[Is this what you’d done while I was gone? You even made an entire cavern for us.] Jake was in disbelief at the immense effort Roger had put in to make their home feel more cozy.

[I didn’t make this cavern, Ryder. It was already here, I just took up the whole thing before.] At that even Kyrie was in shock, her aura pointing at Roger in accusation.

[Wait... you’re tryin’ to tell me ya went so far down the Dark Intent path ya filled out this whole cavern?! Why’d ya waste your time on such a bad path?] Her aura was filled with deep confusion and suspicion, putting Jake on mild alert.

[I was just… I dunno, really.] Roger stopped idly carving a niche into the wall as he thought it over.

[Ya don’t know? What does that even mean, ya don’t know? Were ya just growin’ for growin’s sake?] Kyrie’s aura was oozing suspicion by this point, refusing to let up the line of questioning.

[That doesn’t sound too unlikely. I’ve had issues with that before. If you haven’t noticed, I’ve learned how to see everything at once now. That only happened because I obsessed over it during my trial, and I couldn’t honestly tell you why I did.] Jake slowly grew more doubtful of his own words, realizing for himself how ridiculous they sounded as he spoke.

Kyrie’s aura became several sizes smaller, matching her tone of voice as she spoke again. [So it’s really true. Growth isn’t really voluntary, hell it’s not even an instinct. It’s just an unhealthy obsession we’ve all got that no one can explain.]

[Yes!] At Flynn’s voice both Roger and Kyrie jumped, though for two different reasons. [I remember there was a point where I knew I had enough Vigor to survive and I could feel its weird effects, but I just kept on going. It was like every time I tried to leave something pretty much grabbed me and shoved me back over to gather some more.]

[I was wondering why I’ve had this unbearable urge to go back to the heat vents and gather more Fire Spirit. If I didn’t have a tight lock on my mind, I’m sure I would have excused myself by now to go do so.] Jake didn’t like things that distorted his mind, which was why he almost never drank even when his crew insisted. To realize he essentially had an involuntary addiction foisted upon him was nothing if not infuriating.

[Is that why Morkin never lets us explore the paths? He knows we would overextend ourselves, doesn’t he?] Kyrie’s aura was growing quite angry at this point, though whether from being lied to or being forced to grow, Jake couldn’t tell. [That useless tyrant and my garbage sister Kate have been stompin’ everybody down ‘cause they knew they’d lose control otherwise.] At her slip of information Kyrie’s aura distinctly shrank in shame.

[Sister?! That horrendous woman is your sister?! And you didn’t think to tell me this rather pertinent information?] Jake was shouting into everyone’s minds by this point, absolutely sick of the run-around he’d been going through up to this point.

[Whoa whoa whoa, yeah she’s my sister, but it definitely isn’t ‘pertinent information.’] Kyrie’s aura quite literally formed air quotes as she said this. [And for that matter, why’d I even say that? I haven’t referred to her as my sister in years. Whatever’s goin’ on, I don’t like it. It feels like something’s doin’ everything it can to distract us.]

As she said this, everyone in the cavern distinctly noticed tremors going through it. After a moment’s hesitation they all went outside to search for the source. They didn’t have to search for very long, however, as they immediately saw a massive, grotesque, and clearly mutated sea creature slam itself into the rose pattern above the entrance.

Though at one point it may have been a lanternfish, this was a far cry from their usual appearance. It was about 3 meters in length and so bright it would have instantly blinded a normal human from that distance. Its fins were easily three times their usual relative size and all ended in long spindly whips with small blades at their tips. The control it held over said tentacles, though slow, was much more precise than expected, evident in the way they all perfectly stabbed the same spot in the shield Kyrie had erected not long after they saw the behemoth. It immediately ceased its slamming and turned to face them, opening its mouth to reveal rows upon rows of teeth more akin to that of a shark’s.

[Stay behind the shield no matter what. Ya don’t wanna get caught dead in the water by those things.] Kyrie’s voice was harsh but even, immediately assuming a commanding role. Jake had no issues with this, her superior experience clear as day.

[How do we fight back?] Roger took on a more serious tone as well, harkening back to their glory days on the ship.

