Leon and Gaius sped through the spatial tunnel they appeared in, Leon not allowing them to stop for even a moment.  With Jormun’s attention on them, he didn’t want to give the pirate another opportunity to screw with the spatial tunnel like he did last time.

It seemed like Leon’s caution paid off immediately, for as they sprinted down the tunnel, a burning light appeared behind them, causing Gaius to stumble as he cried out in pain—had they been any slower and not put so much of the tunnel behind them, it might’ve been a lot worse.  Leon was likewise uncomfortable, but being so much stronger, he barely even missed a step as he grabbed Gaius and kept him on his feet and moving toward the other side of the tunnel.

It took a long run to get to the other side, but fortunately, they made it fairly quickly; Leon didn’t even have to resort to destroying this spatial tunnel before they reached the end, though he was at the point of channeling his lightning magic in preparation by then.

Upon reaching the tunnel’s end, there was a great flash of light, and Leon and Gaius found themselves standing in a clearing surrounded by dense, utterly wild forest.  It seemed like a completely primeval forest with no signs of human civilization anywhere near their location, an impression that was soon confirmed when Leon immediately projected his magic senses and saw nothing but forest.

Leon took a long, calming breath as Gaius collapsed next to him, shivering.

“Ugghh,” Gaius groaned.

“You all right?” Leon asked as he knelt down next to his companion, preparing to conjure a few healing spells if Gaius needed them.

“Yeah,” Gaius responded.  The blond nobleman took a deep breath, adjusted his hair, and then stood up, his face still wearing a slightly pained expression, but one that was nearly completely obscured by determination and grit.  “So, that was Jormun…”

“Yeah,” Leon replied.  Gaius had met Jormun before, but only while the pirate was in the guise of Turiel.

“Have to admit… not what I was expecting…”

“Yeah,” Leon repeated.  “Bit of a chatty fellow, isn’t he?”

“Eh, chatty isn’t surprising.  I was just expecting more threats and cursing.  Not offering information and being kind of pleasant…”

Leon frowned and warned, “Don’t let that impression go to your head.  Remember that this is a man that strung up children for some blood ritual.  Or maybe just to scare us, who can really say; but he still tortured thousands to death.”

“I got it,” Gaius said, but Leon wasn’t quite done with his warning.

“Jormun was talking to me a lot before I found you.  He seemed to switch at random between trying to cajole me to his side, and flying into a murderous rage whenever I refused.  Don’t trust what he says, and most definitely don’t take his current amiability at face value.  The man’s just trying to screw with our heads.”

Gaius nodded, and Leon let the matter rest.

Throughout that quick exchange, Leon had kept his magic senses projected and he’d been examining the surrounding terrain in as much detail as he could on such a short time frame.  He needed to find Maia; he was keeping himself calm and trying not to descend into an anxiety-fueled frenzy, but he needed to find her to put his mind at ease.

But, at least initially, there were absolutely no signs of where to go.  This was just empty forest as far as he could see, and while he certainly appreciated the change in terrain, it did little to immediately aid him in realizing where he needed to go to find his river nymph lover.  Not even the connection he and Maia shared was of any help in this constructed world.

And then it all clicked in his head.  There was a deep ravine a few miles to the south, and a familiar pond not too far to the north that he knew was much deeper than it seemed.  Leon knew this forest; he’d spent days running around through the trees, sleeping in hidden nooks and crannies, avoiding Talfar hunters that had been sent to find him and kill him.  He was in the same forest he’d run into for cover after leaping down from the walls of the Bull’s Horns during Talfar’s first assault a few years ago—it was in the course of escaping the Talfar hunters that had discovered him after he’d infiltrated their camp that he’d fallen into that ravine and down into the river below, been taken captive by a river nymph, and first brought to Maia.

