Dyne had returned and met with the two warriors.

“Alright. For now, let’s move away from this place. There are too many Kong Apes patrolling the area here. Let’s move to a safer place. Do you guys have any suggestions as to where we should go? Our priority is recovery. Although your wounds are healed, your stamina is drained.” Dyne spoke.

“Since our scents are kept hidden by this bush, we can make for the top of the trees. The Kong Apes are not good climbers, and it should be a safe place to sleep.” Amorien answered.

“Spoken like a true Rogue! Good! Let’s do that. I saw some really tall trees on the way here. We have to pick one far from this cave and far enough from that large crater. We’ll talk later. Now is the time to move. Keep silent so as not to draw attention from the enemies. I can sense that you guys are quite powerful. So don’t use any skills that you would usually do. That Archbishop Lazarus might find you.” Dyne warned.

The four nodded in agreement.

“Alright. Follow me. Try to follow in my footsteps and how I walk. Also, follow these commands.” Dyne then explained the hand signals and commands to the team.

Soon, Apes were patrolling from one place to the other. Dyne was about to go by his usual stealth mode but realized something.

“Wait… Jedo. You hold the powers of Time and Space, right? Can you use your powers to enlarge my field of view or change it?” Dyne asked.

“Yes… Why?” Jedo wondered.

“Can you do this…” Dyne began to explain the details of his view.

Soon Dyne and Jedo managed to complete the odd request of Dyne, and Dyne was now looking in third-person view. He began to move into the forest and would often keep themselves at the level of the bushes. Since their team had various herbs that hid their scent, Dyne would sometimes lead the group to dangerously close proximity from the patrolling soldiers.

Dyne then began to use Jedo’s view and would often switch to a third-party person view. For example, he would make use of hiding in bushes, while his perspective would allow him to observe the movements of the Kong Apes through a corner view.

Dyne was happy. He was leading the protagonist of Diablo in the world of Star Ocean while playing another game.

“Ah. Metal Gear Solid! The game that inspired me to take on covert missions.” Dyne sighed as he recalled his wonderful moments playing that game.

“Hey, Jedo. Can we do the choke thing in the game?” Dyne asked hopefully.

“The choke thing? No! That’s a Kong Ape! You don’t have the martial strength to do it! Even the knight can't put that Kong Ape in a Sleeper hold!” Jedo answered immediately.

When Strafe heard what Dyne wanted to do, he hesitated for a moment. But then Strafe sighed and decided to tell Dyne.

“You can try petrification. You are Brimstone, and you have a Monster Hive Based on a Stone Serpent. So it could be possible.” Strafe suggested.

Dyne’s expression brightened.

“Of course!” Dyne realized it.

“These creatures are also Earth Element. I can use the power within them and harness it to petrify their throats!” Dyne concluded.

“Guys… Here’s the plan…” Dyne began to call the four and explain what they would do.

As the Kong Apes patrolled the area, their initial movement was very slow. And so, Dyne made his plan to perform the one thing that Solid Snake could do.

A Kong Ape moved through the dark and continued to observe the area around them. The sudden attacks had made the Kong Apes more cautious and sent more to guard the area. But as this Kong Ape moved, Dyne and his team moved and pounced on it.

Chad and Jaden rushed to grab one arm of the Kong Ape and pulled him back. Ishreth tackled the foot of the Kong Ape when the warrior-pair pulled the Kong Ape's hand and caused it to stumble around. Amorien ran and used Grim to pull the mouth of the Kong Ape and kept it close.

Dyne rushed and placed the Kong Ape on a chokehold. The magic he released was minute, but it began to take effect. The throat of the Kong Ape was starting to be petrified. Dyne was taking advantage of the Kong Ape’s natural element. And as it was pinned down and was soon bound by the group, Dyne could focus on harnessing the energy.

“Jedo! Put some Dark energy on his mouth so he can’t breathe!” Dyne ordered, and Jedo immediately followed. The Dark energy at the Kong Ape’s nostrils and mouth made the Kong Ape harder to breathe.

The powerful effects of Dyne’s Paragon Elemental Soul Seed came into play as it mastered the element of the Ape. The Kong Ape struggled, but the sudden pounce of the four who managed to hold the Kong Ape long enough until his throat was petrified was now losing its strength. The Kong Ape died a few minutes later as it ran out of breath.

The kill was silent and effective.

With the Ape down, the group kept moving. This time, instead of circling through the area to find an open Path, the group was able to sneak in and move through the site faster. Jaden and Chad carried the Kong Ape and would hide it whenever they would find a bush with a strong scent.

Soon, nearly an hour had passed, and the group finally reached the outer perimeter.

Dyne stunned them by leading them to move under, over, and even straight towards a Kong Ape to kill them. All in all, they managed to kill four Kong Apes in their exit.

The four warriors grew more and more amazed at Dyne’s skills and means. Dyne also kept collecting new herbs along the way.

Soon, they reached the area where Dyne knew where they could rest. He led the group, climbed the trees to the top, and finally had the opportunity to rest among the large branches with his four new allies.

