Nearly an hour had passed and the others were still waiting for the other three members of their team. Worry filled them all as they waited. Tess' core had calmed down to a level the others could handle, but she was still wrapped up in vines. Elijah was completely motionless with occasional spikes of his mana. Arthur drew the most attention, as all of the runes on his body glowed at once, each dimming and brightening randomly while the rest of his body glowed with a purple hue.

There was nothing in there for anyone to do so they chose to eat and rest. Feyrith tried to get the Djinn to help him start his aether training, but he refused, stating that this should be a task left to Arthur.

As they ate and tried to wait patiently a loud thud was heard, Elijah had collapsed to the ground.

"Ow," Elijah groaned, his face to the floor.

"Elijah?" Curtis called out nervously as he and the others held tight to their weapons, Regis quietly staking closer.

"Yeah it's me," he replied as he rolled over.

"Are you sure you're you? Not...the other guy?" Theo asked.

"It's only him," the Djinn replied. "The other one is rather annoying." He said as he gestured to a floating aether crystal within a purple light beside him.

Elijah quickly shot up and rushed to the crystal. It was about the size of a baseball, and inside Nico, a miniature version of Elijah, could be seen screaming and beating on the crystal. But no sound could escape, it was a perfect prison.

Elijah grinned wickedly as he took the crystal. "Not so tough now are you?" He then shook the crystal violently.

"It's not like that does anything to him. He's just energy now, he doesn't even have a physical body that can experience pain," the Djinn explained with an eye roll.

"Maybe so, but it makes me feel better." Elijah then replaced the crystal and looked to his friends and bowed. "I'm so sorry about... everything."

Curtis walked up and slapped his back without mana, causing Elijah to straighten up. "Don't worry about it, you weren't you, it was the other guy."

"Maybe so, but it was my body that did it. He was in me, technically he was me, who I was supposed to be."

"No, you were supposed to be you, he was supposed to be Nico," Lilia said walking up. "You might have been one body, but you both lived completely different lives, making you two different people. Arthur just made it possible for you two to be separated."

"I don't know if it works like that, but thanks," he replied in relief. Elijah knew from speaking with Arthur that their friendship had been strained thanks to Nico, to the point he wasn't sure if they could still be friends like they were before. So his greatest fear after Nico taking over was that his other friends would abandon him because of Nico.

"I swear if you all have a group hug I'm throwing up," Regis grumbled as he walked back over between Tess and Arthur and layed down.

"I second that," the Djinn concurred under his breath.

"So how are Arthur and Tess doing?" Elijah asked as he turned around to face them

"No change in a while...how did you know they were under?" Claire replied.

"The Djinn told me what he's doing with them."

"Did he say what he's doing with Arthur?" Feyrith asked.

"He's wanting to see how Arthur's core grows and how he manipulates aether in actual combat."

"You mean core levels?" Theo asked sounding confused.

"Kind of. Arthur can grow stronger with his core as it is, but apparently he can make huge leaps by using aether to create additional layers to his core. Arthur already has two layers, and the Djinn wants to see him make another."

"And that old fart is sparing with him? Ha, that's got to be good," Regis commented in amusement.

"Actually he's basically created some aether versions of the Asura from during the war for him to fight with."

"What?!" Regis shouted as he stood up. "I need to be in there!"

Regis leaped up and tried to enter his body with the hopes that he could also gain some experience fighting Asuras, only to bounce off and crash back to the ground.

"You won't be able to enter his body until he's done," the Djinn replied, paying the now annoyed wolf only the minimal attention.

Regis grumbled in resignation as he moved back to his spot between Arthur and Tess. Before he could even get back into position the tendrils wrapping around Tess began to dissipate. Quickly everyone rushed to her side. Once the tendrils were completely gone Tess could be seen breathing heavily with a blank stare. Her entire body trembled lightly and was drenched in sweat, washing away the trails once left by her tears, snot, and drool that came from the excruciating pain.

"Tess are you all right?" Claire asked in worry from seeing her friend in this state.