A deeply bitter smile began to creep across Leon’s face as he started to recognize his surroundings.  The events surrounding his meeting with Maia were not what he would call good memories; they weren’t bad memories, either, per se, but it had still been a harrowing experience.  He could look back on all of it fondly, especially since it all worked out in the end, but during those events, he’d gone off on his own to do serious damage to the Talfar army, been chased into the woods, beaten into unconsciousness by a river nymph, nearly raped by another river nymph, and spent days under the constant threat of capture and death.  Fun, exhilarating, harrowing, and terrifying were all words that Leon could use to describe those days, and which one came first depended largely on his mood.

“I know where we need to go…” Leon said as he steered Gaius toward the south.  He wanted them to get moving quickly so that they could find Maia, deal with whatever this trial world was throwing at her, and escape as quickly as they could, but there didn’t appear to be anyone out in the woods, so Leon took the opportunity to let both him and Gaius mentally rest a bit as they made their way toward the ravine.  Neither of them had had a good time in Gaius’ trial world, and while neither were exactly breaking down, Leon was a little worried about what might happen once they no longer had something to focus on.  Jormun and these trials were taking the center spot in both of their minds, but once—or if—they got out of this temple, they’d have to process everything that happened, and having at least a bit of time to get a bit of a head start on that couldn’t hurt.  Leon even thought it would be more immediately beneficial since it might help to compartmentalize before the next burst of violence broke out.

They didn’t move particularly quietly.  Leon wasn’t sure if Jormun could hear them, but he didn’t much care, either; he told Gaius everything that he thought relevant about the forest and his time in it.  He went very light on the details with how his and Maia’s meeting went, but other than that, by the time they arrived at the top of the ravine and could look down into the raging river below, Gaius had been reasonably caught up to Leon’s knowledge of where they were and what may be awaiting them down in the waters below.

Leon hadn’t brought them to the place where he’d jumped down in the outside world.  He’d broken both of his legs when he did that, and given that Gaius was still weaker than Leon had been at that time, Leon had opted to take them on a slightly longer route to a point further down the river where the cliffs weren’t quite so high.  Gaius should be fine if jumping from that height, if Leon’s estimate about his durability was accurate…

“And we’re going to jump down there?” Gaius hesitantly asked as they stared down at the river below.

“Yes,” Leon replied.  He supposed he could’ve brought them to the pond where Maia had left him following their meeting way back then, but she’d led him through a maze of underwater caves to reach that pond from her lake, and he had no idea how to make his way back through there.  This was, at the very least, they might have the opportunity to grab another river nymph and get Maia’s location from her.

Maybe.  It was the best plan that Leon had right now, and it wasn’t stirring up a great deal of confidence within him, but he was determined to press on until he found Maia.

Making matter just that much worse, he was a little concerned about bringing Gaius along—he didn’t want the nobleman to be privy to whatever secrets and insecurities that this trial world might draw from Maia—but he was even more concerned with the practical risks of leaving Gaius behind.  What if Jormun managed to find them while they were separated?  What if the pirate were to activate defenses that Gaius was unable to deal with on his own?  Jormun had already demonstrated a willingness to break the trial worlds to try and kill him, he couldn’t imagine that the pirate would balk at killing Gaius if given the opportunity.

No, it was just safer to bring Gaius with him, and to try and protect Maia’s dignity as best as he could in other ways.  And that was assuming it needed protecting on his part, too, he couldn’t even be sure that she was as indisposed as Gaius was during his trial.

“Be on your guard,” Leon said as he took a moment to psyche himself up for the plunge into the river, “who knows what this place may have conjured from her mind.  At the very least, we’re going to have to find our way through some underwater caves…”

“Oh… shit,” Gaius whispered, though when Leon glanced at him, he saw not fear and wavering certainty, but determination.  Gaius was only fourth-tier, but he was solid, he was ready for this.  Leon couldn’t help but smile, but he prepared his helmet, just in case.  The enchantments it bore would help them both breathe underwater if the need for it arose.  Gaius was in more need of it, but he was still powerful enough to last underwater a terrifically long time without needing air.

“Well, no use putting this off for too long,” Leon said, and without any more thought, he leaped from the cliff.

He heard Gaius shout from behind, but with his magic senses, he saw Gaius jump only a couple seconds after him, the nobleman’s determined demeanor cracking slightly as gravity sank its unforgiving claws into him and dragged him down a couple hundred feet toward the river below.

