Lamphrey's quarters were just as wrecked as the rest of the city. She'd once stayed in a small chamber of the canal district, sequestered on the Eastern levee under the bridge leading to Sanctum Keep. Fauna couldn't even tell which of the broken onyx rooms carved into the side of the levee was hers anymore. After the angel's attack, the bridge had spilled into the dark waters beneath, but already the Hybrid Geomancers were clearing the place, summoning spells that melted through debris and boulders, their hoods pulled down over their heads in mourning for their lost brothers and sisters – those who had stood at the gates to the Keep and defended the throne of Sanctum from the Lightborn's relentless assault.

They will be honored, Ethan thought as he came to a stop before a small team of them. These Magi are soon going to be the most important of their kind in all of Sanctum.

The leader of the pack was a rather plump Minxit named Cormyr, who greeted the Archon and his honor-guard with a solemn bow, offering his respects to the fallen Lamphrey as Ethan returned his nod.

"At ease," Ethan said. "We are here to take this Tialax back to her home."

Cormyr gave another bow of respect.

"Aye," he said, twitching his whiskers which then rained ashen earth onto the charred ground. "Lamphrey of Sanctum was one of the only Oneiromancers we ever had. Maybe the rest of them saw what would happen here and decided they'd take their chances out there in the world of men."

Ethan regarded the old Minxit but did not rebuke him. Grief governed his thoughts and tongue, as it did all who had seen the devastation brought upon this place.

"If they saw what would rise from the ashes of our victory here," Ethan replied. "They would come flocking to us in droves."

Cormyr managed a smile, though the gesture seemed fleeting.

"We will be there to see it, my Archon," he said. "Come."

With a few of his fellow Geomancers, the old Minxit opened a small passage in the ground – an oval-shaped hole that looked like it was cut with a pair of scissors, allowing the earth to fall away so that he could pass through.

"Chamber 5-B is down there," Cormyr said before he got back to his duties.

Ethan cocked six eyebrows down at him.

"How do you know?"

"Vibrations in the Earth, my Archon. The steps of the living leave traces, like. Traces that a Geomancer can see."

"Only a skilled one," Fauna commented from above.

Cormyr waved away her praise with a heavy sigh and flap of his bulbous arms. "Anyway, it's the quickest way, of that I'm certain."

Ethan nodded his thanks and dropped into the hole.

Bit of a moody one, Sys commented. He ought to show some more respect to his Archon in these trying times.

Don't get cocky, Sys, Ethan replied as he slowly levitated the party down through a much deeper tunnel than he'd expected. We'll need those Geomancers for not only rebuilding, but for fortifying Lucent and keeping it safe from counterattacks.

Thinking the humans would try?

They tried this, didn't they? Even though Arty probably knew I would come and believed he could beat me, he also probably knew most of the Greycloaks would die carving a path through Sanctum. Even a mouse, when cornered, gets desperate. And I'm betting that the remaining servants of Kaedmon probably already know that their Lightborn is dead.

As they came to the end of the tunnel, Sys let out a jovial chuckle that seemed utterly incongruous with everything going on. If Ethan was being honest, his whole attitude was, right now.

Sorry, Sys said. It's just that I would never have thought that you would end up being the one lecturing me on being cautious. Or telling me that I'm being too cocky.

You're not worried at all anymore, are you Sys?

Ethan, there's now nothing to worry about in the slightest. I can personally guarantee that we're the single most powerful being on this planet. And the best part is, you don't even have to fight anymore. With your new ability to possess Hybrids, you could get the remaining 10,435 Cores you need just from switching up between all the Hybrids here. Heck, your core team alone could probably net you at least 5K!

Power isn't everything.

Sys' laughter came again – this time far more incredulous than jovial. Ethan forgot sometimes that Sys was, in the end, a manifestation of his own consciousness just as much as he was a part of this world. Sys was the little bit of himself that had been grafted onto the System of the Archons – with all the memories associated with those creatures of legend.

But he hadn't stopped to consider that Sys was changing too. That Sys had seen more than he'd seen, and that this moment in time was something he'd never even predicted. The victory over Arty must have been akin to a cancer patient getting the 'all clear' after being on terminal status for about a year. Ethan could feel the relief radiating from the entity in a way it never had before.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Sys believed he could now take on the entire world. And win.

And he probably could.

So why did he still feel such dread eating away at his heart?

He focused on the dark expanse that stretched before him now – the frigid cold recesses of the Tialax chambers of Sanctum. Built nearest the only running water the city had, the chambers of the snake-hybrids were a series of winding onyx tunnels dripping with moisture, packed with scratches and odd markings across its walls. Due to the low ceiling and narrow passages down here, Ethan had to use his [Morph] skill to alter his shape – assuming the form of a Tialax Magi.

He then led Tara, Klax, and Fauna – the latter still carrying Lamphrey's body – down towards the chamber Cormyr had mentioned, seeing nothing but deserted halls as they went. The destruction upstairs didn't need to upset this place – the few Tialax that Sanctum held had either slipped away or had been slain ages ago. Ethan and his crew only passed one or two young lizardmen who didn't even notice their passing. Their eyes seemed far away, focused on the black walls of their home.

"Shit," Tara whispered. "This place is even worse than I remember."

"Are they all Oneiromancers?" Ethan asked.

