Senn sits on the floor of the control room with Bellphine and Vaergraes, casting a linking spell between the three of them as Geirahoel paces around a few yards away, and Ryuogriar observes the siege defense being led by Roeta.

Sundenelle is observing the elven sage as she hopes to tap into the young Dawnseer's visions, as she seems to have broached a rare threshold of talent to the skill, though it often leads to insanity and death in such users as they lose control of the ability to see the past and future.

For now, the immediate future seems to hold a key to both the danger posed by the mysterious black fire, as well as restoring Bellphine's ability to speak.

Senn can hear the kobold women speaking, and though she doesn't have an ear for Tulztame's and Glizumi's accent, she can get the context from Sodenizia.

"[They said we have to just wait here for now. Daniel, Magnir, Moelka, and Levvikami will be alright.]"

"[Still…]" starts Tulztame before becoming unintelligible.

The elven sage sighs. As the elder kobold is speaking, she remarks in their language as well as she can speak it, "[Ladies, please speak to one of the dragon Empresses to cast language comprehension on you. If you wish to help, it will be easier if you can speak to everyone else.]"

The kobolds are surprised to hear the elf speak to them, and she adds, "[I'm asking because you are distracting me with your concerns. Please, apply your clever minds elsewhere.]"

"[Oh…]" murmurs Tulztame. "[Apologies. We'll give you space.]"

Senn smiles and nods. She then says softly, "Sorry about that. I know they mean well."

"I understand their frustrations," replies Vaergraes softly. "But, I was going to ask them the same thing."

"Now, before something else happens… Bellphine, are you ready?"

The young woman nods nervously. She hesitantly reached out to Vaergraes, who in turn informed Senn, due to the increasing frequency of Bellphine's spontaneous Dawnsights, and she's concerned that this one is going to be very soon.

"Very well. Relax your minds, and I'll guide us in. I've seen the basic Dawn, but I'm missing something."

The three close their eyes, holding hands. Senn used a special device to share the Dawnsights with Rikuto, hoping he would take a similar approach to Daniel; rather than prevention, implement preparations. With fellow mages capable of the same or similar magic used for Dawnseeing, the process can be completed with physical contact between them.

When the elven sage opens her eyes, she is momentarily taken aback.

True to Bellphine's descriptions, the Dawnsight she is diving into has an immense level of clarity and realism even Senn would struggle to achieve. Because the mind can rationalize the assembly of signs around oneself such that it becomes reality, a normal Dawnsight possesses some risk of the caster losing track of the fact that they are in little more than a dream and trap their mind within.

What Bellphine has been struggling with is an alternate reality in all but definitive truth.

Senn whirls when a screeching sound reaches her ears, and she can see a castle fortress built into a tall, natural rock formation overlooking a fairly undeveloped tract of land. She recognizes Larvenmaouchoul, or rather, Neith as he breathes fire on the fortress, though without magic amplification. He seems more focused on distraction than battle, and with him are the men who joined him for the exterior half of the mission.

For all intents and purposes, they're seeing the present.

"T-T-T-There…" stammers Bellphine, pointing to a humongous destroyed opening in the side of the fortress, and Senn uses her own link to the Dawnsight to guide them in.

The sound that is drowning out even Neith's attacks is coming from deep inside, and everyone that Senn can see, including Hekate and Doephluev at the entrance, are cowering in fear.

If she didn't know better, she would think they were teleported into the battle, rather than seeing it through magic with how distinct and detailed everything is.

The trio moves inside, and Vaergraes has to speak loudly, "What is that!?"

Senn is unable to answer. A truth she has searched for for millennia has started to emerge in the presence of an anomalous human from another world. That sound is one that comes from the threshold. In her pursuit of Sayrdarralouche, she heard it many times, only to find something worse than the implication of the sound.

She finds Daniel struggling to brace against the sound, while Gold and even Yaulwembor are held at bay in terror.

Senn can understand. She still has nightmares of her numerous failures to save the small beings making such a terrible sound.

Kernuules, from the sounds of it, crossed over the threshold, and the child that had the whole future ahead of it ceased to be, lingering only in physical form until Daniel encountered it to bring its suffering to an end.

Likewise, this one is at the threshold, and many shadows are already circling around the tiny being, which has nearly succumbed to its horrible treatment.

