sat with it empty and turned it down when the bartender offered him another.

Mia came to then inn near midnight. As she walked in, she saw Isaac sitting at the bar. Mia's first thought was if he was even old enough. She saw that Isaac hasn't noticed her come in. She wondered if she should confront him or maybe just say hi. Mia figured since she was going to sit alone in the end, she would go sit with Isaac. Mia sat in the chair next to him. Isaac still didn't notice her. So she decided to come up with a quick small talk and asked, "How old are you anyway?" Isaac turned around surprised. When he recomposed himself, he simply replied, "How old do I look?" Mia looked at him carefully and noticed the developing bags under his eye. His face had small specks of hair and his ragged look made him look pretty old. "Roughly in your thirties is my guess."

"Whoa, you're completely off." Isaac said with an offended face. "I'm nineteen thank you."

"No, I'm nineteen so I have a pretty good idea what they look like and you don't exactly fit that image."

"Well it's true." Isaac said with his head drooping. There was suddenly applause throughout the place. Isaac looked over in the crowded in and saw a group of people walk over to the corner on a platform that looked like a stage. There was a man dragging a giant bass and two other people carrying a trumpet and trombone. There was also another person who went to the piano that was already there. They settled down and the man on the trumpet began to talk to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending our performance. We hope to make tonight a relaxing and special night for you all, enjoy." The trumpet player glanced at the bass player and nodded. The bass player began a contagious rhythm with the plucking of the strings. It swung in a light jazz style. The piano then came in with a complex flowing sound. The notes danced majestically like her fingers that fluttered like the wind. The brass players made a sudden entrance and sounded crisp with each other as their sound slice through the air. Then the trumpet played his part. The dotted eighth notes he played gave it a light swing feel and then switched back to the trombone who made strong yet fun sounds. They switched back and forth and it felt like they were having a conversation with each. The bright sounds gave the inn a light atmosphere. Isaac and Mia turned their bodies towards the music. "They play here often?" Isaac asked.

"Every Sunday, they draw a pretty good crowd and the manager pays them well." Mia said. Isaac felt a bit better and looked back to Mia to face her. "Sorry, I forgot you are gonna be apart of our group now so we should to get along." he said.

"Yeah, what were you so down about anyway?"

"I dunno. It's probably because of what happened. They were right in front of me and they got away and my friends are both in the hospital. Nothing good happened today."

"Oh yeah. I never asked who those people are."

"I don't even think I would be able to answer that. They came and stole the elemental stars from our sanctum. Then they're all trying to light the world up. It wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't to blame and if my friends life were at risk. Then again I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for it."

"Those people who you were talking about trading for, those are your friends?" Mia asked. Isaac nodded. Mia took a deep breath and asked, "And that Alex is apart of those people lighting the place huh?"

"Yep, him, Saturos, Menardi, and... Felix. Those four are the people we chase." Isaac said. Mia expertly hid her sadness. They didn't say anything to each other for a bit. Isaac felt the silence and figured it was his turn to say something. "So have you ever traveled before?" Isaac asked.

"No, I don't even know what to bring."

"Well we don't bring too much. We try to keep our things as light as possible. We both have our own own bags. I carry mostly hunting things, Garet carries food, and Ivan carries the map and other things. Ivan leads the way with the map and I watch the rear. We keep our weapons peeled and tread carefully. It's very systematic."

"I can see, so where would I fit in?"

"You can be our medicine guy. We've just been trying really hard to not get hurt when we travel."

"That works." Mia said.

Silence seeped back in, but the atmosphere still felt light and enjoyable. Isaac looked at the crowd and they seemed to be having a good time. Isaac felt out of place and when he looked at Mia who had her eyes drooping at the music players, he could tell she was standing out as well. So Isaac tried to make another attempt. Instead of making small talk, he decided to try something else. "Are you alright? You look a little down." Isaac said.

"I'm ok." Mia responded. Her sadness was subtle but Isaac was still able to notice it.

"You know, I never was cut out for this stuff. If I had a choice, I'd probably be home right now. It sucks, the feeling of forcing yourself to do something unpleasant." Isaac remarked.

"Well what can you do? It's a duty. And there is a choice. One just happens to go against the conscious." Mia said.

"And that's turning a blind eye?"

"Yeah, its harder to do that, for me at least."

"...I envy you. I ain't that strong."

