"Miss Jenkins."
The woman turned, her majestic appearance blessing the two as she stood in what seemed to be a white lab coat. Though it was Eirin's third time seeing her, Scarlett Jenkins, Shade's former mentor, still looked out of this world.
When Eirin and Scarlett's eyes met, the woman sighed. "Why have you bothered yourself coming here?" She turned, the clicking of her heels filling Eirin's ears as she faced an entrance to what looked like a cave, a void of darkness beyond the glassy area.
Before the two could even speak, a scream of agony deafened them. Even with Eirin's hands covering her ears, the piercing sound vibrated through her whole body. Her eyes darted around the place, wincing, and that's when she noticed Shade Cromwell's missing presence.
When the scream stopped, Eirin immediately questioned Link about Shade's whereabouts, but like her, the young man had no idea.
"If it is my former student you seek, here he is," Scarlett said, pulling a small crystal cube from her white coat's pocket. The seriousness on Scarlett's face left Eirin baffled.
'Why would she joke around while holding such a beautiful crystal?' Eirin thought.
"You locked him?" Link's voice was laced with disbelief as he stared at the cube. "Why are you doing this, Miss Jenkins? Don't you know the danger going on in this place?"
Eirin's breath hitched. The beautiful crystal cube, no bigger than her palm, truly held the man she'd been searching for. The revelation hit her with a silent thud, a blend of awe and disbelief.
How? How could such a small thing contain a person? Questions exploded in her mind, tumbling over each other, too many to hold back.
"Why?" Eirin muttered. "Why would you lock Shade Cromwell away from the outside world?"
Scarlett stared at Eirin as she placed the cube back in her pocket. "Because I am swamped with problems as it is, and Shade Cromwell wandering in a place brimming with miasma would only cause me more headaches," she said.
Despite all the confusion, Eirin couldn't ask any more questions due to the renewed screams interrupting their conversation. Link then brought out a letter and passed it to Scarlett. The moment Scarlett opened the letter, an obvious change in her expression was seen. Her forehead creased, and she clicked her tongue.
"I don't know what the content of the letter is, but at this rate, all the people imprisoned above will be tainted by the miasma," Link said, covering his mouth and nose with his hands.
The continuous screams permeating the entire underground chamber caused Eirin to wince as she continued exchanging glances between the two.
"We should let the people in the prisons leave before everything gets worse. They'll die at this rate," Link insisted.
Scarlett ignored his words and walked towards her glass table where tons of papers were scattered.
"Hello? Miss Jenkins?"
The woman clicked her tongue. "I cannot let people tainted with miasma roam the country freely. They would only spread poison, and that is more dangerous."
"How are you going to solve this then? Don't you have a cure? Isn't that why you're here?"
Silence followed, and the growing tension in the air caused Eirin to subconsciously back away.
"Oh no… don't tell me… you have no solution to the current problem? Is that why you've been staying for quite a while now? Because you haven't really found a way to save them?"
Scarlett Jenkins' face was a mask of conflicting emotions—a flicker of frustration, her wandering eyes, and how she bit her lower lip. It spoke volumes.
Seeing it, Link couldn't hold back. "We're doomed," he whispered.
Eirin stared at the village chief's usually composed face, now contorted in a rare, messy expression of despair. She'd never thought she'd see him so vulnerable.
Scarlett cleared her throat. "There is no other way."
The moment Scarlett's piercing gaze landed on Eirin, her heart dropped.
"Eirin Luxfield must stay here with me and tend to the tainted," Scarlett said as she faced Link.
"Your mission is to bring Shade and Coleen back to the academy. All of you were tainted the moment you arrived in this place, but as long as you leave now, the miasma will disperse on its own. Just to make sure, quarantine yourselves after telling Regina about the situation. Tell her to send reinforcements."
"But why do you need Eirin? She's not capable of helping you—I mean, she does not bear the ability that could help you," Link hesitated. "There's no way I would leave a teammate behind, what more, a beginner."
A chilling feeling began to coil in Eirin's chest, spreading quickly through her limbs until her whole body trembled. She tried to swallow, but her suddenly felt tight.
"If you want to keep the miasma from tainting everything in Næra, then do as I say." Scarlett's words sounded absolute.
