As Pine entered the training room he waved to the phantom who waved back. The phantom did Gatini’s bow and motioned Pine forward. Being aware of ceremony, he responded with Tivasi’s Greeting before following the man’s lead. He walked through a doorway to show Pine a series of shining pillars far above the clouds. Odd egg shaped creatures seemed to be flying between these shining mountains.

Before he could finish processing what was going on, the phantom had pushed him off the edge he had not noticed and into the high winds and open air. His senses opened, sensing that he was in immense danger, but his heart soared. This was amazing. He had never known that places like this even existed. Aiming himself for one of the flying eggs, he prepared for a crunch on impact. What he was not expecting was a firm metal surface, nor was he expecting to lose all grip on the ice cold surface.

He slid off, clawing for his very life but no purchase was found. As his body sailed once more into the chasm below, he looked for literally anything to catch him. As he broke into the cloud cover he worried this would be his end, but he was instead met with some kind of net. Within this net was various coins, animals, and other discarded personal items. The phantom stood upon the net with him and offered his hand.

Pine took it, standing up and glancing around the place in puzzled bewilderment. The phantom lead him to the side of one of the shining mountains and kicked the side of it. The surface shattered like thin ice and on the other side were tunnels with moving stones. Some of them were bipedal, others were spherical, and yet others had many legs upon which they traveled.

The phantom motioned Pine to join him in the tunnels which he did with mild bewilderment. Leading him among the stones he eventually lead Pine to a small chamber. Within this, he saw a bird like creature shouting violently at the stone in front of him. The bird pushed a button on his desk and stone was dropped into a chute that cast the stone into the air outside the mountain. Pine was about to act, but the phantom stopped him and motioned for him to watch.

The bird continued to work, praising some of the stones, discarding others before eventually a wasplike creature came to speak to the bird. The bird was terrified and after a few moments a few more of the wasps came into the room. The bird pleaded with the wasp before motioning one of the stones in and eventually casting it out of the building again. The wasp nodded, seemingly content and then left. Pine went to strike down the wasp but was stopped again.

This process continued again and again, one person inspiring fear in another person who was directed to press down on and pressure another tier of person. He wondered when this chain would stop, how he could break it. And then he got to the last person in this chain. They sat at one table, no joy on their face. No pride. They spoke to those who entered who would travel down the chain and continue the cycle. Watching him, Pine saw just another stone. They got reports and gave orders, but there was no mirth. Looking around his office he began to see familiar faces from further down the chain among the trinkets and knickknacks. Most had a layer of dust but he could see the figure glancing at them as the continued to give orders.

It was here that he remembered Yeval’s Edict: The weight of the small will weigh upon the strong until not but stone remains.

Pine looked at the phantom and was working to express this when the figure motioned him to stop and walked over to the man at the desk. He flipped the desk and the figure grew violent. Animalistic. They lashed out at him in a blind fury but the phantom paid it no mind until the man stopped and turned back to his desk, now a mess across the entire office floor. The man spent a small amount of time trying to collect his tasks once more, but when it became clear he was unable to do so, he opened a nearby panel and walked into the open air.

When his assistant entered, they collected and sorted his work and papers before motioning another person to his desk. They looked excited. Liberated. It was only once they sat at the desk and began to eagerly flip through it that the light died in their eyes. In mere moments, you could have been mistaken for thinking that nothing had happened at all.

The phantom spoke for the first time in the entire affair, “Never cool your outrage, but never mistake it for justice. Find what you value and enforce it within yourself. That will give you root where most simply follow the wind.”

Pine looked at the poor soul, now responsible for these evil deeds and felt nothing but pity. He took a moment to reflect on these thoughts.