𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕖𝕤 ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝔸𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝔸 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟻

"Trapped?" Peony yelled in outrage once the indigo phantom returned from his attempt to get back into their home realm. "I swear, when I get back to the Overworld I'm going to kill those council members!"

Elude stiffened at her harsh words. She had only met two of the representatives, and she did not want them to be killed if they were innocent after all.

"That's if we get back to the Overworld," Ethereal answered miserably. "How are we going to make it out of this place now?" He cried. "The Council only opens the portals every moon cycle. We could barely survive a single day out here!"

There was a long moment of silence that fell over them all. Elude wanted to cheer them up, but she could not conjure anything encouraging that would lift their spirits.

"It may look like a storm now, but I know there's something beautiful that awaits us." Aspect finally spoke up finally, breaking the eerie stillness that had settled between the four of them. There was a sense of familiarity Elude felt about the words, but she could not quite remember where exactly she had heard them before.

Ethereal looked taken aback for a few moments at the sudden statement as if he recognized it as well. "That's an Overworld term," he mused, "do creatures in the Nether say things like that often?"

"Not that I know of, but Sorrow was obsessed with Overworld culture." He replied, though he sounded sad as he reminisced about his friend. "Whenever we found ourselves in a difficult situation, she would always utter those words to reassure me that everything would be alright in the end." He explained.

"I'm so sorry, Aspect," Ethereal replied, guilt shimmering in his brilliant green eyes. "I really hoped I could help her out... I wanted to save her..." he trailed off, ducking his head in shame and diverting his gaze to the cave floor beneath him.

"No, I should be the one apologizing." The skeleton was clutching his bow, tracing over the engravings that had been made in the cyan wood with a bony hand. "Sorrow is my friend, and therefore she's also my responsibility." He murmured. "It should have been me who went after her, not you Ethereal. And I'm sorry you got injured as a result."

"And what if we die here?" Peony glared at the skeletal figure before her, arms crossed. Aspect was silent for a few moments, but eventually, her question was answered. "Nothing good would await us then." She said, referencing the Overworld quote Aspect had recited.

"We won't die here," He said finally, standing to his feet. He approached the portal with slow steps, touching the reflective surface of the obsidian frame and looking back at the blurry figure that shimmered across its surface. "Because we have Ethereal, our dedicated leader," he turned to gaze at the phantom with his dark, hollow sockets. Ethereal returned his look with appreciative green eyes as the creature continued. "Elude," he swung his skull toward her, "who brings us up when we feel down," Finally, he faced the human who had initially sparked the skeleton's words. "And Peony, our brave warrior who doesn't let any fear or doubt get in her way, which is why we will not die here."

"How are you so sure, wise-bones?" Peony challenged. "If we don't get back to the Overworld, we'll starve, and there's no way for us to get any water either."

"I may know another way to get you back to your home realm," he replied, "but I'll have to warn you, it's a risky move."

"As long as it gets us out of this dimension-of-death, I'm in." Peony's voice was stern, and her brown eyes were bold, narrowed in determination.

"I know where we can find enough obsidian to construct another portal elsewhere. The only issue is, it's at the heart of the Nether Waste's fortress, the Wither Kings' own throne room." The skeleton explained. All of the hope Elude once felt turned into ice-cold fear as the skeleton continued. "But since I would be the only creature who would blend in, I may have to go alone."

Ethereal flared his wings in protest. "At least let me go with you," he insisted, "You shouldn't have to be the only creature to go in there when we're the ones who want to get back to the Overworld."

Peony glared at the phantom, and Ethereal tensed up in reply, sending a wave of worry cascading over Elude like a burning waterfall. But Ethereal shook his head as if he were still trying to shake away the instincts that attempted to overtake him once again. "Do I need to knock you out again, brainless? If any creature spots you in the fortress you'll be dead in an instant! They'll probably kill Aspect too and that would set us back even further!" She snapped.

The skeleton seemed shaken at the mention of his potential death and Elude wondered just how many times he and other creatures he knew had nearly died because of all of the dangers of the realm. Especially after the loss of Sorrow, it must have been a difficult topic to listen to as he considered their conversation.

"What if there's a way we can get in without any creature spotting us?" Elude questioned aloud, looking toward an irritated Peony, her gaze quickly darting away when the human's narrowed brown eyes met hers. "Back in the End, you appeared from thin air! Perhaps humans possess some sort of magical abilities." She suggested, a new thrill of excitement and hopefulness running through her. "Maybe you can use it to infiltrate the fortress with Aspect."

Peony did not hit her with a snarky remark like she usually would. Instead, she considered the enderman's words for a long moment, her hand drifting to the satchel draped across her neck and running along her chest and back to where it rested at her hip, the direct opposite side to the wooden hilt of her sword on her belt.

The leather bag was more noticeable now that it was not nearly covered by her jade cape, which had been left to burn in the cave when she attempted to cool herself off and get some sleep. Gently, she pried it open and reached inside to pull a spherical bottle out.

Inside, a liquid that looked to be the same consistency as water glistened and danced in the low light. It was a shade of shimmering silver like a thick cloud of fog that would hang down on the Overworld in the midst of a rainy day.

She glanced up again, meeting the bewildered green eyes of Ethereal, and the beaming curiosity that overflowed in her own magenta gaze. "Oh, right. Did I mention I know a bit of alchemy?"