"... Neither am I." The words stopped again, but there wasn't an awkward silence. Isaac felt like he understood Mia more. "How do you do it? How did you make it so far?" Mia asked.

"I don't know. It's not duty, that's for sure. It could just be the selfish intent to get this blame weight off me." Isaac said.

"Selfish... Aren't we all?

"Probably. If that's true, there'd be no such thing as selfishness though."

"Was that some philosophic concept you learned?"

"Nope, came straight out of my ass." Isaac chuckled. Mia usually didn't laugh to absurd materials, but she couldn't suppress the smile that leaked out. Word started to become easier with each other as they became more comfortable.

The band had stopped playing and the people made their applause. Isaac and Mia joined in and looked around confused. "Wow, that didn't feel like two hours." Mia said. Isaac was surprised as well. Mia got up from her stool and began to leave. "Well I ought to go now. Nice talking to you Isaac."

"Pleasure is mine Mia, sleep well." Mia made a light smile and walked into the crowd leaving. Isaac watched her leave and the inn died down to empty tables with dirty dishes and a few people left around. Isaac figured he should probably go to sleep as well.

Garet and Ivan laid in their bed in the silent hospital. The nurses had turned the lights off and no one was around. The nurses told them that if they needed anything, ring the nearby bell and they'll come. They were suppose to be sleeping but they seemed to be sleeping all day so neither of them could sleep. Garet had a painful feeling in his chest and felt incredibly cold no matter what. Ivan still had his skin with streaks of red on them that he had lost feeling for. Garet had his eyes wide open and called out to Ivan. "Hey, Ivan?"

"Hey Garet." Ivan said.

"What happened to you?"

"Now you ask?"

"Hey dude, I couldn't even see you."

"I was kidding. That Saturos guy tried to roast me."

"Damn, you guys actually fought him?"

"We thought we could take him. There was three of us."

"Three?"

"Oh there was this girl name Mia who helped us. I think I overheard Isaac say that she'll be traveling with us to."

"What happened after you guys fought?"

"They got away I think. I ended up here when I was able to start making sense again. What happened to you? How'd you end up here?"

"I ran into Felix."

"Is he another dude we are chasing?"

"Yeah, that son of a bitch clobbered me and left me in the snow. Could you believe they were in the inn? They were right above us."

"Yeah that's hard to believe."

"I couldn't believe it. Jenna was right above me." Garet said. Ivan had his head turned to him, but Garet faced the ceiling. At first Ivan thought they were just catching up, but Garet began to sound differently. It had a sense of anger and sadness. It didn't even feel like they were talking to each other anymore. It seemed like Garet was talking to himself. "I bet she's so scared, being around people who would kill her." Garet mumbled. "And look at me, freaking laying around hopelessly."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Ivan said.

"I shouldn't have followed him. I should have just figured out they were at the inn and went upstairs. God damn why am I so stupid?!" Garet was starting to raise his voice. Ivan could hear his voice growl a little. "They were so close! I was so close! This could have all ended! If I was stronger than Felix! If I was smarter! Damn! Damn! Dammit all!" Garet was starting to yell but began to cough violently. He coughed into his hand and there was blood. "Hey Garet?! Dude just relax!" Ivan panicked and leaned on his left to ring the bell. Nurses came rushing in and ran to his aid. Mia was apart of the three and had the nurses hold him down. Mia had her hand to his chest again and it glowed a deep blue. Garet began to calm down and had his eyes closed. He began to breath regularly again and looked like he was sleeping. Mia checked his temperature and heart rate and looked at his pale face. She nodded at the nurses and they left. Garet laid around the bed calm again and Ivan stared at him with a sense of fear instilled in him. Ivan had his left hand ready incase something else would happen. It took about an hour for him to feel safe to go back to sleep.

But when he thought it would be over, Ivan awoke to mumbling. He turned over to Garet and could see his lips moving. At first he thought it was just gibberish with unrecognizable vowels. But then he began to repeat a single constant. "J...J...J..." It was a change from his random moaning. It began to sound a bit more clearer. "Je... Je... Jen..." After a few more words, he said, "Jenna..." Ivan heard her name a few times. It was weird to hear him say it in his sleep. Ivan wondered why would he be saying her name in his sleep. From random words to Jenna. Garet didn't stop there, "... I... Miss you... So much..." He mumbled. It sounded as if he was pleading. His sad and trembling voice made it apparent in how he felt. Garet looked like he was in agony in his sleep. There looked like there were tears about to drip down his cheeks. To see a man he called bro so many times secretly hiding something like this made Ivan feel heavy. He still barely knew anything about the people he traveled with. Ivan turned back to his side to get some sleep. But the night felt unforgiving.

