As the flood of images pouring into Xuuvosic's finally begins to wane, time seems to speed back up again. While the phane writhes in the powerful grip of the general, his duplicate plunges from the top of the cliff, its sword outstretched towards Xuuvosic, leaving little doubt as to its intent. Then Xuuvosic calls upon the power of the Lochnar, and to all of you it seems as if time slows, and the very fabric of space itself distorts into a kind of whirlpool centered on the black orb. As you're all pulled into this whirlpool, you see the flow of time begin to move backwards around you. First you see slow motion images of yourselves walking backwards down the slopes of the volcano. Then as speed of the images speeds up, you see smoke, flames, and lava climbing back up the side of the mountain and back into the caldera, which then closes up on itself. At the last, you see an image of the small black sphere of the Lochnar, streaking upwards into the sky at tremendous speed, and you're dragged along with it, like driftwood in the wake of a swift sea vessel.
As your travel upwards, your speed increases, and you soon leave the familiar blue glow of the sky, and plunge into the star-filled void of the Astral Plane. Your apparent progression, both through time and space you suspect, is now so rapid that you cannot make out individual creatures as you pass them. Ahead of you, you see a great wheel with 12 spokes. You head towards the rim of the wheel, and as you get closer, you can see a tortured red landscape beginning to spread out before you. You streak passed a city of iron, with an enormous tower of unimaginable size at its center, and approach a much more modest black castle in the wastelands beyond. As you approach, time seems to slow down again, and you see outside the tower a sizable force of devils is doing battle with an enormous beast, which seems to be laying waste to them. Slowly, it turns its terrible gaze towards you and a look of horror is frozen onto its face for eternity as the black orb of the Lochnar burrows right through its flesh, and its body collapses inward in a flash of fire and brimstone, leaving only the matte black sphere hovering on the ground where it once stood.
You all touch down lightly, as if you'd just stepped out of a carriage, and find yourself surrounded by a small army of bloodied devils, with many of their comrades laying dead on the ground at their feet. Then a tall, handsome devil approaches that you recognize. It is Sammael. He says "My Master says to give you his regards, but he regretfully will not be able to meet you in person, as he has other pressing matters. He does thank you for dropping in at such a convenient time, though." As he says the last, he winks knowingly. "Before he left, he bid me to aid you in whatever way I can, but also told me to ask you not to use that... " He points at the Lochnar "while within the realm of his patron, or anywhere else in the Nine Hells if it can be avoided."
The other devils stare at you for a few moments, then seem to accept the authority of Sammael, or more properly his Master, and grudgingly begin to turn and leave, heading towards the black castle.
