Noah stared at the patches of Beyond riddling his soul for an indeterminate amount of time. That was just about all he could do. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. So much of his soul was composed of chunks of the Beyond that it was little surprise that it didn’t view him as some kind of invasive foreign body.

And if that were the case… then it wasn’t going to go attacking anyone that didn’t try to mess with it. The Citadel was theoretically safe.

So long as nobody tried to make a rune out of the Beyond, it theoretically didn’t pose a threat. The only way it seemed to attack was when someone tried to draw it into their soul in a way that would attempt to change the Beyond. And, when the entirety of the Beyond was somehow present wherever even a scrap of its power existed, challenging it was a very bad idea.

If I’m right, that means the only way you could conceivably create a Rune that truly controls the Beyond is when you are so powerful that you can actually go up against all of the Beyond at once. The Researchers sure as hell weren’t that strong. I guess even a Rank 8 isn’t capable of everything.

That meant Noah was probably safe. He had no plans of trying to control the Beyond. He wasn’t sure how one would even classify the relationship they now had. He supposed it was something akin to symbiotic… though there was a chance he was just a very fortunate parasite that had managed to sneak its way into co-existence.

The Beyond wasn’t conscious. No more than a virus, at least. He was pretty certain of that. It was just an energy — a natural force of anti-existence. That meant it wasn’t going to care about how he directed its energy so long as he didn’t go and try to change it.

So… the Citadel was theoretically safe.

But I can’t go basing everyone’s safety on a theory. I have to make sure. There can’t be risks here. I will not lose somebody I care about because I couldn’t be bothered to confirm that this place isn’t a deathtrap.

Noah blew out a breath. He slipped out from his soul and returned to the real world. It was no surprise to him when he saw that the Heart was no longer active. The Devourer curled around the floating platform, its many eyes watching him with a mixture of curiosity and boredom.

“What was so important that you sought to speak with the Heart for just a few more minutes?” the Devourer asked. “It was a hasty deal.”

“I had to figure something out,” Noah replied. “And I was impatient.”

“Was it worth it?” the Devourer asked curiously. It clicked its mandibles and coiled closer to the platform to peer at Noah.

“Yes,” Noah replied. He rose to his feet and brushed the dust off his backside. “I got what I wanted. But you’re not going to like this. I have bad news.”

The Devourer’s many eyes blinked. “What?”

“The Citadel is in danger,” Noah replied. “That Beyond you’re concerned about? Well… I have reason to believe it hasn’t been dealt with. It’s still here.”

With a hiss, the Devourer pulled away from Noah. “Do not speak of it. The Beyond is not to be interfered with. It poses too great a risk to ever dare attempting to — hold. It is here? Still? Impossible.”

“No,” Noah said. “It’s very much here. Let’s be honest with each other, Devourer. I have no desire to destroy the Citadel. There are a great number of ways I can put it to use. But that isn’t the case if the Beyond is going to destroy it. The Heart gave me answers, but it wasn’t there at the end. It wasn’t watching when the Researchers all fell to their own creation. But you know who was?”

“Stop,” the Devourer hissed. “Do not speak of—”

“You were there,” Noah said. “The Devourer was there. I am not going to repeat the mistakes the Researchers made. But if you don’t help me, if you don’t tell me just what those mistakes were, then I can’t avoid everything. The Beyond is here. Whether you like it or not, it is here. So either you help me… or I go digging for that buried book.”

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The Devourer let out another angry hiss. The walls all around Noah came alive as its body layered over itself in a thunderous crash of chitinous legs. Furious red eyes bore down on him, but he didn’t so much as flinch.

Noah just held the massive monster’s gaze.

“I will not help you summon the Beyond,” the Devourer said.

“I don’t want to summon it,” Noah said. “I want to make sure it doesn’t get anywhere I don’t want it. I want to ensure the Citadel is safe. And for me to do that, I need to know what happened to the Researchers.”

And I don’t need to summon anything at all. The Beyond is already inside me.

