“Wake up dear.” Someone shook me awake.

I groggily rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. The world slowly swam into view, wobbles and waves stilling as the ripples of unconsciousness died out.

Where am I? I thought. Damn it! I shot up ramrod straight. The Goddess. Runir. The smoke. Kai. Where –

“A lively one, aren’t you?”

I turned to face the voice, and saw a kindly old lady looking at me with an affectionate smile. Her apron was splotched with grease, and her oaken hands were full of calluses accumulated over decades of work.

“Where am I?” I asked aloud this time. “What happened…” I rubbed my forehead as a sharp pain shot through my skull.

“Careful, dear,” said the old lady. “You were hurt very badly when I found you. Worse still, you were mumbling in your sleep. Nightmares, I reckon.” She waved her spoon at me. “That’s what you get for swimming in the swamps, dearie. Full of nasty things, that swamp.”

Huh?

“Been telling them to drain it for years,” she continued prattling. “But they say the evil spirits will escape. Flummery, I say. Scared themselves, those government pennies. One egg or two, dear?”

“Huh?” I voiced, staring at the bleached bones holding up the old lady’s hair.

“For breakfast, dear. One egg or two?” she repeated.

“Ah, one’s fine,” I replied, completely caught up in her pace.

“No, no, that won’t do dearie. You’re young, you need your energy. Besides, you’re recovering, you need the protein. Listen to Granny Nipa and you’ll be back on your feet in no time,” she said as she cracked two eggs over a frying pan, lit her stove with a spark-stone, and began frying two eggs.

As Granny Nipa bustled around behind the kitchen counter, I looked around the room. It was a cozy little room, with knitted sweaters hanging over the couch, and photographs framed and placed on top of the shelves.

“Did you find anyone else at the swamp?” I said, thinking quickly. Runir being the Demon Lord complicated things, but I still wanted to know where my friends were.

“Sorry dearie, seems only you were silly enough to jump into the rapids,” she said, speaking over the crackling sounds coming from the pan.

Shit, so now I’m lost too, I thought, as I inspected my body. Everything seemed to be in place, although there were some nasty bruises on my stomach.

Maybe it’s for the better, I thought, spitefully. Runir was the Demon Lord. The fucking Demon Lord! God, I feel so stupid.

I picked up one of the photographs on the shelf. A younger Granny Nipa greeted me with a warm smile, a little girl shyly burying her face in her clothes. Must have been her granddaughter.

Amy and Kai were no better, damn it. They obviously knew what he was, but they never told me! Hell, they could have at least told me to watch out for Runir. What if he’d stabbed me in the back to get rid of me?

I picked up another picture; this time the little girl’s face was visible, although her eyes were hidden by her long, navy blue hair.

Damn it, why did he have to be the Demon Lord? Tears trickled down my cheeks. It’s unfair, damn it! Why me? Why is it always me? First Rusty, and now Runir; why is everyone I love, always a fucking traitor?

“Breakfast’s ready dear, come wash your hands!” Granny Nipa called.

“Coming!” I said, wiping the tears off my face and replacing the photo on the shelf.

However, something caught my eye as I turned to leave. The last picture on the shelf was a simple one. Just one person staring into the camera. It was the little girl from the other pictures, somewhat grown up and with a wide grin plastered over her face.

Navy hair, rosy cheeks, and a mischievous light in her bright blue eyes; this was a sparky little girl. She reminded me of myself, or rather, she could have been me in another life. One where I hadn’t been born a street urchin, beaten to death after being betrayed by my best friend, or fallen in love with the Demon Lord who played me like a fool.

I walked into the kitchen and saw the tabletop covered with steaming hot dishes. The smell wafting through the air melted my mouth, but I checked myself immediately. I’d been betrayed twice. No matter how nice this old lady was, nor how delicious her cooking seemed, I wasn’t about to trust her so easily.

“Sit down dearie, I’ll be right over,” she said, bustling over the counter.

I pulled up a seat but didn’t start eating, warily eyeing the old lady as she searched for something in her cabinet. I’d already checked her Status as soon as I’d woken up, but there had been nothing strange in there. She was level four, although a note stated she had been level 16 in the past. Her Ability was a simple one: Porridge Queen, and its result were obviously not very threatening at all.

“Now where did I put it. Nipa, old gal, you’re losing it,” she wheezed before exclaiming in triumph. “Here it is!” She grunted as she picked something up and tottered towards the table. She put a glass bottle next to the steaming porridge on her side, breathed heavily, and smiled at me.

“Vintage scotch. Been saving it for a while,” she said. “You see, today’s a very special day.” She scooped up some porridge and dropped it on her plate, before doing the same for mine. Still wary but unwilling to seem rude, I took some of the other food on the table before the old lady served it to me. However, I didn’t eat a bite.

“Yes, very special day,” she continued, her voice petering out as she nodded solemnly. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this day,” she whispered, creeping me out.

She didn’t say anything further, nor did she touch the food growing cold on her plate. Instead, she stared into the distance with her baggy, wrinkled eyes unfocused. It put me on edge, so I readied a magic spell just in case and held my breath.

She muttered something again, her eyes growing a little watery. But then she turned her face towards me, breaking from her trance.

“Why aren’t you eating, dearie? Your porridge’s gone cold. Dear me, children these days…” she said, shaking her head and tut-tutting.

I was just about to respond when there was a knock on the door. Granny Nipa’s eyes lit up as she heard the sound, and she frantically tottered over to the door.

“You came! Look at you, you little rascal, you!” came the old lady’s voice.

I tried to see who she was talking to but she was blocking my view.

“Oh, no! You look thinner than a toothpick! You haven’t been eating right. Dear, dear, what am I to do with you,” she rambled. “Come in, let’s get some meat on those bones. Your hair’s a mess too! Have you been combing it properly? You haven’t! Oh, how will you ever find a husband like this, dearie?” She continued to prattle for a while, commenting on the visitor’s clothes, shoes, height and who knows what else.

Finally, an exasperated voice cut through the tide of fretting. “I’m fine, granny. Can I come inside now?” It was a feminine voice, with a hint of childishness weaved together with the sternness of an adult.

“Of course, of course, silly me. The food’s ready, come join us before you go take a bath. You smell terrible,” she said.

The visitor sighed before following Granny Nipa inside.

“Oh, by the way, we have a guest, dearie. Little girl washed up by the rapids just like you did, all those years ago,” said Granny Nipa as she turned around.

“Picked up another tramp, huh,” said the visitor in an exasperated tone. “You know you don’t have the energy to take care of them like you used to.” She stepped out from behind the old lady, and I instantly caught my breath.

Navy hair, rosy cheeks, and bright blue eyes. This was the girl from the pictures! However, there was something very strange about her. For one thing, the spark in her eye was gone; replaced by a cold, analytic gaze. But there was something else too. Something I couldn’t quite place…

Her eyes combed through my appearance as she evaluated every aspect. I shifted uncomfortably, not used to being analyzed like bacteria in a petri dish.

She frowned a little, but then her face returned to normal and she smiled politely.

“Hi, I’m Fabar. Pleasure to meet you,” she said, extending a hand in greeting.

I grasped it firmly. “Lily, pleasure to meet you too.”

She smiled and took up another seat around the table. Granny Nipa sat on her seat, and continued to fuss over the girl. The girl didn’t seem to mind the old lady’s nagging as she smiled and nodded, and played along with the woman’s requests.

I didn’t even notice as our plates emptied, and the jovial atmosphere put me slightly at ease. I ate the meal but didn’t say much, keeping an eye on Fabar even as she ignored me. Granny Nipa opened the bottle of scotch, but Fabar wouldn’t let her drink, saying something about her liver and kidneys. She had a glass, and although she offered to pour me some, I declined.

“Now then dearies, it’s getting late. Off to bed!” said Granny Nipa.

“Ah, it’s okay. I should be going, I’ve bothered you enough,” I said, getting up from my seat. “Thank you for your hospitality, I’ll be sure to repay you in the future.”

“Nonsense, it was nothing. But dearie, you can’t leave now. There are no lights in the swamp, and you can’t take any torches because they’d blow up the gas! I don’t want to fish you out again, my hips ache too much already,” she said.

I looked out the window, and had to agree that I wouldn’t be able to find my way in the darkness. I finally agreed to share the night, but I had to share a room with Fabar. Granny Nipa came into our room just as I had snuggled under the blanket. She walked over and gently patted my shoulder and stroked my hair, and began humming a strange tune. Fabar was still in the bathroom, and at first I assumed that Granny Nipa was just waiting for her but then she started singing.

Little girl, little girl, don’t say a word,

Granny loves you more than, the whole wide world,

Little girl, little girl, don’t you cry,

Granny knows that one day, you will fly,

Little girl, little girl, fly like a bird,

Go and fly, all over the world,

Spread your wings, far and wide,

Toss your problems, to the side,

And if you get hurt, just you remember,

You can come home, just you remember,

Little girl, little girl, if you ever need a rest,

Just fly on back, to Granny’s nest.

Her guttural voice, and the simple, unsophisticated melody made it a little jarring at first, but soon I couldn’t help but feel as if a strange spell had been cast over me. A strange mix of nostalgia and longing overpowered me. I thought of the old lady at the orphanage back home, and how she’d sing us lullabies in the winter. Only in the winter though, mind you, to help us go to sleep in the freezing cold. But there was something different going on here. This was a real family, they had real bonds and real love for each other. Something I’d never experienced. Not with Rusty, Runir, nor anyone else.

Fabar had entered the room at some point, although she stood still in front of the door with her eyes downcast. Granny kept humming the song while patting my head. She stopped, ruffled my hair, and heaved herself up. She tottered over to Fabar, who was trembling visibly.

“Little girl, little girl, don’t say a word,” she sang, hugging Fabar. “Granny loves you more than the whole wide world.”

They stayed like that for a while. Fabar’s sobs muffled by Granny’s clothes.

“You came back,” whispered Granny. Fabar grunted in reply. They separated, Granny kissed her forehead, and left the room.

Fabar walked quietly into her bed and nestled under the blankets without a word. Her irregular breathing suggested she wasn’t asleep, but I couldn’t blame her for that. I couldn’t go to sleep either, partially because of everything that had happened today.

The Goddess who attacked us for no reason, that Saar girl working for Circle, Runir being the Demon Lord, and now my intrusion into this family. It was a lot to digest and kept me awake for hours. Eventually though, Fabar’s breathing evened out and my eyelids began drooping.

Just as I fell asleep, many images flashed inside my head. The Goddess’ smoke, Runir’s face, Kai’s hands, Amy’s robe, and the pictures on Granny Nipa’s shelf. The last picture, in particular, stayed stuck in my head. Navy hair, rosy cheeks, and a mischievous glint in her eye. It was a sparky little girl. She looked just like Fabar, except for the look in her eye.

My eyes shot open as a great weight pressed on my stomach. A hand covered my mouth, muffling my shout of alarm. I couldn’t see who it was, but I knew there was only one person it could be. The bright blue eyes staring coldly at mine, confirmed it.

“I don’t know who you are, and what you’re trying to do here, but if you hurt Granny…” hissed Fabar, as her hand curled around my neck. “You’ll wish you’d drowned in the mud.”

Silence, broken only by shallow breaths. I nodded. Her hand slipped off my mouth.

“You never grew up,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

A sharp intake of breath.

“Your name isn’t Lily.”

My turn to hold my breath.

Damn it Lily, you dumbass. You were supposed to use your fake name!

Silence again.

“Now answer my question,” she said, pressing down on my stomach a little more.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be gone in the morning,” I replied.

Yet, a part of me wanted to stay. To forget everything and live with Granny forever.

“You don’t have to be so possessive, though,” I said, not knowing when to shut up. “I’m sure Granny loves you even though you left her for so long. And hey, wouldn’t it be better if someone stayed with her to take care of her. What if she got sick, or couldn’t cook anymore?” Her eyes narrowed.

“Hell,” I continued. “Would you even know if she died? Out here, in the middle of nowhere.”

She grabbed my neck and brought her face inches from mine.

“You don’t know anything, kid,” she breathed. “You know what. I’m not going to risk it. Can’t let a liar like you be around Granny for long.”

Something cold pressed against my skin. Something cold and wet.

Water magic? I thought, confused.

I checked her status again, and found no mention of water magic. In fact, her level and Strength should not have been high enough to pin me down like this. A sinking feeling in my stomach told me something was wrong. Very wrong.

What little light came in through the window reflected off a giant blade of water that swung silently towards my neck. I frantically prepared some magic to counter it but it was too fast, and too close, for me to dodge!

It struck, splashing me with a cold, wet feeling. But there was no pain.

The bright blue eyes blinked a couple of times, before narrowing once more. And then the little girl spat out in a venomous tone:

“Hero or Demon Lord?”

 < Back | TOC | Next >

I woke up in a prison cell. I could tell by the chains around my ankles, the drab stone walls, and the rusty, iron bars on the window. The window was a good sign; it meant I wasn’t somewhere underground. If I could break free, I could probably escape.

But I couldn’t lift my arms. Even attempting to do so made my head spin. I grunted and tried to use void-step to escape but to my dismay, I found that I couldn’t summon an ounce of magic. I called up my Status and felt my headache increase.

My life bar was in the red, and my mana bar was empty. Several notes indicated that I was drugged and intoxicated. Whoever put me here, knew exactly how to keep me from escaping. The drugs were inhibiting my ability to think, depriving me of my biggest advantage.

Ironically, that all but told me who my captor was. I didn’t have to think particularly hard to come up with his name. Only one person had ever come close to outwitting me in this world, and only he could keep me incapacitated like this.

I fought my headache and grogginess to try to make sense of the situation. I was imprisoned, most likely by him, which meant that something must have happened. I wouldn’t have walked up to him of my own free will.

Think Runir, what’s the last thing you remember?

Stabs of pain shot through my skull and I had to give up for fear that I would lose the last of my HP. Death by headache wasn’t the way I wanted to go. I caught my breath and decided to survey my surroundings.

A couple of buckets, one full of grimy water and the other reeking of human refuse, lay in one corner of the cell. The door was old; made of rotting wood and bars of rusty iron. This was an old prison; far older than the ones I had seen in my time in the Dark Kingdom. The rest of the room was empty. Dirty, but empty.

The drugs would probably keep me from recovering. Sure enough, my HP didn’t increase for hours. Then again, I couldn’t tell the time.  The window let in light, but I could have sworn that it had been too bright for too long. What if I was still underground but he wanted me to think I was on a tower? But why would he do that?

Maybe he was messing with my head? Softening me up so I would be more pliable when he finally came to me to get what he wanted.

What did he want, anyway? Why didn’t he just finish me off? That would have been quicker, cleaner, and far less troublesome than locking me up in a prison cell. More importantly, I knew he wouldn’t allow for the smallest chance of failure, and as long as I was alive, I could try to escape.

I don’t know how long I was stuck there. I tried counting my heartbeats, hoping that could give me some measure of time, but it was no use. I hoped the drugs would work their way out of my system but whenever I went to sleep, I’d wake up feeling groggier than ever.

After another long period of time, I lay against the wall and began dozing off.

And then I pounced.

Someone shrieked, but I ignored it and knocked the syringe out of their hand. I kicked the guard into the wall, grabbed his set of keys, and tried to unlock myself.

However, the keys didn’t fit.

Cursing, I threw them out of the window and tried to search the guard’s unconscious body for more tools. I found a small dagger but I wouldn’t be able to cut through the chains with it.

If Lily were here, she could probably pick the lock with this, I thought.

I’d figured out that they were replacing the buckets whenever I fell asleep, so I’d feigned sleeping to break the cycle and it worked. My mind was clearing now that I hadn’t had my regular dose of drugs. However, I didn’t have the time to sit down and think. There must be more guards, and they’d be here to check on me soon. I needed to break the chains around my legs.

My HP was recovering and so was my magic, but not nearly fast enough. I could already hear footsteps in the distance. I had to think of something but I couldn’t focus through the drug-induced haze in my head.

I had to wing it.

Lily would be proud, I mused to myself as I closed the door, dragged the guard into position and huddled behind him.

The door was violently kicked in, and a group of guards stormed in. They saw the guard standing in front of them, and one of them let out a sigh of relief, while the other angrily asked the man why he was taking so long.

And that’s when I shoved him into the lead guard, twisted around the other side to knock out another, and threw the dagger into the last one’s foot. He crumpled to the ground as I struck him in the neck. I ruffled through their belongings, and finally managed to find a key that fit. Free at last, I cautiously left the cell.

The corridor outside was inclined upwards, and there was no way to go any lower. I judged that I was not underground after all, although I was sure that the window in the cell did not lead outside. I ran up, poised to strike with the dagger.

The effects of the drugs were subsiding so my thoughts were growing clearer. We were fighting Lunaris when she pulled some strange smoke out of nowhere. Then Kai was in front of me; he whispered something I couldn’t hear, I felt my stomach lurch, and fainted.

And somehow, I’d woken up here, of all places. Talk about shitty luck.

A door appeared at the end of the corridor. I stopped outside and checked it for traps. I thought for a second, took a deep breath, wore my poker face, and opened the door.

“Welcome Runir,” came a voice from inside. “What took you so long?”

“Rats. They’re everywhere. You should clean up the place,” I said, forcibly keeping myself calm.

I was in a cozy little room, with a table in the center. He was sitting on a chair on the other side of the table, tapping his fingers on the wooden surface impatiently. There was an empty chair facing me, which I took before he could offer it to me.

“I apologize, we do have a bit of a pest problem here,” he said, lightly.

“I would have taken care of it if you hadn’t chased me out,” I said.

“What are you, a cat?” he said. “Couldn’t help but chase you away, I’m afraid. I don’t like cats.”

“Damn it,” I said, finally losing my cool. “Fuck cats, tell me what you’re trying to pull here!” I demanded.

“What do you mean? I haven’t seen you in a while, so I was hoping we could chat for a bit,” he replied, calmly.

“I’ve had enough of your games, Azoth,” I snarled.

“You sure?” said Demon General Azoth, pulling something out of thin air. “I was hoping we could go another round. I’m a sore loser, so I can’t execute you before I even the score.”

