My bare feet tingled on the cold black stone of the teleportation platform, yet my heart was on fire. It was beating so fast I could hardly breathe. No, it wasn’t some odd condition, panic, or the burden of my presence. I withdrew it long ago, freeing the seekers from the fear I had inflicted upon them. Quite rightly, I might add.

They tried to get out of it by claiming they thought we were beasts they intended to capture. Their bodies, reeking with a mixture of fear, urine and shit, told a different story. One of the greed and lust of a bunch of bastards willing to throw others into a nightmare for a few coins. Once Idleaf and I saw through their lies, with a bit of snarling and a threat from Stella, the City Lord’s niece, that they’d be happy to just end up in the brig, they fessed up to everything.

Hearing what they had in store for us from their rotten mouths made my blood boil. But it was the excitement that made my heart race - well, and a good dose of jitters.

This was it. The moment of our return to Castiana. What separated us from our friends and families was one thought, the thought of Floor 0 of Fallen’s Cry, the teleportation platform on Labyrinth Square.

“You ready?”

“Like I said, I don’t think I ever will be,” Stella replied, reeking of excitement and nervousness no less than I was.

“You said the same thing when you had a bare ass.” My lame attempt to divert our thoughts was met with nothing more than a weak smile. Yeah, I totally got her. Although - after we had kindly received some clothes from the seekers, and I was now sporting the scout’s new, unused boxers and shirt, while Stella had accepted the woman’s spare pants and t-shirt - the problem of facing Castiana in all our glory had gone away, the weight of it all had fallen even heavier on us.

“What if . . . ?” Stella paused and shook her head. “Forget it. Whatever awaits us there, we will face it.”

“As always,” I nodded with a smile, glancing at Idleaf. “See you upstairs.”

“Hmm . . .” she grumbled, unhappy. Us going back to Castiana right now was not what she wanted.

“Should I or . . . ?”

“You are my leader, Stella.”

With no more to say, she closed her eyes, her mind traveling to the labyrinth mark on the back of her hand, a tear glowing with white light. The same light engulfed us a heartbeat later, Traiana’s cry echoing in my mind as it took us away.

***

Old habits die hard.

As the world shifted beneath my feet, I was prepared for the hellish pain and murky skies of Traiana’s nightmare. Instead, I was greeted by the harsh light of the actual sun and the noise of the seekers and merchants of Labyrinth Square. This was Castiana as I remembered it. We were back.

“We’re back,” Stella gushed, standing beside me on the huge teleportation platform. Unperturbed by our arrival, the seekers moved in and out of it, disappearing in flashes of blazing runes into the depths of the ancient structure that had held us captive for so long. My breath caught in my throat, my mind in turmoil. What now? Neither of us had thought this far, all the time focused on one goal, and that was to get here - to this moment, to this place, at this time. Anything beyond this point was a dream we dared not dream.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up - someone had eyes on me.

“Little beast?”

I knew that deep, bull-like voice. In fact, I knew it very well and longed to hear it again. Yet, I froze, afraid that my legs would buckle if I so much as looked over my shoulder.

* [Indomitable Will] reaches lvl 150

* [Indomitable Will] reaches TIER VI

The system notification ringing in my mind was like the slap in the face I so badly needed, the kick in the ass I deserved, the nudge that made me turn around after the voice.

My knees shook. There he stood. Deckard.

He was as I remembered him - and yet he wasn’t. His thick beard was longer and unkempt, as was his slightly wavy hair. Gone was his confidence and the ease with which he carried himself, reeking of sweat, worry, and doubt. But it was him. Those blue eyes fixed on me, drenched in disbelief, hidden under thick eyebrows, did not change.

“D-Deckard?”

The confidence with which I’d faced the seekers we’d left down in the Labyrinth moments ago was gone, my voice trembling like that of a teenage girl on a first date.

“It’s you, right?” He took the question from my lips.

“It’s me. I’m back.”

