Attention was commanded as the entry door to the office was slammed shut behind the intruding figure. The three figures in the room all glanced over, soft candlelight flickering and illuminating the man. He strode forward, maintaining the silence with his presence. As he stood in the middle of the room in between them all... He finally spoke and gave reason to his presence.

"I'm going to stay until the next night... Just to be sure that no one else intrudes on your mission here." The Sergeant's gaze held no purpose or life in the moment, his attention fixated on the wall up and beyond Korkolo at his desk. "Is that alright?"

"Of course. Although the casualties were numerous, it seems that the collateral won't impact us getting the artifact. I've appreciated your help in getting rid of that pest." Korkolo held his quill in hand while he scribbled down on the parchment.

"Stay? What is he hoping to accomplish?..." Kataline peeked out from under her hood, glaring at the masked man. She knew that his primary mission was technically her, but the hope was that the information she gave would make him more inclined to report to The General...

"I do have some questions however. I hope you wouldn't mind answering them."

"Depends on what they are..." Korkolo took a deep breath as he sat his quill down. He folded his hands together as he made eye contact with The Sergeant.

"I know they're trying to resurrect Ozix... This artifact is meant to help... They don't know I know that, except for her... But I know they're cultists and they know that I know this. But they probably also think that I'm more neutral like The General... Or at least, Korkolo thinks that." The Sergeant had to word his question carefully, lest he reveal his true feelings or intent to Korkolo. For Kataline, what he said didn't matter so much. And Addle was a brute who most likely didn't care for any of these politics anyways. "Woe-... Temptation is your enemy... Right?"

"Huh?... You're a strange man. Choosing to ask something like that after concluding your business here with my blessing." Korkolo squinted, not sure what to make of the question itself.

"Well... You know you have a witch in this village right now who shares the same appearance as her, right?"

Addle glanced up at The Sergeant with an almost bored expression, his gaze showing minimal intrigue. Korkolo tilted his head to the side slightly. Kataline's eyes widened, realizing that The Sergeant must have been aware of Rael's true nature...

The silence beholden in the room allowed the sound of crickets chirping to become audible within the building. Though it appeared there was no reason for such a pause, as there was a notable lack of tension among all of them, it seemed as if Korkolo needed a moment to formulate his answer. That mere indication filled The Sergeant with a sort of dread and confusion...

"A witch? Here?" Outside of the building, creeping next to the door to listen in... Lylas stood against the wall on his toes, ready to flee if it seemed they were on to him.

"Of course I know. I'm well-aware of the red-headed girl and what she is. However, it's none of our concern what she does." Korkolo chuckled, raising his shoulders into a shrug as he took hold of his quill again.

"... But she's your enemy... Correct? Why haven't you tried to kill her?" The Sergeant felt a stare of hatred and wrath encompass his being as Kataline sat there and gazed onward at him.

"Because... Why would we?" Korkolo continued to scribble down words onto his parchment, not even bothering to focus on The Sergeant. "What point is there to killing her?"

"She-" The Sergeant froze. Korkolo's rebuttal hadn't made him rethink that idea or question, but rather left him stunned as to why he brushed it off so casually. For a cult all about killing... Korkolo's answer baffled him. "She has the potential to become like Temptation... Why wouldn't you take someone like that out before it happens?"

"I had once thought the same thing... But she became a bargaining chip with no risks... An asset for Usime's plan. Usime offered her up to Temptation, having no fear of what she could become, much less Temptation getting her hands on that girl. After all, that's where you and your leader came in... But aside from that..." Korkolo's wrist and hand stopped as he lifted the tip of the quill from the paper. He furrowed his brow, trying to find a way to free his thoughts. "It would make sense to get rid of her now... But Usime wanted no violence here... At least, no violence towards those Lancers. Aside from that, he's still against getting rid of her. I believe he has some sort of ulterior motive or use for her."

"Usime... You mean Meius, right?"

"Oh?... Mm... You might have heard that name slip from one of us... But yes, same person. Either way..." Korkolo pondered his next words and brought them to life, scribbling down on the parchment once more. "I do appreciate your concern for us. But she is of no major threat to anyone at the moment, so leave her alone."

"I see... I appreciate the answers." The Sergeant turned away from the desk, not bothering to look directly at or near Kataline in the process. Though, as his eyes scanned over the doorway, he swore he saw the outline of someone... Yet there was nothing there. Still, he knew he now had an enemy in Kataline. "That settles it then. I know what's going on here and what I need to do..."

"Meius?... Rael?..." Lylas was perched on the rooftop of the building, having narrowly avoided detection... Just as he was thankful to have gotten more insight into the overall scheme here, it left him with more questions than answers...

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As the night continued on, and the droning of insects and owls were carried on the heavy winds, Rael sat in her bed awake. Unlike the others, she found herself unable to fall asleep. Bif, Olicia, and Ventrix appeared to all be sleeping rather soundly... And yet she was wide awake, her eyes peeled open as she was wrought with paranoia. She had her arms wrapped around her legs as she leaned against the corner of the cool wall. Her fixation remained on the window... Hoping to see Avures or Lylas walk by... Neither of them were back yet... And she was beginning to fear that the worst had come to pass.

After all, in the time between them returning to the bunk house, getting in bed, and them falling asleep... Rael began to piece things together... She never considered herself a smart girl, or really someone with great common sense... But the events and patterns became plain as day to her. She realized what was happening. And if Lylas wasn't here soon... She was going to explode...

Though as the thought and intention to lash out crossed her mind... She heard footsteps creaking down the hall. Springing to life, but trying to remain quiet, Rael hopped out of bed and sauntered on her tip-toes to the doorway. As she reached for the doorknob, the door opened up outwards, revealing Lylas on the other side. Frightening him with her sudden presence, he nearly yelped and leapt backwards, stopping himself from yelling out by covering his mouth. Rael took the moment to push herself out of the room and shut the door behind her. Lylas took deep, soothing breaths as he relaxed and slowly uncovered his mouth.

"God... Don't do that..." Lylas's tone dwindled to a whisper.

"Lylas!" Rael's own voice followed Lylas's example, though her urgency remained the same. "We have to do something soon!"

"Oy! Air-Head! Calm down and talk to me. What's the issue?" Lylas planted his hands on Rael's shoulders, trying to instill any semblance of clarity and calmness into her.

"I just couldn't shake this feeling... And I figured out what it was..." Rael took a few deep breaths while continuing to whisper to Lylas, allowing the panic to settle so she could coherently speak. "If these people are targeting Avures... And that girl is using the name "Avura"... Claiming to be his sister when she isn't... And trying to get him to use his power here..."

"Air-Head... You're making a list of stuff we already know... What are ya trying to say?"

"Lylas... Those people are Ozix Cultists. They have to be. Who else would just know these things?" Rael's eye twitched as she gazed down at the floor. Sweat trickled down her forehead and brow as she bit her bottom lip with her front teeth.

"If ya had said that to me a day ago... I might have called ya crazy, but..." Between his eavesdropping and Rael's short explanation... The theory gained weight and plausibility... In fact, as he thought about it more, there was no way Lylas could explain away any of that group's previous actions so far... "There's still so many questions... They mentioned Meius... The Deputy Headmaster... Is he a cultist? And Rael... What can I even make of ya?..."

"Lylas... What do we do?" Rael clenched her fists, trembling in place as her mind raced with uncertainty and fear for the future.

"I-..." Lylas glanced off to the side, not having an immediate plan of action for this.

Truth be told, Lylas had no idea what was going on still. They wanted this artifact, locked Avures up... Yet they seemed amicable otherwise. But with this revelation in mind... Avures was locked up for a "murder"... That was an excuse. Considering also that the population of the village just seemingly disappeared in half a day... Keeping him locked up for a murder made no sense. These people were keeping him there behind a sealed entrance for a reason.

The answer to it clicked. Just as Rael pieced it together... Perhaps Avures had also figured it out during his walk at night and was ambushed. It made no sense otherwise as to why they would lock up someone they needed. That most likely meant he was refusing to help them as well after finding out who they were. So, they were most likely in no rush to release him.

"Well... I think we will keep quiet about this still... Just between us. We might be able to wait 'em out..." Lylas wondered what they could even do about Avures's situation...

"No. We can't." Rael shook her head, much to Lylas's surprise. "Olicia and Bif both are figuring out how to undo the seals..."

"What?!" Lylas didn't raise his voice, but the sincerity of his confusion and bothered attitude seeped into his tone. "Oh God... How in the hell?... I get Bitch... But Muscle-Brain?..."

"I don't know either!" Rael flapped her arms up and down as she shook her head even harder than moments prior.

"So much for stalling..." Lylas mulled over any sort of options he could...

There was always the option of trying to launch a surprise attack and jail-break. Though, with those walls and sealed entryway... It didn't seem plausible. Who knew how much Mana was placed into the seal, and if the five of them even had enough collectively to undo them... That, or even have enough to brute force it. And doing that without being caught?... No chance. Especially when it was clear that the one person who could get into that prison had no intention of helping them in the slightest. It was the very definition of a last resort, yet hopeless plan.

Conversely, the surprise attack could be launched on the group of people. Number-wise, the odds were in their favor if it was just the three of them... But there was no way to outright tell how strong some of them were. It would put everyone's lives on the line. Not to mention, even if they win, the seal would remain on the entrance and it could take weeks to get someone out here who could undo it. Avures would most likely starve to death by the time they could reach him.

There was also an idea that Lylas hated... They could simply reveal what they know and demand Avures's release in exchange for the seals being undone. This plan wasn't ideal, and was only held together by the fact that, according to Korkolo's words, there wasn't supposed to be violence. And that wasn't by his choice, but someone else wanting it... Therefore, they would have to stick to it at the threat of someone else... Of course, that thinking was a reach in itself.

Similarly, they had the option to allow the unsealing to take place without stopping it. With no violence, they would be inclined to release Avures after the artifact was freed. But much like the last, it depended on what exactly the purpose of having no violence here meant. Which depended solely on what Meius Valkir's position in this was... That, which Lylas was unable to ascertain.

However, there was another idea Lylas had. It offered no immediate solution... But compared to the rest? It was a lot safer and offered a chance for the situation to tip one way or the other. A gamble with little to lose and a lot to gain... Lylas recomposed himself as he spilled the beans to what exactly he had in mind...

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"And just where do you think you're going, bastard? You think you're just gonna leave here alive after that, worm?"

With the moon in the middle of the sky, and thick herds of clouds moving overhead, the night carried on with the signs of an impending storm. Despite the lack of lightning, verbal thunder was carried through the air as two figures stood on opposite sides of an intersection. The wind picked up, masking the encounter under a sea of droning air currents. The Sergeant turned back, facing Kataline who stood on the other side of the dirt road.

"Don't think that I'm so dull and dim-witted that I can't see that conversation for what it was..." Kataline slid three needles down the side of each of her arms, grasping them in between her fingers. Her eyes glared out from under the edge of her hood, piercing The Sergeant's mask. "This is where our little game of cat and mouse ends..."

"Don't kill her... Thwart her... Capture her..." The Sergeant reached back and retrieved his staff in its compressed state. Holding it within the palm of his hand, he kept his senses directly on Kataline's intent... "I know exactly what you're after. I got suspicious when I examined the red-head girl... And I confirmed it with that Avures fellow."

"So... He knows then... Both this guy and Avures know..." Kataline's viscous drops of black and blue slid down her needles. "Then there's nothing more for us to say. You die now..."

The Sergeant knew he had provoked her with that conversation inside and knew it would come to this. Ultimately, he also knew he would have to depart shortly after defeating her. If he stuck around any longer after incapacitating her, he'd probably be assailed by Addle or Korkolo.

On the other hand, Kataline wasn't concerned with what would come after. She knew that she'd be able to fabricate some sort of excuse to absolve herself if needed. Her focus was placed directly on the ability she had once seen in action prior.

