"What is it, Nathan?" Keith sighed as the warrior continued to frown as he looked around them while he rowed.

They knew the waters were safe, and Nathan's expression wasn't one of worry, anyway. It wasn't easy to read for Keith, though, and the constant looks around as they rowed was starting to annoy him.

"What?" Nathan looked at Keith.

"Why do you keep staring off into the darkness?" Keith asked.

"It's not as much as it should be."

"What does that mean?" Evala asked as Keith looked at the darkness, then gauged the distance the light of the lantern and his familiar reached

"You're right," Keith nodded. "It's not much, but it's definitely a little bit weaker. Do you think us activating the Altars of Light is having an effect on the darkness in the area?"

"Possibly," Nathan answered. "The only way to know for sure is to complete all of the islands in the outer ring. If the darkness is a lot lighter inside of that ring, then there's a definite effect."

"What do you think the next island is like?" Evala asked. "Do you think it will be as easy as that one?"

"This one was easy," Nathan said. "Because you showed up after the danger had passed and Breezy did most of the work."

"Oh," she said, looking around. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Collecting talisman fragments while getting chased by a giant bat," Nathan answered with a tone that said it was perfectly normal.

"Nathan," Keith rolled his eyes. "Why didn't Breezy kill it?"

"So that you guys can get some Points, too," Nathan answered, then went silent for a few moments, his expression saying that he was shocked. "That one's a flaming bat."

"There's a flaming bat?" Evala asked.

"Yeah," Nathan nodded. "Breezy says he's saving them for you."

Keith snorted.

"Nathan," Keith said. "According to my familiar, Breezy is currently behind the boat, pushing it to help us get to the next island faster."

"My arms were tired when we reached the last island," Nathan said.

"I'm confused," Evala looked between them.

"Nathan was bullshitting us," Keith told her. "I'm not sure why, though?"

"Boredom," Nathan offered.

"You made it seem so serious," Keith said. "You normally don't when bullshitting. It's usually easier to tell."

"Boredom."

Keith laughed in response, and they fell back into silence as Nathan continued to row. Even with Breezy's pushing, the rowing did help. Despite what felt like a smooth and rhythmic pace to the three teens, a 'gentle' rowing, Nathan was utilizing his immense Strength and Speed. Were they to allow themselves to fade back into normal speeds, it would feel as if the boat was moving at more than two hundred miles per hour. Only their massive Endurance allowed them to ignore the wind created as a result as something simple.

The only sign that they were moving impossibly fast was the splitting of the water around their boat, the way it sprayed to the side. Even that wasn't full, however, as Keith's familiar had surrounded the sides of the boat in a form of shield to keep the spray down.

"Just how far apart are these islands?" Evala asked after nearly an hour of silence.

"The first and second were around six hundred apart," Keith answered. "We're not sure how the people traveled between them whenever they were inhabited, but they probably had a quick way of moving around, too. Why did the boat slow?"

"Breezy's doing something."

"What?" Keith asked.

"Fapping."

"Elementals can't do that," Keith rolled his eyes. "You're the one who slowed."

"It feels melancholy," Nathan stopped rowing entirely, and his familiar stopped as well, the boat quickly slowing, then stopping, resting on the barely-moving waters.

The other two frowned, but quickly realized what Nathan meant. There was a depressing atmosphere to the air, as if a great tragedy occurred nearby. Evala's ears perked up, her tail sticking straight up with its fur out, and Keith looked around uneasily.

"What's causing this?" Keith asked. "Think it's the nightmare?"

"No," Nathan answered. "That felt different. We're near the island."

"How near?" Evala asked.

"Maybe twenty yards," he answered, and she frowned.

"The range of our sphere of light," Keith quickly realized that, coming from an entirely different world, her units of measurement were also probably quite different. "Is around twenty-two feet. A yard is three feet."

He paused as he said that. Before, the range of the lantern was definitely shorter than that. Nathan was right, the darkness had weakened.

"Five iklan," Ichtvar poked his head out of the bag.

"Ah," Evala said. "We're that close?"

"According to Breezy," Nathan nodded. "We did travel a bit after I stopped rowing."

"My familiar confirms that," Keith nodded. "It's the island doing this?"

