Chapter 18: EP 18: Glow of Flame Part 1.

Season 1: The Demon Realm

Chapter 18: Glow of Flame

The day of revelations for King and the residents of the Owl House had quickly passed into a lazy Sunday in which they all slept in and relaxed together. Luz, King, and Eda had gotten no real work done, instead just spending the afternoon (as they'd slept all morning) spending time together and chatting. It was a pleasant day, and a much needed emotional break after the stress of the previous evening, and it left all of them refreshed and ready to face another week. Luz had used her healing magic to reattach King's broken horn properly, and Eda told the kids about the reason for Raine's visit and her agreeing to join the CATTs. Both children had been excited by the idea of a rebel group going against the Emperor, and already had some ideas of people they could recruit, but Eda had told them not to get involved unless they had to; Belos' plans needed an angel (or another angel if Luz and Amity's theory was correct) and he'd also definitely have use for a Baby Titan, so keeping Luz and King safe were her top priorities. Seeing how serious Eda was being about it, the two agreed (with varying levels of reluctance) to not involve themselves unless they needed to.

Monday saw Luz return to Hexside and her friends, and also marked the beginning of her 12th week in the Demon Realm. Camp would end on the Sunday of her 13th week, so she had just 13 full days left on the Boiling Isles, before she'd have to face her Mami. That was also 13 days to find Rasiel's body and complete the Panacea Mirror to cure Eda's curse! With King's permission, Luz had told Amity, Willow, Gus, and the Twins about him being a Titan (neglecting to tell Matt, Skara, and the Multi-Trackers since they didn't know the truth about Rasiel, who was an integral part of the story), and her friends had been completely shocked. The Twins had panicked slightly, wondering if they'd be in big trouble for teasing King a little during their trip to the Knee (something Luz was fairly certain King didn't even remember) while Willow and Gus had reacted in much the same way they had to Luz being an angel; with shock and amazement. Amity had been equally surprised, but had just ended up laughing and saying; "I guess he was a mighty and ferocious demon after all!" referencing the joke she'd made to Luz back at the Covention.

The story about the Titans' fall and the Archivists was met with a lot more seriousness, but there was little any of them could do about it. Titans were on a level of power beyond even the Seraphim, and certainly beyond any witch or demon; so a foe that could threaten them was well beyond the scope of their abilities. If the worst happened, the only plan they had was to take King into the Human Realm and hide him there.

The people in the know had visited the Owl House with Luz after school that day to offer their condolences to King for his losses, as well as express their amazement at his new status. King had reacted a lot more bashfully to the praise than any of them had expected, and had even become uncomfortable with the Twins nervously worshipping him. Now that he knew his old Tyrant fantasies were, well, fantasies, King suddenly felt a lot less comfortable with being treated like one. However he still enjoyed praise, so after making sure the worshipping stopped, King showed off his new Titan Roar, which he'd been practicing all day with Eda and Hooty.

Following that, Luz had decided to recruit her friends to help her continue translating Philip Wittebane's Diary, mindful of the limited time she still had in the Demon Realm. While Luz desperately hoped her Mami would understand and allow her to return, she wanted to make sure Eda was cured and Rasiel at least had his body back, just in case the worst should happen. Amity and Gus had thrown themselves into this task with enthusiasm; the former keen to find more old ruins like Caplacier and Fibul Academy, while the latter was curious to read the thoughts of a true full-blooded human! Willow and the Blight Twins weren't as interested personally, but they were at least happy to help their friends/sister.

Tuesday and Wednesday passed quickly after that; Luz would attend Hexside while King continued his lessons with Eda, then they'd spend the afternoon with Luz's friends, trying to translate Philip's diary, then spend the evening either playing together, or with King listening to stories about Titans from Rasiel while Luz continued her apprenticeship with Eda. They made fast progress with the diary now that they had more people to help, but it wasn't until Thursday afternoon that they had a breakthrough.

They were all sat around the kitchen table of the Owl House; Luz and the witches were hard at work translating pages from the diary, while King worked with Hooty to make dinner under Rasiel's supervision. Watching Hooty cook was a strange experience, since he was able to control the house enough to open cupboards, turn on the burners, and even tilt shelves to make food slide into pots, while Hooty's tube-like body held knives and other utensils with a weird amount of skill and dexterity.

"I still don't understand Hooty…" Willow whispered, momentarily distracted by the odd demon.

"No one does." Eda said dismissively; "Its best to just let him do his thing. He's a weirdo like us after all, and he's actually pretty competent when he doesn't get overexcited." the Owl Lady shot a smirk at Luz; "Kind of reminds me of someone else I know."

Luz responded by sticking her tongue out at Eda, before sighing down at her page; "Well I'm done, but this entry has nothing useful. It's just him continuing his study of the carvings at Caplacier for more clues." she looked to her friends; "Any luck for you guys?"

"Nope. Mine is a short one about him travelling from the Knee to the Hip." Gus sighed, wishing the human could have written more about his own world too.

"I've got something on the Black Tombs, but its just Philip making up theories as to what they are based on what he'd learned from the witches of the era. He mentions that most people think the tombs are cursed, but filled with incredibly powerful relics." Willow added.

Amity sighed; "Mine's a dud too. He's experimenting with Titan's Blood from Eclipse Lake in hopes of making a portal, but nothing more."

"With King around, we don't even need to worry about Titan's Blood. We could probably make another portal whenever we wanted." Edric pointed out. "Oh, and my entry is no good either. Just some whining about how hot it is in Palm Stings."

Emira remained silent, completely focused on her work. Amity thought it was odd to see her big sister so transfixed, especially since she'd been the least interested the previous two days. The youngest Blight was about to ask about it when Willow changed the subject.

"So Luz, what are you going to do about tomorrow? It's the big field trip to the Emperor's Castle." she reminded her, pulling out a pamphlet they'd all gotten at school.

"I'll be skipping it. I don't like playing hooky, but it would be dangerous for me to go there." Luz frowned. In truth, she really wanted to see the castle, but she was afraid of what might happen if she ran into Emperor Belos. If he was an angel like she suspected, he might recognise her immediately! Bump had been able to, and he wasn't even an angel!

Willow, Gus, and Amity all looked disappointed. They'd expected Luz's answer, but they'd still wanted to enjoy the field trip with her, and had hoped that maybe her relationship with Lilith would keep her safe. Still, it was probably safer not to risk it.

"Oh man, you're gonna miss out on all the cool stuff! Maybe we can take photos for you?" Gus suggested.

"Bah, what kind of cool stuff could be in that place? A bunch of tools to subjugate people?" Eda snorted sarcastically.

"Well I don't know about that, but there are some ancient relics there. Each of the nine covens keeps a really powerful magic item in the castle. They were gifted to Belos when he first officially became Emperor." Amity explained, pulling out her own pamphlet to show Luz pictures of the relics.

"Personally, I'm interested in the relic from the Abomination Coven: The Titan Clay." Amity pointed to a picture of a glass orb on a golden stand, with purple abomination-like goo swirling inside it. "It's said to be Abomination slime made from mixing together earth, blood, and bile from the Titan, and is rumoured to be able to make an Abomination close in size to the actual Titan!"

