Ina looked back through the trees and what she saw was breathtaking. In the daylight, Holiv shimmered; its towering, mirror-like skyscrapers shone like beacons. It almost didn't look real, nestled in the narrow valley as it was. Or, maybe that was too gentle a way to put it.

Up close, the city felt open and free, but when her perspective was pulled back like this, Ina realized that that freedom was an illusion. Just because the walls were far away, didn't mean they weren't there.

But they could be torn down.

Ina wasn't adrift in the void anymore. She wasn't being swept away by the dark current of the order. The fear and uncertainty were still there, ever present, but her mind would not sink into them as long as her friends were there to support her. As long as she could lean on their power, she could keep going. In a figurative sense.

In a literal sense, she was still only human.

She fell back against a tree and slid to the ground, gasping for breath. Her feet hurt, her legs felt like jelly, and her lungs were on fire. Mountain climbing was not an activity she ever had the chance to experience, and her body was more than willing to remind her. The others gathered around. They didn't say anything, but it was clear to Ina that none of them needed to take a break.

Gura, Kiara, and Calli were one thing. They lived outside the bounds of human fragility. She couldn't hope to match up to such ancient, inhuman stamina. The thing that really bothered her was Amelia. She was a time traveler, yes, but aside from that she was entirely human, just like Ina.

So why didn't she look tired at all?!

Amelia knelt down and handed Ina a bottle of water. Her breathing was calm, she wasn't sweating, and bending her knees didn't cause her any discomfort. Was Ina really that out of shape?

She took the bottle despite her embarrassment and drank in big gulps while Amelia dabbed her arm with a damp rag. It was refreshing, but the moment the water stopped sliding down her throat her thirst returned. She'd never been so exhausted. At this rate, she'd slow everyone down.

And then Amelia stuck her with a needle. Ina looked down at the syringe piercing her arm, and then she looked up at Amelia. She could feel the blood draining from her face as a tight ache started to radiate from the injection site.

"It looked like you were struggling," Amelia said as if that explained anything. "You aren't afraid of needles, are you?"

"N-no, but–" Before Ina could voice her startled confusion her body shuddered. The aches and fatigue that had filled her limbs like sludge were swiftly and suddenly washed away.

Amelia produced another needle and stuck herself with it. She winced and said, "That should keep you moving for a while longer, but I haven't had a chance to test this stuff too thoroughly, so let me know if you experience any side effects."

Ina nodded. She had questions–what exactly did Amelia just inject her with, for starters–but the answers didn't seem to matter as she stood up, revitalized. Whatever that concoction was, it had granted her a new perspective. The reason Amelia was able to keep up with the others was because of those injections. She wasn't necessarily stronger than Ina. She wasn't invincible.

None of them were. For all of their inhuman traits, they were still people. Their endurance may have been leagues above that of a regular human's, but they could still get tired. Their skin might have been thicker or more durable, but they could still get hurt. They wielded incredible power, but they couldn't stand alone. Ina needed this group to help her move towards her goal, and so did they.

But even as that revelation bolstered her spirits a new uncertainty crept out of the darkness and plagued her with doubt.

The others needed the group as much as she did, but they also contributed something. Their power gave the others strength. But did Ina have any power to offer? She had the tome, sure, but that wasn't her power. It was the void's. It was something she could wield for her friends' sake, but only so long as the void allowed her to.

She continued to lag behind, lost in thought. Her current link with the eldritch power of the void was something the order–that Castor Kaygill–wanted her to establish. If she had opened the book during the sermon that day she would have been granted the same power. So did using it place her in their hands all over again? She could still feel the walls, even if she couldn't see them.

The slope of the mountain leveled out as they climbed further. Ina's memories of her and Gura's escape were fuzzy, but she could remember the compound resting on a sort of plateau jutting out of the mountainside. They were almost there.

Ina hustled to catch up to the others. Then, an ominous premonition struck her.

There were two of them, assuming Ina was interpreting the signals correctly. One was above them, flying towards them from over the trees. The other was approaching at a similar clip, but she couldn't make out where it was coming from.

