“W-what?!”

The hollow plinks of rain pattered against the steely prison cart. Cold shackles loosely hung off the sides as thunder cracked the skies. But where there was supposed to be prisoners bound up by the dozens, nothing. Keldon stepped inside, his soaked boots dripping onto the moldy hay. He awkwardly waved his hands around as he felt for invisible prisoners, letting the logic slip from his grasp in place of hope. Hope that maybe it was just a trick of the eyes. Hope that he could come back to his friend and tell him he’d rescued the prisoners. Hope that he wouldn’t have to tell Salem he failed.

But hope was gone. Keldon clenched his fist. There were no prisoners in the cart. Why… what had he done wrong?! They were supposed to be here!

However, as the rivers of bitter thoughts and swirling emotions flowed through his mind, slow revelations bubbled up from his subconscious.

This entire trip, Keldon hadn’t heard a peep of the prison crew boys talk or interact with the prisoners they were supposed to be transporting. He and Salem had been too occupied with sneaking away for training… Was there something they’d missed?

An explosion echoed in the distance.

Keldon bit his lip. He cast the prison cart a final long look, hoping he’d notice something, anything that he could have missed. But nothing. He swallowed the hope, and took off in the direction of the blast, leaving his hollow failure behind.

The wind had picked up, whipping the cold rain as it pelted against his skin. He pulled his cloak closer to his face, shielding himself from the rainfall that sucked away what little body heat he had remaining.

Cold. Damn it all it was so cold. He hadn’t been conscious the last time he’d used the name of fire, so the bone-chillingly pins pricked his pain-addled mind. His breath was short and raspy, his muscles stiff and aching, and his chest pounded as his lungs (ironically) felt like they were on fire.

Keldon tripped over an overgrown tree root, falling into a slick pile of soil and muck. He groaned, pulling himself out of the mud and wiping the sludge off his face with the back of his hand. Guess he wasn’t allowed to crack a joke even at his own expense, apparently said the universe.

An ear-piercing screech suddenly blindsided him as he dropped to his knees. His vision grew blurred, accompanied by the shrill ringing in his ears as he willed himself off the ground, propping himself up on his good leg. He leaned against a tree, trying to get stable footing as he sucked in a sharp breath. He gently slapped himself in the face, pulling up every ounce of willpower from his core and ever-so-cautiously calling on the name of fire, gaining the energy he needed to move forward.

The sounds of battle blasted Keldon in waves. He was slammed by the crackling roar of Salem’s fire skills, the shaking rumble of Mitch’s fists, the ghastly wails of Ad’Temorre. They assailed his senses, pushing back on the momentum he so desperately clung to. He followed the flashes of heat and light, trailing signs of battle as he’d finally caught up to Salem’s path of fury. But the carnage hadn’t been as favored as he'd hoped.

Liquid flame dripped off Salem’s weary body as he stood his ground with ragged short breaths. The battle had dropped to a standstill; both sides suffering heavy losses. Mitch’s skill was crumbling, reduced to one earth titan’s arm as blood streaked down his bruised face. Mitch clutched Ernie who had been knocked unconscious and fell back to tend to his friend.

However, there was nobody to aid Annos. His arm dangled limply at his side as he snapped the dislocated joint back into his shoulder with a cry of pain, willing Ad’Temorre to slowly reform at his feet. But the regeneration was slow, painfully slow. A pale face. Cold sweats. Trembles in the body. The signs were obvious, Annos was running out of mana and couldn’t keep up the skill that maintained Ad’Temorre’s form.

But Salem wasn’t any better off.

The skill that awed Keldon had nearly all but vanished; stripped down to a single pauldron which was connected to the arm that held Salem’s eight-foot-long blade. But as the wind bellowed in the thundering rain, the name of fire hummed with delight at the sight of Salem. There was a pulsating intensity at the back of his skull that resonated with the passion of Salem’s resolve. Like a beacon in the darkness, there was raw defiance in Salem’s stance.

But the passion only angered Annos more as Ad’Temorre staggered to life behind him.

“Pathmaker, to me!” yelled Annos.

Mitch gently lowered down Ernie’s neck, turning to Annos and throwing up his arms with attitude.

“Sorry Jorhundga, the contract states I only have to provide assistance to the best of my capabilities. The way I see it, I’m fresh out of mana and I’d only be throwing my life away if I charged a peacekeeper without being able to use a skill orb. You’re on your own.”

Annos glowered at Mitch, but he wouldn’t budge.

“Incompetent bastards,” spat Annos, stubbornly facing Salem.

Activate Skill: Nightstalker's Blade

With Ad’Temorre fully reformed, Annos summoned the dark curved scimitar and flicked out the ominous-looking bone-knife in the other. He commanded Ad’Temorre forward and dashed into the shadows of the creature’s smog. But even with only one arm, Salem’s power was still a sight to behold. With blazing fury, he exploded into a flurry of slashes at the creature’s ethereal form.

The bursts of heat scattered the smog, sending blasts of ectoplasmic ooze splattering across the field as this time, finally, Ad’Temorre stayed down. With a wide swing of his sword, he wound back his fist.

