Upon arrival at the Pools of the End Yu couldn't help but feel a bit unpleasant. Not only was the surrounding area resembling a graveyard in the sense that there was a massive corpse in a state of decay, but the pools of rotten mass somehow made her feel sad? As she tried to follow the Fairy Queen her advice and reach out to the dragon's soul, a sudden shiver ran across her spine.

"Why have you come to me child?" A deep masculine voice resounded in her mind, and for a moment she could have sworn that a glow came from the corpse, a glow that manifested in the spirit of the majestic dragon: Albion. "I have come to seek your counsel wise guardian of the Fae! A powerful darkness threatens to consume Earthland, and if left unattended will devour everything we hold dear." She bowed her head as she spoke to the dragon spirit, hoping that he would help her find a way to close the rifts.
"I see. So, my time has come once again." The spirit sighed, the dragon spirit looking at Yu with a gentle gaze. "You have grown stronger since you last stood here child. But your strength will not be enough to seal the rifts. You will need the help of many, allies... friends if you wish to succeed." "But what do I do to make friends, I don't remember how?" She asked as she looked at the spirit with confusion, and a hint of fear.

WC: 250
Total WC: 250/1250

"You should follow your instincts child, and if those fail, follow your heart." The Dragon's words were gentle, like a parent teaching their child. "I was once in a similar situation. Long ago... When the Seraphim and Demons fought on Earthland and their conflict threatened to engulf the lands of Caelum and the Fae that dwelled there many of my friends left this realm, to travel to the other side... But in my stubbornness I remained. I loved the Fae too much to abandon them, and so I sacrificed my body to create a protective barrier over their home, one that ensure that till today neither Illumin's servant, or a denizen of the abyss has reached the Fae their sanctuary."

As Yu heard the words of the dragon her eyes lit up. "Is that how the Fae got stuck here? Why can't they leave this place?" She asked, hoping that the Dragon would give her some answers. "The Fae are not bound to this world. They are free to travel anywhere they want, as long as they wish to. Yet their loyalty binds them to Earthland, to stay and defend it for that is their purpose." Hearing the Dragon's words Yu went quiet for a moment. "Is there any way to stop the void?" The dragon's spirit pondered for a moment. "You will need to stop the flow of energy it receives from the sacrifices. Stop the flow and the rift will lose in power, but to accomplish that you need to get enough people to believe your story."

Meanwhile Nyancelot had taken a seat on a nearby tree stump, having dozed off during the history lesson!

WC: 280
Total WC: 530/1250

"So, it comes down to this?" He said as he stretched his paws. "Get enough people to believe her, then get the sacrifice ritual to stop, and finally close the rift?" The Exceed's words made the spirit nod in affirmation. "You likely will find allies among the Fae, and the mortals who still follow the old ways. They will heed the call of the spirits. But there might be a way to at least slow down the approaching threat of the void..." The Dragon muttered. "So, what is your plan?" Nyancelot asked as he stretched, before walking over towards the two. "My plan? To travel, meet people, make friends, and hopefully find a way to convince the people of the world that there is a threat, and to prepare for it."

Yu replied. "And how do you intend to accomplish that?" The Exceed inquired to which Yu stated with a smile."The best way is to go around, speak with people, and see where that takes me." The Dragon's soul soon hummed in agreement. "You could start with asking the Fae to build 'that'."

The suggestion of the Dragon made Yu tilt her head to the side in curiosity. "That?" The Dragon soon clarified further: "It is a large tower that was once constructed by a Caelish ruler for a similar purpose: to reinforce the barrier of Earthland and the void, it will at least give you enough time to try to carry out your plan." Yu whispered softly, clearly dejected "But I'm no longer a mage. How will I make the barrier?" The Dragon shook his head lightly while explaining further:"The barrier is not created by the mages. It is the tower that houses the barrier. The barrier is the work of the souls of the dragon; my soul" Hearing the words of the dragon spirit Yu's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, what?" Her words made the spirit chuckle a little bit. "I told you that my sacrifice created the barrier. In truth, that is not the only reason why I did what I did. I knew that I would not survive for long after the creation of the barrier, so I placed a portion of my soul inside the tower, to preserve a piece of me until the day someone would find me. Someone like you." Hearing these words Yu smiled softly at the dragon. "I will ask the Fairies to help me then.

WC: 410
Total WC: 940/1200

As the spirit shimmed out of existence Yu was left alone with Nyancelot to ponder the next course of action. "So~ Who will you talk to first Yu?" Nyancelot's question made the girl think for a moment after which she explained her intentions. "I hope to get Alisa-sensei's input on what we learned so far. Maybe she can reach out to the other guilds of Fiore about the problem the Fractured Rift represents. Then afterwards I can ask Renshi to spread the news in Sin and maybe search for Kamui to help out?"

Hearing these words Nyancelot nodded his head in approval. "That is a solid plan. So that means for the time being we have to travel back to Hargeon right? Pity it's winter... I could go for some buxom ladies in swimsuits, and barbeque..." yet seeing Yu's deadpan expression he quickly laughed. "Just kidding, of course!"

A moment later and the two started to move toward the outskirts of the area, and for a moment Yu hummed softly: The clock tower..." hearing the name Nyancelot turned toward her. "What do you mean?" And so the girl started to explain. "The tower is meant to give us more 'time' to accomplish our goal right? Like a clock! and it's a tower so..."

Nyancelot nodded with a grin. "I like the sound of it! Mysterious and classy!"

And with that they departed toward the port of Hargeon once more. However, this time they weren't going to be searching for the beach or a barbeque... No, their destination was Blue Pegasus!

WC: 260
Total WC: 1200/1200