...

Isaac awoke feeling refreshed. The two bed room emphasized how empty the place was. It felt warmer this morning so he didn't bothered putting on his coat. He left his sword and gear on his bed. Isaac put on his grey sweater on. That besides the dark green t-shirt were his only upper garments. He had a spare pants and briefs, but didn't have anything else. He still had his dagger on his side. He kept that on him all the time. Isaac didn't feel safe without it.

Downstairs there was breakfast served. It was just a steamed potato with cheese melted in it. Isaac wondered what he was going to do. He didn't think of it as a day off, but there was nothing else to do. Isaac had already refreshed their supplies and there was nothing to do but wait. So he sat at the table thinking.

The mayor surprised Isaac with an abrupt hi. Isaac jumped from his seat and his hand even went to the dagger at his thigh. "My apologies, did I scare you?" The mayor said in a stern manner.

"No... Well sort of." Isaac stumbled.

"Do you have everything ready to travel?"

"Yes, we'll be ready tomorrow."

"Really? You look like you still need some refreshing."

"How so?" Isaac asked. The mayor made a judgmental down and up glance at Isaac. Isaac looked at himself and realized he looked like a slob. "I'm already having your friends get a sponge bath. They smell terrible, and so do you."

"I'm... Sorry?"

"Well don't be. I've already had a place readied for you. Go to the front and they'll get you the key. You're in for a treat." The mayor made a smile and walked away. Isaac looked around and wondered if he was serious. He felt strangely uncomfortable at his last statement. So Isaac went to the front. The front made the same look the mayor did right after they he said he smelled. They simply handed him a towel and key.

Before Isaac went to the bath rooms, he went to the store and bought a straight edge razor. He went to the bathrooms and was surprised in how crowded it was. There were completely naked people freely walking around. It seemed like Isaac was the only one with cloths on. He walked down the isle until he found a free shower station. The walk was horrifying for Isaac. He felt uncomfortable in that the people would occasionally look at him in a funny way. It was as if they could smell that he was uncomfortable. The men were all hairy and some of them disturbingly old. But they didn't seem to mind each other. It was only Isaac who made it apparent that he didn't belong. Isaac walked down until he saw an empty shower stall. There was no door and no privacy. So Isaac went into the stall and began to quickly undress. Usually he would enjoy a good clean, but with all of these people, he couldn't really take time to enjoy himself. He put his cloths on the dry hanger and waited. All of the showers were off and would turn on in a few minutes. All the stalls were filled and it felt crowded. There was a few chattering and Isaac just stared straight ahead. The only thing separating him from other men was a hip height wall. Isaac noticed something weird with the guy to his left. He was staring at him. Worst, his eyes were inching down and Isaac felt uncomfortable. The man then said, "Lucky boy, what's your secret?" Isaac held his breath. He didn't know how to respond to that. All he did was pretend that never happened and waited for the water to come.

Isaac quickly rushed out of the bathroom and went back downstairs. He sat back down in his usual spot and relaxed himself. He wondered if he was going to just sit here all day. He took a deep breath and leaned on his chair.

Isaac noticed the mayor come in. He was looking around the inn and looked worried. Isaac went to confront him. "Are you alright mayor?"

"I can't find Mia. I shouldn't be too worried, but we're throwing a farewell party for her here. I just don't want her to miss it. I don't want to send soldiers looking for her either. It's just unsettling."

"I see... Would you like me to look for her?"

"Oh I would greatly appreciate it. If you can, could you bring her to the inn around six? Maybe keep her away from the inn until then." The mayor said. He stayed talking to the inn keeper while Isaac left the place.

Isaac left the inn and looked around. It was nice today. The snow was heavy, but was warm weather was comforting. The snow was still thick but melted easily with each step. It felt like he was stepping on wet cotton. But his boots kept the water off pretty efficiently so it was quite fun to walk in the snow. There was no clouds and the sun made the snow bright. It would be nice wandering the town.

The first place Isaac went to was the hospital. Garet and Ivan were both awake in the bed and looked like they were playing cards. Ivan was sitting on the side of his bed and had his other arm and much of his body in bandages. His arm was on a sling and his uninjured arm was holding cards. Garet was laying under sheets and held his cards under his tough blanket. "What you got?" Garet asked.

