I couldn't take this anymore. I just couldn't. I had thought that maybe, just maybe, once Dianite was defeated, we could live happily. I was wrong. Everything was descending into chaos, and Alyssa's words to me were the final straw. I needed to escape from the hell that is the Realm of Mianite. But how?

I had pondered this for weeks, and come to no conclusion except that it had to be through a portal. I knew that the four of us had entered the Realm of Mianite through a portal, and I assumed that our alternates had also jumped through some sort of portal. I needed to investigate as many portals as I could, and find out how they worked.

It was probably better for me to avoid the nether portal at all costs, so I went to investigate the underground End portal. After an hour of studying it and hopping in and out of it, I was still very frustrated. Each portal in this realm was made up of different blocks depending on where their location was, and took a different object to cause it to work. For instance, the nether portal was made of obsidian, and had to be lit with flint and steel in order for the portal to appear. While it was a nice discovery, I was still nowhere closer to finding out how to go back to Ruxomar. It wasn't like I knew which block and object were associated with that realm, after all. I eventually gave up trying to work it out on my own, and went to speak to Ianite.

"Hello, Mot," she greeted me with a cheery expression. "What brings you to Aethoria today? Spark isn't here, if you were looking for him. I believe he's exploring an abandoned..."

"No, I'm not here to see Spark," I said, feeling awkward. "I kind of... wanted to ask you something."

She raised an eyebrow. "Ask away, I suppose."

I took a deep breath. "How much do you know about portals? I know that you were the one behind the portal to Aethoria, and the portal to the End. Could you tell me how they work?"

She brightened at first, but her expression changed quickly to suspicion. "Wait a moment. Why are you suddenly so interested in portals? What are you planning?"

"Well, you see, I was hoping to make a portal that would allow me to get back home to Ruxomar..." I began, but my voice faltered when I saw the look on her face.

"You're leaving? Really?" she snarled. "This is your home now, Mot. You promised to help us in this war we can't fight alone! You can't just leave us when we need you most!"

I started waving my arms in panic. "No, no, no! You don't understand! I'm not abandoning you, I swear! As you can probably tell, though," I swallowed nervously, "The others and I clearly don't have this war in our hands either. We can't do this alone. I have a... friend... back in Ruxomar who could do a much better job of this. He's a god, actually. Very powerful and intelligent. He was always able to control us, even when we were at our worst. He could help Alyssa too, I know he could. She... she loved him too."

Ianite put her hand on my shoulder, a genuine worry in her eyes. "Are you okay?" When I shook my head, she asked another question. "Who was this god? Why don't you tell me about him?"

I shrugged miserably. "You're just going to judge me for it."

She folded her arms and gave me a disapproving glance. "Excuse me? You should know by now that I am not one to judge. I will sit down and listen to whatever you have to say. I know about love, Mot. The wonders and the pain. Perhaps I could help you."

I glanced at the sky, my eyes clouded with tears. "Dianite. The Dianite in the other realm was, as you must have heard, a much nicer person than this Dianite. The one back in Ruxomar saved me from the creeper disease you see on my face." I paused to take a deep breath. "He chose me as his champion, and we became very close. I doubt he felt the same way about me, but I was in love with him. Not just was. I still am, Ianite. I haven't seen him in years, but my heart still aches at the thought of him. I need to get back to where I belong, and see his face again."

"I'm sorry, Mot. It always pains me to hear about the loved ones someone has lost. I can't bear the thought of someone going through the pain I did." She stood up, a determined look on your face. I'll help you make this portal."

I sat up and wiped my tears away, a sense of relief filling me. I had kept this secret for decades, and it felt wonderful to have been able to confide in someone other than the diary I kept. "So... how do portals work?"

"It's simple for a goddess. I can use my powers to tell which block is associated with which realm. Once I've laid down the foundation, I use an object related to the realm to create the portal. Then, I go to the other realm and lay down another portal. I use a control block, which a god or goddess can create using sheer willpower, and link the two portals. Once they're connected, the control block will just become another part of the portal. And then, ta-da, you have a working portal for mortals to use. Simple." She smiled.

"Wait a second," I said, my heart pounding. "You can just go to any realm you want, whenever you want, without a portal? Can't you just teleport to Ruxomar right now?"

She shook her head sadly. "Unfortunately, no. The only way we were able to set up portals between the End, the overworld, and the nether, is because the realms are run by Mianite, Dianite, and I. We're siblings, so I was able to instruct the other two to build portals in their own realms. Once I had traveled there once by portal, I could travel there an infinite amount of times using willpower. If we could get in touch with someone in Ruxomar, I could have them set up a portal there."

"Oh." All of the hope had been sucked out of me. "What do we do, then?"

She frowned, and her eyes glazed over. After a moment, she blinked and returned to normal. "I can tell what the blocks and objects for Ruxomar are, but it would be pointless to construct the portal. Someone is using the necessary blocks, but I don't believe they're having much luck in creating the portal. Perhaps one day they'll learn, and we can track them."

"Okay." I climbed back into the Aethoria ship, and nodded respectfully at her. Thank you very much, Lady Ianite."

She smiled in return. "No problem, Mot."