In a single moment where the wind ceased... The two leapt into action. The Sergeant kept his pole in the palm of his hand, rushing towards Kataline. Kataline threw the three needles in her left hand directly at The Sergeant as she rushed forward as well. The needles were pinpointed at his mask, neck, and chest... But the needles phased completely through The Sergeant as the distance between them dwindled into a few inches. Their bodies were close, and Kataline brought her clenched right hand up with the needles pointed outwards. With the imminent threat of being stabbed, The Sergeant pushed his speed higher. He and Kataline intersected, phasing through each other much like the needles had just passed through The Sergeant a moment ago. With one step of separation from physical intersection, each of them planted a single foot into the ground and pivoted back...

"Oy! Who said you were allowed to go at each other? I know I didn't give ya permission..."

Suddenly lifted off the ground without warning, both The Sergeant and Kataline experienced the sheer force of a powerful, crunching grip on the back of their necks. The pain and intensity of the grip threatened to break apart their very necks and spinal cord. Kataline flailed around, kicking her legs about. The Sergeant unleashed the length of his staff and beat at the source of the grasp. Standing between the two of them, holding each in place, Addle gave no ground or flinched as they tried to resist his hold.

"I'm so close to being able to peel off the skin of that noble kid... And you two are going to ruin that for me with your petty little fight... I won't have it." Addle's expression soured as his contempt for the squabble between The Sergeant and Kataline grew larger. "Just a little longer..."

"Gah! Now you're gonna follow what that bastard wants?!" Kataline continuously brought her leg forward and bucked back like a horse, striking Addle in the torso repeatedly with her leg. "So much for trying to piss off Korkolo!"

"No no-no. Don't get it twisted. I don't care about Korkolo... But if you do this now... Everything I care about escapes my grasp." Addle's grip tightened as his demeanor grew evermore disdainful. Both Kataline's and The Sergeant's desperate attacks against him, driving him further into his rage. "I played nice with your little plans to this point. Deprive me of the one thing I want to do, and you won't leave here alive."

"There's nothing left to-!" The Sergeant struggled further, speaking only to be interrupted once more.

"If I can't have the Felsta kid, you both will be my substitutes! I'll rip out your entrails and bathe in your blood! I'll make jerky from your skins and leave you unrecognizable from the waist up! I'll-!... I'll-!..." Addle whipped his arms forward, throwing both The Sergeant and Kataline to the ground in front of him. But after doing so, he found himself devoid of any further threats. Seeing that their faces, or body language, told him his message got across, Addle's bad attitude faded with a smile on his face appearing.

"He's trying to kill one of them! You won't get your mark if he-"

"Again!... Neither of you will ruin this for me... Save your grievances for after I get my one-on-one with the Felsta kid... After that... Do what you want..."

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As day broke again, the light of the sky dimmed by the coming signs of a storm, a sense of finality brewed among the quiet village.

The party of teenage Lancers departed for the dig site, and three followed them in.

On the other hand, one of those Lancers remained in solitude...

Avures sat in the center of the room. His eyes were fixated on the floor ahead of him, endlessly staring off as he remained fully focused on his inner being. His entire body seemed frozen in place, in time, as Avures held his position. His mind focused solely on the inner workings of his Mana...

"It was tricky... But right now..." Avures blinked, quickly thrusting his hands together and interlocking his fingers.

As a bead of sweat trickled down his face, his hands were encapsulated by shadows... That was the easy part. It was a feat he had accidentally showed off when The Sergeant had tried to threaten him. A feat that most casters considered impossible with these circumstances. Normally, casting was impossible with these restraints. If his core was encircled by a Calcianite and Manacite combination, then there was no way for Mana to travel...

However, Avures had already conceived a method to cast without any Mana needing to travel whatsoever... Omega Arcane... His Shade... The ability to take in Flow and convert it into Mana within any part of his body. Not only that, but the added talent that he cultivated to perfectly weave Mana without moving physically or needing to circulate the resource. Thus, these restraints were ineffective on him at all...

"I am a prisoner no more..." Avures honed in on the shadows, commanding them to leap from off his hands and swirl together in front of his face... They bent and furled as the waves of darkness crashed into each other over and over again until the two shadows became one... A ball of twisting and cascading shadows materialized fully in between his palms... "An artificial Mana Core..."

Mana Cores exist within nearly all living beings and are the foundational and developmental piece for Leylines to exist as well within the body. Though they do not exist on a level that can be physically touched, instead taking hold on a metaphysical plane of the body.

Artificial Mana Cores can be created by weaving two separate bounds/threads of Mana. These two bounds, or threads, must have duplicate foundations in terms of Potency and the amount of Mana sacrificed. However, they must have opposite harmonics and rhythms that work in tandem. As, like a heart, Mana Cores are constantly working and moving in cycles. Threads are comparable to heartbeats.

With one bound, it would simply be a ball of Mana. If the bounds are too similar, they have no balance or flow in terms of activity. Therefore, it will either dissipate or assimilate into one bound. Thus, added threads are all counterbalances to each other that allow for an unlimited and refresh-able cycle of Mana. Also because of this, Mana Cores cannot have an odd number of threads.

A human's Mana Core has a near uncountable amount of these threads all working together. Artificial Mana Cores can never contain more threads or Mana than the creator has. Unless one has a special circumstance, a creator of a Mana Core cannot regain the Mana used for the creation of the core until it no longer exists. The same applies for extra Mana given to the core from the caster. Thus, it also cannot generate more Mana than expended for its creation. However, it can be used to store and weave magic/Mana separately from the caster's body. It is seen as a sign of immaculate Mana Control.

"It might not be able to generate more Mana than I spent to make it... But it can still act as a reserve for any extra I give it manually." Avures's hands approached the artificial core and gently touched the surface of the swirling orb. It felt neither cold nor warm...

But as he was about to move forward with the next step of his plan... He heard footsteps coming down the steps once more. With no hesitation, Avures pressed the Mana Core together and squeezed both sides. The core quickly gave in and collapsed. With an extra bout of quick thinking, Avures used his circumstances to his advantage and took in the Mana he had just used. To be rid of the residue of his magic, he clasped the very chains that held him and felt the Mana he had reintegrated into his body get sucked out.

It had all happened so fast, but now it was as if it never happened... And just in time as well...

"Well well... Mister Kovar... It's been a bit... I figured I would stop by and see if your mind had changed." Korkolo made his way to the cell door once again... Avures eyed him with no apparent emotion, almost as if he was looking past him.

"Does he know?... I didn't count on him showing up again right now... If that masked guy told him what I did...-I might be able to force a quick escape from my restraints. There's a keyhole on each lock of each shackle. If I can form solid shapes with my magic and maintain it despite the drain that will occur... I could free myself..." Avures focused his vision on Korkolo, standing opposite of his cell. It was hard for him to not look suspicious while also needing to be able to move and jump on a moment's notice. "As if."

"Tch. Have it your way I suppose." Korkolo scoffed and shook his head. His demeanor was too upbeat compared to last time, and Avures took note of that instantly. "But I did want to come and tell you something truly incredible..."

"..."

"I don't even need you!" Korkolo put his hands up in the air as he shrugged, unleashing a long winded chortle as the joy overtook his facial expression. In between his fits of laughter, he managed to get a few words out. "That smart girl is gonna solve it herself!..."

"Olicia?... Damn... Damn it..." Avures clenched his fist, averting his gaze away from the dwarf man and his celebration. "I need to figure out what to do... I have to be running out of time..."

"Heh... Ah... You don't seem too phased by this information..." Korkolo's happy attitude slipped away at Avures's steadfast nature. "Forget what Meius says... I think I'm gonna kill all of them after the artifact is retrieved..."

"I imagine you're going to kill me then if you don't need me... I don't care for the gloating. Just do it." Avures wasn't sure exactly how this was going to play out... But this was the gambit.

It was unlucky that Korkolo decided to come down here now of all times... Though it was better that it was now instead of earlier before Avures even knew his methods would work. But it was bad because it was all still relatively theoretical. Since the locks were part of the Manacite chains, it was a gamble of if he'd be able to even free himself or fight this guy at all... It required him fitting tendrils to the shape of the locks, but using constant refreshment to his Mana to combat the draining incurred from contact with the chains.

It could all be decided in a single moment... And this could be it...

"Hmph... That would be too good for a brat like you..." Korkolo's lips rested calmly after speaking. But a few moments separated from that sentence, the corners of his lips stretched out into his cheeks as his smile widened to a disturbing length, bearing his teeth. "After I get what I want, your friends will be dying first!"

"So it's like that then..." Avures recoiled in disgust at the older man's gigantic grin. The tension drained away from Avures's being as he gained relief in the conflict being delayed. Though, such a thing being visible on his face also visibly confused Korkolo.

"Eh?... Did you not hear me? Where's the fear at?" Korkolo's eye twitched as his eyebrow raised, his mouth staying the same shape.

"... Does he want me to look scared? Even when I am terrified, I'm not that expressive. I still remember when Rael and I were a few years younger at the orphanage. She went through a phase where she thought it was hilarious to try and jump around corners to scare people..."

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I watched from over by the tree in town. A farmer was unloading a few hay-bales from his wagon for the one person in town who had a few female cows kept in pens near the outer edge of the village. As the rancher finished his payment to the farmer and the two had bid each other farewell, the rancher went back over to his bales to start carrying them to his place. It was only a short ways away. However, he failed to notice the tiny strand of red barely visible on the other side of his bales.

"Grah!" Rael thrust up from behind a hay bale and nearly threw herself into the poor rancher's face.

Caught completely by surprise, he stumbled backwards and fell over into a dirt patch, landing on his behind. Meanwhile, Rael had lifted herself onto the top of the bale and was rolling back and forth on it as she was caught in a laughing fit… She had thought it was really fun to do. Though no one besides her enjoyed it that much. And though I had initially told her not to do that to me... I eventually became her mark…

"Bah!" Rael threw both her hands in my face as she hopped out from behind the corner of the building.

"..." I blinked a few times, tilting my head to the side and raising an eyebrow. She seemed displeased with that reaction.

"You uh-... Huh..." Rael pouted as she locked eyes with me. She slowly started circling around me, I followed her motion and kept eye contact with her...

"..."

"I see, I see..."

She did not see.

Rael had spent the next several days trying to get me. However, each time I had either seen it coming or just simply wasn't phased. Sure, I flinched sometimes, but I didn't jump or get scared the way she wanted me to. So she took that as a reason to keep trying...

And keep trying she did... Until...

"Boo!"

"...-Ah!..." I reeled back a tiny bit, even taking a step back as Rael jumped out in front of me the moment I opened the door to the orphanage. The tone of me trying to let out a scared yelp changed mid-sound as I felt it didn't sound good enough.

"Ah..." Rael furrowed her brow and inspected me closely... Looking at my face, and circling me like she had before the first time. I had my hands in the air halfheartedly... Then, she sighed. "Alright... Fine. I get it. I'll stop."

"Huh? What do you mean?..." I put my hands down slowly as a bead of sweat fell down my face. "That was s-You got me..."

"Tch. Avures... You're such a bad actor." Rael stood side by side with me and put her hand in my hair, ruffling it all up with a smile on her face. "If you wanted me to stop, you shoulda' just said so!"

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"I told her not to do so in the first place... But... Despite it being my worst skill, I still have to try..." Avures bowed his head for a moment, earning the confusion of Korkolo. He wasn't sure exactly how much effort he should put into it... But he gave it his best shot.

"..."

"Please! I beg of you! Don't hurt them! I'll do anything-Anything! Please!" Avures shifted forward to his knees and clasped his hands together in a pleading formation. His tone was inconsistent, rising in decibel but interchanging between his usual bored voice and everywhere in between a squeal. And though it got more consistent towards the end of this plea, it still sounded uncanny. However, Avures decided to put one last twist on it... Knowing his face obviously didn't match the tone was going for, he threw himself forward and put his face to the ground in a groveling pose. "Don't kill them!"

"Uh." Korkolo watched on... Of all the people he had seen grovel or beg for mercy... This was the oddest for him. It made him uncomfortable.

"I beg you!"

"... Ha-Hah!... It's too late now!" Korkolo's laugh held a hint of uncertainty as he decided that he would revel in his sorrow, despite how strangely it was articulated. Though the awkwardness was forcing his conscience to make the decision to leave before it got weirder. As he began his ascent back up the stairs, he let out a few more chuckles. "Soon all of your friends will perish! Then you, Avures Kovar!..."

