"When are we leaving?" Ivy asked, with no further explanation needed.

  It was enough to remind Leox why she was his only true ally. After just having the dangers of leaving the city explained to them, Ivy was still prepared to follow Leox out into said danger. All she wanted to know was: when?

  "Honestly, as soon as possible," Leox responded, glancing around at his former allies, who were currently not paying attention to them. "I promise to explain everything once we leave, but for now, our biggest focus should be getting out of here."

  After all, he had no idea if or when Doctor Frost would show up, nor did he know the man's intentions. Part of him wanted to wait and question the man, but it was a risk he couldn't take. Besides, he assumed that someday their paths would cross and Leox would be forced to face him. But by then, he would be stronger. Their conversation would take place under his terms.

  "Then we should leave right now, whilst they're distracted... Are you sure you can just leave them, Leox? They were your friends, weren't they? Do you want to say goodbye?" Ivy asked these questions with care, but Leox only shook his head.

  He had not known them for long, nor had he learned much about them. He had fought with them against the Leviathan, and for that, Leox thought that he would always hold some sort of connection towards them. Especially Laughter, the Jester.

  Yet Leox would not call them true friends. A true friend was someone he could trust with the secrets of his life, without having to worry about potentially being betrayed.

  A real friend was Ivy.

  "No, I'll be fine. Come on, let's get out of here."

  Ivy took Leox's hand in hers and, using her skills, she shrouded the pair in darkness once again. Travelling with the shadows, they slipped through the crowd and eventually towards the exit.

  Leox shot one last glance back at his former allies, and a smile spread across his face.

  Under different circumstances, I wonder if we all could have been friends. True friends.

  Afterwards, the pair slipped out of the building, putting distance between themselves and the city palace.

  An hour earlier...

  As Astra travelled down the dark corridor that seemed to never change, he wondered whether the Hawkings Estate existed only to play with his mind. He had summoned the essence of Alfred's Star in his hand and had also swallowed the essence of Aristarch's Star, which granted him a variety of passive buffs.

  Yet it seemed he would have no need for the stars. Or at least, that's what he thought.

  After what felt like hours of pointless travelling, Astra finally spotted a change in the corridor. In the distance was a red light that glowed faintly, tainting the walls, floor, and ceiling with its colour. The closer he travelled towards the light, the calmer he felt. For some reason, it seemed the light was calling out to him. Harmlessly.

  Astra arrived at the source of the light. It was a dead end. There was no way for him to continue down the corridor, yet there was a swirling mass of red light, with darkness floating through it like ink.

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  The light felt impossible to describe accurately. It was the size of a large human and oval-shaped. Astra tried to look around it, but the light seemed to be fixed flat against the wall.

  "What is this? I've never seen anything like it."

  Astra focused on the light. As he did, he felt the calmness grow stronger. Why was it that the closer he was to it, the more connected he felt to the light? For an unknown reason, he felt the desire to reach out for it. To touch it.

  He did.

  His fingertips grazed the red and black that swirled impossibly amidst each other. Astra expected to feel a similar sensation to one who might touch water, but it wasn't. Instead, his hand merely disappeared into nothing. It was like it wasn't there anymore.

  He removed his hand and checked his fingertips. Other than feeling warmer than usual, they were perfectly fine. Next, he tested a hand, and then an arm. Once both returned to him completely unharmed, Astra stepped through. What struck him first was the soothing warmth.

  Next came the strong feeling that he had ended his own life.

  Astra emerged from the other side of the light and tripped face-first into white grass. He had dropped his trident in the process and swiftly pushed himself to his feet. Then, he looked around.

  Astra stood atop a small hill mottled with white grass. Behind him was a singular tree, dark as shadows. It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the constant red hue that covered this foreign land. Once they had, he noticed that the field of white grass stretched an impossible distance. Fog clouded the air, but in the far distance, he could see the outline of a castle greater than any he had seen before.

  "What is this..."

  His voice echoed through the silent air.

  He looked back in fear, wanting nothing to do with wherever he had turned up. However, there was no sign of the strange light that he had entered through. In other words, he was trapped here.

  "No, no, no..."

  For the first time in forever, Astra felt fear. The troubles in the Fourth World could be handled with skills, power, and might, but this did not feel like the Fourth World. Astra felt darkness lingering in the fog that was far beyond his understanding.

  In his panic, he looked up into the sky and found the source of the red hue. Far in the distance, there was a singular red light hanging above.

  A star?

  Astra tried his luck with the skill, Astral Insight. If the star was close enough for his rank to see and had been studied by an ancient Astrologer, he could access information stored on the star by his predecessors.

  His star-shaped pupils glowed as he focused on the star.

  He was able to access its information.

  [The Hell Star]

  [Documented by Alfred Helios]

  [If you are reading this, I urge you to stop. Turn back while you still can. The stars above our world were meant to be discovered by man. Despite what my colleagues claim, I still believe in the Allfather, and I believe the heavens are His design. The constellations that hang over our sky belong to us: the Astrologers. We are permitted to study them, to draw essence from them, to understand their patterns. If you bear that title, then you share in that blessing. But the Allfather did not grant us dominion over the stars that lie beneath our world. Hell is not empty. It is the domain of demons, and of the one who opposes Him. I will not write His name, as we know what befalls those who do. If you have found this document, then you have likely crossed the seas and seen the lands beyond our own. Even now, you may still return. I advise that you do so. I was not given that choice. My brother, who was my anchor to the Second World, swiftly severed our connection the moment I entered the portal. Whether out of fear or betrayal, I cannot say. The path home has been taken from me. I remain here against my will. Since I cannot escape, I will do what I have always done. I will observe. I will study. I will record. The Hell Star is the first of these discoveries. It is not like the stars above. Its light feels wrong. I am afraid to draw on its power, as I know not what it will do to my Overview once I try. If I uncover more stars, I will leave my findings within them, hidden in ways only an Astrologer would recognise. If you choose to continue deeper into this red land, you may find what I have found, or what I have failed to find. Still, I advise you to turn back. He is here, as are His demons, and if I had even the smallest chance to return home, I would abandon all of this without hesitation. Stay safe, Astrologer, and let the stars guide us.]

  Astra hadn't noticed, but tears now streamed down his face as he read the words inscribed into the star. The star that Alfred had called the Hell Star.

  "Hell," he whimpered in complete fear. "This cannot..."

  "..."

  "Father, mother... Please, save me."