It was there. The same patterns. Mila had spent days and nights studying them in the dream while the body she had inhibited tried to repair the circle.

 

But only parts of the patterns. There were missing pieces - replaced by methods and solutions Mila didn’t understand. And she wasn’t seeing the whole picture. Her senses only covered so much, and the ritual was spanning hundreds of meters in radius underground.

 

Yet, Mila was sure. She had seen these bends and lines carved into a stone before. Now, they were in the air, trying to twist into stability.

 

A nudge from Mila’s ever-present companion startled her into moving again. The ancient being affirmed her suspicion. He sent her a complicated feeling of forlorn anger, reminiscence, regret and more.

 

Mila blindly stepped forward. She kept herself low and avoided engaging any of the fighters. There was a clash above her head, where Virr exchanged sword swipes with a guard. She stepped away from where Laura’s mighty blow landed, injuring a defender.

 

The cries ahead of Mila turned desperate. The sacrifices were now being forced to their knees. They pushed their limbs between the bars, trying to reach for any help. They begged and shouted.

 

But not all. Some tried to hold the large stone from lowering any further. A futile attempt as their shoulders were forced down and their knees buckled from the massive press.

 

And some shielded the children - asking not for their survival, but at least hurry and get the offspring out of the deathtrap.

 

Mila half expected to be intercepted. For a sudden enemy to appear and stop her from reaching the cells. Her senses didn’t pick up anything but the fighters she had left behind.

But as she stepped in front of the locked cage, Mila was still alone and unnoticed. The eyes before her still looked past her to where Laura, Virr and Verte had finally pushed back the defenders for the wolf and Helly to enter.

 

Only now did the people realise something was standing in front of them. They blinked and tried to focus on Mila while she checked the hanging lock. It was a simple mechanism, easy to break from outside. She raised her newly acquired dagger and aimed the pommel at the lock.

 

Mila noted the moment people finally saw her. She hadn’t dropped her spell, but standing in front of someone in plain sight - even if it was the most talentless human - made the effect of her hiding her presence vanish.

 

They recoiled at the sight of Mila’s blood-drenched body. Even now, the blood refused to coagulate. Startled whispers and prayers spread through the crowd of beggars as they tried to make sense of what she was.

 

Then Mila brought down her dagger’s pommel. She feared the fatigue would make her miss or fail to destroy the lock. But the worry was unwarranted. The lock broke upon the impact, and the prison’s doors were now open.

 

Yet the people, despite their deadly situation, hesitated to come near Mila. She smiled sadly, but it was hidden behind her mask.

It was time for her to vanish. Mila refocused on her spell and stepped back, letting the chaotic battle behind her take away the people's attention.

 

Some of the eyes tried to follow her, but soon, they were reminded by the incoming death pushing from above. The captures exploded into a nest of activity as they pushed and fought to be the first ones to exit the cage.

 

Mila frowned. It was disorderly and ugly. She saw a crippled man fall and be stampeded on. He didn’t survive. A child barely survived the pushing as his father struggled to keep him covered.

 

It was too much. Mila had already been moving back, but this warranted more direct involvement. “Mr Crow.” She called - her soft voice not rising over the fight and screams.

 

But the bird heard Mila. It slipped over the melee and swept past a stray bolt to reach the centre of the large room. There, Mr Crow hovered in the air, searching for her.

 

“Calm them down,” Mila whispered as she let her presence reappear. 

 

The bird blinked, then let out a spirited chirp and a sonic shockwave spread out from him. It reached the panicking crowd and made them pause. They still moved, but some clarity returned to their eyes. The rush smoothened out, but it was still too slow.

 

Mila continued forward. She appeared next to Laura. “We need to cut open the bars.” She whispered before vanishing as the woman nodded.

 

Laura let out a shout, her muscles building, then hacked at the air, letting out a shockwave that travelled towards the upper part of the cages.

 

The surviving guards still tried to intercept it, but their crumbling defences proved to be fatal, as the distraction earned them only death. Mila’s group continued to pour inside the room. Hacking and slashing, they decimated the defenders.

 

The bars holding the people in got cut. Laura followed up with another cutting slash aimed at the bottom parts of the cage.

 

With faltering steps, Mila retreated. She used the wolf as a shield and watched the bars fall to the ground. People cheered and used the new, wider opening to pour out of the trap.

 

But there were too many, and the stone press slid down too fast. “They will die.” Mila reached where Polonomia and the Messanger were watching the spectacle.

 

Both of these characters could help. Mila was sure of it. But they didn’t move. She watched Andrew rush towards the mass of limbs and begin to pull them out before they got squashed. The others joined the effort.

 

But Mila was… She was too tired.

 

There was a moment of silence between the three of them until the Messanger spoke. “Not many of them.”

 

Which made Polonomia scoff. “You were always like this J-”

“Please, Mia…”

“Don’t call me that. We were never that close.” Polonomia cut him off.

