I smiled at Moonalia's direct question. "What am I? Well, that's quite the million, do-uhm, star question, isn't it? Maybe I'm just a very convincing statue. Let’s see if you can figure it out without any clues.”

“Hrm, hrm.” Moonalia didn’t seem deterred by my deflection.

Instead, her eyes lit up with renewed curiosity, and she began darting around the cave, looking at and touching everything in sight, occasionally going down on all fours to examine everything that caught her eye.

"Oh! These mushrooms! They're glowing! And these vines - they're not like any I've seen before!" She exclaimed, her talons gently probing the bioluminescent flora. "The way they interact with the ambient magic is fascinating! It's as if they're... wait, they're growing right before my eyes! How fascinating! It appears that they’re being projected into existence the same way that Subject Ioan Starfall is."

I leaned against the cavern wall, crossing my arms.

Moonalia barely registered my presence as she moved on to examine the sleigh. Her talons tapped rapidly against its surface, her beak clicking in concentration. "The protective Ward here is... gone. It's like the shard has been obliterated with incredibly powerful magic and then entirely overwritten, covered in some kind of a crystalline lattice but in a way that shouldn't be possible. How did you manage this?"

"Oh, you know," I shrugged. "A little elbow grease, a dash of magic, and a sprinkle of 'I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time, but it seems to work.'"

The Corvix continued her frenzied exploration, muttering to herself and occasionally letting out excited squeaks. When she reached Stormy, however, she froze.

"Lady Stormy," she breathed, bowing deeply. "May I... may I pet you?"

Stormy, who had been watching the proceedings with her usual air of feline superiority, gave a small "Mrrrr" of agreement.

Moonalia's talons gently began to stroke Stormy's fur "Oh! Oh my! Your fur... it's so lush and healthy! And the way your Geist resonates... it's unlike anything I've ever encountered! You’re the finest Seeker of Truths I’ve seen! My, my! How fascinatingly curious!”

I couldn't help but smirk as Moonalia spent the next half hour utterly engrossed in petting Stormy. The kitten, for her part, seemed to be enjoying the attention, purring loudly and occasionally shooting me smug looks as she relocated onto the bird-girl’s lap.

"Having fun there, Mooni?" I asked after a while.

Moonalia barely glanced up, endlessly tweaking with her eyepiece. "Yes. Yes! I’ve never seen such a fine noble feline specimen! Your grace is a truly extraordinary hunter of knowledge."

“Is that what she does, hmm?” I commented.

“Oh yes!” Mooni nodded. “She, unlike you, is quite real. Physical. Actually alive. Has the Geist of talented Divine Beast diver I think! She is… is sort of like the Cantigeist of the Drallux Arcanicx, except… actually alive, ha ha! The Spider Matriarch that served the Ring long ago before she was disassembled by our foremothers… yes, yes! That’s the best point of reference I can extrapolate here.”

“And is she projecting me into existence?” I asked.

“Hrmmm… I don’t think so,” Mooni sighed. “That’s the workings of something else. Something I have not understood yet.”

I clipped the snowflake from my belt and handed it to her.

“I think you forgot about this,” I said as Mooni stared at the snowflake, her mouth drooling.

“I didn't forget about it," she said, twitching. "I just got, urm, distracted by all the other fascinating things here!"

She twirled the snowflake this way and that, tapping it gently with her talons and peering at it through her eyepiece. After about ten minutes of intense, silent scrutiny, she handed it back to me with a shrug.

"Yes. Thank you," she admitted. "It is very fascinating to touch."

I frowned, feeling a wave of disappointment wash over me.

Moonalia must have noticed my expression because she tilted her head and asked, "Were you hoping it would solve a big problem? Help someone?"

I sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I was. Back in the Gy- urh… George’s swamp, it created these massive black and blood red spirals. I thought that maybe..."

"That sounds like a barbarian's hack job of using the artifact," Moonalia interrupted, her feathers ruffling slightly. "No offense to this Sorceress George, of course. I'm sure she's very... resourceful and whatnot."

"Then how do we use it properly?" I demanded, frustration creeping into my voice.

Moonalia fidgeted with her talons. "Umm. Only the highest tier of Corvix can use these artifacts properly. There should be no gross bogs or death spirals. These things operate very cleanly, I am extrapolating.”

"There has to be something," I pressed. "Come on, Mooni. You're supposed to be the expert here! How is this thing activated?"

She was quiet for a moment, her brow furrowed in concentration and she resumed petting Stormy. Then her eyes lit up. "Language!"

"What language?" I asked, leaning forward.

"The language of the Celestials," Moonalia replied, bobbing her head. "The words written in the sky that nobody except for the highest tier of Corvix can read."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

I stared at her, trying to process this new information. "Words... written in the sky?"

Moonalia nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes! They say the mountains themselves form patterns of messages left by the Builders. But only the Highest Arch-Corvix can decipher them."

I looked down at the snowflake in my hand, then back at Moonalia. "And you think this artifact responds to just… that?"

"I think so," she said, looking glum. "But I'm afraid I can't read or speak such myself. I'm just a lowly tier five, after all."

I squinted at her.

“Not just language,” she commented thoughtfully. “Blood too. You said there was a big blood spiral, right?”

I nodded.

“Who's blood is this thing going to need? My blood?” I asked. “Should I cut my hand and bleed on it and order it to activate or whatever?”

“Order it?” The Corvix blinked at me. “Wait… you know the language… the Word… you can speak Celestial?!”