He laid down the chess-set on the table. The pieces floated into their positions, and he let me pick my side first.

Was he seriously doing all this to beat me at chess? Somehow, I doubted that he was petty enough for that but I decided to play along until I figured out his true intentions.

“Black,” I said. The board flipped so that the black pieces would face me.

We didn’t speak after that.

Our previous game started with a queen’s gambit, but this time we opened with a Sicilian defense. He claimed the center with his knight immediately, to which I responded by positioning a pawn at e6. His pawn advanced to d4, and I captured it forthwith. He responded by driving his knight into my territory, whilst capturing a pawn in the process.

From the very beginning, I was put on the defensive; all my moves mere reactions to his. I brought out a knight, he summoned a bishop to the battlefield. I assumed my knight would be safe, since it was defended by a line of pawns, yet he shattered my expectations by trading his knight for mine.

He castled before I could, ensuring that I would have to claw my way across the board if I wanted to threaten his king. Yet, when I castled, it was less an act of intimidation than an act of cowardice. Like a turtle cowering in its shell, I awaited his inevitable stab into my defenses.

It came swiftly in the form of his knights and bishops, supported by his ever-present army of pawns. He whittled away at my walls until they collapsed. His rooks came in to hound my king from behind his battlements and into the spotlight.

I was going to lose this game, I could feel it.

“And what happens if you win?” I asked.

“If I win?” he said, a faint smile on his lips. “If you haven’t realized it yet, then it’s hopeless.” He shook his head. “But to answer your question; nothing. Nothing happens after I win.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t believe me?” he continued, incredulously. “The door’s right behind me. After I beat you, you’re free to leave.”

“There has to be a catch,” I said, warily.

“Well…”

Knew it!

“I would appreciate it if you listened to a proposal of mine. It’s the least you can do,” he said.

I furrowed my brows. I had not been expecting that.

I had also not been expecting his next move. Trading a rook for a knight, in that position? I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. His intentions were a mystery. I was lost in his plans.

Not just his plans, though. There were so many plans and schemes floating around this world that I couldn’t tell what was real anymore.

And in one fell swoop, he threw me into disarray again.

“Check,” he said, placing his queen on g4.

I blocked the threat with my remaining knight. A cold shiver passed down my spine as I realized what was happening.

“Check.” This time with a bishop.

I blocked it with a rook.

He positioned his other bishop. I felt a sense of foreboding and trepidation growing inside me. It was over but I would go down fighting. He’d been throwing me around since the start, manipulating me with his plan. Pushing me back with every move, yet blinding me with the dense haze of his machinations.

But I had to hit back, just once was enough. I picked up my queen and put it on b6.

“Check,” I said, triumphantly. I’d done it. I’d pushed back against the tide!

Yet all he did was move his king one space, as if dismissing my pathetic attempt at retaliation.

I moved my king as well, as if rebuking him for the insult.

He finished it off by placing his rook on d1.

I breathed and closed my eyes. I toppled my king, officially accepting my defeat.

My first defeat in chess, on the heels of my first defeat in real life. Could this get any worse?

“Now then,” said Demon General Azoth with a smirk. “About that proposal…”

I sighed. “Fine, whatever,” I said, unenthusiastically.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “This’ll make you perk up in no time.” He leaned over the now empty table. “I know what it feels like to have no control over your own destiny. Being played with by higher powers, like a puppet on a string.”

He was right, I did perk up immediately.

“Don’t you want to cut those strings?” he continued.

I waited for him to continue, but he didn’t, indicating that he wanted a reply.

“I do,” I stated, simply. “But aren’t you playing with me right now? How can I trust you if I know nothing about you or your plans?”

He nodded his head. “Of course, I’ll answer all of your questions if you agree to assist. Even if you refuse, I won’t execute you. You’ll merely be locked up again; this time in a cell you definitely won’t be able to get out of.”

I pondered his response, then asked: “First question, why go through all of this?” I gestured towards the room. “The cell with the fake window, the drugs, the incompetent guards. And then this pointless game of chess. Why go through all this trouble?”

“It wasn’t a pointless game of chess,” he muttered. “And that’s an easy one. We had to put on a show.”

“A show?” I asked. “For who?”

He smiled. “Who else could see something without being here?”

I frowned. Several people, actually.

“But what did you want to show them?”

“That I had captured you and tortured you for information; presumably concerning the Hero,” he answered. “Also, to show that you escaped, but ran right into my personal chambers, following which you either disappeared or escaped after defeating me in a grand battle.”

I stopped to digest what he was saying, but I still couldn’t see the point in any of this. “But why? What good would any of that do?”

“Because the reason your plans failed, Runir, was because you were being read like a book. Then again, you can’t be blamed for that. Your opponent can see everything, after all.” He tapped his fingers on the table. “Well, almost everything. This room,” he said, spreading his arms wide. “Is protected by the latest technology developed by the secret organization that I am a part of. Because of this, no one – not even the goddesses – can see what’s happening inside. And that is why I needed to meet you here.”

Secret organization? Opponent? He answered my question, then raised even more. How the hell am I supposed to wrap my head around all of this?

“But why did you want to meet me?” I asked.

“It’s a little melodramatic, to be honest,” he said, a fierce glint in his eyes. “We’re going to save the world.”

 < Back | TOC | Next >

I woke up in the early hours of the morning, when the sun was on the verge of rising over the horizon, and the sunlight began melting the upper layers of snow and frost that had accumulated over my blanket. Having found myself in strange places before, I wasn’t surprised by what I was seeing. What did surprise me was something that I couldn’t see.

Or more specifically, someone.

His side of the blanket was still warm so he hadn’t been gone long. I decided to search for him but just as I prepared to blast off the mountain, I caught a delicious smell wafting through the air. I followed it, and found Kai sitting in a cave, tending to a fire with a pot over it.

“Good morning darling, I hope you’ll forgive me for the Spartan breakfast I’ve prepared, but finding the others is our top priority for now,” he said, stirring the pot with a large wooden spoon.

“No, not at all,” I replied, sitting myself down on a rock beside the fire. “Any idea where they are, yet?”

“I’m afraid not. We’ll just have to follow the ring for now,” he said. “And here you go. Some hot soup to drive away the cold!” He poured some soup into a bowl and handed it to me.

Driving away the cold huh… I thought, staring into the bowl.

The soup was clear enough for me to stare back at myself. Kai ate his soup quickly, and I snuck a few glances at him as he guzzled it all down. Some of it dripped off his chin before splattering on the ground. He wiped his mouth and cleaned the pot, before turning to see me holding onto a cold bowl of soup.

I met his gaze, and held it for a while. A cold gust of wind blew out the fire, scattering its ashes and embers. He looked away first, resigned to the fact that he couldn’t paint over last night with a smile and a bowl of soup.

“Fine, everything I said last night was true,” he said. “I love you. Always have, always will. But we need to get a move on if we want to save the others.”

Honest and straight to the point. Perfect.

I nodded, downed the soup and walked up to him. I stood close enough that his warm breath washed over my face. I handed him the bowl, turned and walked out of the cave. At the cave’s mouth, I looked back and saw his surprised face.

“No time for mushy stuff,” I said, smiling. “Let’s go.”

He blinked and caught up to me. We climbed down the mountain as fast as we could, not stopping for anything. We didn’t kiss or hug along the way. In fact, it was almost like last night had never happened at all.

Almost. We still ended up holding hands, after all.

–

We raced along the winding mountain trails and dirt roads. The Earth Kingdom didn’t have much in the way of infrastructure despite the plentiful slave labor they possessed. We passed scores of mines and factories full of slaves, but we couldn’t stop to save them all. However, we did make sure to knock out as many of the owners and cut as many chains as we could.

By the time we reached the capital, Fugard, rumors of a strange wind that attacked mines and factories, had already begun spreading among the nobility. The National Guard had already been dispatched to guard the major mines, and we even ran into a few of them but brushed them aside easily.

It was nighttime when we jumped over the crumbling walls of Fugard and faded into the shadows of the commercial district. The shops were closed and boarded up; the entire city having gone to sleep due to the curfew imposed by the government. Not even slaves were allowed outside this late at night. Nevertheless, a few hunched shadows huddled together in the dark alleyways and secluded corners of the streets.

Sewage overflowed out of the open-drains lining the streets in the slum we passed through on our way up to the palace. There were no guards here so more people scurried about along the unlit dirt roads and crumbling stone pathways. A group of grimy street urchins flinched as we approached but we were gone before they peeked out of the garbage pile they were scavenging. We heard them pounce on the pile of apples we’d thrown out of our Storage, but didn’t have the time to go back.

The ring was vibrating with startling frequency, making Kai and I incredibly nervous. Kai claimed both Lily and Zoe seemed to be close together so they’d probably be fine, but I could tell that he wasn’t telling me everything. Whatever it was, it must be serious.

We scaled the inner walls of the city and dropped into the noble’s district. The curfew was in place here too and it was more strictly enforced than in the slums. Guards lined the streets, patrolling corners, and rotating between shifts. However, sometimes a hand would appear from a window and drop some money and a note in the hands of an awaiting guard, who would then go deliver it to another house.

The streets here were more brightly lit so a few guards managed to catch a glimpse of us as we raced across the rooftops. However, the ring was vibrating so furiously that we gave up all pretense of subtlety and whizzed across the city as fast as we could. Alarm bells chimed, shouts of confusion erupted across the city, but we ignored all of it as we climbed the walls of the palace and jumped across into the tower through a window.

The ring had led us to the tower but now we were stuck. Should we go further up or descend the stairs below? Time was running out, so with a quick exchange of nods, Kai flew up the stairs while I ran down as fast as I could.

The stairs seemed to go on forever. I surmised that I should have passed the door long ago but I didn’t even come across another window. The flickering torchlight was my only guide as I plunged deeper and deeper into the earth. The walls echoed the buzz of the ring vibrating on my finger. This didn’t mean that I was getting closer; it meant that the other ring was being pressured by an immense amount of magic.

Kai had told me about this on the way. The rings were built with the ability to guard their wearer against magic, but that protection wouldn’t last forever. For the rings to be reacting like this, Lily and Zoe had to be in a lot of trouble.

Up ahead, a small doorway appeared at last. I burst through the door but had to squint as the bright lights overwhelmed my eyes. Blinking rapidly, I quickly recovered just in time to furrow my brows in confusion.

The walls were crude, craggy rocks, with signs suggesting that the place had been dug out by magic. The floor was covered in runes and symbols, arranged in a circle with sparkling gemstones embedded in seemingly random places. Mana flowed around the gemstones, funneled into the magic formation, and ultimately ended up in the center of the room.

There, a tall woman in drab, brown robes stood over a couple of stones. She was bombarding them with insane amounts of mana, but the stones seemed to be able to absorb whatever the woman threw at them. All they did, was vibrate intensely.

“Aia?” said the woman, ceasing her onslaught on the rings.

“Opal,” I said, wheezing heavily. “Where did you get those?”

“Nice to see you too, sis,” she said, somewhat dryly. “And those rocks were delivered to me a day ago. We weren’t able to refine them at the factory and the nobles couldn’t seem to do it either, so they sent them to me.” She tied up her hair and wiped the sweat off her forehead. “Haven’t been able to dent the blasted things. Good thing you’re here. Maybe two goddesses can –”

“Where!” I shouted, interrupting her. “Where did you find those rings? Where are the people who were wearing them?”

She was taken aback by the ferocity of my tone but nonetheless answered.

“I don’t know about any rings, but if you’re talking about these gemstones then I have no idea who had them at first. They were probably found in some mine, or on the ground somewhere. I’d try to trace it back to the slaves who found them, but they wouldn’t remember it. They go through tons of rocks every day.”

I stood dumbfounded for a moment. The rings were here but Lily and Zoe were nowhere to be found. How could that be? Where could they have gone? Surely the only way the rings would come off is if they’d taken them off themselves, but why would they do that?

“I feel like I’m missing something here, sis. Why are you here anyway? Haven’t seen you in a long time. You haven’t been to any of our meetings for centuries. I thought you hated the rest of us,” she said. “Listen, the next conclave’s in a few weeks. Make sure to drop by, okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said, absentmindedly. There were more pressing concerns on my mind.

How will I find them now? Are they hurt? Are they in danger? What do I do now?

“Hey, hey, what are you so worried about?” said Opal, conjuring up a couple of chairs and a small, earthen table. “Come sit, and tell big sis Opal what’s on your mind.” She smiled enchantingly. She’d always had the best smile among us sisters.

But I hated it. It made my skin crawl thinking about what hid behind that disarming smile. After all, when the rest of us tried to ban slavery in the first conclave, it was Opal who managed to convince the others to let it exist. Since then she’d taken an incredibly active role in the management of her country, even going so far as making the monarchy her puppet. The slave based society that she’d created was ridiculously profitable, but none of that money went back to the people.

The slaves thought the slave-owners were hoarding all the profits, the slave-owners suspected the nobility, and the nobility believed that the monarchy was eating it all up. In truth, it was Opal who was sucking all the wealth out of her own country, but even I didn’t know where all that money was going.

I didn’t accept the seat, choosing instead to stand as I met her gaze.

“Fine,” she said, her smile never faltering. “Tell me what happened and I’ll do my best to help. We’re sisters, after all.”

“Those stones come from rings that belonged to my friends. I gave them those rings so I’d be able to find them if we were separated, the way we are right now. And now I’ve found the rings but not the people and I’m worried about them. If you know where they are, tell me immediately,” I said. “Please,” I added.

Opal furrowed her brow and stood up. “Well that would explain why I couldn’t refine it. Goddesses can’t break each other’s possessions. The slaves and nobility would have been too weak to do so, as well. But…” She raised her eyebrows quizzically. “Since when did you get so good at crafting rings? Teach me, I’m sure it’ll come in handy someday.”

“Listen!” I shouted. “I don’t have time for this. Lily and Zoe are probably in danger right now and I need to find them!”

“Lily and Zoe?” she said. “Are they humans? Aia, darling, you know there’s no point fretting over silly little humans, right? They’ll be dead before you know it. No point in getting too attached to your pets, dear.”

I shot her an angry glare but her words echoed inside my head nonetheless. I knew exactly how short-lived humans were. I’d avoided humans for centuries because I feared getting attached to them.

“Just tell me where they are,” I said, irritably.

“You’re a lost cause.” She shook her head. “I haven’t detected anyone with those names in my country.”

“You wouldn’t be able to,” I stated.

She raised an eyebrow. “Hero, or Demon Lord?”

“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “Tell me where you found the rings and I’ll go search for them myself.”

She was a little unwilling but eventually agreed. I assured her I’d attend the next conclave and made to leave the chamber when she called out for me to stop.

“What is it?” I asked, annoyed by the delay.

“Have you talked to the others?” she asked, her tone serious.

“Yes, I have,” I replied, curtly.

“And you’re okay with the plan?” she asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked, furrowing my brows.

She pondered for a bit, then nodded. “Right, see you at the conclave.”

I didn’t think too much about her odd behavior, and rushed out to the staircase again.

“Amy!”

Kai appeared from above.

“Kai! I found the rings,” I said, showing him the gems that Opal had given me.

“But where are Zoe and Lily?” he asked.

“Don’t know, but I know where these rings were first found,” I kicked out the wall of the tower. “But we don’t have the time to walk.”

He nodded, completely unperturbed by the destruction of the wall. He hugged me tightly, making me flush a little bit, but I held it in and shot off into the distance.

The wind whistled past us, drowning out the shouts of the people below. We couldn’t afford subtleties anymore.

Wait for us, kids. I won’t let this end the same way.

Not again.

Not this time.

I’ll find you, no matter what. No matter how hard I have to look.

I’ll find you.

 < Back | TOC | Next >

Silence.

The only sound that cut through it: her breath.

Long, gentle and warm. It was calming. I would have lain there listening to her breathing forever, but what was the point of that. Moments like these were important because they were fleeting. You valued them because they would never come back and could only live on in memory.

Just like all those other, fond memories that I relived in my mind whenever I could. They were what kept me going.

The blanket was warm and the magic I’d cast kept off the worst of the cold. I breathed deeply; the chilly mountain air filled my nostrils along with something else…

Her scent.

Her head rested on my arm while her silky, red hair trailed my skin. I admired her beautiful face. No scars, no bags, no wrinkles. It was almost too perfect. Like a sculpture or a doll. It was hard to believe she was real. Hard to believe I could touch her, feel her. That I had felt her. All of her.

I’m sorry I didn’t confess sooner, I thought. But I had important things to do. I still do.

I noticed something flash in the corner of my eye. Turning my head, I saw a bright light streak across the clear night sky. The stars were crying again but I didn’t want to console them. No, today I would join them in their grief.

Because today I had to do something that would hurt me a lot. My heart ached whenever I thought about it. But I’d already decided; it was for the greater good. This was the best way for everyone involved.

As the comet faded away, I decided to let loose for just a little bit. I needed to prepare myself for what I had to do next. A little indulgence now and then, wasn’t so bad.

Re:write

Something happened. You couldn’t notice it at first but if you looked around you’d see the signs. Silence, that’s what you’d notice. The wind was dead. Amy’s breath was frozen.

The only thing that moved. The only thing that wasn’t frozen apart from myself, was the sky. Stars still flickered and blinked. The moon still floated slowly away.

I’d gotten a lot better at using my Ability and gradually stopped relying on the code or even on words. It came naturally to me.

All I had to do was think.

Think, and the stars would move.

Think, and the moon would shift.

Think… and there’d be a portrait in the stars –  a portrait of Amy sitting on the deck of a ship.

Think, and the portrait would move. Her eyes would flicker like she’d noticed someone sit in front of her.

Think, and the stars would flicker when I wanted them to. They’d give her eyes a little life, her teeth a little sparkle. Some of them would flash brighter, making her smile shine.

The scene played out exactly as I remembered it. Every detail from when she smiled to when she blinked, all of it happened up in the heavens the same way it had on the ship a few days ago.

A few days. I can’t believe it’s only been a few days.

Her mouth moved but no sounds came out. But that was okay, they echoed inside my head of their own accord.

Hello Kai, how are you. You seem a little distraught.

