{Rei, it'll be here soon.}

About time...

I stopped shaping the building in front of me and exited my soul realm.

Sensing anything above us?

{Nothing for over a week!}

I punched through the loose dirt and turned invisible before climbing back onto the ground next to the train station's bench I had sat on previously.

After sitting on the bench I looked around and found a few large footsteps in the snow traveling south, but that was it. No machines around as usual. Although I could still hear that loud banging past the 'training zone', and there was a hail of gunfire emanating from somewhere north of me.

I sat there in silence watching the lifeless environment and ruins for about twenty minutes before I finally saw the train off in the distance.

{I want to see it kill some machines... We didn't see it happen once on the way here.}

I'd love to see that as well since everyone has talked about how powerful the Leviathan is, but I have yet to see it with my own eyes. The video footage of it killing machines is restricted for whatever fucking reason, so they better give me access to those videos after I hand over the 'codes'.

That's assuming I do give them the means to unlock the sealed levels and information... I feel like the others are going to say to just do it though, and I do want to be paid for this. Plus, I really want to know what is going to be in any data logs that are locked up.

The Leviathan came to a stop behind me. I had already removed my invisibility a minute ago so nobody could see it, so I stood up from the bench and walked through the train's barrier, but I almost fell back in surprise at what awaited me inside.

"WHOOA!! SHE REALLY DID SURVIVE OUT HERE?!"

The massive compartment I exited from last time had barely one hundred people in it previously, but it was now housing at least three thousand.

What the hell...?

{Hehe, they wanted to see if you'd actually make it back, but uh, doesn't this mean they'll definitely be expecting those codes then?}

A man stepped forward until he was a few feet away from me. "Hey, uh, did you seriously get the codes? There's no way, right?"

The crowd went silent and stared at me, waiting to see what kind of answer I'd give.

I shook my head, "I'd love to give you guys positive news, but the codes were locked in an area I couldn't get access to no matter what I tried. This isn't like emblems, this mission requires more than just reaching the goal apparently. I'm sorry, everyone, but I plan on trying again after asking the clans and others for help. Surely someone will know how to get past that vault door."

At first everyone looked down, but by time I finished speaking most of them were looking thoughtful.

"A vault huh... It makes sense that it'd be in such an area, yeah?" One man said to his friend.

Another person went to ask a question but I waved my hand and cut him off. "Sorry, everyone, but I'm really tired right now, so I'm going to head back to my cabin for now."

{Lies, lies, lies.~}

Most everyone there seemed understanding considering where I had just came from, but there were others that were clearly annoyed that I wasn't going to say any more than that.

Before anyone could say anything else I said my goodbyes and powerwalked toward my room (I hadn't signed out of my previous room yet). However, right before I reached the door that lead to the hotel area, one last person called out to me.

"U-Um, Miss Reimia?"

I glanced back and saw two girls there. One Elf, and one Kitsune. Haven't seen too many of those in Caedrus... Maybe a dozen tops?

"Yes?" I asked, despite already knowing what they wanted.

"May we join you? I'm very good at giving massages, and Lucy here, well..." The two girls looked at each other and giggled.

{H-HONEYTRAP!! DON'T DO IT! I SAW THIS A LOT IN TELEBRON!}

Normally I would have happily accepted. I mean my god, look at them.... However.

I stole a glance at the group of people the two ladies had been with before they approached me. Just from one look at them I knew exactly what they were all plotting to do.

{However, what?}

You can't tell? I thought you could see multiple things in there Little Fairy? Just take a look at the group these two girls were with before they talked to me. They look like they're up to no good, you can see it in their faces and their behaviors.

{? But they're just standing around talking? A few are looking at you, but that's all...}

Looks like she still has a long way to go when it comes to sizing people up. I'd say this is a medium-level test for her. They're hiding their intentions, sure, but anyone who is used to dealing with those who take from others willingly becomes used to seeing all of the signs beforehand.

"Sorry ladies, I'd love to, but for the time being I want to be alone."

"Aww, are you su---"

I opened the door behind me and ran straight through it and the hotel until I was back in my room.

