Ogda took some time to cool down, literally and figuratively; unfortunately for him though, a voice stopped him from being able to do either. He never disclosed it to anyone, not even Lian, but whatever ordered him to try to lie during the ritual never stopped talking afterward. It’s been whispering ever since, sometimes repeating certain words or phrases, but it kept one command on repeat- “ Protect her”. Over and over and over, reminding Ogda that he had a purpose, whether he wanted it or not.

Zinc -” @*76) 234”, buzzed the little bracelet firbolg. To Ogda’s surprise, Zinc was walking on his own, in a small lizard form, aggressively calling him back to the others. “+895_) 9437(& (_)”

He found Arim and Giol watching over a large uncut stone, which towered over the rest they had worked on so far. At least eight times wider, with multiple outcroppings; some of the crust was already cracked, and showed another, golden layer underneath it.  

-” What is this for?”, asked Ogda while stretching his head over the slab of rock. “Let me guess. I can see crystalline portions sticking out, which look like the ones from the surface. Is this used to store light, energy…”

Arim -” Right on the money. These are lifted to the surface to recharge for a day per month, and then the stored charge is used for powering light, heat, etc. until the next lift. Well for a portion of the underground at least, for the entire sector, we have a few more crystals scattered around.”

Ogda -” Ah…ok. So what should I do? I can’t stretch over the entire surface, and it doesn’t sound like we’ll make another mirror…”

A stomp cued Nizzio’s entry, who approached the team with a new set of written instructions. While they were busy reading them, she used her palms the size of an umbrella to gently head pat Giol and Arim for their good work. Before she could do the same to Ogda though, she used a hand sign to ask if he was ok with that. 

-” Uhmmm…translate please?”, he asked Arim with a confused frown on his single eye.

Arim -” It’s her way to thank us for our help. Teacher said she did the same to Blitz, Goidel, and Masso while they were kids, mostly to calm them down. Did I get it right?”, the boy asked the mute firbolg, who signaled him that he forgot someone: “...Really? At his age?”

Ogda blushed but tried to play off like he was preparing his boiling, which nobody bought. Nizzio stood still, with a diligent, soft gaze on her face, which Ogda made even more shy and defensive about. 

Ogda -” I don’t know…”

Nizzio still waited, crouched down.

Ogda -” Ok maybe…”, he agreed, becoming more red than Zinc’s crimson armor.

The pat lasted only a second, finished in two short motions that he hardly felt, which seemed odd considering how much she insisted on it. Ogda didn’t realize it immediately, but he theorized that she probably restrained herself during the tap. A skill that she probably learned from struggling daily with her towering body. 

….

As mentioned in the instructions, the mute firbolg signaled them to take a few steps backward. She then put her hands on the slab and small tremors vibrated the slab's crust. “Crack!”, “Pop!” started to sound off, and the sedimentary surface fractured into tiny canyons. Just enough not to affect the crystal underneath, which meant that it was time for Arim and Zinc to chime in: Nizzio lifted the rock in a vertical position and the two kicked and hit it at different points. Their attacks were light and precise, as the crystal showed more veiled brightness with each scant kick. 

-” (jgfd90@, g93@ *93 )(_”, cried out Zinc to Ogda, telling him to prepare himself for his part.

The water firbolg frowned at the bossy attitude but didn’t feel like it would have any point in doing anything about it. His body once again became a temperature pressure stamp, which he used to chip away at the remaining crust, while at the same time concentrating on coating the crystal. It went fine for a few rounds, but at the same time, the repetitive work made him complacent, losing himself in his thoughts like relaxing in a sauna. He was thinking about the second voice, what it was, and like usual, why it was so fixated on Lian. 

It was obviously related to their missing memories, a holdover from their old life; still, it was peculiar how it went on a loop; which in turn brought him to another question: “Is that the voice of the original me?”. The question sat on his mind for a while now; it scared and intrigued him at the same time. It was more bombastic, much slower, and deeper than his current voice. “But Lian did say that she thought I was bigger when she recognized me back in the desert." 

