"The first step, huh?" Soren sighed as he walked back to his seat. Sitting plainly before the radiant flame, he crossed his arms and locked his gaze at the mysterious fog-like figure sitting opposite of him…

"Explain." He said swiftly.

Noticing the silence, Tazzith sighed. "There really isn't much to say—that amulet… It used to belong to me."

"It was yours?" Soren frowned. Although he expected such an answer, having it confirmed didn't really rest well with him… After all, that item had been stuck in that location for longer than a thousand years by now.

"Indeed," Tazzith confirmed. "That amulet is actually my heart."

Soren's brows lifted, but he decided to not say anything. The old demon continued, "As you may know, us Spirits are not able to fully manifest ourselves into the real world. We remain partially fixed within the axis of the Beyond, even if our interactions can 'cross' into the domain of the natural world.

"Our Spirit Bodies… They are nothing more than an amalgamation of influence—Astral Anima gathered together through the concept of an Abstract Rune… And on rare occasions, that influence can create 'life.' That is how a spirit is born."

Soren nodded. "But what does this have to do with that blood amulet? Clearly that is a physical object?"

Tazzith smiled eerily—a shiver ran down Soren's spine.

"That amulet… It contains a portion of my Abstract Rune. One of the pieces that were left behind after that cursed battle… It had likely solidified into a Sacred Treasure."

As He said this, the old demon sighed and glanced up at the radiant dome of the marble canopy.

"Roughly one thousand one hundred years have passed since I lost my powers… As I am currently stuck within the Subterranean Shunning Grounds, the seals and wards binding me do not allow me to resume control of these missing pieces, even though my authority over them is absolute.

"A husk—that is what I have become. A will without a vessel to command. Of course, all of that will change the moment you help me." He raised his arm, as if to offer his emptiness to be filled.

Obviously, Soren saw through the theatrics. For him, pitying an ancient demon was as likely as the moon embracing the sun.

"You mentioned something interesting there—that Blood Amulet… it's a Sacred Treasure? Does that not mean it also possesses its own will?"

Tazzith chuckled, "Most likely… And that is a good thing! That tiny spark of consciousness within it will be the anchor of my return."

As He explained his plan, Soren felt his lips sinking more and more… It wasn't the fact that a majority of what he had said was nonsense… Quite the opposite actually. It was the fact that he was in agreement.

Tazzith's plan made too much sense.

"So let me get this straight," he crossed his arms while glancing directly at Him. "You want to use this fragmented consciousness inside the Blood Amulet as a way of transporting your will inside of it?.. How the hell would we ever achieve that? The Subterranean Shunning Grounds are no joke—that entire facility remains anchored in the Beyond and is powered entirely by the Spirit Blossom Willow… You do realize that we are dealing with a Forgotten Rune, right?"

Tazzith laughed then leaned forward against the round table. "Simple, really. To deal with a Forgotten Rune, we must use one of our own…"

Soren's eyes widened in shock. A part of him wanted to laugh at the absurdity, but he kept his composure. Tazzith's insuanation was fairly obvious—He was referring to [The Faerie Court].

Frustratingly, he found no way to disagree with His assessment. With the ability to create anchors, Soren was able to bypass the restrictions placed on Tazzith—allowing Him to possess a temporary avatar within this space. So why would it be any different if He were to instead, possess that Blood Amulet permanently once it was brought with him here?

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Since the amulet holds the same abstract rune as Tazzith, merging with that fragmented will inside of it should come at no cost to Him. In fact, it was more accurate to say that it was simply just a piece belonging to a larger whole. Since that 'fragment' of Himself was not within the boundaries of the Subterranean Shunning Grounds, escape should be fairly easy…

"Still," Tazzith interrupted, "I don't wish to merge with it immediately. That Blood Amulet only contains enough rune fragments for me to regain a tenth of my strength… If I were to escape with only that piece, the enemies of my past would swarm at the opportunity to deal with me."

Soren rubbed his chin then leaned back against his seat and sighed. "So you simply want me to steal it for now… I suspect you're going to ask me to gather more of these 'pieces', right?"

