-Let’s get back to business. What with the anchors?

-Well… the plan was to use something we found here to get away… but the only thing we found was this machine…

-And it does have something “not from here” as we established…

-Yes… but that thing is also part of you… er, part of some other remnant.

-That works then, right? You can teleport us to someone, instead of some place, true. But it is still better than just being here. Right?

-Do we want to risk it?

-Risk what?

-You said that this thing feels sort of like me, right?

-Sure…?

-Which means that whoever or whatever it belonged to, is connected to Origin Crystal. If it is indeed a person, they are a remnant.

-Well, I guess that your power would work a lot less on someone like us…

-That too. But, don’t you think that it’d give us some kind of connection?

-Like in his case? - For said, gesturing towards Rob.

-Yeah.

-I am more worried about… a bit different scenario - said Kon.

-Different?

-I mean… I do think that those do belong to someone, as in we are looking at some other remnant’s remnants. But… I think we might know who that is.

-You don’t mean…

-Axelrod.

-Axelrod? Really?

For was not convinced.

-Well, I can’t really tell if that’s true or not - I replied. - True, he is a remnant for sure, but you were the ones who’ve seen his mana. Does that look familiar to you?

-That’s the problem… his mana…

-I never saw him after gaining my powers - said Kon. - That’s why I am not sure.

-Yeah, that might be an issue… - I muttered.

-Well, that might be a problem, but I feel like that’s a little to no probability of happening. But… about that being remains of someone… that would mean that they are dead.

-So?

-Who would we get teleported towards then?

That was a good question.

As we established earlier, using something like this would bring us to a person closest to the target, be it family or something like that.

But how would that work in the case of a remnant?

There was no use in contemplating.

-Eh, fuck it, it can’t be worse than being stuck in this desert, right?

-Sure… so, you want me to do it?

-Yeah. Go for it. But, before we step in, let me take a peek, so I can check if it’s safe.

-Are you kidding? - For started protesting almost immediately. - We’re not splitting! Not again!

-What, you’re so attached to me? - I asked, grinning.

-No. But whenever you want it or not, you are the most powerful of all of us - she replied, completely unmoved. - If it comes to confrontation with Axelrod, I’d rather have you on hand than be stranded somewhere in the middle of some weird transformation, not knowing how my body works!

-Eh… I guess that’s true… Fine.

-Yeah, I agree too - said Kon. - We go together. And if something happens, I will always be able to teleport us away from… wherever we land. We’ll be back here but…

-Allright, allright. I get it. Let’s get ready then.

Both of them nodded.

There was not much to prepare. While Kon was drawing the spell in the sand, For was looking for something that would serve as an anchor in case we’d have to go back.

I did ask Kon if he even needed to write the spell down, he said that it was just for him to be sure, to make the spell stable.

I am pretty sure he was lying, and I do know why.

I “accidentally” heard his thoughts, or rather that he was thinking almost out loud on purpose. He was just trying to share his spell with me.

I did tell him that I wanted to learn it, but I didn’t expect him to remember. I mean, I already knew most of the incantation, but being able to read him create it in front of me was definitely helpful.

How nice of him.

-We good? - I asked, when I saw For approaching us.

-Yep.

She was holding a small… I want to say cup? Teacup? Made out of wood?

It was definitely strange, especially when most of the items here were regular and modern-looking, that thing looked ancient. And the fact that it was good enough to work as an anchor meant that it was enchanted.

One look was enough to confirm that.

It had traces of fire magic on it, out of all the things. I felt it was strange that even with this type of magic it wasn’t charred even in the slightest.

-If you say that it’s going to work… - I said, shrugging.

-Kon, take it. You’re in charge of portals.

He nodded.

-Ready?

-Yep.

He leaned into the opening in the generator and pulled a couple pieces of crystal.

-That much?

-Well, each is full of mana. But each is different. I thought, if we land in some strange place that is weird we can just try again. That is if we won’t need to run back here.

-Good thinking.

-Yeah… But are we sure about him?

Right. There was also the issue of Rob.

I did want to get rid of him, but I felt like he could be useful to us.

The idea was to take him with us and use him as a living shield if needed. I doubt that was going to happen though, nor like anyone from his group would hesitate, really…

-I am opening the way.

We were ready. For with the prisoner in tow was holding the magical rope firmly wrapped around her wrist. I did turn it visible, making it look like regular binds, but that also meant that Rob looked like a spool of poorly rolled up rope. Thanks to which we had to dial back a bit, only tying his arms and legs, at the same time giving him enough slack to walk but not to run. His mouth was still bound, too.

