Nichts watched in cool satisfaction as its enemies, bombarded by a mental overload, were forced to retreat.  Though it could have easily finished off at least a couple of them in their current state, the Abyssal restrained itself.  This act of mercy did not stem from any sort of warrior-to-warrior respect for fighting spirit, or from any sense of compassion hidden within its abominable form, but instead from a desire for them to return one day with new, poignant knowledge that would truly satisfy it.  It told Akoni as he left, [i][b]I will look forward to it, little scholar.[/b][/i]  Then the mage dragged the stocky, well-armed one away.  Nichts thought for sure that the mere human had fallen unconscious from the traumatic cognitive attack, but before Souta got too far, he stirred slightly and with all the strength he could must flung a Trawler at the still body of Midori that lay on the floor.  The hook caught on one of her horns and unceremoniously began to drag her along with him.  At about this time, the intruders would no doubt find the streaming pressure on their minds beginning to relent.  Could it be that Nichts wasn't malicious after all, but merely acting in accordance with its nature?  Almost any great monster with a sharp mind could be expected to be brimming in ego, unable to take no for an answer and unwilling to let any trace of defeat stain its record.  Nichts, however, didn't seem to care.  [i]Learning, and survival.[/i] This rumination could not be perceived by the fleeing intruders.  [i]That is all I want.  That is all I am.  Nothing more.[/i]  Without eyes it observed Mary and Silas speed away.  Had it been a mistake to lash out…?  Then Nichts was alone once more.  Slowly, so as not to reopen its wounds, it slunk across the room and back down the corridor.  [i][b]Soon,[/b][/i] it murmured to nobody, [i][b]you will realize the debt I am owed.[/b][/i]

After passing through the portal conjured by the World Tree, Souta opened his eyes to find himself bathed in the familiar heat of the Charred Citadel.  Though his head swam deliriously, he could not help but think about how funny it was that he might feel relieved to return to a place that was practically hell.  No formal infirmary graced the huge, labyrinthine keep, but the warmth that suffused the place thanks to the tireless Molten Core seemed oddly soothing.  Awash in the fiery glow of veinlike structures lining the walls, ceiling, and floor, Souta felt his head beginning to clear and the jarring strain on his muscles -which his adrenaline prevented him from noticing during the fight- dissipating.  The new knowledge used as a weapon to pierce his brain seeped away, even as the smith tried to recall it out of curiosity.  One thing, however, remained clear as day—emblazoned on his mind.  Closing his eyes, Souta conjured images of a yellow sky with a jagged, stony earth not below, but above.  Spires of rock hung like stalactites from it, but many chunks of stone floated in the air.  Seeing this made the hairs on the back of his neck rise, and he couldn’t help but feel as if this vision truncated all else in importance.  The picture in his mind’s eye progressed, flying like a bird through a winding, floating pathway in open air.  After passing an enormous hunk of gravity-defying, earth, he caught his breath.  In the distance an enormous yellow crystalline structure soared over a lake of blood.  The radiant prism of light both confused and awed him, but after a couple moments, he realized that he knew all along exactly what -and where- it was.

Like a person awoken from a deep sleep, he jumped, almost to his feet.  Souta steadied himself, his sight bleary but every bone in his body full of excited energy.  [color=teal]”Hey, hey!  Hold up a second!”[/color]  He didn’t know if Silas, Akoni, Mary, and Midori were listening to him, but frankly he didn’t care.  [color=teal]”That monster gave me something.  I know where it is!  We have to tell the Watchers and whoever else we can find.  It’s in the Undersky—the Fifth Seal of the Apocalypse.”[/color]

[h1]Chapter 2 end[/h1]