WIEDERGEBURT Act II: Chapter 10

Zadram lifted the massive sword over his head and brought it down so hard and so fast the very atmosphere seemed to shriek in agony as it was cut. Erica and Tungsten could do nothing but stare at the descending blade of darkness with wide eyes, perhaps because they weren’t used to moving at high speed, but Kari and I could, at the very least, see the blade’s trajectory as it sliced through the air.

That meant we could react.

We grabbed the two and used the Flash Step to disappear from the area where Zadram’s blade descended, and it was a very good thing we did. The entire building shook as the blade slammed into the ground, but then, rather than simply destroying the ground, it seemed to consume the area around it. I couldn’t really describe what was happening. It was as if the area around the sword was being broken down into particles and absorbed into the sword. What remained after Zadram removed his blade was a massive three meter long trench.

“What the… what kind of attack is that?” Tungsten asked of no one in particular.

“It looks like the darkness element,” Erica muttered. “But I’ve never… seen something quite like this before.”

“Whatever it is, that sword is very powerful,” Kari said. “If we get hit with that, we’re dead.”

Zadram seemed to have realized his attack hadn’t destroyed us, for he turned around and narrowed his eyes in rage when they landed on us standing several dozen meters away.

“You are awfully fast for humans,” he snarled. “However, speed alone is not enough to defeat a Sekbeist Warlord!”

The term “Sekbeist Warlord” wasn’t something I was familiar with, but I knew that now wasn’t the time to think about that. Zadram caused the world around us to shake again with his mighty footsteps. He was charging right at us with the intent to kill.

“You two get back!” I snapped at Erica and Tungsten. “Find a safe place to observe the battle and attack only when you’re certain you can hit this guy! Kari and I will provide the distraction!”

I was sure neither of them appreciate me snapping off orders at them, but I didn’t give either one time to respond. Using the Flash Step, I closed the distance between myself and this giant. However, this time, I didn’t just propel myself right over to him, but moved in a zigzag pattern that kept his eyes on me.

While I was moving toward him using the Flash Step to disappear and reappear, I channeled mass quantities of Spiritual Power into my right hand. A loud buzzing sound echoed all around me. Power surged through my body, agglomerating along my hand before I expelled it outward. A bright flash of light appeared as the sound of crackling thunder echoed throughout the room. It was just a prelude. With that noise and flash, lightning burst from my hand and took the shape of a massive sword, which I didn’t hesitate to swing at Zadram’s left leg.

A loud CRACKLE! sound like the popping of a hundred joints caused my eardrums to burst. My massive lightning blade, something I had created just on a whim because I had seen Zadram make something similar, slammed into the exposed leg but didn’t break the skin. Sparks exploded all over the leg. The smell of burnt flesh filled my nose. However, the leg remained perfectly intact.

“That tickles,” Zadram said before he swung his sword at me.

I used the Flash Step to evade the attack. Like before, the sword didn’t just carve a deep line into the ground, it seemed to eat the very ground away. I couldn’t even figure out how such a power worked.

While I had been keeping Zadram distracted, Kari had used the Flash Step to appear behind our gigantic foe. Her body moved in a circular dance that involved twirling her ranseur around in complicated patterns. The result, however, was that the tip of her weapon picked up a vibrant golden glow.

Perhaps sensing the use of the light element, or maybe just seeing the light, Zadram turned around and spotted Kari. His eyes went wide. For just a moment, I thought something closely resembling fear appeared in his eyes, but then he was rushing toward Kari with large, thundering strides.

“As if I’d let you attack me!”

Once again disappearing, I used multiple Flash Steps to not only catch up to the giant, but to also appear in front of his eyes. I created another weapon out of lightning, a spear this time. Then I threw it at Zadram’s exposed eyes. They must have been one of his only weaknesses because my spear went straight through his right eye, penetrating it with a burst of lightning and a spray of gore.

“GRRRRRAAAAAAAA!!!”

Zadram stumbled back as he held his hands to his now bleeding and hopefully useless eye. His only remaining eye, which burned a bloody crimson, glared at me with a hatred that shook me to my core.

“DAMN YOU! DAMN! DAMN! DAMN! I’LL KILL YOU!”

I landed on the ground and glanced back at Kari, who was still dancing. By now, her ranseur tip was glowing so brightly I could barely look at it. That meant her attack was almost done.

