After our encounter with the Anchlesian scouts Wraith, Aydaan and I continued our trek across the gray desolation of the Wastes. During the next five days, the Machina Servant led us straight North towards the mountains, which turned out to be the outer edge of yet another crater. Its walls, however, were simply impossible to climb, as they inclined away from the crater’s center at an obtuse angle; rather than climbing, we had to hang from them if we wanted to move past this new obstacle.

"No way in hell we can go past this!" Wraith said while shaking his head.

“Do not worry, friends,” Aydaan said. “There is a cave nearby that leads to the other side. From there it is only a couple more days of walking until we reach the Sanctum.”

Thank the Gods for Aydaan! Were it not for his aid and knowledge of that land, I doubt we’d have found a way beyond that impossible granite wall. The cave’s entrance was well-hidden among the dagger-like, outward-pointing rocks. Wraith was afraid there might be monsters inside the cavern, but our guide assured us it was safe; he also warned us that it was a quite steep climb inside, though clearly not as bad as it was outside.

The good thing is that I had become quite good at climbing by this point in our quest! Even so, it took us the remainder of that day to reach the other side. Aydaan suggested that we stopped right in front of the cave’s exit to rest for the night, as the final leg of the journey would be the most arduous by far. We only understood the meaning of his words when we stepped out of the cavern the following morning.

We were greeted by a landscape so dark, cold and uninviting, that the one we left behind seemed like a paradise in comparison.

The ground was made of a black, opaque obsidian-like material that cracked under the weight of our boots. While the land behind us was mostly flat, the new one was dotted with many sharp, pointy outcrops made of the same glassy substance as the ground, all of them pointing towards the edge of the crater as if shaped by a powerful wind that blew from its center.

The sky churned with a thick blanket of pitch-black clouds, swept around by the strong, gelid wind sweeping the accursed land. Barely any sunlight could reach the ground, but the constant flashing of lightning bolts illuminated the path ahead. The cracking of thunder was constant, sometimes coming from far, others exploding right next to us, forcing us to cover our ears and duck.

The air was foggy and so heavy it was hard to breathe; its unnatural coldness felt as if my lungs were being pierced by a myriad of tiny needles.

“This land was melted and reshaped by the Arcana explosion that destroyed A’dar,” Aydaan explained. “Any creature caught by the blast at this point was instantly incinerated.”

“So how did you survive?” Wraith asked.

“Aydaan was inside the Sanctum when the explosion occurred,” he said. “The Sanctum Angelai is a formidable fortress, so it withstood the blast quite admirably, despite suffering severe outside damage.”

“Figures…” my Champion shrugged.

I looked up and saw the black, thick clouds swirling around a point located in the distance.

“The center of that vortex lies right above A’dar’s ruined core,” Aydaan said. “The place where its main Crystal-forge once stood.”

“Are we heading there?” I asked our guide.

Aydaan shook his head. “The Sanctum lies a few miles outside the old city’s perimeter, but we will have a good view of the city as we approach.”

Without saying another word, Aydaan took a few steps forward before turning back and beckoning us to follow him, advising us to be wary of the Necromantic and Daemonic horrors that roamed that unforgiving hellscape. We did fight off our fair share of creatures on our way to the Sanctum, and by the end of that day I was very exhausted, more from the dark aura oppressing that land than from physical overexertion.

Even in the safety of the small cave where we set up our nightly camp, despite the fire burning brightly in front of me and the warmth provided by both my cloak and robe, a deep chill seeped into my bones. I was shuddering so badly I couldn’t hold the steaming cup of stew in my hands without shaking it, wasting some of its contents on the glassy ground beneath my feet.

“Are you alright?” my Champion asked. “Try to eat some stew, it’ll warm you up.”

“I think this cold cannot be dispelled by a bowl of stew,” I replied. “The aura permeating this land grows stronger the closer we get to A’dar.”

“But why isn't it affecting me as badly?” Wraith asked. “It’s cold, sure, but not colder than when we first entered the Wastes, at least for me…”

“Maybe… maybe it has to do with the fact that I’m a Priestess,” I suggested. “We have been attuning to the Warming Light of the Gods since childhood. As we venture deeper into the darkness created by the Void-lord I’m pulled further apart from Their Radiance. It’s a coldness that affects the soul… if that makes any sense to you.”

