PoC: Coming close to the closing, which is close at hand, it should be clear by now that I neither created nor own anything patented by Sega. And so here is the overdue chapter.

Silver: So…how 'close' are we again? I kinda thought we weren't that near the end, with some story still unexplained and all.

Metal: Attribute it to the trend of the Sonic games: True endings or conclusions are never revealed until after the first en-…hmm…you know, never mind. Just trust PoC.

PoC & Silver: METAL!

Metal: Erm…well…Pen didn't walk out on this either so…

PoC & Silver: 8'D

Metal: ? What? WHAT? I had to come back for TD anyway, so stop with the weepy bug-eyes!

Tails Doll: T_T

Metal: Ugh… Great, now you've got the kid crying too! Now if you two are quite finished wetting yourselves with creepy delight, I demand you, PoC, return to writing! I know you've got what it takes, so man up and scramble us an Eggman!

Silver: Pfft! Hey Met…that 'brown nose' doesn't suit you! Heh-heh-grk! Stawp…choquing…mii! *Wheezing* Okay…okay…! PoC, it's no USE making excuses! You MUST make this chapter positively epic, or else all your mentally challenged delays were in vain!

PoC: So melodramatic. Near the end or not, this is just another chapter guys, so chill.

-l-

On Crimson Strings

-l-

Sonic, enflamed by Robotnik's long standing deception, allowed his compulsions to get the better of him yet again. Contrary to old encounters, the once omnipotent 'master' interestingly made no effort to halt or evade the hero's assault; letting the brunt of the hedgehog's anger fall crushingly upon his sternum. Considering Sonic had never directed an attack at Robotnik, or at least the Eggman of his world, himself before, the act presented to him a newfound, yet decisively warped, sense of satisfaction. Even so, the blue mobian's ingrained sense of justice shamed him, knowing he had willingly harmed a frail human without first giving any warning.

It did seem odd though. If Robotnik's identity was synonymous of that the master's, then why had the doctor let his guard down? A true answer to this never came, as Sonic's attention was captured by the spectral glow of several, multi-colored gems that had been scattered across the eclipsed floor. One of these jewels tumbled Sonic's way; stopping just a foot in front of the hero. There was no need to pick the stone up. Sonic could feel it's warm tendrils of energy already sinking into his fur, a hint that quickly gave the mystic mineral's nature away…

It was a Chaos Emerald…

Before he could consider grabbing it, the cobalt blur's eyes shot up when, from within the black abyss, he heard the rounded man say "No Sonic… I'm not expecting forgiveness from you or anyone else." Robotnik's voice seemed echo from every direction, causing prickles of unease to shiver down the hedgehog's spine. Barring a minuscule moment of silence, the hero afterwards heard the faint echo hastened footsteps, followed by the words "I simply need you to…COMPLY!"

A grip of steel then snatched up and proceeded to tighten around Sonic's well-concealed neck. Being snuck up on, and consequently caught, by Robotnik of people was demeaning on so many levels, though this naturally took a backseat to the dire danger he was now in. Not able to break the bulgy human's hold, Sonic turned his gaze back to the fallen emeralds, which had now levitated and begun to circle him whilst emitting a soft hum. Seeing them respond to Robotnik's mere hand gestures, the hero had to wonder why the emeralds would heed the doctor's commands. The Eggman he knew was never able to harness Chaos' power personally. In all honesty, it never occurred to Sonic that humans ever could.

"Sonic." Robotnik's voice broke his musings, earning the hero's intense stare "Harming you was never my intent…but sadly the power of chaos can only be brought about by trauma or nourishment of the heart. After years of research on the subject, I calculated that one can be trained to wield both negative and positive chaos at once." The robotics master beckoned the emeralds in closer with another wave of his hand, before resuming his speech "And with the lore of the echidna's as my guide, I did discover the secret of the dark arts. Even so, my body was too weak to be a proper vessel for the true might of chaos. Thus, I confess to using Shadow, codename: Maasawd Sorih, or Maria's Shadow, as a guinea pig for my first attempt. Ultimately, like any failed experiment, all I ended up with was a broken puppet and dead-ended theories."

