Uriel’s eyes widened slightly.

It all finally made sense.

’She knew... from the beginning...’

Her words rang in his mind again.

...

["I raised you to be strong. To be unbreakable. Because I foresaw the times to come. You will not break, and you will not yield."

"Understood?!"]

...

A smile full of sorrow bloomed across Uriel’s features, a sigh escaping his lips, carrying with it years of emotion, just as his eyes glossed over ever so slightly and his vision blurred.

’Of course. I am her Achilles heel. Of course.’

He didn’t know if he should laugh or cry.

The thoughts in his mind were many. He wondered if he’d always been that to her—a burden she needed to carry, if he’d always been a weakness she sought to erase.

Had she ever thought of killing him, simply to rid herself of him? Was this why she tortured him so much as a child?

Was it to find a way to safely kill him, or was it to make sure he was unkillable, and thus not a weakness?

So far, her cruelty had paid off. Uriel had survived more than a dozen encounters he was supposed to die in, purely due to her teachings.

But was that it?

Was that the only extent of the relationship he had with his only family member left alive?

’A lamb.’ The echo of Thoryl’s words made him chuckle.

Lucianna saw the clash of emotions in his gaze, and the corner of her lips couldn’t help but quirk upward.

But she wasn’t done.

"The thing, though, is that death for people like her is different. Rather than being final, for her, it would be transitional."

"The issue is where she’d be going, and you are that determining factor. With you, they’d be able to condemn her to eternal agony in hell, eternal madness in Tartarus, and who knows what else."

Silence followed her words.

Emrys couldn’t help but look toward Uriel, but when he only saw him softly smile, he felt his heart nearly stop.

"They?" Uriel asked.

Lucianna shook her head. "On that front, I have no idea. That woman is hated by too many people for me to count."

"The people coming after you could be, truly, anyone. You were handed the short end of the stick, bud bud."

Uriel nodded again. "Thank you."

He still remained with many questions, but the bulk of his worries were solved.

A major thorn in his heart had been his grandmother’s state, wherever she was imprisoned. But now that he knew none could harm her for as long as he didn’t fall into the wrong hands, he wasn’t worried.

The matters of the Spire, though, didn’t bother him whatsoever. It was water under the bridge, truly insignificant and useless.

He exhaled.

"So, Lucianna, who are you? Are you part of the Circle? Did you know me? What’s the deal with Kael? Are you trapped here?"

The questions came one after another, without giving her time to answer.

"If you do not care about my plight, then why did you lure my little fox here?"

He turned to the palace in the distance, which even after walking for so long, they were still far from. His gaze then went past the palace and toward the brazier.

"Is that why?"

Lucianna smiled, but remained silent for long moments.

All that filled the silence was the echo of their steps rippling across the crystal-glass body of water they walked on.

Eventually, though, she did speak again.

"Nothing is ever final," she began. "I said you’d die in that Spire, but sometimes death isn’t as grim as mortals see it. Sometimes, death opens doors that mortality bars you from."

Her smile faded, and she exhaled deeply.

"I also said that you were a living weakness, the chink in the armor of one of the world’s most powerful figures."

"But even that Fate can be avoided, just as death can."

She pointed at the Ivory Jade Palace in the distance.

"You see this palace? If you bind it to your abode, it’ll help you rid yourself of your path’s corruption and help you advance in your path related to Laws."

"But, more importantly, within that palace, there is a dormant... thing. A thing you left behind. If you defeat it, then eat it, you will survive what happens in the Spire."

Her smile returned. "That does not guarantee success or smooth sailing, but it does guarantee that, unless you kill yourself, you probably won’t die."

Uriel’s gaze narrowed. ’Something I left behind?’

After what his past self had done to his runic scar, Uriel wasn’t sure if he was even supposed to trust his past self and any memento he left behind.

’But that also, perhaps, begs the question: did he shatter my scar because, at the time, it was already corrupting my path, because it was limiting me, or did he do it out of spite?’

He wasn’t sure.

"And that brazier. Oh my, that truly is a gift. If you go within it and evolve, you’ll be in for a great surprise—well, two surprises. As both the flame and the brazier are special."

Uriel eyed the burning dark flame.

"Who left this here? Is it me again?"

Lucianna awkwardly laughed. "No, not really."

She looked away, almost embarrassed.

"That’s... something I stole from someone. But I’m sure they won’t mind. Hopefully. I mean, as long as you use it fast, it should be fine."

She swallowed hard. "I think. Maybe."

’A palace to solve the corruption of my path and help me with my rings.’

’A brazier and flame fit for my evolution, which should reawaken my sparks and apparently grant me a surprise...’

He shook his head.

’...and an enemy I have to defeat that can guarantee my life in the Spire...’

He stopped walking and looked at Lucianna. By now, they weren’t far from the palace.

Lucianna stopped as well, turning to stare at him. "What is it?"

"I’m going to, for now, ignore the sudden convenience of it all and the almost prophetic timing of it, and assume it to be a result of your strange abilities."

He took a deep breath in.

"So, what’s the price I have to pay for all this?"