"Hons! Why did you stop us from retrieving Oscar?" Almos shouted.

"You allowed that human to enter the pools? Why is he not melted away by the special Ein? Why isn't it rejecting him?" Ness scowled, hovering over the waters but not entering, retracting her talons. "Did you do something, Hons?"

"Enough. The human ran in. I had the moment to stop him." Hons clenched his fist and snarled. "But a thought occurred to me. What if this was what the Ancients wanted? Was it a coincidence or planned? I believe now it was a plan." Hons stroked his large chin and pointed at Oscar. "Look now. It's almost as if it is meant to be. Man and Beast together in the pools."

"You…." Ness growled and transformed into her human form. "I will report this to our Primaere and seek her opinion. For the first time in history, a human has stepped into the Pools, a travesty to all beasts." Her figure flashed and blurred out of existence, leaving nothing but the air in her place.

"Right. Oscar is part beast himself. The Blood Transmutation might be more precious than others had thought. I suspect those properties are allowing him to stay in the pool. Right. That must be it." Almos looked to be in awe.

"Sounds correct. Haha. I wonder what will happen?" Hons retreated to his hill, landing by Avril.

Avril gazed at Erden and Oscar in the pool. They didn't appear to be in pain anymore, and something was happening to them. Their bodies were glowing a pretty yellow light. Smiling, Avril sat on the hill and took out a book to read, not worried about Oscar and Erden. She knew Oscar wouldn't throw himself into the throes of danger like a fly to a trap unless he had to. Even so, she believed he and Erden would survive. With those thoughts, Avril flipped to her next page, wondering when Oscar would be done to read the next part.

…….

A few steps down the stairs, Oscar staggered and clutched his heart. A widespread discomfort similar to a sickness strained his voice to a choking gasp. He felt his head splitting open and his body tearing apart. It started with his arms, the skin and flesh contorted and stretched to one side as if something was pulling them, not letting go. It spread to the rest of half his body, his left cheek like rubber stretched by a child. Oscar slammed his fist on the wall, grabbing on to resist the force, but more and more of his flesh was being pulled until, finally…he split.

The ordeal had drained him, and Oscar knelt to rest for a moment, only to see a hand stretching out to help him. His eyes trembled and widened as shock drummed down his spine. An impossibility was before him, and he rubbed his eyes to clear his vision, thinking it was fake. But no, it wasn't. Demon stood above him, his hand trying to assist him. Oscar glanced around, knitting his confused brows, before turning his eyes back to Demon.

"Is this an illusion?" Oscar activated the Eliren Breaker, the purple ring shining in his eyes.

"No, it is not. Though I don't think we're here physically. Maybe whatever called us here whisked our minds away to this place." Demon scoffed once and grabbed Oscar's arm, pulling him up. His indifferent eyes scanned the pit and looked below. "It's quite deep. Move." He didn't wait for Oscar to respond and continued at his own pace.

"This guy…." Oscar clicked his tongue and matched up to Demon's pace. Walking down with someone with the exact face as him was awkward enough, but the strangeness of this pit made Demon's presence a welcome one as well. He couldn't find Erden in this place, and going alone was too nerve-wracking. Even though it was himself, at least he had someone to watch his back.

Traveling to deeper levels of the pit, Oscar heard more sounds, like winds trying to force themselves through an open window, as stairs protruded and clicked into place. Even after several hours, Oscar could not see the bottom, still seeing a void from the edge. Despite not a mote of light to illuminate the way through, the pathway was as clear as if the two suns were shining on them. Cracks, fragmentations, grooves, and bumps from long years coated each worn-down stair. Yet something held all of these steps together, which should have fallen apart by this point. Small glints of metallic sheen shone from some fragments and corners, and Oscar knew these steps were once majestic and beautiful but now ragged and crooked.

"So. Tell me. What do you think about this place?" Oscar asked.

"Better than the Ataer Pits. You're not slaving away in the mines here. I don't care about where we are. What matters is why we were called here. Stay sharp and shut up." Demon shut his mouth and walked faster.

