Regent burned, any final screams he might have made silenced by his gag.

  Everyone present within the crowd below stared at the scene in shock.

  Only when Regent was reduced to ash did Malus speak once more. "We will continue to weed out his traitorous associates. I apologize for my terrible blunder. Please, be at ease, and enjoy the festival. Even as I must suffer for my mistake, you need not."

  With that she turned around and returned into the central temple, the Saintess following closely behind her.

  Atzi had no idea if Malus knew about her or not, but she wasn't sticking around to find out. Especially as she saw several guards making their way through the crowd of people.

  She dropped low to make it harder to track her and started scurrying through the crowd as fast as she could, heading for the university. She kept, as best she could, to back alleys as she made her way down the hill.

  When she arrived, there were - as always - city guards outside the university gate. They looked extremely alert, and were actively stopping and inspecting people as they entered and left.

  There's no other way in. Thanks for the magical defenses, Terra...

  Atzi had an idea. She looked around for someone who looked young and desperate enough to be easily bribed.

  Such people were common in Sostra, even walking in the streets of a nicer area, so she soon found a teenage boy. His attire was worse than Atzi's had been before the loop.

  Atzi approached him. "Hey." She pulled out five gold coins. "You tell the guards that you saw someone who looks like me running from the guards over there." She pointed down the street. "And you get these."

  The boy stared at her - and her money - for a second, his eyes utterly wide. "...How will I get the money if I'm busy?" He held out his hand. "Money first."

  Atzi handed over the coins. "I know that. I promise the guards will eat shit if you help me out and you really don't wanna find out what happens if you don't."

  He grinned, staring at his prize for a moment before pocketing it. Then he nodded at Atzi and ran over to the guards.

  A few seconds later, the guards were running.

  Atzi made a break for it, dashing through the gates and into the college.

  She had to hope the butler wasn't up to date enough to stop her, because she knew she wasn't getting further without a guest token. She approached the desk and quickly said, "I'm here to see Terra again."

  He simply nodded and pulled open the desk, handing her a token.

  She snatched it and ran as fast as she could, directly up the stairs towards Terra's office. "No running in the halls!" the butler shouted after her.

  Screw you!

  Atzi made it up to the office. "Terra! This is really really bad!" she shouted as she grabbed the handle.

  It was locked.

  Atzi banged on the door. "Terra? Please, please say you're in there."

  She waited a few seconds, but didn't get a response.

  "... Fuck. Fuck!" They already lured her out? Already killed her? Godsdamnit. I... need to get out of the city. The university has an exit. I'm taking it.

  Atzi stopped a student. "Hey, I was meant to be shown to the dorms, but all the stuff with the festival they kinda left me hanging... can you show me how to get there?"

  "Sure...?"

  He showed her to the floor the dorm rooms were on.

  Atzi tried the nearest door. It was locked. "You gonna unlock it so I can get in, or what?"

  "I only have keys to my room. And I'm not letting you into my room."

  Atzi waved a claw. "Fine, fine. Leave me alone, I'll figure it out."

  He did so, shaking his head as he walked away.

  Atzi looked down at the door handle. It wasn't magic like Terra's, but they probably had some kind of magic security anyway. At least a magical alarm. She'd only get one chance to pick the lock.

  She knocked on the door and, when there was no response, took out her lockpicking tools and waited a bit for the hallway to thin out of students. Once it did, she started picking the lock, using her body to block what she was doing from view.

  The pulse pounding in Atzi's head faded a little as she concentrated on working the tumblers. This was the thing she was best at.

  The door clicked open and she scurried inside. The interior was the same shape as the room she'd stayed in several loops ago. She rummaged through everything - the cabinet, under the bed, and even the bathroom.

  She found what she was looking for. Student's robes, with a hood, to disguise herself. She also managed to grab a warmer looking coat to wear under it, a bag, and assorted dried fruits.

  Disguised, she made her way out of the main building and to the northern gate out of the college - and out of the entire city of Sostra.

  These guards paid her no mind, letting her through without a question. A perk of being a mage, I guess.

  Atzi walked through the gate. Does this mean I'm not getting my mansion? She knew she wasn't. She left behind Sostra as her thoughts turned to Cthargictha. I still need to try and stop this bat. Maybe... I can make a new life there.

  ===

  Atzi travelled until she was too tired to continue, then found a place to sleep by the side of the road before continuing on. Her shelter was no more than a large tree that kept the area under it free of snow. She settled the robes over herself and curled tight beneath them, but she still woke shivering from the cold, her movements sluggish.

