Raid the laboratory.

Bright red lights rapidly flash as sirens blare throughout the halls of the lab. You can hear the rumble of footfalls as well as grinding metal coming from more than one direction. This is it. You've made it to the core of the beast, and now it's time to strike at the heart. Despite the oncoming threat, your attention turns down the hall headed the opposite way.

"The spring," Alice says, though it's difficult to hear her words through the deafening alarm. "It is that way, yes?"

You nod. "Vazeela, Bulrak, Okawa. Guard this intersection, and stop any foes that come this way. Everybody else, full charge ahead!" You thrust your sword towards the direction in question. "There's a huge chamber that way. It's likely where the majority of our foes will be. If you manage to clear it out, let me know immediately and we'll continue the search elsewhere. Now go!"

All but the chairmen of the Circle rush past you, including William and his allies too. You give the three mages a nod before running the other way, towards where the bathing room is supposedly located. You do grow worried when you don't feel the warm, humid air you come to expect from nearing a running hot bath, but you continue onwards alone, and slam the weight of your body into the door by your shoulder forwards. It breaks open, and immediately you're greeted with quite a beautiful sight, even if you hate to admit it.

Elok Daven's very own Royal Bath isn't unlike your own, though it has a sleek, more modern aesthetic, as if it were built more recently, and also modelled closer to Earthen architecture. The tiles are clean and white, and instead of thick columns around the edges, they're smooth and thin, and adorned with gold rings. The bath itself is larger than the one you have back home, though not by a lot. At the far end is the head of a lion, and from its mouth runs crystal clear water. Steam rises up from the surface in a glistening mist, illuminated by several vibrant lights attached to the ceiling above.

Somebody stands before all of that, however--a woman with dark skin, waiting for you at the edge of the bath. She looks different than usual. Her pale, red hair is no longer tied back, and therefore it runs beautifully down her body--wet, clinging to her skin. Without any sort of hood, her third eye is proudly displayed, yet no circlet sits above. She does, however, still have silver rings hanging from pointed ears. She isn't dressed as a belly dancer this time. In fact, she's hardly dressed at all. Beads of water run down her skin, which is covered only by a fluffy white towel that wraps around her body, albeit not very effectively. She's covered, though barely. You can see her usual garb folded up on a bench near the far wall. Despite being caught in this state, she doesn't seem afraid.

You reach your hand into your bag to withdraw the vial of magical water. "We keep clashing, Meti. It doesn't have to be this way. We fight, I lock you up, you slip away, but it's Elok Daven I want to stop, and Breiah too. I don't get why anyone would follow them, especially if it means risking one's own life on their behalf."

"... I know," she says without meeting your gaze. "I had a feeling we would meet. I wanted to see you before you went to face the Demon King."

"Don't make me draw my sword."

"In a fight, perhaps I would be able to effectively stall you, but I could not dream of defeating you. I have many magical trinkets at my disposal, but that would not be enough. No. I do not wish you to draw your sword, but I am here to offer you something."

"Excuse me if I don't trust you."

While one of her hands keeps a grip on the towel around her body, she holds out the other and opens it wide. With her palm up, she displays an item that couldn't have been there before, as it would be too big to be squeezed within a fist. It looks like a watch, but otherwise, you're not sure what she's showing you. "Take it. With its help, you will be able to fight through what is about to come."

Upon closer inspection, it looks like a tiny sundial of stone mounted to a metal strap. The dial turns even now, though it isn't casting a shadow or measuring the sun. It is, however, pointing at something, as when she moves it about, it continues locked in a direction. "You're going to have to be more convincing if you think I'll take something from you and put it on my body after all you've done."

Granted, all she's really done to us is challenge us to a silly magic card game, and then disable the Shard of Draconax, but that last one is pretty bad. It's what allowed Lord Vraelion's invasion to go south for awhile. She serves Elok Daven, and that's reason enough to be skeptical.

"Just keep it on you for now then," Meti says. She places it into your hand. "Wear it only if you feel you are able to trust me enough. We have little time to--"

She seems distracted by something. You look around, and soon you notice it too. Strange, jagged lines of light start to run down the walls of the bathing room. The lights flicker. Like an optical illusion, the tiles of the floor and segments of the wall seem to be moving, though only in your peripheral vision. The water of the bath turns purple, and then green, and then blue. For a brief moment, you're in a void, and then you're back in front of Meti once again.

"It is happening," she says. "You are leaving."

A reverberating cackle echoes out from all directions. It bounces down the hall you cave from, and from all around you. It's a girl's voice, but it isn't Meti.

"No! I can't go yet." You slip the strange watch into your pocket and pull out the water vial. After popping the cork, you hurl it with all your might towards the surface of the bath.

The moment you do, everything is gone. You don't hear a splash, or anything at all. Instead you find yourself in a realm of perfect black. Is isn't without light, however, as when you look down, you can still see your hands. This is familiar. You've been in a similar place before. The cackling rushes through again, but this time it's louder. You grip your forward and withdraw Lauo from its scabbard as your mind struggles to focus. After things calm down, you see a figure ahead.

It's one of darkness, though still visible in the void as it's also filled with beautiful clouds of stars. Her hair looks as if it's made of a nebula flowing from her head, though tied into pigtails. She has a slim physique, and she hovers a distance away with piercing, glowing white eyes locked specifically on you as you find yourself otherwise completely alone. The vial did leave your hand, but you don't seem to be in the bath anymore, and Meti is long gone.

You turn your head and see nothing, but after a double-take, Aris is suddenly beside you.