"Ianite? Are you here?" I called out upon entering Aethoria.

"Over here!" she replied, her voice slightly muffled. My ears weren't as good as they used to be, but I could still tell which house she was in. I made my way over to it, and opened the door to find her going through a pile of chests.

"What are you doing?" I tried to peek into one of the chests, but she quickly shut it before I could see.

"I have a surprise for you." She attempted to keep a straight face, but I could see the excitement behind her eyes.

"A surprise?" I wasn't sure what else I needed at this point, but she looked very pleased with herself.

"So, you know how I asked you to gather up supplies? I told you that I was forging new blocks."

"Yeah, I remember." I sounded like a little kid receiving a gift on his birthday. I suppose I'm not much different from a little kid in many ways.

"Here they are!" She dug through one of the chests and pulled out five blocks. They each looked like shinier, more radiant versions of gold, diamond, emerald, lapis lazuli, and iron blocks.

"They look beautiful!" I was having difficulty looking away from them, in fact.

Her eyes lit up at the compliment. "Try placing your hands on them!" She took a step back and gestured for me to approach the block.

Confused, I walked up to the golden block and touched the top of it. Immediately, the block began to glow, lighting up the entire room with an almost blinding light. I felt energy surge through my body, as well as a fresh wave of confidence.

"How do you feel?" she asked as soon as the feelings died down and I removed my hands.

"I feel... incredible!" I gasped. "Is this what you've been working on this entire time?"

She nodded, beaming. "I'm guessing you like it? Would you like me to put it in the tree for you?"

"Yes, please! These are amazing."

And then, I did something incredibly foolish. I believed, for about a year, that maybe our dark lives would finally begin to brighten up. We had always thought that happiness was impossible to find in this realm, but now, I could see that wasn't necessarily the case. We had left our families back in Ruxomar, but that doesn't mean we can't be happy now. We were one big family, and we loved each other. Dianite was dead, and the dreams he sent Alyssa were starting to affect her less and less.

I became hopeful. I thought that it wouldn't be so bad for us to live the rest of our lives here. It was quiet and peaceful, unlike our dangerous lives back in the other world. We could live together. All of the fighting we had done in the past was no more. Everyone was accepted now.

And that, of course, is when everything changed.

Things began to act odd about a week before it happened. I was walking back from Aethoria, rather late at night, and saw Mot nervously pacing around the animal farm. He was muttering something and looked scared.

"Mot? What are you doing?" I had been hoping to comfort the man, but all my words did was terrify him more.

"Noth... I... I'm just taking a walk," he stammered, fear flickering in his eye. "I can't sleep. What are you doing out so late?"

"I was with Ianite, and sort of lost track of time. Do you need anything? You look petrified. I can't leave you like this." He seemed desperate for help, but he refused it right away.

"Really, Spark, I'm fine. You can go back home, trying to help me now is useless. I don't want to bother you or ruin your lovely evening, alright?"

I frowned. "I suppose so. Please, Mot, come speak to me if you need anything."

"Of course, of course." At that, he turned, put his hands in his pockets, and walked away with his head down.

And then, the day before it happened. I had been keeping a close eye on Mot since I had seen him pacing around the animal farm. Not because I didn't trust him, but because I was worried about his mental state. The harshness of reality had taken its toll on all of us, and I didn't want it to affect Mot now that we were safe and happy. I noticed that he spent little time inside his house, and kept persuading us to come outside and walk with him.

While I was walking with him, I noticed that he was constantly stopping and staring at structures he had seen a million times. I was worried that he was forgetting things, but his memory seemed fine despite this strange behavior.

He was kind to everyone that last day. Even Jeriah, who was being exceptionally grumpy, was treated with nothing but respect. I didn't know what to make of this, but none of the others seemed to think it was too out of the ordinary. Jeriah seemed faintly surprised, but not much else.

I wasn't watching Mot because I didn't trust him. Although I probably shouldn't have trusted him. I shouldn't have trusted any questionable behavior. I allowed my weakness to come through, and see nothing but good. I saw only a man with an unstable mental state, not a man who was keeping huge secrets from the people who were supposed to be his equals.

I don't know what happened. I don't know if it was Mot's fault. I just know that when the rest of us woke up the next morning, he was gone.

We searched for him, of course, but I knew from the start that he was gone.

Gone, and never to return to the Realm of Mianite again.