Felix felt somewhat uncomfortable as his boots sank into the gray powder. Goosebumps began to form on his arm from the sensation of slowly sinking into the uncanny stuff. The sky was blotted out with roiling black and gray clouds, like an inverted ocean, illuminated in places by washed-out red and blue lights which originated from unseen sources. The horizon revealed the impression of a dusky purple sky beyond those clouds. The few visible mountains were twisted, impossible things, reaching into the clouds like seaweed, their peaks shrouded from view. In the foreground the horizon was broken, in places by countless species of fungus, and elsewhere, by stout formations of dark crystals.

The light of the Physical World reflected off the walls of the obsidian chasm for a few moments, before the tear in reality collapsed and vanished. Ingrid and Vaska were absent. Shane appeared to be reacting to the strange powder underfoot with the same degree of apprehension, and Alice did not remain on the ground for long. Her Pegasus flapped its wings rapidly and ascended into the sky, a feat which disturbed the gray powder outside the chasm, causing it to flow over the escarpments like dry waterfalls.

"Follow me!" Alice cried. She stabbed her oversized spear up into the sky for emphasis.

Felix felt that it was somewhat unfair that Alice could simply fly over the chasms. He was stuck navigating the maze below, suffering through the ever-present, cloying sensations that assaulted his feet. Occasionally a nearby mushroom would explode with gray spores, showering them over his head, showering his dark military uniform.

Alice led them through the chasms to the bank of a slow river of pure blood. The riverbank was occupied by an army on the move. Broken bodies marched past, emaciated and rotting, with eyes and mouths sewn shut, navigating with the help of knotted blackwood staves. Skeletal horses hauled carts filled with bodies so shattered that they could not walk themselves. This endless caravan of destitute zombies seemed to hum with a sorrowful song. Felix heard a scream, the heated argument of an unhappy marriage, a slamming door...

"Alice!" he cried. "Who are these people?"

The Pegasus descended and fluttered overhead. Alice waived her spear in a wide arc.

"The world is ending," she said. "The apocalypse arrives on a schedule, when Ashe destroys and reshapes the Elemental Plane of Darkness. There are Fountains of Rebirth hiding in the darkness, where broken bodies can be restored, where true humanity can be regained. They venture out, further and further, founding towns and cities along the caravan, searching for the Fountains, hoping to find one before the apocalypse resets their progress."

"So where are they going now?" Felix asked.

"Twin Fates, the Golden City of the Radiant Saints. There is a barrier that holds the apocalypse at bay. If they can make it back to the city, then they can survive to try again."

"What happens if they don't make it?" Shane asked.

"Perfect Darkness," Alice replied, "the Gift of Mother Ashe."

"Isn't it wonderful?"

Even after nine years, Felix recognized the feminine voice. He snapped around, instinctively reaching for the greatsword on his back. She was nearby, dancing gracefully across the surface of the blood river, her flowing white dress flaring with each twirl. The Elemental skipped across the blood without disturbing it and trotted between the corpses to join Felix and Shane in their walk. All of the shadows pointed toward her.

"I cannot say that I appreciate the aesthetic," Shane drawled.

"Do you know where mortal blood comes from?" Ashe asked.

Felix pointed to the river.

"That's right!" she said. "You are so clever Felix."

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"What about my blood?" Shane asked. "Last I checked, it wasn't red."

"There are rivers for each Dragon Tribe," Ashe replied. "Red, blue, purple, and all the others. They converge into a pinwheel of isolated pools, surrounding a temple. It is one of my better creations."

"I would like to see it," Shane said.

"Good luck finding it before the world ends!"

"What do you want?" Felix asked.

"Felix, you haven't seen me in a hundred moons. That's a long time for you mortals, right? I was just checking in on you, to make sure that you were safe. It is bold of you, living in the Plane of Dreams. That is a very dangerous place."

"I have yet to encounter a scheduled apocalypse," Felix said, glancing around at the marching corpses.

