OOPS, very sorry for the horrendous delay, thank you to all those still reading and those who are new, I do plan to finish this story, I already have the next two chapters planned and written out. So expect some more in February. This particular chapter was written out a year ago if you'd believe me. Please enjoy and have a lovely day

"Hm?"

The Emperor looked down at the Medallion on his chest, seeing it hum at him wildly and glow just as bright. He carefully set his quill down.

"Again with this blasted thing?" He figured that it must've been malfunctioning again since it went off earlier today for no reason, "I need to check on Luz's Medallion later…"

"Alexander?"

"Hm?" He looked to his right to Camila, "What's the matter, dear?"

"The Medallion is going off, is Luz alright?" She asked.

Belos nodded.

"Yes, I suspect so. This thing has been going on the fritz since this morning's walk through town. The enchantment must need to be reinforced. I'll do so when I see Luz next."

Camila hummed, still concerned but trusting her husband's judgment.

"Well… If you're sure," She sighed and looked back at the stacks of papers in front of her, "Why are we doing paperwork?" She asked, "Can't we have someone do these?"

Belos chuckled at that, dipping his quill into a bottle of ink.

"When I was still causing trouble for Crisis, I planted a loyal soldier as his secretary and always knew what his next move would be and what idiotic plan he'd try to enact against me," He shook his head, "So, no, no one but us, Kiki or someone else you trust with your life, is allowed to see this paperwork." He said firmly but his smile betrayed his seriousness.

Camila sighed and looked at the papers, flipping through them.

"A shame that our daughter isn't in some sort of trouble, would've been funner to deal with than… All of this…" She waved at some papers.

Belos laughed a bit and leaned over, giving her a light kiss on her cheek.

"Trust me when I say, Luz is doing fine right now. Let's focus on finishing this paperwork before noon."

-w-w-w-

"AHHHHHHHH!"

Luz was screaming with fear and wide, panicked eyes that darted back and forth, trying to find anything in the ever-moving darkness she was falling through.

What kind of test was this?!

She was going to die! And for what?! Because she wanted to know how to control her magic?

Luz felt tears escaping her eyes and flying off into the air behind her, she clenched her eyes shut and held herself, not wanting to see the end coming for her…

"Come on, Luz… You got this… You can do it and so much more…"

Luz's eyes widened at the voice, the soft voice that was so familiar and so unknown to her, the voice she had only known for a few months but felt like she's known for lifetimes already.

"Amity…?" She asked, confused and looking around for the source but didn't see where it could come from, considering she was in the middle of falling to her death.

Suddenly, her voice returned.

"Come on, Luz… Just focus… That's all you need to do, focus!"

Luz listened to her voice more clearly and looked down at the darkness before her and the darkness that surrounded her. The wind rushed through her ears, whipped through her hair, and blew away her tears and sweat.

Luz took a deep inhale, feeling her lungs filling with air before she held her hands together and closed her eyes, a calmness washing over and the storm calming the ocean of her magic, allowing her to truly feel every part of her hidden ability.

She was calm.

"I won't… Die… Here…"

Luz exhaled and opened her eyes, a golden glow shining through and wisps of gold leaking from the edges of her eyes, and her eyes were bright with her magic might. She cupped her hands together and took another breath, feeling the noise of the world falling through and leaving her in absolute silence as her golden magic began to gather in a concentrated ball, it began to swirl wildly in between her palms. The ball of golden magic grew in size and power as Luz's expression turned into one of a concentrated scowl.

"Please work…"

Luz thrust her hands forward and the ball of golden magic glowed even brighter than before, lighting up the hole she was in.

-Up above-

Baba was still looking down the hole with interest when a bright light from far below inside got her attention.

"Oh?" She asked with a hum, "Did she finally get it?"

Amity's eyes widened with hope.

"She got it!?" She asked.

"Now, hold on…" Baba stabbed Luz's sword into the dirt, using it as a cane to lean on, and looked a bit closer, "We don't know yet if-"

Suddenly, a giant beam of golden light began to fill the entirety of the hole and was rising fast toward her.

"Oh never mind, the child has gotten it."

Baba Yaga took a few steps back as the beam of light breached the opening of the hole with a rumbling intensity and climbed even further and higher into the sky. Baba scoffed at the sight, looking up at the increasingly high beam of magic.

"Must I always teach the show-off…" She sighed.

-Skull of the Titan-

Hawk was currently holding the Slithering Rein in a chokehold between her thighs, pinning it securely to the ground, the beast was proving more difficult than initially thought. The scales were hard to pierce through and things were made harder since this damned beast wanted to live.

"Just die you poisonous bastard…" She whispered with a huff, suddenly feeling a wave of similar magic, "What in the world…?" Looking, Hawk saw a giant pillar of light reaching into the sky at alarming speeds.

"Ah, looks like my younger self is back at it… I wonder if Baba threw her down the hole again…?" She then turned to look down at the still-living Slithering Rein, "You're a feisty one, huh?"

-Nearby but far off Island-

Hunter panted as he pulled the beam to his new ship up into a stand position and used his staff to hold it in place as he tied it up carefully. After crash landing in the sea, he quickly paddled to a nearby shore. After tangling with the locals, he converted his airship into just a ship of sorts.

Having studied ancient humans and their sailing methods, he knew this sort of boat was called a "hulled outrigger canoe". Small, but effective and easy to maneuver in case of storms or anything in between. Even a knife storm. Of course, this has added significantly more time to his voyage back home.

"There…" He said, finishing the knot that his… Who taught him that? He hissed, feeling a splitting headache coming on. Whenever he did something he didn't remember learning or knowing, he was rewarded with the worst headache snails could buy.

"Ugh, whatever, whatever… I need to focus…" He pushed the pain away and did one final sweep before he deemed it sea-worthy. He pushed the boat into the water and hopped in and soon enough, he was floating off into the sea.

Hunter grabbed hold of the paddle and rope that controlled the sails and began to guide the boat and look around.

"Alright, Hunter C. Wittebane… If I was a giant land mass in the form of an all-mighty Titan… Which direction would I be…?"

Suddenly, a giant sonic boom resembling the crack of thunder echoed out and got his attention. Turning his head, his eyes widened in shock at the sight of the massive climbing beam of light that reached well past the clouds.

Hunter silently pointed his boat toward the light.

"When the Titan gives you a gift, it's best not to question its contents…" He whispered to himself, remembering the words told to him by his uncle, "Home, here I come, nothing can stop me now!"

-Forest Farmstead-

Raine, Katya, and Darius were all looking at a lamp that was spread before them, little Emperor Scout figures strewn about it and little bat figures surrounding them on one of the main roads out of Right Hand City.

"And you're sure that the Wild Witch Caravan out of RHC is leaving at midnight?" Katya asked with a hum, "If that's the case, then we should send in the Night Crew to free them. Amber has been training them to become real creatures of the night, they were virtually undetectable last I tested them."

Raine raised a brow at that.

"Since when did you test their sneaking ability?" They asked.

"You need to sleep, I and Amber don't," She proclaimed proudly, "Anyways, in any case, I think that the Night Crew has a great chance of success in the midnight mission."

"Yes, but what if-"

Before another word could be spoken, a bright ray began to shine through the blinds of the study. They all turned their heads to the source of the light, confused, and slightly perplexed why it also felt magical.

"What in Titan's name is that light?" Raine asked, coming over to the shades and cracking them open, and instantly closing them again when they were blinded by the bright light, "Lord it's like staring into the sun…"

Darius sighed, shaking his head.

"It must be my neighbor."

Katya gave him a look.

"You have neighbors out here?"

"Yes, she always keeps to herself though and we're miles apart from each other, so I don't know why she's making suns now…" Darius said, coming over and slightly peeking, not enough to blind him, "Let's just focus on this plan."

Raine nodded in agreement.

"Yes, let's just focus on this."

With that, the group turned back to the table, doing their best to ignore the bright light from the outside.

-Castle-

Belos was currently discussing things with his wife on tax forms, such as how they worked and what they needed to fill out. Tedious work, honestly, Camila sometimes wished she was back on Earth, working her old job but then again… Her old job wasn't something she liked doing...

"At least that was exciting…" She mumbled to herself as she signed some documents under her husband's name, as she still isn't known to the general public, so they didn't want to risk an information leak and give the speculators and theorists more fuel for their fires.

"What was that dear?" Belos asked, putting down his quill for a moment.

Camila shook her head.

"It's nothing, just thinking about my old job on Earth."

"What did you do in the Human Realm, my love?" He asked, dipping his quill in ink once more, "I know you were some kind of Healer, correct?"

Camila nodded.

"Yes, Mi Amor, a Doctor, but it was more than that honestly…" She said absentmindedly.

"What do you mean?" He asked, looking up from his documents and at her.

Camila paused, realizing what she had said, she cleared her throat.

"I- I don't want to talk about it, dear. It's not all that interesting and I wouldn't want to bore you with all my human terminology…" She said, waving her hand as she dipped her quill in ink and spilled the ink over by "accident", trying to change topics, "Oh son of a-"

Belos raised a finger, it glowed red with his magic.

"I got it."

With a wave of his index, the ink stopped spreading and reversed itself back into its bottle before the bottle stood up on its bottom and capped itself.

Camila gave the ink a deadpan look and then turned to her husband.

"Is there anything your magic can't do?" She asked.

"Travel through time, we haven't figured that one out yet," He joked, putting down his quill, "And my dear, you know you could never bore me. Please, tell me, what was your old job like? I'm sure that you accomplished much in your career."

Camila felt herself sweating at the question but she took a deep breath.

"Well, I worked as a veterinarian until Luz was born. After that, I was scouted by an organization and became a doctor, and with my gained experience from being trapped here, I excelled in it and that's when I started working for the same Organization-"

BOOM

The royals jumped at the explosion, both turning to the source, which appeared to be the window. They both looked outside and saw the giant beam of light rising into the sky at alarming speeds.

Camila thanked God for the topic change and looked at her husband.

"Should we be concerned?"

Belos stared at the light for a moment, stroking his chin in thought.

"Not us."

Belos summoned his staff and tapped it three times on the ground and in an instant, Crow and Eagle fell from the ceiling, kneeling in front of the royals. Camila slightly jumped at their appearance, but not as bad as last time.

"You summoned us, sir?" They asked in unison.

Belos inspected them and quickly noted the lack of the trio's leader.

"Where's Hawk?"

Eagle was first to stand, followed by Crow.

"She is currently indisposed with a group of feral demons, sir," Eagle said, "She didn't want them to escape and wreak havoc on any of the nearby villages."

Camila raised a brow at that.

"And you just left her on her own?"

Crow nodded and folded her arms behind her back, turning to the Empress.

"Yes, ma'am," She nodded.

"Can she handle those feral demons by herself?" Camila sounded slightly concerned, even if she didn't trust the Elite Guard at the end of the

Crow and Eagle hesitated to answer.

"Hm…"

Hawk was holding the Slithering Rein by its throat with both hands, choking it with both hands before narrowing her eyes at it. Hawk lifted the beast high into the air and pulled it in either direction, loud crunching and popping of bones in its neck could be heard as it roared in untold amounts of pain.

With a final huff of effort, Hawk effortlessly pulled harder than before, finally separating its head from its body. The Slithering Rein's body thrashed and squirted untold amounts of blood all over the place and stained Hawk to hell, dying her white cloak to a fresh bloody red.

Hawk dropped the body and held the head, staring into its now vacant stare.

"Yeah, who won that fight, you scaled bitch?" She asked, wiping her mask clean as if it was her face, flicking her wrist of the blood with a tsk, she dropped the head and kicked it away from her, letting it hit a wall, "Eugh… Why are there so many beasts defending Him here? This isn't normal…"

Hawk brought up her prosthetic arm and made a hologram of a map appear that she inspected carefully, unbeknownst to her, the head of the Slither Rein and its body began to regenerate, until, finally, two identical beasts were now slithering towards the distracted Hawk.

"Hissssssssssssssss…"

Hawk looked up from the map, clenching her palm and making the map go away.

She sighed, tired from this fight and also from having to deal with this idiotic quarrel.

"Oh, joy… You can multiply…" She whispered, annoyed, "I'd rather be fighting the Lamia again…" She turned to face the pair of monsters and summoned her hilt, flicking her wrist to summon the golden blade.

The Reins roared and lunged at the Elite guard.

Hawk raised her sword at them with narrowed eyes.

"We believe that Hawk can handle herself…" Crow said and turned to Belos, "What would you have us do, Emperor?"

Belos pointed at the beam of golden magic in the sky that was quickly fading.

"That, go and investigate that blast of magic and send a message on what it is as soon as you're able."

"Do you believe it's something you recognize?"

The Emperor looked at the now-gone light with a hum in his voice.

"Perhaps, it is an old friend sending me a message… Dismissed."

With that, the Elite Guard teleported away in their respective elements.

Belos turned back to Camila.

"I must attend to something, Camila. I trust you will be more than happy to know that we don't have to do any more paperwork today?"

"Stop talking to me like that, soy tu esposa, no tu socio comercial!" She scolded with a huff.

Belos chuckled and came over, placing a kiss on Camila's forehead and locking her into a loving embrace.

"Yes, forgive me, my love, it will not happen again. Enjoy the rest of your day, all you need to do is think about it and I'll be at your side at a moment's notice…"

Camila smiled and leaned into the embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Don't get sucked into your work, alright? Voy a cocinar hoy."

Belos hummed in thought at her words.

"You're… Going to the kitchen tonight?"

Camila snorted at that.

"No, mi amor, cook. Cocina means kitchen, concinar means to cook."

"With all due respect, I can not hear the difference."

Camila giggled and leaned up, pecking his cheek.

"Keep practicing, you'll hear the difference. It depends on the context of the sentence… Alright, get going," She was the first to pull away from the comforting hug.

"Hm, I know English, Demon, French, Hinter, Winter, Runic, and more and Spanish is what's killing me…"

"How do you know French?"

"You're familiar with the language the Acina people speak?" Belos asked curiously, "Or the demon variation of the language?"

Camila rolled her eyes.

"Oh, the demon realm… Que raro… Te veré ahorita," She leaned up and gave him one final kiss, and made her way to the kitchen of their home to begin cooking, while Belos watched her go.

Belos sighed and raised his staff, tapping it to the ground and disappearing instantly with his signature eldritch flair. (1)

- Baba's hut -

Amity didn't know what to think anymore.

At first, it was an intense worry that she was about to watch her crush die in front of her because a legendary Witch thought it'd be a good idea to toss her down a Titan pore. And then, she was praying that Luz would figure it out and somehow come out on the other side safe and sound, and now, it was a slight annoyance because of how bright the light she was producing was.

The light finally faded to nothing and Amity looked up at the sky and saw Luz was high above and looked like she was falling fast back to the surface. She went to intercept but found that she was entrenched in the ground by Baba's vines, so she instead drew a spell circle and summoned an abomination.

