Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

PHILIP POV

November 19th

It was an ordinary night in the Boiling Isles. Lights from Femuria below shone like millions of tiny fireflies. Small critters dug their burrows to hide while predators awakened to hunt for prey. The night was silent, save for the sounds of crickets and other various creatures. Atop the knee, a great snowy mountain, I stood alone, journal in hand. I watched the silver moon in the sky, sketching it, carefully analyzing the features, from the smallest of craters to the largest of rifts. It was a lovely night overall. I also watched a swarm of batflies migrating far to the east. I hope I may one day find the land they seek. I’ve spent three days and nights on the knee, but unfortunately I must now return home as I only have enough food and firewood with me to last the return trip.

Philip closed his journal and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small silver crystal. The crystal was chained to a small book containing many strange glyphs, one of which was of particularly great interest to him. It was the longest sequence of glyphs he had ever seen. It was to be drawn on the ground, around the crystal.

“What impossible secrets could this crystal hold?” Philip wondered, studying the crystal.

He planted the crystal into the ground, and began drawing the glyphs in the snow. He was careful not to step on any of the circles.

“Oh dear…this glyph is…” Philip looked down at the glyph he had just drawn. It resembled a house of some sort. He had never seen this particular glyph before. He considered attempting to use it, but elected not to. It is a bad idea to tamper with an unfinished ritual.

Minutes pass, he finally finishes the ritual. Nothing happens.

“All of that effort, but for naught.” He sighed, looking back down to the book. “But perhaps…” He stepped into the center of the glyphs and pulled the crystal out, before placing it back in.

Suddenly, the crystal begins glowing and the wind picks up. Clouds form overhead, and a lightning storm begins. Philip rushes to cover behind a rock, watching the ritual. The glyphs begin glowing a silvery color, and a massive beam of light fires into the sky. Lightning rapidly strikes the ground around the ritual. Philip stands up to witness the spectacle. A figure gently falls from the sky. Philip tries to get a closer look, stepping into the beam. He is met with blinding light for a few brief moments, before suddenly everything goes dark. He takes a few moments to readjust his vision for the dark of the night. In the center of the glyph circle, a young girl lies half buried in the snow.

“What in the name of-” Philip knelt down, squinting his eyes. The girl was no older than 14, had tan skin, long dark hair, and round ears.

“A…human?” He stood, shocked.

The girl groaned, shivering from the cold. She looked up at Philip, confused.

“Don’t move, I can help you!” Philip pulled his backpack off of his shoulder and dug through it, pulling out a small log. He placed a small piece of paper on the edge of the log and planted it near the girl.

“Where…” The girl tried to speak, still shivering.

“Don’t speak, you must save your energy.” Philip said, placing his hand on the paper. It glowed red, before igniting. The girl crawled next to the log, sitting at a safe distance from the fire, but close enough to warm up. Philip pulled out his journal and began writing again.

November 19th, continued.

Something strange and fantastical has just transpired. The sequence of glyphs from the crystal book appears to have transported a human girl from another world to ours. I never believed I would ever see another human, excepting my brother. She’s very weak, however. It is possible that the journey hurt her in some way. I intend to take her to the apothecary in Femuria. Perhaps they can help her.

“Can you walk?” Philip asked. The girl shook her head. Philip offered his hand. “I can carry you to the town. Is that alright?”

The girl looked around at the trees, and then to the unfamiliar moon. She nodded. Philip removed his overcoat and wrapped it around her, letting her ride on his back. He hiked down the mountain trail where he came from, towards the lights of the town below.

“What’s your name?” Philip asked.

“...Camila.” She said, before falling asleep on his shoulders.

November 20th

I had to stop at my home before reaching the town. I left the girl on the couch in the living room. Hopefully I won’t have to take care of her forever. She’s not my daughter, not my responsibility. Still, it's not right to just let her die in the wilderness. I’ll hand her over to a foster parent after I’m sure she’s fine.

CAMILA POV

Camila woke up in a strange living room. There were bird cages hanging from the ceiling, small glass enclosures on the windowsills, and the walls were covered in what seemed to be research notes. There was a long cane leaning against the door headed by a deer carving. She sat up from the couch. In front of her was a coffee table with a bowl of hot soup, her glasses, and a note next to it.

‘I’m going to take you to the apothecary today. Please do not damage anything. Signed, Philip.’

She yawned. She put her glasses on, then carefully lifted the bowl to her mouth. The soup was hot, but not too hot to drink. It tasted like a mixture of mushroom and carrot. Suddenly, a loud thudding sound came from the hallway to her left. She set the bowl down and carefully stood up, grabbing the odd cane and wielding it like a bat, prepared to swing.

“Helloooo~?” An odd voice called from above. A shadow creeped down the stairs as Camila prepared to strike.

“Who’s there-” A small, furry creature stepped into view. Its head was a skinless canine-like skull with one eye, and a strange owl-like worm creature poking out of the other eye socket. It also had four relatively large horns and dull, almost human-like teeth. Before it could finish talking, Camila threw the cane at its head, making a loud thunk noise.

“Ow!” The creature cried, “Hey, what’s the big deal?!”

Camila yelled, “YOU TALK?!”

The creature rubbed its forehead, “Yes, of course I talk! Haven’t you seen a demon before?!”

Camila’s jaw dropped. “D-demon?”

“Yes, demon!” The creature sighed, “What, were you dropped from the sky or something?” It chuckled. “Get it? Because you fell from the sky!”

Camila’s demeanor softened as she sighed, “Right…I remember now…”

“What exactly are you?” She asked.

“I’m Pops. It’s short for Popediah.” It chuckled.

“Actually, his full name is Poppy.” Philip said, stepping into view from the kitchen, sipping from a steaming mug.

“Ugh, Philip!” Pops groaned, “do you have to embarrass me in front of everyone I try to befriend?”

“We don’t have time for friends,” Philip said, taking another sip, “We have to get this girl a place to stay, and then figure out a way to get her home.”

“She’s not staying here?” Pops looked up to the man.

“Absolutely not.” Philip shook his head, “It’s already hard enough taking care of you, I’m not taking care of another kid.”

Philip turned to Camila. “Come on, we’re going to the town hall.” He placed his mug on the coffee table and walked towards the front door.

“No-” Camila grabbed Philip’s arm. “I’ve been transported to this…place. I want answers.”

“To what?” Philip asked.

“How did I get here? Where is my mom?” Camila started tearing up, “I need answers!”

Philip knelt down next to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“To be quite frank…I don’t know.” Philip paused, “I was hiking, and then I saw the beam of light.”

Pops spoke up, “He found you half buried in the snow, it looked like you’d been injured by the trip from…wherever it is you humans come from.”

Camila suddenly felt a deep pain in her right hand. “Agh!” She grunted in pain. Philip gently grabbed her arm and took a look. On inspecting her hand, he noticed that there was now a silver crystal embedded in her palm.

“What in the…” Philip was dumbstruck. “Why, I’ve never seen anything like this…”

Camila grunted, “What’s…happening…” She tightly clutched her hand.

“Change of plans, Camila.” Philip said, “Wait here, please.” Philip rushed into the hallway, and up the stairs.

Camila sat back down on the couch, Pops sat next to her.

“Wow. Now that’s gonna leave a mark.” Pops chuckled. Camila simply sighed in response.

“Not acclimating well, I take it?” He asked.

Camila shook her head. “I miss mi madre.”

“Who?”

“My mom.” She sighed again. “Yesterday was her birthday, and I wanted to get her something.”

“Was that something a box in your back-sack?”

Camila turned to face Pops. “Did you just say back-sack?”

“Y’know. The sack you had on your back when Philip found you.”

“My backpack? You found it?”

“Yeah. It’s a little wet still, but we saved most of your weird stuff. Like that weird light box!” Pops pointed to a small rectangle laying on the coffee table.

“That’s my phone!” Camila reached for it, turning it on. Pops’ eye dilated.

“Woah…” He leaned closer. The phone’s wallpaper was a photograph of Camila’s mom carrying her on her shoulders as a kid. “Is that your mom?” He asked.

“Si.” Camila smiled.

“She looks nice. I’d like to meet her.”

Camila frowned. “Assuming I’m not stuck here forever, I think she’d gush over you.” Her frown quickly returned to a smile, “She absolutely adores tiny animals.”

“First of all, I am NOT an animal, and second of all…” Pops stood up, “As your new friend, I hereby make it my mission to find you a way home!” He stuck his hand out for a shake. Camila chuckled slightly, shaking his hand. Camila continues showing Pops photos on her phone, until Philip returns with a large tome in his hands. He dropped the tome on the coffee table, making a loud thud noise.

“This book is-”

“Hey!” Pops shouted. “You interrupted our best friend bonding!”

“Apologies. This is important.” Philip stated, opening the tome to a page he had bookmarked. The page was covered in drawings of odd glyphs. “I believe you have been touched by a strange form of magic alien to this world.”

Camila dropped her phone, staring in disbelief.

“Magic?” Her eyes widened, “Alien?!”

“Oh, I may have forgotten to inform you.” Philip facepalmed, “This world: The Boiling Isles, is host to many strange forces, magic being one of them.”

“Magic…its real?” Her jaw dropped.

“Well, how else would you have gotten here?” Philip chuckled. “Yes, it's true. This world is a truly fantastical one.”

“This is…a lot.” Camila breathed in, counted to four, and breathed out. “I…can figure it all out later. What do you mean ‘alien?’”

“There are multiple kinds of magic in this world.” Philip pulled out his journal and opened it to a page about magic.

January 7th

‘This world continues to amaze me. I have discovered not one, but two unique kinds of magic, completely unknown to the witches of this world! I call the first one Glyph Magic, as it requires the user to draw glyphs, and then tap them to activate them.’ The rest of the page is covered in black ink.

“Hey, what’s with the ink?” Camila asked.

Philip clenched his fist. “Some things were never meant to be learned.”

“I…see.” Camila said, “Can you continue explaining?”

“This tome-” Philip took his journal from Camila and set it aside, “Says that there exists multiple kinds of magic that can only be used under very specific circumstances.”

“So, this crystal in my hand…” Camila gently touched the crystal with her other hand.

“I believe this crystal may be used for one of these lost types of magic, and is therefore, possibly incredibly dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” Camila’s eyes widened, “How so?”

“I’m not entirely sure myself.” Philip studied the page, “It doesn’t tell of any specific dangers, just that lost magics are often unpredictable and dangerous.”

Camila clenched her teeth, “I just want to go home…This is too much…”

“I understand.” Philip nodded, “I’ll leave you alone.” He turned around, taking his journal up the stairs with him.

“Uh. For what it’s worth…” Pops turned to Camila. “Philip also knows what it's like to lose a family member, and not know when you’re gonna see them again.”

Camila looked past Pops, watching as Philip gently lifted the odd cane, and laid it against the door. Philip stood still for a moment, sighed, and went upstairs.

“I think I need to go outside.” Camila said, standing up.

“That’s cool. Just don’t go out too far.” Pops warned.

Camila packed all of her salvaged belongings into her backpack, and slung it around her shoulders. She opened the door and stepped outside.

She gazed out into the horizon. Before her was an unimaginably large skeleton. Dozens of towns littered the carcass. Forests grew on the gargantuan ribcage, and a large pyramid hovered over the corpse’s skull. Camila stepped forward, her long hair blowing in the breeze. She looked down towards the creature’s thigh bones. There was a small town situated on the joint between the femur and pelvis. Camila turned around. “They won’t notice if I’m gone for a few minutes, surely?” she said out loud to herself. She started walking down the hill towards the town entrance.

A few minutes pass as she walks through the woods. It was fairly cold, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Suddenly, she heard what sounded like two people arguing in the bushes.

“Stop that! Give it back!” A young boy cried out. A girl snickered mischievously.

“No, I don’t think I will.” The girl laughed, “You messed with me, your stupid toy gets destroyed. Simple, right?”

Camila peeked through the bushes, watching the scene play out. The kids looked to be around the same age as her. They both had pointed ears and light skin. The boy had short, black hair and silver eyes, and was wearing an odd uniform. The girl was wearing a uniform that resembled a witch’s garb. It was all black, except for violet colored leggings and sleeves. She had short, green hair held in a bun, and piercing blue eyes.

“How did a child like you even get into Hexside?” She giggled. “Playing with dolls like a baby.”

“Why won’t you just leave me alone, Odalia?!” The boy cried.

“Because you are so unbelievably annoying.” She scowled, “You should know your place.”

Odalia prepared to throw the toy against a rock, but was interrupted. A puff of yellow-orange smoke appeared. Odalia started coughing, waving the smoke away.

“Grr!” Odalia shouted, “I’m not done with you Gilbert!” She then stormed off.

Camila tried to see where she was going, but someone tapped on her shoulder, making her jump.

“Woah-” Camila jumped back out of the bush.

“Hi there!” A young girl waved at Camila from where she was originally standing. She had long, black hair, orange eyes, and a very thin tail with a pointed tip at the end. She was wearing the same uniform as Odalia, but with yellow leggings and sleeves.

“H-hello?” Camila breathed slowly, “S-sorry I didn’t see you there…”

“Oh no, I should be sorry, heh.” The girl chuckled, “I shouldn’t have snuck up on you like that.”

The boy Odalia was tormenting stood behind the girl.

“It’s alright Gil, I think she’s cool.” The girl stepped over the bush, dragging the boy over to Camila’s side. “So, what’s your name?”

“Uhm, I’m Camila Noceda…”

The girl offered her hand, “Hi Camila! I’m Jack. It’s short for Jacqueline!”

“This is Gil, short for Gilbert!” She gestured to the boy. Gilbert was also wearing a uniform similar to Jack and Odalia, but his leggings and sleeves were brown.

“Now, I know we only just met, and this might be personal, I won’t judge-” Jack smiled nervously, “But I’d like to ask, why were you spying on us from a bush?”

“...Why were you hiding in a tree?” Camila returned.

“That is a very good question. And I have a very good answer!” Jack pulled a small toy doll out of her pocket. “I was just looking out for my good friend!”

Gilbert smiled, taking the toy out of her hand. He seemed a little bit shaken by the bullying from Odalia.

Camila smiled. “Aw, that’s so nice of you.”

“Ah, it’s nothing really. It’s just what friends do. Weirdos have to stick together.” Jack shrugged.

“Funny, my mom used to always say that.” Camila chuckled. “Neither of us really fit in our community.”

“Me too, actually.” Gil sighed, “other students like to bully me because I collect toys…”

“Students?” Camila asked, “Like, are you witch students?”

“Oh, yeah! We go to Hexside.” Jack said, “It’s pretty far from here though. We got here with our friend Falkin’s pet griffon.”

“Griffon?” Camila tilted her head and chuckled, “Yeah, those.”

Jack leaned to the left of Camila, noticing her ears.

“Wait a minute…” She squinted her eyes suspiciously, “You’re not a witch, are you?”

“Umm…No?” Camila scratched the back of her head nervously, “I don’t think so.”

“Oh my titan!” Jack started giggling, “I was right! Humans are real!”

Gil sighed, “Yes, fine. You win, Jack.” He chuckled. “She’s been trying to convince me that humans are real all day after she saw some weird old lady.”

Camila chuckled as he spoke, but when he mentioned an old lady, it caught her attention.

“What did the old lady look like?” She asked.

“I don’t remember all that much actually.” Jack pressed her fingers against her temple, thinking. “She had a sweater on though, from what I remember.”

“What color was it?” Camila asked, excited.

“I’m sorry Cam, I don’t remember.” Jack frowned.

Camila’s smile quickly vanished. “That’s…alright.”

“Anyways…” Jack turned to Gil, “We should probably go find Falkin.”

“Yeah, let’s go.” He agreed.

“Hey, wait! Before you go…” Camila walked up to the pair.

“Hmm? What’s up?” Jack asked.

“Do either of you recognize this?” Camila asked, showing them the crystal embedded in her palm.

Gil took Camila’s hand, studying the crystal. “Nah, I don’t.”

“Maybe Principal Ghastli would know?” Jack suggested, “She knows all about weird mysterious things.”

“She’s also a bit of a conspiracy nut…Not the most reliable source of information.” Gil responded.

“I mean…” Camila shrugged, “It's a start, right? Who else to ask about magic than the principal of a magic school.”

“Fair point. All we have to do is get you inside somehow.” Said Jack, scratching the back of her head.

Gil turned around towards the bush they all came from, the leaves were rustling. “Someone’s coming…” He clenched his teeth.

Suddenly, a giant griffon barrelled into the clearing, startling everyone. Jack jumped atop a tree, Gil rolled out of the way, but Camila was hit directly into a tree.

“Oh…Oops…” A boy spoke from atop the griffon. Camila grunted in pain.

“Are you alright?” He jumped onto the ground next to Camila. The boy had dark skin, purple eyes, and short, messy blue hair. His face was covered in colorful bandages and scrapes, and he wore the same uniform as the other students, but with orange sleeves and leggings.

“Hrg…nh…” Camila struggled to stand up. Jack jumped down from the tree to help her up.

“I’m…fine…gh…” Camila groaned, clutching her side.

“Uh…” Jack chuckled nervously, “This is Falkin Luna, he’s our friend. He’s in the beastkeeping track.”

“Nice to meet you!” Falkin chuckled, “Again, I’m very sorry about that.”

“No, no…It’s…fine…” Camila shook her head, “Just give me a minute.” She knelt down.

Jack turned to Falkin. “Dude, seriously?” She shook her head.

“I’m sorry, ok?!” Falkin pouted, “Joey just really loves meeting new people! He couldn’t contain himself!”

“We probably could’ve warned Camila about that, heh.” Gilbert chuckled sheepishly.

Camila stood up. “Okay, I think I’m-” She stumbled and nearly fell, but Jack caught her.

“Hey, be careful!” Jack smiled, helping Camila stand up. “You just got hit by a 3,000 pound bird. Take it slow.”

“I got it, I got it.” Camila breathed heavily. “Thanks Jack.”

“No problem Cam.” She smiled.

“Woah, what’s that?” Falkin yanked Camila’s hand and looked at the crystal.

“Hey!-” Camila shouted, “Careful!”

“Some kind of weird human jewelry?” Falkin asked.

“No, it's…” Camila shrugged, “We don’t actually know.”

“Hmm. Maybe we should take it to the principal?” Falkin stated.

“That’s what I said!” Jack whined.

“Actually I should get back to Philip first.” Camila said, “He’s supposed to take me to town hall later or something.”

“Philip?” Gil asked, “You mean that weird science guy who lives on the knee?”

“Yeah, I think.” Camila raised her eyebrow, “You know him?”

“He’s the author of all the textbooks that the beastkeeping track use.” Falkin said, “He never visits the school directly though, he just sends them via carrier batbird.”

“Huh. Didn’t know that.” Camila shrugged, “Anything else?”

Jack seemed as if she was about to say something, but didn’t.

“No, nothing of note.” Jack said, shrugging.

Camila nodded and turned around.

“Seeya Cams!” Jack waved.

“Hey, actually…” Camila turned around. “Can you all get behind me really quick?”

“Okay, why?” Gil asked.

“I’ll tell you in a second,” Camila smiled, “Just get into place.”

The group gathered behind her. Camila pulled out her phone and took a photo.

“Now we’re friends forever.” Camila showed them the photo.

“Aww.” Jack smiled.

“If it’s not too much to ask, would you mind picking me up tomorrow and taking me to Hexside?”

“Sure!” Falkin said, “We can figure out how later.”

Camila smiled and waved goodbye to her new friends, and began hiking back up to Philip’s home.

When she returned, Philip was standing outside the door, mildly irritated.

“There you are!” he sighed, “Change of plans.”

“Huh?” Camila tilted her head.

“The town hall’s closed. I don’t know why.”

“That’s a shame.” Camila shrugged, “Does that mean I have to stay here?”

“As much as I don’t want to, yes.” Philip sighed, “There’s an empty room upstairs if you want to take it.”

“Thanks.” Camila nodded, stepping into the house. Philip followed her in.

Camila began setting up her room. She laid out a bedroll that Philip gave her. She also arranged all of the items she had in her backpack on the windowsill. She sat on the bedroll and pulled her phone out.

‘No Connection’

“I’ll get home, mama.” Camila looked up at the ceiling. “Somehow.”

Chapter Text

JACK POV

Jack yawns and stretches as she wakes up. She rubs her eyes and pushes herself off of her bed. As she stands up, she feels a sudden jolt of pain in her tail. She turns to see a rat nibbling on the edge of her tail.

“Ack!” She jumped, “Come here you little…!”

She lunged towards the rat, narrowly missing it as it skittered off into the darkness of her home.

“Ugh. Forgot to feed her.” Jack groaned as she slipped on her hexside uniform. She entered the bathroom and spent a few minutes brushing her teeth and hair, then returned to her bedroom. It was fairly clean, save for a few empty cans on the floor. Her bed was neatly tucked in the corner opposite of the door, and directly across from the entrance to her bathroom. There was a window in the center of the room, overlooking the forest around her. In front of the window was her desk, covered in loose papers, pencils, and empty glass flasks. On the center of the desk was a sketch of Camila, the new friend she made yesterday.

“Ah, right. Have to go find her.” Jack said to herself, exiting her room. Her house was fairly dark. The only source of light was coming from outside. As she walked through the hallway, she noticed a peculiar door, slightly ajar.

“Should probably lock this…” She whispered, then shrugged. “Later.” She continued down the hallway, down a flight of stairs, and into a small kitchen. It was fairly barebones, just some plates, bowls, and fruit. There was a plate of neatly sliced multicolor fruit on the counter. Jack went to retrieve the plate, when she felt something tugging at her leggings.

“Hmm?” She looked down to see the rat that bit her tail. The rat looked up at her with pleading eyes. Jack chuckled, “Alright fine, you win,” and gently picked the rat up. She walked over to the dinner table in the center of the room and sat down on one of the chairs, setting the rat and plate on the table. The rat pulled one of the slices off of the plate and started nibbling on it. Jack chuckled as she also began eating. The fruit was sweet, almost too sweet. The rat squeaked at her.

“Don’t like these either, huh?” Jack said, gently petting the rat. “Yeah, me neither.”

Jack finished her food and started staring at the front door. Her home wasn’t very large, just tall. The front door led directly into the kitchen, which connected to a slightly larger living room adjacent to it. Jack continued staring at the door for several minutes, until she heard a knocking sound. She stood up and walked over to the door, opening it.

Standing outside the door was Gilbert, and behind him was Falkin, riding atop his griffon.

“Morning girlfriend!” Gil said enthusiastically.

“Hey girl!” Jack said, smiling. “You guys sleep well?”

“Eh, it could've been better.” Falkin sighed, “Joey kept squawking all night.”

“Yikes.” Jack chuckled, then cleared her throat. “Anyways…Are we still taking Cam over to hexside?”

“That’s the plan, yeah.” Gil said, “Falkin can fly us there.”

Jack and Gil both hopped on the griffon’s back. He first backed up to avoid hitting Jack’s house, then flew up and away. Jack held on to Falkin, and Gil held on to Jack as they flew upward. Below them, the dead titan lies dreaming.

“Yeesh.” Gil said. “Ever wonder what the world was like when it was alive?”

“Can’t imagine it.” Jack responded, “I can’t even imagine how such a huge monster was even able to stand up.”

“Who knows, it's a crazy world.” Falkin remarked. They continued to fly towards the Knee. On the side of the mountain, on the skeleton’s femur, lay the town of Femuria. Somewhere just above it, is the Deer House, where Philip and, presumably Camila live. There’s lots of folklore surrounding the house. Most people believe the house is cursed, and that he keeps animals there to ward off spirits. Because of this, people rarely visit him. It must be lonely.

“How long until we get there?” Jack asked.

“Just a few minutes,” Falkin said, leaning forward, “I can’t really see anything though.”

“Why not let me fly?” Gil asked, “I’ve got great vision!”

“You? Fly my griffon?” Falkin scoffed, “Absolutely not.”

“Why not?” Gil asked, “I’ve flown him before!”

“You crashed him into a clocktower!” Falkin argued.

“It was one time!” Gil whined, “Tell him Jack! Tell him I can fly!”

“Not getting involved, this is too entertaining.” Jack giggled.

Gil groaned. “Fine.”

Falkin continued flying, eventually landing in the clearing where they met Camila.

“Now what?” Jack said, hopping off of the griffon.

“I guess we'll wait.” Gil shrugged. “Wanna play some hexes hold‘em?”

“Sure.” Falkin said, jumping off of Joey. “I’ve got some cards in my pouch.”

Jack, Gil, and Falkin would play Hexes Hold’em for the next few minutes while waiting for Camila.

CAMILA POV

“Camila, get up!” A voice shouts at Camila, and a tiny foot kicks her awake. Camila groans, “Five more minutes…”

“Get up!” Pops shouts, gently kicking her again.

“Ugh…Fine…” Camila yawns and stretches, “Did I oversleep…?”

“No, but Philip’s been waiting to talk to you.” Pops said. “Also he made us breakfast.”

“Yeah yeah…cool…” Camila yawned again, and stood up. Pops crawled out of the room. The sweet scent of waffles suddenly fills the air.

“...Waffles?” Camila whispers to herself. She changes out of her pajamas into her sweater and jeans, and walks downstairs. She steps out of the hallway, and into the kitchen from the living room. Philip and Pops are both seated at the counter in the center of the kitchen.

“Good morning, Camila.” Philip said, eating his breakfast.

“You made waffles?” Camila asked, “How?”

“Oh, just this odd machine.” Philip gestured to the counter behind him. On the counter was a waffle maker.

“...A waffle maker? Here?” Camila’s eyes widened.

“Yes, I found it on one of my hikes up the knee.” Philip stood up and picked the waffle maker up, “Actually, I found it buried in the snow. Just like you, interestingly enough.”

“So it came from my world?” Camila asked.

“Probably.” Philip sat back down and continued eating, “I never figured out how it got here, unfortunately.”

Camila sighed and sat down, taking her plate. The three ate their meals in silence.

“I should probably get going now.” Camila said as she finished. “My friends are probably waiting on me.”

