At the heart of a large room in Waterway Monastery. Alza, Talon, and Shion sat on the floor with a table separating them all. Alza had shared the news of how she faced Arachne and received a soulstone, though unfortunately, she was unable to reverse the plague that had infested Selgrad due to Arachne destroying the catalyst for the plague.

"So…Selgrad is lost." Talon muttered.

Shion pressed a hand against his head. "And Guildmaster Elysia's life is at risk."

Alza breathed out a sigh. "We aren't left with many good options, for now, I dealt with the undead in Selgrad and blocked its entrance. The city is dead, but its people will no longer suffer."

"That's…somewhat comforting I suppose." Talon said.

Shion then looked to Alza. "But what about the Guildmaster? Can you bring her back now that you have a soul stone?"

"I might be able to, but if I'm completely honest, my chances of successfully rescuing her are slim. She is being kept hostage by a demon prince after all."

"But didn't you fight off a demon prince before? You know, one of the ones that attacked Menon." Shion pressed.

But Alza could only shake her head. "I barely fended that one off, and that one was far from the strongest of the demon princes."

"So what you're saying is, you will need to become stronger if you want to successfully rescue your Guildmaster." Talon said.

Alza nodded. "Precisely, and I don't know how I'm going to do that in only a few days."

Shion's gaze casted downwards. "I was going to suggest that the adventurer's guild could help, but now that I think about it, I doubt anyone there could be of much use."

Talon raised an eyebrow and looked at Shion. "What about your current guildmaster?"

Shion sighed. "Nia is a talented mage, but she's nowhere near the level of Guildmaster Elysia or Alza here."

"I see, so Alza is the adventurer's guild's last hope." Talon said.

Alza let out a bitter chuckle. "Don't put so much expectations on me, as I am now, I don't stand much of a chance either."

"Hold that thought. I think the Grandmaster can help you."

"How so?"

Talon rose and stood up. "Follow me."

***

Alza was guided by Talon back to Grandmaster Tranquil's chamber. The latter bowed before the old monk before speaking.

"Grandmaster, I believe that Alza here would like access to Mist Lake Temple."

The Grandmaster slowly stroked his beard. "Talon, my disciple, you know that is not something I can give permission to. Only Ilm can grant one access to that place.

Talon still maintained his bow as he continued speaking. "She is desperate, Grandmaster, perhaps it would be better if you heard from her yourself."

Grandmaster Tranquil then shifted his gaze to Alza. "You may speak, mage. Tell me, for what reason would you need access to Mist Lake Temple?"

Alza bowed her head before she spoke. "My close friend, the former guildmaster of Menon's adventurer's guild was kidnapped by demons. I will likely have to face several greater demons if I am to get her back."

"That is a rather serious predicament." The Grandmaster muttered. "Very well, you have been instrumental in freeing the monastery from its curse, I'll speak to Ilm on your behalf."

"Thank you, Grandmaster. But if I may ask, what is this Mist Lake Temple?"

"It is a sacred place hidden deep within Ilm's domain. Time flows differently there, you could spend a year in the temple whilst only one day would pass in the outside world."

Alza's eyes widened. "That is…impressive."

The old monk let out a hearty laugh. "Don't you get too excited now. I'm sure Ilm will tell you the details himself."

***

Alza now stood before Ilm again. The dragon was not too pleased at seeing her, though he did not seem to be as hostile as he was before.

"You are fortunate that I owe that old monk a favor, demon." Ilm grumbled.

Alza offered a respectful bow to the dragon. "I am grateful that you're even considering my request."

Ilm snorted briefly, letting out steam from his nostrils. "Listen carefully, demon. Mist Lake Temple is unlike any other place in the world, and you must heed my instructions if you are to survive."

Alza straightened her back and nodded. "I am ready to listen."

"As you are already aware, Mist Lake Temple is a place where time flows differently than anywhere else in the world. This means you cannot spend too much time inside."

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"What do you mean by that?"

"One year in the temple is only one day outside, it's an unnatural state of being, your mind will shatter if you remain even a second too long within the temple. But rest assured, I will be there with you, so this should not be an issue."

"I see, are there any other risks I should know of?"

"That is all, just note that this will be the first and last time you enter the temple."

"I am curious, have you been inside Mist Lake Temple yourself?"

Ilm nodded. "If you're wondering whether the effects of the temple will influence my mind: it will not. Dragons are naturally resistant to such magic."

"Duly noted, so where is this temple exactly?"

"Wait there for a moment."

Ilm swam back into the center of the lake. He then dove inside, swimming around in large circles over and over again. This created a whirlpool of water that began to glow a radiant azure light. As the light reached its brightest, a wooden bridge manifested from the whirlpool and onto the lakeside where Alza stood.

"Walk the bridge and jump inside the whirlpool." Ilm commanded.

Alza obliged the dragon and carefully walked through the wooden bridge. Once she reached the edge, she couldn't resist looking down through the whirlpool for a moment. What she saw was an endless swirl that led to somewhere with no end, she could barely-

"Stop looking around and jump down!" Ilm repeated.

