Minerva and her followers surfaced in a vast cavern. Surrounded by walls of stone. One, in particular, was a hole filled with stones. It was the dam she sought. Illuminated by fire it stood before them all hundreds fold the size of a man.

The sirens assembled for an assault on the dam. The presence of a solution like Minerva brought hope to their hearts. They held faith in the dream that this nightmare would soon end. Minerva promised that once again food and prosperity would flow through the streets of their home.

Trust born from fresh hope possesses a fickle nature. This was a gambit by any means but one the Sirens did not hesitate to take. This is what she adored about them. Their willingness to claw at any chance to resolve a solution was a sign of a strong spirit despite their naivety.

They assembled in five one-hundred-man sections. In a line, they advanced. At their head walked Minerva. She opened her mind to scan the road ahead and found the walls overflowing with life. She raised her hand halting the advance.

The earth shook as the walls crumbled and hordes of Bestola poured forth to meet their foe. They squealed and screamed as they charged headlong into combat. Minerva summoned her power to repel them but panicked as she saw a familiar face among the Bestola.

Riding on a particularly large Bestola was Alice. Oblivious to the presence of Minerva she opened fire. As bolt after bolt of blue plasma propelled through the air Minerva extinguished them and made her presence known.

Minerva levitated high above the battlefield and emitted a mighty psychic scream. It was a debilitating pulse that scrabbled the focus of every sentient creature within range. The Sirens dropped their spears and gripped their heads as the piercing signal tore at their minds. The Bestola spasmed and squealed uncontrollably Minerva's scream subjected them to the same fate.

She swooped down and grabbed Alice. She then flew high up into the air and dropped Alice onto a ledge. Minerva levitated to face her while those below recovered. Surprised to see Alice on the side of beasts Minerva was lost for words. Alice, on the other hand, was outraged to see Minerva on the side of the selfish Sirens.

"Minerva! Help the Bestola!" Alice demanded.

"W-what?" Asked Minerva.

"They have Godfrey and he's dead if they lose!"

"No! I have seen the truth of the Sirens. I will not let them suffer."

"But the Bestola only collapsed the tunnel to save themselves. If you unplug that hole you'll doom them to starvation just as they have the Sirens. You'll be no better than them."

"No matter. I-"

Alice took Minerva's hand, removed her helm and put it against her forehead. When Minerva saw her memories she realised the error in what she had planned. Wide-eyed, she looked down at the ground far below as the Sirens and Bestola recovered.

Scanning the earth she found dozens of ancient caverns full of fungal life not far below the battlefield floor. Any water that flowed through here would inevitably drain down and flood the Bestola settlement below.

Minerva hesitated in light of this revelation. Unsure of what to do and what to say she panicked. She had grown faithful to the collective knowledge that she possessed. Now it all mattered little for the responsibility to make an impossible decision fell upon her shoulders.

For the first time in her life, the answer wasn't clear. She trembled as all the minds within her soul cried out a million different answers. All the while the belligerents down below recovered from Minerva's scream.

Now pushed past all restraint by the shock of the scream the Sirens called for war. They opened up with their singing and the Bestola paid a heavy toll. The Sirens' singing proving fatal to many of them.

Then larger ones with an apparent immunity to the Sirens' song lumbered forth in roaring anger. With vengeance, they ploughed into the loose ranks of the Sirens. Reaping death and terror in their wake they wielded mighty pincers that crushed bone, flesh and stone.

The Siren Spearmen swarmed them, climbing all over them and striking with skill. Their spears struck true, piercing weak spots, in the joints and between tough plates of chitin armour. By sheer weight of wounds, the bugs were felled one by one as more of the swarm flowed into the fray.

Minerva despaired as all around her hell itself broke free. The air filled with the death cries of Sirens and the squeals of the Bestola. Pincers snapped off limbs while spears skewered abdomens. The very beings she sought to save now tore each other asunder.

Alice took her hand, capturing her attention.

"Minerva you know the answer. You know everything but now is a time to trust your heart, not your mind."

Minerva gazed upon Alice's visor. She fixated on it and wondered if she could see Alice's face once more. It was then that an epiphany flourished within her mind. Minerva rejoiced as she found hope once more.

Minerva let Alice down onto the cavern floor.

"Run!" Minerva demanded.

Thus with a nod, Alice ran. Seeing the Venusian off she flew to the centre of the cavern and let fly her mighty voice.

"Hear me, Sirens and Bestola." She roared

Her voice amplified to an unnatural volume. All the while she glowed a frightful myriad of gold and purple. Bolts of lightning shot forth out of her body as she summoned her full might.

"If you value your lives flee from this place." She growled with a thousand voices.

Like rats, they scurried off back from whence they came. Leaving the fallen behind they rushed to safety. Wielding the full might of her power she collapsed all entrances to the cavern. Then she concentrated.

She roared in pain under the strain of summoning such overwhelming power. The bodies of the deceased began to combust. Their flames rose up in giant spires and fed her power. Mind body and soul she burned all aspects of them to fuel her tremendous power.

