Echos ran through the cave slowly, with the tunnels completely bereft of any sort of wind, only the occasional lamp that burned slowly, and the subtle scent of sulfur was present. Though the sources of light were sparse, one was enough to light far down the cave thanks to the Luster.

Dorothy minded her footing across the uneven rock, making sure not to trip or cut her thigh against the sharp stone walls. Toto, however, practically had a small workout from the ever-changing incline of his footing, his panting audible even with how small his lungs were. Even while being mindful of this, however, Dorothy continued to read the book she was given by OZ. A book detailing many different subjects, but most importantly, what OZ needed in return for the Black Astral.

Dear Dorothy

I hope this finds you well, I understand one night of rest may not be enough for you, but time is not on our side I'm afraid. I believe I should outline most of what I would like you to do when we speak in the morning, but, just in the event of my explanation proving unsatisfactory.

Travel through the cave south from the church, reach the Astral factory, rescue Dandillion from the factory, and shut it down. A lot to ask, I know, but I did give you all the Astral I have collected over these years, I hope that shows my trust in you. I've included notes in this book detailing what each one does, use them wisely. I understand the mission I'm sending you on is dangerous, but I am far too frail to rescue my friend. If you ever feel this is too much, you can return at any time, and above all, be careful.

Dorothy wasn’t completely certain on how she would rescue this Dandillion character, or how unsafe traveling outside the church could be, or why she should even do the bidding of this man she had known less than a day, but what did she have to lose? It was better than staying in the church with one arm. As much as she hated it, she was going to have to rely on him to a certain extent in this strange world, better he be a friend, rather than a foe. Still, this journey did come with some unnecessary baggage.

“I still don’t get why you wanted to come along?” asked Dorothy offhandedly, ducking her head beneath a wooden beam designed to support the cave.

“Well, I can’t let you go on your own,” Toto said, “Have you seen what kind of animals are outside the church? It wouldn't be right to leave you without my help,” he said a little too proudly.

“You think you can help me?” she said with a scoff to her voice, “Try and stay out of my way then, that’s the best you’ll be able to do,”

“Not with fighting, I mean with umm thinking, two heads are better than one,”

“So you say,” she said sarcastically.

“Can I rest on your shoulder?” Toto interjected immediately, “These rocks are rough on my paws,”

“Did you not just hear what I said?! I don’t need some deadweight who is going to get me killed!” her protest echoed through the caves as they came to a stop.

“Pleeease, I promise, I’ll only talk when you need help from me,” Toto offered, practically begging at this point.

“You sure about that, It’s going to be a very quiet trip,” asked Dorothy, giving the slightest hint she may take him up on his offer.

“Yeah! I promise,” Dorothy rolled her eyes and picked the small dog up with zero effort, placing him on her left shoulder.

“No! Not that one, on the other shoulder, I want to look at the Black Astral,” Dorothy gave Toto a stern look for already breaking his promise, but begrudgingly shifted Toto over to the right side, leaving the small dog to rest on her shoulder, enamored by the young woman’s arm that made up the black Astral.

To her surprise, Toto did remain quiet, too busy staring at her black arm like a child infatuated by a toy, letting her quietly maneuver through the never-ending mine, while she continued to read through the notes left by OZ to pass the time and keep herself informed. She turned the page and was met with even more writing, it looked fresh and only recently scribed within the parchment.

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Before I disclose what each Astral does, be aware that you are a Mono, not a Bright. You can’t use Astral as much as you want to like them. The Black Astral does let you use each coloured Astal with extreme prowess - it doesn't even begin to compare to the little output a bright can achieve - but it is at the cost of the Astral itself, never to be used bright or mono again, so use them wisely. More respect to you Dorothy if you use one in front of a bright, that’s practically spitting on their god.

Also, I know what you’ve seen of the animals here are quite…different from what you're used to, but not all of them are hostile, despite how scary they are, bare that in mind. What you should worry about are the Diamond City guards, the factory will be full of them. Their big metal machines that look like wind-up toys. They were given life by The Bearer, and they operate and keep the Factory safe, best just to stay out of their sight, but you have options if you are caught. Danillion should help you find the solution to switch the factory off once you find him.

Dorothy, confused but satisfied with the knowledge from the book, began to close it, but an unread sentence at the bottom of the page she finished caught her eye at the last second.

