Lyda thought over Cyrus's question for a few minutes, then looked at the chapel ruins.

"Because the next part is here," she said.

"Yeah," Cyrus said. "It's here. You should stop trying to rely on my hints, Lyda."

Lyda nodded, then began looking through the ruins as Cyrus began reading. He knew it would take awhile before she figured out what she needed in order to move on to the next stage, and wasn't interested in watching her the entire time. He had done plenty of that before, and that was when she was looking in the right area.

One of the first things she attempted was the pseudo-prayer at the altar, though nothing happened. After that, she wandered around, looking for secret entrances under everything, moving anything she could in an attempt to find a hidden door, and just looked around in confusion.

After lunch, she searched for a few minutes, then plopped herself onto a wooden pew, deciding to give into the lethargy spell and take a nap. Cyrus continued reading, and when she woke up two hours later, he continued reading.

Lyda sat up from the pew, stretched, and looked at the stained glass window, which spanned most of the back wall, which was intact enough to hide the forest behind it. Cyrus noticed the shift in her thought process and put the book away.

He watched as she stood and approached the stained glass window, looking at it with a light confusion and interest in her mind. Then, she walked through a gap in the side wall and looked behind the chapel, before turning and looking at Cyrus.

"That's why you know Rynovar wouldn't like you destroying it, isn't it?" She asked.

"Yes," Cyrus stood and joined Lyda, and they walked onto the path hidden behind the ruins of the chapel. There was a group of fifteen who came through here four years ago who discovered the path after three days, and then only because one of them decided to go to the bathroom behind the chapel rather than walking a few dozen yards in front of it. For whatever reason, people just don't seem to look behind the stained glass window that is entirely intact in ruins. The thought that it might be hiding something doesn't even cross the minds of people, for some reason."

"If I hadn't thought about you wanting to destroy it when I woke up," she admitted. "I would have taken longer. How long until the next branch for the ruins?"

"We're at it," he told her. "There are two ways to move on to the next stage here."

One of them involved having sex on the altar in the same position as Rynovar's younger brother and sister-in-law in the window. However, Cyrus found it rather disrespectful and irreverent, even if the chapel wasn't for any particular religion. Because of that, he wouldn't tell Lyda the other method, even though she asked several times as they continued down the trail.

He knew there were actually three ways to move on, but he only considered there to be two due to the similarities between the other two and the fact that no one had ever found one of them.

Evening was beginning to set as they reached a waterfall only fifteen feet in height, and eleven in width. It fell from a cliff into a pond twenty feet in width, reaching seven feet at its deepest. The pond flowed into a smaller waterfall only two feet in height, then down three more in the creek formed, which snaked its way through the forest and away from them and the trail.

"It's beautiful," Lyda breathed when they arrived.

"It is," Cyrus nodded.

"This is the one you like, isn't it?" She asked.

"It is," he told her. "I like to nap on the grass right over there, listening to the sounds of the waterfall, the birds chirping, and the hum of magic in the air. There used to be some statues, but, Kylnar removed them because I avoided napping here due to them."

Lyda chuckled, then frowned as she looked around.

"The trail just… ends," she said. "Right here, where we are."

The trail led straight to where the pond turned into a creek, ending right at the edge of the first of the short waterfalls.

"It does," Cyrus began setting up camp. "Why don't you wait until morning to try to find it?"

"I was thinking that we should wait until morning to move on," she told him. "But that doesn't mean I can't try to find it right now."

"Okay," he told her. "Dinner will be done in about thirty minutes."

Cyrus began working on dinner as Lyda walked around the waterfall, the pond, and the stream near them, making sure to never stray more than fifty feet, to ensure she could see the water at all times. When Cyrus called her over for dinner, she joined him, ate, then immediately returned to her inspections.

As she did that, Cyrus stripped off his clothes, then waded into the pond, moving towards the center and treading water for a few minutes before shifting to float on his back. The water was cool, but not cold. He knew a normal person would find themselves chilly after exiting the water, with the cool air on their wet skin, but magic always solved that for him.

