Luz was slamming her head against a tree, no she did not lose her mind, she's just angry.

"Uh, kid?" Eda asked.

Luz turned around, her face covered in blood, to the point that there was a literal puddle at her feet.

"WHAT!?" Luz yelled.

Eda gave her a look.

"Look, I know you're stressed out about this whole portal thing, but this isn't going to help." Eda said.

"Maybe it will! Maybe a nice slam will bring a new idea into my empty head!" Luz said before slamming her head into the tree again.

"Or maybe it will cause you to lose what little brain cells you have left." Eda said.

"I can heal!" Luz said as she pulled back for another headbutt.

Only for Eda to grab her head before it could hit again.

"How about you take a little break, clean the blood out of your hair, and get something to eat?" Eda suggested.

"I'm not hungry, and there are no sinner's nearby!" Luz said.

"I meant eat something that's not alive."

"I'm-"

Eda slapped Luz multiple times, making the half demon stumble a bit as she looked at her teacher.

"Calmed down now?" Eda asked with a blank look.

The glowing red eyes staring a hole through her and the growl coming from Luz made her realize that she might not have made a good decision.

(Line break)

Luz was walking through the streets of Bonesborough, still angry.

"Maybe Eda was right." Luz said, still pissed, "Maybe the library will have something on it."

Luz pulled out her scroll, which was given back by Gwen when she left, and looked at the photo of the symbol she found.

'What is this thing?' Luz thought, not paying attention to where she was walking.

It was capable of creating light from nothing, and last time she checked the only thing that can do that, besides witches, was her grandfather.

'What exactly could this be? Are there more of these here and how many?' Luz thought before she bumped into someone.

It was the last person she wanted to bump into.

"Luz?"

"Uh... h-h-hey... Amity." Luz said.

It was in that moment all of Luz anger was replaced with a fuzzy warmth in her chest that made her into a nervous mess.

"Sorry for bumping into you. Are you okay? You seem out of it." Amity said in concern.

"Oh, yeah, just... been an interesting few days." Luz said.

"Really? How interesting?" Amity asked as she leaned forward a bit.

A cough came to Luz as she was about to answer, making her cover her mouth.

"Sorry, I-I think something is in my throat." Luz said as she covered her mouth, coughing some more.

She kept coughing until Eda's gem came out. This made Luz and Amity lean back in shock as the anti-Christ girl blushed in embarrassment as she quickly put the gem in her pocket.

'Oh grandpa, why did this happen to me now?!' Luz thought as she waited for Amity's disgusted reaction.

"W-w-well, I have some stuff to do, see you later!" Luz said, trying to get away.

Luz turned around to walked/possibly run right back to the owl house before Amity grabbed her hand, stopping her.

"You were heading to the library, right?" Amity asked, almost ignoring the...awkward moment they had with chest jewelry.

"Uh... yeah." Luz said.

"I was heading there too. We can go together." Amity said.

"Oh, I... I mean I guess we could." Luz said.

"Good. Now, let's go." Amity said as she pulled Luz towards the library.

'Stay calm, remain confident and straightforward. Just like what you read.' Amity thought to herself.

She had no idea if the Demon training books she found in the pet section of the library worked when it came to Luz, but so far they seemed to help.

"So, what were you going to the library for?" Luz asked Amity.

"I was just going for my shift. I work there." Amity said.

"... Since when?!" Luz asked.

"Recently actually, after mom... left... I've had a lot more freedom and I've started working in the children's section." Amity said.

"Oh!....OH...And I guess you must love working there, huh?" Luz asked.

"Yeah." Amity said, "I've always wanted to work with kids."

'So she's good with kids? That's a good skill.' Angel side said.

'Especially if she has them.' Devil side said.

"Really? So you'd think you'll be a teacher someday?" Luz asked, ignoring her inner sides.

"I don't know but I'm excited to find out cuz for the first time in my life, it's MY choice." Amity said, looking back at Luz with a smile. "And I have you to thank for that."

Luz blushed a bit, before looking away.

'Don't think too much about it! She's just a friend, just a friend!' She thought.

"So, what do you need at the library?" Amity asked.

"Just some research on something I found a while ago." Luz said.

