“The only question is how we can do that, preferably without killing the entirety of Blackstone’s militia,” Silver said.

“Let’s start with the big picture,” Angel said, rubbing his chin. “I’m no strategist, but even if we destroy one of the Buried Gods, we’re going to have another one to take care of. If we don’t, the city is still doomed.”

“Don’t forget that we don’t know where Shield or his three super clones are for certain,” Tilly said. “I mean, I’d guess Shield is on one of the Buried Gods. But if we blow up the wrong one, we’ve got a pretty strong opponent and a super weapon left to deal with.”

“We could always split up,” Alison offered. “Half of us go to one Buried God and the other half go to the other.”

“Impossible,” Angel said. “Unless you’ve figured out a way to take out a Buried God’s core, I’m the only one that can do it. And there’s no way we’re fighting through everyone the Reawakening has to throw at us. We can cut a path to the core, but we can’t kill all of them. That’s why stealth is so important.”

“Right,” Alison said, letting out a defeated sigh. “I forgot about that part. What about Tilly’s new magic?”

“What do you mean?” Angel asked.

“Well, she can communicate with monsters. The Buried Gods are supposed to be alive, and when Reave kidnapped me and Tilly, I felt like the floor was pulsing under me. That means its alive, right? Maybe Tilly could get control of it.”

They all turned to Tilly, who reddened.

“Could you do it?” Angel asked.

“I… I’m not sure,” Tilly said. “But I honestly don’t think so. Making the connection with Jake felt like it took the limits of my power. If I were to cut my bond with him, I could probably get a slightly larger or more intelligent monster. I’m not really sure what it depends on. The Buried God… it’s just too big. I could try, of course. I just don’t think it would work.”

“We’ll file that under last ditch attempts,” Silver said. Jake turned a beady eye on him and clacked his beak threateningly.

“So we’re in the same spot,” Lilian said. “Actually, Angel, are you even sure you can drain a Buried God now? The chopper should have been dozens of times less energy than a Buried God, and you’ve still got those scars.”

“Maybe we should ask the expert,” Angel said, pulling Blue out and activating the artifact. It hummed to life, faint purple light sparking to life in its core.

“You are not following the Key,” Blue said.

“We’ve been waylaid,” Angel replied. “There are two Buried Gods blocking our path. Have you forgotten?”

“The Buried Gods are not active,” Blue said. “You can avoid them if proper caution is taken.”

“I’m not going to condemn an entire city to death if I can avoid it,” Angel said. “And frankly, we need to deal with the Reawakening one way or another. This might be the best chance to destroy one or both of them. Who knows when the next time the Reawakening splits up will be.”

Blue crackled. “The magical energy your body can handle has increased over the past few weeks. As I said, it will be possible to draw power from the Buried God, but it will be incredibly destructive. Both to you and your surroundings.”

“You said I’d survive though, right?”

“You will live. There is a significant chance that you will recover as well, so long as everything goes correctly. However, the chances for the entire operation functioning as you desire are rather low.”

“Well, you understand that I have to deal with the Reawakening, right?” Angel asked.

“It is not my primary objective.”

“Nor is it mine, but it’s damn high up there,” Angel snapped. “And as long as you’re part of me, that means it is for you as well.”

“If you adopt this viewpoint, than your earlier statement is accurate.”

“Good,” Angel said. “Then when would I have the best chance of dismantling the Reawakening? Now, while they’re split up and the Buried Gods aren’t fully active? Or should I leave and hunt the Key, allowing them to collapse in behind us?”

“Dealing with a split opponent will result in the most optimal solution beyond ignoring them entirely,” Blue admitted.

“So we need to deal with them now,” Angel concluded. “I’m well aware you couldn’t care less about anyone or anything other than Old World Magic. Don’t get me wrong – I want it back almost as badly as you do. But the point of Old World Magic is to make life better for people. There’s no point returning it if the Barren is a smoldering wasteland.”

“It already is a wasteland,” Blue said in what might have been a joke. “I understand your position, even if I do not agree with it. My sole purpose is to return Old World Magic to the Barren.”

Angel threw his hands up, but Blue kept going.

“For this task, it appears I will have no choice but to give you the full extent of my aid. This minor setback must be dealt with so that the search for the Vault can continue.”

“I think that’s the creepiest way you could have said you’ll help us,” Alison said, eyeing Blue suspiciously.

“Do you have a suggestion for getting us into the Buried Gods, then?” Silver asked. “You’ve been around a while, and the Buried Gods are clearly tied in with Old World Magic. Is there some secret weakness they all share or something that we can exploit?”

“The weakness is their core,” Blue said. “Your deduction that the only way to bring a Buried God down is from the inside is largely correct, and this is the path you should follow. Splitting yourselves between the Buried Gods would likely result in failure for the group that I am not accompanying.”

“Largely correct?” Lilian asked. “What’s the other way?”

“Another Buried God,” Blue said. “None of you possess the ability to effectively command a Buried God, even if one were to somehow be completely abandoned and still have sufficient power.”

“So you’re just as dumb as the rest of us,” Silver concluded. “You haven’t told us anything we don’t know.”

Blue popped with purple lightning. The Star Fragment was a lot more arrogant than Angel had initially thought.

“Buried Gods process data through heat. They are too far away to make out detail,” Blue said. “You wondered how to preserve the life of the city militia. A large heat source that obscured the city would block any targeting ability the Buried God has. Since it is not fully powered, it would be unable to indiscriminately fire attacks into the city and the damage to human life would be minimized.”

They stared at Blue, who buzzed in what might have been smug satisfaction.

“They need to torch their own city?” Tilly asked. “That’s… bold.”

“Fire would be a possibility, but not the optimal solution,” Blue said. “You will need a significantly larger source of heat in addition.”

“Blow up a bunch of canisters,” Angel said. “We don’t torch the city. We blow the thing up. The added chaos would throw any Reawakening guards in the area completely off as well. It would be insanity.”

“There wouldn’t be much of a city left if we did something like that,” Silver pointed out.

“Better the people than the stone,” Angel said. “And we wouldn’t have to destroy the whole city, just the outskirts and the area surrounding it up until the Buried Gods. I’m not entirely sure how we’d get that far, but it’s a start of something we can work with. Thank you, Blue. Your knowledge is invaluable.”

The artifact crackled again. “I care not for your praise. Locate the Vault.”

It lowered back into Angel’s travel pack and the light blinked out, casting them back into the relative darkness of the cavern.