Chapter Sixteen: Depths

At the edge of Salineas, the swamp narrowed into a river, which let out into the ocean. Out of the water crawled two figures, exhausted. Having done most of the work pulling them out of harm's way, Sqalish collapsed onto the sand. Catra shook herself off before trying to get him on his feet again. "I hope you aren't planning on laying there all day."

Still panting, he slowly pulled himself up. "Look, I understand if you're mad," he said. "I've come to expect that from you. But you can't honestly expect the two of us to take on three princesses by ourselves!"

"As much as I want to be mad at you, I'm not, believe it or not," Catra grumbled. "But I am mad. Do you know what I'm mad at?"

"I have a feeling I'm about to find out," Sqalish mumbled. A remark like that normally would have earned Catra's ire, but she ignored it this time.

"I'm mad at myself for making us split up. I'm mad at those princesses, for coming out of nowhere. I'm mad at Carnelian for letting herself get defeated so easily." She began stomping towards the water's edge, continuing her tirade. "I'm mad at Adora for just letting all of this happen! I'm mad at Emerald for being such a sub-par second in command! And I'm mad at Entrapta for sending us here to look for something she already knew about!" she bellowed out to sea.

Despite knowing the risks, Sqalish figured it would be better for him to try and calm her down. He slowly approached once her rant was over. "So…what's the plan now?"

Catra resisted the urge to accost him for asking such a stupid question–even as mad as he was, she realized it was a fairly valid thing to ask. "We…we have to find out more about the Heart of Etheria," she eventually said. "For now, we get back to the ship. We contact Entrapta, and tell her what we have so far. We can worry about the others later." Based on the tone of her last sentence, both of them knew they were more than prepared to leave the others behind if it came to that.

But it was at that moment that Karikon's pocket began to vibrate. The two glanced at the source of the noise, then at each other. He removed his communicator to check the message. "Crita," he said softly.

He played the message, expecting to hear her voice, but heard someone else's instead. "...decides what's best for Brightmoon, best for Etheria!" The voice was a little distant, but Catra knew immediately who it was.

"Is that Glimmer?" she asked, leaning in closer. "How are they getting this?" Sqalish increased the volume.

Another voice responded, immediately recognizable as Adora's. "That's not a queen, that's a dictator! Don't you get it!? Hordak's getting inside your head, trying to turn you into a copy of him!"

"Sounds like there's dissension in the ranks," Sqalish noted. Catra nudged him to silence him.

"Do you really think Angella would want to see her daughter acting like–"

"My mother is dead!"

"SHE WANTS TO KILL CATRA!"

This outburst was unmistakably the voice of Bow. Both of them froze up upon hearing it, just like it seemed everyone on the other end had. Sqalish looked over at Catra, worried how she would take this revelation. Instead of anger, however, a grin spread across her face, which gave way to laughter. "Uh, boss?"

"I can't believe that princess is taking this personally!" she scoffed. "I always knew she was petty, but this? This is just too good!" She stopped the recording, her attention turning inland. "You know what, Sqalish? I think I have a better plan. We're going to Brightmoon."

Sqalish wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he asked anyway. "And, uh, what is our plan, exactly?"

"Simple: we're going to get rid of the biggest threat to the New Horde," Catra answered, beginning the next leg of their trek. "Glimmer wanted to go straight for the source of her problems, so we'll do the same thing. By using her anger against her." She took hold of Sqalish's communicator, replaying the message to make sure they heard everything. Crita may have just given them all they needed to dismantle the Princess Alliance for good.

As she sidled along the narrow ledge barely big enough to support her, Scorpia tried to focus on the landscape just beyond. From this vantage point she could see almost the entire forest, and the nearby waterfall created a mist that framed the entire view in a rainbow. "Y'know, I never thought a place called 'Beast Island' could be this pretty," she said. "But it is, isn't it? Pretty."

Micah was a short ways ahead of her, leading the way along the cliffside. "It isn't so pretty once you know what's lurking in the shadows," he added darkly. "...But yeah, from up here it is pretty. Just try not to look down."

"Why would you say that!?" shouted Scorpia, already trying her hardest. "Okay, you can do this," she reminded herself. "Just keep going, just keeeeeep on going…you'll catch me if I fall, right?"

"I'll try." Micah's assurance didn't exactly assure her very much. "Don't worry, we're almost there. Just a few more steps."

