The one Unorthodox member that had run away and been struck by the Super Spark Strike Thrown was an unmoving corpse. Strangely, it was not because of Kazi's attack but something else. Kazi approached the body and turned the face over. His eyes were black and empty like a void. Black cracks spread throughout his body and like dust…

“Huh?”

…he withered away. Kazi stepped away, disturbed. Nothing remained of him, including the blood stains that should have coated the ground and the grass. He glanced at the source of everything, the well. Upon his looking at it, his heart pounded against his ribcage.

“What…? Ngh!” Kazi winced and dropped to one knee. His heart—

B-b-badump!

Following his struggling heart was his brain. He wasn’t able to think. Nothing. Nothing.

B…b-badump!

The time between a heartbeat widened. His breathing became heavy. ‘Why am I here?’ He winced again, a hand on his temple. ‘Why did I come all this way? Why did I kill those people—nnngh!’

His eyes turned dusty and the green of the grass became white, till he caught sight of light at the corner. A necklace? Without thinking, he grabbed it and the world’s colour returned.

[ Item forcibly equipped! ]

He gained a sudden surge of magical energy. He panted, one hand clutching his heart and the other his head.

[ Equipment Name: Copy of Brísingamen

Rank: B

Magical Might: 50

A copy of the necklace that belongs to Freyja. Over twenty of these copies have been made in order to fight off against the power of the Void. Indeed, with this necklace, it is even possible to resist the divine territory of the Void. ]

“I see.” Kazi slowly pulled himself up. “This necklace is what kept all of them unaffected.” He casted a glance over to Lala and Noor and everyone else. They were done with their battle from the look of it. “If the mages are here, then considering everything else…it must be a combination of thick magical energy and willpower that helps resist the void. Too little and you collapse. Too weak…” He looked back at the space that the corpse once occupied. “...and you die. Simple enough, I suppose.”

He hurried over to Noor and Lala and noticed the heavy breathing of the mages and of the shieldswoman, Carla. Noor was lying on the grass, arms and legs lazily outstretched, eyes closed. The battle combined with the environment was getting to them.

“Are you guys okay? Come on, up, up! Don’t let the island get to you!” He didn’t have the sufficient mana to cast Healing Waters. He went up to Lala and Noor, kneeling down to them. Noor wasn’t responding. “Is she sleeping, or…?

Lala swallowed. She had been checking Noor’s forehead. “She’s just sleeping, yeah. She’s been trying to improve on close-quarter combat but, well, she struggles. That's why she blew up the ship.”

Kazi’s throat went dry. “She did what…?”

“She needed help and she needed to wake us up. It was the only way.” Lala fixed her wet hijab, lips pursed. “Why did we fight those people, Kazi? Why did they have to die?”

Kazi frowned. Technically, she was correct. This wasn’t part of the mission. “Unfortunately, this is war. Unexpected stuff happens.”

“I know.” Lala looked sad. “I just wish we could have captured them or knocked them out. Dying like this, disappearing into nothing, it's like they never existed.”

“A proper burial, huh?” Kazi murmured. “I can agree with that.”

“What's with all the moping? Lala?”

That voice…

“Noor! You’re okay!” Lala put a hand on her back and helped her sit upright.

“My MP regen is kicking in,” Noor replied. “Thank god for the System.”

Lala nodded, smiling. She briefly looked into the sky, thanking Allah for her answering her prayers. ‘She's too kind for her own good,’ Kazi thought. At that moment, a razorbill bird landed on her shoulder. She laughed and stroked its neck. ‘The birds from the island. She tamed them fast.’

Kazi checked on the other mages. Everyone was utterly drained. The Unorthodox Sect were martial artists at the end of the day and experts at close-combat. Against mages in an island, they held the advantage regardless of numbers.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Healing Waters,” Kazi casted. His hands became coated in a fluffy blue water that broke off and melded the wounded bloodied shoulder.

“Oh, thank god one of you is a healer.” Hands holding her up while sitting, Carla laughed. Her attire was elaborate and fantasy-like: a black bodice, knee-high, flat-heeled shiny black boots, and an indigo-coloured long skirt with diamond-shaped sections split into three. Style over fashion. “I thought I was going to die after this.”

Carla in particular had to push herself. Lacking Flow of Mana or the natural regulation of mana that mages had, the young woman protected and defended against the three martial artists through grit and willpower. For someone that was Level 17 and five-foot-two, it was impressive.

“I have to get going. You guys get the ship fixed.”

“Huh?” Noor picked herself up. “What, no way, you fix the ship. I have to get my prize.”

“You’ll die.” Kazi pulled on the necklace he was wearing. “You see these? The Unorthodox members were wearing this to protect themselves.”

“Is that why they are totally unaffected? That makes sense,” Carla murmured.

“Then give the necklace to me. None of us knows how to fix the ship. You’re the ship fixer person, right? Go on, do your job.”

