"Oh, I think this is it!" The lanky man stops at a seemingly random spot and says, "Welcome, my new friends, to The Prison of Oblivion!"

You and L'Neeri look around, slightly fearful. "W-where?"

"Down! I think..." Sero responds, looking down at the abyss below the roots. A misty expanse seemingly without end. "Well, I am going down there. This is what I need to check up on, so you don't have to come with me."

"We will sit this one out, Sero," L'Neeri responds quickly.

"Eh, ok," he shrugs, "I will see you two later!"

He leaps and plummets into the mist.

Doctrine dictates that he has died, so you clasp your hands in prayer to L'Oos to keep his soul safe.

You glance at L'Neeri, who seems as equally confused as you are. You both come to a silent consensus in the groaning roots that you two need to leave and get back to the rest of the Ben'Marmenent.

***

You and L'Neeri fall through the open, dawning sky. Rushing sideways back to your companions at your home Titan Tree.

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After a weird, gut-turning but smooth landing, you and L'Neeri meet up with the rest of the Ben'Marmenent.

"What happened?" Sel'Ozsia asks immediately, sifting through the two of you for injuries.

"There was a strange, mysterious man down there! He called himself Sero and kept ranting about 'the soul', and other weird things like that." You respond as your healer friend lifts your arm to check it.

"I can draw him." Nii'ma jots down in her book, showing it to the assembled group.

"Thank you, Nii'ma," L'Neeri adds, now under inspection by the small woman.

Nii'ma responds with a thumbs up. She then continues writing.

Dah'Grahs pipes up, "The Aarkel disappeared a few minutes after you two fell. Do you know why this is?"

"The man down there blocked the Aarkiel's attack! He just:" You throw out your hand in a halting motion. "Bam!"

"That sounds crazy," Sel'Ozsia chimes in. "How?"

"I would like to know too." L'Neeri sighs. "He might have been a Type 7, 1, or 4, but I didn't see anything distinctive that could have been a Brand or a Token..." he trails off in thought.

"Oh!" You chime, "He had a glowing whiteish-blue ring on his chest! Plus his clothes were really weird, they had colors that I didn't think were possible in clothes. And he wasn't wearing any shoes, just white bandages."

"It doesn't match any of the Token schemes of any Aarkiel that I know," Yyl responds, jittering around as usual. "Where did you see him first?"

"We didn't. First thing I know he touches the back of our necks and starts talking to us. I didn't even see him on the way down, he was just, behind us suddenly."

Silence spreads through your friends as they think.

"Well, whoever he is, he jumped into the abyss talking about something called the "Prison of Oblivion". I doubt we will ever see him again." L'Neeri breaks the silence. "Anyways, I need to talk to my Patron, I will be back."

The Ben'Marmenent disperses slowly leaving you to decide what to do next.