When I turned back around, it was to see Tungsten and Erica launching a combination attack. Tungsten swung his battle axe around, generating a massive tornado that tore through the room and struck Zadram, engulfing the giant. That was when Erica swung her claymore. She raced forward, dragging the weapon along the ground to generate a massive number of sparks, and then she pulled it forward and unleashed a powerful explosion of fire that crashed against the tornado and ignited it.

“AAAAAAHHHH HYAAAAAA!”

It looked like the attack was effective at first, but then Zadram screamed and, after enclosing his arms protectively around his face, he swung them wide. His actions generated a powerful wind that forcibly dispelled the fire tornado. I noticed right away that while the attack didn’t seem to have injured him, his sword was gone.

Zadram didn’t even bother creating a new sword. He swung his right leg at Tungsten, who tried to block the attack with his battle axe, but the giant obviously had the advantage. I couldn’t even try to warn the guy. The foot struck his battle axe, which was then smashed into Tungsten’s chest as he was lifted off his feet and blasted through the air. He struck the ground some meters away and rolled across the floor.

The giant turned his attention on Erica, but she danced between his legs when he attempted to kick her as well. Zadram roared in frustration as he moved about with wild, ungraceful motions. Erica wasn’t fast, but she was very nimble as she darted between this creatures legs. Her massive claymore was glowing a bright orange as she took every opportunity she could to swing her blade at Zadram.

Unfortunately, darting between a giant enemy’s legs like that would only work for so long. Zadram, his face red with rage, slammed his feet into the ground, which caused the floor to shake and Erica to miss her next step. She tripped and was forced to catch herself. However, the act left her defenseless for a split second, and that was all Zadram needed to stomp on her.

“Damn it!”

I made quick use of the Flash Step to appear beside Erica and push her away, and then I lifted my hands above my head and channeled lightning through my body. My thoughts were that I could strengthen myself if I sped up my neural synapses. Unfortunately, I wasn’t prepared for the pain and damage it could cause.

Blood welled up inside of my throat as my insides were fried. It felt like every nerve in my body had suddenly been stuck with a scolding hot branding iron. The pain was so intense that I almost blacked out, but I forced myself to push past it and focus on the descending foot.

It soon made contact with my hands, and a groan immediately escaped my lips as the incredible pressure of someone trying to squash me with their weighed forced me to my knees. Gritting my teeth, I struggled to remain standing, but the stonework beneath my feet cracked apart, showing me just how much raw power this being had. A sense of hopelessness washed over me. There was no way I could keep this up for long.

“ERYK! I’M READY!”

At that exact moment, Kari finished generating and channeling enough Spiritual Power to unleash her Spiritual Light Technique. The tip of her ransuer was now glowing so brightly it was almost like staring directly into the Sun. Without so much as a “by your leave”, Kari swung the spear down, and then thrust it out.

What tore from Kari’s weapon was a massive beam at least three meters across. The attack slammed into Zadram, who had no time to do anything. A loud scream tore through the air and the weight threatening to crush me suddenly left. I glanced over to see Zadram crashing into the pillar where the Warp Gate was located. Cracks and abrasions spread across it as the beam continued pushing against him. Nearly a minute passed before the beam dispersed, and when it did, I was finally able to see what happened to Zadram.

The man… Sekbeist… seemed dead. His body was embedded into the pillar, unmoving. Black smoke wafted off his body, which was covered in third degree burns. His flesh was boiling in some areas, and I could even see muscle tissue pulsating in others. He didn’t seem to be breathing. I certainly couldn’t see him surviving something like that.

“Ha… ha…”

Loud breathing reached my ears, causing me to turn my head. Kari had planted her ranseur into the ground. She was using it as a cain as she breathed in heavy pants.

I went over to her. “You okay?”

“Y-yes…” Kari rasped. “I’m just… tired… using A-rank Spiritual Light Techniques really take a lot out of a girl.”

“I imagine so,” I replied. “You did good, though.”

Kari chuckled at me. “Thanks.”

During the time where Kari and I were talking, Tungsten recovered from where he’d fallen, stood to his feet, and made his way to Zadram. Erica was already there. After a moment of hesitation, Kari and I followed.

“Is he… dead?” Erica wondered out loud.

“It doesn’t look like he is breathing,” Tungsten mumbled.