Fine, Amy. I’m fine. Hey listen…

Yes?

You’re the happiest person I know so –

Me? How am I the happiest person you know?

Well, it might be because I don’t know a lot of people.

It’s fine, I don’t have many friends either.

Yeah but everyone I do know is either gloomy or cranky!

That’s just Runir and Lily.

Well that’s almost everyone I know.

But I’m not a happy person? I barely ever smile.

Happiness isn’t about smiling, silly. It’s something inside you. Deep inside you. I’ve seen it come to the surface occasionally, usually when you’re helping someone.

Really? I never noticed. I’m bad at this ‘emotions’ thing.

No, you’re not! It’s easy to notice someone else’s emotions, but finding your own? No one can do that. At least not all the time. And even when you do, you can never tell what’s causing them. You can never tell why you suddenly feel… never mind that. Tell me, Amy, what’s the secret to happiness? How can you still be happy when things go bad? When all you wanna do is lash out or turtle up, how can you still go on doing what you do?

I… don’t know. I guess I think about my friends?

And it works?

It works if you don’t think about the future. Don’t worry about what could happen or what is going to happen. All you need to think about is the present. I mean, if I started thinking about the future I would…

The star-Amy hesitated, just like the real one had on the ship.

…The important thing is to live in the present. Remember the past, but don’t brood over it. Plan for the future, but don’t fret over it. That’s all I can say.

Those words were very important to me. They’d kept me sane for a long time.

The stars dispersed and then they came back together again. This time, they outlined Amy walking next to me. Amy, smiling, as she hugged Zoe. Amy around a campfire, listening to a story.

I relived some other memories and got lost in them for who knows how long. But the night never ended, in fact, it never grew any older.

I remembered the past. I sought comfort in it. I sought courage from it.

I thought about the future. I sought hope in it. I sought determination from it.

But when I sought for happiness, I turned to the woman lying beside me. She was right; happiness could only be found in the present.

More of my memories flashed in the sky, some of them flickering by so fast you could barely see them. But then they stopped, frozen in place as a new memory overrode the others. It wouldn’t be right calling it a memory just yet though, but maybe it could count as a memory from the present.

Amy’s sleeping face looked down at me from the heavens.

I’d think of this moment again, whenever I needed some comfort or when I needed the courage to do what I had to do. Of course, I couldn’t go to it for happiness because happiness was in the present.

The only problem was, the present wasn’t going to be happy for much longer. It had to pass. It couldn’t stay. It had to fade into the past. It had to fade into memories.

The sleeping face in the sky vanished. The stars and the moon went back to their original positions. The wind howled once again, and Amy’s chest rose and fell once more. I stared at her one last time and then I steeled myself and replaced my hand with a pillow.

I left the warmth of the blanket and appeared outside wearing a long purple robe. I walked down the mountain without glancing back.

I didn’t need to walk. I could have just flown there. But I was delaying. I was putting it off. I didn’t want to do it even though I knew it was for the best. I knew for a fact that this was the right thing to do.

On the other side of the mountain was an abandoned building nestled in the woods. The walls were crumbling and the bars on the windows had long since rusted away, but there was a bed inside.

I approached it slowly, trying not to make a sound.

She heard me anyway.

“Who’s there?” someone said.

“It’s me,” I replied.

“Kai?” Something fell on the ground. “It really is you!”

A tiny human tackled my legs. I tousled her hair and chuckled, noticing the rusty knife she’d dropped on the floor.

“Hey Zoe, how’ve you been?” I asked.

Zoe looked up at me and smiled. “Bored! Do you know where the others are? Amy, do you know where Amy is?”

“They’re fine. They’re all fine. All though, they are worried about you.”

“I’ve survived a lot worse than this. This is nothing!” she said.

“Come on, grab your things and let’s get out of here,” I said.

She nodded, put everything in her Storage and let me lead her outside.

“You did a good job staying safe. You stayed here for the whole day, right?”

“Yep, there was a bed and everything. I lucked out!”

We walked up the mountain. I shielded her from the wind and the cold, but I still made her climb on her own.

“Do you remember what happened?” I asked.

“Yeah…” she trailed. “Was Lily really…”

“I’m afraid so,” I replied.

“You already knew, didn’t you?” she said, accusingly.

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” She let go of my hand. “Why should I trust you right now?”

I let the wind hit her. She stumbled and her eyes went wide.

“Because I care about you. I’m taking the full force of this wind for you, right now,” I said.

Her eyebrows furrowed but she grabbed my hand again.

“Don’t do that again,” she said, pouting.

“Okay,” I said. “Sorry.”

We walked in silence for a while.

“So what now?” she asked.

“Well first we need to climb this mountain to see Amy,” I said.

“What’s she doing all the way up here?” she asked.

“We were following the signal from your ring but she got tired while climbing the mountain so I left her at the summit and came down to fetch you,” I explained.

“Oh! Are we going to surprise her?” she asked.

“I suppose.”

We reached the summit but there was no one there.

“Hey, where is she?” asked Zoe, confused. “You said she’d be here.”

“She’s on that mountain over there, can you see her?” I said, pointing to the mountain peak next to this one.

“But then why’d we climb this one?” asked Zoe, frowning.

“So you could see her one last time,” I said.

The wind died down.

“What do you mean by that?” asked Zoe as her eyes flitted between me, and Amy’s sleeping figure on the other mountain.

“You think I didn’t notice what you were trying to do in that building down below?” I said.

I stepped closer.

“You think I didn’t see what was in your eyes ever since we rescued you. You think I couldn’t tell from a mile away…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, quickly. Even though it was cold up there, she was sweating.

“Zoe,” I whispered. “Look up there.” I pointed to the sky.

She followed my finger and began to tremble. Her entire body shook as she saw the stars in the sky swirl around to make a portrait.

A portrait of a little girl holding a knife to her throat.

The stars disbursed before coming together to make another picture.

A picture of a girl crying all alone in the woods.

Then they outlined a girl looking off a cliff, eyeing a sharp rock, or gripping some rope.

Then they made an arm covered in scars. But then more scars showed up. And then some more; most of them around the wrist.

Zoe trembled and her mouth quivered. But she wasn’t awed by my Ability. She wasn’t wowed by the fact that I could make the sky my canvas. It was the pictures in the sky that stunned her. Her dark secret was being displayed on the largest screen possible. One can only imagine how she must have felt. The emotions roiling inside her heart.

Her eyes were wet, and her face devoid of all color. Gasping for breath, she took a step back, as if to escape from the pictures in the sky. But it was in vain, because how could she escape the sky? She couldn’t even look away. It pained her to look at the truth laid out above her but she couldn’t break away. She couldn’t deny it any longer. She couldn’t hide it anymore.

“Zoe,” I said, gently. “It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”

I tried to approach her but she shrank away.

“No. No, it’s not okay. They know… they know I…” She sobbed. “Everyone knows now… they know!”

“Zoe…”

“No! Shut up!” she screamed, finally wrenching her gaze from the sky. “You put it on the sky! You told everyone! Now they’ll… now they’ll…”

“Now they’ll what?” I replied, calmly. “Judge you for being forced to endure so much pain? Judge you for having the misfortune of being born into a shitty life, twice? Or maybe they’ll judge you for having the courage to resist ending your pain so many times. If they judge you for any of that, I’m sure they’ll think very highly of you. And if they don’t, then that’s their problem.”

“Why can’t you leave me alone!” she cried. “Everything was fine! I had friends, no, I had a family!” Tears trailed down her cheeks. “Why did you have to tell them? Why did you put it up there for all of them to see?”

“They can’t see it, Zoe,” I said. “Calm down and look around you for a second. Notice anything?”

She fought back her tears and sobs, reminding me once again how strong she really was, and looked around.

“I don’t see anything. It’s too dark,” she said, finally.

“Exactly, it’s too dark,” I said.

“That makes it worse! It means they can see the stars. They can see that!” She pointed at the pictures in the sky.

The pictures were going back through her life. There were scenes of a little girl trying to swallow dirt or stabbing herself with a shard of glass.

“But they shouldn’t be able to see it,” I said.

“Yes, they shouldn’t! It’s none of their business, nor yours!” she said, angrily.

“No, I meant they shouldn’t be able to see it because the sun should have risen an hour ago.”

She furrowed her eyebrows and looked up at the sky again. She ignored the little girl trying to goad a man with a whip into killing her, and noticed that the moon hadn’t moved. Then she looked around and saw the pebbles stuck frozen on the edge of rolling over, the leaves hanging in the still air, and the frost that hadn’t begun to thaw.

“Oh,” she said.

I walked closer and this time she didn’t move away. She was still eying me warily though. I’d lost her trust.

“Zoe, it’s okay. You know we love you. Even if the others found out, they wouldn’t think any less of you. In fact, they’d try to make sure you were safe and cared for,” I said.

“So they’d be worried about me? Well I don’t need their pity!” she snarled.

“It’s not pity. They love you. We love you. Like you said, we’re like a family,” I said, reassuringly. “And a family takes care of each other, whether they like it or not.”

“We’re not a family…” she mumbled. “Lily was the Hero, and Runir’s the Demon Lord. We can’t be a family anymore.”

“Oh don’t worry, every family has its squabbles. Although our family is a little special, we’ll get through this eventually. All we have to do is trust each other,” I said, tousling Zoe’s hair again.

She didn’t avoid it this time. “Fine…”

“Now that’s the spirit.” I smiled.

“Kai…” she said, so quietly I barely caught it. “What if they think I’m crazy. I don’t wanna tell them about it.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “I’ll leave it up to you.”

I turned away from Zoe.

“Zoe,” I said.

“Yes Kai?” she asked.

“We’ve been avoiding this question for a while now, but you know I have to ask, right?”

She didn’t respond.

“Are you going to stop?” I asked, fighting to keep the emotion out of my voice. “No matter what happens. No matter how far you’re pushed. No matter how much pain you’re in. Can I trust you to never try to kill yourself again? Can I trust you?”

No response, just empty silence.

“Zoe, I know I can protect you from everything else but tell me, how do I protect you from yourself?” I asked, turning around to face her.

She was staring at her feet.

I hugged her.

“Just say it. Come on. Tell me I can trust you. Tell me I don’t have to be afraid for you whenever you’re alone. Tell me I don’t have to worry about you jumping from a cliff or driving a knife through your heart.” I held her tighter. “Tell me you won’t kill yourself.”

“I can’t…” she whispered.

I grabbed her shoulders and stared her in the eyes. “Why? Why not?”

I was emotional. More emotional than I’d been in a long time. And it didn’t even make any sense. I’d always known this would happen. I’d known how this would end.

“I’m telling you it’ll be alright. No matter how bad things seem, they will get better. Just endure a little. Just a little, that’s all I ask.”

“No,” she whispered, avoiding my eye. “I can’t. It’s all I have. The only thing I can control. It’s how I escaped last time.”

“Zoe, please…”

“I can’t,” she looked me in the eye, not a tear to be seen. “I can trust you. I can endure. But I can’t make that promise. I can’t.”

This was it. We were at an impasse. I’d known she wouldn’t budge on this. Suicide had been her only comfort, her only escape. She wouldn’t throw that away. Even if she was safe forever, she’d never throw it away as an option.

It wasn’t likely that she’d kill herself. She’d endured far worse than anything that could possibly happen to her now. But if she wasn’t willing to make that promise, there was a chance. A small chance, but a chance nonetheless.

If something went wrong. Or rather, if something felt as if it had gone wrong, Zoe might try to take her own life. And with Lily and Runir at each other’s throats, and Amy as emotionally vulnerable as she was, it was highly likely that Zoe would consider suicide again. It was almost a reflex for her now. If she felt like things were about to go bad, as if she would be caught up in the perpetual suffering from her previous life or her childhood as a slave in this life, then she wouldn’t risk it.

“Please…” I tried one last time. “At least lie. At least pretend like you’ll consider it.”

She shook her head.

I was kneeling so our eyes would meet at the same level. I stared into them but she stared back with intense resolve. This was the one thing she would never compromise on.

“Then you leave me no choice,” I said.

The stars dispersed, then flickered and vanished. The moon faded away. The mountains disappeared, leaving a world of darkness. Yet, even though there was no light, Zoe and I could see each other. Her eyes went wide as she noticed what was happening but no words left her mouth.

I knelt in front of her and hugged her.

She somehow managed to find her voice. “Kai… what is this?”

“We had a lot of fun together. We laughed and we played. We shared stories and good times. But nothing lasts forever. I wish it could, but it can’t. We can’t go back to the way things used to be,” I rambled, lamenting.

“What?” she asked.

“We made memories together. Lots of memories. Memories are important. Some say we are nothing but the sum of our memories. They define our past and mold our future.” I released her from my embrace, patted her shoulders and met her eyes. “You’re a tough girl. You’ve been through a lot. I know your future won’t be anywhere near as tough as your past, but the toughest part will be the memory of everything you’ve been through. Reliving the pain every night, flinching at shadows, and crying in the darkness. I don’t want you to go through that anymore.”

I kissed her forehead gently. “Some memories are useful; they can help us get through the worst of times. Even when you want to curl up and cry, those memories can be the anchor that keeps you from floating away. But some memories aren’t worth it. Some memories are a useless weight trying to drag you down to the bottom of the ocean.”

“No, don’t!” Zoe shouted with alarm as she finally realized what was happening.

“Some memories, are best left forgotten.”

Zoe’s face froze and her eyes blanked. She vanished from the empty world I’d created on a whim. I stayed there all alone for a while. There was no ‘time’ in this world, so I could stay there for as long as I wanted to.

All alone in that empty world, I toyed with the idea of cutting away my own memories. It would be so much easier if I didn’t have them. So much easier to keep swimming if I could just let them go. But I couldn’t. Even if they dragged me to the bottom, I couldn’t let go. Even if I had to trudge along the seafloor, I couldn’t let them go.

I had to live with my memories. I had to endure.

–

Somewhere outside the capital of the Earth Kingdom, a group of yellow-robed horsemen were practicing their drills. Suddenly, the old lady directing their group ordered them to halt. She’d heard something strange in the bushes to the side and told one of the new recruits to investigate.

The young man was annoyed, but he didn’t dare disobey the old crone, so he dismounted and walked into the bushes. He couldn’t see anything and was just about to turn to report that it was probably an animal or something, when his foot hit something strange.

Surprised, he pushed away the leaves and stared wide-eyed at what lay hidden underneath. He shouted something to the people behind him and began pulling apart the bush. Some of his compatriots arrived and helped him rescue the little girl in the bush.

The old crone approached and inspected the girl. After judging that she wasn’t hurt too badly, and that the clothes she was wearing were too nice for her to be a peasant girl, she was just about to order her soldiers to leave the girl when she stopped.

She stared at the girl for a few minutes, confusing the other soldiers who began inspecting the girl too. They stood transfixed; a few rubbing their eyes in disbelief. The crone was the first to snap out of it as she ordered the men to carry the girl to the old lady’s horse. She tied the girl in front of her and rode back to the corps headquarters, shouting frantically into a prism.

They were greeted by a grumpy middle-aged man and a host of armored soldiers like the one behind the old lady. He said something to her, angrily, but she brushed his comments aside and pointed to the girl on her horse.

The man followed her finger and stared at the girl before his jaw dropped wide open. He immediately ordered the soldiers to take the girl inside and heal her injuries, and asked the old lady where she’d found her.

The old lady told him everything but he could barely believe it.

“And that’s not the worst of it,” said the old lady.

“What do you mean?” he said.

“We found this in the pocket of her robe,” muttered the old lady as she unfolded a piece of paper and handed it to the middle-aged man.

He read it and a shiver went up his spine.

“Old hag, what have you gotten us into this time,” he mumbled.

“Didn’t you read the note? This isn’t my fault!” she complained.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” he said, taking a deep breath. “But fine, we’ll do it. Who knows, I might be overthinking it.”

He watched his soldiers take the little girl into the building and ordered the rest of them to resume their training.

The Earth Kingdom’s scouting division couldn’t slack off because of a little girl. Besides, the little girl would make a fine addition to their group.

But later that night, as he tried to fall asleep, the commander of the scouting division couldn’t help but remember the girl and the note. He’d been scared witless by the girl’s Status, which even he couldn’t see, but it was the note that kept him up all night. In fact, the note would keep him up all night for many a night to come.

I am entrusting you with this girl who, in a way, is my daughter. She has lost her memories so please be kind to her, however, I understand that it will be difficult for the scouts to care for her without recompense. As such, please feel free to enlist her for your division.

Thank you for your kindness, commander Heris and chief Oleen. Have a nice day!

Sincerely,

Fate.

P.s. Do not share this letter with anyone else.

At first the commander had scoffed at the letter. A letter from Fate? Preposterous.

But when he tried to show the letter to his superiors, he found that he couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn’t. Terrified, he took the letter very seriously from then on, and did everything he could to help the little girl.

And that is how Zoe Hill joined the scout division of the Earth Kingdom’s army. I watched her grow up from afar. All the difficulties she endured. All the hardships she faced. I saw them all.

Although it pained me, I could tell that she was a lot happier there than she had ever been with us. There were no scars on her body anymore, but more importantly, there were no scars on her heart. There was nothing to weigh her down. The memories that had threatened to sink her were gone, and she could swim freely now.

And I knew we’d meet again one day. One day, after she’d learned how to swim on her own, she’d come riding on the waves. She might not recognize me, but maybe her presence would give me the strength to carry on.

But for now, I’d get my strength from the memories we shared.

 < Back | TOC | Next >

I woke up on an empty plain. My legs felt like lead and my head was a jumbled mess. My lungs groaned as I sucked in a breath of frighteningly cold air. I coughed out the frigid air but my next breath was just as cold.

It took a while to get used to the air. As the Goddess of Fire, I wasn’t accustomed to feeling cold but something was different this time.

Where was I? What happened?

My sore muscles complained, sending jolts of pain through my body as I pulled myself upright. A particularly sharp pain arose when I put pressure on my right shoulder. Dislocated, most probably. I grit my teeth and popped it back in.

Blinding pain seared through my mind and I nearly blanked out. Hanging on to consciousness by a thread, I panicked and gasped for air, flooding my lungs with mouthfuls of frigid air.