"Hah." Demon's words were understandable. However, this time, Oscar truly saw no need to be cautious. Not because of some baseless confidence but because the voice had the power to injure a King Exalt from afar and somehow change the Pools of Ascension, leading him here. Nothing he could do now would save him from death. His life was at the mercy of the unknown voice.

Step by step, Oscar delved deeper with Demon into the pit. Everything looked the same at each step. Oscar thought they were in an infinite spiral with no end until hours later, his foot landed on the ground and no further stairs formed to clear a path. Tapping his foot several times and scraping his sole against the familiar worn-down, craggily ground with scraps and fragments of metal, Oscar judged it to be safe and planted both his feet on the bottom.

A large door hummed like a soft gong, light pulsing in waves from the runic symbols and patterns engraved on its solid and wide gates. Seeing the figure resting in front of the door, Oscar smiled and ran toward him. "Erden! This is where you were! Why didn't you say anything?"

"Oscar!" Erden stood up and laughed, knocking his antlers into Oscar's hands. "I've been here from the start when the special Ein poured into me. When I woke up here, a voice said to wait until you arrived." Erden peeked at Demon and said with a growl, "Surprised to see you out and about. How is this possible?"

"The feeling is mutual. Something strange here divided Oscar and me." Demon stepped toward Erden, his imposing figure bearing down on Erden from above as the two stared each other down, an icy gaze clashing against a fiery one.

"You two idiots. Settle down. Seriously, technically, you're all a part of me, and yet the two of you are so incompatible." Oscar stepped in between. "We're not the only ones here. Remember that."

Erden and Demon separated their gazes and faced the door with Oscar. The runes on its surface shone brighter, light flooding the room and surrounding Oscar and everyone else. Quakes and tremors rattled the pit as a loud, low metallic groan came from the door as it opened slowly. White smoke poured like a waterfall, splashing on the floor and covering their heels in mists.

Oscar rubbed his eyes and peeked through the opening, smoke forcing out any attempts to see within. The only way to see inside was to go inside. His instincts told him that. Considering what may lie within, Oscar grasped his shoulders to loosen them and closed his eyes, putting aside every idle and useless thought. Clearing his head, he opened his eyes and nodded to Demon and Erden, the two nodding back. Smiling at how they were all on the same page, Oscar stepped ahead, grabbing one of Erden's antlers. "Don't lose track of each other, and call out if anything happens."

"Standard." Demon tugged on Erden's other antler, inducing the beast to growl.

Inching his way, Oscar slowly extended his arm to the thick white smoke, noting nothing unusual about it. The smoke didn't feel like a cloud or a mist of vapors. It felt familiar to him, something he had experienced many times. He brought his fingers to his nose and sniffed, a smell of coals and metal flooding his nostrils and making him cough. "Smells just like a fabricator workshop. A strong metallic smell with hints of burning fumes."

Passing through the doors, Oscar, Erden, and Demon all tensed up, glancing around for something, anything to attract their attention. A loud slam came from behind, and Oscar turned to find the doors had closed. Before he could say anything, the smoke pushed away to the sides as if something parted them.

As the smoke cleared, Oscar lifted his head and lost his breath. His body froze, unable to say or do anything. A familiar oppressive feeling permeated every inch of his skin, and his teeth clattered because he had never been this close to one before.

A large giant sat on a metal throne. Half of its head was caved in, but it would have reassembled a knight's helmet, completely of metal. Not only its head but its body was also made of metal, all kinds of metals from the lowly copper to gold and others Oscar had never seen before.

Torn openings revealed a hollow body, rust had spread over two-thirds of itself, and other parts were caved in. Two red eyes gleamed from the visor, locking onto Oscar, who knelt from a primal instinct that resonated from his soul's depths.

"An Ancient?" It resembled Xures and Okeanes in size and presence.

"I am Metures, the Ancient of Metal. Witness me and know Talos." The giant metal giant spoke, his voice as clear as metal scraping, piercing into Oscar's ears. "Your threads have made it here."