Before splitting into two groups, Eloise was within a stable of hammerhead raptors saddling her own, when Sater walked in.

The clucking of chickens and the occasional mooing of cows from nearby broke the silence between them. At the end of the stable, a chicken met a miserable end, smashed to bits by a curious raptor.

“Can I help you?” Eloise said, retracting her gaze from the other raptor. Sater sidestepped a couple of drunk guards who crashed into a crate, spilling its contents, before looking up at Eloise and shaking her head. “Like being stranded in a forest full of bumbling bears who’ve had a bit too much honey. The clumsy stubbornness of these fools.”

“Bear, more like sheep,” Sater responded with a chuckle.

Eloise softened her expression again, easing the tension in the air, “I imagine it’s nearly impossible to find any peace around here…” she said smiling. “If you’re curious, I use the same type of lip balm, not to mention the perfume… It’s actually one of my own brands. But that’s not it. I’m well aware of Sater, the Giant Cleaver. Who wouldn’t be? You’re deeds after the Shattering inspired many, even myself. And your Halo Root, I’d love to test its capabilities one day against my storm-forge root.”

“An honor coming from Eloise of Thundertyde. Your prowess on the battlefield is unmatched, though, is it usually in your character to gamble on assumptions,” Sater said with a smile.

“If it is a man I come to misjudge, thick-headed as they may be, what penalty is there?” Eloise covered her mouth, holding back a giggle.

“It depends on which head of the house you’re speaking to…” Sater covered her mouth, also looking to hold back a chuckle.

Jumping onto the raptor, “I wish you well, much more than the Chancellor may.”

Sater nodded, her gaze momentarily diverted by another chicken darting past. “Safe travels to you, Eloise.” Remembering Eloise, Sater couldn't help but smile, though her smile quickly retracted when Chancellor Plut came studding over furious.

“Where the hell did it go?!” he shouted, storming back and forth.

“We’ve no idea…” a guard said.

“Hm, I’m willing to bet that brat took it…” Chancellor Plut said.

“But how? We had him under constant supervision?” a guard said.

After a moment, Chancellor Plut stated, “The restrooms! Go check the restroom!”

Sure enough, in the restroom, there was a square portion of the floor directly beneath the toilet floor carved out; it led to an underground vent.

“What would you have me do?” Sater said, stepping forth.

“You needn’t do a thing, it’s already being done,” Chancellor Plut said, sitting upon his throne.

Hearing this, Sater wore a look of concern; she had no idea what the Chancellor was speaking of.

Around the corner, Tofi and Fu were listening in.

Fu, retracting his gaze said, “What’s being done?”

Tofi shrugged, clueless of what was going on. “Want me to ask?” she started to walk forward, but Fu pulled Tofi back with his strings.

“No Tofi...” Fu said. “This way, we’re going to see what this guy’s up to.”

“Oh, we’re ninjas again,” Tofi whispered, crouching and crossing her arms while following Fu.

***

“These are the Ceres tunnels,” Rai said.

Many slaves mined mounds of luminite protruding from the side of the mountain, their clothes tattered and ripped. Surrounding them, guards kept a watchful eye, ensuring that no one dared slack off from their duties. The ground was rugged and uneven, stretching deep into the mountains where pathways had been carved to access the mines above.

As Neptus and Rai made their way through, many heads turned in recognition of Neptus.

“Is that Neptus?”

“Neptus has returned?”

“Neptus! Neptus!” voices called out eagerly.

“Have you come to free us!” but before anyone could approach, an older man broke away from the crowd and rushed over, startling two guards in the process.

“Hey! Get back here!” the guard shouted.

“Uncle Hau!” Neptus shouted, and his uncle fell to his feet.

He was withered, and wrinkly, like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. His uncle's arms, shaking, wrapped around the waste of Neptus, looking up, lips chapped, he uttered, “Have you come to liberate us?”