Emerald eyes aglow and ready to explode, Sonic gave the doctor a hard boot the gut, breaking the old man's harsh chokehold. Paying no mind to the emeralds still encircling him, Sonic demanded "I've never been a fan of cheap talk, mostly from you, but I've got to know: Did this 'experiment' of yours involve killing this world's Sonic?" Shaking his head, Sonic felt even more recent memories rush to the forefront of his mind, causing him to amend his question "No…not just that…what about Rouge and Tails? Why did you hurt of them? And Amethyst…what happened to her…was that part of your stupid schemes too? Answer me that, you monster."

Robotnik failed to provide an immediate response, either due to Sonic's attack or something else. After an exchange of studious glances, he did eventually say "Did you forget that I also tricked my own flesh and blood to accomplish this task? Yes, even Maria was nothing but another doll in my grand pageant. I used her devotion to me to cover my tracks, to convince her that I had either died or been kidnapped." The obese master's face twitched oddly as he said this, almost as if the confession tasted bitter on his tongue "As for little Sonic, Rouge, Tails and his precious vixen? They just so happened to be in the wrong place in the wrong time. Understand that I simply needed three things: A captive, a vessel, and the emeralds to fulfill my plans. Tails, by my earliest tests, looked to be the most viable for the 'vessel' role, right behind Shadow. In fact, all my recent efforts had been geared towards drawing him into my gauntlet of tests…until you showed up."

After hearing this, an ill feeling of blame started sapping the quilled teen's morale away. Robotnik conveniently ignored his distress whilst explaining further "Tails was strong, even the original Sonic was spiritually sound for his age, but you…you were special. Your arrival was such a golden opportunity, one that I was willing to put everything on the line for. I quickly tried to ally myself with you, so as to cut a few complicated corners. Yet, as I feared, you were suspect of me. I presume that you must not be on such agreeable terms with your Robotnik, assuming your world contains a man by that name. Regardless, you far exceeded my expectations, practically brimming with positive energy. Learning from my old mistake with Shadow, I chose to put you through the trials I had laid out for Miles, praying my 'natural' mind games would have a similar effect on you."

Descending from his maniacal crescendo, the doctor contorted his flabby face into cruel smirk as he coldly stated "And eureka, it was a resounding success! In the end, I had you sobbing almost as hard as Miles when I had him execute his mate. I confess, his loss was tragic, but his usefulness had worn out, and I could not leave him sane enough to interfere with our meeting."

The hedgehog's large pair of mobian eyes widened with pure shock at the man's admission. Finding the truth hard to digest, Sonic's jaw quivered briefly when he replied "Y-You did what? She…you…n-no…" All at once, he again felt his skin pulse with a blaze of destructive impulses. Eventually the pulsing gave way to a crackling of raw energy, drawn from both the facility and the swirling emeralds. The lure to absorb all this energy, positive and negative alike, at once was intensified by both his intense hatred for this Robotnik and his deep devotion to his friends. Yet the steady absorption was causing both powers to violently clash inside him.

A smile of approval graced the oval-shaped human's face when he saw the hedgehog's struggle. Soon after, Robotnik began prodding the hero with some 'advice' "Good Sonic, yes…that's right. It was I that corrupted Tails' heart, and ordered Knuckles to kidnap Rouge. I am also indirectly responsible for both the real Sonic and Amethyst's deaths! Does that make you hate me? Despise me? Well come then. Slay me here and now, if you can!"

Having rained down his venom, the doctor heard the hero let out a feral snarl, indicating his words had gotten through. Facing the hero with more confidence, the lying master shared more of his wisdom "And now..your best friend is dying Sonic… The spirit I placed inside him is rotting his soul away. I've seen you two together, seen the touching moments you've shared. You love him…don't you? Different worlds or not, you two are brothers. So…won't you use the power to save him? Is his safety not the primary impetus for your actions thus far?"

This change of tone made Sonic's mind scramble for control. His thoughts were now a blend of images; some which showed Robotnik torturing his friends, while others merely displayed Tails' coarse but genuinely happy smile. Collisions of dark and light memories felt like a set of scales constantly tipping in his subconscious. Just when both seemed balanced, one would temporarily outweigh the other, and then the process would cycle.

Stuck in this state of flux, Sonic's eyes drifted achingly over towards a bright orange figure, on it's knees and crying in a sort of crumbling sorrow. Heart pounding with deep empathy, Sonic felt his thoughts easing away from the lust for power and back to his levelheaded nature, in spite of the overweight scientist's taunts.

