Die. Respawn. Repeat.

On some level, I feel like I should have expected something like this—I'd sensed the Remnant's presence in the dungeon even before the Ritual moved into its second stage. Why the Remnant is in the dungeon is another question entirely, but whatever transformation the Empty City went through, it must have affected the Remnant as well.

That, I presume, is the reason it's currently taking the form of a scirix and smiling at us like nothing's wrong.

"Why is your Remnant even here?" I ask, not taking my eyes off him. Novi trusts him, clearly—she doesn't even seem surprised by his presence—but I don't. Something about his Firmament reeks of... not hostility, exactly. But there's something there that tells me that this Remnant isn't just playing his role in scirix society. He remembers being Ahkelios. Is Ahkelios, more or less.

A version of him that isn't a friend. A version of him that remembers a different life, has different goals.

"I've been in the Empty City before," Ahkelios reminds me. "Or I mean... I was in the sewers. I guess that's enough for it to count as far as Remnants goes."

"You sound worried."

"Of course I am! Who knows what he's going to do?" I can feel Ahkelios itching to manifest, but he knows as well as I do that that's not a good idea for the moment—who knows what will set this version of him off. "Let me remind you that he was trying to make me betray you!"

"Which you agreed not to do." I shrug, though mostly internally. "I'm not that worried about it."

"Yes, and I think that's a problem!" Ahkelios hisses at me.

Our internal conversation is interrupted by the actual conversation taking place between Novi and this new scirix. I was too distracted by Ahkelios to catch most of it, but Guard nudges me just in time as Novi turns toward me, smiling. "This is Zhir," she says, gesturing to the other scirix. "He is an Archivist like myself, and I am fortunate to call him a friend."

"Not quite as lucky as I am," the Remnant says, his voice playful. Novi laughs in response, flicking his arm.

"Did you not agree to take care of my children while I do this?" she asks. "I believe they are waiting for you."

"Alright, alright." The Remnant chuckles. He makes eye contact with me for a moment—just long enough to communicate that he knows who I am, that he knows what this is. I feel a slight chill go down my spine. "I'll see you later. It was a pleasure to meet you, Ethan and company. Perhaps we can speak more later? Novi tells me you are astonishingly grounded for a summon; you may well be the most complete summon we've had in years."

"And here I was worried I'd have problems making friends," I say jokingly. "Sure, sounds like a plan. As long as nothing throws those plans off, anyway. Should I bring you a gift? What do you like?"

"A gift?" The Remnant cocks his head. I think that's actual surprise—he wasn't expecting me to play along with him? "I would appreciate a painting. Perhaps some plants."

"Plants?" It's Novi's turn to be teasing. "I am surprised. The last time I tried to gift you a plant, you told me it would dirty your home."

"Ah." Zhir seems briefly thrown. Calling the Remnant by his scirix name is easier, for now. All the better to distinguish him from Ahkelios. "Yes, well... Preferences change, I suppose."

That's definitely Ahkelios. I'm not sure why we're making plans to begin with—it's not like the dungeon is going to last for long once I complete the stage—but there's an underlying tension in the conversation; whatever this is, our objectives are still at odds. I can sense the Remnant looking through me, almost as if he's not looking at me but at...

Well, at Ahkelios. Looking for the fragment of himself that's a part of me instead of a part of him.

Part of me wonders: this Remnant seems to be sapient. Does that mean it remembers? The Empty City as a dungeon exists outside Hestia's Trial, which means that the Trial's resets don't necessarily affect the dungeon—not unless it's explicitly linked to a Trialgoer. It's possible he's spent many loops wandering an empty city, entirely alone.

I frown.

Those aren't my thoughts.

It's not that I'm not sympathetic, or that I wouldn't normally consider these things—but if I pay careful attention, it feels almost like Ahkelios's bond with me is... leaking. Like the familiar I'm sheltering in my soul is tied both to this Remnant and to me, and so is acting as a sort of bridge between the two of us. Zhir is looking at me like he doesn't really understand me, but if I'm catching a glimpse of what he's experienced, then I'm guessing he's catching a glimpse of what I've experienced, too.

I wonder if that's going to be enough to change his mind on whatever he has planned. Because I can tell he's got a plan, and I'm not sure I'm going to like it.

"Are you ready, Protector?" Novi asks, entirely oblivious to the silent conversation between Zhir and I.

"I suppose I am," I say. "Are you leading the way to... what was it, the Shadowed Laboratory?"

"Perhaps a strange name, I know," Novi says with a light smile. "It is Shadowed because it is shielded from the Sky—from the Firmament. Some of our summons have called it foreboding. A cultural division, I suppose. We tend to believe that both the shadow and the light have an equal and important part to play."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

I watch as she picks the Seed up out of the box. It's about twice as large as it was before—still easy enough to hold, but only barely. It's also churning with Firmament, a chaotic mixture of energy that doesn't quite resolve into anything I can recognize. I still don't know why the dungeon's Ritual revolves around this Seed, but I suppose I'll find out.

"We will see you later, Zhir!" Novi calls back as she heads out—not through the front door, I note, but to a tunnel that's built into the side of the warehouse.

Makes sense, if we're expecting to be attacked. I take a few steps after her, gesturing for Guard to follow me, even as Zhir makes to leave through the front door.

What was it Novi had said? That Zhir had agreed to take care of her children?

And there was the look on Zhir's face...

"Ahkelios," I murmur. I feel him snapping to attention when I say his name. We're aligned on this, I think.

"You want me to follow him?" he asks.

