The thump of Legeis's armor echoed through the trees as he ran as fast as his armor would carry him. Blackbast sat on the back, her tail twitching in irritation as they hurried away, hours from the battle. Frank and Umtha were in the magic room, where Heather hoped they would be safe until they recovered. In the meantime, she used her overwhelming power to summon an army of undead and brought her bone champion out. She even sent for goblins, and a small force of twenty of the bigger brawler types now ran beside them as nearly a hundred skeletons followed behind. If another danger like those trolls appeared, Heather planned to swarm them with her private army.

“It has to be something to do with being married,” Blackbast said as they hurried along the forest trail.

“But why did they collapse when I didn’t?” Heather asked as she sat on the front seat of the palanquin while it zipped through the forest.

“I think it has to do with that” stuff,” Legeis called from his seat. “Remember, the staff is a sort of battery and spell focus. Since you started using it, you haven't passed out once.”

“You're right. It was designed to be a focus for my magic. So I suppose it only makes sense that it was meant to use essence,” Heather said as she considered the crystal shaft of her scythe. “Which explains why it was left for me.”

“And now Frank and Umtha can use that power because they are married to Heather,” Quinny said from where she sat beside Heather.

“And they don’t have any way of focusing it to keep them safe,” Legeis added.

“It is the only explanation,” Blackbast agreed. “But this creates a new worry. If I am correct, you only use essence when your mana pool is empty.”

“That’s how I first used it,” Heather agreed.

“But Frank and Umtha seemed to have tapped into it while they still had power,” Blackbast pointed out. “If they cannot control when and where it is used, they may find themselves unconscious to a hostile foe.”

Heather realized Blackbast was right, and the wild access of her power could be detrimental to their safety. She also had to consider what might happen to Quinny and Breanne if she were to marry them too. What if all of her friends found themselves wildly tapping into her essence at critical moments, rendering them helpless immediately after? She was worried about the implications, but something about this situation tickled the back of her mind. Frank and Umtha being able to use her power meant something important, if only she understood what.

“She is overthinking this again,” Blackbast sighed.

“I am not overthinking it,” Heather replied and took Quinny's hand. “But I worry for my friend's safety. This sharing of my power means something important, but I am not sure what.”

“I have certainly never heard of anything like it before,” Blackbast agreed. “I wonder if you have gained anything from them.”

Heather hadn't considered that and wondered if she needed to tear through her character sheet. She wasn't sure what she would gain from the two other than the perks of being able to create different types of NPCs. However, she might be overlooking something, and if so, she wanted to find out.

A quick rub at her tattoo brought up the character sheet, and she quickly went to the summary of her general powers. She held the panel up so Quinny could see it too as Blackbast and Legeis waited to hear if anything had changed.

“I don’t see anything unusual,” Heather said as she scrolled the list down.

“Look!” Quinny said excitedly and pointed to a listing.

“Isn’t that Frank’s power?” Heather asked with a raised brow.

“What is it?” Blackbast demanded.

“I have greater draining touch,” Heather said while tapping the ability open. “It says I can drain strength or health from any target I am touching.”

“Look at that one,” Quinny said and pointed to another.

“Undead resistance,” Heather read out and tapped on the skill. “You are immune to disease and most poisons and are resistant to the cold.” She blinked and looked up with a funny expression. “Does that mean I am undead?”

“Does it say you are undead in your status effects?” Blackbast asked.

Heather switched over to her status effects and hurriedly scrolled down the list looking for anything out of place.

“What does polymorphed mean?” she asked.

Blackbast's ears went up, and Quinny leaned in to see the effect as the two were suddenly stunned. Legeis brought the armor to a halt and then stood on his seat, looking back at Heather with his goggles pulled up.

“Is something wrong?” Heather asked as she looked at her friends.

“You are sure it says you are polymorphed?” Legeis asked.

“It says it right here,” Quinny said and pointed to the orange interface floating in the air. “But it doesn’t say anything about what caused it.”

“Would somebody please explain what this means?” Heather said angrily.

“Heather,” Quinny began with a shake of her head. “It means this body isn’t yours.”

“What are you talking about?” Heather asked and looked over her body. “Of course it is. I am not wearing the crown.”

