"Where did the crystal go? The one from your collar?" I asked, feeling my pockets. All I had was the marble crystal in one, along with the knowledge crystal. The fountain crystal from my belt was gone, and I couldn't sense it anywhere.

Something buzzed from Kabi, and he tossed something over the fire.

I caught it in my hands.

[Binding Crystal, freed from dark energy.]

Inside I felt touches of all four crystal types, merged together to restrain and control. The air whispered commands, while the fire punished, the forest held it together while the water crystal reinforced the connection to the rest of the metal.

If it wasn't a slave collar, I'd be impressed at the dance inside the stone.

The library had mentioned that the only way to free the slaves was to destroy the crystal, though it killed the enslaved in the process. Yet, Kabi sat across the fire from me, not necessarily unharmed, but certainly not dead.

"Is the rift still useable?" I asked, looking at Kabi.

After I freed his brother, I didn't have a clue what I was going to do next. Lenna and I needed to find a way back to her world, or potentially even Noseen's world. After all, I wasn't sure I could even level back on Lenna's world anymore. This place might do for now, but with the forgers here that'd be an issue both for Lenna and I.

"No, you destroyed the teleportation arch completely," said a soft voice from behind Kabi. Cekta sat up and moved next to his brother. "That was good work, whatever you used absorbed energy from the archway itself."

He smiled at me. "Big boom, it injured the Forger badly. We took care of the rest before fleeing."

"Why'd you save us?"

He nodded at Kabi. "He has a skill that lets us know when people can be friends."

Kabi elbowed him in the side, but Cekta blocked it with a smile.

"We didn't dare leave you behind, and, look, you freed my brute of a brother from his slave collar."

Lenna stirred behind me but didn't get up. I waited until she settled down again before responding.

"Is there any way off your planet?" I asked in a lower voice, not wanting to wake Lenna until we needed to. "Lenna's going to want to find a way home."

The two brothers glanced at one another before Kabi nodded.

Cekta responded, "Our biggest city, Steadfast, in the mountains, has a teleportation circle to other worlds. It is held by our strongest warriors."

"And the path to get there?"

"Treacherous and filled with beasts, including Forger parties and slaves sent to explore. The Rustlands sit between us and the great city, while we fled from the outpost to the south."

I leaned down next to the fire, yanking out my knife, and drew a little diagram, trying to wrap my head around it.

"So, the outpost is here, we are somewhere here, and the teleportation circle is somewhere here." I motioned to the north.

"More over here," he pointed to the west. "The Rustlands are over here."

The Rustlands were to the northwest.

"A forger road connects the Rustlands and the outpost, but has traffic all times of day." He shrugged. "Until we remove my collar, we dare not go any farther north."

"Why did you head north to begin with?" It felt like south might be the better choice, or any other direction really.

"We wanted to be unexpected, plus I need to get to Steadfast. All Rune apprentices are offered mentors in the city."

I reached back and shook Lenna's shoulder. "Planning time."

"I let you rest for days." She sat up glaring at me. Light glimmered in her eyes for a moment, then was gone.

"Do you want to find a way home?"

The question froze her like she couldn't believe I'd ask that.

"How?" her voice came out in a whisper.

"This planet has a teleportation portal in some city up north. From there I might be able to find my small friend. He can direct us back to your world."

She swallowed, but gave me a look like she had things to tell me. Instead, she nodded like she didn't trust herself to speak.

"Alright, I need to check out that collar, then we'll head north after I get it off you."

"We don't dare leave until nightfall," whispered Kabi. "Too many Harvesters wander the day."

"I'm going back to sleep, I need to rest," Lenna laid back down, again that strange light around her eyes.

In the dungeon, she hadn't rested much, not as much as the rest of us. Yet, now she needed to. They must have been moving fast through the forest. I needed to talk to her and find out what was going on.

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"Sorry." Yet she didn't respond to me, seeming to be already deep in slumber. I turned back to Cekta and stood, moving to stand next to him to get a better look at the ring of metal and crystal around his neck.

He lifted his chin, and his hands trembled.

"I'm just going to look into it. I don't know if this will hurt."

He nodded. "Do what you need to do to free me."

Kabi placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and squeezed.

I touched the crystal and lost myself inside. The crystal reminded me of the last time. All of it was begging for freedom from this torment it was forced to endure. The energy didn't want to be used this way. I wanted to know why. Crystals didn't mind being turned into blades or things, so why did this change things for them? I kept my thoughts to myself.

That dark energy rushed through the crystal, forcing it to stop begging.

That.

I chased the dark energy, and it circled out of the crystal into the metal band and then beyond. Eventually, the crystal started begging again. It took a while before the dark energy silenced it, suppressing the natural presence inside the crystal again.

The circle continued.

This time I chased the energy away, feeling a connection to another crystal. Somehow it moved.

Seconds went by as I pondered what the heck was going on before it clicked.

"You said others can feel nearby rings?"

"Yes, if another slave gets too close, or someone with a master ring."

My heartbeat sped up.

