As Shambala remained in his thoughts, he remembered a scenario that had something similar to this, where a warrior was overcome by his artifact. Stark. In the past, Stark had once activated this power when they were in danger. It had seemed like the only hope at that point, but it was a battle won at a very steep price. Apparently, there were lots of dangers associated with using artifacts one could not effectively wield. These dangers became real to him, and he had first-hand experience with them. And now, because there were a lot of dangers when using it, he decided not to use the power to its full extent.Even though it was a sort of limitation to him, he vowed not to make use of a certain aspect of the artifact again. He made use of some parts again and again, honing them, but only as a shadow function. As for the rest of that power, he shunned it, so it did not get the best of him. Countless stories have been told of warriors who were swallowed up by malevolent powers who made

Grover felt like a door had been opened for him. He felt able in that moment, free from the weakness he had been feeling since Shambala told him that he was going to be the one to rescue them in the next test.He turned towards the beast, who looked at him curiously, as though suddenly seeing him for the first time. He hurriedly stood up and walked towards the beast, who had not seemed to make much sense earlier but now seemed relatable.All the sounds they thought were feral growls and groans coming from the beast turned out to be coherent words spoken in a language different from their own. It sounded like one of the ancient languages that had been lost to the world of men.Maybe it was only lost to men, but it is still a viable language in the realm of spirits. What was strange to Grover was that he could understand the creature’s words perfectly.“Man, what do you seek? And why should I let you pass?” The beast’s voice sounded thunderous, loud, and clear.“We seek only passage to

Grover looked to where the beast had been standing only moments before. It simply varnished in a split of light. He was so glad to see it go that he nearly whooped in delight.Immediately after the beast disappeared, everyone's attention turned to Krystal. Krystal, who only moments before had seemed alright, assumed his former countenance. His eyes were that bright shade of red again, and he seemed to exude a strange glow through his skin, but it looked like the glow oozed out of him—like he was so full of the glow source that he oozed it out.They began to think about whether Krystal was going to attack them now that the beast was gone. But he did not. He floated as he had done previously, and before any of them could say anything, Krystal fell softly to the forest floor, unconscious. He laid on the foliage like a baby put to his mother’s breasts. Aside from his injuries, he appeared young and at rest; all the lines of stress, age, and fatigue seemed to be erased from his face as he

Vladimir ingested all Shambala had said about Stark, and somehow it didn’t satisfy his desire to discover the fate of Krystal. He thought over it, and after a while, he asked Shambala,“Does this mean that Krystal is now too powerful? Having wielded the power that, in the opinion of some, is best left untapped?”He asked, knowing that Krystal would not hurt them, but there was always this part of the heart that held a measure of doubt.“Hmnnn.” Shambala replied. “It seems you’ve given great thought to this. But to answer you, no, it does not. In truth, if these artifacts were so powerful that they automatically ruined a man, they would be banned and thus unavailable.”Vladimir nodded with understanding. The doubt in his heart cleared as understanding dawned on him.He sat up a little higher, paying keen attention to Shambala, who continued, “So the fact that they are left open to be tapped, mastered, and wielded by men means that a man can rise to the point where he is not ensnared by

Grover stirred from his musings after a while and sat up. He noticed Vladimir stir and sit up as well. A while had gone by, but he wasn’t sure how much time had passed. The whole place had grown quiet as if they were all asleep, but none of them slept; they were just still in thought.It was almost funny how none of them even thought of sleeping. Maybe it was a result of the ‘excitement’ they had gone through the night before. Or maybe it had more to do with the fact that Krystal had still not stirred from his makeshift perch on the forest floor. Maybe it was a combination of both reasons, but the fact remained that, as tired as their bodies were and as tasked as their souls had been, they could not sleep now. It would take some time before they did.Shambala nodded at Grover, acknowledging his sitting up. The sky was fully bright at this time, though it was still so early that the few were evident on the leaves and branches in the forest. It was still very quiet, but not so quiet tha