When the last wisp of Rhazal’s vanishing soul dissipated into its component Aether, I doubled over in sudden weakness. I clutched desperately at Tlazo’s staff to keep me standing.

All of the strength and power that had been given to me by the Great Spirits was suddenly flowing out of me. It was like there was a spigot on my soul that had suddenly opened its valve at full strength, and was dumping the Aether right out of me.

A faint mist was visible to my exhausted eyes, as it wisped off of my dirty, battle-stained body.

When at last the draining of my borrowed strength had ceased, something in the core of me ached a tad. It was exactly painful, but it wasn’t pleasant. If I had to equate the sensation to anything, it would be equivalent to the soreness of muscles after a particularly hard workout. Something intrinsic to me had been stretched its limit, from the meddling of Elys and her companions.

Speaking of…

Above me, the Great Spirits were holding one final exchange.

Well!

That’s one annoyance taken care of.

Elys sounded out, sounding particularly self-satisfied. Orus sighed in answer, a sound akin to the rumblings of an avalanche.

IF THAT’S ALL, I’M GOING BACK TO SLEEP.

I HAVE LITTLE INTEREST IN THE AFFAIRS OF MORTALS THESE DAYS.

The gigantic representation of a mountain began to fade from the space we were in, only pausing momentarily when Neris spoke up again.

DO HOLD ON, MY DEAR.

I HAVE SOMETHING TO DISCUSS WITH YOU, WHILE YOU’RE STILL AWAKE.

FOLLOW ME TO MY REALM AND WE CAN SPEAK ABOUT IT THERE.

Orus sighed once more, sounding very much like a cranky old man, but acquiesced.

VERY WELL, BUT BE QUICK ABOUT IT.

At that, both the wave of Neris and the peak of Orus faded away, leaving only the moon of Elys, the sun of Tarus, and the mist of Anima in the surroundings.

Tarus broke the surprisingly awkward silence that had descended on us. For as proud and sometimes nearly malicious as he’d sounded in the confrontation with Rhazal, now he just sounded…sad.

Elys…

Was this entire set of circumstances...by design?

I blinked at the odd words coming the representation of the Vereden's star. Design? What...did he mean by that?

Was Tarus implying that...I was meant to be here? That Grey's lover had wanted me to be the one to kill Rhazal? I...didn't know to feel about that, and I'm not sure I had the mental strength to contemplate it.

Elys, conspicuously, did not answer. A quick roll of shadow rolled across the face of her silvery surface for a moment, impossibly fast. I had no idea what that meant.

Tarus seemed to, where I did not. A sigh escaped him, sending a flare jetting out from his surface. The fires of his sun almost roiled dejectedly, as he spoke next.

Old habits truly die hard for us, don't they, my love?

You cannot stop yourself from meddling.

Anything for the next generation, after all.

That seemed to be enough to snap Elys out of silence. When next she spoke, there was a note of coldness present in her voice that I had only heard when she addressed Rhazal.

I am no longer your love, Tarus.

That age is past us.

You forsook me first, with your dalliance with that…strumpet.

But enough with this.

These are private matters, and not for the ears of others.

Nathaniel.

I blinked slowly up at the moon, who had just shifted her rays of light to shine down on me. I had been leaning on my borrowed staff, just watching the odd spat between celestial bodies and trying to catch my breath. But now, I straightened up since I’d been directly addressed by my mentor's apparent lover. Moments later, I felt Tarus’s attention fall on me as well, warming me in this void.

Well done on slaying Rhazal.

I knew you could do it.

Even if we had to do all the heavy lifting ourselves.

Tarus grumbled, but without any heat to it. Elys just ignored him.

Unfortunately, this isn’t completely over for you.

I felt a bolt of adrenaline roll down my spine at her words. “Wait, what do you mean? I thought Rhazal was dead!”

Well…

His soul is dead, to be certain.

Anima said, finally speaking once more. She had remained conspicuously silent during the entire exchange between the two celestial bodies.