"You don't ask your that in poker you moron." Ivan said.

"So you have a bad hand don't you?"

"I ain't telling you jack."

"You sure? Cause I'll raise you."

"What you got a good hand?"

"I have a fair hand." Garet said. There was a silence for a while and Ivan threw his card on stool in front of him. "I fold." he grunted.

"Well good cause I had jack!" Garet laughed. He threw his cards down and Ivan cursed under his breath as Garet took the lima beans in the middle. "You guys look swell." Isaac said as we walked towards them.

"Dude check it out, this game is called poker and its the funniest thing I've ever played." Garet said.

"No it's not, in fact it's quite a stupid game right now." Ivan mumbled.

"Oh you're just saying that cause yo ass is losing."

"Go to hell."

"You guys seem to have a lot of energy. That's good. You guys think you'll be able to travel tomorrow?" Isaac asked.

"I think I'll be fine. My arm will be in a caste they said but I'll be okay to walk." Ivan said.

"Yeah I think I'll be alright. I'm still a little fatigued, but I'll manage by tomorrow." Garet said.

"Cool, by the way, have any of you guys seen Mia around?" Isaac asked.

"Why?" Garet asked with surprise.

"Mayor is looking for her."

"Oh, well nope."

"Alright, well don't over do it guys." Isaac said as he waved at them and left. Garet and Ivan went back to playing cards. Garet was dealing the deck and Ivan noticed Garet was thinking intensely. His eyes subtly squinted and his lips was a bit pursed. "What are you thinking so hard right now?" Ivan asked.

"Mmm, nothin'" Garet said.

Isaac wandered around the town for a bit. He found himself walking around stores. He had already refreshed their supplies so he didn't need to buy anything. But wandering around the place felt nice. The stored were quaint in their design and the few people wandering around gave it a peaceful setting. He forgot he was looking for someone and instead found himself window-shopping. He looked through windows of shops and glanced and judged merchandises. When crossing the clothing shop, he saw his reflection on the glass. He wore a plain grey sweater and a yellow scarf. His scarf was dirty with stains and grey matter. Isaac looked at himself and realized how off he looked. Grey and yellow looked funny to him. But as he tugged on it a little, the soft feeling reminded him why it was always on him. It felt like someone walked next to him. The person didn't say anything but Isaac could feel his embrace. He began to miss his parents again. The feeling that he may never see his mom and his dad was already gone settled back in. He had said his goodbyes to his dad but not his mom. But even if he had the chance, he would still be reluctant to take that chance.

Down the street was an old blacksmith sharpening something. The old man sat in front of the store and slowly stroke a sharp object with a whetstone. As Isaac walked closer, he noticed that he was sharpening a small dagger. It gleamed in the light and had an abstract design on the blade the shone with brilliance. "Want to buy?" the old man asked.

"Huh? Oh no, I'm just looking. That thing is just glistening." Isaac said.

"Yeah, it'd go high, like ten thousand."

"I can tell, but that just for antiquing."

"Hmm? What makes you say that?"

"Well the side looks blunt and the tip is triangular. That's not a very useful design so it's probably for show."

"... That's right. You don't look like a soldier. You look like a kid." The old man said. Isaac felt his face. The specks of hair was gone and there was no more dirt on his face. His hair was soft again without the sweat in it. Isaac remembered that he wasn't all that old to start. He was still nineteen that could look in his thirties and talk about weapons like a soldier. "Yeah I'm basically a kid. I just know a lot about these things." Isaac said.

"Are you a soldier?" the old man asked.

"Sort of... Not from Imil though."

"You know kids suppose to be in school, getting girls, not knowing weapons." The old man said. Isaac was quiet for a bit. A bit of regret began to flood back in. But then Isaac looked up to the old man and said, "I'm young but not that young. I can take it."

"Hah, you'll say that now."

Isaac found himself wandering into the neighborhood. The houses all looked the same and instead of grass, it was just snow with footprints in them. The houses had puffs of smoke coming from the top chimney and clouded the air with a smokey scent. Isaac walked around admiring the small houses. They looked incredibly cozy.

