In the grand hall of the Ryokan caverns, the elegant glow of the rising sun paints the cold stone floor with delicate hues, casting reflections upon the jagged stones suspended overhead. Tetra, a solitary figure immersed in meditation, is a silhouette against the fading daylight.

While Tetra's mind emulates a labyrinth of thoughts, the hall resonates with the rumbling entrance of Kirin.  Behind his massive frame, he drags the carcass of a hulking quadruped; a testament to the Ryokans’ prowess. The massive burden lands with a thud as Kirin releases it, his shift in concern evident as he inspects his companion's catatonic state.

"Kirin, my boy!" Tetra's sudden exclamation pierces the stillness, echoing through the cavernous expanse and startling Kirin, who stumbles back before finding himself seated on the cold stone floor.

A hesitant reply pushes to the front of Kirin’s mind, "Y-yes, Tetra?" The distress in his eye mirrors the worry etched on his towering countenance.

"A conundrum plagues me, my friend. Could you lend me your kind ear?"

"Sure. What’s wrong?" 

"From Dendra to Mephit, I’ve scoured this stone. I’ve endured its people, embraced its magic, and enlightened myself with its intricacies. I thought I’d seen all there was, yet the tanks in the bunker and their shadowy custodian have left me feeling…uneasy…"

Listening intently, Kirin leans in as if pleading with Tetra to continue.

"It’s not a feeling I’d like to become familiar with, yet I keep coming back to a singular 'why?'" Tetra scoffs.

"Why?" Kirin queries, fully engaged in Tetra's tale.

"Yes, why? Why me? Why…this?" Tetra clenches his fists, the power of liquid shadow coursing through his veins.

"I can’t imagine that whatever force the stone used to lead me here did so for my own personal gain. Everyone in this world is out for something, anything to help them survive."

"Well, what are you out for?"

"Power." 

Tetra’s eyes, finally open, meet Kirin's, who uncomfortably shifts at his companion’s answer.

"Fear not, for I do not seek to bring about a second Cataclysm. Rather, I seek to prevent its like from razing this land once again."

"Really?"

"Believe me, Kirin. Power is the way of the world. Everyone seeks to wield it, but not everyone will choose to do so responsibly. It will be up to us to stop those who would seek to bring ruin to this world and our family."

"Right!" Kirin nods with determination.

“Alas, my mind is a tempest of existentials when I don’t even have a place to call home.” Tetra sighs.

"What do you mean? Isn't this home now?"

"I seek to make all of Enderteria my home, Kirin. But these halls, this architectural masterwork, this is your home, Kirin. I find myself in humble awe every time I behold these halls."

Kirin, bashful, responds with a smile, turning his head toward the cavern's mouth to avoid Tetra’s admiring stare.

Following Kirin's gaze toward the entrance, Tetra stands and glides toward a series of glyphs adorning the archway. The faint shimmer of mana within hints at the craftsmanship woven into their essence.

"What do they say, those glyphs?"

Kirin, pointing his hand at each inscription, reads aloud, "With many arms reduced to bone, we labor through the rock and stone. Capitulated summits inspiring awe, we toil in service to the Great Black Maw."

Tetra lets out another defeated sigh.

"It’s this level of craftsmanship that makes me long for a place to call my own…”

The pair muse in silence until an idea strikes Kirin like a bolt of Yorumai’s lightning.

"I could build you a home, Tetra!" Kirin bursts with enthusiasm.

"You would do that for me, Kirin?"

"Of course! I– if you want me to."

Tetra offers a soft smile.

"I could think of no one better for the task, my friend. Just imagine: a sprawling blackstone castle, right in the center of Enderteria. I can see it now." Tetra's excitement mirrors Kirin's.

Kirin gives Tetra an affirming nod.

“I'll do my best!"

"Right then. Let’s be off."

"Wait…We're starting right now?" Kirin seeks confirmation.

"Well, there’s no time like the present, right, Kirin? Besides, while you’re working, I want to get a lay of the land. We must ensure our security by knowing the territory as if it were our own creation."

Caught in his own thoughts, Kirin is noticeably distant to Tetra."Is there something you need, little one?"