The Devourer stared at Noah for several seconds. At the back of the platform, Prayer chittered in fear, barely audible over the noise echoing through the air all around them.

Then, slowly, the room grew quite again. The Devourer stopped moving. Its eyes narrowed.

“One question,” Noah said. “Answer one question. That’s all I need.”

“Ask,” the Devourer finally said.

“I know you ate the Researchers. It was to stop the Beyond from spreading, right?” Noah asked. “How did you stop it? Their souls were infected. Why were you spared?”

Bit more than one question, but it’s related enough to count.

“I did not absorb their runes,” the Devourer replied. It seemed slightly mollified that Noah’s question really was about stopping the Beyond rather than claiming its power. “I merely took in their energy. Their runes dissipated, returning to pure energy and merging back with the universe. When they ceased to exist, the Beyond returned to where it belonged.”

Noah smiled. He’d been pretty sure that was the case — but having confirmation proved his theory even further. The Beyond was limited to the runes it had been drawn into. If the Devourer had literally eaten things infected with the Beyond but had suffered no ill effects as a result.

That meant it wasn’t literally the presence of the Beyond that corrupted things. Just like how he had existed within the white void for months, the Beyond didn’t care at all about its surroundings.

It only cared about how it was used.

“You weren’t specifically built to consume the Beyond, were you?” Noah asked.

“No,” the Devourer replied. Its eyes narrowed further still. “I was not. And that was more than one question.”

“I’m trying to help both of us here,” Noah replied. “Would you prefer that I not be thorough and leave the Beyond a way to return to this place?”

The Devourer stared at Noah silently. It was difficult to tell what the monster was thinking, but Noah’s mind was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to worry about those of the Devourer.

This is what I needed. It proves that the Beyond does actually need to be drawn upon or otherwise drawn into your soul to become a threat. That’s why the passages still work. That’s why the Devourer and I were both able to survive our interactions with it.

If that’s true… the Citadel is relatively safe. It’s no more dangerous than anywhere else in the world, at least. So long as everyone knows what they’re getting into, this place will work. I can gather my students again— after some tests to make sure that my theory is 100% correct and after confirming the Beyond pathways that lead in and out of the Citadel can be used without corrupting or killing whoever passes through them. Just because the Researchers thought they were dangerous doesn’t mean they really were.

“Right,” Noah said, blowing out a short breath and giving the Devourer a sharp nod. “Thank you. That’s what I needed to know for now.”

“It is?” The Devourer blinked. Then it inclined its head. “Good. Do not delve into the Beyond.”

Bit too late for that.

But there’s one more thing I need to do before I just go wandering out into the world. Even ignoring the fact I don’t have the damn faintest clue where anyone is… this place isn’t Arbalest. I can’t afford to run around with just a single Rank 5 rune, no matter how powerful Unraveling Disruption is.

I’ve got both Astral Ruin and Concentrated Singularity. Haven’t used them much yet, but they’re both powerful… and the Citadel has the perfect place to train. Not forever, though. I don’t know where the others are or how they’re doing. That said, I don’t want to rush ahead and end up being useless against a powerful enemy.

“Say,” Noah said. He looked up to the Devourer. “Does the Citadel have some kind of rune storage? I haven’t seen any just sitting around anywhere.”

“No,” the Devourer replied. “Such things were taken by the Researchers or destroyed due to corruption by the Beyond. All that remains are records.”

Well, that sucks. Suppose it does make the path before me easier, though.

“Right. Thank you,” Noah said. “That makes things simple. One week.”

The Devourer tilted its body to the side. “I do not understand.”

“The initial push of inspiration and effort is often the biggest jump,” Noah replied with a smile. “For one week, I will be training as hard as I can at Access Point 4. I will also need your help with decoding some old manuscripts I found.”

“What happens at the conclusion of the week?” the Devourer asked.

“I head out on a little trip,” Noah replied with a cold smile. “It’s about time I take a look around Obsidia. And, when I return… I’ll be livening this grungy old place up.”