"Next," Irwin said as he took a step back. He had to clench his teeth to prevent a massive yawn from splitting his face.

"Thank you so much, Unchainer!"

Irwin waved away the thanks of the purple-eyed women. He knew by now that she knew no other words in the common language. Unlike the people in this branch, who all seemed to speak at least one common language, only a few of the Acenti knew it, and he'd found out that Tyki taught those he unchained to thank him.

A young, dark-purple-haired man took the woman's shoulder, and they vanished into the shadows. Irwin watched the ambient soulforce ripples as they shot away toward where he knew the portal was.

"I can't wait till we do the last one," he grunted.

"At least you have something to do," Greldo muttered. "I've had about enough of this ship."

Irwin looked around Lajija's ship, which was now empty save for Tyki.

"You have no idea what this will mean to our people," Tyki said, stepping forward and bowing deeply before looking back up.

Sure we do. Because you have told it to us a hundred times now, Irwin thought. Still, he didn't say it out loud. He fully understood, having found a way out of a seemingly hopeless predicament.

The portal gallery is a harsh place, he thought, as all the horrible fates of many species he'd heard about over the years flashed through his mind. He was glad he and the other remaining Galadin weren't among those horror stories. At least, not yet.

"How many left?" he asked.

Tyki cocked his head, an oddity he did sometimes when he was asked something.

"Only a few. If you can continue at your current speed, it should be done within three hours."

"Here comes another one," Greldo said, yawning as wide as Irwin had.

Irwin saw the movement a few moments later, and he watched as one of the three shadowwalkers that were shuttling their people to him reappeared. The young shadowwalker stumbled as she released her charge, an older man who looked at her worriedly. Before he could say something, Tyki walked forward and began explaining something in their native, song-like language. It was so fast that he could barely make out the individual words. The fact that it had all kinds of odd hums and clicks didn't help either.

The conversation lasted only a few seconds, and then Tyki gently pushed the older man toward Irwin before turning to help the young shadowstalker back to her feet.

"They are really pushing themselves," Greldo said, shaking his head. "They are only as strong as someone with one heartcard. I remember how that felt, and if they keep shuttling people over, they are going to go unconscious soon.

"They do so willingly and happily," Tyki said as he looked at them, bowing again.

I just wish he'd just stop with the bowing, Irwin thought, frowning.

His otherself had asked Lajija about that, and she had explained that it was something that had been desired by the Guidar. They forced all others to bow in their presence, and this custom had been taken over at large by The Unshackled. Now, the Chained used it to show others deference, but it just made Irwin very uncomfortable.

At least I'll be done soon, he thought.

He focused back on the older Acenti.

Seeing his attention, the man bowed his head before raising his hand and summoned his heartskill. As soon as it appeared, Irwin's eyebrows widened. Unlike the others he had done so far, the old man's skill was larger and more condensed. It also had a more cohesive quality to it, as if some smith had already removed the largest of the growths. The chain wrapped around it had been stretched further, but it also wasn't as dull, gleaming as if it was drawing soulforce from the soulskill it was wrapping around.

Tyki walked forward, suddenly looking worried.

"Will this be alright, Captain Roddington?" he asked.

"Why is his heartskill different?" Irwin asked, curiously examining the card-like structure before him.

"It is because his skill has reached the final stage," Tyki said. "Douki is one of our few remaining elders. If he can remain in our new world long enough, he might become worldcarded."

Irwin hummed as he examined the card and rubbed his chin, creating a sharp metallic sound. The stubble on it was a finger thick by now, and he knew he would need to shave soon or risk a beard. He absently wondered if he shouldn't just let it stand as he continued to examine the heartskill.

"It's almost like it's in between a heartcard and a soulcard," he said, glancing at Greldo.

"It looks pretty strong," Greldo said calmly.

Irwin knew his friend was just being nice, as strong wasn't the right word to describe the card. From what he could tell, it didn't hold any more soulforce than a common or perhaps topaz-ranked soulcard, which was one of the confusing things. Although it looked rather weak, the Acenti that had invaded Igniz had proven that they could fight with soulcarded Igniz warriors.

Perhaps it's the difference between their soulskill and our cardslots, Irwin pondered.

"It should be fine," he said. "Though it's odd. It's not the same as a soulcard, but it's closer to one than the others were. I'd be curious to see a worldcard."

Tyki's face turned immeasurably sad, and he nodded. "So would we all. Though even with a worldcard, we would not be able to stop the Guidar."

"So, if that's true, what are you going to do?" Greldo asked. "Aren't you afraid they will just find you here?"