Link didn't want to back down, until Eirin grabbed him by the arm, shaking her head. "You should go."
"There's no way we could leave without you—"
"Just go."
Link's gaze locked onto the raw panic in Eirin's eyes, a silent scream that pierced through his resolve. He tightened his grip on his shirt. How could she, a beginner, even begin to help? Yet, the desperation in her plea, the fierce tone despite her fear, compelled him to listen.
After the persuasion, Scarlett forced Link to hold onto the crystal cube that contained Shade Cromwell.
"The crystal will not last long as this child keeps trying to get out."
Cracks were seen forming on the crystal as Scarlett also gave Link a one-time-use teleport crystal that could only bring them near the tower on the other side of the Lively Grove.
Link gulped, he glanced at Eirin. His eyes filled with desperate worries, a silent plea for her to come with them, to abandon this insane plan. He wanted to reach out, to pull her away.
Eirin, sensing the chaotic thoughts boiling behind his gaze, offered a soft, reassuring smile. It was a silent command: Go, Don't look back.
"Go!"
Link rushed towards the stairs and back to the prison, holding two crystals in both of his wrinkly hands, trying his best not to look back at the teenage girl he was leaving behind. His footsteps were heavy, and so was his heart.
"Coco?" He called out his friend's name. "Where are you?"
Link dodged a rock thrown at him by Coleen.
"No human garbage can call me by that name," Coleen said, blood dripping from her nose.
"Hey, hey! Stop using your flair. Your nose's bleeding again."
Coleen's forehead creased as she backed into the corner of the prison cell. "Link?"
"Took you long enough. Come, we need to leave as soon as possible." Link opened the cell using the keys dangling on the village chief's waist. As soon as Coleen got out, Link told her to wait near the exit and threw the keys outside of the prison cell.
"You said you won't be using your flair for this—"
Coleen couldn't keep talking after Link lost consciousness. She sighed as she picked up the keys and walked towards the exit.
"C-Coco."
The young girl sighed as she opened the prison cell where Link was, sitting on the cold hard ground. "Look at you," Coleen said. "You shouldn't have used your flair like that." She helped the young man stand.
It was one of the side effects of Link's flair. He wouldn't be able to walk on his own for a whole day.
"We need to go."
Link showed the teleport crystal and handed it over to Coleen.
"Where did you get this? Wait, Ei is searching for Shade outside. We need to meet them."
Link shook his head. "We need reinforcements." His words were firm.
"What are you saying? Ei and Shade are still not here. We couldn't possibly leave them."
Link showed the small crystal cube. "Shade's here."
"Then what about Eirin? She must still be searching for Shade. We can't leave her here!" Coleen panicked. There's no way I'm going to leave without her."
Link grunted. "Just listen to for once. I don't have enough time, I'm going to pass out soon. I need to pass the message to the Queen."
Coleen's sobs grew ragged. Desperate not to abandon her friend. Tears streamed down her face as she clutched at the young man's arm. Despite his own heart aching, Link couldn't wait for Coleen to calm down.
Link raised the teleport crystal, his thumb finding the button in the center. A shimmering bubble of energy burst forth, enveloping them both. In an instant, the world twisted, and they were gone, reappearing near the entrance of the Lively Grove.
"How could we? Eirin saved me but I left her there," Coleen couldn't control her emotions and seeing that hurt Link. "Eirin did her best to protect me, while all I did was run away."
Link couldn't speak a word, the guilt was too overwhelming to ignore, but he must do it. His body was still paralyzed, causing him to just sit nearby a tree while watching Coleen cry her eyes out.
Even though they did not have the time for it, Link could not tell her to stop.
"I'm sorry," Link muttered. "But we have to go. You've got to help me, Coco. For Eirin's sake, and for everybody else in that prison."
Those words pulled Coleen from despair. She rested Link's arm on her shoulders, dragging him along, but it took them hours just to get out of the Lively Grove's vicinity.
Coleen's knees gave up, and the two fell flat to the ground. A sound of cracking caused Link to look up with his eyes wide open.
"No."
Link crawled and reached out his hand to grab the fallen crystal cube.
"Coco, grab the cube!"
Before Coleen could take a step, the cracking sound intensified, and soon released a loud explosion, pushing the two away.