Harqu quickly pulled out a piece of chalk and drew a round door on the back of the throne. Upon the completion of the door, a draft blew towards the sketch and gave way to a cave. The cave was lit up by ethereal green crystal specks. The remaining rocks were black, as if shadows had permeated the sediment. The cave looked like it went on forever, but I knew something was on the other side.

"There you go. One entrance to the Cave of Exile," said Harqu as he put the chalk away.

"I'm sorry for leaving you to clean things up here," I said.

"This was an Elementalist's job, and you volunteered to help. I should apologize that you had to get wrapped up in all this."

I smiled as I picked up Raya and Mindplay in each of my arms. "Thank you for helping us," I said.

"It was an honor. Also, my sister has a clinic at the edge of Sanctuary. It's small, and she's the only one working there, but she's good at what she does. Now hurry before the gate disappears."

Again, I thanked Harqu for helping and entered the Cave of Exile. As I walked, information started to bubble up in my head about the cave. It was first discovered in Skyland in the Dwarven area and was used to send those given the death penalty since no one could ever come out.

As time passed, more people started questioning the cave's existence. It had all the properties of a Shadow Realm, but no one claimed ownership. At one point, it was discovered that there were other entrances in different shadow realms, some on Earth. This prompted a request to explore the caves and try to deduce what was going on.

Unsurprisingly, no one took the job. Claymore suggested that I go in since death meant little to me, and he promised I would be compensated. By this point, I wasn't consistently losing my memories during rebirths, so it wasn't like I was losing much anyway.

What I ended up finding was Sanctuary at the end of the cave. It was the core of a unique shadow realm that had reached almost every existing plane and contained various races of humanoids and impossible mixed races. It was a place where miracles and the impossible happened.

Therefore, I decided to keep Sanctuary a secret, except for my best friend, Claymore. We would secretly tell people who we thought would be a good fit in the hidden city and allow the changing labyrinth of the Cave of Exile to sort them out. That was another thing that stood out to me about the cave. It had sentience or something similar. It could determine who was worthy of getting to the city and leaving. I had the shortest travel time of anyone.

If there was anywhere Raya and Mindplay could get supernatural healing, it would be in Sanctuary.

It didn't take long for BD to wake up. Her head swiveled around, trying to take in the new surroundings with her drowsy eyes.

"Is this the Cave of Exile?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"Which means we are on our way to Sanctuary."

"Yes."

"Where's Harqu?"

"I told him to stay behind and free the other Elementalist while I take Mindplay and Raya to get special medical treatment."

"Did the jinn do something to them?"

"We all over-exert ourselves, and Sanctuary was the only place we could get to without your help."

"And what about you? Have you regained your memories?" BD sifted through my mind, noticing the new thoughts and memories in my head. As I thought of a response, BD transformed into a quadruped creature with a flat back and offered to carry Mindplay and Raya.

"I feel like my eyes have been opened to the true horrors of war, and yet it's all so familiar. Should I be concerned?"

"Only if you don't have any other memories with me." She gave an arrogant smile, showing off her sharp teeth.

"Greedy dragon," I said through a laugh.

"You're already calling me by one of my nicknames," BD paused, letting the good vibes settle before she continued. "Not everything in your past is something to fear."

"And what do I do with the ones worth fearing?"

"Learn from them lest you become a true monster."

"A true monster?"

"Sometimes, good men are pushed to do bad for the sake of good. Bad men do bad things for the sake of their own bliss. Both can go so far as to say the bad is good. They are true monsters."

We finally reached the end of the tunnel. Upon exiting, we found the city of Sanctuary bathed in blue-green light radiating from the center. The light shifted like water ripples, implying it was coming from under a water source. The tallest building was four stories, but it wasn't tall enough to reach the cave's ceiling. The area echoed the hustle and bustle of people from all walks of life. The city was beautiful, but we didn't stop to admire it.

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As we made our way to Harqu's sister's clinic, people began to crowd around us, calling out my name as if I were a movie star. The attention was overwhelming. I had to raise my voice to explain to the crowd that I needed to get my injured friends to the doctor. They parted as quickly as they arrived, and I was helped by those who looked to be the authorities.

They said authorities didn't carry weapons, but their booming voices and sturdy posture were enough to get people to listen to them. One with coral-like antlers led me to the clinic I was looking for.

BD and I entered the clinic, and BD was going in first. The clinic was a small building cut up into three notable sections. The woman at the reception desk was wide-eyed as she saw us come in. Her right iris was green, while the left was purple. Besides that, she looked like an average human with long red hair. This was Nadra, Harqu's older sister. Her name was written on a plate that faced the door.

