Such a victory took its toll on the group. Xavier felt he had spent every last ounce of his magic on the fight against Rhea. His arms stung from the exertion, the pirate was out of breath, and exhaustion was starting to set in.

Still, as the fog fully lifted and stars illuminated the night, Xavier couldn't help but look up at the sky and smile. The pirate stared at his friends as they all picked themselves back up. He could hardly believe the victory they had just achieved.

Atlas was floating right in front of him, their clothing altered. The being's orange eyes had a familiar glow but seemed more wounded. The armor they once adorned had been replaced with a uniquely styled robe-like garb. The article had intricate patterns depicting various events in a style similar to the prophecies left by the Maker adorning it.

Atlas's hair had also been let down, resting a little above their shoulders. The Guardian put their sword away. "I figured it was time for a new look. I'm done letting the past rule me." They declared.

Xavier drew in a shaky breath. "Atlas, you're really back?"

"Sure am, and I'm glad to be." Atlas responded, looking at the growing crowd. "Been busy?"

Jacob leaped over and immediately grabbed onto Atlas with a hug. "Haha, yes! You're back! We did it! We really did it!" Atlas immediately teleported out of his grasp and reappeared looking shaken.

"P-please don't do that." Atlas immediately sputtered. "I-I apologize, it's been a difficult few months."

Jacob frowned. "Sorry Atlas, I wasn't thinking. I'm just glad to see you again." The Guardian nodded and then Luna walked up to them.

"You're Atlas... so my dreams were correct. I am Luna, the... the Eighth Guardian," She hesitantly told them.

Atlas's eyes widened, and their glowing stones stared at the girl. "That's... it has to be true. I didn't even know there was an eighth Guardian until a few months ago, and you possess the same power the rest of us do. Do you have any recollection of being a Guardian?"

Luna shook her head. "I didn't even know my magic was as special as it was until Captain Xavier tracked Maya and me down. I was hoping that you might have the answers."

"Sorry, but I have no idea," Atlas shifted their feet. "It's something we'll have to figure out over time." Atlas locked eyes with Xavier, and walked over to him. "For now, we need a plan to take out the remaining Guardians. I don't know what's happened since Rose died, everything has been dark. You'll have to catch me up."

Xavier twitched a bit and sighed. "Right, well there's been a lot. We should set sail for Caros, we can regroup there. We can try and plan our next move while we catch you up."

The group piled onto Xavier's ship, now having its capacity maxed out due to the newest member of the group. The ship moved away from Muerend, and Atlas breathed a sigh of relief.

Xavier began to explain everything that had happened, slowly catching the Guardian up on everything that had taken place over the past nine months. Xavier's exhaustion was painfully apparent after a little while, and he finished his story in between numerous yawns.

"That's a lot to process, and clearly you need rest," Atlas declared. "I'll say this though, Rhea was going to meet with Oceanus a few days from now. There's an artifact on Marok that I think we could use to help us in our final confrontation and might help us figure out what's going on with Luna, I think we should go there instead. I can pilot the ship while you sleep."

Xavier was unsure how to respond, but decided to give Atlas the go-ahead. There was no point going to Caros if they knew where Oceanus was going to be. Xavier passed out a few moments after lying down while Atlas took command of the ship, and enjoyed a dreamless sleep.

The pirate awoke feeling the familiar warmth of Marok. The ship had been docked and Atlas was in the process of tying it down. Everyone else was still fast asleep, so Xavier pulled himself out of the ship and awoke his crew.

The pirate caught everyone up on why they were now on Marok, and Jacob frowned. "I was hoping I'd finally get to go home for a bit, wish we'd been consulted on this."

Maya and Luna disembarked from the ship. "Chin up, Sparks, this is for the better anyways," Maya told the rebel.

Luna gently touched Maya's shoulder and then looked at Jacob. "I'm sorry, Jacob. If we're lucky, we can go to Caros soon. I'm sure this is disappointing, at least."

Maya rolled her eyes. "Luna, c'mon. This is so we can figure everything out with you, right? It's good we went." Maya and Luna didn't lock eyes with each other.

Helena hopped off of the boat next. "Our goal is to stop the Guardians, right? This is the next step for that. Good call, cap." She said to Xavier.