"We won't all stay here," Tyki said calmly. "Those of us too old or weak to travel will remain in this new world and hope the Guidar don't find us. The others will travel away from the Guidar into the depths of the Portal Gallery. They will continue for as long as they can, and if too many are born, they will leave the old behind in the most well-hidden worlds they can find. If we continue for long enough, we should be able to find a place beyond the Guidar's reach."

Irwin thought about the Galadin empire of old and their eons of hiding from the Guidar and held back from shaking his head. He knew it wouldn't be that easy. If the Guidar could find the Galadin as they had, with their machines, they would be able to track the Acenti no matter where they went.

He refrained from telling Tyki, as he knew it would likely matter little. Even if he warned them, they would continue to run and hide. Irwin wondered if he wouldn't have done the same if he were in their shoes. He thought about Eluathar and, for a moment, entertained the idea of bringing them there. Then, he pushed the notion away. He knew too little of the Acenti to trust them with that. Besides, there were already many different people on Eluathar. If he continued to bring more, at some point, it would cause internal strife, something they couldn't deal with right now.

Shaking himself out of his weary remunerations, he focused on the stronger soulskill- which he decided to call it.

He began as he had with the other cards, wrapping the chain with soulforce resonance. Although it was larger, it wasn't massively so, and as soon as he was done, he began squeezing the chain.

A pulse ran through the chain, and before Irwin could react, a powerful presence rippled out, pushing back against his soulforce resonance.

Irwin grunted as whatever was pushing back against his soulforce began increasing in force.

"Captain?"

Irwin didn't get the chance to react as the soulforce that he'd wrapped around the chain began to lose ground. At the same time, his single handcard began throbbing and pulsing.

Everything happened within moments, and Irwin did the only thing he could. His otherself summoned his soulstrum guitar while shouting a warning at Ambraz. Then he poured more of his soulforce around the old man's soulskill and the chain, resonating it with as much force as he could. Within another moment, his entire being was split between doing two things.

Hold back the presence in the chain, which was now wriggling and moving as if it wanted to unwrap from the soulskill and prevent his titan handcard from making his anger bubble over.

--

Greldo spun to Tyki, Coal's clones popping up all across the deck.

"What is happening? What did he do?!" he shouted, pointing at the old man who was standing on his toes, his body curved back, taut like a bowstring, but somehow not falling over.

Tyki's eyes were wide, and he shook his head.

"Nothing, nothing. I don't know… I've no idea what is happening. Nobody has ever Unchained people!"

Greldo snarled, turning back to where his friend stood rigid, the now familiar soft sound of his soulstrum guitar audible in the background while his gaze seemed locked onto the chain. It was slowly uncoiling, pushing against the very faint soulforce signature that Greldo sensed. He knew that if he could sense it that well, Irwin was holding nothing back in his fight against the chain.

"What is happening?" Greldo growled as he began prowling across the deck, circling Irwin and glaring at the chain. It had gone from a dull gray to a gleaming metallic.

"The elder…"

Tyki's shocked horror made him look at the old man, and he saw the already old man rapidly aging before his eyes. Gray hair gained white strings, which seemed to multiply, while the skin turned leathery and wrinkly. As the old man grew older, the chain seemed to grow tighter. Irwin was now shaking, his face slowly turning into a rigid scowl of pain.

"That chain… It's draining him," Greldo hissed, his eyes flicking between the chain and the old man. Then he saw Irwin's mouth open in a silent cry of torment while the now familiar burning rage began appearing in his eyes.

Greldo moved before his mind fully registered what he was doing. A split second later, he stood behind the old man, grabbed his neck, and snapped it like a dry twig.

There was a sudden stillness to the chain while a pained shout came from Tyki. Greldo ignored both as he watched Irwin. For a moment, he seemed to relax, then a low whine came from the soulskill hovering in the air while the chain began bucking and shaking. For the first time, an actual sound came from it, almost as if it were real: the rattling of links and the groaning of metal stretched to the point of snapping.

Amidst the sounds was a whisper, barely audible and in a harsh language that sounded like a monster growling deep in its throat.

Greldo kept his eyes on the chain as he took a step towards Irwin, put his hand on his friend's shoulder, and tried to pull him into the shadowrealm. It felt like the time he'd tried to pull The Sonata with him- unmovable and unyielding. His friend felt like he was anchored to the real world, held there by something impossibly heavy.

A mental message from Coal told him that Tyki hadn't moved, but his lips were moving without any noise coming out. The shadowwalker that had brought the old man stood beside him, just as unmoving, his eyes flicking around in fear.