"Something's coming!" She called out. Whatever was approaching, it wasn't like the monsters they'd fought in the city. The others stopped immediately. They heard the panic in her voice and were ready to fight.

A broad shadow passed over the group, trailing a powerful gust of wind. Ina looked up, but whatever it was had already passed.

"Was that a bird?" Calli said, searching the tree line.

Kiara shook her head, "I thought it looked more like a bat."

A garbled cry shook the mountain air. Soon after, Ina heard what sounded like a landslide. The rumbling of the earth and the crashing of trees being crushed grew louder and louder.

"On me!" Gura shouted. A colossal feathered beast shot towards them, its tremendous wings tearing through trees like they were nothing. Ina turned to see it just as it smashed through the tree line, and she felt something pass just over her head. And as if nearly getting pulverized by a giant bird thing wasn't enough, the gust it left in its wake knocked her to the ground.

The flying beast had blown right over them in an instant, and Ina wasn't the only one knocked off her feet.

"Is everyone all right?!" Kiara called over the deafening wind. Calli called back first, getting back up right away. Amelia sounded off and helped Ina stand.

"I'm okay, too!" Ina shouted. The wind wasn't dying down even as the flying monster circled around in the air above them. It slowly drifted along a wide arc, flapping its wings and mixing more turbulent winds into the storm.

The thing's legless body was covered in dark feathers, but its wings were leathery. Its head was an odd shape, with a stubby, beak-like mass protruding from its face. The detail that caught Ina's attention the tightest, though, was a blue speck stuck to its body.

Kiara spun, searching the newly felled clearing. "Where's Gura?!" Ina, Calli, and Amelia pointed up at the creature in unison. "Oh . . ." With everyone on the same page, they prepared for the monster's next pass.

The colossal thing banked slowly. The time it needed to make the turn gave Ina ample opportunity to consider her options. She had a much better idea of what the power of the tome was capable of now, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was only scratching the surface. It was frightening.

More and more her body was adapting to the power, to the point that she felt more herself when the book was open in her hands. She rested her thumb between the pages, putting a cap on the power she was channeling and limiting her exposure to the void.

The bird creature lined itself up with the group and flapped its wings hard. It shot towards them, somehow cutting through the air with that massive body. But they were ready this time. Calli and Kiara stood in front, weapons at the ready, while Amelia and Ina stood further back to offer support. The first thing they'd need to do was dislodge Gura from the monster, then they could–

Unease surged through Ina's body. She'd forgotten about the other presence!

Dark energy congealed beneath their feet. "There's something underneath–" Ina cried out, but she was too slow. A pair of jagged pincers erupted out of the earth on either side of Kiara.

A flash of pink severed the jaws just before they could snap shut. Kiara was saved, but Ina's relief was short-lived. Dozens of similar energies sprang up around the clearing. Each one preceding the emergence of a pair of pincers.

They didn't stop there, either. Following the pincers, bulbous heads wriggled out of the ground. Then came bodies, swollen and translucent. They were insects . . . or something like them. They certainly looked like oversized grubs.

The grubs stretched and pulled themselves along the ground. They looked slow at first glance, but when they attacked, their pincers snapped like traps. Calli and Kiara cut them down easily, but more and more emerged from the dirt. There didn't seem to be an end to them.

The monster in the air cried out again, making a tighter turn this time. "I'll try and support Gura!" Amelia called out, chasing after the bird's massive shadow.

That left Ina standing alone, contributing nothing. She almost turned to follow Amelia–she was worried about Gura fighting that bird thing all alone–but what could she do against something like that? Amelia could pepper it with bullets from a distance, but surely the tentacles at Ina's disposal could only reach so far.

She'd help Kiara and Calli, then. The grubs were emerging from a large well of darkness just below the surface. A well that didn't seem to be getting smaller no matter how many bugs they cut down.

Ina commanded the tentacles to reach out, and they stretched a fair bit, coiling around the swollen bodies of the grubs around her. She imagined herself holding a balloon filled with water. Its surface was springy and flexible, but squeezed tightly enough . . .

