“Fukai! What’s the matter?!” Ramsey shouts as he runs up beside me. “Why did you st…” Ramsey looks down where the battle of the beasts took place. “Damn it. We need to hurry.”

“Yeah… I…” The words I want to say are stuck in my throat. I bite down on my lip in frustration.

“You don’t have to say it,” Ramsey regards me with a deep seriousness, “I know.”

“Guys, wait up!” Anaea shouts from behind.

“I’m sure it’s nothing good,” Maka says morosely.

“Hmm…” Cinder responds noncommittally as he’s focused on the book he brought along instead of the conversation.

“Let’s go,” Gwyn prompts the other three to continue following Ramsey and I to the top of the hill.

As we stand there, all of us overlooking the jungle below from on top of this hill, the reality of this all finally sinks in. The ashen jungle is spreading faster than we could’ve anticipated; consuming all living things that dare to step foot in its domain. Cinder, Gwyn, and Anaea are astonished by what they are witnessing.

“I can’t believe the magnitude of this,” Gwyn says while surveying the land.

“Told you so,” Maka replies fatalistically.

“Yeah, but… It’s just so unreal,” Anaea whispers while taking it all in.

“Well, it’s real…” I begin to make my way down, determined to keep my promise and restore our land. “And we need to stop it before things get any worse.”

Gwyn follows closely behind me. “Young Fukai is right. We mustn’t linger for too long.” Gwyn observes the ashen jungle. “It’s hard to say what ramifications might come if this is left unchecked.”

Maka glances at Gwyn as even more worry worms its way into him. “Ummm… ramifications… that sounds dangerous,” Maka quails while walking away. “I’m sure you guys don’t need me, right? I mean, I’ll only get in your way.”

“Are you worried, Maka?” Cinder looks down at Maka.

“Oh… well, it’s only natural to not want to head towards danger,” Maka replies.

“Oh. Right. You don’t have-” Cinder begins.

“Look, Maka, you don’t have to go with us,” Ramsey interrupts from his position behind Maka, his eyes closed. Cinder just shrugs and intertwines his fingers, holding his hands in an x in front of himself.

“Really?” Maka perks up with excitement. “Alright! I guess I’ll see you-”

“Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!” I say, having turned around and run back up to Maka. “Maka, buddy, what are you talking about? You’re not dead weight.”

“Dead weight? Nobody said anything about dead w-” Maka starts to quietly refute.

“Look here, Maka!” I tell him as I put my arm around his shoulder. “Ramsey is what you would call a hater.”

“A hater?” Maka reiterates, confused.

“Yeah?” Ramsey demands, irritation tingeing his voice.

“Yep, a hater! And this hater doubts your abilities,” I announce while smiling.

“I don’t mind if-” Maka tries to input.

“…and next thing you know, you’re getting benched!” I look at Maka with excitement. “And I know about your adventurous side. You don’t want that!”

Ramsey looks at me and shakes his head, then soon looks away. “Idiot.”

“Ummm… I don’t mind getting benched,” Maka squeaks, nodding.

I walk away from Maka with a pep in my step. “Trust me, Maka, once you get benched, you’re always benched!” I turn around, walking backwards as I look Maka in the eyes with excitement. “But just think of the possibilities! Endless adventures! Epic battles! And-”

“Shut up, Fukai.” I run into Ramsey’s arm, barring me from proceeding. “Look.”

I turn back around and notice we’re on the edge of the ashen jungle with the body of every living thing it has consumed pulsing like a heartbeat. It makes my stomach turn. “Should we go this way?”

“Hmmm…” Gwyn picks a small branch off the ground and walks over to the edge, then tosses it across the line into the ashen jungle. The ash quickly consumes the branch, like an all consuming invisible fire. “Like I thought.”

“That’s not good.” Ramsey looks at Gwyn. “Do we even know where it is that we’re going?”

“Cinder, are you ready?” Gwyn looks over his shoulder at Cinder who is behind him.

“I almost have it,” Cinder says while studying his book.

I look over at Cinder, a little curious as to what he’s reading. “Yo! Professor, what’s Cinder reading?”

“It’s an ancient book of our people’s history with the Temple of Ember.” Gwyn looks at me and smiles. “And Cinder and I are hoping it will tell us the location of it.”

Ramsey walks up beside Gwyn, looking far off in the distance. “And why is The Temple of Ember so important to what’s happening here?”

“It may hold the key to saving the jungle,” Gwyn looks at Ramsey with a smile, “if my calculations are correct. Though, only time will tell.”

“Master, I think this is it.” Cinder looks at Gwyn while adjusting his glasses. “The location of the Temple of Ember.” Cinder closes the book and smirks, self-assuredly. “Follow me.”

As we continue deeper into the jungle, boredom is tickling the back of my mind so I reach into my bag. “Alright, here it is!” I say as I pull out and play with the mechanical orb, tossing it up and down. “Are we there y-?”

