Augusta, Robert, and I stood before a great brass door. Soot piled at its foot. The entryway was chained shut, with a large and heavy lock at the end of it. I had a dark orb in one of my hands, and I was ready to send out a spectral fist with the other.

  Stepping forward, Augusta raised her sword into the air. It was so hot that it glowed. I could feel the heat from it wash over me. Even Robert was sweating. Augusta swung it down, and it melted through the chain.

  The sword cooled in an instant. No damage had been done to the blade despite the intense heat. I had no doubt this was due to Augusta's control over fire.

  "Dante, Robert, stay back. I'll take the front," Augusta commanded.

  "Are you sure?" I asked.

  "I'll be safe, and I'll keep you both safe," she answered. "This will be over in a heartbeat. If the cult leader tries to use fire magic, I can take it away. But I'll try to kill him before he gets a chance."

  Before I could say anything else, Augusta kicked open the door. Inside was a long room with a throne on one end. Several figures in red were inside, with one sitting on the throne. He stood up and spoke.

  "What ar..." the head cultist started.

  Augusta summoned a spear of fire. It flew through the air, striking the lead cultist. He fell to the ground before he could even scream in agony. His flesh bubbled and popped under his robes.

  The others drew pistols, but Augusta extended her hand. A wave of fire appeared in front of my girlfriend. It blasted over the room, burning everything inside of it, including the remaining cultists. Then, Augusta turned to Robert and I.

  "Both of you, get out of here," she said. "I'm going to turn this place to ash. If you stay here, you could get hurt."

  I couldn't argue with that. And I wouldn't have the strength to argue about anything for long.

  Several minutes later, Robert and I were sitting outside the broom closet. My hands were clenched around the weapons Augusta gave me. Yes, they were covered in blood and vomit. But I was not going to abandon my girlfriend's gifts. I could clean them up later.

  Emotionally, I was a complete mess. My adrenaline and rage had worn off. Now, I felt so sick that I couldn't stand. Just sitting up straight was horribly difficult. Images flashed into my mind of the cult lair, of the innocents they killed, of the people I killed. This just got worse every time I blinked.

  "Dante, are you alright?" Robert asked.

  "It's a good thing there's nothing left in my stomach," I answered. "Or I'd have thrown up again."

  Robert cringed. Still, he had a look of sympathy on his face.

  "Dammit. Augusta was right," he tried to make his voice have some levity. "I hate it when nobles are right, you know? It's just...umm..."

  "This was my fault, Robert. I didn't listen to Augusta's warnings," I shook my head.

  My throat felt like bile would explode from it.

  "Don't worry about that. I'd have shot too if I had a lover and someone drew a pistol on her," Robert waved it off.

  "Your lover isn't Augusta. She could probably take a cannonball to the face and feel nothing," I countered.

  He scoffed and folded his arms.

  "Dante, blaming yourself won't help," Robert's voice was blunt. "Do you even believe that Augusta can take a gunshot? I get that she's a great fighter and spellcaster, but she's still human."

  Well...that was a pretty good point. Augusta should have much more hit points than a normal person, but would that gameplay mechanic carry over to this world? I didn't know. My girlfriend basically claimed it did, but was she just trying to not worry me?

  "That is a go..."

  Before I could continue, I gagged. I dry heaved hard. It felt absolutely horrible. When I finished throwing up nothing, I shivered.

  Then, the sound of footprints came from down the hallway. They were moving fast. Worry flashed through me, but Robert stood up. His voice came to my ears.

  "I'll handle the talking, Dante. You just rest," Robert advised. "Even if you can't handle killing humans well, I still respect you. You fought despite it."

  "Thanks," I muttered.

  Turning in the direction of the footsteps, I saw Crummel von Licht running towards us. I was going to talk to him tomorrow, so this was a great opportunity. Or at least it would be if I wasn't feeling horribly sick. Mentally, I cursed myself.

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  "Oh, mein gots, vhat happened here?" Crummel asked.

  "Augusta, Dante, and me were doing test cuts when Dante got sick," Robert answered. "He threw up over his weapons. Augusta went to find medicine. I'm staying here with Dante."

  Crummel leaned in close and looked at my hands. The alchemist scratched his chin.

  "Bloody vomit, I see. You must be really sick," he said.

  I didn't know what stomachache medicine alchemists use, but I doubted it would be good for me to take when I'm not actually sick. So, I tried to say something. It ended up just being a mumble.

  "Ummm, I think I just ate something bad."

  It wasn't a good excuse either, but it was the best I could think of at the time.

  "Vorry not, mein ztudent," Crummel smiled. "I alvayz carry zome ztomach medizine vith me."

  He pulled out a vial and handed it to me. After a moment of hesitation, I drank it. Sure enough, my nausea faded. A bit of it was still present. However, most of the sickness was gone.

  "Thank you. I feel much better," I said.

  "You zhould ztill rezt up. Zhiz vill zupprezz zhe zymptomz, but it vill not cure zhe cauze," Crummel advised.

  Hmm...perhaps now would be a good time after all?

  "Herr von Licht," I spoke. "You seem...frustrated."

  "He does to you?" Robert raised an eyebrow.

  Crummel scratched his chin.

  "Vell, I zuppoze zhat I am," he admitted.

  Robert looked very impressed.

  "What are you frustrated with?" I asked.

