Theo followed the signature of the beacon, allowing himself to be guided through the void. While it would have been better to have access to his newest favorite ability, he didn't mind sailing through that darkened realm. In the distance, he could spot the heavens where the gods currently sat. It appeared like a massive star wreathed in luminous clouds. However, the trip was brief, and they were soon approaching a section of the mortal plane the alchemist had visited several times before.

On the eastern side of Tarantham’s continent, there was a heavily wooded area. Theo had learned this was Elrin’s home, a place once called Whisperwood. It was now mostly destroyed, or occupied by random elves that had no business being there. The alchemist could see the look of contempt on Elrin’s face as they approached, shaking his head as they landed in a mountainous region. They were to the southwest of the spot where the city had once stood. Hopefully, they were far enough away not to cause too much pain.

"It should be right over there," Elrin said, gesturing forward. The party proceeded forward with a shard hovering right behind them.

The shard was to be planted atop a hill. It provided a decent view of the surrounding area. Arid mountains stretched as far as the alchemists could see, with sparse wildlife visible here and there. What little plant life existed in the area clung to the dusty rocks, desperate to get both nutrients and water in the wasteland. The dense trees Theo had seen on his way in had faded, lingering to the north and showing up on the distant mountains.

“This place is dry,” Theo said.

“It gets worse to the west, right before Vesta… Or whatever they renamed that city… Tarantham City,” Elrin said, spitting on the ground. “Couldn’t they have been more creative?”

“Guess not,” Theo said with a shrug.

Sarisa breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m just glad we’re back here. I can’t stand the void.”

“Then why did you come?” Theo asked.

“Uh, because I knew we were coming back. Duh. I get to see the far-flung places of the world!” Sarisa shouted, her voice echoing off the barren rocks around them.

The group ascended the hill until Elrin spotted the place where he wanted to put the shard. Sarisa and Theo watched as he planted it, summoning the tower that surrounded it. Funny enough, there were slight ruins around the area, denoting the spot where the old tower once stood.

"So, what was this place?" Sarisa asked, scanning the environment as they waited for the process to complete.

"This was the territory of some theocratic nation back in Elrin’s day," Theo explained. "I think he was born there and set off on his adventures from there. But I'm pretty sure most of it happened in the west. When the monster waves came, his home was hit very hard. I don't think they were built for war."

“Huh. Ya learn something new every day,” Sarisa said. “Sixty-thousand years of history, though… That’s kinda weird, isn’t it?”

“Everything about this world is weird,” Theo said. “Nothing is as it should be, and that’s why we’re working so hard to set it right. The ascendants are to blame as much as the space elves, and I’m happy they each got theirs.”

“Wow. Vengeful much?” Sarisa asked.

Theo shrugged. “Neither of us were alive back then, so I guess we can’t truly judge. But that won’t stop me from complaining.”

“Look at that,” Sarisa said, whistling.

Elrin had planted the shard. The tower sprung up around it, reaching high into the sky. A pulse of energy rolled from the tower, washing over the landscape and tingling the alchemist’s senses. The stinging faded after a few breaths, leaving the environment with a clean feeling. It was more than just a purging of aberrant energies. The air he breathed felt better, although it was hard to put it into words. It was just right.

“All done,” Elrin said, giving both Theo and Sarisa a sharp nod. “That’ll help a lot. The most powerful shards are all located on this continent. Except for a few others, every other one is in a support role.”

“That’s good to know,” Theo said. “So, what can you tell me about this area?”

Elrin shrugged, looking out over the horizon with a blank expression. “It changed too much. But we used to go down to the beach that way and play a lot. My clan was small, compared to the others in Whisperwood, but we had enough money and influence to spend leisure time by the sea.”

“Wow. Sounds nice,” Sarisa said. “We used to spend our leisure time throwing mud at each other.”

“The port is gone, but it used to ferry people all over the continent. Since we didn’t trade much with the western or eastern nations, everything was insular. That only got worse when the monster waves started,” Elrin said. “But there was a lot of good stuff going on. When the adventurers united, we did some pretty cool stuff.”

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A gentle breeze blew from the south, bringing with it a wash of hot air. Theo couldn’t help but think about those future things the people on Tero’gal would get to experience. He hoped they could avoid the pitfalls this world had experienced. So long as the ascendant system was patched out, everything would be fine.

“The thing that shocks me most is how Tarantham is doing,” Theo said. “They’re just still chugging along without their emperor.”

“Curious how that works, right?” Elrin asked. “As much as I hate Kuzan, he established a lasting legacy.”

“And one that doesn’t require a cult to keep running,” Theo said. “Khahar did the same, but he turned his people into a bunch of weird worshipers. Not sure what I think about that.”

“Once the switch happens, we’ll see how long his legacy lasts,” Elrin said. “Time will be the new factor that proves everything true or false.”

Theo didn’t care to return to Broken Tusk right now. He stood there on the hill, looking out over an unfamiliar landscape to daydream about what might have happened here however many years ago. Perhaps only the stones could remember all those stories, but the alchemist held a hope that more people like Erlin were around to recount the past. But the group grew bored of the endless nothing, and were soon poised to head out.

