Fayt let out a grunt of pain as he dodged, yet again, a spear that appeared to have been dipped in poison. Rather than be a shiny steel or a flat stone colour, the spear head glistened with a greenish purple sheen, and its wielder took the necessary precautions of making sure her weapon never touched her flesh as she whirled it around her body. Fayt could also smell something disgustingly sweet each time the spear neared his face, so it was a fair guess the edges were coated with some kind of toxin.

Of course, his opponent appeared to have a better advantage in their fight than what Fayt possessed. She danced around him like a professional ballerina, and she kept Fayt from reaching his sword or his bow and arrows. She leapt from whatever large rock she could find – and there were plenty of them lining the road he and Luther were traveling – and her gaze never left him each time she changed her vantage point. As a result, Fayt never averted his attention away from his foe for more than a second or two at a time. From what he could hear, Luther was also in a similar situation.

They had left Maentah two days prior, and they had left at the time Luther designated. The blond-haired man kept telling Fayt their timing for everything was important. It was how Maepyria itself was designed. Reaching the port city a day earlier than planned would be beneficial since they could take the time to restock their provisions and rest for a short while. At least, that was what Luther had told him as they were riding out of the village's main gates, and the blond-haired man also believed they would be attacked from time to time along the way. Maepyria contained every fantasy adventure element possible including strange-looking and intelligent thieves and highwaymen. The enemies would be stronger than the ones Fayt encountered on Elicoor II and even the Executioners and robots from Sphere 211.

At first, Fayt thought Luther was being too detail-oriented and beyond the point of controlling. Leaving and arriving at specific times to specific places, carrying a certain amount of food and weaponry, and learning new spells as they traveled were a bit much in the blue-haired man's mind . . . until that particular moment and they were under attack.

His opponent whirled her spear around in a wide arc and at a furious pace. Her light green eyes glinted with malice and with what Fayt believed to be the urge to kill. Since he already surmised the tip of her weapon had been dipped in some kind of poison, he felt confident in his guess as to what she truly wanted to do to him. Around her, more warriors appeared with spears at the ready and arrows pointing directly at him.

A cruel smirk graced her features for a split second then she lunged towards Fayt one more time. The blue-haired man's eyes widened when he saw her poison-tipped spear aimed at his heart. Fayt scrambled to his feet as quickly as he could, sidestepping the spear's tip at the last possible moment, and he grabbed the spear's shaft in a last ditch effort to wrest her weapon away from his enemy. Sweat beaded along his forehead and dripped into his eyes, blurring his vision slightly, and his heart hammered in his chest as he struggled with the woman warrior, but Fayt refused to relinquish his hold on her weapon. He had to continue fighting, not for just his sake, but for those who were in danger. His father had gifted him with the powers, something Robert Leingod would not have done if no threat existed. Fayt fought, not for himself, but for the sake of others, including the woman currently trying to end his life. He strengthened his resolve and prepared himself to send her flying.

However, the moment Fayt grasped his enemy's spear and stood in a defensive stance, the woman let out a pained howl. She immediately released her hold on the spear and collapsed to the ground, an arrow protruding from her back. Her companions stared at her in wide-eyed shock then turned their gazes in the direction from which the arrow had come. A few of them brandished swords and spoke in a language Fayt could not quite understand. Several more arrows flew from a thicket of darkwood trees, landing next to the women. They shrieked out Fayt believed to be several strings of profanities, but, rather than run towards the thicket and attack their attackers, the women retreated, grabbing their wounded comrade as they fled.

Once they were gone, Fayt fell to his knees, and he gasped for air. His ribs ached from landing on the ground too often, his lungs burned, and his legs felt as if they were made of almond jelly instead of flesh, bones, and muscles. The arrows continued to fly around Fayt, landing in a circle around him, but he found he did not care in that moment. He felt hot, like he had walked through the Urssa Lava Caves and the Mosel Desert at the same time, and he half-imagined he heard his blood coursing through his body. The sound filled his ears until he thought he might go deaf.

"Fayt?"

Luther's voice sounded fainted, as if he were buried underground and not standing several feet away. Fayt glanced in the other man's direction and saw energy. He saw a great deal of energy surrounding Luther, violet in colour but steady, like a force shield. A scream tore itself from Fayt as pain exploded throughout his entire body, and he doubled over as every nerve, every muscle and even the hair on his head felt like it was being doused with ice and with fire. The pain left him in an instant, leaving him shaky and nauseous. He sensed a breeze tickling his insides, caressing his stomach, but he felt neither heat nor cold from the sensation. Fayt then averted his attention away from Luther, found it landing on his hands, and he started trembling when he saw the ground through his palms and his fingers.