The dark tendrils of its magic power have already started to fill the others around them, turning men mad and reanimating recently deceased monster corpses. It is one of the oldest and most sinister forms mana can take.

But, it is not the tiny being's fault. It never had a chance, due to what Sayrdarralouche and his partner in heinous crimes tried to do in order to make it something other.

Daniel, in his pain, concern, and logical connection to Kernuules, draws his revolver and aims.

"No! Daniel stop!" Senn moves on instinct, rushing to Daniel to try to divert his arm. However, her hands pass through him, and she is sickeningly reminded that she is in a Dawnsight merely seeing the present or immediate future, not truly present. Her heart races as she feels desperation. "Daniel, please! Please hear me! Don't do it!"

The mechanic doesn't fire right away, maybe struggling to aim, and maybe hesitating because he isn't a murderous person by nature. He is trying to rationalize what he sees against what he believes needs to be done.

"It's different from Kernuules!" pleads Senn. "If you destroy it, that mana will be released! There is still time to pacify it and deal with it without releasing the mana! Please hear me…" She does her best to plead, begging him to hear her voice.

Vaergraes cautiously says, "Senn, it's… only a Dawnsight."

Bellphine whispers, managing to not stammer, "Look…" Her voice is worried, since something seems to happen to Daniel.

His whole person seems to blur. The tiny being screeching and filling the room with unstable mana appears through the Dawnsight like a monstrous cloud of black energy that might eventually take physical form the way the Devourer came to be. Similarly, Daniel normally looks like a shadow of himself, since he doesn't possess mana, though Bellphine's vision of him has more detail than usual. Now, though, he is painful to look at, even for Senn, who has seen a great many things. She stumbles back, and his voice seems to layer over itself as he curses, grumbles, questions, cries out, and takes various actions in this moment. Some versions of Daniel hold position, while new ones peel off, with one falling to the ground to sob, another that opens fire as it steps towards the being. Yet another version of him turns his gun on the soldiers around them as he screams at them.

The one that fires at the creature causes parts to fall off, and another version of him sprints past the one firing. He uses Nemaisol as he screams, trying to force himself through an action that goes against his heart.

A ghostly apparition of Daniel walks away from the mass, passing Senn and speaking, which is distorted and difficult to hear, but she makes out, "...-uke from-..."

The visions are splitting off, and chaos fills the Dawnsight. Usually, this much intense shifting in a Dawnsight means that the arrival of an especially powerful being is centered around the location, which is technically true with the small, petrified being itself, but it is already present. But, even when foretelling a powerful arrival, Senn has never seen this level of chaos centered around one character.

Dawnsights are a hint at the possible future, not a future set in stone either way. And, her best guess is that she is accurately seeing a hypothetical crossroads centered upon one person so ingrained in the moment, that his decision is wrapped in turmoil and affecting the future as a result.

Killing the being causes an erasure of the fortress, likely killing anyone sensitive to mana or mutating them into monsters. The effects on Daniel are impossible to know for sure.

Daniel failing to kill it leads to a surge of monsters around them as it slips over the threshold, pushed beyond by something that must have happened just before they peered into the moment.

One version of Daniel turns his revolver on himself, and Bellphine and Vaergraes gasp when they see it. Gold's voice screams when she sees this, but dissolves as it fades away.

Everything is chaos, and Senn can only watch, her eyes and mind hurting from seeing so much chaos. She is trying to see it all, trying to find the hint; something, anything that she can try to pass on to Daniel. She can still hear the small being screaming; crying out for help as its body succumbs to its own power and curse.

Tears start to trickle down Senn's face. She is so close, yet so far away from all of the answers that have plagued her for so long. She can only watch in pain and sorrow as the crucial moment hangs on someone who has no idea what he is about to unleash.

Bellphine approaches and puts her hand on the frozen Daniel's cheek, the version of him that has taken the longest to act, but is still holding his revolver towards the being. Time seems to have come to a near stop with him, and the young woman is able to speak clearly for some reason. "I have seen beyond this moment, but I don't know what he does or how he does it… I only know…" Bellphine's face turns serious. "The fire seems to be soon after…"

It's unclear what can be done in the moment, as the pre-Devourer beings are dangerous and powerful, and in such a state, they are poisonous to anyone who gets too close. Many succumb to madness and become monstrous themselves. Others will take their own lives.

