After explaining my plan I was met with a lot of uncomfortable looks. I scanned the room and found tension I didn't expect.

"I mean there's nothing to lose right? If it doesn't work we proceed like normal," I said.

Even Teddy, who moments before was looking at me encouragingly, had a strained smile. More polite than genuine, he gently squeezed my shoulder.

"It's not that it's a terrible idea. But you don't know what you're asking."

"What do you mean?"

"Cyrus," Celenae interrupted. "Despite training with us, have you ever seen us cultivate together? You know how curious I am, and I've never once asked to see your inner world. There's a reason for that. A reason why, when you had Galarion replay your memory, we were all so enthralled."

I shook my head. That couldn't be the only thing holding them back. "You've described it though. Yours is a crystal library. Igas's is a spartan hall made of ice. And—"

"Cyrus, it's not that it's impossible," Anastasia said gently. "It's very possible. But what they haven't told you is why it's not done. It's more than taboo; t's invasive. An inspection of your soul. You're laying yourself bare, revealing your core. And going into someone else's inner world? You'd be subject to their rules, their domain, where they are strongest."

Tyrrion huffed. "A tier three who trains well could avoid harming someone. They touch the edge of the soul realm. But that's a tier four threshold, boy. If you tried to stroll into someone like Isaac—just a tier two—he could cripple you on accident. One stray thought. One moment of scratching at that evasive tickle deep inside… and you're gone. You get it now?"

My eye twitched, and I didn't bother to hide it. Teddy gave my hand a firm squeeze, but I pulled free and jabbed a finger toward Anastasia.

"My soul's not normal. For fuck's sake, she's tier three. All I'm suggesting is slowing the curse down, weakening its grip enough to give her a shot at breaking free. Maybe it doesn't work. Maybe nothing happens. Or maybe it does. And every second we waste talking? The king's children are still hostages. If they're even still alive."

The others winced and I glanced at the king. He didn't look angry, only contemplative.

He turned my way but was forced to sit as the curse surged upward in an attempt to break his barrier. It failed, but the glowing tattoos lost some of it's power, dimming ever slightly.

He blew a loose strand out of his eyes and met my gaze. "Why? Your not part of this, so why risk permanently hurting yourself after what happened?"

My hands tightened into fists and I nearly chuckled. I stopped only because it would have came out wrong. Too bitter. Too mocking.

"Why? I'm not a monster. Don't get me wrong, I don't care about this kingdom in some special way, nor do I care about your children. They're not family nor friends." I used my tail as emphasis and gestured to Broken Tower and Anastasia. "I care because they care."

I breathed, letting tension go. "You're a manipulative bastard, but that doesn't mean I don't recognize the danger of what it means if you get killed. Don't get me wrong, I am and I will get rewarded for this. Now can we get on with this or we going to keep sitting pretty with our thumbs up our asses."

"Your language has strange inflections," Allaron muttered. He looked to Anastasia. "Please. For them."

Anastasia and Nathan slapped Allaron's shoulders. He winced and sunk deeper into the chair, but didn't look away.

"You're an idiot if you need to even ask," Anastasia smirked. "Cyrus, what do you need from me?"

We sat on the floor and connected our palms. I closed my eyes and tried not to let my anxiety show. With a pop, Zagreus and Magnus appeared, the two taking space around us. Magnus headbutted my cheek and I leaned in for comfort while Zagreus sniffed the air.

His head locked in on the sources of the curse, but when his tongues slipped out in the king's direction all heads snapped toward Allaron.

Hungry. Rotten. Devouring! Tainted!

"Is this what became of the skillstone? No arm blades, or spikes," Allaron asked.

"Zagreus, focus." When my familiar reluctantly tore himself away from the king's arm, he leaned in closer, nearly nocking me over. "I'm going to need your help okay? Can you sense the curse in her ring?"

Zagreus hissed and nodded.

"Good," I continued. "I know it's not what you normally do, but I want you to try. We want to weaken the mana, disrupt it."

"Consume?" he asked, eagerly, tongues slipping out to coat my mask.

"No. No consume. I don't trust it, and it's too dangerous. Just weaken, and then deposit it into Celanae's barrier, okay?"

Zagreus wilted, but one head smacked into the other three and forced them up. He happily nodded and moved where I wanted him, sitting near Anastasia's arm.