“No,” Legeis said and pointed at her. “Polymorph is a fancy way of saying you are magically altered, like when you use your bird statue or Frank, his human one. Your panel says that this is the body you have changed into, but it isn't your real one.”

“How could it not be my real one?” Heather asked.

“A better question is, why have you not noticed the polymorph effect before?” Blackbast asked.

Heather looked at her panel and thought back to the complex interface that made it hard to navigate. She had looked at status effects a dozen times, and now that she considered it, the polymorphed effect had always been there. The problem is she didn't know what that meant, so she never worried about it. Now her friends were saying it meant she wasn't who she actually was. If that was the case, then who was she, and why did she have no memory of being somebody else?

“It was always there,” Heather admitted. “I just don't know gamer terms, and I assumed it was something normal.” She went pale as tears began to wet her eyes. “But why am I polymorphed? Who am I?”

“Oh, Heather,” Quinny said sympathetically and wrapped her in a hug. “You will always be this beautiful woman to me.”

“But this isn’t me,” Heather cried as the tears started to fall. “What happened to me? Why can’t I remember anything?”

“Do not panic,” Blackbast urged. “Look at the rest of us. This is obviously not who we really are. This whole world is built on wearing bodies that are not who we are. Somehow you have magically changed and, in the process, forgotten who you are. But do not shed a tear because now we know and can do something about it.”

“Maybe we can find a high-level Warlock to remove it,” Legeis suggested.

“They are skilled in removing curses, but I am not sure this is a curse,” Blackbast replied as her tail swished.

“I can do some digging into my engineering list,” Legeis suggested. “I think some engineers can build a sort of health scanner that might tell us more about the effect. If we can learn more about the cause of the polymorph, then we can find the right class to break it.”

“But what if I am a frog or something?” Heather asked.

“You are not a frog,” Blackbast said with a shake of her head. “Thinking the worst will do you no good. You are one of the player races, but the question is which one.”

“There are five frog races you can play,” Quinny said, causing Blackbast to frown at her. “Hey, I am just saying. I know whatever she is, it is just as beautiful as she is now.”

“I am so sick of my life being so out of control,” Heather sobbed. “Every time I think it is about to settle down, I find out I have even less control than I thought. Frank has fallen in love with a fake person who doesn’t exist.”

“Hey, don't say that,” Legeis offered. “You have been changing forms for as long as I have known you. You have the devil form, the slave disguise, and then the one when you wear both. Heck, you even have that undead guise I saw you use once, but it's all just paint. It's the person behind that mask that he fell in love with. You're a good kid, and that comes through no matter what you look like.”

“Yeah, besides, the big guy is an excellent judge of character,” Quinny agreed. “You must be something special for him to love you so much.”

“Thank you,” Heather said and looked down. “But this means Umtha is right, and I am somebody else. I have been trying to ignore all the evidence that I might have been here before and lost my memories. Now I have to consider that I lost my body too. If I have lost my body, whose body is this, and where is mine?”

She looked up as something tapped her shoulder and saw Webster staring back. He chirped from his perch on the roof of the palanquin, and Heather cracked a weak smile.

“I don't want to be your master,” Heather said, reaching up to pet him. “I want to be your friend.”

He leaped into her lap and curled into a little ball before chirping again. Heather began to pet him soothingly as she wiped a tear from her eye.

“What did he say?” Quinny asked.

“That I will always be me, no matter what I look like,” Heather replied.

“And he is right,” Blackbast agreed. “There is no point in getting upset about this now anyway. Until we know what is causing the condition, we can't do a thing about it.”

“You're right,” Heather said, trying to put on a strong face. “We need to focus on the egg. I just wish Frank were here.”

“He is going to be fine,” Blackbast assured her as Legeis started to move again. “Everything will be fine in the end.”

“I suppose you can go home once the egg is returned,” Heather said as she looked down at her purring spider. “I know you miss your temple.”

“I have been thinking about that,” Blackbast said as her expression softened. “I have come to value having all of you around me. I do not like the idea of going back to my temple to be alone again.”

“But, you lose power when you are away from it,” Heather protested.

“I do, and as such, I must return to my temple eventually,” Blackbast agreed. “But I have been considering Roric and Jaina's offer to move my temple to their forest.”