"Well, I was kind of wondering, since you’ve traveled so much, have you ever seen someone else…like me?"

Tetra, stunned by the giant’s inquiry, pauses before replying, "I’m sorry, but I can’t say that I have."

Kirin hangs his head, downtrodden.

"But, how about this? While I’m out traveling, I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for more of your people. Sounds good?"

"It’s a deal!" Kirin confirms with another series of excited nods.

With their exchange finished and pact sealed, Kirin scoops Tetra in hand before bounding out of the caverns into the vast crater of Enderteria.

As Kirin begins his laborious toil, Tetra continues eastward towards Enderteria’s coastline, leaving Kirin and the bunker behind him. Peeking over the horizon, the faintest shimmer of civilization enters his vision. His pace quickens, and before long he finds himself taking in the scenery of a village wracked by devastation.

The skeletal remains of single-tiered pagodas serve as the backdrop against a somber skyline. Spiritual groves housing tranquil ponds, once a place of serenity and introspection, now cast a reflection of regret and despondency. The scent of decay wafts through barren branches of the desolate landscape, telling a sullen tale of a bygone tranquility.

Kicking up the dust of ashen silhouettes, Tetra starts on a charred cobblestone path into the heart of the village, taking great care not to trip over its entrails. He notes the innumerable shrines and statues of foxes, previously sitting proud upon their pedestals, now lying shattered and broken upon blasphemous stone and soil.

He makes his way inside a decrepit house, its tiered roof eroding and sagging under the crushing weight of annihilation. Stepping cautiously over a fallen timber beam, he enters the house’s foyer, narrowly avoiding a bantam wooden figurine depicting what appears to be a canid Eltian portraying countless tails. Picking up the doll, he hears a loud crack above his head. He looks up to see a fissure running along the length of a crumbling section of a roof, which threatens to flatten him at a moment's notice. He casually slides out of the way, allowing the roof to crash into the wooden floor, dusting the room in ash and splinters. Electing to hop down into the house’s fresh crevice, he fans away the dust to reveal a basement with bookcases and shelves chock full of journals, texts, and salves.

“Elder script?” he ponders, running his tenebrous fingers along the spine of one of the books before removing it from the shelf. “What a curious find…”

He opens the withered tome, fanning through its pages before landing on a random passage.

His eyes pour over the cracked pages, trying to decipher the garbled text before him.

“Soul shards…a spellbook perhaps?”

Satisfied, he closes the tome, shoving it into his rucksack before sliding another off of the shelf.

“The Neumaian Apothecary: Volume 3,” he reads before opening to a random page.

“Briaroot. Found in Northern Verdatia’s aptly named ‘Briarwood Forest,’ this odd little plant has the potent ability to siphon mana away from living creatures in its immediate area. It is believed that Briaroot was planted strategically; its unique properties prevent wildfires from a manetic source. Due to the complex nature of the root and its protected status by House Pisthelle, its medical application is currently undocumented.”

He tucks the book away and continues scanning the room before settling upon a black book lying suspiciously in the center of an old enderwood desk; a dried quill, its only companion. He looks the journal over, gliding his fingers over the name engraved into the cover. Picking it up, he unceremoniously flips through it until he is met with a sea of blank pages. He turns a few pages back, stopping at the book’s final entry.

"The sky is falling. A great star plummets toward our pious little town at a speed I had never thought possible. I've managed to corral our younglings and a few of our best sages into the Temple's hidden chamber, though I am uncertain if it will be enough to save them from fate itself. I fear our Lady Dhelumise has abandoned us, though for what reasons, I am unsure. I have served the Lady of Light with reverence all my life as my father has done, and as his father before him. Though I have made peace with the end many cycles ago, my head and my heart churn restlessly with the thoughts of my son. Tomi Ama, you now carry on the legacy of the light. Whatever happens to us, know that I love you dearly and that Dhelumise watches over you. —Kokonomi Ama"

Tetra closes the book, placing it back on the desk next to the quill.