“You’ve made friends?” Pops said, “And didn’t invite me???”

Camila chuckled, “You can come with me if you'd like.”

Pops’ eye widened, “Really??” He said.

“No, I’m sorry.” Camila smiled, patting him on the head. Pops whined, then sighed and walked away.

“Come back before dark, and don’t get into trouble please.” Philip said, walking into the hallway through the living room.

“I will!” Camila said, standing up. She walked upstairs to her room to get her backpack.

After packing her belongings and getting dressed, Camila began making her way out of the house and to the meeting spot. It was a cool, windy day. There was a light amount of snowfall.

“I should probably get a thicker coat…” Camila shivered as she walked downhill. She noticed that there was a griffon in the clearing where she met Jack. She figured that they’d already arrived, and headed down. As she got closer, something was wrong. Nobody was around, besides the griffon, and there were traces of purple slime around. On the ground by a tree was a shattered flask with traces of green liquid, several other trees were knocked down, and there was evidence of a struggle.

“What the…” Camila knelt down, observing the slime. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen before. She walked towards Joey. The griffon seemed on edge. His talons were drenched in purple sludge. His demeanor quickly shifted when he recognized Camila. She offered her hand, Joey responded by sniffing and rubbing his forehead against it.

“Any idea what happened here, big guy?” Camila asked, gently petting him. The griffon squawked in the direction of some broken trees. There were tracks of large purple sludge puddles in the same direction.

“Something’s very wrong here.” Camila said, tensed. “Can you take me to Falkin?”

The griffon grabbed Camila, and placed her on his back.

“Woah-” Camila clutched onto the griffon’s feathers as it started charging in the direction of the trees. She narrowly ducked under several branches, while also getting grazed multiple times.

“Slow down Joey!” Camila shouted, trying not to fall off. Joey started slowing down to a walk.

“Whew…” Camila breathed deeply, “I’m alright, let’s just find our friends." She said to Joey.

Joey squawked in agreement, continuing to follow the slime trail. The trail eventually led to a small clearing. Jack, Falkin, and Gil were laying bruised on the ground, covered in purple slime.

“Guys!” Camila shouted, quickly jumping off of Joey’s back and checking their bodies to make sure they’re ok. Gil groaned in pain, struggling to sit up. Camila rushed to his side.

“Are you okay?” Camila placed her hand on his back, “What happened?”

Gil coughed. “Odalia showed up,” He groaned, “And her friend Alador…”

“Who? The bully girl?” Camila examined his injuries. He was bruised and covered in dirt and scrapes.

“Yes.” Gil coughed.

“Stay still, let me just think…” Camila tried thinking back to when she was a scout. Her friend Manny broke his leg, and she had to make a cast from scratch. As she was thinking about these memories, her right hand suddenly started glowing. She felt a pinprick sensation all throughout her arm, as if it fell asleep and only just woke up. The glow started enveloping Gil’s body, until the light was blinding. When she opened her eyes, Gil’s injuries had all mysteriously vanished.

“What the…” Gil looked at his arms, all of the bruises had vanished.

“What just happened?” Camila was baffled, “Did I do that?”

Jack groaned behind her. “Can you…help me too?”

“Oh crap!” Camila and Gil hurried to Jack’s side. Her injuries were less severe, but she was still covered in some minor cuts.

“Maybe I can…” Camila pressed her right palm against Jack’s shoulder. Nothing happens.

“Dang it, how did I do it the first time?”

Camila keeps trying to replicate the magic she used, to no avail. She is just about to give up, when she suddenly hears a voice. It spoke softly, gently, like a father putting his child to sleep. “Breathe.”

She didn’t understand exactly what the voice meant, but she could try. She shut her eyes, inhaled, counted to four, and exhaled. Her thoughts suddenly began wandering to unexpected places. Images of sick animals, wilting plants, and injured people. The thoughts were harsh and cruel at first, but they slowly began shifting. Beautiful forests, healthy animals, people reuniting with loved ones. When she opened her eyes, not only had Jack’s injuries vanished, but so had Falkin’s.

Jack looked up at Camila in awe.

“How in…” Jack was amazed. “Camila…You used magic!”

“That was magic?” She looked down at her palm. The crystal had returned to normal, but the pinprick sensation still lingered.

“Humm…Wha?” Falkin said, waking up. “Why does my head hurt…”

Joey sat next to Falkin, nuzzling his shoulder.

“Camila used magic!” Gil said, amazed.

“Say what?” Falkin stood up, walking over to Camila as she helped Jack stand up.

“Okay, this is a lot I know, but I think we should focus on what happened to you.” Camila said, pushing her glasses up, “I want to figure this out too, but can you all explain what happened?”

Jack frowned. “Odalia…”

“Right, Gil told me about her.” Camila looked to Gil, “And you also mentioned someone named…Alastair? Alinder?”

“Alador.” Falkin coughed, “Odalia’s pet.”

“He follows her around everywhere, and she makes him do her bidding.” Jack said, “It’s honestly kinda sad.”

“What did he do?” Camila asked, pulling some slime off of Jack’s sleeves, “And what is this stuff?”

“It’s abomination goo.” Falkin responded, “Alador’s one of the best students in the abomination track.”

“Abomination?” Camila tilted her head, “Like a big monster?’

“Yeah.” Jack nodded. “They’re big gooey monsters.”

“Ugh. If we hurry on Joey we can probably get to hexside before we’re late.” Falkin groaned.

“Yeah. Let’s go Cam.” Jack agreed.

“Wait, Odalia’s just gonna get away with what she did?!” Camila gasped.

“Uh. Yeah?” Gil said, clenching his fist. “She’s rich. She can do whatever she wants.”

“What about her parents? Do they know about what she does?” Camila said.

“Her mother is fully aware.” Falkin frowned, “She says that she just needs more time to become a better person. I think she’s scared of her.”

“She definitely seems scary from how you describe her…” Camila looked down, and sighed. “Let’s just go.”

The group all climbed atop Joey.

“For the record, I do not intend to let this incident go.” Camila said, determined. “It’s a Noceda’s job to look out for her friends, always.”

“Whatever you say, Cam.” Jack chuckled.

After a few minutes of flying, the group arrived at hexside. They were just in time too, as the bell had rung.

“Ack!” Camila covered her ears. “What the heck is that?!”

“Oh, that’s just the bell.” Falkin hopped off the griffon, the rest of the group soon followed.

“Your bells scream?!” Camila said, shocked.

“Yours don’t?” Jack cocked her eyebrow and chuckled.

“Dios…” Camila shook her head and followed the group into hexside.

“As long as you’re with us, most people will probably just assume you’re here to enroll.” Gil said.

The group stepped into the main building. Students were heading in and out of the halls, packing their strange, seemingly living lockers.

“I uh.” Falkin spoke up, sweating. “Forgot where the office was.”

Jack facepalmed. “Follow me.”

“Thank you.” Falkin chuckled nervously.

The group took a right turn, towards the east wing of the school. Directly to their right was an office labeled ‘Principal Ghastli.’ The group entered.

“Ah, welcome students.” The principal spoke up. She was a very pale, spindly old witch wearing ragged, white robes.

“Hello again!” Jack said, sheepishly.

“Jack.” The woman said, her eyes narrowing.

“Uhm.” Jack chuckled, “I should go, actually.” Jack bolted out the door. Camila turned around, then back to the principal.

“M-my name’s Camila.” She said nervously. “I’m new here and-”

“I know who you are, child.” Ghastli chuckled.

“Huh?” Gil said, “How?”

“You’re going to ask me about that thing on your palm, yes?”

“Umm.” Camila stumbled over her words. “S-si.” She offered her palm.

“You two can wait outside.” Ghastli said to the two boys. “Go to class.”

Falkin nodded and left, Gil followed.

“Seeya later Cam.” Gil said, smiling.

“Now then.” Ghastli smiled warmly. “Please sit.”

Camila sat down, placing the back of her hand on the principal’s desk. The principal gently touched the crystal, carefully analyzing the edges. She mumbles something to herself, still examining it.

Camila coughed. “Uh. Miss?”

“Not now.” Ghastli leaned in closer to the crystal, her eyes widening.

“Did you notice something?” Camila tilted her head.

“Yes…indeed.” Ghastli seemed surprised. “I haven’t seen anything like this in a very, very long time.”

“You’ve seen it before?” Camila leaned closer, eager. As she got closer, she noticed a glowing purple sigil on Ghastli’s wrist.

“Not this color, no.” Ghastli let go of Camila’s hand. “But I have seen others.”

“Other crystals?” Camila said.

“Indeed.” Ghastli closes her eyes and ponders for a few moments.

“Can you tell me what they are?” Camila stood up, eager to learn more. “How do they work? It let me use magic!”

The woman shook her head, “I am unsure. But if it is true that it lets you use magic…” She stood up and pulled a small cylinder from under her desk. She opened it, and a small scroll slid out from inside. Ghastli opened it, quickly scanning it, then handed it to Camila.

“Read.” She simply stated.

Camila nodded, and began reading. It was an enrollment form for Hexside. On the bottom, it was signed by someone with the surname Wittebane.

“I’ve waited many years for this moment, Ms. Noceda.” Ghastli smiled.

“Huh…?” Camila looked at the principal, confused. “I don’t understand.”

“I want you to enroll at this school.”

“Huh? But I’m human, I can’t do magic!”

“Can’t you?” Ghastli said, “After all, you did heal those three kids, did you not?”

“Yeah but that wasn’t me, it was the crystal!” Camila argued.

“Camila.” Ghastli placed a hand on her shoulder, “Your achievements don’t belong to anyone but yourself. Understood?”

“I-”

“Shh.” Ghastli continued. “I know what you’re going to say, and you’re wrong.”

“But-”

“‘I’m not special!’” Ghastli spoke Camila’s thoughts out loud, “You are. You are very special.”

“How?” Camila held her own hand, gazing into the crystal.

“You’re a human, Camila.” Ghastli stated, “You were brought here for a reason. I can’t tell you why, but I can help you achieve that purpose.”

“Please, slow down.” Camila sighed. “I don’t want this.”

“I understand.” Ghastli nodded in understanding, “You wish to find your mother.”

Camila started tearing up. “Y-yeah.” She sniffled.

“If you enroll here, we can study the crystal together. We can learn how you arrived, and find a way to send you back.” She paused. “But I won’t make the choice for you. You must decide.”

Camila held back her tears. “I…just want to go home. More than anything.”

Ghastli placed her hand on Camila’s. “Go home, and take your time. When you decide it’s time, we will be waiting.”

Camila wiped away her tears. “Thanks,” She said as she stood up. “I’ll consider it.”

Ghastli waved goodbye as Camila stepped outside. The halls were now mostly empty, all of the students were probably in class. She left the building and sat down with the paper on the ramp just outside the door. She analyzed the scroll thoroughly. It was mostly what you’d expect from an enrollment paper. The only thing that stuck out was the fact that it was already signed by someone named “Wittebane.” She couldn’t think of anyone with that surname. The first initial was also smudged, and therefore unreadable. There was also a small addendum near the bottom of the scroll.

“By signing this document, you willingly accept a great and terrible burden. In doing this, you accept the possibility that you will have to make great sacrifices in the future. If you do not consent, then return this document to Principal Ghastli. Be warned, Camila. If you sign, there is no going back. This world, your friends, and your world, are all in danger.

-C.”

Camila gulped. She felt her heart sink. This document seemed to be decades old, even older than Camila herself, yet it knows her name. She became anxious. She breathed slowly, trying to calm down.

“Great sacrifices? Burdens?” Camila continued rereading the paragraph. She wasn’t ready. She was dumped into this world, cold and alone, and now she has to sacrifice even more?

“My world…My friends…” She gulped. “I don’t know…”

As she was thinking, she heard someone call her name. It was Philip, he seemed worried.

“Camila!” Philip shouted.

She looked up from the scroll to him, stood up, and jogged down the ramp towards him.

Philip stopped to breathe. “There you are!”

“What’s wrong? Are you alright?” Camila asked.

“I’ve been looking for you all day!” Philip said, irritated. “Do you realize how dangerous-” He stopped when he noticed the scroll.

“What is that?” He asked. “Hand it over.”

“The principal of hexside gave it to me, why?” Camila responded hesitantly.

“Just let me see it.” He said, sweating.

Camila handed him the scroll. As he read it, his expression grew more and more concerned.

“Oh…” Philip’s eyes carried a great amount of sorrow. Camila noticed tears begin to stream down his cheeks.

“Philip? What’s wrong?” Camila asked, concerned.

“Nothing.” Philip wiped his tears. “You will not sign this.”

“What? Why?” She asked. Camila was still unsure of signing anyways, but she was still very curious about what upset him.

“Because witch magic brings only pain and misery.” Philip clenched his fists.

“What do you mean?” Camila continued to pry, “Did it hurt you somehow?”

“More than you could possibly imagine.” Philip began tearing up again. “It is my job to take care of you until I can find out how to send you home. I won’t let you join hexside.”

Camila paused. Philip was incredibly upset at the idea of Camila learning witch magic. But the magic she used was different, unique. Additionally, Camila understood the weight of the message on the scroll. The world is in danger. Her friends are in danger. She clenched her fists. Camila realized that, even though her goal is to return home, that doesn’t mean she can’t help her current home.

“Philip…” Camila sighed. “I want to do this.”

Philip looked down at Camila, shocked.

“You…want to join hexside?!” He became angry.

“Yes. Because if this world is in danger, then I should do whatever I can to help!” Camila said, determined. “Even if it hurts, even if I never see my mother again, I should still help the people I can!” She tensed up, ready to be yelled at.

But upon hearing this, Philip’s anger dissipated, turning into a mixture of sorrow and understanding. He couldn’t deny what Camila was saying. But even still. She barely understands this world, and she’s already prepared to become a prophesied hero. He suddenly smiled.

“Hm. Here for but a single day, and you’re already willing to sacrifice yourself to save your friends.” Philip said, “I have to admit…That is admirable.”

Camila’s posture loosened. “You mean…?”

“I’ll…allow it.” Philip sighed, “But I need you to understand…” He knelt down next to her, “This is not something you can do alone. You need to…” Philip hesitated, then continued, “Trust the people around you.” He placed an affirming hand on Camila’s shoulder.

Camila nodded. “I understand.” She pulled a pencil out of her backpack and signed her name. Suddenly, both the scroll and her crystal began glowing. The scroll disintegrated as a voice whispered in Camila’s head.

Unintelligible words echoed through her mind as she saw a vision: A beam of light, two brothers, two sisters, a great titan, an enormous crystal, a being from beyond the stars, and a hero, standing firm against an unimaginable evil.

Camila felt dizzy after the vision faded, falling unconscious and collapsing. As she fell asleep, a single word echoed through her mind.

“Savior.”

Chapter Text

CAMILA POV

Camila wakes up in an unfamiliar place. An eerie, starless sky hangs above, and an endless, completely still ocean went on as far as the eye could see. Camila sat alone on a gray beach, staring into the horizon. She looked around, nobody was around. There was nothing but sand and water, stretching into infinity. She called out, but nobody responded. Several minutes pass as she begins walking across the beach. She stops for a moment, noticing something in the corner of her vision. The clouds in the sky have parted, and now a single, distant star is visible. Camila suddenly feels the compulsion to raise her palm towards it. As she does, she hears whispering.

“Camila.”

“Wh-who’s there?” She yelled out into the void.

“Camila!” The voice grew louder.

“What do you want?!” She shouted again.

“Wake up!”

Camila opened her eyes to Philip standing over her. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. She was back in the deer house. Pops was curled up sleeping on the coffee table.

“Huh…?” Camila squinted her eyes. “How’d I…”

“You passed out, I took you to the Hexside apothecary and they said you were fine, so I took you home.” Philip responded.

“How long…?” Camila yawned.

“I estimate…20?” Philip stroked his chin, “22 hours?”

Camila gasped. “I’ve been asleep for 22 hours?!”

“Mhm.” Philip nodded.

“I swear, it was just a few minutes!”

“What was?”

“The vision I had.”

“A vision?” Philip pulled his journal out and began writing, “Please, do explain.”

“I woke up on a weird…beach?” Camila struggled to find the words, “It was dark, and then there was a single star in the night sky?”

“What next?” Philip tilted his head.

“I raised my palm towards it, then I woke up to your voice.”

“Fascinating…” Philip shut his journal, “Perhaps the Oracles would know more about this topic.”

“Oracles?” Camila asked, sitting up.

“The Oracle Coven often deals with spirits, visions, and prophecies.” Philip turned to the door, “Principal Ghastli is one of them.”

“She is?” Camila said, gently petting Pops.

“Indeed.” Philip turned back to Camila, “You can tell a lot about someone based on the Coven they’re in, and you can tell what Coven they joined from a small sigil on their forearm.”

“Are you in one?” Camila asked.

“Well…” Philip shrugged, “In a way, yes.”

“Which one?” Camila stood up, walking towards him.

“I’ll tell you later.” Philip walked out the door, “Don’t leave the house.”

“Why?”

“The Pyramid guard has been more active lately. If they catch wind of new, unknown magic, they’ll likely take you away.” Philip said, “I prefer to not interact with them, so please, lay low for today.”

“What about-” Camila spoke up.

“Hexside?” Philip interrupted, then paused.

“I’ll…” Philip sighed, “If your friends pick you up, I will allow it.”

Camila grinned. “Oh, thank you!” She hugged Philip.

“Hey-” Philip tried backing away, but accepted the hug, patting Camila on the back. “You’re…welcome.”

“Adiós!” Camila waved to Philip as he left the house. She returned to the couch and sat down, petting Pops as he rolled around in his sleep. She looked around at the room. The various animals in the house were also sleeping, and seemed to be well-cared for. Most of the notes taped to the walls had been taken down and organized. The whole house seemed to be significantly tidier since the night she had arrived. Camila stood up and walked over to a small red cardinal in a birdcage. It was sleeping, and had a scar over its right eye. On the cage, was an illegible nametag.

“He names them?” Camila said to herself, “So he’s attached to his animals then?’

Camila had already put it together in her mind that Philip was studying these animals, but he also took great care of them. Camila could only imagine how expensive this would be in her world. Despite how much she loved animals, her mom never let Camila have a pet. She didn’t like it, but she understood.

“Maybe Philip could let me take care of one of you.” Camila said, gently patting the bird’s head with her finger through the cage.

Camila returned to her room upstairs, unsure of what to do next. She sat down on her desk and stared down into the town of Femuria from her window. It was snowing outside, so not many people were walking around. Still, she could vaguely make out a few figures out in the snow, though she couldn’t tell if they were witches, demons, or something else.

Camila heard a knock from downstairs, and quickly made her way downstairs to check it out.

“Hello?” A muffled voice came from outside, “Anyone home?”

Camila opened the door to see Gilbert standing in the cold. He was also carrying a bag with him.

“Gil?” Camila was surprised to see him.

“Hey Cam,” Gil was shivering, “C-can I come in?”

“Of course.” Camila let him inside. “Anyone else coming?”

“No, just me.” Gil sighed as he stepped into the warm house.

“You…hiked here?” Camila said, surprised.

“No, Falkin’s down in Femuria.” Gil sat on the couch. “Hey, what’s this?” He tapped Pops’ skull.

“Shh!” Camila hushed him, “Don’t wake him. He’s the most ferocious creature in all of the Boiling Isles.” She chuckled.

“Heheh…” Gil chuckled nervously, “Y-you’re not serious, right?”

“Relax, I’m just joking.” She smiled.

“Right, ok.” Gil continued, “The principal told us to find you and tell you that you can start attending Hexside today!”

“Oh, seriously?” Camila said, her eyes widening.

“Yup.” Gil shrugged, “You don’t even need to take the entrance exam.”

“Do I get a uniform like you guys?”

“Yeah, it’s in my bag.” Gil pulled the bag off of his shoulders, opening it to reveal a uniform with blue leggings and sleeves.

“Blue?” Camila asked, “What track is that?”

“You’re part of the healing track.” Gil answered.

Camila looked down to her palm, “That makes sense, I guess. Its all I know how to do with this thing.”

“I’m sure you’ll learn how to use it for other things.” Gil shrugged, “Anyways, school starts in a few hours. If we get out now, we can get there early.”

“Alright.” Camila took the bag, “I’ll get changed upstairs. Don’t touch anything.”

“I wasn’t gonna!” Gil raised his hands. Camila headed upstairs to get changed.

“If my mom knew I was about to begin attending a magic school…” Camila joked to herself.

PHILIP POV

Philip knocked on a door with a purple sigil on the front. “Hello? Is Olivia there?”

“Who’s asking?” A shady voice came from the other side.

“It’s Philip,” He answered, “I’ve got a large pouch of snails for Olivia if she can answer my questions.”

Philip waited patiently as he heard footsteps and quiet whispering from the other side of the door.

“Olivia will see you in the third room to your left.”

“Thank you.” Philip opened the door and entered. The building was very quiet. There were curtains covering each room, enchanted to be soundproof, as well as many bookcases and crystal balls. He parted the curtains of the room he was told to find, and entered. Inside, was a tall, slender demon with glowing eyes, red skin, and four arms. She was wearing a thick, purple cloak adorned with glowing sigils and runes. She was sitting alone at her table, a single crystal ball illuminating the room in a faint purple glow.

“Olivia.” Philip spoke up, sitting down across from the demon.

“Philip.” The woman responded, agitated.

“No need to sound sour, Olivia.” He said, “I’ve come with payment this time.”

Olivia frowned, “Hand it over first. Then I help you.”

Philip hesitantly handed over his pouch of snails to the demon, sighing. “Can you help me now?”

“Yes. Good.” Olivia cleared her throat, “What is it that troubles you?”

“I have an…associate who has been…” Philip considered his words carefully, one wrong step and the Pyramid Guard may take Camila away. “She’s been exposed to an unknown type of magic.”

“Unknown, you say?” Olivia shut her eyes, placing her hand on the ball. “Describe it.”

“A silver crystal, seemingly capable of producing magic, is embedded within her palm.”

“Mmm…That sounds like far more than mere exposure…” She opened her eyes, gazing at the vivid images appearing in the crystal ball. “I need more.”

“She was able to use magic, a healing spell.” Philip responded.

“Hmmm…” The demon closed her eyes. “You’re hiding something, are you not?”

Philip looked away. “She’s…a human, like me. I’m taking care of her.”

“Ah, it becomes clearer.” The demon smiled, “You protect her, no? From the Pyramids?”

“Yes, I need to find her a way home, and I can’t do that if she’s taken away.”

The demon paused in contemplation for a few moments. Philip carefully examined the images on the ball. They were blurry, but vaguely resembled what Camila described in her vision.

“Is there something else you are hiding?” The demon looked into Philip’s eyes. He knew the answer, he didn’t want to admit it, out of guilt. But he needed to know more.

He sighed. “Yes.” He hesitated, but continued, “I was the one who cast the spell that brought Camila here.”

The demon grinned as the images became more lucid. “An endless gray beach, a tideless ocean, and a single, dim star.”

“Yes, that’s what she described in her vision.” Philip leaned in, focusing on the dim star.

“It is no star.” Olivia frowned, “It is…Something Else.”

“Something else?” He cocked an eyebrow, “Like what?”

Olivia seemed stumped. “I…don’t know.”

Philip sighed, “It was worth a shot. Is there anything else you could tell me? Perhaps about the crystal?”

The demon placed her palms on the crystal once again. Images swirled through it. Nothing seemed relevant.

“Wait, stop.” Philip suddenly noticed a pattern within the images. Olivia ceased cycling through the images at an image of a man, slightly older than Philip, holding a silver crystal.

Philip sat in silence, pressing his hands against his temples.

“I…see.” He stood up, “Thank you, Oracle.”

“Pleasure doing business. Come again if you find more.” Olivia smiled.

Philip exited the building, and made his way home, trudging through snow. He sat on a bench in front of a closed marketplace, and thought to himself. He couldn’t deny it anymore, his brother was still alive. Worser still, he was somehow involved in this.

CAMILA POV

Camila stepped out of her room, wearing her new Hexside uniform.

“How does-” Camila noticed Pops was being agitated by Gil.

“Grr!” Pops growled at Gil, “Give it back!”

Gil sighed, “It's not even yours!”

“What’s going on here?” Camila sighed.

“This jerk won’t give me his toy!” Pops whined.

“He was trying to steal it from me!” Gil groaned.

Camila facepalmed, “Look, just give Pops the toy for today.”

“But-” Gil tried arguing.

“He won’t break it. Right Pops?” Camila said, eyeing him.

“Yeah, I won’t!” He said, “Pinky swear!”

Gil gave in, “Alright fine. Pinky swear.”

“Yay!” Pops said, taking the toy from Gil’s hand.

“Aww, isn’t he cute?” Camila smiled.

“He tried biting me!” Gil frowned.

Camila chuckled and walked out the front door, Gil followed. Falkin was already outside, riding atop of Joey.

“Took you two long enough.” Falkin groaned, “Come on, let’s go!”

Gil and Camila hopped on Joey’s back, riding towards Hexside.

“So, Healing Track?” Falkin asked.

“Yeah.” Camila responded, “I guess it fits me. I’ve always wanted to be a vet or doctor.”

“It sounds boring to me.” Gil added.

“Actually, it isn’t.” Falkin continued, “Healer witches can do more than apply a bandage. I’ve seen one in action, there’s a lot more than meets the eye.”

“I guess I’ll have to see for myself.” Camila said.

Camila looked around the landscape of the Boiling Isles for the next few minutes. Eventually, she noticed Hexside in the distance.

“That’s it, right?” She pointed to her right.

“Yep. There it is.” Falkin said, turning Joey in that direction.

“Speaking of…” Camila spoke up again, “Where’s Jack?”

“She said she’d meet us there. She had something to do at home.” Answered Gil.

“Oh, alright.” Camila continued looking around the landscape. There was an unsettling beauty to the isles, one that she couldn’t quite understand. She pondered this for the next few minutes until they landed.

“Alright. See you guys at lunch.” Gil said, jumping off of Joey.

“Yeah, adiós.” Camila said, heading into Hexside. She looked around to find Jack, but couldn’t see her anywhere.

