Bad Tidings

"E-ended up in hell?... Fine." Saya mutters, not sure if he was being literal in his use of literally, but people did literally use literally in the wrong context... Literally?

Saya shakes her head at the stupid thoughts manifesting, "Your girlfriend here took charge of an expedition into Saarthal after Tolfdir and the Arch-Mage decided to look into it once it'd been dug up."

...

"And...?" Michael asks, knowing that shit would've hit the fan if they'd found the Eye.

"And what? You never told us what was actually inside there. Tolfdir has almost been living there yet he hasn't found anything of interest, aside from a few jars with historical significance, or at least, that's what he says." Saya shrugs.

Michael lets out a breath, "Thank fuck for that... Did you guys find anything while you were down there?... Any... Jewelry?" he inquires, knowing that a certain amulet was the key to progress further into the ruins.

Megumin shrugs her shoulders, "Just some rings... Ah, didn't you find a necklace?" she asks, looking to Tiffania who nods.

"I did. It was hanging on a trapped wall, I got it out with some elemental manipulation. It's hidden in my room in the College."

"Good. Alright, we at least that didn't go wrong... Anyway, I guess it's time to talk about what I've been doing..." he pauses as everyone leans forward in attention. "Might as well get the worst of it behind us... Charlotte killed me." he states, causing everyone's eyes to widen.

"W-what!?" Maria exclaims while everyone else has similar reactions.

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It takes a while for everyone to calm down, but Michael eventually manages to explain the events that'd occurred. From Hircine forcing him into the Hunt, to his death at Charlotte's hands, to his rebirth in Dagon's realm, and finally to his escape.

The girls were all in disbelief at this, and only Tiffania initially believed him she too had died and been reborn due to Michael and her mother's ring.

Maria was in tears after hearing about her daughter and her actions in the Hunt. She'd left the room not long through the explanation, wanting some time alone to process everything.

"Sorry, but none of this explains what happened to your appearance..." Saya says, gesturing to his physical changes.

"Well, I may or may not have gotten some help from a dragon..." he trails off, unsure how to explain it all without revealing the whole truth of the Book of Demigods.

Surprisingly, they aren't too surprised by this. "Oh, another dragon?" Megumin says.

"Yeah-no... Wait what?" he asks, confused at her words.

"Ah, you haven't heard about it yet, have you? The people in Rorikstead all claim to have seen a dragon fly overhead. A big black one that flew from the peak of the Throat of the World."

...

...

"You... You sure it wasn't just Illococoo or something." he pauses, "Has anyone received word from Helgen?"

Illococoo pouts, "I've been good! I haven't flown around in so long!"

"And no, there's been nothing from or about Helgen." Saya states.

Michael nods, now knowing that not everyone is aware of the dragon's return yet. Alduin flying around means that Helgen was destroyed however... And that the Dragonborn was now in Skyrim... "Wait, why are there stone towers being built around the place?" he asks, if the dragons were still just rumoured then why build them?

"Jarl Korir is standing with Ulfric, and now that Torygg is dead the Empire is coming with full force... Winterhold needed 'some' defence." Saya says.

"Huh, alright." he taps the table a couple of times in thought, "It's getting late, you guys go get some sleep. I'll go deal with Saarthal in the morning." he says, prompting them all to leave, Illococoo headed for where Maria should be.

When it was only Tiffania and Michael left, the elf looks him over, "Are you going to be okay? I know you left some things out about your time in Oblivion..."

"I'm fine. Let me just get some proper sleep and I'll be as good as new." he says, having not mentioned the fact that he'd been tortured to death a hundred or so times.

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The next day Michael was up early, retrieving the Saarthal amulet from Tiffania and heading directly for the ruins, intent on recovering the eye and completing his Spire.

Utilising Cloak and Dagger to max efficiency, he invisibly slinks through the ruins until he finds the caged off area where the necklace would usually reside. He Blinks through the bars, puts on the necklace, and blasts the now glowing wall apart, revealing a path to the eye.

He steps into the room when everything around the place feezes, a ghostly person appearing at the side of the room. "Stranger, you have..." the robed ghost trails off, unable to see anyone... "Er, hello?"

...

Michael silently snickers at the confused Psijic Monk, apparently bypassing space and time was easy in the face of finding one invisible guy... The monk continues to dumbly stand around, occasionally asking if anyone was there until his spell ended, causing him to disappear.

With that issue sorted, Michael blasts a nearby coffin open, revealing a hidden entrance. "Time to grab me an eye."

After killing many Draugr, frostbite spiders, and even more Draugr, Michael eventually makes it to a large hall with the magically glowing Eye of Magnus in the centre of it, brilliantly glowing with the sparkling blue of intense ambient magicka. Before that however, he needed to deal with the large, incredibly pissed off-looking Draugr who was now staring straight at him...

"A shame you guys lack souls, I bet you'd have made a good meal..." he says semi-jokingly before being forced to dodge the undead's Thu'um and arsenal of Destruction magic.

What ensued couldn't really be called a 'fight', even if the Draugr was completely immune and unkillable due to the protection of the eye, a single blast from the Staff of Magnus turned it inside out before it crumbled to dust.

Michael blows the end of the staff as if he was in an old western. "Now that's what I call a 'Staph invection'... No, that's crap... Now that's what I call my 'Magnus-Opus!'... Ugh, I fucked this up."