As she lay on the icy cold ground, Wen's head rocked like an underground concert. Her thoughts were like a trickle of cold melting snow, a tiny drop here, a thin stream there. She had a vague idea of where she had been, but she had no idea where she was. Everything was just a haze.

"Water," she whispered into the darkness around her.

Cold liquid dropped on her lips from a rough cup, and she took a sip. It ran like a river through her parched throat, and Wen gulped down the liquid like she had been in the desert for days on end. She opened her eyes and immediately noticed she was in the same hut she had been in earlier. She didn't know if it was a day or a year earlier, but it was the hut where Jean had talked to her about curses.

She lay on a rough mat, and a strong arm held her from the ground. Wen rolled her eyes over to the person helping her and saw that it was Erin, dark bags under her eyes as she held the cup to Wen's lips. Wen cracked a smile as Erin took the cup away. She was alive.

"How long?"

"A day," Erin said.

"You pushed yourself hard," a second voice said. Jean's voice came from Wen's right, and she lazily looked to the side to see the skeleton man sitting with his back to the wall. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Like what?" Wen asked.

"You did a lot of damage to yourself with your curse," Erin said, slowly lowering Wen back to the ground. "I'm able to heal your body of that, but there's something wrong with your gate."

"It's like you're trapped between levels," Jean raised two skeletal fingers before bending one in half. "You almost reached the second stage of your curse, but something thing held you short, trapped you in between."

Wen grimaced as her back went back to the flat ground, squinting up as she reached for her gate. She tried to open it, but a sudden zap shook her body at the mere idea of touching her gate. She shook on the ground as the spasm went through her until it was finally over.

"That is what I am speaking of," Jean said, eyeing her with glowing purple eyes. "When you did that, the icy blue of your soul sparked a sharp white, then settled down to a flicker. That is what I mean when I say that you are trapped between."

"He said it wasn't ready," Wen furrowed her brow. "I thought I had gone back to Earth, but then…"

"Then what?" Jean leaned forward. "What did you see in there?"

"I saw Tom," Wen said, weakly waving one arm. "He was my fiance—before all this."

She didn't mention that they had broken up right before she came to Erth. That was entirely unnecessary. Instead, she would just focus on the facts.

"Someone you cared for acted as a guide," Jean nodded, pursing his lips. "That is normal when dealing with your curse. Was there anything else?"

"He said I wasn't ready," Wen repeated. "Then—"

She paused, trying to focus on what happened after. She remembered the world falling apart around her, a bright light after darkness. However, her thoughts blurred when she tried to focus on the details. Something in those moments muddled every memory of it.

"Something interfered with it all," Wen whispered, closing her eyes as a piercing pain settled across her forehead.

"Hmm," Jean leaned back against the wall.

"Either way, you need to take it easy for a while," Erin said, putting one hand gently on Wen's shoulder. "I don't know everything about curses, but if they are like our bodies, it will take time to heal."

"Do we have time?" Wen snorted, shaking her head as she lay on the ground. "In the last two weeks, I have gone up against people I would never have dreamed of hunting without massive preparation and the element of surprise. I don't know about you two, but fights seem to find us a lot more than they should."

"We are fated for struggles, it seems," Jean said. "For when you have a path forward in this world, it is only natural for there to be many obstacles. Only those without a path to strive for live an unburdened life."

Wen held up her hands slowly. Though Erin started to move to force them down, Wen won the day. She looked at the newly pinched flesh that covered them. That would have been caused by her frostbite. For the second time, her curse had caused major damage to her body because of its cold nature.

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to it," Wen said. "The fact that my curse hurts me, or how dangerous of a life you all lead as outlaws. Sometimes, I wish I could just go back to Earth. I wish that I could just crawl back into bed and go back to studying books."

"I understand that," Erin whispered. "Many times, I wish I could return to Erys. I could find a small village and go back to being a healer until I was a crazy old hag out in the woods."

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"And I am envious that you both have that alternative," Jean smiled. "Unfortunately, our Erth is all that I know, with the good and the bad. However, I would be lying if I said I didn't want to return to my old life with Eliza before everything went wrong on April. I could be ignorant to all the problems in the world, living my life doing research."

"But we can't go back, can we?" Wen said.

"Alex thinks so," Erin said. "Isn't that why he's here?"

"That's what he says," Jean nodded. "But, I wonder how true that desire is. He makes decisions that a man who is driven to one goal does not. Far too often, he chooses to be kind."

"He hopes that there's a way back and pushes forward because of it," Wen said.

"Just as I hope there's a way to change this world somewhere on this path," Jean nodded.

"And I hope that the revolution might change things with the new knowledge we might find," Erin said.

"Hope is important," Wen said. "That's the most human thing I ever learned. So, maybe I'll be able to keep going."

