VII.

The air was oppressive, yet electrifying. Madoka felt like she needed to bolt and match the black lightning's speed. The static was making her hair stand on edge. Thumping and a horrible roaring could be heard from there. While she and Eraziror were motivated, she still stopped when the massive water gate was struck by something hard from within.

"Ah, now it's probably mad," Eraziror steeled his voice. Madoka noticed he had a wand in his hand instead of his usual sword. He glanced at her, following her gaze. "You're quite strong, so, you can take the front. Heh."

Another bang slammed against the giant gate as if in protest at them breaking the silence. Either that, or the beast was throwing a tantrum inside there. They moved out of the way of the entrance for now, but they both knew that the only way to the howling Crystal Lizard within was either the door or the gate should it fall. She ignored it. Crushing it was still her objective because of that kind god.

"What do you know about the Crystal Lizard?" Madoka tightened her grip on the Serpent Blade. Eraziror's eyes shifted between her and the gate. More dents were becoming exposed.

"It's Castle leveled, as you may know, a right bastard of a monster with four legs, big tough magic crystals for a shell that it can shoot at say, a big metal gate for example." he glanced at the creaking gate, while Madoka peered at the open door the key stone she used on. His voice was not shaky, surprising her. He also seemed to recall another horrifying thing the Crystal Lizard could do. "It's got a big neck that can bite a man in two. The ominous black lightning, well, that's new."

"You seem calm," Madoka noted. She knew what the lightning was already, but she could not recall how she defeated the bear. She only remembered how it tasted. "Got any bright ideas?"

"Well," Eraziror trailed off. "I'm a little more nervous about what you're going to do to it—" he swished the wand, making a whipping sound while chopping the wind with it. "When I take the back. We have to cook its armor, then you can smash it to bits. By the way, why are you rubbing your stomach?"

"No reason," Madoka eyed him holding the tiny stick. It seemed weird to her for some reason, but suddenly the gate began to groan. She could hear the rushing water from within the cave and nodded to him. "Ready when you are."

Eraziror gulped and after a moment of steeling himself, gave the signal. Even though he was the first one in, Madoka quickly overtook his charge. The air sparkled with erratic Knotting strands, although it was easier to charge the crystal in her chest. More electricity was building up ahead, beginning to spark into another dangerous lightning bolt. She growled, plunging her hand into her chest and summoning the crystal. Immediately, the translucent and brilliant golden barrier formed in front of her as a shield and a light against the darkness.

A crashing force surged against it at that instant, causing the tunnel lamps to flicker as the Crystal Lizard's parasite magic collided against her shield. Eraziror should be protected with her charging in the front. Madoka felt alive as she absorbed the lightning and her footsteps continued to echo loudly throughout the hall. The path had been carved by the workers here, allowing her boots to grip well. The monster was up ahead, but no thoughts came from it. The tunnel also seemed to open up wider like the jaws of a beast about to bite and the supporting beams were torn apart.

A scream rattled rocks loose from the ceiling. Madoka swore. This unruly beast was going to cause a cave-in with all its racket. She had barely managed to clear into the wider chamber beyond the tunnel's opening before it collapsed. To her horror, rocks blocked the exit and the huge form in front of her was covered by a dark shadow.

"Eraziror!" Madoka called, but it was useless. "So much for a backline."

She could only pray to the kind gods that he survived that collapse and that she would survive whatever this Lizard is. The huge cave she was in was now dark, but the low blue glow of massive crystalline deposits stretching as high as she could see. Their illumination also reflected the silhouette of the massive beast, whose rising shadow began to blot out the room. Six pairs of glowing eyes revealed themselves in the darkness hovering above and she could tell they were locked onto her. Four of them were blazing a golden aura, while two were a cold violet shade channeling lightning arcs. The scaly underside of this creature was enveloped by murky and pulsating puss clinging to it.

No wonder why it was in a bad mood.

Black viscous tentacles shimmered and purple energy began to pulse in the Crystal Lizard's chest, revealing its full glory. It was as Eraziror described— as large as a Castle, the majority of its body was covered in massive blue crystals, and unfortunately for her the source of its lightning magic had infected the right half of its body. Madoka guessed it was eating the crystals, therefore becoming covered in them in the process. Or maybe the shining blue rocks grew from it after it ate them.

