The underground shelter beneath the buried Lighthouse had grown so calm by the time Sebastian returned.
Faelorn sat against the frozen wall with his head lowered, one hand pressed against his face while the pale light of Sebastian's flames danced across the elf's tired features. Lune remained beside Yarvik, carefully adjusting the cloth wrapped around the dwarf's severed arm while trying not to look at the wound itself for too long.
The moment they heard approaching footsteps, both elves looked up sharply.
Sebastian emerged from the corridor alone, silver sword back in its sheath, frost and powdered stone still clinging to parts of his armor.
And despite the fatigue in his eyes, he looked satisfied.
"I found it," he said simply.
The reaction was immediate.
Faelorn actually closed his eyes in relief.
"Thank the gods for that," he breathed.
Lune exhaled shakily, some of the fear leaving her shoulders at last.
Sebastian stepped toward Yarvik and crouched beside the unconscious dwarf.
"He's still alive right?"
"Aye," Faelorn answered quietly. "Stubborn bastard's too angry to die."
"Good." Sebastian muttered.
Then without ceremony he carefully lifted the dwarf onto his back, adjusting the weight.
"Come on," he said. "The portal isn't far."
They moved immediately.
Sebastian led the way through the frozen underground corridors while his flames illuminated the path around them, their orange glow fighting back the unnatural blue-white frost covering the entire place. The deeper they went, the colder the air became despite Sebastian's heat.
Then eventually the corridor opened, and the chamber revealed itself.
Lune stopped first, Faelorn right behind her, and both stared silently at the center of the room.
The ice elemental lay there in pieces, or rather what remained of it.
Massive chunks of frozen stone and shattered permafrost littered the chamber floor. Deep sword marks carved through its body. Cracks from Aard impacts still visible across the broken construct.
And beyond it, the active portal swirled quietly against the far wall.
Faelorn slowly looked from the dead construct… to Sebastian.
"You fought that?!"
Sebastian adjusted Yarvik slightly on his shoulder.
"Yeah."
Faelorn blinked again at the sheer size of the destroyed creature.
"I swear I've heard tremors when you left... So that thing was guarding this place?"
Sebastian nodded once.
"Which means whatever this portal leads to…" his eyes shifted toward the swirling light, "it matters to the mage."
Lune stared uneasily at the active gateway.
"At least it's already open," she said. "We don't need to search for crystals or solve ancient riddles this time."
"Wonderful," Faelorn muttered dryly. "A portal. Exactly what I wanted to see again."
His expression darkened slightly as he stared at it.
"How can we make sure this thing takes us somewhere safe and not another damned frozen graveyard?"
Sebastian didn't answer because the truth was simple.
They couldn't.
"There's no guarantee," he admitted at last. "But we don't really have a choice anymore."
Faelorn cursed quietly under his breath in Elder Speech.
"What worries me," the elf continued, "is our people. Even if we survive this… there's clearly no path back to those ruin now."
Sebastian looked at the portal thoughtfully.
"If I'm right," he said slowly, "these portals are the work of a very powerful mage. And I mean very powerful."
Faelorn folded his arms.
"You keep saying that."
"Because it matters," Sebastian replied. "This mage built a stable gateway directly into a dead world consumed by the White Frost. That's not normal magic. Most mages don't even fully understand what the White Frost truly is."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Whoever created this place knew things most sorcerers would call impossible."
Lune looked toward the swirling gateway again.
"You think there's a way back?"
"I do."
Faelorn frowned. "Why?"
"Because nobody builds a network of portals without exits," Sebastian answered calmly. "Especially not someone careful enough to hide them beneath illusions and ancient ruins."
He looked toward the active gateway.
"There's a path back to the laboratory. We just haven't found it yet."
Faelorn stared at the portal for another long moment.
Then sighed heavily.
"This time," he said firmly, "we enter first."
That finally earned a smile from Sebastian.
"Of course," the witcher said. "I'll be right behind you."
Lune stepped toward the portal first beside Faelorn. The swirling light illuminated both elves in pale blue.
Faelorn looked over one shoulder.
"If this sends us into another frozen apocalypse…"
Sebastian smirked faintly.
"I'll apologize."
"That would honestly make it worse."
Then the two elves stepped through.
Sebastian adjusted Yarvik's unconscious form one final time before following them into the portal himself.
The transition lasted only seconds.
Then solid ground returned beneath his boots, Sebastian stepped out into another chamber.
But immediately, something felt different.
The room surrounding them was ancient and ruined, yes, but not frozen like the last one. Cracked elven pillars leaned crookedly against the walls. Moss grew between sections of broken stone. Water dripped steadily somewhere deeper within the structure.
And beside the portal they had emerged from, stood another portal frame.
Active as well.
Faelorn stared at it with absolute disbelief.
"Oh, fucking great.." he said flatly. "Another fucking ruin. Another fucking portal!"
He rubbed both hands down his face.
"I am sick of portals."
Lune looked around uneasily at the chamber.
"We should've stayed and fought the Redanians... and out of that forest with force instead of.."
"Wait."
Sebastian's voice cut through the room sharply.
The others turned toward him, the witcher had gone still.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he listened to something beyond normal hearing.
Then realization crossed his face.
"…We're back."
Faelorn frowned immediately.
"Back? Back to what?"
Sebastian slowly turned his head toward the distant darkness beyond the chamber.
