A silent blast clouded against the wall of the Crystal Cavern beneath Malagasi. Naota cursed under his breath and shook out his hands. He’d been at this for over an hour and didn’t feel any more confident than he had when he’d set out for Onnen. It had only been a week since he’d come out of his hibernation, but he was ready for things to get back on track.

After the rush of his memories had returned, he had been unable to keep his mental stability. Encasing Shiloh in her crystal sarcophagus had worked splendidly when the Yokai had run rampant in the lands of Revaliir, so he’d hoped to be able to accomplish the same temporary recuperation he’d given her. It had worked. But now he was having to get used to controlling his power all over again. How Shiloh had bounced back was a mystery to him, and while he could have gone to her for help, he felt too ashamed to do so.

So here he was, in a place as far from home as he could think of. The continent was fresh to most citizens of Revaliir which meant it was about as sparse as he could get. And underground, all the better. Try as he might, he couldn’t steady out each burst. The power was there; the control was not. The creatures within the Crystal Cavern were safe more or less due to their crystallized biological makeup, that they weren’t immediately affected from the small things he was trying to do.

Crystals, stones, gems, all manner of these things made sense to him; they wove into his life so much so that they had permanent residence wherever his temple should be. Yet here he was, struggling to harness their refracted and magnified light in the way he had been so used to. If he wasn’t careful then he’d start to blur the realm of dreams and waking.

“All right,” he breathed out slowly. “One more time,” he promised himself. He rolled up his metaphorical sleeves and brought his fists together. All of his energy pooled at his core: once he was ready he’d be able to try again.

F*ck those stupid mineral people. Jaubari? Was that what they were called? Maybe. The ten year old had gotten too close an old lesser meteor impact. The Jaubari people got extremely territorial and threatened to kill her. She managed to explain that she was just traveling and only wanted to see it. But instead of acting reasonable, they demanded that Salene went and got some stupid jeweled beetle from the underground. Apparently it was supposed to be impossible to find it. When they claimed she could never do it, she got pissed. Which was why she was heading down into this Crystal Cavern. Clearly this is exactly what she always wanted to do. Looking around a crystal cavern for some beetle. A path down into the Cavern had been carved out. Most likely by the Jaubari.

There was little light. Her hands reached up to her eyes and Salene began to mutter words. Bits of light gathered around her hands. This light began to pour into her eyes. Darkness in the cavern seemed to fade away as her eyes adjusted to the magic. On her back was a grey child sized backpack filled to the brim. If she needed any sort of material she could grab it from the bag. Swinging it off of her shoulders, she reached in an pulled out a compass. The last thing she needed right now was to get lost in this overly decorated cavern. Her compass pointed north. Taking out her journal and a quill with some ink, she wrote down the direction that she had come into the Cavern and a bit of description of what it looked like. When the girl was done she snapped the journal shut and put it in one of her cloak pockets. Salene continued onwards. The leather belt around her waist had a sheathed dagger.

Her hand reached down to the dagger to ensure that it was still there. A simple touch of the dagger made her feel a little safer. She could remember a time when she didn't have such a weapon. No, this was more than a weapon. This dagger was a tool. And a reminder. A reminder to survive against all the odds. Even when the world came crashing down, she needed to continue onwards. Through any event she was capable of survival. Just as long as she kept acting smartly and always remember one fact. Salene was always the weak one. So she needed to act like she was weak. When facing an enemy she needed to behave as though she just needed to survive. Think. Don't be reckless. Salene stopped in her tracks.

A distant growling came closer. She spun around and held up her hand just as a mineral beast lept at her. A glowing purple portal opened up in front of her where the beast was leaping to. The beast accidently went into the portal. Quickly, Salene closed it. Mana was valuable. She couldn't keep using it like this. Luckily she had a greater mana potion. Before anything else could happen, she plucked it out and took a few sips. She slammed the cork back into the bottle and placed it carefully into her backpack. Now her ears and eyes were alert for predators.

The cavern was long and winding, but Salene was careful to take stops to write down the direction she had been going in her journal along with a description. She did not want to be lost. Eventually she came across Naota. He was a strange looking person and Salene didn't trust him one bit. She stayed behind a crystalized rock and watched him from a distance. What was he up to? Was he after the beetle too? He was blasting or doing something to the rock. From her observations, she could assume that he had been at this for a while. Sooner or later this stranger would spot Salene. So, she might as well announce her presence.