“He’s dead,” I confirmed, furrowing my brow. “I can’t feel his Spiritual Power anymore. All that’s left is some Spiritual Residue that remains after someone dies.”

Erica nodded, though her gaze was on Kari. “That was some attack. I hadn’t realized you had such a powerful Spiritual Technique on you.”

Kari blushed a bit, but her chest stilled puffed up with pride as she answered. “That technique is the only A-rank Spiritual Technique I know. I compress all of my Spiritual Power into the tip of my ranseur and then release it. The result is that beam you saw. However, since the attack really does use all of my Spiritual Power, I can only use it once.”

“That could almost be an S-rank,” Tungsten murmured as he gave Kari an appraising eye. “It’s a powerful ability.”

Kari rubbed the back of her head at all the praise she was getting, but neither she, nor I, nor Erica or Tungsten, were given a chance to celebrate.

Several large chunks of rock fell off the elevated platform. The cracks near the crater formed around Zadran’s body spread and caused more of the platform to break off. Before any one of us realized the danger we were in, the entire thing came crumbling down. The Warp Gate located at the top also struck the ground. Rather than dissolve, however, the black mass of energy undulated.

“This isn’t good!” Kari shouted as her eyes grew wide. “The Warp Gate has been disrupted! We have to get out of here before—”

However, that was all Kari could say. In the next moment, the black energy that should have been contained by the Runes on the Warp Gate expanded, engulfing myself, Kari, Erica, and Tungsten. The last thing I saw was Kari reaching out to me.

Then the world turned black.

***

While we had plotted a route and gathered the supplies we’d need on our journey, there was still something I needed to do, which is why I’d grabbed Kari, Fay, and Lin the morning after my spar against Earland. It was fairly early in the morning. Fay was staying at the Imperial Royal Palace with Kari right now, so Lin and I met with them near the base.

“Good morning, you two,” I greeted them with a smile.

Kari beamed back at me. “Good morning!”

She was wearing armor that day, which I believed was going to be part of her ensemble during this excursion. It was a simple leather chestplate, vambraces, and greaves. The leather had a lacquered finish so it was glossy and reflected the sunlight. A black shirt hid underneath her armor, she wore a skirt instead of pants, and black stockings climbed up her knees. There was a small gap between her skirt and stockings that revealed milky skin.

“You seem pretty excited,” Lin muttered as she yawned. “This princess doesn’t understand how you can be so energetic first thing in the morning.”

“What I don’t understand is how she can still be this energetic.” Fay glanced at Kari with something of a grimace. “I’m not sure she even slept last night.”

Fay wore her normal clothes. A sleeveless blue shirt wrapped tightly around her chest, but it had a diamond-shaped cutout that exposed some of her cleavage. Likewise, her flat, toned stomach was laid bare. Light blue pants made out of a sturdy material conformed to her hips and legs, which were cinched at the waist with a belt, and flowed into a pair of gray boots.

“I did get some sleep.” Kari’s cheeks burned a mild shade of red. “It’s just… we’re only two days away from our excursion into the Demon Beast Mountain Range. I can’t help but be excited.”

“You always did love exploring,” Fay said with a tired smile.

As I watched Fay and Kari speak, something in my chest stirred. This was a sight I’d actually seen before—not Kari and Fay speaking excitedly, but Kari getting excited about exploring a place she’d never been to. However, what I remembered from back then and what I saw now felt completely different. Kari seemed to have become several times more vibrant.

Was this a result of the tragedies in my previous life not coming to fruition?

“Is exploring this mountain range really that fun?” asked Lin.

“Exploring anywhere is fun,” Kari explained. “Don’t you enjoy going to new places and trying new things?”

Lin thought on that for a moment, her lips pursing, and then she slowly nodded. “This princess understands where you are coming from.”

While I would have loved to let them talk like this, I knew we needed to get going. “Let’s talk while we move. Have you two had breakfast?”

“Yes,” Fay said. “We ate something before leaving the Imperial Royal Palace.”

I nodded as the four of us set off, traveling from the base of the mountain and making our way deeper into the city. The mountain was surrounded by a stone road. Buildings were on the other side of this road. Since the mountain upon which the Imperial Royal Palace sat was literally dead center in the city, four large roads started from their and crossed the city, dividing it into four different sections. I lived in the Northern District, which was nicknamed the peasant quarters. The Merchant’s District was located in the east.

The Merchants District was where we were heading to.