Avures held his groveling position on the ground as the footsteps grew quieter. For good measure, he even purposefully sniffled a few times. However, even his sniffles came out more like snorts and snore sounds. Soon enough, the footsteps faded out and were no longer audible. Korkolo had left the building... He was sure of it.

"He fell for it." Avures wasted no time leaning back up and returning to sitting on his rear the moment the coast was clear. "I must be a pretty good actor."

Avures wasn't sure if his act was actually bought or not by Korkolo, but he knew he'd hold onto this moment for the next time Rael accused him of being a bad actor. And though it had stabbed what little pride Avures had in himself, it was worth the humiliation as now he had the time he needed.

"I can't waste any time on this... I need to figure this out now..."

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"Hm... We're only a few steps away now..." Korkolo left the prison, taking steps out onto the village road. The high winds and lack of direct sunlight elevated his mood greatly. Inhaling with a mighty heave, joy entered his system as the sobering air made him realize just how close he was to bringing the age of Ozix back unto the world. As he meandered closer to the dig site, there was a sweet relief in that there seemed to be no one to stop them.

"It'd be a good time for the Magi to show up and stop us... Huh?" Korkolo threw his arms out wide and peered left to right... Not a single soul was in sight.

Of course, knowing the lessons of the past, it wasn't a Magi who stopped the Flow Priest last time. But they were supposed to be the counterbalance to Flow's effect on the world as far as Korkolo was aware. And that meant a Magi should be stopping Ozix's resurrection. But there was no Magi to be found. Korkolo almost felt giddy.

But he found it odd that there wasn't a single soul in sight at all within the town.

"Something isn't right... Where's the other faithful?" Korkolo wiped the smile off his face, bringing back his typical look of boredom and disdain as he swiveled his gaze around.

Not a single trace of any of his cultists... Korkolo walked around town for a moment. He looked down every pathway... Every street. Yet, nothing.

"Did they abandon the mission? I'll wipe them all out, the cowardly bastards..." Korkolo sighed, giving up his search for now and turning towards the dig site. "Even with just Addle and Avura... Those kids don't stand a chance. I'm not too sure about what that Sergeant guy will do though, not that we need his help honestly. He'll probably leave after it's all done. I guess I could just write off this chapter as missing..."

Korkolo strolled past the final few buildings on his way towards the dig site... But he felt an odd tugging. Like something was grabbing at him and telling him to look in a different direction.

"After all, with the artifact ready to be used, Meius won't mind that the chapter is-" Korkolo had been urged by an unknown force to check out a nearby window into a building off the path from the dig site. So, he did. Under his order, most of the window blinds were to be shut in order to hide his chapter changing outfits or whatever else. But this one was open, a mistake. Korkolo peered through...

Against the far wall of the room, with a trail leading to the ground... Dry and red... Two splatters were completely visible with small red chunks stuck to the wood. Down at the floor, two people were limp overtop of a small red stain on the ground. Their heads were completely caved in and crushed, bits of pieces smashed off. Skull and brains were stuck to the wall or resting off to the side. Korkolo was in shock. How did this happen? The Woe Cultist, obviously, but when and how without anyone else noticing?... Was this why it was so silent?... Korkolo wasted no time rushing off to check...

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Meandering down each step with a lack of enthusiasm or joy... Korkolo entered the dig site once more. He confirmed what he had previously thought, much to his immense disappointment and annoyance. He had almost wished they randomly ran off, knowing someone got the best of him... It angered him. Nonetheless, he still had the artifact to look forward to. It was only a matter of time with Olicia having already opened the door.

Entering the main chamber, Addle was resting against a wall to the left. He was plainly staring and watching Ventrix, who was seated at a table on the opposite corner of the room. The Sergeant stood near the staircase with his arms behind his back as he watched everyone in the room intermittently. Kataline sat quietly and discreetly at the middle of the wall to the right. She was simply sitting on the ground with her head down. Meanwhile, Rael and Lylas both sat at the same table in the front right corner of the room. And lastly, both Bif and Olicia could partially be seen in the newly opened room in the back.

With the low volume, aside from Bif and Olicia talking, Korkolo sought to preserve the quietness and simply entered the room without a single word...

"So the wall is gibberish... And all we really have to go off of is the spiral on the floor..." Bif leaned over the rectangular column in the middle of the room, his body between the bull horns.

"The spiral didn't react to the same trick as the one on the door... Honestly... The hard part is figuring out which parts of that entry in the codex actually mean anything. What the hell does it mean to "knead bread to appease the bull"?" Olicia rolled her eyes as she rubbed her temples with her fingers.

"I think the bull means this thing." Bif gestured to the horns at his side and the pedestal. "But honestly I dunno otherwise."

"And it's not like we can waste time... If what it says is true, some seals can only be undone between four and eight... What the hell does kneading bread have to do with this?" Olicia held her hands out in front of her face while shaking her head.

Lylas peered over at the two of them from his table. He squinted and rubbed his chin for a moment, formulating the starting point of his plan... He gave out a quiet chuckle as he lightly kicked Rael's leg with his own from under the table. Rael glanced up at him, making full eye contact for a single moment before returning her vision to the center of the table. Satisfied, Lylas hopped up to his feet and casually strolled over to the entryway of that room.

"Ya know... Kneading bread. I figured ya should know about that." Lylas leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed.

"Huh?" Olicia raised an eyebrow, gazing over at Lylas.

"Well... Ya are a woman. And kneading bread is a woman's duty so... Ya know." Lylas shrugged, tilting his head off to the side as his gaze shifted up. He grinned slightly.

"Excuse me?..." Olicia scoffed. She waltzed to the doorframe where Lylas was posted at and crossed her arms. The usual joking wasn't what annoyed Olicia. She was used to attacks on her character... But not this... "I'm not anyone's housewife, asshole."

"Well of course not..." Lylas's grin got a little wider. Taking the piss out of Olicia was a usual activity Bif and him took part in. And though this was a little mean spirited by his standards, he always found it so funny. "You're way too mean and angry looking to be wife material... A bit on the ugly side too."

"Ha. Gottem." Bif snorted as he smiled, still leaning over the pedestal.

"You are not asking me to kick your ass right now Lylas..."

As the two of them began to argue back and forth, Rael smiled a tiny bit as she watched Olicia start to get angry. Of course, she didn't blame her. Rael knew she'd be just as mad if Lylas said that to her. But that was the point. She glanced over at Korkolo. She was able to see it plainly on his face that Korkolo was beginning to grow annoyed by their squabble. She was just waiting... Then, Korkolo took a single step forward. This prompted Rael to also stand up and move forward.

Immediately, she blocked Korkolo's path and stretched out. Every time he tried to walk around her, she just so happened to stretch in front of his path. After two or three times, she turned towards him fully and pointed at him. Korkolo froze in place, visible confusion and annoyance on his face.

"Why are you small?" Rael pointed down at his head and body, sporting the simplest grin she could muster to look as simple as possible. Kataline had to hold herself back as she lifted her head up and nearly burst out laughing at Rael's question.

"I-uh-what?!" Korkolo's tone went from defensive to indignant in these three utterances. He felt the heat travel to his face as the girl in front of him seemed to have no common sense or decency whatsoever. "Oh, I don't know! Why are you red?"

"Why are you red?" Rael put her finger in Korkolo's face, almost touching his cheeks which were beginning to have the same shade as a tomato.

"What am I watching?..." The Sergeant wasn't so much annoyed as he was confused by the sudden spats going on. However, he wasn't going to bother shutting any of it down. In fact, it was a little refreshing to see Korkolo get flustered.

"You are so uncouth! Do you realize how rude of a question that is? Especially when framed that way?!" Korkolo swatted Rael's hand away as he shook his head with a stern look on his face.

"Oh... Sorry, I've just never seen a man be so small before." Rael dropped her grin as she held up her hand. She pinched her finger and thumb together, leaving only a tiny little space between the tips of her digits. However, that gesture itself seemed to ignite Korkolo's rage. The redness grew and his eyes twitched as his expression soured further. Seeing this, Rael decided to ease up a little. "Like in height. I guess that was the wrong way to put it, huh..."

Meanwhile, Ventrix continued to sit at his table and ignore the arguments and back and forth going on. Instead, he was having his own silent version of that. Like the time before, Addle's vision was completely locked onto him. It was so apparent and disturbing, but Ventrix didn't want to encourage him by playing along. So, Ventrix tried to ignore him by staring off into the crystal wall beside him. It had been going well up until all the commotion...

This went on for a while... It dragged on and on for a surprising amount of time given the substance of the arguments and conversation, but eventually...

Rael felt a tiny shock against the back of her leg... It was time.

"-Ah... Well... I'll let you get to it." Rael dropped the subject completely. In fact, she hadn't really bothered coming up with anything important to talk about. It was basically unremarkable gibberish not worth remembering. With that, she skipped back over to her chair and plopped down.

"A-uh... Right." Korkolo shook his head and approached Lylas and Olicia, who were still arguing. The moment he stepped up to the doorway, the argument stopped and both Lylas and Olicia looked at him. "This needs to stop now."

"Huh?... Oh right... My bad... My bad." Lylas put his hands up and inched out of the doorframe and back over to his table. The glare of seething hatred from Olicia soon burnt away as she sighed and decided to get back to work. "Mission accomplished..."

"... Oh, I get it." The Sergeant had watched all the interactions unfold in real time. It became obvious what the ploy was here after The Sergeant noticed Lylas’s smug compliance. And he had no intention of stopping it or letting Korkolo know.

"Okay..." Olicia sighed, stepping back over to the pedestal and Bif. "It's a seal... So Mana has to be involved somehow... Bull..."

"So like... Do you actually know how to knead bread or not?" Bif flipped himself over and stretched his arms back, cracking his back over the pedestal in the process.

"Of course... My mom taught me how to make a good loaf of bread just in case I had to cook for myself when at the Academy..." Olicia was too focused to wonder whether or not Bif was asking it as a jest or being serious... Though... She did have an idea... "Hey. Asshole, get off the pedestal real quick."

"Okay, Bitch." Bif finished cracking his back with one final loud pop and stepped away from the center. Stepping up to the pedestal, Olicia wondered how literal the entry could be with the methodology.

So, with a deep breath, Olicia conjured up a sphere of her Mana. Taking on the same lavender color as before, she placed the orb onto the center of the pedestal. Nothing appeared to happen or change. However, Olicia made the orb with great malleability. She pressed down, flattening the orb into a circle onto the pedestal. Then she took half of the pressed sphere and flipped it over the other half. After which, she pressed it back down into a circular shape.

With that movement, a portion of Mana vacated the sphere-turned-circle and was siphoned into the pedestal. The loss of Mana was immediately noticed by Olicia as the bull horns on the column then seemed to both turn fifteen degrees outwards in opposite directions. It happened so quickly that Olicia was stunned, taken aback, that her method seemed to invoke a mechanical reaction. Bif took note of it too, watching in a bit of awe. Seeing how her idea had some effect, Olicia kneaded her Mana once more.

Again, a portion of the Mana was taken and both bull horns turned outward another fifteen degrees. Noticing that she needed to keep the Mana at a usable level, she poured more into it as she repeated her actions again and again... Everyone in the other room glanced through the door frame from their respective spots as Olicia continued the process...

Eventually, she had done it eleven times in total, and both horns had pointed inwards towards each other and were now only fifteen degrees away from their original positions. She did the kneading method once more, but it didn't amount to anything more. Curious, she dissipated her Mana and observed the horns. Putting her hands up to them, she took hold of both and attempted to push and pull them. To her surprise, they seemed to have some give. So, Olicia pushed them forward. This put them back into their original spots and direction.

The moment that happened, a click rang out in both rooms. Then the entire cave was afflicted with a series of tremors. Everyone glanced around with a slight bit of concern besides Olicia. She watched the effect of it all unfold. The cratered wall ahead of the podium sealed back together, losing all of its cracks. The indent slowly came undone, restoring the wall into being a flat surface with the etchings remaining.

"Huh... Okay..." Olicia put her finger on her lip as she eyed the reformed wall. With the shaking over, the confused people outside of the room glanced over once more, seeing the wall had reshaped...

