Location: Crystallized Zalra Depths - The Silent Palace

"Incredible. This is the essence of a primordial existence in such a condensed form. Vermillion has been seeking this for so long now. The wish of our great mistress will become a reality. Such a pearl-fect day!"

A green-haired girl adjusted her glasses as prismatic light shone across her face. She sat comfortably in her mechanical carriage seat. Her hand rolled over a sphere inlaid in the armrest. The transport slowly turned toward her companions who had fought hard on this long journey. Now the light of the rare Chaos Prism was behind her, casting darkness on her until she appeared like a shadow in its brilliance.

"Wendel-chan, Blank-chan, you have done an absolute gem of a job. To think I would actually see one of these in person. This place must be where the original people of this land attempted to harness the chaos to perhaps remove or even control the crystal disease? This prism was once a river of chaotic energy, like a stream of creation..." She briefly trailed off before continuing...

"It may have flowed up from depth below, then was held here by those people until it eventually crystalized, just like all the small shards you have been collecting up until now…. He was right, from the looks of it. People have tried many ways to harness the Origins for a long time. Hmhm, yes indeed. Crystal clear... hnn… hnn… yes, and…" the emerald-haired technomancer Xsune droned on, carefully explaining her thought process as if her companions were listening.

Wendel exhaled a deep sigh as her legs could barely hold her up, Xsune’s musing must have added at least 100 pound, each time she caught herself listening to the technomancer’s rambling.

The pink-haired girl initially expected that place to be as uneventful and boring as it name indicates… Silent Palace… very original and the environmental diversity of Swiss cheese. After all, it was the Crystalized Zalra. However, the dangers and near-death experiences tossed at her were abundant. Not to mention how tough Zalra’s whacky terrain was on her dainty body.

Also, Xsune constantly telling her to stay back the whole time was not useful. The dark magi shot a glare at the perfectly silent silver haired girl standing beside Xsune. Ner was her name, and Wendel still felt she had seen her before her Vermillion encounter...

Was that the Merkafa... Merkappa... that woman from way back then? No way, how did she get younger? That person from back then was an old hag! That first year was so hard to remember these days… Wendel thought to herself.

Dark red blood trickled down the arm of the tired corrupted pinkette when she rubbed it. It was a couple of shades darker than it used to be… and a little slimier maybe? The two years she has spent in her altered state must have done something to change her internally. She did go absolutely crazy to kill the strange guardian creature or thing earlier. She could even confirm if it was really dead. How much longer must she continue to go on these missions anyway? So many people were suffering and she hadn't seen any of the people she wanted to help in so long...

Wendel felt her legs getting heavier again as Xsune continued to babble on and on about the Silent Palace’s possible history and other stupid stuff. Just get the crystal thingy already! Wendel rolled her eyes and took a glance around the room hoping for something to distract her. Maybe something to shoot at to make time pass faster.

The chamber had an impressively tall domed ceiling with no windows. The crystal blue walls turned dark the higher one looks until its top is completely submerged in darkness.

The Chaos Prism, an immense prism shard that levitated over a circular pit surrounded by even more darkness was the sole light source in the chamber. How were they going to collect this one? Their collection devices used for prism shard extraction couldn't hold this much energy, the concentration of magic was immense!

Now that they had this one, did that mean the Chaos Heart is complete? Is Vermy happy and maybe the endless feeling of helplessness Wendel had around her would finally go away?

"Oh… You guys are sick of my tic—I mean, rambling, aren’t you? I guess not everyone is a good listener like you Ner!" Xsune glanced lovingly at her doll-like creation. Ner did not offer a response.

"Alright then. Ner it is time for you to shine!"

Ner silently turned to the Chaos Prism and silently assessed the prismatic object that the group had sought after for so long... Ner's pale white hands extended toward the chaotic radiation, fading away as if they weren’t there? There was only a vague outline of something…

Wendel had no idea what she was seeing or if it was even real. It may be black, white... or clear. Whatever color it was, the hand and its immediate area was so colorless that it hurt the pinkette's eyes.

