I used the knife to open a portal to Skyland like Isheram did back at my house. Traversing through the portal was still a sickening experience, but at least I wasn’t the only one suffering.

“Why was the distance between the material and this shadow realm so far apart?” asked Raya as she knelt, ready to throw up.

“There’s a reason this place is called Skyland,” said BD, holding onto Jurya. She then screamed, stating that she was calling for the gargoyles to take Jurya.

"That doesn’t answer my question, but it explains why I couldn’t find this place," said Raya as she recovered. She looked at everything with a strained look. "Normally, shadow realm entrances are easier to find." The huntress continued to look uneasy, but before I could ask if she was okay, Mindplay was losing his sanity.

“Where’s all the tech?!” screamed the PI.

“Skyland is a place of magic, not tech,” BD explained. “I thought I told you this.”

“I didn’t think you meant there was no tech. I can’t even sense a radio tower or a lightbulb. How can I charge my stuff when my portable batteries run out?”

“Calm down. It’s not that serious,” said Raya.

“Not for you. I’m useless without my tech! All my powers revolve around it. Plus, I doubt we are going to need my private investigator skills. I’m up a creek without a paddle!”

I grabbed Mindplay by the shoulders and shook him to snap him out of his tangent. “We won’t be here forever, and I can take us back anytime. Just hold on for a little while.”

Mindplay agreed to wait, but I didn’t want to undermine his feelings. It wasn’t long ago when I first came to Skyland and mentally broke down. I had to pray that Mindplay would find peace.

Eventually, gargoyles came into view coming from the castle. They were fliers, and I struggled to remember if I had met them. Once they landed next to me, they gave their salutes and addressed me in respectful tones.

“Silver, we are at your beck and call. How can we aid you?”

“Can you imprison this dryad?” I responded. “Her name is Jurya, and she was found working for Shadow Fang. I’m hoping we can get some information out of her.”

“With haste, Silver.” The gargoyles took Jurya from BD, allowing the dragon to rest on my shoulders. “We shall also put in a request to have accommodations set up for your companions as well.”

I thanked him, and they took the still traumatized dryad to the castle. With Jurya in the custody of the gargoyles, we were about to make our way to the castle when we realized Mindplay wasn’t moving. He stared intently in the opposite direction as if he saw something we couldn’t. The only notable thing I saw in that direction was a mountain range bathed in sunlight.

“You good, Mindplay,” I asked.

“Yeah. Is there something down that way,” said Mindplay, pointing in the direction he was looking.

“A lot of things,” replied BD. “Notably, the Dwarven Mountains. Why do you ask?”

“I sense electronics in that direction, but you said there weren’t any in Skyland.”

“I didn’t say that, but I did forget about the dwarves. I’m sorry.”

“I need to go there as soon as possible.”

“I want to talk to Claymore first,” I explained. “He’s the person who can best help us move forward in figuring out what Shadow Fang’s goal is.”

“Who is Claymore?” asked Raya.

“The king of Skyland.”

“You have direct access to the ruler of the whole shadow realm?”

“Didn’t I explain that already?”

“Apparently not,” said Mindplay. He wasn’t as shocked as likely because he was distracted.

I tried to act confident as we made our way to the gate at the mountain's base, but Skyland was still just as new to me as it was to Raya and Mindplay. I couldn’t even remember where the pastry shop was that Isheram took me to. I was worried for nothing because Raya and Mindplay had their own distractions. Mindplay kept looking back towards the Dwarven Mountains, and Raya watched the winged mounts fly in and out of the floating stables.

We reached the second gate and used the portal knife to enter the castle.

We ended up in the foyer with more people than when I left. Each person wore clothing from every corner of the world: Russia, Ireland, South Africa, South America, and so on. However, they were residents of Skyland, as confirmed by BD. They conversed formally as they drank and ate without much care for anyone else.

“Is something happening?” I asked the wyvern.

“A party, I think,” said BD.

“How many parties does Claymore host?” asked Mindplay.

“None. Claymore is a king who allows people to do whatever they want within loose parameters.”

“So, who orchestrated the party?” I asked

“Depends on the reason for the party.”

Raya was silent. Her expression was unchanged from her usual look, but she kept her eyes to the ground. I carefully walked up to her and touched her hand. She looked up with piercing eyes but slowly calmed down when she realized it was me.

