Evala summoned an orb of light to illuminate her way, then carefully made her way through the obstacles of the starting tunnel. With her training and balance, it was easy for her to make it across the narrow ledges and jump past the small gaps, climb over or crawl under the blocks in her path.

When she reached the first chamber, she read the pedestal's information, then picked up the torch and touched it into the brazier, using her orb of light to show her the way. The braziers were resting in random points on the various paths, with two in the corners of the room.

The paths were narrow enough that the braziers on them completely blocked the path, though with some flexibility, she knew she might manage to move around them. The only risk was if she fell and was unable to grab onto the path or brazier in time, so she'd have to turn back after lighting each brazier.

Determining the optimal path, Evala quickly made her way through the room, lighting the braziers before moving on to the next tunnel, the torch extinguishing and flying back to its original position.

In the third chamber, Evala looked around at the posts she had to land on, then quickly began jumping between them. As a catkin, she had excellent and swift reflexes, even without the System. It did take her a minute to adjust to not having her usual speed, but once she got the hang of it, making it through the rest of the room was a breeze.

Walking down the path, she froze when she came to the next area and saw what lay before her. Sending her orb out as far as she could, the catkin's eyes widened.

Water. Lots and lots of water. And if she wasn't mistaken, she had to swim.

Evala wasn't a 'big' catkin, or one such as a tiger, lion, or leopard. No, she was a 'small' catkin, and like most, she had an aversion to bodies of water. The pond was okay for her because it was smaller and she could see the bottom, but these lakes were too much.

Instinctively taking several steps back, she found herself up against a wall, and turned around, only to find that her exit was simply another part of the cavern's wall. She had to move forward if she wanted to leave.

For nearly half an hour, the catkin talked to herself, psyching herself up to swimming, then ran forward and dove into the water. Resurfacing, she gasped for air and shivered, before letting out a pitiful mewl, glad no one was around to hear.

Doing her best, she swam around in the dark, unable to sustain her orb of light in the situation. When she finally reached the first platform, she groaned as she pulled herself onto it. It took her a few minutes to psych herself back up to swim in the next section.

By the time the catkin reached the final platform, the path ahead lighting up, she was ready to quit. She never wanted to see that much water ever again, no matter what. The fact that she was on an island and would need to travel to another before she could leave started to rise up, but she pushed it down, knowing she'd deal with that when she came to it.

Nearly an hour passed before she stood and began walking down the path, finding herself in the final chamber. There, she read the pedestal and let out a prayer to the gods that it was over, before placing her hand on the crystal on the altar.

When the barriers faded away, an elegant staff of yellow-white wood rested on the altar, smooth and graceful, with caps made of a pale yellow metal on either end.

Knowing that blankets and towels awaited her, the shivering catkin raced through the tunnel until she came out back in the starter room. Keith was naked and stretching, and Nathan was still wrapped up in his blanket, though his hair had finished drying and he was sitting, the phoenix's head poking out of the blanket just below the warrior's head.

"My turn," Keith finished stretching as Evala looked at Nathan.

"Can I use your towels and blanket?" She asked.

"Get your own."

"Can you show me that rough sex you're worried will hurt your baby?" She asked as she accepted the System's offer.

"I'm out," Keith took off into the tunnel, an orb of light appearing in front of him.

He didn't sprint so much as walked briskly. Instead of testing his balance or luck with jumps, he used his wind magic to fly across any gaps, worrying only about climbing over or crawling under obstacles.

When he reached the first chamber, Keith barely slowed down, letting his orb of light float higher and glow brighter. As he crossed the path to the other end, he shot off fireballs, aiming them at the braziers. Each one landed, and the braziers came to light, the passage to the other side opening up to let him through just as he reached it.

Keith pulled his orb back to him and shrank it back down in the next tunnel, quickly making his way through it and into the next room. He had spent an hour nearly every day in the extended Survival Challenges practicing flying with his wind magics, and used that to simply fly over the posts, landing on each of the ones with red runes.

Without needing to plan his route, backtrack, or catch himself, Keith was able to finish the chamber in only a few minutes, then moved on to the next tunnel.

Ignoring the pedestal in the next chamber, Keith sat down and allowed his mana to recover as he let his mind rest from the spell casting, shrinking the orb of light to reduce its cost. He didn't need it at the moment, anyway.

Once his mana was back to full, Keith took off, allowing his orb to grow larger and glow brighter as he flew over the water. It didn't take him long to find the next platform, and traveling through that stage of the Trial was easy.

Landing on the final platform, Keith dismissed his light, aware from Nathan's explanation that he was finished and only needed to claim his reward. In the final chamber, he placed his hand on the crystal, then picked up the elegant staff that awaited him.

Similar to Evala's, it possessed what he was pretty sure was some sort of special magical crystal, which was fixed onto the tip. Nathan's sword had one, too. They seemed to be hybrids between mana stones and mana crystals, and he could sense the holy light within them.

With the mage's staff in-hand, Keith knew it wasn't a System-generated item, much like Nathan's sword. It was something… else. Entirely.