However, the cold distracted me from the pain. The pain subsided, leaving me alone with the cold. Somehow, I’d ended up on my back again. I lay there for a while, watching my frosty breath dissolve into the darkness.

The moon had travelled far across the sky since I last saw it. It was nearing the end of its path through the stars and the first, golden rays of sunlight would break through the darkness any minute now.

But I didn’t want the moon to go. Not yet.

Not yet.

I wanted to sail through the stars for a little longer.

Just a little longer.

We still had to jump from the Big Dipper onto Orion’s belt. Then we’d swing across to Ursa Minor and go to another galaxy.

And then we’d dance around the North Star.

Or laugh at the bickering Gemini.

But most importantly, we’d share another night under the stars.

In retrospect, it was inevitable that our group would collapse. All we needed was a spark, and everything would go up in flames.

And I could still smell the smoke.

You knew it couldn’t last, I told myself. And you know what to do know. You’ve planned for this.

I closed my eyes.

Yeah, I need to get my act together. Solaron told me to guide the Hero, that should be my priority for now. Besides, Lily and Zoe are the weakest of the bunch. I need to find them!

I forced myself up. Sunrise broke over the horizon, splashing the sky with hues of red. I checked my Status and my heart skipped a beat.

My health was in the red. I’d never been this injured in my life! For the first time, I tried to recall what had happened. Why was I in the middle of nowhere? All I remembered was Lunaris’ laugh and… the smoke.

I shuddered. Why was that thing listening to Lunaris? It didn’t seem like it could be tamed.

But what came after the smoke surrounded us? Someone must have done something or we’d be dead by now. But who…

Of course, I knew the answer to that. There was only one person who could’ve turned a situation like that around. However, now there was another question that demanded my attention.

Why is he here?

A cold breeze cut through the air and sent Kai’s cloak fluttering behind him. His face was pale and the bags under his eyes were deeper than I’d ever seen them but it was unmistakably him. No one could fake that smile.

“Morning,” he said.

“Morning,” I replied.

We stood there awkwardly, neither knowing quite what to say.

“You alright?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“Been better,” he said. “Nothing a little breakfast won’t fix.”

He whipped out a frying pan and magic-powered stove, and began frying some eggs.

“So, where are we?” I asked, sitting down next to him.

“Don’t know,” he replied as he put the fried eggs on plates and passed one to me.

I accepted it but didn’t start eating.

“Where are the others?”

“Who knows?”

“Probably you. You found me, didn’t you?”

He finished his mouthful and motioned for me to start eating too. I complied.

“I found you because you still had the ring,” he said.

The ring?

I raised my hand and inspected the rings adorning my fingers. I hadn’t noticed it before, but one of them was glowing with a gentle purple light. I gazed at Kai’s hand and sure enough, his ring was glowing with a soft, red glow.

“It’s color coordinated,” he said. “Neat, right?”

“Kai,” I said.

“Hmm?” he replied with a stuffed mouth.

“No more games please.” I met his eyes and held onto them. “Where is Lily.”

He stopped chewing and swallowed. He snapped and all the cooking utensils and plates vanished.

“Is she the only one you care about?”

“No, but –”

“It’s all right. I’ll take you to her anyways, so just admit it. The others never mattered to you, right?”

I met his gaze. Taking a deep breath, I said:

“No.”

He nodded and turned immediately. He walked down across the sun-kissed plains. The air was warm and fresh. Birds were chirping. Little animals scurried around.

It was a beautiful day outside.

But I was cold inside.

–

I soon realized where we were. Rocks piled up on either side and the ground grew loose and gravely. Mountains appeared around us, confirming that we were in the Earth Kingdom. Dark caves decorated the heights, with the occasional abandoned mine visible in the distance.

Kai and I hadn’t spoken a word all day. I followed him quietly, with only the sound of the gravel under my feet to fill the silence. Giant rocks jutted out of the ground sometimes while boulders lay by the roadside, gathering moss.

The ring on my finger was glowing brighter by the minute. It was a pale, white glow but it was getting stronger. At least we were going in the right direction.

Then the silence was broken by a scream, an angry voice, and a loud rumble. As we turned the corner, we saw a tall, robed man whipping a shirtless boy pulling a minecart. Scores of scars snaked around the shirtless boy’s back, while drops of blood oozed out of angry red gashes and cuts. The cart he was pulling was piled high with dull rocks that could be low quality ore, at best.

My first instinct was to help him but I hesitated. Did I want to get involved again? Whenever I’d helped someone in the past, I’d ended up getting hurt in the end. And it wasn’t like I’d helped them much in the end. In fact, they may have been better off without me.

Crack.

The boy grunted as he was whipped again. Kai walked past them as if he hadn’t noticed them at all. I followed him without glancing back.

Crack.

We continued traveling wordlessly and the sound of the whip grew further and further away. Yet, even when we were miles away, I could still hear the cold leather lashing against skin. Or maybe it was the sound of my guilt punishing me, inside.

Crack.

It was louder this time. I looked up, shaken from my self-chastisement. There they were again; the man with the whip and the boy with the cart. How’d they get in front of us? I looked at Kai’s back but he didn’t stop as we approached them again.

He walked past them without hesitation but… I couldn’t. The man raised his whip again and brought it down but there was no crack. Confused, he stared at the boy before looking at his empty hands. He turned just in time to meet my fist.

I gave the wide-eyed boy a healing potion and followed Kai, stepping over the unconscious slave-master without a word.

This time we didn’t go in a circle and reached a ruined village. Empty houses made of baked clay and broken fences greeted us as we walked down the road. Not a word nor a whisper, only silence met us. But the stoves inside were warm, the food still fresh and wisps of smoke still floated out of the chimneys.

“That boy was probably taken from this village,” said Kai. “The primary export from the Earth Kingdom are ores and slaves. Zoe’s parents were probably abducted from a village like this one.”

The sky was getting darker as the day grew older. The abandoned buildings cast shadows everywhere, but we weren’t staying here for the night. In fact, we kept walking through the night; never stopping for a moment. We came across some more empty villages – some freshly sacked and others crumbling into ruins – but we passed them by without hesitation.

Eventually we reached the mountains; dark silhouettes set against the starry sky. I could hear the fierce winds at the summit from where we stood but I didn’t pay it any heed. I was a Goddess, what could a little wind do to me?

We went up as far as the trail allowed and then we began to climb.

I reached up, grabbed a rock and pulled myself up.

Reach up, grab, pull up.

Reach, grab, pull.

Reach, grab, pull.

Climb.

We climbed slowly under the bright moonlight. It was strange, climbing when we could have flown over mountains twice this size. Stranger still were the winds crashing against my sides. My Health dropped under the constant barrage of snow and ice but I barely felt any pain.

Wait, why is my Health dropping?

A Goddess getting hurt by wind? I’d faced stronger winds while flying but I’d never lost a single health point before.

Reach, grab, pull.

Reach, grab, pull.

Kai was getting buffeted by the wind too but I didn’t know if he was getting hurt. I’d never been able to see his Status after all.

That was strange too. A level 999 Goddess couldn’t see his Status. He’d said he was hiding it with his Ability, and judging by how his rings hid Lily and Runir’s Status from me as well, I could believe he was capable of it.

But… I could tell he was strong. Incredibly strong. His Stats had to be mind-numbingly high too; perhaps they were higher than mine. No, they had to be higher than mine. But level 999 was the highest you could get.

Just how high had he gone? Just how high was he going to…

Climb.

My fingers were numb. The cold seethed into my bones. I don’t know how I managed to keep climbing. I don’t even remember the last few feet because it was all a blur.

“Grab on,” shouted Kai from far away.

No, not far away. He was right in front of me; his hand dangling over the precipice. We’d reached the summit.

I reached shakily for his hand with mine and he grasped it, firmly. He pulled me up and I fell on top of him. Warm, he was warm. His breath was warm too. I could tell because it brushed past my neck, driving away the biting cold.

“Hey, you all right?” he asked.

“Fine,” I whispered through chattering teeth. “I’m fine, just a little cold.”

“Well, better bundle up for now then.” He draped a large blanket over me.

We were on a rocky outcrop at the summit of the mountain. The wind howled around us and the sleet hid the moon from our sight.

“Still cold?” he asked.

I shook my head but my teeth were still chattering and my Health was dangerously low. The wind was too strong for us to light a fire and I couldn’t muster the energy to cast any fire magic.

“It’s all right,” said Kai, as he hugged me. “Just need to get through the night.”

He was close. Incredibly close. I could feel his chest rise and fall, his muscles twitch, and his jaw move as he spoke.

“Thanks,” I said.

“Don’t mention it,” he said. “In fact, I should be thanking you.”

“For what?”

“For giving me hope.”

“And how did I do that?”

“You went back for that kid.”

“What kid?” I asked.

“The slave. The one being whipped.”

“But I ignored him the first time. I was too afraid. Too afraid that I’d be hurt again.”

“And yet you helped him,” he said, putting his hand under my chin.

I lifted my head and found his eyes staring at me.

“And you’ve done that before too. You chose to help Lily when you obviously didn’t want to, and you helped Zoe even though it would complicate our already delicate party even further. I’ve seen a lot of things in this world but Amy, you’re the only one who’s filled me with hope.”

He was close. Our frosty breath met, swirling around between us.

Do I deserve all that praise? I haven’t done anything, really. I’m a failure. I failed Jeffi and Yunni. I failed Lily and Zoe. And I didn’t even choose to help them! I saved Jeffi and Yunni because they summoned me by mistake. I helped Lily because Solaron told me to, and Lily was the one who wanted to help Zoe the most.

And worst of all… I…

“Amy,” he whispered. “You don’t know how much you mean to me. If I hadn’t seen you doing your best all the time; if I hadn’t seen the love and compassion you felt for everyone and everything, I don’t think I could have done what was necessary. Please…”

He brought his face even closer.

“I love you. Please, tell me you love me too,” he said.

I didn’t know what to say. A part of me wanted to cry out about how I wasn’t the kind of person he thought me to be. How I wasn’t a kind, loving person who cared for the weak and powerless. I wasn’t worth loving. I didn’t even know what love was.

I’d been emotionless for centuries and all my experiences with emotions had been depressing so far. I couldn’t love him. I couldn’t love anyone.

But it was the other part of me that won out in the end. The part that stared into his eyes, drowned in his scent, and melted into his arms.

On top of a mountain somewhere in the Earth Kingdom; among howling winds and swirling snow, I forgot all my worries.

I threw all my anxieties away.

I ignored the guilt that had been building up inside me.

For one night, I wasn’t a Goddess with a mission. I wasn’t a guide, a teacher, a warrior or a wanderer.

Under the stars and the blankets, I was free.

< Back | TOC | Next >

You built a castle…

“Why is the Hero traveling with the Demon Lord?”

Piece…

My mind went blank.

By piece…

Lily staggered back. “What do you mean…”

“He hasn’t told you, has he? No wait, he said it in front of you just a few moments ago,” said the Goddess, thinking with a hand under her chin. “Ah, I get it. Did he tell you he was only pretending to be the Demon Lord?”

She chuckled. “Silly girl…”

Now watch it…

“No, don’t listen to her Lily!” I shouted frantically. “She’s lying. I –”

“Was only pretending to be your friend. Isn’t that right?” she interjected. “Let me see, now why didn’t you kill her as soon as you met her?”

crumble…

“Damn it, shut up!” I cried, both at her and the voice in my head. I fired a Diamond Cannon at her in frustration.

“Oh,” she said, deflecting my attack effortlessly. “He’s been using different kinds of magic too. Didn’t you know only the Demon Lord and the Hero can use more than one kind of magic? Barring some very rare cases of course.”

With the sand…

Lily wasn’t looking at me but her body was trembling.

“Anyways, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted. If he didn’t kill you immediately, he was probably going to use you at some point. Oh right, you came looking for me didn’t you?”

Beware the raging seas…

“No, don’t listen to her bullshit,” I pleaded, to her and the voice.

“You wanted her to get strong enough to do something for you, right? Maybe help you take back your kingdom?” She chuckled. “Fattening you up like a little pig before leading you to the slaughterhouse.”

That will consume…

“Damn it, shut up!”

“Oh but it’s true isn’t it. All of it.” The Goddess smiled smugly in the air.

All your hopes and dreams…

“No! No it isn’t!” I shouted, desperately. “Lily, listen to me.” I turned to her and grabbed her shoulders. Her hair fell over her face, hiding it from view.

“I’m your friend, Lily. It’s me, Runir. You know I wouldn’t lie to you.” I shook her, trying to get a reaction. “Come on Lily. Don’t believe that bullshit. Trust me, please!”

I glanced at the others, all of whom were standing still. Why weren’t they helping? Everything was falling apart and all they could do was stare like idiots? Amy was biting her lips, Kai had closed his eyes and Zoe was holding her breath. Saar had already stepped back silently.

“Look, she’s trying to trick us. The only reason this is working is because you believe her. All you need to do is trust me,” I said, calmly. “Think! If I was the Demon Lord, why wouldn’t I attack you right away and get rid of you immediately? Wouldn’t I feel the same way you’re feeling right now? Instead, here I am putting myself in arm’s reach trying to get through to you through that thick skull of yours!”

“But you are the Demon Lord,” chimed the Goddess innocently. “I’ve already told you how he managed to do it, little girl. He fought his instincts by convincing himself that you were a pawn. A piece he could use to achieve his goals and then discard you as soon as he could.” She sneered. “He was going to throw you away as soon as he used you to clean up his shit.”

“Lies! Lily, think of everything we’ve been through! We’ve fought Gods and dragons. We’ve crossed entire continents together. Don’t tell me none of that matters to you? All the nights we’ve spent under the stars? Kai’s stories? Playing with Zoe? Watching Amy embarrass herself? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about all of it. Don’t tell me our friendship doesn’t matter to you.”

I stared at Lily, who was standing limply.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. She shouldn’t have found out. Not yet. Not… not ever. I had it all planned out. After we had enough blessings we would beat Azoth and then… and then…

“Lily,” I whispered. “Please.”

“You’re a bastard. You know that, right?” she said, quietly. She chuckled.

I breathed a sigh of relief. She lifted her head and I saw her face. She was smiling with her eyes closed – it was a sincere smile.

But my heart sank because I knew that it was over. A trail of tears ran down her cheeks. She muttered something but I couldn’t hear her. Instead, a pain blossomed in my chest as I was blasted back. I crashed into the ground, a loud bang resounding in my ears.

I barely managed to roll out of the way as a sharp spike rose out of the ground. Picking myself up, I jumped out of the way of a ball of fire before sidestepping a blinding beam of light. My instincts kicked in and I instinctively began preparing a Void Beam but forced myself to stop.

“No,” I muttered through gritted teeth. “I won’t do it.”

I was thrown back as a ball of fire caught me off guard. The pain shocked me out of my self-control and a ball of darkness materialized in my hand. I couldn’t resist the urge to shoot it at the Hero – my fated nemesis – but I managed to make it as weak as possible.

“Lily, stop!” I gasped, as the wind was knocked out of me when I fell to the ground.

The ball of darkness whizzed towards Lily but she shot through it with a Laser. She was still crying and she was probably trying to resist her urges just as I was. That didn’t stop her from firing another Laser at me, though.

“You can resist it,” I shouted, dodging her attack with a Void Step. “Just believe in me. Believe that I wouldn’t hurt you. That’s all you need to do!”

She hesitated for just a moment, but it was enough. I could still get through to her. The plan probably wasn’t feasible anymore but I could work out a new one if I could just keep all the pieces in my hand.

“Stop thinking about me, think about us.”

“I am,” she whispered.

“Good. Now focus on our relationship. We’ve been through a lot together,” I said, soothingly. I had this under control at last. “We’re friends aren’t we?”

Lily’s head drooped down.

“Idiot.”

I barely managed to avoid the Laser that cut through the air next to me. I smelled ozone and the hair on my skin was standing on edge. That attack was different. There was a clear killing intent behind it.

Lily was still crying but there was anger in her eyes now. Bright light surrounded her as an armor of light appeared over her clothes. Balls of energy floated around her and flashed as she fired several Lasers at once.

I used Voidstep to avoid them, appearing between her and the rest of our now-defunct party. There was no coming back from this. The “Hero’s” party was no more.

Lily charged me with a lance made of light, but I parried it with a sword made of darkness.  We parted, pushed back by the force of the collision. Lily fired another set of Lasers but I countered with a Vanta Cannon. The beam of light and the swirling mass of darkness collided. My higher leveled attack easily crushed hers but she managed to avoid it.

Wait, that was too close for comfort. What if she’d gotten hit? I better rein in my attacks. I just need to leave and regroup for now. I can still salvage this. I can fix it. I know I can!

But when Lily fired another Laser, I met it with another Vanta Cannon even larger than the previous one. I’d wanted to rein myself in but I couldn’t. I couldn’t control myself. Even though I kept telling myself I could still work with her. That I didn’t need to kill her. That we could work something out.

In reality I knew.

I knew things could never be the same again. We’d passed the point of no return and now…

…we were enemies.

“Aww, this won’t be fun like this.”

I turned to the Goddess. “I really wanna beat the shit out of you.”

“Now that wasn’t a very nice to thing was it?” she said, floating in the air with a new teacup in her hand. She was sipping tea again.

So goddamn annoying…

Lily was glaring at her too.

“Don’t look at me like that, sweetie. I just saved your life! You were being duped by your mortal enemy and I broke his nasty little plot for you. You should be thanking me!”

“Hey Lily, I’ll let you hit me if you help me smack this bitch’s face,” I said, sidestepping a Ball of Light.

“I’ll consider it,” she said, firing another attack.

“Oh, so we can agree on something after all?” I chuckled.

The Goddess grinned and the teacup vanished. “Since this isn’t fun anymore, let’s level the playing field a bit.”

She waved her hand and a dark glow surrounded Lily. I grit my teeth in anger.

This bitch…she blessed her!

Lily’s stats skyrocketed, although I couldn’t see them. Kai’s rings were hiding our stats, even from each other. However, I knew that she must have been strong enough to see my stats now. As the glow subsided, Lily’s expression stiffened.