[Ya pretty much don’t, least not from so far away. Murderlanterns are no joke, all we can really do is wait it out. It either leaves, or we’re dead. Attrition is their specialty, but it’s mine too.] Kyrie’s aura was grim yet unwavering in determination to survive.

[I have an idea. How far can you extend those spikes from earlier?] Jake was sincerely hoping the Steam Spirit Flynn made would help, as it was basically all he had left.

[A good distance, but the tentacles can go further.] As if to punctuate her sentence, the five blades once again stabbed into her shield, creating multiple cracks as they did. Before they could try again, Kyrie had already filled in the cracks, though it was clearly taking its toll. Her aura was slowly shrinking in size, a timer to their ultimate demise. [If we can distract it, I can get close enough to maybe even the odds. These things are terrifyin’ at range, but manageable up close. Trouble is gettin’ that close, when ya add their speed to the mix.]

[That should be fine, as long as they can’t see like we can. They can’t, can they?] That would immediately throw a wrench in his plan if that were the case.

[If you’re gonna take out the eyes, I’ll welcome it. Just a warnin’, don’t get too close. Since it’s a baby it doesn’t have the really bad stuff, but it can still ruin your day.] Kyrie’s aura bolstered itself once a more solid plan started falling into place. [Just lemme know what your planning so we can do this right.]

[Oooooh, I can see what you’re planning, and I like it. We might actually make it out of this.] Jake could practically feel Flynn rubbing her hands at the thought.

[Roger, you still have plenty of Dark Spirit, right?]

[Ready and waiting, man. What do you need me to do?] Roger immediately pulled out Dark Spirit which exuded from the tips of his tentacles as a pure black mass.

[Perfect. I’m going to condense my Steam into a tiny orb. From there, cover it in several layers of Dark until it’s the size of a cannonball.] Jake then did as he stated, condensing the Steam down to the point where it was almost too unstable, then quickly covered it with all the Dark he had at his disposal. [Please be quick, I can only hold this for so long.]

Steam Spirit -1

Dark Spirit -4

Spirit: 0/25, Dark 0/10, Fire 0/15, Water 5/5

Inferior Spirit Manipulation increased to 3/5

[I see what you’re getting at, man. Let’s do it.] Roger immediately started layering the orb with Dark and smoothing it out, only stopping once it was slightly larger than a cannonball. [Letting you know now though, that’s not really gonna hold either, man. Dark’s pretty solid, but not too solid, you know?]

[That’s fine. In fact, it’s preferable. It can’t be too solid for what comes next.]

[Give it to me, I’ve got the best control.] Neither of them argued with Kyrie, sending the orb between her and the shield.

After a moment, she pulled the orb into the connection between the shield and her aura, which Jake assumed were one and the same. She then pulled it back until it was almost touching her and held it in place. The murderlantern then sent all the blades careening into the shield again, letting out an ear piercing cry as they failed to break through. At that moment, everything fell into chaos.

The moment it began pulling the tentacles back again, Kyrie reshaped the shield into a sideways spoon shape, at which point she cocked back and sent the orb into place. She immediately flew towards it, swinging the orb directly at the beast’s eyes. There was an audible crack as it connected, followed immediately by an explosion as the pressurized steam blasted outwards in a boiling mist shrouded in darkness.

The murderlantern cried out in pain as its eyes were practically boiled in the sockets, rendering it blind. Kyrie wasted no time in flying forward, ignoring the terrified flashes from the streaks of light on the monstrous fish. She formed a set of Water claws three times her size and sliced down the underside of the fish, gutting it. She then flew back around and proceeded to cut off each of the beast’s tentacles before being blasted back by a wave of Light from its death throes.

Kyrie slammed into one of the swaying rose bushes in front of the cavern, which proceeded to grip down on her and hold her in place. Her aura was clearly a shadow of what it normally was, frail and clinging to life by a thread.

[Release!] The rose bush promptly released Kyrie at Roger’s command, spitting her out on the ground in front of it.

[Kyrie!] Jake flew forward with much more concern than he intended to show.

[I will be once I get some Spirit in me. Glad to see ya worry about me. Also, I told ya so.] Kyrie let off the best smug aura she could manage, allowing Jake to relax somewhat.

[Why are you probably correctly assuming you’re right again?] Jake let out a sigh as he decided humoring her would probably be best. Once again, he resolved never to get on Kyrie’s bad side.

