I immediately felt the familiar shift and a moments later I was on the other side.

Portal was as stable as it gets, or at least I thought so, because when For stepped through right after me, she looked a bit worse than me.

She was positively dizzy and I want to say almost seasick, which was doubly strange.

-You good? - I asked, in the silence only interrupted by the humm of the portal and lazy sea waves scattering on the rocky island.

-I… urhg, yes… I am just… not used to this…

-I thought this was stable…? What happened?

-Nothing… It’s… just every time I use those, I end up dizzy and… I just need a moment.

Hell, I was not far enough when I called her seasick. Or I guess portal-sick…? Haven’t heard about that one yet.

-You should be happy that we didn’t experience any gravity shifts.

-Gravity… urgh.

Even saying that made her flinch and she staggered, almost falling over.

Before I was able to react however, Kon stepped through and the portal closed.

He was absolutely fine, so I guess it was just her problem.

But, even though he was OK, the moment he stepped on the rocks of the island, he gazed at me confused and started frantically looking around.

-Something’s wrong?

-I… I don’t know…

-What do you mean “you don’t know”? It’s the island we wanted, right? - asked For, concerned.

-Right…

-Yeah, I am certain - I nodded, pointing to the broken rocky tablet. - The tablet is here, that’s definitely the one.

-Oh! Tablet! With the spell you mentioned?!

-Yeah.

For was suddenly excited and proceeded to inspect the slab, forgetting about her “sickness”.

-Go knock yourself out… just don’t try casting some spells.

-Why?

-So I don’t mistake you for someone teleporting here. For example Axelrod.

-Let’s hope he’s still busy.

-Well, that doesn’t mean that he suddenly won’t appear.

She gave me an annoyed look.

-Ah yes, inspect magical slabs without using magic. Right.

-Okay, so do cast them but before that warn us. And maybe consider the consequences.

-Consequences? Like what?

-I don’t know. Last time someone tried messing with magic that they had no idea about, we were attacked by a bunch of vines.

-Well, there are no vines here…

-So, I don’t know, maybe a creature made of stone?

-Yes, yes, I know. I don’t intend on attacking anything though. And last time it was because of that I think.

-Probably.

I let her to her devices and instead focused on Kon, with eyes darting around the whole island.

-Are you okay? Even without seeing your mana I can tell that something's not right with you.

He didn’t reply for a second, still looking for something.

-I… It’s not like it’s something with me… I just feel… uneasy? I guess?

-I can’t blame you. It’s not like Axelrod can’t just appear right behind us at any point. Well, we will most likely get a warning, but it’s not like we can do anything to stop him…

-I know…

-Well, even if it comes to a confrontation, I at least intend to try and talk to him. I don’t know, maybe he really doesn’t know who I am. Trying won’t hurt.

-From your description of your last encounter it doesn’t seem like you have good chances for that, though - said For from behind me, focused on the broken rock.

-True. But I still am a crystal remnant. I can defend myself.

-Right… at least you are now not in the range of my protections from the island… or, well, at this point I’d say that those are your protections…

-Doesn’t matter… but I am not sure if that would work in my favor…

-What, you’d rather fight without your magic?

-I’d rather fight against someone without magic - I corrected her. - We are pretty sure that that thing would also block him, remember?

-And you said that you still could manipulate mana even with it.

-Eh, sure. But then it would be just essentially a tug-of-war for mana. I think that’s a bit less destructive than tossing spells at each other.

-Yeah… maybe.

-”Maybe”? That doesn’t sound too comforting.

-That’s why I said I’d rather try and talk this out with him. Doesn’t mean I don’t need to have some contingency planned.

-Pf. Right.

-Instead of welching, why won’t you focus on your rock, huh? - I said, annoyed. - I swear… By the way, I feel like you’ve been leaking your thoughts a bit…

-Huh? - she stared at me, confused.

-Before you said that “you’d never dream to talk to me like that”. And yet you’re getting more blunt by the minute - I pointed out.

-Ah. That. Well… you’re not completely wrong… - she said leaning on the rock she was just inspecting a moment ago. - It’s just… I changed my mind.

-Changed your mind?

-Or rather made up my mind. See, I decided, that since you are already inside my head and can tell what I think or whatnot, why not be transparent? I mean, you already know what I think, so why should I even bother trying to hide that?