"What the . . . what's going on?" he cried out, fear overtaking his senses. "What's happening to me?"

"Fayt, remain calm," Luther intoned. He sounded so calm. How could he be calm when Fayt was literally disappearing from sight? "You are manifesting again."

"Manifesting?"

Even as he spoke, Fayt saw the symbols glowing on his flesh, and he recognized them. They were the signs for Zodiac, a power meant for rewriting the stars, if he recalled his lessons correctly.

Fayt, however, sensed more to Zodiac than what the books he had read told him. He saw Luther's energy, his aura, and it was strong. Luther commanded both fear and respect, even from those who were attacking them. No arrows touched the ground around Luther. They were all around Fayt, trapping him.

Fayt also saw the energies belonging to the foes hiding in the thicket of trees, creatures that resembled orcs and kobolds from the books he read as a child. They were hunting together for food and valuables. They cared not who the attacked, though Fayt did not understand why the women fled as they had. Some were chasing the women who had ambushed Luther and him. As he gazed at the enemies, a sign appeared over each orc and kobold, signs from the Greek astrology. Fayt's eyes narrowed as he focused on those signs, and he sent a wave of energy towards the creatures. The power would not be enouh to kill the orcs and kobolds, but it would be enough for them to flee and leave Luther and Fayt alone, licking their wounds as they ran.

As he sent the energy forth, exhaustion started to overwhelm Fayt. His limbs felt heavy, his tongue felt thick, and his eyes refused to remain open any longer. Unable to stay in an upright position any longer, Fayt closed his eyes and remembered no more.

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Maria Traydor was not used to following orders. For the last nine years, she led Quark, the anti-Federation group founded by Klausian Cliff Fittir. As a result, she was accustomed to people obeying her, though she never went on power trips. It was simply how Quark seemed to operate. The most powerful and the most capable and intelligent led so it stood to reason she would hate being called a follower after she took over leadership responsibilities from Quark. She never even took orders from Fayt when they traveled together, and Fayt was more of a natural leader than she. Maria possessed more experience, and it was her experience she liked to cling.

Only now, her abilities seemed to mean nothing to their newfound guide, a silver-haired man of indeterminate origins, a man by the name of Nikoli. The Maepyrian had found Maria, Albel, Cliff, Mirage, Nel, Adray, Rodger, Clair, Sophia, and Peppita as they were heading for what they believed to be a village. Well, Albel was the one traveling to the village. The rest of them were trying to keep the Glyphian swordsman from harming someone as he went. A strange gleam had appeared in the swordsman's eyes the moment he saw the smoke rising in the distance, and he had become hell-bent on reaching the village. Nikoli was from the place Albel was heading for, and he, from what Maria understood, had been sent by the village's leaders to investigate The Diplo's crash site.

It was in meeting Nikoli that Maria and the others learned Fayt was in the silver-haired man's village. At least, Fayt had been in Maentah when Nikoli left for The Diplo's crash site. From what the man said, Fayt would be leaving the village before too much longer, embarking on an important journey, and he would be leaving with none other than the Creator himself, Luther Lansfeld.

'Why did this have to happen?' Maria wondered. They were less than half a day's travel from Luther and Fayt's current location, and the journey from Maentah had been trying at best. Nikoli issued most of the orders, including to Maria, and all but she and Lieber obeyed without hesitation. She balked every time he told her to do something, but she eventually complied, telling herself it was only because Nikoli knew the area better than she. While she had her quad scanner to inform her of terrain and anything else she needed to know, Maria decided against using it simply because they were on an underdeveloped planet. The UP3 was still in place. Maria decided she could live with her decisions so long as they were her decisions.

However, following Nikoli's lead was not her only issues. There was also the fact that, in order to catch up with Fayt and Luther, they were required to ride horses. To the blue-haired woman, horses were an outdated form of transportation, one for underdeveloped planets like Elicoor II and Maepyria. Out of everyone in the group, she and Lieber were the ones with difficulties. Neither of them could ride well, and they were riding the same horse together. As such, her entire body ached from riding on top of the creature's back, especially since Nikoli would wake them before the sun appeared in the east and not rest until an hour or so after the sun had set. They never pitched any tents, they carried bedrolls, and they looked for firewood as they rode. They had only left Maentah a day and a half prior.