Additionally, she knew that the Crystal Lizard was already dead and she was about to fight the thing in control of its body. The black ashen flesh infecting the monster's head and legs was responsible for its lack of thoughts. The parasite was the same as the one who took over the bear. The massive creature shook with rage when it discovered her presence and immediately launched a barrage of crystals at her. Madoka skidded to a stop, unsure of when she had already begun her advance, and braced for the attack's contact. From the shadows at the corner of her eyes, the beast was not letting up. A tentacle to her left was approaching as well. The crystal shards bounced uselessly against her barrier and she was quick enough to duck, feeling the rushing electric aftershock of the wind from where the beast's strike swung.

Without hesitation and a hint of satisfaction, Madoka quickly realized that the Crystal Lizard stood no chance against her. She let out a roar and to her surprise, the Knotting Strands also reacted to her breath and sound. The purple shards and black lightning around her dissipated within the golden sparks like a shower of stars. In response, more tentacles flashed at her and with a single slash of the Serpent Blade became severed.

The glowing eyes shifted rapidly, its form getting longer. Eraziror's warning replayed in her head. Those rising eyes meant it was winding back to bite her. Without warning, its boulder sized beak was barreling upon her. Madoka leapt to the side, swinging down with the Serpent Blade with all her might, but a sudden resistance struck her back. The force of the wind blew her back and luckily she was not swallowed whole by the creature. The sword, however, was let loose from her grip. Distracted by the loss of her weapon, pain immediately struck her stomach and she began flying through the air again. Dammit, she watched the fully regenerated tentacle that got her continue swiping beneath her wildly. The pain was immense, however, the rune on her arm did not glow that ominous red heat that made her angry. Get over it, she gritted her teeth and reached for her axe.

"Kate," a quiet voice spoke in her head. More lightning blasted into Madoka as she soared and the barrier hummed. At least that was working for her still.

"What is it now?" Madoka twisted in midair form the collision and flipped feet first to make a perfect landing. The massive Crystal Lizard stood up, every movement causing the ground to shake and the roof to tremble. Her world shook against her vision as the chaos brewed from its tantrums, but she heard the annoying voice again clearly.

"Cast me," it urged her. "I'll cleanse this pawn of the Witch for good."

"My name," Madoka's boots landed in a thunderous crash. Erratic and stray Knotting strands rushed in straight lines beneath her feet, rushing up her legs into her Core. She ripped the annoying crystal out again, not knowing what weapon to conjure it as in order to destroy this Castle Threat Level's shell. The barrier vanished and its light coalesced into the glowing sphere in her hand. Madoka roared, repeating herself once more. "My name is Madoka!"

With that, she threw the massive auric sphere straight at the Lizard's face. Its maw was wide open already, fully prepared to swallow her into the infected shadowy parasite part of itself. The crystal from her core absorbed everything around it as it flew towards it, from the stray thought needles, black and evil lightning, its shattering crystal shards, and all the to her own Knotting magic. Its journey was shortlived, but successful.

It was swallowed whole by the Crystal Lizard's greedy maw. The vile creature and its parasite paused in the middle of delivering its fatal strike as boils began to swell along its neck and mouth. Suddenly a rumble roiled from within the monster, and its bones were snapping under whatever pressure and explosions the crystal was causing. The beast's roars became silent, replaced by a gutteral whine of pain that pierced the entire cave. The explosions that followed, however, made Madoka cover her ears as beams of golden light pierced its skin and shown through. The magic from the crystal she threw even burned intensely, with singed craters in their normally flawless structures. The creature became full of holes, stretching its neck out to the ceiling high above in its final death throes before becoming still looking upward, never to move again. Madoka realized that she ducked to the ground as if the creature would explode, but she slowly got up as twinkling golden rays of lights pulsed their way into her eyes.

As the sparks of the crystal she hurled filtered out of its wounds and back into her, the darkness of the cave lifted. The once-dull blue crystals suddenly became bright as the sky. Madoka saw the parasite's infection sluice off the Crystal Lizard onto an odd rock beneath it. Was it guarding that object the whole time? The rock, despite being illuminated by the blue light, was pitch black and only exuded small specks of white light. The parasite festered on it with slick and sucking noises, twisting her stomach and bothering her ears. Those specks of light revealed lattices and deformities; its presence would be soothing to her if the writhing creature attempting to swipe at her throat was not there.

