Having very narrowly escaped the guards, Cilicia slipped outside through a dark passage sporadically strewn with stairs, ramps, and level walkways. The space lightly echoed with each step. The only light that led her way was that of glass spheres filled with glowing Mana rested in the walls. Shouts reverberated down the space as the guards tried to chase her.

After some time traversing the passage, she saw a bright light emanating from further down, brighter than the Mana lights along the walls. It must have been coming from outside.

Just behind her she could hear the shouts getting louder. Hastening her pace, she soon found herself at the exit of the passage. After having raced down the dark tunnel for so long, her eyes needed a moment to adjust to the brightness.

The exit ended abruptly at a patch of green grass. Looking around, Cilicia saw before her a large plain. It was almost barren, save for some sparse grass, a few scattered trees, and a couple of benign Mechabeast wandering about.

The Alamastian Fields!

She had never once been outside of Invardia, but seeing it now filled her with a heightened sense of anxious curiosity.

Cilicia could now clearly hear footsteps emanating behind her. The men were getting close. After a quick glance back into the passage, she sprinted out onto the grass.

As Cilicia ran out into the field, the guards appeared from within the tunnel. They shouted at her to come back.

"Madam, please!"

She did not heed them, instead looking straight ahead. She had come so far to get here, to flee from her past life, to escape from the cramped confinement of the palaces. She wasn't going back now.

Suddenly, from outside of her view, a pair of enormous, canine-like Mechabeast appeared. Their metallic forms reflected the sunlight harshly into Cilicia's eyes. Her heart skipped a beat the moment she noticed their presence, forcing her to a stop. They looked in her direction, and without making a sound, momentarily started to make pace for her.

The screaming must have attracted their attention!

She hurriedly turned about, dashing in another direction, still out into the field. She screamed as she ran away. The men continued to shout, this time chasing after her.

"Madam Cilicia!"

After a brief sprint, Cilicia found herself before a pool of Mana. She stopped dead in her tracks, staring at the round puddle. The iridescent liquid swirled about, white mixing with blues, pinks, and yellows.

The Mechabeast were right on her tail, forcing her in the direction of the pool. Without any additional thought or hesitation, she quickly sloshed through. Panting, Cilicia spotted another pair of Mechabeast approach from beyond a hill. Somehow, these two looked even scarier than the others.

She stopped in the center of the pool, unsure of where to go next.

The Mechabeast had encircled her, mechanical growls resonating from within. Her heart thumped in her chest. She was surrounded, with nowhere to run or to hide.

Looking down at the Mana, she forced down an uncomfortable swallow. She didn't have a choice; She must take in the Mana, or she would die.

Overcoming both hesitation and fear - knowing all too well what could happen if she let herself succumb to its temptation - she leaned down, spreading her legs, and plunged her hands into the glowing pool.

The very instant she started taking in Mana, the world around her became engulfed in a white whirlpool. For a brief moment she felt invigorated, lively, and powerful. Her fears diminished as the Mana swelled within her.

The newfound strength quickly subsided, her mind flooding with voices not her own, growing louder and louder. They were indistinguishable and incomprehensible, no matter how hard she tried to concentrate on them. But she had to tune them out, she had to ignore them and look past them. She had to heed the warnings.

Cilicia felt an emotion she had never experienced surge inside of her. At first it swelled in her chest, but it quickly spread to the rest of her body. It was overwhelmingly intense, filling her every thought. She could not possibly explain the feverish ferocity of the emotion, only that it was generally unpleasant. Soon many more emotions flowed through her, some familiar, some not. They swarmed around her in an overpowering torrent of noise.

She could no longer feel her limbs for what they were. She had become so enveloped in these thoughts and feelings that the entire world ceased to exist, only the tormented screams and cries thrashing about inside her head. She felt as if she was dying, over and over, again and again. The anguish of thousands of deaths rang through her mind. It was agonizing.

If this was what the power Mana offered, she wanted no more. She could take it no longer. Struggling, thrashing, and fighting for some semblance of control in the cacophony of thoughts, she managed to force herself to cease taking in Mana.

Almost immediately, the cascade of sounds, smells, and sights from the world around her rushed back to her senses. Puking from the nausea, she collapsed on the ground in a crater. She had been drained of all energy.