“Don’t do well in crowds?” I asked her. She didn’t say anything and instead looked away. Now addressing Raya and Mindplay, I said, “The gargoyle said they would have rooms ready for you guys. I’ll help get you situated and then talk to Claymore.”

“I’ll follow your lead, Silver,” said Mindplay.

Raya silently agreed.

I summoned a Cleaner to ask them to take Raya and Mindplay to their rooms. Once they were situated, I asked the cleaners to take me to Claymore. They signaled for me to wait, and BD explained that they were alerting Claymore that I wanted to speak. My location was changed without warning, and I was standing next to the king of Skyland. It happened in the blink of an eye, and I was still determining my location in relation to the castle. BD rolled her eyes.

“Good to see you again, Silver,” said Claymore joyfully.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“Still in the castle.”

“Couldn’t you have given me a warning before teleporting me here?”

“Why waste time doing that?” Even though Claymore was smiling, I couldn’t tell if he was messing with me or if he actually believed what he did was the best option. “Glad to see you haven’t changed.”

“Your majesty,” there were other people with me and Claymore. There were two of them dressed in sand-brown desert attire and were covered entirely, excluding their eyes and the tip of their fingers. Their fingernails were dark brown and cracked. The one who spoke sounded like a man, but there wasn’t much to confirm. On both their hips were clear vessels with swirling elements like sand and fire radiating a faint glow.

Claymore addressed them. “I said we will continue this later.”

“Your majesty! The elementals will reach a point where-” And they disappeared at the snap of Claymore’s fingers.

“What was that about?” I asked.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” replied Claymore. “What did you need me for?”

I started explaining the events that transpired ever since I left Skyland. I didn’t tell Claymore about Raya’s connection to the Order of the Eye, not knowing how he would have reacted. Furthermore, I told Claymore I knew nothing about the pyramid, the dead magician, or why Shadow Fang needed the scroll.

“I was hoping you would know something,” I said, concluding my explanation.

“There’s too little information to make any conclusions,” said Claymore thoughtfully. “I’ll need to do research and have someone lead an expedition into the pyramid and the surrounding areas in search of answers. It will take some time before I find anything useful.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

“You’ve done more than I’ve been able to in years. I never thought Shadow Fang was leading such a complex scheme under our noses.”

“While you're researching, what can I do in the meantime?”

“Whatever you want. Explore Skyland, stop a skirmish, or help a griffon with a broken wing. You’re Silver, after all.”

Right. I was Silver with all the good and bad that came with it.

“Can I ask you a question?” I asked Claymore.

“Stop with the formalities. Feel free to ask every question in your mind.”

“Am I no longer Joe Backsberg?”

“You have been Joe Backsberg since the day you were born.”

“But then I awoke to the powers of Silver. Ever since that day, horrible images of what I assume are past events have popped into my head. My past lives seem to have taken over my unconscious body, and a rage I’ve never known is eating away at me. What if I’m turning into something I’m not?”

After holding on to them for so long, I poured all my growing anxieties into each word. It felt as natural as breathing after being underwater for ten minutes. Claymore listened intently to each word like an old friend I somehow knew him to be. Then, in a practiced motion, he took the staff in his hand, lifted it up, and bonked me on the head.

“What was that for?” I asked. The strike didn’t hurt, of course. I just wasn’t prepared.

“Because that is what best friends do; they knock sense into each other. Since you were born, you were Silver. Joe Backsberg is a part of Silver. Silver’s past is Joe’s past, and the life of Joe is the continuation of Silver’s life. It’s overwhelming, but it isn’t complicated.”

I took time to let Claymore’s words sink in. “It has been overwhelming.”

“You still have the choice to turn away from all of this if it’s too much. That’s one of the greatest powers Silver has.”

A smile crept across my face, and a shiver ran down my spine. “I owe it to myself and Raya to finish this hunt. I’m still nervous. No, I’m scared about the future. That said, I chose to come into this world as Joe and will finish this as Silver. Maybe that will be enough.”

“And when it isn’t?”

“You’ll be there as you’ve always been.”

Once everything was said, Claymore explained he would send people to the pyramid to find something to better explain what Shadow Fang took. I traversed the castle’s halls to rally Mindplay and Raya for a meeting. As I walked, I was frustrated that Claymore teleported me to him but didn’t give me directions to my room.

Once everyone was gathered, I explained to Raya and Mindplay that we could see what the Dwarven Mountains had in store since Claymore’s research would take a few days to complete. While we all agreed that the information Claymore was getting for us was important, Raya questioned if spending time in Skyland was better than returning to the material world and doing what we could there.