 

“We were friends, at least.” The Messanger shook his head.

 

“And you left for your country. An admirable choice, but it means our ties were cut.”

 

“It was entirely unreasonable to expect me not to-”

“The knowledge is not-” Polonomia hissed, then cut herself off. “It is dangerous. You know that. Yet, you sought to use it.”

“I couldn’t leave my home to burn.” The Messanger sighted.

 

While the two of them argued, Mila once more collapsed where she stood. She watched people being pulled out of the death trap. There were at least a hundred at the start. A few had died in the chaos.

 

And a few more did not make it. Mila couldn’t help but avert her eyes as at least five sacrifices were too slow and were turned into minced meat under the stone press. Their lifeblood poured into the channels beneath, feeding the ritual with the horrific fuel.

 

Mila felt the potent energy flow beneath them. The blood and chunks of flesh travelled towards the centre of the underground system. The efficacy of the freshly acquired blood was higher. Mila also suspected something more had been taken from the sacrifices.

 

The souls were never a well-understood aspect of humans. Mila didn’t know what to think of them either. They were likely there, but proving it was impossible.

 

Yet, now that Mila’s senses were so close to the workings of the ritual, she felt something primal being torn from the deceased. Maybe it wasn’t a soul, but it felt close enough to her - no, perhaps it was Aaers’s senses that picked up the minute detail.

 

Mila felt the old being’s rage. It was disorienting as she was overwhelmed again. But the feeling soon abated. By the time it did, the bickering next to her had stopped.

 

It was a little disappointing. Mila had missed the chance to understand more about what made those people tick. It would have given her more to consider and keep her thoughts away from Isabel.

 

How was Isabel doing? The healer the Sage had assigned seemed very capable. Maybe she had regained her consciousness and was worrying about Mila. Maybe Isabel was arguing with the Sage and trying to get the group to bring her to Mila.

 

It would be great if that was true. Mila let her mind conjure more pictures of her girl raising her chin in the air and demanding the immediate delivery of her girlfriend.

 

But the amusing thoughts lingered only for a moment. Soon, they were replaced by the picture of Isabel’s unmoving, bleeding body, and Mila gritted her teeth. 

 

Oscar would pay. He had to. She understood his hatred for her, and now it was mutual. There was no way they both could exist under the same sky.

 

The destructive train of thought was disturbed when Viola returned to Mila’s side.

“You okay? Holding up well?”

 

“... It could be better,” Mila replied while pretending not to notice the worry-filled glance from Ugum, who was tending to the rescued sacrifices. The healer had run out of mana. Yet, he still tried to do his best to lessen the suffering. “We need to move.”

 

“In a second.” Laura was exiting the room as well. “Ugum will be done soon.”

Helly followed right after. “We can leave him here. It is not like he can do more than heal a scratch at this point.”

 

“Listen here, you-”

Mila tuned out the rising disagreement. The emotions were running high. It was a wonder there had not been any arguing sooner. It was a testament to Laura’s skill that her people hadn’t acted out.

 

But the addition of Helly and Andrew had disturbed the group's balance. They both didn’t fit in.

 

“-If we don’t, then we will die anyway!” Helly yelled.

 

And the woman had a point. They had to move. Mila got up again. The simple movement took too much effort. It was as if Mila was back on the Earth again with constant weakness, the limbs not listening, and the mind wandering towards dangerous thoughts.

 

It had been a while since Mila had felt so helpless. It still was better than back then, but… She massaged her legs. It felt worse. Especially with the emotional emptiness she was feeling. The old being's random outbursts also didn’t help.

 

As they all gathered back in the tunnel, a question was raised. 

 

What now?

 

“Are we too late?” Agata asked.

 

Most people looked at Mila. “Possibly…” She admitted. The feeling in the air had a firmness to it. The structure had been set up successfully, but their success in taking out the reservoir and freeing two sets of sacrifices had paid off. “The ritual is at its final stages. But our efforts have given us time.”

 

It didn’t escape Mila’s notice of how Polonomia was watching her with interest. But it couldn’t be helped. The party needed someone to guide them and reassure them there was still a chance.

 

“Then we move now,” Laura concluded. “And hope we are on time.”

“Finally!” Helly exclaimed.

 

As for Mila, she looked at where the constant source of reverberations was. The battle between the Military and the Nobles was still ongoing.

 

It was hard to tell who had the upper hand. And Mila didn’t plan to find out. Getting close to the place was too dangerous. “Do you know the way?” She addressed the Messanger, knowing he did.

 

“Here.” The man pointed forward. 

 

At least they didn’t need to backtrack. Mila stretched, then took her position in the front. She was still their best bet at detecting any danger.

 

Mila only hoped they didn’t need to run for long. Her legs and thoughts kept tormenting her. She needed a rest. She needed Isabel.