The smile spread across his face as well as mine.

“Yes, you are.”

“Sorry for being late.” A dumb thing to say, for sure; the only thought that came to my mind right now.

Deckard chuckled and crossed the distance of a few meters between us in one stride, giving me a bear hug. “Better late than never, Little Beast.”

“Yeah,” I breathed into his shoulder as all my strength left me and I began to laugh as tears streamed down my cheeks. I cried so hard I struggled to catch my breath, my beast pride and predator dignity the last thing on my mind.

“Um . . .” Stella cleared her throat behind me, and a pang of guilt hit me. While I was enjoying the warmth of my mentor’s embrace, she was standing there all alone. No one was waiting for her.

“N-nice to see you, Mr. Deckard.”

He laughed and opened his arms to her as well. “Oh, come on, drop the pleasantries and get over here.”

“Me too,” whimpered Idleaf, who had just popped in.

“S-sure,” Deckard stammered, thrown off by the spirit’s sudden appearance. “Long time no see, Idleaf.”

And so we ended up in an odd four-way hug. Some of us laughed, some of us rejoiced, some of us cried, some of us were . . . just happy.

“Okay, gals, that’s enough. People are starting to give me weird looks,” Deckard said jovially, hinting at males’ envy of having three chicks stuck to him. But I couldn’t care less what the other men or women on the teleportation platform thought of him or us. This was our moment, what I deserved, and I wasn’t going to let them ruin it for me.

“Is it them?”

“It must be them.”

The eyes of the others fell on me too, giving me goosebumps, and worse, their voices, their chatter, eventually broke through my disregard for them and reached my ears.

“You think they really made it back from . . . ?”

“Maybe it’s not them.”

“They look like the ones on the poster - you know, the one with the huge reward.”

“Gorgeous young lass? Weird chick with wings and a tail? Summoned spirit - that’s definitely them.”

“Damn.”

“You believe that bullshit that they got lost in the Labyrinth and came back?”

“Ah, you haven’t been in Castiana long, have you?”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“A few months. But what does that have to do with anything? No one ever comes back - all I see are attention-seeking bitches.”

“Okay, buddy, let me give you some advice. It’s better if you keep that kind of talk to yourself. You see that pretty ass? She should be the City Lord’s niece. And the hairy one with the wings, Guardian of the Esulmor World Tree.”

“Shit! You serious? But that would mean . . .”

“Yup, that’s the spirit of the World Tree. And that guy, Deckard, he’s a fucking strong son of a bitch, so . . .”

And so it went on, more and more people turning their attention to us, more and more people talking about us, the two girls who supposedly managed to come back from the depths of the lost in the Labyrinth.

“So what do you say? Shall we go?” Deckard asked one more time as the chatter around us was getting out of hand.

“Okay, but where to?” For once, I found myself missing the serenity of the cliff above the encampment. No matter how difficult a situation I found myself in, I didn’t have to worry about anyone but Traiana bothering me and Stella.

“City Hall.”

“Huh?” The barracks was the place I was betting on.

Giving me an understanding look, Deckard shrugged. “City Hall is closer. And it’s where everyone was half an hour ago.”

“Everyone, sir?” asked Stella, hope rekindled in her heart. It hurt to see her like that, and I understood her reluctance to give up Deckard’s embrace.

“You can probably imagine what happened when your Soul dice stopped spinning . . .”

“Oh,” Stella nodded in contrast to my puzzled look. I had no idea what that meant.

“Yeah. And then, while I was in a hurry to get out of Fallen’s Cry, a mind wave of joy hit the city. That pretty much told everyone that Idleaf had found you.

“I did,” the spirit sang proudly.

“Yes, you did, rascal. Good job.”

Idleaf giggled.

“Sir, you were saying?”

“That, while Castiana was recovering from the ecstasy, anyone who cared about getting you back gathered to figure out where you might show up. The reason I was sitting on the step of the labyrinth platform, staring at the damned statue of Traiana.”