Activate Skill: Fireblast

Salem slammed his fist forwards, scattering the remaining wisps of darkness with light and heat and forcefully grasping for Annos. But he closed his fist on thin air, Annos had vanished again. With a quick wrinkle of his nose, he whipped around, maneuvering his sword into a slashing arc to the sound of a grunt and blade grinding against blade. Salem quickly lashed out with another blast of fire that burst midair. Annos reappeared in a plume of flame, shielding his face from the heat but not before taking a quick swipe at Salem and kicking off his shoulder into a backflip.

The strike connected in a spray of blood, slicing the tendons at Salem’s wrist as he dropped his sword. Annos readied the bone knife as murderous intent flashed his eyes, landing on the ground and dashing forwards immediately to close the gap.

Keldon’s body was so heavy as he felt himself approaching his limits, but he couldn’t stand by any longer.

“Karyx!”

Keldon willed up heat from his core. He poured the energy into his legs as the web of chills coursed through his veins. But the name of fire revitalized his aching bones and he emerged from the brush with a roar of flame. He leaped across the field, rocketing towards the two. However, Annos whipped around with a sly grin.

“I knew it, there you are, you rat!” said Annos, immediately flicking the bone knife to his other hand. He twisted with superhuman agility, turning mid-leap, and launched headfirst at Keldon.

It was a trap! Keldon desperately tried to swerve away but he couldn’t muster up any more strength without breaking his body.

“NOO!” bellowed Salem. He reached out to grab his blade, but his hand limped around the hilt. His eyes quickly darted from his sword to Annos, to Keldon. To the sword. To Annos. Keldon. Annos. Keldon. Annos. Keldon...

Keldon.

With a guttural cry, Salem chased after Annos, tackling him like a bear and putting him in a deadlock in Keldon’s path. He imprisoned both Annos’ arms behind his back as he flailed desperately. But Salem was a pillar, and he would not yield.

“*Ngh* fucking let go Faughlt!” howled Annos, but Salem held steadfast, locking him in place, forcing him to face Keldon straight on.

“Get out of the way!” yelled Keldon, trying to swerve his momentum, Salem was already badly injured, he couldn’t risk hurting him anymore!

“Just do it!” cried Salem “Trust me!”

Keldon bit back his hesitation and let himself fall to the rhythm of momentum as he charged forward and slammed his foot into Annos’ gut as he coughed up a spray of blood. The force of the kick sent Salem and Annos flying back as Annos wriggled out of Salem’s grip in the heat of the moment and was sent tumbling to the side.

Keldon fell to his knees, shivering and clenching the sides of his arms from the recoil as he watched Annos slowly pick himself back up.

“How… How is he still moving?!” thought Keldon. A chill crawled down his spine, and it wasn’t just from the effects of the name of fire.

But before Annos could collect himself, Salem rose like a phoenix from the ground, erupting with strained vigor from the earth and bull-rushing the JorhundGa. Annos shrouded the knife in darkness and lashed out at Salem. However, with a swing from his fist, Salem knocked away Annos’ arm and left him completely defenseless. Annos widened his eyes, twisting himself away in desperation.

“Farewell Annos,” said Salem, and thrust his fist clean through the shocked man’s chest. Crimson poured out Annos' back as strength left him as he slowly stumbled into Salem’s arms. Salem caught Annos and gently lowered him to the cold ground.

But Annos stared at Salem with a fierce coldness, unable to speak as blood filled his throat and poured out the corner of his mouth. He gurgled the deep red liquid, his body trembling in agony. He meekly clawing at Salem's forearms, eyes burning with hatred until finally his arms fell limp by his side.

Salem breathed a sigh of relief, reaching over to turn over Annos' hand to take his weapon. However, when he flipped over Annos' hand, there was nothing.

“Where-“

Salem felt a soft nick on his cheek, barely more than a scratch as he cast his view to the side. There, the evil-looking knife had embedded itself straight into the earth, crumbling to black ash and soaking into the ground.

“No…” muttered Salem “Annos, you-!”

But the light had faded from Annos’ eyes as his head dangled to the side; a vindictive smile of arrogance plastered across his face on his deathbed. Only now, had Salem noticed Annos’ middle finger was curled upwards, standing tall in bitter spite of his death. A mocking gift, before their untimely reunification in the afterlife.

Salem’s mind raced as rainwater streamed down his face. He needed the antidote, but they only kept these kinds of antidotes back at Lunarus headquarters. There was no way that he'd be able to recover and infiltrate the base in time. He would need at least a few weeks to heal from injuries of this level, let alone infiltrate one of the most heavily guarded facilities on this side of the globe. Could he-

*Slosh* *Slosh*

Salem turned around to see Keldon dragging himself towards Salem, crawling through the wet muck on all fours. A wave of profound realization swept across Salem as he touched the thin cut on the side of his face casting Keldon a long and solemn look. A surge of complicated emotions bubbled up in his chest, as a single tear rolled down his muddied cheek. There was fear, doubt, anger, but eventually... tones of resurging acceptance. An acceptance that he'd been forced to confront long ago, but even now still didn't have the courage to face.

“You will fall for our last chance to stand…” muttered Salem. “Emily my love, you were right once again.”