"Hold it, child," Baba snapped her fingers and made the abomination turn into dirt, thus, it falling apart, "The Princess is not yet done proving herself to me…"

"SHE JUST MADE A BEAM OF LIGHT THAT THE ENTIRE ISLE'S SAW!" She screamed incredulously.

Baba waved her hands.

"Bah, I've seen it before… Now if she lands without hurting herself… That'll be a different story…"

Amity sighed in annoyance at Baba's already spotty teaching methods and looked up at Luz as she continued to fall.

Up above, Luz's eyes were flickering between fully powered Sage's Instinct and base form, that light beam used a lot of her magic and she didn't know what to do until an idea came to her. Luz brought her fingers to her lips, took a deep breath, and let out a high-pitched whistle across the entire forest.

CAAAAAAAAW

Up above, the silhouette of a winged beast breached through the clouds and started flying directly at Luz, nose-diving towards her at great speeds and with clear intent to save Luz from the fall. A thick white contrail was left behind in the griffin's wake.

Luz tried to keep her focus but found it hard when she was tumbling to the forest ground at dangerously high speeds, finally, her magic gave way and she reverted to base form and was now freaking out but quickly found her cool when she spotted Greg flying in to intercept her descent.

With a calming breath, she narrowed her eyes and found her balance mid-air once more, and reached out for her griffin that flew in closer and closer, gritting her teeth slightly, her breaths becoming frantic and quickly turning into a pant.

"Come on Come on Come on…"

Finally, her fingers grazed his collar and she wrapped her entire hand around it and pulled herself onto the back of the Griffin, just in time, as the ground was only 300 feet below them.

Greg the Griffin gave a mighty caw once more and flapped his wings open, the air caught the avian and shot him and Luz up into the air before he began to glide the both of them back to the ground.

Luz's breath became ragged and she looked around, hair ruined, chest in slight pain from using that much magic at once and practically uncontrolled and full power at that. Her heart was racing a mile a minute, both trying to resupply the lost magic as well from the adrenaline that was still keeping Luz on her toes. Her eyes scanned the area and spotted Baba waving her down.

Luz narrowed her eyes at the ancient Witch, she had quite the nerve to throw her down a hole and nearly kill her. The Princess held out her hand and focused on the enchantment Fera taught her.

Baba felt the sword she was leaning on rattling a bit, looking down at it with a questioning hum before she took a casual step back and let the blade shoot into the sky toward Luz.

Luz extended her hand and let herself catch the blade by the handle, gripping it tightly as she looked down at Baba with an intense glare, the fury of a thousand suns being held within the stare, her iris turning cornflower blue before they met with Amity on the ground. She felt a calming presence overtake her and her eyes went back to normal.

"Alright, Greg… Take us down…" She whispered, rubbing Greg's neck, "You're getting extra fish tonight…"

Greg cawed in affirmation as he began to glide them down.

Meanwhile, Baba stroked her chin in thought, humming.

It was interesting, the Princess' magic was something extraordinary, it was certainly more unique than she had thought. Baba could feel… One- no, two sources of magic within the young Witch. Both were extremely powerful and both were on opposite ends of the Weave.

The Weave was an interesting thing that Baba studied in her extended life. It was a completely neutral source of magic, giving life to all sorts of spells. Dark or light, it didn't discriminate nor did it care all that much. The Titans of old were directly connected to this infinite wellspring of magic, not needing a bile sac to cast magic like most witches and within the Princess, Baba could feel both ends of the Weave inside of her.

One was the darker end of the Weave, the one full of hate and anger, rage and pain, suffering and heartache, and on the other side was the one Luz appeared to use the most. The Light side of Weave, where emotions of love, protection, courage and bravery, and so many more.

"You truly are a remarkable Princess…" She whispered to herself as the griffin finally landed next to Amity, Luz jumped off the back of the griffin and went over to Amity, raising her sword and bringing it down to cut the vines off her legs and pulling her close into a hug.

"Are you alright?" Luz asked caringly, unintentionally causing Amity to turn almost tomato red.

Amity nodded quickly and returned the hug.

"Y- Yeah I'm fine Luz, just- Oof! Easy, Luz, you're wicked strong, remember?" She asked with a chuckle.

Luz blushed in embarrassment and quickly released Amity from the death grip she had on her and cleared her throat, smiling at the young heiress.

"I'm just glad to be alive…"

"Yes, yes, congratulations are in order…" Baba intruded, clapping her hands sarcastically, walking past them, and back towards her hut, "Come. Now we hold a test..."

"Wait, hold on, you can't just throw me down a hole to my death and expect me to just follow you like that was nothing!" Luz shouted at the ancient Witch, following behind and Amity following behind her, "Furthermore, was that not the test!?"

"No, remember that you said you were going to prove to me you had Sage's Instinct and you proved yourself. Now, I give test." Baba entered her home, looking around and spotting an empty named cage from the ceiling. It held a pillow at the base and looked like one of the nicer cages. One of the ones that were maintained.

Luz tsked, watching Baba set up a cauldron, a blue fire lighting under it and heating the brew.

"Well, how can we be sure that you're the real deal?" Luz asked with a raised, crossing her arms now, "You don't look all that strong after all…"

Amity grabbed Luz's arm.

"Luz! When she walked into her home, I nearly passed out from her magical presence alone… Stop testing her…!"

Baba chuckled, holding out her hand to Luz.

"They always ask for proof in return… Come close, child, and give your hand… I will give you your proof…"

Luz looked at the hand cautiously and reached out for it, taking her time apparently, as Baba lost her patience and reached out, grabbing her arm.

"Here is your proof, Princess."

With that, Baba's eyes glowed with her chromatic magic and so did the hand holding Luz.

"Wait-" Luz attempted but was too late.

In an instant, Luz began to sink into the hardwood floor as if it was a trampoline before the wood floor tore like a sharp knife through fabric and she was now falling in slow motion through an endless void. Falling through the floor and falling through a void.

Falling Falling Falling…

It was so… Peaceful... But the peace didn't last.

Luz was shot backward at high-velocity speeds that no one alive should've been able to survive. A great blend of colors shot past her that formed a beautifully bright and blinding rainbow that entered her eyes and burned itself into her brain, the feeling was intense.

Not bad, good, or even painful, just so intense.

Luz felt the colors in every nerve of her body, she tried to breathe but found that there was no air to breathe, but… It didn't matter, Luz knew that she didn't need to breathe, eat or even sleep. She was at peace and everything felt right in the universe, things she couldn't have known were flowing into her mind, lost empires before her father's, knowledge of ancients, how to use every kind of magic, known and undiscovered alike, everything was at her fingertips and more.

A chromatic fire lit up inside Luz's heart and burst outwards, burning away her mortality until all that was left was a pure divine form that glowed with an almost radiant light, with a gold and white robe and gold headdress adorning her form.

Luz panted and looked at her hands as she slowed down to witness her form.

She knew… Everything there was to know about magic… She knew everything that was going to happen and had happened. She was a…

"What… Is this…?" Luz asked, looking at herself and her faintly glowing hands.

Your potential…

A formless voice echoed from the rainbow void she inhabited, echoing in her soul.

"You're…" Luz whispered, reaching out for the voice, "I know who you are…"

An index finger of white light formed in The Endless Rainbow of Knowledge, then a middle, a ring, and then a Pinky and thumb before the palm was formed as well. Soon enough, an entire hand and arm were formed and reached out for Luz.

Who am I, Luz?

"You're… Everything…" Luz moved closer to the figure as it became clearer, it had an androgynous form and a white glow, much more intense than Luz's ever was, it extended its finger to Luz and in turn, Luz mimicked the gesture.

Before their fingers could touch, a noise was heard through Luz's soul again.

SNAP

It was loud and echoed across the entirety of the rainbow void.

"Now, now, Princess… No need to become one with Magic… Come back…" Baba's voice reverberated through the Endless Rainbow and suddenly, Luz was shot away from the figure at speeds comparable to a jet engine.

As she flew further and farther away from the white figure, the fire that burned away her mortality ceased entirely, and slowly, she returned to normal, until she felt the need to breathe, eat and sleep once more, becoming Mortal once more before she was slammed into a glass wall, shattering through it and jerking to a rude halt.

The floating shards of glass floated around her before the wall started to reform itself in front of Luz at incredible speeds before it was completely healed and Luz gazed upon herself in the reflection, but it was different. This version of her was much older, wearing a crown, had a tiny creature resting on their shoulder, and was dressed in a cloak that covered her right arm.

They both reached for each other.

"WAIT-!" They shouted before both were pulled back and it all went black…

"Luz!"

Luz's eyes snapped open and she took a deep breath, eyes darting back and forth and seeing that Amity was shaking her and holding her shoulders.

The knowledge of infinity left her in an instant, much faster than she could even hope to remember or even write down. One second, she knew the secrets of the universe, the next, here she was again.

"Where is he… Subject Five escapes to Connecticut… Hieronymus likes Silax…" She whispered.

Amity looked on with confusion.

"What does any of that mean?"

Luz blinked, she may have known a few seconds ago but it wasn't clicking.

"I… Do not know… I… I forgot…"

Baba chuckled at that and turned back to the cauldron, beginning to mix it with a long wooden spoon, shaking her head.

"Congratulations, Princess. You just got your proof that I am the real deal… How'd you like it?"

Luz looked at her, taking a breath, as she had briefly forgotten how to do so. She took a cautionary step forward, remembering how to walk as well before she cleared her throat.

"I uhh… What the heck did I see?"

"The Weave." Baba said simply, sprinkling something into the giant pot, bringing up the spoon to her lips and sipping the brew, and humming, "Needs more frog…" She muttered to herself.

Amity looked aghast at that, not the mention of a frog being used in the potion, it was a common ingredient. No, she was in shock at the news that Luz was just flung into the fabric of magic like it was a common thing to show people.

"Wait, hold on, Luz-" Amity grabbed the Princess once more and stared into her eyes deeply, "You saw the Weave!? Really? Quick, tell me what did you see? Was it like a kingdom? Were there people there? Was it like how Azura described it in book 3!?"

Luz couldn't help but stare back into Amity's golden eyes and blush extremely brightly before she found the right words.

"I… Guess I did?" She said, unsure about herself, "It wasn't a place, exactly… It was like… Being everywhere and nowhere at once, I didn't feel mortal there… Like I was something more…" She whispered, "Like a-"

Baba groaned, interrupting her.

"Yes, Yes we get it, we all entered the realm of pure magic and ascended to godhood for a moment-"

"No we all haven't," Amity commented but was promptly ignored.

"-we get it, it was eye-opening. Let's move on to more important things, like your test, Child. Come close. I will show you what you need to do to pass."

Luz leaned into Amity and whispered.

"I'll tell you more about it later…" With that, Luz stepped up to Baba, "What do I need to do?"

Baba smiled and looked at the glowing potion in front of her.

"There are three things I seek within the Isles, young one…" She whispered, the potion beginning to swirl until the silhouettes of three things appeared in the brew, "I will tell you where to find them and you must bring them to me, understand?"

Amity raised a brow at that, raising her hand slightly.

"Um, quick question. Totally hypothetical, of course. What if she can't?" She asked, concerned.

Baba shrugged at that question, stirring away the images in the brew and staring down at it.

"She can or she can not, but if she can't, then she will never learn how to master Sage's Instinct. Why worry about future when her ability fails her at the wrong moment?" She asked, summoning a three-eyed frog and dropping it into the pot.

Luz suddenly came in closer, putting her hands on the cauldron, not even registering the pain from the heat.

"Luz isn't that-"

"Well, I'm the Princess!" She declared, "I bet that I can get all the things on your list before the sun sets!" She boasted with a huff, but Baba rolled her eyes.

"There is no need to get dramatic, child. There's no time limit," She pointed south, "Head South to the Knee and bring Piloff back to me."

"What's Piloff? Is that a thing? A person?"

"You'll know it when you see them. Oh, and one last thing. If your minty-haired friend helps you in any way, you fail. Now go!"

Luz frowned at that.

"Wait, why can't she help me?"

"Because whose test is this? Now go."

"But-"

"I said Go!"

Baba snapped her fingers and both Luz and Amity were flung out of the hut and onto the porch before the door was slammed shut behind them.

Amity tsked, getting to her feet and dusting herself off.

"Rude old hag…"

Luz groaned slightly as she got to her feet as well.

"She gets on my nerves…" She said as they began to head south towards the Knee, "What's a Piloff? Do You know, Ames?"

Amity shrugged, unsure.

"Sorry I can't help you there, Luz," She then realized one of the words she said before face palming, "And that wasn't a pun, by the way."

Luz gasped dramatically, covering her mouth as if she had just been given shocking news.

"The great Blight name saying a pun?!" She said before shifting to do an impression of Odalia's voice, "Shame has befallen our family name! I can no longer show my face to the Isles!" She declared with fake crying.

Amity snorted and laughed at that, glancing down at her necklace, she wrapped her hand around it and smiled at Luz.

"No, Luz, it's more like-" Amity cleared her throat and found the right pitch before speaking in an identical match for Odalia's voice.

"Amity Amelia Blight! How dare you have any kind of fun! We are Blights! Your grandmother would be so disappointed in you and blah blah blah!" Amity coughed into her fist with a laugh, voice turning back to normal.

Luz chuckled at that, bursting out laughing.

"Oh my god! You can do her voice perfectly!" She said in amazement, "That's so cool, Ames! I wish I could do something like that!"

Amity chuckled, rubbing her neck and glancing away to the side.

"Ah, it's nothing…" She spoke softly, "I always mimic my Mom… I can do my sibling's voice too,"

Luz's eyes shone brightly.

"That's so cool!"

Luz continued to prod and ask questions on how Amity was able to do their voices, neither of the young girls noticing the sets of eyes spying on them in the trees of the forest.

Crow hummed in thought at the sight.

"Look at them go," She said to Eagle, chuckling slightly, "You think they fall in love in every universe?"

Eagle jumped to the next tree and looked closer at the pair of girls.

"It sure as hell looks like it… Should we stop them?"

Crow shook her head no, jumping forward and without a thought, a tree branch moved to catch her.

"No, we already figured out what that beam of light was, it was the Princess being pushed to the limits in her training. Now, all we need to do is make sure mini Luz isn't going to bite the dust either… Let's just watch from the shadows unless things go from worse to shit."

Eagle nodded and reached into his cloak, pulling out a scroll.

"Then I have an idea to keep a closer look at her."

Eagle threw the scroll into the air and it poofed into a super small chameleon that fell towards Luz and landed inside her hoodie, sneaking into it.

Luz felt a chill go down her spine but she ignored it as she resumed talking to Amity as they continued on their journey to the Knee.

-Meanwhile, at Darius' homestead-

Raine looked at the map in front of them. Everything was set, their targets were marked and everything looked like it was coming up BATs, if everything went the way they wanted it to, then they'd have at least 150 new members spread across the entire Boiling Isles.

