Michael looked around, suddenly finding himself in the dark, eerily calm empty space of The Realm Inside. Unlike Phantasy’s environment, which felt more real, more divine and teeming with life, The Realm Inside appeared artificial and appeared devoid of life. He remembered the professors wouldn’t so much as reveal the name of the dark realm, much less discuss it in any way.

Looking above the temple cut into the rock, an enormous tree reaching to the skies replaced the split mountain, which by comparison looked like a giant tree stump. A dark, cloudy form emerged from the boiling sap bleeding out from one of the giant roots.

            “Hello Mikha’Elchael. It’s been a very long time,” a voice said from the dark form manifesting in front of him.

            “Who… are you?”

            “Think of me… as an old  acquaintance…” the entity’s featureless face said as it took shape out of the blackness of her silhouetted form.

            Who are youDo you not have a name? Michael wondered to himself.         

            “My name is XatOya. I am the avenging spirit aspect of the Great Mother Gaia.” XatOya said moving closer.

            Michael couldn’t see the beauty of her features, but he could feel the love the Great Mother had for him beneath the layers of XatOya’s contempt for humanity, “Why did you bring me here?”

            “When I heard Aaron D’Arcy had once again brought his illustrious Alpha Squad into the conservation to visit the temple… I needed to see with my own eyes. Knowing its power, knowing that it would draw all who entered back to the restricted zone… I had to come. And now… here we are... together again… at last.”

            “What do you want from us?” Michael boldly asked trying not to lose focus through her hypnotic on her lastvoice words.

            “I am the guardian of the forbidden knowledge, keeper of the Twelve Spirits of Nu,” XatOya replied with a tender touch to his shoulder, inadvertently transmitting her dark desires, overwhelming him, “I wish to commune with The Hour Hand which governs The Twelve.”