"You're right about one thing, Robotnik. I came all this way…for him." Sonic focused hard on his strongest motivation, letting every single other extraneous thought fall off. Little by little, he started to force the dark desire for vengeance out while whispering "Tails…hang in there a little longer. I'll save you…even if it costs me everything I've got." Sonic boldly strained harder and harder, pushing his willpower to the very maximum.

"Keep…fighting…bro."

L

*With Tails*

L

No matter how hard he tried to pull away, Tails' guilt had him lost in his mind's own grim catacombs. Gloom hovered over his head, like a guillotine's blade waiting to pass judgment for his unintentional crime. A salty dryness chapped his lips and tongue until both began to crack and bleed. Swollen was his throat from countless shouts of denial, forcing him to only murmur soft pleas for forgiveness. This sunken state persisted long after Tails' limits were reached, leaving his head filled with weary thoughts of redemption paired with a perplexing fixation on despair.

Was it cowardice that prevented him from taking responsibility, from stepping up and admitting that he had harvested the soul of his mate? No, no not at all. Were it possible for him to imagine her as anyone else, even Sonic, then perhaps he could have somehow lived with having committed his first act of murder.

However…this case was the sole exception. No one, not even all his friends put together had ever made Tails feel as warm and alive as Amethyst had. Though she never knew it, at least not as well as he would've liked, just a modest touch of her hand could make his cloudiest days feel brighter and lovelier than dawn's first light. She had wrongly assumed that he, by staying busy and keeping somewhat distant, was dissatisfied with her; that he had somehow forgotten how precious she was to him. At rare times, she had even asked if she was a burden to him! Yet nothing, not a single statement to his widespread knowledge could've been more false.

"Amethyst…" Tails' voice called out gently "You forgave me, but I never… I never got to show how much you meant to me…how much I really trusted and depended on you." The fox curled up his twin tails and grasped his shaking knees for comfort as he went on "It's because…I was afraid. I was always scared that…if I let you come with me on my missions, or if we got too close that you'd…end up getting hurt, maybe even permanently injured for life."

Sitting tentatively on his last statement, Tails found himself childishly pressing his reddened irises into his furry arms, as he bitterly confessed "I was selfish… I wanted you safe no matter what. I treated you like a fragile gem, an object of affection, instead of acknowledging the hardworking girl I loved so much. I…didn't trust you. I was so scared for your sake that I didn't put any faith in you at all. And…now…I…" Sniffling loudly, Tails picked up his words with a sardonic laugh "What irony… I spend our whole relationship trying to protect you, only to get…possessed…a-and wind up…hurting you m-myself."

Amidst this, a rumbling growl filled his mind's blackened space, temporarily breaking the fox out of his self-destructive sorrow. Tails then looked up from his sitting position to see a being, not very unlike a mobian, approach him with sauntering strides. This made the fox spring to his feet, now prepared to defend himself against the unfamiliar face. Peculiarly, this stranger's 'face' was practically unreadable; it's expressionless mouth and scarlet red irises betrayed no emotion whatsoever.

At the same moment another figure came into view. This one was more innocent and youthful, carrying a sort of corrupt playfulness as it trotted towards the vulpine. Much to his amazement, the little fellow was like looking in a mirror, albeit one that made him look ten years or so younger. The child-like being was in fact a fox kit, at least in appearance. Tails, though still wracked with guilt, could now easily identify this 'doppelganger' as the spirit that had impersonated him before.

Right as he was about to confront the treacherous kit, the other creature cut the silence with a persuasive, almost booming voice "Citrine, your work here is finished. Go now and await unification with the blue one." With a hyperactive nod, the diabolical fox disappeared into the void, leaving Tails to face off with the remaining figure.

Retaining his shreds of willpower, Tails demanded as fiercely as he could "Who are you? And what's that faker going to do to Sonic?" This triggered an even viler gaze from the creature; one which made the real vulpine's stomach grumble queasily. Monster or whatever it was, the creature looked as though it knew the fox's every secret, weakness, and sin. Figuratively, this entity had Tails feeling naked and furless, as an unborn pup still nurtured inside his mother's womb. Yet through all this, Miles refused to break up the stare down. A gut instinct told him that this was not someone he could afford, in any small way, to be vulnerable in front of.

As soon as their contest reached past the two minute mark, the unidentified being gave a belated answer "Your flesh bears the mark, now but a vessel branded to serve as a puppet. Yet shackled by this, you needlessly ask who I am. Why?" Unaware if the beast was talking to him or through him, Tails remained silent, waiting for it to give a sensible response.