{What was that?! Why did you suddenly run away? Did something happen?}

My will was wavering when she pushed her breasts together, and I really didn't want to have to kill all of those people.

{Huh?}

... Luna, what did the Leviathan's rules say about combat on board the train? We read up on them after that Hothgar kid visited us last time, remember?

{Um, no fighting anywhere or it'll hurt you. Anywhere from light electric attacks to paralyze you, to obliterating you with energy weapons. It depends on the offense... I think?}

Right, except you're forgetting the part where it says the hotel rooms aren't included, because those are your spaces while you have purchased them. Anyone you let into your room is your problem to deal with, and nobody can force their way in, so the only way they could get in here was with that 'honeytrap' you mentioned and then opening the door from the inside for their friends.

{Oh... Oh! Now I get it. But would they really be stupid enough to attack someone who could survive out here alone?}

Of course. The world is filled with greedy stupid people, and they may have had abilities that were great at restraining people. I severely doubt I'd lose since I would've attacked them the moment they opened the door, but still, it wasn't worth the risk.

It would clearly be self defense and not cause any issues in Arcadia under normal circumstances. But I'm sure they'd use it as an excuse to harass me. Probably by trying to force me to work with the big clans or something, which would anger me and I'd need to kill a bunch more people. The problem with that, is my Uncle and the others could get caught up in the backlash, so it's all around better if I just avoid that scenario entirely.

I activated the console and called Yulong. He picked up after a few rings had passed.

"Good news?"

"... I'm not sure. I have the 'codes', but there's a bit of a problem. Or at least I think there is? I know you don't like being around other people, but can the people I trust come to your place or perhaps you could meet us at their bar? I want to run my thoughts past all of you before I hand the codes over."

"Interesting... After seeing your abilities I knew you'd succeed, but for their to be a problem despite this monumental feat is something that no one here has ever even considered. The 'acquiring' part was already an impossibility in itself." He continued after a slight pause, "As for the meeting; I am fine with either approach, but I really should get out more... Perhaps I will go to the bar. Except I would appreciate it if you escorted me there."

I know he's worried that someone will try and kill him, so that's fine.

"Yeah, that's not a problem. Plus, it'd be easier to show you the way anyway instead of explaining it. Things are a little weird down in R-72."

"Your friends live in the bowels of Arcadia? I've never been there before, but I must admit, I'm surprisingly excited to see what it's like down there."

After a little more banter I hung up on Yulong and called my Uncle. He agreed to meet up the day after I was due to arrive back in Arcadia.

I laid down on the bed and watched the scenery outside through the transparent wall.

{He said 'impossible', but you did it with ease. Is that why invisibility is something that nobody else can unlock as an ability, and the cloaking spell costs way too much mana to use?}

You mean that the universe itself seems to go out of its way to reject it as a concept? It does feel like it. You can cast all sorts of insane shit in our world if you don't screw it up and are given enough time, but invisibility seems to be something it really doesn't want people to have access to. Either that or everyone is failing miserably at unlocking it.

It doesn't help that a surprisingly small amount of people actually put in the effort to unlock abilities and learn spells. It takes a massive amount of time, and most of it is mind-bogglingly boring. And that's just for the ones that are already proliferated throughout the world, so people know the steps to learn them. Creating new spells or abilities is far more difficult, and they have no way of knowing if the thousands of hours they're spending are actually going to end with them actually being rewarded for all of the effort they've put in.

Plus, there is also the fact that most people are just lazy. Which leads to war-thirsty Eldritch societies being the only ones that actually create new spells and abilities, but those societies almost always end up being destroyed in the end. So anything they learned disappears with them. I can think of one society that's probably different though. I bet Viktor has an entire department setup that purely focuses on creating new spells and abilities. I'd love to get my hands on anything they've learned.

... Speaking of Viktor.

I turned the TV on and had it connect to the console. I looked up news on the 'outside world' (anywhere outside Caedrus).

{They're still fighting the Abyssal monster in Telebron... Wait, what?!}

Luna reached the same bit of news as me, and it was definitely not something I ever expected to hear or read. The portals on Arcadia have all been disabled. According to the Eldritch, it's the Abyss' fault since they own the wellspring.