Micah soon disappeared into a crevice hidden behind the waterfall. Scorpia felt around with her claw, making her way inside with his help. "Okay, that was… Look, scorpionkin aren't great with heights. It's not that we're scared, it's just that our bodies aren't suited for climbing, or, y'know, falling. So is it alright if we never do that again?"

Micah smiled, hoping she wouldn't take it as laughing at her. "Sure, if you can find another way out! But let's focus on this for now…" He illuminated the end of his staff, leading the way down into the cave.

Speaking of the cave, it was only now that Scorpia realized that there was a huge cave leading deeper into the mountain. "Woah…so, where exactly did you say this went?" she asked.

"Down," Micah replied. "Far, far down, deeper than anyone has been, I'm pretty sure. Somewhere we'll find enough magic for you to recharge."

Scorpia noticed the tunnel sloped as they continued on, but not by much. If it really was as deep as he said, they'd be walking for a long time. "How exactly did you find this place?" she asked. "Did your magical dowsing skills lead you to the source of all magic on Etheria or something?"

"Um…" Micah looked away. "Actually, I fell in a hole."

"You fell in a hole?" Scorpia repeated.

He nodded. "I fell in a hole. I was out in the woods looking for food, the ground gave out under me, and I fell in a hole. Actually, the spot I fell through shouldn't be too far from here. But after that, I felt a strange pull, like the magic down there was reacting to my own. I'll show you once we get there."

They continued down the tunnel for a little while longer, with practically no change in the environment. But before long, the narrow cave widened out into a much larger room, big enough to be the grand hall of a castle.

But that wasn't all: in the room's center was a pool of crystal-clear water, filled by droplets falling from above. A hole in the ceiling (made by Micah, no doubt) let in a beam of sunlight that the pool reflected all throughout the chamber, dancing across the walls and stalagmites.

Scorpia turned around to take in every inch of the chamber. "Woah… No wonder you felt magic in this place! Man, if this whole island wasn't infested by unholy monstrosities, I'd wanna come here for a picnic!"

"Oh, this? This is nice, but it's far from the main attraction!" said Micah. "What we really want is down that way." He pointed towards yet another cave located behind the pool, leading deeper still. "You can feel that, can't you?"

"What exactly am I supposed to be feeling?" Scorpia waded through the pool over to the opening. "Relief? Pride? Trepediation?" But as she drew closer, she felt a light tingling wash over her. It wasn't a physical feeling either, but more like something in her mind knew what was down there. She didn't, of course, but the feeling got stronger as she held out a claw. It felt a lot like a gentler version of what she felt when she had transformed into a giant scorpion for the first time. "Is this…the feeling?"

"Trepidation," Micah corrected. "But yes, that's the feeling. I don't quite understand how, but there's a little bit of the Black Garnet down there, as well as the Moonstone, the Pearl, the Heart Blossom, maybe Runestone in the area, maybe even the whole planet. Everything we need to defeat Modulok, just down there. Are you ready?"

Normally, Scorpia would be hesitant about crawling into a dark, foreboding cave, especially one that contained the secrets and powers of every princess on Etheria. But if what could help her new friend was down there, what reason did she have to hesitate? "Let's do it!" With a nod, he led the way, and they continued on.

Despite her initial enthusiasm, it quickly fizzled out once she realized they were walking through more of the same dark, narrow chasms as before. The underground grotto had offered a brief sense of wonderment, but now she just felt like they were walking through long-abandoned catacombs, except less interesting. And hopefully with less dead people.

"Hey, I just had a thought," she said, breaking the silence. "Why couldn't we have just gone through the hole in the ceiling back there? It didn't look like that big of a drop."

"Oh, that," Micah said. Scorpia noticed his voice was much quieter than before. "I didn't want to risk waking them up."

"Waking–" Scorpia clapped her claws over her mouth, before continuing, quieter. "Waking who up?"

"You'll see in a moment," he replied eerily.

Despite her curiosity being piqued, Scorpia decided to take his word for it. This being Beast Island, it wasn't hard to imagine that whoever 'they' were, waking them up was not in their best interest. Suddenly, every footfall, every dislodged pebble sounded much louder than before.