Tess' eyes shifted to her and she gave a weak nodd. Her eyes then landed on the Djinn that put her through all of that pain, and for the first time life was seen in her eyes, showing her rage. Her right arm shook as it rose up, palm facing him. A single wind blade shot out at the Djinn, the condensed air passing harmlessly right through his face.

"On the positive, not only did you survive, but it appears you should be able to use aether now," the Djinn replied optimistically.

Tess' arm just fell back to the ground weakly as the others tended to her. It took a few minutes before she had gotten to the point that she could speak again, but her voice was horse from her screaming. They carefully gave her sips of water as Claire and Kathyln worked to cool her off and clean her up a bit.

After she felt enough of her strength had returned she tried using aether, basing it off of how Arthur described using it. She tried to create a small ball of aether just like Ellie did, however nothing happened.

"Did you honestly expect it to work on your first try?" The Djinn asked while shaking his head. "No matter what he told you, there's no way you can do this without significant practice."

"And what do you think I'm doing?"

"Wasting your time. The method you're trying won't work. You're better off waiting for him to finish his training so he can teach you."

"Why don't you give me a lesson?" Tess asked in annoyance.

"Just as I told the other elf, it would be better if he teaches. Not only is it not a good idea to change teachers while learning the same thing, but it will also be good for him since it will all be up to him to find and teach the next generation of aether users."

"So in other words you can't teach," Tess said flatly.

"No, I can't be bothered to. I'm a researcher not a teacher, and in this form there is no need to worry about passing on what I've learned since I'll always be able to continue my research."

"But we don't know aether like you do, like the ancient mages did," Tess pointed out. "There's so much for us to learn that you can teach us that Arthur can't."

"Maybe so," he conceded. "However, to just be given knowledge takes away the wisdom of learning it. Also, aether is focused around understanding. If I just spoon feed you everything then you'll never be able to use it to its fullest."

"I guess you do have a point there," Tess relented.

"Also, my research is so advanced that there is no way anyone from your generation will be able to understand it," he said arrogantly. "Maybe in a couple of generations after your people gain an intermediate understanding you can start scratching the surface of my knowledge."

There was a sudden change in the pressure of the room. A powerful force greater than any of them other than Tess had ever felt. Only Windsom and Aldir held greater pressures. And the source of the change, Arthur. A second or two later he began moving again, and the pressure was quickly reducing as he reigned in his core.

"Art!" Tess rushed to in and wrapped her arms around him.

"Tess? Are you ok?"

"Mhmm, I am now," she replied as she continued to hold him.

"I'm so sorry. The Djinn told me what he was putting you through, if I had known..."

Tess raised her head and looked up at him. "Don't worry, everything worked out. That's all that matters."

Arthur's eyes then shifted to the Djinn. "The things we discussed?"

"They're already all in your rune," he replied casually.

"What's in your rune?" Tess asked.

"Crystals that can test if someone has an affinity to aether, as well as an artifact that will reveal the truth about the Asura."

"For the record, I'm not a fan of that. It's a fine line from stripping someone of their free will."

"I know, but it doesn't cross the line. In the end it just reveals the truth and whoever uses it will know it's true. But as I promised, I'll see to it that it's destroyed after."

The Djinn sighed and looked at the ground as his head shook, before disappearing in an instant.

"So are we done here now?" Theo asked, breaking the silence from the others.

"Yeah we're done."

"Great, can we go home now?"

—————————————————————-

The banging of mining equipment rang throughout the mine, as hammers struck nails outside of it. Back on the first floor, the once aether beast cave was now a busy mine, and the cliff above was starting to look like an actual town. The roads weren't paved yet but were instead gravel, made from the pulverized stones that were coming out of the mine. A tall stone wall was raised, also using stone from the mine.