And it was all thanks to Darius and his "connections". Darius and his spy network of abominations was truly something special, they had to admit. A powerful and constantly maintained spell that made it so that he could see through the eyes of any abomination on the Isles.

When asked how Darius developed such a powerful spell, he often winked and chuckled, saying that it was a trade secret that took him years to discover. In reality, though, Darius had accidentally stumbled upon an ancient tome of abomination magic and spells made by one of the founders of Abomination magic.

Oh to even be in the same room as one of those rare tomes, oh it sent even the likes of Kikimora into an excited state, the knowledge they contained was practically unbound, and the secrets of an entire realm of magic were at Darius' fingertips.

Darius often thanked the Titan that it was he who found it and not the current Abomination Coven Head, Valgur… That man could not be trusted for as far he could haul the Titan's mighty corpse…

"Well, Darius… I think this concludes all of our business here…" Raine hummed, stroking their chin in thought and looking at the map, there were about a hundred little purple dots all scattered across the Titan, all glowing slightly.

"Your network is impressively extensive… Looks like you got the entire Isles covered…"

Darius' eyes glowed green like an abomination as well before they settled back to normal and he blinked it away.

"Because I do have the entire Isles covered. Wherever the Weave covers the Isles, I have a full view of what may be happening," He said, proud of his magic. Although he kept the fact that it was the Weave powering most of the spell. The only time he needed to use his magic was when he was looking through the eyes of an abomination.

Katya hummed in silent thought, crossing her arms and looking down at her feet, which didn't go unnoticed by Darius and Raine.

"What's wrong, Katya?" Raine asked.

"Yes, First Captain," Darius joined, leaning in his chair, leaning on his fist, "Did a part of the plan not sit well with you?"

Katya closed her eyes and shook her head, looking up at Darius. Suddenly, she threw a dagger at him at blazing fast speed and snapping her fingers, a tuned bardic snap echoing and multiplying the blade many times.

Before the BATs could even react or even see, many Abomination hands shot out of many cracks in the floor and ceiling, each catching a dagger with ease, before it was bent out of shape and crushed in its large hand.

Raine's head snapped towards Katya, instinctually summoning her violin, just in case the situation called for it.

"What in the Abyss do you think you're doing!?" They scolded, "Did you suddenly become an assassin!?"

Darius leaned in his chair, crossing his arms, not even worried about the thrown dagger.

"Yes, not to mention that it is quite rude to attempt to kill someone in their own home, no less…" He commented casually.

Katya glanced at Darius and then Raine, giving them a hardened look and crossing her arms.

"I just wanted to make sure what I was seeing was right…" She said, looking back to Darius, "Lord Deamonne-"

"Don't call me that-"

"No, I can't accept that!" She urged him, "You are the strongest Abomination User on the Isles! Even better than Valgur! You're smarter and practically one with every Abomination on the Isles! You're so much better in every way, and you're here, in the middle of nowhere, farming!?" She ranted out to him, "You're throwing away your potential! Abyss, you could probably single-handedly help us fill our ranks with your abominations alone! We could attack and take the throne back now with your help!"

"Katya!" Raine began but saw Darius give them a look, a silent one, but the meaning was clear. They stood back and nodded at him.

Darius narrowed his eyes at the Day Walker, slowly getting to his feet.

"Ms. Tepes… You speak strong words. You're passionate about your cause of bringing down the Emperor, that much is clear, but have you even considered the consequences that'd come with overthrowing Belos?" He asked but didn't wait for an answer, "Belos has been in control for nearly 50 years. Most of our Grandparents fought in his rebellion before he became Emperor, tearing his system down to make our own will take damn near 2 decades if you do it as if it were a coup. No, you need to make a proper plan."

He began to take slow steps around his desk toward Katya.

"And there's something else you have yet to consider, as well, young bat…" He chuckled, "I'm not the strongest Witch on the Isles, Belos is and if he sees an army of abominations attacking, he'll put A and B together and deduce that there must be a ringmaster somewhere and when he locates me, kills me, and just like that, you have no army against Belos and his Coven Heads."

Katya's eyes widened further at the mention of them, gritting her teeth.

"The Coven Heads…"

Darius raised a brow at that.

"Did we forget about them? I may be stronger than Valgur, and maybe a few other current Coven Heads, but all nine of them at once? Simply suicide, furthermore, I'd never fight a creative potioness like Hieronymous. One potion and bam, me and my army is iced. Literally."

Katya clenched her teeth and bared her fangs at Darius.

"You're just scared to act!"

Darius scoffed at her.

"You truly are a young revolutionary. Of course, I'm scared to act, Vampyr…" He said, eyes flashing green, "I have a wife and child that expect me to stay alive. My wife doesn't even know what I do behind these doors… Abyss below, have you even come into your abilities as a Vampire?"

"Why does it matter that I can't use them yet?" Katya asked, "I know all I need to kick our ass in a fight!"

"Please," He scoffed, "You couldn't even hit me with 10 daggers…" He turned and returned to his chair, taking a seat once more, resting his elbows on the desk, and leaning his chin on his intertwined hands, "Your mind is in the right place, Katya… But your heart makes you reckless, brash, and dangerous…"

Katya's eyes were full of shock, not at his words of wisdom, no but rather from the perceived audacity of the former Coven Head. To say that she was not ready to finish a war she's been fighting her whole life? Well, she felt insulted by the very notion.

"What do you know of me!?" She yelled at him, closing the distance and slamming her palms onto the wood, "When I was six, I watched my Father die in front of me and ran as my mother was killed by Belos' Vampire Hunters! My life has been nothing but hardships and strife, all caused by the Emperor! Who are you to say I'm not ready!?"

"Wanting to be a Martyr does not mean you are ready!" He shot from his chair, staring her down, "You haven't even tried living a life at all, have you? Since your parents died? You've only been focused on what Belos did to your parents, you never moved on from it... All you have is rage in your heart and soul, the only thing you can hope to achieve is your self-destruction!"

Suddenly, another dagger flew at Darius at blinding speeds but this time, Darius caught it in his own hand, instead of one of his creations.

"Quick to anger, fast to violence, and speeding towards an unwinnable War. A far cry of what a leader should be…" He brought down the blade and threw it back at her, it narrowly hit Katya, striking her bandolier of knives and pinning it to the wall behind her, "I won't join your fight… I will only help where I can… That is final."

Katya couldn't stand it anymore, she summoned her violin and summoned her bow.

"You're scared, Darius… I'm ashamed to know that all your potential goes to waste in a meaningless garden…" She looked at Raine, standing by to watch the intense argument go on, "I'll be at the Belfry… Meet me when you're done talking to the coward…"

With the strum of a simple song, Katya was bathed in a red glow and she disappeared from sight and from the entire room.

Raine sighed, rubbing their eyes, that whole interaction making them tired.

"I'm… So sorry about her, Darius…" They apologized, "She's just so passionate about changing the Isles, the BATs, everything…"

Darius chuckled at that and leaned in his chair.

"I can see that… She's just ambitious and clearly hurt at the same time. You need to keep that girl on a tight leash, Rainestorm, or she'll be the death of you."

Raine sighed, taking a seat in front of Darius.

"She's a good kid, I swear. I just don't know what to do half the time… Like, is this what being a parent is like?" They asked with a groan, dragging a hand across their face, "What if this is my fault? What if she's on this path because I let her join the BATs?"

He hummed at that question before leaning in close to Raine.

"What you did was take someone in who was willing to make a change in her home, no matter the cost… Want to know how I met Quincy?" He suddenly asked.

Raine raised a brow at this but slowly nodded a yes.

"When I first met her, I was younger and furious that I had been discharged from my position as Coven Head at all, and one night I went to the Tavern and drank myself blind and, in my drunken stupor, I stumbled into Quincy's homestead in the woods. She took me in and took care of me till morning and I loved every minute of it and then I had to leave… Can you guess what I did next?"

Raine had to think about this one. A younger Darius was too prideful of a person to just come back to someone without reason… She quickly put the pieces together.

"You came back to her drunk as a bat again?"

"Bingo. And I kept doing it till she found what tavern I went to and she scolded me, saying that I should be using the snails I used to drink to pay her back for all the herbs she spent using to heal me but I was out of money, I couldn't pay her back but my mother was one hell of a gardener and she didn't raise no slacker…" He said with a chuckle, "So, not drunk, I began to replace all the herbs she used on me with her help… And now, it's a farm and she's my Wife…"

Raine couldn't help but smile at that story, it was a very sweet recounting of his natural life, they had to admit.

"That's cute but…"

"What I'm trying to say, Raine," He continued with a laugh, "Is that I wasn't on the right path either, and I wasn't about to find it on my own either. Someone will always appear to show you the path, whether you know it or not."

Raine nodded, absorbing the message and sighing, crossing their arms.

"Wise words…" She looked at him, "But who is the one who'll show Katya what's the right path?"

"Hmm… Well, that person could always be closer than you think, Rainestorm…"

-Knee-

Luz sneezed and shivered, the further South they went, the closer they came toward the knee of the Titan and the colder it became.

"Ugh…" She groaned, holding herself, "It's freezing…"

Amity nodded in agreement, shivering and breathing into her hands to warm them up.

"Yeah, but this is just the base of the knee… The further up you go, the colder it gets." She pointed up and Luz looked, seeing the ice and snow that got thicker the higher she looked.

"Hm… So this Piloff," Luz said, "Do you think it's maybe a person…?"

Amity shook her head and shrugged.

"For all we know it could be an animal." She said before a stronger shiver went down her spine, "Did it just get colder all of a sudden?"

Luz paused and looked around, feeling a set of eyes on their backs, she discreetly placed her hand on the pommel of her sword.

"I think we're being watched…"

"Why, hello there!"

Amity practically jumped out of her skin at the sudden new voice and did jump into Luz's arms in fright, Luz caught her easily with a huff and looked down at her, smiling and blushing slightly.

"You like being in my arms that much?" She joked with a chuckle.

Amity's face turned bright red and she looked away from Luz, climbing out of her arms.

"Not a word…" She said quickly, regaining her composure, "Now where did that-"

"Yoohoo! Up here!" The voice called out from above them.

Both girls craned their heads up and to their surprise, were met with a giant snow-covered rock pillar, and at the top, they saw a sight to behold. A pink snake-like creature with a tuft of orange hair tied up in a neat green bow and a collar that had a bell attached to it at the end of her tail was a bell as well.

"Ohh, it is an animal…" Luz said.

"Luz, that's a rubber Hinterland Snake, they expel this kind of potent juice from their skin! They're super rare on the Isles… They're a potion maker's dream," Amity whispered to her, "No wonder Baba wants her back."

Luz nodded at the information and stepped forward and looked at Piloff.

"Uhm, hi, Piloff! I'm Luz!" She introduced herself, "You are Piloff, right?" She asked, wanting confirmation that she wasn't now chasing a random snake.

Piloff giggled and bounced up and down in the shape of a spring, smiling.

"Yep! That's me! I never get any visitors! Do you know what this is? It's a pleasure. An absolute pleasure!

Amity chuckled slightly.

"Wow, she sounds really giddy."

Luz narrowed her eyes, humming in thought and stroking her chin.

"There's a catch and I know it…" She whispered to Amity before looking back at Piloff, "Baba sent us to come and get you! Can you come down?"

"Oh! Well, this isn't good, I would but, you see, I'm stuck! It's unbearable. I don't even know how long I've been here. What year is it? Are we still in Russia?" Despite her saying this, she still had a happy tone about it all.

"What's Russia?" Amity asked.

"Human realm country, more or less…" Luz said quickly before she looked at Piloff closer, "What do you mean stuck? You can't come down?"

Piloff hummed in thought before stretching down from the tall pillar, eyes meeting with Luz's, she smiled and giggled at her antics.

"Does this count?" She asked in between giggles.

Luz couldn't help but giggle as well, covering her mouth for a moment but she focused in.

"Ah, it doesn't, but... We'll-"

Amity cleared her throat, shaking her head and taking a step back.

"I'll… Help you get down! Don't you worry!" Luz then stepped forward, cracking her knuckles, "Alright… It's just a giant stone pillar on the Knee… How hard can it be to climb…?"

Carefully, Luz reached out and grabbed a hold of the sides of the pillar, not sure what to expect from it. For all she knew, it could've been cursed to freeze her to the touch, send her to another realm, etcetera.

But thankfully, upon holding the sides of the pillar, other than discovering it was made of metal and was cold, nothing out of the ordinary happened.

Luz sighed in relief, beginning her ascent up the metal pillar, huffing as she eventually made it to the top, safe and sound. Upon reaching the top, she found her balance at the top with the snake, also spotting why Piloff was stuck in the first place.

"Ohhh you're frozen in place here…" She said softly, before carefully reaching out and grabbing Piloff by her noodly body, "Alright, I'm going to pull, tell me if it hurts in 3... 2... 1!" She pulled hard and to Luz's shock, Piloff's body stretched as if it was made of rubber.

"Oh, that's why you're called a rubber snake!" Luz tsked, pulling more but her body continued to stretch with every pull.

Piloff couldn't help but giggle more and more, not even bothered by the superhuman tugging Luz was exerting on her and her body, she sounded like she was having fun.

"Pull, pull, pull! Yes! Yes!" She gets in front of Luz's face with another giggle, "It's enough to drive you crazy, isn't it?" She said with a wide enough smile that told Luz all she needed to know on how long Piloff's been up here.

Luz groaned and yanked even harder than before and she just stretched even more, further and further, longer and longer until she found herself rappelling down the wall with Piloff's very rubbery body. Luz was stretching Piloff far enough that she found herself standing next to Amity once more.

"UGH! How is this even possible!?" Luz asked in frustration.

Amity took a step back.

"The Rubber Hinterland snake is known for being able to stretch as far as two Rugby fields."

"I don't know what that is!" Luz said with a tsk, holding onto Piloff tighter but found that she was rather slimy and was quickly losing her tack.

"That's 656ft," Amity clarified.

"WHAT!?" Luz exclaimed before her grip finally gave loose and she fell onto her back with a groan, "Why didn't you tell me…?" She asked, staring at the sky as Amity came around to look down at the fallen Princess.

"You heard what Baba said Luz, I can't help you no matter what."

Luz sighed, getting to her feet.

"Right…"

All the while, Piloff was still giggling and bouncing up and down in a coil.

"Oh, that was so close!" She grinned, "You know, I felt like we almost had something there, you're super strong!" She giggled, "My goodness. You're so determined, I love that! This whole thing is very exciting, to be honest!"

Luz sighed softly, watching her breath fog her vision like a small cloud in front of her before her eyes scanned the entirety of the pillar carefully.

"Ugh, I don't know what to do…" She softly rubbed her temples with a tsk, "But I know the answer is obvious…"

"It's obvious, Princess."

Luz jumped at the voice and saw that it was Zul, in the reflection of the metal pillar.

"Come on, think about it, This is a test from Baba Yaga, master of Sage's Instinct, on Sage's Instinct. Tap into that power ya dingus." She chided Luz for not putting obvious pieces together.