The whining sound became louder, and as it did, a bright glow began bursting out from Irwin's eyes. The soft, barely audible sound of his soulstrum guitar grew louder within moments, matching the howl. The deck of the ship suddenly lurched forward, the prow dipping while the entire vessel began shaking.

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Greldo barely managed to remain on his feet, but the two Acenti were flung backward, slamming into the cabin wall.

"Dammit, now what?" Greldo growled as he looked around.

A tremor ran through his hand, and he yanked it off as he felt a painful burning. He stepped into the shadowrealm just in time as a torrent of flame wrapped around Irwin, the fire flaring out in long tendrils that burned deep gouges in the wooden deck around him. His friend's mouth was opened in a silent scream of pain and rage, and Greldo shivered as he pictured what would have happened had the sound actually come out.

What do we do now?

--

Irwin felt tranquil as he stood in the middle of a raging fire, a sense of duality making his concentration constantly skip a beat. The fingers of both his selves were rapidly playing across the snares of his soulstrum guitar, trying to keep the raging chaos that threatened to engulf his soulscape at bay.

His very first card, now the central part of his first soulcard, was drawing in soulforce from his soulscape faster than it had ever done before, while the troublesome card in his hand was doing the same thing. All around his soulscape, a shadowy chain was trying to wrap around it, certain chains rotating as they tried to push their way into his soulscape, their resonance trying to puncture the barrier.

In the eye of a raging storm, both of Irwin continued playing as fast as they could, trying to stabilize his soulforce. None of him was left in the real world, and he knew it wasn't needed. The fight was happening in his soulscape, and it was a three-way struggle.

The chain wanted to force its way into his soulscape, and his two soulcards were fighting it off. At the same time, the cursed handcard was trying to draw in as much of his soulforce and unleash its growth ability, only held back by the flame part of his first soulcard. Sadly, the latter meant his soulforce, which he needed to resist the chain, was quickly running out.

He might have panicked if he couldn't sense the chain dying, for lack of a better word. Whatever soulforce was keeping it there kept flaring up before dying down, then flaring up again. It was drawing soulforce from somewhere, and he could only hope it wasn't Greldo, but each pulse was weaker than the last.

Now, he only had to hope his soulforce would be able to hold out.

Only a fifth of it remained as his two cards were fighting to draw it in. How the handcard could suck in as much as his first soulcard had to be related to its cursed state, and Irwin couldn't care less right now.

"Kid, you have to keep the balance," Ambraz growled from his shoulder. "If that thing manages to get in, we are all-"

A low, creepy whisper rippled from beyond the barrier, cutting Ambraz off.

Irwin swallowed as he looked to the side, where his barrier seemed dangerously thin and as clear as glass. The chain looked as real as anything else, and he shivered as one of the links of the chain elongated. It rapidly reshaped itself into what he could only call a doorway. The area within the doorway flashed, then turned into a pool of silvery liquid that pulsed and shimmered with light.

A growing sense of unease made Irwin redouble his efforts. If he didn't sense the chain's pressure grow weaker by the moment, he'd probably be freaking out by now. The silvery pool stopped flickering and turned stable, and a moment later, a faintly humanoid shape appeared. It started the size of a finger but rapidly grew as if closing in.

"Why does this feel like one of those bloody Guidar is coming to check," Ambraz growled.

Irwin didn't bother to respond, his fingers rippling across the burning hot snares of soulforce.

The pressure from the chains died as the figure filled the silvery pool while Irwin's soulforce hit rock bottom. Barely a fraction remained, but the cursed card and his flame soulcard continued devouring what was left.

A boom rattled the barrier as a fist pulled back into the silvery pool. Irwin's eyes widened as he realized the figure had struck his soulforce barrier so fast he'd only seen it after it happened—cracks like those in glass extended from a dull spot where the fist had hit it.

"Ambraz…" he grunted, feeling his soulscape's soulforce finally drain away.

"Not yet, or that hungry thing will just get it," Ambraz hissed.

Irwin gritted his teeth as he felt the barrier around his soulscape weaken. Another boom rattled it as the hand pulled back, and the strings below his hand vanished, a moment later followed by the soulstrum guitar.

No soulforce, not even a wisp, remained in his soulscape, and Irwin straightened himself. He looked at the figure in the silvery pool, almost like a gemstone in a chain bracelet. He didn't see it move, but he knew it would strike again. The other links were dim now, bits drifting off as if they had been made of fog.

Leave already, Irwin thought, focusing on his cursed card.

The cursed handcard let out a sad whine, almost like a scorned puppy. It remained for a second longer before its presence faded back into his hand, and Irwin wished he could slap it. If it'd had just done nothing, he'd have had little trouble holding the chain at bay till it shattered!