Manipulating the water, Cyrus kept himself from drifting away from the center of the pond, his eyes closed as he listened to the sounds around him. He didn't move when he heard Lyda's clothes sliding over her skin, nor when he heard the gentle splashes from her enter the water and walking towards him. With his magical senses, he watched her begin to approach him.

Unaware the water was deeper than it looked, including with a sudden drop in its height, Lyda went from the water only reaching her stomach to falling into the water, coming up spluttering to find the water up to her neck while she was still a few feet from Cyrus, who began laughing at her shock, unable to stop himself.

He knew she found it funny as well, or he'd have prevented his laughter, and within a few moments, Lyda was laughing as well. Cyrus righted himself in the water, moving to where his feet could touch the bottom with his head still above it, then waited until he could collect himself.

"You know," Lyda stepped up to him, pressing herself against him. "That's the first time I've heard you laugh. I mean really laugh. You're always serious, unless it has to do with your father. Then you're just angry. You've had an amused look from time to time, or slight confusion, but I haven't heard you actually laugh before."

"That was probably wrong of me," he said, trying not to laugh again. "But your shocked expression was just… I couldn't help myself."

"I found it funny, too," she laughed, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her lips to his. "Once I got over my shock."

"Did you figure it out?" He asked.

"No," she answered. "I just figured I'd come hang out with you for a bit, you looked so good, floating in the water, naked, with your boner sticking up like that."

"It was?" Cyrus asked. "I mean, I know I am now, 'cause you're pressed against me, but when I was floating?"

"Yes," she kissed him again. "I was going to try to tease you before you realized I was there, but-"

"I could hear you coming," he told her. "And remember? Elemental senses?"

"Oh, right," he felt her embarrassment as her face flushed. "I forgot about that. Well, I'm going to return to searching for a solution, before night fully sets."

"You won't stay in here with me?" Cyrus asked, finding himself disappointed at that.

"No," she kissed him again, running her hands along his shoulders. "I want to solve this place. Maybe after we do, you can take me back here? The cheating way?"

"Okay," he found himself excited at the idea of spending some time there with her when she wasn't trying to solve the ruins. "Maybe I can take you a couple of other places too?"

"Here?" She asked. "Or outside? Would we have time for that, as we waited for the Mystery Token to appear?"

"Probably not," he told her. "Once you have the other five in your possession, there's a pretty good chance it'll appear within a couple of days, and an even greater chance of it appearing within a week. I meant after you make your wish to Rynovar."

"Our arrangement ends then," she told him. "Unless… you were meaning to stay with me a little longer?"

"You'll age and die while I remain young forever," he shook his head, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on her shoulder as he felt her body, cooled by the water and the chilly evening air, against him. "It would never work out. I'm not Rynovar, I won't just halt someone's aging. That's cruel to a mortal."

He released her, then floated back, using his magic to do so rather than simply taking a step backwards.

"But," he said. "That doesn't mean I can't show you a few things anyway, before you settle down and start whatever new life you're going to make for yourself, once Rynovar grants the wish you have."

"Okay," she smiled, though it quickly faded. "What about you, Cyrus? You said you had a question for him, too. What will you do, once you receive the answer?"

She saw anger flare in his eyes for a moment, and realized immediately the question had to do with his father. Only his father ever brought real anger to his eyes or expression, either in mention or mocking.

"It's personal," he told her. "But you'll probably hear it once we see Rynovar. I've delayed asking him long enough the question I've had for him."

"It's about your father, isn't it?" She asked.

Cyrus took a deep breath, then let it out through his nose quite fast.

"Yes," he told her. "I have a question about my father. Anyway, let's change subjects. Are you sure you don't want to spend a little more time in the water with me?"