"Sing…" adds Vaergraes as she approaches, putting her hand on Daniel's other cheek as well. "Sing, Daniel… Please sing…"

"What?" asks Senn as tears fall down her face. She hasn't cried in a long time, but she can do nothing about the pain filling her heart. She knows many of the wrong answers, some of which have wiped out many of the elves long ago. But, she doesn't know the right answer.

"I think… it's Falkorga'kohn's Tongue," murmurs Vaergraes. "Thymeria mentioned it only once while she was researching in the library, and she didn't know I was there… I… heard this sound when the curse mark activated on me and Aoloan. There was something about a song… Buried deep in my memories…"

Senn knows nothing about what she's talking about. She knows the name 'Falkorga'kohn', but only in passing. He was a feldrok child, and one of many victims.

Regardless, the elf sniffles and replies, "It doesn't matter… He can't hear us…"

"Maybe not," replies Vaergraes. "But, his heart will steer him right. I choose to believe that…" She smiles at Senn, adding softly, "Because he has stolen mine."

***

Daniel lands in a stumble on the ground as he is dropped, keeping his momentum as he storms towards the opening in the fortress. Given the dust still settling and water flowing into the conical crater, a goddess or a one-punch heroine is the most likely cause, meaning the narrow end of the cone leads directly to his goal.

Doephluev calls out, "Daniel!"

"Follow us in, but give me the initiative!" shouts Daniel over his shoulder as Yaulwembor somewhat impatiently tries to shed her riders. He then calls out, "Gold! I need a lift!"

"Right behind you!" calls out the nervous, but brave gilded dragon. She takes flight and catches up to Daniel, lifting him by his armpits as he braces himself, keeping his right hand on the hilt of Nemaisol with his left securing the scabbard. He'll have to act as quickly as he can to end any attacks and prevent new ones.

And, if Kaeralegier's concern is well-founded, her power to suppress mana will be strained to its very limits with the sheer amount of combined power ahead of the wayward mechanic from a world of science instead of magic.

Regardless, Daniel has to try. He's the only one who fits Kaeralegier's needs simply because he has no mana. And, if he can engage and, by some miracle, defeat the shadow monster lurking within the curse that bound to him, he might be able to free himself of the curse and restore what little mana he had accumulated.

Gold swoops the two of them into the castle, and he can hear Yaulwembor make a sort of bark-like noise as she rushes after them.

Hekate will need a moment to recover, and once Nemailsol is deployed, their abilities will be restrained as well. Moreover, it may even be advantageous to leave Hekate and Doephluev behind in order to maintain the 'bandwidth' of mana suppression that Kaeralegier can effect. If he could ask Yaulwembor to stay behind, he would, but there will be a small window that he'll have with her being behind.

The inside of the castle has obviously been heavily damaged, and soldiers are still trying to perform triage from wounds caused, most likely, by the scattered monsters littered about.

"Remember I can't fight right now, Harbinger!" calls out Gold as they rush into the heart of the fortress, which is actually pretty deep below ground level. Daniel can see the pit in the center with damaged chains, monster corpses, and several unnerving creatures that are interacting with each other.

"And I'm already half-dead! Just get me close!"

She guffaws once from the bluntness of his retort, but the blonde dragon obeys his instructions, swooping over and around rubble to get Daniel straight in the middle. He can tell she's trying not to look directly at the primary enemy, which is hardly the same creature Daniel saw the day he was cursed, and Neith confirmed during the mission to locate the cause of monster-forming mana phenomena. Rather than an eldritch being with many tendrils, six eyes, and an imperceptibly dark presence, this creature looks more like a disembodied amber-colored eyeball with dark black 'tendrils' tangled around the body of a person to suspend it like an exposed eye stalk. One of the magically-produced fibers has speared into the back of a young-looking woman with dual-tone orange and violet hair, lifting her off of the ground, while others watch in horror. Another, smaller being that is somewhat disturbing to look at levitates nearby, and in spite of its pitch black eyes with no obvious details, like those of an embryo or fetus, it looks truly terrified of the eye.

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During the moment that Daniel and Gold are closing in, the eye pivots and looks directly at him. The very normal human's heart skips a beat, as if sputtering like a partially-flooded engine with a sudden surge of adrenaline fueled by fear. Daniel has faced a lot of things he was afraid of in the moment, but Mulmonbargonaed the younger red dragon and Lugrae the Feral Feldrok were the most definitive moments of true terror he has ever felt.

