Despite Dawnfall Valley being a mere few sunstrides away, and the town of Havon now visible in the distance, the denizens of the Underworld were not as plentiful as Kendrick thought they’d be.

“Yah!” he grunted, skewering two imps at once on the end of his Psysword. They vanished in a splash of dark aura. “They’re not so bad so far, right?”

“Pyrios,” said Bellara. Shoom. A burst of scarlet-orange fire consumed another imp charging toward her. “This is no worse than most towns we’ve helped cleanse. So far, at least.”

One thing about Havon was different, however—it was utterly deserted. Doors and window shutters were splayed wide open to reveal that there was no one inside any of the buildings. It looked as though everyone had left in a hurry, and Kendrick realized that this is the way Havon must have looked for years now—ever since the dark sorcerer Zorgen first tore open the Rift and wrought havoc on the Ecumene.

{SHADE} {SHADE} {SHADE} {IMP} {SHADE} {IMP} {IMP}

Kendrick’s lens tagged foes as they appeared and he and his cohorts slew them as quickly as they surfaced. Sahni crooked her hand at an imp leaping down from a roof. “Obstrae!” She caught it in midair, the aura closing around its neck like a noose.

Bellara dashed over to finish the job. “Pyrios!” Another one darted out from an alley at her and Kendrick picked it off with ease. She grinned at him. “You know, it’s good to have you back in the action. It felt incomplete, just the two of us doing this sort of thing for the past couple days.”

“Help!” called a voice. “Help! Somebody, please!”

“A child!” said Sahni. “Did you hear where it came from?”

“Sahni, hold on,” said Bellara.

The blue-haired witch tore off down an alley and the other two followed suit. They tracked the source of the cries to a large wooden wash basin, which seemed to be acting as a makeshift shelter for a terrified child. Kendrick saw tiny fingers wrapped around the rim of the basin, either lifting it up or holding it down for safety.

“It’s going to be okay,” said Sahni. “We’re here to help, all right?” She bent down to pick up the basin. Meanwhile, at the entrance to the alley, their horse whinnied uncertainly. “My name is Sahni. I’m just going to pick this up for you...”

JINN {201}

Kendrick gasped. “Sahni, look out!”

“Ahahaha!” the jinn cackled as it burst out from beneath its hiding place. Sahni was knocked onto her backside, skidding from the force of the fall. The jinn morphed into its true form, an undulating cloud of black smoke and crackling red sparks. “You three are awfully far from home, aren’t you? The fated day of the Dark Lord’s arrival is almost at hand! But I’m afraid you won’t live long enough to see it. You see, I am going to—”

Swish. The Psysword cut through the air, and through the jinn, swiftly. With a reverberating groan, the dark spirit was no more, and the black aura that composed it floated along down the alley, just barely lifted by a slight breeze.

“I’m still impressed with how quickly you make short work of those now,” Sahni said, panting from the rush of the ambush. Kendrick helped her to her feet and she smiled, brushing strands of aqua hair from her face. “We used to avoid those when it was just the two of us.”

“Imps and shades are just stupid,” said Kendrick, holding the sword with his other hand to crack his knuckles. “But jinn, you know what their problem is?”

“Highly susceptible to pure aural strikes?” Bellara answered.

“Way too theatrical. I didn’t even have to run after that one, I just walked over while it was yapping away.” He smiled inwardly at his own strides in combat against the dark ones; to think he was scared witless at a solitary shade on his first day here, and now he was slaying jinn like they were nothing. His next true challenge would be on the order of a demon—and though he did not welcome the thought of encountering one again, he was not so frightened of the prospect anymore. It would be a challenge to test his mettle and ascend to new heights once more.

But as they picked their way down the cobblestones in Havon, checking houses and scanning with lens and aurimeter, there was nothing else for them to do. There were no more shades or imps, no jinn, no demons roaring for battle. It was a ghost town now devoid of any souls, Ecumenical or otherwise.

“Do you think some other witches and wizards have managed to close the Rift?” he asked.

Bellara gazed up at the swirling vortex of hatred glaring down at them from the sky, which proceeded unabated. Kendrick observed that whenever she pointed the aurimeter in the direction of the rift, the needle just spun laps wildly inside the glass casing. “I don’t think so, unfortunately.”

They decided to free the horse when they reached the opposite outskirts of Havon and the area seemed safe enough. “Thank you for all your help in getting us here,” Sahni told the animal, stroking its mane. “Be safe out there, okay?”

When the beast was naked of its saddle and reins once again, it whinnied once at them, clicked a hoof on the cobblestone, and then bolted in the polar opposite direction of the Rift. It ran like a racehorse with a target in mind. And not once during its escape, even when it was just a small dot on the horizon, did it appear to slow down in the slightest.

“So much for riding into battle,” said Kendrick.

