Calix shot out of his seat and ran to the bridge. His eyes fell on the control screen. The map of the eastern ranges that he opened when they left was still on the screen and there was a red ping on the map right on that last of the mountain - the vermillion summit. He zoomed in the location to where exactly the pin was, the ping was moving towards the exit through which they all came out but then the ping stopped.

"What is that?", Ryan asked.

"I don't know.", Calix frowned, watching closely if the ping moved any further but it was still there, "Why is this ship receiving the signal?"

"Did you leave anything behind or something?", Ryan looked at him.

Calix shook his head negatively and stared at the ping. Ryan was doing the same, his eyes fixed on the red blip. Krox cleared his throat, startling Ryan a bit.

"What is going on?", Krox questioned and peered over Calix's shoulder.

"We're getting an unsolicited signal from the vermillion summit.", he answered.

Three of them stared at the ping, waiting if it moved again. They waited for like a minute. The ping was not moving but it was blinking constantly.

"What could that be?", Krox asked, placing a hand on Calix's bare shoulder.

"Have no idea.", Calix mumbled and he leaned forward quickly when the ping moved an inch in the move.

"Did that just move?", Ryan wanted to be sure of what he saw.

"Yeah, it did.", Calix said and next second the ping started to move.

"It's moving! It's moving! It's moving!", Ryan exclaimed.

Calix punched his Atmo Suit and he sat on the seat, "We should see what it is."

He closed the lounge door and he ignited the ship. He started to draw patterns in order to pilot the ship manually. Ryan watched him closely as well as the map.

"It stopped moving-uh..never mind. It's moving again.", Ryan ranted out.

______________________________

When his eyelids opened slowly, it was pitch black and blurry. His head felt fizzy, like millions of ants running here and there inside his skull. A tired moan left through his lips. Something heavy was pressing over his right leg, it wasn't hurting him but he felt an enormous weight on his right leg. His eyes opened slowly and the first thing that his eyes saw was the broken ceiling replaced by the dark night sky filled with millions of stars. Something in his right pocket was vibrating constantly.

He couldn't feel the parts of his body for a few minutes. He was completely beaten but he still managed to move his arm from under the debris. Everytime he moved, it was an awful pain that was equal to millions of needles being pricked on his nerves. His fingers slowly reached for his right pocket despite all the pain. His fingers touched the metallic object that was vibrating. He fished it out and his eyes squinted as a silver shimmer shone in the dark.

It was the necklace that he found on the shelf under the bed. The centerpiece was shimmering its light through the silver linings on it.

A tired groan left his lips and his hand fell on the ground, holding the necklace tightly. Lifting his hand again, he tried to see the surroundings with the small light. He was laying among the destruction, in the middle of the collapsed ceiling to be precise. There were rocks around him as if they all were deflected away from him except for the large piece of the debris under which his right leg was.

He slowly sat up, pulling his right leg from the large piece of rock. He was confused why his leg wasn't crushed under such a huge piece of rubble. He easily removed his leg from there and he saw a shimmering silver glow on himself when he pulled out his leg roughly. He was bewildered to see the shimmering shine guarding his body from any harm. It was just like the barrier charm that was on Skarlothar, except this was visible when something harmful came in contact with his body. His rate started to raise when all the things that happened came crashing into his mind like tidal waves. Letting out a shuddered breath, his eyes slowly took in the place around as far as the light allowed him to.

The ground was filled with fallen walls, ceiling, and the sand, it was all a complete demolition.

"Calix?", he called out in a hoarse voice that he couldn't even recognise as his own.

"Krox?"

No voices answered.

'Are they dead? God, please. I hope they all are alright.'

Looking around as he stood up, he guided the glowing necklace around, his eyes spotted the dragon buried under the rubble. He gulped hardly and he took a step forward on the large flat rock and he climbed up on it. He spotted the entrance that led to the other paths. He didn't want to stay there anymore and so he started to walk among the wreck, careful not to slip or fall down.

As he cautiously crossed, a shining crystal caught his eyes and that's when he remembered about the wound on his abdomen. His hand immediately touched it but the wound or that excruciating pain wasn't there.

"Wait a second...", he mumbled slowly.

He was beyond confused. The memory of falling on a crystal and how it drove into his body was still fresh on his mind. He looked down at his body, the suit was torn at that place, covered in dried blood but the skin was closed, and looked as if it was unharmed.

"How is it possible?", he mumbled to himself, he wasn't sure if it all even happened. As if to remind that it was not a trick by his brain, his eyes spotted then looked at the crystal that was buried among the rubbles. He picked it up, moving a few stones away and saw the full crystal that was half covered in blood. His own blood.