"But I don't know how I'd even start…"

Zul sighed in the reflection, shaking her head in slight disappointment.

"Well… When I was younger, like, super young, I was having trouble getting a hang of my shapeshifting powers." She began, "I was too focused on changing and not on tapping into the raw emotion that I needed to change. My quest and want for power is what finally allowed me to truly master my abilities and make my King proud. How about you think about why you want to master Sage's Instinct, yeah?" She asked with a chuckle.

Luz took heed of her words, they rang in her head and she understood.

"Why I want to master Sage's Instinct…" She nodded and looked at Zul, wanting to thank her but she was already gone, "Thanks anyways… Kopire…" She chuckled at the forbidden use of her name.

"Luz?" Amity made her presence known again, startling Luz, "Are you talking to yourself?"

Luz cleared her throat and laughed a bit.

"Y- Yeah but… It's how I figure things out, I swear and I think I know what to do…"

With practiced grace, Luz took a familiar stance, holding her hands together, taking a deep breath, and exhaling, the cold air around her warming as she tried to tap into the focus that allowed her to do great things thought to be impossible; like saving Amity from falling to her death at the castle, petrify a demon that threatened to kill Eda and King, saved Amity from falling at the Covention, that saved Edric and Emira from their grisly fate as a cautionary tale, saving herself from falling to her death and so much more.

But she still couldn't do it on will, that's why she was here, after all, to hopefully get a teacher that would teach her how to get a handle on her extraordinary powers but Eda was right, Baba was a difficult and cruel person to work with. All she wanted to do was…

Luz's eyes snapped open with realization and her eyes turned golden, wisps of magic leaking from her eyes as her hair swayed.

"I just want to help people…" She whispered, voice echoey before she smiled and looked down at her hands, "Alright! I can do it on command!" She declared before suddenly, it went away in an instant and she felt drained, nearly falling over.

Amity gave Luz a look.

"You took a sip of their ambrosia and crashed…" She chuckled.

"What does that mean?"

"Just a saying on the Isles… It means you succeeded, tasted success, and failed… No offense, of course! I- I just thought it was a funny thought!" She quickly clarified, unintentionally falling back into her mean-girl attitude and smacking her forehead for it.

"No, No, don't worry about it Ames," Luz said quickly, looking up at Piloff and smiling, "You're going to see Baba even if I need to bring the tower!" She looked at Amity, "Amity, stand back!" She said quickly before running off in a random direction.

Amity backed away from the tower and watched as Luz scoured the entirety of the ruins quickly, running from destroyed building to destroyed building, looking for something before she finally did, coming back with a bundle of rope. The young princess didn't stop to explain as she tied the rope into a lasso before swinging it and getting the pillar on the first try, tightening the rope securely. She watched as the young Princess ran around the entirety of the ruins once more before finding a large slab of stone.

"Uh, Luz, I know I can't help you, but are you sure… Whatever you're doing is a great idea?"

"Nope!" Luz said with a bright smile, before taking a running start, holding the rope even tighter. She threw down the slab and jumped on it, bending her knees and beginning to use it as a sled, flying down the hill remarkably fast.

"Please work, please work, please work…" Luz prayed, looking behind her at the rope, watching the slack get tighter and tighter, waiting for the perfect moment to- Suddenly the rope went taut and Luz's eyes widened.

Quickly, she went into Sage's instinct, and the hand that was holding the rope glowed, and by extension, the entire rope shined with her powerful magic, and its tensile strength amplified significantly as well. There was a loud crack, the breaking of stone, and at the same time, falling off her stone sled and landing in a pile of snow, knocking her out of Sage's instinct.

Luz groaned and pulled herself out of the snow, shaking the flurries off her head and looking at where the pillar was.

"Did… Did it... Work?"

There was a loud thud and Luz watched as the pillar Piloff was stuck on slid down to where she was currently standing. Piloff giggled and craned her head towards Luz, smiling.

"Luz, I've landed and I'm unharmed!" She said with a giggle, "This is so much fun!" She giggles, "But I'm still stuck, it would seem!" Piloff made a point of this fact by stretching slightly and displaying that she was still frozen down.

Luz stroked her chin in thought and watched as Amity came down the hill to meet them.

"Hmm... Ames, what do you think?" She asked, looking at Amity who summoned a pair of earmuffs to wear.

"Not helping~," She said in a sing-song voice with a chuckle, "That includes helpful input."

Luz groaned and looked at the pillar before snapping her fingers.

"I got it! Watch this as I make Lady Fera herself proud!" Luz declared before crouching and, lifting with her knees, hoisted the entire pillar up and onto her shoulder. She stumbled back and nearly fell but she quickly found her footing, "I got it!"

She didn't.

"Woah, Woah, Woah!"

Amity's eyes widened and she ran over, pointing.

"Luz! Watch out! Behind you!"

Luz stumbled further back and was reminded that the base of the knee alone was still very steep and she was tumbling her way down and fast, so on command this time, she activated Sage's Instinct and time slowed down for her in an instant.

Luz threw down the pillar and climbed onto it, grabbing the rope and tying it around the top of the pillar so that she could steer it. Looking behind her, she saw that Amity was in the process of drawing a spell circle and an abomination was rising behind the witch. She chuckled and extended her hand out to Amity, a force grabbing her and pulling her towards the Princess.

Luz looked forward, grabbed onto the lead she had made, wrapped an arm around Amity's waist, and got ready just as time started moving fast.

From Amity's perspective, she just saw Luz move at superhuman speeds before she suddenly shot through the air and into the Princess' outstretched arm, wrapping around her waist and pulling her in close to Luz.

"What that! Luz! What did you-"

But Luz only laughed as she steered the pillar down the hill with a bright smile.

"Magic rocks!" She declared as she made sure to hold onto Amity as they sailed down the mountain, "How are you doing Piloff?"

Piloff stretched her neck next to Luz's face, smiling and giggling.

"This is one of those days you never forget! When everything you wanted to happen happens, only better! I'm beside myself! You know what? Luz, you should try and remember this too!" She said excitedly.

Luz laughed and patted Piloff's head.

"Alright, I'll remember this always, just for you Piloff, hey how'd you get stuck up there anyways?"

"Ya know that is the question, isn't it? I think I was out on a walk when all of a sudden I got stuck in a puddle and wouldn't you know it? It just so happened to be on top of a pillar!" She giggled, "Crazy, huh?"

Luz sighed, shaking her head with a smile.

"Really crazy…" She turned to Amity, still in her arm, "What do you think? Am I doing well so far? Cause I'd count this as a success."

Amity stowed her red face and nodded at Luz.

"I'll admit, you're doing quite well… For a princess…" She gave Luz a joking smirk.

"A compliment? From Amity Amelia Blight?" Luz gasped, "Looks like I am changing you for the better, huh?" She asked, returning the smirk.

Piloff stretched her head over to them and giggled once more.

"Awww, you two are such a cute couple!" She cooed at them.

Both girls flushed bright red.

"WE'RE NOT DATING!" Both girls yelled at the top of their lungs at the snake.

Suddenly, a bump in the pillar's path knocked both girls closer together, faces inches apart and lips only a breath away from each other. Luz's face became red, but not as bright as Amity's, who became red as a tomato and her ears started flapping wildly in response before she slapped them still and pulled away from Luz.

"U- Uhm… You- You should focus on steering…" Amity whispered.

Luz instantly turned forward and held the leed tightly in her hands, looking forward.

"Whatever you say, Hermosa…"

"What's that mean?"

"NOTHING!" Luz quickly said, whipping the rope, "Can't this thing go any faster!?"

The two girls then made the rest of the trip in silence, making their way down the mountain. Luz found it increasingly difficult to maneuver the pillar past trees and rocks but she finally made it back to the Horn Hut, unscathed, where she pushed the Pillar the rest of the way with a groan. Amity took the time to just sit on the pillar with Piloff.

"Where'd you learn how to steer like that, Luz?" Amity asked, glancing at the princess.

Luz tsked and dug her feet into the ground, pushing the pillar back to Baba Yaga's home.

"Well, it's not too different from driving cars in the human realm, I don't think…" She whispered with a huff, "My mom was a pretty good teacher… A crazy driver too…"

"What's a car?"

Luz couldn't help but burst out laughing at that, taking a break to rest on the pillar that she finally pushed to the front yard of Baba's home.

Amity gave her an odd look.

"What? What's so funny?"

"Just…" She cleared her throat and chuckled some more, "I forgot you've never seen a car before. It's just a way humans travel, Ames, but it's not important."

Suddenly, something landed on Luz's face, nearly taking her out and to her shock, it was Piloff.

"Oh, talk about fun! We did it, Luz!" She declared, wrapping herself around Luz's arm, "That was such a blast! Oh! Can you believe this, Luz? You dragged this big boulder across the forest, and I POP off a few inches from the house. That's funny, isn't it?!"

"Yes, Piloff… It's very very funny…" Luz sighed, she felt winded from dragging that pillar across the forest, but she felt like it wasn't for nothing, she felt stronger than before. Maybe it was just in her head but still, "Well, I'm glad you're off the boulder now. Let's get you back to baba."

Luz and Amity approached the door of the horn hut, going to knock on it but of course, it opened wide before her knuckles hit the door.

Baba had her back to them as she stirred the pot with a hum.

"You're back, I see. Did you lose any fingers on the knee?" She asked, "If you still have the finger I can reattach it and-" She turned to face them and saw the purple snake and cracked a slight smile, swooning as she came over to them, "You brought me Piloff!"

Piloff smiled brightly and jumped over to Baba, wrapping around her neck and nuzzling her face to Baba's.

"Baba!" She exclaimed, "I would've made my way home, but I was still stuck to that rock! They took their time getting here this time, huh? OH! Remember the one time with A-"

Baba pinched Piloff's mouth closed.

"Shush, Piloff. You talk too much!"

Baba then grabbed Piloff and brought her over to the cauldron and took a firm grasp on her, twisting the snake like she was a wet rag, making the pinkish dust that Piloff naturally produced drip into the cauldron, making the snake sigh in delight at the action.

"Ahh that feels so nice~," She said as Baba released her and she slithered up the old Witch's arm, "I haven't been wrung out like that in ages!"

Luz walked up to the cauldron, leaning over to look at the potion, seeing the pink turn the concoction an odd green.

"I'm not helping you make a potion that'll help make you super powerful enough to take over the Isles, am I?" She asked warily.

Baba dipped her long wooden spoon back into the cauldron once more, stirring.

"Child, I am already the strongest Witch on Isles, if I wanted to, I could take over the world," She said absentmindedly, "Now, fetch me the crown of Oble, the metalworker."

Hearing that name gave them both an upset stomach, making them a tad bit nervous about what was to come.

"Why do I get such a bad feeling about this one?"

"I know what you mean…" Luz agreed and looked up at Baba, "Where is it?"

"You'll walk until it becomes dark, then look for a fire in the forest. That is where Oble's cave will be." She said simply, bringing the spoon to Piloff's lips, who took a sip and hummed at the taste.

"Needs more garlic," Piloff critiqued with a knowing nod.

"It's called Howlet's Wing Piloff,"

"I'm not calling it those made-up names Baba," Piloff said with a huff.

Baba huffed back at her and looked toward Luz.

"You're still here? Go, you'll never find it here Princess."

"I just want to know what you're making, is all," Luz said, "You're not exactly inspiring confidence."

"Don't worry about it, focus on the task ahead if you hope to receive training from me. Now go," And with a flick of her hand, Luz and Amity were sent floating through and out of the hut, the door closing and slamming shut behind them once more.

Luz groaned as she turned and began to walk once more.

"I can't believe I'm running the errands of the most powerful witch of the Isles…" She grumbled.

Amity followed close behind and laughed slightly.

"It's okay Luz, I'm sure it'll all make sense eventually. Although, I don't think this Oble won't be as willing to part with his crown. I wonder what he's going to look like."

Luz smiled and patted her sword and cracked her knuckles.

"If he gives us any trouble, I can fight him! I'm stupid strong and my dad taught me how to turn someone's organs inside out…! I probably won't do that one, though…"

Amity playfully rolled her eyes at Luz's proclamations of protection as they walked.

"I will say this, if she dumps the crown into that potion I'm going to seriously flip out."

Luz nodded in agreement.

"Same, same… But anyways, let's see if we can find this dumb cave."

"Right behind you, Luz."

With that, the girls headed out, before promptly turning around upon the realization that they were going the wrong way.

-Skull of the Titan-

It's not hard. It's tedious.

Oh so tedious…

Hawk cut the head off of the sixth beast that dared step into her path, having thrown away her mask and cloak ages ago.

"This is getting me nowhere…" She whispered, looking around the entire cave.

It was full of a flurry of countless beasts, more than she could ever count on her own. It seemed that the Rein wasn't the last challenge that faced her either, as finally defeating that problem only spawned countless more from its body.

Hawk sighed and looked at the army of dangerous beasts.

"I didn't want to do this… But I'm left with no choice. I'm burning you all, soul and all. You're not coming back from this." She said to no one in particular before lifting her prosthetic arm and forming a spell circle in front of her.

Hawk reached into it and grabbed something before she began to pull out a handle that was connected to a chain before she finally pulled out the item fully.

It was a chain whip, long and exuding a magical power that scared every beast present into taking a step back. It was rusty and well worn, used down to its last link and only being held together by a thread of hope and Hawk's magic.

"This horde is neverending, so I will be everlasting…" Hawk whispered, bringing the whip to her forehead, closing her eyes, and whispering to it, "The night creatures are no more, my enemies are the beasts of this land… Be my weapon one last time and slay my enemies…"

The whip hummed and glowed a white glow that stretched across the entire length of the whip before the rust began to chip away, revealing an enchanted Soul realm silver that hid underneath it. It whispered back to her.

"Planeswalker… Know me as Cacciatore di Bestie and let my name ring across the ears of all those who stand before you… This will be my final battle…"

"Then it will be a battle to remember, Cacciatore di Bestie, and I will make it a glorious one!"

Hawk felt a boost of power course through her and she opened her eyes and looked at the horde of beasts. She smiled at them all and spun the head of the whip, it beginning to glow orange in response, heating up, as her smile turned into a wide grin.

The horse roared, screeched, and screamed at her, and at once, all rushed her, aiming to take her down instantly but they were a second too late.

With a single swipe of her red hot chain, she cut through half the army.

They all glowed orange and bulged grotesquely before simultaneously exploding into a cloud of ashes, but not even those remained, the embers burning the ash away to nothing but a fading memory.

Hawk laughed and looked at the remaining horde.

"Finally… Some fun… I thought I'd need to show off some real power today…"

A dire wolf barked at her and lunged forward with its maw wide but faster than he could process, Hawk swiped him with her whip. A thin orange line appeared over him before the wolf bulged and howled in pain before exploding in a burst of guts and blood.

Hawk laughed crazily, bathing in the blood that washed over her with a crazed grin.

