Chapter 41

Thankfully, we didn't come across any more demons on our way to the other side of the island. Unthankfully, there was no archive awaiting us. Instead we came to a barren corner in the decayed stone fort. Past the walls, the deathfog swelled above the water below us.

"Are you sure this is the correct location?" the Red Prince asked Ifan. "I see no entrance to anywhere here."

"Perhaps instead of being concealed by sand," I said. "The entrance be concealed under this."

I nudged my foot on the bloody goop under everyone's feet. I looked over at the Red Prince with my claws, ready to pick through it. The Red Prince's eyes widened. His lips puckered in disgust.

"Even though I've committed myself to be more attentive to survival and less on cleanliness, I'd prefer to know exactly where the entrance is before I start digging into this… mess."

"That's fair," I said. "Perhaps if we look close enough, we can find it before digging."

I huddled everyone together. I cast the Peace of Mind spell on the whole group. Everyone inhaled as the soothing warmth entered their minds and enhanced their senses.

"Keep an eye out," I said. We dispersed and scoured the ground to find anything that resembled an entrance under the muck. With the clear mind, my vision felt enhanced and more focused. I could observe more detail.

"Hey!" Sebille called out after a minute of scouring. The rest of us walked over to her. She pointed at a piece of stone in the floor that barely stood out from the bloody gunk. When I looked closer, I could see an outline of a trap door in the puss. I looked over at the Red Prince. I took off my gauntlets to show my bare nails.

"We'll get our hands dirty together. What do you say?"

The Red Prince looked at the ground. He puckered his lips a final time before he undid his gauntlets and exposed his nails.

"For the stories to be told after," the Red Prince said.

He kneeled and we got to work digging into the goo. I scarped the surface and broke chunks of the goo away. I went up from the corner, freeing the edge of the trap door. The Red Prince found another corner of the door and slowly started to go around the side. We continued until all four corners of the door were clear. The Red Prince then noticed something. He dug his claw into the gunk near one of the edges. It revealed a handle. With that, the Red Prince stepped off the door and stood on the outside before grasping the handle. He bent his knees and pulled with all his might. Slowly, but surly, the heavy trap door budged, breaking free of the sticky gung filling the crevices between the door and floor. The rest of us put our fingers into the crevices and pulled. Soon, the Red Prince let go of the handle and put his hands under the door and pushed with us. The door swung open landing onto the ground. We looked down the hole to see a ladder leading down into a stone cavern.

"Hold on a moment," the Red Prince said. "I need to clean myself up before we continue."

He took a hold of his water pouch and squirted some water onto his hands. He scrubbed them thoroughly before he put his gauntlets back on. I followed his lead and cleaned my hands before I put my own gauntlets on. With our hands clean, we looked down the ladder into the hole.

"Ready?" I asked everyone.

"Ready," they repeated.

One by one, we descended the ladder. Once at the bottom, we stepped away from the ladder to find ourselves in a dark room. There was no light except for the dim light coming from the surface. Thankfully there were unlit torches flanking the walls of the chamber. I walked over and placed my hand on it. But before I could grip it and pull it from the holder, the torch suddenly lit up on its own. Suddenly, the other torch lit by itself. Then from around the entire chamber, more torches lit up.

"How convenient," Sebille remarked.

"Indeed," I said.

When the marvel of the automatic magic torches wore off, I looked around to see what was in the chamber we stood in.

Books. Books in shelves. Books on shelves. Books on the floor. Books everywhere.

"Want to stay here for a day?" Sebille asked with playful nudge from her elbow into my arm. I grinned.

"Maybe someday later," I said.

"It'll be quite a feat to find information on a demon here," the Red Prince said. "But I'm not seeing any pedestals or display shelves showing the blade of a sword here."

I looked around again. He was right. There were no display cases. Only shelves of books. But there was on oddity. In the far corner of the room was a skeleton. A skeleton of a human woman wearing faded blue robes. It looked like she died sitting in the corner while holding on to something to her stomach.