“Young Hero… You were amazing.” Of all of them, the Sorceress was the most impressed. The magic that Dyne made was something that even she could not understand.

“Alright. We have no time for that. I still have to get back there for some personal mission. I just need you guys to wait here. But first, tell me exactly what’s going on…” Dyne asked.

The four glanced at each other and frowned.

“Get back there? Young Hero. It’s-”

“It’s not dangerous for me. I managed to get here. Haven’t you noticed? This place is swarming with Kong Apes. How do you think I managed to get this far? I have my ways. You were all ambushed. As you might have noticed, the truth is that Archbishop Lazarus has control over the monsters in this forest. I am from the nearby Desolate Level Town of Merkley. And these Kong Apes have been acting oddly, so I went here.” Dyne went to the point.

The four warriors wanted to refute but couldn’t find the words to speak. They were Martial Formation experts, yet this Advent was able to save them.

“I don’t have time left. What is the Archbishop planning?” Dyne asked hastily. He knew he had wasted a lot of time in trying to bring these four to safety.

“We don’t know,” Jaden answered.

“We were here under the orders of Archbishop Lazarus. King Ciroel went on a mission to attack this place first after they confirmed the appearance of the falling rock.” Ishreth added.

“How did you get here? Only the nearby Mid-Level Town of Trithefert is present nearby. How did you manage to send a squad without being detected? And from the looks of your cultivation, you should be from a Sanctuary and not a Mid-Level town as you claimed to be..”

“Our Kingdom was a Sanctuary in power. But we have begun to decline, and we are now in a state of conflict as two major dynasties are vying for the throne.” Ishreth explained.

“King Ciroel is our master and true King of Martsirt. He charged our Prince on a secret mission to infiltrate and steal the rock with Archbishop Lazarus's aid. But the first escapade was foiled by a Sorcerer named Char the Evil. He is a fugitive who was caught conspiring against the true King Ciroel and was the cause why this Noble who fancies himself a King rose to power.” Jaden explained. His eyes grew dark as he explained this.

Dyne was silent but had a strange bemused expression on his face.

“Ciroel? Read it backwards, and it’s Leoric. Martsirt backwards is Tristram. Man. This place is awesome!”

“Young Hero? What are you talking about?” Chad asked.

“Er- Nothing! So Jaden. Are you a prince? Are you related to the Prince that was kidnapped?” Dyne asked.

Jaden was stunned at Dyne’s words. Ishreth was also surprised.

Noticing the reaction, both Chad and Amorien were also shocked.

“Wait… you’re the missing prince?!” Amorien asked.

“How- how did you know?”

“Just a guess. It seemed fitting that you were.” Dyne laughed.

When he couldn’t play his beloved games, Dyne's hobbies were reading walkthroughs and getting himself immersed in the lore of the game. He had done this several times, even on the most critical of missions. He knew that Aiden was the elder brother of the lost Prince that Lazarus kidnapped.

“Anyway… How did you get wiped out? You are all Martial Formation soldiers. The rest should be around the Martial Novice stage. Still, it shouldn’t be enough for mere Kong Apes to kill you. Just how strong is the Butcher?” Dyne asked.

“He was… too strong. Most of our strong warriors stayed behind to buy us time to escape from the Butcher. He had a powerful black blade that could slash through even our hardest defenses. Knowing that we would be defeated, our allies sacrificed themselves so that we could escape. But the Kong Apes were guarding the entrance. And for some reason…”

“You couldn’t channel magic or energy from your force foundation.” Dyne guessed.

“That- That’s right!”

“Was that why you asked me to slay the Butcher despite being a young boy?” Dyne asked.

“… The first time I saw you, I could only see… a pillar of light.” Jaden answered.

“You guys have been inflicted by dark magic. The blade that Butcher used must have been a blade coated with Death energy. Luckily, I was the person who saved you. I am the element that turns to light.” Dyne explained.

“Young Hero. What do you wish to accomplish back there? Why return?”

“The Death Energy in that cave is slowly increasing. There must be a ritual of some sort going on there. That’s why the Archbishop led you inside. It needs the deaths of various powerful soldiers as sacrifices.”

“Demon summoning!” Chad exclaimed.

“I serve in the Light Temple. I have read of the evil practices that Dark Sorcerers are, known as Druids, Necromancers, and Warlocks, do. The pillars we saw near the Butcher! That’s what they were for! They plan to summon a demon!”

“Is that why they moved some of our fallen men to another site?” Amorien asked.

“Yes! It’s making a Dark Circle! A huge one at that! It's gathering the dead energy in the air. But this is strange. They need a part of an actual demon to do that, just as the legend says!”

“They have. What do you think those falling rocks were bringing?” Dyne asked.

“It can’t be! You mean…!”

“Relax. I’m just here on time. I just happen to have a Soul Weapon that can devour Death Energy! Are you ready, Jedo? It seems that reviving Yami is not so far off!” Dyne laughed.