"As much as I'd love to," she smiled. "I do want to try to find the next stage before it's too dark to continue searching. It gets quite dark, even with the fake moon and stars."

"Okay," he said, then watched as she exited the pond.

Using his magic, he dried her off in an instant, and she turned and smiled at him.

"Thanks," she said, then pulled on her clothes and began exploring again.

Cyrus began floating again, waiting until after the sky had darkened, turning the reality marble into its full night mode. An owl hooted nearby, the only sound other than the falls filling the serene silence.

A few more minutes passed, then he gently, slowly flew out of the water, using magic to dry himself off before simply laying on the bedrolls, pulling the blanket over him. Lyda was still searching, using what little light she had, before eventually joining him on the bedroll.

He knew she thought he was asleep, and felt her surprise when she realized he was still naked, as he'd been sleeping in his sweatpants and sweater in the ruins. As he expected, and much to his delight, she took off her clothes and climbed under the blanket with him.

Before he could make a move, Lyda kissed him on the cheek.

"If you were awake," she whispered. "I'd think you were wanting to do something, but I'm betting you were just being lazy after your relaxing soak in the pond."

"It's both," he whispered back, then chuckled as she jumped slightly. "I can tell you're horny, Lyda. Why don't you do what you were thinking of doing the moment you saw me? If you want to."

"Of course I want to," she kissed him on the lips, then slid down, taking his balls into one hand.

Lyda gently rolled Cyrus's balls in her hand as she took his erection into her mouth, sinking all the way down the shaft. As she began working him, Cyrus attempted multiple times to get her to move so that he could pleasure her, too, but she remained where she was, leaving him to rub her back and shoulders.

Several minutes passed, Cyrus finding himself more and more enjoying her treatment of him, before she pulled off and moved back up to kiss him, pressing her body against his, pushing him inside of her.

Cyrus wasted no time in running his hands over her body, feeling her breasts, her stomach, her back, her arms, her ass. He held onto her as he thrust himself up into her as she raised and lowered herself onto him, working in rhythm with her. Their tongues met, and Cyrus used his magic to hold back his climax until Lyda began moaning softly into him, clamping around his mast as she hit her own. The moment she did, he released his hold, filling her with his seed as she pressed herself against him.

For several minutes, they lay like that, then Lyda pulled herself off of him and lay beside him, pulling the blanket back over them. Cyrus shifted onto his side, and Lyda did the same, adjusting the blanket as he spooned her.

"Cyrus," Lyda said her voice soft as she struggled against the lethargy spell. "What if there are consequences for this? I haven't had my regular-"

"Remember how I mentioned to my brothers they can't have children?" He asked. "I did the same thing to myself. I might make cum, but my sperm is altered to make it incompatible with humans. A dog would have a better chance of having babies with a fish than the two of us."

"That is one weird comparison."

"You get the idea though, right?"

"Yeah," she said. "I get the idea. Good night."

"Good night," he whispered, and she fell asleep.

Cyrus allowed himself to fall asleep, and when he woke in the morning, he washed off in the pond, then dried and dressed before preparing breakfast. Through all of that, he thought over whether or not he should give Lyda a hint on how to skip several stages and make it through nearly to the end of the ruins.

By the time she woke up, dressed, and ate breakfast, he came to a decision.

"Lyda," Cyrus said as he sent everything away. "Did you figure out the way forward yet?"

"Yes," she answered. "Though I think there might be two."

"Two?" He asked.

"Yes," she said. "Two. I think the reason the path ends at the stream is intentional. The path from there is the stream. However… I think that there might be a cave behind the waterfall. I'll need to check it to be sure, but it would make sense for there to be a cave hidden behind the waterfall, since it's fast enough and thick enough we can't actually see behind it."

"Both are correct," he told her. "And only one has been found by teams who've made it this far on this route. That one is the normal way forward. The other one… take you to just a couple of stages before the final stage."

He stood and met Lyda's gaze.

"Do you want me to tell you which is which?" He asked.