Deciding to dwell on it later, Keith exited the chamber and made his way through the passage, taking his time. He and Nathan had both discussed things, and knew that Evala would probably want to have sex again, and he wanted to give Nathan time to finish.

Smiling a little, he wondered what Evala was going to be like when he reached the starter room. He and Nathan had discussed the fact that she would probably ask him for sex again, and Nathan was going to oblige. Even if he wasn't going to be as rough as he was with Samantha once or twice, Evala had asked to feel the roughness.

As he walked, he tested his staff, determining that it used holy light and that any magic channeled through it was imbued with holy power as well. It also helped reduce the cost of any spells he cast through it, too, which he knew could be a lifesaver, especially if they ever had to fight the nightmare from the first island.

He and Nathan had discussed that, too, and knew that it would probably have a way to travel around. It was a member of the Ultimate Trinity, after all. Thinking about unicorns and their counterparts, Keith remembered something he'd heard in reality, something he wanted to ask Ichtvar about.

When Keith finally entered the chamber with the others, Nathan was dressed and practicing with his new sword while Evala was moaning, wrapped up in a blanket.

"I thought you said you'd hold back?" Keith asked as he dismissed the offer.

"I did hold back," Nathan looked at him. "A wizard's staff?"

"Yep," Keith tapped it against the ground, the crystal atop it glowing brightly, and the two demigods felt the holy power radiating out of it. "This will help against shades and phantoms."

"Same with my sword," Nathan slashed down, the edge in the direction he slashed glowing. "I got the hang of triggering the glow. That's definitely holy light."

"Yeah," Keith released the enchantment he had activated, and gestured to Evala, who was sitting up. "If her staff follows the pattern, it can probably be used for fighting against shades and phantoms, too."

"What interests me," Nathan said. "Is what the rewards for the Trial of Holy Light would be like, if this was just the Trial of Light and granted weapons attuned to holy light."

The moment he finished, a message appeared in their visions.

Correction made: the Trial of Light you just underwent was misnamed. It has been renamed to its correct 'Trial of Holy Light' title.

"That answers that question," Keith laughed, then looked at Evala. "If you need to rest, we can rest. It'll probably be a bit before it's time to head to the next Secondary Dungeon here."

"We don't know where it is," she said. "And I didn't realize how rough Nathan could really be."

"I was holding back," Nathan muttered. "Samantha likes it rough. I like it rough."

"You're also a monster," Keith said. "Most people probably couldn't take that tool of yours in any orifice without a lot of lube, foreplay, and gentle, tender, and loving care. It's only because of the System-granted Endurance that Evala probably didn't notice how bad it was, and your Strength only increases how rough things are. You'd probably break a normal girl unless you let her control everything."

"Whatever," Nathan sheathed the sword. "You and I are training until Evala is ready to move. And Evala, Breezy is out looking for the other Dungeon, or anything that it could be."

Keith pulled on some underwear and pants as Nathan stepped out of his shoes and removed his shirt and tie. The pair of young men began sparring, Nathan helping Keith with fighting with the staff. It wouldn't be enough to make Keith a viable fighter in the Dungeon, but they both knew that even the basics would be enough to potentially save his life where not being able to would leave him dead.

The two of them stopped only when a large gust of wind slammed into Nathan, toppling him over.

"What the fuck was that for, Breezy?" He scrambled to his feet, drawing his sword and cutting through the elemental, which simply separated to avoid the strikes. "Well?"

Nathan sighed and sheathed his sword, then looked at Keith.

"He found a den of boars," Nathan told Keith. "That's probably the Dungeon, since he says it's the only thing of interest he found on the island. You still have the naviglobe?"

"Unless you removed it from my pack."

"Naviglobe?" Evala asked, standing up. She was dressed and ready to go. "What's that?"

"How we'll find our way to the next island," Nathan answered. "It appeared when we completed the Isles of Darkness Dungeon, and Keith stuck it in his backpack for safekeeping."

"It'll disappear when we step onto the next island," Keith pulled on his backpack, then gripped his staff. "Come on, we need to go deal with this other Dungeon."

They set off, and Evala followed.

"Is Ichtvar sleeping?" Keith asked, and a moment later, the phoenix unzipped Nathan's backpack enough that he could poke his head out and give the enchanter a curious look. "You said that members of the Ultimate Trinity only contract to demigods with forged souls, but Master Torzin mentioned that the unicorn which contracted to Merlin tries contracting to all demigods on Earth, even if only temporarily."

"There is something strange about that unicorn," the phoenix nodded. "Very strange. I've already advised Nathan not to accept his contract, no matter what."

"Any particular reason?" Keith asked.

"Torzin," the phoenix said. "Is the only contractor it ever had that lived more than five years after the contract ended. I'm not saying they are linked, but it is somewhat suspicious."

"You think it's killing them?" Nathan asked.

"Or instigating it," the phoenix said. "Either way, do not accept its contract. There was something weird… I don't know what it is, but I do not trust him, even if Torzin sees nothing wrong with him. Now, if you don't mind, I need to return to recovering. It'll still be a few days before I can do much of anything."

