Felix slid off of Zira, his eyes never leaving the sight of the entrance. How did we not notice it when we were first here? he asked in disbelief.

Because we were too focused on flying… But I know how you feel, Zira answered, letting out a hiss.

He gave her a nod and made his way over to Eri, who was also hopping off of her partner.

“Impressive…” she muttered as he came up to her.

“That’s definitely one word for it, but…” He let out a sigh. “I guess I can’t be too surprised.”

Eri turned to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“Me and Zira, when we were first heading to Bernel, we came upon a massive crater. We’re pretty sure it was Ithea’s doing.” He gestured to the rocky spires that stood over the hole. “I have a feeling Fea was responsible for that.”

“But…why?” she asked, a little taken aback.

“I don’t know, but I’m hoping we can find out. But first, we need to see if there is another entrance,” Felix said before he started making his way over to the crevice.

“I’m starting to wonder if there is another entrance,” Eri added as she and the others started following him.

He gave her a shrug. “I don’t know for sure, but I can’t imagine she made only one portal.”

“Ah, you think she made a second one up here somewhere?”

“I mean… Maybe? I don’t know for sure, but there definitely aren’t any stairs leading down.”

Kyrith decided to speak up then. “Couldn’t she fly down there? It doesn’t look that difficult, I can easily do it.”

Felix came to a stop and gave the dragon an amused look. “It was her who called this a sanctuary, and you’ve seen just how huge the place is. She wouldn’t expect everyone to fly.”

He brought his attention back to the spires and hole. He thought back to the portal in the hatchery, when he first discovered it. He remembered the tugging sensation, as if it was pulling him closer to it.

There’s nothing here that looks like the doorway either, nor am I getting that feeling. There has to be something I’m missing…

Zira sent him a mental nudge. If you are looking for something magical like that, perhaps I could be of assistance?

You can try if you want, but even up here the mana is dense–

His eyes widened. “Wait a second,” he muttered before he turned around to the rest of the group.

“What is it?” Eri asked, confused.

A smile formed on Felix’s lips. “I think I might know how we can find the portal…”

A few minutes later, the group found themselves sitting down upon the rocky surface. They were near the edge and in between two of the spires.

The plan was simple, Felix and Eri were going to take what they had learned from Yarnel’s lessons and put them to use. They were going to listen to the mana.

“I want to help…” Kyrith whined. He and Zira were going to have to sit this one out, much to their disappointment.

“I know, but you can’t be using your mana,” Eri said, giving him a sympathetic look.

Felix bobbed his head in agreement. “Not to mention, I’m not sure if this is even going to work. It’s just a guess.” In truth it was even less than that. Barely a hunch, really…

Taking a deep breath he glanced over to Eri. “Are you ready?”

“I am.”

“Good, then let’s begin.”

The two of them closed their eyes and got into their meditative states. Felix took another deep breath and exhaled. As he did so, he ‘pushed’ his mind outward and listened.

At first, all he could hear was the steady breathing of the dragons and the wind as it occasionally blew past him. He ignored them and steadied his thoughts.

A moment passed and, somewhere in the in between, he felt it. The steady hum, the steady rhythm he heard before. A single drum beat played, it's note sustained for all time.

But as he focused on it, something interesting happened. Eri began to hum.

Her voice slowly rose until it matched the pitch of the note. All around them, the mana began to swirl.

She’s calling upon the mana, he realized. Deciding he would help, he was about to add his own voice but stopped. Another thought occurred to him.

Mana manipulation…

Felix reached out to the ambient mana. Even as it started to dance and sway from Eri’s humming, it felt thick and heavy. Just brushing up against it, it felt solid.

But he knew how to guide mana. He knew how to persuade it.

Please, help us… Where is the portal?

At first, nothing. But he long since learned to be patient and waited longer still. His efforts were rewarded.

As Eri sustained her ‘spell,’ Felix felt the mana subtly change. To him, it felt like it was looking, searching, for something. It swelled suddenly, before quickly bursting.

A wave of mana struck him, causing him to gasp. Meanwhile, Eri nearly lost focus. Thankfully, though, she held on.

It passed over them quickly, but it did not stop. Felix followed the wave with his mind and felt it as it swept across the entire opening.

The wave condensed a final time, hovering just over one spot in particular.

Thank you, he whispered as he opened his eyes.

As he did so, Eri’s voice trailed off into silence. The mana dispersed back into the air, but that was fine. He had his answer.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Standing up, he made his way over to Eri. She was sweating and breathing heavily. He offered her a hand.

“Now, that was impressive,” he said as she took his hand and got to her feet.

Still catching her breath, she gave him a coy smile. “That’s one word for it.”

They shared a laugh as the two dragons approached.

“Did you find it?!” Kyrith asked, almost too excited.

“Yes, Kyrith, we found it,” Felix answered and faced the direction of where the mana had condensed.

“Come on,” Eri said, stepping up next to him. “Let’s go see this portal.”

The four of them slowly made their way over to the spot. They took in the stone spires as they grew closer, close enough to reach out and touch–

“OW!” Felix shouted, quickly pulling his hand away and shaking it. He had got a little too curious and was now paying the price.

“Are you okay?!” Eri asked frantically from next to him. The rest of the group came to a quick stop.

“Yeah… Gods, that hurt…” he said through clenched teeth.

“What happened?”

He took a moment to respond, waiting for his hand to quit throbbing. “I don’t know exactly… But I just touched it– Barely touched it.”

Zira let out an amused rumble. “You know better than to go touching things.”

