𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕖𝕤 ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝔸𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝔸 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟹𝟹

His wings seemed to ache with every determined beat, but he was not going to stop until he found her. Massive tree trunks came into view from around him as his night vision kicked in, allowing him to see past the darkness that fell over the thick forest.

That was when it finally hit him. Ethereal was in the Overworld again! He could finally get back to Dwell! He could finally get back to his duties as the guard of the swamp biome.

His guard duties. Would he even get the chance to guard the marshlands again now that his eyesight had been damaged in the Nether? Or perhaps there was some sort of treatment for the injury. What if a healing or regeneration potion could heal his eyes? He could always ask the illagers at the mansion once he found it.

He blinked hard, shaking his head and flapping even harder. He had to stay focused on the task at wing. He had to find where Peony could have gone. And just as his attention flitted back to the forest around him, he felt his face smack painfully into the thick trunk of a dark oak tree.

Ethereal felt his wings crumple as a result of the sudden impact, and he found himself falling to the ground. A pounding headache attempted to split his skull and he squeezed his eyelids shut. He shifted his wings to form a sort of canopy above his head, just to block out any moonlight that may have been trying to fuel the burning agony.

Within a few moments it gave way to a dull ache though, to his relief, and once he finally found himself cautiously raising his head and returning to his senses, he heard a familiar voice calling out to him.

"Ethereal?"

Aspect. The phantom knew he and Elude would probably follow Ethereal once they finally realized he had gone through the portal. But he didn't think they would notice his absence so soon. Begrudgingly, he lifted into the air once again, scanning the dense biome for any familiar creatures. For what he hoped would be the distinguishable figures of Aspect and Elude.

Pushing past the pain that still resonated in his head, he beat his wings at an almost rhythmic pace, trying to keep himself calm even in the midst of his frantic mentality.

It didn't take long for him to catch a glimpse of brilliant magenta eyes peering desperately through the darkness that swallowed the forest. Elude's sleek skin was nearly invisible, as if she melted into the shadows that shrouded the landscape. But Ethereal stopped himself abruptly before colliding into her, as he had with that tree only moments ago.

Aspect was right at her side, but he was clearly distracted as he took in everything around him. It must have been so unbelievably different in the Overworld compared to what the skeleton was used to, living in the Nether for his entire life. As Ethereal peered closer he realized that one of his bony arms was resting across Elude's back, supporting her just in case.

"This mansion... It's not too far away is it?" The skeleton asked, his voice soft and edged with a deep worry that failed to break through his inexpressive skull.

Ethereal shook his head in reply but instantly regretted it when another stab of pain was sent through his skull. He winced, before answering Aspect. "No. At least, I don't think it is. Why do you ask?" But the phantom didn't need any given reason as to why Aspect had questioned him.

Ethereal gave Elude a concerned glance, his eyes sweeping over the skeleton's hold on her once again. She looked absolutely exhausted, to say the least. Her breathing was heavy as if it drained her energy just to take a single breath, and there was a hazy look to her eyes as if the enderman was struggling to keep her focus on what was going on around her.

"I just... I don't know how long..." Aspect's voice trailed off as he seemed to struggle to find the words to say. "She doesn't have a lot of time, Ethereal. We're going to need that cure as soon as possible."

Aspect was right. There was no doubt the poison's effects were worsening. It was only a matter of time until it finished its work on Elude. Letting out a defeated sigh, he spun around, taking off back into the forest, checking behind every once in a while to make sure Aspect and Elude were still following and keeping up with Ethereal.

It wasn't long before he spotted something familiar on the grass below him, catching his eye. He tipped his wings, dipping closer to the ground to get a better look. It was a book. But not just any book, he realized. There was a specific symbol of a flower etched into the corner of the back of the leather binding, which was exposed to Ethereal. Then before he knew it, and without any given warning, he was plunged into a deep memory.

⊡⊟⊠

Someone was fighting. The tensions between creatures had been high lately, at least in the swamp biome, but he couldn't have them fighting. It was his job as the guard to prevent instances like that. Yet amid the silence that fell across the landscape, he could hear the anguished cries from some creature as they fought on.

He beat his wings, trying to propel himself even further, his see-in-the-dark eyes darting across the marshland as he tried to look for where the sounds were coming from. Then as fast as they hit his ears, the mysterious sounds were abruptly cut off, as if they hadn't been emitted at all.

Silence thrummed once again through the sparse, vine-covered trees. But rather than feeling the peace that he usually did when he guarded the biome, he felt a sinking uneasiness that rippled across his wings and down his exposed spine. He still scanned the marshland beneath him for any signs of unusual activity. For anything that would give him clues or potential evidence of what caused those sounds.

He weaved through the trunks of oak trees, avoiding hanging vegetation on his way. Then a flash of movement caught his eye, nearly stopping him in the middle of his flight and sending him splashing into the murky water that stretched out beneath him.

He turned sharply, towards where creatures were stirring, gathering around something, others peering out at them from behind.

"Oh, there's the guard," one of them, a slime, spoke up, catching the attention of most of the others. Ethereal was greeted by welcoming nods and murmurs as they parted to let him pass by. In the center of the small circle they had formed, lay two bones, glimmering as they caught the moonlight from above. And beside them, sprawled across the damp grass, were quite a few unusual oddities.

But there was one item that stuck out to him. A book, with a fairly worn leather binding, and in one of the corners, he could just make out a flower symbol that had been carefully stitched into the backside cover. Crimson splatters also stood out to him, and he could assume what happened based on the few scattered arrows, more noticeably on that was nearly covered in blood. A fight broke out here, and one of the attacking creatures must have been a skeleton, but he wasn't sure about the other.

And both of them had died that night.

⊡⊟⊠

"Isn't that Peony's?" Elude's weak voice piped up, snapping Ethereal out of his thoughts. "I saw her reading it a couple of times. It's the book she had on enchanting I think."

Peony's? Ripples of confusion were sent over his mind like a foggy cloud, muddling his thought process. How in the three realms did she even get her hands on it? As far as he knew, it had been stored away in his cave in case he ever got around to figuring out what he could do with it. And if it really did belong to her now, what was it doing out there?

Aspect gently grasped the book, looking over it briefly and turning it over in his hands. "Well, that must mean she was here." He observed. "What if she found the mansion already?"

Fear swelled within his chest. Ethereal wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. He had heard rumors that the illagers at the mansion had been against kicking humans out of the Overworld, but what if they had changed their minds over the years? What if something bad happened to Peony? "If she did, we have to get there as soon as possible."