Normally, Wendel welcomes pain but this was a different sensation... frightening even. There was no heaven in those hands, nor hell... Even the blackness in Wendel's twisted heart shivered with a sense of self preservation.

Gee whiz what is that?

"Now draw the chaos into you. You know what to do Ner… Yes! Good girl!" Xsune opened a screen in front of her that looked somewhat like the game UI used to communicate with others over long distance. She spoke to Wendel and Blank as she began to type upon the screen. A keen observer may notice a small emblem or logo that was out of place compared to usual player’s user interface.

"I'm currently busy so try to keep an eye out just in case. Overwatcher-san does not have access to this place and I'm-"

CRASH!!!

A white beam of light shot outward from the darkness, striking between the girls like lightning and separated Wendel and Blank from Xsune and Ner. The beam slowly collapsed onto itself before vanishing.

An unknown kneeling girl appeared where the beam struck. The girl stood up as her hood fell behind her. Anger was visible on her face as she directed her eyes at Xsune. She donned a color scheme that made Wendel immediately cringe. This girl was...

"I can't let this continue. I have to stop you now..."

Xsune lowered her glasses and squinted at the newcomer before returning to her work the multiple screens in front of her.

"Wendel-chan, Blank-chan, could you two please silence her?"

Once again, Wendel and Blank were pushed into a fight they had no say over. Wendel at least welcomed a chance to do something other than standing there watching weird stuff happen. Also, the new girl annoyed her more than usual. It made her think of the weak self she had finally gotten rid of. Yuck.

"You two, it's not too late. I only have so much left... but I can't let a problem we are partially responsible for continue affecting others stuck in this world!"

Wendel barely dodged as the stranger rushed toward her at incredible speed. As Wendel jumped back she prepared her counter. Before she could fire off a magical shot, the white cloaked opponent fired at Blank with some kind of weapon on their arm. Although she was more than capable at aiming her shots, she didn’t appear to be going for the kill and was targeting the roses that adorned both Wendel and Blank instead.

Honestly, how does she expect to save anyone that way? Disgusting fake heroine!

The battle continued as the room steadily dimmed. The Chaos Prism began to transform into liquid as it flowed into the space where Ner's hands were supposed to be. Ner began to tremble the more energy she absorbed from the Chaos Prism.

Xsune’s concern grew as she split her attention between the battle and Ner’s interaction with the Chaos Prism. Was it too much? Ner was the most efficient method of collecting chaos energy she had. There was nothing else that could have rivaled Ner, yet she seemed to be struggling.

The Chaos Prism flared dangerously as several of Wendel's stray attacks hit it, causing major instability. Static crackled throughout the Silent Palace and radiated outward. The shockwave that travelled across the region reached as far as the edge of Tertoria.

For a brief moment, the world rippled.

A light was seen throughout the land. It was a brilliant aurora that filled the skies for several weeks and one of those rare phenomena the common folks talk about for a long time.

Wendel S3 Epilogue

Darkness.

Did Wendel die? The sensation felt identical to the time when she died to the spider monster…

No... it wasn’t death. It was something else...

"So you can hear me again."

A distant light flashed into existence like a distant star flickering back to life. Wendel has vague memory of this light communicating with her before she… evolved. What did it want now? Why did she feel like she was not alone in the darkness?

"Chaos is not a purely good nor evil existence, it simply is. Your fate has continued in the proper direction. It is soon time for others as well."

Wendel looked around for the speaker, but there was no one. Annoyance slowly erupted from the pit of her stomach.

"Now for you... The dissonance of Wendy's soul."

Dissonance? What was that? Didn’t that come up a while back? Why is the voice talking about it?

"Your fate thread is not long. I take no joy in this, for you seemed to have developed some. I imagine this is due to the strong will that existed within the poor girl. She does not create monsters quite to his taste. He would far rather take the end of humanity with the end of the order."