Elys picked up after her.

But not his body.

Unlike you, he was not wholly transferred into the Concord.

His corporeal form still awaits you out in the physical.

And you’ll have to deal with it.

Fortunately, it’s just a husk at this point, with no driving will behind it.

It should be a fairly simple affair for you to dispatch.

Tarus appeared to finally shake off his attitude and melancholy and addressed me in a much more reasonable tone then.

With the death of the driving mind, Rhazal’s Revenants have dissipated back into their component Aether.

His shadow is slowly fading as well, and I begin to shine on Herztal once more.

The attunement has been halted, but not before a milestone was reached.

The danger is not yet passed.

There was a grim tone to the proud voice of Tarus, while the implications of what he was saying sunk in.

“There’s…still a chance Ixiah could come back?” I said, dread in my voice.

Possibly.

But only while Rhazal’s body remains on this side as an anchor for her to latch onto.

That which bars her from Vereden has weakened enough that she might be able to do so.

Which means we need to get you out of here, and back into the real, so you can deal with it.

I wanted to sag in place at Anima’s explanation, just from the sheer exhaustion of it all.

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Hadn’t I done enough already? Hadn’t I given enough, sacrificed enough, to prevent this catastrophe? I just wanted to lie down and sleep for the next week after everything that had happened. During the entire confrontation with Rhazal that I'd been numb to the world. Fear and uncertainty hadn't touched me, much less thoughts of what could have happened if I had failed.

But not anymore. They rolled over me in waves, and I barely held it together under the light of both Great Spirits.

I didn’t want to deal with any of this anymore. All I wanted was for someone to come and rescue me from the burden of having to be the savior.

But…that was being denied to me.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath to try and stave off my exhaustion, and straightened as best as I could.

“Alright,” I said tiredly. “What do I need to do?”

Elys answered me, regret in her tone.

Since you were brought here physically, it would normally be quite difficult to send you back.

Fortunately, there’s an anchor we can rely upon to guide you to Vereden.

The youngest of my children, of whom you have a connection with.

“…Fade?” I asked her, confused. I looked around in the dark space I stood in, illuminated by the representations of the Sun and the Moon. I sure didn’t see a horned wolf anywhere near me.

Yes.

I already briefed him and Taran on the situation, and my oldest son will help transport him here.

One moment while I call him.

Elys fell silent, and the glow of her moon went dim for a moment. I was going to speak again to ask some questions, but I didn’t have the chance.

She flared to her full brilliance again suddenly, and with it, cast a ray of moonlight down onto the surface of the concord to my right.

To my astonishment, the moonlight thickened, slowly shifting into a quadrupedal form wrought from her radiance. Details began to emerge as the construct began to display lupine traits I had grown familiar with. Fur and fangs and finally…

Horns.

A silvery imitation of the companion I had left behind in Tŵr Gronn stood beside me. After a moment, it blinked its eyes open, revealing startling emerald green eyes. They look around for a moment in confusion, before settling on me. The young wolf’s ears perked up, and then something happened that nearly caused me to fall over in shock.

It spoke.

“Nate!” The construct of Fade said excitedly, rearing up on its hind legs and setting its forelegs on my chest. ‘Fade’ was big enough now that he was able to lean up and start licking my face enthusiastically, speaking in between each one. “It feels like forever since I saw you!”

I cautiously set my hands on the silvery clone of Fade. He felt real enough to me, even though he very clearly wasn’t actually here in the Concord like I was. A disbelieving smile crossed my face, even as I felt tears well up in my eyes. I couldn’t stop myself from collapsing to my knees and burying my face in his illuminated fur. I didn’t care about displaying even the smallest weakness in front of the Great Spirits.

I was…just so happy to see anyone that I really, truly cared about right now.

“Nathan?” Fade asked me, confusion in his incongruously present voice. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

I closed my eyes, hidden from the world in his coat. “A lot has happened recently, that’s all,” I said quietly.