I grabbed Magnus and pulled him to my chest as I activated Spirit Lord's Invocation. Crystals formed around my arms and head, spreading toward my chest. Once the transformation settled, I nodded to Anastasia.

"I'm ready."

"Don't do anything to my wife in there, young man. You'll have to fight me, fists for fists if you get frisky!" Nathan declared.

I chuckled at the comment, knowing he didn't mean it. Well, maybe not. I had no doubt that Nathan would enter fisticuffs with any person, man or creature, for his wife. I just doubted he'd beat me up when he knows Anastasia could handle herself.

Nathan held the serious expression long enough to leer, but he quickly flashed a wink and backed away. It had its intended effect, and I found myself relaxing, bleeding off some of the stress.

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Anastasia's voice entered my mind with a polite tap. "Remember, you have to allow yourself inside. It'll be tricky with your transformation active, but try not to scratch me on the way in. Okay, dear?"

I nodded. "I'm ready."

Anastasia's mana was light. It wasn't simply illumination; it was the heat of something strong enough to burn. It was like electricity, but more constant, more stable. Instead of itching to move erratically, it burned like a molten bar of metal.

When her mana transferred into the center of my palm the fury diminished itself. From destructive power to the security of having a nuke in your back pocket, it embraced my hand.

"Adjusted just fine. Now it's your turn," she said.

I closed my eyes and sent my mana into my other arm, projecting it outward. Even with my eyes closed I felt Anastasia adjust herself when it touched her skin.

Normally, my mana was rather plain, cold and expressionless. In a way, it held itself in reserve while others wore their colors like clothing. It existed, and my friends could recognize my mana, especially when under the influence of my familiars but it was… Lacking.

Isaac was cold but it differed from Igas. Where the oni had the bite of a frozen blade, Isaac's was elusive, and fleeting.

Celanae's was solid and clear. You could feel her strength empowering it, while it anchored itself and stood proud. Eodyne was the storm, a held breath before the release of a lightning strike. And Teddy's… It was hard to miss the all-encompassing embrace of warm hearthlight that promised to ward off danger and harm. His was a hug, that promised you safety.

It made me realize how strange it was for my mana to lack its signature. The only time the others had really described it as anything was when my aura ran wild.

Oppressive, wrong. Like reality wasn't right. Why-

The blanket of calm distraction shattered, ejecting me from the distraction. A pulling sensation grabbed my arm and yanked me into the abyss. I shot from darkness, and the weight of the physical realm fell away.

When I opened my eyes, I rushed to cover them as my vision started to overwhelm me.

"Sorry! You can look now. I forgot how different our eyes are. I'm not too caught up on felkin biology, but I'll assume your eyes don't see in quiet as wide of a range," Anastasia said beside me.

I took a cautionary peek and found that while it was still bright, the insane barrage of colors was absent. Standing up, I looked around and catalogued the shimmering landscape with burning buildings. Actually, it wasn't that the buildings were on fire—they were made of fire and light itself.

We were standing on a platform of white marble that reminded me of a floating island above the burning city. To the front was a statue of Anastasia herself, joined by her husband, Teddy, and Arturous.

While Anastasia was a giant marble statue holding onto an equally massive sword, Nathan was recreated with stone of a different color. It caught the light like crystal and refracted the millions of particles without blinding me. Teddy and Arturous were to her right, standing tall and proud but notably smaller.

The only thing marring the realistic recreations was the slithering ropes of flesh-like tendrils stitched across Anastasia's sword. They bound her arm and stretched to the center of her chest, digging into the stone while their form constantly broke apart into fat, crimson droplets and reformed.

Anastasia blushed and twirled. She spread her arms wide, and the sky opened up, showing a sea of gold decorated by twinkling white stars.

"So, what do you think?"

I shook my head. "It's certainly more developed than mine. Actually, it's downright depressing considering you have an entire city in here."

"Oh those? Phla! Those are hollow shells without any substance. I only made the city because looking at a sea of fire was boring. Besides, when you reach my tier your inner world will evolve," she said. Anastasia jumped and hopped ontop of the giant sword's hilt. "What do you think of them? Impressive no?"

"Very. Nathan is cool, I can almost feel the waves of water carved into the crystal. But uh… Teddy and Arturous are a little small."

"That's because they'll always be my brave little boys. Even if he's grown!"