Mysteriously, the unidentified being was seemingly able to comprehend the fox's confusion, thus explained "I have no identity, for I am but the former head servant of the Master Emerald, free of my servitude by it's destruction, and by the destabilization of the great emerald's will and literal conscience, Chaos." It's ambiguous declaration stuck Tails as bizarre, almost humorous, yet carried a resounding sense of authority as the creature elaborated "I am the indwelling essence of the grey Chaos Emerald, placed now at the high seat of power. I believe I have already provided you with my alias. I am known to you as Onyx. That mask you bore was my gateway into your mind. Now we are one in the same."

Tails could not help but understand what this meant: The voice that had taken on various tones to deceive him, the monster that had invaded his body, and, moreover, the demon that had forced Tails to spill Amethyst's innocent blood, was standing right before him. This too was possibly the same devil that had tortured Shadow and countless others, all in the name of whatever master it served. On the other hand, it's incoherent babble about being 'free of servitude' meant little to Tails at this point. It was enough to know that this…thing was the source of everyone's suffering.

And for that, it would be brought down.

Leaping in headfirst, the fox brought up a fist to the monster's face, followed by a spinning whip of his thick tails. Worse than his lowest estimations, both attacks hadn't just been weak, they were absolutely ineffective. Onyx made no attempt to dodge or guard as Tails repeatedly cut himself up making attempts on the dark one's life. Backing off for a moment caused the vulpine to realize something else: His skin was getting viciously marred by making contact with this monster. Provided a closer examination, Tails saw that the beast's faux mobian body was lined with gem-like protrusions. There was not a single place on it's frame that the fox could strike without risking serious harm to himself.

Neither amused nor annoyed by Tails' rugged advances, the spirit only spoke to him plainly "Your soul is determined, but the flesh is weak. In all the time I've peered inside your mind, I know well that the use of physical force is not in your comfort zone. You are a scientist, not a warrior. Why then do you waste your time with such brutish methods?" Onyx's words grated on Tails' agitated nerves, mostly the part about it probing his thoughts. Still, the merit of it's words could not be overlooked. Tails had been losing his temper and resorting to animalistic behavior for some time now. It disgraced him to not have realized this fault sooner.

Taking it's first step closer, Onyx dared to speak again "Can you not see the weakness inside your soul? You try in vain to cover it with intellect, or erase it by sheer force, but are expectedly met with failure time and time again. I alone am aware of the fate you have wrought for yourself, a fate due to your fear of ineptitude that has grown into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Just as you failed to protect your love, so you now fail to aid one you consider kin. You have no one to blame for these losses, but yourself. How then can you selfishly remain sure of yourself, despite having committed such atrocities? To be denied any hope of absolution would be purely justice in your case."

Quiet understanding fell over Tails, who had by all visible accounts bought into the spirit's partial lie shaded with perverse truth. Thus, while hanging his head like a man on trial, or else submitting to the noose, the fox let any and all overt resistance melt away. Onyx himself, or rather itself, took especially strong interest in the vulpine at this time. Seeing his prey was willing and vulnerable to his presence, the malicious specter made it's way slowly towards him. Pace for pace, no matter how near it came, the double-tailed fox made no effort to halt the spirit's advance. Miles merely retained his helpless posture, heedless of the figure's looming darkness.

Before long, the two were not a full foot apart from each other. Stretching out a diamond-edged claw-studded hand, Onyx prepared one last enigmatic message for the defenseless mobian "To submit to my will is to invite insatiable hunger and thirst into your life. Prolonged, you would begin to beg for release from your bodily torment, even if death was the only route. Yet…as my sole act of compassion, I will not see you suffer. Your time under my influence will be as brief as a breath of wind, after which the final sleep will embrace you." Narrowing the distance by mere inches now, Onyx closed the remainder of the gap with a sudden jerking motion, but not before claiming "May you soon be at peace with your soul mate."