I jumped at her and slashed with my sword. She couldn’t get away in time and my blade caught her on the shoulder. Her armor took most of the blow but it couldn’t stop my attack completely. Blood splattered the ground and a deep gash appeared along Lily’s arm.

I trembled, shocked by my own actions. I didn’t even have the time to realize what I was doing. I couldn’t control myself. I couldn’t resist it.

Lily’s eyes lit up in shock but her other hand released a beam of light at me in point-blank range. I used void step but it still singed my sides.

I appeared behind her and slashed again.

It cut through her armor and left a bloody cut on her back.

A wave of light flew out of her and pushed me away.

The Goddess was laughing maniacally.

Amy was crying. Zoe was shouting at us to stop. Saar had her head down.

And Kai was looking up at the moon. It was a full moon tonight and it bathed the forest in a gentle, silver light. I didn’t notice how late it had gotten.

Lily and I exchanged some more blows. We hit each other with magic and crossed blades several times. Lily was obviously at a disadvantage because of her slightly lower level and the cut on her arm. However, she fought with a crazy sort of anger that I couldn’t match.

Why?

Because I couldn’t feel anger. At least not towards her. I was furious at the Goddess, of course, but I couldn’t blame Lily for her actions. In fact, I felt guilty. Guilty for putting her in this position. For tricking her and using her to achieve my own goals.

When I first met her, I never thought I’d care for her. I’d never cared about anyone my entire life. But after everything we’d been through, I couldn’t help but feel attached to her. She was the first person who replied to my snarky comments with her own. More importantly, I trusted her more than anyone else.

She was caring and kind. She was honest and I knew how she operated. I knew how she thought and felt. It wasn’t like I could read her or anything. No, it was more like I just knew what she would do.

I didn’t know enough about Amy and Kai, and Zoe was just a kid. Lily was the one I trusted the most. Unlike everyone else in our party, she didn’t have any hidden agenda. She wasn’t trying to trick us or hide anything.

I could also tell that she was just like me. She didn’t want to go back home. She hadn’t fit in back there. She didn’t yearn for her home. She was lost but she wasn’t trying to find her way back. Finding a way to Earth just gave her a purpose. A reason to travel with us.

Because that’s what she really cared about. I could tell by the tears streaming down her face. I could tell by the anger she felt at the Goddess and me. She cared about us.

Which is why my betrayal must have stung her so badly.

We exchanged a few Lasers and Void Rays. We danced between Light Balls and Dark Balls. She countered my Purgatory with Exorcism. I broke her Celestial Pillar with Pandora. A Vanta Cannon collided with a Photon Cannon. Light and Darkness tangled with each other in a savage dance.

She opened a blinding white gate with Divine Descent, and I opened a pitch black one with Hell’s Gate.

The only sounds were those of magic and the Goddess’ gleeful cackling, in the background. Lily and I were both the kind to rile up our opponents. We teased them into making a mistake and goaded them into doing something stupid. But there was no banter now. No witticisms. No taunting.

We weren’t doing something stupid like talking with our fists. No, we weren’t trying to do anything. We were just fighting.

Pointlessly.

We were fighting pointlessly.

We weren’t venting our emotions because this didn’t make either of us feel better. We weren’t really trying to kill the other person, because we didn’t want to do that.

We were fighting because we couldn’t help it. Despite everything we’d been through. Despite all the fun we’d had together. All the memories we’d shared and the difficulties we’d overcome together.

Despite all of that, we couldn’t help but fight…pointlessly.

I took in a ragged breath. She was barely hanging on but so was I. We approached each other. At some point, my leg had been broken. At some point, her cheeks had been singed. At some point, we’d both become a mess; barely hanging on.

I tackled her. We grappled on the ground. She got a punch in. I scratched her face. She tried to choke me so I punched her in the stomach. I coughed out the bile that had risen up my throat. She tried to poke my eye but I presented my forehead instead, breaking her finger.

And yet we didn’t say a word. We grunted. We heaved. We snarled.

But we never said anything.

I had the upper hand. I’d always had it. But… I’d resisted as much as I could. I’d tried to hurt her as little as I could. Had she tried to do the same? Did she try to fight her impulses as hard as I had? If I hadn’t held myself back as frantically as I had, she would have died long ago.

Did she look at me and feel sad? Did she hate herself every time she hit me, the way I hated myself when I hit her? Did she look at my eyes and realize that we’d been friends once? That maybe…we could have been something more?

She fell to the ground and I fell on one knee. She coughed and I wheezed.

It was over. I’d won.

Or had I lost?

I stumbled over her to prone body. I couldn’t control myself. I didn’t want to do it. I frantically resisted the urge to do it. But I couldn’t stop myself. I couldn’t fight it.

A blade materialized in my trembling hands. I pointed it at her neck. She was battered, bloody and bruised. She was breathing in ragged gasps and the wound on her arm was festering. Her beautiful face was covered in cuts and her hair was riddled with stones, dirt and blood.

It was so quiet. So, so quiet. There was no wind. No rustling leaves and no snapping twigs. Even that accursed Goddess finally shut up.

There was only the sound of our ragged breathing.

Lily looked at me and despite everything that had happened… she smiled.

My vision blurred and something trickled down my cheeks. I was crying. Me.

I never cried. I just didn’t. There had never been anything to cry about before.

But my sadness turned to anger soon enough. Whose fault was it that I was standing over Lily with a sword to her throat?

Should I blame Amy and the others for not helping?

Should I blame the Goddess for setting us on each other?

Or should I blame myself for lying to Lily in the first place?

There was another possibility too. There was another actor I could blame. Thinking about it, everything led back to it in the end. It was always its fault.

Fate. If it wasn’t for Fate, we wouldn’t be fighting each other. We wouldn’t feel the irresistible urge to kill each other. We wouldn’t have been summoned from our world in the first place.

Fate… it was all Fate’s fault.

I looked at the Goddess.

“You,” I said, my voice hoarse. “How did you beat Fate?”

The Goddess’ smile shrank and for once, I didn’t feel like punching her face.

“I didn’t. I’m just really good at cheating.”

I didn’t know what to say to that.

I raised the blade into the air. Lily close her eyes. Zoe cried out.

All my plans, all my ambitions and desires. All of them had long since crashed to the ground. Everything I cared about had been ruined.

My castle… had fallen.

The blade shone in the silver moonlight as it flew towards my best friend’s throat.

But of course, the blade froze in the air as a shadow fell over us, blocking the moonlight.

“Took you long enough,” I grunted.

Kai held the edge of my blade in his hand.

“Sorry,” he said, quietly.

He flicked the blade up and I fell on my back. All the strength in my body disappeared. I was exhausted. I forced my head to turn towards the Goddess and sure enough, she wasn’t surprised.

“You let them beat each other up for a long time,” said the Goddess with a frivolous smile on her lips. However, her eyes had a serious glint in them.

“Lover’s quarrel,” said Kai. “They needed to get it out of their system.”

“You know they can’t stay near each other anymore. They’ll be at each other’s throats until one of them dies.”

“You don’t need to worry about any of that. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have to get going.”

He waved his hand and Lily and I began floating in the air. He turned around and began to walk off, signaling to the others to follow.

“I can’t just let you leave like that.”

We were surrounded by walls of darkness.

“I figured as much.”

He waved his hand and the darkness dissipated.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Goddess bite her lips in anger but then her lips contorted into a smile.

“Guess that’s that…” said Kai.

Confused, I looked around and my heart skipped a beat. The forest was seething with dense, grey smoke. The smoke lay in an unnatural layer above the underbrush, floating about like a sentient being. I heard Amy catch a scream in her mouth. Even she must’ve been terrified. There was something incredibly frightening about that smoke. I could feel the fear down to my bones.

It was coming out of the Goddess’ mouth too. Soon, she was shrouded in a haze of grey smoke. The smoke rose like a giant beast and slammed into the ground in front of us.

Kai waved his hand again and we lurched backwards, narrowly avoiding the smoke. As the ground cleared, I noticed some of the rocks and stones vanish before appearing again. Almost as if they’d flickered out of existence.

The Goddess roared, her voice unnaturally deep and menacing. The smoke rose in tandem with her voice, growling like a beast. It rumbled and surrounded us. It rose into the sky, slowly encircling the moon and plunging us into darkness.

“You should have accepted your deaths graciously,” roared the Goddess. “Now disappear.”

The smoke pounced on us. Zoe was screaming. Saar was trying to fade into the darkness but couldn’t. Amy was staring at Lunaris with unmasked fury, and at the smoke with utter terror.

As the smoke blotted out the sunlight completely, I caught Lily staring back at me. Maybe it was because I was convinced we’d both die here, but I didn’t feel the urge to fight her. Instead, I weakly raised my hand and brought it towards her.

I clutched her hand in mine and smiled.

“Goodbye idiot.”

“Shut up asshole.”

Everyone huddled around us. Surprisingly, despite being a citizen of the Alliance, Zoe went up to Lily and hugged her side. Lily hugged her back with her other hand. The smoke fell on us. I could feel the chaotic energy bubbling inside it.

It wanted to destroy us. Rip us to shreds.

It wanted to tear us into pieces.

Pieces…

Pieces…

Pieces…

Everything was crumbling.

We were crumbling.

Into pieces.

The game was over. I’d lost. This was check and…

“You know what you’re supposed to do when you lose the game right?” said someone, breaking my thoughts.

“You flip the board…”

I felt a tug on my stomach. Lily’s hand slipped out of mine. The smoke vanished and all around me was a sea of stars. My vision blurred as the wind whipped past my face and the bright moonlight flooded my eyes.

“…and you try again.”

I flew into the distance, the clouds of smoke vanishing beyond the horizon.

< Back | TOC | Next >

He’d been getting on my nerves lately. He wouldn’t come to the cafeteria, stayed late after class, and always forgot about our plans for the day. So I decided to go to class after all to find out what was wrong and that’s when I saw her.

Black hair. Piercing blue eyes. Shallow cheeks and thin lips. She was tall, had a perfect smile and an hourglass figure.

When he talked to her, he smiled for real. Not the fake grins and smirks he gave me. No, this girl was special. She got through to him in a way that I had never managed to. I walked out of the room immediately; the sight of those two gushing over each other in the back seats was too much for me to endure.

It was confusing not because I didn’t know why I felt this way but because I knew exactly why. I wasn’t an idiot. I could tell that I was jealous. I could tell that I’d fallen for him. I’d fallen for the idiot stalker with a creepy smile and annoying attitude. Ironically, seeing him with that Saar bitch was what made it hit home.

So now I stood by, watching that blue eyed bitch take on the Dark Goddess and get her ass handed to her. A part of me – a small part – wanted to help her. But there was a bigger part of me that wanted to see her gone. Besides, she was from the Dusk Alliance so it was easy to ignore her. All I had to do was let the Goddess take care of her.

But I was aware of two things. First, if she died here, I would feel guilty. After all, I could stop it easily. All I had to do was consider her a part of my party and the Goddess wouldn’t be able to touch her without my permission. So if she did end up dying, I’d have to live with the knowledge that I could have saved her with a thought but hadn’t.

I could probably live with that.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t that simple. I wasn’t the only one here. And more importantly, that idiot obviously couldn’t stay out of it for long. Further proof that he liked her, I suppose. Sure enough, he jumped out like some sort of knight in shining armor, ready to save his precious princess.

Almost made me hurl.

Which in turn made me miss what they were saying.

“…Falling for an assassin from the Circle. Now isn’t that lovely?”

What?

Everyone froze.

Realization dawned on Runir’s face as he turned to look at Saar. She looked back at him in confusion. Lunaris’ smile grew wider.

“That can’t be… they told me he’d be at the back of the class,” muttered Saar. “You were there. You were the only one there. You have to be him. You have to…”

“Look, I have no idea what’s going on but maybe we can clear this up if we all take a step back,” said Runir, raising his arms a little.

“No,” said the Goddess. “This little assassin’s going to get what she deserves. And well… I can’t just let you leave after everything you heard.”

She prepared a revolving sphere of darkness, constantly collapsing in on itself and sucking in the air around it. The walls were creaking from the pressure and even I felt myself slipping on the ground.

Crap, guess I’ll have to get involved after all.

As much as I hated the girl, I couldn’t let her get ripped to shreds. At least, not until I did that myself, of course.

I sighed inwardly, forced myself to resist the urge to let her die and changed my plans to include her. Needless to say, I was planning on beating her up but that should have been enough to prevent the Goddess from being able to hurt her.

But nothing happened. The walls kept creaking and my foot kept slipping. The Goddess hurled her attack at them and it whizzed across the room. Runir pulled Saar close and jumped out of the way.

Why didn’t she stop? Is it because she didn’t know? Maybe the attack would have fizzled out as soon as it reached Runir.

Maybe.

A sense of unease crept up my chest. I decided to try again. This time, I forced myself to think that even trying to attack either of them would be interference.

The Goddess’ expression didn’t change as a dozen black holes appeared around her. She swept her hand and they rained down on Runir and Saar.

I panicked.

“Stop!” I shouted. “Don’t interfere.”

The spheres stopped rotating and froze in midair, the pressure ceased and the air settled down. Lunaris turned her head to look at me and chuckled.

“You’re…” she began. “Strange, why didn’t I notice before…” she muttered.

Saar’s eyes widened in surprise, making me smirk. See, I can stop a Goddess with words, bitch.

“Yes,” I replied. “Now let them go and come with me.”

I turned around, expecting her to follow me.

“No.”

Huh?

“Come on, don’t interfere,” I said, without turning around, my heart beating louder in my chest.

This was wrong. This world had rules. The Goddesses couldn’t interfere with the Hero’s plans. That was Fate’s decree! She knew who I was but she wasn’t listening. Maybe she couldn’t interfere but wasn’t obliged to do as I said?

“Fine, stay where you are. I’ll come back later.”

I took Runir by the hand and tried to pull him along. He dragged a confused assassin with him but I decided to ignore her for now. We almost reached the door when black tentacles shot out of the shadows from either side.

Runir pushed me out of the way and barely managed to dodge the tentacle that pierced the air above my head. Saar swung around with a dart in her hand. She flung it at the Goddess who knocked it out of the air with a condescending smile.

“Annoying,” growled Runir.

“Agreed,” said Lunaris. “Hurry up and die, my tea’s getting cold.”

The Black Holes frozen in the air suddenly started revolving again and whizzed towards us. There was no time to react, they were too close to dodge!

But this didn’t make any sense. She was a Goddess and I was the Hero. She couldn’t attack me. This’ll fizzle out. It won’t hit me. It won’t.

Time seemed to slow down. Runir’s mouth opened but I couldn’t hear him because of the roaring in my head. Saar hadn’t even registered that we were about to be hit.

Damn it, why the fuck were you trying to kill the Goddess when you can’t even react to her when she’s serious? Damn it Runir, why did you have to fall for an idiot?

All I could manage to do was close my eyes. If I was right and she couldn’t hurt me, then I could walk right out of there. But if I was wrong…

I felt my stomach lurch. A force hit me on my stomach as I braced for the worst.

“Are you all right?”

I blinked my eyes open. Amy stared at me with a concerned look. Zoe looked on while hanging on her shoulders. Kai stood in front of us, facing the Goddess expressionlessly. I’d almost forgotten that they were here too.

Runir breathed a sigh of relief before slumping onto the ground. He muttered something about dramatic rescues. Saar stood frozen in the center of our group, her eyes flitting from side to side. But the most surprised of all, was the Goddess.

Her hand was still in the air, stuck in the motion of ordering our deaths. She looked shocked but there was something strange too. I couldn’t quite tell what it was.

“Oh, great Goddess,” said Kai sarcastically. “We are terribly sorry for interrupting your tea party. Please don’t mind us and continue.”

The Goddess recovered from her shock but she was still wary. Then, she noticed something in the corner of her eye and looked towards me. Her eyes widened even further.

“You too? What the hell is up with this group…” she muttered in disbelief.

“Well then, if you’ll excuse us,” said Kai, grabbing Runir’s hand and ushering us all towards the exit.

“Stop!” shouted the Goddess, enraged.

Tendrils of darkness shot out of the floor, small Black Holes whirled towards us, and blades of dark energy slashed at us from every direction. Amy was the first to react, creating a wall of fire in front of us to hold off the Black Holes. Surprisingly, the wall managed to endure the crushing pressure of the Goddess’ attack.

Runir took out his sword to parry the Void Blades that tried to pierce through us. I collected myself quickly and used Earth magic to block the Dark Tendrils beneath us. Kai stood there, shielding Zoe. Saar just stood there with her mouth agape, which, despite the situation, made me feel a twang of pleasure.

The Goddess launched another set of Black Holes, which managed to break through Amy’s wall of fire. This time Runir and I launched a set of Diamond Cannons that collided with the Goddess’ weakened attacks and managed to disperse them into clouds of smoke.

“So you were with Circle after all?” asked Saar, turning to Runir.

He frowned. “No. And once we get through this, we’re going to have a long discussion about joining evil organizations.”

“Evil?” said Saar, chuckling. “To think that I’d be so bad at reading people. First I mistake you for a comrade and now it seems I mistook you for someone with a decent moral compass.”

“Look, we don’t have the time to discuss this right now,” urged Runir, as the Goddess prepared another round of attacks.

“Runir,” I said, cutting through their useless conversation. “Why can she attack us? What about Fate?”

Realization dawned on Saar’s face as she stared at me.

“You’re the – ”

“Yes, I’m the Demon Lord,” interjected Runir.

I briefly felt the desire to attack Runir but ignored it. He’d obviously said that to protect me and stick to the roles we had taken up in front of Zoe. Citizens of the Alliance would attack me immediately if they found out that I was the Hero, after all.

Saar stared at him quizzically. “But the Demon Lord is dead?”

“Can we have this conversation later?” urged Runir as he parried another Void Blade that had tried to creep up behind us.

“Right,” said Saar, taking out a dart. “But if you’re the Demon Lord, why can she attack you? I know for a fact that she wants you dead but there was a reason she used Azroth to do her dirty work for her. She can’t interfere with the Hero or the Demon Lord, or their parties right?”

