Noble blinked.
The moon overhead had not changed, yet the water did not reflect the reality around them.
'What is going on?'
Flint pursed his lips. 'I'm not sure...'
Child of Promise checked the sky. The moon was as broken as ever. When she had looked into the water, it was like the world was the way it should be instead of the way it actually was. Was the lake enchanted? She hadn't noticed anything strange in the daylight.
When she looked back at the water, the reflection wavered. The whole moon was replaced by what was in the sky, as if it had broken all over again. Flint's emotions spiked. He had seen it too.
Flint lowered himself to get a closer look. 'How...'
The water rippled, obscuring the images above as something moved underneath. There was no more time to contemplate the strangeness of the sight. They needed to finish crossing and get to land.
Noble felt her heart racing at the sudden disruption of the lake's surface. But it seemed just to be the restlessness of one of the creatures below, for the water settled, and the rest of their flight was peaceful.
As they landed on the palatial island, the floating Master released a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
She would have loved to ask the Saint about the strange sight in the water, but it was better not to talk unless absolutely necessary. Noble would inquire another time. And since none of the others seemed to register the strange occurrence except Flint, she was unlikely to get any answer at all.
Climbing off the griffin, Roan dismissed his echo. The rest of the journey would be on foot. They could hide more easily among the huge pieces of the broken palace than they could in the air. Tonight, they valued stealth over speed.
They had an extra asset on their side: Helie. Her earth powers could not create stone like Harlow had, but they were no less useful. Under her concentration and care, they were able to avoid problematic areas and possible rockslides with ease.
While Aether, Roan, and Syrce were putting an intense amount of concentration into each step, Flint was strangely nonchalant.
Like Noble, he was also making almost no sound as he moved.
'You are still floating, aren't you?' Noble smirked beneath her hood.
Flint raised an eyebrow.
'What? You don't think I am capable of moving this stealthily without help?'
'Shall I cut off the tether so you can prove it to me?' Noble floated around a large rock that was once a massive column.
'Blast it, Blondie. Let me have my moment, will you?' Flint rolled his eyes.
Chuckling inwardly, Child of Promise smiled. 'Of course, have your fun. As long as you can navigate properly, you'll have no complaints from me.'
Aether held up his hand.
The group paused as he surveyed the rubble. Something had caught the young scout's eye. After confirming that it wasn't a lurking creature or a trap, he pointed, silently requesting Helie's help.
She examined the pile in question. Something golden was shimmering in the rubble.
Helie waved her hand, and the stones melted away like they were made of wax, leaving the article behind unharmed. Aether picked up the piece of cloth. While most of the things in the palace were ruined beyond recognition, the purple fabric with gold stitching was still mostly intact. It was ripped, but the stunning image of Bastion was meticulously recreated for all to see.
Noble's eyes opened wide. She had seen this image before.
Or rather, she had seen the other half of it. Among the relics, Noble had seen the missing piece bearing the same image, only this one was upside down…or that one was?
It was difficult to say for sure.
The bigger question was—why was it torn?
Mirage herself must have separated it for half to end up in her treasure trove, so the tear was not made by accident. Was she upset with her handiwork? If so, why save it at all? Was she afraid of it being found?
Who knew what went on in a daemon's head? It was silly to speculate when they had work to do.
Syrce motioned for Aether to tuck the object in his armor. They could look at it later. He dutifully complied, and they continued on their way.
Taking deep, measured breaths, Noble kept her nerves steady and her mind alert. The closer they got, the more tempting it was to rush. But somehow Syrce managed to keep them at a steady pace.
The ruins were eerily quiet. At least in the forest, they could hear the wind moving through the trees, but here the air was almost completely still. There were no nighttime sounds.
With a dragon taking up the hill, it was not a surprise that nothing else wanted to be nearby. Noble didn't want to be near it either. Thankfully, it seemed to be sleeping.
'Please stay that way.'
'I plan to.' Flint smirked.
'Not you. The Prince. He is sleeping.' Noble shook her head. 'You can change however you like as long as it's for the better.'
This time, it was Syrce who stopped them. With her hand on her pendant, she studied the surroundings carefully.
While she did, Noble tried to gauge their location. They were most of the way up
the hillside of Mirage's ruined palace. Calling it a palace wasn't exactly the best word. Noble had seen it in its full glory in the Dream Realm. It was more of a walled city than a single fortress. Crestfall was only marginally bigger, yet it had held thousands upon thousands of people.
And this place was meant to house only one Daemon? That was a chilling thought.
The Saint looked up at the stars before taking four steps to her left and then one to her right. She toed at the rocks, moving the lightest ones gently aside. A smile bloomed on her face.
With a nod, Syrce backed up and signaled for Helie to clear the rocks from the area.
The brunette Master shut her eyes for a moment. When she opened, she knelt to clear the ruins by hand. The stones turned to sand under her touch, and she easily pushed them aside. Soon, a small dune formed around her as she gently excavated the ruins to look for their appointed spot.
When the pile became too large, the men helped remove the sand to give Helie space. Slowly, they dug into the mountain of rubble. It was an arduous task, but without Helie, it might have been impossible. Only she knew which rocks could be moved in what order not to create an avalanche, and without her guidance, they would have been lost.
At last, they reached the bottom where the foundation of the palace had once been. Or perhaps it was below the foundation? They were deep enough that it was hard to tell.
Helie paused, her eyes opened wide.
With one sweeping motion of her hands, the rocks cleared on their own, moving to the walls of their vertical tunnel.
'What is that!?' Flint stepped back and shielded his eyes.
'I'm not sure...'
Noble furrowed her brow.
'But I think it's a door.'