With it, she strained to create a miniaturised sun with the palm of her hands. With the last of her spare strength, she let fly a mighty supernova, which consumed the cavern in a vicious firestorm. The air atomised and the earth itself trembled and bellowed violently as it crumbled under Minerva's might.

Alice gasped with fright as she looked around. She wondered what manner of hell would drive Minerva to unleash such a titanic amount of destructive energy. She fell to her knees and shivered in fear as she feared the worse for Minerva.

In the pitch-black darkness of the cavern, Minerva lowered herself to the ground. The echo of footsteps reverberated in a now silent world as if she were walking on a marble floor. She summoned an orb of light and revealed the fruits of her labour.

A perfect sphere of obsidian glass is all that remains. She scanned the area and pinpointed the entrances made by the Sirens in the original construction of this place. She committed memory the location of the entrance to the tunnel from which she came.

Then Minerva took a breath as she levitated to the centre of the chamber. With her powerful senses, she detected the closest point to the Sibus Ocean. Then she drew upon the last of her power to summon yet another sun.

This one she concentrated into a precise particle beam. With it, she carved out a hole revealing the water filled tunnel she came in through. Then she breathed deeply as she turned to the face the ocean. She fired away vaporising a piece of the earth and breaking through into the ocean.

A tidal wave of water flowed through into the chamber. Minerva braced herself as it pounded into her. It then whirled about in the spherical interior of the cavern. All the while it swept her along in circles while it calmed down.

Things settled as the water filled the chamber. She took the chance to scan the cavern floor for any evidence of flooding in the Bestola farms. She rejoiced as her obsidian proved to be the barrier she hoped it would be.

Soon the Sirens returned. Submerged in water for the time caused their legs to join together and morph into fish tails. They danced about with joyful glee and gratitude on the way to the open ocean. As they passed her by they greeted her with thanks and praise.

Minerva smiled at her accomplishment as she passed through back into the Siren's city. As she surfaced she was greeted with cheers and worshipped as a hero and goddess. She was amazed to find the slaves missing and Maleth greeting her with a smile and a gift.

"You saved us. You have our eternal thanks... Here."

He presented a small chest.

"Please accept this as payment for our debt."

He opened revealing a small silver rod. Knowledge from Alice's memories Minerva identified it as a master key. She smiled graciously as she took it. Knowing the uses it might have in the ruins she became truly grateful.

She bowed as her attention turned to Illuminura and the slaves.

"Where are my friend and the slaves?" Minerva asked.

Maleth's smile turned into a frown as he waved at his guards.

"Your friend is fine but when she woke she killed three guards and a child trying to escape. She is not welcome here again. As for the slaves, I'm afraid we kept them under our influence for so long that when we released them they went mad and died on their own."

Sensing no lie in the king's mind Minerva accepted the explanation. She looked into the distance as Illuminura was brought to her and released. She sensed that the time to move was nigh. With no need for provisions, she set off to find Alice once again.

Now back in the ancient ruins with Illuminura at her side Minerva made an effort to get back to where she started. She sensed some massive creature burrowing through the earth straight at her. In response, she raised her hands.

"Wait! Something is coming." Minerva warned her.

Illuminura simply froze where she stood. Minerva sensed an unstable soul within the celestial. Her silence was worrying enough let alone the whirlwind of emotion that scrambled her thoughts.

However, something was coming and time grew short. The earth growled and shuddered in protest as a large Bestola broke through the rock with Alice and Godfrey on its back.

Minerva gasped at the sight of the man. He was wheezing and struggling to live. His left arm had fallen off and his right had taken the likeness of a crab's claw while his legs had split into four tiny stubs, similar to the legs of an elephant.

Alice went to her with a distressed face.

"Can you do anything? Is there anything to do?" She asked.

Minerva's heart swelled with an urge to save him. To reform his body, perhaps save his mind. She wanted to do something to end the horror of what he went through. She could sense his soul being set aflame with warping fire. Had he still possessed the ability he would be bellowing and wailing in pain as it consumed his world.

She reached out but the wisest of voices within her head urged her to hold back. She resigned to share her knowledge.

"We must hope for him. He is undergoing a test of will. His soul is unstable should we disturb him we risk losing him forever. He must hold on until the storm passes. Until then we can only hope." Minerva explained.

In the time prior to this Alice learned to trust Minerva in all things and so nodded as Minerva lifted Godfrey with her powers.

Leading the way once again Minerva followed the endless halls of ancient facilities for another day. Endless halls of darkness of forgotten lives lost long ago. Eventually, they found lights, light that was not theirs but that of a lamp post.

Even after a millennium of neglect and entropy the ancient one's creations still worked. They were lined along a street revealing the way to a large building. Minerva and her band followed them and found themselves at the locked doors to a train station.

It was there that Minerva revealed her master key. She pressed it into the lock and like a welcoming saviour, the doors opened. Minerva's heart leapt with joy as she walked through and lights flickered on and the train opened up to them.

Once inside they gazed with gladness as they found a map. Alice looked at Minerva.

"Where to now?" She asked.