Gee whiz what the fuck was going on? Could even one thing make sense? Who is "she" and "he" and "fate" and.... urrrrgh! Wendel would scream if she could. Everything she was experiencing felt like a nightmare, only her nightmares were supposed to be brief. No word could describe what she was going through at that moment.

"In death... it... will..."

What?!! Death? What will?

"...correct."

Location: Westenbur

"EAAAYAAAAAA!!!!"

Wendel was completely drenched with sweat when she snapped awake. Her trembling hands were gripping the bedsheets as she looked around with a feeling she’s become very acquainted with lately—fear. After confirming that she wasn’t in immediate danger, she fell back into the plush and comfy bed. Wait, plush and comfy what? Bed? Silky sheets? Plush pillows? She jerked her body up again, this time snapping out of a nightmare she was experiencing while being wide awake. Now that’s terrifying…

"Oh my! Dear lord praise Goddess Tria your fate was not to die! Dear! Come quick! The girl's awake!" a rather chubby middle-aged woman called out for her husband who immediately stuck his balding head through the door.

"Well, I'll be! She sure is, Hilda!"

"Quick bring her some soup! You're hungry aren't you sweety? How about some hearty burcow soup!"

"Ummm..." Wendel was completely dumbfounded, not knowing what to say to the couple fussing over her.

GUuuuUUuRGLES Unlike Wendel’s defunct speechcraft, her stomach knew exactly what to say. The girl reached down to rub her stomach, noticing that a nasty granny gown was covering her slender form. It was so ugly that she refused to acknowledge its existence.

"If a Burcow. is like a cow.... use raw meat..."

The woman, Hilda, shot her husband a weird look before he let out a uproarious guffaw.

"Hahaha, pretty tough for a kid, sure I eat rare burcow steak all the time! Maybe she's healthier than you thought Hilda!"

The man left as Hilda came over and wiped Wendel's forehead with a damp cloth. The pinkette would have swept her hand away as the ineffective method of helping someone was annoying but, she was honestly too weak right now to resist. A window next to her bed gave a slight indication of where she might be. It was dusty out there. A creature that looked like a horse passed by. It looked like something out of an old western. But the wagon she spotted had what looked like tank wheels?

"Where am I?"

"You're in Westenbur child, this here’s a frontier town. This ain’t like being found around hoity-toity Gardibrook. This here is the edge of the world in great Tertoria!" the old man spoke.

"But still, thank Tria I found you. You coulda ended up out in that wasteland! A delicate girl like you wouldn't have lasted a darn day out there!" the woman chimed in.

Wowzers. Well, it wouldn't be too hard to just warp back to Vermy after eating... Wait, where was it???

Wendel suddenly realized her rose had disappeared. She put her hand where it used to sit and frantically gave herself a thorough pat-down, but it truly wasn’t there. Her origin, the thing that gave her her current existence was… gone… The girl took a second to let that thought sink into her.

When she noticed that the old woman had gotten close to her, casting a look of concern over her strange and erratic behavior, Wendel quickly demanded a glass of water as a distraction so the woman would leave her alone while she was panicking. "Wowzers, I’m dying from thirst. I need water now, hurry!!!"

"O-okay dear, just give me a goddang minute!" Hilda panicked and left in a hurry, leaving the door open to Wendel's room just in case.

With the obstacle gone, the pinkette opened her distorted UI and tried to figure out her location. For some reason, it was no longer possible to warp back to the manor… Which was a relief? It’s not that she didn’t want to warp back, it was that she couldn’t. It was highly unfortunate, a great shame. The girl’s dark heart beat a little faster at the brief taste of freedom.

"Ummm so... it’s kind of awkward, but how am I going to say this... hi?"

"EAYA-mpfp!"

Wendel quickly covered her own mouth to avoid drawing those two fussing geezers back. She looked around to see the person who had spoken to her. The voice was high-pitched and unfamiliar, but somehow very familiar... like it was her own voice…???