I walked through the mess of books to the bones and kneeled before it. In the skeleton's hands was a red covered book. A journal most likely. I reached out and pried her bony fingers from the book. Thankfully, the skeleton didn't come to life to jump out at me. When I had the book, I stood up and examined it. It was then I noticed it had a bookmark in the pages. I opened to journal to the page that was marked and started to read it:

The dark presence encroaches. Let this journal serve, then, as a monument to truth – a rare treasure in a world built on lies.

To whomever reads this, please know: we only intended to protect, never harm. No priest I know would see the innocent suffer. Bloodmoon Island's very purpose was to keep Riveloon safe – to exorcise and cleanse, to relieve demon-infested souls wherever we might find them.

Not every victim is so easily purified. These are the unlucky ones, destined to writhe eternally, vessels for demons too stubborn to return to the plane they call home. Eleanessa was one such vessel. Daeva brought the elf Sourcerer here. She was limp, glass-eyed, silent. We all felt the presence when we drew near. We knew such darkness could never be cast out. She would be banished to the vaults, along with the priest unlucky enough to shackle her.

But it was never to be. Daeva had tired of seeing brothers and sisters sacrificed. He performed the exorcism on Eleanessa himself, in spite of our protests, in spite of our prayers. And so the shadow was released.

Eleanessa did not survive the exorcism – but I take some comfort in knowing an Ancestor Tree will grow where she fell. As for Daeva, I do not know his fate – I rushed to the Archive, knowing the presence must never be allowed to sing the hymn and enter the vaults. Yet I have found but one; where the rest may be, I can't be certain. So now, I wait. The shadow will soon engulf me.

Whatever Bloodmoon Island might become, know what it once was: a temple of hope and healing. I pray this is how you remember us.

- Archivist Blayre Cydow

I took a deep breath and closed the book. I saw the others were looking at me with curiosity.

"Does that journal tell us who the Demon is?" the Red Prince asked.

"No," I said. "But I think I know who might."

I put the journal down on a nearby shelf.

"There's an elven ancestor tree in the middle of the island. If we use our spirit vision, we could possibly communicate with the spirt within it."

Everyone raised their brows and looked at one another.

"Alright, so we know where to go to learn about our Arch-Demon," the Red Prince said. "But where exactly is the other half of our demon blade."

"I reckon it's behind one of these walls," Ifan pointed to the three walls of the chamber. "The only question is, where would the trigger mechanism be?"

"Let's split up and search for it," I said.

We did so and tore through the shelves and walls to find whatever we could find. Along the way, I stumbled across several books. Some were about general knowledge while most were about demonology. But there were several books that caught my eye. Six in fact. Six books about Source.

A book about fire. Another about water. Air. Warfare. Huntsman. And one about assassins.

These would come in handy if we were to come across more serious threats especially with the amount of Source we could carry now.

"Found something!" Ifan called out. We turned just in time to see him pull a book from a nearby shelf. The book tilted back, and a click sounded from behind it. Soon after, the wall next to the shelf started to slide out of the way. Behind it was a small chamber. I followed everyone else into the hole with my six books stacked in my hands. When I got inside, I looked over my tower of books to see everyone looking down at a single pedestal in the middle of the chamber. On it, I was surprised to see the blade we expected to be there wasn't a blade at all. Instead, it was a half-a-dozen shards of a blade. Every shard shinned a jade glow. The pieces looked brittle, but I knew that looks were deceiving in this world. The Red Prince turned his head when he noticed me.

"Are you planning to take some time off to indulge in your scholarly desires," the Red Prince asked with a brow raised. Everyone else turned and raised their eyebrows too.

"If you look at what's inside these, you'd be very thankful to take that time off," I said. Everyone took the books out of my hands and looked inside them. Their eyes widened.

"Thankful indeed," Ifan said with a smile. I smiled back.

