If I couldn't break out, I could at least hide within myself, so I withdrew back to my familiar sphere. The professor had betrayed my trust, and I'd been foolish enough to drop my guard and come out of my shell. What was the point of taking the next step in my growth if I couldn't put my talents to use for the one destined to wield me? Misery ensnared my thoughts as I second-guessed my decision to tag along to to Berindal Academy. Maybe I could've made it back under my own power. Better to be a mystery than a prisoner.

  The other two relics left me alone for a while, having themselves retreated to their relics while students milled about in the museum to read or examine the legion of fellow prisoners throughout the rows of dispys. Unlike the children that used to press their faces up against the gss at the magic shop, these eyes weren't filled with wonder as they gazed at the the unknown—to them, we were just some pretty orbs to distract them for a moment before they returned to penning their essays on the Five Laws of Transfiguration or whatever else. But eventually the st student departed, the sun disappeared again, and Cerulean and Amethyst drifted toward me.

  "Viridian, we're truly sorry," Cerulean said. "I've known Professor Promell for some time, and her decision to acquire you without consultation felt uncharacteristic for her. She's usually not one to bargain with prospective students, but I feel like we can clear things up with her, given enough time."

  I clustered my mist together to form words, unable to bring myself to join the other two with a proper avatar. "She didn't even listen when you tried," I said. "How could more time possibly do anything? I have to get out of here, Cerulean! And your idea of helping was to volunteer me for... what, exactly? Keeping me stuck in Berindal for even more research?"

  The two other relics exchanged worried gnces.

  "In a sense, yes," Cerulean said.

  "Viridian, I understand your anger," Amethyst said, reaching out to touch my silver shell in an attempt to offer their support. "None of us want to be trapped in a museum all the time. Well, Cerulean might enjoy it to a degree, but I'm not as attached to academia. But you don't want to end up in the Archives, you'd have no hope of finding your way home then. And we really do want to help you get back to the mountains somehow, trust me when I say I admire and envy your passion for returning to Janine. The Llowyn project might be a chance to do just that. It's a chance for a lot of things."

  I took a moment to calm down. These spheres wanted to help me, they didn't deserve to be targets of my ire. "What is Llowyn? Another relic, or some old magic?"

  Cerulean shook their head. "Neither, it's a location we think has ties to the construction of Silvaln Spheres. Although if that was the end of it, we'd be Llowyn Spheres, yes? But I hold a theory that it has a connection to the floating city of Silval in some way. When I proposed the idea to Promell years ago as a research project on sphere relics, she paired us with some students, but we never advanced past the swamp. The professor decided it would be too dangerous to attempt without a relic suited for combat, as Amethyst and I are not well equipped for such things, but we can't just give a magic sword to a student and hope for the best. You, however, are actually our best hope, you can be more than just a sword. We might be able to make it far enough to make some real discoveries!"

  "This is also a bit selfish," Amethyst said, "but it's a chance for us to get outside as well, even if just one more time. It's not the same looking at all the pnts from afar, I miss being up close to them." They sighed, drifting away from me. "I don't say this lightly, Viridian, but I'm begging you to join us on this project, even if you do convince Promell to let you go home. Cerulean and I, we might not get another chance to leave these walls, not for a long time, unless we find something compelling at Llowyn to warrant more outings."

  "You might even be able to 'vanish' when we leave Llowyn, if the professor isn't receptive to your pleas," Cerulean said. "...Keep that between us, though. If Promell thinks something is amiss, it would jeopardize everything."

  I felt wary of this pn, but at the same time, my options seemed fleeting. Talking with the professor seemed like the only viable alternative, and if I succeeded, I left my new friends stranded. I'd been asked for help once before, and that resulted in me reaching out with a bde to help someone in need. Looking at Cerulean and Amethyst, I felt that same tug deep within to answer their pleas. I couldn't abandon my own kind in my own pursuits, despite the unjust treatment I'd received along the way to reach this point. Janine would have helped them, were she in my pce. Besides, the two relics made an effective case for the research project—Cerulean's expnation piqued my curiosity, and Amethyst's words tugged at my heartstrings.

  "You promise you won't interfere when I leave?" I asked.

  "We wouldn't dream of stopping you," Cerulean said. "We'll think up a story that keeps the students out of trouble. We'll be sure to tell Professor Promell that you met an untimely fate protecting the rest of us from harm. You may have been lost forever, but it was a noble sacrifice made for preserving the most important thing in the world: academic research."

  "We'd hope you'd come visit, but we'll be content knowing you're following your destiny," Amethyst added.

  I looked out the window toward the Berin Mountains, knowing this meant yet another dey in my return trip to Quinn's Peak. But... this was my choice to make, and it was an easy choice.

  "I'll do it."