“Rest, Ben, we are here,” Sky said.

  ………

  “Burn,” Dakota said, snapping her thumb against her index finger.

  Varok instantly screamed as fire engulfed him. “Just joking,” he said, walking out unscathed. “Protection came with the sword,” he added.

  “Gravity,” Dakota commanded, circling her right hand before motioning as if forcing something to the ground.

  Varok ground his teeth, his movement slowed to a crawl, but he pressed forward. “Which part of ‘magic won’t work’ don’t you get?” he sneered. “Mother’s right, let Dad run things—Daddy, Varok is calling,” he said, before kicking Dakota into a tree.

  She struck the trunk and slumped to the ground, her head bleeding as she struggled to pull air back into her crushed lungs.

  “Let’s talk about this,” she pleaded, her voice rising in a desperate pitch. “We promise we’ll give you everything you want—double it.”

  “Big promises,” Varok replied. “Can you also protect me and my pack? It’s a big family, you know.”

  “We will,” she said, her voice shifting to a mature, womanly tone. “Let the child leave, please. She is just finding a family again.”

  “See, that’s why I said let Daddy talk; he might have a better chance,” Varok said as the duskwolves closed in. “Relax, you’ll eat her body later, but first I need to kill with this,” he said, eyeing the shimmering steel blade.

  “Please… we promise… we’ll just let the child leave,” Dakota’s mother spoke through her from where she slumped against the tree.

  “Oh, the last time we fought was pretty nice. You just managed to put part of your consciousness in her,” Varok noted. “Can’t believe this little body is holding three different minds. Maybe that’s why they want her dead.”

  ………

  “What we felt that day was an unusual presence, but we were the only ones who felt it,” Rheis said.

  “How’s that possible? Isn’t it like…”

  “No, I know what you want to say,” Rheis cut off Azeya. “Spirits all see and react to each other, and yes, that’s mostly true, but that presence wasn't a spirit.”

  “So, it’s less of a cardinal? Cardinals usually clear threats,” Leon observed.

  “That might be true,” Rheis replied. “If it were a cardinal, the limit of mastery wouldn't have survived that confrontation—well, let’s say not in one piece.”

  “How does that intersect with Sky?” Sherlyn asked, trying to calm herself.

  “It’s a tethered relationship—a link, the lower class would say,” Rheis explained. “I haven’t gotten close to him yet, but from the beginning, the girl has been either the target or the threat.”

  “That’s Sky. Considering it’s a link, how much can they do with it?”

  “Last time, the moment Ben came across Ryke and Sherlyn, he didn’t react, but Sky did.”

  “Like she was pulled there?” Veryn asked.

  “Today, or yesterday rather, the strength from Sky felt identical,” Azeya said, pouring a cup of water.

  “Identical?”

  “Yes. I was just leveling her up, but she showed me strength—orga-similar strength,” Azeya said, leaving the others puzzled.

  “Maybe she got it from an orga after killing it,” Veryn suggested.

  “We better wish it’s that simple,” Neyra murmured.

  “Regardless…”

  “Ben showed that strength, too,” Azeya added. “Maybe more.”

  ………

  “Make it quick,” Dakota said, her voice switching again, heavy but strained.

  “There’s Dad? Is that all?” Varok mocked. “Any other wish?”

  “Tell Ben and Sky we thank them,” Dakota’s father said, his voice deep. “It’s time to say goodbye,” the mother’s voice switched back.

  “I love them—tell them that, too,” Dakota said in her own voice, finally emerging, bleeding from her mouth but managing a smile.

  “As you wish,” Varok said, decapitating her. He realized the last whisper they had left behind. ‘Linked,’ he thought. “A fucking spell,” he cursed.

  ……..

  “I said I’ll fucking kill you all,” Sky said, yanking her sword from a duskwolf’s body as blood soaked the grass.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  Only a few duskwolves remained, eyeing each other warily. Sky suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness, her strength vanishing. She spun around to see Ben missing, then blurred through Veilwood, catching only a glimpse of her destination.

  She blocked the punch with her right hand and spun into a backfist, using equivalent force Ben placed in his blocked hand, the strike with such force that it created a shockwave, clearing the air and felling nearby trees.

  “Ben, let me,” she commanded, forcing their faces together, her eyes locking onto his dark pupils.

  Varok breathed heavily, his left cheek numb. “I’m gonna kill me an orga today,” he wheezed, getting to his feet. He touched his left ear, finding it still there, though he spat out a handful of broken teeth. “Very lucky I’m built like metal,” he muttered, dashing toward Sky through the fallen trees.

  “Sky, Sky…”

  “Ben, I’m here. Listen to my voice,” Sky replied.

  “Dakota… I had a dream I saw her dead body. Sky, where is… where is…”

  “She’s fine. Can you do something for me? Can you rest? Close your eyes, Ben,” Sky said, pulling his head against her chest.

  The tension began to drain from him, his breathing stabilizing.

  “I’m not dead yet!” Varok shouted, emerging from the woods.

  “Sky…”

  “Shhh, it’s nothing,” Sky replied, holding back tears.

  “She said she loved you—Dakota, I mean. The mother said she thanked you,” Varok stopped, confused. “Was that the mother or the father? But yeah!” he shouted. “Those were her words before she died.” He immediately blocked a strike, the force driving the earth around him to sink.

  “I’m as strong as an orga; that won’t work, girl,” Varok taunted.