"I'm going to have to ask all of you to carry them because my bag is occupied by the head of a demon," I said.

"Don't worry," the Red Prince said. "My bag is empty. I'll be able to carry them all."

He took out his bag and placed it on the floor. One by one, he fit all six books into it.

"Thank you," I said. "…my Prince."

The Red Prince's brows shoot up. Then he gave an appreciative smile to me.

"You're very welcome," he said.

With the books taken care of, we refocused our attention to the blade. I walked up to the pedestal and gently place my finger on the flat surface of one of the shards.

Connected as one, the past and the present slain.

Absolution and redemption await the one whose sins are many.

"It's our blade," I said pulling my hand back.

"I'll take care of it," Ifan said. He pulled out a piece of thick animal hide. He carefully took each piece of the blade from the pedestal and methodically put them into the skin. Afterwards, he tied the skin holding the pieces with leather straps into a cut-proof package. He put it into his backpack.

"Anathema is ours," Ifan said. "Now all we have to do is speak to this tree, if you want to make another detour."

I looked through the chamber at the ladder on the other side.

"I think it'll be a detour worth taking," I said. "We'll be able to save a lot of lives in addition to saving the world."

"Then let's get to it," Sebille said with an enthusiastic smile on her face. Everybody else nodded. We exited the archive to the surface. Once outside, we closed the door and Ifan pulled out the Advocate's map. Like the journal said, there was a tree on the island. In the direct center. With our next destination set, we went up the messy roads.

As we proceeded closer, the bloody puss became more prevalent. All around there were clusters, almost nests of the disgusting substance. Accompanying the puss were several corpses encased in it. For whatever reason, this "temple of hope and healing" as the Archivist put it, had turned into quite the opposite at some point.

We found ourselves at a stairway leading to an archway above. From beyond, we could see the top branches of an elven ancestor tree. It must be the tree described in the journal. But before we ascended the steps, we heard several voices chanting.

We kneeled and crypt slowly up the steps. I popped my head over the top step. It seemed to be a nexus with four sets of stairs leading all four directions: west, east, north, south. In the center was indeed the Elven Ancestor Tree. But surrounding the tree were four Black Ring cultists.

"Your name, your name! Relent to the Ring and yield your name!"

They shouted again and again, casting dark spells onto the tree. But it seemed to do nothing as they shouted in their demented tongue in frustration. Were they trying to uncover the secrets we were attempting to get out of the tree? If so, that probably would be a problem. We were going to have to take them out. I slipped down the steps and spoke to the others.

"There's four Black Ring on all four corners around the tree," I said. "I think if we move in on all sides, we'll be evenly matched taking each one-on-one."

I used my palm to mark the positions of the tree and our targets. When we had our targets, we dispersed. I walked straight up the steps in plain sight of the nearest cultist. Once his latest spell was complete, he turned his attention to me. From the left and right corners, the two female cultists turned their attention to me too. I couldn't see the fourth cultist behind the tree. I just hoped his attention was attracted my way. The cultist nearest to me looked down at me with bloodshot eyes atop his wicked mustache and beard.

"Stand back," he said with a sinister glare. "Not a foot closer. Whatever words you carry with you, they are warty with futility. I know you for what you are: a mere mouthpiece of deception. It is of no use. The Advocate knows the tree belongs to the Ring."

So, these are the intruders the Advocate tried to get us to fight. Looks like we were going to end up fighting them anyway.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about the Advocate," I said with a mischievous smile. "He was small potatoes in my line of work. I have his head right here if you want to admire my skill as a demon hunter."

"Silence!" the cultist shouted. "Alignment means nothing. This tree is ours. You'd do your best to stay out of the way, lest you desire your own death."

"Funny," I said. "When I arrive on this island, I had the slightest fear that my own death would be at the hands of a vile demon who'd collect my soul to torment for the rest of eternity. But it looks like I'll have to settle for a simple death at the hands of has-been cultists."