"Think there are multiple nightmares?" Evala asked.

"Unlikely," Ichtvar responded, looking in the southeastern direction, to where the island was. "No… I would know if there were more than one nightmare nearby, and the other one hasn't followed us. At most, there might be one nightmare on this island, but it's doubtful."

"If there is," Nathan said. "Do you think you'll have the strength to fight it?"

"No," Ichtvar shook his head for a moment. "I need another day to recover back to a reasonable amount, but it'll be at least a week and a half before I can tap into that much power again. Hm… there is something that can be done, though."

"Something?" Nathan asked.

"It involves kissing Keith," Ichtvar said with a poker face, and Nathan flicked the phoenix on the head. "What was that for?"

"You're a terrible liar."

"Fine," Ichtvar grumbled.

"Why don't you take my jokes like that?" Nathan heard, and Keith sighed.

"There is a huge difference between having sex with me and kissing me," Keith told his familiar.

"But-"

"Just drop it," Keith said. "Ichtvar, what is it?"

"Sparky, should I tell them?"

Keith and Nathan looked at Ichtvar in shock. The phoenix was asking the elemental for permission to say something? Since when did he ever do that instead of simply deciding on his own?

"If you think Nathan would agree to it," the heavenly storm elemental responded. "But it would be best if we knew for sure that an offensive member of the Ultimate Trinity where here. Otherwise, it would be for nothing."

"Indeed," Ichtvar nodded. "When Merlin and Mordred did it, things were pretty different. We knew for sure that there was something there, and Merlin didn't yet have a powerful dragon on his side."

"Just the hatchling," the heavenly storm elemental said. "It is unlikely that there is a nightmare here, but if there is, then there would be enough time for them to do it. The only things we would have to worry about would be a dark phoenix and a dragon."

"I can handle a dark phoenix," Ichtvar snorted. "I'm not entirely useless. Plus, a dark phoenix probably wouldn't bother them more than a 'hello, how are you?' We'll only need them to do it if we confirm the presence of a dragon or a nightmare."

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"What is it?" Nathan asked.

"It's a form of merging your powers," Ichtvar answered. "It would allow you to tap into the other's magical power and their mana. It also creates another link between you, though. A more emotional one."

"So it would make me horny for guys anytime Keith looked at a hot guy?" Nathan looked horrified.

"No!" Ichtvar laughed. "It doesn't affect the participants in that way. It doesn't affect your emotions or attractions at all. Instead, it gives you an awareness of theirs. It also, well, does stuff you and Keith already do. Know what the other's thinking in a less direct way than a straight-up thought link, anticipate the other's actions, and such. Even after the connection is ended, the mental and emotional aspect of it lingers, even if in a smaller form."

"So instead of getting horny any time Nathan would look at a hot girl," Keith nodded. "I would just know that he's getting up. Which would then probably get me up."

Nathan punched him in the arm.

"You started it!" Keith protested, before noticing the smile in the warrior's eyes, even if it wasn't elsewhere.

"I don't get horny over every girl," Nathan said. "Just some. Ichtvar, how is this connection formed?"

"First," Ichtvar said. "It requires a deep connection already. You and Keith already have that. As I mentioned, you two can often tell what the other is thinking or has concluded, and your actions are often in sync with each other, even if you don't realize it."

"It's further proof you two are friends," the heavenly storm elemental commented, and Nathan shot it a glare. "Deny it all you want, Nathan, but the fact that you and Keith have literally moved in tandem with each other several times is proof enough."

"We're not friends, we're business partners and allies," Nathan grunted, then lifted the ends of the oars, ready to finish the trip to the next island. "We can do that connection if and only if we absolutely need to. So you're saying that the two of us, drawing on the other's power, can handle a member of the Ultimate Trinity?'

"A weak member," Ichtvar nodded. "I'd say… that something on my own, current level of power as either a nightmare or a dragon, you two would manage. The connection isn't just drawing on the other's power. It augments it, increasing it further. It would be Keith who did it, though. His magic, augmented by yours, with access to your Mana, would probably be enough."

"So it's purely in magical might," Nathan said.

"Correct," Ichtvar confirmed. "You and Keith have a long way to go before your physical might would be enough to do something to a beast of my level."