That got King's attention, and he rushed over to look at the artefacts too. "Ooh! What else, what else!?"

"Well there's the Green Thumb Gauntlet from the Plant Coven!" Willow pointed to a picture of a wooden gauntlet, "It can supposedly grow any plant without limits. It's like your plant glyph, but even stronger!"

"And there's the Oracle Sphere, which shows you the path to becoming your best self." Gus grinned, pointing to a picture of a crystal ball with a golden snake wrapped around it. He then pointed to a picture of a silver hand mirror "As well as the Silver Tear Mirror from the Illusion Coven. That one is supposed to let you shape your own body as if it was an abomination! You can permanently change what you look like with that thing!"

Luz and King's eyes shone with curiosity as they looked at all the relics. There was also the Winderfly Harp; a golden harp from the Bard Coven that could control the weather, the Amber Phial; an appropriately named potions phial that could infinitely reproduce any potion the cork was soaked in, the Beckoning Bell; which could be used to sooth the rage of any beast on the Boiling Isles, and the Bag of Abodes; a seemingly mundane pouch from the Construction Coven that actually had a whole luxury manor built inside it. They were all amazing and sounded useful, but it was the last one that caught Luz's attention the most.

It was a pointed blue witch's hat with the hand-shaped crest of the Healing Coven poking out from the side. Luz read the words beside the picture; "The Healing Hat. Made from the magic of the Savage Ages, it is said to cure the deadliest diseases and heal any curse!"

She looked up to Eda; "Eda, I think this could heal your curse!"

Eda shrugged; "Meh, who cares? We've got your amazing Panacea Mirror to do that!"

"But Eda, who knows how long it'll take us to find Rasiel's body so we can finish it? Even if we find the next Black Tomb today, it might not be the one with his body! But we could cure your curse tomorrow if we went to the castle." Luz argued.

"We could hide you under an illusion. We're supposed to see the Relic Room on the tour, so we go in, use the hat, then get out. It's foolproof!" Gus smiled confidently.

Eda shook her head; "No. I appreciate the cunning, but it's too dangerous. The Emperor is already after me and would be after Luz too if he found out what she was. I'm not going near that castle, and I don't want you there either Luz." she said sternly.

Luz wilted and looked down, feeling like she'd made her mentor mad. However Eda just ruffled her hair; "I'm only saying this to keep us both safe, okay? Besides, I have faith in you and your mirror. If anything can cure my curse, it's that."

Luz nodded; Eda had a fair point. It was a big risk to take, especially when they already had a safe option. Rasiel decided that was a good moment to chime in; "If that hat worked anyway, wouldn't Lilith have already tried to use it? She's the Head Witch of the Emperor's Coven, so she'd have access to it."

"Rasiel has a point." Amity said, "Miss Lilith is always talking about how the Emperor promised to heal Eda's curse if she joined the Coven, but she's never mentioned the Healing Hat. There's no way she doesn't know about it, and surely she would have brought it up if that was how the Emperor was planning to cure Eda."

Luz couldn't really argue with that, so she decided to drop it and change the topic. "So I guess tomorrow is going to be a day off for me after all. Looks like we get a three day weekend, eh King?"

"Yeah! I wonder what we should do…" King said, scratching his chin in thought.

"I know what you're going to do." Emira said, finally tuning into the conversation. She looked up from her translation work with a big grin; "You're going to the Black Tomb!"

Everyone gasped and gathered around her; "You found the right page!?" Luz exclaimed.

Emira nodded proudly; "I did! Translating this guy's flowery words and handwriting was a pain, but I finally managed it! Listen to his!"

The girl cleared her throat and began to recite the diary entry; "Today, I finally made the breakthrough I'd hoped for in my study of the enigmatic Black Tombs. Rumours of a Fire Temple to match the Ice Temple at the Caplacier Ruins have led me to investigate numerous arid regions of the isles with no luck, but today I finally succeeded! In the desert of the Titan's left palm, there is a place known as Palm Stings; a warm coastal settlement. But in the very centre of the desert is an old ruined city much like Caplacier. The locals call it Volcarpalis, and it is home to the Fire Temple. I solved its trials with some help from my companions, and now write these words as I stare at a second Black Tomb. I know not what lies within, but the temple records I have recovered claim it is something of immense power. Power enough to complete my mission, mayhaps? Alas I am no closer to opening this tomb than I am the last. My expedition to Eclipse Lake has yielded me Titan's Blood that I might use with the glyphs for one key, and I have no shortage of volunteers to supply Demon Realm blood and magic for the second, but the third key still alludes me! How am I to find an Angel, the holiest of beings, in the Demon Realm? Even asking about them back on the Knee saw me run out of town! Clearly these chaotic creatures do not feel the same of God's servants as my own people do. I dearly hope to meet an Angel; surely they would help me achieve my mission? Until then, I must find another way."

The diary entry ended there, and everyone began exchanging excited looks. Finally, they knew where the temple was!

"Great job, Emira!" Luz grinned, hugging the girl, "Now we know where to go to find the next tomb! Looks like I'm going on a field trip of my own to Palm Stings!"

"Me too!" King cheered; "You got the ice glyph at the Ice Temple, so you've got to unlock a fire glyph at the Fire Temple!"

"Naturally I will be coming along too. I really hope this is my body; I long to be able to feel things again!" Rasiel said, a big grin on his face.

Eda put her hand up with an awkward frown; "Uh, I hate to break this to you guys, but I'm pretty sure Volcarpalis is gone…"

The others turned to her with confusion, so she explained; "There aren't any ruins in the desert around Palm Stings. I should know; I've been out there a few times on ingredient gathering sessions."

The enthusiasm began to drain out of the room; the desert of the left palm wasn't exactly small, but it wasn't so large that it was unexplored. Small oasis outposts as well as the coastal town of Palm Springs could be found there, so if there were ruins out there then surely they would be well known. Rasiel and King exchanged frowns; come to think of it, they hadn't seen any mentions of ruins in the Palm Stings desert in the books they'd been researching, and since Palm Stings was the most famous hot region on the Boiling Isles, it had been the place they'd looked in to first.

"So the ruins are just gone? But if they're like the Ice Temple, they should be indestructible! How could they just be gone!?" Luz cried.

"Maybe it was swallowed by the desert?" Willow suggested.

Rasiel seized on that idea like a drowning man clinging to his last hope; "That must be it! The ruins must have sunken beneath the sand! Luz, wasn't there a map in the diary right after Emira's entry?" he asked.

Luz nodded and flipped open the diary to the right page, showing that there was indeed a map. It showed what looked like a city, and a trail that led from it to an X, marking the spot that the Volcarpalis ruins should hopefully be. However nothing on the map was actually labelled, not even which direction was north, and there were no landmarks at all, hence why Luz hadn't paid it much attention when she'd first seen it. A map that couldn't be read was not much use after all.

"How can we use this? Are we even sure its related to Volcarpalis?" Gus asked with a frown.