Her yellow eyes went wide, staring at me unblinkingly.

I nodded.

“Stars and Claws, Ioan!” Corvix sputtered, drooling even worse and staring at me. “Stop! Your value can only go up so much!”

I smirked at her.

“Uhmm… what were we talking about?” The Corvix blinked after a minute of silence. “I totally spaced out trying to recalculate your immense value.”

I repeated my question.

“Uhrmm…” Corvix tapped her beak with her talons. “No, no. It needs more than one person.”

"Huh?" I frowned, turning the snowflake over in my hand.

Mooni’s talons extended to tap at the snowflake in my hand.

“It’s going to need more than just the blood of a single individual, I think." Moonalia's feathers ruffled slightly as she thought. "When dealing with a Builder artifact, it responds well to more... primordial elements. Perhaps something from the land itself? A bit of the local rock, or water from the sea? From a book that I was read many years ago by a Strix… a Builder tool will respond better to, uhm… something that matches its age.”

“Matches its age?” I repeated. “Something that’s one hundred thousand years old then?”

“Yeah,” Mooni nodded. “A Corvix researcher from long ago was able to trick one of these artifacts by covering herself entirely in cloraclast strata that matched the age of the artifact.”

“And how did that go?” I asked.

“Urm,” Mooni blinked. “It sorta worked…”

“Sort of?”

“She got inverted,” Mooni winced. "Fully."

I sighed.

Mooni tapped her head thoughtfully.

“Hold on,” she murmured. “I’m trying to remember the exact words from the book from so long ago. Yes. Right. Hrm. Yes.”

Her eyes unfocused and refocused on me.

“Urm,” she swallowed. “The only way I know how to activate this device… is for a Corvix to die.”

“What?” I sputtered.

“Yeah,” Mooni rubbed her feathers and clicked her talons. “One Corvix has to go to the other side… into… forever. The other must remain and give up a piece of themselves for the anchoring.”

I stared at her.

Moonalia nodded solemnly, her usual excited chatter subdued. "Yes. The snowflake... it's not just a tool. It's a gateway, a bridge between our world and... infinity. The Deepest, darkest abyss of the Astral Ocean. The deepest level of the Magisphere of Desire."

The Corvix took a deep breath. "From what I remember of that text, these artifacts require a living consciousness to manage them from the other side. One Corvix must willingly give up their physical form, allowing her entire ‘self’ to be pulled into the artifact and through to the other side. They become a sort of... anchor, a living conduit between our world and the endlessness beyond."

"And once they're there?" I prompted.

"They can never return," Moonalia said softly. "They become one with the artifact, part of its very essence. Their consciousness sort of stretches across the infinite expanse of the Astral, gaining access to knowledge and power beyond our finite state. But they're also... lost, in a way. No longer truly themselves. Or maybe truly themselves… just, uhrm, spaghettified, falling into forever towards Endalaus. They become a tether to the original artifact, to the foundation of magic and also to their anchor here on Thornwild."

"So one Corvix has to die for this damn thing to work?" I demanded, starting to get annoyed.

"It's not death, per say," Mooni tapped her beak. "It's just sort of... like being stretched, unfolded into eternity. For them not to get lost in forever, they hold onto another person who remains in the physical."

"Uh-huh," I frowned, processing this information. "You mentioned someone giving up a part of themselves?"

Moonalia nodded. "Yes. While one Corvix must go through, another Arcanicx must remain here to act as the connection point. They have to sacrifice a small but significant part of their being - a finger, an eye, etc. This sacrifice creates a permanent link between the artifact, the Corvix on the other side, and the physical world."

"So, to activate this," I held up the snowflake, "we'd need two. One to... die, essentially. And another to mutilate themselves."

"Precisely," Moonalia confirmed. “Well, you can see why only the highest tiers of Corvix are typically entrusted with such things. To be unmade… to fall into forever. That’s a high price.”

I frowned.

“But that’s… that’s a price I’m willing to pay,” she said.

“You can’t just…” I began.

"I can." She nodded. "It is what we are bred for. What we were made for. To someday open the door into forever. Nobody can do it as well as a Corvix. A Corvix would not lose their mind as any other being would! The diver’s mind and body and Geist, everything gets... spaghettified."

"And you're sure there's no other way?" I asked, though I already suspected the answer.

Moonalia shook her head. "Not that I know of.”

I nodded slowly, my mind racing. We had only one Corvix here - Moonalia herself. And while she seemed eager to help, I couldn't just ask her to give up her life or mutilate herself for our cause. Not when we weren't even sure what the artifact would do once activated.

"Thank you for telling me this, Mooni," I said finally. "It's... a lot to consider. We’ll figure something else out if we put our minds together… I’m sure…”

Mooni nodded, although she didn’t look confident in this outcome.

The ceiling above us suddenly shuddered, cracks running down great stone columns as if something incredibly heavy slammed into the island with incredible force.

“I fouuuunnddd youuuuuu….” A voice resounded from every direction at once. “Come out, come out, Stillwalker!”

“What? Who?” Mooni looked left and right with wide yellow eyes filled with panic.

“A little flying snack told me where you were hiding,” the booming omnipresent male voice laughed. “Gregor, his name, I believe it was. Oh, his neck was quite a delight to snap… and guess what, Ioan? Eating him showed me exactly where you were and it even… gave me wings!”

I swallowed as booming laughter laced across my ears, making my head throb. I knew that voice far too well.

It was the Immovable Man, Jarl Bobliss Kolamach.