A/N: Hello, everyone! It's been a very long time. My apologies, as I didn't realize I never uploaded chapter 6 here. I've started working on this story again and recently finished chapter 7. Hoping to finish this story as I meant to, all those years ago. Please enjoy!

Green, slender jets of light flew from my space un. The steady cracks of Avilin's pistol from behind me. The steady thump of Metatyph's flaming arrows hitting home. In the pink pavilion, under a half-moon, we confronted Skeletron, god of death. The meteorite suit was hot on my body, its coils funneling heat into the space gun's mana adapter.

"Jump!" shouted Myste as the great skull came rolling down through the ceiling. Not towards me, but towards Avilin. Struggling to steady my blade, I swung my sword at Skeletron's eye sockets as Al scrambled out of the way.

A furious roar of defeat. Cracks spread over Skeletron's skull, widening. Visor protecting my eyes, I watched as the god's vessel shattered into bloody bone fragments.

Another flash. Another wave of heat. Just like when I defeated Skeletron in Corundia. But it had been so much easier this time.

Slowly, I sank to the ground.

Landing, the spectre ran toward me. Why me, and not the others? I had taken the least damage, yet I was the one feeling that swell of heat, that feral, clawing blood—

"Get up," said Myste, pulling me to my feet. I glanced around. Both Avilin and Metatyph were staring at me. The sensation was gone, not even leaving a throbbing echo. "Come on—the answers are inside."

I should have realized, back then, that both Metatyph and Avilin had far more vitality than I did. How many Heart Crystals had they found? Five? Ten? Fifteen? Such crystals were hard to come by in the first place. And as for Myste, well... I couldn't even begin to imagine how many. His aura was too luminous.

"If you pick up golden keys, make sure to crack open any chests you can," said Myste. "They keep Murasame blades here. And you'll need those."

Skeleton soldiers in red mail confronted us in each corridor, bone-spurs protruding from their shoulders. My crimtane sword was too heavy to match their speed, and their fists dealt staggering blows. I could not afford to hold back even once. But still, the others continued further into the dungeon with utter impunity. How?

Down, down, down the winding tunnel. Deeper and deeper we went, into the Dungeon's depths. Unlit chain lanterns hung from the ceiling, caged in iron. Only Mystery's wisp penetrated the darkness.

My eyes fell on a nearby switch as we passed through. Ah, was this connected to the lights? I flicked the switch.

The dim cage-lantern came on overhead. And a steel dart shot out from the wall, sinking into my leg. "Gah! Traps!"

"Remember, this isn't the wilderness," warned Myste. The others were well ahead of us. "There's traps and spiked floors everywhere. Watch your step—"

I had to hang torches on the wall to light my way. Before I realized it, I'd run out of torches. I checked my gel pouch—only to remember that I'd given it all to Rose. "Ah, damn—"

Blue candles hung on the wall, rippling like a fading sunset on the sea. Wherever there were water candles, skeletons gathered around me.

Bleeding, limping, I climbed up onto a wooden shelf and followed Mystery into a great room with a table and chairs. In the center of the room stood a lone piano, decorated with carved eyes.

"Here it is," said the spectre in a hiss as he approached the piano, his wisp flosting close to the open book above the keys. "Terraria's buried secret..."

Perhaps I should have never looked. The book on the piano was not sheet music. It was not words, either.

The twisted symbols on its pages... the mysterious runes that offered no insight, no information, only a ghost of an image and a single name—

"Ahh..."

Now I understood the infinite abyss, and Rose's fate. Yes—there truly was a missing page from the field guide in my Dungeon. Perhaps the most important page of all.

"Wall... Wall of Flesh—"

Alarm flashed in Mystery's eyes. As if the very name was cursed, the entire room shuddered.

A glowing, ghostlike skull flew through the ceiling, Too late, I noticed the water candles around the room, the creaking footsteps of angry bone soldiers approaching the room.

I screamed as the cursed skull flew into my chest, flowing hrough my pores and into my veins like muddy water, permeating my body.

Magic bolts shot from the sphere above Mystery's head, mowing down the skeletons from the east entrance. But more skeletons were scrambling in from the west entrance, closing in on me. Raising my space gun, I tried to squeeze the trigger, but my hands, my fingers refused to move—

An iron-banded fist struck the back of my head, and my vision swelled into black and red.

Dismayed, the spectre looked back as my body collapsed to the floor. "Ah, if only I could revive you here," he said bitterly as more enemies closed in on him. "Return to the Focus, fallen soul, and rise again." A brilliant light flashed from his hand—

My eyes opened. I was lying in the fountain at Avalon. My heart was pounding, my body clammy. This process really should be something I was used to by now, but...

Maybe I was disappointed in myself. That I was taken down so quickly. That I couldn't last a little longer.

After defeating Skeletron, I thought I was invincible. I'd defeated a god! But I was no match for his army. Yet, the others had burned through that army with ease...

Someone took me by the hand, "Come on, adventurer. You can do better than that."

Dripping wet, I climbed out of the fountain and stared at the dryad. The sky was still dark, but I could easily make out her face in the light from Rose's house. She was... she was strong and beautiful.

"I am Elysia, the dryad-queen of Avalon," she said, gazing down at me peacefully. She was vibrant, yet graceful. "I see the Guild is rebuilding itself already. Excellent, excellent."

Elysia! The one that Avilin and Metatyph had sought. My eyes widened. "The others are in the Dungeon," I blurted out. "They were looking for you. I... I didn't really have anything to do with it."

The queen nodded, gazing at the guild tower. "Of course they were. The Corruption has dealt a debilitating blow to this land, but with my aid, we shall fix that. And—"

I froze as she turned to face me directly. "You are Scheil of Corundia, yes?" she said. "You have done a fine job here, little adventurer. It may seem you had no real role, but without you, we might not be standing here. For now, you ought to pay a visit back home."

My eyes widened. I saw the boat waiting on the river, the giant bunny and her six crew-buns. "You have already met, but allow me to properly introduce Captain Mince," said Elysia as we approached the boat. She scratched Mince behind the ears, and the great rabbit closed her eyes, content. "She is a member of the White Carrot Yacht Club. Isn't she lovely?"

I nodded slowly, handing Mince the fare. As I got on the boat, I looked back at Elysia, Queen of the Dryads. "Will Avalon be all right without me?" I asked.

Elysia chuckled. "Fear not. The Guild will continue on their own. I will let the others know where you've gone. Go and recuperate, and return only when you are ready."

As I closed my eyes, the boat pulled away from the riverbank, and we were off on our way.