The fire in his eyes blazed as he readied to attack me. But before he could, his attention was taken when his fellow cultists shouted. He looked behind to see my three companions emerge.

I smirked before I inhaled. I unleashed my fireball from my mouth, and it landed square into the cultist's chest. He was engulfed in flames, but he wasn't dead. I anticipated this and readied my lightning strike on him. But before I could bring my arm forward and fire the lightning, I felt a rumble in the ground next to me. It broke my concentration as I turned my head toward the rumble. Emerging from the ground was a bone widow: an amalgamation of many creatures' remains morphed into a hulking brute.

Okay. A little unforeseen factor. But nothing I can't handle.

I quickly unfurled my wings and beat them against the ground to dash out of the widow's reach. When I looked back at the Black Ring caster, I saw half of his body was burned away but he still stood strong. He raised his wand and from it a swarm of tiny insects emerged. It was a mosquito swarm. Hundreds of the tiny bugs would swarm their target and inflict tiny wounds that could grow into larger ones. Thinking quickly, I channeled my source and my Dome of Protection was erected just as the mosquitos slammed into it and were vaporized. But the dome couldn't keep out the Bone Widow. I backed out of the Dome just in time, keeping it between me and the caster. Just as the dome dissipated, I launched myself into the air and took aim at the caster. I unleashed my Ice Fan and all three shards of ice landed into him. When I landed, he was frozen solid. I ignited my whip and slashed it into the middle of the human's abdomen. His entire body was then broken in half. From behind me, the bone widow lunged. But as soon as it was upon me, the monster fell apart. The scattered bones bounced off my shield falling harmlessly to the ground. From the other corners of the tree, I saw the others had dealt with their respective opponents. We were in the clear. We came together to assess everyone's condition.

"Everyone okay?" I asked.

"Not a scratch," Sebille said. The other simply nodded.

"Good," I said.

I slowly turned my attention to the tree that stood in the middle of the nexus. The others stood quietly behind me as I stepped closer to examine the tree. I could see the same bloody puss enveloping most of the trunk of the tree. But it seemed the puss was coming from the tree itself. I watched as the puss slowly flowed out of the tree like blood flowing from a heart into the bloodstream. I closed my eyes and spoke the words. When I opened my eyes, I saw the ghostly spirt of the tree envelop the bark under the puss. I could hear it speak.

"Kwih manduhkad umnio myrdus ects, it kwot potest ezse!"

It was a language even I was unfamiliar with. The Black Ring were trying to understand it but were unsuccessful. But I knew the name of the Elven ancestor within. Perhaps…

"Eleanessa!" I shouted.

At first, it didn't seem to do anything. But soon after, I felt it: Clarity.

"You speak my name," a ghostly feminine voice spoke. It was a voice filled with painful exhaustion. Like a soul who was tortured for so long, it barely had enough energy to speak.

"Yes," I said to her. "I know your story. You were a sick elf who had a dark entity inside her. Daeya tried to exercise it from you instead of locking you away in a vault. But it killed you and you were buried here."

There was a pause between me and the spirit. When she replied, she did so with a tone of regret.

"That is only the story of those who witnessed my tragedy. The truth is far worse."

"Please, tell us. You can help us save lot of people if you tell us what really happened."

"Very well," Eleanessa said. There was another pause. Most likely to prepare herself and the rest of us of her tragic story.

"Call it what you want: Naivety, stupidity. I wished to put the Source within me to good use, and demonology seemed as good a use as any. Silly me. I meant to summon an imp or two. Instead, I ended up hosting a damned Arch-Demon. The roaring in my head, the craving for living flesh. Urges. Good Gods, the urges: to kill, to hurt. The stronger they became, the harder I fought. And at some point, I was just…gone. Deadened, but not dead. And then, awake. On an isle I'd never been, encircled by faces I'd never seen, watched by a man I'd never known. They called him doctor. He shouted strange words and the demon bellowed. Then one by one…I…"

The spirit seemed to choke on her words.