“What do you think you’re doing!” and a whip cracked forward, but Rai caught it.

“So, the trash flows this far out. Somebodies really got to clean house!” Rai said tossing the whip away.

“Why you little…” the other guard stated.

“I suggest you back off,” Neptus said, showing his badge.

“My, are these two bothering you,” another man said, approaching. It was the guy in charge of the mining at this sight, Makeme. “These are our guests from the empire, here to rid us of the ghouls.”

“Apologies, sir,” they replied.

“We weren’t aware of the arrival of apprentices.”

“Apologies accepted, now return to your posts,” Makeme said, before addressing Neptus. “Things slowed down after you left Neptus, something I paid dearly for.” Extending his hand to the sun, three fingers were missing. “But that’s all in the past now. Come, we must proceed.” As they walked, Makeme said, “These tunnels house the most potent luminites in the world, although the ghouls have claimed much of it for themselves.”

“How many ghouls we talking?” Rai said.

“Ah, perhaps seven or eight of them, if my memory serves me correctly,” Makeme said.

As Rai and Makeme walked away, Neptus lingered behind to exchange a few final words with his uncle.

While Neptus helped his uncle to his feet, Hau said, “So, you’ve returned to aid the kingdom rather than liberate us from it…”

“No, I would never,” Neptus insisted, squeezing his uncle’s arm and discreetly slipping something into his hand. “Don’t waste it,” he whispered.

Hau stared at the object in his hand, disbelief apparent in his eyes, “This?!” Neptus gave him a look, causing him to nod in a brief understanding.

Rai, glancing back momentarily, caught a glimpse of the exchange.

With a nod of farewell, Neptus turned to leave, but not before his uncle placed a hand on Neptus’s shoulder, saying, “You’re the hero who will change this world one day. I know it. Be well, Neptus.”

***

In the halls of Atlas, Sater approached Chancellor Plut, who lounged in a soft velvet chair while Urena delicately poured him a goblet of crimson wine. Sater’s voice broke the quiet atmosphere, “Chancellor, may I have a moment?” Nearby, another servant was lighting scented sticks.

“Hmm, Sater? What brings you here?” he said, glancing up from his drink.

“In private,” Sater insisted, glancing at Urena and the other slave.

Curious, the Chancellor set his wine down, waiving Urena and the other away, “Leave us,” he said. Once they were alone, he turned his attention back to Sater. “What is it, Sater? I was just getting comfortable.”

“Earlier, what you spoke of,” Sater began. “I wondered what actions have already been set into motion.”

The Chancellor’s stained lips, curled upward, setting down his goblet with a clink. “Securing the future of our kingdom, my dear,” he stated.

Sater’s brow furrowed. “By what means?”

“Consider this... Venitas might already be lost. You said it yourself. With the number of ghouls lurking in those caves, tied with the time that has passed, it’s entirely plausible they perished long ago.” Chancellor Plut’s expression darkened slightly, rising as he strode over to a large map spread across a nearby table; it was a map of the world. “In times of uncertainty, we must seize every opportunity to ensure our kingdom’s prosperity.” He gestured at the map, his finger tracing the coastline. “As we were before, both the empire and the church had the power to easily wipe us from the face of the map, however, with the acquisition of Havoc, nestled along the shores of the Nede Ocean to our west, we gain access to vital ports, significantly bolstering our position.”

Sater’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “Bolstering our position for what?”

Chancellor Plut's gaze met Sater’s. “For war,” he declared. “There’s always another war, you should know this, having served in the Jade Wars yourself; it’s in man’s nature. So, we must be prepared to act decisively when the time comes.”

“But then, why seek aid from the empire if we plan to stand against them in the future?” Sater pressed.

The Chancellor sat in his chair grabbing his goblet, “Because, my dear Sater, in this game of thrones, one must always play multiple hands if they aim to be the one on top. Sending Eloise, one of their most capable elites, to the Eris Cave where the primordial may lie, presents a golden opportunity. With her clearing the way of the remaining ghouls, we may very well secure it for ourselves. She’s too honorable to ignore our claim of it, nor can she based on the law set by the Church itself. It’s precisely why I requested her for the mission,” Chancellor Plut explained.