Right as the figure's 'hand' closed upon the vulpine's shoulder; Onyx's false body became rigid, frozen in place. Letting out a few stiff gasps, one could see an obvious look of pain on the demon's unusual facial features. All seemed to be ritualistic, a planned part of the spirit's complete transfer of essence. This was until the fox's eyes shot open, his eyes not bearing the bloodied gaze of Onyx, but rather the piercing glow of a deep violet. Reverted to a form more reminiscent of his physical self, Tails once again shone with a fiery glow that embraced him entirely. And so with a snap of his blazing appendages, Miles forced the sinister being into a painful skid backwards. Onyx then snapped it's shadowy head up just in time to see an arrow of radiant energy coming towards it. The resulting impact launched the dark entity well into the colorless background.

Having lost sight of his foe, Tails took this time to refute the dark spirit's claims "I've never once doubted my guilt, or held back acceptance for any punishment I deserve." Caught mid-sentence, Tails witnessed Onyx's crystalline claw emerge from the void, giving him just enough time to grip the being's wrist. Now face to face with his inner devil, Tails leaned forward and said "But I happen to love Amethyst and Sonic more than I hate myself. So, as long as they keep trusting and depending on me, I won't accept my fate quietly. I told you before: I won't let you or your master harm another soul. And as long as my friends support me, I can do just that. I can stop you because…" Tails paused his proclamation long enough to raise his hand, now shining with a stream of electrified chaos energy. Tossing Onyx back several feet, the fox completed executing his attack whilst shouting "Because…they believe in me. That's why I continue to believe in myself!"

In the aftermath of this counterstrike, a gurgling snarl carried itself through the soot-colored dimension, citing Onyx's second indication of any 'true' emotion. This approximation was clinched when the corrupted spirit called out "Then let us see, child. Let us see how long the ark of your positive imagination and negative chaos can sustain you!"

Not a second after hearing this threatening comment, Tails could feel the vile beast's cold breath trickling down his spine.

L

*With Sonic*

L

Seeing Tails twitch and seize with increasing violence, the hero knew that his time was short. He had to do something about all this excess energy, and fast. Owing to some kind of overwhelming heaviness originating from beyond the recently opened door, Sonic could practically taste the influx of negative chaos spreading into the air. It was as thick and heavy as a dense fog, yet not visible to the naked eye. Whatever lay beyond that passage, it reeked of evil, and Sonic could feel it's influence already trying to scramble his thoughts.

To 'sweeten' the already bitter deal, the emeralds themselves did not seem…normal, if that was the right word. Their glow was sickly and their light offensive, not at all like the warm but powerful gems he was so familiar with. A short glance at them alone was enough to cause minor depression, for each of the stones glimmered somberly as if to say "I hurt… I suffer…" Further proving that whatever that idiotic, bearded egg had done to them, it was just as horrid as what Sonic himself was presently going through. There was an additional scare when Sonic noticed the unusual sounds of laughter and growls coming from…above.

Taken by his curiosity, Sonic looked up and saw them. He saw a number of translucent beings hovering overhead, all looking either completely insane or utterly emotionless. Strangely, the auras surrounding these beings, five in total, appeared to be optically in sync with the emeralds below. Stranger still, they each gravitated towards a specific gem, eliciting a kind of bonding resonation with one another. A plausible guess indicated that these beings were a manifestation of the evil that the doctor had infested the emeralds with. However, it was just as likely that these 'things' actually served to represent the emeralds themselves. Sonic didn't have the answers, but regardless, the blue hedgehog was not about to absorb such warped power if he could help it, lest he succumb to a similar madness. Sonic's choice was reflected in the way he stubbornly fought back any emotion evoked by the obese scientist's mockery.

Robotnik quickly took notice of the hedgehog's resistance with anger dipped in a hint of fear. His demeanor hardened as he wearily attempted to draw ire out of the stout-minded hero, but to no avail. His gloves soon grew sticky with sickening concern, thus moving large man to swiftly implement his proverbial 'Plan B'. Raising his hand up to the jewel-encircled blue hero, the frantic Robotnik started to utter an ominous incantation "Erutaerc deniats yb eht ssenkrad, emoc htrof. Nepo ediw siht lessev won desolc ot em!"

The last of the chant seemed to call out to something, something that lay in the abyss, beyond the opened door. After which the formerly released darkness congregated into a small mass on the floor in front of the doctor. The organic substance then took on a crude shape, a form that the doctor must've recognized as he said to it "Your body has been most helpful to my research. But now…the time has come for you to give me the power I seek. Go now, and don't fail me this time, stupid beast."