Halfway in the neighborhood, Isaac walked near a pond. It looked like a park but it was completely empty. The water was not frozen yet and Isaac wandered towards it. Isaac then noticed that it wasn't completely empty. He noticed someone sitting at the bench wearing a full robe and hood on. As he came closer, he noticed azure hair near the side. Isaac went to sit on the bench and saw Mia's face. She breathed through her mouth taking deep breath. Her eyes drooped and was barely open. Her body looked like it rocked forward and backward but so slowly that it was hard to notice it. As Isaac sat down, it seemed like Mia didn't notice him at all but then she said, "I'm sorry, but I would like to be alone for a bit."

"You look like you've been here for a while. I think you've had enough time being alone." Isaac said. Mia didn't say anything for a while. Isaac sat staring at the pond. It had bits of ice floating but it would completely melt soon. Mia then asked, "How do you do this?"

"What?" Isaac responded.

"Traveling, leaving everything behind, facing... You're greatest fear, how do you do it?"

"Umm well..." Isaac had to think about it for a bit then blandly said, "Well I wing it."

"... That's it?" Mia asked expecting more.

"If I keep thinking about what's ahead and what I have to be doing, I think I'd just fall apart at that spot. So I just trust my gut knows what it's doing. I just gotta trust myself that whatever happens, I'll plan and do things how I should and succeed. If I mess up, I'll deal with them accordingly. That way, I still have control over my life and what I do even though it sometimes doesn't seem like it." Isaac said. Mia didn't say anything and just stared at the pond that has melted. "I guess you probably have a lot of respect for yourself. It takes a lot to trust oneself." Mia said after the long pause.

"Not really actually. But you learn to by starting to trust yourself." Isaac said. There was another silence but Isaac cut it short. "Taking in the last bit of the village?" he asked.

"Yeah, I grew up here. Here is where home is."

"You should probably say goodbye as well. This place will haunt you unless you do." Isaac said. There was another span of silence. The sun was starting to set and they were sitting there for a while. But Isaac didn't mind. Though his body was getting stiff, he was very patient.

When the sun disappeared, Mia took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I said goodbye. I think I'm just gonna go home and rest up."

"Have you even eaten anything?"

"I had an apple. Those can keep you going for a while."

"You'll faint before you could eat the apple if you do that. Come on, we'll get dinner from the inn."

They walked to the inn near night. When they opened the door, a crowd of people were at the entrance and yelled out "Surprise!" Mia was shocked and so was Isaac. Mia calmed down and smiled at her friends who greeted her. Isaac was still surprised and quickly tried to hide it when he remembered that he was suppose to know.

There was a big table for Mia. The mayor and a few people were there. There were nurses, doctors, and a few town folks. The mayor was there and tried to invite as many people as he could. Mia was well known throughout the town because she's the doctor who treated people. The town folks that came were people who owed Mia their life and health. There were kids, teenagers, adults, elders; there were a variety of people there. The nurses that came were people whom worked with her knew Mia very well. Most of them watched her grow up and become who she was. They circled around her and talked about their past with her, reconciling cherish moments. Isaac sat at the bar watching from afar. They didn't notice him and he blended with the few people who were at the inn simply to eat. Isaac watched the crowd and listened to them talk. Isaac didn't know Mia like the people who sat with her did so he just stood by. But he didn't mind.

Near midnight, the waitress came out with giant bowls. She handed the first one to Mia and gave the rest to the people around the table. Mia was amazed in what she saw and the waitress made multiple trips distributing it to everyone. The mayor made a comment, "When Mia was very small, I recall that she would always take time to eat her dinner. She was incredibly picky. So here's your childhood dinner Mia. Don't make a mess!" he joked. The waitress even handed Isaac a bowl. "You don't think the mayor forgot about you eh?" Isaac looked into the bowl and a scent rushed into his face. It was spaghetti with meat balls the size of his palm with mushroom and onion tomato sauce. The only word that could describe it is incredible.

When they finished eating, people began to leave. It was getting late and kids needed to sleep. In the end it was only the mayor and Mia. They faced each other and the mayor asked, "When are you going to leave?"

"Dunno, but I'd prefer it to be a discreet leave. It'll be all the harder if people stood there."

"I understand. I brought this in case you thought like that." The mayor pulled out a bottle of crystal blue water. "This is Hermes water, straight from the legends." Mia stared at it with surprise. "This is incredible... How in the world did you get it?"

"When one of our scouts went to the lighthouse to see the aftermath of what happened, he showed me a bottle of very particular water. I had my suspicion and confirmed it when we tried it at the hospital." The mayor explained.

"That's great. The village will be fine without me."

