Child of the Maw, Child of the Black.

Aren’t you a gluttonous little thing?

Go on now, enjoy your snack,

That will bring upon much suffering.

Drink until you’ve had your fill.

Never stop to question why.

Just blame it on the Devourer’s will,

When all around you die.

Tetra approaches the entrance of a large cave surrounded by towering peaks of the mountain range. Two Ascendant guards, lounge in their chairs chatting amongst each other, lazily observing the barren desert landscape. Their golden brown skin blends perfectly with their desert surroundings, only offset by a tuft of white hair, perched every so elegantly upon their heads.

"Man that's wild," one of the guards says. "Reminds me of what happened in Sonorah Village a few decades back."

"What do you mean?" the second guard, Luka, asks.

"You don't remember that? A whole market got wiped out, man. Some kind of dark magic explosion. No survivors." Luka's face turns grim. "Damn... Truly seems that dark times are upon us."

"Oh come on Luka, don't start with that shit again," the first guard says, rolling his eyes.

"What, man? I'm serious. The Black Church knows what they're talking about. If I were you, I'd start listening to them," Luka replies.

The first guard interjects, "Hold on, mate. We've got a visitor. Sit up straight, ya idgit."

As Tetra approaches, the two guards stand at attention, with the first guard extending his arm as if to stop Tetra from advancing further. "Now hold on there, friend," the first guard says. "Where do you think you're heading?"

"Afternoon, gentlemen," Tetra replies. "Please excuse me, but I have some urgent business in Enderteria that I must attend to immediately."

"Sorry, pal," the second guard says, shaking his head. "The whole perimeter is locked down because someone keeps breaking into the gates in the middle of the night and we have to keep replacing them," he gestures to the heavy cast iron gate behind him. "No one's allowed in or out without official documentation. You got some papers in that sack of yours?"

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Tetra frowns. "I was not made aware that the region was on lockdown, and no, I do not have any official documentation. But surely you can just let me pass, right, friends?"

The guards exchange glances before the first guard speaks up. "Look, buddy, we already told you, no one goes in. No exceptions." The guards ready their weapons, but Tetra takes a step forward, his eyes blazing with determination. "Look, friends," he growls. "Either you let me in or I force my way in. Your choice."

The guards laugh, their faces twisted into sneers of contempt. "You think you can just walk in here and demand that we let you pass?" the first guard says with sarcasm. "You must be out of your mind, boy."

Tetra sighs, his patience wearing thin. "So be it then," he says in a deadly tone, as his eyes flash red and the first guard's body contorts and twists in pain.

The second guard watches in horror as Tetra insults his former companion, his eyes still glowing with dark magic. "See now why you had to make me go and waste mana like that, huh?" he yells venomously. "Feeling like letting me in now, 'ya idgit'?" he asks the second guard, his anger at a fever pitch.

Terrified, the second guard fumbles for the keys to the gate. His hands tremble as he approaches the keyhole, but before he can unlock it, Tetra's eyes flash again and the door flies off its hinges, crushing the second guard beneath its weight.

Tetra stands expressionless as he looks down at the body. "Thanks, 'pal'," he says as he steps over the corpse and enters the cave.

In his underground stronghold in Enderteria, we see the three incubation chambers lining the back wall of Tetra’s lab. The mysterious being in the far left chamber opens his eyes and scans the room as if searching for something or someone. After a moment, he raises his gaze to the top of the tank, and the lid flies open. The being pulls himself out of the murky black liquid and onto the cold stone floor.

Approaching the second chamber, the young boy touches the glass where a female being is suspended. Her eyes flash open, glaring at him with cold malice. The boy falls backward in fear, but the woman simply smiles, amused by his reaction, before closing her eyes once more.

The boy stands up and brushes himself off before making his way to the third vat. Inside, a tangled mass of black mana pulsing with dark energy sits in the liquid. Carefully, the boy hops up onto the tank, lifts the lid, and begins drinking the liquid, his eyes glowing with the power of the concentrated mana.

Tetra slides down a hill into a large crater, where the blackstone keep stands solitary amongst the ash and stone. Kirin is outside of the keep, smashing stones and turning them into usable bricks and concrete.

"Kirin!" Tetra calls out, relief in his voice. "Good to see you!"

"Welcome home, Tetra. How was the hunt?" said the young giant, his voice echoing in Tetra’s mind.

“Fruitful, my dear boy. I garnered quite a bit of knowledge from the very generous people of Mmemtuan,” He reaches into his bag and pulls out a glowing soul core, holding it up to the sky and inspecting it carefully. "Along with a few souvenirs," he says with a mischievous smile. "How are the specimens by the way? Any issues with this cycle?"

Kirin shakes his head. "No sir. Nothing to report."

"Good," Tetra says, satisfied. "I think I'll go check on them now. Keep up the good work, my friend."

Kirin smiles with his one eye and continues smashing the rocks, while Tetra heads into the keep, closing the door behind him.

Tetra mumbles a quick incantation and the rug vanishes, revealing a trapdoor beneath it. He lifts the trapdoor and descends into the laboratory below.

Mumbling another incantation, the torches in the room flicker to life, illuminating the tanks that fill the laboratory. As Tetra examines the first two tanks, he places one of the glowing stones in each tank, taking note of their occupants and jotting down notes on a scroll.

Upon reaching the third tank, Tetra pauses and frowns before frantically writing more notes. The boy in the first tank looks at Tetra before shutting his eyes again as if returning to his slumber.

Tetra sits at a small table in the laboratory and continues to write, his pen scratching across the parchment. When he finishes, he lets out a brief yawn and pulls out a small scroll sealed with the stamp of the House Aykerwilde in Alterra.