“She’ll probably be at lunch.” Camila thought to herself. She looked around the various rooms. Each one was labeled with the sigil of their respective track. Gil went into the room with a brown, cracked fist. She decided to wait for another member of the Healing track to show up and follow them. They were headed to a room labeled with a blue hand covered in bandages. Camila walked in after them.

“Ah, there she is.” A man spoke up. “Everyone, meet the newest member of the Healing track: Camila Noceda.” The teacher was a large, rotund spider demon with 4 eyes, and 8 limbs. His carapace was blue with small red stripes along the ends of his joints.

The students all looked in Camila’s direction. Some of them waved, others simply looked back at the teacher.

“I am Mr. Eee, spelt ‘e-e-e,’” The teacher said, “Would you like to introduce yourself?”

Camila entered the class, looking around at all of the students. “Um…”

“Take your time, please.” Mr. Eee added.

“Ok…” Camila cleared her throat, “I’m Camila, and I’m a human from another world…”

She looked around again, noticing one student in the back who seemed particularly interested in hearing about her.

“...And I hope for a productive school year?” Camila concluded, nervous.

“Thank you, Miss Noceda. Please choose a seat.” The teacher clicked his mandibles with approval. The student in the back waved to Camila. She walked over and sat at the seat next to her.

“Hello!” The student cheerfully said. “I’m Mossy!”

“Hey!” Camila said, examining her. Mossy was a witch with short, grayish-brown hair, green eyes, and large round glasses.

“So, you ARE a human?” She asked, “Like, a real one?”

“Si, why?” Camila responded.

“Well, I’m kind of a huge anthropology nerd.” Mossy answered, “I found a human history book buried in the woods, and it was really interesting!”

“That’s…odd.” Camila raised an eyebrow, “Does human stuff often appear randomly here?”

“Yes!” Mossy said, “There used to be an old man who sold human collectibles in the night market over in Bonesborough.”

Camila seemed interested, “What happened?”

Mossy sighed, “The Pyramid Guards shut it down.”

“I’ve been hearing a lot about those lately.” Camila stroked her chin, “Who are they?”

“They’re the ones who live in that big floating pyramid above the skull. They’re supposedly the protectors of the Boiling Isles, but they’re actually just jerks who force witches into covens.” Mossy said with slight anger.

“But enough about that, what about you?” Mossy said, her demeanor quickly changing back to enthusiasm. “I thought humans couldn’t do magic?”

“Well…” Camila answered, “I can, sort of.”

“How?” Mossy said, leaning uncomfortably close to Camila.

Camila showed her palm. “This…thing.”

“Oooh…” Mossy poked it. “What’s that?”

“It’s a weird crystal. I’ve had it since I got here. I’m not sure where it came from, but I can use it to heal people.”

“So that’s why you’re here in the healing track?”

“I think so, but who knows what I can do with this thing.” Camila shrugged.

“Ooh, lost magic…” Mossy swooned, “I’ve always wanted to learn a new type of magic…”

“But?” Camila said, “I’m sensing a but approaching.”

“But, the Pyramid doesn’t like when witches learn more than one type of magic, let alone multiple forms of magic.” Mossy sighed, leaning her head against her palm.

“Hmm…” Camila suddenly had an idea.

“Hmm?” Mossy looked back to Camila.

“I’ve seen Philip, the other human I live with, use magic before.” Camila said.

“How?” Mossy suddenly seemed interested.

“I saw him light a fire with a glyph on the night he found me.” She continued, “I can’t remember what it looked like, but if I found his notebook I could probably memorize them for you.”

“Cool…” Mossy said, smiling. “Oh shoot, the teacher’s about to speak. Tell me more at lunch?”

Camila nodded, smiling.

The teacher spoke up. “Alright class, now that our new student is acclimated, I would like to start today’s lesson.” The teacher drew a white circle in the air. A crude drawing of a witch with a broken arm appears on the chalkboard.

“Oh, I hate this lesson…” Mossy groaned.

“Why…?” Camila said, nervous.

“You’ll see…”

The teacher continued, “Today’s lesson, all of us have done it at least once, except for our new student.” All of the students groaned, some of them chuckled.

“Do we have any volunteers?”

Nobody volunteered. The whole class went silent.

“Fine then. I will simply pick at random.” The teacher stepped forward towards the class. “Eeny, meeny, miney, you.” He pointed to Mossy. The class snickered as she groaned and walked towards the board. “Camila, if you would?”

“I have to get up too?” She asked, sweating.

“Yes, it’s part of this lesson.”

Camila stood up and walked next to Mossy.

“Now, Mossy, surely you remember the spell?” The teacher asked.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just make this quick.” Mossy sighed. “Before I do, Camila, are you sure your healing spell works every time?”

“Yes…?” Camila said, tilting her head.

Mossy gulped, and hesitantly drew a red circle in the air. A sickening crunch is heard as her forearm twists around, then back. She gasps in pain, coughing.

“Now, Camila, please demonstrate your healing spell to the class.” The teacher spoke up.

“I-is she ok?!” Camila was shocked, “What kind of class is this!?”

“Just do it!” Mossy shouted.

“Okay, okay!” Camila said, hands shaking. She gently placed her palm on Mossy’s shoulder, breathing slowly. She closed her eyes, and thought of decaying plants, and people suffering from illness. She heard Mossy grunt in pain again, and lost focus.

“Mossy, I know it hurts, but please try to breathe. Inhale, count to four, exhale.” Camila calmly spoke, placing her other hand on Mossy’s cheek. She complied, taking in sharp breaths.

She visualized the dark images again, and breathed slowly. The images slowly shifted. Life growing in fierce abundance, children playing in sunny fields. Camila slowly opened her eyes. Mossy’s arm began glowing in a blinding light, all of the students groaned as they shielded their eyes.

The light slowly subsided, and Mossy looked down to her arm. The pain had completely vanished, and the injury was gone. Camila dizzily stumbled backwards.

“Woah-” The teacher caught Camila as she stumbled. “Th-there…did I do it?”

Mossy chuckled, “Yes!” She exclaimed.

“A round of applause, for the newest member of the Healing track!” The teacher clicked, the whole class began clapping.

Camila rushed to Mossy’s side. “Are you alright?” She asked.

“I’m fine, thanks.” She smiled, crying slightly.

“This is seriously messed up!” Camila shouted. The applause ceased.

“Pardon?” The teacher responded.

“You told Mossy to break her arm, just for me to demonstrate my magic, like some dumb experiment?!” Camila said, angrily.

“It was-” The teacher spoke, only to be interrupted again.

“It was what? Just a spell?” Camila said, “I healed it, so it doesn’t matter, right?”

Mossy spoke, “Camila, please, just calm down.”

“No!” Camila shouted again, the crystal suddenly glowing again as she clenched her fist. “This is stupid! This whole class is stupid!”

“Miss Noceda, return to your seat!” The teacher shouted back.

“Absolutely NOT!” Camila said, slamming the teacher’s desk, her fist glowing. In a flash of light, the desk splits in two. The entire class watched in awe.

The teacher growled. “Miss Noceda, you are to-”

“Stay exactly where you are, and continue learning.” Principal Ghastli said, stepping into the classroom.

“Principal?” The teacher stumbled over his words, “I had no idea-”

“Quiet, please.” Ghastli sighed. “The young lady is correct. This practice is crude and barbaric.”

“But-”

“Be quiet.” Ghastli calmly approached Camila, who was struggling to stand up.

Camila coughed, “I’m sorry, principal…”

The principal gently helped Camila stand up. “It's quite alright, Camila.”

“Now, Mr. Eee.” Ghastli cleared her throats, “Camila will continue to attend this track. She will remain one of your students, and you will not treat her with any amount of bias. Understood?”

“Very well.” The teacher scoffed.

“Now, please return to your seats.” The principal smiled, and exited the room. Mossy helped Camila walk back to their seats in the back of the class.

Mr. Eee cleared his throat. “Right. Demonstration over.”

Mossy smiled at Camila as they sat down.

“Hey, actually…” She turned to Camila, whispering. “I overheard a conversation on my way to school…”

Camila leaned in, “Hmm?”

“Your name’s Camila Noceda?”

Camila nodded, “...Why?”

“Does the name ‘Luz Noceda’ ring a bell?” Mossy tilted her head.

Camila’s eyes widened, “Tell me everything.”

LUZ POV

A middle aged woman sits alone in a dark cell, protected by two guards wearing pyramid shaped helmets and gold-silver armor.

“Tell us everything.” A metallic voice spoke up.

The woman looked up to see a large figure, clad in thick metal plating. She refused to speak. The figure knelt down, peeking into the cell.

“Tell us about the crystal, and we can help you find her.” The figure displayed a crystal ball. Inside, was an image of a young human girl. The woman stood up, and slowly walked towards the cell bars, looking down at her palm, and then to the ball. A small tear gently rolled down her cheek.

“Where do I begin?” The woman responded.

Chapter Text

LUZ POV

Luz sat in her cell, darkness enveloping the hallway before her, lit only by the faint light of the crystal ball. Over the few days she had been in this world, she had grown slightly accustomed to the sight of bizarre magical objects such as this. However, though the entire world she found herself in seemed inherently magical, the magical artifact before her was different somehow. It felt unnatural, as if it was not meant to exist. The guards protecting her cell had a similar feeling. Their armor moved as though nothing hid underneath. She once again looked down to her palm. The crystal was a deep silver color, jagged, and ever so slightly painful. She then looked back up to the giant figure towering over her.

“Where did it come from?” The figure asked in a deep, rumbling voice.

“It’s…been on my hand since I got here.” Luz responded nervously.

“And?”

“Nobody knows what it is.”

“...And?” The giant leaned closer to the cell, close enough to where Luz could almost make out some of their features. Their face seemed to have been covered in burn scars and claw marks.

“And, I really don’t know what else you want from me.” Luz answered.

The giant remained silent for a few moments. Another guard approached them from behind. They turned around and began whispering. The giant then returned their attention to Luz, and spoke up.

“You are to come with me to meet the Inheritor.” They said, unlocking the cell door with a magic spell.

“Who’s the Inheritor?” Luz said, “Is that your boss?”

The giant did not answer. They simply gestured for Luz to follow.

PHILIP POV

Philip stepped into the deer house from the cold. He rushed into his bedroom and began digging through his belongings.

“No, not there!” He shouted, panicked. Pops entered the room, disturbed by the sounds.

“Hey, dude!?” He said, irritated. “Why’s it sound like someone’s getting murdered here?!”

“Not now!” Philip said, continuing to rummage through his belongings.

“What are you searching for?” Pops jumped onto Philip’s desk.

“The staff! I need his palisman!” Philip stopped rummaging, turning to face Pops.

“Oh that thing? It’s against the doorframe. You walked past it.”

Philip sighed a breath of relief. “Thank you, Pops.” He calmed down, returning to the living room and retrieving the staff.

Philip stared solemnly at the staff. He hadn’t seen his brother in years, all he could recover was his palisman, which had remained in the form of a staff ever since. For all of that time, he had begged the titan to tell him that it was all a bad dream, that one day his brother would walk through the door and reunite with him.

“The day comes, then.” Philip whispered, a tear rolling down his cheek. “I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.” He slowly twisted the palisman off of its staff, hoping that it would finally awaken. It was a small deerlike creature, with very long antlers, and white ‘fur’. He waited a few moments for it to awaken, yet nothing happened.

Philip sighed. “It seems I’ll have to do this the hard way.” He set the palisman on the coffee table, and walked away.

Suddenly, he heard a creaking and snapping. He turned around to see the palisman slowly moving. He rushed to the couch, sitting down and waiting for it to finish awakening. It bleated quietly, looking up at Philip and sitting.

“You’ve awakened at last.” He smiled, gently petting the creature. “Did you sleep well?”

The palisman nuzzled his hand, chirping and bleating.

“I need your help, old friend.” Philip said, “Caleb is alive.”

The palisman bleated happily in response, hopping in a circle.

“You can’t?” He stroked his chin, “How come?”

The deer chirped while licking itself.

“Not the time?” Philip said, confused. “What do you mean, it’s not the time?”

The palisman did not provide an answer.

“The silent treatment, I see.” Philip groaned, “You really are like Caleb.”

Philip sat in silence, watching the palisman walk around the coffee table. He pulled out his journal and began writing.

November 22

I’ve been continuing my search for answers. While Camila was attending class, I met with Diviner Olivia of the Oracle Coven in Femuria. The visit was most illuminating, however I am still at a dead end. All evidence seems to point to a prophecy of some sort, one that I am unfamiliar with. However, my brother Caleb was very well-versed in the topic, scarily so. Unfortunately, despite the likelihood of him being alive, I am still unsure of his location. I was able to awaken his palisman, but he refused to help me find him. I may need to pay Olivia a second visit.

LUZ POV

Luz continued following the giant down the hallways. The architecture of the Pyramid was truly bizarre. There were giant empty spaces with bridges twisting and turning throughout, followed by seemingly endless hallways and chambers. The halls were built of golden marble, and illuminated by golden light fixtures. The walls and floor were also covered in strange symbols. Each chamber was protected by at least one Pyramid Guard, all carefully watching Luz’s movements as she followed the giant guard towards the center of the Pyramid.

“Where are we going?” Luz finally spoke up. “This place is so…dizzying.”

“The core.” The giant answered, “The Inheritor awaits you there.”

“Can you tell me who this Inheritor is?” She asked.

“You will see.”

“Not much of a talker?”

The giant simply grunted in response.

The pair approached a large, black door with red energy coursing through it. The giant placed their palm against it, and the door vanished into nothing.

“Go.” The giant said, their booming voice echoing throughout the area.

Luz gulped, and nodded, stepping inside. The door reappeared behind her. The room was a massive empty void, with a single platform in the center. Atop the platform was a large black throne, facing away from the entrance. Luz heard someone snap their fingers. A red beam of energy shot from the ground beneath her towards the platform. She looked around the dark room, hesitantly inching her foot forward. The beam seemed to be a magical bridge, so she walked towards the platform. The throne slowly turned around, revealing a small cloaked figure wearing a hood over their head, sitting with one leg over the other.

“...Hola?” Luz whispered nervously. “Mr. Inheritor?”

The figure gestured for Luz to step closer. She slowly walked forward. She couldn’t make out any of the person’s features, but from their size, they seemed to be very young.

“Hello, Luz.” The figure spoke with an English accent.

“You know my name?” Luz asked.

“I know a lot about you, Luz.” They responded.

“How?”

“Does it really matter?”

“I guess it’s not the weirdest thing about this place.” Luz chuckled nervously.

“Mhm.” They cleared their throat and stood from their throne. “I’m sure you’re wondering why you’re here?”

“Uh…Si.” Luz answered, looking around the dark room.

“Well, the Judge is pretty interested in that little crystal of yours.” They responded, “She wants you to stay here in the Pyramid to have it studied.”

Luz looked to her palm, something felt off. The crystal’s glow had entirely faded.

“We’ve never seen anything like it here, and I know you don’t want to stay here any longer than you have to…” They walked up to Luz, looking up at her. “So I’ll cut you a deal.”

Luz looked down at the kid. They seemed young for someone in a position of power.

“I’m not sure if I trust you.” Luz said nervously, “I mean look at you, how old are you? Like, 12?”

The kid groaned, “I’m not 12!”

Luz chuckled slightly, “Sorry. You look like my daughter when she was 12.”

They sighed, “Look, just listen!”

“Okay, okay.” Luz said, listening.

“Stay here a little while, we can figure out how to remove the crystal from your hand, and we will use every resource at our disposal to find your daughter.” They continued.

Luz nodded, “I’d have to stay here how long? A week?”

“Maybe, maybe a bit longer. Course, there’s an easier option.” They chuckled, making a slicing motion towards their own wrist.

“I’ll…pass.” Luz said, sweating.

“I figured.”

“Say, what’s your name, Inheritor?” Luz asked.

“Oh, I’m not them. I’m just a messenger. A simple courier, my name matters not.”

“Right.” Luz said, skeptical. “And the throne?”

“Oh, it’s the Judge’s, of course. She’s not here right now though.”

“Alrighty then.” Luz smiled sheepishly.

The two briefly stood in silence for a few moments.

“Oh, right.” The kid snapped their fingers, “We’ve got a room for you.” They said, returning to their throne. “Enjoy the accommodations of our Pyramid.” They paused, then spoke up again, “Oh, and don’t forget to attend the ceremony later!”

“Wait but-” Luz was interrupted by a bright flash of light, and suddenly found herself in a small room with a single bed, window, and a closet.

“And, of course.” Luz sighed, sitting on the bed. The past few days had been tough on her. Losing her daughter, being trapped in another world. It all made no sense. She didn’t fully trust the kid, but they were all she had. She looked out the window, into the horizon. She could see the entirety of the Boiling Isles from where she was.

“At least the view is nice,” She said, noticing an airship flying into the bottom of the pyramid. She began to think. If the kid is lying, it’s possible she will never see Camila ever again. She wouldn’t take that risk.

“Maybe I can stowaway onto one of those ships…” She said to herself, carefully watching another airship fly by. “Looks like they’re pretty common…it should be easy to find one.” She sat up from her bed, and exited her room. A Pyramid Guard stood outside.

“Purpose?” It asked.

“I, um…” Luz stumbled nervously over her words, “I need to find the restroom.”

“Proceed.” The guard pointed down the hallway. Luz jogged past it and around the corner. There were no other guards around.

“They must be at the ceremony the kid mentioned…” Luz whispered to herself, continuing down the various halls. The Pyramid was labyrinthine in nature, dozens of branching paths across every hall.

She groaned, “Surely there’s some way of navigating this place?!” Luz turned a corner, then another corner, then climbed up a staircase, then down, eventually arriving back where she started.

She simply sighed. She felt that there was no point in continuing. This place was a maze, impossible to escape, yet something made her press on. She shut her eyes, inhaled, then exhaled. The crystal on her palm began glowing, and she raised her arm, pointing. She opened her eyes, and found that she was pointing at an entrance to another hallway. She cautiously walked down it, carefully watching her corners.

“Hey, I haven’t been here before!” She smiled. She nearly cheered with excitement, but heard heavy metallic footsteps approaching. She suddenly jumped into an empty chamber to hide. Two Pyramid Guards walked by, their heavy armor making a terrible clanking noise as they strode along the marble floor. She sighed as they passed, relieved.

“Too close, need to be more careful Luz.”

“Luz?” A woman suddenly spoke up from behind her, “Is that what your name is, human?”

Luz turned around to see a middle aged witch with medium length, brown hair in a bun, wearing red glasses.

“Oh-” Luz suddenly panicked, “I’m, uh, going!”

The woman summoned an abomination hand to grab Luz by the ankle, and stepped forward.

“Hey!” Luz shouted, “Let go!”

“You’re not supposed to be here.” She responded.

“Yeah, I’m not!” Luz stuttered, “S-so let me go!”

“Oh calm down, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

“Then let me go!” Luz turned to face the woman.

“Not until you tell me what’s going on here. I heard there was a human here.”

“I-” Luz sighed, “I’m trying to get out of here. I want to find my daughter.”

“If that’s true, I wouldn’t be so…obnoxious.” She said, “Not to be rude, but you’re not very subtle.”

Luz relaxed, “I guess you’re right.”

“I’ll help you out, if you help me out.” The woman said, releasing Luz.

“Okay?” Luz said, wiping the abomination goo off of her leg.

“Assuming you’re using the airships to escape, I want you to go to Bonesborough, and find my daughter. Then bring her to the Blight Manor, also near the town.”

“Why?”

“I’ve heard other parents say some very unkind things about her.” The woman answered. “She’s been bullying students at her school, Hexside.”

Luz nodded, “Is this…new behavior?”

“Yes, I think.”

“Alright then, what’s her name?” Luz asked.

“Odalia.” The woman cleared her throat, “and I’m Amity Blight.” She offered her hand.

“My daughter is named Camila.” Luz shook her hand, “I’m Luz Noceda. It’s nice to meet you, Amity.”

Amity smiled. “The airship dock is directly below us, two floors down.”

“Thank you, Miss Blight.” Luz smiled, leaving the room.

Luz quietly and cautiously inched down the stairs, carefully listening for any voices or footsteps. As she descended, she faintly heard the sound of whispering, but not from outside. It sounded more like it came from within her own mind. She shook her head, continuing down the stairs.

“Not real, they’re not real…” She whispered under her breath, slowly approaching the entrance to the dock. There was a large door with an unfamiliar symbol. Somehow, she knew this had to be it. She slowly opened the door. The dock was packed with people, easy to get lost in. Perfect, she just had to slip into the crowd. She squeezed between people, moving towards a sign that read ‘BONESBOROUGH.’

“Finally!” She exclaimed, jumping onto the ship, but as she jumped on, she was not met with the comfort of wood against her feet, but nothingness as she fell into a seemingly empty, dark chamber.

“Huh!? Wha!?” Luz coughed as a spotlight snapped on, focused on her. She sat up, looking around the dark room.

“Back so soon?” A familiar voice giggled mischievously. Luz turned to see the kid once more sitting on the throne.

“What’s going on here?!” Luz began to panic.

“Oh, not much.” The figure calmly responded. “Just the ceremony to crown the Titan Guard, of course.”

“T-titan guard?” Luz said weakly.

“You don’t know what it is, do you?” They sighed.

“No, not really.” Luz answered nervously.

The kid snapped their fingers. Golden chains suddenly appeared, wrapping around Luz’s limbs and pulling her to the ground.

“H-hey!” She shouted, trying to break free. “Who the hell even are you!? What’s going on!?” She shouted. The room began echoing with laughter.

“Well, the Titan Guard ceremony is the most important occasion of the decade, for starters.” They stood up from their throne.

“As for your other question, my friends call me Mono. But you?” The kid threw their cloak off into the darkness of the room, revealing their face. They were a young, violet skinned teenager with purple eyes and medium, straight pink hair. They wore a black suit with blue-violet trims, and dark gray gloves.

“You can call me the Inheritor!” They enthusiastically shouted, snapping their fingers. The entire chamber illuminated to show thousands of platforms surrounding the central platform. Thousands of witches and demons of all shapes and sizes were in attendance. Luz heard cheering and clapping echo through the chamber.

“Welcome, welcome!” The Inheritor cheered, “To the semi-centennial Titan Guard Ceremony!”

The cheers of the crowd were deafening. Luz felt the ground beneath her rotate. The Inheritor’s throne sank into the ground. The two were now facing the chamber’s entrance. The giant guard that had escorted Luz earlier was slowly lumbering towards them. The cheering slowly quieted down as it walked across the magic bridge. Luz continued struggling against the restraints.

“This is seriously messed up, kid!” Luz shouted, “Just what the hell’s going on here?”

The kid chuckled, “Wow, cursing in front of a kid? You must be a terrible mother.”

Luz stopped moving. She hated it, but they were right. She lost her kid in a horrible demon world, and now, it’s very likely that she will never see her daughter again.

The Inheritor chuckled. “Aw, don’t worry, Miss Luz!” They giggled, “You’ll see Camila again I think. Very, very soon.”

CAMILA POV

Camila and Mossy cheerfully stepped into Hexside’s cafeteria. Camila was giggling at something Mossy had said.

“Seriously? It went all the way through?” She said, chuckling.

“Yeah! It was super gross, I had to get it surgically removed!” Mossy said, smiling.

Mossy looked around, then back to Camila.

“Hey, I’m sorry that I didn’t really have any info on your mom.” She said, patting Camila’s shoulder.

“Can…” Camila looked away, “Can we talk about it later, please?”

“Of course, I get it.” Mossy said. “Hey, is that Falkin?”

“Huh, where?” Camila looked around the cafeteria.

“Over there.” Mossy pointed at one of the tables. Sure enough, Falkin was there, along with Jack and Gil. The pair rushed over to their table.

“Hey guys!” Camila said, sitting down.

“Oh hi Cam.” Jack said, seemingly upset.

“Are you ok?” Mossy asked, “You look down.”

“No, no. I’m just tired.” Jack yawned. “I stayed up late last night, that’s all.”

Mossy nodded. “So, you guys are all Camila’s friends then?”

“Yep!” Gil smiled, “That’s us.” Falkin nodded as well. He seemed to have more bandages on his face than usual.

“Woah, what happened to you?” Mossy asked.

“Ugh. Joey got excited. Scratched me up.” Falkin groaned.

“Ouch.” Camila chuckled.

“Yeah, it’s all fun and games in the Beast Keeping track until you’ve got a giant bird trying to knead on your face.”

Jack chuckled quietly.

“So, learn any new magic?” Gil asked. “I heard Mr. Eee stomping around, moaning about his desk.”

Mossy smiled, “Oh it was actually super cool-”

“Actually-” Camila interrupted, “It wasn’t that cool. I just punched it really hard, no magic.”

“...No magic?” Mossy turned to look at Camila with a sarcastic expression. “You were GLOWING, and you want me to think it wasn’t magical?”

“I was glowing?” Camila responded.

“Oh, I need to hear this.” Falkin leaned forward to listen.

“Okay, so we were doing the initiation assignment.” Mossy said, “Basically, whenever a new student joins the track, they have to heal another student.”

Camila frowned. “Mr. Eee made Mossy break her own arm. I had to heal it.”

“Was it the same thing that happened to us?” Gil asked.

“Yes, I think. I conjured up images of life dying and being healed in my head, then it just…happened.” Camila responded.

“So, what happened with the desk?” Gil said.

“I’m unsure…I was just really angry that the teacher made Mossy break her own arm.” Camila tapped her fingers on the table. “I wasn’t really thinking, just angry.”

“Woah.” Falkin responded, “Did the principal get mad?”

“No, actually she seemed…” Camila paused.

“Proud?” Mossy added.

“I guess?” Camilla said.

Jack mumbled something inaudible.

“What was that?” Gil asked, tapping Jack’s shoulder.

“Oh, uh. Magic is cool.” Jack stuttered. “Hey, do you two need snails? I noticed you don’t have food with you.”

“Oh, I’m not hungry, but thanks.” Camila said.