Is that possible, Luna? Aresa never mentioned anything about controlling the portals here.

{It is, but why would they disable them? The Eldritch can still move between worlds without them so long as Mother allows it.}

Hmm... From what we've seen the Abyss can make their own portals, but I don't know if that's only because of the Demon General they are currently controlling. But uh, Luna? How does one go about traveling to Mother with her permission? I really don't want to be trapped here until the war in Telebron is over. Assuming the Eldritch even do win in the end.

{We'd um, have to ask for permission at one of the portals. I don't think she'll allow you to though?}

Fuck it, whatever. Arcadia is a spaceship apparently. I'll just fly the whole damn thing into Gaia if I have to. I don't know how I'll do that, but if that's what I have to do in the end, then that's what I'm going to do.

I stopped scrolling through the news when I reached a page that showed Viktor and Vi raising their hands triumphantly before a crowd with tens of thousands of people in it. The paper said that people no longer needed to worry, and that Viktor had made a full recovery.

The article went on to explain that he had been struggling to repair his body after taking a devastating attack during the destruction of Telebron. His soul was in disarray from the damage, making it impossible for him or others to properly heal his body. That's why he was gone from the public eye. He was resting while slowly healing his soul back to its original form.

{Devastating attack... But didn't he warp away from Telebron?}

He did, but maybe it was that lightning sphere I sent after him? I know it picks up speed and damage as it travels, but for it to have almost killed him outright... Just how far away did he teleport for it to do that much damage? I can't believe I almost got my revenge from that random attack I did... I wonder if there's video of the moment the sphere hit him? I bet it's fucking hilarious.

I scrolled through a few more articles but there wasn't much about the outside world. Arcadia only cares about Caedrus after all.

I turned the TV off and went back to staring outside. It was beautiful, no doubt about that, but over time I was beginning to understand why Caedrus was treated as some sort of never-ending horror. There's a creeping dread you feel outside of Arcadia, and it only gets worse over time, as I was now beginning to experience.

----------------------------------------

"I failed. Can I go?"

Shannon narrowed her eyes at me. "Can you explain how you failed? You survived out there, and everyone is going to want to know how you did it. Are you going to cut that part out of your video feed again?"

"I won't be selling my feed yet, so I'm not sure. I need a little time to think about some things."

"... It's your choice, but just be prepared for what is going to happen after this. They were already annoyed enough at all the parts cut out of your emblem missions, so I doubt they'll just look the other way this time."

She keeps saying 'they' instead of their names, but it's obvious who she's talking about.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"And" She leaned over and whispered, "I'll see you at the bar tomorrow."

Oh? Things must be going well between her and my Uncle if he invited her.

I said goodbye to Shannon and walked out into the hallway. The elevator I usually use is on the right, and to my left I could see several people waiting for me. I ignored them and strode over to the elevator, which was conveniently already on the main floor and waiting for someone to use it.

After I walked inside of it the people I ditched on the train tried joining me but I pushed them back hard, sending them sliding along the floor before they slammed into the wall. "Nope", is all I said before the doors closed.

{Maybe you should kill them if they're going to be following you around like that?}

I pushed the R-37 button on the elevator.

No one knows where I live right now, which is why those people were pretending to be my fans, but it probably is only a matter of time before the clans leak my address 'accidentally'. Maybe then I'll start punishing people for following me. For now I can just ignore them. I have something far more important on my mind right now.

Before the elevator doors opened I turned invisible and walked all the way to my home like that. I didn't see anyone, but better safe than sorry.

{Now what?} She asked as I closed the front door behind me.

Shower and then relax in front of the TV. I've done nothing but train in my soul realm the entire way there, in hibernation, and the way back, so I want to do absolutely nothing today.

I poured over all my old memories, looking at times I was taught how to learn certain spells but didn't bother learning them because there just wasn't any point with my low mana pool I had. And I've always been better off just enhancing myself, but it felt like it was time to settle down and learn some spells since I now had a ridiculously high amount of regen, so that's exactly what I did.

