Sungjoo set up his camp at the base of the mountains with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. He had left the Kisaere ranges behind the previous day, and woke to sunny skies this morning for the first time in weeks. No rain, no cold, no trees: nothing but meadows and sunlight from here on out.

In the valley below, he could see the distant city of Reniserivan, sprawled across the lower plains and stretching down to the ocean. It was still a good distance away, probabbly a day if he made good time, but the mass of it and the lack of trees and hills made it easy to see. It was quite different from Atherpefta, hotter and sunnier with an almost desert feel to it, but after the downpour throughout the mountains, he was glad for the change.

Business first, though. Before he would make his way toward the city, he would try to find the crystal through the realm of the pantheon. He had been practicing every night and two nights ago, it had paid off when he glimpsed the shining white halls. Then last night, he had actually been able to enter them, where Siakera met him once more with a smile of welcome and a warning. "Death here will be death to your soul," she told him grimly. "You will go to neither Eldrie or Tirin if you die here."

But his answer was just as grim and truthful. "If I die, that means I fail, and Kergisa would have my soul. At least if I die here she won't be able to claim it." He would rather never know the peace of the Lake of Tirin than be held forever within the dark goddess's crystal.

Now, he took a seat next to the remains of his evening meal and closed his eyes. Casting out his mind, he felt a slight resistance before he was pulled into the realm of the gods, the gleaming white marble the same as each time he had seen it. It was becoming easier to enter it at will, and he could only guess that it was because he was becoming more attuned to the supernatural force that resided within him. 

"Something like that," Siakera's rich voice reached his ears, and he turned to see the small dark woman coming toward him, her hands holding what appeared to be a strange silvery ball. "You've embraced your power and you're willing to see what you can do," she continued, coming up to stand in front of him, her heart-shaped face looking up into his, a serious expression making her appear almost severe. "Take this," she said, holding out the ball to him.

It was too big to grasp in one hand, so he took it with both, trying to make out details in it even as the metallic surface shifted and churned, obscuring anything inside. He thought he glimpsed writing but in what language, he couldn't say, but just as his eyes were beginning to hurt from the scrutiny, Siakera reached up to cup his cheek and draw his attention once more.

"It's time. You must stop Kergisa, by whatever means necessary. I have faith in you, Sungjoo; have faith in yourself."

"But I-"

"Use that," she spoke over his protestations, motioning at the silver orb. "It can only be used here in our realm, but it is suited to you and will serve you well."

He looked back at the ball, confused how it was supposed to be of any use, but even as he opened his mouth to ask that, the shifting of the surface stilled and a word became perfectly clear to him. "Aderna?" he read it, not recognizing the word even as he said it, but it reacted immediately. Silver sprouted from the ball in his hands to cling to his fingertips, coating them like liquid; he let out a cry of alarm and released it, intending to take a step back, but it did not release him.

The silver continued to climb up his fingers, engulfing them rapidly from the ball that simply hung in the air in front of him. He watched in a mixture of fear and fascination as it sped up his arms, becoming a thin material that covered him like a second skin, then it spread down to cover his chest and torso in an imitation of a shirt. By the time the ball had unravelled, Sungjoo stood covered from head to toe in a seamless, lightweight armor. The last thing the ball formed before disappearing fully was a gleaming silver axe which settled at his feet.

Siakera met his startled gaze and gave a small nod. "Now you're ready. Let your intuition guide you." And just like that, she disappeared.

"Wait!" he cal