"Not quite. We have to ration it out carefully. This amount is a two days worth of what drips in that fountain. But I'm not saying this to make you worried. You're irreplaceable Mia." Mia looked down and smiled. She didn't know what to say but thankfully the mayor said everything. "This is still your home. Remember that no matter what." They stood up and went for a hug. It looked like an old father and daughter bond they had.

The mayor walked towards Isaac and pat him im the back. Isaac pretended he wasn't listening and turned around faking a bit of surprise. "Thank you for everything." He said. Isaac nodded and made a smile. He walked away and left the inn. Mia came to Isaac and sat on the stool next to him. "You crafty snake, you planned it all out didn't you?" She asked.

"Yeah you know, I'm good like that." Isaac slyly said.

"I bet you are. Thanks Isaac." Mia made a bright smile before leaving. Isaac smiled as well. When Isaac thought about how he left, immediately a flood of regret came in. But seeing in how Mia said her leave have made it bits better. It made Isaac feel warm and glad of his decision.

...

Ivan laid on his bed. The other part of his body was still sensitive to the touch but was not painful anymore. Garet was recovering from the fatigue and cold. His body was still a bit weak but his temperature was getting back to normal. They were recovering fast and felt ready for tomorrow.

It was around midnight when they found themselves laying on their bed. They were both wide awake Ivan stared at the ceiling and asked, "Hey dude, you awake?"

"You kidding? I slept like a billion times throughout the day man. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight." Garet said.

"Me neither." As Ivan laid on his bed trying to fall asleep, something popped in his head. Ivan thought it through and figured it to be the perfect chance to ask. "You mumble in your sleep you know that?"

"Really? What do I mumble?" Garet asked.

"Gibberish at first. Sometimes you randomly blurt out Jenna too. What's up with that?" Silence was the answer he got. Garet didn't say anything. Ivan was prepared for it and planned to just back away from the subject and not say anything more about it. Then after a bit Garet just said, "I haven't been sleeping well lately."

"Random nightmares?"

"Nah, more like some thinking makes it hard to sleep and well me mumbling, probably me thinking in my sleep."

"Thinking about what? Jenna?"

"Yeah, along with other things too like..." Garet stopped there. He didn't say anything after that. "You gonna finish that thought?" Ivan asked.

"Nah, you'll probably hear it in my sleep anyway." Garet turned to his side and tried to go to sleep. Ivan rolled over to his side to look at him. Garet breathed heavily and had his back to Ivan. It didn't look like he was going to sleep well that night Ivan thought.

...

In the morning, Mia was already prepared to go. She felt worried to leave anything behind though wo she made sure to make another sweep. She had medical supplies, another change of cloths, and a few sentimental items. It felt like she didn't bring enough, but then she figured it wasn't a good idea to bring too much supplies or else it'll weigh her down. Mia took one more look of her room in the hospital. There was a single window that shined no light and her room doubled as medical storage room. It wasn't homely, but it eventually grew on her and became cozy. She was going to miss this place. She was going to miss everything.

Isaac walked to the hospital with heavy bags. At the hospital, Garet and Ivan were standing from their beds. Ivan wore a cast on his arm that wrapped on his neck while Garet stretched around to get rid of the stiff feeling in his body. Isaac tossed Garet his bag and handed Ivan his. "You guys ready to go?" He asked.

"Yeah man. I gotta get rid of this sleepy feeling in my body." Garet said.

"Same, I feel like I'm covered in bed sores." Ivan said. Garet slipped on his jacket and put on the bags he carried. Garet first placed his backpack with a fee of his things and then wore his duffle bag that hung on his side that held food. Ivan had a lighter load but had trouble putting on his jacket. Isaac helped him unwrap his caste and rewrap it with his jacket on. When they were set, they gathered around for a second. "We set?" Isaac asked. They all took a deep breath and nodded.

They went to the hospital to find Mia. But before they reached it, they met up with Mia halfway. "Good morning." She greeted them.

"Morning, we we're on our way to your place. Are you prepared already?" Isaac asked.

"Yep, I'm all ready to go." Mia answered.

"Really? Did you say your good byes and stuff already?" Garet asked. Mia made a quick smile at Isaac and responded, "Yes, I did."

As they left the gate, Mia turned back around to get a final look at the town. The group stopped for her for a minute. When she finished, she looked back at her group and simply nodded. They began to traverse through the cold snow again. Though their skin and body was cold, they felt a warm feeling inside. It felt like they were completed. It felt like their journey had just begun.