The journey back to the Shadow Isles took nearly half a day. Compared to their trip to the HeartForge, the trip through the desert was much easier this time.

While they were still occasionally attacked by Sand Beasts, they handled them very easily using their new weapons.

During all of this, the carriage continued onwards, rattling softly over the blackened earth and ash dunes, the Spectral Horses galloping in eerie silence as their hooves barely touched the sandy ground.

The heat of the HeartForge had long faded from the air, replaced by the cool breath of the outer deserts. Above them, the sky was bruised purple and red, the aftermath of a setting sun fighting the coming storm.

Inside the lead carriage, the group sat in a loose quiet, their earlier excitement about Vorago tempered by the continuous battles and the long hours of travel.

Albedo had leaned slightly against the window, his platinum-blonde hair catching faint silver reflections from the mana-lamps as he watched the horizon ripple in heat and shadow.

Finally, after their long trip, the carriages crested on a black dune, and the lanescape split open to signify that the group were returning to the area of the Shadow Isles which was shrouded in perpetual twilight, mist rising and cloaking the city.

At last, the carriages crested a black dune, and the landscape ahead split open into a breathtaking view.

The carriages descended the slope and passed through the old gates that marked the isles' border, twisted archways carved from obsidian and bone, glowing faintly with purple runes.

The group of carriages finally pulled up right outside of the Veiled Lantern Inn, and Ysvara immediately stepped out, her silver hair shimmering faintly in the dim light, inhaling the cold air as she spoke.

"We'll stop here for a few hours," she said, turning toward the group as they disembarked one by one, "You can rest, stretch, eat, whatever you need. But we're not staying the night."

Zeus cracked his shoulders, sighing, "You're kidding. We've been riding all day."

"I am not," Ysvara replied without turning. "We still need to reach Asthotar City by dawn. It's the only city close enough to maintain a functioning teleportation nexus to the Vorago perimeter. Any delay will push us into rougher tides."

Lucian hopped down from the carriage, brushing sand from his cloak. "Asthotar… that's a demon port city, right?"

"Correct," Ysvara said. "It serves as the last civilized point before the Demonic Sea. We'll use one of their military-grade teleportation circles to arrive near the descent zone."

Zeus groaned, dragging his hands down his face, "So no sleeping?"

"Maybe on the carriage, that's what I do when I visit Asthotar, trust me, you want to be wide awake as the sight of the Demonic Sea is incredible," Lilian murmured as she stepped down behind him, adjusting her black cloak.

Ysvara clapped her hands once, drawing everyone's attention once again, "We'll leave in four hours. Rest, eat, and handle any unfinished business you have here. Asthotar won't wait for us."

With that, she turned and began speaking quietly with one of the operators at the Inn, a crimson-skinned demon with etched metallic horns.

As the group dispersed, Lilian brushed a strand of dark hair from her face and sighed. "I'm going to check out Vex. She should have gotten her shipment by now."

Albedo decided to follow Lilian, and the duo quickly arrived at Vex's stall. The stall looked similar, still having various tiny trinkets and orbs filled with various liquids or glowing strangely, the air shimmering all around the stall.

This time, before the duo could even speak, Vex's two, luminous green eyes opened and stared at them, narrowing as she recognized the duo and sighed, "Oh, you two are back,"

The short being appeared before them, shifting her cloak as she stood on the table, looking into their eyes as she spoke, "Want anything?"

"Did you get a new shipment? We'd like to see if there's anything we want," Lilian asked, and Vex nodded droopily.

Vex's sigh came out like a hiss of steam as she raised one small hand and snapped her fingers and as soon as she did that the air around the stall shimmered greatly.

Reality began to ripple as if it was disturbed by a pebble thrown into water, and the shadows all around them deepened. Simultaneously, the black fabric of Vex's stall bloomed outward like a flower of smoke, and shelves upon shelves of strange artifacts slid into view from the darkness.

From suspended glass globes and whispering crystals, to bone pendants humming faintly with mana, and several vials filled with luminous liquid that seemed to breathe in rhythm with unseen hearts.