"I'm sure if you keep doing the same thing over and over it will definitely work."

Sarcasm was practically dripping from her voice. She left her hiding place from behind the crystalized stone. It was clear that she was only ten. Her long ebony black hair went past her shoulders. She wore a simple tan tunic, brown pants, a leather belt, and simple black boots. A dark green cloak was wrapped around her shoulders and a heavy grey backpack rested on her back. Salene even had a hunting bow tied to the backpack with rope. 

"I don't know what you are doing. But maybe you should try something different?" Salene suggested, the sarcastic tone still there "You know, like maybe a different stance. Or maybe sit down." 

Despite her attitude, she was actually trying to help. 

His fists tightened the longer the energy built until the skin over his knuckles was pale from tension. White markings slowly began to glow to contrast his tanned skin, but before he could manipulate the energy he heard a young voice. His eyes quickly opened and the markings faded back down. The energy, however, was still primed to use. For now it was safely harnessed, but he looked over in time to see the owner of said voice show herself.

She was small, probably no older than his seventh child, and a level of sass that for some reason seemed familiar to him. He shrugged it off, maybe this was just how children were these days. Or maybe he was just far too accustomed to women unafraid to hide their personalities. Whatever the case, he didn’t trust himself to release this much power when she was so close.

For now it all stayed behind his eyes, literally: the crystalline like irises of his eyes glowed brighter in the darkness, their shade the exactness of emerald at the moment. He quirked an eyebrow at her, “Oh? A different stance?” his tone was unusually dry, but it had been a long day. Likely it was night by now, and he could only imagine what Echo would say once he was back at the temple.

His head tilted to the side as he surveyed her: the backpack, dagger, simple clothing. Ah, she was alone. Then again maybe she wasn’t as young as she looked. After all, he appeared to be in his early twenties but was well over a millennium in age. Either way he needed to get this much built up power out at some point or odd things might start to happen, and the last thing he needed was for dreams to start affecting reality.

“Never mind what I’m doing,” he said, nodding towards her, “What are you doing down here by yourself?”

White markings? Obviously magic but the type escaped her. What was this weirdo doing? If he didn't know how to use magic then he needed to get a tutor. Anybody with half a brain could understand that. Then again, she might be having too high expectations for him. This stranger seemed very tired. Could he not take care of himself? It would be night time by now. Salene had slept during the day and traveled during the night. Normally that wasn't a good way to travel. However, she didn't have a safe place to sleep during the night. At least during the day there were less monsters trying to murder.

Unseen spirits flowed around the ten year old girl. She could not see them. There were two. Neither of them had a form and were a wispy light mess flowing around her. Perhaps they were attracted to her due to the blue stones kept in her pocket. Touching the stones would allow Salene to see these beings. But since the stones weren't directly touching her, she couldn't see anything. Seconds passed and the spirits vanished. The weird stranger asked her a question as if she was not supposed to be walking alone. He wasn't the first person who had that general attitude, but it still made her annoyed. Salene puffed out her cheeks in anger then decided to reply. 

"Walking. Genius." Her sass remained. "And I will mind what you are doing. For all I know you could be doing something really stupid that could affect me later. It's ok if you disagree with me on that though. I can't force you to be right."

Her eyes drifted to the top of the cavern. The "ceiling" of the cavern was high in the air and had a part of the cavern wall leaned up to it. At the very top of the ceiling, a little jeweled beetle was crawling around. Blue, purple, and silver colors were all mixed together on its shell. That must have been the beetle she was sent to get. Salene walked past Naota. Swinging off her backpack she went through it looking for the supplies she needed. A canteen of water caught her attention. Maybe that guy would need it. Suddenly she turned and chucked the canteen at him, not really caring if it hit him or not. 

"You need to drink water. That much magic will make you thirsty." 