“And my-my mother?”

Deckard chuckled. “Aside from your annoying uncle, she was the loudest.”

The moment Stella heard that, she burst into tears. However, it only took a few sobs before she wiped her eyes, beaming with determination. “I’m ready to go, sir.”

“I told you to drop the pleasantries; I’m Deckard. Anyway, stay close to me, gals - some people might get funny ideas.”

Stella and I glanced at each other - the seekers, the group we had left behind in Labyrinth. “Yeah, we’re aware of that.”

While Deckard noticed there was more to it, he let it go for now and just nodded. “Good. Then let’s go.”

And so we set off for the City Hall while Deckard forged a path for us. Or so I thought it would go.

Instead, after just a few steps, the seekers in our way simply moved aside. Before I knew it, a corridor had formed in front of us, leading to the stairs from the teleportation platform to the square. Then, just when I thought it couldn’t get any weirder, someone clapped, and then another, and within a few breaths, just about every seeker on the platform was applauding us. Some joined in with whistling, others with shouts that I couldn’t quite make out over the deafening noise. It was worse than a battlefield.

And of course Idleaf joined in, clapping and whistling without really knowing why.

To be honest, I had no idea why they applauded us either.

“Deckard, what’s going on?” my chest heaving with pride, emotion and confusion, I asked as we approached the stairs. A few Master Guards stood among the seekers, clapping as well.

“Isn’t it obvious? They’re paying their respects to you two, Little Beast.”

“I figured as much - but why?”

“Because you gave them hope. Every time they dive down there, there’s a chance they’ll end up like you. Until now, it was a one-way ride. That is no longer true, is it?”

That was not what I asked. I’d have to be stupid not to figure that out. “But how do they know?”

Before being swept away by the misshapen space, a few people gave a shit about me even though I was a Guardian of the Esulmor World Tree; now it seemed like the whole city knew what had happened to Stella and me. “Was it the posters I heard them mention?”

“Most likely. Her folks were trying really hard to figure out how to get you back. They put the word out looking for someone who might know something, with the promise of a hefty reward,” Deckard said with a nod to Stella, then ruffled my hair, careful of the moss there. “But don’t fret; you had others looking for you, too.”

His not-so-subtle hint spoke for itself. He hadn’t given up on me all this time, trying to find me. And there were others besides him. Knowing that warmed my heart more than any applause from the seekers.

“Besides, news travels fast in the city, especially among seekers.”

We climbed the steps to the square, only to be ushered into the same corridor of seekers, townsfolk, and guards saluting us. Yet it was not they my eyes traveled to, but the center of the teleportation platform behind our backs and the statue on it.

She was there, both Ronnu and Traiana, more alive than ever, depicted in her last moment - the moment Stella and I didn’t really get to see. Did I regret it? Not really. That was her moment, not ours. It was enough for me to be honored to hear her cry that left its mark across the space and time we heard. And to my surprise, apart from the tears that streamed down my cheeks, as was common after seeing the statue, her cry echoed in my ears as well. The first time that had happened to me outside of the Fallen’s Cry. While it might have been something not so uncommon in the case of people more attuned to these ancient structures, there was no doubt that the Labyrinth had changed us.

How much was yet to be seen, though.

“You all right, Korra?”

“Yeah,” I lied to Stella, her eyes on the statue as mine were. “You know, I’m going to miss them. Both of them, all of them.”

“Me too . . .”

“What are you two talking about?” Deckard asked, his eyes puzzled as to why we had stopped, having no idea what they were talking about.

With a slightly nostalgic sigh, I cut him a grin. “You wouldn’t believe it.”

***

As we reached the edge of the Labyrinth Square, the locals’ excitement waned. Not surprising, this far from the platform, they couldn’t have known what had happened, what all the fuss was about. Besides, the ordinary citizens were not that bothered by the affairs of the Fallen’s Cry. Still, they couldn’t help but be curious about the people escorted by the four Master Guards and Deckard. Without so much as a word from the barefoot, armored men and women, they moved out of our way as we strolled down the main street to the City Hall, eyeing us the whole time.