The complex, swirling pupil of the eye grips the mechanic, bringing recollection of various dreams, both good and bad, that Daniel has had since being cursed, and in all of them, the same gaze has been looming over him.

It is the same gaze he saw during the curse binding to him.

Daniel suddenly feels gravity shift, and he slips from Gold's grip. He lands hard on the ground, painfully colliding his knees to the stone floor, which delays him but snaps him out of his own trance.

Gold, as if suffocating, has clumsily flapped her wings to try to retreat from the eyeball, and the only comparable fear he has seen on a dragon as powerful as her is in the presence of firearms, since she witnessed many of her friends and companions struck down in an instant by the non-magic weapons.

He needs to move, and the pain is a reminder.

"Hmm… It seems the child's interference hastened your arrival, yes, my Harbinger?"

The many-layered flanged voice seems to drill directly into Daniel's mind, though the others in the room seem to react, indicating everyone is hearing it speak. Some of the soldiers scream as they flee from both the upper level and through the hole in the pit.

"{Daniel! Draw! Draw! Quickly!}"

Just as Kaeralegier's voice is breaking through the overwhelming pressure coming from the eldritch eye's harmonically echoing voice, the gaze tilts away from him towards another pair of individuals, a blond man in rich nobleman's attire and a blood-soaked honey-hued brunette wearing unmistakably modern Earth clothing are directly in front of and below the one who has to be Amalaskae as the goddess wordlessly dangles from the tendril.

"Consider yourself lucky, hapless boy. My Providence is plentiful."

The possessed humanoid's arm raises somewhat unnaturally, and tense fingers suddenly flick outwards, casting a flash of magic that Daniel tries to react to, but too late.

Just as he's desperately trying to rip Nemaisol out of its sheath, the woman who must be Zuzia and the Grand Prince of the Empire vanish. Daniel pulls the sword out and quickly tries to spear it into the ground, but one final taunt comes from the accursed apparition. "Soon enough, my Harbinger. Soon enough…"

The grey-blue pulse of mana negation rips outwards, evaporating the eyeball monster representing just a fraction of the shadow beast that lurks within his curse and causing the other floating creature to shriek at a powerful and painful volume as it darts backwards, falling to the ground. It continues to squirm as it squeals shrilly like a dying creature, similar to a rabbit. Daniel had the misfortune of hearing a dying rabbit one night, and it was distinctly unsettling.

Simultaneously, Amalaskae and the humanoid that was possessed both drop to the ground like their off-switches were flipped.

Daniel shouts, "Hekate! I need you two!" The mechanic is feeling the whole of his battering, exhaustion, and overall weariness pressing down on him, but he forces himself to act. The small, piercing shrieker is still wailing on the ground as it squirms, and it reminds Daniel of an earlier stage of Kernuules, which is the only name he has for the mutated, seemingly-undead feldrok child that served as the monster's core.

"{Daniel! It's… you have to… I'm sorry. I can't… hold out…}"

Though his own mana is still gone, and he never really knew much of the 'feel' of magic, he can somehow tell that Kaeralegier's presence is fading away from him, and the legendary sword Nemaisol is becoming nothing more than a really expensive melee weapon.

Somehow, the creature that looks like a possible fetal-stage feldrok with how powerful it is already is able to overwhelm his sword-bound goddess.

"Damn it…" grumbles the mechanic. He draws his revolver and aims, apologizing sincerely. "I'm sorry, little one." He hesitates. He hates that he had to gun down Kernuules, but the monstrosity he or she has become was violently aggressive beyond simply being feral, and some sort of distorted mana growth had infected it.

This one doesn't seem to have any obvious 'afflictions', and seems to be an overpowered infant removed from its egg too early, and used, rather than raised to control its power to absorb and distort mana.

As always, Daniel's heart, mind and gut all battle to try to make the best decision that he can live with while still serving to achieve the best outcome possible for everyone else. Dark thoughts cross his mind, not least of which being how deeply he is in over his head. He also knows that it is dangerous to let this go on much longer with all of the current and potential enemies around him.

Thankfully, his gut is holding steadfast. His heart aches, but seems to agree, while his mind is losing the battle. Still, his gut is confident and firm.