“Really?” Quinny asked with wide eyes. “Then we could stay as your slave girls and keep the collars on.”

“No, we can't,” Heather said and put a hand to her head. “Frank hates them. He tells me to take it off every night. He hates to think of us as slaves.”

“But it isn’t like we’re actual slaves,” Quinny insisted.

“It doesn't matter to him,” Heather said as she touched her bare neck. Even now, she wasn't wearing it for his sake, but she understood the attraction. It was hard to explain how intense intimacy became with the collar, and even she longed to keep it.

“I would need to give my collars to those who wanted to serve in my temple,” Blackbast said to focus their attention. “You cannot keep them if you do not plan to serve.”

“I….” Quinny began before pausing to think. She looked down and, to Heather's surprise, reached up and took her collar off. “I would give it up for Frank.”

“I am sure Breanne would willingly give it up,” Blackbast added. “She never liked the idea of wearing one in the first place.”

“We were only supposed to wear it for the disguise,” Heather reminded. “Now that we are into the wilds, it isn't so important to hide who we are.”

“There are still player kingdoms out here,” Quinny pointed out. “Some of the most powerful ones are deep outside the spawn ring.”

“Umtha said she didn't think we had far to go,” Heather replied. “So hopefully, we will find the end of the road long before we find one of those kingdoms.”

“You still sound rattled,” Blackbast said.

Heather had to admit she was rattled, and for good reason. She couldn't trust anything she knew about her life, not even what she looked like. The uncertainty left her questioning why she did anything. She felt like she was on some terrible cycle, where unseen entities pulled the string to keep her doing their bidding. Maybe if she chose a radical path, veering off in a wholly unexpected direction, she could break the cycle. Maybe the people manipulating her steps would have to come out of hiding and deal with her directly. She considered the slave collars and Blackbast's words. How radical a path would it be to accept her collar and become a true slave girl? She shook that idea from her head because it would have one huge negative effect. It would hurt Frank, and no matter what, she would never do that. She would give up her memories, the collar, and even her identity to make him happy. He was the only constant in her life, accepting all her flaws and issues while trying to help her at every turn.

They rushed on, running at a quick step as they talked for hours. They were following a trail into the lower slopes of a mountain when the sun finally moved to darken the sky. It was then that Breanne emerged from the magic room to tell them that Frank and Umtha were awake and asking questions. Heather rushed in to see them talking, trying to work out what had happened. Heather rushed to Frank's arms, throwing herself into a hug as he tried to assure her he was alright.

Quinny and Breanne joined them in the magic room as Heather went over what they thought happened. Frank was against the idea, but then he checked his character sheet to discover he had an essence bar now. Umtha checked hers and confirmed she had it as well, both of them at a loss as to why. Then, Heather made them aware of the new discovery and showed them both the polymorphed status.

Frank was alarmed by the revelation, but Umtha was far more calm about it. She believed that the polymorph was part of the plan put in place to protect her. Heather expressed her concerns that she had no idea what she looked like. Umtha reminded her that she had always looked like this. She cited the woman from Abbadon who was so alike Heather in appearance they were called twins.

Heather had to pause to consider this as it meant that even in the life she didn't remember, she had looked like this. Did that mean she was polymorphed back then as well? She asked if a polymorph carried over when a player died, and the consensus was that it did not. Nor did anything carry over after a rest. If Heather had a previous life, she must have been reset because when Frank found her, she was level zero.

They eventually moved the conversation to the palanquin so they could involve Blackbast and Legeis. The two considered the idea that the polymorph was a disguise meant to keep Heather safe but couldn't explain why it carried over after a death. Legeis reiterated his desire to build the machine to read Heather's status effects, hoping it would shed more light on the issue.

They switched out for the night, with Legeis parking his armor in the magic room while Frank ran with Blackbast on his shoulder. Breanne flew beside them in her spectral form while the army of undead trailed behind, every ready to protect their master. Heather and Umtha slept in the palanquin with Webster tucked beside them while Quinny rode on the seat in front.