"Uh oh..." Lylas kept his poker face, but was grimacing on the inside. This was going too fast. As Lylas took a look over the room and gazed at Bif and Olicia on the other side of the door frame... He came to realize that enough time hadn't yet passed. It had only been a few hours... It was only midday... Maybe... "I gotta try something different... Hopefully Air-Head will catch on... For Avures's sake..."

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"Finally... Another perfect core... Barring any more intrusions, I should be able to get started on this." Avures held another shadowy orb like the previous one in his hands. Letting go of it, the orb floated around the room at his beck and call. For right now, this was the only way it could move with all surfaces being made of Calcianite. "I need to get this outside... But first, I need to do a few things..."

Avures needed to be able to perceive the surroundings of the Mana Core, needed to be able to use Omega Arcane onto it without leaving a Mana Residue trail coming back to the cell, and needed to be able to use any of his abilities as if he were in the exact place of the Mana Core...

To do all of that, he had an idea in mind. Firstly, it started with a simple technique: Network. By using Network, he was able to effectively connect himself to this Mana Core. This, by itself, achieved most of what he needed except for a few parts. He still needed to be able to use Future Sight or his left hand's ability, something he began to call "Past Vision", through the Mana Core. Not only that, Network still leaves a tether/trail leading back to him.

The next part was where it got a little complicated. Avures focused his inner being on the core and his active Network technique... Avures needed to form a Pact. While, theoretically, Mana can be shifted into any form or purpose... It would have taken too long for Avures to get the exact use he needed out of Network through alteration. Therefore, the most logical and sure-fire thing to do was to make a Pact in order to gain those abilities.

The Pact itself was intentionally temporary. It was kept open-ended with only one condition for remaining active. It was to stay in play for as long as Avures kept the Network technique going. All of Avures's senses, minus his sense of touch/feel, were transferred to the Mana Core within the Network technique. That one sense was instead shared between his actual body and The Mana Core. Along with this, any sort of damage propagated to the core would also be inflicted upon his body in a similar or exact manner. That also meant that if the core were destroyed before Avures canceled the Network technique... He would die.

However, this all now meant that his actual body was now treated as both the Mana Core and his true physical form. Technically, he was now able to activate any sort of ability like his Future Sight, Past Vision, or Omega Arcane through the Mana Core. Along with that, he was freely able to transfer Mana to and from the core remotely without leaving any sort of residue as one of the conditions of the Pact was to eliminate the tether itself. The most beneficial part of this, in Avures's opinion, was that the shape of a Mana Core can be altered however one wishes. Not only that, but its own Mana Signature can be hidden like a normal caster's own can.

As with most Pacts, a sacrifice is needed to activate it. In the end, Pacts are never even deals, and the cost should partially outweigh the reward. With his welfare being tied to this core, making him way more vulnerable in the process, he nearly had all aspects tied together. To top it off, he needed a "proper" activation and deactivation for the technique. That was to be tied into a seal to finalize the Pact. All that was left was the final part...

Avures allowed the Mana Core to float for a moment on its own as he brought both of his hands to his face. Bracing himself and taking a deep breath, Avures spared no more thoughts to the matter. He placed the area of his left hand between his thumb and index finger in his mouth and chomped down without giving himself any time to hesitate. Because of the sudden nature of it, the pain was sharp but dulled out quickly as he didn't dwell on it. Then he repeated the same motion onto his right hand. Again, Avures spared himself by giving it no extra thought. His teeth pierced and burst through that area of skin, drawing blood which cascaded down the palms of his hand and dripped onto the floor below him.

With his personal sacrifice and trigger ready, Avures made a simple seal to activate the Pact. Sticking his thumbs outward and having his fingers together pointed up, Avures brought his hands together. Both hands intersected and met directly where he drew blood from with his right thumb over top of his left hand. His right fingers were held straight under his left hand while his left hand remained flat. A one sign seal... With that, the Pact was initiated...

As it all came together, Avures's vision went dark... Whatever noise he was once able to hear faded out... The smell of old air was no longer detectable... In fact, it seemed as if his entire world went into a deep, dark hole with no escape... Despite that, Avures was still able to feel his hands, arms, legs, etc... He wondered why it was he couldn't see... And he was about to rest himself for a moment to ponder it when he suddenly remembered just how tied he was to the core now. If he had done so, the core might have dropped to the ground and it would have killed him.

Thinking fast, he enacted the quickest idea he had. In the center of the swirling orb... a tiny circle formed, and it parted from the middle outwards, giving way to a singular eyeball. With that, his vision returned in full...

"I'm not a vain person but... I gotta see what I look like doing this." Avures had to figure out how to shuffle the orb around while still feeling his physical body's stimuli. However, he quickly figured out how to navigate using his Mana Core and spun around. Taking a good look over at himself, he frowned. "I can see through this eye while my actual eye is shut... I can still move my lips just fine too... I just... Do I always look like this? This is different from looking into a mirror."

Cringing from seeing himself and not being pleased by the sight of it, Avures maneuvered the Mana Core up to the cell's bars and door. Again, he had to be careful not to make physical contact with any part of the cell. Doing so would have drained Mana from his core and likely would have resulted in devastating injury. However, Mana Cores can take whatever shape the caster pleases. Increasing his focus, Avures decreased the width of the core. Now the core was thin enough to pass through the bars physically. Floating on through, he returned the shape to its original form. The created eye bent and contorted with the dimensions of the core. It shifted all around the core as well, moving and adjusting as if it were wading through waters.

Eventually, he caught sight of the stairs. Levitating above the ground, the orb effortlessly floated over the staircase. Straight ahead and to the left at the end of the hall was the exit. It was an open entryway... However, there was most likely some magic at play in regards to making sure noise doesn't enter or escape through that door. Immediately on his left was another cell. Though this one had chains planted into the wall higher up, closer to the ceiling, and all of them were connected to the back wall. Like the cell across from his own, the Calcianite walls seemed to be worn and cracked. Those chains had great length to them as well.

On the opposite side and to the right, there was a cell nearly identical to his except smaller. Not only that, but the shackles and chains were detached from the wall and strewn about. There was also a lack of any cell door.

Finally, at the end of the hall and to the right seemed to be an office. When the orb passed it, Avures spotted his belongings in there...

"Glad to know my sword and bag are here... I thought they would have thrown it out..." Avures turned his attention back towards the entryway. Knowing that he was most likely able to just undo the locks on his chains and cell gave him options. However, all of those options and thoughts were dependent on the entryway.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

The light of day had crept in through the open passage and given life to an otherwise depressing and dreary prison. Even though the sky was dim, Avures's hopes were not. A storm was visibly brewing... The Mana Core approached the entrance... And then stopped. Avures knew that there was a real danger with this. If the path was sealed, there was a chance that some sort of alarm could be attached to it for when anyone tries to come and go... And the odds of the path being sealed were high since no sounds came or went from this building.

However, to be sure, Avures manifested a few more things onto his core... An ear sprung out of the sphere of Mana on its left side. Composed of shadows, the ear brought sound back to Avures's being... He was able to spot tree leaves rustling... But no sound...

"The hallmark sign of a seal and not a zone or shield. An invisible barrier that blocks sound. Zones can be invisible from far away, but are clearly seen when close and do not block sound. Shields are always visible, but can block sound." Avures recalled some of the various applications of other magic types, confirming his theory. "Seals are better than zones or shields in small entryways. Not only are they more effective, but they're more secure."

However, a problem still remained despite his discovery. The seal on the entrance needed to be undone in order for him to escape. But that brought back the questions from before. What exactly did Avures want to do? What was his next step forward?

There were two main courses of action.

Firstly, and most boldly, Avures could escape.

He was unsure of what kind of defensive measures were put in place in case of an escape. Or rather, what Korkolo might have done to secure him. An alarm was just one idea... But thinking back on it... He probably underestimated him, and Avures knew that. So the odds were that there were only alarms for if Avures tried to force his way out. Knowing that, there were most likely some form of magical alarms associated with the jail cell door, his shackles, and the entrance.

"Alarms... If Manacite eats Mana... No, it eats circulating Mana... Technically, alarms can bypass this. Since they're a form of trap, their Mana doesn't circulate, but instead waits for a trigger. And by the time it would get eaten, Korkolo would already know." Avures's studious nature told him that messing with the shackles and cell door would lead to him having to fight his way out. However, that was due to mechanisms activating the trap. With the entryway... "If I directly undo the seal without messing up, it won't set off any sort of alarm."

With that in mind, he'd have to undo the seal first, and then undo all his restraints and the cell door at the same time. Then, he'd have to grab his equipment and be ready to fight the moment he gets out...

A risky plan to be sure. And, in a way, Avures knew that there was a chance that could be the only way out of this mess. The Pact was mostly for certainty in regards to that. However, one thing played to his advantage and gave him an idea...

For the second idea, Avures could sabotage the entire operation from inside the cell.

The one thing that made this possible was the fact that there was no mechanism to tie the seal or a trap to the entrance. There was no door... Why there was no door was confusing in of itself, but Avures was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Because of that Avures had the ability to undo the seal with no one noticing. In fact, the only way it would be caught was if Korkolo specifically tried to sense the Mana of the seal...

Then, using his Mana Core, Avures had the opportunity to mess with Korkolo or impede the operation outright. And even deciding to break out whenever he wanted to.

To him, this was a no-brainer.

"To be honest, I think if I were to choose a specialization of some sort... Something to be known for or truly master... It would be seals." Avures took a deep breath as he materialized a new piece to his core... An arm and hand... "I have a distinct advantage over them that can't be matched by anyone."

Avures knew that in order to undo the seal, he'd have to perform the exact same signs used to make it but reversed.

"The egg test wasn't a great example of it, but it laid out the basic application of using Omega Arcane to continuously fuel seals to have tremendous amounts of Mana in them. But that property also works in the inverse as well. Undoing a seal is just making one backwards. Therefore, I can also overpower existing seals easily as long as I know the signs... And that's where I truly shine..."

Avures used the black hand on his core and touched it to the ground in front of the seal. Without wasting a single moment, Avures channeled the ability of his left hand... Past Vision...

In the blink of an eye, he saw it all... It was a dangerous thing to do. Avures wasn't sure if the seal would alert Korkolo if he had touched it directly. So the next best bet was touching the ground in front of the entrance. However, when he had done so, a large quantity of Mana had been vacuumed straight from his core. There had been pain for a moment... But then it was gone. Avures was unable to look at his own body at the moment... But he moved his right hand over to his left arm and ran his fingers down the length of it until...

"That's-... Blood. I can't even feel my left hand anymore." Avures remained calm despite the fact that he was able to feel the blood exiting through where his left hand's palm was. From what he could tell from touching it, Avures still had most of his left hand, but the palm was gone and left only exposed flesh. Surprisingly, it had happened so fast and by such a method that he felt no pain from the process of his skin and flesh giving way. Rather, the exposure of his bare muscles and bone brought about a sensation of aching pain. "However... It's fine."

Were the situation any different, Avures might have panicked. But he knew the rules well since he created them. Having used the makeshift shadow hand on his core, Avures specifically channeled the ability of his left hand, Past Vision. Because his sense of touch is linked to the core, not negated by it like the others, it made it so that it was his left hand touching the ground indirectly. This allowed him to properly use Past Vision from his cell in a completely different area. However, this also meant that when Mana was absorbed from the shadow hand, it directly damaged his left hand as a result.

But that also meant...

It would be best to imagine the power balance as something that can be broken through using theory and effort. Any tool, any effect, any outcome can be created. As long as you can imagine it and create logical points to run it through... It can become reality.

Mana and Magic are the most destructive and impactful tools one can have. Mana is universal and can be shaped through great imagination and effort. Though, it has to follow many rules. There are Elements that Magic takes form in, Magic Types to meld Magic into desired effects, and then methods to utilize those effects below that. Magic is give and take... But it is the most rigid and difficult form of give and take.

Flow is a boundless and destructive resource that one has to tap into to use. And once one connects to it, they then can utilize that power through Shades. Like Magic, Shades can be shaped into whatever you desire through imagination and effort, but does not follow any sort of rules besides one. The more powerful a Shade, the more Flow will ravage your body and soul.