He trusted his heart and his gut when he first arrived at the Citadel, and in turn, he and Hekate have saved each other numerous times. He's not foolish enough to always blindly trust a hunch or feeling he has no evidence for, since it also got him cursed.

But he also knows that he has an imperative in his mind, body, and soul to do anything but nothing.

So, with that, he takes a breath and gives his full trust to his instincts.

"Twinkle, twinkle, Little Star… How I wonder what you are…" The English words come out on instinct. It's one of the oldest and softest lullabies he knows, and one that he remembers fondly because it worked well on him. While he sings, the mechanic stows his revolver and sheathes Nemaisol.

"Up above the world so high… Like a diamond in the sky…" He walks slowly towards the shrieking infant as many of the Imperial Soldiers and knights writhe in agony on the ground, trying to block out its shrill tone, which may have magic elements to it as well. The mechanic notices some of the monster bodies moving, as if to come back to life, and he suspects that he won't have much time.

"Twinkle, twinkle, Little Star, how I wonder what you are…" Daniel glances only with his eyes at Amalaskae, who is still not moving. He has to stop the feldrok, assuming that's what it is, and he needs to make it safe for Hekate to approach.

Yaulwembor, who is also affected by the sheer volume of the sound, as well as her own magic likely reacting negatively to the demigod-like being, tries to stop Daniel. He gives her a reassuring smile as he keeps singing, still walking towards the infant while trying to reassure the Faormyr. "When the blazing sun is gone, when the nothing shines upon,..." He is within a few yards of the infant, and he can feel its shrieking tingling at his skin and bones, and he has to wince, trying not to raise his voice from the pain, but also doing his best to keep the song going. He notices while standing next to it that his sharmelkolle armor plates have turned black, which is a phenomenon that occurs when he's in the presence of radioactive materials, specifically those strong enough to negate a lot of magic. As if swirling by in streams visible on his armor, dashes of color race towards the infant, emphasized when he crouches to reach for it.

"Then you show your little light… Twinkle, twinkle… all the night…" Daniel struggles to keep the song going, and he feels like he's losing the ability to hear anything other than the baby's crying.

But, possibly more surprising is that the noise has shifted in tone from the screeching of a banshee trying to steal souls to the sobbing cries of an infant demanding attention in the only way it knows how. He's not sure if he's only hearing that part in his mind, but it does seem like it's managing to quiet down.

"In the dark blue sky you keep… through my curtains you often peep…" The wayward blue collar wage worker gingerly picks up the crying creature, still continuing his song. It's about the size of Jieka or Tekten, who are at most the size of a newborn human, but with underdeveloped features in its eyes, limbs, ears, tail, and wings. As he cradles it gently to his chest, he is all but certain that the baby is a feldrok, but one that wasn't fully developed when it was removed from its egg.

You're resilient little guys, aren't you?

"For you never shut your eye, till the sun is in the sky." He's not sure, since he might have lost all of his hearing by now, but it feels like the crying is calming down. The mechanic keeps singing, doing his best to reach into his void bag for two very needed things. The first is a blanket, which he carefully swaddles the feldrok child in, and the second is one of several water skins filled with something other than water.

"As your bright and tiny spark, lights the traveller in the dark…" He finds the water skin he needs and pauses his singing only long enough for him to pull the cap open with his teeth. His heart is racing, but he is committed to his course of action. His heart is certain that if he stops for any reason, the child will unleash far worse than he has seen so far.

"Though I know not what you are; twinkle twinkle, Little Star." Daniel lifts the whimpering infant up with his left arm, kissing its forehead. He then carefully maneuvers the water skin so that his thumb is restricting the mouth such that he can dribble tiny amounts of milk into the small being's mouth. The moment the creature's strange, almost fossil-like mouth receives the first couple of drops, all noise around the mechanic ceases. The baby feldrok's muzzle is the first part to restore color and softness to its body, and it seems to be trying to latch onto his finger and the mouth of the leather drinking vessel. Daniel carefully moves his thumb to its mouth, doing his best to carefully feed milk to the infant. He watches its skin pallor shift from a pale, chalk-like white-brown color and texture to a soft, dark grey skin color. He would worry, but Daniel recalls a little tidbit about Polar Bears of all creatures, having black skin under their white, or more accurately, transparent fur, and some animals have skin that roughly matches their fur coats. Assuming all feldroks are black from the sample size that he has, which is limited to Lugrae, Hekate, and the Devourer, this little one may have a naturally dark skin color under the fur that will hopefully grow in.