Nothing comfortable. Actually, it gave me goosebumps, but it was one stare in particular that actually gave me pause. I knew it - I knew the owner of the stare - Sah, the Imperial Agent, was on the rooftops above us. I never thought I’d miss his presence.

“S-Stella?”

“Mom?” the aura warrior froze as a woman whose resemblance to her took my breath away stood in our way. Obviously out of breath, the woman had nothing but Stella in her eyes.

“I-I ran as fast as I could . . .”

“Mom!” Without further hesitation, Stella threw herself into her mother’s arms. Finally, she too had met someone her heart had been longing to see for over eight months. I couldn’t be more relieved that she received the warm and loving embrace she had hoped for.

“Pardon me, Mrs. Palemoon,” one of the Master Guards said as Stella’s mother’s legs buckled and he jumped to her aid. But I wasn’t even sure she noticed the man, let alone heard him. Her whole world was now narrowed down to Stella, who she was either squeezing in her arms or looking at, unable to believe that her little girl had come back to her.

It took a while for Stella to reassure her that she was indeed back enough to take in her surroundings.

When Mrs. Palemoon did, and her eyes fell on me, her face twisted. “You . . . !”

The sheer anger in her voice took me aback. “Y-yes?”

“If it weren’t for you, my Stella . . . !”

“Mom!” the aura warrior stopped her. “Korra is the reason why I got back. Not why I ended up trapped in the Labyrinth.”

“No, sweetheart, that . . .” Mrs. Pelemoon stammered, panicking as her daughter came to my defense.

“May I suggest that we move to the City Hall,” Deckard spoke, for which I was grateful. Had I made the suggestion, I would have only drawn the wrath of Stella’s mother. At least that’s how I felt about Mrs. Palemoon. In her eyes, I was the one who had taken her little girl away from her; worse, I was behind the humiliation Stella had suffered on her debut in the City Guards; I was the reason she had ended up in the junior squad with the worst reputation.

And while there was some truth to that, the way Mrs. Palemoon pointed the finger at me alone made me feel - well, a little wronged. I wasn’t the villain. The world wasn’t black and white. There were nuances and different angles to everything. I learned that much. The world, especially Eleaden, was so much more.

And so, in silence, I watched the inner struggle of Mrs. Palemoon, who wanted to take her anger out on me as it tore at her heart to see her daughter angry with her for doing so.

“Yes, that’s a good idea,” Mrs. Palemoon eventually gave in. That didn’t mean she stopped shooting me deadly stares. Stella’s mother seemed especially irritated when I laughed along with Idleaf or Deckard, as if I didn’t deserve to be happy. She did, however, refrain from voicing her anger at me in public, choosing instead to be happy to have her daughter back.

Nevertheless, whatever her reasons for her hostility towards me were, I couldn’t care less. For we arrived at the Imperial Square. There, on the other side of the cobbled plaza, stood the City Hall just as I remembered it. A large building, not too majestic, but still hard to miss. What didn’t match my memory of the place was the number of city guards outside and the group of people waiting on the front steps.

They were all there.

Freyde, Harper, Meneur, Captain Rayden and her lieutenants, Marcus, Janina, Blane and Rhys. Enola, Ria and Mr. Sandoval. I felt like my heart would burst out of my chest when I saw them all waiting for us, for me. Even Sah, the Imperial agent who had been given the job here in Castiana as a punishment, was there, standing off to the side and tipping me an imaginary hat.

Grinning like an idiot, with Sage wildly swinging behind me but otherwise maintaining my dignity, I made my way across the square to them, the others at my heels, Stella at my side.

“H-hey guys,” I stammered, glanced at Stella, and together we broke into a huge smile. “”We’re back."”