“How amusing that these people would blame their destruction on a lack of devotion rather than recognize the entropic state of the Great Cataclysm,” he chuckles to himself. “That said, being a Lord certainly has its perks. I can’t help but wonder if that temple has any valuables remaining.”

Finished, Tetra swipes the remaining books from their shelves, leaving only the journal to reside in the basement before heading up a flight of stairs back into the foyer.

Emerging from the dilapidated domicile, Tetra is greeted by an overwhelming crescendo of roars that reverberates in the distance. The irresistible allure of combat beckons him toward the northeast, and he takes off, dashing through the borough's labyrinthine alleys and thoroughfares. The cacophony of roars grows louder, culminating in the spectacle unfolding in the town square.

A wretched beast; fur as white as an Icarion snowfall, shimmers with otherworldly energies. Innumerable forelimbs, each ending in razor-sharp claws, extend from its amalgamative form. Nine, sinuous tails, adorned with eerie runes, writhe in a hypnotic dance behind the creature. The fox-like heads, echoing its tails in number, embellish its wretched form, bearing eyes that glow with an unnatural radiance. The abomination stands sentinel over the once-majestic temple, now reduced to a disconsolate facade of its former glory. The sole testament to its preceding sanctity is a statue that mirrors the gaunt visage of the doll safely nestled within Tetra's pockets.

"Intriguing," Tetra muses. "Even in this abominable state, your people cling to their faith. What an opportunity we have today, to glean lessons from the errors of the past."

A wry smile graces Tetra's lips as his eyes flare with a crimson hue. Shadowy hands emerge from his shoulders, entwining his arms as the malformed monstrosity roars to life.

The creature launches a barrage of swipes, lunges, and gnashes, yet Tetra navigates the onslaught with phantasmal grace. Amused, he seizes the moment for research, retrieving one of the dusty tomes from his pack. Rapidly scanning through its pages, his eyes catch on a particular passage.

“Looks promising enough,” he remarks. Outstretching his hand toward the beast, he recites the incantation.

“Aetraemus Aefuentaes!”

A small spark of white light begins to emit from Tetra’s palm but is quickly devoured by his shadowy protector.

“Not a fan, huh?” Tetra remarks, looking down at his right palm before he is swiped away by one of the beast's mighty paws. Barely able to defend himself in time, Tetra drops his shadow guard as he careens toward the wall of one of the old pagodas, deftly landing upon its exterior before springing back, destroying the wall from the force of his exit.

No longer content with a mere dance of evasion, Tetra alights upon the malformed creature, initiating a calculated assault within the sea writhing of maw and limb. Malicious intent coursing through every fiber of his being, Tetra rips and tears at the beast's vestigials, sundering them from the main body. The grotesque guardian thrashes in agonized contortions, desperately attempting to dislodge Tetra from its misshapen backside. Frustrated and desperate, the creature hurls itself against the temple, aiming to crush Tetra in a calamitous collision. Yet, with an unsettling serenity, Tetra avoids the imminent destruction, bounding off the beast; eyes flared  with devilish resolve.

The combatants, locked in a shared desire to bring the skirmish to an end, converge upon each other at a breakneck pace. The aberration unleashes a torrent of attacks from its tails; a tempest of feral strikes threatens the tenacious mage. Drawing upon the dark forces within, Tetra dives over a tail, executing a dashing display of rolls and slides deliberately placing himself beneath the perceived location of the creature's heart. Channeling his power through the shadows, he unleashes a torrent that rends the beast's flesh, leaving naught but skeletal remains and a scattering of radiant white stones.

Kneeling amidst the remnants, Tetra delicately inspects one of the gems, noticing the striking resemblance to the umbral stone he wielded in days past. In an instant, a cascade of images floods his consciousness, offering fleeting glimpses into another life. Each moment races by in a mere heartbeat, culminating in the cataclysmic explosion that heralded the arrival of the Great Cataclysm.

“Soul shards. I see…” he surmises, previous inquiries now elucidated by the fever pitch of battle.

Tired of the town’s dreariness, Tetra pockets the stones and prepares to set off. However, he stops for a moment, turning back to retrieve the beast's skull as a macabre trophy before embarking on his homeward journey.