What a damn mess. Having given the memories a cursory glance, it proved that things didn’t go as planned back then. Who’d have thunk my actions back then would have such far-reaching consequences. Well, I couldn’t really change it. Not anymore. The only thing I could do was to deal with the fallout and hope this was everything. However, I couldn’t shake the feeling this would likely become another issue further down the line.

At least things were going as expected so far. No, they were going better, since Avarus was dealing with those two. I looked at the reminder of the corruption as the salt water ate away at it and slowly purified it. Without a constant resupply from the island, the sea was making short work of it.

The purifying powers of salt would normally take forever to deal with it, but with the sheer amount of salt in the ocean, the corruption was kept at bay for a century, only slowly creeping along. And now, without a constant source to feed it, it would be destroyed in short order.

With that now under control, I placed an observation spell on the area to ensure nothing unexpected happened, then flew off at top speed. I could teleport, but I needed a bit more time to collect my thoughts. The memories complicated things, and I needed to decide on what to do with all of this. Easier said than done. This was one hell of a mess.

Hmm, destroying was… not likely to work. Grandfather tried that already. Maybe… no, no, no. Wait, that might be the best option. I am uncertain if the others would agree, but as far as I could tell, it was the only way to guarantee this wouldn’t have a repeat down the line. With my mind made up, I stretched my wings and sped up. My arrival wouldn’t take more than a few moments now.

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The clouds above gave a rumble, and lightning split the sky. Another storm, huh. Another loud boom and the clouds split apart, casting a bright cone of light onto the battlefield. Through the circular hole in the cloud cover, a massive shape was slowly descending. “Took her long enough.” I looked over at Greed. “Lady Labyrinthia?” He nodded. “Boss is here now, so I guess this will be wrapping-” He was cut off by a sudden outburst “… Kill her, I’ll KILL THAT WRETCH!”

The Lady was looking at Labyrinthia with blood-shot eyes and an enraged expression. “Axe, what the...” Her crazed expression disappeared again as Greed jumped her and grabbed her head with both hands, the shadowy face twisting into a grimace, or so I thought. It was hard to say when you’re looking at a shadow/humanoid tar.

“Seriously, how much hatred can one entity have? Hope she stops grandstanding and gets over here, as this one is a handful.” Greed seemed annoyed at her. After hovering there for a moment, surveying the battlefield, she began her descent. As she did, something strange happened to the enemy army. A bright, sky-blue hue began spreading across the enemy soldiers, who stopped moving and seemed to grow transparent.

Once the entire army was glowing, the affected soldiers seemed to all give a sigh of collective relief. Then they all dissolved into strands of sky-blue energy. Labyrinthia made a gesture, and the energy converged over she outstretched her paw, where it formed into a sphere of light. She opened a rift in space and pushed the sphere through. And just like that, the entire army was gone. As if it never existed.

With another flap of her wings, she burst across the field and landed beside the raised platform the four of us were on. The one who used the divine lightning followed behind her. Labyrinthia looked around, and with a small gesture, dad, Ursus, Narja, uncle Moor, Minos and Shaluna materialized on the ground beside her. They looked confused for a moment, but tensed up as they saw us all.

This was followed by a popping noise and Lady Indella appeared as well, flanked by 6 people of varying age, including Glu and Invi, as Glu called her. Greed jumped to his feet and with a single jaunt was at their side as well. Soon after, the seven were in hushed conversations among themselves.

Then she looked over at the woman who was radiating a divine aura. “Aunt Inlas, please set up a restriction barrier to prevent possession. We don’t want these two attempting something stupid before we can deal with the issue at hand.” The woman, who I now realized was Inlas’ avatar nodded and with a simple clap, surrounded all of us in a golden dome of energy. Once she was done, she gave an annoyed expression. “I’ve used too much energy. Despite all her training, she still has a way to go. I will be monitoring the situation, but for now, she needs rest.”

Lady Labyrinthia nodded. “Fair enough.” She then held out her paw so that the avatar could steady herself as Inlas’ presence receded. “Thanks. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.” She took a few moments to steady herself, then she looked in my direction and shot me a quick smile. As she did, I couldn’t help but feel I knew her from somewhere, though I couldn’t for the life of me remember where.

Lady Labyrinthia looked down at us. Then, with a shrug, she dissolved into a misty smear of color, before she reformed as a human. “Let’s get this over with. Greed, you can release them now.” Greed looked up from where he and a small red-skinned, horned kid seemed to have a small argument, then gave a small dismissive gesture. Immediately, both Izrah and her mistress became more animated.

Izrah’s mistress blinked, as if confused, then spotted Lady Labyrinthia and threw herself at her from the top of the raised platform. She froze in midair before she could get close to her. “Nice to see you, too.” Labyrinthia’s voice was calm and with no hostility. “You should realize by now, given the loss of most of your power, that this is over. So calm yourself, at least face defeat with some dignity.” The woman struggled as she floated there, before going limp. “This… isn’t over you know.”

Labyrinthia arched an eyebrow. “Oh, I disagree. This. This entire sorry business ends today.” The avatar looked up from the step of wood she was sitting on. “You know something.” Labyrinthia nodded. “The Void energies over the Shrouded Isles held all the answers.” That got a rise out of the Lady. “So it was you, you did this!” Labyrinthia gave a shrug, as if that should’ve been obvious.

Ursus stepped forward. “Excuse me, your Divine Ladyship, but if it’s all the same to you, I have a vendetta to settle with this one. A vendetta I intend to see through, now that I have her within reach.” Before Lady Labyrinthia could answer, he rushed towards the Lady and slammed his fist into her.