“There'd be no getting that cart down into the Valley,” Bellara replied, “and the horse has no place in this battle anyway. Come. This is the last leg of our journey. The culmination of your purpose here in the Ecumene, Kendrick. How do you feel?”

“Eager to get this over with,” he answered. In his mind, he was mostly referring to ending the threat to the Ecumene, defeating Zorgen once and for all, but he worried that it came off the wrong way. Bellara nodded solemnly and then she and Sahni both looked down as they walked. I didn’t mean it like that, he thought. They’ve been nice. I’ll miss them when I go back to... wherever I’m from. Should I tell them I didn’t mean any offense? Too much time had already passed to clarify without making things even more awkward, so he let it go, cringing.

They made excellent time down the rolling hills sloping into the Valley below, but the farther they went, the more evident the Rift’s activity became. The wind picked up, always at their faces. Despite the humid, rainy weather in the surrounding countryside, the trees farther down in the valley gradually looked deader, their leaves browned and withered, and after a time, the trees were stripped almost completely bare.

It was at this point, when even the trees themselves thinned out and were replaced by desiccated wasteland, when Kendrick finally laid eyes on the Rift for the first time. It was Bellara and Sahni’s first times, too, he realized; they were finally witnessing the source of so much of their pain and suffering over the past few years.

The portal unleashed pure chaos and devastation on the surrounding landscape and the sky above, but the Rift itself was nothing but a black-and-purple arch rising up from the ground and arcing over Dawnfall Valley. It was massive, almost as tall as the valley was deep. The peripheries of the doorway crackled with deep purple bolts of energy that struck the ground every now and then with snappy thunderclaps.

Kendrick tried to peer through the portal and into the Underworld beyond, to see what that Realm was like, but he saw only pure blackness. There was no telling what lurked in that menacing dark until it emerged.

“There’s no sign of him,” Sahni said quietly. It was almost impossible to hear her over the howling wind and intermittent thunder.

“Trust me, you’ll know him when you see him,” Bellara told Kendrick. “He’s not so different from a jinn, Zorgen. Very theatrical. Very ostentatious. Insufferable prick, really.”

“I missed you, too, Bellara,” said a voice. By the time Kendrick turned and saw a black-bearded face appear between them, it was too late.

BOOM!

A ball of black aura crackling with purple sparks exploded between them. Kendrick was thrown far away from the others, hitting the ground so hard he rolled several times before coming to a stop. He spat out dust and shook pebbles from his hair. Looking up, he saw that Bellara and Sahni had suffered similar fates.

Kendrick drew the Psysword from its sheath and leaped to his feet. Thuuum. His white aura sprang forth and formed a blade—his sharpest yet, by the looks of it. But there was no time for admiration.

“You three look lost,” said a black-robed, hooded man. He tossed back his cowl to reveal his face fully; shocks of white hair ran through his otherwise black mane, which was braided tightly. The white portion of his left eye had turned pitch black, such that his icy blue iris stood in stark contrast. He was also missing his left ear; only a stump remained.

“Far from home, would you say?” Kendrick taunted him.

“Considerably.”

“Kendrick, don’t,” Bellara warned him. Meanwhile, Sahni’s hands were in motion uttering spells under her breath, but the man’s back was turned to her.

“Something else told us we were far from home today, too,” Kendrick went on. “Then I killed it. Didn’t even break a sweat.”

“Oh, we have a warrior in our midst—a hero!” The man smiled, revealing the whitest, straightest teeth Kendrick had yet seen in the Ecumene, incongruous with the face in which they were embedded. “Tell me, young man, I don’t believe I’ve heard the bards singing of your exploits. What might your name be?”

“My name is Kendrick. And I’m the last—”

“Uh-uh-uh, no more, Kendrick. Somehow I’m already bored of hearing you speak.” Kendrick tried to talk over him but found that his words were snuffed out before they ever even left his lips. Did this guy cast a spell without even saying anything? he wondered. Without me even noticing? “Kendrick. A strong name, although I haven’t the faintest clue what it means. Sounds foreign. I’m sorry to bear bad news to you today, Kendrick, but no one will ever sing any songs about you. No one will remember your name after today.

“But when they hear the name Zorgen, they will shudder with respect and unworthiness. Zorgen, the Riftmaker. Zorgen, the Conqueror. Zorgen, Right Hand of the Dark Lord. Thus spake Urobius, and thus it shall be!”

A few moments after it took effect, the silencing spell’s magic dissipated. “Thus s-spakes... you, maybe,” Kendrick replied. “But not if we have anything to say about it!” He charged at the dark sorcerer.

“Pyrios ampla!” Bell shouted. Fire roared from her fist in Zorgen’s direction and was instantly deflected, washing over an unseen orb surrounding him.

“How?!”