The grubs in her grasp popped, spraying an unpleasant greenish liquid all over. It wasn't as quick or clean as the blades the others used, but it was something. Ina reached out for more grubs, trying to increase the number of tentacles she could influence at once each time. And besides being incredibly grossed out by the copious amount of bug mess, she felt invigorated. She was helping.

The bugs kept coming, but thanks to Ina the crowd Calli and Kiara had to deal with was thinner than it could have been. They wouldn't be overwhelmed as long as she was supporting them!

For a while, Ina rode that high. She was part of the team for real and she looked forward to walking arm in arm from this battlefield with her comrades, satisfied and validated. But that fantasy was waning, even as she put every tentacle at her disposal to use. The reality was dawning on her.

No matter how many grubs burrowed out of the ground, no matter where they started, all of them, without exception, targeted Calli and Kiara exclusively. Not one of them so much as looked at Ina.

She pulled the tentacles back and stood motionless amidst a crawling swarm. Sure enough, the bugs ignored her. She wasn't in any danger whatsoever. It was like she wasn't a part of the fight at all.

The bird monster passed by again. It buzzed the clearing, but never got close enough to the ground to hit her.

She understood what was happening now. The order was protecting its assets. More specifically, they were trying to retrieve Ina while simultaneously eliminating the interloping outsiders.

It was like they were telling Ina that she wasn't even allowed to take part. They erected a sturdy glass wall between her and the battlefield. She had no stake. She was a trophy to be fought for and nothing else.

She almost threw the grimoire on the ground. She wanted to scream and curse the order and Castor Kaygill and all of the plans that tried to strip away her agency. But what would that do? The book held power. It was her only option if she wanted to participate. There had to be something she could do!

Another wave of grubs rose up around her and started making their way towards Kiara and Calli. Squashing a few wouldn't halt their advance, and more would just emerge to replace them. Where were they even coming from?

No time to think.

Ina closed her eyes and let her awareness merge with the power passing through the tome. She felt the energies of the creatures clearly, the monster bird up above and the grubs spawning beneath the earth. As the bugs surrounding Calli and Kiara were cut away, more appeared beneath their feet. It was like they were appearing out of thin air. But that couldn't be right.

The order couldn't manifest these monsters out of nothing. They needed to create them from something else. The ground itself wasn't a monster producing the bugs. There had to be an actual source. She reached deeper, stretching her senses further underground.

The dark energy of the grubs vanished at first, but she delved even deeper. Soon after, a tremendous well of power came into view. It boiled and churned, sending the grubs to the surface like magma through a volcanic vent. That was the true core of the bugs. But how could they get down there?

A pained cry brought Ina back to reality. The bird passed over the clearing, throwing Amelia to the ground amidst the swarm. Calli and Kiara kept her from being overwhelmed, but no matter how many they cut down with flashes of pink and fire, the grubs didn't let up.

The larger well of darkness deep down below pulsed, sending an eruption like wave of energy up to the surface. The ground shook and the soil around the clearing was completely turned as an army of bugs emerged all at once.

Ina trembled, grinding her teeth. The message was clear. The order was telling her that they would take away everything she tried to claim for herself. Be it friends or power, they would assert their dominance. Castor's smug face flashed across her mind, as did a powerful, otherworldly urge to sock him square in the jaw. The tome hummed, almost as if it shared that urge.

She'd already decided to tear down the order's walls.

Ina took a deep breath and held up the book, allowing its pages to turn on their own. She was afraid of what this would do, but letting that fear dictate her actions would only put her more firmly in the order's hands. Was it careful consideration that sent Amelia back in time? Did Gura take the risks into account when she sprung herself and Ina from the order's compound?

Of course not!

A powerful current of energy flowed through her and she rose off the ground. Her perception shifted. She could see the things she only felt through the tome laying over the physical world. A word came to her mind, one that she didn't understand or think she could form with her human throat and mouth. But she said it anyway.

The utterance radiated out from where she floated and struck down each of the bugs it passed through, their energies bursting and fading into nothing. That left the source, a vibrant beacon beneath Ina's feet now that its brood was gone, and the bird, a blinding mass of energy in its own right, circling above her head.