----------------------------------------

"... I had seen images of the levels down here before, but actually being here is something else entirely." Yulong said as he looked around the level Bertram's family lived in.

"The meeting place isn't that far away."

We walked along the path as Yulong's head swiveled back and forth. "My first thought is that this level was meant to house something."

"You think it was a warehouse? Why is there a sidewalk here then? Not to mention all of the soil and grass."

Yulong shrugged, "People feel at ease around nature. While the top levels look sleek and lifeless, the inside of our homes are filled with 'life'. You just didn't see it because I only showed you my bedroom."

That was his bedroom? It was the size of a small home.

Before long Bertram's bar came into view, but instead of waiting for us on the porch like he usually did, Bertram stood up and circled around the bar while waving for us to follow him. Yulong raised an eyebrow at me but I wasn't all that worried about an ambush or anything like that from Bertram, so I followed him behind the bar, where he lead us through a backdoor into a room that looked identical the bar we had always been in up until now.

"Why do you have two bars in this building?"

"This ones for celebrating and gambling!" Bertram said with a rare smile. He was far more excited than I was used to when it came to the angry old man.

"And for conversations that we don't want others to overhear." My Uncle said from the big table in the center of the room.

My Uncle, Shannon, and weirdly enough Evette (the lady who works at the Expedition Lounge) were sitting around the table.

"I thought it'd be best if she heard this too. Evette will know far better than I whether what you're going to say is truly a problem for Arcadia or not."

I sat down next to Shannon, with Yulong sitting next to me soon after that.

"I'm fine with it. If anything, it's better that she knows if you think she's trustworthy."

"Ehh..." Irvine looked at Evette, "I don't know about 'trustworthy'..."

Evette glared at Irvine, "Oh shut up, I only slipped up one time and it wasn't even on purpose!" She looked at Yulong, "Long time no see, Young Master Yulong."

He nodded at her, "Good to see you again, Evette. But can we get straight to the point? I have been rather busy as of late thanks to my new friend here. Happily busy, mind you. But ever since her call I've had trouble concentrating on my work."

"Dying to know what I found?"

"Yes." He answered succinctly.

Fair enough.

Bertram and his daughter came out from the back carrying several platters of food and drinks.

"Eat up, fuckers. This is a happy day after all! Or it better be..." Bertram said as he set the food down. Steaks, cheeseburgers, fries, seafood of all different types, etc.

Irvine reached for the lobster first, "Now mind telling us what the problem is?"

"It's..." I sighed, "Okay, this is based purely off my own instincts, but I think those 'codes' are a trap in some way. I'll have to show you the memory of what I encountered for you to know what I mean."

"After we eat then!" Bertram said, shoving a large chunk of steak into his mouth.

Good, because I'm starving right now. I forgot to get food before going home yesterday and I'm really tired of those cereal and granola bars...

----------------------------------------

I showed them the long weird buildings, the quadrupedal turtle-shaped machines, the meeting room with 'God - 72%' written on it, and so on. They all had varying things to say, and while they found it all fascinating to a certain degree, they were far more interested in where I found the codes.

"This thing really didn't attack you...?" Irvine asked as he looked up at the machine with the pinkish-red eyeball.

"Nope, but he's also a major reason I'm worried about giving you the codes Evette. You'll see why soon enough."

'You have to be kidding me...' Yulong lightly said as he saw how to unlock main core's files and lower levels.

"HA! So that's why those fuckers couldn't unlock the core by trying different combinations every five minutes." Bertram said.

I looked at Yulong, "What's he mean by that?"

"We can only enter a code every five minutes, otherwise we'd have just used a program to spam every possible combination. Although, it looks like that would have made us think it was impossible to unlock the core then, since none of the codes would have worked."

The scene where I left the room played out, leaving everyone in silence for a bit as I ascended the stairs past the greenery. Yulong was the first to come out of his own thoughts and speak. "... A 'problem' indeed. I see why you were worried."

Evette shook her head and sighed, "What in god's name was that? It really did look happy that you were leaving with the knowledge needed to unlock the core. But why??"