“You want to contact your people,” said Mindplay deductively. Raya didn’t say anything, but Mindplay was convinced he was right. “You won’t have much to report about Shadow Fang other than you found him and he escaped. Again. If you send them to the pyramid, it would conflict with Claymore’s investigation. Furthermore--”

“Alright, I get it!” said a frustrated Raya. “But it’s not like you want to stay here for non-personal reasons.”

“Staying in Skyland is the best option,” I explained. “From here, we can go almost anywhere in the world, have access to the best resources, and a safe place to relax.”

Raya’s muscles tensed, but she didn’t argue. She suggested that we all get some sleep to end the day. Raya and Mindplay were led back to their guest rooms, and BD guided me to my room.

My room felt different as if I noticed little details for the first time. The tree on the balcony bore fruit I had never seen before, and the sword on the wall had a dull polish.

It’s been a while since I’ve been in this room.

Are you accepting your identity as Silver more?

I don’t know.

“If I was always Silver, why do I feel different?” I asked BD out loud. I was starting to confuse my voice with BD’s in my head.

“I imagine one feels different as they get older. As strange as it sounds, you're not strange for thinking you’re different now than you were in the past.”

Becoming Silver is a part of growing up. How could such an everyday experience be such a headache? Ironically, it made sense. I didn’t understand who I was as Joe, especially after my brother's death.

I started to fall asleep, looking at the dull sword. I wanted to polish it like I might have done before. I could prune the tree like I vaguely remember doing.

Maybe not.

Raya was quicker to get over the moon phases that replaced the day and night cycle than Mindplay. BD said I looked the same the first time I realized how different Skyland was from the material world.

After eating and securing our equipment, BD transformed into a quadruped, two-winged dragon that could carry three people on her back. Skyland was comparable to a continent with how many people have added their own shadow realms, which meant flying would be the fastest means of getting around next to teleporting.

“Why can’t we teleport?” asked Raya.

“When you’re around Claymore as long as Silver and I have been, you get tired of convenience for convenience's sake. Besides, I prefer flying to places like this.”

“Why didn’t you fly before now?” asked Mindplay. “We could have saved money.”

“I figured Shadow Fang would have seen me coming.”

“Were you also afraid of civilians seeing you?”

“Even if they did, would you believe it was a wyvern or dragon moving across the sky?” I asked Mindplay.

“...No,” he replied in deep thought.

At my school, everyone pointed out how miraculous it was that Chase and his friends were super fast through their "ascendeit abilities.” Even that wasn’t enough for people to seriously investigate where their powers were coming from. Maybe it would have been different if BD was flying around, but it made me wonder why the world assumed monsters didn’t exist. Was it the work of The Order of the Eye? I’ve only seen two people from that Order and gotten to know one of them, so it was hard to tell if they were responsible.

We got on BD's back as I thought about the question, and the wyvern flew into the moonlit sky.

Flying in the air on BD’s back for the first time was oddly nostalgic. Our roles were reversed, meaning I had to watch her back while she focused on the way forward. From our height, much of Skyland’s surface was visible to us. The eternal night of the starting area faded to the morning light of the shadow realms that had them. Different sections had border lines resembling stitches, making Skyland look like a patchwork quilt.

Our eyes had to adjust to the artificial light of the Dwarven Mountain section. Where the area around Claymore’s castle was lightly forested with trees with violet leaves, this area had reflective sand with small patches of green plants growing on the banks of blue water oases fed by rivers from the mountains. Such sparse areas of life drew our eyes to them, and towns and cities built around them. The actual mountains had multiple peaks spanning for miles in scattered directions. They were too tall to see over, and each peak had an icy tip.

It had been a smooth ride until the wind started to pick up, but BD held steady against the turbulence. It was just the wind, but my ears perked up as I heard it howl. Instinctually, I took a deep breath to smell the air: blood? My adrenaline increased as the howling grew louder. I tried to guide BD out of the way of what felt like an incoming attack.

However, the wyvern could not drastically change her movement as she was trapped in a gale. Then, a mighty wind knocked Raya, Mindplay, and me off the flying mount, and BD was coming down with us.

Raya tried to dive after Mindplay, but another gust of wind redirected her. The loud voice in my head was back with an update that made my heart sink into my stomach.

YOU’RE DEALING WITH ELEMENTALS AND THEY HAVE THE ADVANTAGE!