“Where the hell did you get that from?” Ramsey demands, his voice catching the others’ attention and casting suspicion on me. A spark enters Gwyn’s eyes and he curls his fingers into his palm twice to Cinder, who hands him the book.

“What? This?” I point at the orb. “Oh, you know how I am always thinking ahead…” I look over at Maka with a smug expression on my face, “being the,” I snick with my tongue and shrug, “genius-that-I-am.”

“…” Ramsey, flabbergasted, remains silent.

Gwyn, uninterested in our tête-à-tête, is feverishly scanning the book of our ancestors.

“Umm… I hope fixing the problem doesn’t take too long, ‘cause I’m starting to get a baaad feeling,” Maka relays with his hands in front of his chest, turning his whole body as he looks around skittishly.

“Are you sure you’re not just overreacting?” Anaea chimes in, walking beside Cinder.

“Of course I’m n-not,” Maka defends.

“Hmmm… *Cough.* I wonder if Master thinks…” Cinder looks back at Gwyn and pushes his glasses up to his eyes.

“That’s weird.” Gwyn looks like he’s on the cusp of an epiphany. “Could it be?”

“What’s wrong, Professor?” Ramsey inquires.

“I may have just realized something…” Gwyn looks at me and smiles. “Young Fukai, would you mind lending me that mechanical orb you’re playing with?” Gwyn extends his hand out.

“I don’t know… I’m the one she…” I begin to say before Ramsey slaps me upside the head.

“Just let him see it, idiot. It might be important,” Ramsey demands.

“Ouch! Fiiiine!” I whine while handing over the orb.

Gwyn starts to look over the orb with a faint glimmer of hope blossoming in his eyes. “The inscriptions on the orb!” Gwyn flips the book open to a later page, looking for something. “See! They look exactly like the ones in this book.”

“Oh, really? cool! Hey, do you think this may give us clues or something?” I ask, excitedly sticking my face in the book.

“Calm down,” Gwyn says while pushing my face away, though I’m not sure if he’s talking to himself or to me. “Now, let’s see if I can interpret what these symbols mean.” While walking, Gwyn begins to read the ancient book in earnest, hoping to find the answers we all so desperately need.

Cinder looks lost in his thoughts as he mumbles, “Just maybe…”

“Just maybe what?” Anaea addresses Cinder, curiously craning her neck upwards to look at the youth’s face.

“Huh? What? What’s going on?” Cinder’s gaze darts around, having been startled out of his reverie.

“Down here, Cinder,” Anaea says.

Cinder looks down and notices Anaea. “Oh, Anaea, I’m sorry I didn’t notice you,” he comments while adjusting his glasses.

“It’s ok.” Anaea smiles and begins skipping. “So what are you thinking about?”

“Oh. Right. Umm… I was just wondering if we’re dealing with a contaminant or something unknown, maybe even something other-worldly,” Cinder answers while lightly scratching his cheek.

“I guess that’s a good question… I’ve been wondering that myself for a while,” Anaea states.

“Oh, really?” Cinder inquires.

“Yep!” Anaea says with a gentle smile.

Gwyn reads aloud as he finishes translating the symbols inscribed on the orb, “Strength comes here to die. The Truth is where I lie. Past, Present, Future; I see all. I am one of seven.” Gwyn ruminates on what he just read while examining the orb.

“Mhmm… I don’t get it,” I comment, slightly confused and giving up quickly.

“I hate to admit it, but I’m stumped on this one too,” Ramsey says while following me.

“That riddle… hmmm… let me think.” Cinder starts to ponder intensely. “‘The Truth is where I lie.’”

“Could this have something to do with that woman’s voice you heard, Fukai?” Maka looks over at me.

“Woman’s voice?” Gwyn asks sharply, intrigue cutting into his scrutinization of the orb as he stops in his tracks. He turns to address me, “Young Fukai…”

As soon as his eyes meet mine I turn away and deflect to Maka, “Whaaa? Why you talking crazy, Maka? I don’t hear voi-”

Anaea, hearing me flounder, turns around and asks while walking backwards, “I’ve been thinking, what if that riddle is referring to the Temple of Ember?”

“What… what makes you think that?” Cinder asks Anaea.

“You know, that last part. I am one of seven. Could it be talking about the Seven Wonders… I mean I don’t know what the names of all the seven wonders are, but I heard rumors of one of them being located here in the Deep Jungle,” Anaea says whimsically.

“Yeah, I’ve heard of those rumors,” I remark with a smile, glad for the change of subject.

“True, but they are not only rumors,” Cinder adds. “Remember how everything began with the Great Wisdom Tree. Hmmm… well, history is a bit fuzzy on what happened after.”

“I wonder if this has something to do with the Dark Void Age…” I say to myself.