"At last… Progress will be made…"

Her chain clinked across the stone floor as she approached the now fearful beasts with a smile, blood dripping from her face and body, spinning the end of the whip with malicious intent.

"Know my name, for it will be the last you hear…"

-East-

Luz and Amity once more cleared the underbrush of the forest, pushing aside the bushes and thick branches that threatened to scratch them, but for Luz, it wasn't like it was doing much to her. One such sharp branch nicked Luz's arm but she was undisturbed. Amity saw it and was going to point it out but the cut disappeared within half a blink.

"Alright, I think… We're close…" Luz hummed, looking around her and seeing that the land did indeed get darker the deeper they walked into it. The girls reached what looked to be a wooden bridge over a large river that led to a cave that's mouth glowed, the sound of clanging metal could be heard within.

Luz felt a shiver run down her spine as she and Amity crossed the bridge.

"Ames, if I die here, make sure my Dad knows it was Oble…" She said softly as they entered the cave to see precisely what was hammering metal. To their surprise, the reason for the glow was that the entirety of the cave was reminiscent of a volcano, with a flow of lava next to a functional workshop and a collection of smith tools.

"Oh, it's a blacksmith cave!" Luz said excitedly but Amity was quick to silence the Princess.

"Luz!" Amity shushed her, pulling the Princess behind cover, "Look there! At the anvil… That must be Oble…"

Luz looked at the anvil, seeing a giant figure hammering away on it, working on a sword with diligent eyes before turning to grab another tool. He was tall and strong, with dark maroon skin that bordered on being red, his eyes were yellow and his mouth held large fangs that looked like they bit many travelers. His ears were large and pointed at the ends, constantly twitching with every strike of his hammer. He wore a custom-made chest plate with a complementing loincloth, with a set of matching wrist bangles that were embedded with ruby jewels, and at the very top of his head was a crown with a glowing red jewel at the very top.

"And it's an Ogre…" Amity whispered with a sigh, "Great…"

Luz looked on nervously, unsure of how to handle this entire situation.

"And I'm supposed to take the crown by myself!?" She whispered with a tsk, "Mmmaybe it's friendly?"

"Luz, respectfully, Ogre's have a solid record of proving that notion wrong… They're lumbering, Witch-eating idiots who like to smack metal, and this one looks like it's good at it!" She said, pointing out the many swords that hung about the cave, "I'd tell you what to do but Baba was very clear…"

"Yeah, Yeah, you can't help me…" With a crack of her knuckles, Luz stepped out of cover and began to approach Oble, the Ogre.

"Luz! Don't be reckless! Come back!" Amity tried but it was too late, Luz was in full sight of the Ogre.

Luz took a deep breath, settling her nerves.

"What could it hurt…" She whispered before loudly clearing her throat, "U- uhm, excuse me! Big, Ogre, blacksmith!" She shouted, getting his attention. Oble turned and looked down at the much shorter than him, Luz, confused to see a Witch had willingly entered his Cave, "Baba Yaga sent me and, I was wondering if I could just borrow your crown? I promise that I'll bring it back!"

Oble grunted at the mention of Baba Yaga and pounded his chest plate with his hammer, the clanging echoing across the cave.

"Bah!" He shouted, "Aaba Raaba. Pee wan foof poo mee nana!"

"...Did you get any of that?" Amity asked from the sidelines.

Luz rubbed her temples with a sigh.

"I just... Don't have a clue…"

Oble looked annoyed and began to emanate heat, it spreading from him and making the entire cave warmer and hotter, but hot was the keyword, as Luz could feel it jumping in tens, specifically tuned in on her.

She hissed, taking a few steps back.

"Crap, that's hot! Hot! Are Fire Ogres a thing!?"

Luz got her answer when her slip-ons caught fire and she screamed at the rudeness, quickly kicking them off and flicking them at Oble, who was struck with the burning shoe in the nose.

He grunted in response and held his nose, eyes snapping open in anger, and looked down at Luz with angry eyes, clenching his hammer and preparing to bring the hammer down on her, but Luz's senses were on time. Eyes flashing golden, time slowed and she evaded the hit in time.

"Thank God…" She didn't get a chance to breathe, however, as Oble began to swipe at her with his hammer, she was quick to jump back and pat herself down, looking for something practical to help her in this situation, she found her glyphs but the minute she introduced paper to the environment it caught fire in her hands, "Ugh, are you serious?"

Luz ducked under another strike of Oble's hammer and ran further into the Ogre's lair, the heat increasing the deeper she went.

"Come on, Come on…" She whispered to herself, looking around the shop frantically for anything, the heat was getting to her but she knew better than to lose her mind. Fera's words echoed in her mind.

"A warrior ought to be able to fight in freezing tundras or blazing deserts with a clear mind, panic won't help ya, Princess!"

Luz carefully scanned the entire workshop and spotted something, a collection of metal balls, all stacked into the shape of a pyramid. If she had to guess at all, Luz'd say that they were cannon balls or maybe they were some kind of way that Oble kept his materials tidy but right now, they were Luz's best shot.

Quickly, Luz slid over and grabbed about five of them at once and threw two at Oble, who was surprisingly more nimble than he let on, dodging both of them. Luz tsked and went to throw more but discovered that these things were scorching hot.

"Crap! Crap!" She exclaimed and on pure instinct, she began to juggle them in the air to save her hands and to her shock, Oble stopped his attack on Luz, looking on in amazement and wonder on his face.

"Dadya buggeler! Dadya buggeler!" He said, clapping with a loud giggle.

Luz laughed slightly to herself.

"And Mom said learning how to juggle was a waste of time and money… Who's laughing now!?" She said to no one in particular but watching how Oble's full attention was on the balls, an idea formed in her mind and she smiled, beginning to juggle the balls even higher.

"Watch the balls! Watch them Alllll… All a part of the show!" Luz then caught them all and tossed them all high into the air, "Please work…!"

Oble's eyes traveled upwards and followed the balls with intense focus, watching them fly into the air with an "Oooh".

Suddenly a fourth ball careened towards him, hitting the crown off his head and Luz ran past, catching the crown in her hands and hightailing it out of there, grabbing Amity's hand as she did, dragging them both out of the cave.

"We're leaving!" Luz shouted, looking back at Oble for only a second, focused on running and ignoring the pain of being barefoot at the moment.

Naturally, Oble noticed that his crown was missing from his head and that the "buggeler" was gone. Looking, he saw that Luz had it and that a second Witch was with the thief now. He growled and roared at the pair and grabbed a spear from the wall, throwing it at them.

Luz felt a tingling sensation in her stomach, time slowing and pulling Amity to the right and reaching her hand out, catching the spear by the handle before she spun around and threw it back at the Ogre just as time began to move normally once more.

"And return to sender!" Luz shouted with a huff, but the Ogre saw it coming, catching it once more and roaring at them, stomping after them, his fiery aura encroaching on them with each pounding footstep that left a trail of flames with each step.

"Luz!" Amity shouted, running beside the young Princess, "His feet are leaving behind fire, and look!" She pointed forward, just as they exited the cave, at the wooden bridge they crossed on their way here.

Luz's eyes widened and she knew what she had to do at that moment. Pulling Amity close and heaving her up onto her shoulder, Luz suddenly crouched and focused on sending magic to her legs before she jumped.

Amity's eyes widened as she felt an abrupt feeling of weightlessness as Luz took to the skies, she saw that Oble was about to jump after them but was quick to draw a spell circle, making a pile of abomination muck appear at his feet, causing him to slip forwards onto the bridge. He stumbled forward and stepped onto the wooden planks, and under his feet, the bridge caught fire, quickly spreading. In no time at all, the bridge caved under Oble the Metalworker causing him to fall into the river with a loud yell.

Luz landed on the cliff's edge with a sudden pain in her legs, causing her to drop both the crown and Amity onto the grass before she fell to the grass with an oof and a groan.

Luz rubbed her head, feeling a slight headache forming.

"These fetch quests are getting on my nerves…"

Amity rubbed her head and groaned and looked down at Luz and she let out a scream, jumping to her feet in shock and covering her mouth to stop her from screaming any further.

Luz looked at her.

"What? What's wrong?"

Amity gave her a look of bewilderment.

"Y- y- you don't feel that?" She said, pointing at Luz's legs frantically.

"Feel what?" She asked, sitting up to look at her legs and- she wished she hadn't- because one was "fine" but the other was bending the wrong way, Luz damn near fainted at the sight but she took a deep breath, "U- Uh, I'm fine, Ames. I don't even feel it… Pass me a branch, will ya?"

Amity was considering using healing magic but realized that the only person who was any good at it was her sister, so she bit her lip and ran to a tree. Using an abomination, she ripped a sizable branch off the tree and brought it back to Luz.

"What are you going to do?"

Luz took the branch.

"Thank you… You see-" She snapped it in half, "-Fera told me that my healing is something special and we tested it. The bones won't heal unless I put them in the right position." She brought the broken branch to her mouth, "Wisth me uck,"

Amity was confused by that until she watched Luz grab ahold of her leg and twist back into place with a resounding crack, causing Luz to bite deeper into the wood, teeth sinking into the wood and leaving deep trenches in the branch and giving an intense muffled scream. Luz's eyes fluttered and she fell back, passed out.

Amit was at a loss for words but watched in amazement as Luz was covered in a golden glow and in a few mere moments, Luz was awake once more and gasping slightly, letting out a breath.

"A-Are you ok?" She asked, honestly unsure.

Luz simply answered by standing up slowly and hopping up and down.

"Yeah, I think so… My legs are definitely stronger, I can feel it all the way in the marrow."

Amity sighed in relief before coming over and socking Luz in the arm repeatedly.

"Don't just do something like that numbskull!" She chastised, face becoming red in worry, "I could've helped set it in place, what happens if you do it wrong? You can't be so reckless!"

At this point, Luz started to dodge the attempted strikes on her now sore arms. Amity was stronger than she gave her credit for.

"Alright! Alright!" Luz said through laughs, "I won't do that again!"

All of sudden, Luz looked at the world at ninety degrees, as Amity pinched and pulled on her ear.

"This isn't funny, I care about you, you know?"

Luz hissed in pain and was quick to nod.

"Yes! Yes, I know! I promise I won't do that again!"

Amity huffed and released her ear, crossing her arms.

"Good."

The attention of both girls was grabbed by the sound of steam being expelled from the river below, looking over the edge, they saw what appeared to be Oble the Fire Ogre boiling away the water into steam. He seemed to be enjoying it, laying on and enjoying the mud of the now-dried river.

Amity sighed slightly.

"Guess all he wanted to do was let off a little steam?" The minute the words left her mouth, she realized what she had said, quickly face-palming, "Ugh!"

Luz's eyes widened, and her head snapped to the young heiress with a loud gasp.

"You're saying puns now!" She said with a wide smile, "I'm so proud! So much character development in such a short amount of time, they grow up so fast," She wiped away a fake tear.

Amity groaned at that, shaking her head and crossing her arms.

"Luz, no!"

"Oh, you totally are!" She giggled, crouching down and picking up Oble's crown, dusting it off, "No need to get steamed," She laughed now, attempting to contain herself.

Amity rolled her eyes hard enough to change the rotation of the planet, walking past her.

"Let's just get this back to Baba's…"

Luz ran after her, still laughing as she put the crown inside her bag.

"Come on! You can't develop self-e-steam issues now!" She cackled this time.

"Luz can we just drop this!" Amity said, now embarrassed.

"Alright, Alright…" She whispered before smiling knowingly, "So you care about me?"

Amity's face flushed red and without another word, she drew a spell circle that seemingly did nothing but make her stand still.

"Amity?" Luz asked worriedly, poking her and watching as her skin turned purple and she fell apart, "An abomiclone…?"

"I'll meet you at Baba's!" Amity's voice echoed across the forest.

Luz smiled and laughed slightly, turning and heading west back to Baba's hut.

-Titan Skull-

Hawk panted, gallons of blood covered them, and caked to her body were the many ashes of the night creatures she had slain mere moments ago, her whip was drenched in blood and ash as well. She brought her hand to her face, wiping it clean.

"I hope I never have to do that again… So many Monsters were defending Him…"

"Planeswalker…"

Hawk looked down at the whip in her hands and tsked.

"Ah, that's right… I nearly forgot… You gave the last of your magic to send them back to the Abyss…" She brought it closer so that she could speak to it properly, "Your service was more than appreciated, Simon… For years, you helped me achieve my goals, your soul deserves to be at rest…"

"I thank you for your kind words, my Empress… Finally, I will be connected to my dear Marie in the Heavens once more."

Hawk chuckled at that, bringing her hand to the gem in the crossguard of the whip and pulling it out, the silvery sheen of the chain dulled and the glow went away.

"At least one of us will be happy in the otherworld…"

Hawk threw the gem, and a soul of a warrior in leather armor formed itself from it. He was tall and looked strong enough to break a Titan in two with his muscles alone, his ethereal form was blue and ghostly.

He bowed.

"Thank you… Slaying Demons, beasts, and monsters the like have brought me no better joy in my afterlife…"

Hawk smiled and bowed back.

"And your service has carried me through countless battles and the war back in my home… Enjoy your eternal rest…"

With her final words, Simon, Cacciatore di Bestie, faded away to the wind with a breath of relief.

Hawk looked down at her whip and tried to strike it, it was too heavy now and the chain was dull.

"The magic weapon is no longer magical, great…" She sent it away in a flash, deciding that she'll figure out a way to restore its power another day, right now, she wanted to finish this already too-long mission.

Hawk approached the puzzle doors and snapped her fingers and in an instant, the doors were slammed open as she stepped through the threshold. The elite guard expected many things in her life, for those around her to die before she could love them, and for her home to be destroyed beyond belief.

Now… Failure, although rare, was one of those things that she did expect.

With slow and careful steps, Hawk entered the room. It glowed though she found no light source, of course, the answer was magical. She could see the veins that traveled the entirety of the skull of the Titan before it had been slain… She wondered if He had anything to do with this… Most likely…

"If He's able to kill a Titan then his power will benefit me greatly…"

Finally, she found a pedestal and quickly climbed the steps, and in an instant, her face dropped and she paled. What was supposed to be an undisturbed mound of sand and magic sealing runes, was a hole… Dug, decades ago it would seem.

"No…" She fell to her knees in front of the hole and began to frantically shovel dirt and sand out of it with her own hands, "No, No, No Noooo!"

This couldn't be happening…

This…

She just…

Couldn't believe this…

"There's just no way He's not here! Where could he have gone? B- Belos isn't… He isn't… He isn't a Witch Hunter! He's not human!" She shouted, getting to her feet when she realized that the hole held nothing for her…

A fury swelled inside of her.

A rage only comparable to the heat of the sun during the final days of the apocalypse, this was supposed to be where she got her way, where she finally won. So much planning, sweat, blood, and tears, and for what?

"FOR NOTHING!"