"Indeed…" He replied instantly. "However, do not be mistaken—this is still beneficial to you. That amulet… You may use it as you like until the day of my return arrives."

Soren couldn't help but smile. "There we go… Finally saying what I wanted to hear."

Tazzith chuckled. "As expected…"

Before he could finish, Soren interrupted once again, "This is neat and all, but how exactly am I supposed to even obtain it? I've said this before—the preparations necessary for such a task won't be easy to accomplish. Aside from the timing and overall strategy, one mystery still remains—finding a way to break it out of its sealed position… Not even the churches were able to accomplish that."

"Ah yes… That seal." Tazzith spoke in regal tone as he leaned back against his seat. The flickering fog within its form clashing against the radiant light of the flame…

"You do not need to worry about that. When the time comes, simply call upon my name and I will do what is required…"

Although the wording sounded suspicious, Soren decided not to question it. There were more important things to worry about.

"Tazzith—I still must ask… That amulet of yours is the reason why that Safe Zone exists, correct? Wouldn't removing it endanger everyone there?"

There was a moment of silence before Tazzith finally shifted His hollow eyes back toward him. His lips curled up, as if imagining the carnage their actions would soon cause…

"Will my answer to that question change the intended outcome?"

The question was rather simple, but immensely loaded. Soren remained silent for a while—not out of contemplation but simply to gauge Tazzith's reaction.

Eventually, he sighed. "No. Not really."

Tazzith chuckled, "Then it is pointless to even answer that question." He shrugged. "Though, If I must tell you one thing—be sure to not get caught. Especially not by that fellow named Rodrick. I will try to assist you as much as I can with my anima, but it may not be enough… Prioritize escaping."

Soren scoffed, "As if I didn't already know that… My [Eyes of the Fairy] can somewhat predict when the next dungeon shift will occur. I will try to use that to my advantage."

Tazzith nodded. "I assume that will be all for this meeting?"

Soren stood up and stretched. "Yes—I will contact you again later… In the meantime, I will try to research a new spell for me to use… Possibly something in the 2nd Circle."

As the ancient demon's figure slowly unraveled itself, He glanced at Soren's figure keenly and laughed.

"As impatient as ever, it seems. May fate blow its winds in your favor."

Soren shook his head, "As if that will ever happen."

Soren returned to his room from within the abyssal vortex, landing softly on the red carpet once more… Nothing had really changed aside from his desk items slightly being moved. He attributed it to Myrin who had likely already returned and noticed he was gone.

I wanted to finish before he arrived back… I guess I'll have to come up with an excuse. He thought as he walked toward the door of his room.

Walking briefly through the lit up corridor, he finally made it to Myrin's room which was adjacent to his. Soren knocked three times before hearing a voice from inside:

"Come in!~"

Soren turned the knob and entered inside. What reflected in his eyes was Myrin. The young elf wasn't wearing his usual robe and was standing before a mirror, brushing his hair.

"Where have you been?" He asked loosely.

"Got bored. Took a walk around the ruins," Soren answered with a shrug, as if it were the most mundane thing in the world. He crossed the room and collapsed onto the sofa. "What about you? Did you manage to sell everything we brought with us?"

Myrin nodded while brushing a few strands behind his ear. "Pretty much. I got help from a fellow dungeon explorer. He seemed very thankful to you for saving him during the Dungeon Break."

"Oh yeah?" Soren leaned back and sighed. "I don't really remember contributing much—all I did was run and hide."

Myrin shook his head. "The explorers were all separated back then due to how unexpected the attack was… Without your instructions to those who survived, the chaos would have likely engulfed the entire town. Don't disparage yourself."

Soren rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll take your word for it I guess…"

The conversation died there. Soren returned his attention back to the spellforms he had [Record]ed into his Soul Weapon, while Myrin quietly finished brushing the last of his hair. The silence stretched—long and unbroken.

Finally, he heard the Soothing Bard sigh:

"Soren, be honest. You're planning something crazy again, aren't you?"

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