  The words lingered in Ben’s mind. ‘She said she loved you, Dakota, before she died.’ The phrase repeated on an endless loop. He turned, the moonlight illuminating Dakota’s body, his gaze fixed on her head. “Dakota…” he whispered, his vision blurring with tears. “Dakota, I’m…”

  Sky glanced at Ben, momentarily distracted. Varok seized the opportunity, landing a heavy punch that sent Sky flying, but before she hit the ground, Ben was kneeling, staring at Varok. Beside him, Alph was pinned in the crater, snarling despite the overwhelming force holding her down.

  “Lucky bastard. Imagine if I wasn’t here,” CP said, landing with finesse behind Varok.

  “The sword, right?” Varok tossed the hilt to CP. “Finally killed the girl. You magicians have a lot to pay.”

  “Take it,” CP ordered. A gate opened, a figure emerged, retrieved the sword, and vanished.

  “A persistent one,” CP said, watching Ben struggle to stand. “Let me break your bones before killing you.”

  “Can you see those eyes? They’re too dark,” Varok noted. “Where’s the…”

  “What just happ…” Varok’s throat was suddenly gripped hard, his body a distance away from CP.

  CP swiped his hand to the left, tossing Ben into the trees. “I think you better gear up,” he told Varok. Then came the sound of bodies clashing, followed by a howl.

  Varok dashed, blocking Sky’s punch and retaliating with his own. “Deal with him; we’ll take care of these,” he said, advancing on her.

  CP levitated, creating a fresh crater beneath him. “Why is that dark spot in your left ear splitting?” CP wondered, looking down at Ben. “Is that the pupil…” He was forced to intercept Ben again, this time mid-air. CP gasped for air. “Almost had me,” he grunted, tossing Ben away as more trees and earth were decimated by the impact.

  ……..

  Rheis began to bleed from the eyes, trembling. “Leon…”

  “I know, I can feel that presence,” Leon replied. “Where is it coming from?”

  “Sherlyn, are you fine?” Ryke asked, watching her tremble.

  “Get her to a room, down there—only take left turns. Her canceling is trying to subjugate everything,” Leon commanded.

  ……..

  “Joe, we’ve got a problem.”

  “People are being tossed around; some are fighting, others are running into Veilwood,” Joe replied, looking out the window. “Tell everyone to prepare. These are spirits acting.”

  “Are monsters born or created? I was created; I don’t know about the others,” Joe said, walking out as fog poured through the guild and out into the district.

  ……..

  The moon hid behind the clouds, and the air moved with caution, tiptoeing around Veilwood.

  “Varok!” CP shouted. Varok spun around, swinging a forty-kilogram hammer, smashing Ben into the heart of Veilwood.

  He turned, only to lock eyes with something. It was as tall as he was, with four dark pupils in its left eye, blood on the right side of its head, and a blackened hand. All Varok could manage was, “Ben, what are you…?”

  'I can’t do anything. Why is it not working?' CP thought from above, his hands tightening until his ears bled and hands felt more heavy, the crater there, the biggest he created infact but still nothing happening to Ben.

  Who did it remained a mystery, but in his eyes, Varok was decapitated. A girl and a boy stood over the corpse, their legs soaked in blood.

  “What happened here?”

  “Who are you?” CP asked, staring at the crime scene.

  “Terry," he replied. "come down. You are too weak to be flying,” Terry said.

  “Sky, what is happening here?” Joe whispered, appearing with the entire guild, the area behind him covered in a dense fog.

  “Why are there people? Now I can’t go out,” Leon said.

  “Strength doesn’t just flow from mistakes or new beings; it flows through bloodlines, too. A new version of me is calling to the new versions of you. Power calls for power, but the strong call for the weak so that you may embrace the night and become powerful. Come forth, serve your master,” Anjali said, standing atop the giant birds that had carried Tork out, the same creatures that had helped Alph and at this point, levateted in the sky.

  “Who’s that on a Vaelst?” CP asked, observing the large-eyed bird. 'Aren't those mythical? They should be dead, unless it’s necrosiphy,' he thought, trying to piece the puzzle together.

  “Thank you, Dakota. You helped me gain strength,” Anjali said, tears falling. She stretched her hands, used the left hand to show make a circle in the sky and snapped with her right hand. “Open gates.” She said, swallowing Ben, Sky, Alph, and herself.

  Anjali before leaving summoned alot of creatures including Vaelsts, Nyrraks, obsidian harriers and other eight legged creatures that weren't in perfect view along with a humanoid creature that stared down everyone present. Backed by nearly a hundred creatures and the distant roars of orgas, the tree's falling as the orga's came closer.

  “Who brought these Veyriss serpents?” an adventurer shouted as fifteen of them appeared.

  “Forgive me, I thought I could at least try to level the ground with those monsters.” Veryn said, wearing his amplifiers.

  “And someone thought we would miss this,” Ryke said as hollows appeared, Azeya eyeing the incoming danger.

  'Let’s kill them all,' Ryke heard in his mind, a grin spreading across his face.

  ........

  “Was it worth killing the child?” Ell asked GT.

  “We will see. But for now, let the cardinal talk to him,” GT whispered back, bowing.

  “Nero,” the cardinal said, his eyes glowing pure white.

  GT and Ell were choked, gasping for air as others around them were slaughtered. Ell's eyes where just open enough to see eight strong magicians dead bodies , all killed before she could register the cardinals words.

  “A cardinal freeing me—and of course, it had to be the one who sees the future,” Nero said, his widened pupils locking onto Ell’s.

  “Still too fast. Let’s make a deal, old foe,” the cardinal spirit said, vanishing with Nero.

  “You were right,Rheis. The girl should not have been killed,” Ell said, her face pressed against the bloody floor while she gasped for air.