Moments after its underdeveloped forelimbs or 'arms' are freed from the apparent petrification, the baby paws at Daniel's hand, and he relaxes a fair amount as it hungrily drinks from his makeshift bottle. It's behaving just like the goblin princes and princesses did when they were first born, more precocial than human newborns, but not quite enough to fully feed themselves. Their instincts kick in similar to a human, as well as most mammals, and whatever feldroks might qualify as.

The baby is able to move even more than it did before, but it seems to contentedly entrust its whole being to Daniel, relaxing in his arms as he feeds it the most nutritious substance the mechanic knows of.

I'm sure Ryuo-Mukori will understand, thinks the mechanic to himself.

Hekate finally arrives with Doephluev in a short-range teleport, exclaiming, "Daniel!"

"Shh!" whispers Daniel as he turns, revealing to everyone the small creature in his arms. It startles Hekate and Doephluev, who can likely feel its mana radiating off of it. Even Yaulwembor is still holding back, in spite of her caution for Daniel's safety. The human speaks calmly and softly, "Gold, Neith is capable of casting a silence spell around a small area to contain sound within and prevent external sounds from entering. Are you capable of the same?"

The blonde dragon doesn't answer right away, and the others look at her. "Gold?" asks Daniel again, looking at her. She is terrified of the feldrok infant, looking at it with wide eyes.

"Gold!" whispers Doephluev sharply, which snaps the draconic woman out of her trance.

"Ri-Right! Wait, uh… What?" She glances around at the others, and Daniel repeats his request.

"Can you create a silence sphere around me and this little one? I know Neith can."

"Y-Yes." replies the dragon cautiously. She glances at the others around her, including the soldiers who have lost their leader for the time being, and who are trying to figure out what they need to do with the intruders.

Daniel can see with his own cautious glances that several of the monsters are phase-shifting into something worse. One such being is an apparent mid-transformation dragon whose head has been removed in a messy attack. The room is going to turn into a warzone very soon, and Daniel still has to keep the infant calm.

"We should just evacuate," offers Doephluev correctly.

"I can't risk changing this one's surroundings yet," replies Daniel. "Trust me on this. Doephluev, check on Amalaskae. Hekate, see if you can figure out where Yaulander and Zuzia were teleported to. They were over there." He gestures with his head, and they look, including Yaulwembor, who doesn't understand words.

Gold, frustrated but knowing she can't delay too long, jogs close to Daniel, slowing down a couple of yards away to more cautiously approach. She says over her shoulder, "Hekate, I'll prepare a barrier as well. Inform Yaulwembor that these are all enemies. If you need me, telepathy."

Hekate nods, still confused, but trusting Daniel. She's wary of the feldrok child, just as everyone else is, but the fact that it's no longer shrieking means she can at least leave it to Gold for now. "Daniel, we're REALLY going to talk about this…"

"I know. But, this was the right move. I'm sure of it."

"Grah! Whatever!" She points up at the soldiers, saying, "Prepare to die, you fools!"

The soldiers start to shout, "All intruders! Surrender! We won't abide devils and monsters!"

Hekate begins cackling, and it's the last thing Daniel can hear as Gold finishes her spells, creating a soundproof defensive barrier around them.

Daniel notices that the feldrok baby needs a moment to settle its stomach, and he lifts the water skin away, dabbing its muzzle clean of some dribbled milk. The golden dragon backs towards him as she focuses on the spell, and Hekate is hand-signalling to Yaulwembor, who looks at all of the people and creatures around them. The headless dragon is starting to climb to its feet, and Daniel asks, "Gold…?"

"Leave it to your newest mistress. Or, is that Aramellianna? It's so hard to keep track…"

"Gold," growls the human. This causes the feldrok child to whine, and he coos, "No, no no, sweet child. Not you. Auntie gold is a dum-dum. Shhh…"

The dragon chuckles, shaking her head. Before anything else can happen, Yaulwembor flashes herself to the headless dragon. Daniel turns away to avoid letting the baby see it, but Gold wincing in his peripherals tells him enough. The dragon confirms, "She handled it. Let's just hope she minimizes collateral on us. I'm not exactly the Citadel."