“Here, take it.” Jack smiled, offering some snails to Camila. “Seriously, you should eat. I hear that healing magic can really mess up your metabolism.”

“It’s true, actually.” Mossy said, standing up. She took Camila’s hand and headed towards a vending machine.

“H-huh?!” Camila said as she was yanked by Mossy.

“What do you want?” Mossy asked as Camila pulled her hand away. “Hex mix? Just a sandwich?”

“Uh…” Camila scanned the contents. “Hex mix sounds…digestible?”

Mossy shrugged, inserting the snails into the vending machine and purchasing two bags of hex mix. The two returned to the table and began eating.

“So.” Mossy said, munching on her hex mix. “Do any of you have like…anyone special?”

Falkin shook his head, “Nah. That’s not really my thing.”

“Understandable, how about you, Jacqueline?” Mossy asked, “That’s your full name, right?”

“Just Jack, please.” Jack responded, “But yeah, sorta. I’ve got my eyes on someone.”

“How about Camila?” Falkin asked.

“Oh me?” Camila said, blushing slightly. “Well, there was a boy from my hometown, but I haven’t seen him since my mom and I moved to Connecticut.” She sighed, “He was cool, but way out of my league.”

“Aw.” Mossy smiled.

“How about Gil?” Camila asked.

Jack chuckled, “Oh I think I already know.” She winked.

Gil blushed, “Jack…no…”

“Oh man…” Falkin sighed, smiling.

“Who is it?” Mossy said, leaning forward. “I must know!”

Camila giggled.

“He’s got a crush on a guy from Glandus High.” Jack smiled.

“Come on!” Gil groaned, turning red.

“Pshh,” Jack snorted. “Nobody here even knows him. It’s not like they’ll tell.”

“Yeah but…” Gil looked down, embarrassed.

Jack and Falkin both placed their hands on Gil’s shoulders.

“Buddy, it’s fine.” Falkin said, chuckling. “Nobody’s gonna snitch on you, alright?”

“I know, but just…” Gil sighed. “I don’t like thinking about it, because I’m probably never gonna see him again!”

Jack and Falkin both looked at each other, then Camila, then back to each other.

“I think they might have an idea.” Camila grinned.

“What would you think about taking a field trip with us, Gil?” Jack said, leaning in front of him.

Mossy smiled and stood up. “Shall we let these dorks plan?”

“I don’t see why not.” Camila said, winking at Gil.

“Wait, don’t leave me!” Gil whined.

The pair rushed out of the cafeteria, snickering.

“Gilbert Park, my dear friend.” Falkin said, “I think a nice long flight to the ribs will do you some good.”

Outside of the cafeteria, Mossy and Camila giggled together.

“Poor guy.” Camila said, “They’re probably gonna fly him all the way to Glandus to ask out his crush.”

“He’s cute. I bet it’ll be love at first sight.” Mossy chuckled.

“Agreed.” Camila smiled.

Chapter Text

THE HUMAN REALM, REALITY CHECK SUMMER CAMP

MASHA POV

A young adult is relaxing on a park bench, eating a granola bar and scrolling on their phone. Today is yet another boring day, working at this boring, soulless summer camp. Nothing ever happens in this place.

“Ugh. All anyone can do in this crap camp is play cards and sleep.” They groaned.

“Counselor Masha Grey, please report to the Activity Center.” A male voice commands through a walkie-talkie.

“Wonderful.” They said, standing up and getting in a golf cart. They sighed, driving to the main building at the center of the camp. The camp was divided into eight sections. 7 cabins surrounding one central building where all camp “activities” are held. Calling it an Activity Center is very ironic, because the only thing the children are allowed to do is watch presentations and do homework. Masha hated working at this place, but they paid well. More than enough to pay the bills, at least.

When they arrived at the building, they noticed the superintendent standing outside the main entrance. He was an old man, around 60 or 70. He was completely bald, covered in wrinkles, and wore a black suit.

“Counselor Grey.” He said sternly. “I need to talk to you about your performance these past two weeks.”

Masha gulped. “Yes sir.”

He gestured for them to follow him to his office. They began walking. The inside of the building was bland and dull. Gray cabinets, gray rooms, gray chairs and tables. Even the other counselors seemed gray. No ounce of color could be found in these desolate halls. These hallways make the lunar surface look like a psychedelic trip through time.

“Do you know why I run this camp, counselor?” The man looked to Masha as they walked.

“Yes, sir.” Masha responded nervously.

“Because creativity, though encouraged, only leads students to failure and disappointment.” He droned monotonously, “What good would a boy with an art degree contribute to our world compared to a girl with a medical degree?”

“Not much, sir.” Masha answered somberly.

The old man smiled. “Precisely.”

Masha entered his office. There was slightly more color in here. His chair was a brown leather material, there was a US flag hanging in the corner, and his computer was a blue-gray color. They sat on the chair opposite to his. The superintendent sat down at his chair afterwards and began typing on his computer.

“What was it you said about my performance?” Masha asked.

“To put it bluntly, you’re doing a bad job.” He responded, flipping the computer monitor to show Masha’s decline in job performance over the past two weeks.

They winced. “Oh…”

The man sighed. “You know, Masha.”

“Huh?”

“When I first saw your application, I was truly shocked. Proud too.” He smiled, “You were a very good student here, and we were all excited to work with you.”

“I know, I know but-”

“I know what you’re about to say.” He frowned. “You’ve had a bad month.”

Masha nodded. “The kids are miserable, and my dad was recently hospitalized.”

“Lung cancer if I’m not mistaken?”

“Mhm.” Masha mumbled.

The superintendent sighed. Masha worried about what would come next.

“I’m going to give you a second chance.” He flipped the monitor back to face him. “Improve these children within two weeks, and I’ll forget about this dip in performance.”

Masha breathed a gasp of relief. “Of course, sir.”

They stood up, pushed the chair in, and walked out of the office.

As they walked somberly down the dull hallway, thunder rumbled in the distance.

“Great.” They groaned to themself. They then felt a vibration in their pocket. They pulled out their phone.

“Hey.” They answered into their phone, walking out of the building and into their golf cart.

“Hey hon.” A woman responded. “How are you feeling? Are you eating well?”

“Yes mom, I’m doing fine.” Masha responded, inserting the key.

“Masha, dear. I can tell when you’re lying.” Their mother replied.

“Mom, not now please.” Masha said, beginning to drive as lightning struck in the distance. “There’s a storm coming and I need to get back to the cabin.”

“Masha, wait!” She said, suddenly with a deeply concerned voice.

“Yeah?” Masha said, stopping the cart.

“I didn’t just want to ask how you’re doing. I can text you for that.”

“Just say it, mom.” Masha said, slightly annoyed as light rain began sprinkling down.

“It's your father.” She answered. “His condition’s gotten even worse now.”

Masha’s eyes widened. Thunder rolled in the distance as they processed this news.

“Wh-what happened?” Masha said, panicking. “Mom! What happened!”

“We don’t know!” Their mother responded, quietly sobbing.

Rain began pouring down. Lightning slashed through the air as tears and rain flowed down their face.

Masha hung up, and continued driving, desperately trying not to break down crying. Minutes of driving felt like hours as the horror of this revelation weighed against them. Masha parked the cart just outside of a cabin labeled ‘7’ and stepped inside, their tears hidden by the rainwater that soaked their face. Inside of the cabin were two bunk-beds and four kids playing a board game. On the far end of the cabin was a sleeping bag for Masha. They all looked up to them as they stepped inside.

“Hi Masha!” The youngest child, a short blonde girl giggled.

“Woah. What happened to you?” A teenage boy asked. Masha didn’t respond, they simply walked to their sleeping bag and laid down. The kids all stood up and walked to them.

“Are you ok, counselor?” The blonde girl asked. “You look sad!”

“I’m fine, kids.” Masha groaned. “Go back to your game, please.”

The kids all looked at each other, then back to Masha. One of them shrugged and returned to the game. The others soon followed. Masha sat up and stared at the ceiling. Might lose their job, might lose their father. Can this day get any worse?

“No, it won’t.” Masha thought to themself. Why should they give up now? Why do they even have to work at this stupid camp and force these poor kids to conform?

They suddenly stood up and clapped their hands. The kids immediately got up from their game and started paying attention.

“Alright kids. Things suck right now, really bad.” They spoke up, “But I think that’s stupid.”

“Yeah!” One of the kids spoke up.

“So, who wants to go on a field trip tomorrow?” Masha asked, smiling confidently. “No boring lectures, no monotonous presentations.”

“Can we ride in the cart?” The young girl asked.

“Absolutely!” Masha grinned.

The kids all smiled back and began chatting about the trip. Their excitement filled Masha with hope.

A few hours later, the kids had already fallen asleep. Masha was alone with their thoughts. Their father had been diagnosed with lung cancer a while ago. He had been addicted to cigarettes for longer than Masha had been alive. They developed minor lung problems because of it.

Masha looked through a photo album named ‘Family’ on their phone. There were hundreds of pictures from when Masha was a kid. Over the years, most of these memories had become bittersweet. As his cancer grew, so did his bitterness. He became distant, irrational, always angry at something or someone. Masha had been avoiding him since their 15th birthday.

“Okay, I think that's enough phone for tonight.” Masha said, quietly sobbing. They turned their phone off and fell asleep.

THE NEXT MORNING

Masha woke up early in the morning to the sound of an alarm ringing. They yawned and stretched. Some of the kids already woke up, as they could hear talking.

“Is-” Masha yawned, “-everyone alright?”

“Yup!” One of the boys said. “Are we-”

“Yeah, yeah.” Masha stood up and stretched again, “The field trip is in two hours.”

The kids groaned.

“Why not now?!” The boy whined.

“We need to eat breakfast first?” Masha chuckled. “Plus, I need the extra time to come up with an excuse.”

“Anyways, attendance.” Masha said. The kids all stood side-by-side.

“Jacob H.” They said.

“I’m here.” The tallest boy answered. He was the oldest of the four.

“Allison C.”

“Also present.” Said a tall, red-haired girl.

“Chris T.”

“I’m here!” Said a young boy, around 13.

“And Polly, of course.” Masha said.

“I’m here!” Answered a small, blonde haired girl. She was the youngest of the group.

“Alright, dismissed.” Masha stated.

The kids began leaving the cabin, but Masha stopped Jacob before he walked out.

“Wait, before we go…” Masha spoke up, “Keep quiet about the field trip, alright? I don’t want to lose my job.”

The kids all nodded and headed to the Activity Center from the cabin. Part of Masha still felt bad for making them go there, but they needed to eat. Masha followed the kids into the building, but went to the superintendent’s office rather than the food court. They had to think of an excuse quickly.

Masha knocked on the door.

“Come in.” A tired old man spoke from the other side. Masha stepped into the room and took a seat.

“Masha.” He said, taking a sip from a steaming mug.

“Mr. Superintendent, sir.” Masha said, “My cabin will be unable to attend today’s seminar.”

He set his mug on the table and lifted an eyebrow. “Care to explain why…?”

“They’ve been…invited…to a birthday party?” Answered Masha sheepishly.

The superintendent took another sip and sighed. Masha looked around nervously.

“Fine.” He said, typing something into the computer. “Not a good start to your second chance.”

Masha nodded and quickly vacated the room. They didn’t like lying to him. They didn’t like lying in general, but still. This place is just a glorified conversion camp, they’re not gonna put any kids through what they had to go through.

“Come on Mash, it’s the right thing to do.” They said to themself, walking away.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the food court. Kids and their counselors were organized at tables based on the cabin they attended. In the far side of the room was Cabin 7’s table. The kids were eating in complete silence, no doubt because of what Masha told them earlier.

“So…” Masha opened up, sitting down. “Did I miss anything important?”

Polly shook her head.

Masha continued, “The food here sucks, huh?”

She nodded.

“Come on Polly, I said not to talk about the activities, not that you couldn’t talk at all.” Masha smiled.

“Is it true that you could lose your job?” Jacob asked.

“Yes, Jacob.” Masha responded sadly.

The campers all seemed distraught over this. Masha had been protecting them from this camp the whole time.

“Why would you do that?” Asked Allison.

Masha teared up. “Because I didn’t want to see more kids get hurt by this place.”

“What do you mean, hurt?” Asked Chris.

“Okay, here we go…” Masha mumbled to themself. “When I was a teenager, my parents sent me here. It was the worst few months of my life.”

“Oh no…” Chris answered.

“Yeah.” Masha said, “I’d rather not get into it. All you need to know is that this place is pure evil and shouldn’t exist. Kids should be free to express themselves.”

Masha and the kids spent the rest of the morning preparing for the field trip.

“Alright, is that everything?” Masha said, rubbing sweat off of their forehead.

“Yup!” Chris shouted excitedly from the back of the golf cart. Allison and Polly were also seated in the back, Jacob sat in the front.

“So, where are we going?” Polly asked.

“We’re going to the spooooky woods of infinite torment!” Masha announced dramatically as they began driving.

Jacob chuckled. “Okay, but actually. Where?”

“Well, the woods. Perfect atmosphere to tell spooky stories.” Masha smiled.

“But it’s July?” Allison stated, confused.

“Meh. Every day is the right time for spooks in my opinion.” Masha responded.

Masha waited until they were decently far into the path to start talking again.

“Alright, now who wants to hear the tale about the Wayward Bard of Gravesfield?” Masha happily asked.

“Ooh!!” Polly chirped, “I do!”

“Alright, listen and listen well kids.” Masha began.

“Once upon a time, in the year 1613, Gravesfield was a quiet and peaceful colony. Nothing ever happened here, nothing of note anyways.”

The kids all listened intently to Masha as they continued.

“That was until supposedly, a great, silver ray of light shone down from the heavens!” Masha loudly stated. “When the settlers of Gravesfield went to investigate the beam of light, they found nothing but a small necklace. Engraved on the necklace was a name, now illegible.”

“Wait, what do you mean NOW illegible?” Allison asked.

“The necklace can be found today in the Historical Society. Though, the name ends with the letter n.” Masha answered. “Anyways, as I was saying…”

They continued. “Days later, there was word of a stranger in town. A bard whose music was so powerful, it was said to be magical.”

“Magic?” Chris asked, “Like wizards?”

“Yes, like wizards.” Masha chuckled. “Eventually, word of this stranger reached a neighboring town. This town was home to a group of witch hunters led by a man calling himself Grey.”

“Woah…witch hunters…” Polly whispered.

“I always thought witch hunter stuff was an exaggeration or myth.” Chris chimed in.

“Well, they are exaggerations. Witch hunts were often ways for people to get rid of people they didn’t like.” Masha said.

“How do you know this?” Jacob asked.

“Well, supposedly I’m very distantly related to Grey. I do share his last name, after all.” They responded.

“Woah…our counselor is a witch hunter?” Allison asked.

“Well…We’re getting off track.” Masha sighed, “Anyways. The hunters confronted the bard in their home. They began to fight.”

“What happened?” Chris asked.

“The bard supposedly used enchanted instruments to fight, using powerful notes to blast magical sound waves at their foes.” Masha added, “Sadly, the bard was outnumbered by the witch hunters, and was killed.”

The kids all frowned.

“Aw man!” Chris groaned, “How did they beat them?! The bard had magic!”

“The details are, of course, lost to time. It’s been over four hundred years, after all. But…” Masha paused.

“...But what?” Allison asked.

“Their body was eventually found, and buried in the cemetery. It’s said that if you sit by their grave for long enough, you can faintly hear the sound of a violin. Playing its final, heartful rhapsody.”

The kids all looked at Masha in awe.

“Tell us more! More!” Polly said excitedly.

“Alright, calm down Polly.” Masha chuckled. “There’s also a myth about their tomb. It’s said that their spirit will appear to you from the afterlife if you play them a song from your heart, and grant you a wish.”

“Woah…Is it true?” Polly asked.

“Probably not.” Jacob said.

“Hush, Jacob. Let the expert answer.” Allison jabbed.

“Who knows.” Masha shrugged. “A few people have tried in the past, but maybe they didn’t put enough heart into it.”

“Do you believe in ghosts, Masha?” Chris asked.

Masha nodded. “Oh, absolutely. In fact, there’s a really big scary one right behind you.”

Chris, scared, looked behind him, seeing nothing. Everyone laughed.

“N-not cool!” Chris whined.

Masha chuckled. “Only kidding. I do believe in ghosts and monsters, yes, but I’ve never talked to one. So I wouldn’t know for sure.”

A chilly wind ran past Masha’s cheek.

“Oof. It’s getting cold out. Let’s head back.” Masha said, turning the cart around.

“Do you know the way we came?” Jacob asked.

“We’ve been going in a straight line, Jacob.” Allison responded.

The ride back was silent, except for Chris and Polly occasionally asking Masha more questions about the Wayward Bard.

“Alright, head back to the cabin and pretend I took you over to the town if any of the other counselors ask.” Masha said, before hearing something rustling in the trees. They stopped moving and quickly moved over.

“Kids, get to the cabin.” They said, very nervous.

“Masha? What’s wrong?” Polly asked.

“Cabin. Now.” They said, sternly this time. The kids did as they were told, quickly jogging back to the cabin. Masha cautiously approached the treeline, looking around. Another chilling breeze blew past their neck as they pushed branches out of the way, carefully listening to the sounds of nature.

“Hello…?” They quietly mumbled. They heard another noise. An animal whimpering?

“Hello?” They murmured again, slowly inching towards the source of the noise.

They stepped over roots and bushes, listening to the sounds of leaves rustling. Something else was out there.

Masha sighed. “Whoever’s out there, this ain't funny!” They shouted into the expanse of trees, there was no response.

“Right, why would there be a response?” Masha said, “Oh I’m just going crazy because-”

As Masha finished their sentence, they tripped on something and heard a loud yelping noise. They turned around to see something slither away into the woods. Masha began to pursue.

“Hey, whatever you are, you better not mess with MY kids!” They growled as they ran, dodging branches and logs. They eventually came across a clearing. Another cool wind hit the back of Masha’s neck. They looked around, seeing a peculiar looking greenish-yellow leaf on the ground. They walked to it, accidentally stepping on it.

“AAAAAAGH!!!!!” A feminine voice cried out. Suddenly, a greenish-yellow slug-like creature flopped into view, clutching onto its tail. It had a vaguely humanoid appearance, blue hair, and strange eyes. Masha was left completely bewildered, and froze still, carefully analyzing the bizarre creature. The creature seemed just as terrified as Masha. But suddenly, it began to speak.

“Please don’t hurt me!” It cried out in a scared voice, shaking with fear.

“Oh my goddess-” Masha exclaimed with equal parts fear and amazement.

The creature whimpered. “Please, please don’t hurt-”

Masha stepped forward and knelt down next to it. “Excuse me? Are you alright?”

The creature stopped whimpering and looked up to them, relieved?

“Hey…so…this is very very weird…” Masha said, completely perplexed, “But…I’m not gonna hurt you.”

The creature uncoiled, ‘standing’ up to look Masha in the eyes.

“Not…?” It weakly muttered.

“No, I’m not gonna hurt you, whatever you are.” Masha looked up and down at it. “What exactly are you? Are you a cryptid or something?”

“A what?” The creature tilted its head, “No, no I’m not a critto or whatever that is I’m…”

“What?” Masha leaned forward.

“I’m a basilisk. I’m from another world and…” The creature began sniffing the air.

“What are you doing…?”

“You smell like my home.” It responded.

“What?” Masha cocked an eyebrow.

“Um…nothing. Um. My name is Vee.” The creature offered a hand, nervously smiling.

Masha hesitantly shook her hand. “I’m Masha. It’s…nice to meet you?”

“Wait, did you say another world?” Masha suddenly realized.

“Y-yeah. I’m from a place called the Boiling Isles.” Vee responded. “I don’t know how I got here. I’m scared.”

A bell began ringing in the distance. It was time for Masha to return.

“Crap…the bell. I’ve gotta get out of here.” Masha turned around.

“W-wait! Don’t leave me, please!” Vee said, grabbing Masha’s hand.

“Hey-” Masha turned back around. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s scary out there…” Vee said, tightly gripping Masha’s hand.

“...I don’t think I can take you with me.” Masha said bluntly. “Whichever world you came from, this is the human world.”

“Oh it…won’t be a problem…” Vee smiled slightly. She then suddenly began transforming, taking the form of a short woman with long, blonde hair with blue tips.

“You-” Masha gasped.

“Oh…is there something on my face?” She asked.

“I…will question this later. I need to get back to the camp.” Masha responded. “Follow me. I’ll introduce you as…something.”

Masha walked back to the camp. Vee followed, being extra careful to stay out of sight. A cool wind blew over Masha’s shoulder for a final time as they stepped into the camp.

“Welcome to the Reality Check Camp.” Masha declared to Vee. “Nothing ever happens here.”

Chapter Text

CAMILA POV

Camila and Mossy continued down the hallway, headed in no particular direction. There were a few other students walking around the campus. Many of them were witches like Camila’s friends, but there were also a few demons walking around.

“So, now that it's just us two,” Mossy spoke up, “Would you like a short tour of Hexside?”

“Do we have enough time for that?” Camila asked.

“Sure we do!” Mossy happily responded. “Come with me, I’ll show you all of the best hangout spots!”

Camila followed Mossy down the hallway. She began explaining the various tracks.

“Okay so first, we have the Bard track.” She pointed at the classroom to the left, signified by a red harp-like sigil. Inside the class, an older woman with dark brown skin and grayish braids was showing a student how to whistle.

“What’s their magic like?” Camila asked, watching the student and teacher.

“Their magic uses music and various instruments for magic.” Mossy responded. As she responded, the teacher began whistling a tune. A few small objects around the student began floating.

“Wow…” Camila said, smiling. Mossy turned around to show Camila the adjacent classroom, marked by a purple eye sigil.

“What’s that one?” Camila asked.

“This is the Oracle track!” Mossy answered. “They deal with spirits, fortune telling, crystal balls, that kind of stuff.” Camila took a peek inside of the classroom. Her heart suddenly sunk as she noticed Odalia inside.

“Great. It's her.” Camila groaned.

“Who?” Mossy asked.

“Odalia.” Camila frowned. “She beat up my friends the other day.”

Mossy seemed confused. “She did?”

“Yeah?” Camila responded.

Mossy frowned. “Next class…” She ushered Camila forward. The next class to their left was the Beastkeeping track. It was marked by an odd orange sigil.

“This one is Falkin’s track, right?” Camila asked, “I saw him go into this class earlier.”

“Yup.” Mossy nodded, “Beastkeeping.” The classroom was completely empty. There was a terrible smell coming from inside.

“Eugh.” Camila coughed, “What the heck is that?”

Mossy shrugged, and quickly stepped over to the adjacent class, this time marked by a yellow potion sigil.

“Potions?” Camila asked.

“Potions.” Mossy responded. “They use magic to create special brews.”

“Is that it?”

“No, sometimes they burn down the school.”

Camila chuckled. The two continued to the end of the hallway.

“This is the middle of the school. The hallway over there is to the Grudgby field.” Mossy said, pointing to the left. “Over there is the entrance,” She continued, pointing to the right. “And straight ahead there are more classes.”

“What else?” Camila asked.

“The stairs to the second floor are also straight ahead, and just to the right is the Illusions track.” Mossy answered, looking into the classroom. “Oh, hey! That’s my friend!” She waved to a tall boy in the classroom. He looked over and smiled, approaching the pair.

“Hey Steve!” Mossy grinned.

“Hey Moss!” He responded. He had brown hair, blue eyes, a single horn, and wasn’t wearing a hexside uniform. He instead wore a yellow shirt with his own name written on it.

“Woah.” Camila said, staring.

“Cam, you’re staring.” Mossy said.

“Oh uh-” Camila stumbled, “I was just-”

“Aaaanyways…” Mossy said awkwardly as she pulled Camila back into the hallway, “Next up is the abomination track.”

Camila shook her head, “Sorry.”

Mossy smiled. “That class with the purple slime sigil is the abomination track.”

“Ooh. What do they-” Camila began before getting interrupted.

“You!” Mossy growled.

“Moss.” A masculine voice spoke up, Camila turned around to see a dark skinned boy with mid-length dark brown hair and thick eyebrows wearing a pink Hexside uniform.

“Darius.” Mossy furrowed her eyebrows.

“Who?” Camila tilted her head.

“Ugh. He’s like, my number one rival here.” Mossy frowned.

“Being a rival would imply that you’re anywhere near my skill level.” Darius chuckled.

“Hey, leave her alone.” Camila said, irritated.

“And who’s this?” Darius smirked. “Your pet human?”

“She’s not a-” Mossy responded, before stopping herself, sighing. “Let’s just go.”

“Yes, yes. Move along.” Darius said, chuckling to himself.

“What a jerk.” Camila said.

“Yeah. Ever since I got kicked off the grudgby team he’s been extra rude to me.” Mossy replied.

“Huh? How’d that happen?” Camila asked. “Also, what’s grudgby?”

“Well, I failed to score a crucial point that would’ve won us the game, and Darius was on the opposing team.” Mossy frowned. “My team dropped me afterwards.”

“That’s awful.” Camila responded, placing her hand on Mossy’s shoulder.

“For your second question…” Mossy just shrugged, “I’m not sure anyone knows.”

“Very helpful response.” Camila replied sarcastically.

“I know, right?” Mossy snickered.

Mossy suddenly turned around. “You know, actually…” Mossy grabbed Steve’s hand as he walked past, “Steve can finish the tour for you, I need to go do something.”

“Also, meet me at the main entrance when the bell rings, I’ll take you to our next class.”

“Wait huh-?” Camila said as Mossy ran off. Steve shrugged.

“So…” Steve awkwardly scratched the top of his head. “This is…Hexside.”

JACK POV

Jack was still seated in the cafeteria, suddenly disinterested in whatever conversation the guys are engaged in. She stares emptily at the entrance, waiting. She turned to look at Gil and Falkin, they were still talking. She stood up and quietly exited the room.

The walls shifted and blended around her as she walked down the seemingly endless hallway. Though she wasn’t turning, the halls seemingly curved and spiraled around. Jack dizzily stumbled into a locker.

“Buh-” Jack mumbled, rubbing her forehead and looking around.