“Then you should have sent everyone to Eris Cave, not divide them?” Sater said. “You’re wasting the effort, even endangering the two boys who left on their own.”

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Ah, you weren’t present during the meetings. You were preoccupied with repelling border intruders at the time,” he remarked, taking a sip of wine.

“Repelling is an understatement...” Sater muttered under her breath, her gaze fixed on the curtains hanging.

“Indeed, facing Gael must have been a formidable challenge. Yet, your emergence unscathed speaks volumes of yourself, which is why you are the strongest in all of Atlas,” Chancellor Plut acknowledged. “I left that map behind on purpose, knowing that brat would study it. He’s much too preoccupied with finding the whereabouts of his scattered family. You see, the Ceres tunnels in fact, harbor the majority of the ghouls,” the Chancellor said, gulping his wine down. Wiping his face, he threw the cup, which clinked against the hard stone floor. “That insolent brat believes he can get away with taking the galaxy root from our kingdom, and place it straight into the hands of the enemy! We cannot allow the empire to gain any further advantage. Which is why I’ve arranged a little surprise for their expedition into the tunnels.”

“Chancellor-”

“Sater… This banter exhausts me. I’ve answered your question, and then some. Please, give me time to rest now.”

“Apologies,” Sater said, retreating.

“And do call the women back in,” he stated, comfortably sinking into the seat.

Meanwhile, hiding among the shadows of dimly lit corridors, Tofi and Fu pressed up against the wall, wrapping it quickly into a room full of scrolls. As they walked through the chamber of scrolls, a cage caught their attention.

“It’s locked,” Fu said.

“I’ll just break it,” Tofi declared confidently.

“No,” Fu quickly whispered, scanning their surroundings. “They’ll know we’ve been here. Remember, we’re ninja’s… No, scratch that, we’re thieves now. Got it? Thieves.”

“What’re thieves?”

“Really? You can come up with numerous love plots between Julian, Izzy, and myself, but you don’t know what a thief is,” Fu rapidly stated in a hushed tone. Tofi glanced back clueless. “Uh… Never mind. Just let Gumball do his magic.”

“Magic?” Tofi’s eyes glistened hearing the word.

With a flick of his wooden fingers, Fu’s puppet strings slithered into the padlock, working through and around the mechanism until it clicked open. “Let’s see what we have here…” Fu murmured as he surveyed the contents of the room. On the table, he spotted numerous diagrams, some detailing strategies for war, while others showed sketches of luminite; one, in particular, was colored orange, emitting a light greater than the rest. “Primordial?” Fu read.

“Hm, I’m bored…” Tofi said. “I don’t like being thieves, can we play something else.”

“One-moment Tofi, we’re nearly there,” Fu reassured her, his attention was focused on the papers spread out before him. In his frantic search, he accidentally knocked one of them to the floor, prompting Tofi to pick it up; grimacing as she did.

As the flickering light of torches appeared around the corner, Fu stated, “Screw it!”

“Hey! No bad words,” Tofi said, her voice slightly breaking. “Whoa, what was that,” she was referring to her voice.

“You can punish me later,” hastily grabbing the papers. Quickly, he pulled Tofi along, using his puppet strings to gently close the gate behind them as they made their escape. Once they reached the safety of their room, Fu let out a sigh of relief. “Phew, that was close—” His words were cut off as Tofi’s hand connected with his wooden head, sending it spinning in a whirl. “Tofi…” Fu stated, dizzily swaying left to right.

“Just because we’re in danger doesn’t mean you can say bad things,” Tofi scolded.

“Uh…” Laying out the papers, there were a few that caught Fu’s attention. “He’s planning to blow the tunnels!”