Her hands rummaged through her back until she found what she was looking for. Plucking out a grappling hook and a rope, she began to tie the rope to the grappling hook. Tugging at the rope to ensure it was secure was good enough for her. Salene looked up to the ceiling. The ceiling wasn't so high that she couldn't throw the grappling hook to get to the top. But she wouldn't be able to do it with her regular strength. Magic would be needed for this. After putting the hook down, she began to mutter some words and closed her eyes. Light magic poured out of her fingertips and swirled around her body. A few seconds went by then the magic stopped. Her eyes opened again.

Strength increasing spells. Always did the trick. She picked up the grappling hook again and began to swing it around by the rope. Aim was a problem. When she released the rope, the grappling hook missed its mark and ended up going a little to the left. The little girl could always ask Naoto for help. But this was her mission. Those people up there were wanting her to do it. Nobody else. The hook was lodged into some rocks on the ceiling and a few strong tugs proved its security. Salene got a good grip on the rope then began to climb. She came this far on her own. Once she got this beetle she would be able to go further. Determination filled her deep brown eyes. 

Naota’s eyebrows slowly rose. So much sass, this one. His hands went up lightly as the corner of his lips upturned into a light smirk. Young as she was, she wasn’t wrong. After all, he wasn’t quite sure of his own power at the moment. One thing was for sure though: the time for practice was over. That, or he needed to find another place underground in which to do so. At some point the energy would need to be grounded or cracks of it would start to escape whether he willed it or not.

“You’re pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?” he asked without really asking. He moved over to the wall he had been targeting and ran his fingertips over the cooling stone. There was nothing there that he could sense, nothing lingering that would cause any damage. “Where did that cockiness come from?”

He looked towards her in time to catch a canteen of water she threw in his direction. While he highly doubted it was from the goodness of her heart, he was hesitant to take any of it. After all, he didn’t drain quite so easily as a mortal did. Instead he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, watching her curiously.

It certainly appeared as though she was prepared for anything she could face, but the purpose of her movements indicated some kind of mission. His eyes lifted up to the ceiling, following the line of her grappling hook. “What exactly are you doing?”

While it was clear she knew how to use magick, she wasn’t in any rush to have it aid her in climbing. That was when his eyes caught sight of the beetle moving on the cavern ceiling. His natural instinct was to offer to help, but he just had a hunch it wouldn’t go over smoothly. Besides, there was something to be said in witnessing someone so young putting so much effort into a goal. He wouldn’t take that satisfaction away from her.

“Not that I’m trying to tell you how to run your mission, but what exactly is the length of your magickal abilities?” His fingers slowly flexed in and out of tight fists. The water in the canteen was tempting since it would be easy to use it for grounding some of the stored energy out of himself, but the last thing he wanted was to send deity charged water into the hands of a child.

“What’s the beetle for anyways?”

The strength spell she had used earlier greatly assisted in the climbing. Salene also had three years of experience in climbing. From climbing walls to ropes to dead trees, she knew how to climb. Holding onto a rope wasn’t hard but keeping herself from getting rope burn was a little challenging. Her feet were together with the rope in between them. Every time she moved upwards she used her legs and her arms then secured her feet together to make sure she didn’t fall off when reaching for a higher part of the rope.

“It’s not cockiness.” She grunted, “It’s my subconscious anger for the world coming out in sarcasm. Came from Tyr Island if you’re wondering.”

Salene was able to get higher up. Revealing where she came from was not the best idea but at the moment she was focused on getting that beetle. The fact that he didn’t drink the water did not escape her attention. Even with the climbing issue.

“Also drink the water. I gave it to you for a reason.” Salene ordered.

A part of her did not want to see this guy become sick, although she'd never admit it. This stranger had so many questions. Couldn’t it wait until after she was done? Finally she managed to get near the ceiling. A glint of silver caught her attention as the beetle scuttle around. Just a little bit closer.

“Enough to get me up here.” It was a simple but sufficient reply.

Her hand reached out to grasp the tiny creature. Instead of grabbing it, she missed and her hand slammed into the stone.

“Shit!” With a second attempt, she was able to snatch the bug.

Now, how to get down without squishing the bug? Carefully, she placed the beetle into her pocket. She was on her way down when she remembered that the curious guy had a question.

“The beetle is for one of the villagers.” A vague response but true.