It was true that he got stabbed by the crystal, it was the proof and the blood stain on the dark Atmo suit but the healed wound said otherwise. His mind replayed every single memory that had led him to that moment. His eyes stung and temples hurt as a headache hit his skull at the thought of experiencing all these unbelievable things in his life for the first time. He looked down at the crystal and then he remembered something.

Deciding to give it a try, he stuffed the necklace back into his pocket and he struck the crystal on the nearby rock. Followed by a clean striking sound, the place was illuminated by a crystalline shine for a few meters. It was shining better than the necklace.

Without wasting any time, he started to walk towards the entrance with the newly lit light. He reached it and he looked back once at the chaos. The walls were half broken but the ceiling was no more there, there was a large pile of rocks where Skarlothar was buried under.

He sighed and muttered, "Not gonna lie. You really scared the living shit out of me."

His eyes then observed around and landed a familiar black dagger - Krox's Arcane Blade. He was sure it was Krox's because his own Blade would probably be stuck in the neck of the dead dragon. He quickly climbed over a pile of rock and retrieved the dagger from there.

He then just took off into the path, this time he didn't turn back. The light of the same crystal that injured him, now was guiding him by providing the light. He saw how the mountain was completely dull, the red glow had faded away. The beautiful walls with the glowing scars were dead now, no more glowing running through them. Within a few minutes, he reached the centerpath.

"Hello!", he yelled, expecting from which path the echo was gonna come from but the echoes were dead already.

"Hey!", he screamed this time and he sighed defeatedly when the echoes didn't answer.

He stood there, trying very hard to remember the paths they came through. He remembered like half of the paths that they chose but he tried his best to rewind the memory and he ran through them. He was totally tired but he wasn't planning on giving up tonight.

Hours of running, he still hasn't reached the exit because he chose the wrong path many times and met with a deadend. He stopped at some points to catch his breath or to light the crystal. After some points, he just started to try out by running into random paths, hoping it would take him outside but it all ended in closed walls. He tried, he ran, he ran again back to the point, tried another path, failed again, tried another path, reached a centerpoint and this cycle continued. Sometimes, he chose the correct path at the first try luckily even though he was running into walls for so many times. This went on and on, his legs were paining so much, throat was completely dry.

He reached a centerpoint and stopped, catching his breath, falling on his knees. He breathed heavily and swallowed dryly. He then noticed the claw marks on the ground. His eyes followed them, it was all over the place, especially near the opposite wall. He then realized it. It was the very first centerpoint where they figured out the riddle. His breath shuddered as he looked at the first path, just remembering the growl made him shiver. He faced the turn on the cave, getting up on his feet, he ran fastly without making a noise, scared if any creepy creature would follow him.

He ran in the long path that led to the exit. His eyes twinkled with happy tears when he saw the early morning sky through the narrow path. He smiled as he saw the way out even though it was blocked with fallen rocks.

His legs slided to a halt, his smile dropped, he let out a loud girl scream and jumped back, falling on his ass and crawling back in fear when his eyes spotted the dead wolf that was laying spread in a pool of its own blood. He sat there with a terrified look across his face, he even forgot how to breathe for a minute.

He stayed there like that for a minute, staring at the pure horror in front of his eyes and he stood up, finally releasing the breath that he was holding back. Stepping around the dead beast, he looked up at the piles of rocks that led up to the narrow opening. He moved forward and slowly started to climb up that rocky way, while holding the crystal in the right and Krox's dagger in the other hand.

______________________________

Within a minute, the ship flashed through the air, the deep hum of its engine rang through the sky. Calix flew the ship towards the vermillion summit. The mountain lost its unique beauty and it was obvious.

"Something is coming out of the same path we came through.", Ryan said, pointing to the map and then he looked out the window. It was still a bit dark outside the area even though the sky was red.

They were waiting patiently, seeing through the front window. Krox saw the moving between the rocks, some light could be seen between the gaps of the debris. Ryan and Calix watched closely outside the window.

A hand holding a glowing crystal emerged out of the opening and followed by that another hand with a familiar dagger came out in the view.

The three men's hearts skipped a beat, their lips parted open in shock.

Arjun climbed over the narrow path and he peered over as his ears were filled with his favorite sound of that ship. His face lit up with excitement and he climbed all over the path and he carefully jumped down to the ground.

Ryan looked at Krox and Calix who were more shocked than him.

"Guys!", Arjun waved at them, jumping up and down excitedly, "WOOHOO!"

Their eyes instantly filled with tears of joy and their hearts fluttered in ecstacy. Calix maneuvered the ship and he turned it sideways, nearing to the path, he drew the pattern to get the ramp down to the path so that Arjun could come in.

Arjun exclaimed in unexplainable happiness as the ship was welcoming him by the ramp. The energy in his body was completely drained but at the sight of the ship and his friends, he felt so energetic, the deep hum of the ship filled his nerves with spirit.