Kazi put a hand on his hips. If she was so adamant, then fine. As long as she helped him against Jack, it didn’t matter whether it was himself or Noor who got the upgrade. “Fair enough. Here you go.”

He handed her the necklace without further ado. Noor snatched it and immediately Kazi felt the magic leave him. The weight of the void pressed down on his shoulders. Noor ran off not too long after.

“Let’s get going,” Kazi told everyone. “The further away we are from the well, the lesser the affect.”

The small respite helped the mages and Carla move on. Lala was largely okay. Was it because of the bird perched on her shoulder?

The time to ask questions could come later. Arriving on the coast and seeing the longship, Kazi understood he had another job.

“Ugh, it’s so far…” Carla murmured. “Are we gonna have to go on the water to retrieve it—oh.”

Kazi walked on water, at least that was the illusion he gave. By concentrating magic on the bottom of his feet, he was able to create shapeless balls of magical energy that acted as a staircase. Whether it was the sky or the water, he was able to walk on top of it all. He pretended not to hear the mutters of surprise behind him and casually reached the longship, which had been a good twenty feet away from shore.

“Jeez, she really messed it up.” Kazi dropped into the ship. Several planks had gotten splintered. “The damage isn’t too bad though. Good thing she used wind magic. I can’t imagine what would have happened if she blasted it with a Fire Ball.”

Overall, the damage wasn’t too bad. The ship was perfectly serviceable, including the sail. There was some leakage, however.

“Good thing I had some leftover wood.”

In ten minutes, he patched up every little splinter and hole and brought the ship back to normal. Then, with a simple, “Gale Burst,” he brought the longship back to the others on shore. There was an unexpected person among them though.

“Oh, Noor, you’re back. Did you find whatever it was in the well?”

Noor rolled her eyes. “Okay, so apparently, there’s a riddle. I’m shit at riddles.”

“A riddle? For what?”

“To climb inside the well, duh. It’s stupid, it asked me, ‘I am a well without an owner. What am I?’ What does that mean?”

“A-a well, right?” Lala said.

“That’s what I said! But nope! So what else could it be?”

The mages shrugged while Carla climbed onto the ship. She did not want any part of the well stuff. Fair enough.

“An echo,” Kazi corrected. “What else did it ask?”

Noor stared at him, her left eye twitching. “Screw it, take the damn necklace. It’s not just one question, the thing asks three.” Kazi wasn’t able to respond as she shoved the necklace to him. He noticed her slight wince.

“I’ll do my best.”

“Please do,” Noor said sarcastically, brushing past him to get to the ship. “I heard you can walk on water. We’ll wait for you a little ways away.”

The remaining mages joined her, as did Lala who nodded at Kazi and said, “Good luck.”

“Thank you.”

The longship undocked as Kazi approached the centre of the island, the silver necklace around him. He felt its protective aura. The well came into view. Made of gray stone and filled to the brim with a red liquid, Kazi leaned over and stared into the red surface.

His face slowly disappeared, replaced by words.

“The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?”

An easy one. “Footsteps.”

There was a small tremor and the words on the red surface changed.

“I have cities but no houses, forests but no trees, and rivers but no water. What am I?”

“A map.”

Three questions, right? The words changed again, hopefully for the last time. “I have one eye, but cannot see. Yet every morning, I know someone drinks. What am I?”

Kazi blinked. ‘This isn't a riddle…’

“Mímisbrunnr, the well of Mímir." The left eye of Odin, the All-Father of the Aesir, was sacrificed to the well to gain wisdom, and in the poem Völuspá, it was said that Mimir would go to the well every morning to drink from it.

The written words split apart and the blood-red water suddenly shifted into a healthy blue colour. Three words remained before disappearing: “Enter the waters.”

‘Enter the water? Like…literally?’ Kazi looked at his surroundings. There didn’t seem to be anything else to enter. Cautiously, he put his hands on the well and brought his head close to the surface of the water. He dipped a finger in. It felt normal, if a little heavy. He took a deep breath and shoved his head inside.

He saw red.

It wasn’t only his eyes, his very senses were enveloped in a swirling sea of blood. The crimson hue surrounded him, disorienting his tongue and nose. He felt himself submerging deeper into the water, unable to stop himself.

He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t smell. He couldn’t taste. He couldn’t feel. Kazi stayed very, very still.

Suddenly, the redness began to recede, replaced by a brilliant azure glow.

He opened his eyes to a dark room. A candle was lit and the scene of night weaved through. He knew this place. He had been here for so many days.

His eyes went wide and he took a step back. Outside, he heard hammers and nails and grunts. Efforts of renovation, of meaningless work. Ahead, sitting against the thin wall of the house was a young woman with strays of black hair over her forehead and a pronounced stomach. Her breathing heavy, she rubbed her swollen belly and smiled tenderly.

“Maa…?”