The stars are a lie. Their beauty deceives, and the true sky remains out of reach. Even though we believe we have escaped, the Terrathan guards are after us. Why must San’tel stop us? Should our fate not be our own?

They leave us no choice but to go higher. No. Not just them. The whole abyss leaves us no choice. It taunts us with mimicry of legends, but I know the sky is out there. Maryel says the lights above are more beautiful than anything she has seen. I will not tell her the truth I have found. I will let her enjoy the sight, but one day I will show her the true stars.

There are rumors of an old hermit that once communed with the Gods. I must find this man, for he alone will hold the secrets of ascending to the next layer. I will start at the highest peak, the spire’s fang.

Tomorrow when day breaks and the mother flame fills the abyss with her light, those terrible shadows shall haunt us no longer. Then and only then will I journey up the mountain with Maryel. Those shadows frighten her so much. She trembles at the thought of them. I fear them too, they took my friends, but I must be brave for her. Together we will be free. Together the false sky shall no longer bind us.

Thorin’s 2nd Journal Entry, estimated to be 2 to 6 months after the collapse of the obsidian pillar

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No matter how many times he tapped the screen the Thorin-sphere never lit up. The black eye on top of the orb stared up at him as if to say, “Remember your place.” He had tried all day. At this point, nothing is going to change, Ezra admitted as he tossed the orb into his backpack like a discarded toy. He didn’t want to think about it like that but for now, that was all it was.

Ezra rested his head in his hands as the warmth of the fire blanketed him. There had to be some way to fix it. The thing had short-circuited only moments after Emma woke up. It was like any electronic, so there had to be a solution—something he wasn’t seeing. The thought looped in his head like a broken recorder until he was too tired to think anymore.

He flinched as hot metal flicked the side of his arm and looked up to see Milo holding a dented mug. Even their mugs had wounds from the previous battle.

Milo handed him the steaming cup. “Any luck with it?”

“Nothing,” Ezra sighed. “It’s fried and I can’t open it with the tools we have. Even if we did, I’m not sure if opening it would just make everything worse.”

He glanced up across the fire and saw Hugo clutching a half-melted beacon. It wasn’t flashing, but it still made Ezra nervous. The old man’s eyes were completely captured by the flames like he was in a dream.

“What the hell are you staring at?” Ezra spat across the flames.

Hugo blinked a few times and then clutched the beacon tighter as if it was a child not meant to hear such venomous words.

“I want to get rid of it too, but we can’t make it to the third layer without his clearance.” Milo spared a pitiful look to the mechanic.

“I know,” Ezra scowled. “I’m counting the hours till we get rid of him.”

“Are you two taking the first watch?” Caleb’s voice came from behind.

Ezra didn’t turn to address him. “Sure,” he reluctantly accepted.

“We won’t take our eyes off him,” Milo said, giving a salute to lighten the mood. “And I’ll make sure Ezra doesn’t strangle him.”

The answer was acceptable enough to Caleb and he went back to his tent in the middle of the small camp. A charred log snapped and fell into the fire as glowing embers drifted into the night. Only to quickly fade as if the tension in the air had snuffed them out. Hugo turned slightly from Ezra’s cold stare and lowered his head in shame. If that’s even what he’s feeling. The thought stewed in Ezra’s mind until Milo broke the silence.

“How’s Emma doing?”

Ezra blinked at the new topic and took his eyes off Hugo. “She’s…” He paused, realizing the easy answer was a lie. “She’s still shaken up from the attack. It’s not easy losing both parents.” He gazed at a brown patchwork tent only a few paces away from Caleb’s. Emma and Zoe were likely asleep. She had tried to provide Emma comfort, but Ezra knew Zoe was still sorting through her own problems. “I don’t even know where she goes next. I saved her but did I do it just to prove I could?”

“No, you’re not like that,” Milo said. “You saved her because you cared. No one deserves to die like that.”

Ezra shifted on the fallen log they sat on and preferred to stare at the fire than spare Milo any of his attention. “We’ll have to get new stuff. Half of it’s still in the Thorin-sphere.” His voice was disinterested and distant. The topic of Emma wasn’t pleasant to talk about and even if he wanted to move on Ezra couldn’t focus his mind on anything else, no matter how hard he tried.

“Most of it’s my stuff. Tell me you at least pulled the money out.”

“I did.”

Milo relaxed and slumped his shoulders. “Good, because if you didn’t we’d have to resort to selling that thing.” He looked at the beacon with acquisitive eyes.

Hugo gripped his prize tighter and seemed ready to defend it with his life.

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Birds cooed in the shimmering leaves above and Milo sighed at their ambivalent song. “Do you really think you’re ready to face Marcus?”

“Of course I am,” Ezra said, offended by even being asked the question. “I’m not the same as when we left Deepburrow.”

“You say that, but it’s only been five days and, “ Milo cleared his throat like the words were stuck in a terrible memory, “the experience is still fresh. Your abilities are still new.”

“I’ve learned a lot since then. I’m no longer afraid to use the system, and I know how to use my skills.” Despite the Thorin-sphere breaking he still had Time-scale. With that, Ezra felt like he could do almost anything.

“We don’t know what skill Marcus has or what skills his teammates have. What if one of them has a skill as powerful as Time-scale.”

