Warm white light greeted the two as they stepped out of a tunnel and into a wide room. huge black door rose up at its back, a single red gem the size of Damien’s head embedded in its center. The area was clean and well kept, as if it were the entrance to a nobleman’s house rather than a room in the Crypt.

The only blemish in the room was a pile of rubble at the feet of two boys facing the door. Drew and Bartholomew, both covered with dust and blood, turned toward the newcomers. There was a ragged hole in the ceiling above them, dripping with the green acid native to the Corruption.

Henry’s power rippled across Damien, turning his mage armor black. Damien’s hand was moving before his companion finished. He hurled a Gravity Sphere at the two Mountain Hall students.

Drew raised his spear and a beam of black light shot out of its tip, striking Damien’s spell and destroying it.

“So eager to see me?” Drew asked, a grin stretching across his face. “The feeling is mutual.”

“Why would you work with the Corruption?” Damien asked, channeling more Ether while he spoke. “You realize Second is trying to destroy the world, right?”

“Not destroy,” Drew replied. “Improve. He’s told me everything, unlike the Void creatures you work for. This world will be reborn once the Void is cast out, and we will stand atop it.”

“Seven planes, you’re a moron,” Sylph said. Trails of wind twisted to life around her, forming a faint layer of armor. “Do you really think the Corruption is going to give you anything?”

“Sylph, can you cancel his magic?” Damien whispered, leaning in close.

She shook her head. “That only works on magic I understand well, unfortunately. That means just Dark and Space.”

“Deal with Bartholomew, then. I’ll handle Drew.”

Damien cracked his neck and summoned two Gravity Spheres to his hands, starting towards Drew.

“Decided on the opponents? Wonderful,” Drew said. “I’m so pleased that you picked me again. I was planning on doing the same to you, and I’m sure Bartholomew will… enjoy himself.”

The way he ended the sentence brought a scowl to Damien’s face. One of Henry’s tendrils slipped off to the side, hiding in the shadows of the room as it wrapped around.

“What do you want here, anyways?” Damien asked, trying to buy time.

“An artifact,” Drew replied. “A pretty important one. You don’t have to worry about that, though.”

Henry’s tendril shot from the shadows, reaching for Drew’s legs. The boy leapt over it, cutting the tendril in half with his spear. He pointed the weapon at Damien. A beam of black light launched from its tip. Damien cast Devour, blocking the spell. He threw both Gravity Spheres, then ducked behind the dark circle to avoid another blast of energy that screamed over his head and slammed into the wall, melting rock to slag.

Drew charged him, leveling the spear and thrusting it at Damien’s chest. Henry hardened the mage armor, blocking the strike as Damien swept Drew’s legs out from under him. Drew fell, dropping into a roll and swinging the spear at Damien’s side.

Henry blocked the attack with the mage armor once more and Damien thrust a Gravity Lance into Drew’s stomach. Green light flared and Drew blurred back, appearing on the other side of the room.

“He’s accelerating himself,” Henry informed him. “It’s not teleportation. You’re still faster than he is in that regard.”

“Not going to try to draw me into your time freeze?” Damien taunted.

“I’ve learned my lesson there,” Drew replied with a smirk. A loud clang rang through the room and Bartholomew skidded several feet back, a shallow cut weeping on his cheek.

“Doesn’t look like Bartholomew is having as much luck,” Damien observed. “How long do you think it’ll be until Sylph guts him?”

Drew blinked out of sight with a flash of green light. Damien teleported, appearing behind Sylph and bringing his leg up in a kick. Drew materialized right before him, catching Damien’s foot right between his legs. His eyes widened and he let out a curse, blurring to the other side of the room.

“That wasn’t the smartest move,” Damien said. “I think you’ve been relying on Second’s magic a bit too much recently.”

“It’s more than enough to fight you,” Drew yelled, his voice a slightly higher pitch than normal. He reared back and hurled the spear at Damien.

“Don’t dodge,” Henry warned. “Sylph is directly behind you.”

Damien flicked the Gravity Sphere in his hand back and detonated it moments before throwing himself out of the way despite Henry’s words.

The spell yanked Sylph to the side and the spear blurred past her, nearly impaling Bartholomew and slamming into the stone behind him. It sank several feet into the rock. Sylph threw a dagger at Bartholomew. He raised a hand, catching the blade in the forearm instead of his neck.

Drew snarled and snapped his fingers. The spear ripped itself out of the ground and flew back to his hands. Before he could throw it again, Damien teleported before him and drove a fist into his jaw.