There was more to it. Her white cat had gone off into the village. The villagers were suspicious of the cat and took it as a prisoner. In order to get it back she had to go all the way down here for it. But that was a private matter. He had no reason to care. Nobody did. Her hands were getting tired. She was halfway down. The sound of a loud roar caught her off guard. Her eyes widened as she slipped.  

He arched an eyebrow at her reply. Well, at least she was honest. Or maybe blunt was a more fitting word to describe her. What surprised him more than her telling him where she’d come from, was that said place was Tyr Island. The very fact that she was still, in fact, a child left little hope. That place was definitely no place for someone her age, especially knowing what generally happened to children there. How had she survived for so long? As he watched her make it to the ceiling he started to understand how. One didn’t come from a place like that and end up weak. Not if they were still alive at least.

“How in the world did you end up coming from such a horrible place?” he asked, his eyes never leaving her as she grasped for the beetle. When her hand missed and slapped against the wall, he had to fight back the urge to flicker up and bring her down. But she was stable, her balance well maintained, so he stayed put.

He hadn’t even replied to her previous statement regarding the water, but without getting into what he was, there wasn’t much excuse he could give. “I wouldn’t think so much on me getting water,” was all he said. Still, he opened the canteen and took the smallest sip he could manage just to appease her.

“Seems like a big task to give a child, capable or not. What exactly provoked them to give you such a thing to accomplish?” he said, arching an eyebrow. Tact didn’t seem to be her strongest suit, and some people were less forgiving whether you were a child or not.

No sooner had the question left his lips did he hear a loud roar rumble through the caverns. Well, that certainly wasn’t good. “All right kid, let’s double time it,” he urged. One hand had already gone to his hip where he untied Torinasu from its spot. The blade hungered for negativity, and whatever was coming their way was giving off enough that he felt the absorbed power radiating through his fingers. Definitely not good.

His eyes narrowed and trained on the tunnel the roar had come from, but his energy had spiked too much. When she slipped, the rope which the girl had been climbing was slowly snaked by a long vine that began to violently sway and shake. It curled and twisted down so fast that it managed to wrap around her waist and keep her from hitting the ground. Despite it having technically caught her, it now left her dangling a good fifteen feet above the ground.

The light glinting from the crystals encased in the walls shimmered and shifted between hues as the air charged with untapped power. Naota’s focus was momentarily distracted by the flash of light around them, but the sight of two glowing eyes brought his attention right back. They were a threatening set of topaz, and more of them opened on the creature’s head until there were ten eyes staring at them. The animals here had long since evolved with the crystals, but Naota could barely tell what this hairy thing was supposed to be.

“Damn-” he cursed under his breath just before it unleased another powerful growl in their direction.

“Jump, kid!” he shouted up to her. But when he looked back, he saw the display of her wrapped in the thick vine. Damnation! The beast scratched its paws against the ground and then charged. In an instant, Naota flickered out of sight in a spectrum of rainbow light only to reappear directly behind where this creature had come from. Its momentum in charging sent it head first into the cavern wall. And even though it was momentarily dazed, they still didn’t have much time.

“Is that beetle all you need?” he shouted up to her before swinging his blade in a precise arch. A wave of white light radiated from the blast and paralyzed the beast. “Because I highly suggest we leave sooner rather than later!”

The child didn’t really know why she told him the truth. Maybe it was because she was annoyed at his reaction at her remarks. He seemed surprised. Salene understood that most kids her age were not like this. But it didn’t stop her from being annoyed when people acted so surprised. But at least this stranger didn’t immediately get mad or try to murder her. She was glad that the stranger drank water. He needed it and it was her job to take care of him now. Nobody else was around to take care of the mage. It was her duty now. When she fell, a long strong vine suddenly wrapped around her to stop her from falling. The girl had no idea where this had come from.

Vines were popping up from the ground apparently. Her eyes glanced around the cavern to find the source of the rawr. Glittering topaz eyes first caught her attention. Eight more opened up. Salene attempted to pull her arms out of the vine but failed. Eyes widening in fear as she realized that she was trapped. Again. Focus. Feeling pity for herself would only result in failure. Instead of looking at the monster, she was staring at the part of the cave that she had entered from.

Blinding light surrounded her in a matter of seconds then vanished. She was gone. The flash of light re-appeared at where her bag had been dropped. Swinging the bag over her shoulder, she bolted to where the exit was then stopped. She spun around to face the inside of the cavern. Her dagger was drawn and she was looking at Naota.

