74th of Season of Water, 57th year of the 32nd imperial era

Newt shaped all nine layers of his second realm according to Blackfist's design, rarely leaving the mines. His former prison had suddenly become a refuge, a peaceful place where he could focus on himself without fear of interruption.

The most important discovery he had made during his seclusion was that the runic seals, when arranged into a larger whole, formed complex constructs which empowered its base components. The shocking discovery revealed to Newt just how deep Blackfist's knowledge of seal scribing really was. That, or Newt was so lacking in basics, that he didn't even know constellations of seals were possible.

He also acknowledged the minor possibility that the boost was a fortunate coincidence, but he doubted it. There were so many combinations Blackfist could have made using the same seals, and yet he chose that specific one, repeating it multiple times, all in variations which produced similar results.

With the available work on his realm completed, Newt faced a choice: reach the tenth layer through his own prowess or enter Magmin's realm as he was. Both had their advantages. The former was safer, but Newt might take years to gather the mana, the latter was dangerous, but quick, and the younger one entered the higher realm, the longer they would remain young, the greater their potential.

With his mind made up, Newt ate, slept, and then reached the tunnel hosting the twin ghostly suns. He looked around and confirmed nothing material existed in the air. The walls were no different from anywhere else, made of granite and covered in waste from manarium mining.

Why did I find this and not the great ancestor? Is it fate, chance, or the heaven's joke?

The youth wished to believe he was special, but a more rational part of his person assured him it was dumb luck that gave him his dualcore. With unease, Newt clenched the family heirlooms his teacher had given him. The twin salamandra's fangs forged for third realm mageknights, strong and mana conductive, weapons which should hopefully see Newt through the next two realms.

Newt raised his hand, hesitantly at first, but when he noticed the trembling, he grabbed the lower orb with hardened resolve. He wasn't a coward. He would seize the chances he got and ascend higher than anyone.

Newt's fingertips touched the ethereal star, and in a flash of fire, the dark tunnel disappeared. A massive conflagration surrounded Newt, fires roaring as the world burned in all directions.

This feels wrong, Magmin's voice echoed in Newt's mind.

Newt spun around, searching the skies and the ground, but found no sign of the flying snake. He could barely see a handful of feet in each direction as his skin stung. He activated Magmin Scales, and his discomfort disappeared, but the world remained a dancing sea of red and orange.

"Where are you?"

I'm surrounded by fire, with no control over my body. I can hear some muttering, and the flames around me feel both familiar and wrong. I'm not sure what's happening.

Newt could also tell something was wrong. Try as he might, he couldn't find what was fueling the flames, which meant mana fueled them. A moment later, imbalance in his internal mana formed, and Newt cloaked himself in Granite Crust, both to balance out his mana consumption and to protect himself as he explored the fiery realm.

If the all-encompassing flames really burned mana, it was a large waste of a limited resource. He turned around more slowly, searching for anything out of place, when he noted a patch of flames a yard further away, forming a nearly invisible passage in the blazing sea.

Newt kept his eyes peeled, searching for Magmin, and less than a minute later, he heard a hiss.

"Where are they?" The voice belonged to Magmin. It was deeper and there was an odd note to it which Newt failed to recognize, but it nonetheless gave him the creeps. "I have eliminated seven. The sharpbeak cannot reach me here. It fears flames, but because of my realm's shape, I cannot be certain I have eliminated them all."

Newt froze. His guts told him to run, that the muttering version of Magmin was not a friendly serpent willing to chat with him like it was the first time they met. Their second meeting would be as enemies.

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"Where are they?" Magmin repeated identical words, confirming Newt's guess that something was wrong with the realm's guardian.

The hiss was closer than the last time, and Newt feared he would bump into the serpent, so he retreated and entered the wall of flames. Suddenly, Magmin Scales drew thrice as much mana, and Newt felt the energy drain away from his realm. The loss was acceptable. He could spend half an hour or more sitting inside the fire, but it was still a drain where previously the environment generously offered enough mana to perpetually fuel Newt's unburdened defensive techniques.

Just as he sent an extra surge of earth mana to reinforce his body, a massive head appeared, slithering along the path free of flames. Magmin from Newt's realm had evolved wings, wishing to fly, yet the creature which emerged from the flames had no hint of wings. Instead, it was a massive constrictor snake, four feet thick, and over fifty feet long.