Ina released the book and it hung in the air in front of her. She reached up with one arm and down with the other, imagining herself grabbing those menacing wells of darkness. A portal appeared in the air above the clearing, and though she could not see it with her eyes, Ina sensed an identical portal appear under the ground.

A monstrous tentacle emerged from the portal in the sky. It lunged like a striking snake and wrapped tightly around the bird creature. A similar scene played out down below, the giant tentacle burrowing around the mysterious source and squeezing tight. They resisted, but the power of the tome–her power–was too great for them.

Ina brought her hands together, pulling a massive wriggling bug up to the surface, at last revealing its grotesque, insectoid shape. She wrenched the bird monster out of the sky and slammed it down on top of the swollen form of the grub queen. Gura landed with a thud nearby, having been shaken loose by the impact.

Ina released the monsters, dropping them in a heap, and dismissed the giant tentacles. By the time her feet were planted on the ground, the others had finished the monsters off. She felt . . . not tired, exactly, but she got the impression she'd just lifted some great weight or ran a great distance. It was a strange, almost spiritual exhaustion. Her vision returned to normal as she closed the book and held it tightly to her chest.

"Ina!" Kiara said, bounding across the clearing, leaving Ina barely any time to brace herself before she wrapped her arms around her. "That was incredible! You really saved us there!" She lifted Ina up and spun her around, laughing.

Amelia approached and smiled nervously. "Kiara's right. We weren't really prepared to deal with that kind of two-pronged attack. Thanks," she said. Calli echoed the sentiment.

Gura leapt on Ina and Kiara, squeezing them both.

Their gratitude made Ina smile, but the feeling went deeper than they could have known. There was still so much to worry about; there was still so much they didn't understand about her power, and the fight wasn't over. And yet, it was easy to set those worries aside. This power . . . her power, made her someone that her friends could rely on. She wasn't a burden to the group, she was a part of it.

If the order wanted her to obtain this power so badly, she'd be happy to shove it back in their faces. In particular, she looked forward to wiping that smug grin off of Castor Kaygill's face.

The tome hummed in Ina's arms. It felt the same, apparently.

+ Shift +

Gura licked her lips as she led the group through the trees. She could see the compound ahead. They were just about there.

In the grand scheme of her long, long life, the heraldic order of the Ancient Ones was a tiny blip. It hadn't even been a century since she was first led here. But even so, she had a hell of a lot of grievances to air out.

That first herald to approach Gura all those years ago had used the title of avatar to entice her. She could be reborn, get a fresh start, he'd said. She hadn't given the implications any thought back then. She could hide away and have all of her needs taken care of? How could she pass that up? It was like being a kid all over again.

Her mother's smile danced across her mind. The view of the streets of Atlantis from atop her father's shoulders. She shook her head. Those were the sort of memories she'd wanted to bury.

The compound's main entrance was wide open–an obvious trap if Gura had ever seen one–but she charged ahead anyways. None of them were foolish enough to think this would be easy, so there was no chance of them being caught off-guard.

They were immediately greeted by an all too familiar yet still confounding maze of hallways. Gura, drawing on their experiences raiding the order's hideouts, didn't waste any time. She knew the rough direction of their destination, so she smashed through wall after wall in a straight line.

Eventually, though, the character of the interior changed. The sharp, disorienting halls transformed into a web of smooth, swooping corridors. It was no less a maze, but the layout was much more familiar to Gura.

She almost tore through these curving walls as well, but Ina stopped her. "We can find our way from here, I think."

Gura pursed her lips. "We can move a lot faster if we go in a straight line though." Plus, smashing the heralds' stuff was fun.

"I agree," Calli said. "There's no reason for us to follow a path the order laid out."

Ina shook her head. "There is, though. The compound up to now has been almost the same as the shrines hidden around the city. Where we are now," she stepped up beside Gura and gently rested her hand on the wall, "isn't just a facility the heralds use to move resources. It's a home. The acolytes' rooms should start around here."

"We're already here to destroy the organization they belong to. What difference would a few demolished rooms make?" Amelia said.