There was a bright flash of light and a sound like a spoon hitting an empty glass. Then Ursus was sent flying before he skidded to a stop across the wet ground, covered in mud and rain. Narja jogged over to him. “Are you OK?” Ursus nodded. “I’m… fine…” He looked over at Labyrinthia with a dark expression. She glanced back at him. “I am afraid I cannot allow that, Ursus. Lest this cycle repeats itself anew once again.” Ursus shot her an angry, but also confused, glance. Then, with the help of Narja, got back on his feet.

Labyrinthia slowly lowered the Lady to the ground. But it was clear some power held her in check as she struggled to get back up. “All will be made clear in time, but for now…” She glanced over at Izrah, who shuddered, then grabbed her head and screamed. “Yes, purification hurts. Just bear with it. It will all be over soon.” As she spoke, Izrah collapsed into a heap on the platform, unconscious.

Labyrinthia walked over to the kneeling Lady. “So, what to do with you…” The Lady looked back up at her with a hateful expression. “Why not attempt to destroy me again?” Lady Labyrinthia shrugged. “That would be a pointless attempt. Grandfather tried once already, and it didn’t work. If he can’t do it, there is no way I would succeed. Besides, that would allow you to escape this confinement. Whereas right now, you’re stuck.”

The avatar walked up beside her. “We can’t keep her sealed like this forever, though. The seal would fail eventually, even with maintenance.” Labyrinthia nodded. “That it will…” She looked down at the Lady with a thoughtful expression. That it will indeed.

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How would I go about separating the two? Ripping it out by force would be… difficult, and ill-advised, given how rooted it was in her soul. Hmm, enticing it to leave was too risky. If it got away or ensnared another soul who knows what havoc it might wreak.

As much as I was loath to admit it, the best option was to make it leave willingly. But… how? Letting it take a new host was… wait. Maybe the memories held the answer. They contained not only the memories prior to the possession, but also all memories gained during that time. Best part was, it wouldn’t take more than a few moments for me to look through them either.

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Was this really the only way? Damn it. Damn it all. I never should have taken that loan. As I looked at the portal in front of me, I couldn’t suppress a shiver. I wasn’t alone either. Somewhere in this massive labyrinth was an investigator looking around at everything. But I already knew where this would end.

This ominous portal that was just giving dead silence on all the readings. And knowing our “Employer” there was only one thing that would satisfy them. Going through the portal, to who-knows-where. And why? Because that’s the last thing the records showed Pearl did.

A message popped up. It was two simple words, but I was expecting them. “Go Through.” Easy for them to say, since they weren’t the ones getting their brains fried. I really, really didn’t want to. However, it was this, or the legal seizure of my internal organs… without replacement. So either, I was looking at certain death, or almost certain death. I glanced towards the stairs the P.I disappeared down earlier. She would likely have a few days before her turn came up, provided I didn’t find any answers. Ah, the joy of being disposable, I turned towards the portal, and after another brief hesitation, stepped into the swirling green wall of energy.

Everything went black, but I quickly regained consciousness as I noticed I couldn’t breathe. With a panicked floundering, I found my way to the surface. I was in some shallow water off the coast somewhere. However, I noticed something immediately. The water was cold. Even the most top-of-the-line gear couldn’t get temperatures to function properly. Since if it were too accurate, it would set off the safety limiters on the rig and kick you out. However, the water was freezing, as if I was taking a late autumn swim.

OK, Cass, get out of the water first, see what you’re dealing with. I swam towards the rocky shore, my limbs were growing numb from the cold water. I needed to get somewhere warm, fast. As I staggered ashore, I took the time to look around me for the first time.

The beach I was on was rocky, a chill wind was blowing in from the sea and there was little to no cover to find among the rocks. A small trail was heading inland, one that seemed well-used. A good sign that there might be people nearby. As I stood there, a noise caught my attention. It sounded like distant yelling, though I couldn’t make out the words. I hesitated for a moment. However, I couldn’t stand around soaked as I was. With no better alternative, I followed the sound.

The sound led me off the path and over to a small crag in between some rocks. The sound came from the bottom of the ravine. At the bottom, I could barely make out movement and another call. I couldn’t understand what was being said, however. But given the pained voice and tone, I could venture a guess it was a call for aid.

I looked around and found some items scattered about. The person below probably lost it when they fell into the crag. A spear, a basket, and a fishing net. That gave me an idea. I grabbed the net and spun it over and over until it took on a rope-like appearance. Then I made a secure knot on either side so that it wouldn’t unravel. I gingerly made it to the edge of the ravine. “Hello? Do you hear me?” The voice from below hesitated, then called up again, this time sounding hopeful.

It would seem that they couldn’t understand me either. Well, no matter. I lowered the makeshift rope, and it wasn’t long until I could feel something grab onto the other side. It found a small rock outcrop to put my legs against, and not a moment too soon, as the weight on the rope intensified. Whoever was below was climbing up.

It took a few minutes, but soon a hand grabbed the edge of the crag, then another, as the weight on the rope disappeared. I ran over and offered my own and helped pull whomever it was back onto the rocks. She ran a hand through her auburn hair with a tanned arm. “Ravje, ilhar.”

She looked up at me, a slight scar ran across her forehead, over her right eye. Her cute button nose covered in small freckles and ocean blue eyes that seemed to peer into the depth of my soul added a slight allure to her. Her somewhat wide lips were giving me a tired, but serene smile. She was… really cute. No, no, no, no Cassandra, get your head out of the gutter, no time to be checking out the local girls, cute or not.

I shrugged. “Sorry, don’t know the language.” She furrowed her brows, and her grateful smile faded. “Mirdrevil norink dav larke?” It sounded like a question, but its meaning was beyond me. Her expression grew frustrated and with a slight limp, she moved towards her gear. I followed behind and helped her gather her scattered belongings. She then started up the trail, then stopped and waved for me to follow. With no better option, I only hesitated for a few moments before I did.