"Oh, like what?"

"Uh, you just focus on work, I can handle this." Luz said.

"Part of my job is also helping someone look for information." Amity pressed on.

"N-no, the kids are more important, I can spend all eternity looking."

"Someone get me out of this situation!' Luz thought.

Both angel and demon decided to not say anything in this situation.

'I don't know what I hate more, you to fighting or getting along!' Luz thought.

Luckily fate was on Luz's side as she saw a friend of hers looking through a local flower stand.

"Hey, Gus!" Luz called out to him.

He... seemed a bit down.

"Is... is he okay?" Amity asked.

"I... don't know."

Gus was always the happy nothing goes wrong person, a lot like Skara, so when one of the two happy members of the group got sad, something was clearly wrong.

"Should we ask him? I mean, he's your friend so it's your call Luz." Amity said.

"Yeah, let's go see what the issue is."

Luz took the lead as she and Amity went over to Gus, who had picked out the best looking bouquet of flowers.

"I'll take these, please." Gus said to the flower stand worker.

"Hey, Gus, what's... with the flowers?" Luz asked, trying to make conversation.

"It's... personal." Gus said.

"Okay...So are you going to take them somewhere special?" Luz asked.

"Again, personal, but yes." Gus said with a nod.

"You know, if you need any help, I can push off my plans until tomorrow." Luz said.

"It's fine, Luz. You don't need to put off your plans for my personal business." Gus said, turning to walk away.

Only for Luz to put a hand on his shoulder.

"Gus, I'm serious. If my friend is going through something, then I will drop everything to be there to help him." Luz said with a soft smile.

"I appreciate it... but this is something I have to do." Gus said.

He gave his best smile to Luz, making Luz feel...somewhat better as she slowly let go of his shoulder.

"Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me." Luz said.

Gus nodded as he walked off, holding the flowers with care as if they were a lifeline.

"Hey, Gus... I might be able to still help." Luz said, "I can give you a little protection in case something happens on your way to... whatever you're doing."

Gus came to a stop as he thought about it, some protection could be good for where he was heading to.

"Who did you have in mind?" Gus asked, turning back to Luz.

Luz snapped her fingers and a ball of energy flew towards her and became Eda... who was missing most of her arm.

"What now? Was my shoulder and chest that good that you needed more?!" Eda asked.

Gus and Amity turned to Luz as the latter was releasing why and how Luz coughed up a gem when they talked.

"Luz, did you eat some of Eda for breakfast?" Amity asked slowly.

"No, I ate part of her because she PISSED ME OFF!" Luz said, her eyes glowing red.

"You were spiraling and bashing your head into a tree!" Eda argued.

"That didn't meant you could SLAP me!" Luz retorted.

"Don't worry, I'm not making that mistake again." Eda said, "Now what am I doing here?"

"Helping Gus with whatever he needs to do today." Luz said before reaching, pulling out Eda's chest gem. "Also, here's this back."

"Thanks." Eda said as she snatched the gem back.

Eda placed her gem on her chest.

"I thought regeneration would be instant, still growing my right arm, only at the elbow." Eda said, "I really hope this isn't permanent, that would suck."

"Don't worry, you will. It'll just take time, but iconically, eating something might help speed up the process." Luz said.

"I'm not in the mood for that right now." Eda said.

"Then you'll have to wait and work with what you got." Luz said before looking at Gus. "Again, Eda's going to be helping you with your thing today, but be careful."

Luz pushed Eda over towards Gus.

"And don't hurt Gus or do anything to impede him." Luz added.

"Not like I get anything out of that but find." Eda said before looking down to Gus. "Lead the way, little man. I'm your helper for today."

"Okay but one question, can you still do magic?" Gus asked.

"I have fire and I can't be killed." Eda said.

"I mean witch magic, not earth hell demon magic." Gus said.

"It's fine, magic is magic. Doesn't matter where it comes from, just how you use it." Eda said.

"Well, you two have fun." Luz said.

"No promises." Gus said, surprising Luz, Amity, and Eda.

Gus was always up for anything and always staying positive, but something about today was really bumming him out.

'Okay, what the literal fuck is going on with him?' Luz thought.