"Silver, what brings you here," she asked.

"No time for pleasantries," I replied. I didn't mean to sound abrasive, but it was an emergency. "My friends need medical attention."

With a calm and professional voice, Nadra instructed me to put Mindplay and Raya on medical beds. As soon as I was done transporting my friends to the medical room, I was bombarded with questions about what had happened to my friends.

I told Nadra as much as I could. I could not recount the events when I was trapped in the ice, but I made sure to explain Mindplay and Raya's unique abilities.

Nadra specialized in a unique medical practice that could only work in Sanctuary. Like Skyland, Sanctuary was a shadow realm, which meant it was a place of pure magic. Spells and specific magical effects were enhanced in shadow realms, so many spell casters prefer to make their homes in one if they could. However, Sanctuary could do things that no other shadow realm could do, such as allow an undead to reproduce.

That was only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, but the point was that Nadra was able to manipulate the strange traits of Sanctuary to heal others in ways that could only be described as miraculous. The less Nadra knows about someone, the less she can do for them. It was lucky that Mindplay exposed his and Raya's secret abilities when he did.

Despite focusing all her attention on Midplay and Raya, Nadra still asked if I needed medical treatment.

"I'm fine," I answered.

"You seem stressed," she responded.

"That's what happens when you fight a jinn."

"You got stressed from fighting a jinn?"

"I'm not unbeatable."

Nadra continued to work by asking if her brother was ok. I explained the same thing to her as I told BD. Eventually, she stopped working, saying that both patients were stable.

She then explained, "Mindplay's arm can be restored, and thankfully, that's the only damage he's suffered. Raya, on the other hand, is mentally broken and fatigued. Normally, I would just say she needs some rest, but it seems the problem has more to do with the territory struggle in her mind."

"Territory?" BD asked.

"It seems different personalities in her mind and soul are trying to win control of the main body. Do you know which one I need to win the dispute?"

"I've only talked to one personality," I explained. "I didn't know she had more than one."

"Then it may take more time for me to heal her."

"How much time?"

Nadra gave me a knowing look and a reassuring smile. "She will be healed."

I had all the confidence that Nadra could heal my friends, but we spent too much time on the mission with the jinn. We needed to get back to Claymore in case he was able to figure out where Shadow Fang was. I could leave them here, get a report from Claymore, and then return once my friends are healed. The Cave of Exile had many openings leading to shadow realms and Earth. With fewer people to carry, BD could transform into something that was enough to cut down on travel time.

I walked into the clinic's waiting area while BD read my thoughts.

"So, are we leaving?" she asked.

"It would save time," I answered. "If Claymore doesn't have the information by this point, I want to update him on what has happened on the mountain and let him know that the elementals are becoming more of a problem."

"And what if Mindplay and Raya are still unable to continue?"

My heart hardened at the question. Letting them rest and looking for Shadow Fang without them would be better. As long as Raya was the one who apprehended the vampire, she didn't have to be at what should be the final fight. As for Mindplay, his tactful mind had proven worthwhile, but I was confident the most I had to do was go straight for Shadow Fang and take his head. Such a task didn't need well-thought-out strategies.

I violently shook my head, trying to shake the cold, rational thoughts away.

Mindplay and Raya didn't tag along with me because they were "useful." At one point, I was happy just having other people around who shared my goals. I didn't care what they could or couldn't do for me so long as they were willing to help.

Before I could think more about my perspective, the entrance door opened. In walked a young woman with short red hair. Her pupils were horizontal rectangles like those of goats. She wore a tank top covered by a red jacket and blue jean shorts that stopped just above her knees.

"Silver?" I was taken aback by how gentle her voice was for some reason. Her eyes widened, and her smile grew as she ran towards me to hug me. "You're ok! Thank God."

Then, in the woman's warm embrace, I understood my stunned reaction. The lady didn't look familiar, but her smell was. Though her voice took on a different tone, there was no way I could forget the voice I heard this morning.

This woman was Raya.

She pulled away from the hug, looking around with new concern.

"Where's Mindplay? Is he ok, too? And while you're at it, can you explain where we ended?"

With a closer look at her face, there was no denying this was Raya. I even remembered her red hair, one of the first things I saw after being freed from the ice. The problem was I had just left the room where Raya was lying in bed unconscious.

"Raya, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I was hoping you could tell me. Maybe Harqu or BD knows something."

"No, how did you get outside the clinic?"

"I don't understand." Despite saying that, realization slowly dawned on her. "Silver, what color is my hair?"