Something wet hit her in the face again. She flailed uselessly again, but as soon as she discovered that it was a leaf again she was aware that Ceghinort would soon arrive. Instead of seeing the swirling spectacle of leaves, she noticed that the ground was littered in the snow white ash and deformed corpses. Goblin corpses, she observed impassively. The larger forms were dead Sovos surrounding the rock. Strangely enough, there were visible holes and wounds on the eyes of both goblin and Sovos near the weird rock while the ones closest to the exit of the tunnel seemed like they were fleeing from something loud. Those retreating figures had their ears torn off.

Madoka guessed that those running could hear the voices she could and could no longer resist it, going mad. Before she could ponder more, Ceghinort came into view facing the rock with his back turned. The towering Crystal Lizard seemed like a statue now, albiet full of hole wounds piercing all the way through its body. She marched up to the skeleton and crossed her arms expectantly.

"Really no time at all," Ceghinort's skull tilted at the beast, before stiffening and droppback down to the big rock. It just occurred to her that this thing could also have been an egg. The parasite was frozen in time, no longer attacking her or the kind god. "Good work, Madoka."

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"What is that thing?" She stepped up to the massive stone. It did not look like one of the Nexus Gate ruins she has come across before, but it still exuded an air of utter unease like those ruins did.

"This rock? It's a tonsil stone," Ceghinort said casually, though Madoka had no idea what that meant. The skeletal kind god faced her. "A stone created from the dead crunched up in a creature's mouth that get trapped and have nowhere to go. It was dislodged here. As you know by now, the Uracksheegal and its Witch has touched this place and this rock is a testament to its victims. Even my people were affected by her Call here."

"Heznor..."

That foolish child was rushing at her with the intention of scraping her eyes out of her head by his own hands. She imagined the Chief was also in this, since he seemingly made no efforts in rescuing the people caught in both disasters of nature and Monsters. Still, what did this Mine have to do with her?

"As lively as your other half," Ceghinort chuckled.

"What do we do to deal with that... Murky Thing?"

"It will eventually die, of course," Ceghinort mused. "As you destroyed the bear before, destroying its host will drain it of its life energy. Do you recall the God of War, Ares?"

Ares? That name matched the strange image of that god in her mind. She saw a statue of it before. It had massive rings, a scary eye, and tentacles that rotated in an orbit around its amorphous body.

"This creature, not the lizard, is a soldier of the dead god Ares," Ceghinort explained. "Without its connection to it, the soldier has lost its wits and has been reduced to this disgusting form."

Madoka watched Ceghinort's bony hand stretch over the goo.

"Of course, smashing it and this rock will kill it immediately," he continued. "But that will bring you Her attention, but if you leave it alone the darkness will continue to fuel the Shadow Forest. What shall you do?"

That place's name was familiar to her, but she could not piece everything together with so many names and kind gods being involved here. So, she shut her brain off and folded her arms. There was one question that the kind god before her, skeleton or not, could answer.

"So where is my Princess's thought-shard?"

"Oh! Right," Ceghinort perked up. Instead of pulling the orb out of his coat from nowhere, he simply raised his palm and it materialized in a flash of golden light. The purple shard, tinged with a malicious killing intent and crimson, floated above it. "Go on, take it."

Madoka gulped. What if this was a trap? Ceghinort's gaze, while hollow of eyes and expression, seemed to urge her to continue. Tentatively, she reached out and grabbed the shard and regretted it. A vision overwhelmed her mind, making her feel like she was the one being dragged through a sandstorm. Sputtering and trying to shield her eyes from the unexpected wave of sand was useless. Madoka found herself alone, staring up at a hologram. How she discovered the word was a mystery, but since this was Audrey's thought and memory, it made sense that new vocabulary would fill her mind. Thinking of this, Madoka cursed in English out of spite.

In the night sky above her, the golden hologram revealed itself. First, an elongated cylinder made of various parts appeared in a blurry person's hands, but it was not like one holding a spear or a sword. Instead, the person was holding it up and taking aim. Was this weapon like a bow? From a metal pouch, the man grabbed a small sphere containing a strange liquid inside it and plugged it into the bottom of the weapon. A rifle, huh. The word was flashing in her head as she observed the hologram repeat the action as if she was standing before him. Holding it in that stance made it seem like there would be results when firing it. Strangely, Madoka did not dislike this thought. She merely observed it in cold amusement. What a silly weapon. The man pulled a trigger attached to it, and suddenly a red beam of light came with force out its barrel, tearing a large fist sized hole through another hologram's chest. She was startled at the revelation that this weapon produced the same magic as Audrey when she used a wand, so shaken that she retracted her amusement right away.

