As we moved through the city, I began to make out a massive building. It had to be the palace, the home of King Diorite. It wasn’t built of stone. It was built of crystal. It caught the light and glimmered in a way that even seemed to push back the darkness, allowing me to get a good look at the massive building. Many of the houses from before had been carved into the walls. The fronts of them looked to be built like your typical square home, but the backs sunk into the stone walls.

The palace was an exception to this rule. The entire massive cavern that made up this city carved out enough space that the palace could be placed in the center. From top to bottom, it was completely exposed and could be seen from every side. I realized that that the palace seemed to sit in the center, with a circular street around it, and an extension running off from every side. Although it was hard to tell because of the encroaching shadows, I was guessing the city had the shape of an asterisk.

I was still walking forward when I felt Sapphire’s hand slip from my back. I stopped and turned back, but there was no one there. I was immediately caught by surprise. Sapphire had only just let go of me a second before. She wouldn’t have had time to chase after me.

“Sapphire?” I called out, the lack of echo making this place feel strangely menacing.

She had just been beside me, yet she disappeared now. She was my direction. It had been clear we were heading to the palace though. Should I continue, or should I check the buildings and look for her? As I was making such a decision, the door to the palace began to creak open. I immediately took a step back, and then pulled out my sword.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I was able to summon the sword from my blessing like normal, but since my inventory was in my soul world, I didn’t have it. As for my inventory rings, I had kept them in my soul world… because I didn’t want to risk losing them. From now on, I would keep goods and supplies with a ring on my body, and more food and supplies within my soul world. That way, whether I had my body or soul, I had access to supplies. As it was, I had been worrying a bit about food. Had the journey taken longer than a few days, there might have been trouble. Thankfully, it had only been a few hours.

As the sword appeared in my hand, it felt strangely limp. It was the same metal as before, but they’re just felt like something was off about it. It felt heavier and less nimble. It was the difference between picking someone up who was awake and picking someone up who was a dead weight. Without Alysia, the sword was just a lump of metal. I hadn’t thought about it before, but now I was reminded just how much weaker I’d be without her. I thought as long as I had the blade made of powerful alloys and forged by a master, it’d be fine, but it was nothing without the Osterian princess that came with it.

The door finished opening, a crack that leads into darkness. At least, I couldn’t see any light spilling out from within the palace. After a brief moment, a head popped out. It was a head filled with red hair, and I immediately recognized them.

“Garnet?” My eyes widened.

“Master! You found us!” She smiled.

Just like that, I had found Garnet.