Fade made a confused noise in the back of his throat, but it was Anima who spoke next, in a gentle tone.

You’re almost done, Nathaniel.

One last service, and you can rest.

Come.

With young Fade’s help, I will lead you back to the physical world.

Brother, Sister.

She said, directing her words up at Elys and Tarus.

I’ll take it from here.

Elys and Tarus took the obvious dismissal in surprisingly good grace.

As you say, Sister.

We’ll speak later.

And Nathaniel…

Thank you for your sacrifices.

Do not worry.

My beloved will be with you, ere long.

At that, Elys’s moon faded from the shadows of the Concord, leaving me with only Anima and Tarus. Said sun’s attention was on me, in an almost considering way.

Well.

I'll say this.

You’re more tolerable than your pirate mentor.

You can at least create a decent blaze.

Maybe we can work something out at a later date.

Till then, Precursor.

Finally, I was left alone in the resulting silence with only Anima, and the construct of Fade.

Up you go, Nathaniel.

It’s time to go home.

I took a deep breath, lifted my face from the illusionary fur of Fade, picked up Tlazo’s staff, and leveraged myself to my feet. But I kept one hand on the nearly waist-high head of Fade.

Home, huh.

I guess...Vereden really was home, these days.

Follow the trail, and I shall lead you back to Elderwyck…

At that, the diffuse green mist of Anima all around me transformed itself. Now, there was a nearly solid green trail etched into the surface of the Concord. I took it for the invitation that it was, and set foot on it, Fade at my side.

As we walked, I cast an eye down at Fade. “So,” I said quietly, my voice echoing in the silence around us. “How have you been? Learn anything cool from Taran yet?”

Fade’s muzzle scrunched up before he shook his shaggy head. He nearly speared me with his growing rack of horns, but the young wolf was conscious enough of them not to. “No, not really,” He said grumpily. “That old fogey has mostly been lecturing me about a bunch of boring stuff. The most exciting thing we’ve done is hunt, honestly.”

I smiled at the almost teenagerly churlish answer from him, fighting a chuckle. “Well, you’ve only been with him a few weeks,” I said. “Give it some time. I’m sure Taran will get to the fun stuff soon.”

Fade snorted, brushing his head against my lead. “I guess,” He said sullenly, before perking up. “But I wish I was with you. I guess things got a little crazy after I left. Is…everyone alright?” He said, looking up at me. “Sylvia and that dwarf guy that was with you?”

My smile faded and I looked away from him. I was almost tempted to lie, but…I didn’t want to be that kind of person. “No,” I said softly. “Sylvia is…hurt, and needs help from Grey. And Hook…” I stopped for a moment, before continuing roughly. “Hook didn’t make it.”

“Oh.” Fade said in a whisper, his ears drooping. He didn’t say anything after that. He just curled his tail around my right leg, in an obvious attempt to comfort me.

Which, honestly?

I appreciated.

We walked along the viridian path Anima had laid out for us in silence after that. It wasn’t strained, though. It felt more like the two of us were drawing strength from each other.

The journey didn’t take much longer. After an indeterminable amount of time, the shape of a large door suddenly appeared at the end of the path. It was a plain door, wooden in make with a large emerald set into the surface of it. I just stared at it for a moment, at the incongruous appearance of the apparent portal to the real world, here in the land of shadows.

I huffed a small, mirthless laugh.

Meanwhile, Anima was finally speaking up again, after letting Fade and I have our walk together.

This is where I leave you.

Please hurry and dispatch the carcass of Rhazal.

Young Fade can’t follow you out there, so I’m afraid you’re on your own for this.

And Nathaniel?

I looked over at where I thought she was, away from the portal. "Yeah?"

Fret not over the machinations of my sister.

She thinks she has more power over these matters than she truly does.

Your will has not been tampered with.

You were simply in the right place, at the right time, for the right task.

Well.