Finally, the most worrisome was the knowledge of Luther and Fayt traveling together. The news did not sit well with Maria, and she kept asking herself 'why.' Why was Luther involved? The blond-haired man had promised to leave the Eternal Sphere alone if they were able to defeat him, which they had done. Luther should not have interfered. It also bothered Maria to know Fayt was with Luther willingly, after everything the Creator had forced them to endure.

"Leader, is everything all right?" Lieber inquired. He sat behind her on the horse as Maentah's elders were not about to spare extra animals so each person could ride solo. Somehow, she and Lieber were assigned to the same beast. While she appreciated the Klausian's loyalty, she did not care for his standoffish behaviour towards Fayt and his exuberance towards her. Fortunately, for the moment, they were not riding, and Maria could breathe a little easier.

"Yes, I'm fine, Lieber," Maria said. She started to say more – she hated how Lieber worried more than what he should over her and yet not care so much about others - when Sophia gasped and cut her off.

"What is that?" the younger woman asked. Maria looked at Sophia, who pointed in the direction they were heading. She glanced in time to see a flash of blue-white light appear on the horizon. It vanished half a minute later.

Maria blinked, and a sensation of dread washed over her. She recognized the light for what it was, and the potential power behind it. At least, she believed she did.

"Oh no . . ."

"He's manifesting . . . again," Cliff stated, his tone flat.

"Then we must hurry," Nikoli said. "If what you have told me about power manifestation is true, Master Luther will be without a companion for at least a day or so, and that by itself can prove deadly around here."

Maria wanted to retort back that Luther could take care of himself. He was the Creator, after all, and there was not much that could harm the blond. However, she refrained, more out of her worry for Fayt than anything else. She did not know how much control Fayt possessed over his powers of Destruction, but even a small expenditure could be draining. He would be unconscious for at least one day and therefore he would be vulnerable to anything and anyone. The group hurriedly packed their gear they had pulled out for their midday break. At the same time, Nikoli doused their small campfire with a water-based spell.

As they were preparing to leave, Maria saw, from the corner of her eye, the empty space between her and Nikoli warp. It grew large enough for a person to walk through, and she paused to observe this anomaly. The others also noticed the black hole opening, and they, too, stopped to star. Albel drew his sword.

A man with short, black hair and deep blue eyes stepped out of the opening a minute or so later. To Maria's surprise, Nikoli approached the newcomer in greeting, a smile on the silver-haired man's face. The opening then closed.

"Master Ryan," he said, bowing a little. "I had wondered if you and the Lady Victorea would be joining us on this little adventure."

"We come whenever we get the chance," the man said. "Though Torie is meeting up with Luther and Fayt rather than accompany me right this moment. Apparently, Fayt has some interesting powers."

"So Master Luther has said," Nikoli murmured. "That is the reason for their journey. I am guessing you spoke with Master Luther before he brought Fayt here?"

"He spoke with both of us," Ryan replied. "And we decided we'd better help as much and for as long as we're able. Are all of you ready?"

"Ready?" Sophia asked. "Ready for what?"

"To catch up with Luther, Fayt, and Torie," he answered. "Because once we catch up, we're going to put a lot of distance behind us. I know Torie. Once she gets it in her head to start moving, she doesn't kid around. She makes a lion look tame."

"We need another moment," Nikoli said. "Then we will be ready. Can you wait?"

"Since we'll be in their current location in half an hour?" Ryan shrugged. "Sure. I can wait."

"In half an hour?" Maria echoed. "That's impossible! Even if we rode the horses hard, we still wouldn't be able to catch up to them that quickly."

"It isn't if you're using a specific spell," Ryan said. "Very few people can learn it. It's very time-consuming, but once it's learned, leaping distances is no problem. Now we've got to hurry. Torie's told me our timing is of the greatest importance."

"And why is that?" Cliff asked.

"Because of where we're heading. Fayt is trying to reach the Temple of Night. When we catch up with Torie and Luther, we'll explain it in detail as to why. In the meantime, let's focus on reaching them," Ryan said. "The fighting isn't over yet."

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Luther glanced up the moment he saw a flash of blue-white light. Since the battle's end, one of his subordinates had joined him, and they were trying desperately to prepare for departure as they waited for the rest of their . . . party to join them. Unfortunately, Fayt remained unconscious, and he and Victorea continually stopped to be sure the other was safe.

The instant he stopped in his preparations, a tear warped into sight, and Ryan appeared. Following behind him were Nikoli, and the members of Fayt's original traveling party. While he retained mixed emotions about the group's uncanny ability to show up, especially Maria Traydor and Albel Nox, Luther believed they would be more helpful than troublesome in the days to come. He nodded to them and resumed his packing. It was hard and tiring work, but Luther enjoyed the challenges.