“Blow? As in Kaboom!” Tofi said, expanding her hands outward, accidentally releasing her grip on the sketch.

“Yes, exactly like that.”

“And is that a bad thing?” Tofi asked, eyes full of innocence.

“Unless you’re kaboom-proof, yes, it’s a bad thing,” Fu replied as the sketching steadily fell on his face. Peeling it off his face, Fu’s eyes widened in alarm. The sketch depicted numerous arms extending from a circular stone platform, surrounded by ominous shadows and screaming faces smudged in dark shading. “Creepy…”

“Yea… I didn’t like it either,” Tofi said, leaning over Fu’s shoulder.

“Listen, Tofi, our pals are in trouble right now, and frankly, I’ve had enough of this place. Not a single woman pays me any heed, and the guards keep mistaking me for a toy... Remember you said you wanted to play something else?” Fu said.

“Yea!” Tofi eagerly said, bringing her fists to her chest.

Fu, manipulating his strings, revealed another drawing he had found. It depicted an underwater passageway beneath the castle moat, inhabited by the fearsome fearaligator. “There seems to be a passage that leads directly under the kingdom. Let’s check it out.”

“But how do we get past all the guards?” Tofi asked, her brow furrowing with concern.

“Don’t worry, I have a plan,” Fu reassured her.

Within the castle walls, guards kept watch for any unusual activity, especially in the open field near the bridge entrance. Spotting a young boy with silver hair playing with a large silver ball, one of the guards called out, “Hey! You there!”

“Oh- Yes!” Tofi replied, freezing in place.

“Go home. There are members of the empire here. We don’t want you mingling with them, especially that Nefarian girl, understand?” the guard instructed sternly.

“Yes!” Tofi nodded vigorously, offering a slight bow before darting off. Scaling the castle walls with ease, she leaped over the moat, landing gracefully on the other side. As she set the ball down, Fu unraveled his strings, including those that had altered Tofi’s appearance.

“We made it,” Tofi said, giggling.

“I can't believe that worked…” Fu muttered in amazement. “Alright, onto the next step.”

Near the lower half of the moat, another Zeboose was drinking water when the fearaligator suddenly lunged out, seizing its prey yet again. As the creature thrashed about violently, it caught sight of Tofi and Fu nearby. After a moment’s hesitation, it lunged toward the water.

“And where do you think you’re going!?” Tofi called out, tapping her foot impatiently. The fearaligator froze in its tracks, its predatory instincts momentarily overridden by Tofi’s presence. “We need you to show us the secret doorway. After that, you can finish your dinner.”

The Zeboose, still clinging to life, stared at Tofi in disbelief.

“She says ‘dinner’ so casually…” Fu said.

***

“I thought these tunnels are supposed to be swarming with ghouls?” Lily said.

“Yeah, we’ve only seen like one or two,” Eiji said in a disappointed tone, and so, he pulled out the map. “We left the boundaries of the map twenty minutes ago, and I’ve run out of pencils,” his eyes got teary. He was drawing a new map as they walked.

“We’d probably get more lost following your map…” Lily said, gazing at it. It showed terrible drawings of them jumping across a cliff. Eloise’s drawing showed a lightning bolt, representing her bolting over from the clouds above. At the bottom of the ditch, where death waited for those who didn’t make the jump, Eiji drew a lake with the fearaligator in it. Chancellor Plut was swimming for his life. “That’s parts my favorite,” she chuckled. Mocorri, gazing over at the drawing, caused Lily to sweat profusely, stating, “It gives it more depth...”

“HA, good one. Because of the depth, and he fell in,” Eiji said.

“Eiji...”

“Yea?” he replied.

Lily shook her head, slouching over, “Forget it.”

As they walked forward, the small tunnel opened into an expansive cave. Old statues and worn tile decorated the floor.

“Woo...” Eiji said, gazing at the large statues.

“Wonder how long these have been down here for?” Lily questioned.