Pacts influence both Shades and Magic, and can outright create power through Flow and Mana themselves. Pacts can grant you anything for the right cost. It is for the unimaginative and those who do not have the time to further mastery over Magic or Shades. However, unless one specifies how that power works or is derived from, it will automatically shape itself to make it possible. This can be useful, or can doom someone.

It is best to imagine all of these things as tools to use. Whatever you can conceive as an improbable, but ultimate, power... It can be achieved by using all these tools together in a way to counterbalance each other. And in doing so, anything can become a reality. Only those who have a true understanding of their reality can become the strongest.

"Since a Mana Core usually maintains a frame of its conception in regards to maximum Mana... It's safe to say that refilling it using Omega Arcane should..." Avures concentrated, taking in what Flow around the area he could... Using his Shade, Avures converted the gathered Flow into Mana, and transmitted it into his Mana Core.

Avures flexed and clenched his left hand... Movement... Feeling... He brought his right hand over and dragged his fingers across the palm of his left hand. Sure enough, it had regenerated. His theory was correct. With the core being intertwined with his own being like so, it meant that any damage, but also any restoration, was reflected upon both his body and the core.

"I suppose I was prepared to do this all with or without my left hand at all... Thankfully, I won't have to go without... Now then..." Avures cracked his knuckles and took a few deep breaths.

He wasn't sure exactly how much time was left in the day... Or exactly how much had passed since Korkolo last visited. But he knew he was on limited time as it was. Knowing exactly what signs Korkolo used, Avures got to work. Avures clapped his hands together. Holding them there for a moment, he readied Omega Arcane and began.

The activation of the seal began with a clap, and so it was undone with a clap. Given solidity through tightly bound fists, the seal was reinforced with an unbreakable resolve through balled hands that signaled great willpower. And so, it was undone with both hands bound together in a testament to prevent the nightmarish future ahead. Through a maze of interwoven fingers and possibilities, a path was chosen. Showing the ability to dedicate oneself to a path, a sign had been woven and thus undone by one who understood what they needed to do. Understanding hardship, laying out one's hands palm-side up with the sides of their hands touching as if to be held in chains... Another movement undone by one who was willing to undergo hardship if it meant preserving what they had. And finally, the initial step of willingness to indulge violence in the name of finishing a job half-done... Both fists pounded together at the knuckles... A last step taken for one to spite he who was responsible for the suffering of those who were of his own blood...

Few weaving signs, yet the hatred had been evident by the amount of scorn poured in from the creator. However, Avures was not phased or disheartened by the resentment. Coming from someone whom he considered purely despicable, knowing who he was, Avures viewed it with more of a sense of duty. A wrong needed to be righted. And he was not picky with how that might be achieved...

"It's done..." Avures rested for a moment, regaining his breath while aching all over from how much energy he spent and replenished in the moment. It was as if his very soul interfaced with the essence of the seal. And in that way, it told him everything... The connection between Avures and Korkolo went beyond just history...

"It's getting late..." Avures was able to witness the darkened sky and rustling trees. He had spent a long while conjuring up the required Mana for undoing the seals... This had brought up a different question...

If it came down to it... Could Avures even defeat Korkolo?

Judging by the sheer power and Mana within the seals he had undone... The strength within Korkolo vastly outweighed Avures. Not only that, Avures was able to recognize his power for what it was. Primordial Magic. In a straight battle, Avures stood no chance of defeating someone like that...

However, Avures had an idea of what he could do. Something that would even the odds... He just needed to set the stage.

With that, Avures set his idea in motion...

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"Let me think..." Olicia strutted around the room, taking in every object within the room as if it could be a piece of the puzzle. "I might have an idea..."

"Great... Cool. Only took like, what... A handful of hours?" Bif laid on the floor against the wall of the room. He continuously picked up a few pebbles that lay near him and dropped them from a high angle. His attempts at entertaining himself were driving him crazy.

"Shut up. Time doesn't matter anyways, not as much as I originally thought..." Olicia stopped pacing and moved herself overtop of the spiral in front of the altar. Standing between the wall scribbles and the horns, Olicia snapped her fingers at Bif repeatedly. "Call it a hunch, but I doubt someone would intentionally limit the unsealing of this thing to specific times. That especially if it had some sort of important baseline use like mitigating illnesses and the like."

"Okay... So what are you saying?" Bif begrudgingly rolled onto his stomach and got into a pushup position. In one move, he shoved himself off the ground and back onto his feet.

"For the time it was sealed, it could have been very helpful or useful. So, whoever put this together probably made it so that if an emergency came, they wouldn't have to wait for a certain time of day or eleven hours."

"Why would it even say that then? Seems dumb to me." Bif stretched out his arms and back as he meandered back over to the pedestal.

"Red herring... Either that, or eleven insinuates one and one... Otherwise meaning it needs two people to undo. Which considering my idea now... It makes sense." Olicia turned her back to Bif and gazed down at the spiral on the floor.

"Right... Whatever you say, professor. So what do you need me to do?"

"The horns pointed out something obvious to me. They clicked around twelve times... Just like a clock. So, when it says that a seal needs to be undone between eight and four..."

"Wait. I get it." Bif wasted no time in grabbing hold of both horns. With a confident smile, Bif used his mighty strength and attempted to dial the direction of the horns back... "God!... These things are... Tough..."

Bif strained with every fiber of his being. His idea was solid, he knew that. After all, there was some give on the horns. If it wasn't plausible, they probably wouldn't move at all. But the amount of effort required to even move them surprised him. Bif couldn't even recall a time he had strained so much other than when fighting that golem before...

However, with a little extra effort, the horns he pulled back on shifted a click back. Then a second time... And a third. Finally, the horns clicked for a fourth time. If he was thinking about it like a clock... Bif had an idea of where four and eight were. What confirmed that he was in the right position was the repaired wall past Olicia.

"I see it!" Bif's arms were struggling and quivering as his might was being challenged by the bull horns. "Words!... Words on the thing... See it?"

"Words?... No, it just looks like random lines and shapes." Olicia put her hand to her chin as she shook her head. "Can you read out what it says?"

"Uh... Let me..." Bif steeled himself, digging in his grip over the horns and strengthening his leverage. He took a deep breath... And spoke. "I am not just a healer, but a seer as well. I have seen the pitfalls, the follies, and the death-rows of man. They come within the six great tragedies and mistakes. The death of a great mind. One who drowns himself in the greatest of man's sin, above the other six lesser sins, deeming himself a savior. The redemption of one becoming a damnation of others. The destiny of a six-star wrought upon indecisiveness. A great lie kept among six dooming all to repetition. And the subversive idols revered as salvation. Only time will tell if, among these prophecies and past events, our existence will be justified... Then its signed by "The Saint"..."

"And I thought we were done with the gibberish..." Olicia crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the wall.

"That's not gibberish. Those are statements made by The Saint... Someone who predates the Magi, but held similar blessings. It would serve you well to not disrespect his words." The Sergeant shook his head as he yelled over.

"Hm." Olicia had looked back for a moment, but turned forward once again. She never considered herself religious, even if theocracy was a common study within the country. So to her, those words were near worthless. However, they held the exact key she needed to undo the seal. "Shoot for six at least six times..."

The only thing was that Olicia didn't have much of an idea on how to immediately proceed with that. It obviously had to do with the amount of times the number six was mentioned, but in the context of "shooting for six"... Olicia was lost. However, there was one idea she had.

Playing off of the similarity of the spiral from before, Olicia got down onto her knees and examined the floor. Unlike last time where the center of the spiral seemed to be the end point, this spiral had all of its arms form a single tributary that led to the wall scribbles. So, if her intuition was correct... Olicia placed her right hand flat onto the center of the spiral and poured Mana into it. Like she had theorized, the Mana filled in the engraving of the spiral evenly. Once all arms were filled, the Mana rushed to the single connector and into the wall scribble.

As soon as both figures were connected by her Mana, the spiral below Olicia began to twist and morph. It shifted and bent under her, yet it didn't feel as if the ground itself were changing. The spiral gave way to a random assortment of lines and shapes until...

"It copied the wall?..." Olicia leaned back and sat on the hinds of her legs. Looking between both the wall and the floor, the etchings were now completely identical.

"Okay great... Can I let go now?" Bif struggled and strained against the horns.

"Yeah yeah." Olicia waved back at him as she observed both the wall and floor.

"God!" Bif ripped his hands off of the horns. The horns instantly clicked and whipped back into their original angles. As he caught his breath and shook his arms out, Bif caught a glimpse of the wall etchings again... Gibberish. "I can't read the thing anymore..."

"Huh... Okay... I wonder..." Olicia pointed out her index finger, the tip glimmering with a dim lavender light. Slowly, she guided her finger down onto the etchings on the ground, tracing her finger about. Leaving behind a thin Mana residue, she mindlessly drew about overtop of the lines and shapes. After a few moments, she kept her finger touched to the ground but craned her neck up to look at the wall. "Aha! I got it."

"Hm? I see your Mana..." Bif placed his hands on his hips as his breathing calmed. Olicia, still watching the wall, pulled her finger away from the ground. The moment she did all the tracing disappeared from the wall and floor... "Now I don't..."

"Bif. You need to pull the horns back again. And then, I'm gonna trace my finger around. Just guide me to where the "sixes" are at... Got it?" Olicia twisted her head around to look at him. Bif sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Sure I guess... It was kinda tiring though... And I'm not feeling too motivated..." Bif yawned and lowered his face at the ground. "Sorry, Bitch. Let's-"

"Please? You're the only one strong enough to pull those things back..." Olicia put her hands together as her eyes shone with a rare glimmer, making a plea to the brute.

"I know. I-Huh?" Bif shot a glare up at Olicia, thinking she had just insulted him or made a backhanded comment to him like usual. The short-lived and sudden moment of vulnerability left Bif shocked for a moment. His face felt a little warm as a second wind suddenly hit him. "Well. I guess I am the only one who could do it..."

"I can't believe that actually worked..." Olicia was surprised. It was a genuine statement, but one that was made with the idea of manipulating Bif's ego into doing the work... "Thank you, Bif!"

"Yup yup... Okay. Let's go." Bif shrugged his shoulders and shook his arms out a few more times before latching onto the horns once more.

"Ya are such a sucker!" Lylas cupped his mouth and shouted over from the other room.

"Hey!... Shut up!" Bif glanced back for a moment, not having much to say in that moment. After that, he took a few quick breaths... And then he yanked back on the horns once more while putting all the strength he could back into it... One... Two... Three... Four... "Got it!"

"Okay... Now, guide me." Olicia leaned forward on her knees again and leveraged herself over the floor. Placing her finger in the center of the etchings, she channeled the slightest tinge of Mana into her fingertip.

"Now's where we gotta act... It should almost be nighttime after all that deliberation..." Lylas glanced around the room. Overall, aside from Bif's and Olicia's back and forth, everyone else had remained quiet.

He knew that if he stepped back towards that room Korkolo would stop him. However...

Lylas made sure the coast was clear... He reached into one of his jacket's many pockets and wrapped his index finger and thumb around a ball bearing... As nonchalantly as he could, Lylas placed his elbow on the table and leaned forward. Using the table as a stabilizer, he flicked the ball bearing out from his fingers.

"Now go up-Ow! What the fuck?!" Bif leaned his head forward and braced his shoulders up, not letting go of the horns. A small stinging sensation assaulted the back of his head along with a moment of something with weight and density. To him, it felt as if someone threw a rock at his head. Bif was about to whip his head around to see who did it...

"Hey hey!" Olicia snapped towards Bif without turning, using her free hand to get his attention. "Eyes ahead."

"Yeah... Eyes ahead-..." Bif rolled his eyes and was about to refocus on the wall ahead... But something caught his eye and he was unable to pull away. In fact, it was as if it were mesmerizing him...

"Time to jump in!" Rael hopped up from her chair and confidently marched to the doorway of the other room.

"Hold on, miss. No one should-Ow!" Korkolo reached forward to try and stop her... Then, he felt something smack across his face. Without missing a beat... "Who did that?!"