While he assured us that he’s not going to try anything, it’s not like we planned on letting him out of our sight. And, the binds were still magical, if he was to act up, I could always modify my spell, for example changing its element to, I don’t know, lightning.

You can probably imagine the results.

Finally, Kon opened the portal.

This one was planted firmly on a wall, or rather a tarp of the tent. I was honestly surprised that it worked that well, not even moving, but I guess that probably was thanks to the actual metal skeleton of it.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Whoever set up those knew what they were doing.

-Let’s go.

And I stepped through the portal.

I was greeted with a familiar change in gravity.

I should’ve expected that the portal on the other side wouldn’t just be nicely planted in a way that would assure pleasant arrival, but I was hoping nonetheless.

I was flung out right from the ceiling of some kind and fell down a good few meters before landing with a loud crash.

I immediately froze on the spot, listening for anything and spreading my awareness, scouting my surroundings.

I didn’t find any human presence.

I did feel other, a lot larger mana signatures, though. Too large to be anything living.

Sort of expected, we had to hook onto something to teleport here.

I was about to turn and check what exactly was feeling before I felt a presence suddenly appear above me.

And it crashed right into me.

And then, another one.

And one more.

-Fuck!

-MHmM!

-Ow!

The remaining trio landed right on top of me.

Yeah… I probably should’ve warned them…

-Why didn’t you say anything… - moaned For, echoing my thoughts.

Almost immediately, she realized that she said that out loud and covered her mouth, looking over the room we landed in.

-We are in the clear… I think… - I said, muffled, under the weight of three people. - Get off me. I might be a crystal, but I’d still rather be able to move and not be crushed under you guys…

-Right…

We gathered ourselves from the floor and took a look at the place we just crashed into.

It was a circular chamber.

In its size and shape it reminded me of the place I landed when I arrived at the Red Edge. It also had similar mana density. No wonder we got anchored here.

But, that’s where the similarities ended.

It was made completely out of wood. And I am not saying just planks, or anything similar. It was like we were inside of a hollow tree. Maybe not like a “lab” I found a long time ago, it looked like the space was carefully carved out.

In the middle, where we landed, there was… or rather used to be, some kind of wooden sculpture. The landing was definitely not the best thing that happened to it: it was completely destroyed, laying in splinters on the floor.

I was pretty heavy.

Looking over the ruined sculpture were sets of fancy-looking, wooden chairs, arranged in massive circles, each row rising taller and taller.

-Some kind of auditorium…? - mumbled For. - But… no door…?

She was right. As far as I could tell, there was no entrance to the room we found ourselves in.

-Just like in your place - I pointed out.

-I… Hm. It definitely has some similarities… but that would mean…

Her eyes went right towards the middle, where we landed.

If that was indeed a room similar to the hidden chamber of the Red Edge, it would mean that there should be some kind of crystal there…

But, there was nothing there, besides the ruined sculpture.

To the naked eye, that is.

With my enhanced senses, I could tell that the strongest source of mana in the room was indeed there.

My other companions were also aware, including the prisoner for some reason. He was looking straight at it, although before I was sure that he was unable to detect mana at all.

Lucky guess?

Or…

-That thing is strong.

Ah. Kon and his loose tongue…

As I thought that, he noticed and immediately shut up.

Too late, he already heard that. I guess there was no point in questioning Rob now… not like he had much to say about this place most likely anyway.

-Yeah, what is that? - I said, approaching the spot where mana felt the strongest. - And more importantly, where are we?

-Well… - For said, staring at the ceiling. - Judging by the carvings… and overall wooden structure, I say somewhere in Axelrod’s domain…

-That’s kind of given - I nodded, agreeing. - Too bad there are no windows or something…

-Maybe make one then? - simply asked Kon. - It doesn’t seem like anyone is nearby…

-I might be reckless, but not that much - I replied, surprised that he’d be the one suggesting it.

Okay, I might have been one that thought it in the first place and it was just him repeating my thought, but come on. I am not blowing a hole in a wall just to see what’s on the other side.

-I’ll do that if we are leaving. I better not be blowing stuff up beforehand, leaving a direct trail behind us is already a problem.

-It’s already too late, you know…

-Sure…

-Let’s focus on this… If I am correct, that’s the spot that connected to you, right? - asked For, changing subject.