"You know me too well." I send him a sense of approval through our link, and he grins back; I feel him drawing on my Firmament just enough to manifest just outside the warehouse, hiding just behind the door.

We've already tested him separating from me. It's a strain on our link, but it's something we can do now, far more than the original distance limitations I had with the skill. This will probably strain it a bit more than back when we were in Isthanok, but hopefully not enough to snap him back to me. It all depends on how far we're going.

For now, I put it out of my mind. My job is to protect Novi and to make sure the Seed stays safe. There's plenty of space to maneuver—once we get far enough down the steps, the tunnel expands into a structure that's truly massive, lit with what looks like a series of lights powered by a mixture of Firmament and redirected solar energy—so I just need to watch out for... what was it Novi said? Something about the Seed drawing in hostile Firmament?

I glance at the Interface. I can already feel small wisps of Firmament being drawn into it now that it's outside the shielding of the warehouse. This tunnel is unshielded, and plenty of Firmament trickles down from above; if I activate Firmament Sight, I can see it almost like drops of colored rain.

One of them splashes onto the Seed and is quickly absorbed without a trace. I glance at the Interface.

[Collect the Seed: 1/1

Charge the Seed: 1/100]

At the same time, there's a low groan that echoes through the tunnel.

"Hostile Firmament incoming!" Novi announces, though it's unnecessary. I glance further into the tunnel, drawing some power into my eyes to help me see.

Yep. That's some hostile Firmament alright. In fact, they're quite a lot like the human legend of ghosts.

"You didn't tell me they look like dead scirix," I grumble. Novi makes an awkward, embarrassed sort of noise, clearing her throat.

"I did not think it would be important." She pauses. "Is it?"

"Nah." I shrug. "You might want to look away, though. This is going to get messy."

A quick test confirms my suspicions: physical attacks don't do anything to them. A Phaseshift, though? The skill that specifically lets me move out of phase with reality and into phase with Firmament?

I tear a scirix-ghost apart like it's made of paper. It's kind of a horrid sight, because the Firmament copies... well, everything. Down to the internals. I wince a bit. I can sense stronger ones and bigger ones, too, further down the tunnel; not all of it is going to be this easy. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Messy is almost certainly going to be an understatement. A quick glance back tells me that despite my warnings, Novi is probably not going to look away or be particularly bothered by the violence. She seems kind of fascinated by it, if anything.

Oh boy.

On the plus side...

[You have defeated an Empty Regret (Rank E)! +3 Strength credits. +1 Firmament credit.]

For whatever reason, they're still enough to give me credits.

Works for me.

Ahkelios felt his heart hammering in his chest—for a given definition of 'heart' and 'chest', anyway. His whole body was made of Firmament, so the old physical sensations of stress and anxiety were more psychosomatic than an actual stress response. It didn't change what he was feeling, though.

Especially since it didn't take very long before Zhir sighed and called out to him. "I know you're following me," he said. "You might as well come out."

Ahkelios considered for a moment that his counterpart might have been bluffing, but it was unlikely. He could feel his Remnant, and if that were true for him, then it was just as true for the Remnant. Trying to hide was an exercise in futility.

Better to find out what he was planning.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, emerging from the bush he was hiding in. He shook his entire body a few times to get rid of all the leaves stuck on him, and Zhir watched him in amusement.

"I hardly have a choice," the scirix-but-not-really said. "I'm as much a slave to this dungeon as everyone else is. Perhaps more. It is fascinating, though; in all the attempts I've seen to clear this dungeon, this is only the second time I have encountered someone able to unlock its Ritual."

"And you're not planning to screw it up?" Ahkelios asked, fluttering next to Zhir. The Remnant turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. Ridge. Ahkelios didn't really know much about scirix physiology.

"I have one goal," Zhir said plainly. "And it's to reintegrate myself with you."

Ahkelios stopped in place, and Zhir stopped too, waiting for him patiently. "Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"Because I'm tired of this," Zhir said. "Do you know how long I've been stuck here since our Trial? How long I've been forced to play the same old tired game? I didn't even have the option of giving up like you did. I'm a ghost of a ghost, playing the role of a monster, watching Trialgoer after Trialgoer die."

Ahkelios remained silent.

"And I tried, you know," Zhir continued. "To convince you to join me. I'm strong enough and you're strong enough that we could just sever your connection with Ethan. Make us our own person independent from him."

"That's what Ethan wants too," Ahkelios said.

"Ah, but he wants that for you." Zhir raised a finger and wagged it in an oddly human mannerism; it took Ahkelios a moment to realize that he'd pilfered it from his bond with Ethan, and that made him feel strangely dirty. "I want that for me. And that's going to be a problem for us, because I don't think either of us want to lose our individuality."

Ahkelios was almost certain he knew what was coming, but he waited anyway. His fists clenched, but he hid them behind his back.

"And if I can't convince you to let me take over the normal way," Zhir said. Ahkelios thought it was strange how he sounded like he was trying to convince himself, too, but then he wasn't too surprised; he wondered what he would have done in Zhir's position.

Fought like this too, probably. Maybe. He didn't think he'd stooped to threats, but who knew how much his counterpart had been through?

"I've seen the Ritual done once before," Zhir said, turning to Ahkelios. "Deaths in one Ritual stage carry over to the next. And that woman's kids? They're going to be very, very important in the later stages. So: Here's the deal.

"You let me take over and give me my freedom. In return, I won't kill them, and your Trialgoer won't be stuck trying to finish a Ritual that can never be completed."