While the morning was indeed quite early, it wasn’t so early that the people hadn’t gotten a start on their day. There was plenty of traffic. People walked along either side of the roads, which were either made of cobblestone or bricks, and several carriages were pulled along by either Mares or Mastadons.

Our group got plenty of attention. That was nothing knew, and so I tried not to let it bother me. The four of us chatted about mostly inconsequential matters. Kari was telling us what she knew about the Demon Beast Mountain Range, describing what sort of monsters we could expect to encounter in the region we were going to be traveling.

“You seem to know a lot about the Demon Beasts there,” Fay said.

“Of course!” Kari exclaimed with an enthusiastic smile. “I’ve always wanted to explore the Demon Beast Mountain Range, but since my mother forbade it, all I could do was study it by reading books.”

“This princess has not fought many Demon Beasts,” Lin said with a frown. “Are they difficult to kill?”

“It depends on the rank,” Kari lectured. “F-rank Demon Beasts are mostly harmless like those Mares you see pulling that carriage. D and C-rank Demon Beasts tend to be aggressive and violent, but a Spiritualist who has reached the First Stage of Spiritualism can defeat them if they have enough talent. It’s the B-rank Demon Beasts and above that can be problematic.”

Kari looked like she was having a lot of fun explaining what she knew, but that was just her being her. She always did love telling other people about what she’d discovered or what she knew. Tungsten had hated it, but I believed that was because he often only saw her on missions. Erica seemed to find it amusing.

“B-rank Demon Beasts often require a squadron of Nevarian Spiritualists to defeat, but they can be beaten with good tactics and powerful Spiritual Techniques.” Continuing her lecture as we turned down a road that led to a town square, Kari walked backwards so she could face us. “The A-rank Demon Beasts are the strongest we’ve seen so far. They’re so powerful that it’s often said they are undefeatable. The Nevarian Spiritualists have been ordered to run away if they see one.”

“If I’m not mistaken, your mother defeated an A-rank Demon Beast, correct?” I asked Kari.

“Yes!” Kari nodded. “However, it wasn’t as if she did it on her own. This was back when my father was her only husband. I’m told the two of them traveled deep into the Demon Beast Mountain Range together and took one down with just the two of them.”

“That’s still fairly impressive,” I admitted. It wasn’t like just everyone could defeat an A-rank Demon Beast. Even in Midgard, the number of people who could take one down on their own could be counted with both hands. Erica, Tungsten, myself… and Kari before the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain killed her.

“Mother is very strong,” Kari agreed.

We soon reached the store that I had been intending us to shop at. It was, of course, the smithy belonging to the blacksmith I’d commissioned to create both those cylinders I used for weight training and the Dragon Tail Ruler. He wasn’t the best blacksmith I’d seen. That said, in a city like Nevaria, he was probably one of the better ones.

The large blacksmith was hammering away at a hunk of metal near the forge. The molten iron glowed and sparks issued from it with each pounding of his hammer. He didn’t seem like he was paying attention to us, so I directed our group over to where the weapons were sitting on racks and hanging from the walls.

“So this is where you wanted to take us?” Fay asked with a frown.

“That’s right.” I gestured toward her and Lin. “Kari already has a powerful weapon, and I have my Dragon Tail Ruler, but you two don’t have any weapons yet. If you’re going to be traveling into the Demon Beast Mountain Range, then you will need a weapon. You can’t rely on just your fists.”

Fay bit her lips, a conflicted expression crossing her face, but Lin merely crossed her arms. The haughty look she wore vaguely reminded me of someone. I couldn’t place who, though. Well, they probably didn’t matter if I couldn’t remember them.

“This princess doesn’t need a weapon.” Before I could chide her, Lin held out her hand. Dark purple energy gathered around it. A strong Spiritual Power erupted, causing the back of my neck to prickle, and then, before long, Lin was holding a purple whip made entirely of Spiritual Power. “This princess was born with exceptionally strong Spiritual Power. She can form weapons merely by thinking about them. Of course, this is mostly limited to weapons that have a serpentine appearance.”

“I’m surprised,” I muttered. “I knew Lamia were able to use Spiritual Techniques that created things like ethereal snakes and the like, but I didn’t realize you could create weapons too.”

“Most can’t.” Lin shook her head. “This princess is special.”

“I see.”

