His expression darkened.

And in turn, the aether of the world embodied his emotions—his raging will and roaring intent—the air growing heavy, the darkness of the forest deepening.

Samael felt chills run down his spine. ’Did I anger him that much? No way...’

Uriel, though, didn’t pay attention to him, sinking even deeper into his own mind.

He replayed every single one of his memories, focusing on his talks with his grandmother, Mariah, Ophanis, and anything in between that could make sense of the fresque he was forming in his mind.

But he wasn’t getting anywhere.

For every piece of truth he uncovered, a thousand more shards of falsehood and mystery revealed themselves, the scope of the madness sprawling around him growing by the second.

It made no sense, and he couldn’t understand.

’What is everyone trying to hide from me?!’

The thought carried such deep and violent intent that his moons shook, mistaking his own thoughts for a mental attack.

Their cool silver flows wrapped around his psyche and soothed him, extinguishing the flame that nearly consumed his soul.

He took a breath, then calmed down. His gaze steeled, and he made a decision.

A decision that none would be able to make him change.

’I’ll ascend the Spire.’

...

The duo silently made it back to Kael after a couple hours of walking.

Reaching the city’s high walls, they passed through a checkpoint where their identity was verified and their activity logged in by a unit of soldiers and guardians.

Evidently, Uriel had no sort of identification or traces that could explain his appearance or disappearance, but thankfully, Samael had taken care of it.

"..."

They smoothly re-entered Kael, finding its streets mostly empty, most stalls and shops closed down due to the torrential rain that poured endlessly.

They walked along the sidewalks lining the streets, hugging the rows of wooden buildings as aether-fueled chariots streaked by from time to time.

SHI!

Their wheels splattered against the muddy puddles that had formed on the main road.

It was almost silent, the deafening echoes of rain muting all sound.

And yet—

"KIH!"

As they made their way, a soft squeak suddenly echoed in their ears. Before Samael could react or find the source of the sound, he saw an ivory streak rush toward Uriel and crash into him.

But as he expected him to stagger back from the impact, his eyes widened.

’A fox?’

The ivory streak had been a small white fox, with two tails and a little face as adorable as it was mischievous.

"You okay, bud?" Uriel smiled as he held Emrys in his palm and stroked his fur.

A while back, mere moments after they’d entered Kael, the little guy had gotten his attention stolen by something. It had apparently been so important that the fox decided to venture out on his own.

Letting Emrys go alone had worried Uriel quite a bit, but by now, Emrys wasn’t that far away from him in terms of strength, so he’d been able to cope with it.

The little fox had nearly killed him not that long ago, and since then, he’d gotten even stronger. His fears were more than unfounded, they were ridiculous.

"Kih?" Emrys rubbed his head against his palm and softly purred, the exhaustion in his body evident to Uriel.

"Yeah, I’m okay," Uriel laughed. "A couple fights here and there, a couple breakthroughs. But nothing major. You didn’t miss much."

Emrys jumped from his palm, landing on his shoulder, but just as he was about to nestle himself there, he noticed Samael and curiously eyed him.

"Kih?" Emrys tilted his head.

Samael smiled and stepped closer. "Hey, I’m Samael. Nice to meet you."

Unsure if he could pet Emrys, Samael decided to extend a palm. He couldn’t help but smile as Emrys paused, then also extended his paw toward him.

The two awkwardly shook hands.

Uriel grinned at the sight. "That’s Samael. We’ll be working with him for a little while. He’ll help us get out."

Uriel turned to Samael. "Are you going back to the inn or—"

His words seemed to remind Emrys of something.

"KIH! KIH! KIH!" The little fox immediately became agitated.

Uriel looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What? Are you sure?"

Originally, Uriel had simply assumed Emrys had gone off to devour something he felt would be helpful to his evolution.

That was the only thing he could imagine being able to obsess the little guy so much. All he could do was hope it wasn’t some poor soul he’d be devouring.

But apparently, he was wrong.

Very wrong.

"Kih! KIH! KIH... Rah!" The little fox continued, his paws waving in the air as he tried to best explain what he’d encountered.

The more Emrys spoke, the more Uriel’s eyes widened.

On the side, Samael stood confused. Both because he’d never seen Uriel be so shocked by anything, but also because he couldn’t possibly understand how the two communicated.

’Does he have some sort of beast communication talent?’

Samael shook his head, a pang of envy racing across his mind. ’Just how many abilities do the Magi have?’

"Samael."

Uriel’s voice snapped Samael out of his daze. He focused on him, and upon meeting Uriel’s gaze, he could feel the seriousness of the situation.

"Yes?"

Uriel ran a hand through his hair, then exhaled. "I have something urgent to do, so you’ll have to stay alone at the inn for a bit."

"It shouldn’t take long, but there’s a high chance I’ll be gone anywhere from a couple of days to a month. It depends though—best case, I’m back in a couple of hours."

Samael’s eyes widened, and he instantly shook his head, vehemently refusing. "There’s no way in hell I’m staying at Korynth’s alone for that long!"

"No damn way!"

Uriel flashed an apologetic smile. "Yeah, I know you don’t like her, but your brother has her under control. You don’t need to—"

"Let me come with you!" Samael suddenly said.

Uriel shook his head. "No, I can’t. It might be dangerous, and I don’t—"

"That was part of the deal," Samael protested. "You had to protect me for a week, until we started ascending the Spire!"

"Are you going back on your word already?!" Samael shot back, his tone rising, his chest heaving as he spoke.

The passion in his voice took Uriel by surprise. It was almost like the thought of being alone horrified him.

Uriel could understand his unease with Korynth, but she was under control. More than that, what could have possibly changed between now and before Uriel had arrived in the Wildlands?

Surely he’d been able to live alone before. Was there something he was missing?

’Why the hell is he so...’