[I told ya something’s tryin’ to distract us. If a baby murderfish this far out of their territory isn’t a sign, I don’t know what is.] Kyrie laughed as Jake sputtered in disbelief at her words.

Flynn instead took the helm at Jake’s inability to form complete sentences. [I’m sorry, that was a baby? The adults must be massive! How have I never seen one?]

Kyrie was clearly absorbing the ambient Water as her aura slowly bolstered itself and her wavering float became solid. [What’d I just say? This isn’t their territory, something sent them here. Considerin’ nothin’ else showed up, it was either a warnin’ or they know they screwed up by attackin’ us.]

[You’re saying something’s trying to kill us just ‘cause we don’t want to grow? Ugh, that’s so grody, man.] Roger made his way back into the cavern as he spoke, clearly not thrilled with the events that had transpired.

[Hold on, I don’t think we can stay here. We don’t really know how far this thing’s influence extends. It clearly has both the ship and the cavern in its reach, and Cosmic knows what it might send next.] Jake could feel Flynn pacing as she spoke, the anxiety in her voice only growing.

[That’s easy for you to say, you’re in Locke’s Soulscape. If we try to leave, we gotta go through either a bunch of insanos, big angry fishies, Morkin the Tyrant, or maybe even worse. Ya get the point, it’s not safe, and ‘sides, we don’t even know if the thing’ll let us leave. It’s made it pretty clear it can control us if it wants.] Kyrie’s aura was tired from the current events, yet even her voice made it clear she also wanted to leave.

[I’ll go where Ryder goes, so I’m good. He came back for me, I’ll stick by him. I gotta stick close to him and make sure he’s cool, man.] While Jake was deeply touched by Roger’s words, he also felt somewhat embarassed by his tendency to hover over him.

[I’d agree with Kyrie on this, it sounds absurdly dangerous to simply leave without a plan. But ultimately, if we can ensure a safe or at least survivable route, we should absolutely leave. This being may very well be manipulating us in more sinister ways we are unaware of.] Jake refused to let himself or his friends have their minds clouded or manipulated by some higher being like they were simple chess pieces.

[Well, whatever we’re gonna do, it’s gonna have to wait for some stuff. First of all, ya gotta tell me your real name. I get why you’ve been hidin’ it from me, but if we’re gonna stick together, we need some honesty.] Kyrie made it very clear she wouldn’t budge, and besides that Jake didn’t want to lie to her.

[My name is Jake. Roger calls me by my middle name, Ryder. And Locke is part of my last name, Lockstead. Jake Ryder Lockstead, a pleasure to know you.] If Jake were capable of the act, he would’ve bowed, so instead he awkwardly dipped to the ground.

[Kyrie Strauss. Glad we got formalities outta the way, now for the important stuff. Ya gotta rank up more. Before ya say it, I’m not bein’ brainwashed. If ya plan on survivin’ wherever ya wanna go, ya gotta have some better defense and offense.] Kyrie paused, seemingly expecting some form of remark, then continued happily when none came. [Well you’re easier to deal with than Kate at least, so that’s a plus. Anyways, before ya rank up, we gotta go through the next step. We gotta set a goal for ourselves, a reason why we’re growin’ and gettin’ better other than bein’ forced. That way, we take control of our destiny, or somethin' like that.]

[I like that. It’s something to cling to when we feel down. It’ll also keep us from going crazy like I did, since that won’t help with our goals. Mine is to find my dad and… talk to him.] Flynn sounded much more determined than she had before, ominous implications aside.

[I wanna dethrone my bitch of a sister and her tyrant boy toy. Sorry if that was your goal too, Jake, but pick a new one. I’ve had dibs on her for a while.] Kyrie’s aura flared up at the mere mention of Kate, leaving Jake wondering just what she did to Kyrie. Well, besides exile her to near certain death.

[I’m gonna remember who I was. The Insight path let me see that it’s not gone, just under the waves, man. I’m pretty sure I can ride them down eventually.] Roger choked up as he spoke, making it clear just how much those memories meant to him.

[I need to get back to my family. I know they need me, and I refused to be carried to them by everyone else. I’ve been coddled long enough.]