Ina thought quietly for a moment. She had to see that Amelia and Calli were right, but she shook her head again anyway. "The acolytes are innocent. They came here to find meaning. For themselves and the world. This is their home, and it was ours too." She looked down at Gura, pleading. "If possible, I want to avoid destroying it."

Calli and Amelia sighed, and Gura couldn't blame them. Still, she had to give her fellow former cult member some credit. Ina wasn't uncertain standing up for the acolytes, many of which were born into the order like herself. She stood her ground and appealed for them on equal ground with the others.

"All right, fine," Gura said, feigning displeasure. "We know the way, so let's just follow the path normally." She spun on her heel and started down the corridor, blocking any chance to argue. Kiara likely would have sided with Ina, knowing her, so the decision would have come down to Gura anyways.

There were dastardly plans to foil and property damage to do. No time to waste arguing over directions.

The group made their way through the deeper parts of the compound with only a little bit of grumbling. Otherwise, they were all pretty quiet. That was natural, Gura figured, seeing as they were on their way to a big fight, but she wished someone would strike up a conversation. With the only thing to distract her being the sound of their footsteps, she couldn't help but take in her surroundings.

The walls of these corridors, for example, were a hideous shade of orange. She'd made a real big stink back when the order's leaders had first painted them that color. It was supposed to keep things feeling warm and inviting, they'd said. That made sense, but seeing so much of it all the time made Gura want to barf. It wasn't until the number of acolytes had grown that it had started to grow on her. She couldn't feel the warmth until those people communicated it to her.

She felt a little bad, reminiscing about those early adopters of the faith. She remembered that they knew her name well, but she couldn't remember any of them. Not their names or their faces. Maybe if she were shown a picture . . .

Nah! It wasn't that important. And besides, the whole point of her joining the order was to leave her past behind. The order was a prison of the mind. She sealed away those unpleasant memories, locked up all of that nasty history and gave the heralds the key for safekeeping. That might not have been the best idea in hindsight, but it had worked wonders for her so far.

In the end, she'd chosen to leave the order behind as well. With the help of her new friends she would bury this place and the memories with it. She chuckled, imagining the look on Castor's face when all of his ambitions were reduced to rubble. His face was going to be so red.

Gura's spirits only brightened more as the group reached the double doors leading into the oasis. Passing through revealed just how dim her mood was by comparison, though. She rubbed her eyes to disperse the spots, giving them time to adjust to the light.

The artificial sun of the oasis shone as brightly as ever. While the rest of the compound was bathed in the low light of wall mounted lamps and candles, this space was purpose built to simulate a perfect day around the clock.

"This is . . . impressive," Kiara said. She traced the wall near the doors up to the ceiling, craning her neck as it seemed to transform into open sky.

Calli foolishly tried to make sense of the scale, asking, "How deep into the mountain are we?"

The corner of Gura's mouth crept up her cheek. Despite her best efforts to disavow the order's compound, she couldn't help but feel an odd sense of pride towards this place. It had been her stomping ground for decades. She cleared her throat and attempted to hide her smirk. "If you guys're done gawking, we should keep moving." Based on the sour looks they gave her, she didn't manage to mask her smile well enough. Oh well.

In a move that both shocked and impressed Gura in equal parts, Ina took the lead. "Once we pass through the oasis, the inner sanctum won't be far," she said. "If the heralds are going to try and stop us, they'll likely do it here."

"If they do," Gura said, cracking her knuckles, "we'll just have to stop them from stopping us, won't we?" She smiled openly, and this time the others did too.

Ina led the group past verdant gardens, neatly trimmed hedges, and tidy lawns. It hadn't been all that long since she'd last been here, but Gura was immersed in nostalgia. She might not have been able to remember most of the acolytes she'd gotten to know over the years, but she sure could remember being happy and having fun.

As the group passed the pool, Gura hoped that the heralds would show some restraint. This place was maintained by the acolytes. It was their space. It was hers too.

If there was one part of the building that Gura could preserve, it would be this one.