“Don’t tell me you’re still slinging those crude tavern-brawler spells, Miss Cass,” Zorgen sighed, turning to face her. “Let me guess, now you’re going to try punching me really hard, aren’t you? Those always were your favorites.”

“Ekom illacta!” the scarlet-haired witch growled, stretching out both her arms. The ground shook beneath Zorgen’s feet and was suddenly displaced. A small chunk of the rocky soil broke free and levitated into the air, taking the sorcerer with it. His smirk wavered.

“That’s new,” said Kendrick.

“Ekom fragomentum!” The chunk of rock splintered into hundreds of tiny pieces that shot vertically into the air, pelting Zorgen repeatedly. He shielded his face with both arms. The impacts were severe enough to punch through an aural shield surrounding him and even slice at his robe in several places. The earthen platform crumbled completely beneath him and he hit the ground standing, surrounded in a kicked up cloud of dust. “Now!”

Kendrick made his move, sprinting for Zorgen. He raised the Psyword overhead and brought it down into the dust cloud. Clink. It stopped.

When the dust cleared, Zorgen stood there, blocking the blade with another unspoken spell... using only his index finger.

“Huh?” Kendrick breathed.

Clink! He swung again at his midsection, but Zorgen blocked it again instantaneously. Clink! Tink! Clink! Nothing worked.

“An aural blade, eh?” Zorgen said with a smirk. “Interesting, if only from a historical perspective. But it’s not going to cut it against me!” With a push of his hand, he sent Kendrick flying again—the young warrior held on tight to the weapon and held it away from his body as he fell.

“Keep knocking us down, Zorgen,” Bellara snarled at him. “We’ll keep getting back up. You’ve brought the Ecumene years of torment. It ends today!”

Kendrick stood up, readied his sword again, and circled the wizard, searching for the best angle of attack.

“I’m mostly knocking you down because it’s more entertaining for me,” Zorgen chuckled. “And it doesn’t hurt to kill some time.”

“Think you can stall until the eclipse comes? I don’t.”

“Did you think I still needed the eclipse?” He snickered. Bellara’s eyes widened and her lips parted, trembling. “Oh, poor thing. Look around you. Do you see any other witches or wizards here to join your heroic efforts? More skilled spellcasters than you have tried and failed. But the best part is that you could even kill me today and it wouldn’t stop what’s been set in motion. The sheer rage of the Underworld will hold the portal open long enough for the Dark Lord to step through. You’re far, far too late to stop anything.”

There were tears in her eyes, but her face was contorted with rage. “You’re lying!”

He shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“Morokai!” Bang!

Kendrick didn’t see what happened, but it sounded like a smaller peal of thunder. It was an eerily familiar sound. Have I heard this somewhere else? In my world? Looking at Bellara, who panted with the exertion of what she’d just done, he saw a wisp of dark aura dissipating around her outstretched hand.

“Bellara Cass,” gasped Zorgen cynically. He touched his chest and pulled back a hand smeared with blood. “An Underworld spell? I never thought you’d be so adventurous. You should know that even a killing spell is utterly useless against me, though. I may be the first soul of the Ecumene to live for all eternity! I cannot die—certainly not by the hands of a plucky former student of mine.”

Sahni put a hand on her shoulder. “Bellara—”

“He needs to die, okay? For what he did to us! To your family, and mine, and Meloris, and everyone—no matter what it costs! Do you hear me?!” She was practically foaming at the mouth; it reminded Kendrick of Morrolf’s rage back in Tornbie. The Rift and all its horrors really did have a profound effect on the people of the Ecumene, that much was clear.

“Then let’s use what we know. We can’t stoop to his level.”

“Can’t stoop to becoming the most powerful being in the entire Ecumene?” Zorgen replied. “No, I don’t suppose you can.” Kendrick snuck up behind him, swung the Psysword hard—clunk. The sorcerer’s barrier was already reformed. “You know, that was amusing at first, Kendrick, but I’m beginning to think I should take that toy away from you.”

“Why! Won’t! You! Just! Die!” Kendrick shouted with each swing. His aura impacted on the barrier like it was made of diamond—there was no hope at all of scratching it, let alone penetrating it, not without spells. “Rrrghh... You... coward...” He aimed the point of the sword directly at Zorgen and pushed with all his might against the shield. Sparks of gray aura shot out in all directions as white collided with black in a dazzling, colorless display. “This isn’t over. It can’t be! I... will...”

“Buzz away now, little gnat.” BOOM! Another explosion, another trip soaring through the air—only this time, he lost his grip on the Psysword. It clattered to the ground a short distance away from where he came to rest.

“Obstrae diffucius!” declared Sahni. This binding spell squeezed tightly around Zorgen’s barrier—and began eating straight through it. In moments, it would be gone.