Again, an influx of memories filled with gushing warmth zipped through my head, followed by the shattering, painful cold that trailed behind like hounds on the hunt.

Suddenly, the world turned bright once more, and fire burned against my skin. I yelped in pain, and Anastasia swiped her hand through the air. The pressure abated, and the world dimmed. Left was the remnant memory of meat being cooked underneath the sun.

"Careful, Cyrus. Try not to activate your mana here. My soul attacked yours as a reaction, and we don't want that," Anastasia cautioned.

I heard the strain in her voice and caught the peeling of her skin. The avatar's flesh gave way, revealing wisping light underneath in place of meat and blood. Much like her statue, her avatar's arm was mangled by the curse—the abomination of mana invasively seeking her core.

A sobering reminder of what Tyrrion meant. I had to be careful, there wasn't room for mistakes.

"Right. You remember the plan? Take the drink and we wait for it to weaken the curse. Zagreus will serve as a distraction while I siphon the mana away. I don't know if we'll be able to remove it, but we can weaken it as much as possible," I said.

Anastasia drifted down the statue and sat cross-legged in front of the sword. Around her, the avatar's form gave way, revealing more of the elemental being underneath. I approached and sat in front of her, assuming the position, mirroring our physical bodies.

"I'm drinking the potion now. Be prepared," she instructed.

I wanted to reach outward and affirm Zagreus's intention, but doing so might disrupt her. Time was critical, and doing so now might enable the curse, allowing a strong foothold for it to take root. I would have to trust my familiar.

He's a big, murderous puppy, but he's loyal and attentive. Zagreus knows what to do, Cyrus. Trust him.

When Anastia consumed the potion, the effects were immediate. The strands atop the statue spasmed and convulsed. Threads ripped away and droplets that broke apart slipped onto the marbled floor. Pulses of radiant energy evaporated the droplets leaving behind a faintly maroon mist.

Even disconnected I could feel my body. I tightened my fingers around Anastasia's hand, and counted down.

Ten… Seven… Four… Three… Two…

Now!

In the outside world, I pushed my claws into Anastasia's palm. Where mana flowed between us, blood joined the mix, corrupting the energy. It squirmed and fought, aiming to escape.

Anastasia refused. Her mana formed a spectral limb, spiked and jagged. It coiled around the strands like a snake and pulled it down into my veins. In her soul realm, the statues creaked and cracked. Stone chipped away, each fragment sending a scattering of lava underneath. Anastasia grunted in pain and she sucked in a deep breath.

On the exhale, she shed her human form and flew toward the abomination.

"Not in a million years will you ever claim what's mine!" she roared.

Flaming limbs grabbed hold of the strands and tugged. A massive rope ripped away the stone and the sea of light above us exploded. Burning meteors rained down, each one a blade that impaled the city below.

CONSUME, BIND, CONTROL THE PUPPET FOR THEY ARE MARKED!

The mana rushed into my veins and Magnus' skill sucked it free. In the recipticle it filled to the brim and I staggered from the bloat.

Too much. The mana was tier three in both power and volume. It overwhelmed my resistance, fighting my control with the intensity of an enraged beast. Cracks formed in the receptacle, the tinkling filling my soul.

Come on! Only need to-

Thump!

In the soul realm I looked up and witnessed Anastasia turn black. My eyes widened in panic but the shadows of her form exploded. A nova erupted through the space and forced me on to the floor.

"NOT IN MY REALM! CLEAVE!"

The broken statue ignited with her, and brought the sword high. In one swift motion it bisected the air and tore through the curse.

It exploded into a fine mist and Anastasia collapsed.

I cheered as the wrong feeling emanating from the blood faded. A deep sigh left my lips and I slumped forward, joining Anastasia.

"You did it," I cheered.

"With your help," she laughed. Anastasia sat up and offered me a hand. "Come. It's time to go kick whoever's' ass is behind all this."

I reached for her arm but a lance of pressure cut through my senses. The wrong returned, and the mist congealed, forming a massive spike larger than the statues.

Directly behind Anastasia.

She pushed me toward the edge of the island and rolled to her left, in the opposite direction. An impression struck me, a single thought filling my mind.

Bind, bind bind! Bind the weakest link!

The blood spike swerved. Not after her, but toward me with the speed of a bullet.

Ah fuuuuuuu-

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