Ina stopped suddenly, pulling Gura out of her sentimental musing. She was about to ask if something was wrong, then she noticed someone approaching from the far side of the oasis. Her hackles shot up and she almost pounced on the stranger. She wasn't alone either. She could feel the tension from the others in the air. Ina alone lacked that hostile edge.

When Gura looked more closely at the stranger, she finally noticed a familiar, affable smile. This person was not a stranger, nor was she a threat. She was probably the nicest person Gura had ever met.

"Johanna?" Ina said, sounding equal parts surprised and worried. "What are you doing here?"

"Forgive me, Priestess, but I could ask you the same," Johanna laughed. She seemed in good spirits. Not an unusual occurrence for her, but given the situation it was strange. "I had heard that you and the Avatar had taken an impromptu trip. Did your journey go well?"

"Uhh," Ina hesitated. There was no telling what kind of nonsense the heralds fed the acolytes regarding their escape, but she rolled with it nicely, "It did. Very well, in fact. We, uhh, made some new friends." She gestured towards the group.

Johanna clapped her hands and beamed almost as brightly as the artificial sun above their heads. "Oh that is wonderful! You will have to tell me all about it once things have settled down."

Ina shot a glance at Gura. "Is something going on? We haven't seen anyone since we've returned. Is that why?"

"I am so sorry, Priestess! I thought that you would have been informed." Johanna leaned in and took Ina's hands. "The Heralds have invited the acolytes to the Inner Sanctum! Isn't that wonderful? Not many get such an opportunity, no siree!"

Ina's newly found confidence receded ever so slightly. Gura didn't think the others noticed–Johanna certainly didn't–but she did. How could she not?

"This is a first for pretty much everybody, myself included. We were just about to begin our procession," Johanna said, her excitement getting the better of her.

"Will the heralds be there too? In the inner sanctum, I mean," Gura said, cutting the elderly woman off.

"They most certainly will be. They said that this is an event for the whole of the Heraldic Order!"

"Could you hold the acolytes back for a while longer? Just until Ina and I can discuss something important with the heralds." Gura tried to be vague, but subtlety was not her strong suit.

Johanna frowned. She knew something was up, that "something important" meant more than a simple conversation. And yet, "I'm certain the others will be disappointed at being delayed, but it would be remiss of me to refuse. I will do as you have requested, Avatar," she said, smiling wryly. She turned and beckoned the group to follow. "Please, allow me to escort you."

Before Gura could breathe a sigh of relief, Johanna started walking at a surprisingly brisk pace. She jumped to follow, grabbing Ina's hand and gently pulling her along.

She knew that the inner sanctum was a sore spot for Ina, so she held her tongue. Instead of comforting words, she looked Ina in the eyes and nodded, a sharp motion that she hoped would convey her resolve.

Gura was with her. No matter what.

Ina breathed in sharply, then nodded back. Message received.

At the pace Johanna set, the group reached the far end of the oasis in no time. When they approached the doors, she turned and smiled at Ina and Gura. It wasn't the sort of sycophantic smile that was so common among the acolytes. It was a genuine expression of friendship that Gura felt in her very soul. "I wish you well, Priestess. Avatar. We will eagerly await your invitation to enter the sanctum." It wasn't faith that kept her from questioning them, that much was clear now.

When Johanna pushed through the doors into the spacious hall leading to the inner sanctum, Gura witnessed something she never thought she'd see. The number of acolytes gathered there was staggering. It was probably every single person living in the compound that wasn't part of the heraldry, all in one place.

Many of them turned and looked at the group as they passed. They seemed confused, especially as Johanna's message started to spread, but they bowed their heads regardless. Many of them continued to watch the group expectantly until they had disappeared behind a bend.

The sound of footsteps echoed off of the corridor's high ceiling as they drew closer and closer to their destination. It occurred to Gura that this was the closest she'd ever been to the inner sanctum. As the compound was being constructed and expanded over the years the heralds took special care to steer her clear. Being the "avatar" she thought it was unfair, but she'd eventually lost interest.

She'd joined to bury secrets, not uncover them. Maybe she should have been more persistent.