"Let me know if something happens." Luz told Eda.

"So long as you don't lose your scroll this time." Eda said.

"I'll eat you again, because that was arguably your fault."

"I said I'm sorry!" Eda said as Gus lead her away.

"You better be! And take your elixir before lunch!" Luz shouted like a parent.

Eda and Gus walked away.

"Dad makes owning souls look easy." Luz said.

"And you don't?" Amity asked.

"It's hard to deal with them."

"It's probably not easy for them to deal with you, either. But I'm guess you're trying your best." Amity said as they began walking to the library again.

"Yeah... it's not easy."

"Well, I'm sure you'll get better at it later in life." Amity said, patting Luz's shoulder.

Establish trust, show her you can be a person she can rely on.' Amity thought.

Again, she's not sure the pet books were the best place to get this from, but it seemed to be working.

"Yeah, maybe. Let's just get to the library before it closes." Luz said, feeling at ease with Amity.

The two walked towards the library.

"So, tell me more about this job you have. How is it?" Luz asked.

"Perfect. Just perfect." Amity said with a smile.

"I'm in charge of taking care of the children that are dropped off while their parents are busy." Amity said.

"You mentioned that before. Is it hard?" Luz asked.

"Not all the time but there is this one girl that always wants my help summoning a lord of darkness." Amity said with a smile. "I guess if she sees you with me, she'll get her wish."

"I like her already." Luz said.

"Just wait until you meet her in person." Amity said as she opened the doors for Luz. "She and the others are probably waiting for me already."

"Well, then I guess you should get to work." Luz said, entering the library.

(Line Break)

With Eda and Gus, they were walking in the woods. It was completely silent as Eda was just following Gus's lead, watching the normally jolly boy become feather silent and reserved on this unspoken question.

'Ugh, this is weird.'

Eda decided to try and strike up a conversation, at least to make things less awkward and quiet.

"So...where are we heading exactly?" She asked Gus.

"Somewhere, special."

"Okay but WHERE? Are we going to the leg? The arm? Where?" Eda asked.

"It's some place private and someone important is there." Gus said.

'This is very strange, he isn't usually like this.' Eda thought, remember how happy and energetic he was the handful of times she saw him.

Eda looked around and saw they had entrees a forest, one she didn't recognize or entered before.

'What the hell?'

"This way." Gus said, coming up to a giant patch of briar vines.

"You mean through all these sharp vines? Is there a secret pass or do we go around?" Eda asked.

"We go through. I need you to burn a path through it." Gus said.

"O... kay?" Eda said.

'He's not even asking me. This must be serious.' Eda thought by as she stepped forward and created a fireball in her left hand.

She held her hand out and blew a hole through the vines.

"Wow...this is a clean burn." Eda said, walking closer and looking over the edge of the hole.

"Thank you." Gus said, walking up and climbing into the entry.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Eda asked.

"It's fine." Gus said before Eda placed a hand in his shoulder.

"Kid, I've been around the bend a few times and I know when something is NOT alright." Eda said, turning Gus around and kneeling to his height. "And I know you're not my kid or responsibility but I want to help you through whatever funk is making you so down."

"It's... not something that you can help fix." Gus said.

"Even if I can't fix it, talking about can help. So come on, tell Auntie Eda what's wrong." Eda said with a smile.

"You wouldn't understand." Gus said.

"Kid, need I remind you I have been cursed for about 30 years, I've had countless heartbreaks, and I missed the funeral of some relatives because it too too long to reconcile with my mother." Eda said.

Gus didn't say anything and just went through the hole. Eda sighed as she rubbed her head.

'This kid is gonna be a tough nut to crack.' Eda thought, getting up and following Gus.

(Line Break)

At the library, Luz was looking through several books. Books on the history of magic, the Boiling Isles, and the Titan itself to find the answers she needed. And so far... nothing about a symbol that could create light.

"Ugh! This is bullshit! All this history on this realm and nothing in one measly drawing?!" Luz said before slamming a book shut.

"Why can't things just be simple?" Luz said.

"If life was always simple, we'd never learn anything." A new voice said.

Luz turned to see who it was.

"Lilith?!" Luz said in shock, seeing the head of the emperor's coven standing next to her.