Newt realized that instead of becoming a flying serpent, the original Magmin had evolved into a manabeast titanoboa. The giant serpent flicked its tongue, turning left and right in search of heart demons before it crawled forward again.

A shrill scream came from the sky and Magmin erect itself, while the disembodied voice in the back of Newt's mind shrieked in primal terror. The titanoboa raised its head ten feet above the ground and stared at the sky.

It's back, it's back! The terrified Magmin's voice shook, while the giant constrictor glared at the sky defiantly.

"Come if you dare. Come into my domain of fire, you abominable creature!"

Even though Magmin hissed in the serpent language, Newt could feel his rancor. The lively snake which had reached the peak of the first realm and called itself a genius had become a vitriolic ball of hatred.

The sharpbeak, or whatever the creature had become, cawed a mocking laugh and kept circling above, taunting and driving Magmin mad. Finally, the snake bellowed, and the pterosaur left, snickering.

"I must find the others and eliminate them before I evolve. I won't get any wings, but I can shape my realm so that the damn avian has to crawl down to meet me. I will slay it then, yes, yes." Magmin hissed, and continued its frenzied search.

The danger passed, muttering the same words over and over. Newt left the fire and his mana started recovering a trickle at a time.

What do I do? Newt felt sorry for how Magmin turned out and found himself surprised that the flying serpent residing in his realm was a happy little winged snake. And yet, somehow, the massive titanoboa evolved past its current state and became a mighty magma dragon, eventually soaring through the sky.

"Magmin," Newt whispered, "can you hear me?"

It's back in the sky, and I'm bound to the ground again. It was just a dream, a dream! I never defeated my heart demon, and now it's even stronger than before. The quiet voice wailed in the back of Newt's mind.

"Magmin, calm down." Newt kept his voice low, wanting neither the sharpbeak's nor the titanoboa's attention. "I will help you beat it. We did it before, we can do it again."

No, no! It's hopeless!

Newt tried reassuring Magmin two more times, but the snake stopped responding, leaving Newt with a heavy heart. To leave the realm, he had to do one of two things, defeat the evolved sharpbeak alone, since Magmin obviously wasn't planning on cooperating, or he had to slay Magmin, destroying the realm.

Newt hoped he would find something to further inspire him, to better his realm shaping ability beyond the blueprint Blackfist had supplied, but looking around, that seemed impossible. Magmin's second realm was wholly focused on incinerating the sharpbeak, should the heart demon approach the ground.

That's not all that bad for a saurian manabeast. Even if it wastes mana all the time, a violent realm such as this must have significantly increased Magmin's control over fire, or at least the amount of damage he can deal in a short while.

And since mana beasts feed on others' cores, Magmin growing stronger meant he could eat more often, increasing his realm faster, and making it even more powerful. Newt couldn't tell whether Magmin and the sharpbeak formed a vicious or a virtuous circle, but that hardly mattered. What was important was finding a way to deal with the avian.

The first idea which came to mind was to head for the crater, where he could once more try to cripple the sharpbeak with lava. Once down, Newt could finish it off while it was weakened. The problem was, Newt's visibility varied from a handful of inches to a handful of yards.

He looked around and smiled. The ground was sloped, and going uphill led to the crater. The tactic was uninspired and unoriginal, since he and Magmin had done the exact same thing nearly three seasons ago, but it should do the trick.

One question remained, what to do if Magmin attacked? Newt bit his lip and discarded the distracting thoughts, climbing the volcano and keeping an ear out for an insane titanoboa's mutterings.

What would have happened had we met during its real life? Would Magmin have become a winged serpent instead of a titanoboa if he advanced a realm without heart demons? What is the Magmin from my realm?

Deep in thought, considering the oddities of his realm, Newt reached the edge of the flaming realm and walked straight into solid air. He bounced off an invisible wall and fell on his butt. His mana consumption increased again as he landed into the fire, but Newt swiftly got up and approached the barrier.

He pressed his hands against it, but no matter how hard he pushed, he couldn't pass through. Beyond the invisible wall stood Magmin's first realm of flowing lava and black calcified pines. Newt swallowed a curse. He was stuck in Magmin's second realm with no way of accessing the first.

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