"What?" Addai and Lydia asked at the same time, looking at Mine.

Mine's hair colors flickered as he looked at Zophiel with worry. "We… we might be in a bigger danger," he started fidgeting. "He wasn't joking. He's smart, and… if he used my hair to extract my essence, then… then we're in trouble."

"Why that?" Lydia asked.

"Did you skip classes on mythical beings?" Addai grumbled.

"The teacher was awful!" Lydia retorted.

"Easy there. I can explain," Zophiel chuckled, opening his mana fan.

There are several mythical beings, from unicorns to spirits, each with unique materials like hair strands, teardrops, breath, and soul fragments. For example, a unicorn's hair or horn is valuable and doesn't require killing the creature to obtain it. Particularly talking about Mighty materials, they could be used for refined products from potions to specific spells... and artifacts - like Addai's stabilizer gem or Mephistopheles's soul-bond earring.

Artifacts made from mythical beings' materials were rare and difficult to make. Each of them had their usage, be it harmless or harmful. Harmful artifacts were forbidden by law - an agreement made between the Three Realms Lords (Humans, Heavens, and Hell) - but there was one kind of artifact that gathered all Three Realms' attention: Chronos-based artifacts or weapons.

Chronos's essence was valuable. If someone had even a teardrop from them, they could use it for a long while as a weapon, making it capable of hurting every being, be it a demon, human, or heavenly.

An anomaly from Armageddon's creation, Chronos species bore a piece of that chaotic entity's DNA. They could work as universal equalizers or assassins; with that, time control wasn't their only specialty, since they could hurt any being under their jurisdiction. These entities are known for being extremely careful not to let their essence fall into the wrong hands. However, Mine - in a desperate attempt to save his friend and himself - cut his hair and spilled his blood, accidentally offering high-class material to the enemy.

As Zophiel explained further information to the group, Mine's hair slowly turned ashier, almost reaching a gray color. Only his eyes retained any hue, a deep ocean blue.

It was all my fault... Mine bitterly thought, scratching his arm as if it itched.

Noticing Mine's gloomy expression, Lydia coaxed a few leafy buddies to approach and climb him. Obediently, three leafy buddies started their ascent. Some got stuck on his sleeves but quickly freed themselves and continued toward his head. When the leafy buddies noticed their attempts to cheer the boy up failed, they started squeaking at Addai. Addai looked at them, chuckling at the sight, and noticed Mine's odd gloominess.

Ah... If only I could read your thoughts... Addai thought, analyzing Mine's colors. If only I could take these awful thoughts away from you...

Addai reached for Mine's face and slowly brushed the palm of his hand against the soft, cold surface of Mine's cheek and chin. With a gentle move, Addai turned his friend's face at him.

Mine looked at Addai, his eyes still blue as Zophiel explained Chronos's nature, answering Azazel's questions about the other dangerous beings around the Three Realms. Mine's gaze was far, even though he was looking at Addai. Lost in sorrow and sadness.

The more he thought about how he could have avoided this situation if he had been smarter and stronger, the more "what ifs" filled his mind and started affecting his skin, turning it gray. Addai sighed and gently rubbed his thumb on the cheek he was holding. A leafy being climbed his arm, and he chuckled at the tickles, helping the little, charming leafy beings to transmit their message to Mine. They started squeaking as if they were cheering him up.

Mine looked at them, and sparks of colors painted on his face and hair. First, the yellowish hue spread on his hair, turning the blueish gray into faint green again. Then, a reddish powder bloomed on his cheeks and lips, turning his ashen face into the usual peachy color.

"Did we succeed in cheering you up?" Addai asked in a low whisper.

Mine faintly chuckled and rested his cheek on Addai's hand. "I think you succeeded a little," he smiled, and a leafy buddy jumped on his shoulder.

Lydia squinted and carefully analyzed the duo in front of her. Something was going on. What she didn't expect was to see a smile on Addai's face. She only heard the legends around the campus about the Dark Mana Teacher's smile and dimples. He never smiled that wide (it was a small smile, but still!), and she had never seen it if he did, but now she saw it, and she couldn't help but gasp and pretend she was holding an invisible fan and fanning herself.