"Hello me! Gee whiz Isn't this weird?"

Wendel rubbed her eyes at the sight of the tiny pink girl floated in front of her. The Chibi Magi Heart flew over to the window sill where she dusted off before sitting down, dangling her tiny stubby legs over the ledge. A gentle white glow surrounded her, making her appear as though she was a wingless pixie.

Wendel’s first instinct was to try and grab the little pest and squeeze the pink nightmare to death, however, her hand passed through the girl as though she wasn’t really there.

"Yep, everything just passes right through me. Look here!"

Mini Wendy thrust her gloved hand into the window sill and gave it a couple of waves. She wasn’t kidding, her hand moved in and out of the object like a Bethesda video game character.

"You see… I'm not really sitting on this sill, but it's just kind of nice to pretend I can. It's pretty neat, but I just wish we were in a better location…. Hmm… I'm not sure how I'm here and if I'm like a ghost, maybe? No one, but you seem to be able to see me either. I tried to ask the nice couple here, but nope, they walked right through me. You know… you've done some really bad stuff, but I can understand. This is kinda crazy. In fact, it’s really, really crazy."

Wendel's rubbed her eyes again and gave her head a shake, unable to process what she was seeing and hearing. The fact that she was looking at herself was… great! SHE WAS FREE OF BOTH ROSE GIRL AND HERSELF (Magi Heart)!!!! Cool beans!

"No Magi Heart... no Vermy to tell me what to do all the time... Hehehehahahaha!"

The dark Magi bounced up and down on the bed like a spoiled child as mad delight welled up inside her.

"Ummn, actually, no. You're still stuck with me... "

"Only thing solid for me is something I can't see…" Mini Wendy flew across the room before she bonk against an invisible wall.

Turning back to the larger version of herself, she sighed, "I think it's because you're in my body, so somehow we’re linked, and that’s why I’m kinda trapped with you. Look, I know you don't like me, but this is a good chance for us to have a serious talk and figure stuff out. Okay?"

It took a long while, 451 words to be exact, but the truth finally got through to the dark Magi. It finally dawned on her that she was stuck with her past. It seemed like it was impossible for both of them to be rid of each other. The big Wendel was about to throw a mad tantrum out of seething anger when she heard footsteps quickly approaching the room.

GUuuuUUuRGLES

Her stomach grumbled with tenfold the amount of rage that she was experiencing at that moment.

Well, whatever feelings she had has to wait for now as she was about to die from starvation. Whatever she decides to do now, with herself, with the pixie Wendy, or with the trip to find anyone she knows would take time and proper rest.

The dark Magi conceded to hunger and readily put on a strange act to get several servings of the food and water the couple brought for her.

Blank S3 Epilogue

One year after the Silent Palace event...

Dormond growled as he scaled further up the mountain pass, buffeted by wind and ice alike. A blizzard at this elevation wasn't unusual, but not this time of year. The snowcapped peaks should have melted two months past, and yet it seemed winter buzzed on unaffected.

The locals had tried to investigate the cause only to have their attempts rebuffed by what they described as a 'witch' that stirred the storm as they approached, leaving their efforts to be in vain.

That's why they had called upon Dromond's party. They were an up-and-coming adventures guild based out of Portmont, determined to fill the gap that the seemingly immortal adventurers had left in their wake.

Unfortunately, they were a bit thin in the teeth at the moment, leaving Dromond on his lonesome for the task. He just hoped that the tales of the witch were unfounded and that some smaller elemental was at the heart of the disturbance. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary since the elemental plane's re-distribution following the sudden downfall of Azog.

Still, no sooner had he left the halfway point of the mountain path than he spotted what seemed to be a teenage girl clad in a red dress and cape, hefting a large staff built for a spell caster.

After a quick curse under his breath Dromond called out, seemingly catching the girl by surprise, "You'll catch a chill!" He offered, trying his best to seem kind.