Daniel glances. Only a molten crater remains where the dragon was, though there are also more sprays of blood and an ownerless reptilian arm lying in one of the corners. Magic is raining down around them, splashing silently against the barrier, thankfully, though he hopes the flashes won't agitate the infant. He rocks it gently, humming as warmly as he can manage. He has to distract himself while a battle of magic is occurring around him, lest his heart give out after all of his exhaustion and weariness smothers him. Keeping the baby calm is straining his nerves enough, since it seems to be the most dangerous thing present.

Doephluev approaches the barrier, dragging Amalaskae, and Gold allows her to merge their barriers, which requires a shift in spell. Once inside Gold's barrier, she restores it to normal to conserve mana, and the archoneldwyn sets the goddess down. "Her wounds recovered, Darling, but I don't know enough about her body to heal her. She doesn't have normal mana like the rest of us. Similar to another mutual friend of ours, hmm?"

Daniel nods. It's not openly addressed what Ryukana is for everyone's protection, but she also did tell a few people herself, so it's not a total secret. "Any idea how the monsters are reviving?"

The mechanic notices his archoneldwyn Empress glance at the infant, clearly having suspicions, but not enough evidence. She whispers as it rests peacefully in the human's arms, "My best guess is your newest little… uh… that one… It's producing strange mana, like Kernuules."

The mechanic nods. He doesn't know if he made the right decisions with Kernuules, but he didn't have much choice in the moment. Something is being told to him by the appearance of these strange-mana beings, which as far as he can tell, are simply feldrok children.

So, what's the difference between them and Hekate?

He looks briefly at his fox-eared companion, and she's casting attack magic in return when attacks are launched at her, still trying to also search for the teleportation spell. It's possible for her to follow the teleportation, if it's a spell that's similar to her own, but given the ancient eldritch being that did it, it's possible Hekate won't be able to emulate the spell with her current knowledge.

"Help Hekate and Yaulwembor secure the room. Once I'm sure Star is asleep, we'll retreat and try to get him or her healthy and happy."

Doephluev is quiet for a moment, but she replies, "I understand. But, we may not be able to teleport because of it."

Daniel thinks about it for a moment. "I'll handle it."

She nods, jogging close momentarily to kiss him. She hesitates, but she decides to kiss the baby as well, and she whispers, "I am your kind and loving mother, Doephluev. Sleep well, little baby, and love me and Daniel for a long time." She then moves away to the edge of the barrier, and just before Gold lets the spell down, she does short-range teleportation to leave the protected area. She makes eye contact with an obvious sigh of relief, indicating that she was testing it. He rolls his yes, returning his focus to Star, the little feldrok child. He'll give him or her a proper name once he's certain of the gender.

Before he starts singing again to try to invite peaceful slumber to fidgeting and weary infant, Gold asks quietly, "Harbinger… No, Daniel…?"

"Yes?"

"Why…?" She starts with doubt strangling her question, and she shifts to, "That… Star could have killed you… For all you know, it could… have turned you into one of them." She gestures at the newly mutated monsters, several of which are giving Yaulwembor some trouble, though only because they're piling on her and she's being shot at by Imperial soldiers, which seems to make her nervous, but she's quickly figuring out that their weapons aren't strong enough to penetrate her scales. He'll need to find a way to make her understand that such a thing shouldn't be something she becomes fearless of, but for now, she is proving useful.

"You're right…" whispers Daniel, cradling the infant gently. "But, I didn't hear a monster trying to kill us all. I heard a neglected child crying desperately. I had to kill Kernuules a little over a week ago. I couldn't kill this little one."

Gold is quiet for a moment. Daniel's ears are still ringing a little from the baby's crying, so when she whispers something, he only hears the very last sound of the word; "...ee…."

"I missed what you said, sorry," replies Daniel.

"I called you a softie," retorts the dragon bluntly and instantly. Her tail sways a little as she looks around them. "We'll need to get out of here sooner, rather than later, in case any scouts from elsewhere come to investigate. I think…" She stops when her gaze snaps towards the large opening to the outside. A figure is flying towards them at a high rate of speed, and Hekate and Doephluev notice.

It's a large dragon at full scale; a particularly large male, though easily recognizable to the members of the Fievegal.

Neith is racing towards them, though even Daniel can tell there is an urgency in his movements.

Just when Daniel was hoping everything was wrapping up, the dragon brings dire news.

***