Shit, Mine. I'll really have to punch you when this madness ends. Just go ahead and take this man! Lydia fanned herself, looking away and calming her "cupid" instincts down.

When Lydia looked away, she saw Abannak pondering about something when Zophiel finished a brief explanation about artifacts and offered a hypothesis about the one Agarath made.

"Mr. Zophiel, I think we're lucky," Abannak said calmly.

"I think that too, Mr. Abannak," Zophiel smiled, looking at the dragon.

"Glad you followed my thoughts," Abannak nodded and looked at Mine, who was now paying attention to him. "I'm a dragon, and Chronos' jurisdiction is diminished for my people. If we make something with my scales, we might have a chance against Agarath's artifact. Right, Mine?"

Mine's eyes glowed, and his colors turned even brighter. "That sounds right," he smiled.

"Hohoho… It seems you dumbheads solved my unfortunate riddle!" a maniacal voice echoed throughout the room; its origin was impossible to pinpoint.

It was unknown whether the voice was near or far. It was as if that maniac was omnipresent and knew where everyone was.

Abannak stood up, and the rest followed him. The leafy buddies turned desperate at hearing that voice and hid on Lydia. The ones far from her quickly ran towards their master and climbed her legs, reaching for her neck and hair.

"He found us again," Abannak tensed, and a pair of long, glowing horns appeared on his head like a strand of hair, but way harder. "Mrs. Lydia, use your trick."

Lydia quickly reached for the items on the tea table, but before she could grab a small utility bag made of sheets and leaves, the room started shaking. She fell on the floor but tried to crawl at the tea table, followed by her leafy buddies.

Far from Lydia, Mine looked around and his eyes laid on the lonely wardrobe. His hair glowed golden, and he quickly gasped, running towards the furniture. Something inside that lonely item caught his essence's attention... and it wasn't a good sign because, in those circumstances, only one thing could make him glow in golden like that: his own essence, and who had it? That domain's owner.

"Mine!" Zophiel shouted, shielding Azazel, Addai, and Mephistopheles's heads with his wings.

"He's trying to come inside!" Mine shouted back, his body flickering in golden again. "Lydia, use the leafy buddies to secure you and the group!"

"What are you going to do?!" Lydia asked, confused.

"I'll do a magic show of disappearance," Mine groaned, still trying to walk. "I'll distract him and buy some more time for us."

"Magic show of disappearance…" Lydia echoed and gasped. "Wait. Don't do that!"

The young professor stumbled with the room's tremors, but he kept walking in an almost crawl. There was dust, rock pieces, and more dust hindering his vision. A few leafy buddies tried to push him back, but he took them and placed them inside his shirt.

"You're very clever, my dear beauty," that same voice echoed, sounding closer.

"Shut up!" Mine shouted, trying to balance.

When Mine finally grabbed the wardrobe's handles, he looked back and saw Lydia looking at him in despair. "DON'T!" She shouted.

Mine held the wardrobe's doors, keeping them shut. A slam almost sent him flying, but he stood at the same place and kept holding the door shut. Another slam and Mine kept holding the door, using the maximum force he could.

When another slam was about to hit the doors again, Mine and the wardrobe vanished in a bright flash. Lydia gasped, and the room's earthquake ceased. Zophiel flapped his wings in distress and approached where the wardrobe was, trying to find traces of Mine, but nothing was found besides the confused leafy buddies. The angel patted his belt, and the keychain was missing.

"He…" Addai echoed.

"Wait," Lydia interrupted. "Let's wait a little bit, I... I think he knows what he's doing," she said, tension creeping on her body and voice.

The lights went out and soon returned. The omniscient presence disappeared, and they soon heard a loud screech followed by screams and a spell hitting something... or someone.

Silence.

The lights stabilized, and the group was still silent. A spark where the wardrobe caught their attention, and another light beam startled them. A person flopped on the floor and winced.