"I need someone to watch over Fayt," he heard Victorea say. Before anyone could volunteer, she continued with, "Ryan, could you do that for me?"

"Sure thing, Torie. When do we need to reach the port city?"

"Before the end of the week," she replied. "The shipmaster won't wait beyond that. The Dragon Ocean isn't always the most pleasant for sailing."

In hearing this, Luther paused in his work. It was not a good sign, and he felt fairly certain he knew what their words meant. He then turned his attention to the couple.

"What has changed?" he asked.

"We're not sure," Victorea replied as she saddled Fayt's horse. "However, I think I know what caused the change in the first place."

"The viruses from our competitors," Luther murmured. He glanced in the rest of the party's direction. Most of them knew the truth of their origins. They did not care for the truth, but it was a truth nonetheless. There were some that did not, however, and Luther needed to be careful in what he said and how loud he said it. Fortunately for him, most of them were still trying to adjust to sitting on a horse's back, and Nikoli's gaze was on the horizon.

"That's my guess," Victorea said. "They're already creating havoc in other areas. It only makes sense Maepyria would adapt to this new threat."

"So why exactly are we here?" Maria interjected. The programmers glanced in her directions. "He," she gestured to Ryan, "said something about Fayt heading for some place called the Temple of Night, but he didn't say why."

"I said it would be explained once we reached you and Torie," Ryan said, his gaze on Luther. "And I meant it, too."

"So tell us already," Maria demanded. "And why are you here, Luther?"

"Such impatience," Luther said. "He hadn't even finished talking yet, Maria Traydor. How rude and very unbecoming of a leader such as yourself. Very well then. We are heading for the Temple of Night so Fayt may speak with his father about his powers. The Temple of Night is one of a few places in the entire universe where the souls of the dead can gather and speak with the living. It is a long and perilous journey, one that many never live to see through. As for why I am here, that is truly none of your concern."

"Why not just revive Professor Leingod," Cliff inquired. "Ask him that way."

"For one," Victorea said, "that would be very cruel to both Fayt and his mother. It's been six years since his death. To see him alive again would be ultimately traumatizing and confusing for the two of them."

"Not to mention we can't revive the dead," Ryan added. "We can't even rewrite the codes so that Robert Leingod's death doesn't happen. To attempt it could be very catastrophic in the end."

"Why not?" Maria demanded, yet again.

"Because of the way the software is designed," Luther growled. "To attempt to rewrite the codes would cause the mainframes to malfunction and overload, leading to a system wide failure. Sphere would be vulnerable to attacks, and the world as you know it would definitely cease to exist. That is why."

"It's better to let things flow the way that they should," Ryan said, his tone gentler than Luther's. "As sad as it sounds, Robert Leingod was meant to die protecting his son from Biwig. For it to end any other way . . ." He shook his head.

"Ah, the whole flow of time thing," Cliff murmured. "Gotcha. So everything needs to happen for a reason."

"A lesson I needed to learn," Luther muttered to himself. His ire at Maria had not vanished, but he managed to shove it to the side for the moment. He then shook his head. "We can continue this conversation on our way to the ship. We must be on our way. Our window of opportunity will not be open for long."

"We can't go anywhere with Fayt unconscious!" Maria protested. "He'll fall off the horse! We need a wagon or a stretcher to carry him."

"Luther can ride with him," Ryan said. "Torie and I will share a horse."

"We're almost ready to go, too," Victorea said. "I just need to toss one more thing onto Fayt's horse, and we'll be set. The sooner we leave, the better off we'll be in the end. And before anyone asks, no, we cannot simply appear at the Temple of Night. That's breaking the rules, and the magicks in this world will prevent us from doing such a thing. For those of you into gaming, it's called cheating, and the way we wrote the program codes doesn't allow for it. Maepyria is a place for adventure. It's how Ryan and I wanted it to be. We're not about to change that now."

"Nor will anyone ask you to change it," Luther said. Already, he was walking to Fayt's horse, the blue-haired man slumped across its back. He also noticed the scathing look given to him by Maria, and Luther could not help but wonder why. As quickly as his curiosity came to him, it vanished. There were probably many reasons for her heated and hateful stare, but Luther was not about to think upon them or even speak with Maria about her reasons. In his mind, there were more pressing issues at hand. Reaching the Temple of Night with Fayt safe and alive at the right time was first and foremost. He slid onto Fayt's horse, mindful of his unconscious companion. Luther reached over, his fingers touching upon silky, blue locks.

"Don't worry," he murmured. "We will have answers, and we will have them soon. I promise you as much."