I did not want to be eaten by…anyone. No sane person would want to be eaten, let alone listen to someone crazy enough to even mention it. Fortunately, the Elemental Phoenix was on my side.

  I won’t help you.

  Volix stated calmly.

  You killed too many. Even the Primal Spirit’s gracious generosity has its limit, and you went beyond. By a lot. He tried to be understanding, to help you back on the right path, for he felt the pain of Garus’ loss. But you ignored the Primal Spirit. Ignored the Earth’s sacrifice. You stomped on the Pact, trampled on the Earth’s sacrifice, and broke it again and again. That is not something we could ignore, and you know that too.

  Clearly, other issues played out behind the scenes. I didn’t understand a thing and let them ramble. Engaged in a tough verbal fight, neither Volix nor Thyria noticed as I slipped out of the vines and roots that kept me in the air. A small blade with Nullblade was all I needed. Well, and a mountain of luck.

  The more I looked at it, the more obvious was that Thyria could not hurt or kill me. She tried to but the etheral chains blocked her intents somehow. As interesting as it was, all I knew for sure was that when she tried to wound me the injuries were inflicted on her instead. The nick on her neck was one clue. The mark on her neck where the vines coiled too tightly around my neck was another.

  Putting one and one together, it was relieving to know that Thyria couldn’t harm me. The tension in the air subsided ever so slightly, though my heart was still beating like crazy.

  No longer scared to death, it was time to focus on the Gates and fill them slowly. It was odd how calming fueling the Gates was, but the distraction was welcome. I embraced it and stayed as rooted as possible as the Elemental Phoenix and the madwoman continued to banter.

  Thyria’s hatred was no longer aimed at me and my kind. She was still furious, yet my existence no longer seemed to bother her as much. She furiously jabbed at Volix with long and pristine fingers, shouted at him, and cursed the Spirits for imprisoning her after everything she did to protect them all.

  She was insane. That much was obvious, but something about her words bothered me.

  Whenever ‘Garus’ was mentioned, Thyria looked broken. Like something inside her shattered. Old wounds being ripped open from anew.

  She believed she did the right thing. The conviction in her eyes clarified that much, yet it was the fury that burned in her eyes that caught my attention. To be precise, it was the mixture of conviction and fury I found curious. I continued to fill my Gates, concentration halved, and listened in on the conversation.

  “You know nothing! I watched the deaths of millions of loyal, innocent Fae even before you were born, and more – too many – followed after.”

  I experienced enough to know that you’re wrong. That your actions were excessive even in the face of our mistakes. We acknowledged our faults and changed in the face of adversaries. For the better good. To survive. You did not. You were consumed by hatred, and it doesn’t look like your exile helped you understand your wrongdoings.

  “We did things we were not proud of to survive, but who didn’t? Who hasn’t done something they hated to the core to survive? I was the Overseer of millions, and they all died. Because I was too weak. Because I listened to the Spirits’ nonsense and defended our homes. To ‘follow my nature’. What nonsense. My nature is to grow. To use all that lives as fertilizer once their time nears the end. I did just that.”

  “Garus should have never surrendered to the primates. He could have squashed them, eradicate them and return to–”

  To you? Garus did not belong to you. The two of you were part of the same structure but that means nothing.

  There was no way I could understand everything. For all I knew, Thyria was old, ancient even, and she killed many humans. Too many. Even more than the Spirits seemed to have done when they realized the value of the human race’s ability to form inner Worlds. Honestly, that much was pretty obvious, and as much as I wanted to hate the Spirits for it, I…couldn’t.

  In a way, humans were not much different. We too raised livestock to feed on. Sure, there are differences, in a way, but was it really that different just because the Spirits treated us like cattle? To them, even Rulers were probably nothing more than pesky ants. Insignificant. Not noteworthy.

  Trying to puzzle the pieces together, an image formed in my head. First, the Spirits and their underlings, which possibly included Faes, weaker Spirits, and other creatures from their homes, fled to Razarn. The Primal Spirit stayed back to stall the Devourer after shattering the Veil – whatever that was – guarding Razarn from the invasion of other races. By doing so, other races could come to Razarn.

  That would explain why they call them Outsiders. I noted to myself. The Outsiders were literally races from other realms and worlds. Their reasons to come to Razarn did not matter all too much either. They were in Razarn now and I highly doubted they’d leave. The other races were no longer Outsiders. They were part of Razarn.

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  Pulling my mind back to the summary that came together in my head, I imagined a clash between the human race and the Spirits. Humans discovered their inner World, or maybe used it already to survive, but now creatures with unfathomable power descended. And they sought human Worlds.

  War.

  It was unclear what exactly happened but the Spirits won the battle. They must have if they managed to subdue enough humans to raise them like cattle.

  But humans didn’t accept that. The Spirits nourished their Worlds, which they then used to retaliate. To grow strong enough to put up a face.

