Nearly a week had passed since Pinky's dungeon had been cleared by a group of seniors from a local high school. The nine students continued their schooling but began training to more easily deal with the dungeon they had stumbled upon merely a month prior. Their worldview had changed quite substantially from their experiences and each of them was adapting to it in their own ways. Some honed their skills in combat, some sought deeper knowledge, and others focused their efforts on more tactical endeavors.

  It was early morning, the twilight just beginning to taint the sparkling indigo sky with a hint of the coming day, and Ross had spent nearly the whole night in an enhanced meditation deep within Pinky's dungeon. He sat in a lotus position on a large rock before the lake shore with his staff across his lap and a lit stick of incense burning nearby. Hours ago he had ingested some nyxcap he and his father had been cultivating and used the potent effects to expand his awareness. The veil had lifted not long after he entered a deep meditative state and as visions played across his mindscape he felt both a vibrant presence watching him and a strange charge in the air. He'd felt the charge in a much more muted form in this dungeon before, but now he was fully conscious of it and in his current state could even see the strange colors and eddies of the energy as it flowed around him.

  He watched as the flow slowly streamed forth from the core deeper in the dungeon then turned his head towards the entrance where is spilled out into the surrounding forest and soaked in much like water seeping into thirsty ground. As he watched the flow of energy he noticed something disturb the flow like a light shockwave racing across the aetheric sea before him. When the ripple finally reached him the meaning was apparent, though the source he wasn't sure of. His eyes flicked open, the beautiful lapping of the water on the lake shore completely undisturbed by the strange ripple. Ross turned his head towards the vibrant presence he'd felt earlier and saw a tanned Iuiqui woman in revealing clothes with tasteful makeup floating behind him who he instantly clocked as Pinky's avatar. She gasped in surprise that he could see her and he smiled in amusement before he opened his mouth to warn her about something.

  Devon finished marking the lines, runes, symbols, and letters with the chalk. The ritual circle the Voidborn had given him was much more simple than what was in Morgan's book. He lit the brazier, candles, and incense then called out for the primordial. The moon was dark and the clearing around the entrance to the dungeon was near pitch black despite the coming dawn. He was told that this version of the ritual only worked in the time just before and during dawn. It was the first time he'd attempted it though, so he was a bit nervous.

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  He could feel the familiar tension but it wasn't anywhere near as strong as the last time he summoned the primordial. As the twilight began to spread over the horizon, the tightness of the air released and the soft reverberation washed through him just as it had before. The familiar star-like points appeared and soon the faux-canine form loped towards the circle. He knelt down and bowed his head as the false hyena reached him.

  "Arkanyct. I thank you for you help and the info you have given me. I- "

  A grin spread across the creature's muzzle as it cut him off, "you are welcome Child of Time, but I have some important things for you."

  Devon was confused for a second before he felt a surge of power course through the core of his body. He fell to his hands, his knees already on the ground, and took gulping breaths as the power imprinted itself deeply inside of him. A slight movement caught his eye and he raised his head to see the hyena form of the being who had just granted him a boon shifting. The stars reconfigured themselves and the void shadows within twisted in impossible patterns as a humanoid form took the place of the beast. His eyes widened as a shimmer spread over the form before him and cloaked it in human flesh.

  Within a few seconds, an archetypal Nari man about 25 years old with empty eye sockets that had blue circles bright as stars in place of eyes stood before him. A smirk spread across his face and he knelt down on a knee to look the stunned Anadru in the eye. The primordial placed his hand on Devon's shoulder and gently lifted him back up into a kneeling position.

  "First thing, cut it with the formality. I'm still a person after all. Secondly, you'll need that boon for the future."

  Devon's eyes were glued to the circles his patron had in place of eyes and nodded, "why's that?"

  The primordial looked to the northeast and smiled, "because big things have been set in motion that cannot be stopped. We don't have much time before the ritual is no longer viable. So I will speak quickly and tell you what to look for and how to use the power I have given you."

  There was a slight tremor, not physically, but aetherically. Something glinted beneath the mana damp soil and began to gently eat away at its surroundings. A chamber had formed at the base of a hill with a pole of earth holding a little blue marble. The marble glimmered in the darkness, almost creating its own light. The marble felt something.

  

  As the dawn light broke the night, the first beam of light struck the marble and a scream was felt emanating from the little orb.

  

  A surge of power resonates through the earthy chamber and a tunnel deeper into the hill collapsed into itself, seemingly being devoured by the air itself. The little pole sinks into the earth and the marble is carried into the darkness of the newly formed tunnel on a wave of earth.

  

  Devon - Level Up!

  [BP Gained - 31]

  Class [Avowed] Rank Up

  Class Ability gained - [Pact Blast]