Oh, and one more thing, if you run into a machine that looks like a human with long hair, RUN! Do NOT engage with it, O.Z

Dorothy closed the book, and a chill shot up her spine at the last line, but she was satisfied enough with the info she was given, as well as the tools she had. Though, she had yet to test them. Dorothy shifted down to her left, where the small bag of Astral hung off her skirt’s belt, and down her thigh. The small tan-coloured bag was filled with a dazzlingly bright rainbow of glass orbs, ranging from all sorts of colours, Dorothy counted about six different tones and noted that even though they felt like a marble in her hand, the orbs were completely weightless, convenient for a light fighter like her.

The howling of wind awoke Dorothy from her slight daze, the lighting of the cave shifted slightly as the lanterns receded down the tunnel, and Dorothy was brought out into another forest, but much smaller than the one that housed the chapel, she could tell that at least from the funnels of the factory eclipsing the trees, as she stared off into the early morning sky.

Hollow yellow eyes met Dororthy’s as she stood frozen by the unexpected presence, whatever the creature was, it stood facing away as it towered over Dorothy by twice her height, with its thin neck craned to face her, boring into her soul. Then it stopped turning back to match its body and slowly paced through the forest in a dreadfully mournful fashion. Dorothy was quickly alerted to similar-looking creatures walking through the forest at the slowest pace she had seen.

They had the heads of owls, yet they had no feathers and were tall, slender and had pale grey skin, with sad expressions and quiet little screeches coming from their beaks. They didn’t seem to be focused on anything in particular, just mindlessly wandering through the trees by the looks of it.

“What the fuck are those?!” Dorothy whispered to Toto, still a little rigid in her movements having been shocked by the creature.

“They're called Ho’som’s, I think OZ might have told you to avoid them, they're harmless unless you provoke them, I've never seen them provoked but OZ describes it as…terrifying,” Dorohty shook her head and tutted.

“No, he conveniently didn’t mention them. They don’t look that dangerous though, just creepy really,” Dorothy remarked

“Still, please be careful Dorothy, we're just outside the factory now,” Toto pleaded

“Fine,” but before Dorothy could walk through the forest, something crashed against her, something tall and slender, she turned quickly to discover it was one of the aforementioned Ho’som’s that the young woman had blocked on its path.

Dorothy looked up at the tall, featherless creature. Its pale form looked down upon her with its uncanny eyes, leaning over to meet her iris perfectly. Then, as if its oculus couldn’t get any more unsettling, the creature's eyes became far wider, expanding rapidly, followed by a much louder screech from the Ho’som’s beak.

Following this screech, the creature began to grow rapidly, increasing in height and length, as its skin tore apart, unable to keep up with the unexpected growth of what little muscle and bone it had. Dorthy could hear the bones and the flesh smash and break as the creature entered its supernatural metamorphosis.

The owl lookalike was now far taller, it was ganguly and horrible to look at, with its human-like limbs hanging at its side like pendulums, as it hunched over in an unsettling position. Shreds of skin hung off its body where the flesh and bone had outgrown the outer layer, and blood began to seep down its body. The Ho’som continued to screech and took a hold of Dorothy’s black arm with a firm grip. Its exposed tendons and sharp nails digging into the glass form of her arm.

Dorothy wrestled her arm away from the slender beast, but its thin form was stronger than it looked and kept a tight grip on her.

“Run! Get to the factory! Now!” she screamed out hastily in between her teeth being grit together. Toto continued to stand on her shoulder, his posture was small and timid, and his ears and tail were tucked as he was unsure of what to do.

“Do as I tell you, Toto!” she yelled once again, hesitant, but afraid to upset Dorothy. Toto leaped off and ran towards the edge of the small forest and towards the factory, quickly disappearing and leaving Dorothy with the maniacal beast. The lanky form quickly reached its other hand over and grabbed ahold of Dorothy’s head, grabbing a hold of her unkempt hair. Dorothy struggled against it, but despite how thin the creature was, its height was too much for her to match. She began to feel her neck strain, an indication the beast was attempting to tear her head from her neck.

The young woman took her panicked plan into action now that Toto had left, using her left hand to reach into her bag and fished out the first Astral she touched. Though she was unable to turn her head to see what colour she pulled, she didn't hesitate and hastily placed the orb in the palm of her black hand. Once secured firmly within her uneven palm, she crushed the Astral with all her might, shattering the crystal into thousands of tiny green shards.

Two things lit up at that moment, the contours and edges of her arm as they illuminated from white to green, and Dorothy's face, turning into a sinister smile as she got the exact colour of Asral she was after.