-Oh shit.

I hesitated for a second, because the source of mana that I felt from upstairs was definitely right where that pile of bones was. But, I was wary for nothing, it was not some creature lying in wait on an unsuspecting victim. It was just a regular corpse, and the mana signature had to be from something on it.

Which was strange, because it was wearing no equipment. That was not what caught my attention the most, though.

-Weird.

-Well, at least they didn’t die in the flooding - I pointed out, looking at another, a lot larger scorch mark, spanning the whole slab and a sizable chunk of the wall.

-We can’t really tell how they died, though.

-Okay then, for the sake of being civilized, let’s say that they just got cremated after death - I said. - But whatever the case, someone wanted to get rid of evidence.

-Yeah. Too bad the water didn’t clear the marks yet.

-Mhm… well, time to get my hands dirty.

I said that, yet still hesitated for a second. Maybe the corpse was trapped? Maybe that was the magic that I was feeling?

But before I even realized it, my hands were already on the job, shifting through the bones, trying to find the source of magic.

I almost immediately found it. Just on the slab, under some soaked soot that might have been just that poor person’s ashes, I found it.

It was… a small metal… spike? A needle? With a tiny gemstone embedded within it. It was a bit charred, but only from the outside. One swipe later, it was clean again.

It was the size of my thumbnail, maybe a bit larger. It was very weird, but for some reason it felt like I’ve seen something like this before…

-Are you kidding me…? - I heard Iloa in my head. - THAT’S what’s left?

-What, you recognize this thing?

-Don’t you?

-Well, it looks somewhat familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it.

-Ha. Well, maybe it’s easier for me because I used to have one similar to this…

-You? Wha?

-It’s a piercing.

-Excuse me, can you repeat that? A piercing?

-Yep. I guess you never wore one so you didn’t recognize it at first glance…

She wasn’t wrong there.

-A piercing. What’s left of a charred corpse is a fucking piercing.

-Why are you so surprised? It’s clearly magical, so no wonder it survived the flames.

-I don’t even know what to say…

-And what’s there to say?

-Ehh… Whatever. But now the more important question: will this thing help us get out?

-Obviously. Even without inspecting it’s closer I can tell that this thing was definitely not made here. This thing is…

She stopped, realizing something.

-Hey, I know it’s a strange thing to notice, but don’t you think that this looks… way too modern?

I took a better look at the small thing, but there was no use. I was definitely not familiar with jewelry to the point where I’d be able to tell…

-No clue…

-Say, take a closer look. Are there any markings on it? Anything at all?

-I don’t see anything…

-Look closer. It’s probably very small, get your light closer.

-Hmmm…

I am not sure why she was so adamant about this but I indulged her, trying to inspect the tiny thing from every possible angle, looking for anything that would look like…

-I’ll be damned. There’s something here… I think I can see a small star… and then some kind of number… But it’s so worn, I can’t tell the actual numbers… Is that…

-A hallmark.

-Hm. I guess they have those here too…

-I’m… not sure…

-I guess you might be right… to make that small of a writing you’d need pretty modern equipment for…

-Or magic. But I think the writing itself was not made with mana…

I didn’t even notice when, but she borrowed my senses again, focusing on the mana in the item.

-This thing is infused, as we knew, but only from outside.

-Outside? You mean that it sat for a long time in some mana? You think this water is enough to infuse it…?

-That’s the thing: definitely not. To be honest, if this thing would’ve been here for long, the water would clean off all of the mana completely, since the water is pretty diluted here. No. Whatever infused this thing, was pretty recent and pretty powerful.

-That’s… somewhat good news. It means that we now have a way out of here, since this thing’s mana does not belong here…

-Yeah. But now the problem… Where does it belong?

-Or rather who does it belong to?

-Oh…

-Yeah. I doubt that this place had some kind of sudden natural, moving magical anomaly that just by sheer chance managed to enchant this thing.

-Hmm… you’re right… That’s a problem…

-Yeah. The question for you Kon: if for the portal we use something filled with mana not belonging to a place, but rather to a person, would that work?

-Is that even possible? - wondered Iloa. - I mean, whoever did that, had to get their mana from somewhere.

-But that “somewhere” is still not here.

-True…

-So it should work, right?

-I… why are you asking me? - he finally replied. - I thought you were the master of magic and all that.

-I never called myself that. And I told you that I don’t know much about portal magic.

-And I know only a little bit. I can make some assumptions, but you’re the one who used it the most, so maybe you have a hunch.

-Or maybe Jack knows something? He used that as well?

-Well… I, or rather, we, never learned that much… You clearly know better, so I guess you are probably right…

-Hm. Some help you are.

But he was right. We were pretty stupid to try and depend on his knowledge. And since both of us had similar guesses, there was a good chance that we were right.