“Huh?” Someone says, though I miss who in my reverie.

“But there are some things that are clear,” Anaea continues her conversation with Cinder, “that one of seven deities appeared here sometime after the world as we know it was born.”

“That is somewhat-true, but not entirely,” Cinder adds.

“How so?” Anaea asks.

“Well, history itself is fragile. It’s hard to determine what’s true, but it’s likely it wasn’t a deity. My grandfather once told me a story about the Deep Jungle and the Temple of Ember. Once, a long time ago, a young boy visited the Temple of Ember, enthralled by its wonder. But what awaited him at the front gates was a mysterious woman who shone as bright as the sun. The woman claimed to be an Euo, a Guardian of an Elementor.”

“Wow! Is that really true?” Maka asks, his ears that have been drooping in worry perk up.

“No way that’s true. I’m sorry, Cinder; maybe your grandfather was just telling you a tale,” Ramsey states, not at all impressed.

“That could very well be the case… but I like to believe in my grandfather’s tales,” Cinder smiles while adjusting his glasses.

“Everyone, I think we’re nearing the Temple of Ember,” Gwyn tells us while peering ahead. We soon emerge back into lush, vibrant Deep Jungle. “We better make haste before it’s too late,” Gwyn encourages as he takes the lead and we follow him, hoping we’re soon to be at our destination.

As we continue deeper into the verdant Deep Jungle, we finally stumble upon the entrance to the Temple of Ember. “Wow! This place is crazy!” I announce as we all stop and gaze upon the amazing sight; with waterfalls on either side of two massive doors, the stonework covered with intricately carved, swirling lines and ancient text around 7 circles. There’s a pond just off to the right, but the crazy thing is that I feel that the atmosphere is similar to that of when I met the Guardian of the Deep Jungle. “I wonder…”

“Wonder what?” Anaea looks me in the eyes. “You know, Fukai, it isn’t like you to think… like, at all.”

“Huh?” I intone, confused about whether or not to be offended.

“Ha!” Ramsey barks in laughter.

“This is it! This is the Temple of Ember!” Gwyn walks ahead of us while smiling.

“Yeah, now how do we open the gates?” Ramsey asks, scratching his head.

“Hmmm… let me see,” Gwyn opens the book again, flipping through the pages.

“Hey! Maka! Check this out!” I wave at Maka, having walked over to stand next to the surprisingly steep edge of the deep pond.

“Coming!” Maka runs over cheerfully, clearly more at ease since we crossed back out of the ashen jungle.

“Hmm… yes. Yes! That’s it!” Gwyn says rather excitedly.

“Did you figure something out, Professor?” Anaea asks while touching the doors. Then, turning with an expansive glance at the door, heads back to the others away from the door.

“Yes! You see,” Gwyn pulls out the orb, “this orb has a name… Kli!”

“Kli?” Ramsey repeats confused.

“Yes, Kli. It is the name given in this language… but we can also call it a key.”

“Wait, serious? This is a key?” Ramsey seems slightly taken-aback.

“Now all we need to do is figure out how to trigger it,” Gwyn beams, appearing proud of his discovery. “This may take awhile,” he says as examines the door beginning from the far left, tracing the lines with an outstretched hand. Anaea follows suit.

“What’s this… weird shaped hole?” I spout, confused.

Maka looks at my face and follows my gaze down into the water, “Yeaaaah, I’m pretty sure that’s what we’re looking for…”

“That was easy! Professor Gwyn, toss me the orb! I’m pretty sure I’ve found it!” I say while smiling.

“Of course he finds it,” Ramsey says, not at all surprised. “Luck sure does love him.”

Gwyn tosses me the orb.

“Alright, I got it!” I whoop while catching the orb. “Here we go.” I reach down into the water and place the orb inside the hole. Twisting the orb clockwise, I feel something catch. *Click* “Huh?”

Suddenly a flicker of light emits from between the stone gates as they begin to open. “Wow!! Alright! Let’s go!” I announce while running towards the entrance.

“Wow, this is so beautiful,” Maka starts to follow me.

“I can’t believe it,” Ramsey looks surprised as he follows Maka.

Anaea turns to Gwyn and Cinder and smiles, “Alright! One step closer to cleansing the Deep Jungle. Let’s go!” She starts forward, excited for what’s to come.

“I can’t believe it,” Gwyn wipes tears from his eyes. “At long last, my life’s work is finally paying off.” Stepping forward, Gwyn begins walking slowly towards the entrance. “What secrets do you have, I wonder? I can’t wait,” Gwyn smiles. “I can’t wait for-”

“*Cough!* Re. Radiant Light,” a soft voice says from behind, then a bright light blinds us.

“Huh?” I come to a halt hearing the distinctive sound of something sharp tearing through flesh, followed by the dripping splash of blood hitting the ground.