"It has to be; it was right after the proper entry in the diary!" Rasiel said determinedly. He might have been more sceptical normally, but he was desperate to get his body back, or at least some part of his lost being!

Amity looked at the simplistic map and hummed; "You know, if we assume this is a map to the ruins, then this…" she pointed to the drawn city; "… must be Palm Stings. It's the only large settlement in the Left Palm. And since it's on the south coast of the palm, we can assume this trail is heading north, since the temple is supposed to be in the desert."

Luz grinned; "It's not perfect, but with Rasiel being able to phase through the ground, we can use this map to find where the ruins are supposed to be, then send Rasiel down to find it! Then once we do, we can dig down!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Eda grinned, "So while you guys are at school and on your field trip, Luz, King, Rasiel and I will go digging for these ruins!"

"I'd like to come as well!" Amity said, "I've been to the Emperor's Castle before with Miss Lilith, and while it's nice, I'd much rather spend the day exploring some ancient ruins with my girlfriend."

Luz blushed and grinned; "Careful Amity; after the Fibul Ruins and Caplacier Ruins, I'm going to think you love exploring ruins more than me!" she joked.

Amity giggled; "Well I can't actually date ruins, so I think you're safe." she joked back.

The two girls giggled and blushed, holding hands even as their friends all rolled their eyes and smirked at their cutesy display. Gus raised his hand; "Uh, not to be a third wheel or anything, but can I come too? I want to see one of these temples with my own eyes. Plus if we're going to a Fire Temple, then you'll want people who can use ice and water magic, right?"

Luz looked to Eda, King, Rasiel, and Amity, but none of them had any complaints, so she nodded happily; "Sure thing Gus! But weren't you looking forward to the field trip tomorrow?"

Gus grinned; "Yeah, but this is way cooler!"

"You mean hotter." Willow joked, before saying; "I'll go on the field trip and cover for you guys, so the teachers don't suspect you guys are just playing hooky. All I need to do is make some plant golems and disguise them as you guys using concealment stones, and no one will be able to tell the difference. Besides, plants and the desert don't really mix."

The others agreed, and Edric and Emira also opted out of the adventure; "We've skipped too many classes recently, and Professor Lavestra will report us to Mom if we skip any more." Edric said.

"Besides, we've had enough temples for one life time! Try not to wake up any crazy dragons this time!" Emira smirked.

"Ha! We beat the Ice Wyrm, so we can definitely beat a fire dragon, especially with all of us knowing ice and water magic! Plus now that we know I'm a Titan and those Supreme Dragons are servants of my dad, I bet we won't even need to fight!" King said proudly.

The others couldn't argue with that, so they grinned and agreed to the plan. Gus and Amity would join the Owl House Crew on their expedition while Willow covered for them on the field trip! Eda and Luz invited everyone to stay for dinner as thanks for their help with the translations, and the expedition crew agreed to meet up bright and early the next morning to make their way to Palm Stings and the desert.

Luz went to sleep with a strange feeling in her chest that night; she had a feeling that tomorrow was going to be the biggest day of her life thus far!

[The Next Morning]

Lilith looked down from the battlements of the Emperor's Castle as she watched a wagon of wild witch prisoners being brought in. They would soon find themselves in cells within the dungeons, and offered a choice; stay there and rot, or join a coven. Few had stayed stubborn for longer than a month before; the dungeons were not a pleasant place to be after all, and those that did found themselves forcibly branded with a random Coven sigil. At least those that were compliant would get to choose their covens, encouraging them to just accept their fates.

For a moment, the elder Clawthorne sister thought of Eda and Luz, dragged into the castle in one of those wagons and tossed into a cell… it was a distressing thought, but Lilith knew that would never come to pass. When Eda was caught, she would not see a cell; she would be cured of her curse and immediately branded with the sigil of the Emperor's Coven. Luz might be given a choice, or even a reprieve until she graduated Hexside, but she would join her mother and aunt in a coven, and then she too would be cured of her curse… the curse that tore at Lilith's heart as she remembered its origins.

Lilith shook the thought away and headed back inside, where a team of hand-picked Coven Scouts was waiting for her.

"Alright scouts; today is the day we will be assaulting the Owl House and capturing my sister." she proclaimed. She had picked this day especially; Amity had assured her that both she and Luz would be attending the field trip to the castle today, ensuring Lilith's niece was out of the way. She didn't want Luz being pulled into their battle after all.

Her scouts saluted and began to march behind her as she made her way out of the castle and towards the airship waiting for them. Standing at the bottom of the ramp onto the airship was Kikimora, a little red skinned demon with a blue clawed hand in place of hair, with a second such hand acting like a ponytail on the back of her head. She served as an assistant to Emperor Belos, making her a sort of equal to Lilith within the Emperor's Coven, much to both of their distaste.

"Off to finally capture your sister, Lilith?" Kikimora asked, "It is about time. Many in the coven have been questioning this delay, especially as you have been seen fraternizing with the Owl Lady and her apprentice."

Lilith rolled her eyes; "I have been attempting to convince them to join us peacefully. However the Emperor wishes this taken care of, so I will finish things today. By the way; my niece should be attending the field trip today, Kikimora. I expect you to treat her well; it would not do to further dissuade her from joining the Emperor."

"Naturally." Kikimora replied, her polite tone hiding poison as always.

Lilith did not bother with a proper goodbye; she simply swept past Kikimora and boarded the ship, ordering her scouts to follow her. They were in the air within minutes and began making their way towards Bonesborough, landing outside the local police precinct (which had apparently required some renovation recently). After that, Lilith led her scouts to the Owl House and had them take up positions in the trees and bushes just out of Hooty's reach, something Lilith had learned after her Grudgby game with Eda. Once in position, she and her scouts lay in wait for the perfect moment to strike; namely when Luz left for school.

She wasn't waiting for too long, as she soon heard her apprentice Amity walking through the forest towards the Owl House, alongside Luz's other two close friends; Gus and Willow. Lilith watched as the trio went into the house, then ten minutes later, they emerged again with Luz in tow and walked happily off to Hexside. They were unusually quiet, especially the usually chatty Luz, but Lilith chalked it up to it still being early. She had her scouts wait until she was sure Luz and her friends were out of ear shot, then grinned.

"Good, they're gone. And it looks like the House Demon has fallen asleep." Lilith said. She signalled to her scouts; "Surround the house."

The scouts jumped to obey her orders, but as they moved into position, Hooty woke up and immediately went on the attack. He dived into the ground and popped out behind Lilith.

"Hiya Lilith! Peek-a-hoot!" he hooted, smashing into Lilith's gut hard enough to knock her into a tree, winding her. The elder Clawthorne struggled to regain her breath as she watched her elite, hand-picked force of scouts be completely devastated by the chaotic bird noodle that was Hooty. The House Demon treated the whole experience like a game, sending her subordinates flying with his strange wiggling and dancing, hooting happily the whole time. Lilith growled and tried to cast a spell at the House Demon while it was distracted, but Hooty bent to eat what he thought was a bug, and Lilith instead hit a tree… a tree that promptly fell on top of her. She barely got out of the way in time to avoid being crushed, but as soon as she got up again, Lilith found herself face to face with Hooty.