He retreated back into the backpack and pulled the zippers closed, and the trio of teens continued their walk, following the path that Breezy dictated. Eventually, the path led them up, to the tops of the cliffs, and they found a small collection of caves with dead-looking trees devoid of leaves not far away. As with the first island, there were small pillars enchanted to glow scattered here and there, their light bright enough to stretch more than a dozen yards individually.

They could see all across the surface of the island, the upper section almost even, save for the gaps and occasional cave, like the ones they had found nearby.

"This place gives me the creeps," Evala voiced aloud.

"It's literally called 'Isles of Darkness'," Keith rolled his eyes. "You walk around in a darkness that suppresses even light and sound. I will admit, though, that being able to actually see for a bit, with the silence and lack of, well, anything does add an extra layer of creepiness to it."

As Nathan ignored the comments and approached the caves, a message appeared in his vision.

Dungeon Entered: Boar Den Challenge Type: Slaughter Difficulty: Kill all of the boars in the den. Kill all of the boars in the den.

"We're here," Nathan drew his sword, and the other two prepared for battle, approaching as Nathan let out a piercing whistle.

"What was that for?" Evala asked. "You just let them know we're here!"

"They were bound to notice, anyway," Keith said as Nathan let out another piercing whistle. "This way, we don't have to worry about getting trapped in the caves. Whatever comes out, we'll kill. Then, we'll go in and butcher what's left. Simple as that."

"Is that how you guys normally do these things?" She asked.

"This is our first time doing a Dungeon together," Keith told the catkin. "Normally, the only stuff we do together deals with making enchantments."

"We just both tend to agree on strategies," Nathan told the stunned catkin, then let out another piercing whistle. "They're coming."

"I want to try something," Keith told Nathan, who nodded and took a step back as the magician stepped forward.

As nine boars charged out of the four cave entrances, Keith summoned up his power, weaving together the spell for lightning and channeling it through his staff. The magician aimed the crystal atop his staff at the boars, and the spell flew out of it, a bolt of lightning that struck the lead boar.

The moment it did, the lightning spread out, striking into the other boars as well. The initial boar died immediately upon impact, while the spell did heavy damage to the others, less the further from the first they were. All remaining boars were stunned, and Keith followed the spell up with a few slashes of air, before Nathan charged forward with his new sword.

Evala followed, using her staff to strike at the boars as Nathan carved into them, his blade forged of the strange metal helping him break through their Health, before easily cutting into their hides.

As they fought, several more boars charged out, and Keith channeled his air magics through the staff, generating spikes of wind to drive into the new ones, killing them as the other two teammates finished their job.

When they finished, Nathan and Evala moved the corpses to the side of the caves, then rested with Keith until his mana had built back up. Then, Nathan began letting out sharp, piercing whistles again. For almost an hour, they waited, killing only a few more boars that came out.

Then, they made their way into the caves to finish the job, with Nathan in the lead, Keith beside him and to the right, and Evala at the back, watching for anything coming from the rear. It took them three hours to finish cleaning out the caves, and when they did, they received a notice, the Secondary Dungeon itself significantly easier than they had expected.

Boar Den has been completed! Your reward upon leaving the Isles of Darkness went up from 100% to 150%.

"That's four of ten," Nathan looked at Keith. "Let's rest up by the altar, then we can sort out which way to head. I'll have Breezy guide us to the boat."

"Alright," Keith said.

"What about my opinion?" Evala asked.

"Keith agreed with me," Nathan pointed at the enchanter. "That's two against you. In addition, this is our Dungeon. We know you're only here for five Dungeons, since there's more than that."

Evala stared at them, then frowned.

"What makes you think that?"

"The System phones," Keith answered. "We looked up about multi-Dungeon Dungeons while you were in the Trial. It said that after eight consecutive Dungeons in one, players may opt to allow the Overseers to pick someone from anywhere in the universe to join them. That player will be with them either until the others leave or five Dungeon completions, whichever comes first. It also said that this is made aware to them. You only receive the bonus for the ones you completed, which means you're also a reward beneath us. When you leave after our sixth Dungeon, we'll still be here for at least four more."

"Plus," Nathan added. "You still haven't given Keith a proper apology. The only thing you felt bad about was upsetting him, not about what it was you did to upset him."

"Probably because to my people, that's not unacceptable!" She said. "And I didn't force him to sleep with me!"

"You told him," Nathan growled, and she took a step back. "That he could have only drunk your nectar if he fucked you. You sounded pretty damn honest about that, so he felt he had no choice. I should've told you to fuck off with that and let him drink it anyway. Keith. Is. Gay. He does not like girls like that. He feels sick having sex with girls. He is not okay with having sex with girls. Forcing someone to sleep with you just to give them something that could save their life – or yours – is nothing less than wrong and inappropriate. Consider yourself lucky that I was still recovering from nearly dying when that happened, or you would've been in for a lecture then, and possibly some pain for screwing around like that. And consider yourself lucky the Overseers didn't see that as rape. Now let's go."