That was...ominous and slightly comforting at the same time. Something tickled in the back of my mind then, and I suddenly remembered the words Nerexxa had spoken to me.

Providence, huh?

Not sure I believe in that.

I'd freak out about it later.

I nodded and knelt down to hug the illusionary form of my companion once again, with him returning it as well as he was able to.

“I’ll try to stop by once the war is over,” I whispered to him, in his lupine ear. “Until then, take care.”

“You take care,” Fade whispered back. “It sounds like you’re getting into too much trouble without me.”

I snorted and stood up. “Maybe,” I murmured, before speaking louder. “Goodbye, Fade.”

Fade looked up at me sadly for a moment before replying. “Goodbye, Nate.”

I dragged my gaze away from Fade’s and turned around. Approaching the door, I laid one hand on the bronze doorknob and twisted it. Before I could lose my nerve, I opened it, barely registering the bright pane of white light on the other side, and stepped through.

From one moment to the next, I was back.

I was in Elderwyck once more. It was dark, I noticed.

But not the dark of Rhazal’s murk. Instead, it just looked overcast, like it was about to rain or snow on the ravaged city. Faint rays of sunlight peaked through the cloud cover allowing me to see my surroundings better.

I stood at the foot of Fort Duality, thankfully not appearing in midair from where I had been taken into the Concord.

Above lay the near corpse of Rhazal, slumped over in the ruins of the castle. His monstrous head was bowed over his chest, and on said chest, his folded wings had drooped to brush against the stone of the courtyard. His eyes were open and staring at nothing, not a spark of awareness in that titanic gaze.

From in between his legs, a small wisping circle of his murk still shrouded the Portal Stone.

I just looked up at him dully. “Let’s get this over with,” I said quietly. I looked at the staff in my hand, now grown silent. I was surprised Tlazo hadn’t spoken up before I had left the Concord, but maybe that was for the best. I don’t know what else we had to say to each other. Still, I couldn’t count on being able to use this thing out in the real world. I had no idea of any of my Skills would even work with it, and the Lich probably couldn't talk to me anymore.

I approached the wall of the Fort, and gently rested the stave against the stone.

I’d come back for it.

For Rhazal, I needed a different weapon.

Backing away, I pointed my new ‘Primordium’ hand up at the scales of Rhazal’s limp head, drew one of my Oninite daggers with my right, and cast Thorn Grapple. The Skill flew from my new hand with an ease even my old prosthetic hadn’t managed, quickly latching onto one of the scales of his head. In moments, I had flown up to rest feet first on the disgusting crown of Rhazal.

I knelt and rested the dagger point down on the head. Taking a deep breath, I activated The Scintillant Blade, for a moment wondering if it would spear out into a monstrous sword again as it had against my target’s soul. But no, the Skill functioned like normal, coating my weapon in cascading rainbow fire.

Letting a relieved breath out, I looked down and contemplated my target. For a moment, I thought about saying something pithy. Something to the effect of ‘Die, monster!’. But…

I didn’t bother.

I just wanted this to be over.

I depressed the switch on my dagger and it extended to its full length instantly, piercing through the scales easily to find the brain within. I was nearly knocked from my perch when the titanic body under my feet jerked in place, causing my heart to pick up in sudden fear that Rhazal wasn’t truly dead.

But no.

It was just death throes.

Beneath me, the gargantuan body of the Godbound began to dissolve into Miasma from the feet up, signaling his final, true death.

It was done.

I heaved a sigh of relief and went to retract my spear. But a familiar sensation stopped me.

At the point of contact with Rhazal’s flesh, deep inside of his brain, I felt a spark. Involuntarily, I began to draw in environmental Aether, in a process that had only happened to me a handful of times.

My eyes widened in sudden panic. I didn’t know what this could do to me, but I didn’t want to find out. “No, no, no, no, NO!” I almost screamed, trying to yank my spear out of the Calamity. “Not now, not with him!”

But I didn’t have a choice.

I was stealing a Skill, and I couldn’t stop it.