Odys gazed at the island ahead, shrouded in pitch-black darkness.
For a moment, he felt as though he had arrived in the Forsaken Land of the Gods. As far as he could see, the land lay under endless darkness. Only when lightning occasionally flashed across the sky could he make out anything in the distance.
No normal vegetation grew on the island. The ground was bare, though not entirely lifeless. There seemed to be animals and plants in the distance, but their shapes looked decidedly wrong.
Odys and Bernadette landed at the safe point Cattleya had established earlier. It was an ancient ruin, badly damaged, with most of it already collapsed.
Rain was pouring outside. According to Cattleya, it seemed to rain here all the time.
"That's the symbol," Cattleya said, pointing at the wall.
Odys looked over. It was the same complex symbol Cattleya had shown them before, built around an inverted triangle.
It still looked familiar, but he could not remember where he had seen it.
Bernadette glanced at the distant mountains. "There really is a Mystic Scholar over there."
As a Sequence 3 of the same Pathway, Bernadette felt no pressure at all.
At the ruin's exit, a brilliantly colored umbrella appeared above Bernadette's head. It grew until it sheltered Odys and Cattleya too.
Odys sighed admiringly. "Now that's a useful ability. Once you learn it, you never have to worry about getting soaked again."
Bernadette smiled and waved a hand. A winding path appeared before them, lit by the glow of dawn and accompanied by birdsong and the rustle of wind through leaves.
Now they would not have to step through the mud.
"Won't this draw too much attention?" Odys asked.
"Only we can see this path," Bernadette replied. "And as long as we're under this