I guess this girl really was something special, though all that did was make me wonder about her origins. Even though I lived with her, I still knew nothing about her past, not who she was or where she came from. All I knew was her name and that she referred to herself as “this princess” when she spoke.

“Eryk,” Fay suddenly called out. “Um… I don’t really know if a weapon would suit me. I’ve never trained in their use, after all.”

Placing a hand on Fay’s shoulder, I gave her what I believed was a reassuring look as I said, “Don’t worry. I actually have the perfect idea for your weapon.” I removed my hand and walked over to the weapons racks. “You seem to be thinking of weapons in narrow terms like swords, spears, axes, and warhammers, but it’s not like those are the only kinds of weapons available. Do you not remember that some of the people who fought in the Spiritualist Grand Tournament also wore gauntlets?”

“Ah!” Fay’s eyes widened as I mentioned the other brawlers who used gauntlets with knuckles to increase their attack power. She went into her version of “deep thinking” and nodded several times. “I get it now. You want to find a pair of gauntlets that I can use to enhance the strength of my punches.”

“Exactly,” I said.

This smithy did have several such gauntlets hanging from the walls, though I didn’t want to get her something like the ones I saw there. It wasn’t that they were terrible. However, they weren’t up to my standards. What’s more, it didn’t look like they were made specifically for brawlers.

As this thought crossed my mind, the blacksmith finally stopped pounding at his slab of metal and dunked it into the nearby barrel of water to cool it off. Steam erupted from the barrel, but he didn’t seem to mind, waiting for several seconds before pulling it out. He inspected the blade, nodded, and set it aside. Then he turned to us.

“You’re back again, kid,” he grunted as he eyed the three girls with me. He eyed Lin’s snake tail for a long while, but then he turned toward Kari, and his expression immediately stiffened. “Princess Kari?” He immediately came up to us and knelt before the princess. “I apologize for making you wait. What can I do for you?”

Kari didn’t look too thrilled at being called “Princess Kari” or having this man bow to her, but she also seemed to have accepted that this was how things were. She gave the man a polite smile as she said, “We’re looking for a pair of gauntlets that my friend can use to increase the damage she does to her enemies. None of the ones you have on the wall here are a good fit. Do you have anything that might be a good fit for her?”

As she spoke, Kari gestured to Fay, who looked pretty out of place. The blacksmith looked at Fay with a slight, contemplative frown. He glanced at her shoulders and arms, and then at her hands. It looked like he was studying her build.

“I think I have something in the back that she might be able to use,” he said. “Give me one moment while I fetch it.”

He went back over to the backroom just past the forge. There were several large crates located in the far back, and he searched through them. Several minutes passed, and then he reached into one of the crates and came back, holding a pair of gauntlets in his hands.

Made from gleaming steel segments, the gauntlets appeared to offer freedom of movement thanks to it being made from overlapping plates. Similar to how plates ran up the forearm in segments, the fingers were also protected via three metal plates, which moved into a set of golden knuckles. There was a Rune etched onto each knuckle.

“This armor was made by one of my ancestors,” the blacksmith admitted. “I’ve been keeping it since it’s something of a family heirloom, but they are yours if you believe they can be of use.”

“Oh, no,” Kari said, her eyes suddenly widening as she heard what the man said. “We couldn’t possibly—”

“We’ll take them,” I interrupted her.

“Eryk?” She turned to me, but my eyes were on the blacksmith.

“How much?” I asked.

“Let’s see…” The blacksmith looked at the ceiling as he tried to decide what he should price these at. “These are fairly good gauntlets. You probably won’t find anything quite like this anymore, so how about… 36,000 valis?.”

“Deal,” I said without thinking about it.

I exchanged the money for the gauntlets without a second’s thought, and then presented them to Fay, who wore a befuddled look as though she couldn’t understand what had just happened. She took the gauntlets out of reflex.

“Try them on,” I instructed.

“Um… okay,” Fay said, nodding as she began putting them on.

Kari frowned at me. “Eryk, why did you accept his offer? He said those are a family heirloom.”

“Which means they would just collect dust if they stayed with him,” I told her. “Besides, look at the knuckles of her gauntlets.”

Kari and Lin both frowned at me, but then they took a look at the knuckles. While the Runes etched onto them weren’t active right now, meaning they were hard to see, they were also engraved into the gauntlets. You could just barely make them out against the sparse amount of light.