"Hello, Luz, and before you try anything, I mean you no harm. It's my day off." Lilith said, making Luz see she was wearing casual clothes instead of her work dress.

"I don't give a damn." Luz said, standing up, "Get the fuck away from me before I rip your black heart out."

"I see you still hold a bit of a grudge." Lilith said, "I see that you're struggling with something, so I came over to suggest you see if you can access the Forbidden Stacks. It has knowledge from before Witch's walked the Isles."

Luz just glared at her, but still... it sounded like it could be good.

"Well, I'll be off, I have a lot of errands to run today." Lilith said, secretly swiping a book from Luz's pile while she was thinking.

'Perfect.' Lilith thought.

The book? Galdorstones.

'With this, I might be able to find them.' Lilith thought.

(Line Break)

Eda cracked her back as they walked deeper into the woods.

"Kid, we've been walking for almost two. How far is this place you're going?" Eda asked him.

"We're almost there." Gus said, but his voice seemed to be wavering. "Just a bit further."

'I am starting to actually get concerned.' Eda thought.

Whatever this place was, it was taking a giant emotional toll on Gus.

"Kid... are you... are you in trouble or something?" Eda asked.

"...I keep saying I'm fine. Stop worrying." Gus said, moving his hands to wipe his hidden tears away. "It's just allergies."

'It's not.' Eda thought.

Putting her foot down, Eda marched ahead of Gus and forced him to stop. Holding him in place and seeing the tears flowing from his eyes.

"Something is very wrong... what happened?"

"It's none-"

"I'm making it my business, kid. So, spill or you lose your travel partner." Eda said to him.

"... We're heading here." Gus said, moving a bush out of the way, revealing several statues.

Statues crumbling apart and worn out, having stood for possible centuries without proper management.

"Yeesh, kid where have you brought us?" Eda asked, feeling creeped out.

"Look at the plaques." Gus said.

Eda did so and saw names and dates.

"This... this is a graveyard." Eda said.

"Yeah, it is." Gus said, walking towards one of the graves and putting the flowers in front of it.

Eda walked up behind him and looked at the name. Covered in greenery before Eda moved her hand to brush it aside.

"Porter?" Eda said in surprise.

"... It's my mom." Gus said.

"Your mom?" Eda said softly.

"Yeah; my mom...and my hero." Gus said, placing a hand on her grave statue.

Gus closed his eyes and started crying. Eda put a hand on his shoulder.

"...My offer to talk still stands if you want. It can't fully heal the pain but it can help soothe it." Eda said, sitting next to Gus.

"... do you know what it's like to lose someone?" Gus asked.

"... I do." Eda said, "Not to this extent, but... I do know what it's like."

"Who did you lose?" Gus asked.

"...My dad." Eda said, "I... hurt him, I ruined his life. I haven't spoken to him, let alone see him, since that day. I'm too scared to feel his hatred first hand."

"But he's your dad. How could he possibly hate you?" Gus asked.

"My dad's job was carving palismen for witches but since that day, he lost the ability to do it delicately." Eda said.

"He can barely even see now."

Eda could still remember the aftermath all so clearly. Her father covered in claw marks and blood, holding his right eye as he reached out to Eda. She ran that day, away from everyone she ever knew... she couldn't stay. Suddenly, Eda heard a noise, knocking her out of her thoughts. She grabbed Gus and brought him behind one of the graves.

'Of course she would mess this up.' Eda thought, seeing Lilith land in the graveyard.

"The Looking Glass Ruins, the legendary graveyard of the greatest illusionists in history." Lilith said to herself, thinking she was alone. "And the perfect hiding place for the Galderstones."

"The what?" Gus whispered in surprise.

"Legendary stones that are said to amplify your magic power to godlike levels." Eda whispered back, glaring at her sister. "I never thought I'd see the day Lily would stoop to grave robbing for that asshole emperor."

Eda wasn't just going to stand and let this happen. Lilith reached and grabbed one. She looked at it and smiled... only for a fireball to hit the space next to her. She nearly dropped it and turned, seeing Eda.

"That's a warning shot." Eda said, holding up another ball of fire, "The next one won't be."