"The ruins."
Lune blinked. "What?"
"This is another section of the same ancient elven city," Sebastian explained quietly.
Faelorn looked around the chamber again in disbelief.
"How can you possibly tell?"
Sebastian's medallion trembled faintly against his chest while he listened.
"Water."
The others stayed silent.
"I'm hearing the same water droplets," Sebastian said. "Same echo. Same rhythm. I heard them inside the mage laboratory."
His eyes moved toward the corridor leading deeper into the darkness.
"Which means we're not far from it."
Faelorn stared at him for several long seconds.
Then slowly shook his head.
"I genuinely hate your senses."
Lune fell quiet again after Sebastian's explanation.
Sebastian stood still for a moment between the two portals, eyes narrowed slightly.
Then suddenly,
"I think it's..."
Faelorn looked at him. "What now?"
Sebastian slowly lowered Yarvik from his shoulder and carefully rested the unconscious dwarf against the wall. Yarvik groaned faintly but didn't wake.
Lune immediately crouched beside him, adjusting the blanket wrapped around his shoulders.
Meanwhile Sebastian stepped toward the stone wall beside the portals.
Without another word, he pressed one hand against the ancient rock…
…and leaned his head against it.
Faelorn blinked.
"…What exactly are you doing?"
Sebastian ignored him.
The witcher closed his eyes completely, listening.
The chamber remained still except for the soft crackling flames dancing faintly across his shoulders. Seconds passed. Then more.
Faelorn exchanged a confused look with Lune.
Then Sebastian's eyes suddenly opened.
"…No way."
Faelorn straightened immediately. "What did you find?"
A faint grin appeared on Sebastian's face.
"You'll see."
He took two slow steps backward and raised one hand.
AARD.
The Sign detonated forward like a battering ram.
The wall exploded inward.
Stone shattered apart in a thunderous blast as ancient rubble and dust erupted through the chamber. Cracks spiderwebbed across the remaining walls while chunks of broken rock rolled across the floor.
Lune instinctively shielded Yarvik from the debris.
Faelorn coughed, waving dust away from his face.
Then the smoke began to settle.
And all three of them froze, because beyond the destroyed wall,
stood the mage laboratory.
The same shelves, the same shattered alchemical equipment, the same glowing residue from the activated portal.
Faelorn stared at it in utter disbelief.
"…No fucking way."
Lune slowly rose to her feet, eyes wide as she looked between the ruined wall and the laboratory they had entered before.
"All this time…" she muttered. "The portals were right next to the laboratory…"
Sebastian lowered his hand slowly.
"They weren't active before," he explained. "Otherwise I would've sensed them immediately. They activated only after we used the first one inside the lab."
Faelorn rubbed both hands over his face.
"I swear this entire place was built by a lunatic."
"That," Sebastian replied calmly, "is usually how mages operate."
Faelorn shot him a tired glare.
"I'm serious, Seb. If I ever meet this mage, I'm going to gut him."
Sebastian smiled at that, and he simply turned toward the second portal, beside the White Frost portal.
It glowed faintly, stable and active.
Lune noticed immediately.
"Wait," she said sharply. "Sebastian!"
But he was already walking.
Faelorn blinked. "Where are you going?"
Sebastian didn't even turn around.
"To check where it leads."
And before either of them could stop him,
He stepped through the portal.
The chamber immediately felt emptier without him.
Lune stared at the swirling gateway with visible anxiety.
"This is reckless.."
Faelorn folded his arms slowly.
"Yeah," he muttered. "He'll be fine."
Time passed strangely after that, five minutes passed.
Lune was beginning to genuinely worry when the portal suddenly rippled again.
Sebastian stepped back through, completely unharmed.
Faelorn immediately pushed off the wall. "Well?"
Sebastian brushed dust from one shoulder casually.
"Good news."
Lune exhaled sharply in relief.
Sebastian continued.
"I didn't arrive in the middle of the White Frost this time."
Faelorn frowned. "Then where?"
Sebastian's expression turned slightly stranger.
"…Somewhere weird."
"That tells me absolutely nothing."
Sebastian nodded toward the portal behind him.
"It leads into the cellar of an abandoned house. Middle of nowhere. Swamp nearby, rotten woods and wet air, but no frost."
He paused briefly.
"I'd bet coin it's somewhere in Temeria."
For the first time since entering the ruins, genuine relief crossed Faelorn's face.
"Brilliant!"
He immediately turned toward the corridor leading back to where they came from.
"I'll get the others here."
Sebastian nodded once.
"I'll come with you."
Faelorn looked back. "You don't need to..."
"Yes, I do," Sebastian interrupted calmly. "You've seen what lives in this place. Wraiths, traps, portals leading to dead worlds…" He glanced toward the dark corridors beyond the laboratory. "You might run into more trouble."
Faelorn stared at him for a moment.
Then slowly nodded.
"…Yeah. That'd be for the best."
Lune looked down toward the still-unconscious Yarvik before glancing back at them.
"I'll stay here," she said quietly. "Someone needs to watch over him."
Sebastian looked at the dwarf for a moment before nodding.
"Don't touch anything else in this room."
Lune gave him an unimpressed look.
"You say that as if any of us still wants to touch anything in this cursed place."
That finally earned a small laugh from Faelorn.
Sebastian adjusted the swords on his back, and turned toward the dark corridors once more.
/-\
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