"..."

Lylas raised an eyebrow as he searched around the room. He hadn't been responsible for that one and was equally confused as to who had done it. But that was when he locked eyes with him... Ventrix stared straight into Lylas's eyes...

"If whoever did that doesn't fess up, I-Cut it out!" Korkolo swiped at his cheek as another foreign object caused stinging pain on his face. His face began to redden as he jerked his head around looking for the culprit.

At this point, Addle began to cackle under his breath. Both Ventrix and Lylas gave each other a confused look and then darted their eyes around for the answer. Meanwhile, Kataline hid her grin under her downward tilted face...

As that all happened, Rael slipped her way into the room...

"Hiya." Rael waltzed into the room without resistance and looked around. The first thing that called out to her was the look on Bif's face. He was wide-eyed and almost drooling.

"Uh?... Bif?... I need direction. C'mon..." Olicia shook her head as she waited for the next set of movements to take. Rael inched closer to the podium in order to find out what was going on with him...

"Oh? Bif... What are you doing?" Rael grinned from ear to ear as her voice took a coy tone. As she made eye contact with the object Bif was entranced by, she had to stifle her own laughter. "It is kinda big, isn't it?..."

"Uh. Huh?" Bif's eyes were almost glazed over as they shifted to glance at Rael's smug face to his side. Instantly, his face got red-hot as he couldn't help but smile and get flustered. "Oy! It's not what you think!"

"Ha! You're such a pervert! Yuck!" Rael let out her held back laughter as she smacked the blue-haired boy upside the head. Doubling over in her own whimsical laughter, Rael slumped down to her knees as she leaned against the podium.

"Pervert? What are you talking about?-..." Olicia twisted and turned her head to the side to look back at the two of them... The moment she saw Bif's face and his eyes... Immediate and overwhelming embarrassment encompassed her being as her face felt like it had matched the heat of flowing lava. She grabbed the edges of her cloak as she instantly sat back and pulled it down and over her backside. "You're a disgusting weirdo! Pervert!"

"Hey! C'mon now! You literally put it right in front of my face! Was I not supposed to look?!" Bif averted his eyes away from Olicia. Rael was gasping for air as she struggled to hold her composure from the laughter.

"Y-Yeah! C'mon, Olicia!" Rael took several small breaths as she regained enough composure to speak her mind. "Men don't have self-control! He's like a wild animal! Bah-Ha-Hah!"

"You're not my type anyways!" Bif shook his head, trying to pry the guilt and redness off of his face. He succeeded to some degree, wiping away some of the embarrassment. However, he decided to follow that up with the next worst thing to say afterwards. "Only milfs for me... I was just trying to imagine what your mom's ass looks like!"

"... I'm going to kill him... I'm going to kill him!" Olicia hopped off the ground and spun around at Bif.

Bif had still been holding onto the horns... He failed to stop the real bull in the room from assaulting him as Olicia winded up a haymaker that struck him directly in the nose. Blood pouring out of his nostrils, Bif reeled back and released his grip on the horns as he covered his face. He stumbled backwards and fell onto his back. Olicia wasted no time getting on top of him and grabbing him by the shoulders. And Bif being the type of person to double down, of course, smiled with bloody teeth as he continued to do what he did best.

"I'm thinking it's gotta be nice... Big... Plump too!" Bif shouted in her face, letting loose particles of spit and blood on Olicia's face, further antagonizing her.

"Oh boy..." Rael, still on her knees, leaned her head around the podium to watch the dispute. Her mouth was covered, holding back the rest of her laughter and hiding her surprised expression.

Olicia had no more words left in her vocabulary for this moment as she unleashed a guttural scream instead. She wildly swung her fists down at Bif's face while he held his arms up over his head. Bif grunted as he took some swings to the side of his head. However, he managed to block most of them in his position. Olicia, on the other hand, found the violence to not be satisfactory and was only further fueled by that feeling.

Meanwhile, Korkolo was continually assaulted by rocks, ball bearings, and other various objects. Every single time he tried to speak up in opposition to Bif and Olicia's scuffle, another one would interrupt his thoughts. At one point even, he felt a special disturbance that permeated from outside the dig site... But even that momentary thought was ripped away by yet another small missile object hitting his face. And that was enough to set him off...

"Enough! Enough! Stop now or I will stop it all myself!" Korkolo stormed to the middle of the current room as his voice nearly shook the site itself. At that moment, it was like a chain reaction. Addle ceased laughing. Kataline held her next pebble back. Both Ventrix and Lylas broke any and all eye contact and ceased their own shenanigans. Rael slowly rose back up to her feet, keeping her mouth covered. And finally, Olicia and Bif quit bickering and fighting all together with Olicia still overtop of Bif.

"He's nearly beet red... Holy moly..." Lylas put his hand over his mouth as he watched Korkolo seethe in the center.

"Heh... C'mon... I just need this to blow up in his face." Kataline watched with a single eye peering out from under her hood. The heat coming off of Korkolo was palpable.

"You came here to do a job, did you not?!" Korkolo swiped his arm to the side as he panted and gasped, his overwhelming rage shortening his breaths. Beads of sweat trickled down his face as he rabidly glanced around at all of them. "Be responsible! Be responsible and-"

"You asked for Avures. It's hardly fair to yell about responsibility when you have him jailed in a ghost town but claim there's nothing you can do." Ventrix crossed his arms and lowered his gaze, closing his eyes and sighing. The words that leapt off of his lips brought absolute silence to the dig site.

A stalemate of words, thoughts, and ideals dragged on for the next few moments. Ventrix had exposed the grand implication that a few among those gathered already put together. And it was a statement that couldn't be taken back, not that he desired to backpedal. All eyes had been drawn to him through his disgruntled call-out. And then, all the eyes around the room shifted to each other. The tension had reached a fever pitch. All the while, no one had noticed a shifty, shadowy splotch slunk into the dig site and hid itself among the shadows at the creases of the wall and floor.

"Shit!... Shit..." Lylas clenched his fist at his side, contemplating what the next move might be as Ventrix's sudden vitriolic words flipped the script entirely. "I might be able to salvage this if-"

"First off! You have no idea the trouble I've had to deal with out here!" Korkolo pointed his finger at Ventrix. Scorn consumed his better judgment as the dwarf man's expression soured further. "Don't you dare speak out of line and over me!"

"Out of line? Please, spare me." Ventrix opened a single eye. His dead-faced glare burnt a hole through Korkolo's pride as he delivered a final remark. "Your lackeys are the only ones you stand above here, cultist."

The grand silence from moments prior hardly held a candle to the sudden stillness in the room. The tension reached its boiling point, suppressing and muzzling all sounds beneath its presence. The standstill endured. There was no telling who might make the first move, or who might speak the first words.

"I... I don't think I can salvage this..." Lylas released the tension in his fist, opting to move his hand to his coat and ready a blade. Lylas made peace with his next moves, understanding that his quick actions were vital to every single one of his friends. "How did Blue-Blood even know?..."

"That kid... Ventrix Felsta..." Kataline hadn't forgotten the encounter in the forest near the Academy. He had almost ended her life in the blink of an eye with an ambush almost a week ago. "I doubt he recognized me due to my ability... But how did he know of our affiliation?... However he knew, I get why he's doing this. He wants to leverage Meius's position over Korkolo. He's a tricky kid... And keeping in mind that Addle was forced to come here and is targeting him specifically... I think I see where he's going with this."

"So... It's come to this then, has it?" Korkolo's red face hardly lightened in color as his tone took a step back. His face still visibly showcased his rage, but he now clearly had a different approach. "Fine. I suppose it's time to drop the act."

"It's about time then..." The Sergeant kept quiet, shifting his attention back and forth from Rael and Kataline.

"My mouth is watering... I can't wait!" Addle's predatory eyes continued to feast upon Ventrix.

"I am a vengeful Primordial, born of absolutes and born of purpose... Where others lack certainty and crave guidance, I carve out the path to my lord using sheer ambition..."

Korkolo radiated a violet glow, his words unwavering and his anger only fueling his passion.

"Ozix is my sovereign, and I am one of his chosen. My name is Korkolo Dunis, and I am a Grand Priest of Ozix." His Mana shimmered off of his being like the ashes from a fire. Korkolo's composure settled into an inner turmoil of rage and certainty. The only thing holding him together... Was his one desire. "The power I wield and the god I represent mean so much more than your existence, Felsta."

"And yet, for whatever reason, you needed help from Avures Kovar. A bunch of people, whom you think you're above, are currently undoing seals that you couldn't figure out yourself." Ventrix opened up his other eye as he stood up to his feet with his hand on his sword handle. "You're truly pathetic."

"Watch your tone, boy. I've killed numerous like you for lesser slights." Korkolo turned to face Ventrix. All eyes were on the two of them.

"Your threatening words fall flat. For I know that you must stay your hand at the behest of your master, like a mutt."

"Then you must surely have some sort of motive for all your aggression, unless you truly are just a brute with a fancy sword."

"Simple. Free Avures, or the seals don't get undone." Ventrix directed his gaze at both Olicia and Bif. The former had still been on top of the latter. Olicia stepped off of Bif and Bif flipped over and stood up.

"It is interesting how you offered a trade instead of a demand. Should I take that as a sign of weakness?" Korkolo smirked, showing the teeth on the right side of his mouth. His gums bled with the red staining the inside of his mouth and teeth, showing how hard he clenched his jaw out of sheer frustration.

"Nay. Not a single one of your subordinates here could best me, no matter how hard they would try... But I'm no fool." Ventrix whipped his sword out and pointed the tip directly at Korkolo's face. "I've heard the tales of the power a Primordial can wield. One on one would be suicide for me. But you should consider five on one to be out of your capabilities."

"B-Bah-Ha-Ha-Hah!..." Korkolo loosened his composure as he nearly doubled over in laughter, his full red-tinted mouth in view as globs of spit and blood flicked out from his exaggerated expression. However, he soon calmed himself and held a smug disposition over the entire ordeal. "You try to leverage an objective of non-violence over me and then follow it up with threats of violence?... You're either mentally deficient or mad... How about this? Once the artifact is fully unsealed, I'll release the Kovar from the magical restraints I put in place... Do we have a deal?"

"I have no reason to believe you'll follow your word..." Ventrix closed his eyes for a moment, knowing that this situation could lead to nothing if he didn't up the ante. He opened his eyes on both Olicia and Bif. "However, I am no hypocrite. Free Avures, and I'll make sure those seals are undone. If either those two or Avures refuse to, I'll kill those two. In turn, regardless of the outcome, you will allow us to leave peacefully and unharmed."

"Oh?..." Korkolo chuckled, nearly being caught off guard by such a condition. Even if he had no plans to humor such a thing, Korkolo found himself enthralled by such a macabre proposition. "Would you really?"

"That... That bastard wouldn't!" Rael clenched her hand over her mouth tighter as she started to see nothing but red.

"Who the hell gave you permission to offer my life up?" Bif threw his arm out to the side as he stepped back into the main room.

"What gives, Ventrix?!" Olicia stepped out as well... But Ventrix pointed his sword at the both of them without hesitation.

"This one is a true brute, use any sort of two-step strategy and he's as good as dead. And this one bears a Demon Sigil, with precision and knowledge they will fall." Ventrix hadn't bothered to call them by name, even staring back at Korkolo as he certified his willingness to go through with this plan of action. "I'll even make it a P-"

"No need... Your conviction intrigues me enough to set a Pact upon myself. But it will be upon my terms, and that is that." Korkolo's right hand became encased in a swirling mess of crimson red auras as he placed it overtop of his heart. "I, Korkolo Dunis, decree that I shall release my magical restraints over Avures Kovar once all the seals are undone on this artifact. And, once the unsealed artifact is in my possession, I shall allow the six of you Lancers to leave this place unharmed and unbothered by myself or my subordinates for the next three hours upon this condition being fulfilled. Should I willingly break any condition I set for myself, the price shall be my eternal soul."

