Lexie's head hurt.

It more than hurt. It felt like her brain was splitting into two.

The minute she activated the card, she was shoved into a plane, with such mind-twisting dimensions that it physically hurt her to try to understand them. Spherical doorways within doorways, worlds existing within each other, opposing each other, yet coexisting all the same.

She closed her eyes instantly because looking at it made her brain feel like it was going to explode. The madness rippled through her body, vibrating her cells, even as she struggled to breathe.

"You dare?" The Great Old One, Yasycht, spoke softly, and though he did not scream like the last Old One she'd faced, the impact was more potent. Lexie felt like her chest was caving in. She despaired because she instantly knew that she could not defeat him. It was intrinsic knowledge, like prey acknowledging a predator. She didn't even know where she would start to fight back.

Yet, something within Lexie still fought for dominance. She would never be prey. Not even if it killed her.

She pushed all her mana into her soul card, strengthening it, releasing it into a burst of light in the atmosphere. The Great Old One stilled, sensing the card, drawn to it.

"Interesting…" It rumbled as it got closer. Lexie felt the sensation of being picked up, held higher and higher, as everything became sharper.

"Stop," she gasped. "If I go any further, I think I'll die."

"You're not ready yet."

"Not ready for what?"

"Not ready for what you are trying to do," Yasycht said. "You are the spawn of Naem, spawn of Nabrycht. Naem told me you would come. I am not to kill you, but I will not coddle you either." He paused. "Your mission will benefit us both."

"I don't have a mission," Lexie responded. "I simply want to go home."

No. That wasn't what she wanted.

She didn't want to go back where she came from. There was nothing for her there.

She wanted to go to the Other, and then she wanted to go meet Naem.

She wanted to slay him, and she wanted to be the Eldritch Lord above all the other Lords.

That was what she was meant for.

"I want to go to the Other," she said. "I want to be out of this dungeon."

"You are not ready yet," he said. "You are not ready to wield my power, and if you try again without being ready, Young One, you will die. I am Yasycht, the One of All Worlds. The Gate and the Key. For now, the Gate Without The Key."

"Where is it?" Lexie asked.

"That is not important right now," he said. "If you are not worthy, you will not win, and we will all be doomed."

"Why are you speaking in parables?" Lexie was getting increasingly annoyed. Here she was with the headache of a lifetime, and the thing was speaking just to hear itself talk. "If my mission is beneficial to you, then why won't you help me?"

"I am not made to help or harm. Simply to observe. I am the Gate Without The Key. I only reveal what is there, transitioning you from one end to another. I cannot tell you whether to move forward or backward. I am only the door."

So that meant that he was not going to help her get out of here. He was entirely useless to her.

"You are just as temperamental as Neqal," Yasycht continued. "I understand, since you are both hybrids. He also searches for my key. But it is hard to recover."

"If he never found it, then how does he wield your powers?" Lexie asked. "How does he control the dungeons, and how does he keep you imprisoned though you are stronger than he is?" At least Lexie guessed he was stronger. He felt more powerful than even Naem.

"Neqal accesses my power through a ritual of worship. He has tied his soul to mine, so I may work through him. But his method will be difficult for you. You can do something similar with your power. But you are not ready."

Lexie swallowed and nodded. It burned to admit, but she knew it was the truth.

She wasn't ready.

She wanted to get ready. The power that this creature had was incredible. It would give her access to all the worlds she wanted.

She could wreak as much havoc as she wanted.

Or...you could go home.

Lexie ignored the thought. She did not want to go home. She wanted power, the power to get in and out of anywhere she wanted at will.

"I want to be ready," she said. "How do I get ready?"

"Grow your power," it told Lexie and said, "Gather followers. Return. Bond with me. Then you will be free. And so will I."

That last sentence sounded ominous, and it was accompanied by laughter that sent a chill down her spine.

Then she was flung from that plane, and she crashed down on the ground.

The school ground.

It hadn't worked. She hadn't passed the test.

She heard sounds and screaming, but she ignored them. She couldn't do anything about it now, since she was too weak to move. She blacked out.

***

The next time she woke up, it was on grass. The air smelled of blood, but there was also the scent of trees and fresh herbs. Her body, particularly her head, stung, but she was relieved to be awake again.