***

Sayed stood out on the southern beach. On this island, the sun rose to the south and set in the north, or at least that was what he thought. He had no compass, only maps, and diagrams from the Nighthawk. Nearby were the remnants of a small golden ship that the Zoan had already begun to explore. From what Sayed could guess, it was not large and could only hold about ten people.

It also had three bodies nearby that had already been disposed of. Two had been human. One had been Zoan.

"A new dawn is needed to wipe away the day," Sayed whispered as the orange hues of the rising sun began to touch the horizon directly in front of him.

He knew the beach to be the southern one from the word of the Zoan, but on this strange island, the sun rose to the south and set to the north. Sayed was used to the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, though that was the way it was in Hajh, and he assumed it was the same on all islands across the nightsea.

"A ship that isn't big enough to take the tribe," Maocir said, coming away from the searching Zoan and up to Sayed. "We have an entire sea of new stars above us, but there isn't enough to go out and see."

"Your people want to leave your island?" Sayed asked.

"Some of us do," Maocir said. "Some of us would stay and keep to the old ways. But a world without constellations is out there. I want to see it."

"Well, there may be a chance," Sayed said, holding out his hand. "Desert Mirage."

He opened his gate and embraced the flow of raging heat in his heart. Waves of heat flickered in his hands as he held them up. His fingers began to sweat as the heat fled his body. In moments, images flashed between his outstretched hands: an island with an impossibly large tower, each level marked by large arches. A town covered in a heavy fog, where several shadows flickered between the alleys. A large set of mountains with a massive forest. On the peak of one was a large creature that seemed to consume it.

"Sarrack," Maocir whispered at that image, and Sayed stopped the light show of his previous islands.

"What did you say?" Sayed asked.

"On the top of that mountain, the Great Devourer, Sarrack," Maocir said, his slitted eyes dilated wide. "I thought for a moment we were back in the Dark Meridian."

"Is it a mighty monster of some kind?" Sayed asked.

"A god. Some worship it, and all across the Dark Meridian know to fear it. It is the creature that lies in the dark depths outside of everything."

Sayed doubted that such a thing could be a god because there was only one god—the master of flame and light who brought its fire down to aid the people. However, he was not one to offend and did not know of the Zoan's beliefs. He would have to tread carefully in his questions.

"And why do they worship it?"

"They think that the world is wrong and must be consumed to be remade," Maocir shrugged. "Some of the invaders in our lands were cultists that knew of him. They would scream his name as they invaded our shores."

Sayed raised an eyebrow. "Are there any others that people worship?"

"Several," Maocir said. "We know there are several creators that bring order and justice to the world against Sarrack. However, the most important to my people is Rin."

"This god protects people from Sarrack?"

"She does," Maocir nodded, his tail jerking back and forth and his ears perking up. "She is the lady of the day. You can even see her on reliefs in the main temple."

Sayed thought he might stop and look if there was time. Perhaps this 'Rin' was merely a permutation of his own god. If she brought the day and light to humans and Zoan alike, there was a good chance. He would feel good to know that the Zoan had such a god watching over them.

"I might take a look."

Bzzt.

As he said it, lights burst into being above the nearby water. Sayed instinctively reached for his sword but did not need to bother. Before his very eyes, blue lines of light exploded out from a central point. In moments, they were replaced by a long metal hull. Sayed recognized the symbol on the side. It had the 'M' and 'P' to mark it as a ship of the Military Police.

It was larger than any he had seen in his life, nearly twice as long as the Nighthawk and three times as wide.

Groan. Splash.

As the lights disappeared, the ship fell from its lofty height, sending out a tall wave that surged forward from the point of impact. Sayed threw up his arms as the water washed over him. He leaned into the wave, nearly twice as tall as he was, but he held his ground.

The wave washed over the beach and the abandoned ship, throwing many people off their feet. As the wave reached the apex of its length and fell apart, the entire beach was newly turned to mud, and only some of the water receded back toward the ship. Sayed put down his arms and looked out over the massive ship.

"A mighty vessel, but it appears no one is aboard," he said, looking back for Maocir.

The wave had washed Maocir away further up the beach. Sayed shook his head, turning to examine the new arrival. It was covered in masses of green seaweed, and the metal of the hull appeared to be somewhat rusted. However, the entire ship was largely intact.

Bzzt.

A blue portal opened nearby, and three figures stepped out. It didn't take long for Sayed to recognize Alex, James, and Ikal, and he smiled at them as they walked out onto the muddy beach.

"I didn't need much to guess this was your work, brother," Sayed said as he walked over to Alex.

"Yeah," Alex smiled, looking down at Ikal. "Ikal, can you get as many of your people as you can and bring them out here. We need to show them this."

"So, what are you doing with the ship?" Sayed asked as Ikal nodded and ran off.

"Making them an offer," Alex said. "A choice between living here or going out and finding a better life."

Sayed nodded, but he didn't really understand. However, he knew Alex well enough to know that he had a plan, and he would trust in the plan.

"It sounds like their tale is just beginning."