Hawk's scream echoed out across the entirety of the Skull and further, her magic flaring up in response to her anger, eyes turning a deep blue and wisps of magic coming off her in her anger as she balled her fists tightly, knuckles fading to white as the entire skull of the Titan began to rumble.

"WHERE IS HE?! WHERE. IS. THE COLLECTOOOOOOR?!"

BOOM

A wave of red magic exploded outwards from her, going well past the Titan's skull

Originating from the skull, a sea of negative red magic washed over the entirety of the Isles. In Bonesborough, everyone stopped what they were doing, a deathly chill going through their very core and bringing most to their knees.

They thought that a great evil had been released or that a Demon army was invading and their killing intent was just that strong. It was even felt all the way to Right Hand city, even stopping the bustling metropolis if only for a moment.

In the Owl House, Eda and Lilith stopped their tea time and looked around for the source of such a negative burst of magic.

"You felt that?" Eda asked.

"How could I not?" She stood up, "I must investigate, I hate to cut tea time short Edalyn and-"

Ring-Ring

Lilith looked down at her person and summoned her mirror communicator, answering it quickly.

"Emperor?" She asked, "If this is about that burst of magic, I was already on the way to-"

"Don't worry about it."

"Hm?" She asked, confused, "Why?"

"Because the Elite Guard is already investigating the occurrence. They're finishing a mission nearby and were closer anyway. I'm calling you to tell you to wait in the Owl Lady's Home until I till you can escort Luz back to the Castle, understand?"

Lilith nodded and gave a salute.

"Your will is my command, Emperor…"

Without another word, the Emperor hung up.

Eda hummed, sipping some more of her tea.

"Hmmm, he sounded worried…"

"I'm not surprised…" Lilith whispered, "It was pretty strong, as strong as the old King of Demons I think, and I don't think the Emperor can handle another fight like that. He nearly died the last time, you know."

"I know, I know." She put down the tea again and leaned back in her chair, looking outside to see Kikimora and King chasing each other with spears, "What do you think is going on there?" She asked, nudging her head towards the pair of small demons, "You think it's love?" She joked.

"I don't even think that Kikimora can feel any emotion other than bloodlust honestly," Lilith huffed, looking at them, "She just must be happy to talk to someone from her homeland…"

Eda hummed, thinking.

"I'll make a bet with you then, Lily that those two lovebirds end up together by the end of the year."

Lily gave her sister a look, checking her watch.

"Are you aware that the end of the year is in a few months?"

"Yes but still… I'm highly confident, they look so happy together out there," She said, looking at them again.

Lilith hummed and smiled, rolling her eyes.

"Alright, if I win, you join the Emperor's Coven with me and if you win I'll…" She waved her hand a few times, trying to think what would be a valuable enough thing to give to her.

"You'll ask out Ruby," She finished, wiggling her brows at her sister.

Lilith's entire face brightened up and flushed red, bringing her teacup to her lips to avoid Eda's eyes.

"Y- You're insane to think that still going to happen…" Lilith whispered, looking away from her, "But… Fine, if that's what it'll take, I accept the terms of this wager…"

Eda smiled and reached out for Lilith's hand.

"And to make sure you do it-"

Eda suddenly drew a spell circle and grabbed Lilith's hand and shook, a spell circle also appearing around Lilith's wrist.

"The Oath is sealed,"

Lilith raised a brow at that, smiling.

"Oh, you're that confident, huh?"

Eda leaned back, laughing.

"I never lose a bet, especially about love," She shrugged, "I guess I'm just in tune with that kind of thing."

Lilith rolled her eyes, becoming comfortable in her seat once more.

"We'll see about that, Edalyn…"

-Baba's hut-

Luz and Amity had just cleared the underbrush of trees when they felt that sinister wave of magic wash over them like it was a threat to them but they didn't even know where it had come from. It was filled with so much anger and grief, it was incredible…

Amity felt like she was about to have a panic attack from the sheer hostility of the magic.

"Oh my Titan, what was that…?" She asked with a cough, trying to catch her breath again.

Luz groaned, rubbing her head.

"It felt familiar…"

"What do you mean? You know whose magic that could've been?"

"No, no… It just feels so familiar… Whatever, it doesn't look like it's going to be a problem for us, let's hurry and finish!" She rushed to the door, not even bothering to knock and slamming it open, and presenting the crown to Baba and Piloff.

"We got it! We got the crown!"

Piloff giggled at the sight, jumping up and down at the sight of the crown.

"Would you look at you! You did it! You did it! She's something special, Baba!"

"Quiet, Piloff!" She shushed her, using her magic to bring the crown to her. She plucked one of the red gems from it and dropped said gem into the cauldron, tossing the crown back to Luz, who caught it. She stirred the cauldron and hummed, taking a deep breath of the brew, "Almost done…"

Luz stared on with a deadpan look, a wave of anger rising in her gut but she controlled herself.

"Amity… Amity, she tossed it into the cauldron…"

Amity groaned, rubbing her face with her hands.

"Titan spit, I knew it…"

Baba chuckled at that and shook her head.

"Now then, the next task is the hardest of all. Using only this crown and the boulder from the quarry, pluck the magic feather from the sky."

"A magic feather?"

"Yes, it floats high in the air, in the middle of the clearing," She chuckled to herself, "It'll appear to you if you do it right…"

Luz poked her head outside to get a proper look at the boulder outside and then the crown in her hand.

"Call me crazy, but how am I supposed to do that, exactly? That thing can't fly and neither can I, unless I use my griffon and-"

"No beasts of any kind, this task is for you! Figure it out, my dear." She smiled at her and looked at Amity, "On your own this time, I mean…"

Amity avoided Baba's gaze, embarrassed to see that she was caught helping Luz with Oble the Ogre.

"Won't happen again…" She apologized

Luz groaned and turned, walking back outside and looking at the pillar she rode in on with Piloff and Amity, placing her hands on her hips with a deep sigh, staring at it, thinking…

This entire situation has been less than helpful in learning how to control her highly uncontrollable magic or whatever Sage's Instinct was, all she's been doing was running Baba's errands for a potion she didn't even know did.

"Ugh, this is all for nothing, I just know it…" She fell onto her back and stared up at the sky, "What does ANY of this have to do with Sage's Instinct!? I'm just doing chores!"

Amity walked outside of the hut to see her crush in a state of despair, sighing softly and coming over to Luz, kneeling next to her and sitting on her ankles, and placing her hands on her lap in a meditative manner.

"Everything ok, Princess?"

"Obviously not, Ames…" She said with a tsk, moving her eyes to look at her, "Baba isn't taking this seriously."

"Of course she wouldn't, you aren't the first person to find her looking for guidance on something they don't understand. There are countless stories of people seeking her vast knowledge of all things. Travelers with a burning question, Oracles with a confusing vision, and rulers looking for victory in their wars. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that your Dad has met her once upon a time. She must be tired of people knocking on her door every day."

Luz pouted slightly at that, sighing.

"Yeah, but did those people have magic strong enough to destroy the Isles with a stray spell?" She asked, "I just… I don't want to hurt anyone, Ames… And to do that, I need to understand my magic as much as I can. I can't be Empress either if when I cast a spell it destroys what I'm trying to protect."

Amity smiled at her and laughed a bit.

"Your desire to protect everyone no matter what and that's commendable, Luz," She brought her hand to Luz's head and placed it on her forehead, "But to be a great leader, you need to have more patience, and you know, you can look at this like a quest?"

Luz looked up at her, eyes barely able to see through Amity's hand that still rested on her forehead.

"A quest? How so?"

"A quest like Azura, she did things like this all the time in the books. A quest of searching for certain objects to achieve an end goal learning a lesson in the end."

Luz held up the crown of Oble and stared at it, trying to ascertain what she could use it for in getting the "magic sky feather". She groaned and threw aside the crown, it landing in a hole in the pillar. Unknowingly to either of them, the magic crown began to heat the pilar, turning certain spots red hot but neither paid it any attention

"But I'm not Azura and this isn't a story, Amity, failure's an option…"

"I know that Luz, but I also know you, Luz. You never back down even if it gets too tough. If it weren't for you, Willow and I wouldn't have been friends again. If it wasn't for you, Ms. Lilith would have to keep chasing after Eda. In fact, in our lessons, I've seen she's much happier than before also not to mention… The number of times you've saved my life…" She mentioned with a chuckle and a blush.

Luz gave Amity a slight smile and sat up, before hopping to her feet once more.

"Yeah... Yeah, you're right I guess… I can do and it'll be a piece of-"

BOOM

Suddenly the boulder exploded and fell into pieces around the open field, rendering both girls silent, the crown landing in front of Luz, glowing red hot once more before cooling down in front of her.

"I can still work with this…" Luz said with a nervous chuckle, leaning down to pick it up.

Luz walked forward and thought carefully about how to proceed.

If Baba was going to be the one to teach her how to use Sage's instinct… Then maybe Sage's instinct was the way to go with this trial. She went over to the pile of metal and rocks and a plan slowly began to form in her head, she smiled, eyes beginning to glow the more inspired she became.

Soon enough, Luz's eyes were golden and full of power.

"Luz?"

But the princess didn't respond, instead lifting her hands and in an intense show of focus, picking up all the pieces of the pillar scattered across the field, they all floated to her and spun around her, urging Amity to take a step back in caution as Luz began to work.

Luz began to move across the field, moving faster than Amity could see, only perceiving her as a brief afterimage every few seconds, grabbing more and more of the floating pieces, building what appeared to be a tower with all the pieces that quickly reached into the sky without difficulty.

Amity watched on amazed at the ingenuity of the tower and the way Luz was moving across the entire field with ease, then, she craned her head upwards and her eyes widened in shock at the sight of a pure white feather appearing in the sky, floating in calm circles and spinning as Luz built closer and closer to it.

"Luz!" She pointed up at the sky, "There it is!"

Luz felt her focus on Sage's Instinct slipping the longer she used it, it also burning through her reserves much faster as well. Finally, she grabbed the final piece on top of the tower, the crown itself just as Luz fell out of focus, she grabbed onto the edge of the tower and held on, nearly hanging on for dear life but she didn't care for the feather was in arms reach.

Luz smiled and plucked it out of the air, a wave of magic resonating from where it was pulled from, earning an even wider grin from Luz in response, her waving the feather in victory.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Amity, look! I got it!" She declared, waving the magic feather around with a whooping noise, laughing loudly and with grace, she jumped off the top of the tower and rolled to a stop on the ground, springing back up to her feet with a large goofy grin to her face.

The power loss finally got to her, making her stumble forward and into Amity, who struggled at first to catch Luz.

"I- I'm good! I'm good!" She steadied herself and stood straight, "I got it!"

Amity wasn't convinced, worried that Luz had used too much magic.

"Are you sure, Luz?" She asked.

"Yeah I'm fine, but I'm starving now if anything…"

Amity shook her head with a sigh and a laugh.

"Hopefully Baba will feed you when we get back to the hut."

"But Amity," She said dramatically, "We both know she has no children to feed us with," She joked, silently hoping that Baba hadn't heard that. They quickly made their way back to the Horn Hut, once more, Luz barged into the Hut, holding up the feather this time.

"Tengo la pinche pluma!" She shouted before clearing her throat, "I mean, I got the feather!"

Without saying a word, Baba used her magic to take the feather out of Luz's hand, grabbing it and inspecting carefully before turning it upside down and dipping it into the cauldron, using it to stir the potion before dropping it in.

Luz smacked her forehead and groaned, dragging her hand across her face and sighing.

"I should've known…"

Baba cackled slightly at her reaction and looked down at the brew once more, using her large wooden spoon to constantly mix it.

"You've done well, child. You have given me the three things I needed from the Isles!"

Luz beamed brightly.

"So it's done!?"

"Not even close, before I can accept you as a student, I need something from you," She pointed at Luz, poking her chest.

The list of things that bothered Luz wasn't long, but Baba was proving herself worthy of such a list. Luz had scaled and descended a mountain, fought a fire ogre, troll, whatever, AND built an insanely high tower to grab a stupid feather! Baba couldn't seriously be asking for even more! The thought made Luz's eye twitch in anger and malice, gritting her teeth slightly as she moved closer to the cauldron and held it, the heat not even bothering her.

"What else could you need!?" She asked exasperated and astonished, clenching her hands on the cauldron, denting the metal, causing Baba to smack Luz's hands with another smaller spoon.

"Hands off! That cauldron is older than your bloodline, Bonesborugh, and your father combined!" She huffed, "It's something very important you must give me,"

Luz groaned and searched her bag before pulling out a small coin bag.

"Gold snails?"

Baba raised a brow at that and tapped her foot, a rain of golden coins and various other treasures falling from the ceiling and littering the entire living room.

Amity's eyes widened in shock.

"Holy, I've only seen this much gold in my family vault…" Amity picked a roll of gold, inspecting it and reading it, "Property of Blight Indust- Hey! This is my family's! Did you just rob us!"

Baba chuckled at that and snapped her fingers, making all the gold and treasures disappear presumably back to the Blight's family vault.

"Oh don't worry, I don't want it," Looks to a flabbergasted Luz, "Clearly, I don't need gold, child."

Luz looked through her bag a bit more, throwing things around before pulling a black and white portrait of her father, the Emperor. It was styled as if it was a headshot for some sort of actor. It was signed too.

"How about a portrait of my Dad? Very nice picture, genuine signature, I swear on my soul!"

Amity narrowed her eyes at the portrait and Luz. It was a wonder where in Titan's name she got that, as it wasn't something that the Emperor would pose for/do.

Baba just looked annoyed at the offer and shook her head.

"No, child, what business do I have with something as useless as that?"

Luz looked equally, if not, more annoyed than Baba did.

A strong feeling of emotion welled in Luz's chest and her eyes took up a golden glow once more. Luz threw the portrait away and ran out of the hut faster than the eye could see, leaving a golden afterimage of herself behind as she did so. Seconds later, Luz returned, holding up a giant pile of countless trinkets and items.

"Any of this?!" She asked, her voice sounding echoey when she spoke, blinking out of Sage's Instinct.

Baa rose a brow and gestured to herself.

"It's something from here,"

"What!?" She asked.

"I can not tell you."

"UGH!"

Luz dropped the various trinkets, pacing the house before her hair caught her eye and she plucked a strand and showed it to Baba.

"What, an actual part of me!?" She asked frantically.

Baba couldn't help but smile at Luz, snorting and laughing.

"N- No, Princess! Don't be so ignorant!" She said between laughs, "Come on, it's easy!" She said, laughing more and beginning to float through the air as well. The situation was funny to her that it made her fly through the air.

Luz gritted her teeth even more, clenching her fist and watching Baba float through the home.

"What's so funny?!" She yelled at the ancient Witch, watching her float around while laughing at her, "Just- Just TELL me what you're looking for! Stop laughing!"

Luz's face became flushed in embarrassment at the situation, as Baba disappeared and then reappeared behind her, practically cackling in her ear.

They always made fun of her…

Luz spun to face Baba.