“Jack?” Someone spoke up, reaching their hand down.

“Ughh…” Jack took their hand, standing up and rubbed her eyes. “Alador?”

“Are you okay?” The boy asked, semi monotonously.

“I’m fine, Al.” Jack groaned. “Just tripped.”

“Really?” Odalia suddenly stepped into view. “Because to me, it looked like you just walked into the locker.”

“Buzz off.” Jack said, continuing down the hall. Odalia and Alador followed.

“Oh, don’t get your tail in a twist.” Odalia smiled warmly, “We aren’t looking for a fight, believe it or not.”

Jack turned around and stopped, crossing her arms. “Then what do you want?”

“Just a favor.” Alador answered plainly, looking around.

MOSSY POV

Mossy heard something strange, and went to go check it out. There’s only a few minutes left before classes continue, so she needs to hurry. She makes a turn, hearing someone whispering. Jack?

“I’m not going to do that.” Jack said to someone that Mossy couldn’t see. “That’s too far, even for us.”

“Oh for titan’s sake, it’s not like I said to *kill* her, just get her to talk with us.” A girl responded.

“Seriously?” Jack said, “This is effed up.”

“Time’s up, Jacqueline.” The other girl responded.

“Don’t ever call me that again.”

“Then do what I asked.”

“Titan…Why do you keep asking ME for help?” Jack groaned.

“Because, I hear that you’re *very* loyal to your friends.” The girl snickered cruelly.

Jack groaned, and started walking in Mossy’s direction. Mossy stumbled as she quickly tried to look like she wasn’t just spying on her.

“Oh. Hey Jack.” She smiled sheepishly. Jack gave her an odd glance, before continuing. The bell screamed as she walked past. Time for class again. Mossy, suddenly suspicious of Jack’s activities, headed back to the entrance area of the school, where Camila was waiting.

“So…what happened?” Camila asked.

Mossy was unsure of how to answer. She decided to play it cool. “Oh, it was nothing.”

“Nothing…?”

“Well, it was something but not really important.”

Camila clearly didn’t buy it, but she didn’t speak up. The two headed to their next class on the second floor.

“What’s this one?” Camila asked. “Steve didn’t finish his tour.”

“Glyph lessons. It’s pretty simple.” Mossy opened the door. Camila stepped in, but was very surprised to see the teacher.

“Wait, huh!?” Camila’s eyes widened.

“What’s wrong?” Mossy asked, stepping inside.

“Oh, hello Camila.” Philip said. “Take a seat.”

“You know Mr. Wittebane?” Mossy asked.

“He’s the one who found me after I came here.” Camila answered, sitting next to Mossy. “He saved me from the cold.”

“Oh damn. He’s not technically a teacher anymore, but he substitutes for ours occasionally.”

“He used to be a teacher here?” Camila asked.

“Mhm. Apparently he stopped for personal reasons.” Mossy responded.

“Huh.” Camila said.

Philip spoke up, “Now that we’re all here, I would like to begin today’s lesson.”

Philip began drawing a circular glyph on the chalkboard. Camila yawned.

“Hey, Cam, are you alright?” Mossy said, tapping her shoulder.

“I-I’m fine…just tired…” Camila yawned again.

“Whatever you say.” Mossy said, patting Camila’s back.

LUZ POV

“Helloooo…?” Luz heard a young voice.

“Hey. Wake up.” It continued.

“Oh for titan’s sake.” Someone slapped Luz awake. “WAKE UP!”

“Waah!” Luz suddenly jolted awake. “Wha?! Where am I, what’s going on?”

“Hey, calm down!” A young voice spoke up. “You’re hurt and I want to help you.”

“H…hurt?” Luz groaned and rubbed her forehead, she felt a stinging pain as she did so. Her hand had a smear of blood on it.

“Hey, chill. It probably feels worse than it actually is.” They said, applying a bandage to Luz’s forehead. “You’ve also got a broken leg from your fall, but I already put a cast on it.”

Luz looked down to her right leg. It had a poorly made makeshift cast wrapped around it.

“What happened?” Luz said, “Last thing I remember…I was about to leave a room I was in and then…”

The kid shrugged. “Beats me.”

“Where are we now?” She asked. “I think I was in that floating…thing?”

“We’re on the Neck.” The kid answered. “I found you in that crashed airship over there.” They pointed to a plume of smoke behind Luz.

“I don’t remember…”

“Hmm. Might have something to do with your head injury.” The kid handed Luz a cane and helped her up. Luz rubbed her eyes. The kid was short and had grey skin, as well as long, braided silver hair. They wore an oversized black coat, shorts, and tennis shoes.

Luz stumbled to her feet, leaning onto the cane. “Thanks.” She started limping away.

“Hey, wait!” The kid stepped in front of her.

“Kid, please move. I need to get out of here.”

“Not in this condition, no.” The kid planted their foot into the ground. “Follow me to Latissa, I’ll get you a healer, and THEN you can go get killed in the woods.”

“Yeesh. You’re morbid.” Camila said with a mildly off put tone. “What’s your name anyways?”

“Elias. Elias Dorios.” They offered their hand. Luz declined. They shrugged and led Luz onward.

“So, you’re a human?” Elias asked.

“Yeah, what gave it away?” Luz said.

“The ears, obviously.”

“Yeah, fair.” Luz returned. “How do you even know about humans? We’re clearly not from the same world.”

The kid turned around, walking backwards, “It’s something related to titan blood.”

“Titan blood?”

“Uh…you know? Blood of the titan? That we’re walking on?”

“Right. Big ‘ol corpse.” Luz shuddered. “Gross.”

“Do you not have giant horror monsters strewn about your oceans?” Elias asked.

Luz chuckled, “Oh yeah, of course we do! There’s a giant unimaginable horror across the street from my house!”

Elias giggled, “Yeah I know you don’t.”

Luz shook her head and continued limping after Elias.

“Titan, can you hurry-” Elias paused. “Right. Sorry.”

“Ugh, no problem, just not used to walking like this.” Luz grunted.

The two continued to Latissa, a damp and dark city in the Titan’s armpit.

“Eugh. This place looks awful.” Luz said, looking around.

“It’s not *that* bad.” Elias responded. “The healer is this way, come on.”

Luz followed Elias into a building marked with a bright blue sigil. The building interior reminded her of a typical medical clinic back home, but with witches instead of doctors. A blue skinned demon with rabbit ears and a pig nose approached the pair.

“You need a healer?” He asked.

“Yes sir!” Elias responded, “She was in an airship crash. It’s not as bad as it looks though.”

“Mhm.” The man drew two circles in the air, healing Luz’s head wound and mending her broken leg.

“Wowza…” Luz sighed, “It feels better already.”

“The pain will fully go away in a few weeks.” The demon said. “NEXT!”

“Alright, you should be good to go then.” Elias said.

“Thanks, kid.” Luz said. “Say, can you help me find someone?”

“Uh, sure. Who?” They asked.

“My daughter. She’s here in the boiling isles, I just know it.”

“Hmmmm…” Elias thought to themself. “What’s her name?”

“Camila.” She answered.

“Doesn’t ring a bell, but maybe one of the Pyramid folk would know.”

“Yeah, I think I remember some of them. There was this one woman…Amity I think?” Luz said.

“Blight?” Elias asked, “Like Blight Industries?”

“I don’t think she ever mentioned anything like that, but she did mention a manor…”

“That’s probably her. She’s pretty well known throughout the right arm.” Elias said.

“Could she help?” Luz asked.

Elias shrugged. “Maybe. I’ve never met her before.”

Luz sighed. “Is there some other way I could find Camila?”

“You could try Penstagram, probably.” Elias said, “But there’s no guarantee it’ll help.”

“I’ll take something over nothing. How do I…”

“Oh, you need a scroll.” Elias said, “Ask a Pyramid Guard for one. They usually give away free ones to kids who lose theirs.”

“Damn. My world would never be that nice.” Luz scoffed. She looked around for a guard. One was standing by a lightpost, doing nothing.

“Excuse me, sir? Ma’am?” Luz tapped their shoulder, “Sorry I can’t really tell under the…armor?”

The guard looked down at Luz.

“Can…” Luz gulped, “I have a…scroll?”

The guard was silent.

“I lost mine in an airship crash.”

The guard drew a circle in the air. A purple cylinder landed in Luz’s hand.

“Uh, thanks.” Luz began fiddling with it, “Now how do I…”

The scroll unfurled into her hand, presenting a sort of login screen.

“Oh, that’s easy.” Luz started creating a penstagram.

MOSSY POV

Mossy watched as Camila drifted in and out of half-sleep. Whatever Mr. Wittebane was saying, she clearly couldn’t focus.

“Hngg…” Camila whined.

“Are you…still fine?” Mossy asked, concerned.

“No it's nothing just…”

“Just…?” Mossy asked.

“I don’t know. I’m not fine.” Camila responded.

“Is it bad?” Mossy tilted her head. “If you’re sick, I’m sure Jack could-”

Camila groaned. “It’ll pass, okay? I’ve just got some stuff on my mind.”

Mossy looked back to the board, though she took occasional worried glances at Camila. She didn’t seem to mind.

Mossy then noticed Camila’s hand glowing again.

“Camila?” Mossy poked her. “Your hand…”

“Huh?” Camila looked down to her palm.

“Is that normal?”

“No its-” Camila suddenly jolted upwards and exited the room. The whole class watched in silence.

“Were my lessons that boring?” Philip asked.

“I’ll go after her. She’s been acting weird all period.” Mossy responded as she left the room.

“What a strange pair.” Philip said, returning to his lesson.

Chapter Text

FALKIN POV

Falkin stretches and yawns as he steps out of the restroom.

“Alllllright…” He said, straining. “Back to class.”

Falkin pivoted left and began walking towards the staircase, when he watched Camila walk past, her eyes glowing. He turned to where she came from, Mossy was trailing behind.

“Cam? Are you good?” He tried stopping her, but Camila simply walked into his arm, pushing him aside.

“...” He cocked an eyebrow.

Mossy jogged up to him.

“Whew.” Mossy took a deep breath, “She’s a really fast walker.”

“Mossy?” Falkin said, confused. “What’s up with Camila?”

“I have no idea.” She responded, “She just up and left.”

“That’s weird.” Falkin placed a hand on his hip and stroked his chin, “She didn’t even say anything?”

“She seemed tired, then her hand started glowing.” Mossy answered, “She was about to say something, but then she just jolted up and started walking.”

“Glowing?” Falkin asked.

Mossy nodded.

“It probably has something to do with her crystal thing then.” He stated.

“We should follow her, then. It might be dangerous.” Mossy tugged at Falkin’s arm.

“I don’t know…” He scratched the back of his head, “My mother’s the teacher of my current class and I don’t want her getting on my case about skipping class again.”

“Please?” Mossy frowned. “For our friend?”

Falkin hesitated for a moment, then sighed. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Thank you.” Mossy smiled, taking Falkin’s hand and leading him after Camila.

“We should probably avoid getting seen.” Falkin said.

“Yeah, don’t want to attract any unnecessary attention.” Mossy agreed, tiptoeing through the building.

“Okay but we don’t need to go THAT slow.” Falkin chuckled slightly. “Also you don’t need to hold my hand.”

“True enough…” Mossy let go of his hand and started walking normally. They eventually caught up to Camila, watching her leave the school and head into the woods.

“Oh titan.” Falkin grimaced. “We need to hurry before she gets hurt.”

The two ran after her for a few minutes. The forest was quiet aside from some birds and the sound of crunching leaves.

“Man, you were right. She is fast.” Falkin panted.

“Yoohoo?” Mossy stepped in front of Camila, who walked around her. Mossy stopped and watched.

“She’s completely out of it?” Mossy frowned.

“This is really strange.” Falkin’s eyes narrowed. The two continued down the path, nearly losing sight of her several times as they pushed away low hanging branches. The three eventually stopped in a clearing, where Camila knelt to the ground. She began digging.

“Hey, what the heck is she doing?” Falkin ran up to her, watching her dig.

Mossy knelt down next to her. “She’s trying to find something I think.”

Falkin seemed grossed out. “Like what? Worms?”

Mossy shrugged. Camila continued digging.

“Alright, enough playing.” Falkin tried to pull Camila away from the hole. She responded by pushing him back to the ground.

“Hey-” Falkin grunted, hitting the forest floor.

Mossy giggled. “Maybe we should…let her continue?”

“Digging holes in the woods is exactly how you get a disease.” Falkin groaned, standing and brushing himself off.

“Shh. Just watch.” Mossy said.

Falkin sighed, “She’s clearly not listening so I don’t see how talking could-”

“Shush!” Mossy hushed Falkin, urging him to look closer into the hole.

“What is it?” He asked.

Camila pulled out a small glass vessel with a small scroll inside. She struggled to open it.

“Hey, give it here.” Falkin said, taking the vessel. He drew a circle in the air, summoning a small rodent with large teeth. “Open this for me, will you?”

The creature’s eyes glowed orange. It crawled up Falkin’s arm and began gnawing at the vessel’s lid until it crumbled.

“Thank you, be on your way now.” Falkin smiled and set the creature down, drawing another circle in the air which released his control.

“Wowza.” Mossy said, astonished. “I didn’t know beast witches could do that.”

“It’s a more advanced spell, useful if you’re not friends with nearby animals. Just mind controlling them is easier in a pinch.” He nodded, handing the vessel to Camila. She pulled the scroll out and unrolled it. A single red feather drifted to the ground from inside of it. Falkin immediately went to catch it as it fell. He carefully analyzed it.

“What’s that?” Mossy asked.

“...” Falkin’s expression shifted from mild annoyance, to anger, to mourning.

“Falkin?”

“A friend.” He sighed.

They both looked to Camila, who was shaking her head.

“Ugh…” She groaned.

“Camila!” Mossy hugged her. Camila smiled.

“Sorry about that, guys.” She shrugged, “I dunno what came over me…”

Falkin spoke up, “It’s fine, just don’t push me like that again please.”

“Sorry…” Camila said, wiping the dirt off of her hands.

“What exactly happened?” Mossy asked.

Camila grunted, “I’m not exactly sure. I heard a very faint voice urging me to go forward.”

“You hallucinated?” Falkin asked sarcastically.

“Not really.” Camila stuttered, “I can’t really explain it. It’s like when you have a really vivid dream, and later on in life you get into a situation just like that dream.”

“Deja vu?” Mossy asked.

“Again, no. That’s more like…a sudden feeling.” Camila said.

“Then what was it?” Falkin asked, contemplating.

“I don’t know how, but I think I’ve been hearing this voice for years.”

“But you’ve only been here a few days…” Falkin said. “Hmm…”

“What’s the note say?” Mossy asked.

Camila looked down at the scroll. It seems to be very old.

“Time is short, Camila. I understand that you must find your family, but you have a duty here. I’m terribly sorry for the burden I have placed upon your shoulders. Come to me, and I will explain everything. -C.”

“Who’s C?” Mossy asked. “A friend?”

“I don’t know…but Philip seems to know.” Camila said.

“Hey, wait.” Falkin took the scroll. “This thing looks old. Very old.”

“So?” Mossy asked, then realized. “Wait…How old?”

“At least a few years.” Falkin said, “My mother taught me how to figure out a piece of paper’s age based on its appearance.”

“Then how does it…?” Mossy turned to Camila.

Camila seemed just as confused, but then she seemed to understand.

“Oracles…” She mumbled to herself.

Falkin spoke up, “You mean C is an oracle?”

“Yeah. They can see the future, or something, right?” Camila asked.

“I think so.” Mossy said, a little unsure.

The three uneasily mumbled to themselves, contemplating the scroll.

“How am I going to find C if I don’t even know who they are?” Camila said, “Philip doesn’t want to tell me, and nobody else knows…”

Mossy suddenly snatched the feather from Falkin’s hand.

“Hey-”

“This has to be a clue, right?” Mossy said, “Why else would it be in there?”

“Yeah.” Camila smiled and nodded, “It has to be!”

Falkin seemed upset about it.

“What’s wrong?” Mossy asked.

He turned away and grumbled, then turned back.

“Have either of you ever met Gil’s parents?” He asked.

“Can’t say I have, I only just met you all.” Mossy said, Camila nodded in agreement.

“This feather belongs to his father.”

“Maybe he knows something?” Camila asked.

“He might, but I don’t think he’d want to talk about it.” Falkin sighed.

“Why not?” Mossy asked.

“It’s a sore subject in Gil’s family.”

“I see…” Camila looked down.

“...But this is important.” Falkin took the feather back from Mossy. “Whatever’s going on, we need all of the leads we can get.”

“Thanks, Fal.” Camila smiled, giving him a hug.

“Hey-” He initially hesitated, but accepted the hug, patting Camila on the back.

“Wait, are we walking?” Mossy asked, “I’m kinda tired…”

“Nah.” Falkin drew a circle in the air, and whistled. A fearsome cry is heard in the distance, followed by mighty flapping.

“Come to papa!” Falkin yelled into the air as his griffon descended into the clearing.

“Ooh, a griffon.” Mossy smiled. “What’s his name?”

“Joey Eclair!” Falkin said, giving him a scritch. “I named him after the box I saw him eating in the garbage.”

“That’s adorable.” Camila giggled. The three hopped on Joey’s back.

“Hold on tight!” Falkin said as Joey took flight.

“Where are we headed anyways?” Mossy said as soon as Joey leveled out in the air.

“The Palistrom Forest outside of Bonesborough.” Falkin said, “Gil’s family lives right in the middle.”

“Speaking of family…” Camila spoke up, “Do either of you have a lot of family members?”

“Not really.” Mossy said. “Mom lives overseas, and I have a cousin over in the left arm.”

“What about your dad?” Camila asked.

“Not really much to say about him. He’s nice, but not really notable.” She shrugged.

“Oof. Harsh.” Camila said, “What about you, Fal?”

“Well…” He pulled Joey back, making him hover. “You see that big, red and pink mansion over there?” He pointed to a large mansion near the outskirts of Bonesborough.

“Yours?” Mossy asked.

“Yep. My moms and sisters all live there. It’s hard to keep track of everyone. There’s guest rooms for extended family.”

“Dang, you must be rich.” Camila responded.

“Mhm.” Falkin continued flying towards the palistrom woods, a patch of mint green amongst a sea of red leaves.

“Is that it?” Mossy pointed to a small house in the center.

“If you’re pointing, I can’t see it.” Falkin responded, “But yeah.”

Falkin ordered Joey to fly downwards. They gently landed just outside the front door. The three hopped off.

“Okay, so before we enter, please don’t show them the feather immediately.” Falkin said, holding the feather up. “I’d like to ease them-”

“Oh my titan!” A middle aged woman opened the door as Falkin spoke. She was a short, navy-blue haired woman with large round glasses. She was also noticeably buff, and wearing a green shirt as well as blue striped pants.

The woman yelled out in excitement as the door opened. “Oh my titan! Hunter! It's Gilbert’s friends!”

“Coming!” A middle aged man called out in the distance.

“Are you the human my son told me about?” The woman smiled.

“Uh-” Camila was about to respond when the woman’s husband entered the doorway.

“Who is-” He spoke, then stopped when he saw the feather in Falkin’s hands. Falkin shrunk. The man’s face had a strange mixture of both grief and relief. The man had short, blonde hair, reddish-brown eyes, and had a few small scars. He was wearing a blue shirt, brown overalls that were slightly damaged, and dark brown pants.

“How did you get that?” He said, reaching for the feather in Falkin’s hand.

“I…uh…” Camila spoke.

The woman looked to the man, “How about you kids come on inside?” She placed a hand on his shoulder, “I’ll talk to you all in a bit.”

The trio walked inside. Mossy seemed to hold back a bit, observing Gil’s father for a moment before heading inside. The three sat on a couch in the living room. The house was very clean, though there were small piles of blue dust on some surfaces, as well as small patches of dirt. There were potted plants lining the windowsills, and a few trophies on the shelves.

“Woah. Gil has a nice home.” Camila said.

“Agreed.” Falkin looked around. The house had stairs leading to a second floor, where Gil and his parents’ rooms were. “I used to come here for sleepovers when we were just witchlets in kindergarten.”

“Nice.” Mossy said, relaxing.

Camila stood up and looked out the back window. The entire backyard was devoid of trees. There were some boxes and sacks, as well as some workbenches on the left half. There was also a tool shed further back. The right half of the backyard appeared to be an outdoor gym, with weights and sports equipment.

“Don’t go back there.” Falkin said, “It’s off limits for us.”

“How come?” Camila turned back to Falkin.

“It's where Gil’s dad carves palismans.” He stood up and walked over to her. “One time, Gil and I were playing with one of his carving knives and I cut myself on accident. I still have the scar on my arm.”

“Yikes.” Camila said. “What about his mom?”

“She’s a star flier derby player. Her team, the Emerald Entrails, is the top team in the Isles.” Falkin stated.

“Oh yeah, I think I’ve watched one of her games with my dad before. She’s pretty cool.” Mossy said.

As Camila turned around, a giant bee flew in front of her.

“AAGH!” She yelped and swatted at it.

“Hey-” Falkin grabbed Camila’s hand, “Chill out!”

“There’s a-” She freaked out.

“It’s just Mrs. Park’s palisman, Clover.” He smiled. “She won’t hurt you.”

Camila calmed down, then reached her hand out. Clover gently nuzzled her palm.

“Aww.” She giggled. “Sorry about that.”

The front door opened and Gil’s parents stepped inside, gently shutting it behind them. The two stepped in front of the couch where Mossy sat. Camila and Falkin sat next to her.

“Alright…” The woman spoke, the man pulled two desk chairs to the front of the living room, both sat down.

“What’s going on?” Camila politely asked, tilting her head.

The woman looked at the man. “Do I…tell them?” She asked.

The man nodded, looking down at the ground.

The woman spoke up again. “First things first, introductions?” She stammered slightly. “Gil told me a little about you, human but never your name.”

Camila nervously responded, “I’m Camila Noceda, it’s nice to meet you ms…?”

The woman smiled slightly. “Mrs. Park, but you can call me Willow if you’d like. My husband here is Hunter.”

“Okay, Willow…” Mossy began, “I’m Mossy. I went to one of your games a few years ago.”

Willow smiled and nodded.

The room was silent for a few long moments until Hunter cleared his throat.

“So…” He still seemed a little upset, “May I ask why you’ve all skipped school to visit us?”

Willow added, “And does Gilbert know about this?”

The three teens all began speaking at the same time. Willow chuckled slightly. “One at a time, please.”

Mossy gestured to Camila, who gestured to Falkin, who gestured to Mossy. Mossy spoke up first.

“I’m not sure how to explain it…” Mossy said. “Do I start with the crystal?” She looked to Camila, who shrugged.

“No need, Gilbert told us all about it.” Hunter answered. “Please continue.” He smiled politely.

Mossy nodded. “Camila suddenly jolted up from her seat, glowing. Falkin and I followed her to a clearing in the woods, when she dug up a glass vessel.”

The two adults looked at each other, then back to the kids.

Camila stood up and handed the scroll to Willow. Her eyes widened as she read it.

“Hon…” She showed him the scroll, his eyes widened.

Hunter looked at Camila, “You found it in the dirt?”

“I didn’t really find it, it was more like I was drawn to it.” She answered.

“And the feather?” Hunter looked at Falkin.

“It was inside the scroll.” He said.

Hunter pondered the scroll, until Camila spoke up again.

“Also, there’s something else.” She walked up to him. “A little while after I first got to the Boiling Isles, I was given another scroll, signed by the same ‘C’.”

“What else can you tell me?” The man said with the slightest amount of desperation in his voice.

“My caretaker, Philip, seemed to know who C was.” Camila said. “He was upset about it.”

“Hunter…” Willow said, her eyes wide. “Philip…Just like…”

“Caleb…” Hunter said solemnly.

“Caleb?” Mossy asked. Falkin looked up at both.

“Of course…” A lightbulb burst in Falkin’s head. “Caleb!”

“Who’s Caleb?” Camila asked.

“My father.” Hunter answered plainly. “...And Philip’s brother.”

Camila’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Hunter and Willow both nodded.

“Mr. Wittebane?” Mossy asked.

“That’s right.” Willow answered, standing up and pacing around. “I’m sure Falkin already knows, but Gil’s not a full witch.”

“Indeed.” Hunter replied, “His magic is significantly weaker than most witches because of it.”

“Yeah. He gets bullied a lot for it.” Falkin said, “They used to call him half-a-witch Gil.” He frowned.

“That’s awful…” Camila said, clenching her fist.

Willow looked away for a moment, then back again to the teens. “About the note.”

“What about it?” Mossy asked.

“Caleb vanished eight-ish years ago.” She gently placed her hand on Hunter’s. “His palisman did too.”

“Wait, what’s a palisman?” Camila asked.

“Let her finish, please.” Hunter said politely, “I’ll tell you later.”

Camila nodded and Willow continued.

“Again, he vanished a long time ago, but my mother in law could help you out.”

“Who?” Mossy leaned forward.

“Her name is Evelyn Clawthorne. She lives on a cliff overlooking Bonesborough.” Willow responded, “You’ll recognize it by all of the owl imagery on and around it. And inside it. She’s a bit…quirky.”

“How could she help?” Camila asked, confused.

“Well, you have that feather. It’s a part of a palisman.” Hunter answered.

“But wouldn’t it take an oracle or a beastkeeper to track one if it vanished without a trace?” Mossy asked.

“Evelyn took multiple tracks in school.” Willow said plainly, “One of the only witches in history to do it.”

“Which means…” Camila began.

“...She can use both types of magic!” Falkin finished her sentence, Camila nodded and smiled.

“Exactly.” Willow smiled.

Camila stood up to leave. “Thank you both so much. This means a lot.”

The three walked out, but Mossy stepped back inside. “I promise you. We’ll find your father.”

Hunter smiled. “Thanks.”

Mossy grinned and followed her friends, hopping on Joey’s back.

“Alright, now to the next leg of this journey.” Mossy said.

“Where did she say to go again?” Camila asked.

“A cliff just past the city, and something about owls?” Mossy answered.

