Sonic is following Alicia down a passageway that leads underground. As they walk down the stairs, Sonic wonders what awaits them.
Alicia doesn't know herself, but she tells Sonic that she has seen Maximilian use this secret passageway before...
--
Sonic and Alicia eventually enter a room with what appears to be a pool of gold and silver. Inspecting the pool, Sonic jokes that the royal family has their own private pool and they swim in gold and silver, instead of money.
He then turns to Alicia and notices that she's undressing.
Sonic blushes, questioning what Alicia is doing. She tells him that she's going to test out the pool and flirts with him, asking if he'll join her. However, he nervously makes the excuse that he can't swim.
Alicia grabs Sonic's hand and tells him that she'll be right there if anything happens. She then flirts with him, saying that if he drowns, she'll perform mouth-to-mouth on him.
Sonic finally relents as Alicia escorts him to pool...
--
Sonic is sitting in the gold and silver pool, with his back against the edge. Alicia is sitting in his lap with her arms wrapped around his neck as they make out.
Alicia breaks the kiss and rubs her nose against Sonic's as she tells him that she hopes to see him again tonight. She then steps out of the pool and dries herself off with a towel.
As Alicia wraps the towel around her torso, Sonic watches her and notes how much she resembles Sally when the queen was their age. The only difference is Alicia's hairstyle and bigger... assets.
Sonic starts to wonder if Alicia falling for him is the result of a time loop. Sally was meant to fall for him in his time period, but since he time traveled and met her mother in the past, Alicia fell for him.
Sonic submerges his head in an attempt to stop thinking about this...
--
Sonic suddenly finds himself on another form of reality. He questions what's going on and where he is. Wasn't he just bathing in a pool of gold and silver?
A seemly omnipresent voice speaks to Sonic and tells him that he has merged with the Source of All. It tells him that for generations, it has guided the royal Acorn family.
Sonic questions if he should be here and if he should leave. After all, he's from the Acorn family.
The Source tells Sonic that it wasn't a mistake that he came here. And while he may not be of Acorn decent, he is a knight, and he is destined to become king.
However, Sonic immediately brushes this off, stating that he'll create his own path.
The Source insists that Sonic listen, but he refuses. He enjoys running, adventuring, and his freedom. And he has avoided getting serious with Sally because of this.
Driving his point further, Sonic questions if the Source is truly content with offering limited support to the royal family, especially through a pool or royal artifacts.
The Source's only function seems to be to decide someone's fate, instead of trusting them to make their own decisions.
There is a brief silence before the Source asks Sonic what path he has taken. Sonic answers that he loves to run, but he takes life one step at a time. He makes his own decisions, but he trusts in his friends.
The Source seems pleased with Sonic's answer and tells him it will help him whenever it can. And it can start by expanding its presence and making Rings a more common occurrence...
--
End of Chapter 5