Clearly her plan to capture Eda was not going to work out how she'd hoped…

As this was happening, Eda watched the "battle" with some binoculars from her living room. She felt a little bad for her sister, but still enjoyed watching Hooty take apart the Emperor's Coven so easily.

"Ah Hooty. You can be a thorn in my side, but you still manage to worm your way into my heart." Eda sighed happily, "Now speaking of people worming their way into my heart… Luz! Are you ready yet?"

"Coming Eda!" Luz called from the kitchen, before coming into the living room with King, Rasiel, Gus, and Amity. They were all (other than Rasiel) wearing heat-repelling cloaks and carrying backpacks, canteens, and collapsible shovels, ready for their trip to the desert. "We heard a commotion outside. Did Willow and the disguised plant golems run into trouble?"

Eda shook her head with a grin; "Nah, Flowers and the fakes got out safe and sound. Lilith and her goons have come to capture me again. I bet they waited for you to be gone before they attacked, so if anything, I'd say the fakes are working fine! Now Hooty is beating the stuffing out of Lily and the scouts."

Gus, King, and Rasiel chuckled as they went to watch the scene too, while Amity felt embarrassed on behalf of her mentor, and Luz worried for her Tia. She was distracted from her worry by a cauldron Eda had set out on the table, which seemed to be stirring some kind of blue spaghetti.

"What's this, Eda? Making some lunch to take with us?" Luz asked to distract herself from Lilith's predicament.

Eda shook her head; "Nope, this is Witch's Wool. I'm dying it and weaving some extra magic into it."

Luz looked confused, so Amity helpfully explained; "Witch's Wool is a kind of magically woven material that can repel magic. They keep the wearer safe from all but the most powerful spells! Though it doesn't tend to last long unless you recharge it."

"And any Witch worth their salt has a cloak made of it." Eda finished.

Luz oohed and ahhed, eyes sparkling with desire. She wanted a Witch's Wool Cloak! But considering the current situation, it made more sense for Eda to have one; she was the one being actively hunted by the best coven on the Isles!

"That's good. Now you'll have some more protection!" she chirped happily.

Eda rolled her eyes; "This isn't for me, kiddo."

"Oh? Ohhhhh, I get it!" Luz grinned impishly, "You're making a present for Raine!"

The Owl Lady chuckled; "Sure, let's go with that. Now we should-"

Eda suddenly froze as the world around her faded into blackness, and she found herself alone in an empty void.

"Oh no!" she cried, her voice echoing through the void; "The curse! B-But my magic wasn't low! I wasn't stressed! Is it getting stronger again!?"

She looked around desperately, then scowled as the void was replaced by a hazy scene from her distant memories. She found herself staring down at her younger self, exactly as she had been all those years ago before she was cursed. The young Eda was curled up in bed, sleeping with a contented smile, ignorant as to what was about to happen to her. Eda sighed irritably and turned to see the figure who'd cursed her; a shadowy being with no defining features besides large glowing white eyes.

"You know, I'm getting a little tired of this game!" Eda growled, taking a step towards the shadow and reaching for it; "So why don't you show me your face!"

She clasped her hand around the shadow's face, but then the void faded away and Eda suddenly found herself in her bedroom at the Owl House, with her hand wrapped around Luz's face as the young angel held an empty vial of Super Elixir to her mouth. Eda blinked for a moment, registering what had happened and noticing Gus and Amity standing beside Luz, wielding weapons made of ice and abomination slime, while King was behind her, using plant glyphs to make vines. They had likely had to subdue the Owl Beast so Luz could force feed her the Elixir.

"Oh…" she mumbled numbly, pulling her hand away from Luz. Thankfully none of the kids seemed hurt, but with Luz's healing magic, that didn't mean a lot; "Is everyone okay?"

"W-We're fine. We got the jump on the Owl Beast straight away." Luz answered shakily, "But Eda, we needed to use five Super Elixirs to calm you down. We're all out now."

"You've been building a resistance to them. With everything that has happened in recent weeks, you've used a lot more magic and needed to drink so many elixirs to stave off the curse that they aren't as effective any more." Rasiel frowned, "Even that gem you use as a Bile Monitor is still specked with black."

Eda looked down and sure enough, her amber gem had specks of black throughout; a bad sign. "I might need to postpone the expedition, kids. We can't afford to go without some Elixirs, and I need time to brew some up."

"Can we really afford to delay though?" Luz asked worriedly; "We need to complete the Panacea Mirror as soon as possible! If you run out of magic completely, you'll turn into the Owl Beast forever! We can't let that happen."

Eda sighed; "We don't have a choice. If I turn without any elixir, it'll be a disaster."

King chimed in; "Then you stay here and brew up some more while we go to Volcarpalis! With my Titan powers and the others having water magic, we should be a match for anything the temple can throw at us!"

"It's a good idea, Eda. We can handle it." Amity agreed.

"Yeah; we've faced a lot of dangerous stuff without you. We'll be fine. And if the worst should happen, I'll hide us with an illusion and we can high tail it back here." Gus said confidently.

Eda wanted to argue, but couldn't bring herself to. The Panacea Mirror really was her last chance, and this expedition was the only hope they had of finishing it before Eda fully succumbed to her curse. In the end, her fear of that and the concern of her kids made Eda relent.

"Alright. You kids can go without me. Just promise you'll be careful and come back safe and sound, okay?" Eda said.

Luz and the others nodded; "We promise! Don't worry Eda; we'll find Rasiel's body and cure you one and for all!" Luz declared, hugging her mentor tightly. King wanted to join too, and after a three-way hug, Eda and the Expedition Crew went back downstairs.

Since their stores of ingredients was a bit low, King grew the plants they needed with his plant glyph while Luz took some Tearful Tonic to make herself cry and produce a vial of tears. In her desperation to make sure Eda was okay and could potentially make stronger elixirs, she even pricked her finger to give Eda some of her blood, and plucked a single small feather from one of her lower wings, giving Eda all three of the coveted angel ingredients. That way if the expedition ended in failure, they'd at least have a chance at staving off the curse.

Eda was touched by this, and had to all but chase her kids and their friends out of the house before Luz talked herself into giving more parts of herself. She watched as Luz carried King in her arms and Amity carried Gus on her staff, and flew away under an illusion to make them appear like a flock of birds to keep Lilith from seeing them.

Once they were gone, Eda sighed; "They're really good kids… I'm really causing them a lot of stress." she looked at the vial of golden blood that Luz had shed for her, and the plants King had grown, then thought back to the Witch's Wool in the living room. She smirked; "Well, I was planning on repaying them anyway. It's not like brewing the elixirs will take all day!"

With that, she got to work on the elixir as her kids flew off to Palm Stings. The kids ended up flying right over the scene of the "battle" between Lilith and Hooty, completely ignorant to the Head Witch's troubles.

Lilith, having ended up half buried in the ground thanks to Hooty, dug herself up with a groan as her comm-pact mirror began to ring. Groggily she answered it, scowling as she saw the face of Kikimora staring back at her from the mirror's surface.