She sensed Ryn and Little Fae beside her and asked, "How long have I been asleep?"

"Not long," Ryn answered casually as she mixed herbs in the air. "Your brain was split open. It was very unattractive, and it traumatized the humans."

"Have you stitched me back together?"

Ryn nodded. "If I were home, I would use better material, sturdier material that would not get damaged as easily. As it is, I have to continue using your Humanoid-Eldritch material over and over again."

"What else happened?" Lexie asked. "How did we get out?" Lexie knew that her way had not worked because she hadn't been able to control Yasycht or use his power. So it meant that they were out thanks to Ryn.

"You owe our escape to me," Ryn said. "You were right that I was meant to serve a different purpose than you. I was meant to find the order in the disorder, as the Fae do."

"What does that mean?"

"After your death, the humans panicked. They would have destroyed themselves had I not come along. They thought I was an angel. I convinced them that I knew you and I would bring you back to life if they worked with us."

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"Worked with you to do what?"

"To find the order. More loopers were continuously activated, but it was not random. There is a game in my world called Lypaj, and it reminded me of it. The position of the loopers mattered, and they must be in the right orientation before the final run through. So I had to task the humans with first getting the loopers in the right position and then activating them in the right order."

"Then?" Lexie asked. "What happened?"

"Then, an earthquake hit, and the walls crumbled. We were free."

"I see."

Ryn paused. "This is the perfect moment for you to express gratitude."

"No."

"You would still be in the maze if not for me."

"I'm the one who discovered what the maze was, and I also discovered the doorway held access to Yasycht."

"Yes, and that ended up with you dead."

"Only because I wasn't ready." She had to be ready next time. She had to grow her power and mature as an Eldritch in this hell until she could wield Yasycht.

However, it wasn't just about maturing as an Eldritch.

She also had to grow whatever human power was encased in that soul card.

Why had Naem not told her about the incredible power of the card? She recalled asking him about the card, and he'd pretended like he had no idea what it did. Maybe he didn't know exactly, but its potential, its ability to draw from and transform her human soul into magic, was amazing.

It felt different from her Eldritch magic. It felt softer, and whenever she used it, she felt her humanity bloat.

She could feel it now like a sore, and she remembered her brother and the way he'd hugged her.

There were messages on her phone.

She would not read them now.

She had to get busy growing her power.

Then she would be ready.

Ready for what she wasn't sure. She would either move backwards or forward.

Forward, the louder voice said

Backward, the quieter voice countered.

She wondered which one Naem hoped for.

Lexie assumed Naem was the one behind the amended tests. He was in contact with Yasycht, and he'd convinced him to help prepare her to achieve whatever Naem wanted her to achieve.

Her evolution.

The tests would evolve her.

And she would also need to collect followers along the way.

She stared at Ryn for some time. Did her soul card also work on non-Eldritch creatures?

She held out her hand. "May I hold your hand, Ryn?"

Ryn cocked her head. "Is this a gesture of friendship and gratitude?"

"Yes," Lexie said, inherently disgusted with the lie.

Ryn bought it and took Lexie's hand.

Lexie activated the soul card and stared at the Fae to see what the effect would be.

Ryn flinched and tried to withdraw her hand, but Lexie held on, flooding her with the light.

Instantly, she saw hieroglyphs popping in the air, names, symbols, all woven together. Lexie saw her name, too. She saw it weaving through the air, into her chest, to her soul.

So that was how she did it. Curse weaving through names that were connected to the soul. That was interesting. How exactly did that work?

Lexie explored some more as Ryn remained frozen, learning the feel of each thread. There was a lot about it she didn't understand, but it felt extremely malleable. She took the thread that was attached to her and snapped it off on both ends. Then she reversed it, clumsily weaving the thread between them once more, but in the opposite direction.

She didn't know if it would work, but she was starting to feel the strain, so she let go.

Ryn gasped for breath.

"What did you do?" Ryn asked her as she caught her breath.

Lexie practiced. She thought about killing Ryn, suppressing the familiar thrill at the thought.

But nothing happened. No pain, and she didn't end up in the ground.

She had successfully reversed the magic.

Lexie was elated.