"They…fell. I watched my own hands slaughter them. I tried to resist, but I… couldn't. And then a final roar, when the demon rushed away and into the only one still standing. The Doctor. That was my last living memory. The demon may be gone, but its disease still infects my roots, birthing evil into the soil."

So Daeya, the Doctor, became possessed by the Arch-Demon after the exorcism. Eleanessa continued.

"But now, you have a chance to end this. You awakened me from my nightmare with a single utterance: my name. How amazing; that a name can wield so much power. Remember this lesson when you leave Bloodmoon Island. The demon blackens another land now. It possesses the very doctor that liberated it. Speak its name, however, and you expose it. You weaken it. You'll know him when you find him. A doctor that accommodates a demon doesn't see patients, only victims. Destroy it, and you free me to the Hall of Echoes. Destroy it, and my roots taint this isle no longer. Now come closer. I'll say the demon's name only once."

I did so. I walked closer and leaned my head to the untainted part of the tree's trunk. I placed my ear against the bark and listened to her harsh whisper.

"Adramahlihk."

I pulled my head away and looked up. The glow of the elven spirit retreated into the tree. There were no more words to be said between us.

"Adramahlihk," I repeated.

I turned around to the others. Their eyes were a mixture of awe, horror and concern. It was quite the tragic story. But there wasn't anything we could do at this point but to inform our Demon hunting master of our success.

"I say it's time we leave this horrid place once and for all, don't you think?" I said. I pulled out the blue pyramid from my bag and held it in my hands.

"Don't have to tell me twice," Sebille said. She walked behind me and placed her hand on my arm. Ifan and the Red Prince nodded before walking behind me and placing their hands on my shoulders. We were all ready. I looked down at the pyramid before I closed my eyes. I focused my mind on the image of the red pyramid. A moment later, I felt a swirling energy come from the pyramid. I kept my mind focused on the red pyramid. Soon after, the energy surge up my arms throughout my body. I even felt it surge from my scales into the hands of my companions touching me. One moment later, I felt like my entire body was hurtled into a dimension unknown.


My eyes shot open and I gasped. I heard the rest do the same as I felt their hands leg go of me. I looked down at the pyramid in my hand first before I looked at the ground I now stood on. It wasn't the tainted dark ground of the Bloodmoon Island. Instead it was the sun coated stone of the archway we left the mainland at. I then looked to my left and saw the same statue Sebille hid the pyramid next to. Sebille crouched and took it from under the rock and put it away in her back. I put mine away too.

Sebille then inhaled and sighed deeply.

"So nice to have clean air in your lungs after a trip into a demon's sanctuary, isn't it?"

The rest of us followed her lead and did the same. I felt the clean air of the mainland replace the horrid scent of demons tainting the inside of me. It was so liberating.

"Now that's over with, how's about we deliver the head and name to our demon-hunting master so we can get our show on the road?" Sebille said.

I smirked.

"Off we go," I said. I lead the way back to Jahan's cottage. He was right where we left him. He turned to face us with enthusiastic eyes.

"Ah, how fares the hunt, my friends?" he said.

I took my backpack off and pulled out the blanket. When I unfurled it, I held out the Advocate's head with a prideful smile on my face. From inside the cage, the demons rattled. Though if it was out of fear or anger was to be determined.

"Haha!" Jahan rejoiced. "You've done me proud, young demon hunter. Prouder than you could ever realize."

He took the head from my hands and graciously put it onto a nearby table.

"I know how twisted the paths can get, how much more alluring the sunny glade than the rock-strewn hollows. But you know it's the darkest roads that leads to light."

I grinned at his analogy.

"Speaking of leading to light," I said. "We managed to uncover who your Arch-Demon is."

Jahan raised his brows.

"Do tell me," he said.

I took a deep breath as Eleanessa's story played through my head again.

"He's taken the guise of Doctor Daeva himself. But his real name is Adramahlihk."