A pair of ornate doors came into view as the group rounded another bend. Ominous wasn't a strong enough word to describe them. It was clear, even at a distance, that they were covered in scribbles similar to the ones on the hideout shrines. There were also scenes and charts engraved on the surface that resembled figures Gura had seen in Ina's book.

These scribbles felt different, though. Gura couldn't explain why, but it was like there was a real power in them pushing back against her as she moved closer.

When they finally reached the doors, Ina turned. "There's something I need to say before we go in," she seemed nervous, but that didn't stop her. "When I was growing up here, I had a friend. She and I were born and raised in this complex. Her name was Sana, and she was another candidate for the order's priestess."

Gura held her breath. She'd heard of the selection process Ina had gone through. She even knew that the ordeal had cost her a dear friend, but this was the first time she'd heard Ina actually say the girl's name.

Ina continued, "We were brought to the inner sanctum to determine which of us would become the priestess. They . . ." she shivered, "They threw us into an endless void to test our worthiness. It was dark and cold, like a nightmare. I emerged from the void. Sana didn't. That was the ritual that earned me my title.

"I didn't plan on talking about this, but after we talked with Johanna, I realized something terrible." She clutched the book close to her chest. Her resolve was carrying her through, but she was clearly shaken. "If the heralds have invited the acolytes into the inner sanctum, then they must be planning to sacrifice them the same way they did Sana."

She was definitely leaving details out, but Gura didn't care. In all the years they'd known each other, that was the most Ina had ever opened up about her past. Maybe, once this was all over, she could return the favor . . . or not. Her past was better off buried.

"I want to be honest with you all, so I'm saying this now. I appreciate your help in making it this far. Thank you for helping me confront the order, but I'm only one person." Ina looked each of them in the eyes, "The acolytes are in danger. Please, help me protect them."

It was a silly request, honestly. Gura almost laughed out loud. She managed to hold it in, though, and stepped up beside Ina. Amelia followed her and Calli and Kiara weren't far behind. None of them said anything. All of their words of support had already been said. They were already resolved to fight, so there was no decision to make.

Still, "Thank you," Ina said.

As one, the group pushed through the larger than necessary doors. When Gura stepped through, though, her head began to spin.

The ocean had no boundaries. At its deepest depths it wasn't really any different than the surface world. The landscape could stretch on and on past the horizon. The ocean's surface was less a ceiling and more a sky. It was truly enormous, but this chamber forced Gura to reconsider her definition of the word.

There was a ceiling, there had to be. Problem was, the walls just kept going up and up until they came together in a pitch black halo far overhead. The walls themselves made the oasis feel cramped by comparison; they were so far away. Gura wasn't sure she could even see where the floor and the far wall met as if it were hidden by the curvature of the earth.

The ocean never made her feel small, but the inner sanctum made her feel absolutely tiny.

"The mountain," Amelia said, reeling, "is hollow? How is that possible?"

"I know it's a lot, but please stay focused." Ina kept walking, forcing everyone else to scramble after her.

The scale of the sanctum didn't get any easier to grasp as they proceeded. If anything, it became stranger. They were getting further away from the door they entered through, but the far end of the chamber didn't appear to be getting any closer. More than once it felt like the floor was moving beneath their feet, keeping them in place. Their footsteps didn't even echo.

It didn't help that the chamber was mostly empty. The only feature was a raised platform near what Gura assumed was the center. The distance was hard to judge, though. Ina marched towards it, her gaze turned upward, fixed on the platform.

No, it wasn't the platform she was looking at. There was a person standing at its edge. Gura thought her vision was pretty good, but the wild proportions of this space had her doubting herself. It seemed to be a man.

Castor Kaygill.

Who else could it be? Even as an indistinct shape in the distance he exuded a greasy smugness that made Gura cringe. As the group got closer, it became clear that he was standing with his back turned to them. He was pointing and shaking his head as if he was speaking to someone.

A low hum reached Gura's ears. It was faint, but grew more apparent the closer they got. The words–if they could be called that–were nonsense, but they gave a real bad vibe.