“Those are Runes!” Kari exclaimed in surprise.

“What are those?” asked Lin. “Is there something special about those squiggles?”

“The Runes etched onto her glove is Kennaz, the Rune for vision, revelation, creativity, and technical abilities. However, Kenaz also means ‘beacon’ or ‘torch’. This Rune is imbued with the elemental power of fire, which means if she charges her Spiritual Power into it…”

“Then she can imbue her fists with fire!” Kari exclaimed.

“Yes. Not only will these gauntlets protect her hands from battle damage, but they can increase her attack power, especially since Fay has an affinity with the fire element.” I looked at Fay as she finished putting on the gauntlets and began opening and closing her fingers. “How do they feel?”

“A little big, but… not bad.” Fay closed her fingers into fists and took a few practice swings, cutting the air with each punch. “I’ll need something to pad the inside, though. They’re bouncing against my hands.”

“I can fix that,” the blacksmith said. “I’ll add some padding to the inside so it fits most snugly. If you come back tomorrow, I’ll have those gauntlets ready for you.”

“Thank you,” I said.

We gave the gauntlets back to the blacksmith, who promised to finish adding additional padding into the gauntlets, and then left. As the four of us exited the smithy, I turned to everyone.

“What should we do now?” I asked.

Before anyone could say anything, a loud gurgling erupted all around us. Several people stopped walking and turned to stare in our direction. Myself, Fay, and Kari also turned to the source of the noise. Lin. That noise had come from her stomach.

Giving us the haughtiest face she could muster while blushing from embarrassment, Lin sniffed and said, “This princess is hungry. That breakfast you made was not nearly enough to fill her belly. She believes we should get something to eat.”

“Are you two in agreement?” I asked Kari and Fay.

“Well… it is around midday now, so it would not be unreasonable to get lunch,” Fay said.

“As Lin’s big sister, I have a duty to make sure she is cared for,” Kari added. “Let’s get some lunch together. I know a great place where we can eat.”

With our decision made, the four of us went off in search of food.

***

Hagen was in his office when Skygge suddenly appeared before him. As always, the man rose from the shadows as though he wasn’t a real person. He greeted Hagen with his usual cackle.

“Ke ke ke. Lord Leucht, I have some news that you may want to hear.”

“Oh?” Hagen raised an eyebrow at the man, who normally offered some kind of condescending remark before getting to the point. “And what news is that? You haven’t managed to kill Eryk Veiger, Fay Valstine, or Kari Astralia. They were seen in the Merchant District just today. What could you possibly have to tell me that is more important than disposing of them?”

His remark earned him another cackle from Skygge. Hagen frowned, unsure of what was so amusing about his words, but then the cloaked man continued.

“Ke ke ke. I learned through my puppets that those three, along with a Lamia girl who is apparently living with Eryk Veiger, are journeying into the Demon Beast Mountain Range.”

Hagen clasped his hands together on his desk and leaned forward. “This is indeed very interesting news. I assume you plan on killing them out there?”

Skygge’s hood bobbed up and down once in the approximation of a nod. “That is indeed my plan. Ke ke. It will be much easier to dispose of them in the Demon Beast Mountain Range than it would here in Nevaria.”

There was truth to his words. If any one of those three were killed now, especially in Nevaria where it was generally considered safe, then it would open an investigation. Also, given what happened to Grant Leucht, it was highly likely that his family would be suspected. Perhaps if it was just Eryk and Fay, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but if the princess of Nevaria were killed…

“I suspect there is a reason you’re coming to me?” Hagen said at least. “What is it that you need?”

“Ke ke ke. Rather than having us kill them, I believe it would be a better idea if we made it look like they died from a Demon Beast attack.”

Hagen stared at Skygge as the man looked right back, his entire face hidden by his hood. What expression was the man making? He had never even seen this person’s face before

“You wish to use Dyr?” asked Hagen for confirmation as he finally understood wht this man wanted.

“Ke ke ke. You know me too well.”

Thinking about Skygge’s request for a moment, Hagen stroked his beard before arriving at a decision. “Very well. Do with her what you will. However, be sure to bring her back. That girl is paramount to our plans. If she ends up losing her life before we can put our plan to fruition…”

“Do not worry. Ke ke ke.” Skygge’s robes shifted as he bowed low. It was a mocking bow, but he was a mocking person. “I shall make sure she returns unharmed.”