"How crazy, exactly?" Mindy perked up.

"Get me to the Rift and I'll try to close it." Remian told her straight out.

"That's crazy!" George yelped immediately.

"But it's a great idea!" Mindy contradicted. "It's just that… well… how are you going to close it?"

"I've actually been studying s.p.a.ce magic." Remian paused. "I can't promise to succeed, but at the very least I can take a look, and then we can go back and figure out a way to close it for good. Otherwise, the Spectres will just keep coming through."

George grimaced. "But considering the circ.u.mstances…"

Remian shook his head. "The circ.u.mstances are as good as they're ever going to get. Right now, our enemies are few, and our friends many. It's still possible to break through or slip around them. Later, when there are more of them and the fighting has stopped, it would be much, much harder."

George gritted his teeth. "Okay. We'll go in at high alt.i.tude…"

"You'll do no such thing. Your fleet is exhausted. You're in no shape for a fight or a sprint." Mindy cut in. "I'll take Remian there myself."

George considered it, then finally sighed. "Be careful, all right? Bring him back safe and sound."

"No problem." Mindy grinned, flas.h.i.+ng a thumbs up.

She would regret those two words for the rest of her life.

***

See, the thing about Mindy is she had total faith in Remian. If he said he could close the Rift, she didn't doubt for an instant that he could. So maybe he couldn't do it right now, maybe he needed to take a look first and then they'd all huddle and figure out how to close it together afterwards. Maybe it would end up being an expensive affair. But never once did it ever cross Mindy's mind that it could not be done. As long as Remian said it, she believed it.

For all her experience, for all her accomplishments, in the end, Mindy was just a tweenage girl. Having faith in her 'elder brother' was just natural.

George lowered her and Remian to the ground, and Mindy took him in from there. At the height of her powers, her fiery wings at full speed, Mindy hauled Remian by the scruff of his Frame's neck around Flame Emperor mountain, and in a circular route to the Source of Magic.

"There it is." Mindy saw it as they closed in. The cracks in s.p.a.ce had grown visibly now, and s.p.a.ce itself seemed wobbly. Flaps of broken s.p.a.ce fluttered as if in some unearthly wind, opening gaps to somewhere filled with reddish light. Smaller Spectres were slipping in through those gaps, Tier 3's and 4's trickling in every moment, with the occasional Tier 5 and 6.

There was a sudden pulse, as if the Rift was suddenly boiling over. The cracks yawned wide, offering a huge opening, and in came another Tier 7.

"How many minutes has it been? How many Tier 7's have come in during so short a time?" Remian tried to calculate, but Mindy's speeding over had quite messed up his sense of time.

"Too many, too fast." Mindy summarized for him without bothering to calculate. "How close do you need to be?"

Remian squinted. "How about right on top of it?"

Mindy grimaced. "I was afraid you'd say that."

"Can you do it?"

"I can, but we won't be able to stick around."

"Just give me a few seconds. I want to try something." Remian said, looking at the incoming Spectres grimly. "It might not work, but if it does, it could leave a patch on the hole."

After all, the spatial magic taught by the headset was about opening a private s.p.a.ce out of nowhere, and it was a stable sort that could store stuff for a long time. Remian's idea was simple; if he could cast the spell and form such a stable s.p.a.ce right in the middle of the biggest crack, he might very well be able to at least block it up enough to keep the tier 8's out, maybe even the Tier 7's too.

As to whether it would last very long, or whether the Spectres would be able to find it and destroy it, he couldn't know. Even so, if it worked, then they'd at least have an inkling of how to re-seal the Rift for good. If it didn't, well… at least he tried.

"Well, then, here goes…!" Mindy took a deep breath. [Chirpy, I'm going in! Cover us!]

[Wilds! Forward!] Chirpy sent out the signal.

The Wilds all around them surged, drawing the Spectres' attention.

[Now!] Chirpy sent, even as she poured fire and Psionic havoc upon her opponent.

"Hold tight!" Mindy warned Remian and charged.

Remian coughed in Mindy's grip as the world sped past. "Cross your fingers and hope for the best…"

He worked magic, gathering mana, using thought in place of incantations, Soul Boost instead of tools, touching the fabric of nature with Chaos Magic rather than through devices the way modern magi would…

This was, he a.s.sumed, the way the Black Ruins Civilization worked chaos magic. It was different, vastly different from the way modern magi functioned. Remian himself wasn't too comfortable doing things in such an uncontrolled, loose manner… but push had come to shove and he made a move in desperation.

"We're here!" Mindy dropped Remian off right on top of the Rift. "Do it!"

"Just a second!" Remian scrambled, then tried to form that s.p.a.ce inside the Rift…

There was a Resonance, like the Rift and s.p.a.ce itself were recognizing each other. There was a ripple in reality, and then… and then…

Remian vanished into nothing.

***

Mindy stared. "R-Remian?"

He was gone.

Mindy blinked, searched for him with her eyes, her ears, her mind. Shock filled her, almost paralyzed her. "REMIAN!"

There was no answer.

[REMIAN!] Mindy screamed it Psionically. But try as she might, even her Psionic senses could not find him.

Remian was well and truly gone.

[Mindy! Watch out!] Chirpy's awareness flooded her despite her shock. Danger sense flooded her consciousness, and Mindy reacted on instinct that wasn't hers, her wings straining in a desperate bid for the safety of the skies.

Below her, the Spectres churned, aghast at losing their prey. Above her, the blue sky beckoned beyond a veil of sorrowless clouds.

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Her eyes blurred. Her vision was marred by tears.

[This way!] Chirpy intervened.

Guided by her Comrade, Mindy flew toward safety.

Alone.

***

As for Remian…

"What in the world…?" Remian blinked looking around.

The black lands were gone. The fiery battles were gone. Everything around him had suddenly made a total transformation.

Around him were Black Ruins. Above him, two robed men flew with their feet on large swords. Just around the corner, a worn-out looking woman sat with her legs folded, her eyes closed, seemingly asleep in a sitting position.

Remian gulped. Something told him that he wasn't in the Wildlands any more.

[That's the wrong question to ask.] Death advised. Remian turned to see him still there over his shoulder.

[Then what question should I be asking?] Remian queried.

[How about…] Death paused. [What world am I in?]