Jaux Ballad has always wanted to enter the realm of magic, but could not do so by regular means. In his desperation to become a magician he finds himself with more power, and more trouble, than he could ever have imagined.

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Theema sat upon a throne made from dark lumber. The throne rested at the top of a black tower, which stood in the Zinnbel territory of Curahge.

Screams could be heard inside the tower. The many descendants of the Cooleur Curahge had all been imprisoned within. They were being tortured by Theema's four priest weapons.

The goddess sat motionlessly at the top of the tower. Theema's mask puppet was in the process of constructing a shrine that would help her invade the immortal realms of the three deities that imprisoned her. Centuries of being trapped in Light's Cowardice helped with keeping patient.

Thick black tendrils surrounded the base of the tower. They reacted automatically when living beings or magic approached, which kept intruders away from Theema's throne. The tentacle-like limbs were perfectly camouflaged by the shadows. Not even those capable of flight could invade the tower, because the tendrils had a reach that exceeded the height of the tower.

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The High Priest of Marlifa ran up to the edge of the gray stone Lyceum.

A gigantic net of glimmering emerald ropes burst out from Helsfur's tan arms and draped over the front wall of the Lyceum. It intercepted the turquoise light beam, and reflected it off into the featureless sky. The net slowly drifted around to the other sides of the school. Once every corner and side had been covered, it detached from Helsfur, then glued itself over the school.

When The Third saw that its rays were being negated, it stopped the assault.

Hawkshire stood at the headmistress's side. He spoke with a voice that rumbled like a thunderclap, "Halt, phantom of Five Dimensions! The one you seek is gone, her presence no longer remains in these halls!"

The silver chains gushed out into the shape of a husky lion's mane. Bright white liquid filled the inner circle of the stone halo, forming a hazy pool. The pool began to oscillate like a drum. When The Third spoke again, its volume reached a deafening magnitude that toppled shelves and cabinets inside the Lyceum, "Surrender the location of our target to us. If this is not done, we shall manually search and extract possible evidence of the target's location. This will be done with the destruction of this present structure."

"If you attack, we will be forced to defend ourselves." said Hawkshire, "We are great in number, and we are strong. We advise that you abandon the hunt for her."

Frey came up with an idea as she listened to The Third's demands. It wasn't very well thought out, but she had to act quickly before The Third reached any resolution. If the plan worked, she could reunite with Suhara.

The Gear of Miju was pulled out from Frey's satchel. She activated its intangibility blessing, then slipped out from the reserve forces room and into the administration meeting room. All the teachers were watching the observational crystal ball, so her presence went unnoticed.

Frey snuck over to Wenlia's office. She dug through the journals and documents, until she found a set of spatial coordinates that estimated Suhara's location. Her intangibility was reactivated, then she flew through the walls and out of the Lyceum.

The Third was still in the middle of debating against Helsfur and Hawkshire. Frey flew up to the giant stone halo, and the phantom suddenly went quiet as it noticed her.

"I have an estimate of your target's location. If you agree to take me with you, I'll give you the coordinates," said Frey.

"Miss Oden!" shouted Hawkshire, "What do you think you're do-"

"Your terms are acceptable." said The Third.

Frey opened up a piece of parchment and showed it to The Third. Seconds later, a huge portal of rippling silver opened up behind the phantom. The reflective chains disappeared, then the halo phantom hovered into the gateway. Frey immediately followed The Third.

The portal began to shrink right after Frey slipped through. Helsfur and Hawkshire tried to fly into the reflective gateway as well, but they were instantly repelled.

On the other side of the portal, Frey and The Third found themselves in a dark realm. In order to see, Frey triggered an aura of light to make her skin glow like an evening sunset.

A pulse of turquoise flashed out from the phantom, then it spoke a moment later, "I detect the target, location is confirmed to be in this realm."

Another silver gateway opened up, and the two flew through it again.

Frey could just manage to spot Suhara lying on a shadowy floor. Her mouth broke into a smile as she flew down to her friend's side. "Oh thank gods," she said.

The Third began to glow. "Target confirmed." it said, "For offenses against the realm, target will be eliminated."

"Wait!" yelled Frey, "You don't have to do that! She hasn't done anything wrong!"

The Third's glow dimmed. "Trespasser five hundred forty-four invaded a restricted realm. The penalty is clear and shall be enforced." it said.

Frey shook her head. "She didn't invade your realm. She was brought there by someone else, it wasn't her fault."

"The trespasser also engaged in combat with one of the realm occupants, and inflicted significant damage."

"That wasn't her fault either. No one told her what the laws were, she just defended herself."

"Your argument is unreliable and lacking in evidence. Punishment will proceed."

The Third's radiance intensified.

Frey growled and pulled out her wand. An opaque white cloud shot out from the wand and consumed her, before expanding in size. A gigantic ivory fist abruptly lashed out, knocking the phantom out from its hovering position.