“Feeling better?” Theo asked, wrapping both Sarisa and Elrin in his aura. He nodded to the half-ogre, unable to stop himself from smiling. The color had returned to her face at least.

“A lot better,” Sarisa said. “Nothing like home to make one feel better, right?”

“Absolutely,” Theo said, folding the void. In the edge of his senses, something strange appeared. The alchemist narrowed his eyes, feeling it in his peripheral sense. “Hold on. Something weird is going on…”

“What is it?” Elrin asked.

Theo allowed himself to be drawn by the feeling, folding space where it felt appropriate. It was finally becoming second-nature to move on the mortal plane, and the group soon snapped into a snowy landscape. A sheet of white blinded them on all sides, the temperature dropping significantly. The alchemist felt the wind sting his face, forcing him to draw his coat tighter. When that didn’t work, he sent out a bubble swirling with fire, bringing the temperature to a reasonable level.

“You brought us to Calet,” Elrin said. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Theo said, unsure if that’s where they really were. “This place is awful.”

“I’m so cold!” Sarisa shouted, her arms wrapped around herself. “Even with the swirling fire thing.”

“It should warm up in a second,” Theo said. “Did people used to live here?”

“A long time ago,” Elrin said. “Long before even my time. But what is it that drew you here?”

“That’s an excellent question,” Theo said, sending his aura wide. He felt things here and there, but nothing that would warrant such a powerful response when he had teleported. A few minutes of scanning later, and he felt something bigger. Something beneath the snow. Below their feet, the thick snow drift was melting. “I think what we’re looking for is over there. Under the snow.”

Elrin blew his whistle, and a massive dragon appeared. Trevor, in his dragon form, roared and got to work on the digging. “He’ll make quick work of it.”

“And quick work of my clean pants,” Sarisa said, looking up with her mouth agape. “Seriously, that’s not normal. You guys should freak out more.”

Trevor roared after removing tons of snow, flapping his wings to clear away some debris.

“He found something,” Elrin said, jerking his head to the side. “We should check it out.”

“Should we, though?” Sarisa asked, a spear and shield appearing in her grasp. “Theo gets pulled over by some weird magic and we’re just gonna dive on in?”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Theo asked. “Magic hole in the snow. Who doesn’t wanna jump in?”

It was truly impressive how deep Trevor had dug in such a short time. It was even more impressive how deep the snow itself was. The ragged hole stretched twenty feet down, the endless sheet of white finally ending with a scratch of gray. “So that’s where the ground is,” Theo said.

“Strange,” Elrin said, jumping into the hole. Another blow of his whistle saw the dragon vanishing, replaced by a tiger. Trevor’s tiger form wasted no time digging at the snowy walls, clearing a path forward. “He senses what you sensed.”

“I’m not sure how,” Theo said, helping remove the layers of snow. They tunneled, creating a straight corridor that looked unstable. The alchemist eventually felt his fingers scrape something and cleared away the last layer. After stepping down, he released a whistle. “What do we have here?”

Buried in the snow was a stone effigy, roughly the size of Theo and representing an abstract shape. The energy coming off it was faint. It was the flavor of power he associated with the shards, gods, and system. A subtle energy that could hardly be detected unless one knew what to look for.

“I don’t know what I’m looking at,” Elrin said, clearing away more of the snow to get a better look at the statue. “This feels made by the system. I don’t get it…”

Theo looked up, expecting the gods or the system to interdict him for his discovery. But nothing happened. Both allowed him to remain there on the mortal plane, observing the weird statue. He came around the side, allowing his aura to soak into stone. Sarisa stood back, a concerned look on her face the entire time. If she had further concerns, she didn’t voice them.

“Another weird thing left by the system. Just like the shards,” Theo said. “What’s so weird about that? I’d be surprised if there weren’t even more nonsense artifacts hanging around.”

Elrin gave Theo a serious look. “I’m not sure about this one. There’s something wrong about it.”

Trevor growled in agreement, pawing at the statue and gaining some distance before growling again. He then purred when Elrin patted him on the head.

“We can take it with us,” Theo said, wrapping his aura around everyone and the statue. “No need to freeze our butts off.”

“I’m not sure you can,” Elrin said.

With a shrug, Theo tried to fold the void over on itself. What actually happened was a sensation like being kicked in the chest by a horse. The alchemist was thrown back, slamming into the rear wall of snow and leaving a Theo-shaped hole behind. Sarisa let out a strangled yelp and Elrin sighed.

“It is a metaphysically large item,” Elrin said, reaching into the hole and pulling Theo out.

“Yeah? How heavy?” Theo asked, groaning as he was removed from the bank of snow. “You realize I can interdict a landmass the size of Tarantham City… if not more.”

“I’d say it weighs a bit more than Tarantham City,” Elrin said. “Based on observational science.”

Theo narrowed his eyes at Elrin. “We’re getting out of here.”