"I'M DONE WITH YOU!" She yelled, her voice echoing across the hut.

Baba seemed surprised at the outburst.

"Oh anger, that's a new one. Going to throw a tantrum?"

"UGH! I- I- I don't know HOW in Titan's name Eda dealt with you!" She yelled, face red, "I'm tired of doing these tasks with no goal in sight! It's no wonder you stay away from everyone and live alone in a horn away from everybody! You're insufferable and ANNOYING!" She shouted, walking past Baba, "Let's go Amity, we'll find somebody who can actually help us,"

Amity was equally shocked at the outburst.

"But- Luz! Baba is the best on the Isles and-"

Luz's head snapped to her, her eyes shifted cornflower blue and she looked serious.

"I said now, Amity!" She shouted, voice echoing and eyes flashing at her.

Amity reeled back and flinched at Luz's outburst, the image of her Mother's anger in her mind as she held her hands to her lap, looking down at the floor to avoid Luz's eyes.

"Y- Yes, Princess... " She whispered.

Luz turned to the door, heart full of anger and spite, reaching for the handle when a soft voice called out to her.

"L- Luz?" Piloff whispered to her, stretching her body out from her hanging cage.

Luz's head snapped to her, eyes blaring blue with a look of anger.

"WHAT!?"

Piloff flinched and hid inside her cage.

"T- thanks for helping me off the Knee… It was cold up there… Goodbye…"

Luz's expression softened and her eyes slowly returned to normal, realizing what she had done to not only Piloff but also Amity. It felt like every time she made progress with the young Blight, Luz ruined it somehow… Through some sort of dumb mistake…

"I'm… Sorry, Goodbye Piloff…" She turned quickly to leave but stopped, hearing sniffling and soft sobs, she clenched her fist, taking a deep breath. "Stay angry... Stay angry... Ugh…" She turned around and faced Baba, who was crying into her hands.

"What... Why are you crying...? It doesn't look like your thing…"

"Oh sorry," She wiped a tear, "I'm just being a silly old woman who no one wants to be around…"

Luz bit her lip and sighed, looking towards Amity for an answer but she was still staring at the floor, waiting for Luz's lead. Silent and obedient…

"Oh come on!" She groaned, the guilt rising even further, going over to Amity and holding her face in her hands and lifting her head to look her in the eye, "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Ames. I didn't mean to, I'm just upset…" She said softly, "If I ever do that again, just pull my ear until I start acting right, alright?"

Amity blushed at the contact and nodded quickly at Luz.

"A- Alright…"

Luz then quickly turned to Baba, practically stomping over to her and swallowing her pride.

"Look, listen, Baba," She began her apology, "I'm sorry, it's just that... Ugh…" Luz held her forehead, "I just- I always wanted magic, you know? But not like this, not so strong that I could make a sun if I'm not controlling every facet of the spell I'm casting!" She sighed, looking up at the ceiling.

"I sent a chunk of Earth into space, petrified a wizard, and made my castle come to life during the moonlight conjuring…" She then looked down at the floor, "I'm just…" She held herself close, "I want to control my magic so I don't hurt anyone I care about or make a horrible mistake…" She whispered with a sniff, tears forming at the edges of her eyes.

"I'm so scared of…Of myself, of what I can do if I'm not careful… Sometimes I don't think I'm strong enough to learn control…" She sighed, holding herself tighter, "I can't even give you what you need…"

Baba sighed and shook her head, wrapping her arms around Luz to hug her.

"Oh, child… I know the strife you go through," She looked down at Luz, who was becoming rather emotional, "When I was young, I threatened to send the moon to the Isles with my errant magic! I devastated the entirety of Right Foot and so much more…"

Luz looked up at her.

"Isn't Right Foot… Underwater?"

"Exactly my point dear," She laughed, "It wasn't until I found my mentor that I learned how to control my strength! So don't become frustrated and impatient! You may lack control, yes, but you have untapped wells of strength that you are only just unlocking, my dear! I know that you can and will be one of the greats of all time…" She whispered, gently wiping a tear from Luz's eye and smiling at her, "And you just did, dear." Baba turned to the cauldron, "The most important ingredient of all, from your heart," She flicked the tear into the cauldron causing the broth to change from green to blue, "And now she is worthy and so she shall be taught!"

Luz and Amity's eyes widened and they both moved over to look inside the sparkling blue potion with awe, the magic coming off it had increased tenfold than what it was before after the addition of Luz's tear.

Luz wiped any remaining tears with a sniff.

"So," She cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure, "Does that mean you're officially my mentor now and what's this potion for anyways…?"

Baba smiled slightly at her question and laughed a bit.

"It's a gift to you, my dear. Not only will I teach you to master Sage's Instinct, but I also present to you this potion. It will allow you to be your innermost self. When you drink it, whatever you are in your heart of hearts, you will become on the outside, tenfold. However, it must only be used as a last resort. Call it a "wild card" if you will…"

Baba summoned a rather tiny crystal vial and lifted her hands, which glowed with her powerful magic. The girls watched as Baba poured the entire cauldron into the small container without a single issue. She used the crystal cork and capped it closed, handing it to Luz.

"Last resort, got it…" She looked down at it, "Oh it's beautiful…"

It was a beautiful container, and attached to it was a crystal rope that glimmered slightly in the light, the blue potion glowed inside too, adding an extra layer of beauty to it, not to mention, she could practically feel its magic, "Titan, I can see why Eda loves potions so much…" She said with a laugh.

"Where do you think she got the knack of it from? Certainly not her mother!" She cackled at the thought, "That old Hawk could brew hot cocoa…" She shook her head and ruffled Luz's hair, "But it warms this ones heart that my little Owlet has an apprentice of her own…"

Luz laughed at that, rubbing her neck in slight embarrassment.

"Yeah... I just want to make her proud is all, it feels like I connect to her, you know…?" She asked, holding up the crystal vial to the light to look at it more, "You should see her in the Owl House, her teaching methods are just as strange as yours."

Baba cackled at the mention of the Owl House, throwing her head back slightly.

"That's my girl! I wonder how the house I gave her is doing?"

Luz's mouth hung open in shock, gasping deeply at that information.

"You gave Eda the Owl House?"

"Gave? Not only that, I built that old дом with my own two hands!" She slipped some Russian in between her words. "It was once my home until I decided to settle here. I can still remember her face when she first met Hooty."

"Was she scared?"

"Terrified." She cackled.

"Did you also make Hooty?" Amity asked.

"In a sense, I did…"

"Why'd you make him so annoying?"

Baba smiled and shook her head.

"Sorry, but that is my secret."

Amity pouted at the answer but ignored it, searching her satchel.

"Fine, but I wanted to ask you something… About my Grandmother…" She whispered, pulling out her Grandmother's journal and flipping through it, before handing it to Baba, "She spoke of Sage's instinct and the power it could give a Witch! She wrote so many books on the topic that we found in my family's library, but… They were all under a pen name like she was trying to hide the truth of her research from us! Do you know anything about that at all?"

Baba smiled at that and chuckled, stroking her chin as she inspected the Journal.

"Very extensive research… Your Grandmother… Amelia Blight, Correct?"

"Yes! You said earlier that she had a sword but she was a researcher! She never even fought a day in her life!"

Baba shook her head.

"Child, your grandmother loved her secrets and her privacy, to keep this from her family, she must've had her reasons. All I can tell you is that I wasn't enough of a teacher for her, so she took her studies across the Nine Titans to learn all she could on the subject."

"The Nine Titans?" Luz asked.

"The Nine Titans?" Amity repeated with questioning eyes.

"Yes, the Nine Titans. I never saw her after she left…" She smiled and ruffled Amity's hair, "She was a great student and an even better swordswoman... She and your grandfather were perfect for each other…"

"My Grandfather?" She asked, "I… Don't even know what he looked like… Grandma didn't talk about him and there are no paintings of him anywhere…"

"I'm certain that you'll learn all you can about him soon enough if you continue to follow the path she left behind," She closed the research journal and handed it back to Amity, "Your Grandmother was so much more than you know. Don't lose sight."

"Well… you know everything about her, why don't you just tell me yourself?"

"Sorry, young one. That would be too easy and who am I to deny someone their destiny?"

Amity sighed and shook her head with a deep sigh.

"Alright, thank you, Baba," She said with a respectful bow.

"Please, do I look like a prissy royal to bow to?" She laughed, looking towards Luz, "No offense, of course…"

Luz rolled her eyes at that and sighed slightly.

"Look, I have one last thing to ask, Baba… When does training start?" She asked hopefully and clearly excited to already start.

"Princess, your training has already begun." She answered wisely, "But if you want an actual answer, this is what I want you to do every day for 2 hours before bed and when you wake up," Baba reached into her hair and pulled out a book labeled "Meditating on the Weave".

"What's this?" Luz asked, taking the book and flipping through it. It was old, like, super old. There were countless notes on every page from the previous owners, most likely all previous students of Baba.

"A book that will help you master Sage's Instinct… Your first and most important lesson is to understand what it is you're using when you tap into that power. When you finally understand, I can teach you no more."

Luz saluted Baba.

"Yes, Ma'am! I'll understand it to the last drop of magic!"

Baba shook her head and sighed, pointing.

"Good, now, off with you! I am very busy."

"With what!?" Amity asked.

Baba laughed and summoned a collection of feathers, pouring them into the cauldron.

"Just calling up an old friend… Come back tomorrow! Oh, and I almost forgot," Baba snapped her fingers, but nothing happened around them.

"What did you do?" Luz asked.

Baba looked at Luz and smiled.

"Just a gift from me to your father, when you see him, tell him, "I told you so". He'll understand. Now go," She flicked her hand and Luz and Amity were floated out of her home, Piloff quickly spouting her goodbyes just as the door was slammed shut behind them.

"Well," Luz dusted herself off, "I think that was pretty fun, huh?" She turned to Amity, coming up to her, "Listen, Amity, I wanted… Well, I wanted to say sorry for snapping at you like that back there…"

"Oh, Luz…" Amity reached over and held Luz's cheek before suddenly grabbing her ear pulling it down, and giving the young Princess a look that could melt glass to a liquid, "You better not let it happen again,"

"Ah! I won't I swear!" She said with a hiss of slight pain.

Amity smiled and then pulled Luz into a hug.

"I know you won't Princess," She said mockingly with a giggle.

Luz blushed at that and rolled her eyes, returning the embrace and nearly swinging her around in circles before releasing her and setting her down carefully, pulling out the potion that Baba gave them, giving it a visual inspection, and watching the way the light reflected the bright blue liquid. It was an amazing sight to behold…

"I wonder what it even does…" She whispered before turning to Amity, "And thanks for not giving up on me when I gave up on myself, by the way... I appreciate it, Ames."

Amity smiled and waved Luz off.

"O- Oh it was nothing, really, not a problem Luz." She blushed, clearly loving the compliments given to her by her crush.

Luz suddenly stood in front of Amity, taking an exaggerated stance.

"But alas, my fair maiden! Without your inspiration, I may have never completed the brave task set before me!" She proclaimed before suddenly picking up Amity in her arms, "It is through you I am given strength! Come! A lady such as you shouldn't walk!" She said, dramatically holding up Amity.

Amity gave a surprised cry at suddenly being picked up, wrapping her arms around Luz's neck to keep herself steady and leaning herself into Luz's hold for balance.

"Luz!" She laughed.

Luz laughed as well and looked down at Amity. The young Blight's laugh always made her heart flutter just listening to it so joyful and sweet, it made her forget about the entire world... She blushed before quickly setting Amity back down, "L- let's get going! Eda will want to hear about all of this!" She held Amity's hand, running forward down the beaten path, dragging her along back to the Owl house.

-Owl House-

"Now, Prince-"

"King."

"Now King…"

They have had that same correction happen the entire day and it would grit on Kikimora every time he made it but he was the Prince of Demons, she couldn't just tell him no. Only correct herself again and continue to teach him the way of the spear.

"Now, King, I've taught you all the basics…" She lifted her sword and shield, "Now all you have to do is hit me…"

King looked unsure.

"I don't know, Kiki… What if I do hit you?"

Kiki laughed at that.

"King, I was once a candidate to be a Sin back home. The only way I'm getting damaged is if my guard is down and my guard is never down. Now use what you've learned, 'cause I'm not holding back either!"

King took a deep breath and focused before charging Kiki with a warcry, stabbing his spear forward with an overly confident yell.

"Hyup!" Kiki ducked under the stab and dropped her sword, with her shield and clawed hand, she grabbed the other end and flipped King over the shield. Using the spear as a lever to send him flying over her head.

King groaned as he landed flat on his back.

"Synu, ty jsi příliš silný…" He whispered.

"Oh I'm not that strong, you just decided to charge in full tilt without a backup plan. Fighting requires a mind as well, Kralj," She went over and helped him up, dusting the dirt out of his fur, "You'll get it soon enough, I'm sure… Ocel je kalená ohněm, after all. Until then, let's take a break. The Princess has returned."

"What? No, she isn't-"

"I'M BACK!"

King looked behind him and saw that Luz was indeed back, with Amity in tow.

"You need to teach me how to do that!" King said.

"You already can, but you're never on guard!" She scolded him, walking forward to meet the Princess, giving her a slight bow, "Welcome back Princess, Lilith and I are here to escort you home,"

Luz bowed back at her, curious.

"Why? Did something happen?"

"You could say that… Can't tell you much, sadly."

"Alright, well, let me just talk to Eda before we get out of here,"

"Whatever you desire, Princess."

Inside the Owl House, two Clawthornes made small talk with each other. One particular talking point is their hair.

"Honestly Lily, your orange was miles above this navy blue. Who's heard of a clawthorne with blue hair, it's unthinkable."

"It's not blue it's Dark Navy and it sort of clashed during my espionage missions. I like living, thank you very much," She took a sip of her tea, "I could say the same to you about your hair… It's grayed…"

"Yeah, with the curse and just getting old, it became too much of a bother to keep the old gal orange," She poofed her hair, "And besides, the hair dye kept making King's snacky snacks taste weird." She reached into her mane and produced a bag of chips.

"Where did you find that little tike?"

"Well, that's a story for another day, honestly…" She said with a chuckle, taking another sip of her tea. Before Lilith could press for more information, the door flung open to reveal Luz and Amity, who rushed over to Eda.

"Eda! Look! We're back AND before sundown!" She pointed out, although Luz was cutting it close as it was just about to turn to dusk, "You know what that means, right?!"

Eda laughed and petted Luz's head.

"Yeah yeah, I need to tell you how Azura's legend really ended…" She checked her watch, "But, eugh, listen kid. Let's take a rain check on that story, it's long and it's been a long day as is already. I'll tell you and Minty the story another day, I'm exhausted and I'm guessing you are too."

Luz pouted and crossed her arms with a huff.

"I mean… Yeah but still…"

"Oh don't give me that look," She nudged Luz's cheek, "How was Baba?"