"The Emperor demands your presence in the throne room." Kikimora said. "And there's a bird on your head."

Lilith looked up, spotting the edge of a displaced bird's nest. She heard the Demon bird say "Ooooh, you're in trouble!"

Lilith growled and slammed the comm-pact mirror shut and got to her feet. She looked over and saw her scouts being held captive by Hooty and forced to participate in a tea party. She grimaced at the scene and went over to rescue them; anything to delay hearing of the Emperor's displeasure!

[Later]

The flight from the Owl House to Palm Stings was a long one, since they essentially had to travel from the Titan's right elbow all the way to the left palm. It took Luz and the others almost two hours to reach it, and that was flying in a straight line! Still, at least they got to spend the flight chatting and hanging out, and speculating what the field trip was like for Willow, who was puppeteering three plant golems. They'd texted her and gotten a message back saying that Skara was helping with the disguise by using Bardic magic to imitate their voices so the golems seemed more alive, and so far no one besides Skara had caught on. That was at least one worry off their shoulders, though Eda was still another.

"I really hope Eda is okay… was it stupid of me to give blood and a feather to her? What if they trigger another Bile Overload like the overdose of tears!?" Luz asked, beginning to worry even more.

"Calm yourself, Luz." Rasiel said soothingly; "The tears caused that reaction by countering the symptoms of the curse; namely the magic drain. Angelic blood doesn't have that property, but it is a potent source of magic in its own right, and our feathers speed up how fast one regenerates and produces magic. So long as Eda doesn't stupidly throw all the ingredients together haphazardly, she will be able to make adjustments to her elixir that should at least buy her a few more days. You needn't worry."

That didn't exactly make Luz feel better, but it did calm her down a bit. However it also raised another question, this time from Amity. "That reminds me; back when Boscha hit you on the day we first met, you blood was red. But earlier today it was gold; why did it change?"

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask that too. I know Mami's blood was red like mine was, so it can't be because of my maturity. Do you have an answer, Rasiel?" Luz asked.

Rasiel nodded; "It is a symptom of your evolution. Angelic blood turns gold when there is a significantly higher magic saturation. Basically, once you have enough magic, your blood will turn gold. It usually happens around the time an angel reaches High Angel levels of power, but it can vary."

Luz hummed, but her thoughts were soon drawn away from the topic of her blood and to her little brother in her arms. He'd suddenly gotten colder, making her look down and see that he was using ice glyphs to cool himself off as the temperature got hotter and hotter. His fur really made it uncomfortably warm for him. Thankfully, the rising temperature was a sign that they'd just about reached their destination, so they flew lower and saw the desert of the Titan's left palm for the first time. It was a wide expanse of pale yellow sand, dotted with red sandstone formations and little green spots that denoted oases, most of which had white sandstone buildings surrounding them. The Titan's fingers jutted out of the edges of the desert, some curling into the sky while others lay flat against the Boiling Sea. It was an intimidating sight, made more so by the sheer size of it.

Amity then pointed out their first destination; the city of Palm Stings along the southern coast of the palm. Luz, the only one besides Rasiel to not have seen it before, gasped in amazement. It was a fairly small city; maybe only a little bigger than Bonesborough, but it resembled a mix of a holiday resort and a fantasy Arabian city, with buildings and palaces of white stone to reflect the sweltering sunlight, palm trees (with red leaves like most Demon Realm trees), and fancy stained glass windows that prevented the sunlight from being magnified like normal glass would. There was also a massive port with dozens of ships, both sea and sky, docked within it. If the situation had been different, Luz would have been desperate to explore it! Maybe once Eda was cured, they could come on vacation here to celebrate? Rasiel would get to sunbathe with his own body, and Eda could bring Raine! Maybe Luz would be able to bring Amity too!

Shaking those thoughts away for a moment, Luz descended to a small grove of palm trees just outside the city's north gate, followed by Amity, Gus, and Rasiel. Once they were on the ground and certain that nobody was watching, they dropped the illusions hiding them. Luz placed King on the ground, but he yelped and began dancing around as the hot sand burned his paws, making him leap back into Luz's back.

"This place is so hot! Even the ground is hot! I hate coming to the palms!" King grumbled, slapping another ice glyph onto himself to cover his fur in a thin layer of frost.

"It really is way warmer than Bonesborough" Gus agreed, pulling up the hood of the light cloak he was wearing to keep the sun from beating down on him. "I came here on vacation with my Dad a couple of years ago, and I swear I sweated enough to fill a swimming pool!"

"Me too. Dad ended up passing out at one point on our last trip here because he insisted on still working on his abominations, and overheated in the villa we'd rented." Amity said, smiling as she remembered how her father had gotten after that. The experience had left him loopy for a while, and it had made him extremely cuddly and affectionate. He'd actually spent a few hours playing with her and her siblings until his brain cooled off.

Rasiel smiled; "I look forward to feeling the heat for myself! This city does bring back memories though; it reminds me of the cities of the Divine Realm."

"It does?" Luz asked, enjoying the feeling of King's icy fur on the back of her neck.

"Indeed. The Divine Realm is a place of near eternal sunlight, so it is fairly hot there. Why do you think my clothes are baggy pants, a waist cape, and no shirt?" he grinned, pointing to his bare chest. "Angels rarely wear much clothing in our own realm; just enough to maintain comfort and modesty, and what we do wear is light, like the residents of this city."

He nodded over to the nearby gates, where people were heading in and out of Palm Stings, most of them wearing light clothes or cloaks of some kind. "Our cities are also built with white stone to reflect the light, and we use Aurum, our alchemical gold, to decorate the place since it can absorb heat and convert it into magic energy while keeping things cool. Though our actual architecture is different."

Luz and her friends listened eagerly, especially Amity, who imagined what Luz would look like in a feminine version of Rasiel's outfit. It made her blush crimson, forcing her to use some ice magic to cool her cheeks, lest she overheat.

"We can hear more stories on the way to the temple. But walking through this desert is gonna be a nightmare!" King complained.

"I've got some snails on me, so we can rent Croconaw Crabs." Amity suggested, pointing over to a building beside the nearby gates. The building was some kind of stable with massive creatures that resembled coconut crabs residing inside. Other witches were renting them as transportation through the desert, and they moved surprisingly fast once they got going.

"Good idea, Amity. Let's go!" Luz smiled, taking her girlfriend's hand and rushing over to the stables, with Gus following close behind and Rasiel returning to his ring.

Getting a closer look at the Croconaw Crabs, Luz found that they were even bigger than she'd thought, looking like coconut crabs with bodies closer in size to large bears, and a retractable head that resembled an Alligator. Each one was fitted with reins hammered into the sides of their thick shells, and a long saddle on their backs. They decided to rent two of them from the cheerful old crone who owned the stable, and received a stern warning not to try and ride off with them; as the Crabs would throw off their riders and return home if they were gone for more than 24 hours or tried to leave the desert.