A set of narrow rail tracks ran into the mine, an idea of Gideon's, modified from the train idea. Much smaller cars were pushed along the tracks full of ore, before moving up a ramp and dumping into a larger rail car. The idea was for a train to be established to carry the mined ore to the gate, but that was a plan for the future, for now four skitters were being used to pull the car from the mining town to the gate. Currently the council was demanding for more trains and railroads to be established throughout Dicathen, so all efforts related to the trains were being focused on scouting the path for the new railroads, and building the new larger facility to construct the trains and cars.

Atop the walls archers and conjurers stood watch. Ever since defeating the reptilian predators that once made that canyon their home, new beasts had been wandering in closer. So far there hasn't been anyone injured severely, and only those transporting the ore to the gate outpost. Thankfully though none of the new beasts had been nearly as dangerous as the reptiles.

The gate had been moved slightly to get it out of the way, but it was still down in the canyon for safety. Even though it looked nearly the same as the ones seen in Dicathen, they were still nervous about it, that beasts from other levels could emerge from it. As a result, four guards  were assigned to the gate at all times, and always one that specialized in barrier magic to ensure a beast didn't manage to get far.

As always for the last few weeks, the guards watched the shimmering portal completely bored. And for the first time, something happened. As soon as they saw something starting to emerge from the gate they started to prepare for a fight. Before the guards even realized who was exiting the gate, a halibert had been lowered to the ready position, a broadsword was half drawn, and two conjurers were chanting their spells, one being a fire barrier, the other a pair of golems.

"Stand down," Arthur ordered them as he and the rest of his team exited the gate.

"Our apologies general," the guard with a broadsword said as slid his sword back into its scabbard.

One of the conjurers pulled a communication artifact out and announced to someone that Arthur and his team returned.

"General, Captain Bladeheart states that he's on his way here now," the conjuror said after he walked up.

"BROTHER!"

Arthur looked up to see Ellie standing atop Boo at the edge of the cliff waving frantically. He smiled as he waved back. She then did something unexpected, she jumped off the cliff.

"ELLIE!" Arthur said in a panic, preparing to godstep to her.

However Ellie quickly went into action, and spun around mid air and fired a mana arrow into the rock face with a mana string attached. Holding the string tight she ran diagonally along the wall before jumping off and landing on the surface, then starting to run towards them.

"Seems your sister has become quite the daredevil," Theo commented.

"At this rate she's going to give me a heart attack before I'm thirty," Arthur replied.

"Welcome back brother," Ellie greeted as she wrapped her arms around him. "Welcome back to you too Tess," she added as she moved on to her.

"What? No welcome back for me?" Lilia teased. The two had been like sisters for nearly all of Ellie's life, but she understood why she would greet Art and Tess. But what she didn't understand was the dark look on her face after she drew Ellie's attention to her. "Ellie?"

Before Ellie could even try to give any kind of response... POP. Boo had appeared out of nowhere.

"What in the?! Where did, how did?" Curtis started stuttering, trying to form a complete thought, but unable do to Boo's sudden appearance.

"Yeah," Ellie laughed. "He just started doing that a lot while we were here." She seemed a little happier, mostly because of the sudden change in the topic.

"Can he teleport you with him?" Kathyln asked.

"I'm not sure. So far he's only done this to get to me. I'd like to find out though, but he won't do it on command." Her eyes then lit up. "Maybe I can when I reach the second stage of my will."

"Maybe," Arthur replied. "If so, that would be a great advantage for you. And speaking of advantages, how's your aether training going?" He asked as they continued to wait on Kaspian.

"Not bad," she said as she formed a set of claws on her hands. "But these still break pretty easily while trying to get that seed out. I can pick it up, but they break before I can even get it close to the hole."

"Keep at it. It took me a few months, so don't stress about it. I'm sure you'll get it eventually," he encouraged. "Anyway, how are you and mom holding up?" He asked as he noticed Kaspian descending down on a lift similar to what he had seen in Etistin before the attack.

"Umm," Ellie looked uneasy, as if wanting to avoid the question. "We're ok."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "In that case maybe I should probably visit mom before I leave."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Kaspian stated as he joined them.

"And why is that?" Arthur questioned.