-Fair point. And not like I care. I was just curious.

-So am I of this rock. But I can’t focus if you keep talking.

-You were the one who started commenting.

-That might have been a loose thought… - she said.

I am pretty sure that was bullshit. And she knew that.

-My bad. I’m gonna try being quiet now… - she mumbled and turned back towards her rock.

-QUIET! THAT’S IT!

If there would be a ceiling in this place, both of us would definitely be on it right now.

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His yelp was so sudden and unexpected that I swear I thought that we were under attack or something, but there was definitely nothing nearby.

Just to be sure, I checked with my enhanced senses, but yeah, everything was clear and calm.

-What the fuck?

-What’s going on?!

-Ah! Sorry!

He covered his mouth and immediately got embarrassed.

-I didn’t mean to yell!

-But you did. What happened?

-Are we under attack?!

-Nah, everything is fine. I think.

-It’s not! I mean it is, but it is not! - said Kon, confusing us even more.

-Can you at least make sense?

-Sorry! I…

He took a breath, trying to calm down.

-I know what’s wrong with this place! I can’t imagine how I didn't realize that before! It’s quiet!

For looked at him with a puzzled face, still not understanding what he was on about, but I realized what he meant.

The waterfall.

There was no sound.

Last time we were on this island we barely were able to understand each other by yelling, and now, it was peaceful.

Hell, it was so normal I didn’t even think of that for a second.

Even when I was on the plaza of the Red Edge, the sea was noisier than that!

Right now, the waves were barely moving, and considering the fact that we were supposed to be at the edge of a giant waterfall…

I quickly told For what we noticed.

I didn’t even have to finish talking because she realized that half-way into the explanation, probably hearing some of my thoughts.

-That makes no sense! Are you sure we are in the correct place?

For was clearly not convinced.

-Are you sure that we didn’t just arrive somewhere else?

-I am certain. Unless you know of another place that has an identical tablet on display, that is.

-Well, it is possible! Aren’t there supposed to be more of them? In more places?

-And all of them were apparently “near the edge”.

-Yes… but…

-Now, let’s look at this objectively. We are definitely near the edge. Just take a look.

I gestured towards the horizon.

It was still as strange as before. The weird magic-fog was looming in the distance. Although…

-Hm. Well, now, that’s curious…

I didn’t pay attention before, but the fog was a lot less thick this time.

Before it was like a full layer of sprayed water that was glowing, similarly to the place where the barrier that Jack used was.

I remembered it being a bit distorted thanks to Axelrod’s spell, but now it seemed like he actually managed to leave a mark with… whatever he did.

The light was a lot less overwhelming and I was able to actually see the fog.

-Say, For, does that look the same to you as before…?

She squinted, looking in the distance.

-Now when you mentioned it… it does seem a bit… hazy?

-Interesting… How about you, Kon?

-It… sort of…

I could tell he was trying to collect his words.

-It’s… when I saw this place through the vision… it looked brighter, I want to say? I mean, I thought it was just me being used to seeing mana all the time, but… now it seems like it’s more hazy than it’s bright? When we were here the first time I didn’t see either though, it just looked like a normal horizon to me… I mean, broken horizon that is…

I nodded.

It seemed like he had similar observations to me.

When I was here for the first time, I did see the light in the distance, the same as in the vision. That is until Axelrod started messing with it.

His first explanation made me think that it might be just his crystal getting more powerful, just like For’s was. But the second part, just as he said, didn't make sense.

That meant that whatever was going on there, be it a spell or some residue, Axelrod managed to somehow disrupt it.

But why though?

Why would he even do that? Would that be his attempt at trying to get a large amount of mana?

I mean, sure, the falls were definitely the biggest source I have ever seen, comparable only to other Origin Crystals and leylines I encountered. Even those were smaller, though. After all, you can’t really compare something the size of a person, or even an island, to something as massive as the whole “edge of the world”.

But using that… wouldn’t that be a bit inefficient? After all, it was still pretty far away, using something like this had to be pretty hard, right?

And more importantly, how the fuck would that mean that the falls would suddenly fell silent?

Apparently For had some ideas about that.

-I am wondering… if you all are right about this… - she mumbled, turning again to the slab of rock, inspecting the writing. - That… it actually makes some sense…

-Please share, because out of all my ideas, all of them are insane - I said, not hiding my curiosity.