  Is that why the Pact came to be? Is it some sort of treaty that forbids the Spirits from attacking us? I asked the Elemental Phoenix, interrupting his banter with Thyria momentarily.

  You could say so. I…just remember. I’m sorry. For everything. I know my words may not mean anything to you, but Garus, the Earth, sacrificed himself to atone for our sins. His death promised the beginning of an era of peace. Of growth. Of unity. Together, we should have been able to fight against the Devourer. Unfortunately, it did not work out as intended. The Pact was all that came to be.

  Volix answered solemnly.

  “And even the Pact was broken. First by Thyria who grieves the loss of Garus, the Earth, and then by the Rulers.” I gasped, barely noticing the silence passing through the hall. Staring at the unlike duo, realization dawned. “That is why your sister was there, wasn’t she? What was her name again. Cecile, no. Cera…no that wasn’t it either.”

  “Cynthia?” Thyria’s sharp voice reverberated.

  “Yes, that was it! So Cynthia came to the Grand Camp for the Ruler of Fire to make an example, didn’t she? But she did not kill him, not like she did with Ruler Saphire” I burst out, happy to have a much better view of the bigger picture. At last, I understood a little bit more about Razarn and our relationship with other races.

  Not everything was great, but one thing certainly was.

  “I’m glad she didn’t kill me. Then again, it’s not my fault you’re bonded to me, Volix. It’s a good thing she sensed that much.” I mused, eying the Elemental Phoenix.

  The atmosphere changed a little. The air crackled with energy but there was no overwhelming killing-intent nor were there deadly vines and massive roots trying to throttle or pierce me. Thus, I kept absorbing more of the dense, ambient ether mass.

  “Cynthia knows you forced yourself onto the Elemental Phoenix, and she did not kill you?” Thyria asked, sounding genuinely surprised rather than angry.

  “If anything, Volix forced himself onto me. Not that I mind, but being bonded with Volix comes with a few difficulties since a few Rulers were after him.. He killed two but was subdued and decided to sacrifice himself rather than binding himself to the Ruler of Fire. Volix instead forced himself onto me, and my World accepted him without any resistance. I didn’t even know what happened before the bond clicked into place.” I justified myself, which only seemed to confuse Thyria more.

  Not trusting my word, she turned to the Elemental Phoenix, but Volix only confirmed my words. He explained the ordeal with the Caldera, how their negotiations with the Bastions’ humans failed, and that the Rulers had been after his power all along. Thyria cursed a lot when Volix summarized the turn of events, but her hatred was directed at humans in general and not me. At least, I hoped so.

  “Can you help us leave?” I asked, gathering every ounce of confidence, “I mentioned it earlier but we stumbled into this place. It was never our intention to interrupt you. It was nice to rest for a little but it’s time to leave.”

  Thyria cocked an eyebrow, a trace of malice flashing to survive.

  “If you help me out of those shackles, I will help you as well.” She said coolly. No matter how I looked at it, she really didn’t like humans. Or me. Who was I kidding, it was probably both.

  “No.” I responded probably a little too fast, “You want to harm humans. Kill them. This is not even about growing stronger anymore. I…I’m sorry, but this just doesn’t work. There is no way I will free you when you’re just going to run around like a mindless murderer.”

  She was insatiable and way too powerful. That was a bad combination. A really bad synergy if one liked life and to be alive.

  Thyria clicked her tongue, the emerald ocean in her eyes cold and calculative.

  “If you really want to keep us here, we will just stay. Thanks to Volix, I have a lot of Gates to fill. Growing my World in your domicile sounds like a dream come true, don’t you think.” I stared deep into her eyes, trying to maintain my poker face as I added, “Anyway, you cannot kill us.”

  An empty laugh escaped her lips, “Are you sure about that?”

  Deep, deafening growls filled the air, and the sound of movement from the tree’s maw rang in my ears.

  Did I mess up? But if she could kill me with her beasts, why did she not do it earlier? My mind was reeling.

  Fists clinched, I thought about all the Guardian and Overlord beasts, all of which were probably under Thyria’s control. Presences of impending death leaking into the hall to which my body reacted instinctively. Several traits triggered as I shifted into a defensive stance, sword and shield materializing in my hands.

  My Soulkins followed as soon as death’s presence seeped into the World. Nox emerged before me, Resh appeared invisible around my shoulders, and Aureus leaped out of the inner World from behind. He stomped on the ground, gravity increased to its limit for an intimidating arrival.

  Thyria smiled, but her eyes narrowed as my Soulkins created a formation around me, Elemental Phoenix included. However, she ignored Volix even as he hovered above me, body expanding. Her gaze drifted across Nox and Resh’s invisible frame but locked onto Aureus, his elongated body coiled around me, wings positioned to protect me from all sides.

  She froze and started unmovingly all while Aureus let out a deep, threatening growl.

  “G-Garus?”