"Now," Ambraz grunted, and Irwin felt an influx of soulforce poured from the Ganvil and from his first soulcard. The double influx was only just in time, as another strike hit his barrier. It was too late, however, as the cracks mended themselves.

Irwin kept an eye on his handcard, but it seemed content to observe.

The figure in the silvery pool pulled back a bit, and the metal sheen slowly began fading as the pool turned translucent. The dark outline began clearing up, and slowly, a figure appeared. He looked small-framed in the pool while his skin gleamed oddly, sharply contrasting with the shock of red hair. Two dark and curved horns poked out from within the hair, while Irwin saw what looked like patches of scales dotting every inch of exposed flesh. Still, it were the eyes that made Irwin's skin crawl. Filled with thin tendrils of purple as if they were bloodshot and with pale-amber-colored pupils that glowed with a sickly light. Lips that seemed slightly too large for the sharp, angular face curved up in a grin before starting to move as if speaking.

A distant whisper in the growling, animal-like language flitted around the barrier, inaudible.

It didn't matter.

Irwin knew what the thing had said.

Found you.

Irwin snarled at the figure, but he said nothing as the lips continued to move, and the incessant, just-out-of-reach whisper continued. Irwin tried to ignore it as he did his best to glean everything he could from the being, which he had little doubt was a Guidar. With a sharp face and a long, straight nose, Irwin would recognize him in any crowd. There were no signs of weapons or cardslots, but its fingernails were as long as Greldo's when he used his ability and just as sharp.

The translucent, watery substance slowly turned silvery again, and the last thing Irwin saw was the being's gaze on Ambraz, the grin on his lips widening. Then the chain, silvery pool, and being turned into a rippling layer of rapidly expanding, oddly chaotic soulforce.

"So, that's what a Guidar looks like," Ambaz said softly.

"Can we be sure it was one?" Irwin asked, even though he fully agreed with Ambraz. "We thought Zarzir was one initially."

"You didn't understand the whispers?" Ambraz asked, his voice weary.

Irwin turned to his friend, looking at Ambraz, the new scar causing him to look more worn than he had before.

"I barely heard them," he said.

"Then I guess I'm still more sensitive than you," Ambraz grunted. "That thing was definitely a Guidar, and he said something about finally having found the promising little mutations again and going to enjoy finding out how you managed to hide for so long."

Irwin swallowed as his other self floated down to the ground where the two Igniz had been hiding inside his house.

"Promising little mutations?" he said, not sure what to think of that.

"Yeah, well. I'd not believe a thing that thing said," Ambraz said, though he still sounded absent and worried.

"Ambraz?"

"What?" Ambraz asked, and this time, Irwin felt Ambraz was finally focused on him.

"What is wrong?" Irwin asked.

"The way that demon looked at me… it didn't look at all surprised," Ambraz said slowly. "He didn't look at all surprised by seeing something like me."

Irwin didn't know what to say, frowning and wondering what Ambraz was getting at. His own mind was still foggy from everything that had happened, the effort of holding back the anger having mentally drained him while his soulscape was only very slowly refilling from blocking the chain.

"Either there are Guidar there, or…" Ambraz said slowly.

Finally, Irwin felt his mind catch up to the implication, though as he realized what Ambraz meant, he wondered why the Ganvil seemed too surprised.

"Or they are already here," he said slowly. "But we knew there was a Guidar in Dimarintsia, right?"

"Exactly," Ambraz said. "What if the demon we just saw is that one? That means he is not far away and now believes that there's a connection between the Ganvils and the Galadin!"

"You think he might head to Granvox?" Irwin asked, suddenly realizing Ambraz's worry.

"Yes."

Irwin was quiet as he realized Ambraz's worry. If the Guidar thought they would find Galadin on Granvox, they would go there, and from all they had learned, there was little chance the Ganvils would be able to resist. As he thought about it, one idea kept coming back to him.

"Well, that just means we are going to have to find that Guidar and stop him from telling the others," he said, as he felt his resolve over finding the problem factors in Dimarintisa grow even more.

"Yeah… If we can reach that demon in time. Kid, go and talk with Greldo before he bursts a blood vessel," Ambraz muttered.

Irwin hesitated, then stepped out of his soulscape.

The first thing he noticed was the familiar muted sounds of the shadowrealm, then he saw Greldo and he were hovering close to the ground, beside the ruins of the ship. It had crashed into the ground, splintering into a ruined mess. Tyki and the shadowwalker stood nearby, next to the body of the old man. They looked sad, while Coal and a few of his shadowclones stood around them, giving off a threatening vibe.