Calix, Ryan and Krox ran to the lounge at the same time, confusing the girls and Chris who were still not aware of the ping or that the ship was taken to the vermillion mountain. Nobody can feel if the ship is moving or not and they didn't care about the sound of the ship's ignition either.

They all stared at them quizzically as the three of them were waiting for the ramp to get down. It slided down, connecting to the path. The strong mountain breeze came into the ship. Chris felt the biting chillness of the morning air as he was sitting there without a shirt. Emily put away the medical kit as she finished wrapping the wound and she stood up along with Chris wondering why Calix, Krox and Ryan were staring out at the door. Jane shook Ayesha and they looked at the men skeptically. The sound of someone running up the ramp hit their ears. They all rushed towards the door.

Right when Arjun stepped on the ramp, the vibration of the necklace stopped and so did the ping on the screen.

Calix's eyes were on Arjun as he joyfully ran up to them. He saw the tired look on his face, something in his pocket shimmering in silver, a bloody crystal in one hand and the black dagger in another.

Right when he reached the top of the stairs, he jumped into the lounge and was immediately hugged by Calix. Calix was surprised by his own act because he's not a guy to hug but he did anyway. Ryan threw his arms around Arjun along with Calix, Krox joined them too.

"Oh my god!", Emily's mouth fell open, her voice shaked at the sight in front of her.

Chris was again too stunned to move but he teared up with a stiff smile. Jane's breath started to get uneven, she closed her mouth with her hands, letting out a sob. Ayesha was crying happily, somehow found new tears in her dry eyes.

Calix hugged the boy tightly and closed his eyes. He thanked all the stars for performing a miracle. He was beyond happy to see Arjun back and magically healed somehow.

"Bro, you're alive!", Ryan cried out, chuckling softly while hugging Arjun and Calix even tighter.

Krox pulled apart and he took the crystal and the dagger from Arjun's hand, "I'll take them."

Ryan pulled apart. Calix didn't let go of Arjun even when Arjun was about to part away from the hug.

"Don't. Ever. Scare me like that again, kid.", he said to Arjun and pulled apart at last.

Arjun chuckled and breathed out, "I thought you wouldn't care even if I died."

Calix felt a pang in his heart at hearing his own statement, he shook his head negatively and hung it between his shoulders.

"Arjun."

Arjun turned back at the call of his name. It was Jane's voice, shaking and her eyes were glassy and red.

"Hey.", he stepped forward and he was attacked with hugs from Emily, Jane and Ayesha at the same time, almost knocking him off his feet, but Ryan held him to study.

"You're alive! Oh my god! You're alive! You're back!", Jane exclaimed, still not over the fact that he actually returned.

"Yes, I am.", Arjun chuckled.

"We thought you were dead but you're not.", Ayesha looked up at him, tears running down her cheeks.

"No, I'm not.", Arjun answered, hugging them all.

"We thought we've lost you.", Emily stifled her cry and said.

"No, you didn't lose me, guys.", Arjun assured them and hugged them all one last time before pulling apart.

He looked at Chris who was still right on his spot, shirtless.

"Come on, I know you missed me.", Arjun smiled and winked at him playfully, opening his arms for a hug.

Chris cracked up a bit and pulled him into a hug and smacking on his back hardly.

"You are one crazy fucking idiot.", he said and Arjun laughed heartily.

A smile of relief was across everyone's lips. A moment of peace for them. Nothing could be compared to it. They succeeded without losing anyone today.

Arjun pulled apart from Chris and stood next to him.

Krox was the first one to question him, "Arjun...how?"

It was just a single word but it screamed so many questions.

Arjun exhaled before answering, "Honestly? I have no idea. I woke up in that mess. It was completely dark. I have no idea how the injury vanished! See?", he showed that healed wound, "Then I-I-I was just wandering around the whole cave. Man, the echoes weren't there, I lost my way so many times! I was just running through almost every path there and met with lots of deadends and damn! I saw a really scary dead wolf there! It was big, really big.", he was ranting non stop, "But it wasn't as big as Skarlothar but it was as scary as it. I'm glad I didn't pee my pants!"

"Alright, alright, calm down. First of all, tell me how you sent the signal.", Calix placed the real question out.

"What signal?", Arjun was confused and so were Chris and the girls.

"The signal that brought us to you. It was a blip on the map, we didn't know what it was. It was...coming from you. How do you think we found you?", Ryan titled his head at Arjun.

"Oh..."Arjun thought for a second and it clicked to him. He took the necklace out of his right pocket. It wasn't glowing or vibrating anymore.

"I think it was the one which was sending the signal.", he said, "It was constantly vibrating in my pocket."

"Where did you get it?", Calix's eyes darkened a bit at the sight of the necklace with that familiar symbol.