When she awoke in the morning, they had stopped, and Frank was staring down two forks in a narrow mountain pass. Heather used the bracelet to choose the path, and Frank took off, carrying a slumbering Blackbast in his arms. Breanne flew a little above the group, using her elevated position to see ahead for danger. An hour later, Umtha was sitting beside her while poking through her character sheet. She had the same undead abilities Heather had, and it seemed to confuse her. She insisted she had no idea this would happen and only offered Heather the goblin crown so she could command the armies. She also had the same inner feeling that this meant something. She and Heather debated for four hours over what it could mean when Legeis finally appeared in the doorway.

They had to stop and take the door off so he could get his armor back through, then he took over with a groggy Blackbast on his back. The cat woman stretched in a long arc that looked painful before curling up in a ball. Frank put the door back onto the palanquin, and Quinny used the opportunity to go to their homes to raid the magic fridge. She promised to bring back cookies for all of them and vanished across as Frank ran beside the palanquin to talk.

“Do you feel better?” he asked with some concern evident in his tone.

“I am fine,” Heather replied and looked at Umtha. “We have been talking through this, and it's obvious this was the body I used in the previous life.”

“But that raises another point,” Umtha said. “If you were polymorphed back then, then perhaps you have had three or more lives you don’t remember.”

“I don’t see how any of this can be possible,” Frank said. “But the woman in the crown intimated that even I had a previous life.”

Heather realized she had forgotten that detail. He was right; the woman in the crown had said he was her protector and had been so before. That meant that he was caught up in this chaos every bit as much as she was, which made it more bearable for some reason. She was relieved that she had somebody to share this burden with, especially that it was Frank.

“So if we were together before, then maybe we were meant to find each other again?” Heather suggested.

“I didn't spawn where you found me,” Frank pointed out. “I was much farther north and east. I traveled out there after I lost my graveyards a few times.”

“That's right,” Heather replied as she remembered. “But somehow, we ended up together. I wonder if we loved each other before. Maybe what you feel for me is part of our past.”

“I guess so,” Frank replied and scratched his head. “But this all getting so complicated. Why would anybody need a polymorph that persisted through a reset, and what was it meant to hide you from?”

“If we knew that, we would have tremendous insight into the mystery,” Umtha said.

They all went silent as they tried to think of a good reason but try as they may, nothing came to mind. Frank brought up Legeis's plan to build the scanner, and Umtha agreed it might shed some light. She offered to have her engineers build one if Legeis didn't have the time, but before anyone could reply, they came to a stop.

“Uh, Umtha,” Legeis called from outside. “Does this mean anything to you?”

The group shared worried looks and filled out of the palanquin to stand beside Legeis. The trail ended abruptly at a sheer drop that went down so far it made Heather dizzy. There was another cliff ledge maybe fifty meters away, but there was no way to cross the gap. However, perched on the edge of the cliff was a smooth stone column with writing on it. Heather immediately recognized it as goblin and, to her surprise, had no trouble reading it.

“It says the path only opens to the one –,” Legeis began but was interrupted by Heather.

“Who is meant to find it,” she finished and stepped forward.

“How did you know it said that?” Umtha asked.

“I can read it,” Heather said as she felt confused.

“I can read it too,” Frank said.

“Something is very wrong,” Umtha insisted with a shake of her head. “This sharing of traits has never happened before.”

“Well, it is happening now,” Blackbast said as her tail twitched. “Something very important is going on here, and our path has come to an end.”

“No, it hasn't,” Heather said as she stopped before the waist-high pillar. She briefly considered using a wall of bone to build a bridge, but she wasn't sure she could cross such a large gap. However, there was a depression on the top of the pillar that resembled a ring the size of her hand with eight round sockets. With a shake of her head, she took off her green gemstone bracelet and perfectly fit it into the space.

A loud hum filled the air as the writing on the pillar glowed green. Then, before anyone could say a word, a green light shot across the canyon, spreading into a glass-like bridge wide enough for all to cross.

“I don’t believe it,” Blackbast said in awe. “You had the key with you.”

“This keeps happening,” Frank sighed. “She always has a way to move forward. Like somebody is ensuring this happens.”

“But who?” Legeis asked as he stepped closer to the bridge. He reached down and took up a handful of gravel, casting it over the light to see if it was solid.

