*Date: 33,480 Third Quarter — Parthanon*

  "Velori! Are you alright?"

  Marven rushed past Demir, kneeling beside the old elven woman. She pressed her fingers to Velori's neck, checking for a pulse.

  "Is she alive?" Demir kept his shield raised, his eyes fixed on Tatmana and Yumi.

  "She seems alive. No cuts or bruises." Marven helped Velori sit up. "Just unconscious."

  Demir let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Then his voice hardened. "Release your spell on Asena. Now."

  Tatmana gave him a disgusted look. But with Turbo's gang spreading out, blocking the exits, she had no choice. She lowered her hands.

  The magical leash vanished.

  Asena turned. Her golden eyes fixed on Tatmana. A low growl rumbled in her chest.

  Tatmana immediately raised her hands again, chanting a new spell. A burst of energy hit Asena, and the giant wolf yelped and sat down, cowering.

  "What did you do to her?" Demir rushed forward.

  "Put a fear in her." Tatmana's voice was cold. "Obviously. I don't want her attacking us."

  Marco stepped toward Yumi, sword drawn. "Why did you kill the golem? He was a husband to Velori!"

  "Have you all gone mad?" Yumi spread his hands. "This was a treasure hunt, and we successfully claimed it. Now get out of our looting zone."

  "No." Demir's voice was iron. "His remains belong to Velori. As long as she lives, it's all hers."

  ---

  While the argument raged, Aris moved quietly through the debris.

  Fox clung to his shoulder, fur bristling. "What are you looking for?"

  "The heart." Aris's voice was barely a whisper. "Marduk told me to bring him a mutated golem heart."

  There. In the center of the fleshy blob, something pulsed with inner light. Metallic and organic at once. Still beating.

  Aris glanced at the others. They were focused on Yumi and Tatmana. No one was watching.

  He reached down and grabbed the heart.

  It was warm. Slippery. And it hummed with power he couldn't understand.

  He stuffed it into his bag.

  ---

  Marven had helped Velori to her feet. The old woman was awake now, tears streaming down her face as she processed what had happened.

  "My dear..." Her voice cracked. "Why..."

  The shouting continued. Demir and Tatmana were inches apart, voices rising. Turbo's men had their hands on their weapons. Yumi was gathering another spell.

  Then a voice spoke from the rubble.

  Weak. Broken. But unmistakable.

  "Velori..."

  Everyone froze.

  The dog-sized blob moved. It was crawling toward the old woman, leaving a trail of blood and oil on the stone floor.

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  "Dear... Velori... It hurts so much... Please... let me die..."

  Velori fell to her knees. She reached out with trembling hands, touching the thing that had once been her husband.

  "Thurmin..."

  "I'm tired..." The voice was fading. "So tired... Please... let me rest..."

  Velori nodded, tears falling freely. "I will. I promise."

  The pulsing slowed. The light in the blob dimmed.

  Then it stopped.

  Velori bent over the remains and wept.

  ---

  Turbo stepped between Demir and the treasure hunters.

  "You heard him." His voice was deadly calm. "He wasn't just a golem. He was still married to this woman. You killed a citizen."

  Yumi's face went pale. "He was a monster. A construct. The law doesn't—"

  "The law says he was still a person. Still married. Still a resident of this city." Turbo cracked his knuckles. "And that's before we talk about kidnapping this kid's fox."

  Tatmana glared at Aris. "The fox was legal merchandise."

  "Was it?" Fox's voice cut through the tension. "Did Vorn show you a bill of sale? Did he explain how he acquired me while I was screaming for help?"

  The treasure hunters exchanged glances.

  "You will leave now," Turbo said. "You will not take any of the gold. And we won't turn you in for murder and kidnapping. That's the deal."

  Tatmana opened her mouth to argue.

  Turbo raised his hand. His gang drew their weapons.

  "That's the deal," he repeated.

  ---

  They left.

  Yumi cast one last hateful glare at the group before disappearing up the tunnel. Tatmana followed, muttering curses under her breath.

  Officials arrived moments later, drawn by the explosion. They found Turbo and his gang standing guard over the crime scene. They found Velori weeping over her husband's remains. They found Demir and his friends covered in dust and blood but victorious.

  The explanations took hours. But in the end, the treasure was ruled to belong to Velori. The kidnapping charges against Vorn were filed. And Aris walked out of the sewers with Fox on his shoulder and his bag slightly heavier than before.

  ---

  They gathered at Velori's workshop after everything was done.

  Aris was treating everyone's wounds. His hands glowed with gentle healing magic as he moved from person to person. Marco. Marven. Demir. Even Turbo's men.

  "I thought you were a destruction mage," Demir said.

  "My first master was a healer." Aris smiled. It was the first real smile Demir had seen on his face. "Thanks for saving my friend. And for being you."

  "Being me?"

  "Not everyone jumps between giant golems and magical blasts to protect their NPC landlord." Aris's smile widened.

  Demir laughed. Then his expression sobered. "I need to save my masters too."

  "What?"

  "My masters taught me blacksmithing. Gave me a chance to catch up when leveling froze. We need to get back to the Iron Confederacy. They're stuck in a power struggle. Civil war."

  Aris's face fell. "Demir, no. I need to win the Locke and save my friend in Chalice."

  "What? No, I need to hurry. My masters' lives are at stake. We can save your friend later."

  "Demir." Aris grabbed his arm. "Lyra is the key to saving this planet. She can guide us to the portals. To the control room. To everything."

  They stared at each other. Two friends who had just found each other. Already facing impossible choices.

  "We'll meet again," Aris said finally. "Here. In Parthanon."

  "What? No. We can't separate again." Demir's voice cracked. "I just found you."

  "I see no other choice. I can't let go of Lyra. And I can't ask you to abandon your masters."

  Demir's hands clenched. "Aris, you are in so much darkness. It is oozing off of you. I can't let you fall into that again. It will consume you. I need to protect you."

  Aris smiled sadly. "I don't want to go back to that darkness either. But I don't need your protection anymore."

  Fox spoke up from Aris's shoulder. "A shoulder, though. Time to time."

  Aris nodded. "Yeah. A shoulder."

  Demir stared at his friend. At the boy who had grown up without him. Who had survived horrors Demir could barely imagine. Who had become something strong and terrible and still, somehow, good.

  "A shoulder," Demir agreed. "Whenever you need it."

  They clasped hands.

  "Don't die," Demir said.

  "Don't you either."

  And then, because there was nothing else to say, they hugged.

  Two friends. Reunited at last. Preparing to part again.

  But this time, they knew they would find each other.

  This time, they had hope.