The cylinder, or rifle, was left alone as the person vanished but Madoka's hand faded right through it. She sighed. Of course, the weapon was not for free. It suddenly split into multiple components and reformed straight back into its whole part, giving her an impression that the weapon indeed could be made, but how? Would her Knotting magic be sufficient enough to create such a devastating weapon?

"Why did you give this to me?" Madoka suddenly realized that even though she could not replicate that weapon right now, Ceghinort was granting her power far beyond what anyone's seen before. Ceghinort seemed like he was hesitating before answering.

"For... your protection," Ceghinort said softly. "A way out from Audrey. Or, a way to stand by her side when the time comes."

Madoka contemplated over what the kind God of Adventuring said to her.

"So," the skull tilted, glancing at the deformed tonsil stone behind him at the Crystal Lizard's feet. "What will you do? Smash this stone and face Her directly? Or allow it to sink Petal 2 into darkness?"

"Is it truly up to me?" Madoka sighed.

The crystal had already slipped out of her chest, hovering like a blade ready to destroy both the parasite and this creature. Out of this conflict of gods, the God of War Ares, God of Tomorrows's rebellious servant, the God of Adventurers and now her own crystal, Madoka felt like she should be the one sitting out of this conversation. Before long, the rush of leaves cleared into the air and Ceghinort was gone. Her crystal immediately fell like a comet upon the tonsil stone, cleaving both it and the parasite attempting to consume it with its light. When she was about to approach the shattered pieces, she sensed heat suddenly surging from behind her. Madoka's body dodged instinctively with ease as a fireball struck the Crystal Lizard's corpse uselessly.

"Ha!" Eraziror's war cry pierced the silence. "I got your back, Madoka, go!"

"Dude," Madoka groaned. "Watch where you're aiming."

Eraziror's breath was ragged, evident from digging his way through all of the rubble, but by the time his eyes registered that the Lizard was dead the ground began to tremor. Madoka's Knotting magic was seemingly dried up, so she relied on her training to remain steady. A foreboding force began to heat up the cave and soon, like the hologram she saw in Audrey's memory, a shadowy face with red eyes bore its weight down upon her. It reminded her of Her Highness's Eye that she fought against in the Leyline, only that it was weaker. Was this the Witch or the Uracksheegal?

"Why, Child of the Stars, do you meddle so?" The voice was undoubtedly evil and full of malice, but it was also feminine. Madoka assumed that it was the Witch this time. "I need Eyes to see Tomorrow, face to face. I grant peace to those who are blind to Its truth. Why do you trouble us? Why does Tomorrow favor only you, while I have been here this whole time?"

"I think," Madoka stood up fully, face first against the raging cloud. There was heavy strength and resentment boiling from within it, but she felt better than ever. Even the blow from the Crystal Lizard did not seem to hurt her anymore, since her magic barrier protected most of its attack. "I don't force others to believe in what I want. I don't offer my strength to save people I don't care about, Today or Tomorrow."

Her voice trailed off. She truly did not understand why the kind god chose her, so she guessed. The statement she gave the Witch angered her, as the chaos in the room and its growing energy shattered cracks in the crystal walls surrounding them like chipped glass windows.

"As if I would believe you," she screamed. A large slab from above snapped off and crashed to the floor somewhere close. Madoka had to be ready to get herself and reluctantly Eraziror out of danger. "I am Tomorrow's Chosen One! And Gladeban's Eyes shall be mine."

With a sharp cackle, more of the crystals shook loose. Without any Knotting magic, Madoka suddenly had an idea. The Storage Talisman! Big portal, she thought, though she felt dumb. The necklace around her neck glowed white, and suddenly the familiar hexagonal strands of intense silver pushed out from her heated neck and covered the entire room above her. Madoka held the talisman up and every massive crystal from the ceiling that fell quickly became deposited within the portal. She did not even notice that she held Eraziror in her arms protectively until the commotion was over. He looked at her awkwardly, so she set him down unceremoniously.