Since Amity had ridden one before on her last vacation with her family, she took control of one of the crabs and had Luz sat behind her, much to both of their pleasure, while King and Ghost rode alongside Gus. They then shot off into the desert, moving at remarkable speed as they followed the map in Philip's diary, which Luz had brought along in her satchel. It was a fairly fun ride; the crabs moved quickly and smoothly, so they could race across the desert without constantly being bumped. King, Gus, and Luz all cheered whenever their mounts would slide down a sand dune, feeling like they were riding a roller coaster. Amity and Rasiel didn't really get it, but they smiled at their companions happiness all the same.

Luz guided them along the map's path and soon found that the sudden changes in direction that Philip had drawn matched up perfectly with rest stops at small Oases throughout the desert. It would have taken hours to walk the path, but thanks to their mounts, the group bounced from oasis to oasis without much trouble, until they finally reached their ultimate destination in the dead centre of the desert.

They stopped at the spot marked on the map and got off their mounts to look around. There was absolutely nothing around them. No landmarks, no signs of ruins, no nothing; just another oasis a few kilometres to the north and miles of sand in every direction. It was just like Eda had said; there was no sign of Volcarpalis.

"Well, this is the moment of truth." Rasiel said, steeling himself; "Time to see if Volcarpalis was buried like we thought! Wish me luck!"

The others did so, and Rasiel promptly dived down into the sand, taking advantage of his incorporeal form to swim through the desert with ease. With nothing to do but wait, Luz grew a palm tree with the plant glyph to give them some shade and Amity sat with her at its base, holding hands and happily chatting to each other as Gus used ice magic along with King to have a snowball fight to keep them cool, something Ghost was watching with amusement.

"You know, I'm kinda freaked out by the fact this is a desert but I haven't seen a single cactus." Luz mused. "I always wanted to know what the water from the inside of a cactus tasted like."

Amity giggled; "Cacti don't grow in this desert. We only get Fire Melon Cacti, and they grow in the right palm desert instead. And trust me, you don't want to drink the water."

"Fire Melon Cacti? I don't know Hermosa, if it tastes anything like Water Melon, I might just have to try it!" Luz giggled, enjoying how Amity blushed at the nickname. Amity still didn't know what it meant, as Luz loved to tease her with it.

"Luz, Fire Melon Cacti produces the most potent alcohol on the Boiling Isles. It gets its name from how much the juice burns! Also, because the juice heats up in the desert heat, then catches fire like oil and makes the cacti explode." Amity explained with a grin.

"Oh… I wonder how it compares to Apple Blood. That stuff burned!" Luz said, remembering an occasion that she'd accidentally taken some of Eda's hard Apple Blood instead of the diluted soft stuff she normally drank.

Amity pet her girlfriend's hair; "Luz, I love you, but Apple Blood is one of the weaker alcohols. Why else do you think Eda is able to drink it so casually?"

Luz pouted; "Aw… why does Demon Realm alcohol have to come from such tasty sounding fruits…?"

Amity giggles at the silly conversation and kissed Luz's cheek, making the angel stop pouting immediately so she could kiss Amity back. Rasiel picked that moment to come floating back up from under the sand.

"Okay, so I have good news, bad news, and great news!" he announced, smiling as Gus and King came over to join the girls.

"What's the great news?" Gus asked.

"Willow's theory was right; the Volcarpalis Ruins were here and sunk beneath the sand! They're right below our feet!" Rasiel grinned happily.

The kids cheered, before Amity cautiously asked; "Okay, so what's the bad news?"

Rasiel winced; "The ruins are about a kilometre below us, and sank into the Titan's bones. The molten bone marrow has formed a pretty intense volcanic environment too."

The kids gaped; "A kilometre!? The tallest building in the Human Realm isn't even that tall!" Luz exclaimed.

"How are we supposed to dig that deep!?" King cried. He only had a little trowel, and the others had regular shovels! It would take them years to dig down that far!

"Well you see, that's the good news!" Rasiel said, "Not only is there air down in the cavern so you can all breath, but I found a passage way! It leads to a hidden cave beneath that oasis over there." he pointed to the oasis they'd spotted a couple of kilometres to the north. "I suspect the temple was hidden on purpose, and that passage was made as a way for people who knew about it to get inside."

"Well, I guess we've got no choice. Let's take a look." Luz decided. Her friends nodded in agreement, and after a brief drink from their canteens, they got back on their crab mounts and hurried over to the distant oasis. When they arrived, Luz took a look at the seemingly innocent pool of water, but couldn't see any signs of a secret.

"Is this the right place?" Gus asked, dipping a finger into the pool.

Rasiel nodded; "The water is bubbling up from the cavern underground. There's about ten inches of sand and sandstone between the bottom of this oasis and the cave below it. You'll need to dive down."

Luz used her ice magic to form an ice bubble around her head to act like a diving helmet, then stuck her head under the water. The Oasis was about two metres deep, so they'd have to either dig two metres down from the surface, or dig a few inches from the bottom of the water.

"Well guys, looks like we're gonna have to swim a bit. I'll dive down and blast us a way into the cave with my light magic, then I'll come get you." she decided.

The others agreed, so Luz took off her shoes and cloak, then dove fully into the oasis. The cool water was a relief on her hot skin as she swam to the bottom of the oasis. She put her hand against the small lake bed, only to gasp as it passed straight through. There was no sand or sandstone at all; it was an illusion! Taking a risk, Luz dove down through the illusion and found herself swimming into the cave Rasiel had described. The cavern was fairly small, being about the size of the Owl House's living room, but featured a literal pillar of water bubbling up from the ground and into the ceiling, completely defying gravity. Luz poked her head out of this pillar and saw a passageway leading southward.

The young angel hurried swam back up and surfaced; "Guys, you won't believe what I just found!"

She described the illusion and the magic pillar of water, the former of which Rasiel hadn't noticed, since he phased through solid ground like it was an illusion anyway. The pillar of water was apparently a semi-common thing on the Boiling Isles though; "They're called Lake Roots. Water from the Boiling Sea filters up through the Titan's bone marrow and forms these strange upward flowing water formations that form into lakes and ponds on the surface." Amity explained.

Luz blinked at that, but didn't question it; the Boiling Isles was full of oddities after all. "If Rasiel is right about someone hiding the Fire Temple, then they probably made this place a secret entrance. That means we're going to all have to dive down there. You guys can swim, right?" Luz asked, looking to King and Gus.

Both nodded, and they and Amity immediately used their own ice and water magic to give themselves bubbles to breath in while diving down, while Amity also made a second one to contain Ghost, who naturally didn't like the water. They left their Croconaw Crabs tied to a tree in the oasis, then one by one, dived into the pool. They all passed through the illusion at the bottom and emerged into the small cave beneath, stepping out from the water of the Lake Root. Luz illuminated their surroundings with a light spell, then used her water magic to dry them all and dismiss their icy diving helmets by pulling the water towards her and then releasing it into the Lake Root.

The little cave below the oasis really was plain and empty, except for the Lake Root, so they immediately began heading down the passage towards the Volcarpalis Ruins. It would be a long walk, but they hadn't come this far to give up!

