We breeze through the front door of Dr. Sterblich’s cabin triumphantly holding up our satchel of feathers. Sidney and Katherine joyously run to my side greeting me with hugs. Dr. Sterblich stands towards the back of the cabin next to his alchemy table. He waves us over and we bring him the feathers.

“With my petrified right arm, it is hard for me to accurately measure out and pour ingredients. This process is too delicate for me. You shall have to perform the work,” he tells Nathan.

“Affirmative doctor,” he answers.

He summons his alchemy textbook and turns to the very last page. While he works, I take a seat on a nearby bench. Katherine and Sidney join me and listen closely as I recount the tale of my battle with the Earth Ruling Golden Cockatrice. In just under an hour, the first batch of the immortality elixir is ready. I move to the alchemy table and examine the golden liquid contained within a clear test tube. “Do you think it will work?” I ask Nathan.

“I have a certain theory. I believe that the four immortal beasts are not actually immortals at all. I think that their longevity can be attributed to their incomparable regenerative abilities. Like when I blew the cockatrice up with my Divine Mana Gun, it recovered completely in a few minutes. Had it really been dead, it might have stayed dead. But like I said, it’s just a theory.”

Dr. Sterblich chimes in. “So what you’re saying is that if one were to drink this elixir it would grant restoration but not immortal life?”

“Either that or it would kill the person instantly.”

Nathan takes the test tube of the golden elixir and holds it in front of Dr. Sterblich’s face. “There’s only one way to find out. Drink the potion doctor.”

Dr. Sterblich falls back in surprise. Out of concern for him, Katherine steps in. “Surely you don’t want him to drink something that could kill him. Isn’t there another way to test it?”

Nathan maintains constant eye contact with Dr. Sterblich. “Many of his students died so that he could have this potion. Here it is doctor. Drink it.”

The fear on Dr. Sterblich’s face is visible for miles. His forehead sweats and his lips tremble. Nonetheless, Nathan continues pushing him on. “Didn’t your daughter also die so that you could have this? Here it is. Drink it.”

“Amber,” Dr. Sterblich wails.

In my opinion, treating Dr. Sterblich this way is not the answer regardless of whatever happened in the past.

“No Nathan,” I demand. “Test the potion on my petrified staff first. If it works, then he can drink it.”

Slowly Nathan pulls his gaze away from the doctor and shifts it onto my staff. I present it with both hands while closing my eyes. “Please work. Please. Please.”

While Nathan pours the solution over my staff, I keep my eyes closed.

Suddenly, in my hands I feel something like movement and hear the sound of sand or pebbles falling to the floor. Opening my eyes, I see the gray of the staff fading away from the center, revealing its original red color. Incredulous, I drop the staff and sink to my knees. Even on the floor, the gray continues to fade away until the petrification is completely removed.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Tears well up in my eyes and I gasp for air barely able to breathe. Katherine wraps her arms around my neck from behind me and presses her cheek against the left side of my face. “You did it Master! You found the cure!”

Nathan picks up my staff Guilt, or rather my staff, Rosette, as it was originally called, and examines it closely. “Well doctor. Your chances for survival just went up.”

He gently places the staff in my hands. Then wasting no time, he gets right back in the doctor’s face. “Drink the potion.”

He and Dr. Sterblich exchange an intense silent stare. Finally, Dr. Sterblich takes the golden elixir from Nathan’s hands. Without breaking eye contact with Nathan, he swallows the remainder of the test tube’s liquid in one gulp. We all focus our attention on him as we await his fate.

Dr. Sterblich starts writhing violently scratching at his right forearm with his left hand. He lets out a loud scream as golden cracks crease into the stone covering his arm. Suddenly the stone casing shatters sending pieces of rock flying everywhere. Following immediately, we hear the sound of his bones cracking as his drooping posture resets itself. Finally, standing completely erect, he holds his right arm in front of his face and individually wiggles each one of his fingers. “I don’t believe it. The elixir worked,” he says.

Nathan shrugs his shoulders coolly. “An alchemy potion is like anything else; you only get out of it what you put into it. The immortality elixir can only restore someone to his or her optimal health. I suppose that if you drank the elixir regularly that you could live forever. Of course, that would mean continuous confrontations with the immortal beasts. Not worth the effort if you ask me.”

I take my staff Rosette and approach Nathan. “Is it possible that I could have an elixir to take with me?”

“Sure,” he answers. “With all of the feathers that we collected there will be enough elixir to restore Dr. Sterblich’s students, the people in my country, and your girlfriend.”

He takes the second test tube off of the alchemy table’s rack and hands it to me. “Go ahead and take this one. I’ll stay here with Dr. Sterblich and continue converting the feathers into elixirs. It’ll probably take all night.”

I zealously place the immortality elixir in one of my unused inventory bags. Then, I stretch out my hand to Nathan. When he takes it to shake, I clasp his hand with both of my own. “Nathan Bram, you have saved my life. I will never forget you.”

He places his left hand on my shoulder. “Don’t get all mushy on me Soul. Just go and do what you have to do.”

I nod and release his hand. Then I take out my portal book, rip out a page, and summon a blue portal inside of Dr. Sterblich’s cabin. “Katherine, Sidney, we’re leaving.”

“Where are we going?” Katherine asks.

“A place where I haven’t been in a long time. –Home.”

Note: Sorry guys. I forgot to upload chapters yesterday. So today, I'll upload three chapters and brings things up to the epic final boss fight.