"Not only because the council has requested you to return as soon as possible, but your mother needs to rest now. We had a cave in in one of the tunnels, and we were left with quite a large number of injuries, several of which were life threatening. Your mother just finished saving them, and pushed herself nearly to the point of backlash. I ordered her to rest for the rest of the day, and since she looked like she was about to drop asleep after she was done, I'd be surprised if she wasn't already sleeping."

"That's right, mom needs to rest. Besides, it's not like you can't come back and visit later," Ellie added with enthusiasm. "But I'll be sure to tell her you came back and are perfectly fine."

"I see," Arthur replied suspiciously.

He glanced over at the mine. They appeared to be operating normally with no apparent delays, and several carts of ore were being pushed out. Meaning it was unlikely that anything happened that could have hindered operations.

They were lying. Part of him wanted to ignore them both and go check on his mother. But since Ellie was clearly in on it as well, it must not have been serious.

"Fine. I'll be back to check on you guys as soon as I can." He looked to Kaspian. "Why does the council need us back so badly?"

"I think it's best for you to discuss it with them. But I can tell you with certainty that you specifically are needed very badly right now."

"Alright then. Everyone, we'll stick together and run to the gate."

Within seconds they had exited the walls and were running towards the other outpost.

"Thank you Captain," Ellie said with a bow.

"It's alright, it wasn't a complete lie. Your mother does need to rest after all the grieving, and they will find out from the council soon enough."

—————————————————————-

The outpost with the gate was only a few miles away, so running their fastest didn't take but a few minutes. As they arrived the large set of double doors in the wall opened as they were slowing down, before they could even identify themselves. And once inside they quickly saw the gate and started moving straight for it.

Arthur kept moving with a sense of urgency. It made sense they would want to know of the dives success right away, but to want to meet with him so soon after returning, something had to have happened.

As they approached the gate multiple pallets of supplies and materials were set aside for the other outpost. Expansion of the gate outpost was also underway. Additional fortification materials, such as metal barriers for conjurors and archers, were set up at regular intervals. More permanent stone buildings were already under construction, and materials for the new railroad to connect the two outposts as well as potentially additional outposts were being moved. Arthur had expected that eventually the two outposts would eventually merge as one, but the railroad would still be needed for moving the ore, and depending on the size even a trolley system to move around the future city was something Arthur and Gideon had discussed.

Having excess supplies normally wasn't something to draw too much attention, but this was beyond normal stockpiling, this looked more like preparing to cut themselves off from the outside world.

"Something big must have happened," Curtis thought out loud.

Lilia held his hand tight. They were all thinking it, but just hearing it made them all more worried. They entered the gate, and emerged back in the sanctuary, surrounded by personnel and supplies preparing to enter the relic tomb.

"Arthur," Virion called out as he waved them over, passed the commotion of the preparations. Behind him stood the rest of the council.

"What's going on?" Arthur asked as they arrived.

"We're following with your plan B. Evacuation to the relic tomb," Buhnd replied darkly.

"About a week ago Alacrya launched a new offensive," Marcus said, the dark circles under his eyes showing the sleepless nights the attack caused.

"How big? Did another fleet arrive?" Arthur asked with the strength and authority of a general preparing for battle.

"We wish," Merial stated.

"It started a week ago with Zestier. Two horned mages, we believe retainers, attacked. They rained destruction all over the city. Thousands have already been confirmed dead, and bodies are still being discovered in the debris. If not for Generals Bloom, Aya, and Mica it would have been worse," Alduin explained.

"A few days later Xyrus was attacked by another group of retainers. If not for the lances the whole city may have been destroyed. But then the next day they took the floating castle," Prescilla continued.

"Wait, my parents live in Xyrus!" Lilia said urgently as she moved in front of the council. "Are they ok?"

Priscilla looked at her with a pained look as tears began to fill her eyes. "They started attacking on the western edge of the city and began moving inward. I'm sorry, but they were able to reach Helestia Manor before they were stopped."