After what felt like ages, Micah stopped in his tracks. He held out his staff, and Scorpia saw that a massive pit stretched out before them. The room itself was easily much larger than the previous one, with the pit only adding to the sense of emptiness this place brought. She wasn't sure how deep it was, but any pit that didn't have a visible bottom was automatically too deep. Still, Scorpia could feel the tingling growing stronger, so this was where they had to go.

"Please tell me we don't have to jump," she said with a gulp.

Micah held a finger to his lips, but shook his head. Proceeding slowly so as to make as little noise as possible, he rotated his staff, which began to glow. A circular sigil appeared before them, hovering just over the pit. He stepped onto it, revealing that it was a platform, large enough to carry them both. "Come on, it's safe," he whispered.

Somewhat reluctantly, but just as determined, Scorpia cautiously stepped onto the glowing platform. With a wave of his hand, Micah began their descent. The platform carried them deep down into the bowels of this cave, moving just a bit faster than she was comfortable with. But Micah showed no signs of worry, so she didn't either.

The walls of the pit were the same as those in the earlier tunnels, with no crystals or reflected light to make them interesting. However, once they reached a certain depth, the walls…changed. Reddish-brown growths began appearing, more of them the further down they went. "Those are some weird-looking rocks," Scorpia whispered. She glanced over at Micah, who was also looking at the 'rocks' with a quiet dread. "...Those aren't rocks, are they?"

"Harpies," he said quietly. The way he said the word, coupled with the way he looked at the beasts, showed that he had a history with them, and not a pretty one. "There have to be hundreds of them. There weren't nearly this many last time I was here…"

Looking closer, Scorpia could tell that the 'rocks' had a scaly texture to them, and seemed to move in a way that couldn't just be the flickering of the light. With a start, she realized that they were breathing. As they continued to descend, she did her best not to look at them.

After a few more minutes, a thought crossed her mind. "Hang on…if you coulda created a platform this entire time, why couldn't you just have lifted us up that cliff in the first place?"

Micah waited a moment, considering his answer carefully. "You're too heavy to go up," he finally said.

"What!?" said Scorpia, still keeping her voice hushed. "What do you mean 'I'm too heavy?' I'm pretty sure I've lost more than a few pounds these last few weeks, and even if I hadn't, aren't you magic? What does weight matter to you?"

"Hush!" he replied. "In case you hadn't noticed, I've been stuck on this island for years, which hasn't exactly done wonders for my magical skill! So even if you weren't a scorpionkin with all that armor, going up would be a lot tougher than going down!"

"Then how exactly do you plan on getting us out of here?" she asked.

"I'll figure that out later!"

A sudden noise to the side made both of them stop in their tracks. One of the harpies had heard their bickering, and slowly unfolded its wings. It was horribly gaunt, clinging to the wall with massive talons while a hideous batlike face peered in their direction. But its beady eyes were glassed over, not focusing on them directly. Living underground, it seemed the creatures didn't have the best sight.

It couldn't see them, but it could see Micah's light. Rather than see this as an intruder, however, it was irritated by the brightness, soon covering itself up again. The crisis narrowly averted, the two of them remained in silence for the duration of the trip.

After a few more agonizing moments, they reached solid ground. As they stepped onto the floor once again, Scorpia could feel that the tingling was stronger than ever. She pressed on, not even needing Micah's guidance to find its source. Even in the near-total darkness of the chasm, she still knew exactly which way to go.

Before long, she saw the light at the end of the tunnel–literally. At first, she thought there was another sunlit pool ahead, but as she got closer, she found that it wasn't sunlight, but a multicolored glow. She reached its source, and found what she at first thought were glowing vines, shining in all kinds of different colors. She touched one, and despite looking to be made of plant matter, it revealed itself to be hard like stone.

"Pretty cool, right?" said Micah. He ran a hand along the magical vine. "As far as I can figure out, these are connected to the Runestones up above. What they are or why they're here, that I couldn't tell you. But I do know that the Runestones' powers flow through them. So if you want to recharge, all you have to do is find yours."

As many colors as there were, she didn't see the dark red of the Black Garnet just yet. "Just a bit further," she said, feeling her way deeper into the tunnel. More vines threaded in and out of the stone, weaving around like the roots of a gigantic tree. She followed them, but they weren't leading her. Instead, it was the feeling inside of her that guided her way, like a sixth sense for magic. "It's here–woah…"

If Scorpia had a Horde credit for every large room she'd found today, she'd have three of them, one more than she would have preferred. This one, like the first, was much more pleasant than the second, with a veritable rainbow of glowing vines coming together in the center of the chamber. All combining into a huge pillar, they pierced through the floor, going even deeper than they already were. "See it here?" Micah asked.