  It wasn't the first time she'd slept on the side of the road. She did it once when she first went to Sostra from Pomaria, all those years ago.

  When she finally got to the caves, she put everything she had into remembering her way through. The previous trip had been long and winding, and it would have been easy to get lost without Hemm's guidance.

  For some reason, the memories came through perfectly clear, as fresh as if she was following Hemm just moments ago.

  She kept a lookout for any soldiers. She found a few corpses of Sostrian soldiers, thankfully still dead. She had lost track of the exact time, and wasn't sure how long she had until they would rise. Probably not long.

  Thus, despite her exhaustion, she hurried. I need to find that earth reader from before. Which means... heading for their tribe leader.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Atzi once more arrived in Cthargictha, with its mushrooms standing tall and crystals glowing from the ceiling. She moved as quickly as she could towards the obsidian building.

  Even in her disguise, it was obvious she wasn't a normal denizen of the cave. Many sets of eyes - narrow and yellow, glassy and fish-like, or large and singular - stared at her as she scurried by. Still, she wasn't stopped.

  She easily made it into the obsidian building, but it was as empty as she'd originally found it. So she made her way through its winding passages into the circular room with three gates, one for each tribal leader. "Hello?" she called out.

  There was no response.

  "Hey, anyone there?!" She tried again. When there was again no response, she tried to lift the gate on the right, but it was far too heavy for her.

  They must only show up when they're expecting someone. Atzi slinked back out, thinking in a panic about what she could do.

  Wait. There was that innkeeper.

  Atzi ran again, all the way to the public house.

  She slammed the door open and hurried inside.

  When Atzi removed her hood, Park looked at her and said, "A lizard? Don't see your kind around here often."

  "Park, I need to see... shit, what was her name? The earth reader, I need to see her, right now. It's an emergency."

  "You know my name…" She hummed. "There are many earth readers."

  Then it suddenly came to Atzi. "Jih, her name was Jih. We've only got a few hours. Malus is gonna- it's gonna be really, really bad, just tell me where to find her."

  "So you wish to speak with Jih. What for?"

  "Someone in the city is working with Malus to do something really, really bad with a stolen artifact."

  "You're clearly from Sostra... why are you here?" Park asked with skepticism. " Why should we believe you?

  Atzi paused, trying to think of something to say. "Please, this is really really important, I promise! I know a cyclops! Her name is Hemm!" She finally said. "I had to flee all the way here to try and stop it! Please, please, please just show me where Jih is."

  The seven foot tall cyclops regarded Atzi. Then she said, "Follow me. Don't touch anything."

  Park led her to-

  -the obsidian building Atzi had just visited.

  "... She's in here this whole time? It was empty when I came."

  "Jih, someone here to see you," Park said, seemingly to the empty room.

  The obsidian wall rippled like water and Jih stepped out of it. She looked much as Atzi remembered her, eye like a multicolored gem, but this time she held a staff made of the same obsidian as the walls.

  Jih looked towards Park.

  Park shrugged.

  Jih looked back at Atzi. "Speak."

  "You know about a weird necromancer book, right? Made of bone and skin."

  Jih squinted her large, multicolored eye. "The book of the banished three..."

  "That's what it is? Okay, well, someone in the city is casting from it. Maybe even right now."

  "Where?" Jih asked, serious.

  "It's... urgh, the bat lady that went crazy and locked herself in her house, you know her? She has it."

  "The painter?"

  Atzi nodded.

  "I see. That would...make some sense." Jih swept her gaze towards Park. "I'll go. Park, keep an eye on her."

  "Hey, take me along!" Atzi shouted.

  "Why?"

  "For reasons that are gonna take way too long to explain, but I promise I'll say after."

  Jih blinked. "Fine." She led Atzi outside. Then she pointed behind herself. "Stand here."

  Atzi did so.

  "Grab my waist."

  Atzi grabbed her waist. She was too frazzled and panicked to think anything more of it.

  Mostly.

  "Hold on tight-"

  And suddenly they were traveling at very high speeds, the ground itself moving under them in transport. The sense of stone gripping Atzi's clawed feet and the rushing air of the cavern wind were all she could focus on, movement no more than a blur of shapes in her eyes.

  They stopped just as suddenly as they had started. Atzi's head whipped back. "Bweh!" When she recovered, Atzi realized they were in front of the mushroom building she remembered. "I-it's in here, yeah. Upper floor, um... her room is..." She pointed upwards at the covered window.

  Jih went up to the door.

  With a swish of her staff, it unlocked itself and opened.