“Heather was always meant to come here,” Umtha insisted. “It was part of the plan from the very beginning.”

“No, I was meant to go into the desert,” Heather corrected as she looked over the expanse. “This place is the backup plan.” She looked down and decided to pluck the bracelet from the depression to see if the bridge would vanish. It persisted, unchanged despite the key being removed. Legeis bravely took the first steps out onto the surface, leading the way across what appeared to be a certain fall.

The others followed nervously, wondering if the bridge would vanish as quickly as it appeared. The minutes it took to cross were tense, but they arrived at the other side intact as the bridge remained.

“Now what?” Legeis asked as he looked down the trail. “We just keep going?”

“No,” Umtha said as she walked to the cliff face and pointed to more writing.

Everyone crowded around to look at something that was undeniable. Heather's face was carved into the stone just like it had been back at the goblin village all those weeks ago. However, there was one major difference. This face had the devil and goblin crown on at once. Underneath the image was the words, 'This door is meant for the queen of all who wish to go home.'

“So, what do I do?” Heather asked as she walked up to look for some indication as to how to open it. “I don't see an obvious way to interact with it.”

“The first door had a missing gem in the crown,” Frank explained to Legeis and Blackbast.

“But this crown looks fully intact,” Heather said as she touched the face. She considered the words while staring at the face until the solution finally hit her.

“Why are we stopped?” Quinny asked as she climbed out of the palanquin with an arm full of cookies. “Woah, is that Heather’s face again?”

Heather smirked as Frank turned her around to see the magic bridge, and Quinny nearly dropped her precious cargo. She realized the secret was in the crown, as only the queen could open the door. She held out a hand and called to the magical pocket in the buffer. She first withdrew the green gemstone crown and closed her eyes before placing it on her head. The transformation was instant as she became the soft purple-skinned lilithu devil with red eyes and nearly blue lips. Then she reached into the buffer again and withdrew the goblin crown. She turned it over in her hands and then lifted it over her head.

“What if this isn’t safe?” Frank asked as she hesitated.

“Nothing about this is safe,” Heather replied before smiling at him. “But we haven't come all this way to turn back now.” She lowered the crown to her head as the two came together in a flash of green light. Heather looked at the face and smiled before commanding the door to open for its queen.

For a moment, nothing happened, then they felt the ground vibrating. Small stones fell from the cliff face, and they heard a rumbling. A seam appeared in the cliff face as what looked like an illusion began to fail. Towering metal doors slowly opened as gears groaning echoed in the canyon. The entrance was massive, as if made for giants that were many times their height. Inside blue lights flickered into life, illuminating a vast space filled with ducts, pipes, and other machinery.

“This is it!” Umtha said as her ears perked up. “We have found the engine!”

“I can't believe a goblin workshop of this scale even exists,” Legeis said as he dared to step into the doorway as the doors slid into the mountain face. “It would take a thousand goblins to build all this.”

“It was ten thousand,” Umtha replied as she nearly choked up. “Oh, I hope they finished it.”

“Perhaps we should leave the minions here,” Blackbast suggested.

Heather agreed and ordered her minions to stay and guard the entrance, then turned to regard the room beyond the massive doors.

“Umm, shouldn't there be goblins here?” Heather asked as she stared into the gloom. “All I see is a bunch of machinery.”

“Eh, she has a point there,” Legeis agreed. “Where are the goblins who built this?”

“I don’t know,” Umtha replied. “My job was to hide the key away. I never came here before.”

“So, do we go inside?” Quinny asked as she hid behind Frank.

“Do we have any choice?” Breanne asked as she flew to the entrance. “It doesn’t seem to be protected.”

“It will absolutely be protected,” Umtha insisted. “But not from us.”

“Somehow, that doesn't make me feel any better,” Heather insisted as she picked up Webster and dared to enter the chamber. Now that the doors were open, she could see they were twice as thick as she was, creating a barrier that could repel anyone. Inside, the machinery dominated, but Legeis quickly identified a bunch of it as weapons. He pointed out how turrets, cannons, and other weapons were pointed at the doorway, seemingly waiting to repel intruders. The entrance room was like a hangar for some massive airplane, and the more Legeis inspected it, the more certain he was that this wasn't a workshop; it was a kill zone. Every machine in the space was meant to cause harm, and all of it was active.