Alza shook her head and obliged, jumping down the whirlpool.

***

For several minutes, Alza just fell through the whirlpool. But eventually, she fell into a deep pool of water. Strangely though, she could breathe just fine within this water as if it were air.

Ilm swam next to Alza. "Follow me, there are still some ways to go."

Alza glanced around in wonder as her curiosity got the better of her. "What…is this place?"

"It's none of your concern, just keep swimming."

Alza kicked her legs and followed the dragon further through the water. Ilm glided effortlessly, leading her forward. As they continued their journey, the water began to grow clearer and more pristine. Not only that, Alza could see and hear normally despite being fully submerged. Even her clothes didn't seem to be affected by the water in the slightest, it was a rather surreal experience all things considered.

Following Ilm's lead, Alza swam through the entrance of a cavern. As she entered, the water abruptly came to an end, stopping mid-air. Alza's body splashed onto the dry, rocky ground as she dropped onto the cavern floor. She muttered a brief curse before standing again.

After traversing the cave's narrow corridors for a few more minutes, Alza saw the entrance to what she presumed was Mist Lake Temple. The temple's gates opened immediately as Ilm hovered in front of it. The dragon then entered, shooting a glance at Alza to beckon her to enter as well.

The moment Alza stepped into the temple's central hall, she was immediately engulfed by mist. The thick, milky white fog filled nearly every inch of the place, obscuring her vision. It made it difficult to walk through, and she was forced to take cautious steps to avoid running into something.

Ilm's silhouette glided effortlessly through the mist, providing a clear path for Alza to follow. It was nearly impossible to discern the boundaries of the hall, as the mist masked its true size. Various stone columns and statues which decorated the space were only partially visible at best.

As they ventured further, Alza saw a luminous hourglass that stood in the center of the hall. It emanated a radiant, blue-white light that cut through the mist. Its sand was actually a pale silver, each grain like a tiny shard of moonlight.

Alza took tentative steps forward. She eyed her surroundings with a sense of wonder in her heart. "Did you build this place?"

"I did not, but I have been its guardian for some time." Ilm replied. "Now if you're done gawking at the scenery, we can begin your training proper."

Alza nodded. "R-right, so where do we begin?"

"I can try to teach you water magic, so that you can use it as I do."

"Alright, so what do I have to do?"

"Stand still for a moment, there is something I need to verify."

The dragon flew close towards Alza so that his face was only an inch away from her own. Ilm's eyes then flashed and glowed for a second, before dimming once more.

Ilm then flew backwards, putting some distance between him and Alza again. "You do not have what it takes to use water magic properly."

Alza raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"I do not see the potential for water magic in you. That is all."

"I see…but isn't there anything else we can do here? I would hope that you have some kind of contingency."

"In fact I do. While I did not see any potential for water magic, I can still train you to become more aware of the magic that exists in the environment. So that you can learn to better draw on its power."

"You mean I need to draw on even more than I already do when I use earth magic?"

"Why of course. You demons are usually far too reliant on your own magic rather than using the residual energy from the environment."

"That's fair, it's just the way I'm used to using magic."

"And now is your chance to fix that. Go sit on that pond over there." Ilm said, eyeing a tranquil pond to Alza's right.

Alza raised an eyebrow at the dragon's suggestion. "You want me to sit on top of water?"

"I said what I said. We will not continue your training until you finish this task."

"Understood, I'll give it a go."

Alza soon made it to the pond. She then tried to sit on the waters' surface, yet, when she did so, she fell into the water instead.

"Am I missing something here?" Alza asked, wiping away some water that splashed onto her arms.

Ilm laughed in response. "Every monk in the monastery can do this simple task, demon. I'm surprised you can't figure it out for yourself."

"Well I'm no monk." Alza scoffed.

"And that's not my problem, what I ask of you is very simple. I'm going to take a nap, wake me up once you're able to do what I told you." Ilm replied.

Before Alza could say anything, the dragon had already slunk away and rested his body on the temple floor. It did not take long for the area to rumble with the weight of his snores.

Alza breathed out an exasperated sigh and got out of the pool. Her mind dwelled on the dragon's words and how irritatingly simple her task supposedly was. Yet, the more she thought about it, Alza realized how she rarely ever had to think about how she used magic. Knowledge of the arcane came so easily to her the same way one would naturally know how to breathe. It was only when Elysia taught her earth magic that Alza was forced to see magic in a way she was not used to.

Elysia, that was it. Alza closed her eyes and steadied her breaths. She mentally counted each time she took a breath in patterns of three. One, two, three. She would repeat over and over again in her mind as if it were a mantra. The more she did this, the more she was able to feel the pulse of magic that was in the temple. Alza then outstretched her arms and fingers, moving them around in the air to feel it. She could feel a weight tugging at her fingers now, as if she were grasping something real.

Then, she stood and took steps into the pond. Instead of sinking, this time: her feet were able to stand above the waters' surface the same way Elysia was able to do all those months ago. Alza then sat herself down on top of the pond's surface and attuned her senses to her surroundings. She smiled a bit in the moment, even now, the elf oracle was still teaching her something new.