-Right… Well, I think we found everything that was to be found here… let’s go back up.

-And you’re going to leave that body behind? - asked a bit concerned Kon. - I…

-What, you expect me to give them a burial? Maybe even that ritual of yours?

-I… Still! That’s just…

-What? Barbaric?

-Yes!

-I don’t have…

-We have time to spare - interrupted me suddenly Iloa. - Come on, it’s not that much of a hassle.

-I am not going to try and perform those rituals of theirs! - I protested. - Those bring only trouble.

-And I am not saying that we do that. We can just do it the normal way.

-What, you expect me to dig a grave? Here?!

-No. Have you heard of a burial at sea?

-Hrgh… why are you so invested in this?

-I just… don’t want them to lie down in their own cell forever…

That was not the answer I expected, but probably should’ve. After all, it was her who was stuck for an indefinite amount of time as a piece of rock under some random village.

-Erhg… fine. Just give me a minute…

I started controlling water around the place, trying to lift up the bones, just to give up halfway and instead went back towards the entrance. Iloa, knowing what I was planning, was not intervening.

Without a word I emerged from the water right next to the trio who was still waiting for me, startling Vendi, who was sitting the closest.

-Finally! What did you…

I didn’t reply, just grabbed my shirt and went back down.

Vendi attempted to stop me, but instead got stopped himself by Kon, who knew what I had in mind.

-Thank you.

-Why the hell would YOU be the one thanking me?

-Well, the person in question can’t, really….

-They could if they tried hard enough - I said in jest, but nevertheless that shut him up.

Apparently, after that much weird stuff going around him, he decided not to peer and maybe even believed me. Who knows.

When on my way down to the cell, I tied up the sleeves of my shirt, or at least what remained of them, making a very, very scuffed sack out of it.

-That’ll have to do - I thought and started collecting the bones.

-Not the worst, considering the circumstances - replied Iloa, still observing me using my own eyes.

Sadly, all the bones did not exactly fit the container that I impromptu made, but thankfully it was enough for me to get all of them in a single go. Even if I had to carry the skull in my hand.

-Say, I didn’t think of you as a religious person - I pondered while on the way back upstairs.

-And you’re right. I am not.

-Well, caring for the corpses and wanting to give someone proper burial kind of is…

-Religious? Hardly. That’s just basic human decency, don’t you think? Don’t even atheists get burials? Aren’t there laws that govern the sanctity of a corpse? Or at least were…

-Sure… let me put this a bit differently then. I didn’t think you’d be such a “decent” person, as you just nicely described this.

-M… Mor!

Right. Kon was still part of this discussion as well. And that comment definitely scared the hell out of him.

-No, no, he’s right - came to my defense Iloa. - Back in the MIRE, that would be a very good description for all of us: with no conscience.

-But, if I was to say, you were the one with the most of it… not like that’s an achievement…

-W… what do you mean by that? - he asked, and even without seeing him I could tell he was trembling.

-Exactly what you think.

-Kon. How do you think we managed to end up how we ended up?

-I mean… you told me about the failed experiment of some kind…

-And do you think that was the only one experiment? And the only one that failed? Of course we experimented on different people. Just, that last one was supposed to work better…

-Well, it sort of did, if we are going to be honest.

-But… you are… the same as Jack and Vendi! Maybe even worse. And you argued about them being… you were angry with them!

Now he was angry too, but even then, anger couldn’t hide his fear completely.

-Sure. There is that saying… “do as I say, not as I do”. I believe that is a good example of that.

-But that’s just… you hypocrite! You are the same as Noli!

-Of course we are - agreed with him suddenly Iloa. - He’s one of us as well, after all.

What.

-Excuse me? One of us?

-What?

-Don’t play with me. I know you had some suspicions.

-Well, of course, I do think that this guy is at least MIRE-adjacent, but calling him one of us…

-I see we are not as synchronized as I thought. He’s more than just “adjacent”. Do I need to spell it out for you?

-I mean…

-Oh for fucks sake… It’s Mike.

-Pause. Are you fucking…

-And why do you think you managed to wake me up using this name? Or rather, the converted name? You’re telling me you managed to get my name, but not his?

-Reverse… oh fucking…

Now when she said it, it was obvious. Noli was just his name translated into the magical script.

-Why the hell did he even do that? Didn’t he realize that someone would be looking for him…

Wait. That’s most likely why he did that… since…

-Err… I sooo… Right… and are you fine…?

-Fine with what?

-Well… he supposedly has another wife now… and a child now…

-Oh, I am positively angry. But I can control my emotions. I’d rather not vent onto some third party. Besides, I was missing for a long while. He, probably just like you, assumed me dead. I don’t blame him for looking for someone else.