"Whew," he breathed, eyeing the talisman and then suddenly his jaw dropped. Madoka glanced at what he was gawking at, then soon her own jaw loosened as well. The dead Crystal Lizard filled her mind, sitting in tact within the portal. At least it was not with them in the cave being an eyesore. The monster dwarfed all three of the dead trolls put together. She simply sighed, then gathered more of the Knotting magic in order to power her core again. Eraziror wiped off his hands and hastily tossed the wand back into his bag. "We need to speak to the Guild and get the guards ready. If that monster had its sights on Gladeban then..."

He trailed off. The conclusion to that terrifying scenario was obvious. Madoka strode by him, intending on facing that cowardly Village Elder. To her surprise, the entire area was flooded. On top of that, all of the quakes created by the Crystal Lizard must have caused another landslide. Everything was crushed! She turned to Eraziror, who looked worried. Madoka was also worried, since the man who they were supposed to give the Writ of Completion to once they get it was totally dead or might have succumbed to the Walk.

"We have to head home," Eraziror's face paled. Madoka sighed. "What is it, Madoka?"

"I can fly there," she offered. The energy in her chest strangely seemed to be able to tell how far she could fly before needing more Knotting Strands. "Get in my arms."

"Are you—"

Before Eraziror could complain, Madoka scooped him up and launched herself in the air. He yelled a variety of curses as an unwilling passenger would, before succumbing to fear and falling silent. She sighed, not understanding why he was so panicked if he needed to get to Gladeban so fast. When they approached, she noticed massive weapons aimed at the sky. People were already stationed on the walls, but they were pointing at her. Madoka ignored them, and landed before the gate they left at earlier today without much fuss from the sleeping Sovos in her arms. How childish, she sighed. Sensing no sign of him waking, she sighed and channeled Knotting magic into herself and zapping him.

Eraziror sprang awake and hopped off of her, hollering about needing to warn the Guild Master. His flustered face slightly amused her, but seeing the dark atmosphere and the presence of purple Thought-shards fluttering around her, Madoka quickly realized that this town was in danger. She must get to her princess so she broke into a sprint to the inn.

Adventurers were immediately scrambling all around the streets. The ballista rows were aimed at the sky, ready for a massive defensive stance against a beast that could fly. She shoved through a crowd of scared villagers and followed a peculiar trail of purple mist. The images revealed themselves to her when she touched a floating shard. She heard songs and music from them, playing a sad and woeful tune.

— The Prince and His Princess —

Once Upon A Time

There was a prince who chased a princess

who was unattainable like the sun.

Her heart belonged to the forest, to nature,

even the shadows beneath each blade of grass.

She sang to the animals and fish

across land and oceans, "be free, my loves."

He loved her voice and desired her body.

He would capture her and declare;

I have all of this land.

From sea, to tree, to sprawling plain.

Every meter of this Kingdom belongs to you.

My heart and commands belong to you

Give yourself to me

and I shall give you the world.

And every time she would flee,

saying even if she is given the world she still would not be free.

The prince's ears chose never to hear her words.

His eyes could not see, for he stared at the sun

He could not understand that when his soldiers locked her away in that tower,

her heart became lost forever and why she never sang again.

Madoka squeezed through another set of frantic crowds after that odd vision. The singer was a man's, conveying feelings of hopelessness and regret directly to her heart. Why? The vision from the purple needle's memory was that of a woman, sitting by a tall window looking at the lands beneath her, seemingly dejected. She ignored the song and broke through the crowd. The trail of mist was headed directly to the inn! A foreboding feeling struck her when she noticed that the door to the inn was completely encased in massive purple thought shards, ominously mocking her. Madoka refrained from saying anything, fearing the worst. She pressed further through it and another sorrowful song played through her head.

— the Prince and His Princess II —

Once the Prince came to the tower

upon his wedding night

The princess did not say anything

her heart had sunk completely

He had won her body, but even when

his heart broke and set her free once more

She never sang again to the beautiful nature

she once loved— And those within who once

were decorated by her dreams and blessings

became the Prince's nightmare and curse

Trying to remain calm and steady, she headed up the stairs, the vision of that lone woman in the tower suddenly looked up at her, then glared viciously at the door to Her Highness, Audrey. You think you can go beyond a dragon for her? The woman mocked her. The Witch was provoking her, Madoka forced her breath steady. Her Princess is safe and sound just beyond the door.

Yet, to her horror, in that dark room the Princess was missing!