Frey had grown to resemble a huge marble statue. Her height had increased threefold, and the rest of her body grew along proportionally. A film of protection similar to molten glass enveloped her. She had a wild snarl painted on her face, and her narrowed eyes stared menacingly at the halo phantom.

The Third steadied itself. Silver chains began to form around it until it was totally encircled. The phantom, in the form of a tangled sphere, flew forth towards Frey. Sharp reflective spikes pierced out from its bundle of chains.

Frey didn't bother to dodge. She struck the sphere with her knee, launching it off into the black skies. The spikes dug deep into her ivory knee, but there was no blood to lose from her magical exoskeleton. She jumped after the cluster of chains.

While The Third was still hurling upwards from the knee strike, a punch knocked it back down. Its mass of chains began to loosen up from all the inflicted force. The phantom landed into a heap on the shadowy ground, before promptly being stomped on when Frey landed on top of it.

All the silver chains crunched together, while The Third's stony body was scraped by the collisions. The dark floor did not budge, so all of Frey's falling force translated directly to the phantom. Turquoise light began to leak from The Third's rigid body.

Frey was thrown back all of a sudden by an explosion of bursting chains. A massive turquoise light ray shot out at her. She put her arms up and crouched, before taking a direct hit from the beam. She stumbled back from the force of the phantom's laser, and fell onto her back as she was overwhelmed. The protective blessing reduced some of the damage, but a large portion of her large magic body was blasted away.

The halo phantom's circle was filled once more with a pool of foggy white. A pressurized and booming pitch poured out from the beating pool. The heavy sound pushed Frey back, and the sound started to rip away the blessing magic that surrounded her.

Frey began to concentrate the remaining blessing magics into her left arm. She heaved forward and punched one last time. The huge magic arm stretched forward to pummel the phantom, which also broke the pool of white inside the stone halo.

The giant white body evaporated as it ran out of power, leaving Frey standing on the black ground.

The Third was gone, a silver portal was barely glimpsed before it shrunk away.

Frey sighed, relieved by the thought that the phantom was gone.

She was wrong.

The Third reappeared high in the sky, directly above Suhara. The height it floated at, combined with the darkness of the realm, made the phantom nearly impossible to spot.

A grand pillar of turquoise energy fell onto Suhara. Frey turned and gasped in horror.

The Third's booming voice fell over the area, "Target eliminated, realm trespassing offense cleared. Returning to original jurisdiction."

Then the phantom was gone, this time from the entire realm.

Frey stood in shock. Her mind turned immediately to regret and despair. She had just gotten her friend killed. Her idea was far too hotheaded, it would have been wiser to let the admins take care of the situation. Trying to find Suhara with the help of a dangerous phantom was... clearly foolish in hindsight.

Unexpectedly, a violet flame burst into life. It was large and bright, and filled the void realm with a comforting warmth.

Suhara fell out from the violet fire. Her body was somehow unharmed, although her robe had nearly been torn and burnt to shreds.

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Suhara's eyes flickered open. Glowing red hair clouded her vision, and there was the unmistakable feeling her shoulders being crushed in a huge. She moaned lightly, which made the red hair snap away.

Frey grinned with tears in her eyes. "Suhara! Oh gods I thought you were dead." she said.

Suhara took in a sharp breath as she saw Frey's face. "F-Frey? What are you doing here? I'm... we're... uh." she stopped talking and looked around with a bit of confusion.

Suhara recognized the landscape, it was where she met with Theema, but it was odd to be here alongside Frey. It felt real, but everything was so bizarre that being a dream was a more realistic possibility. Her robe was even shredded, although she could feel her demon root poking against her stomach.

Frey pulled out a large cloak from her satchel, and wrapped it around Suhara. "Here," she said, "best stay warm, it's really cold back home right now."

"What happened?" Suhara asked as she stood up.

"You don't know?" Frey frowned. "Theema got into our realm, and she turned the whole sky black. No sun, moon, stars, or anything. Totally dark."

"Theema?" said Suhara, "No way, that can't be. She wouldn't, I mean, probably not and... no! We had a book on her and she's nothing like that!"

"The book was forged." said Frey, "The headmistress said it was made by a harpy, it was copied from another deity's book. Theema is only here for revenge, and a lot of innocent people are dying because of her."

Suhara shook her head. "She's helped me so much, there's just... there's no way that's true!"

"We have proof back at school, I'll show you when we get back."

"Get back? How did you even get here? I think this is Theema's realm."

"I made a stupid little deal, which landed me here. It's like, embarrassingly stupid, so I'd rather not say. I'm sure the school's gonna retrieve us sooner or later."

Suhara got the urge to look down, and spotted the black bracelet that rested on her wrist. "Well, I think I know a faster way..."