That vibe materialized as a pulse radiating out from the platform. A dark haze rose from its center. It spilled over the edges of the platform and raced across the ground at a frightening speed. It drifted around the group's ankles mere moments after it appeared and Gura grimaced. The haze made her feel nauseous. The others, Amelia included, had similar reactions.

Castor raised his head with a start and he turned. When his eyes fell on the group, he smiled. "Ahh, Priestess! I'm so glad you deigned to bless us with your presence. And you brought your friends. Wonderful. Welcome, all of you!" They were close enough now to see that even as he addressed all of them, his eyes were fixed on Ina.

Gura clenched her fists. Calli's scythe appeared in her hands. Kiara's sword and shield deployed. Amelia drew the guns she'd modified. They were all ready to go whenever. But they waited.

Ina clutched her book and drew in a deep breath. The tome flipped open in her palm and her body was enveloped in a soft violet glow as she glared up at the man who orchestrated her suffering. "I don't know what they're doing up there, but I can tell it won't be good if they finish. We need to stop them quickly," she said to the rest of the group.

Castor frowned. "You intend to interfere? After all the effort I went through to work around your absence? How cruel." The chanting grew louder and another pulse slammed into Gura's chest. It wasn't enough to make her stagger, but it was definitely a bad sign. "We are on the cusp of success, Priestess! Very soon now, the dreary, dull world that we have been trapped in will be saved! The horrible gray of reality will be washed away by the Ancient Ones and their color! This world will be bathed in deep, vibrant beauty!"

Gura clenched her teeth. That was a familiar mantra. It was the promise that drew so many to the order in the first place. Once upon a time, she had held those words close to her heart. The chance to bury her past by building something beautiful on top of it.

She was desperate back then. But now she could taste the venom in those words. "There's nothing beautiful about the world you want. That color is dark. Not to mention ugly!" she said, shaking her fist up at the order's leader.

Castor's frown deepened as he looked at her for the first time. "The avatar . . . My predecessors were heavily invested in your potential. I never bought into their fancies, but perhaps you can be of some use." The light in his gaze shifted. It made her feel cold.

She knew that look. She'd seen it in the order's previous leaders, all the way back to the one that recruited her. It was like they were looking through her and understanding something that Gura herself couldn't grasp.

Castor raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The sound echoed. A person in a deep red robe emerged over the edge of the platform and approached the lead herald. They were carrying something covered by a cloth. "I will admit that beauty is a subjective matter," Castor said, taking the long object the other herald offered. When he removed the cloth, Gura's eyes snapped to it so hard her ears started ringing, "but I think you will very much enjoy the color I envision. Why don't you see for yourself?"

Castor flung the weapon off the platform and it clattered to the floor a short distance away. Gura could barely breathe. Darkness encroached on her vision as if to funnel her attention towards its untarnished aquamarine surface. Every inch of her body squirmed like something was burrowing under her skin, trying to pull her in.

A trident. Her trident. The thing she shoved all of her history into.

The trident that she abandoned.

It is good to see you again, it spoke to her in a nostalgic voice. Come. It has been too long.

Gura's legs moved on their own, pulling her closer and closer to that haunted keepsake. The weird thing was, she kind of did want to pick it up. It had been a long time since she felt its weight.

"Gura? Hey, what's wrong?!"

Maybe she could hold it for a little bit. What could it hurt? It was hers. Her father had given it to her. He had expected so much. She reached out, responding to its beckoning call.

"Gura! Don't go any further!"

A flash of pink entered Gura's periphery. Someone's hand took hold of hers. It tried to pull her away, so she shook it off. A quick flick of her wrist was all it took to send whoever it was flying. She blinked, and suddenly the trident was at her feet.

Gura reached down and wrapped her fingers around the haft of the weapon. Even after all these years it was still just slightly too big for her hands. She didn't mind, though.

You seem tense, she heard the trident's voice again, but closer. It was like someone was leaning on her shoulder and pressing their lips directly to her ear as they spoke. Why don't you let me take over? For old time's sake.

The darkness encroaching on her vision was dyed a vibrant crimson. A familiar sense of distance overcame her. It hurt. She tried to scream, but she couldn't breathe.

She sank, deep down into a dark red sea.