The girl took a deep breath before responding in a haughty tone, "No chill can pierce my bones. You, however, will not be afforded that luxury if you dawdle here. So begone with you, less you wish to freeze."

Dormond clenched his teeth at the brat's words, trying his best to remain calm. "That so lass? I don't suppose you know exactly what's causing these unseemly weather conditions, now do ya?"

The girl shifted in place, clearly uncomfortable as she replied, "This never-ending blizzard is not one of my own creations if that is your concern. But I've spoken to the ice elemental at its heart. It has no intentions of leaving willing."

Dormond paused at this; she was a lousy liar, twitching there in place and casting her gaze about her. She had to have been up to something in this mountain. By his estimate, the girl really wasn't giving him a choice here; thankfully, it seemed his jovial tone had somewhat disarmed her. It was something he could rely upon; he just needed to push it a bit further...

Freshly packed snow crunched under Dormond’s feet as he approached the girl shouting, "Well, that's no good, but if you can talk to the elemental, I think me, you, and it can talk for a bit and see if there's a way to make a path the people can take."

As he expected, the girl's eyes shot downward as she searched for her next flimsy lie, and now with her eyes off of him, he slowly trailed his hand behind his back and began to tug free his dagger, 'Heart Piercer.'

Just a few more feet, and he'd be there...

But the girl began to look his way once more, her next lie concocted.

He interrupted her before she even started, "We got off to the wrong foot here; what's your name, Lass?" It was the very least he could ask and did the trick as she froze up, stunned, leaving the perfect window for him to strike. With a magically enhanced jump, he shot forward like a bolt outstretching his dagger, aiming for her heart as she stood there with a shocked expression.

What happened next, he did not expect.

The dagger landed firmly, but instead of sinking into flesh and bone, its strike rang out as it dinged off something hard, which deflected the blow out and away.

Still, the momentum itself caused the girl to grunt as she was flung back, her dress tearing in a way that made it obvious what had happened. On her chest, right over her heart, was what seemed to be a mortal wound that had been frozen in place and covered with a small mound of particularly dense ice.

Dormond didn't have time to think about it; he'd just have to strike her in the throat next and then....

His mind slowed.

His body felt cold.

Dormond looked down.

His dagger hand had been entombed in a coffin of ice. And that coffin was quickly spreading up his body, trapping him in place.

As he felt the last blood in his brain freeze, he could have sworn he heard the brat answer his final question.

"Megan." As Megan watched the man freeze to death, she couldn't help but remember the events that had led to her freezing her own heart.

A year had passed since she had escaped Vermilion's clutches. Still, during that entire time, Megan had yet to figure out a cure for her 'condition.' During the scramble, she had become separated from Magi or Wendel as she had become more commonly known.

Megan knew that the friend she had in the girl still existed in her heart, but the sheer terror of the situation had caused her to abandon all attempts to reconnect.

Megan expected Lady Vermilion to be extraordinarily angry with the two of them and dispatched some of her horrid lackeys to subdue them and bring them back under her control. Out of fear, she had isolated herself in these snow-capped mountains, leaving as little of a trace as she could muster.

The isolation granted her a long time to think: about herself and her situation. For weeks she had not checked her UI for her log-off button and breathed a sigh of relief when she found it still locked.

After all, with so many years had passed could she return to that home? Was her body even functionally alive? Would logging out trigger the erasure of what was left of her consciousness? Or would it possibly re-write a somewhat lonely but otherwise happy child's memories with those she had gathered here—Megan wasn't sure which she feared more.

Regardless, she shocked herself when the assassin had coaxed her into naming herself. She had no right to the name of Megan.

After what she'd done, after what she'd been through, she had no right to return to her previous life. She had discarded that life when she had discarded her name in a vain attempt to please Vermilion. Rose or no Rose, she had adopted the name of Blank.... could she really return to being Megan again?

Thankfully, she didn't have time to ponder the question. Instead, she had to move again. She couldn't afford to be found. Not by the remaining players trapped in this world, and most of all not by Vermilion.