“Well, we’re still alive,” Breanne said nervously.

“Of course, we are,” Umtha said. “Heather is meant to be here.”

“But why go to all the trouble to build this place?” Blackbast asked. “Who did they think might batter down those gates?”

“Kevin,” Umtha replied. “And his army of fanatics.”

“Can we please leave this room so I can stop feeling like I am going to die at any moment,” Heather suggested.

Legeis led them through the space, assuring them that there had to be weapons they didn't even see hidden in the walls and floor. They eventually reached the far side of the room, where yet another metal door stood shut. This one opened even as they approached, sliding into the walls to allow them access into another vast room. This one was lined with row after row of what looked like mechanical goblins. They all had shields and what looked like guns linked by cables to a metal backpack.

“Are these robots?” Quinny asked as she dared to approach one.

“Don't touch anything,” Legeis said as he led them down the army's center. “Somebody didn't want anyone getting in here unless they were invited.”

“We are invited,” Umtha said. “All goblins are welcome here, especially the goblin queen.”

“There have to be a thousand of them,” Breanne remarked as she flew high. There are ten rows on each side of the walkway.”

“I see side tunnels,” Frank said and pointed to the walls.

“No, follow the straight path,” Umtha insisted. “The side tunnels probably go to the actual workshops and living quarters.”

“Living quarters for who?” Heather asked as she dragged a foot on the ground to reveal a layer of dust. “Nobody has been here for eons.”

“It had to be kept hidden,” Umtha suggested. “I bet they built it and then left before anybody noticed all the goblins in the area and became suspicious.”

“But where did they go?” Frank asked. “Are any of them living in your village?”

“Not that I am aware of,” Umtha replied as they reached a great tunnel lit by more blue lights running in pairs down metallic walls. As they passed through, they noticed the walls occasionally had words written in paint. Heather could see it was prayers from the builders that she would come and use the machine. It all started to grate on her nerves until the tunnel opened into a space beyond.

“Whoah!” Quinny said as they entered the largest chamber of all. “This is bigger than a football stadium.”

“This is bigger than five football stadiums,” Frank corrected as they walked across a metal bridge over a room so vast they had trouble seeing the far walls.

“What is this place?” Blackbast gasped as the blue lights flickered to life, illuminating the perfectly smooth bridge.

The chamber was a massive sphere whose walls were networks of cables and giant receptacles holding what appeared to be towering crystals thirty meters tall. At the center of each crystal was a metal band floating and slowly spinning as a single magical rune flashed at the center. The ceiling was a series of metal rings glowing with even more runes and what appeared to be blue lasers creating an elaborate star pattern that floated high above. The floor dropped away and into a deep recess out of which were massive bundled cables wider than Heather was. Everything converged at the center of the room, where Heather's breath was taken away. Four massive metal dragons stood around a raised platform as large as a modest house. The dragon's wings were outstretched, forming another elaborate pattern, and each held their hands as if pointing to the center. All the dragons were silver, polished to a near mirror-like finish, and each had a magical symbol appearing like a neon light in their open mouths. It was almost as if they were silently chanting a magical sequence, but Heather had no idea what it meant. It took minutes to cross the bridge as everyone looked around in wonder, unable to believe what they were seeing.

“This was built by goblins?” Legeis asked as he tried to understand what the machine did.

“It took us a long time to build the first one,” Umtha said. “I don’t know how they finished this one so fast.”

“Did you see the first one?” Breanne asked as she flew near the group, afraid to leave the vicinity of the bridge.

“I did see it,” Umtha admitted. “We were so sure it would work.”

“All this to fix something?” Heather asked.

“It was so important to Hathlisora,” Umtha replied. “Its destruction shattered her. I have never seen somebody so wounded. She never stopped crying and screamed in pain, unable to accept it was gone.”

“It must have been important then,” Heather agreed as she began to pet Webster nervously.

“How is this machine powered?” Legeis asked. “And how are they bridging magic with mechanical? I don’t have anything that can do that.”