"This might hurt."

I then slammed my will into the crystal section, commanding the crystal to a different shape. It oozed like putty in my hand but I didn't let the burning get out of control. The metal heated up, but this time my hand didn't fry.

Then a round crystal sat in my hand, flaring for a second before going dim. The energy drain on me was minimal, but I closed my eyes and listened, trying to sense how far away that other crystal was. Without it being connected to the dark energy, the link vanished.

"Okay, so some other crystal sensed this one, but I think I got it…"

Kabi and Cekta froze, and then Cekta closed his eyes. "The rune traps are still active. Nothing triggered the ones I left scattered about the forest, either."

"Good, good." Kabi's shoulders relaxed. "You're free, brother."

Cekta cracked a smile, bright white teeth almost glowing in the darkness. "It feels amazing, like the day I got my class."

"Did it block your class?" I asked, trying to understand what the crystals did from their viewpoint.

"It blocks runes," said Kabi, and pointed to his chest. "I have runes to fight better, make me stronger, but the collar blocked them."

"It blocked my power, but I've been making progress resisting the block. It limited my power and the runes I could draw." He chuckled. "So much power now. Brother, let me give you a new one."

Kabi nodded to me. "Give Alex one, she saved you."

Cekta gaze snapped to me, his eyes going wide. "Can you use runes?"

"No idea, but we can try…" My mind wandered, glancing at the runes on Kabi's chest. "How do they work? You give them energy and it triggers an ability?"

"I trigger my runes by thinking about them. They only work for a short period, and I need to make the most of it during those moments." He pressed his top two hands together. "After, I slow down more than before. Like I'm giving back what I borrowed."

A short burst of something didn't seem like a good deal, though if I ran into a situation where I needed to overcome something, it could be key.

"Give me your hand, I'll test you to see if you can use them," said Cekta.

His giant blue hand dwarfed mine, and he closed his eyes. A pleasant energy tickled my senses.

"You have a mark on you. Someone touches your dreams." He opened his eyes with a frown. "That's personal magic…"

This time I smiled. "It's from a friend, an important one I hope to talk to tonight."

"Powerful friend," he muttered, sharing a look with Kabi. "I couldn't remove it if I wanted to."

I chuckled, thinking of Noseen and hopeing to talk to him once I got some sleep.

"You can use Runes like Kabi does. Though, how do you fight?"

"Usually from the shadows with a sneak attack, then I go all out. I tend to get up close and personal." My fighting style was basic, since it worked.

"I'll need to think about how to help you. We don't normally fight that way…"

I waved to Kabi. "Do something for him, I'm going to get some rest and talk to my friend."

At least I hoped to talk to him, and try to figure out my best course of action here.

I laid down next to Lenna and closed my eyes, focusing on Lenna's calm breathing. Slowly, it faded away as I finally got some rest.

#

"You live," buzzed Noseen.

I stood in the middle of no man's land with the rift several yards away. A shiver went up my spine, but I forced myself to relax.

"I survived and grew stronger for it," I said with a smile. "Though I haven't a clue of where I'm actually at."

Images of the last time I was awake flashed through my head as a person appeared next to me. At least, it was person-shaped. The being had pitch black hair, solid black eyes, and long pointed teeth, with a second set behind them. He stood taller than me.

"You killed something strong, stronger than you should have been capable of killing." The pools of darkness stared at me. "Good."

He turned away and faced the rift. It appeared like a grey streak in the air, no longer shimmery. He motioned to it. "You destroyed the other side, and now this is ripe for attachment."

"You mentioned that last time, my reward." I stepped forward next to him, feeling small. Like I stood next to the sun while I was Earth.

"Yes, I planned on you traveling to my world to grind, but the one you're on is plenty good for the moment." He paused thinking. "I need your permission to create a teleportation link to this rift."

"My permission?" I asked, wondering how the Forgers had done it in the first place, then.

"Yes, you claimed it with your territory. With your permission, once I'm back to your territory I can create the portal."

I paused. "What downsides are there for connecting to your world?"

"Downsides?" asked Noseen, his head tilted to one side, then he slowly smiled like a shark. "My smart squishy."

I didn't respond, waiting for an answer.

"None, it only benefits the entire planet."

"What?"

"My world is a top-tier ranked sister planet, populated mostly by civilized beasts. The sister world is a different story. Wild, free, and full of claimless territory with levels high enough for anyone determined to hit Rank 5." His laughter made me freeze. "None dare try to take it from me, though plenty eye it. And none visit without my permission."

"Why me?"

I finally asked the question. It'd been in the back of my mind ever since he'd shown his high level and vanished from Sanctuary. Bits of his voice came back to me, asking me to wake.

Noseen's mouth snapped shut, but then he let out a sigh. "You are young, squishy, and a devourer - the first new devourer since the war."

That was news. Hadn't the war been centuries ago? Before I could respond, Noseen kept ranting, getting a little angry.

"They will not take you from us." His fist clenched, drawing attention to the sharp talons on each finger. "We won't lose another."

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