Nathan nodded, then though for a minute before looking at his familiar again.

"So why do you think a dark phoenix wouldn't do much more than a 'hello, how are you' rather than attack us?"

"Because it's a phoenix?" Ichtvar offered. "Most of us are rather disinterested in fighting and conflict, usually only doing stuff when we're bored."

"And if there's one here, and it's bored?"

"It would probably fly around with us," Ichtvar responded. "Maybe occasionally giving us tips and advice on how to deal with this place. Might even tell us what kind of people lived here."

"Are you sure?" Keith asked. "It's literally a 'dark' phoenix."

"Dark as in the inverse of light," Ichtvar huffed. "Dark and light aren't inherently evil and good, children. And we're talking about beings who literally live through the universes, retaining our memories of all time, staying the same over and over, living over and over. We can die a million times over before a universe ends, depending on how early we're born into it. It is impossible for anything to outlive us. After a time, we start to lose interest. We find hobbies, do things to entertain ourselves, and so on. But we have a general rule which encompasses our lives. That rule is to never interfere in the quests of mortals unless it is to assist someone with a forged soul. You and Nathan, Keith, have forged souls. No dark phoenix would act against you."

"Why?" Keith asked. "That doesn't make sense. Why would a phoenix or dark phoenix only be interested in assisting us? You guys clearly do other things – you help people on-"

"We do stuff like that, certainly," Ichtvar nodded. "To pass the time, as a hobby, and so on. But it isn't truly interfering with a quest. It's simply forging a tradition. Forged souls are special, and so they are the only ones whom we will truly interfere for."

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"Two reasons," Ichtvar answered. "We know far more about forged souls than any mortal could ever hope to know, as part of us being special in the Well of Souls and in addition to us, them being consistent.

"Second," Ichtvar looked him directly in the eyes. "Those with forged souls possess the power to actually kill a phoenix or dark phoenix, sending our soul back into special section of the Well of Souls in which we're housed up until the next universe."

Silence reigned for several minutes as the teens processed that news. Keith was the one who broke it.

"So if Nathan or I were to kill you, you'd be dead-dead?"

"No," Ichtvar shook his head. "Neither of you have the power to do such a thing, even if you possess the ability. It requires soul magic, which neither of you know. The only soul mages capable of affecting phoenixes are forged souls."

"Why?" Keith asked.

"It's complicated," Ichtvar said. "But soul magic can only be used on a phoenix by another phoenix or a forged soul. Likewise, soul magic can only be used on a forged soul by a phoenix or a forged soul. It's simply one of the quirks that is the same in all universes. It could be a safeguard, or it could be something else. Well of Souls only knows the answer to 'why'. I might be two hundred million of your years, but that doesn't mean I know everything and have the secrets to the universes in the claws of my talon.

"Now," he said. "Do you guys have any further questions? Or can we get going? I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather not just linger around just chatting when we could be working."

Both Nathan and Keith knew that there was more to it than what Ichtvar said. His explanation sounded a little fishy to them, but they knew that pushing him for answers probably wasn't the best of ideas. The phoenix only answered what he wanted to, only gave what information he felt was absolutely necessary to give at the time.

He only answered as much as he had because he knew that the two of them would push for answers due to needing the safety of mind about dark phoenixes if they encountered one, and now that he had given them a 'plausible' answer, he would refuse to elaborate further.

With that in mind, Nathan began rowing again, and a few moments later, they were at the shore. The three of them grabbed their stuff and stepped off of the boat, the naviglobe vanishing as they read the trio of messages that had appeared in their visions. The wind elemental grabbed the lantern and joined them as the heavenly storm elemental began to swirl near its contractor.

Dungeon Entered: Isles of Darkness Challenge Type: Scavenger Hunt Difficulty: Advanced Locate the talisman fragment on the island you're on. You may take as long as needed.

Dungeon Entered: Lair of Phantoms and Shades Challenge Type: Slaughter Difficulty: Advanced Kill as many phantoms and shades as possible. You may take as long as needed.

Dungeon Entered: Land of Missing Statues Challenge Type: Scavenger Hunt Difficulty: Advanced Return all statues to their rightful pedestals. You may take as long as needed.