  The interior wasn't as Atzi remembered them, a distinct lack of blood splattered all over the floor and ceiling. There was, however, a bit of blood on the stairs, and a strange bloody symbol on the wall. It just looked like an assortment of random lines to Atzi.

  Jih barely glanced at the symbol as she made her way up the blood-flecked steps. Atzi followed behind her. They reached the top and Jih repeated her unlocking trick on the leftmost door.

  The bat woman lay on the floor in a pool of blood. Her fur was matted with it. More dripped from her chest. Beside her was a bloodstained stone dagger. In front of her was a canvas and a bowl of water, with a towel beside it. One side of her face was furless and leathery. She was continually muttering something to herself and wasn't paying attention to them, if she was even aware of their arrival.

  There was no book.

  Atzi stared in confusion.

  "Leave me alone leave me alone leave," the bat woman muttered rapidly.

  "Where's the book?" Atzi asked aloud, confused. At the same time, Jih asked, "Where is the artifact?"

  Atzi pointed at the empty easel stand. "I don't get it, it's meant to be right there."

  Jih looked at the artist, and then to Atzi, and then back at the artist. Her expression was thoughtful. Then she approached the bat woman.

  "H-hey, be careful."

  "Are you alright? You look injured." Jih asked gently.

  "Not okay never okay get out out get out!" The bat woman screeched rapidly, voice full of pain and panic.

  "I'm here to assist."

  Atzi rummaged around the rest of the room. This isn't right. Where's the book? But the only other things in the room were a bunch of paintings, mostly landscapes, not yet covered in blood.

  That can't be right. Unless... maybe it's hidden? Maybe it's hidden inside her or something? Atzi realized that was a strange, morbid thought. Though how would I even check where it is? "Hey... if it was hidden in here anywhere, could you sense it?"

  Jih closed her eye briefly, then reopened it. "I sense a few book-shaped objects in the house, in that room." She pointed across the hall, to the bat woman's bedroom.

  Atzi wandered over to the bedroom door. She flung it open, prepared to see a horrible sight. Instead the only books she found, scattered about, were erotic texts.

  Atzi stepped out of the bedroom. "It's not there. Those are the only books you can sense?"

  "Yes. There are no other books in the house. You are certain it was here?”

  "It will be here. I don't get it! Why isn't it here? Where else could it even be? Everything else is the same!" Atzi pointed at the woman on the floor. "Except for... her."

  The bat woman groaned and held her head.

  "... Hey, uh... lady. The book, you know where it is right? You were casting something from it, weren't you?"

  "No no no no no! No no no!" The bat woman started crying. "Don't!"

  "Don't what?" Atzi asked.

  The bat woman curled into a ball, and covered herself with her wings.

  Atzi turned to Jih. "Okay, I'm sorry that this isn't gonna make much sense but I've gotta be fast. I've been here before. Tomorrow. Fuck, I hate explaining this. Time is repeating for me. When I got here, she was... there wasn't much left of her and there was blood all over the place, and the book was just lying out," she rambled. "And at the same time she dies, a spell gets cast that summons enough undead to destroy Sostra. The whole empire, gone, in a few hours. So... I figured she must be the cause of it, but she's not even casting anything and the book is... I don't know what's going on!"

  "You're either as mad as her," she pointed to the bat artist, "or I have been deceived on a level I have not been since my youth."

  "I'm not mad! I knew your name because you got brought out to check I wasn't lying about this before! And when I mentioned that book to you then, you flipped out and raced for the house. Only last time it was… Last time I came here with a mage and she touched it and went nuts."

  Jih shook her head. "In any case, I suppose ultimately I must thank you. This woman needs care, and we should take her to receive it."

  "I... I think she's gonna die in the next few hours and it's gonna be bad. Unless we disrupted it… There wasn't much left of her. Just... blood everywhere."

  "Help me get her up," Jih said.

  Atzi gulped, then gingerly walked closer. She stared down at the bat woman intently, who was still mumbling to herself. "I... I really don't think we should get close."

  "We can't leave her here," Jih stated.

  "Um. Hey." Atzi tried addressing the bat. "Can you... say your name? Or where you found the book?"

  "Screaming screaming stop screaming!"

  Atzi sighed. "Can you move her without touching her? I'm serious, I don't... I don't wanna die again here… There's... an hour or less until it happens, I think."

  "If you aren't going to help, go find someone who will." Jih's tone was commanding.

  Atzi nodded and ran out to do so.

  But as she stepped out onto the street, something horrific dawned on her, and a chill ran down her spine. She remembered the last time she'd been in this situation, stepping out of the same house. Leaving Terra alone in the same room she'd just left Jih in.