“Yeah well, someone needs to tell her that,” said Runir.

“We need to get out of here and regroup,” I said, watching Amy blast a ball of darkness out of the sky with several smaller balls of fire. It was impressive that she could go toe-to-toe with the Goddess but it probably couldn’t last.

“Enough!” shouted the Goddess, obviously annoyed that she hadn’t finished us off yet. “Wrath of Cresilin!”

Her eyes filled with an inky darkness as her aura changed completely. The walls shook violently as the Goddess unleashed her full power. She arched her neck and looked down at us from above. She waved her hands and Black Holes rained down at us.

“Three Diamond Cannons to the right, A wall of fire to the left,” shouted Runir.

I immediately cast the Earth magic and three giant balls of diamond crashed towards the onslaught of Black Holes. Amy cast a Fire wall to our left and Runir cast an Earth wall to our right.

This would be so much easier if I could use Light magic.

As the attacks collided, Runir shouted another round of instructions. Not for the first time, I found myself impressed by his Ability. But as we fought the Goddess I noticed two things.

First, Saar was looking at me with a strange expression, the dart in her hand quivering as if she was considering throwing it at me.

Second, even though Zoe was magic as well, Kai was standing in the center of our group, doing nothing. He wasn’t fighting, but he looked tired. He wasn’t hurt, but he seemed to be in pain. I only managed to notice this for a second before my attention was needed elsewhere but I still managed to cry out:

“Kai, why the fuck aren’t you doing anything?”

I parried another Void Blade. It was getting harder to fight off everything the Goddess was throwing at us. We were forced to run around now, dodging Black Holes trying to suck us in or blades trying to slice us in two.

I heard someone take a long, deep breath and managed to see Kai with his eyes closed and his face towards the ceiling. He breathed out, gave me a weak smile and said: “All right.”

He waved his hand and muttered something. Runir stopped parrying the Void Blades. I stopped dodging the Dark Tendrils around me. Saar’s dart fell on the empty ground. Amy’s flame wall subsided.

It was gone. It had all disappeared instantly. All of the magic in the chamber just plain disappeared.

No one said anything. Probably because no one knew what to say. Slowly, I turned to Kai. Runir and Amy were looking at him too. Zoe was looking around frantically, confused why everyone had stopped fighting. Saar blinked.

And the Goddess froze.

“So…can I have a cup of tea? I could really use one right about now,” said Kai, with a weak chuckle.

“What is this…” said the Goddess as she cast an elementary Shadow Ball in the air.

Kai muttered something and it fizzled out. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He turned and began ushering us to the exit. “Anyways, it seems we’ve overstayed our welcome. We’ll drop by for tea some other day. Bye!”

The Goddess didn’t give up. Dark Tendrils, Void Blades, Black Holes, Purgatory, Vanta Cannons. Everything in the Dark magic arsenal, she tried to use them all. But they fizzled out before they could come anywhere near us.

We reached the exit and left the chamber. I still don’t quite remember how we got up the stairs but there we were; in the clearing outside the cabin. Kai brought up the rear so he was the last to step out of the door.

“Kai…” said Runir.

“Shush, we better get out of here first. I’ll explain everything as soon as –”

“No, you are going to explain everything right now!” demanded Runir. “That was a Goddess. A Fucking Divine Goddess. And you reduced her to a little girl with a tea-set. With VanDrake you said it was a one-off thing and you freaking collapsed – or pretended to collapse, more likely – but now you’re perfectly fine after all of that?”

“Oh, so you’re wondering why there wasn’t any backlash?” asked Kai. “Some sort of sacrifice that I have to pay to use my Ability.”

“For starters, yes. We can get into the details later.”

“And what about the rest of you?” asked Kai, turning to us. “Do you want to ask this question too?”

I found myself nodding without even thinking about it.

“I see,” said Kai. “But you’re wrong. I did pay a price. A big one, at that.”

“I don’t see you flopping on the ground,” said Runir.

“But you do see me getting heckled by my so called friends,” said Kai. “I gave up a lot of things to get us out of there.”

“Like what?”

“Like the ability to travel with you.”

“And why wouldn’t you be able to do that now?” I asked.

“Because –”

“No! Don’t go, Kai!” wailed Zoe.

Kai looked at her sadly. “Don’t worry, it’ll be all right.”

“Kai.”

He turned to face the speaker.

“Who are you?”

“Does it really matter who I am, Amy?”

“Yes, it does.”

“Fine,” he said, taking a deep breath. “I’m Kai.”

“Don’t try to joke your way out of this!” I cried.

“Look, I’d be happy to discuss this but we have a guest with us, don’t we?” He gestured towards Saar. “Don’t want her to feel excluded.”

Saar stared at him. “How did you –”

“Okay, fine, I’ll tell you everything but can we please leave this place before – ”

The cabin’s roof exploded into a cloud of dust, splinters and shadow.

“…before that happens.”

“You!” The voice of the Dark Goddess thundered across the clearing. Her eyes seethed with fury but there was a hint of caution in them. Her hair flew about wildly, and her clothes fluttered in the wind. She floated in the air like the divine being she was, a mass of darkness roiling around her at all times.

“Are you upset that we left your tea party so suddenly?” said Kai. “Sorry but I’m more of a coffee person.”

The Goddess glared at us for a while but then the wind around her settled and the darkness dissipated.

“All right then,” she said.

“Oh so you’re letting us go? Thank you very much, come on everyone,” said Kai as he tried to drag us out of the clearing.

“Sure, you can leave but first, why don’t you introduce yourselves properly? I don’t even know your names,” said the Goddess, with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

I had a bad feeling about this.

“Sure,” said Runir. “I’m Rurin, this is Kai. That’s Joey and Amia, and the idiot over there is Rose. Oh and the assassin’s Saar. I think.”

Did you really need to call me an idiot?

“No, I meant who are you really,” said the Goddess, innocently.

“What do you mean, you know who we are. You’re a Goddess, you can see our names,” I said. “Aren’t those the names you see above us?”

“Yes I can see them, more or less,” she said, her eyes flickering towards Kai’s head for a second. “But I know who you are and that is not the name you should have. Your strength doesn’t match your status values either.”

Shit, what’s she trying to pull? If she reveals that I’m the Hero, Zoe and Saar will …

“You know who we are, so please don’t interfere.” Runir stressed on that last word through gritted teeth.

Did he know? He’d probably guessed it already of course. This Goddess didn’t play by the rules of Fate. If she could interfere enough to attack us, then she could probably out me too.

The Goddess grinned, this time sincerely.

“No, Lunaris, don’t!” I heard someone cry.

“Don’t worry, I can keep secrets,” began the Goddess. “I don’t mind not saying your name but I would appreciate it if you answered a question for me. It’s a simple one, don’t worry.”

My stomach churned. A sense of great foreboding arose in me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Amy’s mouth open and Kai’s eyes close.

“Why is the Hero traveling with the Demon Lord?”

< Back | TOC | Next >

“I am not upset.”

“Sure.”
“You don’t believe me? Fuck it, it doesn’t matter,” I said, brushing aside the branch in front of me.

We were making our way through the Twilight Forest while following Lily’s group from a respectable distance. We were close enough to see them on the trail up ahead but we couldn’t hear them because if they were in earshot, they would have heard us walking through the underbrush.

Then again, it didn’t seem like they were talking much anyway. Professor Roweta had tried to start a conversation but apart from what seemed like a simple introduction, the three girls behind her hadn’t said a word to each other.

“You’ve been grumpy since big sis Lily beat your sorry ass,” said Zoe.

“What the hell did you say?” I asked.

“That she beat your ass,” she replied.

I frowned. “No-”

“But she did.”

I stopped and turned angrily to Zoe, “First, she cheated so it doesn’t count,” I turned back. “And second, what I meant was why are you calling her big sis Lily?”

“You’re jealous I don’t call you big bro Runir?” she said.

“Please don’t call me that. You’re older than me!” I replied.

“No I’m not,” she said, perplexed. “Look, I’m tiny!”

She stood on her tiptoes and tried to reach Amy’s forehead but couldn’t.

“But you’ve lived two lives,” I said. “And your vocabulary is way too mature,” I added under my breath. “It’s really creepy hearing a ten year old shouting profanity all the time.”

“What was that, dumbass?” she asked.

“Nothing,” I sighed. “And why are the two of you so quiet?”

Kai and Amy hadn’t said anything since we left the city. Their silence and my dissatisfaction with Lily’s childish act had made the journey stiflingly uncomfortable until Zoe started accusing me of being grumpy.

A baseless claim, to be sure, but at least it livened up the atmosphere a bit.

“Yeah, what’s wrong with you two?” said Zoe.

“I was just thinking…” said Amy.

“Thinking about what?” I asked.

“About whether this will be the last time we’ll be traveling together,” she said.

“What do you mean?” asked Zoe, worried.

“You’ll leave, won’t you?” said Amy. “Once you find a way back to your world…you’ll leave.”

The leaves rustled in the evening breeze as darkness crept upon the forest.

“Maybe,” I said. “That’s funny, never would’ve pegged you as the sentimental type.”

“Why not?” she asked, hugging Zoe.

“Never mind.”

The shadows of the trees drew longer yet even as the sunlight died, the forest began to come to life in a different way. The animals of the night began making their presence felt; hooting and chirping to lay claim to the trees and bushes that buzzed with bees and butterflies in the morning.

It was that time of the day. The time when the sun’s gentle glow has all but faded away and the moon hasn’t come out to take over yet. A limbo or a no man’s land, of sorts, between the day and the night.

Twilight. That’s what they called it.

The day was over and it was time for the night to begin.

“And what about you Kai?” I asked. “What are you thinking about?”

He kept walking as if he hadn’t heard me.

Just as I began to ask him again, he said, “Nothing. I was thinking about nothing.”

That’s an odd way to phrase it…

Professor Rowetta stopped outside a thick clump of trees and bushes. We inched closer to them, stopping near the edge of the road. We managed to barely hear what they were saying.

“…Kind…Goddess… we come… please accept…our prayers… bring you the wisest… guide us!”

The trees faded away to reveal a tiny cabin in the middle of a clearing right beside the game trail we’d been following. It was an unassuming little building that seemed as if it had seen countless years pass by. It was moldy, rickety and seemed on the verge of collapse.

I inwardly chuckled.

So that annoying Goddess lives inside this dump? That explains everything…

“Now that we know where it is, should we wait for them to leave and come back later or should we just go in uninvited?” asked Amy as Professor Rowetta led the girls inside the shack after bowing in front of it a few times.

The girls were obviously quite disappointed in the Goddess’ taste in architecture but followed along anyway. Lily stopped and looked behind her.

Did she want us to follow her inside? She mouthed something but we were too far away to make out what it was. A shadow fell over her face as she turned and walked into the cabin, disappearing from view.

“…they went inside,” came a light murmuring from behind us.

A couple of shadows appeared from the trail we’d been following. It didn’t seem like they’d noticed us but it was surprising that we hadn’t noticed them earlier.

Although I couldn’t make out their faces, I recognized their voices.

“…hurry, she’s waiting for us,” said the smaller shadow as it ran inside the cabin. The larger shadow followed.

“Guess we weren’t the only ones smart enough to think of following the winners,” I remarked, as I slowly got up from the bushed. “Since it looks like things are going to get more complicated than we’d initially assumed, I say we go inside.”

“Waiting is boring anyway,” said Zoe, standing up.

“I hope Lily’s okay,” muttered Amy, as she shook some leaves out of her hair.

We walked up to the cabin, pushed open the door and stepped into the darkness.

“Yes,” said Kai, as the door closed behind us. “Let’s get this over with.”

–

We walked down a staircase that seemed to go on forever. As expected, it wasn’t an ordinary log cabin. We reached a small hall with a large bronze door standing slightly ajar at the end. The walls were lined with dimly glowing stones pulsating with a strange white light that somehow seemed to increase the darkness rather than reduce it.

As we neared the door, voices drifted out from inside.

“Oh Mighty Goddess of Darkness! Oh guardian of the Night, bastion of Knowledge and protector of the Truth! We have come here to pay our blessings and –”

“Yeah, yeah, cut the crap and come over, will ya?”

Yep, that’s her alright…

Just as I was about to walk over, Kai stretched out his hand to stop me. Confused, I looked at him and he gestured to the door with his chin.

Amy seemed to have noticed something too as she put her hand over Zoe to stop her from asking what was wrong.

What is it?

I furrowed my brows and focused, but couldn’t find anything out of place. Finally, I used Appraisal and my eyes widened.

Names and numbers were floating in the air next to the door.

How did they – Are they using some sort of magical item or something? Never heard of anything that could make people invisible to people several hundreds of levels above them though…

“What do we do,” I whispered to Kai.

He thought for a second before pulling something out of his Storage. It was a large piece of cloth that shone with a silver luster. He pulled us closer and draped it over us.

“Is this an invisibility cloak…” I muttered under my breath as my face got crammed against Kai’s shoulder.

“Of course not,” he said, smiling lightly. “It’s a sheet of invisibility.”

“Right…”

“Shush, they’ll hear you,” said Amy, quickly.

“Don’t worry, this thing blocks out sound too,” replied Kai.

“Convenient,” I said, dryly.

“Look!” said Zoe.

It seemed like the invisible people were awkwardly trying to fit through the slightly open door without giving themselves away to the people inside. Although we couldn’t see them, seeing their names tumbling around gave us a good idea of how funny they might have looked.

They managed to get in without making the door move and it didn’t seem like the people inside had noticed them either.

“…So who do we have here, three little puppies? But wait a minute…”

We crept closer and peeked into the room.

The chamber seemed empty at first glance. The walls radiated a uniform gray light that made it impossible to judge how big it really was. In the center was a small bed with a black canopy and sheets. There was a coffee table next to the bed with a single metal chair by its side. A black cup lay on a golden saucer on top of the table, with wisps of steam floating out of it.

On the chair was a short woman with long, flowing black hair. At first glance she seemed like a little girl having a tea party in her room. However, her eyes – even from this far away – betrayed her maturity because they were cold, dark and carried a chilling gaze.

This was no ordinary girl.

And this was no ordinary tea party.

“Hey, old lady,” said the Goddess. “Are you an idiot?”

Professor Rowetta blinked and turned from side to side until she realized that the Goddess had been addressing her.

“Beg your pardon my Goddess, but this pitiful being does not know what you are speaking of,” she said. “Alas, how can one such as I hope to understand an intellect such as yours. It is an honor to be –”

“Shut it,” said the Goddess, cutting the Professor’s groveling short. “The hell do you think you’re doing?”

“M-me, your grace?” stammered the old lady as she instantly fell to the ground. “Please have mercy on this pitiful being that is too weak minded to realize her own wrongs. If I have offended you in any way, I did not mean to do so…”

The Goddess sighed. “What a mess. I mean, where the hell do I even begin?”

This doesn’t sound good. Does she know that we’re here? I thought.

“First, you came here without a gift. The old man promised me sugar cubes and because of that I didn’t buy any but now I’m almost out!”

Oh, she’s an idiot after all.

“Second, you bring me three obvious traitors.”

Shit…

“And third…” said the Goddess as she sipped her tea and put it down on the saucer. “You let yourself get followed.”

Fuck!

However, the Goddess wasn’t looking at us. Instead, her gaze was locked at the status values floating beside the door.

“Coming into a lady’s room uninvited merits strict punishment, wouldn’t you say?” she said, waving her hand.

The floating statuses flailed wildly but couldn’t escape the black tentacles that shot out of the floor beneath them. Something sparked and sizzled and then a chunk of metal hit the ground. The tentacles disappeared but they left behind two very startled boys.

“Mighty Goddess, you are truly the most powerful being in existence,” said the taller of the two as he fell to his knees and bowed.

“Forgive us for trespassing. We merely wanted to accompany our lord on her mission,” said the shorter boy as he bowed to the woman. “Have our heads if it pleases you, but please listen to our lord’s request. The fate of the kingdom rests on it.”

The goddess furrowed her brows and replied: “And why should –”

“Tami, Gerard! What are you two doing here?”

The black haired girl we’d met back on our way to the Academy – Persephone – raced towards the two bowing boys and helped them up. Her feet knocked against a small metal ball that clinked against the floor, revealing the hole the tentacles had pierced through it.

“Did you just interrupt me?” said the Goddess, scowling.

“My apologies,” said the girl quickly. “Punish me if you will, but please let these two go!”

“Princess, what are you saying?” said the tall one, Gerard.

“You know why we came here,” said the short one, Tami. “You know what’s at stake.”

“Tami…Gerard…” muttered Persephone.

“Will you stop ignoring me already?” said the Goddess. She shook her head and sighed. “Fine, whatever. Tell me why I shouldn’t blow you to pieces right now.”

Persephone gulped before falling to her knees and pressing her forehead against the ground.

“Please help us save the kingdom!” she pleaded.

“Not interested,” said the Goddess, dispassionately.

“Huh?” said Persephone.

“You heard me. I have no interest in getting involved in petty mortal conflicts anymore,” said the Goddess, turning her back to the groveling students.

“But you’re the Goddess of Darkness. The guardian of the night. The –”

“I get it, but so what?” growled the Goddess. “I do my job. I summon the Demon Lord, I train him and I give him my blessings. Although this one ran away without meeting me,” she grumbled.

“Yes but the Demon Lord dies every time –” began Persephone.

“Not my fault.”

“I would never dare to accuse you, Your Grace. However…” she looked up, staring at the Goddess with determination. “We know who is to blame for the disappearances of the Demon Lords.”

When she said that, the Goddess’ face twitched almost imperceptibly. She closed her eyes and took a sip from her teacup.

“I don’t care,” she said, simply.

The kneeling girl froze. Her lips quivered as she asked: “My Goddess…”

“Leave,” continued the Goddess, her eyes closed. “That has nothing to do with me. I do not meddle in mortal affairs.”

“B-but you’re the Goddess! You’re bound by Fate to –” said Tami, indignantly.

The Goddess’ eyes shot open. She waved her hand and tentacles shot out of the ground around the boy. He screamed as the tentacles grabbed him and threw him away. He slammed into the wall and slid to the ground, blood oozing from his mouth and staining the ground beneath him.