[Meanwhile]

Lilith, still covered in dirt, leaves, and now the feathers of an annoying mocking demon bird, marched into the Emperor's castle through one of the side doors, very much not looking forward to the meeting she'd been called to. The Emperor rarely demanded her presence, and whenever he did, it was to give her a mission that would be a pain in the behind, or to reprimand her for her failure to capture Eda. Considering how she'd gotten into her current state, she expected it would be the latter.

To make the situation all the worse, coming in through one of the side doors meant that Lilith almost immediately ran into Kikimora as the demon escorted the students from Hexside on their field trip. Kikimora's one visible eye glittered with malicious delight at the sight of the Head Witch.

"Ah! Make way for Miss Lilith Clawthorne, students." she said with false enthusiasm as the students behind her gasped in delight. It heartened Lilith to see they weren't disappointed by her appearance. She looked towards the back of the group and saw Luz and Amity, as well as their little friends. Both girls waved to her, their smiling faces unchanging and their wave oddly synchronised. Lilith blinked, finding the gesture almost robotic coming from her usually energetic niece, but she smiled and waved back, preparing to speak to her before Kikimora once again opened her trap.

"Yes, and if I'm not mistaken, she's on her way to see the Emperor himself. Let's all wish her luck!"

The students (save Luz and her friends) said "Good Luck, Miss Lilith!", making the Head Witch blush and inhale deeply to suppress her embarrassment.

"Thank you, students." she said, before muttering under her breath; "Good luck with puberty."

She then marched off, leaving Kikimora to deal with the students. Lilith hoped to speak to her niece before the tour was over, but for now, the Emperor awaited her. She went straight up to the throne room, cleaning herself off as she went, and eventually found herself right outside. Taking another deep breath to steady her nerves, Lilith opened the doors and walked inside.

The Emperor's throne room was long and dimly lit, and silent except for the sound of the Titan's heart, which continued to beat even though the Titan was long departed. Various tubes and pipes were connected to its blood vessels, linking it to wherever it had been before the Emperor claimed it. Beneath the Titan's heart was the golden throne of the Boiling Isles, on which sat Emperor Belos himself. Lilith immediately felt her heart lurch at the sight of him; he was slouched and his masked face was being held by one hand as the other clenched the armrest of his throne; clearly he was having one of his… unpleasant moments.

Flanking his throne was the Golden Guard on his right side and the Silver Sentinel on his left, both standing as still as statues. A small number of Coven Scouts also lined the walls, and surprisingly, another Coven Head was present. This Coven Head was a short man of a similar demonic species to Kikimora, only with four arms and purple skin. His eyes were blue with black sclera, while his "hair" (actually clawed hands and fingers, like Kikimora's) was white, and included a long moustache that wrapped around his entire head and tied together at the back. He wore a dull purple robe with a slightly brighter cowl, and in one hand he wielded a quill, in another was a book, and in the central two was clasped a crystal ball that was also tied to a rope around his neck.

This man was Osran, the Head of the Oracle Coven, and an enigmatic fellow that seemed to live half in the future, half in the past, and never in the present. His presence in front of the throne did not bode well.

Lilith ignored him for the time being and knelt before the Emperor, bowing her head; "I am at your service, Emperor Belos."

The Emperor did not reply immediately, instead waiting for something. That something turned out to be another Coven Scout, who approached him with a dormant Palisman on a platter. Lilith felt her stomach churn as she knew the fate that awaited it; the only mercy was that the poor thing was completely dormant and wouldn't feel what was about to happen.

"Just a moment, Lilith." the Emperor said, snatching up the Palisman and cutting into it with one gold clad finger. The head came away and thick glowing green essence began flowing out, allowing Belos to lift the Palisman to his mask and pour the essence into his eyes. The Emperor's eyes glowed in the same sickly green colour as the Palisman was reduced to an empty wooden shell, which was promptly burned away in pale green flames.

"Ah, that's better." he said, relaxing as the Palisman's essence rejuvenated whatever it was that ailed him. "I heard you attempted a raid this morning, with the goal of capturing the Owl Lady. Given you are here and she is not, would I be correct in assuming you failed. Again?" Belos asked casually.

Lilith flushed in humiliation; "Yes, Emperor Belos."

The man shook his head; "Tut tut, Lilith. The Day of Unity approaches, and you have made no progress. I'm afraid I cannot allow this to continue."

"Please my lord, if I had but a little more time, I could-"

Belos silenced Lilith with a cold glare; "You've had enough time. I have decided that your time, and your sister's, has run out. Eda Clawthorne will be captured tonight, and I will see to it personally."

"Y-You, my lord?" Lilith blinked.

"Yes, me. Though you will assist me by bringing me something else I require." Belos said; "You will bring me an angel."

Lilith balked; "My lord! H-How can I possibly bring you an angel!? There's no way to even tell if one is on the Boiling Isles or in the Demon Realm!" she argued, briefly looking over to Osran; "Oracle magic doesn't work on them either, so how could we find one!?"

"Find one?" Belos chuckled; "But my dear, you already have. In fact, you know her quite well… my Scouts in Bonesborough have seen you with her. What was that charming little name she calls you? Oh yes; "Tia Lily"."

Lilith's eyes widened with shock; "N-No… no, it couldn't be…!"

"I'm quite certain it can be, and is. Young Luz Noceda is an angel, one already blessed by the Titan as He tried to steer her away from the corrupting influence of your sister, the Owl Lady. Alas the Owl Lady's talons are deep in her soul, and the girl blocks out the true words of the Titan. We need to fix that." Belos explained, watching Lilith's expression closely.

The woman put a hand over her mouth; suddenly, the white hair and feathers she'd known Luz to possess took on an entirely different meaning. Luz wasn't a cursed child; she was an angel! She wasn't Eda's daughter… she wasn't Lilith's niece… That revelation made her guts twist painfully; she'd become extremely fond of Luz. The cheerful girl was often a breath of fresh air whenever Lilith had to deal with her bratty younger sister, and the budding relationship between Luz and Lilith's apprentice had been adorable… but had it really all been a lie?

"How is it Luz was able to lie to me? I thought angels had to tell the truth?" she questioned.

Belos hummed; "I suspect through a combination of exact words, and having developed genuine familial feelings for yourself and the Owl Lady. Those very feelings are why I will be sending you to capture her; your mutual affection will make her transition into a ward of my coven a lot smoother."

Lilith bowed her head once more; if the Emperor was correct, then Luz could not be allowed to remain under the guardianship of Eda. An angel should not be twisted into an agent of chaos; lest the Titan become angry. It would break Luz's heart to be torn away from her mentor; Lilith still remembered Luz's answer when she'd asked why the girl didn't call Eda "Mom", and knew that parental feelings were building there. But Lilith could ease that pain just like the Emperor said, and once Eda was in the coven and cured, perhaps she could still spend time with Luz!

"I will do as you command, my lord. As luck would have it, Luz is in the castle as we speak. I will go and get her now." Lilith said, getting to her feet.

"Actually Head Witch Lilith…" Osran said, finally speaking up for the first time in a deep, wizened voice; "The being that walks these halls is not an angel. That is a plant golem disguised by illusion magic, as are the young illusionist and your apprentice. They are controlled by the plant track girl in glasses."