"From that room.", he gestured to the bedroom, "I don't know why it's glowing when I woke up. It wasn't doing this thing when I found it there on the secret shelf under the bed."

Calix stood there staring at the symbol, mixed emotions flooded in his mind. He closed his eyes and said with a heavy sigh, "Arjun, put that away."

Arjun frowned, "W-why?"

"You shouldn't have touched it.", Calix warned, "Give it to me."

Arjun stared at him with a sad look, "Why? What's wrong with it?"

"You wouldn't understand. Put. That. Away. Now."

Arjun stuffed it into his pocket, "I'll put it back right where I took it from if you tell me why."

They all watched their interaction quietly. Calix sighed in annoyance and he moved forward to take it out from Arjun's pocket but Arjun stepped back.

"I'm not giving it to you until you tell me why."

Calix ignored him and pulled the necklace out the pocket and stared down at Arjun, "Sometimes, it's better if you don't learn about certain things."

"No, I wanna know. It saved my life today and maybe this is what healed my injury. I have a right to know.", Arjun pressed to get the answers.

"All you need to know is that you're lucky enough to be saved by this."

"Calix, what exactly is it?", Chris inquired and he turned to Arjun, "What do you mean it saved you?"

Calix turned away, looking down at the metallic centerpiece. The silver linings on it were slowly subduing. He wanted to yell at Arjun for meddling with this but he didn't want to say anything, he held back. A part of him was so relieved that Arjun had that necklace with him or else he would have been dead for sure.

"I lost my consciousness while the ceiling was collapsing. When I woke up, there wasn't a single scratch on me. The fallen rocks were away from me. I'm sure this is what saved me from getting crushed into a human jelly.", Arjun explained.

"What kind of magic does it hold?", Krox questioned Calix but he stayed silent.

"Calix, it saved him.", Ryan said, "It's a big deal. What is this? Why are you being jumpy about it?"

Calix threw a stern glare at him and his gaze shifted to Arjun and he decided to answer, "You wanna know what's wrong with it? There is nothing wrong with the necklace. Yes, it holds an unbreakable magic within it and I'm so grateful that it saved you today. But it belongs to a galactic warmonger. He is a ruthless monster, a killing machine who kills for his dark pleasure. He is the most disgusting, heartless and merciless creature in existence with an unsatisfiable hunger for power. Are you happy to be in the possession of something that belonged to someone like him?"

Arjun gulped as he learned about the necklace's real owner.

"How do you know all this?", Jane questioned him.

"It doesn't matter how I know him. What matters is that if he knows that we are on his ship right now, none of us will be alive. He doesn't like it when people touch his assets. So stop playing around and listen to my words. The longer we are in the ship, the worse it gets. I never wanted to board this ship but we had no choice."

"You know who this ship belongs to?", Krox asked, "Was he one of our enemies?"

"I don't suppose he is from your Time Scrap. His reign is beyond the Temporal Veil through which nothing could get in or out."

"What is a Temporal Veil?", Ayesha quickly asked.

Calix inhaled and exhaled, looking out at the cave from the entrance. He regretted sharing the information. Nobody knows about that man except for him and Zoran. He didn't want to share anything about this man to the earthlings even though that man was the very reason for the incurable pain that resides in his broken heart. The very reason why Calix ended up in Oporin. The very reason why he was in search of the prophesied greatest warriors of all time.

'I would have told them everything about him, if these earthlings were the greatest warriors of all time but I was so wrong. I made a big mistake by not doing a complete research about them well before I left Oporin. There is no use in telling them about him. I just have to live with the guilt for the rest of my life. No retribution for me.'

He felt that familiar vibration on his wrist and his head snapped down to his wrist. Tick just vibrated and it was rebooting. A faint smile dawned on his lips.

"Niktron is back online."

All the heads turned to him, their faces in a mix of joy and surprise.

"Really?", Ryan was the happiest one.

"Yeah.", Calix nodded and he waited until Tick finished its reboot and he was so happy to see that red holographic screen again after a while.

Klinion had sent a message to him in code. He decrypted it and read it out loud.

"Report submitted to OCTERA. Help is on the way. Arrive here soon."

The earthlings cheered happily, exclaiming simultaneously and clapping. They forgot about the whole 'merciless warmonger beyond the Temporal Veil' thing in a second when they heard the news of going back to their homes.

Calix smiled at them as they all started to jump up and down, happy dancing. He went into the cockpit, sitting on the seat, and he closed the ramp. He set the route from Senti to Neri. He looked at the necklace and placed it on top of the control screen.

Then, he sent back a coded message to Niktron: On my way, Klin.

The ship lifted up in the air and in a second, it shot up towards the sky, tearing up through the clouds with a sonic boom.

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