“Get over here! Now!” She demanded.

Of course, Salene knew better than to fight the crystalized monster.  A plan had formed in her mind. But she couldn’t continue with that plan until Naota was with her. The both of them needed to be towards the exit of the cavern in order for this to work. Once the monster was unparalyzed, it would go after them. Unless Naota had superspeed, they would be caught. However, if it was blocked off, it wouldn’t be able to chase them. She pulled out her greater mana potion and gulped down the rest of it. Two more spells. That was all she had. But it was enough to work with.

"Get over here or so help me, I will drag you by the ear!" She threatened.

This idiot was not going to die on her watch! Her dark eyes were ablaze with determination. Black long hair covered half of her face while the other half showed the expression of somebody who was willing to destroy to survive. 

Light absorbed the girl’s frame, but his eyes were so accustomed to all matters of it that he was able to flick his gaze over to watch as she teleported. She was free, good. That still left them with the not so small matter of the beast. Namely that it was going to be out of paralysis soon.

His eyes narrowed on it, knowing that it should have been easy for him to cast it into a deep slumber, but his control had been so topsy turvy that he was unsure. If he miscalculated by even a seemingly miniscule degree, the results could be disastrous. Had he been the only other person there then he wouldn’t have been so reluctant, but the presence of a child had him hesitating. To think that only five years ago he would have been able to do ten times as much simultaneously, left him frustrated.

The girl called out to him, shouting for him to go where she was, but his eyes lingered. All of that stored energy needed somewhere to go, and he was gripping his blade’s hilt so tightly that it was Natsumi’s crafting skills alone that left it undented. That did little much for the crystals around them though, which were starting to hum and vibrate so fiercely that a few were plopping from their spots in the walls and ceiling.

Again, she demanded for him to leave and his focus was broken just as the beast was able to twitch its claws. A wall of stone? No, that thing was obviously equipped for traversing through ground. The gems and crystals swiveled, their light aiming towards him as if meaning to knock his attention to them. He quirked an eyebrow and replaced Torinasu at his hip. He slowly rubbed his palms together as an idea came to him.

“Get a head start kid, I’ll make it to you,” he said back to her before bringing his hands up to his lips. He blew into them as if warming them, and with each slow exhale he found his muscles calming. Glowing white markings spread across his sun darkened skin, leading along his arms, neck, clothed areas, up his neck, all the way to his now completely white eyes. As he did so, the gems, stones, crystals, all manner of them came together to form one strong solid wall of crystal around the creature. Would it break through it? Possibly, but nearly as fast as it would through soil and rock.

Living amongst crystals that happily outcropped at his temple, wherever it may be, left him with at least that level of comfort in working with them. There’d be time to work on everything else later, for now he turned to quickly go with the girl, who hopefully had gone on without him.

The little girl was slightly frustrated that he had decided to stay and apparently fight the beast on his own. That would be hid mistake. However, she wouldn't leave the caverns just yet. If he was able to catch up then she would leave properly. The beetle was safe in her pocket. Slipping her hand into her pocket, the hard beetle was still there and alive. She had what she had come for. But she would stay to make sure that Naota got out safely.

The girl continued to run down the rocky path. Not too slow. Not too fast. Just enough to get a head start but not too much that he wouldn't be able to catch up. Looking back, she could see light appearing from where they had met. Then a figure left the area. It was Naota. The little girl was a ways away from him but she waved at him to hurry up none-the-less. 

"Come on!" She shouted to him. 

Holding her hands up to the rocky wall, magic erupted from them. Sparks of light swirled around her hands then hit the wall, making a circle of light. As the circle expanded, a portal appeared. It was her gate portal magic. She would only be able to perform one more spell after this. Three spells a day. It was her limit. Perhaps when she got older this would change. For now it was what the child had to work with.

Looking back to Naota, she waved him over again. The portal would take them out of the caverns and send them to the village where she needed to give the beetle to. Quick transport. Her eyes glanced nervously at him, hoping that he would hurry up. Time was running out. Salene wouldn't be able to keep the portal open forever. He would need to enter the portal first since she wouldn't be able to keep it open if she went in first.