Ventrix had zero objections, much like the rest of his allies as Korkolo's Pact set upon him. The aura surrounding his hand encased his body in a mass of crimson whirlwinds, then settling into nothingness as the restrictions were made official. Korkolo felt the onset of the Pact tied itself to his inner being. The sensation felt similar to a random chest pain, but more akin to the feeling of something gripping his chest, his heart. However, as he had undergone Pacts before... Korkolo felt an anomaly within this one. Although, he was unable to pinpoint exactly what it was...

"So much for killing him..." Addle felt the wind leave his body as life drained from his heart. His grin faded out as he shook his head and sat down.

"Now then, I suppose that should appease you, right?" Korkolo flashed a small grin to Ventrix. The bottom half of the dwarf man's right eye was completely red. Without much of a gesture, Ventrix huffed and sheathed his sword. He sat back down... Korkolo sighed and turned his attention over towards Bif and Olicia. "Well?... Don't you want to free your pal?"

"... You son of a bitch... You must think you're so important... And that we're expendable..." Bif was locked onto Ventrix. Ventrix refused to look his way...

"C'mon. Let's finish this thing. We know what we need to do." Olicia gave a soft punch to Bif's back shoulder. "Eyes up top this time..."

"He was so willing to lay it all down right then and there..." Lylas watched as Bif and Olicia got back into position with the pedestal and floor. Rael inched out of the room and sat down next to Lylas... "It makes me think he knows something I don't... Either way, I shouldn't have let him do that... Dammit."

While the tension lowered by the slightest amount... It was still affecting the room, keeping everyone quiet and silent as Bif and Olicia worked on the seals once more. Yet, unbeknownst to all in the dig site, someone was watching... In the dark corners of the room, his shadow sat and observed with an obscured eye and ear...

"I didn't realize this is the situation I would be watching unfold..." Avures spied from the left side of the room. He was privy to the situation Ventrix had caused. And although Korkolo's act might have convinced everyone else in the room, Avures knew better... He knew what the future entailed.

Though there were undeniable oddities which originated beyond his own control... The fact that there was a "deal" struck in which Avures's own freedom was promised correlated directly to that same vision he had during the festival. A deal went wrong which ended in the demise of all precious to him... Something was going to unfold which would lead to the deaths of all of them. The timeline was set, and Avures needed to do something now in order to right it.

However, there was an issue. As his vision swept around the room... He noticed Korkolo staring directly at Bif and Olicia through the doorway. Not only that, he currently had his Mana Core blending in with the dark and shadowy spots of the room. There simply wasn't a large enough shadow to hide it in the doorway, especially if someone was watching it closely. And no amount of bending its shape could have amended that.

Avures needed a way to get into that room discreetly. He had no way to do that on his own. Knowing that, he wondered how he might get the help of someone else, and whose help he should try to get...

"Definitely Lylas... Ventrix probably wouldn't be nonchalant about it. And Rael would be the worst option in that regard..." Avures made up his mind... But he had no immediate thoughts of how he might get his attention.

"Got it." Olicia huffed and sat on her hind legs.

The wall etchings glowed with circles made around some of the shapes and lines. Each one of those correlated in some way to six... That was, the four instances... Olicia triumphantly returned to her feet and spun around at Bif. They both met each others' eyes... And both of their faces grew to a slight red color.

"C'mon... I'm not playing around or doing that again, I swear. This is serious, Bitch." Bif averted his gaze from Olicia as he huffed.

"I believe you... Just... Ew, dude..." Olicia put her hand up between their faces and waved it before their eyes met once more. "Turn it to six o'clock... Both of them..."

"Okay... Uh..." Bif blinked a few times as he turned his attention back to the horns... Four and eight... Then, it clicked in his head as he turned both of them to point past his body...

And at that moment, the conditions were met. The crystal wall to the side of them shone with a bright light, blinding the two of them inside the other room and catching the awe of everyone else. When the flash subsided, the crystals had disappeared, leaving only the artifact as it tipped over and fell out from the wall... Olicia bent over and picked up the hand-sized object. She almost couldn't believe she was holding it within her grasp. In the end, she didn't find it too extremely difficult to solve the seals up to this point. Though that was taking her own intelligence for granted.

"Hm... There's still a seal on the object itself..." Olicia inspected every inch of the item. There was still this film-like coating on it that reeked of Mana. In her mind, this was unquestionably a seal. However, if she were to go off of what the codex said was to come... "Next comes the supposed eleven-hour process..."

"Great... So what does that actually mean?" Bif gave a small huff as he walked over to the wall and slumped down.

"Like I said. I think it's a two-person job like the last seal... And I-" Olicia felt a tinge of confusion as the coating of Mana overtop the artifact seemed to change on its own accord. This time, the seal felt thicker and sticky compared to before when it was like a thin veil... Overall, the amount of Mana increased... "Tailoring to-Oh. Okay."

"What? What?" Bif perked his head up as Olicia sat down against the wall beside Bif.

"How well can you control your Mana?" Olicia had her head tilted up staring ahead as she asked a question she had no hopes for to Bif.

"Hah... Control..." Bif rolled his eyes, but stopped joking around on his own accord. "I can manage the body magic stuff well enough. What do I need to do?"

"If you're sure..." Olicia turned her head towards Bif and held out one end of the artifact towards him. Bif grabbed on and pulled, but was met with immediate resistance from Olicia.

"What gives?"

"It's a two-person job. Feel the Mana in that thing? We have to match it constantly no matter what it changes to. It shouldn't be too hard... But..."

"This will get us Brainiac back... So..." Bif nodded his head as he took a deep breath. "I'll try to follow your lead..."

"Excellent!... Only one step away now if this all goes right!..." Korkolo was grinning ear to ear as he watched the two of them go to work.

"I'm running out of time... I gotta think of something..." Avures contemplated everything at hand. All the tools in his disposal... Reliable and trusted techniques, ones he hadn't used before, and even basic Mana tricks... Then it dawned on him.

Avures pulled out something he only knew would work because of the nature of his current Pact. A trick he forced Zen to teach him much earlier than he should have known...

"Huh?... Who the hell-?..." Lylas glanced around the room, trying to search around without drawing any unwanted attention. "That Mana... Avures?"

Lylas knew he felt someone tugging at his being. He hadn't felt the need to hide his presence in the moment due to everything going on. Due to that, someone locked onto his signature in the room. And Lylas was able to discern that someone as Avures. However, Avures was clearly not in the room with them. To him, it was either an elaborate trick and/or a bad joke... That was, until it drew him closer to where he was being searched from...

"No fucking way..." Lylas physically relaxed once more as he finally noticed the shadowy mass of Avures's Mana Core. The core was stretched thin, hiding among the crease of the room and sitting outside the door frame to the artifact room. To be as discreet as possible, Lylas returned the exact same favor...

"Great!... Now how do I convey what I need..." Avures knew how to put a stop to this immediately... But he was struggling to come up with a way for Lylas to understand his plan... That was, until he thought to do the simplest thing possible.

"How odd..." The Sergeant watched on from the back of the room, the signals of Mana unable to hide from his Pact eyes...

"Hm?" Lylas stared at the makeshift eyeball on the core. In a fashion that nearly made Lylas giggle, the eyeball shifted it's iris and pupil in an exaggerated fashion towards the room... It clicked in Lylas's mind... Somehow, someway... He understood that Avures needed in there. From that viewpoint, he took note of how his core stayed hidden and deduced the rest... "Let's see..."

Lylas went out of his way to manically glance around the room once more, to sell the notion of what he wanted to do. With a little bit of acting and improvisation... Lylas hopped out of his chair and waltzed over to the doorframe...

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Korkolo side-eyed Lylas, stopping him in his tracks just before he reached the doorway.

"So close!..." Avures felt a tinge of frustration. If not for all the eyes suddenly being on that area... Avures would have had the right moment to sneak through, regardless of any shadows.

"Oh. I just noticed I was missing a ball-bearing and saw it inside the room." Lylas pointed his thumb towards the artifact room. But Korkolo simply shook his head and scoffed.

"You can get it afterwards. I'm done with these petty games and distractions. Sit back down or else..." Korkolo's right hand shimmered with the oppressive violet aura typical of him.

"Whoa!... C'mon now. Let's not be hasty... I-" Lylas put his hands up defensively, trying to stall for some sort of idea...

"Korkolo. Just to be sure there are no disturbances, I can grab him his object." The Sergeant stepped forward, parting the two of them with a calm demeanor.

"Hmm... Very well..."

Korkolo took a step back and glanced off to the side, allowing The Sergeant to take hold of the situation. As he moved, The Sergeant took a step forward and turned his attention to Lylas. The exchange of glares was short lived. Lylas realized that The Sergeant was aware...

With patient and slow steps forward, The Sergeant casually entered the next room. In those few moments, Avures took his chance and slithered his Mana core through the doorway undetected.

"I believe this is it." The Sergeant bent down around the side of the doorway out of view, and gazed directly at the shadowy Mana Core of Avures. And Avures stared right back. However, it lasted a mere second as The Sergeant did, in fact, pick up a ball bearing from earlier.

"Ah, thanks!" Lylas grinned as he caught the ball-bearing after The Sergeant tossed it over to him. And just as quickly as the ordeal started... It had ended.

"Got it, Bif?" Olicia guided Bif along, changing the amount of Mana in her being to coincide with the artifact. To convey it, she held onto Bif's free wrist in order to help him match the amount.

"Uh... Okay... Yeah." Bif felt beads of sweat trickle down his face, trying his absolute hardest to hold his Mana together in accordance to what they needed to do. One slip-up... And he'd end up losing all of his Mana at once and they'd have to start over.

"I hate that I have to sabotage him when he's doing well with this..." Avures resolved himself to follow through on his next course of action, but lamented that Bif was handling his own Mana decently. "But I have to do it... And I have to be quick enough to complete both steps."

Avures's Mana Core slithered to the side of the room both Bif and Olicia were at. What he had planned was nothing short of devious and underhanded, but a necessary sacrifice to enact. The Mana Core easily wedged itself between the two of them without either noticing. Avures took a few deep breaths in his cell... This part was absolutely vital. Mistakes were out of the question. Luckily, Avures was working with his specialties and his core was just out of immediate view from everyone else.

Avures concentrated... He concocted together a sure-fire way to stop them in their tracks. And when he was ready to launch...

The Mana Core was perfectly positioned between the two of them. Considering that they were both facing each other while leaning one side against the wall, it gave Avures an easy target. Without any chance to react, two thin, needle-like tendrils sprang out from the core and jabbed both Bif and Olicia in the neck. The two had been caught by complete surprise, and only had a single moment to comprehend what had happened. Then the two both lost their composure, slumping backwards and falling over.

Avures balled his hands together. He then separated his hands into fists with his thumbs sticking out and touching. Following up from that, Avures flattened out his hands with his thumbs still sticking out. He then flipped one hand over to touch his thumbs to his index fingers in order to form a rectangular shape. To continue, Avures shifted his hands from that position to having the corners between his thumbs and index fingers touch. And finally, he clapped his hands together to finish it off.

"Huh?" Ventrix blinked in bewilderment as he watched both Olicia and Bif slump over. He shot up from his seat and rushed over to the other room, followed closely behind by Korkolo. Everyone else stood behind the door frame after getting up as well. At that moment, no one had noticed the Mana Core slithering out from the room aside from a single masked man.

"They're asleep?..." Korkolo's eyes twitched at the scene before him. He was starting to build up rage again...

"Bullshit!..." Lylas shoved his way past both Korkolo and Ventrix, much to the dismay of both of them. He knelt down over the two of them and grabbed the artifact. "Your stupid artifact did this to them!..."

"What?! Give me that!" Korkolo yanked the artifact out of Lylas's hand... He felt the residue of Mana laying overtop of it... The same seal both Olicia and Bif were dealing with. He wasn't quite sure of how something like that could happen. This just seemed like yet another distraction.

"It probably has some curse or something!" Lylas tried giving Bif a light smack across his face to no avail... Though... "I think I get it, Avures!"

"God!..." Rael also barged her way through the crowd and dropped to her knees in front of Olicia. She laid Olicia's head in her arms... "What now?"

No one seemed to have an immediate answer to that question. Every single person in the room glanced around, trying to find the right words to say besides Addle or Kataline. Avures watched on from the shadows of the main room...