“The only way to know is to find them,” Ezra replied.

Milo fell silent and began to juggle two pebbles floating in the palm of his hand. He always fiddled with something when he was thinking. Ezra wondered what was going through his friend's mind but decided that would be another conversation he didn’t want to have tonight. Through the smoldering fire, he fixed his gaze on Hugo. They had dragged him this far, and until Ezra got to the third layer, he was determined to never let the old man out of his sight.

Morning came and they packed up camp. After a quick breakfast, consisting of food they had scavenged from the mechanic’s encampment, the group was on their way. Less than halfway through the night Ezra and Milo had traded shifts with Caleb. They still had another hour or two but Caleb had told them he couldn’t sleep. Across the pack of survivors, Ezra saw the bags under Zoe’s eyes indicate the same. She wrapped a tattered cloak around Emma and urged her to follow the group. Only after a gentle nudge, did the little girl start moving.

Today they were heading for the center of the second layer. Caleb had told them there was a lift between Subterris, the city on the third layer, and the highest point of the forest. Of course, there were other routes like the caves at the abyss’s boundary, but those would take weeks to navigate—time that none of them had. Food would only last them a few more days, and without Audrus’s forage skill edible foliage would be hard to come by.

Emma’s cheeks looked so hollow. Was she not eating, Ezra wondered. He maneuvered through the crowd until he was beside Zoe. Her eyes that once held confidence gazed at the muddy ground.

“Is Emma eating?” Ezra asked.

“What?” Zoe looked up as she was taken out of her trance. “Oh, um, yes. She has. Not much but she has been eating.”

“She doesn’t look well.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, kid. I may be at that age but I’m no mother.” The wrinkles on her face looked deeper than yesterday. “Look around at the rest of us. She’s not the only one. Be glad she is even alive. That is not a fortune many sky-seekers enjoy.” Her heavy face showed the weight behind those words that had sunk into her soul.

Ezra frowned at her words. Through his experience, he had learned they were all too true. The birds were quieter today, and the afternoon light overwhelmed the dull glow of plant life they trekked through. Ahead of him, Emma was still trodding along, the hood of Zoe’s cloak pulled down so far that Ezra wondered if she could even see in front of her. Does she resent me?

Light poking through the branches grew brighter as more people raised their heads and gazed onwards. The rushing wind flew past them, and Emma’s hood blew back. Fresh air, the kind of air that makes each breath feel like drinking pure spring water and gives new life to every adventurous spirit. The wind whistled past and sounded like a rushing waterfall. As the group passed through the outer reaches of the forest, Ezra finally saw it. The center of the inverted abyss.

White stone polished by millennia of powerful gales stretched into the afternoon light. Nothing blocked the way up or down. Across the massive hole, the luminescent forest revealed its true size by wrapping around the entire perimeter as if it pushed the infinite walls up to create room for life. A few wispy clouds circled below as Ezra peeked over the edge to try and see Deepburrow. He only spotted a deary glimmer of light before he felt a tug and was pulled back from the edge.

“We don’t need you falling when we’re so close to the lift,” Caleb said, as he stepped away from the edge and shuddered.

“What, are you scared of heights?” Milo laughed as he took a peak over the edge too. “So this is what the abyss jumpers see.”

“Those fools have a death wish.” Caleb stiffened and this time didn’t dare to go near the edge to pull Milo back.

“I can see why,” Milo said with wonder.

Emma pointed to the sky and spoke with a feeble voice. “Look, the water drop is here.”

Ezra gazed above as a mist of vapor from the twisting clouds hit his face. A torrent of rushing water echoed through the cacophonous cavern. The mist became droplets, and the droplets coalesced into a running stream. Ezra stepped back as the radiant water lept down the sides of the abyss.

“It’s the monthly harvest fall,” Milo said as he shook Ezra’s shoulder. Some water splashed into the forest, but they remained where they stood, transfixed on the rushing liquid.

“You call it the water drop. Have you seen this before?” Ezra asked Emma.

“Yep,” she nodded. “Me and Mommy would watch it every month from the clock tower in Subterris.”

“The folks on the upper layers don’t call it the harvest fall since our agriculture isn’t dependent on the delivery of water from the fourth layer. To us, it’s just routine spectacle.” Caleb wiped the moisture from his glasses with the corner of his shirt.

“But now, she won’t be able to watch it with me,” Emma’s voice lowered as it was drowned out by the rushing water.

The smile on Ezra’s face faded as he was reminded of Emma’s reality. What does she even live for anymore? He wanted to comfort her and give her a reason to continue. For him, every new sight he saw drove him to go higher, to find out why his mother left, but his dream wasn’t something he could force upon her. She needed to find her own reason. Ezra scanned the group of tired refugees. They all did.

“I’ll watch them with you,” Zoe said as she crouched next to Emma. “We’ll make a promise to meet at the clock tower next month. I know it’s a long way away, but it’s something we can look forward to together.” She stuck out her pinky to seal the promise.

Emma’s eyes darted toward the waterfall then at the ground and back to Zoe. Timidly she raised her hand and hooked Zoe’s pinky with her’s. “Promise?”

“Yes,” a half smile crossed Zoe’s lips as the small joy she felt pushed past her tired expression. “Together we’ll make it to tomorrow and the day after that.”