Sure enough, one of the vines knit together with the others was the same color as the Fright Zone's very own Runestone. "Yeah. That's it right there." Scoria approached the pillar, reaching out a claw to touch it. She pressed the tip against the red crystal, and felt a familiar power flowing into her body. It was like taking a drink of water after being lost in the desert for days, without even knowing how thirsty she had been. She gasped at the alien, yet somehow very familiar, sensation. Either way, it was definitely welcome.

Scorpia's touch had caused the entire vine to begin glowing brighter than it already had been, bathing the entire cavern in an eerie red light. "Mm. Reminds me of someone," Micah said somberly.

"I know who you mean," said Scorpia, looking aside. "I still can't believe Shadow Weaver's the one who trained you. I mean, you're like night and day!"

He averted his gaze, but still smiled at the compliment. "Part of me likes to think that she's still the same woman deep down," he said quietly. "That somehow, Hordak is the one to blame for her becoming what she is today. But after seeing her working with Modulok…I'm not sure I can believe that anymore."

Although Scorpia hadn't had as many interactions with Shadow Weaver as Micah or Catra had, she still knew that the woman was bad news. Seeing how even now it brought Micah distress, she eagerly changed the subject. "So, how far down do you think all this goes? I mean, it's gotta be here for a reason, right?"

"Maybe all the Runestones are powered by Etheria's core," Micah suggested. "They've gotta get their power from somewhere, and that's just about as deep as you can get. Or it could be the other way around…"

Whatever reason this was here, Scorpia was glad for it. Finally feeling full, she removed her claw, and the glowing faded. "Alright, ready to go! So, have you figured a way out of here?" She hoped his answer didn't involve going back through that harpy nest. Those things freaked her out.

Unfortunately, Micah was silent for the next few moments. "Um…I could try lifting us separately," he said, sounding unsure. "Of course, I'd have no way of knowing where you were if I did that. Wait, I've got it! I'll give you a pebble, and you throw it down once you reach the top! Then I'll carry myself up there to meet you!"

But Scorpia wasn't listening. She was at first, but something behind Micah had drawn her attention. There had been a small bit of movement from the darkness, slowly revealing itself to be the horrific form of a harpy. The monstrous creature crept forward, focusing on Micah's voice. Scorpia was frozen in place, trying fruitlessly to get him to turn around by gesturing with her head, but he was too focused on his plan. The harpy's maw split open wide, readying itself to lunge at his throat.

"No!" Moments before the harpy could bite down, Scorpia launched her claw forward, grabbing hold of Micah and yanking him out of harm's way. She tossed him behind her, swinging her other claw at the beast as it leapt onto her. The harpy screeched up a storm as it tried to tear into her claw, until a jab from her stinger put it out of commission. It struggled against her neurotoxin for a moment before succumbing, falling to the floor. Its screeches still echoed all through the caverns.

Micah looked at its unconscious form, then up at the cave they had traveled through. "Get ready," he said, preparing his staff.

"For what?" asked Scorpia nervously, but she had a feeling she already knew.

More screeches answered the first, followed by the sound of fluttering wings. "That."

It started slowly at first. More of the monsters crawled out of the shadows, emerging from hidden tunnels all over the room. They grumbled and croaked as though communicating with each other, surrounding the pair before making their move. Scorpia held up her claws and tail, but knew she wouldn't be able to fend off this many attackers. "Still wanna go with your first plan?" she asked.

Despite the dire straits they were in, Micah flashed a confident smile. "Actually, I think I have a new one!" He held his staff up high, and…chucked a nearby rock at one of the harpies. Not only did it not hit its target, it angered the creature enough to fly at him, along with the rest of its flock. This was when Micah cast his spell, illuminating his staff once again. Only this time, it was much brighter, creating a dome of light around the pair. The beasts were driven away, but still stayed close, waiting for the right moment. "Go, now, go!"

Following his advice, Scorpia ran through the tunnels back the way they came. "Your plan was to piss them off even more!?" she shouted in disbelief. All around them the harpies swarmed, occasionally swooping down, only to be driven back by the light.