"A bit cruel... But a Curse secured by a Seal would be difficult to ascertain without direct contact. Even with contact, Seals are detectable only by sight or physical touch... And this one is deeper than skin..." Avures was thankful to have been fast enough to weave the signs for his seal. It wasn't a strong seal, but if it couldn't be easily detected... It couldn't be easily undone.

"Free Avures. Like I had proposed." Ventrix lifted his gaze to the blank wall and held it there as he reaffirmed his position.

"Absolutely not." Korkolo gripped the artifact in his hand as his vendetta against the Kovar boy grew more vicious. He had no intention of letting Avures free. In fact, at this point, Korkolo had his own plans to kill every single one of them once they finished their work here. In his mind, he finally threw away the wishes of Meius and desired to take this into his own hands to achieve his dreams. "I have another idea..."

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"And just what were ya fucking thinking back there?!" Lylas pushed his finger directly into Ventrix's chest, pushing the boy back a step. Rael listened on from her corner bed as she occasionally glanced between the window and the argument in front of her. Lylas pulled his finger back as he shook his head. "I make the calls and plans, Ventrix!"

"Then why didn't you stop me? Aren't you supposed to be a leader? Take control." Ventrix huffed and scoffed in response.

"I'm a leader, not a babysitter dammit!" Lylas rolled his eyes as he turned away from Ventrix. Looking down at both Olicia and Bif still knocked out on the beds, Lylas clenched his fist. "We had a good opportunity to make use of this... But what ya did screwed us!"

"You call our friends getting magically put to sleep a good opportunity? How is that beneficial?"

"I dunno. Ya tell me! Ya know, since ya were the one threatening to kill em to get what ya wanted!" Lylas swung back around and pulled Ventrix closer to him by the collar of his armor.

"Do you think I honestly meant that?" Ventrix grabbed Lylas's wrist, looking upon him with a scornful look.

"Ya were gonna make a Pact. I heard it start to come out from ya! I know ya ain't stupid enough to break a Pact. Ya were just gonna get him what he wanted!"

"It would mean we all live to fight another day... Don't you get that?" Ventrix pulled Lylas's hand off of his armor and swatted it to the side.

"Ya were talking a big game there... And then basically cowered out. Why even bother in the first place? All ya did was make our position worse... " Lylas crossed his arms and shook his head.

“And what exactly was your scheme anyways? To play petty games and be pests? How would that have solved anything?” Ventrix narrowed his gaze on Lylas with a disapproving shaking of his head to follow.

“It’s about being patient! We can’t just throw and move others into the fire to get what we want!” Lylas returned the expression of pure disdain.

“So how was this any different than giving them what they want anyways? What made your ineffective strategy better than what I did? At least I forced him into a Pact!”

“We would’a had the drop if we had to fight! The first strike is often the decisive one! But no-ooooo… Ya had to let your ego take control. And it fucked us!”

"You know, Ventrix... Both of our dads fought cultists together." Rael had her eyes set outside. Directly outside of the room of the bunkhouse was a violet veil encompassing the building... A Zone... A barrier that temporarily locked them in. "I wonder how they would feel knowing you just wanted to give in to them."

"I could care less about what either of them think!" Ventrix threw his arm out wide as he turned to be able to glance between both Lylas and Rael. "But it seems I can't do or say anything to earn your trust or rectify this. Why is that?"

"To be honest, I've never had a reason to trust you. You may have Olicia's trust... And maybe even Avures's trust... And maybe, just for a second... You had me convinced you weren't all bad." Rael squinted her eyes, disgust building up within her every moment she had to look upon the blonde haired boy. "But you suggested killing our friends and basically surrendering to people who do awful things... Forget it. You're scum."

"Rael, this isn't some fairytale book where things always turn out okay. You said it. Cultists are evil, evil beings. You have to know when to pick your battles."

"I'm done listening to you." Rael turned her back on Ventrix as she reserved herself to staring out the window. "If we don't get Avures back... I'm killing you. And I won't care about anything else until you're dead."

"Tch... Lylas...?" Ventrix tilted his head and peered over at Lylas who kept his vision locked to the ground.

"Air-Head has a point. Aside from my own reasons... I can't look past ya trying to make sacrificial lambs outta Muscle-Brain and Bitch... Especially when every tactical element was thrown out the window..." Lylas sighed, taking a seat on the edge of the bed next to him.

"I see... So that's how it is..." Ventrix closed his eyes and held his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"That was definitely Avures doing something back there... He put Bif and Olicia to sleep in order to stall the artifact unsealing... It makes me think he has some sort of plan... All I need is a sign... Something, and we'll spring into full action..." Lylas closed his eyes, trying to think of anything Avures might have been trying to pass onto them. "The next opportunity we have... We gotta-"

"Huh?" Rael rubbed her eyes and sprung up to her feet. "Guys... The Zone is gone..."

----------------------------------------

"A minor setback if anything... That I can live with, especially once it's done with. Then they'll all die! Meius be damned!" Korkolo's clenched fist ran red. The dwarf man paced behind his office desk from wall to wall as he mindlessly spoke aloud.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Kataline crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side as she triumphantly watched Korkolo stew in his rage.

"You dare question my actions?" Korkolo pivoted towards Kataline. His lips curled into a devious grin. His eyes were reddened and bloodshot. "I was very specific with my Pa-"

"No. I don't care about that. Any dimwit can bypass a Pact's restrictions with the right methodology and wording. Even if you did break it and die... I still wouldn't care." Kataline rolled her eyes, not wishing to indulge any bit of Korkolo and his ego. Rather, she questioned his own self-worth. "I'm talking about disobeying Meius."

"We're talking about the full-on resurrection of Ozix! Something we've conspired and planned on for years! So what if we go off script for the last act? The end result is all the same!" Korkolo spun around towards the back wall and threw his arms up in celebration as he stared at the bricks.

"I think Meius is being careful for a reason, Korkolo. And yet, you're letting a bunch of teenagers get you riled up... It's a bit pathetic. You're about to let your ego ruin everything." Kataline shook her head, attempting to keep her little game going.

"Pathetic? My ego? Don't act as if it's just these kids as well! I know you've been trying to piss me off as is! What do you even know?" Korkolo twisted around and pointed directly at her.

"Short man, short temper... Heh-heh..." Addle rocked on the back legs of a wooden chair with his feet kicked up on a different desk in the office.

"Piss off, Addle!"

"Do you even know how this artifact will work?" Kataline planted her hand on her hips as she belittled him further. This time, she used knowledge that Korkolo lacked. "Hell, do you even know how that blonde kid knew you were a cultist?"

"Hm?" The Sergeant was content to be a bystander to all of this, as long as both Korkolo continued to squander his chances to get the artifact and Kataline remained within his vision. However, there was no ignoring the three figures that were encroaching upon the exterior of the building. Along with that, the same Mana Core of Avures slithered its way into the building through the cover of darkness from inside and outside. "It's about to break down..."

"Who cares how he knew?!"

"He had to learn somehow... Probably from someone..." Kataline glanced away, nearly unable to hold in the joy and laughter she would gain from enraging Korkolo. "Only one person who came here immediately knew what we were..."

"... No..." Korkolo's arms dropped to his side. His heavy breaths and shouts dipped in volume as his eyes widened out. The mere idea of Avures somehow telling Ventrix about it all infuriated him to a point beyond anger. And although Kataline was simply saying whatever she wanted to say, Korkolo wished to verify her claim...

"If she’s talking about me, I didn't do that..." Avures had become a witness to this portion of the conversation as he easily slipped into the building with his Mana undetected. "I'm honestly not even sure how he knew..."

"The Zone!... The Seal-The Seal is undone! When?! How?!"

As Korkolo flailed his arms around while he swiveled his head between every square inch of the room, no one was able to peel their eyes away from the bizarre reactions of the dwarf man. However, in that same breath, time began to slow down for everyone as the reality of the situation and what this entailed began to settle in...

"So that's how he's doing this... I truly underestimated him..." The Sergeant knew what was coming. Out of everyone's sight, he reached back for his staff...

"I knew Brainiac had something up his sleeve!" Lylas was practically beaming with energy as he was crouched down against the wall of the building, underneath the closest window and out of view. "I ain't too sure how much of it he thought out though!"

"Oh-ho-ho!... Korkolo's about to lose it! Felsta flesh is on the menu!" Addle tipped over backwards in his chair, using the momentum to somersault backwards onto his feet.

"Avures... He didn't tell me that..." Ventrix was huddled behind Lylas in the same position. His hand was on his sword, ready to fight. "Whoever that woman is... I can't tell whose side she's on."

"Here it comes! Once it starts, I just need to dip out quietly and find the red-head!" Kataline was easily able to back away from Korkolo despite being right in front of him. His anger, attention, and all focus was diverted onto only one thing now...

"I'm going to kill him! Avures Kovar, you are going to die!" Korkolo's body swirled with a vortex composed of his Mana's form and colors. The very ground underneath his feet began to quake, shaking the building and the area around it. However, his attention was now focused onto the window off to his right...

"I won't let you, bastard!" A high pitch scream erupted from outside the window, drawing all attention to the fiery red-head on the other side several feet away. With her voice cracking during a furious wail, Rael heaved her flame-encompassed ax forward towards the entire building and unleashed a devastating torrent of destructive energy.

All hands immediately hit the floor, Ventrix and Lylas being the first to drop below the window and lie prone. Kataline was awestruck at the sheer power being unleashed, almost to the point of forgetting to duck out of the way. The Sergeant took this moment to use his Quantum Tunneling to leap out the side of the building and out of harm's way. Knowing that battle was unavoidable and that Korkolo would directly pursue him, Avures willingly and forcefully ended the Pact just before the moment of impact. Addle was enthused, but remained uninterested in her as he threw his arms up. Korkolo's eye twitched as his aura of magic grew more thickened and potent...

The moment of impact arrived marked by a terrific and deafening explosion. As smoke clouded the surrounding area, followed by the sounds of bricks shattering and falling to pieces... Bits of flame and fire lit up the shrouded remnants as debris began to crash to the ground all around the building too. The sheer volume of smoke made it nearly impossible to make anything out. Beneath the chaos around them all, faint and audible movements could be made out.

Unwilling to let this moment consume their visibility, Ventrix hopped up to his feet, unsheathing his sword and letting loose a swing that parted the smoke in a single moment...

Korkolo had leapt past the three of them with his direction made abundantly clear. Both Rael and Ventrix had their attention fixated on Korkolo. With himself being closer, Ventrix made a desperate lunge with his sword towards Korkolo... However, Addle made his own lunge from the side as he had repositioned himself amidst the chaos much quicker than anyone could have anticipated. Slicing with an electric and fire coated hand, Addle slashed Ventrix along his backside and sent him rolling off several feet out of the way.

"Ventrix!" Lylas hardly had a single moment to spare for the Felsta as he had to immediately turn his focus onto the next development.

Kataline and The Sergeant were both converging on Rael, who began their chase on Korkolo just a second later from Ventrix's own attempted pursuit. It was clear that Kataline was going to reach her first as she premeditated her next move. Lylas, weighing his options, threw a knife towards the tree line and another towards Kataline's back.

However, Kataline was no novice, and had the spatial awareness to weave out of the trajectory of the knife... But Lylas's intent wasn't to just stab her. This was made immediately clear as the knife passing by Kataline's head was now held in Lylas's hand with him right next to her.

With everyone lined up in front of him, The Sergeant unleashed his staff as he hoped to hit a home run. He had one target in mind... But it wouldn't hurt to hit them all...

Having no time to react to the adversary suddenly beside her, Kataline was unable to do anything about Lylas as he used his free hand to grab her shoulder. However, where she expected an attack, she was instead met with an entirely different scenery altogether within the blink of an eye...

And now, where The Sergeant had three targets lined up, he had just one. Rael braced herself as best as she could as his staff cracked against her raised forearms and lifted her from off the ground. Rael grunted and gasped as she was flung towards the tree line opposite to where Lylas and Kataline had gone...

Without anyone else nearby to stop him, Korkolo furiously rushed to the prison at the edge of town. He was going to put an end to this now...