“Pyrios ampla!” Bellara cried out, and by the time the flames reached Zorgen, he was exposed.

He shouted in either pain or annoyance. “Agh! Meddlesome wench!”

Kendrick reclaimed his weapon and ran back into the battle. But Sahni wasn’t done yet. “Parto finis!” she exclaimed. Her face lit up with excitement as a translucent bubble trapped him successfully. The aura was so thick that it created a white haze around him. “Obstrae dynamus addenda!” Two thick, sturdy rings of aura closed around the outside of the bubble, locking into place. “Kendrick!”

Hearing his cue, he bolted for Zorgen as fast as his legs could carry him. “Wait,” Bellara said uncertainly. He didn’t listen. He ran like his home and his memories and every answer to every question he had were all on the other side of Zorgen’s life—and, in a way, they were. “Kendrick, wait! Something’s wrong!”

“Yah!” Kendrick grunted, leaping through the friendly white aura to slay the wizard inside.

The Psysword’s blade went right through Zorgen, bisecting him down the middle. Adrenaline surged through his body as he realized he’d succeeded. Strangely, though, there was no blood to show for his attack—and Zorgen still stood in place perfectly composed and motionless, even when he withdrew the blade. Something was wrong.

“I'm amazed the ruse worked for as long as it did,” he said, turning around to face Kendrick. “If this were really me, and not just an illusion I created, you might have actually gotten me.” He vanished in a puff of black smoke. “But you see...” His voice sounded close—right in Kendrick’s ear. He spun around, swung the Psysword—nothing. “...I’m worlds beyond these witches, boy. And they’re a world beyond you.” Swish. Nothing. “Urobius is beyond all of us, and as his servant, I’ll be pleased to help rule over all the souls in the Ecumene that have the good sense to surrender. It’s over. It’s been over.”

“Bellara,” Sahni whimpered. “I’m scared...”

“It’s okay, Sahni,” Bellara replied. “I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“You figured out my trick before they did,” Zorgen snickered just behind Kendrick. The witches looked around as well—the voice was everywhere. “Very good, Miss Cass. I knew you were my favorite student for a reason.”

“Bell!” Kendrick screamed. “Look out!”

Shunk. A blade of black aura pierced Bellara through the abdomen. “But there’s one lesson you never learned until today,” said Zorgen, materializing behind her. “I always win.”

Bellara fell to her knees, blood gushing out of her tunic. Her eyes were wide with shock and her skin was already turning pale.

Kendrick charged at the wizard. “YOU BASTARD!”

Sahni gasped, raising a finger in Zorgen’s direction, gritting her teeth. “Moro— AAAAAGHHH!” Mid-curse, she shrieked as the sorcerer sliced off her right arm at the elbow. Scarlet blood gushed out and she instinctively grabbed it with her surviving hand.

Kendrick didn’t fully process what had happened—he simply kept charging. But it was too late. Zorgen grinned, waved goodbye with a fluttering of his fingers, and vanished in another black cloud.

“GET BACK HERE!” Kendrick screamed into the valley. The only responses he heard were his own echoes.

Looking at his friends, it all started to sink in. Bellara was bleeding profusely from her stomach, clutching her wound with shaking hands as best she could. Sahni held her traumatic amputation and, somehow, had the fortitude to dig through one of their bags on the ground using both arms.

Kendrick vomited, and the ground was so parched and lifeless that the bile collected in a puddle and barely seeped into the soil at all.

“K-Kendrick,” Sahni groaned. “Get it... Hurry...”

“Sahni,” he whimpered. “Bellara. I-I... What do I...” Boooom... A low, deep tremor rocked the ground beneath them. “No. No-no-no-no...”

Boooom...

Boooom...

“He’s coming!” Zorgen cackled. He reappeared at the very base of the Rift, shaking with anticipation. “He’s almost here!”

Boooom...

“Ken...” Sahni groaned. “Th-the... way... make...” She gritted her teeth and clenched her wound as hard as she could, but she was fading fast.

The waymaker! He remembered Gydeon and the strange cubical device he’d gifted them on their way out of Tornbie. He found it after some quick digging. ‘A single-use portaling device...’ How the hell do I use it?!

But it may have already been too late to escape. Just as he laid hands on the object, something stepped out of the Rift—a titanic, gray-skinned leg taller than any tree Kendrick had ever seen in the Ecumene.

Boooom...

Moments later, another one followed suit, both legs terminating in scarred, ancient-looking hooves the size of houses.

Boooom...

The portal was barely tall enough to allow the Dark Lord passage into the Ecumene... but it worked.

My entire purpose here, Kendrick thought. The whole reason I was brought here from my world. All of it’s meaningless now. We lost...

“He’s here!” Zorgen shrieked with maniacal glee. “His glorious emergence has begun! The Dark Lord cometh!”