The three players looked at each other in response to the messages. Setting foot on the island wasn't just an initiation to the Main Dungeon, but to two Secondary Dungeons as well. Both doubted they were in a localized area, like with the Lair of Sirens.

"We have to move statues?" Evala asked.

"Yes," Nathan responded as he dismissed his notifications. "Splashy, make sure to keep your light going around us as full as you can sustain. The shades don't enter its range because your light is holy light, and that burns."

"Some will probably brave it," Keith said as Nathan slipped out of his backpack. "A stronger one might actually manage to get a hit in before my familiar's light killed them."

"I wasn't done," Nathan said.

He set down his pack and rummaged through one of the front pockets, rummaging through it as everyone watched. Finding a deck of cards, he pulled it out, then began quickly sifting through the cards until he found the one he wanted. Activating it, he pulled a lantern out, which he set to the side and took the lantern from his elemental.

Nathan sent that into the card, which he returned to the deck, and slipped the cards back into their box. The warrior returned that to his backpack and pulled out the pack of batteries currently open, pulling out enough for the lantern before returning it to his bag.

"Why are you changing lanterns just to change batteries?" Evala asked as he placed the fresh batteries into the lantern.

Instead of answering, Nathan screwed the battery cover back on, then pulled off the cover around the bulb, checking to make sure his runes were still in place. The cover was clear, but the runes were easier to inspect without it.

"Is that blood?" Evala asked as she saw the runes painted onto the bulbs, only then noticing the marks.

"Yes," Keith frowned. "I noticed those when he pulled the lantern out. Nathan, did you-"

"Yes," Nathan responded, making sure everything was set. "If it works, then it's an additional source of holy light."

"Holy light?" Evala asked as Nathan replaced the cover and clicked on the lantern, setting it to its brightest setting. "But… that's not holy magic?"

"The blood of a demigod," Nathan told her. "Can be used to perform holy enchantments. I didn't just use my blood, but some of Splashy's water. That's two potent sources of holy power infused with his light."

"That explains why he felt so tired when I woke up," Keith muttered.

With heavenly elementals, it was their light itself that was holy, not the rest of their aspects. They could, however, fuse their light into their aspects or aspect in order to imbue that with holy power as well, though it was costly for them and drained a decent amount of their energy.

"If the enchantment works as it should," Nathan ignored Keith's comment. "Then the layer of magic shimmering around the bulb, as you'll notice if you use your magic sight, will imbue the light that passes through it with holy power. Splashy, hold this."

Nathan held up the lantern, and the heavenly storm elemental took it, though the warrior could sense the question it wanted to know.

"The light of you and the lantern combined," he explained. "Should be enough to destroy any shade that enters it by virtue of the combined holy power. As long as we keep replacing the batteries every when they run out every eight hours or so, then we'll only have to deal with the phantoms, which won't burn in the light alone, and whatever other monsters are here."

"And then," Keith nodded. "We can simply collect the talisman fragments, merge them back together, and put the proper talisman back into the pedestal. The enchantment triggers, and most of the phantoms and shades die. If there are any hidey-holes, we'll just have to hunt them down, if the Dungeon didn't complete."

"The only thing that bothers me," Nathan admitted. "Was the fact that it didn't give us an actual amount."

"Probably," Ichtvar said. "Because not only is this place filled with them, but because some will probably flee to other islands. It will probably just want their numbers on this island to drop below a certain amount."

"Got it," Nathan and Keith said together.

"So," Evala said, looking at Nathan. "You kept hurting yourself until your Health was empty, then bled yourself, just to make that?"

"No," Nathan answered. "I hurt myself until my Health was empty, then bled myself to make three of these, plus more than two hundred bullets enchanted for holy light. I also put such an enchantment on a knife."

Evala gave him a horrified expression.

"Why would you hurt yourself for that?" She asked. "Especially while in a Dungeon?"

"Because he's Nathan," Keith answered as Nathan began walking along the shore. "He wants us to survive. If it means helping him or his friends get through, then he'll do anything he can, even if it goes against his nature. So yeah, he'll bleed himself. You might think it's weird, fine. But it's useful, and it'll help us survive. That is what he cares about."