Another frightening part was its demands. It didn’t care what had to be done; the voice only wanted for Lian to be kept safe, repercussions be damned. It didn’t matter what or how; only the condition had to be met. And Ogda felt that he shouldn’t listen to it. He, unlike the voice who wanted to coerce him into action, had to consider other things before taking a step. 

-” Asj(0: f4@5”, Zinc screeched at Ogda, yanking him out of his dazed journey in his thoughts; the sudden irritation was too sudden though, enough for the water firbolg to lose control over the boiling liquid. Once again, drops scattered all around the place; this time, though, it was more intense than before, growing in how much it poured and how much land it boiled. It reached Nizzio’s fingers, but luckily she was safe under her armor cover

Zinc was surprised by the sudden eruption and frantically tried to shield Arim from the simmering drizzle, but it was too much for him. The boy’s shoulders stung with each drop, and the parts of his black shirt that got sooked in the water became fervid to the touch. His body was pierced with tens of small needles that seared into his flesh, which Ogda noticed. The guilt and anxiety started to stack in him, slowing down his concentration and losing more and more of any grasp of control left. 

Arim -"Damit Zinc” cursed the boy while grinding his teeth from the pain. “We’ll talk about your attitude later; for now, just get us closer to Ogda!”. The firbolg didn’t peep a sound back and just did as ordered. Zinc only needed a look on his partner's face to understand the gravity of his mistake, and steadied himself, focusing on shielding him better. Giol also took action by throwing small pieces of rock at the boy. 

Ogda, in the meantime, was locked in a desperate fight with his power, unsuccessfully blocking the tears in his body however he could. He was panicky and scared, frantically flailing his arms without noticing that he had lost mastery over their hardness. The amnesiac was more shocked when he saw Arim closing in, running, and jumping to avoid the boiling rain he caused. Before he could cry to him and tell him to back down, to take care of his injuries, Arim shut him down with a simple consolement and a little grin.

 Arim -"We’ve got you; don’t be scared!” which somehow calmed Ogda down a bit. Arim then planted the rocks thrown by Giol around the amnesiac, and when done, they all grew back to their original size, forming a surrounding wall around the firbolg. Nizzio enclosed the rocky prison by pressing her palm on top of the stones. 

Arim then ordered Zinc to concentrate on healing and not say another word. “I know you are mad, but this is partly your fault. Leave this to me, alright?” to which his partner nodded and did as demanded.

Giol joined them in a moment, and he wanted to ask Arim about Ogda, but the human quickly raised his shoulders to indicate that he didn’t know what was going on. They waited a few moments for the boiling liquid to stop flying, and after everything seemed to calm down, they tried to speak with the water firbolg.

 "H...Hey, Ogda,"  said Arim, as lengthy as possible. “Are you... Are you ok in there?”

 Silence.

Giol -” Bud… I know this entire situation was awful. We just want to know how you are, ok?” followed Giol.

 -"I hurt Arim, haven’t I?” replied Ogda from behind the stone bars. His voice was barely noticeable, cracking with each word. He was still frightened.

 Arim -"True, but I made Zinc fix me up... Listen, I don’t know what his problem with you is or why your powers work like they do, but...”

 Ogda -”...but?”

Arim inhaled for a moment, then exhaled for another, bracing himself on what to say next. He was gonna repeat what he said to the amnesiac girl, but it was the only thing he could sympathize with.  

Arim -"Ogda, I get that both you and Lian probably feel weird here; nothing feels like home, and you might not even know what home is supposed to be like. And…”

 -” A*4..#4355…” added Zinc out of nowhere. In the end, he was, at some point, in the same boat as the two, still dealing with the same condition to this day. 

Arim -"Right, like he said. We only want to help you out; however, we can... Caer Sidi and the Platinum Union aren’t the best options for everyone. It worked for me because they taught me how to feel like I belong, so if I can do the same for others, I will try, ok? So while I appreciate you thinking about my health, I want to know that what happened was not entirely your fault. And it’s also something you can work on. This isn’t the endpoint, ok?”

After a while, a trail of water slithered between the stones and reformed into Ogda’s hunched-over, usual form. Thinner than before, but at least he appeared more at ease. Somewhat.