“Mocorri, why was the king not aware of these ghouls on his exploration through the cave?” Eloise questioned. “I’ve always known him to be quite the cautious man. It’s unlike him to venture so far with just a single guard.”

“I can’t say to the king’s reasoning… Perhaps the allure of the rumored primordial? It’s probably best I keep this to myself, but since it is you, Eloise, I don’t see the harm in sharing with you the secret within these caves. You see, the luminites gathered within this mountain aren’t like luminites anywhere else. They’re rich with flux, even carrying a bit of orange at the center of them,” Mocorri said, holding up a stone from the floor. “If it’s orange in the center, you’ve got the purest luminite you can ask for. Below that are blue-centered luminite, then your classic, plain green ones that usually die out pretty quickly.”

“I’ll say, these suckers are packed with flux,” Eiji stated, holding up a rock. It nearly blinded him, so he tossed it.

“Because of how potent the luminite’s around here are, Chancellor Plut believes, somewhere in this mountain, lies the primordial,” Mocorri said.

“What’s that?” Lily asked.

Mocorri, glancing at Lily, “It is said to be the first luminite ever formed from within the roots of the World Tree. A source of infinite flux force that can never be depleted.”

***

“Down there are where the ghouls are located. I can’t say how far down, but you’ll know when they’re near,” Makeme said.

“How can you be so sure?” Neptus said.

“Trust me, you’ll know…”

Rai was gazing at a wall using the light of the amulet Birchet gave him; they had already been traversing the tunnels for nearly an hour. “Trust me, you’ll know,” he mimicked in a sarcastic tone. “What a bunch of bull! He probably doesn’t even know the way.”

“The tunnels have changed since last I worked them,” Neptus said.

“That reminds me, Lucy, the nice lady from the Havoc wanted me to let you know, she says hello,” Rai said. Neptus stopped in his tracks, “Ring a bell?”

“Lucille, she was a friend of my mother’s,” Neptus said, reminiscing on his time in the Kingdom of Havoc.

“Lucy!” Marley shouted.

“What, there’s nothing wrong with a little fun,” Lucy said.

“You’re gonna get the man hurt,” Marley giggled, taking a sip of Ti.

“Men have been hurting me all my life,” Lucy said, winking at the man across the bar.

The man, seeing the gesture walked over.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hello,” Lucy said, with an alluring smile. “Can I help you?”

“I couldn’t help but notice you and your friend. She’s not from around here, is she?” he said, gazing at Marley.

“No actually,” Marley stated, rising to her feet, gracefully extending her hand to shake the man’s. “I’m from Atlas.”

Leaning in, the man said, “What’s a beautiful woman like yourself doing down here from Atlas?”

“Perhaps I’ve come to celebrate our alliance,” and she leaned in, tugging at the man’s collar while whispering in his ear, “the men bore me over there.” Sitting back down, she winked his way.

“Marley, are you stealing my man,” Lucy said, in disbelief.

“Of course not,” Marley said, placing her hand on her chest innocently.

“Ladies, there’s plenty of me to—” A fist collided with the man’s jaw, knocking him unconscious.

“Don’t talk to my woman,” Reno stated.

“He was actually talking to me,” Marley said, holding a finger up.

Gazing at the man on the floor, Reno shrugged, “Meh, he doesn’t look like your type.”

Sitting, Lucy kissed Reno on the cheek. They were celebrating Reno’s retirement, before their trip traveling across Cronos in a week!

“I’m just glad our kingdoms finally came to terms with one another, when you get back, let’s go shopping for the kids,” Marley said.

“That sounds wonderful,” Lucy said. “Speaking of kids, where’s Neptus?”

“Down here,” Neptus’s voice hollered, he was only a boy.

“What’re you doing under the table Neptus?” Lucy said.

“It’s embarrassing being seen in public with my mom…” Neptus muttered.