Shannon raised her hand, "I agree that it's weird, but I also want to talk about the fact that Arcadia is apparently a spaceship?"

"Shit, that's the part I'm caught up on most! Then what the fuck part of the 'ship' am I living in?!" Bertram yelled.

"Hmm..." Yulong rubbed his chin, "I'm more and more convinced it was a warehouse of some sort. Or is 'Payload bay' the correct term in this case? It makes sense if the areas directly below this is where the engine and other crucial compartments are."

"Grand Voyage..." Irvine wistfully said. "I always felt this strong desire to return to Earth. It's gnawed at me ever since I found all those old recordings full of movies and TV shows from Earth. Maybe they were also trying to return home?"

I didn't even consider that, but I suppose it's possible? Except...

"Uncle, why did they flee Earth to begin with?"

He looked at me with a sad expression, "We don't know. There is plenty of logs we have access to or found in ruins that are filled with people swearing they were going to return home and 'reclaim Earth'. So something took it from us, but that's all we know."

"Maybe they really were trying to go home then... But what would make them think they're stronger now than when they originally fled Earth?"

Yulong shrugged, "Perhaps they didn't have the powerarmor, energy weapon, and mecha technology when they fled? There's also the fact that we don't know what else is in the sealed levels. If they were planning to invade Earth, there must be something down there that would ensure their victory."

Not if they were wiped out by the purge before they could make that 'something'.

We exited my soul realm after that and went back to eating while discussing the machine. There wasn't much of a consensus past 'It's risky'. In the end though, pretty much everyone except Shannon wanted to unlock the core. She wasn't vehemently opposed to it, and everyone understood what she was trying to say anyways, so there wasn't much of an argument from either side.

"Well, either way, it's out of my hands now."

"... Clever girl." Evette smirked at me. "So that's why you showed us how to unlock the core?"

"You can make the decision, and then I'll still get paid if you do since nobody would be stupid enough to believe it wasn't me who brought the code back." I looked at Yulong. "Make any headway with the Abyss?"

He nodded, "Plenty. And I must say, it was smart of you to wait till you reached Arcadia before seeking help in this manner. I was able to find some old records that had translated parts of an unknown language on them, and that language just so happened to be the Abyss' written language. With that as a starting point I was able to make a lot of headway when it came to translating the murals and the books."

"How far did you get?"

"I'm about thirty percent done right now. My console is making it much easier. Once I figure out the meanings behind certain 'letters' or 'words', I punch them into the console and it highlights all the new translated portions for me."

It's a good thing I did reach out to him then... I had a little bit of hope after seeing him that one day, but this is still far more than I expected him to do in such a short amount of time.

Yulong agreed to message me when the texts were ready to be viewed, but for now he'd send me the portions he translated so I could see how far he progressed. Bertram and my Uncle were talking about the level we were on and the implications of Arcadia being a spaceship, while the two girls were debating when the best time to unlock the core would be. They worked at the Head Office and Expedition Lounge, so between the two of them, they'd know the perfect day to reveal the news.

--------------------------------------

Uncle Irvine hung his console up and looked at me, "It's done..."

I was laying down on the couch outside Bertram's bar, just staring at the ceiling. "You sound scared, Uncle."

"Because I am! The closer we got to the day they decided to unlock the core, the more anxiety I felt, and now I'm a fucking nervous wreck. I don't care if I die, but Nia, Shannon, and all of you guys, I don't..."

The idea of cute little Nia dying because of the code I brought back was the scariest thing I had heard yet. She was laying down taking a nap on me up until a moment ago when her mom brought her inside for dinner.

Irvine sighed, "So what are you going to do? As of right now they clans aren't allowing anyone to access to the information or sealed levels. I don't know how they're stopping them from going down there though. Maybe only a few elevators can go into those specific areas?"

"Pfft, they're free to try and stop me, but it won't end well for them." I continued, "With that said though, for now I'm just going to wait and see what happens. I'll give it a few days and then help myself to the datalogs and sealed levels."

No fucking around on this. If anyone tries to stop me I'm going to kill them. I acquired the 'code' and then I waited patiently over a month for this day.