Unprepared for a physical attack, Drew staggered back. Damien pressed his advantage, landing another blow on his chin before Drew sped away. A tendril grabbed at him, but he sliced it apart with the spear.

“You’re nothing without Second’s magic,” Damien said. “I bet even one of the Goldsilk girls could handle you if you didn’t have that spear. That’s pretty pathetic.”

Drew bared his teeth. “We’ll see how long you’re laughing.”

Bartholomew cried out. Out of the corner of his eye, Damien saw the boy clutch a hand to his left arm, where a river of blood flowed down to his fingers. Damien teleported, taking a page from Drew’s book and appearing behind Bartholomew.

“Kneel,” Damien commanded.

The Ether surged around him, responding to his command. The gravity multiplied several times and Bartholomew crashed to his knees. Damien’s eyes widened as the spell expanded, slamming him to the ground as well.

He immediately dropped the spell, teleporting right before Drew’s spear buried itself in the spot where he’d been moments ago.

“Still don’t have control of it,” Damien said through gritted teeth.

“Avoid using direct casting if you can,” Henry said. “A mistake like that will get you killed. It should have, but Drew seems weaker than the last time we fought.”

The back of Damien’s neck tingled. Something about Henry’s words sat wrong with him. He teleported beside Sylph, grabbing her by the shoulder.

“Something is wrong,” he said. “They should be putting up more of a fight than this. What are you playing at, Drew?”

Henry, you’re up. I don’t think we can afford to mess around here any longer. Take control.

Henry grabbed control of Damien’s body. Ether flowed into his hands, forming into a spell that Damien didn’t know. The cocky expression on Drew’s face flickered as Damien thrust his hands out. A purple wave of churning energy ripped out toward Bartholomew.

The large boy struck at it with his hammer, but the spell wrapped around his weapon like a blanket. Bartholomew cried out as the magic whipped around him. While he was distracted, Damien snapped his fingers. Dozens of eyes materialized around the room.

As one, they fired beams of acrid gray light at Drew. He yelped, raising the spear before him. A sphere of green light ballooned out, blocking the beams and shattering once they faded. Damien’s neck prickled.

Henry dropped the spell he was forming and drew sharply on the Ether around them, forming an orb around him and Sylph. No sooner than it had consolidated did a wave of acid cascade from the ceiling. It washed over all of them, hissing as it burned through stone.

The magical shield crackled, evaporating the acid surrounding them. The shield faded at a concerning rate, giving out just moments after the deadly liquid above their heads evaporated.

Bartholomew and Drew both stood across from them, uninjured. Damien’s heart dropped as the acid on the ground twisted into a lump, slowly expanding and gaining features until Second rose from the ground.

“And so we meet again, Damien Vale,” Second said, letting out a hacking cough that sprayed more acid onto the floor before him.

“I did what you said, master,” Drew said. “We kept him here. Can I have my power back so I can kill him?”

“In due time, boy,” Second said, wiping his mouth with a green pockmarked arm. He glanced back at the door, then let out a hissing laugh. “You were foolish to come here. Your protectors are tied up elsewhere, fighting my Seeds.”

“What do you want with us?” Sylph asked.

“Your friend has caused me great grief for more time than you could ever possibly imagine,” Second said, approaching them. “It will bring me great pleasure to finally put an end to you.”

“Bullshit,” Damien said, temporarily taking control of his body again. “You’re trying to buy time for something, aren’t you? If you really hated me so much, you would have killed me already. What are you waiting for?”

“Perceptive,” Second said. “It won’t help you, but perhaps you can die with a sense of pride.”

His hand curled into a claw and the acid on the floor surged, forming into a spike and driving towards Sylph. Henry’s tendrils shot to intercept it, but neither spell reached its mark.

A black portal snapped open in the center of the room and a ripple of purple energy tore across the floor, evaporating any acid it came into contact with. Second snapped his fingers and a green barrier formed around him and the Mountain Hall students.

Moon stepped out from within the portal, his long white scarf trailing along the ground behind him.

“There you are,” Second said. “I was wondering how long you would hide. I couldn’t have you popping out of the shadows while I worked.”

“We’ve seen this play out before, Second,” Moon said. “I was attempting to train my student before you rudely interceded. Remove yourself.”

“So bold,” Second mused. “But you’re wrong. The last time we fought, we were on your home ground. This time, we’re on mine.”

He reached out and the spear leapt from Drew’s hands. It flew to Second, transforming into a ragged wooden staff with the insignia of a sun carved at the top. A cold aura washed over the room and Moon’s arms stiffened at his sides.

