Li felt cold rock under his feet as his wings halted movement. Black, writhing mass shrunk away from his light and heat, revealing all around him the vast expanse of what must have been the dwarven royal palace. There were intricate carvings and murals etched into the smoothened rock beneath his feet, and the stumps of broken pillars and supports stood awkwardly, surprisingly in good condition due to the fact that the slime had preserved them. 

In the distance, at the very edge of the light Li could cast, there sat a hunched over figure of black, completely enveloped in the slime. All around him, the black ooze stretched out, wriggling and writhing as they pooled from web like tendrils from his body. There was no doubt about it – he was the epicenter of it all. 

Behind the figure was the enormous silhouette of a gargantuan, ring-like structure surrounding a dome of plated, rune-carved metal, though the runes did not glow with any appreciable energy. The structure must have been larger than any building in Riviera, even the massive mansions in the noble estates, and from it, Li could sense the slightest remnants of magical energy now that the ooze had withdrawn.

Energy that felt familiar – it was the power of a World Vein. 

"The Triforge," remarked Asala in awe. "The sphere encompasses the World Vein, drawing upon its power, and the ring transfers its immense might upwards and outwards, powering the three forges and pillars that support all dwarven civilization."

She took out a tablet, making a note in it. "Though it would appear it is inactive. And the World Vein itself drained." 

"A world vein completely leeched dry?" remarked Old Thane. "I thought that impossible. Only one world vein do I know, and it has held steady since the beginning of time itself."

"I know that thou hail from the far north. Thus, I presume thou must speak of the Elivagar, most ancient storm of ice that keeps the wastes chilled and harsh," said Asala. "But that storm, though fueled through millennia by world vein, is but natural phenomena, perhaps aided by primal spirit. Nature doth not waste and drain as hath been done here."

"Theoretically, it is possible to drain one," said Li, remembering what he had experienced from Kel'thor citadel. He knew that a world vein provided a massive amount of magical energy, but from judging it with his own eyes, he could tell that were he to link to one and rapid-fire cast Ultima-class spells, he could certainly drain one. 

"But that would require an energy expenditure exponentially more intensive than anything I have witnessed in this world. However, I have a feeling our answers lie right before us." 

"Is it truly wise to approach that?" asked Mason. 

"Looking at it makes me shiver," said Mercer as he clutched his twin daggers. "But Old Thane is right: what is adventure without braving the unknown, brother?"

"All of you should still stay in the chrysalis," said Li. "I cannot tell you what this man or creature can do. So far, it has ceased hostile action with the darkness it controls, but the situation is still volatile."

"Lead the way, seer," said Asala as she took out several tablets. "I look forward to witnessing history created right before me."

When Li approached the figure, it did not move. Not a single bit. Even when he was right in front of it, it still stayed motionless, though the ooze around it did shrink away. Up close, Li could see that the figure was quite large, but not anything immensely gigantic.

Around the same weight class as the heavyweight humans like Leonid Drozdov and the hinterlander warrior Vahid, with Old Thane falling a little shorter behind them. And yet, strangely, the proportions of the figure indicated someone far shorter. A stocky barrel chest with thick, broad shoulders and squat legs.

"A dwarf?" asked Li as he scrutinized the figure from several meters away, not willing to get too close. For one thing, the figure was completely covered in the black mass, though in his case, the ooze shaped itself into a more definite structure that looked like a full set of plated armor so sturdily built that the dwarf looked like a miniature tank. 

He had a helm of the same black mass on, but beneath the helm, no facial features were visible. Just darkness.

"Not any dwarf." Asala widened her eyes as she hurriedly scribbled on her tablet with more fervor than ever before. "It is King Tyr himself. Look upon that helm, how its horns curve into the curls of the Mountain Stonegoat: the symbol of the royal family."

"The dwarven king that reigned during the time the dwarves disappeared?" asked Li. 

Asala nodded once, focusing on her recordings. 

"Are…are all dwarves this big?" said Mason as he looked up at Tyr's imposing, blackened figure. 

"And here I'd thought dwarves were all half men," said Mercer. "World truly is big, huh, brother."

"No, there art an oddity abound," said Asala. "Tyr, if this truly be him, has grown far beyond the natural limits of his race."

Li narrowed his eyes as he stuck out a tentative hand, bringing more light towards Tyr's helmeted face. Even when light beamed directly into the helm, there were no features visible. Perhaps the black mass had eaten up all of the king, and it only shaped itself in his image for some reason. 

As Li's hand reached closer, the king shrunk back at the growing light, turning away his head and crawling away. The sudden burst of movement from what had seemed like a blackened corpse made everyone in the chrysalis aside from Old Thane and Zagan jump back in surprise.

However, the king did not make any hostile move, instead shirking away like a child afraid of the dark, or in this case, the light. He crawled on all fours several meters away, curling up into a ball, hugging his greaved knees to his chest as he rocked himself back and forth before growing as still as a corpse once more. 

"I see," said Li. "No hostile intent."

Li heard a knocking sound, and he looked back to the chrysalis to see Tia rapping on it. 

"Papa, can I come out?" she said. "I talk to him."

Li thought about it for a second, fearing for her safety, but then swallowed the concern down. He wanted her to make her own decisions too, and as Old Thane said, what was an adventure without facing the unknown? He nodded, and Tia phased through the chrysalis. 

"Only if you stay close with me, though," said Li as he grabbed her hand, reaching a compromise for his own peace of mind to make sure she was still somewhat protected. 

Tia nodded, and together, they walked up to the king. At a certain point, Tia tugged at Li's hand, wanting to let go, and she looked up at him with a smile. "I go alone. Please, papa?"

Li looked at the king's slumped over figure and nodded slowly, letting go of Tia's hand. He still kept his attention razor focused, however, ready to cast any kind of defensive spell to protect Tia if things went awry. 

"I see your heart," said Tia as she tiptoed forwards, also wary. "Heart of friend from dragon outside. Good heart."

As Tia came right up to Tyr, the king's blackened form completely dwarfing her, a change occurred.

The king raised his head from his knees and looked at Tia for several seconds before shuddering.

"Hildr?" came the king's voice. It was raspy. Tinged with a rattle. Warped. Inhuman and definitively not mortal. "My dear, darling hydra. Is that you?"

Tia shook her head. "No. She…gone now. Free. She waited for you. Why stay here?"

The king looked at Tia, as if pondering her words, and then shook his head. "No, it is not you. It was never you." With that, he put his head between his knees again, falling still.

"You are sad," said Tia. She scrunched her brows, struggling to get a strong read of the king's inner being. "But why? You tell your friend to wait, but you never come back. You sit here. Why?" 

The king's form did not move, staying as still as a statue.

Li came up to Tia and put a hand on her shoulder. "I can sense barely any semblance of life from this. I do not think he can be reasoned with. Tia, my dear, go back. It does not seem like we will get any answers as to what this black ooze is, and if I cannot determine that it is safe, I will destroy it."

His fiery wings flared up, the light and heat starting to rise in intensity.

The king tilted his head up, looking towards the wings. The black ooze around him shuddered, and Li could tell that a flash of hostility rose within the network of darkness, but as soon as it spiked, the king grasped his knees and held them even tighter to himself, like he was a child crying in the dark, and with that, the tendrils stopped moving entirely. 

"I see. So, you too are suffering," said Li. Fire began to form bright white ribbons around his wings. "I will free you."