“I am not an engineer, so I cannot explain it,” Umtha said. “But we goblins are far more numerous than your kind understands. Thousands of us came together to combine our skills and do the research needed to make this happen. As for power, there are great sources of heat down below. We use that to turn magical generators to create the power we need.”

“You're telling me this is powered by geothermal energy?” Legeis asked. “Like from lava?”

“I didn’t build it,” Umtha retorted. “All I know is the power source comes from heat deep below.”

“Where did they get all metal?” Frank asked. “And those crystals can’t be natural.”

“You would be surprised to see what grows deep underground,” Umtha replied. “Most of the goblin race lives in vast caves deep below, and we have found the caves where such crystals can be harvested. We also have hundreds of mines scattered across the world, mining the mitherium needed to build this.”

Mitherium actually exists?” Legeis asked in shock.

“What is Mitherium?” Blackbast asked as she clung to the back of his armor.

Legeis sputtered a moment before explaining that it was a metal that reflected magic. He explained how it was only a theory online, and nobody knew where to find it. If this entire room was plated with mitherium, then that meant it was effectively a giant condenser, collecting magical energy to the center of the room.

Heather could only assume he was right as they approached the center of the room and could finally see the platform clearly. It was a network of complex machinery and cables funneling to a narrow point with a round hole in the center. A single arm reached up from the floor, presenting the group with a sort of socket about two inches across.

“You put the egg in the center,” Umtha explained.

“And the crystal goes here,” Heather said as she looked at the socket and then turned around to take in the vast room.

“I can't believe this place exists,” Legeis said. “I can't even believe machines can channel magic.”

The others shared his sentiment, but Heather was lost in another thought. She turned to the palanquin floating behind them and decided it was time to finish their journey. She set Webster down and asked Frank to remove the magic door. He stood it beside the palanquin, and she walked through, returning a moment later with the egg in her arms. She could feel the ice-cold sting against her skin as she thought of how Umtha said the machine made terrible heat.

Everyone stood in silence as she walked past them to the receptacle in the center. Without a word, she set the egg into the hole and stepped back. For a moment, nothing happened, then suddenly there was a sound like a generator spinning up. Orange light glowed from deep below, quickly followed by blue light appearing along cables as if traveling upward. The chamber burst into life as glowing lines and magical symbols appeared in the air, forming a three-dimensional magical sphere that existed in several layers.

“This is impossible,” Blackbast said as they all stepped back farther as if the machine might suddenly swallow them up.

Heather stood before the socket as she reached into her pouch and produced the magical crystal. She turned it over in her fingers a few times, then looked to the egg as she slotted it into place. The whole space flashed with light as a great beam of white energy blasted from the ceiling to strike the egg. Goblin writing appeared over the crystal, slowly informing Heather that the machine was now charging and would be ready in fifty-seven days.

“Ready for what?” Heather asked as she looked up to see the dragons glowing with soft light. The runes in their mouths kept changing, rapidly flashing out a sequence as circles of magic energy formed around their hands.

“So, what do we do now?” Quinny asked.

“Nothing,” Frank said. “We don’t have the pieces of whatever was broken.”

“We don't even know what that thing is,” Breanne said. “And one part of it went to Abbadon. How are we going to recover that?”

“We have to open the door again,” Heather said as her mind ran wild with possibilities. Something about this place filled her with a sense of hope, and she had an intense desire to fix what was broken. Even though she had no idea what it was, she knew it had to be fixed if she was ever going to know the truth.

“Is it getting hot?” Blackbast asked as she leaned away from the pillar of light shining down on the egg.

“It will get very hot,” Umtha said. “As the power charges, it will become unbearable.”

“Once it’s charged, how do we use it?” Heather asked.

“You must place the fragments inside the egg,” Umtha replied. “But I don't know how you do that.”

Heather looked at the powerful column of white light rushing down like a torrent of fire. It washed over the egg, encasing it in the flow. It was this light that was generating the heat, and reaching into it sounded suicidal. Even in her devil form, where she was immune to fire, she wasn't sure it was safe. Frank had told her there were various types of fire, and holy fire would burn her to cinders. Whatever the case, they had done what they set out to do, and the egg was where it belonged. The machine would be at full power in fifty-seven days, ready to fix what was broken. Heather had the distinct feeling she was what needed to be fixed.