  Millia already told me, but I couldn't exactly say that.

  "My rezearch," Crummel said. "It haz reached a ztandztill."

  "That's hard to believe," Robert replied. "You're a brilliant alchemist."

  "Yes. But zhere iz stilll a limit to vhat I can do. And it zeemz zhe Philozopher'z Ztone iz beyond my reach."

  And here is the core issue. The goal of all alchemists is to create the Philosopher's Stone. This magical rock will grant unlimited transmutation and eternal youth to its bearer. It was done once before, which is why they know it's possible.

  However, what Millia told me and the alchemists cannot know is that the first person to create a Philosopher's Stone used it to transmute fate itself. She made it so that everyone who tried to create another Philosopher's Stone would be doomed to fail, pulling up the metaphysical ladder behind her.

  Apparently, she's a boss in the second game. And there's no way anyone other than her could know this. I'd have to be careful if I wanted to save Crummel.

  "How much is the Philosopher's Stone worth to you?" I asked.

  "Everyzhing," Crummel answered. "I come vrom a long line ov alchemiztz. Ve have tried to create zhe Philozopher'z Ztone for centuriez, but ve alvays failed."

  A look of sadness crossed Robert's face.

  "That's pretty tragic. How do you know you'll ever be able to?" he questioned.

  "Iv I do not, I vill have failed my anceztorz," Crummel said. "Zhat iz vhy I muzt zucceed."

  Now, to ask another question that I knew the answer to because of Millia.

  "Why not just train your offspring to succeed you?"

  "I cannot have a child. My experimentz have rendered me invertile. And my brother haz refuzed to go down zhe path of zhe alchemizt. Unt mein couzin married into another family," Crummel explained. "Either I vill zucceed, or no one in my family vill even try."

  Under these circumstances, I could understand why Crummel went so far. This really was his family's last chance. How could I possibly persuade him to abandon that goal? Or to at least not let it become an obsession?

  I had to try. If I failed, Crummel was destined to turn into a monster and die. But I could do this. I saved Augusta, and I could save him.

  Perhaps a different path would work better?

  "Maybe you could try testing things on animals?" I suggested. "That way, you could learn more without doing anything to humans."

  Robert looked at me and blinked. Then, he gave me a slow nod.

  "That's a...really good idea, Dante. What sort of animals are you thinking? Pigs, goats?"

  "Mice, but maybe those too?"

  I didn't know much about science experiments. However, I have memories of hearing about lab rats. And what Crummel took to mutate himself might produce a much weaker monster if given to a rat. That could be the difference between life and death.

  "Zhat might be a good idea," the alchemist nodded.

  Hope flashed through my mind.

  "So, are you going to use rats?" I asked.

  "Perhapz. I vill have to conzult vith my fellov alchemiztz firzt," he answered.

  Crummel took a bow.

  "I vill talk to you later, mein ztudentz."

  With those words, he walked away.

  "Make zure to clean zhe vomit off your handz," Crummel advised as he turned the corner.

  The moment he was gone, Augusta left the broom closet. She looked at my state.

  "Dante, are you feeling better?" my girlfriend asked.

  "A bit," I answered. "Not as much as I'd like. And I'll have to have a talk with Millia, see if she has another dream catcher."

  There's no way I'm not having nightmares about today. And there was something else I needed to talk to Millia about.

  "Okay. Dante, hold out your hands," Augusta ordered.

  I did as much. After a second, flames appeared on them. I almost recoiled in shock, but I realized there wasn't any heat coming from the blaze. Or at least I didn't feel it if there was.

  When the fire disappeared, the vomit and blood were gone from my hands. The weapons had become clean, too. And everything was intact. I was utterly amazed.

  When I looked at Augusta's hair, I saw that it was almost completely white. Only a few strands of its original color remained. Burning down the cult lair must have helped her mastery of fire a lot.

  "That was incredible, Augusta," I said.

  "Thank you, Dante. And thank you for coming with me. I couldn't have done this without you," she replied.

  Augusta gently kissed my cheek. Obviously, kissing on the lips wasn't a good idea in my state.

  "You could have. And about my sickness..."

  I rubbed the back of my head.

  "Can your fire fix it?" I asked.

  "No," Augusta answered. "But someone should take you to the boys' dorm to rest."

  Robert stood up.

  "I'll do that," he said.

  "I should talk to Millia first," I pointed out.

  "No, you need to rest," Augusta replied. "I'll talk to her. Robert, could you wait outside the dorm for me to get there? Either Millia or I will bring a dream catcher over."

  Robert grabbed me and yanked me up. He placed my arm over his shoulder to support me.

  "I'll wait an hour. After that, I'm going inside. I'll stay in the lobby for a few more hours," Robert said.

  Augusta gave him a single nod.

  "Thank you. I'll be fast," she stated before running off.

  As Robert started walking, I sighed.

  "You don't have to go this far for me," I said.

  "It isn't far at all," Robert replied. "You'd do the same for me."

  And?

  "So what if I would? That doesn't mean you have to do this for me," I pointed out.

  A scoff came from Robert's mouth.

  "I'd do this for Janek because he'd do it for me, and I don't even like Janek," he stated.

  "Yes, but Janek isn't me," I replied.

  Robert just sighed and shook his head.

  "You have a very bad way of thinking about yourself, Dante."

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