"That's a known danger, you idiot." Ashe said. "Do you know what happens to souls after a Purple Dragon consumes them? If you give me an answer, I might do something nice for you."

Felix shrugged.

"Why is Astrid traveling with a High Daughter of the Queen of Water? What is the nature of the alliance between the Queen of Water and the Queen of Dreams?"

"Maybe you should ask Astrid," Felix said.

"I tried catching a Purple Dragon once, but they died before I could discover their secrets. Now they blind themselves to see into my Domain. I cannot surprise them anymore. How annoying!"

Alice must have finally seen Ashe, because the Pegasus fluttered down and floated above the ground, following them as they marched with the caravan. "Almighty Queen of Darkness, have you come to aid us in our journey? Will you lead us to the city of Twin Fates yourself?"

"Absolutely not," Ashe said.

Erika the Firstborn, the Curse Elemental, materialized beside Queen Ashe. The girl-child reached out and started tugging on her mother's dress.

"Mother," she hissed. "You are needed."

Ashe sighed. When she vanished, all of the shadows instantly shifted to face ahead, in the direction of the caravan. The Firstborn lingered for a moment before she too dissolved in a puff of black mist.

"She sounds paranoid," Shane said.

"Ashe can still hear us," Alice warned. "Either way, if she is concerned, it is safe to assume that the Queen of Light is also concerned."

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They came upon a great lake filled with blood. Dominating an island in the center of the lake, there was a translucent dome made from golden light, housing within a city of tall buildings which scraped the inner surface. Long bridges, which appeared to mostly be constructed from bones, spanned the distance between the near shore and the island. The lumpy texture of the skulls underfoot made it somewhat difficult to walk as Felix began the trek across the bridge. The caravans had become clogged attempting to pass through the golden barrier into the city, so Felix only made it halfway across before he was forced to stop because of the traffic.

"I will need to take you both across one at a time," Alice said. "Who wants to go first?"

"Shane can go," Felix said. "Maybe he'll find a bookstore in the city or something."

"I'll keep an eye out," Shane said. Alice reached down and hauled the other man up onto her mount. The Pegasus fluttered off toward the golden dome.

Felix waited in silence, standing near the edge of the bridge, overlooking the dull gray sky reflecting off the surface of the blood lake. Ashe had asked a question and it had almost immediately bothered him. He wasn't smart like Shane, he didn't want to be smart in that way. He mostly relied on his instincts. Quick judgements were best, followed by commitment. Otherwise lives could be lost. It always gave Felix an impression of weakness when a commander changed his mind.

Felix could not shake his first impression from when Ashe asked about Brigid's High Daughter. He had been falling from the sky, his craft iced over, and in that moment he actually believed that hitting the ground would be more merciful than living through that weather. It must be related to that seeping cold, Felix surmised, purely from instinct.

Titania had told him that his soul flew with Ingrid before it ended up in the Plane of Dreams. How long have I been in the Plane of Dreams? he wondered. Have I died before? Does that mean that souls are just reincarnated, over and over again? What would happen if a Purple Dragon bound the fate of a soul to reincarnate in a specific spot? Perhaps within that seeping cold.

The thought of it was making him sick. He shook his head and rubbed his temples.

"Why am I thinking about this?"

Then he remembered that Ashe could still hear him. He waited in silence, struggling to clear his mind. A brief puff of shadowy smoke caught his attention. The Firstborn, with her childish body and extraordinarily long raven hair, floated out over the blood lake in front of Felix. She regarded him, looking somewhat uneasy.

You know something.

"I thought we were guaranteed safe passage," Felix said.

Silence! Mother can hear your words, but she cannot hear mine. My access to the divine power has been dramatically reduced, but it is not completely gone. I can use that tiny sliver of power to hide from Mother. Heed my command, mortal. Do not implicate Vaska. Do not speak of what you have discovered. I will inform Vaska of this unexpected development and she will furnish instructions at her leisure.

Then the Firstborn was gone.