It was an exciting fall.  The last time Leon had made it, he’d been chased by a Talfar chariot commander who’d been a tier stronger than him, so he hadn’t been all that able to enjoy the descent.  But now, a smile couldn’t help but bloom on his face despite all that was happening.

That smile vanished as Leon hit the water.  He sank deep into the river, all the air practically exploding out of his lungs as he was swept downstream, the force of the river twisting and throwing him until his sense of balance and direction went all out of whack.  But Leon forced himself to remain calm and to go with the flow until he could project his magic senses.  His lungs burned and his skin stung from the impact with the water, but he was fine and on course.  He could see behind that Gaius wasn’t nearly so comfortable after his impact, but at the very least, he seemed reasonably intact.

Leon then turned his attention to the water around them.  If any hostile river nymphs were going to attack them, he needed to be ready.

But he didn’t see any threats—not of the nymph variety, at the very least, but there were quite a few sharp rocks in the deep and fast-flowing river that Leon was a little concerned about.  However, as he kicked toward Gaius and helped the nobleman swim up to the surface and suck down some air, he noticed half a dozen river nymphs appear behind them and follow them as they were swept downriver.  They were as nude as nymphs typically were, and they were staring with great interest at Leon and Gaius as they floated in the water, but Leon could detect no killing intent in their gazes.

“There’s a big rock coming up!” Leon shouted to Gaius, barely able to make his voice heard over the roaring rapids.  “Grab onto it!”

Gaius sputtered as he struggled to keep his head above water, but he did as Leon ordered, and the two managed to arrest their journey down the river by grabbing onto a jagged rock that jutted out of the water like the fin of a massive shark.

“What’s going on?” Gaius loudly inquired as they hung onto the rock.  “Did you see the caves when you were underneath?”

“No, but there’s something else here!” Leon shouted back, his attention still on the nymphs.  One of them—the strongest of the bunch, by the look of her aura—had broken away from the group and was traveling down the river towards them.  Leon didn’t think she was too big of a threat given that she was possessed of only roughly fifth-tier power, but he summoned his lightning and let it fill his body, just in case.

He needn’t have worried, though.  The river nymph never made any hostile movements, and after establishing her peaceful intentions with hand gestures, she eventually helped Leon and Gaius find the cave they were looking for—not that interpreting those intentions were easy since this river nymph wasn’t an exception to the rule that river nymphs were generally less intelligent than humans, save for those like Maia who ruled over them.  Leon kept his guard up the entire time, so he was genuinely surprised—though only mildly so—to find that, after swimming for a while through some dark underwater caves, the river nymph had led them right to Maia’s grotto that she’d lived in for decades before Leon was first brought to her.

But just because there was a river nymph with them leading the way and using her water magic to help them swim, that didn’t mean that it was an easy journey.  It was dark and cold in those submerged caves, and Leon on more than one occasion felt extremely claustrophobic.  By the time he and Gaius hauled their miserable asses out onto the rocky beach on Maia’s island in the middle of the underground lake, both were mentally exhausted even though their bodies were still relatively flush with magic power.

Their river nymph guide made herself scarce at this point, though Leon was more comforted by that than anything.  It meant there was one less element that he had to worry about.

“What… what now?” Gaius asked, leaving the decision up to Leon.

Leon quickly projected his magic senses over the island.  Maia was here, he could sense her proximity, though not her direction.  However, that thrill that he was getting closer to his river nymph lover was immediately and ruthlessly crushed once he got a better idea of what—or rather who the trial world had chosen to manifest this time.

“Stay here,” he growled to Gaius, any concerns about leaving him alone when Jormun hadn’t revealed himself yet vanishing as a cloud of affronted anger descended over Leon’s mind.

It seemed that Gaius must’ve sensed that, for he paled and sat down on a nearby rock, nodding to Leon as the latter started walking further into the island.

The place was exactly as Leon remembered: the ceiling of the immense grotto was covered in glowing crystals and mushrooms, while the interior of the island was covered in rather out-of-place trees with glowing leaves that shed just enough light for a mortal to have been able to find their way around with little issue.