-Ah! Right.

Two of them approached, and together we started removing ruined wood from the floor, trying to find if we could find anything that could be the source of mana here.

Meanwhile, Rob was standing on the side, looking at everything with sheer amazement. It was clear that he’s never seen architecture like this.

I kind of get where he was coming from. After all, I also was surprised when I first saw how people made buildings here, using wood in a way that anyone from the old world has ever seen.

And, since he was raised and lived in between ruins belonging to my time, no wonder seeing this made him pause.

-There’s nothing here… - mumbled For, after we searched through the pile of broken wood and didn’t find any sign of crystal or anything else that would be even remotely magical.

-You think that that statue was enchanted? - asked For.

-I doubt that - I replied. - While sure, if we were to break it, it would be hard to tell if it was or not, but I feel like… there’s something else…

-Something else?

I didn’t reply, just started to carefully inspect the floor.

-Be careful! - warned me For. - You don’t want to drain it and cave down the whole room.

-It looks sturdy enough - mumbled Kon. - I doubt that it would be broken so quickly.

-You underestimate his absorbing ability.

I stopped in my tracks and looked at them both, stunned.

-What?

They were presenting me with a fascinating point.

Since my newest change to the body, I have not been really careful with my ability. Sure, before I was in the lands that were hard to make even worse than they were, but we were no longer in the Wildnorth.

We were surrounded by wood.

And what happens when I usually touch the wood?

It crumbles to dust almost instantly. And that was not happening here. Not at all. And not like I had some kind of clothes that would protect me from destroying the environment, quite the opposite, the landing alone should be enough to turn a rather large portion of this place to ash.

It’s not like I lost the ability to absorb things and not like I was consciously blocking it. I didn’t even know how to do it, or even if it was possible in the first place.

Was this place somehow… resistant?

For a second I shuddered to think what would happen if that was not the case. I would’ve broken into the basement at best, and at worst destroyed the whole building out right.

-Well shit. We are dealing with the Origin Crystal - I said, realizing that it had to be the only answer.

-Where did that come from? - asked For, confused.

I quickly explained what I just figured out.

She was also not very elated to realize our mistake.

-We need to get you some kind of protection… - she muttered. - If not for your luck it would’ve been a problem…

-No shit.

-Are you sure that you’re not just blocking the ability somehow? - asked Kon, not convinced. - It… I don’t know… I feel it’s hard to believe that this place would be so convenient…

-I am also unsure - I agreed with his worries. - But, the signs point at a different thing. First off, you did use a piece of Origin Crystal to begin with, wouldn’t that make it quite possible that we’d land next to something similar, if not another one?

-But you said it yourself, that they are rare.

-And yet the four of us have a piece. And For had a whole chamber, hell, almost the whole island made of one.

-I guess…

-But where is it…?

-Good question - I said, still inspecting the floor. - I thought that it was indeed in the statue we broke…

-That doesn’t make sense! It wouldn’t be so easily destroyed then - she immediately protested.

-Right. But that doesn’t mean that it was ONLY there.

-Huh?

-It’s strange… It really feels no different from anything else in here - said Kon, now also touching the remaining wooden scraps. - I don’t understand…

-I have a small inkling about something… let’s just…

I focused up and conjured a small orb of mana in front of me.

-What are you doing? I thought you said you don’t want to destroy this place? - asked For, clearly worried.

-Why do you think that every time I gather some mana I am going to start destroying stuff?

-Er…

-It’s just to check something.

I slowly lowered the orb towards the floor.

At first nothing was happening, but when the mana touched the wood, it instantly got sucked down and dispersed.

-Huh?

-You didn’t do that, right? - asked Kon. - I mean, I saw it, but I can’t believe it…

-Well, me neither…

-What?! What’s going on?

For was confused.

-The Origin Crystal. It absorbed the mana - simply said Kon. - But… Through wood? Strange.

-Well, you’re half-right.

-Half?

He gazed at me, puzzled.

-Let me try again. Maybe then you’ll notice.

-Notice what?

I created another orb, but this time I didn’t lower it to the same spot, instead started hovering it above the scraps of wood that we collected before.

I made it a bit bigger too, to better see what was going on.

Just as I was lowering it, now clearly visible to our eyes, almost like drops of water, the orb started leaking and getting absorbed by the pieces of wood in front of us.

And that’s not it.

The pieces that got mana started slowly mending themselves, forming back the pieces of the statue.

-Wha…