The three took flight in that direction. Camila looked down at the Titan’s body, then back to Falkin.

“Gosh…this place…”

“It’s beautiful from above.” Mossy said, “But terrifying too…”

“Yep.” Falkin said.

“Alright Fal,” Camila said. “Take us away!”

“Next stop…The Owl House!” Falkin announced as they flew away.

Chapter Text

GIL POV

“Ugh.” Jack snarled in Odalia’s direction as she left Hexside. Students always avoided her after school ended. She was a ruthless bully, and the worst person Jack’s ever met.

“Let’s not make a scene.” Gil walked up to Jack, patting her on the shoulder. “I hate her too, but I really don’t want to deal with her today.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Jack took an alternate path out of the school to avoid Odalia and her friends. Gil followed closely behind.

“Hey, where are Falkin and Camila?” Gil asked, looking around.

“Huh. I didn’t notice them leave either.” Jack turned back to the school. “Usually Falkin flies out on Joey…”

“Try texting him” Gil said.

“Sure.” Jack pulled out her scroll and texted Falkin. He did not respond.

“Okay, that’s weird.” Gil said, but he shrugged. “Might be busy.”

“Wanna go find him?” Jack asked.

Gil shook his head, “Nah.”

“What do you want to do, then?”

“We could go to your place. We almost never hang out.”

Jack hesitated for a moment. “Well…”

“What’s wrong?” Gil asked.

“Oh nothing, just some stuff I haven’t cleaned up.” Jack replied nervously. “Let’s go.”

Gil eyed her suspiciously, but followed nonetheless. Jack’s house was pretty far from the town. Literally located in the middle of the woods, not even a clearing like Gil’s.

“Can’t get over the fact you live in the woods. Like a hermit.” He chuckled.

Jack smiled, “You do too!”

“Yeah but there’s like, an actual stone path between my house and bonesborough.” Gil responded, “You probably have to fight a million bears to get to school.”

“Oh totally. They’re vicious.” Jack replied sarcastically. “Big giant bears. With tentacles and spikes.”

“Ew.”

“Yeah. That would be pretty gross.” Jack laughed.

Jack’s house slowly came into view from the trees. It was pretty old and run down on the outside, as Jack is the only person who lives there.

“You know, I could probably fix all of these holes for you.” Gil gestured to the damaged walls.

“Nahhh.” Jack said, “You’d probably hurt yourself. Plus, I like them.”

“Why??” Gil asked, baffled.

Jack shrugged. “Atmosphere I guess.”

Gil stammered for a moment before following Jack inside. The interior looked much healthier than the exterior. The floors were fairly clean and everything was decently organized.

“Do you clean all of this yourself?” Gil asked.

“No. The house cleans itself on the inside.” Jack said, knocking over a salt shaker in the kitchen. It glowed purple, floating and planting itself back upright on the table. The spilled salt poured itself back into the container. “Just some weird hex whoever used to live here cast.”

“Speaking of…” Gil looked around, “It only just occurred to me, who even did live here?”

“No clue. Probably some self-righteous jerk.” Jack shrugged.

Gil noticed something skittering around.

“Hey, I think I saw your rat thing.” He knelt down to the floor, looking around.

Jack turned back to him. “Huh. Thought I locked her in my room.”

“Huh? Why?”

“...Because of the giant holes in the wall?” She replied as if holes in the wall are normal.

“Ah, of course.” Gil chuckled, “My mom has to lock her palisman in her room so she doesn’t leave through all of our giant wall holes.”

Jack rolled her eyes. “Again, it adds atmosphere.”

“What about when it rains?” Gil asked.

“It dries off. Eventually.” She shrugged, sitting down on her living room couch. Gil sat next to her.

Jack seemed a little down.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Gil asked.

“Nothing, just contemplating some stuff.”

“Dude.”

“What?”

“I’ve known you long enough to know you’re lying.”

Jack sighed, “Just thinking about what my life would be like if I never met all of you.”

“Ah, I see.” Gil replied. “Well, I know for starters, mine would be a lot worse without you or Fal.”

“Yeah, I know.” She said, “But also…”

“Also what?”

“I dunno.” Jack stuttered. “I’d probably end up in Odalia’s circle or something.”

“Yikes.”

“Yeah, I really don’t want to be anything like her.” Jack sighed.

“Anyways…” She continued, “Do you wanna see my drawings?”

“Sure, why not.” He said and followed her upstairs to her room, carrying the rat. As they made their way into the hall, Gil noticed a weird room.

“Hey, what’s in there?” He asked.

“Nothing, just some weird magic stuff.” She shut the door and pulled him towards her room. It was much messier than usual.

“Why’s it so messy in here?” He asked.

“No reason really. Just too tired right now to clean.” She sat down at her desk, pulling out her drawing notebook.

Gil stood next to her, looking down at the desk.

“I’m still not sure of what to think about the fact you drew all of us as soon as we met.” He gestured towards drawings of himself, Falkin, and Camila.

“It helps me remember names when I first meet someone.” She replied casually. “Anyways…”

She started flipping through random pages. “This is Camila’s weird crystal. I think I did a good job.”

The drawing was a highly detailed depiction of Camila’s palm crystal, complete with shading.

“Huh.” Gil smiled. “Nice.”

“Wait, hold on a sec.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I need to find my other notebook.” She stood up from the desk. “Go ahead and look through that.”

Gil flipped through some of the pages. One drawing stood out to him in particular.

“Hey, why did you draw Camila so many times on this page?”

Jack immediately slammed the notebook shut and tossed it out of the window. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Gil chuckled and rolled his eyes. He turned to look out the window, noticing something in the distance.

PHILIP POV

After the disappearance of Camila and Mossy mid-class, Philip continued teaching as usual until the end of the day. Just as he was preparing to return to the deer house, a raven popped into the window. He picked it up and answered.

“Hello?” He spoke up.

“Uncle?” Hunter’s voice came through the phone.

“Hunter?” He seemed a bit surprised, “What’s the matter?”

“Some of your students came to my home.” He calmly responded, “I think they’re trying to find Caleb.”

Philip’s eyes widened. “Tell me everything you can.”

“The human girl, Camila, told me about a scroll she was given signed by a C. Wittebane.”

“Yes, I remember. I was there when she received it.”

“They came to my home earlier with a glass vessel containing another scroll, and a feather.”

“Evelyn…?” Philip mumbled to himself, “What could she have to do with his disappearance?”

“I think they’re going to try and use a mixture of beast and oracle magic to track him, or at least track Flapjack.”

“It certainly is like him to leave odd clues like this…” Philip stroked his chin, “Is there something you need me to do?”

“Right now they’re headed to my mother’s home, I’d like you to help them out when they get there.” Hunter answered, “And teach them that invisibility glyph.”

“Any particular reason?” Philip chuckled, “My sister in law can be…unstable but she’s not that dangerous.”

“The Pyramid’s been on high alert all day. Something about an airship crash near Latissa.” Hunter answered.

“Very well.” Philip stated, “I’ll keep them safe.”

“Wait, one last thing.” Hunter said before Philip hung up.

“Yes?”

“If my son finds out what his friends are doing, and he probably will, he’s going to follow. Keep him safe.”

“Of course.” Philip hung up.

“Always something with this family.” Philip picked up Caleb’s old staff and flew out the window with his stuff, towards the Owl House.

GIL POV

“Hey, Jack.” Gil said, “Come look.”

“What is it?” She looked out the window with Gil. He pointed to a small black shape flying overhead.

“Is that Falkin?” Gil said.

“Looks like Joey, yeah.”

“Should we follow?” Gil asked.

“Yeah but…”

“But what?”

“We don’t have palismans, Gil.”

“Isn’t there any weird witch stuff in here you could use?” Gil asked.

Jack rubbed her arm. “N-no…”

“Jack…”

“Okay, yeah. But I really don’t want to-”

“Look. Whatever’s in that room, if it’s some scary monster, I’ll just beat it up for you.”

“It’s not that…” Jack looked around nervously.

“Then what is it?” Gil asked.

“...”

“Promise you won’t tell anyone what you see in there?” Jack said, fiddling with her hands.

“I swear.” Gil nodded.

Jack sighed and led Gil to the room she shut earlier.

“Just promise you won’t freak out?”

“That’s very ominous. I’ll try my best.”

She braced herself, reaching for the door, until someone knocked on the main door below.

“I’ll go check it out, stay here.” Jack said. “Don’t do anything.”

Gil nodded, but curiosity would get the better of him. He waited for Jack to leave, then slowly, quietly opened the door.

He was truly unprepared for what was on the other side.

PHILIP POV

Philip landed in front of an abandoned looking witch hut in the middle of the woods.

“Okay, this has to be it.” Philip exasperatedly said, then knocked. “I mean, how many abandoned witch huts are even on the right arm?!”

“Coming!” A girl spoke from inside the house. She opened the door.

“Excuse me, miss.” Philip said, “I’m trying to find my grand-nephew Gil?”

“I-” Jack responded. She looked up and down at the man, very clearly a human. “You? His grand uncle?”

“Yes.” Philip nodded. “You’re one of Camila’s friends, right?”

“Oh, yeah.” She responded, “You must be her caretaker then?”

“Mhm.”

“Wait, why do you need him?”

“His father asked me to watch over him. He figured he was going to try and find Camila.”

“Huh. That’s exactly what we were about to do.” Jack gestured for him to come inside. He followed her up the stairs, where Gil was standing.

“Oh, Grunkle Phil.” Gil waved.

“Kid, I told you to stop calling me-” Philip sighed and shook his head, “Whatever.”

“Gil, your grunkle says he wants to watch over us while we follow Camila and the others.” Jack said. Philip nodded.

“Oh cool, you have a staff right?” Gil asked.

“Indeed. He’s just outside. The small deer palisman by the door.”

Jack took Gil’s arm and led him downstairs. Philip felt a very strange feeling emanate from behind the closed door. “I’ll catch up in a second,” He said, taking a peek inside. The room had pipes pumping a strange glowing green fluid through the walls into a large tube. The symbol of The Pyramid was plastered over the glass.

“Troubling…” Philip mumbled. He decided to keep his concern to himself for now. Jack seemed like an honest, albeit troubled kid. He met the two downstairs attempting to fly on the palisman.

“Kids.” He said, a bit annoyed.

“Oh, uh- We weren’t-” Jack stammered. “It was Gil’s idea!”

Philip chuckled, “No, it wasn’t.”

Gil nodded smugly. “I’m too good for that.”

“You kids can wait for when you get your palisman from school for flying lessons.” Philip said, mounting his staff. “Get on.”

The two kids hopped onto the staff, bracing for flight.

“Follow the griffon!” Jack said.

“No need, I already know where they’re headed.” Philip said. “Say, Gilbert?”

“Huh?” Gil responded.

“When’s the last time you talked to your grandmother?”

“Oh, we’re going to Evelyn’s house?” Jack said. “She’s cool, I like her.”

Philip nodded, and the three flew off towards the Owl House.

“Oh crap. I forgot to lock my rat in my room again…” Jack groaned, facepalming.

CAMILA POV

Joey gracefully lands in front of the owl house as Camila, Mossy, and Falkin hop off his back.

“Alright, neither of you have ever been here, so I’d like to explain some things before we go inside.”

“Like what?” A high pitched voice spoke from behind Camila.

“YAAAH!” Camila turned around to see an owl inches from her face, with an elongated neck coming from the door. She slapped the creature and jumped backwards, falling into Mossy’s arms. The creature hooted as she slapped it.

“Woah!” Mossy exclaimed.

“Camila, chill out!” Falkin lifted her up, “It’s just…”

“Hoot hoot! My name’s hooty!” Hooty hooted aloud.

“This is hooty.” Falkin sighed, planting his palm into his face. “The Owl House’s top of the line defense mechanism.”

Camila panted heavily as she rebalanced herself. “I hate this place so much.”

“You don’t really mean that.” Mossy chuckled, dusting Camila’s shoulders off.

“Hoot hoot!” Hooty extended, slamming through a wall. An elderly woman screamed his name aloud. “Visitors! We have visitors! Hoot!”

“Titan damn you, Hooty! I told you to use the door!” The woman shouted as Hooty retracted back into the wall. “Come on in.”

Camila opened the door. Inside was an elderly woman with short gray hair and golden eyes wearing a red bathrobe, holding a mug of red liquid.

“Uh, are you Evelyn?”

The woman scratched her head, “Lemme think…” She made an exaggerated thinking gesture, “Eh. Probably. I’m the only one I know.” She snorted.

“Huh. You’re a bit different from what I remember.” Falkin said.

“Am I, kiddo?” She leaned over towards him, spilling her mug onto the floor.

“Uhm, you just-” Mossy mumbled.

“Yeah, I noticed.” Evelyn chuckled.

Camila turned to Falkin. “She doesn’t seem to…”

“...Be all there?” Falkin sighed. “Ever since Gil’s grandpa vanished, well…”

“I see.” Camila turned back to Evelyn.

“So anyways, kids.” Evelyn spoke as she casted a cleaning spell on the stain on the floor, also hovering the mug to a coffee table. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Hunter told us to come here.” Mossy said, “We think you can help us find someone.” Mossy held up the red cardinal feather. Evelyn’s eyes widened, turning purple.

“Oh.” She sat down on the couch, taking the feather out of Mossy’s hand. “Y-yeah I can…do that…”

“What’s wrong?” Camila said, sitting next to Evelyn.

She sniffled, “Oh I just…Titan I…”

Camila patted the woman’s shoulder.

“Thanks kid, I’ll be ok.” She rubbed her eyes. “I just never thought I’d ever find him.”

“Wait, you mean you can help?” Mossy asked.

Evelyn’s eyes turned back to gold as she smiled. “Of course I can! Didn’t my boy tell you I’m the most powerful witch in the world?”

“He, uh.” Mossy looked at Camila. “Yeah totally. He said that.”

“Smart boy, that one. Spitting image of his father.” Evelyn stood up from the couch. “Now that I’ve finally got this, I can track them.”

“Caleb?” Falkin asked.

“Nah, just Flapjack, my palisman.”

“Cute name.” Mossy smiled.

“He’s a cute little guy! I can’t wait for you all to meet him.” Evelyn smiled.

“So, you’re gonna use oracle magic on it?” Camila asked. “I’m still new to this world. Ish.”

“Yeah. Beast magic lets me track the physical location of the palisman, and oracle magic tells me when he was there.”

“Why don’t we just find his current location?” Mossy said.

“Doesn’t work like that, kid.” Evelyn faced Mossy, “And if it did, it’s still better to follow his exact path.”

Falkin spoke up, “That’s where the beastkeeping magic comes in. Tracking a palisman isn’t the same as any regular animal.”

“How so?” Camila asked.

“Well, every time a palisman connects or disconnects from its staff, it leaves a very faint trace of magical energy behind called a palisnode.” Falkin answered. “We’re following each palinode left behind by Flapjack.”

“Wouldn’t those nodes be, like, dozens of miles apart?” Mossy interjected, “If Caleb was flying, he wouldn’t need to disconnect the palisman from its staff.”

Evelyn nodded, “Correct, but Flapjack is a free spirit. He likes to take breaks every now and then.”

“I see…” Camila shrugged, “You learn something new every day.”

“Now, we’re going to need transport to track him. He could’ve been going all across the Boiling Isles.” Evelyn said, “Any of you kids have a palisman?”

Everyone shook their heads. “I have my griffon but it’s best if only three people ride.”

“Good enough.” She said, “One of you will have to find another method of transport.”

As she said that, the door opened once again. “Hoot hoot! More visitors!” Hooty yelled.

Evelyn turned around. “Welcome to the Owl-”

Philip cleared his throat. “Evelyn.”

Evelyn dropped the happy expression. “Phil.”

“I told you to stop calling me that.” Philip responded.

“Maybe I’ll call you by your actual name if you change the name of your dumb animal shack.”

“No.”

“Ugh, both of you please just stop fighting.” Gilbert spoke up.

“Hey Gil! Hi Jack!” Camila waved to them both.

“Well, we were just leaving, so make it quick.” Evelyn groaned.

“Hunter told me to chaperone Gil. He’s going with you.” Philip responded.

Evelyn sighed. “Alright but stay out of my way, bud. Can your palisman hold three?”

“Yes but-”

“Cool. Human girl, healer, you’re riding with me.” Evelyn said.

“Wait, you’re not flying my griffon!” Falkin said, worried.

“Kiddo, I was riding griffons before your parents were born.” Evelyn snickered, “Come on kids. We need to find my Caleb.”

Falkin begrudgingly allowed Evelyn to mount Joey, getting on behind her.

“Can I go with-” Jack spoke up.

“Nope.” Evelyn saddled Joey. “Alright big guy, follow this.” Evelyn drew an orange and purple circle over Joey’s eyes, then placed the feather in front of his nostrils.

“Can we get going, now?” Philip said. “Seriously, this thing is not meant for 3 people.”

“You could also let Falkin take the staff and make Philip walk.” Mossy joked.

Everyone except Philip laughed.

“Okay kids, hold on tight.” Evelyn flew Joey into the clouds, Philip’s group followed close behind.

Camila felt the cool wind on her face. She looked down to the crystal on her palm. She can heal wounds, and punch things really hard. She wondered what else it could do.

Chapter Text

HUMAN REALM, GREY RESIDENCE

MASHA POV

Masha found themself dreaming in a familiar setting. A dark beach, the coastline of an endless black sea under a cloudless night. The stars were entirely unrecognizable to them.

“Huh.” Masha said to themself and stood up. “This place again.”

They briefly paced the area and looked around. The coast was barren and went on for infinity, as it always did. They’ve been having these strange dreams for the past eight years now.

“So…” Masha called out into the void. “Are you just gonna keep me here or-?”

A chilly wind brushed past Masha’s cheek. Nothing happened.

“Is that a no?” They joked to themself. “I don’t speak air.”

Masha walked towards the water and knelt down.

“I just realized…” They cupped some of the black water in their hand. It was warm and had a distantly familiar scent. “I’ve never thought to check out the water here…”

They took a step forward into the water. Strangely, it didn't feel wet after they dropped it from their hands.

Masha faced the starry sky. They felt a sensation both entirely new, yet paradoxically familiar. Something was calling to them.

They laid down in the water, briefly floating until they slowly began to sink.

Masha opened their eyes. Despite being fully submerged, they could still breathe.

“This is new-” Masha suddenly flipped and began to rise into a very strange realm. They stood up on ‘ground’ and looked around. The floor was a large pool of black water with strange glass-like cubes hovering in the air, rising and sinking into the water, both above and below.

“Where in the goddess’ name am I now?” They looked around. “Man. I should tell someone about these dreams. I bet Mr. Dritte would get a kick out of this.”

As they said the superintendent’s name, a cube floated up directly in front of them, displaying an image of the superintendent in his office late at night.

“Hey…that’s…” Masha began to think. They said the superintendent’s name aloud, and a cube appeared displaying his office.

“Vee?” They said aloud, “Vee the…Slug?”

Nothing.

“Weird. Is it selective?” They began shouting random names, nothing.

“Okay, real names only I guess.”

They suddenly had an idea. Chuckling, they spoke their own name. A cube with a recurring image of Masha appeared directly in front of them.

“Alright, that’s pretty cool.” Masha said.

Masha suddenly heard a faint whisper from above. They looked up, seeing a blue entity seemingly watching them.

“Oh sick, this place has fairies.” Masha tried mounting a cube and parkouring to the top, but gravity flipped again, causing them to fall to the ‘ceiling’. “WAAAAAH!”

They grunted as they hit the ‘ground’ and stood back up, wiping the black water off of themself.

“Hey, weird orb thing.” Masha tried reaching for the entity. “I’ve been in this place enough times to know it’s real. And I’ve seen enough weird demon slug girls to know that you’re real.”

The entity seemingly turned to face them directly.

“Oh, you can see me now?” It asked.

“Wait, you’ve watched me before?” Masha asked. “That’s kinda creepy.”

“Were you not just spying on your boss mere seconds ago?” It responded.

Masha shrugged. “Fair point.”

“Masha, is it?”

Masha’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know my name?”

“You just said it.” It responded.

“Right.” Masha turned away, then back. “Who are you?”

“I’m a Spirit of Prophecy, tasked with finding someone to save my realm.”

“Spirit, like a ghost?”

“No.” The spirit replied, “A ghost is the soul of someone who has died. I never died.”

“Anyways, why exactly are you watching me?” Masha asked.

“I think you might be the hero my realm needs.”

“...Huh?”

“I sense something about you, a spark only ever seen a few times in your kind.”

Masha felt a strange sensation in their ribs. Unpleasant but not painful. “What does that mean?”

The spirit took the form of an elderly humanoid with pointed ears. “Surely you feel it by now?”

Masha clutched their chest. “F…feel…what?” They struggled to breathe.

“That feeling that you’ve always felt.” The spirit pointed to Masha’s heart. “That you’re different. Meant for something greater.”

“Different…how?” Masha asked. It felt as though something was physically growing in their heart.

“I’ve been watching you for a long time, child.” The spirit smiled. “You’re meant for greatness.”

“What’s…” Masha struggled to speak. The spirit placed a hand on their shoulder.

“This will alleviate the pain.” The spirit casted a spell, causing the sensation in Masha’s chest to slowly dissipate.

Masha coughed. “What the hell was that?”

“Er, allow me to explain.” The spirit stepped back. “This is going to sound crazy.”

“Eh, like I said earlier. I’ve been in this crazy place enough times to know it’s real.” Masha smiled, “Plus, my roommate is an actual alien.”

“Very well then.” The spirit continued, casting a spell. The area around them shifted and morphed into an unfamiliar place with red trees and towering bone spires. Masha looked up in awe.

“Oh. Oh my-” Masha pinched themself. “Oh my goddess this is real isn’t it.”

The spirit chuckled, “Indeed it is. This is the Boiling Isles, my home.”

“So this place is what I’m destined for?” Masha asked.

“Indeed.” The spirit replied.

Masha looked around at the colossal bones. They were left speechless. This is the realm Vee came from.

“Take your time.”

“It’s just…” Masha stammered, “It’s a lot to take in.”

“The physical beauty of my realm is only equaled by that of my people.”

Masha smiled. “Oh, I agree.” They snickered.

“I’m glad you like it.” The spirit smiled warmly. “However, it is in great peril. A great evil threatens to consume it.”

“Tell me about it.” Masha sighed. “My realm isn’t much better.”

“It is not an internal evil like in yours. No offense.” The spirit replied, “It is an unknowable threat from beyond the stars.”

“Oh.”

“Nobody knows its name, we simply refer to it as ‘Something.’

“What is it?” Masha asked.

“Like I said, it is unknowable.” The spirit seemed scared to even speak about it. “It would have consumed all life in my world if it weren’t for the construction of The Pyramid.”

“What’s that?”

“A magical fortress that dampens our world’s magic. It keeps us hidden, and safe.”

“That’s not terrifying at all.” Masha replied sarcastically.

“Anyways…” The spirit continued, “You are one of the select few who have a chance of defeating it.”

“...Defeating?” They replied, “I’m sorry but how exactly am I supposed to stop a cosmic horror beyond my own mortal comprehension? Ignoring that, how do I even get to your world?”

“This is going to be difficult to understand…”

“Hit me.”

“You know of the tale of the wayward bard of Gravesfield, correct?”

“Yeah. I told my kids about it a few days ago.” Masha replied.

“Your interpretation of the story is almost exactly correct, except for one detail.”

Masha’s interest was piqued by this. “What detail?”

“The bard was not killed by Grey.”

“They weren’t?”

“No.” The spirit casted a spell, displaying a humanoid figure with pointed ears holding the hand of a human. “They were not rivals, but lovers.”

Masha’s jaw dropped. “They WHAT.”

The spirit chuckled, “There’s more.”

“This whole thing is already crazy, and makes me seem crazy for believing it.” Masha said, confused. “So what else could possibly be crazier than this?!”

“You are their direct descendant, Masha Grey.” The spirit said, “You’re a half-witch.”

DEMON REALM, BLIGHT INDUSTRIES

LUZ POV

“Aaaand…” Elias said, “We’re here! I think.”

“This is the Blight manor?” Luz replied.

“No, this is Blight Industries, the company Mrs. Blight owns.” They stated. “It’s where she usually unveils her latest inventions.”

“Coolio…” Luz said, continuing forward. There was a large crowd of cloaked demons and witches entering the building.

“Wait, hold on. I know some good illusion spells.” Elias cast a spell, causing two green cloaks to appear on both of them. “Don’t want to get seen by anyone we don’t want to see us.”

“Okay…?” She chuckled nervously. “You’re not wanted by the law or anything, right?”

“Actually no, it’s just tradition around here I guess.” The kid shrugged. The two entered the building. It was completely full to the brim with people of all shapes and sizes. Luz saw Amity on the stage talking to someone away from the crowd.

“That’s her!” Luz smiled.

Amity turned back to face the crowd, she seemed disheartened. She cleared her throat.

“Ahem. Quiet, please?” She stated. The room went silent, all eyes on her.

“As you all know, my company has been experiencing budget issues.” She sighed, “Which is why I’m here to announce that Blight Industries will be shifting away from abomination based assistants.”

The crowd all began murmuring with each other, until Amity snapped her fingers. The stage opened up and a large slime machine emerged from the ground.

“This is the Abomaton, patent pending. Blah blah” Amity let out a fake smile, “The number one solution to all of your home security problems.”

The crowd remained silent.

“Ugh. I can’t do this.” Amity groaned. “Get Edric to do it!” She stormed back behind the stage.

“Crap. We need to follow her.” Luz said, looking down at Elias. “Can you cast some weird magic to get me to her?”

“Uh…I guess I can make you look like one of her butler robots?” They replied, “I doubt it’ll last long though.”

“I just need to get close enough to talk to her.” Luz said.

“Alright, whatever.” Elias casted the spell, causing Luz to turn into an abomination butler. “Don’t get killed.”

Luz nodded and quickly shuffled up the stage, following Amity. She was alone in some kind of dressing room.

“No, I don’t need food or drink right now.” Amity said, turning to the tiny abomination.

Luz continued into the room.