My Uncle said nothing after that. He leaned back in his rocking chair and stared out at the kids playing basketball at the court a hundred yards ahead of us. I said nothing either, as I preferred the muted sounds of the bar while I waited to see if anything bad happened from the core being unlocked.

{Rei, you're so nervous... I kept my mouth shut until now, but ever since the day you met that machine and got the codes, you've been increasingly more anxious, and now your soul is practically shaking.}

... I can't hide anything from you, can I? I sighed. It's hard to explain... You've seen my memories, right? How I kept bouncing from one scenario to another, making friends and getting involved in their problems, helping them as I went.

{Yeah, I saw that when you showed your memories to Aresa.}

I realized that's just who I am when I returned with the emblems and both the Hothgars and Inoues wanted to meet with me to celebrate. Normally I would have accepted, and somehow I'd end up with seven hundred other problems on my plate that I'd have to solve, because for whatever reason I like making friends and helping them out... So I forced myself to ignore them. To ignore pretty much everyone. But ever since I met that machine I've felt like I made a major mistake, and it's hard to shake off how worried---No, how scared it's made me.

{Why did you go out of your way to not make more friends...?}

Because I felt like I should be finishing up here as fast as possible. Quickly killing Viktor and then going to Gaia so I could be with the others. Although, before I left I was planning on trying to convince my Uncle to join me there with Nia, but I doubt her mother would allow it.

It didn't help that things sounded like they were getting worse and worse as time went on. The Inoue's had straight up died a few weeks after I returned. The white haired leader, his younger sister that up-and-coming hunter, and the maid we saw a few times, they all died on a mission. That's when the real panic began to set in. I only met them once, while the maid I met twice, but they gave off the same energy as people like Godwin. People who'd do great things. Not the types to randomly die on missions soon after I had brought back their emblem.

I closed my mind off, trying to subdue the growing unease in my soul. Returning to mindlessly listening to the sounds from the bar as my Uncle rocked back and forth in his chair.

----------------------------------------

Everything was fine for the first couple of hours. That was, until we heard the kids screaming from the basketball court. My Uncle and I jumped into a standing position immediately. I enhanced my vision and I could see the kids fleeing the court into the darkness to their right, while the parents tried to prevent something from advancing any further. And despite the fact that I could see it clearly, I had a hard time believing what I was seeing.

It was a Xerath in a suit of powerarmor. The suit was much larger than the Human-sized sleek ones I had seen up until now. It was bulky, and the Xerath was wielding a long red energy blade. In one swift blow it cut through several of the parents while grabbing another with its left hand before pulling him in and biting half his face off. It tossed the body away as the parents fled in the direction their children had run. That's when I saw several different colors light up in the darkness to the left of the basketball court. More energy blades, and several ranged weapons tearing through the fleeing parents.

Uncle Irvine bolted into the bar and began yelling at everyone inside. Contrasting his behavior that made complete sense in this situation, I sighed and began running in the direction of the elevator with my veil up.

{R-Rei...?}

Naive, that's what I was. Obviously it'd end up like this... When have I ever been able to do anything without getting deeply involved in the situation? It was stupid of me to think that I could simply retrieve the codes and then be on my merry way with the core's information and an army ready to kill Viktor for me.

Before the entrance to the hallway that lead to the elevator there were several people attempting to fight back against another Xerath in power armor, but their physical weapons were unable to penetrate the barrier surrounding the creature. I passed by them as it grabbed the two men and crushed them into paste. They have barriers too...

{Where are you going?! What's the plan!}

I reached the elevator and pushed R-4.

{R-4...?}

As the elevator passed by several levels, I checked the console while periodically looking at the levels we passed by. Both the console and my own eyes confirmed what I had expected. Every level was swarming with enemies. There was no info on the lower ones, but the upper ones were full of machines, not Xerath in power armor.

There's only one way to fix this, but I don't know if he'll be able to.

By time I reached R-10 most of the fighting looked like it was dying out, as the machines had already killed most of the people I could see.

R-7...

R-6...

R-5... Okay, a lot more fighting here.

R-4.