At least we know where the walls are now, I thought. And I guess she really is as testy about Fate as the Air Goddess said.

“Tami!” shouted Persephone as she tried to rush to his side.

“I am Lunaris; Goddess of Darkness, Guardian of the Night and all of that shit,” said Lunaris, her voice threateningly low. “And I do not recognize Fate.”

She lifted her teacup and resumed sipping from it. “Now get out. Your crap is spoiling the tea.”

Persephone stood shocked in the middle of the room. Her hands were trembling as she bit her lips and looked angrily at the Goddess that she had worshipped all her life.

“You…you’re not the Goddess I know. Where’s your compassion? Your love for your people?” She was shouting hysterically now. “We’ve been losing thousands of innocent lives to the Union every year. The Demon Lord’s Castle has been besieged fifteen times in the last century alone.”

The Goddess sipped her tea.

“They set fire to all the crops they come across. Pillage every village, town and city on their path. They’ve slaughtered millions of innocent people, stripped our nation of its honor and dragged our dignity through the mud. And you say you don’t care about any of it?”

Lunaris sipped her tea again.

“Princess, please calm down!” urged Gerard.

“Calm down?” shouted Persephone, a hint of laughter at the edge of her voice. “I just found out that our kind, benevolent and merciful Goddess is too busy having a tea party with herself to help her people.”

We might need to get involved soon or else this might get messy.

Amy and Zoe seemed on the verge of jumping out. Lily was frowning and glaring at the girl-like Goddess sitting on her tiny chair. She was obviously not amused by her indifference.

Saar was expressionlessly staring at the ground, apparently thinking about something. Kai was gazing silently at Persephone as she laughed and cried in the center of the room.

“She doesn’t care about all the people who died with her name on their lips. Doesn’t care about the people who sacrificed themselves for her honor. Worse, she doesn’t care about the Demon Lords she kidnapped from the other world.”

This seemed to get through to the Goddess as she stopped sipping her tea.

“She pulled them out of their worlds. Threw them into ours and let them die for her and now she says she doesn’t care about them? Did they all die in vain? Were their sacrifices meaningless? Why did they die for this ungrateful piece of trash –”

“Princess, stop!” shouted Gerard.

“Is this what he died for,” she shouted. Then she continued in a whisper as tears streamed down her face. “Is this what my father died for…”

“You… I remember you now –” said Lunaris as understanding dawned on her face.

“Yes,” said Persephone, scowling hatefully at the Goddess she had once believed in. “I’m the one you abandoned after dragging to this world alongside a poor salaryman and single father trying to give his little girl a decent life. I am Persephone Berus, daughter of the previous Demon King.”

“You’re the one that ran away,” muttered Lunaris.

“Yes, I ran away,” said Persephone, as her face darkened. “I ran away from home to go on a misguided adventure. I didn’t want to be the Demon Lord’s daughter. I wanted to be an adventurer. A hero!”

She stepped forward. “But while I was gone, something happened,” she whispered. “My father was mysteriously murdered while on a hunting expedition in the Wastes. The next day, the Union declared war on the Alliance and the Hero lead an excursion into the Corridor. I had to go to the front lines to defend my father’s people. I couldn’t even mourn him!”

She shouted while pointing at the Goddess. “And you won’t even listen to what I have to say?”

The Goddess sighed. She set down her teacup and folded her legs.

“Fine, what is it.”

Persephone bit her lips, obviously annoyed by the Goddess’ attitude, but she swallowed her pride and said: “I know who’s been killing all the Demon Lords.”

The air in the room grew heavy.

Interesting, I remarked internally. But…

The Goddess replied: “Is that all?”

Persephone blinked. “Huh?”

The Goddess sighed and picked up her cup again. “I said.” She sipped her tea. “Is that all?”

The daughter of the Demon Lord stood stunned. “What the fuck do you mean? Did you already know?”

The Goddess continued to sip.

“Answer me!” shouted the girl. “You knew about it? And you haven’t done anything?”

“Why should I?” she replied.

“W-why should you…” muttered Persephone, her voice trailing. “W-what do you mean?”

“She means why should she do something about it when she’s the one behind it?”

Every gaze shifted to the person who’d just spoken.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” asked Saar as she expressionlessly met the Goddess’ gaze.

Saar? What the hell are you saying?

The Goddess closed her eyes and put down her cup. “What Azoth does is up to him. I don’t have any influence over him.”

“Oh but you were the one who let him into the Demon Lord’s Castle, weren’t you?” continued Saar.

The Goddess’ eyes opened in shock. “How do you – Who are you?”

Saar smiled.

It was a beautiful smile but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Your reckoning,” said Saar as she pulled a gun out of thin air and shot it at the Goddess.

Lunaris waved her hand and tentacles erupted out of the ground in front of her but whatever Saar shot at her pierced straight through the darkness. Panicking, the Goddess flipped the table and managed to deflect the projectile.

It flew into the wall and disappeared.

Everyone froze.

“Impossible…” muttered Saar, her eyes wide in disbelief.

The Goddess was breathing heavily. She leaned on the ground and stared at the wall.

“You,” she said, turning her gaze to the muttering Saar. “How did you get that? You… who are you working for?”

Saar snapped out of it and struck a battle pose.

“Guess I’ll have to force it out of you,” said Lunaris.

Her eyes glowed with a black light as black tentacles lifted her up.

“Hey princess,” said Saar, looking at Persephone out of the corner of her eye. “I could use your help.”

“My help?” said Persephone, in a daze. “Why should I help you?”

“You want revenge for your father don’t you?” replied Saar as she pulled a giant needle out of her Storage. “Why do you think this so-called Goddess isn’t willing to help you even though she knows that Azoth killed your father?”

The Goddess waved her hand and a ball of darkness flew across the room.

“It’s because she’s been in it from the start,” shouted Saar as she jabbed the Shadowballs with her needle. The darkness split and faded but the Goddess had already sent a barrage of them hurtling towards the girls.

“Azoth wouldn’t have been able to kill the Demon Lords unless he had someone on the inside. And who better than the Goddess herself.”

The needle tore through the Shadowballs. Saar danced nimbly between the swirling masses and dodged the tentacles trying to sneak up on her from behind. The Goddess looked down at her from above with a slight smile at the edge of her lips.

She’s toying with her!

I looked over at the others. Everyone was watching intently but no one was willing to interrupt the fight. We wanted to see how this would play out.

I was happy too. After all, I was getting answers. I’d always wondered why there wasn’t a bigger fuss over the Demon Lords’ deaths. They’d been dying mysterious deaths for centuries now, someone should have caught the perpetrators by now. At the very least, the Goddess should have done something. Maybe keep the Demon Lord with her for longer and train them the way the Goddess of Light trained the Hero.

Lily was still standing in front of the table, apparently forgotten by everyone. She was staring at Saar with a strange light in her eyes.

“Come on princess!” shouted Saar.

She grunted as a tentacle struck her shoulder. She’d managed to raise the needle to block the attack but she was still sent tumbling to the ground.

“I think I finally know who you’re working for,” said the Goddess calmly. “You’re with –”

She was interrupted by a beam of darkness that shot towards her face. She frowned and waved her hands, causing the Void Ray to fade.

“You dare raise your hand against me?” said Lunaris.

Persephone stood with her arms outstretched, trembling as she faced down the Goddess. Suddenly, her eyes went blank and she fell to the ground, unconscious.

“Princess!” shouted Gerard as he scrambled towards the unconscious girl.

“Trying to attack your Goddess,” chuckled Lunaris. “You don’t understand how Fate works, do you?”

“I understand it just fine.”

A needle stopped in the air in front of Lunaris’ head. The tentacle that had caught it flicked it away and Lunaris turned towards Saar again.

“No you don’t, kid,” growled the Goddess. “You don’t know the first thing about Fate. Although…”

She smiled.

“Maybe your soul will find an answer soon. I’ve played with you long enough … goodbye.”

A rotating black mass appeared in front of the Goddess. It sucked the air out of the room, made the walls shake and the overturned table rattle.

The Black Hole whizzed across the room before Saar could react.

Damn it!

I rushed out of the sheet of invisibility and used Void Step to pick up Saar and dodge the Goddess’ attack. The Black Hole struck the wall and gouged a giant hole in it. Then it collapsed in on itself and flickered out of existence.

“Where the hell did you come from?” asked Lunaris, a touch of surprise in her voice. She hadn’t been able to detect us under Kai’s sheet after all.

I was facing away from her so she couldn’t see me. I turned as I spoke.

“Just came here to pay my respects, dear Goddess.”

Her eyes widened in shock and then they narrowed. She glanced at Lily from the corner of her eye, noticed that she wasn’t doing anything, and focused her attention on me.

But she wasn’t the first person to speak to me.

“Finally! Thank Fate you’re here!” said Saar as she extracted herself from my embrace.

I felt something stir inside me. Was it … disappointment?

At what? Was I disappointed that we broke our embrace? But that would mean…

“You were expecting me?” I asked, pushing my emotions to the side as best I could.

“Of course! Well, at first I assumed you’d failed to follow but ever since I met you at the back of that classroom, I knew you’d be there for me! Then again, you really should have dropped some hints that you were following.”

“Why would I –”

“Hold that thought, we need to deal with her first.” She looked at the Goddess that was glaring at us.

Wait, why isn’t the Goddess attacking us?

The Goddess seemed almost…wary. But of what?

“So you’ve joined them have you?” said Lunaris.

“I –”

“Don’t let her distract you. Do you have the item?” asked Saar urgently.

“What item?” I asked, confused.

“The Anomaly gun! Don’t tell me they sent you here without one,” said Saar.

“I’m sorry but what the hell are you talking about?” I asked.

“How can you not know about the Anomaly gun? Did they send me a newbie for a mission as important as this?” Saar was apparently as confused as I was.

They? Mission? The hell is going on?

“Oh, I see!” said the Goddess, apparently having understood something important. “You don’t know do you?”

“Know what?” snapped Saar and I at the same time.

“Hey kid,” she said, pointing to me. “You sure know how to pick them. Falling for an assassin from the Circle. Now isn’t that lovely?”

The Goddess grinned devilishly.

My mind went blank.

What?

< Back | TOC | Next >

A little boy poked his sister on her forehead and ran away. She chased him down the streets bustling with hawkers and pedestrians. They scared a flock of birds pecking at the breadcrumbs being thrown into the air by an old man sitting on a bench by the road at the city center.

A dog barked at the flying birds before curling up to the old man and rubbing against his leg. The old man scratched the dog’s head with one hand while throwing another handful of breadcrumbs with the other.I licked the ice cream in my hand as we walked past the old man and his dog. Some of it dripped down and fell onto the ground beside the dog. It broke away from its owner and came over to sniff the melting treat. It tentatively reached out with its tongue, licked a bit of the ice cream and decided that it liked it. It lapped up the rest in no time and tried to follow me, probably to get more ice cream, but it reached the end of its leash quickly.
It gave me a fleeting, sad look before perking up as its owner called it from behind. It dashed over to the old man and cuddled with him once again.

Zoe had been staring at the dog for a while now, fascinated by the little creature but unwilling to go over to it. Sensing her reluctance, Kai walked up to the dog and petted it. The dog rolled over as Kai rubbed its belly and messed up its fur. The dog barked happily and wagged its tail as Kai asked the old man if he could borrow it for a bit.

The old man agreed and Kai released the dog from its leash. He brought it over to Zoe and told her to pet it. Zoe’s eyes widened as she stared at the dog before gingerly reaching for its head and petting it lightly.

The dog barked and wagged its tail. Zoe smiled and played with it some more.

The old man had to leave so he called the dog over. Zoe hugged it one last time before letting it go scurrying back to its owner, scaring the birds yet again.

We walked over to a store with a glass window showing a young couple standing behind a desk inside.

Mannequins wearing bright, flashy dresses stood next to the couple as they flirted with each other. A bell rang as we opened the door and the couple ran to welcome us.

They had some scrolls framed on the wall behind the storefront, with the Academy’s insignia on them. The couple saw us looking at the scrolls and smiled proudly. They asked us if we were studying at the Academy and when we nodded, their grins widened.

Happy to see their juniors, they promised to give us great deals and to show us a little trick. They snapped their fingers and someone screamed.

Zoe was on the floor, staring at a mannequin with its head tilted to its side. The mannequin had its hand outstretched. The couple giggled, the mannequin pulled back its hand, bowed and turned around.

Other mannequins jumped out of their positions. They brought out a couch, pushed Kai and I onto it, and paraded in front of us while showing off their dresses.

A mannequin in a brilliant blue dress picked Zoe up and tossed her onto its shoulder. It proceeded to dance and twirl with a screaming Zoe hugging its faceless head. The mannequin threw Zoe to the next one in line – a mannequin in a green suit.

This time, it danced while holding onto Zoe’s arms.

She swirled and jumped to the beat of the music that had appeared out of nowhere. With a final pirouette, the mannequins threw Zoe into our laps. The couple clapped their hands and the mannequins froze again.

Kai and I exchanged glances, overwhelmed by what we’d just experienced. Then we heard someone giggling. Surprised, we looked around for the source. Zoe squirmed and raised her head. She was giggling uncontrollably.

We ended up buying a lot of dresses, and to be fair to the young couple, they did give us incredibly low prices. Zoe walked out of the shop wearing a brilliant blue dress, waving at the storefront as we walked down the street.

A wooden hand waved back from behind the glass door.

–

Back at the Academy, we saw Lily confronting Runir for not meeting her at the cafeteria. Even as she scolded Runir, her hands fidgeted behind her back. Runir said something and her hands stopped. She opened her fists and I saw something flash inside them for a second but it disappeared before I could see it properly.

She turned around, her face away from us. Zoe greeted them and soon enough, we were out visiting all the local attractions and eating ice cream – again.

Probably not the healthiest of days, but it was a fond memory worth cherishing.

–

The days whizzed by in a blur. Runir attended classes, sometimes managing to drag some of us with him.

Zoe was mostly happy, although she would sometimes suddenly begin crying or screaming in the night. She ended up cuddling next to me almost every night but during the day, she was a joyful bundle of energy.

Lily went to the Academy every day but she never went to class. Whenever Runir asked her to come with him to a lecture, she’d ignore him completely.

Well, that wasn’t completely true. I noticed her bite her lips and stare at her hands whenever he wasn’t around.

I spent most of my time taking care of Zoe, enjoying Lily and Runir’s arguments, or trying to make fun of Kai.

The last one might seem a little uncharacteristic but for some reason, I’d started to notice Kai more and more. There was something about the way he talked, the way he walked, and the way he smiled. I found myself staring at him quite often. I thought about him a lot too.

It was strange.

He was strange. Strange and unusual.

But not in a good way.

You see, I’d slowly come to realize something about him. Something I wasn’t sure he was aware of himself either…

He wasn’t acting like himself.

Or rather, he was acting like himself. As if he was putting on a show.

It was the mannequins that had made me realize it.

Kai was perfect.

He walked perfectly. Talked perfectly. His every word came out of his mouth clear and crisp. His voice was calm yet powerful. He carried himself so immaculately that you couldn’t help but like him, or at least respect him, when he entered the room.

He was smart. He was kind. He was a good cook. A good craftsman. He had an answer for everything and a story for every occasion.

He was perfect. Too perfect. Like a perfectly carved, magically operated mannequin.

So I tried to trip him up countless times, but it didn’t work. It never worked. Everything I tried bounced off of his chest like it was nothing.

No prank, no insult, no amount of teasing could get through to him. All throughout our journey, I’d been trying to make him slip up but it was all in vain.

Now as our final exam approached, I felt convinced that Kai could walk in without ever having set foot in a class after our first day here, and walk out with a perfect score if he wanted to.

We went to sleep early because the exam was early in the morning. Of course, I didn’t really go to ‘sleep,’ since I didn’t need to. Instead, I made sure Zoe was sleeping properly. Sure enough, she was cuddled next to me, her chest rising gently as she breathed in.

I cautiously left the room and checked up on Lily. Surprisingly, the door to her room was open. Somewhat concerned, I peered in and saw an empty bed with its sheets in disarray. My heart skipped a beat as I suddenly began to worry.

I searched the room, peeking into the bathroom, crawling under the bed and checking every nook and cranny.

Where was she? How could I have left her alone like this? I had come to protect her, to protect the Hero!

Wasn’t that the reason I’d come in the first place?

At the start of our journey, I used to pretend to go to sleep in my room while secretly staking out Lily’s room. Since when had I stopped doing that?

Something brushed against me. I turned to see an open window with curtains fluttering in the wind. Without hesitating, I jumped out.

The ground was soggy – it had probably rained earlier in the night. I followed the muddy footprints leading from the window. They led me to a little thicket of trees just outside of town. A clear stream flowed into the thicket from the other side and fed a tiny lake.

Someone sat on the edge of the lake. The figure picked up something from the ground and threw it into the lake.

It waited a few moments, then picked up another rock and threw it even further.

She waited again, then threw another rock.

And another.

And another.

I stood quietly behind a tree, sensing that this wasn’t something I wanted to interrupt.

Exhausted, Lily fell on her back and grunted loudly.

I didn’t try to help her. She’d obviously come all the way out here to avoid being seen. She wanted to vent her frustration, to release the emotions she’d been bottling up for a long time.

So I let her scream and cry for a little while, before following her back to the hotel.

She was a tough one but everyone had to let loose once in a while. The real question was: why was she so upset in the first place?

–

We got up early the next day. Attending the exam was mandatory, even if passing wasn’t. Breakfast was a quiet affair as we planned the rest of the day out.

The results would be released early in the afternoon and the top three students would leave for the Dark Goddess’ shrine in the evening.

The plan was to follow Runir from a distance and make it to the shrine. Once there, we would get the Goddess to bless the Hero and ask her for a way to get to Earth.

I felt a pang of guilt at that, because I was sure that Lunaris did not know how to get to Earth. Of course she was the most likely to know, since she was the most mysterious of all my sisters, but I doubted that she knew regardless.

Why?