It was a dark, serene, and staggeringly beautiful place, but its beauty was utterly lost on Leon.  He paid no attention at all to it, and only grew angrier and more offended with every step he took.

First was Artorias during Gaius’ trial, and that was bad enough that Leon was already contemplating trying to find a way to annihilate this temple if he could.  Then, the trial world conjured an image of Valeria putting her hands on a grotesquely obese Octavius, and Leon only grew even more angry, the primitive animal within him demanding that someone shed blood for such an affront.  And now, as he passed by dozens of trees and laid eyes upon his destination with his golden eyes, he saw the latest profanity that this temple’s trial worlds saw fit to spew forth.

He saw a woman standing before Maia’s pond in the center of the clearing, which was itself in the center of Maia’s island.  This woman’s long red hair spilled down her back like liquid fire, her hands were clasped behind her alluring figure, her delightful curves framed perfectly by the glow emanating from the pond as if she were deliberately standing in such a way as to enflame Leon’s desire.

If that was the case, it wasn’t working, and when this profaned image of Elise turned around and gave Leon an enchanting smile, he found himself nearly overcome with the powerful urge to cut this shade down.  The only thing that prevented it was a natural aversion to attacking the image of his fire-haired lover.  As heretical as he found this to be, not even his towering rage was enough for him to draw his weapon against Elise’s image.

“Ah, husband, you’re here,” the shade said in Elise’s sonorous voice.

Leon couldn’t deny that there was a big part of him that was utterly delighted to hear it; it had been almost two months since he’d seen or heard her, and while he did his best not to think about it—and having Jormun around as a distraction was, in this one regard, almost a boon—it still greatly pained him to be apart from his fiancée.

“Is she here?” Leon demanded, unable to just ignore this conjured image of Elise no matter how hard he tried.

“Of course she is,” the shade replied, the smile she wore—which would’ve brought nothing but joy to Leon’s heart if he saw it on the real Elise’s face—bringing him instead nothing but pain and the urge to either blast her with lightning or vomit.  Or both.  “She’s a little different now, though, husband.”

“What do you mean?” Leon inquired as he probed the pond’s shallow depths for any sign of Maia.  Even though he was here, making no secret of his presence, constantly probing their connection for a response, Maia wasn’t revealing herself.

“Oh, I think you’ll see soon enough…” the shade of Elise cryptically replied.  “Oh, my dear Naiad, why won’t you come out and show yourself off?  I’m sure Leon would love to see how ugly you truly are!”

In a display of magic that the real Elise wasn’t yet capable of, the shade lifted one of her hands in a dramatic flourish toward the ceiling of the grotto, and the water in the pond vibrated like it was resonating with a tremendous earthquake.  A moment later, it erupted into the air like water from a steam geyser, enshrouding the clearing in thick mist.

Almost immediately, Leon heard the sound of weeping, and it was such a heartbreaking sound that almost all of his righteous anger died.  It felt like his heart was snapping in half, and he stumbled forward, so distracted that he could do little more than instinctually move toward the sound, blinded by the mist.  He was so taken by the sound of that weeping that he didn’t even project his magic senses again—the very prospect of finding the source of that weeping bringing him almost as much terror as he’d felt upon seeing the shade of Artorias for the first time.

Only a couple seconds later, Leon saw her as he drew close.  With his advance and the mist rapidly clearing, Maia was revealed, and Leon’s anger came roaring back.

He saw Maia in the pit left behind by the pond, now absent water.  She was as naked as the day they’d met, though her attitude was about as different as it could possibly be.  Instead of the calm and confident woman she usually was, she lay in the pit, her hands doing little more than covering her face as she curled up into herself.

Leon’s eyes slowly traveled down her body, tracing the familiar lines of her fit and well-endowed figure, until they reached her hips, where they were greeted not with more of Maia’s bronze skin, but with deep green scales.

Where Maia’s legs once were, was now a long, thick serpent’s tail.  The trial world had turned her into a Gorgon.

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