Jacob took his time getting off the boat, but eventually joined the group. Xavier could tell that the boy was silently fuming, but there wasn't time to press the issue. "We need to chat with the chief since the terrain of this island is fluid. He'll know where to find what we're looking for." Atlas explained.

The group made their way through the village, trying to ignore the looks that Atlas garnered. Various merchants pointed and whispered while they ascended the familiar location to Arvirdi's tent.

They arrived at the man's home once again, but the chief was nowhere to be found this time. Xavier tried asking around to see if any of the locals knew where Arvirdi had gone, and one told him that the man had gone into the forest.

The group waste no time heading into the woods, following one of the main trails that lead into the depths of the jungle. The temperature was sweltering compared to the rest of the archipelago, causing the group to feel fatigued after just a short trek into the woods.

The feeling almost reminded Xavier of when he and Rose had passed out on the island after being attacked by Astraeus. It was a little different now, as Xavier had stronger control of his ice magic. The pirate was able to create a wave of coolness to at least somewhat alleviate the group. Everyone was dressed far too warm for the eternal summer, but they had to press on.

Trees soared above everyone and humidity permeated the island. There were numerous different kinds of plants, with many draping into the narrow dirt trail. The group had to watch their step as they seemed to constantly ascend or have to deal with giant roots decorating the ground. The chirping of bugs and the gentle breeze added to the forest's ambiance. It would have been a nice hike, had it not been for the abnormal heat.

"Atlas, what exactly are we looking for on this island?" Xavier asked after a little while.

The Guardian floated ahead of the group, unbothered by the temperature. "The ancient artifact of Marok, similar to Lumis and Divios. I'm not sure entirely what it does, but I remember it has a strong connection to us Guardians. I think it might be able to awaken Luna's power... even if it can't, it can help us against Astraeus and Oceanus."

"Right, my power," Luna looked down at her hands. "How come I'm a Guardian, I don't look anything like you all?"

Atlas didn't look Luna in the eye as they responded. "No clue, everything is off these days. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but I was gone from everything for so long... Hell, Jacob gained the ability to use Light Magic. I thought that was impossible, and he proved me wrong."

The pirate glanced at Jacob, recalling his sudden power during the battle against Rhea. "That's right, lad. You can use it now, can't you?" Xavier clarified.

Jacob nodded. "Sure can. When we were fighting Rhea, I felt a will burn up in me like never before. It was almost as if I called upon the sword itself to let me use its power."

"So then, is Luna going to live forever like the rest of you?" Maya asked. "You said something about awakening her power, will she change when that happens?"

Luna frowned at the questions, Xavier could tell they bothered her. Atlas gave an unsure shrug. "As I said, it's unprecedented. But I'm assuming she has more power within than it seems, given how our magic is unlike the magic of humans." The discussion seemed to be stressing everybody out, along with the heat.

Xavier looked up at the sky, wondering when they'd finally find where Arvirdi had gone. "Feels like we're barely making any progress at this rate." He sighed.

Helena was covering the group's back, trudging along behind Maya and Luna. She wiped some sweat from her brow. "This forest is never-ending. Without directions from Arvirdi, we'll be wondering around forever. Maybe we should go back and try and find him in the village."

Her suggestion was one that nobody else had been willing to propose, but that they had all been thinking. Atlas sighed, but conceded that they weren't getting anywhere through brute force. Helena started down the trail they had been traveling until she rounded a corner and came to a stop.

Xavier peered around the tree blocking his line of sight to see a giant stone ridge had sprung up, completely blocking their way back. The pirate groaned and looked to see how far the ridge went. "The island's completely blocked off the way back. Atlas, could you teleport us over this all?"

The Guardian disappeared for a moment before reappearing. "I-I can't get much farther than here for some reason, it's like some force is tethering me. I think the island wants us to keep going, whether we like it or not."

The group all turned back around and continued to stagger onward.

The sun began to set, and an unusual fog set in. Xavier was quick to confirm that the fog wasn't a product of the humidity, as he had no control over it when he tried to use his magic. Exhausted and confused, the group elected to make camp once they reached a small clearing.

Everyone laid down on the ground, not even bothering to start a fire given the natural heat of the island. "The island better know what it's doing, because I'm just about done," Jacob grumbled.

"Aye, I feel you lad. This island has a way of its own. Though it does remind me," Xavier looked over at Atlas. "I remember when the whole thing got kicked off, and we had to deal with a plant you left on the island that had taken control over it."