-And who said mine aren’t? Well…

She turned back to me.

-About that spell and this slab… you said that you saw a similar one nearby?

-Not exactly nearby, but yeah.

-Yes, at the island where we lived - nodded Kon.

-Uh-uh. And that one, was to hide your place from any unexpected visitors…?

-Well, not really hide, but to protect us from them. It was supposed to teleport everyone that touches the barrier to the other side. It’s only thanks to Mor that it actually also started masking the place.

-Yeah, I didn’t really mean to do it at first, but that’s how it ended up - I nodded, remembering how I was messing with the spell, trying to get through.

-Right. That gave me an idea, actually.

-I think that whatever Axelrod did, it had a very similar effect to the one you made at that island, Mor.

I gazed into the distance, trying to see something more, but for naught.

-Well, you are right, he managed to change how the horizon looks… but not by much. Why even bother though?

-I never said he wanted to do it. And while he did change the appearance of it a tiny bit, I think he might have done something else. Instead of targeting light, or image, he instead masked the sound of the falls.

I just stared at her, pondering.

It was technically possible to manipulate sound to block it, or just simply redirect it… That would also explain the fact that the edge looked differently: a different spell was bound to have a different look in my eyes.

I squinted, trying to make some other detail in the distance. In theory, I should be able to see what kind of magic was being employed there, but the distance was straight up too far for me to spot anything that would help to distinguish it.

-Sure. Okay. Maybe. But that leaves us still with the question. Why mess with the spell anyway? If we believe what we learned, that spell was also a barrier, right?

-Supposedly. Even when I am reading this, while I can’t figure out a lot, I still have a good idea that it is indeed the case. The spell was supposed to keep people and objects from falling off the edge by simply teleporting them to the other side.

-Wait “the other side”? As in the other side of the barrier? There is something behind it?! - Kon asked the question I was just about to ask myself.

-Not… No. It’s just…

She stumbled on her words, trying to think, again turning to the slab and rereading its lackluster contents.

-No. It’s amazing in itself… it teleports you to the other edge.

I frowned, thinking.

-And you managed to read that from this single slab?

-Yeah… it's a bit hard, because some pieces are missing and are clearly broken, but when you explained to me how the spell worked back at the island, and with some knowledge from my ancestors, I can fill in the gaps.

-I guess…

-Wait… so if that thing teleports people to safety… Why aren’t more people using the sea to cross the continent? It would definitely save a lot of time, right? - asked Kon.

He’s got a point.

-Hm. Well… I have some ideas…

-Like?

-This spell is old… I mean, even if it was in one piece, this slab is barely readable, and no one is keeping it maintained. You would trust something like this with your life?

-Not… No. You are right.

-Yeah, good point. Didn’t even your small barrier need constant maintenance?

-Right.

-You even had a problem with lack of resources right? - pointed out For. - I can’t imagine how much you’d need to work on something this large…

-Well, I think the problem of lack of mana is not an issue here - I retorted. - After all, besides the fact that this thing definitely is connected to a leyline network, even if it wouldn’t be, I can think of few scenarios that would let this thing work.

-Yeah. Like my island.

-Exactly. Like Red Edge. An Origin Crystal is a powerful thing.

-You think that something like that used to be here?

-Most likely - I nodded. - We are standing on some kind of ruins, so there is a good chance that something like your island was here.

-Right! The underground! We need to inspect those, too!

-I thought you wanted to look for Axlerod and try to find… well, something?

-And that something would be where, exactly? If there is something to be found, it has to be there, since this slab has not much to tell us besides what we just discussed.

-Hm. Well, we can definitely check… but there might be a small problem. Last time I was down there, everything was flooded.

-And yet somehow you managed to explore some of it! Why can’t we do that again?

-What, you think I am going to go there again alone? - I sighed. - Come on…

-Who said you’re going alone? We are now connected, aren’t we? So it would be as if all of us were together with you.

I just rolled my eyes.

-You know that it’s not that easy to just share my senses with someone, right?

-But you did that before! So why not again?

I had my answer at the end of my tongue, but I decided to keep it to myself, shrugging and gesturing towards the cave.

-Eh, whatever. By all means, let’s move.