"No," Lilia said in disbelief as she shook her head, not wanting to believe it. "No." She collapsed to her knees as she began crying uncontrollably.

Curtis immediately came down to her and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest as she cried out in the pain of the loss of her parents. Priscilla came down to her knees as well and wrapped her arms around her as well as if she were her own daughter. The rest of the team could feel her pain as they shared her worry for their own families.

Off to the side out of sight Blaine watched, a feeling of a knife twisting in his heart. Vincent was his friend and Lilia his daughter, and as soon as he learned his son had fallen for her he treated her like a pest. This inevitably put a serious strain on their friendship, but with his mental state the way it was then Blaine didn't care. Now that his mind was clearer, he regretted what he had done, how he had treated her, how he practically abandoned his friend. And with him now dead, there was nothing he could do to ask for forgiveness, he didn't even feel he had any right to offer his condolences.

"Arthur," Virion said, gaining his attention. Arthur looked and he gestured for him to follow him.

The two continued walking away from everyone. Arthur caught a glimpse of the teleportation gate to the surface, and saw additional supplies being brought in. Excessive amounts of lumber and other rare materials needed for building a village were being brought in on floating carts, as well as ones on wheels. Even additional personnel were being ushered along, some of which were children. The families of those being assigned to the relic tomb village, human, elf, and dwarf alike, were being brought in.

"Fuck, they are seriously planning for the worst here," Regis commented from within Arthur's core.

"Aren't you getting a bit ahead of yourselves? We still have a chance to defeat Alacrya," Arthur commented.

"I know, but after you told us about the future you came from, we aren't leaving anything to chance. Even if we fall, those inside the relic tomb will have a chance of survival," Virion replied darkly.

"So you're not giving up. That's good."

They arrived at an empty section of the city, and Virion cast a sound dampening spell.

"I didn't want to say this in front of the rest of your team, but the wasn't the full extent of the attacks," Virion confessed.

"What? How many more cities?" Arthur asked in concern.

"None, just a village. Ashber."

Arthur's eyes widened and he froze.

"I see you understand. This wasn't just an attack against Dicathen, it was a message to you," Virion said.

"Everywhere I ever considered home."

Virion placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder as the information set in.

"We're trying to keep the attack on Ashber quiet for now. We don't need people looking into it and blaming you for the deaths. For now it's not too difficult, but eventually word will get out."

"We need a big victory before that happens. Something comparable that we can call revenge, or Justice to soften the blow."

"I couldn't agree more, and thankfully I've already got a plan."

"I'm listening," Arthur said with a raised eyebrow.

"Shortly after you left one of Aya's scouts discovered someone with horns in the beast glades. Aya came to investigate herself, and according to her description, it's the same scythe that came to the floating castle."

"Seris," Arthur thought out loud.

"She's been going to the same location everyday at the same time. She sits at a long table and has tea and a small lunch."

"What?"

"We don't get it either. Regardless, taking out such a high profile target will definitely help the people's mural."

"I'll go in the morning."

"Not so fast. We have no idea how many others there might be hiding there. She wasn't seen at any of the attacks, but I wouldn't be surprised if she coordinated them. Even though I know you can handle all of them, they could make it that she escapes."

"So what do you have in mind?"

"Take all of the lances for back up. Worst case, they can take care of the weak ones while you fight her.

"Hmm, make it all of the white cores and above."

"You want my granddaughter there?"

"I'm planning a few steps ahead. Also, she's strong enough to hold her own against a scythe now."

"Fine, I'm trusting you with her safety."

"She's my wife now, her safety is my number one priority, but I wouldn't ask her to do this if I didn't know she would come back fine. Also, one more thing. Are you ever going to use that last artifact to create another Lance?"

Virion smiled as he pulled it from his dimensional ring.

"I almost forgot about this. I had saved it for so long for you that giving it to someone else didn't feel right."

"Then give it to me, I'll pick someone."

Virion handed him the artifact with a confident smile. "I take it you have someone in mind don't you."

"I may have a certain deserving mage in mind."