Greldo must have sensed him move because the world resettled around Irwin as he returned to the real world. Before he could say anything, Greldo grabbed his arm and spun him around, looking at him with wide-eyed worry.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine," Irwin said, smiling wearily. "Some Guidar showed up when I touched that chain. It's a good thing it didn't have enough energy, or things could have gotten bad."

"Unchainer, in the name of my people, I wish to offer my sincere apologies!"

Irwin turned to see Tyki bow towards him, his face forlorn. The nearby shadowwalker glanced at the old man, a conflicted and hurt look on his face. Then he, too, bowed at Irwin, not meeting his eyes.

"I had to break his neck," Greldo said, sounding more angry than sad. "It looked like whatever was happening was hurting you."

Irwin grimaced as he recalled the pain he'd felt before fully stepping into his soulscape. It hadn't been the worst he'd ever felt, but it had been enough to likely give him some nightmares in the upcoming days.

Pushing the memories away, he looked at the old man, then back at Tyki.

"There was a trap on the chain," he said as he slowly put the pieces together from what had happened.

Tyki looked up, a deep pain in his eyes.

"We didn't know."

"I believe you," Irwin said after a moment of hesitation. "The trap needed a lot of energy, and I think the chains feed on the power of the soulskill they bind. I.. don't think I can unchain any of your elders or anyone else that strong."

Tyki looked at him for a while, then his shoulders slumped.

"I understand," he said. "It is a loss we will have to bear. In the name of all my people, thank you for unchaining so many of us. We will remember your name, Captain Roddington the Unchainer, for as long as we remain. I… I…. we will leave if that is alright with you."

Irwin blinked in confusion. "What about the others of your tribe?" he asked.

"They all have a similarly strong chain," Tyki said. "Douki was the eldest of them, and he wished to be the first in case.."

Tyki's gaze drifted to the dead body.

"I see," Irwin said, feeling a bit impressed by the old man's foresight and dedication.

"Here are the other cards we promised you," Tyki said, walking forward and sticking out another stack of cards.

Irwin accepted them, checked them quickly, and then shifted them into his soulscape.

"What will you do now?" he asked.

"Those of us unchained will continue to flee," Tyki said. "I will remain here, with the old and those with more powerful chains."

Irwin thought for a moment, the map of the Langost branch floating in his mind. Although he didn't know every bit of it, there was one thing he did know. The edges. He hesitated for a moment, then summoned one of the maps he had in his soulscape. It was a rough sketch of the Langost branch, and he knelt, putting it on the ground.

"We are here," he said, pointing at a spot in the far north before moving his finger to the east, where a few thin paths seemed to meander away. "For those able to move through the freezing soulforce voids, there are paths this way. The last information I have is that nobody went beyond these points. If you go there, you might be able to find a spot to hide."

He got back up and handed Tyki the map. The other's pale eyes held his for a bit, radiating gratitude.

"Thank you," Tyki finally said, his voice heavy. "I wish we could pay you back."

"Just don't hunt the Chaos Whales," Irwin said before realizing what that would mean. If they didn't, Tyki and his people would not have anything to pay the Guidar when they finally showed up.

"It is fine," Tyki said sadly. "The guidar will no longer care about whatever we could give them. If they find us, all they will care about is taking the information they hope we have. I…"

He hesitated again, but Irwin could see from his quick look at the purple-haired shadewalker that he wanted to leave with her.

"It's alright," Irwin said. "Go and take care of your people."

Tyki nodded and glanced at the body of his elder, but made no indication to bring it along. Instead, he and the shadowalker grabbed each other's hands, bowed, and then vanished.

Irwin watched the slight ripple in the ambient soulforce leave before taking a deep breath and turning to Greldo.

"Let's get out of here," he said. "We need to find a quiet place where I can figure out these Chaos Whale cards, and you need to fill up your soullake."

--

Deep in the undercity of Dismarintisa, a burst of cackling laughter echoed through a well-hidden chamber below the Holy Shadow Inn.

"Finally! Finally, my years of waiting will be over," a harsh, sharp voice shouted.

Lasther laughed again, his odd eyes gleaming with joy. He sensed the tiny trace he'd left on the Galadin spawn. It wasn't that far away, and he headed for the door to point the pathetic group of fools that called themselves mercenaries in the right direction. His red hair was drifting to the sides and up from the massive amounts of soulforce rippling around him. It took him some effort to dampen it, as he didn't want to show his trueself here.

"I will grab that Fiz'rin anomaly and use his flesh to track down the others," he crooned.

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