Atlas tilted their head. "Huh... Oh! Yeah, it was something I constructed with my own magic. I figured it would just block off the teleportation zone, but I guess it got out of control. I mainly just wanted to keep Maroki people off of Muerend."

"Why exactly?" Maya inquired. "Like, what was the big deal of them being on Muerend if it wasn't actually cursed?"

"To put it simply, I wanted to be left alone," Atlas replied. "After all the time I spent isolated, it grew to be the only thing I could take solace in. Especially once my siblings all shut me out and made their own deranged plans."

Luna glanced at the ground, and then back up at Atlas. "So, our siblings," She said, hesitantly. "They all really need to be destroyed?"

Atlas wasted no time nodding. "They want to eradicate all of humanity, and won't stop at anything to do it. The only reason they didn't enact their plan immediately was they needed Light Magic to break a magical seal on one of the other artifacts."

Jacob sat up. "That explains why they waited for us to come to them!"

"And also why they wanted to capture Rose," Atlas added. "But then, they realized they could use Lumis. Of course, they can't use Lumis without it being powered up, but they don't know that. Which is why Astraeus went and killed Rose."

Xavier immediately felt himself begin to lock up, he wasn't ready for such a blunt description of what had happened. "Rose, who was she? We didn't really get to find out before." Maya inquired, ignoring Xavier's disposition.

"Rose fought with us to save the Archipelago," Jacob explained. "She was a good friend, despite our differences at first. She was extremely powerful, and went toe-to-toe with Astraeus. We almost won thanks to her, and she saved Xavier and I. At the cost of her own life."

Xavier felt himself start to shake, and gripped his elbows. Keep cool, keep cool, keep cool. He told himself, insisting that he had to stay calm.

"Xavier, are you alright?" Luna asked the pirate, but he couldn't will himself to respond.

Ice started to creep around him, and all eyes fell on the man. "Xavier? Xavier! What's going on?" Helena called out, trying to get a response from the man.

"It seems as though he's frozen his own heart," Atlas observed. "The agony he's feeling, he denied himself the ability to process that grief. It's enhancing the power of his Ice Magic, and making it impossible for him to move on from her."

Xavier wanted to respond, wanted to try and digest what Atlas had said, but he couldn't. Luna reached out a hand to Xavier, but the pirate compulsively sent out a wave of cold that pushed everyone away.

Luna pulled her hand away and look at Xavier with her wide eyes. "Xavier, please let us help you."

"Don't bother," Jacob's eyes bore into Xavier. "It's been nine months, Xavier. Nine months and you're still doing this? You completely shut down when she died, you abandoned me! I could have been found and killed at any moment, but I stayed away from my home just to protect those fragments! And you couldn't even stay in touch with me? I haven't been to Caros since it was freed! I haven't had the chance to mourn Rose, so stop this!"

Jacob's fiery vitriol was only ended with Helena stepping in. "Stop this, you're only making things worse!"

Maya shot to her feet. "You don't need to defend him at every turn, clearly he needs to hear this! Xavier, you've shut yourself off from the truth. Are you going to live like this forever? Just never thinking about her? You're a pirate, stop being a coward!"

"M-Maya!" Luna said with a gasp, trying to stop her girlfriend. Maya instantly seemed annoyed with her partner.

Helena clenched her fists and glared at Maya. "Don't you call him a coward, after he risked your life for you multiple times you'd think that would be enough. I've seen the captain face anything and everything to protect his crew, watch yourself before you talk about things you can't understand just because you've never faced what he has!"

Luna whipped around from Maya to face Helena, her rare anger shining through. "How dare you talk to her that way, why are you so obsessed with defending him?"

Maya threw her arms up and seemed to be crackling with rage. "Oh now you're on my side? What is with you? It's like you don't know how to be Luna ever since... ever since..." Maya stopped herself from speaking aloud what she clearly wanted to say.

Luna didn't need her to finish the sentence though, turning and walking away while tears slipped down her face. "I know... I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do about it, so I-I'm sorry! I thought at least once we found Atlas, we could make sense of it... but none of it makes sense!" Luna cried out.

Xavier noticed that the fog was getting thicker and thicker, slowly enveloping everyone. Atlas sighed and uncrossed their arms. "This is so stupid, I really am back."

It was the last thing Xavier heard, before his senses were overcome with the mysterious fog.