She said that, but I definitely felt a hint of disappointment in that sentence.

-Okay… there is a lot to unpack there… Holy shit. He even named his daughter after…

-I am aware.

Wait a second. Didn’t Melle say that it was not her child… that she was adopted? Couldn’t that mean that…

-Iloa. What happened to your child?

-I know what you’re thinking. But I have no idea. Besides the fact that her age doesn’t add up, she also does not look familiar.

-Hm. True. But still… the name… and the aptitude to magic… she was pretty good at rituals…

-I know that she was interested in our job, but that doesn’t mean she was so genius to learn that from just watching…

-No. But it would definitely help. Who says that Mike didn’t teach her too?

-Well, maybe. But my problems aside, don’t you need to do something first?

-Right, right…

During our discussion I managed to reach the stairs leading up and finally got out of the water, accidentally scaring the living shit out of Vendi.

-AH! IS THAT A SKULL?!

Right. I was still carrying the remains of the unfortunate prisoner.

-Yes. I was convinced to give it a burial.

-By who?! There is someone down there?!

-Wha…? Nah, empty as is. But never mind that, I found something that will lead us… well, somewhere else.

-Really?! Where? - asked Jack excitedly. - It has to be some kind of old artifact then! Another ruin?

-Maybe? We’ll see soon enough, but first I need to finish this - I pointed towards the skull I was carrying.

-I thought you didn’t want to use life magic…

-I don’t think the ritual will work here, anyway - said Vendi. - It’s too rocky…

-And I am not intending to. Come on, let’s go up.

The small island upstairs was still as loud as before, effectively making any conversation pointless. Expecting that we were going to spend at least a couple of minutes in the noise, the three of my companions made themselves makeshift earplugs of some torn material, I think from Vendi’s clothes. Jack offered me a set too, but I refused. Not like I was going to be hurt by the noise anyway.

-So, how do you want to do this? - asked Kon in my head. He was starting to get used to this kind of communication. - I never heard of this kind of burial… Or you’re just making stuff up?

-He’s not - defended me Iloa. - But it might be somewhat problematic…

-Right… they already got charred and managed to still be in… well, mostly in one piece.

-Yeah… that’s a bit strange, don’t you think?

-A little. But it’s probably thanks to the mana in the air. I didn’t notice before thanks to the infused water, but the bones are also a bit infused.

-Right…

-Wait, doesn’t that mean that whoever that person was, had to be under a lot of magical influence…? - asked Kon.

-Yah. They were a prisoner after all.

-What do you mean?

-You, out of all the people, should know. Trying to force information out, maybe some experiments, you name it. That does not leave you without any mark, you know.

-Wait… does that mean that I also am able to be discovered like that…? If someone would have the same kind of ability as you… us?

-Yeah, if they were to cut you into pieces and try inspecting your skeleton. Relax. Normally, it’s indistinguishable from the regular aura of a person. Besides, even if you didn’t… go through what you were through, there is something else in you now that definitely took precedence over all of that.

-You mean the crystal.

-Yeah. If we believe our theories, soon your whole body will be like that, so there won’t be even bones to inspect.

-...!

-Anyway, let’s get this over with.

I placed the bag in front of me, in the driest spot I was able to find on that small rocky island and focused.

-Usc fi geksu.

I summoned my fire orb and, pouring a bit more mana than usual, made it big enough for it to be able to burn the whole bundle at once.

The material, even though it was wet, lit up in flames instantly. Couldn't say the same for the remains. But that was to be expected.

-Hilty.

The flames intensified significantly, but it was still not enough. Be it thanks to the bones being slightly magical or some other reason…

A bit annoyed, I turned up the pace.

-Jomva!

I think I overdid it a bit, because flames turned white and even the rock under it started to heat up and change color.

Nevertheless, it was enough and the bones almost instantly turned into dust. I quickly ended the spell and switched from fire to wind…

-Hipiso wipvu.

…and scattered the ashes on the wind, letting them flow away for a while, after which I dropped the spell.

-That should do. Satisfied? Both of you?

-Yes. Thanks.

-Of course.

-Good. Let’s get out of here. Kon, want to make the door here or in the cave?

-Here is fine, just let me move a bit further from the water.

-Mhm.

I gestured towards Vendi and Jack, pointing to Kon, just as he started preparing to create the portal. They of course understood without words and tensed up visibly. Right… we were again going to be dropped in some random place, who the hell knows where. Hopefully in a more civilized place at least.

I gave Kon the anchor we found and in a matter of minutes the portal was open.

And of course I was the one who had to enter through first. I already got used to this kind of treatment, but it was still annoying. Not like I didn’t understand them - I was the most durable out of us…