Adym caught it and looked at it, before sighing and nodded.

"This makes sense." he said.

He then took a drink of it, and shuddered for a moment.

"That is BITTER!" he exclaimed.

"But it works. I mean... I can't complain about THAT." he mumbled.

He then looked at Callie, and bit his lip a little.

"Brace yourself." he warned.

"But it only lasts for about 5 seconds." he added.

Adym nodded.

"Yes." he said.

He and Callie then conferred with each other for about 30 seconds, before they checked their bags, and looked back the newcomer.

"We're ready." Adym confirmed.

"Let's go. It seems time is a luxury we do NOT have." he finshed.

They then made their way to the door, and stepped outside, as Callie seemed to not feel the effects of the rain.

At all.

".................." Adym was silent for a prolonged moment, before he lightly smacked his forehead.

"Of course the Prefect would know I entered the forest." he said.

"They know when ANYONE does." he reasoned.

He then sighed as they pressed through the rain, and looked around.

"...so is it true?" he asked them.

"Is my suspicion correct?" he asked further.

"Is... the shrine corrupted?"

Adym's mouth was almost agape now.

"Wh-what?" he asked.

"No... no, that... that's not..." he stammered, raising his hand to the side of his head and placing it against his temple.

"I never thought I would see the day to hear those words." he muttered.

"No wonder the Seer sent us." he then said to Callie.

"If this goes on much longer... this entire forest will... become so corrupted, it will... all wither and die."

Adym was silent, and merely nodded in response.

"I shudder to think what might be happening there." he said.

"The Guardian not being reborn, or not performing its duties... both are horrible things to picture, and I can only have nightmares about why either may be happening." he commented.

"...but the Prefect is putting a group together?" he asked.

"We'll go with them. Or alone." he told her.

"That's why we were sent here... and came here... in the first place, after all." he reasoned.

"And this is my home. I can't just sit back as it slowly dies."

Adym just sighed.

"See, this is one of the reasons I left." he told her.

"I know that we, as cruxes, are the prime target for Vyran, but we can't spend our entire lives hiding in fear, as this entire world withers and is slowly dissolved by Vyran." he reasoned.

"The Prefect wanted to keep me hidden away, I get that, but... I wasn't even allowed to visit the shrine without a bodyguard escort." he lamented.

"Either we die trying to stop Vyran, or we are found and killed by Vyran, or we finally start to try and stop Vyran from succeeding." he went on. "If the cruxes are just hidden away, the world will die a slow death." he told her.

"At least the other way, the end will either come quicker, or not at ALL."

"We are." Adym responded.

"But... well, hopefully not just the two of us." he then said.

"We're going to see if we can fulfill the prophecy." he told her. "And to do that, we'll need more cruxes on our side." he went on.

"And to do that, we need to act, and find them before Vyran does." he reasoned.

"I left the forest because I was being smothered... only to live in a town where I hid who I was." he then said further.

"I haven't been living. I've been waiting to die." he told the female.

"It's time I actually TRIED to do something with my life. My power. My responsibilities."

Adym nodded in response.

"If we can stop Vyran and his ambitions, the realm will heal." he told her.

"It may take a while, but... it should happen when he's gone." he reasoned.

"And Callie's return to this realm... as sudden and inexplicable as it is... may just be the sign we've been looking for, that it's time to finally try and put a stop to all this." he continued.

"...besides, Callie was going to go, with or without me." he then said.

"I'd never be able to forgive myself if I let her go alone."

"Thank you." Adym responded, as they continued to trudge through the rain, the ground below soft and muddy.

He looked around, and sighed heavily.

"...I barely recognise these woods anymore." he said.

"It's like this is a completely different place." he mumbled.

"..." he was then silent, before looking at Callie.

"Oh, and where we're going IS a shrine, but... there's a series of tunnels and catacombs underneath it." he informed her.

"Odds are the issue is... well... in THERE."

".........I was speaking generally." Adym responded.

"Whether or not the Prefect agrees, Callie and I are going there." he told her.

"I was merely informing Callie about what's in store." he continued.

"That is all." he said.

"I was not trying to imply or suggest anything."