Guided by the signal Veronica had sent, the Dragon Rider finally landed on a small platform at the base of the "Crystal Spire."
Gawain and Amber stepped out of the aircraft. The latter craned her neck, staring at the conical structure piled high with countless crystal prisms like a small mountain. Pure magic power gushed from the Azure Well and burst from the structure's peak, forming a bright torrent of flame in the air before ultimately converging atop the massive shield. It was an especially spectacular sight.
Amber stared upward for quite a while before the countless thoughts in her mind finally condensed into one sigh. "...This thing never runs out?"
"I thought you were about to say something profound." Gawain's mouth twitched as he shot a sidelong glance at this unusually imaginative Shadow Assault Goose. "According to Tarlonnd's research records, this rift has existed since the birth of the planet. It is part of this planet's magical circulation, so there is no such thing as it 'running out'—unless the entire planet's magical circulation goes wrong. As for the little energy the people of Gondor harvested here back then... compared to the entire Azure Network, it was probably no more than a tiny ripple."
"...Endless magic power, so pure it doesn't even need secondary purification, and practically effortless to use," Amber said with feeling. "No wonder the Gondor Empire could become so powerful..."
Gawain said nothing. Then, at that moment, he suddenly heard a faint humming sound from nearby. Following it with his eyes, he saw a flowing grid of light emerge across the surface of the crystal "wall" at the end of the platform. Amid flickering glimmers, the once seamless crystal outer wall shifted and reassembled in a dazzling display, opening into a towering gate in the blink of