“Hey, wait a minute. My abominations don’t walk like that.” Amity squinted her eyes suspiciously. “Who are you?”

The illusion wore off, revealing Luz. Amity seemed very surprised.

“Oh!-” Amity backed up nervously, “You’re Luz!”

“Uh, of course I am?” Luz chuckled, “I’m the Luziest Luz.”

“Right, yeah. Of course.” Amity cleared her throat, “Why are you here?”

“I wanted to ask again about my daughter.” Luz said, “Maybe you know something?”

“Did you do what I asked?” Amity replied. “About my daughter?”

“Oh, I completely forgot!” Luz facepalmed, “Sorry.”

Amity chuckled. “No worries.”

“I’ll go do it right now if-” Luz said, but Amity interrupted her.

“You don’t need to worry about it right now. In fact, I have a very definitive lead for you now.” Amity said.

“Seriously?”

“Mhm.” Amity pulled out her scroll, it showed a roster of students at a magic school named Hexside.

“Hexside? That’s your daughter’s school right?” Luz looked at the roster.

“Yeah.” Amity scrolled a little bit to the N section. “Noceda, Camila.”

Luz’s eyes widened. “Yes! That’s her!” She hugged Amity.

“Ack!” Amity smiled, “I think you could kill two birds with one stone and help both of our problems at once.”

“Wait, wouldn’t Odalia live at your manor?” Luz asked.

“She chooses to live with my sister Emira instead. My siblings aren’t the best influences.”

“I see.” Luz replied. “I’m an only child.”

“Lucky you.” Amity sighed. “Parenting sure is hard.”

Luz shrugged. “Absolutely, but I think it’s worth it.”

Amity nodded. “Even if she ends up being a little jerk…”

“Didn’t you say the bullying was new behavior?”

“Yes. Odalia was a top student before, well respected by her classmates.” Amity growled. “It’s that dang new kid I swear.”

“Who?” Luz asked.

“Some new student who enrolled a few weeks ago and befriended Odalia.”

Luz raised an eyebrow. “Before you finish, you’re sure it was a random kid and not, you know…”

“Are you calling me a bad mother?” Amity frowned, mildly angry.

“No no! Not at all.” Luz replied nervously, “I’m just saying it could have been a lot of things.”

“Like what?”

“Well, when I was in high school I used to be pretty…” Luz struggled to find the right word.

“Mean?” Amity asked.

“No, not that word.”

“Disruptive?” Amity said.

“No…Well, a little yeah.”

“Quirky?”

“I guess that works?” Luz said. “I never intentionally upset people, my presence just sort of radiated chaos.”

Amity chuckled. “Can’t relate. All A’s.”

“Wow, look at you. Big shot here.” Luz joked.

“How about you?” Amity asked.

“Tried college for a bit. Dropped out for some guy I met.” Luz sighed.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, that was Cam’s dad.” Luz said, “We got divorced shortly after she was born.”

“Been down that road before.” Amity looked down and kicked the ground.

“Odalia’s father?” Luz asked.

“Nope.” Amity said, “Never married that guy. I have an ex wife though.”

“Oh!” Luz said. “Uh, what was she like?”

“Oh she was amazing.” Amity smiled, “Adorable, sweet personality, super buff.”

“She sounds lovely.” Luz smiled as well.

“She’s also one of the parents who told me about my daughter’s bullying.” Amity fake laughed, “Isn’t it funny that my daughter is the number one bully of my ex wife’s son?”

“That’s awkward.”

“Very awkward. She was nice about it, but I think she was just being polite.” Amity groaned. “Ugh I just want to bury my face in the dirt.”

Luz placed her hand on Amity’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s alright, right? I mean, if she really didn’t like you she’d probably yell at you.”

“That’s true but I also had to talk to her husband and it was the WORST.”

“Was he bad?”

“No! He was totally cool about it! That’s the worst part!” Amity groaned again.

Luz smiled slightly. “I think that means you’re cool, Amity. One parent to another.”

Amity sighed. “That’s nice of you to say, Luz.”

“Anytime, Ms. Blight.” Luz nodded. “Also, thanks for helping me out too.”

HUMAN REALM, MASHA POV

“Woah.” Masha said aloud. “Woah, woah woah.”

They couldn’t believe what they’d been told. Masha? A half-witch? What does that even mean?

“Are you alright?” The spirit asked.

“No!” Masha shouted. “Well…Gah! I don’t even know where to start!”

“I’m sure you have more questions.”

“Did my parents know about this?” Masha asked, “What other urban legends are real? Am I related to those too?!”

“Settle down, please.”

Masha made several vaguely angry gestures, before deeply inhaling and exhaling.

“Okay. Okay.” Masha said. “Sorry, go on.”

“No, your parents do not know this about you, believe it or not.” The spirit frowned. “But there are people who do.”

“Who? Other family members?” Masha asked.

“Have you spoken to your extended family lately? Cousins?”

“No, not really. I’ve always been busy.”

“Perhaps you should speak to one of them. I’m sure your grandfather would be delighted to help you out.”

“My grandpa? I haven’t spoken to him since my dad…”

“He’ll understand everything, don’t worry.” The spirit said, “Bring Vee with you when you visit him.”

“Will I remember all of this after I wake up?” Masha asked.

“Of course.”

“Okay.” Masha took another deep breath. “When I come back here, I’m going to have more questions.”

“And I will be happy to answer them. Lay down.”

Masha laid in the black water, slowly sinking to the bottom. As soon as they hit the bottom, they snapped awake. They were still in their bedroom. The light was off, but the sun had risen. Vee was sleeping in their desk chair. The room was very messy. Masha wondered if they should just leave to find their grandfather, but they decided to wait for Vee to wake up.

“Wonder what she’s dreaming about?” Masha said to themself.

VEE POV

Vee found herself alone in a dark cell. Liquid dripped from the ceiling. She was far younger, her claws less defined. Chains were tightly wrapped around her wrists. This was a bad memory. Her arms hurt from lash marks. A weak voice cried out from behind her, she turned around to see a significantly smaller basilisk with orange scales and pink hair. Her arms were thin enough for Vee to wrap her entire hand around. The young basilisk crawled to Vee for comfort. She gently lifted the basilisk into her arms and cradled it. She was around half Vee’s size, but light enough to carry with two arms.

“Hey, it’s okay Mono.” She said, gently booping her nose. “I won’t let them hurt you again.”

The basilisk tried speaking, but only let out a weak cough.

“Shh. How about this?” Vee gently set her down, “I’ll let you have my food for today. You need it more than I do.”

The basilisk nodded, crawling over to hug her. Despite how frail she was, she had little signs of injury. Vee had many bruise marks and scars from the chains.

“I’m okay.” Vee smiled. “One day we’re going to get out of here. I promise.”

Mono smiled. “I’ll hold you to that…” She weakly said.

Vee’s ears twitched. She could hear a horrid metal clanking sound approach. She ushered Mono to the back corner of the room.

A pyramid guard stomped its way to the cell, looking at Vee through the bars.

“Child. Come with me.”

“You won’t lay a finger on her!” Vee shouted. “I’m never letting you hurt my sister ever again!”

The guard opened the door, Vee winced, expecting to be hurt. But the guard did not hit her.

“Not her.” The pyramid guard unlocked Vee’s chains. “You.”

Vee hesitantly followed the guard out of her cell. She looked back to see Mono for what could be the last time.

“Vee?” A voice called out. “Vee!”

Vee snapped awake to the sound of Masha’s voice. She had fallen on the floor.

“Are you okay?” Masha asked, pulling her up.

“I-I’m…” Vee stuttered. “I’m f-fine.”

“Are you sure?” Masha asked. “It looked like you were having a nightmare.”

“It’s nothing. I’m scared of centipedes.”

“Oof. Sounds like a bad dream.” Masha smiled. “Hey, could you do me a favor?”

“Uhm…Sure?” Vee replied.

“Could you come with me to my grandfather’s house?” Masha asked. “There’s something really important I need to do and I’d feel better if you came with me.”

“Alright!” Vee smiled. “I’d love to.”

“Great!” Masha smiled. “Oh, but…breakfast first?”

“Sounds good.” Vee replied. She transformed back to her human form and followed Masha to their kitchen.

Chapter Text

CAMILA POV

Camila, Falkin, Mossy and Evelyn had followed the path of palisnodes all across the Boiling Isles, eventually arriving at the coastline of the left arm. The group had been exhausted from the long journey across the isles, attempting to track the lost Wittebane. The left arm was home to the desert of Palm Stings, an unforgiving sandy region known for its sweltering heat in the day and freezing cold at night.

“Ms Evelyn, can we please stop for a bit?” Mossy said, yawning. “I’m tired, can we please just…camp for the night or something?”

Falkin agreed, “Joey needs to rest. He can’t keep flying like this.”

“...And it looks like we’re about to cross the ocean.” Camila said, suddenly wincing from a slight static sensation in her hand. She looked down to see the crystal glowing again.

Evelyn groaned. “Alright, alright.” She guided the griffon to the ground, underneath a somewhat stable looking cliff with plenty of shade. Camila hopped off of the griffon, immediately taking a seat to rest. She placed her palm against the sand, grabbing a handful and letting it trickle from her fingers. Strangely, the sand wasn’t hot in the slightest, despite everyone else groaning about the heat.

“Are you all alright?” Camila asked, looking around. Mossy was laying on the ground, Camila scooted closer to her, sitting next to her.

“Too…hot…” Mossy said, groaning.

“Gather round, kids.” Evelyn said. The group huddled around her as she cast a spell. The air around the group suddenly changed to a significantly more comfortable temperature. Falkin sighed a breath of relief, and leaned down against Joey. The griffon curled up and shut its eyes, falling asleep. Evelyn sat down on the rocky beach at a safe distance from the boiling water, staring off into the ocean horizon.

Mossy laid back down, leaning against a rock. Camila sat next to her, wrapping her arms around her legs.

“Feeling better?” Camila smiled.

Mossy sighed, “Yeah.” She groaned. “This rock isn’t very comfortable though.”

“That’s weird, it feels fine to me.” Camila said. She didn’t feel any sense of discomfort from the heat, or even from leaning against the cliff rocks. Mossy turned to face her, confused.

“How?” She raised an eyebrow.

Camila shrugged slightly. “I dunno, I don’t really feel anything right now.”

Mossy looked at Camila’s hand. “Can I see it?”

Camila looked back at her, and showed her palm. The crystal was glowing white, as it usually did when Camila used magic. Mossy gently touched the crystal.

“Does it hurt?” She asked.

Camila couldn’t quite answer that question. She certainly felt a strange sensation, but it wasn’t pain. It was something unfamiliar, but paradoxically, it felt like it had always been with her, in the back of her mind. She simply responded, “A little bit.”

“Hmm.” Mossy said, feeling around the edge of the crystal, where it fused with Camila’s skin. “What does it feel like?”

“Honestly, sometimes it doesn’t even feel like it’s there.” Camila responded. “When I close my fist I can feel it, but other times I don’t feel it at all.”

Mossy let go of Camila’s hand. “It sounds really weird.”

Camila nodded. The two continued to sit in silence for several minutes. Mossy began checking her scroll, while Camila stared off into the distance, towards the Pyramid floating over the titan’s skull. She wondered what it could possibly be meant for. Perhaps it is a weapon, or perhaps it is simply some evil king’s great palace. She didn’t know much about it, besides the fact that Philip wasn’t very fond of the place. She continued observing the great hovering structure, watching as airships went to and from the mighty sky-fortress.

“Hey, Moss?” She tapped Mossy’s shoulder.

“Huh-what?” Mossy said, flinching and dropping her scroll.

“You know the big pyramid above the skull?” Camila asked, turning to face her.

“Yeah, who doesn’t?” Mossy responded, picking her scroll up.

Camila looked back at the pyramid, eyeing it suspiciously. “What’s its whole deal? Why’s it there, why’s it floating?”

Mossy’s expression suddenly shifted, she tensed up slightly.

“Uh, Moss?” Camila tapped her shoulder.

“It’s where all of those pyramid guards come from.” Mossy responded, drawing a crude sketch of one of the guards in the sand. “Nobody really knows much about them.”

“Huh?” Camila seemed confused. “How does nobody know if they’re everywhere?”

Mossy shrugged, “They’re the Judge’s police force. They enforce the coven system, giving sigils to all witches after a certain age.”

“Why?”

“Nobody knows, the guards almost never talk.” Mossy replied. “But sometimes, a lucky student is chosen to become the ‘Titan Guard,’ whatever that means.”

“Titan Guard…That doesn’t sound good.” Camila said with a worried expression.

Mossy sketched something in the sand, a hulking armored figure with a pyramid head. “That’s the Titan Guard.” The figure towered over the previous drawing. Her hands were shaking.

“Hey, is something up?” Camila asked.

Mossy shook her head, clearing the drawings. “No, nothing.”

Camila looked into Mossy’s eyes, “Are you sure?”

Mossy looked away, “Yeah.”

Camila doubted her, but whatever it was, it was clearly a sensitive subject for Mossy, she thought. She instead went back to observing the pyramid. She felt her eyes grow heavy, slowly shutting them and passing out under the shaded cliff.

SEVERAL HOURS LATER, MOSSY POV

Mossy slowly opened her eyes, feeling a cool wind surrounding her. When did she fall asleep, she thought as she got her bearings. She looked to her left, feeling something leaning on her. Camila had fallen asleep as well. The sun had set, and the whole area was incredibly dark. She stood up and stretched, yawning. She turned around, looking for Falkin and Evelyn. The two of them were both already awake it seems, as she could hear their voices from past the rocks she had been laying against.

“You’re saying he just…” Falkin spoke up, briefly pausing. “He just flew off into the sunset, into the ocean?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” Evelyn grumbled. “The mana trail leads to the sea, somewhere far to the east.”

“So, what. Do we just fly and hope we find an island to stop at?” Falkin responded.

“My husband wouldn’t have taken off into the Boiling Sea if he didn’t know for absolute fact that there was somewhere to land.” Evelyn confidently stated. “He’s not dumb enough to venture into a boiling ocean without some kind of plan.”

“Are you completely sure?” Falkin said, “There’s a good chance this could be a one way trip. After all, he never returned.”

“I know that, kid.” She sighed. “Look, I have to do this. I need to know what happened to him.”

“I get that, Evelyn.” Falkin said, “You really want to find Caleb, but you need to remember that this isn’t about you or him, it’s about Camila.”

Evelyn looked down. “I know that too just…”

She looked back at Falkin. “Look, either way, the only path we have is forward.”

Falkin sighed and nodded. “I’ll go wake the others up.”

Mossy stepped out from behind the rock. “Through the ocean? Seriously?”

Falkin was a bit surprised to see Mossy awake. “Oh- Yeah. Apparently the palisman’s mana trail leads somewhere far to the east.”

“That’s not good.” Mossy said, unsure. “Have witches ever even gone that far out?”

Falkin shook his head. “Not since the failed voyage of Johann Eberticus.”

“So we really don’t know what’s out there?” Mossy replied with a concerned look.

“No.” Falkin said, walking over to Camila to wake her up. “Come on Cam, get up.”

Camila yawned and opened her eyes. “H-huh?”

“Time to go.” Mossy said, grabbing her arm and lifting her up.

“Ughh…five more minutes…” Camila groaned.

Falkin gently slapped her, “Wake up!”

Camila jolted awake, “Agh! Alright, fine!” She exclaimed, gently nudging Mossy to let go. Falkin led the trio back to Joey, whom they all mounted.

“Where are we going?” Camila asked.

“We’re going far to the east.” Mossy said hesitantly, “Where no witch has gone before.”

“Why?” She asked.

“My palisman’s mana trail is headed somewhere far to the east. Even after all these years, the magic residue still remains.” Evelyn stated. “Now, fly, griffon! Fly!”

Everyone held on as Joey charged off of the cliff face, ascending above the ocean. Mossy looked down at the boiling sea, the reflection of the moon distorted by both the heat of the boiling water and the waves themselves. She looked up at the stars, shimmering dots forming fantastical patterns and shapes in the sky. As a witchlet, Mossy had often dreamt of flying among the stars. She dreamt of touching them, creating her own special constellations in the sky. Even though they were only dreams, she still held out hope that one day her dreams could come true. She returned her gaze to the sea, watching for any potential islands that they could land on.

JACK POV

Hours ago, Philip had landed near some ruins on the left arm with Gil and Jack. They had spent the last few hours searching for something Philip refused to talk about. Jack was exhausted from searching, and instead opted to lay down on a fallen pillar. She had a lot on her plate at the moment, from dealing with all of Odalia’s crap to helping Camila learn about her hand. There was so much going on lately, she just needed a break from it all.

“Jack, are you going to help at all?” Gil said, annoyed.

“Nope.” Jack said, “I’m done looking for whatever that annoying old guy wants. We should’ve been following Evelyn like we were told to.”

Gil spoke back, “I think it’s smarter to do what Philip said, if we split into two parties we can look for Camila’s mom while they look for Caleb.”

“I know, and I really want to help Camila find her mom, but I’m just sooo tired.” Jack groaned.

“Besides, Philp says he's onto something.” Gil said, leaning on an upright pillar.

“That’s wonderful. Has he told you what he’s even looking for?” Jack responded sarcastically.

Gil frowned and dragged Jack off of the pillar, she grunted as she hit the ground. “Get up.”

Jack groaned and stood back up. “Fine.” She said, following Gil back to where Philip was. He was kneeling over a circular stone planted in the ground.

“It must be here.” He said, “Both of you, come quickly!”

“What could possibly be so-” Jack said, before pausing after seeing what Philip had excavated.

Underneath the stone was a medium sized glass bottle filled with a blue substance giving off a faint glow.

“Is that…?” Gil began.

“Titan’s blood?” Philip said, standing up with the bottle in hand, “Indeed it is.”

“What’s it doing here?” Jack said, surprised. “I’ve never seen Titan’s blood before…”

Philip smiled, “Many decades ago, the pyramid guards began confiscating all stashes of Titan’s blood, and mined all sources of the substance to depletion.” He handed the bottle to Jack, “Except this one, that me and my brother hid away for safekeeping.”

Gil tilted his head, “Why were we looking for it?”

“It is an incredibly potent magical power source, capable of powering all sorts of magical machinery.” Philip responded.

“Still doesn’t answer his question.” Jack replied, “Why did we go out of our way for this stuff?”

“It’s to power a long range communication device I created. There are three in existence, belonging to Evelyn, myself, and Caleb.” Philip answered, taking the bottle out of Jack’s hand.

“So you’re going to use it to talk to Evelyn and Caleb?” Gil asked.

“Just Evelyn, and it will only function one-way.” Philip said, “If Evelyn were here, I could give her some of the blood, but alas she is likely too far away to locate by now.”

Gil nodded, “So do you have yours on you?”

Philip pulled a palm sized metal cylinder covered in Titan glyphs. “This is the Resonator, as I like to call it. It uses glyph magic to send spoken words directly to another Resonator.”

“How do we use it?” Jack asked.

“Allow me.” Philip poured a single drop of the titan’s blood into the resonator. The glyphs each began to glow their respective colors, then settled at a purple-blue coloration. He asked, “Do you have anything you would like to say to the others before they leave?”

Jack stepped forward and began speaking first.

“Hey Camila, hey Mossy, hey Fal.” She said, smiling. “We know that you’re probably long gone by now in your search for Caleb, and that you’ll probably be gone for a while, but don’t worry about us!”

“We’ve all decided to go look for your mom, while you all look for Caleb.” Gil spoke into the resonator, “We’re gonna find her, and on top of that, I bet we’re gonna find some answers about that crystal of yours!”

“Anything else?” Philip asked.

“Eh, I can’t really think of anything else important.” Jack shrugged. “Come back in one piece, alright?”

Philip tapped the glyphs, sending the message away to Evelyn’s resonator.

“It will be a short while before she receives it, and she won’t be able to respond.”

“What now then?” Gil asked, looking around at the ruins surrounding them.

“I say we all go to our respective homes and get some rest.” Jack said, “Then we can figure out the Camila plan in the morning.”

Philip and Gil nodded. The three of them sat on Caleb’s staff, and flew off.

CAMILA POV

The group had been flying for what felt like hours before they finally saw what appeared to be mountains in the distance. The moon still hung above their heads, and the stars turned the sea into a dazzling display of sparkling lights. Evelyn began guiding the griffon down towards the coast of the new land. A single, gargantuan skeletal hand was just faintly visible far beyond the mountain range, the decaying remnants of another god.

“Finally!” Evelyn exclaimed, “Land ho!”

The three held on as she began descending rapidly, nearly crashing into the ground before Joey pulled himself back up. The griffon gently landed on the dark sand. Camila, Evelyn, and Mossy all hopped off of the griffon’s back at the same time. Camila began surveying the beach. They had landed in the narrow strip of beach between enormous cliffsides and the boiling sea. The coastline seemingly went on forever into the horizon.

“Huh.” She suddenly spoke up.

Mossy yawned, “What is it?”

“I swear I’ve…seen this place…”

“Absolute baloney, nobody has ever stepped foot h-” Evelyn said, before turning to the left and seeing what looked like the remnants of a shipwreck. “Damn.”

“What do you mean you’ve seen this place?” Mossy asked.

Camila looked up to the sky, at the moon. “Maybe it was a dream?” She looked down to the palm of her hand, the crystal was faintly glowing. She felt something twist in her gut.

“I know where to go.” She suddenly exclaimed. She stuck her palm out, and turned to face the cliffs. The crystal began glowing incredibly brightly, illuminating a path forward.

Evelyn smiled. “Very impressive, kiddo.” She said, following the path Camila had revealed. “Hey, Falkin, be a dear and watch the griffon for us please.” She chuckled and walked off. Falkin shrugged and laid down next to Joey.

Camila briefly followed Evelyn, but noticed Mossy was standing still.

“Everything alright?” Camila asked, tilting her head.

Mossy turned around, facing the ocean. “It’s all so…”

“Yeah?” Camila walked up to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Big.” Mossy finished. “A few weeks ago, I was just some random kid. Now, I’m with the chosen one of some prophecy from another world, in a completely unknown land.”

“I guess it really is a lot…” Camila said, “I’ve just been trying to go with the flow, but it’s still pretty overwhelming.”

Mossy smiled. “I’m glad you agree.”

Camila smiled back, “Come on, let’s keep going.” She said, walking back towards the path.

Mossy initially lagged behind, before following Camila closely.

The trio ventured deep into the island, following the glowing path created by Camila’s hand. The island itself was barren, devoid of life. There were no trees, bushes, or even bugs, just endless rocks and the occasional skeleton.

“It’s so…barren.” Evelyn said, concerned. “What in the titan’s name happened to all the creatures here?”

“Maybe there never was any life?” Camila responded.

“No, look around.” Evelyn stopped the group and gestured around. “Dead roots, skeletons, decayed grass.”

Camila looked at the ground. Evelyn was right, the island was abundant with life, but it was all dead. She felt her heart sink. “Oh god…”

“Let’s hurry, please?” Mossy said, deeply concerned. Evelyn and Camila nodded and continued forward. The path led to a dark cavern, illuminated only by the glowing light of Camila’s crystal.

“Oh titan it’s dark…” Mossy whimpered. Evelyn grabbed her hand. “Kid, it’ll be alright. You’re with the strongest witch in the world!”

Mossy smiled. “Yeah…I just gotta breathe.”

The three continued until they reached a dead end.

“Oh no.” Evelyn said. “No no no, this can’t be-”

“A dead end?!” Mossy exclaimed.

Evelyn began pacing and mumbling to herself. “I’m so close! Come on, come on!”

Camila zoned out suddenly, hearing a faint voice in the back of her subconscious, telling her what to do. She walked past Mossy and Evelyn as they panicked, and began to focus. She focused on the crystal, the cave, her journey. Angry thoughts flipped through her mind, memories of old rivals on Earth, thoughts about Odalia, thoughts about losing her mother. Channeling all of her anger, all of her passion, she punched the cave wall as hard as she could. Mossy and Evelyn backed away, watching in amazement as the wall broke apart, revealing a passage to a brightly lit cavern illuminated by massive glowing mushrooms of various colors.

Camila groaned as she collapsed to her knees, breathing heavily.

“Cam!” Mossy rushed to her, gently lifting her back up. “Oh my titan, that was amazing!”

Evelyn chuckled. “You just keep surprising us. I wasn’t worried at all, by the way.”

Camila sighed, “Oh man…” She chuckled, “I think I’m…getting the hang of this…”

“Don’t tire yourself out too much, kid.” Evelyn said. “It looks like that crystal magic of yours is really exhausting to use.”

“Mhm…” Camila said, bracing herself on a rock. “You two go ahead, just give me a second to catch my breath.”

They both nodded, walking into the mushroom cave. Mossy stayed behind for a moment.

“You know, Camila…” She smiled. “You’re really impressive. I just want you to know that.”

Camila shined a big toothy grin and chuckled, “Thanks Moss. You’re pretty great too.”

Mossy patted Camila on the shoulder before following Evelyn into the cave.

Camila leaned her back against the cave wall, and looked down at her palm, at the crystal. She suddenly gasped. A large amount of her skin palm surrounding the crystal had turned a silver color, and a small patch of it directly surrounding the crystal had completely crystallized. She felt no difficulty in moving her palm normally, but the change terrified her. She clenched her fist and entered the passageway, following Mossy and Evelyn.

The cavern was beyond beautiful. The roof of the cavern was illuminated by an enormous blue colored glowing crystal, and the rest of the cave was illuminated by many different sized glowing mushrooms. Mossy sat atop an orange colored mushroom, while Evelyn was inspecting smaller red colored mushrooms at the base of the stem.

“So, why did Camila’s powers lead us here?” Mossy asked.

“I dunno. To see some cool fungus?” Evelyn joked, they both chuckled.

“Oh, there she is.” Mossy hopped off the mushroom. “Feeling better?”

Camila nodded, hiding her palm. “I think there might be a clue to Caleb’s whereabouts here, or maybe it’s something related to the crystal?”

Evelyn shrugged. “There isn’t a mana trail in this cave, so it’s probably not related to Caleb.”