"My plan was to keep them at bay until we could think of something better," he said, running alongside her. "Which I haven't exactly done yet, but we've got time!"

"No we don't!" Before long, they had ended up back at the bottom of the massive pit, with hundreds of the harpies divebombing them. Their sheer numbers meant that a few of them got through the light, slashing at the pair with their talons. Micah blasted them back with spells, and Scorpia tried to sting as many as she could, but they were barely making a difference. "We're gonna die down here!"

Micah held up a magical shield, pushing away several harpies in one go. "No we aren't! We just need to think of something!" One of them got a little too close for comfort, cutting into his back before he drove it off. "I hope you work well under pressure!"

"I don't! Quite the opposite, in fact!" Scorpia was operating purely on autopilot now, swatting away any harpy that got close, but her mind too clouded to think. She was operating entirely on animal instinct, fight or flight dictating her every move–

Wait a moment…animal instinct. That was it. Scorpia had her epiphany. There was a way out of this, and she had just absorbed enough power to make it happen. Focusing on the fear and anger she felt in this situation, she let the shadowy magic flow across her body, transforming her once more into a giant scorpion.

Her new bestial form let out a screech to rival the harpies', before she swung her tail through the encroaching swarm. A bunch of the creatures were knocked aside, crashing into the wall. More appeared to take their place, but no matter how many beset Scorpia, they couldn't cut through her impenetrable carapace.

Micah's confidence grew significantly now that they had a giant scorpion on their side. He held his glowing staff aloft, continuing to keep the harpies at bay. The only problem was, his spell could only last as long as he had stamina. The moment he grew too tired, it would be over for them. "Scorpia!" he called, hoping she was still cognizant in this form, and pointed to the top of the pit. "We need to get up there!"

Despite her inability to speak, there was a flicker of understanding in the titanic arachnid's eyes. Her stinger hooked onto his robe, hoisting him onto her back. With him secured, she made her way over to the wall, and began climbing towards the top.

Her tail swatted at the nearby harpies while Micah held on tight, both to his staff and to her back. "Not to rush you or anything, but I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this going!" The dome of light had begun to shrink, and with it, the harpies were growing bolder. Scorpia kept going, but she could only climb so fast.

One harpy came from directly above, its talons aimed at her eyes. She was able to chase it off, but the surprise attack caused her to stumble, nearly falling back down to the bottom. Before she could, Micah fired a pair of magical strands into the wall, pulling her back into place, though clearly not without a ton of effort.

"Just a little bit longer," he said, clearly worn out. "You can make it. I believe in you!" He couldn't even attack the harpies anymore, too focused on keeping the light lit. "You're almost there…"

Despite his assurance, Scorpia couldn't even see the top. At the rate they were going, they'd be lucky to make it there in under an hour–which they clearly didn't have. Her eyes darted all around in search for an easier escape, but all she could see was the swarm of harpies flying all around them. From the light of Micah's staff, they created a bunch of flickering shadows on the wall, looking to overwhelm Scorpia's own.

As her eyes settled on her shadow, that tingling sensation returned. At that moment, the answer came to her. Looks like Shadow Weaver had taught her something, after all.

Hoping against hope that this would work, Scorpia felt herself melting into the shadows cast by the light spell. She vanished into the cave wall, thankfully taking a surprised Micah with her. With nothing to hold them back and no harpies able to harm them, Scorpia swam up the wall at great speed. The swarm grew agitated at her sudden disappearance, unable to see or hear her anymore.

Having become one with her shadow, Scorpia reached the top in no time. She burst out of the darkness like a breaching whale, landing on solid ground at the top of the pit. Micah was a bit shaken by the journey. "That was…incredible!" he shouted. "Scorpia, you beautiful giant bug, you saved us both!"

But there was no time to celebrate, as the harpies had found their targets once again. Scorpia wasted no time racing down the tunnel they had first come through, just barely able to fit. Micah kept his staff trained on their rear, preparing to blast any harpies that approached. Sure enough, the winged monsters rapidly caught up to the pair.

Micah fired spell after spell into their number. He was able to stun a few, but their numbers were too great. But then, just as they were about to catch up, he caught a familiar glimmer of light ahead of them. Scorpia burst out into the sparkling cavern, and with a tremendous leap, carried them up towards the ceiling. She wasn't able to lift them completely out of the cave, but her claws did tear through the rock, widening the hole Micah had made.