"No," Fauna replied quietly. "All Tialax have a powerful connection to their dreams, but they can't all channel that connection into magic power like Lamphrey. They describe the world of Argwyll as the 'Waking World' and the realm of dreams as the 'Lucid Sea'. Unlike us, they don't believe one to have precedence over the other."

"I can believe that," Ethan admitted. "Even though Lamphrey never did talk much about her people, she definitely didn't see our world as more important than that she saw in our slumbers. More like they were one and the same. She spent enough time in the dreams of Prophets to know that the future of Argwyll depended on both the Waking and Lucid worlds to be in sync."

"And she cared about them both equally," Fauna nodded as they finally came to their destination. "Right to the end."

"Let us not waste her sacrifice then," Klax agreed.

Chamber 5-B stood before them – a rusted, corrugated onyx door that was completely blank. Ethan reached towards its slimy handle with his scaled arm, throwing it open easily.

Inside, Lamphrey's room was no more conspicuous than the door. It was little more than a circular space with a threadbare mat at its East wall and a small series of indents in its center that formed little steps. At the very center of the room lay a few grey stones and bundles of wood used for kindling.

The place was just as unassuming as the woman who had called it home. If you'd asked Ethan to describe Lamphrey's living quarters prior to this discovery, he'd have probably got it dead-on.

Still, there was one member of their team who seemed to sense something strange about this simple abode.

"Listen," Tara hissed. "Do you have to do this right now? Couldn't we leave it till – y'know – things have settled down upstairs?

Ethan told her the truth without turning back: "I have no idea what the limitations on my Possess Dead ability is. Possibly it doesn't work when the mind of the Host has degraded to a certain extent. No – it's best we get this over with right here and now, while she's still got some brain activity left."

Though Ethan realized how macabre this all was, the rest of the team then nodded in agreement.

"Let's lay her down there," he said. "Does anyone know how Tialax are usually put to rest?"

The party looked to Fauna, who had already been considering that very question.

"Normally, they give the burn the body," she said. "It serves as a symbol of the deceased's consciousness joining with the Lucid Sea. Death, for the Tialax, is purely the transferal of their mental state."

"A beautiful idea in a way," Klax said. "I can imagine Jun was quite taken with that notion. It is no wonder she spent so much time with Tialax."

This brought the image of Mistbourne Isle and its Umbral Sisterhood right back to Ethan's mind, and he was given a grim reminder that he'd rather get this over with quickly so he could plan his next moves.

"Alright," he said. "Fauna, open up a shaft in the ceiling so the smoke doesn't clog this place. Tara, Klax – you set her down in the pyre. Once I'm finished, we'll see her off to the world beyond our own."

The work was done quickly. As everyone busied themselves, Ethan prepared. He still hadn't really processed his victory over old Arty. Even now, he didn't yet know what exactly he'd do to the Lightborn. He didn't even feel like gloating. He'd had Arty trundled off to the dungeons that lay beneath his ruined Keep and had him imprisoned there to await his presence.

Right now, his focus was on those old, scaled eyelids that seemed to be staring back at him, even though he knew no consciousness lay behind them anymore.

His hope was that he could at least see the next obstacles in his way. Every time he'd felt powerful, there had always been something to hold him back. Kaedmon had always seemed one step ahead. Now that he had actually communicated with the God, and basically forced Him to concede his greatest champion, he couldn't help but think that this may still just be a part of Kaedmon's grand divine plan. Who's to say that the God of Argwyll couldn't just conjure up five new Lightborns right off the bat now? Who's to say he wouldn't just choose a new champion to lead the rest of this world against his greatest threat?

No – what he was hoping to gain from Lamphrey's mind was a moment of lucidity. A path – or set of paths – that were clear, walkable, and within his reach. A way forward out of the restrictions of Kaedmon's Law so that, when the time came, he really could break it and forge something new. Something better for everyone.

He looked at Lamphrey quizzically as Tara and Klax arrayed the stones and kindling round her, allowing him space to do what he knew he had to do.

He took one look at Fauna before he 'disembarked' from Revok, dispelling his [Morph] and forcing the beast to hunch against the small ceiling to avoid crashing through it.

"She always talked about who the 'real enemy' was," Fauna said as Revok 'powered down'. "This could be your chance to find out exactly what she meant. I think, maybe, the answer's meant only for you."

"Kaedmon," Ethan said. "Surely He's…"

Fauna shook her head slowly. "She didn't think so, Ethan."

His mind raced more at that. Who else could be his opponent if not the God who's Law he was literally brought here to destroy?

"Ethan," Fauna whispered as she removed his hat-form and stepped towards Lamphrey. "Just remember one thing for me, ok? Whatever you see – whatever futures Lamphrey couldn't reveal to us – remember that you, and the choices you make, are at their center."

Ethan rolled his eye up at her.

"The choices we make, Faun," he said. "I'm done thinking that I can do all this alone. From now on, we're a team again. And that goes for you two over there!"

Tara and Klax both managed a grin, even through their still bloody mouths.

"Right," Fauna said with a slight sniff. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Slowly she stepped down to the spot they'd laid Lamphrey down and placed him on her head.

And no sooner had he left Fauna's hands than the entire world of devastation and ruin flashed away.

He was about to look on something far, far worse.

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