Luz smiled and began to infodump her entire day to Eda, who listened carefully whilst Lilith set her tea down and turned to Amity, whispering to her.

"Ah, the entire day with the Princess?" She asked, "How lucky we are…" She slightly teased with a laugh, causing Amity's face to flush red. She crossed her arms.

"It was… Very nice…" She confirmed, closing her eyes and looking away slightly.

"You were helping her out the entire time, weren't you?" Lilith asked with a smile.

Images of her day flashed through her head. Of discreetly using abomination mass to make the ride from the Knee back to Baba's easier for Luz to push, to also using a spell to make Oble's crown land inside the pilar.

"Yes… I couldn't let her fail…"

Lilith smiled and chuckled.

"You truly are a good friend, Amity."

Amity smiled at that.

"Thank you, Ms. Lilith."

"You may just call me Lilith, Amity," She laughed, Amity joining her.

"With all due respect. No."

With Eda and Luz, she finished her long-winded story finally.

"And she gave me this as a gift!" Luz finished, showing off the potion Baba gave her.

Eda took the potion and looked it over, smiling and laughing slightly.

"That old hag really is something… I made one of these for her too, did you put some of your magic in this, too?" She asked.

"Yeah! How could you tell?"

"Your magic has that sort of… Uniqueness to it, you could say, super strong too!" Eda leaned over and pulled Luz into a hug, "I'm so happy to call you my apprentice!" She declared with a laugh, "With my teachings and all your other teachers too, you're going to be the best Empress the Isles has ever seen! Strong, Kind, Powerful!"

"And the power to lead armies to battle-" Lilith added.

"To sway the hearts of thousands-" Amity smiled.

"And bring an eternal Peace as no one has ever truly seen…" Kikimora finished, entering the room, "Come, Princess, Lilith. Our time here has finally come to an end. Lilith will be taking the young Blight home herself, so it will be just you and me this time."

Luz pouted slightly and nodded, looking up at Eda.

"Can I ask one more question?"

"Anything Kiddo."

"Baba talked about Amity's grandmother studying Sage's Instinct in this place called the Nine Titans, me and Amity never heard of it before now."

"Yeah, is that anything important?"

Eda and Lilith's eyes widened at the mention of the place, and Kikimora laughed.

"The Nine Titans is a place of great power," Kiki began, "Legend has it that Nine Titans were slain in that spot in the Boiling Sea and fell around a divided country, sectioning them off from the rest of the world for centuries. With nine magical Titan corpses rotting there instead of the usual one, the country's magic became 9 times stronger than usual."

Lilith cut in next.

"It was destiny for them to be strong. That land developed into a mighty home for Demons and powerful Witches. No one could match their power for centuries. It became a country of power and influence in the Magic World but the division among them remained, and every sect of magic there held secrets, powerful magic, and spells. No one sect trusted another, claiming spies, espionage, sabotage, and so much more." She explained to the girls, "Their distrust for each other was so great, a civil war broke out between the sects that controlled the Nine Titans."

"Well, who won?" Luz asked.

"Well… No one has," Eda answered.

"It's still going?" She exclaimed.

Kikimora chuckled, nodding.

"Yes, for the last hundred years or so, they've been fighting each other. If they'd unite, I can only imagine their strength. Better if they continued fighting each other then, we surely wouldn't survive a battle against them,"

"What!?" Amity asked, "How could they still be fighting for over a hundred years!?"

Eda shook her head.

"Kid, one sect is fighting 8 others at the same time, it's a nine-way war. The minute you get the upper hand on one, 4 others swoop in and attack you, it just can't be won." She sighed, "Those idiots think that there's only one true system of magic to follow and perform, so they fight each other to the bone to prove it to each other…"

"Truly small-minded thinking," Lilith said, sipping her tea, to which Eda gave her an annoyed look.

"Yes because our idea of committing to one coven and system of magic for our whole lives is thinking big," She shot back, sipping on her own tea.

"When it gives specialized access to magic and a sense of belonging, I think it is." She gave her sister a look.

"All it creates is segregation between Witches, Lily." She put her teacup down, "Especially for the "wild" ones who simply don't want to be branded with the Emperor's system."

"It's given to us by the Titan!"

"Bull. Shit."

"Edalyn!"

"You know that's a lie! What Titan would want the Witches living on his corpse to use one type of magic our entire lives? It's idiotic!"

"It's for our safety!"

"From what!?"

"Alright!"

Both Amity and Luz shouted, getting between each of their respective mentors to stop the fight that was sure to break loose if they were allowed to continue.

"Lilith, Kiki, let's get going yeah?" Luz suggested, "Amity is probably late and Eda needs her potion, right King- King!"

King jumped, having been too busy making jokes with Kiki to hear Luz the first time, he scampered over to them, climbing onto Eda's shoulders quickly and nodding at them.

"Yeah! This is actually when the curse starts to act up…"

"It is not-" Before she could finish, a poof of feathers appeared around her arms and neck, making her tsk in annoyance, "Titan I hate it here…" Carefully, she leaned down and petted Luz, "Stay safe kiddo."

Luz leaned into the head pats before suddenly capturing Eda in an embrace.

"Thanks, Eda, you're the best!"

Eda looked slightly surprised at the hug but smiled nonetheless, bringing her hands to hold Luz close to her.

"Ah, I know I am kiddo…" She chuckled, "You're pretty great too…"

Luz pulled away from the hug and looked toward Lilith and Amity.

"Thanks for the help, Ames!" She said, waving at them with her signature goofy grin.

Amity smiled at that and waved back, feeling Lilith hold her shoulder, and soon enough, the pair was enraptured by a blue flame and they disappeared from the Owl House. Kiki came over and held the Princess' shoulder.

"Ready?"

Luz nodded and waved at Eda and King.

"Bye, guys! See y'all tomorrow and don't forget to eat right and-" Before Luz could finish her rant, a purple spiral of flame swirled around them and Kikimora gave King a small wave before both she and Luz disappeared in the flames.

King sighed and his tail swayed behind him swiftly.

"I miss her already…"

Eda gave a teasing look and rubbed his belly.

"Oh?" She prodded, "Is that so? Could it be because… You LIKE her?" She accused him with a dramatic gasp.

King crossed his arms and huffed at that.

"Of course not!" He climbed from her shoulders into her hair, finding a bag of chips, "The King of Demons is a solitary beast!"

Eda rolled his eyes and giggled, heading upstairs.

"Let's get my "medicine" and then we can give you your bubble bath,"

"I am not a baby!"

"So you don't want a bubble bath?"

"I didn't say that!"

Eda playfully rolled her eyes with a smile snapping her fingers and making the downstairs lights of the Owl House turn off for the night, planning on taking a nice long nap in her nest.

-Castle-

Luz silently climbed the stairs to where her family lived, it was comparable to a condo if she had to describe it, but much nicer and comfier with an extra two floors.

As she walked up, two guards walked past her, too busy talking amongst themselves to even notice the human walking on the other side of the stairs.

"Did you hear what happened with the Emperor?" The first asked in a hushed tone, "He was in the throne room with the Empress when-"

"Sshh! We're not supposed to talk about that! Or else we'll get demoted or even petrified!" The second chastised him.

"Right, Right! Let's get back to our room… Maybe talk it over dinner?"

"If you're paying."

Luz glanced behind her at the guards as they made dinner plans.

"What happened to Dad…?" She asked herself with a hum before remembering Baba Yaga telling her about her gift from her to her father, her eyes widened, "She wouldn't…" Quickly, Luz dashed up the stairs, skipping two at a time, needing to see what she did to her father.

Finally, she reached the family door and she placed a hand on the engraved wood and a magic sigil appeared over it and the family crest appeared over it and she rushed into the living room and her eyes widened at the sight.

There, before her, was an impossible sight…

Luz stood in the doorway to the living room, covering her mouth with wide as saucers eyes, muffling her laughter as best she could. Her father was now sporting an enormous bush of hair on his head similar to when an electrical experiment is taking place and for the icing on the cake, it was also colored bright pink. Her mother was seen trying to reassure her husband, though trying to keep herself from laughing as well.

"Oh… My… God…" Luz gasped, getting the attention of her parents, "I uh… I love what you did with your hair…" She entered the living room fully, getting an up close and personal look at the fro of pink fuzz, "Christ it's blinding…"

"Si verdad?" Camila commented with a chuckle, putting a comb through the hair to straighten it, "Your father was in the throne room with a group of recruits when… This happened." She giggled and sighed.

Belos ran a hand through his face, tired of it.

"Somehow someone cast a spell on me and before I knew it, my hair had become this monstrosity!" He exclaimed, "And I was finally keeping up with it too, now I have to deal with this embarrassment." He groaned, mourning the loss of the progress he had made with his hair. "The most peculiar thing is the guards couldn't find who did it either!"

Luz came closer and reached out, running a hand through his pink afro.

"Well, at least it's very soft…" She chuckled, "Why didn't you use your magic to put it back the way it was?"

"He tried." Camila cackled, pausing her brushing to laugh.

"What?"

Belos sighed once more.

"The magic used to do this is far beyond anything I can dispel, much to my dismay, it appears to be permanent as well."

Luz held back her laughter.

"This has honestly got to be the best thing I've ever seen…"

Camila placed a comforting hand on Belos' shoulder.

"Todo va a estar bien, alright? I don't want to brag, but I've done Luz's hair for fourteen years. Me and her will have it fixed before the end of the night, and before any more guards see this bad hairdo, right Mija?"

Camila couldn't help but stare at the mess of pink on her ever so-serious husband's face and couldn't help but crack a smile, to see the stone-cold Emperor like this was so amusing…

Luz smiled as well and came over, sitting next to Belos.

"Si, Mama and you know…" She began to help her Mom brush the hair to at least tame it before they began to work on it fully, "Whoever did this must've been a really powerful Witch to get away with it…"

"Yes... and I believe I recognize this magic. Despite this, I will not send my guards to hunt them down. I can raise above petty feuds," Belos huffed.

"Could they even get past Baba Yaga's forest of traps?" Luz asked.

Belos looked at her in shock, eyes wide.

"How do you know the name "Baba Yaga"?"

Luz was slightly shocked at his reaction.

"O- Oh uh, well, I was with her today! She was Eda's old teacher and she was giving me a few pointers… Oh and she said to tell you "I told you so", said you'd know what that meant."

Belos groaned slightly and rubbed his temple.

"I should've known… I thought that magic was familiar. I can overlook this if it's her. Seems she hasn't changed since I last saw her…" He chuckled.

"How did you know her?" Luz asked, intrigued.

"Back in my youth, during my rebellion, I seeked her out for her vast wisdom and knowledge. Besides me, she's arguably one of the most powerful witches on the Isles. She even shared knowledge with me back when I was at war with Crisis."

"So what did you ask her about the war?" Luz asked, pulling out her journal to write everything down, loving the new information her father gave her, "Did it help you win the war?"

"In a way, yes. Baba foresaw a stranger coming to my army's aid in our eleventh. And through them, we'd win the war against Crisis, and lo and behold, we did."

"The Stranger didn't have a name?"

"She didn't have one, or, refused to give it to me and she wore a mask every waking hour. The only person I believe ever saw her without it was her companion in the privacy of their tent. I can tell you that they were Human, however."

"They were!?" Luz exclaimed, "How do you know!?"

"I saw a peak of their ears once and only once in the two years I knew her."

"What was a Human doing on the Isles…?" Camila asked.

"She wasn't the first," Belos hummed, "I believe there was a set of brothers who fell onto the Isles years before the Stranger did, things like this happen more often than not, sadly. I never did ask her what she was doing on the Isles, but she wasn't defenseless. She possessed a power similar to that of a Sage. As well as the ability to use Glyph magic like you, my little light."

Luz's eyes widened.

"Really?! All I know is the light glyph, do you remember what glyphs she used? Or what they looked like?" She asked, quickly writing all of this down, "A human on the Isles who knew how to use Glyph magic... So weird…" She said softly, "It's fun having a primary source as a father!" She said with a laugh.

Belos chuckled at that as well.

"I don't remember the glyphs she used exactly, I never stopped to look at them fully, but I believe I still have an etching of one she used in one of the final battles to destroy the entirety of Crisis' army," He lifted his hand, and using his magic, he grabbed something from a shelf across the room, a small journal, and allowed it to float to his daughter.

Luz caught the journal and flipped through the pages, quickly finding what she was looking for. It was a collection of various circles and extra glyph symbols she didn't recognize.

"This doesn't look like anything I've seen before…" She whispered, sketching it out on a separate slip of paper, then, without thinking, she pressed it to see what would happen. It resulted in the paper crumbling and turning into a light orb that turned into a fireball that began to glow dangerously.

Belos pulled Luz in close to him and snapped his fingers, making a bubble shield appear around the glowing fireball as it exploded inside the bubble, rumbling their entire home with the resulting explosion.

"I should've warned you of that…" He whispered, "It was an exploding fireball glyph she made, very powerful."

"I can see how that would stop an army…"

Belos nodded and took a breath, releasing Luz.

"Yes, the stranger was an untapped genius… I suggest not using that one often, little light. It can be quite destructive if misused."

Looking at Luz, Belos saw her enraptured in her journal, her pencil flying across the page as she worked to reverse engineer the complex mess of circles and symbols that was the Exploding glyph, giving Belos a nonchalant, "Yeah, I'll be careful! Promise!"

He shook his head with another sigh but couldn't help but smile, placing a hand on her hair.

"I know you will, Starshine…"

Luz smiled and, with her father's help, continued to develop and decipher the glyph she was given whilst Camila worked hard to fix the Emperor's pink disaster, simply enjoying more family time after their long days, as the sun went away and night fell over the Isles.

But things were never as peaceful as they first appeared to be, as across the Isles, a pair of prototype Blight Industries Abomitons used shovel attachments to dig up the earth and discover a hidden cave, lost and forgotten to time.

Finally, they dug through and discovered the collapsed entrance, and a masked man walked past the Abomitons, entering the cave and going deeper and deeper into the darkness, using purple flames to light the way into pitch blackness.

As he continued to walk into the cave, he came upon a room that looked out of place and out of time. In the room, there was a collection of golden snails branded with Emperor Crisis' coat of arms, and countless treasures as well, but at the center of all the treasure was a pedestal that held a singular scroll. It was sealed with a stamp of an hourglass.

"Finally…" The man whispered, reaching out and taking it, taking off his mask and glasses, revealing himself to be Lord Valgur of the Abominations Coven. He unfurled the scroll and carefully read it, smiling to himself greatly.

"Only a matter of time, now… A matter of time till I become the Emperor and the Isles become mine… No matter the cost…"

1. (The rest of their day is going to be detailed in Family Secrets: Part 2, AKA The very next chapter)

Did you enjoy it? Did you hate it? I hope it was worth the wait, but remember to like, review and tell me all your thoughts. I read and write down everything you all send me

Finally, what do YOU guys think really happened to Azura?

Have a lovely day/night