Even more sunlight spilled into the cavern. Repulsed by this sudden onset of brightness, the harpies hissed and shrieked, flailing in a panic. They wasted no time in returning back the way they came, leaving the pair alone. Micah brushed himself off, shakily getting into his feet, relieved to be alive.

"We did it!" he proclaimed, before turning in the direction of his partner. "No, you did it! The two of us would both be harpy food if you hadn't…Scorpia?" He approached the fallen rocks in search of his friend. "Scorpia, are you–"

One of the boulders was pushed aside, revealing a very dusty but very alive Scorpia. "Whew! That, uh, that wasn't exactly fun. Hey, the next time we venture into an ominous and foreboding cave, you think you could give me a little heads-up if it's infested with bloodthirsty monsters?"

Micah smiled in relief. "You have my word! But, seeing as how we have everything we need to take Black's base, what do you say we get off this island?"

"Sounds good to me!" Scorpia pounded her claws together. "Let's go swat that Mosquitor!" The two of them climbed out of the hole, ready to take the fight to their enemies.

"Do you know what I appreciate the most about you, Shadow Weaver? Your patience. I don't think I've ever had a partner who didn't, at some point in time, try and find out for themselves what I was after. But not you. No, you're content to simply follow my lead, only asking what needs to be known. I must say, I'll almost be disappointed when we go our separate ways."

Shadow Weaver, of course, didn't exactly feel the same degree of appreciation towards Modulok. "It helps that I don't care much about what you're after," she said. "As long as I get what you promised me, I'll be content."

He responded with a grin–though given that his mouth was a constant mass of teeth, it was hard to tell. "All the better for both of us! That said…I do think you are owed something of an explanation. I do hate leaving such a loyal partner in the dark."

Modulok led her into a side room in the First Ones station he was using as a base. Some of his research was strewn around, a bit messier than was usual for him. Shadow Weaver was immediately drawn to an image on an old page: a shadowy mass covered in piercing eyes and grasping hands. The Unnamed One.

"This ancient being has given you its power, and yet you have no understanding of what it is," he said, creeping around behind her. "You've only tapped the surface of what it can offer you."

"I already have as much power as I could want," she replied, which wasn't entirely untrue. "You, on the other hand, are the sort of person who always wants more. Is that what you're seeking? A way to conquer the universe?"

He only chuckled. "Don't mistake me for a substitute Horde Prime. My goals are only to restore what was once rightfully ours. To shine the light of Eternia once more on the cosmos. But to do that…" He held up a pouch to Shadow Weaver. "...we must commune with the darkness."

She took it. Inside was the same black dust that Modulok was so often playing with. She noticed he frequently used it in his experiments and creations. "And what exactly should I do with this?" she asked.

"Why, awaken it, of course." He said this like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We cannot commune with the darkness if it cannot listen."

Now that he mentioned it, she could feel a familiar power flowing through this dust. Familiar, because it was her power. Shadows danced around her wrist as she infused the dust with a small bit of her magic. Almost instantly, it began to move and flow within the pouch, like it was filled with small creatures. It was an entrancing sight, and she would have watched it much longer if he hadn't snatched it away and closed it up tightly. "I thought you said you trusted me."

"I do trust you," he replied. "It's him I don't trust." Modulok held the bag like it contained a live bomb. "If Horde Prime and White Diamond have shown us anything, it is that Great Computers are incredibly unstable, and highly likely to go berserk. The Unnamed One is no exception."

Shadow Weaver raised an eyebrow. "'Great Computer?' You mean to tell me that this source of unholy magic is just a machine?" She glanced down at the old picture in disbelief that a machine was the source of her powers.

"Yes, yes, but this machine is not 'just' anything," he said. "The Unnamed One is a brilliant merger of mechanics and magic–the first of its kind, in fact. Like certain others of its kind, the Unnamed One blurs the line between computer and god." He held up the pouch. "And now, we have the power of a god at our fingertips."

She eyed the pouch suspiciously. "And what exactly do you intend to do with this power?" she asked.

"Simple." Modulok made his way out of the room, back into the main chamber. "I'm going to reawaken the Heart of Etheria, and fulfill its intended purpose. I'm going to cleanse this universe, once and for all."