“Let’s assume that’s true for the sake of argument,” Wraith said while sitting next to me. “You Priestesses claim that your powers of Fire and Light come from your Gods, correct?”

“Yes,” I nodded.

“If what you say is true, then your ability to call upon their power should grow weaker as we get closer to the center of the Wastes. So how did your Fire magic get stronger, then?”

“I told you, it was the tiara and the staff!” I sighed. “The Emissaries said they are enchanted to enhance magic!”

“Magic born from Arcana,” Wraith remarked. “Not the one supposedly granted to you by your Gods. You’ve been emphatic about them not being the same!

And remember what Axios said about the Ignas Anima being an ancient spell… powered by an A’dari artifact you Priestesses believed to be of Divine origin?”

“Are you saying that we’ve been using Arcana the whole time?” I shook my head in utter disbelief. “Preposterous!”

“I bet that Axios, or any other Magus for that matter, would shudder like crazy if he was here,” Wraith concluded. “He’d probably say something like ‘the flow of Arcana being altered by the Dark God’s presence’, or some similarly nonsensical shit. This could explain why you were able to draw more power from the Prism back at The Vigil, too.”

I looked at the dancing flames in front of me, unable to come up with a solid counter to Wraith’s argument. “Maybe it’s like you said… or…” I finally said in defeat. “Or maybe the Divine and Arcana are the same thing, after all.”

“Are Lady Shjasta and Master Wraith doing fine?” Aydaan asked as he returned from patrolling outside. “Aydaan hopes he is not interrupting another romantic interlude.”

Wraith and I both flushed deep red at the Servant’s honest-to-a-fault remarks. Wraith coughed loudly while quickly widening the distance separating us a bit. “We’re just about to go to sleep, pal,” he said.

“Aydaan will go back outside. Sleep well, friends,” he said before turning around to head back outside.

Wraith and I looked at each other’s eyes before laughing quite lively. “I think he’s been designed to be a chaperon, among other things.” he joked.

I went to sleep feeling quite light-hearted after that awkward but otherwise funny incident, even though the unnatural cold still bothered me. At least I slept tight until Wraith woke me up the next morning.

After packing and leaving our refuge the cruel cold piercing my very soul only worsened as we got closer to the heart of the Wastes. My limbs felt heavier with every step forward. But I was determined to carry out my mission no matter what, my resolve strengthened by the fact we were so close to our goal.

As we moved on the number of those sharp outgrowths coming out the ground like obsidian daggers increased, and the intensity of the wind and thunder became such that it was hard to maintain a steady pace. Thankfully we didn’t confront more monsters that morning... or at least what passes for it in a place that hasn't seen the solar disc in thousands of years.

Eventually, probably around noon - as the thick clouds barely let any sunlight pass through - we climbed the ridge of a very steep hill. From there we could see a large circular depression on the other side; the ridge we stood on formed a border of sorts around it. And inside the concave land stood the ruined city of A’dar.

The first thing I noticed is that five cities the size of Ysle could easily fit inside A'dar's circular outer walls. While most of the ancient city's spires had been destroyed by the cataclysm and during the slow march of the ensuing millennia, a few of them still stood tall, reaching almost to the bottom of the cloud layer. The luster of its gold, silver and crystal, however, has all but disappeared, now looking more like long, crooked fingers made out of charred bone coming out from the ground.

“Welcome to A’dar, the Machina City,” Aydaan said with some sense of pride. “Or what is left of it, anyway. As far as Aydaan knows, you are the first living people laying eyes upon it in over three thousand years.”

“The ‘Machina City’?” Wraith asked, clearly confused. “Are you saying this whole city was a giant machine?”

“A’dar was the crowning achievement of Aydaan’s masters,” the Servant elaborated. “A colossal Machina designed to provide them with everything they would ever need to live in comfort, all of that powered by the largest Crystal-forge that ever existed, located at its center. It towered over the entire city like a mountain made of gold and crystal.”