I turned invisible before the door opened. The scene playing out in front of me was horrible, to say the least. Bodies, blood, guts, it was all sprayed everywhere. There were dead machines too of course, mostly Warriors. The closest ones battling right now were also Warriors outnumbering the men in powerarmor five to one while a Butcher held his chainsword down onto a married couple behind them. They screamed but there was nothing else they could do as their enhancements eventually gave out, leading to a massive spray of blood, guts, and bone hitting the Butcher.

There were no Observers around as I ran toward the backside of the level, passing by one battle after another. Calling them 'battles' was a bit much since it was mostly machines butchering people, but every now and then I'd see a group of people decimating a larger force of machines.

Finally, after what felt like ages, I came upon my destination. Arkaios' temple. I walked through the barrier and entered the temple. The overwhelming sadness emanating from its aura spoke volumes.

{Rei, my children...}

Even if they had ignored him, I suppose he still couldn't help but care about the only beings in the universe he bestowed his own soul upon.

"Arkaios, can you do a full reset on someone who has a reset mark on them?"

{... You are asking that I send you back to the day I placed my mark on you? Impossible. It would require an enormous amount of ether, far more than I have here, since I would need to reset all of Caedrus to fix whatever you set in motion.}

Ahh, so he does blame me... And he's right, after all. Since it is my fault.

"But aren't you done with these worlds? You're focusing on Gaia now, right?"

{Your point?}

"Is it possible for you to take the energy from other temples? Since you don't need them anymore."

He went silent for a moment.

{... I could, but I'd need to fully drain all of them to make sure the spell actually worked. I'd lose everything, which means I'll be gone from this temple as well.}

He went silent again before saying.

{You'll only get one chance. Are you sure you can do it? And don't even think about just 'not getting the codes'. That may seem like a good idea, as it was the catalyst for what occurred here, but if I'm to give up everything outside of Gaia for this, I'd prefer that you find out why this happened, and then I'd like you to prevent it from ever happening before you leave Caedrus.}

"Understood... I'll do my best, Lord Arkaios." I thought back to the Inoue siblings and the maid with the weird soul. "I know exactly who to talk to when I return. The reset point was set the day I left for the emblems, right?"

{Yes.}

That was the day I met the Inoue's, so I should be able to find them on R-4 somewhere.

Several loud explosions rang out behind me as a chainsword began to cut into something.

{They're hitting the barrier. I'm firmly connecting all of my temples and pulling the ether here. It seems the machines do not approve of such an action.}

It wasn't long before the aura of the temple felt like it was crushing me. The amount of ether pouring into the temple was reaching levels I had never experienced before.

{The others are currently meditating at a temple in Gaia. Markus, Keith, Nisha, Lindon, Albel... They're all wishing you good luck. And Keith says you should look into the fort that was wiped out long ago. When I brought up the situation on Caedrus to them, Keith said that was the part that stuck out the most, and the others agreed.}

The fort that was wiped out while I was still on Urza? Now that he mentions it, it is pretty odd... I feel like my Uncle mentioned it in passing once, but that was the only time I heard anyone even bring up the dead fort. With the exclusion of the multiple fights I saw on TV in relation to the forts, but that was more about the anti-fort crowd using it as an excuse.

"Will do. And tell the others I hope to see them again one day. After I'm done here with Caedrus and Viktor, I'll be going straight to Gaia."

The mass of ether suddenly changed and shifted, filling the room with a spike of aura I recognized. One I had felt many times back on Veca.

{Goodbye, Rei. I hope to see you again one day. And don't forget, this will only reset Caedrus, or to be specific, the top one-forth of the planet. Everything at Termia and below will be unaffected.}

Abruptly all of the ether in the temple disappeared as I felt myself shift from one spot to another, despite still standing in the exact same place.

Arkaios is gone, just like he said he would be... I don't sense him anymore. I'll make it up to him one day by telling him everything that I found here. I think it's pretty clear that any mysteries remaining will need to be solved before I can save these people after all.

I turned around and opened the temple doors.

Alright then, it's time to find the Inoue siblings... I hope they're still at the Lounge.