Lilith's eyes widened; "What!? They're fakes!?"

"Indeed. It appears the Owl Lady's bad influence extends to skipping school. Sadly, an angel's immunity to oracle magic renders them impossible to track with it… but their companions do not share that immunity." Belos said, leaning forward in his throne; "As your apprentice, Amity Blight, is also absent and being replaced by a replica, one can assume the two are together. Osran has used his powers to find and track the Blight girl; she is currently in the desert of the left palm, searching for ancient ruins known as Volcarpalis. You will go there, along with a detachment of scouts, and apprehend the young angel and bring her to me. Once the angel is free from your sister's clutches, I will capture Eda Clawthorne personally, and cure her affliction."

"Of course, my lord. I will not fail you." Lilith said, bowing once again.

"I know; because if you do, you will be stripped of your rank and banished from my coven. You do know what happens to covenless witches, don't you?" Belos said threateningly.

Lilith gulped; at best she'd be made to join a different coven (a humiliating prospect) but at worst… she'd be petrified. She nodded shakily; "I-I understand. I will bring you Luz by the end of the day. No matter what."

With that, Lilith turned and fled the throne room, and Osran left moments later, bowing to the Emperor as he went. Once they were gone, the Golden Guard stepped a bit closer to the Emperor; "My lord, if I may, why have we not gone to apprehend the angel sooner? We've known of her presence since the Conformatorium incident."

The Emperor chuckled; "Simple, my young friend; I wished to see how she would react to this world and the Titan's will. While she has resisted His call thanks to the Owl Lady, she has still proven quite helpful in bringing some order to the isles. The destruction of that disgusting Grometheus and the recapture of the escaped Greater Basilisk are major examples, and it was her presence that allowed us to find the Looking Glass Ruins and claim a Galdorstone. She moves to the Titan's will even if she doesn't know it. But things cannot be allowed to continue further than this."

Belos stood up and began walking out of his throne room, his two most loyal shadows following closely behind him; "Besides, now that the Owl Lady has had enough time to grow fond of her angelic apprentice, the young lady is now the perfect bait to draw her in. With patience, we can capture two birds with one cage."

The Golden Guard and Silver Sentinel exchanged silent looks as their Emperor chuckled to himself, already anticipating the arrival of the angel child. His true order would soon be realised!

[Meanwhile]

It had taken quite a while for Luz and her friends to finally reach the end of the long passage from the oasis entrance, but even long before they reached the end, they knew they were going in the right direction. When they'd first entered the passage, things had been relatively cool; they were out of the sun's baking heat and still refreshed from their brief dip in the oasis. However as the path slowly sloped downwards and they got closer to their destination, the heat was beginning to rise. In fact, by the time they reached the end, it was hotter than the desert, forcing all of them to use ice magic to keep themselves cool, and water magic to keep their canteens filled.

They were damp with sweat and melted ice when they stepped out of the long passage, and found themselves in an expansive underground cavern. The cavern was huge; easily big enough to contain all of Hexside, and it was well lit by veins of glowing hot magma that flowed like rivers through the pitch black, igneous rock and charred Titan bone. Pillars of rock dotted the cavern, some as thick as buildings and others as thin as twigs, and which had formed from portions of the cavern ceiling melting in the heat and drooping down. The whole place looked like the inside of a volcano… or a vision of hell.

"By the Titan, I thought the desert was hot! We'll actually cook down here!" Gus exclaimed, fanning himself with some of the wind magic he'd learned from the Blight Twins.

"I'm more surprised we can breathe. I'd have thought this place would have filled up with smoke or gas or something. Don't volcanic places usually have tons of stuff like that?" Luz asked, continuously flapping her wings gently to generate a light breeze.

"It's because of the Titan's bone marrow. It works kind of like plants, filtering harmful gasses into breathable air. It's a really useful purifying agent." Amity explained, stopping to pick up a chunk of the ground to show it to Luz. It was uncomfortably hot to the touch and blackened with soot, but when wiped clean, it was revealed to be pale and porous stone that smelled faintly sweet and smoky.

"Cool!" Luz grinned, putting the rock in her satchel as a souvenir, "Now where is that temple?"

"Just ahead, behind the largest melted pillar. On the far side of the cavern." Rasiel said, pointing in the right direction.

"Good! Let's hurry and get this over with!" King cried, his fur dyed white by the frost he'd covered himself with, "I'll pass out if I stay in this heat too long! Curse my adorably fluffy pelt!"

Luz, Amity, and Gus chuckled and began walking through the cavern. There was no clear path and the ground was hot, so they had to be careful as they moved through it (at one point, Luz even had to use her magic to cool a lava flow so they could all easily cross), but they made it around the large melted pillar and came face to face with the ruins of Volcarpalis.

The ruins looked similar to the Caplacier Ruins, having the same architecture. Big chunks of the temple's upper levels were made of conventional stone that had become weathered and melted over the years, but just as the lower levels of Caplacier had been made of indestructible blue stone, the lower levels of the Volcarpalis ruins were made of a similarly indestructible red stone, showing no signs of damage or degradation despite being underground for at least a couple of centuries. In fact, the red stone portions were covered in a glossy sheen, from where the sand that hand clung to it on the surface had melted into glass.

"Look at this place!" Amity gasped; "It's just like Caplacier! We might be the first people to find this place since Philip Wittebane!" she said excitedly. "The red stone portion must have originally been built underground, like the Ice Temple was, but now that it's sunken into this cavern, it's been exposed."

"Whoa… how do we get in though?" Gus asked, not seeing any kind of door way.

"The entrance is likely inside what was originally the surface part of the temple." Rasiel said, pointing to the partially melted ruins atop the red stone structure. He floated forward and pressed his hand against the red stone, finding that just like the blue stone at Caplacier, he couldn't get through it. "This temple is warded against spirits too, so I can't scout ahead either."

"Guess we're doing this the old fashioned way. Hold on a second." Luz said, flying up to the melted ruins. What would have been the front entrance was still open and unobstructed, allowing her to go inside and find little besides more warped stone and a lot of ash and soot. She flapped her wings to blow some of the soot away and found a sheet of some kind of glass blocking the entrance to the underground section, just like the sheet of ice that had guarded the entrance to the Ice Temple. Smiling, she looked back down to the others.

"I found the way in. Hold on a second." Luz replied, before using the plant glyph to make a long vine. Instantly, the vine caught fire in the heat, making Luz yelp and drop it. The others dodged out of the way and watched as the vine crumpled into ash. "Uh, okay… I guess plant magic won't work down here." Luz said, suddenly glad Willow hadn't come with them.

"Don't worry about it!" Amity called up to her, switching Ghost to her staff form and flying up to join her girlfriend, carrying Gus and King with her. Luz blushed, realising she'd forgotten Amity could do that, and Amity giggled and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks for trying, my Luz." Amity said, making Luz blush even brighter. The young angel misted herself with some icy vapour to cool herself down as Rasiel and the others took a look at the sheet of glass blocking the way into the temple proper.