"Mine!" Addai and Lydia shouted, running towards the young professor.

Mine groaned and slowly supported his body with his elbows. Patting somewhere sore on his waist, he found Zophiel's mysterious keychain hanging there. He didn't know when that artifact got on his clothing, but it helped with the emergency teleportation array.

The "magic show of disappearance" wasn't a complex and elaborated spell. Actually, it was a mischievous spell Mine and Lydia used to use when they were deadly bored at the university, waiting for the workday's end while no student appeared at their offices. Lydia, Aarush, Fani, and he used the random teleportation array at the Herbology Center to look for a red leafy buddy holding a café voucher. It worked like a generic teleportation array, but it was faster and led the caster back to where they were before. A temporary teleportation. Lydia also used it when she ran away from Addai when she invited him to watch Dorama. 

It was fun, but using it in the Wishing Well was as risky as throwing himself into a void room. If the mysterious keychain wasn't on Mine's waist, he'd probably be lost in another room... or worse.

Mine was shivering, his breathing was erratic, and he coughed, but he managed to sit on the floor. Addai touched his back and patted, trying to calm him down. On Mine's right cheek, there was a sharp slash, oozing his golden blood.

"I bought us some more time," Mine stammered, looking at Addai. "The artifact he made… it's a sword. The sword's hilt has a golden gem... There might be where my blood and hair are," he said, wiping the blood from his cheek.

Addai clicked his tongue, his expression darkening. "He was fast."

"You got to see the artifact?!" Lydia gasped. In the end, their silly spell had some use!

"Sweetie, are you okay? The keychain didn't hurt you, right?" Zophiel approached worriedly.

Mine shook his head negatively. "No, it helped me a lot. It quite guided the random teleportation spell," he looked at the keychain, giving it to Lydia.

"Ah…" Zophiel exhaled, dizzy from too much worry.

"Then, let's hurry," Abannak decided, handing them a dark piece of something light and quite shiny.

Lydia frowned and sniffed the item, feeling its funny smell and the cold surface. "What's this?"

"A scale of mine," Abannak chuckled when he saw how much Lydia rubbed her nose, pretending she didn't take a good sniff on it. "Place it on your chests. It'll glue and protect your bodies."

Mephistopheles rubbed his hands and slapped Azazel's neck, startling his subordinate. "Now, let's move our asses… again," he said, defeated. Mephistopheles didn't want to wander around endless corridors, face puppets again, and all that labyrinth.

"Oh, we don't need to walk too much," Lydia said then whistled. The leafy buddies soon gathered around her, and she took a few of them. "These little cuties will help us shorten the path with the keychain, right, my little cuties?" She rubbed her cheek against the squeaking, cheerful, leafy beings. "Now… go ahead!" She threw the leafy beings up.

The leafy beings were crazy when they fell on the floor. They were scattered, and it seemed they had put faith in something useless. Soon the smallest leafy being led the others to a wall and started squeaking in a different tone. Soon, all the leafy being approached and did the same, forming an arch. Lydia took the keychain and placed it in the middle of the arch.

The wall slowly turned flimsier until it resembled a single paper sheet. A leafy being squeaked loudly, and all the others did the same. What once was a "leafy being arch" turned into a beautiful, flowery arch. The petals' colors followed the keychain's colors, which fell on the floor when the "paper sheet wall" turned into a veil and fluttered, bringing a warm breeze inside.

Lydia jumped and cheered, and a leafy being on her shoulder did the same.

"That's very impressive, Mrs. Lydia," Abannak praised.

"I deserve a raise, right?" Lydia grinned shamelessly.

"Only if you did it sooner," Azazel grumbled. "You failed all the previous attempts. Can't you see how many dry leaves are on the flooring?"

"SHHHH!! Don't spoil my heroic move!" Lydia grumbled, and Azazel laughed out loud.

Mine squinted when he got a glimpse of what was ahead and gasped. It's the garden Agarath wanted to imprison him!