"New shipment," Vex murmured, her tone flat, though her eyes gleamed faintly with pride. "Fresh from the Deep Bazaar, there's surely something here that you'll like,"

Lilian tilted her head, intrigued, her red eyes darting over the collection, "You've outdone yourself this time," she said softly, stepping forward to examine a cluster of obsidian shards floating in a jar of faint blue vapor. "These look like Abyssal fragments."

"They are," Vex said. "Stabilized. Mostly."

"Mostly?" Albedo asked dryly as he looked at her, knowing the great danger that came with anything even tangentially related to the Abyss.

Vex shrugged. "Enough to not explode. Usually."

Lilian exhaled through her nose, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Good enough for you, maybe," she muttered. Then she turned toward Albedo and said, "Alright, go ahead. Pick something. I'll pay."

Albedo blinked, glancing at her, "You'll pay?"

"Mhm." Lilian crossed her arms, though her expression softened. "You've done more than enough lately. Think of it as… a thank you gift."

"Or a bribe," Vex mumbled under her breath.

Lilian gave the little vendor a sharp look. "What was that?"

"Oh Nothing," Vex replied immediately, tail flicking lazily, "I just know you well to know you don't do things without wanting something else,"

"Shush Vex, I liked you better when you didn't speak so much," Lilian said, exaggerating her anger which caused a very small smile from Vex.

Albedo chuckled, shaking his head. "Alright then." He stepped closer, scanning the display. "Let's see what catches my eye."

He walked past glowing talismans and eerie trinkets until something faintly pulsing with blue light drew his attention, a small pendant shaped like a fractured crystal tear, faintly humming with internal resonance. Its glow flickered softly, echoing like a heartbeat.

"What's that one?" he asked, nodding toward it.

Vex leaned forward, her hood shifting as she followed his gaze. "That's the Echo Tear. Records all the sound that is around it. You can play it back whenever you like. Useful for spies or sentimental reasons."

Albedo reached out and held it carefully. The crystal was cool against his palm, yet it almost seemed alive. He smiled faintly. "I'll take it."

"Good choice," Vex said. "Doesn't bite."

Lilian snorted softly, then glanced across the table, something else catching her attention. It was a ring, thin and dark, its metal etched with tiny runes that shimmered whenever she looked away. "What about this?" she asked, lifting it.

Vex's eyes brightened. "That's a Warding Loop. Generates a small mana barrier around the wearer's hand. Stops minor curses and hexes. Or rude handshakes."

"Rude handshakes?" Albedo echoed, grinning.

"You'd be surprised," Vex replied solemnly.

Lilian slipped it onto her finger. The runes pulsed faintly, a soft lavender glow threading between them. She nodded once, "I like it. We'll take both."

Lilian quickly paid what Vex wanted calmly, showing how adept they were at doing business with each-other, and Vex smiled as she received her payment, "Pleasure doing business. Try not to die."

As they turned to leave, Albedo slipped the pendant around his neck. "Thanks for paying," he said casually, glancing sideways at her.

Lilian shrugged, though the faint pink rising to her cheeks betrayed her. "It's nothing. You've done enough for all of us, really. Consider it… fair."

Albedo tilted his head slightly, smiling in that quiet, teasing way of his. "You know," he said, voice low and smooth, "you're already starting to sound like my girlfriend."

Lilian froze mid-step. Her crimson eyes widened, and the faint flush on her cheeks deepened into a vivid scarlet. "W–What?" she sputtered, turning sharply toward him. "I–I'm not,"

Albedo chuckled under his breath, the soft sound echoing in the cool twilight. "Relax. I was joking."

Lilian crossed her arms, glaring at him, though her ears were still tinted pink. "You're impossible."

"Maybe," he said, stepping past her toward the faint glow of the inn, "but you didn't deny it."

Lilian groaned quietly, muttering something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like "I hate him."

But when she glanced at his back, the way his platinum-blonde hair caught the faint light of the Shadow Isles, and the easy, quiet confidence in his stride, she couldn't help the faint curve at the corner of her lips.

Vex watched them from her stall, head tilted slightly, her tail flicking idly.

"Hopeless," she murmured to herself, before vanishing back into the shadows.

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