She realized now that her card could affect and reorient light even for the non-Eldritch, and light did not just refer to the guiding force. It also referred to the magic of clarity. It gave her a visual understanding of how Ryn's magic worked, and it allowed her to use some of it, albeit not as well. She didn't truly understand what the magic was, after all, but she hadn't had much time to explore. If she got to study it more, then she would possibly make cards that could do the same thing Ryn did.

She could do so much with this.

The power was addictive.

Could she draw from Ryn, too, like she'd done with the other Eldritch? Was this how she gained power? Could she take over the world like this?

No, it was too early to celebrate. Ryn had not been guarded against her, and that was why it was easy. It would be more difficult to do this on stronger Eldritch and Fae.

She needed to start with the smaller ones. She would work her way up from there. And then maybe her body wouldn't break apart when she faced bigger Eldritch.

Lexie sighed.

She had died many times. And it looked like she would die even more times.

But at the end, she would be reborn and rise from the ashes like a Phoenix. She would become something beyond her wildest imagination.

***

"Are you sure about this?" Tate said, doubtfully glancing down at the black pool on the bed.

They were in Aiden's bedroom, newly soundproofed, and Aiden was set to stand at the door, keeping watch while Tate transformed.

"Yes," Aiden said. He looked sallow and exhausted, but that was because he was working all day and night on this golem. He'd even taken a leave of absence from school to do this, and he had isolated himself from almost everyone and everything.

Tate was typically the one to answer the door whenever anyone wanted to visit, and he would always tell them the same thing.

"Not right now. "

"Aiden's busy."

"I don't know where he is."

Tate could tell that Aiden's friends were starting to get worried, and hopefully, this would work so Aiden could go back to his normal self.

Also, because of the imminent threat.

The association had released Vulcan's picture worldwide and tagged him as a person of interest in the dungeon fiasco. Vacek had also set spies on Aiden's home, but Aiden assured Tate that he'd taken care of it.

"I have experimented with it on a few mice and some larger animals," Aiden said, about the golem material. "So it should work."

"Are you sure?" If it didn't work, Tate was as good as dead.

But he was probably going to die soon anyway, so there was probably no harm in trying.

"I wouldn't needlessly risk your life, Tate," Aiden said. "Trust me."

Tate swallowed. The last time he'd trusted someone, he'd ended up irreparably damaging his pathways. So, trust didn't come as easily to him anymore.

And it wasn't just that he didn't trust Aiden. Even if Aiden had done everything right, Tate's luck might just have him catching a rare side effect.

"What happens if it goes wrong?" he asked Aiden.

"It won't."

"Just tell me."

"You'll end up in a coma," he said. "But that won't happen."

Tate took a deep breath. Did he really want to do this? Was he going to go this far for power?

Without power, he was a nobody. Without power, he was as good as dead.

And it isn't just about the power.

Somewhere deep inside, there was another reason Tate was doing this, a reason he didn't want to admit to himself, but it had to do with a girl with warm eyes who was stuck in a dungeon.

He told himself he didn't care. He didn't have a conscience anymore.

But it was about being fair.

Lexie had saved his life once. He should save hers, too.

He took a deep breath, reached out, and touched the swirling black liquid.

It didn't feel like liquid, though, to the touch. It felt like mist. It crawled up his hand, sensing him, seeping in through his pores. It wasn't painful, but it was an unpleasant feeling. Once it was inside him, it felt like motor oil was crawling around his body, through his intestines.

The burning started in his gut, and then he bowled over as it moved up his throat. He gagged and threw up the oil onto the ground.

It began to take form, and suddenly, his vision split into two. He could see two of himself. One standing there, dry heaving, and the other, standing tall and perfectly still.

"Good," Aiden said. "It worked."

"Yeah," Tate whispered with both voices. He was going to learn how to split his consciousness into two. But he was already excited. He could feel and sense the power emanating from the other one, the strength. He would be good.

"Okay, now I'm going to put you in a coma so your full consciousness is in your new body."

"And?"

"And then we begin. We'll need some things first before we head to the tower."

"What's at the tower?" Tate asked.

"The ISTS has a power plant which connects to the Guardian's tower. Did you know that?" Aiden said. "I thought it was just a power source, but it's not. There's something there that helps their magic work. Something we're going to steal."

"What is it?"

"The Key."

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