“The alliance is a good thing,” Reno stated, placing down his beer. “The Jade Wars took a toll on everyone, but now we can finally live in peace.”

“A blessing,” Lucy said. “Marley, how’re you and Arth?”

“We’re doing well... Okay if I’m being honest, he sucks, he doesn’t clean after himself ever, he always leaves the dishes in the sink, and his gym bag reeks… and yet… I’ve never met a man who was so loving and willing to be a part of not only my life but both of my kids. Well, I guess I should start saying our kids. Been about half a year now...”

“He’s not my dad!” Neptus shouted, running out from under the table, and rushing out the door.

“Kids…” Reno said, “He’ll come to understand one day.”

Inside the Ceres Tunnel, Rai said, “Neptus, I think I found something.”

Neptus, walked over, gazing at what looked to be the shedding of a creature. “What in the world…”

“I had Alan send me this pic,” Rai said. “Receptions pretty bad in here, but luckily I archived it.” Rai used the badge to emit a hologram of the pic, which was of a ghoul in a cave like this. At first, it appeared way too large, so he sized it down to the width of the tunnel, matching the actual size of the ghoul. “That’s about the right size, based on the description.” The ghoul had four legs that resembled the thick arms of an octopus; at the end of them were claws that emerged from the suckers on its arms. The skin across its chest was suctioned tight across its ribcage, and it had four eyes.

“These are ghouls...” Neptus said.

“Straight out of the horror section,” Rai regarded.

“Wait, he sent you a pic from a fiction book?” Neptus said.

“Nah it was non-fiction.”

“Darn…” Neptus said, slumping over. “Still, these details are so… real...” Neptus said, leaning into the hologram. Reaching his hand for it - a loud shriek alerted them both; then, the thuds over something running towards them reverberated through the tunnels as the screech grew louder.

Rai fidgeting with the badge, accidentally dropped it. It bounced against the cave walls, landing a couple of feet away. Leaning down, Rai aimed to pick it up, but a sound caught his attention. Gazing at the hologram, drips of saliva slapped against the floor as a ghoul’s head slowly emerged from the other end of the hologram, overlapping with the projection of the ghoul in the picture Alan sent.

It lunged at Rai!

“Galactic wave!” Neptus shouted, roots already formed. A space-like substance, glittering in miniature stars, appeared before Rai, redirecting the creature's attack in the direction of the wave.

The ghoul’s attack, having been foiled, shrieked, lunging back into the darkness, disappearing deeper into the tunnels.

Rai, grabbing his badge, looked at Neptus, “Thanks.”

“Wait till Hanabi hears I saved your butt,” Neptus said with a sneering remark.

“I said thanks! Not that I needed your help!” Rai shouted, fury in his eyes. “Hey Plu, time you get out here buddy.”

“Plu,” Plu said, popping its head out the backside of Rai’s hood. Wiggling, bit by bit, it worked its way up, before successfully yanking itself out completely, plopping on its head beside them.

“One too many strawberry ice creams pal?” Rai said.

“Plu,” it said, gazing at the cave ceiling.

Hunching over, Rai said, “Alright, up to you. Apple now or later?”

“Plu,” It said, standing.

“Alright, later it is.”

“I heard you’re a Link now, just like Hanabi,” Neptus said.

“Yeah…” Rai, curled his lip, looking away irritated.

“Strange, how’re you able to blink?” Neptus questioned.

Gazing at Plu, Rai hesitated, saying, “It’s Plu’s ability… our.. Bond! Our bond is how.. and eating the apple thing, that helps too!” Rai stated, whistling and looking away. That was terrible... “Enough with the questions, you sound like Lily now,” Rai said, walking away from Neptus. Suddenly, the entire cave began to shake. “You’re not activating some galaxy shake-the-cave ability, are you?”

“No… And you’re not summoning that root… are you?”

“If my buddies here, no,” Rai said, but then he saw it; the tunnels were collapsing!

They both turned to run, however, it was too late.