After the wizards reviewed the map and the path to and from the forest, they accompanied Juan down the several sets of staircases to exit the southern slope of the volcano. Juan hugged each of them, holding Scorpio a few moments longer. "Come back soon," she whispered to him. He promised he would, and left his companions with a wave and a sigh of relief.

Returning to nature helped him to feel grounded. He walked for several hours in silence, enjoying the quiet and space of being outdoors. His shadow grew longer as the day went on.

Boganasheth quietly asked him, "Are you doing alright?"

"Yeah, much better," Juan said, aloud, not needing to conceal his conversation.

"What did you see in Malachus?" Boganasheth asked.

"I saw..." Juan stopped, and squeezed his eyes shut. He took a deep breath. "I saw myself. I'd end up in a cell like him or Orlando. Or standing in the midst of the bloody corpses of my friends. Or a scheming old man creating endless conspiracies like Aquarius. One thing would lead to another, and another."

"You don't trust me or the others to keep you balanced, to tell you when you've gone too far?" Boganasheth asked.

"No, I don't," said Juan, striding into a tropical forest, following a gravel path. "The Bloodlust gets in me, like in the Underworld or the Strait of Woe, and I don't stop. I have to finish the job, accomplish the mission, and it's only a matter of time before someone I love ends up under my feet."

"And once you return Dantalion, that's it, you're off to a recluse's life?" Asked Boganasheth.

"I have to find Equilibrium again." Juan answered. "Before I joined the Guild, it was a discipline I maintained every day, and once I became Gemini I forgot about it. I need to get it back, maybe some deeper understanding. But I can't be Gemini anymore. If I'm going to be with Scorpio and work as a wizard, I want to be a Journeyman again. Obscure, unimportant, small jobs, no titles, no wars to fight."

"I'll help you however I can, my brother," said Boganasheth. Juan's spiritual twin fell silent as the journey continued. The forest grew darker, and Juan used a charm to give himself night vision.

He made his way into a valley, following along a river in the night. When he had descended to the deepest point in the valley, a shockingly bright array of light monetarily blinded him. Undoing his night vision charm, he was dazzled by a rainbow vision in front of him. He had entered the Crystal Forest.