Jahan's eyes widened. He brought his finger to his chin to ponder the new revelation.

"Adramahlihk," he said as his eyes wandered the skies. "You have to admire his cunning. To think that in his guise of Daeva he and I shared the finest wines in the realm; stories of the women we have loved."

He looked back at us.

"I sincerely thank you for your efforts, friends," he said with a gracious bow. "For all you've done for me, it's time that I repay you."

He beckoned us closer. He walked next to the cage while all four of us stood in a line before him.

"All life, after all, sustains itself by consumption. Like the grass feeds the herd and the herd feeds the hunter, so you must feed, for instance, on these…"

His hand waved to the cage. Instead of horrific revulsion like what happened with Ryker, I only smirked.

"We've no problem with that," I said. "We've made an agreement amongst ourselves to not consume the souls of people. Demons and voidwoken are very preferable alternatives."

Jahan grinned back at me.

"Are you ready then?" he asked.

"We've been ready the moment we arrived on Reaper's Coast three days ago," I said.

Jahan nodded his head.

"Then let us begin."

Jahan took his stance and spoke many incantations I couldn't make out. Through his words, I felt a pumping. A pumping of blood through my body. Then I heard it.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

With a surge of energy, the screams of the demons were silenced, and I felt their essence flow into me in its purest form. I felt my heart trying to expand again. But my heart was already at the largest it could be. There was no more room to expand. Instead, the energy twisted on itself until it became basic source. That source filled the gaps in my heart until I felt I was full once again.

When I opened my eyes, I looked to see the demons in the cage were reduced to bones. I looked at the others. They had the same expression I had. I looked over at Jahan. He slowly nodded his head with an appreciative smile on his face.

"That is all," he said. "Their suns have set to serve a greater dawn. The world awaits your true awakening."

My mind hung on his last word.

Awakening.

When I listened in, I could feel the calling of Zorl-stissa again. Then I looked over at Ifan.

"You feel it?" I asked him. He looked down at his hands for a moment before he replied.

"Yes," Ifan said. "I think we're all ready."

We all looked at Jahan. He still wore his prideful smile.

"It was my honor to assist you, friends," he said with a bow. "However, I fear this is where we must part ways. Your path lies with the journey to gain your power. My path is to confront the arch-demon in his lair, in the great city of Arx."

First, it was the Dwarven Queen planning an attack with Deathfog. Now there's an Arch-Demon hidden within tainting it's unsuspecting inhabitance. Arx really does seem to be enduring the worst nowadays.

"I bid you luck, Jahan," I walked up and shook his hand. "May the world be a better place with your bravery."

"As I wish for you," Jahan smiled in kind. "Though I've only learned of your existence this day, I can already see the makings of a fine Divine within you."

I raised my brows.

"Well, thank you, Jahan. I hope to see you again once this is finished."

"As do I," he said. He bowed again. "I fare thee well."

He turned around and retreated into the shack to prepare for his long journey ahead. I turned to the others and we departed. Once we were a good distance back in the Clousterwood, we stopped and put our bags to the ground.

"One last time," I said.

"Hopefully it will be the last time," the Red Prince said.

I chuckled. I pulled the lance and bowl from my bag while Ifan produced the Blackroot he plucked earlier. Like last time, we sat around the bowl as I added the blackroot and a sample of my blood into it. After I ignited it, we inhaled the fumes and coughed our way back into the plane our gods were waiting for us in.


Everything seemed to be as they were before. But what caught me off guard was that Zorl-stissa was on her knees now. Her eyes were closed, and her neck was bent. She twitched erratically, like she was stuck in a nightmare. I kneeled and shook her shoulders.

"Wake up! Wake up!" I said to her. She opened her eyes slowly. Her expression of fear from her nightmare slowly morphed into a face of comfort; like an ill mother seeing the face of her child for the first time in years.

"My…my Champion," she spoke in a whisper. She brought her hand and caressed my face. I could feel her tremble through her shaking hand. "You positively brim with Source. You are ready."