“Oh, please…”

“Here,” Eri said as she grasped his hand, “let me see.”

He let her inspect it. “I don’t know why I touched it… But I felt mana inside it, a lot of mana.”

“Your hand looks fine, but…” she let go of it but gave him a confused look. “The spire had mana inside it?”

“Yeah, it felt like it was coursing through it…downwards. At least, it was until it pinched me.”

Eri’s eyes slowly widened. “It’s an array!”

“An…array?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Yes, it gathers mana. Powerful enchantments need them– Actually, arrays can be quite small and power simple enchantments but that’s almost unheard of…”

Felix gave her a curious look.

“What?”

“Did you learn that from Noria? Or is that something Aluin told you.”

She frowned. “No! I actually learned it from Fe– The Dragon Queen.”

That caught him by surprise. “Fea taught you enchantments? I didn’t know that.”

“W-well… There is a lot you still don’t know about me,” she said, averting her eyes. “And she tried to teach me how to do enchantments, but I was never any good…”

An awkward silence fell between the two. Felix, for his part, felt ashamed. Eri wasn’t wrong when she said there was a lot he didn’t know about her.

Maybe… Maybe I should allow Zira to form a bond with her. He winced at the thought– Not because he didn’t want something like that, but because it felt selfish.

It’s only selfish if I don't agree, Zira said, entering his mind. Remember, I am the one who suggested it in the first place.

He let out a sigh and spoke aloud. “You’re right.”

“Huh?”

“You’re right. I only know you from what I’ve seen. I’ve never asked you about your hopes, your dreams… Or your past.”

“Oh…” Eri took a step away from him and looked down. “In all fairness, I don’t know what my hopes and dreams are. I wanted to become a Sage, but not anymore.”

“That’s okay,” he said, reaching out and pulling her close to him again. “If you don’t know what your hopes and dreams are, we can figure them out together. But your past? I’d like to know it.”

She wrapped her arms around him. “Okay… But Felix?”

“Hmm?”

“I’d like to learn about your past.”

He went rigid. “Are you… Are you sure? I-I can’t say you’ll like what you’ll see.”

“I know there are horrible things in your past. But, I also know that Felix is dead.”

“Then, why do you want to know?” he asked softly, letting out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

She looked up into his eyes. “Because, the old me is gone too. The Eri you see before you isn’t the same as the little girl from my past.”

There was pause as he took in her words.

“Alright. When we get back to manor– And if I can figure out how to open the journal –I will tell you my past.”

One of her arms let go of him and reached for a pouch at her side. “There’s something else…”

“What is it?”

She pulled a key from the pouch and held it up. “Aluin gave this to me to safeguard. He said to give it to you when you were ready.”

Felix furrowed his brows as he slowly took the key into his hand.

“He said, ‘it will unlock the door–’”

“That bastard!” he shouted, startling her. “I asked him if he knew how to open that damn door! He had the key the entire time! He lied to me!”

Furious, he quickly stuffed the key away and brought his attention to her. “Thank you. But I can’t believe he would lie like that!”

That made Eri break away from him fully, laughing all the while. “Really, Felix? After he lied about me becoming a Sage?! Honestly, maybe it was a mistake to give it to you!” she teased.

He stopped, his jaw hanging open. He wanted to argue, but she had a good point. Deflating, he took a breath to calm himself. “Yeah, okay… Anyway, again, thank you.”

Her laughter died down to a chuckle. “Don’t feel so bad. I was furious, too, when he told me the truth. But, I think he was right in the end.”

“Doesn’t mean it feels good…” he muttered, turning his gaze back to the portal. “Anyway, we should really get back to figuring out how to get to the sanctuary.”

“Indeed,” she agreed, still smirking. The dragons, meanwhile, merely waited until they started moving again.

“Finally,” Zira said in mock agitation. “I was beginning to wonder if me and Kyrith were going to have to leave for a little while.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “Please, you could have interjected at any time.”

“And interfere with yours and her moment? No, I’m not jealous anymore. I know how important it is for the two of you to talk.”

He didn’t say anything out loud but mentally he said, Thank you.

“I’m just excited to find this portal,” Kyrith added.

“Of course you are, I could feel you whining the entire time in my head,” Eri commented.

The ember-colored dragon let out a whimper in response, which brought out a chuckle from Felix…

The conversation died down as they reached the spot. Everyone carefully scanned the area, looking for any signs of the portal.

“Zira? You picking up any weird mana?” Felix asked.

She tasted the air before answering. “Hard to say, I think those spires are messing with everything.”

He frowned. But of course. It can’t be that easy, now can it? “That’s fine, we’ll just slowly check the area and–”

Eri lowered her hand to the ground and a moment later, a green light began to pulse outward from it.

Invisible runes revealed themselves, forming a large circle around them. Before anyone could react, the scenery around them changed.

Felix blinked, feeling a familiar sense of dizziness. To add to his disorientation, the sunlight had been replaced with mostly darkness.

“Next time,” Zira grumbled, “warn us.”

“Sorry…” Eri said, sounding a little disoriented herself. “I didn’t know it would activate immediately…”

But Felix wasn’t paying attention to the conversation. No, his eyes were locked on the ground underneath them. Another ring of runes, slowly dimmed away.

He looked up to the ceiling that hung far above them. There, in its center, was the massive hole. Light streamed in from it.

“Hey guys,” Felix muttered, bringing his attention back to them. They stopped and looked at him.

A smile slowly formed.

“We did it.”