I focused my gaze upon the center of the city, but instead of a golden mountain, there was a gaping hole that seemed to go all the way down to the very center of the World.

And floating right above it I saw a red light that blinked in and out with a rhythm that felt more like a heartbeat. The chill piercing my soul became suddenly more intense.

“Something is shining just above the city’s center,” I said. “A red light. Do you see it, Wraith?”

“Um… yep,” he said, placing a hand over his brow to shield his eyes from the wind. “What of it?”

“That’s the origin of the oppressive aura consuming this land,” I said. “I can feel it… that’s the Heart of Kalymnos!”

I turned my gaze towards Aydaan. "Can we get closer to it?"

“Going after it would be suicidal,” Aydaan objected. “The city is teeming with the most powerful Undead and Daemons that dwell on the Wastes.”

“No wonder the Ravens need a Legion and their Arch-priest to get there,” Wraith mused.

“The Sanctum is only a few hours away,” Aydaan said while pointing Northwest. “You can already see it from here.”

Indeed, on the western side of the circular ridge that surrounded A’dar stood a tower. Unlike the spires of the city below, however, this one shone dimly in the gloom, as if beckoning us. For some reason, its faint glow beckoned me. I felt like I would be safe from the overwhelming influence of the Dark Heart there.

Motivated by the desire for a reprieve from the darkness, I urged my friends to press on, our objective finally within sight! Despite the mind-boggling aura emanating from the Heart, having the end of our quest so close gave me renewed hope and strength to carry on!

And yet my body faltered, falling to my knees after stepping on some loose rocks. I groaned while trying to get up, but my legs simply refused to obey. I took hold of my staff to use it as support, but my arms were too weak to lift me.

I looked back to the Heart, and it seemed it felt our presence, its beating becoming faster and brighter. As the pulses increased in frequency and intensity, so did the pressure of the black energy weighted me down.

It was then that I felt my Champion’s hand over my shoulder.

“Are you giving up now, so close to the goal?” He asked while showing me that smug face of his. “Well, not during my watch, Princess!”

Wraith took my right arm and placed it over his shoulders, his left arm wrapping my lower back for additional support. The staff in my left hand provided. I leaned over his torso as he used his legs to help me get back on my feet.

I trembled, but my Champion never let go of me as he encouraged me to take a step, then another. We resumed our march towards the Sanctum at this awkward pace, the golden spire always in front of us, serving as a beacon to light our path.

“Thank you, my Champion…” I whispered while resting my head over his shoulder.

“Don’t sweat it,” Wraith said. “I’m just fulfilling my sworn duties as your protector. And…” he smirked. “Let’s just say that no self-respecting man would pass on the opportunity to have a cute chick literally under his arm!”

I felt my eyes rolling. “You are a lost cause, Wraith…” I muttered with a smile.

“A likable lost cause, I hope…” He idly mused.

“Hmmm… perhaps…” I mumbled.

Night was fast approaching when we finally reached the vicinity of the spire. From there we could see that Aydaan's description of it as a fortress was accurate, as the tall tower was surrounded by smaller buildings, all of them surrounded by a large wall.

The silvery and golden metal it was made of looked as tarnished and ancient as that of the ruined buildings we have seen so far, but not even a single crack or warp could be seen on its surface. Aydaan had done an incredible job keeping his master’s citadel in such pristine condition, all by himself.

The main tower was very tall and wide at its base, thinning out as it reached the top. A large oval-shaped window on its top shone with a faint greenish light. The outer wall had an arched gate, around thirty feet tall and wide enough to let up to six men cross it side by side. It bore the image of the Winged Lady, the sigil of House Angelas.

Aydaan asked us to stay put while he approached the gate. As soon as he was less than five steps from the threshold a bright blue light bathed his metal body, which came from a circular crystal embedded on the metal, just above the gate's edge.

After a few seconds the light turned back off, and the gates opened with a series of clicks and loud groans, sliding inside the spire's walls, letting the warm light coming from inside bathe us.

“Aydaan welcomes you to the Sanctum Angelai.”