She tried to stand but she was too weak. I helped her to her feet. Once she was, she composed herself and I took a step back. She spoke again with more composer.

"The void is closing in. We've little time left. You must reach the well and ascend."

"But where is the well?" I asked.

"It is at the Heart of the Nameless Isle. It is a place no-one can reach unless their soul becomes their compass."

She then reached out and placed her trembling hand on my heart. I felt a coursing energy come from her hand and flow into my heart. From within my mind, I could see Rivellon. A map of Rivellon. But it wasn't on a piece of paper. It was Rivellon, living and breathing. I saw the distant lands of the Ancient Empire across the vast ocean. I saw the secluded island of Fort Joy. I saw the coastal city of Driftwood and the neighboring regions we visited in the last three days. Then I saw a glowing speck in the ocean far from Fort Joy and Driftwood. I suddenly started falling. But for some reason, I didn't scream. Instead, I felt my body glide through the air like I had invisible wings. Once I had broken through the clouds, the glowing speck disappeared, and my body gently floated to the surface of the ocean below. My body hovered over the waves. I looked up to see an island. An island with a volcano spewing lava on one half of its mass while the other half was covered in ancient ruins.

I gasped and found myself standing before Zorl-stissa again. I felt the image of the Island burned into my head. If I looked at a map of Rivellon, I would know exactly where the island would be.

"Your heart knows where you must go," Zorl-stissa spoke. "Now you must ensure you are the one and no one else."

I narrowed my brows and gave her a suspicious look.

"If you are saying I need to betray my friends now, I've made my own decisions and they've brought me this far. I'll be the judge of what will happen to them."

Zorl-stissa's eyes narrowed at me. At first, I thought she was going to reprimand me for not agreeing with her. But instead, she simply nodded her head.

"I will only warn you once that the other gods and their chosen will try to outflank us just like we must outflank them. But you've proven yourself worthy through your actions so far. I only hope you will not fail us in the end."

I felt the world around me rattle and I saw Zorl-stissa fall to her knees again. I moved to help her, but she held up her hand to stop me.

"Time runs short my champion," she said with a weakened voice. "I will be with you. I will guide you; stand by you. I will watch as you drink from the Wellspring, and as its Source surges into you. The void will be overcome, and you will be the god of gods. The end is nigh. Don't fail us now!"


I gasped and coughed back into reality once again. All around me, the others did the same. Once everyone breathed normal air again, we looked at each other. From within my head, the image of the Nameless Island's location still burned. I knew exactly where it was.

"Quite a predicament the gods have put us in, isn't it?" the Red Prince said.

Sebille snorted.

"I've no real concern for the gods," she said. "We've made it this far with help of each other, not the gods."

The Red Prince smirked.

"My thoughts exactly," he said.

I stood up first followed by the others.

"Well regardless, we know where we need to go," I said. "I say it's time we head back to the Lady Vengeance and set course."

Ifan looked over at me with a smile on his face.

"Right there with you," he said.

With that, we were off.


Author's Note: IT'S DONE! IT'S OVER! Now I can move on to the parts of the story I really want to write about. (That's not to say I didn't enjoy writing anything during the Driftwood arc. Chapters 24, 28, 34, 35 and 36 were very big highlights for me. But I'm really looking forward to the parts I have planned for the Nameless Isle and especially Arx.)

I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who's stuck around with me either since the near beginning or even recently. The DOS2 Fanfiction Community isn't as popular so it feels more special to hear the feedback of those few individuals who want to delve deeper into the world of one of the greatest RPGs of the last decade. Hopefully we can attract more people to play the game and in-turn join our community to share and express our passion for this great series. (A big thank you to Angry Joe for reviewing Divinity Dragon Commander all those years ago to introduce me to the Divinity IP and later allowing me to back DOS2 on Kickstarter.)

As always, thank you for reading my story and a review goes a long way. See you next chapter.