“That’s right,” Second said, running a hand along the wood. “It’s not so easy to forget an old companion. The Corruption takes all, no matter how mighty. This is the great toll of the Void that even you must be subjected to. The Cycle must be ended, no matter the cost.”

“Your words are wasted on me,” Moon said, his voice ice cold. “Parading my friend’s corpse turned weapon before me will do nothing.”

“Just kill him, master!” Bartholomew said. “Why are we wasting time–”

A tendril of dark energy whipped out from the shadows, piercing through both the shield and Bartholomew’s throat. His eyes widened and he raised a hand to the wound as blood started to pour down his chest.

Bartholomew drew a wheezing breath, but the words died on his lips. He staggered and fell to the ground, his hammer crashing down beside him. A tendril of green energy ran out from his mouth and sank into Second’s leg.

“Petty,” Moon said, unperturbed while Drew watched on in horror.

Second chuckled. “He possessed my power, and I respect you enough to know that I will need it.”

“Are you truly prepared to fight me?” Moon asked. Hundreds of thin tendrils slipped out from under his cloak, churning on the ground like a mutated octopus. “If you had that weapon before, you would have used it. You’re forcing your hand by trying it so early.”

“I think I’ll take my chances,” Second said. He jabbed the butt of the staff into the ground. A wave of purple light flowed from the staff and washed over Moon. His own magic rose to meet it, clashing in the center of the room with an earthshaking blast. The light in the room momentarily vanished. When Damien’s sight returned, Moon had been pushed several steps back.

The staff in Second’s hand shimmered and a purple scythe blade slid out from either side of the sun at its top. Second flickered, appearing before Moon and swinging the weapon. It pulsed with dark energy. Damien and Sylph both slammed to the ground as the gravity in the room rose exponentially.

Moon roared, twisting his body in slow motion as he struggled to resist the magic. A tendril rose from the ground and punched through Second’s stomach just as one of the scythe blades carved through Moon’s arm, severing it.

Second grabbed the tendril in his stomach and tore it free. The wound sealed itself. “I’m surprised, Moon. You normally run when you’re at a disadvantage, and I quite literally have two times your strength right now. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you still had a trick up your sleeve.”

“You always talked too much,” Moon said, grabbing his arm and sticking it back onto his torso. Strands of magic reached out, pulling it back to his body and fixing it in place. “You’re trying to get me to leave so you have a free shot at Damien and Sylph.”

“And the artifact,” Second said. “Which is why you’re here as well. Your students are just the icing on your cake.”

Moon snorted as if Second’s words amused him. “I’ve said it already, Second. You’re still acting as if this isn’t the last Cycle.”

The tendrils swirling at his feet retracted, twisting together and growing thicker. The ground started to rumble and the faint light in the room faded. Moon’s scarf rippled at his neck. Lines of Ether warped, redirecting themselves to Moon. Two of them snapped out, wrapping around Second’s legs.

Second struck at the magic holding his legs with the blade of his staff, but it bent like rubber instead of splitting. “What are you doing? Are you a fool?”

Black fire rippled across Moon’s cloak, burning it away to reveal pale skin covered with runes. He turned to look back at Damien and Sylph. His head was still concealed by the cloak, but it wouldn’t be long before that too was gone.

“I got a bit cocky,” Moon said. “Don’t make the same mistake. You must succeed. One way or another, this will be the last Cycle.”

“Moon!” Second screamed. The shield around Drew dropped as he started to layer dozens of shields before him, backing away from him. “You can’t kill me!”

“I’m well aware,” Moon replied, raising his hands into the air. He brought them down, releasing an explosive breath. His runes flared, burning a brilliant purple. “But I don’t need to. I just need to break your weapon.”

“Void magic,” Henry breathed.

Moon blinked out of vision, reappearing before Second. He struck the bandaged man in the stomach and a loud, clean note rang like a massive bell. Second let out a hideous scream. Bands of purple light ripped off Moon’s body punched into Second, pinning him into the wall.

“This is what the Corruption feels like when enhanced by the Void, Second. I thought you might like to give your own magic a taste,” Moon snarled. He grabbed the staff from the other man’s hands. Dark energy poured off it and into Moon. Parts of his body started to fade, turning translucent. Loud cracks emitted from the staff and it started to vibrate violently.

The light flared to a crescendo, blinding Damien. Silence washed over the room. He cracked his eyes open, staggering to his feet and trying to make out his surroundings. His vision slowly returned over the next few seconds.

There was no trace of either Moon or Second. All that remained of the two was the wooden staff. It had split in two and rested on the floor where they’d stood, several feet away from a pale and shaking Drew.