“And Falkin’s still watching over Joey at the beach, so we can’t use his expertise.” Mossy sighed.

Camila tried to focus, like she did when she illuminated the path to the cave. She felt a connection to this place, despite having never seen it before. She suddenly zoned out again, Evelyn and Mossy’s voices muffling as she began to walk forward, almost unconsciously. She pushed past some medium sized mushrooms, walking further into the colorful cave. Mossy and Evelyn followed closely behind as she ventured further, until they all suddenly stopped. Before them was a great wall carving, depicting many heroes and villains engaged in conflict. A vile conqueror of worlds on one side, and a glowing rebel on the other. It is a one sided battle, with the heroes being massively outnumbered, but they continue to fight for their lives. In the end, the hero and their trusted companion, both confront the villain. The next carving seems to have been destroyed centuries ago, with the final carving ending with a depiction of a human and some kind of serpentine creature sealing an unknown entity away in a dark cell using unknown magic.

Evelyn’s eyes widened. “Oh…”

“What is this?” Mossy asked.

“He told me about this.” Evelyn’s hands began shaking. “This is the prophecy my husband discovered.”

“It’s…calling to me…” Camila said, in awe.

“Hey, there’s a slot here that looks like your crystal, Camila!” Mossy said, bringing Camila to the small slot.

“Huh.” Camila responded. “I wonder what’ll happen if…” She gently placed her palm onto the slot, the crystal fit perfectly. Nothing happened.

“Is anything happening?” Mossy asked, looking around anxiously.

“Give it a minute…” Evelyn said, looking at the mural.

Camila began to glow, as did the carvings. She looked up to see that the wall had begun opening up to reveal a box. Evelyn seemed to immediately recognize it.

“No way!” She said giddily.

“What, what is it?” Mossy asked as Evelyn grabbed the box.

Evelyn opened the box, showing the contents to Mossy and Camila. It resembled a suitcase with a large yellow eye attached to the front. She set the box down, and stepped back. “Give it another second.

The box suddenly unfolded itself, revealing a doorway.

“It’s a titan blood portal!” Evelyn exclaimed, “Oh, I thought we lost this one forever!”

“A portal?” Camila asked.

“That’s right kid.” She smiled, “But don’t get too excited. This portal doesn’t lead to the human realm, unfortunately.”

“Where does it lead?” Mossy asked.

“A sort of magical pocket dimension named Dreamscape.” Evelyn answered. “Go ahead, open it.”

Camila hesitantly opened the portal door. She was suddenly met with a fierce cold radiating from the other side. It was snowing, and incredibly windy in the Dreamscape.

“I’ll explain what it is in a bit, let’s go in!” Evelyn said, walking through the portal. Mossy and Camila followed shortly after. The doorway led to an abandoned cabin in the middle of an unfamiliar tundra. The roof had partially collapsed, and there was snow on the floor.

“Oh sweet titan it’s cold…” Mossy shivered.

“That’s odd…” Camila said, “I don’t feel cold anymore…”

Evelyn casted a spell creating a heat barrier around them to keep warm. “That’s weird, maybe the crystal is keeping you warm?”

“I think it is.” Camila responded, looking at the crystal. It was glowing, like it usually did when she used her powers.

Mossy sighed in relief as the warmth washed over her. “Okay, what are we doing here now?”

“Well, we used this pocket dimension to hide all sorts of artifacts and crap we found. Only we knew about it.” Evelyn answered, “And the only reason Caleb would hide this portal in that exact place…”

“I think I know…” Camila said, piecing the puzzle together. “Caleb’s here, isn’t he?”

“And he may very well have been here for the past eight years, for whatever reason.” Evelyn’s expression was a mixture of excitement and dread, as well as a trace amount of anger.

“Why’s he hiding in the interdimensional equivalent of a junk drawer, then?” Mossy asked, chuckling slightly.

“Well obviously because he specifically just wanted Camila here to find him.”

“Then I’ll seek him out, alone.” Camila said, confidently.

“Seriously?” Mossy said, “We aren’t just gonna let you go alone, who knows what’s out there!”

“Good point, we never actually found out if there was anything besides us in this dimension.” Evelyn stated. “It might be safer to go as a group.”

“No, whatever Caleb has to say, I think he only wants me to hear it.” Camila said, “I’m sorry, but I have to do this alone.”

Mossy clenched her fists, but then released them and sighed. “Okay. I trust that you’ll be safe.”

Camila smiled. “Thanks.” She gave them both a hug. “Hold the door for me, alright?”

Evelyn nodded. “Stay safe kid. You’re one step closer to figuring all of this out.”

Camila stepped out of the abandoned cabin and into the snowy forest, unbothered by the freezing temperatures. Old memories began popping up, of times throughout her life where she felt a voice in the back of her head guiding her. It had always been there, just quieter. In this place, the voice was loud and commanding. She could almost hear it coming from somewhere outside her head. She followed it, sought it out, until she arrived at an odd statue in a clearing.

The statue resembled a large bird of prey, wings outstretched, as if about to take flight. The voice had subsided now, all Camila could hear was the sound of snow crunching as she walked and the wind blowing through the trees. The world around her grew quiet, when she suddenly felt the presence of someone nearby.

“Caleb?” She spoke out loud, looking around the clearing. She heard a man cough, followed by the sound of walking towards her. A blonde man, slightly older than Philip, holding a red cardinal palisman staff in one hand and a strange tome in the other, stepped out from behind a nearby tree.

“Hello, Camila.” The man responded, weakly smiling.

“Is it you?” She asked, looking up at the man.

“Indeed it is.” He answered. “I assume you have questions?”

Camila was awestruck. This was him, the man who had been guiding her through letters and clues, Gil’s grandfather, Philip’s brother.

“Take your time.” Caleb spoke up. “But not too much, the time for action is approaching.”

“Wh…why are you…” Camila stuttered, she had so many questions.

“What is going on?” She settled on a simple, basic, general question.

“More than I could explain in a single answer.” He sighed, “But I think I know where to start.”

“Really?” Camila’s eyes widened.

“Allow me to tell you the tale…” Caleb began, sitting down on the bird statue’s base. “...Of the wayward bard of Gravesfield.”

Chapter Text

THE DEMON REALM, MANY CENTURIES AGO

RAINE POV

“Edalyn Clawthorne. Raine Whispers.” A booming voice calls out, with great anger.

Two witches knelt in the center of a darkened chamber, chained to the ground and awaiting judgement. A woman with graying hair sat to the left of Raine, a powerful young witch in their own right. The chamber, with the exception of the great voice, was completely silent.

“You who claim to be heroic rebels, but only bring death and destruction in your wake. You, who led an army of vile criminals to assault our Pyramid, our beacon of order and prosperity.” The voice continued, “You came here seeking a trial, but there shall be none.”

Raine smirked, then let out a weak cough.

“You’re all such hypocrites.” They said weakly. “You claim to be protecting our magic, our lives, from some made up threat.”

“Raine, please don’t.” The woman said with a defeated tone.

“Eda…” Raine turned to her, “They’re going to petrify us anyways.” They looked back to the sky, where the voice was coming from.

“Your scripture spoke of a great hole in the sky, where unspeakable terrors would invade our world.” They spoke with great determination in their voice, “And that your pyramid was built to seal it. But I’m standing here now, and I see no evidence of this rift!”

“Raine, there’s no point.” Eda said.

Raine struggled with all of their might to stand up, “We know it’s all a lie. We know the truth about this place, about Him.”

A loud, mechanical whirring noise could be heard. From the darkness, a platform carrying a black-hooded figure emerged. The platform was illuminated by a bright red spotlight coming from the ceiling. A man’s voice spoke up from the darkness of the cloak.

“Him?”

Raine looked into the darkness. There were no visible facial features. The darkness inside the cloak seemed to absorb all light, even the light from the ceiling.

“I’ve been in the throne room, Judge.” Raine declared.

“And her?” The cloaked figure seemed to barely regard Eda.

Raine looked down at Edalyn. She seemed to have accepted their fate, but Raine had different plans.

“She knows nothing.”

The cloaked entity looked back to Raine.

“We will soon render judgement. Say your goodbyes.” The platform returned to the darkness, and the chamber returned to darkness, with the spotlight now shining over Raine and Eda.

Eda looked back to Raine, who had knelt down to her level.

“You…lied?” She asked, looking into their eyes.

“Of course I did.” Raine smiled, “I would never leave you behind.”

“But…isn’t that what you’re doing now?” Eda asked, despair in her voice. “Leaving me to return home, while you get banished to some far off world?”

“I’m letting you go home safely, Eda.” Raine sighed, “I brought you into this mess. I convinced you to join my rebellion. You deserve to be free.”

“And what if I don’t want to be free?” Eda cried out, “What if I wanted to go with you?”

“I won’t let you share my punishment, Eda.” Raine stood again, determined. Eda struggled with all of her might to stand at Raine’s level, and looked into their eyes.

“We go together, or we don’t go at all.” Eda responded, her eyes golden like the sun.

The chamber suddenly lit up, revealing The Judge, a bald headed witch man in black armor, alongside the cloaked figure.

“Your time is up, rebel.” The Judge announced.

Raine turned back to Eda. “I love you, but please don’t make me an anchor.”

“Raine, I-” Eda was interrupted, suddenly being hoisted into the air by an invisible force. Raine’s chains were undone, and they waved goodbye. Two Pyramid guards grabbed Raine’s arms, and restrained them as a door rose from beneath the platform.

“Raine Whispers, step through the doorway.” The Judge spoke. One of the guards handed Raine their palisman, a small fox.

“Goodbye, Eda.” They stepped through the door, falling into a new world as Edalyn’s voice faded into silence.

Raine used their last bit of strength to slow their fall, gently landing on the moist green grass of this new world. They coughed, inhaling the scent of the morning dew.

Raine stood up, using a nearby tree to brace themself, and surveyed the land. The sky was blue, all of the plants were a strange green color, and there was no sign of Eda.

“Good.” They thought to themself, desperately holding back tears, before screaming at the top of their lungs and punching a nearby tree, then shouted again from the pain. They fell to their knees, sobbing.

“I’m so sorry, Eda.” They sniffled and wiped their tears and readjusted their glasses. They grasped their scraped hand and sighed. They stood back up, and carved Eda’s name in the tree, then set their palisman on the ground.

“My dear friend, I had hoped that one day my children could inherit you,” Raine sighed. “But, you deserve to have your own life too.”

The palisman awakened, rubbing its forehead against Raine’s hand. “Go now. Perhaps you’ll find someone else to guide.”

The fox refused. Raine smiled slightly. “You’re just as stubborn as she is.”

“Alright then.” They gently picked the palisman back up, and walked away, humming a quiet rhapsody to themself.

CAMILA POV

Camila had been sitting on the statue’s bust next to Caleb, listening to the story and watching him sketch in the snow.

“So wait, the realm Raine was sent to…” Camila spoke up, “It was my- our realm?”

Caleb nodded. “Indeed, although I consider the demon realm to be my true home. I may be outwardly human, but in truth, my brother and I were born here.”

Camila scratched her head. “Huh?”

“It’s quite an odd story, but I’ll keep it as simple as I can.” Caleb drew a sketch of two circles divided by a line in the snow. “These are our worlds, the human realm on the left, demon realm on the right.”

“What’s that in the middle?”

“It’s something I call the In-between realm, a self explanatory realm. It is the world that divides every world.”

Caleb paused, as if anticipating another question from Camila, but she instead waited for him to finish explaining.

“As Raine believed, the Pyramid is not simply a hovering fortress from which the Judge rules over the isles, rather, it is a seal to a gargantuan hole, leading to the in-between realm.” Caleb drew a diamond shape above the circle representing the demon realm, “This diamond represents the rift.”

“Does anyone know what caused it?” Camila asked.

“No, though Raine believed that the creators of the Pyramid were the ones who caused it.” Caleb used his staff to draw a small triangle between the circle and diamond. “This is the Pyramid, holding the rift shut, or so the Judge claims.”

“Claims?”

“In truth, the Judge seems to exert some level of control over the rift. In the past, Judges have used the rift to open doorways to other worlds as a way of banishing criminals.”

“I think I understand, but also how does this connect to you?”

Caleb chuckled. “It’s quite simple, but also quite humorous if you think about it.” He drew two arrows between the human and demon realms, through the in-between realm. “The doorway the Judges have been using for centuries is quite advanced, but not nearly as precise as the doorways my family has created.”

“Wait, doorways? Plural?” Camila’s eyes widened.

“One thing at a time, please.” Caleb smiled warmly, Camila nodded. “When someone is sent through the rift from our side, someone else is brought here from the other side.”

“How does that work?”

Caleb shrugged. “Nobody knows, but whatever the cause, it brought one of my distant ancestors here. Over the centuries, my family grew to great fame, until the Pyramid guards began hunting us.”

“Wait, hunting?”

Caleb gritted his teeth slightly and inhaled. “Humans, for whatever reason, have a natural resilience to the powers of Pyramid guards. When a human and a witch have a child together, the offspring is often simply a human or a witch, but very rarely, a half-witch will be born.”

“What’s a half-witch?” Camila asked.

“Half-witches are beings who, while physically appearing to be fully human, are capable of using magic like any witch. They carry both the ability to resist the Pyramid, and the ability to use magic. On top of that, they are immune to the effects of sigil magic.” Caleb smiled, “In fact, I am a half-witch myself.”

Camila’s eyes widened again, “Woah…”

“Of course, as I grow older, my powers have waned, and so has my resilience to the Pyramid.” Caleb sighed.

Camila had many more questions, but they could wait for now. She was itching to hear the rest of Raine’s story.

“Alright…” Camila breathed in, “This is a lot to take in all at once. Could you continue the story about Raine?”

Caleb nodded, and continued.

THE HUMAN REALM, MANY CENTURIES AGO

RAINE POV

Raine stood alongside two human companions in a clearing in the woods. It had been eight years since that night. Eight years since they lost everything and everyone they had.

“Raine, my dear friend, surely we must depart soon?” One of the humans, a woman with brown hair spoke. They did not respond, they simply stared at Eda’s name, carved into the trunk.

“We must return to the village soon, lest the hunters find you.” The other human agreed, an older man with grey hair.

“Hunters…” Raine scoffed. “Mindless fools who butcher innocent men and women for no reason.”

“Yes, which is why we must-” The man spoke again.

“Hide…Always hiding, always running.” Raine interrupted, “Why must we conform to make them comfortable? Why must I always hide my true self?”

“You’ve always fought to help us, Raine!” The woman cried out, “My son was sick, and you healed him. When the flood came, your magic saved the town!”

“And yet the hunters always come, regardless of how much good I do for your people, they always return.” Raine replied, the slightest amount of anger in their voice. “I have never raised my hand against your kind, and yet your church has already sentenced me to death simply for being who I am.”

The man placed a hand on Raine’s shoulder. “Our Lord, he wanted you here for a reason.” He smiled, “The hunters would never understand that, but we do. All of Gravesfield does.”

“Our organization is small, far too small to make any meaningful change in the world.” Raine sighed, leaning back against the tree.

The trio suddenly heard rustling in the leaves, somewhere in the woods. Raine jumped to action, ready to fight.

A cloaked woman, carrying a torch, stepped into view.

“Miss Fairwind, Mister Arthur.” She spoke with an intimidating aura of authority.

“L-lady Grey!” The two both said at the same time.

“Leave us.” She commanded, Raine staring her down, face obscured by the cloak. Raine turned to the pair and nodded, they nodded and ran off.

Raine stepped away from the tree, and stared Lady Grey down. Raine knew who she was, the leader of the witch hunters that frequented the town of Gravesfield. She, despite being a woman, was greatly respected by the humans, mostly out of intimidation. Despite her eyes being obscured by the hood, Raine could see that the woman was smiling. It was a strangely familiar smile.

“So, Raine.” She chuckled, taking the hood off to reveal the face of Edalyn Clawthorne. “Did you really think I’d let you just take off like that?”

CAMILA POV

“WHAAT?!” Camila shouted excitedly. “Eda was the witch hunter?!”

Caleb smiled, “Not quite.” He continued, “She assumed the identity of a witch hunter using illusion magic.”

“H-how in the world did she even get to the human realm?!” Camila asked, shocked by the revelation.

“Well, she was able to get a good look at the Judge’s door before being returned to the Boiling Isles to live out her days. She learned the vital component of the portal, Titan’s Blood.”

“Like, literal blood from the dead Titan?” Camila asked.

“Yes, literal blood produced by the Titan’s heart.” Caleb chuckled. “She built the first door, leading to the human realm.”

“Wait, does this mean there’s a door out there I could use?”

“Sadly, no. The various journals and documents belonging to my family all seem to agree that Edalyn’s door was a single-use, one-way portal to your realm.”

“Yeesh, must’ve been reading a lot. You said it was four centuries ago, right?” Camila responded, tilting her head.

Caleb nodded and sighed, “My back still hasn’t recovered from all of the full weekends I spent staring at books.”

“Yikes.” Camila chuckled slightly.

“Hey, wait.” Her expression suddenly changed. “If Eda and Raine never came back to the demon realm…”

Caleb’s expression also changed, he grew paler.

“Who, or what…told you all of this?”

Caleb stood up from the statue and stared off into the woods.

“It was a few years after my son, Hunter, had been born.” He looked down, shutting his eyes. Camila watched his every move.

“My little brother was sick, and Evelyn was trying to use her expertise to heal him, which left me alone to take care of Hunter.”

“What was wrong with him?”

“The healers called it ‘Soul Sickness.’” Caleb shrugged, “Nobody knew what exactly caused it, but it seemed as if something was attempting to push his soul out of his body.”

Camila didn’t know what that meant, but she could ask later. For now, she needed to know how Caleb learned about all of this.

“Alright, continue what you were just saying.” She said, eyeing him suspiciously.

“Hunter was five years old at the time, around the same age Evelyn and I were when we casted our first spell.”

Camila nodded, she had already met Hunter previously. “He’s a powerless witch, right?”

“Yes.” Caleb said sorrowfully, “He was mocked by other children for most of his time at school.”

“Just like Gil…” Camila frowned.

“I wanted answers, so I began relentlessly studying my family’s journals.” Caleb leaned against a tree, “I came to a breakthrough when I found Edalyn’s journal, one she wrote sometime after Raine had been banished.”

Caleb paced around nervously, hesitating to continue, before settling down.

“She had learned about the in-between realm while studying Titan’s Blood, and successfully created a two-way door to it. Not to any particular world, a direct portal to the realm between realms.”

“What did she find?”

“She found the rift that was sealed by the Pyramid, and more importantly, a spirit.”

“Spirit? Like a ghost?”

“She described it as a glowing wisp-like entity watching her from afar. It taught her about Titan magic, how to effectively wield Titan’s Blood, and most importantly, build a gateway to the realm Raine was banished to.”

“And…?”

“I was unable to build a door myself, as such activities would likely draw the ire of the Pyramid. Instead, I continued reading. In a later journal entry, shortly before her departure, she described the existence of special crystals in the Titan’s Skull. She used the crystals, as well as a combination of Titan and traditional witch magic, to enter the in-between realm in her dreams.”

He paused for a moment to think, then continued. “I performed the ritual, and met the entity. It claimed to recognize me, despite the fact that I had never been in the realm before. It claimed to have seen me countless times before.”

“How is that possible?”

“I’m not sure myself. Perhaps a form of time travel, or perhaps the entity had been observing my life through the many strange reflection cubes in that realm.”

“Perhaps I could try asking him mys-”

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Caleb shouted, a mixture of anger and fear. Camila flinched and backed away.

“I-I’m sorry, but you must understand…” Caleb said with a shaky voice, “It is not just a spirit, but quite possibly the most dangerous being I have ever encountered. It is the reason I ran away, I was desperately searching for fragments of the prophecy these past eight years, anything to defend both of our realms!”

Camila backed away, “What…What is it?”

“An entity born of hatred and spite.” Caleb said, “A master manipulator, a traitor, Something truly vile.” He gripped his staff tightly, “It is the entity, the “Him” that Raine was referring to in the story.”

“Alright, but what is so terrifying about it?” Camila’s thoughts turned to Mossy, Gil, her mother, all of her friends. “How does it threaten our worlds?”

“It is a being so far beyond us that it cannot be described.” Caleb muttered quietly, “It sees all, hates all. It consumes entire worlds to stave off its insatiable hunger for destruction. It cannot be trusted, reasoned with, and worst of all, it can never be destroyed.”

Camila fell to her knees. “It…can’t?”

Caleb shook his head.

“Then what’s the point of any of this?” Camila stood back up and grabbed Caleb’s shoulders, shaking him. “What the hell are we even doing here?! What’s the point of the prophecy?!”

A single tear flowed down Caleb’s cheek. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Camila let go of him and paced around, laughing slightly. “Haha, of course you don’t!” She began to cry. The crystal began glowing, the temperature in the area fluctuated.

“Never a straight answer is there?” She leaned against a tree, “The wall carving, what did it even mean then?”

“It's how the story is supposed to end, if you were to succeed.” Caleb replied, holding back his tears.

“And how the hell am I supposed to do that?!” Camila shouted, slamming her fist against the statue, splitting it in half. “You said it yourself, it can’t be destroyed, so how are we going to save the realms?!”

“I don’t know!” Caleb raised his voice, but not to a shout. “I never learned exactly how the story starts, and I know nothing of the middle, I just know how it’s meant to end.”

Camila felt her hand grow numb, she tightly clutched her wrist, staring at the crystal as it began to glow. She watched her palm turn grayer, and the crystallization progress slightly.

“Wh…what’s happening…” Camila grunted in pain, “To me…” She coughed. Caleb rushed to her, inspecting the crystal.

“By the Titan…” Caleb said fearfully. “It’s already begun…”

“What’s begun?!” Camila said, breathing heavily, “What’s happening to me?”

“The more you use your magic, the faster it progresses. You’re crystallizing.”

“What does that even mean?!” She cried in pain, “What’s going to happen?”

“The spirit…It described Raine’s true fate to me.” Caleb answered, “The crystal in your palm was once theirs.”

“A-and?”

“Over the decades, they had used their magic, Empathy Magic as they called it, magic controlled by emotions, in place of bard magic.” He continued, “After decades of use, they began to crystallize, and eventually passed away.”

“So…I’m going to die?” Camila’s heart sank.

“I don’t know. It shouldn’t be happening this soon…”

The pain began to subside, the crystallization slowed to a halt, stopping at the first digits of Camila’s fingers.

“I…I can’t let them see…” She whimpered, “I can’t let Mossy know…”

The two remained silent for a short moment, until Caleb suddenly lit up.

“Wait, no…” He hit himself on the head several times. “Stupid Caleb, stupid!”

“What?” Camila said, looking up to him.

“I can’t believe it only just came to me…”

“Tell me!”

“You aren’t the only ‘Chosen’ of the prophecy.” Caleb sighed with a mixture of relief and mild disappointment in himself. “There are six in total, including you. It said that all of them would be needed to save the realms, though it never specified how.”

“Six?”

“I do not remember the precise phrasing, but yes.” Caleb smiled, “The original text is in the Pyramid’s vaults somewhere, but I remember this…” He kneeled to the ground, Camila followed suit.

“First came the Witches, one empty and one full.”

“Then, the Serpents, one hopeful, the other spiteful.”

“Third, the Human girl with the mightiest of spirits.”

“Finally, the Half-Witch, a conflicted guardian.”

“Are you the Half-Witch?” Camila asked.

“No, if my memory serves, they still reside in the human realm.”

“Then…” Camila sighed, “How am I going to bring them here?”

“They have their own journey to complete before they can come here, but it may still be possible to speak to them through the in-between realm.”

“I thought it was dangerous?”

“The entity, though powerful, cannot harm you in your own dream.” Caleb stood up, “But you should still be careful to not draw its attention.”

“I’ll try my best then.”

“To use the reflection crystals, the large glass cubes you will find in the realm, you must state the full name of whoever you wish to observe or speak to out loud.”

“What’s their name?”

“The scripture referred to them as ‘Masha’.”

Camila immediately recognized the name. This wasn’t just any ordinary person, it was someone she knew personally.”

“Masha?” Her eyes widened, “I knew them in high school!”

“Oh?” Caleb raised an eyebrow.

“You’re telling me my classmate was a witch this entire time?”

“It’s what the prophecy said, I never forget names.”

Camila chuckled. “They always wanted to be part of something bigger, I guess it’s their lucky day.”

“Enjoy your reunion.”

“Huh? You’re not going to come with?”

“I’m not ready to see Evelyn again, as much as it pains me.” Caleb sighed, “She probably hates me for leaving, Philip too.”

“No, no why would you even think that?” Camila responded, “They both miss you a lot, even Philip struggles to hide it!”

He sighed again, “Go on ahead, tell Evelyn to wait at the cabin. I’ll talk with her, then we’ll return to the boiling isles.”

Camila smiled. “I’ll see you, then.”

Camila waved goodbye to Caleb, and retraced her steps back to the cabin. Mossy and Evelyn had returned to the inside of the cavern, though they left the door open. Mossy immediately lit up when Camila walked in.

“Cam!” She exclaimed, rushing to give her a hug. “Are you cold?”

“N-no, haha.” Camila stuttered, looking away. “...Maybe a little bit.”

Evelyn smiled. “Enjoy your chat?”

Camila reflected on everything she learned from Caleb. She knew the truth about Raine, and a small fragment of the truth about the Pyramid and the entity. She knew it couldn’t be destroyed, but perhaps it could be defeated another way.

“It was strange. He’s a strange man.”

Evelyn sniffled. “He’s my strange man.”

“I convinced him to come back.”

Evelyn smiled suddenly. “R-really? You did?!”

Camila nodded, grinning. “He said to give you some privacy, to talk.”

Evelyn gave Camila a hug. “Thank you so much, kid.”

She smiled and stepped through the door, shutting it behind her.

Mossy and Camila stood in silence for a few moments before Mossy spoke up.

“So…” She tried making eye contact with Camila. “What’d you learn?”

“Everything’s going to be okay.” Camila said, looking away.

It’ll all be okay.