The black mass responded by turning it's attention towards the snared hedgehog. It stared at the mobian's struggling form for a short time before stretching out it's rough equivalent of an arm. Sonic, who had been distracted by his inner conflict, locked eyes with the darkened substance just before it made contact with his exposed chest. Then, in one grotesque moment, the hedgehog watched as the mass seeped it's way into his flesh, an act that felt as though someone was ripping his heart out.

Meanwhile, the doctor nodded firmly at the events unfolding; proceeding then to spill out another verse of foreign speech "Rehtag ereh, ey remrof sevals ot eht retsam enots! Ebircsni yht skram, llitsni ruoy segami, tibahni eht lessev I reffo ot eeth! Yb eht dnammoc fo Aiag, Siralos, dna Soahc I egrahc eeth-"

Sonic could not comprehend the rest as inflammatory pain, like that of a spreading infection, gradually forced his eyes closed. His last vision was that of the semi-transparent figures above descending upon him with shouts of lunacy.

L

*With Amy/Tikal*

L

Knelt down in concentrated prayer, Tikal found herself startled by an unexpected shoulder tap. She had partly expected, owing to wishful thinking, for it to be Shadow or one of the others that had been left behind. Instead though, she was met with face of Aquamarine, who wore an uncharacteristically frightened expression. Taking the hand of the distressed chaos spirit, the maiden, despite her lingering distrust for Aqua, inquired about the spirit's predicament.

Clenching the pink hedgehog's hand tightly, Aqua pleaded "Tikal, Amy, both of you…heed me. I am being called by the master. It is time for me to merge with my siblings. I cannot remain here for much longer, so…I must tell you…"

"Tell us what?" Maria asked urgently, standing side by side with a just as curious Knuckles and a confused Charmy. All members of the group now waited pensively to hear Aquamarine's message.

Tainted with growing signs of strain, the cyan-shaded spirit nevertheless addressed the entire team strongly "Everyone, listen to me. I'm afraid, despite his best efforts, Sonic has…failed."

Trying hard to ignore the gasps and disbelieving stares, the spirit pressed on "I have seen it through the eyes of my siblings. The evil man, our newest master, has captured the blue one, and is now performing the rite that will see him possessed by all seven spirits. If we do not act soon, the master's warped desire will bring the echidna prophecy to pass, a second predicted Great Inferno. You know of this better than I do, Tikal."

With the information being very difficult for Amy's own mind to handle, Tikal struggled to hold back both of their sorrows whilst asking "Y-Yes, but what then can we do? I'll not accept that all is lost for this world. If you have any suggestions, any with even the faintest chance of averting this crisis, I would hear them now."

Shuddering again from whatever invisible force beset her, Aqua gasped out "There is…one way. The greatest of the seven has not yet entered Sonic's soul. I cannot say where the final spirit, Onyx, is now, but as long as it does not interfere, I may have a chance of turning the tide in Sonic's favor." At once, the spirit had the four mobians clasp each other hand in hand; until all four formed a chain around Aqua herself "I need you to pray for me, and for Sonic. Tikal, with your influence and Amy's telepathy, the two of you should be able to extend the request to Shadow, Espio, Rouge, and Vector. Once this is done, if you can then communicate the message far enough, I believe Sonic may hear it. I will try to hold my siblings back long enough to for him to regain control of himself. Terrible as this plan is, I believe it may be our last hope."

Suddenly letting out a short scream, Aquamarine started to fade completely before their eyes. Giving up her balance, the spirit fell to the ground with her final words "Only a pure mind and an open heart…can expunge any evil. Our master…is mistaken."

Having said all she could, the ethereal girl vanished into the lightless air.

-l-

End of Chapter Fifty

-l-

A month later…and on an unusual day…I finally UPDATE! Really, I am very sorry for such a long wait (more so that I usually am, if that's possible), and I hope you all haven't forgotten the plot by now :(. And for those of you that are wondering, yes I know I said I'd have Rise up a week or weeks ago, but real life matters had my hands tied. I'll do my best to update faster next time, but I make no promise.

Note: Yes, YES! I'm aware that reversing words is the cheapest way to craft a 'foreign language', but I wanted something that anyone can easily 'translate' if they're willing to put in a little extra time and effort.

Aside from that, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I finally have Reason's ending laid out, so it should (I say SHOULD) be easier for me to proceed from here. I apologize too for the ever-changing estimation of how many chapters remain.

Until next time.