Because if she’d known a way to leave this world, she would have left a long time ago. It was the only thing the rest of the Goddesses knew for certain about Lunaris: she hated Fate more than anyone else. If she could leave Fate’s clutches, she would have definitely done so already.

We went to the examination hall and found our seats. The instructor signaled the start of the exam and the hall was filled with the sound of papers being flipped over.

There were loud groans and frustrated tapping. This paper was apparently a tough one.

I wouldn’t know though. I’d handed it in empty as soon as the exam began.

I left the hall with the examiner’s angry glare following me out the door.

–

I waited outside for the others but surprisingly, none of them left early. Even Zoe seemed to be taking the exam seriously. None of the other students had finished early either.

Eventually, a few students came out of the door, cursing their bad luck or praying to the Goddesses for help. Kai appeared a few minutes before the bell rang, after which students began filing out of the hall.

Zoe was smiling, proud that she’d managed to finish the exam.

She frowned when Kai told her that she hadn’t finished the exam. Apparently handing in an empty paper after sitting through to the end doesn’t count as ‘finishing’ an exam.

We had lunch in the cafeteria. Sometime in the afternoon, groups of students started leaving to check the results that had been posted to a wall by the dean’s office.

The wall was surrounded by a crowd of students but we could see the top of the list from the back. As the words came into view, we froze.

Instantly, we all turned to face Lily, who was whistling innocently behind us. Even Kai was speechless.

I blinked and turned to read the names at the top of the list again, just to be sure.

…

Third Place: Persephone Beruse

Second Place: Saariel Jadus

First Place: Rose Gray

Runir’s fake name appeared several pages down, near the end. In fact, he’d failed like the rest of our group.

The corner of Runir’s eyes twitched but he all he could do was sigh and shake his head. Lily smirked at him before casting her gaze at the top of the list again.

For a moment, her eyes narrowed and she glared at the names at the top of the list.

This wasn’t an ordinary prank.

–

As we left the Academy to have dinner at a restaurant in the town, we passed by a small shop near the corner of the street. Zoe pulled me in as soon as she saw it, saying that she’d seen the place before and wanted to check it out before we left the city.

We pushed aside the curtains that hung in place of the door and stepped inside.

It was a small, dimly lit store with a dusty smell. The walls were plastered with pictures and portraits. An old man wobbled out from behind the desk at the back of the store. He had thick, white eyebrows that nearly covered his droopy eyes. His face was full of wrinkles and his back was hunched so badly that he had to use a cane to walk properly.

“What do you want?” asked the old man.

Before anyone else could reply, Kai said:

“Memories.”

The old man nodded and ushered us through a door I hadn’t even noticed. Once inside, he snapped his fingers and the room was flooded with a blinding light. The walls were made of a strange kind of stone that glimmered and shone on its own.

The old man threw aside his cane and his thick eyebrows lifted to reveal bright blue eyes sparkling with life and energy. He took out a strange contraption and told us to get ready.

Lily and Runir suddenly realized what was going on as they hurriedly gathered us together. Unsure, I let myself be pulled awkwardly close to the others and forced out a smile when Lily told me to.

The old man grunted and there was a flash of light.

We tried to pay the old man but he kept refusing, saying that he was too moved by Kai’s answer to accept any money from us. We forced him to take it anyway.

It was his own money after all.

The time for our departure came at last as evening approached. We met Professor Rowetta, who would be escorting Lily and the others to the shrine, and waved Lily farewell before darting inside an alley and following them from a distance.

Looking back, this was probably the point where everything started to fall to pieces. This was the last day time that we were all happy together.

And for me, this was definitely my final, fond memory.

< Back | TOC | Next >

“Seriously? Are you guys going to study at all?” I asked, exasperated.

We were having breakfast at the Inn and preparing to go back to the Academy. Or at least, I was preparing to go to the Academy. For some reason; Kai, Amy and Zoe didn’t want to go and it seemed like Lily might ditch it too.

“There’s no point if you’re going to ace it for us anyways,” said Kai. “We could spend this time more productively outside.”

“We don’t have improv today so it’ll be boring as hell…” grumbled Zoe.

“So you’re going to have fun without me?” I asked.

“We’ll be preparing for the difficult times ahead,” said Amy.

“Oh? Are you going to train?”

“No, we’re going shopping.”

“For what?”

“Essentials.”

“What essentials? We already have a ton of food in our Storages and we can make water with magic.”

“The clothes here are the best on Erath,” said Amy. “And they’re affordable too.”

“You’re going shopping for clothes?” I asked.

“Yep,” replied Kai.

“Wait, why are you going?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

“What, I need new robes,” he said.

“Bullshit! You’ve been wearing the same set of robes since we met!” I said.

“Exactly!” He smiled.

I sighed. I wasn’t going to win this argument so I gave up on persuading them. Lily, on the other hand, had been strangely silent.

“You said you might ditch today, Lily. But if you’re not going shopping, you might as well come with me,” I said, facing her.

“Oh I’ll come with you all right, but I sure as hell won’t be going to any of those boring classes again,” she said.

“Then what will you be doing?” I asked, annoyed.

I knew I’d have to carry the team this time but I didn’t think they’d bail on me after one day of classes. It wasn’t like I liked studying anyways. I already knew enough to ace the test so the only reason I wanted to go to class was to search for information I might have missed. I couldn’t let my plan fail because I didn’t know about some monster’s den or active volcano.

“It’s none of your business!” said Lily, tersely.

What the hell?

She left without another word. The others finished their breakfast and offered to let me join them but I declined.

At least one of us needed to keep their shit together.

I resigned myself to attending another round of boring lectures and made my way to the Academy. I was considering whether to try an off-beat class like improv because of the way Kai and the others had reacted last night but decided against it. That wasn’t my kind of thing.

“Ouch!”

“Hm? Watch where you’re going,” I said.

Someone had bumped into me as I turned the street. I wasn’t fazed at all but the other person had fallen on the ground. That wasn’t surprising – my level was much higher than that of most people.

What was surprising, however, was who I’d bumped into.

“Wow, you’re a lot sturdier than I thought you’d be,” said Saar.

“Yeah, well, I work out,” I said, offering her my hand.

“Thanks,” she said, getting up and brushing herself off.

She was wearing a red shirt with a long purple skirt, which made her instantly stand out because almost everybody else wore robes and dully colored shirts and trousers. Fashion wasn’t a big deal on Erath, it seemed.

“You know, I didn’t hear you apologize for bumping into me earlier,” she said.

“You’re the one who bumped into me,” I replied.

“Yeah well I’m the one who fell over,” she said. “Besides, you just knocked a pretty girl off her feet. Most people would apologize just so I wouldn’t stop talking to them.” She smiled.

“But you stop talking to them anyway, don’t you?”

“Only if they tried to apologize,” she said, chuckling.

“You’re weird,” I said.

I hadn’t noticed but we’d started walking together.

“Are you sure you’re going the right way for your class?” I asked.

“Yeah, the evolution of political theory and discourse; Hall 12. Should be at the end of the hallway,” she said.

“Oh, I have that class too,” I said.

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Cool, at least I’ll have someone to talk to.”

“You don’t have any friends?”

“Not a lot of people willing to be friends with a backbencher here,” she scoffed. “Too caught up in their obsession with grades and connections. Always in a rush to get ahead of the curve. Land their dream job. That kind of thing.”

“And you don’t want any of that?” I asked.

We entered the hall. A few people shot some curious glances at me but that changed to looks of disdain and ridicule as we made our way to the seats at the back.

“No,” she said. “I’m not after any of that useless stuff.”

“Useless? How so?” I asked.

“Well, what’s the point of living for that stuff? Study and work until you’re about to collapse from fatigue and for what? So you can land a job in the government? Just another cog in the machine. Worthless,” she said. “Working hard is worthless if your goals are worthless too.”

Interesting, she might be even more cynical than I was back on Earth.

“But that begs the question,” I said. “If none of this entices you then what are you after?”

Down below, the professor was giving an animated lecture with his hands flying all over the place. It would have been annoying if I had actually been trying to listen but his voice had faded into the background by now.

Saar smiled. “Purpose. Meaning. That’s what I’m after. Although in a way, that’s what we’re all after. Only most of us won’t admit it.”

“So you came to the Academy to search for a purpose?” I said.

“Yep,” she said, leaning closer. “And I can tell that you’re searching for something like that too. And just like me, you’ve found a way – or you think you’ve found a way – to give your life meaning. To do something that validates your existence.”

What the hell?

“It’s okay,” she continued, while brushing her hair over her ear. “You don’t have to say anything. Your face says it all.”

I cursed inwardly. She was reading me like a book.

But what did she mean by that? She couldn’t know about my plan. No, she saw something in me. Something that fascinated her and drew her to me.

Herself.

“Alright,” I said. “I’ll play your little game too.”

She smiled. “There is no game and even if there was, you don’t need to play it. I just found you interesting, that’s all.”

“Oh but I find you interesting too,” I said.

“Are you flirting with me?” she said, with a soft chuckle.

“Maybe,” I said, jokingly reaching for her hand. “Or maybe I’m just curious why someone with an Ability like that and brains like those could still be level 23.”

Her smile froze. I smirked.

“Or perhaps I’m wondering why you’re so obsessed with me. For some reason, I find the idea that you approached me for kicks almost as unlikely as the idea that you fell for me. Even if you do see me as a kindred spirit, you wouldn’t endanger your plan by approaching me for nothing.”

“Smarter than I thought,” she muttered. “But it’s not that complicated. I was bored, that’s all.”

“You might have been bored but if you’re anything like me, you would never risk failing to achieve your goals,” I said.

“Really? What about that girl you were hanging out with yesterday?” she said.

“Oh, so you’re a stalker too. And what does Lily have to do with any of this?” I said, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

“She’s a danger to your goals, isn’t she. You get distracted by her so easily.” She smirked. “Then again, it isn’t that hard to distract you.”

She dropped my pen onto my lap. I hadn’t noticed her take it but I didn’t let my surprise show on my face.

She stared at my face.

“You’ve gotten better at it,” she said.

“I’ve always had a great poker face,” I replied.

“So why were you so easy to read when we first met?” she asked. “Admit it, she’s a distraction. But that’s besides the point. You keep her around presumably because it’s fun to tease her the way you did yesterday, and I approached you because I was bored and thought you would be able to entertain me. And since this conversation is the most fun I’ve had in months, I think I was right.”

I was about to retort that we were nothing alike because I wasn’t keeping Lily around because it was fun – that was just a bonus – but because I needed her for my plan. However, I stopped myself.

I couldn’t tell her that I was keeping Lily around because I needed her. Not only would that reveal a very important part of my plan but it would end up revealing a potential weakness that someone like Saar would be able to exploit instantly.

“Fine, you’re right. She’s fun to be around,” I said. “But why do you care about what I do?”

She smiled and shuffled closer, intending to whisper into my ear. An invasion of privacy like this was not something I was usually comfortable with but for some reason, rather than push her away, I found myself leaning closer and letting her brush my hair with her fingers.

“Because I’m even more fun to be around,” she whispered.

“I see,” I said, calmly.

She sat back in her seat. “The class is almost over. How about we continue this conversation over lunch? Of course, I understand if you’d rather have lunch with your friends,” she said.

The professor dismissed the class and the students started to file out.

“I’m sure they’ll understand.” I stood up and followed her outside.

We went to a little restaurant on the other side of the campus rather than the main cafeteria. We ordered some food and sat down.

It was tiny, dimly lit place with candles and torches illuminating the richly decorated interior. Would’ve been a great place for dinner with a date.

“So we’re going out on a date already?” I mused. “You work fast, don’t you.”

“I had to,” she said, browsing through the menu. “The final exams are right around the corner and I have no idea if you’ll come back next year.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” I said.

“You came here at the end of the term, somehow managed to get in, and seem to know enough of the course to be bored in every class,” she said, calling the waiter. “Doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you aren’t here to graduate.”

I twirled the fork in my hand while thinking over what she’d said. Her analysis was perfect and her reasoning flawless. She was smart, crafty, observant, and just a little crazy.

Maybe we were meant for each other after all.

We gave our orders to the waiter and sat in silence. She had a slight smile on her face, probably because everything had been going exactly as she’d wanted it. So I decided to go on the offensive.

“Your Ability,” I said, causing her to look up. “What does it do?”

“You know it’s rude to ask a girl her Ability on your first date,” she said.

“So this is a date…” I muttered.

“What, never had one before?” She smirked.

I frowned. She was good at getting under my skin. Time for some revenge.

“Fine then, I’ll just have to tell you what I know about your Ability,” I said. “I know I’m right so you don’t need to confirm anything.”

“Go ahead,” she replied.

“First, I know it’s not a physical Ability and it’s not a mental Ability either. Hence, it’s a metaphysical Ability. It deals with existence directly rather than a target or whatever,” I said.

“That much was obvious,” she said.

“Don’t interrupt,” I said. “Second, I know your Ability can’t tell the future.”

“And how do you know that?” she said.

I threw my fork at the glass of water in front of her. It toppled over, spilling water over her dress.

“Because if it did, you would’ve dodged that,” I said.

She frowned, picking at her dress.

“Alright, I can’t tell the future,” she admitted. “But there is one prediction I can make for sure.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ll never be popular with girls,” she stated.

“Fair enough,” I said. “Third-”

“If you throw water at me again, I’ll slap you,” she said, tersely.

“Third,” I said, ignoring her. “The way its description is worded suggests that it doesn’t give you any options to choose from or any hints regarding the possible choices that you may make but rather, it facilitates you with making decisions for the future.” I stirred the wine in my glass and sipped it. “With wisdom and imagination, if I remember correctly.”

She raised her eyebrows and sat back in her seat.

“While you’re not completely right…”

“I’m not completely wrong either.”

“Yes.”

“You have to admit,” I said. “I’m pretty impressive.”

“Impressively full of yourself.” She chortled.

“Narcissism is a virtue, not a vice,” I said proudly. “Although I am surprised by your reaction to my findings; doesn’t it bother you that I know what your Ability does?”

“No, not really,” she said, leaning on the table. “Because I know all about you too.”

“Oh, more of that face reading shit, right?” I said.

“Mostly, but that’s irrelevant. What matters is that I know that you’re just like me,” she said, playing with the knife in her hand. “Cold and calculating yet driven by a purpose born from a lack of purpose. You and I may not have the same goals but I’m sure we can help each other out.”

“How so?” I asked.

“Judging by the time you transferred in, I assume you’re here for the final exams,” she said. “Or more specifically, the reward that comes after it.”

“You want to meet the Dark goddess too?” I said.

“Of course, I mean, who doesn’t?” she added.

“I get the feeling you’re not a typical devout believer who wants to meet their revered deity.”

“No,” she admitted, lightly stabbing the tablecloth with her knife. “I am not typical in any way whatsoever.”

“I can tell. After all, you did manage to rope me into a date,” I said.

She smiled. “True, a guy like you probably hasn’t been on a date in his life.”

“Of course I have!”

“Play-dates don’t count.”

I smirked. “We’re getting off-track-”

“Sure, change the subject…” she muttered.

“The Dark goddess,” I continued, ignoring her. “Why do you want to meet her?”

I didn’t notice the tables around us clear up or the candles that had been blown out. They only lit candles for tables that were occupied.

However, as Saar settled into her chair with a contemplative look on her face, the shadows crept over her eyes and she put the knife on the table gently.

Her voice rippled with emotion as she spoke. “I want to ask her a question.” She stopped. “That’s all.”

“I see.”

We didn’t talk much after that. Our dinner arrived and we ate in silence, more candles being blown out and some being lit up again as more guests arrived. Once we were done, we paid the bill and left the restaurant.

On the main street, Saar turned around and smiled.

“It was nice hanging out with you,” she said.

“I don’t know if I can say the same,” I said, honestly.

She nodded. “It’s okay. I know what you really think.”

“Read my face again?”

“No,” she said, quickly running forward and giving me a peck on the cheek. “I just know.”

She ran down the street, vanishing into the crowd. I stood there for a while, trying to understand what just happened.

It wasn’t like I’d never gone out with anyone before. I’d been fairly popular in school but I’d never felt this way before. A myriad of conflicting emotions cascaded inside my head: joy, unease, satisfaction and reluctance. I felt something for this girl. A strange attraction that wasn’t quite love…or maybe it was?

No! Focus Runir! The plan. The plan comes first. Let these confusing feelings go and focus!

I was woken from my mental pep talk by a flick on the ear.

“Why didn’t you come to the cafeteria? I was looking for you everywhere,” said Lily.

“Aw, you really do care,” I teased.

She narrowed her eyes but strangely enough, she didn’t rebuke me. Instead, she sighed and turned around.

“Whatever…”

I frowned. It wasn’t like Lily to back down from one of our verbal battles.

“Oh, hi there nerds!” said someone from behind us.

We turned to see Kai, Amy and Zoe walking down the street wearing weird hats and glasses. Zoe was the one who had spoken out, presumably because she was in one of her more outgoing phases.

“Done shopping?” I asked.

“Yep, do you have any classes this afternoon?” asked Kai.

“Yeah but…” I said, glancing at the others while thinking about what Saar had said.

“Screw it. Let’s go sight-seeing.”

“All right!” said Kai, smiling.

We spent the rest of the day visiting the local tourist attractions. There was a museum full of strange artifacts and bones, some of which hadn’t been in the game. There was a water park run by the LeAgua company, that had a giant water-slide and rapids. We went to the zoo and saw a bunch of animals and monsters, although we had to restrain Zoe from jumping out to play with them.

And we ended the day with ice-cream.

All in all, after a strange yet fulfilling day, I plopped down onto my bed and fell asleep immediately.

But although I had fallen asleep calm and satisfied, my dreams were incredibly unsettling.

Someone was singing and humming in a low tone. Several voices, pushing and pulling at me with their words, scrambling my emotions and sending me spiraling into confusion.

They were sowing doubts in my mind. Doubts about my plan. They wanted me to reconsider what I was about to do, I could finally tell that they wanted me to abort the plan.

But when I awoke, I remembered none of it. No voices, no doubts, no bitter confusion.

Not even the words that sent chills down my spine as I dreamed:

Your castle will crumble…piece by piece. So escape while you can or be buried within.